Black Swan ▹ Marvel

SIX: BITE

Peter Parker ran his fingers over the glass as he takes an after school tour of a research branch of SHIELD. The glass was the only thing separating Peter from a new experiment with spiders that was exploring genes in the spider that could heighten their senses.

"Dude, look," Ned Leeds said. Peter looks at his best friend who is focused on a spiderweb where a spider with a blue body and red legs that seemed to glow.

"So cool," Peter said looking at the spider who crawled out of sight. Ned walked to another spider's enclosure as Peter continued staring at the spider's web. Peter notices a stretcher accompanied by four people. Peter focuses on a worried looking blonde woman. There was something familiar about her. Peter's breath hitched when he realized the woman was Jessica Copper, Elizabeth's mother. The crowd of people with the stretcher rushes along down the hall he catches a glimpse of the person on the stretcher.

It was Elizabeth. As he came to the realization there was a pinch of pain on the back of his neck that he didn't notice.

"Ned, I have to go," Peter says and rushes away as a spider launches itself off the hood of his jacket.

"Peter, wait..." Ned called out to his best friend, but the brown haired boy doesn't her his friend calling after him and doesn't stop.

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Elizabeth closes her eyes and lets out a breath. She opens her green eyes and looks across the table at Jessica and Ryan sitting side by side.

"So let me get this straight," Elizabeth says to the two blonde haired women, "Ryan has been with SHIELD all this time?"

Ryan presses her mouth in a straight line and rubs one of her arms awkwardly while she looks at Elizabeth.

"Yeah, Beth. They've been helping me control my powers and get the help I need," she replies as Jessica, their mother cleared her throat.

"Your sister originally was institutionalized until they observed her powers breaking out. That's when SHIELD stepped in. She's been getting the care she needs and they caught her to control her powers," Jessica explained to her daughter. Elizabeth lets out a sigh and looks from her sister to her mother. Elizabeth runs her fingertips over the metal table of the bustling SHIELD cafeteria and a small lightning bolt danced off her fingers and hits the table.

"What's your powers like?" Elizabeth asks trying to lighten the situation that seemed to be suffocating all three of the women at the table.

"I can read minds, Beth," Ryan told the table excitedly, "I can astral project myself and use telekinesis."

Elizabeth smiles as Ryan uses her powers to lift a discarded paper cup off the floor and floated it into a trash can a few feet away. Elizabeth smiles widely at Ryan's display.

"Wait, wait, what am I thinking right now?" Elizabeth asks. Ryan closes her brown eyes and opens them again.  Jessica says nothing and types something out on her phone.

"You're thinking about how this place smells like hot dog water and fried corn," Ryan answers much to Elizabeth's delight. She's mesmerized by what her sister can do.

"Right as always," Elizabeth tells her as Ryan smiles slyly. Jessica pays them no attention and seems worried and distracted. Neither of the sisters notice.

"This is nothing compare to what you can do, Beth. You can fucking fly," Ryan gushes as she reaches across the cold metal table to hold Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth is only half surprised that she doesn't shock the other girl.

Jessica turns off her phone and shoves it in her bag as the sister chatter about Elizabeth's ability to fly.

"Girls," Jessica interrupts. Ryan and Elizabeth fall silent and turn to their mother, "I have to go take care of something. Lizzy stay here with Ryan."

Elizabeth looks at Jessica's concerned expression and tries to decipher it's meaning when Ryan speaks, "it's no problem, Mom. I'll make sure she gets home."

"Thank you," Jessica says and caresses Ryan's cheek and gets up from her seat. She does the same to Elizabeth before rushing away.

Both girls are silent until the click of their mother's heels are no longer audible.

"What do you think that was about?" Elizabeth asks Ryan. She shrugs, "you could have read her mind!"

Ryan shakes her head to show her disapproval, "that's an invasion of privacy. I only read minds in case of emergency or when people want me to."

"I forgot you were all good and moral," Elizabeth teases as Ryan laughs. She runs her fingers through her long blonde hair and shifts in her seat.

It was moments like that Elizabeth always dreamed of when Ryan was gone. And now it was here and it was better than she could ever imagine.

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Sweat ran down Peter's brow as his hands shook by his side. He walked quickly down the street toward the apartment he shared with his Aunt May. He just couldn't stop sweating even after he took off his hoodie.

His phone buzzes in his back pocket. With unsteady hand he pulls it out and look at the notifications as he continues walking. There are a few texts from Ned from earlier, but there was a new text message from Liz Allen.

Now really? Peter thinks and shoves the phone back where it was as he reached his apartment building and enters the lobby quickly. He makes his way up the stairs and to the apartment in record time.

"May," Peter calls out to the empty apartment. He receives no answer. He figures she must have made a stop in between leaving work and coming home.

Peter stumbles to his room and shuts the door behind him. He throws open his window and slings his backpack to the ground. It feels like sweat is dripping down every inch of his body. He strips down to his boxers and throws himself face down on his bed. Peter's mind begins to feel hazy and his limbs feel heavy as lead.

As sleep starts to take him his mind travels to memory of Elizabeth on the stretcher. Something suspicious was going on and Peter wanted to get to the bottom of it.

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Elizabeth walks slowly down the familiar hallway toward her apartment with her hands in the pocket of the hoodie Ryan lent to her. She had just been dropped off by her sister and a man named Tate in a large black truck.

Elizabeth arrives at her door and sees that it's ajar. Her stomach twists herself into a knot at the sight. The blonde balls up her left hand and wills electricity to dance off her skin and it does to her relief. She walks into the dark apartment slowly and quietly searches for her mother.

"Elizabeth," a man says behind her once she enters the kitchen. She whips around to face him, electricity  now dancing all over her body.

"Dad?"