32|| unexpected meetings

"Wow, fancy seeing you here"

Anderson-Marnell Apartment, Queens, New York, October 2016-

DAYS UNTIL HOMECOMING: 4

The days had been peaceful in Queens. There was no sign of any unusual activity, and there was no sight of the swinging Spider-Man or his trusty "sidekick" (Alison still laughed about how they called her his sidekick) Breakout.

Alison still had no clue where Peter was, as he had flat out ditched her and Charles, after her younger brother had enough courage to stop crying. It annoyed her that the boy didn't care enough to even leave a note, but, then again, the things that he could have seen were..... unpredictable. And that was putting it mildly.

She still wore the necklace that Peter gave her, and it almost made her upset that she kept it. Alison knew she should of chucked the damn thing into the trash, as it was almost a clear bad luck charm, but the girl couldn't bring herself to do it. It was special, even if the boy had ditched her straight after giving it to her. So it still lay on her chest, gleaming brightly for all to see, with the Flash emblem, an inside joke that impacted her life as Alison knew it.

As for Alison and her injury, it had almost disappeared overnight. It seemed that being in a stressful crisis sped up her healing process, but she wasn't about to go and tell her cousin or her brother that. She was pretty sure that it would only stress them out.

So that was a secret for only Alison and Wanda, who Alison had been texting constantly for the past 48 hours, to keep. And as for the rest of the house, well, the tone of the place was unusual.

The Anderson-Marnell household had been rather quiet, filled only with the small thins Alison was trying to do in order to soothe her brother. The things he had seen still haunted his nightmares the past two days, and Alison had resorted to sleeping in his room to make sure he slept okay. Every time he would cry out, or wake up in a cold sweat, Alison was at his bedside, holding his hand and soothing him.

Half of the time the 13 year old wanted to protest and tell her that he was fine, but Alison knew that he was just trying to be strong, and prove that he was okay. Charles would eventually give in every time he woke up, falling into Alison's arms for comfort.

The things that Ali would do for her brother were limitless, and it was shown through her actions the past two days. There had been late nights of movie and tv series binge-watching, many rounds of video games, and of course, many rounds of hot chocolate and biking trips.

At the moment, the two were going head to head in an intense round of Mario Kart on their Wii. It was an old and battered thing, but it held many memories for the Marnell kids. Even when Charles received his X Box, the two kept it around for the common game of Mario Kart or of Super Smash Bros on an easy weekend.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Charles exclaimed, playing his video game. Alison was on the sofa beside, him, playing an intense round of Mario Kart with his sister. "I've gotta beat you and that darn Princess Peach!"

Alison chuckled, still tapping away at her Wii remote. If there was anything that cheered up (and distracted) her younger brother, it was a competitive round of Mario Kart. "You won't do that, cause I have a secret weapon up my sleeve." She teased, turning right on the virtual game course.

"And what's that? Your super speed so you can 'super hack'?" Charles asked, rolling his eyes. Ever since Alison had, in a sense, revealed her superpowers to Charles, he never was able to let her live down the fact that she might cheat at something, whether it be a game or PE, using her speed.

"No." Alison chuckled amusedly, still speeding away on the track. "That's this squid bomb!" She exclaimed, hitting a mystery box, finding the surprise inside and chucking the item at her brother's icon.

"Aah!" Charles yelped out in frustration and shock. "I was so close to having you beat!" He exclaimed, giving Alison an upset glare. "I had just passed Princess Peach!" The squid ink slowly faded away from his part of the screen, his fingers and hands preparing to try and win the round back.

Alison gave a shrug as she crossed the finish line, her arms stretching out in victory. "Ah, well, you didn't win this time. But second place is a good try." She patted his shoulder, watching him cross the finish line milliseconds before Princess Peach.

Charles sighed with frustration, tossing his Wii remote on the sofa behind him. The two had gotten into the round so much that they had plopped themselves on the floor, using the sofa as a back rest for their intense round.

The coffee table had been cleared from sight, as if to give the two a better view. This was a common thing to see in the house, as Jackie knew by now that when the two went head to head, they needed all of their advantages (excluding super speed) that they could get.

"Let's take a break." Jackie advised, walking into the room. There was still a noticeable bump on her head from the damage that Absinthe- who Alison had nicknamed Abby for the time being- had caused. "You guys have been at it for at least an hour and a half, maybe two hours."

Alison nodded, carefully standing up from her position. Her some bones cracked as she stood up, a clear signal they had been playing without moving their position for far too long. "Is it time for another hot chocolate break?" She asked, pushing some of her long wavy tendrils of hair out of her face.

Jackie shook her head, grabbing her keys. She had taken the last few days off of work, with Pepper's insisting after finding out that Jackie had been hurt. "I thought it would be a good idea to get out. Since, you know, we haven't done that in forever. I was thinking that we could go to my work and che-"

"No." Charles and Alison responded at the same time. Alison cleared her throat, looking at her cousin with a sympathetic yet snide look. "You know, Miss Potts told you to take a break for a reason. And I'm sure that we-" She gestured to her brother and herself. "Don't want to get bombarded by Pepper and have a special drop-in from Tony."

Jackie sighed, knowing the words that Alison spoke were true. She hadn't really told anyone what had really occurred inside of their apartment that day. She hadn't even bothered to discuss it with her cousins. Jackie knew that it would only scare Charles and remind Alison how she was helpless to save her only family left.

"Okay then, I see your point. But where should we go? You guys can't be couch potatoes the whole time. Even though you both are missing out on school today and the rest of the week, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't get out." Jackie scolded, lecturing the kids. It almost made her laugh at the fact of how much she had become their guardian from the way she behaved around them three years ago when they arrived in her doorstep.

"How about the comic store?" Charles piped up, looking at his sister and cousin trying to solve the problem. "I wanted to get the newest Deadpool comic and Wonder Woman ones." He muttered, a small look of hopefulness starting to form on his face.

"That sounds like a great idea buddy-boyo." Alison ruffled Charles' hair, using his nickname that she gave him when they were 7 and 5. "What do you say Jackie?" She crossed her arms, assuming her normal position when standing.

"Sounds fantastic." Jackie agreed, twirling her car key. "Now let's get the car and hop in, unless you guys want to take your bikes. I take it that you're tired from biking a lot for the past two days."

Charles offered a measly shrug, finally standing up from behind the couch. He stood next to Alison, stretching his arms like his sister had. "I'd be okay with taking a car ride, but it would be nice to walk there as well. It's a really nice day, especially for an October in Queens."

"I agree with Charlie." Alison sided with her brother, jacking her thumb at her brother. "It's a good day outside, and I need to make sure I do my 'physical therapy'-" She mocked what Tony and Wanda had advised her to do after her back healed (although Wanda had told her to do it after everything that had happened in the past two days). "And we do need to stop being couch potatoes."

"It's settled then." Jackie pulled her coat off of the rack next to the door. "We'll walk to the comic store. It'll be a what- three mile walk?" She suggested, carefully shrugging on her beige colored coat. "Here, take your jackets." Jackie took the two other coats off the rack, tossing them at her cousins.

Alison caught the two jackets, seeing her navy blue zip up hoodie nestled beside Charles' favorite red zip-up jacket. Handing over Charles' jacket to its rightful owner, Alison pulled her jacket on, leaving the hoodie unzipped. "Probably not, maybe two and a half miles at most." She calculated, trying to remember the route to the Queens comic book store.

Charles quickly scrambled into his jacket, excited for the comic book store trip. It didn't take a lot of brains to realize that the kid was excited, and for good reason. He would be able to distract himself from the things he had seen- more than Alison and Jackie had done already. "Come on Jackie, Ali-Cat! Let's go!" He opened the door widely, almost slamming it against the hooks that hung right next to their door.

Alison almost rolled her eyes, following her brother out of the door. "I told you eons ago to stop calling me Ali-Cat." She held open the door for her cousin, who gave a grateful nod to her. "And you know exactly why I told you to stop."

"And I told you to stop calling me buddy-boyo." Charles retorted, smirking at Alison as Jackie closed the door behind them. "Yet here we are, still calling each other nicknames." He turned around to Alison, throwing his hands up in a type of 'your choice to make' way.

Alison gave a disbelieving nod. Her younger brother was good, even if he was two years below her. "Touché." She gestured for her brother to turn around and walk towards the elevator in a sensible manner. "Now get a move on, I want to get some lunch at that deli you showed me forever ago after we go to the comic store."

Charles turned around, giving Alison the thumbs up. "It sounds good to me!" He exclaimed, tapping the button for the elevator. It didn't take long for the small machine to arrive, the elevator smoothly riding the trio down to the lobby.

Walking out of the lobby, Alison could feel the fresh and cold air of Queens refreshing her. The day was, in fact, perfect for a walk to the comic store, and a smile formed on her face from the perfect weather. "Charles, once again, you were right."

Charles gave a cocky and almost Tony Stark like grin. "You know it. Of course I'm right Alison, I check the weather and the news. Unlike you." He added smugly, feeling the fresh air alongside his sister. Stepping down the stairs, he strode onto the sidewalk in front of his sister.

Alison gave a small chuckle, realizing the her brother was taking more from the increasing visits from Tony Stark. "You better watch that mouth, you're becoming a Tony Stark. And if you don't, I'll make you.." She threatened, albeit a very soft threat if anything. Her footsteps padded softly on the ground, her classic black and white vans crunching through the leaves scattered around the sidewalk.

"And how would you do that?" Charles turned around, tapping his chest before opening his arms up in the classic Stark pose. "You can try and catch me, but you can't make me watch my mouth." He challenged, a small smile widening into a grin of laughter and glee. Charles kept stepping backwards, almost welcoming someone to bump into him.

Alison ran up to match Charles' strides, not paying any attention to where she was going. "Charles! You better turn around right now, or you're going to bump into someone-! Before she could actually catch up to her brother, he bumped into someone on the semi-crowded walkway.

When Charles turned around to apologize, his face flushing red, he saw a rather familiar face, and one guy right beside him. Charles' face quickly molded from one of embarrassment to one of shock within an instant.

Alison caught up to Charles, placing one arm protectively around her brother. "Charles Marnell, you better apolo-" Looking at the two boys in front of her, Alison's blood ran cold, her eyes beginning to glaze over. Instead of choosing her next words carefully, Alison's next sentence slipped from her mouth.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Penis Parker and his trusty Confidence Hat."

"Oh, h-hey Alison." Peter meekly answered, looking quite embarrassed to run into Alison on the street. Ned lingered by Peter's side, unsure of what else to do. Both boys were nervous and scared, realizing that they were absolutely screwed. "I didn't- didn't think I would run into you today. I thought- I- erm, well I thought that-"

"You thought what? That I was still stuck in bed? That I wouldn't talk to you after what happened?" Alison fired back, her expression one of pure annoyance and irritation. She was pissed, and that was putting it mildly. To say it in other words, Alison wanted to slap Peter Parker.

In the face.

To the deepest pits of hell or space, whichever one was closer.

"Well-" Peter grasped for an excuse, not finding one. Facing the wrath of a pissed off teenager (who was actually containing her anger because her brother and cousin were with her) was not a fun experience. "I- um- didn't want to disturb you when I left. It seemed rude to intrude on you and your family. Especially after-"

"After what? A crazy woman attacked my house? After she basically told me she was on Earth to kill me?" Alison interrupted once again, not even caring to let Peter finish his sentences. She didn't even let the boys, more particularly Peter, react to the fact that she now had her own super villain. "Oh, yes, and might I add, she's the daughter of Thanos. I have no damn clue who that is, but that seems like a great thing to add to your villain repertoire."

"Listen, Alison, I'm, I'm really sorry." Peter struggled to choke out the words, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to look even smaller. "I really should have left a note, or texted you or something. Ditching you like that wasn't right."

"Yeah, you're right." Alison crossed her arms, the regular stream of Queens traffic flowing around the conflict in the middle of the street. "It wasn't right. And how would you have contacted me? It's not like you have my phone number. It's not like you'd see me at school, cause you knew that I wasn't exactly in a condition to go to school. Oh, and the past two days you could've stopped by the apartment. You've clearly been there before. But you didn't, you just left a girl who still had a broken back all alone."

"You're clearly now." Peter stammered, throwing out one hand to gesture the fact that she was walking. "That's- that's really good, right? I mean, no more wheelchair." He offered, his shoulders hunching in as he gestured to her. It was obvious that Peter was trying to change the subject, but Alison wasn't about to let him.

"Yeah, and no more escaping problems." Alison shook her head, so disappointed and irritated with Peter. "I guess that's a lesson that you still need to learn, Parker. I guess losing your suit and getting a scolding from Stark didn't teach you how to man up and actually talk to people. Hell, my brother had more guts than you, he at least talked to me about what happened."

At the mention of his name, Charles walked up to Alison. "Ali?" He asked, tugging on her jacket. "I think that now would be a good time to go to the comic store, I don't want to wait any longer to get my new comic issues." Charles had the right idea, pulling Alison away from the heated and tense conversation before she could explode on the boys any further.

Alison looked to her brother, firmly nodding. "Yeah, you're right." She agreed, giving a small sigh. "I don't even know why I'm still standing here." Alison muttered to herself, walking past the two boys, bumping Peter on the shoulder as she walked past. "Hey, and Parker, when you actually bother to man up, be sure to ask Skylar for my number."

Alison walked away from the boys, Charles trailing behind her, hand in hand with Jackie. Ned, who was still by Peter, slapped Peter's arm as the Anderson-Marnell family walked past, whispering to his best friend. "Oh, you were so roasted."

"I saw you!" Peter blurted out, not waiting for Alison to walk away any further. This, of course, peaked her attention, and as she turned around, Peter blabbered even more, pivoting to face Alison as he did so. "Well, not just you, I now realize how weird that sounds but I also saw Ned, Aunt May, Liz, Mister Stark-"

"I'm sorry, you said you saw me?" Alison turned even further, walking back towards Peter. "Me?" She pointed a finger to her, her voice going down to almost a whisper. "Out of all people, why me? Clearly, we don't have a real friend relationship, at least, not at school."

"Well- I mean- you're my superhero partner." Peter's voice hushed down to the same tone as Alison's, not wanting anyone to overhear the conversation that didn't already know about the two's "secret identities." "You're really important to me Alison, and besides, you are- erm were- gonna help me ask Liz to Homecoming."

"You already asked her?" Alison asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Good job. You're not as much as a coward as I thought you were. Did she say yes?" She was starting to cool off, and it was noticeable as her tone became less hostile and her voice wasn't loud or soft, rather a medium volume.

"Um, yeah." Peter blushed red, smiling a small grin. "She actually did. May and I have been prepping all week, since, you know, I asked her today. First it was having the guts to ask her, and now it's actually getting ready for the dance. Are you going to the dance? Have you been asked?"

"That's good." Alison nodded, her expression softening into a small grin. "Ha, I wish I was asked to Homecoming." She added amusedly, shaking her head at the very idea of being asked. "I can't go regardless, our Superhero Big Brother assigned me to pack up Stark Tower with Skylar as punishment for the ferry."

"I see." Peter nodded, his face folding into a slight frown. "That most definitely sucks. If it helps, I got my suit taken away, so that's a real negative. I really can't roam the streets at the moment." He shrugged, realizing he used the wrong words. "I mean, like go out and play hero."

"Yeah, I know what you mean too. My suit was taken away too, so we're in this together, if that's any consolation at all." Alison reassured, placing an awkward hand on Peter's shoulder. Straightening up after the awkward pat, Alison looked at Charles, who was clearly ready to go. "Anyways, I do believe I have to go to a comic store. Sorry for snapping at you." Her hand dropped to her side, only after offering a small wave goodbye.

"Y-yeah." Peter stuttered, waving a meek goodbye, a small (and indiscreetly wistful). As he watched Alison turn back around and walk away, Ned nudged him on the shoulder. Turning to see his friend have a smug smile on his face, Peter gave him a troubling look. "What?"

"Are you sure you asked the right girl to Homecoming?" Ned teased, punching Peter on the shoulder. When Peter responded with red cheeks and a slap on Ned's shoulder, the best friend threw his hand up as if to say he had said nothing. "What? I'm just saying."

"Come on." Peter shoved his best friend, turning back around to the direction he was supposed to be going. The two were walking home from school, their backpacks still slung on their shoulders. May had just bought Peter a new one, so the teenager wasn't carrying around his books anymore. "Let's just go home."

As the two teenager's paths diverged, Alison was walking with her family to the comic store. The three were walking silently, unsure of what to talk about after Alison went off on the two student from her high school. Plus, with the revelation of what Absinthe had actually told Alison (which Alison had actually refused to tell her family, the only person who she had told was Wanda) made everyone a little more uneasy.

Charles finally broke the silence, looking up at Alison with a small look. "So you went off on Peter and Ned." He noted, kicking a piece of concrete that had loosened from the cracked Queens sidewalk. "And mentioned some things about what happened two days ago that I didn't know about." Charles added quietly.

"Yeah," Jackie agreed, staring at her cousin with a concerned look. "You got a death threat? That's definitely insane. There's only one other instance that I know that a teenager got one of those and she- you know what, you two don't need to know about that." She stopped herself, realizing that what she was going into was a different story entirely.

"Yeah. She said that her mission on Earth was to kill me. If that doesn't fill in the requirements for a super villain, I don't know what does." Alison joked dryly, looking at her brother and cousin. When seeing their faces fall even deeper with concern, Alison realized that now would be a good time to shut up.

"Alison, I don't want you to die." Charles whispered, coming up to Alison's side and squeezing her tight. "I don't want you to go. You're my only sister, and since Mom and Dad aren't around anymore, you're all I have left of my intermediate family." He stated in a matter-of-fact (yet scared) tone.

Jackie nodded, pushing up her glasses. Her tight knot of a bun was swapped out for a loose ponytail of hair, and Jackie tightened said ponytail to keep her hands busy. "Alison, that isn't to be taken lightly. You need to tell Mister-"

"No. No." Alison refused, shaking her head firmly. "You know what will happen if we tell Tony? He's going to keep us trapped in the Avengers Facility like a ton of dolls on display. Maximum security would keep us safe, but at what cost? Our freedom? Besides, we have no clue what Absinthe can do. She could get into Avengers Facility for all we know." Alison thought of the idea of the villain breaking into such a secure place, and the idea made her shiver.

Charles looked at Alison. "But couldn't Mister Stark help us?" Looking at Alison's expression conveying a firm "NO", Charles thought of a better idea. "Or if you don't want to call him, you could talk to Wanda. Has she texted you her new burner phone number?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Jackie sputtered, pausing herself for a moment. The three were still walking down the Queens streets, but were at a standstill at a crosswalk at the moment. "You're in contact with Wanda Maximoff?" The Marnell siblings shushed their cousin, who dropped her voice. "And when were you bothering on telling me this?"

The walking man turned in favor of the three, and they started to walk across the crosswalk in due time. "Whenever it came up in conversation. Or when I felt the time was right. I guess Charles decided that for me." Alison teased her younger brother, rustling his hair as she did so.

"Hey!" Charles exclaimed, slightly embarrassed. "I thought that it was a good compromise. But if you don't have the new number yet, then who should we talk to?" He asked, looking at Alison with a confused expression.

A thought popped into Alison's mind, an iconic smirk that Charles and Jackie knew far too well forming on her face. "I think I might have an idea. but you guys may not like it. It involves a criminal who violated the Sokovia Accords, bribery, Skylar, and my cell phone. You guys in?"

<~*~>

okay low key writing fast cause mean girls is performing at the Tony's and I really wanna pay full attention to it

actually they just performed haha it was so good

ANYWAYS BACK FROM ME BEING A DORK

hope you enjoyed the first chapter of part three, and I'll see you soon

bye

:))