Spider-Man and Power Girl

Chapter 13: What makes a Home

Power Girl flew in the direction of where Spider-Man was leading her. She eventually found herself in a residential area, not exactly the best of neighborhoods. Granted there were much worst places to live in New York. This city wasn't exactly cheap to live in after all so living in this area might have been for budget reasons. It had that kind of feel to it, that you lived here because you could afford it just don't take a close look at the paint or else it would peel off in places.

"Window by the alley," he informed her as she did a quick scan to make sure no one was looking and flew down into it. The window he pointed out wasn't locked as she helped him inside.

She couldn't help but look around, it just screamed bachelor's apartment. She could see a few dishes still in the sink, some clothing still in a hamper that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in days. Some take out food boxes were piled into a small spot on the small dining table. She could see he didn't dust or hadn't in awhile in certain areas.

"Sorry for the mess, wasn't expecting company any time soon." He told her.

"At least you have your own place," Karen shrugged. "Still looking for a decent apartment now that I can afford something."

"Well, the neighborhood isn't too bad here," Peter offered. "There's a great Chinese place down the road and pizza place across from it."

Power Girl looked at again at the takeout boxes and noticed they were from the same two places. "Clearly, please tell me you eat more than takeout."

"Believe it or not I can cook…sometimes," Peter shrugged his one good shoulder. "Plus, I go visit a relative."

Good old Aunt May, if it wasn't for her Peter was sure he wouldn't get a decent meal most weeks. It wasn't like he had anything against cooking, it was just life got so busy that you needed something quick and on the go.

Karen assessed the apartment, the window was facing the alley, good idea so people on the street didn't see him coming and going, at least a couple of the windows did face the street. The living room was also the dinning room with a couch near the small circular dinning table with a TV in front of the couch. She tried not to look at anything on the walls or pictures. This was his place, and she wasn't going to snoop. Although she was interested in learning more about him, she would wait until he was ready.

Given what happened when he exposed his identity to the world, she could see him being a little hesitant to let the mask fall again so easily.

"Well, it's cozy at least, my apparently back home wasn't much bigger."

"Really? I thought you ran your own company, no high-rise apartment?"

"I like to keep myself grounded," Karen explained. "It just felt more normal at the time for me to live like that. Being a CEO was almost like a second secret identity. I just wanted a small place where I could be just me if that makes sense."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

"You got any medication you want?" Power Girl looked around.

"Yeah, I think it's in the bathroom," Spider-Man walked into the bedroom as she followed him seeing a messy bed with more clothing on the floor. Including what looked like a spare costume. "You should clean more often."

"Yeah, I know," He grunted feeling his rib flare up.

"You okay?" She asked a bit worried.

He sat on the bed, "Actually you think you can help me pull the top off and get me the ice pack in the fridge?"

"Sure thing," she gently helped him take the top of his costume off, she could see the angry bruising on his ribs, all the black and yellow markings looked nasty. She also couldn't help but notice just how well defined his body was. He wasn't all bulky like a weightlifter but more agile like a panther. She could say he was more Van Damme back in his prime than say Schwarzenegger.

Truth was she preferred those types of men to the big macho ones. Guys like Thor didn't really cut it for her. There was a reason Kickboxer was one of her favorite action films. That dance scene he did, and she loved it when he did those splits.

Peter was having a very hard time, not the whole having her in his apartment, okay maybe a little bit as she didn't know his real name or face, but more this was the first very attractive women he had in here since his last breakup. It also didn't help that when she knelt to help him take his top off, he had a perfect view of her cleavage. He tried, he really did try not to look but they were massive and right there in this face.

It was so hard not to look at her, her athletic yet sexy figure reminded him of a few women like She-Hulk or Captain Marvel but here she was right here in front of him. He could smell her perfume and smoke? Huh, he didn't peg her as a smoker. He was so thankful for the mask right now, he was pretty sure she would have caught him looking and how red his face was starting to feel would also be a giveaway.

Granted he knew nothing was happening but here was this blonde bombshell of a knockout who was sexy, smart, funny and it was so hard not to feel any kind of attraction.

'Don't go down there Peter, she's still trying to figure things out and you don't need to help mess that up.' He chided himself. Granted if anything did happen, he wouldn't be against it. 'Right, this isn't a dear penthouse moment…is that magazine even still around?'

Besides the odd thoughts he just felt so tired, he just wanted to lay back and let the world fade away.

"Okay I'll be right back," she told him as he nodded. She found the fridge easily enough and pulled open the freezer to see some frozen meals inside and in one section several ice packs. "How banged up does he get to need this many?"

She pulled out one and got back to the bedroom she was about to say something when she noticed him on his back already sleeping. She didn't have the heart to wake him as she put the icepack back before it started to thaw and gently pulled him higher onto the bed. He moaned something in his sleep, but she left him there. She noticed the gloves and figured she could at least take those off then she noticed the web shooters and did the same.

She knew that she could do more but anything more would be a violation of his trust. She wished she could at least take the mask off, but she couldn't. So, she pulled the covers onto him, which were thankfully mostly to one side of the bed, so she didn't have to move him again and placed it on him. She set the gloves on the table as she noticed in the corner a small worktable. Floating on over to avoid making any sounds she found a bunch of odds and ends.

There were some chemicals, some tools, and other things. Most likely he had used this to help make his tech. She placed one of the web shooters onto the table but held the other one up to look at it. It was a simple design, but she could see it was well thought out. There looked to be a pressure button that fit onto the palm.

'So that's how it works,' She tested it out but when nothing shot out, she frowned and tried a few more times. It took her a bit to find out it needed just the right pressure to fire. 'Ah, so that's why it doesn't go off when he's climbing, smart.'

Putting it away she again floated back into the main room in order to not wake him. She looked around the place and sighed, it really could use a woman's touch and he needed to clean it up a bit more in case company did show up.

Wait, did he not expect people to show up?

Looking around she noticed that his Spider-Man stuff was just on the floor and that little worktable wasn't very subtle. He did have actual friends that showed up right? Sure, maybe not the hero types as most people didn't know who Spider-Man was but normal friends though?

Looking around she noticed only a few pictures with faces in them, she quickly passed those by, not wanting to get into his business. She didn't want to know if his face was in there or not, but she only counted maybe two pictures. There were some personal items but that's it, the apartment was lived in, but it felt more like just a place he could relax in than a home.

There was a sense of isolation here.

She shook her head, maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe she was just projecting her own thoughts and feelings. Still the place could use a bit of a fix up, and he had helped her so much.

-Morning-

Peter groaned as his alarm was going off as he pulled the covers off him, he was wondering why the world looked strange until he realized his mask was still on. Pulling it off he looked around.

"Guess I must have fallen asleep," He yawned as he pulled off the rest of his costumed an paused. "Wait…didn't I have my gloves and shooters on?"

He looked around and saw them on the table as he blinked. "Huh…okay either I don't remember doing that or Power Girl did it?"

At least she didn't totally strip him, not that he would complain too much, but it didn't feel like she took the mask off at least. Going into the bathroom he checked himself out in the mirror. He needed a shave, but the bruising was nearly gone, a couple more hours and they shouldn't even be there anymore. He tested his arm and while sore it did feel much better. So, a quick shower and shave and he felt better as she put away his Spider-Man costume and got out one the spares. Actually, it looked like his last spare, he was going to have to wash the others and then repair the one from last night.

Going into the main room he stopped as it looked around, the place looked neater. The take out food boxes were gone, the placed was tidied up a little. He looked around, it wasn't like someone went to town cleaning or dusting or anything just made the place look somewhat more civilized. Peter found a note from a sticky pad on the fridge.

You really need to take better care of yourself. I threw out all that garbage, get some rest and get well soon.

~PG

"Huh, well that was nice of her," Peter said to himself. Looking around the place did look a bit nicer, he had been meaning to clean up but things just kept piling up. Looking at the clock on the wall he had time to make a decent breakfast and then change and get into work. First, he put his clothing away.

"Okay so laundry, maybe some shopping as I'm running out of a few things, also got to fix that suit from yesterday." Peter sighed at that last bit. That was always such a pain, granted he had learned how to sow simply out of necessity. All those early costumes really hadn't fit well, took him a year of practicing when he started out.

He grinned remembering that had asked Aunt May to show him as he said given their budget, he wanted to learn how to prolong how long his clothing lasted. It was a valid excuse that had worked, and she had no idea she was helping him learn how to make and fix his costumes. Thinking about May made him realize he should call her up later today too, he liked to call at least a minimum of once a week to catch up with her if he didn't see her in person.

Still, first things first and that was get dressed for work, then eat.

Across the city in the Baxter building Karen was already changed into her work clothing as she joined in on the family breakfast with the Fantastic Four, she had to admit that seeing this family together always was a warming sight to her. There was Reed helping Sue with the kids' breakfast, Ben was already digging into his foot talking to the kids with Johnny coming to the table with his own food.

It brought back very old memories of home, with her parents when she had been a kid. Those memories were precious to her as they were now the only things left of her home. Seeing the smiling and laughing faces made her ache for a home like this. Sure, they made her feel welcomed but she didn't feel 'at home', she was a guest and she always felt like a bit of an outsider.

Of course, Sampson told her that these feelings were only because she put them there as a defensive mechanism because she was scared of getting too close to people in case some other comic shift happened and once again her life would be uprooted. This had happened to her twice already so of course she would be guarded against that.

But still, it was nice to have something warm to come back to like this family that took her in. She didn't think she could ever repay them for their kindness like they had but she would do anything she could in the future.

"So, Karen how are things at work?" Sue asked her as they sat down.

"Going well, not crazy about my boss but I got some co-workers that are friendly enough," Karen told her. "Although now that I actually have a bank account, I think I can finally start looking for my own place."

"Does that mean you're leaving?" Franklin asked looking disappointed.

"Can't live here forever, I got to start making my own way in the world," Karen explained to him. Although she was starting to think the boy wanted her here because he might be having a bit of a crush on her. Johnny once said that Franklin had a similar phase with a woman named Kitty Pryde but he grew out of it. She was sure he would too with this. Besides, she needed to start rebuilding her life again.

"Well, if you need any help don't be afraid to call on us," Sue told her.

"You got dat right," Ben nodded his head and crossing his arms. "Yous been a part of dis family for a short time, but ya are always welcome here Blondie."

"Yeah, and if you need help moving in, I'm sure I can help out," Johnny smiled at her.

"Oh what, yous gonna lift a couch with dem toothpicks you call arms?" Ben shot at him.

"At least I won't draw attention," Johnny fired back in a laid-back manner. Even if he put on a hat and trench coat Ben drew in a lot of attention.

A part of Kara was going to miss this childish rivalry between the two men, sometimes it seemed like Sue and Richard had four kids instead of just two. She smiled to herself sipping her coffee. The rest of breakfast went by in a blur as she was off to work. Thankfully she wasn't late this time, and it was actually a dull day.

It was after work when she had finally started to hunt down a place to life. She had been making a list of locations over the last few days and she had finally finalized the list. The first place she called turned out had already been rented out. Disappointing but she stroked it off her list and continued on. The next place when she looked at it something didn't feel right.

It was when she looked at the walls with her x-ray vision, she could the mold from what she guessed was water damage from a leaking pipe. It wasn't the only one, the pipes in the building were old and falling apart with only patch jobs keeping them going. She knew that this place was going to have constant water pipe issues living here. Now the lower renting price made sense and when she innocently asked about water issues the landlord said he never heard of any issues.

She didn't need to listen to his heartbeat to know that was a lie, of course she did anyway, but still her statement stood. She told him she could think about it and was wonder if she should report it to someone? That can't be safe or healthy for the pipes to be in that condition.

The third place was at first sight looked to be okay, that was until the train ran by them. The Landlord of this building told her it was thankfully not too close to bother the tenants and they would have been right normally. But with her hearing it might as well been right next to the building. Sometimes having enhanced senses was a huge pain and she didn't need to hear a train from the above ground subway system keeping her awake.

The fourth place finally looked like she was getting somewhere, no trains, and when she looked the insides of the walls looked decent enough.

"So, this is a single's apartment, it is just you, correct?" The woman asked.

Karen nodded. "Yes, although does it allow pets? I'm thinking of getting a cat."

"Yes, it is pet friendly, but you have to control the animals," the landlord stated. "We've had owners to let their pets' barks for hours at night and they had to be removed because of all the complaints from the other tenants."

Karen was happy to hear that, too many times people just let their pets bark or howl or something for hours just ignoring it not thinking how annoying it was for people that lived next to them. Karen looked around the empty place, the front door opened into a living room/dinning room with a small kitchen to the side, the only windows were there as they looked out into the street. The other room was large bedroom with a decent sized bathroom. The tub had a shower so she could take both, no windows but there was a vent for if it got humid with hot water running.

The single closet was a large two door one that slide with a mirrored surface and looking in she would have plenty or room. Not that she had plenty of clothing mind you, but it would help when she got more. There were no windows as this wasn't a corner apartment, but it was on the top floor, and she noticed a skylight.

"We installed those a few years back to all the apartments on the roof, which no one has access to except by staff, so you don't have to worry about other tenants going up there and looking down." The landlord explained seeing Karen looking up at it.

To Karen that was good to hear, that meant she could use this to easily get in and out of her building. It was so high up that you would need a ladder to clean it but that wasn't an issue for her. She could see the latch and that it opened out.

"Some people use a broom to open it up during the summer," she then pointed to the AC unit on the wall. "We also installed that as tenants were accidentally breaking the skylights by doing that."

Karen didn't mind since she could survive extreme heat and cold, but it was a nice thought if she ever had guests or a pet. The skylight itself was large enough for her to get through without issue as it was a curved style that swung out open. Also, with no one going up to the roof she might not have to worry about someone watching her in her apartment again. The building next to them had no windows facing this side so no one from there would be watching her through it from there.

It wasn't that big but then again, she didn't need a palace to live in. This could be a very nice homey place to live once she got settled in. The asking price was a bit more than she had hoped but the location and everything made it worth it, especially that skylight.

The place also came with a fridge and stove but that was it, she could live with that.

"What about laundry facilities?" Karen asked.

"That's on the first floor, every tenant had a key to get into it and it locks when it closes so, please be careful of that."

Karen nodded, again that was nice although she would prefer a washer and drying on her own. She guessed whenever she had to clean her costumes, she was going to have to do it late at night when everyone was asleep. Maybe Friday night or Saturday night since she wouldn't have to get to work. Going to a laundromat with her superhero outfit wasn't exactly subtle anyway.

"So, what do you think?"

Karen looked around and she could already picture how she would set this place up. Location didn't really mean much to her since she could just fly anywhere in the city, what she really wanted was a place she could privately sneak in and out of and enough space for her to relax in when she got the chance to make this place seem like a home.

Home.

That's a word that stung her deeply, she was rebuilding her home once more. She hoped this time it stuck and wasn't washed away like some kind of sandcastle on the beach with the tide coming in. This wasn't her world, her friends gone, everything she knew rewritten over like some kind of cosmic VHS tape that was recorded over.

But this was a good start, she already had a job, was making friends now she needed a place all her own. A place she could feel comfortable in, a place she could make al her own and find comfort in. Yeah, yeah, she could totally see herself here. The nice wood flooring was nice and maybe she could pain the walls later or something.

"You know what…I think I'll take it." Karen nodded her head.

"Great we can get the paperwork started up and you can move in, in a few days? I have to make sure the place it cleaned up before I can rent it out."

"I think I can do that," Karen was going to have to get a few things first. A bed, maybe a cheap table and chairs and some other things. It wouldn't be much at the start, but it would be something to start with. It was also going to be tight for a little bit with what little savings she had but damn it, she could do this. She had faced against monsters, aliens, world ending threats and she wasn't going to fold with everyday life stuff just because it was going to be difficult.

"Good, let's get you your key to the door, the mailbox and front door." The landlord stated.

"Oh, I guess I should ask but any neighbors I should know about?" Karen asked her as they left the apartment. "Not really, a few quiet types, there is a couple a few floors down that seem to think yelling is a sport. Had to call the cops a few times for noise complaints but thankfully nothing more than that. There are also a couple of people that like to play music, but they at least have a decency to do it at proper times during the day."

"Someone keeps smoking pot in the fire exit, I don't know who but when I catch them, I'm going to give them hell. Stupid fool set off the fire alarm at one in the morning of all things. That's about it, the super if named Fred, you'll see him around fixing things, his office is on the first floor too. I'll show that and the laundry room to you on the way there. Other than that, I thankfully got no major problem tenants, at least not for a couple of years now."

"You have before?" Karen asked politely.

"This is New York, the number of strange things that have happened to this city is insane. Surprised more people aren't screwed up, had one person put tinfoil all over the apartment because he thought the aliens were listening to his thoughts. Seriously, can you believe that?"

Kara had to fight back a laugh. "Yeah, I mean aliens living in New York?"

"Exactly, way better cities for them to live in although I wouldn't be surprised if some did live here."

Kara knew of several other aliens back home that had at one point. She also remembered Martian Manhunter, hearing about the tin foil tenant made her wonder if there were any people on her old Earth that feared him because he was an alien telepath? She never thought about it until this moment, wait did people think that about her when they found out she was an alien?

She was pretty sure people in this world didn't know she was an alien, at least not yet. Well, it's not like she considered it a major issue anyway. People will learn it when they learn it. That was something for the future, in the here and now? She just wanted to continue building up her life again.

TBC…