Dynamic Duo
1.4
"And then Jessica was all in my face, telling me how I shouldn't be talking to her man."
I heard the words, but they were far away. I was in the cafeteria, other students spread into their cliques and talking. I had bugs on each of them, tracking and paying the minimum amount of attention to make sure I wouldn't be surprised by sudden movements. School had been horrible at Winslow, and here it was bearable only because I'd chosen to put myself through this.
Dad had been disappointed in me for not finishing school; Mom would have been too if she'd lived long enough; and now, Aunt May would be equally disappointed if I stopped, even if I could easily make it if I went through the GED path. Boring or not, even if I couldn't hold back my contempt of being in this place again, I wasn't about to stop.
"It's like…why would I even do that?" Su was saying, her voice filled with so much passion. "Diego and I are friends. Have been friends since forever, and she thinks she can pop up out of nowhere and tell me to stay away from my friend?"
Su took a long breath, taking a few bites out of her food. I focused on the school and how students moved; on the surrounding blocks and got a feel of how people were moving; and the cluster of spiders already working on Peter and my costume. Even with whatever the Faerie Queen had done to me, to my power, it still retained most of the things it had learnt from me. When I'd been Weaver, I'd spent a lot of time making standard issue costumes while being locked up; here that meant my power had a basic framework to work off of, and I just had to make minor alterations here and there.
"I'm getting worked up," said Su. She stopped, taking a few breaths. "And I shouldn't. Diego will sort this out."
I shrugged. "Boys can be stupid."
"You say that about everyone," she returned. "If you didn't think you can be stupid too, I'd be worried."
I couldn't help snorting. Most of our interactions were her speaking and me focusing on my bugs. I'd say a few words here and there, but for the most part, there was nothing. Su seemed to like it though and I didn't mind entirely, even if the conversations weren't interesting.
"Dashawn is throwing a party at his place this weekend," she said. "Thinking about going and it'd be awesome if I had my friend with me."
"Parties aren't my scene," I said, most of my attention still on the costumes. I'd hidden them in a little space between the lockers and a wall, with other bugs in the area keeping vigil to make sure no one dug around. It was improbable they would be found, but it helped to be suspicious.
Su hummed. "Nothing seems to be, not even movies," she said and shrugged. "Didn't expect you to, though, just wanted you to know it was a thing. Onto something to make you pay attention to me instead of spacing off. Frank Castle, the murderous vigilante in Hell's Kitchen. He escaped."
"That's…the guy who started shooting up a hospital, right?" I said.
"It's surprising you have trouble remembering him," she said. "He made headlines for like a week."
"Right. I remember, the Punisher. That name was more resonant that Frank Castle, to be honest."
He'd caused a lot of media coverage of vigilantism and whether it should be accepted or not. This world was just starting to face problems Earth Bet had started addressing through legislation, setting aside laws to deal with people like the Devil of Hell's Kitchen or the Punisher, as he'd been given the moniker.
The Devil of Hell's Kitchen had been the real starting point on a human scale. He'd beaten down guys, culling a Russian operation from Hell's Kitchen and then finally broke through the large corruption which had been facilitated by Wilson Fisk. Through him, there'd been a sort of acceptance for the growing trend of the local superhero, those who were more involved than the Avengers—as I saw it, their role was showing up, sorting things out and then disappearing.
But the Punisher had dashed the Devil's work, instead showing how violent things could be when a deranged individual took justice in their own hands.
At first, I'd wanted to sort myself out, stay away from being a superhero until I came to terms with everything after Scion. I'd thought it would be six months, getting accustomed to this world, to this life and having a new body, a new family. But six months had turned into a year, and then a year and a half because connecting with them had seemed more important. I'd seen things happen, felt the call to go out in costume again, but the mistrust had been stronger then, the memories of losing myself as I was subsumed by my passenger closer to the surface.
My bugs had helped and hindered, but more than anything the implanted memories by the Faerie Queen had helped the most. Letting myself live vicariously through the memories and then reinforcing them by interacting with Peter and Aunt May. The quasi-therapy had helped some, but it didn't compare to Dr Yamada, an unhealthy comparison when I thought about it.
Even so, I hadn't been ready to be a hero, to go out again, even if it would have served a greater good. But Peter getting his powers, being thrust into an environment post-Punisher, there was no choice but. Or maybe, it had eased my resistance towards being a hero, something I'd wanted to do since falling into this world.
"You know," said Su. "If you hadn't head-butted Christian, I'm sure people would be picking on you for being the creepy girl."
"Would they?" I said.
"Yep. Even when we talk you're always staring blankly off into space," she told me. "It bad at the best of times, but very bad when you're in class. It's why Ms Castillo doesn't like you. You just exude boredom."
"I don't drool or anything, right?" Su shook her head. I shrugged. "As long as I look good, I'm fine."
"Ehh. Wouldn't say good. I wouldn't say creepy if you looked good."
I smiled, taking a bite out of my sandwich and feeling the movement through my bugs. There'd been nothing strange in my range, but I noticed one cluster of bugs had been in one position for the last hour, only moving slightly before returning.
I got more bugs on their person, moving the fleas on standby as food for my spiders. They were the most discrete bugs in my arsenal. In a few seconds I got a good image of the person, they were carrying a knife and a gun was strapped to their leg. More than anything though, were the small bags they had.
A cluster of fleas moved to a bag and started to open it. One flea went in and summarily died. Good enough indication these were hard drugs. I started moving fleas into all the bags, not enough to be noticed, but enough for the quality to be in question. Long run move to destabilise whatever organisation he was part of, if there was one. But right now, I had someone to follow in the efforts to track a greater organisation.
"I'm skipping," I told Su.
"People will notice."
I shrugged "Something I've got to do," I said.
Su shrugged. I got my bag and started moving, still tracking the person as they sold their wares. I went to recover the costume I was working on, dodging security as they moved through the school. I wasn't liked by some teachers, which meant the same feeling extended to the security officers who wanted an in with the teachers. If they saw me and noticed lunch would be over soon, they might stop me and make a show of sending me to class.
I might still be able to work, but I might be in a bad mood and no one wanted that.
I left the school building and started a leisurely walk, studiously ignoring the people who were giving me odd looks. Being fourteen sucked because if I wasn't at school, it looked odd just walking around. But I didn't care, it was unlikely anyone would say anything and if they tried to stop me, I'd just scream and run in the ensuing chaos.
My target started to move and I followed. He was half a block away, and I wasn't getting any closer, but I moved so if he suddenly got in a car, I could move so he always stayed in my range.
I pulled out my phone out:
Me: Skipping school. Following a lead. Maybe we might have something.
Petey: Need my help? I could skip too.
Me: Nah. Got this handled.
Petey: K. Stay safe.
I started searching for news on the Punisher and the situation in Hell's Kitchen. He was a large reason why I was focusing so much on PR with Peter. The shift in sentiment the Punisher had caused could, if it wasn't changed back, mean police were more likely to just shoot when they caught a cape, comparing them to Punisher's ilk rather than looking at them from an individual level. The Devil wasn't helping the case too, because though he was doing good work, he was a PR nightmare.
I groaned, earning a few glances, an image of Imp and Regent shone through my mind. They'd be so disappointed in me for saying anything but praises of the Devil's work, citing me in my tenure as Skitter.
A breath, long and deep, spent focusing on the emotions. The impulse was just to push them back, but I had to deal with it. Regent was dead, sacrificed himself for…love? Friendship? A statement that even the most screwed up could do something good. Imp was probably with Grue and the rest of the Undersiders, hopefully putting the worlds back together again.
I missed them, missed the others but not enough to deal with everything that would follow me controlling everyone.
My guy stopped at a diner, taking a table and ordering, eating. I felt a pang, reached for my wallet and checked my stash. The good thing about having ranged powers was being able to cover a lot of space, and with the individual control over my bugs crossed with multitasking, it meant I could scour my range for lost money.
It wasn't enough to be our main revenue, but it helped when I needed spare cash.
I stopped, got some tea and doughnuts while I walked. There was a dog-walker who was trying to wrestle four dogs. He wasn't having much luck and there was a general sense of disapproval for the people around him. I wondered what Bitch would say, most likely point out everything the man was doing wrong while looming over him.
A man sat in front of my guy. My guy looked up.
"I'm eating," my guy said, "so piss off."
The man tutted. "Bad thing to say to your new boss," said the man. "Well…not your boss, but I represent him." I moved bugs through the diner, discrete because I didn't want the place to close down. There weren't too many patrons and those present were starting to leave save a few.
All those who remained had guns.
My guy noticed. "This you trying to intimidate me?" he said and snorted. "Because I work for scary people."
"People connected to Hell's Kitchen," said the man. "We know. We also know people in Hell's Kitchen are losing their power since Fisk went to the slammer. His reach is fading."
I found a corner, gathered bugs and the image was clearer. My guy was thin, well dressed for his trade, looking distinctly average. The other guy was slightly bigger, long hair tied a ponytail, and clothes which looked out of date, but with a modern feel.
"I mean, the guy's trying I'll give him that. But between the Devil, the Punisher and who knows however many of these super people are showing up, he's outmatched," the man continued.
"And let me guess, you're trying to fill in the vacuum?" my guy said. The man shrugged. My guy snorted. "Fisk is nothing compared to what I've seen. So is the Devil. This isn't a fight you want to pick."
"Either way, we will," said the man and he gestured. The people keeping guard started moving, fists primed. My guy shifted, moving to come to a stand, grabbing his more easily accessible knife and starting to pull it out only to fail.
It was surrounded in silk. I must have done it, even without consciously realising it. The small opening, the small confusion, was enough for the first of the other gang to punch. My guy couldn't dodge and the punch landed, he stumbled back, hitting his table with a grunt.
Another punch from another man and my guy ducked under it, delivering a quick punch to the side; he turned, hitting the guy who'd punched him hard enough the man stumbled back, faltering and hitting the ground. The man who'd been hit at the side punched but my guy batted it aside, spun and delivered a kick which sent the man stumbling back.
Others were getting closer, with pony tail coming to a stand. He reached into a pocket, pulling out a piece of metal and putting it on, closing a fist: A knuckleduster.
"Stay back," said Pony Tail.
"We're doing this?" said my guy.
Pony Tail shrugged, holding up his fists in a boxer's stance. While they played, it would be time for me to work. I paid attention to spiders and saw a large amount of them had already been moving towards the fight. My passenger already knowing my intentions?
I stopped, not with my power but my body. I took a breath, focusing on me and on my body, moving my fingers and stretching, feeling the nipping wind as it hit me in place. I moved my face through a variety of expressions.
"She sells sea shells as the seashore," I said, earning me looks, not that I cared. I pictured Dad's face, then Mom's, Peter, Rachel, Lisa, Aunt May, Brian, Aisha, Dragon and Dr Yamada. I immersed myself in their memories, immersed myself in being able to remember them.
Through my bugs, I listened to conversations, being able to understand them anchoring me.
"Miss," I heard, not from my bugs but from my ears. It was a couple, the woman leading. "I think you're having a panic attack." She had water and a pill. "It's okay, just breathe, calm down. It's over, they're not here anymore."
My mind moved on automatic, piecing together context. An invasion had happened here so long ago, an Endbringer level event. These people were still reeling, not having gotten accustomed to it as Earth Bet had become.
"I'm in control," I muttered, taking deep breaths, keeping myself calm even if I wasn't panicking. "I'm in control."
I'm in control.
I took control of the spiders because they were mine. My passenger gave me the power, but I was the one who wielded it. Spiders spread out across the five men, binding weapons the ticks had identified across all of them. I started setting up lines, connecting them so a trap could close if they moved to suddenly. Bugs started filling in the walls, waiting for my order.
I didn't have them attack.
My guy was stumbling back, holding one side. Pony Tail had landed a punch and my guy was reeling. He got up and moved forward, striking. Pony Tail stepped back, dodging the punch and striking. My guy ducked low, leg extending and sweeping. Pony Tail jumped and my guy contorted, rising, his legs flailing and striking.
Pony Tail landed, rolled and came to his feet.
"Gao," said Pony Tail. "Aren't you a little too black for her?"
My guy shrugged. "Goa knows making money isn't about colour."
"Smart," said Pony Tail. "Is it true she's into some freaky shit, too? Heard she's Enhanced or Inhuman or whatever."
"More," said my guy.
"Well, then this needs to be done. Ox."
The largest of the men moved, he grabbed a counter and pulled, wrenching it out of its fixture. I felt as my guy's heart picked up.
"Don't kill him," said Pony Tail.
Ox cocked back to throw but he didn't get that far, bugs descending. I felt as my power moved to bite, to go for the eyes, but I held it back. I couldn't be Skitter, couldn't be Weaver. I had to be better. But how when my power was used to being them? When I'd imparted more of them than myself into my passenger?
Ox swung, but he didn't throw, instead trying to bat the bugs back. People reached for guns and found they couldn't pull them out, others tried to run, because being swarmed by bugs, even if they weren't fighting, was supposedly horrifying. They tried and failed, the silk lines going taut and causing most to trip and fall.
My guy started running towards the door, but bugs fell over him, going into his ears. He batted them back, but this was futile. There were too many bugs and it was hard to crush them all, even the brute was having trouble.
But this wouldn't help me in containing them.
I was sitting and the couple were still over me, giving me worried looks. I'd been too focused on the fight, on controlling the bugs and not giving any leeway to my passenger and my body had been on autopilot. I tracked back memory of what had happened: Nothing much, save me looking off into space and the couple trying and failing to talk to me.
I pulled out my phone, Peter answered.
"Taylor I'm in class," he said. "And my phone's about to get taken away."
"It's an emergency," I said. "Can you give the phone to whoever?"
"Sure," he said.
"You're aware that Mr Parker—"
"This is Taylor. I need my brother. I'm having a panic attack."
"Oh," the man said. "A moment."
"Yeah?"
"I'll send you the location. I need you," I said. I looked at the couple. "Thank you, but I'm fine now. My brother should be here soon."
"Are you sure?" said the woman. "We can wait."
"Honey," said the man. He got close, whispering. "It might be counterintuitive, but…this'll help. Her mantra."
The woman didn't like it, but she nodded. "Okay. Okay," she muttered. They started walking away.
The brute was causing more damage than I would have like. He'd learnt trying to leave forced bugs into his mouth and instead he was just recklessly moving around, bumping and breaking things as he went.
Bugs congealed into a mass.
"Oh God," one said. "Oh God, please, no. I promise. I promise I'll stop."
"Then stop," I said. "Don't move."
He and some others stopped, but the brute still tried to move. More bugs fell on him, his nose and ears, not stopping him from breathing but causing him to choke. I started spooling out silk, having it gather and trying to weigh him down. There weren't enough bugs for the process to be swift.
My phone rang and I picked up.
"What's going on?" said Peter, wind rushing past him.
"I've got some people," I said. "Low key turf war that was starting to break out. I stopped it and I have them in place but capturing is hard. I need you to do that."
"So you're not in danger?"
"I'm blocks away," I said. "But you'll need to be careful. There's a brute there."
"I still don't know what that is," he said. He took a breath and then there was more whooshing.
"Power classifications," I said. "For you to get a sense of the powers you'll be up against. Brute is…a tank. Someone who can take hits or hit back hard."
"Sort of like me?" said Peter.
"Sort of like you, yes. But we don't know the limits of their strengths so that means…"
"Is this a test?"
"You can consider it one."
"Okay," said Peter. "I don't know their strength, which means there's a chance they might be stronger. So…I shouldn't make this about strength."
"Good," I said. "I've effectively won and I didn't make it about strength."
"Right. Bugs in eyes and ears, Capsaicin, destabilise."
"But since my methods won't work for you?"
"Change it up, make it about footing and keeping him off balance. Hopefully his strength doesn't have some strange physics bullshit which means he'll have to leverage it," he said. "I just have to stop him from doing that. I'm here, hanging up."
He'd been moving so fast he'd slipped every bug in my range. He arrived with a swing, landed and then pushed the door open. Good thing he hadn't caused property damage, better that it be pinned on the villains.
"Hello, guys," said Peter. "I'll be apprehending you today. Hey, partner," he said to the bug clone.
"Hello," I returned through my bugs. "I've done most of the work, you just have to bag 'em up."
Peter pointed. "What about that guy?" he said, pointing at the brute who was still struggling. All the bugs fell away from the brute, the man shuddered, letting out a relieved breath.
"Training day," I said. "No one else gets involved." Ox was coughing as he came to a stand. "Ox, beat Spider-Man and you earn your freedom."
"What?" it was Peter who spoke. He gave my bug clone a look.
"I didn't stutter."
I couldn't see Peter frown, but I was sure he was. He was quiet, still looking at me when Ox moved. He grabbed a table and threw. Peter, even still looking in my direction, dodged and stuck to the ceiling. He pointed and shot, catching Ox by the arm. Peter leapt past Ox, pulling the arm and sending the man spinning.
He quickly sent out a salvo of webs, all of them hitting Ox before he could get up, sticking him to the floor. Ox grunted, trying to get up and finding he couldn't. Pony Tail used the opportunity to get up and run, moving towards the kitchen. Peter moved to chase.
"No," I said. "Let him run. It'll send a message."
Peter looked at me again and I could see by his body language he was frowning.
"Police," I told him. He nodded and called.
I tracked as the man moved, getting up and starting to move. I got a cab and told the driver to wonder. He shrugged but asked me for money upfront. More cash I was spending when I didn't have money.
"Pulling away," I said through my bugs. "Play nice with the police."
Peter nodded. I pulled back the bugs as I followed Pony Tail.
"You can stop now," I said, as the car Pony Tail was in stopped in an apartment building, rushing up the stairs. Most likely he was going to his boss, and through his boss I would get more of a picture of their operation. Peter and I would get our money soon.
But I couldn't help but be disappointed in myself, because I knew Peter would be too and I wasn't sure if my explanation would do any good.
Dynamic Duo
1.5
"You weren't followed?" I heard. I'd paid for and left the cab, found a cafe and was pretending to be going over my phone. Pony Tail had entered an apartment building, going up to one of a few empty apartments on the third floor.
"No," said Pony Tail. "Even switched cars while in traffic. I doubt the Spider could've tracked me, but…you never know with these Inhumans. I'm not sure if there was another one or if it was part of the Spider's powers, but…there were bugs, they were smart and they could talk."
"More of these people popping up," the man I assumed was the boss said. I heard a sigh. "Ox?"
"Caught. The…Swarm, it told Spider Man to take down Ox. It was a training day thing." Pony Tail took a breath, opening his mouth then closing it.
"What?" said the Boss. Pony Tail said nothing. "Speak. It is might be useful."
I'd gathered enough bugs to see them. The Boss was shorter than Pony Tail, thinner and wearing clothes reminiscent of the Number Man, more accountant than crime lord. Even so, he stood with confidence that said he wasn't new to power. I didn't think I knew of any criminal empire in Queens, not that I'd been paying much attention, but he was worth paying attention to.
"It's…it might be nothing," said Pony Tail. "But there've been rumours on-line. About bugs taking down muggers. It's been on and off, but it's something that's been there for a while."
I hadn't been a hero in this life, most of it had been spent with my new family, trying to get to grips with everything. But there had been those moments when things had just happened, when I'd wanted to do something that came naturally or a crime had been happening in my range.
The Boss sighed. "Stuff like this is supposed to only happen in Hell's Kitchen," he muttered. "But it's spreading, festering. Luke Cage in Harlem, the Drunkard in Hell's Kitchen, now Spider Man and this Swarm here."
"We had Ox, but…" Pony Tail shrugged.
"There's still his twin brother," said the Boss. "Do we know how Ox got his powers?"
"He was taking his supplements and then…rock and then strength," said Pony Tail.
"Then send someone to get all his things," the Boss said. "We'll have his brother take the supplements. If that doesn't take, he'll eat everything Ox ate, spray every deodorant he did and even use the same shower if it's something in the water. I'll be working on Ox, seeing if there isn't anyone who can help matters along."
"There's someone else who could help us," said Pony Tail. "Outfit us."
The Boss shook his head. "We don't have the capital yet. Not to outfit everyone in our crew, but maybe something for you and Fancy Dan. Talk to him, buy something that might help us with the Swarm and Spider Man both."
Pony Tail nodded. He left while the Boss stayed behind. I thought about which to follow, him or Pony Tail. Who would lead me to the weapons dealer? Maybe call the police on the weapons dealer, get our capital. I put down my phone and glanced at my wallet, four dollars and I didn't know the destination, didn't know if Pony Tail was so paranoid that he'd sap my money like he'd done with the cab ride.
I stayed with the Boss. He went to a sofa, taking a bag and pulling out a laptop. He started typing, working. I wanted to amass bugs behind him, see the work he was doing, but bug senses didn't translate directly to human senses. Lights on monitors were worse, my bugs just seeing bright lights with a strong instinct to move towards them.
My phone buzzed, a picture of Peter appearing.
"Yeah?"
"Finished talking to the police," he said. "Where are you now?"
"In a cafe, sitting, watching the scenery. How did things go on your end?"
"It's…I don't know. The woman I was talking to told me this wasn't likely to stick," he said. "All of them have guns that look stolen, and one guy had drugs—he's definitely going to jail—but the others might make bail. The brute included."
"Sucks."
Peter sighed. "Tell me about it," he said.
We both went quiet, different parts of the city reverberating. I turned my attention back to the Boss, he'd taken out his phone and was quickly moving through it. He went back to his computer.
"You're not going back to school?" I said.
"Nah. Maybe this is a good time to patrol? Get working on having a buffer for my identity?"
"Or you could come pick me up? This guy moves and I won't be able to follow him," I said. "I'm out of cab fare."
"That's cool too."
"Okay." I dropped the line, focusing on the Boss while sending the text with my location. I found an alley, tracked the people who were moving around, making sure none of them were close when Peter finally arrived.
He didn't take too long, swooping down, landing. We carried me up the side of the wall and until we got to the roof. We found a sit, legs dangling as we watched cars below.
"Thanks for the mask," I said. It was a hard-plastic thing, green and with a snarl. The Hulk.
"The guy in charge gave it to me for free," said Peter. "They're not selling as much since Hulk attacked Africa."
"He attacked the whole continent?" I said, giving Peter a look.
"No…" He sighed. "Are you going to be all over me like you are when you're in a bad mood and you're a Grammar Hydra?"
I shrugged. "I can let it go. Just…don't forget that Africa is a continent. I'd be embarrassed if you spent all your time thinking it was a country."
"Okay," he said.
We were silent again and I didn't like it. It made me fill in the blanks, especially since I couldn't see his face, couldn't guess what he was thinking.
"You're upset," I said, breaking the silence. Peter turned to me. "You're upset I let the guy go? You're upset how I dealt with things at the diner?"
Peter sighed. "It's complicated," he said and he sighed. Which just made things worse, again it made me rely a lot on my imagination; trying to figure who Peter was as a person, how he acted and his moral core, and then put it all together into figuring him out. Given enough time, given a lot more distance to what I was feeling and maybe I could do it.
But right now…it was all just muddled, coming together in a feeling like I'd taken a step back.
"Communication," I said. "It's a good thing. If we let things fester, then…we might end up not liking each other because of this."
"Is that what you think? That I'm mad at you or something?"
"Yes?" I said, and I couldn't hold back emotion from bleeding into my voice. "Aren't you?" I took a breath. "I…I don't know. I—"
I stumbled, unable to move forward. I tried to put a finger on why I thought Peter would be mad, but devoid from personal stuff, things only I knew and…it was hard. I was too biased. The closest thing that came to mind, though, was Grace, pushing too hard and finding that there was resentment. She hadn't out-right hated me, but we hadn't been friends in the end and I think it all stemmed from that. I didn't want the same thing happening with Peter.
"I'm not mad," said Peter. "I'm just…worried?" He sighed. "This is complicated because…I might say the wrong thing and you might be mad at me."
I shook my head. "I'm unlikely to get mad," I said. "If you have to say something, say it. If you have worries then I need to know about them, to deal or keep an eye on it."
Peter hesitated. "It has to do with your therapy," he said. He turned my way, searching to see if I was shrugging it away. "You've been better, not going to it as much as you were at first. You're…I don't know. Even at first, I didn't think you had anger issues, but, like…you've been more together."
"You think I'm going to lose it again?" I said. "Do what I did with Flash?"
"Or the people from your school, Christian, Marco, Angelo, Hakeem, Debra, Agatha," he said and that wasn't even the full list. I'd still been getting used to this world, with a lot of emotion at the surface. Everything I'd done, though, had been a conscious choice.
"I'm not going to lose it," I said. "I never lost it in the first place."
"Which is why I say I never got the angry vibe from you," he said. "You knew what you were doing, especially with the aftermath. You knew the system, you knew that nothing would happen to you because you'd already figured out how to flip it, make any Judge who gave you a Scared Straight type deal look horrible."
I'd beat up a lot of people, gone on an impassioned speech that convinced others that now was time for a stand. I'd gone in front of a Judge because one of the kid's parents had charged me with assault, and I'd managed to get everyone the boy had bullied to stand with me, even going so far to have journalists in the room so that they could see how justice leaned.
The Judge had said I had anger issues and I'd told him that if I was angry, it was for the system as it stood. He'd given me mandatory therapy time and I was thankful that I didn't have to speak to a real therapist, though Mr Drumm had insisted I at least talk to him.
"You had this sense that you had to fix the world's problems and you did it with violence," he continued. "When you had me fight that guy, even if I knew it was getting me to where I'd be able to handle myself, protect myself if you aren't there, it still reminded me of back then. Using a lot of violence instead of finding another way. It…" he swallowed. "Looking at you, looking at the Swarm, I couldn't help but imagine my sister as the next Frank Castle. I don't want that for you."
"I don't want that too," I said. I didn't want to be like that again. It was too close to what I'd been.
"I…This is selfish, but, I especially don't want it because it would be my fault. You're doing this for me, going out, being in costume and—"
"This isn't on you," I said quickly. "This is me. I have…issues that I'm trying to deal with."
"Issues you were done dealing with," he said. "I've been doing some reading on you, the crimes you've stopped, and it tracks back at least a year. You've had your powers that long and you haven't gone out. Then I get powers and…this."
"It's not your fault. It could never be. This is all me," I said. "I want to do this. I want to be a hero and…you're partially an excuse. I couldn't before because I told myself it might be too dangerous, especially with my issues, but when you came around, you were a convenient excuse to get me to this point. Where I'm using my powers and tracking criminals, where I can take down bad guys and feel like I'm doing something more."
"Even if it's bad for you? Emotionally?"
I shrugged.
"Maybe we should stop all of this while the going's still good."
"Would you be able to live with yourself if you did?" I asked. Peter shook his head. "We're doing this. But…I'll have to start going to Dr Drumm more often. Speak things through."
"How are you going to explain the whole powers thing?"
"He knows," I said. I turned, looking in the vague direction of the Boss. "Our target's moving."
I could tell Peter had a lot of questions, but he couldn't ask as we trailed our target. We moved slow, hopping between building and taking semi-leisurely walks. When the Boss got into a cab we followed much faster, Peter running and leaping across buildings. We moved for thirty minutes before going to a residence.
"Fred is that you?" said a woman's voice.
"Yeah, it's me," Fred said. "Managed to get home early. Is Robbie back yet?"
"Sports," said the woman. "Then going out with friends. He'll be back home late."
"Which means we have some time to ourselves," he said, an edge to his voice. The woman chuckled.
"We can leave," I said, pulling my bugs back. "He's with his family. I feel like I'm intruding."
"Yeah."
***
"May's home," I said.
"Early," said Peter. He took a breath and then kept it in. "She knows something is wrong."
"She's pacing, so yeah," I said with a shrug.
He looked at me. "Why aren't you freaking out," he said. "She's gonna freak out and…I don't even know what she's going to do. I've never been in trouble before. This is—this is—"
"Not worth worrying about," I said. "Just show her your baby blues and she'll melt."
"We have brown eyes."
I waved it off. "Sentiment's still the same."
"You're too calm," he said.
"Let's go," I said, pulling him along. "Sooner we get it over with…"
"Yeah. Yeah."
We went, using the roof access to get in. It didn't take us too long to reach our floor, though it took Peter longer than was necessary to open the door.
"May," said Peter, his voice breaking a little. "You're already home." He gave her a shaky smile.
"Yes," she said, not smiling. I could hear as Peter swallowed. Aunt May gave him a long look, before her eyes flickered towards me. I caught the micro-expressions and in my mind's eye I saw a similar expression to Dad's.
"I pulled Peter out of school," I said.
Aunt May swallowed, frowned and she seemed stuck. "Tell me it's not drugs," she said.
"It's not drugs," I said. "It won't ever be drugs."
She let out a relieved breath. She sighed. "I don't want to punish you guys," she said. "Because it either won't have an effect," she looked at me, "or it'll be too harsh. But what I do need, is the truth and explanation. Why?"
"I was bored," I lied.
"And you?"
Peter said nothing, only looking at Aunt May without blinking.
"I can't help but feel you're thinking up a lie."
"I…honestly don't know what to say," he said. "I didn't feel like going to school. Taylor offered. I wanted to. I skipped."
Aunt May took a breath. "I'm really disappointed," she said. "In both of you." Not punishment, but the words were a punch to the gut. "I thought you were smarter than this, but…" She sighed, shaking her head. "I have to get started on dinner."
She moved on over to the kitchen, quiet as she started cooking. Peter and I shared a look before we went to his room.
"That was horrible," he said.
"Yeah."
He sighed. "I don't like this feeling. Disappointing her."
"Yeah."
"My first arrest, even if it might not stick and…it doesn't feel good."
"Yeah."
"This is affecting you more than I thought it would."
"This is the first time she's been disappointed," I said. "It rubs me the wrong way." I sighed. "I was planning for us to do an after-action report, see what we could do better and how we'll move forward, but…I feel like going to my room and watching the ceiling, questioning my decisions."
"Me too if I'm being honest," he said. "My mind's not in it."
"Yeah."
Dynamic Duo
1.6
"They're free," I said. Aunt May's disappointment lingered and for a few days both of us weren't in the right head space to deal with our greater agenda. Peter had gone on patrol and we'd started our training, sparring sessions for the body and teaching him some of the stuff I'd learnt while being a Ward for the mind.
We still wanted capital, but we'd put it off. I had spiders and they were building our substandard costumes which wouldn't have padding or the fineries that made them really costumes. But both of us hadn't felt up to it, feeling as though it would be a disservice to just sneak out.
Even now, we were only slowly getting back into the swing of things.
Peter sighed. We weren't costumed, instead walking down the street a few blocks away from the police station, my bugs having scoured the place for sign of Ox and his compatriots, paying attention to the brute.
"I knew this would happen, but…" He sighed again.
"We don't really have the authority to arrest anyone," I said. "We don't know the laws, the protocol, how to gather evidence which can be used in court and if it comes to witness statements then we're no good because they required Iron Man to disarm when they were discussing things around him and Iron Monger. The same will be true for us."
"You make it sound hopeless," he said, frowning.
"We need the laws to change, but they won't change until there's reason to," I said. "Which is why we do this. It'll be slow, but they'll catch up eventually." I sighed. "As it stands, we'll have to learn how to work with the system as it stands."
"Please don't tell me it's studying," said Peter said. He stopped and looked at me. "I'll do it, but…"
"We could," I said with a shrug. "It might actually be better, but I really don't want to. So we ask someone with more experience, who's successfully arrested someone or lead to their arrest. We're going to have to go find the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."
Peter started walking, hands in his pockets. I followed, both of us headed towards the subway.
"Are you ever going to tell me why your therapist knows about you?" he said. There were people around, but they weren't focusing on us. "Do you trust that he's not gonna tell anyone?"
"Maybe we should go up? Talk and walk?"
Peter nodded and we turned into an alley, I kept track of people and when the number of people thinned, we climbed up. Peter pulled out his mask and I pulled out a green balaclava and green hoodie from my backpack. It was inevitable with these things that the Swarm identity would stick. I'd already made appearances as a swarm of bugs and no doubt the information was already being sold to others. But the identity wasn't about to be me. I wasn't going to be connected to bugs so closely again that they'd define me.
So a green costume that would lend itself to the identity I would pick for my new hero career.
"When I was dealing with the whole mandatory anger therapy thing, he contacted me," I lied. "He knew about my powers and he thought they were magic, but they weren't. My powers are something else."
"Not Inhuman?" Peter said, glancing in my direction.
"Not Inhuman," I said and shrugged. "It's…I just got my powers. I wasn't bitten by a spider, I didn't take supplements or whatever is making Inhumans and I don't have some Super Soldier Serum like Captain America. I just have powers."
"Stranger things are happening, I guess," he said. "Like magic suddenly being a thing. Is it really magic? Or is it, and I quote 'power fuckery' at work like the whole breaker category of your thing."
"Can't tell the difference honestly," I said. "My motto is, if someone calls what they're doing magic, then it makes to no difference to me. If they're an ally, then I have to figure out how it works, what they can do so I can know how to figure out how to play with it. If they're an enemy then I need to know how it works, what they can do so I can counter it."
Peter snorted. "You have something of a one-track mind."
I smacked his arm. "It's more polite to say goal orientated."
"What can magic do?" he asked after we'd scaled a few blocks, using his superior mobility to quickly get it done. We were almost at the East River, with only a few blocks before we reached the Queensboro Bridge.
"Not really sure, it's not like I've had time to quiz him," I said. "Nor have I seen what he gets up to. But he does some dimension work, the inside of his place is much larger than it should be. He also showed me these doors which are portals to other parts of the world. There also other things which might be magic, but he just keeps those behind glass cases."
"I'm surprised you haven't talked him to death trying to find out."
"I don't talk anyone to death," I said. "I'm affronted you'd even say that."
"Well, I will," he said. "You don't just hear about magic existing and then stay wilfully ignorant."
"Fair warning, he calls magic, the 'Mystic Arts.' Capitals and everything," I said. "So be prepared for him to talk circles around you, asking you to figure things out instead of telling you the answer. He can be rather frustrating at the best of times."
"This is magic," said Peter. "I'll put up with it if it means knowing everything I can."
"Sure," I said. We swung into the city, Peter keeping most of a straight line and warning me before we had to turn, slowing down and making the curves gentle. It was getting better, but I still wasn't sure I would get used to the whole swinging thing any soon. It was annoying because it would make mobility even easier, decrease the amount of money spent taking cabs.
"Let's walk the rest of the way," I said. "I need to get us some money."
Peter nodded, both of us chatting while I worked, collecting bugs and having them scour the ground and corners, reaching into the drier parts of the sewers so I could find any money which had been dropped and never been picked up.
"Three hundred," I said after counting the bills. There were still bugs searching, still others which were making their way towards us with a few bills, but that was my count as we neared Drumm's house.
"Why don't we just do this all the time?" said Peter. "It would save us some of the grief of trying to find an operation to report."
"Higher reward in reporting," I said with a shrug. "We're here."
"Huh," said Peter. "It's less magical than I expected it to be."
"What did you expect, a castle?"
He shrugged, blushing. "Yeah. Hidden by magic," he said. "If you have it…use it, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." I stepped forward, knocking thrice and the door opened as soon as I let go of the knocker. Peter and I stepped in, the door closing behind us. I looked at Peter, trying to gauge his excitement level and he didn't look impressed.
"We have automated doors at malls," he said. "Where is this guy, anyway?"
"He's usually here," I said, looking around and walking further into the foyer. A light flared on the ground, orange and forming a circle with squares and triangles within. It started sizzling, the lines pushing into the air and then breaking apart into particles of light which started to form an image.
"Okay," said Peter. "That was pretty cool. But I've heard Tony Stark already has holographic tech, so…" He shrugged.
"Taylor," said the image of Daniel Drumm. He was a tall man, dark skinned and with no hair. He wore clothes with an Asian aesthetic, most likely Chinese but I could be wrong. "And you have a guest."
"My brother, Peter," I said. "Is this really you?"
"No," said the image. "This could be termed as a recording. Altering light to form an image, imparting a set of responses in the abstract. However, it is limited. The only answers I have are those I've been given."
"So you factored in Taylor asking that question?" Peter asked.
"Factored in questions being asked, yes," said the image. "I'm currently indisposed. It shouldn't take longer than two hours. Until I return, you have full use of the house, you can peruse the books, but it's advised you not touch the artefacts."
"You know," Peter said. "Advice can be ignored."
"Yes. It can," said the image and it disappeared.
"Well," said Peter, "that was more ominous than I thought it'd be. You've been around here. Tour?"
"I mainly stick to his office," I said. "This is all interesting, sure, but…" I shrugged. "I come here because I have problems. Usually I spend more time thinking on those problems than taking in the magic. That and magic doesn't really impress me, I keep thinking this is just powers, even if they're much wider in what they can do."
"Yeah," said Peter. "Honestly I'm not impressed too. It's like, magic is cool, but…it sort of feels like cheating?"
I snorted. "I think you're just jelly because you didn't get your letter to Hogwarts."
"Jelly?" he said. "Really?" He shook his head "That's terrible. You sound like a lame parent trying to be 'hip.'"
Dramatically I slammed my hands against my heart. "You wound me!"
Peter chuckled. "But yeah, there's a little jealousy there. How cool would it have been to go to Hogwarts?"
"The coolest," I said. "Let's check this place out. Maybe see something more magical than this."
"Yeah."
We started on the first floor, looking through the various studies. There was nothing outwardly magical about the place, instead it looked like a museum than a house.
"I think this picture is moving," said Peter. I stood, looking at the thing. It was a landscape painting, a farm filled with wheat swaying in one direction as though blown by the wind. In the middle of this field was a woman with red her, the colouring behind the painting making her look wrong.
But it wasn't moving.
"I don't—" I stopped. I'd glanced at Peter for a millisecond and looked back at the painting to see some of the wheat had changed in how it moved, the woman's hair was no longer fluttering in one direction but it was covering the woman's face, a hand outstretched towards us. "Creepy."
Peter hummed. "I get the feeling she wants help," he said. He reached and I smacked the hand away.
"Yeah…I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "It's magic. It could suck you in for all we know."
"Probably right," he said. "Can you show me the portal room?"
I frowned, looking around. "If I can remember where it was," I said. "I think there was a long hallway on the second floor."
The hallways were longer than they should be and I'd never explored the house which meant we quickly got lost. We made a trip of it, checking out the rooms and seeing the type of magic they had. One room was even a training room, with a figure of a man, shorter and thinner than Daniel, appearing.
"Another match?" the man said. A staff appeared out of thin air and he twirled it around, levelling it towards us.
"You want to try it out?" I said. "See how well you fair?"
"Another illusion?" Peter asked and I shrugged. He took off his backpack and pulled out his web shooters and a pair of goggles.
"At some point you're going to have to stop wearing those," I said. "Get used to the whole sensory overload thing, see if you can't use it to your advantage."
"I'll work on it," said Peter. He walked into the room while I stopped at the boundary. "So…how do we start this any way? Do I say go and we fight?"
"A new Master? An Apprentice?" the man said. He got out of his stance, holding his staff straight. "The skill level has been decreased until the appropriate level of mastery can be gauged. We'll begin at your leisure."
"Let's go," said Peter. The man quickly stepped forward, thrusting his staff. It glowed with light before the tip shot off. Peter ducked low and rolled to the side, quickly jumping up as the man swished, the tip changing direction, heading toward my brother.
Peter landed on the ceiling and quickly fired a web. The man stepped to the side, pulling back the tip of his staff while dodging Peter's attack. He pointed and fired, but Peter had already jumped off the ceiling, landing close and coming forward with both legs thrusting outward. The kick landed and the man was hurtled back, landing on the ground in a roll, quickly getting back on his feet.
"Arcanum Ego," the man said. "Greetings, denizen of K'un-Lun."
"Don't know what that is," said Peter. He quickly fired off two threads, but they were dodged. The man was spry as he stepped forward, quickly closing the distance and stabbing; Peter twisted out of the way and fired, a web catching the man in the face while another caught the staff, pulling it from the man's grip.
"Got your stick," he said and he hissed as the staff glowed, golden inscriptions appearing on it. The staff didn't fall to the ground, instead taking off and landing in the man's grip.
"Your technique is new," said the man. "Your mastery strange."
"I'll take that as you saying I'm awesome," said Peter, wearing a massive grin, though I could see he was on the alert, watching and waiting, on his guard.
"I feel like this when he tells you he's not left handed," I said.
Peter glanced in my direction and that was distraction enough, the man swung and the tip shot out, trailed by a golden rope which twisted in the air. Peter jumped, dodging the tip but the coils of rope caught his leg, went and pulled, slamming him into the ceiling then the ground.
The man whipped and the thread snapped, pulling Peter up only for my brother to catch the ground with his finger, keeping himself from being thrown up. He fired and the man stepped out of the way, whipping his staff again. Peter was able to keep himself from being thrown, but it was hard enough for him to grunt.
He fired a salvo, focusing more on catching the man's feet. He must have seen something because he suddenly moved, twisting and his body pulling. It worked, the man had been stepping to dodge the webs and his centre of gravity was off. He was pulled forward only to be struck by a web to the face.
The man tried and failed to pull of the web and Peter used that to pull at the staff again, disarming the man and getting out of the hold. The man spent a few more seconds trying to pull away the web before he flickered, appearing in a stand with his staff in his hand. He got into a fighting stance again.
"You brought your brother?" a voice said and I started. Daniel had appeared next to me at some point and I hadn't even felt him. But then, I didn't have bugs in his house, couldn't when I thought about it because even though it was my natural inclination to bring them near. I wasn't.
I nodded. "Peter knows about my powers. He has his own, as you can see." The skill level must have increased because the room was shifting, sections of wall starting to move and impeding how Peter fought. The man moved faster, with more snares whipping through the air.
Peter was doing his best to dodge but the man was slowly wearing him down.
"Yes, I see," said Daniel. "Have you told him about…you."
I shook my head. "Don't know how I feel about explaining that, how complicated it all is. I feel like…it'll be losing too much, especially with what the Faerie Queen did with his and Aunt May's memories."
Daniel nodded. "Yet you still brought him here."
"You helped me. You've been helping me through the transition, keeping me on the straight and narrow," I said. "I'm hoping you'll keep him from being like me. Give him someone to talk to who isn't me."
I caught Daniel looking at me, a frown on him. "You think you'll turn him into what you once were? In your past life?"
"I'm scared I'll turn back into what I once was," I said and I sighed. "I'm…getting back into the game, so to speak, trying to be a hero." I looked at him, waiting. He didn't say anything. "You aren't going to stop me? This isn't restricted?"
"It was expected," he said. "Your Faerie Queen and the Ancient One spoke, discussed you and the person you were. They expected this path, that you would do this. This might be false, but a part of me thinks this is the reason why they set things as they did, putting you in a position where you had someone whose innocence you wanted to protect."
"Manipulation," I said watching Peter. He hadn't noticed us speaking, but then it was likely there was magic involved. "I can't even be angry about it."
Daniel said nothing.
"This is rude, what we're doing," I said.
He flicked forward and I heard something akin to breaking glass. I glanced back, saw how space was warped, shifting edges, bending one over the other, moving towards us. I stayed in place, just as Daniel was doing. The shifting glass swept past, doing nothing.
Peter glanced our way which meant a loop of the golden thread managed to get his arm. He tried to fight, but everything went taut, all the thread closing around him, binding him in place.
"I think I've won," said the man.
"No fair, I was distracted," said Peter. He was breathing hard and I could see sweat on his forehead. Even so, he was grinning, his eyes wide with excitement. His first fight where he'd had to exert himself. We sparred, but there he had to hold back less he hit me too hard and break my bones.
The man flickered and so too the ropes. He returned to stand in the middle of the room, his staff held in hand.
Peter got up. "Hey," he said, smiling. "I'm Peter, Taylor's brother. I'm sure you know everything about me because Taylor can't stop talking about the most awesome brother she's ever had."
"Second, at best," I said.
"Et tu, Taylor?"
"Pay back for the knife in my heart."
"Yeah. I deserve it," he said. "You're a wizard, huh?"
"A sorcerer," Daniel corrected. "A Master of the Mystic Arts."
"Wow," Peter muttered. "I can just feel the capitals."
Daniel hummed, though he sounded restrained. "Ms…Parker tells me you're looking for someone to talk to as you start your hero career."
Peter shrugged. "I don't think I need it, but…Taylor seems to think it's a good idea," he said. "I trust her instincts. I also know how screwed up a job that makes you deal with criminals can make you so…" he shrugged again.
Daniel hummed again. "Then might we get to know each other," he said and he pointed. Sparks formed, moving in a circular motion and a portal opened into his office "If you'll follow me."
Peter sobered. "I'm nervous all of a sudden," he said.
"Before you go," I said. "Could you help me out? I need some premium spiders and I was hoping to use the portal room to get them."
Daniel moved his hands in a circle and opened two portals, both leading to thick forests. He moved his hands in a quick series forming an orange image made of shifting triangles. He pushed it forward and it hit me in the head. I felt the bugs and I could make the mental calculus which enabled me to pull them towards me.
I started pulling.
***
"Three players we'll be going after," said Peter. It was evening and we were back at the house, in my room with Aunt May watching television. "Gao, with dealings in Hell's Kitchen, most likely expanding into other parts of Manhattan and Queens; our guy Freddie, who's likely just starting up with all the talk of capital; and the unknown weapons dealer they think might help them against you."
"There's also the fact that they have one, maybe two capes," I said. "More than that, they have a lead on how they can give people powers—"
"Hypothetically," said Peter. "We still don't know how that really works, or if that's how it works. Powers could just happen; the chatter on-line could be wrong."
"It could be," I said. "But let's imagine the worst possible scenario, ride off of that."
"Okay," said Peter. "They've got two Inhumans and they can make more if they want. It's maybe not simple or there'd be more Inhumans in the world, but let's say they have more than two Inhumans in their operation for safety's sake. That doesn't help us, though, it just gets us paranoid."
"It gets us to the point where we're on alert," I said. "Where every interaction we have against them has the possibility where we'll have to go against a power."
"Okay. Okay," he said. "Do we do that to everyone else?"
"Yes for Gao," I said. "Pony Tail seemed to think so, or at least that she had something under her belt. But we'll get more info from the Devil on her, if he has any. What worries me more than anything is the weapon's dealer. We don't know what they can do, how they can outfit the people we're up against, how large their operation is. But a part of me is thinking tinker."
Peter hummed. "Me too," he said. "Weapons aren't too hard to find. But weapons that might be good against a swarm of bugs are their own thing. They'd have to be highly specialised, which means we're either working with a genius or someone that's stealing stuff from one of the big weapons manufacturers: Hammer Industries, some old stuff from Stark Industries or maybe A.I.M."
"Can you check what they might have? What might be used against us? If it isn't classified or whatever."
"I should be able to find something on the cache of data S.H.I.E.L.D sent out. They were pretty much spying on every major industry, at least that's what Ned says. Most of the stuff is encrypted, but there are a few things that aren't and Ned has them. I'll have to ask him for them."
"He won't be suspicious?"
Peter shook his head. "It's not like I'll do anything with it. Anyway, he got it just to see what the fuss was all about," he said. "He said it was really boring, mostly encrypted, but the overviews of upcoming tech were cool."
"I'll leave it to you," I said. I glanced at my watch, almost seven. "We'll have to get going. You have your costume?"
"In my bag," he said. "Which is strange. Why am I carrying a backpack to a party?"
"Just say you don't know party protocol," I said. Peter scowled. "Let's get going. May's ready." I felt for my select spiders and got them close. Daniel had warned me against making a mistake and having the spiders invade New York, which meant I was going to keep them close to me until they died.
The ride was mostly quiet and I couldn't tell if it was because Aunt May was still mad or if she was nervous because we were going to a party. It must have been horrible for her, especially when a part of her was afraid we might be doing drugs, however she'd reached that conclusion.
"I'll pick you up at ten," she said. "Be safe, okay?"
"Yeah, May," said Peter. "We will. Love you."
Intentional or not on Peter's part, Aunt May melted a little.
The moment she was out of sight. Peter and I left, with me gathering bugs and getting them under my clothes. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen was a hero, but it made sense to be paranoid just in case it was needed. Peter and I climbed, then started swinging towards Hell's Kitchen.
We stopped en route, catching two guys who had stolen purses. Peter took the lead while I watched from above. He talked to the victim, had them stay until the cops arrived and stayed through the statement.
"I thought your deal was Queens," said the officer as he got our first stop into the car.
"I was in the area," Peter said with a shrug. "Saw this happening and I had to help."
"Okay," said the cop. He closed the door. "Hey, do you mind if I take a picture? My kids would love seeing me with someone like you."
"Oh yeah, sure," he said and he got into selfie position as the cop took out his phone. "I'll be seeing you, Mr Officer," he said when the job was done. He jumped up and started crawling up the building towards me.
"You should really do more of that," said Peter. "It's really fun."
"Me and people don't mix too well," I said. "You do this better. You've got a knack for it."
"But you also have a mind for it. You can guess what people think, how they'll react."
"Still doesn't mean I'm able to use it well on the interaction side," I said. "Let's move faster. I want us to go to Freddie's hideout and see if we can't find any information which might lead us in the right direction."
He nodded and we moved faster. I had to stop Peter a couple of times just to go through some breathing exercises so I wouldn't upchuck like the last time. But after what felt like forever, we reached Hell's Kitchen.
"All on you, now," he said.
I nodded and I started pulling in bugs, having them spread out and searching for anything suspicious. News on the Devil said he mostly appeared from rooftops, flying in and attacking. Either he really could fly, which I doubted because of how slow he was, or he had a mover ability which meant he could building-hop like Peter. Whatever the case, I focused mostly on the rooftops, seeing if there was anyone moving through them.
"Nothing," I said and we moved, doing the same thing we'd been doing on our patrols. There wasn't any certainty he'd be out today, which was why we'd given ourselves an hour before we got back to Queens, focused on something more concrete than hoping to run into another vigilante and getting information.
Three more times there was nothing.
"I'm getting the feeling we're not going to find anything," said Peter on our fourth iteration, as he waited for me to search out my range.
"We have a little more time," I said. "How was your meeting with Daniel?"
He shrugged. "It was fine, it was mostly me just pestering him about magic. Apparently, anyone can learn it, but you have to go to some temple somewhere to be trained by the 'Ancient One.' Told him that wasn't fair because they were essentially withholding knowledge which could revolutionise the world. He told me magic was too powerful a force to just be wielded willy-nilly and I told him the same could be true for scientific knowledge and yet that was more accessible, and how with the accessibility came innovation. I bet my money on it magic was stagnating, not keeping up because the minds are so small, he made a comparison to nuclear weapons and how the technology wasn't getting any better because of the inherent danger."
He did a back flip, spinning twice in the air before landing.
"It was a really good," he said. "Not the stuff I thought it'd be."
"He usually lets you direct the conversation," I said.
"Okay," he said. He did another flip, jumping higher this time and spinning four times through the air. "Do you think he'd be up for letting me spar with the hologram again? It was really exciting."
I shrugged. "Don't really know what he gets up to in the day. But, don't be a burden, okay? I'm sure he's busy with his whole magic thing."
"Yeah. Sure," he said.
I sighed. "One more time and then we're leaving." I searched and there was nothing. I sighed again. "This was disappointing. Let's head back, hope Freddie gives us something."