It took a while, but after the picture everyone went their own way. The FF took a ride with SHIELD back home, the president going with them. The X-men had their jet, though Jean promised to call again to talk about me returning to my role as a hero.
I then took inventory. Out of the fifteen suits I had brought with me, only six survived. I was lucky to have at least those on hand. I got into my car and took off, leaving SHIELD to clean up the rest of this mess.
As I flew over the country again, heading towards Tony's location, I noticed it was currently in Seattle. I immediately called him up. He picked up quickly.
"Did you get him?" Tony asked.
"Aldrich and the Mandarin are in custody along with his men. The president is safe...it's over, Tony. Did you find Pepper and Riri? What happened to them?"
"It was like you said — divide and conquer. They just wanted my attention away from the Mandarin. I don't think they figured you into their plans because until a few days ago you were still thought to be dead."
"Thank God for small miracles," I snorted, "how are they?"
"Pepper is fine...she's a little shaken up but...she's fine."
"And Riri?" I asked.
"Her mother just died...she's not handling it well," Tony sighed.
I sighed back, "when...when's the funeral?"
"In a few days...will you come?"
"Of course," I replied, "I'll send the remaining suits to your home. And if you don't mind, I'm exhausted, Tony. I need sleep."
"Right, yeah, of course. Go ahead, kid. You earned it."
"Right...and Tony...I'm sorry."
Three days later:
Maya was buried in a grave outside of Chicago, where she was born. The funeral was a small one — around twenty people showed up. She hadn't had many friends.
Tony had arranged the whole thing, with Pepper's help of course. I stood at the back, dressed in a dark suit — one of the few I had on hand. It was a bright and sunny day, an odd day for a funeral. And standing before Maya's grave was her daughter, Riri.
The girl held in her hand a single white flower. I couldn't tell the species; I was never good with things like that. She placed it on her mother's coffin and stepped back, and Tony gently placed an arm on her shoulder, though she didn't even react.
She watched the coffin lowered into the ground without a word. She stayed while everyone else left. She stood there while they buried her mother, Tony and Pepper now sitting on a bench far away, letting the girl have as much time as she wanted.
I saw the look on her face — the pain, the suffering — and I knew then that no twelve-year-old should ever carry that expression.
I walked up behind her. She didn't even react as I stood right next to her, looking at her mother's tombstone. It read: 'Mother, Scientist and Beloved'.
I took a deep breath and sighed, "you and I aren't that different, Riri."
She moved, finally looking at me, "who are you?"
I smiled, a grim one, "can't you tell by the voice?"
She looked at me. It took her a second before her eyes visibly widened in shock. She blinked, "you're way younger than I thought you would be."
I shrugged, "most think so," and we turned to her mother's grave once more.
We were silent. I was waiting for her to begin her questions — only then would she truly listen to what I had to say. She sighed, "how are we similar?"
"When I was four years old, my mother died," I replied.
"That's not the same," she shot back.
"I know," I nodded, "but...she died because she knew something. A secret formula. You know how Captain America got his powers, right?"
"Some kind of drug?" she guessed.
I nodded, "yeah. And my parents were trying to recreate it. And they did, in a way. There were people after them — both of them — though they only took my father. They didn't think my mother was worth anything...little did they know she was the one who actually cracked the formula, not my dad.
"She died then, but my dad lived. For fifteen years he worked as their slave before escaping, and now...now I have a dad and I don't know how to act around him."
I turned to Riri. She was paying attention. "Your mother...she gave her life for you. And yes, that's a tragedy, but she did it out of love for you. I'm not a parent, but there are people in this world I would gladly die for — and I can bet your mother felt more strongly about you than I ever could about anyone else...
"Grieve, Riri. Gather up the pain and use it. But don't let it take over you, don't let it define you. If you become someone held down by pain, it can turn good people cruel and bitter. I've seen it happen before. Live a happy life, a full life — one that your mother would be proud of...and...well, maybe give this hopeless dad of yours a chance." I grinned. "He might just surprise you."
Riri listened, but her expression didn't change. She looked at her mother's grave, "I can't just leave her. I can't just forget her."
"She'll always be here, Riri," I tapped her chest gently, "in your heart. Always," I chuckled, "maybe that should be your superhero code name, huh? Ironheart...what do you think?"
A smile cracked onto Riri's face, "sounds dope...thanks, Spidey."
"The name's Peter Parker," I ruffled her hair playfully, "if you ever need someone to talk to, call," I walked away, letting her say her final goodbyes. I nodded at Pepper and Tony. I noticed a diamond ring on Pepper's finger — I guess Tony had kept his promise after all.
I walked up to them, "Tony, I need a favour."
"What?" he asked.
"I'm working on a new suit design," I told him, "one that should put an end to my need for upgrades for a long time. But I need a few things."
"What do you need?"
"A weapons dealer by the name of Ulysses Klaue," I recalled the name from Age of Ultron, "I understand you used to deal with him?"
"Klaue...you don't want to mix it up with him, Peter," Tony warned, "he's ruthless and cruel. He's a slaver, a monster and—"
"—And I'm going to rob him blind," I replied, "I just need a location — that's all. He should be somewhere in Africa."
"Well that narrows things down," Tony snorted, "fine, I'll get you anything JARVIS managed to dig up. But no promises, got that?"
I nodded, "right," I smiled at Pepper, "congratulations. He's a lucky man."
"And he knows it," Pepper smiled, "are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"
"No," I sighed, glancing at my watch, "it's late. I need to get home soon. Besides, it's Christmas Eve and I still haven't bought my presents yet."
"Well you better hurry then — chop chop," Tony waved me away, just as Riri finished mourning and slowly walked over to Tony and Pepper.
"Right, see you later. Call if you ever threaten a terrorist or something," I snorted, walking out of the graveyard and into my car.
I drove out before taking off into the air, blasting off towards New York.
A few hours later:
I sighed as I put away the washed dishes from dinner, "alright, I'm going to bed, you guys."
"What's wrong, Pete? Getting old?" Richard asked with a chuckle from the couch next to the fireplace.
"No," I snorted, "I'm just exhausted. Between the extra hours at the Baxter Foundation and last-minute gift shopping, I'm spent. Also, I need to sleep — or else Santa might not come this year," I replied, winking at the man.
"Good night, Peter!" May called out, "make sure you get enough rest, dear!"
"Night, Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Dad!" I called out, walking upstairs and yawning. It had been a long day. I spent most of it shopping — I had honestly forgotten it was going to be Christmas, having spent three months in another world at another time.
I had gotten MJ and Liz custom-made smartwatches with a panic button directly linked to Sexy, in case they were in danger. And for MJ I also included 50 dollars, since she had won that bet we'd made.
For Johnny I got a year's supply of microwave popcorn — his favourite binge food. For Reed I got him a book on yoga and one on the Kama Sutra. What? He's the most flexible man in the world; it would be a crime if he didn't read those books! For Ben I got a book on self-acceptance, since it was something he genuinely needed. And for Sue...well, I got her a smutty romance novel about a love story between a sophisticated older woman and a young, impressionable handsome man, and a signed copy of Stephen Hawking's book on black holes. The first one was more of a gag gift.
I also got gifts for Jean and the X-men. For Rogue I got a pair of latex gloves and a whip. For Scott I got a pair of custom-made sunglasses that would never fall off by accident — no more clumsy mistakes.
For Kurt I got him a Hellboy comic book, and Kitty got The Hollow Man. Evans got a new skateboard, Logan got a shaving kit, Ororo got a book on gardening since I knew she liked that, and for the Professor I got a book on human ethics. And an afro wig — I was actually more serious about the second gift.
And for Jean...well, I got her two gifts. The first was a red lingerie set with my name attached to it. The second was a magical item — a psychic totem which Strange had given me to help focus mental abilities. I told Jean how it worked; hopefully she would find it useful.
I also got a gift for Fury — a box of beard oil. Figured that since he could only grow a beard, he'd want a magnificent one.
I didn't really get anything for most of the Avengers, since I didn't know where they lived. I got Bruce a book on Krav Maga. My reasoning was that if he could protect himself better, he wouldn't have to rely so much on the Hulk.
For Nat I got a set of silver bangles — nothing too complex; jewellery is usually the safest way to go. For Steve I got him a thumb drive filled with popular movies, and for Tony I got him a book on parenting.
I also sent Clint a book on how overrated archery was, but I doubted he would actually appreciate it. Whatever.
I got May a set of gold earrings, Ben an expensive blazer and Richard a nice watch — which also doubled as a panic button, just in case.
I yawned as I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. Now I had just one last thing to deliver. My final gift to that special person.
I quickly changed into my costume and swung out of my home, heading towards the bridge connecting Manhattan to Queens. I set my web shooters to the hardest setting and got to work.
The next day:
I yawned as I woke up on Christmas morning. I took out my phone and sure enough people had noticed the gift I had left the night before and had taken pictures. It was currently the most trending picture on Twitter.
I smiled as I looked at the pic. It had been taken at dawn, just as the sun came up, hitting the water below and casting shadows on the web words I had strung up. There, across the bridge, were the words: 'Merry X-mas, Kitten. Love — S'.
I smiled. I really hoped Felicia liked it. I put down the phone, jumped out of bed, threw my window open and sighed. It was a good day...a very good day. But I had one last present to give.
I changed into my costume and went out swinging. I made my way into the city with a red present webbed to my backpack. It took me a while, but I managed to find the hospital in question, and by having Sexy hack into its records I found his room easily enough.
I opened the window and slipped inside. The steady sound of his heartbeat filled the room. There were various tubes attached to his body; state-of-the-art machines were used to monitor him, and a clean set of bandages wrapped his head.
"Hey Harry," I sighed as I sat down next to him, placing the gift I had brought by his bedside. It was a Blu-ray of The Mask of Zorro — according to Peter's memories, he and Harry used to watch that together all the time.
I looked at his sunken face. He had been in a coma since the day he was injured. The doctors said he might not wake up any time soon. I could only imagine what Norman must be feeling.
Usually I wouldn't even think of him, but Harry...he was Peter's friend. I didn't want him dead. And I suppose I felt a little guilty. I sighed as I brushed a strand of hair from his face, "Merry Christmas, pal...get better soon, okay?"
And without expecting a response, I left the room the same way I came in. Immediately I heard the sirens of police vehicles go off in the distance. I grumbled — even on Christmas, crime refused to take a day off.