Peter called me- like I said he would.
"Elizabeth?" He said

"Yeah? What's up?" I said

"I found a guy who might help us" he said

"Okay" I said slowly, already hearing the chaos behind his voice.
"And what does that have to do with me?" I ask

"I need your help. Please. You just have to talk to him. Be intimidating" he said

Before I could respond, he hung up- an address pooping up on my phone. Typical Peter.

I sighed, pulling on my suit. Freedom still felt strange- like a dream that didn't belong to me. Every time I stepped outside, I felt hydras eyes crawling down my back. But I went anyway. Because if Peter trusted me with this, maybe I could trust myself too.

We found the guy- Aaron- in a quiet parking lot, stuffing groceries into his trunk. Peter stepped forward and shot a web, sealing the man's hand to the car.

"Remember me?" Peter said, voice deepened by some kind of ridiculous voice modulator.

I raised an eyebrow. He sounded like a twelve year old trying to be Batman.

Aaron blinked, confused.
"Uh, hey.." he said

"We need information. You're gonna give it to me now." Peter demanded.

"Alight, chill." Aaron said

"Come on!" Peter snapped

Aaron frowned.
"What happened to your voice?" He asked

"What do you mean, what happened to my voice?" Peter asked, defensive.

"I heard you by the bridge. I know what a girl sound like." Aaron said

I had to bite the inside of my cheek out to laugh.

"I'm not a girl! I'm a boy. I mean- I'm a... I'm a man!" Peter yelled, voice cracking halfway through.

Aaron just stared at him.
"I don't care what you are, a boy, a girl-" he started

"I'm not a girl! I'm a man. Come on, man. Look, who is selling these weapons? I need to know.
Give me names or else." Peter said

Aaron slammed his trunk shut, making Peter stumbled back. I caught him before he could fall,  a faint shimmer of blue light dancing from my fingers.

"You ain't ever done this before, huh?" Aaron asked, amused.

Peter hesitated.
"Deactivate interrogation mode." He said

"Look, man" Peter started again with his real voice this time.
"these guys selling weapons that are crazy dangerous. They can't just be out on the streets. Look, one of them can just cut Delmar's bodega in half-" he starts

"You know Delmar's?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, best sandwich in Queen's." Peter said

"Sub Haven's pretty good." Aaron said

"It's too much bread." Peter said

"I like bread." Aaron added.

Their little weird debate ended at that.

"Can you help us or not?" Peter asked.

When he didn't answer, Peter sighed and turned away.
"Stupid interrogation mode. Karen, don't ever do that again." He muttered.

I looked back at Aaron, my tone shifting.
"Tell us what you know" I said

He didn't move. So I reached into his mind, my voice echoing inside his head.
"Now" I said

His eyes widened.
"Alright, chill- Chill" He said

Peter turned back.
"The other night, you told that dude, if you shoot somebody, shoot me. It's pretty ballsy. I don't want those weapons in this neighborhood.
I got a nephew who live here." He said

"Who are these guys? What can you tell us about the guy with the wings?" Peter asked

"Other than he's a psychopath dressed like a demon, nothing. I don't know who he is or where he is." He admitted.

Peter deflated a little- until Aaron added.
"I do know where he's gonna be." He said

Peter head snapped up.
"Really?" He said

"Yeah, this crazy dude I used to work with, he's supposed to be doing a deal with him." Aaron said

"Yes!" Peter shouted, already half turning away.

"Spiderboy" I called

He stopped mid-step.

"He wasn't told us where yet" I said

"Right, of course. Yeah, my bad. Silly. Yeah, where is it?" He said

"Can I give you some advice?" Aaron asked

Peter just stared.

"You gotta get better at this part of the job." He said

"I don't understand. I'm intimidating." Peter said, crossing his arms.

"No, you're not. She's intimidating." He said

I tilted my head, blue sparks flickering between my fingers.
"Where is it going down?" I ask

"Staten Island ferry, eleven." He said

Peters eyes widened.
"Hey- that's soon. That's gonna dissolve in two hours." He said

Aaron groaned.
"No, no, no, no. Come fix this." He said

"Two hours. You deserve that." Peter yelled.

"I got ice cream in here!" He called

"You deserve that. You're a criminal. Bye, Mr.
Criminal." Peter waved, as we walked off.

I followed him, smirking.
"You're welcome." I said

The ferry was louder than expected- waves slamming against the hull, the smell of salt and fuel mixing in the air. I floated before Peter as he climbed onto the side. 

"I see them. Okay, Karen, activate Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode." Peter whispered.

"Sure thing." The AI replied.

"He's up front. Main deck." Karen said

Peter squinted.
"It's the guy from the bridge, right?" Peter asked

"Who's that other guy?" He asked

"Probably the bird dude" I murmured.

I flew to the top of the deck, keeping low, blue light flickering faintly at my palms. The air felt heavy- familiar, in a way that made my stomach twist. I'd been on ships like this before, only back then, it wasn't for missions. It was for transport. For experiments.

I pushed the memory down.

"Incoming call from Tony Stark." Karen said suddenly.

Peter froze. My eyes snapped toward him.
"No, no, no. No, no, don't answer." Peter said panicked.

"Mr. Parker. Got a sec?" Tony's voice cracked through.

"Uh, I'm actually at school." Peter stammered.

"No, you're not." Karen said

I rolled my eyes.

I half listened as they talked- Tony praising, Peter rambling, but my focus was on the voices below deck. The deal was happening.

Then the horn sounded. I flinched.

"What is that?" Tony asked.

"Uh- I'm at band practice." Peter lied

"That's odd. Happy told me you quit band six weeks ago. What's up?" Tony said

"I gotta go. End call!" Peter said quickly

And just like that, chaos began.

The fight was fast. Guns. Lasers. Explosions.

I stayed hidden as long as I could, using my powers to shove guards back or pull Peter away from gunfire without reveling myself. Then the FBI showed up.

"Freeze! FBI! Don't move."

My heart stopped. Ross. If Ross saw me-

No. I couldn't go back. I wouldn't.

Peter panicked.
"Wait- what do you mean, FBI?" Peter said

Karen started to explain.

"I know what the FBI stands for! What the hell are they doing here?!" Peter yelled.

Before he could say more, the 'bird man' bursted from a truck, and chaos erupted again.

A laser beamed across.

The ship started to shake. Metal shrieked. Water roared.

"Peter, what's happening?" I asked

"Uh, uh, uh. Oh my god. What do I do?" He shouted

"Karen, uh, give me an X-ray of the boat and target all the strongest points." Peter said

I held the hull with everything I had, blue energy crackling around me. My hands shook.
"Peter I can't do much. If I do, they'll see me" I said

"It's okay! I got this!" He yelled

He leapt across the ship, firing webs in every direction. For a second, it almost worked.

"Great job, Peter. You are 98 percent successful." Karen said

"98?" Peter repeated- then the entire ship started to split again.

"No, no, no, no!" Peter yelled

I did the best I could to hold it together. I could hear passengers crying out, the world collapsing into water and steel-

- and then everything stopped.

The boat was...whole again.

"Hi, Spider-Man. Band practice, was it?" Tony's voice said.

Peter froze.
"Uh, Mr. Stark? Hey, Mr. Stark. Could I do anything? What do you want me to do?" He asked

"I think you've done enough." He said

And just like that, he was gone.

When we got back to land, I ran straight to Peter.
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry I couldn't do more, I didn't Ross to-" I start

"It's okay. It's not your fault" he said, still shaking slightly.

"We're in deep shit, aren't we?" I asked

He didn't answer.

Peter and I sat on the edge. Then Tony's voice filled the air like thunder.

"Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch: I tell to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do." He said

Then his gaze snapped to me.

"And you." He barked.
"Do you even realize what you are risking? You're still on the run, Elizabeth. You get seen, and it's back to the raft. What the hell were you thinking?" He yells

I said nothing. Because deep down, he was right.

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked

"No thanks to you two." Tony snapped.

Peter stood abruptly.
"No thanks to us? If we hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened. Those weapons were out there and I tried to tell you about it. But you didn't listen. None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me." He said

"If you even cared, you'd actually be here." He snapped.

Tony's suit peeled back, revealing him.
"I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh? Do you know that I was the only one who believed in you?" He said

The words hit hard.

"Everyone else thought I was crazy to recruit a
14-year-old kid." Tony continued.

"I'm fifteen." Peter said weakly.

Tony glared.
"No, this is where you zip it, all right? The adult is talking." He said

"What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? Cause that's on you two. And of either of you died, I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience." He said

Peter swallowed.
"Yes, sir." He daid

"Yes?" Tony said

"I- I'm sorry." Peter looked down.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony snapped

"I understand. I just wanted to be like you." Peter whispered

"And I wanted you to be better." He said

The silence that followed hurt more than any tell could.

Then Tony looked at him.
"Okay, it's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back." He said

"For how long?" Peter asked

"Forever." He answered.

Peter's voice broke.
"No, no, no. You don't understand. Please. This is all I have. I'm nothing without this suit." He said

"If you're nothing without this suit, then you should've have it. Okay? God, I sound like my dad." Tony sighed.

Peter looked down.
"I don't have any other clothes." He said

"Okay, we'll sort that out." He said

Then he turned to me. His voice was quieter, but sharper.

"And you. We'll talk later" he said

I just nodded. Because what was there to say?