The Reality Is (Peter Parker x OC)

5.

After the events of last night, Peter didn't know what to do. Him and Violet had been partners in crime. Spider-Man never did anything without Veritas. Yet here she was, willing to listen to whatever Tony said.

But he needed to prove himself to Tony Stark. If that meant going off without her, then so be it. Which is why when they went to school, the two were living in awkward silence. At the moment, both of them were in shop class as they attempted to take apart the contraption.

Violet flinched every time he hit with a hammer and it sparked. "Careful."

"Trying." Peter mumbled as he inspected the weapon again.

Ned came into the lab late and set his eyes on the two at the furthest workstation. Walking over, he grumbled, "Hey, thanks for bailing on me."

"Yeah, well, something came up." Peter said while eyeing the device. Violet leaned both hands on the workstation while watching Ned's reaction.

The device caught Ned's attention. "Who what is that?"

"I don't know." Peter said as he tried to take it apart again. "Some guy tried to vaporize Veritas and me."

"Seriously?" Ned asked.

Violet nodded. "Yup and I witnessed the whole thing."

"Awesome." Ned breathed. Peter and Violet gave the boy a look of confusion, and he quickly spoke up. "I mean not awesome. Totally uncool of that guy. So scary."

Violet rolled her eyes and moved to stand next to Peter. "Anything?"

"Yeah. Look, I think it's... a power source." Peter still struggled to remove the rock from the machine.

Ned pointed to some of the wires. "Yeah but it's connected to all these microprocessors. That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush."

"Whatever's making these weapons is combining alien tech with ours." Peter announced as he returned to the weapon again.

Violet's eyes widened as she realized what the power source was. "That's one of the Chitauri's stones."

"What?" Peter asked.

Violet smiled as she remembered the weapons that were used in that battle. All of it was charged with this stuff. "These stones... these are what powered the alien tech that almost took down New York. Remember Loki?"

Peter's eyes widened. "How would they-?"

"They must have been there stealing things when the Avengers or Infinites weren't looking." Violet shrugged.

Ned smiled in fascination as his two friends continued to look at the object with a new-found appreciation. "That was literally the coolest conversation anyone has ever had. I just want to thank you for letting me be a part of your journey... into this amazing-"

The boy was cut off as Peter hit the machine again causing it to spark loudly. All three of them turned quickly to see if the instructor heard. He was too busy reading a magazine to care. "Keep your fingers clear of the blades."

Violet shook her head and turned back to the boys. "Such a great teacher."

Peter chuckled a little, and it made Violet smile. Things had been off since she said that she had no idea if she would tell Stark. She hadn't yet which was a good sign. Violet didn't want to lose Peter, but if these things were out there, they were dangerous.

"Veritas wants me to figure out what this is and who makes it." Peter claimed.

"We'll go to the lab after class and run tests." Ned said. Then the boy perked up, and he asked in excitement, "Will Veritas be there?"