Just Another Hero

******

Maisie read MJ’s text when they got back on the bus, and with a sigh of relief, she deleted it. It was just a stupid joke about her to Peter, but if he saw it using EDITH… Maisie winced, then deleted her whole text thread with MJ. Her phone could use the extra storage anyway.

It wasn’t that she was embarrassed of her feelings for Peter, she just wasn’t sure if she was ready to take that step again. At least, not yet. After everything that happened, Maisie couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t lose the best thing that’s happened to her in a really, really long time. It seemed for as long as she could remember, right when Maisie got her hands on something she allowed herself to hope for, it was snatched away from her.

Maisie tried to get as much rest as possible on the rest of the bus ride. She knew it likely wouldn't be a restful night, especially if Fury had anything to say about it. 

When the bus finally pulled up to their hotel, Maisie’s jaw dropped.

“Unbelievable,” Peter shook his head. The hotel was easily five stars, a complete turnaround from the leaky place they stayed in for their Venice visit. Marble walls, eight-foot glass doors, and perfectly arranged flowerbeds. The class gathered their things and made it to the lobby. Peter said through gritted teeth, “Fury isn’t very subtle for a super-spy.”

Maisie snorted, “For real.”

“What can I say?” Mr. Harrington looked enormously proud of himself. “The squeaky wheel gets the upgrade grease!” Maisie wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but she didn’t really care. “Everyone get settled, alright? Because tonight is Prague’s annual Carnival of Lights!” 

Peter’s phone buzzed, and Maisie shot him a questioning look as he stepped away to take the call. Frowning, she thought it was probably Fury, giving his next orders now that they “coincidentally” arrived in Prague. Ned separated himself from the group to talk to him, and she watched as Peter assumedly caught him up to speed.

“So,” a voice whispered in her ear, “are you excited for the carnival?”

Maisie looked up at Brad, giving a polite smile, “Yeah, it should be fun.”

“I think it’s actually called the ‘Signal Festival,’ at least, according to Google,” Brad continued. “I did a little research on the way here. There are tons of lights and art and… it’s supposed to be really beautiful.”

“Oh,” Maisie nodded. The boy liked lights, apparently. “I’m excited to see it.”

“We could walk around together, if you want?” Brad asked.

Maisie was taken aback, but she tried her best not to look like it. Her eyes flicked over to Peter. He was still talking to Ned, but Maisie realized that he didn’t seem to be listening. Instead, the boy was looking over Ned’s shoulder, staring—no, glaring —at where Brad stood close to Maisie. A little too close, the girl decided.

With a fake cough, she managed to create a bit of space between them.

“That sounds fun,” she didn’t know what to say. “I should check with MJ, you know, she’s my travel buddy.” Maisie plastered a fake smile, “But, I’m sure she’d be down to hang out at the festival.”

Brad looked like he wanted to protest, but Mr. Harrington started handing out room keys. Without giving the boy another chance to speak, she gathered her luggage and stepped forward to take one. Ned and Peter rejoined the group and took their keys as well. According to Harrington, they all had their own rooms, and Maisie wasn’t sure she’d ever been so thankful in her life. 

“What was that about?” MJ asked, appearing beside her as they approached the hotel stairs. The girl had always been insanely observant, and this was just another reminder. 

Maisie sighed, “Brad wants to hang out at the carnival. I said that we’d definitely be up for it.”

MJ smirked, “Both of us?” 

“Just shut up and keep walking,” Maisie mumbled, and MJ laughed.

“What do you think he said to her?” Peter nudged Ned. He’d repeated his question multiple times, but Ned wasn’t giving any helpful responses.

“Dude, just ask her,” Ned lugged his suitcase up the steps and started down the hallway. “She’s basically your girlfriend already. This is stupid.”

Peter shot a look at his retreating figure, “No, she’s not.”

He reached his room, and Peter couldn’t help but be thankful for a reprieve. He closed the door behind him and flopped down on the single bed. The day had been long, and he knew it would only keep going. Especially if Fury or the Elementals had anything to say about it—let alone Brad. Remembering Maria Hill’s phone call from the lobby, Peter opened the bag with the suits and retrieved the earpieces. He texted Maisie his room number and waited. Fiddling with the earpieces, he tried not to think about whether they would be able to have a single moment of normal fun on the trip.

Someone knocked on his door, Peter opened the door without looking up from the tech. Maisie had already changed, wearing sweats and a navy long-sleeved t-shirt. Maisie always did have a habit of making herself comfortable as soon as possible, no matter where she was. When he looked up, the girl had her arms crossed, and Peter noticed she was frowning.

“Please tell me they solved the Elemental on their own and without any casualties or news coverage, and we’re good to just enjoy the lights festival like normal high school kids?” her blunt delivery told him she did not expect him to say anything like that at all. 

“Hill called me,” Peter handed her one of the earpieces. “Comms, so we can await their further instructions.”

“This is such bullshit,” Maisie muttered. She put the communication device in her ear nonetheless. 

“ I’m glad you’re excited to be joining us, McCall ,” Fury said smoothly. Maisie rolled her eyes, refusing to feel caught. “ Meet us at the address I’ve just sent you. Come now, we have work to do. ”

******

“Parker!” Fury’s voice echoed through the briefing room. Peter’s head snapped up to attention, and Maisie glanced over at the boy. Fury continued, “That thing is going to be here in a few hours. Are we boring you?”

Maisie crossed her arms, “He’s not bored.”

“They’re just thinking about how you kidnapped them,” Quentin Beck spoke up from across the room. Peter shot him a grateful look. Maisie wondered why none of the other adults also thought it was kidnapping, but whatever.

“They had obstacles,” Fury deadpanned. “I removed them.”

“You micromanaged us,” Maisie shot back. “We’re here to help, but you don’t get to tell us to be excited about it.”

Fury looked like he was about to argue, but Maria Hill spoke up, “They still won’t evacuate the city.”

Maisie and Fury glared at one another for a beat longer, then he turned back to the other teen. Peter was watching with a look of panic he reserved for Maisie’s tendency to challenge authority.

“Parker—what’s the plan?” he asked, testing his memory.

“Uh, I’ll be in the cathedral tower, keeping watch for the fire monster,” he cleared his throat. “When that shows up, I’ll radio you guys, and then Mr. Beck—”

Beck interrupted him, “My name is Mysterio.”

The room was silent as Beck claimed the superhero moniker that their class gave him. It was clear that Mr. Beck, Mysterio, wanted the teens to know that he was on their side. He looked altogether too excited to call himself Mysterio.

Peter smothered a laugh and continued, “That’s when Mysterio, Mischief, and I will move in.”

“I’ll teleport in and remove any and all potential casualties from the scene before adding to the attack,” Maisie added. She sighed, wondering what it’d be like to enjoy her vacation.

“Alright,” Beck’s voice took on the commanding tone of a leader. “The best hope you have, the only hope, is to stop it here now, no matter what the cost. Maneuver it away from civilians if you can, but most important, keep it away from metal,” Maisie found herself nodding in sync with Peter, determination in their eyes. “If it gets too big, it'll draw power from the Earth's core. After that, there's no way to stop it.”

The room went quiet for the second time that night as they took in Mysterio’s words. Peter, always the brave soul, broke the silent tension.

“Our friends are here,” he began, frowning, “and I can’t help but think we’re putting them in danger.” Mysterio didn’t have time to respond. Instead, Nick Fury’s booming voice echoed throughout the room.

“You're worried about us hurting your friends?” Fury scoffed. “You, who tapped into your friends’ phones and sifted through their search histories and text messages like a damn middle schooler?”

Maisie whipped around to face Peter, “What?” He didn’t have time to respond before Fury continued.

“Stark gave you a multibillion-dollar A.R. tactical intelligence system, and the first thing you do with it is snoop on your friends,” Fury shook his head. Peter wouldn’t look at Maisie. “It's clear to me that you were not ready for this.”

Fury’s words were harsh, and Maisie could tell that they affected Peter more than he let on. Still, she stayed silent. It wasn’t that Maisie agreed with Fury, but she was disappointed that Peter used the EDITH glasses despite her asking him not to. She was also embarrassed thinking about what he could have found looking at MJ’s or her own phone. Not having any desire to stay and listen to Fury harp on the two of them, Maisie turned on her heel and left the room.

She hadn’t even made it halfway down the long hallway before she heard Peter’s footsteps behind her.

He cut in front of her and held his arms out, “Wait, Maisie! I can explain!” She stopped walking. Peter’s eyes widened, like he hadn’t expected her to actually listen, “Well, okay, so I was looking at someone’s texts—”

“Seriously? After I asked you not to?” Maisie interrupted. Her face heated up, and she couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment, “MJ and I were just joking around, okay? I don’t even know what she meant by ‘PDA’ like, you and I weren’t even sitting that close to each other—”

“What?” Peter looked confused, and he shook his head. “No, I didn’t read your texts with MJ…”

Maisie clamped her mouth shut. Oh. Peter’s head tilted to the side, and Maisie was displeased to see an amused smirk begin to grow.

“You were texting MJ about me?” his eyes danced with mischief, and even though Maisie was mortified, she decided she liked it. “About… me…and you…PDA?”

“I was just laying my head on your stupid shoulder so I could hear EDITH,” Maisie mumbled. “It’s not even—”

“Yeah, and I’m sure you hated every second of it,” Peter’s smirk had transformed into a cheeky smile. Maisie couldn’t help but match it.

“I’m hating every second of this ,” she quipped, tilting her head to the side. 

Peter only laughed. Shooting him a look over her shoulder, she kept walking toward the exit. Then Maisie stopped, turning slowly on her heel. Wait a second…

“If you didn’t read MJ’s texts, whose were you reading?” Maisie asked.

Peter went back on the defensive, “Uh… Brad’s.”

“What?” Maisie was genuinely puzzled. “Why?”

“He was doing weird research,” Peter ran a hand through his hair. Maisie remembered the conversation she had with Brad in the hotel lobby.

“On the festival,” Maisie raised an eyebrow. “He was doing research on the festival of lights.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he told me about it,” Maisie laughed, shaking her head. “He was all excited about the carnival or whatever.”

“Brad told you about the research he did on ‘Top Romantic Things to Do in Prague’?” Peter’s mouth hung open in shock.

“Wait, so that’s why he asked me to go to the festival with him?”

“ He asked you to go to the festival with him?! ”

The two went quiet, staring at one another. In the midst of their conversation, they ended up standing far closer together than they realized. Maisie could see the freckles on his nose and the small flecks of bronze in his brown eyes. Her eyesight was superhuman, and she had never been so thankful for it in her life. 

“What did you say?” Peter whispered. “When he asked you to go with him?”

“I said that I’d check with MJ, to see if she wanted to.” Maisie took a breath. She knew what he was asking, “I said no, Pete.”

Peter nodded, “Oh, that’s…”

“Good?” she offered a small smile. “That I don’t want to go on a date with Brad?”

A beat. Then Peter opened his mouth, and Maisie panicked.

“I’m just going to walk back past the cathedral so I know where to teleport later,” Maisie beat him to it. She tried to hide…whatever it was that she was feeling. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she walked away from him for the third time that night. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you back at the hotel.”

Before Peter could think to say anything, or even move, she was gone.

******

Maisie wasn’t lying. She did need to go past the cathedral in the square so she knew where she was teleporting during the mission. She didn’t, however, need to take over an hour to get back to the hotel, but that didn’t stop her.

The festival was in full swing with colorful lanterns, glow in the dark jewelry, and massive crowds of people dancing in the street like it was a movie. The art was beautiful, and there was even a ferris wheel. Maisie wondered if she’d ever be able to enjoy something like this as a normal person. Like a kid visiting an amazing country on an average school trip.

Instead, in the bustling crowd of the carnival, all she could see were potential casualties. With every glance, Maisie imagined latching onto the most vulnerable and teleporting them to safety once a battle began. Her life consisted of scanning her surroundings for potential threats. Maisie couldn’t let herself admire the lights or ride the damn ferris wheel with her friends—or, God forbid—just roam the streets of Prague without a care in the world. She couldn’t even let herself imagine sneaking off from the class to explore the city with Peter. There was always going to be something in the back of her mind.

Reaching the nearest alleyway, Maisie leaned against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. When her eyes were closed, she was back on Titan. The orange planet appeared in her mind in colorful flashes of memories: yellow sparkles creating portals, red nanoparticles creating weapons out of thin air, and sharp, blue electricity causing the worst pain Maisie had ever felt.

Then: she found the memory she was searching for. Her hand grasped brown curls. Pure contentment overwhelmed her fear. The gentle urgency of his lips on hers as both of their hearts beat faster.

Maisie slid down to the ground and put her head in her hands. She would not cry. She was alive, and so was he. They may have only been kids in the eyes of most, but they had work to do. Fury would not be proven right—they were ready for this, and Tony was right: they were Avengers now.

In a flash, Maisie was gone.

******

Having teleported to the safety of her hotel room, Maisie descended the stairs to the lobby to see her class was huddled together for a meeting. Eyes widening, she jogged over to the group and joined in as Mr. Harrington continued talking. She saw Peter and Ned slumped in a couple of chairs, and Peter sat up straight when he saw her. MJ sent her a questioning look, but Maisie waved her off with a shrug.

“Glad you’re feeling better, Maisie,” Mr. Dell commented. 

Maisie smiled politely, “Yeah, sorry. I just needed a quick nap.” She’d thank Peter for the lie later.

“We were just talking about our changed plans for this evening!” Mr. Harrington held up a handful of large tickets. Maisie’s brows furrowed, and she looked to Peter for clarification. It was times like these that their facial communication skills did come in handy. Still, she could have done with some telepathy. “We’re going to the opera!”

“The opera?” Maisie couldn’t hide a frown. “What happened to the—” The sight of Peter frantically shaking his head stopped her. “I mean, that sounds great, don’t get me wrong. I love… operas.”

“Well, none of us normal people have ever wanted to go to the opera,” Flash complained.

“Guys, I think this is going to be so much fun, seriously!” Ned sounded far too excited for the opera. “It’ll be super culturally enriching!”

“The tour company just gave us these tickets,” Mr. Harrington sounded excited. “It’s going to be the best four hours of the whole trip!” 

“Four hours?” Betty exclaimed. Maisie understood—it was the perfect plan to get the class out of danger while the Elemental attacked the city. She felt bad that she didn’t help come up with it, since she was on her pity walk. Still, it was a good pity walk….

“I bet you’re all glad I had you pack a nice outfit!” Mr. Harrington clapped once. “Now, go get changed. It starts soon.”

The class was dismissed to their rooms, and Maisie did her best to avoid Peter’s eyes as she turned and walked as quickly as possible away. 

Clad in a maroon dress, leather jacket, and the comms device in her right ear, Maisie was ready for the opera. She and MJ stuck close together on the walk over, muttering shared sentiments about missing the lights festival. Just because she knew there was going to be a massive attack didn’t mean she had to pretend to be excited about the opera. 

“I can’t believe it’s four hours,” Maisie groaned as she followed MJ through the auditorium doors. She felt Peter’s gaze on her from where he walked beside Ned, but she tried not to be affected by it. Scanning the seats, she complained again, “There’s no one here.”

MJ snorted, “I can’t believe you just didn’t fake being sick again.”

Maisie whipped her head toward her, “What? I was feeling sick.”

“Right,” MJ rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not an idiot, right?”

“What?” Maisie said again, flustered. “Of course I know that.”

MJ looked over Maisie’s shoulder and nodded, “I’ll grab some opera glasses for us. See you in there.”

Maisie turned to see Peter approaching her. The two of them still hadn’t figured out the logistics of escaping the opera. Before he could reach her, a hand tugged on her elbow to get her attention.

“Oh—” she cleared her throat. “Hey, Brad.”

The tall boy smiled, “Just wanted to let you know I’ll save you a seat.”

With that, he winked and headed down the aisle toward the rest of the class. Maisie wondered if she was giving off a sort of vibe that said she wanted anything to do with him romantically. She couldn’t even imagine it, not when—

“I see he didn’t take no for an answer,” Peter’s hands were in his pockets. His nonchalant tone took Maisie by surprise.

“I suppose I never said ‘no’ exactly in those words,” Maisie admitted. Peter looked down, a frown appearing on his face. “I kind of deflected, I guess. I thought he’d take the hint though.”

“I think it might take more than subtle deflection for someone to give up on you,” Peter said. His earnest expression scared her.

“Oh,” was all she could say. Her face burned, and she avoided eye contact. The chattering of her classmates filled the moment of silence.

“Maisie,” Peter began, and she finally met his eyes, “I’m really sorry about Paris.”

The girl couldn’t help a smile, despite the circumstances. “Thank you.”

“I know how much you were looking forward to it, and I’ll make it up to you,” Peter took her hand in his, squeezing it as he found her eyes again. “We’ll go, I promise. Just us.”

“Just us?” Maisie giggled, trying to keep her voice down. Peter smiled at the sound, and she brightly smiled back, “That sounds like a date.”

“ Are you two in position? ” Fury’s voice echoed in both of their ears.

“No,” Peter snapped. Maisie’s eyes widened at his tone. 

“ What the hell do you mean ‘no’? ” 

“He means not yet,” Maisie replied, ignoring her disappointment at Fury’s interruption. The lights started to dim in the auditorium. “We’ll be there in just a second.” She then spoke directly to Peter, eyeing Mr. Dell by the auditorium door next to Ned, “Follow me and say that I need your help.”

“Wh—”

Clutching at her stomach, Maisie covered her mouth with one of her hands and made retching noises as she sprinted past her teacher and out of the concert hall’s front door.

“Oh God,” Peter winced, then followed quickly behind her. He made gestures at Maisie as he ran past Mr. Dell, “I’m sorry, sir, I’m gonna go see if she’s alright? I knew she wasn’t feeling any better, but she really wanted to see the opera—”

“Please go,” Mr. Dell covered his own mouth. “People throwing up always makes me throw up.” The man turned and booked it into the auditorium, slamming it shut behind him. Ned, who was watching the entire scene, shot Peter a thumbs up before joining the rest of the class in the auditorium as well.

Peter put his hand up to his ear, “Alright, we’re on our way now.”

“ About damn time. ”

Rolling her eyes at Fury, Maisie held out her hand to Peter when he finally joined her outside. 

“You’re quite the actress,” Peter had to compliment her.

“All in a day’s work,” she winked, and in a flash, they were gone.

******

Maisie teleported the two of them onto the top of the cathedral, both wearing their new all-black suits. The girl cut off the top part of her mask the night before, but it still shielded her identity—everything was hidden except her sharp green eyes. Peter said that she looked like a ninja.

“We’re in position,” Maisie alerted Fury via comms.

“As soon as we see something, we’ll let you know, Beck,” Peter added.

“ Roger that ,” Beck responded.

Maisie’s brows furrowed, and she pulled the mask below her chin, mouthing at Peter: Roger that?

“ How’re the new suits? ” Fury asked.

“Er, the suits are great,” Peter shifted a bit. “A little tight around the ol’ web-shooter.”

“Okay, I did not need to know that,” Maisie mumbled, shaking her head. “You could have just said—”

“ McCall! ” Fury scolded.

“How am I the one getting yelled at?” Maisie called after Peter, who was scaling the side of the cathedral for a higher vantage point. 

“Sorry!” Peter replied.

While Peter kept an eye out for the Fire Elemental, Maisie was scanning the streets for the most vulnerable civilians. A group of women who couldn’t have been younger than seventy years old huddled close to the fountain in the center of the square. A toddler and their mom walked hand-in-hand toward the ferris wheel. Maisie’s eyes climbed the ferris wheel itself, cementing it into her memory. As her gaze lingered on one of the carts rising higher into the air, her eyes widened.

“ Energy spiking ,” Fury relayed via comms.

“ We have seismic activity, ” Hill added.

“Peter—” Maisie tried.

“ Okay, he’s here! ” Peter jumped off the cathedral and swung into action.

Maisie followed Peter’s movements leading toward the exact fountain she’d been memorizing just seconds previously. Except the fountain had been blown into chunks of burning rock, setting fire to everything in the area. A monster made up entirely of volcanic rock and lava five times the size of the Hulk stood in its place. The Fire Elemental roared, metal spikes growing from its arms and hands. Maisie thought for just a split second that she might rather take on Thanos one-on-one.

Teleporting into action, Maisie zipped to each and every side of the square, teleporting civilians out of harm’s way before diving back into the mess at the festival of lights. Once she saw the ground was clear of casualties, the girl turned to frown at the ferris wheel. She glared at where Betty Brant and Ned Leeds occupied the cart at its highest peak. So much for the opera keeping everyone safe.

With a flash, Maisie appeared in the cart. The other two teens screamed in sync, making her wince.

“Need a little help?” Maisie’s hands rested on her hips.

“No way!” Betty squealed. “Mischief? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You’re my favorite—”

“What? No, I’m not!” Maisie interrupted her. She stopped when Mysterio flew by, taking the Elemental’s attention to the other side of the square. Panicking, Maisie continued in a British accent, “I’m…er—I’m from England!” she tried to mimic the British media she constantly consumed, “I’m not Mischief, she’s an Avenger, she’s not—I’m not—”

“You’re Atom Rider!” Ned blurted.

“I ride whom ?”

“ Mischief! We need your help! ” Peter said in comms. Looking back to the battle, she watched as Spider-Man flipped through the air over scaffolding and used his momentum to launch a massive chunk of the crumbled building at the Elemental. It wasn’t metal, so it couldn’t be absorbed.

The girl lunged at Ned and Betty, teleporting them a block away from the opera before returning to help. She needed to have a major talk with Ned about his naming ability. And about his girlfriend’s obsession with her. 

Maisie arrived back on the scene just in time to dodge Peter swinging a chunk of the destroyed fountain at the Elemental. Teleporting out of the way, she appeared by Peter’s side instead, watching the boulder collide with the massive fire monster’s chest. 

“That hurt him,” Maisie said, watching as the monster stumbled backward and clutched at its chest.

“ Spider-Man! Keep your distance! ” Beck called out. The man flew forward to hit the monster where Peter opened the wound. Retreating, he pointed at the ferris wheel that was beginning to fall toward the center of the square. The teens’ eyes widened, and Mysterio ordered, “ We can’t let it get the ferris wheel! ”

“You secure the wheel, I’ll distract the Fire Guy,” Maisie added.

If there’s one thing Maisie was truly good at, it was being a nuisance. Teleporting into the sky directly in the monster’s eyeline, she stole its attention from Peter. 

“Hey, dickhead!” the girl taunted. As she fell, she teleported back up to the same spot in the sky. “Has anyone ever told you—” Falling, then reappearing. “—that you smell like hot garbage?” The monster roared, spikes shooting farther out its arms. Again, she appeared in front of the monster, like a teleporting trampoline, “Damn, sore spot, huh?”

The monster reached out to smack her out of the sky, but Maisie teleported again. In her place was Mysterio and his green laser, pushing him away from the ferris wheel. 

“ Stay back, Mischief! ” Mysterio yelled. The man looked over his shoulder to see that Peter had the ferris wheel under control. Maisie listened, teleporting to the base of the ferris wheel. When she appeared, her head collided with something hard, knocking her off her feet. 

“What the hell—” Maisie looked around, but she saw nothing. Was it something invisible? She touched her head with a careful hand. It was wet, and when she pulled her hand away, it was covered in blood.

“ Nice, Beck! ” Peter was straining with the ferris wheel as Mysterio landed hit after hit on the Fire Elemental. “ You got him! ”

Relief started to set in as the Fire Elemental lost more strength—that was, until Mysterio backed the monster into the metal scaffolding behind it. Mysterio, realizing what he’d done, immediately retreated.

The Fire Elemental began to absorb the metal, using the conductor to grow in strength. Whatever damage they’d done to the monster before was insignificant as the monster grew larger and larger with every second.

“ It’s too late ,” Hill said over comms. Maisie tried to get to her feet, but she stumbled a bit. She definitely had a concussion, at least. Readying to fight, the girl clenched her fists at her side.

“ Whatever happens, I’m glad that we met, ” Beck’s voice carried over the comms. Maisie looked up to see his helmet disappear, regarding Peter with a solemn nod.

“Beck, what are you doing?” Maisie asked.

“ What I should have done last time, ” Mysterio replied, and his helmet reappeared.

“ What? No, no— ” Peter struggled with the ferris wheel. “ Beck, don’t do it! ”

Mysterio ignored his pleas, charging up his green energy. His entire body glowed in green, and the man cried out as he barrelled toward the Fire Elemental. He flew directly into the heart of the monster and channelled all the energy he had, destroying it from the inside. With one final implosion, the monster disintegrated into fragments of green across the entire square.

When the energy cleared, Beck laid in the middle of the mess, not moving. Maisie was shocked by how much the image affected her. Maybe she could blame the pounding pain in her head, but she didn’t notice Peter catching her as she threatened to fall to her knees.

“Hey, hey,” his eyes were panicked, “are you okay?” His eyes lingered on the blood pouring from the side of her head. “What happened to you?”

Maisie just shook her head and tried to step closer to Mysterio’s still body. The two superheroes approached the man, feeling all too familiar with their circumstances. Holding her breath, Maisie watched as Peter rolled the man onto his back.

Mysterio’s eyes blinked slowly open, and the man coughed, “Ow.”

“Oh, thank god,” Peter breathed, helping the man to a sitting position. He looked over his shoulder to Maisie, and saw that she had her eyes closed as she tried to control her breathing. “Maisie?”

“I’m fine,” her voice was cold. When her eyes opened, Fury, Hill, and the other agents had arrived.

Beck got to his feet with the help of Peter, “Thanks, Parker.”

The boy nodded once and returned to Maisie’s side as the agents approached.

“So, it’s over?” Hill crossed her arms as she assessed the damage done to the square.

Beck winced as he nodded, “That was the last of them.”

Their relief was short-lived as Fury spoke up, walking over to Beck.

“But, that’s not the last threat we'll ever face. We need to stay vigilant,” Fury shot the teenage superheroes a look before focusing on Beck, “There's a void in this world for someone like you.” Maisie looked down as Fury put out his hand for Beck to shake. “Hill and I are going to Europol headquarters in Berlin tomorrow. You should join us.”

“Thank you,” Beck shook his hand, nodding with a small smile. “I might just take you up on that.”

Fury nodded at the man and let go of his hand. Peter and Maisie both felt the mood shift as he directed his stormy gaze on them. 

“You two have gifts,” Fury said, “but you don’t want to be here.”

“Mr. Fury—” Peter was interrupted.

“I'd love to have you in Berlin, too,” Fury’s voice sharpened. “But you’ve got to decide whether you're going to step up or not. Stark chose you—both of you. He made you Avengers,” Fury shook his head. “I need that, and the world needs that. But, maybe Stark was wrong.” Maisie’s head shot up despite its throbbing, and she glared at Fury. She only became angrier when a tear managed to escape her eye. Risking a glance to her left, she saw Peter in the same state as Fury pushed, “Was he? The choice is yours.”

Shaking her head to distract herself from the shaking of her hands, Maisie just knew she needed to get away from all of the fire, destruction—everything. The image of Beck motionless amidst the destruction blurred together with… Tony. Would Tony be proud of her? Of either of them?

“C’mon, kids,” Beck took a step around Fury and toward the two. “Let’s go get a drink.”

“But we’re not twenty-one,” Peter finally spoke, voice scratchy.

“I can’t,” Maisie’s head was pounding. “I-I need to go.”

“Maiz,” Peter tried, “please don’t disappear again.” She looked into his eyes; they looked almost as pained as she felt.

“It’s taking over every part of our life,” she whispered. “I don’t know how to be ‘Just Maisie’ anymore. How selfish is it to want that back?”

Peter didn’t know what to say. She knew that he would do whatever it took in order to help others. Maisie liked to think she’d do the same, and with a start, she realized she had sacrificed her normal life in order to do just that. They both did.

“I—” the girl took a deep breath. “I’ll see you at the hotel, Pete.”

In a flash of purple, she disappeared. 

******

Maisie was bundled up underneath the expensive comforter in her hotel bed in an attempt to hide from everything, including her own thoughts. It seemed that her anxiety had the same relentlessness as her headache. Sure, she healed fast, but a concussion was still a concussion. At least the bed was comfortable.

Breaking the silence came a sharp rapping on her door, forcing her to get up with a reluctant groan. Slipping on the hotel slippers and massaging her temples, she trudged slowly toward the interruption. 

The girl whipped open the door, “What?”

MJ stood with one eyebrow raised, her backpack slung over her shoulder, “You’re in a good mood.”

“Sorry,” Maisie grumbled, “not the best night.”

“Right,” MJ’s usual sarcasm was more pointed than usual, “you were sick again, I heard.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled back. 

“Yeah,” MJ’s eyes narrowed. “Were you though? Or did you and Peter just use that as an excuse to escape?”

Maisie thought for a moment, readying a lie on her tongue. Then, she stopped. Why should she lie? On her list of problems, having her best friend in on her secret didn’t even make the top fifty.

“Yeah, actually,” Maisie shrugged. “We did. I’m a pretty great actress, according to him.” MJ wasn’t expecting Maisie to agree with her, but the surprise didn’t last long before her usual composure returned.

“You know I pay attention,” MJ said. “I’ve been watching you guys for a while, both of you. With everything going on—Washington, the Stark Internship, the constant disappearances—I know that something’s up.”

Maisie wondered if MJ practiced her presentation of evidence. If she did, then Maisie figured she should let her continue to provide the proof behind the two’s odd behavior. Far be it for Maisie to steal her thunder—she was just proud that she could rub it in Peter’s face that MJ did figure it out by herself. Plus, thinking was hurting.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Maisie sat down on her bed again. “What else you got?”

MJ shot her a look, “You won’t even deny it?”

“Deny what?” Maisie stared back.

MJ frowned at her. Then, she dropped her backpack on Maisie’s bed. Unzipping it, she revealed a piece of metal covered in Spider-Man’s instantly recognizable webbing.

“The fight at the festival tonight had two masked vigilantes. I saw them, both of them.” MJ continued, “There was one with the ability to teleport, and the other one used these… web… things. Exactly like Mischief and Spider-Man, who should be in New York.”

“Unless they’re on a class trip in Prague,” Maisie finished, a small smirk on her lips. She yawned, “This is a great theory.”

“Theory?” MJ crossed her arms, “I have undeniable proof!”

“What, this?” Maisie was just messing with her now. She picked up the piece of metal and tossed it at her, “This isn’t undeniable proof.”

“Maisie—” MJ almost dropped it.

“ This is undeniable proof,” Maisie grabbed MJ’s wrist.

In a blink of an eye, the two were standing on the Charles Bridge overlooking the Vltava River. 

“Oh, shit!” MJ jumped back. Maisie couldn’t help but laugh at the look on her friend’s face. Maybe this is what she needed to feel better.

“I’m so sorry, but I was going to tell you, I swear!” she said between laughs. “I just felt like I should talk to Peter about it first, and we haven’t really found the time—”

“What, with all the making out you two are doing?” MJ shot back.

Maisie’s jaw dropped, and it was MJ’s turn to laugh at her as Maisie spluttered out a mediocre defense, “We are not—that’s not what—we aren’t!”

The two girls locked eyes and burst into even louder laughter. It hurt, but it was so worth it. Maisie laughed until tears came to her eyes, and her smile faltered a bit, remembering why she was crying earlier that night. The dull headache chimed in its reminder, too.

“Maisie? MJ?” a voice called from the other end of the bridge. The two girls turned as Peter jogged over to them, “What are you doing out here?”

They glanced at him, then glanced at one another. MJ started laughing, pointing at the poor boy’s confusion, and Maisie offered a small smile in apology.

“Why? What did I do this time?” Peter frowned. 

“Saved the day, from what I could see,” MJ finally spoke. The girl tossed the piece of metal with webbing at him. He caught it with ease, then with eyes widening, he looked to Maisie for confirmation.

Maisie shrugged, “It was going to happen one way or another. I told you she was gonna figure it out.”

Peter nodded solemnly, “Well, I’m sure you’ll keep our secret—right?”

Maisie hadn’t even asked yet, she just assumed that her friend would. What if she didn’t? It wasn’t even a possibility to Maisie, but what if she was wrong?

Easing her fears, MJ scoffed, “Of course. Maisie’s my best friend.”

Maisie smiled, feeling a sense of sisterhood for the first time in her life. MJ thought of her as her best friend, too. The warmth of her words caused Maisie to tackle the taller girl in a hug.

“Oh, uh—” MJ patted her awkwardly on the back. It wasn’t something they did often, or ever, but it felt needed.

“Thank you,” Maisie squeezed once and then let the other girl go. 

“I guess that means there’s no problem with me telling you now that I gave EDITH to Beck,” Peter said. Maisie whipped around, eyes wide.

“What did you do?” she exclaimed.

“Think about it,” Peter explained. “Mr. Stark said ‘For the next Iron Man, I trust you.’ He trusts me to choose him. Both of us are in high school, we can’t be the worldwide superheroes that Fury wants us to be—it’s tearing us apart!” Peter glanced between Maisie and MJ, “I know you wanted to tell her for the same reason. We deserve to have the life we want, even when we’re saving the world.”

Maisie opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say. Instead, she jumped into Peter’s arms. He made it so they could take a step back and pass on the responsibility to a more capable person. The relief that passed through her was selfish, she knew, but she just hugged Peter tighter. She remembered a time when he wouldn’t make the decision to put his normal life above his desire to be a superhero, and she felt a kind of warmth in knowing that she chose differently this time. He chose their silly school trip, their friendly neighborhood crime fighting, and their friendship instead. 

As she tucked her chin into his shoulder, Maisie tried hard to focus on that good feeling rather than the relentless, guilt-ridden thought: But Peter, Tony gave it to you .

“You guys know I’m still here, right?” MJ said.

Maisie pulled away from Peter in an instant, moving so fast that she knocked the piece of metal out of his hand. It clattered to the ground and sparked once before exploding with light—a familiar light. Caught by surprise, the three teens jumped in fear as they saw the massive Fire Elemental come to life in front of them. Before they could register what happened, the image stuttered and went out.

“What the hell was that?” Peter asked, picking up the device.

“I found it at the festival tonight,” MJ explained. “Was it a recording? Why did it look so real?”

“It was a projector,” Maisie stepped closer to Peter to investigate. “But it’s really advanced.”

MJ’s eyes widened, “Does that mean…”

“The Elementals are fake?” Peter finished. He shook his head, “But that makes no sense because we were there, right? There was fire and destruction…who would do something like that?”

Maisie felt sick, “Pete—”

The projector lit up again, displaying another image of the Elemental from earlier that day. Along with another individual fighting the fire monster with swirling green energy.

“Mysterio,” MJ concluded.

Peter’s eyes locked on Maisie’s, “I really, really messed up.”

“We need to go,” Maisie said. “Now.”

Taking her friend’s hands, she teleported back to her hotel room.

Peter wasted no time, sprinting out the door and to his own room. Maisie got to work pulling out the new suit and getting dressed as quickly as she could as MJ continued to pelt question after question at her. The girl answered each standard question to the best of her ability, but it was hard to focus after finding out that the person with access to the entire Stark security world is in the hands of someone who couldn’t care less about hurting people.

Maisie pulled up her tight black pants and cursed whoever made spy equipment for women. She whipped off her pajama shirt and reached for her suit’s undershirt when MJ asked another question.

“Why didn’t Tony Stark leave EDITH to you instead?” it was almost a whisper, but Maisie couldn’t un-hear it.

Without looking at her, Maisie answered as honestly as she could, “I don’t know.”

The hotel window slid open, and Peter swung through, fully dressed in his new suit and holding his mask in his hand. 

“You rea—Agh!” he tried to cover his eyes, “Sorry, I thought you’d be dressed already.”

Maisie scoffed, “Peter, it’s a bra, grow up.”

MJ’s eyes flicked between the two of them as they bickered.

“Whatever,” Peter’s cheeks were pink, “I told Ned to call May and tell her to tell Mr. Harrington that she wanted us to stay with family in Berlin until this all blows over.”

“Perfect,” Maisie tucked her hair into her collar.

“Wow, you guys lie with such ease,” MJ’s sarcasm did not go undetected. Maisie rolled her eyes, ignoring her.

“I can’t believe Mysterio’s a fraud,” Maisie zipped up the front of her suit.

“I can’t believe I gave him those glasses. How could I be so stupid?” Peter exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. “God, he’s probably spying on us right now or sending a drone to come and kill us.”

MJ and Maisie rounded on him, “You had access to killer drones?”

Peter winced, “Yeah, but I didn’t want them!”

“Not even to kill Brad?” MJ quipped.

The two superheroes shot her a look.

“Sorry, got it,” MJ raised her hands in defense. “Not the time, my bad.”

“We need to go, Maiz,” Peter said. “Can you get us to Berlin?”

“Never been, but if there’s a Zillow listing for ‘Nick Fury’s Hideout in Berlin’ maybe a picture would work!” she replied. 

“What about Europol? That’s where they said they were going, right?” he ignored her snark, pulling up an image and map. “Would this work?”

Maisie frowned, “Maybe. Long distances to unfamiliar places are unpredictable, but we need to try.”

“Are you sure?” Peter asked.

Maisie scoffed, “No, but we don’t have a choice.”

“I mean, we could take a train—”

“Shut up, Parker,” Maisie said. Turning to MJ, she gave her one last hug, “I’m so glad you know now. I’m sorry I kept it a secret for so long. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

MJ smiled, “It’s fine, I get it. We’re okay, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Maisie reached for Peter’s hand, closing her eyes to focus. Her eyes shot open again, “Oh, wait! Can you pack that dress I wore to the opera? And the leather jacket? And my new sneakers? Oh my god, my new sunglasses—”

“Maisie!” Peter exclaimed.

“I just got entirely new belongings! I don’t want to lose them all again!” Maisie sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, perspective…”

MJ nodded though, “Good luck, you guys.”

Imagining the Europol building in Berlin, Maisie said one silent prayer and teleported to Germany.

******

It only took a few tries, (the buildings all looked the same, and her head still hurt, okay?) but they arrived at Europol right as the sun broke through the morning clouds. Thankfully, both their masks were on as they appeared on the sidewalk, scaring the crap out of some woman who shouted something like “Night Monkey” in German. 

“What is a ‘Night Monkey’?” Maisie asked.

Peter shrugged, “I have no idea.”

A sleek black car pulled up to the sidewalk beside the two superheroes, and the driver’s door opened. Nick Fury, wearing his trademark frown, shook his head as he approached them.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” he deadpanned.

“I know, I know—” Peter began.

Fury held up one hand and walked past them, “Wait until we’re secure.”

Maisie shrugged and followed the man inside, feeling very similar to when she was called to the principal’s office as a kid. She and Peter climbed the stairs in silence, wondering how badly they were about to be yelled at.

They entered an all white room with a long conference table. Maria Hill was waiting for them, the same disapproving look on her face.

“So,” Fury began, crossing his arms, “is there anything you want to tell us about your girlfriend?”

Peter looked at Maisie, who looked at him, then they both looked back at Fury.

Hill rolled her eyes, “He’s talking about EDITH.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “I know, okay, I know that I—”

“We screwed up,” Maisie interrupted. She wasn’t going to let Peter take all the blame for this. “Beck isn’t who we thought he was. The Elementals, Mysterio—it’s all fake, and he has some kind of illusion technology.”

“He tricked all of us, and he tricked me into giving him EDITH,” Peter slid the projector that MJ found across the conference table. “It’s a projector. I pulled it off the fire monster in Prague.”

Hill and Fury exchanged a look, unconvinced. Fury spoke up, “All that death and destruction we witnessed—it was made by this?”

“Not just this,” Maisie shook her head. “We think he’s using drones.”

“If this is true,” Fury crossed the room, “then Beck’s dangerous, and we need to be careful. Who else knows about this?” 

Maisie opened her mouth to respond, but Peter grabbed her arm. She turned in alarm, knowing that look on his face—something was wrong.

“McCall?” Fury pushed. “Parker? Who did you tell?”

“What’s wrong?” Maisie ignored him.

“It’s Beck,” Peter said. “He’s here.”

“Wh—” Maisie cut herself off as the entire room started to disappear, including Agent Hill.

Fury immediately pulled out his gun, “Hill?”

The glass windows and clean white floors disappeared in front of their eyes, leaving unfinished concrete and construction scaffolding in its place. The entire building was an illusion?

Maisie took a step closer to Peter, but he shoved her the opposite way, ensuring that the bullet shooting from the wall behind them didn’t hit her. Instead, the projectile knocked Fury off his feet, slamming his body into the far wall. He didn’t get back up.

The illusion faded, and in the place of the wall behind them was a drone—exactly how Peter described them. The drone didn’t give them a chance to investigate further, and it shot again, hitting Peter square in the chest. The boy flew backward and over a ledge that didn’t exist just a second ago. Panic rose in Maisie’s chest, but she heard Peter yelling as he fell. He wasn’t dead yet, she told herself. The drone turned to her, and she teleported across the room.

In an instant, she realized that she couldn’t rely on her mental images of the building. It was all an illusion. The drone turned to her again, and she teleported outside the room. Looking for her next location, Maisie glared at the small Stark Industries logo and teleported again. 

“Peter!” she yelled. Maisie didn’t know where he was, so it seemed like Marco-Polo with the teleporter was the only way to find out.

“Only a few floors down,” Peter wheezed. She guessed he got the wind knocked out of him in the fall. “Concrete, windows—just a big open space!”

Maisie vanished instantly, appearing by his side in the middle of the floor. This must have been some random abandoned building that Beck changed with his illusion tech—but how did he trick her teleportation? She saw the massive holes in the floor and stone pillars scattered throughout the building. Doing her best to take note, she and Peter stood back to back as they waited for their enemy to make an appearance.

More drones circled the two superheroes, guns trained on both of them.

“ Wow, Peter ,” Mysterio’s low chuckle seemed to come from everywhere at once. “ I thought we were close .”

“Stop hiding, Beck!” Peter snapped. He shot his webs at one of the drones, but it disappeared just as the conference room did. He shot at another one, and the same thing happened. Was anything they were seeing real?

“ Fury always had to die ,” Mysterio ignored him. “ But, not you. And not your precious…Maisie .”

“I’m right here, asshat,” Maisie growled. “I’m not some damsel in distress.”

“ Aren’t you? ” Mysterio’s voice boomed. 

At that, the entire building went dark. Lockers erupted out of nowhere, green fog filled the floors, and Maisie could only see halfway down what looked like a high school hallway. At the end, stood Mysterio in his cape and fishbowl helmet.

Narrowing her eyes, Maisie teleported in random patterns, closer and closer to Beck. She was going to punch through his stupid helmet and take EDITH back—

As she took the two steps in preparation to launch herself at the man, her feet connected with nothing except open air, and she fell. Instinctively, she teleported before hitting the ground, colliding headfirst with…a wall? A concrete pillar? Maisie didn’t know—she saw nothing except open air in front of her.

As Maisie reached her hand out to feel for her surroundings, Mysterio’s deep laughter echoed all around her, “ Peter told me that you were just kids! ”

Peter , Maisie thought. She turned in a full circle, but she couldn’t see him. She still couldn’t see Mysterio anywhere either, and he knew it.

“ He told me that he just wanted to run after the girl! ” Beck taunted.

“Maisie!” Peter’s voice sounded miles away. All Maisie saw was an empty hallway, green fog everywhere. There was nothing else, she was completely alone.

Then, Maisie blinked, and suddenly, she was standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower. Only a second later, Peter burst through a door, and the relief overwhelmed her. “Thank God—” she took a step forward, and the floor disappeared underneath her foot.

Again, Maisie realized she was falling. But, for the first time since she got her powers, Maisie didn’t trust herself to save herself.

“Peter!” she screamed. “Help me!”

Mysterio’s dark laugh echoed, “ I thought you weren’t the damsel in distress? ”

“No! Maisie!” Peter jumped after her, but he didn’t get there in time. 

Before the girl could decide what to do or where to teleport, she landed hard on the concrete floor. Maisie felt something crack, and she thought she heard it, too. She wasn’t sure if it was a rib or an arm—it hurt everywhere. Crying out in pain, Maisie still tried hard to keep her eyes open for any sign of Mysterio. All she saw was darkness.

“Maisie! Where are you?” Peter tried. He sounded at least one floor above her, but they couldn’t see each other. 

It hurt to talk, and it hurt to breathe, but she tried: “Down…here…”

“ Are you sure you know what’s real, Peter? ” Mysterio’s voice echoed once more. 

“Pete—” 

“ You need to WAKE UP! ” Mysterio boomed.

Bright light burst from darkness, and suddenly, Maisie could see exactly where she was: laying on a concrete beam jutting outside from the empty building. With a start, Maisie realized with only one inch to the left or right, she’d fall five stories down to the ground.

The ground . The girl watched a black suit slide off of the roof of a car parked on the side of the building. It seemed that even though Peter fell all the way to the ground level, he was still alive. Taking the chance while she could, Maisie teleported right next to him.

“It’s me, it’s me,” her breath caught in her throat. It was definitely her rib. Every word felt like a knife to her gut.

Peter sighed in relief and took her hand in his, determined not to be separated again.

The sound of glass breaking forced the two to look upward. At least ten drones dove out of the building and headed straight for them. The drones brought a scene of complete darkness, and she and Peter were caught in another nightmare. The two were forced to dodge falling shards of glass the size of full length mirrors as they pierced the ground next to them. 

Trying to make sense of the images inside of images was hopeless, since all she saw was herself and Peter trapped in the ring of mirrors. The two superheroes stood back to back in a fighting stance. How were they supposed to fight this?

“ I mean look at yourselves ,” Mysterio’s voice came from all directions at once.

Against Maisie’s better judgment, she looked at her reflection. In the mirror, she saw herself wearing the first suit that Tony made her. Behind her, she saw Peter was wearing his, too. As Maisie leaned closer, the image shifted, and she saw her reflection turn into Spider-Man staring back at her instead. Peter leaned forward to touch the image of Mischief that appeared in front of him. 

Before Maisie could move, the reflection of Spider-Man latched onto her upper arm and twisted her arm behind her, forcing her to the ground. One Spider-Man became five, then ten—all punching and kicking her until she was curled into a ball. Peter was jumped by at least twelve Mischiefs until suddenly, all the doppelgängers disappeared.

“ You’re just scared little kids in sweat suits ,” Mysterio laughed.

When Maisie opened her eyes, she was unsurprised to see herself wearing her original getup, complete with the bandana and all. Staggering to her feet, Maisie took in their newest illusion: a desolate planet with fallen statues the size of skyscrapers. Broken, crumbling statues of all the Avengers. Her eyes wouldn’t move from Iron Man’s irreparable helmet. Only one statue was still standing: Mysterio.

“ I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. I control the truth ,” Mysterio said. “ Mysterio is the truth. ”

The anger flared, and Maisie took a step toward the massive statue of the fraud. The illusion switched again. Peter tried to reach her as she misstepped, but they both fell forward onto their knees. When they looked up, they were staring directly into a grave. The headstone read: Anthony Edward Stark.

“ If you were good enough ,” Mysterio’s voice echoed, “ maybe Tony would still be alive .”

A scream escaped Maisie’s lungs as a zombified Iron Man suit clawed its way out of the ground. Peter scrambled away from the zombie as Maisie wound up to punch it across the face. Her fingers broke upon impact with the side of the building.

“Fu—” Maisie swore as pain shot up her arm. The image shifted again, and snow started to fall over the teens’ heads. Peter took Maisie’s good hand and pulled her with him, running away from where the zombified Iron Man disappeared.

Mysterio laughed, “ Deep down, you know I’m right. ”

Peter ran headfirst into what looked like the glass wall of a snowglobe. Maisie didn’t let go of his hand as he fell backward from the impact, and the two landed in a pile of snow. The skyscrapers grew from the ground where they sat, forcing them to roll away from one another and dodge them. The Avengers Tower grew in the middle with its blinking “A” doing more to symbolize loss rather than hope.

“ You made your choice, ” Mysterio said. “ All you had to do was step aside, and now you have— ”

The image disappeared instantly. Blinking back into reality, Maisie watched as Mysterio fell to his knees with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Nick Fury stepped over the body, looking nothing short of annoyed at the two superheroes, as usual. The two shared a sigh of relief, and Peter pulled himself to his feet to greet him. Maisie grimaced and didn’t bother getting up in a hurry. Fury could wait a damn second.

“Beck’s people are trying to find everyone who could expose him,” Fury said. He shot them each a look, which Maisie ignored. “Who’d you tell?”

“Uh…” Peter looked to Maisie. The girl frowned as she tried to stand.

“I know you told someone,” Fury raised his voice in exasperation, “so, just tell me.”

Maisie fell back onto her butt with wide eyes, “Wait—”

“Who’d you tell? Fury demanded. “Who else did you tell?”

“Just Ned and MJ from our class, and maybe Ned told Betty his girlfriend, but that’s it, I swear!” Peter confessed.

In an instant, Fury’s demeanor changed. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. Maisie forced herself to her feet and stood in front of Peter.

“What?” Peter asked.

“You are so gullible,” Fury replied, still laughing to himself. “Oh, you’re smart as a whip. Just a…” Fury disappeared, replaced by Mysterio—it was him all along. “ Sucker .”

Maisie’s heart dropped as Peter whispered, “No…”

Two drones appeared behind Mysterio, and Maisie knew that they’d bring with them an illusion that would render her teleportation useless. Before she could think, Maisie unsheathed one of her knives and teleported between Mysterio and the drones. 

As she landed, a sharp, agonizing pain flared from her stomach. The girl blinked, and Mysterio stood facing her with a smirk and a gun, still smoking.

“And you,” he whispered, “are so predictable.”

It all happened in one instant. The man pulled the trigger again, and Maisie fell backward, collapsing on the concrete. 

“Maisie!” Peter tried to get to her. His panic was barely contained as he focused his energy on her, but Mysterio wouldn’t allow it. The drones were already activated, and Peter watched the illusion of darkness race toward him.

“ And now, ” there was a sinister smile in his words echoing in the dark, “ all your friends have to die .”

The drones threw everything they had at him, knocking Peter backwards with every hit. Broken mirrors fell like guillotines. He tripped over another headstone, but he refused to read the name. The green fog infiltrated his every sense until he didn’t know right from left. Peter tried to move in Maisie’s direction, but he didn’t know where that was anymore. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t feel—he couldn’t find her. 

“ It’s easy to fool people when they’re already fooling themselves ,” Mysterio sighed. “ But, for what it’s worth, Peter—I really am sorry. ”

The illusion disappeared, and Peter blinked. He ignored Mysterio in front of him and looked past him for Maisie. He glimpsed her motionless body for just a single second. Before he could move, a high-speed train collided with him, tearing him away from where he stood.

Pain exploded everywhere. Peter knew he was bleeding, but he didn’t know where or how much. It took every bit of strength he had left to stick to the side of the train and hold on for his life. Still, all he could think about was Maisie. The boy tried to focus on the closest door. Once he got inside, he could figure out how to get back to her—he could get off on the next stop, run to her, and make sure she was healing. 

Sliding the door open, Peter noticed his hand was covered in blood. Ignoring that, he slipped inside the train compartment and limped to the nearest seat. He’d just take a second and get off at the next stop, and everything would be okay. Everything was okay, and so was Maisie. 

Everything went black, and Peter slumped against the train window.

“….worth, Peter….am sorry.” Maisie could barely hear Mysterio as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She didn’t know what was real anymore, all she knew is that she hurt .

A train or an airplane passed loudly by.

Maisie’s breath was shallow. She didn’t know if she could survive a gunshot wound, let alone two. She’d never been shot before, it was new terrain for her super healing abilities. To her annoyance, she started to cry. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and silently collected on the pavement under her head. 

I just want to go home , her plea sounded like a child’s whine in her head.

Footsteps approached, but Maisie couldn’t move her head. 

“I’m sorry, kid,” Mysterio did not sound sorry. He tilted his head, studying her. Then, “EDITH? Access files to the Midtown Science class trip. I need them to fly home from London.”

Mysterio nudged Maisie’s leg with his foot, but she didn’t move. With her eyes fluttering closed, the last thing she saw was Mysterio walking away.

I just want to go home , she repeated over and over until she couldn’t anymore.

Everything went black, and Maisie slipped into a dreamless sleep.