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ravagedarkness · 1 year ago

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Spider-Man: Home Rebuilt, Chapter 50: Arrival

The next morning came around.

After we all got cleaned up and ate, we were at the table of weapons. Kitty did take that FN Five-seveN for herself. Craig took the specially made Mossberg with the yellow furniture and Carmilla took the AA-12 along with two Beretta M9s. Joanna grabbed a black rifle which I later learned was an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, along with a Beretta M9 and three flashbangs. Scott and I decided not to grab any weapons for ourselves. Instead, I worked with Edith to create a few presets for my webbing.

After that, most us relaxed for a while as Scott made his way to the roof to take in the sunlight. As Kitty explained, his powers depended on ambient energy – normally in the form or sunlight – to function properly. I asked if that meant his beams were made up of solar energy.

“Nope,” Kitty answered with a shake of her head. “His beams are pure concussive force.”

After about two hours, Scott made his way back down to the lobby. He looked around at all of us. After taking in a breath, he nodded.

“I’m going to put in the call at The Daily Bugle,” he said. “After that call is made, I want everyone in uniform with your coms ready. We’ll be going by codenames from that point on.” He frowned slightly. “This is going to be a dangerous situation. And I have zero doubt that Scorpion and whoever else Hammer sends won’t hesitate to kill is pushed to do so. Needless to say, on a scale of one to ten, the danger level of this situation will, at least, be a solid eleven. Remember plan one, look out for each other, and if things get too hot for you, run for cover and ask for help. Is that understood?” We said our confirmations. “Okay.”

Scott made his way over to the exit and stepped out. During this, Craig pulled out a phone and unlocked it. He beckoned us all to gather behind him. Carmilla and Kitty flanked his left and right side respectively as I stood to Kitty’s right. Joanna stood behind Craig. We all watched as he opened up The Daily Bugle app.

“That place has an app?” Carmilla commented with disgust.

“Yup,” I confirmed. “We have a lot of things, even ringtones and alarms for cellphones, as well as Daily Bugle supplements.”

“Are those even worth the price tag?” Kitty asked.

“They’re not,” Craig muttered. We all looked at him. He sighed. “They were handing out free samples to college students at NYU. I was there because DJ Veras was working an event and she needed me to help. There were some samples left. Each sample had enough for five days’ worth of supplements. I took three. I started using them. They were… okay, I guess. But with the price they’re asking for and the fact that, according to an article someone wrote, the supplements don’t have as much of the vitamins and minerals they flaunt on the bottle, you’re better off sticking to Centrum or One-A-Day or even a store-brand multivitamin.”

At that, Joanna scoffed. “You’re braver than I am,” she stated as she shook her head. “Those supplements look sketchier than the pills advertised on porn sites.” She then smirked. “…Do you know if those were worth the price, Craig?”

Craig tilted his head up and glared at her. “…Now sis…” This prompted us to laugh before we looked back at the screen. Craig tapped the screen a few times with his finger, bringing up current programming. From what I could tell, some host… Bill Price, I think… was interviewing this senator from Massachusetts. I didn’t get a chance to know what they were talking about because a “Breaking News” graphic flashed across the scene. The camera cut to J. Jonah Jameson, who was behind his desk.

“We interrupt normal programming with breaking news!” Jonah barked out. “On the line, we have none other than the leader of the group of menaces known as the X-Men, Cyclops!”

After that, a chuckle was heard. “You know, there’s a certain irony here,” Cyclops stated. “You call us X-Men menaces, and yet you helped bankroll Justin Hammer’s initiative against us. I don’t mean to judge, but I think Hammer’s track record speaks for itself.”

“We’re not here to talk about past indiscretions of a man who’s been redeeming himself! What do you want, Cyclops?! Did you call here to waste my time?!”

“As tempting as that would be, no, that’s not why I’m calling. I’m calling because it’s been three days, and I still see that Justin Hammer is still active in New York. It’s a shame, really. I was somewhat hoping he’d listen to reason. But… as they say… a promise is a promise. Justin Hammer wants us? He can find us in Westchester at the Ravencroft Institute – all six of us.”

“Six?!” Jonah yelled out. “I was told there were only four of you?!”

“You were told wrong,” Cyclops replied matter-of-factly. “We grow stronger day by day. Some days ago, we were four. Today, we’re six. I wonder how many of us there will be tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” Jonah shook his head. “Your very hours are numbered! Once Justin hears of this, he’ll send everything he has after you!”

“We’re counting on it. Have a good rest of the day.”

After that, there was a dial tone that was heard. J. Jonah groaned in annoyance before he spoke again.

“You heard it straight from the mouth of that menace! To all of the degenerates who support the X-Men, cherish them while they last!”

At that that, point, Craig closed the app before he handed the phone to Kitty. Kitty phased her hand through the phone, causing it to short circuit.

“It’s a good thing I stay with a burner phone,” Craig commented with a shake of his head. During this time, Scott walked back inside. He took in a breath before he looked at all of us.

“We won’t have much time,” he stated. “Everyone, get suited up.”

After we made our way to the top floor, we did just that, putting on our outfits after getting our coms in our ears. I donned the Black Dahlia Armor. Craig was dressed in the new armor MJ and I created for him, which he dubbed The All- American. Kitty changed into her black spy suit. Scott dressed himself in his swat style uniform. Joanna wore the same outfit she had on when we invaded the base. Carmilla was donning a skin tight blackish green suit that left her defined abs exposed. While her right sleeve was short, her left sleeve was long, disappearing underneath her gauntlet. On her feet were grey boots that reached halfway up her shins. On her right hand was a glove that matched the color of her suit. On each of her shoulders were black polymer pads. Over the bottom half of her face was a black gaiter mask.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in this suit,” Craig commented as he walked up to her and nudged his shoulder against hers. “You look great in it, as always.”

“You’re only saying that because you like looking at my derriere,” Carmilla teased as she looked at him.

At that, Craig chuckled. “You’re right.” He then looked at the ceiling in mock-thought. “I might even be a bit distracted when things go down.”

Carmilla turned and fully faced him. “So is that’s the excuse you’re going to use when I have to bail you out when things get hot?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I just want your company.”

“Oh get a room you two,” Kitty stated in mock annoyance as she adjusted her own mask. She smiled. “But seriously, it’s great to see you in your old costume. It feels like the good ol’ days.” She chuckled. “I can’t wait until we expand, though.”

“Yeah, about that,” Joanna interjected. We all looked at her. She took a moment to double check the magazine before she inserted into her rifle. She then lifted her head and looked straight at Scott. She dropped her rifle, letting it hang from the strap that was over her shoulder. “So, six X-Men, huh?”

“To be honest, I was going to ask you to join after this was over,” he admitted. Even though his mask was on, something told me he had on a sheepish expression. “…Sometimes, my propensity for speeches can get the better of me.”

Joanna sighed. “You know, I don’t whether to be touched by the fact that you want me on the team, or mad that you put a target on my back.”

Scott tilted his head. “I’m hoping more of the former, but I can make it up to you if it is the latter.”

Joanna smirked. “Oh you will.” She walked up to Scott slowly. The rest of us looked at each other curiously before we looked back at Joanna. Once she reached Scott, she brought her hands up and grabbed the bottom of his mask. Scott stiffened up a bit, but didn’t make another move. Slowly, Joanna peeled the mask upward until his lips were exposed. “Consider this me calling it even.” She leaned forward and placed her lips against his. As the two kissed, Carmilla, Craig, Kitty, and I exchanged high fives. The kiss lasted for some seconds before Joanna pulled away. She fixed Scott’s mask before she smiled. “Consider me an X-Man. Oh, and by the way, we are now a thing.”

Scott didn’t say a word, merely nodding in response.

“Well would you look at that,” Craig teased. “Joanna got my man speechless!”

Joanna chuckled as she turned to face us. “I tend to have that effect on people.”

“I can’t wait to tell the rest of The American Idiots about this,” I stated. “I know they’re going to have a field day.”

“They’re not allowed to come to the apartment anymore,” Scott grumbled, causing all of us to laugh. He took in a breath. At that moment, I knew things were going to take a turn for the serious. “We’re using codenames from here on out. I don’t expect us to have more than an hour before Justin, Scorpion, and their forces to arrive. We all know our respective specialties. Be smart and stick to the plan. But in case there is a breakdown… well, I have contingencies.”

“Heard,” Frenzy replied.

So, we made our way up to the top floor and into the headmaster office. I looked at the sandbag barriers that backed the tungsten paneling. Metal paneling aside, it was no different from the sandbag barriers I’ve seen in war movies.

“Doesn’t this kind of remind you of Fallout New Vegas?” Carmilla asked as she walked up to my right side. “Like, when you walk up to the NCR bases?”

“It does Car-” I quickly closed my mouth, reminding myself that we were using codenames. “I’m sorry, are you going by Scorpion for your codename?”

“Well, I will when we knock off the knockoff.” She paused for a moment as if she realized what she just said. She then sighed as she shook her head. “Let’s pretend I didn’t say that. But, for now, just call me Greenie. Calling me Scorpion while we’re fighting Scorpion is just going to confuse everyone.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll call you Greenie.” I tilted my head. “Who gave you that name?”

“One of the people who trained me,” she replied. “She’s a SHIELD agent by the name of Melinda May. She looks tough on the outside – and believe me, she’s not one to mess with – but she’s really cool. We still keep in touch. I even saw her when I met with SHIELD later on. She told me if I ever cut ties with everyone again, she’ll kill me. Of course, that’s her way of saying she was worried about me.” She chuckled.

“So you’re still a part of SHIELD?”

“Yup, but I’m suspended without pay for three months.” Greenie sighed. “It’s a good thing Frictor is covering my would-be share of the rent. I owe him a lot.”

“You really don’t,” Frictor called out. Greenie and I turned towards him, seeing that he was leaned up against a wall. “I told you, it’s the least I can do since I have as much of a hand in you cutting ties with us as you do.” He then tilted his head briefly. “But if you’re so bent out of shape over it, then just take me out to dinner or something. It’s all I ask for.”

Greenie chuckled. “Sure thing,” she replied. “I’ll even throw in a backrub.”

Frictor tilted his head. “…Now you know dang well what that does to me.”

Greenie put her hand on her chest as she feigned innocence. “Oh do I?”

At that, Frictor scoffed as he shook his head. “All I’m saying is don’t start what you can’t finish.”

“Seriously, do you two need a room?” Frenzy called out.

I couldn’t help but chuckle before I walked away and sat on one of the barriers.

After waking up Edith, I spent the time watching the feed of the Spider Cameras I placed. It was about an hour until we saw something. During that hour, different X-Men came and sat with me, conversing with me on different things. Frenzy and Cyclops checked up on me, making sure I was okay. Shadowcat came by and asked me if I ever heard of this island nation known as Genosha before she went on and told me about it. Greenie came by and asked if MJ and I would be down for a double date with her and Frictor in the future. Finally, Frictor joined me and…

“Okay, can I be real with you for a moment?” he asked.

I turned my head towards him and raised an unseen eyebrow. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I didn’t expect someone like you to be Spider-Man.”

I scoffed as I shook my head. “Is it because I’m a teenager?”

“No, no…” He trailed off for a moment. He then nodded. “Well, yes, but that’s not the main reason. It’s just that… You’re from Queens, you got that suit, and you help a lot of poor people…” He trailed off again before he tilted his head briefly. “I just thought you were black.”

I slumped off of the barrier and down to my knees in an extremely slow and dramatic manner as I kept my eyes on Frictor. “DUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!”

Frictor held his hands up defensively. “I’m just sayin’! I’m just, sayin’!”

I laughed as I shook my head. I slowly stood up, about ready to respond. That was when Edith spoke up.

“Spider-Man, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I picked up something on the Spider-cameras near the gate,” Edith informed. I quickly stiffened up.

“Would you kindly show me the best shot?” I asked. As I said this, I beckoned to everyone to gather around me. A feed from one of the cameras took over my HUD. I saw it – a whole swarm of vehicles at the gate. The vehicles in questions were black Hummer EVs. There was a man in tactical gear using a bolt cutter to deal with the chain that held the gate closed. After that, he pushed the gates open before he entered one of the Hummers. After that, the hummers drove in. Slowly, but surely, the front lawn was taken over by the vehicles. “They’re here.”

“Oh, awesome!” Frictor exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. “I was getting tired of waiting for them!”

I kept on watching the feed. The doors of the Hummers opened, and men in tactical gear filed out. I thought that was all who was going to file out of the vehicles until I spotted on particularly large vehicle. One of the doors opened. My eyes went wide.

Justin Hammer was on the scene.

“Guess who’s here?” I said aloud.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Hammer has made an appearance,” Cyclops commented.

“Yup!” I watched as Hammer made his way to the front of the crowd. During this, I heard the sound of helicopter rotors. Using Edith, I had the spider aim its camera upward. That’s when I saw The Daily Bugle Helicopter. I sighed as I shook my head. “The Daily Bugle is on the scene, too.”

“I’m so shocked,” Shadowcat deadpanned.

I had the spider aim its camera back at Hammer. He was speaking to who I assumed was the head of these forces. After some time, the leader turned and addressed the gathered men. After a few minutes, the forces moved out, splitting up into smaller groups as they spread out over the premises. There was one group headed towards the main building.

“Edith, how many people are headed towards us right now?”

“Counting now,” Edith stated. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. “A group of 80.”

“There’s 80 heading for us right now while the others are searching the other buildings.”

At that, Frictor scoffed. “Oh that’s cute,” he laughed out as he clapped his hands together three times. “They think that’s enough.”

“It’s even cuter that they think all 80 of them are going to reach us,” Shadowcat added.

“Don’t get cocky,” Cyclops warned. “This isn’t The Friends of Humanity we’re dealing with. These men most likely have military training. Letting your guard down even a little bit can spell disaster for you.”

“We already know, Cyclops,” Greenie assured. “We’re just putting on a brave face.” She sighed. “We’re all nervous, aren’t we?”

“I know I am,” I admitted. “But we got this, though.”

“Yeah we do,” Frenzy agreed. “But, Spidey, do me a favor.”

I tilted my head. “What’s that?”

“When we face Scorpion, please don’t pull that anime protagonist ‘I’ll take him on by myself’ bullshit.”

“I won’t,” I assured.

“You bet your behind you won’t,” Cyclops reinforced. “Even if you wanted to, we won’t let you. We’re X-Men. We may not kill, but we don’t fight fair. When Scorpion appears, we’re jumping him the first chance we get.”

“True story,” Greenie added.

“…I like being an X-Man already,” Frenzy stated with a wide smile.

I smiled at the group. Internally, a part of me wondered how things would have turned out if they were in my life earlier. Maybe I would have been able to take down Toomes easier. Maybe I would’ve taken down Mysterio before he could ruin my life with that doctored footage. But, as they say, better late than never, right? What mattered was that they were in my life now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I was taken out of my thoughts when Edith spoke.

“Spidey, you received a message from MJ,” she announced.

“Oh?” I responded, caught off guard a bit. “What does it say?”

“‘Kick their asses’. Should I compose a response?”

Underneath my mask, I smiled. “Yes. Tell her I said ‘Gladly’.”

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urgardenandmine · 3 months ago

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parker's lab buddy 🕷 - p. parker

hi y'all! this is my first like piece of work so i am extremely sorry if this is so shit but i hope it's good enough for y'all to at least read to past the time! hope y'all enjoy!

summary: peter parker is ready to start his senior year but will it be fun...? genre: fluff (ish?) pairing: m!reader x peter parker (the spider-man himself) word count: 1.4K

today was a nice, brisk autumn day in the simple city queens of the great state of new york. the weather was a nice 57F, with the sky being somewhat checkered with clouds that casted nice shade for the student of midtown high. one student in particular was walking down the cluttered halls of midtown high, who himself was mr. peter parker. peter let out a blissful sigh as he was making his way towards his next class. looking around, he saw some noticeable faces.

one face was his own right hand man, ned leeds. he was dressed in brown cargo pants and the usual muted navy blue colored hoodie his lola had gifted him last christmas. his bag was half open, but it went unnoticed as he was trying to talk to betty bryant, the head host of midtown’s broadcasting show. peter zoomed in, staring at betty’s facial expressions which did not look good whatsoever.

rushing over, he stood behind the pair, listening in to his best friend somewhat ruin his chances with they blonde.

“and y��know- vader wasn’t really a bad guy! just heavily misunderstood!” he exclaimed, almost buzzing as he continued to ramble on his all-time favorite sci-fi movie. the blonde mindlessly nodded, snapping out of her trance as she saw the brunette make his way towards his friend. she smiled, waving at him causing ned to turn.

“hi peter!” betty chirped, smiling at him as he returned it. she then pulled out her phone, opening her recording app as she aimed it towards the other’s mouth.

“my sources say you dropped from the school’s decathlon, why is that?” she interrogated, practically shoving her gray cased phone into his rosy lips. peter’s eyes darted towards his best friend, who sheepishly laughed as he avoided the secret hero’s gaze.

peter chuckled, shrugging as he gripped his backpack straps, his head moving away from the phone.

“w-well, y’know, i got a new job helping my aunt may so i kinda couldn’t really do all the things i do.” he answered, cheering himself in his head from his well-composed response.

“what things?” she pushed, raising her left eyebrow. the sudden new question made the “jumpy” teen freeze. by the change in his body language, the blonde smiled.

as he was about to answer, the halls were filled with a piercing call that caused many students to immediately disperse. betty huffed, putting her phone away as she stared at peter and ned, who had exchanged a small glance before she leaned into ned’s face. the boy jumped, his face somewhat turning red as she eyed them both.

“i’ll figure you two out eventually.” she whispered, before turning on her heel to catch up to her other friends.

peter let out a small sigh of relief, glad that his cover wasn’t blown. collecting his thoughts, he then turned his attention to his friend as he punched the other boy’s shoulder gently. he was still getting used to his powers after having to fight off about one petty thief last night. ned winced, rubbing his right shoulder looking at his friend.

“sources? sources, ned!” peter whisper yelled, looking around the hall to make sure they were in the clear. ned sputtered, shrugging as he gripped his soft green backpack straps. this seemed to be a habit the boys shared when they were caught. it was an easy tell for them both considering one was literally spider-man.

“i was just talking about star wars! then she was asking me on you and it slipped, promise. i would never betray my-” he looked around carefully, “superhero best friend.” ned whispered happily, nudging him. peter rolled his dark brown orbs, smirking as he nudged his friend back.

“come on, we’re gonna be late for physics.” he reminded the other, both making their way to their first class of the school year. as they made their way down the hallway, peter’s hair then stood on end on his neck. his spidey sense began to tingle, alerting him to a new ‘danger” or “disturbance” in the force. looking behind him, peter saw a student he’s never seen before. as he eyed him, peter’s senses began to almost deafen him. shaking himself out of his own head, peter made his way to class with ned with one thought in his head…

was he really gonna have to fight on his first day of school?

⋆｡°✩

as the two walked into the lab classroom, the two took a deep breath and smiled at one another. the smell of chemicals, the sights of beakers and more practically excited the two. the two saw empty tables in the back, both making a beeline towards the back.

ned made his way inside, sitting on the left side. as peter was about to slip off his backpack, his good ‘ol buddy flash thompson immediately sat himself down onto the stool, setting his checker backpack onto the floor at his feet. peter stood there dazed, looking at his friend as thompson looked up at him. he stared at him, coughing into his fist as he chuckled.

“uh, parker? i know i’m great but you can’t copy me the first day of school.” he said, chuckling at flash’s own friend who was behind ned’s seat. flash exchanged a look with ned, who was left a bit in shock but not really surprised. behind ned, a small cough was let out. turning back, he made eye contact with a burly teen, who nodded his head to the left. ned nodded, slowly removing himself from the stool. ned and peter stood a bit annoyed, yet again, not really shocked that he would pull this on the first day of school.

the bell rang again, signaling that class was in session. the class teacher, mr. roger harrington looked at the two and only standing boys.

“uh, boys? if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat?” he hinted, both aiming at the empty seats in class. the two nodded, both now somewhat embarrassed that their first day is now off to a great start. in the middle of the class, there was an empty seat one closer to the board, next to one student and in the back, there was an empty table. peter slowly made his way to the back table, not looking back. sitting down, he had seen that ned has made his way to the other table, accidentally separating the two. mr. harrington clapped his hands, smiling at all his students as he was ready to begin his lesson.

ned’s hand shot up, hoping to ask to sit next to his partner in crime, yet mr. harrington eyed him as he let out a soft sigh.

“now ned, you know once i start my lesson, i can’t stop for anything other than necessary questions and bathroom breaks.” he reminded him, causing ned to drop his hand. the tan boy looked behind his shoulder at the other, mouthing a small “sorry” as he smiled at him. peter shook his head, chuckling as he sat in the back and took out his notebook. looking down into his bag, his hair began to stand on end again. peter’s spidey senses shot into overdrive, making him shoot his head up. the oak door creaked opened and soon walked in the school principal. trailing behind was the same boy from earlier, with a black book bag on one shoulder.

“oh! principal morita! what a pleasure it is to see you! happy first day of school!” mr. roger’s chirped. the principal smiled, waving “hi” to the students as he had one hand placed on his hip. stepping towards mr. harrington, morita had whispered softly about a new “transfer student.”

the boy stood nearby the door, eyeing the two adults. while he was eyeing them, peter had his eyes on him.

the other teenage boy seemed more calm than nervous. most kids would be at least somewhat jittery or shy, but not him. he didn’t budge at all. peter took in everything.

he noticed the boy’s skin color, the way his eye color had somewhat lightened due to the sunlight and fluorescent lights of the room. he also made a mental note on the boy’s hair color and his height.

as he continued to stare and zone out, he was snapped out of it when he heard…

“why don’t you sit next to peter. peter, raise your hand please.” mr. harrington announced, causing the teenage hero to shake his head. peter turned red, seeing everyone’s eyes on him as he slowly raised his hand. the teacher extended his arm in parker’s direction, smiling at the new student as he trudged down the aisle.

removing his book bag, he sat down on the stool. peter was practically laser focused on him, his hair still on end. his gut was telling him something was wrong.

sitting up right after retrieving his pencil pouch and notebook, the boy turned to the other and smiled softly. extending one hand to him, he spoke gently.

“nice to meet you peter, i’m [y/n].”

peter didn’t smile, but darted between the hand that was towards him and his eyes. peter’s brain began to run a million scenarios in his hand and only one thought…

i guess he was going to fight on his first day of school.

⋆｡°✩

hope it was a good read! the spider man i went off of was the one you see above so everything written towards him in this piece is basically things i can get off of the actor.

i guess this is like a part by part story? i didn't wanna make it too long for my first one TT

if y'all notice any like weird continuity issues, i deeply apologize because this one takes place during the time of the first movie/vulture era and i barely remember the plot of it so i did my best

#gay fanfiction #m!reader #spiderman #peter parker #male reader #mxm #x male reader #peter parker x male reader #avengers x male reader #peter parker x male!reader

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fandomnerd9602 · 7 months ago

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Prom-posal

Fem!Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

You and Petra both could not believe it. You had proposed to her, and despite everything she had said yes honestly the thought of it still made Petra smile a little more and more.

She found herself screaming in delight while working a shift at the Moondance diner, she was so giddy at the mere thought of it.

Any normal girl would consider herself lucky for the fact that she was marrying a stark meaning that she would want for nothing in the world. Not Petra, she was excited because she was marrying her best friend.

She couldn’t help but squeal in delight. She grabbed Betty’s hand and jumped around in the kitchen. And then her boss, Enrique, had to interrupt.

“Yo! Parker! What’s with the jumpin’ jacks?!” his voice thundered.

“Enrique! I’m engaged!” Petra shouted back, excited as ever.

“Yeah. Yeah we all saw the scene.” the man just went back to the grill.

Petra was beyond excited for her marriage to you.

Meanwhile you were with Harley Keener, trying to begin planning the party and ceremony.

“I screwed up” you said kind of upset.

“How?” the young inventor asked with a smirk, “you’re marrying Petra Parker.”

“I ruined my proposal to my best friend”

“Second best friend!” Harley interrupted jokingly.

“I mean…I proposed to her before she even had our prom.” An idea popped into your head, “prom! I need to make my prom-posal to her even more special!”

“Well don’t over think it. And don’t under think it either” your pal offers. “Who can help us?”

Only one name came to mind: Ned Leeds

Would it qualify as kidnapping as to how you got Ned to help you? Put it simply, you saw him walking down the street after school, grabbed him by the backpack and flew back to the Avengers Tower.

“Mr. (Y/N) Stark, sir” Ned said after landing, “that was bot the most terrifying and awesome experience of my life”

“Ned I need your help” you tried to explain only for Harley to come flying in with Michelle in his arms.

“Dude that was weird” Michelle grumbled.

“I need both of you to help me” you tried to explain, “Petra deserves a prom-posal as awesome as her and I’m clueless”

“Whipped” Michelle said jokingly.

“Petra loves Star Wars! And so do i” Ned said with a little nervousness.

“Okay but why?” Michelle asked

“Because I love her and I screwed up the actual marriage proposal” you answered back

“Why?”

“Because she’s the best thing ever in my life and I-I couldn’t think straight when I saw her smile”

“Why” Michelle giggled

“Are you gonna help me or not?!”

“Yeah sure” she said nonchalantly.

That night Petra swung to her apartment and snuck in thru the window, trying to be as quiet as a mouse…or even a spider.

Then aunt May’s voice broke the silence, “Petra, honey, can you come into the living room?”

Busted. Petra thought to herself. She switched into her favorite pair of sweats and hoodie and walked into her living room.

The stereo was playing ‘Always and Forever’ softly. The whole living room was decorated like the Ewok village from Return of the Jedi.

You stood there with a bouquet of flowers and a small smile on your face. “Hey there Spider Monkey” you said softly.

“Hey you” she answered back.

“Petra, I love you so much” you said, “I know I screwed up my proposal and all but-”

“You didn’t.” She answered back with a giggle. “I thought it was just right. I wanna spend my life with you, (Y/N)”

“I wanna spend my life with you too.” You held up the flowers, “and I want to spend prom with you as well. Will you go to prom with me?”

Petra stood there, tears forming in her eyes. She ran forward and jumped into your arms. “Yes. yes! Yes to everything!” she giggled before kissing you. Somehow each kiss with you felt like the first.

Ned, Harley and Michelle each appeared with their own lightsabers and threw confetti.

“Finally.” Michelle said with a little smile.

“Look at my best friend” Ned said with his own smile. “Do you think Y/N will let me be best man?”

“I called dibs dude!” Harley immediately shouted back.

“How about dude of honor?”

“I’ll allow it.”

Not that you or Petra had noticed the argument. The two of you were so busy, lost in each other, lost in this small, infinite moment of happiness.

Tags: @ma1egamer @jacenradio7 @deafeningsharkslimeempath @holiday-house-of-m @family-house-of-m @supercorpdanbeau @pinklawyerwinnerzonk @russianredassassin @revanshand @iamnicodemus @multi-fandom-enjoyer

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lovedrots · 2 years ago

Text

little moments

iii . little moments - p.p. x reader ᥫ᭡

synopsis : you spend the last days of your trip to italy with the boy you admire most. ( includes one-bed!trope and mutual pining )

warnings : creepy pedo old(ish) men, mild swearing, very, very rushed. this is the first time i have written in a while. :( unedited, not proof-read !!

a/n : this is my first time writing in . . . a long time ! so please note that this likely isn’t very smooth, nor is it proof-read / edited. also i am begging you guys to give me requests in my inbox .. i gotta write more !!

word count : 6,921

italy ; 1:56 p.m.

venice was supposed to be fun.

this was supposed to be your opportunity to get away from your parents, to live out your cliche teenage late-night dreams with your closest friend, betty.

but instead, you were stuck trailing her and her new boy-toy, ned leeds.

it wasn’t that you didn’t like ned. no, he was funny. kind. but what bothered you was that he had wormed his way right into the middle of your plans. betty and you had put together list of what you wanted to do: sneak out at night to drink hot cocoa on the roof, pet the pigeons, take every boat you saw … of course, those were all thrown out the window.

and it didn’t really help, that ned’s best friend, peter parker wasn’t around. you hoped that he would at least have his – rather cute – best friend by his side, but it seemed that even he wasn’t content on watching ned and betty suck each other’s faces off.

understandable.

turning your attention from the pale waters, you tried to catch your blonde friend’s gaze – mission failed. you pursed your lip, fingers picking at each other. you were getting antsy, with a need to go something. anything.

“have you guys checked out the saint mark’s basilica yet?” you quipped, sliding in front of them. you were sick of trailing them like a helpless dog.

“doesn’t look fun,” ned muttered, dark eyes glued to betty’s grinning face. and the other didn’t even think it proper to reply. neither of them seemed to notice you, as they brushed past, the girl’s shoulder bumping yours in the process.

your face flushed with something resembling anger – both because of their lack of attention, and the fact that you may have been a little jealous of the couple. just a little. who wouldn’t be? sure, you could say they were just in the honeymoon phase, but the way they looked at each other still had you yearning for more than your life offered. when would you get to experience that? just thinking about it had you kicking your feet, fireworks going off in your tummy.

though you would never admit it, some nights, you would imagine yourself sleeping beside someone. it made you feel … safe, when no one else did.

that’s when you realized that you had stopped dead in your tracks, ned and betty out of sight. you frantically looked around, e/c eyes scanning heads as you stood on your toes. shit. gone.

“lost, amore?” a old, sultry voice rasped. you turned to see a man – likely in his fifties – looking you up and down. though he was smiling, it was certainly nothing kind.

lost? you weren’t lost. just exploring, yeah? you knew where you were; the cream walls, beige roof of the building to your left … the totally familiar waters …

okay, sure. you were lost.

but you couldn’t tell a stranger that!

“no, sir,” you replied, and though you tried to put strength into your voice, it still managed to come out as nothing more than a squeak. “i was just – just looking around. i’ve been here tons of times.”

you began inching backwards, uncomfortable with the older man and unfamiliarity of the situation. though you were sure he had no ill intentions, (were you?) you were rather put off by his use of such an intimate name. after all, you were a teenager; very obviously one, too.

“please, miss! you look –”

you stumbled into a hard surface, warmth seeping into your back, an oomph leaving whatever it is that you crashed into.

you spun on your heel, whipping your head up to look at – peter parker. oh, just the person you needed to see, you thought, sarcasm pounding your head. your gaze shot from man to boy, as if unsure where to focus. you were jet-lagged, disoriented, and maybe a little creeped out.

setting your eyes on peter, you tried to channel your feelings of long (momentary) suffering through the irises. though, in all honesty, you probably looked like a drunken madwoman. but when your e/c eyes met his, the honey-brown so enchanting, you felt a little more secure. it wasn’t quite a warm, safe blanket; after all, you didn’t really know the boy. you’d only watched him from afar. stuffing books in his locker (they often fell out), sneakily mixing chemicals in the lab (you could never tell what, exactly, it was), tapping his foot to taylor swift songs when he thought so one was looking.

yeah, you were smitten.

“sorry mister;” came his wavering voice, “she’s got me!”

sorry? you ‘got him?’ needless to say, you were baffled. never had you ever spoken to the brunette, yet he was acting as if you were the best of pals. you gave him a quizzical look, nearly crossing your arms. but the silence, the bothered look on the elder’s face, had you playing along. “pete!” you choked out, the nickname forcing itself through your teeth, “i was looking everywhere for you.”

“i was down by the – the docks,” he quipped, scratching the nape of his neck. he – rather reluctantly – placed his palm on your shoulder. Though his composure was stiff, and his acting skills horrible, you had no other choice.

feigning annoyance, you crossed your arms, thick brows knitting. “you could’ve answered my texts!” for the fun of it, you fished your cell phone from your back pocket, swinging it between your fingers.

he huffed, tapping his foot. now you were really getting into it, the little squabble. “my phone was dead! you try replying to messages with a pitch-black screen?”

the two of you shot back and fourth for god knew how long, pointing, grumbling, and prodding at each other. To the two of your, your humorous scene was only a few moments long. but, by the time you’d calmed down, laughter at the tips of your tongues, the man had drifted away. last you had checked, he was staring down the two of you with awe and anger, mouth opening and closing each time there was a heartbeat of silence, as if to interject.

the giggles finally bubbled up, leaving your lips in a string of gurgles as you attempted to suppress them. your newfound travel companion, upon hearing your racket, couldn’t help but explode. Peter doubled over, clamping a hand to his mouth, as if to stifle his guffaws; but, it was no use. both of you look utterly insane, like drugged maniacs.

but he thought your laughter was one of the prettiest things he had ever heard.

though, you didn’t know that. you were convinced that you sounded like a crow that had just drunken twelve bottles of whiskey. plus, you were too busy admiring his joy, through the whisps of hair that fell into your face as he chuckles subsided.

you averted your eyes, pupils refusing to shrink back. “thanks. for helping me back there, i mean. that guy was … something.”

he nodded in agreement, a boyish, lopsided grin plastered to his face. “oh, um, anytime!”

you suspected he would be on his way. that he’d turn around, and you would be left alone again.

instead, he analyzed you, head to toe; the hydrangea-print top, the sun-kissed cheeks and nose. you thought you looked like a sloppily put-together mess, but peter thought you looked dream-worthy. “i didn’t know you knew who i am.” he said once he collected his thoughts.

you blinked, your only sign of surprise, ‘till you spoke. “who doesn’t know peter parker? you’re basically the only reason our decathlon team wins every show-down. smartest guy we know!”

was that too much? perhaps you had made him uncomfortable. you only just topped yourself before you could have slipped out something along the lines of, plus, you’re gorgeous. very handsome. i like to watch you in class, you’re so pretty.

but, even when he wore an embarrassed blush on his cheeks, his grin grew impossibly wider, his chest puffing in pride. “i mean – i try. not the smartest, though. try mr. stark. he’s a real genius,” he rambled. “and, hey, you’re pretty smart, too. mrs. warren seems to like you! you always get good grades in her class.”

“you notice?” you rose a brow.

“well, i sit directly behind you, so it’s kind of hard not to listen to it. that’s the only reason. it’s not like i’m a stalker or anything!”

of course, he wasn’t watching you because of some feelings. it was just by chance. if you sat at the opposite end of the room, he probably wouldn’t even know that you’re in his class, for thor’s sake.

needless to say, you were butthurt. but you couldn’t let it show through.

even so, you only found the strength to nod, watching the waters of venice ripple. how could you have gotten your hopes up? you rubbed your arms, droplets of the rivers spraying them with each crash of the tides. you hated the silence. it was your chance; your chance to prove that you were worth becoming friends with. but your awkwardness, your shyness, kept you from saying a word.

you looked up at his face, expecting him to be looking right back – but instead, those puppy eyes were glued elsewhere, to the dark wood planks at your feet.

maybe, he was as nervous as you were.

you cleared your throat, shifting your posture a few more times than it would be, if you were casual. “you haven’t got anyone else, or any plans right now … right?” you tried, foot tapping.

“No, no no!” he quickly ushered, hands that were once behind his back now set in a defensive position. “none at all. i just wanted to walk around, y’know?” he bit his already rouge lips, the action only emphasizing the color in his face. “d’you want to join me? if you don’t, that’s fine! i mean, we only just really met, and it might seem kind of weird. not that i’m weird. am i? i don't think so, i just –”

oh, you were helpless for this man. the way he went on a tangent, deep eyes sparking, you had fallen far before you could really acknowledge it. your stomach was doing summersaults, head feeling light, but not quite dizzy. when were you going to wake up from this dream? you wanted to pinch yourself.

“oh, no, i’d love to . . weirdo,” you added with a quick wink. you weren’t flash, after all; you’d never intentionally bully the poor guy.

peter shook his head, curls bouncing as his face contorted further into a content happiness.

you slipped your phone into the front pocket of your jeans, slipping past him to launch into a slow stroll. you almost instinctively reached out a hand for him to take, as though to guide him, but you pulled away as quick as it came up.

the two of you were oh-so close, shoulders nudging every so often as you walked. it wasn’t always this way; at first, you’d been feet upon feet apart. but as you spoke, you seemed to gravitate towards the enter – or, towards each other.

“but, blueberry pie has such a good balance of sweetness, and the texture is so much more . . it’s just nicer!” you insisted, upon peter bringing up his favorite pie.

“but –” he countered, “that place down the street from delmars? best cherry pie ever.”

you shrugged, mocking offense. “well, i’ve never had it! how should i know?”

he scoffed, hand to his heart. “fine. when we get back from europe, first thing we’re doing? i’m taking you there. and ordering two slices of cherry pie, extra ice-cream.’

if we even make it that far, you wanted to mutter, but held your tongue. instead. you jabbed at his shoulder. “yeah, yeah. i’m holding you to that.”

your bantering, since the little skit you put on, never seemed to stop. but your differences never made your heart beat less for him; it only made you more curious. one of the most interesting, being his view on heroes in comparison to yours.

“i appreciate them; i do,” you had said, “but they can’t save us all. kids still go missing. murders still happen. it’s impossible to stop.”

“but they try! they’re humans, too,” he countered. though his tone was harsher than you were used to, you didn’t miss the kindness, the understanding, in his eyes.

“i know,” you said softly. “but – they always say they’re going to ‘save everyone.’” you paused, fiddling with the hem of your sleeve. “it’s – it’s why i like spider-man, actually.”

you found it curious, how his eyes widened, and his cheeks grew crimson. “what do you mean?” he squeaked out.

“well; he’s not like those other heroes. he looks out for all of us. robberies, drunk drivers … stuff that most of the avengers wouldn’t bother watching out for. i admire him.”

“somebody’s gotta watch out for the little guys,” he murmured as if you couldn’t hear. and those words, stuck in the back of your mind for the rest of the day.

somebody’s gotta look out for the little guys, huh?

italy, 6:34 p.m.

it was dusk, by the time you had left again. hours before, peter parker had walked you to your hotel, where you weren’t surprised to find betty missing. likely with ned, peter had scoffed. you nodded, shrugging. at least you has some peace to yourself. you had shared an awkward moment before he left; he had gone in for a side-hug, while you had expected a full-on one. this had both of you struggling to find a comfortable way to meet, before you settled on a less-than-shitty … fist bump. yeah. a fist bump.

you groaned at the memory, shaking your head. you needed something to clear your head. and that ‘something’ was a boat ride!

you wove through the busy streets, eyes glued onto the boat-stop, humming with delight as you watched one pull into view and –

“rose, lovely?”

you jolted once more, struck into reality as a man in a cap resembling a beanie held out a singular red rose. you shook your head, cursing yourself for not avoiding the packed walkways.

“american, yes?” he tried again, signaling the flower in his hand with the dip of his head.

opening your mouth to offer a curt reply, you instead felt a familiar hand on your shoulder. “um – hi, sorry to interrupt, man. y/n?”

you quickly spun to see peter parker behind you, yet again. “peterrr … hi!!” you quipped, a fake grin splat on the panes of your face.

“hey,” he smiled back, sliding his fingers from your shoulderblade to your hand, entwining them with yours. “let’s get our boat, yeah?” he gave your hand a gentle tug towards the dock, his other occupied with a small pale bag, making a point to raise the one holding yours just enough for the capped boy to see. and, though you shouldn’t have, you squeezed his palm just a little tighter. to remind the fluttering of your heart, that it was real.

when you sat on the slick bench of he raft, peter, alarmed by the pools of water on said bench, shrugged his jacket off, swiftly placing it where you were aiming just before you took your seat. you gave him a quizzical look, to which he replied, “i just – i just didn’t want your jeans to be ruined! they’re pretty.” his voice wavered, soft.

his little display of respect had you over the moon. and though everyone else was out of sight, you hadn’t let go. side by side, hands clasped, the two of you seemed to look opposite ways. you towards the city lights, and peter towards the open waters. but, in reality? you were looking at each other when the other turned away. it was like a game of whack-a-mole, to catch one another red handed. the few times your eyes met, you felt your skin ignite.

the entire ride, not a word was exchanged. but you never moved away. you would feel the occasional squeeze to your hand, which you would respond with one of equal gentleness. They seemed to communicate, ‘is this okay?’

it was short, sweet, the crossing not lasting anything more than ten minutes. when you stepped out, you seemed frozen. his irises, illuminated by fairy lights, were so sweet, like pools of milk chocolate.

but, nothing good lasts forever. the worker on the boat coughed once. twice.

right; money.

you slid your hands into your pockets, grabbing from your wallet … but the boat as gone as soon as you looked back up. peter was sliding a wrecked, leather-bound square back into his pants. you sighed deeply, rolling your eyes. “oh, please. you couldn’t have let me pay you back at least once?”

“pay me back for what?” he asked innocently.

you scoffed, dropping the wallet back where it came. “yeah, yeah, mister hero …” you shook your head, though you could feel tingles of a smile warping the edges of your lips. he had let got of your hand to pay, and though it did not find yours again, you could feel the ghost of his touch linger on your skin. “we have got to stop meeting like this,” you added, referring to the assistance he offered you. two times, now, had he led you away from odd men in this foreign land.

peter shrugged, fiddling with the handle of his paper bag. “at least i means we meet, somehow.” though his words came off as casual, there was a strain in his voice. as if he wanted to say more. “besides; if i didn’t turn out, where else would you be?”

rolling your eyes, your eyes followed the sun, watching it sink below the horizon. “i had it covered …” but, upon seeing his face drop a fraction, you felt yourself soften like warm wax. “okay, maybe i didn’t. you saved my ass, i admit it.” you rose your hands in surrender, a tight-lipped beam lighting your face.

he seemed to perk right up, like a dog receiving praise, posture straightening with delight. you could practically envision a wagging tail.

and you didn’t mind it, when your fingers drifted into his once more as you led each other back to where your class was gathered.

italy, 2:12 a.m.

you kicked your feet beneath the thick bedsheets, the absence of your friend hitting you like a ton of bricks. originally, the two of you planned to stay up late in face-masks, drinking smoothies and eating chocolates. but, where was she now?

with her new boyfriend, obviously. and thor knew how the hell betty managed to sneak into his room.

actually – never mind. your teachers were too much of a deadbeat, to pay attention to the lot of you the middle of the night.

you wrestled with the duvet for a few more moments, both hot and cold wrecking your body. blanket on? too hot. blanket off? too cold. how did people even manage, in such conditions?

you felt your feet touch the fuzz of your slippers as you swung up, laced night-dress crinkling against linen. you wanted to sleep, so badly, yet it never came. each time you closed your eyes, stars would appear, and you would replay your walk home with peter in your head. it was all so strange. you had met only today, really, and it felt like he was your ‘soulmate.’

or, maybe it was you trying to convince yourself that things could work out between you and the coffee-eyed boy.

you kicked your legs, emitting soft thuds to the mattress, unsure of what to do. you’d tried listening to ambience between the time of 1:34 to 1:56, but that didn’t seem to work, though it often times did. you also attempted the classic, ‘counting sheep.’ but, when does that ever really work. you even got so distracted, that you had begun to name the damned sheep that were jumping over your little imaginary fence.

your personal favorites were sir mcwooly and baaa-rney.

toddling over to the small desk by the hotel’s queen’s bed, you rubbed your arms, feeling the goosebumps spiking up on your skin. you sat on the swiveling chair, the small lamp as blinding as the sun when you turned it on. you seethed, squinting as you made a grab for the miniature sketchpad and pen assortment you had packed

you scribbled away, filling pages with tiny stars, before your hand began to flow out portraits of your friends. first, betty; with her shining blonde hair, her sugar-sweet grin. you doodled her and ned, despite the small crack in your heart at the thought of them so happy together. you drew them on the flight together, when you had been kicked out your seat to sit behind them, watching the new couple giggle through the cracks. you added little notes, complaining about their mushiness, about how empty they made you feel.

Needless to essay, the page was ripped from the booklet.

your pen found it’s way to paper once again, this time, the lines forming the familiar silhouette of peter. you started with his doe-brown eyes, making emphasis on the shining in them, the familiarity. though you enjoyed drawing each part of him, something about those eyes had you grounded to them. and it showed; when you were finished – or, more specifically, you noted how cliche you were acting – anyone could see the emphasis you’d placed on his irises. darker than all else in the portrait, white cut-outs of hearts and stars, if you looked close enough, bright against the ink.

you shook your head, gingerly, not to break the paper, tearing the page from the notebook. you set it aside, atop your previous project. the cold was getting to you; you were shaking like a wet dog, and, god, did you feel like you were sick. the small blotches of pen-gel on your hands didn’t help the look. it was like you were catching the plague.

padding for the suitcase propped against the wall, you dug through it, slipping a alpaca-fur sweater over your head. it would leave a mess of hairs, later, but in the moment, it was worth the suffering.

only issue was, your hands were still cold as ever. but you knew just what to do.

italy, 2:59 a.m.

the aroma of milk chocolate wafted through the room, the small kitchen’s floorboards creaking as you twirled and bobbed your head like a bird. you had your earbuds shoved deep into your ears, ramones blasting through the tiny speakers. you were careful to avoid the odd, slimy bits in the floor. though venice was a beautiful city, your academy didn’t seem inclined on letting the lot of you stay in a nice hotel.

whatever; the trip was free, anyways. you’d take what you could get.

you dipped your spatula into the thick, italian-style cocoa, buzzing with delight as you licked a speck of the liquid from your finger. heavy, yet delicious. even just a drop, was like a cup’s worth of flavor of those sad, little packets of hot-chocolate at home.

you poured a bit of the mixture into a small mug, surprised to find a good half of it left in the pot. you groaned, realizing that you did not, in fact, have a personal fridge to store the drink in for later. and you didn’t trust anyone from your class to not steal it from the hotel’s storage unit, if you chose to keep it there.

you’d have to gulp down the whole damned container. it was like sipping on melted-down icing.

you absent-mindedly poured the rest into a matching cup, grumbling at the spare dish you’d clean. you whispered the lyrics to the song playing through your ipod, foot tapping – rather noisily – on the old wood planks.

but, your peace was short-lived.

a small voice seemed to echo you, repeating the very lyrics you thought only you could hear. you pulled one of the buds out, head whipping about until you came face-to-face with peter, who was leant against the cracked doorframe, muttering to the very lyrics you were whispering.

you froze up, quarter-full pot in hand. like a deer in the headlights. “a ramones fan?” you squeaked out as soon as you remembered that you had a voice.

“yeah – yeah. they’re cool,” he replied with equal eagerness. though he made an attempt to look casual, the constant shift in position and blush staining his cheeks opposed it. “how many song d’you know?”

“not many. this just showed up on my playlist, i guess,” you clarified, not quite meeting his gaze.

“oh! that’s fine. music is kinda subjective. and the ramones aren’t exactly in style now, so –”

you cut the poor boy off with a chuckle, holding out a cup of chocolate to him. “now, don’t undermine your tastes over me. hell, i’d be happy to listen sometime.”

“really?” the panes of his face seemed to heighten with joy. “awesome. people don’t usually .. they don’t tend care about that, y’know?”

you nodded, letting go of the mug as he took hold if it’s handle, fingers brushing yours with a spark. “it’s the little things that matter, though. i mean, imagine having someone who just knows everything about you like that?”

he gazed into the cup with wonder, as if pondering your words. “yeah … i mean. it would be easier than having to explain every little thing to ned,” he stuffy joked, scratching at his neck (again; a habit, it seemed) as if there was a switch to turn his awkward energy off.

you gave a polite giggle, leaning over the dusty counter, drink in hand. this silence seemed to be a reoccurring thing between the two of you. you would look anywhere, but each other, until you caught one-another red handed in the act. each time your eyes met, you melted a little, seeing the warmth behind them. and a sprinkle of something else. something dark. lonely. sad.

peter cautiously swiped a tinge of chocolate from the inner rim of the pot, tasting it, with a hum of approval. he took a soggy paper towel off the rack, wiping his fingers free of the sweet treat, before clearing his throat once. twice.

you looked back up, watching him frantically digging through the pockets of his jeans; front left. front right. back left. back right.

… the item he was looking for was, actually, in his hoodie.

when he at last came across it, a wide grin spread across his face, a depiction of relief. you caught a glimpse of red, shining against the soft light of the kitchen lamp.

“turn around?” he pleaded, fiddling with … whatever it was.

though you weren’t sure if you could trust it, the innocent, hopeful look on his face had your knees weak. so you obeyed.

you nearly gasped as you felt warm, calloused hands caress your neck, shifting your hair over your right shoulder. and as, in contrast, a cool metal chain was placed around your throat. as he clasped it together, he seemed to linger there, hands unnecessarily raking through your strands.

not that you minded.

you took the jewelry – a necklace – between your fingers, heart puddling to find a rose made of red glass resting on your skin. “oh, pete … why?”

“i just – i-admire-you, you-know? i-mean,have-you-seen-how-you-work-in-decathlon? or-how-you-help-mrs. warren, even-though-she-can-be-a-little … difficult. not-that-she’s-bad! no! and, um. you’re-gorgeous. not-in-a-creepy-way, but – still. yeah.”

boy, was he out of breath. you could barely understand a thing he said. “peter … i seriously didn’t catch a word of that. slow down, yeah?”

his cheeks grew scarlet as he nodded. “i was just saying that i, kind of, admire you i guess?”

you blinked, fingers that were fidgeting with the bud now frozen. “you admire me? peter parker? well, i must’ve done something right,” you laughed – not quite understanding that his words were, actually, a confession, and not words similar to that of a student and a mentor.

you didn’t catch the grimace of disappointment that passed over his face.

“right … yeah. of course,” he assured, taking a large step back. did your breath smell? you pondered, shoulders tensing. but he only padded to the spare cup, giving you a look of inquiry – to which you nodded – as he picked the ceramic up, taking a swig from the thick drink. you grinned as he pulled away from the mug, upper lip lined with deep brown.

“you’ve got something there,” you quipped, jutting your chin towards his face. he took a swipe at his mouth, missing the small puddle by an inch or two. again. again. by the time he’d given up, you were struggling not to spill your hot chocolate as you guffawed. you tip-toed to his silhouette, napkin in hand, and quickly swiped the dessert off his skin. “there, dork. all fixed up,” you declared.

the smile on his lips quivered, as though to keep it from turning into a full-on, toothy smirk. you lingered, body soaking up the heat radiating off of him. how you longed to touch him, to feel his skin against yours. and oh, gods, how he smelled. warm apple pie, laced with fresh rain.

you wondered if he tasted just as sweet.

but you couldn’t think that way. you shouldn’t have. what you wanted, what you knew, was nothing more than a fantasy. you only ever watched peter parker from the sidelines. hell, you didn’t know what his favorite food was. his favorite colors. all you knew was his favorite subject, how he tugged at his curls while we was stressed. the way he bounced his leg as your teacher spoke, pink lip tugged between his teeth. though, you could never really tell if he was really focusing; the boy’s eyes were always glossy, clouded. like he wasn’t really there. at this point, you were confident he lived inside his laptop screen.

except for the fact that he answered every damned question he was asked.

seriously, it had you rethinking your own intellect.

you didn’t grin back, your own foolishness taking a toll on your mood. you stumbled your way to the sink, his heat leaving your body feeling empty. setting your mug down with a clunk, you couldn’t meet peter’s curious gaze. “i’ve – got to sleep. early day tomorrow, yeah?” your voice was weak, no matter how hard you tried to bring humor to it.

and as you tuned to leave, what you didn’t catch, was the crushed look on your love interest’s face.

the moment you had reached your hotel, you were rather dejected to see betty missing. you scoffed, face-planting on your side of the queen-sized bed, right hand unconsciously shooting up to protect the glass art around your neck from the harsh impact. you gripped it just a fraction tighter as you sighed into the pillows, the heaviness of silence dragging anxiety from the depth of your heart.

it took you a few minutes, to find the strength to get up. but when you did, you slipped into a silken night gown, wrapping your skin in a thick robe to protect it from the cold air. your face was slathered in a gray mask, hair pushed back by a baby-blue headband. you could feel the clay on your face drying, sending a strange tingling sensation through your flesh. ick.

your eyes welled with disappointment as you stared at yourself in the mirror. were you selfish, for wanting your best friend back? you were supposed to be doing this together, face-masks and all. but instead, you had been abandoned for some guy. you blinked back your worries, determined not to let your sullied mood ruin your almost perfectly dried clay. instead, you took a deep exhale, eyes trained on the knob of the hotel’s front door.

it was as if you had summoned it with your eyes; a sharp, quick knock at the dead of night.

you blinked, almost confident that you had been hearing things. but it came again, once. twice. three timed, before you approached it, scowling. if she was going to stay so long with her boyfriend, why come back now?

“you should have just stayed where you were,” you bit out as you swung the door wide open, huffing. your voice was venom, and deep down, you were sure you’d overreacted. but you were hurt. “really, bett! it’s – what – three in the –”

were betty’s eyes always such a deep shade of brown? you didn’t remember her hair being so short.

oh.

you blinked back your angry tears, wishing you could take each little word back. you’d been a fool, for lashing out at your friend – much less, the wrong one. you rubbed your eyes, barely missing the crusted clay inches beneath. “peter?” you coughed.

“bad timing?” he swallowed, taking a step back from the door; an offer to leave, if you so chose. you felt your heart crack, just a fraction, as you shook your head quickly, opening your door a bit wider.

“more like, bad situation,” you shrugged, far too embarrassed to look him in the eye. “what . . .” you continued, “what are you here for?”

peter’s mouth pinched, as if he was thinking carefully for his next line of words. “i got kicked out,” he finally admitted, a sheepish grin pulling at the panes of his face. “betty took my side of the bed, and i didn’t really want to listen to them flirt all night.”

you giggled, a warm rush coating your skin as you nodded. “you should have seen them earlier,” you replied, spirits lifted with his caring presence. “i couldn’t even get a hold of the girl, for god’s sake. she’s infatuated.” you took a deep breath. the memory wounded you, but it felt nice – to laugh about it with someone who understood. “did you . . want to come in?” you finally asked after a heartbeat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. you looked like a grizzly bear, in your fluffy turtleneck and your dark clay mask.

but he didn’t seem to mind. hell, little did you know, he thought you looked beautiful. sure, he enjoyed watching you from his seat in chemistry. enjoyed gazing at you as you bit your lip while working through an equation, or how you raked your hand through your hair idly, when your fingers had little to do. but above all, he enjoyed this the most. you, in your rawest, most natural state.

“yes. yes, please,” he quipped, slipping past you, into your dimly lit hotel. you trailed after him, the air far heavier than it had been moments ago. what were you to do? the boy you’d been eyeing for ages now stood in the center of your room, looking lost and helpless.

sucking on a tooth, you sighed, “just . . . sit, yeah?” you pulled out the office chair to your right, rolling it just behind him, like the gentleman (gentlewoman, you supposed) you were. “i’ve got to wash this—“ you gestured to your skin, caked in product, “—off my face.”

you excused yourself with a forced grin, despite the butterflies in your stomach. even if you were happy, you were far more bashful than anything else. you gazed into the mirror as you shut the bathroom door behind you, noting the texture of your skin, the dryness of your lips, the bags beneath your eyes. you looked like the devil herself, ruined and exhausted.

you gently scrubbed the mask off, turning the mini-towel you had brought a light grey, so as not to irritate your skin. you didn’t want to teeter out looking like a seeded strawberry.

once your skin shone with water, not a trace of dirt beneath, you dug through your bag for a plethora of items; chapstick, moisturizer, a nightgown, a hairbrush . . . it took you little over twenty minutes, to took anything like the girl you were, this morning.

slipping out the washroom, you tugged at the sleeves of your nightgown, the beige a contrast to the deep red trousers he had chosen.

“so!” you clapped, falling back onto the plush mattress of the hotel bed. “you can take the bed, and i will take the . . . couch.” though it was soggy, and looked a strange color, you couldn't bear the guilt of making him sleep on it. he’d already been kicked from him own room, for christ’s sake.

you had expected relief to wash over his face, but instead, he panicked. “no. no! i can’t let you do that,” he gave you a pointed look, his eyes darting between the cushions and you. “i intruded. i’ll take the couch,” he announced, sitting up a bit straighter.

you were having none of it. “oh, please. you cured my loneliness. i wasn’t the one who got kicked out of my own hotel, was i?”

the brunette’s lips tightened, as though he was about to give in. you watched him hopefully, your tummy fluttering with absolutely glee as a sigh loosened. “yeah. yeah, okay.” he broke out in a grin, and though it looked sweet . . . mischief lurked beneath it. “if,” he continued, peter’s nervous aura replaced with a sly air, “and only if you’re willing to share. i know those couches suck, probably full of germs and mold . . .”

you cringed, remembering the soggy floorboards and furniture of the foyer. did you really want to sleep on . . . that? you could already feel the stale, reeking water encasing your arms. shaking your head, you finally replied. “you’re . . . awfully stubborn. fine. only because i can’t stand the smell.”

the boy before you, however, seemed taken aback, cheeks glowing a red hue. had he not expected you to agree? you stifled a giggle behind a cough, padding to the bed, testing the springs of the mattress with your fingers. “are you tired?”

“very,” he admitted, wincing. “being out all day . . . yeah.”

“right.” guilt washed over you. it was your fault, wasn’t it? you had wanted to explore, and he complied, for your benefit. you sat, patting the space to your right. “please, sleep. i’ll be in soon! i just need to text bett.”

he looked up at you curiously, honey-brown eyes sparkling in the dim light.

you giggled, resisting the urge to ruffle his already-messy hair. “i don’t want her coming back in te morning to a boy in my bed, with no explanation.”

“oh. oh.” his expression as it kicked in, had you rolling. he was distressed, burning up, his words incoherent and quick as lightning. you – gently – slapped his shoulder.

“get your mind out of the gutter, and go to bed,” you ordered, leaping to your feet to retrieve your phone. you could hear the rusting of duvets and sheets, as he settled in. and only then, did you let yourself really think. you had just invited your gods-forsaken crush to sleep in your bed. with you in it. you were so wound up in nerves, you didn’t even text your friend. you doubted she’d even come back, anyways.

so you simply stood there, for a few minutes, simply . . . watching. watching the way his lashes fluttered, the pattern of his breathing. he fell asleep widely fast, already steady and deep in his dreams. you tip-toed back, until you were slipping into the now-warmed cotton, humming in content. the sound of his breaths, his subtle heartbeat, lullied you to sleep like a sweet song.

the last thing you felt, that night, were his arms instinctively wrapping around your waist.

italy, 9:34 a.m.

it was cold, when you woke up. freezing, in fact. that human warmth from the night before . . . it was gone, but what did you expect? a romantic morning-after scene? you two hadn’t even kissed for christs sake.

you laid there, feeling defeated. had you just made things awkward, between the two of you? would you ever get to speak to one another again, or would he avoid you? but, eh wasn’t like that, was he? no, he was kind, and sweet. and he wanted to share, no? he offered, and you accepted. he couldn’t do this to you.

almost an hour passed before you got up, soles of your feet warm against the ice-cold flooring.

and that’s when you saw it. a single note, crumpled and messy, on your nightstand, amongst the pile of drawings – a few missing, you noticed. his.

oh, shit.

you picked up the sheet of paper, eyes scanning the pages, reading each syllable aloud to yourself.

“you know, it’s rude to draw someone without showing them. i’m awfully offended, and am keeping these!

. . . not because i don’t like them. i love them. a lot. god, you’re talented. they’re cute.

i would have stayed. i wanted to. but i had an emergency, from mr. stark, and didn’t want to wake you with a call, y’know? please don’t be upset. i liked last night. i haven’t slept so well, in a while. maybe it’s a sign we should do it again? if you wanted? maybe?

– peter.”

perhaps this trip wasn’t so bad, after all, you decided as you tucked away the sheet. you’d keep it forever, if you could.

#peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker x y/n #spiderman fanfiction #spiderman x reader #peter parker fluff #spiderman #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland x you #peter parker x you #tom holland

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webfics · 2 years ago

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Marathon

Pairing - mcu!peter parker x f!reader

Warnings - None really, just a ton of oblivious mutual pining and a few curse words. Usage of Y/N.

Summary - Peter and y/n have been friends for a while, but have never admitted their feelings for each other. It's been a year since Peter first showed you star wars and you have planned a re-watch to celebrate. What Peter doesn't know is that you've been harbouring a crush on him since the first marathon and were finally going to tell him.

A/N - This is my first peter parker fic so I apologise if I don't do his character justice. Mentions of reader wanting to become a detective but its not really that important.

GIF by thosekidswhohuntmonsters

You and Peter had met each other during middle school. He had noticed Flash Thompson trying to steal your notebook out of your backpack when you weren't looking and decided to stand up for you, and although it resulted in his unfortunate nickname, it was worth becoming friends with you.

Since then, the two of you had become inseparable and spent almost every day in each others company. Along with your mutual best friend Ned Leeds of course, whom you met not long after meeting Peter. The two of you were so close that you were the first person Peter told when he became Spiderman.

You had developed feelings for Peter towards the end of your freshman year. The two of you had decided to have a Star Wars movie marathon as you had never seen the franchise. Peter was in shock and naturally, he forced you to watch them all. His scarily accurate impression of chewie and constant nerdy facts had made you swoon. And that god damn laugh of his could of killed you then and there.

You would never let him know that though. You had seen enough movies to know that dating your best friend was never a good idea. Plus, you knew that Peter saw you as nothing more than a friend. He makes that very clear anytime somebody brings up how close the two of you are.

Which is exactly what he was doing right now.

"I'm just saying... the two of you would totally be a cute couple". Liz had came over to speak to Betty, who was eating with you, Peter and Ned, and had referred to you as Peters girlfriend. The mistake had made you blush at the thought until Peter harshly shut it down.

"Oh no, Y/N and I are just friends. She's basically my sister at this point". You had laughed it off but Ned, who knew about your long time crush on Peter, noticed the disappointment in your face.

What you didn't know was that Peter had feelings for you too. He had since before the two of you were friends and it was the reason he stood up for you in the first place. He had tried hinting towards it quite a lot during the early days of your friendship, but you never seemed to notice. Peter had just assumed that you hadn't liked him back and decided he was happy being just your friend.

Ned was obviously aware of this, which made this situation a lot tougher for him. Anytime the two of you dismissed your feelings, he wanted to just blurt it out, but he was adamant that the two of you would work it out eventually and decided to just allow it to happen naturally, no matter how painful it was to watch.

The lunch bell rang and you said your goodbyes to everyone. Checking in with Peter to make sure your plans were still in place for later before heading to your final lesson of the day.

Your lesson had dragged on for what felt like a week before the bell finally dismissed everyone. You grabbed your stuff and headed to the front of the school, where you were set to meet Peter.

When you arrived he was already stood there waiting for you. His tattered bag was slung over his shoulder and a few strands of his hair were covering his face as he was looking down at his phone. You walked over to him and when he noticed you approaching, he shot you one of his annoyingly adorable smiles.

"Hello there". You said, now standing next to him. He smirked slightly before replying "General Kenobi". You laughed at his Grievous impression and then the two of you started walking back to Peter's. The two of you were planning on re-watching the original trilogy in honour of it being a year since the first time you had watched the franchise together.

"I can't believe it's been a year since our marathon" you say to peter, walking into his home.

"How does it feel knowing you've been a star wars nerd for a whole year? Honestly dude it's kind of sad." Peter asked, teasingly.

"Coming from the one who practically came out of the womb reciting empire" you reply, rolling your eyes sarcastically.

------

You were now sitting on Peter's bed with him, watching Return of the Jedi and all you could think about was how much you liked Peter. Every comment he made about the films, his darth vader impression, the way he was so enthralled and passionate about the franchise... you loved everything about him.

Well not everything, you weren't too happy about his tendency of risking his life every night. But that's besides the point.

You really liked him.

And you needed to tell him.

"You know what's funny?" you say, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

"What?" Peter turned to you and popped some popcorn into his mouth.

"Our first marathon was when i started liking you" you reply, trying to disguise how nervous you were by turning your attention back to the movie.

Peter choked on his popcorn for a moment and quickly composed himself.

"Liking me?" he asked.

"Yeah, i had a huge crush on you back then" you say, searching his face for any form of reaction but he just sat there, shocked.

"Still do" you added, and this time you got a reaction.

"Wait, you LIKE me?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I really like you Peter" you reply, emphasising the 'really'.

He smiled suddenly.

"I really like you too Y/N" he said, mimicking your emphasis and now you were smiling. "It's kind of the whole reason i defended you in middle school"

"You've liked me since middle school?!" you asked him, as shocked as he was moments before.

"I thought it was obvious, i flirted with you constantly" he admitted.

"I honestly thought you were just being polite" you said, now realising how blind you had been.

"And you want to be a detective" he joked and you punched his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up, i was a child okay" you laughed.

"Just saying" he said and you rolled your eyes.

"Wait," you say and Peter turns to you again "so you couldn't tell me you liked me but you could tell me you were spiderman"

Peter paused for a moment. "In my defence, I didn't exactly tell you i was spiderman, you figured it out"

"Which is exactly why i'd be a great detective" you say, crossing your arms and Peter laughs.

"I'm serious" you say.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #mcu!peter x reader #mcu!spiderman x reader #mcu!peter parker #spiderman x reader #tom!spiderman #mcu #marvel

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measuringbliss · 4 months ago

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Spider-Man Read-Through 071 Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut (ASM 229-232, Ann 16, Savage Land)

MASTERPOST

In this post, villains are gay, heroes are gay, everybody's gay!

PLUS...

Captain Marvel's arrival in Marvel comics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So in ASM 229, Madame Web dreams of her own death and subsequently calls Peter to ask him to save her.

Meanwhile, Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut explain to the reader that they're after her because of her psychic powers, which could very well help them defeat the X-Men.

Oh... Hello, Tom... *blushes*

Ahem. At the Bugle...

I'm always glad to see Gloria Grant!

Robbie tells Peter that Lance Bannon takes all pics assignments! What a meanie.

HAHAHA. Was that a dig? Girl, you really shouldn't say anything.

She's been seeing a marriage counselor with Ned, but she's also looking for work and Robbie's more than eager to welcome her as his secretary. Betty takes the time to thank Peter for bringing some sense into her the last time they saw each other, then Madame Web calls Peter to give him information about his target.

I love that panel.

Spidey's attempt to stop the Juggernaut is a complete failure. Admitting his defeat, he tells Madame Web (who calls him once more) to call the Avengers or the Fantastic Four for help, but they're unavailable. In Dr. Strange's office, next to Wong, Spidey learns the X-Men aren't available either.

Even Keating's police forces can't harm the Juggernaut. He eventually reaches Madame Web's room and takes her out of her life support chair. She immediately collapses, and the Juggernaut surmises that in that state, she's of no use to him. He leaves, and Spidey does CPR on Madame Web while waiting for help.

The issue ends with Peter wanting revenge...

Iconic issue for reasons that are easy to see. It's a good one, for sure!

In #230, Spidey's pursuit of the Juggernaut continues.

Meanwhile, Betty and Gloria get along really well, then...

Oooh!

Anyway:

Oh.

Love the first panel and also, wow. Alright, sir.

Things get kinky.

Spidey successfully leads the Juggernaut into cement, and the villain falls down, swearing he'll get his revenge. This... is a bit dark, innit?

Peter gives his photo to the Bugle and runs to see Madame Web.

Oh. Uh, I'm not fond of that development. I hope her amnesia is temporary...

At the pier, Black Tom observes...

That's a nice ending. Interesting set of issues.

In #231, the Cobra steals stuff and Peter gives us an elaborate explanation for the lack of web under his arms (and their return this very issue!).

Sure.

At the Pier, the Juggernaut breaks free. As for the Bugle, Ned Leeds is back too! Jameson called him to investigate the Brand corporation (which was linked to the Killer Shrike in SSM).

Betty's worried about Ned's appointment in the underworld, though, so she calls Peter through Debra Whitman. The issue takes this opportunity to remind the reader that she suspects Peter of being Spidey! I'd forgotten about that myself, to be honest.

Peter kind of has a fuckboy vibe in the left panel...

The Peter-Hochberg experiment is successful, and Peter immediately goes out as Spidey.

In a seedy bar, Marla and Ned find Nose, a anti-smoking walking advertisement, and the Cobra panics because he thinks Nose will sell him out. "Talking to reporters about us?" asks the Cobra. Not very straight of him. Spidey arrives, there's a fight, the Cobra tries to shoot Nose but Ned jumps in front of him to protect him.

This is really gay. I ship it, but then again, I've been shipping Peter and Ned since I was a child and read the years 1973-1975.

Whaaat is this foreplay between Spidey and Ned this issue? Am I the only one seeing it?

Anyway, suddenly a house almost kills Peter.

Jesus Christ.

It's not the Juggernaut, but Mr Hyde (whose appearance was foreshadowed in a previous issue)! He's quite ugly.

ASM 232: Mr. Hyde wants to get his old partner, the Cobra, back, and Ned, Marla and Lance get tangled up in that somehow.

I like Lance, for what's worth.

Spidey doesn't have as much patience as me, obviously.

In the end, Hyde gets away with the Cobra and Peter comes back to ESU.

Will we stop seeing them? I don't think I'm ready for that. It's sad...

It's interesting that after Stern takes over, Peter stops being a TA.

GORGEOUS RIGHT PANEL WHAT THE FUCK.

Marcy really wants to talk to Peter for a sec, but he's busy as usual and disappears. This is why you can't have friends, Peter!

I'm gonna cry, but admittedly that might be because I'm drunk reviewing this issue, like, a full month after the rest of this post. I missed these guys. "Good luck, Peter"...

Hyde is an interesting villain. Both halves need each other, but the terrible part hates its less terrible half.

Anyway, Spidey fights our antagonist.

Nice panel on the right. Hyde is stopped, and...

...Is this the first time we see blood in these comics? It feels strange, out of place. What the heck.

The next issue features the Tarantula (yay!!) but we're not going to see that right now.

Let's check out ASM Annual 16. Waiting for the bus to join Harry and Liz, Peter has a funny feeling about a gorgeous Black lady... who soon appears to be one Captain Marvel.

Flashback time! A friend of Monica Rambeau's grandfather went to the trouble of finding her. He planned to harness energy from other dimensions, but a dictator wants to use his knowledge for his own designs.

The place so happens to belong to Roxxon, which is a name that appeared quite a lot of time recently!

Monica's backstory is nice, but we soon get back to the present, where Spidey has to beg a child (whose parents think Spidey is "a hoax of eastern establishment") to give him a penny to... Whatever.

Captain Marvel's at the Baxter Building and meets The Thing, then she goes to the Avengers manor. A few jokes are made about how she's not related to the previous Captain Marvel, and Iron Man, the Wasp and Spidey successfully help her not erase New York from Earth with the interdimensional energy she absorbed in her flashback.

This is really cute. And then...

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

It feels so nice to see them again, and to see handsome Pete again (he's such a snack), and to see all of them happy! I just had to put the full page here 🥰

After that, there's a whole Savage Lands saga. I skimmed through it. Let's just... forget about it hahaha

(well, the men in skimpy clothes were a nice feature I'll say)

#peter parker/ned leeds #peter parker #spider-man #comics #comic books #monica rambeau #captain marvel #harry osborn #liz allan

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propainfuture · 2 years ago

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Marvel Characters Theme Songs: Part 1 - Songs

ALMOST ENTIRELY MCU CHARACTERS

(Again, I get most of my information from fanfictions, wikis, and videos, not straight from the comics)

--------

Tony Stark: "Bleeding Out" - Imagine Dragons

Steve Rogers: "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers

Peter Parker: "Stronger Than Ever" - Raleigh Ritchie

Thor Odinson: "Home" - X Ambassadors, Bebe Rexha, and Machine Gun Kelly

Clint Barton: "SING" - My Chemical Romance

Natasha Romanoff: "Try" - P!NK

Bruce Banner: "Animal I Have Become" - Three Days Grace

Wanda Maximoff: "Barbies" - P!NK

Carol Danvers: "Starman" - David Bowie

Bucky Barnes: "My Demons" - Starset

James Rhodes: "Ain't Gonna Die Tonight" - Macklemore (Ft. Eric Nally)

Stephen Strange: "Wake Me Up" - Avicii

Pepper Potts: "Me, Myself, and I" - G*Eazy (Ft. Bebe Rexha)

Peter Quill: "Dancing In The Dark" - Bruce Springsteen

Scott Lang: "Let You Down" - Peking Duk

Vision: "To Be Human" - Sia (Ft. Labrinth)

Sam Wilson: "Human" - Rag 'n' Bone Man

Pietro Maximoff: "Pompeii" - Bastille

Wade Wilson: "C'Mon" - Ke$ha

Mantis: "Shooting Star" - Owl City

Nebula: "Gasoline" - Halsey

Gamora: "Rise" - Katy Perry

Drax: "Believer" - Imagine Dragons

Groot: "I Can See Clearly Now" - Jimmy Cliff

Rocket: "Courtesy Call" - Thousand Foot Krutch

T'Challa: "Lion" - Hollywood Undead

Shuri: "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

Loki Laufeyson: "Monster" - Imagine Dragons

Yelena Belova: "Here We Go" - Chris Classic

Phil Coulson: "Tragic Endings" - Eminem (Ft. Skylar Hill)

Maria Hill: "I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Nick Fury: "The Phoenix" - Fall Out Boy

Gwen Stacy: "100 Bad Days" - AJR

MJ Watson: "Heart Full of Scars" - Rebecca Black

Harry Osborn: "Fences" - Paramore

Miles Morales: "Sunflower" - Post Malone & Swae Lee

Betty Brant: "Wish" - Trippie Redd

Glory Grant: "All of My Favorite Songs" - Weezer

Felicia Hardy: "GRRRLS" - AViVA

Ganke Lee: "Luv(sic)" - Nujabes (Ft. Shing02)

Michelle Jones: "Red Roses" - Lil Skies (Ft. Landon Cube)

Ned Leeds: "Good Day" - Jax Anderson (Ft. Curtis Roach & Mister Wives)

#marvel #mcu #the avengers #guardians of the galaxy #mcu characters #marvel characters #theme songs #playlist #music #in my opinion #my thoughts

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phantom-le6 · 9 months ago

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Ramble of the month February 2024: 90’s MCU phase 5 – transitioning from Secret Wars to Infinity Wars

Having spent much of last month and a fair bit of this one working on submissions to literary agencies for my autism book, this month’s ramble and the one for next month took a bit of a back seat, and as such I’ve still not been able to vary myself away from delving further into my hypothetical Marvel and DC film universes. Apologies to anyone who, like me, were hoping to vary things more. However, hopefully what we cover in this ramble and the next will make up for it, and as April will be Autism Awareness time, I can guarantee something different for then.

By this point, I’m sure readers don’t need as much of a recap on what these posts to do with my 90’s-based MCU are about. Long story short, I’ve done what the meme makers don’t; looked at the comic book and real-world history of Marvel from that era to create an actual 90’s based MCU instead of putting 90’s actors into a present-day MCU. However, as we’re into a fifth phase and well past the 1990’s, we should at least quickly review phases 1-4 first.

Phase 1:

1992: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man

1993: Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp

1994: Captain America: Fantastic Four 2, Iron Man 2

1995: X-Men, Avengers, Daredevil

Phase 2:

1996: Spider-Man 2, Thor: Land of Enchantment, Silver Surfer

1997: Hulk vs Wolverine, Fantastic Four: Doomsday, Iron Man 3

1998: Captain America: Society of Serpents, Daredevil 2, X-Men 2

1999: Avenger 2, Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange

Phase 3:

2000: Fantastic Four: World War III, Thor: Ragnarök, Daredevil 3

2001: Hulk: Rise of the Leader, X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Avengers: Under Siege

2002: Doctor Strange 2, The Captain, Spider-Man 4

2003: Captain Britain, Fantastic Four: Enter the Negative Zone, Ghost Rider

Phase 4:

2004: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Secret Wars: Part I

2005: Excalibur, Defenders, Ghost Rider 2

2006: X-Factor, Secret Wars: Part II, Heroes For Hire

2007: Namor the Submariner, Doctor Strange 3, Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin

As discussed in previous rambles, phase 1 was all about establishing the MCU and its characters, phase 2 was about the expansion and development of the continuity, while phase 3 was mostly about many characters and teams losing, being put on the back foot and so on. Phase 4 then covered Secret Wars, which temporarily deprived Earth of some major MCU heroes to put them through a real alien war, and in the process also allowed some other heroes to come to the fore. Phase 5 then becomes about following on from some of those plot threads while beginning the set-up for this MCU’s version of the Infinity War. So, let’s quickly show you the phase 5 slate and then get right into the details of these would-be films.

Phase 5:

2008: Spider-Man 5, Fantastic Four: Unthinkable, Ms Marvel

2009: Elektra, Black Panther 2, Defenders 2

2010: X-Men: Proteus, Spider-Man 6, Ant-Man 2

2011: Silver Surfer 2, Avengers vs X-Men, Ghost Rider 3

Spider-Man 5 (2008) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Harry Osborn = Ryan Phillipe

Mary-Jane Watson = Alison Hannigan

Herman Schultz/Shocker = Patrick Muldoon

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Roderick Kingsley/Hobgoblin = Michael Keaton

Quentin Beck/Mysterio = Nathan Fillion

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Detective Stanley Carter/”Sin Eater” = James Marsden

In the first three Spider-Man films, we built up to Peter befriending the Osborns and dating Gwen, only for the Green Goblin/Death of Gwen story arcs to play out in Spider-Man 3. The fourth film then gave Peter a clash with the Sinister Six as he struggles to come to terms with Gwen’s death. Following Secret Wars, Peter now has the alien costume, and so film 5 is basically the alien costume story arc. Sounding a little too much like the Raimi/Maguire Spider-Man 3? Trust me, it’s not like that and for two key reasons. Firstly, I’m not trying to shoe-horn Venom in for the third act, just set him up for another film. Second, I’ve chosen Wentworth Miller of Prison Break and The Flash fame to play Eddie Brock, and that’s far from being our only change.

In this film, Peter’s occupied trying to stop a series of illusion thefts being committed on behalf of a new “kingpin”, who turns out to be the Hobgoblin, while also having to track down a notorious serial killer called the “Sin Eater”. As the alien costume influences Peter ever more, the question becomes less will he stop all the criminals, but rather will he become one. Matters are further complicated when costume thief Black Cat begins seducing Spider-Man and the alien costume pushes Peter to accept this despite his relationship with Mary-Jane. The film culminates with a chance clash with the Shocker revealing the alien nature of Peter’s costume, forcing him to finally fight it off. Eddie Brock gaining the symbiote is then handled in a credit’s scene.

Direction-wise, I picked Matthew Vaughan as he’s a proven superhero film director due to his work on X-Men: First Class. He’s the fourth director to take a hand on Spider-Man solo film in this hypothetical MCU, with John Hughes having directed the first two, and 3 and 4 being handled by Frank Darabont and Martin Campbell, respectively.

Fantastic Four: Unthinkable (2008) Directed by Roland Emmerich

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Susan Storm (Richards)/Invisible Woman = Meg Ryan

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Alicia Masters = Heather Graham

Agatha Harkness = Angela Lansbury

Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom = Goran Višnjić

Hauptmann = Ronald Guttman

Nick Fury = Tommy Lee Jones

Black Bolt = Pierce Brosnan

Medusa = Elizabeth Hurley

Crystal = Dina Meyer

Gorgon = J.G. Hertzler

Karnak = Alexander Siddig

Triton = Orlando Bloom

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Barbara "Bobbi" Morse/Mockingbird = Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Having had the Fantastic Four directed by Leonard Nemoy (films 1-2), Steven Spielberg (films 3-4) and Ridley Scott (film 5), this MCU closes out their share of films under the stewardship of Roland Emmerich, notable for such films as Independence Day, White House Down and Midway. This film adapts the events of the storylines ‘Unthinkable’ and ‘Authoritative Action’, but leaves the events of ‘Hereafter’ to the comics and begins introducing the Infinity Stones. Since non-comics fans and fans who haven’t read those stories won’t get those references, let’s do a quick summary.

In the comics, Doctor Doom turned to magic for an attack on the Fantastic Four, which resulted in Reed and Sue’s son Franklin being taken to hell, and the team having to storm Latveria to get him back. During the incident, Doom scarred Reed before being dragged into hell. Afterwards, Reed seized control of Latveria to dismantle Doom’s arsenal and craft a permanent prison for Doom, one in which Reed would serve as warden. However, when the rest of the team tried to stop Reed, Doom somehow began to possess each in turn, ultimately forcing Reed to kill Ben Grimm just to stop Doom. The events of the Hereafter arc involved a trip into the afterlife to bring Ben back, in the process healing Reed’s scars.

In this film, Franklin is kidnapped and taken to a demon dimension, and Sue leads a rescue team comprised of her, Ben Grimm, Brother Voodoo and the Black Panther to save Franklin while Reed and Johnny attack Doom, aided by the Inhumans and Namor the Submariner. The attack seemingly defeats Doom, after which Reed leads the F4 to Latveria, seizing control of the nation. Fearing Doom is somehow influencing Reed, Nick Fury of SHIELD intervenes along with Mockingbird, Voodoo, Namor and T’Challa, only for the seemingly captured Doom to begin telepathically controlling the other F4 members. Ultimately, Reed manages to force a feedback that wipes Doom’s mind, but in the process, Ben Grimm dies as he does in the comics. With Ben’s death, the Fantastic Four decide to step back from hero work, becoming a think tank called the Future Foundation.

The bulk of the film’s cast is from past films, with the only new addition being mystical nanny Agatha Harkness, played by Angela Lansbury in better keeping with the comics version of the character. As for the Infinity Stone I mentioned, that would be the mind stone, which Doom uses to control the various F4 members until Reed works out Doom is channelling the stone’s power and creates the feedback.

Ms Marvel (2008) Directed by Gates McFadden

Carol Danvers/Ms Marvel = Melissa Joan Hart

Michael Barnett = Brian Krause

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Frank Gianelli = Rory Cochrane

Tracey Burke = Kate Mulgrew

Tabitha Townsend = Kyla Pratt

Lynn Andersen = Amanda Seyfried

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

When it comes to trying to tackle Carol Danvers in films, one story that’s yet to hit the big screen is the story of her downfall against the X-Man Rogue back when Rogue was part of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Indeed, the 90’s animated series of the X-Men is the only adaptation to handle this, and they did it by neatly sidestepping some disturbing backstory. Long story short, there was a story arc in the Avengers comics around the late 70’s/early 80’s where Carol (then codenamed Ms Marvel) was mind-controlled and raped by an extra-dimensional being so he could be reborn in a body compatible with Earth, then after fast-growing to adulthood, his presence caused a bunch of time disruptions. When Carol then agreed to go with this being, the Avengers made no effort to prevent this.

When Chris Claremont wrote Rogue into Avengers Annual 10 and showed Rogue rocking Carol’s powers, the question that came to be asked was why Carol hadn’t sought out the Avengers upon returning to Earth, and the answer was made clear. The team hadn’t shown any real concern for Carol during her strange accelerated pregnancy, and then let her go off with a blatantly mind-controlling rapist from another dimension. As such, telling the story of Carol clashing with Rogue and the Brotherhood should never be an exact re-telling. Claremont’s story in Avengers Annual 10 was as much about correcting what the writer of the main comics at that time had written, and with film adaptations, you’re better off just taking a different path entirely.

In this case, we’re showing Carol working as an investigative journalist for a Daily Bugle-owned women’s magazine, who uses the Ms Marvel identity to tackle crime where needed. This is based on her original run in the comics, so we have Jameson borrowed from the Spider-Man films while using the magazine staff from the comics for supporting roles. As for the villains, roles from past films like Mystique and Pyro are combined with newly cast actors to give us our second MCU Brotherhood. The film draws in a mix of acting talent, with Melissa Joan Hart reprising the role of Carol Danvers, and Trek alumni Gates McFadden directing the film. McFadden has played the mutant Plague/Pestilence for three X-films before this and has some directing experience, making her a good choice for this project.

Elektra (2009) Directed by Roxann Dawson

Elektra Natchios = Leonor Varela

Stick = Scott Glenn

Stone = Sigourney Weaver

Kirigi = Daniel Henney

Frank Simpson/Nuke = John Cena

Matsu'o Tsurayaba = Hiroyuki Sanada

Kwannon = Kelly Hu

Turk Barrett = Gary Dourdan

The story of Elektra following her death in Daredevil is one Fox didn’t quite get right, in large part because they tried to incorporate plot elements and tropes that didn’t tonally fit with the character. Having used two Daredevil films to set her up before giving the character a one-shot solo film, I think the best thing is taking those bits out. Instead, we get the Hand going after the Chaste with Elektra in the middle, and when Elektra proves more than they can handle, they bring in the pill-popping assassin known as Nuke. It’s a straight-up martial arts action film initially, but then becomes a more Punisher-like action film when Nuke comes on the scene.

Trek alumni Roxann Dawson takes the helm because she’s one of the few women I know of that would be directing anything back around this time. Considering that films with female leads are often better handled by female directors, it makes sense to try and make this the case wherever possible. The cast is either retained from past films of picked to be more comic-accurate. Case-in-point, picking American actor Scott Glenn to play Stick rather than English actor Terrence Stamp.

Black Panther 2 (2009) Directed by Tim Burton

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Shuri = Tatyana Ali

Ramonda = Alfre Woodard

T'Chaka = Courtney B. Vance

W'Kabi = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Okoye = Nia Long

Zuri = Joseph Marcell

M'Baku = Idris Elba

Nakia = Lupita Nyong'o

Monica Lynne = Kerry Washington

Baron Macabre = Sterling K Brown

Jerome Beechman/Mandrill = Joaquin Phoenix

Nekra Sinclair = Toks Olagundoye

Kevin Plundarr/Ka-Zar = Chris Hemsworth

Shanna O'Hara = Scarlett Johansson

Zaladane = Jolene Blalock

Everett Ross = Martin Freeman

In Black Panther 2, T’Challa becomes allied with Ka-Zar of the Savage Land when it turns out his hidden jungle in Antarctica houses a cache of Vibranium to rival Wakanda’s. Most would-be Vibranium hunters baulk at trying to gain the Antarctic variety due to the dinosaurs, but soon both nations are threatened when the woman-controlling mutant Mandrill, his adoptive sister Nekra, the Savage Land priestess Zaladane and Wakandan criminal Baron Macabre team up. Due to the inclusion of some of these villains, I opted to switch from Tim Story to Tim Burton from a directing stand-point. This film also features a change of role for a couple of real-world MCU alumni.

Defenders 2 (2009) Directed by Stephen Sommers

Dr Stephen Strange = Johnny Depp

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Valkyrie = Diane Kruger

Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk = Josh Duhamel

Patsy Walker/Hellcat = Mena Suvari

Wong = Will Yun Lee

Clea = Keira Knightley

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Dr Anthony Druid = Mark Strong

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Dr Tania Belinsky (Belinskaya)/Red Guardian = Beatrice Rosen

Dr Arthur Nagan = Julian McMahon

Dr Jerold "Jerry" Morgan = Stellan Skarsgård

Ruby Thursday = Alyssa Milano

Harvey Schlemerman/Chondu the Mystic = Stanley Tucci

Shuma-Gorath = Geoffrey Rush

The Defenders, Marvel’s superhero non-team, return for a second instalment at this point, and I’ve picked Stephen Sommers as director based on him directing a live-action GI Joe film around the same time. In this film, the few routinely active Defenders learn via immigrant Russian doctor and superhero Red Guardian that a team of scientists called the Headmen have stolen the Reality Stone from AIM in an effort to seize world power for themselves. Allying with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Defenders seek to stop the Headmen while Clea joins with Brother Voodoo, Dr Druid and Daimon Hellstrom to try and bring back Doctor Strange from the extra-dimensional limbo he sacrificed himself to in Doctor Strange 3. At the same time, the Silver Surfer seeks the Hulk. The whole team then comes together when the Headmen open a portal for Shuma-Gorath, in the process transforming into their strange comic-style appearances.

Everyone from Dr Druid on down in the cast list is new. As for why we’re skipping over the original male Red Guardian and focusing on the second female iteration for this MCU, there’s two reasons. First, the second female iteration served as a Defender in the original comics, and second, these MCU rambles are focused on the main film continuity, which in this version of the MCU is strictly cinematic. TV shows, while allowed as tie-ins, are optional content, and while I’d happily allow a TV show to dive in on Black Widow and some other characters, I think a film was and is a bit much for a character with so little solo comics content.

X-Men: Proteus (2010) Directed by LeVar Burton

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Beast/Hank McCoy = Alec Baldwin

Robert Drake/Iceman = Michael Weatherley

Banshee/Sean Cassidy = Liam Neeson

Dr Moira Mactaggert = Olivia Williams

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Kevin Mactaggert/Proteus = Iain De Caestecker

Joseph Mactaggert = John Hannah

Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane = Bonnie Wright

Danielle Moonstar = Selena Gomez

Jubilee = Chloe Bennett

Everett Thomas/Synch = Christopher Massey

Douglas Ramsey/Cypher = Devon Bostick

With the third X-Men film Fall of the Mutants having split the X-Men up, and a combination of the Secret Wars duology, Excalibur and X-Factor films following events for the divided team, this fourth X-Men film is intended to reunite some of the scattered team into a new whole. It also gives Rogue her defection from the Brotherhood following the events of Ms Marvel. In this film, Moira Mactaggert’s son Proteus emerges as a dangerous mutant and begins a rampage across to Scotland. With Excalibur unavailable, X-Factor is summoned while the X-Men pursue Mystique’s Brotherhood to Scotland. The two teams meet up and reunite when they find Professor X is also with Moira, having been recuperating on Muir Island since being released from a SHIELD hospital (this is set-up over end-credit scenes for Fall of the Mutants and X-Factor).

Direction-wise, the X-Men have been handled initially by Jonathan Demme and then Jonathan Frakes in films bearing their team’s name, while Excalibur was helmed by Christopher Nolan and X-Factor by LeVar Burton. For this film, I’ve put Burton back in the director’s chair. Casting-wise, I imagine same fans will be perplexed by my choice of Chloe Bennett for Jubilee. This is because Bennett is of a mixed ancestry that includes having a Chinese mother, and while the ideal is always to try for exact representation from the comics, there aren’t many actresses active in Hollywood around the time of this film with even one parent of Chinese descent, let alone two.

As such, the question becomes which do you compromise; Jubilee’s racial background or her nationality? My choice, compromise slightly on racial background and bring in some plot threads relating to prejudice against people of mixed race. Quite honestly, characters of mixed race are among those groups under-represented in film and TV, so if I have to compromise, let me at least try and do so in a positive way.

Spider-Man 6 (2010) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock/Venom = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Mary-Jane Watson-Parker = Alison Hannigan

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Sha Shan Nguyen = Grace Park

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Anne Weying = Michelle Williams

Principal Harrington = Viggo Mortensen

Lance Bannon = Hayden Christensen

Gloria "Glory" Grant = Candice Patton

In the sixth of our Spider-Man films, and the last to both start and end with Peter Parker wearing the webs, we showcase Peter and MJ preparing for their upcoming wedding, but the pair are stalked by Eddie Brock, who has now joined with the Venom symbiote and seeks to make Peter’s life hell. He attempts to manipulate the Black Cat into being his co-conspirator as well, preying on her jealousy after the symbiote-free Spider-Man resists her seduction. The story ultimately culminates in Venom trying to force Peter into a no-win situation where he has to choose who to save; Mary-Jane or Felicia. Matthew Vaughan returns to direct, and we get a few extra supporting cast members in lieu of the various villains of Spider-Man 5.

Ant-Man 2 (2010) Directed by Peyton Reed

Hank Pym/Ant-Man = Michael Douglas

Scott Lang/Ant-Man II = Paul Rudd

Maggie Lang = Judy Greer

Cassie Lang = Joey King

William Cross/Crossfire = Ethan Hawke

Taskmaster = Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Alex Gentry/Porcupine = Nick Offerman

Janice Lincoln/Beetle = Naya Rivera

Having left Ant-Man alone in terms of solo films since phase 1, phase 2 marks a return for Hank Pym, who by this point has been out of action since a mental break-down forced him to retire. Now of sound mind again, he tries to deal with tech thief Crossfire, who steals the prototype for a new, more aggressive variant of the Ant-Man suit, the Yellowjacket. However, Hank’s old suit is not safe to use as it clashes with his neuro-chemistry, risking more mental break-down. Even worse, it’s been stolen. In tracking down the Ant-Man suit, Hank encounters desperate divorced father Scott Lang, who stole the suit to get money to cover his daughter’s medical treatment.

With this film, the aim is to pass the mantle of Ant-Man to Scott Lang in a more comics-accurate manner, while at the same time preserving certain casting that the MCU got right, hence why Pym, Scott and Maggie are all retained from the real MCU. In terms of Cassie, I switched to Joey King as she’s had a remarkably steady record of employment for a non-Disney child actress, and I think she’s a great choice to take up this role for the remainder of this hypothetical MCU. Direction-wise, I figured it best to stick with the choices of the real MCU and go for Peyton Reed, having had to go with Sam Raimi on the 90’s-made first Ant-Man of this MCU.

Silver Surfer 2 (2011) Directed by JJ Abrams

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Thanos = Josh Brolin

Mentor = Michael McKean

Eros/Starfox = Joel McHale

Gamora = Zoe Saldana

Drax the Destroyer = Dean Cain

Adam Warlock = Chris Pine

Pip the Troll = Peter Dinklage

Nebula = Emma Stone

Mar-Vell/Captain Marvel = Jude Law

Following the events of Defenders 2, the Silver Surfer finds himself drawn into yet more Infinity Stone adventures when Kree hero Captain Marvel and the android Drax the Destroyer come to Earth with Adam Warlock, keeper of the Soul Gem. Hot on their heels are Thanos and Nebula, each of whom has begun to seek the Infinity Stones. Worse still, Mar-Vell is dying of cancer. The film is meant to advance the Infinity Stones plot while also adapting the death of Mar-Vell from the comics, not to mention setting up for the Guardians of the Galaxy to appear in the next phase.

For direction, I’ve picked JJ Abrams based on his Star Trek and Star Wars work making him a decent choice for a space-based hero like the Silver Surfer. In terms of casting, we have a few reprises from past films in this 90’s MCU and from the real MCU. However, some shifts have also occurred, most notably with Drax due to wanting to use his original comics origins over the revised MCU/later comics version. The would-be autistic representation of Bautista and Gunn’s Drax quickly become so much farce, so as an autistic person, I’d just as soon avoid that and go down the android route, thanks very much.

Avengers vs X-Men (2011) Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Iron Man/Tony Stark = Tom Selleck

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk = Lucy Lawless

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Sam Wilson/Falcon = Will Smith

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Carol Danvers = Melissa Joan Hart

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Frank Bohannan/Crimson Commando = Harrison Ford

Louis Hamilton/Stonewall = James Brolin

Martin Fletcher/Super-Sabre = Peter Fonda

Dr Valerie Cooper = Malin Åkerman

Sebastian Gilbreti/Bastion = Bruce Greenwood

Congressman Rev. William Stryker = Eric Roberts

Forge = Jimmy Smits

There have been two occasions in Marvel comics where the X-Men and Avengers have been drawn into direct conflict, at least using multiple issues of a comic and to my knowledge. The first is the 1980’s mini-series X-Men versus Avengers, where the Avengers attempted to arrest Magneto to resume his trial before the world court, while the Soviet Super-Soldiers sought to arrest Magneto for his actions in X-Men #150. As Magneto was part of the X-Men at the time, this naturally put all three teams at odds with each other. The second occasion was the AvX storyline in which Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik became possessed by the Phoenix Force, something the Avengers tried to prevent and later combat.

While this film draws on the basic concept of both series, that something sets the Avengers and the X-Men at odds with each other, it’s not about arresting Magneto or issues with the Phoenix force. Instead, the issue is Rogue; her status as a mutant terrorist is used to convince the Avengers to apprehend the X-Men. This is bad timing, as the X-Men are working with Rogue to help restore the mind of Carol Danvers. The masterminds of the plot are rabid anti-mutant politician William Stryker and government advisor Sebastian, who in reality is a new form of sentinel in disguise. Luckily, government advisor and secret mutant Forge is suspicious of Bastion and convinces NSA director Dr Valerie Cooper to set up a contingency plan.

As a result, the film builds to a climax where, after the intervention of Spider-Man ends a major fight between the two teams, Bastion unleashes his prime sentinels. Enter Mystique’s expanded Brotherhood in their guise as community service government heroes Freedom Force, and the stage is set for a truly epic battle. Direction-wise, I opted for Jonathan Frakes to helm this entry, and while many actors are reprising roles from past films, everyone from Crimson Commando on down is new to the MCU as of this film.

Ghost Rider 3 (2011) Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider = Connor Trinneer

Roxanne Simpson = Jessica Alba

Eric Brooks/Blade = Jamie Foxx

Rachel Van Helsing = Cote De Pablo

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Vlad Tepish/Dracula = Mads Mikkelsen

Lilith = Felicity Jones

Mephistopheles = Jeffery Combs

Phase 5 of our 90’s MCU closes out by bringing Johnny Blaze’s time as Ghost Rider to its conclusion, in a story where Johnny teams up with Blade, Rachel Van Helsing and Daimon Hellstrom against Dracula and his daughter Lilith, who are secretly in league with Mephistopheles. The film is partly an original plot and partly an adaptation of the end of the original Ghost Rider run of comics, though it’s far from being the last Ghost Rider film of this MCU. Just as the comics would have others take up the Ghost Rider curse after Blaze, so too will this MCU move onto those later riders in turn. Having used Tim Burton on the first two Ghost Rider films in this MCU, I’ve picked Mark Steven Johnson who handled the 2007 Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider film to take on this third instalment of 90’s MCU Ghost Rider.

This wraps up our look into phase 5 of this 90’s-based MCU; next month, we’ll cover phase 5 of our alternate DC movie universe. Until then, ta-ta for now.

#fancast #mcu

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softgrungeprophet · 1 year ago

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wyatt wingfoot and betty (i have forgotten her last name i'm so sorry) for the character bingo thing 👀

Welp I typed some stuff and then I accidentally hit ctrl-z instead of ctrl-x and tumblr does not auto-draft asks apparently (at least it didn't this time) so i lost all of my explanations and I am not re-typing that.

Anyway

Wyatt Wingfoot: i genuinely unironically just think he's a neat guy who always does his best to be a good person, so a lot of these do not apply XD

in no particular order, a summary:

BIG HEART BIG BICEPS

handsome

6'6"

i am assuming "biting my fist" is horny which is why i picked it because, as mentioned, 6'6"

good with kids

I picked brainrot "maybe a little" just because I haven't made much stuff with him in it recently but I still know many random factoids about him off the top of my head lol

most people get his personality right but a small number of fans have a weird tendency to put him in a servant role or other lower socioeconomic class compared to the F4 or jen which is weird because he owns and drives a Ferrari in one of his earliest appearances that is, I'm pretty sure, an unreleased concept car from 1965.

most of his comics appearances are bad, not because they are offensive (though that is also a problem), but because they are poorly written. and john byrne is my enemy.

anyway 👼

I assume by "Betty" you mean Betty Brant, intrepid Bugle reporter with the worst life ever; relatedly, Peter's high school girlfriend and even more relatedly, Ned Leeds' ex-wife:

By "most fandom takes are incorrect" I mean "men on the piracy website fucking hate her guts" and it's kind of alarming actually.

"writers dropped the ball" depends on what writer as always. the most recent stuff (so, past few years) in ASM is, to me, an insult to her character with no understanding of her personality or motivations lmao but women exist to make babies!!! 🙄

i don't think she's a war criminal? but she generally—wait. Okay. I can think of a few things she's done that aren't war crimes but that are illegal and involve guns so I guess that applies without caveat compared to wyatt lmao. she's done nothing wrong and she is always right about everything actually.

she's pretty

"stop putting them in situations" aka "stop resurrecting dead men from her past who suck"—mostly joking because i think her situations can be very interesting, but the recent stuff with ned is, again, insulting. (also dumb)

i don't have any relevant pics for her but she's neat! i think she owns a strap-on.

#asks #lycanqueer #nadia reads comics

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ao3feed-drstrange · 1 month ago

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Avengers: Twitter and Group Chats

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ghqZEev by Justwant_toread The Avengers, some vigilantes, and our favorite Midtown High students on Twitter (not calling that bitch X) and in group chats! Peter is a lil cryptid to Midtown Words: 14, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: Multi Characters: Tony Stark, Clint Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor (Marvel), Stephen Strange, T'Challa (Marvel), Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Thaddeus Ross, Avengers Team Members (Marvel), Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, Loki (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Vision (Marvel), Shuri (Marvel), Friday (Marvel), Hulk (Marvel), Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Michelle Jones (Marvel), Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Cindy Moon, Abe Brown, Jason Ionello, Principal Morita (Marvel), Roger Harrington (Marvel), Charlie Spencer, Sally Avril, Ned Leeds, Happy Hogan, Midtown High School Students (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Harry Osborn, Matt Murdock, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Wade Wilson, Carol Danvers, Nick Fury Relationships: Harry Osborn/Peter Parker/Flash Thompson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Betty Brant/Ned Leeds, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Avengers Team Members & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange Additional Tags: Twitter, Social Media, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, BAMF Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Pepper Potts, Warnings May Change, Aunt May Parker & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Aunt May Parker is a Good Aunt (Marvel), Worried Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Supportive Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Protective Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Peter Parker Can Wield Mjolnir, Peter Parker Can't Thermoregulate, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Acts Like a Spider, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Pepper Potts Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Harley Keener as Iron Lad, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings (Marvel Cinematic Universe) read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ghqZEev

#IFTTT #AO3feed #Jaydick #DC

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ao3feed-irondadspiderson · 1 month ago

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Avengers: Twitter and Group Chats

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59969194 by Justwant_toread The Avengers, some vigilantes, and our favorite Midtown High students on Twitter (not calling that bitch X) and in group chats! Peter is a lil cryptid to Midtown Words: 14, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: Multi Characters: Tony Stark, Clint Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor (Marvel), Stephen Strange, T'Challa (Marvel), Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Thaddeus Ross, Avengers Team Members (Marvel), Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, Loki (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Vision (Marvel), Shuri (Marvel), Friday (Marvel), Hulk (Marvel), Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Michelle Jones (Marvel), Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Cindy Moon, Abe Brown, Jason Ionello, Principal Morita (Marvel), Roger Harrington (Marvel), Charlie Spencer, Sally Avril, Ned Leeds, Happy Hogan, Midtown High School Students (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Harry Osborn, Matt Murdock, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Wade Wilson, Carol Danvers, Nick Fury Relationships: Harry Osborn/Peter Parker/Flash Thompson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Betty Brant/Ned Leeds, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Avengers Team Members & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange Additional Tags: Twitter, Social Media, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, BAMF Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Pepper Potts, Warnings May Change, Aunt May Parker & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Aunt May Parker is a Good Aunt (Marvel), Worried Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Supportive Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Protective Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Peter Parker Can Wield Mjolnir, Peter Parker Can't Thermoregulate, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Acts Like a Spider, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Pepper Potts Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Harley Keener as Iron Lad, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings (Marvel Cinematic Universe) read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/59969194

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #iron dad and spider son #spider son #iron dad #peter parker #tony stark

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ravagedarkness · 2 years ago

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Spider-Man: Home Rebuilt, Chapter 48: Ravencroft

Friday rolled around. It was a totally different vibe from yesterday. At work, Jonah was extra grouchy. He was still heated that Cyclops crashed his show. It probably didn’t help that the X-Men were still trending on Twitter and the opinions of the team was still extremely divided. No matter how much Jonah and other likeminded news reporters and personalities tried, they couldn’t shine enough bad light on us to make the majority of the public see us as the bad guys in the situation. I did wonder, however, if that was because they sympathized with us, or if they hated Hammer that much.

While the optimistic side of me hoped it was the former, I wouldn’t have been upset if it was the latter.

After that, I went home, got ready for class, and went to school. The lesson was rather light. It was as if Scott knew I was rather anxious about this upcoming weekend. He didn’t even assign homework. Well, he did, but it was optional and for extra credit. After class, Scott kept me behind as the other students left. Once it was just the two of us, Scott walked up to the door before he closed it and locked it. He then let loose a breath before he turned and looked at me.

“How’d it go with MJ last night?” he asked as he walked back to his desk and sat on top of it. I was sitting at one of the classroom’s desk, the one closest to his. I smiled slightly.

“It was awesome,” I answered. “We… we spent time on the rooftop of Midtown High School, eating Big E Style Chopped Cheeses, talking and other stuff…” I averted my gaze as my face heated.

“Did you two…?”

I quickly brought my head forward and shook it emphatically. “No, sir. I just meant that MJ and I made out… rather intensely.”

Scott was quiet for a few moments. “Am I… am I off base for assuming that you already got ‘The Talk’?”

“No, sir.” I chuckled awkwardly. “Aunt May… she gave me that talk during my last year in middle school.” I cleared my throat. “I may or may not have been caught watching something I should not have been watching.” Scott nodded. There was no expression of judgment on his face. “But… yeah. Making out was all MJ and I did last night and it’s all we’ve ever done to this point.”

“Okay.” Scott paused for a moment. “Look, I know I’m not your father, uncle, brother, or even cousin… at least, not as far as I know.” He tilted his head briefly. “My family tree is a mess, to say the least. But… the point is… even though I’m not any of those things to you, I do still feel responsible for you. So, just know I’m just looking out for you.”

“I understand, and I appreciate it,” I assured him. I paused for a moment. “Um… since we’re on the subject of romance and the like… do you like Joanna?”

Scott was given pause. I was surprised, however, that he didn’t glare at me.

“I don’t know yet,” Scott admitted. “…My ex-wife… Jean… She’s a telepath. And she was one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth until she left the planet. So, with her… I didn’t have to try hard to explain or be open with my feelings. She could easily read me, for better or for worse. And there was a comfort with that. Even with that aside, Jean was the only woman who I had romantic feelings for. She’s the end all, be all of my romantic experience. So, now there’s Joanna. To be honest, she intrigues me. She’s forward, she’s flirty, about as crass as you’d expect from the average Marine, and yet there’s this kindness and softness underneath it all. So… I guess I’m just treading carefully.” Scott paused again. “…Thank you.”

I tilted my head. “For what?”

“For not giving me any advice.”

At that, I scoffed. “Scott, I’m the last person to give anyone relationship advice,” I pointed out. At that, Scott chuckled.

“Well, I didn’t keep you behind to talk romance.” He paused for a moment. “How are you feeling about Sunday?”

I shifted in my seat a bit. “I would’ve marked it in my calendar if I wasn’t paranoid about that possibly exposing us.” I shook my head. “I…” I took in a breath. “…In my whole entire life, I’ve only really hated a few people – the one who killed my Uncle Ben, Mysterio, and Green Goblin. Other than that, I’m not one to hold hatred in my heart for people. I didn’t even hate Toomes. While what he did was wrong and could have led to a lot of people hurt or worse, I can understand going the extra mile for the people you love… Sympathize, even. But…” I balled my right fist up. My heart rate rose. I took a moment to take a deep breath. “I just want this to be over, even if it’s just temporarily.”

“I get that,” Scott replied with a nod. “But remember, it’s just that – temporary. As we continue our lives as heroes – and as X-Men – we’re going to have adversaries that are going to continue to be a thorn in our side, even from beyond the grave.” He paused for a moment. “That’s something you should already know, of course. So, expect Justin Hammer and Scorpion to be a long term problem. But, this weekend, we’ll make sure they’re sent on their way for the short term. Got it?” I nodded. “Good. Now go about the rest of your day. I believe you, Craig, and Kitty have a busy night ahead of you.”

After class, I stopped at home and changed into my quick change outfit before I made my way over to Peter Pan. Craig and Kitty were going to meet me there. I met MJ there, as usual. As semi-usual, Ned was there as well. What was unusual, however, was MJ taking her break after she got me a cup of coffee and a peanut butter cup donut. She sat with me and Ned, with her to my left and Ned to my right at the counter.

“How are you holding up?” MJ asked.

“Just a bit antsy for this Sunday,” I told her reassuringly. “Other than that, I’m good.”

“I’m looking forward to this Sunday, too,” Ned spoke up. “Take care of business on that day, and then we can focus on other things – like the Valentine’s Day dance.”

I couldn’t help but scoff as I shook my head. “You know, pre-You-Know-What, the fact that I didn’t get a suit yet would have had me freaking out. But now, I’m just… annoyed. A little more than mildly annoyed, but just annoyed nonetheless.” I picked up my donut and took a bite out of it.

“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t found a dress yet,” MJ sympathized. “Between making sure that I’m still on track for college and worrying about you and your coworkers, the dance has been far from my biggest concern.” She shrugged. “To be honest, you and rest of the American Idiots are the only reason I’m excited for going.”

“Honestly?” Ned replied. “Ditto.” He sighed. “The only downside is that we might have to deal with Flash.”

“Always the highlight of any day,” I deadpanned. During this, Kitty and Craig walked in. They were dressed in their quick change outfits, with the former’s mask probably tucked away in her jacket and the latter having his hood down.

“What’s good, people?” Craig greeted as he took a seat next to Ned. Kitty sat to the left of MJ.

“Just talking about the Valentine’s Day dance,” Ned explained. “How was your day?”

Craig shrugged. “It was meh. I had a meeting with an IRS agent.”

I tilted my head as I looked at him. “How come?”

“I had to do my taxes. That, unfortunately, took a lot of time since a certain job doesn’t come with a W-2.”

“Wait, you have to pay taxes on that money?” Ned asked.

“As a matter of fact, you do,” Kitty confirmed. “That’s how Al Capone was taken down.”

“But aren’t you afraid that could...?” MJ began before she trailed off. It took me a moment to realize what she trying to ask.

“The agent I work with?” Craig started to explain in a whisper. “We have an arrangement. I do some favors for her – favors that aligns extremely well with my expertise – and she makes sure I don’t end up getting flagged for anything.” He raised his eyebrows briefly. “Being a vigilante can be quite the perk when you have some anti-Accords folks in the right places.” He chuckled. “Anyway, we’ll chill here until you’re finished, Pete. And then we’ll dip.”

After I did finish my food, Craig, Kitty, and I said our byes to Ned and MJ, with me doing my special handshake with the former and kissing the latter. We left in Craig’s Scion xB before we started to drive around. With Craig driving, I took shotgun while Kitty sat in the backseat. She had a tablet in her hands.

“So, we got quite a few locations from Joanna,” Kitty stated. “Some of them I already looked at and decided they weren’t worth checking out.”

“How come?” I asked.

“Well, for one, some of those locations are a little too close to civilian population for our comfort,” Craig said. “Secondly, some of them are seaside.”

“Is that really an issue?”

“Look, man. I ain’t putting a dang thing past Hammer when it comes what he’ll throw at us. The last thing we want is to give that man a chance to do something crazy like roll up on us with a warship or attack submarine or something.”

Had we been talking about anyone else, I might’ve called Craig overly paranoid. But since this was Hammer we’re talking about, one could make a case that he wasn’t being paranoid enough. So, I nodded in concession.

“So what are the other places?”

“Well, there are a couple of places,” Kitty informed. “Each one has their own pros and cons. First up, we have the former Hand Compound. On one hand, most of the buildings are still intact and its’ pretty far from general population. On the other hand, it’s also one of the locations that Scott has scouted for future use as a new headquarters for The X-Men once we expand. Second, there’s Kingsbridge Armory. It’s pretty intact as well, but it’s rather wide open on the inside. Then there’s the third option.”

I heard the sound of bones cracking. I turned my head to see Craig’s hand tightly holding the steering wheel. Something told me I wasn’t going to like it.

“What’s the third option?”

Craig sighed. “There’s an abandoned sanatorium in Westchester County,” he said reluctantly.

“How abandoned?”

“It literally hasn’t been touched in decades,” Kitty responded. “The thing is… the place is said to be cursed. People avoid it like the plague. Not even squatters and urban explorers want anything to do with it.”

“Do you believe it’s cursed?”

Kitty scoffed. “Sweetie, after all the stuff we’ve seen and went up against in our lives, we’d have to be rather dense to not, at the very least, acknowledge the possibility.” I hummed in acknowledgment as I nodded – she had a huge point. “But, creepy as the hospital is, it’s out the way of civilian population and we could possibly find an area in the building where’s only one way in or out. We could also lay some traps down along the way. So, which one do you guys want to check out?”

Craig and I looked at each other. We then sighed in resignation.

“The sanatorium,” we both replied in reluctance.

“Okay, well, if we’re going to head to Westchester, then we need to grab food along the way,” Kitty declared. “I’ll even pay. Are you guys up for Five Guys?”

After we went to Five Guys and grabbed food, we made our way over to Westchester County. The drive wasn’t too long. It was only about an hour. It wasn’t exactly a short trip, but I’ve been on longer drives. Once we arrived in Westchester, we used the GPS in Craig’s phone to track down the sanatorium. It took us about twenty minutes. And that was mostly because Craig was driving a little slower than usual. I didn’t know if it was because he was being extra cautious due to not really knowing the area that well, of if he was really reluctant to go to this sanatorium.

After some time, we found the road that led to our destination. To say the road was in bad shape was a huge understatement. Chunks of the pavement were missing, either the results of pieces being broken off or it being worn down by the elements. There were of grasses growing with the cracks. There was even a point where was an abandoned vehicle on the road that was blocking the path. Craig and I handled it – between his power to control friction and my super strength, moving the vehicle out of the way was easy. Still, the approach was rather slow – while a Scion xB is sort of shaped like an SUV, they were far from that and they never meant for rough terrain. Making things a little worse was the fact that the sky, in an occurrence that couldn’t be more clichéd, became rather overcast.

“Man, even the weather is telling us to turn back around,” Craig grumbled.

“You and Peter agreed to check this place out first,” Kitty pointed out.

“Yeah, and I’m starting to think I’m stupid for doing so.”

Eventually, we did reach the sanatorium. After we pulled up to the gates, Craig put the car in park. We stepped out of the vehicle. I stared at the gates, taking note of the words that adorned them – Ravencroft Institute. I looked past the gates and at the buildings that took up the grounds. From what I could see, there was a small church, buildings that looked like dormitories. And I was pretty sure there was a graveyard out in the distance. However, what really got my attention was the main building. It looked Victorian, and was seemingly built with red brick and mortar. It was about four stories tall and had multiple towers that looked like it housed bells.

“This is the place,” Kitty stated. “Codenames from here on out. Let’s scope it out.”

I nodded as I masked up before I stepped up to the gate. There was a steel chain with a lock holding the gates closed. I was about to just rip it off before Frictor stepped forward and pulled out a lock pick. He grabbed the lock and used the pick to unlock it.

“I could have ripped it off,” I pointed out.

“I can’t let you do all the work,” Frictor replied. “Besides, we need the chain intact.” With moments, the lock was picked open. He pulled unraveled the chain before he left it hanging on the gate. He pushed the gate open wide. “I’m going to pull the car in.” Kitty and I stepped onto the property as Frictor hopped inside of the Scion before he drove it past the gates. He then hopped out, walked up to the gates, pushed them closed, relocked it. After that, he stepped back into the car and beckoned us to hop back in. Once Shadowcat and I were inside, Frictor drove the rest of the way up the driveway before he pulled up to the front door and put the car in park.

Once again, we stepped out of the vehicle. Frictor walked around the Scion and unlocked the hatch before lifting it up. He pulled out a black Jansport backpack before he closed the hatch. After he pressed a button on a small remote on his keychain, locking the vehicle, the three of us made our way to the front door. Once more, Frictor took the initiative to pick the lock. Once he had it open, he pulled open the door and held it open for me and Shadowcat to enter.

After Frictor stepped inside, we all looked forward. Frictor unzipped his backpack and pulled out three flashlights. He handed two of the flashlights to Shadowcat and I before taking the third one for himself. After we clicked our flashlights on, we looked forward at the scene in front of us. As expected from a defunct medical facility, there was a front desk and remnants of a computer. The walls were stained with mold and what I hoped was rust. The floor was rather grimy. And the smell reeked of something awful.

“Prime real estate,” Shadowcat deadpanned. She turned her flashlight and aimed it towards the back. She illuminated the steel doors of a pair of elevators. “There. The stairs should be nearby.” She walked forward, and Frictor and I followed suit. The three of us walked up to the elevators before we looked around for a stairwell. Finding a door with a sign indicating it led to the stairs, I beckoned towards the others to follow me. We walked up the door. I twisted the nob and pushed the door. It opened with a rather loud creak, and a rat suddenly ran out, causing the three of us suddenly step back in surprise.

“Man, screw this place,” Frictor grumbled. Still, we entered the stairwell. We ascended slowly. Fortunately, the stairs were rather sturdy, having been made from concrete.

“So far, so good,” Shadowcat whispered. We passed the second floor landing as we continued our ascent. But when we got to the third floor landing, we found our way blocked by a load of debris – there were pieces of concrete, metal, and wood. “…Great, I pulled a Ned.” I chuckled as I shook my head.

“…Looks like we’re checking the second floor for another stairwell,” Frictor said. We made our way back down to the second floor landing before we stepped through the door. As we lit up the hallway with our flashlights, we saw that it was a hallway full of glass windows. Frictor took in a breath before he walked forward. Shadowcat and I looked at each other before we followed him. As we passed by the window, I glanced inside, seeing that they were examination rooms. Some of them had medical equipment. Others had gurneys and chairs with harnesses. Frictor suddenly came to a stop and looked at one of the rooms. Shadowcat and I came to a stop next to him and looked through the window. Looking back at us was rows and rows of mannequins in various states of disrepair.

“…Are we in Westchester, or are we in Silent Hill?” I commented dryly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Frictor shake his head.

“I hate every bit of this,” Frictor muttered out.

“Let’s just keep going,” Shadowcat urged.

We did just that, making our way down to the other side of the hall. We found another stairwell. We entered it. We moved up the stairs before he made our way to the top floor. We stepped onto the floor. This floor seemed to be for administrators. As we walked down the hall, we passed by doors with nameplates too damaged to read. There was only one name that was somewhat legible. All I could make out was “el Ess”. We continued down the hall until we found the headmaster’s office. Shadowcat moved forward and grabbed the knob. She twisted it. The knob creaked, but twisted nonetheless. She opened the door. We stepped inside. It was a pretty large office – about as big as my apartment. Bookshelves were knocked over. A large desk was on its side. Broken glass was on the floor along with other pieces of garbage.

“…I think we got something here,” Shadowcat stated.

“Yeah, we got a potential for a Tetanus outbreak,” Frictor snarked, prompting Shadowcat to halfheartedly slap his chest with the back of her left hand.

“No, seriously, think about it. Obviously, the elevators are out. The electrical systems of this place are probably too worn to even be powered. With one of the stairwells blocked…”

“There’s only one way in and one way out,” I finished for her.

Shadowcat looked at me and smiled. “Exactly. We can set traps along the way to cull their forces – non-lethally, of course – and make things a lot easier for us.” Her smile became wider. “We can even use the mannequins we saw. We can dress them up in mock ups of our suits and place them in different areas as distractions or lures.”

“…You’re right,” Frictor conceded. “…Okay, let’s get the heck out of here and we’ll tell Scott about it when we get home.”

We did just that, making sure to lock the gates back up before we drove away.

We drove straight back to the bunker before we hopped in Craig’s SUV and drove to the X-Men’s apartment. Once we arrived and went inside, we found Carmilla and Scott sitting on the sofa, watching TV. They looked up at us as Kitty closed the door.

“Hey guys,” Craig greeted. All of us removed our shoes before we joined them. I took the couch with Kitty while Craig took a seat next to Carmilla. After Craig shared a brief kiss with Carmilla, he looked at the screen. “Oh, Smackdown is on?”

“Yeah, it’s the last fifteen minutes of it,” Scott replied.

“I don’t know who this Roman Reigns is, but I don’t like him,” Carmilla stated with a pout.

“Is it because he’s a heel?” I asked.

“No. His hair is prettier than mine.”

“I beg to differ,” Craig replied as he wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Handsome dude, he is, but I’d take you over him any day of the week.” Carmilla blushed a bit as she smiled.

“So, how did the scouting go?” Scott asked.

“Well, good news,” Kitty replied with a smile. “We found a place in Westchester County. It’s the Ravencroft Institute. It’s creepy as hell, but in the main building, there’s only one way to the Headmaster’s Office. The office is pretty big, too, so we can fortify it. Other than that, there are other buildings on site we can worth with.

“Good, good.” Scott nodded. “We can go over there tomorrow. We can go at night and – ”

“Can we do the morning or at least early afternoon?” Craig cut in. “Because, seriously, the place is creepy enough as is. I don’t want to go there at night.”

“AAAAAW, is my All-American scared?” Carmilla mocked, teasingly poking her finger into Craig’s cheek.

Craig turned his head towards her and gave her a solemn look. “Yes, actually! That whole place was on some Silent Hill type stuff. There was even a cell full of creepy mannequins!”

“It was pretty creepy,” I said in agreement. “The whole place just gave me a bad vibe.”

“It would be a bit safer to go during the daytime,” Scott mused. After some moments, he nodded. “Okay, we’ll go in the afternoon. We’ll stop at the bunker and gather any supplies we need.”

“Do I still have weapons there?” Carmilla asked.

Scott nodded. “You do.” He then looked at me. “I’ll also contact Pepper to see if there’s any way we can borrow a fabricator for us to use.” I nodded. After that, he addressed all of us. “We’re going to be working hard tomorrow. So, I suggest you take the morning to relax and eat up. I’ll make sure we have food with us while we work. We’ll do everything we can to be prepared for Sunday so we can take down Scorpion and whoever else Hammer is throwing at us.”

“We’ll send them packing, Scott,” Kitty assured. “And then after that, we can spend time worrying about more mundane stuff, like the Valentine’s Day dance… and college.”

I looked at her. “You’re thinking about going?”

“We all do, Peter. Craig, Carmilla, and I talked about it for a while.”

“I even got my GED and everything,” Carmilla added. “…I don’t really care about getting a degree in and of itself. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m going to college, I’m going it to graduate. But… I just want to have some semblance of normalcy.” She then smiled. “Also, I have a thing for theatre.”

“The only thing is… I’m not sure I want to leave New York,” Craig spoke up. “And at the same time… I’ve grown attached to everyone as well.”

“MJ did say that it’s a conversation that all of us American Idiots should have,” I stated. “We’ll talk about it afterwards.”

I spent an hour or so more at the X-Men’s apartment before I made my way home. Once I got home, I took a quick shower before I went to bed. I was about to close my eyes before an idea hit me. I pulled out my phone and called up MJ. I waited patiently before she picked up.

“Hello, Loser,” she greeted.

“Hey Em,” I greeted back. “Um… are you doing anything tomorrow morning?”

“Unfortunately, I am.” I could hear the exasperation in her voice. “I’m picking up a morning shift at Peter Pan. So I have to be there around nine in the morning.”

“I see.” I sighed. “I was… I was just going to ask if you’re up for going out for breakfast. I… I wanted to spend some more time with you before I head out to Westchester in the afternoon.”

There was a pause on MJ’s end. She then spoke up. “…We don’t have to eat out,” she said slowly.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We can eat at your place. I’ll come by super early and we can cook and eat together.”

I smiled widely. I thought it was a great idea. But of course I did. Spending time with MJ would always be a great idea to me, no matter what we spend that time doing. “I would love that. Just… do me a favor. Would you kindly bring some rooibos tea?”

She chuckled, and that brought a warm feeling in my chest. “Of course. I’ll see you in the morning. I love you, Tiger.”

“I love you, too, Em.”

“Bye.”

I hung up the phone. I then hooked it up to the charger before I lay down and went to sleep.

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