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Lena was not engaged in her modern politics class.It had been a month, and she could not find a reason to enjoy the class. She liked Mr. Ellis. She loved the way he paced about the classroom, often going on tangents about American politics. The fact of the matter was, Lena did not care. Every ounce of what humans called ‘politics’ felt like old men whining about issues that they had caused themselves. Unlike most of her peers, Lena lacked the background that the class needed. She did not know human history as well as she wished she did. She had gone over it with her tutor, Miss Gomez, but it had been her least favorite subject.Occasionally Tony was brought up in the discussion, which resulted in eyes wandering over to her direction, cautiously watching if she would react. The alibi that Tony and Pepper had developed was that she was their niece, living with them after her mother died in an accident. It was more thorough of an alibi than it seemed at first glance. Lena did not talk much to others, Peter said it was because she was still recovering from her mother’s death. It also gave her a reason to be lacking in what a typical student might know. Her lapse of knowledge could always be blamed on a tragedy that never happened.At school, she wore her hair in two braids. May had taught Peter and Peter had taught Lena, and the hairstyle was the only way to mask the fact that her hair was long enough to match The Siren’s. That was the thing. No one could know that she was secretly a superhero.The two braids made her face more open. She felt as if everyone could see it, and everyone was looking at it. The first week Peter had told her it was because she was Tony’s niece, the second week he said that shock takes a while to die down, but now it was the fourth week of school for her, and both young men and women let their eyes hold onto her for a little too long, and she felt every single one. The men were worse than the women. Their energies were predatorial and aggressive. The women, while they were rare, had softer, gentler energies. She had started to understand that not all men were like Peter Parker.The bell rang, the odd indicator that class was over, and Lena threw her things into her bag, following Peter and his friends out the door. They delved into their usual banter, Ned teasing Peter about one thing, MJ flicking Ned’s ear about another. Lena usually watched quietly, laughing when she found something funny. Peter’s friends never pressured her to be anything more than what she wanted, making it easier to be herself.“Lena, you coming with us to get food?” MJ offered it nonchalantly like she did every week. Usually, she and Peter declined, needing to start on their evening patrol, but she recalled Peter mentioning going earlier. She looked up at Peter who shrugged, and then back to MJ.“Yeah. Sure.” It was a quick walk to Ned and MJ’s usual food spot. The place was small and tucked behind a corner. Not the ideal location for business, but the food was apparently delicious. They sat down at a small table by the window, each one bringing out their homework to get a head start.“I hate The Odyssey.”“Is calculus really that important?”“Chem makes me want to blow my head off.”The comments and complaints about school circled around the table, always skipping Lena. She would have contributed if she had known how, but most of the time she liked school. It was an anomaly for a student to enjoy what they were forced to do, but she looked forward to most of her classes, and the idea of learning something she had not known before was exhilarating. She wrote her math problems, smoothly zipping through them, and continued to listen to them chat.“I know that it looked like the alien guy shot first, but Ned, I’m telling you, it had to be Han.”“You guys are losers.”“What-”Peter sounded like he had more to say, but he was cut off by the sound of something that no one else heard. Lena had grown used to moments like this. She could feel the hair on his arms rise, his ears perking up. He looked over his shoulder, and then met her eyes, barely nodding.
Do it.
She sang, quietly at first, so that when it got louder it did not seem so oddly out of place. She saw Ned and MJ’s eyes glaze over followed by their server and the one other couple in the restaurant. It was the perfect distraction to suit up for a mission. It hid them in plain sight. Pulling the suit up her body and the goggles around her eyes, it tightened around her, her hair being lifted up into its ponytail, and PET coming to life as everything locked into place. Looking at Ned and MJ, she placed a delusion in their mind to cover their backs. Ned did not need it, but they would rather not put him in danger if they did not have to.
Peter and I had to suddenly leave at Mr. Stark’s request.
Peter webbed their backpacks into his arms, throwing them against a tree and securing it with more webbing. With a thumbs up, they took off running towards whatever Peter had heard. A month of combat training was not enough. She was still working towards being somewhat close to as physically fit as Peter was.“He cheated, Lena. He got bitten by a radioactive spider, don’t be so hard on yourself,” Tony had said after watching one of her sessions. He could see the frustration in her eyes when Peter had knocked her to the ground for the tenth time that day. At least the training was effective; it helped her learn how her partner operated as well as how she operated on her own.Peter lifted his hand up, signaling her to stop, and when she caught up, she was out of breath. He was not. She panted as quietly as possible peering underneath his arm to get a look at the situation.“Looks like we got a robbery. From that small little jewelry store. C’mon man, it’s locally owned!” he whispered it in his suit, but she heard it through hers. It was a nice touch that Tony had added for their communication.Peter usually came at situations without a plan. It was more likely for him to have an upper hand, and he seemed to have fun with improvising the way he handled it.“Hey sir!” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth, still not revealing himself, “Did you know that robbery is against the law?” he paused, and they both heard the shuffling come to a steady halt. “Did you also know,” he shot a web on a streetlight across the way, “That stealing from small businesses,” she could feel the adrenaline, he launched himself up, swung around the light, and released his grip on the web, and out of her line of sight, shouting, “Is a DICK MOVE!”She somersaulted forward, not revealing herself, initially. Perpetrators were more likely to try and block her out if they had seen her before she started singing. It usually did not work, but she thought that the effort was cute. Peter said their code word quietly, so only she could hear and, and clicking on the speakers attached to her suit, she began to sing, directing it at anyone that could hear excluding Peter.“Oh shit The Siren’s with-”That was the last she heard from them. Calmly walking to the crime scene, Lena could feel the thick fog that her voice created. Inside, one man dressed in all black held a gun to another’s head, both of their eyes wide from the trance. The only barrier between Peter and them was a checkout counter. It was a sticky situation. Lena did not know what Peter would have done if she had not been there. He would have figured it out, it just would have taken a bit longer.He used a web to yank the gun from the criminal’s hand and used more to pin the man to the wall, rendering him immobile. Lena let go of the trance, the fog lifting, and the victim coming to. She could sense his panic.“Wha-what just-what just happened?” he pitched forward slightly, using the counter to lean on.“Sir, it is all right,” she was still working on sounding comforting, but she tended to lean more towards robotic.“You guys are...you guys are…”Sirens belonging to police cars blared, which was usually their queue to leave. The Siren was still the face of the merchant ships that had vanished, people still associated her with their deaths, without proof that she had actually partaken in those hunts. It was likely that she had, but that did not make her responsible for all of the deaths. She squeezed her eyes to try and refocus.“We’re Spider-Man and The Siren! We’re here to help, my man. Sit down for a sec, you’re going to be fine, but we’ve gotta go,” part of the job was calming people down, and Peter had developed a knack for it. He was gentle and kind with everyone, even after aggressively beating someone up.Lena hummed a little tune, attempting to ease the man into relaxation. His eyes closed halfway as he listened, and they ran out, grabbing their backpacks off the tree along the way.Should we go back to Ned and MJ? She asked in his head.“No, let’s just continue our patrol for today. Nice work, by the way!”“Thanks!”They had seen less of each other now that she was enrolled in school. It was not technically less, but the time they spent was either with other people or under their masks as their alter egos. There was hardly a moment when they had the same quality time they used to have leading up to her first day at Midtown Tech. While he could never become an absolute stranger to her, it was cutting it pretty close. She wished there was some way-“Everything okay?” he broke her train of thought. He was standing on the the side of the building, probably looking at her with concern.“Fine. I am fine.”“Okay. Hop on.”Usually, he would have pushed her a little harder. She did not have the same sticky fingers that the spider bite had given him, so every afternoon she found herself clinging to his back as he climbed. It took a great deal of effort, but it was good strength training. When he reached the top, she let go, falling onto her back and looking at the sky. For some reason she was pensive. She wished things could go back to the way they had been a month ago. Watching Rapunzel, chatting with Peter one-on-one every day, the moments where they would steal eye contact, longing for just one thing. She was ready to tell him, but the opportunity never felt right.“What’s wrong with you today?” the comment had a snarky air to it.She hauled out a heavy sigh. “Nothing.”“Doesn’t sound like nothing.”“Why do you care.”She saw the expression he responded with through the animated eyes on his mask, and he was slightly taken aback, but not completely shocked. He was not completely oblivious to the rift between them. Still, despite their dissonance, she could still read him through their bond entirely the same. She glared at him, knowing he would not be able to see it.He sat down, pulling the mask off and leaning back to keep any passersby from seeing. His hair was fluffy and ruffled from being pressed down for so long, and his eyes were staring at the sun going down over the New York Skyline. She was not going to lie to herself, it was a nice view.“I know things have been different since you started school,” he said, letting one of his hands clench a fistful of his hair, “I didn’t expect it to be like this either but…” there was something he was on the brink of saying, but he did not want to. The way his thoughts were folding over one another she could tell he was anxious beyond belief.“Would you stop going through my head like that?” he snapped, and this time it was her who was taken back. He had never opposed it before, in fact, she recalled that he had said to her that he did not mind.“It’s not the same because you’ve been hiding something from me, and I...I don’t know. I started getting tired of it.”She felt her heart drop to her stomach.“Peter-”“No, it’s okay. Don’t feel pressured. I don’t want you to tell me until you’re ready. If you’re ever ready.” If you are ever ready. The phrase seemed to echo.He was frowning. He was looking at the skyline and the sunset and he was frowning. She frowned too.She was looking at a stranger, and she did not know how it had gotten to that point. She stood, brushing bits of gravel off of her knees and offered him a hand up. When he stood, their faces stood inches apart, so close that she could feel wisps of his breath brush across her face. They had not been that close since their movie night.“Do you want me to tell you?” she asked. His eyes were searching for her, looking deep to find an inch of deception. She had been holding onto this for so long that he was not sure if this moment was actually happening.“Yes.”She placed her palm on his cheek, then her index and middle finger on his temple, and with a deep inhale, she showed him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peter hadn’t expected an ounce of confrontation to get him the answers that he had been curious about for almost half a year.It had been a month of sitting in the dark, wondering why she didn’t trust him, why she shied away from what she obviously wanted. It was confusing, and it had started to take a toll on him. After a while, he decided enough was enough, and she could find him if she needed him.This was only the second time he had asked, and as her hand came to his face, he wasn’t sure if he was ready. What had been so important that it had taken her six months to tell him?Two of her fingers reached his temple, and as his eyes shut he realized he was being taken into a journey of her mind. He thought he had experienced everything within the realm of the siren people, but this was unlike anything he had ever known. He opened his eyes to see that he was underwater, although it didn’t feel like it.
It is an illusion. We are still on the roof in Queens, but what you see is my old home.
What followed...there would never be a day when he could put it into words.She showed him and he understood. Through non-verbalized thought, he learned what he meant to her. He learned why she navigated his mind and thoughts so easily. Why she had been withholding all of it suddenly made sense. It took some time for him to understand, but as her projection came to a close, a single word he had never heard before popped up in his brain.
Peirasmós
Him.As her hand was ripped off his face, they both stumbled back a few steps, a flash of light crossing their eyesight for a moment. Peter didn’t know how it was possible, but it suddenly all made sense. Why she had appeared to want to be with him just to pull back from any attempt at a kiss, how she could sift through his head, why he continued to dream about her parents every night that they didn’t spend together.He was hers. It was more simple than she was making it out to be. He could see that she was tense and stressed, unsure on how he was going to respond, nervously pacing back and forth, clenching her teeth so that her jaw was locked. He almost could laugh.
Of course I want to kiss you.
Her head jerked up, her eyebrows held down, the statement was obviously not a relief. When she walked up to him, it was heavy and filled with purpose, and she pulled him by the suit, two fistfuls of fabric in her hand. He had no clue what could warrant that much aggression, but he knew she would never intentionally hurt him.“Do you understand?”He blinked, “Do I understand what?”It was the wrong response, she let out a short, exasperated sigh, looking down briefly and then returning eye contact, “Do you understand what this means? The kiss? It is a contract.”“Eternity. I know. I saw your little powerpoint presentation.”She let go, her sigh longer and audible this time. Her goggles came off with a ‘POP’ and she set them atop her head, looking slightly like a mad scientist. Her silver eyes were bouncing all over the place, trying to truly consider how Peter had reacted. She had anticipated the worst case scenario.“Lena I have loved you for a very very long time,” it was a murmur, a shy confession that he thought he would never say. After their month of emotional separation, he thought it was all over. They had become strictly colleagues, but there was always the potential for that to change. He had never been in love before, but he knew that this was it. It had been the real deal, and he always carried the faith that their relationship would bounce back.“I am scared.” He paused, looking at her continue to pace atop the roof. The sun was starting to go down, and they had only stopped one crime. Maybe that would be it for the night, sometimes they hardly got anything at all.“Let’s go to your place and we can-”“Aunt May.”“I’ll text her. Karen text Aunt May.”“Peter-”
Of course, Peter! What would you like it to say?
“‘Hey, I’m going to Lena’s. Might be home a bit later than usual. Love you.’”“Why?” he could practically see the steam fuming from her ears, even though they were covered. “Because,” he walked over to her, pulling the ponytail over her shoulder, kissing her forehead, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.”…Peter hadn’t been in Lena’s room for a while. The last time was probably the first week she had her pool, which she made a habit of using almost every day according to Mr. Stark. It was the first thing she did in the morning before going to school. When he sat down on her bed, he was taken back to all those moments they spent talking to and comforting each other. They had spent almost half a year having each other’s backs. It wasn’t until they started spending the most time together was when it all suddenly stopped.He partially blamed himself. The mystery of the secret she was holding was eating him alive, some days so intensely that he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. It was too difficult for him to live in a world where he was constantly mad at Lena, so he pulled away. After patrol, they usually didn’t see each other until school the next morning. While at school, conversation was limited. It wasn’t like they could talk about anything and everything around the people in their classes.They sat on her bed, not looking at each other.“You have to understand what this means. I need you to fully understand what this means.”“Lena. You’ve said that so many times that I’m starting to wonder if you’re hiding something from me.”“I would never-““Yes. You would,” his voice was thick. He didn’t want to be upset with her, but it had become difficult. He had been bouncing in between relief and frustration. If she had just told him. If she had just shown him earlier. He felt her going through his thoughts again.“I wanted,” he could see her eyes searching for the right words. It was something she did often, “I wanted to be able to speak it as well.”“Then do it. Speak it. Tell me out loud and then we can decide how to go from here,” he lifted his eyebrows and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and nodded.“Every siren has a peirasmós. It is Greek for temptation. As we tempt man…man tempts us,” she cleared her throat, “Or women. Many peirasmós have been women. It, supposedly, is a test, to prove to your sisters that you are worthy of your voice.” He watched her eyes dart back and forth, her line of vision fixated on the floor and avoiding his eyes. “The temptation is the instant formation of a bond. A love so strong that if it were to flourish, it’d be powerful. The connection would grant an instant connection between the two. They can share thoughts. The human shares his soul, and she grants him the gift of eternity.”She swallowed. “It was determined by our ancestors that this bond could cause the extinction of the siren race, so the test,” her voice caught, and he saw her quickly swat away a tear. “The test is killing your peirasmós as a…right of passage. If you fail, you are killed.”He let this sink into every pore of his body. So much made sense now that it was being explained to him, but he was still unsure as to how he felt about it. A month ago, he would have made the choice without hesitation, but with the current state that their relationship had formed into, uncertainty was starting to dominate.“My mother. 63 years ago, she failed and the result…was me. I am half human.”“Why didn’t they kill you?”
The daughter will not suffer the sins of the mother.
It was morbid. They kept her alive out of spite, she was sharing the feeling with him. The humiliation of her existence in the sea with them. He had known the torment, but it wasn’t until now that he bore the weight that she carried every day. The emotional trauma that she had to endure was heavier than the building he had ripped off of himself what felt like a lifetime ago.“If you want to kiss me, Peter, you are giving me a gift. It means you trust me. I, too, will be giving you a gift, but you will not understand until after the fact. For me, this is an easy choice, but for you, I know it is more difficult.”No matter how long Peter sat there, silently thinking to himself about potential consequences, he couldn’t think of any. He almost wanted to find one, just to justify the length of time Lena had taken before telling him this.Eternity. He had no grasp of the concept, yet she did. She knew what it was like to live literally forever. It had started to sink in what a huge decision this would be, and how he would practically be putting his life in her hands. He rubbed his face, unsure of what to do.“Do you want to sleep and we can figure it out later?” she offered, seeing and probably feeling the stress in his body.“I just want to...be with you,” he had envisioned it for what felt like a lifetime. When he had finally admitted to himself that he had strong feelings for her, it was all he could do not to picture what it would be like to hold her in his arms or to kiss her, actually kiss her. Even in the face of one of the most difficult decisions he would ever have to make, all he could see was their fingers interlocking, their lips meshing together, and the deep impenetrable desire to hold her in his arms every night, just so that she didn’t have to wake up screaming. He knew she still did because he still dreamt of her mother and father.She stood and peeled the clothes off of her body, not paying any mind to Peter’s presence. While he knew she didn’t care, he still kept his eyes down out of solid respect, but once she started walking in the direction of her pool, he watched her go as she turned into a dark silhouette. She fell into the water with more grace than any ballerina.Mr. Stark had set up a camera so that Peter could watch. It had seemed like an odd concept at first, but the way she navigated the water was art. She twisted and turned with an ease that was unmatched. It was as if the water was air and she was flying through it without resistance. He meandered over to her pool to watch, hoping it would bring him the same clarity that it usually brought her. Her long hair was a fountain following her at every turn. She was at the bottom, scaling it with her fingers, then moving into a twist that brought her up the side.He felt a pang in his heart, needing to sit down at the overwhelming sensation that came from looking at her.From loving her.He took off his shoes and rolled up his jeans to let his feet slide into the water. Cupping his hands, he splashed himself in the face, feeling stupid for wanting to fall so easily.Wasn’t it easier to fall?He had always been someone that cared about people. It was why he loved being Spider-Man so much. Helping people without asking for anything in return was one of the best ways to show love. He mentally shuffled through all the people in his life that he loved, that he really honest-to-God loved, and the last one he landed on was her. It had been her practically since the day they had met, and half of a year later he didn’t count on that changing. She appeared on the surface of the water, setting her arms on the edge and resting her head in her elbow. The silver eyes that he never wanted to stop staring into were looking into his, the beginning of a tear starting to take form. He circled his legs so that they were underneath him, and held himself over the edge, looking at her in a similar way she used to look at him peering over a tank in Mr. Stark’s research lab.In movies, romantic music always seemed to play in the background of moments like that one. Just as the two main characters reach the pivotal moment where they finally set everything aside to come together. Their heads appear to fill with noise as their hearts beat and their minds race and the music explodes with passion.Kissing Lena was tranquility.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Their lips touching was like stepping back into the Atlantic Ocean.She felt a wave through her bloodstream and a change in the wiring of her brain. Behind the darkness of her closed eyelids, she saw eternity and its timeline, laid out for both her and Peter to acquire and hold in their fists. The bond was sealed, and the hole in her heart finally felt filled. A rush of colors was what spiraled throughout her mind. It was odd to feel colors, but somehow the beams of light were all that occupied the space. When she opened her eyes, Peter's were still closed. Gently, she placed one hand on the side of his face, and the other on the back of his head, letting her fingers slide through his hair. She knew what she intended to do. Guiding him forward, he opened his eyes and kept them on her, letting his arms fall around her neck as he came into contact with the water.He could breathe in the water as long as they were touching. As soon as he let go, he would lose that ability, but now all she had to do was think it, and he knew. Their lips reconnected, and then they were dancing.It felt like it was what they were born to do. The seiren were not meant to live their lives killing, especially killing those that they loved above all else. Maybe if they had allied with the humans way back before they had formed society, the seiren would have been able to live peacefully with them rather than become predatory in nature.She surfaced, smiling softly as Peter shook his hair out of his face and looked at her, adoration in his eyes. They had the same element as a young dog, holding onto her every move with cautious excitement."So will you be my girlfriend?" he asked breathlessly. She took a moment to recall what that word meant, then the memories of romantic comedy movies flooded in, reminding her that it was what humans called their romantic partners. She kissed him again.
Peirasmós
"Yeah," he laughed, "that.""It took you two long enough."Mr. Stark - or Uncle Tony - had a habit of making an entrance. Their heads whipped towards him like a set of deer in a car's headlights, they could feel each other's heart rates pick up. She stifled a smile at the feeling of Peter looking through her mind. It was a new skill of his that he would have to adapt to. They sat there, clutching each other, hair matted from the water, staring up at Tony without any certainty of what they could say that was appropriate.Peter's presence in her mind and soul made her feel like she was finally complete."Now the door really needs to stay open when Peter spends the night," Tony smirked and left. If Lena knew anything about him, she knew that he felt proud of himself for that one.They hoisted themselves out of the water, Lena waiting on the edge for her tail to dry into legs. She requested PET to activate the fan that Tony had installed into the ceiling, the cool air sinking into her scalp and adding goosebumps to the surface of her pale skin. Peter helped her up, and she tiptoed and shivered over to her dresser to get some clothes.Peter needed some clothes as well. After throwing on a set of white, silk pajamas, another material that did not irritate her skin, she grabbed an extra large t-shirt that she would usually sleep in and a pair of old sweatpants she had once stolen from Peter's apartment after a night on patrol. She tossed them to him and let him change. When she turned around, he had only just pulled the sweats over his waist, the upper half of his body exposed. She found her eyes lingering on the distinct muscles that protruded in his stomach, chest, and arms, her lips parting in a way that was hardly discreet. She heard him chuckle before pulling the oversized shirt on.Pulling her into a hug, he kissed her again, short and sweet, "I can't believe this is actually real now."She smiled at him, letting them sit in the moment. In a fast-paced world, she had to remind herself to embrace moments like these where they could absorb every inch of each other's feelings, the dull joy humming in their fingers and lips like a bee looking for a flower. She wiped an eyelash off of his cheek and let her lips find his one last time before heading back into the depths of the Avengers Compound that she finally felt comfortable calling home.They made their way to the lounge, a spot that Tony said the people who used to live there spent a great deal of time. Peter had known to grab her hairbrush and went to work on detangling her hair as she turned on the deep sea episode of Planet Earth. By now she knew it almost word for word but still felt like she was seeing it for the first time. It was the only good way, other than swimming, for her to feel nostalgia.The last time Peter had brushed her hair was shortly after she had started school with him, and since then she had forgotten how relaxing it was. The feeling of her hair being pulled back, but not all the way out, over and over, like a message intended for her scalp. She would have closed her eyes if it were not for the TV holding her attention. She let out a deep breath as the brush made its way up her hair and onto the top of her head. When he was done, he tied it into a braid as his aunt had taught him and placed it on her shoulder for her."Thank you.""Of course."She slid up onto the couch next to him, outstretching her arms above her head and laying across his lap. She could feel the weight of his arms, one resting on her waist and the other interlocking their fingers in her right hand. It was where she wanted to stay for the rest of her life, but unfortunately, duty always called."Kids!" Tony tapped on his phone a few times, the TV's screen contorted, showing a projection of what was on the tiny device. She sat up, her fingers still holding onto Peter's. Tony had appeared behind the couch looking mildly frantic.A fire had broken out in an apartment building, but that was not what he was directing their attention to. Atop the building was a large, brutish man, waving a torch that was ablaze. He was yelling something that was unidentifiable."It was clearer when the fire wasn't as loud but he wants you two. He's practically begging you two to come and fight him," Tony continued. There was a level of uncertainty that accompanied his voice. She could tell that he was calculating the situation meticulously."Why are you hesitant?" Lena had gotten better at asking the questions that were on her mind. "I want you two to go," he was pacing now, running his fingers along the back of the couch nervously, "But I'm going to be close by, keeping an eye on you two. I want you two to branch out, but I don't want to put either of you in a dangerous situation."She could feel Peter's heart swell with excitement, happy that he was finally getting an opportunity to impress his mentor. Little did he know that she felt Tony's immense pride for him quite often. It was one of the strongest feelings that he felt from a day to day basis. Lena had a particular difficulty reading Tony, which worked well for him being her father figure, but the one thing she could decipher from his brain, sometimes almost effortlessly, was his content with Peter's progress. Tony's mood immediately dialed up whenever herself or Peter walked into the room."All right, let's get on with it." They jogged towards Lena's room where they had initially shed their suits and pulled them on quickly, Peter almost falling over as he pulled his left leg up his body. The nanotech headpiece secured her hair out of her face and the goggles secured to her face, PET coming to life inside her ears.Out front, Tony was in his own suit, which she had only seen from him in images online. It was not as bulky as she had anticipated it being. It fit to his body almost perfectly."The fastest way to get there is via Iron Man," Tony's voice was on the verge of laughing, yet still urgent, "I'm going to hang onto Lena, and Peter just, please stay sticky on my back."Lena had always wanted to call herself brave, but she never felt she was. As Tony clung to her tightly, she wanted to keep her eyes open, but the height was petrifying. Every time she saw the speed at which they were moving combined with the complete possibility of her falling, her eyes would snap shut and her stomach would churn, hinting at the idea of her vomiting into the abyss."We're approaching. See that smoke?" She tilted her chin forward to try and get a glimpse. The scent hit her before she had the chance to open her eyes. It was a thick pungent smell that forced her to cough upon breathing it in."Careful," she heard Tony's warning tone of voice. The fire was centered on the top two floors, and the perpetrator still had not moved from where they had last seen him. Helicopters were starting to swarm, but could not get nearly as close as they needed to, shouting things over radio to try and make contact with the strange man. The roar of the flames muffled most of what they were saying."I'm going to drop you in the midst of it and try to stay out of sight. As far as the public knows I'm not even in this suit. I'll be watching and listening through your suits, let me know if you need assistance."She ignored the wave of anxiety as they got closer to the building, the man getting larger and larger. He had to be more than a foot taller than her, and his bicep was likely to be larger than the size of her head. For once she was glad she was not as well versed in combat, because she knew Peter was going to take the lead in that regard."Three...two...one..."And they were falling the short distance from the sky onto the roof, a sinister look crossing the odd man's face."Hey, mister!" Peter yelled as they touched ground, "You think arson is the solution to your issues? Man, I just see a therapist," he shot a web at the torch and yanked it out of his hand. The man's face turned red and sweaty, a vein appearing on the outside of his temple and running into his neck.Lena did her best to sing, but it was far too loud for anyone to hear anything. It was forcing her to feel useless. Peter was finding objects to launch at him, and she was just trying to get a read on his mind. All the could feel was fire and anger, and the one objective, which was to capture her.
Peter.

I'm a little-
She cut him off, He wants me. Very badly. His primary mission is to capture me. What? Why? She saw him launch his body at his target, kicking him in the face and backflipping away, landing in a squat.I am-I am trying to- She was focusing all of her energy into reading him, but it was so chaotic that she could not decipher his motive. Her alias just repeated in his brain like a broken record.She was about to try and get closer, when something yanked at her arm, almost ripping it out of its socket. A man with his face covered by a black mask and a top hat had pulled her towards him, shoving his hand into her neck, forcefully suspending her in midair, her airways completely blocked. She could not breathe, and her vision was going white."You are mine now," was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peter knew as soon as it happened that something was wrong. He felt a tightness in his throat, and her presence in his mind went black. After hurling another piece of wood and throwing a fistful of ash into his opponent’s eyes, he turned and found Lena’s limp body in the arms of a new stranger. He was masked and in a top hat, a cheap attempt at masking his identity.Hey, not everyone had the same resources that Tony stark had.He felt his heart lurch, fiery anger only slightly skewed from the ruffian in front of him filled his brain, the idea of anyone harming her too much to hold onto. Putting his panic into action, he shot a web at her, yanking her away from the odd man’s clutches and letting her body fall over his shoulder. It caught the man’s attention, that was for sure.He set her down, cradling her head so as not to injure her further, and faced his two opponents, now completely on his own. It was a feat to try and keep his composure. He hadn’t felt this challenged since fighting Mr. Toomes on the beach. With a THWIP, he shot a web out of his left shooter, aimed directly on the face of the brute. He pulled the web and the man’s face down and hard in an attempt to knock him out, but it only made him angrier. He temporarily disabled him, webbing his hands immovable and securing them to the ground.The other man was a lot taller and a lot more slippery. He ran around the space like a snake, appearing from behind boxes and rubble in an attempt to shoot Peter with a weapon he hadn’t seen before. Thanks to his senses, the hair on his arm raising at every beam of light zooming past his ears and shoulders. He needed to get ahold of the weapon if this man was going to be caught. Every other second, his attention moved from Peter to Lena, who Peter now knew that getting him away from her was going to be his goal.He never got the chance to develop a plan, though, because the sound of jets somehow filled the remainder of hearing he had left. He didn’t need to turn around to figure out who it was.“So you think you can attack my siren like that, huh?” Mr. Stark’s voice materialized behind him. Peter felt a mix of relief and disappointment that their asses were being saved by Iron Man. He had wanted to pull through and defeat the bad guy on his own, but now that his partner was rendered disabled it was a little more difficult. He hadn’t realized that he had grown accustomed to her being by his side.There were a few blasts from Mr. Stark’s suit, but it quickly scared them off. The opponents hadn’t been expecting Iron Man to swoop in, and they quickly escaped by jumping off the building and into a jet that had been conveniently camouflaged. As it flew away into the horizon, Peter felt Mr. Stark’s frustration radiating off of his body. They had slipped from right in between their fingers.On the flight back to the Avenger’s compound, they were all silent. Lena only because she was still unconscious, and Tony because of the budding anxiety that accompanied their recent encounter. Peter tried to search for Lena’s mental wavelength, wishing that the awkward silence could end, but he hit a wall whenever he got close. She wasn’t even dreaming. The silence was staticky and strange like he had stepped into a soundproof room.They were brought straight to the medical center, where Lena was set on a table and Peter was ordered to be examined. His heart was racing, and he knew he was still running on adrenaline, but he didn’t want to leave her side. He could feel himself healing at the quick rate it usually did, so having someone examine him felt pointless. As his airways and lungs were checked, all of his focus was centered on Lena lying on the table.He was cleared, letting him bounce off the table and towards her. He held his mask in his hands, the suit still clinging to his body, and peered over as she was given an oxygen mask.“Her body went into shock after the strangulation,” the doctor was a tall woman whose lips were pursed tight, “She’ll be all right. You got to her before any long term damage could be done.”There was a giant bruise shaped like a hand on the side and back of her neck, a gross purple color that ignited rage in the pit of Peter’s stomach. It was the first time someone had hurt her to this severity, and it was infuriating. But he wasn’t just angry with the assaulter, he was angry with himself for not being able to do anything for her. He had just let it happen.He felt a stirring in his mind, a vibrating feeling. She was starting to regain awareness. He took her by the hand and pressed it to his lips, happy that she was finally returning to him. The different ways he could apologize to her started to rotate on shuffle, but when her eyes fluttered open he couldn’t bring himself to say any of them, he was just relieved that she was actually all right.“Peter?” her voice was hoarse. Hopefully, that injury wasn’t permanent, “What? How- Did we get the angry man?”“No we didn’t. Another guy-”“Mask man.”“He hurt you and then when Mr. Stark tried to intervene-”“They ran away.”“Yeah.”They could finish each other’s sentences quite literally. She was jumping on his words easily, not having a doubt on what he was about to say.“That is okay,” she sat up, looking about at her surroundings, almost paying no mind to the injuries she sustained.“Woah woah woah,” Peter placed a hand on her back, startled by her eagerness to get up, “you really took a beating, be careful!”She gave him a defensive look, “I am fine.”He offered out his hand, which she took, and walked with her towards the main building so that they could finally take a rest from the long day. If Peter was fatigued, then he knew that Lena was bound to be tired. He made a point to keep the door open, and as they climbed into her bed, he could feel the heaviness of her body as it slumped into his, her falling into a light sleep almost instantly. Peter was about to fall asleep as well when he felt an urgent hand on his shoulder turn him around, and Mr. Stark’s concerned face looking over him. Making sure he didn’t wake Lena, he slid away and shut the door behind him quietly, rubbing his eyes to try and jerk himself awake.“I’ve got two things for you Mr. Parker.”Dread formed in his stomach. He had started to realize that Mr. Stark typically called him that when he was being serious. The dark look in his eyes was also a telltale sign that he meant business.“Of course Mr. Stark I-”“If you hurt her in any way, you’re dead. Murdered. Consider this a threat.”“I could never,”“Good,” Mr. Stark wiped a hand down the side of his face, “Okay, so Human Torch today. He was definitely trying to lure you both down there, the arson was just to get something loud enough to mask Lena’s voice. If you two run into anything like that again, you don’t hesitate to call me. I don’t want some psycho kidnapping either of you.” Mr. Stark had a grave look on his face, his eyes were narrowed. Peter could only nod, unsure of what he could say that would reassure the man any further. “Promise?”“Yeah. Yes, sir. Promise,” he crossed his heart to drive the point home.“Get to bed. Happy will take you to school tomorrow.” Mr. Stark walked away, leaving Peter completely in shock by the sudden change of tone from the man who had only been impressed with him lately. He quietly sneaked back into Lena’s room, crawling onto her bed, and letting his eyes shut again. It was indescribable how wonderful it was to hold her in his arms, knowing that she was his. He buried his face in her strawberry-scented hair and allowed himself to shut his eyes and slip into a dreamless sleep.…They barely woke up in time for school. Now that their minds were in sync with each other, getting ready was like a choreographed dance. They knew each other’s next move as they pranced around the room, tossing books to each other and throwing on clothes, spitting into the sink while brushing their teeth, and zooming out to the car waiting for them. If only Iron Man was willing to give them an escort.Jogging into school, Peter was about to give Lena a kiss before entering the building, but something stopped them, bringing a wave of humor and secondhand embarrassment into both of the forefronts of their minds. Peter snickered, using all of his energy not to laugh out loud. For the first time in his entire high school career, he wasn’t the receiving end of Flash Thompson’s jokes.He had met Flash his freshman year, and they immediately found a distaste for each other. The kid only cared about his own interest, putting himself above all others. When he started making backhand comments about Ned, that was where Peter drew the line. If standing up for Ned, his best friend since kindergarten, meant opening the door to Flash’s rude commentary, it was a consequence he was willing to deal with. Currently, Flash surrounded by a couple of his friends stood outside the steps of Midtown where they entered school every morning, a large sign in his clutches, an eager look on his face.When Peter turned to Lena, she looked puzzled, and he knew she was trying to read Flash but was confused by what she found. On the sign, in large red letters was the word “PROM?”“Lena Potts, would you give me the honor of-”“Eugene I do not-”“Flash, Lena. It’s Flash, please,” he snapped, the sound of his given name obviously ticking him off, “Prom, Lena. We’d have the best time. You would have the best date. You’re breathtaking. You’re-” Prom is the dance, correct? The one from all of the movies? She looked up at Peter, her lips curled in.He nodded, Yeah. If you want to go with him-I want to go with you, she cut him off this time, “I am sorry, Eugene, but I already have a date.”“What? How? It’s April!”“I am going with Peter,” Peter watched as she smiled politely and walked right past him. He had never seen anything so badass and wished he could have gotten it on video.It hadn’t taken long for Peter to pick up on the attention that Lena drew. There wasn’t a moment where all eyes weren’t on her. The first week, it had been strange and nerve-wracking; typically Peter wasn’t the center of attention, and when he was it was because he was a punchline. Lena had a lure even when she wasn’t singing. The weaker someone’s mind, the more likely they were to swoon after her as she was walking down the hallway. Lena paid no mind. She hardly noticed most of the time, and when she did, she brushed it off. It hardly bothered her. Even with the fact that she could read their thoughts she didn’t let it get to her.She held the door open, jerking her head in the direction of inside, “Are you coming?”Peter kept the dumbfound smile on his face, “Yeah, yeah. See you later Eu- I mean, Flash,” he patted him on the shoulder on the way in.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lena finished her math test early, turning it in before anyone else. She had checked and double-checked all of her calculations, and knew for certain she had gotten every answer correct. Math had become her favorite subject. It was simple problem solving, no complex thinking, everything had a perfectly laid out step that she had to memorize to get the correct answer. She had bonded with Tony over the liking they both took to it. He checked her homework every night, rarely finding a mistake.It had meant that she started out in the Freshman math level, and worked her way up the Junior level. She was a year ahead of most of the kids in her grade. She had felt Peter’s surprise when she had walked into the Pre-Calculus class on the third week of school, and he felt his surprise again as she turned in her exam.When she sat back down, she opened her laptop to find something to do with the remaining time she had. Opening a browser, the first image that flashed in front of her face was an image of her, standing firmly on the top of the building, Spider-Man at her side. She clicked on the article, curious as to what they could have written about her.Below the image of her looking powerful was one of a completely opposite nature. Looking curiously at the picture, she was finally able to piece together what had happened in her final, conscious moments. The enemy had grabbed her by the neck until she passed out, Peter had tried to hold his own, but Tony had eventually swooped in and saved the day.
A strange arsonist attacked a building in Midtown early last evening. The fiend could be heard for hours, begging for the set of vigilantes, Spider-Man and The Siren, to come and oppose him. Hardly two minutes after arriving, the Siren was rendered unconscious. This is the first account of The Siren being practically defeated, simply by a matter of the noise around her masking her mysterious, luring voice.

Both heroes made it out of the situation alive, but without the arsonist or his accomplice in captivity. NYPD is in the process of developing theories and are on the hunt for leads.
Lena had a small feeling that the arsonist was not the leader of the duo they had encountered. The strangulation had caused her to completely black out, detaching her mind completely. The period of complete silence, the loss of any comprehension, it had caused her to wake in almost panic. She was completely disoriented. Even in her sleep, she had grown used to Peter’s constant, calming presence in her head, and the lengthy period of time where he had been missing was startling.
Lena, exit out of that page before someone notices what you’re reading.
She looked to her left to find Peter still taking his test, but his eyes were angled upward at her. Rolling her own, she hit the red ‘x’ and shut her laptop, laying her head in her arms until the class period was over.
Hey, what did you get for number 23?

Peter, we cannot use this for-

I’m joking, I’m joking.
She sent him a mental image of her flicking him in the ear, which he responded with an image of him kissing her neck. She blushed and let her face fall further into the crook of her elbows.At lunch, she could feel the vibrating excitement of the students around her. Some of the guys were making fun of Eugene Thompson for Peter being chosen over him (which she would never understand, Peter was much more of a catch than Eugene. He was gentle and kind, while Eugene was hard, insecure, and mean). The others were whispering about the recent hero fight that had happened only a few blocks away from their school. It was interesting to be spoken about when the people who were doing the speaking had no clue that their subject was in their midst.She sat down at the table that they usually occupied, one on the outskirts of the lunch room, and took out the food that Tony conveniently placed in her bag every morning without fail. It was a kind gesture that he easily could have had someone else do, he was an extremely busy man, but he did it still, leaving a kind note of encouragement.MJ fell into the seat next to her, plopping a sketchbook and a salad on the table. They always ate in silence while the boys got their school lunches. It was not an apathetic or cold silence, it was just a lack of knowing what to say to each other. MJ had been the last friend that Peter had introduced her to, and they did not spend much time together outside of school. Going to the cafe yesterday had been one of the few times. Lena had a secret desire to get to know the girl better; she had spent most of her life on earth surrounded by adults, and male adults at that. When opportunities, like the this one, arose, the anxiety of sole human exchanges was too thick to allow her to carry it out.She would have loved to know if MJ felt the same way towards her, but MJ’s thoughts were blocked off heavier than any teenager she had ever come across. It was stronger than Ned’s, Peter’s, even some of the teachers at the school. Her mental stamina was comparable to Tony’s.“Did you guys see the arsonist last night?” Ned was enthusiastic as he sat down, looking at the girls and Peter ecstatically. Ned knew that two of them had been directly involved in the action, but that was a part of the game he played. The kid liked to see Peter dance around a cover-up story. Lena had to admit, it was almost funny seeing Peter lie through his teeth.“Yeah. Yeah, I saw. I- uh huh,” Peter was still distracted by something. Lena’s eyes scaled his bare forearm and quickly noted that his hair was standing on edge. It felt odd to her, because his heightened senses usually only detected immediate danger, yet they were perfectly safe sitting down at the table, as they usually did every day. She pushed her eyebrows together and placed her hand on his.
Are you okay?
He looked up at her, panicked and uncomfortable. Something was definitely wrong, but neither of them could pinpoint where it was coming from. Peter sat, frazzled, and ran his hands through his hair.
Jesus, when are they going to tell us that they’re Spider-Man and The Siren.
The sound of MJ’s voice ricocheted across her ears. Lena’s head popped up, unsure if what she heard was in her head or out loud. They caught eyes, MJ looking as unconcerned as usual. If the thought had been unintentional, Lena was almost proud of herself for minutely breaking through the barrier. If MJ had done this on purpose… then she had been hiding this secret for a long time.A crash made every soul in the cafeteria jump. It had come from the North hallway, and immediately they both knew that this was the root of Peter’s senses going off. The brief silence that overcame the large, packed room was thin and crisp, the wind outside was audible through the cracked windows.BOOMThis time, the entire building shook, and a couple tables moved a few inches. A few murmurs fell across a few students, wide-eyed looks of partial fear bouncing off their faces. Lena could feel the thick aura of terror rise up, snaking its way into each individual she was surrounded by. It was the most suffocated she had ever felt amongst the humans.BOOMAs Peter stood, so did Lena. The students had started to shield their heads, not knowing where or what they should be running from. She could feel every single fight or flight response flare up one by one as some stood and others crumpled into themselves. We have to do something. She shot the words at him urgently, emphasizing the direness of the situation.
L, we have no idea what we’re up against. Wait just a moment and-
BOOM A silhouette formed in the hallway leading out of the lunchroom, a figure emerging from the dust he had created himself. She recognized the shape, the gait, and even the voice as the dust cleared, and the arsonist from the previous night revealed himself. It had not even been a day and he was already back for more. REMEMBER THE PROMISE YOU MADE MR. STARK pulsated frantically across Peter’s thoughts, sending Lena a raging headache that almost made her black out, but she pushed through it and regained her composure, screaming at Peter.SHUT UP. It stopped, and the look on his face was enough of an explanation. He had no idea what had happened.The Arsonist was yelling incoherently, thrashing and creating as much noise as he could. It was a tactic to keep her out of his head, but unfortunately, he did not have the roar of a raging fire to back him up.Or did he?Tony had told her, “Try and always stay one step ahead of anyone you were up against. It’s a skill that is learned and earned, not a talent one can possess.”If she was right, she needed to stay one step ahead of him. Peter was not of any use at the moment, she could tell he was still attempting to develop a plan on his own. By now, the students had either remained glued to their chairs or were hurriedly grabbing their things and evacuating. Clenching her teeth, she opened her mouth, singing as loudly as she possibly could while still keeping the trance heavily placed on the note. Through the complete chaos, she was able to reach every single ear, including the Arsonist’s, and all was silent except for the sugary sweet sound of her voice singing through the atmosphere.Walking felt slow like she was wading through a river. She could feel the braids in her hair fly over her shoulders, her eyes focusing on the meaty man whose eyes were frozen on her. She crept to his face, studying every scar, every burn mark, a cut going through his left eye, the way his face looked like a large machine had stomped on it, and the skin damage that flowered throughout the back of his neck and bald head. It looked as if he had suffered some life-threatening burns that were never treated properly.Maintaining the note she was singing, she pulled her bag off of her right shoulder and reached in, taking her time pulling on the tech that Tony had so carefully crafted to fit her body. Once her goggles were on, PET activated, she released Peter from the spell, looking at him as he fell over, dazed.“Whatthehell.”
You did not have a plan, so I stayed one step ahead of the Arsonist.
Despite her voice being occupied, she could still send him communication through his head.He pulled his eyes open, “What? That did not make any sense,” he looked over at who she was standing next to, and it sunk in. “Oh. I get it now.”The dizziness from her spell wore off, and he threw his suit on over his clothes, yawning as he spoke a few commands to his AI, Karen. One of them involved Tony, but she ignored it and realigned her attention to the problem at hand. She was growing tired from holding over 70 people in a seirenic trance all at once and felt like she could fall at any given moment. Peter needed to move the fight elsewhere before it was too late.She directed the large man towards the door, planting the convincing image into the high schoolers that there had been an intruder, but Spider-Man and the Siren had shown up to save the day. She specifically made sure they did not make the connection between that and Peter Parker and Lena Potts’s sudden vanishing. She would create that cover story when she had a free moment.She kept a careful eye out for the Arsonists’s companion, the slithery man with the tacky-looking mask (That was the adjective she had overheard Tony using in passing the night before. She had no clue what it actually meant, but trusted his judgment). She feared him and his cunning tricks more than the large animalistic brute. He was the one that had snuck up on her and rendered her useless, forcing her into a darkness that she never wanted to return to. She had not realized until she had the time to think about it that he had violated her in a disturbing way. She shivered, her stomach doing a somersault.“You okay?” Peter must have felt her guts lurch.
I will be okay. I will tell you later.
Would she? Or would she thrash in pain until it ate her alive? Some time in the end, he would figure it out. They were connected by the soul now, and there was nothing for her to hide any longer.She worried that would be their greatest downfall.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Birds chirped as they stood at the center of the football field, both of their eyes locked on who Lena had started calling The Arsonist. The way that she was holding him under her trance was as if he was suspended in time, frozen in the same position that he had bounded in with. She was willing him not to move an inch.The sound of rockets brought their eyes to the sky, Mr. Stark's suited figure lowering into a landing. The sound of Lena's vibrato was ringing in his ears, her voice sounding weaker than it had been when she started singing 15 minutes ago. When he landed next to them, the shell of the helmet around his head collapsed into the back of his neck, and a look of concern was plastered across his face. He was stern, walking around the villain, taking in every detail.Peter looked over at Lena, whose eyes had started to droop, her mouth sagging from exhaustion. There was a heaviness about her that he could feel, every one of her limbs begging her to crumble underneath her, her mind begging her to let it take a rest. Still, she held herself upright, the song continuing to resonate through her vocal folds and into the ears of their enemy.Mr. Stark forced the man's arms behind his back in a violent effort. The blare of police sirens echoed off the building of the school, and Peter watched a helicopter descend, the outline of a sniper fixating a direct shot onto the Arsonist's head. Lena was fading, resources were slim, and he was running out of time. Mr. Stark couldn't take the risk that a set of handcuffs would keep the man contained - no matter how high tech they might be."Sweetheart, you can stop singing now," Mr. Stark's voice was rough and riddled with frustration. The sound of her voice stopped, and she fell to her knees, and then onto her palms, keeping herself as upright and using her arms for support. Peter stepped towards her and lifted her up by the waist, allowing her to get an arm around his shoulders. Her head dropped onto his chest. When the man gained consciousness, he was quiet, much to their surprise. His knees also buckled in an unexpected surrender, and if Peter could have seen Mr. Stark's face, it would be a stone cold expression masking how he really felt: confusion."What evils have I done," the man spoke quietly, letting his chin fall to his chest."Guys, go...go back to school.""Mr. Stark-""Peter, I'll take it from here.""But this is our villain, sir."Mr. Stark's nostrils flared, and a familiar look came over his face, it was the look Peter was always given when he tried to push a boundary and ended up putting himself in danger. Only this time, they had things under control.For the most part."Do you think this is a game, Mr. Parker? Do you think you are in some sort of comic book? This is not a villain, this man is a high profile criminal," each word hit Peter individually and with a different amount of force. All pride Peter thought his mentor had for him had suddenly disintegrated with three sentences of parental-esque lecture. Peter felt his hands ball into fists, but he couldn't bring himself to argue with Mr. Stark, and with Lena heavily leaning against him, inches away from passing out, Peter had to set his priorities in order.Without another word, and making sure she was secured to the left side of his body, Peter hobbled to find the nearest building. If anything was certain, it was that neither of them could show up at Midtown dressed as their alter-egos. With Lena and Peter missing, it would be blatantly obvious that it was them. So, Peter set a direct route for his apartment, figuring they could change as quickly as possible before heading right back to school. Lena was fast asleep by the time he suspended himself in the air to start swinging."Karen, call Ned!" he yelled to his AI over the howling wind.
Calling Ned Leeds.
"Peter! What the- are you okay? Where are you? Where's the arsonist guy? Is Lena okay? Where-""Ned! I'm fine. We're both fine.""Good. Good. I dropped your guys' stuff at your house just so you know.""What? Why?""They sent everybody in the lunch room home. Everyone absent for the next three periods are going to be questioned, though.""Shit," dread washed over Peter when hearing the latter statement. It was just what he was afraid of, and he knew they had to be at least a half an hour into his next class, preventing them from attempting to act as if they had never left. Going back wouldn't be worth much at this point. Besides, Lena was going to be asleep for the next few hours. This sleep was one that she was in full control of, unlike when the Arsonist's partner had strangled her. He still felt her and she still felt him. It meant, though, that they had to come up with a solid alibi, and the only two options he had was Ned or Mr. Stark. Even then, there were flaws in both of those witnesses.If Peter and Lena claimed to be with Ned the entire time, MJ could debunk that in seconds. Alternatively, he had no immediate desire to call Mr. Stark in search of a cover story. He felt his stomach twist, Lena stir in her sleep, and let out all remaining air when he stuck a perfect landing on the roof of his apartment building."Peter, are you still there?" Ned was practically yelling into his phone."Yeah. Here," he set Lena on her back and let his legs cross beneath him, using his knees as a face rest. "Is there any way for you to cover me?""We might have to talk to MJ but-""That's the issue. I can't have her knowing that-""Peter, let me finish. God, you remind me more of Stark with each passing day," Ned let out an exasperated heave and didn't continue, leaving Peter wondering if the call had dropped. Usually, Karen would have said something, so it was odd that the line appeared to still be connected."Ned are you still there?""Yeah, I just had to make sure you weren't going to cut me off again."Peter rolled his eyes."The thing. . .Lena's power...it made us all think that you guys left before lunch. Lena's uncle called you both out of school for something involving press or whatever. It made complete sense to me until I was able to snap out of it." Peter's head jerked up and at Lena, her eyes fluttering. She was dreaming. Hopefully, there weren't any nightmares. His smart girl had already given them the perfect cover story.He brought his eyebrows together, almost laughing, "Really? How did you know that it was her power? And was it weak enough to allow other people to snap out of it?" It was the second question that Peter really needed the answer to. He had never thought to wonder if the effects of Lena's voice were long term."I know who Spider-Man is, which sort of gave it away," Ned said, "and had I not known that I probably would have gone my entire life thinking that you guys really had left that day. I mean, MJ is still convinced that you guys got a call from Mr. Stark the other day when we were doing homework."Peter chuckled, "Okay. Okay, that's good," he sighed, his eyes drifting to Lena sleeping next to him. "Thanks for dropping off our bags. I'll see you tomorrow."The call ended, and Peter kept on staring at Lena, her sleep reminding him of the first few hours they had spent together; she was unconscious in the bathtub and he had been blown out of the water by the idea of her existence. Now she was his closest friend and his first love. He took her hand, massaging it gently and planted a kiss on the top of it. He felt her stir, but she didn't wake, so he scooped her up, scaling the side of his apartment until reaching his window. After setting Lena on his bed, he rose to find May standing in his room with her arms crossed."H-Hey May-""I just get worried, that's all.""May it was all so hectic-""Just a phone call next time, okay?"He saw her face twitch, a small tear falling down the side of her cheek, and Peter let himself fall into a hug with her, knowing that they both needed it."I just never am able to really tell if you end up all right," her hand was clutching the back of his head and her heart was racing. A few sobs shook her diaphragm back and forth. "I'm all right. I'm okay," Peter couldn't help but choke out a few tears, his throat thick with guilt for making his aunt worry. It had been the reason he had kept the entire Spider-Man ordeal to himself so that scenarios like this wouldn't happen.When she pulled away, May was swatting at her tears with the hope that Peter hadn't seen them, but he had felt them and that was enough. She took him by the face and ran her hand through his hair, kissing his forehead. As a kid, it was what she would do whenever he got home from school. It was always a hand ruffling through the hair and a kiss on the head.After she left, he let the suit fall off his body and put on a pair of sweatpants, letting them sit comfortably on his hips. Lena was still sleeping, her goggles smushing the cheek that rested on the pillow. He slid his fingers underneath the thick straps and guided it off her face, allowing her head to fall into a more relaxed position. Exhausted, he reached over her and let his body crash into bed, fitting perfectly next to her.They dreamed together. When he drifted into sleep, he saw images more clearly than ever before. She stood in front of him in a place that neither of them had been to before. The land was earthy and rugged with a musty red undertone. Rocks and rubble floated in the air as if gravity followed different rules. For all he knew it did; the place looked like a different planet.She was staring at the sky. He walked up behind her and tried to search for what her eyes were locked on, but it was just a grey-cloud filled sky. He felt her move, and she looked startled at the sight of him."How did you get here?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and sliding it down to his bicep. He looked around, his lips tight."I just went to sleep.""We are dreaming?" she looked around, her hand falling into his and squeezing it tightly. She was nervous."Yeah.""That makes sense. Where is this place?""I couldn't tell you. Definitely nowhere I have been before."There was a stalky silence, and they remained, holding hands and taking in their surroundings. The dark, morbid air clung to their clothes like sweat on a humid day. All he wanted was to place a finger on what was stirring the unsettling feeling in the back of his head, but there was no person in sight, no creature, possibly nothing alive. There wasn't even a plant to try and identify. This couldn't be Earth.They were forcefully awoken, their hands interlocked when consciousness returned. He felt her confusion and the annoyance that accompanied that confusion. She was growing tired of not knowing what was happening around her, and that's how he knew she had no role in the strange shared dream they had.He rested his head on hers, drowsily attempting to keep his eyes open. Her hair descended out of its ponytail, brushing across his arm. When he felt her lips, it was with the same intensity as her hair: light, airy, soft. He closed the minuscule gap, their mouths piecing together. He found his hand reaching for her waist, but held back, unsure of himself. She smiled through another kiss, then pulled back, their faces still only inches apart."We will get there," she smiled, kissing the corner of his mouth, and burying herself into the space between his head and shoulder.She knew. She knew his hesitation, and he knew of her confidence. All they had shared in their measly time together were short kisses, which was still the most he had ever...done with a girl. He hadn't even kissed Liz when they almost-dated. He felt Lena chuckle in his arms.
All in good time.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lena was displeased with how quickly her own power had worn her out. Her capability had started to go into her head, as Pepper often told her happened to Tony. The amount of stamina it had taken had forced her to feel like she had not slept in days. She was lucky to have Peter to get her somewhere safe. She woke up in his arms, happy that his presence had almost guaranteed her a dreamless sleep.The shared dream that they had was unsettling. Neither of them brought it up because they could mutually feel the odd feeling it placed in the back of their throats. It could be a smart idea to mention something about it to Tony, as it was a form of premonition she had never experienced before. Previous to this, she could explain everything they went through together, but this was oddly out of place and misshapen. She wanted to make sense of it, but there was a roadblock preventing her from that.Her face was buried in between the bottom of his chin and the curve of his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but she was not asleep. She was still not a fan of sleep, and it seemed to be the only state she could maintain for the past few days, but they had proved to be the most intense thus far out of her career fighting crime. It was strange to desire something that usually repulsed her. Lena let her thumb trace the outline of Peter's top lip, going back and forth until he stopped her, grabbed her by the waist, and used some force to roll with her off the bed. With a light squeal and a thud, his body took most of the impact, leaving her lying heavily on top of him.Strands of hair fell onto his face, and he laughed softly while swatting them away. She placed a gentle kiss on his nose and stood, knowing that they both still had a lot of homework to get done, and it was probably past dinner time by now. Realizing she was still in her suit, she pressed its release button and let it rid itself of her body, falling into a small pile on the floor. Already knowing where to find Peter's lounge clothes, she pulled on one of his three Midtown Tech hoodies (how many did he need?) and the pair of sweatpants he had accidentally shrunk in the wash one time. She still had to tie the drawstring pretty tight, but it was better than them almost falling down. Lifting her bag over her shoulder, Lena wandered into the dining room, Peter following close behind. Aunt May was in the living room, eating out of a takeout container and watching a movie Lena recognized but could not place a name to. It filled her with a bit of excitement. That was a perfectly reasonable and human thing to do, something that Peter did quite often. "There's teriyaki in the fridge, kids!" May called, eyes still glued to the television. This meal was common in the Parker household, and Lena knew that despite not having been there for a while. Peter had once told her that the people that pick up the phone practically know their orders by heart, and often liked to throw in free potstickers or rice because of how loyal their patronage was. Lena had only eaten this takeout once with them, but she remembered it fondly.Among the many tendencies of humans that confused Lena, their eating of other animals, especially fish. She could not stand to think about the idea. Of course, eating had not been a habit of hers until she moved onto land, but when the carnivorous ways were explained to her she found it repulsing. Tony called her a vegetarian, so she told other people that was what she was too. In her mind, she was just caring for her fellow living creatures.May never forgot that Lena did not eat meat, and got her what was called "tofu fried rice," which was a large plate of vegetables, rice, and compressed noodles designed to replace meat. Lena opened her American Politics textbook and laid it to the side, skimming the words while spooning rice into her mouth. Peter silently ate his dinner while doing math problems. It was a silent routine that they had followed before, but this time they could exchange thoughts to each other and even help each other out. It had taken a minute for Peter to accept that she was his academic equal - it was almost unbelievable how quickly she learned - but they became more productive once he did. A thought crossed her mind, and it sat behind her lips, begging her to bring it up to Peter. She gave her best effort to hide it from his mind, but he caught onto the way her mood felt off and stopped writing, the pencil's squeaks coming to a halt and getting her attention. She lifted her eyes but not her head, looking at Peter who had set his pencil behind his ear."Everything all right?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. "What promise?""Hm?" "You made Tony a promise. What was it?" Peter laughed slightly, grabbing his pencil and leaning forward again, continuing to write, giving off the energy that it was not a big deal, but she would beg to differ. It had been a prominent thought in his mind that had been loud enough to almost disable her. "It's really nothing, Lena. Mr. Stark made me promise he would call him if we encountered the Arsonist again, so when we saw him, I panicked and had to call him pretty quickly. That's all."But that was not all. She felt the wall Peter was putting in front of the missing piece. She pried at it, needing to know. After their monumental kiss, Peter had quickly discovered through the new mutual connection how to only navigate Lena's mind, and also prevent her from seeing what he did not want her to. He had every right to his own privacy, it was just new to not have complete access. It was never a responsibility she abused, but she did not like it when Peter kept things from her. "You kept a lot of things from me," he winked and kept doing his math. She rolled her eyes."You know why-" "Yeah, yeah. You're right," he sighed, "Mr. Stark gave me the 'dad talk,'" he put air quotations around "dad talk." She saw a recent memory flash across Peter's brain; a menacing, middle-aged man in a car, and Peter's body filling with rage and fear. Even with the memory, the term completely lost her. "Your da-I mean Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark doesn't want me to get you hurt in any way. So-" "Why would I get hurt? I can take care of myself." "No not physically hurt-" "Is that not kind of odd to assume that I cannot take care of myself?" Peter hesitated, struggling to find what he was trying to say, "Neither of us meant it like that. You make a great point, though. You're very capable of taking care of yourself.""Then how did you mean it?” "Emotionally. Negative emotions can be painful. You've seen all of those romance movies with May and me," Peter's lips were growing tight. She recalled the genre, specifically remembering a film where after getting broken up with, a young woman spent three months of her life in a depression. She cried, isolated herself, and essentially ruined her own life. She never wanted to become a shell of a human. Life had become refreshing for her, and Peter played a large role in that. He was a part of her purpose in life. Every bit of her DNA was meant to be with him. Anxiety took ahold of her as the thought of him leaving her sat in her brain."No! Lena!" he grabbed the hand that had been sitting in her lap, "I'm not going anywhere." The anxiety faded, and a softness replaced it, Peter's kind eyes confirming that everything would end up working out....Lena made it back home by 10:00 PM, knowing that she probably was not going to fall asleep that night. Typically, at the most, she spent 4 hours sleeping, and that still felt like a lot.On her way up to her bedroom, Tony's AI, F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke up, almost startling her."Miss Potts, Mr. Stark would like to see you in his garage."Lena frowned, wishing to spend some time with just herself. She plopped her bag onto her bed and took the elevator to the main floor, walking outside to get to the building where Tony kept all of his cars, his Iron Man suits, and the AIs that operated whatever his current project was. There were nights where after Lena had finished her fight training for the day where she would come and sit in the shop: sometimes silently, sometimes asking questions about what he was doing. It bonded them in a subtle way."Kid," he said as she pressed her hand on the sensor to get into the room. "Tony," there was an edge to her voice. She had not liked the way he and Peter had argued on the Midtown Tech football field, and she was wedged in between their silly fight. There was no side for her to take, she just wanted them both to get along and work together."You sound ticked. Everything okay?" Tony was concerned, but Lena could not decipher why."I am okay. Is there something you needed from me? I have homework," it was a white lie, but a lie, still. She just needed to relax in her pool, let her mind meld with the water. She did not want to spend her free time getting lectured.Tony kept working, not looking up at her, "Take a seat."She let out a sigh and sat, watching him hammer into a piece of metal. Looking at him, still frowning, she took the nanotech bead that she had put in her pocket and let it tie her hair up, annoyed with it continuously falling in her face and sitting on her neck."You're smart, kiddo. I don't want you seeing me as the bad guy.""I do not-” "Peter and I go back and forth because we are both passionate people," he gave the metal a final whack and set the hammer down. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and made eye contact with Lena. "One day, I'll teach you how to drive. You'll take driver's ed. They're going to drill it into your head that the only way to get better at it is through experience," he was making gestures with his hands, using it as a method to get his point across. "My point is that sometimes it's hard for him to see the big picture. Where I see you two getting hurt, he sees a new mission. Which will be great once he's had more experience, but all he needs is that experience."She saw his point. She had seen his point even before he had spoken it. All she wanted was for Tony to say that to Peter, rather than get irritated in the middle of a situation. She bit at the inside of her mouth and locked her jaw. She was not in a particular mood to squabble. Her counter argument could be brought to his attention tomorrow morning."You are making sense.” "Good!" Tony's shoulders released their tension, and he tapped a few times on the holographic screen in front of his face, then shut it down, it disintegrating. "School tomorrow?""Yeah. They are questioning all the kids that got sent home yesterday.""What's your alibi?""I tranced them into thinking that we left before getting to the lunchroom. You pulled us both out of class for something that had to do with the press.""Anything specific?""If I got too specific the trance would thin and be easier to see through. It is similar to lying."Tony snickered, "Okay. If people ask, say it was your Teen Vogue feature.""The one coming out next month?""Yeah. Teenagers generally won't question it.""You are going to generalize all teenagers?"He had been putting away his tools and calibrating some of his AIs, and hearing the combative phrase brought him to a halt, "I guess so, yeah.” "The human brain is extremely various. Every thought process of each human being is so vastly different that it would be nearly impossible to generalize any sort of human population."Tony smiled, a warm genuine smile and Lena felt the pride. It was strong and open, he wanted her to feel it. He did not fully understand her empathic abilities, but once in a while, he made extra effort to let her know how he was feeling. He was not skilled in verbalizing his emotions, but he definitely felt them."That's a good observation. That observation may question the entirety of what sociology is, but it was smart regardless.” Lena let herself stare at the relaxed expression in Tony's face that was so extremely rare, then pushed herself out of her chair, standing. "I am going to go to bed now.”"Goodnight, kid."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Good afternoon, Mr. Parker, we apologize for taking you out of class, but as you know, we are doing this with everyone who was absent from classes after the incident,” across from Peter sat his principal, and in the corner stood two men, both in suits. Peter silently replayed the story he and Lena had developed that morning, filling the time with a deep inhale.“Yeah, of course, Mr. Morita,” he curled in his lips, smiling without his eyes. He had to make a conscious effort to not clench his teeth. It was odd how he could fight crime, but a scenario like this had him more nervous than he cared to admit.“Were you in the cafeteria during the incident?” Mr. Morita was reading the questions off of a piece of paper sitting in front of him. These questions were not developed by the school, and everyone was being asked the same thing. Peter flicked his eyes back to his Principal’s.“Mr. Stark needed his niece and me to come back to the Avenger’s compound upstate, he had his driver come pick us up right before our lunch period.”“Oh!” Mr. Morita looked pleased, “So the two of you were not present?”“We will need to see the record of them being signed out of school as well as parental confirmation that this is the case,” one of the suited men spoke up.Peter’s heart rate picked up, but he continued on, “You won’t find it,” their heads snapped to him, and he realized how suspicious that sounded, “Because Mr. Stark said it was urgent, and that he would take care of it later.”“Is that her father?” the other man spoke up.“No. Her uncle. Legal guardian. You know...Tony Stark?” Peter was surprised that they hadn’t pieced this together yet. It wasn’t breaking news that Lena went to Midtown. The men were trying to mask their shock, but Peter saw one of their eyebrows twitch. Whoever these men were, they weren’t keeping their composure very well, but Peter knew how to work those in authority. He interacted with them as Spider-Man almost every time there was crime to fight. They were usually unappreciative of him and Lena’s work, so their exchanges were routinely snarky comments and getting out of their way.“Lena Potts is Tony Stark’s niece and one of our most distinguished students,” Mr. Morita finally took control of the conversation, “Okay, so yourself and Miss Potts left at approximately…”“11:45,” Peter finished for him.“And what do you know of the incident?”“All I know is what my friend Ned told me and what I’ve seen on the news. The guy that Spider-Man and the Siren fought the other day broke and entered into the school, scared a bunch of kids, and then the two superheroes showed up and led him to the football field. Iron Man then came I think and the guy surrendered,” he kept his language casual, not using the technicalities that he was used to going into detail with.“That would be correct. Do you have any suspicions as to why he might have targeted the school?” Peter did. Somehow, whoever this guy worked for had caught wind of where he or Lena went to school. It was no coincidence that less than 24 hours later, the man that had been demanding for them to brawl him had attacked Midtown Tech. Mr. Stark had to be starting an investigation, but he hadn’t heard from him since their argument on the football field. Naturally, he lied to his principal.“No. I’m not really a...fan of getting involved in all that stuff.”“Aren’t you Tony Stark’s intern? Wouldn’t that provide some sort of...curiosity?”Peter inhaled, “I guess it should...but I’m a computer science intern...I just do tech stuff. Not crime fighting,” he smiled halfway again, hoping his lies were buyable. He wasn’t the best actor, and he hated lying, but it came with the job.“Of course,” Mr. Morita was smiling genuinely, hopefully believing every word Peter said. The men in the corner, while he was avoiding even glancing in their general direction, had negative energy radiating off of them. They were most likely staring Peter down, second guessing it all. Peter exhaled and tried to cover up the anxiety that they were forcing onto him. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Parker, you can head back to class.”He didn’t leave too quickly. Calmly, he kept his eye on his bag as he picked it up off the floor in front of him and swung it across his shoulders, smiling at both the men and Mr. Morita before making his way to the door. It took a couple of paces before he let out a sigh of relief, letting his shoulder collide with a locker to his right.He sat back down in his math class, Lena sitting diagonally to him. She was furiously taking notes as Ms. Minor did practice problems on the whiteboard. She excelled at math, so she really had no need for the notes, but the anxiety of potentially getting anything wrong was what drove her to copy everything their teacher was writing. He could slightly feel the intensity of her blood as it pumped through her veins.How did it go? She asked him inside of his head.
There were two men there that were suspicious of everything I was saying, but that’s their job.

I can try and get a read on them when they ask me to answer questions.
“Could we borrow Lena Potts, please?” Mr. Morita had entered the open door and was smiling politely. Lena placed her pencil on her notebook and stood, flattening the white linen pants she wore that day. She shrugged her braids off her shoulders so that they rhythmically hit her back as she walked out of the room, and Peter tried to ignore the twinge of jealousy when he noticed that most of everyone’s eyes were following her, some for a little too long. After a few moments, when she had to be a few feet away from the room, he felt Lena silently chuckle at him, and his cheeks turned bright red.…Lunch the day after had an entirely different energy. About half of the kids who were at lunch in the cafeteria were there. Lena had quietly told him that the fear that the Arsonist had caused would stay with them for a while, and many of them would never return to the lunchroom. MJ, Ned, Lena, and himself took up their usual four seats, eating almost silently. So much had happened in the recent few days that no one knew where to begin with a conversation.“Are you guys planning on going to prom?” Peter brought up a light subject in hopes that it would spark better conversation. MJ and Ned exchanged looks, Lena kept staring at her food, hardly eating it, just tossing it around the bowl with her fork.“I think I might ask Betty,” Ned piped up, smiling a little before eating another french fry.“Betty Brant? To prom?” Peter felt a bit of happiness for his friend grow inside him. “That’s awesome, dude.”Peter knew that Ned had always had a thing for Betty, but Ned was never the type to make the first move. He talked about it but never followed through. He hoped that this would be a big step for his friend in growing his confidence. It was slightly saddening to see Ned avoid romance because he didn’t feel as if he deserved it.“Prom sounds lame, but if I know you losers, then I’ll probably be going,” she didn’t look up from the notebook she was sketching in. Of course, MJ would give off an air of distaste. Peter knew that she wanted to go, but pretended as if it was the opposite of the case.When he looked over at Lena, she was intensely staring at the other girl, most likely trying to get a read on her. He had no idea what could be so important that she was sifting through MJ’s mind, but Lena had been reacting to the things MJ had been saying interestingly. He made a mental note to ask her about it when they were on patrol later.“Well Lena and I are going together,” he said it like it was any normal thing, but Ned’s head snapped up and his fist banged on the table.“Finally!” Ned exclaimed, “I mean, yeah! Yeah, that’s cool guys.”MJ snickered, “About time.”…Patrol was quiet. He looked at Lena on the rooftop of some building, her ponytail wavering slightly in the wind. She was listening to the police’s radio com channel. He had seen her studying them in her free time so that they could get to crime before the police and hopefully solve the situation before it got worse. Lena was still rusty with the codes, but she had told him she enjoyed learning them.“It is rather quiet,” she said softly, staring off into the distance, “And the crimes that are happening are closer to the police force than they are to us.”Peter let his mind wander, and sat on the edge of the building, his feet dangling off the edge. Lena joined him, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. It was quiet nights like these that had been horribly awkward for them when their relationship was dwindling. Lena would sit and use her AI to do homework, while Peter would eat a sandwich and pretend to keep himself busy. In all actuality, he was wishing he could say something to mend the distance they had created. Now they were closer than they had ever been before.“How did your interview with Morita go?” Peter inquired, pushing through the silence.She sighed, “It went smoothly, I stuck to the story. The men were trying to question literally everything I was saying. It was...what is that ‘I’ word?”Peter shuffled through negative adjectives that started with the letter, “Irritating?”“Yes. It was irritating. I was lying. But I had a reason to lie. It was not because I had anything to do with the Arsonist.”“We've got an identity to protect.”“We do. Other than that, I found out they were detectives from the NYPD. They were desperate to find out where Tony is keeping the villain.”“Mr. Stark will never give that information up.” They stayed silent for another minute or two when the other topic that Peter had on his mind drifted into his memory. He was hesitant to ask for a moment, and then decided it would be best to keep it inside their heads. Peter had learned that some things, even the simplest of things, were better left unsaid.Can I ask you something? He felt his heartbeat pick up, oddly. There wasn’t much to be nervous about going into this conversation.
Of course.

Why have you been studying MJ so intensely?
He could feel her clench her teeth on his shoulder, I think she knows about us.Of course she does, we told her today-
No! No, I mean being Spider-Man and the Siren. I think she knows.
Peter didn’t respond, not knowing how. For a moment he felt that there should be no reason that MJ had found out their secret, but then Peter caught himself. That would be a serious underestimation of his friend’s intelligence. She was smart without effort, and Lena had described her mental stability as comparable to Mr. Stark’s, who was a child prodigy and considered a genius.Should we tell her? Peter asked.Not yet. I do not think so. I...I do not know. There was a deep conflict hanging on her thoughts. She flinched, sat up, clenching her hands into fists. She had heard something over the radio that had visibly upset her. Standing, she looked across the labyrinth of skyscrapers, searching for something. When Peter tried to look in her head to see what it was, he could feel that it was the equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. He stood next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
What’s wrong?
She looked at him,
We need to get to Gotham Hotel as soon as possible. 
He frowned, Lena, that’s maybe 20 minutes away- 10-56a, attempting suicide. That means someone is standing at the top of a building right now, waiting for a sign. We have to be that sign. She looked troubled and upset, but simultaneously determined. Let’s go.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They arrived at the top of the hotel in time before any first responders had shown, the precise scenario Lena wanted. It could be overwhelming to have loud sirens and flashing lights and people yelling, and the last thing she wanted was for the individual to throw themselves off the top of the building for that very reason.Suicide was quite a concept that that innately human. Lena had felt a particular draw to the idea, doing small amounts of research on the phenomena in nature. There had been studies, and while animals killed themselves, it was never suicide. The act of suicide, a living organism craving oblivion in a dangerous way, was only enacted by human beings.Her curiosity stemmed from a deep, dark feeling that had dominated her daily interaction with her abusers. Abusers were the word that Tony and Peter used. It described the beings that tore her apart piece by piece, leaving her a shell that her peirasmos had figured out how to fill.She stared at the figure whose hands were shaking and took a moment to enter inside their head to get a sense of what they were feeling. Without warning, a wave of emotion came over her, and it was strong yet empty at the same time. A sob broke through her chest, two or three tears falling out of her eyes and piling up in the socket of her goggles. PET released some of the pressure, allowing them to slide down her face. She felt Peter’s hand on her shoulder, knowing that these tears were caused by her empathic abilities, and she was taking on this man’s unimaginable sadness.The man was in deep sorrow. A pit of darkness that seemed to never end. She wanted to step into his life and fill that hole, but she knew that this illness that he has was going to be an uphill battle and a fight he needed to solve on his own. She inhaled and hummed, audible enough to creep into his senses and ease him backward. He wanted to resist, but her soothing melody was pulling him in.Austin… she fished around for his name and sang to him when she found it.“I-I…” She stepped closer, Peter’s hand falling off of her back. With each step she took forward, she beckoned Austin back, hoping and needing the space between them to get smaller. When she was just a foot away, she could feel him resist, craving to fight back and fling himself off the side of the very tall building. She felt her throat clog with tears again but swallowed and shoved them away, knowing she needed her strength to save him from himself.“Are you…”I’m The Siren, Austin. She sang it in her alto voice, I know you are distressed and looking for peace.She dug through his mind, searching for someone to emulate, to help him feel more at ease. The image of a young girl appeared, she was significantly younger than him, potentially his teenage daughter. Look at me, Austin. He only turned his head until he was able to grasp what he was looking at. A perplexed look flashed on his face as his body followed what his head wanted from him. He clenched his teeth and his face scrunched; he was holding back tears. Lena stepped forward, wrapping her hand around the back of his head and letting it fall onto her shoulder until they were both kneeling, him grasping at her desperately.“It was a drunk driver. Two years ago a drunk driver killed her,” his voice was muffled through the material of her suit, but she understood him, “It’s so hard to live in a world without her. She was our only kid..she was everything.”Lena would not have understood this when she first started transitioning into a human being. Her relationship with her parents had been a hateful and strenuous one, as well as nonexistent. The relationship she had built with Tony, though, had replaced it. They would never admit it to each other outright, but she saw Tony as her father, and let him fill a space in her heart that she had not realized was there.“I understand,” she said this out loud, breaking the trance. She had felt the presence of paramedics enter the space, and a gurney was waiting to take Austin away to where he would be safe. “Stay here for her.”They gently guided him towards the medical professionals, letting him lean on both of them for support until he was laying down, blankly staring at the sky until he was wheeled away. As they turned to walk away, Lena felt the intention of a paramedic, a desire to ask a question.
A paramedic wants to talk to us. We should leave.
Peter gave her a short nod, took her by the waist, and propelled himself off the roof, taking him off into the city.…She sat on the edge of her pool, a thin white T-shirt hanging on her tiny frame, letting the emptiness in her head fill the room. Her tail waved in the unmoving water, drifting in a similar way that her thought process seemed to. Her heart felt heavy, and she could not determine how to proceed after the strikingly familiar feelings she saw in Austin. He had not been the only one who contemplated death to great lengths.Peter was leaning in the door frame between her pool and her bedroom, not speaking. She heard his feet against the floor as he approached her, falling onto the ground and dipping his feet into the water. His legs looked short next to the tail that almost disappeared in the thick water. He tentatively raised his hand and rested it on her bare back, his fingers slightly calloused.“You’re not letting me in. Is everything…” he trailed off. She did not want him to see the darkness she was stewing in. There was a state of mind that her interaction with Austin had taken her back to. Allowing Peter to understand her pain meant that she had to accept it herself, and she had been putting that off ever since she was effectively able to communicate with Peter. It seemed easier for her to be ignorant of her own emotions.“When I lived in the sea...I sought death in a similar way that Austin did.” Peter tensed next to her, his jaw clenching and the hand on his back tightening. He had not expected this to be her explanation.“You were treated pretty badly,” he responded quietly.The word ‘badly’ did not begin to cover it.Lena could feel Peters mind spinning in a spiral, imitating what hers was doing. Tears tempted to spill out of her eyelids, which was frustrating. She had just saved a man from death by his own hand, yet all she could think about was her own past. It was selfish.“It’s not selfish,” Peter whispered, “You just need to process it.”“What do you mean?” what he had said sounded like something humans said often, but it was unfamiliar to her ears. He scooted closer to her, their hips touching, and his foot grazing the side of her tail, “For the first time you were able to meet someone who felt the same way as you did. That can be scary, and it can also be…” he was searching for the correct word, “validating. MJ says that to Ned and me all the time. ‘Your feelings are valid.’”She had been frowning for so long that her face felt frozen. She relaxed, her face falling into her hands, “I can not stop thinking about it.”A kiss was pressed into the side of her head, “That’s okay.”She wiped away tears that she had not realized stained her face and gave Peter a forced smile, “I am going to swim for a while. Will...can you sleep here tonight?”He nodded, squeezed her hand, and took a seat in the small porch swing that Tony had just recently installed. After a few weeks of Peter sitting on the floor to watch Lena swim, Tony had finally developed a solution so he could be a little more comfortable. The swing, as well as a small tablet connected to a camera that followed her motions,  allowed Peter to curl up in the swing and relax in a similar way that Lena did when she swam.Throwing her shirt to the side, she slid into her pool, letting the water wash over her, touching every part of her body, all the way to the tips of the ends of her hair. It was everything that she needed. She felt at home, but in a whole new way. Before, the ocean had been where she lived, but it had also been where was tortured. There was something bittersweet about the way she remembered the Atlantic. It was deeply saddening that she would never step foot in it again, but maybe that was for the best.Pressing her lips together, she hummed. When she sang underwater, the noise was more malleable and echoed in a mystical way. The water somehow projected the sound farther, providing ways for sailors, and in her case, Peter, to hear it much better. She hummed the tune that Peter had played when first discovering her.
My heart is pierced by cupid

I disdain all glitter and gold

There is nothing can console me

But my jolly sailor bold.
Some days, Lena felt that Peter was her sailor, but others it was the opposite. They supported each other in a way that no other person could. The bond opened them up so that they knew every single thing about each other. It allowed their empathy to become whole, as there was nothing deeper than knowing exactly how another was feeling. She felt fulfilled in a way that made her stronger. It was a wonder as to why her sisters never embraced that.She resurfaced, water rushing down her face, and looked over to see Peter fast asleep, the tablet sitting against his knees that were curled into a ball. She smiled and hoisted herself out of the water, letting the fan on the ceiling dry her out so she could put some clothes on and potentially fall asleep herself. If she wanted, she could just will the sleeping Peter over to her bed, but she left him where he was for now. Since it was just her by herself in her bedroom, she did not bother covering up with a robe or a towel. She was still confused by human modesty rules, but she followed them whenever she felt it was necessary. Yanking open a drawer, she rifled through a few pieces of clothing, all very similar in nature, and decided on a long white T-Shirt that stopped just at her knees. It was typical for lounging.She was about to throw it over her head when she felt a presence in her room that was not supposed to be there. She did not move, she only attempted to see into his mind, which failed before she got anywhere.“Don’t even try to take a look, Siren. I’ve figured you out. My brain waves are completely off limits to you.”All at once she understood why humans insisted on covering themselves. Standing naked in front of a stranger, let alone a male stranger, was a new kind of uncomfortable she had not experienced before. Her body began to tremble, her skin forming what Peter had once referred to as “goosebumps.”“Here’s what we’re going to do, Miss Siren. You are going to put your shirt on, slowly. No funny business. Then you’re going to stand, with your hands on your head, and not move a single muscle. You will remain silent. If you say even half of a word, or you attempt to use that odd superpower of yours, I will first kill lover boy sitting on the bench, and then I will blow this entire building to shreds. Do you understand?”She thought of using the bond to stir Peter awake. She thought to reach out into Tony’s mind to try and call for help, but the thoughts were followed by a piercing headache, almost forcing her to crumble to her knees. When it stopped, she was out of breath.“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Not in the way you know what others are thinking, but I figured you would have hesitation. That was the lowest setting, so unless you want a blinding headache, you better cooperate.”Every movement was slow. Her shirt went over her head, finally covering what she wished the strange man hadn't seen, and her fingers intertwined on the back of her head. Inside her chest, her heart felt as if it would burst out if it were to beat any faster. She was paralyzed with fear and completely helpless. If only she hadn’t lulled Peter to sleep. A set of hands moved hers behind her back, a rag placed over her mouth, and she felt the world slow, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and an encasement of darkness.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Panic. Peter awoke to an intense feeling of panic running through his entire body. He stood, scanning the room for any signs of danger, anything that was potentially threatening either him or Lena, but all was still. All was dangerously still."Lena?" his voice echoed off the glass walls of the pool room. There wasn't a response. Instinctively, he checked the iPad for her body, swimming up and down in the deep, dark water, but almost kicked himself for it. She could respond in his head if she wanted him to hear her from underneath.If you can hear me, please respond to let me know you're safe. His heart rate was picking up, and each second that ticked by was a louder thump on the inside of his chest. He waited in almost perfect silence, but when a minute passed without a single word, he ran. In her room, he had access to an AI, and by extension, Mr. Stark. Peter was panting, but it was more from the anxiety as opposed to the running.Before he spoke aloud, Peter heard a weak voice in his head, so weak that it was almost indecipherable.
Taken. Kid...napped.
He could feel himself going pale, the blood rushing out of his face. He almost felt like passing out, until he reminded himself of the situation at hand."PET I need to speak to Mr. Stark right now!" his voice cracked on the word now, a telltale sign of his anxiety acting up. It had been a while since he had felt like the world was closing in on him. He bit the inside of his cheek.
Hello, Peter Parker, Mr. Stark is on the phone with Colonel Rhodes. Would you like me to leave-
"No, no, no!" Peter was practically yelling now, "Emergency. Tell Mr. Stark it's an emergency."
Calling Happy Hogan.
"GOD DAMNIT," his anxiety was turning into a rage, an anger that tempted him to throw his cell phone at the wall and watch the screen shatter to pieces."Kid, what do you want?" Happy sounded unimpressed. Peter's anger increased."Happy I need to get ahold of Mr. Stark something's happened to Lena I fell asleep and when I woke up she was gone and I have no contact with her whatsoever I think she's been kidnapped!" each word out of his mouth was toppling over each other."Woah kid slow down!" Happy not matching his urgency didn't do much for the boulder in his chest. "How do you know that?""Listen Happy you've gotta trust me, I know I just know!" they hadn't ever explained to anyone the odd connection they had. Mr. Stark had some sort of idea of it, but not to the extent of what it was. Peter knew for a fact that Lena had been taken by somebody, and during the time spent jumping hurdles to get people to believe him, he was wasting time trying to save her."Kidnapping? Maybe she's just in the kitchen or something. Have you looked at all?"His head looked towards the window as something dawned on him. The closer he got to Mr. Stark, the more he followed the rules laid out for him.His time with Lena had molded him into the cookie-cutter neighborhood hero that he was afraid of becoming. Peter wanted to become an Avenger, and doing the paperwork to get Mr. Stark searching for the love of his life was not what an Avenger would do. It wasn't what Steve Rogers would do, it wasn't what Black Widow would do, it wasn't what Thor would do, it wasn't what Bruce Banner would do, it wasn't what Hawkeye would do.Most importantly, it wasn't what Tony Stark would do."Happy I gotta go!""Kid, what? I-""PET end call!"
Call ended.
His suit was on faster than he had ever put it on before. He had no plan, but when did he ever have a plan? Lena was usually the one to formulate a better, thought-out plan than his usual swinging in, spurting a one-liner, and hoping for the best. He wanted to be calculated, but it wasn't truly his style. It didn't help that he didn't know where to begin.
Incoming call from Happy Hogan.
His mask lit up with the lack of a profile photo that Peter had for Happy."Decline," the call ended. "Karen, block all calls from Happy."
All calls from Happy Hogan will be blocked.
He wished he could take his exit out of the pool room's window, but the glass was durable, intended to keep people out. Apparently, it hadn't done its job. Peter pivoted and ran, knowing he was going to need a car to get back into the city.The city.His instincts, and not the radioactive ones, were trying to point him in the right direction. Her message in his head came from a location in the city. All he had to do was hop in a car and hope that she was able to reach out again. He felt sweat build up on the back of his shoulders. The last time he had to drive he destroyed Flash's car, which wasn't the problem, Mr. Stark had happily paid for it, it was that it had strongly delayed any desire to get back behind the wheel. Maybe Mr. Stark had a smart car?Bounding down the stairs, Peter waved at those passing by him. He had started to spend so much time there, that Mr. Stark's staff didn't think much of it. If Mr. Stark was on a phone call with Colonel Rhodes, it was likely that he was either in his workshop or in his bedroom. Peter was going to have to make a gamble, and improvise his way out if he happened to be on the other side of the door.When Lena had first arrived at the compound, it was established that Peter was going to need access to the lab even when Mr. Stark wasn't there to give it to him. He had been granted access from the hours of 3 pm until 10 pm. In the end, Peter had hacked his way into getting 24-hour access.He typed in a code, scanned his hand, and inhaled deeply as the doors opened. Every step felt loud until he opened his eyes (that he had anxiously shut) and found the room empty, and eight of Mr. Stark's best cars lined up in all of their glory. Peter was desperately hoping that one of them had an autopilot feature.Sliding into the driver's seat of a slick red car, it matched his suit, Peter looked in the glove compartment for the keys, where he was fortunate enough to found them. It was a lucky guess; he figured that Mr. Stark didn't expect a whole lot of people in his lab. He started the car, the engine roaring to life, and watched as a set of doors opened, the bright sunlight blinding him. He blinked as Karen adjusted the brightness settings within his mask. The doors opened up to a long roadway, looking as if it led directly to the open highway."Karen uh...can you set a route for the city?" his voice was shaking slightly. He had no way of knowing if there was a way to make the car drive for him.
Of course, Peter!
His mask set a route for Queens, and Peter hoped he was headed in the right direction. He felt lost and confused and anxious and all he could do was inhale, start the car, and start driving. Hands shaking with adrenaline and nervousness, it took every ounce of concentration he had to keep his eyes on the road, and the wheel steady. There weren't too many cars on the road yet, which was because of the secluded nature of Mr. Stark's Avenger's compound, but once he was on the main highway he was going to have to learn quickly."Karen, uh..." he didn't know how to phrase his request. "Can you uh...just help me drive I really don't know what I'm doing."
I can Peter, but you know that driving without a license is illegal, correct?
 "Yeah?"
Do I need to call Mr. Stark-
"No! No no. There's no need for that. Just teach me to drive, please. And take me into the city."
You are going to take an exit in four miles. When exiting, use the right turn signal by flicking it upwards. Check the rearview mirror and your right side mirror to make sure that there's no one behind you, and ease your way onto the exit. Do not be afraid, Peter. Your heart rate is extremely high.
"I know! I know!"Blinker, mirrors, gently guide. He cheered himself on while he accomplished his goal. He slowly pressed down on the gas, knowing that time wasn't his friend. Hopefully, he would get the hang of it. On his left, he saw a small child with her face squished to the window of the car, staring at him like the anomaly that he definitely was. It had to be odd seeing Spider-Man casually driving an incredibly expensive car down the same highway as you. Shouldn't he be slinging webs through the city?
Incoming call from Tony Stark.
"DECLINE!" at this point, he was so on edge that all he could do was scream at the AI. The call ended, but it didn't stop the million-mile-per-hour speed that his heart wouldn't stop beating at.He inhaled, deeply, but exhaled audibly in another scream. He was on his way to try and save Lena but he still had no idea where she was. All he had to work with was the fact that he knew she was in the city. Police sirens blared behind him as he pulled into downtown, in a panic, he left doing only what he knew how to do. A web hit the side of the nearest skyscraper, and he propelled upward, leaving the car to roll to a stop. It was now someone else's problem; mainly Mr. Stark's.
Peter?!
The voice, the presence in his head sprung to life. He felt relief fall over him. At the very least she was alive, and now she was back in contact with him.
Lena, do you know where you are? I came to the city to come and find you.
There was a pause before he heard back from her.
I do not know exactly where I am, but I think I can find a way out.

No, no, just wait for me to get-
He could feel the absolute annoyance that followed that request, No. I will do what I have to. I am not helpless, Peter Parker.Blood filled his mouth, and it was brought to his attention that he had been biting down on his lip, and fact that he needed a reminder that she was just as strong and capable as he was made him bit almost all the way through.
Yeah, of course, keep me updated so I can help if I can.
Okay.It wasn't filled with any sort of hostility, but Peter still had an ounce of regret for his underestimation.…A half an hour had passed, and she still hadn't given him any sort of signal that he could be of help. He had tried to distract himself with taking care of some petty crime, but it was hard to keep his head in the game knowing that she could potentially still be in danger. Mr. Stark had called a few times, startling Peter within his mask, making him quickly decline the call. He had guessed that Mr. Stark was unaware of the situation, only aware of what Peter had frantically told Happy. Though there was still no way of knowing, it was almost comforting to know that Happy had passed on what he had heard.
Peter! I am on a roof! I am in New York!
He jumped to his feet, whipping his head around, spinning in circles to see if he could find her from the building he was standing on."Karen find Lena she's somewhere on top of a building you-"
Lena Potts located.
She was in hand to hand combat, something on her mouth preventing her from singing. Her long stream of hair whipped around, almost completely blocking her face as she dodged and sent fists flying. For a moment, Peter couldn't help but be proud of her for holding her own. The daily exercises with combat were proving to be good uses of time.He blinked and noticed she had been knocked to the ground, three men now starting to circle her. If he didn't get there fast enough, she would be recaptured and they would have to start all over again. He leaped to start swinging towards her, knowing this was his only shot to make it in time.God, he hoped he would make it in time.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lena awoke with a device on her mouth identical to the device that Tony had put on her the first day that they had met. She was lying on a cement floor, her bones aching as she lifted her head, blinking away the blacked-out sleep that she had not asked for.When her eyes focused, she realized she was in a cage, metal bars towering far above her head. It was menacing and dark, the vast open space instilling fear instead of solace. She was tempted to cry; to scream and cry and meltdown in front of whoever these maniacal people were. She shook but pushed away from her emotions for barely a second. She could not give them what she wanted.Peter?! Getting her voice out to his mind was hard, but she felt Peter’s overwhelming relief despite the weak signal.She felt him jump to life, Lena, do you know where you are? I came to the city to come and find you. Looking around, she tried to see if there was any possible way to identify where she was or if she was able to maneuver a way out. In her peripheral vision, a guard was asleep, his back leaning against the corner of the cell. Apparently, they had not expected her to wake so quickly, or their budget of security staff was extremely low. I do not know exactly where I am, but I think I can find a way out. She crouched down, examining the snoozing man to see if he had anything useful on him.
No, no, just wait for me to get-
She cut him off, No. I will do what I have to. I am not helpless, Peter Parker. She knew she was being short with him, but the underestimation was starting to get exhausting. Working tirelessly at her combat training was starting to pay off, she was a force to be reckoned with.His regret was pungent, Yeah, of course, keep me updated so I can help if I can.
Okay.
She knew Peter did not mean any harm by his comment, he was only trying to help, but Lena had a handle of the situation, and having him try to bust into this crazy person’s facility might just get both of them captured.The lock on the door to the cage had an electronic sensor, she could tell that much. On her guard’s belt loop was a card, which had to be her ticket out of there. Cautiously walking to his corner, every step feeling like it echoed off the walls, she took her time examining her options for retrieving the card. The man had a bulletproof vest on, and an idea ignited in her head. It relied on the fact that potentially no one was watching her on a nearby security camera, but if their security measures were in any way similar to this guard, she was good to go.With a deep breath, she wrapped her fingers around the straps of his vest, engaged her biceps, and slammed his body into the metal bar, making sure it made direct contact with his head. While he had already been asleep, she had to be sure that he was not going to wake up and become yet another obstacle.The ID was attached to his belt, which left her with the uncomfortable option of removing it. It was a jagged and awkward process, but when the ID card brought out an audible “BEEP!” followed by the door swinging open, it was worth it. When she had been kidnapped, she was only in her oversized shirt. Now, she was in a pair of cloth pants, and it was going to remain a mystery to how both the undergarments and the pants got put on her. It was sickening to think about. She fastened the belt as tightly as is could go around her waist, which left it loosely hanging on her hips. Lena was not known for her curves.Since the room was almost pitch black, she scaled the side of the wall, applying light pressure in order to activate the door. When she felt a divot, she paused, preparing herself for the potential combat she was about to engage in (she could confirm that there were two consciences, both extremely open, standing outside of the door). She spent a moment wishing she had access to her voice, the men were so simple-minded she could bend them like clay, but it was no use pitying herself. Her combat skills were going to be put to the ultimate test.She slid out the door after barely opening it, hoping the stealth attempt would somewhat take them by surprise, which it was close to doing. It only took them a second to notice her, but she was able to anticipate their every move. In fact, it was almost the only thing they could think about. She put an elbow to one’s nose, a knee to another’s stomach, then suavely pulled the taser from the other’s belt electrocuting the first and using all of her lower body strength to shove her foot into the second’s face. It was all what felt like one breath, and what Peter would call “easy money.”Both of them on the floor, she went through their pockets to see if either of them had anything useful. They both had guns, devices that she only had basic training with, but she could use them if absolutely necessary. The one thing she was hoping for was a key to unlock her voice, but she knew she would not get that lucky.Oh, how it was a maze. She had three directions of fluorescent-lit hallways that she could take. Ultimately, she decided to push forward, taking the path straight ahead of her. When had that ever done her wrong? She brought herself to a light jog, keeping her senses as heightened as possible. There would be no surprises from the enemy.The hallway led her forward for a while, with no alternating hallways or other rooms. It was not until she got the end that something changed, and it was the lab that a scientist was hard at work in. She pressed her ID to the door, and much to her surprise it also swung open for her to walk into. Why a security guard had access to this room, she did not care to know. Hopefully, she would not have to interact with any more of these awful people.She could not always get what she wished for. A scraggly-looking middle-aged man was examining her suit with intimate detail, inspecting it under a microscope. She stood there, unnoticed, wondering what possibly the purpose could be, and eventually walked up to him and punched his airway, completely taking him by surprise. After a knee to the groin and then to the face, he was left unconscious on the floor to become someone else’s problem.Pressing the sensor on her chest, the suit tightened onto her body, and she felt a little more like herself. Even though she had no way to speak to her AI, it was nice to hear PET’s voice in her ears.She could not use her voice to activate the suit, but as she turned her head, the screen inside of her goggles had a small icon in the corner with a map of the floor that she was on. Based on that, she could conclude that a certain section of it was a set of stairs, but there still was no guarantee. If they were stairs, she could likely get to a roof to flag down Peter.There was no better plan, so she took off, praying that she would not run into any adversaries.Two left turns and a right turn took her to the door that she was looking at on her screen. She paused, closing her eyes to sense for human consciences on the other side. There was two, and they were stationary, it was hard to determine their precise locations, and if she knew there were stairs it would be entirely different. She could use stairs to her advantage.Creeping the door open, she peered through the crack, relieved to find that there were a landing and a stair right at her feet. She slipped through and took off going up, taking the first man by surprise. She shoved the activated taser in his neck and shoved him, his body tumbling down the stairs and tripping the man on the lower level that had started to pursue her. He was already speaking into a radio, so she took advantage of the extra time she had and sprinted up the stairs, seeing two flights before the goal of the roof was reached.The wind hit her in a gust, but she kept moving forward, knowing that she needed to get a good look at the view and send Peter a mental snapshot of where she was. Running to the center, she took in the skyline, immediately recognizing it New York. The relief was flooding.
Peter! I am on a roof! I am in New York!
He jumped to life again, but someone grabbed her by her arm, reminding her that she was not completely out of the water. The man was in all black including a mask, and she shoved her foot into his stomach, getting him off of her.It was not good enough. More of these men were flooding the area, and there was only so much she could do without her voice. She did not have the heightened senses of Peter Parker, and while she was decently versed in combat, she still had room to improve. She was being backed into a corner, almost literally, and she only found one way out.The edge of the building looked daunting, and as Lena ran, she could not help but think of Austin Jansen, who she had talked out of jumping. If Austin could see her now, she hoped he would laugh. When her feet left the edge, she propelled herself up, hopefully buying herself some extra time. This was either the end or if her timing was right, everything was going to be okay.Lena had experienced a plethora of new sensations when she started adapting to being human, but she never thought the sensation of falling would be quite as blissful. Sure, her stomach dropped, but as the wind whistled in her ears and caressed every inch of her scalp, she could not help but close her eyes and let the abyss wash over her body. Physically being unable to scream allowed for a peace that was unattainable.In a way, it reminded her of swimming.THUD.Contact, safety, eyes widening, and a familiar face, or mask that was, filling her view. Peter Parker had caught her, just as she had trusted him to do. If she could have smiled, she would have.
You got me.
She could feel his restlessness and anxiety, but he still cooly responded,“You think I would let you fall?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peter webbed them onto the roof of a nearby building, setting Lena down and looking at the former roof where they came from. One of the men Lena had been fighting was now using a literal jetpack to get himself over to them. Whoever had taken Lena captive was absolutely determined to keep her there.“Remind me to ask Mr. Stark to put jet repulsors in your suit. It’ll make all of our lives easier,” Peter commented as the man’s figure got larger and the pre-fight nerves started to hit him. They always came. It was throwing the first punch was what usually got rid of them. As the man landed, Peter used his a classic tactic of his to throw his opponent off his rhythm: a question.“Sir!” Peter webbed the guy’s gun from his hands and onto the ground a piece of it breaking off. “Why do you think you can steal my partner like that?”“I do what my employer tells me to do,” the man in the ski mask had a thick New York accent and pulled out a taser while he spoke, “Nothin’ more nothin’ less.”Peter couldn’t help it; he rolled his eyes, “Reminds me of this song...Siren wouldn’t know it but I’m following the leader, the leader, the leader!”With each leader, Peter flipped over the man, snatched the taser, and launched his feet into the back of the man’s head, sufficiently knocking him out, but they weren’t done. More men were jetting on over to the roof, armed and prepared to fight. The lanky man in the mask from the Arsonist’s rooftop attack was the final man there, dressed up in his suit for the occasion. I have got him this time. The determination Lena had was like a flame in her soul. She was ready to take him down, and Peter felt it clear as day. He kept the minions off of her, webbing and shoving his knee and feet into their faces. They were not well trained, and by the time Lena was done, there was a pile of bodies at his feet, all woozy or completely blacked out. Meanwhile, his partner looked beyond shocked, holding the man’s mask in her hand, one knee on his chest and one foot on the ground. She was holding her fist up, ready to punch, but something was holding her back.“Siren, take the hit,” he said to her, approaching confused.
It is Mr. Bridgers.
“Who?”She flashed a memory in his mind, the day that they had off from school, a certain TV program had a man on their news program. He had shouted at the interviewer-
“How do we know when she’s telling the truth? How do we know she isn’t brainwashing us all?”
He remembered the maniacal way he had yelled, the way that Lena felt each and every word sink into her skin, the way that she had sat in his arms sobbing until he found a way to distract her.“Mr. Bridgers,” Peter said aloud, shock wavering his voice.“She killed my sister. You killed my sister,” the man spat in her face, forcing her to flinch. Peter shot a web right over his mouth, and then on his torso to keep him in place. Lena wiped off her eyes, and Peter could see that there were tears building up that she was doing everything she could to keep them from spilling over. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of making her feel terrible, although bringing up her difficult past filled with being forced to kill innocent people sometimes struck a nerve.Pinching her eyebrows together, sniffing, and frowning, her fist came into contact with the bridge of his nose, breaking it.
I need you to tell him something.
He stood over the man, whose nose was now bleeding and crooked.
Killing against my will has been the greatest regret of my life.
“S-she says that killing against her will has been the greatest regret of her life.”
Your sister did not deserve to die. If I could bring her back I would.
“She did not deserve to die, and if she could bring her back she would.”I fight crime to make up for my wrongdoings. I am sorry it is not enough.“She fights crime to make up for her wrongdoings and is sorry that it is not enough.”Mr. Briders’s eyes looked conflicted as if he didn’t know how to respond with this new information. She punched him again, finally rendering him defenseless and knocked out, and fell to the ground in a crumple.“Karen do you know how to take off that device on her mouth.”
Yes, Peter, there is a keyhole on the left side. I suggest you use the key.
“A key, we need a key. Search him.”He could sense that the aura of this man was weighing Lena down. She was avoiding his eyes while digging through each one of his many pockets, eventually looking up at Peter and shaking her head. No key. Peter cursed under his breath.Neither of them had noticed the police sirens that were blaring on the ground beneath the building. Peter peered over the edge to find an officer preparing a megaphone to communicate with them, but that wasn’t even necessary. He webbed the unconscious man, and slowly lowered him so that he was now lying at the officer’s feet. Lena accompanied him down once he was finished.“Spider-Man?” the young officer looked perplexed, “What is the meaning-”“My partner was captured,” Peter cut him off and kicked the foot of Mr. Bridgers, “by this man. She can’t speak because he put a device on her that’s preventing from doing so, but she can confirm it.”Lena nodded. “Are you going to file an official police report or just expect us to believe that-”
WE’RE TELLING THE TRUTH.
Lena’s internal voice could be heard by the officer because it wasn’t just Peter who flinched, it was the stranger as well. Her face had turned a beet red, eyes watering, which she furiously swiped away. He knew she was tired of being dismissed, of being told she wasn’t telling the truth. Peter lightly touched her forearm in an attempt to comfort her.“We have to get home and take this device off of her, we’ll have to file the report later, if we do at all,” Peter mentally rolled his eyes. There was a major risk in attempting justice. If The Siren was forced to show in court, it could potentially risk a breach in her identity. They tended to keep a low profile on purpose.When they found the car that Peter had stolen, Lena was exhausted, it was radiating off of her. Although without her even saying it, she was mentally exhausted. She needed a break from the chaos that was being pelted at her. It was unending. She started school, then she dealt with the arsonist, and then she was kidnapped. She fell into the passenger’s seat and looked at him, her eyes sunken. Time to go home.“Grand Theft Auto, huh, Spider-Man? Pretty bold of you to steal from Tony Stark himself.”He jumped, startled by the sound of Mr. Stark’s voice behind him. He was in his suit, landing right next to the car.Shit, both Peter and Lena said at the same time in each other’s heads.“Mr. Stark I-”“You made the right call, kid.”He paused, unsure if he heard his mentor correctly, “S-sorry sir. I...what?”“You made the right call. You tried to get ahold of me and got Happy instead. You explained to Happy what was going on. Happy was no help to you, you knew what the situation was, so you took matters into your own hands. It’s what I would have done.”“But I thought you said, don’t do anything I would do, especially don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” the quote was a vivid memory of his, it was something that he never forgot, yet consistently ignored.Mr. Stark scoffed, “I guess I said that, but where would you be without a little growth? Everyone’s safe, aren’t they?”Peter didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t know if he was dreaming. Was this the same Mr. Stark that Peter had gotten to know over the past year? The one that was always specific about parameters?“Back seat, Spidey, let me drive.”When the shock rolled over, it was replaced with a giddy smile. Peter finally was becoming who he had dreamt of being.…As soon as the device was removed from Lena’s vocal cords, she coughed, then spoke with clarity and determination.“I need to return to the ocean.”A jump in his stomach, a stirring of emotion, and the fear of losing her, all shoved into one spoken word, “What?”“I mean as a visit. They have to stop killing. They have to.”Peter and Mr. Stark exchanged looks of bewilderment, and as Lena got off the exam table in Mr. Stark’s lab, both of them reached to stop her from going anywhere.“Lena,” Mr. Stark sounded guarded as if he didn’t want to test her, “Do you have any sort of plan for this? Or do you think you’re just going to swim out there and force them to stop killing humans.”She laughed at him, scoffed even as if the idea he presented was insane, “Of course not. That will just have me trapped back where I was before. I need a metal bird ride. And jet repulsors,” she slid off the table and pushed past them. Peter could feel the strong desire she had to get in her pool. When Peter looked at Mr. Stark, it seemed that Lena had arisen more questions than answers for him. Sometimes Peter forgot that he had a direct line to the way his girlfriend spoke, he knew exactly what she meant when she said it. To others, they needed an explanation.He caught himself. Has he just referred to her as his girlfriend?His heart felt a little warmer. Girlfriend. Nice.“I- uh. She needs a jet ride. She wants one, and uh the jet repulsors would be a great addition if you were to upgrade her suit because she jumped off a building today and I um, I caught her.”The man let out an exasperated expulsion of air, this probably being the cherry on top to the array of news he had just received all at once, “I’ve already finished a few upgrades, the latest model has them, I just wasn’t sure if she was ready yet.”“Sir, you should have seen her hand-to-hand combat today, she was really holding her own.”“The girl learns fast,” Mr. Stark was still watching as Lena walked away. “I’m proud of her.”Peter couldn’t help the smile on his face. Lena continued to inspire him every day, but apparently, it wasn’t just him who was inspired.“I’m gonna go, you know, see how she’s doing. Thanks for all your help, Mr. Stark.”“Pleasure’s all mine.”Lena was swimming when Peter got to her room, right where he had expected her to be. Typically he would sit outside and watch, but this evening he ripped off his clothes down to his boxers and jumped in, treading water until she noticed his presence. She appeared in front of him, her hair down and framing her face. He hadn’t seen it like that in a while, and he felt taken back to the moments before they had started fighting crime together. Everything felt simpler when she had been his small little secret.She placed a hand on the side of his face, “I am not yours to keep secret.”They swam again, the strange feeling of not needing to hold his breath while in contact with her skin still troublesome, yet also peaceful. He understood why she found so much solace in the basin that Mr. Stark had customized just to her liking. Not only did it feel like home, but the serene way that she swam about was addictive.Their lips locked and he was swept away by how much he loved her. He knew it was love. After months of being around Lena, this being - this human being - filled with an insurmountable capacity for devotion, he finally knew that the feelings he had for her were love.Love. Love love love love love.When their heads came above water, their faces were still inches apart, foreheads pressed against close to each other as if that was what was keeping them afloat. It wasn’t- she had one hand on his back and one on his chest, the strength of her magnificent tail keeping their shoulders out of water. His strong, beautiful girl, holding him up, reminding him day by day that he was the person on this earth that she cared for above all else.“I love you.”They both said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As Lena filled a backpack filled with things that she could possibly need on her short saunter across the ocean, she could feel Peter in the back of her conscious begging her not to, but she kept going. Her suit in hand, she felt a pull at her bicep from him, who was sitting on her bed. She let him pull her close, her forehead falling onto his. With a short, sweet kiss, she pulled away knowing exactly what he was about to say.“You don’t have to.”“Yes I do, Peter.”“Let me come with you.”“Do you want to die? I have to go alone,” she stopped what she was doing, smiling at him with so much care and pity, wishing he would just understand in the way that she needed him to, “Tony set an autopilot path. There is not even going to be a pilot.”“I don’t want you to do this alone.”It was as if every day people were underestimating her. They still saw her as the tiny, helpless sea creature that they had first found instead of the strong woman she was now growing into. Sure, the height did not help, but she figured if Tony trusted her enough, the person most important to her would as well.“Peter,” she swung the bag over her shoulder, “I have made my decision. You are just making me angry now.”Pulling her bedroom door open, she took off down the hallway, placing the nanotech at the base of her neck to let it pull her hair on top of her head. The truth was that she was significantly more nervous than all of the people around her, and she knew that for certain. She could read their anxiety as if they had projected it in front of her and were frantically pointing at it with a yardstick, and for their sake, she hid the fact that she had never felt anything more overwhelmingly nerve-wracking in her entire life. She had been alive for 63 years, she had been kidnapped, she fought her way out of a crazy man’s secret lair, she had gone to high school, but this was the biggest feat she would be accomplishing. Confronting her sisters was not only something she needed to do for the sake of the lives that had been lost for centuries, but she needed to do it for the lives she could prevent from losing, and then her own life as well.Living in deep, prodigious fear was no longer what she desired. The nightmares were never going to go away, the guilt was never going to dissipate, but the fear of placing one of her feet in the ocean terrified that she would be dragged back in and never return to Earth was unacceptable. It had to change. She was not going to allow them to micromanage every move she made regarding the place that was now and had been her home.“Lena wait up!” she had almost reached the door to the elevator when Peter requested to catch up with her. She did not say anything as they waited together and stepped onto the moving box. She tapped the button to go to the landing pad where a jet and Tony was waiting for her, feeling Peter’s eyes on her hand as it moved.“What is it?” she asked, not sternly, just now wondering.He decompressed, “I just want to see you off. I know that everything is going to be fine, you just ah-” she could feel the reluctance in what he wanted to say. “Listen I’m not very good at this, you know? The um...lovey-dovey stuff, you know? But I just needed to tell you that you mean a lot to me, and I just want you to come home safe.”The elevator dinged and opened while Lena’s lips parted and she faced Peter, “I understand.”Standing on her toes and pressing a soft kiss on his lips, she let her hand linger on his cheek for a second longer, a habit she had found herself falling into. She liked the way the side of his face was soft, yet worn, a welcoming place that her fingers knew so well. Allowing her hand to slide off, she took one last look at those chocolate brown eyes and turned her back, facing what unknown and ahead.“Lena,” another pull at her arm, another longing feeling. This time Tony was standing on the base of the ramp, and for a moment he had briefly shown her a little bit of what he was feeling. He never did that for her, but it was possible he was learning to open up to her. “Are you sure that this is safe?”She looked up the ramp to where a seat was waiting for her, sighing, she said, “I will not lie to you, I have no idea what is going to happen. I will let you know when I get there and when I am headed back.” It was quite an impressive amount of change that this all had exemplified for her. She had people who cared about her well-being. There was a high possibility that she would show up in front of the creatures that she used to call family, and they would have forgotten who she was entirely. The chances were slim, but they were still there. A part of her hoped that it was not the case, while another part of her hoped that them not having the recollection could be used to her advantage.“Thanks, kid. Be safe and good luck,” he slowly released her forearm, where he had been holding her, almost with a similar tenderness as a long, warm hug. That was Tony, though.The sound of her shoes echoed off the metal ramp, and as it closed, she waved to both Tony and Peter, forcing herself to smile more for their sake than her own. There was a bit of a lump in her throat. While Peter was worried, he was also certain that she would be returning. Lena had no precise idea of what to expect, and for all she knew this would be the last time she saw either of them. She was taking a risk larger than she had initially comprehended.Going back to speak with her sisters was putting everything she had on the line, but that was what being a superhero was all about, was it not?A deep rumble vibrated on the jet, and her stomach dropped as the metal bird lifted off the ground. There was no turning back. If a bird were to look inside of the long, horizontal window that was on the side of the particular jet that Tony had provided for Lena, it would find a set of silver eyes curiously peering out of it. With her blonde eyebrows forced together, she stared at the wonder of clouds, flabbergasted by the way that they looked completely solid, yet upon walking across them would follow with her falling straight through to the ground. Rifling through her bag, she pulled out her goggles to gauge how much longer she had left in the flight towards the center of the Atlantic.
Hello, Lena.
“Hi PET, how much longer until I reach my destination?”
Syncing with the jet. One moment, please.
She waited.
We have reached maximum altitude for this trip. Approximately 20 minutes until we reach your destination.
“Okay. Okay.”She took off the straps that she had fastened across her chest and opened the bag to put on the remainder of the navy blue suit, ignoring the way that her chest pounded and the pits of her arms were growing damper with each pulse. Natural human reactions to anxiety had always been displeasing to her, they made an uncomfortable feeling worse, somehow.Arrived.She felt herself inhale quickly, her head bouncing to look out the window. It was time, and she was not sure if she was ready.She did not get to decide if she was ready or not.“Open the ramp on the side of the jet, please.”The jet did as it was told, the sound of metal moving catching her attention. She was no longer sitting amongst the clouds but hovering just above the misty water, just as Peter had done all those months ago.“PET, tell Tony that I have reached the coordinates.”
All right, Lena. Message sent.
Each step was taken slowly, each step was the act of shoving every anxious feeling down the back of her throat. She heard the voices as soon as the wind graced her face. The smooth, alluring voices that she had never noticed she had grown used to until they had stopped. Some were high, some were low, but they all harmonized together effortlessly as many voices to a single being. They were the beating heart of the ocean. She was the cancerous cell. She needed to be removed. She had to be removed. They had to understand.“It is I, the human-seiren hybrid. Show yourselves.”Her feet were adhered to the metal ramp; there was no way she would be touching the water. It was not as strong as it had been, but she felt them as they swam to the surface, she heard their cautious whispers and their inquiries to each other on if they should attempt to kill her. It was all faint as if it was being spoken on the other side of her bedroom door. The longer she listened, though, she heard their singing more clearly. It was not clouding her brain in the way that she had expected it to. She had thought that her new home on land amongst human beings would force her to be susceptible to their forces, but it was not the case. She wanted to smile to herself for the revelation, enjoying the idea of learning more about herself. She was not half of one thing and half the other, but she was fully human and fully seiren.
Traitor. Mutt. Child of sin.
It was none of these names that bothered her. It was the one they least expected that fueled her anger.Sister.“I implore you not to call me that. We are all aware that I am not and never was one of you.”There were three of them who were surfaced, staring at her in their pure forms. Gray skin, silver eyes, black hair. One was the matriarch, the mother of all seiren, marked by the streak of gray that fell through the pitch black of her hair. While immortal, seiren could choose the age they wished to look, and the matriarch was the sole creature with the telltale sign of old age. The rest looked practically identical, not by force but by choice. There was no desire for individuality amongst them.
You also implore something else of us, crossbreed.
“Yes.”Speak.“I am here on behalf of myself with the request that you cease all murder of human beings.”Her words were followed with immediate negative feedback from all of them, including those beneath the surface. It was a mutual disgust. It was what Lena had expected.
You are aware, hybrid, that it is not out of pleasure that we kill the human beings, it is only out of necessity-
“It is not,” she spoke with intention. “I may not have been alive for the ancient times where our kind was sought out by pirates, but I am alive now, during the time where humans fear us rather than challenge us.”
Selfish child. You have been up there for too long. Fallen in love with your peirasmos. Shameful, shameful-
“Your words no longer touch me. I am free from you, but you are no longer free from me,” she knew she had to pull a tactic that Tony had taught her. It was a word that the seiren did not have in their vocabulary. It was time for her to bluff.“See this large, metal bird? This is one of the deadliest weapons made by human beings. It can kill every one of you in a matter of seconds.”Lena would never kill them. She hated these heartless beings, but she did not have the capability of killing anyone. They did not know that. She was free from them. They could only pull from her mind what she wanted them to, and she was now manipulating them into believing every word she said, and Lena knew better than anyone else that there was only one thing that the seiren valued, and it was why they had started killing humans in the first place. This treasure that they held so close to themselves was the survival of their own species.“I have orders from my human allies to eliminate all of you if we do not come to an agreement.”The response she got had Lena pleased. The fear, the overwhelming conflict that bounced across their mutual channel was thick. It was glorious.
Leave us at once, and never return. Remain on the edges of the ocean, never in the deep. You have the word of the matriarch that no human being shall be murdered in the name of the Seiren people.
The word of the matriarch was unbreakable, but Lena had to be absolutely certain that they were telling the truth.“If I hear word of any vessels going missing, I will return.” They collectively nodded in understanding. As the ramp closed, and the plane lifted back into the sky, Lena could not help herself. She leaped, she ran, she skidded across the main cabin area like...what would her peirasmos say...like a child on Christmas morning. She could only recall one time where she had felt happier. Freedom had never felt so incredibly sweet.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“To our very own, Lena Potts, my lovely niece, for taking out a threat of the ocean in the most threatening, yet still diplomatic way possible. Cheers.”By the confusion on her face, Peter could tell that Lena had never taken part in a toast, before. Glasses of gold liquid, some champagne, some sparkling cider, clinked together only to her delight. The smile on her face was bright enough to light the room. At first, he was disappointed that he couldn’t sit next to her, but being able to see the happiness gleam across her face was a much better gift.Something about her had been different when she pranced off of the jet. She flung herself into his arms, wrapping onto him like a koala after he spun her around excitedly. The way she spoke, how she explained the way she demanded justice, it was like the weight in her voice had lifted. The burden of death no longer dragged her down in the arduous way that it used to. It drifted, it was still riddled amongst her elated words, but a majority of it had dissolved into the agreement that she had made with her former species.It had been a dinner party that Mr. Stark planned, filled with the type of elegance that he was unused to. To his left was Colonel Rhodes, his laughter bouncing off the walls of the room. To his right was Happy, who, for once in his life, looked happy to be where he was. On one end of the table sat his Aunt, who had opted for a touch of makeup for the occasion, and the other end sat one of Lena’s doctors, Peter thought it was her physical therapist but he wasn’t sure. Across from him was Lena with Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark on either side of her. It was the first time she had worn that dress; a light, airy article that cut straight across her chest and had small straps keeping it on her shoulders. Hair wavy from her braids, she reminded Peter of classic depictions of Calypso. She flashed her eyes at him.
Some of my sisters spoke of Calypso. She was one of us until she decided to live the rest of her life on land.
Amongst the boisterous conversation, Peter half frowned-half smiled in confusion. What? She bit the bottom of her lip, a habit she had picked up on when Peter made her nervous. He could feel the way her heart fluttered and knew that there was heat rising into her ears, followed by that lip bite, and her eyes bouncing all over the place. The interaction and sequence happened more than often, and Peter had memorized every detail.
They often said that I must be one of her direct descendants because our line of Seiren has a history of craving land. I will never know, but it is always interesting.
Peter had always known of Calypso as a myth, but now that Lena mentioned that she was real, it made sense for her to be a seiren. The woman supposedly distracted men, the most well known being Odysseus, from their goals and aspirations. While Calypso was unconventional, she definitely still had her habits.Odysseus was her Peirasmos.His audible shock was masked by the adults laughing at something else entirely around them. He and Lena had escaped into their little world like they always seemed to do, communicating only with the thoughts in their heads. It was nice to be able to do that whenever they liked. It was like always going into a situation with someone on his team. And that’s what they were, weren’t they?A team.They brought the party to a parlor just outside the dining room, where the adults continued to laugh and sip champagne, while Lena and Peter found themselves drifting to the couch to politely listen. He felt a figure standing over him and found Mr. Stark holding two glasses with the golden liquid Peter had been seeing everyone drink all night. He leaned over between them, and set the glasses down in their hands.“You each can have two glasses, go ahead and refill from the bottle on the dining table that I left behind,” with a devilish wink, Mr. Stark went to find his place amongst the adults. After his two glasses, and some quiet conversation with Lena, Peter decided that he liked champagne. Specifically, he liked the way that it bubbled and the warm feeling that it had left in his stomach once he had finished. The room was sparkling a little bit more than when he hadn’t had the bubbly alcohol. He wouldn’t say he was drunk; that would have been a stretch. He had definitely never had a sip of alcohol in his life, though, and it was proving itself to the drowsy feeling both he and Lena had.At some point, her head had fallen into his lap, and she had begun to trace the bones in his hands with the tip of her finger, gliding it across his skin, chills running up his spine every so often. He watched as she concentrated, noting the way that her eyelashes flicked down and up as she blinked. They were blonde and feathery and practically invisible. Peter could only see them when he was especially close to her. He decided that he truly loved being especially close to her.“It is far too loud in here,” Lena slowly commented and yawned. “Can we go to my room?”Peter looked around. Aunt May was still in conversation with Ms. Potts, and Mr. Stark was about to crash in and probably make a mediocrely funny joke to them. While they were distracted, it was prime time to make their escape. Giggling, they found themselves in the elevator, lips not only locked, but lips finding their way to necks, lips tracing jawlines. Her face buried into his chest and laughed, almost drowning in the sea of his biceps. Peter laughed to himself. Lena would never be able to drown in anything.“I can drown in my love for you!” she tapped his nose as she said the words. Skidding down the hallway towards the direction of her room, Peter playfully chased after her, only catching up when both of them had tumbled through the door, his arms folding themselves around her tiny body. They became an entanglement of limbs as they fell onto the twin bed, laughter only subsiding by the silence of their kiss falling back into place. He liked the way that her hand was resting on his chest, and he liked the way that his hand had fallen just inside of her left thigh.He would have liked to describe where the fun went from there, but Peter Parker was no kiss and tell.…It wasn’t the first time that her screaming had woken him.What was abnormal for Lena was the thrashing and yelling that followed. The way he felt her fist came down onto his chest as he struggled to reopen his eyes and assist her. The blow came with an unnatural amount of strength that was hopefully unintentional.“Wake up!” were the first words he could say before snaking his arms around her waist and burying his face into the crook of her neck, “L, wake up! You’re dreaming!”He could feel her terror, which was almost the worst part. Along with their open book of emotions came empathy that had almost brought Peter to tears. Lena in this current state of not fully asleep but not fully awake was suspended in unrelenting terror. Her demonous sisters had sent her the worst nightmare yet as a punishment for her threat and their agreement. There was nothing either of them could do about it. The seiren had a mental tie to her that Peter wished he could cut with the world’s largest pair of scissors.“YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME,” Lena bellowed. Her hands were balled into fists, and Peter could feel the sweat from her bare shoulder start to bead and transfer onto his bare chest.He cooed at her, soothingly shushed her, ran his fingers through her hair, but this dream had been different. If he closed his eyes for long enough, he could barely make out the images of the creatures clawing at every part of her body, tearing her apart and doing the same to the people in her life that she loved. Peter, Tony, Pepper, Happy, MJ, Ned, they all were drowning or having their throats torn out, or being dragged down to the bottom of the Atlantic.Sob after sob, Peter was starting to see that he wasn’t going to be able to calm her down easily. Kissing her forehead, he whispered that he would be back as he pulled on his pants and shirt from the night before. If he knew his mentor correctly, he knew just where he would be able to find him.There was the harsh sound of metal colliding with metal when Peter entered the shop, and the figure of Tony Stark sweating and working was just across from him, and the source of the sound. It was almost 5 AM, and this was where Mr. Stark had spent his night-going-on-morning. He popped off the protective goggles and looked at the half-awake Peter, the look on his face as if he wasn’t believing what he was seeing.“I-I know I just woke up like 20 minutes ago. Lena just had...a really bad nightmare. Can you...drive us somewhere?” he asked, hoping the man would somewhat understand.Mr. Stark’s left hand dragged across his shiny, sweat-dripping face, and much to Peter’s surprise he said, “Sure. Where to?”…By the time that Peter had successfully gotten Lena’s body to the car, she had stopped crying and resorted to a violent sort of shaking, which he wasn’t sure if that was an improvement or not. Still, he held her, and spoke to her softly, and traced circles on her shoulder. He knew how deeply sad and horrified she was, he could feel it on each one of his bones. Their connection had given him a special empathy reserved just for her, and it was painful to feel her in so much agony.Approximately 45 minutes later, Mr. Stark pulled into the parking lot for their destination and put the car in park. Peter was the only one to move, going to the other side of the car to pull Lena from the seat and carry her to where Peter knew she would find healing. She had to.It only took a couple of minutes to reach the edge, and he set her down in the sand, hoping that she would recognize the texture and open her eyes. She did, and when her eyes flittered open, she was greeted with the mix of a pink and orange sunrise over the Atlantic ocean.Why did you take me here? She asked.He was still standing. Instead of saying anything (partially because he didn’t know the whole answer himself), he pulled her to her feet and walked with her to where the waves were crashing into the shore, but just as their bare toes almost touched the seafoam-No.He insisted, “One step. I won’t let you fall.”When she looked at him, her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and red marks showed where she had violently torn her hands across her face to yank the tears away. Biting her lip again, nervously, she stepped forward into the salty water, that curled around her toes as they started to morph into what would add up to be a tail. Without fail, she slipped, Peter holding his arms out to catch her from behind.They sat in the shallow water for a good while, the waves encircling them, her tail stretched out farther than Peter’s legs. He could feel the rate of her heart declining as she stared out into the open water, inhaling the fresh, crisp, spring air. To Peter, it was a mystery as to how he knew this would be the remedy to her troublesome dream, but he could only guess that was all a part of their special connection. She shifted forward, tearing off the white dress from the dinner party and plunging into the sea, allowing herself to fully submerge. He didn’t worry, he just waited for her to resurface, knowing that she needed to feel the Atlantic ocean wash over her to fully regain the strength that her former family had taken away from her only because they could. It was them trying to hold power over her, when in all actuality, Lena was the one with real power.Peter wanted to show her that there was strength in existing as a human being. While she had the special abilities that set her aside from the typical human, what made her special was not only the fact that she was a seiren, but also that she was human.He watched as she broke into the surface, her face masked behind her hands. When they slid downward, Peter saw the exhaustion that had found its way onto her features.
Thank you.
He nodded.Peter returned to his apartment that night, knowing that Lena would likely not find her way back to sleep. When he shut his eyes, falling asleep in his own bed, he found that she had implanted a dream for him, cultivated by her, where they sat on that beach forever, watching as the waves rolled in.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Going back to school after the whirlwind that Lena had been through felt strange in a new way, but she had reached a point where she had grown used to strange, new feelings. Compared to the open sea and the cage she had been held captured in, school felt mundane. Walking past regular students, disguising her exhaustion as her typical timid nature made her feel as if there was an invisible mask on her face.“That’s sort of what it is,” Peter commented, squeezing her hand.When she sat down for lunch, everything around her felt unreal and blurry, as if the lights were too bright and everything around her was unfocused. Her surroundings only felt real when MJ sat down and pushed her shoulder in what Lena supposed was a playful way. She took a long blinked and attempted to smile at the other girl.“Peter said you were sick, feeling better?” MJ spoke in her usual diluted tone.She chewed on the inside of her lip, “A little bit better.”“Good,” MJ pulled a sandwich out of her sack. “Because I’m coming over to your house this weekend.”Lena blinked with surprise at the statement. It was not even a question, from what she had studied, the typical interaction of two people spending time together involved a question, especially when they were not too familiar with each other. Lena and MJ had never spent any exterior time with each other, so this was naturally a shock.“You are?”“I mean,” the other girl took a bite and swallowed, “You’ll have to ask your uncle, I’d assume, but yeah.”Lena was not sure how to answer, and with luck, she was greeted by Ned and Peter sitting down across from them, one shoving each other's shoulder, and a laugh following. They discussed the upcoming test they had on Their Eyes Were Watching God, MJ destroying the two boys in a steady discussion on the motifs of speech and silence. Based on the way she spoke, and nothing else (MJ was a closed book), Lena could tell that this was MJ’s favorite novel that their American Literature class had covered this school year. While Lena liked the novel, she had been having difficulty wrapping her head around the concept of a plot, which was not unusual. Most of the novels that they read in the class were written from the background of a human experience. There were countless questions that Lena had asked Peter about minuscule details about each writer’s books. The analysis that the English teacher required them to do became easier than understanding the reason why a rich man would throw countless parties in an effort to get the attention of someone who was a long remnant of his past.“Lena what are you up to on Friday?” Peter and her had a habit of hanging out on the weekends, but this weekend would be different.“MJ is going to come over to my house,” she said softly, looking at him with a short smile. She could feel the elevation of his mood increase, barely, but it was there. There was a part of Peter that had wanted them to be friends for a long time, and Lena had wanted the same. She needed more friendships than just that of Peter and the rest of her family.On Thursday night, Lena had cleaned everything in her room until it was perfect, making sure that there was nothing out of place. Typically, she kept her room relatively tidy, but some sort of worry had washed over her and brought her to make sure that everything looked as it should.Tony walked in about an hour later while she was sitting on her bed studying for the exam the next day. She had spaced out her night so that all her shorter assignments (like her math work and finishing her chemistry lab) were complete before cleaning and dedicating the rest of her time to the American Literature exam. She jumped a bit when he knocked and entered the room, and sat at the end of her bed with his hands crossed in his lap.“You doing okay?”She set her pen down on her open notebook, “Why do you ask?”“Skipped dinner.”“I was not hungry”“You’re never hungry but usually you join us.”She hesitated, “Exam tomorrow.”Tony snickered, almost knowingly, “You’re going to ace that exam. You probably don’t even need to study.”She gave him a long, consequential look, “Okay.”“You’re nervous about MJ coming over aren’t you?”Her eyes returned to her notebook, skimming over the loopy handwriting that so many people seemed to compliment her on. Apparently it looked pleasing to the eye, but she was not sure what made one set of letters more pleasing than another.“It’s okay to be nervous L,” he sounded like he was trying to be reassuring, but she did not feel reassured.“I do not want to mess up.”“Just be yourself. Minus the siren part, but not completely. Be a siren, just don’t let her know.,” he slapped her shoulder and pinched her cheek jokingly, and she watched as he left.Lena had always known that Tony loved her, but he had never explicitly said it. She smiled to herself as she reburied herself into her studies.…After school, and after finishing an exam Lena knew she aced, she led MJ to the sleek black car that Happy picked her up in every day. A part of her felt self-conscious about it all, knowing that she was one of the more privileged students at her school. She was just smart enough that she was not like Eugene Flash Thompson who flaunted his wealth in a sickening way. He was always trying to come up and flirt with her, using their minimal common factor to make the rest of her friends feel uncomfortable. He was an open book and she read him easily, and most of the time it disgusted her, despite the fact his habit of bragging was only used to mask his own insecurity. The way that Lena interpreted it, having insecurities was no excuse for being a mean person.MJ found Happy amusing, and it took a lot for Lena not to laugh as MJ tried to get a quick rise out of him. It was not malicious, she just made comments about his name, about his stone-cold silence.“You and me, we aren’t unalike you know. You work for Tony Stark and don’t talk much, and my friend is Tony Stark’s niece, and I don’t talk much either. In fact, this is probably the most she’s even heard me talk.”Lena giggled.With every interaction, she tried to hide the fact that she had spent countless hours watching videos in her room of stereotypical sleepover movie scenes when she should have been asleep. She gave MJ a tour of the compound, excluding explicit parts about her training, taught her how to access F.R.I.D.A.Y. if she needed anything, and eventually, they wound up in her bedroom. MJ sat on the soft queen bed while Lena lounged in her desk chair, spinning it aimlessly as they talked.“Dude I can’t believe you have a pool in your room, it’s crazy. Plus, it’s like, suspended in the air? Your uncle’s a goddamn genius. Literally.”She had already said that the pool was off-limits because it was undergoing maintenance. There was no way Lena was about to swim in front of MJ. Maybe one day. Secretly, she hoped that there would be a one day, but for now, Lena was strictly human and nothing more. She was the niece of a billionaire and that was the only quality that was abnormal about her.“Do you know who you’re going to prom with yet?”Lena felt herself blush, “Yeah. Peter.”The smile on MJ’s face was palpable, “You guys are dating, right?”Her face heated some more. MJ’s casual manner of conversation was a blessing. She didn’t do what most of the girls they spent time around did when the mention of two people dating was brought up. There were never any squeals or jumping around or the strange hand-flapping that some of them did. It was always just an inquiry, and then a simple smile in response.“Yeah, dating.”“We always suspected it, but Ned and I were too afraid to ask.”MJ fell asleep watching a movie projected on the wall in front of her bed by PET. It was a horror movie that MJ claimed was one of her all-time favorites. At one point she asked if Lena thought she would survive the movie, or if she would be the first to get murdered, and secretly, she wished she could reassure her friend that the murderer would be put into custody before reaching anyone, especially if she was surrounded by her friends. Instead, she said, “I would not be the first.”“Neither would I. Some people in these movies are so stupid I wonder how they aren’t dead already.”Lena wanted everything to be normal, to fall asleep next to MJ like a regular teenager would, but sleep was still too strange, and the anxiety of waking up her friend from the routine screaming was not going to allow her to find slumber anyway. So, she watched the end of the movie, texted Peter until he was asleep, and soon found herself wandering the halls of the compound. Her mind was blank, and the aimless walking without purpose had a mending aspect to it like she was massaging the ever-pulsing mania in her brain. She was not manic, but there were times where she felt like she was barely on the cusp.She jumped when she felt another presence in the room. The lounging room, to be exact. When she turned to look, she expected it to be Tony, but to her own surprise, it was Mr. Hogan standing a few feet away, staring out a window parallel to her.“Mr. Hogan,” she could sense why he was awake. Being head of security brought out some anxieties that prevented him from staying asleep through the night.“Lena, how many times have I said to call me Happy?”“Old habit.”Silence.“How’s the sleepover?”“Tony told you?”“He said you were nervous.”She shrugged, “I guess.”“And?”“It is fun. Does not change my attitude towards the human way of recharging.”Happy snickered and shuffled his feet, “You know, if I didn’t know your backstory, I definitely would have believed you were related to Tony.”It was a neutral statement, but she was flattered, “Peter says that too.”“Peter also has some of Tony’s qualities. More of the skittish ones, but qualities nonetheless.”There was another spell of silence before Happy spoke again, “It’s been really nice having you around, Lena. You’ve really made a difference in Tony’s life.”“I have?” that was not something Lena had noticed, but then, she had never known what Tony was like before she arrived. A small part of her felt sorry that she had to disrupt so much of his life when she begged them to not put her back in the ocean. She had been what some of her classmates might have called a “nutcase” before working out her issues with her sisters, and it could not have been simple to manage the ups and downs of her acclamation into her human life.“He has a new sense of purpose, very similar to when he took on mentoring Peter, but slightly different. It’s been good to see him so passionate.”…Lena walked MJ to the car the next morning, slightly disappointed that their time together was over, but she was sure it would happen again. They ran into Pepper on the way out, a strange feeling of nervousness falling into the pit of her stomach. Lena wanted MJ to meet her “aunt,” but it was the same askew feeling that she felt whenever Tony caught her and Peter kissing as if she had barged in on something that Lena didn’t want her to see.“Pepper-”“Miss Potts it’s so nice to meet you, thank you for having me!”Pepper smiled, warmly, not the smile that she usually gave to cameras or to Tony when she was upset with him, “I hope you two had fun.”Lena was trying to usher MJ out the door, “Yeah! Thanks for staying, MJ.”“Promise me we’ll hang out to get ready for prom, Lena?”Oh, right. They had talked about that last night.“Promise!”Happy drove the car off, MJ slyly smiling and waving as the car drifted out of sight. When Lena turned to go back to her bedroom, Pepper was still smiling, as if an idea had come into her head. Lena knew that an idea had come to her, the excitement at the forefront, and was ready to burst into telling her what it was.“Prom, huh? There’s no way I’m not helping both of you getting ready.”She kissed the top of Lena’s head and walked off, a lighter skip in her step than when she had first approached them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peter

Peter’s arms were surrounding Lena, her head resting on the space between his head and his shoulder, sitting on her bed with her in his lap. He couldn’t count how many times they had watched this episode of Planet Earth, it was to a point where he could hear her reciting it in her mind, practically word for word. To her it was like she was back there, fully immersed in the deep ocean, surrounded by the creatures she used to consider friends. 
 
“The sharks are not as menacing as you might think,” she was barely speaking above a whisper as if talking too loud would scare the on-screen sharks away, “they saw us as predators, but they saw me as their equal. They knew something was different about me.” 
 
He placed a small kiss in her hair, taking a moment to enjoy the precious moments that he had with her. So many of their days were spent fighting street crime that it was becoming rare to spend time on their own, enjoying the feeling of togetherness. She shifted in his arms, sinking deeper into him, only half of her face focused on the projection. He felt her inhale against his chest, his arms raising with the breath.
 
“You smell like laundry detergent.”
 
It was a funny statement, and Peter chuckled, “Well, I’m glad I don’t smell bad.” 
 
“I am learning to identify human scents. Laundry detergent, candles, gasoline. It is all very interesting.” 
 
He hadn't thought about that. So many things he had grown up getting used to were all brand new to her, from the ability to walk to the scent of laundry detergent. One day she would be fully there, and it was probably a way away, but for now, Peter was already too proud of the progress she had made to dwell on that. 
 
…
 
“Class, as you know it is growing close to the end of the school year, and I still have yet to fulfill my requirement for a field trip. Don’t get too excited- it’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” Mr. Ellis was sitting on his desk, looking slightly exhausted by the year he had put behind him. It had been an interesting year in American Politics, from the recent election to Mr. Stark’s deal with the sirens. Peter could tell that this field trip was only to check a box. 
 
“We’re going to MOMA, and I know you all have been there, but we’re going, and you can write a short reflection. Mainly, I just want a day off to look at the art, but you didn’t hear that from me. I will deny all allegations.” 
 
Lena looked at Peter from her desk,

What is MOMA?

Museum of Modern Art, I think you’ll like it.

MJ, in particular, looked excited. Art was one of the classes she excelled at. She had been recognized by the school with numerous awards for her gifts, and putting her in any sort of artistic setting was like putting a kid in a candy store. 
 
As Mr. Ellis dragged on, Peter couldn’t help but let his eyes and mind wander, patiently waiting for the remainder of the school day to end. Prom was on Saturday, and it was the first time Peter had felt genuine excitement for a school dance. Sure, he had felt similar anticipation for the homecoming dance with Liz, but that had ended in disaster. It wasn’t his fault that Mr. Tooms had ruined both of their experiences. 
 
He had tried to coax a picture of Lena’s dress out of both her and Pepper, but they had both kept it strictly to each other, and when he had searched her memories, she had put up a heavy block, insistent that it remained a surprise. 
 
His pencil tapped against his notebook until the final bell rang, where every student bounded out of their seats. The only thing on anyone’s minds was prom, including Peter’s and Lena’s. Leaning against the locker next to Lena’s, he listened to her enthusiastic chatter with MJ about the weekend. 
...

Lena

“Has he seen your dress yet?”
 
Lena bit the inside of her lip and let a small smile escape her mouth, “No, but he’s gotten close. He’s really good at uncovering secrets, but not this one.”

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Peter practically materialized behind her, “Excited for prom?”
 
Lena nodded, spinning around and kissing his nose, “It is a silly little tradition, but I am happy I get to be a part of it.” 
 
“I’ll catch you guys later, see you tomorrow, Lena!” MJ waved and escaped, leaving them alone.
 
There was a brief silence, but then Peter leapt into words.
 
“Come on, L, let me see it!” 
 
“No! I want it to be...a surprise. Like my pool was for me.” 
 
He rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead, “I can hardly wait another minute.” 
 
…
 
MJ arrived the next afternoon around 2 PM, which was when Pepper had told her to. Her “aunt” had gone to lengths to provide Lena and her friends with the best prom experience she could provide. The school dance was apparently something that mattered a great deal to humans, and if it made everyone around her happy, Lena was more than happy to comply. Dressing up and putting varied colors of dust on her face felt strange. She hoped there would be a day where human standards of beauty did not confuse her. It all appeared to be superficial. 
 
Lena was in her room brushing her hair after a bath, staring mindlessly at the silver in her eyes when her friend walked in. MJ was usually closed off with a tight seal, but something was light about her. The aura around her was airy and open, and Lena turned to greet her with a smile. 
 
“I’ll never be over how crazy this place is,” MJ said, throwing an overnight bag onto Lena’s bed. “I never thought I would be friends with someone related to an Avenger.”
 
People always refrained from talking about the Avengers in front of Lena. At school, she heard racing thoughts as she passed her peers about the intimidation that came along with her closeness to them. They were afraid that their curiosity would appear rude. Again, it was these strict rules of politeness that she was continuously getting used to. 
 
But MJ never held back. She was true to Lena and herself, putting honesty above everything else. She was guarded, but she was a real friend.
 
There was a knock at her door, Pepper and someone she had hired to help them get prepared for the prom. Lena called for PET to open the door for her. 
 
“Hi Miss Potts,” MJ smiled shyly. Lena felt her friend’s guard go up again. Even Lena could admit that Pepper was a strong presence. She had known that since that first day they met. 
 
“How are you, Michelle?” 
 
“Good.” 
 
“This is Jeffree, he’s a popular makeup artist on Youtube, I wasn’t sure if you two have heard of him but he was very excited to hear from me about doing your prom looks.
 
The person was very unique looking. A lean body full of what she had recently learned was called “tattoos,” his eyebrows were completely gone, and his hair was a vibrant pink color pinned straight to his face. He was an open book. When Lena looked at him she saw all the pain he had endured, the repercussions of his actions, the honest regret that came along with it. The evolution of human nature was fantastical to her, and this person was a phenomenal example.
 
“How are we today ladies?” he entered the room with warm energy, setting a large trunk onto the desk next to Lena. 
 
Pepper looked ecstatic, her hands clasped together, “Have fun, I’ll see you when you all are done.”
 
Jeffree’s thoughts were loud and clear inside her head,

I heard that their niece was alluring, but I didn’t expect the beauty to be as radiant as this.

Lena could not help but blush. It was an honest compliment.
 
Getting to work, Jeffree explained that he was not there to change the way that the girls looked, just enhance the beauty that both of them already had. With a strong promise not to overdo anything, he set to work on MJ while Lena continued to brush her long, tangled hair. 
 
When he was done, Lena agreed that he had done a perfect job. Her eyes butterflied out with a flick of black, her skin almost sparkled. As MJ looked in the handheld mirror Jeffree had provided, she touched her face as if she was seeing it for the first time. Lena’s grin widened and she looked to Jeffree, who was just as excited as her to get started. 
 
The brushes were soft on her eyelids, on her cheekbones, through her eyebrows. She could feel the intricate detail that each stroke carried, how precise he was with each tiny movement. When it was all over, it was like they had gone on a journey together. It was a delicate process that she had not expected to enjoy. 
 
Turning around to view herself in her mirror, she was just as shocked as MJ had been. He had done the perfect job of simply amplifying every aspect of herself that she liked. Her eyes shimmered when they hit the light, her cheeks were rosy in an endearing way, and her small lips were painted a subtle pink. 
 
She had never worn makeup before, and she probably would not ever again, but doing it for the special occasion was proving to be much more fun than she had anticipated. 
 
They all said goodbye as Jeffree made his exit, and Pepper came in gushing over his work. It was almost like she was living through the two girls, her enthusiasm bouncing off the walls. 
 
“Now, let’s get to styling your hair,” she grinned.
 
…

Peter

He was nervous. The last time Peter had gone to a school dance, he almost was killed by his date’s father. He couldn’t see what could possibly go wrong this time, but knowing his own luck anything was possible. He didn’t want to screw it all up this time. All Peter wanted was a regular night out with his friends, his girlfriend, without any disruption. He knew that crime wouldn’t stop because Spider-Man and The Siren were at prom, but hopefully, they wouldn’t have to escape for a universal threat. 
 
Still, something bad was about to happen. Unlike anything they had seen before. It wasn’t him who initially had this premonition, it was Lena. The thought kept subconsciously fleeting across the back of her brain. Ever since they shared that dream, standing on the broken planet, staring off into its abyss. It was scary. 
 
It was prom, Peter couldn’t think about that.
 
He pulled on the tux that Tony had sent to him, straightened out the collar, and tied the white tie that Lena had instructed him to buy just the way that Aunt May had taught him. Staring at himself in the mirror, he inhaled deeply, flattened his shirt, then went to the kitchen to ask his Aunt how he looked. 
 
“Oh Peter,” his Aunt smiled, adjusted his collar again, and kissed him on the forehead, “you look great. Happy just called, he said the car is waiting downstairs for you.” 
 
Peter’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why do you have Mr. Happy’s number?”
 
“Oh! No reason. But the car’s downstairs.” 
 
“Thanks, May,” he gave her one last hug before leaving his apartment to go see Lena, and the dress she had been hiding for far too long.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peter Peter was patiently waiting outside of the main Avenger's compound building, leaning against the long, black limo that Happy had picked him up in. It was fortunate that his girlfriend had extremely rich parents, he didn't have to involve himself in the tedious planning that contributed to making prom night so special. He would have been happy to do it for Lena, but the fact that Pepper found joy in planning events, and would probably do it astronomically better than Peter, was just to his own convenience.He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he was sure Lena could as well. He wasn't nervous in the same way he had been nervous to pick up Liz at the homecoming dance. Obviously, there would be no shocking revelation that Lena's father was his newly found arch-nemesis. His problems would be a lot worse if someone he didn't know answered the door to the Avenger's compound. The reason why Peter could feel his heart in his stomach was that he had no idea what to expect. He never pictured himself taking one of the most beautiful girls he knew to prom. He had never been certain that he would even go to prom.When he looked up, she was standing in the doorway. Lena had always been beautiful. She would be radiant no matter if she was clean-faced or if she had layers of makeup on. Peter had never loved her for her looks. It had been the person she became and that he grew to know over the course of the school year. Seeing her glisten, staring at him with effortless confidence that she never usually felt, all of her worries gone for the evening, it was immaculate.For once in their life, they could pretend that they were normal high school students.All of the incredible amount of hair that she had was swept over one shoulder, loose waves spilling to her waist. An airy, white dress hung perfectly on her tiny body, the tulle skirt tossing in the wind, exposing most of her calves, and feet that were in a pair of skin-colored flats. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, making her resemble some sort of combination of fairy and princess. It was perfect. It was everything he had imagined and more. He took a step forward, approaching her, too awestruck to say any coherent words."Do I look...okay?" her voice was quiet.He was standing directly in front of her, his hands hovering above her shoulders. It felt like a dream. As if he tried to touch her, she would dissolve into nothing. Apparently, she understood his thought process, because she quickly took his hand and pressed it to her face, her lips twitching into a gentle smile.MJ followed behind her, wearing a simple black dress paired with a set of Adidas sneakers. She also looked stunning, a pleasant mix of glamour, with her own MJ twist thrown in. His newest friend always followed the beat of her own drum, not caring too much about what others thought, staying true to herself. Peter admired that about her."MJ you look pretty nice," Peter commented, sort of awkwardly."Can it, Parker.""No, I mean it!""Oh. Thanks."They each got into the limo, colorful lights winding back and forth, the interior lit only by reds and blues and purples. MJ sat directly across from them, adjusting her dress and crossing her arms. In an instant, MJ had guarded herself off again. Peter had noticed the way the girls tended to open up for each other. While Lena told Peter pretty much everything, the way she acted around the friends she had made on her own differed. It was a different sort of connection that she and MJ had."Next stop Ned Leeds's house, then to the Midtown Tech prom," Happy had just gotten off the phone and seemed to be in a more pleasant mood than Peter was used to. Who on the phone had softened him like that? He thought about the fact that his aunt now had Happy's number but quickly attempted to shove it back into his subconscious. It was prom. He couldn't think about silly things like that.Ned brought the energy in the room to its maximum capacity as soon as he slid into his spot next to MJ. He, too, was breath taken by Lena and MJ's prom looks and gushed over them verbally in the opposite way that Peter wasn't able to. With exuberance, he quieted down and they each fell into a short silence before arriving at the dance's location.It was only a hotel ballroom, but the Prom Committee had done a decent job decking it out to create the illusion that this was the most upscale event they had ever been to. White tapestries hung delicately on the walls, disguising the ugly wallpaper as something pleasing to the eyes. Twinkling fairy lights were strung in lines, imitating the stars. It was not anything out of the ordinary for prom, but to Peter it was perfect. He looked at the small girl holding his hand, and he sensed from her that this was the most incredible thing she had ever experienced. It was bliss.
Lena
Peter was correct. Blissful was the only word she could find to describe the feeling of her first prom. From all of the movies and TV shows she had been devouring in order to better understand what it was like to be a modern teenager, prom seemed to be one of the most important events of any high school experience. She found that some plots even revolved around the grand finale of simply going to a school dance.All of her expectations had been met, and she could not ask for anything more.Ned and MJ took off for the table of punch. When Lena looked over, a skinny young man lingered by the table, and it did not take much for her to read off him that he had intentions to spike the punch. She knew that the right thing to do was to trance him out of it, but she decided that she would follow suit in what Tony would do, and just let it be. He had taught her that people liked to enjoy themselves, whether it be morally right or wrong. In this case, she knew that with the small amount of vodka he had stored in his pocket, there could not be much damage done. She ignored it and continued on with Peter to the dance floor.She had never been one for metaphors, but it was an understatement to say that they danced the night away. Time passed quicker than she was used to, and when a slow, romantic song started to play, she could not help but wish that it had lasted just a little longer.Peter swept her into his arms, swaying her back and forth to the melody."The metaphor that you're looking for is 'time flies when you're having fun,'" he said."Time cannot fly. Although since it is a metaphor I know that you do not mean that literally."He chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. In both instances."
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more.
"Are we really going to be alive for the rest of eternity?"They had both heard the lyrics, and she knew that from a human's perspective, 1000 years was a long time. She understood that from both sides."Think more, Peter. Eternity is indefinite. Eternity for us...it is a close friend. It is something we can manipulate. We can live forever. We do not have to. This...us...we can..." she searched for the word, she was still working on her vocabulary, "We can navigate time uniquely. It is not something to be afraid of. We have no...obligation...to live forever. Just as long as we need."He smiled, "Thank you.""For what?" "For letting me love you."The song radiated around them, filling the space between them. Lena knew that they had a lifetime of dangerous adventure ahead of them, but for now, they were here with each other. She had on a long white dress, and he had on a tuxedo, and she knew, somehow, this would not be the last time it would be like this."It was what I was born to do."
End of Act II: Tranquility