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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xi. THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

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   NO SUPERHERO IS INVINCIBLE. They all have flaws. It's not always kryptonite or a malfunctioning arc reactor, but rather, it can be themselves. For some, it's as obvious as having an uncontrollable alter-ego, but for others, it's their lack of thought, their inexperience, or even their trauma that results in their demise. For Riley Stark, her greatest flaw wasn't her stubbornness or arrogance—it was her impulsivity.

   When Riley was struck with an idea, it was impossible for her to think about anything else. She could spend days working out all the kinks, always finding ways around them even at the last possible second. This time was no different.

   All week long, Riley had been trying to get her hands on some form of technology. She didn't have her suit, which meant JOCASTA wasn't able to help. Even her cell phone had been confiscated by her family, which meant she needed to borrow someone else's device. That wasn't a problem though. The issue at hand was that all cell phones were banned from Mirkhaven, meaning that they were all locked away in an unknown location.

   Actually, that wasn't even the real problem. Stealing a cell phone was easy, especially for someone who could turn invisible. All she had to do was find the phones, which was a piece of cake.

   Riley was stumped because she found the cell phones secured in a sturdy safe rather than a flimsy box like she'd been expecting. She couldn't just open it. This thing required some kind of code.

   Riley had tried to phase through the stupid safe (like she did that one time she infiltrated an alien spaceship), but she didn't even know how she did it in the first place. She, then, considered blasting it open, but she chose not to.

   Riley just wanted to make an emergency call without gaining attention. She knew she could've asked the faculty for permission, but she didn't want word to spread that the leader of the Avengers, otherwise known as the girl who had been personally entrusted by Captain fucking America, thought there was a problem that she couldn't handle.

   So, she was back to square one until Peter Parker said the magic words, "Too bad you can't just go up and fight someone for their phone like we could in a regular emergency, you know?"

   Of course, Riley wasn't going to shoot UV rays through someone's head for a damn phone. Not only would that result in someone's death, but it would be a total PR nightmare for the Avengers.

   Riley's plan was much simpler than it seemed. She was just going to threaten the person who was in charge of keeping tabs on the phones—the head of the camp counselors. As luck would have it, that person just so happened to be the infuriating Warren Park.

   Riley had been so eager to follow through on her plan that she rushed out before telling Peter. This resulted in the poor boy thinking that she was actually going to fight someone, which was why he went frantically running after Riley. Or, well, he tried to.

   "Spider-Boy," called Roman, "hang on a sec."

   Peter visibly hesitated. He wanted to run after Riley and figure out what her plan was (and maybe even help her out), not have a casual conversation with an alien he didn't seem to like that much.

   "C'mon, I won't bite," insisted Roman. A playful tone hung on his words as he added, "At least, not without reason."

   Peter's face scrunched up, unsure of what to make of that. Still, he sighed in defeat and turned to face Roman, who was now standing with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

   "Look," started Peter, disinterested, "whatever it is, can it wait? I'm scared Riley's actually gonna kill someone to get her hands on a phone."

   Roman, on the other hand, was cool and collected. He lightly scoffed. "Don't worry. I don't think that's her intention," he assured. "I just wanted to say something to you without Riley breathing down my neck. Is that such a crime?"

   "Well, you did just say you'd bite me."

   Roman smirked at the comment. He felt a strange sense of euphoria knowing how much Peter seemed to dislike him. He wasn't an idiot though, he knew why now.

   An amused expression glossed over Roman's otherworldly features. "I know I didn't exactly give you an award-winning first impression of me, so I get why you don't like me," he admitted, "but I think you should hear me out."

   Alarm overrode the Queens native. "...What's up?" he wondered.

   Roman shrugged. "Riley... She's special," he began. "We all know it. I mean, she got someone as self-centered as me to sacrifice myself for an entire planet I really don't care about. I haven't known her as long as you have, but I know her soul inside and out."

   Peter narrowed his eyes at him. He was beginning to feel a little defensive. "Meaning...?"

   Roman hesitated, unsure of how to word his next statement. He was never very vulnerable. Sure, he could say the sharpest words to anyone without hesitation, but when it came to the mushy stuff, Roman despised talking about it. Even with Riley, it took him some time to open up and not cringe about it hours later.

   "Don't distract her from her life," Roman ultimately declared.

   Peter faltered. He hadn't been expecting that from Roman. He was anticipating some kind of overprotective "I don't like you" conversation. This was... different.

   "I... I wouldn't want to," truthfully replied Peter. "Trust me."

   "I know, but... it's always better hearing it from someone else, you know?" Roman returned. Peter nodded silently. "Riley... she can be one-track-minded at times. She's spent her whole life doing one thing, living one way. If she gets stuck on one thing..."

   "She loses track of everything else," Peter finished with a nod. "I've noticed that, too. So... what, you want me to keep her on track? I don't get it."

   Roman paused. God, he hated this conversation. "I know you care about her," clarified Roman. "Both of us can't always be there for her, but... if at least one person is, I think she'll be okay. She's... always... I guess, worrying about everyone else. I just wanna make sure there's someone who has her back."

   Roman hesitated. He did not want to say what he said next. "I... care about her a lot. She's the only family I have left."

   Peter took a moment to understand what Roman was trying to say, and when he did, he smiled. He had been anticipating a different kind of chat, but in reality, this was all about Roman expressing his concerns about someone who was close to him. Roman actually trusted Peter enough to talk to about this kind of thing.

   "You know..." trailed Peter, his eyes glistening with warmth, "for someone who's supposed to be an asshole, you're a lot nicer than I was expecting."

   Roman raised an eyebrow. "You've only known me for a week," he challenged. "Barely."

   Peter shrugged. "So? I've known plenty of jerks. Bullies are all the same. Trust me," he remarked. "I think you're annoying, but... you're not an asshole."

   Roman bit his tongue. Just wait. He was sure Peter could hear him think it without saying it, but then again, this was a new start for him. Maybe Roman could be better, maybe he could prove the people of his past wrong.

   So, Roman sighed and said, "Right. Okay, go on. You better hurry before she actually hurts someone."

   Peter's mood seemed to switch as he returned to reality, his priorities screaming in his brain. His eyes widened as he moved toward the door. "I thought you said—!?"

   "Dude, it's been a decade since I've seen her in action. I just said that to get you to relax for 5 seconds," Roman disrupted. He snickered. "Still think I'm not a dick?"

   Peter paused and glanced back at Roman. "Nah," he revealed. "I won't give you the satisfaction."

   Then, Peter hurried out the door for the main campgrounds of Mirkhaven. Roman just stood there in surprise. What a strange group of people Riley surrounded herself with nowadays... Roman wondered if the original Avengers were any different.

   Roman snorted at the thought, remembering how self-righteous, yet recklessly self-sacrificing they all were. "Definitely not," he muttered to himself before turning to find something to do.

○ ○ ○

   Riley hadn't realized how much of a softie she had become until now. It wasn't enough to fully overthrow her ruthless nature when it came to her work, but it was certainly noticeable.

   She knew she'd always been a little more sensitive than her colleagues. It showed in the way she treated others from a young age. She was always openminded with everyone she met, treating most individuals she crossed with a little more kindness because she grew up in such a hateful environment.

   Still, that didn't mean she wasn't an annoying, sarcastic little shit. It just meant that there was more to her that she was always eager to show everyone. She was always striving to surpass expectations. She wanted to prove that you could be a badass while still being respectful to most people (assuming they weren't her enemy, of course).

   Her training and her inciting past were all contributors to who she was today, which was how she knew how to bring out a dark side from deep within that could scare anyone shitless. It wasn't a "I'll break all the bones in your body and feed them to the stray dogs" type of scary, but a "I can ruin your life in seconds" that could give you an existential crisis. Today, Riley was employing her special dark side all to scare a stupid man.

   When Riley found the infamous Warren Park, he was heading back to his cabin after coaching a game of Flag Football. Warren spotted the teenager approaching him in his peripheral, but that didn't cause him to slow his pace. "Can I help you with something?" he asked in disinterest.

   Riley calmly walked alongside him, determination surging through her. "I need to talk to you," she asserted.

   Warren released a loud sigh. "What is it?"

   "I need a phone," she simply answered.

   Warren rolled his brown eyes. "And that's supposed to be my problem?" he mocked.

   "It'll be your problem if you don't cooperate."

   This caught Warren's attention, but he didn't let it show. "Are you really threatening your camp counselor?" he taunted. ...What could Riley do to him anyway?

   Riley hummed. "You know, Warren, I don't think you're in the position to act like a bigshot right now," she confessed. Before he could speak, she resumed, "I let you walk around thinking you were hot shit, but I think it's time for a reality check. What do you think?"

   Warren didn't respond, allowing Riley to continue, "I actually looked you up when I was catching myself up on the past 5 years. I saw an interview you did after my identity was revealed. You remember doing that, right? Well, in my... research, I noticed that you're set to start shadowing under a famous geneticist after you graduate next year."

   Warren hesitated. "...Where are you going with this?" He shook his head. He tried to remind himself that he wasn't scared of Riley, which was definitely a lie. "Uh... I'm supposed to intern under Dr. Helen Cho."

   Riley's eyes lit up despite already knowing that. "Huh, what a small world!" she enthused. "Dr. Cho is actually a close colleague of mine. Did you know that? We saved the world together awhile ago when Ultron was a thing. Gosh, it would be such a shame if someone were to... oh, I don't know, put in a bad word for you with her."

   That was enough to halt Warren in his tracks. He stood with stiff muscles, eyes narrowed at the short girl with a bright smile. "...You wouldn't," said Warren, unconfident.

   "I would!" Riley sweetly confirmed. "Not only that, but did you know I have immense pull in the industry? Word spreads like wildfire, especially when it comes from someone as renowned as myself. You'd basically be blacklisted by every prestigious scientist on the planet. I can't imagine what it's like to have someone ruin your entire future based on one negative comment, but I'm always up for trying new things!"

   Warren's face paled just thinking about the future that Riley could create for him. With the snap of her fingers, everything he had worked toward could turn into dust. Could Riley Stark really do something like that? No, it wasn't a matter of could, but would she do it?

   He wasn't sure at first, but after looking past her sickeningly sweet smile, Warren was positive that Riley Stark held the intensity of 1000 suns. She was telling the truth.

   Just like that, Riley managed to get her way, and it was just in time for Peter Parker to join her side as Warren grumpily led the trek back to his cabin.

   Riley beamed at Peter once she saw him. She eyed him curiously when she noticed how he was breathing just a little bit heavier than usual. "What happened to you?" she teased. "You sound like you just ran a marathon around Mirkhaven."

   Peter swallowed his spit, lubricating his dry throat. "I basically did," he replied. It didn't really show, though. His worries were what had tired him out in the end. He lowered his voice into a whisper to ensure that Warren couldn't hear him, "I thought you were gonna kill someone to get a phone."

   Riley nudged him. "Are you serious? I'm not that crazy!" she declared.

   "This is coming from the girl who just went all bad-cop on Warren freakin' Park," he pointed out, earning a laugh from Riley.

   "It wasn't the same without my good-cop," she joked. This caused Peter to smile, memories of them interrogating New York criminals in their free time rolling through his mind. He hadn't been expecting her to be the bad-cop between them, but looking back at it now, it made sense.

   Riley rejoiced as Warren unlocked the safe in his cabin and handed Peter Parker his cell phone. He grumbled something about letting him know when she was done with her phone call before heading to the dining hall. After that, Peter turned on his phone for the first time in weeks.

   When he passed it back to her, Riley felt her heart melt seeing as his background was a picture of them at the wedding. They had been eating cake, only to somehow get it all over each other's faces in a short-lived food fight between them. Riley had been looking at the camera, candidly smiling, but what got her was how Peter had been staring back at her with a particularly fond look in his eyes.

   Peter stared at her, confused as to why she was staring at his lockscreen instead of dialing a phone number. "What? Is something wrong?" he inquired.

   "You're just really cute," Riley replied without hesitation. She froze when she realized who she was talking to. Her head snapped upward. "I mean... Did you hear something? Because I-I didn't."

   Peter's cheeks turned pink as Riley awkwardly smiled at him. She still wasn't used to how she was able to openly say things like that to him.

   She cleared her throat. "Uh, anyway," Riley mumbled. She stared back at his phone and searched for Tony Stark's contact. She smiled again when she saw her father's contact on Peter's phone was under Mr. Stark :D!

   "So, you think he's gonna pick up?" wondered Peter.

   Riley sighed. "Dad probably won't, but I know someone will," she theorized. "...I hope." With that, she pressed a button and initiated a call to her father.

   Ring... Ring... Ring... Ri—

   "Hello?"

   Riley had been initially relieved to hear that someone had picked up, but that relief quickly became confusion. The voice on the other line sounded... young... like... a little girl.

   "...Morgan?" Riley greeted, unsure. Peter shot her a bewildered look.

   "Riley! Is that you?" Morgan's sweet voice chirped, confirming Riley's suspicions.

   Riley smiled, her heart swelling at the sound of her little sister's voice. Riley missed her. "Yeah, it's me," promised Riley. "Uh, why did you answer the call?"

   "I dunno!" she enthusiastically rejoined. "FRIDAY said someone on Dad's emergency contact list thing was calling, and she asked if I wanted to answer, so I did!"

   Riley slapped her hand over her face, unable to refrain from smiling at the fact that Peter Parker was on his idol's emergency contact list. Peter stared at her, completely unaware and confused. He scrunched his eyebrows together and tilted his head to the side, much like a concerned puppy. "What is it?" he questioned.

   Riley waved her hand dismissively, giggling uncontrollably. She couldn't wait to tell Peter that. "That's neat... So, where's Dad?" queried Riley.

   "Uhhh... I dunno," revealed Morgan. There was a short pause. "Hey, I learned how to do a cartwheel today!"

   "That's great, Mo, but—"

   "Wanna see?"

   Riley shook her head. "Baby, I can't see," she explained. She could only imagine Morgan's pout. "Do you know where Mom is? I really gotta talk to them."

   Morgan groaned into the receiver, unhappy by her big sister's reply. "What happen?" the 5-year-old asked.

   "Uh..." lingered Riley. She looked to Peter in search of an answer despite knowing that he couldn't hear the conversation. "It's a... big kid... emergency. So I can't tell you... yet. Can you go find Mom and tell her—?"

   "Pleaseeee? Can you tell me? I wanna know!" bellowed Morgan. Riley winced at the volume of her pleas, prompting Peter to chuckle.

   "Later, Morgan," asserted Riley. "I really need you to—"

   "DUM-E, DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

   Riley jumped at the sudden shout, which was followed by several loud noises that sounded like something had been broken. "What the hell...?" she mumbled. "Morgan? Morgan, are you okay?"

   Peter eyed Riley worriedly. "Did something happen?"

   Riley furrowed her eyebrows together. "I... don't know...?" she admitted. She sighed. "Morgan, what h—?"

   "Morgan? Morgan, honey, what happened!?" Pepper's voice came shrieking. Riley could hear as her footsteps echoed on her end.

   "DUM-E tried to take my juice box!" whined Morgan.

   "Oh, honey, he's just trying to clean up after you," assured Pepper, chuckling lightly.

   Riley pinched the bridge of her nose. "Mom, can you hear me?" she summoned.

   Pepper seemed to pause, almost like she was processing the fact that her daughter had been calling the Stark household. "Riley? How are you calling us right now?" Pepper wondered.

   "Uh, it's a long story," vaguely said Riley. "Do you know where Dad is? I need to talk to him."

   "Oh, well, what happened? You know you can talk to me, right, sweetheart?"

   "I know, I know," promised Riley. "It's just..." Riley didn't want to tell her mother. She knew that mentioning an emergency would make her blood pressure spike, but then again, Riley didn't have another option. "It's kind of an emergency."

   She couldn't see it, but she could imagine Pepper's immediate look of worry. "What!? What happened? An emergency?"

   Riley sighed. "That's why I wanted to talk to Dad," she emphasized. "Where is—?"

   "Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Is it aliens again!? Please tell me it's not. What's wrong?" rambled Pepper, firing one question after another. "It better not be aliens or you're grounded forever."

   "Wait, how am I grounded!?" cried out Riley, getting completely distracted. "Wait, that's not the point—"

   "Wait, so it is aliens?" Pepper infringed. "Oh my God. Are they attacking your camp? Is that why you're calling?"

   "Mom."

   "They're attacking your camp. Oh, God. You need your suit, your weapons—"

   "Mom!"

   "Is Peter there? Does he have his suit? Never mind that, let me go call—"

   "Mom! Stop! No one's under attack!" bellowed Riley. "But... it does have to do with aliens. Just... can you get Dad?"

   It took a little while longer to get Pepper to calm down, but eventually, she managed to summon her husband. From there, Riley was able to explain the situation to Tony. The pair composed a brief plan of extracting Roman and where he would stay for the time being. Soon enough, the conversation was over.

   With a loud sigh, Riley handed the phone back to Peter. He had an amused look on his face. He wasn't able to hear most of the long conversation between Riley and her family since everyone was just speaking over each other, but he did hear bits and pieces of it. It was certainly entertaining, to say the least.

   "I think I'm gonna pass out," Riley dramatically announced.

   "Aw, it wasn't that bad," assured Peter. Riley sent him a questionable look, to which he snickered. "Now, don't be like that."

   Riley pursed her lips before a thought crossed her mind. "You know, I found out something that would make you scream, but I just won't tell you," she proclaimed.

   Peter's eyebrows shot upward. "Well, now you gotta tell me!"

   Riley pretended to think about it. "Hm, well, technically, I don't have to tell you shit," she fired, jokingly shoulder-checking him as she moved past him.

   "Well, technically," matched Peter as he moved forward. He pressed his hand on Warren's cabin door just before Riley could open it, trapping her, "I could just make you."

   Despite the fact that she was smiling, she glared at Peter. She knew he was physically stronger than her, but considering how close they were, she had a better idea.

   "Tony put you on his emergency contact list!" Riley quickly announced before promptly kissing Peter. The statement combined with the short-lived action caused Peter's eyes to widen.

   "Wait, what!?"

   Giggling, Riley grabbed the doorknob from behind her and walked out of Warren's cabin. "You heard me!" she called while practically skipping forward. She glanced back at him, laughing victoriously as he stood in shock.

   "I think I'm gonna pass out," pronounced Peter.

   "Aw, don't worry," insisted Riley. She extended her arm, allowing Peter to walk forward and take her hand. "I'll catch you."

   Peter scoffed. "Yeah, right," he replied. "If I go down, I'm taking you down with me."

   Riley found herself laughing alongside her best friend and wondering how she got so lucky to find someone like Peter Parker.

   She just hoped that she wouldn't have to fight her father for her boyfriend's attention in the future. After all, if there was anyone who adored Peter as much as Riley, it was Tony Stark.

   Then again... Riley was always up for a challenge.