Chapter 10: Slice of Parker Life Two
"You dropped your coin."
Laura held up the quarter, completely unaware of Peter's surprise and shock. Many, many things were running through his head right now, but he managed to take the coin within her hand.
Somehow she was prettier than the last time he saw her.
"T-Thanks," he managed to say as the both of them got up from their knees. Silence followed the two as they locked eyes with each for a moment, only to look away as they figured out what to say to each other, or well, as Peter figured out what he was going to say.
"I'm uh…I'm happy to see you again," Peter sincerely said as he gave her a genuine smile.
She met his eyes briefly before crossing her arms, "...Likewise," Laura said with a slightly happier infliction within her stoic voice. She observed him narrowly, noticing how his movements indicated that he had fully recovered.
"You are okay," she commented, relieved of his condition. "Well, you're not the only one with a pretty cool healing factor," Peter said as he patted himself, "Though, I think you have me beat in that aspect; some parts are still sore," he added with a chuckle, rolling his shoulder.
"That and many others," she said with a slight curve on her mouth, "like speed," she added with a small smirk.
"Hey, you only won that race last night because, for some reason, the Lizard thought I was a medium rare steak with legs," Peter said in his defense as he patted parts of himself where the wounds once were.
"Right," Laura sarcastically said as she shook her head. She stopped though, tightening her grip on herself just a bit as she asked, "Do they still hurt?"
Peter instantly shook his head, recognizing the underlying worry in her voice, "Nah...My healing factor might not be as good as yours but, I can sleep off most things, so don't worry about me."
She nodded her head, worries swayed, she remembered that there were others who were waiting for him as well.
"We should head in. The others are waiting for you," Laura stated as she moved to the side, letting Peter get in.
"Others?" Peter asked as he closed the door behind him before kicking off his shoes and immediately going to his living room. He was greeted with the sight of four, unfamiliar adults who all stared at him with surprise and a singular thought within their minds.
This is Spider-Man.
Each and every one of the instructors observed every little detail of the brunette boy named Peter Parker; each of them having their expectations met or fell short.
Ororo expected the sight of a clean-cut, well-mannered boy, and she wasn't disappointed.
Henry was expecting someone who appeared to be an intellectual, someone who wore things such as white button-ups, yellow sweater vests and slicked-combed hair.
Logan was expecting more, yet, at the same time, looked just as he expected him to, like an image that was lost in the back of his mind.
Peter was expecting them to say something.
"The other instructors wished to see you as well," Laura said as she stood next to him.
"I…I can see that. Are they supposed to be staring at me?" Peter asked Laura in a whisper as he felt their gazes on him.
"They are observing you," Laura stated.
"Do they know?" he asked as it would explain the odd behavior.
"Yes," she responded.
"Did you tell them?" he sharply asked her.
"No," she replied and he let out a sigh, but Logan's form caught his attention before he could guess how they came up with his identity. The short and hairy man's hair resembled Laura's, the way he carried himself, even his resting face was like hers but…much more uglier, that's for sure.
And that glare he was giving him, there was no mistaking…
"Is that hairy guy the one you were…" he asked her as he leaned his head closer to hers.
"Yes," Laura responded, which cemented Peter's suspicion.
"And I thought you were short," he quipped to her in the lowest whisper he could make. He let out a snicker as Laura furrowed her brow in annoyance but stopped as he heard a little growl from Logan.
"Did…did he hear that?" Peter asked as he looked at Logan with a worried expression written all over his face.
"Yes," Laura replied in an annoyed tone.
"Is he going to snikt me?" Peter asked as he noticed the death glare he was giving him.
"If he does then I won't stop him," Laura simply replied, causing him to gulp.
"Peter," His Aunt began to say in a slow and incredibly deceiving warm tone, "Don't be rude to our guests, please, introduce yourself; they've traveled a long way to see you," She finished with an eerie smile all the while glaring daggers at her nephew.
All thoughts aside, Peter cleared his throat multiple times, trying his best for words to come out until they eventually did.
"Um…He-Hey everyone," Peter awkwardly said to everyone in the room as he waved his hand.
Laura simply shook her head upon witnessing his pathetic attempt to introduce himself.
"Hello," Ororo said as she gave a slight nod to Peter with an amused smile on her face from the interaction between him and Laura.
"You must be Peter Parker," she stated more so then asked as she looked at the brunette boy with warm eyes.
"Unfortunately," he quipped, which earned a chuckle from her.
"I have heard a great deal about you. My name is Ororo Munroe, I am one of the instructors at the Xavier Institute, and it is both a pleasure and honor to meet you today," Ororo said as she finished her introduction with a bow that left Peter speechless.
The gesture was unfit for someone like him and frankly too much too.
"T-The honor is all mine, Ms. Munroe," Peter said as he reciprocated the bow with a humbled expression on his face which did not go unnoticed by his companion nor the woman in front of him.
"Please, call me Ororo," Ororo said with a slight nod.
"Only if you call me Peter," He happily replied with a smile which Ororo returned.
"Gladly, Peter, and with our introductions done, I would like to introduce you to Professor Xavier, the man in charge of all of this," She said as she moved aside and gestured toward the bald man who sat beside his Aunt. Peter followed the gesture, having his eyes fall on the acclaimed Professor as he moved towards him with great interest.
"Greetings, young Peter, my name is Professor Charles Xavier; I've been looking forward to meeting you," He earnestly stated in his soft yet professional voice as he stuck out his hand.
"You too Professor. I've heard great things about you," Peter said as he shook the Professor's hand, noticing his firm grip.
"And I have heard better about you. I trust that I don't need to explain as to why me and my associates are here?" He asked with a raised brow.
Peter reciprocated it with a small grin, "Yea…it's...It's for my enrollment to your institute for…'talented kids' like me, right?" Peter said, trying to convey that he knew what the school was really for.
Professor Xavier let out a satisfied smile as he clasped his hands together, "Correct. Come, we have much to discuss," Xavier said before turning around from the two teens as Aunt May got everyone seated in the living room before putting Peter's groceries in their respective places.
While everyone was finding their place, Peter was introduced to Henry "Hank" McCoy. The Burlish man in only appearance surprised Peter with his advanced and sophisticated vocabulary and honored Peter with his knowledge of Peter's accomplishments. Though there was embarrassment too, as Peter was caught off guard by the compliments alongside the shame of not knowing Hank's own.
His introduction with Logan was short, names were exchanged and a firm, really firm, handshake was given. He wasn't expecting anything more due to obvious reasons.
Everyone soon found their place after that; Ororo and Henry sat adjacent to Aunt May and Peter while Logan and the Professor stood near the fireplace.
Laura stood in the middle between Peter and Logan but upon witnessing her standing, Peter quickly moved over to give her some space on the couch.
She noticed this, and the two made eye contact with each other. He smiled slightly as he patted the spot next to him. Laura, understanding the gesture, went to move towards the space made for her but stopped herself. She gave a small look to Logan, meeting his eyes, and after a brief second, he gave her a little nod, and she allowed herself to sit down.
The conversation of Peter's enrollment soon started. Professor Xavier used the cover that Peter's exceptional grades were what brought him to his attention and the reason why he wanted him to attend his institute for "Gifted Youngsters."
Hearing "Gifted Youngsters" caused Peter to let out a chuckle.
He really wasn't trying to hide anything with that name.
As the Professor continued to talk to both him and his Aunt, mainly his Aunt, the more and more he found himself looking forward to this school. It was relatively new from what he gathered, only having six students and three graduates, which confused Peter because Laura only mentioned that there were eight students at the school, not nine.
This ninth student must've left before Laura arrived, meaning he was probably one of the three graduates.
The institute itself did not replace school; instead, its primary purpose was to foster the growth of children and school itself would take place at a nearby school, where the students would partake in the highest level classes that the school could offer.
In other words: he would be attending regular school like he was now, the only difference being that he would be living in a fancy mansion and on his own time, he would be focusing on the growth and training of his powers. Though the idea seemed nice, it wasn't something he really needed. Thanks to Laura, he had control of his stingers which were the only things he had trouble controlling. The real reason why he was intrigued was that living in the mansion would relieve the burden that his Aunt had of taking care of him, not to mention, relieve him of the stress of her finding out he was Spider-Man.
Fury did say that these people were good, which was just about the highest compliment you could get from him.
Plus, the concept of moving out and living with people who had powers like him seemed pretty cool. Johnny was his best friend and closest friend for many, many reasons, but a big one was because he could relate to him, and Johnny could to him. They were the only teens to their knowledge who had powers, who were heroes, and as such, they would confide in each other as to avoid the loneliness which surrounded them.
It also helped a lot that Laura lived there as well.
The Professor would also give Peter another reason to attend the school when he mentioned the word "Scholarship." Apparently, by attending this institute there was a possibility for Peter to get a full scholarship to a post-secondary of his choosing if his grades continued to stay as high as they were.
Peter widened his eyes.
He could get a scholarship?
Not even Midtown offered a full scholarship.
Sure, there were some scholarships worth a good amount of money here and there, and Empire State University, the school he's always wanted to go to also offered scholarships too but the ones he could get were nothing compared to the overwhelmingly, surprisingly legal prices of post-secondary.
But Professor Xavier was blatantly just saying that he would completely cover Peter's post-secondary fees. That, with everything else had practically sold Peter, with the only thing holding him back from simply asking 'where does he sign,' being that the Professor wasn't done talking.
There was always a catch somewhere, something that would completely ruin the deal and He didn't want to agree to something until he heard it.
"And where is this institute?" Aunt May asked a simple question that, for other-worldly reasons, was not already answered. Raising a brow due to his failure to mention its location, the Professor sought to rectify it.
"Oh, it's just located in the northeastern part of Westchester, in a township called 'North Salem," The Professor simply answered and both Parker's eyes widened upon hearing that.
"Westchester?" Aunt May asked, seemingly needing confirmation that she heard right. The Professor nodded much to her delight.
"Oh Peter, that's wonderful," Aunt May said ecstatically, "You get to go to school, live with others like yourself, and be up in Westchester where it's safe," she exclaimed but as she looked at her nephews faltered expression, hers also fell a little.
There was the catch.
Westchester? Was far, like, really, really far.
At least a fifty-minute drive, and wherever North Salem was situated, it could mean more.
Were there even trains that went there?
"What's the matter Peter?" The Professor asked the young brunette boy as he noticed his disappointed expression.
"No-nothing…" Peter said as he was taken out of his thoughts, "...it's just…isn't it…" Peter stammered, struggling to express his thoughts to the man in front of him. Though he was a phenomenal telepath, that wasn't what Charles Xavier strictly was, even without them, he had a fantastic read on others and understood what they could never say.
"You are worried that it is too far," he stated in a soft and understanding voice. Peter let out a nod and The Professor let out a smile, "Your worries are honorable Peter. You do not want to abandon your Aunt nor your other responsibilities?" Xavier said, already knowing that having Peter choose between going to his school or being with his Aunt and serving as Spider-Man for New York would be a lost battle not worth fighting.
"Yea…yeah," he nodded once more, lowering his head. He could, and would never abandon his Aunt, nor his home, New York, no matter how good things could get.
"Oh Peter," his Aunt said as she put a hand on his shoulder, touched by his admittance, "You don't have to worry, I can take care of myself and you can always visit on holidays," May told him as she rubbed his shoulder, trying her hardest to convince her nephew to take this once in a lifetime opportunity.
"Oh, he can visit more than that," The Professor exclaimed happily which earned the attention of both Parkers, "On top of being more than willing to provide a means of travel, North Salem and the other townships nearby have garnered a lot of attention as of late and due to this, trains have been installed in order to provide transport to those who wish to go to New York and back. Allowing him to come and go when he pleases and continue with his work and his other responsibilities," The Professor stated as he looked at Peter with a smile that quelled his worries instantly.
The catch was gone.
That was it. His only concern, gone.
What came after was just the typical end to a conversation such as this, questions being asked and answers being given until the final question came.
"Well, what do you say?" The Professor asked as he looked at both May and Peter. They both looked at each other and Peter gave her a nod, and gleefully May said, "I'd love for Peter to be a part of your institute."
Everyone save for Logan and Laura smiled upon hearing the news.
Logan let out a sigh, glad that the talk was finally over but his patience was rewarded for Aunt May had invited all of them to stay for she had just prepared a large cherry pie made specifically for them. He and everyone else had eagerly moved into the dining room, conversing with the elderly woman as they praised and looked forward to try the pastry dish made just for them.
Peter and Laura stayed behind though, relaxing a bit as they conversed with each other without anyone listening in.
"Well, looks like it's official Snikty-Snikt," Peter said with a mischievous smile as he nudged her side, "You aint ever going to be able to get rid of me now," Laura scoffed at this, crossing her arms.
"It was official since yesterday you dolt," Laura stated as she threw away his comment, reminding him that neither she, nor he, will be going anywhere.
"Yeah but now it's irreversible," Peter said as he leaned back on the couch, imagining what it would be like seeing Laura every single day.
"And I would want it to be reversible, why?" she asked, genuinely wondering what was going through his head.
"I can think of a couple reasons," he slyly said.
"Not good ones," she stated with a small huff, leaning back on the Parker couch as well. Her reply had brought a genuine smile on Peter's face as he looked away from her and stared on into the distance.
"Hmph…you know…" Peter paused, "I'm actually looking forward moving into this place…it sounds pretty good and it would help my aunt a lot if I moved out," Peter expressed his thoughts to Laura, finding the same comfort they had with each other last night again.
"Hmmm," Laura simply let out as the same comfort the two shared washed over her.
"You ever managed to talk to some of the students there by the way?" He asked, genuinely wondering if she took his advice.
"I said 'good morning' to Pryde," Laura told Peter.
He let out a laugh, "Well, we all start somewhere" he encouragingly said. He was both surprised and glad that Laura had actually listened, and though it might not seem like much, he knew it was a lot for her.
Peter didn't notice the happy look that was on his face when she mentioned this, but she did…and something about it compelled her to say more.
"Ms-Ororo… helped me this morning too," She admitted, looking at Peter, hoping he would understand what she was referring to.
"Really? With what?" he asked in an excited voice as he sat up a bit.
He didn't understand what she was referring to, meaning he didn't notice, and upon this realization, she scowled and looked away. Though Peter wasn't friends with many girls, or well, people in general, he didn't need to be an expert to know he had said something wrong though.
He quickly raced through what he had said which might've caused Laura's volatile reaction. What did Laura need help with? She was literally the most capable person he ever knew. According to her, she was a master at practically everything, what would she need help with?
His eyes widened slightly as he looked at the side of her face properly.
She had black lipstick on and eye shadow. She was wearing makeup, that's why she was somehow prettier than before. That must've been what Ororo had helped her with because Laura never seemed like the type of person to ever put on makeup, much more even considering using it.
Not like she needed too.
But then again…she was a girl…A highly trained, really deadly girl but…a good one…and a really pretty one at that too.
A disappointed one as well if her eyes told him anything.
Oh, he was such an idiot.
"Oh…uh…" he began to say to her but she paid no mind to him, "Well…I think…" he scratched the back of his head as she looked at him from the side, "...I think she did a good job," he finally managed to say as he embarrassingly looked at her with rosy cheeks.
She looked at him fully now, feeling that strange inner warmth which was making its way inter her core once more.
She let go of herself, uncrossing her arms and instead holding onto the edge of the cushions she sat on.
"You are a fool," she simply said with a fondness she did not bother masking.
"Yeah…I know…" He said with a gentle laugh as he looked at her with an honest smile.
She rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh of her own.
There was a nice silence as others in the next room laughed. He heard a gruff voice ask his Aunt some questions concerning him and this prompted Peter to ask Laura some questions he himself had.
"So…that Loga-" he tried to ask but was quickly interrupted.
"Later," Laura simply said in a louder voice so she could drown out his words.
"We can talk about him later," she said again as she looked at Peter who understood.
"Alright then," Peter simply said, dropping the subject. "I'm gonna go help Aunt May with the pie; wanna come with?" he asked as he stood up from his spot. Laura nodded as she got up as well, and the two made their way to the kitchen to assist his Aunt.
"You ever have cherry pie before?" Peter asked her, wondering if it would be her first time like the Pizza last night.
"No," Laura said, wondering if that was what she was smelling.
"Then, well, you came to the right place," Peter happily said, "Aunt May bakes the greatest pies you'll ever have. Trust me, you won't ever gonna be able to try another pie ever again once you try her's," he confidently stated with his arms out, looking at Laura with excitement.
Laura let out a small smile as she brought her hands behind her back, amused by Peter's enthusiasm for her.
She did indeed come to the right place.
She followed Peter as he went into the kitchen to help his Aunt serve the pie. She watched as he grabbed a pair of oven mitts which were burned at the tips, no doubt because of him, before taking out the delectable dish. She looked at it intently as its pleasant smell dominated all others. The pie appeared to have a nice buttery crust with small amounts of sugar sprinkled above it; The crust was in a crisscross pattern with the cherry filling beneath it glistening a beautiful ruby red which invited her and others to eat it, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward too.
Peter flashed her a knowing smile before walking out with it and towards the dining room where the others, including Logan, let out sounds of approval and wonder at the work of art that they would soon be eating.
His Aunt was busy making coffee in the other room though. Taking out the jug of milk that Peter had just bought and opening it, she planned to make coffee for everyone as well but placed it on the counter as she got distracted by other chores.
She stopped doing them soon enough however…
"Peter…" Aunt May said as Laura began sniffing the air.
"What?" he casually asked as he arrived back in the kitchen, standing next to Laura.
"You took a shower, right?" Aunt May asked with genuine curiosity as a putrid stench had filled both her and Laura's nostrils.
"What?" he asked in a more serious tone as he furrowed his brow.
"It's just I smell something awful and-"
"-Why are you asking me? You should be asking him," Peter said as he nudged his head Logan's way. He sat at the head of the table, the side closest to the kitchen and though he was firmly entranced by the pie in front of him, the gruff man with years behind his belt was not completely at a loss, and had heard what the boy in the other room had said.
"What did you say?" Logan asked him in a half harsh, half growl voice as he turned around his chair, daring the boy to repeat what he just said.
"Peter! Be respectful to our guests," Aunt May said with a light slap to his side, earning an approving look from Logan and a groan from Peter.
"Tell him your 'sorry,'" Aunt May ordered Peter to say as a smug look quickly found its way on Logan's face. Peter looked at his Aunt with disbelief on his face and he looked at Laura with the hopes of her doing anything but she too had a smug look which caused Peter to sigh at what he had to do.
"S-sorry…" he mumbled his apology.
"What was that? Couldn't hear you," Logan smugly said, putting his pinky to mockingly clean his ear, knowing full well the Parker boy knew he was lying.
He went to say a retort but his Aunt prevented him from doing so.
"Peter, speak up, and look him in the eyes when you apologize," Logan snickered.
Peter let out a sigh again, embarrassment written all over his face as his blue eyes met Logan's brown ones.
"I'm sorry," he said with every fiber of his being, Logan let out a snort, reveling in the embarrassment Peter was suffering in. Aunt May pat him on the back, keeping her arm on it so she could lock him in place.
"Sorry about that, my boy Peter isn't usually like this. As an apology, you can get an extra slice from his portion?" Aunt May offered the gruff man who eagerly took it.
"Fine by me," he said with a smirk before turning his attention to Peter, driving the nail in the coffin, "Right kid?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Right…" Peter sourly said, completely annoyed, embarrassed and defeated.
The moment his Aunt let go of him was the moment he turned away, burying his face in his hands. Laura moved to stand beside him, hands still behind her back as she watched in amusement as Peter was suffering from his actions.
"You deserve this," she commented with an amused voice, maybe this would teach him to shut his mouth sometimes.
"You aren't helping," Peter snapped in an annoyed tone.
"I'm not trying to," Laura retorted.
"However…" Laura began to say as her eyes moved towards the opened jug of milk, "The stench your aunt was talking about was not you. It was your milk," she stated as she looked at the jug.
"huh?" he said with disbelief as he went to go check. He knew she was right, but he was hoping that she was wrong but one quick whiff near the jug annihilated all hopes of it being the latter.
He turned to his Aunt, already knowing what she wanted him to do before she told him.
He rubbed his face with his hand as he let out an annoyed groan.
Logan was amused at this.
"I'll try and save you a piece."
Peter and Laura strolled through the quiet streets of Forest Hills; With the jug of milk in one hand, Peter made the painful stroll back to the corner store with Laura beside him.
The walk wasn't so painful though; the gentle breeze that blew in his face alongside the company of Laura did make it better, although he would've preferred not having to make a trip to the store three times now.
"You know you don't have to come, right?" Peter asked as he felt guilty that Laura was with him instead of being back in the house enjoying the pie.
"I know," Laura simply said as she walked in toe with him, her luscious black locks flowing with the gentle wind.
"They might eat up all the pie," Peter said as he was genuinely excited for her to try it.
"Your aunt said that she would save me some," Laura stated, easing his worry.
"Well, at least you'll be able to try it," Peter mumbled, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.
"You will too," Laura simply stated.
"You really think the Logan guy will save me a piece?" Peter asked her, doubting the guy would even consider him.
"I did not say that," she said with a small smirk.
Peter let out a small huff, before having his mind drift off on other things.
"So…do you…wanna talk about him?" Peter asked Laura, wondering if she was comfortable talking about the subject now.
She let out a nod, confirming that it was okay to ask questions.
Peter looked down, wondering what question he should pick out of the many he had to ask first.
"So, he's really the one you were cloned from?" Peter genuinely asked, needing confirmation again.
"Yes," Laura simply answered, wondering why he would ask a question he already knew the answer to. Feeling his gaze on her though, she turned to look at him only to be met with a puzzled look which caused her to say, "What?"
"It's just, I see it and I don't see it at the same time," Peter said as he observed her.
"I am an imperfect clone," Laura stated flatly.
"Oh…" Peter simply said before adding, "Well, I can see that," while pointing at her figure. Though he did not ask any further questions, she decided to expand anyways.
"When the facility tasked my mother with cloning him, she could only salvage his 'x' chromosome for the 'y' chromosome within the DNA handed to her was damaged," she said with a lack of emotion in her voice that bothered Peter to his core.
"So uh…your mother…she worked for the facility?" Peter asked as he scratched the back of his head, hoping to change the subject into a more, lighter, possibly happier one.
"Yes. She was Doctor Sarah Kinney. The Facility had hired her because of her expertise in genetic replication and hoped that she could produce a complete and accurate clone of him," Laura explained. There was a hint of pride in her voice for her mother, but as she moved toward the clone subject, that pride was replaced by disappointment.
"And…why did they want to clone him?" Peter asked as he wondered what made Logan so important that they wanted a clone of him.
"Because he was the original weapon X," Laura factually stated once more.
"Oh," Peter simply said as that explained everything while also leaving a lot of questions.
"I am the twenty-third failed attempt at recreating him…" Laura said as she lowered her head which saddened Peter.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Peter noted as he looked at her softly.
"It…it is…" Laura said in an unsure voice as she still had her gaze locked on the ground beneath her.
All she's ever been told was that she was a mistake.
"I don't think so," Peter earnestly said, however, his words seemed to have been lost on her, for she didn't seem phased by them. He was disappointed by this but raised an eyebrow as an idea had just come to mind.
He turned away from her and let out a carefree shrug before saying, "Unless you changed your mind and want to be what the facility wanted you to be."
"No!" Laura staunchly said as she brought her gaze back up to face him.
"Then I guess it's a good thing that you are the way that you are, huh, Snikity-Snikt?" Peter stated as he turned around to face her, a small smile on his face.
She looked at him with wide eyes as it took her a second to realize what he was doing, but when she did, she lowered her shoulders and let out a little huff, all the while, the corners of her lips found themselves softening once more.
"Quit calling me that, you idiot," Laura said in a failed stoic, mostly light-hearted tone that Peter enjoyed.
He let out a chuckle, "Quit calling me an 'idiot 'and then we can talk about a change in nicknames?" he retorted before looking into her beautiful emerald eyes once more.
"So I'm going to guess the reason that your eyes are green and his are brown is also because of your 'genetic imperfection'," he said doing air quotations with both his hands.
Laura shook her yet once again, "My mother's eyes were green," she clarified but this confused Peter even more.
"Can you say that again?" he asked as he tilted his head in confusion, wondering if he had heard what she just said correctly.
"My mother's eyes were green," she simply repeated.
"Wait…how…how did you come to be exactly? If you don't mind me asking?" Peter asked as things weren't making sense in his mind.
"The DNA they had given my mother to clone was damaged so she supplemented that by using her own and creating my embryo. After that, they needed someone to carry me and that someone was her," Laura explained to Peter who was trying to make sense of it all.
"I thought you said you weren't born and that you were a clone," Peter said in utter confusion.
"I was not, and I am," Laura stated confidently but her tone betrayed her.
"But you were carried within your mother?" Peter asked, completely puzzled.
"Yes."
"And you have both her and the Logan guy's DNA inside of you?"
"Yes," Laura stated once again.
Peter paused for a moment as he collected this information and made sense of it, which was hard because it didn't make sense at all.
Unless Laura was…
"You're an idiot. You are an idiot," Peter blurted out after taking his pause, stopping their walk.
Laura was not amused by this comment.
"I am not an idiot," Laura stated in a firm voice as she crossed her arms.
"Really? Cause I think you are if this conversation is anything to go by," Peter said to her, which confused Laura.
"How?" she said simultaneously with a furrowed and raised brow.
"What you just told me basically contradicts the fact you're a clone, if anything, you're more like…like their child," Peter said as that was the closest thing to label her. She would be an imperfect clone if she just had his DNA inside her but because she also had her mothers, then that fundamentally doesn't make her a clone because the meaning of a clone is a cell that is produced asexually that is genetically identical to the cell that produced it.
She wasn't produced asexually due to her mother supplementing missing DNA with her own, meaning that Laura fundamentally wasn't a clone.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Laura quickly said as she quickly dismissed that possibility.
Peter seemed to have taken offense to this.
"Really? Me? The guy who came up with a genetic gene cleanser off the top of his head, doesn't know what he's talking about?" he rhetorically asked Laura whose gaze was on the ground.
She didn't answer.
"Think about it for a second. You have your mother's DNA alongside the other guy. She was pregnant with you; she gave birth to you-"
"I wasn't born," she interrupted.
"Did you come out of her body?" he asked her sternly.
"Yes," she answered.
"Then I'm pretty sure you were born," Peter said with the utmost confidence.
She thought about it as she held both her arms tightly. Peter looked at her, noticing the insecurity that was refusing to be hidden, realizing well too late that the Facility probably told her that she was a failed clone in an attempt to dehumanize her so they could control her more. Mentally severely berating himself once more, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her during her moment of self-questioning.
"Maybe I'm wrong Laura, but… I'm pretty sure you're more like that guy's daughter than an imperfect clone," Peter gently said with complete belief as Laura's eyes were still locked on the ground.
"I wish…I wish he saw it that way…" she said softly as she loosened her grip on herself, turning her gaze once more unto Peter who looked at her sympathetically.
"How…how long have you been with him?" Peter asked in a softer voice.
"A week," she stated to his relief. A week was the same amount of time that she had spent in the institute. Knowing her, and hoping about Logan's character, Peter guessed that Logan was the reason why she was in the institute in the first place because he couldn't see any other reason why she would be there other than that.
"A week is nothing. There's still plenty of time to-" Peter tried to comfort her, only for her to interrupt him.
"Up until yesterday, he's barely interacted with me," Laura said with a hint of bitterness, her mind forcing her to forget the heartfelt moment the two shared.
"What happened yesterday?" Peter asked, hoping that it was something good.
"He gave me a costume to help, and he…he said I did good," Laura admitted, Peter's question forcing her mind to remember the honest and kind words which were said.
"See? at least the guy cares about you," Peter reiterated once more.
She looked down.
"Hey…Look, Laura… maybe this…maybe this whole thing is new to him. I don't know anything about the guy outside that he's smug as all hell but if I had someone who was my clone-daughter come into my life randomly it would take me some time to come around too," Peter honestly said, giving hope to Laura who thought about both his words and Logan's words yesterday.
Logan did admit that he did not know what to do with her up until now, but….
"What if he decides he does not want anything to do with me?" Laura asked Peter, doubt and insecurity showing themselves on her face with little to no resistance.
"Well seeing as to how he gave you a costume n'all I don't think that will ever be the case," Peter said as he looked at her confidently, "But if it is, then…well…unfortunately for you, I guess you'll just be stuck with lil' ole me," Peter said as he flashed a warm smile.
The warm feeling she felt by being with him had grown exponentially and she found herself looking down at the ground but not in doubt, nor insecurity this time, but by...feelings which were welcomed.
"You keep saying that as if it is a bad thing," Laura noted as she looked at him once more, brushing hair to the side as she gained control over the foreign emotions which grew larger with every beat of her heart.
"Well I am prone to ruin the lives of the people around me," Peter added with a chuckle and she let out a small snort.
"I am as well," Laura replied.
Peter let out another chuckle at that, "You know you have problems, right?" he teasingly said with a smile on his face.
"You don't?" she responded with the same tone.
"Yea, well, at least I don't wear black lipstick," he joked but upon hearing this her expression soon changed into one of fearful realization.
"Do you not…" Laura began to ask but Peter was quicker to realize his fumble.
"No, No, No, No, I-I do, I was jus-" he struggled to say before Laura would go back to scowling and growling but she caught him saying something which prevented all of that.
"You…do?" Laura asked Peter who stopped in his tracks, realizing that, once again, his mouth moved faster than his brain. He didn't shy away though, not like he could anyways, and instead rubbed the back of his head again.
"Ye-yeah…I..I do…" Peter said as he fidgeted a bit, "I think it…I think… it makes you look prettier than you already are," he said as it took all of his power to force out those last few words.
Caught off guard by the direct compliment, she could feel the same fluttering within her heart that had first appeared yesterday. Struggling to limit how much she expressed though, she looked away, and Peter did the same, but only because he was embarrassed due to directly expressing his thoughts and complimenting her.
There was an awkward silence between the two that even the neighbours who took a brief look out their windows could feel.
The silence was soon broken though as a snort from Peter caused her to move her gaze on him once more.
"I guess that's another reason why it's a good thing that you are a failed clone," Peter stated with a light pink tint on his cheeks.
She tilted her head and looked at him questioningly.
"Cause you know….instead of l-looking like you do now…" Peter said as he started nervously stuttering and blushing once more, "...If the facility had their way you'd be a short…and smelly, and ugly….and hairy, midget," Peter said as he let out a laugh.
Laura stifled her own.
She looked at him fondly before an idea came to her mind.
"He can hear that," she stated which caused him to abruptly stop laughing.
"What!?" Peter said in a panicked and distressed voice as he frantically turned around to expect the small form of Logan to come barging out of his house, claws out and all.
"Can he really?" Peter asked with distress in his voice which amused Laura.
"No," Laura simply stated which left him utterly confused.
"Then why did you…" he stopped as he looked at her warm face that had an amused smile plastered on it.
The battle to limit her expressions and emotions was lost.
"Yo-you were joking, weren't you?" He said accusingly as he pointed at her.
"Yes, and you were stupid enough to fall for it," she said.
He looked at her with surprise before letting out a little huff.
"I…I guess I was," he said with a little chuckle.
Peter had managed to return the jug of milk and exchange it for a new one. With a fresh jug now in hand, Peter and Laura walked back to his house, taking a different route this time because Peter wanted to show Laura around his quiet little neighborhood. Little did he know that she had traversed the street they were on yesterday when she was tracking his scent but she enjoyed the little stories he told her, so she stayed quiet on their way back.
Just like yesterday, however, a familiar sight of children playing basketball could be seen not too far from them. There was an extra net this time, one on one end of a neighbors garage and one on another end of the house opposing it. It was a typical view for Peter though, Lemar's family, the Johnsons, and Henry's family, the Jacksons, were close, so it was no surprise seeing the children use both of their driveways to make a big mock-up court for some streetball.
The net wasn't the only new addition to the scene however as Laura had noticed a little girl sitting close by.
The girl, dark-skinned in color, who resembled the little boy whose name she remembered to be 'Lemar,' was sitting on the sidewalk as the boys played on the street, watching on in boredom as the others had fun with each other. Laura watched as the girl's face displayed nothing but boredom as she started at the other kids who were having fun with their game.
The girl looked to the side, hoping to find entertainment by watching those who passed by only to widen her eyes in disbelief and excitement as she saw who was approaching them.
"Peter!" she shouted as she quickly stood up to approach the brunette boy who had helped her with her studies long ago.
Laura watched as a smile made its way on Peter's face as he took out his free hand from his pocket to wave at the young girl who he was acquainted with.
"Hey, Leah! Long time no see," Peter said warmly as he watched the girl excitingly run towards him.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in like, forever!" she said in an over-exaggerated voice that only a child could muster.
"I've been at home," Peter simply replied with a shrug.
"Oh…" Leah said as if she was expecting more.
"Nothing too special, right?" Peter said as he noticed her disappointed reaction.
"Mom told me not to tell anyone but said the reason you were gone was because you were sad…" Leah said as she looked away and Peter's happy expression morphed into a surprised one.
He didn't think that Mrs. Johnson would tell Leah about him but considering that the girl could be as stubborn as he was, he wouldn't be so surprised if Leah pestered her mother until she eventually caved.
"I…I was," Peter admitted, which caused Leah to look up at him in surprise.
"You…are…are you still sad?" she asked questioningly in a worried voice and Peter let out a chuckle.
"Well, I'm certainly feeling a lot better than I was a couple days ago," he said with a smile and Leah looked at him with surprised eyes yet again but diverted them as she noticed a girl she's never seen standing beside him, observing the whole interaction.
"Is-is this your new friend," she asked as she looked at the raven-haired girl.
"Hm?" Peter raised a brow, how did she know about Laura?
"Lemar said you made a cool new friend who was a girl and had a motorcycle," Leah said and Peter slightly shook his head in response.
"And I told them not to say anything…" Peter muttered before saying, "Yea…. she's a new friend of mine. Go on say 'hi,' I promise ya she doesn't bite," Peter said with a small laugh in order to put Leah more at ease, it did, for she let out a chuckle but it also prompted Laura to give him a little glare which he felt, but that also gave him another thing to add to put Leah even more at ease.
"Instead, she glares and growls and calls you an 'idiot' all the time but get past all of that and she's actually really nice," Peter said confidently and Laura merely rolled her eyes upon hearing his simplistic summarization of her.
She didn't say anything though as the girl, Leah, walked in front of her.
"I…I am Leah," she introduced herself hesitantly as she shyly waved her hand.
Laura looked at her.
"This is the part where you introduce yourself," Peter whispered in her ear.
She scowled.
"…Laura," Laura said.
There was silence.
A long silence.
Peter let out a whistle.
"Wow, watching you guys try and talk is making me feel a whole lot better about my social skills," Peter commented, hoping to break the ice.
It did because Laura instantly snapped at him.
"Your social skills include telling bad jokes at the wrong time and being a clown," she harshly replied, causing Leah to giggle a bit.
Peter raised his in defense, "Hey, still better than yours, and watch it on the bad jokes, okay?"
"Why?" she asked, wondering why she should stop commenting on his 'jokes'.
"Because my jokes are funny," Peter said wholeheartedly.
"More like, annoying," She replied wholeheartedly.
"Hey! They get people to laugh," Peter pointed out in a comically harsher tone.
"Like who?" she asked, crossing her arms and raising a brow.
Peter paused for a moment as he thought about her question.
"Like…you…you laugh at my jokes," Peter said as he pointed at her triumphantly.
"I have laughed at your jokes, once," Laura stated, prompting Peter to count the times she's laughed.
"You've done it twice. Actually, you've done it three times- no four. You've laughed at four of my jokes," Peter said confidently as he held up his fingers.
"I do not recall any of that," Laura stated as she recalled the moments she's laughed, which was easy because she hasn't done much up until recently.
"You let out little huffs," Peter told her.
"That is not a laugh," she matter-of-factly stated.
"Maybe, but I'm counting it as one though."
Laura crossed her arms and let out a little growl.
"See what I mean? I bet you she was biting her tongue from calling me an idiot there," Peter said as he pointed his thumb at her, which amused Leah even more.
"You are an idiot though," Leah said before letting out an innocent chuckle which left Peter completely bewildered and Laura smug about having her choice words for him proven.
"H-ho-" Peter tried to ask 'how' but was left as the backseater between Leah and Laura's conversation.
"D-Did Peter ever tell you how he broke his high school's basketball net?" Leah nervously asked Laura who shook her head.
"No," she replied, tilting her head a bit in mild interest as Leah expanded on Peter's misadventures, "He-He tried showing off to the girls in school and he ended up breaking the glass net in front of everyone," she said in between giggles.
"He even got suspended," shee added much to his embarrassment.
Laura raised a brow as she turned to Peter who was visibly flushed upon hearing the intentionally embarrassing story with twisted facts.
"Tha-That was when puberty struck," Peter said in code, Laura knowing full well he meant when his powers first arrived. "I wanted to show off to Flash and all the others in school," Peter said as he crossed his arms and looked away. Laura, given what she knew, looked at him with sympathy hidden behind her eyes, knowing well that those were just the actions of a boy wanting to prove to others he wasn't what they said he was.
The moment they had shared yesterday, where they confided in each other, she knew others did not treat him how he ought to be, which was why she perked up at the mention of a name.
"Flash?" she asked questioningly, Peter did not answer her though and instead, Leah took his place.
"The guy who used to be your friend right? The one who bullies you?" Leah said in a minor sour tone, knowing something about MidTown High's star football player.
"You get-" Laura tried to inquire more about what she just heard but Leah was not the only one to notice the brown-haired boy who she accompanied, and either they grabbed his attention instantly or he just wanted to just sweep the subject under the rug, he let them capture his complete attention.
She wasn't unaware that Peter was once a victim of bullying, he had told her that when they confided in each other yesterday, however, she was under the impression that such a thing would have ended when he was bestowed his powers.
The girl's choice of using present tense words proved that assumption wrong however.
The words and "jokes" he told about himself had not gone ignored, and put inside a different context…she was noticing a behavior that did not sit well with her.
"Hey Leah, wanna play?" Laura pushed those thoughts to the side as she witnessed behavior that she was fond of. Peter had the children's basketball in his hands now, extending it out to the girl who was surprised by the gesture. She was hesitant, her behavior indicated that she did indeed want to play but…
"Isn't basketball a boy thing?" she asked, unsure if it was or not.
"Maybe if we were in the sixties, but it's twenty-twenty-one and besides, with the way they play, they're gonna need you if they wanna beat me," Peter said with a wink which caused the girl to giggle, getting rid of any of all insecurity she had.
"You're on," she said happily as she took the ball from the young man and joined her friends as they talked about how they would oppose him. She watched Peter with a soft, interested look as he went on his side of their makeshift court. He placed the jug of milk on the porch belonging to one of the neighborly kids' houses, before returning with a cocky grin on his face.
"Four against one, eh?" Peter said as he cockily rolled up his sleeves, "The odds are never in my favor are they?" he added with an overdramatic shrug with his eyes closed.
"Oh well…" he said as he brought his arms back down.
"I guess I'll just have to take you all on," he opened his bright blue eyes and let out a confident smile before gesturing to the children to approach him and start the match.
The children let out their own excited smiles but before they could start, something had caught Peter's eye.
"Wait a second guys," Peter abruptly said, which caused the children to stop.
"Why?" one of them hastily said for they wanted to start the game as soon as possible.
"I gotta even the odds," Peter said with a smile before turning away.
"Hey, Laura!" Peter yelled as he made his way back to Laura.
She was standing on the sidewalk where Leah had initially approached them, silently observing the whole interaction as if she was an outsider peering through a window.
Upon hearing Peter call to her she perked up immediately, wondering what he needed from her.
"What?" she asked in her usual voice.
"Wanna play?" he offered, his head tilted to the side with an inviting smile plastered on his face.
Laura was surprised by the offer if the slight widening of her eyes was anything to go by.
She had never been offered to play a sport before nor had she ever played one before.
She didn't give an answer.
"I could use the help," Peter added as he gestured his head towards the four children behind him.
"No, you don't," Laura stated as she crossed her arms.
Peter let out a chuckle, "Yea, I don't. Beating these guys would be like taking candy from a baby," he said as he briefly turned to look at the children to give a sneering look before turning back at Laura, "But I still want you to play anyways," he said as he genuinely smiled at her causing her to question her reluctance.
"Why?"
"Cause it'll be fun," He stated with a big smile.
"Fun?" Laura asked as her natural expression morphed into one of uncertainty.
"Yeah, fun. You know? Starts with F, ends with N, and in between them is a U for you and me," he said with a laugh causing her to shake her head in an attempt to shame for what he just said.
Their eyes met though and his blue eyes looked at her with the utmost sincerity, "C'mon, I think you'll like it," he said gently. She looked to the side though, still unsure of her answer. As her eyes wandered, she looked at the group of children patiently waiting for Peter to return, more specifically to the girl who extended the ball out in her direction.
Peter looked at the gesture and pointed towards it with his thumb, "It'll be fun beating them together, then it will be just watching me," he said with a smirk.
"Fine," she gave in, "But I do not know how to play," Laura admitted, causing Peter to let out a small breath.
"Eh, it's fine, I'll show you. Leah! Ball!" he asked, turning his attention to the girl with his hands up. The girl threw it to him and he caught it effortlessly as he gestured to her to follow him. She was on their side of the court now, staring at their net as Peter began to explain the simple game of 'streetball.'
"The nets are pretty self-explanatory, right?" Peter asked as he looked at their net.
Laura nodded, "That is ours, and that is theirs," she said as she looked at the respective nets, "To score, one must be in possession of the ball and put it through the opposing team's hoop," Laura stated as she gave Peter all the knowledge she knew about the sport.
"Yea," Peter said as he was glad she was at least familiar with how to score, "But when you have the ball you can only move by dribbling it."
"Dribbling?" Laura reiterated for she wasn't acquainted with that word.
"Yea, dribbling," Peter said as he started dribbling the ball to show her the action.
He did the gesture for a while and she observed it, but in the midst of her watching him, he abruptly passed the ball to her with the hopes of catching her off guard.
She caught it effortlessly and gave him a flat glare to question if he really thought that would work.
He let out a chuckle, and she shook her head before copying the gesture perfectly.
She looked at him, waiting for his approval.
"Not bad Goth-Girl," Peter said as he was impressed with her form. She learned how to dribble much faster than he did but in his defense, when he learnt to dribble it was when he was in kindergarten and severely asthmatic.
"Goth-Girl?" Laura reiterated in an unamused voice as she hoped that that wasn't her new nickname.
"Hey, You were the one that wanted a new nickname," Peter said playfully before going back to explaining the game.
He explained the basic rules to her for this was a simple game which didn't need many rules.
You could move two steps without dribbling the ball if you wished to score or pass. You could also steal the ball from the opposing team and block others from passing as long as there was no physical injury.
In order to score you simply had to get the ball through the hoop with either a throw or a dunk.
"A dunk?" Laura questioned as there was another term she wasn't familiar with.
"It's better if I show ya," he said with a smirk before running towards the net.
Laura watched as Peter approached the net, dribbling the ball in the process before jumping in the air and flamboyantly doing a complete three-sixty spin while putting the ball in between his legs and through the hoop.
The children who watched this were dazzled while Laura's expression remained flat and unamused.
Peter gracefully landed as the ball bounced away from him.
With his eyes closed he let out a shrug before dusting himself off, "Now you don't gotta do it like that, a simple jump and -"
The bouncing of the ball caused him to cut himself off.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Laura perform the same trick he did, with even more gracefulness which astounded the children even more than Peter's original dunk did.
"Is that all?" Laura simply asked the surprised Peter whose mouth was currently agape.
He let out a sigh, of course she wouldn't let him show off so easily.
He shook his head and let out a sigh, "Well, there is one more thing that is important to the game," Peter began to say as he gestured for Laura to give him the ball.
"And what is that?" she inquired as she gave it to him.
"We make up rules as we go, and we make sure to have fun," he said with a laugh as he went to meet the kids in the middle.
Laura followed him, sharing his enthusiasm as she found herself looking forward to playing this game.
Well I'm a fucking liar.
[edit, i corrected spelling and format mistakes from 7 to here]
Wish I had a good excuse but I don't, I've been working on this and the coming chapters a lot after I published the 8th chapter but then things got too long, and life came, and porn addiction, and school, and work, and a whole load of shit.
Anyways, I'm back and I'll continue this because I really do like it and have fun with it, I even had this 30k messy doc about where I want things to go. I resumed working on this couple weeks back and coincidentally when the other guy who does the Spider-Man/x-23 fic resumed his, if he reads this I love his story by the way im glad you;re back.
Seriously, check out "the amazing spider of the x-men' I really like it.
Anyways, any X-men, fans, Spidey fans, FF fans and other character fans who will appear in this story, know that most in this story will be their own character where we know what they want and their desires. This chapter was really slow because I really wanted to flesh out that these characters are also People, Peter Parker is a teenage boy, Laura Kinney is a teenage girl, so on so fourth, these characters are magical not just because they are super heroes but because they are also people who we can relate too.
I plan on having more chapters like this in the future too.
Anyways, any girls that still read this I'd like your opinion on how I portray Laura because I'm a guy, there's some nuance and shit when it comes to being a girl that I don't really know. I really want her, and PEter, and the rest of the cast to really be people we can relate too.
Also I wont be making the same mistakes like other fics, though Peter and Laura are kinda Op for their league, they will get fucked, like fucked hard cause being a hero is a tough journey, Johnny too cause if you didn;t know, I'm going to make him a part of the main cast if he isn't already.
The next chapter has already been mostly written, I just gotta make a new doc and clean up a lot of it and run it through Grammarly and then proof read it for like 5x for errors.
Thank you all so much for reviewing and following, you really made it hard for me to ignore this.
Also, I really appreciate how when I upload a document, some words straight up get deleted.
By the way, clarification, If I were to ever quit on this story it would be at the end of the first part of this whole thing and that's like, a lot, a lot, a lot of chapters.
I'm going to launch the next chapter in two's alongside corrections on the previous chapters.
Edit: After FFN deleted some words creating errors, I corrected what I could. Please point out some of the errors that I've missed, I know it's kinda shit, and I should do better, and I do try but I'm a one man show here so any help would be great.
By the way, I'm answering PM's again, so you can go message me there.
Shout outs to .