"Laura!" Peter Benjamin Parker exclaimed his first words, jolting upwards. He didn't know what happened, didn't know how he wasn't ten feet under, and he didn't care. The first and foremost thing on his mind was the memory of Laura Kinney beaten and defeated by Kraven The Hunter.
He wasn't going to let her be taken too.
He wasn't going to fail her.
But he froze.
There was no forest.
There was no hunter.
He was in a room he had been in countless times, in a mansion he had been in for almost a week. He was in Laura's room. The breaking of dawn cast a soft blue glow in the undecorated room he wanted to give some personality and belonging to. He was on a bed, the sheets over his tattered costume and filthy form.
And beside him was a chair the beautiful girl sat on. Something about her face and the way her inner brows were raised with the glow of the rising sun against her face, had all the words dry up in his mouth.
Or maybe it was just because she too was alright. Unscathed. All his worries and fears fading away with the utmost relief in his heart which was trying its hardest to slow itself down. The sheer anxiety of her life being in actual danger threatening to put him into a panic attack.
"...I...am...fine..." Laura Kinney's voice spoke in a whisper. She took note of his tone and expressions, her hearing letting her know the pounding of his heart. The Hunter's words and the lessons they brought reverberating throughout her mind.
There were a multitude of emotions that crossed her eyes and his, many of whom neither of them fully understood, and words that struggled to be spoken. There was guilt, both recognizing that their anger had gotten the best of them once more. There was frustration in their failure. Frustration in the other, but there was relief. Relief that everything had ended up alright. Despite the failure to do anything right, the other was safe.
There were the feelings that fluttered when he said her name.
"I'm going to guess...you beat up, Kraven, and I've been out for a long time?" Peter spoke slowly; the fact that both he and Laura were alive right here, right now, proved that they were fine.
"Yes," Laura's jewel-like jade eyes just looked at him. She explained what Kraven had done, how she had bested him before her body collapsed from the strain of combat, and how he had tended to them both. Kraven had remained true to his word, and much more, she believed that despite knowing who they were, their secrets would be safely kept.
"And...if...you're wrong?" Peter asked her, still on edge and full of concern. His biggest fear had always been his secret identity being found â he didn't trust easily. It was why it took Johnny Storm a year to find out who he was despite being his closest friend. Norman Osborn's actions after finding out who he was â memories he did not like to recount, proved his fear well warranted.
"Then...we will fight him again should he come," She responded with a promise of victory.
Peter held in a scoff. Fight The Hunter again as if he didn't just make Peter his patsy. The guy had come prepared with a poison that actually affected him, and skills that disabled his arm.
"...You...did not listen to me," She scolded Peter with a half-hearted snarl, her voice shaky with emotions and feelings she could not understand. Her heart was pounding more and more like the grip she had on her knees.
Peter's head raised a bit, his shoulders stiffened.
"I know...I know," He responded defensively, his brows instantly connecting, stubbornness arising. He didn't need to be reminded of his shortcomings. "But I could've beaten him if you hadn't-" If she hadn't gotten as angry as she had last night, he wouldn't have had to cover her and take the full force of an anti-tank mine.
"I know," Whatever attempt Peter Benjamin Parker was going to make in defending himself was shut up immediately by the gentle, almost inaudible whisper of Laura Kinney. He did not have to tell her about what he could do. Even The Hunter stated that he knew Peter could have bested him even with him being poisoned and an arm disabled.
"...but...I did..." her voice was quieter. She was caught in the middle of so many varying emotions and it showed by the uncertainty in her expression. She was angry at him for not listening, for being much more than any word could ever express how much of an idiot he had been. Angry at herself that despite all the attempts to improve herself, her anger had gotten the best of her again â and had hurt Peter again. Maybe it was indirectly, but he was left vulnerable because of her.
But most of all...she was scared.
"I...I am...sorry," the moment the words left her mouth he couldn't hold her gaze.
She was so terrified...the memories of watching his limp form impaled on a tree. Petrified of finding out that was not the case only to see his body get beaten and assaulted once more. She was relieved, happy, guilty, overwhelmed by so many things that had her do something...
He had to be an idiot again and speak without thinking.
"No...I...should be the one who's sorry," He gritted his teeth, frustration in himself growing more at how his words had affected her. "You...you saved my life, Laura. I didn't listen to you, and you saved my life," He looked back at her, the weight of what happened fully settling on his shoulders. He had screwed up. He had put them both right where Kraven had wanted when all of Laura's efforts were to avoid that. He didn't listen to her, and he almost died.
"Wha-what are you..." Peter sputtered, a rosy hue on his cheeks, his body tensing in response to the girl with ebony locks, hugging him. It was gentle. Fragile. All the words she could not express were shown in this simple action of uncertainty.
"I...I'm sorry, Laura," Peter managed to form words after a prolonged moment of star-stricken silence. He felt like a loser. Beaten. His scorecard against The Kingpin going 0-2. His first fight against The Hobgoblin needed Laura to step in. His fights against Kraven, needing her to save him. He was supposed to be a better Spider-Man. That's what he promised to Gwen and himself, right? That's why he had all this new power to him and still, his face was in the dirt.
He almost got them both killed.
What the hell was he doing wrong?
"I...am sorry too..." Laura said in a quiet voice wrecked of uncertainty, her frame leaning into his and holding him as he did her nights prior; The act was foreign, something she had done once, but, like the last, something she wanted to do...something she needed. She was sorry for letting her anger get the best of her â sorry for giving up when he needed her most. For forfeiting his life that meant a lot to her. For giving up her life that meant a lot to both of them.
Laura Kinney thought she was done fighting just hours ago. Done living. Done doing good.
She was just starting and she wasn't going to be left in the dust again.
Chapter 23: The Wrong Cluster
"So, if you're this...super powerful...omega level mutant, what's the point of any of us being here when you can just...I dunno, fry their brains?" Peter asked the woman who sat ahead of him, Jean Grey: Marvel Girl. The sounds of The X-Men's Blackbird â yes, that was the team name of Professor Xavier's super secret group of mutants â echoing around them.
Name aside, the X-Men had been called to action and Peter and Laura had been told to partake. A ship that was smuggling illegal goods from America to Madripoor, stopping halfway at Russia's eastern port had been tracked. It was delivering mutants that had been taken from their lives and families to be bought and sold to foreign powers or groups who were the highest bidders.
Wilson Fisk was connected to this, The Kingpin of crime having been put up by multiple parties to support this new trade. Only the instructors and the professor knew this part, neither them nor Peter wanting the others to be involved with the affairs in New York. For the Professor it was too close to home, too public, and there were already heroes working against him on that front. For Peter, it was because he didn't want any of these people to know he was Spider-Man, or to have them get in the way.
Everyone save for Kurt Wagner and the new girl Jubilation Lee who showed up today was a part of this mission. Her arrival and the means she came sparking a tension between Logan and Laura.
Peter looked out the window, his reflection overlying the sights of the Pacific Ocean but it wasn't Spider-Man looking back at him, or at the very least on the outside. Right now, it was Ricochet. Wearing a white mask that let Peter's perfectly luscious brown hair his radioactive spider blood gave him, and a black costume with a blue sheen, the boy who was Spider-Man had created another secret identity. With the help from Laura who designed the costume with the big white 'X' at the center and involved a black leather motorcycle jacket which was faux and used cause he couldn't afford anything lesser, he was now officially an X-Man.
Now he looked like a Hot Topic sales rep but that's what you get when you have Laura as your costume designer. Laura, who was now under the guise of 'X' again, wearing her black leather sports bra, arm warmers, boots, and now leather pants along with a simple mask, sat beside him, an X-Man now too.
Or X-Woman. Was that a thing? X-Woman? Or was 'X-Man' neutral?
"Because there's a high chance that if I were to try and do that, I could fry your brains too, Peter, along with half the world's," Jean answered the question, her smile growing at the sight of Peter's shocked reaction. "I guess you weren't listening when I said this but my powers are too strong for me to control. Ever since I was a little girl, the professor has put mental blocks in my mind to help me keep my telepathy in check. Because of it though, I can't do more than read minds or give really bad headaches," Her red crimson locks swaying with her laugh, "It's mostly just my telekinetic abilities that I use but even they are limited," the wistfulness in her voice was palpable.
"So, you're basically repressed?" The lack of tact Peter could have was always astonishing.
"I prefer, 'in control, Peter,'" A sour spot had been touched by his words, though Jean tried to hide how much it bothered her. "Surely you can relate with your power," She pointed out how Peter too had to hold himself back to just do day-to-day activities. Always in control so he doesn't destroy everything like her, Scott, Hank, Logan, and Laura from what she has seen of her.
"Yeah, I can," Peter lifted his chin, his words intended for Laura who refused to respond. She had attempted to train him earlier in the day, and something she was going to do from now on every day of the week to avoid what happened with Kraven from ever occurring again. There was no argument.
He knows this because he tried to argue.
All his arguments were shut down by her factual responses that were tinged with her anger and frustrations with how he operated. He tried to get her to understand, so his jab was low and unneeded, and ultimately didn't do anything to change her mind but...he had his flaws. He had too many of them, and whether or not he wanted to admit to them was a different case, but he wanted to be better. Laura was providing him with a way to be that through training. Laura â made to be an assassin, master at everything â Kinney was going to train him. She is training him, and even though he wasn't a fan of some of her ideas. He followed them.
Because he trusted her.
So he lowered his chin and apologized under his breath.
She shook her head.
"But, it doesn't matter how powerful I or anyone else can be, Peter. Everyone needs someone," Jean finished her explanation with intentional words she hoped he would pick up on. Her words doubled as a declaration of love for the man he's never seen smile, only have his frown lessened.
It went past Peter though who could only picture all the times Logan flirted with her while Scott was in the same room.
Laura said not to concern himself with that and he wasn't. He had enough problems on his plate and he wasn't gonna make this one his, he just found it really weird.
"Some a little more than others," Peter retorted snarkily, indirectly speaking about Bobby Drake: Iceman who sat beside Kitty Pryde: Sprite behind himself and Laura.
"Yeah 'cause you're Peter Parker and you're good at everything," Bobby picked up on the words and spat back with equal bite, the two having formed a rivalry with the other.
Bobby disliked Peter much more than Peter did him though.
"Not yet, but I'm getting there. Closer than you by far, but that's a low bar I passed in what, the fifth grade? Maybe you should turn up the dial," Even with a mask on, the smug fanged smirk of Peter Parker that always was accompanied by a huff or chuckle was seen and felt by all. The mere thought made Bobby grow frustrated with him more.
Peter had one 'dumb,' blonde, elemental friend, and that was Johnny Storm, not Bobby Drake.
"Peter, that wasn't necessary," Jean Grey was the first to scold Peter, Scott already opening his mouth however someone had beaten him to it.
"You'd be closer if you worked on keeping yer mouth shut, Parker," it was Logan: The Wolverine, who spoke up. His costume was yellow and blue, there were three black tiger stripes on his side, and one down his shoulders, blue shoulder pads that along with his boots had a flared and angular shape that matched the ears of his mask, emphasizing the sharpness The Wolverine conveyed.
The aggressive and confrontational man whose namesake was fitting not afraid to speak his mind. He held his words back as best he could. Peter, for all his skills, accomplishments, and activities was still a teenager â a teenager that was entrusted to be put into his care. He may be a good influence on Laura, but that didn't mean that he would get a free pass to do anything from Logan.
His whole world had changed in the span of a month, things he could never imagine happening in real-time. A clone? Laura Kinney? Spider-Man? The boy being a result of new generation weapons? Peter Parker being the child of people he knew in another lifetime â his lifetime he had been robbed of knowing? And now he was off doing stupid things for stupid reasons he didn't want to think about. Walking lines â having responsibilities he shouldn't have had to begin with. Doing things he shouldn't be doing.
Having people think of him in ways that were dead wrong.
Those damn words Laura got echoing within his mind, spurring pictures that couldn't form â headaches. The boy who she got it from spurring these things tenfold whenever he looked at his damn face or heard his voice. All of them echoes of people Logan once knew.
Those damn words.
Parker.
Laura.
He was trying .
"Says the guy who says mornin' Jea-," Peter was about to say something even more incredulous than he already had and in an attempt to stop him, Laura glared at him. Her eyes pierced his, along with his words, her warning and irritation having him stop.
But Peter had to talk.
It didn't matter that he stopped himself on Laura's account, actually wanting to make an effort to listen to her when she told him to do something. That one sentence was enough for a retort from the man who never shied away from anything.
"Punk."
Peter Parker didn't shy away from things either.
"Midget."
Snikt.
And in an instant, Logan stood up from his chair as did Peter. The man who was as quick to temper as he was small, all too eager to reaffirm just what and who he was. He was a weapon â the perfect weapon, and if he was in charge of Peter Parker, the first lesson would be this.
Peter Parker was Spider-Man though, he didn't scare easily.
"Hell, you say to -"
"You talk big for a guy who needs a booster sea-"
"That's enough you two," Scott stood up, Jean did as well, the leader needing to reign in his team. Scott Summers didn't want to get it mistaken, Logan's feelings for Scott were mutual. A shared hatred. Scott's opinions of Peter were tied, assumptions he made, and facts he knew clashing with each other. A fact he knew was this, Peter and Logan had two strong personalities, and something had to be done before things escalated. They'd throw down in an instant then give in to the other.
Yet the one who stood between the two was Laura, squaring off against Logan, her claws glinting as his did. Out of all the words everyone said that were among the lines of 'enough, or sit back down,' it was Laura's silence that spoke louder to the both of them.
There was a simple expression conveyed in her eyes.
A declaration. A plea. A threat.
Not him.
Logan growled, the man finding himself walking on a wire. His eyes locked on the girl's claws that were just like his. What did she expect him to do? The hell did he expect himself to do here?
He sheathed his claws.
Peter was gonna rub it in, do something stupid.
A look from Laura prevented that.
Shut up. Idiot.
Logan let out a sound that was half a grunt of disdain and mild satisfaction, the quick compliance of Peter Parker was enough for him.
Everyone sat back down; silence returned to the Blackbird. Frustration was written on her face between both, her complicated relation to Logan making her more inclined to be angry at him. Peter and Logan were left festering in a battle between irritation and guilt, both of them aware of the importance the other had to her.
Scott Summers underneath his golden visor wore a scowl. The Professor believed that Peter and Laura would be assets to the team and Scott shared that belief, but more so than Laura Kinney, another assessment of Peter Parker, Scott Summers had made was this: He was not a team player.
Laura was quiet, reserved, each sentence spoken with the least words, but the brunette boy she was always with was the opposite. He didn't have a problem with talking, and he didn't have a problem starting things. In fact, he was deliberate with his actions towards Iceman.
Scott ordered for silence until their target neared the destination. The calmness of his co-lead Ororo Munroe: Storm, someone Logan would actually listen to, was missed for she was outside as per his plan. Her devastating and powerful mutant abilities were put to use, calling forth a heavy fog to obscure everything that was beyond an arms reach.
In a matter of minutes, the target had arrived and with a flick of some overhead buttons, Cyclops had lowered the rear ramp of the blackbird. Wolverine, Iceman, and Ricochet all standing from their seats to get ready to drop.
"Before I go, be honest, does this costume make my butt look big?" Peter asked Laura who glared at him. Logan grumbled. Bobby furrowed his brow.
"I know you like to joke around, Peter, but this is serious," The ever so caring Jean Grey spoke up as she watched the boy with slight concern, "No matter how impressive your danger room sessions are, this is real life. The people down there will be shooting at you. They'll be trying to kill you."
"A pig can try and fly too, doesn't mean they will," He straightened his leather jacket cockily, doing just the belt on it to keep it straight. Jean turned her gaze to Scott, hoping she could put a leash on his overconfidence.
Scott glanced at her and nodded, signaling it was okay.
He had seen enough to know Peter was capable.
Laura remained in her seat while the other two made their way. The mission parameters laid out by Cyclops entailed that it was Ricochet and Wolverine who made first contact and cleared the deck for a safe drop zone. The rest of the team, including her, would wait once that was accomplished and join them.
"You coming or what?" Peter asked her with a noticeable amount of thought in his voice that was otherwise sly and daring. She had made it a point, a really strong point that she would not tolerate being left in the dust by him again. It was a bad habit he had, to run off and do something without telling anyone, and she wasn't going to accept it. That was where the thought came from, the amusement was because Laura knew he wanted to defy Summers. Put a dent in his immaculate plan, that she could not deny was impressive. Logan and Peter were chosen because they could make first contact; their powers allowing them to take the plummet without being harmed; Storm's fog providing them cover.
A part of her mind told her that she should remain put.
A bigger part told her to follow because it would be more efficient.
An equally large part shared the enthusiasm Peter had at 'sticking it to Scott Summers.'
"Stick it. Ha. Get it? 'Cause the webs?" She did not know whether to internally scowl, scoff, or smile at the thought of his imaginary reaction to her thoughts.
"X is to move in with the rest of us, Ricochet," Scott interjected, interpreting this as Peter not listening to his plan. Something he also expected. It was either that or he did not care for them.
Scott found out quickly which one it was.
"You sure? My handbook says otherwise," He retorted, looking at his palm as if he was reading a book. She rolled her eyes and stood up, their actions spurring the attention of everyone, even Henry McCoy: Beast, who was at the helm of The Blackbird.
"I don't think your handbook has the right instructions then," Bobby Drake was ignored by Laura.
"I'm pretty sure it does. See? 'She's with me.' It's right under: 'Bobby Drake is the type for dummies guides were made for,'" Peter chuckled, his taunting words sparking Bobby to clench his fists.
"Look, you guys can't just do whatever you want, there's rules. Scotts-" Kitty tried speaking up from her seat, looking at the two who thought they were better than everyone else, too good to listen to the rules laid out in danger room sessions, and now on missions.
"What're you gonna do about it?" Laura sized Bobby up, the adult boy all too willing to return the challenge.
"Forget it, Iceman, now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. If X wants to go with Ricochet let her," Scott scrunched his face, not wanting things to escalate. He had hoped she and Peter would follow but he was not surprised in the event they did not. "She can handle herself," The three of them: Laura, Logan, and Peter, if they desired it, they'd do their own thing and that was a fact Scott had to swallow with his anger.
"On three. One, tw-" Scott began the countdown.
"Shut up, Summers," Logan interrupted, cracking both his neck and his fists before he became the first of the four to take the leap.
"Well, he did technically jump on three," Peter shrugged, the actions of Logan taking as long as Scott would to count, "Do we jump now too?" He asked with a teasing edge.
"Yes," The appointed leader and golden boy of Charles Xavier had his scowl deepening more.
"You heard Shades-Inside. Ladies first," Laura took the jump, plainly and simply.
Peter followed her, jumping out, and doing a little rotation to salute them all before being pulled by gravity. All too amused to do so.
"Can I be the first to say that I don't like those two?" Bobby asked the remaining X-Men in the blackbird, furrowing his brow before he too leaped off the plain.
Scott's frown just grew deeper.
SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP
The wind and fog flew past Laura who fell at an increasing pace. Her mind ready to flip the switch the moment she and Peter, who had joined her, reached their target.
He contradicted her, falling like he was lounging on his bed.
"If I thought Scotty-boy didn't like me before, he's not gonna like me now," The lack of care in his voice was evident as much as his amusement.
His act of defiance...amused her.
"You don't like him," Laura stated, the edges of her lips inclining.
"I don't like being bossed around by a guy who knows half of what I do, but acts like he knows it all. I can't help sticking it to him. I want to," Peter voiced thoughts Laura too shared, "'Stick it.' Get it? cause the webs?" Peter chuckled, doing his 'thwipping gesture' with his hands.
"I get it," she said in the flattest voice she could muster.
She was around him too much.
Or perhaps not enough.
"It's funny, right?" Peter laughed more, spinning around and generally just goofing around as they fell.
"Only to the deluded," Her monotone voice retorted, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Does that mean you're crazy too?" Peter retorted with a smile, doing his jacket up.
"If you want to 'stick it' then prove yourself," Laura gave him her approach, refusing to answer his question. Whether her mental state was sane or not was not a priority. She was not 'crazy.'
At her response, Peter Benjamin Parker extended out his arms, the same nylon he made to give his Spider-Man suit gliding capabilities, implemented in his jacket; The Webwings were a Spider-Man exclusive though, and with Ricochet already being a goth girls dream superhero, he decided to shape them like bat wings.
He did have large fangs.
Logan was the first to land, drawing all the attention of the guards who were either sitting idly or conversing, only a few doing their jobs. Landing at the rear, his impact caving the ground with a force that had others freeze, the three-hundred-pound mix of muscle and adamantium stood up slowly, eyeing those who dared to meet him in the eye.
And then a snikt was followed.
"What the hell?" The captain of the ship exclaimed, the sounds of gunfire, shrieks, and a demonic growl spurring all the men in the room to raise up arms. The old man who was too tired to care about his appearance, raised his radio, his feet taking steps to approach the ship's controls within the bridge.
He had been trained for all sorts of probabilities that could occur on these transport, each one having an adequate response.
"Make way for Ricochet!" Peter Parker shouted, bursting through the bridge's window. Shards of glass flew with him, Laura dismounting and the fight beginning. When you were but regular men and you had the probability of facing them, there was only really one outcome.
"X'll mark the spot," he was slow in retracting his hand in the air. Dramatic.
Laura simply stared at him, unamused.
"Eeeeeeeeeh! Eeeeh! That was good, right? That was really good," He was proud of himself for the instant creation of the catchphrase. His body facing hers while he strolled towards the ship's controls to decelerate and bring it to a standstill.
"I think it was good," his voice muttered when he didn't get a response from her.
"The door," she refused to comment on the trite and terrible motto his antics had created. Scurrying guards had heard the commotion, guns at the ready to take back the bridge.
"What? Want me to get it for you? I got it," he winked at her.
Her eyes just held his gaze, the girl having already steeled herself for the task at hand. They were on a mission, but more than that they were going to prove themselves. She was aware of how the others saw them, Peter a joker who couldn't take things seriously, and her as someone who was just like Logan. Someone who was worse, unstable, a hair trigger that could go off at any moment.
She was different.
She wasn't who they thought she was.
She was going to prove to them â to Logan, just that.
The thick steel door to the captain's brig was knocked off its hinges, flying from an inhuman force and colliding with the lines of men that were seeking to breach it.
"Start running boys! You're starring in a psycho thriller and we're the killers!" Ricochet roared with excitement, dodging all the gunfire sent his way. X in toe with him, a small smirk on her face.
That one was a good one.
With both of them having taken control of the ship and stopping its movement, Iceman's part came into play. The mutant who had plummeted into the water below, now actively using his sub-zero powers to crystalize the water surrounding the ship, said vessel unable to move with layers of ice fusing itself to its exterior.
The security was overwhelmed; they were pinned between the snarling animal that was The Wolverine or Ricochet and X. The latter being the danger they couldn't see with the fog and their speed, while Logan was a creature that no amount of bullets could stop, his rage only being fueled with each shock of pain he retaliated with blood and brutality.
It was restrained for the fortune of those against him for so long as he was an X-Man, or at the very least acting as one, no lives were to be taken.
With everything following his plan, Scott enacted the next part. The Blackbird swooping down, and everyone jumping to ship save for Beast. Using her telekinetic powers, Jean broke the fall, both her and Scott instantly joining the fray. With the raise of her hand, the guns of those within her sights began to freeze. Her mind not just a force that could affect the mental, but could take hold of the physical world as well. The bullets being suspended by the supernatural power,
"Don't worry guys, I'm sure if you keep pressing the trigger-" Peter was in the middle of taunting and goading a goon, waiting to deliver his punch line along with his attack, only for a crimson beam to race past him, colliding with the goon he was fighting.
"Hey, that was my bad guy!" He said with annoyance, a fist up. He looked at Cyclops who paid no mind, his fingers on his visor, each foe in his sight incapacitated by cold efficiency through his optic blasts. A resounding 'thrum', a vibrating hum of power restrained following the sparse carmine illumination each blast had.
"This is a mission, Ricochet, and so was he. You and X proceed down to the lower deck. We'll be right there with you," The words were brief and stern, Scott and Jean taking the left side while Peter and Laura took the right.
"... it'll work out..." Peter muttered to himself, poking a guard in the forehead while Laura climbed the shoulders of one, and just as quickly, slammed them to the ground.
"That guy has to grow a personality," he complained to Laura's ear.
"Or perhaps you should change your humor," She retorted with her usual bite, the two making work of those who remained on the deck that belonged to them.
"But then who'd be funny?" Before she could retort, a body came flying out the window behind him. Lacerations in the form of deep slashes that would scar.
"You wanna be 'funny' go do stand up, see how many'll stay," Wolverine kicked a door adjacent to him, his words always tinged with a growl, "I wanna know why you two are-" He was about to comment on how they were chit chatting instead of fighting before the sight of the unconscious guards, not stained by blood or claw marks, contrasted against the man he sent through a window.
He looked at the sight and back at Laura in specific, his white eyes locked on the lack of claws.
It was one thing to be aware that she was changing but to see it with his own eyes...juxtaposed by his own actions nonetheless...
...the two shared a glance, a connection in shared uncertainty being made in the briefest of moments.
Before either could say anything, a thug who was either ignorant or stupid, probably both came barging through a door from the lower decks, Logan making a conscious effort to sheathe his claws and clock the man across the face, the force having them fall down the stairs they climbed from.
"Let's move!" his frustration had him on the cusp of yelling. The man not giving a second glance, his focus on pursuing those on the level below them. The almost gentle look on Laura's face turned into a subtle scowl. She followed Logan who led the way downstairs, Peter beside her, leaning more into her space which meant he had something to say.
"You see how he had to go on his tippy toes for that?" He whispered to her, holding in a laugh.
Her scowl deepened.
SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP
Peter, Laura, and Logan took one hallway while Scott and Jean took the other.
The guards had crowded the server room, tens on the outside, a couple on the inside trying their best to destroy what they could.
Logan led the charge with a deathly howl, his fists clenched as bullets entered, exited, and bounced off him. Peter was right behind, dodging and reaching into his leather pouches. He pulled out small disks that were held between each finger on both hands and then he threw them; Each disk bounced off the walls â ricocheting at incomprehensible speeds due to his strength and colliding with the rifles or the heads of the guards that stood on the other end of the hallway.
He had his web-shooters on him just in case, but they were a last resort since he didn't want to broadcast to the others that he was Spider-Man. Deciding he needed new options for range, he created projectiles that could bounce or in his words, ricochet.
They were also like mini Captain America shields which he thought were really cool.
Logan just growled more, his speed not changing with the lack of gunfire, his fist and adamantium skeleton put to work when he shattered the nose of the first face he punched. Peter did his best to hold in a quip, instead choosing to speed past Logan, Laura in toe to deal with the goons head-on.
The other hallway was illuminated by a deep crimson, the beams of Cyclops neutralizing targets that couldn't even fire their weapons, all of them frozen in place by Marvel Girl who assisted by throwing whatever was on the walls and the floor at the guards.
Peter, Laura, and Logan pushed past the server room while Scott and Jean stayed behind, Kitty having used her powers to phase into the server room and deal with the two that were in there. Her role was mainly not combative but for support, in this instance their designated hacker who would focus on retrieving whatever valuable information the ship contained with her knowledge in computer sciences.
However, something that not even she could deal with had Scott order the three to return from their push.
"What more do I gotta do for you guys now?" Ricochet said with feigned exasperation since Scott had specifically called for him to return.
"Sprite can't break through the systems," Scott's brow furrowed, his arms crossed as Peter turned to look at Kitty Pryde who was in the process of typing away on her laptop which was connected to the ship's systems through a port.
"I thought you were a computer expert?" the doubt and accusation in Peter's voice didn't go unnoticed.
"I am a computer expert," Kitty snapped at Peter, her anger at both her failure and him clear, "It's just...this stuff...is like, beyond military software. We gotta show this to Hank or t-take the hard drives. The code...you gotta...this stuff was made by geniuses. You'd need one to crack this â"
"We have one," Laura spoke up from the back, her voice confident and firm, everyone following her gaze as she looked at Peter who chuckled.
"Awe shucks, I'm blushing," Peter was put on the spot, genuinely flattered but over-exaggerating it, putting both his hands into his cheek as he crossed his legs, looking like a schoolgirl.
"I get that Ricochet is smart but-" Katherine Pryde who had become well aware of Peter Benjamin Parker's long list of talents, but was also an expert in this field tried to reason that what they were expecting was simply impossible. Her words were laced with both reason and perhaps a twisted hope.
"You think you can break through?" Scott just looked at Peter who laughed.
"Like I can do the rest of your guy's job? Yeah. Scoot aside, Sprite, you've gone flat," Peter unplugged her computers connected to the main systems and looked at the defenses for himself, the girl utterly upstaged.
"No wonder you can't break through it, it's A.I.M. stuff. They use an advanced AI that directly codes from its hyper-evolving machine learning program that recognizes when it's being juked which in Iceman terms is: the more you try, the less it's ever gonna happen. Like him when he's tryna form a thought," Peter snorted as he took a shot, Laura and Logan holding in a snort while everyone else just looked disappointed, while Kitty's frustration grew.
"To break it you need to inject the system with a virus that mimics its machine learning, having the AI implement hard code that can be exploited," Peter took out his phone and plugged it in, tapping away at the screen to do as he said. Everyone waiting in suspense while Kitty just looked at him with a mix of anger and awe.
"Do you...do you know how hard that is?" She muttered, looking at the boy who was the same age as her but just...better.
"No. I only know how easy," Peter retorted with a chuckle, "I wrote this program in like five hours just to see if I can, based off of models I saw...when a guy at the NYPD asked me for some help with it, a while back," Peter said on time as the main computer and systems rebooted and launched on the home screens with just a tap of his phone, "and I could," he finished, firing finger guns at Kitty, retrieving his things with everything but humility.
The NYPD story was somewhat true, Captain George Stacy did ask him for some help with such a thing, but none of his old viruses would work on this system due to how often A.I.M updated their software.
Kitty just stared star-stricken, her jaw wide, not even Jean Grey or Scott could hide how impressed they were. Logan scoffed, refusing to give a reaction, the last thing Peter Parker needed was an inflation to his ego.
"You're...you're full of surprises, Ricochet," Jean genuinely praised with innocent sentiments. Scott Summers agreed, though his brows were furrowed with suspicion as he looked at the boy before him who just had a never-ending list of talents.
"Did I do it?" He whispered to Laura with amusement.
"Shut up," She crossed her arms and leaned back, a small smirk on her face.
"What now, Perma-Frown?" Peter asked smugly, his arms crossed as well.
"Now we secure the ship; save those that need us," Scott ordered, going back to the task at hand, "Storm and Iceman will join us in the hull. Jean will stay here and watch over Kitty. You and X will take the east corridor to get to the south side of the ship, and clear out who remains. Wolverine and I will take the west so we can cover the north, and pincer them," the way Scott said 'Wolverine' with disdain was not missed by anyone.
Logan scoffed, "Save the backup, Summers. I'm the best there is at what I do, and I don't need you taggin' along. Wouldn't wanna get yer' hands all dirty," the derision was returned by Logan who smirked, "Jeanie, though? I'd-"
A single glare from Scott Summers shut that idea down.
"She's watching, Kitty," Scott broadcasted a simple message.
Not her.
Logan huffed and smirked, about to leave.
"Actually, I think Logan should watch Kitty, while you and I go west," Jean Grey smirked, taking a finger and dragging it across Scott's chest, walking past Logan and going west.
Scott just smirked and followed.
"I ain't playin' babysitter for-" Logan turned east to look at Peter and Laura who had already left.
He shared a glance at Kitty Pryde, who if she didn't feel like a burden before, now most certainly did. The actions of Peter Parker, his casual display of his superiority in her field coupled with the skill and knowledge Laura Kinney provided just making her feel...redundant.
SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP SNIKT THWIP
"If that's a standard thing even on missions, I think I might just reconsider my spot on this wack-o-team," Peter said to Laura as they ran through the halls and the security that stood before them, "Seriously, Logan reminds of Namor, and that is not a good thing, in so many ways I wish I couldn't think of," Namor The Sub Mariner was not someone the world needed another of.
"Do not assume what you do not know. There are...there is more to him than you have seen," The complicated emotions she felt for the man had her snap at Peter, her defense weak but firm, a juxtaposition like everything else concerning the man she came from.
There was more to Logan than what even she had seen, and that thought had her heart tremble in more ways than she knew.
"Won't bet on it, but I'll bet on you," Peter replied to her with a shrug, continuing on.
"Hey, look at us. First one's here," Peter's voice echoed, his jacket swaying, hair moving while his body soared through the middle of the
hull in a bound. The wind blowing in his face, seeping into the ship from a hole Iceman had made, having already moved in. "I guess Bobby couldn't chill for a second longer," Peter punned, laughing at the stupid joke she internally scoffed at.
She looked at the ice slide that had remained in the air, leading to the front entrance where Scott and Jean should've been. She narrowed her eyes, "Iceman, Storm, do you copy?" she asked in her communications link, only to get static.
She tried again while something got Peter's attention.
He skipped through the items in the hull â not caring for the other illegal goods or the guys on the ground who were unconscious, some frozen still in a block of ice that covered their legs up to their necks.
His mind focused on the girls in the cages.
The children they had come for.
All of this effort, the guards, the operation, the everything, for two little girls. Both of them were gaunt, the bare necessities given to them. The one with long blonde hair and bangs that stood above her brow looking at him with her terrified blue eyes. The other was just a shade darker, her hair black like ink and in a bob. Clearly Asian but he wasn't didn't wanna assume beyond that.
"Hey, Claw-Girl?" Peter looked over his shoulder
to garner Laura's attention only to see nothing, "Sniktey-Snikt?" Peter grew concerned, noticing her disappearance. Looking around, trying to catch a glimpse.
"So when I do it, it's a bad thing, but when she does it, it's a-okay..." He complained
to himself though he was completely on guard. Laura doesn't just disappear.
Something must've grabbed her attention, meaning she had smelt something, meaning that he wasn't alone here. Explaining the communications being down which is never a good sign, neither is the absence of Iceman even though isolated, it was.
Peter raised his hands up gently, turning his gaze back to the two children no older than what had to be six, the Asian girl maybe ten at most, "I'm gonna try and get you guys 'outta here, okay?" he tried speaking both warmly and slowly, but they didn't seem to understand. "" he asked hopefully, tilting his head.
He got no response.
"Phooe-" He snapped his head. His body tensed. He jumped in the air, evading the tongue that
raced at him like a whip.
"Ew," he wrinkled his face, saliva getting on him.
Right on queue there was a screech, a howl of pure agonizing pain, the appendage being split and falling limp on the ground, causing Peter to turn where the exclamation of pain came from.
"Ewwwwwwwww," Peter said again, looking at the 'creature' that fell before him. "Repulsive," He looked at the horrifying shriveled, wrinkled, and downright atrocious face of Mortimer Toynbee: Toad.
"You B*%!" Toad howled, Laura, landing next to Peter.
Her claws out. Blood drawn.
The appearance of Toad could only mean....
"The Brotherhood is here," she declared in a low growl.
His Spider-Sense went off again, the tingle across his brain and body harder and faster than usual.
"Say that ten times real fa-" Whatever words he was gonna say was cut short, when a guttural sound of pain escaped both his mouth and Laura, the girl having a tooth spat out as both she and Peter stumbled, losing footing before he could even finish the word fast.
His accelerated eyesight letting him catch a glimpse of a silver-haired man in a green costume running deeper into the ship, a smirk on his face as he admired what he had done to them
Crud.
In that split second, Peter Parker wondered one thing: How good was Laura Kinney at painting hyper realistic tunnels over walls? And or using a shotgun?
Next Chapter: Peter Parker vs The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!