He Looks Nothing Like A Spider
“Would you like some coffee?”
"That would be appreciated."
May pours Gretchen a cup, pulling out the milk and sugar for her to use.
"I prefer black, but Peter likes his sweet," she explains.
"Like chocolate?" She asks softly.
"Ooh, chocolate's the best," Peter agrees.
"You don't need any more sweets," May says.
"But I'm a growing boy!"
“A growing boy who drinks more coffee than he should.”
“I’ve never had a cavity!”
“So far. Now, go do your homework while I make dinner.”
“Aunt May..."
"Peter, don't make me use your full name."
"Yes, ma'am," Peter sighs out. "Gretchen, um, ma'am, are you going to come back tomorrow?”
"From your story, it sounds like she's in need of a good meal," May replies.
May isn't the best at cooking.
In any case, she sends Peter off to do homework, and then starts to make dinner.
Gretchen’s not sure what it’s supposed to be, but from the looks of it, it is not going well.
Ten minutes later, the fire alarm is going off, the food is blackened, and Aunt May is coughing.
Gretchen does not. She simply opens a window—with permission—and turns on a fan.
She hears the visitors before they come to the apartment door, already telling May before they knock.
“I’ll take care of it,” May says, and then goes to answer the door.
She finds Peter in his room, hearing the voices that filter through the front door.
“The Avengers are here.”
“What?” Peter asks, standing up. “Why? Does Mr. Stark need-“
“They cannot know that I am here.”
“They came for you? Karen must’ve told Mr. Stark that you were here!”
“Karen?”
“She’s an AI in my suit.”
“A what?”
“I can explain later. I’ve got a trapdoor in the ceiling of my closet where I used to keep my suit. Here, I’ll show you!”
In the trap, there’s enough room for three people to squeeze into, and Gretchen decides that it’s probably for Peter and his aunt.
By the looks of it, she could stay here for a while. There’s food, water, a blanket, DC comics, pencils, and a puzzle book, as well as a Bible.
And there’s a red suit hidden underneath a blanket.
Gretchen pauses and listens to the conversation in the living room.
“You sure?”
Stark.
“Of course. Why would I not be?”
“There are three places set at the table.”
“Ned was supposed to come over later, but as you can see, he’s not here yet.”
That is true, but Peter messaged Ned and told him that there was “something I’ll tell you about later, Ned. I gotta go.” Ned will not be coming over this evening, at least until the Avengers and the other non-Spiderman non-Avenger leaves the Parker household.
“Uh-huh,” Tony says, doubt obvious in his voice.
“Tony, I was just going to go down the street and get some Thai food. Did you all want to eat with us?”
Gretchen opens the trapdoor, and climbs out the window.
Two minutes later, she’s face-to-face with the Black Widow.
“You ran from the Avengers, and you went to Spider-Man,” she says.
“Who?” The clueless woman asks.
“Peter. I know that he keeps a spare suit where you were hiding.”
“He looks nothing like a spider.”
And with that, she kicks at Natasha, but she flips and lands a punch to her shoulder. Gretchen crushes her elbow into the back of her knee, and the two spring apart, one of them—Gretchen—distancing herself.
“Harboring me could get you arrested.”
“We can protect you.”
“I have to do something that you can’t be a part of. And James will follow me. I can lose the others, but if the Soldier follows, the mission might fail.”
“Barnes is my friend. I have to tell him you’re here.”
“Please. For his safety. For everyone’s. He can’t follow me.”
“Where will you go? Russia? Germany? Africa?”
“Why should the Experi- I. Why should I reveal that information?”
“Maybe if you have a good reason, I can let you go alone.”
“Iceland.”
“Why?”
“There is a recovery base there. My handler should be taking cover.”
“I assume you’re not going there on a peaceful mission.”
“I will not kill her.”
“You and I both know that you can’t just take her in.”
“You do not know who she is.”
“Who is she?”
“Ajara Agni.”
Natasha stares level-headed, and then reaches in her pocket and tosses a small phone with a USB drive attached, which Gretchen deftly catches.
“It’s a burner phone. The USB will show you where your alias’s information is. Keep me updated.”
Then she switches on her com and speaks.
“Found her on eighth street.”
She switches it off, and then crosses her arms.
“If you catch the upcoming train, you’ll be able to escape.”
The sound of a loud train approaches, and Gretchen watches it get closer.
“Follow the directions to the passport.”
“Why do you have those?”
“I knew you would need them. You have one week. Keep me posted. I can buy you some time, but we will track you eventually.”
With a nod, Gretchen hops on the train.
Thirty seconds later, the Avengers arrive.
“Where is she?”
“She ran.”
“And you didn’t follow her?”
“She caught the train.”
“Since when are you afraid to catch a train?!?”
Since never.
Bucky watches his ally—thinking “friend” feels informal now, given the circumstances—and decides that she’s hiding something.
Natalia always is.
“I let her go.”
“Why?” Bucky asks, level.
“She’s going to bring in a threat.”
Natasha walks away.
~
To say that anyone could convince Natasha to talk when she doesn’t want to is a fairy tale for the Avengers. Clint’s her friend, and he does know a lot about her, but she is a trained assassin, and he knows when to stop asking.
Sometimes.
Bucky knows.
Everyone knows not to ask, or they throw themselves into their work.
Tony. Banner, but less so. Bucky.
Clint—the wise person that he is—went home to be with his wife, children, and the new dog—Lucky—that they found on the side of a road.
Bucky ignored Natasha, pummeling punching bags and barely talking—granted, the last two things are not new.
Steve is a good friend, and Jarvis is, too, but sometimes it’s just hard to socialize.
Bucky has experienced this dip in his mood where he’s normal, scowls mixed with cheap jokes at Stevie’s expense, and then he feels great one day—being better than usual—and he’s talking and laughing, and then the next day, he’s feeling squashed. Deflated. Like a flattened balloon.
The man was feeling good that day—he could feel it coming, but it’s hard to halt in its tracks—and then she left, and he was upset, sure, but that’s because he wanted to help when it’s so hard for him, and then the one he might’ve been able to help left and got back into the dangerous world.
He still hadn’t hit that day, and then he got there.
That was four days ago, and now he’s back to normal, since it usually lasts maybe a day.
During that day, it was hard. Now it’s normal, and he’s been on the internet, searching for Gretchen.
She started training first, but her programming broke.
Someone will find her, and then he can help.