This Is Stella's Reality

October 4, 2015

Pepper smiled over a cup of steaming herbal tea. Her eyes were bright and happy as she sat in the kitchen of our Paris flat. Tony sat beside her, staring out the open double doors that led to the patio. The gentle breeze of autumn ghosted over the hardwood floors and tickled our ankles.

"So how is everything?" Steve asked, leaning beside me against the kitchen island. He took a deep breath and shifted his weight around. There was a tight smile on his lips. I felt his tense anxiety from here.

Tony was still staring absently at the outdoors. I followed his line of sight to the Roche's trees across the street. Their leaves were golden and bright red, on the verge of falling into the yard below.

I cleared my throat and reached my hand to his wrist. He flinched, eyes wide and panicked, but he relaxed when he saw my face. I felt relieved he seemed calm at the recognition of me. Yet his thoughts were still buried in a mountain of emotions.

He blinked between all of us, sighing and letting his eyes fall to the floor. "Something's wrong with the kid," he said roughly. His voice wavered if he were on the verge of tears. "His vitals are off the charts; it's unlike anything I've ever seen. I," he sighed again and pinched his eyes shut, "I have Bruce monitoring him. But something's not right."

"Is he awake?" Natasha asked gently. She hovered near Pepper's side and poured more tea into empty cups.

Tony nodded, "He's awake. Cognitive functions are normal, but his physique has changed drastically. He's like a different kid. Every test we've run has come back like he's a gold medal Olympic athlete."

I frowned and looked over at Bucky. He was solemn and fiddling with the handle of his cup. "What were you working on?" Bucky asked.

Their eyes met, and I caught a flash of annoyance in Tony's eyes. "Not a serum if you're worried about that," he spat. "We were studying spiders; running experiments on them to increase the strength of their webbing."

"So Parker is a spider now," Sam said flippantly. "Sick."

"Sam," Steve said, "enough."

"What? It's fucking sick!"

"No, it's not."

Tony groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Stop. Oh my god, stop. He's not a damn insect. That's not possible. How would he turn into a spider?"

"You're asking me?" Sam laughed. "Bro you're the scientist, but it sounds to me like Queens got some new skills."

"Give him the test." Steve said softly.

Tony looked up and clenched his jaw. "No," he said firmly, "I'm not giving him the test."

"What test?" Bucky asked.

"The Avengers test," Nat answered. "SHIELD developed it several years ago when they were looking to recruit more members. It tests different areas and according to the scores, it'll categorize the test-taker."

"Normal, advanced, superhuman, etcetera," Sam said softly. "I think he should take it if you're saying his charts are already coming back abnormal."

Pepper nodded; she had stayed quiet for most of our conversation, but she cleared her throat and ran her nails down Tony's arm. "They're right, Tony. If something has happened to him, I think the sooner it can be caught and maybe trained, it'll save everyone a headache later."

"Does his aunt know?" I asked. "Has she been told?"

Tony looked up at me, guilt in his eyes. "No," he breathed, "I haven't had the heart. How do I tell a woman that I nearly killed her kid, gave him fucking superhuman abilities, or turned him into a damn spider? How do I do that?"