Maya Stark

Chapter 106: Bitch please, you've been to space

Peter and I end up on a boat with Fury. I sit down on the end messing with my ring. I wanted to be isolated. Peter kept as much distance as he could on a boat, apparently sensing my discomfort.

'Stark left these for you,' Fury said handing Peter a small case.

I stare at it as Peter opened the case. It was the glasses. EDITH. Beck told me Peter would be getting them which made me irrationally jealous. I got over it, but it was too late. I was hoping we had a bit more time before he got them.

'" Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown". Stark said you wouldn't get that because it's not a Star Wars reference.' Fury scoffs.

Peter looked back at me as he closed the case. He seemed pained to even take the glasses. I gave him an encouraging smile and look back down at my ring. My dad left me more than glasses. He left me a legacy that I was tainting already. I was angry at myself. Beck had gotten to me. He knew he did too. And now I was stuck.

We finally got to an underground base Peter with his mask on.

'You can lose the mask,' Fury said. 'Everyone here's seen you without it. You'd only be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no good reason.' Peter takes off the mask. 'Come on.'

We walk in and the first person I see is Maria Hill.

'Hill,' I say, excited. I had known her since I was eleven, right before I got my powers. She smiles at me. 'I haven't thanked you for making sure I didn't kill Ross.'

'Of course, Maya,' Hill said. 'Trust me, I wanted to kill him as much as you.'

Peter shoots me a confused look and I smile at him. He looked so very lost.

'Okay, so obviously we have Maria Hill,' Fury said. 'This is Dimitri.' Dimitri cocks his gun. 'And this is Mr. Beck.'

My smile fades as I look forward. Beck had turned around in the Mysterio outfit. We make eye contact and I cross my arms and pinch myself to keep from giving anything away. To have something else to focus on. We both look away quickly not wanting to draw attention. I'm not supposed to know him after all.

'Mysterio?' Peter whispered. I looked at his face and could tell he was already star struck. I locked my jaw, which was starting to hurt, wanting to punch his stupid trusting face.

'What?' Beck said.

'Doesn't matter,' Peter said. 'It's just what our friends have been calling you.'

'Well, you can call me Quentin,' Beck said, shaking Peter's hand.

I hide a chuckle behind my hand. I was able to mess with him now. I needed to act Maya.

'Quentin?' I say. Beck glares at me.

Peter nudges me. 'Maya, be nice.'

'Okay, okay,' I said, putting my hands up in surrender. 'But I can't call you Quentin so I'm sticking with Beck.'

'Despite the obvious Stark attitude,' Beck said, his voice joyous. But I knew better. He didn't like my dad, that was the whole point. And so, he especially didn't like when I reminded him, he was working with a Stark. 'You both handled yourself well out there today. I saw what you did with the tower. We could use people like you on my world.'

'Thanks,' Peter said. 'I'm sorry. Your world?'

'Mr. Beck is from Earth,' Fury said. 'Just not yours.'

'There are multiple realities,' Beck said. 'This is Earth, Dimension 616. I'm from Earth 833.' Peter's face lit up. 'I'm sorry, you're saying there's a multiverse? Cause I thought that was just theoretical. That completely changes how we understand the initial singularity.' A smile forces its way onto my face as I listen to him. 'We're talking about an eternal inflation system and how does that even work with all the quantum—?' he looks around and notices nobody really seems amused. 'S—sorry. It's really cool.'