Adventures in Babysitting ↠ Peter Parker [1] ✓

21 | Battling Wars At Park Benches

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xxi. BATTLING WARS AT PARK BENCHES

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  RILEY REALLY DESPISED NOT being born normal sometimes. Sure, having superpowers and calling the Avengers your family sounded cool, but the cons that came alongside the pros really managed to fuck with her head from time to time.

   Exploring Staten Island was the perfect excuse for Riley to go through her endless pool of conflicting thoughts. She liked to think that if she were in a movie of some sort, some edgy song would be playing in the background as she stumbled along down the streets of Staten Island and observed the Ferry as it sailed out into the water.

   She wandered until she ended up at the park. It was empty since it was still early in the morning. Everyone was at work or school. This meant that no one could judge her for talking to the artificial intelligence that was built into nearly every bit of technology she owned.

   "JO, how do you know when you're having a midlife crisis?" Riley wondered. She sat on a bench with a cool breeze blowing through her black hair. She slouched forward with her arm propped so that she could speak into her bracelet that could turn into her super suit.

   The female's robotic voice quickly replied, "A midlife crisis usually occurs in the middle of someone's life. Are you planning on dying at the age of 30?"

   "With the amount of stress I constantly put myself under, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a heart attack next week."

  "What's troubling you?" JOCASTA queried. "Is this about Rob?"

   Riley nodded. "I don't know if I should be helping him. I mean, I should because, you know, he's my father," began Riley, "but it feels wrong."

  "You should follow your heart," JOCASTA advised. "I would if I had one."

   Riley chuckled. "How do you always know how to make me feel better, JO?"

  "Tony Stark programmed me, remember? He knows you better than he knows thermonuclear astrophysics," JOCASTA reminded the teenager.

   Scoffing, Riley jokingly asked, "Did he program you to say that?"

  "...Perhaps."

   "You know, it's really nice having you around, JO," she said. "You're kinda like my conscience... one that refuses to give me good advice without looking it up on Wikihow, but a conscience nonetheless."