The Spider and The Flame (Peter Parker)

Part 25- Partners in crime

Ash's POV

"How did it go?" Wanda asks as I walk into our room. She's sitting on the end of her bed, watching something on her laptop.

"Really, really well." I smile. My hands reach up for my face and I take my mask off, throwing the red fabric onto my bed. I then begin to strip off the rest of my suit, and change into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"What did you do?"

"I saved a little boy from a fire..." I smile to myself, "well, kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Peter showed up. He carried the kid to safety and I put out the flames. I stopped an entire apartment building from burning down!"

"That's amazing, hun. I'm proud of you." Wanda closes her laptop and looks up at me. "What did you say to Peter? Did he recognize you?"

"No, he didn't. We didn't really say much at all..." I sigh, flopping down onto my bed. My newly crimson hair falls off of the mattress and cascades down towards the floor, much like a red river. "He seems happy."

"I'm sure he misses you. He might be confused about how he feels, but I'm sure he's not happy." Wanda tries to reassure me, but I'm just not sure. This whole plan seems like a waste of time.

The idea that once I can control my powers I can re-enter Peter's life is starting to make no sense to me. Why should I burden him with all of our drama when he can so easily just move on without me? I broke his heart and said terrible things, I'd be surprised if he ever truly forgave me. I told him I loved him and he loved me, but was that really enough for us to last through all this shit?

"He might be better off this way..." I mutter, mostly trying to convince myself of it.

"He's in love with you, Ash. He won't stay mad."

-

Several months later

"Spider-Man and his partner, The Angel, foiled another villainous attempt at robbing a Main Street bank this afternoon. The masked man and woman showed an ideal amount of teamwork on the scene. As the spider himself fought off the assailants, with an occasional telekinetic aid from his friend, the angel led the customers to safety. The two then reportedly wrapped the robbers up in webs, and fled the scene, with The Angel flying off, carrying her partner, Spider-Man." The news lady smiles in the camera, finally looking away from the cue cards hidden behind her screen. "We still cannot confirm the identity of either New York City based hero, but we can definitely confirm that the two of them are on the same side. And while both sporting a similar colour scheme of bright reds, we can easily assume that this duo won't be turning on each other any time soon. No reports have been made of either hero commenting on the relationship between the two of them, but we will keep all of you at home updated with any information we receive. Thank you, have a good night." The broadcast ends and the screen goes black, and finally I see a glimpse of myself in it's reflection.

I'm smiling like a complete idiot, and it's not hard to guess why. I'm finally a superhero, and a well known superhero. Sure, a part of my claim to fame is that everyone thinks Peter and I are dating, but who really cares? I get to be a part of something bigger than myself and that's all that matters.

Other than when we're fighting, I haven't spent much time with Peter these past few months. He always runs off right after I fly him to safety, and he hardly ever says a word. He doesn't really seem like himself.

I know that he's been obsessing over something, I just can't figure out what it is. Being in love with him and all, of course I stalk him. I know that he told Ned about his identity as Spider-Man, and I know that he's been trying to convince Tony Stark that he's a mature adult.

As if, spider-boy. I know you better than anyone, and I know you have the maturity of a pull-up diaper.

"What are you smiling about?" Steve asks, entering the room via my opened door. Steve, Sam and Wanda are still here with me in New York, while the others have all dispersed. Bucky went back into cryo-freeze, saying it was for the best, but I have a feeling he'll be back soon anyways.

That big cat guy is watching over him so I guess he'll be pretty safe.

"I was on tv." I return his ear to ear smile.

Steve is still hesitant about me hanging out with Peter so much. Wanda and Clint were the only ones who ever really understood, and now Clint is back home with his family.

"I'm going to go out tonight, if that's cool." I mutter, turning over on my bed. I grab my crimson mask off of my bed side table and stand up, heading towards the tiny closet in the corner of the room. My suit is a perfect fit and I absolutely love it, so I treat it well. I wash it frequently, which is weird considering I'm a teenage girl and we're all disgusting creatures.

"Why?"

"Uhh.." I hesitate, "to look for trouble?"

"Trouble or Peter Parker?" Steve chuckles, taking a seat in front of the television, on Wanda's bed. 

"They're kind of the same thing." I bite my lip and walk out the door, towards the bathroom to change into my super suit.