────── ✼✼✼ ──────

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐄𝐒

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

"What is going on?!" Alex questioned, not bothering to hide all the emotions that were coursing through her veins.

"The alien thing split the ship in half!" Peter responded with terror in his voice while the redheaded girl saved a few people from falling over the side, "I need you to clear the civilians while I try to fix the boat!"

The Easton girl didn't bother responding as she raced down the stairs of the ship. She went floor by floor, getting the ferry passengers away from the tear in the center of the ship. Once she was finished with one side, Alex managed to jump to the other side and repeated her actions. The speedster ran throughout the whole ship until everyone was out of danger then stopped near the back of the boat to watch Spider-Man do his work.

Alex was surprised at first to find Peter just standing and staring at the disaster playing out in front of him. That was until she heard Karen's voice in her ear telling the Parker boy the strongest points of the boat. The brunette boy soon started swinging back and forth between the parts of the ferry while using his webs to reconnect the halves. What felt like an eternity passed before he finally finished and landed next to Alex.

Both of the teens stared at the webs and safe civilians with smiles on their faces, only for their joy to fade when Karen's voice rang through their ears. "Good job, Peter. You were 98% successful."

"Ninety-eight?" Peter questioned as he looked around at the broken ferry while Alex stared at the side of his head with fear in her eyes.

The cheering of the passengers soon reverted back into screams when the webs started breaking away from the ferry. Alex's whole body became as still as a statue as she watched the halves begin sinking once again. A wave of panic washed over her as her eyes scanned over all the people on board the ship, knowing they wouldn't be able to get them all off in time. As the world around her continued to fall apart, only one question continued to bounce around in Alex's head. How could everything go so wrong so quickly?

Due to her terrified state, Alex was completely oblivious to Peter leaving her side until he came into her line of vision. Her mouth instantly parted at the sight of the Parker boy attempting to hold the ferry together with two pieces of his webbing. The speedster kept her eyes glued to the boy in red as his shouts mixed with the screams of the ferry's passengers. Alex just wished there was something she could do to help him other than run around and keep everyone away from the burnt edges.

What felt like an eternity passed when the halves of the ships began to come together again. Alex instantly raced to Peter's side once the decks were rejoined before they continued to look around in astonishment. That was until their attention landed on a familiar face staring at them from the nearest window.

"Hi, Spider-Man," Tony Stark greeted while keeping his glowing eyes glued to the two teens, "band practice, was it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an object came flying through the air toward the ferry. It wasn't long before small rockets were launched from the machine and attached to the sides of the boat. The ship immediately started putting itself back together before it looked as if nothing had happened. The only indication of them being there was an ominous black line in the ship's center. Alex just stared at the mark for a long moment before looking up at Peter. She couldn't see the look on his face through the mask but she knew what was coming next wasn't going to end well.

After the disaster on the ferry, Alex found herself sitting next to a now maskless Spider-Man on top of a nearby building. The two of them kept their eyes glued to the mess they created as the passengers were rescued. Despite wanting nothing more than to run away when she heard the jets of the Iron Man suit, the Easton girl didn't leave Peter's side, knowing this mess was just as much her fault as it was his. The redheaded girl kept her attention on the water below until she heard Tony Stark landing behind them. After letting out a long sigh, Alex copied Peter's actions and turned to look at the red and gold man.

"Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch, I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do," the Stark man lectured at the same moment the Parker boy turned to look back at the mess they created.

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked while trying his best to hold back all the emotions he was feeling, only to fail.

"No thanks to either of you," Tony responded, causing the Parker boy to look at the former with a hint of anger while Alex continued to watch them with her mouth sealed shut.

"No thanks to us?" the brunette boy repeated as he spun around and placed his feet on the roof of the building before walking towards the Stark man, "that technology is out there and I tried to tell you about it, but you didn't listen. None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me! If you even cared, you'd actually be here."

The moment Peter finished speaking, the front of the Iron Man opened and Tony stepped out. That caused the Parker boy to back away a bit as the brunette man took another few steps toward him. While the two of them had a short staredown, Alex continued to sit a short distance away, silently regretting not leaving earlier.

"I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh?" Tony retaliated while proceeding to step toward Peter, only for the latter to match his steps backward, "do you know I was the only one who believed in you?"

"Charlie believed in him...she believed in both of us," Alex spoke up for the first time since Tony arrived, drawing all attention to her before she continued speaking, "I'm sure she would've been here a lot sooner than you were."

Tony just stared at the redheaded girl in front of him for a long moment before a hint of realization flashed across his face. "You must be the girl Charlie's been protecting. Alexandria, was it?"

"It's Alex."

"Well, Alex, Charlie gave up her freedom for you and this is how you repay her? By destroying a ferry full of civilians? You're lucky I don't call Ross right now and tell him where you are. You can thank Charlie for that, too," the Stark man told her, causing the confidence that was once within the Easton girl to fade as Tony turned his attention back to Peter, "everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a fourteen-year-old kid."

"I'm fifteen."

"No. This is where you zip it, alright?! The adult is talking!" Tony exclaimed while the Parker boy stared at him with wide eyes, "what if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? Because that's on the two of you. And if you died, I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry. I understand," Peter responded while Alex once again watched from her place a few feet behind the Parker boy.

"Sorry doesn't cut it."

"I just wanted to be like you," the brunette boy stated, failing to hold back all the emotions he was feeling as he stared up at his mentor, who was looking down at the destruction the two teens had caused.

"And I wanted you to be better," Tony responded as he looked back at the young boy standing in front of him, "okay, it's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back."

"For how long?" Peter asked with a shaky voice while Alex stared at the back of her friend's head with pity in her eyes.

"Forever."

"No, no."

"Yeah, that's how it works."

"You don't understand. This is all I have. I'm nothing without this suit," the Parker boy pleaded with his mentor, who was simply staring back at him with an emotionless look on his face.

"If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it, okay?" Tony stated while Peter stared at him with wide eyes, "d*mn, I sound like my dad."

"I don't have any other clothes," the brunette boy muttered under his breath.

"Okay, we'll sort that out," the Stark man declared before his attention landed back on Alex, who had been watching their exchange in silence from a few feet away, "this better be the last time I see you running around here or else I will contact Ross. I only owed Charlie one favor...just the one."

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

As soon as she got back to her apartment, Alex quickly changed out of her suit and threw it in the back of her closet. She then got in the shower to try and get rid of the ocean smell that covered every inch of her body. Once she was finished, she changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt before lying down on her bed. The Easton girl just stared up at the ceiling while the day's events played on repeat in her head. It wasn't long before Alex finally let her emotions consume her and a single tear slid down her cheek.

Hours had passed and Alex still didn't leave her room despite how hungry she was getting. All she could think about was the passenger's screams as the ship split in two. It haunted her that there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she did was stand and watch as the world around her fell apart.

The silence was soon broken by a loud banging on her front door followed by shouting that she couldn't make out. However, she still didn't move. She knew it could only be one of three people...well, two people since Peter was off somewhere in his own world of self-pity. As the banging continued, Alex eliminated Ned from the list, knowing he wouldn't come by without his best friend. Which only left Atlas, who unfortunately figured out the code to unlock the front door.

"I know you're in here!" the Duncan boy called out after closing the front door behind him, "I saw what happened on the news! I just wanna make sure you're okay!"

No matter how much Alex wanted to tell him she was okay, she couldn't...because she wasn't. She wasn't okay with what happened on the ferry with the flying man and the man with the electric glove. She wasn't okay with the conversation that occurred on the roof with Tony Stark or knowing that he could end the life she created with one call to someone named Ross. And she definitely wasn't okay with the idea that Charlie gave up everything for her.

It wasn't long after that when there was a knock on her bedroom door before it was slowly pushed open to reveal Atlas. The Duncan boy just stared at his best friend until he finally made his way across the room and sat down next to her. Silence surrounded them for what felt like an eternity, only for it to be broken when Atlas cleared his throat and started to speak.

"I was gonna ask if you were okay, but now I feel like that's a dumb question," the raven-haired boy said while keeping his eyes glued to the distressed girl, "so instead I'll ask you this...and please don't tease me for it. Do you need a hug?"

Alex's entire body stiffened as soon as she heard the Duncan boy's question. No one had ever offered that kind of comfort to her in her life. The only person who had ever been close was Pietro, but he only calmed her down so the HYDRA agents wouldn't hear her. And the only people she could even remember asking what she needed were Charlie and her family. Up until she met the Maximoffs and the Bartons, Alex was just used to being on her own. She grew used to it...even though she wished she didn't.

So, after another silent moment passed between them, Alex forced herself into a sitting position before sending Atlas a small nod in response. Without thinking twice, the Duncan boy wrapped his arms around his best friend, who cried into his shoulder as she thought about everything that went wrong since she embraced her powers.

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

────── ✼✼✼ ──────