Spider-Man: Far From Home [5]

6

"Good news! We're going to Prague, huh?" an excited Mr. Harrington came out of the hotel.

"What? Prague?" everyone began asking.

"What happened with Paris?" Astra asked.

"Yeah. Tour company called. They upgraded us," said Mr. Harrington. "You should've heard me on the phone with them. I really gave them hell."

"All I heard was crying," said Mr. Dell.

Mr. Harrington led them to their mode of transportation. "Look at our upgraded ride."

Whoa. In front of them was a black coach bus. Astra immediately recognized the man holding the sign with Midtown High on it.

It was Dimitri.

Nick Fury did this, no doubt. He did say 'drop the trip' if Peter agreed. But we're still on it, as everyone's going to Prague. Looks like we're both being forced again.

Astra left her luggage for him, got on the bus, and found two seats side by side for herself. It's going to be a long couple of days.

Eastern Alps, Austria

The bus drove through a beautiful forest in the Eastern Alps of Austria. She had been sitting down on the bus for at least two hours and she'd had time to finish every single magazine and pamphlet she'd brought on the trip. Now she was bored and the only thing keeping her awake was Instagram.

"Petrol and toilets. Ten minutes!" Dimitri yelled, stopping the bus.

Finally. I've had to go for ages...

When she finished doing her business, Astra boarded the bus again, surprised to see Brad standing beside her seats.

"Hey, Brad, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I have to tell you something, Astra," he said, unusually serious. "You seem to be getting closer to Peter these days, and I want to tell you this now before he gets back." He pulled out his phone and showed Astra a picture.

It was Peter in his underpants with a frightened look, with a tall blonde woman wearing all black staring next to him, looking shocked.

Astra recognized the woman. She was a S.H.I.E.L.D. seamstress who was probably delivering a new suit for Peter.

"I hate to say this, but Peter's cheating on you," Brad continued. "I saw him hooking up with that European chick in the bathroom, and-"

"Brad," Astra interrupted, silencing him. Maybe this'll lead to one less annoying guy chasing after me. "First off, Peter didn't cheat on me because we're not even dating. Secondly, if this is just a ploy to make me hate Peter so you can claim me as your girlfriend, then you're wrong."

"Wait, what? Why? He's the one hooking up with a random girl, and now you diss me just because I don't want to see you get hurt?" Brad demanded.

"Brad," Astra said calmly, "I appreciate how much you care about me, I really do. But I'm not even looking for a relationship at all right now, so it really isn't my business who Peter hooks up with. Besides-" She pointed at the picture on his phone- "invading both a girl's and my friend's privacy by taking pictures of them without their permission? That's already a huge turn-off for me." As she spoke, she saw a despondent Peter boarding the bus. "You yourself said that I'm getting closer to Peter these days. I don't want to ruin our friendship by making him mad that you're talking to me after invading his privacy. Now leave."

Brad looked dejected and returned to his seat at the front of the bus, just as a despondent Peter stepped on. Astra gave him a smile and he returned it weakly. She noticed him holding a new package that he'd probably picked up while she was in the bathroom.

***

"Dope glasses, Parker," said Flash loudly, taking Peter's glasses from him and trying them on. "How'd you pay for these?"

"Flash, give them back," Peter said urgently, reaching out for the glasses.

"I'm really paying you a compliment," Flash argued, moving further down into his seat and raising his hand to block Peter.

"Just give me-" Peter slapped Flash hard in the face, knocking him out. When he'd realized what he'd done, he whispered, "I'm so sorry," in shock.

"Did you just punch Flash?" Zoha asked.

"No," he said quickly.

"Firing," said E.D.I.T.H.

The bus swerved  to the side of the road, knocking everyone to the side. Astra, who had been sleeping peacefully, woke up as her head crashed against the window. She peered out and saw that the bus was dangerously leaning against side rails and that there was a bullet hole in the side mirror at the front.

Then she looked behind her. There was a drone following them, one that looked oddly like Stark technology. Warily she opened her window in case she had to deal with it before it fired again.

Then she looked at Peter, noticing his glasses for the first time. Her eyes widened; she recognized them quickly. They'd belonged to Tony Stark before his death.

Then she nearly fell out of her seat as the bus swerved to the other side of the road.

"Hey, this is not the autobahn!!" Mr. Dell screamed.

"Peter," said Mr. Harrington, "find your fanny and buckle up now."

"Look at the baby mountain goats!" Peter shouted quickly.

Astra knew what those tricks were like - she'd done them herself while working with Thanos. As everyone crammed into the right windows to get a good look at the invisible mountain goats, she kept her eyes on the drone as it was webbed and smashed against a nearby rock.

"I didn't see any mountain goats," said Mr. Harrington as Astra turned around and the class all stared at Peter.

"You missed them," Peter said.

"I know you think none of us have noticed, Peter," Betty began.

"What?" Peter asked apprehensively.

"But your new look, I love it," Betty said. "Right, babe?" she turned to Ned.

"Yeah. Sophisticated, classy, very European," said Ned.

"Thanks," said Peter, clearly relieved.

With nothing else left to watch, Astra leaned her head back and fell back asleep.

Prague, Czech Republic

The sky was a deep blue colour, almost dark, by the time they reached Prague. The bus parked outside a really nice hotel and all Astra could think of was the one advantage that came with Nick Fury hijacking their vacation. Everything was paid for, including hotel service, at a five-star luxury hotel where everyone got their own rooms.

As the class quietly entered the hotel, two doormen held the doors back for them, and a man played the piano in the corner of the really big, bright lobby.

"Everyone get settled, rest up, because tonight, big surprise, is Prague's annual Carnival of Lights!" Mr. Harrington gestured to a carnival poster displayed beside him.

Astra saw Peter and Ned step away from the group, likely to talk about the fire elemental. Then her phone rang.

"Yeah?" She retreated into a corner.

"Hart, it's Hill. Put your earpiece on, suit up, and meet us as soon as possible. Understood?" Hill said. She told her the location.

"Got it," Astra said, hanging up.

"The news is, we've all got our own rooms," Mr. Harrington was saying, much to the delight of the class.

Astra couldn't share their delight, and when they checked into the hotel and Astra got her room card, she found her room quickly, unpacked, tied her bandana to her face, attached her earpiece to her ear, and flew out the window.