beginnings, 8
“SPIDEY, GRAB THE CASE AND WEB IT SHUT!” A voice practically roared a moment after it had happened. After Peter had failed. After Gwen had-
But the voice also made it easy for Peter to react and follow the direct instruction. It had this assertive quality to it, one that reminded Peter of Natasha. He’d been on a couple ops with her before Thanos, and even when he’d frozen up a couple times from something he’d been wildly unprepared for, her voice called him to action. This one was the same.
So, Peter acted. The arc of motion he’d drawn in leaping after the crystal and trying to grab it set him up perfectly – he had a clear shot now. With his other hand, the one that wasn’t still recoiling from the failed attempt at saving a life, Peter launched a web straight for the case, and pulled it towards him. Not wanting to take chances of anyone else getting turned to stone, Peter leapt up onto a rooftop and webbed the case down, before turning to rejoin the fray.
Except over the seconds it would have taken Peter to get back into it and finally dispatch every single one of the enemies with the core threat now out of the way, the fight ended. Just like that. An only vaguely familiar figure launched through the air, landing on the ground behind all of the enemies in a heavy flip that Peter knew was to increase a downward driving force, and unleashed a shockwave that blasted the cars, thugs and whatever remained of their weapons and supplies down the street. None of them would be getting up from that. It was over.
And Gwen was dead.
Gwen Stacy, Peter’s new friend, who lived right around the corner from where this whole altercation was taking place. That was what he had missed. The street names had been familiar because he remembered them from walking to Gwen’s apartment only two nights ago. And because he’d slipped up and failed to remember that detail, someone who didn’t deserve to be wrapped up in all this had paid the price.
Peter-Three had lost his Gwen, and then gone on to save this world’s MJ when Peter had been too slow. And Peter himself couldn’t save the Gwen from his world, because he was once again too slow? What kind of cruel joke was that supposed to be?
But they were dead.
Peter couldn’t even process the hustle and bustle below, only vaguely aware that the new arrival was now rushing towards where Gwen’s stony body stood. He didn’t even react to Harley flying straight over to him.
No, there was one thing he had a responsibility to do, and then he had to just get out of there. He had to contact Harry. His throat was clammed tight enough that he could only just breathe, talking wasn’t going to work. Well, at least his suit now had a reinforced, padded pocket for his phone – which had become essential now that he didn’t have an AI to run his communications.
Peter + Harry DMs
Peter: harry i fucked up
Peter: you need to come here now
Peter: [location]
Harry: dude what are you talking about? are you ok?
Peter: its Gwen
Peter: they’re
Harry: peter whats going on
Harry: you’re scaring me
Peter: just
Peter: come
Peter: portal
Harry: I’m coming.
The orange ring formed in the middle of the intersection, and Harry stepped out of it. Harry, who Peter had just started to fix things with. Harry who was going to despise him now, and he had every damn right in the world. Because Peter had failed, and Gwen was dead. The very least he could do was…
Peter leapt down off the building, landing in front of Harry. He didn’t even take off his mask – there was no way he could do that in the middle of an intersection like this. The best he could do was force two words out. “I’m sorry.”
Before Harry could say anything, before Harley could do anything, before Peter could listen to anything the new arrival might try to say, Peter fled.
Heart racing faster than it ever had before, Harry’s head swivelled around the moment he’d stepped through the portal to try and figure out what the hell was going on. First this ominous, rushed set of texts from Peter that explained nothing, and then the horrid feeling he’d gotten in his gut? It only took a second for Harry’s eyes to latch onto a stony figure right near the intersection corner that led to Gwen’s street. And… it looked like them. The timing of it, too. Gwen had just texted to say that she was leaving.
A red and blue clad figure leapt down from a rooftop and landed right next to Harry. Harry recognised that getup – this was Spider-Man. “I’m sorry.”
The voice was very clearly altered, but… Harry was clever enough to connect the dots. Peter Parker was Spider-Man. That’s why he had gotten involved in something that required a memory spell to make everyone forget who he was. And Spider-Man had gotten wrapped up in something dangerous, as he always did, and failed to protect Gwen.
Because Gwen had been turned to stone, and was presumably dead.
Gwen. Dead.
Fuck.
Harry didn’t know whether to cry or scream or chase after the fleeing Spider-Man and drag him back by force. He didn’t know if he should direct his ire to Iron Lad – who was just kind of hovering above that rooftop and doing absolutely fuck all. He didn’t know if-
No, he knew what he should do first. He had to go over to Gwen. What if there was- if there was a chance that she was somehow still alive, that this was all some big misunderstanding. To see if he could save her. So, that’s what he did. He didn’t walk, he didn’t run, he flew. People would see the dark shade of his magic and come to their own wrong conclusions, but fuck that. Harry being exposed for having an innate gift for witchcraft over any other kind of mystical arts was at the very very bottom of his priority list right now.
He landed by Gwen just as someone else, someone he didn’t even recognised, released a shockwave against them.
“What the fuck are you doing to them?” Harry just about screamed. “GET AWAY!”
But the stranger didn’t leave. The shockwaves stopped, and the stranger turned to face Harry. “They’re alive. That’s all I was doing, I was just checking. If your friend here was human, they would have both already been dead and started to crumble when I did that. Lucky for them, they’re not human.”
“Not human?” Harry questioned in a mix of desperation and adrenaline-riddled bewilderment. “What are you even talking about?”
“Dude,” the stranger shot back, something almost weary in that voice. “Calm down. They’re alive, this is just Terrigenisis. Your friend is an Inhuman, like me.”
“Gwen’s alive?” Iron Lad asked, landing beside Harry, the stranger and Gwen’s statue-like form.
Harry rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, if Spider-Man’s Peter, that’d make you Harley?”
Iron Lad nodded. Well, at least he had the decency to be honest. “This is… it’s my fault, not Peter’s. I’m- I’m glad that she’s alive, but it shouldn’t have even happened. I’m too inexperienced, I never should have been here to handle this.”
Harry sighed. “I’m inclined to worry about that later, as long as Gwen’s alive. What I want to know is what needs to happen to keep them that way.”
“That, I can tell you,” the stranger declared. “And it’s better that we act fast. I have no clue what this Gwen’s abilities are going to be, and the first little while after Terrigenisis can be tough. Abilities can be hard to control, people might get hurt. Do either of you know of someplace local that’s safe and contained? We should move them there.”
“I have a building not too far from here that doubles as a training and containment facility,” Harley – no, Iron Lad – offered.
“Where?” Harry demanded. The stranger said that this ‘Terrigenisis’ thing was unpredictable, so he didn’t want to take any chances or dawdle at all. “Show me, I’ll get us there faster.”
Iron Lad quickly obliged, pulling up a map and pointing to the location. Harry opened up a portal, and then used one hand to weave some of his more innate magic gently around Gwen’s form to lift them up. Harry carried them through the portal without hesitation, and the other two followed. Iron Lad wasted no time in opening up an entrance, and they all went inside. The stranger directed Harry to set Gwen down right in the middle of the massive hall, so that was exactly what he did. Only then did he step back, take in a breath, and sob.
It was his fault. Harley knew that, and he wouldn’t deny it. Peter was off somewhere panicking and probably blaming himself, but Harley was the one to fire on the man who was throwing the crystal, and he was the one to fuck it all up. All because he was new to this, and eagerly wanted to help, but didn’t have the training or experience to actually handle something real.
“Oi, tin can!”
The voice managed to pull him out of his thoughts. Harley looked up, and finally paid some actual attention to the individual who’d shown up and taken down the entire troupe of arms dealers, thugs and whoever else had been involved. Harley had no idea who they were.
“Who are you?” Harley asked slowly, while Harry was just crouched on the ground and sobbing freely. Harley almost hadn’t taken Harry for the type to be that vulnerable around others.
“I’m Daisy. I used to work for SHIELD, back before Thanos,” the stranger introduced herself. She kept glancing back at Gwen, and then to Harry and Harley. Almost in a cyclical sort of pattern.
Harley remembered what Peter said about SHIELD. They’re not to be trusted, just like the cops. So, keep his guard up. He could do that. Probably. “Okay. What happens now, with Gwen?”
Daisy shrugged. “I’ll wait here until Gwen’s Terrigenisis is complete, and guide them through the process of learning to control their powers. I’m not planning to stick around much longer than that, so I’ll be out of your hair. I have some questions for you and Spidey to see if you two can help me find The Manufacturer, the guy dishing out contaminated Terrigen crystals, and then I’ll move on. I’m also on a bit of a personal errand of sorts.”
“Okay, so Gwen’s safe?” Harley asked, just to be sure.
“Yes,” Daisy confirmed. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I do need to get that case of crystals back before someone else tries to grab it. But I can’t leave your friend right now. Could you?”
Harley nodded, and turned to leave. He didn’t make it very far before Harry grabbed him by the arm, sobs now reduced to the occasional sniffle.
“Bring Peter back with you. Don’t leave him out there thinking Gwen’s dead, blaming himself for it,” Harry requested. He had this intense sort of look about his face, one that Harley couldn’t make heads or tails of.
Instead of trying to decipher that, Harley left. As he flew back to the scene of the battle, Harley quietly asked Darlene to ensure that Daisy, Harry and Gwen were kept safe within the containment facility. Then, he kept talking with Darlene, asking for any random pieces of information that would keep his mind busy. If he didn’t, he was going to spiral, hard.
Peter sat atop the Great Dome on campus, and just stared into the distance. It wasn’t a particularly high up place, but it had a view of the campus and the city surrounding it. It was high up and out of the way enough that he wasn’t at risk of ruining the secret part of his identity if he took his mask off – which was exactly what he did.
Gwen was dead, and it was his fault, because he hadn’t been fast enough. Harry was going to hate him for it. Harley was going to hate or at least be disappointed in him, for not being fast enough. And Gwen was gone. Everything that he’d built up for his new life in the past two weeks, which had all been going so well, was crashing down. Maybe he was just doomed to be alone. Maybe letting people in was just a waste of time.
And as Spider-Man, he had to be able to do better. He had to work harder, get faster, and stop fucking failing to save people. He wanted to learn how to stop caring, but he just couldn’t. Even if it seemed like a waste of time, he felt like he was even more doomed to keep repeating this cycle because he couldn’t not let people in.
That was why he didn’t move or run when he heard Harley flying over to him, and sitting down next to him with a case in hand. Probably the basilisk eggs. Peter didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.
“Peter, Gwen’s alive,” Harley said all of a sudden. And everything came rushing back in. Noise, the feel of the wind on his face, the sights in front of him. It wasn’t like the senses were in any way dialled down before, they’d just felt distant. And now everything was present, and it knocked the wind right out of him.
Peter had to claw to get his breath back. He could see Harley standing over him with his mask up and a concerned look on his face, so Peter put up a hand to signal that he was okay. He wasn’t panicking, for once. He was just… overwhelmed, and needed a moment.
“You’re not lying,” Peter stated once he had pulled himself back together, and stood up properly to face Harley. Something warm spread across him – perhaps it was from the knowledge that Gwen was somehow not dead, or perhaps it was just that Harley was there with him. Harley had that effect on him, making him feel just that little bit warmer and safer.
“I’m not lyin’,” Harley agreed. “Apparently she’s an Inhuman, and the basilisk eggs were Terrigenisis crystals, which I looked up on the way here. The Stark Industries database didn’t have much on them, but apparently they’re used to make Inhumans gain their powers.”
“How… how do you know?” Peter asked carefully. He realised the distance between him and Harley, and realised the way his body and mind were teetering in the distance of not okay again. So, he closed the distance and pressed his head against Harley’s shoulder, even if it was covered in a dense metal suit. Even if that wasn’t the most comfortable spot to press his face against.
“Daisy said so,” Harley answered. “She said she used to be with SHIELD so I wasn’t sure how much to trust her, but she seemed real sure about this.”
“Daisy… from SHIELD. Not Daisy Johnson?” Peter asked. He knew that name. Back when he had EDITH, Peter had searched around for various bits of information on the accessible database when he was able to get some spare time and privacy. He wanted to know various things like what would happen with the Avengers, how various organisations were coping with recovering from the Blip, and an honest variety of random trivia. When it had come to the Avengers, there was a small list of individuals who were considered suitable to be recruited to refill the team.
Daisy Johnson was one of them – sure, she was part of the morally questionable SHIELD, but she had an apparent reputation for going against orders to make sure people were protected and public safety was put before SHIELD strategic interests. Jessica Jones and Daredevil were also on that list, and Peter had laughed at that. He’d gotten to know both of them a little after everyone forgot who he was, and they would never agree to join the Avengers.
Anyway, yeah, Daisy Johnson was probably trustworthy.
“Maybe? I’m not sure, she never mentioned a surname,” Harley answered. “But she did mention The Manufacturer, that name we heard the other night. Oh, and Harry wants to speak to you.”
Peter stiffened. Harley wrapped an arm around him. “He doesn’t blame you. Which is good, since you’re not the one to blame.”
“He… doesn’t?” Peter questioned, stepping out of the awkwardly uncomfortable embrace. Peter didn’t doubt Harley’s honesty, but he did have a hard time believing Harry wouldn’t hate him for not keeping Gwen out of harm’s way. “Okay. I guess we should go back. Where is everyone now? Still at the intersection?”
Harley shook his head, and set his mask back in place. “Containment Facility.”
Off they went.
Having calmed down considerably now that Harry had both been told that Gwen was alive and had also used his magic to verify it himself, Harry had the mental space to take in the situation some more. Under Iron Lad’s direction – Harley’s direction – he had brought Gwen to a very clearly Stark Industries facility. It was a wide, almost cavernous, well lit space that had looked like a plain warehouse from the outside. There wasn’t much by way of anything in the very empty facility, but Harry could guess that it was just because everything interesting was hidden away.
Gwen’s body was encased in something that certainly looked stony, but wasn’t actual stone. Daisy had said that it was better to think of it as a kind of cocoon. So that’s what Harry did, because it made it far easier to look at them and not worry. Apparently, when the Terrigenisis process was done, the cocoon would fall away – or depending on the powers Gwen gained, it might get blasted away. The process could take anywhere from minutes to days. If it took days, Harry would be spending days in this very facility without question. He wasn’t leaving until Gwen was free.
And then there was Daisy, who Harry was only really getting a good look at now. She was almost half a head shorter than Harry – which wasn’t hard when he was as tall as he was. She had dark brown hair, cut to hang just above her shoulders, sitting in a mid part. Her outfit looked very much like what one would expect of a powerful agent. Leather jacket, shirt and pants that looked like they were made of some kind of advanced military polymer, and combat boots. She had some kind of bracer around her wrists and forearms that looked fancy.
And her face. Harry’d had to do a double take after properly looking at her face – and he hoped that she didn’t notice him staring while she was monitoring Gwen. It was just… she looked like Gwen. He couldn’t quite explain how they looked similar, but they really did. No, he could explain it. They had the same nose, the same lip shape, and… their eyes were the same in both shape and colouration. It was probably nothing, but…
“You kind of look like Gwen,” Harry said aloud this time. He wasn’t sure why he was saying it. Maybe just to fill the silence, now that it was just the two of them and Gwen. He ran a hand through his hair, old gel that needed to be washed out leaving grime along his fingers.
“Oh? How so?” Daisy asked, not even turning to look at him.
Harry shrugged. “Some of the same features. You look like you could be siblings, honestly. What are the odds, huh?”
Daisy’s eyes widened a fraction. “You don’t say.”
There was a stagnant, silent pause between them that could have been a few seconds or a few hours.
“Gwen’s dad wouldn’t happen to be a police captain or something else high up in the force, would he?” Daisy asked, and now it was Harry’s turn to be surprised. A protective instinct in him suddenly wondered if he could take Daisy in a fight. Probably not, unless he went all out - which was a last resort only.
“Calling him a dad would be a bit of a stretch,” Harry finally answered. “He’s a piece of shit.”
“Of course he is,” Daisy said, something wavering in her voice. “He’s a cop. Excuse me, I need to make a phone call.”
Without giving Harry anything more than that, Daisy paced over to the other side of the containment facility. It wasn’t like it would be a private call, he’d still be able to hear her – and he intended to listen. His gut told him something was up with that. Her responding to Harry’s perhaps out of pocket remark that they looked like they could be siblings by correctly identifying Gwen’s dad’s job seemed… suspect.
“Hey, Jemma, I might be sending you over a genetic sample at some point soon,” Daisy said into the phone. “Only if this person consents. But I think I found them.”
A pause.
“Yeah, I know. Needle in a haystack, and Calvin could have been lying, but he was my dad, and he didn’t really have a reason to.”
Another pause.
“Sure. I know I’m calling in a favour with this, but if this kid is the one, I’m gonna owe you big time. How’s Alya?”
Pause.
“Already? Wow. Did she cry on her first day?”
A pause, and then Daisy laughed.
“Please never remind me that one day she’s gonna give birth to that guy. I finally managed to get Deke to leave me alone, Jemma. Let me have this.”
Pause.
“Yeah, alright. I’ll speak to you later. I’d visit, but- yeah. Bye.”
Daisy pocketed her phone, and then made no move to come back to where Harry was standing. Harry made no move to cross over towards her and ask her about the call. He just ran it over in his mind. Something about a genetic sample, something about Daisy searching for someone. He landed on the answer, what he thought was going on, and promptly ignored it.
Which was why that was such a good time for Harley and Peter to get back. Harry watched Harley step out of his suit and Peter take off his mask. Peter looked across at Harry, as though hesitant to come near. Harry shot him a weak sort of smile, hoping it would do the trick. It didn’t.
So, Harry went to him. “She’s alive, Peter. She’s okay. You’re not to blame.”
“But-” Peter tried, and Harry closed the rest of the distance, practically dragging Peter into a tight hug. Peter had been his best friend back in New York, and Harry knew what kind of person he was. Even if Peter had changed and grown and clearly been through so much, at his core, he still cared too much and felt too responsible for things. Harry wasn’t going to blame him for this. Honestly, even if the worst had happened and Gwen had died, Harry knew he would have come around and stopped blaming Peter sooner rather than later.
“Peter, you’re Spider-Man. Shit happens, you can’t control everything,” Harry attempted to console him.
“He’s right,” Daisy’s voice emerged from behind him. When had she crossed the facility? Harry hadn’t even noticed. “And I can see you blaming yourself there too, tin can boy. Look, if you’re really that upset about it, just… train, teach yourself new things, improve your skills and become better. Do better next time.”
“I don’t know if I should let there be a next time,” Harley muttered. “I’m clearly outta my depth here.”
“Oh please,” Daisy shot back, her voice sharp and cutting. “Ever since Iron Lad came onto the scene last week, the public’s general levels of optimism have jumped back up. People are excited to see what you do, because you’re starting to fill a gap that formed with Tony Stark’s death. As eat the rich as I am, I cannot deny the positive impacts he had.”
“People are… excited?” Harley questioned. “Because of me?”
“Yes,” Daisy confirmed simply. “And hey, I might actually be sticking around in the area a while longer, so I can train you.”
“Oh,” Harley uttered. “Okay. That’d be, yeah, that’d be cool. Trainin’ from an Avenger candidate. Peter said somethin’ about that on the way over.”
Daisy snorted. “Me? An Avenger? Never gonna happen.”
Watching the whole exchange take place, relieved that Daisy’s words were getting through to both Peter and Harley, Harry was content to sit back and resume just waiting for Gwen to break free. Except… something was missing.
Harley handed a case over to Daisy, and it clicked. There was a backpack also sealed inside Gwen’s cocoon – because they had been headed off to meet up with…
“Shit, Riri!” Harry blurted out all of a sudden. He flushed red pretty quick after, knowing that he hadn’t needed to let that loose aloud. He could have just realised, and texted Riri to let her know that Gwen wouldn’t be coming, but was safe. Well, probably safe. Harry only had Riri’s number in case something happened, anyway. Well, this was something happening.
Peter’s head tilted. “What about her? Wait, you know Riri?”
Oh right, Harry realised. They know Riri too.
“She, uh. She and Gwen had plans to hang out,” Harry explained tentatively. He wasn’t sure just how much he should say. Gwen was pretty open and comfortable with the sexual aspects of her sexuality, but Harry knew that Riri was still a bit new to it all. He could keep most of it out. “I should probably let her know that Gwen won’t make it. She’s probably worrying up a storm right about now.”
“Tell her to come here, then,” Harley said simply. As if there weren’t secret identities at play here, as if this wasn’t one of Iron Lad’s private facilities.
Before Harry could protest, his phone started buzzing – and speak of the devil, it was Riri. Harry picked up the call.
“Where are they?” Riri’s voice demanded desperately from across the line. It sounded like there was a fair bit of wind on the other end too, which was odd. It wasn’t that windy outside. “Gwen was running late and so I got worried and then I checked some police scanners and there were reports of a massive shootout near Gwen’s place. Harry, tell me she’s okay!”
“She’s okay,” Harry confirmed. Police scanners? And Harley had said she could come here.
…Fuck. Was everyone Harry was meeting at MIT not an ordinary civillian?
“Okay. Good. Was she… involved? Injured?”
“Uh, yes. And… not exactly? Harley said you could come here. I’ll send you the address, but be prepared for… well, it’s a strange situation.”
“I’m on my way.”
Harry hung up, and sent Riri his location.
“FRIDAY, grant aerial access to the facility for Ironheart if she comes in from above,” Harley said aloud, pretty much confirming that Riri was not an ordinary civillian. Well then.
A minute later, a hatch opened up in the ceiling towards the southern side of the facility, and another iron suit dropped down through it.
Just in time for Gwen to burst free of the cocoon, and then promptly disappear. A moment later, there was a loud thud across the other end of the facility, a trail of electricity leading to where Gwen was standing next to the far wall, cradling their head in their hands.
“MOTHERFUCKER!” Gwen yelled, because they had just slammed into a wall at an incredibly high speed.