Chapter 3
Two weeks had gone by, and you were beginning to feel like you had a handle on Midtown. You could find your classes well enough, you had a great group of friends, and the work wasn’t too hard. Peter, Ned, and MJ had convinced you to try out for Academic Decathlon, so here you were, answering stupid trivia questions after school.
Maybe you were being a bit dramatic. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to surprise everyone with your knowledge during the speaking portion, and the multiple choice really was like a trivia game.
“Alright, future academic decathlon members!” Mr. Harrington announced. “You will be glad to hear that this is our final question for today.” You squinted and leaned forward, feet bouncing. It had seemed like you’d done well, based on the smile on Peter’s face, but you still couldn’t be sure. Other students were smarter and better than you but-
Focus.
“What is Cygnus X-1?”
Your hand was hitting the bell before you could even fully remember the answer, but your mouth moved without your consent.
“Miss Waters?”
“Cygnus X-1 is an intense X-ray source that is in an eclipsing binary star system. It was the first black hole reported and it pulls in material from blue supergiant stars,” you recited. You’d had a space phase for a while, and your dad taught you all about black holes and the physics behind them.
You smiled. Those were the best times.
Mr. Harrington’s smile grew wide. “That is exactly right, Miss Waters!” He turned to the small group of current members watching. Most of them wore shocked expressions, and Ned and Peter were both wearing massive smiles. Your heart raced when you caught Peter’s eye, and he beamed back at you while giving you a thumbs-up.
“Okay people,” Mr. Harrington called. “That was an awesome mock that we just had. All of you should be very proud of yourselves,” He said, making eye contact with you. “Full-time team member lists and alternates will come out next week. For now, keep working hard!”
Chatter echoed throughout the room as you made your way to your friends, who were still sitting in the auditorium seats.
“How’d I do?”
“You were amazing!” Peter gushed, grabbing your shoulders. You nearly winced, damn he was strong. Something about it was so familiar, that you just couldn’t place it. “Seriously, you’re a natural. We’re definitely gonna win Nationals again this year!”
“No thanks to you, Penis Parker!” Flash called from across the room. “Maybe this year you’ll actually show up!”
Peter winced, and you touched the hand that still held your shoulder. “Just ignore him, Pete. You know he just lives to be an asshole.”
“Not bad,” MJ said, walking over from her conversation with Mr. Harrington. “I’m impressed.”
“Wow,” Ned gasped. “That's high praise coming from you.”
“I save it for the best.”
The four of you talked for a few more minutes, but you eventually had to depart. MJ had to talk to Mr. Harrington, Ned apparently had some Robotics thing, and Happy was probably waiting for you.
It was weird though, usually, you would have gotten some kind of passive-aggressive text by now.
Still, that left you and Peter to walk out to the steps of Midtown alone. He was complaining about the annoying chemistry lab that you had to finish tonight, but you weren’t really listening. The cadence and sound of Peter’s voice reminded you of something, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.
“And fifteen whole short answer questions? That’s gonna take forever-”
“Peter?”
His gaze snapped to yours. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing! Nothing,” you assured. “I just kind of have a weird question for you.”
Your heart was racing as he stared into your eyes, his brows furrowed. “What is it? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know if it’s just me but,” you looked away from him. “You feel so familiar. And I don’t know what it's from.”
Peter released a big breath. “Thank goodness, I thought you were about to tell me you were in love with Flash or something.”
“Oh my god Peter!” You shoved him playfully, but he barely moved. “I hate you. Why are you so freaking strong?”
“I have superpowers.”
“Yeah, and one of them is probably snark,” you chuckled. “Are you gonna answer my question?”
Peter scratched the back of his head. “You’re right, I feel it too,” he looked away. “It’s probably nothing though. We both live in the city, we might have just seen each other before.”
Something in you knew it was more than that, the way he talked and walked was just so familiar. It was something in his speech and his mannerisms, but you knew you’d remember meeting someone as gorgeous as Peter.
By now, the two of you had made it out of the doors of Midtown, but Happy was nowhere to be seen. You tried calling him a few times, but it went straight to voicemail. Pepper and your dad were the same.
Great.
“Well,” you shrugged at Peter. “Guess I’ll have to take the subway!”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “Have you ever even taken the subway before?”
“Hey!” you complained. “I’m a New Yorker. Of course, I’ve taken the subway.” Once. A few years ago, but you weren’t stupid. You could figure it out.
Peter pursed his lips. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but couldn’t you just get a cab?” He looked you up and down. “You could probably afford it.”
You rubbed the sleeve of your designer jacket. It wasn’t like he was wrong, but…”What’s the fun in that?”
“I’d walk you but,” he checked his watch. “I really have to get home. Please,” he stared straight into your eyes, and you tried to ignore the butterflies flapping around in your stomach. “Please be careful. Get home before dark.”
You smirked. “I will, Pete. You be careful too.”
*
It was going fine at first. The first subway trip was decent, crowded but boring.
It was when you had to change trains when you felt a stare burning down your back. The terminal was full of people chatting away and living their lives, but one man stood out. He leaned against a pillar, wearing a dark green hat and a black coat. What creeped you out the most though was his smirk as he looked you up and down. You nearly gagged as you turned on your heel and headed toward your train.
The feeling went away at first, but it was back the moment you stepped on the train. The man followed you into the same car, and his stare never left as you sat as far away from him as humanly possible.
Someone’s soda bottle exploded next to you, but you barely noticed. You could suddenly feel every liquid on this train, bubbling and swirling around. Your fingers twitched.
This is a public place. He couldn’t do anything here.
Still, you fished your phone out of your pocket and scrolled through your contacts. Dad and Pepper were probably busy, and Happy would just scold you for not calling him before.
That leaves one option. He would probably nag you about not taking a taxi too, but at least you could tell him to shut up.
You clenched your fists as your phone buzzed, ignoring the urge to look up at the staring guy. His stare was still burning into your back.
“Hey, what’s up?” Peter asked, his voice breathless. Some of the tension melted out of your body. “I’m kind of busy right now-”
“Peter,” you lowered your voice. “Some weird guy is kind of following me on the subway today, is there any way you could just stay on the phone with me until I get home?”
“What?” you jumped and held the phone further away from your ear. “Where are you? Which subway?”
“It’s not that big of a deal. I just want to make sure I’m on the phone with you on the off chance anything happens.” You looked up at the screen as the train came to another stop. Yours was next. “But if you’re busy it's totally fine.”
“Please just tell me where you are?”
You sighed deeply and told him the train and block.
“Don’t do anything, just stay on the phone with me please.”
“Of course,” he attempted a laugh. “You think I’m gonna leave our new best member of the Academic Decathlon out to die?”
You snorted, and it was silent for a moment until you noticed the strange sound coming from your phone. It was like a weird whipping noise, like the wind outside of a speeding car. You could also hear some grunting sounds.
“Peter, are you okay?” you asked. “Your phone is making some weird noises.”
“Oh, it’s probably just my cell service!” he said quickly. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Okay?” You stood up as soon as the train stopped and did your best to disappear into the crowd. Thankfully, a bunch of people were getting off here, and nearly the entire subway car exited onto the platform. You headed up the stairs and headed toward Stark Tower, checking your surroundings a few times to make sure no one had followed you. After a few blocks, you breathed a sigh of relief.
“I think I lost him.”
“Lost who, sweetheart?” a grating voice asked from behind you. “Because I think you knew exactly what you were doing when you eyed me up at the station.”
Your heart raced and you quickened your pace. The street was empty. Stupid. You should have just gone through the stupid tourist traffic near Times Square. Now you’re probably gonna get murdered by some random freak.
Well, not if Nat’s training had anything to do with it.
“Are you okay?” Peter’s voice asked from your phone. “What’s going on?”
“Hey!” The man yelled. “Don’t ignore me!”
You were at a run now, but with the massive backpack on your shoulders, you didn’t have a prayer. This man was unfortunately somewhat athletic, as if he had made a career out of chasing teenage girls.
You nearly tripped as he pulled on the back of your bag, and your phone went flying out of your hands. Peter shouted something through the phone, but you couldn’t make it out.
“Fucking slut!” the man fumed, stepping into a nearby puddle that splashed just a bit too high.
He tried to grab your bag again, but you instinctively dropped it to the ground. Your breath came quickly, but your mind cleared. The man narrowly avoided your bag as he raced toward you, causing him to be off balance. All it took was a small step to the side, and he ran into the wall behind you.
You quickly rushed to grab your bag and your phone, but he was back behind you before you could scream. Your backpack weighed you down as you swung it at him, the heaviest part smacking him straight in the nose. He stumbled slightly, but you were off balance too.
He recovered quickly, and that was when you noticed your mistake. You’re back was to the wall, and you were still off balance from swinging your backpack.
The man charged towards you, and you cried out in pain as he slammed you against the wall. His hand wrapped around your neck. Spots danced in front of your eyes. You wriggled and squirmed, but he was clearly trained somehow.
Probably ex-military, based on his stance. And he wasn’t smart enough to be an assassin or anyone actually dangerous.
Focus.
You squeezed your eyes shut and allowed your powers to flow through you, feeling every molecule of liquid across the block. Water raced through the pipes, through drinks, even through people’s bodies.
On some humid days, you could even feel it in the air.
You’re entire body tensed as you grabbed all the nearby water, ordering it to follow your commands. Your eyebrows scrunched together as the water built, and the world spun as the man squeezed harder around your neck,
“Hey!”
Now.
The fire hydrant behind you exploded, water flying every which way and coating everything within twenty feet. The man looked back, his grip loosening, and you shoved your forearms against him, pushing him off.
“Get your hands off her!”
A figure pulled the man further away from you, and your eyes slid shut as you collapsed against the wall. You could hear shouts and a scuffle happening in front of you, but your eyes were too heavy.
A thud sounded, and a panicked voice called your name.
It was strangely familiar.
Peter?
But you slumped against the wall, and then you could hear no more.