#alright kyle now sign ned :)

[tjarry]

The Penguins have re-signed forward Jonathan Gruden to a two-year contract. The contract runs through the 2025.26 season and carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.

[littleredroseonthevalley]

Lavender Blue

Summary: After Kyle Garza’s untimely death, Petra comes to the police station to offer her condolences.

Rating: T -  Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Graphic depictions of murder and mentions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

Words: 1392

Notes: Here I am again. Perhaps this will indeed turn out to be a weekily thing. For now, however, enjoy!

As soon as the sun came up following the premature death of Kyle Garza, Petra walks into the police station holding a bouquet of wild flowers, wearing a royal blue dress and an unfinished jet necklace, calm and collected as she always is.

The first person she meets is Officer Shaw, whom she greets with sensible graveness.

“Good morning, officer.” She says, with a toothless smile. “Would you mind telling me where Imogen Wescott is?”

“Good morning, Petra.” The man frowns in confusion. “May I ask why do you want to speak with Ms Wescott?”

“Oh, we met yesterday, before the party… I heard her friend had suffered an accident on the radio, I thought it would be appreciated if I came and show my sympathy.” She motions for the flowers she carried. “I suppose a little comfort food would be nicer, but I have no access to an oven.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the gesture anyways.” He smiles, kindly. “Ms Wescott is just finishing her deposition. You’re welcome to wait.”

She smiles widely at him, plucks a small branch of lavender out of her bouquet and leaves at his desk. “Thanks, Parker.”

Then, Petra walks over to the bench by the chief’s door and waits. Not for long, though, as Imogen soon emerges from the room, a blanket covering her shoulders and ruined party dress.

Her hair was ragged, and her eyes were so bloodshot, it seemed she cried the entire night.

Petra stands up and says, “Oh, Imogen!” Followed by a tight hug. The brunette girl hides her face on her shoulders and sobs softly. “I’m sorry.”

A long moment later she pulls away, smiling a little through her tears. “Thank you, Petra. I really needed that.”

“It’s alright, Imogen. Here, I brought you some flowers.” The blonde handed the bouquet. “How are you faring?”

Imogen looks down at the floor, hands knotted on the hem of her dress. “I just… I don’t understand how this could have happened. They are saying it was suicide! Or that he fell down because he was drunk! Kyle was the brightest person I know, and he drunk two, three beers tops!”

“You never know what really inhabits the hearts of people, I suppose.” Petra says and leads Imogen to a seat, placing the girl’s hands on her lap. “I don’t know in what you believe in, but I believe there is something grander than ourselves, that there is a realm beyond our own. I believe Kyle found peace.”

The girl’s lips quiver and hugs her friend once again. “Thank you, Petra.”

Before any of them could talk any longer, they hear an angry voice coming from the desk at the entrance of the station.

“What do you mean the chief will not see me?!” An angry, bearded man shouts at Parker.

The police officer tried to calm him by saying, “Easy, Ned. The chief is not trying to avoid you. He’s just busy with the inquiry. How ‘bout I make you an appointment for after lunch?”

Ned scoffs. “Right, so he can reschedule it five times and then cancel on me again? I’m sick of being jerked around! It’s all happening again and not one of you idiots is doing anything!”

“Hey!” Petra shouts back. “A little respect, please. These people just lost someone dear to them.”

Suddenly, a cool voice of a woman ripples through the small station. “I think that is quite enough. I’ll thank you if you stop upsetting my daughter. She’s been through enough for one day.”

Petra glances at Imogen, who seems to curl in on herself, staring down at the toes of her shoes. She stays on that position until the woman beckons her daughter, who meekly nods and follows.

Before she leaves, however, Imogen turns back and says, “Thanks, Petra. I… Good-bye.”

After the Wescotts leave, Ned soon follows, and Parker walks closer to the out-of-towner.

“I’m sorry if you got caught on the middle of that.” The policeman said. “You alright?”

“I’m okay, I’ll just need more incense than I expected.” She said, looking dirty at the door. “It’s not only the dead who need clarity and tranquillity in this town.”

Parker chuckles, beside himself. “Ned is a good man, he just isn’t taking the death of his wife very well. As for the Wescotts… Astrid is a realtor, and Vincent is some big-shot lawyer.”

The blonde cartomancer seemed to want to say something, but a flash of emotion passes through her face and she reconsiders.

“Parker,” She leans into his desk, her skirt going up two or three fingers, “Do you know what lavender blooms stand for?”

“No.” He responds, confounded by the direction she took their conversation.

“The name literally means ‘to cleanse’ in Latin. Both on a bodily sense and on a more spiritual meaning. Curiously enough, some people also believe it indicates a sign to remain silent, to bury their knowledge deep inside their souls.” She comments, off-handedly. “Yet, those two things often seem so at odds with each other, don’t you think? Can you truly be pure if you know something that could save someone, and yet you keep silent? That you can do something, and yet you do nothing?

“In any case,” She continues after a moment of silence. “Perhaps I should go back to my camping site. I’m setting up shop today.”

Finding it to be a much more palatable subject for him, he asks, “Oh, and what do you sell?”

She smiles and shows him the gem she wore on her neck. “All sorts of things, creams, ointments, herbs, mementos from faraway lands and my artisanship. I polish the stones on my jewellery myself.”

“May I see it?” He asks, and she nods, unfastening the necklace. “It is very beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She grins, bashful, and puts the necklace back. “Well, I should be going. Thank you, Parker.”

She starts to leave, but the man places a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, wait. I’m getting off soon, would you like a ride?”

“Oh, no.” She dismissed the idea. “I drove here. I wouldn’t mind if you stopped by my stand later today.”

“I would like that.” He smiles back.

“Then I’ll see you later.” She waves and leaves the station.

Late that night, Ned was eating day-old pizza, drinking from a can of beer and staring at his crime board.

It was what he did every night ever since his wife dead body washed ashore years ago.

What was unusual in that particular night, however, was the sound of a knocking on his front door. No one, aside from the pizza deliveryman, came to his house in months, much less nearing midnight.

Rightfully frightened, he picked up his shotgun and shouts: “Go away!”

The knock persisted, in spite of Ned’s demand.

“I said to go away!” He shouts once more, and the knocking seemed to stop, the silence reigned supreme once more at the house.

He, then, lowers his guard, but still did not let go of his weapon.

Then, suddenly, a bang was heard and the door was knocked off its hinges. On the step, only a dark figure stood.

“Good evening, Edward Mallory.” They said, emotionlessly. “You have something that belongs to me.”

“You!” He shouts. “Leave! Leave now, or else I’ll shoot!”

They chuckle in derision. A glint shines on their eye and Ned is thrown across the room by a bodiless force.

“I said, you have something of mine.” They say, their rage barely contained, seeping into their voice. “Where is it?”

His voice was constrained by the energy. “I… I… don’t know what you’re looking for.”

“I…!” They seemed angry, but then they look on his wrist. “Oh, there it is. My charm bracelet.”

They take the magical object away.

“If only you did not get on the way…” They lamented, coldly. “Perhaps then you would not have to die.”

They take a dagger from their bag and impale him with it. His eyes widen, feeling the coldness of death taking over his body.

When Ned passes, the force keeping him stuck to the wall fades, and his corpse slides to the floor. The intruder takes off the dagger from his insides, clean it with the hem of their clothes and places it back on the bag.

With that, they leave, no one ever even noticing their presence on the run-down house.

[fandomtrash4]

Spiderman’s Secret {13}

Word count: 1,171

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11 Part 12  Part 14  Part 15

Peter and I are in shop class with the broken bit of weapon I retrieved yesterday. He suggests using a hammer to get to the glowing purple core, so that's what we do. The core is slowly freed from its metal casing. It's almost removable when Ned joins us.

"Thanks for bailing on us, Piper."

"Ned, it's fine. Something came up, and she had to go," Peter defends me.

"Oh, ok. What's that?"

"We don't know. Some guy tried to vaporize Spider-Man with it," I answer. Ned can't know I'm also, in the words of Tony Stark, a Spider-ling.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Awesome." Peter and I look at Ned. I almost died because of this, and he thinks it's awesome? "Uh, I mean, not awesome. Totally uncool of that guy. So scary." I shake my head, continuing to free the core.

"I think it's a power source," Peter says.

"Yeah, but it's connected to all these microprocessors. That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush," Ned responds.

"Whoever's making these weapons is obviously combining alien tech with ours," I note.

"That is literally the coolest sentence anyone has ever said. I just want to thank you for letting me be a part of your journey into this amazing-" Peter and I aren't listening, taking turns hitting the core and casing. The core pops out, interrupting Ned's sentence. Peter and I glance at Mr. Hapgood, who is reading in his chair.

He doesn't even look up when he says, "Keep your fingers clear of the blades."

"I have to figure out what this is and who makes it," I whisper.

"We can go to the lab after class and run some tests," Ned suggests. Peter and I share a look, and I shrug.

"Let's do it," Peter answers, doing his weird handshake with Ned.

"First, I say we put the glowy thing in the mass spectrometer," Ned says.

"First, we gotta come up with a better name than 'glowy thingy'," Peter counters.

"How about we call it the core? That's literally what it is," I retort.

"That's good. That's a good one," Ned answers.

"Crap," I grab Peter and throw us behind a wall.

"What is it?"

"Those are the two guys who tried to vaporize me." Ned shuffles to us, not knowing what I just said.

"High schools creep me out," one rambles. "They got this funny smell, you know?"

"We gotta follow them," Peter believes.

"Why?" Ned wonders.

"Those two literally tried to kill Spider-Man," I answer.

"How do you know?"

"Not the time!"

"We gotta leave," Ned pleads.

"I have to know what they want, Pete."

"Ned, stay here."

"You too, Pete."

"What?"

"I can't risk them seeing you. I'm sorry, but it has to be me. I'm the one they tried to kill."

"That's why you shouldn't go!"

"They're less likely to hurt a girl than they are a boy, Peter. You know this. I have to go. Stay here, protect Ned. I won't be long." Peter wraps me in a hug.

"Be careful," he begs.

"Always," I respond, hugging him back. I follow the two men down into the workshop, being as silent as I can. They're already rummaging through the room when I get there.

"Can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew where we were?"

"It's saying there was an energy pulse right here."

"There's no sign of the weapon. And even if it was here, now it's gone."

"So are we." At this point, I'm almost right behind them. Realizing they're leaving, I hurriedly look around the room, needing a place to hide. There aren't many options, so I dive under the nearest table, sticking to the top. As they walk up the stairs, shoot my tiny robotic spider at one of the ankles to track them back to their boss.

As soon as they leave the room, I let go of the table carefully, making sure I don't fall or make any noise that might bring them back. I slowly make my way up the stairs. The door opens before I can even reach for the handle, and I'm engulfed in a hug.

"I saw them leave, and when you didn't come out, I got worried. I thought they did something to you," Peter rambles.

"I'm fine, Pete. If they tried to hurt me, I could've handled it." He still hasn't let me go. "Peter, look at me." He pulls back. Slightly. "I'm fine, okay? They didn't even know I was here. I put a tracker on them, so they'll lead us back to their boss."

"Us?"

"Yeah, Peter. Us. I want you with me when I find them. We'll do this as a team, the Spider duo. It'll be great." Peter smiles and hugs me again. "Alright, we can't stay here all day. Let's go home and see where they go." Peter nods, freeing me from his hug, but grabbing my hand. He pulls me to where he left Ned, and the three of us make our way to Peter's and my room.

For some reason, Ned, sitting next to Peter on his bed, is holding Peter's web-shooter, looking at the map I had Kyle send to Peter. I can't exactly let Peter use my web shooter when I might need it. At least now we can both track them. I also may have told Kyle to use the tracking device Tony had installed in Peter's suit so that I'll know where he is when he's out as Spider-Man.

“This is so awesome," Ned gushes, poking the holographic model, which becomes more detailed.

"I know, right?" Pete replies.

"Boys," I mutter, rolling my eyes.

"They're in Brooklyn," Peter notes.

A few hours pass, and Ned is still looking at the hologram. Peter's hanging upside down from the bars on my bed (reminder, in HoCo, they switched to an apartment that had bunk beds).

"Staten Island," Ned says."

Night fell a little bit ago, and they still haven't stopped. Peter's working at his desk, but Ned's just lying on the floor. I'm sitting on my bed reading a book.

"Leaving Jersey," Ned states as Peter shoots an image of the Spider mask on the wall.

Ned's now lying on Peter's bed, wearing his mask for some reason. The hologram starts beeping, so he grabs it.

"They stopped," he tells us. Peter, who was sticking to the ceiling, hangs from his feet as he looks at the model.

"Maryland?"

"What's there?" Ned wonders.

"I don't know. Evil lair?"

"They have a lair?"

"Dude. A gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings? Yeah, they have a lair."

"Badass. But how are you gonna get there if it's, like, 300 miles away?" They both turn to look at the Academic Decathlon poster on our wall.

"It's not too far from D.C."

"Peter, you quit the team. How do you plan on getting back on?" I ask.

"They'll be happy to have me there, trust me.”

[fandomtrash4]

Spiderman’s Secret {12}

Word count: 1,161

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15

May is driving us to Liz's house for the party, and Ned is going to know my secret soon as well. I have to help Peter, and I can't do that if he's not seen with "Spider-Man".

"House party in the suburbs. Oh, I remember these. Kind of jealous," My says, pulling up.

"It'll be a night to remember," Ned replies.

Laughing, May compliments him. "Ned, some hats wear men. You wear that hat."

"Yeah, it gives me confidence."

"You sure about this?" Peter asks me.

"Yeah. It'll be fine," I answer. "Let's go have some fun."

"Dude, you have the suit, right?" Ned asks.

"Yeah," Peter replies.

"This is going to change our lives."

"You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna savor the last of the fresh air for a minute or so. See you inside." I climb onto a nearby roof and put on my suit. My AI greets me, like always. Peter doesn't know about this yet. He hasn't gotten that far in his "training wheel protocol" for his AI to be functioning.

"Hello, Miss Parker."

"Hey, Kyle. Can you mask my voice? Make it sound like I'm a guy?" I ask.

"Anything for you, Miss Parker."

"Thank you. Wow, that's so weird." I swing down, walking straight into Liz's house to hear Flash.

"Penis Parker, what's up? So, where's your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess. In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend? That's not Spider-Man. That's just Ned in a red shirt."

"You're right. That's not Spider-Man. But I am. Sorry it took me so long, Pete. There was some trouble on the way over here," I say, slinging my arm around my brother's shoulders. The whole house is suddenly you-could-hear-a-pin-drop silent.

"He was serious," someone whispers.

"Now, I want you to apologize to my friend here." Flash mumbles something. "I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I'm sorry, Peter."

"Much better." Liz appears out of nowhere.

"Oh my gosh, you're actually here. Can I get a picture?"

"Sure," I reply. She holds her phone up, and we pose, me doing the peace sign, her pointing at me. The next thing I see is a blue flash of light, sort of like an explosion. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's something I have to take care of. See you later, Peter."

"Bye, Spidey," Peter responds, confused as to why I'm leaving already. I swing out of Liz's house, making my way towards the light I saw.

"Kyle, please change my voice back," I say.

"Of course, Miss Parker." Before long, I see the source of the light in the hands of a shady looking person. It looks like a weapon you'd see in a sci-fi show. The man holding it puts it in the back of a van before grabbing a different weapon.

"Now, this is crafted from a reclaimed sub-Ultron arm straight from Sokovia. Here, you try," the seller hands the weapon to the buyer.

"Man, I wanted something low-key. Why are you trying to upsell me, man?" He complains. The men start arguing about the deal they want to make when my phone starts ringing. I can tell by the ringtone that it's Peter, and even though I want to answer, I silence it. Not fast enough, apparently. They know someone's here.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" One of the sellers asks.

"Did you set us up?" The other demands, pointing his gun at him. I jump, landing near the buyer.

"Hey! Hey, come on. You gonna shoot at someone, shoot at me," I tell him.

"If you insist." He moves to point the gun at me, but I roundhouse kick it out of his hand. He scrambles to pick it up, making sure all the equipment is in the back of the van. "Let's get out of here," he tells his companion. The companion climbs into the driver's seat while he gets in the back, facing the doors. Facing me.

I shoot my webs at the doors, connecting with both. The van recklessly drives through neighborhoods with me hanging off the back like a tube tied to a boat. The guy in the back is shooting at me, trying to get far away from me. Dodging the blasts while still attached to the van is a lot more difficult than it sounds. One weapon falls from the van, landing in someone's lawn.

After about I don't know how long of being dragged around by the man driving the van, I'm pulled into the air by some sort of claws grabbing onto my shoulders. The metal is ridiculously strong, stronger than me. I can't seem to free myself as hard as I try. Throughout the struggle, I'm being pulled higher and higher.

"Miss Parker, you are at too great a height. You will be killed on impact. Should I deploy your parachute?" Kyle asks.

"Not now," I answer. "Wait for my signal." Apparently I've been taken to a sufficient altitude because the claws let go. The sudden change from ascending to descending is jarring, and I almost start screaming, but I can't lose focus, not now.

"Miss Parker, I strongly advise you to use your parachute."

"I'm not low enough, Kyle. How far until the parachute is useless?"

"Five hundred feet, Miss Parker."

"Then deploy in five hundred feet, Kyle. I can't risk that person seeing me live right now. I can't take the chance that he or she left, so we're pushing our luck."

"Understood, Miss Parker." The five hundred feet pass faster than I thought they would, and before I realize it, my parachute is released. My fall gradually slows down, and I'm able somewhat steer myself away from the water that is underneath me. Before long, Tony flies in wearing his Iron Man suit. We land together.

"You alright, kid?" Tony asks.

"Did you put a tracker in my suit?" I demand.

"I put everything in your suit, Piper. You'll be thankful for that tracker when you need me."

"Yeah, well I didn’t and I won't be needing you, Tony. I've got this handled. You didn’t need to come here."

"Really? Is that why you were over a thousand feet in the air? Because you were 'handling it'? And I’m not here." The mask lifts up, revealing an empty suit.

"Yes, I was handling it. I didn't need your help. I can take care of myself just fine without you flying in thinking I need you. You may have made this suit for me, but that doesn't mean I owe you anything. You lied to me. That's not something I'm likely to forget any time soon." I turn around, starting to walk back to where the weapon landed when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't walk away from me, young lady." I flip the suit over me shoulder.

"Don't 'young lady' me, and don't put your hands on me." I successfully walk away and find the broken weapon.