wednesday 27th of january 2016

J.D brought an extra large travel mug to school on Wednesday because she knew that she would be trapped in a smelly bus for half an hour with her annoying classmates. They were going to a science exhibition on the other side of town, and she was not looking forward to it. It was powered by Oscorp Insdustries, one of the top scientific companies in the world.

Peter was tapping his knee beside her in excitement, and she could only roll her eyes and glare out the window. He was chatting happily to Michelle Gonzales and Gwen Stacy, who were sitting in front of them. Nice enough girls, but J.D didn't consider them close friends. Then again, she barely trusted anyone anymore. Her eyes flickered between the three, the bottom half of her face tucked into a scarf.

"Apparently we're going to be able to see Dr. Grant Way's demonstrate the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials." Gwen gushed. "We even get to see the particle accelerator. Isn't it incredible?!"

"Amazing." J.D muttered sarcastically and Peter nudged her slightly. She looked over at him and he nodded at Gwen slightly. "Sorry, I'm not usually very enthusiastic until noon."

"Don't worry about it." Gwen waved it off. "Are you looking forward to it?"

"I guess so, gets me out of math for the day." She responded, forcing a smile onto her face. Gwen returned it brightly.

"I heard there's a pizza joint a couple of doors down." Michelle piped up, an eager grin spread across her face. "I'm sure that'll make you a bit more lively, J.D."

+++

The exhibition was more boring the J.D had thought it to be. The demonstration was quite impressive, but J.D wasn't as cheerful as the others.

She stood beside Peter when they reached the particle accelerator, a girl named Cindy Moon at her other side. She had known Cindy for a couple of years, but she wouldn't classify her as a close friend. She was sweet enough though, she had jet black hair that reached her mid-back and narrow hazel eyes.

J.D took a sip from her hot chocolate, trying to listen to the commentary, but she was so tired. Her ears started tuning out the words unintentionally, and she sighed quietly against her scarf, which she had pulled back over her nose and mouth.

She almost fell asleep, if Cindy hadn't squeezed her wrist to wake her up a little more. J.D sent her a grateful look, which the raven-haired girl returned with an amused smile.

The group began to head off, and J.D sighed, moving with them. She paused when she was just ahead of Peter, who let out a pained grunt. He smacked his neck, and then Cindy let out a squeak, snapping down to grab her ankle. "You okay, guys?"

"Y-Yeah." Peter muttered, rubbing his neck. They both looked back at Cindy, who was slightly pale.

"I'm good." Cindy said, and straightened her posture, forcing a smile. "Let's go."

They were shown chemical experiments and were forced to perform them themselves. J.D was paired with Gwen, who happily showed her what to do. Their task was to create glowing bubbles, which had absolutely nothing to do with any of what they were learning, but the workers thought it would be fun. J.D ended up doing most of the work because Gwen was gushing over Mason, who she not so secretly had a crush on.

J.D found that in a few girls she knew. She was fully aware that Michelle had a thing for Peter, and another girl name Mary-Jane had a thing for Flash. J.D looked to the table opposite theirs to see Michelle and Peter laughing over something. Something burned in her chest at the sight of the pair, but she only rolled her eyes and brushed the feeling off. Maybe it was because her and Peter usually worked together, and she was instead paired with the girl that was obsessed with her twin brother.

This brings us to now, when the quartet were sat in the pizza joint two doors down, sharing a giant pepperoni. When I say giant, I mean it took up half the table. Peter dug in instantly, his growing teenage boy coming out. He ate three massive slices, whereas J.D only nibbled at one. Even though it had been months since Sokovia, she was still building her appetite. It was too overwhelming to eat too much for her, as she was practically starved for two months in a cell.

J.D's phone dinged and she looked down, seeing that Cindy had texted her.

Cindy: Hey, thought I'd let you know that I've gone home. I got bitten by something in there and threw up lmao :// see you at school x

J.D frowned and typed a reply.

sorry to hear that :-( hope you feel better soon xx

Suddenly, Peter let out a groan, attracting the eyes of everyone in the establishment. J.D's head shot up just in time to see his hand fly to his neck and his face contort in pain. Michelle, who was sitting next to him grabbed his arm in concern. "Pete, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Peter stuttered, and glanced up at J.D before standing up and heading towards the bathroom. J.D furrowed her eyebrows and stood up after a second, and without thinking, she followed him.

When she reached the door, she knocked on it and placed her ear to the wood. "Pete? What happened?"

When there was no reply, J.D grew worried.

"Pete, if you don't answer me I'm coming in." She threatened, and when she heard heavy breathing, she burst in and saw Peter unconscious on the floor. His chest twitched each time it rose and fell, and her eyes widened. She pulled out her cellphone and dialled 911, placing it to her ear. Her fingers went to Peter's neck to feel his pulse, which was abnormally fast.

"911, how can I direct your call?" The worker asked, and J.D chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I need an ambulance please." She choked out, and wiped Peter's sweaty forehead with her sleeve.

"Of course, where are you and what is your situation?"

"I'm in the boys bathrooms at Aunt Jamie's Pizza on Monroe Street." She said, which was all she really knew about their location. "My friend went to the bathroom and I went to check on him and he had passed out on the floor."

"Don't worry, miss. An ambulance will be there shortly." The lady on the line assured her, and hung up. J.D let out a shaky breath and lifted Peter's head onto her lap. Her fingers went to the back of his neck and she furrowed her eyebrows when she felt a lump.

His hand had flown to his neck earlier. Maybe that was what caused him to go unconscious.

She grabbed her phone again and opened a message with May Parker, as she knew the Aunt would prefer to know before from J.D than from the hospital.

Found Peter unconscious in the bathroom. Called an ambulance so he should be ok x

Then, she sent a text to Michelle.

When an ambulance appears outside, direct them to the bathroom please. Peter's knocked out.

Within ten seconds Michelle appeared at the door of the bathroom, her dark eyes wide behind her glasses. "Holy shit, what happened?"

"I think it's from whatever happened to his neck." J.D replied quickly. "Where's Gwen?"

"Looking out for the ambulance." Michelle said and fell beside her. "Oh my god, he's colourless."

He was. His skin was a sickly pale and covered in sweat, and J.D was unbelievably worried for her friend. She didn't know what she would do without the boy in front of her.

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and two paramedics rushed into the bathroom with a stretcher, that didn't fit in the small space. They lifted Peter from J.D's arms and placed him onto the stretcher and carried him out, with the two teens in pursuit. Tears were flowing down Michelle's face, but J.D hadn't showed any sign of misery, though she felt it on the inside. J.D jogged out of the pizza joint and before Michelle could stop her, she jumped into the back of the ambulance. She glanced back at the thick haired girl and and gave her a pleading look, something that Michelle had never seen on the tough student. "Tell the teacher what happened to Peter and where I've gone."

"But J.D-" Michelle began, but was cut off but the doors starting to close.

"Please." J.D practically begged, and Michelle sighed before nodding.

J.D fell back against the wall when the doors shut, and she watched as the paramedics strapped Peter down and placed a breathing mask over his face to steady his wheezing.

J.D could only watch helplessly as her friend was driven to the hospital.

She could only hope he would be okay.

Peter was released later that night. He woke an hour after he was hooked up to a drip, and the doctors concluded that he had fainted from shock. She was still extremely concerned, and refused to leave his side until he was discharged. May and Ben rushed in about twenty minutes after they arrived and J.D explained to them what had happened.

There had been a bandage placed over what she had learned to be a spider bite, and she was also told that it wasn't poisonous, to her relief.

Peter would be alright.

+++

"So, is that Parker boy up to snuff?" Herbert Purnell asked his niece as they all sat around the dinner table. J.D tucked a piece of her short hair behind her ear as she looked down at her chicken curry in disdain.

"Uh, he's okay." She replied softly, and glanced up at her Uncle with a small smile. "He was discharged an hour or so ago. His vitals ended up being fine and the doctors took a few tests, but he should be fine."

"Good, good. The train ride okay?" Herb asked and J.D nodded. The Uncle looked over at Mason, who was angrily poking at his food. "Mase? You alright?"

"I can't believe you let her take public transport home from the fucking hospital." He snapped, dropping his fork on his plate.

"Watch your language, young man." Herb scolded, but J.D stared at him, sadness in her grey eyes. "And I trust your sister, now that she's enrolled in self-defense classes I know she can take care of herself."

"But that doesn't mean someone will try to snatch her off the street again!" Mason retorted, his nostrils flaring. "We all know how dangerous the city is at night, and you're letting her parade around like nobody's business."

"I'm right in front of you, Mason, don't talk like I'm not even here." J.D said in a subdued tone. "And I don't want to be babied, I'm perfectly capable of holding my own. I'm here with you now."

"After being missing for two months!" He finally burst out, and J.D looked into his blazing eyes. She saw anger swimming in them, but also fear and protectiveness. "It's been five months since you've been gone and you still haven't told us what happened or where you went! You just appear out of nowhere! And now we still trust you and other people to make it back home safely?"

"Mason, I-" She began, standing up. He shook his head, his jaw clenched.

"Just the fact that you think you're invincible now astounds me." He sneered. "Just because you can swing a sword or throw a punch doesn't mean you won't be hurt again."

"Stop, Mase." Her voice hardened as she stood in front of her twin brother. "I don't need a babysitter, especially not one who pays more attention to Neko Atsume than he does to his own family."

Mason scoffed. "I don't play Neko Astume."

"Don't think I haven't heard the theme music from your headphones." She snapped and he folded his arms scornfully.

"We're not talking about me, Jessica-Diana." He growled and J.D clenched her fists at her sides at his taunting tone.

"Shut your mouth, Mason, before I make you." She threatened, and he only laughed. "You saw what I did to Flash in sixth grade, didn't you?"

"Okay, you two need to stop this." Herb sighed and his hands wrapped around J.D's upper arms, pulling her away. "Mason, when you two get your driver's licenses, I guarantee you'll both be much safer. I couldn't pick her up today because of work, and I'm sure her chances of getting grabbed again aren't that high. I know you're worried about her, but it's not her fault. Don't put the blame on her for someone else's mistake."

Mason opened his mouth to reply, but shut it instead. His eyes still trained on his sister, he leaned past her and picked up his dinner, before turning and disappearing into his room. J.D watched him with a frown on her face, and went to go after him, but Herb still had a hold of her.

"Let him have some alone time, kid." He muttered, and J.D pulled a face in disagreement. "He's still upset, and scared you might leave him again. "

"I'm not going to, I never wanted to in the first place." She responded, and sighed before turning around and moving back to the table, sitting down and picking up her fork.

"You okay?" Herb asked cautiously as she ate her dinner without another word.

J.D nodded a plastered a convincing smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm good."

Later that night, J.D was sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. She could hear a film playing next door in Mason's room, and she squeezed her eyes shut before sighing loudly.

When her eyes opened, they landed on the navy blue suit she had left on her desk chair. Standing up, she walked over to it and placed her hand on the soft material, and she felt her breath stop in her throat.

"How is she?" Baron Von Strucker took a step towards the patient strapped to the table. J.D was half-conscious and in extreme pain, almost ignorant of the fact people were staring down at her. Her head lolled to the side and she couldn't help the soft groan escaping her dry lips.

"Her white blood cells are trying to fight the fluids, but the red is welcoming it completely." Doctor Krüger replied, before reaching to the side and picking up two items of clothing. "We have begun working on a prototype tacsuit that will be able to adapt to her abilities when we add her DNA to the material. Folded underneath the collar is a mask, though we haven't finished the design."

"Perfect." Baron Von Strucker muttered, before looking back down on his experiment. "She will become a slave for HYDRA."

"Underneath the collar is a mask." J.D repeated quietly, and her hands travelled to the thin collar at the top of her suit. With a gasp, the pad of her index finger fell through a small hole at the back of the neckband. She furrowed her eyebrows and pushed her finger the entire way in until she felt an extra layer between the thick material. She began to dig it out, until a thin strip of navy blue exited.

J.D unfolded the material until a mask with eye slits appeared in front of her. She smiled a little, before placing it over her eyes. It fused to her face when it connected to the skin and she gasped at the tingling feeling. She reached up and pulled it off again, peeling it like a sticker. Whoa.

A loud bang caused her to jump up and throw her mask onto her desk chair with her suit, tucking it into her desk so it wouldn't be seen.

Realising that the sound came from Mason's room, J.D cautiously walked out her door and over to Mason's, not bothering to knock. She barged in and saw him lying on the floor, a bowl of popcorn next to him. First, she let a snort of laughter slip and that led to an outburst of giggles at the sight of her brother crumbled like an idiot on the hardwood. Mason lifted his head and sent her a cold glare, before pushing himself up. "What the hell do you want?"

"I wanted to know what the noise was." She responded, then her eyes trailed up to the old television on his desk. She smiled when she saw what was on it. "The Rescuers. Haven't seen that one in a while."

"What if I don't want you watching with me?" Mason raised an eyebrow and he went to sit on his bed. J.D scoffed and jumped on next to him, pulling his blanket over her legs.

"It wasn't your decision to make." She grinned and watched in amusement as he huffed and reached for the remote, pressing play. When the beginning credits began playing, she looked up at him. "I'm really sorry I made you upset by the way. I never wanted any of this, you have to understand that, Mase."

Mason sighed, before grabbed her shoulder and pulling her into his chest. He buried his face in her hair and was silent for a moment, thinking of how to reply. "I don't think I could handle losing you again. You've cut Herb and I out completely, we don't know what happened to you or where you went. I want to be able to protect you."

"You don't need to protect me, Mason." J.D exhaled. "But I appreciate your worry. It's just, I don't want to talk about what happened. But I really do love you and Herb, you know that, right?"

Mason sighed again, but smiled slightly. "I love you too."

J.D's smile didn't disappear from her lips the entire movie, though she didn't let her brother know that.

hey the purnell siblings aren't all bad

i wanted to add some more mason cause he's a cool guy who just loves his sister a lot man

also i know that this won't be the scenario where peter will get his powers but eh it's fine for now