Black Light

Coffee with Peter was arguably the most fun you'd had in weeks. He was witty, smart, cute as hell, and just the right amount of dorky for you to know this was all just genuinely him, no showing off, no acting. It was refreshing. It wasn't often you got to spend time with someone your own age who was just about as smart as you were.

Needless to say, you were practically floating on air when you walked into Noble's Super-Duper Secret Laboratory of Doom five hours later. That's what you called it in your head, anyway, Noble just called it her “private lab.”

“Ah! Y/l/n! Right on time, as usual.” She rolled away in a sleek steel office chair from a massive unrecognizable hunk of shining metal and colorful wires, suspended from the ceiling by three large chains. You didn't know what the hell that thing was, but you'd nicknamed it The Heart due to it's vague resemblance to the muscle that was leaping giddily in your own chest at that very moment.

“What am I working on today, Professor?” you asked, hanging your bag on a hook by the door and grabbing a work apron, gloves, and goggles from a shelf in the corner.
“I'd love it if you would continue work on some of your experimental ray-guns. Do you have the one you borrowed for your personal errand last night?”

Oh, fuuuck. “Oh, um-- about that--” you chuckled nervously as you wandered back to your bag, reaching inside for your utility belt and finding the pouch with the scraps from the gun that Spider-Man had knocked out of your hand. “I sort of ran into a little trouble last night.”

“Trouble? What sort of trouble?” The ratcheting sound of Noble's wrench at her workbench stopped.

Turning around, you lifted up the scraps in your rubber-gloved hand. “I ran into Spider-Man. He knocked it out of my hand, and it exploded.” Quickly, before Noble could berate you for being clumsy. “I got all the scraps, and if I did leave anything behind, nobody will be able to figure out what it was without all the main pieces.”

Seemingly satisfied, your professor nodded. “Did anyone see you besides that... Bug?”

You shook your head, walking back to your own bench and dropping the scraps there. “No. I used my false accent, just in case.”

“So detail oriented. It's what makes you such an excellent engineer!” Noble shot you a grin, which you returned. She took the shapeless chunk of yet even more wires and metal and rolled over to The Heart and around to the other side of it, and you heard the sound of metal hitting metal and a wrench screwing things into place. “I assume you fought him. How did it go?”

“I kicked his a- ahem, I mean, I won. The only thing he managed to do was knock the gun out of my hand, because he caught me by surprise. Which worked out pretty well, because now I know my current design explodes on impact with hard surfaces.”

“I suppose you'd better fix that if you intend to use it for more petty errands.”

“I think it might get more use than just for petty work, Professor.” You paused. “You know that Parker guy?”

“The late one? Brilliant student, but he's always so frazzled. I almost considered recruiting him for my side project, you know. Just wasn't reliable enough.”

You grinned at the implied compliment. “Yeah, Parker. He said he knows someone who can introduce me to Tony Stark. If I can meet him, I can probably find a way to get into his labs somehow--”

Your professor jumped to her feet, sending her wheeled work chair spinning away. “Y/l/n, if I can get my hands on even a piece of the Iron Man suit, or even better, information about the arc-reactor, it would change everything. It would take my work to the next level, I would finally-”

Something exploded out of the bottom of The Heart in a burst of white sparks that bounced of the clean smooth white floor, taking Noble's attention away.

“Oh, hell-” she rushed, crawling underneath the hanging monstrosity to find the problem, as you waited on standby with a fire extinguisher. After a few moments, realizing that there was no more risk of flames, you returned to your workbench to begin rebuilding the gun that Spider-Man had destroyed.

Four hours passed, and it was almost an hour til midnight. Time to call it a night, you had papers to work on the next day. Noble was still busy working on pieces for The Heart, blueprints scattered across half of the rubber mat that was laid out across her stainless steel table.

“I'm heading out, Professor,” you called over your shoulder as you placed your goggles on their shelf and peeled off your gloves.

“I expect to see you here at the same time tomorrow, unless something pops up to get you closer to Stark and his labs,” she said flatly, looking up at you from the nest of tubes and wires in her hands.

“Absolutely, Professor. I'll email if anything comes up.”

She looked back down, nodding, immediately consumed by her work once again. You glanced at The Heart hanging behind her, looming frozen in the air. You blinked, half expecting it to start beating, and looked away. Slinging your bag over your shoulder after shrugging on your coat, you reached into your pocket to pull out your phone, gently shutting the door behind you. Scrolling through your notifications—a missed call from your friend at Xavier's, a few texts from your friend Stacy (“Girl, the dick I just had cleared my skin and cured my chronic stress issues”), some social media notifications, and at the bottom—a text from Peter Parker. Your heart did a tiny jump. A text already? You opened it.

From Peter: Hey, Y/n. I had a lot of fun today at coffee. What do u say to a whole meal sometime? My treat!

He even punctuated the end with a grinning emoji and a candy emoji. What a dork.

Smiling, you typed back as you walked down the abandoned subway rail, and hit send.

From you: I'd love to! What are you thinking? Lunch? Dinner?

As you were about to lower your phone and click the lock button, the three dots appeared, indicating he was typing back.

Peter: Well, I didn't wanna b too forward, but dinner is exactly what I had in mind. U wanna pick when?

You: I assume you have a place in mind??

Peter: U like Thai food, right?

You: Love it

Peter: I kno I said u should pick the time, but is tomorrow too soon??

You almost giggled.

You: I have a meeting with Prof. Noble tomorrow night

Peter: Oh yeah no that's okay we can do dinner another time

You: But I'll be free after 8:30pm. Is that too late?

Peter: You really had me there for a second! I can meet u at the school and take u to the Thai place from there?

Shit. Now you'd have to get out of weapons-of-mass-distruction-workshop-hour even earlier. Why hadn't you developed a jetpack yet to get you out of dealing with traffic and the subway?

You replied to Peter with a simple “Perfect!” and pocketed your phone, sneaking back into a public terminal. Your phone dinged, but you waited until you were seated on the subway to check it.

It was Peter again just saying he was looking forward to dinner. You smiled, and responded with a “Me too! See u then” and a smiley face, before going home and collapsing into your soft bed, putting in earbuds to drown out the sounds of your roommate Stacy apparently going for round two with this month's beau.

You woke up the next day before Stacy and set about cooking yourself some breakfast, making a little extra for her knowing she'd be up soon. That girl could never sleep in past ten.

It was nine thirty when she came out of her room, stretching and yawning, plump figure clad in nothing more than a long t-shirt and booty shorts.

“Hey, girl!” she gave you her standard morning greeting, brushing a strand of straight blonde hair behind her ear. “Aw, is this for me?” She beamed at you.

“It sure is, help yourself,” you grinned back at her, having just sat down a few minutes ago to get started on your own helping.

“You're a goddamn angel, sometimes,” she reached for a plate and served herself some of the meal you'd cooked for the both of you. “How was your day yesterday?”

You took a sip of your morning beverage. “Pretty good. Went out to coffee with this guy after Noble's class, and we're getting dinner tonight.” You looked at her over your cup for her reaction, she was always telling you to go out and have some fun.

“Oh my god! Yes! Is he cute?”

“Pretty cute, yeah. He's smart, too, so far, which is cool.”

“What's his name? I'm looking him up on Facebook right now,” she said, getting up to retrieve her phone from her room.

You chuckled nervously, “Um, Peter Parker?”

She returned, sitting into her chair with a plop, and held her phone out across the table for you to look at the screen. “Is this him?”

“Yeah, that's him.” You grinned. “What do you think?”

“He's cuuute! And he looks like a fucking dork. He's perfect for you,” she grinned.

“Stacy, oh my god,” you laughed.

“If you don't at least get some tongue tonight I'm going to be very disappointed,” she gave you a stern look over the top of her phone, which she struggled to hold before cracking out into a massive smile. “He's shared some good stuff. Funny guy. I approve.”

You laughed. “Thank you.” You took a large bite of your food. “I'm gonna watch a few hours of Netflix before I finish off some essays, you got plans?”

“Shit, I'm going nowhere today. I'm in.”

You and Stacy spent the better part of four hours watching Netflix shows in your shared living room, both still in your pajamas. As the credits rolled, you checked your phone.

“Ugh, it's one. I should work on my papers.”

“Bring your laptop out here, you can work on them while we watch more TV!”

You groaned. “I get distracted. And I have two of them to work on, and then I have to go to my workshop thing and then I have to go straight to dinner after that-”

“Can I at least help pick out your outfit?” She looked at you with her best subtle puppy eyes.

You paused. Sighed. And then nodded. “But nothing outlandish, we're just getting Thai food, okay?”

She made a small fist pump motion. Stacy was one of your more stylish friends, and she always jumped at the chance to dress other people up. Normally you'd refuse, but she never dressed you too far out of your comfort zone and always still made you look like you. Just a slightly cuter you than usual.

You spent a solid four hours working on your papers, only stopping once for a snack. Eventually you had to call it quits because of how sore your fingertips were getting from typing away furiously on your laptop. Stretching your arms, you looked at the clock on the bottom of your screen. “Fuuuuck,” you sighed, relaxing your muscles.

“Hey! Y/N, you should shower so we can get you ready!” Stacy popped her head into your room. Was she ever not smiling? “How're the papers coming along?”

“I finished one,” you said, slumping over your desk and hitting the save button to preserve your progress. “I'm getting pretty close on the other one, I can finish it later though.” You cracked your knuckles, and pushed yourself away from your desk as you stood. “Pretty sure my blood-stream is like, eighty percent caffeine at this point.”

Stacy laughed. “Nice. I'll see you when you get out of the shower with a few outfits ready,” she declared, striding over to your closet.

Your stomach leaped into your throat. Was your suit in your closet, or had you remembered to stash it in the box under your bed?

Stacy threw open the closet door, and started rifling through your dresses and jackets. Your disguise wasn't there, and you let out a soft sigh in relief.

“What are you waiting for? Go clean up!”

You laughed. “Okay, okay, mom,” you teased, and left for the bathroom.

You and Stacy shared a single bathroom, but you'd lucked out with the two sinks it came with. Her brother did contract work and had fixed it up when you moved in, installing a floor length mirror on the back of the door, a bigger one over the sinks, and better lighting overhead and above the mirror as well. Stacy's whole family loved to spoil each other with gifts like this, and you more than happily reaped the benefits. Unfortunately, her brother hadn't been able to do anything about the small shower stall you'd been cursed with.

After waiting a minute or so for the water to warm up, you stepped in. Closing the glass shower door behind you, letting the pulsating water massage your shoulders, tense from hours of being hunched over your desk. As you though about your papers, your mind wandered to other work. How mad would Noble be that you were leaving early today? She'd never responded to your email, so you weren't sure what to expect when you went to the lab later. She couldn't get that mad, Parker was going to be your way into Stark's garage of toys.

You wondered what sort of toys he'd have built that nobody knew of. You wondered if you'd built anything similar, if you could use his ideas to further your own technology, and keep any more of it from exploding next time a masked stranger knocked one out of your hand—damn that Spider-Man, with his snarky comments. Who did he think he was, calling you a kitty cat? Calling you ma'am? And that dumbass suit, had he really designed it himself? Gotta admire his tailoring skills, though, you thought as you moved under the water, making sure to clean each and every inch of yourself. That shit was skin-tight. You paused. Why were you thinking about an annoying masked stranger's costume and how tight it was? I'm just admiring the skill. You reassured yourself. Any loose fabric would probably make him less aerodynamic, and every little bit counts in a fight. You grinned to yourself. He did have a cute ass though.

You finished showering and dried yourself off, applying your favorite moisturizer where needed.

“Y/N! Are you almost done in there? I have some outfits for you, and we still have to do your makeup! And hair!”

“I'll be out in a second!”

When you returned to your room, wearing nothing but a towel, Stacy was there to greet you. Modesty was no big deal between you two, you'd both walked in on each other naked before, and you'd quickly gotten used to her very relaxed sense of privacy.

She hopped up, clapping her hands together. “So! I checked the weather and picked out a few outfits for you. It's supposed to be pretty cold later tonight, so with the dresses I've chosen we've got your pick of tights or leggings, and some layers. I went with cute-casual, since we don't know how nice this place is that you're going. Which reminds me! Text the name of the restaurant and his number to me once you get there in case he's a serial killer or whatever, so I know what to tell the police.”

You laughed, but nodded. Stacy might have said it in a joking tone, but her dad worked as a detective on the force and despite her carefree personality, she always took precautions for herself and her friends.

“I'll go wait out there though, while you finish getting ready,” she said, already closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, you took a moment to look at the three outfits she'd laid out for you, eventually settling on the dress you knew would be most comfortable in addition to flattering. Once you were dressed, you went to the bathroom again to put on the finishing touches, and then came out to get what Stacy called 'her final seal of approval.'

“Okay Stacy, whaddaya think?”

She turned around to look at you over the back of the couch. “You're freaking cute, Y/N. You're gonna kill it tonight.” She gave a thumbs up. “Consider the 'Stacy Seal of Approval' earned.”

You grinned, and retrieved your bag—a different, cuter one than your normally had—and your coat. “Okay, I'm heading out! I'll text you once I meet up with him where we're actually going and all that.”

“Have fun! Love you! Get some tongue!”

“Oh, my god. Bye.” You heard her laugh as you shut the door behind you.

You walked into Noble's lab about half an hour earlier than usual. She was arguing with someone, a strange man you'd never seen before. They didn't seem to notice you as you closed the door behind you, it's automatic lock giving a soft click. You listened in to their conversation as you traded your coat and purse for proper lab gear.

“I don't like it.”

“You don't have to like it, I'm just asking to borrow-”

“My assistant is one of the best I've been able to find, I won't have you taking up her valuable time so you can turn her into another soldier-”

You froze, they were talking about you.

“Spider-Man is causing a great deal of trouble, Noble. Osborn is dead, the Goblin-”

You'd read about Norman Osborn's tragic death in the paper's, you didn't realize Spider-Man was responsible. Did that mean Osborn was the Green Goblin-?

“And he had far more experience than Y/L/N. With a little more schooling, some experience, her tech could become invaluable-” You couldn't help but glow at the praise.

“He was off his rocker. The fact of the matter is, people with abilities that aren't already out their wasting their time fighting petty criminals or aren't bat-shit crazy are hard to come by these days, and you have one right here in your lab tinkering away with toys! Noble, our group could really use her.”

You decided to speak up. “Use me for what?”

Noble whipped her head to look at you, cold rage in her eyes. You were thankful it wasn't directed at you. The man speaking to her turned around, cold blue eyes glittering like a hungry dragon that had found a shiny new piece of treasure.

“Speak of the devil, you must be Miss Y/L/N.” He strode towards you, and held out his hand to shake yours, standing at a respectful distance. You looked towards your professor. She stood next to The Heart, seething, jaw clenched tight. You looked back to the man, taking note of his ridiculously perfect suit. It had to be a few thousand dollars, at least.

You shook his hand. “Yes. And what do I call you?” You gave a polite smile.

“Just call me Mr. Adams.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Adams. I hope you don't mind me asking again, but what exactly could you use me for?”

“Tell me, Miss Y/L/N, have you heard of an organization called A.I.M.?”