Walking in the Wind // Avengers

Radioactive Spiders

•••

Lexie was lounging in the living room, eating popcorn and waiting for her movie to continue playing after the commercial break. She was playing a game on her phone in the meantime, when a text from Peter came in. 

She had given the now 15-year-old boy her number in cases of emergencies, not to use whenever something cool happened. However, like any 15-year-old, he didn't listen and texted her memes about the Avengers or called her to ask about whichever missions she'd been on recently.

This text though, caught her attention.

Lexie I think I'm in trouble. I need some help. Can you meet me in the ally by the apartment? Please don't tell Erin.

This was certainly different than what he usually texted her and she immediately placed the popcorn on the table, turned the TV off and went straight for the elevator to get down to the garage where Tony had all his cars.

He'd been teaching her how to drive, and she was actually quite good. She didn't technically have her license yet, but it was an emergency. Besides, what was the police gonna do? Arrest someone who saved the world on multiple occasions? 

Probably. 

But still, she got in the car she'd driven the most, and left the Tower, having sent Tony a quick text, telling him she was heading out. 

She actually got away with just telling him she was heading out without having to give any more details. The only reason for that was that he and Pepper had broken up. Which meant that the only responsible adult in the household had moved out. Tony and Lexie were doing okay, they still had each other, but things had changed around the Tower since her departure.

She drove all the way to the Parkers apartment in Queens, slightly over the speed limit, but luckily wasn't pulled over.

She'd spent the time wondering what on earth was going on with Peter. Had he gotten beat up? Mugged?.. Kissed by Liz Allen and was now having a heart attack?

All kinds of scenarios ran through her mind, but none seemed even close to what she was met with when she rounded the corner of the building, finally seeing Peter.

The younger boy looked unhurt. But he was clearly freaking out.

What was also strange, was that he wasn't wearing his glasses. He always wore them. Poor guy was blind as a bat without them.

"Pete?" she walked closer to him, trying to understand what was going on.

His head snapped up in her direction, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god," he muttered, walking towards her and giving her a tight hug, needing comfort.

Lexie hugged him back, of course, but furrowed her brows when she noticed that he wasn't as skinny as before and now had slightly more defined muscles. She suddenly let out a gasp and pulled back, placing her hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a shocked expression. "Are you on drugs?!"

"What?! No!" he immediately defended.

"Have you been taking steroids?! If you have, Peter, it's gonna be okay, we can figure it out, find you someone to talk to..." she began rambling.

"Lexie, Lexie," Peter tried to make her shut up, freaking out just as much as she was, but for a different reason. "I was bitten by a radioactive spider yesterday at the field trip and now I have abs."

"A spider bite gave you abs?" she questioned slowly, now looking at him with furrowed brows, squinting eyes, and her mouth was hanging slightly open.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, speaking extremely fast. "I have abs, my eyesight is perfect, my acne is gone, and I can do this." He took a few steps backwards and did a backflip. 

"You couldn't do that before," Lexie noted, remembering how he'd tried one and landed on his back, injuring his tailbone.

"I know!" he said in a voice that any other day would have made her think of Monica Geller, but right now, there were more important things to think about than Friends.

"How did you..." she trailed off, before pulling herself a bit more together. "Get over here!" He did as told. "Tell me everything from the beginning."

So he did. He told her about the lab they'd been allowed to enter, the experiments they'd been told about, and how right before they left, he'd felt a sting on his hand and had looked down, seeing the spider they'd just been told about, leave his hand. By the time they were leaving and he was on his way home, he'd felt sick. He was clammy, felt tired, dizzy and slightly nauseous. He'd told his family he was feeling under the weather, and went to sleep, only to wake up like this.

"Lexie," he looked at her with wonder in his eyes. "Am I a superhero now?"

She hesitated slightly. "Well, you definitely have superpowers, kid. That's for sure," she nodded slightly. She looked back at him. "So what do you wanna do now? Tell your family? Figure out what you can do? What are you thinking?" she asked, looking at him. Personally, she thought he should tell his family. He had one that loved him more than anything, and it's kind of hard to hide having superpowers when you're living with three loving family members in one apartment. 

But this was up to Peter. This was his secret to tell. Not hers. And if Peter didn't want them to know, they certainly wouldn't hear it from her.

"I wanna figure out what I can do." He was practically buzzing with excitement. It didn't last very long though, when he started thinking about the other option. "I don't know if I can tell them. What if they don't like me anymore? What if they think I'm weird?"

"Peter, they would never think that," she laid a hand on his shoulder. "They love you so much. If you don't want to tell them, that's up to you. I'll keep your secret and help you as much as you'll let me. But don't think for a second that they won't do anything but support you. Okay?"

"I know," he sighed. 

"Come here," she pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his back softly. "It's gonna be okay. It'll work out eventually, it always does in one way or another. And no matter what, you've got me."

He didn't say anything, but she felt him nod against her shoulder. 

"Okay," he pulled back and took a deep breath. "I really do want to know what I can do though. I can be a hero one day, like you and Mr. Stark."

"You'll be even better," she smiled.

•••

And Peter officially has his Spider-Man powers. 

I'll start publishing CA:CW next week, but there's one more chapter of AoU first.

Hoped you liked the chapter <3

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