Hey guys! It's been a while. There might not be some things that make sense later on in the chapter since there are things I'm changing in the earlier chapters, but I'll try my best to explain everything. However, it's important to know that Ashley and Spider-Man are close friends. Ashley doesn't know that Peter is Spider-Man, but Spider-Man knows of Ashley's abilities.

    When customarily put into words, the awakening of protagonists after they've blacked out is brimming with dramatic description. Smothering darkness, drowning, burning with pain...

    Such examples were simply not the case for Ashley Tanner. She couldn't have described it to you if she wanted to. She was merely unaware of her surroundings—a blissful ignorance—until she could feel her eyes flutter open. If she was being candid, it wasn't too unlike waking up in her bed on a late Saturday morning.

    Except, as she very suddenly discovered, her surroundings were certainly not that of her bedroom. As the confusion and distress settled into her veins, her mind began replaying what it could recall as its most frequent events.

    A man... the alley...

    There was something more that she felt like she was lacking in her memory. A minuscule, but highly important detail. When it didn't come to her, she decided to write it off as paranoia.

    Her hands immediately flew forward to test the strength of the bonds that would be restraining her. Were they rope? Hopefully so, considering that her session of slipping out of rope knots with Natasha was still vivid in her mind.

    The flustered mess of thoughts that were swarming Ashley's head was abruptly slammed to a halt. Her hands had freely flown forward, indicating that she wasn't tied down in the slightest. From there, she proceeded to test out every other portion of her body, but the outcomes were the same.

    She happened to be lying on a plush, comfortable bed with sheets and blankets altered on top of her limber frame. Surrounding the bed was a nightstand, wardrobe, tidy and modernized desk, and wall-mounted television. She assumed the alternating photographs of nature on the screen were supposed to compensate for the lack of windows in the room. The absence of windows and the imposingly large metal door were the only things that seemed unordinary for your average American bedroom.

    Ashley swung her legs over the side of the bed and eyed the door. If it were to miraculously be unlocked, what would be waiting for her beyond it? Where even was this building located?

    Before she could put an answer to her questions, the handle rattled and the door flew open.

    "Good morning, Ms. Tanner. I hope you slept well," the first man to emerge from the doorway greeted. His head was cleanly shaven, and he sported a neatly pressed grey suit. A smile, which she couldn't tell if it was fake or genuine, was displayed across his pearly white teeth.

    Behind the man stood a brunette male and female, both of which donned black medical scrubs. Ashley tried to make eye contact with them, but the pair's gaze refused to leave the ground. They looked meek, almost, and something more... but the bald man stepped in between Ashley and the people before she could scrutinize them any longer.

    "I don't want you to be alarmed," he soothingly said to her. Every word that trickled off his lips was honey, and his relaxed posture made Ashley feel more at ease. "We don't mean you any harm. We just needed to bring you somewhere that we could talk without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Spies... they're everywhere nowadays."

    Ashley absentmindedly nodded at his words, but her mind was swirling with fighting sequences and escape routes that she could implement if what he said wasn't true. Oddly enough, the door was propped open, and not even a guard stood place by the doorway.

    "Yes, the door is indeed open," the man confirmed after noticing the direction of her gaze. "However, it would be much appreciated if you would stay for now so we can discuss some matters."

    "What's your name?" Ashley abruptly asked. He looked mildly surprised at the fact that she had finally spoken, but it was quickly wiped off his features.

    "You may call me Jasper," he smiled. "It's what my friends call me. What about you? Any nicknames you would like me to refer to you as?"

    Ashley ignored his question and swiveled her head around to the quiet pair of people. "And them?"

    The man looked up briefly but then tilted his head down again just as quickly.

    "They're not big talkers," Jasper chuckled. "That's Leopold," he gestured to the man, "and she's Jemma. They're practically connected at the hip though, so just call them Fitzsimmons."

    Fitzsimmons... Ashley thought to herself. She felt as though she had heard that name before. However, to her surprise, there was no rush of information that came to her mind. The teenager didn't hesitate in sparing a glare at Jasper, who she immediately shifted the blame of her lost abilities on.

    "It seems like you'll get along swimmingly with them," Jasper sarcastically remarked, which was a reference to the fact that Ashley proved to be rather quiet herself. "My agenda's rather busy though. Lunch with the missus, and you know how they get when you're late, so let's speed things up a bit. I'm here to offer you a deal."

    Ashley tilted her head, but remained silent.

    "First, however, Fitzsimmons will need a blood sample from you to clear up a few things," he gestured to the scientists, who then reluctantly shuffled forward and removed a syringe. Ashley obediantly remained still as they drew blood from her arm, then scurried out of the room to presumably run tests.

    "Now, about the deal," Jasper began after pulling up the chair from the desk to sit on. "It's straightforward. You help us create a better world for all of mankind, and we'll offer you what you've been longing for the most."

    "A better world for all mankind...?" Ashley echoed. "Excuse me, Mr. Jasper, but I fail to see why I'm needed for this."

    "You're the only person with enough empathy and wits to believe us. Everyone else simply crumbles to SHIELD's lies. SHIELD no longer follows the morals and beliefs that it was founded on! There are countless moles and double-faced bastards that have sank their teeth into the minds of innocent SHIELD workers, and nobody has noticed..." Jasper trailed off, all the while fumbling with his shirt cuff subconsciously and twitching his leg. He suddenly leaned forward and got in Ashley's face with a pleading face. "Ms. Tanner, putting a teenager through this is weighing on my conscious heavier than you could ever understand. I would never resort to such methods if I wasn't desperate. You're the world's last hope."

    Needless to say, Ashley was baffled at the desperation in his voice. He certainly hadn't struck Ashley as the kind to grow so emotional. She contemplated his words deeply and wasn't shy to scrutinize his features deeply for any lying. What could SHIELD be doing that was so threatening to the entire world? Further more, what moles and double agents had he been mentioning prior?

    There was one question that was swirling in her mind prominently. She looked up at him, and with an uncertain voice, asked, "What could you have to offer me that's so significant?"

    Right at that moment, Fitzsimmons reentered the room and flashed a discrete nod at Jasper. Jemma looked exorbitantly pale, almost ghastly, but Leopold simply wore an expression of disbelief. Without wavering, Jasper sat up and looked her dead in the eye.

    "Your past."

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

There was only one person who Peter Parker knew that could release a blood-curdling scream like that.

Ashley.

Peter's mind was racing as he finished stripping from his layer of civilian clothes, leaving him with only his Spider-Man suit. He was going to be too late! Why hadn't he offered to walk her home like a decent gentlemen? Why hadn't his Spidey Senses alerted him of the danger that the white-haired girl was about to get in?

WHY HADN'T HE WALKED HER HOME?

No matter how much he would've loved to stay there and continue mentally grilling himself on his stupidity and lack of foresight, he knew that Ashley needed him immediately. His hand subconsciously shot up from his side and fired off a web, which promptly connected to a building and pulled him out of the alley. People gasped and murmured as the saw Spider-Man swinging along the streets, stopping only to visualize the odd images that were flashing in his head and comparing them with his surroundings. It took him only moments to discover the exact alley that the scream had come from, but it was completely void of people.

Peter sank down in defeat and spat out a long list of words that Captain America would certainly not approve of. How could he have been so naive and idiotic? Now his best friend—sorry, Ned—was abducted, and it all could've been avoided. His gaze caught on the scattered AirPods that presumably had fallen off of Ashley during the struggle, and the case which was unmistakably hers lying just a foot away from them. He shuffled over to pick them up, and was thrown directly into a trance the second his fingertips came in contact with the small device.

Images flashes in his mind, all of which he made out to be from Ashley's perspective. There was only one man, and he had ambushed her while she was walking down the street. No matter how hard he tried to see, the man's face always remained out of Peter's view, and instead he could see how the man had entrapped Ashley and rendered her defenseless.

He was about to label the pictures flashing before his eyes as useless until his vision paused on something. The moment before the man had hit Ashley in the back of the head with his gun, her gaze had caught on something.

The emblem of Hydra.

Peter flew up from his prone position and began to panic even more. This wasn't just some man after Ashley for her looks or popularity. This was Hydra, and they were pursuing her for her powers. How they had discovered them, he'd never know, but he was certain that the teenager was in grave danger. There was only one person who would know what to do.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled out, despite the fact that the billionaire obviously couldn't hear him. Spider-Man launched himself into web slinging again, but this time he had a much different target. He had to get to the Stark Tower, and he had to get there fast.

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

"I have to speak to Mr. Stark!" Spider-Man announced as he strode into the bottom lobby of the Stark Tower. Just getting past the guards had been a difficult feat, and Peter had no interest in debating with the front desk attendant at the moment. The woman was yelling after him about booking an appointment and how busy Tony Stark was at the moment, but he heeded her no attention and made a dash for the elevator.

"JARVIS," Peter called out as the door of the elevator closed behind him.

"Spider-Man," he greeted. "Your presence is a surprise."

"Yeah, yeah, you can cry and hug me later. I need to know what floor Mr. Stark is on right now."

"Mr. Stark is currently busy..."

"JARVIS, this is important!" Peter snapped. "The life of an enhanced is in danger right now. I need to speak with Mr. Stark."

If A.I.'s had an equivalent to sighing, that was exactly what JARVIS did at that moment. Thankfully, he obliged. "Mr. Stark is on floor 28 right now."

"Thanks, bud. I owe ya one," Peter mumbled as he pushed the appropriate button and felt the elevator shoot into action. Just seconds later, he found himself standing on the 28th floor. "Which room is he in?"

"He's in the digital sketching room, two doors down and on your right."

Peter didn't waste any time. He hastily threw open the door and sprinted in. "Mr. Stark!" He called out to the man, who looked up from the holograms he was currently fiddling with.

"Peter?" He asked, not bothering to mask his confusion. "The hell are you doing here?"

"Ashley Tanner," Peter panted. "She's an enhanced who I go to school with. She was just kidnapped by Hydra."

"And this pertain to me how?" Tony groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, kid. I just design suits, fly around, and make everyone look cooler. Rescuing damsels in distress isn't really my thing." Tony resumed his sketching and programming, much to Peter's dismay.

"Mr. Stark, you don't understand!" Peter exclaimed, stepping forward and pushing the holograms away from Tony's line of vision. "I don't have anyone else to go to. Not only is she in danger, but so is the rest of the world. She's powerful, Mr. Stark, and nobody will be safe if Hydra has her under their control."

Tony looked annoyed at the fact that Peter had shoved away what he was working on, but realization about how serious what was going on was settling in. "What kind of strong?"

"Telekinesis, mind manipulation, unlimited knowledge, and enhanced agility," Peter listed, with Tony's face growing paler by each attribute listed.

"I'm not going to be any help with this, but I know who to call. Ever heard of the name Fury?"

Today's chapter is kind of short, but I've still got a lot of editing to do on the other chapters and I knew everyone would appreciate an update. Adios :)