CHILD'S PLAY, quentin beck

VII. HELLO PRAGUE

During the rest of the bus ride, Josephine couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the conversation she had had earlier today. Not just the one with the man who had called her to talk about Spider-Man, but also her conversation with Quentin. She may have promised him she would talk to Peter about what they had told her, but she couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it. Sure, her student was a superhero and fighting crime was something that he did regularly. But after what she had seen in Venice, she didn't feel comfortable encouraging someone to jump in and fight a creature like that. She wouldn't really encourage Peter to help Nick Fury, if anything she would try to talk him out of it. Josephine would just tell him what they had told her. Peter Parker was very much capable of making his own decisions. 

It was a long ride, one that had taken them nearly eleven hours. Josephine was lucky enough to have fallen asleep while they were on their way to Prague, so when they finally arrived she was wide awake. Perhaps not the brightest idea she had ever had since it was already evening and she wondered if she could go to sleep again in a few hours.

Thankfully, there were no other plans on the itinerary for tonight. It would take roughly twenty minutes before they reached the hotel, and the students were getting a little impatient. If Josephine had to tell the truth, she was too. After spending such a long time on a crowded bus, any sane person would tire of it. The views, however, weren't half bad. Especially at night with all the lights, Josephine didn't tire of looking at the pretty scenes around her.

'We're here, finally,' Roger Harrington's voice spoke up as soon as everyone had exited the bus and collected their luggage. 'Took us long enough, huh,' he said to no one in particular. While Julius was trying to make conversation with the bus driver, Josephine stared at the building in front of her with wide eyes. She had expected to be staying in the same sort of hotel they stayed at in Venice. A slightly run-down hotel that easily fit into their budget, not a five-star hotel that Josephine wouldn't even be able to afford one night in for herself, let alone twenty other people.

It only took five minutes for the hotel clerk to check everyone in. The woman offered to have some employees help them with their luggage, but Josephine and Roger insisted that they could carry their own stuff to their rooms.

Josephine's room was on the fourth floor and despite her luggage not being very heavy, she opted for the elevator instead of the stairs. While she could always use the exercise, Josephine decided that she would spend the next two nights at this hotel in complete relaxation. That wouldn't be too hard, considering she had already seen multiple signs saying there was a pool as well as a wellness center downstairs. She would have the time of her life. Not that she would have much time for relaxation. Roger had been working very hard on his itinerary for Prague, and he made sure to keep everyone occupied at every single moment of the day.

At least Josephine had the rest of the night for herself. Or so she thought.

Josephine could make out the sound of shuffling and footsteps coming from the other side of the door. 'Do we really have to tell her?' A voice said just loud enough for Josephine to hear. She couldn't tell who the voice belonged to. 'Yes, dude. We do,' another voice spoke up. After that, it was silent for a few seconds and Josephine wondered if the two people had left. They hadn't. The loud knocking on her door told her they were still there.

The woman, who was still a little confused why anyone would knock at her door around midnight, walked towards it and looked through the peephole to see who was there. Ned and Peter. Josephine couldn't say it surprised her. 'Is everything okay?' She had asked as soon as she unlocked and opened the door. Neither of the two boys answered her question; they took it upon themselves to enter the room as soon as she had opened the door. 'All right, then.'

'We may or may not have a little problem,' Peter started.

Ned nodded. 'Yeah, and we need your help.' Both boys stared at each other for a few seconds before looking back at their history teacher. 'So, you know that water monster back in Venice?' As soon as Josephine nodded, Ned continued speaking. 'Uh, well, basically, that's gonna happen again. Here, in Prague. Most likely tomorrow. And obviously, you and I can't fight it, no offense, but Peter can, I hope. So, do you think you could maybe cover for him?'

Josephine wasn't sure how to respond. Should she let them know that she already knew about this? If she did, she would have to explain to them how she knew. But even if she didn't, they would most likely find out she had spoken to Nick Fury, eventually. 'Right, okay,' she mumbled. 'And you're absolutely sure it will happen again?'

'Yes, we're sure,' Peter responded. 'There's this guy, right? He's been trying to get me to help him fight these creatures called the Elementals,' he explained. 'And apparently it is very hard to ghost him, believe me, I've tried.'

'He was also behind the travel upgrade,' Ned interjected. 'Because he knew that a monster would attack Prague, so he had to bring Peter here. Oh, and he works with that Mysterio dude, who is, apparently, from a different universe. Multi-verse confirmed.' Ned had a wide smile on his face like he was enjoying all of this.

It took Josephine a few seconds to process all the new information. She already knew about most of what they had just told her, just not about the whole universe thing. Josephine wasn't an expert on scientific things, but she knew of the multi-verse theory. Her students talked about it often during class, even during Josephine's history classes. 'So, I guess I should tell you guys that I met Nick Fury?'

Ned and Peter had a surprised look on their faces. 'Wait, what?' Peter asked, sounding a little confused. He knew that Nick Fury wasn't a person you could just meet randomly and that meant he had contacted his history teacher.

'Yeah,' Josephine mumbled. 'He called me a few times and set up a meeting at that cafeteria we stopped at on our way here. Basically, he wanted me to convince you to help him fight those things and I told him I wouldn't do that. I also met Quentin, or Mysterio. However you want to call him.' 

'So, you already knew about everything we just told you?' Ned asked. He seemed to be a little embarrassed, thinking back at his rambling.

Josephine nodded. 'Yes. Expect the multi-verse thing, that's news to me.' She thought about both of her meetings with Quentin. Josephine realized that he hadn't told her anything about himself. Fury hadn't really told her anything about him either. Not that it was any of her business, but she would have liked to know the full story if they wanted her to convince a teenager to work with them. 'So, what will you do?' Josephine asked Peter.

Peter sighed. 'I want to enjoy this trip,' he said. 'Without any monsters or fighting. But I can't really enjoy this trip if every city we go to gets attacked by some creature. I don't think I have a choice.'

'You do have a choice, Peter,' Josephine said. 'If you don't want any part of this, that's okay. You don't have to do anything you don't want to.'

He nodded, thinking about her words. She had a point. He could just put his suit back in his case and try to make the best of this trip, he could work on the rest of his plan. His plan to get the girl. But if he did put his suit away and ignore the incoming threat, would he be okay with that or would he feel guilty for the remainder of the trip? So he thought. What would he do?

What would Tony do?