Black Light

Upon arriving back home, Harry guided you to a seat on one of his charcoal gray couches. He took off his helmet as he walked into the kitchen, turning his enormous TV on to a news channel.

“-Hooded woman confirmed as the renegade widely known as 'Black Light,' but her involvement is as yet unconfirmed, though it's believed she is responsible for the destruction of the cargo ship. The number of suspected casualties is low, thanks to the arrival of Spider-Man on the scene-”

You scoffed, rubbing your eyes through your mask.

“You can take that mask off you know, I've turned my security cameras off. It's just me here,” Harry said, handing you a handful of drugstore painkillers and a glass of water.

“Thanks,” you accepted the painkillers and gulped it down with the water, your vision returning to normal but your head still gently throbbing and ears lightly ringing. “But I still can't let you know who I am.”

“Why the hell not? You know who I am, you know who my father was! I'd say I have a hell of a lot more to lose than you if people found out I'm the Green Goblin than you do if anyone found out you were Black Light-”

You cradled your head in your hand, putting the glass of water down heavily on a coaster.

“-Rescue crews have not been able to find any bodies asides from those of the-”

“I think it's only fair if I know who you are.”

“-pilot and reporter, both likely deceased upon the explosion, a result of the grenade thrown by the new Green Goblin, who rescued and escaped with Black Light-”

Why did everything sound like it was on the other side of thin glass?

“I can't tell you. I'm under strict orders to keep my identity secret-”

“Orders? From who? Who do you work for?!”

“I can't tell you that either! All you need to know is that they want Spider-Man out of the way too, and if I don't get it done, they'll hurt people! Including your friend Peter Parker!”

“Is that a threat? Look, I don't work for whoever the fuck- they have no right to threaten me-”

“Look, I'm just the errand runner-”

Harry grabbed your shoulder close to your neck and roughly shoved you back against the couch, your hand falling away from your face. “You tell whoever the fuck you work for that I am more than happy to collaborate on bringing down Spider-Man, but once they bring my friends into this-”

He didn't see it coming when you kicked him in the chest with a glowing foot. If he hadn't been wearing his Green Goblin armor, he would have broken nearly every bone when he flew across the room and crashed into his TV, cracking the screen down the middle before bouncing off and dropping heavily to the floor.

“The threat to Peter wasn't about YOU, Harry Osborn!” You'd had enough. Harry wasn't going to just go along with it. You jumped to your feet and yanked back your hood, ripping it from it's attachments to your mask, and pulled the mask off too as Harry rolled off his face and caught his breath.

The look of astonishment on his face was priceless.

“Y/n? You- but- you're Peter's girlfriend!”

“No shit!”

“But Black Light, she's from- fake accent, I'm guessing?”

“Obviously!”

“Peter doesn't know?”

“No, of course he doesn't.”

Harry stood there, staring at you. “I don't suppose you'll tell me who you work for?”

You shook your head.

“I thought you broke your ribs?”

“My employers gave me some experimental drugs.”

“...I need a drink.”

“Pour one for me, while you're at it,” you replied, putting your mask back on while Harry clumsily struggled to his feet and went past you into the kitchen. “Sorry about your TV.”

“It's fine, I'll get a new one tomorrow.”

You sat back down on the couch, finishing off the glass of water with one gulp. Behind you was the soft sound of cupboards opening and closing, glasses clinking, the crack of ice, and the chug of a drink or two being poured. Harry brought two glasses, round and short, simple and sleek, filled with a dark brown drink. He placed a bottle on the glass coffee table and handed one of the glasses to you.

“Cheers.”

“Cheers,” you tapped your glass against his and took a sip. Harry finished his in one go and poured a second drink for himself.

“Why did they threaten Peter?”

You sighed, closing your eyes. You took another sip, the alcohol and the drugstore painkillers easing your headache and your ringing ears.

“Daredevil beat me in a fight recently. That's how I really hurt my ribs.”

“You got the shit kicked out of you, so they threatened your boyfriend?” Harry scoffed.

“I let someone else win so they threatened my boyfriend.”

“Never really liked Daredevil. Thought his whole design was kind of pretentious."

“Harry, you dress up as an evil goblin.”

Harry laughed. “Point taken.”

You smiled, but it half felt like a grimace. “I dunno what to do about Peter. I don't want them to hurt him but this job is getting... I liked it at first-”

“But now it's getting dangerous.”

“Not just that—I like a healthy amount of danger as much as the next person, maybe more, but Peter, and Stacy...”

“What they don't know can't hurt them, Y/n. Peter wouldn't understand, it's best to keep him in the dark for now. And I'll help you keep them safe, since you're helping me with... You know.”

You nodded. “Thank you, Harry.”

“It's the least I can do, Y/n. Peter's important to me too, and you're already helping me get Spider-Man.” Harry squeezed your shoulder in a display of reassurance. “How you feeling?”

“The drink is helping with the headache and the ringing.”

“Need to stay and just relax for a bit?”

“That'd be great. Can we get the news back on?”

“...Sure, if you don't mind the crack,” Harry teased dryly.

You grinned. “I don't mind.”

Harry got the news back on, the image distorted from the crack down the screen surrounded by black spreading tentacles of dead pixels. Stark was on half of the screen.

“-vengers, but I myself am starting to consider Black Light a bit of a concern. So far all of her targets have been related to places strongly connected with advancing technology. I think it's not unlikely that she may have some local terrorist connections, but really nobody can say for sure.”

“What can you say about the fact that Black Light has not yet targeted Stark Industries? Do you think there's a reason for that?”

“She's too scared to come after an Avenger, obviously.”

You scoffed loudly. “That cocky sunnuva-”

Harry laughed loudly. “Don't go out of your way to do something stupid.”

“What an asshole! He wouldn't be so cocky if he knew I'd stolen his shit right from under his nose-”

“As Iron Man, are you going to engage in fighting this—this apparent rogue?”

“If I get the opportunity, I can assure you we'd get her out of the way. As it is, I know that Spider-Man has had a few run ins-”

The panels containing the face of the reporter and the face of Tony Stark drifted apart, and between them appeared a picture of Spider-Man, the dead pixels of the TV appearing to be reaching out to devour and strangle him. The picture changed to a still of him and Black Light on the crane with the burning ship in the background.

“-with Black Light. We've talked a few times, so Spidey, if you're seeing this why don't you swing on by so we can talk about another team up?”

“Any comment on the recent reappearance of Green Goblin, believed to be dead?”

“It's clearly not the original. He's got a new design, a new vibe. Someone's taken up his mantle. Why he's involved with Black Light, not a clue yet. Obviously they've got something in common.”

“Thank you for your time Mr. Stark. Back on the scene, first responders have-”

“Guess we better make a move on Bug Boy before we have to worry about fighting Iron Man too,” Harry said dryly.

You nodded in silent agreement.

Pretending your ribs still hurt for the last week of recovery was the most challenging thing you'd ever had to do—at least when others were around. You stored the pills A.I.M. had given you in with your Black Light costume. Peter was busy with finals, so you didn't see him much during that time. You didn't have the heart to tell him you'd dropped out of school, so you lied and said you'd made special arrangements to take your finals at different times. Stacy was barely home, working constantly and finishing her semester too.

You spent the majority of your free time doing work for A.I.M., working in Noble's lab again to come up with better gadgets and tools for Black Light to potentially use against Iron Man, training at the secret headquarters, and trying to come up with a trap for Spider-Man with Harry.

It was in bed watching Netflix that you got a call from a number you didn't have saved in your phone. Pausing your show, you answered, curious.

“Hello?”

“Is this Miss Y/l/n?”

“Yes, how can I hep you...?”

“I'm calling from the office of Mr. Tony Stark, he asked me to schedule a meeting with you at our offices.”

“A meeting?”

“He said you met at the charity fundraiser and discussed a job offer.”

You'd nearly forgotten about meeting Tony Stark with what had been happening lately.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'd love to come in.”

“Are you available Friday at one-fifteen?”

“Yes, I'll be there.”

“Wonderful. Check in at the front desk at Stark Tower and they'll direct you where to go from there.”

“Thank you so much-”

“Thank you.” Click.

Barely seconds after the call had ended your phone buzzed with a text from Peter.

Not gonna make it over tonight, I'm sorry :'( raincheck?

You replied, reassuring him that it was okay but you missed him—you'd only seen him once in the last two weeks since he'd told you he loved you, and you were scared he was going to bolt because you hadn't said anything back. You swallowed the lump in your throat.

“I'm hoooooome, Y/n! And I brought Chinese for dinner!”

“Be right there!”

Friday, 12:56 P.M. You walked up to the front desk on the first floor, wearing your best professional business clothes; pencil skirt, low heels, crisp white shirt.

“Hello, I have an appointment for one-fifteen?”

“Name?”

“Y/n Y/l/n.”

“Here is your visitor's badge, insert it into the visitor slot under the floor buttons and the elevator will take you up.” The woman handed you a swipe-card on a red lanyard with little Iron Man faces all over it, looking you up and down briefly with a hint of judgement.

You frowned slightly and thanked her, turning away towards the elevator. You slipped on the lanyard, inspecting the card as you pressed a button and waited for the elevator. On one side was simply your name and a blue dot. The other side was a microchip and a metal strip.

A soft ding and the elevator doors slid open in front of you. You stepped into the empty elevator, quickly finding the slot for your visitor card and inserting it like a debit card at an ATM.

“Hello Miss Y/l/n. Heading to Mr. Stark's office now,” a soft feminine voice announced through the speakers.

What? Your meeting was with actual fucking Tony Stark? Iron Man?! The man who had declared on live TV he'd team up to take you down with Spider-Man? You tensed up, watching the floor numbers grow higher and higher. And then the elevator dinged again and the doors opened. You hadn't realized the elevator had even stopped. You vaguely registered the voice over the speakers giving you directions to Stark's office, before it told you to have a nice day and you stepped out.

You floated through the level and arrived at Stark's office, anxious, prepping for a fight in your head against Iron Man, arriving at his office. You knocked three times-

“Come in!” Came Stark's voice from within.

You braced yourself, opening the door, and stepping though.

Tony stark was leaning, half seated on the edge of the side of his desk, comfortable and casually talking to a figure by the window who's stance also suggested surprise at finding another person in the office who wasn't Tony Stark.

Reflexively you tensed up, taking a slightly defensive stance, ready to fight-

“Miss Y/l/n! Go ahead and close that door behind you. Have you met my friend here?” He gestured for you to come further into his spacious office. You walked in, trying to hide your defensive panic.

“I can't say I've seen anywhere but on TV,” you said, cautious, as the figure stepped towards you slightly, posture neutral.

“Spider-Man, meet Y/n Y/l/n. Y/n, this is my good friend Spider-Man. Go on, shake hands.”

What was this? Did Stark know who you were? Was this a set up? Or was he just being Tony Stark? You put your hand out to shake, looking at Spider-Man directly in the mask.
Stark was grinning as Spider-Man awkwardly and cautiously put his hand into yours and shook it for just a moment too long.

“Never seen him speechless before. Guess the way to get you to shut up is a pretty girl, eh Spidey?” Stark laughed, eyes twinkling. “Bad news, she's taken. Sorry Spidey.”

Spider-Man turned his head and looked at Stark, still standing right in front of you. You took the opportunity while he was looking away to look him up and down—you'd never been this close to him before without the two of you trying to beat the shit out of each other. His collarbone was right in your eye line. A quick glance down, taking in his chest and-

Tony Stark cleared his throat, your gaze snapped to him. Spider-Man was looking at you. Your face burned.

“Miss Y/l/n do you have any experience working with superheroes?”

“Ah—I can't say I do. Before about five minutes ago you were the only one I'd met, Mr. Stark.”

His eyes twinkled. “Really, how many times must I ask you to call me Tony? Tsk tsk. Peter's not here, we can be friendly.”

You didn't see it but Spider-Man was clenching his fist.

Stark was really laying it on thick, but you knew it was only playful flirting. His reputation preceded him.

“Sorry, Tony, but Spider-Man here is a bit more my type,” you shot back with a grin.

Spider-Man looked at you with what you were guessing was surprise behind the mask.

Stark busted out laughing.

“Really, Tony?”

You whipped your head back towards Spider-Man when he finally spoke.

“Sorry kid, it's just too funny. Why don't you come by later and we'll finish chatting, I'd better start Y/n's interview.”

Spider-Man saluted Stark with two fingers, strolling over to the window. He looked back at you. “Maybe I'll see you around,” he dangled, a mildly flirty tone layered underneath.

“Careful what you wish for, Bug-Boy,” you smirked playfully.

Spider-Man jumped out of the window and swung away.

You turned back to Tony Stark. “So, I didn't realize I was going to be meeting actual Tony Stark again today for just a job offer.”

“Not just any job offer, Y/n. I actually had something big to talk to you about. Why don't we sit?” Tony gestured to the couch by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. You followed him over and sat on one end, and he sat on the other, respectfully leaving a cushion between the two of you. “Sorry about all that, that kid is just too fun to mess with. So, last time we met, you said A.I.M. had given you an offer as well? Have you done any work for them yet?”

“A small amount, yes,” you conveniently left out the nature of that work.

“You seem like a good kid, Y/n. So I'll be honest with you, and this is coming from me as Iron Man, not as Tony Stark the business man.”

You tensed up. He knew-

“There's been a lot of sketchy stuff happening that seems connected to A.I.M. and I would hate to see a great brain like yours get caught up and used by bad people. I'd like for you to come work for Stark Industries where you can do some real good.”

You were staring at your knees, shoving the anxiety down. You'd thought he was going to call you out on being Black Light.

“I know how smart you are, I've seen some of your papers. You might even be smarter than Peter Parker, and he's one of the smartest kids I've seen since—well, since me.”

You looked at him. His ankle was resting on his other knee and he had an arm over the back of the couch. You crossed your leg towards him. “What kind of sketchy stuff are they connected with?”

Tony paused, then ran a hand over his goatee. “Well. I have a source that says Black Light works for them, and given recent events, it's hard to see how that makes them very good, frankly.”

“I hope you don't mind me asking, but is that why you were meeting with Spider-Man? About Black Light? I saw on TV-”

“Yes, it was. And it's part of why I want to hire you as soon as possible.”

You nodded.

“So you're interested?”

“Definitely.”

“How do you feel about working directly with some of the biggest heroes? On the side of your own projects and various company projects, of course.”

You grinned. This was perfect. “I would love it.”

“Great. I'm starving, let's work out a deal over lunch.” He rose off the couch, you following suit and smoothing your skirt. “How's Italian sound? I've been craving some pesto.”

Still grinning, you just nodded and followed him out of the office.

He took you to an authentic place on the other side of the area, where the two of you sat in a booth and ate while discussing business and inventions and even Peter. Tony payed, of course, and then generously took you back home, where you changed and went straight back to Noble's lab.

You immediately called Harry as soon as you were in the lab alone.

“Harry, I think I have an idea on how to draw out Spider-Man, but it might bring along Iron Man too.”

Harry's voice, urgent and eager, slightly static-y from poor reception came back. “What is it?”

You turned and looked at your scattered workbench. “Alright, it's a little ridiculous, but just hear me out.”