Work Text:
Not Alone
Peni stood in the rain, SP//DR perched on her shoulder as it lets out a sympathetic chirp. They were standing in front of a gravestone, the rain pouring gently. She didn't bother to bring an umbrella, the giant robot beside her.
It was her father's grave
Today was the anniversary of her father's death. It was starting to hit her hard, but she tries her best not to show it to anyone, including her aunt, uncle and her new friends. She tries her best not to let the emotions get to her, especially when it comes to her missions and saving people in her dimension. She felt a tiny and yet a comforting nudge from her cheek and looks down at SP//DR. It lets out a sad chirp, looking at her with it's eight eyes, but she could tell it was trying it's best to comfort her.
She could only smile sadly.
"....I'll be alright....soon." She said, using one hand to pet the small arachnid. She then looks back at her father's grave, one single tear running down her cheek despite rain pouring down.
Just then, her watch started to go off.
It was her spider friends starting to join a chat group she created so they could keep in contact with each other.
Peter B.: Hey, is anyone up for kicking Shocker's butt?
MilesM: Yeah, I'm up for it. I got the weekend off and my parents are visiting my grandparents, so count me in.
Gwenda: I have practice here in a bit, but I'll update to see if I can make it on time.
Peter B: No hurries, Gwen. @Noir @theHam you in?
theHam: You got it. Just gotta take care of Dr. Craw real quick and I will swing by.
Peter B:...doctor wha?
theHam: Trust me, B. if you stay in my dimension long enough, you can find more weirder names than that.
Noir: Yeah, I am up for it.
PeterB. Okay, so three for yes, one for a maybe. @Peni, are you in? Or is your cyborg still out of order?
Peni just smiled sadly before she starts to make a reply, but it took her longer than usual, but the others didn't seem to notice.
Peni: Yeah! I just need to take care of something real quick and I will be right over! ^_^
PeterB: Alright. When you jump into my dimension, meet me by the empire state building. It seemed that Shocker got a bit of an upgrade on his suit. So we need to think of a strategy.
MilesM:....who are you and what have you done to Peter B?
Gwenda: PFFFT XD
PeterB: Hey, I can plan, kid! It's just they're reliable half of the time.
theHam: Ohhh, yeah. That's makes me feel SO much better.
PeterB: Hey, we're spider people, it's an occupational hazard.
Noir:....I'm not gonna question this.
Peni was giggling half of the time before she logs off. She looks at the grave one last time. She took a deep breath before she lets her small spider friend crawl back into the cyborg, the large machine activating immediately and opens a hatch for Peni to get inside. She hops in and activates a portal. The cyborg lets out a excited beeping sound before it hopped through the portal, joining the Spider Gang.
00~00
"So...what are we dealing with basically?" Miles asked, looking at Peter as he showed a photo of Shocker and he did indeed get advance armor, especially the gauntlets of where the source of his powers will be.
They were on top of a larger building that was beside the Empire State Building, all of them formed in a circle as they look at the map of New York. Peni was beside Noir, Porker just sitting on his shoulder as Peter sat between Miles and Gwen.
"He obviously upgraded his gauntlets so webbing his hands together is the only way to keep him from using it. Unfortunately, when I tried, it blasted through the webbing. So we may have to double up the webbing so we can get him out of people's way. So I'm thinking if we split up, taking him up on 3rd, we can try to lure him near District and hold him off there. Because I know he tries to rob a bank on 3rd almost every single time he gets out of jail."
"...that's kinda cliche if ya ask me. I mean, he could have rob any other banks but he only chooses the one on 3rd?" Porker asked.
"I don't know much on the banking business, Porker so I don't know why he does that either." Peter said, looking up at Porker.
"...I don't know if it helps much, but the one on 3rd in my dimension usually holds more valuable things and holds more money than the other banks. But that is my guess, so it can go either way." Noir shrugged, Porker managing to keep balance on Noir's shoulder.
"...anywho...I say three of us greet him when he's gonna start his raid and then the other three can wait on District while we lure him there." Peter said, looking at all of them.
"And if he gets pass us on District?" Gwen asked, looking at a map as she coordinates the location and the plan.
"Then he will make it to the Brooklyn bridge. He knows that the cops have a hard time catching up to him there due to traffic. If we can cut him off there, then we can get the drop on him. Me, Miles and Gwen will go after him on 3rd. Noir, Porker and Peni, wait by District and cut him off there if he comes your way. If he gets passed you, we'll head to the Brooklyn Bridge and cut him off." They all nodded at the plan.
"Let's go!" Miles, Peter and Gwen starts to head towards the bank. Noir starts to go to District, leading Peni and Porker. Peni seemed to still be out of it, due to what day it was. Porker dragged behind a bit and looks at Peni before tapping the glass, getting her attention. "Hey, you okay, kid?" Porker asked. Peni looks over at him before managing a smile. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Just didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I'll be okay."
Porker doesn't believe her.
Noir can hear the conversation and he doesn't believe it either. But they know not to push her if she does not want to talk about it.
They got to another building on District and wait for them to come. Noir knelt down as he watched the city below. Porker now on top of SP//DR as Peni got out of the robot, deciding to be beside Noir for the moment. Noir glanced over at her for a moment before noticing a far distance look on her face. He remembered having that look after what happened to his uncle in his universe. Of course, no one knows about what happened to his uncle and he planned to keep it that way. He didn't want others scarred of that story.
He glanced over at Ham, who blinks over at him and gestured his hand towards Peni. Noir wasn't really the best for sentimental moments, especially trying to comfort people. He glanced back at Peni again before sighing softly.
Peni blinked in surprise when an arm was wrapped around her shoulder, gently being pulled to someone's side. She looks up at Noir, who was staring at the distance for the moment before looking down at Peni. "...you sure you're okay, kitten?" He asked, his hand rubbing her shoulder gently. She looks up at him, her eyes shining a bit before she looked down again. That's when Peni felt another weight on her other shoulder, looking up to see Porker.
"Come on, kid. You can trust us. We won't tell anyone." Ham offered. Even though she couldn't see, but she can tell that he was smiling under his mask.
She thinks for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Well--"
Their spider senses started to go off, making them jerk their heads up and look to their left when they can hear something coming their way. They can see Shocker coming towards them
"Looks like they've managed to get him to our location." Noir managed to say as he stood up, but not before giving Peni's shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting her go. Ham digs into his pocket before pulling out large binoculars that were much bigger than he was and glanced down, making Peni and Noir look at him with confusion. "Yep, that's our bad guy alright. And our Spider Team A is chasing him down." He puts the binoculars back into his pocket.
"...seriously, how are you doing that?" Peni asked. This made Ham chuckled and leaned his arm against Noir's head, looking down at Peni.
"Sorry, sweetie. But a professional toon never reveals his secrets." He said before going in to join Peter and the others. Noir and Peni look at each other before shrugging. Peni gets in back SP//DR before joining with Noir as they swing down towards Shocker to cut him off. Shocker was doing his best to get not only one Spider-Man off his back, but three of them. Since how many Spidermen are there?
"Leave me alone!" Shocker shoots a electric stream at them, the spider-men dodging it with ease. "Come on, Herman! You know it always ends each time!" Peter called out, gaining up towards him before dodging another electric stream. "I said I'm done talking--" Black webbing starts to cover one of the gauntlets, making him jerk back before he saw a giant mallet coming towards him, barely having to dodge it in time.
As Shocker looks up, he growls when he saw three more spider-men coming towards him. Now he has to deal with six of them!?
"You ain't getting away easy, bud." Noir said, about to web his other gauntlet until his spider senses went off when he saw a electric beam heading straight towards him. He dodged it easily, Peni also barely dodging it, but it did singe the side of the robot, making SP//DR beep in pain a bit, but stood it's ground. Peni rapidly tapped buttons as she went to grab Shocker to hold him in place. "Hurry, guys!"
"Peni, wait--" Miles was about to warn her until Shocker send a large shock wave around them all, sending them all back, the SP//DR malfunctioning as Shocker growls and starts to get away. Peter groans and stood up slowly. "Everyone okay?" He asked, hearing everyone mumble and groaning. Ham stood up, toon birds going around his head before shaking his head rapidly to focus. Noir groans as he slowly stood up, stumbling a bit before managing to stand up.
He stilled before going over to see if Peni was okay. "Kid, you okay?" He asked, about to get the cyborg to open before it starts to stand up slowly. "Some of the systems malfunctioned, but I can still go on." She said. Noir was about to protest, but then saw how Shocker was about to get away. "He's heading towards the bridge!" Gwen said, making them all starts to head towards the Brooklyn Bridge.
Shocker smirked as he saw he was going to get away, but then stopped when Peter and Miles stood in his way. "Sorry, but you know this is where it all ends. And who knows, you might make great friends in the Raft with Rhino and the others." Peter smiled a bit. Shocker growls as he tries to send a shock wave once again. "Is that a no?" Miles asked, kept avoiding the shock streams heading towards him and Peter. Gwen was trying to get the citizens to evacuate the bridge, which was a slow process.
Peni, Noir and Porker showed up and tried to restrain Shocker. Peni then had an idea as she looks at the taser gun she had, having more voltage than the regular ones in this dimension. SP//DR knew what Peni was going to do and beeped in protest. "The webbing isn't going to work and this voltage is powerful enough to at least stun him so they can web him down. I can take the hit!" She said, about to press the ejector seat before she saw a message display.
"Peni, this will not work. I do not want to lose another family."
Peni didn't say anything, knowing what her friend meant before taking a deep breath. "...I know...but something needs to be done." She pressed the button, making her being ejected out of her seat, SP//DR beeping out in protest for Peni to come back.
Noir was trying to put Shocker in a head lock, telling Peter and the others to web him now, but grunts when he felt himself being elbowed in the gut by Shocker and then thrown over his shoulder. "This is gonna be one less Spider-Man I'm gonna worry about!" Shocker said, placing the gauntlet in full power, Noir's spider instinct telling him to move, but was still stunned a bit from being elbowed. Shocker starts to raise one of his fists up--
Shocker then screams in pain as he felt immediate shock through his entire body. Peni was able to jump on his back and stunned him from the back of his neck with the taser gun. Shocker looks over and growled a bit, slowly starting to stand up despite being tazed. Electric cackles through his entire suit before he managed to throw Peni off of him. Everything went in slow motion as Shocker raised his fist towards Peni, about to send a shock wave towards her.
Peni had no defense.
She slowly raised her arms up to shield herself from the shock....
....
...but it never came.
She slowly lowered her arms and stilled, tears immediately filling in her eyes....
...as Noir was in the shock wave's path, taking the full hit. He stood still for a moment before he sunk to his knees and fell to the ground. "NOIR!!"
Peter and Miles saw their opportunity and webbed up Shocker the best he could until he could not move from the ground. Peni ran over to Noir and tried to shake him awake, tears rolling down her eyes as she kept shouting him to wake up, but he was not moving. Peter ran over as Porker managed to pull Peni away from Noir, letting her hug him as Peter checked over Noir. As he felt around for any broken ribs, he could hear Noir groaned. Peter was relieved as he took off his mask, gently shaking Noir's shoulder. "Hey...you okay?"
"....just dandy...." Noir managed to croak out.
"Think you can move?" Peter asked, slowly helping him into a sitting position. Noir tries to stand, but falls back down. "Damn, that's smart." Noir growled, Peter managing to catch him and then placed one of his arms around his shoulder, helping him to a standing position. "Okay...we're taking you to Aunt May's in Mile's dimension." He turned to Miles, which he nods and opens a portal. They all managed to step in, all but Peni and Ham. He was too busy trying to calm down the crying girl.
"...come on, kid...let's go...."
"...i-it's all my fault."
"Peni, you listen to me." He helps her pull away and cupped her cheeks with his hands. "You did what you thought was necessary. And we are talking about Noir; he's the most bad*** private eye detective I know." The cuss word he used was muted out due to him being a toon, "He doesn't go down easily, and you know this." Even SP//DR beeped in agreement. She doesn't say anything, her head still low until Ham's ears perked up when he heard the cops coming. "...Peni, come on...." He helps her stand up before they left into the portal.
00~00
Noir was resting on a bed, breathing softly. They had to take his mask off so that they could breathe properly. Peni remain by his side, tears still in her eyes. Peter looks at Peni before sighing deeply. He walked over to her and gently gives her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. "....he'll be okay...." He whispered before he leaves her be. The only people remaining in the bedroom was Peni and Ham, who doesn't say anything. Ham sighs deeply before he walked over and hopped on Peni's lap.
"Peter's right, Peni. The shock wave just stunned him a bit, all he needs is rest." He said, but then frowned when he saw tears still shining in Peni's eyes. Ham sighs before he lets Peni hug him once again, wrapping his arms around her and rubs her back the best he could.
"...it'll be okay....he'll be okay..."
He hopes that Noir would wake up soon.
The kid needs him.
......
......
Noir breathes in deeply before he slowly starts to flutter his eyes open. At first, his vision was blurry before he could see that he was in Aunt May's home.
Well, the one in Mile's universe. It was Peter's old bedroom. He slowly starts to sit up, groaning slightly when his body protested in pain. But he ignored it and managed to sit up slowly and swings his leg over until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He saw that he was by himself, then saw how the window was opened to the bedroom. As Noir looks around, he could see some advance gadgets on the side of the table, knowing who they belong to.
Peni.
He looks over to find his coat on a chair, along with his mask and hat. He looks at the mask before taking a deep breath and just took the coat, placing it on before he crawled out the window. He looks on the roof to see Peni just looking at the night sky, the wind gently blowing. He made sure he was silent as he made his way up to the roof, his body still aching in pain. But he ignores it and kept going.
"....kitten?"
Peni tensed and she turned around quickly to see Noir standing a few feet away from her. She couldn't breathe for a moment before she managed to get up and ran up to him quickly. He was already prepare as he knelt down, his arms open out as she tackled him into a hug, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and shoulders. He was hugging her back tightly in returned as he had one hand on the back of her head, the other rubbing her back in gentle circles, feeling something warm and wet against his shoulder.
"Oh, don't cry, kitten...." He whispered, hearing her sobbing into his shoulder.
"Y-You're alright! I-I thought that you were--"
"I'm alright...a bit sore, but it's nothin' I can't handle." He said, still hugging her as he managed to sit down, the small girl now in his lap but refused to pull away from him. He lets her, just staring at the night sky before he felt his spider senses going off, but it was a softer feeling. He glanced over to see Porker as he sighed in relief. "At first, I thought you went A-wall on us and we had to do a detective hunt. Trust me, those ain't fun unless you like being chased by blood hounds."
He grunts in response before looking down at Peni again, stroking her hair gently. He could hear Peni mumble something. "What did you say, kitten?" He asked, looking down at her as he helped her pull away from him. "I-...I thought that...."
Noir and Ham look at her with concerns, Noir's arms still wrapped around her slightly, Porker's hand on her shoulder as well. "...y-yesterday w-was my f-father's anniversary...and....and.....wh-when I saw you fall and took th-the hit for me..." She starts to rub her eyes with her arms, sniffing. She had to come out in the open, Noir had to know.
"...I-I thought I was going to lose another father..."
Noir's heart fluttered a bit at that, looking down at her with surprised eyes. "Peni...."
"I-I tried not to let it get to the best of me during the mission, but when I saw you fall an-and you weren't moving....I-I thought of the worse..." She starts to sob again. Noir and Ham look at each other, at lost of what to say and what to do. "....oh, kid..." Noir hugs her tighter, Porker also joining in the hug as she was sobbing into Noir's chest. "...your father would be very proud of you, Peni. You've come so far and you are making a difference..." Noir whispered.
She doesn't say anything, only focusing on his heart beat. "He's right, kid." Ham said, managing to squeeze in between Noir and Peni. "It may be hard now, but it gets easier in time. And you are not alone....if you ever feel like ya need an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on, you can come to either of us." Ham said, making her look at them both. "R-Really?" She asked, looking up at them as tears shone in her eyes.
"Of course." Noir nods, along with Porker, who was smiling underneath his mask. "If you got anything that needs off of your chest, come to either of us." Noir said, Porker smiling as he wrapped his arms around Peni, hugging him. This made Peni smile a little than she did for the past day. She hugs them both once more, making Noir tighten his grip around the small girl.
.....
.....
When Peter came to check on Noir, he was treated to a sight.
Noir was asleep, one arm around Peni as she was sleeping on his chest, her head tucked underneath his chin, while Noir's other arm was wrapped around Porker, who had his head resting against his shoulder as 'Z's floated on the top of his head as he sleeps.
Peter smiled sadly before closing the door quietly, letting the trio sleep.
They had a long day and they need all the rest they could get.