Chapter Text
Since waking up in the future, Steve Rogers had had to get used to a lot of different things.
The internet, a collection of almost all of mankind’s knowledge at the tips of everyone’s fingers, that had been a big one. It was nice, but still very different from what he thought would have been possible.
The fact that pretty much everyone he knew before he had been frozen in the arctic was now dead, that had been another one to get used to.
The sheer number of people who had a penchant for dressing up in strange costumes and fighting criminals and terrorists; well there certainly hadn’t been as many of them running around back in his day.
Watching the man dressed like some kind of robotic Rhino, throwing about the man dressed up in red and blue pyjamas, was certainly an odd sight, even for him.
Next to him Clint was wincing and oohing at the appropriate moments, like he was watching a flick, rather than security footage of an incident that happened only a few nights ago.
The footage itself had been a nightmare to get hold of. Metrobank had been staunchly resistant to relinquishing any of their security footage. They wouldn’t even tell them what had been stolen.
However, even with SHIELD no longer around, it seemed that being an Avenger meant that he still had some pull and after a few days he had managed to acquire a copy.
Not that it told him much.
“The kid sure took a beating,” he commented as Spider-Man was thrown through yet another wall.
It was honestly incredible he was still alive after all this; thankfully the footage had shown Spider-Man limping off afterwards.
“What, did he insult his mom?” Tony asked, still keen to be a part of things.
It seemed in the future 'retired' didn't mean what it used to back in his day.
“It seemed almost personal the way he threw him around. I really wish this thing had sound.” Clint muttered, looking like he wanted to crawl through the vents to get popcorn.
“Did you guys find anything else out about the Rhino?” Steve asked.
“A few things,” Natasha answered. “For one, Alexei has made something of a name for himself in certain circles. He’ll do anything for money; including being a Guinea Pig for experimental drugs and genetic enhancements. Nothing about who he’s currently working for though.”
“Ah, so you’re telling me he’s not as big as the Hulk because he drinks his milk?”
Steve didn’t have to look at Tony to see the unimpressed expression on his face.
“So he’s a genetically enhanced and drugged-up mobster in state-of-the-art power armor tough enough to run through buildings,” Steve put his head in his hands. “Has anyone heard from Bruce or Thor?”
There was a general shaking of heads.
“Look Cap, I know you’re worried, but we’ve got plenty of firepower,” Tony retorted. “And speaking of firepower; Nat, did the guy we have talk at all?”
“Wait, what guy?” Clint asked, his attention pulled from the security footage.
“The one with the alien gun,” Natasha said. “We pulled rank and managed to get him put into our custody. We’ve had a look and already confirmed that his weapon was based on Chitauri tech.”
The air in the room seemed to grow colder. Steve could see the minor tremors in Tony’s hands as he took a casual sip of water.
“How did they get their hands on Chirauri tech? I thought that Damage Control was taking care of it?” He asked.
No one around him had an answer.
Perfect.
Another thing he wouldn’t get used to. AI’s, minds far beyond any humans, machines with souls. Ultron was still weighing heavily on Stark’s mind, but he was far too proud to ever admit it.
Steve took a calming breath. This was all too much. Advanced power armor, genetic experimentation and now stolen alien technology?
If it wasn’t HYDRA, who the hell were these guys?
“How on Earth did he get his hands on that?” Steve asked, suddenly feeling every one of the years he was supposed to have been.
“We don’t know yet,” Steve could hear the slight frustration in Black Widow’s voice. “I know now that his name is Macdonald Gargan, that he was given the weapon by the ones who employed him, but he so far refuses to say who he works for.”
“You haven’t gotten him to talk yet?” Clint sounded surprised.
“He must be aware nobody is coming for him,” Steve said. “If it's HYDRA…”
“I’ve already checked him for contingencies,” Natasha was thorough, especially when it came to that possibility. “HYDRA isn’t usually this sloppy. I suspect whoever they are clearly has the money and technology, but aren’t used to dealing with military operations.”
“Ah, so we’ve narrowed it down to… almost every wealthy business on the planet,” Tony clapped his hands together and Steve had to suppress the urge to yell at him. “Good job team.”
“Perhaps Spider-Man knows more?” Clint suggested. “I mean, he’s run into them at least twice now. He might have info we need, or at least seen something we can make use of.”
The idea had merit and honestly it was the only real lead they had for the moment.
“How soon do you think we can talk to him?” Steve asked.
“Well unless you have his phone-number hidden somewhere in your spangly little outfit, not for some time,” Tony retorted.
“Can’t we just make an announcement we want to talk to him?” Steve said, asking the obvious question. “What’s the big deal?”
“Spider-Man is a vigilante, Cap,” Natasha explained. “He is technically a criminal.”
“And it won’t reflect well on us to be overtly consulting with criminals,” Clint stated. “Even popular ones.”
“So we do it covertly,” Steve decided. “The kid does good work from what I’ve seen. We can even peacefully bring him in to do it.”
“You know someone made a compilation video of all the times the NYPD have shot at Spider-Man?” Tony snarked. “It’s twenty minutes long. Good luck getting him to come anywhere with us.”
“We’re not the police, Tony. He might be open to talking with us.”
“And you’re sure about this?” Tony asked with an eyebrow raise.
Steve sighed and tried not to be annoyed.
“It’s not fair to judge him based on our own experiences. He is right to try and hide from everyone behind the mask. The fact that he survived a beating like that from someone who might be able to give Bruce a run for his money is nothing to scoff at. With the knowledge that HYDRA is still around and looking to create weapons out of people… We can’t be too harsh with him.”
He could tell that his counter argument landed somewhere. He took the win.
“Look, we’ll be even more covert,” Steve decided. “We’ll talk to him face-to-face, openly and honestly. We’ll only bring him in if he’s clearly keeping things from us.”
“I’ll have some drones fly round the city,” Tony decided. “If they spot him, they’ll send me an alert and then we can… negotiate.”
That was probably the best they could hope for.
“Natasha, if Gargan talks…”
“You’ll be the first to know, Steve.”
He nodded and sat back. He hated the feeling of inaction, but for now there was nothing more they could do.
Nothing except wait for Spider-Man.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The curse of the Rhino seemed to follow Penny everywhere. Instead of a release, a freedom from the rigidity of her life, Spider-Man had become a spectre that draped over her.
“Are you going out for patrol today?” Became the dreaded question that Ned would ask her every morning on the bus.
And every morning for the past three days she would respond with some form of no.
She could practically feel whatever respect he had for her leech away as each time she disappointed him. Disappointed herself.
Conversations with Ned felt dead. He did most of the talking and her tired mind just couldn’t bring itself to take in the words he was saying.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Penny?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
The response was automatic now. Thoughtless and purposeless, just like the rest of her existence now.
Sleep eluded her. Her ears were pricked for the slightest sign of the Rhino stomping his way towards her. Of his horrible laughter before he swatted her like the bug he always said she was. She had spent night after night sitting up in bed, her duvet wrapped around her as she stared like a woman possessed at the door of her bedroom.
It was insane. She knew it was insane. The Rhino had no idea who she was or where she lived. Yet she still acted like this, eyes staring wide open into the darkness as if he’d leap out at her like the bogeyman.
She’d bought a night-light. Red-faced and full of shame, she hadn’t even been able to look at the cashier.
God the thought of anyone at school finding out made her want to scream-
“Miss Parker!”
“P-present,” she squeaked, back to reality.
There was a smattering of giggling around her as Mr. Avery frowned. They were all standing outside the bus that would take them straight to Fisk Industries for their Field Trip today.
“Glad to hear it,” dry didn’t even begin to describe his voice. “I know that it's earlier than usual, but do try to stay focused. Now that you’re with us, perhaps you could answer the question; what areas does Fisk Industries specialise in?”
“Bioengineering and robotics,” she answered, without missing a beat.
“Correct,” a sliver of a smile. “And who founded the company? Yes, Ned?”
“Wilson Fisk,” Ned answered.
“Excellent. And finally, tell me one interesting fact about Fisk Industries. Yes, Michelle?”
“Fisk Industries has racked up tens of millions in fines for violating employee protection laws in the last three years,” she said proudly.
“Er, maybe keep that one to yourself…”
The journey was uneventful, full of the typical New York traffic that made driving anywhere ten times harder and longer than it needed to be.
Soon the class stood outside the famous Fisk Towers. The Towers were two linked pillars of white concrete and glass protruding out of the ground almost as high as the Avengers building. It had instantly become a defining part of the New York skyline, and tourists could often be found congregating near the base taking photos.
They were escorted into the building towards the reception desk. Inside the building seemed completely different from its cold detached exterior. It looked like something out of a futurist magazine and they all gawped as they entered.
A huge lobby that put the one in Metrobank to shame greeted them. It extended upwards for several stories, with plants, water features and glass walkways galore. The sun was perfectly framed through the glass windows, bathing the entire area in perfect natural light.
“Are those drones?” Ned whispered, his arm pointed upwards.
Small little white drones hovered around the walkways passing above the people who walked across.
“Yeah they are…” She whispered.
“Good morning,” the receptionist greeted them. “You all must be from Midtown.”
She spoke to Mr. Avery and Mr. Harrington, who was voluntold to be another proctor for this trip, as the rest of the class continued to look upwards and around at the beautiful scenery. Soon lanyards with little keycards were produced.
“These are your guest passes,” she indicated to them. “Please take one and keep it on you at all times. If you don’t, the security drones will raise the alarm, and none of us want that.”
“They won’t like, shoot us, will they?” Ned asked.
The receptionist laughed.
“No, but they will signal a security officer to come and escort you back here. I’m sure you don’t want to explain to your teachers why that happened. Your tour guide has been notified and should be down shortly.”
“No need Janet, I’m already here,” a tall, well-dressed man walked towards them. “Hello, you’re the group from Midtown, I presume? Wow there are a lot of you! You’ve all got your passes? Excellent, if you could please follow me to the orientation room.”
Penny followed along with everybody else as they were taken into a small room and the man explained to them how their day would go.
They would split into two groups, one group would get a lecture in the basics of genetics and bioengineering from one Dr. Curt Connors, a senior researcher at the company…
Penny perked up at that. She had almost forgotten about Dr. Connors. Years ago, a nine year old Penny had read one of his papers about theoretical applications of mRNA delivery systems for exchanging alleles in genetic therapy, and had emailed him asking him questions about it.
He had actually responded to her! Called her an ‘intelligent young lady’ and that he couldn’t wait to read her own research one day.
She had been so giddy she’d printed his reply and framed it on her bedroom wall, showing it to anyone who came into her room.
“We here at Fisk Industries take security extremely seriously,” their tour guide repeated. “There are many corporations and even governments who love to get their hands on some of the incredible things we’re currently developing. Be sure to keep your passes on you at all times…”
Blah, blah, blah, exactly the same sort of stuff they had said at Oscorp, Penny zoned out, excited at the thought of finally meeting one of her science heroes.
She ignored the concerned looks Ned was sending her as the teachers split them into two groups. The universe really had it out for her today because she was split from Ned, despite standing next to him, and put in a group with Gwen, her goons, and Flash.
Just great.
They were allowed to use the bathroom first before the first talk and, not one to let an opportunity go amiss, that was where Gwen struck.
“Hey Penny,” Gwen suddenly spoke.
Gwen had been fixing her hair in the mirror and turned to look at her, her hair cascading down her shoulders, rather than done up in her usual ponytail.
“You like Dr. Connors, right?”
Dread pooled in Penny’s chest, threatening to smother that small seed of excitement she’d cultivated for herself.
“…yeah,” she breathed, debating whether she could sprint to the door before the inevitable trap sprung. “What about it?”
“You must be excited to get the chance to actually meet him.”
“…I am…” Penny really wished her spider-sense considered high-school bullying something to warn her about.
“Gonna get him alone,” Gwen’s voice turned suave, fingering her pink hairband. “All to yourself?”
Penny felt her face grow red.
“No,” she said firmly. "It's not like that..."
“Oh come on,” Gwen looked at her slyly. “We all know what you’re like. Poor Ned probably never even had the chance to say no-.”
“Goodbye, Gwen,” Penny growled, turning to go.
“Hey, no need to get upset,” Gwen cut in front of her. “Can I see your pass for a second?”
“Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not falling for that again,” Penny bit back, tone venomous. “You gonna lock me in another storage closet this time?”
She tried to walk past her, but Gwen and her cheerleader friends had her surrounded.
“You’re so awful to me, Penny,” Gwen’s eyes swelled with crocodile tears. “I’m nothing but nice to you. Is it so hard to believe that I just want to see your pass? I want to make sure it’s not broken after the last time…”
“Then let me hold yours first,” Penny called Gwen’s bluff and held out her hand.
Annoyance sparked across Gwen’s face for a second, before she gave in.
“Fine,” she handed Penny her pass.
Penny felt the temptation right then and there. She could just throw Gwen’s pass out the window, pay unto her what Gwen had done last time… but…
Uncle Ben would tell her to be better than that.
She gave Gwen her pass.
Penny eyed Gwen nervously as she looked at it with both hands, examining it pointlessly.
‘It’s a blank white card with a red band, there’s nothing to see,’ Penny grit her teeth.
Gwen then handed it back, her plan foiled, and Penny returned Gwen’s pass. The two stared at one another, before Gwen pulled her hair back into a ponytail and strutted out of the room, her goons silently following after her.
Penny had to hold back a smile.
‘Take that Gwen, I won't let you just walk over me anymore!’ she thought triumphantly, almost delirious with relief. ‘Now which way to the lecture hall?’
She left the bathroom and came out just in time to see Gwen go through one of the hallway doors. She filed in behind her and the others into another corridor next to a stairwell.
Then Gwen, in a bout of pettiness, slammed the door in her face.
Penny had to bite back a curse. But whatever, it was pointless. She got out her keycard and put it against the panel next to the door.
The panel remained red.
Penny tried it again.
The door stayed locked.
“What?” she muttered in disbelief. “Is the Keycard broken? How did-,”
She looked up through the glass slit in the door to see Gwen’s smug face. She threw her hair over her shoulder and strutted away.
Realisation struck Penny along with her anger.
Gwen’s magnetic hair band.
She must have used it to wipe the keycard when she’d looked at it. Penny hadn’t thought anything of her having both in her hands. Her hair had been down…
Penny should have been mad, furious even, instead that fire inside her just smouldered out. She let her head hit the door in front of her with a sad thump.
Of course this would happen again. Of course Gwen would outsmart her and leave her stranded in a strange building alone again.
Hell, maybe she’d get bitten by another radioactive spider while she was here.
‘Maybe this one will just straight up kill me,’ she thought sardonically as tears leaked out from her eyes. ‘It’s what an idiot like me deserves.’
Defeated as Spider-Man, defeated as Penny Parker. What was even the point anymore?
She quickly wiped her face of tears, even if Gwen wouldn’t see it, she shouldn’t get the satisfaction of knowing she made her cry. But that didn’t change the fact that from here, she was stuck and couldn’t even return to the reception desk to get a new keycard. She was stuck in a large stairwell. Until someone came through, or one of those drones spotted her and called security.
Of course, she could easily rip the door off its hinges. Maybe throw it right at Gwen's smug face while she was at it…
Penny tried to take a calming breath. That would be the worst move to make right now.
Maybe she could find someone who would let her out?
It was her only option. She could claim that her card was broken, then at least she wouldn’t be quite as humiliated.
She began to walk down the stairs, and then she heard someone below her. She was about to call out when she heard a familiar voice.
“Yes sir, it performed exactly as I had calculated.”
Penny’s shout died in her chest as a numbing horror gripped her chest. That voice…
“Distract the spider-freak!”
The voice on Rhino’s radio when she had first met him. The man that voice belonged to was below her right now.
Her heart beat furiously in her chest. Penny stuck her head below the balcony and peered as far down as she dared. Below her, next to the stairs was a set of elevators, where a man in an electronic wheelchair was talking on his phone.
“The suit exceeded expectations, we recovered the package, what more could you ask for?” the man pleaded.
That man built Rhino’s armor. Rhino got his armor from Fisk Industries.
She needed to follow him.
The elevator dinged and opened up. The man’s wheelchair propelled him forward into it.
‘This is my chance,’ Penny realised. ‘If this guy works for Fisk Industries, then that might mean Rhino does as well!’
Stealing herself, she ran down the stairs as the elevator closed. She needed to see where he went, but how?
The elevators were coded to respond to keycards. Hers would probably have been useless even if it was working.
Looking up, Penny watched the number indicating the man’s position went down to negative five and stayed there. That was likely the floor he got off on.
Now how to get down there if there weren't any stairs and she couldn’t use the elevator…
Then Penny spotted a vent.
She swallowed. There weren’t any cameras here. It made sense, even secret underground basements needed air.
She took her shoes off, put them in her backpack, and crawled up the wall to the vent. With a little super-strength she unhooked the vent cover and it swung open.
Penny shivered at the cold air that hit her.
‘Good thing I’m wearing my sweater,’ she thought as she crawled in, replacing the cover after her. ‘I need to find the elevator shaft.’
It didn’t take very long before the vent opened downwards into a sheer drop. Anyone else would have fallen to their ignoble death but Penny simply stuck to the side and continued her way downwards.
‘This is crazy,’ she reflected, worry gnawing at her chest. ‘There’s no innocent explanation for this.’
It was one thing to be stuck in a stairwell, another to climb down five stories underground through the ventilation system.
‘And if they’re criminals working for Fisk Industries, then they really will just kill me,’ she bit her lip. ‘B-but I have to know!’
Cold air flowed past her as she climbed down to where she estimated the floor would be. She took a turn and was horizontal again. The vent however continued downwards.
‘Just how deep is this place?’ she wondered.
Following the flow of air she soon came to another grate. This should be about where the man had gotten off. Carefully, listening out for anyone walking around, she popped the vent cover off and climbed out.
Still sticking to the ceiling she replaced the cover and crawled away. As she was about to turn a corner, her spider-sense went off.
Instinctively she knew that there was a camera looking out into this hallway and that if she went around the corner, she would be seen.
‘Oh wow, spider-sense can be useful after all,’ she thought, trying to calm her racing heart. ‘Now if I can only get it to recognise Gwen as a danger…’
The sense calmed down and she risked a glance. There were the elevators on the other side of the hall and on the wall a camera! It was looking away from her now.
Distantly she could hear the rotor of the man’s electronic wheelchair. It seemed he had gone the way the camera was currently looking.
She quickly scrambled across and under its line of sight. Then as it swivelled back she went down the route it had been looking.
‘I’m way better at this part of superheroing,’ she thought with glee. ‘Maybe I can be more like Black Widow than Iron Man, Captain America or Thor…’
The thought made her sad, but she didn’t have time to analyse it.
She could crawl extremely quickly, far faster than that man’s wheelchair could probably go. She waited, barely daring to move whenever anyone walked below her. Thank god nobody ever looked up.
There was the occasional vent that she crawled by. When her spider-sense alerted her, she quickly popped it open, dived in and waited for a group of people to pass.
It was strangely fun in a weird way. Like a really creepy game of hide and seek. Except if she was found she’d likely be beaten to death.
Eventually the wheelchair man went towards a room with a large fancy door, which opened automatically for him.
Penny cursed, but logic dictated that the room would have to be connected to the vent system as well. She found a nearby vent and tried to go towards the room. It took a few minutes, but she soon found herself looking through the grate into a huge room.
People in white coats and hard hats were bustling about all over the place, looking at monitors and giant machines the functions of which she could only guess at. It was all very science-y.
And in the centre, on a large lowered platform, sat Rhino.
Penny had to hold back a scream. She felt her heartrate increase at the very sight of him and she did her best to quiet her breathing. There was no way he could see or hear her from all the way up here. But even at this distance he still seemed huge.
He was wearing his armor, and was playing what seemed to be a game on a phone that was far too small for him.
“Dr. Smythe!” he greeted, standing up at the sight of the wheelchair man. “You’re looking well!”
Smythe rolled over to the edge of the platform and leant back to look at the Rhino.
“Alexei, you’re looking better! How’re the latest upgrades treating you, any chafing at all?”
“Ha-ha, very much the opposite,” Alexei replied, his voice so loud and booming, Penny probably could have heard it even without her enhanced hearing. “It’s so smooth, it feels like I’m wearing nothing at all!”
And Penny very suddenly wished she didn’t have enhanced hearing.
Smythe seemed to agree as he coughed awkwardly.
“Well that’s great to hear! But back to business, Kingpin has another job for you.”
‘Kingpin?’ Penny filed that name away for reference later.
“Hold on, I made myself clear last time,” Rhino said, his voice losing its cheer. “Money first, then I do the job.”
“Kingpin has a very strict way of doing business, as you know,” Smythe argued. “You’ll get half now, the other half once the job is completed.”
Rhino laughed without humor and Penny felt her hairs stand on end.
“My way of doing business is equally strict,” he idly stretched and Smythe leant back in his chair. Rhino then placed a massive hand on the man’s wheelchair. “I want the money, all of it, now. Otherwise I walk away with the suit.”
“Y-you can’t just-Kingpin will never agree!”
“No?” Rhino’s voice was nightmarish. How he could go from friendly to terrifying in just a moment. “I believe you told me last time the suit will now run, what’s the word, indefinitely?”
Smythe’s face was pale, but he seemed to realise the predicament he was in.
“I’ve invested so much money and time into that suit, into you, Alexei,” he pleaded. “Finish this job and you’ll live in luxury for the rest of your life. You can’t just walk away!”
“Why not?” Rhino leant in close and almost whispered. “There are plenty out there who would love my services. Who can stop me? You?”
“I-I, fine!” Smythe yelled, he tapped something on the monitor. “The money has been transferred and I’ve forwarded you the job details. You’d better not let me down, otherwise Kingpin will have my head.”
“Ha-ha!” the Rhino, Alexei, laughed and withdrew his hand. “It seems you are smart after all!”
“Quite,” Smythe’s tone was stiff, but he recovered well after just being threatened. “The details of the job are in the usual info packet. Cybertek is moving the package from their New York branch this afternoon at 1600. There will not be another chance like this.”
“I understand well enough,” Rhino smirked. “I’ll be there.”
Penny had hit the jackpot. She knew where Rhino would be and when. Which meant she could stop him, Spider-Man could stop-.
She paused.
Being stomped on. Thrown through walls. Slammed into pillars and beaten.
She was shaking, why were her hands shaking?
Taking a deep breath, Penny crawled her way back through the vents to where she arrived. The movement kept her focused, kept her from thinking too much. She crawled and she crawled and she crawled.
Until she was once more back in the stairwell where Gwen had left her, away from Rhino and Smythe.
Except not really since they were below her. They worked for Fisk Industries. Was this whole building just a criminal organisation? Would they shoot at her if she acted too weird?
“Hey kid,” Penny swivelled to see someone in a lab coat approaching her. “What are you doing here? Are you part of the school trip that was sent here?”
“I-I,” she stammered, words wouldn’t form. Penny’s mind was blank.
“You’re looking awfully pale,” the man put a hand on her back.
She hadn’t realised she was swaying.
“I just- feeling sick,” Penny grasped desperately at the excuse. “My pass isn’t-isn’t working…” She managed to mutter.
“Um, ok… I guess I’ll escort you to reception then?”
Penny followed obediently after the man as he took her back to the front door. She focused on just putting one leg in front of the other. The simple actions seemed to stay off the growing tightness in her chest.
The man in the lab coat had her sit in a chair in the lobby while the reception lady looked at her pass. She didn’t see the worried looks she was getting. She was lost in her own head at everything she learned.
That bank security box… it had the name Roxxon.
Now some kind of company called Cybertek.
Fisk Industries was funding Dr. Smythe to build high power armor for psychos like Rhino so they can steal from other tech companies.
She wasn't sure what to do.
She stayed like that until the rest of her class was done with the field trip.
She didn’t see Gwen’s face twist in confusion at her near catatonic state, she didn’t see Flash muttering to his buddies about her, she didn’t see Liz Allen look at her with concern, or MJ narrow her eyes in consideration.
She looked at Ned, her only real friend, and mouthed, ‘We’ll talk at my house,’
Ned’s eyes lit up with excitement before he looked away.
She tuned out Mr. Avery and Mr. Harrington apologizing to the front desk about her. She didn’t care about Fisk Industries' opinion of her. Not after what she just learned.
The bus ride back was uneventful. Ned tried to talk with her, but she didn’t want to say anything when they were within view of Fisk Towers or in earshot of her classmates.
The school released them early. Gwen, Flash, and their goons all cheered. They apparently were going out to some dance clubs.
She left without thinking of them again and Ned followed her.
Half an hour later she was unlocking her front door. Ned shuffled in behind her, he looked around in curiosity.
“Sit on the couch, I-I’ll tell you everything in a few minutes. I just need to do something quick.”
Ned nodded, “Yeah okay… I’ll be right here.”
She didn’t look back as she walked into her messy room.
Over on her bedside counter, next to her lamp, was a picture. A picture of her and Uncle Ben smiling, their cheeks pushed together to fit into the hastily taken selfie. They were wearing paint on their faces, she was a tiger and he was a panda. She picked up his picture and laid on her bed.
Her sweater, Uncle Ben's sweater, was stretched around her knees as she curled up into a colored cotton ball.
“Hey Uncle Ben," she greeted the photo tearfully. "I ran away. I’m sorry, Uncle Ben.”
His face was fixed in an eternal smile.
“I just- I keep messing up,” she choked. “I told you about Ned, right? Well he’s disappointed in me too. The first friend I’ve had in years and I’m just messing it up, because I’m a coward.”
Uncle Ben was silent.
“It’s just…” she tried to give voice to the horrible feeling in her chest. “I almost died last week. Rhino hurt me so bad, I don’t want to face him again. I don’t want to die. And I’m so ashamed because…”
She hugged the picture to her chest.
“If you saw me now, you’d be disappointed too. I don’t know what I’m doing. But after what I heard today… I can’t just sit and do nothing right?”
Her Uncle’s smiling face didn’t change. She felt tears fill her eyes.
“I’m trying to be brave for you, I really am… But I don’t know how not to be scared.”
She stubbornly remembered how Aunt May had paid so much money for her to go on this field trip only to let Gwen ruin the whole thing. Instead of being a normal teenager, she inadvertently discovered that one of the biggest companies in the world had created a supervillain to commit corporate espionage and help them try and control the market for illegal experimentation and likely weapons trafficking.
She would be so disappointed too.
‘May, Ned, Ben, the entire city, I just keep disappointing people because I’m too scared…’
She looked down at the picture and willed for anything to happen. A sign, and epiphany, an answer to appear if she stared hard enough, just anything.
Then a small glint shined in her eye. She blinked and looked over. Her mom’s old jewelry box was sitting on her dresser across the room. And inside it was the last gift Gwen ever got her. The memory came to her then. Back in second grade, when she thought nothing could separate the two of them.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Penny! Penny please!” Uncle Ben’s worried voice washed over her. “Please come out and talk to me!”
She was sitting in the bathroom, arms around her legs and back to the locked door behind her.
“I don’t want to!” she yelled defiantly. “You’ll make me go back there!”
Through the door she heard him take a deep breath.
“Penny, why don’t you want to go to school?”
“Because they’re mean!”
“They’re mean?”
“They’re mean to me and Gwen!”
“Who?”
“The other kids! They make fun of Gwen’s tooth gap and my glasses and they push us around!”
“Well,” Uncle Ben’s voice had a slight edge. “In that case, we’ll need to have words with them and the teacher.”
“No, I’m not going!”
“Penny…”
“No, you can’t make me!”
There was another sigh and then a shuffling. Penny felt something large slide against the door. Uncle Ben was sitting against the other side.
“Then I guess we’re getting comfy together,” Ben said.
He let the silence settle for a minute. Penny couldn’t help but fidget. This silence was unbearable, far worse than any yelling.
“I don’t want to go,” she grumbled, sniffling a bit. “I don’t want to.”
“Not even for your friend? She’ll be facing those bullies alone if you stay here.”
Penny felt something unpleasant curl in her chest at the thought, but she shook her head.
“I don’t want to, it’s scary!” she said regardless.
“Don’t you want to be brave?” Uncle Ben’s voice was light, but all Penny could hear was disappointment. “For your friend?”
“That’s not fair!” Penny sobbed. “I’m not brave! I’m not brave like you, Uncle Ben!”
“Even I’m not brave all the time kiddo,” he sounded like he was smiling. “But you know what makes me be brave?”
“No?”
“The thought of something bad happening to you, Penny. When I couldn’t find you this morning, I was so scared. Scared that something had happened when I turned my back. I was so relieved to find you’d only run back up here.”
Penny was silent.
“Sometimes we have to do things that are scary. I ran all over the street calling for you, in the neighbor’s yard with that pack of dogs, under Mr. Rotum’s porch, I even looked in the dumpster.”
The thought made Penny giggle a little.
“But the thought of you being in danger made me do it anyway, because you being hurt is scarier than anything that can happen to me.”
“…you’re not disappointed in me, are you?”
“I could never be disappointed in you, Penny.”
“Even if I’m not brave?”
“Even then.”
“But it’s hard… I’m really scared of what they’ll say,” Penny could feel the hot tears streaking down her face at the thought of being teased again.
“It isn’t easy to be brave. If it was easy, everybody would do it,” he spoke. “Not everyone manages it all the time.”
“Even you?”
He chuckled.
“Even me sometimes. But if you or your Aunt were in danger, I’d find the strength to be brave. For both of you.”
Strength to be brave, for her and Aunt May. It seemed so hard, so impossible to turn around and go towards those bullies, even with Uncle Ben there…
“But the first step to being brave is facing your fears,” Ben’s voice was like a dip in a soothing lake. “And that’s something I can’t do for you, Penny. You have to take that first step on your own.”
The first step...
The thought of Gwen alone, without Penny to be there and face them filled her with a feeling far worse than fear.
Slowly, Penny stood up in the bathroom and took a deep breath. She unhooked the latch.
The door swung open and she looked at Uncle Ben, whose face was the picture of pride.
The first step to being brave… Is to walk forward no matter how scary things get.
Uncle Ben’s eyes crinkled into a smile and he opened his arms.
Penny smiled back through her tears and stepped forward.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She came out of the memory and her gaze hardened.
She was still scared, but Ned was out in her living room waiting for her to explain.
The city of New York was waiting for her to bring back Spider-Man.
She wasn’t going to hide anymore.
She took a deep breath and gently placed the photo back on her bedside table.
She walked past the silver locket that Gwen had gotten her what felt like a lifetime ago, and met Ned in her living room.
It was time for her to get to work.