Chapter 22: Full Moon ShenanigansNotes:I live! And as of friday I have internet again. I am now a haunted villager. Because apparently the town has less then six hundred people in it making it a village. Also it's hilariously creepy. I'm talking air raid siren that just goes off every night, a rich history of businesses burning down regularly for the last hundred years, legit being called 'Hell on Earth', name of the town actually meaning 'cursed or evil place'. I cannot even with how ridiculously over the top this place is. But I'm back and updates shall resume. Also I love my tiny new house.
Chapter TextDaisy dropped onto a fire escape. She blinked as she saw what was definitely a kids birthday party going on inside the apartment. And it looked like a small army of elementary school kids were staring out at her. She held up a hand. "Sup?"
The squeals started then. A beleaguered and vaguely exhausted looking father came skidding into the living room and spotted her.
The two of them made eye contact. Daisy accepted what was about to happen as the father stepped over and opened the window. He cleared his throat while waving his hands at the kids to get them to quiet down. "Quake, uh..do you have time to have some cake?"
She softened at the expression on the birthday kid's face. "How'd you know cake was my favorite?"
"Thank you, my daughter is a big fan." He stepped back, leaving the window open.
Daisy climbed in and spotted the girl with the tightest braids and a party cone hat on. "I'm guessing you're the birthday girl?"
"Hi! I'm Diamond and I'm six!" The girl was practically vibrating.
She smiled and held out her gauntleted hand for a fist bump. "Nice to meet you Diamond. So, are we playing birthday games?"
"We're playing Just Dance on dad's Wii!" Diamond excitedly exclaimed, every first grader in the room anxiously waited for her response.
Daisy was eating cake when one of the kids hopped up next to her on the couch. "Do you think I'll have a Spiderman someday?"
"What do you mean?" Daisy looked at the gap toothed girl in pigtails.
Diamond eagerly spoke up. "He's your Prince Charming right?"
"Ah." Daisy set her paper party plate to the side. She was fairly sure the dad was still filming his daughter's birthday party. And god she didn't want to fuck this up. "Spiderman and I aren't together like that. We're partners. I trust him and he trusts me. But we're not in love. I know there's some photos that make us seem like we are."
A boy with face painted stars on his cheeks spoke up. "But you held hands!"
"We did." Daisy smiled. "I was very worried because the villain we stopped was very dangerous. I don't know about you but I like hugging my friends."
A little girl with pigtails actually teared up. "But love!"
"Just because Spiderman and I aren't in love doesn't mean love isn't real." She reached out and gently bumped the girl's cheek. "One of my best friends crossed the universe to rescue his girlfriend from another planet. He believed she could be saved when all of SHIELD had given up."
Daisy looked around the spellbound little kids. "Love is complicated and sometimes it is big and epic like in the stories. And sometimes it's not and we get it wrong. Which you should never feel bad if you ever fall for the wrong person. You just have to remember you deserve someone who you can trust, depend on, makes you laugh, and who treats you like a princess or prince."
"Like how Anna loved Hans but then loved Kristoff?" Pigtails asked, her face scrunched slightly.
She smiled. "Yeah exactly like that." Her voice was serious as she looked at all the kids. "And I'm a superhero right?" Daisy waited for the awestruck eyes to nod. "So if anyone tells you you are weak or silly for loving a Hans you tell them even heroes like Quake make mistakes."
"But you've got powers." Facepoint boy protested.
Daisy nodded. "Everyone makes mistakes. So you just have to remember to get back up and keep trying." She looked around at the kids. "Besides you've all got a few years before you start finding your prince charmings and princesses and stumbling on a few Hans'."
"But I want to fall in love." Pigtails sighed dramatically. Several of the little girls nodding in agreement.
She laughed at the kids. "Just because you're not old enough for romance doesn't mean you're too young for love yeah? I mean don't you all love your friends, your parents?"
The dad beamed at her and handed her another piece of cake. "You're pretty smart there Quake."
"I try." She laughed. "Now, at least two of you haven't kicked my butt at dancing games yet."
Daisy tossed a beer at Hunter. "Sup, Darcy in?"
"Yeah." Hunter popped the cap off the beer. "You hear Bobbie's working as Potts's new secretary?"
Daisy grinned. "That's amazing." She looked at her friend. "We should all go get a beer some night."
"Sounds good Tremors. And for what it's worth, I like that your new dad is just hiring us all instead of trying to kill us. It's a nice change of pace." Hunter knocked back his beer.
She rolled her eyes and moved into the lab past him. Daisy took in the small army of tiny robot roombas. "Planning on vacuuming the entire tower?"
"Preparing for Tony's revenge. He's still trying to get the suit to stop playing Baby Shark." Darcy's voice was muffled, her entire top half inside the car she was doing...something.
"I have the new suit pics as my screensaver." Daisy leaned against the car. "So what's the car do? Cause this thing looks like it should be space worthy."
Darcy's voice came from the depths of the vehicle. "I'm retrofitting it as a manned probe for sticking through man controlled wormholes into space." One of Darcy's legs kicked up slightly as she grunted. "Well it'll be mice and shit first."
Daisy blinked. "You know your science has gotten ninety percent more terrifying since you got a budget."
"Thanks, I've had ideas but never been able to actualize them." Darcy wiggled her way out from under the hood. She grinned. "So what brings my little sis all the way to the Tower?"
Daisy shoved her hands into her pockets. "Work done, phone alerted me to a car chase which car's don't really run me over. Then when leaving the scene I got abducted by some adorable six year olds and I think I gave them a morality lecture on love using Frozen as a template. So I needed some pain killers, cause quake powers. But Peter's still in class, May's working, I don't have another class at the gym till tomorrow… Need me to blow some shit up?"
"Want to help write a program for the roombas? I'm planning on making them little claw arms. They'll be my adorable army of minions." Darcy grinned.
She considered her sister. "So what's the real reason we're instigating a full scale prank war between the Avengers?"
"We need them focused on something that isn't arguing over civil rights and the logistics of policing enhanced. Besides Clint and Natasha have totally been sneaking out and doing something with Hill. Like I wouldn't notice that." Darcy scoffed.
Daisy grinned. "I talked to Coulson, you were right. SHIELD's had twenty inhuman recruits in the last month. And I may not like the media stuff, sets my teeth on edge really, but it's helping."
"Told ya. All you spies and corporate goons are missing the point. It's not about intel. Its giving your enemies to the vultures and dumping out a metric ton of happy nothing to satisfy any questions aimed at us." Darcy waved a hand airily. "There's too many Spiderquake memes, Spiderman tricks vids, interviews with innocent inhumans, soon to be added to with a deluge of Avengers prank videos. Top story if you google Tony is his mystery new kiddo. Meanwhile the military and our government keep having expose after expose on corruption and human experimentation and Hydra infestation."
"I am kinda terrified of you and I make earthquakes with my hands." Daisy was only partially joking. "I'm pretty sure Director Mace would have killed to have you help him with his stupid PR campaign."
Darcy hummed. "He was doing a pretty solid job building up public relations post Hydragate."
"Hey, he's grateful to be alive and on seizure meds." Daisy hugged her sister. "You did the right thing, he's alive because of what you and Tony did to the framework. He sent you a fruit basket, remember?"
"Yeah." Darcy hugged her back before stepping back with a slightly shaky breath, a slightly plastic looking smile on her face. "I'm kinda awesome."
"The awesomest." Daisy agreed carefully. "You're coming home tonight. I'll fly us there."
Darcy groaned, visibly relaxing as they moved past Mace's trauma from dying in the framework. "I love you, but traveling by quake is literally worse than being swung around by Peter. And Peter transport feels like being a ping pong ball."
"Well Peter is spending the night at Ned's. And I'm harder for the paps to trace, also we can leave from the helipad and no one needs to know you left the tower at all." Daisy grinned, it was hilarious how loud Darcy screamed. "And I love you too." Which...yeah she really meant that.
////
Tony was feeling maudlin, which wasn't like him. But for the first time leaving for Malibu didn't feel like a breath of fresh air. "What are those kids doing to me?"
"More proof Tony Stark has a heart." Pepper stepped to his side and pressed a kiss to his temple. "They're good kids."
He poured himself some scotch. "I don't know how to deal with the kid."
"Peter?" Pepper pulled out her evening lotion. Which, it was going to be an early morning then. "Have you considered a board game night?"
Tony blinked at that. "I could build a game room. Kids like games."
"That's not...sure Tony. Just try not to go too overboard." Pepper stole his glass and took a drink before handing it back. "Maybe ask Clint what his kids like?"
Tony scoffed. "Please, birdman's kids are tiny and live on a farm. They're homeschooled nerds. My kids are way more awesome."
"They're certainly all brilliant." Pepper agreed.
He stared out the window. "They're smart in different ways than me. Think differently."
"I don't know, Darcy certainly is a lot like you." Her hand pressed to his back lightly before she moved away to the bed.
Tony shook his head slightly. "She sees machines as easier to piece together people. And she cares about people, understands them better than I ever have."
"She'll certainly be a better CEO than you were." Pepper replied dryly from where she was carefully lotioning her legs. It was just part of her routine, and one he wasn't going to interrupt tonight.
Setting his glass aside he made his way to the bed. "They're all brilliant, which is to be expected as my offspring. But I still want to protect them. Maybe a new AI to help them out?"
"They are doing a pretty good job of protecting themselves, and they've called you when they needed help. The good sense genes clearly skipped you but not them. They got your height for sure though." Her voice was full of gentle teasing.
He chuckled lowly as he climbed into bed. "I don't know, I picked you, so I'm doing something right. And ow, I'm above average with the height. They're lucky they got my genes."
"Charm will get you nowhere tonight." But she smiled as she set her bottle of lotion aside and joined him in the bed.
Tony laid down staring up at the ceiling. "Have you ever thought about kids?"
Pepper took a second to reply, and then her voice was cautious. "Yes, not seriously for a while now. With everything with SI, you, it just never seemed like the time."
"I never wanted kids. Didn't want to fuck them up like Howard fucked me up." Tony couldn't bring himself to look at Pepper's face, not when he knew it would be full of sympathy he didn't want right now. "But maybe...maybe it won't be so bad."
////
Yuri wanted to bang her head against her steering wheel. She hadn't realized Spiderman was a talker...but oh god he was a talker. Also the city was just full of crazy, fuck fullmoon shifts. Volunteering for this was a shit idea. But hunting a werewolf wasn't exactly going to get done by anyone else.
-"This is awesome! I haven't gotten to do this much stuff in one shift of heroing before!"- Spiderman chirped over comm he'd handed her before zipping off to do circuits of the neighborhood. -"Spidercop is on the job!"-
Yuri let her head thunk against her steering wheel. "Please stop."
-"But Spidercop is awesome! And I stopped a mugging, a car theft, and got that lady safely back to her apartment."-
How did Quake put up with this? "No voices, just no voices. Did no one teach you to only comm for relevant information?"
Yuri slapped a pair of cuffs on her second streaker of the night. "If you pee in the back of the cruiser, I swear to god."
Streaker giggled. "I'm a legend!"
"You really aren't." She steered him towards the car with a hand on his disturbingly sweaty shoulder. "They'll have pants for you at the station."
Yuri gave his shoulder a shove as she opened the back of the car. God she was seeing so much more of this man than she ever wanted to. "Just get in."
Streaker just kept giggling.
She clicked her comm back on...oh god he was still talking.
-"The streets were rough but Spidercop was there."- He was ridiculously trying to make his voice deeper.
Yuri climbed into her squad car. This was the actual worst.
The radio crackled to life -"I've got a 10-91 at the bodega on Jackson Ave."-
She hit her comm. "Spiderman, we've got an animal report on Jackson. I'm heading there now, come in from the north. Hopefully we'll catch it."
-"Oh wow, yeah no I'm going. We're going to catch a werewolf."-
Yuri flipped on the siren. She glanced at the Streaker in the back. "We're making a pit stop." And then she hit the gas.
////
Peter stuck to the side of a building. His goggles switched to night vision as he looked at the alley. He squinted his eyes. "Got something in the alley behind the apartments past the bodega."
-"I'm two minutes out."- Yuri replied.
He jumped to one wall of the alley. "Sup, you're looking a little hairy over there?"
The lurking shape looked up.
"Oh yeah.. That's a werewolf. Hey sir! You a murderous and animalistic werewolf? Or just a murderous werewolf?" He yelped and jumped to the other wall, barely missing the flash of claws and slobbering teeth.
Peter grabbed onto the brick and scrambled up. "Oh just total murderous rage. Cool cool cool cool cool cool."
The werewolf snarled, slobber flying from its mouth. It leapt, claws digging into the brick. And jesus it was able to crawl up the walls.
"Oh that's some Night of the Living dead A reel stuff." Peter webbed one of its hands...paws? to the wall. "Stay puppy."
It threw its head back and howled. And then ripped it's hand straight through the webbing.
Peter threw himself into a summersault over the head of the grey blur. "Knuckle buckets!" He scrambled up the side of the building. "YURI! It's very fluffy and very angry!"
-"I have a tranq gun and dog pole!"-
"Come one wolfy, I'm not tasty." He dived over the edge of the roof and rolled to his feet, just missing the wolf slamming where he'd just been.
He hopped backwards shooting webbing at the wolf. Kicking off, he swung around the wolf, wrapping the werewolf in webbing. "Please work!" Peter landed on the roof again.
Peter felt a flash of fear as the wolf snapped his webs like they were made of string. "That's not good. Have you considered anger management? I hear it works wonders."
"Bad Doggy!" Peter punched the werewolf in the face.
It's head snapped to the side. Then it snarled and struck out.
Peter cried out as he went flying off the roof. His webs hit the side of the roof. "Oh you are not happy!" He didn't release the ends of his webbing though. Letting it stretch taunt and then snap him back towards the werewolf foot first.
They both went flying off the roof. The wolf grabbed Peter's leg, claws digging into it.
"NO!" And then the air was whistling past them. Peter managed to block a swipe for his chest, and then punched the werewolf in the face. Which is when they crashed through a car windshield.
Peter felt sick as he wheezed, rolling off of the glass and onto the concrete. "Ow."
A gun went off three times. "You doing ok Spiderman?"
"I'm so grounded." He groaned. Peter rolled over and started to crawl back to his feet.
Yuri grabbed the back of his suit and hauled him the rest of the way up. "Come on. We've got a werewolf to stop."
"He's kinda Furryious." Peter winced. He was so dead when Daisy and May found out about this… he was gonna have to steal Darcy's apartment in the tower.
Yuri let out a sound of deep resignation. "How old are you?"
"Look out!" Peter yanked Yuri out of the way of a blur of angry fur and claws.
She twisted and shot off another shot.
Peter switched his web cartridges to the net cartridges. "Hey Wolfy! Over here!"
"What are you doing that for?" Yuri snapped.
He noted that was very much not a tranq gun...oh goodie their werewolf could survive being shot by real bullets. "We can't let it run off and get the munchies."
"Right, keep taunting the werewolf." Yuri brought her gun up to bare on the creature. "Hamper it."
Peter felt shaky, his leg throbbing. "I can do that." He started firing nets made of web fluid, while jumping up. Spinning he arched over the creature, web one leg, web the other. Web them again, and again, and again even as he went flying back over the werewolf.
He grinned as he webbed the wolf's furry arms to its sides. Raising his arm he meant to hit it again when he saw the bike messenger. "Woah! STOP!" Peter launched himself, switching cartridges on one hand, he webbed a trashcan and yanked it.
The can crashed into the bike messenger, sending them both flying out of the way of the werewolf. Unfortunately that left him immediately in front of the werewolf, who had just ripped his arms out of the single web net.
Peter choked as a furry hand grabbed him by the throat. "Good Puppy?"
"SPIDERMAN!" Yuri yelled, running for them.
He slapped his web shooter against it, and the dendrotoxin dart went in. Peter choked as claws ripped into him. "Ow." And then he hit the ground.
Chapter 23: Behold, a Dumb DumbNotes:Sup!
Chapter TextYuri yanked her jacket off while dropping to her knees besides Spiderman. She slapped the jacket down on his stomach and pressed down with her body weight. "Spiderman! What do you need?"
Spiderman wheezed, his blood hot under her hands. His hand flopped to his side. "Daisy."
She frowned but realized he was going for a slim pocket in his suit. Thank god, she wasn't sure if she needed to call for an ambulance or not. Did he heal? "I got it." Yuri held the jacket down, slowing the bleeding. With her other hand she unzipped his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. "Thank fuck."
"It hurts. It really hurts." Spiderman's voice was tight, his stupid goggles were jarred to one side.
Yuri swiped at the screen and pulled up the numbers. She saw the name Daisy and hit call. Cramming the phone between her shoulder and ear. "I'm calling Daisy, you're going to be ok. Just hang in there."
"I stopped him yeah?" His voice was wet.
She nodded. "You got him. You did really good. Best partner I've ever had, even if you like puns way too much."
Spiderman's voice was scared. "I don't want to die." He sucked in panicked breaths.
"You're not going to die." Yuri grabbed the bottom of his mask and yanked it up over his mouth so he could breathe easier. "I promise you're not going to die."
She would have kept talking but the phone stopped ringing and a voice came through.
-"Kid? You need me to come pick you up?"- A female voice asked.
Yuri felt a thread of alarm at the word 'kid'. There was no way. "Spiderman is hurt, do I call an ambulance?"
-"Stay on the line."- The voice cut out.
Spiderman struggled limply. "I can't see."
"That's, fuck it." Yuri adjusted Spiderman's goggles so they were lined up with his eyes again. "See, your mask was just messed up. Right? You're good. Daisy is coming." She winced. "I think."
He let out a whine of pain.
Yuri knew she was starting to panic slightly. But this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He was just supposed to be some super powered back up. Hell she liked New York's resident heroes. As much as she had been dreaming of throttling him, well she agreed with their version of vigilante justice. "Hang in there. You're going to be irritating me on comms about your weird Noir Spider drama in no time."
She wasn't sure how she stayed there kneeling over a bleeding Spiderman before the air began to vibrate. And then there was a crash, filled with red light. And Quake was there.
Quake hissed as she realized the situation. "Pietro please."
There was a blueish blur and Yuri found herself knocked to the side. And then Spiderman was gone, just some blood stained asphalt.
"What happened?" Quake's voice was harsh as she kicked at the still unconscious werewolf. Actually Yuri could feel her teeth vibrating in her head.
"Enough." And shit that was the Scarlet Witch grabbing Quake's shoulder and pulling her back. "Go, I've got this. He'll need you."
The two heroes stood there staring each other in the eye. Finally Quake nodded. She took a step backwards and then launched herself into the sky.
Yuri let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The very air felt lighter. She fell back a step.
Scarlet Witch..her name was Wanda? turned to face her. "Are you injured officer?"
"Detective." She corrected automatically. "Sorry, no I'm fine. What..is Spiderman going to be ok?"
Wanda, or she was still sparking with red magic whirling around her like some sort of otherworldly being. "My brother has speed. Spiderman will be fine." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the unconscious werewolf, it's legs still webbed to the road. "What is this creature?"
Yuri watched uneasily as the woman knelt besides the creature. "It's a werewolf. I was tracking reports around the last several full moons. I needed enhanced backup so I asked Spiderman."
"I see." Wanda's hand rose and red light leached into the creature. "Oh you poor man. You took something you should not have."
And huh, werewolf had been wearing a necklace. It'd been impossible to see with all the fur. But now it was rising, surrounded in red light. And then it snapped into Scarlet Witch's hand. She looked up at Yuri. "He should return to his normal form with the sun, for good this time."
Yuri winced. "I'm gonna need the necklace for evidence."
"It's not of this world." Scarlet Witch held out the necklace dropping it into her hand.
Yuri frowned, it was cold to the touch, the gem embedded in it surprisingly heavy. It was over...but. "Tell Spiderman to swing by, when he's better." She looked up at the far more terrifying hero than Spiderman. But it needed to be said.
////
Wanda was barely keeping from rushing as she made her way to the medical floor of the tower. She ignored the various people and went straight in. Her eyes found Pietro first. He was laying on a medical gurney with an IV in one arm. But he was fiddling with a phone and no one was bothering him. So he was fine. She could see in his face someone had given him painkillers. "Pietro."
"Heeeeyyyyy." His head lulled towards her. "Doctor said I can go home in the morning."
She reached out straightening his hair. "You didn't hurt anything too badly running?"
"Eh, I knew you would need me." His face was oddly serious. "The kid will be alright. Dr Cho is making new skin for him."
Wanda sighed in relief. She looked over to where several medical types were circling a bed. There was a glimpse of red and blue. Daisy was standing guard, her entire figure looking like it was carved from stone. "But Peter will be alright?"
"The creature tore through his stomach muscles, several puncture wounds on his leg. But the doctor said he was lucky, none of his intestines were badly damaged. Lots of blood loss though." Pietro reached up pulling her hand away from his head, and pulling her attention back to him. "Ms Parker isn't here yet." His voice was meaningful then.
She stilled, her powers automatically connecting them. Wanda leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Thank you."
"Eh, no permanent damage. Just pulled some muscles...all of my muscles." Pietro grinned up at her. "But I get the good stuff and a cute nurse to give me juice. I'll be back on my feet tomorrow."
Wanda softened. "You're ridiculous brate." She gave his arm a final squeeze.
She walked cautiously, till she was standing besides Daisy. "Is there anything I can do?"
Daisy didn't move, her feelings a tightly controlled storm around her that Wanda knew better than to touch. "What happened?"
"Detective Yuri flagged him down and asked for help with her werewolf case over a week ago. She thought she needed enhanced assistance. He agreed. They had the creature till a bike messenger almost rode into the fight." Wanda had a bad feeling about how Daisy was going to take this.
Daisy twitched slightly. "Oh."
Wanda reached and took Daisy's hand.
Daisy finally moved, threading their fingers together and squeezing. "He's going to be ok."
"He is." Wanda agreed.
They stood there for who knows how long. Wanda could properly see Peter now. He was out, an oxygen mask strapped to his face, his whole midsection wrapped in bandages and gauze. But he was getting some color back. It felt like time had stopped, at least until the door burst open and May arrived. "Peter!"
"Hey, no he's ok." Daisy caught May. "I promise he's going to be ok."
Wanda went to pull back only to find Daisy was still hanging onto her hand. So she stilled and stayed there as May hugged Daisy as tightly as possible. She stayed when May released Daisy to go sit on the edge of Peter's bed. Wanda just...stayed.
Wanda wasn't sure why she woke up, but she did wake up. Blinking blearily she looked around the room. She was wedged half sitting, pressed against Pietro. Daisy had clearly passed out at the foot of the same bed. Wanda blinked as she realized Daisy was using Pietro as a human pillow as well. She smiled slightly, and eased herself out of the narrow and uncomfortable bed. It was as she was considering finding a bathroom that she realized what had woken her up.
Peter was groggily looking at May who was passed out in a chair next to his bed.
She padded over. Reaching out she caught one of his fumbling hands before he could jostle himself. "Hey, you're in Stark Tower, medical floor."
"Wan?" His voice slurred.
Wanda prevented him from pulling out the oxygen tube under his nose. "Easy, you were hurt." She kept her voice even and soft.
He settled frowning.
"Sleep, you're safe." She didn't add that the morning would be rough. Or that there would be consequences. Wanda waited till he drifted off again. She sighed looking at the clock. Four am. Well, she could go get coffee. No one was going to stay asleep much longer. She could feel their dreams fading. Coffee...and maybe hunt down Darcy.
////
Peter winced, they really hadn't done more than use Dr Cho's artificial skin to piece his shredded skin back together. They'd had to do more to repair his abdominal muscles. Which it had all hurt, but what made it worse was the air of disappointment. No one had said anything about how stupid he'd been. Which was...not a good sign. He'd never been so stupid no one actually got mad at him for it before.
"Three days bedrest, with your healing factor we'll talk about the next step then." Dr Cho looked at Aunt May. "We're keeping him on a vitamin rich, protein high and easy to digest diet while he's here. But you can take him home after dinner if you want. I just want to make sure there's no signs of his body rejecting the grafts."
Aunt May nodded. "Of course, medications?"
"He'll have his last dose of the prescription pain meds with dinner. After that you can give him ibuprofen as needed. If there's any change you can always call me." Dr Cho patted his leg. "And stay off that leg of yours. If you do that, everything looks promising though." She looked between them and seemed to notice the… general air. "I'll leave you to it then. If you need anything just hit the button." Dr Cho paused on her way out by Daisy, but she didn't say anything and left.
Daisy was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and that was very much a gun holstered on one hip. She was plainly standing guard. And she hadn't so much as cracked a smile since he'd woken up. Or spoken to anyone.
"Why don't you work on finishing off your jello." Aunt May set his tray back on his lap.
He nodded. "Sure." It was suffocating. Peter prodded at his jello, but took a bite. It was...well he was not a fan but would rather eat his own tongue than complain about anything at the moment. "So...uh is Darcy here?"
"She's down in the lab with Tony." Aunt May gave him a pointed look. "They both ducked in briefly while you were unconscious last night. We've all been really worried."
Peter winced at that. "I'm really sorry."
"What do you think you did wrong?" Aunt May looked at him, and oh god her eyes were red from crying earlier and it made him want to sink through the floor into a hole of misery.
He picked at the blanket laying over his lap. "I lied and said I was at Ned's when I wasn't. And I didn't tell anyone I was out as Spiderman. And I didn't have backup, or have any way of asking for help if I got in over my head." His shoulders curled inwards. "I was stupid."
"Yes you were." Aunt May agreed. "Are you ever going to do it again?"
Peter touched his midriff. "No."
"Then we won't talk about it again." Aunt May leaned forward and kissed his head. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Her voice cracked.
He hugged her as best he could with a tray on his lap, her awkwardly above him. But he managed it, his eyes burning with tears. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"I know." Aunt May hugged him back before pulling back. "Now, I already called the school and said you have chicken pox."
Peter blinked. "Uh… I had chicken pox when I was four?"
"Well high school doesn't accept being clawed by werewolf as an excuse for missing class." Aunt May gave him a look.
He settled, it wasn't like she was wrong. His eyes darted to Daisy, was very pointedly not looking at him. Peter ate his jello. He didn't deserve the understanding and kindness from Aunt May. Definitely not forgiveness from Daisy after everything she'd done for him. So he ate his jello.
Peter looked up from the soap opera May had put on the tv. Which he knew she had put it on knowing it bored him to tears. Passive aggressive for the win apparently. So the sound of the door was a sound of salvation. He beamed, a relieved exhale at the sight of Darcy.
"Hey Dumb Dumb." Darcy shoved a drink of some kind, probably super surgery and comforting into Daisy's hands.
He accepted the new nickname. "Hey."
"So I have news. MrWolfy is Jameson from the Daily Bugal's son. He got a magic rock on the moon when he was doing his astronaut stuff. He's being held for observation for a month, but he's doing fine. So the bullets, dendrotoxin and two entire cartridges of webbing and he's doing better than you. And some bozo filmed most of the thing." She passed May a cup of something hot and yummy looking. "News is calling him Man-Wolf. Which..who names these idiots?"
Peter relaxed, she wasn't mad at him. "Man-Wolf?" That was actually really bad.
"Yup." Darcy was jittery, and now that she was closer, sitting on the end of his bed actually, he could see the dark circles under her eyes. "Now, everyone is freaking out about the health of their favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman."
He accepted he wasn't going to be wearing the suit again for a while. And he wasn't going to fight it. Not to mention even with the painkillers he felt sore. "Uh...I can't really go back out there for...awhile. If I'm still allowed out there."
"We'll slap your mask on you for one of your videos later." Darcy reached out and flicked his nose. "Tony and I are fixing your suit so this never happens again."
Peter blinked. "What?"
"Bulletproof clearly isn't going to cut it." Darcy's eyes narrowed. "No dumb Man-Wolf is slicing you up again."
"You really don't have to do that." Peter's face heated with shame, looking down at his lap. "It was my mistake."
Darcy reached out and tapped his cheek with an open palm. The gentlest of pats, but the fact the gesture was a slap no matter how painless still hurt. "You're my brother. If I can protect you I'm going to protect you. No if and or buts."
"I uh...oh...you still didn't have to." He poked at his blankets.
She looked over at Daisy. "Speaking of Tony, he made an AI for you two heroic idiots. We're incorporating it. But after Daisy takes a look and makes sure it doesn't have any dumbass protocols."
"I'll take a look and fix it." Daisy pushed off the wall. "Can I borrow your laptop?"
Darcy gave a sloppy salute. "Go for it. I've got the fort till you get back. I could use a break from suit building."
"Thanks." Daisy gave Darcy a nod and then slipped out of the room.
Peter groaned, letting his head fall back, eyes closing. "I deserved that."
"You really do." Darcy replied without a hint of sympathy, which again fair. "That's going to take some work Dumb Dumb. Your future training afternoons aren't going to be fun."
Peter winced. "Can I help with the designs?"
"You have a scheduled nap in twenty minutes, so no Dumb Dumb." Darcy squeezed his non injured leg. She looked at May. "You want to take the chance to stretch your legs?"
Aunt May smiled, setting her drink aside and stood with a slight groan. "I think I will." She kissed his forehead.
Darcy waited till May had left the room before turning and flicking his nose. "Wow you stepped in it."
"I know." Peter groaned.
Darcy gave a great dramatic sigh. "Yup, and it's going to be worse for you."
"Huh?" He tilted his head slightly.
She rolled her eyes. "Kid, look when I snuck out to get drunk, sleep with my boyfriend, smoke weed, that sort of thing my parents were just mad at me. I even stole the family car and hit the mailbox once. But you know they were just my parents."
"I...is there a moral to this?" He stared at her in confusion.
Darcy huffed. "You're not just May's kid. You're her whole family. I mean she's kinda adopted Daisy and I, but she did that for you. You are all she has. And she's way more involved with your life than most parents. I mean my mom barely could keep up with which band I was into. May learned to shoot a gun for you."
She reached out patting his shoulder. "And Daisy is a wreck of survivors guilt and angst around family. You just hit like... all of her buttons. This whole thing isn't going to blow over for a while. Not because we're mad at you, but because you scared us and we love you."
"I'm sorry." Peter looked her in the eye. "I really am! I didn't mean...I was trying to prove I didn't need to be babysat and then...that bike messenger could have died if I wasn't fast enough! And what if I'm not fast enough next time?" His blankets bunched under his hands. "People could have died and I...just made it about me."
Darcy sighed. "Even if you could get strong enough that none of us worried, which I'm pretty sure is impossible, would you even want to be? It seems kind of lonely to me. But what do I know, I'm the normal one."
"I don't think you're normal." Peter's lips twitched up. "But you're probably right."
"I know I'm right. Now be a good little Dumb Dumb and start thinking sleepy thoughts. If you're out before our angst bucket of a sister gets back you might not be stuck with angsty dreams."
Peter smiled, but let himself be bullied into being tucked in. "She's not that bad."
"Oh she really is. Let's not forget her 'I'll punch things with my shattered bones'." Darcy's eyes twinkled slightly.
It hurt a little bit but he couldn't help a laugh at that. But he waited for the joke to pass. "Are you mad at me?"
"Eh, you were due for some teenage rebellion. You were making the rest of us look bad by comparison. And you got in trouble without me helping you. So no judgement." Darcy smiled. "You're my baby Dumb Dumb."
Peter closed his eyes, his chest felt all warm and fuzzy. "Thanks."
"Hey, it's going to be alright. Even if you're stuck eating jello. Which, urgh flubber much?" Darcy teased.
He smiled. "We should watch Flubber."
"Sounds fun Dumb Dumb." Darcy patted his cheek. "Now budge up, I didn't sleep at all last night and you have enough blankets to share."
Peter happily scooched over a bit so Darcy could squeeze in with him. She smelled nice, like something fruity and sweet and engine oil. It was a weird mix but it worked. And...he'd been scared, so very scared. But with Darcy squished in next to him..he felt safe.
Peter sensed more than heard it when Daisy came back. He cracked an eye open, and there she was in the chair by the side of the bed. She was typing diligently away on Darcy's laptop. Somehow she must have felt his eyes on her. Daisy looked up and she just stared at him for a long minute. And then she smiled ever so slightly. It felt a little bit like hope.
Chapter 24: Yuri is Not Drunk Enough For ThisNotes:I gotta say I enjoy this regular update thing. Or well being back to regular updates? Also Valhalla is an awesome game.
Chapter TextDaisy dropped the bag of takeout in front of Tony. It distorted the holotable's image.
He startled back. "Offspring?"
"You need food, caffeine, and to stretch before you keep working on the suit." She dropped a hand to one hip and stared him down. "You're going a little crazy."
"No I'm not." Tony replied automatically.
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "Instant Kill mode?"
"And?" Tony leaned back slightly, though he had turned the holotable off.
She hooked one of the rolly stools and yanked it over and sat down. "Open up the bag old timer, one of those burritos has my name on it. Also Babysitting mode?"
"He needs it." Tony's movements were jerky, stubborn as he opened up the paper bag and tossed her one of the burritos inside.
Daisy considered her words while unwrapping her lunch. "When I was fourteen I was stealing money out of my foster mom's purse and working on a plan to have myself emancipated. What were you doing at fourteen?"
"Starting my first college degree and getting in some quality time with the house keeper's daughter." Tony narrowed his eyes. "I see your point, I don't like it."
She let it wash over her. "And how would you have felt if anyone had set up some of the programs you're made? Which you've been working on this for a while. Arrogant much?"
"You're too wise to be my Offspring." Tony rolled back. "But fair, I'd hate it."
Daisy looked at the images of the suit on the screens. "You're missing the point you know. Peter's better than either of us, he doesn't need to be us."
"Not going to say you're better than me too?" Tony deflected.
She didn't let him brush it off. "I've killed people, a lot of people and I don't feel bad about it. The ones who died for me though… those ones stick with me." Daisy considered her words. "We've both made mistakes, big mistakes. Ones that have gotten people killed. But that doesn't mean either of us would have ever let someone put us on a leash. Am I wrong?"
"No, you're irritatingly right." Tony chewed a bite of his burrito. "So what compromise of common sense are you about to bully me into? Am I turning into the nerdy kid who gets shut in lockers? Is this what that feels like?"
Daisy stared at him. "No, it's really not." She smiled slightly though. "Think less Ironsuit, more...what is that?"
"Oh you mean that suit? That's yours." Tony looked smug. "You didn't think I'm only making a new suit for the Kid did you?"
And that was...unexpected. Which probably said a bit about her, she hadn't considered it. "My powers don't play well with machinery."
"I know that Quaker Shaker, I'm wounded you think I wouldn't think of that." Tony leaned back slightly. "Adamantium weave, nothing short of vibranium is getting through. Impressed?"
Daisy hummed looking at the screens. "You're already synthesizing it?"
"It'll be ready by dinner. Also put magnets on the bottoms of your new boots. Less hanging off buildings by the scruff of your neck." Tony took a bite of his burrito and was silent for a minute. "And you're wrong about one thing Offspring."
"Oh, what's that?" Daisy kicked at the floor, lightly letting herself spin in a circle.
Tony looked at her and his eyes were...he looked at her like he cared. "Peter's not the only one who's better than me."
And...well Daisy didn't know what to say to that. So she didn't say anything. But that was fine, Tony seemed to understand that too.
Daisy knocked lightly before stepping into the medical room Peter was in. "I come bearing a gameboy, gatorade, a fresh spider mask and gloves, as well as sweatpants and a sweatshirt."
"Thank you for picking those up." Aunt May stepped over and hugged her.
"It's no problem." Daisy wasn't used to a parental figure who hugged and showed affection as much as May. But well, she was adjusting. And it was..nice. Really nice.
Darcy looked over from where she was sitting on the side of Peter's bed. "Come on then. Let's get this video done before we have Spiderman memorials or prayer circles or something."
Daisy tossed the bag at Darcy. "Whaddya need me to do?"
"Be thyself Quaker Shaker. Maybe put on your mask, even if you are in a...is that my sweater?" Darcy's nose wrinkled. "Keep it on, you make it look smoking."
"Thanks." Daisy knew she needed to say something to Peter before they did anything. She stepped over and looked down at him. Blowing out a breath she reached out and ruffled his hair. "We're going to have to work on your close quarters combat."
Peter perked up, a smile spreading across his face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She agreed, and god her family made her soft. "Next time no hiding, even if I'm recovering from bullet wounds."
He nodded eagerly. "For sure!"
"Good, I'm guessing Darcy briefed you on what to say?" She checked, cause honestly she kind of hated the press and just...it was not in her wheelhouse.
Peter pulled on his mask. "Yup!"
"Good, do that. And start thinking of thank you gifts for Pietro, he set back his physical therapy by a few days to get you here as fast as he did."
Peter's goggles did the weird clicking squint that she'd learned to read as a cringe or wince. "Just a card isn't going to cut it is it?"
"It's really not." Daisy leaned against the bed. "It's a good thing you're going to have time on your hands." She pulled out her mask and let it suction onto her face. "I was thinking since you're a genius you could make him something."
Peter nodded, pulling on his gloves. "Yeah, that could be cool." He looked a bit ridiculous in a hospital gown, spider gloves and mask. But it was probably what Darcy was going for.
Darcy cleared her throat while pulling out the Spiderphone. "Alright fucks, say cheese."
Daisy rolled her eyes, but stayed leaning against the hospital bed and crossed her arms. If she was supposed to be herself, well she was grumpy.
"Hey everybody!" Peter waved at the camera. "Just wanted to let you know I'm A-ok!"
She couldn't help it, she snorted. "Sure Jan."
"Hey!" Peter looked at her. "I'm not the one who got shot."
"I'm doing better." Daisy's lips twitched up. "You got clawed by a werewolf."
Peter shrugged, but his whole bearing said he was laughing at her. Which idiot. He turned back to the camera. "So don't worry, probably won't see me for a while."
"I'm tying you to your bed if you even think of going out there before the doctor gives you a clean bill of health." Daisy reached out and pushed his head to the side gently.
Peter laughed. "So uh sorry I won't be there to help you with carrying your groceries and the usual everyone. But don't worry I'll get Quake here to keep up with the trick channel. She's kinda awesome at that stuff even if she pretends she isn't."
"I'm doing what?" She snapped her head back to her idiot brother.
He had to be smiling under that stupid mask of his. "You've got like four blackbelts or something. And you've been getting into parkour."
"Fine." Daisy agreed, she noted Darcy looked absolutely delighted from where she was filming the thing on her phone.
Peter leaned towards her while looking at the camera. "So sorry for scaring you all. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and everything. But I'm good, just going to be very sore for a while. Bye for now!"
Darcy lowered the camera. "Good times guys. Those rumors of you being a couple, this isn't going to help."
"Come on!" Peter pulled off his mask. "We can do it again."
Darcy sniggered. "Too late Dumb Dumbs."
Daisy ruffled Peter's hair. The rumors protected him, the more people thought they were a couple the more nobody would expect Peter was a teenager. Afterall her age was publicly known. Also his indignation over it all amused her. "I'm sorry which sibling got spotted at a coffee shop with the Star Spangled Man with a Plan?"
"Tony's still having kittens over that." Darcy slid the phone into her back pocket. "And please, one coffee shop visit is already being forgotten by the public consciousness. You on the other hand? Well I've got so much material."
Daisy shared a look with Peter. She nodded and then vaulted over his hospital bed. Grabbing Darcy she let out her best evil laugh. "You are our prisoner now!"
////
Steve Rogers handed the newspaper to Bucky. "How're you feeling today?"
"Really Punk?" Bucky looked up at him, dark circles from another sleepless night, and general grumpiness from being stuck in the Hulk room for weeks now. Also with the missing arm, it left him slightly lopsided looking.
He took his new customary seat. "Well Stark's kids are kicking up the media again."
"Huh, Howard's line would be…" Bucky trailed off.
"They're something alright." Steve ran a hand through his still very pink hair. Which he was coming around on it.
Bucky made a motion like he meant to check a holster that just wasn't there. "The lawyer coming in again today?"
"Yeah, not till later. But it's looking good Buck." Steve hated how just...awkward it felt sometimes. "It's easier when there's something to punch."
Bucky actually made a sound of amusement. "Of course you'd say that."
"What can I say, I had the right idea back in Brooklyn. Just didn't know how many bullies there were out there." Steve looked over at the paper. "I want the crossword."
Bucky huffed. "You just like getting punched."
"I got a lead on a Hydra bolt hole in Canada. Going to take a team up there. You going to be ok if I go?" Steve knew Bucky would be safe here in the tower. The Hulk room could take a bomb and stay safely shut.
Bucky rifled through the paper before pulling out the crossword section and handing it over. "Don't go doing anything too stupid. Clearly most of your common sense has already been beat out of you."
"Hey now." Steve smiled though as he accepted the crossword and pulled out his pencil. "I'm pretty sure you kept most of the stupid with you."
"I'd come with you, watch your back." Bucky didn't need to say he couldn't, that it wasn't safe.
He reached out and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "You don't have to fight anymore. I won't let anyone make you."
"There's always a war Steve." Bucky picked up his mug of black coffee.
Steve looked at him. "Well, you can fight with Stark's daughter. She's fighting a war that won't take pieces of your soul. Or require you to carry a gun."
"You're the one who does the whole dancing monkey routine." Bucky countered.
He grinned. "I don't know, Darcy wants to get her hands on your hair."
Bucky went unnaturally still. "You wouldn't."
"Well someone has to check in on you and it's that or nothing but therapists and lawyers." Steve couldn't help laughing at the horror on Bucky's face. Besides, Darcy probably wouldn't dye Bucky's hair pink….probably.
////
Darcy flipped through a magazine while waiting for FRIDAY to finish synthesizing the new fabric for the suits. "I'm turning into a Superhero fashionista. I'm a sexier Edna Mode."
"Huh huh." Jane looked up from her notebook. "You like capes."
"Oh my Thor Janey! You recognized my reference!" She leaned forward with grabby hands and grabbed Jane. Halling her friend in, she smacked a loud kiss on Jane's cheek. "I'm so proud!"
Jane wiped at her cheek with her sleeve. "I wonder if anyone has used Thor's cape to throw him around?"
"Undoubtedly." Darcy knew she was team Jane in the weird...sorta breakup they were in. "Can you imagine his face? I bet he looked like a kicked puppy."
Jane did look kinda smug. "A dumb one."
"The dumbest." Darcy agreed as the bestest bro that she was. "So I have a date with a brainwashed Super Soldier. Thoughts on what offerings of food I should bring?"
Jane rolled her eyes. "Pop tarts. Everyone loves pop tarts."
"Wanda doesn't, which is so weird." Darcy shook her head. "She's not a fan of junk food."
Jane blinked owlishly. It was probably breaking her mind that someone didn't live off processed, preservative soaked junk. "That's something."
"I know. But between her and May, Daisy has learned to cook without explosions." Darcy pressed her hands together in a mockery of prayer. "It's a miracle. They don't teach their agents to cook at SHIELD."
Jane stuck her pencil behind one ear. "Darcy, are you doing ok?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Darcy pushed her glasses up her nose.
Jane stared at her. "Darcy."
"I'll be ok." Darcy reached out grabbing her cup of coffee and cradling it. "Peter's not even that hurt. Four puncture wounds to his right calf, his abdominal muscles and skin were fairly spredded, but thanks to Dr Cho he'll be back on his feet in no time."
Jane passed her the redvine jar. "Is it bad I'm slightly disappointed there wasn't enough werewolf left to see what Daisy would have done to it?"
"It'd be a fluffy smear." Darcy pronounced, and she meant it. "I kind of wish that could have happened too."
Darcy gave a salute to Pepper. "I'm going to miss you and Tony."
"I'm sure our time in Malibu will be cut short." Pepper threw her an amused look while packing another dress into her open suitcases. "Hopefully you and your siblings can keep out of trouble for a whole twenty four hours?" Her voice was vaguely fond.
Darcy tried to keep the gaping at the bedroom in check. Damn Tony be rich. "It'll be good for Tony to get away from Bucky. Which I'm planning on crashing the Hulk room once you two are out of the tower."
Pepper stilled. "Darcy."
"What? It needs to happen. And with Cap taking off with two thirds of the planet side avengers to Canada it means Bucky's just going to be sulking in there. I'm bringing comic books, Peter's old gameboy, and an apple pie." Darcy looked at her. "And I never met my grandparents so I'm not one emotional twitch away from doing something super stupid."
Pepper stepped to her, her heels clicking. Reaching out she touched the side of her face. "Promise me you'll take Daisy with you."
"Oh my Thor that's hilarious. Yes, I will totally do that." Darcy ignored the implication she needed an enhanced bodyguard and not just Hunter. "You're brilliant Pep!"
////
Yuri knew something was wrong as soon as she opened her apartment door. Slowly pulling her service weapon out of her holster, she molded herself to the wall. The light in the kitchen was on. She was just coming around the corner when her gun was shoved up and then she was being slammed into a wall, gun twisted from her grip, and hand at her throat.
She opened her mouth to...she didn't know what only to still. "Quake."
"Detective Watanabe." Her voice was cold, her eyes colder as she stared at her. "You should get a better lock on your door." And then she dropped her.
Yuri rubbed at her throat. She glared at the retreating back of the hero. "Sure, why don't you just invite yourself in." She only slightly stomped as she shut her apartment door and followed Quake into her tiny dining room. Pausing she looked at the second person in her apartment. "You're that reporter."
"Amira Ahmed." The woman waved. "And good to know I'm not the only who has these idiots breaking into her apartment."
She let out a sound of pure frustration. "Is there a reason you're here or do I need to arrest you for breaking and entering?"
"I was putting it off, but since you decided to pull Spiderman in as your new enhanced partner it's time we talked." Quake pulled out three beers from the fridge, like it was her apartment the ass, and set them on the table.
Yuri crossed her arms. "Talk about what?"
"The Maggia crime syndicate." Quake's fingers twitched and the bottle caps landed on the table.
Amira took one of the beers. "I'm still chasing leads on the ATCU and their Hydra connections. I appreciate the invite, but I don't have the time to chase a whole new nest of monsters. I'm busy enough and I just found a connection between the ATCU and the Navy."
Yuri's breath was quick as she processed that. "The Maggia? How?"
"I did research on the police Spiderman and I were going to have to work with. Law enforcement and vigilantis don't have a historically good relationship. Nor does law enforcement have a good relationship with those of us from poor neighborhoods." Quake shot her a glare daring her to argue.
Yuri pulled a chair out and took a seat. "You know about my father then?"
"That he was as dirty as they come and on the Maggia payroll? Yeah." Quake took a drink from her beer. "But that's not the only thing I found. You've gotten a negative reputation with your superiors. You got that reputation for the right reasons though. Hardline stance on corruption, organized crime, etc. And good enough your brass just keep passing you off instead of firing you."
She grabbed the offered beer. "So what, you think you can blackmail me?"
"Nope. I'm offering to help you bring down the Maggia." Quake replied dryly. "Also why would I bring a reporter to a blackmailing?"
Yuri took a drink. "You blackmail people often then?"
"Former SHIELD." Quake waved at herself. "I've done a lot worse than blackmail."
Amira looked between then. "I'm sorry, clearly I'm not going to be particularly useful with this venture. But do you have to threaten each other?"
"Sorry." Quake's mouth tightened slightly. "You don't take Spiderman as your only backup again and I take down your mafia for you."
"Deal." Yuri got the hostility. She'd gotten Quake's partner hurt, badly, on her watch. Why Quake was willing to go after the mafia she didn't know. Even the FBI didn't do much to curtail them. But she wasn't going to let a chance to have this kind of help slip by. "How do you think you can just hand me the Maggia?"
Quake took a swig, her body relaxing ever so slightly. "SHIELD spy, remember? I figure we do this the mostly legal way."
"What I don't know I can't arrest for." Yuri drummed her fingers on the table. "You mean it?"
She nodded. "I mean it. I figured once things had calmed down we'd help you take care of it. But if you're going to be dragging us in as your backup anyway? Well I'm more suited for your problems then Spiderman."
"Alright." Yuri got up and opened up her gun safe. Pulling out the files she stepped back to the kitchen table and dumped the stack on it. "This is what I have so far. Nothing actionable without warrants or actual support from my bosses. But I've been keeping an ear to the ground."
"Which you don't have." Quake finished for her opening up the top file and frowning as she looked through it. "We'll have to make sure the case we build is legal. But I'm technically a government consultant so that should help."
Amira spoke up. "I might be chasing other leads, but I can get you in contact with a reporter who can help. And one who's actually from New York."
"That would be helpful. We're also going to need to call in some other help if we want to do this without it spirling out of control." Yuri took control of the meeting. This was her project afterall. "The Maggia are led by Don Vicente Fortunato, but there are four other Don's in the organization. The one I'm worried about, and who will make your help incredibly valuable for," She gave a look at Quake, "Is Joseph Martello. But since he became enhanced they've been calling him Hammerhead."
Quake nodded. "I can handle him. He's not even that enhanced, they just replaced his skull with steel."
"You're willing to take down the families though? Because once you start you can't stop. They won't let you." Yuri looked at the vigilante/superhero sitting at her table. She saw nothing but resolve. Huh, they were going to do this then.