Chào các bạn! Vì nhiều lý do từ nay Truyen2U chính thức đổi tên là Truyen247.Pro. Mong các bạn tiếp tục ủng hộ truy cập tên miền mới này nhé! Mãi yêu... ♥

spider-man and recluse

☼  ☼  ☼

Andi very carefully pulled to a stop behind Happy in front of Peter's apartment complex. She put the car in park and smiled, gazing around at the interior of her brand new Audi S5 Coupe. It was personalized, which made Andi so much happier than she originally was. One thing she loved about having Tony in her life was that he paid attention to her. He paid enough attention to her to know how to personalize anything he got for her, such as her suits, vehicles, anything, and that meant a lot to her.

After turning the car off, Andi hopped out and made her way to meet Peter and Happy. Happy remained in the car, ready to leave the first chance he got, while Peter waited outside. Andi leaned down to look at Happy and smiled.

"Thank you, Happy," she said to him.

"It's not a problem, kid." Happy put a pair of sunglasses on. "Be careful with that car, okay? Wouldn't want the next time I see you to be in a hospital, now would we?"

Andi chuckled and shook her head. "Your lack of faith in me is very insulting."

"See ya, kid."

"Bye, Happy."

Happy took off down the street, leaving Peter and Andi standing alone on the curb. Andi smiled at Peter and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before pulling him inside the apartment complex with her.

"Apparently Tony has a surprise for us up in your apartment," Andi told him.

The two walked over to the elevator and stepped on.

"Like, what kind of surprise?" Peter asked.

Andi shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. All he said to me was he had a surprise for me at your apartment since I seem to spend all of my time there."

"Which is true," Peter chuckled.

"You try spending all your time in that tower," Andi scoffed. "It's huge, and there's no one else there except a few workers who you don't talk to you at all. I know I prefer being alone, but sometimes even loners get lonely."

"Like May said, you're welcome to stay as long as you want," Peter assured her.

He pressed a kiss to her head before stepping off the elevator. Andi followed closely behind him, and the two made their way through his empty apartment and to his bedroom. There were two large paper bags on the bed, and immediately Andi moved to grab the one with her name on it.

Andi opened the bag up, her eyes falling onto the black and gold suit sitting inside. She pulled it out with a smile on her face and held it close to her. She couldn't lie and say she hadn't missed the suit, and so the first thing on her mind was putting it on, but a quick glance to the bottom of the bag stopped her.

There was an envelope with Andi's name on it sitting at the bottom of the bag. She pulled it out and opened it up to find a letter and a random set of keys, which confused her slightly. She unfolded the letter and began reading, the words on the page bringing a smile to her face.

Andi,

For years you have been one of the many highlights of my life, and I'm not just saying that because you've done a lot of my dirty work for me. I mean it. You're the daughter I never had, and I truly do love you so much. I can't thank Pepper enough for bringing you into my life.

As a token of my appreciation for you and everything you've done for not only me, but the city, over the last couple of years, enclosed in this envelope are the keys to your new apartment. I know you're only 16, and normally I would not condone a 16-year-old living on her own in this city of all cities, but you can take care of yourself. I believe you could even if you didn't have your powers, but for the sake of Pepper murdering me in cold blood in my sleep, my argument for allowing you to live alone is that you have your powers to help you look after yourself. Anyway, she knows you love us, but she knows always staying on the run and traveling everywhere isn't your cup of tea, at least not yet it isn't, so until that time comes, enjoy your stay at the Avalon Morningside Park in Manhattan. Don't worry about expenses either. You're a high school student. What you need to worry about is finishing school, getting your diploma, and joining the team after graduation or even before. Either one works.

Keep up the good work, kid.

I love you.

Your favorite uncle,

Tony Stark

P.S. Don't tell anyone but your closest friends about you or your car or your apartment. I don't need you finding fake friends who are only in it for the cool stuff, okay? Good.

And another reason Andi absolutely loved Tony was because he loved her too. She'd lost the only father she ever had in a fight they'd come so close to losing, but Tony stepped up to the plate and gave her the father she never thought she'd ever have again, and for that she loved him.

Andi folded the letter back up and placed it back in its envelope. She eyed the keys for several seconds before shoving them into her pocket. She grabbed her suit once more and turned around, only to find Peter strolling into the room with his suit on. She hadn't even realized he left.

"Feels good to be back where it belongs, huh?"

Peter nodded and removed his mask, a huge smile on his face. Andi watched him with glistening brown eyes and opened her mouth to speak to him, but froze the moment she heard May's voice, as did Peter.

"What the fuck?"

Peter's eyes widened and he turned around to look at May, who was absolutely shocked to see him dressed as the very hero who'd been defending Queens and the rest of New York City for the past several months. Peter never wanted her to find out about his secret identity due to everything she'd been through as of lately, but as fate would have it, she finally figured it out.

Andi pursed her lips and quickly hid her suit behind her back, but May didn't miss a thing. She hurried into the room and grabbed Peter's mask from his hands before heading over to Andi and grabbing her suit from her hands.

"May, I can explain," Peter said as he watched his aunt study his mask and Andi's suit in bewilderment.

May looked up at him. "You can explain? What the hell is this? Why the hell are you dressed like Spider-Man, and why the hell do you have that Recluse chick's suit?"

"Uh, we ordered them online a few weeks ago for a costume party," Andi explained slowly. "It's almost Halloween, y'know?"

"Yeah," Peter breathed out. "Pumpkins and ghosts and mummies and all that good scary stuff."

May narrowed her eyes at the teenagers. There was something off about their stories, something way off, and the more she allowed herself to sink deeper into her thoughts, the more she found she knew.

Peter's disappearance from the decathlon followed by the appearance of Spider-Man on top of the Washington Monument, his disappearance from detention, the day he skipped school prior to the ferry boat incidence in which Spider-Man, Recluse, and Iron Man were also present. She remembered both of them returning to the apartment in rather somber moods that night, and Peter discussing the loss of his Stark Internship. Now, here he and Andi stood, both with suits that bore a terrifyingly similar resemblance to those that the young heroes bore. She couldn't believe she hadn't figured it out sooner.

"You're both lying."

May threw Peter's mask onto his bed, as well as Andi's suit. She grabbed the two of them and pulled them out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where she sat them down at the dining table. She remained standing and crossed her arms over her chest, her brown eyes boring into the younger ones staring back at her.

"So," May started, glancing between Peter and Andi. "You're Spider-Man, and you're Recluse."

"No, May, we told you it was for—"

"Cut the bullshit, Peter," May cut him off. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am, alright? All the times you've snuck out of the house, the time you skipped the decathlon in Washington and the next thing everyone knows, Spider-Man is showing up to save the day. Spider-Man showed up in Washington when you were missing, Peter. Spider-Man, as in the friendly hero who tends to stick around New York, showed up in Washington after you disappeared from the decathlon. Let's not forget what happened the day you both just so happened to skip school: Spider-Man, Recluse, and Iron Man showed up to save a ferry boat, and then you come home to tell me you lost your Stark Internship. How sketchy is that?"

Peter chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. "Everything is not what it seems, May."

"Peter Parker!"

Andi groaned and laid her head down on the table. May knew, and there was absolutely no way around it. They'd been found out, but Andi didn't think she cared all that much. She trusted May not to tell anyone about them for the sake of protecting Peter.

"You're right," Andi finally spoke up. "He's Spider-Man, and I'm Recluse. I never told you because telling you was the last thing on my mind during the mission. He never told you because he didn't want you to freak out, and you'd already been through so much. He didn't want you to worry about him."

"Andi," Peter groaned and sat back in his seat.

Andi shrugged and threw her hands up in defeat. "She knows, Peter, okay? She knows, and there's no way to get around it. It's time you accept that Ned and I aren't the only two people in your circle."

"Wow, okay," May let out a breath. "I'm freaking out, and I'm also worried about you, about both of you, but can you blame me? I mean, my nephew and his girlfriend are out here putting themselves in danger to protect the people of New York. I mean, you're only fifteen and sixteen. You could get hurt, or worse, you could get killed, and if you get killed, I might literally die."

Peter stood up to comfort May. "May, I can promise you right now that neither one of us are gonna die, okay? We're a couple of fighters. We were built to take a hit or two."

"No," May shook her head. "No, no, no."

"May," Andi started. "He's right, we know what we're doing."

May looked at her. "What did you mean by mission, Andi?"

Andi swallowed the lump in her throat. She could only hope May wouldn't hate her after receiving the information. "Tony Stark sent me to look after Peter several months ago," she told May.

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Because Andi's had her powers for years, and I've only had mine for a few months," Peter answered his aunt. "He sent her to protect me when I needed it, and she's done her job very well."

May shook her head as if to somehow process all of the information she was receiving. It was all too much to take in. "Powers for years? You're so young, neither one of you should be living this life."

"We know," Andi said quietly. "And we might not have asked for it, but it asked for us. This is what we were meant for, May."

"What she said."

"How did this even happen to you two?"

"I was bitten by a spider," Peter answered.

"Just messin' around with one of Tony's experiments," Andi explained with a shrug of her shoulders. "Apparently it was spider related."

"What do your parents think of this, Andi?" May asked her.

Andi let out a sigh and looked down at her hands. The only person she'd ever talked about her parents to was Peter, but it appeared she would have to talk to May about them as well. "My parents were killed during the Chitauri Invasion back in 2012, so I have no clue what they think about this. Tony and my Aunt Pepper are the only ones who have an opinion, and Pepper minds a lot more than Tony, let's just say that. She almost choked when she found out he wanted me on the team."

"What team?"

"Wildcats," Peter snickered.

Andi rolled her eyes at him and looked at May. "The Avengers, May."

May ran a hand through her hair and sat down at the table with the teenagers. "I'm sorry about your parents, Andi," she apologized. "And I'm sorry that you two have had to experience so much in such a short amount of time."

"Does that mean you're okay with this?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Not at all," she answered immediately. "You're both grounded."

"Grounded?"

"You can't ground me, May..."

May shot Andi a stern look, and the blonde shrunk down in her seat at the sight of it. It reminded her of what her mom used to do to her and her sister. She had no choice but to listen to May, despite the fact that May was not her mom nor related to her in any way. May was the aunt of the boy Andi loved, though, so she would respect her decision to ground her.

"Alright, I'm grounded," Andi said in defeat.

"That's what I thought," May remarked. "You too, Peter Parker."

"Fine," the boy huffed.

May smirked in triumph and walked away, leaving the two alone at the table. Andi crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, shifting her gaze to Peter.

"Spider-Man and Recluse," Peter muttered under his breath.

Andi raised a brow. "What?"

"Spider-Man and Recluse," Peter repeated with a smile on his face. "I just love the sound of it. Ned was right, we really are a power couple."

"We are, aren't we?" Andi smiled.

May walked back into the room, then. She had her tablet in one hand with Peter's mask and Andi's suit in the other. She sighed and threw Peter's mask at him, as well as Andi's suit, and sat the tablet down in front of them. On the screen was news footage of a group of men dressed in black bearing numerous firearms. Behind them, several buildings were on fire, which the teenagers knew was a result of their antics. They looked up at May with raised eyebrows, wondering exactly why she wanted them to see it.

"This is the first and last time I will ever do this, but you two have a job to do," May sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Please, for the love of Christ, be careful, okay?"

"W-wait," Peter stammered. "You actually want us to stop these people?"

"I don't want you to, but I know there are people counting on you to do it."

Andi grabbed her suit and stood up, running to Peter's bedroom without another word to change. Peter stood up as well but remained in his spot in front of May. He hugged her as tightly as he could without harming her.

"For you to believe in me," Peter pulled away. "That's all I could ever want, May."

May smiled and ruffled his hair. "Just come back, okay?"

Peter nodded and took off to his room, where Andi stood waiting for him in her suit. He smiled at her and pulled his mask over his head.

"Spider-Man and Recluse."

Peter held his fist out to Andi for a knuckle touch, which she couldn't help but laugh at. She loved Peter so much it physically pained her, but her love for him was a pain she would endure a hundred times over if it meant the outcome was him.

"Spider-Man and Recluse," Andi repeated and pressed her knuckles to his.

"Ready?"

Andi nodded and followed him out the window, and together the two swung their way through the streets of the city with nothing but their wit and will to protect each other and the place they called home.

The job—it came with pain, blood, sweat, and many tears. It was a hard job, both of them could admit that much, but it was a job that brought the two together, and for that they were forever grateful. They could handle the pain. They could handle the blood, sweat, and tears. They could handle it all so long as it meant coming back home to one another at the end of the day, and that was exactly what they fought to do.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro