Tower of Secrets

Michelle Jones-Watson

Dork.

I was falling for a dork.

A really heroic, handsome, and charming dork, but a dork nonetheless.

Peter Parker, the dorkiest dork you'll ever meet and the dork I'd been falling for, was giving me the dorkiest caught-off-guard look ever - all because of a single comment about his rumored bladder issues. "I'm just saying," I smirked, "only people who've got diarrhea seem to go to the bathroom enough to compare to you."

He sputtered. "D-do people really think that I-?"

I shrugged. "Some definitely do. Others don't care. See, I knew something was wrong with you, but I didn't think it was that. It just turns out that you're the world's dorkiest hero ever."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't say that I'm the dorkiest. I've seen some other contenders for that title."

I turned my nose up dramatically. "If I haven't seen them, they don't count."

"That's just harsh on Invisible Man."

I did a double-take. "He exists?"

"Course he does! There was a vampire scare a while back - you wouldn't know because we kept it on the down-low - and he helped keep Aunt May safe because the baddies knew who I was," he explained, his hands flying around with wild motions. Whatever happened with those vampires must have really been something to get him so worked up. Or not - he was a dork after all.

Oh wait - vampires. Cool.

"Vampires?"

"Yeah, Dracula was there, too."

I gave him a wry look. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"I prefer pulling toes, actually," he deadpanned. I scoffed. What a dorky response. He glanced at the road. "My ride is almost here."

I glanced around, but didn't see any headlights. I glanced back at Peter, his peaceful expression just barely illuminated by the streetlights. "Care to share your source?"

"My ears," he remarked. His eyes flitted over to mine. "Enhanced senses. We'll have to have a conversation about the full extent of my known powers sometime."

"Are you implying that there are some you don't know about?"

"Well," he sighed as he scratched at his neck, "Dr. Bruce ran some tests a while back, and he came up with a chart for how my powers will change as I age. He won't let me see it though."

"Why?"

"Something about how he doesn't want me to try to use them before they're in fully. Like, if I was under pressure in battle. I dunno, really. But, Mr. Stark seems to think that it's a good idea, so I've been going along with it."

I nodded before my attention moved to the two beams of light approaching. "Looks like your ride's here."

He stood. "Looks like it."

I stood, moving to give him a hug which he gladly embraced. "Have a good evening," I whispered before breaking contact. "Bye."

"You, too!" he grinned as he walked over to the driveway. "See you tomorrow!"

"See you!"

I watched as he greeted his driver rather bashfully, which made me wonder just who was in that car. It didn't look like May's... Maybe one of his superhero friends came to pick him up? Anyways, he was quick to get in, obviously not wanting to waste the mystery person's time. Once the car was out of sight, I went inside.

"Did Peter take off?" my mom called once I entered.

"Yeah," I hollered back, moving to go grab my laptop and bring it into the dinning room. "I'm about to check for that email."

Mom was quick to meet me in the cobalt room. "I'm so proud of you, Darling." I stared at her for a moment before glancing down. We'd come a long way together. My biological father, Gabe, wasn't around much when I was little. And, when he was, he was mean. Not stern, mean. He hurt my mom and he hurt me for years. I've always been thankful that we weren't his main priority because he more often than not was off spending the night elsewhere. I'm just glad Mom never actually married the jerk, even if she couldn't bring herself to break up with him. Eventually, he disappeared, and Mom met Phillip Watson. The two hit it off quick, and were soon married. Speaking of Phillip, he joined us as well in the dinning room.

I took a deep breath as I began to log into my computer. I refreshed my gmail feed, and it was there, plain as day. My heart skipped a beat.

"Awesome job, Sweetheart," Phillip congratulated me with a pat on the back. Mom echoed his sentiments with a grin to rival her husbands. They were happy, and I was glad.

"Thanks," I said softly. "I worked hard for this."

"We know you'll do great!"

My hands were shaking. My heart was still racing. This was really happening. I'd been accepted as an intern at Biotechnix.

At Biotechnix, they worked on all sorts of prosthetics. They were really helping people! Many disabled influential people today sported their gear. I hoped to gain the skills to make my own someday to help spread affordable alternatives. Biotechnix may be the cutting edge in the prosthetics industry, but it was up to me, Michelle Jones, to make sure that the people who really needed them got them.

I smiled. I was going to make a difference. I couldn't wait to start!

That night, I had a hard time falling asleep. Not only had I gone on a date with the cutest dork of all time, but I'd been accepted into Biotechnix! Just as I was relishing in my victory, it dawned on me that Peter Parker the Nerdy Loser really was a superhero. He was probably in dangerous situations every day! The thought filled me with worry. At least, I thought, he has plenty of other heroes watching his back.

My mind drifted back to our earlier conversation. He said he'd been hanging out with Percy earlier today, but was obviously fibbing when I asked why they were together. Patrol of some sort maybe? Could Percy be one of Peter's superhero friends?

Either way, it brought up a question that had been nagging at me for a while: who was Percy Jackson?