Just Another Hero

"New York, Queens," Peter began in a dramatic voice. "It's a rough borough, but hey, it's home."

"Who are you talking to?" Happy spoke from the front seat.

Peter's voice returned to normal, "No one. Just making a small video of the trip."

"You know you can't show that to anyone, right?" Happy warned, looking at the boy from the rearview mirror with a pointed stare.

"Yeah, I know," Peter sighed.

"Then why are you narrating in that voice?"

"Because it's fun!"

"Fun," Happy scoffed.

Peter paused before asking the question he'd been waiting to ask, "So... why do they call you Happy?"

Happy rolled up the car's partition.

The screen went dark.

Peter's eyes widened as he saw the plane, "Whoa, hey, do I need to go to the bathroom before?"

"There's a bathroom on it, let's go," Happy replied, rolling his eyes.

The two climbed the steps to the plane, and Peter could hardly contain his enthusiasm.

"Whoa, no pilot? That's awesome!" Peter remarked, smiling brightly.

"Kid?" Happy called, looking around the plane, confused. "I swear there's supposed to be two of you."

"Two of me?" Peter's eyebrows furrowed, filming the inside of the plane.

Happy pulled out his phone, and Mr. Stark's voice rang through the small plane, "Happy?"

"Tony? Yeah, the girl's not here," the man reported, frowning.

"I had the other guy drop her off," Mr. Stark replied, sounding tired. "Andrew? Arnold?"

"What do you mean, you had Antonio drop her off?" Happy sounded exasperated. "She's not here—ah!"

Maisie teleported on screen and in front of Peter's camera, but the boy only got her on film for a split second before he dropped his phone.

The screen went dark.

The next few clips were of Maisie and Peter sightseeing Berlin, a couple selfies and a voice-over of Peter saying, "No one's actually given the two of us a lot of info on why we're in Berlin or what we're doing, just something about Captain America going crazy—"

"He told us about the Sokovia Accords," Maisie pointed out, "That's definitely why we're here."

"Yeah, I guess. It's been a crazy day," Peter realized.

"It's only gonna get crazier," the smirk in her voice was almost audible.

The screen went dark.

Peter's standing in front of a mirror, giving himself a pep talk, "Alright, Peter, you've got this. You got this—"

Someone opened the door to his room. Maisie paused when she saw his suit, "What the hell are you wearing?"

"It's my suit," Peter felt a little offended.

Maisie was covered in head-to-toe purple and black, looking like a mix of Black Widow and Scarlet Witch. Her suit looked like it was made by Tony Stark with the flexible material that simultaneously ensured good movement and provided for some protection. Peter felt a little jealous, but he didn't want to say anything.

"You didn't get one?" Maisie looked confused, gesturing at her new suit. "Don't you have a case?"

"What case?" Peter asked, still recording.

Maisie ignored him, heading for a door in the corner of his room. She opened the door, and his eyes widened as she entered another part of the hotel room with a living room and a short table with a large silver case on it.

"That's still my room?" Peter asked, shocked. He flipped the camera around, "My room is way bigger than I thought!"

"Here it is!" Maisie smiled triumphantly, and she gestured for Peter to open it.

"Okay, a minor upgrade?" Peter held the card with those words and a signature from 'TS.'

Peter unbuckled the case, and it opened to reveal a high-tech version of the sweatshirt suit he was wearing then.

"Come on, Pete, we're gonna be late!" Maisie sighed, turning to leave.

"Wait, I don't understand, is this for me?" the camera flipped to Maisie, giving him a look, and he knew the answer before she could even speak.

"Kids, I'm leaving now, don't make me tell you again!" Happy's voice echoed from the other room.

"Coming!" Maisie called, turning to Peter. "Hurry up!"

"Okay!"

The screen went dark.

Peter and Maisie hid themselves until Mr. Stark called for them, and Peter recorded every second of the waiting.

"Love the spandex, by the way, Spidey," Maisie's sarcastic voice echoed in the film.

The camera flipped toward her, and Peter scoffed, pointing it at her hair, "Whatever, your hair clashes with the purple on your suit anyway."

Maisie snorted, shaking her head, "All the insults, and you go with 'the red streaks in your hair clash with your suit'? That's pathetic."

Peter put his phone down, filming the ground instead, "Well, it's harder to insult you."

"Thanks, Pete," Maisie's amused voice carried through the phone.

Their conversation eventually cut short as Mr. Stark yelled, "Underoos! Little Red!"

"Gotta go!" Peter set his phone down and flipped in as Maisie teleported.

The screen went dark.

Peter picked up his phone again, flipping it to face his and Maisie's faces as they sat inside the hangar waiting for their next orders.

"So, Maisie and I just had our first fight as Avengers..." Peter greeted, eyes alight with excitement. "I definitely have a concussion, and Maisie here got impaled—"

"I did not get impaled!" she protested, wincing as she spoke too fast.

"She definitely got impaled," Peter continued, "but we're gonna be fine! Oh, God, it was the most amazing thing that's ever happened! So Mr. Stark was like, "Hey, Underoos!" and I just sort of flipped in and Maisie stole Cap's shield, and I was like, 'Hey, what's up, everybody?' And then—"

"Yeah, you really should work on that whole 'talking while fighting' thing," Maisie suggested, shrugging.

"It's funny! It's fine, Mr. Stark was cool with it," Peter shook his head, dismissing the thought.

Sirens sounded from the background of Peter's vlog, and the two's excitement dissipated at the sound.

"Pete, put that away—"

"Yep."

The screen went dark.

"So, now, we're just hanging out in the hotel room until Mr. Stark comes to get us," Peter sighed into the phone, eating a piece of popcorn from the bowl in front of him.

He flipped the camera to show Maisie almost asleep in the bed, and he moved closer until he was about a foot away from her face with the camera.

Without opening her eyes, Maisie spoke, "Get that camera out of my face, Parker."

"Yes, ma'am," Peter exclaimed, returning to his seat in front of the TV.

Maisie smirked, and she reached over to grab a handful of popcorn.

The screen went dark.

******

Happy braked hard, and Maisie held her hands out to stop herself from slamming her head on the seat in front of her. For a chauffeur, Happy could really improve on his driving skills.

"Whoops, we're here," the man said, not sounding very apologetic.

Mr. Stark took off his glasses, "Happy, can you give us a moment?"

Peter's and Maisie's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men.

"You want me to leave the car?" Happy asked, annoyed.

"Why don't you grab the kids' cases from the trunk," Mr. Stark suggested.

Peter lowered his phone, ceasing the recording, "We can keep the suits?"

Maisie was a little shocked too, but then again, who else would wear them?

"'Course, we were just talking about this," Mr. Stark waved the boy off. "Goldilocks, you good to be dropped off here, too? Don't wanna stress Happy out too much if you can just poof yourself back home."

Maisie nodded, "Yeah, sure. My dad's on a business trip, he won't miss me while he's away anyway."

Something flickered in Mr. Stark's eyes, but he didn't comment, instead, he nodded and turned to look at both kids, "Alright, do me a favor. Happy's kind of your point guy on this. Don't stress him out. Don't do anything stupid, okay? I've seen his cardiogram. Got it?"

Maisie snorted, but Peter nodded enthusiastically, "Yes."

"Don't do anything I would do, and definitely don't do anything I wouldn't do," Mr. Stark advised. Maisie was lost. "There's a little grey area in there, and that's where you two operate."

"Wait, does that mean we're Avengers?" Peter asked. Maisie wondered if he tried to look like a lost puppy or if it just came naturally for him.

"No," Mr. Stark shook his head almost instantly. Maisie felt her stomach sink, but she couldn't really expect his answer to be yes. She blamed Peter and his constant optimism.

Happy knocked on the car door, holding a case in each hand and struggling to hold them up.

"Seventh floor," Mr. Stark called, nodding and pointing up at the building.

Peter shook his head, "We can take that, don't worry about it, we've got it."

"Thank you," Happy dropped the cases on the ground outside the car, and Peter turned back to Mr. Stark.

"So, when's our next 'retreat' you know? Like..." Peter used air-quotes over 'retreat.'

"Next mission?" Mr. Stark questioned. The man glanced at Maisie, who raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what he was thinking. "We'll call you."

Maisie felt herself deflate, but she kept face, if not for herself, then for Peter.

The boy continued, "Wait, do you have my number?" He reached for his phone.

"No, I mean, like, we'll call you," Mr. Stark repeated, as though it were clearer the second time. "As in, someone will call you."

"Oh! Like, from your team," Peter nodded like he understood.

Mr. Stark reached for Peter's door to let him out, and Maisie pretended not to watch as the boy mistook the gesture for a hug. She teleported outside the car to avoid any more awkward deflections from the man. It was obvious that Mr. Stark wouldn't be contacting them for a while, if ever again.

Peter stepped out of the car, having recovered quickly from the awkward not-hug. The two teens watched as Happy drove away, taking Tony Stark with him.

Peter turned to Maisie, "They're gonna call us!"

The girl couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, "Yeah, they are."

"Wanna stay for dinner?" Peter lifted his case with no problem, and he even grabbed Maisie's for her. "I know you probably don't want to stay home alone..."

Maisie nodded, "Sure, thanks, Pete."

"You're gonna love Aunt May..." the boy's excited tone continued on about random things from the trip and about school the next day and everything they'd get to do on patrol now that they were partners. She just let him talk, inspired by his excitement.

Hopefully, Mr. Stark wouldn't let him down.

******

TWO MONTHS LATER

Maisie waited outside the school for Peter's subway to arrive. She said she could always drop by and teleport them to school so he'd have more time in the morning, but Peter said he liked taking the subway, so the girl let him be.

It'd been two months since Germany, and Maisie could tell that the lack of communication from Mr. Stark and Happy was starting to take a toll on him. Still, Peter held onto a bit of hope, and Maisie was determined to make sure it wouldn't die out.

"'Sup, Penis Parker!" a voice called, laughing.

Maisie saw Peter rolling his eyes as Flash Thompson sped away in his silver sports car, not before sending a middle finger in Maisie's direction that she forced herself not to return.

She smiled upon seeing Peter, "Hey."

"Hey, Maisie," Peter greeted, walking through the school's front doors by her side.

The morning announcements from Betty Brant and Jason Ionello played on the TV as they entered the building, the two of them looking as awkward as ever as they discussed the upcoming homecoming dance. The school was busy, and Maisie ducked to avoid a drone flying through the air. Principal Morita saw the drone and immediately grabbed it out of the air, pulling the kid into his office.

Maisie's locker was a few down from Peter's, and she left him for a moment to find grab her books for her first class. MJ texted to say she'd be late, so she didn't need to meet up with her before first period started. She made her way back to Peter's locker as Ned Leeds creeped up behind Peter with a small Lego Star Wars character in his hands.

"Join me, and together, we'll build my new Lego Death Star!" Ned used a creepy voice to mimic the character, but Maisie had no idea who it was. She'd never willingly tell Peter or Ned, but she'd never seen Star Wars before.

"What?" Peter exclaimed, eyes bright.

"So lame," a cheerleader scoffed a small distance from the two.

Maisie shot the girl a glare, and the cheerleader silenced herself with a roll of her eyes, pulling her friends somewhere else.

"No way! That's awesome, how many pieces?" Peter asked, sending an appreciative glance at Maisie as she stood next to him.

"Three thousand eight hundred and three," Ned replied proudly. When Maisie arrived, the boy's eyes widened, "H-Hey, Maisie."

"Hey, Ned," she responded, smiling. "Death Star sounds awesome, how long does it usually take to put together?"

"Depends on how good you are at doing it," Ned replied, wincing. "Um, at putting the pieces together, I mean."

Maisie nodded in understanding, and Peter nodded, "That's insane, dude! Three thousand pieces?"

"I know!" Ned looked excited. "Wanna build it tonight?"

"No, man, I'm sorry," Peter closed his locker, avoiding Maisie's eyes. "I've got the Stark—"

"Stark Internship, yeah, I know," Ned sighed. "You know, Maisie's got the internship, but she doesn't skip out on plans nearly as much."

"That's because Maisie isn't as dedicated as I am," Peter responded, sending a triumphant smirk at the girl.

Maisie rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into this discussion again, "Actually, Peter, it's because I still value some things in my life. Like food, rest, my friends, schoolwork—"

"None of that will matter if this leads to a real job one day," Peter shook his head, looking determined.

Maisie bit her lip so she wouldn't argue, and Ned saved her from a reply, "That's be so sweet. He'd be all, 'Good job on those spreadsheets, Peter. Here's a gold coin.'"

Peter and Maisie gave the boy a look.

Ned shrugged, "I don't know how jobs work."

"That's exactly how they work," Maisie laughed, nudging him. She turned to Peter, "Right?"

Peter didn't reply. The girl looked at him, and she was only vaguely aware of Ned talking about the Death Star again, "Okay, so I'll knock out the basic bones of the Death Star at my place. And, and then I'll come by afterwards..."

Maisie stopped listening as she realized what Peter was staring at. Liz Allan walked down the far end of the hallway with Betty Brant, and Maisie understood instantly as she watched Liz make eye contact with a dumbstruck Peter. It was obvious that Peter'd had a crush on Liz since Academic Decathlon started this year. Maisie thought the girl was nice enough, but she didn't understand Peter's infatuation with her.

"Yeah, sounds great," Peter mumbled, obviously hearing nothing of what Ned said.

Maisie frowned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and she walked the rest of the way to her physics classroom. Peter and Ned scrambled after her as the bell rang.

******

"Okay, so how do we calculate the linear progression from A to B?" Ms. Warren asked the class.

Maisie resisted rolling her eyes. She was doing these kinds of calculations in a SHIELD facility with the top astrophysicists in the world before she could ride a bike. The girl stifled a yawn and looked over at Peter watching videos of himself as Spider-Man on YouTube instead of paying attention. Maisie smirked as she watched herself jump in and teleport Spider-Man out of the way of an incoming bus, and Peter turned his head to stick his tongue out at her before returning to the video.

The girl looked up as Flash answered, "It's the product of sine of the angle and gravity divided by mass."

Maisie snorted, earning a glare from Flash as Ms. Warren replied, "Nope."

Peter didn't notice Ms. Warren's eyes land on him as he was obviously not paying attention. Maisie nudged him with her elbow, and his head shot up.

"Peter, I'm glad you're still with us," Ms. Warren gestured at the board.

"Uh, um," Peter glanced at the chalkboard for a moment to figure it out, "mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine."

Maisie covered a smirk with her hand at Flash's annoyed face.

"Correct," Ms. Warren smiled, turning to Flash. "See, Flash, being the fastest isn't always the best if you're wrong."

Flash turned around and made eye contact with Peter, mouthing, 'You're dead.'

Maisie just rolled her eyes, and Peter suppressed a sigh as he turned back to Ms. Warren, shutting his laptop for the rest of the period.

The next class was chemistry, one of Maisie's new favorites. There weren't many topics that challenged her in the subject of physics, so biology and chemistry were where she actually felt as though she were invested in learning something.

Peter was her lab partner since Ned wasn't in the class, and Maisie had to keep nudging him whenever Mr. Cobbwell came near their desk so he wouldn't catch him making his web fluid in the lab drawer. Chemistry bored Peter unless he was making something of his own, like the fluid, and he preferred the mechanics and engineering contrast to Maisie. The only thing the two could agree on was their love for physics, though they both found the high school class pretty basic.

Maisie caught Peter looking at the clock several times that day, looking agitated every time, as though it weren't moving fast enough for him.

"Calm down," Maisie sighed, handing him another component of the web fluid. "Only lunch, free period for Decathlon, then one more hour."

"Yeah, English," Peter wrinkled his nose, shutting the drawer as Mr. Cobbwell moved by their row, talking about quantum theory and Niels Bohr.

"I'm so glad I have that in the morning," Maisie smirked. "I get it out of the way nice and early."

"Well, choir for a last class isn't much better," Peter shot back.

"That's because you can't sing," Maisie countered, turning back to their actual experiment.

Peter frowned, "How do I know that you can sing?"

Maisie looked bored as she replied, "Quit being so argumentative, Parker. Now, hand me the hydrogen peroxide."

Peter mumbled something under his breath, but obeyed. His eyes flicked back up to the clock, and he sighed.

Lunch was a dull affair, but at least MJ was back from whatever appointment she had in the morning. She sat next to Maisie across from Ned and Peter, eating her lunch quietly as Maisie talked to her about something she wouldn't remember once the bell rang.

"Did Liz get a new top?" Peter asked, palm under his chin.

The two girls looked up, and seeing Peter's gaze behind them, they both turned around. Liz Allan was standing on a ladder, putting up the banner for the homecoming dance in a few weeks.

Ned shook his head, replying, "No, we've seen that before, but never with that skirt."

Maisie rolled her eyes and turned back around to face her food, taking a bite of a carrot stick and munching on it loudly.

"We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy, though," Peter sighed, though he didn't look like he was ready to move.

"Too late," MJ spoke up, turning around. "You guys are losers."

Maisie smirked, sharing a grin with MJ as Peter and Ned looked offended.

"Then why do you sit with us?" Ned shot back, frowning at his food.

"Because Maisie's my only friend," MJ replied, shrugging.

Maisie laughed, and the two returned to their conversation. She tried to ignore the lingering looks Peter kept sending over Maisie's shoulder at the senior girl behind her.

******

Maisie's free hour was spent hanging out with the Academic Decathlon team which Ned, Peter, and MJ were all a part of. Maisie was pressured to join once she became friends with the three, but she immediately declined.

"No, nope," she had said, shaking her head. "I am not good under pressure."

Peter sent her a look, obviously knowing that wasn't the case.

"Not about knowing things!" Maisie shot back, glaring. "I act and think fast under that kind of pressure, but in front of a crowd? No thank you. I'll stick to my disappearing act, thanks."

Nevertheless, she was always there to keep time and hang out around the team. She was sure she could even get into going on the trip to Washington D.C. in a couple weeks... MJ was very persuasive.

Liz spoke up, getting the team back on track, "Let's move to the next question. What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?"

Charles slammed his hand down on the bell, "Hydrogen's the lightest!" he paused, frowning. "That's not the question."

"Uranium," Abe rang his bell and answered. Cindy frowned at him as she found the answer in one of her books just after he replied.

"That is correct," Liz smiled. "Thank you, Abraham."

Abe punched his fist in the air, "Yes!"

"Please open your books to page ten..." Maisie zoned out as Liz instructed the group what to do next.

Maisie glanced over at Peter having a conversation with Mr. Harrington, the man in charge of the team.

She only caught the end of Mr. Harrington's words, "Peter, it's Nationals. Is there no way you could take one weekend off?"

"I can't go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me, then I have to make sure that I'm here," Peter protested, shaking his head.

Maisie wanted to argue, but she only felt a surge of pity for the boy. Apparently, others didn't share her feelings.

"You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark," Flash scoffed, shaking his head. His feet were propped up in a chair, and he had looked up from his book to make the comment

Cindy looked confused, "Wait, what's happening?"

Sally didn't look up from her book as she replied, "Peter's not going to Washington."

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Cindy shook her head, anxiety filling her features. "No."

Okay, so someone really wanted Peter to go to Washington.

Abe rang his bell, calling out, "Why not?"

"Really?" Liz looked annoyed. "Right before Nationals?"

"He already quit marching band and robotics lab," Maisie spoke up, frowning at her friend from her place next to MJ. The Decathlon team turns to look at her, and she shrugged, "Better hope he doesn't quit everything else, too."

Peter frowned at her, but Maisie stared back with a defiant look. The boy was giving up too much on the off-chance Tony Stark decided to maybe pick up his phone. It was going too far.

"Flash, you're in for Peter," Liz sounded reluctant to tell him that.

"Ooh, I don't know," Flash mocked. "I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."

Maisie scoffed, "She would kill you without batting an eye."

Abe rang his bell, "That is true."

Mr. Harrington sighed, "Abraham, what did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?"

The bell rang, signaling the end of the free hour reserved for Decathlon, and the students picked up their bags, heading for the door. Ned and MJ left for different classes, but Peter took his time, waiting for Maisie.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Peter started, sarcasm lacing his tone.

Maisie didn't give herself room to feel sorry for him, "You did that to yourself, Pete. And for no reason."

"You know we have to be ready if—" Peter was interrupted.

"We are ready! Having band practice won't interfere with it," Maisie threw her bag over her shoulder and left the room. Peter scrambled after her.

"We're pretty much Avengers now," Peter spoke quietly, glancing over his shoulder. "Avengers are ready at all times. They don't even have band practices."

Maisie rolled her eyes, "Mr. Stark told us that we're not Avengers. I was there, remember? And they don't have band practices because they don't go to high school."

"Yeah, but—" Peter argued.

"Peter," Maisie turned to face him, feeling her heart ache. "As much as I don't want it to be true, Mr. Stark doesn't need us. We'll figure it out by ourselves until he does."

Peter shut his mouth, looking down at his shoes. Maisie hated to always be the one to put him down, but sooner or later, he had to be realistic. She just supposed that she had a bit of a tougher time holding onto hope while Peter was constantly full of it.

"Come on, let's get to class," she pulled him toward his English classroom.

******

After school, Maisie teleported home to change into her Mischief suit. She was still in awe that she got to keep it after the fight in Berlin, and she smiled every time she saw it. Leaving her backpack on her desk and grabbing a quick snack, she teleported into the alley where she and Peter usually met up, appearing in a sitting position atop a closed Dumpster.

Apparently, she was a little early, because she found the boy half-dressed and pulling up the suit from his ankles. He hadn't heard Maisie arrive, and the girl watched him with one eyebrow raised as he stumbled to get his suit on. Peter was a nerd, that she knew, but the boy was also a superhero. With superhero-ing came muscles, and Maisie watched Peter with a satisfied smirk as she quickly located his. Thank God for that radioactive spider, she thought.

Pressing the black spider symbol on the front of his suit, Peter compressed it to his body and reached for his backpack. He webbed it to the wall next to Maisie's Dumpster and looked up, letting out a yelp of surprise when he saw her.

"Jeez! When did you get here?" he asked, holding a hand to his heart.

"Long enough to know what color your underwear is," Maisie smirked. "Red, by the way. And, doesn't your spidey-sense alert you when shit like this happens?"

Peter put his mask over his head, "Not when it isn't a threat."

Maisie narrowed her eyes, "I'm not threatening?"

"Not to me," Maisie could hear the grin in Peter's voice, and he shot a web out of the alley, swinging toward the city.

Maisie scoffed, teleporting from building to building in an attempt to work on her cardio. She was faster than the average human, which she learned when she won several awards in middle school for track by beating the runner-up by a lap nearly every time. She quit before it became suspicious.

Eventually, she got sick of waiting around for Peter to land on a suitable rooftop and paused, scanning the streets below for any sign of crime. She zeroed in on a Grand Theft Bicycle a couple blocks away, but Spider-Man was already swinging toward it.

The girl smirked as he wrote a note and left the bike near a shop entrance.

Peter swung up to Maisie's location and sighed, sitting down next to her.

"Bike all safe?" she quipped.

"Yep," Peter smiled, opening a brown paper bag and offering her a sandwich. He grabbed his own sandwich with extra pickles, smushed down real flat, and rolled up his mask above his mouth to take a bite.

She accepted, taking the turkey and lettuce on white. She crossed her legs under her, taking a bite, "How'd the English test go?"

Peter shrugged, "Easy, but I still don't like the Crucible."

"You wouldn't," Maisie agreed, nodding. She took another bite of her sandwich and looked out at Queens. "By the way, I think MJ's catching on to this whole thing..."

Peter scoffed, "No way, we're super careful."

Maisie rolled her eyes, "You make your web fluid during chem, Pete. You're not as subtle as you think you are."

The two were interrupted by another petty crime, and Maisie took that one, returning the purse to the middle-aged woman who lost it. She gave Maisie an approving nod, but the look of hesitation on her face told Maisie she wasn't exactly trusting of the vigilante.

Maisie teleported back to their previous location and saw Peter assist an elderly woman with directions and even help her cross the street. She watched with a small smile, shaking her head in amusement. Peter really was the best person she knew. Across the street, the old lady insisted on buying Peter a churro for all his help, and Maisie let out a laugh that she knew Peter could hear.

He accepted, thanking her, and swung off toward Maisie with the cinnamon dessert in hand.

"You better give me half," Maisie joked, but of course, Peter obliged and ripped the treat in half.

Peter glanced over across the city, noticing the sun starting to set. He frowned, knowing not much happened that day that would make for an interesting report, but he still took his phone out.

"You calling today?" Maisie asked, mouth full of churro. "Don't forget to mention the churro!"

Peter chuckled and dialed Happy's number, reaching voicemail like always.

"Hey, Happy!" Peter began, sounding upbeat. "Um, here's my report for tonight. I stopped a Grand Theft Bicycle. Couldn't find the owner, so I just left a note. Um... Maisie stopped a mugging, and the lady who lost the purse didn't seem as grateful as she thought she would be, but that could just be Maisie's whining—" Maisie smacked him, an amused smirk on her face as she shook her head. Peter continued, taking a bite of his churro, "I helped this lost, old Dominican lady. She was really nice and bought me a churro. So I just, um, feel like we could be doing more. You know? Just curious when the next real mission is gonna be. So, yeah, just call me back. It's Peter. Parker."

Peter hung up, sighing. Maisie winced, "I was just kidding about telling him about the churro."

"I knew it," Peter shook his head.

A warning signal sounded, and Maisie glanced at Peter's webshooters, reading 'web fluid low.' Peter sighed and ejected the cartridge, lurching forward to catch it when it flew off the side of the building. He stood perpendicular on the side of the building, holding it safely in his hands and smiled, placing it on his belt and retrieving a new one.

Maisie snorted, "I will never get used to that."

"What? I'm sticky, it's not that big of a deal," Peter retorted.

"How many times have I told you, don't say that!" Maisie laughed.

When Peter remained silent, Maisie looked over, seeing his gaze locked in on something a short distance away. Four men armed with weapons and plastic masks were entering a closed bank, heading for the ATMs.

"Finally, something good," Peter mumbled.

Maisie shot him a look, but couldn't help but agree, "Wanna tag-team this one?"

Peter smirked, "Beat you there?"

He jumped off the building, swinging toward the bank. Maisie rolled her eyes, teleporting to the front door and arriving fifteen seconds before Peter.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he muttered, opening the front door.

Maisie followed behind him, staring down the backs of the criminals loading money from the ATMs into black duffel bags. They hadn't noticed the two young superheroes yet, and Maisie crossed her arms, gesturing for Peter to go ahead.

He stood awkwardly with his hand on the wall, crossing his legs, "What's up, guys? Forget your PIN number?"

The four men whipped around, startled by the interruption, and Maisie noticed that their plastic masks were Avengers merch. Cartoon faces of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America stared back at them, barely hiding covering the criminals.

"Whoa!" Peter's fake enthusiasm rolling off his tongue. "You're the Avengers! What are you guys doing here?"

One of the criminals aimed his gun at Spider-Man, but he webbed it and sent it flying into Impostor Hulk's and Faux Thor's faces, knocking them to the ground.

"Wow, didn't take much for the strongest Avenger to get knocked off his feet," Maisie quipped teleporting out of the way of another gun aimed her way and swiping the legs out from under Iron Man.

Peter turned to Maisie, catching Captain Fake-Merica's fist in his hand, "Were you talking about Thor or Hulk?"

Maisie scoffed, "Thor, obviously."

Peter nodded, relieved, "Good, I was afraid I was gonna have to argue..."

Captain Fake-Merica started throwing more and more punches that Spider-Man dodged seamlessly, and Mischief kicked the weapon out of Iron Hoax's hands. The girl winced as he landed a hit to her face, glaring. She turned back to keep fighting, but Spider-Man interrupted, throwing Captain Fake-Merica at Iron Hoax and sending them into a heap on the ground.

"Iron Man? Hey, what are you doing robbing a bank, aren't you a billionaire?" Peter scoffed, dodging a punch to his face.

Mischief focused on Impostor Hulk and Faux Thor, teleporting around them to confuse them before sending punches to every part of their body. While Spider-Man was fighting Iron Hoax, he didn't notice Captain Fake-Merica lift one of the weapons, pressing the trigger and aiming right at him. Next thing they knew, he was suspended in midair, surrounded by a purple and blue glow.

"Whoa, this feels so weird..." Peter managed to say. Maisie teleported next to him, intending on moving the two out of the way of the weapon, but she quickly found that she couldn't teleport out of the way.

"What the hell—" she tried, but Captain Fake-Merica used the weapon to throw the two into the wall.

As soon as the weapon released them, Mischief teleported out of its aim, but Spider-Man wasn't fast enough. Captain Fake-Merica caught him in the device again, slamming him against the walls and ceilings, back and forth.

"I'm starting to think... you guys aren't the Avengers!" Peter forced the words out, wincing as his body took a hard hit on the ground.

Mischief teleported behind the weapon, kicking Captain Fake-Merica behind the knees and forcing him to the ground. She grabbed the weapon from him and threw it against the wall. It broke on impact, sparks flying as it landed on the ground.

"Where did you losers get tech like that?" she demanded, flipping out a small knife from her waist to help with the intimidation. "Huh?"

She never got an answer. As she was busy with Captain Fake-Merica, Impostor Hulk managed to pick up one of the other weapons, and set it off. It was different from the other one, cutting through the bank's walls with a laser so intense it got out of his control. Peter and Maisie watched in horror as it cut through the sandwich shop across the street, Delmar's. The shop exploded, flames spewing in every direction.

Maisie teleported inside immediately, and she found Mr. Delmar coughing near the cash register, trying to gather his bearings. She grabbed his arm and teleported them outside the building as Peter ran inside. The boy came out a minute later with a fat cat tucked under his arm, and he handed it to Mr. Delmar.

The two teen superheroes turn to face the bank, and they frown when they see that the robbers had escaped.

"We need to call Happy," Maisie frowned, glaring at the destroyed bank.

"Yeah," Peter agreed, the same somber tone to his voice.

******

Peter ran across the top of a building until he reached his and Maisie's usual rendezvous point. She teleported next to him a moment later, already dialing the number.

"Hello?" she heard Happy's usual dismissive voice on the other line.

"Happy, some really crazy shit just happened," Maisie began, an edge to her voice. "There were some guys robbing some ATMs, and—"

Happy scoffed, "Calm down, I don't have time for ATM robberies."

"Yeah, fine, but—" she tried to continue, but he interrupted again.

"—or the thoughtful notes that Peter always leaves behind. I have moving day to worry about, alright?" Happy sounded oddly proud of that statement. "Everything's gotta be here by next week."

Peter snatched the phone out of Maisie's hand, "Wait, wait! You're moving? Who's moving?"

The girl felt a pit form in her stomach, and the look on Peter's face let her know that he was feeling the same.

"Don't you watch the news?" Happy chastised. "Tony sold Avengers Tower. We're relocating to a new facility upstate where, hopefully, the cell service is much worse."

Maisie scoffed, shaking her head. She pulled her knees to her chest and looked out at the city.

"But what about us?" Peter asked, worry lacing his voice.

"What about you?" Happy sounded confused.

"Well, what if Mr. Stark needs us or something?" Peter sighed. "I don't know, what if something big goes down? Can I please just talk to Mr. Stark?"

"Look, just stay away from anything too dangerous. I'm responsible for making sure you two are responsible, okay?" Happy instructed, not answering Peter's question.

"I am responsible," Peter felt his voice dwindle to something that sounded more like a whine, and Maisie took the phone back.

"Happy, seriously, these guys robbing the ATMs got away with—" she tried, but Happy interrupted.

"They got away? That doesn't sound very responsible," Happy countered. He sounded like he was talking to someone on the other line, and before Maisie could speak again, he continued, "Sorry, kids. I gotta go, feel free to not call me back!"

The line went dead, and Maisie glared at the 'Call Ended' screen lighting up her phone.

"Damn it!" she cursed, shaking her head. "Why doesn't he ever listen to us?"

Peter frowned, "Maybe because every time we've called him it's been about churros and saving cats from trees."

Maisie stood up, knowing he was right. She paced the side of the building for a while before checking the time on her phone and showing it to Peter.

"May wanted to cook tonight, turkey meatloaf or something, if you wanna come over?" Peter gave her a sideways glance.

It wasn't a secret that Maisie and her father didn't really get along. He'd always been distant, but after her mother died, it had only gotten worse. She tried not to spend a lot of time at home, and thanks to her superpowers, she didn't have to. Peter always offered to host her for dinner, and despite May's atrocious cooking, she loved to eat with the Parkers. It was obvious that May loved Peter, and she often reminded Maisie of her own mother.

Maisie nodded, half-smiling, "Sure, thanks."

The two teleported into Peter's neighborhood. Maisie rolled her eyes as she did every time Peter insisted that he go in first to see if May was in his room. He wanted to keep his identity a secret, especially from May, and teleporting blindly into his room with her to see it wasn't the best way to do that. She stood with her arms crossed as Peter scaled the building, slowly opening the window to his bedroom and sliding it shut with the back of his foot.

She waited for Peter to flash his lights using the switch next to his door, and when he did, Maisie teleported into his room at the exact moment he turned around. She laughed as she stepped on his foot, scaring him off balance. He let out a scoff which caught in his throat as his eyes landed on something behind her.

"Sorry, Pete—" the sound of something crashing interrupted her sentence, and the girl whirled around with wide eyes.

Ned sat on Peter's bed, the collapsed Lego Death Star at his feet. His jaw was dropped, and he stood up as Maisie and Peter finally saw him. The three stared at one another in terror, all afraid to speak. Maisie cursed herself for taking off her mask already, but she figured that once Peter's identity was figured out, it wasn't too far a leap to hers.

"What was that?" May's voice called, obviously referring to the Death Star's fall.

Peter replied instantly, "Uh! Nothing!"

Ned's eyes moved at record speed to and from Peter and Maisie, "You're the Spider-Man... M-Mischief. From YouTube."

"We're not!" Peter objected, pressing the spider-emblem on his suit so it retracted from his body. Maisie tried not to be distracted by the boy standing in his underwear, and she turned her attention back to Ned.

"You were on the ceiling," Ned argued, then turning to Maisie. "You... poof!"

"No, I wasn't," Peter still objected. "Ned, what are you doing in my room?"

"May let me in, you said we were going to work on the Death Star!" Ned argued, sounding exasperated.

"Why the hell didn't you check the room, Peter?" Maisie whisper-shouted, unfreezing enough to give the boy a glare. "You gave me the all-clear!"

Peter's door opened, startling Maisie enough to force her to react instinctively. She teleported behind the door as May stepped in, seeing only Ned and a clothes-less Peter standing in his room.

"The turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster!" May laughed, shaking her hair loose from a bun and waving a dishrag in front of her face. Maisie wrinkled her nose as smoke filtered into Peter's room from the kitchen. "Let's go to dinner... Thai? Ned, you want Thai?"

A glazed look came across Ned's face, "Yes."

"No, he's got a thing," Peter tried to play it cool. He forced himself to keep his eyes on May instead of the girl hiding behind his door.

"A thing to do..." Ned nodded in agreement, staring at May. Peter caught Maisie rolling her eyes.

"Okay," May nodded, then she looked at Peter. The woman smirked, "Maybe put on some clothes..."

Peter reached for a grey sweatshirt, a sheepish smile crossing his face. When May finally closed the door again, Peter's frantic expression returned.

"Oh, she doesn't know?" Ned asked, referring to May.

"Nobody knows, Ned," Maisie replied, crossing her arms. She prided herself on being the more collected one of the two teens on the outside, but on the inside, she was still freaking out.

"I mean, Mr. Stark knows because he made our suits, but that's it!" Peter added.

Maisie sent him a look, "How much are we telling him?"

"Tony Stark made you that?" Ned's jaw was on the floor, and his voice lowered. "Are you guys Avengers?"

"No!" Maisie replied at the same time Peter said, "Yeah, basically!"

Maisie took a step closer to Ned, "Look, you can't tell anybody, okay? It has to be a secret."

"A secret?" Ned looked to be having trouble comprehending the idea. "Why?"

"You know what May's like!" Peter answered, stepping in line with Maisie. "If she finds out people try and kill me every single night, she's not going to let me do this anymore. Come on, Ned, please."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay," Ned replied, sighing. "I'll level with you. I don't think I can keep this a secret. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!"

Peter groaned, running a hand through his hair before he replied, "Ned, May cannot know. I cannot do that to her right now, you know? I mean, everything that's happened with her, I... Please."

Ned kept silent, and Maisie took it as a chance to speak up. Her voice was quiet, but solemn, "I don't know what my dad would do if he found out. I... I don't think he'd kick me out, you know, because he's my dad and everything, but I'm honestly not sure anymore."

Peter reached over and took her hand, squeezing it once.

"Okay," Ned sighed, nodding in determination. "Okay, I swear I'll keep it a secret."

"I can't believe this is happening right now," Maisie shook her head in disbelief.

"Can I try your suit on?" Ned asked Peter, a hopeful glimmer in her eye. Maisie couldn't help it, she laughed.

"No," Peter shook his head, ushering Ned toward the door.

"How does it work? Is it magnets? How do you shoot the strings?" Ned rambled, then his eyes widened and he turned to Maisie, "How do you teleport? Were you born with it? Are you a mutant? Is Maisie even your real name?"

Maisie kept laughing, shaking her head at the boy, "We'll tell you about it at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Great, okay, cool," Ned almost left through the door, but he paused, eyes wide. "Wait! How do you guys do this and the Stark Internship?"

The two superheroes stared at him before Peter finally responded, "Dude, this is the Stark Internship."

"Ohhhh," Ned understood, and Peter shoved him out the door, closing it behind him.

Maisie crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow, "Smooth."

Peter groaned, jumping onto his bed, "What are we going to do?"

"Hope Ned doesn't tell everyone our secret identities, and if he does, find a new place to live?" Maisie landed on the bed, forcing him to move over. She smirked as she heard his stomach grumble, "Hungry? Even after that churro?"

Peter sighed, standing up, "Yeah, I guess we're having Thai."

When Maisie didn't move, Peter sent her a questioning look.

"I'm good," she waved him off. She didn't like it when they went out to eat. She knew money wasn't great for the Parkers, though it wasn't exactly bad either, but she didn't like the idea of them paying for her meal, and May always did. "I think I'll just go home."

Peter frowned, knowing why she changed her mind, "Maisie, it's fine, just don't go home, alright?"

"I've got leftovers, you know," she shrugged. "I've got mac and cheese. I'll be fine, Pete."

"Get up, or I'll call May in here right now," Peter crossed his arms.

"As much as I'd love to take a threat seriously from a boy standing in his boxers," Maisie smirked, "I'm going to have to call your bluff. I'm still wearing my suit, idiot."

"May!" Peter's voice rang throughout the apartment. "Maisie's coming with us to dinner!"

Her eyes widened, and she stood up, "Peter—"

"Sounds great, honey! I love that girl!" May called back. Maisie blushed as she heard the woman's compliment, and Peter beamed with pride.

"Here, you have clothes here for this exact reason," Peter gestured at the drawer of Maisie's clothes. Second from the bottom.

The girl's stomach made a sound, and Peter grinned in triumph.

"Fine," Maisie couldn't hide her grin. "But, next time, mac and cheese."

******

The next day, Maisie and MJ were in the girl's locker room getting ready for gym class. Maisie finished tying her hair into a ponytail when a taller girl bumped into her.

"Oh, sorry Maisie," Liz put a hand on her arm, giving her an apologetic smile.

Maisie smiled back, waving her off, "No big deal."

"Oh, hey, I was going to ask!" the girl's eyes brightened as she remembered something. "I know Washington is only like a week away, but I asked Mr. Harrington if you could come along as our manager? You've always been the best at the times, and I know since you're friends with Ned and MJ, well, and Peter, but since he's not going—"

Maisie nodded, interrupting her, "I'd love to go! Unlike Peter, I have the sense to be able to take off some time from the internship."

"Great! I'll text you the details, I think I have your number... Oh, and there's a party at my house tonight!" Liz turned to MJ, too. "You guys should both come, it's gonna be great."

"I don't know—" MJ began, but Maisie interrupted.

"Sounds great, Liz, we'll definitely stop by," she smiled.

"Awesome," Liz nodded, turning to leave. "See you then!"

MJ rolled her eyes and took out a book from her locker, 'Of Human Bondage.' Maisie gave her a look, raising an eyebrow, but MJ elbowed her in the stomach and followed Liz out to the gym, leaving Maisie laughing behind her.

The class was led out to the bleachers were they were supposed to watch a short video describing the fitness challenge they were attempting that day. Maisie and MJ took seats behind Peter and Ned, giving them a quick wave as they sat down. When Captain America came up on screen, Peter had to force himself to remain facing forward.

Maisie heard Ned's whisper to Peter, "Do you know him, too?"

"Yeah, we met," Peter's voice was low enough that Maisie was confident no one besides Ned and her super-hearing could hear him. "Maisie stole his shield."

Ned's head turned so his wide eyes landed on Maisie, jaw dropped. She smirked and gave a nonchalant shrug. MJ didn't look up from her book.

"What?" Ned whisper-yelled.

MJ shushed him.

"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher," the Steve Rogers on the screen pointed to the side opposite where Coach Wilson was standing, "will be conducting the Captain America Fitness Challenge."

Maisie leaned forward to whisper to Peter, "I can't believe the government talked him into doing this shit. It's kinda sad."

Peter snorted, "There's no way Mr. Stark let this go away, I bet he made T-shirts or something."

"I would," Maisie nodded.

"Thank you, Captain," Coach Wilson said as the video ended. "I'm pretty sure this guy's a war criminal now, but whatever, I have to show these videos. It's required by state. Let's go."

The class dispersed, and Maisie stood up to try her luck at the rope climbing. As Spider-Man's partner, she figured that it would only be a matter of time before she'd have to climb up one of his webs to save her life.

Unfortunately, Flash followed her, getting in line behind her.

"Oh, for Christ's sake..." Maisie groaned, rolling her eyes at him.

"So, Margaret," Flash began, smirking. "May I call you Margaret?"

"If I can call you Eugene," Maisie shot back, taking a hold of her rope.

Flash frowned, but he continued, "So, I see that you and Parker are getting close. Did you just start to feel bad for him?"

Maisie glanced over at Peter holding Ned's feet as he attempted sit-ups. Peter locked eyes with the girl and rolled his eyes, letting her know that he could hear. Maisie smirked.

"Flash, trust me," Maisie pulled herself up the beginning of the rope, finding it a lot easier than she assumed it would be. "The only person I feel bad for is you."

She climbed the rope, trying not to make it look too obviously easy for her as she hit the bell at the top and slowly brought her way back down. Her feet hit the mat with a graceful dismount, not giving Flash another look as she left him to try to make it up the rope himself.

Maisie crossed the bleachers as she made her way over to where MJ was laying on one of the sit-up mats, reading her book instead of following the exercise. She was interrupted by Liz's voice carrying across the gym.

"Maisie! Come here!" she called, a mischievous smile on her face. "We're playing 'F, Marry, Kill,' and we can't decide..."

"Speak for yourself!" Betty giggled. "See, for me, it'd be F Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk."

Charles, one of Liz's friends, rolled his eyes, "What about The Spider-Man?"

"It's just 'Spider-Man,'" Maisie spoke up. Inwardly, she scolded herself, and she played dumb, "Isn't it?"

She could feel eyes on her back, and she knew that Peter was watching the conversation.

"Did you guys see that bank security cam on YouTube?" Liz gushed. "He fought off four guys!"

"Mischief was there, too, you know," Betty crossed her arms, "and she's got real superpowers."

It took all her energy to not turn around to look at Peter. The desire to gloat was hanging off the tip of her tongue. She could almost feel the eye roll from behind her.

"I'm not gay, but if I were..." Betty trailed off, shrugging. Maisie's eyes widened.

"I just really respect Spider-Man, that's all," Liz defended, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Oh my God, you're totally crushing on him!" Charles realized, pointing with an accusatory look.

"No way," Betty shook her head, laughing.

"Oh, come on, guys! I mean, kind of..." Liz turned to Maisie. "Back me up, Maisie!"

The three turned to look at her expectantly, and Maisie floundered for an answer, "Er, yeah. I mean, he's, uh, really brave and stuff. I bet he's a nice guy."

Maisie heard an amused scoff behind her, and she wasn't sure if it were Peter or Ned. Her money was on the former.

"He's probably, like, thirty," Betty wrinkled her nose.

"You don't even know what he looks like. What if he's, like, seriously burned?" Charles pointed out, ever the rational one.

Liz shook her head, "I wouldn't care. I'd still love him for the person he is on the inside."

Maisie refrained from checking Peter's expression, knowing how he must be feeling. It wasn't a secret he had a crush on Liz, and there was no way he wasn't filled with all sorts of emotions he couldn't exactly express.

"Peter knows Spider-Man!" Ned spoke up. His voice carried across the whole room, and the class immediately stopped what they were doing.

Maisie and Peter whipped around, sending identical looks of shock at their friend, Maisie glared, "Ned—"

"No, no I don't, I don't—" Peter spoke at the same time.

He was interrupted as Ned continued, "They're friends!"

At that moment, Flash landed from his climb on the rope, "Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends."

Maisie and Peter locked eyes, and the boy tried to explain, "I-I've met him a couple of times. Uh, Maisie did too! Yeah, a couple times, but it's just through the Stark Internship..."

"Yeah," Maisie glared at Ned, "but we're really not supposed to talk about it."

Ned looked down, shame settling on his face. The girl almost felt bad, but it passed quickly.

"Well, that's awesome," Flash nodded, sarcastic. "Hey, you know what? You should invite him to Liz's party!"

Liz nodded, staring curiously at Peter, "Yeah, I'm having people over tonight. You're more than welcome to come."

Peter's eyes were wide, "Having a party?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be dope," Flash zeroed in on Peter, scoffing. "You should really invite your personal friend Spider-Man!"

Peter stuttered to find an answer, but Liz spoke up before he could, "It's okay, I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..."

Maisie narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out why the girl was being so passive-aggressive. Then, she remembered Peter opting out of the Washington trip.

"Come on, he'll be there," Flash continued. "Right, Parker?"

Peter fumbled for something to say, but again, he was saved by the bell ringing. Class was over, and the students left to go change out of their gym clothes.

As soon as everyone was out of earshot, Peter and Maisie turned to Ned with matching looks of exasperation and fury.

"Ned, what the hell was that?" Maisie whisper-yelled.

"I was helping Peter out," Ned defended. "Didn't you hear? Liz has a crush on him!"

Peter paused, considering his words, but Maisie scoffed, "She has a crush on Spider-Man, not Peter! Outing our secret identities for a date that would never work out is pretty much the most amateur—"

"Dude, you're Avengers," Ned scoffed. "If anyone has a chance with a senior, it's you two."

A moment passed, and Peter looked up at Ned with a small smile. Ned returned it instantly, and Maisie looked between the two with disgust on her face.

"I will never understand boys," the girl breathed, shaking her head.

******

Maisie stuck by MJ's side, grabbing a cup of punch from the snack table. She tried to ignore Flash's horrible music from the corner of the room. The two arrived approximately fifteen minutes previously; not too early, not too late. Liz was a nice enough host, but she flitted from each group like the social butterfly she was, not spending too much time with any one party.

While MJ was gathering ingredients for her snack of toast and jam, Maisie stared out at the group of people. Her gaze landed on the front door where Ned and Peter finally arrived. Her eyes narrowed at the sight, and she downed her punch, almost wishing it were something stronger. She'd had alcohol before, stolen from her dad's stores that he'd never notice, but she'd never felt a true desire to drink any before she started her superheroing in New York.

Using her superhearing, she heard Ned ask, "You have the suit, right?"

Peter glanced around for prying eyes before pulling up the sleeve of his shirt enough to see the fabric of the suit underneath, "Yeah."

Ned beamed, "This is gonna change our lives."

Maisie frowned, but said nothing. She and Peter already had the argument about whether or not he should show up as Spider-Man, and she thought she made her feelings perfectly clear on the subject.

"God, Peter. You talk a big game about being taken seriously, but this is ridiculous!" Maisie crossed her arms, pacing the length of Peter's room.

"It's just one party! And Liz will be there—" Peter argued, gesturing wildly with his hands.

Maisie shook her head, "Right. Liz, oh, how could I forget? That changes everything!"

Peter paused, "Really?"

"No," Maisie shot back. She stopped for a moment and took a breath before turning back to Peter, "Spider-Man and Mischief... they aren't party tricks. Nothing and no one is worth losing what we have here, Peter."

He was quiet, contemplating her words.

The girl sighed, running a hand through her hair. When Peter didn't reply, she said, "I'll see you at the party."

She teleported back to her own house, and Peter was left alone in his room.

Maisie came back to reality as MJ got Peter's and Ned's attention, "I can't believe you guys are at this lame party."

She finished spreading jam onto her piece of toast, offering Maisie the other half that she took without a word.

Ned looked at her in confusion, "But you're here, too."

Peter was looking at Maisie, and she stared back, gaze unwavering.

"Am I?" MJ asked, taking a bite of her toast.

With that, the girl turned and left the two boys in a state of confusion. Maisie simply shrugged, nodding at Ned, "Cool hat."

"Thanks," Ned looked proud, and his cheeks reddened a bit. "It gives me confidence."

"Well, it looks great," Maisie agreed, taking a sip of her punch. Peter avoided her eye, and she frowned.

"Hey guys!" a cheery voice greeted. Liz appeared behind Maisie, coming to stand in front of the boys. "I'm so glad you could make it! Cool hat, Ned."

Ned beamed, looking at Peter in triumph. The boy didn't notice though, too busy staring at Liz.

"What a great party," Peter complimented, gesturing awkwardly at the groups of people.

"Thanks," Liz smiled, and she looked like she was going to continue, but the sound of glass breaking interrupted her. Her eyes darted to a group of people in her living room, and she winced, "Oh, my parents will kill me if anything's broken, I gotta—"

"Yeah," Peter replied, head bobbing up and down at a rapid pace.

"Have fun!" she called as she retreated back into the party.

"Bye," Ned and Peter responded in sync, staring after her.

Maisie took a long sip of her punch.

"Dude, what are you doing? She's here!" Ned gestured at Liz, "Spider it up!"

Maisie had enough, and she started to walk away.

"No, wait!" Peter called, grabbing Maisie's arm. He sighed, turning back to Ned, "Sorry, but I can't do this. Spider-Man's not a party trick, okay?"

Maisie pursed her lips, remembering her words from earlier.

"Then what are you going to do?" Ned frowned.

"Look, I'm just gonna be myself..." Peter trailed off, shrugging.

Ned sighed, "Peter, no one wants that."

Maisie and Peter sent him a look, "Dude..."

Interrupting their conversation, Flash used a microphone to call out, "Penis Parker! What's up?" He played a honking sound on the DJ station, and Maisie knew it would only get worse. "So, where's your pal, Spider-Man? Let me guess, in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?"

He played the honking noise again, and Maisie fumed. She knew she could silence the boy with a flick of her hand, but she felt Peter's quick grip on her wrist and it calmed her. They had to take it if they wanted to keep their identity a secret.

"That's not Spider-Man, that's just Ned in a red shirt!" Flash laughed, and the rest of the crowd did too.

"C'mon, Pete," Maisie sighed, pulling on his arm and out the door. Ned protested, but Maisie sent him a look, silencing him.

Once they were out of sight, she teleported the two of them to the roof. Peter still looked distraught, but more annoyed than actually hurt by any of Flash's comments. He fumbled with the sleeve of his shirt, revealing his Spider-Man suit.

"Peter, you know I'm right," Maisie sighed, knowing what he was thinking.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. Peter was staring through the window at the party, seeing Ned looking lost without Peter or Maisie by his side. Then, he saw Liz in the corner of the room, talking to a large group of people. He could make himself look so cool if he just did this one thing, but showing up as Spider-Man meant compromising himself in the process. He'd be selling himself out, for what? Popularity?

Something interrupted his internal battle; a bright blue light, looking like an explosion across town, took his focus. Maisie's eyes widened, having seen it, too. She disappeared and reappeared a moment later, her Stark suit on.

"Okay, now you can use the suit," Maisie smirked, pulling her mask over her nose as Peter was already stripping his outer layer of clothes off.

Maisie teleported them to the site of the explosion a moment later, ensuring they were hidden before attempting to move closer. Peter started to scale the side of a bridge over a small stream as Maisie scanned the bank of the river for any sign of life. A few cars sat idling with their headlights turned off while five men crowd around the back of a white van. One of the men held up a large gun and shot it at a nearby car, causing it to erupt in a small explosion of blue light. Maisie glanced up at the bridge and nodded once at Peter when he looked at her; they were both thinking the same thing: the weapons were just like what they saw at the ATM robbery destroying Delmar's store.

"Now, this is crafted from a reclaimed sub-Ultron arm straight from Sokovia," the man with the gun smirked at his small crowd. He handed the gun to a brown-skinned man watching hesitantly from the side. "Here, you try."

"Man, I wanted something low-key," he passed the gun back to him. "Why're you trying to upsell me?"

"Okay, okay, okay. I got what you need, all right? I got tons of great stuff here. One sec..." the man turned to the van, and Maisie had to move to get a clear look at the inside. Peter crawled closer from the side of the bridge, and his eyes widened at the sight of several different weapons and other machinery they had in the back. Maisie frowned; yep, this was definitely illegal.

Maisie frowned, mumbling to herself, "Where the hell do these guys get this alien tech?"

She heard Peter's whispered response through the comms in her suit, "This must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff!"

"Look, I just need something to stick up somebody, I'm not trying to shoot them back in time," the buyer continued, shaking his head at the unique weaponry.

Suddenly, a loud yodeling sound started to echo throughout the space, making Maisie's eyes widen in shock. She froze in her place, slowly turning her head up to where Peter was fumbling with his ringing phone. Maisie looked back at the weapons dealers as they pulled guns on the buyer.

"What the hell was that?" one guy said, gesturing at him with the gun. "Did you set us up?"

Unsurprisingly, Maisie heard a soft thud of Peter's feet on the ground, and his voice interrupted the threats.

"Hey, hey, come on! If you're gonna shoot at someone, shoot at me!" Peter said, gesturing casually to himself.

Maisie shrugged and appeared next to him, "Feel free not to shoot at me."

The guy with the gun didn't take her suggestion, and he pointed the gun at the two superheroes. Before he could shoot, Spider-Man shot a web at it and pulled it out of his hand. Mischief teleported to the van and scanned the inside of it, trying to find something she could use to incriminate the group of weapons dealers. Her eyes landed on a gun with an energy core glowing bright purple. Her eyebrows furrowed as she remembered a similar picture of something glowing purple from her past, stopping her in her tracks. Before she could move again, an electrical punch landed on the side of her head. Maisie flew through the air before slamming against the bridge twenty feet away. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

Peter landed with a thud from the same weapon a moment later, but he shook out of it quickly, rushing to his feet. He watched as the criminals sped away in the van.

"Ugh!" Peter glared at the retreating vehicle. "C'mon, Maiz, we gotta—"

He finally noticed her state, and he winced, noticing the blood trickling out of a small cut in her head with a bruise already forming. His eyes widened in concern, kneeling down next to her. Peter felt for a pulse, which was there, and he scolded himself for thinking the worst for a second.

"You'll be okay, you'll be okay," he repeated, nodding. "I'll be right back, I gotta get them!"

Peter jumped up, using his webs to follow in pursuit of the illegal alien weapons dealers.

******

Maisie woke to the sound of repulsor technology, and she thought she was dreaming. Her head was throbbing, and when she reached up to feel for the massive bruise on her head, she came back with blood on her fingertips.

Iron Man set her down next to Peter who was sitting maskless and soaking wet on a jungle gym, then hovered in the air next to them, the gold reflecting off the moon's light.

"What happened?" Maisie asked him, wincing. She placed a cool hand on her head, and she felt slightly better. 

Peter twisted his mask, squeezing the water out of it as he went into a rushed explanation of chasing the weapons van and the man with the wings intercepting him and then dropping him in a lake. Maisie listened to the best of her ability, but she couldn't stop grimacing every time she moved her head. The severe concussion would probably be gone over the next day or so, thanks to her superhealing, but she definitely needed some painkillers as soon as possible.

"And then he just, he just, like, swooped down like a monster and he picked me up and, uh, he took me up, like, a thousand feet and just dropped me!" Peter exclaimed. "How'd you find me? Did you put a tracker in my suit or something?"

"God, Pete, can you just take it down, like, three decibels?" Maisie rubbed the side of her head.

"Sorry," he apologized, wincing.

"I put everything in your suits, including this heater," Mr. Stark replied, and Maisie turned to see steam rolling off of Peter as the cold water evaporated.

He sighed, "Oh, that's better. Thanks."

"What were you two thinking?" Mr. Stark's voice shifted back into his usual authoritative one, and Maisie had the urge to roll her eyes like the teenager she was.

"The guy with the wings is obviously the source of the weapons, we gotta take him down!" Peter gestured wildly as he explained his motives.

"Take him down now, huh?" Mr. Stark sounded mocking, and Maisie frowned. "Steady, Crockett, there are people who handle this sort of thing."

"The Avengers?" Maisie looked unconvinced.

"No, no. This is a little below their pay grade," Iron Man's head shook as he waved her off.

"Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn't have to come all the way out here, I was fine. I had that," Peter tried.

Maisie turned on him, "You just told me your parachute opened below you and you almost drowned in a lake."

"And, I'm fine!" Peter exclaimed, forcing Maisie to wince again. He lowered his voice, "Sorry."

"As adorable as that would've been to see in person," Iron Man's faceplate opened, revealing nothing in the suit. "I'm not here."

Maisie sighed, Of course not.

"You're lucky this place has WiFi, or you'd be toast right now," Mr. Stark continued speaking through the armor. "Look, forget the flying vulture guy."

"Why?" Peter frowned.

"Why?" Mr. Stark scoffed. "Because I said so!"

Peter remained silent, and Maisie bit her tongue.

"Apologies for the volume, Little Red," Mr. Stark sighed before turning back to Peter's stubborn face. "Look, just stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought you the churro. Can't you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"

"But I'm ready for more than that now!" Peter replied. Maisie rubbed her head, wondering if she was ready for more than that, too.

"No, you're not," Iron Man's faceplate closed.

Maisie couldn't help it, "That's not what you thought when you kidnapped us to go fight Captain America in Germany."

"Hey, you came voluntarily, if I remember correctly," the suit pointed at Maisie.

"I told you I had homework," Peter mumbled.

"Whatever, point is: you guys are kids," Mr. Stark sighed. "For now, leave this kind of stuff to the adults. Go to your football games, pep rallies, get detention, I don't care, just be a kid. And, listen to me, if you come across those weapons again, call Happy."

The sound of an engine revving caused confused looks to fall upon the teens' faces, and Peter asked, "Wait, are you driving?"

"You know, it's never too early for you to be thinking about college," Mr. Stark avoided the question. "I've got some pull at MIT. End call."

Maisie considered the thought for a moment. Her father had never talked to her about going to a college other than where he went: Stanford University. She smiled at the thought of him losing his mind over her applying to MIT.

"No, I don't need to go to coll—Mr. Stark, wait!" Peter called.

"Mr. Stark is no longer connected," FRIDAY's voice chirped back, and the suit turned and flew away, presumably back to Avengers Tower.

Maisie whipped around, "Oh, I know you didn't just say that you don't need to go to college."

Peter shrugged, "Spider-Man doesn't need to go to college..."

"Can I please be there when you tell May?" the girl sent him a mocking look, and Peter froze. Before he could reply, she continued, rubbing her head. "Where are we anyway? I was pretty out of it when Mr. Stark picked me up."

"I don't know, pretty far from the party," Peter sighed. "Do you think you could get us back?"

Maisie sighed and shook her head. The thought of teleporting made her nauseous. "Definitely not. You up for a walk?"

Peter nodded, reluctance written on his face, "Yeah."

Maisie pulled the mask over her mouth and nose as Peter put his over his head, ensuring their identities remained a secret.

The two had only been walking for a few minutes when Peter couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"It's just... what does he mean? 'Stay close to the ground' like what is that?" he exclaimed, shaking his head.

"I think it means pretty much what you think it means," Maisie sighed. "I don't wanna say 'I told you so,' but—"

"He doesn't know what we can handle yet," Peter shook his head. "We just need to prove to him that we can take on the big stuff, just like the rest of the Avengers."

Maisie frowned, "I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what he said—"

"Whoa, what's that?" Peter pointed at something small laying in the grass on the side of the street they'd been slowly trudging down.

A piece of the same glowing purple weapon that Maisie recognized from the van sat amidst a broken mailbox and other garbage. Maisie assumed the mess was a result of Peter's car chase, and she bent down to get a closer look.

"This was one of the weapons from the van," she supplied, picking it up. She handed the destroyed weapon to Peter, careful to avoid touching the glowing purple core, "This purple thing... it's definitely alien, right?"

Peter nodded, "It's some sort of power source, I think."

He examined it closer as though he'd be able to figure everything out by just staring at it, but Maisie couldn't help but interrupt.

"Nice ringtone, by the way," she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I'm assuming it was Ned?"

"Shut up," Peter mumbled, grabbing the piece of the weapon and turning back to the road leading home.

"No, seriously though, you didn't have your phone on silent?" Maisie chuckled.

"Just be thankful you weren't the one calling, that would've been bad," Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

Maisie paused for a second, then she called after him, "Wait, why? What's my ringtone?"

Peter didn't respond, only kept walking.

"Peter!"

******

Maisie got home late that night, tossing her Mischief suit in its hiding place before jumping into bed. As she finally felt her headache ease to a dull ache thanks to the four Advil she consumed, her bedroom door flew open.

"Great," she muttered, noticing the furious look on her father's face. She cursed her weak attempt at sneaking in, but she blamed her concussion and lack of teleportation powers for that one.

"Where the hell have you been? You said you'd be home by midnight. It's two o'clock in the morning!" he yelled. If she hadn't been so loud coming in, waking him up, Maisie knew he wouldn't have known the difference.

Maisie's head throbbed, and she tried her best to not let the man's volume make her headache worse, "I'm sorry, I lost track of time."

"This is unacceptable behavior, Margaret," he glared, shaking his head.

Not like you would know, Maisie thought. You hadn't noticed the first thousand times I've done this.

"I said I was sorry," Maisie attempted to hide an eye roll.

"Well, 'sorry' isn't good enough!" he shouted. Maisie winced again at the sound, wishing she was having this argument at any other time. Still, it wasn't anything she wasn't used to hearing from her father.

"Look, you don't pay enough attention to me to warrant this kind of response," Maisie sighed, looking exhausted. "So, why don't you just go back to ignoring me so I can get some sleep."

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" her father was seething, but Maisie couldn't bring herself to regret her words. She was tired. "Know your place, or the next sleep you get will be on a city bench."

"Goodnight," she snapped, turning back to her bed.

The sound of Maisie's father's angry footsteps echoed throughout the apartment, but she tried not to dwell on it as she finally laid down to get the rest she so desperately craved. He may have been bluffing this time, but Maisie dreaded the moment when he finally kept his promise of kicking her out.

******

Maisie woke up the next morning still recovering from her headache, and she decided that school was not in the books for her that day. Just another thing for her father to add to the list of things she was doing wrong.

Peter texted her later that day that the guys from the arms deal showed up at school after he and Ned took a closer look at the power source of the destroyed weapon they found. The boy proudly reported that he bugged them using one of his suit's spider-trackers.

Maisie was conflicted by his decision, and she told him over the phone after school that day, "What about what Mr. Stark said? About telling Happy once we saw these guys or those weapons again?"

"He didn't help last time, and besides, we gotta show Mr. Stark what we can do," Peter defended. Ned mumbled something incoherent from the other line, and Peter said that the tracker finally stopped. "Maryland? Why'd they stop in Maryland?"

"Evil lair?" Maisie joked, but Peter relayed the guess to Ned.

"They have a lair?" Ned asked.

"Dude, a gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings?" Peter scoffed, speaking as though the answer were obvious. "Yeah, they have a lair."

"Badass," Maisie could hear the smile in Ned's voice. "But, how are you gonna get there? It's like three hundred miles away."

A moment passed in silence over the phone. Then, Peter had a suggestion.

"It's not too far from D.C."

******

Two days later, Maisie watched as Peter jogged up to the school bus heading for Washington D.C. with the Academic Decathlon students. Maisie was one of only three people, including Peter, who knew why he really showed up that morning, and it wasn't to help the team. The thought made her frown.

On the bus ride, Liz quizzed the team on various aspects of the competition sans time, so Maisie got a break. She stared at the tracker on Peter's spider watch, ensuring it didn't move from the Maryland location.

A long time after the bus left the school, she got a phone call. Reading "Happy Hogan" on her phone screen, she winced and answered the phone.

"Hey, Happy," she said, glancing up a few seats in front of her where Peter was sitting. He whipped around immediately, locking eyes with her.

"Got a blip on my screen here," he replied, sounding suspicious. "You and the other one leave New York?"

Peter muttered something under his breath and moved to the back of the bus where Maisie was sitting, "Tracker."

Maisie rolled her eyes and returned to the phone call, "It's a school trip to Nationals for Academic Decathlon. And, um... about that weapons thing—"

Peter snatched the phone from her hand, "Look, Happy, I gotta say, you tracking us without our permission is a serious lack of privacy." Maisie raised an eyebrow and gestured at the spider tracker. Peter shook his head, "That's different."

"Look, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm watching you two. Don't get into any trouble there, alright?" Happy lectured.

Peter rolled his eyes, but Maisie gave him a stern look, grabbing her phone back, "Got it, thanks Happy!"

When she hung up, Peter scoffed, "Suck up."

Maisie glared at him, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Look, just promise me that we'll call Happy if the weapons guys start to do anything criminal-y, okay?"

"'Course," Peter smiled. The bus slowly rolled to a stop, and he looked up, "Oh, hey! We're here!"

The Decathlon team got off their bus and stared at their hotel in wonder before grabbing their bags and following Mr. Harrington inside. Maisie would be rooming with MJ, something she was excited about, and she stuck by her side as they received their room keys. As they arrived at their rooms, they discovered Peter and Ned were a few rooms down, and Liz and Cindy were across the hallway. Thankfully, Flash was far away from both their rooms.

******

"So, what's the deal with you and Peter?" a sly voice asked, feigning nonchalance.

Maisie stopped searching for her toothbrush in her small duffel bag to look up at MJ in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

MJ crossed the hotel room they were sharing, flinging herself onto her bed, "You two are always disappearing, then reappearing together at the same time."

Maisie froze, trying to find something to say, "We're friends, we just hang out. It's no big deal."

"Mhm," MJ didn't sound convinced. "Just friends."

"Yeah, I mean, we're not, like, together, if that's what you're asking," Maisie laughed nervously, shaking her head. She was uncomfortable already... it wasn't often, or ever, that MJ brought up the subject of boys. Let alone the fact that the boy was Peter.

MJ couldn't help the smirk, "Yeah, got it."

A rapid knock sounded at their hotel room door, and Maisie sprung toward it in order to escape MJ's interrogation, "Hey, what's up?"

Peter stood at the door, a maniacal grin on his face, "We figured out how to—oh! Hey, Michelle!"

MJ waved before turning back to grab a book on her nightstand.

Maisie stepped outside the door before she responded, "You figured out how to do what?"

"Ned took the tracker out of my suit, so now Mr. Stark can't see if we go after these guys!" Peter explained.

"Whoa, are you serious?" an anxious feeling settled in her stomach.

"Yeah! He can take yours out, too, and then we can finally go take this 'Big Bird' guy down!" he finished, glancing around to make sure no one heard him.

Maisie furrowed her eyebrows, "Wait, I thought we were going to call Happy the next time we saw them try to make a move? Mr. Stark said—"

"Look, I'm sick of Mr. Stark treating us like we're kids all the time, okay?" Peter exclaimed, overcome with frustration. Maisie shot him a look.

"He's treating us like we're kids because we are kids, Peter. Just 'cause we have powers doesn't mean we're the only ones who can do anything to help!" she replied pointedly.

"When you can do the things we can, and we don't, and then bad things happen—" Peter was interrupted.

"We aren't doing nothing," Maisie shook her head. "Mr. Stark trusts us to do the right thing, not something impulsive that will make things worse."

Peter was quiet, and the two stood in silence for a moment.

"You're right," Peter started to back toward his room, nodding determinedly. "He expects us to do the right thing."

Maisie breathed a sigh of relief as she called after him, "You'll tell me if the tracker on the weapons guys starts to move again, right? We can call Happy together."

"Yeah," Peter nodded again, and the determined look hadn't left his face. "See you in the morning?"

Maisie smiled, "You've got a Decathlon to win."

Peter paused in front of his door before entering, Maisie furrowed her brows, but he continued on as though nothing happened.

"Goodnight, Maisie."