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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xx. SCARED OF YOUR OWN SHADOW

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  RETURNING TO QUEENS, SURPRISINGLY, was one of the last things Riley wanted to do. The trip as a whole left her feeling uneasy. It wasn't the fact that she helped her team win the Academic Decathlon, nor was it entirely the fact that her friends — her only friends — nearly died on the Washington Monument. It was the fact that Riley was scared of her own shadow.

   After meeting her biological father, Riley felt as though something was always watching her. She knew that Fury and Maria Hill were regularly keeping tabs on her and she knew that Tony was always checking up on her; however, this was something different. This was something that dated back all the way to the death of her mother. This was something that dated back all the way to the day she and her father developed their powers.

   Rob O'Dair was a shadow. He had admitted that he had been keeping tabs on her, but for how long? Had he been stalking his own daughter for the past 13 years? It made Riley think about her past more than she normally did. It made her think about all of those allegedly paranormal experiences she faced where she made Natasha and Clint check her room for ghosts as a child because she was sure that something was hiding in her closet. It made Riley think about the days where she could have sworn she left the bathroom door closed, only to find it wide open moments later. It made Riley grow utterly paranoid of everything, for she had no idea if she was truly alone.

   Skipping school was another one of those instances that made Riley feel like a normal kid, but remembering why she was skipping immediately destroyed that feeling of teenaged rebellion.

   "It took you long enough," a male's voice almost jokingly greeted Riley as she slipped into an alleyway.

   "I don't understand why you made me meet you in Staten Island, Rob," admitted Riley, her hands in her jacket pockets.

   "I have to catch the Ferry at 11," Rob O'Dair explained. "And I told you that you could call me Dad, mija."

   Riley cringed at the word "Mija." Oddly enough, it felt wrong hearing it from Rob.

   "Yeah, I know. I just... I'm not used to it yet."

   "We've been meeting up everyday for the past four days," pointed out Rob. "Surely, you're used to me being in your life again." When Riley didn't respond to this, he continued, "So have you figured out how to find the energy core?"

   "Why can't we talk about something else?" she quietly wondered. "I mean, you're my dad. Don't you wanna... I dunno... do all that father-daughter bonding stuff?"

   Truth be told, spending time with her father was all Riley wanted to do, even if his existence kinda freaked her out. She just wanted to get to know him and learn about his life. She wanted to learn about her mom and what she was like. She wanted to catch up on everything she missed out on. She wanted to know what it was like to have a father, but all Rob was interested in was his and his colleague's missing weapon.

   Chuckling, Rob shook his head. "We will, mija," Rob said. "Just not now. Right now, I need the Chitauri energy core."

   Riley looked down at her feet. "I know..." timidly trailed off the girl. "I dunno... Something about this feels wrong to me. Like... maybe I should bring this up to Secretary Ross or Tony."

   Rob sneered at the sound of Tony Stark. "Tony Stark? You really think Tony Stark would help you?" snarled Rob with a scoff.

   "Well... he's been by my best friend since he joined S.H.I.E.L.D's database, so I think he would," admitted Riley. "Maybe Spider-Man could help us?"

   "How is he supposed to help us when you won't even tell me his true identity?" snapped Rob.

   Riley had been very, very careful about keeping Peter's identity a secret. She was shocked that Rob didn't know, especially after declaring that he basically stalked her all the time. Still, Riley couldn't ignore the uncomfortable feeling that continued to grow in the pit of her stomach when it came to her father.

   "We made rules for a reason," Riley carefully said. "In return for me helping you, we decided that I wouldn't tell anyone about you being alive and that I didn't have to reveal Spider-Man's identity. You can't break the rules."

   Perhaps that feeling was just a burning desire. After all, she'd been so insistent on wanting to get to know him that it was all she could think about when she was with her father. However, Rob was just so stuck on that damned Chitauri energy core.

   It just made her feel like he didn't care about her.

   But that wasn't true, right? Rob was her father. Surely, after all this time, he cared about her, right? He wouldn't go out of his way to watch over her and find her all the way in D.C. just to not care about her?

   Rob wasn't... using her, was he?

  No—Riley refused to think this way. Rob was her father for crying out loud! Rob cared about Riley just as a father should care about his daughter!

   "I'm sorry if I'm being harsh, Riley," dryly apologized Rob. "I just... I really want my colleague and I's plan to succeed. Adrian and I have been working on this for so long, mija."

   Nodding, Riley said, "I know. I'm sorry. I'll figure out how to get your energy core soon enough. You don't need to worry, Rob."

   Rob smiled at her. "That's the girl I know and love. Your mother would be proud of you."

   Riley silently returned his smile with a half-hearted one. She couldn't help but think: If her mother were still alive, would she truly be proud of Riley?

   She was sneaking around and hiding from the ones she cared about. She had even begun to ignore Peter, which was completely unlike her! When the Academic Decathlon team had returned to Queens after everything that had happened, Peter had tried to privately talk to Riley; however, she completely brushed him off.

It was late when the Academic Decathlon team returned to Queens. Parents were clumped together as they anxiously awaited their arrival, all of them eager to see their children again. After the incident at the Washington Monument, anxieties had been high.

Riley had wanted anything but to see parents. She had been in such an extreme state of shock that she honestly just wanted to get in the car with Happy and go home. Seeing all of the parents outside the bus just reminded her of two things: the day she killed her mother, and the fact that her father had been alive all this time.

Squeezing through the crowd of people, Riley was about to pull out her phone to call Happy and let him know that she was ready to be picked up; however, she was stopped by Peter calling out her name.

"Riley!" Peter called, jogging over toward her. "I've been calling your name for, like, five minutes. Are you okay?"

Riley faltered. It was almost like she had forgotten how to speak. She had been so stuck on her father that she didn't know if there was anything else she could talk about, even if she couldn't. She just nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just... tired."

"I'm glad to see you're safe, hon," said Aunt May Parker from beside Peter. She placed a motherly hand on Riley's arm supportively. She hadn't even realized she was there until she had done so. The motion made her feel warm inside. Turning to Peter, May added, "I'll give you two a second to chat. I'm gonna go ahead and start the car."

Once May was gone, the two were silent for a moment. Riley wasn't sure why he wanted to talk to her. The last time she checked, he wasn't all too happy with her. "Listen," finally said Peter, "I just wanted to thank you."

Riley's eyebrows knitted themselves together. "Thank me...? For what?"

"For everything you did back in D.C.," he reminded. "You know, covering for me and helping me when everything went down at the Washington Monument. I know I can't tell you why I did what I did, but I really, really appreciate it."

"Oh, that was nothing, Avengers aside," assured Riley, almost robotically. "It's what friends are for, right?"

Peter stared at her for a few seconds. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem like you're... somewhere else," he admitted.

Riley nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?" Riley lied. Her mind was scattered. She might've physically been on Earth, but her soul was on Mars. Riley jumped slightly upon seeing a shadow near theirs move out of the corner of her eye, causing Peter to continue to study her.

"Just because we're superheroes doesn't mean you have to hide behind a mask, Riley," Peter told her, clearly suspicious. Riley wasn't sure how he could tell she was lying, but she figured it had something to do with his 'Spidey Senses' that she read about in his report. "You know, like, if there's something bothering you, you can talk to me and I can help. I owe you one anyway."

He flashed a wide smile at Riley, which confused her. Why was Peter suddenly displaying a change of heart? Did he finally realize that Riley truly had Peter's best intentions at heart? Perhaps that extra push Riley took to help Peter actually ended up benefitting her more than she had thought.

Nonetheless, Riley brushed him off and said, "I'm all good, Peter. There's nothing to worry about."

   Riley was finding it harder and harder to recognize herself.

   Was it really worth it to risk getting in trouble not only with Tony or Peter but the American government? She knew that finding this Chitauri energy core was something she should report to an authority higher than herself, but she was scared of losing her father again.

   She was better than this. She was a better agent than this. She was trained by the greats to make hard and fast decisions. She was trained to do what she believed was right. She was better than this, so why was she at war with herself?

   Riley had to choose one. Was she going to report the misplacement of the Chitauri energy core that was claimed by her reportedly dead, ex-S.H.I.E.L.D employee of a father, or was she going to take Rob's side out of fear of losing him again?

   Riley knew what she should do and she knew what she wanted to do.

   It was all about making the right choice, and right now, Riley had no idea how to tell which was the right one.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

the thing about riley that's so irritating is the fact that she's so independent and stubborn. she's been (mostly) independent for the past 15 years. she's used to not necessarily needing people. sure, she has tony and natasha and the avengers, etc etc, but she isn't dependent on them.

i just love riley so much. i really do. :') let me know what you guys think of riley and/or the story! i'm mostly just worried about the transitioning and development of the story and riley's character development, especially the development between her and peter (even though it is a bit of a slow burn). feedback is always greatly appreciated! i always take what you guys have to say in consideration when writing future chapters, etc. :)