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MY 'ORDINARY ' TEENAGE LIFE

"When you are young they assume
you know nothing." —Taylor Swift
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Aurora's Apartment

Location: Kew Gardens, Queens

July 30, 2016

"SO... how much do you know about me?" Aurora asked Darcy Lewis, both of them sitting in the living room eating ice cream in their new apartment. It was somewhere in upstate New York but close enough to the school. They were having a break after unpacking everything from the moving van, most of the stuff was new furniture and the rest was their personal items. Although Aurora wasn't used to having someone new around, Darcy definitely didn't seem dangerous to her. Which is a great start so far.

"Just enough, I know your dad is Tony freaking Stark, your Thor's niece, and the infamous Phantom. And I have to take care of you until next year." Darcy commented, taking a spoonful of whipped cream in her mouth. Aurora faintly smiled as she slowly nodded, taking a bite of her chocolate ice cream as she glanced at her. Guessing by the woman's body language, she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"I see... but I have a feeling you're not telling me everything." The teenager remarked as she set her dessert on the table by the couch. Turning her gaze to the woman, her arms above her chest while leaning against the furniture.

"Jane Foster was the one who was supposed to take care of you, but since she was busy I filled her in," Lewis told her the truth, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. Aurora quirked her eyebrows up slightly at the statement, now thinking about it... it was a good idea it was Darcy instead.

"It would be weird to run into my uncle's ex-lover," Aurora admitted as she placed her hands in her jacket, thinking about how awkward the situation would be.

"Tell me about it, I mean about your situation. Anyway, I have an idea, since I have to help you act like a normal teenager or whatever we got to do some shopping." Darcy chuckled softly as she decided to add more whipped cream to her ice cream.

"Yeah, no. See I hate having to struggle with what to wear. That's why I wear simple clothes like jeans, shirts, and boots or Converse." Aurora retorted with a slight snicker, getting up from the couch towards the refrigerator to get another snack.

"Well not anymore, you have me. And trust me when I say, once I'm done with your makeover all the boys would be drooling over you." The older woman reassured the teenager, a sweet smile on her lips.

"I'm not looking for a boyfriend, Lewis." The young Stark rolled her eyes in annoyance but thankfully Darcy wasn't able to see that. She grabbed a pop tart and milk, for a moment reminiscing the moments she had with her uncle Thor. Although she remembered her mother mentioning that she would meet her soulmate soon.

"Really? What about that boy I saw you talking with the other day?" Lewis called out to her, Aurora snapping out of her thoughts as she walked back to sit on the couch. Somewhat glaring at her guardian as she munched on the cookies and cream pop tart momentarily.

"Levi? He was just being nice, okay?" The girl responded, not caring much about it. Sure he was the first boy she ever really interacted with but it wasn't romantic or anything.

"Sure... whatever you teens call it these days..." Darcy remarked, pointing at Aurora with the spoon before waving it around for a few seconds.

"I'm serious! Not every boy has to always think about girls. Besides..." The teenager paused for a moment with her argument as she took out a small piece of paper from her jacket pocket. Glancing down to see some numbers written on it and Levi's name next to it.

"Let me see that!" Darcy butted in as she took the paper from Aurora's hand, immediately the teenager stood up and chased after her. The woman went around the couch and towards the dining room, standing behind the kitchen island while glancing down at the paper. Smiling in excitement while she declared to the girl, "I know it! He does like you!"

"Darcy, give that back so I can throw it away!" Aurora retorted as she tried to get closer to the woman but every step she took, Lewis would go in the opposite direction. It went on for a few seconds before Darcy dashed to the dining room so the girl couldn't get close to her.

"No, it's a good thing! You're making a friend! And a cute one too!" The older of the two girls exclaimed, waving the piece of paper in the air. The young Stark silently inhaled sharply through her nose, muttering some words in Russian before looking at the woman.

"Lewis come back here or so help me—!" She argued, placing her hands on her hips to resist the urge of resorting to violence. She wanted to prove to Tony that she changed... but Darcy was making it difficult for her.

"Fine, I'll give it to you but only if you promise to go clothes shopping with me today." Her guardian proposed as a small smirk was evident on her lips. Aurora lightly glared at her, stuck in an uncomfortable position to choose between two options she didn't like. Taking a step forward, Darcy took a step back, seeing that neither of them was going to back down.

"What?! There's no way I'll–." The teenager interjected, firmly thinking that she was going to win their silly banter.

"Okay then let me call the number and–." Darcy teased, taking out her phone to dial the number written. Aurora's eyes widened in surprise as she immediately protested, cursing under her breath.

"Don't you dare!" The girl expressed her frustration, dramatically rolling her eyes. Both maintain eye contact hoping that the other would be the first to turn away. For once, Aurora was pleasantly surprised that Darcy hadn't surrendered considering she was quite intimidating. Sighing softly before giving in, "Fine you win! You're lucky I can't kill you or something...."

"And trust me... I appreciate that you can't kill me. Here you go, just don't throw it away." Darcy told her, glancing at the teenager who begrudgingly grabbed the paper. Mentally debated on keeping it or throwing it away but decided on the first option. She got her phone and wrote down the number as her contacts, seeing a small smile coming from the woman.

"Please don't look at me like that, it's so I don't misplace it." Aurora retaliated as she put it away in her jeans pocket. Her guardian lifted her shoulders slightly in a playful manner before getting her stuff to leave. The young Stark quirked her eyebrow in curiosity as she asked Darcy, "Where are you going?"

"To the mall, you promised and we are going now," Lewis stated calmly, indicating Aurora to follow her. The girl could only sigh dramatically, grabbing her saddle bag before telepathically closing the apartment door as they headed to the garage. Since it was a bit far from where they lived, the teenager sat in the passenger and turned up the volume for some music while Darcy drove. Thankfully, she didn't mind as they listened to whatever was on before the woman asked, "So... what should we do first? Get some food, go to some stores, or the makeover?"

"Food, definitely food. But seriously Lewis, no makeover. I don't need makeup." The young Stark immediately answered as she glanced at her guardian until a notification came up on her phone. She took it out to see a list of stuff that she would need for school, grumbling softly as she also needed some school supplies.

"No offense but we gotta do something with your face... you look like you haven't slept in weeks." Aurora's guardian indicated the girl's face, mostly the dark circles under her eyes and dense eyebrows that could use some waxing.

"That's insomnia for you...." Aurora shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, placing her phone on the car dashboard.

"We don't have to do much I promise! Just some concealer, lip gloss, mascara, the bare minimum. Besides, you should use your dad's money once in a while to treat yourself. High school can tear your self-esteem and rip you to shreds." Darcy stated as she readjusted her glasses momentarily to focus on driving.

"You do know who I am, right? A bunch of pretty girls won't scare me." She told the woman, crossing her arms above her chest while leaning against the passenger seat to glance at the window. Aurora has been through hell and back, high school wasn't going to change anything. Taking note of the time, she informed Darcy, "We have about two hours before I gotta do some training with Spider-Man."

"Right... forgot about that. Don't know what's the deal with that but not to worry, I have a strategy." The woman cooly answered as they didn't continue the conversation, sitting in a comfortable silence.

"Oh great... what's the worst that can happen?" Aurora mumbled the last part so Darcy couldn't hear her. Hoping that her time at the mall would be decent as long as there was a food court and an electronic store for her potential projects.

"By the way, you can call me Darcy. Every time you call me Lewis— sounds like I'm getting called on by my professors." Darcy mentioned that she didn't like how Aurora still hadn't addressed her on a first-name basis.

"I'll keep that in mind. But no promises." The teenager affirmed with a short nod, considering it yet that's only if Darcy earned her respect. And so far, she was getting there even if they met not too long ago.

"At least try, you'll start school in less than two weeks. You gotta act and talk like a teenager. Not someone who's in the military or something..." Her guardian urged the girl, knowing that she didn't have the best childhood growing up. However, Aurora was slightly offended by the comment as she smoothly glared at the older woman.

"Hey, you haven't seen the real me yet! I swear like there's no fucking tomorrow if I wanted to." Aurora protested as she even humored her, hoping to get any reaction for the hell of it.

"I got a lot of work to do... good thing Stark is paying me...." Darcy uttered under her breath yet that caused the girl to be curious about the last part. In truth, Lewis wouldn't have accepted the conditions unless how much was on the line to take care of her.

"Exactly— how much is my dad paying you?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ🕷: *.☽ .* :🔪 ﾟ. ───

PETER showed up to his last Band meeting, a bit exhausted from last night's training session with Phantom. Ever since he started about two weeks ago, the boy had to adjust his chaotic schedule. Now he would arrive late to most of his academic meetings or leave early when something came up. He had no other choice but to tell his bandmates why he could no longer attend now that he had an Internship with Stark Industries. He glanced down at his phone to see it was getting late for the next training session.

He still was part of the Decathlon team however he was starting to consider quitting too. It would depend on when school started again, heading out the door while his bandmates talked amongst themselves. Taking long strides through the hallways and out of the school considering it was a Saturday afternoon. His whole life changed in an instant the moment he got bitten by the radioactive spider. And now he was training to be a hero, an Avenger... but with the world's deadliest assassin. How ironic.

Finally, off school property, he strolled through the busy New York streets and played some music with his earbuds. He tries to find an empty alleyway so he can change into his spidey suit, grateful for the update Tony made. Making sure no bystander was looking in his direction, he swiftly stripped down to wear the suit as he pressed the spider emblem to adjust. He gets two different notifications on his webshooters, one from Stark and the other from Phantom.

The first notification was from Phantom, sending him the location of their meeting spot. Peter noted that it would be a different location every time they did the training session. The former HYDRA assassin explained that it was so he could be familiarized with the layout of the city, which the boy had to admit was smart. And the last notification was from Tony, it was a small message that said, 'Swing by the tower, got some new upgrades you should see.'

Thinking it would be best to visit after he was done with training, Peter used his webshooters to web his backpack on the wall, hoping, that no one would steal it like last time. Then he climbed along the building before he shot a web and started to swing toward her location. Spider-Man took the quickest route possible as he was already late, hoping that Phantom was in a forgiving mood. He thought that if he endured the training and proved to Tony that he was getting better at becoming an Avenger, it was worth it for him.

"You're late... again," Phantom called out to Spider-Man, who arrived about fifteen minutes later than usual. It's only been two weeks and he's already failing to show up on time. Aurora may be challenging but she wasn't cruel, she would only train Spider-Man on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays– and occasionally Saturdays. Sure the training was brutal in terms of lasting for more than two hours but it was something he needed to improve on. Then again, she didn't have to care, she was only doing it to get on her dad's good side.

"Yeah, sorry about that–." The hero tried to apologize, knowing that Phantom wasn't too happy about it. In truth, he was running late since it was his last Band meeting but he obviously couldn't tell her that.

"I don't care about your excuse, Webhead. You need to take this seriously." Aurora remarked as she started pacing around the rooftop, trying to think of a lesson to do. Conjuring an energy force field around them to create a makeshift arena, thinking of testing his strength first.

"I-I know that, but can you stop calling me Webhead?" Spider-Man politely asked her, glancing around the force field she made with curiosity.

"I will... when I want to." Aurora teased him, getting to the center of the rooftop as she waited for Spider-Man to do the same. Once he did, she indicated that this would be a sparring match, wanting to see how strong he truly was. She put her hair up into a tight bun as she explained the rules briefly, something she did often while training with HYDRA. Phantom finished explaining the objective, "The goal is to outsmart your opponent by pinning them for five seconds, three times. Simple enough, right?"

"Yeah but I-I just don't feel comfortable t-with hitting a woman...." Peter admitted while he slightly fumbled over his words. All the other times when they started training, it was mostly teaching him basic movements he could do based on his ability.

"What if your enemy is a woman, would that still stop you?" Aurora sighed faintly through her nose, seeing his hesitation to start as she wanted to get this over with.

"Maybe..." Spider-Man answered truthfully, causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"Look, Spidey. Your enemies won't be fair to you, especially when they can gain an advantage. And don't worry, I won't hit your handsome face... can't say the same about the rest of you...." Aurora joked, wanting to push his buttons which worked because she noticed his eye lenses widen after the comment.

"D-Do you always have to say things like that?" Peter questioned, mentally thankful that his mask hid his bashful face. Aurora paused for a moment, considering his question as she placed her daggers across the roof.

"Force of habit. Fine, how about a little deal? Whoever loses... can ask any three questions about the other person. Just nothing too personal, alright?" She suggested hoping it would convince him to do it. Which worked because he never thought that he might have a chance to get to know Phantom.

"But... how will I know you won't cheat?" Spider-Man asked while he noted that the female assassin started to circle around. The superhero followed pursuit, mimicking her actions as he realized that they started.

"Simple, it's only hand-to-hand combat. The energy force field doesn't count since I don't want to be responsible for civilian casualties. So no powers... if you use it, you automatically forfeit. The same thing applies to touching the force field." Aurora said flatly, she kept her eyes on him with a neutral expression on her face. Seeing him adjusting his webshooters, she warned him, "That includes your webshooters, Spidey. I'm not using gadgets."

Peter paused for a moment as he gently took off the webshooters from his wrists and placed them by a corner. Aurora nodded her head softly in acknowledgment as they both started to circle around the rooftop again. Neither of them was making the first move, daring the other to strike. Eventually, Phantom went forward and lifted her legs into a butterfly kick to attack his abdomen. Yet, his spider senses helped him easily block the attack but didn't realize that she used the momentum against him.

Instead of letting go of her shoes, Phantom was able to switch into a Butterfly Twist. Causing the superhero to spin around before landing on the ground harshly. Aurora smirked faintly as she landed on top of him. Lightly tapping his chest as an indication of a 'strike' before telling him his first lesson, "Hit. Block. Strike. Repeat."

Spider-Man's eye lenses enlarged before he turned her around, pinning her against the floor. He was starting to memorize Phantom's fighting patterns since she was using some similar moves when they first fought against each other. He tapped on her shoulder for his first 'strike', repeating what she said when they were in Germany. His voice slightly teased her as he said, "Getting deja vu yet?"

Aurora narrowed her eyes as she lifted her knees to push him away, getting up from the ground. She was slightly impressed by his maneuver but the battle had just begun. It seemed like Spider-Man was always in a defensive position while she was on offense. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but if he was in HYDRA— he would be considered a coward. She lunged forward to knock him down but he was able to do a backflip, yet she wasn't going to back down yet. Thinking to corner him, she did an aerial cartwheel although Peter crossed his arms so he wouldn't get hit.

The masked hero grunted softly at the sheer strength she possessed before forcing her to lose her balance. Landing roughly on her back, Spider-Man noted that she didn't get up quickly like she normally did. Cautiously kneeling to check if she was fine yet Phantom thrust her legs and wrapped onto the superhero's shoulders. Turned her body so he settled beside her, both maintaining eye contact as she warned him, "Never lower your guard... otherwise you get killed."

"Yeah... got it now...." Peter mumbled in acknowledgment, feeling a light tap on his chest again. He groaned under his breath but took a moment to examine her appearance, her brown hair now in a messy bun. Her piercing hazel-green eyes stared back at him, the black domino mask covering partially her face.

Realizing he was staring for too long, Peter managed to be free from her legs as he rolled away. Meanwhile, Aurora felt something... strange when he looked at her, shaking her head softly to forget about it. Seeing him a few feet away, Phantom clenched her fists to control her urge to use her powers. Instead, she observed the masked hero as she taunted him by signaling him to come forward. When he didn't, she made the move to run forward to tackle him but Spider-Man managed to dodge her.

Getting a little too close to her energy force field, she felt something grip her wrist. Comprehending that Spider-Man helped her from not losing, an annoyed expression on her face as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Telling him seriously after he tapped her for another point as they were both tied, "You never help the enemy, Webhead. They can use it against you. Like this...."

Just then, she punched him in the abdomen before taking his arm and flipping him over. She placed her boot on his chest before kneeling to lightly flick his forehead. A teasing grin on her lips as she told the superhero, "Looks like I won...."

"Damn it... I really wanted to win...." Peter mumbled through his mask but thankfully she couldn't hear it. Aurora took off her boot and allowed him to get up and with the flick of her wrist, the energy force field disappeared. She walked over to her discarded daggers and got his webshooters before tossing them to Spider-Man. He caught it with ease as she headed over to him, Peter knew that the questions were coming. The boy stated with a rather uneasy expression, "Just... ask me your questions."

"Anxious aren't you? Good thing it won't be too personal...." Aurora teased him as she crossed her arms above her chest while pondering what to ask. Then she thought of one while sitting on the ledge, glancing over at the city. He eventually sat beside her but not too close since he learned the last time when she pushed him off the roof. Of course, he was able to crawl back up but he never thought she would do something like that.

Phantom was like an enigma to Peter, not knowing much about her except when the HYDRA files were leaked to the internet or what Mr. Stark mentioned. He knew this much, a former HYDRA assassin who was now with the Avengers. Kind of ironic considering her mission was to destroy the world and anyone who stood in HYDRA's way. And now she was helping him to become an Avenger, not realizing that she already asked her question. He looked over, clearing his throat as he answered, "Mm? Sorry... c-can, can you repeat the question?"

"I said, Why do you want to be an Avenger?" Aurora repeated herself, not glancing at him while she fiddled with her Uru necklace.

"That's uh, a personal question," Peter responded, his voice wavering a bit from being nervous. She slightly narrowed her eyebrows at his reply, rolling her eyes discreetly.

"No, it's not. I'm not asking for your real name, Spidey. I'm just curious why you want to be one." Phantom retaliated as the masked hero hesitated, feeling like he was in some kind of interrogation.

"Well, why are you an Avenger, then?" Spider-Man wondered, hoping she would change the conversation. Instead, Aurora knew right away what he was trying to do, not believing that he was attempting to manipulate her.

"Hey, I'm the one who asks the questions. Remember you lost, so don't back out now." She remarked before glancing at him for the first time.

"Fine... i-it's because... I want to help people. I just uh, never imagined I would... be one." Peter admitted, telling partially the truth as she softly nodded her head. Unlike Aurora who didn't have a choice when she became a HYDRA assassin while he did it out of his own free will. However, both of them didn't realize that they were just... teenagers with superpowers. She eventually asked her other two questions before deciding to leave early for training, knowing that Tony was going to show him some new prototypes.

But they would meet again... as Aurora Hunter and Peter Parker.

Spider-Man Will Return To
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING