Whatever It Takes

Chapter Two

There was still a chill in the air that Emma took into regard.  Her thickened sweater fought against it, but she closed her eyes as a breeze softly caressed her face.

She had felt better after her discussion with Peter and her anxiety was at bay, but after an attack in the school bathroom, she insisted Peter go ahead.

Tightness filled her chest again. Her fingertips tugged at the ends of her sweatshirt for dear life.

Breathe.. Just breathe.

In... out...
In... out...

The hair on her arms wouldn't settle as she checked them. Something was wrong.

She made a running start for the small New York apartment.

***
"Thats you, isn't it?" Tony Stark displayed a hologram of concrete evidence in front of Peter, who made every attempt to brush him away. An impressed huff escaped him as the two watched Peter once again stop a vehicle from crashing dead into a bus. The same video Ned had gushed over earlier. "Wow, 40 Miles an hour! That's not easy. " The hologram dissipated, but just a second too late for it to escape the eyes of Emma.

"Pete-" her feet stopped just after her blood had run cold. Her eyes locked on the world famous billionaire like they were targets.

Emma's wrist flew up, exposing a web shooter, "what the hell is that?!" She demanded. Peter jumped to her, trying to pull her wrist away with little luck,"It's okay! Its okay!"

"Nothing that he could want could be okay!" The teen urged. Tony was all too used to this - but this kind of a reaction from a fifteen year old he hadn't expected.

"Ah! So you're the rumored about 'Ghost Spider' then, yeah? You've never been caught on camera yet, have you?"

"Nope, and you're the reason why," Peter felt the tension between the two grow thicker. "Em-" he was shaken off again. "What do you want, Mr. Stark?"
Emma added and ounce of politeness to her sass towards the Avenger.

"Just, calm down here, I'm not here to sell him to a government lab or something. Or you." Tony attempted to ease the girl, clearly unappreciative of his prescence. Emma's web shooter stayed locked on target, that was until Peter stepped in.  "Em," he spoke above a whisper, "Just let him explain. Please?"

Emma didn't say a word, but slowly lowered her arm and left her shooter exposed. Peter gave her a moment to relax, but she still shot daggers at Stark. Her arm being down was as close as he was getting.

Tony made a slow step further toward the two as Peter moved him and his sister near his bed. Peter wet his lips, "so, again, I never applied for-"

"Oh! What have we here?" Tony poked at the ceiling and watched as Peter dove for his homemade suit as fast as it fell. He stammered for an excuse "uh.. that's.. um.."

"So you're the Spider.. Ling. Crime fighting spider.. Spider boy?" Tony suggested a few names, each worse than the last. Emma couldn't help but raise an eyebrow while Peter crossed his arms flustered. "Spiderman..." He half grumbled. Tony smirked, "not in the onesie you're not."

"It's not a onesie."

Then, he turned to Emma, who kept a cold glare towards Tony. "And what about you?" He asked her. Emma felt stumped for a moment. She had never actually made a name for herself.  Her hands dug into her sweater pockets. "Emma Hansen," she stated simply. Tonys brow betrayed him, furrowing for a second. Hansen? Like... No, it couldn't be."

He shot himself back to earth quickly, but his surprise still left a crack in his voice. "Yeah, I caught that, I meant your spider name."

Emma shrugged a shoulder, "Ghost Spider, I guess," she said, "I never actually made a name for myself. Aside from Spider-Man's sister."