darling [peter parker]

you move!

Wendy eventually found Peter outside and he wasn't alone.

It wasn't too hard to find him. She just followed the sound of breaking glass and general destruction. She was fast, even in heels. She weaved her way through the graveyard of school buses until - yep, there he was. Peter was back in the homemade suit. She wished she knew why. Not that it mattered right now when he was crumpled on the ground, about to be killed.

There was a dark-skinned man bragging, some kind of weapon that glowed on his hand like a superpowered glove. She wasn't sure what it did and she didn't particularly want to find out. With no better plan in mind, she threw herself in between the pair. The man did a double-take. He clearly hadn't expected a 5'3" (in heels) blonde to interject his battle with Spider-Man.

"Move out of the way, little girl!" the man ordered. The most valuable life lesson she'd ever received and ever would receive replayed in her head. Where you can compromise, compromise. Where you can't, don't. Even if the whole world is telling you to move. Plant your feet and say-

Wendy crossed her arms over her chest. "No, you move." She faintly heard Peter swear under his breath. She continued, "Preferably back to where you came from, though I would appreciate you hauling your ass to the police station." There was a pause. Whoever this guy was, he had no idea how to handle her. Well, no one really knew how to handle a Carter.

He growled, "Who the hell do you think you are?" She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A smirk curled her lips. She couldn't bring her Aunt Peggy back but she could still make her proud.

"I'm Wendy fucking Carter, bitch," she spat, "and I'm one hell of a distraction."

A web shot out and attached itself to the glowy thing. Ned stood behind the man with a web shooter in hand. Wendy grinned at him. That was her friend! He did that!

"Nice shot!" Peter called out. She threw herself to the side so Peter could grab hold of the web. He used it to yank the glove off the man's hand. She ran around to where Ned stood as Peter reclaimed his web shooter and launched a web at the guy, pinning him to the side of the bus.

Peter fist-pumped the air. "Yes!" He sprinted over to them. "The guy with the wings is Liz's dad."

"What?" Ned and Wendy exclaimed in unison. Peter had mentioned the guy with the wings - he'd been tracking him since Liz's party. Wendy shook her head slightly in confusion. She had met Liz's dad on several occasions. He seemed like a nice guy. He couldn't be the bad guy Peter had been after all this time.

"I know, I gotta tell Mr. Stark," Peter said. "Wendy-"

She cut him off by yanking him forward and tugging his mask up. She cupped his cheeks as she pressed her lips to his, praying what she was trying to say would translate. She pulled away. "Do whatever you have to do. Just come back to me in one piece, okay?"

He smiled so softly her heart melted. "Of course, darling." He laid a hand on her bare shoulder and she stepped aside so he could see Ned. His hand didn't leave as he instructed, "Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security. And uh, get a computer and track my phone for me!" He raised his hand to shoot a web.

"Peter, wait!" Wendy practically screamed. He turned back to her, frowning. She pulled him back in for another quick kiss. She fixed his mask and took a step back. "Okay, now you can go. Just - for good luck." 

He nodded and zipped away, yelling, "Hurry, we gotta catch him before he leaves town!"

For a moment, there was silence. She turned to look at Ned and quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Took you two long enough," he teased.

She scowled. "Oh, shut up. Don't you have something to hack?"

His smirk fell. "Oh shit!" He ran back into the school, moving faster than she'd ever seen him go. She took a deep breath and followed him back inside, going at her own pace. Her brain was buzzing - not that that was actually possible. In reality, her synapses were firing and her brain was winding down after releasing copious amounts of oxytocin.

She walked back into the gym and was instantly swarmed by her friends. She knew they were concerned for her -  she'd danced, then cried, shut down, and ran off.

"So?" Liz asked. "Did you get the guy?"

Wendy laughed. "Yeah. Yeah, I got the guy." Her friends cheered and took turns hugging her. They begged her to tell them everything, but there was only one person she really wanted to talk to.

"Where did Peter and Ned go?" MJ questioned.

"Peter got called in by Tony Stark and Ned's helping him," Wendy answered, waving her hand dismissively. Her friends who knew nodded in understanding, knowing perfectly well what she actually meant. She moved past them to grab her things.

Angie frowned. "Where are you going?"

Wendy spared her friends a final, timid grin. "I have someone I need to talk to."

With that, she left. 

*

winding down...