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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏

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A loud beeping greeted Alex's ears, pulling her out of the first dream she had had in a very long time. The speedster didn't hesitate to shut off her alarm before letting out a silent sigh. She kept her eyes closed to take in the silence for a moment, only for it to be broken by distant voices. Confusion flowed through her veins as she slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by a room that wasn't her own. It only took Alex another moment to remember what happened a few days ago.

Atlas had told his parents that Alex was living on her own a few weeks ago without the latter knowing. The Easton girl was starting to get suspicious that something was going on when her best friend started bringing his little sister along when they hung out. And on top of that, Atlas began inviting her over more to his house for family dinners and family movie nights. She was starting to get along with his entire family and was always happy to be around them. It wasn't long after that when the Duncan boy asked the question that he was excited, yet nervous to ask. Atlas asked Alex if she wanted to come to live with his family. The speedster was skeptical at first. Yes, she trusted Atlas with her life but it felt odd that she was wanted somewhere. So that's how she ended up in one of the nicest apartments she'd ever seen that was only a block away from school.

A small smile appeared on Alex's lips when she heard a small knock at her bedroom door. The speedster quickly got out of bed and made her way toward the door before opening it to reveal Aspen. The two girls had gotten along a lot better than either of them imagined since Alex moved in. They spend a lot of time together, whether it's helping Aspen with her homework or watching movies together. Sometimes Atlas thought that Alex liked his sister better than him. It wasn't true, but Alex would never admit that.

"Good morning, Aspen," the Easton girl said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe with a smile on her face, "what brings you here?"

"Mom sent me to wake you and Atlas up. You need to leave for your field trip soon," Aspen responded with a large grin on her face.

After quickly hugging Alex, the Duncan girl turned around and banged on her brother's door with a lot more force. It wasn't long after that when shouting cut through the air. Not even a second after that passed when Atlas opened the door and playfully glared at his sister. Aspen didn't hesitate to turn and sprint down the hall, only for her brother to chase after her.

"And they're at it again," a new voice said, drawing Alex's attention towards the sound to find Patrick and Rena Duncan standing at the other end of the hall.

"It's been a daily thing since she started sixth grade," Rena responded before letting out a laugh. It wasn't long after that when her attention fell on the redheaded girl. "You better get ready. You don't wanna be late for your field trip."

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Music filled the young speedster's ears as she sat beside her best friend. They were on a bus traveling to their school field trip, both sitting in their seats without a care in the world. Even though the peacefulness drove the brunette boy behind her crazy, Alex enjoyed it. Yes, she still loved saving the day as Zephyr with the one and only Spider-Man. But she also wanted to spend some time as a normal teenager. Luckily, Atlas was very good at granting her wish and made sure she got caught up on everything she missed during her time with HYDRA...and that really meant everything.

However, that peace was soon interrupted by Altas gently elbowing her in the side. Alex instantly sent the boy a glare, only for it to fade when she saw the worried look on his face. As she reached up to remove her earbuds, Altas pointed at something behind her. Confusion flowed through the redheaded girl's veins as she turned to look out the window. It wasn't long after that when her blood ran cold at the sight of a giant metal ring hovering above the city in the distance. Without thinking twice, Alex looked over at Peter to find him already staring back at her with a determined look on his face. A look that only meant one thing. They were going to miss their field trip.

"Ned, hey," Peter whispered as he tapped his friend's cheek to get his attention, "I need you to cause a distraction."

The Leeds boy's eyes instantly widened as he looked past his friend and out the window. It wasn't long after that when he turned around to face the rest of his classmates. "We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship!"

"Good luck," Atlas whispered just loud enough for Alex to hear before he went to join his panicked classmates.

A small smile formed on Alex's face as she grabbed everything she needed from her bag and followed Peter toward the emergency exit. Both of them put their masks on before the Parker boy wrapped his arm around Alex's waist and began swinging them toward the spaceship.

When they finally arrived at their destination, the two teens found Tony Stark battling a giant alien creature. Peter quickly dropped Alex off before jumping in front of the billionaire to stop Cull Obsidian from hitting him. However, his efforts were useless as the extraterrestrial grabbed the Parker boy and threw him across the park. The speedster forced her fears aside when she saw the alien move to attack the Stark man once again. After letting out a long sigh, Alex sped forward and punched the giant in the face, causing him to stumble back a bit.

"What did you do to upset this guy?" the Easton girl questioned before running out of the way of Cull Obsidian's next attack.

"Me? I didn't do anything," Tony responded with a hint of irritation in his voice before letting out a long sigh, "where did you two even come from?"

"A field trip to the MoMA," Peter told him right as Alex grabbed the two of them and sped them out of the extraterrestrial's reach, "what is this guy's problem, Mr. Stark?"

"Uh, he's from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard," the brunette man explained, earning another annoyed look from the redheaded girl.

"A what now?" Alex asked as she stared at the Stark man, completely distracted by the battle happening in front of her. Cull Obsidian instantly took advantage of this and grabbed her around the waist before throwing her into the air. Luckily, Peter was able to grab her and lower her back to the ground before she got too far. "Okay, this guy is seriously starting to bug me."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, an unknown object came out of nowhere and flew past them. Because Tony was busy using a shield to block the giant's attack, he was unable to go after it. That caused his attention to fall on the two young heroes standing nearby. "That's the wizard. Get on it."

"On it!" Peter exclaimed before swinging after the wizard. It wasn't long after that when Alex let out a long sigh and sprinted after him.

The speedster caught up to Spider-Man just in time to see the alien they were chasing throw a billboard at him. Peter's shouts made Alex hesitate for a moment. Everything inside of her was telling her to stop and make sure the Parker boy was okay, but there was a small part of her that forced her to keep chasing the wizard. So the speedster muttered an apology under her breath as she continued to run through the streets of New York.

Just as Alex turned down the corner she saw Ebony Maw disappear, she saw the light posts bending towards the street. She did her best to jump over and avoid them but her efforts were futile. Before she had a chance to jump over the last pole, the speedster's foot got caught on a wire, sending her tumbling down the street. Alex let out a painful groan as she slowly pushed herself off the asphalt. Her hands and knees were scraped up and her entire body was most likely bruised, but she knew she had to ignore her injuries for the time being. Instead, she brushed herself off and forced herself to her feet.

However, what she saw next made her blood run cold. On the corner just in front of her, Peter was holding onto a light post like his life depended on it. And in his other hand, he tightly gripped his webbing that was attached to the man they were trying to save. But what really made Alex fear for the Parker boy was the tractor beam pulling the wizard towards the large spaceship hovering above them.

"What are you doing?!" Alex shouted up at Peter after sprinting over to stand at the base of the light post.

"Trying to save the wizard!" the Parker boy responded without even trying to hide the exhaustion in his voice, "I could really use some help up here!"

"How am I supposed to help you?!"

"Just get up here!"

The Easton girl couldn't help but roll her eyes as she took a few steps back. A shaky breath passed over her lips before she sprinted towards the light post. Shock coursed through her veins when she found herself running up the side of it, thinking a few seconds ago that her plan wouldn't work. It wasn't long after that when she found herself sitting on top of the light post a foot away from where Peter was holding onto it. But before Alex could even attempt to help the Parker boy, Ebony Maw came out of nowhere and lifted the light post out of the ground.

Alex didn't hesitate to grab onto Peter's hand as the two of them were lifted into the air. Fear replaced the shock that was in her veins while she silently prayed that the brunette boy wouldn't let go of her. Peter glanced down at the redheaded girl for a moment before his attention moved back to the spaceship. "Uh, Mr. Stark, we're being beamed up."

The speedster didn't even try to listen to Tony's response as she stared at her and Peter's intertwined fingers. Not even a second after that passed when she felt his grip loosen. The panic within Alex grew as her eyes moved to look at the back of the boy's head. "You better not let go, Parker!"

"I'm trying not to!" was all Peter was able to say before his grip around her disappeared entirely.

Alex heard him shout her name as she began to fall, but the tractor beam was pulling him up too fast for him to do anything. Her eyes were glued to his retreating figure while her life seemed to flash before her eyes. The speedster tried to ignore the wind rushing around her as she closed her eyes, hoping that Peter would be able to save the wizard and get home safely. But she never expected what happened next.

An unknown object struck her back before she felt something surrounding her like a blanket. The panic inside her did nothing but grow as it continued to surround her entire body. It didn't stop growing until it covered her face, leaving her in complete darkness. Alex couldn't help but thrash around in the air in an attempt to get the unknown object off of her, but nothing seemed to be working. She thought that it was a device from the aliens, at least until the world around her seemed to stop. It wasn't long after that when a screen appeared in front of her eyes, revealing Tony Stark flying in front of her.

"What the h*ll is this?" Alex questioned while she flew beside the Stark man and towards the spaceship.

"I think the words you're looking for are 'thank you,'" Tony's voice filled her comms while keeping his eyes glued to the redheaded girl, "now let's go save your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," the Easton girl declared without even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Yeah, sure," Iron Man scoffed before his attention returned to the spaceship flying ahead of them, "Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you."

"But you said save the wizard!" Peter shouted through their comms just as Alex spotted his small form climbing up the side of the ship, "I can't breathe."

"We're too high up. You're running out of air."

"Yeah. That makes sense," the Parker boy responded before began losing consciousness and lost his grip on the spaceship. Alex could do nothing but watch as Peter fell from the ship, silently willing for her suit to fly even faster. It wasn't long after that when something flew past her and towards the brunette boy, covering him in a suit very similar to her own. The Easton girl watched as he collided with the spaceship before finding his grip and forcing himself to stand. Not even a minute after that passed when Tony and Alex appeared right in front of him. "Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!"

"Happy trails, kids. Friday, send them home," Tony told them before turning and flying towards the top of the spaceship.

Before either of the teens had a chance to comprehend what he was saying, parachutes popped out from the back of their suits, forcing the two of them to fly toward Earth. A wave of relief washed over Alex as she felt herself safely returning home. However, her feelings soon changed when Peter wrapped his arms around her before shooting his webs at the side of the spaceship. The Parker boy forced Alex to wrap her arms around his neck so he could start pulling them towards the ship. As soon as they were on board, the Easton girl looked over at Peter with irritation in her eyes.

"Why do you want to stay and fight an alien squid?" Alex questioned as her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"Hey, it could be fun," Peter responded after the doors closed in front of them.

"I highly doubt that," was all the Easton girl said before they felt the spaceship begin to fly much faster than before.

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