Summary:After the events of the morning, Spidey brings Thea home, and enjoys some quiet time with her. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Thea's been quiet since everyone broke apart after discussing where Sarah had sent Morlun. There had been no hint of the post battle adrenaline in her voice or look, unlike some of the others. Of course, she hadn't had to do anything too physically taxing, at least not in any way anyone else would understand.
Ever since Peter had become a regular visitor, there's always one window left unlocked and easy to open. After all, other than Peter, she doesn't really have anyone else that comes in that way. Once inside, she'll get out of the harness, a hand on his shoulder as she gives his tired system another boost. She'll head for the kitchen, a hand through her hair. "What would you like to drink?"
Spider-Man is quiet, but Thea can sense the exhaustion. He's been on the move, some of it while injured, ever since the night before. He hasn't slept. He's eaten on the run. And always looking over his shoulder.
"Something…high-calorie. Energy drinks, protein shakes, whatever you have. I'm going to reload my web cartridges and take stock of how many I have left."
Thea smiles. "Well, at least I'm not going to have to force you to take care of yourself." She reaches into the cupboard, before she's tossing him a protein bar. She'll get him the last energy drink in the fridge, setting it in front of him. "I already ordered Italian on my phone on the way home. Spaghetti bolonese, some lasagna, fried calamari, and some desserts. Protein, plenty of carbs to refuel and help your body recover the sugars slowly, some fat. You're not going to try to fight me on it, right?"
She got herself a bottle of soda, kicking off her shoes onto the tray by the door, before she's wandering back to the couch. She's not really looking at him, more at a middle distance.
Spider-Man checked the windows, then lifted the mask up to nose-level. "Have to keep an eye on things. I won't fight you on anything except the calamari. I am not eating octopus. Final word on it."
He wolfs down the protein bars, chomping almost greedily. Yeah, he's hungry. "Can't eat too heavy, though. I could use stuff that will travel. Protein bars are good. Not sure when I'll eat this good again…"
<…or ever,> he thinks, his face descending slightly.
"Calamari isn't octopus." Thea says, shaken out of whatever she'd been thinking deep inside her head, to give him a /look/. "It's squid and delicious. Have you ever had it?" She will look at him. "You need to eat heavy. Fuel up for a while. Rest. You're running on near empty, and I won't be able to just ride along to boost your system." There's just a note there, a hint of what she's feeling.
Spider-Man shook his head. "Squid, octopus. Nope. Not gonna eat anything with eight legs. Professional courtesy. I'll have doule of the rest of it, though." He smiles slightly, then blinks. "Oh, jeez…I have to call Aunt May and give her the Excuse du Jour. Hang on."
ALICE dials. "Hello? Aunt May? Yes…sorry, I haven't…no…no, I'm all right. I just got a little sidetracked. I'm on the other side of town with one of my study buddies…"
"They are not arachnids, and squid have two tentacles and eight arms. Different." She's just sassing him out of form, the usual tone missing and making it a little flat. She sips her soda, tipping her head back against the couch.
"Tell her you're being fed like a king, and you'll call her later to check in. Parental types like that." She knows it's his Aunt, but she knows it's the only blood family he's got.
"Yes…oh, that? That's…a female friend. No, Aunt May, I'm not two-timing Helena, she's…a really good friend. Like MJ…like Gwen."
His voice dips slightly at that. "Oh, nothing…just found out I'm going to be here all night. My ride canceled and I'll be up late. I…yes, I'm eating decent. You want…?" He looks to Thea. "She…wants to talk to you. I can put you on speaker…"
There's a huff of laughter that is not quite a snort at him telling his aunt he's not cheating on the Wayne girl. She lifts her eyebrows at him, a shrug of one shoulder. "Sure. It's not like I've anything to hide." There's only the faintest hint of her usual grin.
"Okay…" A beep, and then the voice of the elderly Aunt May Parker comes out of the suit itself. "Hello? Can you hear me?"
"We can both hear you, Aunt May. I'd like you to say hello to Thea."
A tiny pause, then the voice comes out again, calmer, polite. "Thea? Greetings to you. It seems my boy has been keeping a few secrets. How are you, my dear?"
There's a very faint hint of wistful to her smile. "Hello, ma'am. Yes, ma'am, Althea, but I prefer everyone call me Thea." There's a glance at Peter, a quirk of eyebrows. "Well, we all keeps some secrets, don't we? But I'm sure it wasn't intentional. And I heard him respond to some of your concerns, and you needn't worry. I've met Helena, and I would never interfere with anything like that. Peter's helping me with my physics. I'm great with biology, but for some reason, physics is trickier for me." Mostly true, and Peter /is/ a study of unusual physics and biology.
"I'm well, ma'am, and I hope the same is true for you. I promise to feed him well and make sure he takes care of himself."
Aunt May sounds a little impressed. "My, Peter, you should have spoken of her sooner. She sounds ENCHANTING."
"Well, she's like the sister I never had." Peter sounds a little sheepish at this.
"Is that so? Well then, you must invite her over for Sunday dinner. I would like to meet this almost-sister of yours."
There is a startled blink at Peter, at being called enchanting. There may even be a hint of a blush, unusual for Thea. Then there's a smothered chuckle at Peter confessing the non-blood bond, before she looks blank at the suggestion of Sunday dinner. Clearly family Sunday dinners are not something that is part of Thea's life any time recently. "Only of you allow me to bring wine for you, and dessert. Hostess gifts are a must."
"Oh, well, if you MUST. Something red. We're having beef stew next Sunday, and I will be expecting you there. You have a lovely name, you should use it more often."
"Aunt Mayyyy…"
The voice cackled. "Five PM on the nose, Althea. I expect nothing less."
There is a definite /look/, not at Peter so much as if through the phone to Aunt May. "Something dry, then, to contrast the sweeter notes of the stew?" At least Thea knows wine, right? Of course, she'll probably also bring a dessert wine for after dinner. Because Thea rarely does things by half. "Yes ma'am. Five pm."
Aunt May chuckled. "She's a bright girl, Peter."
"I've always thought so, Aunt May."
"But you will have to call me by my proper title." A healthy pause. "AUNT May."
Peter looked to Thea apologetically.
Peter will see Thea hesitate a moment, struggling with the title. "As you wish, Aunt May." One does not argue with one's elders. At least not if they're super important to your best friend. She would never admit it, but having Peter's Aunt May trust would be important to her.
"Thank you," Aunt May said, sounding satisfied. "I leave him in your capable hands. Peter, let me know when you are coming home."
"I will, Aunt May, I promise."
"Be well, Thea. Take care, Peter. Goodbye."
"Bye, Aunt May."
Another beep, and the call ended.
"Wow…" Peter said admiringly.
Thea looks away a moment, before she's looking back at Peter. "Wow?" She's looking at him curiously.
Peter smiles. "She cottoned to you pretty quickly. I think the term 'charisma' qualifies."
There's a definite snort this time, as she looks at her phone to see where their food is. She rises, heading towards the door. "No, it's called polite manners. I may not be my father's biggest fan, but I can credit him for the manners. Charisma is not one of my charms, unless I'm playing a part."
Peter moves out of the line of sight of the door, waiting silently. He didn't know exactly how Morlun might find him, but it was probably a good idea not to be seen in Thea's place.
He closed his eyes and he saw it again, the walls painted with blood. Thea's head sitting on the couch, looking at him…
He practically FORCED his eyes to open. No blood, no decapitated head.
Not yet. How long did he have before Morlun got close again?
Thea barely opens the door, smiling as she hands over tip and takes the heavy bags of food. She will murmur a polite thank you, before she closes it, and starts locking it up again. She puts the food on the counter, getting out forks and plates, napkins. She turns her head, looking at him. "Come. Eat. Then you'll take a nap, in my bed, and I will keep watch. "
Peter doesn't talk about keeping watch. She might be as fierce as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, but this snake was the size of a house.
But he does come to the table, but does not sit until Thea does.
Thea would probably not favor being compared to a mongoose. Think more a she-wolf, protecting part of her pack. She sets a bowl of the bolognese in front of him, and then a bottle of sports drink. "This will be better for your hydration than water, after everything you were doing across town. Electrolytes." She starts with the crispy battered calamari, dipping the pieces into marinara before biting in with crunch.
Peter sits and takes the drink as well as a hefty square of lasagna. He takes a bite, then MMMs. "Angel, whatever you paid for this, you got your money's worth." He begins eating - not hastily, but the food is disappearing off his plate with startling speed.
When you have to have your lunch before a certain someone takes it, you learn the art of eating quickly.
"Little Italian hole in the wall a couple blocks away. They make pretty much everything themselves. Huge servings for the prices, and the quality is still outstanding." Thea remarks, chewing some more calamari. She eyes his plate, clearly intending on making sure he has more than enough to eat.
Peter nods, and the rapidly-disappearing lasagna is replaced by spaghetti around the same time he's drained the sports drink. He gets up to get another bottle, but walks with his head tilted slightly. As if listening for something, or someone.
No one needs to say who, or why.
He heads back to the table with a bottle of Arnold Palmer, somewhat pleased Thea was thoughtful enough. "Tea's good for you, right?" he says as he opens the bottle.
"It can be. Depends on the kind of tea and what you're wanting it for." Thea responds, pushing away the calamari with it less than half gone. She will sip at her soda, studying the table in silence.
"I'm sorry." It finally breaks free, quietly.
Peter looks up, sucking one strand of spaghetti into his mouth, then chews and swallows.
"What are you apologizing for?" The question comes out quiet, patient, and is softened by concern.
Her eyes lift from the table, to look at Peter. "I failed you." It's obvious, isn't it? She couldn't do it. "I couldn't do the only thing I'm good for."
Peter takes a sip, then puts the bottle down. "Thea…you didn't fail me. How were you to know what he was, that he only looked human? That's not your fault. I certainly don't think so."
She rises to her feet, pacing back and forth. "IT's not like I've never seen a non-human biological system. Or ones that aren't completely human. I should have been able to do /something/. " She's frustrated, upset, and for a change - it shows.
Peter stands up, then steps in front of Thea, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Trust me…I know what beating yourself up looks like, from LONG experience." His voice is gentle. "What we do is that we learn and adapt. We ain't lost yet."
She's tense under his hands, those eyes shiny and bright. She's not snivelling yet, through. "I'm angry." She's not beating herself up, noooo. "You're not going to lose. I can't lose you. I will find a way to make that bastard bleed."
Peter nodded. "Yeah, it'd be great if he…"
He froze. For a moment, he felt that his mind had seized.
"…Stacy cut him…" he says in a soft voice.
She looks at him curiously. "See, if someone can /cut/ him when I'm around, that's all I need. I can make him bleed and keep him bleeding. Once there's an opening, I can crack into him and pull him apart. But the outside..there's something that keeps me from seeing in like I usually do."
Peter nods. "Yes, but…we KNOW where Morlun's blood IS. ALICE, bring up the footage from the bank robbery Morlun crashed."
"<There are 17 individual sequences that were recorded from multiple angles.>" ALICE was her usual husky-voiced self. Thea heard her clearly.
"…Combine them."
"<It will take 37 seconds.>"
Peter looked to Thea. "Thea. I saw the tapes. Stacy cut him. I don't know HOW. It looked like a standard combat knife. Stacy was a war veteran. But it made him…vulnerable, somehow."
There's a hint of a smile, wicked and sharp, the light in her eyes the glow of battle. "You've never seen me with a knife or blade, Peter. I'm good with a gun, but blades have always been where I'm my… well, my best, and bad for someone else. It was where I excelled, when I was being trained."
Peter nodded and is about to speak when ALICE spoke. "<Complete.>"
Peter looked to his suit, then said, "There was a moment when Stacy was grabbed by Morlun. He looked at Captain Stacy eye-to-eye, and then Stacy stabbed at him with the knife. Do you know what happened to the knife?"
"<It was taken as evidence..>"
Peter took a deep breath. "…Angel, how do you feel about stealing something from the cops?"
There is a lift of an eyebrow, a tilt of her head. "Is it something SHIELD could pull rank and weasel out of the cops for the greater good?" If you don't have to steal from the cops, why do it? "Or is this something to keep hush hush?"
Peter blinked. "You can do that? Well, sure, we can make that work. It was a standard K-BAR combat kni…"
Then Peter winces. VISIBLY.
"Ah, Hell…" he hisses. "Morlun's back. And he's CLOSE." He looked to the window, pulling the mask down. "I gotta get out of here. I can't let him find you here!"
"Peter. I /have/ one. Well, more than one, the Isreali version." There's something returning to Thea, a hint of life. "I can do this."
She glances towards the window. "Peter… " She shakes her head, snagging his Spidey themed backpack to shove protein bars and sports drinks into it. "I know you won't let me do this now. But run, and then come back. We can do this."
Peter nods. "Get the knife, check it for DNA. If you can, try culturing what DNA material you can find on it. Once you get enough, mass-spec it and try to get all the data you can." He hugs her almost desperately. "I believe in you, Thea."
He zips the backpack shut, then opens the window. He then swan-dives out of the window, firing a webline and then he is off and webslinging.
And then Thea sees the shape of Morlun moving after him, doing better than 45 MPH as he races after Spider-Man. His prey.
"I'll get it somehow. But I'll have to hand it off for testing. Not my wheelhouse." She will follow him to the window, watching him swing off. She will glare, eyes narrowing as she looks at Morlun, trying to focus on him again. "Next time, you die." She says softly, promising the dark shape following her brother by heart. "I will kill you even if it kills me."