《Self Insert as Spider-Man MCU》


 01 A New Beginning

    Bokuboy


    I groaned as I opened my eyes. I felt horrible and I wasn''t sure why. My head was splitting and it felt like all of my muscles were seized up and I couldn''t move. I started to panic at being trapped in my own body and my mind raced as I tried to yell or scream for help. Nothing worked.


    Just when I thought I was going to black out from a massive panic attack, it was like my brain connected to my nervous system. My entire body felt like lightning went through it and then it was gone. Everything felt fine. It was such a shock and a relief that I actually did pass out.


    I woke up sometime later and everything I had felt before was forgotten as I felt a surge of strength fill me. My brain seemed to have released some endorphins while I was unconscious, because I felt wonderful. I felt like I could take on the world and I climbed out of my sweat soaked bed. I pulled the sheets off of it and bundled them up before I tossed them into the corner where my laundry basket was... and heard them as they flopped to the floor.


    I looked over to the corner and the basket was gone. As was my dresser. I was confused by that, since it had been in my room since I was a kid. I turned around and my eyes widened at what I was seeing. My room was now half the size that it used to be and it also didn''t have any of my stuff in it. The desk was different and was in the wrong place, the posters were gone, and my computer was missing.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I asked and jerked slightly, because that wasn''t my voice.


    I glanced around and looked for a reflective surface. I couldn''t see any, so I went out the only door and looked around. I saw a bathroom through an open door and dashed inside to look into the mirror.


    ¡°You have got to be kidding me.¡± Tom Holland''s face said to me.


    ¡°Peter? Is that you?!?¡± A woman''s voice shouted. ¡°You''re going to be late to school if you don''t get your ass moving!¡±


    ¡°Crap! Crap crap crap! Double crap!¡± I exclaimed and looked down at myself. The clothes I wore were not mine and they were as soaked as the bed sheets had been. I pulled them off and hopped into the shower to take the quickest shower in history. I couldn''t worry about what was going on yet, because I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do about not having any clue of what was going on.


    I hopped out of the shower after only a couple of minutes, mostly dried myself off, and ran back to my room. Or Peter''s room. I couldn''t see a clothes dresser anywhere, so I opened the sliding door at the side of the room and stared at the clothes.


    ¡°Peter''s a dork.¡± I muttered and rifled through the clothes there. I picked the least geeky jeans and a t-shirt that said Midtown High on it. I was not wearing any of the other t-shirts with math formulas, weird academic sayings, or kid designs on them.


    By the time I was dressed, I had a solid plan in mind and thought it would be the best way to explain my apparent lack of knowledge about anything. I left the small bedroom and went to the stairs. I was in luck, because the railing was metal and right at the best angle for what I was stupidly about to do.


    Without a thought to the consequences of my actions, I intentionally tripped at the top of the stairs and practically threw myself down the stairs as I aimed the side of my head for the metal railing. It wasn''t until I was soaring through the air at a much faster speed than I had intended, that I realized I could have just whacked my head on the railing and pretended I fell down the stairs.


    With a yelp of fright that I didn''t have to fake, my head slammed into the railing with a resounding gong and I tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs to the floor.


    ¡°PETER!¡± The woman yelled as I landed on my back and my head thumped onto the floor.


    I blinked my eyes several times and tried to get my eyes to focus properly. I had apparently rung my own bell a lot harder than I had meant to, because the three faces that hovered over me were not coming together at all.


    ¡°So pretty.¡± I said and the three faces blushed. ¡°Which one of you is real?¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± The woman whispered and touched my head.


    ¡°Ow.¡± I said and she let out a scared sound as she lifted her hand and it had blood on it. ¡°So, the one on the left is real. Good to know.¡±


    ¡°Peter, I... I need to...¡±


    ¡°Band-aid?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You''re going to need stitches, you clumsy fool.¡± The woman said and disappeared for a few moments, then pressed something to my head. ¡°Hold that and I''ll call an ambulance.¡±


    ¡°What for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You just brained yourself falling down the stairs!¡± The woman exclaimed.


    ¡°I''m fine.¡± I said, even though I didn''t actually feel that way.


    ¡°Oh, yeah? How many fingers am I holding up?¡±


    ¡°The one on the left is holding up three fingers.¡± I said.


    ¡°What about the others?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Three each.¡± I responded.


    The woman sighed and put my hand on the cloth. ¡°I''ll just be a minute.¡±


    ¡°Call a taxi instead.¡± I said and she gave me a look. ¡°It''s cheaper than an ambulance.¡±


    The woman nodded and disappeared from sight.


    I laid there and regretted acting so rashly, just to explain away not remembering anything. Then again, I didn''t have to pretend being hurt or that I hit my head pretty damn hard. It throbbed when I thought that and I lamented in my head at being proven right so quickly.


    ¡°At least you''re dressed.¡± The woman said and knelt beside me. ¡°Can you sit up? The taxi will be here in ten minutes.¡±


    I nodded and groaned at the movement.


    ¡°Don''t do that, Peter.¡± She said and helped me to sit up.


    The world swam a little and I was pretty sure I had given myself a concussion. ¡°I think I have a concussion.¡±


    ¡°You''ll be lucky if you didn''t split your skull.¡± The woman huffed. ¡°I heard how hard you hit the rail from the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°I hope I didn''t dent the railing too much.¡± I said and she shook her head.


    ¡°You''re not that hard-headed.¡± She said and motioned to me to try and stand.


    It took a minute for us to manage it and the world swam a little more. I clung to her and tried to keep my balance. The worry on her face was sad to see, so I tried to be brave about it.


    ¡°I''m sure it''s not that bad. I''m already feeling better.¡± I said and she didn''t believe me.


    She helped me put on sneakers and a jacket and we went to the elevator.


    ¡°We should bring a plastic bag.¡± I suggested and eyed the elevator with trepidation.


    ¡°Lean there and don''t move.¡± The woman said and ran back to the apartment. She came back with a white kitchen garbage bag and I accepted it gratefully.


    I only threw up once in the elevator, which I would later deem as an achievement, because I threw up four times in the taxi and twice as we sat in the waiting room of the hospital.


    Three hours later, I had twelve stitches on the side of my head, a bald patch around the scar, and the official diagnosis of a concussion. A bit of pain medication was applied, quite liberally, and I was a happy camper as we rode in a taxi home. I hugged the woman and held her the entire time and she didn''t push me away or looked uncomfortable.


    We arrived back at the building this had started in and the woman paid the cab driver. I was feeling a lot better and we hadn''t needed the garbage bag, which was a relief for both the cabbie and the woman. We rode the elevator up and I didn''t react to the movement. The woman gave me a happy smile as she led me down the hallway to the apartment and opened the door.


    ¡°Home sweet home.¡± I said and looked around.


    ¡°Peter, you can''t go anywhere for the rest of the day.¡± The woman said as she sat me on the couch in the living room.


    ¡°No school?¡± I asked and she shook her head. ¡°Woohoo!¡±


    The worried look was back on her face. ¡°Peter, you...¡± She stopped and sighed. ¡°I have to get to work, even if it''s only for half a day.¡± She lightly touched my forehead. ¡°I hate to leave you here alone, against doctor''s orders; but, the medical bill is going to take time to pay off and...¡±


    ¡°I''m fine.¡± I said and actually felt like it. ¡°I can''t feel it anymore.¡± I lifted a hand to rub the bandage.


    The woman lightly slapped my hand away from it. ¡°It''s numb, so don''t touch it.¡±


    ¡°Kay.¡± I said and looked at the couch. ¡°I''m going to lay down for a bit.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She gasped and then sighed again. She turned on the television and put the remote in my hand. ¡°Watch that and tell me about what you saw when I come home.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said and stared at the television. ¡°See you later.¡±


    The woman gave me one more sad look before she left the apartment.


    I did as she said and watched whatever it was on the television. I had no clue what I was watching, though. I had never seen anything like it before and I had no mental frame of reference for it. I didn''t think that was odd, considering I was inside the body of someone else. It was kind of weird that woman kept calling me Peter when I was inside Tom Holland.


    I fell asleep sitting up and didn''t even realize it.


    ¡°Peter!¡± The woman from earlier gasped when she entered the apartment.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡± I asked and opened my eyes. My head felt a lot clearer than it had before my fall.


    ¡°How long have you been asleep?¡± She asked me as she sat beside me and looked into my eyes.


    ¡°No idea.¡± I said and decided to start the necessary ruse. I glanced down to look at her hand and then back up to her face. ¡°You''re not wearing a ring, so I guess that means we''re not married.¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what?¡± She asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°I''m trying to figure out who you are.¡± I said and took her hand. I tried to not laugh at her shocked face. ¡°Are you my girlfriend? Is that why I find you so pretty?¡±


    ¡°Buh... but... but, you...¡± The woman stammered and then shook her head. ¡°Peter, stop being silly.¡±


    ¡°You keep calling me that.¡± I said and gave her a confused face. ¡°Who''s Peter?¡±


    Her mouth dropped open and she stared at me like I had lost my mind. In a sense, I had.


    ¡°In fact, can you tell me your name?¡± I asked and reached up to lightly touch her cheek. ¡°It''s a shame to have such a beautiful woman in front of me and I don''t know who you are.¡±


    She didn''t react to either my words or to me touching her face.


    I dropped my hand from her face and put that hand on the one of hers I still held. I didn''t say anything else and sat there in silence with a calm look on my face. I didn''t want to push things too much. I couldn''t remember the name of the actress in front of me, so I needed her to tell me who she was.


    It took her about five minutes before she worked through her shock and squinted her eyes at me.


    ¡°Peter Benjamin Parker! You cut that out right now.¡± The woman said in a stern voice.


    I stared at her and blinked my eyes at her for several seconds. What she said couldn''t be true. It was impossible. There was no way that I woke up this morning in... I looked down at my hand and saw two little marks on the back of it.


    Oh, damn! Peter Parker died when he was bitten by the spider. I thought in realization. ¡°Peter Parker.¡± I whispered. ¡°I''m Peter Parker.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are.¡± The woman said and tried to pull her hand from where I held it with both of mine. ¡°Now stop acting foolish or I''m going to get angry.¡±


    I held onto her hand. ¡°But, if I''m Peter... then...¡± I paused and looked into her eyes. ¡°You''re May.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I''m May. Your Aunt May.¡± May said and looked down. ¡°Let my hand go.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°May, please understand. I really can''t remember anything.¡±


    ¡°The doctor didn''t say anything about amnesia.¡± May countered.


    ¡°He didn''t ask me any questions except for how I was feeling, did he?¡± I asked.


    May looked thoughtful. ¡°I''m sure that... the concussion...¡±


    ¡°It could wear off eventually... or never.¡± I said and she caught her breath. ¡°I could have permanent brain damage and I might never remember anything at all.¡±


    ¡°No, you... there''s no way that...¡± May''s voice trailed off and she turned her head to look away.


    ¡°I don''t recognize anything in my room, the apartment, or even the address.¡± I said and she didn''t look back at me. ¡°What''s an academic decathlon, anyway?¡±


    May gasped and her head whipped around to stare at me. ¡°Peter! How could you not know...¡±


    ¡°I saw a poster over the desk and I wondered what it was.¡± I said with a shrug.


    ¡°Peter...¡± May whispered and she sighed. ¡°You''re wearing your high school t-shirt.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I actually go there?¡± I asked and she sighed again. ¡°What grade am I in?¡±


    May put her free hand on her forehead and leaned back on the couch. ¡°Please tell me you''re faking it.¡±


    I used my hands to put her other hand onto my bandage. ¡°Does that feel fake?¡±


    Tears came to May''s eyes. ¡°Oh, Peter!¡± She nearly shouted and pulled me into a hug. She cried pretty hard for about ten minutes and she held me tightly the whole time.


    ¡°I''m sorry, May. I really am.¡± I said when she let me go. ¡°I don''t even know where to start to try and learn things again.¡±


    May wiped at her eyes and stared at her black fingertips. ¡°Damn.¡±


    ¡°Now I''m doubly sorry.¡± I said and lightly touched her cheek. ¡°You look like a sad raccoon.¡±


    May let out a snort and then barked a laugh. ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±


    ¡°I still think you''re pretty.¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Now I know you''re lying.¡± May said and stood up. ¡°I need to wash up and then I''ll start making dinner.¡±


    ¡°Why don''t we order something instead. You''re too tired to cook.¡±


    ¡°Peter, money''s tighter now than it was before.¡± May said and glanced at my bandage.


    ¡°Another fifty bucks won''t make much difference right now.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I promise to get a part-time job and I''ll start helping out more around here.¡±


    May smiled. ¡°You definitely lost your memory if you''re offering to do housework.¡±


    ¡°Then take advantage of it.¡± I said and stood as well.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± May asked me.


    ¡°I can''t remember anything about what''s going on, so you can tell me I always did something and I won''t know any different.¡± I said and May stared at me with her mouth slightly open. ¡°Do you need me to draw you a bath? Rub your aching feet? Massage your stiff neck?¡±


    ¡°P-Peter...¡±


    ¡°May.¡± I said and stepped close to her. ¡°Right now, I''m pretty much a blank slate. Everything I do from now on could trigger a memory or even replace one. There''s no way to know.¡± I took her hands again and placed them on my shoulders before I put my arms around her to hug her. ¡°I am at your mercy and I am explicitly telling you that you can abuse it as much as possible, because I''m completely okay with that.¡±


    May moved me back a little and looked into my eyes. ¡°You really mean that.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. You''re my girlfriend, remember?¡±


    May caught her breath. ¡°Peter!¡±


    ¡°You didn''t deny it when I asked before.¡± I said and smirked at her. ¡°No take-backsies!¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± May said and rested her forehead against mine. ¡°I''m your aunt.¡±


    ¡°Are you really? Because I don''t remember that.¡± I said with a big grin on my face.


    May looked like she was trying to not laugh and shook her head. ¡°I don''t know if I like having a joking Peter around.¡±


    ¡°Give it time and it might grow on you.¡± I said. ¡°Like a fungus.¡±


    May laughed softly. ¡°I''d rather a climbing vine and not something that could give me an infection.¡±


    ¡°One human limpet coming right right up!¡± I said and pretended to climb up her to make her laugh.


    ¡°Off! Off!¡± May said and managed to break free, so I chased her around the living room for a few seconds, then I pointed to the phone.


    ¡°You call for some food and I''ll start the bath for you.¡± I said and went to the stairs. ¡°By the time the food gets here, the tub should be full. When we eat, the hot water should be cooled enough for you to safely enter.¡±


    ¡°Peter, you don''t have to do that.¡± May said and picked up the phone. ¡°What would you like?¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡± I said and went up the stairs. ¡°Why don''t you surprise me?¡±


    ¡°Like you''ve surprised me so much today.¡± May whispered as she dialed the phone.


    I could only agree with her whispered words, because it was a surprise to me as well. I couldn''t remember how I came to be here and I was sure that it didn''t matter, now that I was here.


    I was Peter Parker, Spider-Man. Or I would be Spider-Man. Things might be different now, considering I had no idea what went on with Peter before he appeared in the movies. That meant I needed to do some major researching to discover where I was and what was going on, if anything.


    With my luck, I was probably years before any of the information I knew about would come into play, assuming this was canon MCU and not an offshoot timeline or a multiverse thing. That wasn''t an aspect I needed to worry about until I found out the current date and year, though. I wouldn''t complain about it, either. Why would I?


    I was goddamn Peter Parker after he got his powers and just before he became Spider-Man.

 02 Settling In

    Bokuboy


    Aunt May pulled me from school for the rest of the week because I was sick after the school''s trip to the radiation testing lab. She kind of lied a little, because I was only sick for the one day. She said it was okay, because I had fallen right afterwards and she thought it was the major cause of what happened. I didn''t bother contradicting her because it was as good of an excuse as any.


    So, while she was at work, I did my best to look for everything I needed to know about Peter and his life. I found a journal after a search of the bedroom and it sure was enlightening. He had just started his first year at high school and had been bullied at his old school. His intelligence made him stand out, for all the wrong reasons, and May had to fight to get him into the prestigious science and technology high school and its smart kid program.


    I am definitely going to blow that class! I thought with a laugh. Why couldn''t Peter leave me some of his IQ when he died? I sure would use it much better than he did. At least, I hoped I would. That was an odd thought for me to have, considering I believed that I was fairly intelligent. I wasn''t egghead smart by any stretch of the imagination; but, I was no slouch, either.


    On a whim, I picked up what I thought was one of his high school books. I opened it and discovered that it was Advanced Calculus. My eyes nearly bugged out at the gibberish it showed and I shook my head as I closed it with a snap.


    May is going to be pissed. I thought with a sigh, then I realized something. I was looking at step four out of six and hadn''t done steps one through three yet. I went to the desk where there was a large cardboard box underneath. I suspected what was in it and pulled it out. It was heavy and I smiled, because that meant my suspicion was right.


    I opened the box and it was filled with old textbooks and scribblers. ¡°Score!¡± I exclaimed out loud, then dove in to sort out the contents.


    It took twenty minutes to empty the box and I had my bed covered from head to foot. It was a fortune in both knowledge and cost, because they were not cheap to buy. If they hadn''t been spread out over years of schooling, there was no way anyone could afford this large of a library of books. It was just too bad there wasn''t a market for selling the things after they were used.


    I opened the basic math book and the spine cracked, as if it had never been opened. I sighed at that thought and started to read. By the time I reached the end, I was shocked that I actually remembered it. I went back through it with a blank scribbler, because there wasn''t one paired with it, and did all of the assigned problems. It was easy.


    I sat back on my chair and stared at the scribbler and all of the check marks for right answers. It was amazing, because I really had applied the knowledge I just learned. I wasn''t cocky about it, though. Once could be a fluke, so I set the book aside and picked up the next math book. It was a grade higher and looked browsed through, so I checked for a paired scribbler.


    I found it and read through each chapter and checked the scribbler as I went over the problems in my head. They matched. I looked in the back of the book and marked each right answer with a check mark. They were all correct and I would have solved the problems in the same way.


    Maybe Peter did leave me some of his IQ and I just lost the connection with the knowledge he had. I thought and picked up the next book. Advanced Math and Trigonometry. Since our experiences were different, my mind in his body wouldn''t make the same knowledge connections.


    I had to accept that and grabbed the paired scribbler for the book. It took twice as long, because I had to do the drawings and measurement calculations myself. Just looking at the work of someone else wouldn''t help me much, except to show me where I went wrong. Only, I didn''t.


    I once again stared at the results and they were all right. I was almost a savant with how quickly I was picking it up. It seemed to fit into my head like it was supposed to be there... and I finally realized what was going on. I was reestablishing the missing knowledge connections!


    With that happy thought, I looked over the piles of books for each subject on the bed and groaned at the amount of work that was ahead of me.


    ¡°Food break.¡± I said and went downstairs to the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches, grabbed a bag of chips, and a bottle of orange juice. I ate quickly, washed up, and went back to my room. I had a crap load of work to do and I only had six days left to do it. I set the alarm to an hour before suppertime and planted my nose into the books with a passion.


    *


    May entered the apartment and a wonderful smell filled her nose. She closed and locked the door, kicked off her shoes, and hung up her jacket. ¡°Peter?¡±


    ¡°In here.¡± Peter''s voice said from the kitchen.


    May walked through the living room and stopped at the doorway to the kitchen. ¡°What the hell is this?¡±


    ¡°Beef Bouillon with string beans and home fries.¡± Peter said and waved at the made up kitchen table. It had a white tablecloth and a little vase with a flower in it. There were also two unlit candles.


    May watched as Peter put two plates of great smelling food on the table and then the cheeky little bastard lit the candles. ¡°Peter!¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was thinking of using my middle name.¡± Peter said with a smile and held out a chair for her.


    May stood there and stared at him. ¡°You can''t be serious.¡±


    ¡°Please, sit.¡± Peter said and motioned at the chair.


    May held in a sigh as she walked over to sit where he asked her to. To her surprise, he didn''t whack the back of her knees with the chair and eased her in close to the table as if she weighed nothing. ¡°Peter...¡±


    ¡°Benjamin.¡± Peter corrected. ¡°I wasn''t kidding when I said I don''t remember anything about being Peter. Not one thing.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    Peter sat down across from her and took her hand. ¡°May, if you will allow it, I want to honor him.¡±


    May opened her mouth to say no. She wanted to refuse, just so she could avoid thinking about her lost love. When she looked into Peter''s eyes, she saw the lost look in them. ¡°F-fine. If you''re not comfortable with me calling you Peter, I shouldn''t force you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, May.¡± Peter said with a wide smile. ¡°Now eat up before it gets cold.¡±


    May looked down at the food and then at Peter. No, not Peter. Benjamin. She thought and then said a name that she hadn''t spoken since her husband''s death. ¡°Ben, where did this come from?¡±


    ¡°I made it.¡± Ben said with pride and cut into the meat. ¡°I read through one of the cookbooks looking for something quick to make and this popped out at me.¡±


    ¡°But, you... you don''t know how to cook.¡± May said.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Apparently, I can. It was easy, actually.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± May asked, surprised.


    ¡°I studied math all day as I tried to jog my memory and when I read the cookbook, I realized it was the same, only simpler. Input A into the formula as the main ingredient, add in B as seasoning and flavoring to enhance A, then combine and cook to create the final product of C.¡±


    May stared at him with her mouth open.


    ¡°Eat, or I''ll have to microwave it and that makes the meat a bit rubbery.¡± Ben said and pointed at her plate with his fork.


    ¡°R-right. Eat.¡± May said and cut a small piece of the meat off, dipped it in the gravy, and tasted it. ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    ¡°I know! It''s good, right?¡± Ben asked, happily. ¡°I think I have a talent for it or something.¡±


    ¡°Muu moo.¡± May said with a mouthful of meat, which made Ben laugh. ¡°You do.¡±


    ¡°I made enough that it should last a couple of days, even if you take some to work with you for lunch.¡±


    May blushed a little and didn''t want to admit that she hadn''t eaten lunch at work in a very long time.


    ¡°Things are going to change from now on.¡± Ben said, as if he knew what she was thinking. ¡°I told you I was going to start helping out around here and I wasn''t joking or making light of how much you do for me.¡±


    ¡°Pete... Ben.¡± May corrected. ¡°I told you that you didn''t have to do anything like that.¡±


    ¡°I know, which means it''s needed even more than I realized.¡± Ben said and ate some fries. ¡°I''m home all week, so you''re getting a good home cooked meal every day, a nice bath, and if you''re up for it, maybe some movie watching at night. I''m apparently really behind in modern culture for some reason.¡±


    May made a sound between a laugh and a sob. ¡°Ben, you shouldn''t joke about that. You were severely hurt and...¡±


    ¡°...there''s nothing to be done about it.¡± Ben said. ¡°I''m going to joke, and laugh, and I''m going to be the best roommate that a beautiful young woman like you could ever ask for.¡±


    May blinked her eyes at him several times and didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°Maybe later you can teach me how to do the laundry?¡± Ben asked. ¡°Oh! I''d like a small laundry basket for my room. It will save me from having to run to the bathroom all the time to put dirty clothes in the hamper under the sink.¡±


    May could only nod and she began eating again. She observed the young man across from her and she didn''t know what to think. She loved him with all of her heart, because he was the only family she had left in the world. The problem she had now was that the young man sitting across from her, whom had made a meal that even she couldn''t have made half as well, was someone that she didn''t know at all.


    *


    My mornings were filled with studying, my afternoons with chores, and my evenings spending time with May. It was honestly the greatest time I''ve ever had in my life. My brain seemed to absorb knowledge like a sponge as it re-assimilated what it already knew. At least, I thought so. May''s surprise at my ability to cook was funny to see every time.


    I really had read all five cookbooks in the kitchen and I really did see the recipes as math problems. I even saw some of the ingredients as variables that could be easily changed. It was a novel thing for me to realize, especially when nearly everything I tried came out great. Except for the custard.


    We are never, ever talking about the custard.


    I don''t think May had ever laughed so hard before. She almost hyperventilated and I had to rub her back to calm her down. She helped me clean up afterwards and now every time she sees the color yellow, she lets out a little laugh. It was cute and I did not tell her so. I was calling her pretty and beautiful already and dropping to cute could be considered an insult.


    The weekend arrived and May had to work on Saturday, so my daily routine continued on that day, except for one change. I practised my powers in the morning instead of studying, and I had a great time!


    Have you ever wanted to walk on the ceiling? It''s a blast. Run down a stair railing on your toes? It''s like running on a metal floor. I couldn''t do wall running or any real acrobatics, which meant I needed a lot of practice using my wall crawling powers and I needed to get to a library to research some more. I would ask May when she came home to take me tomorrow and we could make a day of it.


    Maybe a picnic? I asked myself and nodded. I could pack a backpack with what we needed and stop at Central Park to eat before going to the library.


    With a tentative plan set, pending May''s approval, I looked around for something heavy to lift. There was nothing except the couch, which I had easily moved out of the way to vacuum underneath every day. I went to one of the windows with a fire escape and looked down at the alley below. The garbage dumpsters were empty and would be lighter than the couch.


    I debated going for a walk to find an out of the way car or something, then decided against it. I needed May''s help with navigating in a city I had never been in, which meant I couldn''t go any significant distance from the apartment without getting lost. I had my wallet and ID with the address on it, too.


    I ate lunch and did the chores and the laundry, even May''s unmentionables. She was upset about it at first, until I told her that I only wore her panties on my head once and that her bras didn''t fit over my pectoral muscles anyway. She gave me an odd look before she laughed and made a snorting sound. I called that a win and she handed me her dirty laundry without another word.


    I set her bath and made supper again before May came home and she looked tired. I quickly helped her with her shoes and coat, led her to the table that I started to jokingly call it our date table, and we ate in complete silence.


    When she was done, I led her up the stairs and took her into the bathroom and quickly undressed her down to her underwear. I bundled up her clothes into the hamper and stood to leave when May caught my arm and I turned to look at her face.


    ¡°Ben, you... you''ve been...¡±


    ¡°I may not remember what you did for me before; but, I sure do remember what you''ve done for me since I woke up after hitting my head.¡± I said and gave her a warm smile. ¡°You worked your ass off all week and the least I could do was what I did.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I was only...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°You don''t think I studied all of those schoolbooks and don''t realize how much money you''ve spent on me?¡± I asked and she blushed. ¡°You are a wonderful woman and I feel very blessed that I have someone like you in my life.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Ben!¡± May said and pulled me into a hug.


    I put my arms around her and hugged her back. I did not miss her bra-covered chest being pressed into my own t-shirt clad chest. They were quite nice and warm, which made a certain other part of me respond in kind. Luckily, she was a few inches shorter than I was and my erection did not press right into her crotch. It was a close thing, though.


    May eased her hold on me and her face was bright red. ¡°B-Ben, that... is a normal bodily reaction...¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and smirked at her. ¡°When a beautiful woman gives you a hug, you better thank her with a proper salute. She deserves nothing less.¡±


    May blinked her eyes at me for a moment, then she looked down. Her eyes widened at the significant tent pole she had given me and she looked back at my face. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I''m not embarrassed by it, so you shouldn''t be, either.¡± I said and she nodded, albeit reluctantly. ¡°I just hope you don''t think I get one every time you hug me.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure that... you don''t, do you?¡±


    ¡°I''m not some horny teenager that can''t control his impulses.¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°I wouldn''t be able to be in the same room with you if I was. You''re smoking hot.¡±


    May''s blush went a little redder.


    ¡°Believe me, I''d have one every time you''ve bent over the counter to pass me something, every time you reached for the top cupboards in pants or a tight skirt, and when you give me that happy smile after you soak in the bath for half an hour.¡±


    May blushed even more. ¡°B-Ben, you... you really...¡±


    ¡°Notice you? Of course I do. You''re smoking hot, remember?¡± I asked and laughed at the expression on her face. ¡°May, don''t think like that. I could have groped you hundreds of times and pretended it was an accident.¡±


    May gasped and she covered her mouth with a hand.


    ¡°I would never treat a woman of your calibre like that. I respect you too much to try for cheap thrills or to stare at your breasts at every opportunity.¡± I said and pointed at them without looking. ¡°Your body is your own and it is always your choice to allow someone to see it or to touch you.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... why are you...¡±


    ¡°You''re comfortable enough around me to not be embarrassed, even undressed like you are, and we''ve only known each other for a week.¡± I said and her blush started to fade. ¡°I thought it was about time you understood that there are two people living in this apartment and that I am here for you.¡±


    May just stood there and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°I''m just as comfortable around you as you are with me.¡± I said and pulled my t-shirt off.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped and covered her eyes.


    I chuckled and pulled off my pants to toss them in the hamper. ¡°I''m not naked.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± May said and kept her eyes covered. ¡°You... ah... your thing.¡±


    ¡°I''d like to point out that yours are sticking out, too.¡±


    May let out a squeak sound and put an arm over her chest while also trying to keep her eyes covered.


    It was hilarious and I burst out laughing. ¡°I was kidding! Can''t you tell when you''re excited?¡±


    May opened her mouth and then closed it before she spoke. ¡°I thought you were looking at them.¡±


    ¡°Like I told you before. If I was a horny teenager, I could see them whenever I wanted to. I''m not. I don''t ogle you, pretend to fall into you, or anything that might put you into a compromising position.¡±


    ¡°Except for now.¡± May said and uncovered her eyes to look at my face.


    I grinned at her. ¡°I''d have your bra off already if I wanted you compromised.¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°What? You''ve pretty much just stood there and let me talk.¡± I laughed. ¡°You can''t tell me that I haven''t had the chance to get you all naked and sweaty by now.¡±


    May looked angry for a moment, then she shook her head. ¡°I guess I can''t.¡±


    ¡°And that''s what I want you to remember.¡± I said and took the hand of the arm covering her breasts, which revealed almost nothing, because her bra covered everything. ¡°You know I''ve had so many chances to make things awkward and uncomfortable, especially with the laundry.¡±


    May couldn''t stop her laugh this time. ¡°You would never wear my panties as headgear!¡±


    ¡°Ha ha! No, I wouldn''t. It sure made you laugh, though.¡±


    May nodded and then she gave me a questioning look. ¡°You better not tease me about this.¡±


    ¡°About what? That I survived seeing you in just a bra and panties?¡± I asked and pretended confusion.


    May barked a laugh and smacked me upside my head. ¡°Yes, exactly!¡±


    ¡°Ow! Okay, maybe I didn''t survive.¡± I said and rubbed the spot, even though it hadn''t hurt.


    ¡°Get out of here and let me bathe.¡± May said and pointed at the door.


    ¡°But, I wanted to watch!¡± I whined and gave her my best puppy-dog eyes.


    May laughed again and smacked me half a dozen times as she chased me out of the bathroom. ¡°Out! Out, you mongrel!¡±


    ¡°You''re so demanding.¡± I said as the door shut behind me and left me in the hallway alone. I knocked on the bathroom door. ¡°I need the bathroom!¡±


    ¡°You have to hold it!¡± May responded and then there was a splash and an ''ahh'' sound.


    ¡°Enjoy your relaxing bath while I suffer!¡± I said and I could have sworn I heard her laugh. I went to my room in just my underwear and smiled at her not even noticing that my erection had disappeared while we talked. I slipped on jogging pants and another t-shirt and went back down to the living room to wait.


    May came out of the bathroom and looked both relaxed and comfortable.


    ¡°See? That''s the smile I like seeing so much.¡± I said and pat the couch beside me.


    May didn''t pause as she came down the stairs and plopped down beside me. ¡°You really are comfortable with me walking around in my underwear.¡±


    ¡°Says the woman that sometimes forgets to button her shirt all the way up.¡± I said and she laughed.


    ¡°What do you want to watch tonight?¡± May asked me.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter.¡± I said and rested against her side. ¡°I just like spending time with you.¡±


    May put an arm around me and hugged me as she picked a movie she had always wanted to watch.


    ¡°I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.¡± I joked as a musical about cats came on.


    May laughed and kissed my cheek, then the two of us watched the people in cat suits frolic to the dumbest songs to ever exist.

 03 Back To School

    Bokuboy


    ¡°This was a great idea, Ben.¡± May said as I spread the blanket out for us to sit on.


    ¡°You haven''t been outside the apartment any more than I have.¡± I said and sat down as I took off the backpack. ¡°I think we both needed this.¡±


    May nodded and sat beside me and helped me unpack the food containers. ¡°I still can''t understand how you became such a good cook so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Blank slate.¡± I said and tapped my temple. ¡°I warned you that you should train me however you wanted me to act around the house and that I was okay with it all.¡±


    May put the container down and hugged me. ¡°You''ve already taken over the whole apartment! What else was I supposed to do with you?¡±


    I couldn''t stop my grin. ¡°You never did deny that you''re my girlfriend.¡±


    May blushed and laughed at the same time. ¡°I''m your aunt!¡±


    ¡°Still not a denial.¡± I joked and she swatted my hand and hugged me.


    We carried on and ate the leftovers from the meals I had made all week. The food was good, even cold like it was, and we both had a great time.


    When we were done, we packed up and walked over to the library. May was a real sport and let me check out a few books on acrobatics and one on exercises for weightlifters. I also checked the newspapers for any major events within the last few years and didn''t come up with anything. That meant I really was years ahead of the knowledge I had and I could pretty much do whatever I wanted.


    Just for fun, I looked at the college math books that were above my current high school books that I had blown through. It wasn''t as easy as the rest of them, so I knew I did have to learn the normal way when acquiring new knowledge. The cooking books had been a fluke, apparently. I only checked one of the college books out, because I had school the next day.


    We did stop and grab a few groceries for me to make some dishes for supper, mainly because I had warned May that I might not be smart enough to stay in the advanced class. When she protested, I told her I would have to drop the academic decathlon team because I just didn''t have the knowledge to stay current.


    May looked sad as she hugged me. ¡°You do what you think is best.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, May.¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''m sorry I have to disappoint you again.¡±


    May shook her head and kissed my cheek several times. ¡°You''re not a disappointment, Ben. Not at all.¡±


    ¡°I know you keep looking at me and hoping that the old Peter will come back.¡±


    May looked surprised for a second, then she kissed my cheek and held it or several seconds. ¡°I''m only seeing if you''re okay and if you are remembering anything. I would never force you to try and be Peter again.¡±


    ¡°So, if I never remember, you''ll be okay with that?¡± I asked.


    May sighed. ¡°I hate the thought that you think I''m exchanging one of you for the other.¡± She said and gave me a concerned look. ¡°Whoever you are, or are becoming, you''re still the only family I have left.¡±


    I looked into her eyes and had to smile. ¡°Are you saying that being my girlfriend is still on the table?¡±


    May laughed and let me go. ¡°Put the fresh mushrooms back and grab the can. We''re still on a budget.¡±


    ¡°Dammit.¡± I said and she watched me make the switch. ¡°We''re still getting the family size box of rice.¡±


    ¡°We''ll save money on bulk, so go ahead and grab it.¡± May said and looked at the list. ¡°We have to compromise on the chicken. We''ll get pieces with the bone and you have to strip the meat from them.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem.¡± I said and grabbed the large pack of chicken thighs. ¡°I can do them all at once and freeze the pieces I don''t use right away.¡±


    ¡°Or put them into a huge soup pot.¡± May said and pointed at the twenty pound bag of potatoes.


    I grabbed them and added them to the cart. ¡°Thanks a lot for doing this.¡±


    May reached out to touch my back. ¡°Ben, you''ve taken over the cooking and by my calculations, we''ve already saved about fifteen percent on our normal weekly food budget.¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± I said and we kept shopping.


    Many compromises were made and the meals I could make as a result would have to be made to last, the same as I had stretched out everything like last week. Leftovers were a food budget''s best friend. We even splurged a bit and bought some fresh fruit for me to make a cobbler that we could cut up and serve for multiple meals over the next month.


    We went back to the apartment and unpacked everything, froze what needed to be frozen, and I prepared what we were going to have for supper. May hovered nearby and watched as I made Spaghetti Bolognese. I made a huge pot full of the sauce, because you didn''t combine the pasta and sauce until it was to be served.


    I made enough pasta for us to eat right then and a bit extra for May to take to work for lunch. I put the rest of the sauce on the counter to cool and we ate a very delicious meal.


    ¡°Ben, this is wonderful!¡± May said and rolled some spaghetti into the sauce on her plate and sucked it up like a vacuum.


    I chuckled at her making a mess while she enjoyed it. I used a paper towel to dab at her chin and she grinned at me. ¡°Do I need to get you a bib, Miss Parker?¡±


    May laughed and picked up a piece of spaghetti to toss at me, which I caught it in my mouth and sucked it right in. ¡°Nice one, Ben!¡±


    ¡°I think I''m a natural Spaghetti Slurper, just like you.¡± I joked as she picked up another piece and threw it. I let it slap against my forehead and splatter a bit. ¡°That''s cheating! My mouth is way down here!¡±


    May laughed again and kept eating.


    We finished up and we both washed and dried the dishes.


    ¡°Ben, are you sure you''re ready for school tomorrow?¡± May asked me as we put the dishes away.


    ¡°As ready as I''ll ever be.¡± I said with a shrug.


    ¡°That could mean so many things.¡±


    ¡°I know. I won''t know how far out of sync with knowledge I''ll be until I''m in each class.¡± I responded. ¡°If it''s too much for me to handle, I''ll ask the teachers what I need to do to catch up to the others.¡±


    May put the silverware down and took me into a hug. ¡°Don''t just assume that all of the responsibility is on your shoulders.¡±


    I thought about saying that it was, because I knew what was supposedly coming in a few years. The problem was, who would I warn and would they believe a kid that was still a first year high school student? Not a single person. Well, no one that wouldn''t arrest me and take me away from May and my new life for knowing things I shouldn''t.


    So, I kept my mouth shut and nodded.


    ¡°I''m glad.¡± May said and let me go. ¡°If anything happens, you call me at work, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said and then smiled. ¡°I need the phone number, this apartment''s phone number, and probably a map of how to get to school.¡±


    May gave me a blank look for a few seconds, then she sighed. ¡°You really can''t remember anything.¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°Sucks to be me, doesn''t it?¡±


    May huffed and smiled. ¡°I''ll write out what I think you need to know later tonight.¡±


    ¡°We''re doing movie night, so it''ll have to wait.¡± I said and took her hand. ¡°Someone was a great sport today and let me do whatever I wanted.¡± I led her over to the couch. ¡°I think there''s a movie or something that you wanted to see.¡±


    ¡°You really are a different person.¡± May said and gave me a happy look. ¡°Peter would never watch anything even close to what I wanted to watch.¡±


    ¡°I understand the need to sacrifice for the people you care about.¡± I said and sat down as I pulled her down to sit next to me. ¡°Now cuddle up and I''ll sleep while you enjoy the show.¡±


    May laughed and put her arm over my shoulder and let me tuck in next to her. She turned on the television and changed the channel to where she wanted it. I made loud snoring noises right away and she tickled me to get me to stop teasing her.


    We spent the rest of the evening watching what she wanted and we both had a good time.


    *


    ¡°Damn, this place is huge.¡± I said as I looked at the large building.


    I did my best to ignore the kids and the stares, mainly because I had no clue who were Peter''s friends and who were assholes. Not that it mattered. I wasn''t Peter anymore. I walked in through the front doors and took out the small notepad and flipped to the right page for school things.


    ¡°Office... office...¡± I muttered and found the directions. Once again I ignored the people in the hallways and kept following the directions that May had written down for me.


    ¡°Hey, dickwad!¡± A voice called out.


    I ignored it and kept walking, since obviously they weren''t talking about me. I did feel a light niggling feeling at the back of my skull, though.


    ¡°I''m talking to you, Parker!¡± A harsh voice spat and I spun around to avoid his hand grabbing my arm.


    A few people in the hallway stopped talking to stare at me.


    ¡°I''m busy ignoring you right now.¡± I said and memorized his face to beat the hell out of later.


    ¡°Listen, you vacuum-tubed brain in a world full of microchips...¡± The brown-skinned boy started to say.


    ¡°You are a prime candidate for natural deselection.¡± I interrupted him.


    More than a few of the students in the hallway chuckled.


    The boy looked like he didn''t like people laughing at him. ¡°You can''t insult me like that! I''m the smartest student in this school!¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t help you by being a titanic intellect in a world full of icebergs.¡± I responded and that gained more laughs. ¡°Next you''re going to say ''wait until my father hears about this'' or some such drivel.¡±


    The boy looked angry now. ¡°You''re going to regret saying that, Parker.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think so. Any connection between your perception of reality and mine is purely coincidental.¡±


    That seemed to surprise him and he didn''t respond.


    ¡°Since your mouth stopped moving, I''ll assume you''re done contributing to the world''s overabundance of noise problem.¡± I said and turned around and started walking away. ¡°You can go bother someone else now, whoever you are.¡±


    ¡°H-h-hey! You know my name, Parker!¡± The boy shouted.


    ¡°Nope. Don''t know it, don''t care to.¡± I said and checked the notepad. I walked down another hallway and saw the door. ¡°They should have put the office near the main entrance and made this a lot easier.¡± I said as I opened it.


    ¡°Then people visiting the school wouldn''t see what they are paying good money for.¡± A woman''s voice responded and I saw a brunette sitting behind a high counter. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°I''ve got a couple of things, so I hope you won''t mind being busy for the next half an hour.¡± I said.


    ¡°It''s my job to help students. I won''t mind, as long as you aren''t wasting my time.¡±


    ¡°Outstanding.¡± I said and took out a list I had written out. ¡°In case you didn''t notice.¡± I turned my head and pointed to the bald spot and the scar there. I had to recreate it with make-up because it had healed. ¡°I fell and hurt my head last week and now I have amnesia.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear.¡± The woman said, her face sad.


    ¡°I don''t remember anything, like my locker combination, where it is, my homeroom, my classes, or anything else.¡± I said and passed her the list. ¡°I would appreciate it if you could fill this out for me.¡±


    She accepted the paper and quickly read through it.


    ¡°Oh! Is there any way to change my preferred name?¡± I asked and took off my backpack to open the side pocket. ¡°Here''s my student ID and what I could find in my room.¡±


    The woman nodded and took what I handed to her. ¡°What name would you rather be called?¡±


    I chuckled at the apprehension in her voice. ¡°It''s not a made up name or anything. Just the short version of my middle name, Ben.¡±


    She looked relieved and we spent the next twenty minutes going over my records since I started at the school. She gave me my class schedule, my locker combination, and even an unofficial map of the school. Surprisingly, it was better detailed than the plans I had looked up at the library. I even found out her name was Mary Strickland.


    ¡°It''s a copy of the emergency fire escape plan.¡± Mary said and handed me my list back and most of it was filled out. ¡°If you have any problems, please come and see me at any time.¡±


    ¡°Can I have a permanent hall pass and class excuse note?¡± I asked and she raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°With an open invitation like that to visit a pretty woman, how can I not take full advantage of it?¡±


    Mary blinked her eyes several times before she spoke. ¡°That''s... not what I meant.¡±


    I grinned at her. ¡°Is that a no for the hall pass?¡±


    Mary opened her mouth to say something, then gave me a skeptical look as she printed out two things. ¡°Don''t abuse that.¡± She advised me as she handed me the permanent hall pass. It was even laminated. ¡°It''s not a get-out-of-jail free card.¡±


    ¡°It is if you use it properly.¡± I said and she squinted her eyes at me. ¡°I promise to only use this awesome power for good. I swear.¡±


    Mary''s eyes went back to normal and she passed me the second thing. ¡°The class excuse note has markings for the teachers to keep track of attendance. If you abuse it by being late too many times...¡±


    ¡°I give the same promise, because I sincerely hope that I won''t have to use it after today and will get used to finding my classes again before too long.¡± I said and tucked the excuse into my shirt pocket. ¡°I assume I have to bring it back at the end of each week for you to check?¡±


    Mary smiled and made a note of it. ¡°That is a great idea, Mr. Parker. Thank you.¡±


    I slapped a hand over my face and groaned. ¡°Dammit! I was foiled by my need to be accommodating to beautiful women again!¡±


    Mary couldn''t stop her girlish laugh.


    I dropped my hand from covering my face and held it out to her. ¡°I really can''t thank you enough for all of the help you''ve given me this morning, Mary.¡±


    Mary stood and took my hand to shake it. ¡°I was glad to...¡± She stopped talking when I didn''t shake her hand and her eyes widened with surprise when I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it.


    ¡°That''s merely a down payment, dear lady.¡± I said and let her hand go, then walked backwards toward the office door. ¡°I have to get to class, so I bid you a fond farewell! Have a great day!¡±


    Mary just stared at me and I reached back, turned the handle and opened the door without looking, then I bowed as I walked backwards into the hallway and closed the door again.


    I held in my laugh at the look on her face and waved through the window in the door. She waved back only a little and I walked down the hallway with laughter bubbling in my throat. I managed to get to the next hallway before it escaped and I laughed out loud.


    I had played up the rich noble act, just to diffuse the situation from me joking about coming to visit her for something else besides school things. It might have worked a little too well, though. She looked absolutely stunned and that was damn funny.


    I checked the map that we had marked with my classes and I walked at a fast pace towards my homeroom. I saw a young woman sitting on a comfortable chair at the side of the hallway and I held out my hall pass to show it as I approached her. She was a pretty blonde and had a badge that said ''Hall Monitor'' on it.


    Her sharp eyes latched onto the pass in my hand and she gave me a quick little nod without saying anything. I nodded back and walked passed her to go to my homeroom class.

 04 School Woes

    Bokuboy


    I didn''t pause as I knocked once on the classroom door and opened it, stepped inside, and closed it in one smooth motion. Everyone in the class stared at me and I ignored them as I walked over to the teacher''s desk.


    ¡°I was in the office with Miss Strickland because I needed her expert help.¡± I said and took out the class excuse card. ¡°I forgot my locker combination...¡±


    ¡°BAHAHA! What an imbecile!¡± The brown-skinned boy said mockingly.


    ¡°...because I fell and split my head open.¡± I said and turned to show off the bald patch and the scar, to several gasps. ¡°I have amnesia and I have to relearn everything I forgot.¡±


    The teacher looked a little green when he saw the scar and marked the note. ¡°Take your seat, Peter.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I prefer Ben, sir. I can''t remember being Peter.¡±


    Complete silence met my words for about ten seconds.


    ¡°I''ll make a note of that, Pete... Ben.¡± He said. ¡°Your usual seat is right there in front.¡±


    I looked around and saw several empty ones. ¡°Can I sit anywhere? The pretty girl with the blonde hair over there looks like she might be interesting to talk to.¡±


    Once again, not a single sound was made for about ten seconds.


    ¡°There''s no rules against changing seats.¡± The teacher said, reluctantly.


    ¡°Great!¡± I said and walked over to the empty desk at the side of the classroom. I ignored the stunned looks on people''s faces and took off my backpack to sit down. ¡°Hi, there. I''m Ben.¡±


    The blonde girl had a prominent blush on her face. ¡°I''m Betty. Betty Brant.¡±


    ¡°It''s nice to meet you.¡± I said and refrained from trying to reach out to shake her hand. I doubted that I could get away with that trick twice in one day. ¡°What are we learning today?¡±


    ¡°If you had been here on time, you would know that.¡± The brown-skinned boy said under his breath.


    ¡°Did I just hear someone being stupid?¡± I asked and looked around as I intentionally didn''t look at the guy that spoke. ¡°Some people abuse that privilege way too much for their own good. It''s not healthy.¡±


    Betty smiled and two of the guys nearby chuckled.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± The teacher said and we all looked up at him. ¡°Can anyone solve the question I just wrote out on the board?¡±


    Half of the class put their hands up and Betty was one of them.


    ¡°Miss Brant, if you would.¡± The teacher said.


    I would have to thank the man later for calling on her, because I got a good look at her as she went to the board. She wore a mid-thigh skirt, a conservative shirt, and a vest on top of it. That wasn''t interesting, though. It was the calf-high white stockings on her legs. Instead of normal boring ones, they had a nice lace trim with an intricate pattern.


    Well, hellooo! I thought with a smile and couldn''t stop my brain from imagining what else she was wearing that might have lace on it.


    ¡°Are you following along, Mr. Parker?¡± The teacher asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I said and without being asked, walked up to the front of the class and picked up a piece of chalk. ¡°I studied everything from my last school to this year''s book, then borrowed a college book from the library.¡±


    Betty stepped back for me.


    ¡°I''m sorry about this, Betty.¡± I said and erased half of her work, then redid it using the techniques I had absorbed from all of my studying.


    Everyone in the class stared as I filled the board and zeroed everything out, even the parts in brackets that weren''t supposed to be solved and only equalized to balance both sides of the equal sign.


    ¡°That can''t be right!¡± The same annoying voice called out.


    ¡°Pete... ah, I mean Ben. Where did you learn that?¡± The teacher asked.


    I went to my desk and opened my backpack. I took out the library book and brought it up to the teacher. ¡°I haven''t finished going through it yet, so I kept it out for another week.¡±


    The teacher stared at the cover of Advanced Spacial Mathematics and Quadratic Equations. ¡°Ben, this... how...¡±


    ¡°I have no idea!¡± I said happily and he and Betty looked surprised. ¡°I just read through it and follow along, do the exercises, and check the back of the book for the answers.¡±


    ¡°You can''t remember anything, and yet, you can learn and remember this?¡± The teacher asked.


    ¡°Apparently.¡± I said. ¡°It''s pretty easy, too. Once you memorize the base calculation variables and their constants, you just plug in the numbers and fill in the rest.¡±


    The teacher looked at the problem on the board and opened the book to look up the variables he had used. He reached the right page and checked them, then used a piece of paper and did the problem out himself. Or tried to. He had to keep referencing the book and the board where I had already done it.


    The teacher finished and dropped his pencil and stared at his result. It matched mine. ¡°Ben...¡±


    The class bell rang and I picked up the library book.


    ¡°I need to run if I''m going to find my next class.¡± I said and turned to Betty. ¡°Do you have computer lab next?¡±


    ¡°No, Advanced Journalism.¡± Betty said.


    ¡°I guess I have to wait until lunch to flirt with you some more.¡± I said and went to my desk and stuffed the book back into my backpack. The annoying boy tried to walk into me to bump me and I turned and tripped him instead. His expected resistance as he leaned forward, namely me, wasn''t there and he went face first into the floor.


    Everyone that saw it, laughed.


    ¡°That''s a really bad case of stupid you have there. You might want to get that treated.¡± I said and stepped over him and spoke to Betty as I passed her. ¡°I''m sure I''ll find the cafeteria quickly, can you save me a seat?¡±


    Betty nodded and I left the classroom at a fast walk. The computer lab was up two floors and in a separate wing of the school. I would have enough time to stop at my locker on the way and decided against that. I was sure that there would be a lot of students in the class, considering the school''s reputation as being for smart kids.


    I entered the room and there were already people there typing away on their keyboards. I needed to talk to the teacher about what books I needed to read to catch up to everyone else. Unlike the main course books that Peter had in his backpack all the time, he didn''t have all of his books and I had no clue what extra courses I had to catch up on.


    ¡°Hi, Peter.¡± The black woman said and reached into her desk and took out a computer USB. ¡°Your preferred spot is still free.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about that.¡± I said and didn''t take the USB. ¡°I need to explain a few things.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± The black woman asked.


    I spent the next few minutes showing her the scar and explaining what had happened and what I liked to be called now. ¡°I have no clue what I was working on, what to do, or how to fix that.¡± I said and she just stared at me with a blank expression. ¡°If possible, I would like a list of books to give me a good background in what I was learning here. Peter didn''t have any books at home for me to familiarize myself with.¡±


    ¡°You want me to tell you what to read to get proficient in computer programming. From scratch.¡±


    ¡°If possible.¡± I reminded her. ¡°I don''t even know how to access the USB, assuming Peter should have been smart enough to put a password on it.¡±


    ¡°You really do have amnesia?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I don''t even know your name, miss.¡± I said and she looked surprised. It took me a second to get it. ¡°You were Peter''s favorite teacher, weren''t you?¡±


    ¡°I thought I was.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°Go sit at the third station and take this with you. If you can''t open it, just sit there and I''ll try to do up a list of books you can look up in the school library.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and took the USB device and went to the third station like she said. It took me a minute to find the flip down cover and I opened it to reveal the USB plugs on the computer. I slipped the drive into it and a directory opened up. ¡°I stand corrected.¡±


    I searched through it for a good fifteen minutes and couldn''t find any how-to files, notes, or even directions on how to open things or what to open first. It was just a bunch of files in several directories and only a few executable files. I was not stupid enough to run them without knowing what they were, especially if they were unfinished and might crash the computer, wipe the USB, or do nothing at all.


    ¡°Peter, here''s that list.¡± The teacher said and she saw I had the file folders open. ¡°Any luck?¡±


    ¡°Not even a note saying what the files are.¡± I said and took the list. ¡°Thanks for this. I hope I can catch up soon and...¡±


    The teacher huffed. ¡°You might be smart, Peter; but, you are not that smart. It takes years of experience and playing with background files before you get to the stage where this course can be a benefit to you.¡±


    ¡°That doesn''t make sense, miss. Peter didn''t have any computer programming books at home.¡± I said and she looked like she didn''t believe me. ¡°He doesn''t even own a computer.¡±


    The teacher opened her mouth, probably to call me a liar, then sighed. ¡°Then all I can say is good luck. If you can''t pass in the assignment by the end of the month when it''s due, I''ll have to remove you from the class and give your spot to someone that has worked hard to be here.¡±


    I gave her a curious look before I spoke. ¡°Why wait for three weeks? Take me out now.¡±


    ¡°Peter...¡±


    ¡°I told you that my name is Ben.¡± I said and ejected the USB and slipped it into my pocket. I stood up and put on my backpack. ¡°I appreciate the little help you''ve given me and all the scorn.¡±


    ¡°Peter... Ben...¡±


    ¡°I think Peter would have been very disappointed in his favorite teacher for how you''ve rejected him after his injury.¡± I said and walked over to the door of the classroom. I opened it and turned around to see that everyone was staring at me. ¡°Please let the person that gets my spot know that they better be careful or they get tossed out on their ass if they can''t complete a single assignment.¡±


    ¡°Peter! Ben!¡± The teacher said loudly as I left.


    ¡°Now I need to go to the office and disappoint Mary by asking for her help so soon.¡± I grumbled and flashed my hall pass at a different Hall Monitor and went down the stairs. I made it back to the office and Mary had a sad look on her face. ¡°Can you guess what happened in computer lab?¡±


    Mary nodded and I stepped over to the counter and she brought up my records. I explained what happened, word for word, and she typed it all out before she sighed. Even she thought asking me to learn years of computer science and programming in only three weeks, just to finish a class project that I had no clue about, was ridiculous.


    She logged the altercation and sent a copy to the vice principal, the principal, and the school board. She did not add in my sarcastic comments to her about the whole thing, even if she was completely sympathetic towards me about it.


    ¡°Is it okay for me to go to the library for my free class time?¡± I asked. ¡°Lunch isn''t for another hour and a half.¡±


    Mary printed off another note. ¡°Give that to Gladys and she''ll leave you alone whenever you go there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and put the note in my shirt pocket. ¡°I''m sorry I had to bother you again.¡±


    Mary stood and put a hand on my shoulder for a moment before she let it go. ¡°You are probably going to have similar problems before the end of the week.¡±


    ¡°At least they can''t kick me out of the core classes. I studied my ass off all week catching up with them.¡±


    ¡°I hope that''s true, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Jackson was surprised that I beat his equation during homeroom.¡±


    ¡°You beat it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I didn''t solve it like he wanted and cancelled out the variables instead.¡± I said and then explained what I did and saw a smile form on her face. ¡°I doubt I can do the same in science class with Mr. Morales or chemistry with Mrs. Leyva.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Did you remember their names?¡± Mary asked, her face hopeful.


    ¡°No, they were marked down in Peter''s notebooks. He didn''t have any for the other classes he took.¡±


    ¡°That''s strange.¡± Mary said and looked thoughtful. ¡°Did you check the locker for them?¡±


    I gave her a surprised look for a moment, then laughed. ¡°I thought I was supposed to be the smart one in this relationship!¡±


    Mary looked slightly confused before she blushed slightly. ¡°You better get to the library before I start taking your jokes seriously.¡±


    I nodded and went to the office door. ¡°What ever gave you the impression that I''m joking?¡± I asked her with a grin on my face and I left the office before she could respond. Teasing her is just too much fun. I thought and followed the map to where Peter''s locker was. It was my locker now and I used the information sheet to open it with the proper combination. I had no idea if the numbers meant anything.


    I frowned at the half-sized locker, because the thing was full of books, scribblers, loose papers, pencils, pens, erasers, and two sets of mechanical tools for doing math problems like a triangle, protractor, small ruler, and a compass with a pencil on one side for making circles.


    The problem was that the contents were all intermixed and most of the loose papers were crushed, torn, or folded a bunch of times from things being piled on top of them. I sighed and started to work at cleaning the entire thing out. I piled the books and scribblers in front of the locker and then took out all of the papers.


    I wasn''t going to spend a ton of time trying to unfold or fix them right now and stuffed them into the front pocket of my backpack. I then cleaned up the miscellaneous things and put them back into the plastic cases they came in. When I had all of that out, all that was left inside the locker were scraps of paper and bits of other things that didn''t matter.


    I checked the scraps for any writing and had to save about half of them to add to the pocket of my backpack, since they were missing pieces of the sheets I had already removed. I wasn''t sure what to do with the garbage, so I swept as much of it out into my hand as I could and placed it on the floor. Then the sorting began.


    I compared the books with the courses I had on the list and matched them, then matched the scribblers with them. Luckily, one of them was a computer book and it had a scribbler with it. I glanced through the first few pages of both and shook my head. It was just gibberish until I read the building blocks first, which I would do in the library.


    I had already lost the spot in computer science, despite that being an interesting course. I had thought it would be a core class when I heard about it from May, only to find out that it was an elective class that was apparently difficult to get into. I wasn''t sure how Peter managed it without any background or without having any of the materials needed for extensive study, like a goddamn computer.


    I held in my sigh at that and looked at the other books that I didn''t have access to last week. Latin, Modern Geography, Modern History, Quantum Mechanics, Euclidean Geometry and Non-Euclidean Geometry.


    This is just great! I thought sarcastically and rubbed my face, because I was completely screwed. How the hell was I supposed to learn Latin by tomorrow?


    I could probably fake the geometry, thanks to Peter''s books at home and the ones I could borrow from the library. I would do the same with geography and history and pick up the differences as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I would have to drop the quantum physics course without prejudice, just like I would with the academic decathlon team. It was a good thing the coach and the teacher were the same man.


    With a solid plan in mind, I took the school books I didn''t need out of my backpack and put the others inside. I also took all of the scribblers, just in case, and shut and locked the locker. I had a school library to raid.

 05 Nice To Meet You

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Finally done are you?¡± A young woman''s voice asked.


    I turned my head and saw the same Hall Monitor that I had passed during first class and she wore a similar outfit to Betty, only without the vest or the lacy stockings. ¡°Hi, there! I have a hall pass.¡±


    She smiled crookedly at me. ¡°That only works once and...¡±


    I took it out of my pocket and handed it to her. ¡°Permanent pass. Special case.¡± I said and turned my head to point at my bald patch. ¡°I''m having memory problems. Getting to class, let alone remembering where they are, is a real pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She said and read it before handing it back. ¡°Why aren''t you in class right now?¡±


    ¡°The teacher kicked me out for not remembering anything and I can''t finish a project due at the end of the month.¡± I said with a shrug.


    The young woman''s face hardened. ¡°She didn''t even give you a chance to make it up?¡±


    ¡°I managed to get her to write out a list of books for me to read before she told me I had to do the project or I was out.¡± I said and showed it to her. ¡°I was going to the library after I checked my locker for any missing course books, only to realize the old me was a pig and it was a goddamn mess.¡±


    She laughed softly and looked down at the floor and the garbage I had put there. ¡°I hope you''re not leaving that there.¡±


    ¡°No, I just need to find a garbage can to put it in.¡± I said and crouched down to sweep it all into my hand, then used a couple of fingertips to grab the little bits and things to add to my hand.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± She asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°Sticky fingers.¡± I said and closed my hand over the garbage. ¡°Would you care to escort me to my destination?¡±


    She looked at her watch and nodded. ¡°We can stop at a bathroom on the way and you can drop that off and wash your hands.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I said and started to walk, then stopped and went back to her. ¡°Which way do we go? My map is in my backpack and I haven''t looked up the library yet.¡±


    She gave me an odd look. ¡°You really can''t remember?¡±


    I smiled a huge smile. ¡°I''m hearing that a lot today for some reason. I wonder why?¡±


    She smiled back. ¡°It''s this way.¡± She waved in the other direction and we walked together. ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know.¡± I said with a straight face and she looked surprised. ¡°I had no clue who I was when I woke up. It took hours waiting at the hospital to get checked out and diagnosed with a concussion before the woman that said she was my aunt told me who I was or realized I didn''t know.¡±


    ¡°Okay, wow.¡± She said and her hand reached over and took mine.


    ¡°I used to be Peter Parker.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°When I found out, I decided that I liked his middle name Benjamin better, so now I''m Ben. Ben Parker.¡±


    ¡°And you''re trying to fit into his old life.¡±


    ¡°Like a left foot into a right shoe and my toes are cramping up.¡± I said and she chuckled. ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Isabelle Ionello.¡± She said. ¡°You''re in my brother''s homeroom.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me he isn''t the brown-skinned moron. I don''t want to feel bad when I beat up the little bastard later.¡±


    Isabelle laughed. ¡°No, his name''s Jason and he has dark hair and is about your height.¡±


    I looked at her blonde hair and then at her darker blonde eyebrows.


    ¡°I am not going to ask what you''re thinking.¡± She said with a smirk. ¡°I already know.¡±


    I chuckled at her catching the implication. ¡°I should tell you that I''m already flirting with a girl in my class and Miss Strickland in the office.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course you are.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, it''s only been barely half a day.¡± I joked and she laughed again.


    ¡°Just getting started, are you?¡± Isabelle asked and her hand gave mine a little squeeze.


    ¡°Kind of.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°It''s more like I''m testing the waters and seeing if any sharks appear to take a bite out of me.¡±


    ¡°Sharks, huh?¡± Isabelle asked and came to a stop. ¡°Boy''s bathroom is right there and the garbage can should be near the door.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and walked towards it without letting her hand go.


    ¡°Hey, what...¡±


    ¡°You have to wash your hands, too.¡± I said and used my back to open the ''push not pull'' door and dragged her inside.


    Isabelle didn''t resist much, which meant she was curious about what I was going to do. I let her hand go and brushed the garbage into the can behind the door, then went to the sink. She stood there and watched me and I saw a slight nod as I washed my hands properly.


    ¡°Your turn.¡± I said as I hit the blower button with my elbow and rubbed my hands under it.


    Isabelle went to the sink and washed her hands as she kept an eye on me. I hit the button on the blower again and she walked over to dry her hands.


    ¡°Did you know using paper towels is more sanitary than an air blower?¡± I asked her and she stopped rubbing her hands. ¡°It''s too expensive to provide them for hundreds of students, though. There''s no need to refill a dryer several times a day.¡±


    Isabelle gave me an odd look. ¡°I thought you said you couldn''t remember anything?¡±


    ¡°I''ve been studying all week while I was off.¡± I said and went into a stall and grabbed several wads of toilet paper.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Isabelle asked and watched me as I lathered my hands up and then rubbed them over part of the counter.


    I then used the wads of toilet paper to dry it off and tossed them into the trash before I washed my hands and dried them again. ¡°Prep work.¡±


    ¡°Prep? For what?¡± Isabelle asked me.


    I took her hand and walked over to the counter that I had just improvised cleaning, then I turned her around and kissed her passionately. She let out a pleased sound as I used my tongue liberally and hugged her close. We stayed like that for several minutes, then I picked her up by the hips and sat her on the counter.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± Isabelle asked.


    ¡°Seeing if it''s true.¡± I said and flipped her skirt up and pushed her legs apart.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Isabelle shouted and put her hands between her legs.


    I gave her a huge smile. ¡°I want to know if you''ll enjoy my tongue down here, too.¡±


    Isabelle blushed and turned her head to the side. ¡°You... that''s not something guys... why would you...¡±


    I gently moved her hands out of the way and she didn''t stop me. ¡°Because you''re hot.¡± I said and she blushed harder. ¡°I hope you don''t think that''s too shallow of me.¡±


    ¡°N-no, I...¡± Isabelle paused and didn''t say anything else.


    ¡°I''m sorry that my story made you feel bad.¡± I said and caressed her thighs. ¡°You took my hand to reassure me, even knowing I just picked up garbage from the floor.¡±


    ¡°I... well...¡±


    ¡°You listened and you showed me that you cared. That deserves a reward, don''t you think?¡±


    Isabelle''s blush didn''t fade as she turned her head slightly to look at me. ¡°Ben, I... I''m...¡±


    ¡°I won''t compromise that.¡± I promised and slid my hands up her thighs.


    Isabelle leaned back against the mirror and lifted her hips slightly.


    I smiled warmly at her and eased her panties off. ¡°Well, hello there little bald sharky.¡±


    Isabelle let out a giggle at my joke about testing the waters.


    ¡°So much for the theory of the carpet matching the drapes.¡± I said and moved in close.


    ¡°D-don''t stare.¡± Isabelle whispered.


    ¡°I don''t intend to.¡± I said and gave her a tentative lick.


    ¡°OH!¡± Isabelle gasped and some clear fluid came out of her.


    I tasted her and I was right about my taste buds enhancing things. I could almost pick out the different chemical compounds in it. ¡°More testing is needed.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Isabelle asked and then she moaned loudly as I spread her open with my fingers and proceeded to lick and taste everything I could see. ¡°Ohhh... oh, god! Ben... your tongue... is magic!¡±


    I carefully played with her and probed her intact hymen. It was quite sensitive and I teased it a lot before I moved up to my true target and I ruthlessly attacked her clitoris.


    ¡°GAHHH!¡± Isabelle yelled and came very hard.


    White fluid flowed out of her and I sucked up the offering, as was appropriate. I had made her orgasm, so I was keeping the results. I regretted not having a test tube to save some of it, just in case I had a chance for a later comparison after she lost her virginity. Assuming she would let me if she found someone to have sex with.


    I pushed the thought out of my mind, since it wasn''t relevant, and stood up. ¡°Thank you for letting me do that, Isabelle.¡±


    Isabelle had a bit of a frantic look in her eyes as she panted. ¡°You''re... thanking... me?¡±


    ¡°You are quite delicious.¡± I said and looked down at the mess. ¡°Do you need a hand cleaning up?¡±


    ¡°W-w-wait.¡± Isabelle said and tried to get her breathing under control. It took her a minute to do so and she sat up to glare at me. ¡°That''s it? That''s all you''re going to do?¡±


    I raised my eyebrows. ¡°I thought you were done.¡±


    Isabelle squinted her eyes at me. ¡°Get your tongue back down there right now or I''m going to scream.¡±


    I raised my hands up in surrender and she leaned back against the mirror. I knelt again and moved forward, only to feel her hands caress my head.


    I felt a tingle at the back of my skull and then her fingers gripped my hair and pulled me in as she wrapped her legs around my neck. I could have slipped away easily, especially with the early warning, then decided to just go with it. I did start things off with a bang, after all.


    I never did get to the library before the lunch bell rang.


    *


    ¡°Jesus, man! What happened to you?¡± One of the guys from homeroom asked me when I entered the cafeteria.


    ¡°I was mauled by a wild animal.¡± I responded quite truthfully and he laughed. My clothes were a bit messy, my hair was all over the place, and I was pretty sure my lips and my neck were bruised. Isabelle hadn''t taken it easy on me at all.


    ¡°You really look like that.¡± Betty said as I sat down beside her.


    ¡°Hey, beautiful. I mean Betty.¡± I said with a smirk.


    Betty blushed and shook her head while the two girls across the table laughed softly.


    ¡°Oh! I missed two more pretty ladies! Where did you come from?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You really don''t remember us?¡± The tall dark-skinned girl asked.


    ¡°Not even a little bit.¡± I said and took a packed lunch out of my backpack. ¡°Amnesia is anathema to letting me remember such striking beauties, I''m sorry to say.¡±


    ¡°I''m Liz and she''s Cindy.¡± The dark-skinned girl said and pointed to the Asian girl.


    ¡°Ben Parker.¡± I said and opened the bag my lunch was in to take out the contents.


    ¡°Your name''s Peter.¡± Cindy said.


    ¡°It was.¡± I said and opened the container with a large square of lasagna in it. ¡°Benjamin is a middle name. I go by that now.¡±


    The three girls took in deep sniffs.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Betty asked and leaned in close to me.


    ¡°The best budget homemade lasagna in the world.¡± I said and took a spoon from the bag.


    ¡°It smells better than what''s served here.¡± Betty said and she and Cindy exchanged looks. ¡°SCOOP!¡±


    I glanced at them and looked at Liz. ¡°That wasn''t an order, right?¡±


    Liz chuckled. ¡°No, they work in the journalism program and host a school news show twice a week.¡±


    ¡°Tuesdays and Thursdays, broadcast right here in the cafeteria.¡± Betty said proudly and pointed to the televisions mounted in the corners of the room near the ceiling. ¡°Seymour and Charles do Mondays and Wednesdays.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean there''s an orgy of hosts on Fridays?¡± I asked and scooped up some lasagna to eat.


    The three girls stared at me with blushes on their faces.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked after swallowing.


    ¡°An orgy? Really?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°That''s not the slang word for group?¡± I asked, pretending I didn''t know what it really meant.


    ¡°I think that confirms that you don''t remember anything.¡± Betty said. ¡°I''ll add it to the copy for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Don''t forget the wild animal on the loose.¡± I said and ate more lasagna. ¡°I almost didn''t get away. If the lunch bell hadn''t scared it off, who knows what could have happened if it completely lost control.¡±


    ¡°Wait, there really is a wild animal?¡± Cindy asked, surprised.


    I nodded and kept eating.


    ¡°Well?¡± Cindy prompted.


    ¡°I''m eating.¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°We all should.¡± Liz said and we all did. We even ate the piece of cobbler I had, that the girls needed to try, just because it looked so good.


    ¡°Okay, now spill it!¡± Cindy almost shouted, which made Liz and myself laugh.


    ¡°It stalks the halls looking for wayward students. If you''re not careful, it pounces on you and you''re caught in its clutches. I was at my locker when it found me, barely managed to make it to the bathroom to hide out, and that''s where it tackled me.¡± I said and rubbed my neck with a hand, then I couldn''t stop myself and laughed.


    ¡°Oh, you!¡± Cindy huffed and crossed her arms. ¡°It''s not funny to tease reporters.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± I said and looked at Betty. ¡°How about an exclusive interview with the amnesiac?¡±


    Betty looked at her watch and shook her head. ¡°It would have to wait until after school.¡±


    ¡°We can''t because I take a bus.¡± I said. ¡°Would a quick overview be enough for now?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Cindy said. ¡°We could use it as a teaser to get people to watch Thursday''s show.¡±


    ¡°That''s a great idea, Cindy.¡± Betty said and took out a notepad. ¡°Okay, Peter... I mean Ben. Give me the rundown.¡±


    I gave her the highlights as I packed the remains of my lunch away, including my flight down the stairs, my concussion, and memory loss. Both Betty and Cindy nodded when I was done and the bell rang.


    ¡°We can work with this.¡± Cindy said and we all stood.


    ¡°Have fun with it.¡± I said and said goodbye to them as I left at a fast walk. I needed to get to Mr. Harrison''s classroom to give him a heads-up about me dropping both his class and the academic decathlon team. It was not going to be a good afternoon to be me, because I had geography after that.


    All in all, the only good part about the day was getting to eat out Isabelle, and even that hurt afterwards. She sure had nice thighs, though.

 06 More School, More To Do

    Bokuboy


    As I suspected, Mr. Harrison wasn''t impressed with me dropping from the academic decathlon team. We had been practising since school started and it had already been three months. The team worked well together and we had all of the main subjects covered. I managed to not laugh as I told him that I couldn''t really remember anything about the subjects Peter used to be good at.


    ¡°You really can''t remember anything, Peter?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°It''s Ben, sir.¡±


    ¡°I think you''re pretending to be someone else in order to shirk the duties you volunteered for.¡± Mr. Harrison said. ¡°It''s a terrible thing you''re doing and I won''t be encouraging you to do so by giving you a list of books you''ve already read.¡±


    I gave him about five seconds of silence before I put my backpack back on. ¡°Since your reality is different from mine, I won''t be attending this class anymore, either.¡± I said and walked to the classroom door. I didn''t bother asking for permission to leave and ignored the whispers from the other students.


    Why did Mary have to be right when she said I would have more encounters like the one in my computer science lab? I asked myself and went to the library. I would wait until near the end of the school day before I went back to the office to report the incident. ¡°Hi, Gladys.¡± I whispered and handed the woman behind the counter the note Mary had printed off for me.


    Gladys had thick glasses and a stern expression. She also had her hair done up into such a tight bun that her face looked like it had a cheap facelift. ¡°Non-standard hours of attendance? Is Mary joking?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said and turned my head slightly to show off the scar. ¡°I''ll be missing a few classes because of this and I don''t want to be roaming the halls and waste a great opportunity to avail myself of the knowledge that you so diligently guard and protect.¡±


    Gladys puckered her lips as if she had tasted something sour. ¡°I hope you aren''t trying to butter me up.¡±


    ¡°Would complimenting your appearance be more preferable?¡± I asked and her lips went into a bigger pucker as her eyes squinted. ¡°I''ll keep admiring your mind, then.¡±


    She kept the pucker and her eyes returned to normal. ¡°Are you just going to roam and pluck a random book from a shelf?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± I said and took out the list of books the computer teacher gave me. ¡°I would greatly appreciate your assistance in finding these.¡± I said and then took out my own modified list with things for the other courses. ¡°I need a Latin language primer if you have one, too.¡±


    Gladys gave both lists a look, then she gave me a nod of approval. ¡°Having a proper direction is the first step to success.¡±


    ¡°It really is.¡± I said and smiled at her. I didn''t make it too big, because I was sure she would think I was mocking her. ¡°If you have a map, I can mark where I take the books from and I will return them when the bell rings.¡±


    ¡°You aren''t going to check them all out?¡± Gladys asked and looked surprised.


    ¡°No, miss. I need to build trust with you before I inconvenience you that much.¡± I said. ¡°Although, if you have more than one copy of the Latin primer, I wouldn''t mind borrowing one. I have Latin first thing and I have no clue how to catch up, except to try and start from the beginning.¡±


    Gladys stood and walked around the counter, my lists in hand. ¡°You need to rebuild your mental foundations?¡±


    I had to smile wider at that. ¡°That''s exactly what I''m doing! Out of all the teachers I''ve met so far, you''re the only one I''ve talked to that understood.¡±


    Gladys looked pleased. ¡°I''m not a teacher.¡±


    ¡°I think you easily could be.¡± I said and followed her to the languages section. ¡°Your organization skills alone would benefit a lot of students.¡±


    Gladys gave me a look that said I was pulling her leg.


    ¡°When I opened my locker this morning, it looked like a tornado hit it.¡± I said and her eyebrows rose. ¡°The old me seemed to not care how he put the books in the locker, probably because he was going back between every class and not doing it twice a day when he had time.¡±


    ¡°Most students attend their lockers constantly.¡± Gladys said. ¡°They clutter up the halls daily.¡±


    ¡°I know! The state my locker was in really surprised me, considering what my room looked like with everything organized. It took me a while to sort things properly and to clean the locker up.¡±


    ¡°I assume you did so before checking for these?¡± Gladys asked and held up the lists.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said and we stopped at a shelf near the end of a long row of books. ¡°The computer book list I received from my previous teacher and the other one I made when retrieving my scribblers.¡±


    Gladys nodded and pulled out a small book and handed it to me. ¡°The primer.¡±


    I was amazed at the small book. ¡°Wait, that''s it?¡±


    Gladys smiled and tapped her glasses. ¡°It''s very small print. You might need reading glasses.¡±


    ¡°I''ll do fine, miss.¡± I said and she led me around to gather a few books.


    When I asked her what I could study for my other elective classes, she said she would give me a list when I left the library when the class bell rang. I thanked her and sat down at the table that was closest to her counter and carefully placed the books on either side and braced the Latin language primer in the space between and opened the book.


    ¡°You weren''t kidding.¡± I whispered at the tiny print.


    ¡°I have a spare pair to loan if you need them.¡± Gladys whispered back.


    I thought I heard approval in her voice and smiled at her. ¡°I''ll try with the naked eyeball first. If it needs to be dressed later, I''ll let you know.¡±


    Gladys let a little smile show before she walked over to the counter and resumed her seat behind it.


    I started reading and a few things clicked for me, so I took out the Latin class book and the scribbler from my backpack. I flipped to a blank page and started copying things out. The more I did, the more that seemed to fit into my mind properly.


    When I finished going through the primer and had made a dozen sheets of notes, I sat back and let my mind digest it all for several minutes. I didn''t try to force things and let it settle before I went to the front of the book again. This time, I also opened my class book and referenced the notes in my scribbler.


    I worked for another half an hour and finished the primer again. The knowledge was more prominent and I still wasn''t proficient at it; but, I did have a good basis and with more practice tonight, I shouldn''t have too much trouble in class tomorrow. I packed my class book and the scribbler away and put the library book off to the side.


    I picked up the first computer book on basic computer languages and flipped it open. My mind almost sighed as I easily digested it and I blew through the book like it was a magazine that I was only looking at the pictures. I lightly chuckled and moved the book aside and picked up the next book that focused on computer applications and more in depth programming.


    I blew through that one as well and I could almost feel Gladys staring at me. I lifted my head to see her intense gaze and I did the only thing I could do. I gave her a thumbs-up and a grin. She looked surprised for a moment, then she nodded and went back to her own reading.


    I made it through two more computer books and stopped when there was about ten minutes left before the class bell was going to ring. I gathered up the books and retraced the path through the library to put them all back, except for the Latin language primer. I went back to the counter and Gladys looked like she was impressed.


    ¡°Thank you so much for your help, Gladys.¡± I whispered and put the book and my new school ID on the counter. ¡°I''m starting to realize why Peter never had a computer book at home.¡±


    ¡°He must have devoured them like you have.¡± Gladys said and added the library book to my borrowed list.


    Thankfully, that was the only one I had out. If there had been any others, I had no clue where I would find them. She handed me my ID and the book and I put the book in my backpack and the ID went into my pocket.


    ¡°Thanks again.¡± I whispered, just as the bell rang. ¡°Geography torture awaits.¡±


    Gladys smiled briefly and nodded. ¡°I''ll have modern history preface books for you tomorrow for third period.¡±


    ¡°How did you know I was off then?¡± I asked and she pointed at the computer. ¡°Oh, my ID.¡±


    ¡°You need a bit more studying in computers.¡± Gladys said with another smile.


    ¡°Did you just make a joke about me forgetting things? Thank you.¡± I said and her smile remained. ¡°Mrs. Warren is gonna regret kicking me out of class. See you tomorrow.¡±


    Gladys nodded and I left the library at a fast walk. I had several minutes to get halfway across the building to the second floor and my modern geography class. I was still going to tell the teacher what happened, so he wouldn''t call on me for a while. Hopefully. Some teachers could be real pricks about it.


    *


    May entered the apartment and a delicious smell assaulted her. She had to close her mouth to stop the drool, even though the lasagna at lunch had been delicious and she wasn''t very hungry.


    ¡°I think I heard someone''s stomach grumble!¡± Ben''s voice said from the kitchen.


    May laughed as she kicked off her shoes and hung up her jacket. ¡°What masterpiece have you made now? I''m trying to stop drooling here.¡±


    Ben laughed, too. ¡°Chicken stir-fry with brown rice and steamed vegetables.¡±


    May entered the kitchen and smiled at the already lit candles. ¡°I''m not that hungry after eating lunch.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem. Just like the Bolognese sauce, the rice can be kept separate and used several times.¡± Ben said. ¡°I was going to switch the spaghetti for fettuccine or rigatoni noddles tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Rigatoni.¡± May said. ¡°Fettuccine is a bit too wide and floppy for my liking.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Rigatoni it is.¡±


    The pair ate the great food and May had a bit more than she should have.


    ¡°I thought you said you weren''t hungry?¡± Ben asked with a grin as he pointed up the stairs. ¡°Go bathe.¡±


    ¡°I can help with the dishes.¡± May offered.


    ¡°I''m doing them because I have to beg off watching television tonight. I have to practice Latin.¡±


    May nodded. ¡°Try to take it easy, Ben. No one expects a miracle from you after the accident.¡±


    Ben didn''t tell her about what happened at school because she didn''t need that kind of pressure right now. ¡°I''ll take breaks, just like I did at school today.¡±


    May smiled and lightly touched his arm, then she left the kitchen. She went up the stairs and took off her work outfit to hang up in her closet. She didn''t even think about not walking around in her underwear as she went down the hallway to the bathroom.


    The little confrontation she had with Ben had surprised her and also gave her a lot or reassurance. She was sure that Peter was in there somewhere under Ben''s confident attitude.


    That thought made her pause, because she had told Ben that she wasn''t waiting for Peter to come back. May had been sure that was true, then that odd thought had come to her. Could Ben really be a new personality created by Peter''s damaged brain? Was it a simple thing like having him visit a psychologist to put him back to who he used to be? Did she have any right to do that to him?


    May shook her head and pulled off her panties to toss in the hamper and hung her bra on the small rack of hooks that Ben had installed for her. It was such a simple thing to make her life a little easier and she appreciated it. In fact, she appreciated everything he had been doing since he had told her that he had amnesia. He really was doing everything he could to help her and that was really endearing.


    She slipped into the tub and almost moaned because it was the perfect temperature to let her relax. She barely moved at all as she pretended to wash herself and mostly laid there and enjoyed it.


    Despite Peter being hurt like he was and the resulting medical bill that really cut into their meagre savings, May''s life had actually improved by leaps and bounds since Ben appeared and it had only been a week and a half. She couldn''t stop her smile as she wondered what her life was going to be like when Ben was older.


    *


    I strode through Midtown High School of Science and Technology at a pace just below a jog. My bus had gotten caught in traffic that morning and I was going to be late for class.


    ¡°There you are.¡± Isabelle''s voice said as I entered the right hall for Latin class.


    ¡°I''m really sorry I can''t stop to talk. I have to get to class and try to stay on the teacher''s good side.¡± I said and barely paused while I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as I passed her by. ¡°I''ll fake needing the bathroom before the end of class.¡±


    Isabelle looked surprised at my words.


    I ignored that as I knocked on the classroom door and entered without being asked. ¡°I''m terribly sorry for my tardiness, Miss Romani. My bus was caught in traffic.¡± I said and handed her the class excuse note for her to mark.


    ¡°Oh? You''re not claiming you can''t remember where it is?¡± Miss Romani asked. She had apparently been informed of my status and it didn''t seem like it was from a good source.


    Probably Mr. Harrison. I thought and pointed to the scar on my head. ¡°I didn''t remember at all. I memorized the map of the school last night, where your class was, and how to get to it. I did the same with your name.¡± I said and made a point to look at her from her head, roamed down her body to her feet, and went back up to her face.


    She was a striking woman that had long straight black hair, slim hips, and a moderately-sized chest. She had also noticed me literally checking her out and she didn''t look happy about it.


    I switched to speaking Latin that I had practised a lot last night, because the primer had tons of verbal breakdowns for me to use as references. ¡°You are attractive woman.¡±


    Complete silence met my words.


    ¡°I must wait until body growth before I can flirt you properly.¡± I said and she looked stunned. I switched back to speaking English. ¡°Damn, I screwed up the syntax on that. Sorry, Miss Romani.¡±


    Miss Romani marked my excuse card and didn''t say anything as she passed it back.


    I looked around the classroom and all of the seats were full except for one, so I didn''t have any choice and sat in the last seat. Everyone stared at me and I ignored them.


    Miss Romani gave me another look and then spoke. ¡°As I was saying, we''re working on writing out what a sentence is in English and then translating it into Latin.¡±


    I put up my hand. ¡°I did that last night with the exercises in the class book.¡±


    Miss Romani blinked her eyes several times and looked surprised. ¡°Peter...¡±


    ¡°It''s Ben, as you already know. Peter is dead.¡± I said and several of the girls gasped. ¡°Some of you seem to assume that I''m joking or carrying on. I''m not.¡± I looked around at everyone''s shocked faces and back at the teacher. ¡°If you would be so kind as to tell Mr. Harrison he can kiss my ass for spreading lies about me, I would appreciate it. I reported him to the office yesterday and will go see Mary during lunch to add this to her report, too.¡±


    Miss Romani closed her eyes briefly and then opened them. ¡°I apologize for my assumption.¡±


    I nodded and she started teaching the class again. I followed along and caught a few things I hadn''t seen in the book, so it wasn''t a wasted class. I was on par or above the other students and that was more than enough to make me happy about the situation.


    I raised my hand with fifteen minutes left to class and she let me go to the bathroom. She didn''t question me about taking my backpack with me, either. She must have assumed that I was leaving early to get to the next class and she couldn''t have been more wrong.


    Isabelle stood by the classroom door and she gave me a pointed look. ¡°Ben.¡±


    ¡°Your bathroom or mine?¡± I asked her with a smile on my face.


    ¡°You''re lucky you''re so damn cute.¡± Isabelle said and took my hand. ¡°If I wasn''t graduating this year, you would be in so much trouble.¡±


    I did not make a joke about her being the one in trouble. I sure as hell thought it, though.


    Physics was my next class and I had studied my ass off for that. The teacher, Mr. Morales, didn''t look at me and acted like he didn''t care. That was fine with me. I didn''t need his help to keep studying, anyway. Gladys was going to help me with that. I would meet her next period and she was going to help me cram for my history class that afternoon.


    If my suspicion was right, she was going to be a harsh teacher. Surprisingly, I was okay with that, too.

 07 Dazed and Confusing

    Bokuboy


    I went to lunch and nearly the entire cafeteria was quiet when I entered it. I saw the tall dark-skinned girl wave to me and I walked over to her table. ¡°Where are the rest of your devoted followers?¡±


    Liz chuckled as I sat across from her. ¡°Betty and Cindy are sophomores and are on the broadcast today, Michelle is busy with whatever she''s protesting this week, and Sarah and Kelly are freshmen and usually meet with their music club during lunch.¡±


    I laughed and took out my lunch bag. ¡°I was joking about it and you really have an entourage!¡±


    Liz grinned at me. ¡°Being a senior, I am pretty popular.¡±


    ¡°Ooo, really? If I rub you all over myself, can I siphon some of it off and onto myself?¡±


    Liz''s grin froze on her face. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You know, like static electricity! I rub you on me like a balloon and you give me some of your popularity.¡±


    Liz looked both relieved and a little perturbed. ¡°You have a really weird way of saying things.¡±


    I paused opening my container of chicken stir-fry. ¡°I''m not against actually doing it, you know.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I can pick you up and rub you across my head and we can see if it actually works.¡± I said and wagged my eyebrows at her.


    Liz looked too stunned to respond.


    ¡°I''ll take that as a maybe?¡± I said with a laugh and opened my food. ¡°You''re used to having people have crushes on you, aren''t you?¡±


    Liz blinked her eyes several times. ¡°Are you saying you have a crush on me?¡±


    ¡°I''m pretty sure Peter did. He wrote a lot about a gorgeous tall girl he liked, only he didn''t mention a name. It was almost like he was scared to admit it, even if he was writing it down.¡±


    Liz looked thoughtful. ¡°You wouldn''t be scared to, would you?¡±


    ¡°Nope! There''s no point in hiding how you feel about someone. If you like them, tell them. The worst that can happen is they say they don''t like you back. Or curse at you. That could be worse.¡± I said and started eating.


    Liz gave me an odd look, then she started eating again. ¡°I heard about what you said in class.¡±


    ¡°What did you think about it?¡± I asked, genuinely curious.


    ¡°Is it true? Do you really think... is Peter...¡± Liz hesitated to keep speaking.


    ¡°Dead, yeah. There''s nothing I can do about that, not that I would if I could. I''m here now and I have just as much right to exist as he did.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Who can say if it was me the whole time and I just woke up when Peter passed away?¡±


    Liz looked a little lost for words.


    I reached across the table and took one of her hands. ¡°Don''t worry about it, okay? It''s not really something that should be thought about too much.¡±


    Liz gave me that same odd look. ¡°Peter and I weren''t friends. I''m the lead on the academic decathlon team and he was... kind of... avoiding me.¡±


    ¡°That means he did have a huge crush on you.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°Peter was an introvert. He was bullied at his old school and retreated socially. Once he saw you, well... it''s understandable. You probably pushed all of his nervous buttons. Smart, socially popular, and gorgeous.¡± I chuckled. ¡°You''re like nerd kryptonite.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°When you come near them, they get physically weaker, probably feel sick to their stomach, and feel a need to get away from you. You''re just too powerful for them to overcome.¡± I said and gave her hand a squeeze before I let it go.


    ¡°N-not you?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? I''m not immune to beautiful women and their charms. I just don''t see the point in being all awkward about it.¡± I said and finished the chicken and took out the rice. ¡°I mean, all that time wasted catching glances, trying to cause a chance meeting to say hi, or worse... falling into you to apologize and get the chance to talk to you.¡±


    Liz opened her mouth to say something, then she looked thoughtful.


    I ate the rice quickly and drank the orange juice from a recycled bottle. ¡°Anyways, I have to go. I need to talk to my history teacher and see if he''s going to be okay with me being in his class. I studied hard during the period before lunch and he should be happy about that.¡±


    Liz looked up at me as I stood. ¡°Ben...¡±


    I packed the remains of my lunch away. ¡°No need to be awkward about things, remember?¡±


    Liz took a breath and let it out. ¡°You said Peter had a crush on me.¡± She said and I nodded. ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°What do you want my answer to be?¡± I asked her.


    Liz didn''t hesitate. ¡°Yes. I think I''m really starting to like you and I want the feelings to be mutual.¡±


    I smiled at her. ¡°I have no problems telling you that I think you''re sexy and that the confidence you have in yourself is a huge turn-on for me.¡±


    Liz smiled back. ¡°I''m going to be a model and I''m the tallest girl in school. I have to be confident.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± I said and put on my backpack. ¡°I can''t wait to start making friends so I can brag about that.¡±


    Liz''s face went sad. ¡°Ben, you... you might have problems with that.¡±


    ¡°Only with the guys.¡± I said with a huge smile. ¡°How jealous of me are they going to be when we start hanging out together outside of school? A freshman and a senior! What a scandal!¡±


    Liz''s sad face disappeared and she smiled. ¡°Outside of school? Really?¡±


    ¡°Sure! Once I''ve settled down here in a week or so and gotten my life back in order, my studying craze isn''t going to taper off. I''m going to need a study buddy.¡± I said and started to walk backwards. ¡°How about it? Can your intelligence handle the competition?¡±


    ¡°I think I can handle... Ben! Watch out!¡± Liz shouted.


    I stopped walking as a group of guys walked behind me. The brown-skinned boy tried to kick my knee from behind, probably in an attempt to make me trip like I did to him in class. I sidestepped his attack and he overcompensated with his balance for his foot not connecting. I used it as a perfect opportunity and grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and pushed hard on his chest.


    ¡°AHH!¡± The boy yelled as he flew backwards about six feet, right into the group of guys he had arranged to be his cover. They all tumbled to the floor in a heap and multiple yells and shouts came from them.


    I walked over to them and gave them my best ''I''m going to kill you smile''. ¡°You really need to watch where you''re walking. Heaven knows what could happen to you if you were near the stairs or something.¡±


    The guys around the brown-skinned boy got it right away and scrambled to their feet to get away.


    ¡°You PUSHED me, PARKER!¡± He yelled.


    ¡°I tried to grab you when you were going to fall and I missed.¡± I said and lowered my voice. ¡°Do you want me to not miss next time?¡±


    He got to his feet and glared at me. ¡°Just you wait! One of these days, you''re going to regret embarrassing me!¡±


    ¡°Why would I regret it? You''re the one causing it. Shouldn''t you be the one that regrets it?¡± I asked and that just made him angrier. ¡°If you''re done embarrassing yourself, I need to go.¡±


    ¡°We''re not done here.¡± He whispered and tried to grab my arm as I started to walk around him.


    I jerked it out of his reach and then swung back and slapped him right across the face. The echo of the crack was really loud in the completely silent cafeteria, because we had gathered everyone''s attention, apparently.


    The brown-skinned boy looked completely shocked and put a hand on his red cheek.


    ¡°Don''t you ever try to sexually proposition me again! I''m not gay and I''m never sucking your cock, no matter how many times you beg me to do it!¡± I shouted. ¡°I''ve got nothing against that lifestyle; but, I love women and you''ll never convince me that being with a guy can be just as good! I don''t even know your name!¡±


    The shocked looks on everyone''s faces matched his, so I knew my work was done there.


    ¡°I''ll be getting a restraining order against you, whoever you are! Stay away from me!¡± I said loudly and walked out of the cafeteria with my head held high and a stern look on my face.


    I made it to the hallway with history class before I burst out laughing at the scene I just caused. It took me a minute to calm down enough before I entered the right classroom. Mr. Jensen was a good sport about my predicament and I told him how much I studied to catch up and that I had Gladys help me. He looked happy about that and gave me an impromptu oral exam.


    I successfully answered about eight of the twelve questions and he looked even happier. I didn''t ask why and he didn''t offer to explain.


    ¡°Go ahead and take a seat, Ben.¡± He said and pointed to the normally available empty seats.


    ¡°Where is the biggest concentration of girls?¡± I asked him and he chuckled.


    ¡°Any preferences?¡± He asked with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Liz Allan has a crush on me.¡± I said, proudly.


    ¡°Ha!¡± The teacher said and pointed to the middle of the class. ¡°Try to ignore the death glares when everyone comes in and sees you''ve changed seats to be near her friends. Sarah and Kelly are pretty popular.¡±


    ¡°Liz successfully rubbed off on them, did she?¡± I asked as I went to the indicated seat.


    ¡°It''s the first multi-year group of popular girls I''ve ever encountered.¡± Mr. Jensen said. ¡°Should I warn you that if you wrong one of them, you wrong all of them?¡±


    I gave him my biggest grin so far. ¡°It''s too bad it doesn''t work the other way.¡±


    Mr. Jensen''s face was blank for several seconds, then he got it and laughed. ¡°You are definitely not Peter Parker.¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± I said and took out my book for the class and the scribbler. It was half-filled with the facts and figures that Gladys had helped me locate and make notes from. I would have to do something nice for her to thank her for getting me on Mr. Jensen''s good side.


    The bell rang and the classroom quickly filled up over the next couple of minutes and the teacher had been right. A few of the guys gave me squinted looks when they saw where my new seat was.


    I completely ignored them, because two very pretty girls entered the classroom. When they approached, I stood and gave them a little bow. ¡°Sarah, Kelly. Liz sends her regards.¡±


    The two girls exchanged looks and sat down at their seats, one beside me and the other in front of her.


    ¡°Did Liz really send you?¡± The blonde on my right asked.


    ¡°Technically.¡± I said and they gave me pointed looks. ¡°I ate lunch with her yesterday and today, I asked her who her friends were, and she mentioned you two by name. When I asked Mr. Jensen to sit me near the most popular girls in freshman year, he pointed right to this seat.¡±


    Both girls looked surprised by that.


    ¡°Before you ask, my name is Ben and Liz and I have admitted crushes to each other.¡±


    Both of them caught their breaths and their eyes almost lit up with questions and amusement.


    ¡°After class.¡± I whispered and they nodded.


    The teacher took that moment to speak. ¡°Now that I''ve got you all here, I''ll inform you that I''ve grilled Ben about his place in this class and I was happy to learn he isn''t slacking in his studying since his accident.¡±


    ¡°I don''t plan to stop, either. Gladys put together a study guide for me.¡± I added, which earned me another smile from him.


    ¡°That''s good. I like seeing real go-getters actually using their brains for something other than playing video games and chasing girls.¡± Mr. Jensen said and his smile grew wider.


    ¡°I don''t own a game console or a computer, sir.¡± I said and glanced at Sarah and Kelly. They giggled.


    ¡°Then open your books to chapter six while I give you all a rundown on the independent nation called Latveria. The ruling family have been in control of their nation for hundreds of years and...¡±


    My hand almost blurred as I wrote down everything the teacher said. This class is going to be extremely useful to me!


    *


    After Sarah, Kelly and I had a long chatting session about Liz between classes, we went to chemistry lab. I was really grateful for my excessive studying, because the teacher was nice about it and only asked me a few oddly specific questions. I answered them and she directed me to my assigned work station.


    Class was a blast, almost literally. I had stopped my lab partner, an overweight classmate named Ned, from blowing his hand off and hurting me, thanks to my spider-sense. He tried to thank me and I waved him off.


    ¡°Anyone not paying attention, or cared about their lives, would make the same mistake.¡± I said and he looked surprised. ¡°Do you think you could still have a normal life with only one hand?¡±


    Ned gave me an odd look. ¡°You and I were starting to become friends.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why were we becoming friends?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I... uh... well...¡±


    ¡°Let me guess. You were both social outcasts? Both nerds and geeks, which is a deadly combination? You both were bullied by that brown-skinned boy?¡±


    Ned looked surprised. ¡°His name''s Flash.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I doubt that. His mother would never name him after a crime.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You know.¡± I said and pretended I wore a trench coat and then hopped a bit and opened it. ¡°Flashing his dangling bits at women. It''s what perverts do at parks and back alleys to get an erection.¡±


    The obese boy just stared at me.


    ¡°Anyways, I''m sorry you lost your potential friend. Peter was a nice guy.¡±


    ¡°But, you''re Peter.¡± The boy said.


    ¡°Nope! I haven''t been Peter since I woke up.¡± I said and leaned in close to whisper. ¡°In case you hadn''t heard, Peter''s dead.¡±


    ¡°No, he''s just trapped inside an asshole.¡± Ned whispered back and turned away slightly as he bent down to pick something up.


    I felt the back of my skull scream at me and I immediately dropped to the floor and rolled off to the right.


    The metal stool slammed into the table with a clang and I stood up to stare at the obese boy.


    ¡°YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL ME!¡± I yelled and everyone in the class, especially the teacher, ran over to me.


    They took in the scene of me with dishevelled clothing and messy hair and the other boy with a death grip on his stool that had actually dented the metal tabletop. He was also breathing heavily, like he had never done any exercise in his life. He probably hadn''t.


    ¡°Mr. Leeds, what are you doing?¡± Mrs. Leyva asked him.


    ¡°N-n-nothing.¡± Ned said and let the stool go. It fell to the floor with another clang and he winced.


    ¡°Ben?¡± Mrs. Leyva asked me.


    ¡°He was telling me how he lost his potential friend after I got hurt, then he tried to recreate the accident by swinging a metal stool at the other side of my head.¡± I said and glared at the boy. ¡°As if having one bald patch and a concussion wasn''t bad enough! I could have died!¡±


    ¡°I didn''t want to kill you! I just wanted to knock you back into being Peter! That''s all!¡±


    Once again, complete silence fell and no one moved or said anything, until the teacher sighed.


    ¡°I want you all to clean up your stations and you can leave.¡± Mrs. Leyva said and reached out for the obese boy''s arm. ¡°Mr. Leeds, you are coming with me to the vice-principal''s office. I believe we are going to have a nice long talk about your actions today.¡±


    Ned looked like he was about to cry as she took his arm, then he dropped his head to stare at the floor and waddled along with the teacher out of the room.


    ¡°Ben? Are you okay?¡± Sarah asked as she came over to me with concern on her face.


    ¡°I... I think so.¡± I said and gave her a sad look before I put my arms around her and hugged her tenderly. Surprisingly, she didn''t stiffen up or tried to push me away.


    ¡°It''s going to be all right.¡± Sarah said as she hugged me back.


    Kelly came over and her hand rubbed one of my shoulders. ¡°There''s lots of time left until school ends. We might catch Liz before she heads to decathlon practice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''s a good idea.¡± I said and slightly eased my hold on the blonde in my arms as I leaned back to look at her face. ¡°Thanks for letting me hug you, Sarah.¡±


    Sarah blushed a little and then smiled. ¡°You still are.¡±


    I looked down at her chest pressed to mine and looked back at her face. ¡°Then I really need to thank you.¡±


    Sarah blushed a lot and her smile didn''t fade as she let me go. I grinned at her and let her go as well.


    We went back to our stations to clean up the mostly finished experiment. Of course, I quickly did the last three steps and cleaned up Ned''s area while I waited for the results. I achieved what the lab was supposed to produce and smiled as I recorded it and then cleaned up my own station.


    ¡°You are letting me borrow your notes.¡± Sarah whispered as she and Kelly stopped beside my table.


    ¡°I''m paying you back for the hug so soon?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°That''s seems fair.¡±


    Sarah smiled warmly and took my hand as we left the lab classroom.

 08 More Fun Than Expected

    Sarah, Kelly and I walked through the school and Sarah held my hand until we reached the auditorium. There was a group of three older girls waiting outside and one of them was Liz.


    ¡°Liz! You are NOT going to believe what just happened!¡± Sarah exclaimed.


    Liz smiled at her friends and looked at me. ¡°Another incident, Ben? Is this going to be a regular thing?¡±


    ¡°Probably for a couple weeks.¡± I said and motioned to Sarah. ¡°I''ll let her explain what happened.¡±


    ¡°Why can''t you tell me?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Sarah''s going to explode if I don''t let her.¡±


    Liz laughed softly. ¡°That''s true.¡± She looked at the shorter blonde. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    What followed was a solid stream of speech that had Liz, Kelly, the other two girls with Liz, and myself, completely entertained. I wasn''t even sure Sarah realized she hadn''t paused even once during it all.


    ¡°I''d recommend you for the journalism course, except you''d run out of material halfway through the broadcast.¡± I said and gave Sarah a quick one-arm hug and let her go. ¡°That was both awesome and scary.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Sarah gasped and Kelly laughed. Liz and the other two girls joined her.


    ¡°I''ll write up my lab report tonight and I''ll give you my notes tomorrow morning.¡± I said to distract her and Sarah looked happy.


    ¡°Wait, you still completed the lab? How?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I did it with my setup while I cleaned up my partner''s station. Probably ex-partner. I doubt Mrs. Leyva will want Ned anywhere near me after that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Ben.¡± Liz said and stepped close. She put her arms around my neck and pulled me in close. She was five foot eleven inches and I was only about five foot seven, so she had four inches on me, not counting the two inch heels she wore.


    ¡°I think I need a box to stand on or something.¡± I said and rested my cheek on her shoulder. ¡°Maybe a step ladder.¡±


    ¡°You''re not intimidated by my height, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, it''s just more of you to love.¡± I said and a collective ''aww'' sound came from the girls around us.


    Liz let me go and looked quite happy.


    ¡°I know what I need! Clown shoes!¡± I exclaimed and she covered her mouth to stop her laugh.


    ¡°I think you meant platform shoes.¡± One of her older friends said. ¡°Clown shoes are long for big feet.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± I said and gave her a confused look. ¡°I know having big feet stands for something...¡±


    All of the girls exchanged looks and the amusement on their faces was unmistakable.


    ¡°That you have a big... personality.¡± Liz''s other older friend said with a smirk.


    ¡°Cool! I wonder if I can find clown-sized platform shoes? My new personality is huge!¡±


    The girls looked surprised for a moment, then they all started laughing, even Liz.


    I stood there and basked in the laughter, because making a group of girls laugh was the best sound to hear.


    ¡°Here... comes... Mr. Harrison and... the other team members.¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°That''s my cue to get out of here.¡± I said and stood on my toes to plant a kiss on Liz''s cheek. ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow at lunch.¡±


    Liz blushed and nodded.


    ¡°Bye, Sarah, Kelly, and the other two girls Liz can introduce to me later!¡± I said and waved to the still laughing girls and jogged down the hallway in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Coward!¡± Flash shouted from behind Mr. Harrison.


    ¡°Restraining order, you flashing pervert!¡± I shouted back and the group of girls laughed some more. With any luck, that would be all over the school by tomorrow at lunch.


    *


    I had English Literature first thing on Wednesday and the teacher just waved me to a seat and said I could study whenever I wanted to keep up. I told her I already had, because her class was important to me, and she gave me a pointed look.


    I opened my backpack and held up the assigned reading book. ¡°I''m about halfway through this thing and reading Old English is a pain in the ass.¡±


    Just then Sarah and Kelly entered the class and giggled at me.


    ¡°Sorry for being so crass, ladies.¡± I said and bowed slightly to them.


    ¡°We''ve heard worse.¡± Sarah said and they sat down.


    ¡°What''s the antagonist''s motivation?¡± The teacher asked me.


    ¡°It started out as revenge on the group that wronged him, then it changed to him realizing the entire caste system was wrong and he wants to bring it all down.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I doubt he''ll be successful, mainly because he''s thinking too small.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± The teacher asked and Sarah and Kelly looked at me with interest.


    ¡°The protagonist is going to easily foil his plans without realizing he is perpetuating the problem that the book starts with.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°If the antagonist had been smart, he would have set up a backup plan, maybe even a henchman to take over for him, to ensure his work to expose the nobles would still happen.¡±


    The teacher gave me a smile. ¡°That is a very interesting point of view, Ben. I look forward to reading your book report on it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I''ll do my best with it.¡± I said and the teacher started to do something with the papers on her desk. I put the book down and dug into my backpack for several sheets of paper. ¡°Here you go, Sarah. A copy of my notes and my lab report, so you can change a few things and it won''t look like we copied off of each other.¡±


    Sarah blinked her eyes several times. ¡°R-really? You''re giving me both of them?¡±


    ¡°Copies of them, yes.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°I already dropped off the original at Miss Leyva''s office. The last thing I want is for you or Kelly to be accused of cheating.¡±


    Sarah gave Kelly a glance and the other girl smiled back at her. ¡°You knew I was going to share it with her?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I certainly hoped so! She''s your best friend and your lab partner. Why would you keep it from her?¡±


    Both girls beamed smiles at me and spoke together. ¡°Thanks, Ben!¡±


    ¡°Sarah gave me a great hug yesterday, so the extra work was worth it.¡± I said and they giggled.


    The class quickly filled up and the teacher took over our attention and kept us busy for the whole period. I had Civil Engineering next and I breezed through the testing questions that the teacher tried to trick me with. The class itself was easy, because a lot of it was math and statistics, which I was kind of a prodigy with.


    Business Economics was next and that was just math as well, so it was actually easier than civil engineering. The teacher was impressed with my performance and actually told me that I didn''t have to study more in my spare time. That was great to hear and I thanked the woman before I went to lunch.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Liz said and waved when I entered the cafeteria.


    ¡°Did I just hear an angel call my name?¡± I asked and pretended to look around, then jumped a little when I ''found'' Liz. ¡°Oh! It really was!¡±


    A few people laughed as I walked over to the table. Liz had a huge smile on her face while Betty and Cindy looked about ready to pounce on me.


    ¡°Easy, ladies. We''ll get to the juicy gossip after we start eating.¡± I said and sat down.


    ¡°You better not disappoint or trick us like last time.¡± Cindy said.


    ¡°Heaven forbid.¡± I said and smiled at Liz, who winked back.


    We all started eating, the three of them with cafeteria food and myself with my homemade lunch. I started talking about what happened to me, from start to finish, and I added in the way some of the teachers didn''t believe me and how others were great about it. I expressed my gratitude about that, too.


    ¡°That''s great.¡± Betty said and gave me an intense stare. ¡°Now tell us about Flash Thompson.¡±


    I smirked at Liz and she laughed softly. ¡°You already heard about it from a bunch of people and just want confirmation that it''s true, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Cindy gasped and her pen moved like lightning. ¡°Did he really proposition you?¡±


    ¡°A couple of times. He''s even verbally assaulted me and tried a few times to grab me.¡±


    Cindy looked like Christmas came early and kept writing.


    ¡°Details.¡± Betty said and I told her everything. I also might have added a few words that he didn''t say and also told them about him choosing a nickname for himself that was a crime. Who wanted to be known as the guy named after a perverted act? It wasn''t right to promote that kind of filth in a school!


    Betty and Cindy now shared the same look. They had an exclusive scoop and were going to milk it for everything that it was worth.


    ¡°As thanks for taking an interest in me, I brought this in for you.¡± I said and took out a food container. I opened it and inside were three pieces of fruit cobbler. ¡°Please, help yourself.¡±


    Liz, Betty, and Cindy let out sounds of surprise before the three pieces were on their plates and they started eating them.


    ¡°You have got to tell me what store you bought this from.¡± Liz said and took another bite. ¡°I think I''d send dad across the whole city to get one of these for myself.¡±


    I chuckled and stayed quiet as she enjoyed it.


    ¡°You''re keeping it to yourself?¡± Cindy asked with a frown.


    I reached over and lightly touched her hand before I pat it and pulled my hand back. ¡°I''m just waiting until you''re done eating it before I shock you and possibly make you choke.¡±


    Betty huffed. ¡°We''re professionals. There''s nothing you can say that will surprise us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Tell us already!¡± Cindy said. ¡°You said you wouldn''t disappoint us!¡±


    ¡°If you''re sure.¡± I said and they nodded. I gave each of them a pointed look, then I gave them a big smile. ¡°The truth is... I made it.¡±


    Three forks dropped to the table and three identical surprised looks came from the three girls.


    ¡°Consummate professionals, huh?¡± I joked and they didn''t react. ¡°Aunt May had a similar look on her face when she tasted it. She knew I was making it and was still surprised.¡±


    ¡°You can''t be serious.¡± Cindy whispered.


    ¡°You really made this?¡± Liz asked and put the last of her piece into her mouth.


    ¡°I''ll tell you another secret.¡± I said and gave them another pointed look as I packed up. ¡°I''ve made everything I''ve brought to school for the last two weeks.¡±


    Their surprised looks returned and I stood up to put my backpack on. I walked around the table and bent down to kiss Liz on the cheek.


    ¡°I''ve got mechanical engineering all afternoon, so I won''t see you again until lunch tomorrow.¡± I said and walked out of the cafeteria.


    I went to class and I have to say that it was awesome! We spent the first period going over the tools we would be using, including a metal lathe, then we were tasked with creating our own drill bit diameter measuring tool... in half inch thick steel! I couldn''t believe it!


    We were only three months into my first year of high school and I was already learning how to make my own tools to make the things I wanted to make!


    Needless to say, I was so excited about it that I smashed through that task in only half an hour. I even polished and marked the sizes with a tap and die set with both metric and imperial measurements. It shocked the teacher so much that Mr. Simmons gave me a ten out of ten right there and told me I could practice some of the other projects I had done as Peter.


    I just barely stopped my excited laugh and almost hugged the man, because he had just given me unlimited access to the materials shop and the tools that the class had previously used. That was like giving unlimited water to a parched man. He was going to suck up as much of that as he could handle until he threw up, then he was going to drink a whole lot more!


    *


    I walked into the apartment with my backpack completely stuffed with metal projects, scrap pieces of steel, and a ton of tools and bits that I had created all afternoon. It was amazing what you could do with access to a fully working metal shop and permission to do whatever you wanted.


    I put my backpack in my room and went to the bathroom. You could get surprisingly dirty when handling and working with metal, so I stripped off and hopped into the shower. I scrubbed everywhere and made myself squeaky clean, including down there, which made it react. I hopped out of the shower and dried off.


    I glanced at the time and nodded, quickly wrapped the towel around my waist, and left the bathroom. If I thaw out the chicken pieces as soon as possible, I can start the soup stock and... My thoughts came to an abrupt halt when I was halfway down the stairs and saw who was there.


    May stood in the living room with surprise on her face and beside her was a black woman that I had never seen before.


    ¡°May, you didn''t tell me your nephew was so handsome.¡± The black woman said and gave me an appraising look. She seemed to like what she saw, if the smile on her face was any indication.


    As fate would have it, my hastily wrapped towel decided to let go at that exact moment.


    Both May''s and the black woman''s eyes went right to my revealed crotch, which just so happened to still be erect from me washing it. It also bobbed slightly from having the towel hit it as the cloth dropped to the stairs.


    ¡°Make that quite handsome.¡± The black woman said and her smile changed to a sexy one.


    There was complete silence for about five seconds as I stared at them and they stared at my crotch.


    May shook slightly and was the first to react. ¡°BEN! TOWEL!¡±


    I jumped slightly and took two steps down as I bent over to grab the towel that had rolled down a couple of stairs. ¡°I just got out of the shower.¡± I started to explain. ¡°I forgot to take the chicken out before and...¡±


    ¡°UPSTAIRS NOW!¡± May yelled.


    I ran.

 09 Meetings And Consequences

    Bokuboy


    I may have taken that little impromptu tease a bit too far. I thought as I dashed into my room and grabbed underwear, jeans and a t-shirt to put on.


    I had only meant to let the towel slip a little and then catch it. With a witness other than May there, I couldn''t take the chance that they would notice me moving much faster than a normal person could. I dressed quickly and went to the top of the stairs to watch and listen.


    ¡°I''m really sorry about Ben, Doris.¡± May said and handed the black woman a drink of wine.


    The black woman chuckled and accepted the glass as she sat on the couch. ¡°Why are you sorry? Does he always greet people like that?¡±


    ¡°Oh god, no!¡± May gasped and then sat beside her. ¡°He doesn''t even greet me like that.¡±


    ¡°Is that regret I hear?¡± Doris teased and May blushed.


    ¡°Please don''t joke about that. He''s my nephew!¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. By marriage.¡± Doris said and took a drink of wine. ¡°I''ve been wondering why you''ve been so happy for the last two weeks.¡±


    ¡°Doris!¡± May gasped again and the black woman laughed a deep and rich laugh.


    ¡°Yes, I''m just kidding. I know it''s really because he''s been treating you so well.¡± Doris said.


    ¡°He really has.¡± May said. ¡°I''ve never eaten so well in my life.¡±


    ¡°And you said he never used to cook?¡±


    ¡°Not even microwave meals.¡± May said and took a drink. ¡°He''s also doing all the household chores and he makes me take relaxing baths and lets me watch what I want on the television.¡±


    ¡°You lucky, lucky woman.¡± Doris said and rested a hand on May''s arm. ¡°I wish my Addy was as attentive as your nephew.¡±


    ¡°How is he doing, by the way?¡± May asked. ¡°We haven''t had much chance to talk the last few weeks.¡±


    ¡°The emergency room has been hectic lately and you haven''t visited the office until today.¡± Doris said.


    May took the woman''s hand on her arm and held it for a moment before she let it go. ¡°I''m sorry about that, Doris. I''m also glad there''s enough nurses available that I can leave work when my shift is over.¡±


    Doris nodded. ¡°I''m almost in the same situation. Addy''s been out of the house more than he''s been at home. His salvage business is taking off and he has several government contracts on the go.¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure if you want me to say I''m sorry or not.¡± May said and both women laughed.


    ¡°Me, either! He''s making good money, even if he is away so much.¡± Doris said and then smiled. ¡°Do you think I could borrow your nephew for a few days a week?¡±


    May laughed and lightly smacked her arm. ¡°No teasing about that!¡±


    Doris looked at the kitchen and nodded at the table. ¡°He hasn''t done anything yet.¡±


    May smiled. ¡°He calls it our date table when he decorates it.¡±


    ¡°Cheeky and bold.¡± Doris said and her face went serious. ¡°Are you sure you don''t want that recommendation?¡±


    May sighed. ¡°No, I don''t want to risk it.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Doris asked.


    ¡°Ben hasn''t been Peter since the accident. He hasn''t done a single thing that Peter used to do.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t say that.¡± Doris said. ¡°He seems to adore you.¡±


    May opened her mouth to say something and then nodded. ¡°I''m glad he does. If he treated me like a stranger, I''m not sure how I would handle that. I don''t know if I could handle it.¡±


    Doris put her hand back on May''s arm. ¡°I''m sorry I brought it up.¡±


    ¡°It''s not like I haven''t thought about having him see a psychologist.¡± May admitted. ¡°I know he''s not Peter anymore and I don''t want to force him to be. It still bothers me that Peter could change so much with a simple hit to the head like that.¡±


    ¡°It wasn''t simple, if what you told me about it was true.¡± Doris said and took her hand back. ¡°How long did you have to wait at the hospital and you work there?¡±


    May chuckled. ¡°We would have been there longer if I wasn''t a nurse.¡±


    ¡°At least you didn''t panic too much when you saw the blood.¡±


    ¡°I panicked enough.¡± May said. ¡°He couldn''t even see straight and thought there were three of me.¡±


    ¡°Three of you that he said were pretty.¡± Doris joked.


    ¡°I said no teasing, dammit!¡± May said and they both laughed.


    I had heard enough for now and went to my room to close the door loudly. I walked to the top of the stairs and both women stared at me as I walked down them. Without pausing, I walked around the couch and stood in front of the black woman.


    ¡°Hi, there. I''m Ben the Flasher. It''s nice to meet you.¡± I said and held my hand out to her.


    Doris looked surprised for a moment, then she laughed and shook my hand. ¡°Hello, Ben. I''m Doris.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry about earlier. I usually don''t walk around with Big Ben hanging out like that.¡± I said and looked at May''s blushing face for a second before looking back at Doris'' amused face. ¡°I didn''t know May would be coming home so early.¡±


    ¡°I believe she will be calling beforehand from now on.¡± Doris said, clearly amused.


    ¡°Will you be staying for dinner?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''d like to. I really would.¡± Doris said and looked like she actually did regret not being able to stay. ¡°I need to get home to cook for my family, so I''ll be leaving soon.¡±


    ¡°I could do up something for you to take with you. It will save you time from cooking yourself and you can spend more time here with May.¡± I offered.


    Doris gave us a big smile. ¡°If May is okay with it, I would like that.¡±


    May nodded and I nodded back.


    ¡°I''ll get started right away.¡± I said and walked around the couch and went to the kitchen.


    ¡°He''s really doing all the cooking? You weren''t joking around?¡± Doris asked May in a whisper.


    ¡°You know I haven''t made lunch for myself since I started working. I just didn''t have the time to spare.¡± May whispered back. ¡°I can''t wait to see what he comes up with this time.¡±


    Basic soup is out, then. I thought as I opened the refrigerator and ducked behind it to take out my phone. I did a search for quick chicken recipes and one of the first ones was a spicy chicken curry that could be served with rice or on top of it.


    The best part was the prep time was only about ten minutes and had a total cooking time of forty-five minutes.


    ¡°How spicy do you like your curry?¡± I asked out loud as I took out the ingredients I would need.


    Both women gave each other wide smiles and spoke together. ¡°Five alarm fire!¡±


    The two of them laughed and I started the prep work.


    *


    Doris drove home and felt quite jealous of her friend May. She hadn''t been for a long time and actually felt a little sorry for her, because she was raising her nephew all on her own. She also worked her ass off every day, even on the weekends when she could pick up extra shifts and not get in trouble with the union.


    Ever since her nephew had been hurt and apparently had amnesia, her life had improved significantly. It was sad that the young man she knew was gone; but, the young man that had replaced him was so much better in almost every way. He was suffering academically because of the brain damage, which was understandable. Everything else, though? He was a godsend.


    Ben did all the chores and took care of the apartment, did all the cooking and laundry, and even pampered May with daily relaxing baths. He even cuddled with her on the couch at night to watch television and he didn''t care what they watched! He was perfect!


    Doris laughed as she parked in her garage and imagined that Ben was her nephew and he was taking care of her house instead. He had shocked her and May when they had shown up unexpectedly at the apartment and Ben had given them a little show and tell. She wouldn''t mind seeing that happen by accident again, because she was going to remember that sight for quite some time.


    She picked up the large containers of curry and rice that Ben had insisted she take, because she had three mouths to feed and he said it would only last for three or four days without freezing it. He had also made a lot of it to save money on their food budget, so she had given him a hug to thank him and also shoved a twenty dollar bill into his jeans pocket.


    Doris had felt a little naughty that her fingers had grazed something else inside the pocket and she suspected Ben''s slight tension meant she had successfully teased the boy back for flashing her earlier. She entered the house and quickly did up plates of curry and rice, warmed them up for only a couple of minutes in the oven, and put them on the table when she heard a car pull into the driveway.


    The front door opened and her husband came in. ¡°It smells good, honey.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Doris said and walked over to the stairs before she shouted. ¡°Daddy''s home!¡±


    ¡°Coming, mom!¡± A young woman''s voice responded.


    Doris went to the table to kiss her husband and sat across from him. Her daughter walked down the stairs with grace and poise and both of her parents gave her approving looks.


    ¡°I hope you had a good day today, Liz.¡± Her father said.


    Liz nodded and sat down as she took in a huge sniff through her nose. ¡°It smells delicious.¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± Adrian said and looked at his wife. ¡°Please tell me it''s at least a four alarm.¡±


    ¡°It''s a five and bordering on a six.¡± Doris said with a beaming smile.


    Adrian nodded and the three Toomes family members dug into the food with gusto.


    *


    Thursday was a chore to get through in the morning with Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometry first period, then Statistics that used that geometry, then social science. I was really tempted to drop those classes and try for something else, except I had no idea what else I could be good at in a science and technology school.


    ¡°You look wiped out.¡± Liz commented when I walked over to her table at lunch.


    ¡°I stayed up most of last night trying to get through the geometry book.¡± I said and sat down. When I didn''t move to take out my lunch, she looked concerned. ¡°I forgot to pack it.¡±


    Liz nodded and reached into her pocket to hand me a ten dollar bill. ¡°Lunch is on me today.¡±


    I looked at the money and back at her face. ¡°Are you sure? I have money at home in my other pants and I''ll pay you back tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± Liz said and I accepted the money.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and walked around the table. I gave her a significant look for a moment, then I leaned down to give her a pretty sound kissing for several seconds.


    Liz looked completely stunned, so I smiled at her before I walked across the cafeteria and joined the line for food. Two squeals came from the front of the line and I saw Sarah and Kelly rush over to Liz''s table and sat down, the trays they carried were forgotten as they talked hurriedly.


    ¡°You like older women, huh?¡± A female voice asked from a table near where I waited.


    I turned and saw Isabelle with a couple of other girls. ¡°Oh, hi! I haven''t seen you in a couple of days.¡±


    ¡°Answer the question.¡± Isabelle said.


    ¡°I can confirm and will never deny that I find the fairer sex to be sexier when they are older than my current body.¡± I said and her friends gave me pointed looks. ¡°They have a bit more experience with certain things and are more comfortable doing them.¡±


    Isabelle''s face went blank. ¡°Are you doing them with her?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± I said and let a smile appear on my face. ¡°What you saw was our first kiss on the lips.¡±


    ¡°You do realize you''ve painted a target on your back, right?¡± One of her friends asked. ¡°Liz has a lot of admirers.¡±


    ¡°Of course she does. But, you have to ask yourself, how many of them can make a cobbler so good that it makes her moan?¡± I asked and the girls at Isabelle''s table looked surprised. ¡°There''s your answer.¡± The line moved and I went with it. ¡°See you later if I''m lucky.¡±


    Isabelle gave me an odd look. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    I held in my laugh at her denial, considering she pretty much assaulted me whenever she could get me alone. ¡°What hall are you monitoring this afternoon? I have robotics class and then the lab.¡±


    ¡°I''m not on duty until my free period tomorrow morning.¡± Isabelle said.


    ¡°I''ve got biology and bio-lab all morning and I can''t skip it. I''m sorry.¡± I said and let her see that on my face. ¡°I''ve got music after lunch and then gym for the rest of the afternoon.¡±


    Isabelle sighed and nodded. ¡°My maybe just became a no, then.¡±


    The line moved and I nodded acceptance. Nothing else needed to be said, so I turned back to face forward and looked at the food dishes I was about to have access to. I needed something quick and not so messy, which meant chicken fingers and fries without gravy. It was a shame with no gravy; but, sacrifices needed to be made. Greasy fingers and small robot parts did not go well together.


    I paid for my lunch and went back to Liz''s table and chuckled under my breath. Sarah and Kelly had Liz squished between them and were launching rapid fire questions at her without letting her answer.


    ¡°Ladies, please. She''s as much in the dark as you are.¡± I said and sat down across from them.


    ¡°What? How?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°That was our first kiss, of course.¡± I said and both girls gasped. ¡°As you clearly saw, I practically stole it and I won''t be giving it back until lunch is over.¡±


    All three girls blinked their eyes at me as if I was speaking gibberish.


    ¡°I''m going to kiss her again when I leave.¡± I clarified for them.


    Sarah and Kelly gasped and Liz blushed a little and looked happy.


    I kissed Liz again for several seconds when we were both done eating and both Sarah and Kelly stared at us as I did. I wasn''t sure if they were jealous or were trying to pick up tips, though. I was given significant looks by a lot of people when I left the cafeteria and I was okay with that.


    I entered the robotics classroom and I had to clamp my mouth shut to stop my drool. It was wall to wall electronic parts and tools that gave my brain shivers, in the good way. I just wanted to throw caution to the wind and play! Play, play, play! Play with all the toys!


    I stopped walking and took several deep breaths to calm down.


    ¡°You look like you''re remembering something.¡± A man''s voice asked.


    ¡°No, Mr. Kinneson. I''ve just read all of Peter''s books. Descriptions and pictures just doesn''t compare to actually seeing it all in front of me.¡± I admitted.


    The teacher smiled briefly and then frowned. ¡°You''re going to have a hard time keeping up if you can''t remember building anything.¡±


    ¡°I know, sir. I want to ask you for any book recommendations I would need to get up to speed with the rest of the class.¡±


    ¡°I''m reluctant to do so, Mr. Parker, considering you''ve missed two robotics club meetings already.¡± Mr. Kinneson said. ¡°That shows a distinct lack of commitment on your part.¡±


    I held in my sigh at hearing that. ¡°I suppose you won''t accept that I can''t remember the club schedule or that I don''t even remember being a member of the club?¡±


    Mr. Kinneson sighed for me. ¡°The principal has warned all of your teachers to give you some leeway after the other two incidents that resulted in you being kicked out of class.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I voluntarily left both classes. I walked out of computer science because the teacher was going to kick me out at the end of December for not completing a project I have no memory of, and I dropped quantum mechanics because I had to quit the academic decathlon team and Mr. Harrison thinks I''m faking a significant brain injury.¡±


    The man stared at me and didn''t respond.


    ¡°I wasn''t going to sit there and try to learn something from a man that believes I''m a liar because I want to avoid the duties I volunteered for.¡± I said and saw a flash of recognition on his face. ¡°You feel the same way, because I apparently avoided something I had no knowledge of and you agree with Mr. Harrison.¡±


    Mr. Kinneson sighed once more. ¡°You are making things quite difficult for me, Peter.¡±


    ¡°Sir, with all due respect, if you were warned by the principal, then you know for a fact that my name is Ben. That''s B-E-N. It does not spell Peter.¡± I said and took out my new school ID to show him. ¡°What does this and all of my electronic documents at the school say, sir?¡±


    The man read the card and looked back at my face.


    ¡°I don''t want to drop the class, sir. It''s a core class and both my scholastic records and my grade point average will take a significant hit if you tell me I can''t study this subject.¡±


    The teacher was silent for several minutes as the class filled up. A few of the students were in my other classes and they knew what was going on. Everyone remained silent as the teacher thought about it.


    ¡°If you base your decision on an extracurricular club that I can''t remember being a member of, let alone what the club was working on, then your opinion is biased in the wrong direction. You know I have to drop the club, sir. I have to.¡± I said and he didn''t look happy. ¡°You can''t expect someone that needs to relearn what they did in the class since the beginning of the year, that''s three full months of content, to participate in a club that they didn''t sign up for.¡±


    ¡°You did sign up for it.¡± Mr. Kinneson said.


    ¡°No, sir. Peter did. I''m Ben, as I''ve already told you and my records show.¡± I said as I waved my student ID at him and he didn''t look convinced. ¡°As far as I am concerned, and so are the teachers that have already accepted me into their courses, I am a transfer student that''s trying his hardest to catch up to the rest of my classmates as quickly as possible.¡±


    Mr. Kinneson sighed once more. ¡°I have to restrict you from doing anything being learned currently in both the class and the lab afterwards, until you can get up to speed.¡±


    ¡°I can agree to that, if you give me permission to work through the things that have already been learned by everyone else.¡± I said and he frowned. ¡°I can learn significantly faster by doing, as my mechanical engineering teacher learned yesterday afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I''ll have to talk to Mr. Simmons and see if that''s true.¡± Mr. Kinneson said. ¡°For today, you can familiarize yourself with the various tools and things that are available to be used.¡± He said and squinted his eyes at me. ¡°You are not to use them until I say so.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I said and put my ID away and walked across the silent classroom to the wall of robotic parts. If there was a heaven that really existed here, then this was a close third place. What was second? A little bald sharky, of course.

 10 Who Are You Again?

    Bokuboy


    Friday morning had me grilled by the biology teacher, Miss Capstick. Since it was a core subject and Peter had all of his books since junior high, I was actually well read in it now. It fell somewhere between Math and Chemistry for me, which was near the top of my knowledge assimilation curve.


    The teacher was impressed with my answers and didn''t penalize me for not knowing what the class was doing as a project, which was great for me. It meant I wasn''t going to be held back in most of my courses and I was near or at the same level as the rest of my classmates.


    Thankfully, we were working in pairs for the double lab after the classroom period and I was paired with a plump but pretty girl named Sally Avril. I was glad of that until the lab started and she spoke.


    ¡°I''m surprised Liz even talks to you after you quit the team.¡± Sally said after the teacher passed out the specimen containers.


    ¡°Which team?¡± I asked and didn''t miss her eye roll.


    ¡°The only one that matters in a science and tech school.¡±


    ¡°Home Economics?¡± I asked and did my best to not laugh at the look on her face.


    ¡°The academic decathlon!¡± Sally almost spat, clearly angry.


    ¡°Oh, that. I had to quit on Peter''s behalf and not my own, since I never joined.¡± I said and shrugged. ¡°It''s not like I can fake knowing the things Peter used to know, so just being on the team as dead weight wasn''t going to do the team any favors.¡±


    ¡°You could have stayed on as an alternate.¡± Sally said and gave me a bit of a glare. ¡°Now we''re stuck with that arrogant ass Eugene as an actual team member!¡±


    ¡°Who''s Eugene?¡± I asked. I really had no idea who she was talking about.


    ¡°Flash! That''s Flash''s real name!¡±


    I blinked my eyes at her several times before I spoke. ¡°Wait, wait, wait.¡± I said and held a hand up to stop her from talking. ¡°That brown-skinned boy is named Eugene? Are you serious? It''s really Eugene?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sally said and looked a little angrier than before.


    I couldn''t hold back my laugh and then had to cough several times to not draw too much attention from the teacher or the other students. ¡°No wonder he''d rather be known as a flashing pervert!¡±


    Sally took a breath and let it out. ¡°We''re stuck with him because of you.¡±


    ¡°I''d ask you when the next meeting is, except Mr. Harrison runs it and he thinks I''m a liar.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and he also thinks you''re not fooling everyone with this act you''ve got going.¡± Sally said.


    ¡°An act.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Ask me something about you that only Peter would know.¡±


    Sally gave me a disbelieving look. ¡°You''d just say you don''t know, even if you knew it.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I meant something embarrassing, so my reaction would be real. If I don''t know about it, you''ll see that. If I react wrong, you''ll know I''m really a liar and my amnesia is a sham.¡±


    Sally gave me a calculating look for several moments before she smiled a little and leaned in to whisper. ¡°Peter let me jerk him off in the equipment room of the gym.¡±


    I was shocked to hear that Peter would do something like that and my eyes widened as my mouth dropped open. ¡°You... you''re kidding. You have to be kidding.¡± I whispered. ¡°There''s no way... Peter was a goody-two-shoes. He would never... not even with a pretty girl like you.¡±


    Sally looked surprised now, probably because of my pretty comment. She might be overweight and out of shape; but, she still had a female figure and a pretty face. ¡°I... you... you''re right. We didn''t do that.¡±


    ¡°Whew, thank god.¡± I said and sighed with relief. ¡°I was starting to worry that you were like a secret girlfriend or something and I totally blew you off all week by not remembering you.¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what?¡± Sally stammered before her surprised look changed to a frown. ¡°Why didn''t I think of doing that?¡±


    ¡°I thought you did and you were testing me.¡± I chuckled and put a hand over my heart. ¡°You damn near gave me a heart attack with that jerking comment!¡±


    Sally couldn''t stop her smile. ¡°That was a good shock reaction, too. There''s no way to fake that.¡±


    I shook my head and glanced around to see that no one seemed to be listening, so I leaned forward. ¡°You know, we have gym all afternoon.¡±


    Sally''s face went bright red as she blushed. ¡°B-B-Ben!¡±


    ¡°That''s a genuine reaction, too.¡± I whispered and glanced around again. My spider-sense didn''t go off, either. ¡°I''m going to ask Liz to be my girlfriend pretty soon, so even if we did have a secret love affair that no one would ever know about, we would have to secretly break up this weekend anyway.¡±


    The expression on her face was pretty difficult to decipher.


    ¡°We better get to work before the teacher notices.¡± I said and Sally nodded.


    We set everything up and performed the dissection to the teacher''s specifications, wrote down all of the parts of the guinea pig on the provided chart, and cleaned up before the end of the double lab.


    ¡°Huh. I''m finished with a class well before the bell rang. Cool.¡± I said and Sally gave me an odd look. ¡°I''m usually writing like crazy to copy down everything the teacher said and what we did in class. I can''t remember a lot of stuff and I don''t know what could jog my memory or what I''ll need later.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I''m sorry I doubted you.¡± Sally said with a soft voice.


    ¡°It''s okay, Sally. Don''t worry about it.¡± I said and slung my backpack over my shoulder. ¡°I''ve got music class after lunch and then I''ll see you in gym.¡±


    ¡°About that.¡± Sally said and looked down at herself and then at my face. ¡°I''ve been excused from gym class because of health concerns.¡±


    I looked down at her body and it was quite large for a teenager. I gave her a good look, though. She wore black tights, as if jeans wouldn''t cut it, and they showed off all of her curves. Like, all of them. She also wore a semi-tight short sleeved blue t-shirt. When my roaming eyes made it back to her face, she was blushing pretty hard.


    ¡°I guess that means we won''t be recreating how we met.¡± I said with a smirk and Sally looked shocked. I stepped close and kissed her on the cheek, then put my lips by her ear as I whispered. ¡°You might be surprised at the number of guys that like a girl with some meat on her bones.¡±


    Sally''s breath came out in quick huffs, so I knew I had made my point.


    I stepped back from her and the look on her face was priceless. ¡°See you next week.¡±


    ¡°S-s-see y-you.¡± Sally spoke barely above a whisper.


    I waved and left the lab with plenty of time to try and track Isabelle down. It only took me two minutes of running down the main part of the hallways, out of sight of the other Hall Monitors, to glance down the wings of the building to see if she was in one of them. I found her on the second floor where my computer lab was.


    ¡°Thank god!¡± Isabelle exclaimed when she saw me approaching at a jog. She hopped up and grabbed my hand and we ran to the closest bathroom. She was moaning loudly only a minute later, so I had to stuff my hand into her mouth to keep her quiet. She didn''t mind the rough treatment at all.


    *


    I had a great lunch with Liz, Sarah, and Kelly. I paid Liz back for lunch yesterday and then I was begged to share the container of brownies I had brought. I only teased the girls for several seconds before I admitted I had brought the brownies for them and not myself. I did not complain about the two chocolate covered cheek kisses I received afterwards or the chocolate flavored one that Liz gave me on the lips.


    I walked into music class and almost everyone turned to glare at me. I sighed loudly. ¡°Let me guess. Peter was in the music club.¡±


    ¡°The school marching band, actually.¡± A quite pretty dark-skinned girl said from a desk at the front of the room. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    ¡°I never signed up for band practice.¡± I said and they all gave me disbelieving looks. ¡°That was Peter. I''m Ben, his nearly identical body double and an exchange student.¡±


    ¡°You really are going with that story?¡± One of the guys asked with a scoff.


    ¡°It''s the truth as far as you''re concerned.¡± I said and he looked angry at that. ¡°The real situation would be too complicated for you to understand.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you can explain it to me instead.¡± The music teacher asked as she entered the music room.


    ¡°No, thank you.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I have no idea what instrument Peter played, I don''t know any songs, I can''t read music sheets, and I have no idea how to march.¡±


    The entire class stared at me and I stared back.


    ¡°You don''t even have a class book for me to read and Peter didn''t have a scribbler for notes. How was I supposed to study for any of this?¡± I asked them as I waved at the room. I looked at the teacher and tried to not be angry at the judgment on her face. ¡°I assume I stored my instrument here, so I wouldn''t damage it during transit and it would always be near and never be forgotten when there was band practice?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It''s in your locker at the side of the room.¡± The woman said and pointed.


    I walked over to the thing and saw a combination lock on it. I held in my sigh, because it was a personal lock and not a school issued one. I stood in front of it and blocked as much of it from sight as I could while I pretended to enter the combination. I yanked on it to break it and put the broken lock in my pocket before I opened the locker and saw a nice black case.


    ¡°Of course it''s a clarinet.¡± I whispered as I opened the case to see the instrument and locked it with the metal clasps. I also found several dozen music sheets, a book on the clarinet, and a scribbler with music notes in it. I did a quick flip through it and sighed at the gibberish.


    ¡°Are you remembering anything?¡± The teacher asked.


    ¡°I think this is the music club Sarah and Kelly go to several times a week, assuming Peter was in the same band as them.¡±


    ¡°It''s different sections, so technically yes.¡± The teacher said and looked at the things in my hands. ¡°Nothing at all coming to you?¡±


    ¡°It''s just gibberish right now.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I''m sure I''ll figure it out after hunting down some books and things on my own.¡±


    ¡°You know we can''t wait that long for you to be as good as you were before.¡± The same dark-skinned girl commented.


    I smiled and turned to face her. ¡°You had a crush on him, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You shouldn''t be this angry about Peter not being here anymore. Most people I''ve met had no idea who he was, or cared that I''m not him, and he''s been in their classes for three months.¡± I said and she looked a little guilty. ¡°I''m sorry Peter was a bit of a coward. He should have jumped at the chance to be with someone like you.¡±


    The girl blushed and shook her head.


    ¡°You had a lot in common with him, didn''t you? You even have the same instrument and everything.¡± I said and nodded at the same black case by her desk. ¡°I will tell you that he mentioned a pretty dark skinned girl in his journal, so you can be happy that he actually did notice you.¡±


    The girl opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind and nodded.


    ¡°You really are a different person.¡± The teacher said. ¡°Peter wouldn''t have spoken up like that.¡±


    ¡°No, he wouldn''t. Which is why there is usually a bit of a scene in each class I show up in.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I was tempted to try and fake it, to pretend I was still Peter. I knew it wouldn''t work, because I''m not him. I''m not even close.¡± I turned to the class. ¡°The woman I live with, my supposed aunt, said I haven''t done one single thing that Peter has done before in the last two weeks.¡±


    The class was silent as I reached up and rubbed the bare patch on the side of my head.


    ¡°This has been a whole new world since I woke up. New people, new sights, and a whole new life to try and live. It''s been harder than any of you can imagine to do that.¡± I said and looked back at the teacher. ¡°I won''t be back until I can relearn how to do whatever it is I''m supposed to do in this class.¡±


    The teacher sighed. ¡°It''s supposed to enhance your creativity and give you a non-scientific outlet for your brain to express itself.¡±


    I thought about that for several seconds. ¡°Can I just get a girlfriend and let her enhance my creativity?¡± I asked and a few of the guys chuckled and the girls looked slightly offended, except for the dark-skinned girl in the front row. ¡°I''m sure I can have my brain express itself in a bunch of different ways using her as an outlet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± The dark-skinned girl whispered and her eyes stared at me without blinking.


    The teacher motioned towards me. ¡°I''ll need to mark your class excuse card.¡±


    I took it out and walked over to her desk. She looked at it and seemed surprised that there were only a few marks on it. She did something with her marker and signed the card.


    ¡°You''ll need to get another one of these if you ever want to come back to this class.¡± She warned me.


    ¡°Understood.¡± I said, because her mark was a permanent one and wouldn''t be removed until she allowed it. ¡°Do you have a list of allowable instruments to qualify for the band?¡±


    The teacher nodded and dug into her desk and took out a sheet of paper to hand to me.


    I quickly read it and shook my head. ¡°I guess I really am out. I''m not interested in any of these.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The dark-skinned girl gasped.


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± I said to her and handed the list back to the teacher. ¡°When I find something I like that won''t be a disruption for you or the class, I''ll come back.¡±


    The teacher nodded and put the paper back inside her desk.


    I gave a last look towards the dark-skinned girl. ¡°I hope you can find a guy that''s right for you.¡±


    She gave me a sad look. ¡°I thought I already did.¡±


    I nodded and walked out of the class without asking her what her name was, because I didn''t want her to think I was still the guy she liked. Dammit, Peter! You had girls pining for you and you had no idea!


    I went to the office first and sorted out my schedule, showed Mary Strickland my excuse card, and she looked both pleased and sad. She knew something had to happen for me to use it. I left there and went to the library to visit Gladys. She looked almost as sad as Mary had. I reached into my backpack and took out several pressed flowers that were flat and had a ribbon tied around them.


    ¡°What''s this?¡± Gladys asked as I handed her the small bouquet of squished flowers.


    ¡°Those are flowers picked from various planters from around my apartment building. I dried them out and compressed between the pages of an outdated atlas.¡± I said and pulled out the large book. ¡°I wasn''t sure the book would be enough of a thank you, so I hoped flowers being preserved by the old knowledge of maps would be enough to count as a gift.¡±


    Gladys blushed a little and accepted both gifts. ¡°Thank you, Ben. This was very thoughtful.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± I said and took out a small list. ¡°My robotics teacher said I should read these.¡±


    Gladys took the list and read the names of the books I needed. She nodded and walked around the counter to lead me over to the right section, then she passed me the right books.


    ¡°Thanks, Gladys.¡± I said and carried the books to the table closest to her counter at the front of the library and started reading. I did not miss the significant look she gave me when she sat down and smelled the dried flower bouquet.


    I smiled and went back to reading. I only had about an hour before the gym class that most of the student body had to attend as a prerequisite for being a student at Midtown High. That also meant that I would get to see Liz outside of lunch period and that should be an interesting time. If it wasn''t, maybe I would make it become one.


    Bokuboy

 11 Meet The Parents

    Bokuboy


    I walked into gym class wearing the approved gym exercise outfit and my head was filled with robotics facts and figures, procedures of what to do and not to do, and some of those I had already figured out a few bypasses. As far as I was concerned, it was a completely underutilized aspect of science. A lot of things could be made for a normal person to use and a bunch more for just having fun.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Liz called out and waved at me.


    I changed direction from walking towards my classmates to where Liz stood with hers. ¡°Hello, ladies.¡±


    ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Liz and the two friends I had met before said.


    ¡°You must think you''re going to be popular now.¡± A girl I hadn''t met before said.


    ¡°I haven''t rubbed Liz across my head a bunch of times yet, so I doubt it.¡± I said and Liz blushed, her friends laughed, and the one who spoke looked surprised.


    ¡°You mean like static electricity.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Hey! You got it.¡± I praised her and reached out to shake her hand. ¡°I''m Ben, the potential boyfriend of a certain angel, as soon as I get my life settled and she decides I''m good enough to kiss her feet.¡±


    That set her two friends off again and they laughed some more.


    ¡°I''m Max.¡± She said and shook my offered hand. She had short curly hair and a squinted-eye look. I couldn''t tell if she always looked that way or it was just with me. Probably just with me.


    ¡°I''m sorry if my presence might potentially mean you get to spend less time around the tall and gorgeous beauty within your midst.¡± I said and let her hand go without trying to kiss the back of it. Now was not the time for those kinds of antics. ¡°In case you were wondering, I meant Liz specifically, even though it could be applied to the two giggle machines I don''t know the names of.¡±


    Liz laughed this time. ¡°The blonde on the left is Gina and the one on the right...¡±


    ¡°...will try to steal you before you two can seal the deal.¡± She interrupted with a crooked smile. ¡°Val.¡±


    ¡°That''s short for Valium, right?¡± I asked to make her laugh and shook her hand.


    ¡°Valerie, smart ass.¡± She said and let my hand go. ¡°I like funny guys.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be shutting up now.¡± I joked and she laughed. I held my hand out to the third girl. ¡°Hi, Gina. You must have a great time with friends like these around.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes it''s entertaining.¡± Gina said and shook my hand.


    ¡°How did music class go?¡± Liz asked me.


    ¡°About as bad as I expected.¡± I said and she looked sad. ¡°Did you know Peter played the clarinet?¡±


    Liz shook her head. ¡°The school band hasn''t played at a game yet with the freshmen section.¡±


    ¡°At least I won''t be embarrassing myself by not being smart enough to stay in music class.¡± I said and she took my hand and held it.


    ¡°I''m sure you''ll catch up soon. It''s only been a week since you started.¡± Liz said to comfort me.


    ¡°Thanks, Liz. With a woman like you in my corner, how could I ever fail?¡±


    ¡°By being yourself.¡± Flash said as he walked over and glared at me.


    ¡°Restraining order, you flashing pervert!¡± I said back without looking and the girls around me laughed.


    Flash made a growling sound and kept walking.


    ¡°Do you really have one?¡± Max asked when he was far enough away to not hear.


    ¡°Nah, it was too much hassle to spend the day downtown to get one. Just the rumor I have one is working well enough.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Although, I could fake one up and make it a thousand feet, so he can''t be anywhere in the school while I''m here.¡±


    Val laughed softly. ¡°And because it''s fake, he''ll get tardy slips galore and have no excuse!¡±


    I nodded. ¡°It''s a bit cruel to keep doing things to him, though. I feel so bad for him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°His mom named him Eugene. Eugene! Can you imagine?!?¡± I exclaimed and they laughed, even Max.


    ¡°That''s enough socializing!¡± A tall black man shouted. ¡°We''re doing basic ball drills and then laps! Excuses are for wusses! Get over to your proper class and get to work! Your year reps will get you sorted.¡±


    ¡°That''s Andre Wilson.¡± Liz whispered. ¡°He''s a tough teacher but a great coach.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± I asked.


    Liz gave me a sad smile as she stepped close. ¡°Football and basketball.¡±


    ¡°Good sports, I suppose.¡± I said as she slipped her arms around me.


    ¡°What would you play if you could?¡± Liz asked as she looked into my eyes.


    ¡°Baseball.¡± I whispered back. ¡°I''d be the home run king and the best outfielder in existence.¡±


    Liz''s sad smile changed to a happy one. ¡°Maybe you''ll dedicate a home run to me one day?¡±


    ¡°I''ll even point where it''ll go and say I''m hitting it right to you.¡± I said and she leaned down to give me a kiss.


    ¡°Have fun playing with the other kids.¡± Max said with a bit of meanness.


    ¡°That is usually what you do with kids.¡± I said as Liz let me go. ¡°How about I dedicate a basket to you?¡±


    ¡°From where? The first two point line near the basket?¡± Max asked.


    ¡°How about from half-court?¡± I asked and her eyes widened.


    ¡°I told you I''d get you back, Penis Parker!¡± Flash said and ran over to the coach. ¡°Coach! COACH!¡±


    ¡°Max!¡± Liz spat and her friends looked sad.


    ¡°S-sorry.¡± Max said and ducked her head a little.


    ¡°It''s all right.¡± I said and stepped close to kiss Max on the cheek. ¡°You keep protecting your friends.¡±


    Max blushed and nodded.


    ¡°Is it true, Parker?¡± Coach Wilson asked as he came over with a bunch of students behind him.


    ¡°Yes, Eugene is his real name and he prefers being called Flashing Pervert instead.¡± I said and nearly everyone laughed. ¡°I mean, who wouldn''t?¡±


    The black man ignored my joke and tossed me a basketball. ¡°Go ahead. Show me what you got.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, coach. I''m saving myself for my girlfriend.¡± I said and everyone laughed.


    ¡°Just take the shot.¡± The coach said.


    ¡°I''m not trying out for the team.¡± I warned him and walked over to the middle of the floor. ¡°I did just get an appropriate nickname for the back of the jersey, though.¡±


    Liz blushed and Gina and Val giggled while Max looked surprised.


    I bounced the ball several times to get a feel for it. I could almost see the mathematical formulas in my head for velocity, force, angled trajectory, force reflection and refraction, gravity, and even air resistance. I imagined that Peter always saw things this way when he did things as Spider-Man.


    ¡°Any day now.¡± The coach said.


    ¡°Do you want it off the backboard or just all net?¡± I asked and the crowd of students started muttering.


    ¡°I''ll let you hang out with your girlfriend for the rest of the afternoon if you can sink it without touching the backboard or the rim.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    ¡°I''ll do it from the end of the court for that!¡± I exclaimed, which made Liz blush, her friends almost squeal with happiness, and everyone really started muttering.


    ¡°Try to complete this boast before making another one.¡± The coach said.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I said and looked at the basket. I bounced the basketball twice more, then I grabbed it and hopped up into the air about four feet and threw it.


    The entire gym full of students hushed and watched the ball arc across the distance, almost like it was moving in slow motion, then the swish of a perfect basket echoed into the silence.


    ¡°Jesus Christ, he actually did it.¡± Someone said into the silence.


    ¡°Again.¡± The coach said and several balls were tossed towards me. ¡°Once was a fluke.¡±


    I caught each ball and placed them at my feet, surprising a few people. I thought about not doing it, then shrugged. I picked up a ball and did the exact same shot. The swish of nothing but net was still loud in the silence.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Someone else asked.


    ¡°Math and geometry.¡± I said and picked up the next ball. ¡°Mass times acceleration, applicable force to negate the pull of gravity for just the right amount of time, thrown at the right angle...¡± I didn''t jump this time and swished the basketball again. ¡°Off the backboard.¡± I said and tossed the next one and did just that. ¡°Bounced once off the floor.¡±


    Everyone stared as I whipped a ball at the floor about ten feet from where I stood and the basketball made another swish sound as it passed through the net.


    ¡°I can''t generate enough force to bounce it twice and have it go in. I''d need to be about thirty feet up for that to work.¡± I said and picked up one more ball. I walked across the gym and stopped at the far corner of the marked area of the basketball court.


    I took careful aim as I leaned back and pretended that I needed to, in order to generate enough force to throw it, then launched the ball into a high arcing lob. It took several seconds for it to go all the way across the gymnasium and the ball swished right through the net. Everyone looked stunned.


    I walked back over to Liz and ignored everyone else. ¡°What do seniors do during gym class anyway?¡±


    Liz looked just as stunned as everyone else, then she seemed to shake herself. ¡°A more advanced and detailed workout than first years.¡± She said and beamed a smile at me. ¡°Hitting a home run isn''t going to be a problem for you, is it?¡±


    ¡°They''ll never get a ball past me through the strike zone.¡± I said and beamed a smile right back at her.


    ¡°I believe it.¡± Liz said and then blushed. ¡°Penis Parker? Really?¡±


    ¡°He thought it was going to be an insult.¡± I said with a laugh, because my words earlier had come true. Gym class was definitely going to be more interesting from now on.


    *


    I was freshly showered and dressed in normal clothes again as I walked with Liz out of the school. I also carried a box of books and guides for the academic decathlon.


    ¡°Thanks for carrying that for me, Ben.¡± Liz said as we approached the large parking lot.


    ¡°I''m glad I could help you in some capacity with the team.¡± I said and she sighed. ¡°I''m sorry I''m not a viable option anymore. I just don''t have the knowledge needed.¡±


    ¡°I know. I''m just glad we have enough time to practice with your replacement before the state competition.¡± Liz said and her hand rested on my shoulder. ¡°It''s not your fault that you can''t participate like Peter used to.¡±


    ¡°It''s weird that I don''t have his memories, you know? I mean, it''s the same brain. The information is there, I just can''t access it until I see it again and then make the mental connection.¡± I said.


    ¡°Which you can''t really do for anything except subjects he liked or things he had written down. Everything else is you just stumbling around in the dark and hoping you''ll remember something.¡±


    ¡°That''s it exactly. I haven''t even made a proper mental connection with May and I know she''s the only family I have.¡± I said and Liz gave me a sad look. ¡°It''s okay. I''ve made a whole bunch of my own connections with her and life at home is the best!¡±


    ¡°I completely agree with that.¡± A familiar woman''s voice said as she stepped out of the passenger side of an expensive car.


    ¡°Doris?¡± I asked and couldn''t hide the surprise I felt seeing her.


    ¡°Mom?¡± Liz asked and my mouth dropped open. ¡°How do you know Ben?¡±


    Doris smirked at me. ¡°I took part of an afternoon off and visited with one of the nurses I haven''t seen in a while. Her name is May. May Parker.¡±


    ¡°You''re Liz''s mom.¡± I said. Crap, crap, crap!


    ¡°And you are apparently a friend of my daughter''s.¡± Doris said and her smile grew as she saw Liz''s hand on my shoulder. ¡°Or is it more than that?¡±


    ¡°It better not be.¡± A man''s voice said as the driver''s side door of the car opened.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Liz said and blushed with embarrassment as she removed her hand from my shoulder.


    A white man stepped out of the car and I saw that he wore casual clothes. He was also a bit older than Doris and he smiled at both his wife and daughter. When his eyes went to me, they stilled and seemed to bore through me. I didn''t care about his close examination, because I recognized him.


    He was Adrian Toomes, the Vulture. Or would become him if he wasn''t yet. My mind whirled as I thought about the timeline I believed I was in and realized it was a bit different than what I remembered or assumed.


    ¡°I''m just looking out for your best interests, Liz.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°He really is.¡± I said and the three of them looked at me with surprise on their faces. ¡°He loves his family and he''ll do anything he can for them.¡±


    ¡°Do you know me?¡± Adrian asked, pointedly.


    ¡°Only by reputation, sir.¡± I said. ¡°When Doris was talking to May about her Addy and how his salvage business was taking off, it never occurred to me to connect that to Adrian Toomes and Bestman Salvage.¡±


    ¡°Ben, how do you know about that?¡± Liz asked with an odd look on her face.


    ¡°On Wednesday I had Civil Engineering and then Business Economics. Can you guess what the subject was?¡± I asked and Liz relaxed.


    ¡°They''re teaching about me in school?¡± Adrian asked, surprised.


    ¡°Your company is a prime example of practical applications of both civil engineering and also business economics. The teacher said you had to strike while the iron was hot and that you filled a niche that people didn''t even realized was needed.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°You essentially created your own market share, sir.¡±


    Adrian looked pleased at hearing that. ¡°I''m a subject in school.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I would like to talk to you about it whenever you have some free time. I think my teachers would get a kick out of my class reports if I can get a few quotes directly from someone that uses their course materials for practical applications every day.¡±


    Adrian gave me another pointed look. ¡°We''re going away for the weekend and I can''t spare any time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn''t mean right now, sir.¡± I said and moved the box I held. ¡°I was just helping Liz with this.¡±


    Adrian nodded and put a hand on my shoulder as he led me around the car, then he opened the trunk for me. He waited until I bent over to put the box into the trunk before he leaned in close to whisper. ¡°I don''t want some punk sniffing around my daughter.¡±


    ¡°We''ve only kissed a couple of times and I plan on asking her out next week or the week after.¡± I whispered back and he looked surprised that I would admit it and not deny it. ¡°I''ve been flirting with her all week and I had no idea she was your daughter.¡±


    Adrian looked like he relaxed, then his eyes hardened. ¡°You are not going to use her and drop her.¡±


    I heard the order and shook my head. ¡°I''ve never had a serious girlfriend before and I think she''s great. I want to be someone that she can be proud of.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°In fact, if you''re looking for an assistant or something, maybe a gofer on the weekends, I''d be willing to apply for the position.¡±


    ¡°So, you are going to use her. To get to me.¡± Adrian whispered in a deadly voice.


    ¡°No, sir. You misunderstand. I''m asking because May is struggling with paying for this school, my books, food, and rent. She works her ass off and we consider it splurging when we buy fresh fruit and not cans.¡± I said and he looked surprised. ¡°I promised her I would get a part time job to help out. That I met you today, right after one of the best and worst weeks of school I''ve ever had, seems like fate.¡±


    Adrian looked thoughtful before he spoke. ¡°Best and worst? How did that come about?¡±


    I turned my head and showed off the bald patch. ¡°Amnesia. Half of the students in my classes blame me for forgetting things I don''t remember and the other half don''t really care. Some of the teachers don''t believe me, either.¡±


    ¡°Damn, kid.¡± Adrian said and let out a little sigh. ¡°I don''t need an assistant or anything.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay, sir. I had to ask. It just seemed like a perfect opportunity, you know?¡± I asked him and he looked thoughtful again. I hoped he remembered my comment about striking while the iron was hot.


    ¡°What are your Mondays like?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°I have only two classes. Math first thing in the morning and geography for second period in the afternoon. I had to drop the other classes and it cleaned out most of the day.¡±


    Adrian smiled briefly and then gave me a stern look. ¡°Give me your address.¡± He ordered and I did so. ¡°You''re skipping Monday. I''ll pick you up at seven sharp.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be ready, sir.¡± I said and closed the trunk.


    The worried looks on Liz''s and her mother''s faces made me smile. Adrian had a smile on his face, too.


    ¡°I almost spilled the box and Mr. Toomes was kind enough to tell me how to keep everything nice and clean.¡± I said and they both relaxed. I walked over to Liz and looked up slightly at her face. ¡°Have a great time with your family this weekend and I''ll see you on Tuesday for lunch.¡±


    ¡°Tuesday?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I only have math and geography on Monday, so I''m skipping to do some important research.¡± I said and Liz looked surprised. ¡°Don''t worry, I''ve got my excuse card. I''ll get it checked on Tuesday.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s not that.¡± Liz said. ¡°Peter would never skip class voluntarily. He was kind of anal like that.¡±


    ¡°I can''t express how happy I am that I don''t have as big of a stick up my ass as Peter did.¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Liz gasped, Doris chuckled, and Adrian barked a laugh.


    ¡°Get in. We have a plane to catch.¡± Adrian ordered and climbed into the car.


    Liz gave me a longing look. ¡°Ben, my dad...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay.¡± I said and stood on my toes to give her a quick kiss. ¡°I respect both you and your father... and his ability to handle heavy machinery to deal with me if I get out of hand.¡±


    Adrian looked happy and Doris smacked his arm playfully.


    ¡°See you later.¡± I said and opened the rear car door for her.


    ¡°See you.¡± Liz said and climbed in.


    I shut the door and watched as they drove off.

 12 Research Some More

    Bokuboy


    I stood there in the parking lot for barely five seconds before Val walked over. ¡°I suppose you heard all of that?¡± I asked her and she nodded as we walked over to the bus stop together. ¡°What exactly do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I''m friends with Carol.¡± Val said and she saw that I had no idea who she was talking about. ¡°She''s Isabelle''s best friend.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± I said and knew she knew what I had been doing with Isabelle. ¡°You''re not going to steal me away from Liz, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know. It''s just fun to tease her about it.¡± Val said and smiled. ¡°I will admit that I''m tempted to find out if your new nickname is deserved.¡±


    ¡°That''s pretty far above Isabelle''s limit.¡± I commented and smiled back.


    ¡°She never asked to look at it after you going down on her so much?¡± Val asked and looked surprised.


    ¡°The last couple of times were pretty quick and not a lot of discussion happened.¡±


    Val chuckled. ¡°Now I''m even more tempted to take a peek.¡±


    ¡°I somehow don''t find that surprising.¡± I said and gave her a pointed look. ¡°If I wasn''t set on going after Liz, I''d probably have my fingers inside of you right now.¡±


    Val''s eyes widened and then she laughed. ¡°You are definitely not Peter!¡±


    ¡°You know, Peter is a common name for a penis.¡± I commented. ¡°Or a dick.¡±


    ¡°HA!¡± Val barked the laugh and then leaned against my side. ¡°You''re essentially insulting yourself when you say things like that.¡±


    ¡°I know. That''s half the fun.¡± I said and put an arm around her waist. ¡°So, do you spit or swallow?¡±


    Val gave me a smug look before she smiled. ¡°Are you asking for curiosity''s sake or are you asking for a specific reason?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, curiosity. I don''t want to jeopardize my chances with Liz.¡± I said and Val nodded. ¡°I''m not dumb enough to do more than flirt with her friends.¡±


    Val looked smug once more. ¡°You know Liz knows you''re eating Isabelle out, don''t you?¡±


    I let my smile change to a smirk. ¡°And why exactly are you talking to me without Liz around?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha! You knew it''s a huge selling point, you sneaky bastard.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°What better way to get the idea out there that I won''t push things, even in the heat of passion, by getting a girl off without taking her virginity?¡±


    A bus pulled up and Val sighed when I removed my arm from around her waist.


    ¡°This is me.¡± I said needlessly and she nodded. ¡°I''ll leave you with one more fact.¡±


    ¡°I can''t wait to hear what you''ll say to make me laugh this time.¡± Val responded with a wide smile.


    ¡°I never asked for anything in return from Isabelle and I don''t even know what her breasts look like.¡± I said and saw the shock on Val''s face before I stepped onto the bus. ¡°See you on Tuesday.¡±


    Val nodded and her eyes followed me as I used my bus pass and I sat down at the first window to look out at her. I waved to her when the bus pulled away and she waved back absently. With luck, Val would text Liz as soon as possible with that little tidbit and my chances with her would increase.


    I just hoped that my job interview with her father panned out on Monday. I wasn''t desperate enough to take any job, and yet, getting close to Mr. Toomes could only benefit me in the long run, so I had a lot to think about and to plan for.


    *


    The New York Library was a treasure trove of information. I had arrived early on Saturday morning and returned the books I had borrowed a week before and the woman behind the counter gave me a significant look when she saw the weight lifting and college math books. I had thought about asking her if she wanted to test me on them, then realized she might take it the wrong way and I''d have to do her in the back office.


    I kept my mouth shut about that and asked for help looking up animal and insect biology. She hopped up like something bit her and she led me over to the right section. She gave me an appraising look before she left and I could tell that she liked what she saw. Who would have thought wearing better clothes would get the attention of random girls? This guy, that''s who.


    I grabbed several advanced chemistry books and two biology books on spiders. I would need to do a lot of research on both if I was going to try and recreate what Peter did on pure instinct. I wasn''t daunted by the thought, though. Since I became him before he had those kinds of thoughts, this was all new to the both of us. Any mental connections I made within my mind would be all mine now.


    With that happy thought, I settled in for several hours of intense reading and taking lots of notes.


    *


    The weekend passed before I knew it and my research had borne a lot of ideas. I had expanded from chemistry and biology to mechanical power tools, from a power drill up to heavy equipment like operating a backhoe. I wasn''t sure what would be useful when I spent the day with Mr. Toomes and I wanted to be as prepared as possible.


    I had warned May about skipping school and that if anyone called, I was taking it off on her recommendation. She had laughed and smacked me, told me it didn''t work that way, and said she would say I had a migraine and couldn''t go. I figured that was good enough and accepted it.


    I dressed in old jeans and a tough fabric plain t-shirt. I had been tempted to do one up with Bestman Salvage on it, then thought that was sucking up too much and discarded that idea. I went downstairs and waited by the front door of my apartment building for my ride.


    I wasn''t surprised when a beat up truck pulled to a stop on the street almost exactly at seven. I practically jumped inside and Adrian gave me a crooked smile before he drove away. We ended up at a moderately-sized building that was several floors high and it had a small lot next door that was full of construction equipment.


    ¡°You seem a little eager, Ben.¡± Adrian said as we pulled into the lot and parked beside a dump truck.


    ¡°I read about some of this equipment on Saturday in the library, sir. The things that can be done with them is amazing.¡± I said and he chuckled.


    ¡°I felt the same way when I first saw them, too.¡± Adrian said and we left the truck and went inside the building. ¡°There''s not a lot of luxury in here. This is a working man''s business.¡±


    ¡°That''s why I wore old jeans and not a suit, sir. I don''t expect to be treated any differently than you would a normal guy on your crew.¡±


    Adrian gave me an appraising look and nodded. ¡°You were smart to assume that.¡±


    I had to smile at his comment. ¡°I do expect a lot of hand-holding and coddling, sir. I am a newbie at all of this.¡± I waved at the racks of power tools, sledge hammers, and crowbars. ¡°I have some experience; but, nothing on a professional level like this.¡±


    Adrian smiled. ¡°Then let''s get your intro to the guys out of the way. We''ve got a derelict building on fifty-seventh street that needs clearing out for a company to start building in February.¡±


    I let out a whistle. ¡°Two months is not a lot of time if the building is more than six floors, sir.¡±


    Adrian chuckled and opened the door to the common room for the guys to rest in and gather for meals. ¡°It''s eight floors and we''re going to gut the thing. We pull it down from the inside, starting from the top.¡±


    I had to think about that. ¡°If there''s an elevator, you''re going to clear it out and drop the materials down the shaft. If not, a stairwell could work if you remove half of the flights of stairs on one side. It adds extra specialized deconstruction time to do that, though.¡±


    Adrian gave me a pointed look as several of the guys in the room laughed.


    ¡°Kids got a brain in his head!¡± One of them said.


    ¡°Your stairwell thing won''t work.¡± Another said. ¡°We just select a good secured spot in the floor and cut down through that.¡±


    ¡°Oh! You make your own shaft! That''s so cool!¡± I exclaimed and the guys laughed.


    ¡°Sometimes a simpler solution works better.¡± Adrian said. ¡°Guys, this is Ben. Ben, the guys.¡±


    ¡°That was a great intro boss.¡± One of the guys said and they all laughed.


    ¡°Today''s just a test, so he doesn''t need to know all our names. I wanna see if he has what it takes to be here.¡± Adrian explained.


    ¡°Part-timer?¡± The same guy asked.


    ¡°Hopefully.¡± I said. ¡°Even though I need the money, school has to come first.¡±


    ¡°It''s good to have priorities.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°How are you here today? School''s in, isn''t it?¡± Someone else asked.


    ¡°I only have two classes all day. I''m going to check with the office and see if I can switch them to later in the week when I have other off classes. Having to spend all day at school for only two hours of subjects I don''t need anyway, seems like a waste.¡±


    ¡°Damn right.¡± A burly man said. ¡°It''s like them inspectors making us stall a job until they check all the safety equipment. As if any of us would be stupid enough to endanger ourselves!¡±


    A chorus of agreement came from the guys.


    ¡°That''s your first lesson.¡± Adrian said and pointed to a large rack of jackets, hard hats, gloves, and safety straps. ¡°Jack, you''re on while we all get ready.¡±


    Jack slapped his hands together to rub them. ¡°I hope you like wearing tight things, kid.¡±


    I had to grin at that. ¡°I''ll get used to it real quick, sir!¡±


    All the guys laughed and we went over to the rack to get suited up. We had a big day ahead of us.


    *


    ¡°Jesus, look at the kid go.¡± Jack whispered to Adrian as they took a coffee break and watched the new kid use the wheelbarrow to carry load after load of debris to the elevator shaft. ¡°He''s like a machine.¡±


    ¡°I think he''s trying too hard to impress me.¡± Adrian whispered back.


    Jack shook his head. ¡°No, he isn''t. He''s actually enjoying himself. Just look at his face when he''s filling the barrow.¡±


    Adrian did as asked and his eyes widened slightly as Ben quickly filled the wheelbarrow with a huge smile on his face. ¡°He''s not even struggling with the bigger chunks of concrete.¡±


    ¡°He''s also lifting them properly.¡± Jack said. ¡°He''s using his legs and arms like a pro weightlifter.¡±


    Adrian watched as Ben really was very careful moving things and then he was across the space and dumped the wheelbarrow out.


    ¡°I''m tempted to try him out with a jackhammer, just to see him get the shit shaken out of him when he doesn''t secure it properly.¡± Jack said with a grin.


    Adrian laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. ¡°You can haze him after we work his ass off today.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± Jack said and finished his coffee. ¡°He''s definitely saved us a ton of time doing the grunt work while we get the serious stuff out of the way.¡±


    Adrian nodded and they both went back to work.


    The best part about having your company working on a local building was that you could call it a day on time and go home to eat supper with your family. They all went back to the company building, stripped off the safety equipment, and went home.


    Adrian dropped Ben off at his apartment building and drove home. He couldn''t get Ben''s happy smile out of his head, though. Out of everything he had seen Ben do that day, including his laughter at the hazing the guys did to him with the jackhammer, it was knowing that Ben was actually happy to do the crap that the other guys on the crew hated to do that stuck in his mind.


    That the crew gave their rousing endorsement of hiring the enthusiastic kid didn''t help, either.


    *


    My various muscles screamed at me from the intense workout I had put them through all day. It actually felt great to me, because I hadn''t realized the large range of movement that a body had to do while it performed such basic actions like filling a wheelbarrow or using a shovel. The more I did, the more I strained myself, and the more I benefited from it.


    I could see my muscles popping as I flexed my arms and looked into the mirror at my reflection. I had gained some muscle mass after the spider bite and my body had converted into a more efficient version to handle the proportionate strength of a spider. I had just realized that it was a small and weak spider and I would need to change that as soon as possible.


    ¡°Ben! Supper is ready!¡± May called.


    ¡°I''ll be right there!¡± I shouted back. I gave my reflection another glance and went to my room to grab a pair of jogging pants and a large t-shirt. I went downstairs and let out a laugh at the table being set up for a date and the candles were lit.


    May beamed a smile at me and waved for me to sit. ¡°I thought you deserved a bit of a treat after working hard all day.¡±


    Instead of sitting, I walked around the table and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    May blushed and hugged me back. ¡°You''re welcome, Ben.¡±


    We sat down and I started telling her everything I had done that day. The different looks on her face as I described different things, showed that she really cared about how I was being treated.


    ¡°Ben, what you went through today...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°...is exactly what I wanted to happen.¡± I interrupted and she looked surprised. ¡°You know everyone hates cleaning up.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°You know they always tease the new guy.¡± I said and she nodded again. ¡°I showed that not only was I willing to work and do all the stuff they don''t want to do, I was a good sport about it.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you...¡±


    ¡°I had fun. A lot of fun, to be honest.¡± I said and stood as I took off my t-shirt.


    ¡°B-Ben! What are you doing?¡± May asked with wide eyes.


    ¡°Showing you something.¡± I said and struck a classic weightlifter pose with a double arm curl. ¡°Just look at those guns! They''re popping like crazy!¡±


    May''s face was red as she looked at them. ¡°Ben, what... why are you showing me that?¡±


    I put my arms down and smiled at her. ¡°I used muscles today that I didn''t realize needed to be exercised. Even though I read about weightlifting and how to do it properly, I was neglecting some essential muscle groups, especially my core muscles.¡±


    May''s eyes went right to my abs and I lightly touched them and it felt like they were a lot more defined.


    ¡°I can feel the strain I put them through and it feels good. Really good.¡± I said and picked up my t-shirt to put it back on. ¡°I just hope Mr. Toomes realizes how much I liked working for him today.¡±


    ¡°I... I''m sure he did.¡± May said and her face stayed flushed red as she stood. ¡°You should soak in the tub and let those muscles relax.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Not a chance!¡± I said and picked up our dishes and walked around the table to the sink. ¡°You get up there and enjoy the bath you deserve. I filled the tub after my shower, so it should be near the right temperature for you.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I think you deserve it more today.¡± May said and started to fill the sink.


    ¡°That is never going to be true.¡± I said and turned to take her hands with mine. ¡°I''m here now and I made it my priority to take care of you. That means you come first, no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Even if you start dating Liz?¡± May asked with a smile.


    I gave her a pointed look and then laughed. ¡°Doris is telling tales outside of school!¡±


    May laughed, too. ¡°She was as surprised as I was that you knew her daughter and you were actually talking to her.¡±


    ¡°I was, too. About Doris being her mom, I mean.¡± I said. ¡°I told her dad I was thinking of asking her out this week or next.¡±


    May gave me a surprised look. ¡°You didn''t.¡±


    ¡°He was going to give me the ''scare the punk away'' speech and I cut him off.¡± I said with a smile.


    May looked amused. ¡°Doris did say you were cheeky and bold.¡±


    ¡°He definitely wasn''t expecting me to be honest about it.¡±


    ¡°Who would?¡± May asked and started washing the dishes.


    ¡°Hey, I''ve got that. Get upstairs to your bath. I''ll have the television on and I''ll be ready to cuddle by the time you''re done.¡±


    May dried off her hands. ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡±


    ¡°No thanks are needed. I can''t let my reputation be ruined as the best roommate ever.¡±


    May chuckled and kissed my cheek. She went up the stairs and I finished the dishes, dried my hands, and went to the couch. I turned on the television and only had to wait fifteen minutes before May was beside me wearing her big fluffy robe and she cuddled into my side as she pulled her legs up onto the couch to tuck under herself.


    ¡°You''re stealing my job now?¡± I asked as I put an arm over her.


    May softly laughed. ¡°I like to be the one cuddled sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that''s fair.¡± I said and hugged her as I handed her the remote.


    We watched television for the rest of the evening and enjoyed it, just like we always did.

 13 Changing Of The Guard

    I had taken an earlier bus to arrive a lot earlier than I normally did and had to wait for the school to open. I waited a bit longer than that as the teachers, office workers, and maintenance people arrived and I made sure that I saw Mary Strickland going in.


    As soon as I did, I ran down the street as fast as I could without drawing too much attention to myself. I stepped into the coffee shop and ordered six lattes and a dozen donuts. I had them be a mix, because I didn''t know what they liked, and had extra cream and sugar added to the take-out bag. The pretty woman at the counter also threw in some coffee stirrers for me.


    ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± I said and tipped her well. I had borrowed the money from May that morning, because she knew asking the office to transfer me into new classes without making me drop them, was going to be a huge task. An appropriate bribe was needed.


    ¡°Have a good day.¡± She said and beamed a smile at me.


    ¡°I just did, thanks to you.¡± I said and she blushed a little. I walked out at a fast pace and then I ran. I easily avoided the few people on the sidewalk and ran across the school parking lot and up to the front door. I slowed down and took a deep breath before I entered the building and walked at a normal pace through the hallways to get to the office.


    ¡°Good morning. How can I help...¡± Mary paused talking when she saw me. ¡°Oh, damn.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my laugh and set the box of donuts onto the counter with the six lattes balanced on top of it. ¡°I brought a bribe! I mean a token of appreciation.¡± I said and moved the coffee off to the side. ¡°Lattes and donuts.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me there''s a crispy creme in that box.¡± Another woman''s voice said as she poked her head out of an office door.


    ¡°I asked for a good mix of the most popular ones...¡± I started to say and suddenly two men and three women had appeared around me and taken the lattes and raided the box of donuts.


    ¡°I work with a pack of vultures.¡± Mary said with amusement on her face and she took the last latte and added extra cream.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Parker.¡± One of the men said. He was an Asian American and also the principal of the high school.


    ¡°You''re welcome, Principal Morita. I know I''ve been a pain for everyone lately and I''m sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°We know. Mary keeps us updated.¡± He said and nodded at her. ¡°I was very close to calling your aunt after the incident with Mr. Harrison and with you quitting the academic decathlon.¡±


    I held in my sigh and nodded. ¡°You would have been justified with that decision, sir. I didn''t handle it well. I should have just said I was out and left without confronting him about how he really felt about me. Neither of us needed that kind of aggravation or to cause a public scene.¡±


    Morita nodded. ¡°You haven''t tried to apologize to him.¡±


    ¡°No, sir. I''m avoiding any further confrontations. Arguing if I''m faking amnesia won''t help me study to try and regain the knowledge I''ve lost.¡± I said and lightly touched the bald spot on my head. ¡°I would rather use normal avenues like the school''s library to study my butt off, which I also do at home in the afternoons after school. I''ve even used the city''s library to advance myself that much more.¡±


    The people around me nodded and the principal smiled.


    ¡°I''m glad to hear you''re not letting what happened to you affect your thirst for knowledge.¡±


    ¡°No, sir. I think I''m studying a lot more than Peter ever did.¡± I said and two of the women looked sad. ¡°It''s okay, though. I''m making a lot of progress and I expect to keep doing so.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good.¡± Morita said and walked over to his office. ¡°Great coffee.¡±


    ¡°We should stop there on the way to work next time.¡± The other man said to one of the women.


    ¡°Great idea. You''re buying.¡± She responded and laughed at his incredulous face as they walked away.


    The other two women gave me a smile and left as well.


    ¡°Now that they''ve gone, you might as well tell me what miracles you need me to perform for you today.¡± Mary said and looked into the box of donuts. She shrugged at the two that were left and took one.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you could change my first class of math on Mondays to third period on Tuesdays.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I would really, really appreciate it if you could change my modern geography class to first period in the afternoon on Fridays.¡±


    Mary just stared at me like I had two heads. ¡°Ben, are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Completely.¡± I said and took out my schedule. ¡°As you can see, I only have two classes on Mondays. That''s me attending an entire day here for just two classes. It''s a waste of school resources to have me here all day when I have space later in my schedule for those same classes.¡±


    Mary just stared at me without saying anything.


    ¡°I''m sure my homeroom teacher would accept the transfer without me having to try and drop the class.¡± I said and she sighed. ¡°I know it''s a huge favor to ask and I''m sorry that I have to ask you to try.¡±


    Mary didn''t say anything else and picked up the phone beside her desk. She dialed a number from heart and it rang once. She asked for my homeroom teacher and then she asked him about changing my class. Her eyes widened as the man''s loud voice came through the receiver and he emphatically endorsed transferring me into the right spot.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mary said and hung up. She gave me a significant look and I handed her my schedule. She marked the change and then changed it on the computer. ¡°I can''t believe that worked.¡± She said and dialed her phone again. She asked for my modern geography teacher and once again, the man endorsed my transfer.


    ¡°I wonder why they allowed both without arguing?¡± Mary asked out loud as she made the changes.


    ¡°I need to come up with something to thank them.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°And you. You''ve been great this last week and I couldn''t have survived without your help.¡±


    Mary waved my thanks away. ¡°It''s my job to help students as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°You did and I''m really grateful.¡± I said and took my updated schedule from her. ¡°If there''s anything at all you want me to do, I''ll do it.¡±


    Mary smiled evilly at me. ¡°I do have a cabinet I bought that I haven''t put together yet.¡±


    ¡°You mean like a wardrobe or something?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°I''ve got chem lab this afternoon; but, I finished that lab last week and should get out early. Would that be a good time or do I have to wait until after school?¡±


    ¡°After school. I have to stay around until the clubs leave.¡± Mary said.


    ¡°I''m going to assume a couple of hours to put it together, so I should get home in time for supper.¡± I said and took out my cell phone. I sent a text to May to let her know to pick up take out and I would be back by suppertime and she responded with a thumbs up emoji. ¡°Okay, all set.¡±


    ¡°Come to the office an hour after school is over.¡± Mary said and gave me a mischievous smile. ¡°Gladys will be more than happy to have you visit until then.¡±


    ¡°You just volunteered me to help with book return duty, didn''t you?¡± I asked, pointedly.


    ¡°What Gladys has you do while you''re there has nothing to do with me.¡± Mary said with an innocent look on her face.


    I laughed and held a hand out to her. ¡°High five.¡±


    Mary laughed as well and slapped my hand.


    I walked out of the office with fifteen minutes to spare before the start of the school day. I walked at a normal pace to get to Latin class and saw Isabelle halfway down the hallway on the Hall Monitor chair.


    ¡°I''m not in the mood this morning.¡± Isabelle whispered as I approached her. The frown on her face was quite the giveaway, which meant Val hadn''t only texted Liz about what I said on Friday.


    I stopped walking beside her and she wouldn''t look at me. ¡°Isabelle.¡± I whispered in as deep and sexy of a voice as I could.


    Isabelle startled a little and turned her head to look up at me.


    ¡°I really liked going down on you and hearing you squeal and moan. It was very sexy.¡± I said and bent down to look into her eyes.


    Isabelle blushed. ¡°But... but, you... you never...¡±


    ¡°Some things you need to save for that someone special.¡± I whispered and gave her a several second kiss. ¡°I didn''t ask for more than you were willing to offer.¡±


    ¡°But... what if... I wanted you to see them?¡± Isabelle asked and didn''t have to say more than that.


    ¡°I would do a lot more than just lick you if you bared more than you have.¡± I said and caressed the cheek of her face. ¡°You knew that, didn''t you? It''s why you never asked for more from me as well. If we went any further...¡±


    ¡°...we would have gone a lot further.¡± Isabelle said. ¡°Maybe even all the way.¡±


    ¡°And we both know that''s not something you''re going to give up to just anyone.¡± I said and gave her another tender kiss. ¡°You''ll know when you''re ready and it''s not now and it''s not with me.¡±


    Isabelle sighed and nodded. ¡°Why couldn''t it have been you?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Either I''m too forward or I''m not the guy you want to meet your parents.¡± I said. ¡°We were just two ships that passed in the night... and I licked your bilge pump on the way by.¡±


    Isabelle snorted and then laughed. ¡°That''s disgusting!¡±


    ¡°Some guys think so.¡± I said and grinned at her. ¡°Aren''t you glad I didn''t?¡±


    Isabelle nodded. ¡°I''m only a little surprised that you didn''t try to lick lower.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That needs a mutual shower at least and a good scrubbing before I''ll stick anything near there, let alone my tongue. That smell transfers like crazy.¡±


    Isabelle nodded. ¡°I definitely wouldn''t let you kiss me afterwards if you had tried.¡±


    ¡°That''s good to know.¡± I said and she gave me a sad look. ¡°You know I can''t do it anymore.¡±


    Isabelle nodded again. ¡°I agree with what you told Val. You can''t jeopardize your chance with Liz.¡±


    I let a happy smile show on my face. ¡°I had a lot of fun proving that I could get you off without damaging anything.¡±


    Isabelle smiled back. ¡°How did you resist trying to finger me, anyway? I know I begged you to do it a few times.¡±


    ¡°If the opening you have down there allowed it, I would have.¡± I said and the first bell rang to tell students it was time to start the school day and to go to their lockers to pick up their books for first class. ¡°I need to go.¡±


    Isabelle grabbed my shirt and pulled me down to kiss me hard. ¡°You better make Liz as happy as you did me.¡±


    ¡°I''ll try my best.¡± I said and she nodded as she let me go. ¡°Goodbye, Isabelle.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Ben''s tongue.¡± Isabelle joked and then looked sad.


    I gave her a pointed look and then knelt to look into her eyes. ¡°You were the first girl I''ve done that to in my new life and in Peter''s life.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°His journal had a lot of things in it and he never mentioned doing that to someone.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben... you...¡±


    ¡°You''ll always know you were the first girl I kissed and the first one I went down on.¡± I said and gave her one more kiss, even though there were other students in the hallway now. ¡°Do you understand what that means?¡±


    Isabelle stared into my eyes. ¡°I... I think so.¡±


    ¡°You were the first and no one can ever take that away from you.¡± I whispered and she blushed. I was sure my point was made, so I stood up and lightly touched her cheek, then I walked down the hallway and into Latin class. Several people looked at me and I smiled and sat down in my seat and took out my book and scribbler. I read the sentence on the board and quickly wrote out the Latin translation.


    Miss Romani entered the classroom as the bell rang again and she shut the door. It surprised me that she wore a pair of white pants that looked painted on and her top was so light and airy that it was almost see-through. Upon a closer look when she walked around her desk, it actually was see-through and she wore a flesh-colored camisole underneath it. Without a bra.


    ¡°Is there anyone here that can write out the sentence on the board properly?¡± Miss Romani asked.


    Every guy''s hand shot into the air, except for mine. Her eyes ignored everyone''s hands and she looked right at me.


    ¡°Mr. Parker, are you unable to do it?¡± She asked and everyone heard the challenge in her voice.


    I held up my scribbler and spoke in Latin. ¡°The brown dog ran down the hill and bit the mailman.¡±


    All the hands dropped and the teacher looked a little annoyed.


    ¡°You aren''t cheating are you? How long have you been here?¡± She asked in English.


    I switched back, too. ¡°I was breaking up with a sex friend in the hallway when the first bell rang and I''ve been sitting here for less time than the rest of the class.¡±


    Miss Romani glanced around and saw several nods. ¡°I hope you don''t think knowing more will give you special treatment in this class.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn''t.¡± I said and smiled as I switched back to Latin. ¡°I can give great oral sex and that knowledge has no bearing on what I can do in this class.¡±


    Only two people in the class understood most of what I said and both the guy and the girl made surprised sounds.


    Miss Romani''s mouth dropped open in shock and we all sat there as she stared at me for several minutes.


    I kept the smile on my face and didn''t say anything else. No one else said anything, either.


    Miss Romani snapped out of whatever was going on in her head and she turned back to the board and erased the sentence there. She wrote out another one and when she turned around to look at me, I already had it translated and held it up to show her. She didn''t bother asking me to say it and told the class to write it out and translate it.


    I sat there for the entire class and watched as she moved around and seemed to be trying to show off as much of her body as possible without actually showing it off. It was almost funny how she was acting and I wondered if she had a bad break-up or something and wanted to see the desire on the faces of her students.


    I left the classroom when the bell rang and I managed to refrain from asking her about it. Barely. She was a quite attractive woman, after all. Being supportive was a good way to make someone like you.


    I wasn''t surprised that Isabelle wasn''t in the hallway. I walked passed the empty chair to go to physics class and wondered if I would ever see her in any of the halls I used to go to classes.

 14 A Promise Kept

    Bokuboy


    I easily blew through physics class again and Mr. Morales looked ambivalent about that. At least I''m not disappointing him. I thought and walked through the halls to get to my newly assigned math class. It was the same room as before, so I had to assume it would become my new homeroom period as well.


    When I entered the classroom, I saw the seat I last sat in was occupied.


    By Liz.


    I let a huge smile grow on my face as I walked over to her and her friends. ¡°Somebody better pinch me, because I think I just died and went to heaven.¡±


    Liz blushed and her friends laughed.


    ¡°That was pretty cheesy.¡± Max said with a small smile on her face.


    ¡°I''d offer you some wine; but, I''m trying to look cool here.¡± I said in a whiny voice, which made a few of the guys around them chuckle.


    ¡°What are you doing here, besides making a spectacle of yourself?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I transferred to this class period.¡± I said and they all looked shocked. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°This is senior year advanced math.¡± Gina said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I asked and looked at Liz. ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°All right, everyone. Take a seat. The bell''s about to ring.¡± The teacher said.


    I glanced around and saw that there were no desks near Liz or her friends. ¡°Does anyone want to trade seats with a guy trying to lick Liz''s toes?¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Liz gasped and laughs came from nearly everyone. No one volunteered, though.


    ¡°Damn, I''ll try again later.¡± I said and winked at Liz before I walked across the classroom and sat at a seat near the back of the room.


    The bell rang and the teacher stood up. ¡°As some of you have clearly seen, we have a new student today.¡±


    ¡°Nope, didn''t see him.¡± ¡°Black guy about six feet tall?¡± ¡°He''s pretty cute.¡± ¡°He''s right there.¡± Was all said at once as a few of the students just said ''yes'' while others made sounds of agreement.


    ¡°Why don''t you introduce yourself, Mr. Parker.¡± The teacher said.


    ¡°Thanks for getting everyone''s attention for me, Mr. Fredricks.¡± I said and stood with a bit of a hop and spread out my arms, to the sound of a few sarcastically clapping hands. ¡°Thank you, Max!¡±


    Max actually barked a laugh, because she wasn''t one of the clappers.


    ¡°I''m Ben Parker, recovering amnesiac, and I asked to be transferred because I''m operating at a college level in math class and my old homeroom teacher couldn''t keep up with me.¡±


    That definitely got everyone''s attention.


    ¡°I usually ask for proof before approving a transfer. Luckily, I had been called in to check Mr. Parker''s work last week. He should be more than capable of keeping up with the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for believing in me, Mr. Fredricks. I won''t disappoint you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Wonderful.¡± He said and picked up the different book than the one I had. ¡°Open that to a random chapter and write out the solution on the board to the fourth question.¡±


    ¡°I thought you didn''t need proof, sir.¡± I said and walked up to his desk and did as he asked.


    ¡°You had proof of getting into this class. Now you have to prove you can stay here.¡± Mr. Fredricks said with a smile.


    I chuckled and showed him the chapter I chose and then I went to the board to write out the fourth problem. I handed the book back and looked at the board.


    ¡°Any time now, Mr. Parker.¡± The teacher prompted.


    ¡°I already have the solution, sir. It just seems wrong, somehow.¡± I said.


    ¡°Show me.¡± He responded.


    I picked up the chalk again and started to work. I went through all the derivatives and constants first, since those were the easiest to cancel out. It was when I reached the main part of the problem that I stopped and pointed.


    ¡°This integer shouldn''t be applied here inside the brackets.¡± I said and tapped on it. ¡°With the variable removed, the underlying structure doesn''t make sense.¡± I crossed the integer out and moved it to the outside of the bracket. ¡°This makes sense and the rest works itself out to nothing like it''s supposed to.¡±


    The teacher and the class watched as I zeroed everything out and the problem ended with a 0=0 at the end.


    ¡°You see? If I go back and put it how the problem was written...¡± I said and drew a line and started the same process again, only leaving the integer where it was, and I was left with two variables and a numerical value with a decimal point that couldn''t be reduced further.


    ¡°There''s no actual answer.¡± The teacher whispered.


    I drew another line back and marked where the second to last step was with a circle. ¡°Technically, this is the solution, even though it''s unfinished.¡±


    Mr. Fredricks looked at the book in his hands and nodded. ¡°That is the solution they present as an answer.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they made the mistake in the problem on purpose.¡± I said and put the chalk down. ¡°At least, that''s what we have to assume, unless you can call the people who wrote it and ask them what they were thinking.¡±


    The man chuckled and closed the book. ¡°Go ahead and sit down, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I said and went back to my seat. I did not miss the almost hungry look on Liz''s face and I was glad that lunch period was next, because I was pretty sure that she was going to assault me with her lips as soon as we were outside the classroom door.


    When the bell rang to end class, I was dragged out of the classroom by Liz. Her friends formed a physical barrier around us and the sultry look Liz had, gave me an erection. She looked down at it and then at my face before she dove for my lips and kissed me deeply. Her tongue was all over the place as she tried tasting every part of the inside of my mouth, so I had to clamp my lips on it to stop her.


    Liz broke the kiss and leaned back as she looked at me like I had refused her. ¡°Why did you stop?¡±


    ¡°I want to leave the dental exams for my dentist.¡± I said.


    Max chuckled as Liz''s eyes widened.


    I reached up and cupped the sides of Liz''s face. ¡°This is how you''re supposed to kiss someone you like.¡± I whispered and then I closed my eyes and kissed her with as much tenderness and care as I could. I gently probed her mouth and tongue with my own tongue and Liz moaned as her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± Someone whispered and I couldn''t tell who it was.


    We stayed there for several minutes and someone tapped my shoulder.


    ¡°Teacher down the hall.¡± Val whispered.


    I broke the kiss and Liz still had her eyes closed. ¡°Let''s go to lunch.¡±


    Liz nodded her head and kept her eyes closed as she shifted to my side and held onto my neck.


    ¡°I don''t think you can walk like that.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Then carry me.¡± Liz said and finally opened her eyes to stare at me.


    ¡°If you want me to.¡± I said and bent slightly to scoop her up into my arms into a princess carry.


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± Max said and shook her head. ¡°You can''t seriously think you can carry her all the way to the cafeteria.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said and winked at Val, who laughed.


    ¡°Put her down, Romeo.¡± Gina said. ¡°Ignoring the tripping hazard you''d cause with everyone staring at you, the teachers would get you in trouble for it.¡±


    I sighed exaggeratedly. ¡°Okay.¡± I said and carefully put Liz back on her feet.


    ¡°We''ve got a club meeting, so we''ll see you later.¡± Val said and smiled at me before she and Gina left.


    ¡°Don''t carry her.¡± Max said and followed the other two.


    I chuckled and reached up to take Liz''s arms from around my neck. I held onto one of her hands and she was both sad and happy about that. ¡°If we eat quickly, we''ll have most of lunch to keep practising.¡±


    Liz nodded several times and we went to lunch. We actually did eat very quickly, since it was just us at the table today. We left to find a nice cubbyhole in a small alcove that a fire extinguisher was stored in and we locked lips for the rest of the lunch period.


    I walked Liz to class, which a lot of people noticed, and I went to Modern History class myself. Mr. Jensen was becoming one of my favorite teachers, because he always gave the best lectures about everything that was going on in the world currently. I wrote down everything he said and every so often he would notice and smile.


    I went to chemistry next and my prediction had been right. Because I had completed the lab and already submitted it, I didn''t have to recreate it during the lab. Unfortunately, I wasn''t allowed to leave the lab to go to the library and had to stay around.


    So, I cheated and took out the extensive notes I had made on Saturday about spiders and their web properties. I also took out the notes I made on chemical compositions and their related properties. I cross referenced them and eventually found the right balance between the available chemicals I could access in the classroom without arousing suspicion.


    It took me the entire two period lab time to work out a viable mix that could be used as a spider silk substitute. I didn''t try to make it, however. I didn''t have enough time to experiment right there, so I had to sneak a few vials of different compounds into my backpack to try at home. I followed all the appropriate protocols as well, because the last thing I needed was cross-contamination.


    I went to the library and Gladys gave me a knowing smile when I entered. ¡°I am at your mercy, noble librarian. Please be gentle. This is my first time.¡±


    Gladys barked a laugh and pointed to several stacks of books beside her chair. ¡°I''ve already sorted them, so you''re just a pack mule today.¡±


    I smiled at her and picked up the first stack. ¡°Carrying I can do! Lead the way, dear lady!¡±


    Gladys nodded and led me around the library and we returned the books back to where they had been taken from. I handed her the last book from the first stack and ran back to grab another stack. I returned to her side and she smiled warmly at me.


    We continued our work and managed to return all of the misplaced books before my hour was up. Instead of trying to study, I went back with her to her counter and sat with her to talk about her job. She wasn''t nervous as she discussed how she became a librarian and I told her that I respected her dedication to ensuring that the books she had available for the students would actually help them.


    ¡°You can''t make me like you more by complimenting me so much.¡± Gladys said.


    ¡°Oho! So you DO like me! I knew it!¡± I exclaimed and she laughed.


    ¡°Smart ass.¡±


    ¡°Shhh! That''s a secret!¡± I said and waved her to silence, which made her laugh again.


    ¡°You were never this charming before.¡± Gladys said.


    ¡°You would be surprised how much your priorities change when you use your head to make a metal railing ring like the Liberty Bell during an invasion.¡±


    Gladys laughed once more and her hand reached up and touched the bald spot on my head. ¡°I don''t want you to hate me for thinking that this was a good thing to happen to you.¡±


    I reached up and took her hand to hug it to my chest. ¡°I believe it was a good thing, too. My life since then has been full of new things, having fun with people I never would have had fun with before, and it''s opened new doors for me to step through.¡± I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed it. ¡°I don''t think I could have asked for anything more.¡±


    Gladys blushed a little. ¡°You should head to the office to meet with Mary.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no! You''re kicking me out before I can make a pass at you!¡± I said with mock horror on my face and she swatted at my head with her free hand.


    ¡°Let my hand go and get going.¡± Gladys said.


    ¡°With reluctance.¡± I said and grinned at her as I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. ¡°I might not see you again for a while, so I hope that will tide you over until I can visit with you again.¡±


    Gladys blushed and waved me away. ¡°Get going, you!¡±


    I nodded and walked around the counter. ¡°I''ll always remember our special time together, dear lady!¡±


    Gladys'' blush increased and she shook her head at me.


    ¡°Too much?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°That''s too bad! I already said it! Hahahaha!¡± I said and ran out of the library.


    Mary was waiting for me in front of the office and nodded to me to follow her. I did as she wanted and we left the school and went to the parking lot. She had a moderately nice car, a bit better than a mid-range value in the current market, and she unlocked the passenger door and opened it for me.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and smiled warmly at her.


    ¡°It''s not a date.¡± Mary said as I hopped inside. She shut the door and walked around to the driver''s side.


    I had been tempted to lock the doors on her, then decided not to. A little playing was okay. Teasing more than she would find funny would be a mistake.


    We left the parking lot and the flow of traffic through the city was slow at this time of the day, so we didn''t get to her apartment for another half an hour. That was okay for me, because I still had plenty of time to put together whatever she needed before I had to catch a cross-city bus to go home.


    ¡°I don''t want you making jokes about this.¡± Mary said when she shut the door of her apartment. ¡°The wardrobe you need to put together is in my bedroom.¡±


    I gave her my best innocent face. ¡°I would never joke about a lady''s unmentionables... unless it will make her laugh. I can''t resist that!¡±


    Mary shook her head and led me to her bedroom and pointed to a large rectangular box. ¡°They said the directions are inside. You shouldn''t need any extra tools because it comes with an Allan wrench.¡±


    I groaned. ¡°I have to do it by hand? The whole thing?¡± I asked and waved at the picture of the large double cabinet on the front of the box.


    ¡°I''ll tell you what options I want you to assemble and in what order.¡± Mary said.


    ¡°You can customize it?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Dammit.¡±


    Mary laughed and put a hand on my shoulder briefly. ¡°Open it up and get the pieces out. We can go over the instructions together and plan out what to do first and then we can clear out an appropriate space for it.¡±


    I sighed exaggeratedly and nodded with a sad look on my face.


    ¡°I have chocolate chip cookies for a snack later.¡± Mary said.


    I perked up at that. ¡°Why didn''t you say so?¡± I asked and tore open the end of the box and pulled out the bag with the instructions and a pile of screws, bolts, and finish nails inside. ¡°I might need a hammer to apply the back panel if the wood doesn''t let me just push the tiny nails into it.¡±


    ¡°I think I have one here somewhere.¡± Mary said, unsure.


    ¡°I can use a thick shoe or a nice boot heel, too.¡± I said and opened the instructions. ¡°You weren''t kidding about the different options! This thing is loaded!¡±


    Mary chuckled and we sat on her bed to look the instructions over. She produced a pencil from somewhere and we marked the different things she wanted and where, which dictated what parts of the instructions I followed. It took us about twenty minutes to get everything sorted, then the arduous task of taking out all of the parts and checking them against the instructions began.


    As I predicted, it took about two hours to assemble the thing, even though the instructions claimed that it was ''easily assembled''. I had also cheated near the end, because we had made a mistake with one of the options. She had thought she could get a second metal bar mounted in the bottom half on the left side to hang another row of blouses, except there was only one set of mounting brackets.


    I used one of the cross pieces of shelving that she wasn''t going to need and made it into a standing wall of the cabinet, making it about a third wider than it was supposed to be, and used the drill she had to cut a hole in it to mount the second metal bar.


    With the extra space that created on the side, I also used up the last two pieces of shelving to secure the top and bottom with screws to make a spot that she could hang full dry cleaning bags instead of just her blouses and things. I even turned the back panel to the side and only the very bottom two feet of the wardrobe wasn''t covered from the back.


    Mary stared at the thing as I sat beside her on the bed. ¡°Ben, how the hell did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Math and mechanical engineering.¡± I said and she gave me a surprised look. ¡°I knew the size of the metal pole, the extra shelving, and the amount of screws and things I could safely use without compromising the rest of the cabinet. I''ll pick up some more screws and a piece of extra panelling tonight from the hardware store and I''ll come back tomorrow afternoon to finish things up.¡±


    ¡°Ben, this... this was a lot more than I expected when I tricked you into doing this for me.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t trick me.¡± I said and put an arm around her back to give her a one arm hug. ¡°I offered to help and I won''t leave a job partially finished. It doesn''t need the extra screws; but, why take the chance that it might?¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± I said and stood up. ¡°Thanks for the cookies.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry I''m out of milk.¡± Mary said with a smile.


    ¡°I am not making a joke about that. Nope, I am not. Nope, nope.¡± I said and she laughed.


    ¡°I''ll walk you out.¡± Mary said and led me out of her bedroom and to her apartment door.


    ¡°You do realize I can joke about you having me in your bedroom, don''t you?¡± I joked.


    Mary blushed and then gave me a very significant look. ¡°If you even mention you saw my bed to anyone else, you will suddenly find that your name can no longer be found in the Midtown High School records system.¡±


    My mouth dropped open in shock and she laughed before she pushed me out the door and shut it in my face. ¡°Well, damn. That last teasing comment backfired spectacularly.¡±


    ¡°You better believe it!¡± Mary said through her apartment door.


    ¡°It''s not nice to eavesdrop!¡± I said back.


    ¡°It''s not nice to tease the woman that controls your future.¡± Mary responded.


    ¡°That is an excellent point.¡± I said. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± Mary said and I heard her walk away.


    I did as well and left the building. I had a bus to catch and a take-out supper to eat with May.

 15 Some Progress

    I had barely finished eating the food that May had brought home when the telephone rang. I hopped up and grabbed it. ¡°Parker''s Funeral Home! You snuff ''em, we stuff ''em!¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped and smacked me as she walked by to put the fast food containers into the trash.


    ¡°Ow! It was a joke!¡± I said and heard a manly laugh on the phone. ¡°Sorry about that. Parker residence, Ben speaking. What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°That depends on how your office meeting at school went today.¡± Adrian''s voice said.


    ¡°Oh! Mr. Toomes!¡± I said and May walked right back over to me with a questioning look on her face. ¡°I managed to have both classes rescheduled, so my entire Monday is cleared right out.¡±


    ¡°That''s great, kid.¡± Adrian said. ¡°What about your afternoons and evenings?¡±


    ¡°Fifty-seventh street is two bus transfers away from the school and one from home.¡± I said. ¡°I can''t really spare the afternoons, though. I need to study and to cook meals for myself and May.¡±


    ¡°Ben, we can manage.¡± May said and I shook my head.


    ¡°I had an idea about that, though.¡± I said.


    ¡°I''m listening.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°You and the guys work all day and pile whatever you want on the floors. I''ll show up after supper and I''ll get everything down the elevator shaft and out to the alley where the dump truck is.¡±


    Adrian was quiet for nearly a full minute. ¡°You realize I have to trust you a lot to let you do that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I''ll take all of the safety precautions and I promise to stay for as long as it takes. I won''t leave until the floors are cleared and you and your crew can show up in the mornings and not have to worry about anything.¡±


    ¡°I''ll have to supervise the first time you do it.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°That''s not a problem, sir. I learned a lot yesterday and just like Joe said, I''m not stupid enough to endanger myself.¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay, kid. I''ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.¡±


    ¡°You want me to start tonight?¡± I asked, a little surprised.


    ¡°The guys chewed my ears off all damn day because you weren''t there to keep everything cleared up for them.¡± Adrian said and I grinned at May. ¡°There''s not as much mess as yesterday, because we had to keep a few walkways and hallways clear for any emergency inspections.¡±


    ¡°I get it, sir. Piles off to the sides and in corners, so I have to work that much harder because it was pushed out of the way first.¡±


    ¡°That''s right, kid. Don''t be late.¡± Adrian said and hung up.


    ¡°Well?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I need to get my ass in gear if I''m going to keep my new job for more than fifteen minutes.¡± I said.


    May let out a happy squeal and hugged me. ¡°I''m so happy for you, Ben!¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± I said and hugged her back. ¡°I need to change and then I need to run.¡±


    May nodded and let me go. I ran up the stairs and grabbed what was going to become my ''work clothes'' and changed, then I ran back downstairs.


    ¡°Got your keys?¡± May asked and I showed her. ¡°Wallet?¡± She asked and I showed her. ¡°Good luck and don''t overwork yourself.¡±


    ¡°I plan to do exactly that.¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''m sorry we can''t cuddle and watch TV.¡±


    ¡°I think you working is a little more important.¡± May said.


    I gave her a pointed look. ¡°No, it isn''t. It''s just something I have to do to so that we don''t have to worry so much about money.¡±


    May gave me a pointed look back. ¡°Are fresh mushrooms really that much better for cooking than canned?¡±


    I gave her a big smile. ¡°We''ll probably find out in a couple weeks when I get my first pay.¡±


    May nodded and I went to the door. ¡°It''s only part time, so don''t expect a lot.¡±


    ¡°I don''t. It''s just a supplementary income to make things a little easier until I can really start working.¡± I said a bit cryptically and left the apartment at a run.


    I didn''t take the elevator and used the stairs. I jumped down each flight without pausing for more than a split second to change directions as I bounced off the walls. We lived in an older building and there were no cameras in the stairwell, so I had no problems showing off a little and practised some of the acrobatic moves I had read about. I had to slow down when my spider-sense went off and I walked down the last flight of stairs.


    A guy stood beside the door with a cigarette in his mouth. ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°You need to be careful and breathe in more and puff out less. The smoke detector is at the top of the next flight of stairs.¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± The guy said and did one long pull. He burned about a quarter of the cigarette away, right down to the filter, and then swallowed.


    ¡°Tasty.¡± I joked and he laughed.


    We left the stairwell together and he went left and I jogged down the street to grab the bus. I made it to the right building with five minutes to spare and I checked to see that the dump truck was still at the back of the building in the blocked off alley. I started to walk around to the front again and saw the beat up truck pull up and park at the front of the alley.


    Adrian stepped out and nodded to me as he handed me the safety equipment. I put it on before he unlocked the building and we entered to go up to the top floor. I let out a low whistle at the piles of concrete and debris.


    ¡°There are a few bigger chunks with the rebar still in them, so leave those for later.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°Did you leave a jackhammer here for me?¡± I asked with a grin.


    Adrian chuckled. ¡°The closest you''ll get is the sledgehammers we left over by the outside wall.¡±


    I nodded and we entered the main part of the top floor. ¡°You took down most of the roof already?¡±


    ¡°We''re experts, Ben.¡± Adrian said. ¡°We''ll get into the really dangerous stuff when we start tearing out the supporting walls.¡±


    I walked over to where the hand tools and the wheelbarrow had been left. There was no point in bringing them back and forth every time the crew left for the evening and came back the next morning.


    ¡°Any asbestos like Frank suspected?¡± I asked and put a sledgehammer and the shovel into the wheelbarrow.


    ¡°Not yet. We''re doing experimental drill tests on the other floors. So far, it''s just a lot of lead paint in the old apartments.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Right, safety masks on when working.¡±


    Adrian nodded and we slipped the partial cloth and partial plastic masks over our noses and mouths. We already wore the safety glasses and I took the wheelbarrow over to the largest pile of debris.


    ¡°I''m sorry this is taking you away from Doris and Liz.¡± I said and started shovelling.


    ¡°They practically threw me out when they heard me laughing and asked what happened.¡± Adrian said.


    I chuckled. ¡°May smacked me good for saying that on the phone.¡±


    ¡°That''s understandable. Doris smacked me for laughing.¡±


    I nodded and quickly filled the wheelbarrow.


    ¡°Did you ask my daughter out yet?¡± Adrian asked when I started moving the wheelbarrow out of the room.


    ¡°No, sir. I did impress her in math class and she kissed me like we were already dating.¡±


    Adrian gave me a squinted look. ¡°You need to be careful, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I know.¡± I said and dumped the wheelbarrow into the elevator shaft. ¡°I was going to ask what your plans were for this coming weekend.¡±


    Adrian lost the squinted-eyed look. ¡°Just spending time at home after work on Saturday.¡±


    ¡°Me, too?¡± I asked and he nodded. ¡°Cool. Another full day of working out is gonna be great!¡± I said and went back to the main room.


    Adrian looked a little surprised as he followed me. ¡°You really are enjoying this, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. After yesterday, my whole body ached and it felt great. I had sore muscles where I didn''t even know I had muscles.¡±


    Adrian chuckled. ¡°It is a good workout doing stuff like this.¡±


    ¡°I know! None of the guys on the crew are tiny things like me.¡± I said and started shovelling again. ¡°I''m going to work hard and I''m going to get the most out of this as I can.¡±


    Adrian nodded and fell silent as I grabbed one of the larger chunks that I couldn''t use the shovel for. I picked it up properly and carefully placed it into the wheelbarrow while making sure the balance wouldn''t be off when I went to dump it.


    I worked for a couple of hours before I had to use the sledgehammer on a fairly large piece of ceiling. It still had the steel rebar inside, so I had to hit it a lot to break it apart and I removed the metal from it. I tossed the metal into the pile with the rest that the salvage company could refurbish or sell as is, then I shovelled up the smaller chunks of concrete.


    I could almost feel how impressed Mr. Toomes was as I continued to work to clear up all of the floor and dumped it into the elevator shaft. When that was done, we went down the stairs to the second floor and over to the covered opening. I carefully opened it inwards and revealed part of the wall was missing. Now it was time for the fun part. Tossing it all out the side of the building and into the back of the dump truck.


    Adrian didn''t bother justifying himself as he grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow and I quickly filled it. He practically ran at the hole and emptied the wheelbarrow and came right back in one smooth motion.


    ¡°I have to remember that move.¡± I said with a laugh and we worked for about an hour until we had everything cleared out and into the back of the truck. I closed up the hole and secured the covering.


    ¡°All right, Ben. Be here tomorrow night before six. I''ll know it if you aren''t.¡± Adrian said and took a key off the key ring he had. ¡°Don''t lose that.¡±


    ¡°I won''t, sir.¡± I said and put it right onto my own set of keys. ¡°No one will even know I have it.¡±


    Adrian nodded and waved at my outfit. ¡°Take good care of your equipment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I''ve got a bag at home to carry it all in.¡± I said.


    Adrian nodded again and we left the building. I locked it up and took off the mask and hat before I went to the bus stop. I rode it back home and went up the elevator to the right floor.


    May looked anxious as I entered the apartment, then she saw the safety harness and jacket I wore and she let out a happy squeal and hugged me. ¡°EWWW! You''re all dirty and sweaty!¡±


    I laughed and took off the jacket. ¡°That kind of happens when you work your ass off and have fun.¡±


    ¡°Go get cleaned up and you can tell me all about it.¡± May said and I did.


    *


    Nothing of note really happened on Wednesday morning, except that I forgot to put my watch on and had to rely on the school bell more than I normally did to get to my next class. Lunch was entertaining with Betty and Cindy there again and Liz making me sit next to her instead of across from her like I usually did.


    I went to mechanical engineering class and my eyes kept going to the clock on the wall as I waited for the classroom part to end and for the physical lab to begin.


    Mr. Simmons noticed and smiled knowingly at me. ¡°Antsy to get to the practical class, Ben?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I forgot my watch and I''m a little lost without it.¡±


    The teacher chuckled and reached into his pocket. He tossed something at me and I snatched it out of the air. ¡°You can give that back at the end of the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir! I really appreciate this.¡± I said and stared at the watch the teacher couldn''t wear around machinery. It was metal and the wristband was metal as well and quite restrictive. He could lose a hand if it was ever caught in anything. The wristband was also made of interlocking metal parts that could expand to slip over the hand and then they would collapse to form tightly on the wrist.


    My mind fired up at the thought of making a larger and wider version, with compartments on the back of the interlocking pieces, and when fully made, could expand as I slipped them over my hands and onto my wrists.


    Is this how Peter felt when he had a brainstorm? I asked myself and flipped my scribbler to a fresh page before I started to draw out the pattern of the metal band.


    Big center pieces, smaller interconnected ones underneath, with small metal pieces to act as pins and springs to keep the telescopic pieces together... and on and on it went as I drew and guessed about what was inside the strap pieces, which was mainly nothing but space.


    I also started to think about the center piece that was the watch itself. That would need to become the main mechanism for the web release and I could make a specific pressure sensor with a high force adaptation in robotics class, so it didn''t go off when I made a fist or picked up something heavy.


    They also had small compressed air cylinders used for pneumatic systems, mainly for suspension and movement for the heavier robots they built for competitions. Adapting a bunch of them into compressed web cartridges would be as simple as replacing the contents and then ramping up the compression to about 200 PSI, or nearly double the normal pressure.


    Pneumatics were used extensively on competition robots and used compressed air to create mechanical motion. The pneumatic system was comprised of an air compressor, air storage tanks, pressure sensor, relief valves, regulator, tubing, control valves, cylinders and the pneumatic control module. A lot of that I could eliminate, because I could have the release valves on the web cartridges themselves and the control valve would be on the web shooter itself.


    The compressor didn''t have to be included in the working system and only used to charge the web cartridges beforehand. I could completely remove the tubing parts and the regulators, because I would be replacing it with an easy to use mechanical system. I would need to debate having the pneumatic control module because I would have to strip it down to its bare components.


    I wouldn''t need extensive programming to control such a simple system, so I needed to look into some of my classmates and their work in the robotics club to see if they had something similar. Writing it all on my own might not be a great idea, since I had no practical knowledge available. That should change by my next robotics class, however.


    Of course, this is all assuming that I could get the web formula to work. I had been too busy last night to play with anything I had brought home and I would have to wait until after school this afternoon before I could try a few things out. That was going to be fun.


    Until then, I could work on more mechanical engineering class projects this afternoon while also seeing how I could make the pieces for a double thick and wide watch strap without getting caught. If I continued to work at my accelerated pace, I would be caught up to the current lessons by Christmas Break, or less than three weeks.


    Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Mr. Simmons clapped his hands to get everyone''s attention. ¡°That''s enough classroom time. Let''s go have some fun with the CNC machines.¡±


    ¡°YES!¡± I yelled and everyone turned to stare at me. ¡°Um... I mean, that sounds a bit boring, sir.¡±


    Mr. Simmons laughed, as did a few of the other students. ¡°Pack up and grab your notes, then follow me.¡± He said and waited for a minute, then he left the classroom area and led us to the next room that the mechanical engineering lab.


    Needless to say, I had a great time.

 16 That Didn’t Happen

    I left school with a backpack full of mechanical parts, projects, and scrap metal. Mr. Simmons seemed to get a kick out of letting me go at it with the various machines in the shop and seeing what I could do. That I completed the current class project as an afterthought while going over the previous months of class projects, had him looking quite happy.


    The best part? I had made the two metal brackets that I had skipped over when putting Mary''s cabinet together the day before and the teacher complimented my finish work on them. CNC machines used for cutting metal were the best and it only took minutes to machine a part to specifications.


    I rode the bus to the hardware store and grabbed the screws, extra finish nails, and a small panel that matched the cabinet Mary had. While there, I also looked at the bracket that the metal pole could use. It was almost twenty bucks and I needed two of them, so I was glad that I had cheaped out and drilled holes to hold the bar in place instead.


    My homemade brackets would slip right into place without any fuss whatsoever, so Mary should be happy about that and that they would make my improvisation look professional. I had intentionally taken the bus route to arrive at her building after Mary would be arriving herself, just because I didn''t want her thinking I was eager to get the cabinet finished, even though I was.


    I chuckled at that thought and carried the panel piece off of the bus when it stopped and I walked down the street to Mary''s building. I knew where to go and rode the elevator to her floor and walked over to her door. I knocked a couple of times and waited.


    When the door opened, I was surprised to see a dishevelled Mary covered in sweat. She was also wearing workout clothes and was breathing heavy. She was a surprisingly fit woman that had been hiding under her conservative clothing.


    ¡°Okay, who are you and where is the calm and composed receptionist I know so well?¡± I asked.


    Mary gave me an odd look for a moment, then she laughed. ¡°Get in here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡± I said and she stepped back to let me inside. I took off my backpack and my jacket to hang both up.


    ¡°You know where it is.¡± Mary said and waved towards her bedroom.


    ¡°Have you filled it yet?¡± I asked with a crooked smile.


    ¡°Mostly.¡± Mary said and her smile matched mine. ¡°It''s still away from the wall, so you won''t have trouble attaching that.¡± She motioned to the panel I had stood beside the door. ¡°I''m not even going to ask how you found a matching color and it''s the right size to fill the open space.¡±


    I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two metal brackets I had made. ¡°The same way I recreated the extra brackets for the extra metal pole to hold your heavier clothes and dry cleaning bags.¡±


    Mary took them from me and gave them a good look. She also rubbed her fingers along the sides and the edges, just to see if I had left them sharp. I hadn''t. The smile on her face was genuine and not mocking as she handed the brackets back to me. She nodded and went back to the living room and I went to the bedroom.


    I had to borrow her drill again to make the pilot holes for the new screws and to mount the new brackets. It went a lot faster than I expected to get the cabinet secured completely and then I applied the panel piece to the back of the cabinet to cover the hole left from the original panel. Mary had left the boot there for me and I used it as a hammer again. I also put extra nails into the original panel to use up what I had bought.


    I moved the cabinet back against the wall and made sure it wouldn''t wobble or shake, then I left the bedroom to tell Mary I was finished. I stopped at the entrance to the living room and stared at the quite shapely ass that was bent over in front of me. I knew intellectually that she was wearing tight clothing, since workout clothes were like that. I hadn''t expected to almost see through them, however.


    I stood there for a good fifteen minutes and watched as Mary worked through her tough yoga routine and I admired that she wasn''t shy at all about doing those kinds of poses with me literally right there to watch her. It wasn''t until she turned around to show me the huge teasing smirk she had on her face, that I realized she had let me ogle her like that on purpose.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and stepped close to let her see the sincerity in my eyes. ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    Mary opened her mouth to say something, probably a sarcastic remark, and she stared into my eyes.


    ¡°I would hug you if there wasn''t a reason between us that says I shouldn''t.¡± I said and glanced down.


    Mary did as well and she saw the tent pole in my pants. She looked back up at my face and I let the desire I felt for her show on my face. Without saying anything, Mary took a step forward and put her arms around me to hug me close. She was a bit taller than I was and we both let out slight gasps as my tent pole slipped right into the space between her legs.


    ¡°B-Ben.¡± Mary whispered into my ear and her arms tightened slightly. ¡°You really... an older woman like me...¡±


    ¡°I believe the saying is a woman like you ages like a fine wine.¡± I whispered back and put my arms around her to hug her back. ¡°You only get better over time and your fragrance enhances while your taste becomes even more delicious.¡±


    ¡°Oh... oh, god.¡± Mary whispered and she shivered a little. ¡°Ben, we... I... I can''t. Even joking about this is bad.¡± She said as she leaned back to look at my face. ¡°For the both of us.¡±


    ¡°I think the only thing that wouldn''t complain about this situation, is currently enjoying being nestled between your amazing thighs.¡± I whispered and she blushed. ¡°You''re right, though. I was teasing you and flirting like crazy and I never imagined even a little bit of my words were actually getting to you.¡±


    ¡°No woman can ignore a handsome young man''s attention forever.¡± Mary said. ¡°Even if she is old enough to be his mother.¡±


    ¡°I can say the same thing.¡± I said and glanced down at her sports bra and the nipples poking out and showing nice bumps through the thin cloth. ¡°I don''t believe I''ve ever seen such casual sexiness as I have from you today. I''m going to remember it for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°Now I know you''re exaggerating.¡± Mary said and her blush didn''t fade as she licked her lips.


    ¡°Kissing... would be bad.¡± I whispered and felt her arms tighten around me.


    ¡°Yes, very.¡± Mary whispered back. ¡°Very, very bad.¡±


    ¡°I don''t want you angry at me later.¡± I said, barely above a breath. ¡°You control my future, after all.¡±


    ¡°I lied about that.¡± Mary said and leaned in and kissed me. Her hips started to rock on my tent pole as she kissed me and I had to kiss her back. She was taking an awfully huge risk with her job and career with this, as was I. I couldn''t disappoint her, because I was sure that this was going to be it.


    One passionate kiss and some dry humping was all she was ever going to try for or ask me for. My hips joined hers in rocking back and forth. She kissed me like she was starving and I was the first tasty meal she had ever eaten.


    ¡°MMMM!¡± Mary moaned and her body shivered as her hips stopped moving. She hugged me very tightly before she broke the kiss and dropped her head to my shoulder without looking at my face.


    I didn''t say anything while she tried to catch her breath. She had just had two intense workouts and it was going to take her a few minutes to recover.


    When she did, Mary lifted her head to look into my eyes with a fierce intensity. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°That was quite the daydream, wasn''t it?¡± I asked and she blinked her eyes at me several times. ¡°That story you told me felt so real that I thought it had actually happened.¡±


    Mary took the cue and ran with it. ¡°Y-yes, that... was a great story. A really, really great story.¡±


    ¡°It''s one that I will keep to myself, too. Something like that is a bit too racy for most people to hear.¡± I said and she nodded several times in agreement. ¡°I should go. I have to get home and cook supper for May.¡±


    Mary nodded again and she eased her grip on me as she stepped back. She shivered as she rubbed herself on me again. She looked down to see the damp spot on my dress pants and then she looked back at my face as she blushed.


    ¡°The traffic is horrible and a car even splashed me.¡± I said as an explanation and Mary looked relieved. I walked over to the door and put my jacket on and slipped on my backpack.


    ¡°Ben.¡± Mary said and I turned to look at her. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It was no trouble at all.¡± I said and smiled warmly at her. ¡°I used my mechanical engineering skills in a practical setting, saw a couple of things that will stick in my new memory for years, and a quite beautiful woman shared a very important story with me.¡±


    Mary gave me a significant look and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°Who knows what the future will bring?¡± I asked, almost wistfully. ¡°Perhaps some day there might be another story to be shared.¡±


    Mary looked surprised at my words.


    ¡°Bye, Mary.¡± I said and left her apartment. I really did need to get home to cook supper. I also had a few chemical experiments to perform, too. I just had to figure out where I was going to do them safely without getting caught.


    I was halfway home on the bus when the perfect spot came to mind and I smiled all the way home.


    *


    Adrian sat at his computer just before going to bed and checked the surveillance camera he had set up. It ran on a car battery and only turned on when motion was detected. It was the best and easiest way to monitor job sites and it let him call the police whenever he received an alert of movement that wasn''t approved.


    He brought up the footage it caught tonight with Ben working there and he watched as the kid worked like a machine. It was amazingly odd that he would work so hard when no one else was there. He knew the kid didn''t know about the camera, because he wasn''t told or even let in on the secret. He wouldn''t be, until he was with the company for about a month.


    All of the little things Ben needed to know about working with them, would be told to him by the guys by then. It was how it was always done and probably always would be. Informal on-the-job training was always the best way to break in someone new for the crew and the kid was already friends with a couple of the guys.


    Adrian watched as Ben stopped working and ate a snack, then kept working. He skipped fast forward and the camera cut off when Ben left. Adrian nodded and turned off the laptop before he went to bed with his wife, who had been a bit more eager the last few times they had gone at it. He didn''t ask why or complained, because he wasn''t an idiot. If she wanted more attention, he was going to give it to her.


    *


    ¡°YES!¡± I exclaimed and jumped around in the basement of the abandoned building. I had brought my junior high school chemistry set in my backpack and the vials of chemicals I had borrowed from the chemistry lab. It had taken two hours and six different attempts to get the chemicals to combine properly and to bind together into the lattice chain I had designed.


    The key had been the temperature of the paraffin burner. I had to adjust it to ensure an even spread of heat across the mixing pot and bingo, I had the perfect goop that would become web fluid. I recorded everything and would need to recreate it in the chemistry lab when I had the chance. Secretly, of course. I wasn''t sure how I would explain cooking up a huge pot of white snot.


    I laughed and packed everything up before I climbed up through the elevator shaft to the top of the building and then hopped across to the next building and climbed down. I was wearing dark clothing and it was nighttime, so I didn''t have to worry about being seen, not that my spider-sense would allow that, anyway.


    I smiled about finding the hidden security camera and motion sensor without giving myself away. It was odd that I didn''t sense it the night before, then I chuckled as I walked out of the alley behind the building. It probably wasn''t there in that spot until today, so Mr. Toomes could keep an eye on me.


    It was nice to have someone else besides May to care about me getting hurt, so I made sure I passed by that camera as much as possible while I worked. It would reassure him that I was maintaining the safety protocols he had set and I also showed him that I wasn''t going to hurt myself.


    I rode the bus home and May was asleep on the couch. I ran up the stairs quietly and showered quickly, dressed in pyjamas, and went back down to the living room. I carefully picked her up and she mumbled something about handsome construction workers and cuddled into my neck.


    I held in my chuckle and carried her up the stairs and took her to her bedroom. I tucked her into bed and she told me she loved me. ¡°I love you, too.¡± I whispered and gently kissed her cheek. I went to my room and unpacked my backpack, hid what I had to hide, and packed it for the next day of classes.


    *


    Thursday mornings sucked. The classes weren''t that interesting and it didn''t keep me in a good mood. That changed when I went to lunch and Liz brought my spirits up. She used her lips to kiss me, which was a great way to spend part of the lunch period.


    ¡°Are you doing anything this weekend on Sunday?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sunday?¡± Liz asked back. ¡°Why not Saturday?¡±


    ¡°I''m working.¡± I said and she looked sad. ¡°I''m sorry if you had something in mind for us to do together. I just started work and I can''t ask for time off, even if it''s to spend it with the gorgeous daughter of my boss.¡± I chuckled. ¡°In fact, that might be even more of a reason I can''t ask for time off.¡±


    Liz sighed. ¡°He can be a little overbearing.¡±


    ¡°If you think that, then you should do what I do.¡± I said.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± Liz asked, looking curious.


    ¡°Work so hard that he can''t ever complain about it.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Just be the best daughter in the world and you''ll be fine.¡±


    Liz smiled back. ¡°I''m pretty sure if we started dating, I will be losing a few points in the best daughter category.¡±


    I barked a laugh. ¡°Maybe.¡± I said and grinned at her. ¡°How about I come over on Sunday to your place? We can make a whole day of it and I''ll even cook supper for you.¡±


    Liz blinked her eyes three times in a second. ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Just ask your mom to pick up whatever she wants cooked up for a meal and I''ll handle the rest.¡±


    Liz looked unsure. ¡°She might not let you into her kitchen. That''s her space.¡±


    ¡°That''s so progressive of you!¡± I exclaimed and she looked surprised, then she laughed.


    ¡°Asshole.¡± Liz said and kissed me just as the bell rang to end the lunch period. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You better believe it.¡± I said and picked up my backpack. I blew her a kiss and walked out of the cafeteria at a quick pace. I had robotics class to get to and hopefully a teacher that was going to let me play with all of the things I had catalogued as essential last week.

 17 Revelations

    The smile on Mr. Kinneson''s face told me exactly how things were going to progress in robotics class. He handed me a list of things the class had done since the beginning of the year and nodded at the wall of fun.


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I said and put as much emotion into my voice as possible.


    ¡°Impress me and you might just make it back onto the robotics team before the next competition in the new year.¡± The teacher said.


    ¡°I''m sorry, sir. I have a part time job and can''t rejoin the club.¡± I said and he lost the smile. ¡°Also, depending on what weight category you want to compete in, if you try for the unlimited category, you could easily adapt a plasma cutter or even a metal circular saw to literally cut through the competition.¡±


    Mr. Kinneson stared at me with his mouth open slightly.


    ¡°If you go for the top of the limited category, you could use a small pneumatic jackhammer and a piercing strategy. It won''t do much for destroying the opposing robot, except for targeting their electronics or destroying their offensive weaponry.¡±


    The man''s expression didn''t change, so he still looked surprised.


    ¡°If you want to go in there and sweep all of the competition, you could adapt a spinner with weighted ends. It''ll smash anything that comes close, no matter what kind of robot it is, and they won''t stand a chance against you.¡±


    A couple of the guys already in the classroom cursed.


    ¡°We should induct you back in right away.¡± One of them said.


    ¡°I can''t. Like I said, I have to work after school.¡± I said and they looked surprised. ¡°I don''t mind sharing more ideas...¡±


    ¡°This is our current design!¡± The guy nearly shouted and turned his laptop around to show me a 3D diagram of the thing.


    ¡°What category?¡± I asked and walked over to him.


    ¡°Under five pounds.¡± He said and waved at the keyboard. ¡°The specific info is under the help menu.¡±


    I nodded and almost laughed out loud at instantly gaining access to the robot design program and the pneumatic control system program. I browsed through the both of them and nodded several times.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± The teacher asked.


    ¡°A launching system.¡± I said and he looked surprised. ¡°You''ve got all this space that''s wasted with the flipping mechanism and the two hydraulic pistons. Why not pull that and change it to a micro air compressor with a control program and reinforce the flipper arms into a solid piece? You can slip under the other robots and toss them around like toys.¡±


    ¡°That... that... that''s brilliant!¡± One of the other guys exclaimed.


    ¡°Are any of you in the mechanical engineering program?¡± I asked and they shook their heads. I knew that, because I didn''t see them there, and I wanted to confirm that there wasn''t a second class or something. ¡°It''s a good thing I have access to the lab and the CNC machines there.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± Mr. Kinneson said and put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I''ll lift all of my restrictions if you can help the club with this thing.¡±


    ¡°We haven''t won a competition in two years.¡± An older student said.


    ¡°Why are you here in the same classroom with the newbs?¡± I asked and he smiled.


    ¡°It''s a free period for us and we get extra credit for helping younger year students handle the course materials.¡± One of them said.


    ¡°Cool.¡± I said and they all gathered around me as we started talking about the design, how it could be changed, and what to do to make it more effective. By effective we meant deadly. We didn''t even get to the actual class material and we burned through the classroom time.


    When the bell rang, I was the only one of us that moved as the others kept discussing things and the ideas I had given them. I had pilfered their control programs when I copied their old designs to a USB drive and I knew I could easily reproduce one of them and also improve it. I didn''t tell them that, though. I wanted to be known as handy to have around and not essential to have nearby at all times.


    I went to the wall of fun and stopped myself from drooling. I must not drool! I thought and started gathering up the components I would need to reproduce the first several class labs and a few other parts that I tucked into the piles for my own use.


    The detailed instructions Mr. Kinneson had given me were almost a step by step manual to complete the labs. I didn''t follow them religiously, however. I needed to prove that I understood what he did and not only followed the provided instructions. I hoped that would make a good impression, despite not being the ''correct'' thing to do. Improvisation and innovation was what a teacher of a course like this looked for.


    As I worked through the first and second lab projects, I realized Mr. Kinneson was giving us the building blocks to create our own robot inventions. Basic construction using pre-made parts, basic program assembly, basic control mechanisms, and everything else to have a basis for the robotics club. He was essentially grooming students to want to create robots for the competitions.


    I had to smile at the sneakiness. It was a great way to find those that had a good grasp of the underlying concepts of robotics and who was just doing the course for the credits without any real passion for the subject. I had passion for it in spades, so I didn''t have to worry about it anymore.


    I glanced over at the club members and saw Mr. Kinneson nodding along slightly as they worked through several design concepts and created computer designs for the new structural parts. That was the best part about classes like this. The creativity it inspired. The class materials took a backseat when that spark happened and Mr. Kinneson had that same passion for his subject that all good teachers had.


    I blew through three of the class labs and put the results of each, including my reports for them and the changes I had applied, on his desk. He waved to me before I left the classroom and I exited the school to catch the bus home. Despite the bad start of the day with classes that I didn''t really like, the rest of the day had been great.


    I went home, did my homework, cooked supper for May and did up the date table to make her smile and blush a little, then I changed for work and rode the bus to the abandoned building. I had a lot of work to do, including a few little experiments I could do afterwards with all of the electronic pieces I had borrowed from school.


    Yes, all things considered, it was a great day.


    *


    Friday was a good day, with biology lab in the morning and gym in the afternoon. The coach just nodded when I went right over to Liz and her friends. Their workout really was a much more advanced version of the one the freshmen had to do, so I excelled at it. I made sure to pace myself to stay near Liz and her friends, though. I didn''t want to show off too much.


    ¡°Parker! Head''s up!¡± The coach said as someone threw something at me.


    I reached out and caught the football without thinking about it and hugged it like you were supposed to, to keep it safe. A few whistles came from the guys and Liz looked hungry again. The ball had been heading right for her and I had snatched it out of the air almost right in front of her face.


    ¡°Damn, kid.¡± Coach Wilson said. ¡°You''re not going to try out for the football team?¡±


    ¡°I can''t, I''m sorry. I have a part time job and had to quit all of the clubs I was a part of.¡± I responded.


    ¡°Damn.¡± He said and motioned to the football. ¡°Sink that in the basketball hoop and you can leave early.¡±


    I looked at the odd shape and at the hoop. ¡°From here?¡±


    The coach shrugged and I nodded.


    I took a minute to pretend to get a good grip on the thing, aimed, and paused. ¡°Are you sure you want it in the basket and not in the trash can in the far corner?¡±


    ¡°Which is easier?¡± The coach asked with a smile.


    ¡°The trash can.¡± I said.


    ¡°Then put it in the hoop.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I said and pretended I was in a cartoon and swung my arm in a circle exaggeratedly to make Liz and her friends laugh, and threw the ball. It flew in a perfect spiral as it arced through the air. It hit the edge of the hoop, flipped over and hit the backboard, then it spun in the air twice before it plopped right down through the hoop.


    ¡°Damn, damn, damn.¡± Coach Wilson whispered and waved acceptance.


    ¡°Thanks, coach!¡± I said and gave Liz a pointed look.


    ¡°Go ahead. She''ll be useless as she looks for you anyway.¡± The coach said and Liz grinned at me.


    We left to some hoots and hollers and quickly found a spot that was out of the way and made out for quite some time. When gym class ended, we split up to shower and changed into our clothes. After one more kiss, we left the school and I rode the bus home.


    I quickly did my routine of homework, cooking, and teasing May a little, before I went to work. The guys had made a lot more piles with bigger chunks, because they started tearing into the walls and the work went faster if they didn''t break things up very much. They also knew I kicked concrete''s ass with a sledgehammer.


    I finished clearing up and went down into the basement to my improvised and hidden lab. I called it that and it was just an old table that I used when I brought my things to experiment with. I never left anything, so there was no proof I had done anything there, and went to work experimenting.


    It wasn''t until I had built the first web release mechanism that I realized I had a slight problem. I didn''t have a computer or a laptop to write the program or to hook it up to the pneumatic control module. It was a small setback, mainly because what I was working on was almost a completely mechanical system and the control system was more for monitoring the pressures of the cartridges and not for running the whole thing.


    That was quite important, so I had to do something about that. I wasn''t sure what, though. I wasn''t going to steal to get the money, even if it would be an easy way to buy a laptop. I wouldn''t be able to explain suddenly having the cash, either. So, I would have to come up with some kind of workaround or I would need to wait for my first couple of paychecks.


    That was when I remembered my clarinet. I had found the receipt for it and the extra parts, the case, and the cleaning kit. Peter had barely used the thing and it looked brand new, so the $1,500 dollars the thing had cost was a ridiculous expense. The $250 for the case was almost laughable and I didn''t even bother looking up the resale value on the extra parts.


    I definitely need to talk to May about selling it. I thought and I wasn''t really looking forward to that conversation. It would be a huge event for her, because it would let her know that something Peter had been so focused on, wasn''t even an interest for me. It would also ram home that I wasn''t Peter anymore.


    I sighed and packed up everything and left the abandoned building the same way I always did late at night. Up through the elevator shaft. I hopped over to the next building and started to crawl down when I heard a scuffle below in the back alley. I quickly crawled down to see several guys using some kind of tools to try and break into the dump truck.


    Anger filled me as I saw one of the guys slip and the screwdriver he was using scraped right down through the Bestman Salvage logo on the driver''s side door. Adrian had taken out a huge loan to pay for the truck that was essential for his salvage business.


    Fucking thieves! I thought and I jumped thirty feet down and slammed my feet into the guy''s shoulders. Two distinct snaps were heard and the guy collapsed to the ground and opened his mouth to scream. I kicked him in the temple and knocked him out as his two friends stared at me.


    It was dark in the alley and they might not have seen my face. I couldn''t really take that chance, though. My fists shot out and crushed their noses. They made gurgling sounds and dropped to the ground, motionless. I cursed in my head at them for being so goddamn stupid and then actually cursed out loud at myself for also being so goddamn stupid. I had jumped into a fight and hadn''t covered my face first.


    ¡°Stupid, stupid, stupid.¡± I whispered as I thought about what to do. I didn''t know of any drug dealers in the area, so I couldn''t just dump them in the area and hope for the best. I needed to be smart about things and glanced around. No one was around this late at night, so I wasn''t going to be spotted if I was careful.


    When I looked at the guy that had damaged the truck''s door, I recognized him as the smoking guy I had passed in the stairwell at my apartment building. The bastard must have followed me!


    That pissed me off, because I was working my ass off to keep a job to earn enough money to let May relax about the bills, and here was this guy trying to wreck everything, probably because he wanted to buy more cigarettes!


    I growled as I knelt and searched his pockets. I found a set of keys, some loose change, half a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, his wallet with a hundred and thirty bucks in it, and his driver''s license with his address on it. That meant he wasn''t doing this for pocket money. There were several explanations for what he was going to do. He was going for a joyride, someone hired him to wreck Adrian''s business, or he was going to try and sell the thing.


    I was betting on a joyride, because the two guys with him didn''t look like hardened criminals. They looked like his friends and were fairly well off. I looked down at the things in my hands and huffed. I took the money and his driver''s license from the wallet and his keys before I shoved the rest back into his pockets.


    I was glad that I was still wearing my work gloves as I checked the other two potential criminals. They had another $165 dollars between them and I didn''t take the change from their pockets. I did take their keys and licenses, just because I could. It was too dark to identify them otherwise and I wanted to know their names after I dumped their bodies somewhere. Perhaps in the river.


    That was when what happened finally hit me and I staggered slightly from the shock.


    I had killed them.


    Three people were dead.


    It had been in anger and it hadn''t been in cold blood or premeditated, which I would feel relieved about later. That didn''t really matter inside my mind right then, because I had become something I never thought would ever happen.


    I was a murderer.

 18 The First Date

    Bokuboy


    I dropped to my knees as I reeled from the implications of what just happened. This wasn''t a dream. This wasn''t a game where you could go back and redo your choices if you wanted to. This was real life... and I had ended the lives of three other people.


    My hands shook for several moments until I replayed the fight in my head. I hadn''t realized my spider-sense had been lightly buzzing during the fight, which meant the three guys had represented some kind of danger to me. I had just reacted and removed the threat to myself and my family. At least, that was what it felt like.


    It was my life these guys threatened. My livelihood. It was... it was... my life. My choices... all of them... had consequences. I also had to deal with those consequences and I couldn''t afford to have an existential crisis right now. I looked at my gloved hands and they no longer shook. I made my hands into fists and I felt resolve fill me.


    The deaths weren''t really justifiable in a court of law. They were stealing a very expensive dump truck and that wasn''t worth their lives, according to most people. The problem was, they didn''t see the people it would affect. The guys on the crew that wouldn''t be paid, because the business had to repair or replace such expensive equipment.


    The insurance company might not cover basic theft, because of where the vehicle was left. No basic protections had been around it, besides blocking off the alley to traffic. The permits wouldn''t matter, either. Any damage these idiots might have caused while joyriding, wouldn''t have been covered, either. I was sure Adrian had incidental on his policy; but, that wouldn''t cover damage done intentionally and by a non-insured driver.


    I almost laughed at my mind immediately giving myself reasons that accidentally killing three people was all right, because I was preventing a crime and any potential future crimes. Once I thought that, my mind made up a bunch of previous petty crimes that they must have gotten away with before now. They could have done anything and I stopped them.


    I stopped them permanently.


    I took several deep breaths and pushed all of that to the side. I had a crime to cover up and evidence to fake. I wasn''t going to try and take the blame for the truck damage, though. That was just stupid and wouldn''t earn me any respect for allowing it to happen. However, offering to pay for the repairs would. They did technically happen because of me and I would own up to that at least.


    I looked at the three bodies and quickly thought about what I was going to do with them. I looked at my watch and saw how late it was. My experimenting had gone on longer than I had planned for and it was really late now. May was going to kill me if she realized it, so I would have to lie and say I fell asleep at work.


    With a tentative plan in mind, I improvised a face covering with one of the guy''s jackets before I hid two of the bodies under the rear truck tires and then picked up the third. I winced internally as I had to fold the thing up to make it unrecognizable. I had to break the arms, the legs, and the neck to do that, and I grabbed a set of stretchy cords from the dump truck that held down the tarp.


    I trussed up my new and extra large backpack and transferred my normal one to my chest before hefting the new one onto my back. With it secured, I crawled back up the opposite building to the roof and looked over the cityscape that I could see. I had to find a good spot to dump the new backpack and I let my eyes roam.


    It was then that I realized I could also use my spider-sense in a much different capacity than I ever had before. Actively. I concentrated on that danger sense as I looked at different spots for body concealment. I didn''t get anything at first, probably because I wasn''t thinking hard enough about my own safety and what would happen if I was discovered. When I did do that, I felt a slight tingle.


    I smiled and started to run. I jumped when I reached the edge of the building and did my best to make my silhouette as small and indistinguishable as possible. I landed on the next building''s roof and held in my laugh that the weight on my back didn''t hinder me at all. I would need to see what else I could do that would simulate it.


    I followed my spider-sense and let it lead me to a small and out of the way park near the waterfront. I kept using my senses like a direction finder, only without following the actual signal and followed where it didn''t tingle. It led me to a large square storm grate that emptied out into the Hudson River and it stank. Like really, really stank.


    When I crawled down to look through the grate, I saw several rotted animal carcasses of different kinds and a pile of rats. New York rats. Huge foot long and omnivorous rats. I eased the storm grate open with barely a squeak of the metal and carefully crawled into the thing on the ceiling. The rats either didn''t notice or didn''t care.


    I assumed the not caring part, because they were huge foot long rats that ate everything. I carefully unhooked my new backpack and unbound it, then I carefully lowered the body down into the mass of rats that were gnawing on the carrion. They didn''t stop moving or chewing as the new and quite large mass settled into their feeding space.


    I hung there on the ceiling for several minutes, just to see what would happen, then one of the rats seemed to notice the new addition. It let out a squeal-like sound and slid inside the pant leg of the body''s jeans. Another squeak was made and then every single rat in the area swarmed over the body.


    It was shocking to see... for about two seconds. I didn''t want to watch what happened and quietly crawled out before I put the storm grate back into place. I knew I was probably going to break down and cry about this later; but, that was later. I had two more special backpack deliveries to make before I could go home and I needed to move quickly.


    *


    ¡°Damn, kid. You look wiped out.¡± Adrian said as I climbed into his pickup truck.


    ¡°I barely slept, sir.¡± I said and yawned. I didn''t have to fake it, either. It took a lot longer to make those two deliveries, because I had to use different routes. Relying on my spider-sense like that had been both great and time consuming. Not trying to get caught was taxing, stressful, and tiring.


    ¡°Is the job too much for you?¡± Adrian asked as he drove.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I turned to look at him.


    ¡°Staying out late every night working is catching up to you.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°What? No way, sir!¡± I said with conviction. ¡°After I finished work last night, I stupidly stayed up most of the night after playing with some chemical compositions and then I also played around with some of the mechanical engineering scraps I managed to scrounge from school.¡±


    ¡°After work?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir. It was after I finished. I mistakenly thought I had lots of time to play around because it was the weekend and I didn''t have school today.¡±


    Adrian chuckled. ¡°I make the same mistake sometimes.¡±


    I certainly hope it''s not the same mistake. I thought and didn''t try to look too closely at the man, because I didn''t want to give myself away. He was a good provider, like Doris had claimed, and it wasn''t until Tony Stark screwed him over with the clean-up contracts with the city that he turned to crime to feed his family and to keep his guys working.


    It was then that I realized something. Adrian was still running his salvage business and I was working for him. It wasn''t a criminal enterprise and I hadn''t seen a hint of any criminal activities. I also didn''t see any hints of alien technology and there were no reports of anything in the papers, which meant the attack on New York hadn''t happened yet.


    Yet. I thought. It was coming and I wasn''t prepared for it. I would have to step up my plans and get some things done as quickly as possible. All I really knew was that it hadn''t happened in winter and the clothes people wore seemed like warm weather clothes, so I had a few months at least, perhaps until summer. That was not a lot of time, considering it was almost Christmas.


    We arrived at the salvage business and I took out my safety gear and checked it with Frank before putting it on, then we loaded up the extra equipment we needed and went to the abandoned building. Almost right away, one of the first guys on the site ran back to Adrian.


    ¡°Adrian! We got some vandals ''er somethin'' that done messed up yer truck!¡±


    ¡°Show me.¡± Adrian said in a harsh voice and I followed along.


    Several of the guys cursed and Adrian picked up the screwdriver from the pavement where I had left it.


    ¡°We''ll find the bastard that did it.¡± One of the guys said and they all nodded.


    ¡°It looks like they were trying to break in or something.¡± I said and pointed at the driver''s side door.


    That made a lot of the guys curse and Adrian gripped the screwdriver tightly.


    ¡°Ben, you didn''t notice anything when you were working?¡± Adrian asked.


    ¡°No, sir. I always check before and after work to make sure none of the debris is left on the street.¡± I said and he nodded. That had been one of the very first things he had his guys do every day. ¡°It must have happened late last night. It''s dark back here and when I leave, there''s never anyone else around.¡±


    Adrian nodded again. ¡°My insurance...¡±


    ¡°Sir, I''d like to offer to pay for the damages.¡± I interrupted and he and the guys turned to look at me. ¡°I know I wasn''t responsible; but, it happened after I was here. I wouldn''t feel right letting your rates go up just for a stupid thief.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I can''t let you do that.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°Sir, I... I insist. If I had stayed here, I''m sure I would have dealt with things.¡± I said and let some anger show on my face. ¡°You work hard to give us all good jobs and to feed our families. That some idiot would even think to try and steal from you, to steal from all of us, deserves whatever happens to them.¡±


    ¡°Damn right, kid.¡± Frank said and clapped me on the shoulder as everyone nodded.


    Adrian looked at my face and nodded. ¡°I''ll get an estimate for the lock and the repainting.¡±


    ¡°I''ll talk to my Aunt May about selling Peter''s clarinet. It''s just a pile of money that''s just sitting there and not being used.¡± I offered and he looked surprised. ¡°I''ll hope that it''ll be enough to cover it. If not, I can make payments and...¡±


    Adrian smiled and clapped my other shoulder. ¡°Relax, kid. Don''t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°We''ve got work to do. Put this out of your mind and let''s get upstairs. The top floor isn''t going to tear itself apart.¡± Adrian said. ¡°We might work you a bit harder, too. Having you here all day is going to speed us up a lot.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I understand.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I won''t mind that at all, sir. Not at all.¡±


    We all went inside and started working. I actually did work my ass off much harder than I normally would. I didn''t take breaks and I used Adrian''s swinging wheelbarrow move at both the elevator shaft and at the opening to fill up the dump truck. It sped up my work by a significant margin and everyone noticed.


    ¡°I taught him that.¡± Adrian said and the guys chuckled as they ate lunch. ¡°Ben! You gotta eat.¡±


    ¡°There''s just a few more loads left!¡± I said and kept going, which made them laugh some more.


    ¡°We''re almost ready to start on the floor.¡± Frank said. ¡°We''ll have to use more securing ropes when we do.¡±


    Adrian nodded. ¡°Give Ben the central one. He''s moving around the most out of all of us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. He gets the thickest rope.¡± Frank said with a smile.


    I almost laughed at them, because even I knew it was the biggest and heaviest rope. They were trying to slow me down. It wasn''t going to work because I already had a workaround for it. I would pile it into the wheelbarrow to make it lighter and also make them laugh.


    I needed the extra laughs in my life. A lot of laughs.


    I had actually broken down and cried last night after disposing of the bodies, which was why I hadn''t slept much. Killing three people had changed things for me. It also changed things inside of me. My mind had easily classified the criminals as prey and killing them was no different than swatting at flies.


    I assumed that it was whatever the bite had done to alter my brain, because I wasn''t that ruthless or that pragmatic before... and now I was. I had adapted to a ''me over them'' mentality after my breakdown and I realized that was for the best. I couldn''t lose my mind every time an accident happened. I wouldn''t be able to function in normal society if that was the case.


    So, I accepted what happened had been inevitable. It was going to happen sooner or later. I was going to cause someone''s death, either by my own hand or by my inactivity, and I was going to be devastated by it. I had my existential crisis and survived it. It had to happen for me to become who I was meant to become.


    The Pragmatic Spider-Man.


    I would deal with things sensibly and realistically, in a way that was based on practical considerations rather than theoretical ones. I would deal with reality on a fundamental level and how my actions affected it. After what happened, I could do nothing less than that.


    *


    ¡°Not in my house!¡± Doris exclaimed with a laugh when Adrian and I showed up covered in dust and dirt from head to toe. ¡°Strip off right there and carry your work clothes to the laundry. Addy! Get upstairs to the bedroom after that and shower like your life depends on it!¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear.¡± Adrian said and sighed.


    ¡°Ben! You get the downstairs bathroom. Don''t come out until you are fully scrubbed!¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear.¡± I said with a grin, which made Adrian chuckle and Doris looked happy. ¡°I brought a change of clothes.¡± I said and handed her my clean backpack that had been in the pickup truck.


    Doris took it and carried it to the bathroom and hung it on the back of the door while Adrian and I stripped off to our underwear.


    ¡°I can''t believe she won''t let me cook tomorrow if I didn''t show up tonight for supper.¡± I commented and bundled up my jeans and t-shirt, careful of getting more dust on my arms than I already had.


    ¡°She convinced your aunt that it was a good idea to make it a group thing.¡± Adrian said with a shrug.


    I chuckled. ¡°I''m not going to argue with her, either.¡±


    ¡°Smart kid.¡± Adrian said and I followed him to the laundry room to drop off our clothes. He went up the stairs and I went to the downstairs bathroom.


    ¡°Towels are in the cabinet there and the soap and shampoo are on the shelves in the shower.¡± Doris said and pointed.


    ¡°Thanks, Doris.¡± I said and Doris glanced down at my crotch. ¡°Not a lot of exciting things at work.¡±


    ¡°Pity.¡± Doris chuckled as she winked at me and then shut the door when she left.


    No spider-sense, so she was just teasing. I think. I thought and chuckled myself as I stepped into the shower and started to scrub. Either that or my senses don''t believe she''s a danger to me.


    I washed up and dried off before getting dressed. I primped myself a little, just because I would be around three women, and carried my backpack to the front door to leave it there.


    ¡°You cleaned up well.¡± Liz said from the stairs behind me.


    ¡°I knew I was going to see you, so I had to put in some effort.¡± I responded.


    Liz walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss. ¡°This doesn''t count as our first date.¡±


    ¡°No, that''s tomorrow like we planned. This was your mother''s idea.¡± I said and gave her a fake confused look. ¡°Wait, does that mean it''s my first date with her instead?¡±


    Liz laughed and gave me another kiss. ¡°She''s going to laugh her butt off if she thinks that!¡±


    I had to grin at her. ¡°Are you going to tell her or should I?¡±


    Liz took my hand and brought me to the dining room. ¡°Mom! Guess what Ben asked me!¡±


    ¡°Oh? I thought he was waiting for tomorrow.¡± Doris said.


    ¡°He is.¡± Liz said and then told them what I had asked.


    May and Doris laughed pretty hard, probably because I had been having date meals every night with May. Adrian looked amused, probably for the same reason. Liz just hugged me and I kissed her cheek.


    We had a great meal and we talked about everything and nothing for the rest of the evening.

 19 The First Date Take Two

    After we went home, I sat May down and we had a serious discussion about selling the clarinet. She tried to be brave about it and I held her and she managed to only cry for a little while. I told her that it was all right to feel the way she did, which made her cry a bit more, so I kissed her cheek and held her for quite some time afterwards.


    The next morning, I wasn''t surprised when Liz accepted when I asked her out. She even insisted that we make a whole day of it, considering how well the impromptu dinner the night before had gone. In fact, she even invited Aunt May to come along, because her mother would be at the house, too.


    Of course, once we were all at Liz''s house, I had to make the joke that I was now dating three women and I was happy that they all seemed to get along. I received three nearly identical smacks on the ''good'' side of my head and my exclamation of faked pain made them laugh. That wasn''t the best part of the day, though. Nope. It was that Liz had a heated pool.


    Even though it was only a couple of weeks before the Christmas break, I got to see Aunt May, Doris, and Liz wearing bathing suits. Nice, thin, bathing suits. The wind was bitter as well, so it was a double treat for me. Well, six treats to be exact. Yep, those treats. So, I specifically made a point to compliment each woman for looking so beautiful. May blushed, Doris laughed, and Liz smacked me good.


    ¡°Put your eyes back in your head, Ben.¡± Liz warned me.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I faked being confused, which kept Doris laughing and made May smile.


    ¡°It''s not nice to stare.¡± Liz said, pointedly.


    ¡°But, if I can''t stare at my girlfriends, who am I supposed to stare at?¡± I asked and started to grin, which let her know I was joking.


    Liz almost growled and then she chuckled and covered my eyes. ¡°Get into the pool.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma''am!¡± I said and slipped out from her grip and then ran for the diving board, jumped and did a cartwheel, and landed in the water with a huge splash. I was up an instant later. ¡°Come on in! The water''s great!¡±


    ¡°You did not just do that!¡± Liz exclaimed and stared at me.


    ¡°Do what? Dive?¡± I asked.


    Liz shook her head as she hopped in from the side of the pool and bobbed in the water beside me.


    ¡°Show off.¡± I said and she put a hand on my head and pushed me under the surface. I made appropriate gurgle sounds for her and waved my arms in a panicking manner. I could almost hear her laughing, too. She let me up and I spit and sputtered, so she hugged me and kissed me to apologize.


    ¡°Liz, stop trying to kill your new boyfriend.¡± Doris said as she and May calmly walked down the stairs at the shallow end of the pool. ¡°Ben''s right. The water is the perfect temperature.¡±


    May shivered and dipped down to swim a bit and then turned over to float on her back. ¡°This actually is nice. Thank you for inviting me.¡±


    Doris waved her thanks away. ¡°Addy''s in the office doing paperwork for a few hours and we needed to do something to distract those two.¡± She said and waved at Liz and myself.


    ¡°I have super-vision!¡± I said and Liz giggled. ¡°Wait, that''s not as great as it sounds.¡±


    Doris and May laughed as well and we spent an hour floating around in the warm water and talking about school and work. I was a little surprised that the three of them were so relaxed and didn''t seem to mind having me around. I did try to not be too big of a disturbance, too. I mean, I''m a guy with three women to impress. I had to show off a little, right? It''s in the guy code.


    ¡°He is definitely trying too hard to impress us.¡± Doris said after I made a particularly cool dive with a somersault.


    ¡°You need to relax, Ben.¡± May advised me and motioned to the end of the pool. ¡°Go float over there for a while.¡±


    ¡°Aww, sent to the corner already.¡± I pouted and gave Liz a quick kiss and pushed off from the side of the pool as I put my face down into the water. I did the dead man float all the way to the shallow end and held my breath the whole time. No one reacted.


    When I lifted my head and turned around to look, Doris, May, and Liz were completely ignoring me.


    Well, it was fun while it lasted. I thought and laid back in the water as I stared up at the sky. I actually lost track of time as I did so.


    I felt someone approach in the water sometime later and turned my head slightly to see Liz. I stood up to greet her and we all left the pool, dried off, and dressed. Lunch was a semi-quiet affair as we ate sandwiches and waited for Adrian to come home. He did so, only a little later than he was supposed to, and the party games began.


    I knew he wasn''t enjoying it much and just went along with it, because his wife and daughter wanted him to, so I made sure to stick beside him and always took as much attention onto myself as I could without being annoying about it. He actually looked grateful for my efforts.


    I had to leave them at a certain point to start cooking supper. Doris actually bought steaks like I suggested and she just had to follow me into ''her space'' like Liz said and she watched as I prepared everything. Marinating sauce to tenderize the steaks, a nice garden salad, some rice, and a few spices to add to the meat when I grilled it.


    I could tell that Doris was impressed when I had everything ready. After I started up the grill and put the meat on, Adrian looked impressed as well. They each liked their meat cooked differently, so I had to constantly watch the steaks. I had marked each of them, just so I wouldn''t get them mixed up, and served them when their meat was ready.


    Everyone fell silent as we all started eating. The happy and pleased sounds they all made as they ate, gave me a happy feeling. It was at times like these that really drove home that these people were real, just like I was, and I cared about them. I resolved to do everything I could to improve myself and to get ready for what was coming.


    *


    Monday was a full work day, so I worked my ass off. We were stripping the building down, floor by floor, and we were making short work of it, which meant that we were definitely going to make the February first deadline.


    I took the lunch break off and went to the best music store in the city, the one where May had bought the clarinet, and sold it back to them at a small discount. They were impressed at the condition of the thing, considering how long Peter had it, and they were glad that I added in the case and extra parts for only another two hundred dollars.


    I barely made back the original price of the clarinet and went back to work with almost $1,500 in my pocket. I checked with Adrian and he told me it would only be a few hundred dollars to get the truck door repainted. I gave him a pointed look for several moments before handing him $500 and thanked him for making up the price. He laughed and told me to get back to work.


    One of the guys had to empty the dump truck at a designated landfill area and I was asked to go along to see where it was. I was shocked that they were using it as back-fill to reinforce the docks. Since it was concrete and the steel rebar had been removed, another company was mixing it with more concrete to secure the land and to stop the water from eroding the docks away.


    My updated civil engineering report for class on Wednesday was going to make my teacher quite happy.


    Tuesday was chemistry lab day and I had my chance to brew up a huge batch of web fluid. Since I no longer had a lab partner, thanks to Ned''s suspension for the last couple of weeks before the holidays, it had been easy to use his set up as a hidden brewing lab under my lab table.


    It had huge cabinets that I tucked everything inside and performed the real lab above the table and tended to the large vat of white snot I was making. No one noticed what I was doing, so it all worked out and I completed both tasks by the end of class.


    I had emptied my old backpack and lined it with several layers of plastic the night before and used a neutral chemical sealer at the end of class to ensure there would be no leaks. I dumped in the cooked web fluid and sealed the bag to stop the air from causing any more of a reaction than necessary.


    Instead of going home after school, I stopped at a hardware store and picked up a good air compressor and the proper attachments for making pressurized containers. I had the excuse now that I had extra cash from the clarinet sale and used the money I had appropriated from my victims. My hand only shook a little as I handed the money over to the sales clerk.


    ¡°You don''t have to be nervous over such a large purchase, sir.¡± The young woman said and rang up the things I had. ¡°It has a one year in-store warranty and another year from the company.¡±


    ¡°As long as it''s inherent parts failure and not from misuse, right?¡± I asked with a smile.


    She softly laughed. ¡°You have some experience with the unwritten rules.¡±


    ¡°Only with nearly everything I buy.¡± I said and she smiled. ¡°I''m actually using this to pressurize containers, so the regulator and everything else is going to be used as intended.¡±


    She nodded and wrote on the back of the receipt before she handed it to me. ¡°If you have any problems, just bring it back and we''ll replace it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and saw the number on the back of the slip of paper. ¡°I''m sorry. I just asked another girl to be my girlfriend.¡±


    She smirked at me. ¡°I''m not particularly worried.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at her and she laughed.


    ¡°If you last past Christmas, call me and let me know.¡± She said and slid the bag with my things in it to the end of the counter. ¡°Good luck.¡± She said and turned to the guy in line behind me.


    Okay, that was a little weird. I thought and carried the bag out of the store. I wonder what she meant?


    I went home and put my things into my room. I had rearranged things a little to give myself more room to work in and the top bunk bed was now a large storage area for everything, which left nearly the entire rest of the room free for me to set up some things. I still had to be discreet about it, though.


    I started taking out the robotic parts I had hidden under my bed and that reminded me I didn''t have a computer. I knew I could get a half-decent laptop computer for about six hundred bucks and I seriously considered it. I sat at my desk and stared at the components in front of me and I knew that a half-decent computer was not going to cut it. I would have to splurge and see what I could get.


    I took out my cell phone and the signal strength was pretty low. I sighed and went out my window to climb the fire escape to the roof. I had full signal then and I browsed the local area for good laptops and even tried desktop models. The choices were crap. Like, really crap. My estimate of half-decent was apparently well above what I could actually afford.


    Where''s the Stark tech? I asked myself and searched specifically for that.


    I almost choked on my own spit when I saw the cheapest laptop available was nearly $3,000 and it was crap. It barely had any memory, the processor was two generations below what they had been before I became Peter, and the hard drive was barely enough to hold the outdated operating system, which was also crap.


    I cursed in my head and tried to not be discouraged. It was apparently the proprietary programming and the technology owned by Stark that was the primary cost. So, I abandoned pre-made things and started searching for components. Thanks to the books I had read at the library, I knew what all the main components would be and what to look for.


    I stopped half an hour later, because it was ridiculous. Building things on your own was even more expensive, because they only sold ''replacement'' parts and not components. It was a lucrative market, too. I sighed at that and went back down into my room. I closed the window and sat down on my bed. I heard a light jingle of the keys in my pocket and remembered the other sets of keys I still had.


    My mind immediately went over what I could do with those keys. Throw them in the nearest dumpster. Throw them into the river. Throw them into the closest storm drain. Use them.


    My thoughts stopped at that and I dug them out of their hiding spot inside an old pair of socks. I took out the keys and the IDs I had taped them to. I avoided reading the names again and didn''t look at the bored faces, because I saw enough of them when I had an occasional nightmare.


    Normally nightmares didn''t bother me. It was when they went really dark and I did things much differently than what I actually did that night, that it made me not regret what happened. I could have handled things differently, especially if I had developed web shooters right away. Not that I could have. It was already progressing much faster than I had planned and I was going to keep working on it.


    The nightmare was now lodged in my head and I groaned as it seemed to play through in its entirety. I could now see the web cocoons that Nightmare Me had tucked in the basement of the abandoned building and the blood flowed from my mouth as I fed from my captured prey. They were still alive, too.


    I shivered and pushed those thoughts from my head. I had some web cartridges to prepare and then fill with web fluid. I started to stand and remembered that I had nothing to check the pressure with, namely a monitoring program, and looked at the keys and IDs once more. One of them was for the guy that lived in this building and I would avoid that, if possible.


    The other two were several streets over and in different apartments. I looked at my part covered desk and looked back at the keys. I needed a computer and those guys seemed to be fairly well-off and had money. The odds that they would have a laptop were pretty damn high, as were the odds that the apartments would be watched or monitored if anyone realized they were missing.


    I think I''ll be making a late night side trip on the way home to see what I can find. I thought and looked at the closet where I had my dark clothing that I wore after work. It shouldn''t hurt to go have a look.


    I checked the time and packed the things away again. I left my room to go and make supper for May and myself. She was still a little depressed since I sold the clarinet, so I decided to make an elaborate dessert. The extra work I had to do, in order to see the smile on her face, was always worth it.

 20 It Begins

    I spent a bit more time looking for an appropriate face mask than was necessary. I actually found an old ski mask a while ago and it had a large oval hole for goggles, which I didn''t find. I spent another fifteen minutes looking for anything at all to fill in the hole and I wasn''t successful.


    I didn''t have the time to try and sew in something, so I had to improvise. I turned it around and put it on, then cut tiny holes for my eyes to see through. I checked in the mirror and it was good enough for now. I would definitely have to rely on my spider-sense a lot while wearing it, because it blocked a lot of my range of sight.


    I went to work after supper, where my dessert had made May laugh. It was a really large cake that I intentionally made crooked and I decorated it like I was five years old. She took a picture of it and gave my cheek a kiss for all the effort I put into it.


    I worked harder and faster than I usually did, making sure I cleared the place out before I put the debris into the dump truck. I checked it after I was done and it was fine. I also sensed another camera and made sure I checked all around the dump truck for debris and any spare chunks of concrete I found, I tossed into the back with the rest.


    I locked the building up and pretended to go home. I rode the bus to where I normally rode it to and walked towards home, then ducked into a nearby alley and put on my dark clothes. I climbed to the roof of the building and did the parkour thing and hopped along over several building rooftops to reach the first destination.


    My eyes widened at the mid-high rise building. It looked expensive, too. I thought about trying to climb it to the top and felt a very slight tingle in the back of my head. I shook my head at the thought, because I didn''t have my web shooters to save me if I slipped and fell. I moved on and went to the next building.


    This was a more moderate one, similar to the one I lived in, and I easily hopped over to land on the outside wall. There was a taller building nearby, so I was completely cast in shadow as I crawled up to the right floor. I went around that side of the building and let my spider-sense guide me. I found an unlocked window that let me enter the building without being seen.


    I crawled inside and up onto the ceiling before I looked around. It was a bathroom and it was only lit by the small amount of ambient light coming in through the window. I didn''t seem to have any trouble seeing, so I went to the door and carefully opened it. I relied almost completely on my spider-sense and crossed the ceiling of the dark hallway and living room before I dropped down to softly land on the carpet.


    I very carefully opened the apartment door and looked outside. The hallway was lit well and that would normally have been a huge detriment to my current outfit. Instead, I was leaving a different apartment dressed completely in black and there were no cameras present. I slipped into the hallway and looked at the apartment door number and smiled, because I was only two doors away from where I needed to go.


    I crept down the hallway to the door and took out a single key from my pocket. No rattling was allowed and I put the key in the deadbolt lock. Nothing happened with my spider-sense, so I turned the key very slowly and it softly clicked open. I waited and nothing happened once more. I opened the door and slipped inside the dark apartment and closed the door behind me.


    I didn''t relax even slightly, now that I was inside the target apartment. It was even more dangerous now, especially if he had family or a girlfriend living there. I glanced around at the decor and almost sighed with relief. It was a classic bachelor pad. I still didn''t relax, because there could be cameras or motion sensors.


    I crawled up the wall and stayed very close to the ceiling as I searched around and let my spider-sense guide me and protect me. I didn''t find anything significant until I tried to enter the target''s bedroom. The door had been open, so going in would be easy.


    Too easy. I suddenly thought as I lowered my head to look into the room and my spider-sense tingled. Dammit. I think that''s a camera. It feels the same as the ones Adrian uses.


    That meant a motion sensor and probably a recording device. Perhaps a cell phone or a laptop. That made me pause, because that was what I wanted in the first place. I wasn''t going to chance that it was broadcasting like Adrian''s did, though. I backed off and went to the window. It was only four feet to the bedroom window from the living room and it was dark.


    It wasn''t covered by the other building''s shadow, however. I reached for the window and froze as my spider-sense went off in a clear warning. I moved my hand away from the window latch and used my gloved fingers to widen one of my eye holes to examine the window. It had electronic sensors that were not like the ones I had seen at school.


    Who was this guy? I asked myself and went back to the bedroom. I seriously thought about closing the door, just so I could search the rest of the apartment and not be caught, and gave up on that idea. The door opened inwards and I would definitely set off the motion sensor if I tried anything.


    I gave the apartment up as a bust and crawled back across the ceiling to the front door of the apartment. My spider-sense went off again when I reached for the handle and I immediately pulled back and laid against the ceiling. That was really, really weird.


    Why would a door handle cause me to react? I asked myself and then let my spider-sense guide me as I examined the door handle, the lock, the door frame, and the door itself. I had missed the nearly invisible wires that I followed to a security panel that was hidden under a To-Do list by the door.


    I lifted the paper completely and stared at the 14 digit keypad. It wasn''t a 9 or a 10 digit one. No, it was 14. It was a digital keypad for the mechanical lock on the door, which meant I wasn''t leaving without the combination. I was glad that I hadn''t touched anything except the key on the way in.


    Now I needed a way out.


    After a quick search from the ceiling, no normal means of escape could be had. Not without setting off whatever alarms were set up in the apartment, silent or otherwise. That meant I had to cause a disturbance as I broke out... or... I could find a sneaky way out.


    I did a much more extensive and careful search, without setting off the motion sensor in the bedroom by staying out of the range it could have out through the bedroom door. Whoever set it up had planned it out well.


    Almost twenty minutes later and relying almost solely on my spider-sense, I found a potential way out. The central heating vent. It had been hidden behind a comfy couch near an internal wall and it was also just big enough for me to squeeze into. It was also latched with the same electronic trip wire the windows had.


    Sneaky, sneaky. I thought and smiled, because I had just figured out how to get out of here without being caught.


    *


    Twenty minutes later, an alarm went off at a small office halfway across the city.


    *WHEET! WHEET! WHEET!*


    The woman sitting at the desk hit the button and nodded at the screen, then picked up the desk phone. ¡°Sir, the alarm you were waiting for has gone off.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Send in the strike team. Seal off the building and get me the relevant footage.¡±


    ¡°It''s already being sent to you, sir.¡± She replied. ¡°The team is on the way.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Good work.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± She said and hung up. She checked the computer and nodded when the relevant files had been sent, killed the local alarm, and went back to her monitor screen and observed the team that had been sequestered in the next building. It was normally a boring job until things like this happened, then it was exciting and she was a big part of the background operation. It also paid well.


    *


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Natasha Romanova said as she closed the laptop on the dead agent''s desk. Her dark red hair shook in annoyance as she turned to look at her partner. ¡°Do you have anything?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Clint Barton said and his eyes scanned over everything. ¡°Nothing''s been moved around or disturbed and there are no marks in the thick carpet. We can bring in the rest to secure the scene.¡±


    ¡°Dammit. Who enters an apartment and doesn''t disturb anything?¡± Natasha asked rhetorically and took out her cell phone and hit the first speed dial number. ¡°Get me the monitoring agent, please.¡±


    The phone clicked several times. ¡°MA23 speaking.¡±


    ¡°Send me the footage and the electronic records.¡± Natasha said and her cell phone beeped at her. ¡°How did they leave without breaking any of the sensors on the door or the windows?¡±


    ¡°They did break one of the sensors.¡± The Monitoring Agent said. ¡°It''s number ten on the list.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± The agent said and hung up.


    ¡°Where''s ten located on the list?¡± Clint asked as he motioned for the rest of his assigned group of field agents to enter the apartment. There were three of them.


    ¡°Just a second.¡± Natasha said and watched the footage. ¡°Son of a bitch.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Whoever it was, covered the motion sensor and camera with a doily.¡±


    ¡°With a what?¡± Clint asked.


    Natasha walked over to the spot and picked up the slightly heavy white lace thing that was usually put under lamps and things to protect tables. ¡°It only lasted for a handful of seconds before it slid off, which disturbed both the camera''s focus and the motion sensor''s detection range for a good ten seconds at least.¡±


    Clint looked at the spot and back at the open doorway. ¡°How much do you want to bet the tripped sensor is behind that couch?¡±


    Natasha looked and smiled. ¡°That''s a sucker bet. A cup of coffee.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡± Clint said and walked out of the bedroom.


    Natasha checked her phone. ¡°It''s the central air vent on the list.¡±


    ¡°The couch is pushed forwards, too.¡± Clint said and waved at the group of field agents to help. ¡°I didn''t notice because it''s covering where it used to sit in the carpet.¡±


    ¡°Sneaky.¡± Natasha said and walked over to watch as the couch was moved. The broken plastic grate fell forward when the couch was out far enough and they nodded.


    ¡°Do you want to do the honors?¡± Clink asked with a smirk and waved at the exposed vent.


    Natasha smirked back. ¡°If I didn''t know your situation already, I could swear you just wanted to stare at my ass as I try to wiggle in there.¡±


    Clint barked a laugh and handed her the end of a thin cable line. ¡°I''m married, not dead.¡±


    Natasha laughed and hooked the cable to the back of her belt, then she made a bit of a show of it as she bent down and knelt before she carefully slipped inside the vent. The ass wiggle was quite significant, too. Clint''s soft laughter followed her inside and down to the next floor.


    Natasha checked for handholds, scrapes, or any signs that anyone had been there. ¡°There are traces of passage. Nothing to follow, however.¡±


    ¡°Retracting.¡± Clint said and Natasha was slowly pulled back up and out of the vent. The agents had assisted and she nodded to them in thanks for the help.


    ¡°We know whoever it was came here for something specific, even if nothing was taken.¡± Natasha said. ¡°I''m only slightly surprised that they discovered the trip sensors on the door and windows.¡±


    ¡°They couldn''t have had any basic tools with them, or they would have removed one of the windows.¡± Clint said and thought about it. ¡°Maybe they stumbled in here and had to make a quick escape?¡±


    ¡°They had the key to get in, according to the digital lock.¡± Natasha said and nodded. ¡°I agree, they were caught and went out the best way possible.¡±


    ¡°We have the others guarding the building''s entrances and exits, even the roof.¡± One of the field agents said. ¡°If they try to sneak out while you''re searching, we''ll catch them.¡±


    Natasha and Clint exchanged a knowing look. They knew whoever it was, had been smart. They would have an escape plan in place before ever coming near a SHIELD agent''s apartment.


    ¡°This site is compromised.¡± Natasha said and walked towards the apartment door. ¡°Clean it up. No one lived here and it should already be listed for rent.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The field agent closest to her said and they watched as two of the best agents of their agency left. The man would never ask why they had been assigned to a recently graduated field agent''s apartment and would never know the young man had been the son of one of the Security Council''s members.


    She was quite angry that her son had been missing for several days and no one noticed, not even her. He hadn''t been on a mission and the normal monitoring protocols hadn''t been set up to watch a new agent''s everyday life.


    Not a single person had noticed when someone carefully climbed out from under the bed, picked up the laptop and a cell phone that had recorded the redheaded woman entering the laptop''s password, and they casually walked out while everyone was occupied with sending the redhead into the vent.


    The laptop wouldn''t be entered as evidence and no one would ever know that it was missing.

 21 Accelerated Plans Part One

    Bokuboy


    Fucking SHIELD! The idiot was a SHIELD agent! I shouted in my head as I crawled out of the dark apartment''s bathroom window that I had entered the building through, and crawled near the next building and jumped across to it. How goddamn stupid do you have to be to try and commit crimes while being an agent for an agency DESIGNED to stop crime?!?


    I ran across the building''s roof and jumped to the next building, then the next, before I paused in my running and sat down on the roof. I took several deep breaths at the very close call I just had at getting caught. I was ecstatic that my decoy plan had worked and I had let my spider-sense tell me when to move. I had gotten clean away and I also had a laptop and the password for it.


    I knew I would have to disable the wireless components to stop it from registering back with SHIELD. They were paranoid bastards and would have lots of backdoors and compromised software, especially with all of the other agencies working both within it and outside it and trying to get at their information. I was just glad that it didn''t have a shield logo on it anywhere.


    With luck, it would be a personal laptop and not have stringent programs and protocols on it that an official laptop for a spy agency would. Of course, considering the luck I had with where I found the damn thing, I was going to bet heavily on it being severely compromised and I would probably have to wipe the hard drive and reset the memory.


    Once I thought that, I immediately thought about resetting the motherboard''s control program, the main computer chip if I had to, and I really should pop out the backup battery and let the charge run out. Being cautious was not a bad thing when dealing with things like this, so I had a lot of work to do to make the laptop usable.


    I chuckled at that thought, because I would have to scuff it up and maybe break the outer case slightly. I needed an excuse to say that I bought the thing cheap at a pawn shop... and then I smacked myself on the forehead for being so goddamn stupid. I hadn''t checked the pawn shops and I could have avoided this whole thing.


    I let out a sigh and stood up, then started to run and jump. I let my spider-sense guide me and went back to my apartment building. I crawled down it and changed in the alley behind it, dirtied up the laptop appropriately and put it back into my backpack with my work safety equipment, then I walked around the building to enter the front door.


    May was asleep on the couch again and I smiled at her slumped form. She looked like she was waiting for me to carry her to bed, so I went up the stairs, took off my work clothes, and had a quick shower. I dressed in pyjamas and went back down to the living room to collect May into my arms. I carried her up the stairs and she muttered something about loving me just as much as she loved Peter.


    ¡°Thank you, May.¡± I whispered softly and kissed her cheek as I tucked her into bed. She didn''t say anything else, so I left her room and went to my own.


    I took out the laptop from my backpack and stared at it. I knew I shouldn''t open it. I knew I shouldn''t play with it, especially considering I was at home. I had to fight against my needs and I had to let my instincts dictate my actions. Surprisingly, it was harder than I thought it should have been. My need to get my web shooters constructed and operational was fiercely opposed by my desire for practicality.


    I took several deep breaths before I reached for my mechanical engineering tools. I had made a bunch of them, fully aware of what I was going to need to work on things at home. I slowly and methodically took apart the laptop and the various components that were inside. A lot of them were easily identifiable, like the hard drive and the network card that allowed both a cord and wireless signal to have access to the laptop.


    Some of them I had no clue about. When I approached them with the micro-screwdriver, my spider-sense went off and I sighed. I needed some way to block any transmission before I fiddled with it, so I took out the robotic parts I had gathered from class and worked at putting some of them together. If I was fast, I could short out whatever it was that was trying to set off my spider-sense.


    I attached the improvised circuit board and I knew it wasn''t going to last long, so I needed to work fast. I quickly popped the network card out of the laptop and then jammed the small screwdriver into the thing that had been discreetly mounted underneath it. A bright spark lit my room and then my spider-sense stopped buzzing and I relaxed.


    I quickly popped out the battery backup that was underneath that, pulled the computer chip, and then hit the reset button on the motherboard. There was still some charge in the main battery, so it should still work. I sat there and waited for several minutes as nothing happened. That I could see, anyway.


    I let my spider-sense tell me when it was safe and I put the things back in place, except for the network card. I left that out, just in case some of the software in the operating system tried to reinitialize the network protocols when I turned it on. I pulled the rest of the laptop apart and searched for anything that didn''t fit into the standard definition of computer parts, and found three things.


    One was a memory stick that didn''t match the others. They were always applied in pairs to work in tandem, so having a single one stood out to anyone used to computer layouts. Another was a micro-SD card that was embedded inside a small receptacle next to the hard drive. It could have been a normal expansion port, except that it wasn''t accessible externally, which meant it wasn''t supposed to be found.


    The last I might have missed, if I hadn''t studied practical computer design in the library. It was a secondary microchip that was mounted in a different spot than the main processor. It even had its own power supply and battery back-up. When I followed the circuit pathways, it went right to the SD card I had already discovered.


    Oh, those sneaky spy bastards. I thought with a mental laugh. I pulled the chip, the extra power, and the SD card. I would have to pick up an external drive to access it without compromising the main computer. I even used my screwdriver to snap the soldered connections to the physical broadcasting device for both wireless and bluetooth.


    With it as secured as possible from outside influence, I reassembled it and sat there as I stared at the blank screen. I was sure that I didn''t want to turn the thing on, even knowing I did everything I could to stop any signal from leaving the laptop. My spider-sense didn''t activate and tell me it was a bad idea, so I sighed and hit the power button...


    ..and nothing happened.


    I actually laughed and then clamped my mouth shut, because I had forgotten to charge the battery. I plugged it in and reached for the power button once more. My spider-sense didn''t activate, so I hit it and waited. The loading screen appeared and I immediately hit the diagnostics button to bring me into the loading screen.


    It let me choose where to boot from, what hard drives to use, how to set the physical memory usage, and a few other things. I went through the options and saw the missing parts that I had removed. The memory card, the bootstrap it had been set to, the network protocol that automatically sent an update to a secured server, and the battery back-up that was no longer available.


    I set them all to ''disable'' and then restarted the laptop. When the loading screen appeared, I went back in and saw that all of my chosen options were still active and nothing had overwritten them. I restarted again and let the computer load up in ''stupid'' mode, so that everything had to be loaded by hand after the computer started and wouldn''t load automatically.


    I almost groaned as a Stark OS logo appeared on the screen. I would have to reformat the hard drive after I looked through it, because that OS was an absolute pig on resources. Nothing besides the operating system would work well, so it had to go. I wasn''t sure what I could install that wouldn''t be just as bad, so I would have to do some online searches.


    When the laptop finished loading almost five full minutes later, the screen was filled with different icons. I actually did groan at the sight, because I would have to go through each one to see what programs they were connected to and what the laptop was actually meant to do. The colors were also muted, which meant it was running on basic video drivers and not the advanced ones.


    Before I checked the programs on the screen, I opened a file folder and went to the hard drive itself as I called for a full directory. Surprisingly, there wasn''t a lot on the thing. There were a few documents regarding SHIELD protocols, a training schedule, and an equipment requisition form.


    I almost drooled at the last thing, because it was a blind drop for delivery and it didn''t require any authorization for basic equipment. I could order uniforms, headgear, microphones, cameras, sensors, and a few other odds and ends that wouldn''t send up red flags in the system. It even had flashbang grenades, handcuffs, batons, and pepper spray!


    I was going to have so much fun with it, because it didn''t need anything but a basic text list of the equipment index numbers sent to a specific phone number, as long as it had the proper drop point reference coordinates at the end. It didn''t even need a confirmation text sent after pick-up.


    So! Much! Fun!


    *


    I spent the morning in classes and was almost fidgeting out of my skin. I had been right and my civil engineering teacher adored my report, especially with the modern references, locations, and the restructured use of ''waste'' concrete to reinforce the city''s infrastructure. It was my first A+ on a report and I was about an inch away from hugging the woman.


    She saw my reaction and laughed under her breath. ¡°Keep up the good work, Ben. You earned that mark.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said with sincerity almost literally pouring out of my mouth. ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    She turned her head towards the board, so no one could see her mouth, and she whispered. ¡°If we weren''t in public, I might have let you.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my grin and whispered back. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°See you next class, Mr. Parker.¡± She said and turned back to face the class as she passed me the report.


    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡± I said and accepted the report, carefully put it into my backpack, and left the classroom. I didn''t wait around to listen to the results on the reports of the other students.


    I only had one more class that morning, lunch with Liz, and then it was mechanical engineering class and the lab all afternoon. I had a few parts to refine for my immediate plans and then I needed to send a very important text after I picked up a cell phone from somewhere. I considered buying a cheap one, then scoffed at that idea. It would be easily tracked, so I would need to use a phone that was not related to me at all.


    I made it through business economics, had a great lunch with Liz, Betty, and Cindy, where the latter two pretty much squealed with delight that Liz and I were officially a couple, and I went to mechanical engineering.


    When I entered the class, Mr Simmons gave me permission to make parts and components for the robotics course and for the club specifically. That had been a godsend to hear before class began and I let out a happy giggle, which made the teacher laugh and wave me over to the side of the room to start working.


    Obviously, I couldn''t take out the parts I wanted to in front of everyone and test fit them, considering they were for my own secret project, so I had to rely completely on my reworked designs, measurements, and my spider-sense. I assembled them in my mind and had to admire my handiwork, because I was doing two other projects at the same time.


    It was relatively easy to make extra parts and not be noticed, especially with so many other students around. I even managed to set up and program the CNC machine with the new designs Mr. Simmons said Mr. Kinneson had given him. Getting professionally machined parts for the little bits I would normally have trouble making, sure was great.


    I placed the two mechanical engineering projects on the teacher''s desk, put the pile of other parts for the robotics teacher beside it, and added a quickly written report for both teachers with the changes I had to make for the pieces to fit and still accommodate the electronic parts they would need. I deleted the extra changes from the program before also including it.


    I left the class a very happy young man and Mr. Simmons looked just as happy with all of the work I had done. I really was getting quite good at the finishing work and the metal projects gleamed in the overhead florescent lights.


    I left the school and I was a little surprised when Val walked over to me. ¡°Hey, you.¡±


    Val gave me raised eyebrows. ¡°You just started dating Liz and you''re already trying to distance yourself from her friends?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°No, I wanted to see your reaction.¡±


    ¡°Did it live up to your expectations?¡±


    ¡°That depends on what you came over to tell me.¡± I said and motioned to the bus stop. ¡°Are we walking over there or what?¡±


    ¡°Or what.¡± Val said and nodded in the other direction.


    I nodded and we walked across the school grounds and onto the sidewalk. ¡°So, what''s this about?¡±


    Val didn''t say anything and kept her face blank. I took the hint and fell silent as we walked down the street. My spider-sense didn''t warn me of anything, so I kept pace with her.


    Ten minutes later, Val came to a stop and turned to look at me. ¡°Do you like me?¡±


    ¡°No, I walk away from public areas and witnesses with people I hate.¡± I joked.


    ¡°Ben, this is serious.¡± Val said and gave me a bit of a glare. ¡°Answer the question.¡±


    My spider-sense wasn''t going off, so I was sure she wasn''t a danger to me... until I thought about her question. Depending on how I answered, I could hurt my relationship with either Liz or Val.


    ¡°That depends on if you''re really asking me or if you''re testing me.¡± I said and she lost the glare.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Val asked and I let my senses ''see'' all of her. She seemed a little nervous and her hands were still inside her jacket pockets. The odds that her cell phone was on were pretty high.


    ¡°I mean.¡± I stepped close and looked right into her eyes. ¡°If you are genuinely curious if I like you or not, I have no problem answering.¡± I said and then smiled. ¡°If you are only asking to see if I''ll say something that could damage my relationship with Liz, then I''ll tell you how I really feel.¡±


    Val tried to keep her face neutral; but, I could see the subtle twitches of her eyes and the slight tightening of the muscles around her mouth.


    ¡°So, which is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you want me to answer or do you want me to tell the truth?¡±


    Val opened her mouth, paused, and her hand moved slightly in her pocket. The beep of a call ending was quite loud. ¡°I want the truth.¡±


    I gave her a bright smile. ¡°If that was Max on the phone, you can tell her that I''ll finger her the next time I see her, no matter where we are.¡±


    Val gasped and shook her head.


    ¡°If it was Liz, then you are either a good friend for risking my anger like this, especially if it was your idea to set me up, or you are extremely stupid.¡±


    ¡°E-e-excuse me?¡± Val asked. She looked both shocked and angry at the same time.


    ¡°Did it not occur to any of you that this could completely backfire? That I wouldn''t know that something was up when her best friend, who has a reputation for teasing the guys Liz tries to date, approached her new boyfriend all alone, on a practically deserted street, and asks him if he likes her more than Liz?¡±


    ¡°I... I didn''t... it wasn''t my idea.¡± Val said with a soft voice.


    I could somehow tell that she wasn''t lying. ¡°I''m glad you''re not stupid.¡± I said and reached for her hand. She didn''t stop me as I pulled it out of her pocket and her cell phone had Gina''s name on the ''end call'' screen. ¡°I don''t need to ask who else was there, do I?¡±


    Val shook her head and she caught her breath as I hit the dial button and the speaker button. ¡°No!¡±


    I moved it away from her reaching hand as it rang, then it clicked.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Gina''s voice asked. ¡°Val? You there?¡±


    ¡°Val! We all want to know.¡± Cindy''s voice said. ¡°Tomorrow''s broadcast is light and we need content.¡±


    ¡°Give us the scoop!¡± Betty said next.


    ¡°This just in!¡± I said like a newscaster and Val sighed as several gasps came from the phone. ¡°Ben Parker was angry about being tricked and lured into a verbal trap. There was only one viable answer for him to give. Screw you.¡±


    There were several groans and someone gasped.


    ¡°B-Ben.¡± Liz said, hesitatingly.


    ¡°Liz! Oh, no! You were in on it, too!¡± I fake exclaimed and she sighed.


    ¡°It... it''s not like that.¡± Liz said. ¡°I can explain.¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Who came up with the idea and who convinced Val to be the scapegoat?¡±


    No one said anything.


    ¡°I''ll give you until lunch tomorrow to make up an answer, shall I? Bye bye!¡± I said and hung up.


    ¡°Ben, please.¡± Val said as I handed her the cell phone. ¡°It''s not Liz''s fault.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and she looked surprised. I checked my watch. ¡°We''ve missed the bus. Do you want to share a taxi or should we wait for the next run in another hour?¡±


    ¡°I... ah... have a ride waiting.¡± Val said and looked embarrassed.


    I could almost read her thoughts by the expression on her face. ¡°A date with his own car?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Wonderful.¡± I said and started walking back to a more popular street to find a taxi. ¡°Thanks for making me waste time I don''t really have today.¡±


    ¡°I could ask him to drop you off.¡± Val offered as she followed me.


    ¡°Yeah, that''ll go over well.¡± I said and saw a flash of yellow up ahead, so I started waving. ¡°Hey, guy. Can you drop off my best friend''s supposed boyfriend after I tried to trick him into betraying her?¡±


    Val stopped walking and sighed. ¡°Ben, don''t.. don''t overreact.¡±


    ¡°Don''t call me, I''ll call you.¡± I said as the taxi driver saw me and stopped. I ran onto the street and opened the back door. ¡°It was nice knowing you.¡±


    Val didn''t respond and stared at me as the taxi drove past her.


    The words of the clerk at the hardware store came back to me. I might not even make it to Christmas with this relationship. I thought with some amusement and a lot of annoyance. Why couldn''t things just stay simple?

 22 Accelerated Plans Part Two

    The taxi dropped me off at home and I ran up the stairwell, using my powers liberally, and made it to my floor a heck of a lot quicker than the elevator could have. It let me burn off some of my energy and I relaxed when I entered the apartment. I went right up to my room and quickly took out all of the reworked parts I had and added the ones I didn''t have to change that I had made before.


    I used the mechanical tools I previously made and assembled the two large watch straps that were the bases of my web shooters. I added the springs and pins to each connecting piece that would let them expand slightly and not pinch, and they all slotted together perfectly. I didn''t need to use the magnifying glass stand or the padded alligator clips to hold the pieces together, and did so anyway.


    I didn''t want to make a mistake at this point. I didn''t have a whole week to wait before I could have normal access to the mechanical lab again. The tiny hammer was a godsend as well, because it let me lightly tap in the pins without stressing them or damaging the tiny holes they had to fit through.


    When I had both inner straps completed, I sat back on my little chair and admired my handiwork. The heavily modified constructed watch straps were four inches long and wide enough to fit around my wrist. Each attached center piece was an inch wide and three and a half inches long, with a snapping slot inside each for a pre-made pressurized pneumatic canister that could be filled with anything.


    I took out my old backpack that was filled with web fluid and the two dozen of the small pneumatic canisters I had appropriated from the robotics lab, filled each using a small funnel and screwed on the tiny regulator cap on each. I turned on the stripped down laptop and put it into ''stupid'' mode with nothing preloaded, and plugged in the USB from the robotics lab with the competition programs and designs on it.


    I copied the smallest pneumatic control file and opened it, stripped out most of the superfluous programming, and then added in the proper pressure gauge settings, the control nozzle settings for changing the spray aperture depending on the pressure I applied to the pressure sensor, and then the monitoring protocols for the small canisters.


    Once I had that set up properly, I plugged the pneumatic control module into it and loaded it up. When it beeped at me, I picked up the first wrist band and attached the metal ring that would act like a rotating cylinder, so I didn''t have to change cartridges all the damn time.


    As soon as a pressurized canister was down to under ten percent capacity, the control program would automatically rotate a new cartridge into place and there would be no interruption in web fluid being supplied. I distinctly remembered that being a constant problem for Spider-Man and I was not going to suffer the same thing.


    I unplugged the web shooter from the laptop and slipped it over my hand to put it on my right wrist. It easily expanded and fit over my hand and then contracted to be tight on my wrist. It took several adjustments with a few of the small tools to get the pressure sensor in the right position and to line up the puncture mechanism with the control valve.


    Once I had that done, I checked the pressure values on each small canister and then hooked up the air compressor. I set it up properly and put on the first web cartridge. It only took ten seconds to pressurize it and the compressor turned off. My spider-sense didn''t activate, so I knew it was safe and snapped it into the middle spot on my web shooter.


    The release valve was aligned with the control valve and puncture mechanism, so I took a single deep breath, held it, and aimed for the bare wall by the bedroom door. I pressed the pressure sensor on my palm...


    *PLLLLPPPFFFF!*


    The entire contents of the web cartridge blew out all at once in a massive cloud and covered the entire wall. My spider-sense hadn''t gone off to warn me of danger, either. I stared at my wrist in confusion as the web shooter ring rotated and put the next slot in place, which was empty.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I asked myself out loud.


    I shook my head at the thing and went over everything, step by step. It wasn''t until I went into the pneumatic control program and looked at the control valve''s settings that I saw the problem. I had added commas and not semi-colons between the various pressure settings, so the dumbed-down program assumed that all of the numbers combined were the single setting to release the web fluid with.


    I laughed at the simple mistake and fixed it, loaded another cartridge with the air compressor to the right internal pressure, and attached it to the empty slot. ¡°Let''s try that again.¡± I said and aimed at the wall... and laughed again, because it was covered with webbing and I didn''t have anywhere to aim to observe the stream or how it would impact the wall.


    I had to lay on the floor and I aimed up at the ceiling, because there were no other bare walls for me to practice on, not for another hour, anyway. I took aim at the bare ceiling and pushed the pressure sensor on my palm.


    *THHHWIP!*


    The thin stream of fluid shot up to the ceiling almost instantly and I cut the flow as soon as the end hit the ceiling. It had spread out and gained purchase, possibly enough for me to climb. The problem was, did it only stick to the paint on the ceiling or did it successfully bond to the material the paint was on?


    I did not pull on the thing to help me stand, because that would have been stupid to try. I grabbed a few things and tools to examine the webbing and carefully walked up the wall and checked where the webbing was stuck. I scraped some of it up, careful to not disturb the main attachment, and then I poked and prodded the thing.


    It seemed solid enough, so I dropped to the floor and checked the webbing I had scraped off the ceiling by putting it under the microscope from my old chemistry set. I compared the images to my notes of how the fluid would react after being under pressure and being released. It created the proper conditions with the air mixing in and solidified the chemical re-bonding process. I sat back in my chair and smiled.


    It worked. It actually worked.


    I chuckled and looked over at the wall. I was pretty tempted to mix up a dissolving solution for it, considering I knew exactly what bonded the thing together to make the webbing, and shrugged. Making something that was superfluous was a waste of time, because I had much more important things to do.


    I prepped the rest of the web cartridges and attached six of each to both web shooters, which filled most of the available slots. There were four left and I had plans for those. I would need to make that blind drop order first, however. There were a few things they had that were going to be quite useful to me.


    I turned the web shooter half a degree and it clicked in place, and I folded the pressure sensor down into it, so no one would see it when it wasn''t in use. If I wore a shirt, no one would notice I had anything on my wrists.


    I took them off and they collapsed like a real watch strap would without anything inside to hold the circular shape, which made it very easy to tuck them into my work backpack with my safety equipment and I hid the laptop under my pillow. Formatting the hard drive would have to wait, because I had supper to make for May and then I had to go to work.


    I smiled as I went downstairs to the kitchen and thought about what Adrian was going to say about what Liz tried to do today, especially since he had vetted me himself. If he approved of me and my motivations, what did she have to worry about? She knew I broke things off with Isabelle. Whatever she and her friends thought they were doing, it might bite Liz on the ass when her father found out.


    Perhaps a bit of a show tonight for him to watch? I asked myself and chuckled as I prepared an appropriate scene in my head and gathered the ingredients I would need to make a nice macaroni casserole with a side of creamy potato salad.


    *


    Adrian sat at his computer and stared as he watched his newest part-time crew member completely tear apart the large chunks of concrete from the floor that the guys had left off to the sides to work on the main supporting walls.


    ¡°Addy? Why are you still... oh, sweet Jesus.¡± Doris whispered as she looked over her husband''s shoulder. ¡°That boy looks frustrated.¡±


    Adrian didn''t say anything as Ben finally stopped and put down the sledgehammer before he dropped to his knees. He looked a little lost and he was breathing heavily as sweat poured off of him after that workout.


    ¡°Do you know what happened?¡± Adrian asked her and skipped forward to see Ben devour his late lunch and then watched as he worked twice as hard as he normally did to clear out the entire floor.


    Doris thought about not saying anything, then her husband turned to give her a pointed look. ¡°Liz and her friends may have taken some ideas from you and the crew as they... tested a new crew member.¡±


    Adrian closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face. ¡°You''re being awfully delicate in your description. What actually happened?¡±


    Doris sighed. ¡°They got it into their heads that now Ben and Liz were starting to date officially, they needed to test his loyalty and devotion.¡±


    Adrian just groaned and kept rubbing his face. ¡°There''s testing and then there''s testing. Please tell me they didn''t take it too far.¡±


    ¡°It''s worse than going too far, I think.¡± Doris said and put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ¡°Ben caught them at the ruse before it went farther than Val confronting him about if he liked her or not.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Adrian asked before he could stop himself. He really didn''t want to know what Ben might have said to his daughter in anger.


    ¡°He said, and I quote... there was only one answer to give. Screw you.¡±


    Adrian groaned again. ¡°Damn. Damn, damn, damn.¡±


    ¡°Honey, I''m sure it''s going to be fine.¡± Doris said. ¡°They''re young and stupid, even though they go to a smart kid school. He''ll forgive her for trying to trick him. She just wanted to see if he would be loyal.¡±


    Adrian stopped rubbing her face and gave her a sad look. ¡°Ben''s not that stupid.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Doris asked, surprised.


    ¡°I''m friends with the janitorial staff after I helped clean up after the state football game last year. We actually filled the back of one of the dump trucks with trash.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°That''s your secret source of information at Midtown High?¡±


    Adrian chuckled. ¡°I know a lot that''s going on there, especially the gossip.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Doris said and turned away slightly as she realized what he meant. ¡°Oh, dear.¡±


    ¡°Ben said that she was his first serious girlfriend, which meant he had not-serious ones that he gave up.¡± Adrian said and his wife sighed again. ¡°How do you think it makes him feel when the first thing they do is try to get him to cheat on the daughter of his boss?¡±


    Doris turned back to watch the footage on the screen. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    Adrian sighed this time and turned off the laptop. ¡°I''m going to sincerely hope that he doesn''t decide to quit over this.¡±


    Doris gasped and stared at his face.


    ¡°He''s been a bigger help to me than you realize.¡± Adrian said. ¡°The guys on the crew are actually enjoying themselves, because they don''t have to worry about the time consuming clean-up. They just have to tear things down, which is a lot of fun, and Ben has the place practically spotless the next day.¡±


    ¡°I... maybe I should talk to Liz and...¡±


    Adrian shook his head. ¡°This is her mess. If she can clean it up herself, great. If they break up, I won''t hold it against Ben, even though it will hurt Liz.¡±


    Doris opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and nodded. The two of them went to bed and neither of them felt even a little bit frisky. They went to sleep with teenage problems on their minds, even though it had been almost two decades since they had been in high school themselves.


    *


    ¡°Adhesion and distance test three.¡± I said out loud, for no reason, and shot a webline across the abandoned building''s basement and it hit the far wall. I had to arc the shot slightly, even with the excessive pressure that the web canister had. I would need to adjust my aim for both gravity and air resistance, even if I was up higher and shooting downwards.


    I grabbed the end of the web before it slipped past my hand and tugged on it. It was a solid hold and I applied more tension as I pulled. It stayed and stretched out by almost 30 percent. It didn''t break, though. I nodded and wrote down the results and went over to the wall where there were six other much shorter weblines attached.


    The latest one had a much larger splash area and I would need to adjust the calculations for web fluid consumption when used at a significant distance. It also worked through paint, which was a huge relief. I wouldn''t want to be swinging anywhere or trying to stop something from falling, then have the web pull off part of a coating of paint instead.


    I finished recording the numbers and slight adjustments that the formula could use, both to enhance the strength and stretch ability of a webline. They weren''t necessary at the moment, though. The current formula was working well and held up just fine.


    I ended the experiments and crawled up the elevator shaft to leave the building. I reached the ''top'' and realized I couldn''t really use the building for experiments anymore. Once another floor or two were taken down, it would barely hide any of my movements or stop anyone nearby from seeing me leaving.


    I held in my sigh at losing a great hiding place and hopped over to the next building and climbed up instead of down. I wasn''t going to try webswinging yet, though. I wasn''t dressed for it and I also had my backpack with the safety gear inside. The extra weight wouldn''t matter, it was the danger of damaging it that I didn''t want to chance. I would wait until I made that special order.


    That reminded me I needed to hunt down a cell phone from somewhere, so I hopped from one building''s roof to the next and started running. I felt a bit free as I hopped over vents and leapt from rooftop to rooftop. I let my senses guide me and I picked up the pace. I wasn''t surprised that I made better time than the bus route as I approached the area near several outdoor cafes and bars.


    I slowed down and crept along the building''s edge and peered over the side to see a crowd talking and drinking not far below. It looked like a lot of fun was being had and I had to smile at that. The more fun they had, the less attention they paid to their tables and the things on them. I used my enhanced eyesight to quickly pick out six cell phones on various tables and each was within easy webline range.


    I couldn''t just snag it from across the street, though. There were too many people with sightlines scattered all over the area. So, it meant going incognito. Or in my case, a tired construction worker that was late going home.


    I crawled back across the roof and down the back side of the building to the alley there, took off my dark outer clothes, and put on the safety strap harness and hung the breath mask around my neck. I left off the hat, because someone would probably take it as a joke and I didn''t want to cause a bigger scene than I was about to.

 23 Accelerated Plans Intermission

    Bokuboy


    I walked out of the alley and around the building towards the revellers and put a weary look on my face. No one really noticed me until I was almost all the way across the street and a pretty blonde girl turned and gave me a huge smile.


    ¡°Ask and you shall receive!¡± She said and her two friends laughed.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I responded brilliantly, which made them laugh more.


    She waved me over to their table and stood to put her bare arm over my shoulders, despite the dirt and dust on my t-shirt. ¡°My friend here just finished saying she loves the feeling of calluses rubbed across her nipples and then you appeared wearing construction gear!¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± The brunette friend said and covered her eyes with a hand. ¡°He''s just a kid.¡±


    ¡°Someone answered your prayers, so don''t look a gift horse in the mouth.¡± The other friend said and took a drink. ¡°Maybe he''s a virgin and you''ll knock that off your bucket list, too.¡±


    ¡°Please, shut up.¡± The brunette said with a groan.


    ¡°Hey, if you don''t want him, maybe I''ll claim him.¡± The blonde with her arm over my shoulders said and gave me another huge smile. ¡°Show us your hands.¡±


    I had no reason to object and lifted my hands up and turned them over to show the palms. I actually did have hard calluses on them after using the sledgehammer so much earlier. They would heal up some by the morning.


    ¡°Oh.¡± The brunette whispered and her face flushed red.


    ¡°What''s that from?¡± The blonde with her arm over my shoulders asked.


    ¡°Sledgehammer. I used it to smash apart concrete slabs to pull out steel rebar.¡± I said and lowered my hands to the table where two cell phones had been left. ¡°The smaller two foot wide chunks I move by hand.¡±


    The brunette looked flustered and took several quick shallow breaths.


    The third friend looked interested now. ¡°You must have some muscles on you from doing that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Give us a flex!¡± The blonde moved her arm off of my shoulders and sat down again.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said and did a double arm curl. My muscles were popping pretty well after the workout I had and from the strength tests with the cured weblines.


    ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Very nice!¡± The three of them said at once.


    I wasn''t surprised that it was the brunette that had cursed. I was what she had asked for, apparently. I sat down on the fourth chair at the table and smiled at her.


    ¡°I... I''m not...¡± The brunette started and gave me a sheepish look. ¡°I can''t have sex with a kid.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay. I''d like to get to know someone before going that far with them.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I''ll just go down on you and eat you out instead.¡±


    All three women froze and stared at me with wide eyes. They didn''t notice me taking one of the phones and I started typing a text that I had memorized.


    ¡°Ex... ex... excuse me?¡± The brunette asked with a voice that was barely above a whisper.


    ¡°I''m really good at oral sex and I''ve had a lot of practice.¡± I said to their shocked faces and kept typing. ¡°I might not swallow when you orgasm, unless you taste good. Then I''m all for it.¡±


    ¡°You... you... are you serious?¡± The blonde next to me asked in a similar voice.


    ¡°Of course. I wouldn''t offer if I wasn''t.¡± I said and finished the text. I clicked send and smiled again. ¡°I won''t even ask for you to do anything in return.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god!¡± The brunette gasped and then blushed as she squirmed in her seat. ¡°I''ll be right back.¡±


    We watched as she hopped up and practically ran inside the bar, probably to go to the bathroom to check her underwear. I slipped the cell phone back to where it had been on the table and my spider-sense hadn''t gone off once, which meant that no one had noticed.


    ¡°Damn, kid.¡± The other blonde said. ¡°Just... damn.¡±


    ¡°I hope that wasn''t too forward of me.¡± I said and they both gave me surprised looks. ¡°I''ll take that as a yes.¡±


    The blonde next to me barked a laugh, then she laughed for about fifteen seconds before the brunette came back to the table and carefully sat down.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± The other blonde asked.


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± The brunette said and looked at me. ¡°Do you offer... that... to everyone you meet?¡±


    ¡°No, only to someone that I felt deserved it.¡± I said and her eyebrows raised up. ¡°The other girl comforted me when she didn''t have to and I wanted to thank her.¡± I had to grin. ¡°I thanked her a lot.¡±


    The blonde next to me laughed again. ¡°Beck, if you don''t accept, I''m going to hate you for the rest of your life for passing this up!¡±


    The brunette gave me another sheepish look and shook her head.


    I stood up and walked around the table and she looked up at me like I was going to attack her or something. I gave her a warm smile and she relaxed. ¡°I applaud your moral fortitude. Most women would have jumped at the chance, no matter how old I really was.¡±


    Beck opened her mouth slightly and blushed. ¡°I''m tempted. Very, very, tempted.¡±


    ¡°Then I''m sorry about this.¡± I said and cupped the sides of her face and made sure to scrape my fingers across her skin roughly as I leaned down. I kissed her like I had kissed Liz, showing her that I liked her, and did it for about five seconds before I broke it and stood up straight. ¡°Enjoy the rest of your night.¡±


    The stunned looks on all three of their faces was worth kissing a random woman that I had just met. I walked over to the corner of the building and ducked into the alleyway, then I ran as fast as I could to the end and jumped up onto the back of the building and crawled up to hide in the shadows out of sight.


    Three sets of heels clattered on the street and the three women stood at the end of the alley as they stared into the darkness.


    The first blonde took out her cell phone and used it like a flashlight. ¡°I definitely hate you.¡± She said and laughed. ¡°You let the little pervert get away!¡±


    ¡°I... I''m sorry, I...¡± Beck stopped talking and touched her lips with her fingertips. ¡°If he can kiss like that...¡±


    ¡°We just lost the opportunity of a lifetime.¡± The second blonde said. ¡°A teenager that we could have groomed to be the best and most selfless lover we''ve ever had.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± Beck said again.


    ¡°Damn your moral fortitude.¡± The first blonde joked and hugged her. ¡°We better go back. You both left your phones on the table. We need to check our drinks for tampering or just get new ones.¡±


    Her friends nodded and the three of them left the alley.


    I chuckled and climbed up the building the rest of the way to the roof, dressed in my dark clothing once more and added the ski mask, then I started my journey across the city to go home. I was very tempted to try my web shooters and successfully refrained from doing so. I wouldn''t push things too much, because I still had a bit of time before things really started happening.


    I also had a plain brown box full of new equipment to pick up tomorrow after school.


    *


    Liz sat in her bedroom and stared at her cell phone. She had Peter''s... no, Ben''s... picture on her screen. She debated hitting the call button as she went over what had happened earlier that day. She had let her own paranoia influence her and her friends had convinced her that it was a good idea to make sure that Ben wouldn''t go behind her back and play with her friends like he had played with Isabelle.


    Val was the most outgoing of all of them, so she was chosen as the lure, because of what Ben had said to her about what he would do to her if he wasn''t so focused on Liz, mainly that he would have already had his fingers inside of her. That was a bit too much of a challenge for her to ignore, considering that Val was the most vocal of her friends and had quickly told them all about their conversation.


    Liz sighed as she remembered what Ben had said about the trick they had tried to do to him as a test. He told them to go screw themselves. She knew she definitely messed up when she heard that. She had majorly messed up, because he had publicly broken up with Isabelle before making a play for her, which meant he was giving up a lot to try for her affection. It hadn''t really seemed real, though.


    Ben had flirted with a few of Liz''s friends, quite blatantly, and the things Sarah had told her in private about the hugs and the shared looks, made Liz pretty nervous about committing to the new version of the boy she had secretly liked for months. Even her friends didn''t know that she liked the shy boy that Peter had been... and now he was Ben. A completely different person wearing Peter''s skin.


    Liz sighed and turned her phone off. There was no way he was going to answer her call, not after giving her an ultimatum for lunchtime tomorrow. She had no idea what she was going to tell him, either. His words about making something up was a good idea, because the truth was that she actually liked Peter before he became Ben and wanted to know if he was still Peter inside, even though she liked Ben, too.


    It was very confusing for her and she resolved to ask her mother about the whole thing again and to ask what she could do to fix things, because she had no idea how she could. Val had called her and told her about what happened after the phone was turned off, and it was not good. Not good at all.


    Ben had told Val that it was ''nice knowing her'', really sent home how much Liz had screwed up. She just hoped that her mother had some good advice for her in the morning, because she really needed it.


    It was just too bad that her father had told her mother to not help her and that she had to deal with it on her own. That conversation was not going to go well at all.


    *


    May pretended to be asleep once more when Ben came into the apartment. She had done it a few times, just to see how he would react, and she had been surprised every time. He always treated her with tender loving care and he never groped her, tried to open her robe, or even ogled her when she had worn something a little naughty and left her robe open a little.


    He also never reacted negatively to whatever she mumbled, no matter what it was. The last time, she had admitted that she loved him and the only thing he did was thank her and kissed her cheek as he tucked her into bed. It was so sweet and so endearing that she felt even more love for him... and she didn''t know what she was going to do about him staying out so late every night during the week.


    It was because May knew exactly when he left work, thanks to Doris letting her know how well Ben was doing at the job that her husband trusted him with. She wanted to ask him what he was doing for those extra few hours, because she was concerned about him and wondered if he was a secret criminal or was doing drugs or something, no matter how ridiculous those thoughts were.


    May kept her eyes closed as Ben lightly chuckled at the sight of her sprawled out on the couch. He always went upstairs and showered before he came back to get her, which she always appreciated. Not that she minded if he had scooped her up into his arms while he was dusty and sweaty. She loved him and a little dirt didn''t bother her at all. He just smelled so much better when clean.


    She listened to his steps as he crept up the stairs and then the bathroom door lightly clicked as it was shut. The sound of the water running let her know she could open her eyes and she never did. It could be a trick to try and trick her to see if she was awake, so she stayed where she was and kept her breaths nice and even.


    May heard him come down the stairs for her and she mentally prepared herself to say something embarrassing again, then his strong arms gently picked her up and cradled her. She couldn''t stop herself as she cuddled in automatically and let out a little sigh of contentment.


    ¡°I swear, you''re getting cuter every night.¡± Ben barely breathed the words, they were spoken so softly.


    May almost let out a giggle at his statement, because being called cute could have been an insult after being called beautiful, if she ever thought along those lines. She knew a compliment when she heard one, so she accepted it in the spirit it was given, with caring and love.


    ¡°Miss you so much.¡± May mumbled and rubbed her cheek on his chest.


    ¡°I really miss you, too.¡± Ben whispered back. ¡°Only eating breakfast and supper with you every day isn''t enough time for me to enjoy such a beautiful woman''s company properly.¡±


    May tried to not react to that, even though it made her chest feel tight. If their financial situation wasn''t so strained, they could both relax a bit and spending time as a family again would be the first thing she would do. Taking a few shifts off occasionally wouldn''t be a problem and they could spend more time together.


    ¡°Don''t worry, though. I''ve got a few plans in my head that should give us a bit more breathing room and neither of us will have to work so hard to earn a living.¡± Ben said and placed her in her bed and then tucked the blanket over her shoulder.


    ¡°Ben...¡± May whispered and reached out for his hand. She opened her eyes slightly to see his happy face.


    Ben took her hand and held on. ¡°I''ve got to file some patents before I can move ahead with some of my ideas. It''s going to be a pain in the ass, because I''ll probably have to get a loan to pay for them, then I''ll have to work that much harder to pay it off.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay. Growing pains are always worth it in the end.¡± Ben said and kissed her forehead. ¡°Goodnight and I''ll have some nice bacon and egg bagel sandwiches for you to bring to work.¡±


    May couldn''t stop her smile. ¡°You''re spoiling me.¡±


    Ben smiled back. ¡°How many orders do you want filled?¡±


    ¡°Four, please. Even Doris asked me when you were making them next.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Consider it done. I''ll make enough for the office people at school, too.¡±


    ¡°You''re doing too much.¡± May said and opened her eyes all the way.


    ¡°Too much? I''m barely getting started.¡± Ben said and smiled. ¡°Try and get some sleep. Thursdays usually suck.¡±


    May laughed softly. ¡°You have my permission to drop geometry class if you want.¡±


    ¡°No, I''ve abused Mary''s good nature to much already. I''ll stick with it until the end of the school year.¡± Ben said and smiled crookedly. ¡°Or I''ll skip it. I do have a permanent hall pass and a class excuse.¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°Don''t half-ass it, Mr. Parker. We both know you can''t slack off now.¡±


    Ben nodded and kissed her cheek before he left her bedroom.


    May stared at the door and sighed. She had suspected he had bigger plans than working for a salvage company. Now she had confirmation that Ben wanted to patent something, several somethings, and she wasn''t sure what to make of that. Would he start his own business? Add it to Adrian''s? Work for a while before setting off on his own?


    She closed her eyes and let her mind drift off to sleep, with visions of money falling from the sky and her and Ben being happy as a family. She had completely forgotten to ask what he did every night.

 24 Accelerated Plans Part Three

    Thursday mornings always sucked, because of the weird geometry, statistics, and social science classes I had. It did not put me into a good mood at all for meeting with Liz. Betty and Cindy were working in the Journalism Club and wouldn''t be there to add to the awkwardness. Then again, them being there might have spread it out a little and it wouldn''t be all on Liz.


    On the plus side, Mary and the office staff loved my breakfast bagel sandwiches.


    I walked into the cafeteria just after lunch period started and I was actually surprised when I saw that Liz had Val, Max, Gina, and two other girls that I didn''t know at her table, which meant they were skipping their normal lunch activities like clubs and things, to support Liz. I didn''t let the fact that I was outnumbered deter me as I walked over to the table as if I deserved to be there.


    ¡°Hi, Liz, Gina, Val, Max, and two others I don''t know.¡± I said and sat down, then pulled my lunch out of my backpack. I opened up two different containers and let the smells flow out. I saw a couple of the girls lick their lips at the great smells, which was why I had opened them right away instead of eating one and then the other. Having a thermal lunch bag really helped keep food warm.


    ¡°B-Ben, I... I wanted to say...¡± Liz started.


    ¡°Who did you choose to blame as the fall guy? It can''t be Val, because she was the decoy.¡± I said, which interrupted her before she tried to apologize. I started eating some of my spaghetti bolognese and picked up a piece of strong smelling garlic bread with mozzarella cheese and dipped it into the spaghetti sauce.


    ¡°Ben, please.¡± Val said and I smiled at her.


    ¡°It''s okay. I know I gave you all too much time to come up with good excuses. I just didn''t want to have a confrontation yesterday and put it off until today.¡± I said and she didn''t say anything in response. ¡°How did your date go?¡±


    Val clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.


    ¡°That well, huh?¡± I asked and kept eating. ¡°I hope it wasn''t because of me.¡±


    ¡°It was.¡± Val admitted and looked sad. ¡°I couldn''t get into the mood for the date like I had planned.¡±


    I stopped eating and swallowed before I tried to reach for her hand. She pulled her hand out of the way and then blushed slightly before she glanced at Liz. I shrugged and went back to eating without saying anything, which made Gina and Max frown. The other two girls kept their faces neutral.


    ¡°You don''t have to be a jerk about it.¡± Max said.


    I stopped eating again and looked at her. ¡°What am I being a jerk about?¡±


    ¡°This!¡± Max said and waved at the table of girls.


    ¡°I said hello to you all. It''s not my fault that none of you responded or even acknowledged I existed, except for Liz. Although, she didn''t say hello, either.¡± I said and they all looked embarrassed. ¡°What was the question again?¡±


    Max closed her mouth and gave me a bit of a glare.


    ¡°Ah, I remember. I''m a jerk.¡± I said and ate some more food. ¡°I know I am, because that''s how things like this always go. It doesn''t matter if I''m right or if I''m the victim. I''m the jerk, because I didn''t fall for your scheme, or trick, or test, or whatever you want to call what happened.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I can explain.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°It''s okay, Liz. You don''t have to.¡± I said and she looked sad. ¡°I didn''t mean it like I didn''t want to hear about it.¡± I reassured her. ¡°I''ll even make this a lot easy for you. I completely understand where you''re coming from. I do. You don''t trust me enough and you wanted to see if I would betray you as soon as you let me get close to you. Your friends wanted to help protect you as well and came to your defense, both yesterday and now today. I get it. I really do.¡±


    ¡°Then... will you... can you forgive me?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I don''t think that''s what you actually want.¡± I said and Val and Gina caught their breath. ¡°I think you want to justify it instead. You want me to prove that I''m not trustworthy, so you don''t feel so guilty about not trusting me in the first place.¡±


    ¡°N-no, I... I don''t... that''s not...¡± Liz stammered.


    I looked at her friends and they didn''t try to hide the looks on their faces. ¡°Your friends agree with me.¡±


    Liz looked at them and saw what I did. She sighed and looked back at me. ¡°Ben, don''t.¡±


    ¡°I''m not saying no to this.¡± I said and motioned between us. ¡°I thought we could make it work, even with our worlds being so different, or I wouldn''t have tried to make the effort in the first place.¡±


    ¡°I heard a huge but there.¡± Max said.


    ¡°I don''t think now is the right time for it. One of us needs to grow up a little and accept a few things before they are ready for a serious relationship.¡±


    ¡°Now you really are being a jerk about this.¡± Max said with a glare. ¡°How can you say that about...¡±


    ¡°Me.¡± I interrupted and they all looked surprised, especially Liz, because they all thought I meant her. I quickly finished eating and started packing up my things. ¡°I have some serious things to do before I can devote the time and effort I would need to give to the woman I intend to be with for a long time.¡± I said and put my lunch bag into my backpack. I did not miss the significant looks Liz got from her friends.


    ¡°B-Ben...¡± Liz whispered.


    ¡°I hope you''ll forgive me if I try and find somewhere else to sit during lunch.¡± I said and stood as I put on my backpack. ¡°I sincerely doubt your friends want to hang out with a freshman that none of them want around because it''ll be awkward for you.¡±


    Liz sighed. ¡°Ben, I... I''m sorry.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to be, because the next guy will fall for it and they will prove that they''ll jump at the chance to have another girl, even with a beautiful girl like you as a girlfriend.¡± I said and smiled at their shocked looks. ¡°Believe me, it''s true. They can be deeply in love with someone and if another person approaches them, most people will not give up the chance, because how often does it happen?¡±


    They all exchanged looks and then they all looked at Val.


    ¡°A lot.¡± Val whispered.


    I chuckled. ¡°Date guy last night already has a girlfriend, doesn''t he?¡±


    Val blushed and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°Like I said, most people won''t pass it up. It takes a lot of moral fortitude to refuse a sincere offer, no matter who it''s from.¡± I said and Val blushed harder, because I actually did refuse her that first time at the bus station. I turned and looked at Max. ¡°You on the other hand...¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Max asked, completely on the defensive.


    ¡°Did Val tell you what I said yesterday?¡± I asked her and she glared at me. ¡°I''ll take that as a yes.¡±


    ¡°I won''t let you do that.¡± Max said and crossed her arms.


    ¡°You weren''t there, so it doesn''t count.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°What would you say if I asked you out?¡±


    ¡°I''d tell you to fuck off.¡± Max said without hesitation.


    My smile widened. ¡°I''m glad you''re Liz''s friend. She needs you a lot more than she realizes.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Max asked with a curious look.


    ¡°You keep people around her honest, especially guys trying to sniff around her.¡± I said, parroting what her father had said about me. ¡°Please, keep doing that. I want you to keep her safe from people that actually want to use her for their own ends.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you weren''t going to?¡± Gina asked and looked curious.


    ¡°I would have spread her legs already if I was going to do that.¡± I said and they all looked shocked, especially Liz. ¡°Did you forget that I went down on Isabelle right after our first kiss, just to see if she would let me?¡±


    They all blushed and their eyes wouldn''t meet mine, not even Max''s.


    ¡°If all I wanted from a girl was sex, I have hundreds of them here to choose from.¡± I said a little loudly and waved around the cafeteria, which gained a lot of attention. ¡°I''m sure there are a few of them that wouldn''t mind...¡±


    ¡°Right here!¡± A dark haired young woman''s voice rang out and she even raised her hand. ¡°I can teach you a few things, too.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Betty and Cindy are already spreading things around?¡±


    She pointed at the television in the corner. ¡°Banner scroll along the bottom.¡±


    ¡°Prank gone wrong causes breakup of Midtown High''s newest power couple, Ben Parker and Liz Allan.¡± I read out loud. ¡°Ha ha! That''s a nice spin on the story.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! I told them not to broadcast that!¡± Max spat.


    I turned and smiled at her. ¡°Thanks, Max.¡±


    Max shook her head at me. ¡°Don''t thank me for something that didn''t work.¡±


    ¡°I was thanking you for trying.¡± I said and stepped close and bent down to kiss her cheek before she could back away. I chuckled at the look on her face and walked away from the table.


    ¡°Hey! What about that offer?¡± The girl that had called out before asked.


    ¡°There''s not enough time left for lunch. How about after school?¡± I asked and she shook her head.


    I shrugged and left the cafeteria with a lot of mutterings and conversations about what just happened. I wasn''t bothered by that and was glad that there wasn''t an epic screaming fight or something even more newsworthy. Betty and Cindy had enough material already.


    I went early to robotics class and the teacher was already there working on something.


    ¡°Ben! Wonderful work machining the new parts.¡± Mr. Kinneson said and waved me over. ¡°Want to give me a hand test fitting them onto the base model design before class starts?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I''ll grab the double-sided tape and the sticky putty.¡± I said and he smiled. He really was a nice man, once he got over the fact that I really wasn''t Peter anymore.


    *


    The rusted dumpster was located behind an old industrial warehouse. I used my spider-sense to make sure no one was around or a camera was near, and approached the blind drop carefully. I had seriously thought about paying a homeless man twenty bucks to do this for me, then realized he would probably tell me it wasn''t there, keep the box, and sell the contents.


    So, I dressed like a homeless man myself and went over to the dumpster and opened the top. Inside was a fairly large plain brown cardboard box that was taped shut and had no markings on it whatsoever. I immediately thought about what would happen if another agent also had a delivery to pick up and there were two identical boxes. How would they tell them apart?


    I chuckled and carefully lifted out the box and closed the dumpster. The drop code probably had a time index attached so that no two agents would show up at the same time of day at the same location. It would be difficult to have a dozen secret agents waiting in line for their secret blind drop equipment boxes and also keep it a secret.


    Of course, once I thought that, I immediately realized that whatever was in the box could have tracking items inside. I also thought it might not be SHIELD getting that information. My spider-sense wasn''t going off, which meant it was safe to leave with the thing. Maybe they wouldn''t activate until I opened the box, so I would have to be careful about it. That meant not opening it at home.


    I left the area and no one saw me or followed. I ducked into an alley and changed my fake hobo outfit with my normal clothes and stared at the box. I really wanted to tear the tape off and look inside, because I had ordered some neat things. Well, neat for me. I was becoming quite the computer and science nerd with all of the studying I had been doing.


    I also didn''t want to draw too much attention to myself by carrying a large cardboard box around the city. Any secret agents around could see it and might easily identify it. With my decision made, I knelt and stuck a finger through the side of the box near the top corner instead of opening it the normal way.


    I slowly worked my way around the side and down, then tore the side of the box off to reveal the contents. I had successfully opened the box without opening it, and my spider-sense didn''t go off. I counted that as a huge win and reached inside and started to pull things out.


    There were several small cases with replacement computer parts, electronic components for setting up a sensor network like in that agent''s apartment, an actual agent handbook, two untraceable cell phones, two sets of steel handcuffs, four bundles of zip tie handcuffs, four canisters of industrial pepper spray, two collapsible batons, a set of micro-binoculars, two sets of earpieces, two canisters of tear gas, two handheld two-way radios, a tiny flashlight, an equipment belt, skintight black leather gloves, and an evidence gathering kit.


    That was the small stuff.


    I really had gone way overboard with the order form, because there was also a full basic night mission suit, a ballistic vest, a full head covering with pre-made eye holes for the night vision goggles that I didn''t order, an actual baseball cap with the SHIELD logo on it (because why wouldn''t I want one?), a full map of the city with available safe houses marked on it, and a standard cash package for basic expenses with four different currencies of a thousand dollars each. Dollars, Euros, Yen, and Roubles.


    The best part was I also ordered a large collapsible unmarked gym bag to carry everything. I almost kicked myself for not remembering that in my excitement and quickly unfolded the thing and stuffed the items inside. My spider-sense still hadn''t gone off, so none of it had anything currently active to set it off. I would have to pull a lot of it apart to check it, though. It was a spy agency, after all.


    I checked the now empty box and there was nothing visible, so I left it there in the alleyway next to a building. With luck something or someone will see it and take it. It really didn''t matter, though. I was well away from the drop point and it was just a box.


    I walked out of the alley with my new gym bag and went to the nearest bus stop to go home. Once again, I had a lot of work to do to get what I needed done, only now it was to get my suit ready.


    My first Spider-Man suit.

 25 Accelerated Plans Part Four

    Bokuboy


    I was in nerd heaven as I opened the gym bag and checked the replacement computer parts I had received from the blind drop. Oh baby, what a haul! I started the laptop up in stupid mode and used it to check the new parts.


    It took me a while to go through the upgraded memory chips, the new and apparently clean hard drive, and the SD card that had a basic operating system on it. I checked them for any hidden commands as well and thankfully, they were meant for civilian targets and not for monitoring the agent they were sent to. It would be their job to modify things for surveillance and didn''t have any spy modifications.


    I easily popped my laptop apart and added in the new components. I upgraded the memory and doubled its capacity, which would be great when I wanted to practice what I had learned from the library about computer programming. I added the new clean hard drive, a replacement network card, and an SD card with the stripped down operating system on it that I could plug into the backup ''spy'' slot.


    I reassembled the laptop and started it up, hit the button to load the setup screen, and changed the boot option to the built-in SD slot. It would save me a ton of loading time and with a clean hard drive, there was no Stark OS sucking up all of the new resources the laptop now had. I did manage to copy the video and network settings onto the SD card, so I wasn''t running it as a bare bones system.


    I restarted the laptop and it started in only twenty seconds. I laughed pretty hard at that, because the Stark OS took five full minutes to get everything loaded. I could only imagine what crap that thing loaded into memory, just in case it might be needed at some point. What a laugh that was!


    You just needed a call registry and set it to load only when needed and not fill up and use your available memory for no reason. That just slowed your computer down to a crawl for no real benefit.


    I checked over everything again and there were no network protocols enacted, no automatic messages sent, and no tracking signals activated. That made me happy. Very, very happy.


    I shut the thing down and looked at some of the other things I had ordered. The first thing I did was check the pepper spray containers. Not surprisingly, they were aerosol based and had a huge spray nozzle. That wouldn''t do for my purposes, so I took the top apart and pulled off the top of the spray mechanism.


    The release valve was almost the right size for my needs, so I added a small adapter from the air compressor kit and then attached one of my prepped and empty web cartridges. I pushed down on it and the pepper spray shot out of the main container and quickly filled the empty cartridge. The sound soon stopped as the pressures equalized and I popped the cartridge off of the attachment.


    I did this three more times with the other three pepper sprays and I now had half pressure pepper spray web cartridges. I put them onto the air compressor and gave them the proper pressure setting and then added two of each cartridge to my web shooters. I marked them with a small eye etching to show it was pepper spray, then I pressurized the pepper sprays back to full as well and put them away.


    I took out one of the tear gas containers and they were barely pressurized at all, so I drained off the pressure and opened it up to reveal the chemical compound inside. I treated it like web fluid and poured it into the last four containers I had and sealed them with regulator valves and pressurized them with air to the same pressure as my normal cartridges before I put them into the last two slots on my web shooters.


    I marked them with a small ''T'' and I was now fully loaded. The web shooters were well balanced and felt great on my wrists, so they were finally complete. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction to have them done so quickly, considering I had almost nothing a week ago and now I had Spider-Man''s primary weapons.


    I took them off and tucked them away as I looked at the clock. I nodded and put the other things away into the gym bag. I hid it in my closet on the top shelf, behind Peter''s summer clothing, and went downstairs to cook supper for May and then I cleaned the apartment. I would have to wait until later tonight to start working on modifying the suit for my needs.


    *


    Doris was making supper for her family as she replayed in her mind the conversation she just had with her daughter about a certain young man that seemed much too mature for his age. The things he had said were quite wise and a little beyond what a freshman in high school should know. His insights alone gave her thoughts pause.


    That he had handled the whole thing so well and then accepted all of the blame himself, in front of the entire cafeteria no less, showed a maturity that a normal fourteen year old shouldn''t have.


    Doris huffed and put the roast into the oven. He''s not a normal fourteen year old at all. She thought, then she seriously debated showing Ben''s reaction at work to Liz. If she saw that, maybe she would have done something different, or said something different, instead of letting Ben say and do everything during their break-up talk.


    She shook her head and went to the counter as she started prepping the potatoes for boiling. A quick peel and dice had them in the pot and boiling away before she realized it, and she sat down to stare at the pot. She had been completely lost in her thoughts over the whole situation and she knew that she shouldn''t be. He was just the latest boy that had tried to date her daughter and failed at it.


    That was when it hit her. He hadn''t failed like the others. Her Addy actually liked Ben, even approved of him, and he didn''t object at all about Liz dating him. It had been Liz that had screwed things up this time and Doris thought about that. Her mind tried to justify Liz intentionally trying to sabotage it, just because her father wasn''t fighting against her and liked her choice.


    Doris sighed, because there was nothing to be done about it now, not with Ben telling Liz that he wasn''t ready for their relationship. She decided that she would warn Adrian to not bring it up and she would tell him after supper about it all.


    She went to the pantry to grab a can of mixed vegetables, opened them, and added them to a small pot to warm up when it was close to the time to serve supper. She didn''t know why she felt sad that Liz and Ben weren''t going to be an item, only that she did. Not having him coming around, even though it had only happened twice in as many days, had her feeling a loss that she couldn''t explain.


    *


    May was so surprised when Ben came home from work several hours early, that she couldn''t pretend she wasn''t staying up intentionally to wait for him. She hadn''t even changed for bed yet and still wore pants and a blouse and not her sleepwear.


    ¡°Ben? What are you doing home?¡± May asked and tried to not look nervous.


    ¡°I came home for you, of course.¡± Ben said and laughed at her surprised expression. ¡°I know I''ve been worrying you with my late nights and I don''t want you worrying about that anymore.¡±


    ¡°You... you know?¡± May asked.


    ¡°How could I not? You''ve stayed up every night waiting up for me.¡± Ben said and walked over to her and went to hug her, then stopped. ¡°I need to shower first and then I''ll give you a hug.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you...¡±


    ¡°I can''t promise I''ll be home this early every night, mainly because some of the things I need to do take time.¡± Ben said and then smiled. ¡°I just want you to know that you''re a priority for me, okay? Everything I do is to help you as much as I can.¡±


    ¡°Are you doing drugs?¡± May asked and she saw the shocked look on his face.


    ¡°May... what... why would you ask that?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°You''ve been having fuller days than I do and you''re still full of energy. You work hard every night, much later than most people do, and you come home and despite being dirty, you''re not exhausted like you should be.¡±


    Ben opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then sighed. He held out his arms and rubbed inside the elbows, to show her there were no needle marks.


    May was going to say something, then Ben held up each hand and showed her the spans between the fingers above the fleshy web connecting them. He then kicked off his cheap sneakers and pulled off his socks to do the same thing and showed between his toes.


    Before May could tell him that was enough, he took her hand and dragged her up the stairs. He took her into the bathroom and took the top off of the toilet and waved at it, then reached behind the tank and pat it several times to show there was nothing there, then he took her hand and brought her into his room.


    Ben let her hand go and opened his desk drawers and moved the contents around for her, then he went to his bed and lifted the mattress. There was nothing underneath, not even dust bunnies, and he dropped it and reached for the bunk bed that didn''t even have a mattress and only stacked plastic containers.


    ¡°S-s-stop!¡± May exclaimed. ¡°Just... stop.¡±


    Ben stopped and walked back over to her. ¡°I''ve never done drugs in my life, as short as it''s been here. I don''t know where to go to buy them and I haven''t heard of anyone at school using marijuana, probably because it''s a mind-numbing drug.¡±


    May''s face flushed red with embarrassment.


    ¡°I usually rest on the bus ride back here after a long day. I fell asleep a couple of times, too. It was pretty relaxing.¡± Ben said. ¡°I''ve also walked home a few times, because sometimes I''m so pumped up after a hard workout.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I''m sorry. Please don''t be angry.¡± May said. ¡°I didn''t mean to accuse you out of the blue like that. I was just so worried that you were staying out so late and...¡±


    ¡°I''m not angry that you care so much about me, May. I could never be angry about that. It actually makes me feel happy.¡± Ben said and went to hug her, then stopped again. ¡°I still need a shower, so that''s two hugs I owe you.¡±


    May couldn''t put into words how bad that made her feel. She had accused him of something that she had no proof of and his response was that he was happy about how much she cared about him. Tears came to her eyes and she stepped close as she hugged him tightly.


    ¡°May! You''re getting your clothes dirty.¡± Ben said and hugged her back.


    ¡°I don''t care.¡± May said and tucked her head into his neck and let the tears flow. ¡°I''m sorry, Ben. I''m so sorry.¡±


    Ben rubbed her back to comfort her. ¡°I told you that you don''t have to be sorry. I''m glad. Really.¡±


    ¡°You''re... too good... to be true.¡± May said and let out several sobs. ¡°You should be... ranting and raving at me.¡±


    ¡°Goodness gracious, why would I rant and rave at you? I get to see you in just a bra and panties practically every day.¡± Ben said with a teasing voice.


    May let out a half-laugh and half-sob as she let him go. ¡°You''re terrible to bring that up right now!¡±


    ¡°How else should I make you not feel guilty?¡± Ben asked and used his hands to wipe at the tears on her face. ¡°I could make you some special brownies.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped. ¡°I thought you said you didn''t know where to get weed!¡±


    ¡°I meant adding chunky chocolate chips.¡± Ben said with a knowing smirk.


    ¡°Oh, you!¡± May said and gave him another hug.


    ¡°I think we both need a shower after this.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°I needed to change anyway.¡± May said and let him go. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°Don''t feel bad about it. You care and that''s what matters.¡± Ben said and grabbed a change of clothes. ¡°That''s all that really matters.¡± He said and kissed her cheek, then he left the room.


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡± May said and followed him into the hallway.


    ¡°I thought you said you wouldn''t let me watch?¡± Ben asked with a huge grin.


    ¡°Shut it.¡± May said and smacked his shoulder. ¡°How did you know all the places to hide drugs?¡±


    Ben looked thoughtful and then smiled. ¡°Those are just the most obvious places.¡±


    ¡°But... how...¡±


    ¡°Those aren''t the only places.¡± Ben said and pointed to her chest. ¡°A bra is a great place to hide a baggie or a couple of joints and it even has the benefit of pushing your boobs up.¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped and grabbed herself, which actually did push her boobs up.


    Ben laughed and didn''t stare at her, even though he easily could have. ¡°You didn''t have to check for me. I''m not sneaky enough to hide something in your bra without you knowing about it.¡±


    May groaned and let her chest go. ¡°Go take your shower.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡± Ben said and stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.


    May went to her own room and grabbed her sleep clothes, including her robe. She didn''t have to wait long and saw Ben walk out of the bathroom wearing just pyjama bottoms. Her eyes went right to his developing muscles before she realized it. She had kind of felt them when she had hugged him and now she could see that they were rippling nicely. Working hard was really giving him a well formed physique.


    She shook her head at that thought and went into the bathroom herself and undressed. She would not look at Ben like that. He wasn''t someone that she would ogle, even if he had really strong arms that didn''t struggle at all as they carried her to bed practically every night. No, she would never, ever think about that.


    May''s hands lathered up a bit more than usual with the soap and she would forever deny that she had spent a few extra minutes... cleaning... herself. She dried off and dressed in her night clothes before she put on her fluffy robe, then she went downstairs to see a happy Ben waiting for her on the couch.


    ¡°There''s the smile I like seeing so much.¡± Ben commented and patted the couch beside him.


    May blushed a little, because she would never admit the source of that smile. She sat down beside him and they had a silent debate about who was going to be the one to cuddle and who would be cuddled.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Ben said with a roll of his eyes and leaned into the corner of the couch for her.


    May beamed a smile at him and tucked herself into his side and pulled her legs up as she rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there, feeling content, as they watched whatever it was on the television.


    *


    I stayed on the couch with May for almost two hours before she actually fell asleep. She looked like she had enjoyed herself tonight, which she hadn''t in quite some time. I carried her to bed and tucked her in, kissed her cheek, and went to my room to start working on modifying the SHIELD night mission suit.


    Despite how the evening had started, with me being accused of doing drugs, I had enjoyed it as well. I had a hard time not laughing at May''s astonished face while I had dragged her around the apartment and showed her all the normal places for drugs to be stored.


    Showing off my fingers and toes had shocked her, too. There were a lot of other potential spots on the body; but, I didn''t have to show them. May was a nurse and she knew where they were.


    The funny thing was, I really wasn''t angry at her accusation. I had been spending far too much time out at night doing experiments and she was worried. Doing drugs was just the first and obvious thing for her to ask me about. I couldn''t explain what I was actually doing, that I was preparing for a career as a crime fighter because I was going to be needed.


    Intellectually, I knew that I was needed right now. There were crimes happening and if I was out there, I could be helping. The problem I had was that I wasn''t ready. I needed the suit, I needed to make the protective eye coverings to hide my identity, I needed to practice with my web shooters, and I needed to know how to fight.


    I was strong, almost ridiculously so; but, I didn''t know how to apply that strength and not kill someone by casually punching them. That meant I had to do something quite important and as soon as possible.


    I needed to find a teacher.

 26 Accelerated Plans Part Five

    Bokuboy


    The night mission suit was surprisingly stretchy, like a cross between a scuba gear wet suit and a yoga outfit. It was a dull dark grey charcoal color, which was perfect for hiding in shadows. I wasn''t going to leave it looking the way it did, though. The SHIELD logos on the upper arms and the left breast of the slim jacket, and on the hips of the pants, had to go.


    I also had slight tingles of my spider-sense as I felt along the fabric, testing it for fit, and nodded as I marked each spot. I wasn''t surprised the logos were the main concentrations, as was the stiff collar and the cuffs on the formfitting slim jacket. The logo patches looked melded into the suit, so I would need to be careful with how I removed them.


    I used the evidence gathering kit''s tools with my chemistry set and took several careful scrapings around the logos. I looked at them under the microscope and couldn''t readily identify it, so I had to dissolve a bit of it into a solution and then put a drop under a sample slide and increased the magnification.


    I chuckled at discovering it was a simple bonding compound and not some secret SHIELD formula or something. I knew exactly what I needed to do to remove the logos from the fabric and went downstairs into the kitchen. I went under the sink and grabbed several cleaning supplies, including a bit of dish-washing soap, and went back upstairs.


    I quickly mixed up a cocktail and added a few of the chemicals I had brought home from chemistry lab that I had used as a component in my web fluid to allow it to dissolve after an hour. I spent a good five minutes shaking it inside a sealed beaker before it was ready.


    I wore rubber gloves and used a piece of cloth to carefully apply some of the new solution to the edges of the biggest SHIELD logo patch on the left breast of the slim jacket. I only had to wait a minute before the edge peeled up and I used tweezers to lift it up and applied more solution into the space. I kept doing that and after a few minutes, the logo popped right off and left barely any traces on the fabric.


    After a quick wipe of more solution, it was completely clean. I grinned at the success and then removed the other patches and markings. Each one made my spider-sense tingle a little, so I would need to get rid of them or cut them apart to destroy whatever was setting off my danger sense. Or I could stick them on random things and see what happened if they ever fully activated.


    I chuckled at having the spy agency following the cross-city bus for hours, only to find one of their own shield logos stuck under a bench seat. That might be too big of a prank to do, however. I would probably drop them off at one of the safe houses and no one would question having them there. It would be a safe house for SHIELD agents, so of course some of their GPS trackers would be there.


    I used a knife to slice open the collar of the jacket and pulled out the microchip, then immediately dropped it right into the bond dissolving solution. It hissed and sputtered for a second and then nothing. My spider-sense also stopped and I smiled as I searched for the others in the cuffs. They joined the first one and I searched the pants next, only to find one under the front zipper closure.


    They''re tracking erections! No, blowjobs! I joked in my head and had to clamp my mouth shut to stop my laugh. I imagined some poor shmuck sitting at a monitoring station somewhere and marking each one on a sheet and adding the duration and severity when they ended.


    I snorted and took out the ear pieces for communications. I hooked each of them up to my enhanced laptop through a micro-USB attachment and ran a diagnostic program on them. My spider-sense hadn''t gone off with them or the cell phones, so it was just a preventative measure to check for any hidden software.


    The bluetooth connection wasn''t tapped, so the earpieces would work well with the untraceable cell phones. I hooked up the cell phones next and they were also clean. I relaxed then, because turning them on wouldn''t activate any hidden protocols. I put the two phones and the four ear pieces on their chargers and set them aside.


    I checked the two handheld radios next and they were also clean. They had a small manual with them and I read it. I wasn''t surprised that they were also compatible with the earpieces, just like the phones were, and set them to the right frequencies. That reminded me to make a scanner of some kind to check for those frequencies, because I wanted to be able to listen in when I came across anything like that.


    I might have to order another set of hand radios for that, because I didn''t want to cannibalize the only ones I had, even if they did come preset with the frequencies I needed.


    I took out the tiny flashlight and chuckled at the size of it. I quickly popped it apart and admired the led bulbs and the tracking device mounted between the batteries and the connection to the bulbs. Using it as a power source and also maintaining the connection to not have anything interfere with the light, was pretty smart.


    I dropped the chip into the dissolving solution and picked up the equipment belt. It had one behind the belt buckle and I tossed it in with the others. The rest was clean, even the small compartments, so I put it aside and took out the collapsible batons. I couldn''t flick them open to test them, because the snap would be pretty loud with no other sound in the apartment.


    They didn''t set off my spider-sense, so I put them aside and checked the handcuffs. They were just normal handcuffs. I didn''t hook them to the belt, though. They were a shiny steel color and would glint and reflect in any light, which meant I would need to cover them in some powder coating paint, preferably a deep charcoal grey like the main parts of the suit.


    I should do my web shooters, too. I thought. Even if they would be under the suit sleeves and the pressure sensor would be inside the glove, keeping them dark would make sure they wouldn''t be immediately recognizable as equipment that I was wearing.


    The micro-binoculars were clean and the little pouch they came in slipped right onto the equipment belt. A pack of zip tie handcuffs also fit right into a pouch on the belt. It balanced the look, too. There were a lot of spaces left on the belt, which meant I had a lot of room for additions. I didn''t have any to add at the moment, however. I would need to work on that later.


    The last thing I checked was the baseball cap and I wasn''t surprised that the logo had a tracking device inside. I chuckled and had to remove the thing, the only reason I wanted the hat in the first place, and now it was just a plain black baseball hat. I put it on and gathered up the SHIELD logos and stuffed them in a side pocket of my backpack. I would make a detour in the morning and drop them off at the closest safe house.


    I checked the time and it was really late, which meant tearing apart the ballistics vest was going to have to wait. I also had to mix up some special fluid to bond the cut open parts of the suit back together, too. The normal stuff you buy was too messy and easily undone, as I had just proven, so I needed to make my own.


    I packed almost everything away and hid it on the top shelf of my closet. I hid the phones and ear pieces, because they were still charging, and I returned the cleaning supplies to the kitchen. I went back to my bedroom and took off the hat and hung it on my bunk bed, then I climbed in under my blanket.


    I had made a lot of progress tonight, which would culminate tomorrow night or on the weekend. I just needed to apply parts of the vest onto the suit in key spots for protection and reinforcement, then add certain spider-themed decorations to make it look cool.


    Maybe some of that powder coating would make it into that batch of special bonding web fluid. I thought and smiled as I closed my eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a good day, I just knew it.


    *


    I wore my new baseball cap and walked across the school''s parking lot. Stopping at the safe house only took a couple of minutes and I left the shield logos stacked in a pile behind a potted plant in the backyard. My spider-sense hadn''t gone off, so everything worked out great.


    Several girls gave me interesting looks as I passed by them, so I smiled at some and waved at others. I entered the main building and a few more girls smiled at me and one boldly waved.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said and nodded to her.


    ¡°Penis Parker!¡± Flash''s voice shouted out.


    I stopped walking to turn and look. ¡°That''s me.¡± I said and several of the girls in the hallway giggled.


    ¡°I don''t care what everyone is saying, you''re an asshole for breaking Liz''s heart like that!¡± Flash spat.


    ¡°I know. I accepted all the blame and it''s all my fault. I wasn''t ready for the commitment and I apologized.¡± I said and he looked surprised, as did a few of the girls. ¡°Before you ask, no I am not available for you and never will be, despite my awesome and well deserved nickname.¡±


    Flash''s face flushed from embarrassment and he opened his mouth to respond hotly.


    ¡°You''re breaking the 50 foot restraining order limit, by the way.¡± I interrupted him and handed him a fake restraining order. ¡°I wanted a thousand feet and they said that wasn''t viable because you needed to go to school, too.¡±


    Flash seemed to be choking on something and didn''t respond as he read the thing.


    ¡°It wasn''t nice talking to you and I don''t look forward to the next time, which there shouldn''t be. Thank you. Bye bye.¡± I said and walked away.


    The talking in the hallway was pretty loud as I walked to the next hallway and entered biology class. I sat down at a large table and waited for class to start. I wasn''t surprised when Sally sat down next to me, mainly because she was my lab partner and this was our assigned table.


    ¡°What''s with the hat?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°My whole life changed yesterday.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°I figured this was better than shaving the rest of my head clean.¡±


    Sally gave me a surprised look, then she laughed. ¡°You? Bald? HAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°I knew a hat was much better. Thanks for the confirmation.¡± I said and she kept laughing as the classroom filled up. The teacher came in and ran us through what the lab was about, then we performed it for the rest of the morning and wrote out the lab report that detailed what we just did.


    I was tempted to call the teacher on the redundancy, considering we technically did the lab three times, then shrugged. It must be her teaching us that repetition made it stick better. I did not remind her that a teenager''s brain was remarkable in its ability to forget things it didn''t deem important, namely biology labs.


    ¡°Ben.¡± Sally whispered when I was done writing.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I asked and signed my name to the report, then handed it to her to sign, too.


    ¡°Did you really mean what you said last week?¡± Sally asked.


    I thought about it and smiled. ¡°You need to be more specific. I''ve said a lot of things.¡±


    Sally''s face flushed red. ¡°About... about...¡± She looked down at her plump body and then back at my face. ¡°Don''t make me say it.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°There''s nothing wrong with having some meat on your bones.¡±


    ¡°I''m... I''m fat. You don''t have to be nice about it.¡± Sally said.


    ¡°You could stand to lose a few pounds... or thirty.¡± I said and put a hand on her arm. ¡°Start small. Walk a bit more. Take the stairs up a flight and back down. There''s no need to push and there''s no rush. If you don''t like how you look, take your time, do the work, and change it.¡±


    Sally huffed. ¡°That''s so easy for you to say. Look at you.¡±


    I smiled and did the double arm curl that I seem to do a lot lately. ¡°I work hard every night at my construction job. Muscles like this don''t come cheap.¡±


    ¡°You were already skinny, though.¡± Sally said.


    ¡°I was a wimp. Weak as a kitten. Skinny as a rail. A strong wind would have blown me over.¡± I said and she smiled. ¡°I was an easy target for Eugene to make fun of, which is what he looks for.¡±


    Sally opened her mouth to respond and sighed. ¡°I''m a huge target.¡±


    ¡°You do realize he''s a quarter of your size and one good swipe with your big meaty fist into his thick skull will send him flying across the room, right?¡± I asked and her eyes widened.


    ¡°You... want me to... hit him.¡±


    ¡°Only if you want the satisfaction of seeing fear on his face after all the teasing he''s done.¡± I said and she smiled a little. ¡°I could print off a restraining order for you if you want, too.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Do that!¡± Sally exclaimed.


    I chuckled. ¡°You''re lucky it''s lunchtime and I need to find somewhere else to eat. We can go to the library first and get you what you need.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡± Sally said and we handed in the report when the bell rang. We walked partway across the school to go to the library.


    ¡°Gladys! I haven''t seen you in forever.¡± I whispered loudly to get the librarian''s attention. ¡°You look absolutely bookish and competent.¡±


    Gladys shook her head at me and smiled. ¡°What are you here for now?¡±


    ¡°We''re committing petty crime and falsifying official court documents. You know, a typical Friday.¡±


    Sally looked shocked as Gladys laughed softly.


    ¡°Go ahead and use station four in the back.¡± Gladys said. ¡°Lose the hat, please.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, cute and bashful.¡± I said and walked by the counter as I put the hat into my backpack.


    ¡°One of these days...¡± Gladys whispered.


    I chuckled and went towards the back of the library.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Sally whispered loudly when I sat down. ¡°Why did you tell her that?!?¡±


    ¡°There''s not really a point in lying to her. The computers are linked and she gets a copy of everything anyway.¡± I said and brought up the file I had saved.


    ¡°She... she does?¡± Sally asked and carefully sat on the chair beside me.


    ¡°She has to monitor any activity inside the library. It''s kind of her job.¡± I said and quickly modified the restraining order. ¡°Should I make it out to ten million micrometres?¡±


    Sally just sat there with a blank look on her face.


    ¡°Is ten meters, or thirty feet, what you want for the distance?¡± I clarified and she didn''t react. ¡°Sally, you okay?¡±


    ¡°She sees everything we do on the computers.¡± Sally whispered.


    I suddenly understood what was wrong. ¡°Hey, it''s all right. Everyone watches porn in the library.¡±


    Sally blinked her eyes several times and her head slowly turned to stare at me. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°It''s like a rite of passage to sneak around a public library and look at stuff you shouldn''t be looking at.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°Look, if it''ll make you feel more comfortable about me knowing, I''ll do this.¡±


    Sally watched as I opened an internet browser and looked up ''sexy milf librarians''. She let out a surprised sound and blushed as the screen was literally covered in bare breasts, spread legs, and dark haired women wearing glasses and a ''fuck me right now'' look on their faces.


    I didn''t click on any of the pictures and minimized the window as I went with my joke of an idea and printed the restraining order. I folded it up like a real one, scribbled an official-looking signature on the bottom and then had Sally sign it, too. I cleared the browser history and then closed it.


    ¡°Come on, we have to get to the cafeteria and eat.¡± I said and Sally nodded. She followed me back across the library and we came to a stop right in front of the librarian''s counter.


    ¡°I am... going to... kill you.¡± Gladys growled under her breath and her glare would have destroyed a lesser being.


    I walked around the counter and glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then I gave her a kiss on the cheek. ¡°I just wanted to remind you that I missed you.¡±


    ¡°Strangle... choke... murder.¡± Gladys muttered and her glare remained.


    ¡°Love you, too.¡± I chuckled and walked back around the counter and Sally just stared at me like she had never seen me before. I took her hand and led her out of the library and down the hallway.


    ¡°I can''t believe you just did that.¡± Sally whispered, even though we were no longer in the library.


    ¡°Me, either.¡± I said and she gave me a shocked look. ¡°We''re not on that level of a relationship. We''re just good friends.¡±


    ¡°Friends? You''re friends with the librarian?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°She helped me a lot when I needed it.¡± I said. ¡°I still do, actually. I use her study guides every day.¡±


    Sally went quiet for several moments. ¡°She really is going to kill you.¡±


    I barked a laugh. ¡°I''ll deserve it, too. That was way, way past good teasing.¡±


    Sally''s hand squeezed mine. ¡°You did that for me.¡±


    ¡°Of course I did. What are friends for?¡± I asked and she gave me an odd look.


    ¡°If you sit with me, you might be made fun of.¡± Sally said.


    I made a huff sound. ¡°I knew I should have made an origami dildo for the front of my hat.¡±


    Sally looked confused. ¡°Wh-what?¡±


    ¡°They''ll make fun of me for the right reasons then.¡± I said and walked into the cafeteria with her. I didn''t let her hand go, either. ¡°Did you bring a lunch or are you buying one?¡±


    ¡°Buying.¡± Sally said.


    ¡°Standing in line is fun.¡± I said and brought her over to the counter.


    ¡°Moved on already?¡± A young woman''s voice asked.


    I recognized it immediately and turned to face Isabelle. ¡°Guess who''s tongue is back on the market?¡±


    ¡°Are... are you serious?¡± Isabelle and two of her friends asked at the same time. They looked from me to Sally, then back to me.


    ¡°I''m holding her hand to draw attention to myself. Girls find attached guys more attractive, apparently.¡± I joked and Isabelle looked surprised, then she glanced across the cafeteria to where Liz sat with her friends and looked back at me before she nodded.


    ¡°I''ve got geography and then gym for the rest of the afternoon.¡± I said.


    ¡°I opted out of gym class.¡± Isabelle said.


    ¡°So did Sally.¡± I responded. ¡°If the coach gives me another test like last week, I might get off early.¡±


    Isabelle looked down at my crotch and back at my face. ¡°Yeah, you just might.¡±


    That comment had me smiling for the rest of the lunch period and no one made fun of me or Sally.

 27 Accelerated Plans Intermission A

    Bokuboy


    Geography class went by like nothing and then it was time for gym class. I wasn''t surprised when there was a large canvas net set up at the far side of the gym and thirty buckets of baseballs were at the other end with twenty baseball bats beside them.


    ¡°Parker, you''re up!¡± Coach Wilson said as soon as he saw me.


    I chuckled and walked over to the middle bucket and picked up one of the bats. I frowned at it, because it felt off, and I put it down and picked another. This one seemed fine and I picked up a baseball, too.


    ¡°I know you can''t see it from there, so I''ll tell you there are distance markings on the canvas.¡± The coach said. ¡°The higher up, the farther the ball would have gone on a real field.¡±


    ¡°What''s the line for a home run?¡± I asked, even though I actually could see it.


    ¡°It''s about three-quarters of the way up.¡± The coach said. ¡°Get ten HRs and you can go.¡±


    ¡°You''re making this easy on purpose.¡± I said with a laugh.


    ¡°You''re only allowed ten balls.¡± Coach Wilson said with a smile. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± I said and tossed the baseball a little, then I took a swinging stance. ¡°To hit a spot three-quarters of the way up to simulate a home run, with the ball weight of 5.25 ounces and the weight of the bat swung through a 270 degree arc... using Newton''s third law, I''ll need about 4,100 pounds of force. Without air resistance, for the one thousandth of a second the bat will be in contact with the ball, I can impart anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 pounds with a straight swing. Easy peasy.¡±


    Complete silence fell in the gymnasium and I couldn''t resist the opportunity that gave me.


    ¡°Hey, Liz!¡± I said and she looked over at me. I pointed to the far corner of the room and she blushed. ¡°I''m aiming for out of the park.¡±


    ¡°Geez, he just called his shot and he hasn''t even hit a single ball yet.¡± Max said and rolled her eyes.


    I chuckled and tossed the ball up high, twirled the bat over my shoulder, then swung when the ball was just above my chosen sight line.


    *CRACK!*


    The wooden bat sent the ball across the gymnasium in only a second and the thump as it hit the top corner of the canvas was almost as loud.


    ¡°Holy shit! He actually did it!¡± Someone shouted.


    ¡°Hey, Max.¡± I said and picked up another ball and bat. The one I had just used was sightly off-balance.


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± Max said and crossed her arms. ¡°I don''t like showoffs.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I said and pointed to the other top corner. Another crack was heard and another thump.


    ¡°That''s amazing.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    ¡°It''s basic physics, math, and geometry.¡± I said. ¡°Middle bleachers.¡±


    The bat was okay this time and I hit another ball and hit the top of the canvas in the middle.


    ¡°Jackson! Give him some pitches.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    A guy I didn''t know grabbed a bucket and walked about 30 feet away.


    ¡°Keep them in the strike zone or they don''t count.¡± I said to him.


    ¡°Yeah, whatever.¡± He said.


    ¡°You do realize I can send the ball anywhere I want, right?¡± I asked him and he shrugged. ¡°Are you wearing a cup today?¡±


    His face drained of color.


    ¡°Strike zone.¡± I said and he nodded.


    ¡°Players usually don''t threaten the pitchers.¡± Max commented.


    ¡°I don''t want him aiming for my head. The last thing I need is another concussion.¡± I said and readied for the pitch. I would need to rely on my spider-sense for this, so I concentrated solely on the ball in the guy''s hand.


    ¡°They still need to be home runs.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    I ignored him and waited. The guy did the classic pitch pose and whipped it at me. The ball came in down to the right, so I was hitting it up to the right. I stepped forward with my left foot and swung. At the last second, my spider-sense went off and I adjusted my aim and the force I was using.


    *CRACK-KK!*


    The bat broke near the handle and luckily stayed mostly intact as the ball sailed across the gym and barely managed to hit above the three-quarter mark. A lot of the force had gone into breaking the bat and I carefully examined it. It hadn''t been good after that last hit after all, despite the balance being fine.


    ¡°Sorry, coach.¡± I said and held up the bat.


    ¡°Parker, I can''t believe you broke it and still managed to get the ball to be a home run.¡± Coach Wilson said. ¡°Grab another bat and try again.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°This almost broke off and went flying.¡± And would have if my spider-sense hadn''t warned me. ¡°It could have seriously hurt someone, so I''m not playing around with this anymore.¡±


    ¡°You''re giving up already?¡± Flash asked with a laugh. ¡°What a wimp!¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry that you think not hurting other people means I''m weak, Eugene.¡± I responded and put the bat down.


    ¡°What about pitching?¡± Coach Wilson asked.


    ¡°No interest at all.¡± I said.


    ¡°Catching?¡± He asked.


    ¡°At the plate?¡± I asked back and he nodded. ¡°No, there''s still a danger with face and head injuries.¡±


    ¡°Ooo, he''s afraid of getting his head bonked again!¡± Flash said and picked up a ball. ¡°Think fast!¡±


    I knew it was coming and I could easily dodge as my spider-sense screamed at me. I trusted it completely, though. So, I turned my head to look towards the ball while also moving my head in small increments to lessen the danger feeling.


    Time seemed to slow down as I tried one of the most subtle uses of the ability I had done so far. It gave me some intriguing insights into the level of danger it could sense and the degree of difficulty I could put it under in different situations.


    When I was at the point that my spider-sense was almost gone, I stopped moving my head and time resumed as the ball smacked against the corner of my forehead, right on the thickest part of the cranial ridge, and bounced away. I wasn''t going to let this opportunity pass me by, so I rolled my eyes up into the back of my head and dropped to the floor like a ragdoll.


    ¡°NO!¡± Several girls yelled and ran over to me.


    I was tempted to throw in a twitch or two and decided that what had already happened was going to be good enough of a scene to milk and there was no need to go overboard. I kept my eyes closed as they fussed over me and kept asking if I was okay. I didn''t respond. When someone shook my shoulder, I stayed limp and let my head roll from side to side.


    ¡°Back up. Back up!¡± Coach Wilson ordered and knelt beside me. He put his fingers at the side of my throat for several seconds and then did the same to my wrist. ¡°His pulse is steady.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± Someone whispered. I was pretty sure it was Max.


    ¡°Someone get to the office and get them to call for an ambulance.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    ¡°I''ll do it!¡± Liz exclaimed and I heard her run away.


    ¡°Oh, come on! He''s clearly faking it!¡± Flash said.


    ¡°You.¡± Coach Wilson said in a deadly voice as he stood. ¡°You are suspended for the rest of this year. If I have any say in it, it''ll be for the rest of the school year. At least.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what? Why?¡± Flash asked.


    ¡°You intentionally hurt another student. You also gave him an injury just like the one that made him lose his memory and set him back months of schoolwork!¡± The coach said, his voice full of menace. ¡°What do you have to say about that?!?¡±


    ¡°He''s faking it. He''s always been faking it.¡± Flash said. ¡°Who in their right mind wants to be called Penis Parker?¡±


    ¡°That''s your explanation for assaulting Ben? Because he took your bullying and didn''t fight back?¡± Max asked. ¡°You''re an even bigger asshole than I thought you were!¡±


    Several sets of shoes came back into the gym.


    ¡°The ambulance is on the way.¡± Mary said and knelt beside me. ¡°Ben? Ben, can you hear me?¡±


    I didn''t react, even when she lightly stroked my face.


    ¡°His pulse is even, so hopefully there won''t be any concussion.¡± The coach said.


    ¡°That''s good. He''s breathing okay, too.¡± Mary said and her hand rested on my chest. ¡°I just hope he doesn''t lose his memory again. He''s worked so hard to catch up...¡±


    ¡°He''s fooling you! Why are you all so blind?¡± Flash asked.


    ¡°I''ve already told the hospital and the ambulance who to send the hospital bills to.¡± Mary said. ¡°You better hope they don''t sue you over this!¡±


    ¡°My dad''s lawyers would destroy them.¡± Flash said in his defense.


    ¡°You are officially the worst person in the school!¡± Val spat.


    ¡°Not for long.¡± Principal Morita''s voice said. ¡°I think I''ll take Coach Wilson''s advice. Bullying will not be tolerated in my school. Physical assault causing bodily harm is grounds for immediate expulsion.¡±


    ¡°You... you can''t do this! My father donates a lot of money to this school!¡± Flash exclaimed.


    ¡°Yes, and I regret ever giving you any leeway with your behaviour.¡± Principal Morita said. ¡°A little strife in a person''s life should be expected and they need to learn to deal with it. You have taken strife to a whole new level and you will be paying the consequences for it.¡±


    ¡°You''re not kicking me out! I''ll sue! I''ll sue this school for everything it has!¡± Flash said.


    *Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo!*


    Everyone stopped talking and moved back from me. I heard the side doors of the gym open and two sets of feet ran over to me.


    ¡°How long has he been unconscious?¡± A female voice asked and I felt small fingers touch my neck.


    ¡°Coach?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°About fifteen minutes.¡± Coach Wilson responded.


    ¡°That''s not good.¡± A man''s voice said and he touched the spot where the baseball hit me. ¡°That''s a huge bump. How hard was he hit?¡±


    ¡°We all heard the crack of the ball when it hit his forehead.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Bat or thrown?¡± The woman asked and pulled up my shirt sleeve. My spider-sense only barely tingled as she tapped my arm and then put something in my vein, I assumed it was an IV.


    ¡°Thrown by an idiot that hates him, so it was pretty hard.¡± Max said.


    A cold disc was placed inside my shirt for about five seconds. I assumed it was a stethoscope.


    ¡°He''s stable, so get his neck wrapped and his head still. I''ll grab the stretcher.¡± The male paramedic said and ran out of the gym.


    ¡°This isn''t the first time he''s hit his head.¡± Liz asked. ¡°Is he going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°We won''t know that until he wakes up.¡± The female paramedic said.


    ¡°How long does that usually take?¡± Mary asked.


    She didn''t respond until my neck was wrapped. ¡°There''s no real answer to that. All I can say is that the longer he''s unconscious, the worse it could be.¡±


    ¡°He could just be asleep, couldn''t he?¡± Someone asked and I couldn''t tell who it was.


    ¡°It''s always possible.¡± The female paramedic said.


    The sound of a stretcher''s rattling wheels came into the gym and stopped beside me. I was carefully rolled onto my side and something hard was placed under me. I was then lifted up and placed on the stretcher, strapped in, and the IV was placed just above my shoulder on a little rack. I wasn''t sure how I knew that, because I wasn''t looking.


    ¡°Please keep us informed of Mr. Parker''s condition.¡± Principal Morita said.


    ¡°That''s up to the parent or guardian.¡± The male paramedic said. ¡°Let''s go.¡±


    I was loaded into the ambulance and we were on our way. I didn''t want to worry people too much, so I pretended to wake up when we drove over a particularly large pothole.


    ¡°Uhhhhh.¡± I groaned and tried to move. I was strapped down, so I couldn''t. I pretended to start panicking and the female paramedic stood up to place her hands on my shoulders. She held me still and looked into my eyes.


    ¡°It''s okay. You''re okay.¡± She said in a reassuring tone.


    ¡°No, I''m not. I''m paralyzed.¡± I said in a soft voice.


    She chuckled. ¡°You''re only strapped down to a stretcher and a rigid board. Just relax. We''re almost at the hospital.¡±


    I blinked my eyes at her. ¡°What... why... what happened?¡±


    ¡°What do you remember?¡± She asked me instead.


    This was going to require all of my acting skills. ¡°I was... at a science fair... no, a lab... an experiment?¡±


    The woman blinked her eyes at me, because she knew that wasn''t where we just were. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°I don''t... I was with my science class... we were... there was a bus, no a taxi... I left because I was sick. I didn''t know what happened next. I fell asleep and now I''m here.¡±


    She sat down beside the stretcher and stared at me. ¡°I know this might sound weird; but, I have to ask.¡± She paused and took a deep breath before she spoke again. ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°It''s Peter.¡± I lied, quite convincingly. ¡°Peter Parker.¡±


    Her mouth dropped open slightly and she looked surprised. ¡°But... they said... your name was Ben.¡±


    I gave her a confused look for several seconds, then I started laughing. I laughed hard, because pretending to be Peter had been pretty damn hard and I couldn''t even manage it for five whole minutes. There was no chance at all of me pulling it off well enough to convince May or anyone else that I was Peter again, even after such a solid hit.


    I could milk it and change my behavior again, though. It would let me explain the changes to my life when I started going out as Spider-Man, too. I would need to be a little more reserved, a bit less outgoing, and maybe I''ll refrain from teasing anyone for a while. I really had been pushing things more than I should have.


    Yes, that was what I was going to do. I thought and smiled at her. ¡°I''m sorry for the joke. A few of Peter''s old friends and enemies wanted him back. One even went so far as to do this to me.¡± I said and glanced towards the corner of my forehead with my eyes.


    ¡°So, you remember that?¡± She asked, clearly interested.


    ¡°Yeah, Eugene is an idiot and has been bullying me every chance he gets.¡± I said and took a breath and let it out. ¡°He used to verbally abuse Peter constantly, probably to make himself feel superior. When I hit my head the last time, I took the verbal abuse and then ignored him, so he stepped up to physical abuse instead. He''s tried tripping me, knocking me over, grabbing me, and now he''s throwing things to hurt me.¡±


    She reached over and lightly stroked the side of my head. ¡°I don''t think you need to worry about that for much longer.¡±


    ¡°What? Why not?¡± I asked, even though I knew. ¡°No one''s done anything about it before now.¡±


    She frowned and then smiled. ¡°It looks like he''s being suspended, possibly permanently.¡±


    I blinked my eyes at her for several moments. ¡°Wait, I can go to school and there will be no more flashing pervert?¡±


    ¡°F-flashing what?¡± She asked, surprised.


    ¡°His name''s Eugene and he chose to be called Flash instead. Like the crime.¡± I said. ¡°I would do the whole ''opening the trench coat to flash you'' move to show you; but, I''m a little tied up at the moment.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°I''m glad you can joke about this.¡±


    ¡°It''s not like crying or screaming would do anything to make things better for me.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°So, do you come here often?¡±


    She gave me an amused look. ¡°Lines like that never work.¡±


    ¡°Of course they do. I just need to find the right one for you.¡± I said and felt the ambulance take a turn. ¡°I don''t have much time, so I''ll have to be quick about it.¡±


    She smirked at me. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Okay, here goes.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°Besides being so damn sexy, what do you do for a living?¡±


    She rolled her eyes and waved for me to keep going.


    ¡°My nickname is StarkOS, can I crash at your place tonight?¡±


    She chuckled and waved again.


    ¡°Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I get assaulted again?¡± I asked and she clamped her mouth shut. ¡°Feel my shirt. Do you know what it''s made of? Best Lover material.¡±


    She waved again.


    ¡°Did you just come out of a raging fire? Because you''re burning hot.¡± I asked and she groaned. ¡°No? Okay... um... Oh! Whoever said that Disneyland was the happiest place on Earth, has never been between your legs.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god!¡± She said and laughed.


    ¡°They always say that nothing lasts forever.¡± I said and gave her a pointed look. ¡°How would you like to be nothing together?¡±


    The guy driving the ambulance laughed.


    ¡°There''s something seriously wrong with my cell phone. Your number''s not on it.¡± I said and she shook her head. ¡°I could still fall for you in zero gravity?¡±


    ¡°Nope, keep trying.¡± She said.


    ¡°We''re coming up to the drop-off.¡± The driver said and slowed down.


    ¡°You''re so distractingly beautiful that you made me forget my pick-up line.¡± I said and she smiled. ¡°Are you secretly a library? Because you have everything I''ve been searching for.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Good one.¡± The driver said. ¡°One minute.¡±


    ¡°If being sexy was a crime, you would be on the FBI''s most wanted list.¡± I said and she beamed a smile at me. ¡°That was close! I almost had it!¡±


    She laughed as the ambulance came to a stop and she opened the back doors. ¡°All right, out you go, Casanova.¡± She said and her partner caught the end of the stretcher and they dropped the wheels for me. They stood on each side and pushed me towards the hospital doors.

 28 Accelerated Plans Intermission B

    Bokuboy


    ¡°I''m glad you know CPR, because you keep taking my breath away.¡± I joked as we approached the doors to the hospital.


    ¡°I''ve heard that tons of times.¡± The female paramedic said.


    ¡°I was feeling off today and you''ve turned me on again.¡± I said and she shook her head.


    ¡°Lame.¡± She said. ¡°We''re going inside, so you can stop now.¡±


    ¡°I''ve got time for one more.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°I really want to take you to the movies, except they won''t let you bring your own snacks.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± Her partner laughed and she smacked his arm. ¡°What? That''s pretty funny.¡±


    ¡°I''m trying to encourage him to not use them, idiot.¡± She said and he laughed again as we stopped beside the main reception desk.


    ¡°What do we have here?¡± A stern black woman behind the desk asked. She was quite pretty and I just couldn''t resist saying something.


    My resolve to be less outgoing didn''t last long at all.


    ¡°I can''t tell if that was an earthquake or if you just rocked my world.¡± I said to her.


    The two paramedics had completely shocked faces for several seconds as they stared at the receptionist.


    ¡°Severe head trauma!¡± The female paramedic exclaimed and handed over several sheets of paper.


    The black woman raised a single eyebrow at me before she read the report. ¡°Bring him to bed eight in the trauma center.¡±


    The two paramedics scrambled to do so and quickly delivered me, unstrapped me, and transferred me to the bed. They practically ran out of the curtained off area and didn''t even say goodbye.


    ¡°I should ask you how you are feeling, Mr. Parker. Instead, I should warn you that what you said was highly inappropriate for such a public setting.¡± The receptionist said.


    I only needed two seconds to understand what she meant. ¡°What else could I say? When God made you, he was seriously showing off.¡±


    She gave me a blank look for a second, then she smiled and it lit up her whole face. ¡°Yes, he was.¡±


    I smiled back and let her see that I was sincere with the compliment, then I caught my breath when my spider-sense went off.


    ¡°BENNNNN!¡± May''s voice cut through the room and the curtains didn''t dull the echo at all.


    ¡°It seems your aunt has received the notice about you.¡± The receptionist said. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said as the curtain around the bed was almost torn off the metal rack it hung on and it revealed a very frantic looking May.


    ¡°Ben! Oh, my GOD!¡± May shouted and dove for me. I caught her and managed to not hurt either of us.


    ¡°The doctor will be down to see you as soon as possible.¡± The receptionist said and closed the curtain as she left.


    ¡°Ben, what happened?¡± May asked me, desperately.


    I quickly explained what happened and didn''t leave anything out.


    May started crying. ¡°No! I can''t lose you, too!¡± She exclaimed and hugged me close. ¡°Please don''t forget me again! NOT AGAIN!¡±


    I was really glad that I had played the joke on the paramedic and not her, because the last thing I wanted to do was cause May any distress. ¡°I could never forget someone as wonderful as you, May.¡±


    May cried and held me for several minutes before she calmed down and stood up straight. She checked my forehead and shook her head at it. ¡°I need to get back to work.¡±


    ¡°It''s okay. I''m fine.¡± I reassured her. ¡°It hit the thickest part of my skull.¡±


    May smiled for a moment, then she looked murderous. ¡°He''s going to pay for what he did!¡±


    I nodded and didn''t remind her that he was already being suspended. If she wanted to add pressure to the school to get rid of the bully everyone disliked, I wasn''t going to discourage her.


    ¡°I''ll be back during my break.¡± May said and leaned down to kiss my cheek before she left.


    I laid there in silence as I thought about what had happened and how I was going to handle things. I could still pretend to be reserved, which meant I needed to stop joking around with everyone I met. That was going to be harder than I assumed, considering how I reacted to the female paramedic and the duty nurse at the receptionist desk.


    It was just so much fun trying to get a reaction out of them. Some were reserved like Gladys and making her smile was quite enjoyable. I had the same feeling from the receptionist here. Seeing her genuine smile when it seemed like everyone was afraid of getting on her bad side, was quite the accomplishment for me.


    That reminded me I needed to do something to make it up to Gladys. I reached for my cell phone and sighed, because I had left it in my backpack back at school. It was also Friday afternoon and I wasn''t going to be able to get out of here for several hours yet, even if the doctor showed up early, which he never did. This place was too busy for him to check me out first.


    I reached up and lightly touched the huge bump on my head and hissed at the shooting pain that came from it. Thank you so much, spider-sense! This would have probably killed me without your help.


    I didn''t feel any response, despite my brain telling me it appreciated the compliment.


    I laid there for another hour or so as I brewed a web mixture in my head, then I pretended I was reinforcing my suit with much needed protection before May came back to spend her break with me. She had another two hours to work before her shift ended and we both hoped that the doctor would see me before then.


    An hour later, I was a little surprised when Doris appeared. She also had my backpack with her.


    ¡°I''m technically not supposed to be here.¡± Doris said and put my backpack on the chair beside the bed.


    ¡°I suppose I should technically not thank you until I''m in the lobby?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''m not a doctor. I can''t advise patients on what to do.¡± Doris said with a smile.


    I pretended to struggle a little as I sat up, to draw her close, and she came right over to me and helped. I sat up and put my arms around her and hugged her. ¡°Thank you. My cell phone is in my backpack.¡±


    ¡°Liz brought it out to us when we picked her up after school.¡± Doris said and I sighed. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry things didn''t work out between Liz and I.¡± I said and let her go. ¡°I wanted it to. I really did.¡±


    ¡°You could always give her another chance.¡± Doris said.


    I sighed again. ¡°She''s not ready for that.¡±


    ¡°She made a mistake. She assumed...¡±


    ¡°That makes an ass out of you and me.¡± I joked and she smiled. ¡°I know what she thought. I also reminded her that I stopped doing it long before we kissed and I also didn''t treat her the same way.¡±


    Doris sighed this time. ¡°How am I supposed to benefit from having you around if you''re not dating my daughter?¡±


    I chuckled and took her hand. ¡°I thought the kitchen was your space?¡±


    Doris smiled. ¡°I didn''t mind sharing when you proved you actually knew what you were doing.¡±


    ¡°I thought as much.¡± I said and let her hand go. ¡°It would be awkward to invite me over to cook now.¡±


    Doris nodded. ¡°I think we''ll all have calmer heads if we let things stay as they are for a while.¡±


    I pointed to the growing bump on my forehead and she laughed softly.


    ¡°Present circumstances excluded.¡± Doris said and glanced around, even though we were behind a privacy curtain and no one else was there. She leaned in close to whisper. ¡°The doctor will be in to see you in fifteen minutes.¡±


    My eyes widened. ¡°Who do I have to kiss to thank for that?¡±


    Doris looked amused and tapped her cheek with a fingertip.


    I grinned at her and planted a three second kiss right on that spot. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, Ben.¡± Doris said and walked over to the curtain. ¡°I have to go before anyone wonders why I came back to work.¡±


    ¡°Tell Mr. Toomes I''ll still make it into work tonight.¡± I said.


    ¡°No, you won''t. He already gave you the night off.¡± Doris said. ¡°You took a severe blow to the head and you''ll need to recover from that.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Like I told the paramedics, I''m fine. I''ll just have to forgo wearing headgear unless the doctor drains this thing.¡± I indicated the bump. ¡°It''s not enough to keep me overnight for observation, even if I want to pad the bill being sent to the Thompsons.¡±


    Doris chuckled. ¡°I''ll keep that in mind when I do it up for them.¡±


    I grinned at her and she smiled as she left. I reached for my backpack and took out my cell phone. There was a good signal, so I started searching for something for Gladys. What would a dedicated librarian want? A book, of course. She liked the old atlas I gave her, so I searched for any classic literature for sale.


    I checked for things under different currencies as well, considering I had three grand I hadn''t converted yet, not that I could without drawing attention to myself. I would need to spend them where they wouldn''t be as noticeable, like online.


    I found a book that I thought she would like, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was a leather-bound first edition, partially illustrated, with a publish date of 1889. It was a bit more than thirteen hundred dollars, so I checked the conversion rates for Euros. I chuckled when it came out to be just about the right amount and I checked the contact info for the seller.


    I sent a quick text and asked if they would accept Euros instead and they agreed. They were also in New York in lower Manhattan and would be happy to let me visit to pick up the book. We agreed to Sunday afternoon and I put my phone into my pocket.


    I really hope she likes it. I thought and waited for the doctor. He showed up when Doris said he would and he did a quick check up on me, read the report and marked a few things, and poked the bump. I hissed appropriately and he nodded as he marked something else down.


    ¡°Take two of these for the pain every four hours. It should reduce in swelling on its own after a couple of days.¡± The doctor said and gave me a prescription note. ¡°You''re very lucky it hit where it did, young man. Almost anywhere else and you would have cracked your cranium and it could have killed you.¡±


    ¡°Can you add that to the report and give my Aunt May a copy, please?¡± I asked and he raised his eyebrows at me. ¡°The school should be suspending the guy that threw the ball at me and any evidence that it could have been much worse would be appreciated.¡±


    ¡°I won''t embellish the facts.¡± The doctor said.


    ¡°I don''t want you to.¡± I said and turned my head to show the bald spot. ¡°This is the second time I''ve been hurt like this and I don''t want him getting away with it.¡±


    The doctor nodded. ¡°I''ll give the details that could have happened if the ball had hit the side of your head instead.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, doctor. Both I and my skull appreciate the help.¡±


    That made him smile. ¡°Rest here for another fifteen minutes and then get out.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Clear the bed. Got it.¡±


    The doctor nodded and left. A nurse came right in to remove the IV for me and I barely refrained from teasing her.


    Instead of laying there for the remaining time, I changed out of my gym clothes and put on my street clothes. I also put my phone in my pocket and waited until the fifteen minutes was up and left the bed. I went to the front reception desk and the black woman there gave me a stern look.


    ¡°The doctor cleared me to leave. I won''t, though. I''ll sit right over there, in case I have any symptoms of dizziness or feel lightheaded.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Can you send word to May for me? I don''t want to disturb her by calling her cell phone.¡±


    ¡°I can do that.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and walked over to sit down in her direct line of sight. I didn''t glance around, either. I stared right at her and kept a small smile on my face.


    She gave me a single raised eyebrow once more and I didn''t change my tactics. She shrugged slightly and went back to work. As time moved on, she would occasionally glance over at me and I kept the small smile on my face, because our eyes met every time and she seemed surprised each time that I still hadn''t looked away from her.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May said as she walked into the reception area and came over to me. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Like a pinata.¡± I said and she looked a little sad.


    ¡°Come on. Let''s go home.¡± May said and took my hand to lead me outside.


    ¡°I have some pain medication to pick up, too.¡± I said and handed her the prescription.


    ¡°Ben, these pills are pretty expensive, even with our medical plan.¡± May said.


    ¡°It''s okay. We''re sending the bills to the Thompsons, remember?¡± I asked.


    May looked thoughtful and nodded. ¡°We can stop at the pharmacy on the way.¡±


    ¡°Great! I can''t wait to see how loopy I get while riding a medicinal high.¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°You are taking them under my strict supervision, mister.¡±


    ¡°Aww, that''s no fun.¡± I said and hailed a taxi. One came right over to us.


    ¡°Painkillers are not supposed to be fun.¡± May said and opened the door to the cab and helped me inside.


    ¡°I''m not an invalid.¡± I said with a smile.


    May hushed me and climbed in, too. We rode in the taxi to the pharmacy and they had the pills available. They were just as expensive as May said and I paid for them out of the money I had from selling the clarinet. She gave me a sad look about it and I gave her a hug before accepting the pills.


    We made it home not long after that and May ordered fast food to be delivered. She didn''t want me to cook for some reason. After we enjoyed a nice pizza, she carefully opened the pill bottle and handed me a single pill.


    ¡°These things are really strong, Ben.¡± May said and I accepted the pill. ¡°You''ll need a mouthful of soda pop to wash it down.¡±


    I nodded and tossed the pill into my mouth. My spider-sense went off as the thing touched my tongue, so I trapped it against the roof of my mouth. I took a drink and made a show of swallowing as I pushed the pill to the side and up under my top lip.


    ¡°It will take fifteen minutes to a half an hour for it to kick in, so go lay down for a bit.¡± May advised me.


    I nodded again and walked up the stairs to go to my room. My spider-sense increased in intensity as the pill started to dissolve, so I spit it out into the small trashcan in my room and used my finger to dig out any residue. I wasn''t sure why it set my sense off, though.


    Perhaps my comment about it making me loopy wasn''t as far off the mark as I thought it was? I asked myself as I laid down on the bed.


    After twenty minutes, my mouth went a little dry and I felt something was a little off. My spider-sense was a dull tingle and not in a normal way. It wasn''t quite a warning and it wasn''t quite danger, so it was very confusing. If that one little bit could cause me to react like this, I could only imagine what I would be like with a full dose.


    May came into my room without knocking, because I had left the door open, and sat down on my desk chair as she looked at me. ¡°Ben, how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Weird. Like really, really weird.¡± I answered. I didn''t even have to lie. I could taste cotton on my tongue.


    ¡°Any pain?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I don''t know. Kind of?¡± I said it like a question and she nodded.


    ¡°There''s a reason these painkillers are so expensive. They are highly psychotropic as a side effect and are a popular target for thieves.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t tell me that.¡± I said and wanted to frown at her. I didn''t know why I couldn''t.


    ¡°You would have to take it anyway. Doctor''s orders.¡± May said and leaned forward. ¡°I also... there''s something I wanted to know... and I''m too scared to ask after what happened when I accused you of taking drugs.¡±


    ¡°You can ask me anything.¡± I said, truthfully.


    ¡°Are you... have you...¡± May paused and took a breath. ¡°Have you had sex with any girls at school?¡±


    I didn''t see a reason to lie. ¡°Just oral sex and it was only on her, not on me.¡±


    ¡°Liz?¡± May asked.


    ¡°Isabelle.¡± I said.


    ¡°Who''s that?¡± May asked, surprised.


    ¡°She''s a senior I met at school on my first day back. She cared about what happened and didn''t assume I was faking it.¡± I said and May''s face showed sadness. ¡°I kissed her and went down on her in the bathroom. I told her it was a reward for being so nice. What I really wanted to know was if she would let me after just meeting me. She did.¡±


    May looked surprised for several moments. ¡°Why didn''t you tell me about that?¡±


    ¡°You didn''t ask.¡± I said and she looked even more surprised.


    ¡°You... would you have...¡± May shook her head. ¡°How many times?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t bother counting. She had multiple orgasms each time. Counting would have been counterproductive to her enjoyment.¡± I said and May looked shocked.


    ¡°The... the break-up with Liz...¡±


    ¡°I stopped long before asking Liz out.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°It shouldn''t have mattered, though. She knew about it, as did Val, Gina, Betty, Cindy, her other friends, Isabelle''s friends and their friends, and after the break-up, most of the cafeteria.¡±


    May sat there with her mouth hanging open and didn''t respond.

 29 Accelerated Plans Intermission End

    Bokuboy


    I was being honest with May about everything and saw no need to stop. ¡°I flirt a lot and I push it a little too much, just because seeing a pretty woman''s happy or embarrassed face when they know I''m interested, even if it never goes anywhere, makes me feel warm inside. I know they like it, too.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben... you...¡± May paused and gave me an odd look. ¡°Do you do that with me?¡±


    ¡°You were the first and clued me in on how much I like doing it.¡± I said and she looked surprised again. ¡°Having dates with you every night are the best times of my life so far, even if you never think of them as real dates.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°Taking care of you and seeing your happy smile makes all of my efforts worth it. I know I tease you sometimes and I''m sorry if that embarrasses you; but, your smiles are like the clouds parting and I''m getting to see a bright sun for the very first time. It''s very addicting.¡±


    May looked stunned and her mouth opened and closed several times, even though no words came out.


    ¡°I''ll never do more than flirt, because you deserve to be respected for accepting me into your life, even though you knew I was a complete stranger.¡± I said and turned my head to look directly at her. ¡°That''s why you didn''t tell me about the pill''s full effects, isn''t it? You wanted to ask me who I am?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡± May admitted.


    ¡°My name is Benjamin. Ben to almost everyone. Benji to my lovers.¡± I said and she blushed. ¡°I don''t have any here, so no one''s called me that yet.¡±


    ¡°Ben, why...¡±


    ¡°I can''t be Peter. I can''t. I tried. It was so... frustratingly meek. I can''t be that. I can''t even pretend to be that. I''m Ben and I''m going to change the world.¡± I said with conviction.


    ¡°H-how?¡±


    ¡°I''m designing a new security system. It uses motion sensors, cameras, and a deploying mechanism that will capture anyone that sets it off.¡± I said and she looked shocked again. ¡°I won''t have the resources to make a prototype until I get back to school. I need access to some old cell phones that I''ll ask the students to donate to a good cause, the mechanical engineering and robotics labs for parts, and the library to read the rest of the computer books they have.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± May whispered. ¡°Those are the patents you want to file?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°If I can get it to work, it will revolutionize business protection and their insurance rates will drop to almost nothing.¡± I sat up and smiled at her. ¡°The system should pay for itself within the first week in the higher crime areas. It will also make us insanely rich practically overnight.¡±


    May was once again too surprised to speak.


    I looked at the clock and realized I had to go. I stood up and changed my clothes into my work outfit.


    May didn''t say anything until I grabbed the backpack with my safety gear in it. ¡°Where do you think you''re going?¡±


    ¡°I have to go to work.¡± I said and motioned to the clock. ¡°The guys depend on me to clear the area for the morning.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you can''t go anywhere while under the effects of the medication.¡± May said.


    ¡°It''s okay. I''ve got a handle on it now.¡± I said and put on the backpack. ¡°I''ll be back early.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you can''t go. Doris said Adrian gave you the night off.¡±


    I gave her a pointed look. ¡°You will wash and change for bed and you will wait for me on the couch like you always do. We''ll cuddle and watch television, maybe snack on some popcorn, and we''re going to enjoy the evening.¡±


    ¡°Ben! You are not leaving!¡± May said sternly and stood up to stop me.


    I cupped the sides of her face with my hands and her eyes widened. ¡°You are the most important woman in my life right now. I''m going to take as much time as I can to spend it with you, before I get too busy with the rest of my life to enjoy the important things.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I have responsibilities now and I can''t ignore them, just because I had a bump on the head.¡± I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. ¡°Make yourself look even prettier for me and I''ll be back as soon as I can.¡±


    May blinked her eyes at me and looked surprised, because my distracting words had worked. I stepped around her and ran down the stairs and left the apartment before she realized she could still stop me. I used the stairwell and ran down them easily, as if they were in a straight line and not different flights at all, and left the building in a great mood.


    The feeling of freedom filled me even more than it usually did and I ran down the street towards the bus stop. I didn''t stop there, though. I felt like running and I did so. I ducked into a small alley and used the close buildings like stepping stones and hopped from one to the other six times and leapt out of the alley and landed on top of the building on the right.


    I had to stifle a laugh at being able to cheat at climbing a building like that. I took off my backpack, quickly slipped on my dark clothing and my web shooters, my improvised mask, and put my backpack back on.


    Then I ran.


    Just like the stairs, I ran like there were no differences in the buildings that were in front of me. Height, distance, shape, it made no difference to my current state of mind. I had given myself over to my spider-sense completely without realizing it and I leapt off of a fifteen storey building that was at the end of a long row... and there was no building for me to land on.


    The street was double-wide with four lanes of traffic as well, and I didn''t panic as I soared through the air without a care in the world. My hand twitched as I dropped towards the pavement and a webline shot out in a perfect arc and snagged the top of a streetlight. I grabbed on with both hands and lifted my feet to give myself a lot of momentum for the downswing.


    My sneakers almost scraped the pavement as I slipped between two parked cars and pulled hard on the webline. I swung out and up before I let go at the optimum point of the arc and snapped my hand to the side to make the webline spring back to the streetlight and wrap around it to disappear from normal sight.


    I kind of floated through the air and shot another webline using my other hand and snagged another streetlight. I used my momentum and pulled hard once more to swing up from street level and back up to rooftop level. I let the webline go and landed gently on top of a shorter building and stopped moving.


    I turned back to look at the sheer distance that I had covered with just two web swings, and it was just over half a block of practically empty space. I had done it without thinking consciously and let my brain and body handle it automatically. I had also skipped a couple of streetlights and only used the two that were necessary.


    I chuckled at the sight, because the weblines I had used were completely wrapped around the tops of the streetlights and you couldn''t see them unless you were looking for them. They would dissolve away after an hour and no evidence of my passing would be left at all. I nodded and turned in the right direction and ran for the edge of the roof.


    I leapt up and onto the next building to get more height and continued on until I needed to cross an extra wide street. I would use a webline and pull myself across if I couldn''t make the jump unassisted and if there was a much taller building in the way, I would leap off to the side, use a webline, and swing around to land on the next building.


    I ended my rooftop adventure on the building next to the one we were deconstructing and let my spider-sense tell me if there was anything down there for me to be careful of. I felt the slight tingle of a camera... no, two cameras. They had crossed sightlines over the dump truck and the end of the alleyway.


    I backtracked to the next building and climbed down, took off my dark outer clothing, and walked around the building to go to the front door of the one the salvage company was tearing apart. I entered and locked the door again and went to the second floor. There was only a small amount of debris there, so I went up to the sixth floor and put on my safety gear, except for the helmet.


    I made a point to rub near the huge bump on my forehead in front of the hidden camera and left the hardhat in my backpack. I knew I was breaking one of the safety rules; but, I was injured and it would give me a medical excuse to not wear protective headgear that would actually harm me instead of protecting me. Of course, I was on an adrenaline high with a chaser of painkiller, so I didn''t bother trying to take things slow at all.


    I cleared out the place in barely half the time I normally would, probably because I didn''t bring a lunch to eat. There was no point in pretending I was exhausted for fifteen minutes before going back to work like I usually did. I dumped everything into the dump truck, checked it for debris and damage, and locked the building up once more.


    I went to the closest alleyway and donned my dark clothing and mask once more, climbed up to the roof, and looked out over the part of the city I could see. I would finish modifying my suit tonight after spending time with May, then I would get some sleep. I had work tomorrow and I was sure that Adrian would give me a hard time about not wearing a hard hat.


    Hopefully, the bump would be smaller as my accelerated healing took care of it. I wasn''t going to take any more of those pain pills and I wouldn''t try faking it, either. It seemed to dull my mind, even in the small amount that my body managed to metabolize, because it had altered my spider-sense that had warned me I would be in danger if I took it.


    I looked down at my web shooters and looked back at the city. Soon. I thought and smiled. Soon.


    I took several steps back and then ran and jumped. I landed on the next building''s roof and kept going. My new method of travel was almost three times faster than using the bus routes and I didn''t want to waste any more time getting home, besides the quick stop I had to do to pick up some powder coat paint.


    I barely accepted the change from the clerk before I ran out of the store and ran down the alley. I put my mask on again before I climbed up the side of the building to continue my way home. I had a pretty woman waiting for me there and if my guess was right, she would have scrubbed her face completely clean of any traces of make-up, because of what I said to distract her before I left the apartment.


    That thought made me laugh and I continued to run and leap across roofs to get back home, with an occasional web swing when necessary. I landed near my apartment building, climbed down, took off my concealing clothing, and entered the building before I ran up the stairwell to the apartment.


    When I saw May''s completely bare face and her robe was wrapped tightly up to her neck, I walked over to her and gave her cheek a kiss without getting her dirty.


    ¡°Thanks for taking my advice!¡± I said and laughed as I ran up the stairs.


    ¡°No, I didn''t!¡± May shouted after me.


    I went into the bathroom, stripped off, and hopped into the shower. I was cleaned up ten minutes later, dried off, had my things stashed back in my room, and went downstairs.


    ¡°Ben...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°I''m fine.¡± I said and danced a little jig.


    ¡°Your body burned through it faster because you were working?¡± May asked.


    ¡°More than likely.¡± I said and scooped her up into my arms, swung her around, and then hopped onto the couch with her on my lap.


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped.


    I laughed and gently pushed her off my lap to sit her beside me. ¡°You''re going to sweat if you stay bundled up like that.¡± I said and slid down slightly as I put her arm over my shoulders. ¡°Not that I mind. You always smell nice.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... why...¡±


    ¡°I told you. I''m going to enjoy the little things while I can.¡± I said and pointed to the remote. ¡°Go ahead and pick something. It doesn''t matter what.¡±


    May''s arm tightened on my shoulders, then she pulled on the tie around her waist with her free hand and pulled open her robe to reveal she was wearing thick flannel pyjamas.


    I lifted my head from her shoulder and gave them a pointed look before I looked at her face. ¡°Really? That''s what you wear to discourage me from complimenting you?¡±


    May sighed. ¡°It''s not working?¡±


    ¡°They''re soft and comfortable, which means that you have to be wearing something skimpy under them so that as much fabric as possible can touch you.¡± I said and she blushed a little.


    ¡°How do you know I did that?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I know you.¡± I said and put my head back on her shoulder. ¡°You wear lacy things under your clothes to make yourself feel pretty, even though no one else would suspect that you do.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± May whispered. ¡°You shouldn''t know about things like that.¡±


    ¡°It''s kind of hard not to, because I accepted you into my life completely, just like you accepted me. There''s nothing you could do or say that would surprise me.¡±


    May turned on the television and changed the channel to what she wanted to watch. ¡°What if I told you that I never shave anything?¡±


    ¡°The Sasquatch is one of my favorite urban legends. It''s nice to have confirmation that it exists.¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped and I laughed. She glared at me for a second before she started laughing, too.


    *


    Adrian watched the footage replay and he was having a hard time connecting it with what he knew about people being hit on the head. ¡°Doris, can you explain this for me?¡±


    Doris walked over to lean on his shoulder and watched Ben utterly destroy large pieces of concrete and then shovel like a demon before he flung the wheelbarrow around like it weighed nothing.


    ¡°He''s going to be feeling that tomorrow.¡± Doris said and chuckled. ¡°Unless he takes another painkiller.¡±


    Adrian''s eyes widened and he understood. ¡°Damn kid. That''s another reason to take the night off.¡±


    Doris kissed his cheek. ¡°How far back would you fall in the schedule if you had to clean up in the morning?¡±


    Adrian didn''t even have to think about his answer. ¡°We would lose about half a day, which would push things back even further if Ben doesn''t show up tomorrow morning for work.¡±


    ¡°He will.¡± Doris said and closed the file, then turned off the laptop. ¡°If he defied May by going to work when he knew you gave him the night off, he''s not going to skip an entire day.¡±


    Adrian nodded and let his wife lead him to their bed. She was in a good mood today and he didn''t have to ask why. Ben could have been seriously hurt and Adrian had specifically driven her back to the hospital to give him his backpack, just to check on him. The relief on her face when she came back to the car had told him all he needed to know. Liz had a similar look on her face, too.


    ¡°Bite my earlobe, baby.¡± Doris whispered and she moaned as he did so and entered her from behind.


    They both liked it when she was more vocal and the soundproofing in the walls ensured that their daughter didn''t hear what they were doing.


    ¡°H-harder! F-f-fuck me harder, Addy! HARDER!¡± Doris yelled with pleasure as he picked up the pace.


    *


    Mary Strickland laid in bed and she didn''t know what to do. She was worried about Ben and she had tried calling the hospital after she arrived home after school and the receptionist wouldn''t give out patient information. She had also tried calling Ben at home before supper and there was no answer, which meant they were still at the hospital.


    She was just the receptionist at the high school and she shouldn''t be this emotionally invested in one of the students. He was a flirt and a tease, and he had been so lost at first. She had helped him a lot more than she was ever required to, and she didn''t regret it. He was a nice young man and he was grateful. He also understood how much she had done for him.


    Mary picked up her cell phone again and looked at the time. She shook her head, because now it was much too late to call. If they were home, she would possibly wake them up. If they weren''t at home, she would become even more worried. She let out a sigh and started to put the phone down when it beeped at her. She pulled it towards her face to read the text from a number she didn''t recognize.


    ''It''s Ben. I''m sorry I worried you. I''m fine. No concussion. Can you let the staff know?''


    ''Ben? How did you get my number?''


    ''I stole it from your desk when you weren''t looking.''


    Mary was surprised by that and quickly typed a response. ''When did you do that?''


    ''On pain pills. Head feels fuzzy. Can''t answer valid questions I don''t want to answer.''


    Mary chuckled. ''Oh? Then you won''t mind proving that.''


    ''How?'' Ben sent back.


    ''Tell me something you wouldn''t say in public.'' Mary sent with a smile.


    ''I can''t wait to hear another great story from you, now that I''m not dating Liz.''


    Mary caught her breath and felt herself grow damp from remembering that orgasm after dry humping his very, very hard erection. ''Don''t joke about that.'' She sent and her hand went right between her legs.


    ''I asked you before why you keep thinking I''m joking.'' Ben sent.


    ''We can''t. I can''t. It can''t happen.'' Mary sent back as her other hand rubbed herself through her panties.


    ''I know. I''m just letting you know that when I graduate, I''m going to bend you over the receptionist counter and show everyone how much I like you.''


    ¡°Oh, god!¡± Mary gasped and soaked her panties. She rubbed her fingers around and felt the satisfying wetness as she typed with her free hand. ''Damn you, Ben. Damn you.''


    ''Would you be angry if I said I was jerking off right now?'' Ben asked her.


    ¡°Oohhhh.¡± Mary moaned and had another orgasm. She had to take several breaths before she could type again. ''Yes, you pervert!''


    ''Oops! I just made a mess because of you. Gotta go. Bye!''


    ¡°Ben!¡± Mary gasped and had another orgasm. She closed her eyes and let the feeling linger for several moments before she looked at her phone again. Her eyes widened at the picture of boxers with a large tent pole and a wet white spot. ¡°Such... a huge... pervert.¡±


    Mary''s hand started moving again and she would never know it was spilled web fluid and not what she assumed it was. Not that it mattered. She didn''t get to sleep for quite some time after that.

 30 Accelerated Plans Completed

    Bokuboy


    It was a thing of beauty.


    My suit was done and it looked fantastic. The dark charcoal grey was offset with black accents on the shoulders, the back along the spine, strips on the outside of the thighs, calves, and forearms. I had been pretty liberal with pieces of the ballistics vest and had left small sliced pockets in them to insert metal plates later, once I could get to the mechanical engineering lab and created them.


    The special web fluid I created for bonding it together, worked even better than I had calculated. It worked so well that I created a miniature web shooter with a single cartridge, just so I could use it to draw webbing designs on the suit. I did the chest, the shoulders, the outer arms, and the boots. The powdered paint really made it blend well with the suit without standing out too much.


    The mask, though. Oh, what an inspiration it was! I thought long and hard about what to use for the eye pieces as both protection from glare and to conceal my identity. I couldn''t really come up with anything until I went into my closet and turned on the cheap push light mounted on the ceiling. I searched around for something for several minutes and couldn''t find anything.


    I reached up to touch the light again and froze. The diffusing plastic cover on the push light was a matte white color. If it was even partially see-through, I could possibly use it for the outer part of the eye hole. I checked it and it allowed 80% of light to pass through it, which was perfect, because I could cover the entire eye hole with it. The dome of plastic was also quite large when I took the thing apart.


    I sliced the plastic right down the center and each half was so close to the right size that I had to stifle my laugh. It only took a bit of trimming and the application of a heat gun to flatten them slightly. I used my special bonding web fluid and they fit right into the pre-made eye holes in the mask like they were always meant to be there.


    I added ballistic reinforcement around them, using the scraps from the vest, and then decorated it with the same web pattern as the rest of the suit and it was done. It was unbelievable, it looked awesome, and it was done. I was so excited about it that I had completely lost track of time until I packed everything away and saw the clock. It was three in the morning and I had to leave for work at seven.


    I held in my sigh and went to bed. I was sure I wasn''t getting to sleep with the way I was feeling and my eyes went to my trash can and my thoughts went to the painkiller pill that I had spat out earlier. I remembered how just a taste of it felt to my brain and how free I felt during my impromptu web swinging test.


    I shook my head at the thought and closed my eyes. I didn''t need an artificial boost to enjoy the feeling of web swinging, even if it was technically a cheat to put myself into a zen-like state where I could leap off of a tall building without a care in the world.


    Actually, that''s a really good reason to not try it again. I thought with a chuckle and rolled over. Sleep was going to be fleeting and I hoped a nap wouldn''t ruin the rest of my day.


    *


    Adrian came to a stop beside Ben''s apartment building and saw the young man yawn. He didn''t comment about how tired he looked, because he assumed he didn''t get home from the hospital until late and he had worked hard last night. He couldn''t give Ben the day off, though. They needed his help and the guys depended on him for all the little things, like tool retrieval and replacement, coffee runs, and keeping the work area clear.


    He smiled at Ben as he climbed into the truck and then drove them back to the business building to get their safety equipment and power tools. He wasn''t sure how Ben had made himself so indispensable so quickly. Was it his eagerness? Was it that he never complained? Was it because he joked and carried on like he had always been one of the guys and didn''t let it interfere with work?


    They arrived and met up with the work crew and Adrian still didn''t have any answers to his questions. They all went to the work site and began working and Adrian wasn''t surprised when Ben perked right up and whatever sleepiness he had shown disappeared.


    They worked all day with a break for lunch, then they all went home to their families for supper. Adrian was tempted to invite Ben over, despite his wife''s decision to give the kids time to get over their little spat. He didn''t want the kid to think he would treat him differently, just because he wasn''t dating his daughter.


    In the end, Adrian dropped Ben off without making the offer. ¡°Get some rest, Ben. You deserve it.¡±


    ¡°I will, Adrian.¡± Ben said and yawned as he climbed out of the truck, reached back without looking and grabbed the backpack with his safety gear, and closed the door. ¡°Say hi to Doris for me.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Adrian said and waved as the young man walked towards the front door of the building. It wasn''t until he was halfway home that he realized Ben hadn''t called him Mr. Toomes like he always did.


    *


    May almost laughed at the exhausted young man that entered the apartment. She led him over to the table she had done up for a date and Ben let out a chuckle and kissed her cheek. They sat down and ate in complete silence until Ben had finished eating. He even took one of the pain pills without any fuss. He seemed to sway a little in his seat before his eyes closed and he slumped down a little.


    ¡°I think you better get to bed, Ben.¡± May said and stood up in case he needed her help.


    ¡°S''okay. Don feel tired no more.¡± Ben said and stood on shaky legs with his eyes half closed.


    ¡°Don''t lie to me, mister. Get your butt upstairs to bed.¡± May ordered and pointed.


    Ben nodded. ¡°Sorry. Should only lie when for your own good. Night.¡± He said and kissed her goodnight before he started walking towards the stairs.


    May stared at him as he wobbled a little and then he used his hands to pull himself up the stairs using the railing, because his legs weren''t quite working. She hadn''t thought it would affect him so much and she followed closely behind him as he stumbled and entered his room. He didn''t try to take off his clothes at all and flopped down onto his bed and started snoring right away.


    She walk into his room and made sure he wasn''t sleeping face down and she softly laughed at his half-buried face that was mostly covered with a pillow. She reached for him and his head twitched away from her hand. She ignored that and lightly stroked the bald spot where his old scar was only a thin line. She moved his head a little and fixed his pillow and Ben''s loud snores changed to deep breathing.


    May nodded and left the room. She thought about shutting the door, then decided that she needed to listen in case he started snoring again, which would mean he had buried his face again. She went downstairs and grabbed his work backpack and brought it up to his room, left it by the door, and went back downstairs to the kitchen to clean up.


    She finished up half an hour later and walked up the stairs to go to the bathroom. May let out a little sigh because the tub wasn''t filled like it had been all week, and she let out a little laugh as she stripped off and stepped into the shower. She was definitely getting spoiled if she felt like that.


    May dried off and dressed in a lacy nightgown, put on her robe, and checked on Ben. He was in the same position and she suspected that he was going to stay there until the morning. She went downstairs and sat on the couch and turned on the television. She knew she wasn''t going to enjoy it as much without Ben there for company, so she sighed as she laid down and closed her eyes.


    She eventually drifted off to sleep and didn''t hear it when there was movement upstairs. There was some noise as well, then the door to Ben''s room shut with a soft click.


    *


    ¡°BEN! COME HERE QUICK!¡± May''s voice yelled.


    ¡°AH!¡± I jumped out of my bed and felt oddly restricted, like I was completely covered. I looked down to see that I was wearing my Spider-Man suit. ¡°Crap, crap, crap!¡± I whispered and quickly pulled it off, along with the boots, and tossed everything under my blanket and shouted. ¡°I''ll be right there!¡±


    I gave myself a once-over and didn''t notice anything else that would give me away, and tried to walk to my bedroom door. I kicked several things and looked down at the floor to see dozens of broken apart cell phones, two torn apart microwaves, cases for six of the specialized two way radios, hundreds of movement sensor casings, and a whole bunch of metal pieces and scraps from things that I didn''t recognize.


    ¡°Jesus, what did I do last night?¡± I asked myself in a whisper and hopped over to the wall by the door and landed, carefully opened the door, and slipped out.


    ¡°Ben! You''re missing it!¡± May exclaimed.


    ¡°I''m here!¡± I said and jogged down the stairs and hopped over the back of the couch to land beside May.


    ¡°I''m not going to yell at you for doing that.¡± May said and pointed at the television. ¡°Look!¡±


    I grinned at her and then turned to look at the television and froze. It was a live camera shot of Stark Tower and on the side of the building were words printed in ten foot tall letters made of webbing.


    ''New York will be Attacked by Invaders on April 11. RIP 74 Innocent Bystanders & Phil Coulson.''


    I almost groaned at the sight, because that wasn''t the shocking part. What was written underneath was.


    ''Spider-Man Was Here.''


    ¡°Can you believe it?¡± May asked, her voice full of disbelief.


    ¡°No, I can''t.¡± I said and managed to not rub my face in frustration.


    I had just outed Spider-Man to the entire population of New York and probably put myself on every secret agent''s radar with that stunt. Just doing it by itself might have marked me as a person of interest; but, naming Phil Coulson specifically? SHIELD was going to be searching all over for my web-covered butt.


    ¡°That''s not all.¡± May said and changed the channel to another news station. ¡°Look at that!¡±


    I stared at the screen as thirty men of different ages were carried into a police precinct. Their wrists and ankles were tied with zip cuffs and they each had a brick of cocaine ''glued'' to their foreheads. I didn''t even need to guess what the glue was, because I knew it would be my new bonding web formula.


    One of the younger men struggled as he was carried. ¡°I didn''t do it! I swear!¡±


    The crowd watching laughed, because the brick of drugs on his forehead had ''Believe me, I am a Liar'' written on it.


    ¡°As you just saw, an entire gang of drug pushers was captured last night by this mysterious Spider-Man.¡± The pretty news anchor said as the camera cut to the newsroom. ¡°Normally, evidence not gathered by the police is inadmissible, mainly because the trail of eventual discovery can''t be followed or proven.¡±


    ¡°That''s understandable.¡± May said while I remained quiet. ¡°Those guys are going to get off because...¡±


    ¡°However, proper evidence bags, notes, and photos of the warehouse, the drug distribution set-up, the men''s faces involved, and their cell phone records were submitted to the police following standard procedure.¡± The woman said and smiled. ¡°It was honestly the best police work I''ve seen at a crime scene and I''ve worked a few crime scenes in my time as a field reporter.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± May and I exclaimed at the same time.


    ¡°Spider-Man, whoever you are... retired cop, rookie tired of the red tape, vigilante, or whatever... don''t expect the NYPD to thank you for doing their jobs for them.¡± She said and then smiled. ¡°I will, however. Well done, Spider-Man. Well done.¡±


    I turned my head to look at May and she turned her head to look at me. We had similar shocked looks on our faces. ¡°I didn''t just hear what I thought I just heard, did I?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. Did you just hear a reporter encourage someone to take the law into their own hands?¡± May asked back.


    ¡°Contact the station if you want to get a hold of me.¡± The news anchor said. ¡°I would love to interview you.¡±


    ¡°...and now we know why.¡± May and I said together, then we laughed.


    ¡°In an unrelated story, a woman was saved from being assaulted when she was carjacked.¡± The news anchor said and another video played.


    ¡°One moment, I was being dragged out of my car at gunpoint, then I heard a weird whip-like sound and I was all alone.¡± A dishevelled woman said and used a hand to comb her hair. ¡°I would file a police report about it; but, there wasn''t really a crime. I don''t know why he left, though. Maybe he saw a nicer car?¡±


    The video ended and the view cut back to the news studio.


    ¡°The police are still investigating the incident and we will share further details when they become available.¡± The pretty news anchor said and turned to the side. ¡°Now on to the weather. Janice? How is the forecast looking for today?¡±


    ¡°Bright and sunny.¡± Janice said and then proceeded to give the forecast.


    May changed it back to the other channel and it showed window cleaners trying to scrape the webbing off of Stark Tower. ¡°That''s going to take forever.¡±


    I chuckled. You have no idea. That webbing is as much a part of the windows as the glass is. I thought and stood. ¡°Any requests for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you make is fine.¡± May said and looked up at me, then she waved me closer. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She asked and cupped the sides of my face as she examined the bump. ¡°It''s gone down.¡±


    ¡°I don''t really remember anything from last night.¡± I said and she looked worried. ¡°I mean after I ate. I''m sure I went to bed and then nothing until I heard you yell.¡±


    May nodded and let my face go. ¡°You almost didn''t make it to the bed.¡±


    I nodded, because my memory seemed to fade away during the meal. She must have given me a pain pill and I went to bed to sleep it off, only I couldn''t have. ¡°I''ll have pancakes ready in a few minutes.¡±


    May smiled at me. ¡°There''s still some blueberries left from when you made the cobbler.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Blueberry pancakes coming right up.¡± I said and went to the kitchen. I took out the pancake mix and quickly did up a batch, then I went to the freezer of the refrigerator and pulled out the small bag of blueberries. I added them to the mixture as I heated up the pan at the same time. A dab of butter slicked up the pan and I added some of the batter mix.


    I was tempted to make a dozen little ones and shook my head. Today felt like a big pancake day, so I filled the bottom of the pan and waited for it to rise before flipping it without using the spatula. I knew that it was an odd use of my spider-sense; but, it let me practice with it without letting anyone know I was. I made three pancakes before serving them on a plate for May.


    ¡°You''re killing me, Ben!¡± May said with a laugh as I added another dab of butter to the top of the stack and then drizzled maple syrup over it.


    ¡°You''re lucky we''re out of strawberries and cream.¡± I said and she grinned at me. ¡°That wasn''t a challenge!¡±


    May laughed again and started eating while I cooked up a small stack of pancakes for myself. I joined her at the table and we ate the great tasting pancakes.


    ¡°We need to go shopping for groceries. We''re getting low on ingredients.¡± May said.


    ¡°Well, someone needs to stop showing off their lunches at work.¡± I joked and she smacked my arm. ¡°No? I guess that means we''re splurging a bit this week.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That reminds me.¡± May said and hopped up from the table and went over to the small table near the apartment door. ¡°Doris gave me this for you.¡±


    I stared at her as she brought over an envelope. I knew what it was, just from the size and shape of the envelope. ¡°Already? I thought they always kept the first two weeks of pay for taxes or something.¡±


    May chuckled and handed it to me. ¡°You''re only part-time and a student. There''s a lot of leeway for workers like you.¡±


    I grinned at her. ¡°You mean they want to encourage young people to enter the work force early.¡±


    ¡°That''s what I said.¡± May responded and walked around behind me to hug me. ¡°Go ahead and open it.¡±


    ¡°I know I shouldn''t expect a lot. I know I shouldn''t.¡± I said and carefully opened the envelope.


    May whistled at the amount. ¡°Even with the taxes taken off, Adrian must be getting supplemented if he can afford to pay you that much for a part-time job.¡±


    I looked at the amount, just over five hundred dollars for a two week pay period with two full work days, last Saturday and the past Monday, and eight evening shifts between, it was a decent pay. It would be a bit more than that from now on, because I would have two Mondays and a Saturday for full days added in.


    ¡°We are buying fresh mushrooms!¡± I exclaimed and May laughed before she kissed my cheek.


    We quickly changed into casual clothes, put on our jackets, and left the apartment to enjoy a morning of shopping and spending time together. Haggling over grocery items was becoming a regular thing and neither of us wanted to change that. It was half the fun of going shopping together, after all.

 31 Quite The Discovery

    Bokuboy


    After we dropped off the groceries at the apartment, I excused myself and went to my room. I stared at the mass of debris on my floor and I wondered what I had done with all of the cannibalized parts. I didn''t clue in to what happened until I had somehow managed to get all of the crap on my floor packed into garbage bags.


    I thought about going through it all, piece by piece, to find out where I had gotten some of it, then abandoned that idea, because I found what I had made. My yet-to-be-patented and fully functioning security device was beside my bed and I wasn''t sure how I had built the thing without machining the custom parts it would need.


    Right underneath the device were six sheets of paper that were filled with the instructions, the steps, the patent forms, and a little note reminding me to look on the top shelf of my closet. It was then that I realized the drug-addled me was a bit of a condescending jerk for not writing out what he meant when he clearly could have.


    I went to the closet and opened it up, only to stare at five more completed security devices and another collapsible black gym bag that was just as full as the one with all of my equipment in it. I was tempted to not open it, because I was sure that I didn''t want to know what was in it. Whatever drug-addled me did, I didn''t want to remember. At least, I didn''t think I wanted to remember.


    I sighed, because if I knew me as well as I know I did, I would have put something very important inside that bag. I took it down from the top shelf and hesitated, even though I had to open the thing. I shook my head at myself for being a pussy about it and opened the bag... and froze. It was stuffed with cash. Lots and lots of cash. Like, a ridiculous amount of cash.


    It was all different denominations, some of it in neat bundles and some of it wadded up like it had been shoved in from a huge pile. I moved some of it around and caught my breath when I saw what was underneath the cash. Two mini-uzi machine guns, twenty handguns, ten knives of various sizes, a handful of spare clips, and the city''s safe house map.


    It had a red mark on it and if I read it correctly, it was the warehouse where Spider-Man had captured the drug dealers. I felt the back of my head tingle and grabbed a web shooter and shot my bedroom door handle and part of the door frame. I had forgotten to lock it before investigating the bag.


    The door handle moved slightly and stopped. ¡°Ben? Why is the door locked?¡± May asked.


    I had to think fast and looked down at the untraceable cell phone with Mary''s conversation on it. ¡°I''m jerking off and needed some privacy.¡±


    There was silence on the other side of the door and then May laughed. ¡°You could have just said you were in the middle of an experiment or something.¡±


    ¡°Uh... I''ll remember that for next time.¡± I said and kicked myself mentally for being so stupid.


    May laughed again. ¡°I''ve made sandwiches for lunch, so when you''re... done... wash your hands.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I said back and listened for her to walk away. I sighed and looked down at the bag full of contraband, two of which were highly illegal. What the hell am I going to do with all of this crap?


    I spent the next ten minutes taking out all of the money and stashed it into the other gym bag. I would sort it and count it out later. I added the city map and put the bag back onto the top shelf of my closet. For now, I put the several garbage bags and the gym bag of guns out on the fire escape. I would need to take them down to the dumpsters later, when I left to go pick up the book for Gladys.


    I didn''t want to wait for the web to dissolve on its own, so I used some of the cleaning and dissolving solution and a rag to wipe at the door handle and the door. The chemicals combined with the web fluid''s own dissolving chemicals and sped up the process, which clued me in to what I had used inside the security devices to free anyone caught. I really needed to investigate what I did last night.


    I left my room and went to the bathroom and washed my hands to get the cleaning solution off of them, then I went downstairs to eat lunch with May. The smug look on her face as she eyed me and my hands, made me shrug. I wasn''t embarrassed about what I said. I was a healthy young man, after all.


    When I was done eating and washed my hands again, I managed to convince May that I wanted to go for a walk, unsupervised. She gave my head another examination and nodded after I refused another pain pill. Those things were dangerous to my new metabolism... and my sanity.


    I kissed her cheek and went upstairs to change into my best dress pants and a nice button-up shirt. I grabbed my school backpack with some packing material, my cell phone and the untraceable one just in case, added my web shooters to the backpack and the stash of foreign currency I had, some real cash in case it was needed, and left the apartment after putting on my jacket and the backpack.


    I ran down the stairwell and left through a side door, rather than go all the way to the front of the building. I ran around to the side with the fire escape and let my spider-sense tell me if it was safe. I jumped up and grabbed onto the ladder and quickly climbed the ladder and then the fire escape to my floor.


    I put on my web shooters and used them as I tossed each garbage bag over the side. I caught them and lowered them to the ground into a neat pile, then picked up the gym bag with the guns inside. I couldn''t throw them around, so I carefully carried it down as I climbed back down the side of the fire escape and out of sight of the windows they were in front of.


    Once on the ground, I quickly put the garbage bags into the different dumpsters and spread them out, so they wouldn''t draw too much attention to one sole dumpster. I was sure that it didn''t matter, considering they were half full of garbage and one more bag wouldn''t make a difference. It also meant the garbage trucks would be by soon to empty them.


    I walked out of the alleyway and went to the bus stop. I hopped on and rode the bus to the address in the middle of Manhattan and my eyes admired the rich and upscale neighbourhood when the bus came to a stop. I left the bus and checked my phone for the address and went to a very nice building.


    The doorman stopped me and I explained why I was there and showed him my phone. He looked through it and told me to wait as he handed it back. He went inside and the glass was tinted to stop people from doing what I was trying to do, looking in to see what was going on.


    ¡°An escort will take you up to the right apartment.¡± The doorman said and held the door for me.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I said, instead of laughing at him for making sure that I wasn''t tricking him to get into the building.


    The escort was a handsome and tall woman that looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.


    ¡°Hi, there!¡± I said happily and she gave me a pointed look, so I gave her one right back and looked at her from head to foot. ¡°Don''t let my height fool you. I can climb anything worth climbing and you look like you''re worth the effort and the breathlessness when I reach the top.¡±


    Her eyes widened at me and I beamed a smile at her, as if I hadn''t just told her I would mount her like a mountain climber on the Matterhorn. ¡°Follow me, please.¡±


    ¡°I would be honored.¡± I said and kept the smile on my face as she took me to the elevator.


    We entered it and she used a key and hit the button for the penthouse.


    ¡°You must be very important here to be trusted with an access key.¡± I said with admiration in my voice.


    She seemed a little surprised by my words and then she looked thoughtful.


    ¡°I''m tempted to make small talk and ask you what you do for a living; but, I''m not important enough for you to acknowledge me like that. Not yet, anyway.¡±


    She gave me another pointed look. ¡°You at least dressed well, despite the backpack and gym bag.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I needed something to carry the important gift I''m picking up. I can''t just walk around with a first edition Charles Dickens for everyone to see, can I?¡±


    She blinked her eyes at me until the elevator dinged and the doors opened. ¡°You''re here for a book?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I''m not some solicitor, sales person, or charity case, if that''s what you think. It''s a personal purchase for a friend that I seriously pissed off.¡±


    She nodded and led me down the hallway and pointed to the door. ¡°I will wait by the elevator for you.¡±


    I glanced back and saw that there were no buttons, just a keyhole. ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure why I believe you.¡± She said and walked away.


    It''s because I''m being sincere. I thought and took out my cell phone. I checked the time and stood there for about eight minutes before I knocked on the door.


    The door opened with a swish and a tall man stood there. He was clean shaven, his short hair was styled, and he looked aristocratic and very high class. I also recognized him and quickly hid my shock.


    ¡°I do enjoy meeting someone just as punctual as myself.¡± He said with a rich baritone voice.


    ¡°I would never want to annoy or bother someone of your status, Dr. Strange.¡± I said and he looked surprised.


    ¡°You know me?¡± Dr. Strange asked.


    ¡°Only your vaunted reputation of miracle surgical procedures, sir.¡± I said and lied convincingly. ¡°I recognized your face from the last scientific journal on brain surgery.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He asked and stepped back to wave me inside.


    I stepped by him and put the gym bag down beside the door before I pointed to the bald patch on the side of my head, then pointed to the smaller bump on the side of my forehead as I smiled.


    ¡°I seem to have a history of brain damage. I also had amnesia from the first hit with a metal railing and the second hit could have killed me if the baseball had hit anywhere else.¡±


    Dr. Strange gave me a significant look. ¡°Amnesia, you say? Interesting.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I woke up as a completely different person.¡± I admitted, because I was sure he was going to ask about it. ¡°It''s taken me several weeks to try and fit back into my previous self''s life enough that only a few things like interpersonal relationships are still awkward.¡±


    Dr. Strange chuckled and led me out of the small hallway and across an expanse of living room to another room that looked like a den and library combined. ¡°It''s too bad I''m not into psychology. I might have taken your case, just because of the sheer curiosity it represents.¡±


    I chuckled, too. ¡°I sincerely doubt my brain is interesting enough to satiate your curiosity, Dr. Strange.¡±


    The man smiled and walked around his desk. ¡°Do I need to ask why you are interested in such an old book? You don''t look like a lover of the classics.¡±


    ¡°To own? No. To read? Definitely.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°I''m actually buying it as a gift for a librarian that I angered and embarrassed at work.¡±


    Dr. Strange barked a laugh and opened a drawer in the desk and took out the large book. ¡°You do realize buying something like this as a gift, far exceeds your current problem?¡± He asked and then smiled. ¡°Unless you''re planning to bed her in the future, then it is more than appropriate to ''butter her up'' as the locals say.¡±


    I laughed as well and took out the Euros, counted them, and added some dollar bills to make up the small difference. ¡°Who knows what the future holds?¡±


    Dr. Strange put the book on the desk and took the money. He put it in the drawer without counting it. ¡°Apparently this Spider-Man does. Some of it, anyway.¡±


    It was then I was reminded of exactly why I knew him and I seriously thought about telling him about it. I knew if I did, then everything would change. I wasn''t sure if I could accept that kind of responsibility, considering what was coming and the role Doctor Strange played in it when he became the Sorcerer Supreme.


    ¡°I''m sure he just wanted to warn people to be ready for whatever it is.¡± I hedged.


    ¡°If he''s involved, it''s going to sound like he''s setting it all up.¡± Dr. Strange said and my eyes widened. ¡°I doubt he is, just that some people will see it as him advocating it.¡±


    ¡°Well, damn.¡± I said and he chuckled.


    ¡°I doubt you have to worry about it, young man.¡± Dr. Strange said and motioned to the book.


    I took the hint and took off my backpack and pulled out some bubble wrap and then a thick sweater. He smiled as I carefully wrapped the book up and put it into my backpack. ¡°Thank you for your time, sir.¡±


    ¡°I''m just glad it''s going to a good home.¡± Dr. Strange said and led me back across his apartment to his door. ¡°Have a good day, young man.¡±


    ¡°You too, Dr. Strange.¡± I said and picked up the gym bag and stepped out. The door shut behind me and I walked down the hallway towards the elevator.


    The woman gave me an inquisitive look as she inserted her key and opened the elevator. ¡°I assume you were successful?¡±


    I smiled at her. ¡°If you mean about buying the book, yes. If you mean about climbing you and planting my flag upon your peaks, that has yet to be determined.¡±


    The woman raised her eyebrows at me and then looked like she was struggling to not smile. ¡°How old are you?¡± She asked as we stepped into the elevator and she hit the button for the lobby.


    ¡°Old enough to know I can''t use that analogy anymore without annoying you.¡± I said with a smirk and she stopped fighting the urge and smiled. ¡°There''s the smile I was hunting for. Thank you.¡±


    She shook her head at me and leaned against the wall slightly as she looked at me. ¡°What would you do if I actually accepted your absurd offer?¡±


    I knew exactly what to say to that. ¡°I would ask for your apartment number, rush home to grab my safety gear and hard hat that I wear on my construction job, then I would make a valiant attempt at completing the innuendo to your satisfaction.¡±


    The look of shock on her face was priceless. The elevator doors opened right then and I winked at her before I walked out of the elevator towards the front door. The doorman nodded to me as he opened it for me and I nodded back. I glanced back to see the woman as she stood in the elevator and she stared at me like she had just missed the opportunity of a lifetime.


    I walked down the sidewalk and down the street to the bus stop. I had one more stop to make before going home and it was going to be a weird one. At least, I hoped it was only going to be weird. I wasn''t sure how I would deal with it if it became more than that. Then again, I could get lucky and the person I talked to could be a fetching young woman that liked to flirt back.


    *


    ¡°Hey DeWolff, who''s the kid that brought in all the guns?¡± A tall black man asked as he entered the small room.


    A five foot eight inch tall blonde-haired woman looked up from the television monitor that showed an interrogation room. ¡°Hi, Jackson. His name''s Ben Parker.¡±


    ¡°Any luck tracing them?¡± Jackson asked and sat beside her at the desk.


    ¡°Plenty. The idiots didn''t bother scratching off the serial numbers. We''ve got the histories and linked them with a few petty crimes and four armed robberies in the last month.¡± DeWolff said and smiled. ¡°They are also covered with the prints of the zip-tied thugs that were brought in last night.¡±


    The black man whistled. ¡°That''s going to close a lot of pending cases.¡± He said and she nodded. ¡°What''s the kid''s deal?¡±


    ¡°He asked the clerk at the front desk if there was a reward for turning in lost or stolen weapons.¡±


    ¡°You''re fucking kidding me!¡± The black man cursed in surprise.


    ¡°I kid you not.¡± DeWolff said and smirked at him. ¡°He walked in with a full gym bag and went right to the counter. He didn''t pause or needed to work up the courage or anything. He asked right away and waited patiently for the desk sergeant to stop sputtering to call me.¡±


    Jackson laughed and nodded several times. ¡°The kid''s got balls.¡±


    ¡°Big brass balls.¡± DeWolff said and saw his eyes widen. ¡°He hit on me as soon as I approached him.¡±


    ¡°BAHAHAHA!¡± Jackson laughed. ¡°Did you punch him hard?¡±


    DeWolff shook her head. ¡°He surprised me with what he said.¡±


    ¡°If it stopped you in your tracks, I''ve got to hear this.¡±


    ¡°He said, ''I''m Ben Parker, your assigned date for the evening, courtesy of the NYPD. I am completely at your disposal in whatever capacity you desire''.¡± DeWolff said.


    Jackson gave her a surprised look, then laughed. ¡°Holy shit! He''s got HUGE brass balls!¡±


    DeWolff nodded. ¡°I might need a hand interrogating him.¡±


    ¡°I''d sit in even if you didn''t need me for moral support.¡± Jackson said and she laughed, too.

 32 Interrogated

    I watched as the pretty blonde detective named Jean DeWolff entered the interrogation room with a tall black man. ¡°Oh, for Pete''s sake! We haven''t even started and you''re already cockblocking me?¡±


    The woman''s face stayed impassive as the black man laughed.


    ¡°Jesus, kid! You really do have huge brass balls.¡± The black man said and sat down. ¡°Name''s Isaiah Jackson.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I was hoping it would get me out of this part.¡± I said and looked at the detective as she sat, too. ¡°Was I too forward with the offer or not forward enough?¡±


    DeWolff ignored my question. ¡°How exactly did you find these guns?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? I had no idea what happened, even after I opened the bag and saw them in there.¡± I said, completely truthfully. ¡°The first thing I thought was that at least two of them were illegal.¡±


    ¡°The uzis.¡± Jackson said.


    ¡°Let me tell you, seeing those things for real gave me shivers.¡± I said and did shiver a little. ¡°As if a normal gun isn''t bad enough! You guys have to worry about getting thirty bullets a second shot at you.¡±


    Jackson nodded.


    ¡°And you found the generic gym bag just like that?¡± DeWolff asked.


    ¡°Yeah, like I always find gym bags hanging from trees when I go for a walk!¡± I joked, just in case they could tell when I lied. My spider-sense wasn''t going off, so it should be fine. ¡°I think I''ll be taking a lot less walks from now on.¡±


    ¡°Where were you going?¡± DeWolff asked.


    ¡°I wanted to buy a present for a friend.¡± I said.


    ¡°Did you?¡± Jackson asked.


    ¡°Yeah, and I hope she likes it.¡± I said and huffed. ¡°I''m sure going through a lot of trouble for it.¡±


    Jackson smiled and leaned back in his chair.


    ¡°What was it?¡± DeWolff asked.


    ¡°An expensive book in my backpack that you''ve already searched.¡± I said. ¡°Thanks for not opening it all the way. I doubt it''s ever been opened wide enough to crack the spine and it would lose a lot of its mint value.¡±


    ¡°I saw the care you took to wrap the thing.¡± DeWolff said. ¡°You must really like this girl.¡±


    I shrugged a little and the two people on the other side of the table exchanged looks. ¡°It''s not like we''re going to date or anything. It''s a thank you, an apology, and maybe a down payment for a favor or two later.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What kind of favor?¡± DeWolff asked and leaned forward, quite interested.


    ¡°Like a ''licking my balls eagerly'' kind of favor.¡± I responded with a huge grin on my face.


    The black guy slapped a hand over his mouth and almost muffled his loud bark of laughter. Almost.


    ¡°Do you always subvert questions by flirting and shocking people?¡± DeWolff asked me.


    ¡°Kind of and not really.¡± I said with another shrug. ¡°I''ve found that it makes me feel warm inside when I can get a pretty woman to smile or blush, especially if she''s normally reserved.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes me a prime target.¡± DeWolff said.


    ¡°I wouldn''t have asked you out if you weren''t.¡± I said.


    ¡°Wait, you weren''t joking?¡± DeWolff asked and looked surprised. ¡°You''re just a kid and your high school ID says so.¡±


    ¡°Just because I''m a kid, that doesn''t mean I don''t know what I''m doing.¡± I responded.


    DeWolff huffed and sat back on her chair. ¡°By the looks of you, you''re still a virgin.¡±


    I sighed exaggeratedly. ¡°Yet another mature flower unwilling to let a young eager bee pollinate them.¡±


    Jackson chuckled. ¡°I''ve gotta write this shit down. This is prime stuff.¡±


    ¡°Naw, I''m running low. I used up a ton of lines when I was rushed to the hospital on Friday afternoon.¡± I said and pointed to my forehead. ¡°My bully tried to kill me with a baseball.¡±


    They both perked up at that.


    ¡°That''s assault! Why wasn''t it reported?¡± DeWolff asked.


    ¡°I assume because his dad''s rich, it was on school grounds, and he wasn''t really trying to kill me. I just could have ended up that way.¡± I said and shrugged again. ¡°The doctor''s report said if it hit anywhere else, it would have cracked my skull.¡±


    ¡°You won''t object if we ask the hospital about that?¡± DeWolff asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Not at all. Knock yourself out.¡± I said and looked at the black man. ¡°This isn''t going the way I always assumed an interrogation went. I can''t tell who''s the good cop and who''s supposed to handcuff me and frisk me enthusiastically.¡±


    Jackson gave me a smile. ¡°I am definitely the good cop.¡±


    ¡°Sweet.¡± I said and grinned at DeWolff. She just rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Do you have any idea where those guns came from?¡± Jackson asked me.


    ¡°Not officially.¡± I said and DeWolff gave me a pointed look. ¡°I have to assume they are from the gang members I saw on the television this morning. I mean, how often do that many criminals get brought in at once and not one of them had a weapon on them?¡±


    ¡°How did you know they were unarmed?¡± DeWolff asked and jerked slightly, as if she was trying to not pounce on me.


    ¡°Nothing was mentioned on the news broadcast about it.¡± I said and looked at the black guy. ¡°You can''t tell me the reporters wouldn''t have been all over it if the cops found fully automatic weapons on them.¡±


    ¡°You''re right. That would have been the lead fact they would have used and not the million dollars in drugs glued to their heads.¡± Jackson admitted.


    ¡°Is that one guy they showed still saying he didn''t do anything?¡± I asked and laughed. ¡°That was hilarious! Believe me, I''m a liar! Ha ha!¡±


    Jackson laughed and DeWolff couldn''t stop her smile.


    ¡°There it is! That''s the smile I wanted.¡± I said and sat back feeling satisfied. ¡°I was started to regret using a great pickup line the other day on a paramedic.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and try it.¡± DeWolff said with a serious voice.


    ¡°It won''t mean as much if you know it''s coming.¡± I said and Jackson waved for me to talk. ¡°If being sexy was a crime, you''d be on the FBI''s most wanted list.¡±


    Jackson laughed and DeWolff looked amused.


    ¡°It''s close, right? I know it''s missing something.¡± I said and then DeWolff smiled. ¡°Oho! Another one!¡±


    Jackson laughed some more.


    ¡°Please enlighten this poor soul with your brilliance.¡± I said and nodded to her.


    ¡°You should change it to the top of the most wanted list.¡± DeWolff said, a little smugly.


    ¡°Oh, damn! That really is brilliant!¡± I said and Jackson nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I might use that one myself.¡± Jackson muttered and took out a notepad and wrote it down.


    ¡°Maybe use the original and change it up a bit and say you''ll help them get there?¡± I asked and he grinned at me.


    ¡°Nice one, Parker. I like it.¡± Jackson said and made the addition.


    ¡°This is supposed to be an interview.¡± DeWolff reminded us.


    ¡°You already know I found the guns, can only guess where they came from, and I turned them in for the reward. You also know I enjoy flirting my ass off, just to make beautiful women smile, and you said it yourself that you were my prime target.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°Do you need to know anything else?¡±


    Jackson laughed and put his notebook away. ¡°I wish all of my interviews were like this one.¡± He said and nodded at DeWolff. ¡°Thanks for inviting me in.¡±


    DeWolff sighed, because she knew when she was beaten. ¡°All right, fine. You''re free to go.¡±


    I stood and held a hand out to her. ¡°Thank you for making this as painless as possible.¡±


    DeWolff gave my hand a look and then accepted it and put her hand in mine.


    I didn''t hesitate as I bent over it and kissed the back of it.


    ¡°BAHAHAHA!¡± Jackson laughed pretty hard. ¡°I saw that coming a mile away!¡±


    ¡°So did I.¡± DeWolff said with a smirk.


    ¡°Ha! Playing the player! Nice one.¡± I said and actually shook her hand before I let it go. ¡°It really was nice meeting you, Detective DeWolff.¡±


    ¡°If you find any more guns, be sure to turn them in as soon as possible.¡± DeWolff said and stood.


    ¡°Can I have your number? I''ll call as soon as I find anything useful for you to use.¡± I said with a straight face.


    Jackson laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. ¡°Yep, big brass balls.¡±


    ¡°You can call the precinct and the desk sergeant can relay to me.¡± DeWolff said, also with a straight face.


    ¡°There goes my idea to have you hunt for clues in my underwear.¡± I joked and put on my backpack as Jackson opened the interrogation room''s door for us.


    ¡°I doubt I''d find much in snug kiddie underwear that probably has Winnie the Pooh on them.¡± DeWolff joked right back as we left the room.


    ¡°I''ll have you know I wear boxers because the boys need breathing room down there. Tight underwear reduces sperm count and contributes to sexual dysfunction and potential impotence later in life.¡±


    Both Jackson and DeWolff stopped walking and stared at me.


    ¡°It''s never too early to start proper care for the testes.¡± I said and they exchanged looks. ¡°I suppose that''s not well known?¡±


    Jackson gave me a pointed look. ¡°You''re not joking, are you? I just bought a pack of BVDs.¡±


    ¡°If they''re briefs, exchange them for the boxers.¡± I said. ¡°Trust me. You feel better not having them so cramped and it keeps their temperature lower than your body, as nature intended. Your sperm count will rise, the little guys last longer, and the color is better. It doesn''t do anything for the taste, though.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, kid.¡± DeWolff whispered.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Detective DeWolff.¡± I said, because I couldn''t tell if she was impressed or disgusted. ¡°I beg for the lady''s forgiveness.¡±


    She gave me an odd look before she nodded. ¡°Let''s get you sorted out at the front desk.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡± I agreed and followed her and a quiet black man through the station to the front desk.


    The staff sergeant there did up a bank voucher for the guns I had turned in and I stared at the numbers. It was $500 each for the two illegal guns and $200 for each of the 20 handguns. I didn''t get anything for the knives, which meant I probably could have kept them. Five thousand dollars was nothing to sneeze at, though. They even gave me back the gym bag.


    ¡°Don''t you dare go hunting for more guns to turn in.¡± DeWolff said when she saw my reaction. ¡°They are worth a lot more than that on the street and gangs will kill you if they find out you took them.¡±


    ¡°I know, detective. I promise I won''t go out looking.¡± I said and put the voucher in my wallet. ¡°This was just a huge surprise to get for something I found.¡± And a very convenient excuse to explain all of that money I had stashed in my closet. I thought. Who knew that turning in guns could be so lucrative?


    ¡°Then you''re free to go.¡± DeWolff said and motioned to the front door of the precinct.


    ¡°What about our scheduled date?¡± I asked with a smile.


    ¡°You better lay off with the pick-up lines or you''ll feel my high heel shoe stuck in your ass.¡±


    I perked up at that and clenched my butt for the full effect. ¡°I thought using handcuffs was going to be kinky enough for a first date. I never suspected you were into foot play, too.¡±


    Jackson barked a laugh and grabbed me by the collar. ¡°I''m gonna save you before she blows her top.¡±


    I flailed my arms a little and waited until he had dragged me to the door to whisper. ¡°Thanks, Detective Jackson.¡±


    ¡°It''s the least I could do for making me laugh so much, kid.¡± Jackson whispered back and then spoke normally. ¡°Get your ass out of here before it''s my boot lodged between your cheeks!¡±


    ¡°Yessir!¡± I said and gave him a hasty salute and ran for it. The laughs that followed me were totally worth embarrassing myself.


    I ran around the building and climbed up to where I had stashed my extra cell phone and my web shooters. I put them in my backpack and climbed back down to go to the nearest bus stop. I had spent a lot longer out on my walk that was not easily explainable without the voucher in my pocket.


    May is definitely going to be surprised. I thought with a grin.


    *


    May stared at the government issued and police verified voucher in her hands. She had been surprised when Ben''s paycheck was almost twice what she had expected. Now she was completely shocked at seeing ten times that much and it was all perfectly legal and had already had the taxes taken off!


    ¡°Breathe, May. Breathe.¡± Ben said and slowly rubbed her back.


    ¡°I can''t believe this.¡± May whispered after taking a breath that she had apparently forgotten to do in her shock. ¡°I can''t believe it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, welcome to my world.¡± Ben said with a chuckle. ¡°I was pretty shocked when I found the bag and had the bright idea to turn it in to the cops. I jokingly asked for a reward when I handed them over, not realizing they actually do reward people for turning them in.¡±


    ¡°Ben... you...¡±


    ¡°They must be in detective heaven as they examine the ballistics and compare them to other crimes.¡± Ben said with a knowing look. ¡°Crap! I could have claimed credit for solving crimes, too!¡±


    May gave him an unimpressed look. ¡°You are not to go hunting for more guns, mister!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Ben barked the laugh. ¡°Detective DeWolff said the same thing when the desk sergeant handed me that voucher.¡±


    May nodded. ¡°She''s a smart woman.¡±


    ¡°You just sneakily complimented yourself! I''m so proud!¡± Ben said to make her laugh and hugged her.


    ¡°You''re going to be very careful with this money, Ben. Most young men don''t have access to this kind of money, so you are not going to waste it.¡± May said. ¡°With your paycheck adding to it every two weeks, you''re going to have quite a nice savings in a few years.¡±


    Ben gave her a sheepish look.


    ¡°What''s the look for?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I looked up the patents registry and it''s fifteen hundred dollars per patent when they are approved.¡± Ben said and May''s eyes widened. ¡°I''ve got two patents I can file immediately and I can wait for a while to register the third.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± May asked. ¡°That''s only $4,500 and...¡±


    ¡°I want to give you the other two grand to put towards that first hospital bill.¡± Ben said and her eyes widened. ¡°I know you had to dip into your savings to cover it, so I wanted to give you as much of that back as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you shouldn''t be worrying about that.¡± May said in a soft voice.


    ¡°I''m not.¡± Ben said and she looked at his face to see he was smiling. ¡°This was all just a happy coincidence that accelerated my plans forward. Finding illegal guns, doing the right thing and turning them in instead of keeping them or trying to sell them, and getting a reward for it?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I feel like getting you to cash it for me tomorrow and we can roll around in it before we spend it all.¡±


    May couldn''t stop her laugh. ¡°You''ve been watching too many of the things I like, Mister Parker! All we need is a talking monkey, three bottles of wine, and a flying carpet, and everything will be perfect!¡±


    Ben hugged her tightly and laughed, too.

 33 Back To The Grind

    Bokuboy


    I spent the evening with May and she was in a very happy mood. I thought she might have refused my offer of money and all she did was kiss my cheek several times before we ate some popcorn and watched television. She fell asleep on the couch, like usual, and I carried her to bed and tucked her in.


    I went back to my room and locked the door this time and went over to where I had placed the prototype security device. It was a work of beauty. It was about eight inches tall, four inches wide, and three inches thick. The casing was a dull grey and it had six movement sensors mounted behind a curved black dome.


    It also had a specially constructed internal mechanism that was similar and yet distinctly different than my web shooters. The basics were the same, however. When movement was detected within the sensor''s view range, the mechanism would engage and a spray of modified web fluid would come out of one or more of the nozzles available and it would cover the target, catching it in place instantly.


    I laughed when I checked the contents, because it was a bright neon yellow. A bit more investigation let me know it was actually food coloring, which was significantly cheaper than powdered paint was. The chemical composition was also different than my normal webbing and the changes made it flow differently, looked different when deployed, and it lasted a lot longer.


    That was the first patent, the fluid. The second patent was the device''s construction, which could include the programming if I wanted it to. The third patent that I would hold off on, was the dissolution formula. I could just add ''patent pending'' when the things went into production.


    I chuckled at that, because I was already planning to construct a manufacturing plant after starting up the business and getting some loans. I would have to rent space at first, because buying real estate in New York was insanely expensive for the worst properties. Once the money started rolling in, I would have to look into purchasing someplace permanent.


    I plugged the thing in with a standard cell phone jack and used my laptop to go over the control program. I had to admit that drug-addled me was a fantastic coder. I easily followed along with the notes and tracked what the thing did. It was brilliant and had all of my ideas integrated. It had wireless capability, could be tracked with a cell phone from anywhere, and gave security alerts in real time.


    ¡°Way to go, me.¡± I whispered and pat myself on the back.


    I reassembled the thing and tucked it back under my desk. I went to my bed and stopped when I saw the lumps under the blanket. Crap, I forgot about my costume. I thought and gathered it up and tucked it into the empty gym bag that the guns had been in. Unlike a cloth costume, the suit would not fit under normal clothing, especially the slim jacket with the reinforcements.


    When I pushed down on it to close the bag, I felt a lot of resistance that shouldn''t be there. I took the jacket back out and checked the arms. The forearm strips had the collapsible batons in them, one in each arm, which would provide some protection and gave me access to a striking weapon when necessary.


    I checked the upper arms and caught my breath when I felt something like steel under the strip there. I looked at the edge of the thing and saw it was bonded shut, so I wasn''t taking it out to see what it actually was. I turned the jacket around and checked the back. There were several overlapping metal pieces that weren''t completely bonded into place, so they moved as the jacket moved.


    I checked the shoulder pads and it had metal inside them as well. I looked at the pants next and the thighs and calves also had metal strips inside, so I was going to be as protected as possible while wearing the thing. I packed it away again and closed the bag, and stuffed it into the closet next to the first bag.


    I decided to ignore the bundles of cash for now and would count it up later. I went to bed right then because I needed to get an actual night''s sleep. I had work in the morning and I did not need a repeat of what happened on Saturday night, despite how it had somehow worked out for me... for the most part, anyway. SHIELD was probably out there and actively hunting me right now.


    It was one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant to go out as Spider-Man so soon after making a public spectacle of myself. Normally, I wouldn''t let that stop me, because the whole point was to let the criminals know I was out there and could catch them.


    I sighed and checked my untraceable cell phone and wasn''t surprised to see that Mary hadn''t texted me back after I sent her a picture of my ''accident''. I was tempted to text her again, then shrugged and looked over at my security device. My mind went to the portable radios with SHIELD frequencies that I had cannibalized.


    Just for fun, I took one of the earpieces and connected it to the cell phone to check it. It softly vibrated in my ear and I stared at the text that had been automatically sent to all SHIELD agents.


    ''Emergency meeting at 0800. Scheduled training sessions postponed until further notice. You can attend at your own convenience during non-standard hours at...''


    I went through the location codes and didn''t recognize anything, so I had to dig out the agent handbook and referenced the codes and the city map. I thought about the training schedule from the old laptop and ignored it, since it was suspended anyway.


    I eventually decoded the locations and was surprised when one of them was relatively close to where the Bestman Salvage company was tearing apart the abandoned building. I smiled as I wrote down the coded number for it and then added a reminder to my untraceable cell phone. I would need to stop at a safe house and grab a normal uniform before I could crash the gathering without drawing suspicion.


    I took out the earpiece and turned it off, tucked it and my cell phone away, and closed my eyes. I went to sleep with secret missions and hidden agendas flowing though my mind.


    *


    Adrian wasn''t surprised when he pulled up to Ben''s building and a bright eyed and chipper young man was there. ¡°You''re looking better.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Ben said and climbed in and put his backpack on the floor between his legs. ¡°I should be able to wear the hard hat without pain, too.¡±


    Adrian chuckled and pulled away from the curb. ¡°You''re not hopped up on pain pills again are you?¡±


    Ben shivered. ¡°Ugh, no sir. I''m never making that mistake again.¡±


    ¡°Doris said hello back, by the way.¡± Adrian said with a sideways glance at him and saw him wince.


    ¡°My tired brain may have let me do and say a few things I shouldn''t have done, sir.¡± Ben said.


    Adrian laughed, because he couldn''t help it. He knew teasing the kid would be funny. ¡°She was pretty happy that you were feeling better, so it''s all okay by me.¡±


    Ben let out a relieved sigh. ¡°I''m glad. Thank you, sir.¡±


    ¡°You''ve apparently regressed from calling me by my first name, bypassed my last name, and went right back to sir.¡± Adrian said, teasingly.


    Ben gave him a significant look, then he laughed. ¡°Okay, I deserved that one.¡±


    Adrian nodded and reached over to smack the back of his hand on the kid''s shoulder. ¡°Adrian''s fine, Ben. You might even shock the guys if you call me that when you come back with the coffee and donuts.¡±


    Ben grinned and nodded. ¡°I''ll even ask the barista for extra foam on your latte.¡±


    Adrian laughed as they pulled into the parking lot of the salvage business. ¡°I''d rather another crispy creme donut. Those things are damn good.¡±


    ¡°I''ll make a note of it... Adrian.¡± Ben said and the pair shared a laugh before they climbed out of the truck and went inside to gear up and had Frank check them over for safety. No one wanted a violation logged by the inspectors this close to Christmas break.


    *


    I told the guys to go all out when we were getting close to the end of the work day and I would be back tonight to clear it up. Let me tell you, they took my words as gospel and piled concrete and debris like it was going out of style. Adrian damn near laughed his ass off when we left and there was head high stacks of debris waiting for me to return to clear it out.


    ¡°You can''t say you didn''t ask for it! Ha ha ha!¡± Adrian said and he locked up and we climbed into his truck. He drove me home and dropped me off at a Chinese place to buy supper.


    I waited for almost twenty minutes for the order and then ran as fast as I could to grab a bus and rode it until I reached my street. I ran from there and into my building, only to see May as she stood in front of the elevator and she carried several fast food bags.


    I chuckled as I walked over to her. ¡°Fancy meeting you here.¡±


    May turned and saw me, saw what I carried, and laughed. ¡°Moo Sho Pork and beef egg rolls?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It''s your favorite.¡± I said and she grinned at me. ¡°Can you guess what you''re taking for lunch tomorrow?¡±


    May laughed as the elevator doors opened. ¡°Lasagne!¡±


    I laughed, too. We stepped into the elevator and rode it up to our floor. She opened the apartment door and we checked the orders, picked through what to eat right away and what to save, then divided it up and enjoyed a nice meal. I kissed her cheek goodbye and left the apartment to go back to work.


    I normally wouldn''t go in at night after a full work day; but, I needed the excuse to pop by the safe house for a uniform and to check out the after-hours training facility. Plus, it was convenient as hell and I wasn''t going to waste the opportunity it represented. Free anonymous training for agents? Sign me up!


    I worked my ass off to get the debris cleared quickly and then I went to one of the rent by the hour motels to shower and change. The clerk gave me an odd look as he handed me the key.


    ¡°The prostitute''s running late.¡± I said and he nodded in understanding.


    I went to the room and checked everything inside and found two hidden cameras and four microphones in the main room and one camera in the bathroom. I disabled that one and quickly showered and dressed in my normal clothes, packed my backpack, and left the room after twenty minutes. I handed in the key as I cursed under my breath about my date not showing up, even though I had the room.


    The clerk looked sympathetic and didn''t offer me a refund, even though I hadn''t stayed for the full hour. I didn''t expect him to, either. That was not how you stayed in business in a strained economy. I left there and rode the bus to near the closest safe house and I wasn''t surprised that it was completely dark.


    I approached carefully and my spider-sense didn''t go off, so I went around the back and checked the window. I saw the sensor and it didn''t matter, because I had taken Clint''s advice about carrying a small toolkit with me. I took out a sharp carpet knife and scraped around the window edge and popped the casing off.


    I used my wall sticking power to pull the window pane out and climbed into the house. Surprisingly, there were no cameras or motion sensors inside. I pulled the window back into place and put barely a touch of webbing on one of the corners to hold it in place.


    With my point of egress secured, I searched the safe house and discovered that it seemed to have already been pilfered and the microwave was missing. I now knew why there were no cameras and motion sensors inside the safe house. I had already taken them all.


    I groaned at my drug-addled stupidity to rob a SHIELD safe house, then shrugged. There wasn''t really anything I could do about it, and it wasn''t like I could return the things I had appropriated for my own use. I did wonder where I had gotten all the cell phones, though.


    I went to one of the closets and opened it to see normal men''s clothing inside. It was generic and would make you look like any normal man in a suit. I grabbed one and carefully changed out of my normal clothing to dress like a common spy agent that was trying to fit in. It even had the sunglasses and the earpiece, which made me laugh.


    I put the earpiece on and tucked the sunglasses into the breast pocket before I closed it up and went back to the window I had entered. I paused there, because I was sure I was missing something. I closed my eyes and thought about where I was and what a safe house would usually have for the occupants.


    Money! I thought with a smile. I quickly backtracked through the house and searched all of the obvious places that someone would stash money for an emergency use and found a large bundle wrapped in the refrigerator freezer. I stashed it into my backpack and went back to the window I had entered through.


    A drop of cleaning solution dissolved the webbing and I hopped out through the hole and put the window pane in the right position, then used the casing to snap the window back into place. I wasn''t sure if that was going to hold for long, though. I took out the small web shooter with the bonding solution in it and put some on the back of the casing and pushed it into place.


    My spider-sense didn''t go off, so it was safe to leave it like that. I left the safe house and walked calmly towards the meeting place where the after-hours training was supposed to take place. As I approached the small building, several other people seemed to be hanging around. Two came out as another entered. They were dressed differently and that didn''t matter, because they all wore earpieces.


    My spider-sense tingled a tiny little bit as I approached the building and I was sure it was because I was carrying a backpack. The guy near the entrance was giving me a pointed look without actually looking at me, so I acted like I was supposed to be there and walked right over to him, which seemed to surprise him. I had a plan, though.


    ¡°I''m sorry to bother you. Can you hold this for me? I think I left my cell phone somewhere and I need to check.¡±


    The guy made his face go blank and accepted my backpack as he stared at me.


    I made a show of searching my new suit for it and shook my head. ¡°Dammit. Can you call it for me?¡±


    The guy took out his own. ¡°What''s the number?¡±


    I told him the number for the second untraceable cell phone and he dialed it. As I had planned, my backpack rang. He gave me a look and then opened it and looked through it. He pulled the cell phone out and handed it to me, then he handed me the backpack. My spider-sense tingle disappeared, too.


    ¡°Hey, thanks!¡± I said and put the cell phone in the suit''s inside breast pocket, which just so happened to highlight the sunglasses in the front pocket.


    ¡°Anytime.¡± The guy said with a relaxed voice and smiled at me.


    I put the backpack over my shoulder and entered the building. I was actually a little proud of myself for allowing the man to do his job of searching people, while also not letting anyone else know that was what he was doing. My self pat down had given him a full visual that I had nothing on me and I had given him my backpack with all of my stuff in it.


    The phone call had also given him permission to open the backpack and search through it to get it, which also let him see the contents. There wasn''t anything in there, except for my clothes, the construction safety gear, and the couple of cell phones. The money I had stashed in a side pocket, so he wasn''t going to find it, even if he knew to look for it. Plus, it was just money and not something that compromised the building''s current security.


    I passed by a couple of guys talking about the intense training that they normally didn''t get during the day classes, and hearing that made me happy about choosing this as a good avenue to pursue. I desperately needed fighting training and what better way was there than to abuse a spy agency''s own system and get free training anonymously?


    I followed the directions on the walls to go to the locker room and chose a locker. It had a key in it and I opened the door and inside was a neatly folded karate gi with a piece of rope for a belt. I chuckled at that, because they wouldn''t give out actual belts until you learned a few things. I quickly stripped off the suit and folded it and exchanged it for the gi.


    It was a little freeing to only have boxers on underneath the loose robe-like garment and I left the locker and followed the directions on the wall towards the learning and sparing area. I felt my spider-sense tingle as I entered through the small door and stopped walking as a gi-clad body flew past where I would have been.


    ¡°Nice reflexes.¡± A woman''s voice complimented as the guy she had thrown landed with a grunt and didn''t get up.


    ¡°You mean me, right?¡± I asked and turned to look at her and realized that my spider-sense hadn''t been only warning me of the guy flying by. It hadn''t lessened after the danger had passed, because the danger hadn''t passed at all, not even a little bit. I saw one of the worst people I could have encountered in all of SHIELD and straightened my back and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Yeah, kid.¡± Natasha Romanoff said as her eyes roamed all over me and back to my face.


    This was not going to be fun. I thought and then fought to not smile. Unless I make it that way.

 34 Teach Me, Teacher

    Bokuboy


    I managed to not flee as Natasha Romanoff stalked over towards me and my spider-sense screamed at me.


    ¡°What''s your name?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°B...¡± I quickly caught myself before I said my real name. I needed to recover from that, though. ¡°B... b... b-b-boobs!¡± I said and stared at her chest as she came to a stop in front of me.


    Natasha''s gi was slightly open, which showed a tremendous amount of cleavage, and the edge of her bra could also be seen.


    ¡°Big beautiful buoyant bountiful boobs bobbing and bouncing!¡± I said and let my mouth hang open as I lifted my gaze up from her chest. It was just in time to see her wide and startled eyes change into squinted ones.


    ¡°I hope you like feeling pain.¡± Natasha said as her hands formed into fists.


    ¡°We should have at least one date before you change the safety rules in the bedroom.¡± I said back.


    There was a bark of laughter off to the side and I didn''t have time to look, because one of Natasha''s fists shot forward as she tried to take my head off. I leaned back and turned my head to let her fist go past. Her knuckles grazed my cheek and she had a slight look of surprise on her face before her other fist shot towards my chest.


    I was in no position to dodge and I wasn''t going to leap back, even though that''s what my spider-sense told me to do. Instead, I pretended to be a limp noodle and dropped to the floor before her fist could connect. The look of surprise was back on her face for a moment, then she smiled as she hauled her foot back to kick me.


    I rolled off to the side and got up on one knee as I put my hands down to block her kick, because she had followed my roll and tried to swing her leg up to slam it into my chest or my head. She accepted the block and then launched a backhanded punch to knock me off balance. I ducked in reaction, even though I was on the floor already, and she swung around as if off balance.


    I noticed her complete the turn and her foot swing around in a roundhouse kick, so I accepted that I was going to get hurt. I used my spider-sense to minimize the hit and let her complete the kick as she planted her foot right into the middle of my chest.


    ¡°OOFFF!¡± I grunted and fell to the floor and skidded several feet away on my back. I clutched at my chest, even though it didn''t really hurt. I also wasn''t as out of breath as she thought I was. I couldn''t let her know that, though.


    Natasha stalked over to me and stopped beside me as she looked down at my face. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    ¡°It''s my... life''s mission... to lose my virginity... to you.¡± I wheezed and faked fighting for breath.


    Once again Natasha looked surprised and another bark of laughter came from the side of the room. The person walked over and it was Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.


    I should have known that where there was one, the other wouldn''t be far behind. I thought.


    ¡°Do you want her to kill you?¡± Clint asked me and reached down to hold a hand out to me.


    I accepted it and hopped up as he pulled. ¡°Totally... worth it.¡±


    ¡°Would you care to repeat that?¡± Natasha asked in a deadly voice.


    I rubbed the spot on my chest where she had kicked me. ¡°I sincerely... apologize, Miss Widow. Your deadliest weapons... assaulted my senses... and I lost all track of common decency and politeness.¡±


    Clint looked like he was fighting to keep a straight face.


    Natasha gave me a pointed look. ¡°Are you that weak minded that a pair of breasts can distract you?¡±


    I shook my head several times, as if to clear it. ¡°Only yours. Other breasts just can''t compare to such perfection.¡±


    Clint snorted and had to turn away to hide his laugh. ¡°You''re not going to shut up, are you?¡±


    ¡°Was I the only reason you came here?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°I''m skipping... the obvious sex joke there.¡± I said and took a deep breath to let Clint laugh. ¡°If I had known you were the after-hours instructor, I would not have shown up completely unarmed.¡± I admitted. Or at all. I thought and saw approval on her face. ¡°I didn''t even bring my collapsible batons, which was shortsighted of me.¡±


    Natasha smiled evilly and Clint groaned.


    ¡°Now you''ve done it.¡± Clint said and turned back to me as he gripped my shoulder briefly. ¡°I''ve helped as much as I can already. You''re on your own now.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your support, Mister Hawkeye, sir.¡± I said and he chuckled as he walked back over to where he had stood before.


    Natasha pulled out a collapsible baton from somewhere and handed it to me. She then made another one appear and I saw that she had cloth pockets sewn into her gi''s forearms.


    ¡°I did that, too. Extra forearm protection against weapon strikes and heavy punches that need to be blocked.¡± I said and she gave me an odd look, then she smiled.


    ¡°Have you practised with them?¡± Natasha asked and flicked her hand to extend hers.


    ¡°I haven''t had them for long and I''ve only been out in the field a few times.¡± I said and copied her movement. The baton flicked out and locked into place.


    ¡°I usually teach by showing, so I hope you''re ready for this.¡± Natasha said and took a fighting stance.


    ¡°Please teach me to fuck after you teach me to fight.¡± I responded and copied her stance.


    ¡°Yep, definitely a death wish.¡± Clint said with a laugh.


    Then the fight began. Well, I say fight when it was really a severe beat down on me. A complete and total beat down. I didn''t land a single hit on her and she had hit me everywhere, except on the boys. Those she left alone and had even teased me once with an aimed hit and then changed direction to hit my thigh instead.


    I thanked her profusely for sparing her future toys, which made her smile smugly. Surprisingly, no other people wanted to fight Natasha after seeing her tear me apart.


    I laid on the mat after being made an example of and stared up at a satisfied and quite happy Natasha. ¡°So... when is... our next date?¡±


    Clint laughed and walked over to look down at me, too. ¡°Jesus, kid. You''re a glutton for punishment.¡±


    ¡°I need to learn... how to fight properly.¡± I said and looked at Natasha as I let her see the regret on my face. ¡°I don''t want to kill anyone else by accident. When they die, it should be because I want them dead and not because I punched them wrong or kicked them too hard in the head.¡±


    Natasha knelt on one knee beside me and she looked deep into my eyes. I didn''t hide how I felt about taking the lives I did and she must have seen it, because after a moment, she nodded slightly before she put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.


    ¡°I''ll be back here in two days at the same time. Be ready.¡± Natasha whispered.


    I put a hand on hers and looked deep into her eyes, too. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Natasha nodded again. ¡°Are you ready to tell me your name yet?¡±


    ¡°That depends.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°Are you ready to tell me yours?¡±


    ¡°It''s Natalie Rushman.¡± Natasha said without pause.


    I gave her a pointed look and then laughed. Natasha and Clint exchanged looks and they both smiled at me. I held a hand up towards Clint and he grabbed it and hauled me up to my feet.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and held a hand down to a still kneeling Natasha. She took it and I eased her to her feet, then I stepped close as I lightly kissed it and held it tenderly. I was only a little surprised to notice that she was only five feet and three inches tall, which made my five foot and eight inches seem like a huge difference as I stared down into her eyes.


    ¡°Playing with fire.¡± Clint warned me in a whisper.


    ¡°All my lovers call me Benji.¡± I said to Natasha and let her see on my face what that meant.


    Natasha smiled. ¡°I thought you said you were a virgin.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± I said with a smirk, let her hand go, and walked towards the door of the training area.


    ¡°Damn, that kid''s got balls.¡± Clint said whispered.


    ¡°Yeah, and he''s also walking without a limp.¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°Do you think he was faking it?¡± Clint asked, even though I could still clearly hear them talking.


    ¡°No, he''s faking being fine.¡± Natasha said and I thought I heard some respect in her voice. ¡°He''ll be paying for it later, believe me.¡±


    Clint chuckled. ¡°Been there, survived that.¡±


    I walked out of the room and couldn''t hear anything else that was said. ¡°Ow, ow, ow!¡± I said a little loudly and hopped on one foot, just in case someone could still see me, even though my spider-sense didn''t tell me if anyone was spying on me. I learned then that I could still hear their laughter, which was why I acted like I just did.


    I actually was hurt, just not as much as they assumed. My spider-sense had let me mitigate the damage as much as possible and the bruises would fade in a few days. The problem was, I would have more of them by then, thanks to my new teacher.


    I dropped the gi into the hamper by the showers and took off my underwear to hang in my locker. I held the key with my teeth and went to the showers. My spider-sense went off when I felt someone looking at me and I knew it wasn''t a camera, because it felt different.


    I was pretty sure I knew who it was, because it felt kind of familiar, too. I lathered up my hands a bit more and reached back to rub the cheeks of my butt as I bent over slightly. I discreetly glanced between my legs and saw part of Natasha''s face as one of her eyes stared at me. I rubbed my thighs slowly and then stood up to lather up a bit more, then I turned slightly and scrubbed myself down there.


    I felt my spider-sense increase slightly as I grew erect, which meant I really was playing with fire. So, I turned back towards the wall and rinsed off. My spider-sense cut off as I reached for the shower handle and I hid my smile at her retreating before I went to grab a towel. I dried off and went to my locker and used the key to open it and grabbed my underwear, then my stolen suit and dressed.


    I hung the backpack over one shoulder and walked out of the building. I nodded at the guy still standing there guarding the place and continued on down the street. When I was far enough away and out of sight, I ducked into an alleyway and quickly changed into my work clothes. I ran back to the work site and dirtied myself up, out of the range of the different cameras, then went to the bus stop.


    I needed to get home and take a third shower, which would be a record for me to have in a single day. I chuckled at the supposed inconvenience of having a secret life within a secret life within my normal life. It was pretty funny if you thought of it like that.


    I made it home without any incidents and saw May asleep on the couch. I quickly showered and carried her up to her room and tucked her into bed. She didn''t say anything embarrassing this time, which probably meant she couldn''t think of something, or she really was asleep this time.


    I leaned forward and gave her cheek a soft kiss before I whispered to her. ¡°We''ll soon be rich and happy, May. I can''t wait to spend more time with you.¡±


    May didn''t react and stayed asleep.


    ¡°See you in the morning.¡± I whispered and left her room to go to mine. I stashed my things away and climbed into bed. I had school early in the morning and then I had a fated meeting with Gladys in the library. I really hope she likes the book. I thought and closed my eyes as a vision of the Ghost of Christmas Past fought the Ghost of Christmas Present over a turkey leg, floated through my mind.


    *


    I walked into the school early and carried a box of donuts and six coffees. I went right to the main office and entered. ¡°Who ordered coffee and donuts?¡± I asked loudly and had to hold in my laugh as I was immediately surrounded and pilfered of what I carried.


    I felt a few extra shoulder pats and heard several whispered words about them being happy that I was okay after the incident on Friday. That alone made my idea to show up early worth it. When the others left, I had one latte remaining and the donuts had been picked over as usual.


    Mary gave me an odd look as she finally stood to accept the coffee and sighed at the two remaining donuts. I gave her a smile and walked around the counter. Her eyes widened as I entered her area; but, she didn''t object or tell me I couldn''t be back there with her.


    I opened my backpack and pulled out a bag with six donuts inside. ¡°I got these extra, just for you.¡±


    Mary opened the bag and smiled warmly at me. ¡°Ben you didn''t have to do this.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t want to keep seeing you settle for the dregs when I could easily provide you with the best.¡± I said and closed my backpack before I set it on the counter. I did not miss the significant look she gave me, so I whispered. ¡°Yes, I meant that in any way you want it to mean.¡±


    Mary blushed as she put the bag of donuts down. ¡°Ben...¡±


    I stepped close and put my arms around her to hug her. ¡°Thank you for the concern you showed when I was hurt. It really meant a lot to me.¡±


    Mary sighed and leaned into me and hugged me back. ¡°I really shouldn''t care so much, you know.¡±


    ¡°You can''t help yourself. I''m just that awesome.¡±


    Mary softly laughed and let me go. ¡°Get out of here before the official school day starts or I''ll have to mark you down for violating my personal workspace.¡±


    ¡°Is that what they''re calling it now?¡± I asked and quickly glanced down at her waist and back at her face.


    The blush she had was a bright red and I knew I had said a bit too much, so I leaned in and kissed her cheek for several seconds.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Mary. I really need to rein in my tendency to overly flirt.¡±


    Mary glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then she leaned in and briefly kissed me on the lips, which shocked me. ¡°You also need to be more careful when sending texts, Ben.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my bright smile at her referencing my web fluid accident. ¡°I''ll try harder, I promise.¡±


    Mary gave me a knowing smile and handed me my backpack. I took the hint and walked back around the counter, waved goodbye, and left the office. I walked at a good speed as I made my way across half of the school to get to the library.


    When I entered, the glare Gladys gave me was well deserved. No one else was there that early, so I walked over to her desk and walked around it without pausing. Her glare didn''t lessen, even as I took off my backpack and placed it on her desk. I didn''t speak at all as I opened my backpack and then I paused with my hand inside.


    Gladys looked at my backpack and then at my face as she lost the glare. ¡°Ben? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Building up the suspense.¡± I said and slowly took my hand out of the backpack and revealed a perfectly wrapped present. ¡°I want to sincerely apologize for what happened at lunch on Friday and for embarrassing you, even though you had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.¡±


    Gladys squinted her eyes at me. ¡°It was highly embarrassing that you can think of me in that capacity, Ben.¡± She said and glared at me again. ¡°It was also insulting, because I have never given you that kind of look!¡±


    ¡°Not yet, anyway.¡± I whispered and handed her the present. ¡°Please accept this token of appreciation.¡±


    Gladys didn''t lose the glare, because she had heard that first whisper. She popped open the end of the slightly puffy present and she saw the bubble wrap. A quick pull had the paper off and her glare disappeared as she noticed it was wrapped around a book.


    Because she was a librarian, Gladys carefully tugged at the tape holding the bubble wrap closed and then she slowly unwrapped it. Her loud gasp would have had her hushing herself when the cover was finally revealed. She was too distracted by the literary treasure in front of her, however.


    ¡°It''s a mint condition leather-bound first edition, published in 1889. It''s partially illustrated and it has never been read.¡± I said as her fingertips lightly touched the cover.


    ¡°B-Ben... this... why...¡±


    I reached out and lightly touched her on the cheek in the same manner that she touched the book. ¡°I think you are as precious as this book.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I use your study guides every day and you''ve been a huge help to me. I''m sorry about embarrassing you like that. I really am.¡±


    Gladys reached up and took my hand, then she closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to kiss the inside of my palm. She let out a sigh as she gently rubbed her cheek on my hand, before letting it go. She opened her eyes and the smouldering sexy look she gave me, put the pictures I had barely glanced at, to shame.


    ¡°Those pictures pale in comparison to reality, dear lady.¡± I whispered and gave her the same look back.


    Gladys shivered slightly and then she nodded in understanding. She carefully wrapped the bubble wrap back around the book and put the tape back in place to hold it. When the book was safely protected once more, she picked it up and hugged it tightly to her chest.


    ¡°Why... why do you want to change places with this book?¡± Gladys asked in a whisper.


    ¡°That you have to ask is the best reason in the world.¡± I whispered back.


    Once again, Gladys looked surprised. ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°I need to borrow a few more advanced programming books. Can you show me the best ones to follow up on the ones you''ve already helped me find?¡±


    Gladys nodded and stood with the book still clutched to her chest.


    ¡°You''re never letting that go, are you?¡± I asked with a huge smile.


    ¡°Not until I absolutely have to.¡± Gladys said with her own huge smile and led me to the right section of the library and pointed to the books that I wanted.


    I gathered them up and we went back to her desk. I did the check-out procedure for her and she sat there with the huge smile on her face the entire time.

 35 Teach Me Teacher, Again

    Bokuboy


    My Latin teacher gave me a bit of an odd look when I entered the classroom. Instead of going to my seat, I went over to behind her desk to stand beside her chair and leaned against the desk as I spoke in Latin.


    ¡°Something wrong, Miss Romani?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, nothing.¡± Miss Romani said, also in Latin.


    ¡°You look out put.¡± I stopped and shook my head. ¡°You look put out. You are fine?¡±


    Miss Romani took a breath and let it out. ¡°You have brought drinks for others and not myself.¡±


    I blinked my eyes for a moment and then smiled. ¡°Invite myself to teacher rest place?¡±


    Miss Romani softly laughed and switched back to English. ¡°Despite the preciseness of the language, it''s not very descriptive.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°They do say that English is one of the hardest languages to learn, precisely because it''s too descriptive.¡±


    She nodded and then leaned forward as she whispered. ¡°You can come to the teacher''s lounge in the morning if you bring an appropriate bribe.¡±


    ¡°That was exactly what I called it when I brought coffee and donuts to the main office the first time.¡± I whispered back and she smiled. ¡°I didn''t mean to slight you or any of the other teachers with that. It was an apology for causing so many problems after my accident and this morning was because of the mess on Friday.¡±


    Miss Romani slipped her hand up to rest it on my knee, out of sight of everyone but us. ¡°I''m so glad you didn''t lose your memory again.¡± She said in a normal voice and her hand lightly stroked my knee.


    ¡°Me, too.¡± I said and didn''t stop her or pushed her hand away. ¡°It was a close call, though. An inch to the right or left and it would have split my head open.¡±


    Her hand stilled and she gave my knee a light squeeze, almost as if she was reassuring me. ¡°You should be happy to know that your tormentor is no longer a student at this school.¡±


    I put my hand down on top of hers and gave it a light squeeze back. ¡°Principal Morita didn''t say anything about that when I was in the office.¡± I said and chuckled. ¡°He did have a donut stuffed into his mouth at the time, though.¡±


    Miss Romani softly laughed. ¡°Of course he did.¡± She said and nodded towards my seat. ¡°The bell is about to ring and class is about to start.¡±


    ¡°Yes, miss.¡± I said and let her hand go as I stood up. Her hand lingered and slid down my knee and caressed my calf before I turned away and walked over to my seat.


    Class passed by almost before I knew it, probably because I had been staring at Miss Romani''s ass the entire time and imagined that it was Natasha''s. They both had spectacular asses and it was easy to make the switch mentally.


    ¡°Ben, a moment, please.¡± Miss Romani said after the bell rang and everyone started to leave.


    I went to her desk and waited for the last of the class to leave. ¡°You forgot to tell me how many coffee to get.¡±


    Miss Romani chuckled and wrote out a note, then she folded it and put it in my shirt pocket. ¡°We have a small bowl full of coins that we collect every week for coffee and things. If there''s not enough there to cover what you get, let me know. I''ll try to... make it up to you.¡±


    My thoughts immediately went to my brief stay at a pay-per-hour motel and thought that coffee change was an awfully cheap price to pay for a Latin teacher as hot as Miss Romani.


    Almost as if she knew what I was thinking, she leaned forward and whispered in my ear. ¡°It''s just a convenient excuse, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I whispered back. ¡°Um, sure. I''ll show up early again tomorrow. No problem.¡±


    Miss Romani nodded and motioned to the classroom door. I nodded back and walked out of the classroom at a fast pace. I had to get to physics and then I had advanced math class with Liz and her friends. I hoped they didn''t ignore me completely, even though I could understand it if they did. They were nice girls, for the most part.


    Val on the other hand, was taking a lot of chances by not being too careful about who she dated. I was sure she was seeing college guys, probably because they had experience and treated her well on their dates.


    I knew I could date college girls eventually myself, I just had to hold off for now because my plans were ambitious and they needed to be implemented before the April deadline. This was my last week at school before Christmas break and then we wouldn''t be back at school until the new year. That was three full weeks of complete freedom and I was going to get a lot done. Hopefully.


    Physics went by as fast as Latin class, only for a different reason. I blew through the exercises in the book and doodled different ideas I had that were similar to my security device. The versatility was the key and it could be adapted for several different things, once I had them patented.


    I also had an idea to brew up a web formula that would only bond to paint and use it to strip paint from difficult things with odd shapes, because the liquid could fit in the odd places and then a pull would remove the paint without damaging the item underneath. I was halfway through writing out the formula in shorthand when the bell rang and I had to go to advanced math class.


    I didn''t let the impending meeting affect me, even though it was going to be the first time I had seen any of them since Friday afternoon when I had been whisked away in an ambulance. I stepped into the doorway of the classroom and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me.


    ¡°BEN!¡± Max yelled and ran over to me to give me a bone-crushing hug. Her short dark hair tickled my chin as she buried her face against my neck and I felt her tears.


    That shocked everyone, including me.


    Mr. Fredricks chuckled and waved for me to enter. ¡°You''ve got a couple of minutes before class starts.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I said and scooped Max up into my arms, which made a bunch of the guys clap and cheer, while the girls had a mixture of reactions. I ignored them all as I walked over to my desk and sat down with a silently crying Max on my lap. I held her tenderly and whispered. ¡°I could never forget someone like you.¡±


    Max calmed down after a minute and lifted her head from where it rested. She looked into my eyes and she was both sad and happy. ¡°I was really worried about you.¡±


    I was touched by her concern. ¡°I''m sorry, Max. I don''t have your number. I would have texted if I did.¡±


    ¡°You would have?¡± Max asked, her face showed some surprise.


    I chuckled. ¡°I haven''t been subtle about letting you know I like you, even if you don''t like showoffs.¡±


    Max opened her mouth and then closed it.


    ¡°Go ahead and say it. You know I appreciate your honesty.¡±


    ¡°I was wrong about that.¡± Max said and ducked her head slightly before she met my eyes again. ¡°You were showing off and I didn''t like that. It wasn''t until the bat broke that I realized you only show off up to a certain point. You stopped as soon as you thought someone was going to be hurt and I''m sorry I thought otherwise.¡±


    I looked into her eyes and knew she was being sincere. ¡°Max...¡±


    *RIIIING!*


    ¡°Take your seats, everyone.¡± Mr. Fredricks said without looking at me.


    Max quickly stood and then gave me another hug as she whispered. ¡°Was that a cell phone in your pocket?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a long and hard cell phone.¡± I whispered back with a completely blank face.


    Max gave me a surprised look for a second, then she smirked and walked across the classroom to sit with the rest of Liz''s friends. She was immediately surrounded with hushed whispers as they all leaned in close to talk to her.


    Mr. Fredricks ignored that and taught the class. I followed along and did out the problems when he assigned them, rather than waiting until after school to do my homework. I finished just as the bell rang and I put my name at the top of the sheet. I stood up amid the leaving students and went to the teacher''s desk to hand it in.


    Mr. Fredricks smiled and accepted it. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, sir.¡± I said and walked out of the empty classroom with my backpack and realized I had completely missed Liz and her friends leaving, which meant I was heading to the cafeteria by myself today.


    I didn''t mind, because I had chemistry this afternoon and playing around in the lab was always fun. I went to my locker and dropped off my class books from the morning, grabbed my chemistry book and scribbler to add to my almost empty backpack with my lunch bag, and went to the cafeteria.


    ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Yo.¡± Several voices said as I entered and it was a mix of girls and guys.


    I had to smile at that and responded in kind. I was becoming well known, apparently.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Isabelle''s voice called out and she waved.


    I walked over to her table and there was a spot left open for me. ¡°Who did you kill to save a spot at the table for me?¡±


    Isabelle and her friends laughed softly and I noticed their trays and dishes were empty, which meant they had been there for a while already.


    ¡°Jenna had some family thing this afternoon and left already.¡± The brunette to Isabelle''s right said. ¡°I''m Carol.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you''re Val''s informant.¡± I said and sat down as she chuckled. I took out my lunch bag and opened the first container of food I had brought.


    Nearly everyone at the table took in huge sniffs and then stared at my lunch.


    ¡°I don''t have nearly enough deep dish pizza to share with everyone, unless all you want is a taste.¡±


    ¡°We''ll take it!¡± Carol exclaimed and I suddenly had an empty container as Isabelle and her friends passed the two inch thick meat, veggie, and cheese deliciousness around.


    I chuckled and took out a second container. ¡°I''m glad I brought a back-up today.¡± I said and proceeded to eat the second piece I had expected to share with a sole person, perhaps two people if they cut it in half. I hadn''t expected six girls would take turns biting into and eating the first piece.


    ¡°This is delicious!¡± Isabelle said and managed to wrestle the last piece of sauce covered crust from Carol''s grasping hands, which made said girl laugh and lick her fingers in revenge.


    ¡°The secret is letting the sauce slowly boil over low heat for a longer period of time. It lets the spices permeate throughout the sauce and even a drop of it tastes the same as a cup full.¡± I said and looked at what was left of my piece, and handed it to Carol.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Carol said and looked a little indecent as she finished it off.


    ¡°You''re definitely enjoying it a lot more than I thought anyone could.¡± I joked and she gave me a flirty smile and winked. I drank the last of my orange juice and carefully put the recycled plastic bottle and my lunch bag back into my backpack. I sat there and listened to Isabelle and her friends as they talked, and I wasn''t surprised they had a similar topics of conversation as Liz and her friends.


    When it was getting close to the end of the period, I stood and put on my backpack.


    ¡°Heading out already?¡± Isabelle asked.


    ¡°I''ve got chemistry lab all afternoon. If I show up a little early, I can get the lab primer from Mrs. Leyva and read through it before class starts.¡± I said. ¡°I also need to wash my hands in the bathroom.¡±


    Isabelle perked up slightly and then sighed. ¡°You could have reminded me of that earlier.¡±


    I chuckled softly and smiled. ¡°We broke up from being sex friends, Isabelle.¡±


    ¡°It''s not that.¡± Isabelle said and then blushed a little. ¡°I just...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay if you feel like it''s not worth starting up again. It was a good break up and we both had good reasons for it.¡± I reminded her. ¡°I won''t joke about that or embarrass you about it, either. We had a great time and there''s no shame in moving on.¡±


    Isabelle looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. I nodded back and walked away from her table and out of the cafeteria. After a quick stop in the bathroom, I headed for chemistry class and entered when I reached it, only to see the teacher going over several sheets of papers, as if looking for something.


    ¡°Miss? Is there a problem?¡± I asked as I approached her desk.


    ¡°Ben?¡± Miss Leyva asked and then sighed. ¡°I''m just trying to come up with a lab that can be done safely with the remaining chemicals we have in stock.¡±


    ¡°Remaining?¡± I asked, even though I had a sinking suspicion of what she was going to say.


    ¡°When I checked to make sure the stock cupboard had enough of what I needed yesterday, a lot of the main chemical compound containers we use were practically empty.¡± Miss Leyva said with a laugh. ¡°I hadn''t realized we were running that low or I would have ordered more last week.¡±


    ¡°You have more coming in?¡± I asked, relieved that she hadn''t said missing or stolen when describing the lost chemicals.


    ¡°They''ll be here by the end of the week, just in time for me to not need them, because we''re shutting down for Christmas break.¡± Miss Leyva said with a chuckle.


    I smiled and pointed at the papers. ¡°Can I give you a hand with that?¡±


    Miss Leyva looked surprised. ¡°Can you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said and she handed me the papers. I skimmed over them, mentally removing the labs that needed the chemicals I used in my web fluid, and that left two labs. ¡°Either of those should work. They only use some of the more obscure chemicals you have in stock here.¡±


    Miss Leyva looked at the two sheets and a bright smile formed on her face. ¡°Ben! You''re wonderful!¡±


    ¡°Well, I don''t like to brag too much about that.¡± I said smugly and she softly laughed.


    ¡°Give me a minute to grab the folders for these and I''ll give you a copy of the lab to read before class.¡± Miss Leyva said and walked over to the side of the classroom where a filing cabinet stood.


    My eyes dropped to admire her ass in the skirt she wore and compared it to Natasha''s. I blinked my eyes and averted my gaze, because it wasn''t normal behavior for me to automatically compare women''s asses and it had happened twice today. I pushed those thoughts aside, because I didn''t have time to contemplate the mysteries of puberty. I instead looked at the cabinets of chemicals.


    My sharp gaze caught where the glass had been carefully removed from the doors where the chemicals were stored and placed back, not that I needed the proof I had appropriated the chemicals. I knew I had gotten them from somewhere and I had assumed I had raided a chemical warehouse or something. I never would have suspected that I had broken into the school on the weekend.


    ¡°Here we go.¡± Miss Leyva said and walked over to me with a thick folder. She handed me several sheets of paper that were stapled together. ¡°Go ahead and have a seat and read that over while I distribute these to everyone''s places.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Miss Leyva.¡± I said and walked over to my assigned seat.


    ¡°No, thank you, Ben. You saved me a lot of frustration for the rest of the week.¡± Miss Leyva said.


    I also caused it, apparently. I thought and smiled. ¡°I''m always glad to help.¡±


    Miss Leyva nodded and started to go to each of the other large tables and placed the lab sheets. I admired her ass once more as she walked and I had to admit that it was quite nice. I also didn''t see a visible pantie line and that made Penis Parker react as I imagined seeing her out of that skirt and her dark skin barely being covered by a thin red lace thong.


    My spider-sense barely tingled and I lifted my gaze from her heart-shaped ass to look up at her face.


    Miss Leyva had turned her upper torso just enough to look over her shoulder at me and she had an odd look on her face as her dark skin flushed slightly and our eyes locked. ¡°Ben.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Leyva?¡± I asked in a whisper.


    ¡°Are you checking me out?¡± She asked back, also in a whisper.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Leyva.¡± I whispered. ¡°You are a beautiful woman and I am apparently rushing through puberty today as I appreciate exactly how much of a distraction you can be.¡±


    Miss Leyva turned all the way around to face me and walked forward enough to peer over the table I sat behind. She glanced down at my tent pole to see exactly how much I appreciated the distraction.


    ¡°Oh.¡± She said, barely above a whisper. ¡°That looks... painful.¡±


    ¡°You have no idea.¡± I whispered back and tried to adjust myself.


    Miss Leyva''s eyes moved up to look at my face. ¡°Maybe... you should... go take care of that?¡± She asked and her eyes dropped to it again.


    ¡°I doubt standing up right now is a good idea. It''s wedged in there pretty tightly.¡± I countered.


    Miss Leyva glanced around, then she walked around the table and stood between me and the classroom door. ¡°Perhaps if you relieved some of the pressure, it won''t be so bad.¡±


    Did she just ask me to show her? I asked myself, because she was facing me and not the door. I decided that it didn''t matter, because I had to relieve the pressure, so I nodded to her and started to open my pants. Her gaze seemed to intensify as I opened the button and pulled down my zipper.


    Penis Parker popped right out through the opening in my boxers that it had managed to get through without difficulty.


    Miss Leyva let out a startled sound and then she put a hand on my shoulder to catch her balance. ¡°There''s not enough time before class for you to... ahem... take care of that.¡± She whispered. ¡°Can you safely tuck it back in, now that it''s not jammed in there?¡±


    I wasn''t sure why I said what I said next, probably because it was way, way, way across the line of appropriateness. ¡°Can you help me with that?¡±


    Miss Leyva caught her breath, then to my complete shock, she bent over slightly to look into my eyes and her hand reached down and gently caressed me. Both I and my penis shivered for her and a very smug smile formed on her face.


    ¡°Did staring at my sexy backside get you all hot and bothered, Mister Parker?¡± Miss Leyva asked in a deep and breathy voice as her hand stroked me up and down.


    ¡°Yessss.¡± I said in a hiss as her hand sped up. ¡°I thought there was no time for this.¡± I said and she stroked faster. ¡°I''m going to need tissues!¡±


    ¡°We can''t have a mess like that in my classroom.¡± She whispered and she must have felt my penis twitch in warning, because her head dropped down and her mouth sucked me right in.


    ¡°Oh, fuck!¡± I gasped and blew my load. And blew. And blew.


    Miss Leyva moaned as she drank it down and her tongue licked and probed the tip as if to encourage it and her hand kept stroking me. It seemed to go on forever and it was also over before I knew it. Her lips made a smacking sound as she lifted her head from my lap and her eyes were full of desire.


    ¡°Th-thank you... for helping me, Miss Leyva.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°You can call me Selena when we''re alone, Ben.¡± Selena whispered back and looked down at her handiwork as her fingertips lightly pet it. ¡°I believe Penis Parker can be safely put away now.¡±


    ¡°Put away? Yes. Safely? No. I''m still hard as a rock because of you.¡± I said and had to stand up and adjusted my boxers to put myself back under cover, then I had to suck in a breath to zip up my pants.


    ¡°That is...¡± Selene paused talking as the bell rang. ¡°...very nice to know, Mister Parker.¡±


    ¡°I hope so, because this isn''t going away anytime soon.¡± I whispered and carefully sat back down.


    The smile on her face was both sexy and amused. She didn''t say anything else as she walked back across the room to her desk and she sat on the edge of it and waited for the rest of the class to arrive. Her smile changed to a normal one as the classroom door opened and several students came in.


    ¡°Hi, Ben.¡± Sarah said as she and Kelly walked by my table to go to theirs.


    ¡°Hi, Sexy... I mean Sarah.¡± I said with a grin.


    Sarah blushed and laughed at the same time. ¡°Are you going make passes at all of Liz''s friends?¡±


    ¡°You heard about what happened with Max?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°She just needed me to tell her that I didn''t forget her.¡±


    Sarah smiled and Kelly nodded. They sat down and faced forward as the rest of the class came in. Miss Leyva started the class as soon as the bell rang and it was a good lab. The reactions we achieved were both subdued and surprising, so the write-up at the end was entertaining with all the different observations that everyone had of the same experiment.


    I waited until everyone left before I passed in my report and Miss Leyva gave me a warm smile in return. ¡°Merry Christmas.¡±


    ¡°Happy Holidays.¡± Miss Leyva said in response. ¡°I hope you enjoy your break.¡±


    ¡°Three weeks without seeing your smile? It''s going to be torture.¡± I joked and grinned at her.


    Miss Leyva laughed and waved me away. ¡°I should warn you to not eat too much chocolate; but, you''re young and you''re going to do what you want anyway.¡±


    I wasn''t sure if she was intentionally loading that with innuendo or not. I couldn''t help but take it that way, though. I gave her a knowing smile and glanced down at her skirt and back to her face. I had apparently called it correctly because she took the cue and turned in her chair and pulled her skirt up to show off her panties as she spread her legs just enough to let me see how little they covered.


    ¡°They actually are red like I imagined.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°You need to go and catch your bus.¡± Miss Leyva said as she closed her legs and put her skirt back into place.


    I thought about asking her what had happened that she would cross that taboo line and actually do what she did with a student, then shrugged mentally, because I probably just answered that question. I dug out the second unregistered cell phone and handed it to her. She took it and quickly added her number and handed it back without a word.


    I put the phone away and left to go and catch the bus. I had work tonight that I was going to rush through again, just to spend some time with May, because tomorrow night I had another ''date'' with Natasha Romanoff and I fully expected it to be just as much fun as the last time.

 36 A Typical Day

    Bokuboy


    I showed up at school the next day and made the front office delivery, which the office workers enjoyed. Mary couldn''t tease me, because one of the other women stayed and needed her help with something as they ate the last of the donuts. I tucked the bag of donuts that was for her beside the counter where she could see it and left.


    I left the school and ran back to the coffee shop and took out the list that the Latin teacher gave me. The young woman behind the counter beamed a smile at me for coming back so soon, then she laughed as I read off the long list for her that would keep her and the other barista busy. I had them mark each one, so they wouldn''t be mixed up, and then I bought three dozen donuts and had her mix them up.


    I asked for her to not put in the ones that were almost always left from a normal box when the rest were quickly taken. I had a lot of experience with that now and she really laughed when I told her I was carrying everything by myself and didn''t have a car or anything.


    ¡°I''m going to let you borrow one of our display trays.¡± She said and pulled out one that was covered in wax paper and had previously held most of the donuts that I just bought. ¡°Please bring it back as soon as you can.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to do that.¡± I said and she ignored me.


    The two baristas filled the middle of the very large tray, that was the size of a cookie sheet, with the paper holders that held four coffees each, then they put the coffees into them. They then placed the two boxes of donuts on top of the coffees and the last box of donuts on top of the other two boxes.


    I picked up the tray to test it and it was firm and well balanced. ¡°Wow, you guys are good!¡±


    They both gave me bright smiles and looked quite happy.


    I put the tray down and handed each of them a twenty dollar bill. ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work.¡±


    They both blushed and accepted the large tip.


    ¡°See you soon!¡± I said and picked up the tray and left the shop. With the thing so well balanced, I had no trouble at all getting back to the school. When I approached the front door, one of the guys saw me coming and opened it for me. ¡°Thanks! If you see me at lunch, get my attention and remind me to give you one of my sub sandwiches.¡±


    The guy chuckled and nodded.


    I entered the school and quickly made my way to the fabled teacher''s lounge where they spent their time before the school day, after the school day, and during lunch or any class they had off. I had to kick the door because my hands were full and I didn''t have to wait for more than ten seconds before the door opened and a frowning face greeted me.


    ¡°Oh, it''s you.¡± Mr. Harrison said.


    ¡°Coffee delivery!¡± I said loudly and Mr. Harrison was suddenly not blocking the door anymore. It almost looked like he had been tackled and I stepped into the lounge to look, I saw Coach Wilson grin at me and give me a thumbs-up. I chuckled and carried my burden over to the large table at the side of the room. I moved the donut boxes off and stepped out of the way.


    ¡°Sweet ambrosia!¡± Mr. Kinneson said and was the first to come over.


    ¡°Second from the back.¡± I said and pointed.


    Mr. Kinneson gave me an odd look, then picked up ''his'' latte. He saw his name on it and chuckled. ¡°You''re sucking up pretty hard, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Only if I did it from memory, sir.¡± I said and flashed him a piece of paper. ¡°I had a list.¡±


    Mr. Kinneson barked a laugh and opened the first box of donuts. ¡°Apple fritters?¡±


    ¡°Third box near the back.¡± I said and he opened it and grabbed two of them.


    That apparently was everyone''s cue to come over and get their coffee and to raid the donut boxes. I spent the next couple of minutes pointing out the coffees and the donuts for everyone and made sure they were all happy with what they had.


    When they coffees were mostly gone and only two of them remained, one was for Mr. Harrison and the other one was for Mrs. Warren, the two classes I had dropped, quantum mechanics (and the academic decathlon) and computer science. I put the coffees into the same paper tray and put it on the center of the table and picked up the large tray I had brought everything on.


    Miss Romani saw me preparing to leave and excused herself from talking to a teacher I didn''t know. She walked over to me and smiled. ¡°You went even further than I thought you would.¡±


    ¡°My aunt told me that I couldn''t half-ass anything.¡± I said and she chuckled.


    ¡°The dish is there at the back of the table near the wall.¡± Miss Romani whispered.


    I made it a point to look over at it and there was quite a pile of change there. I didn''t move towards it and smiled as I looked back at her. ¡°Please enjoy the coffee and donuts, compliments of Penis Parker.¡±


    That had several different sounds come from all of the teachers present. A lot of laughs, a spit take from a partial mouthful of coffee, one groan, one slap to the forehead, a guffaw from Coach Wilson, and two half-moans and half-laughs. The last two were from Miss Leyva and Miss Romani.


    ¡°I need to get this tray back to the shop before school starts.¡± I said and tucked it under my arm.


    ¡°Ben?¡± Miss Romani whispered and her eyes told me she was asking me for something important.


    ¡°It''s too crowded to not be noticed sneaking away.¡± I whispered back, because my spider-sense was tingling slightly. ¡°I can do this again after new years.¡±


    Miss Romani closed her eyes briefly and nodded.


    I walked around her and waved and nodded to the teachers I knew, and left the lounge. I jogged through the starting to get crowded halls and made it outside, then I ran pretty fast across the parking lot and down the street. I entered the shop and the look of relief on the barista''s face told me exactly how important returning the tray was.


    I walked over to the counter and placed the tray down. ¡°Thanks again for the brief loan. It made all the difference.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± She said and accepted it back, quickly wrapped it in wax paper again, and the other barista brought out more donuts. ¡°Shouldn''t you be running of again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said and stared at her.


    She had a bright smile on her face as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper before she wrote her number on it. She handed it to me without a word and she and the other woman started to load up the display once more.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and then did as she said. I ran.


    I made it to English Lit class just as the bell rang and the teacher smiled at me as she tossed her coffee cup into the trash. I easily followed along with the rest of the class because I had read the book already and we all had a discussion about the content. I passed in the completed book report at the end of class and the teacher looked surprised.


    ¡°You weren''t lying last week?¡± She asked, surprised.


    ¡°Nope! Penis Parker really is my nickname.¡± I joked and she let out a snort and then laughed. ¡°Have a good holiday break, Miss.¡±


    ¡°You too, Ben.¡±


    I left her class and went to civil engineering and then business economics. When lunch arrived, I went to my locker and grabbed my lunch and dropped off my morning books and picked up my mechanical engineering book and scribbler. I went to the cafeteria and the guy that held the door for me that morning, waved to me.


    ¡°Hey, man.¡± He said as I walked over to his table and he had a couple of other guys with him.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said and sat. My spider-sense tingled a little and I let my senses follow it to the source. It was the second guy and he looked like he was struggling to keep his face impassive. I opened my backpack and pulled out a large brown paper bag. ¡°As promised.¡± I said and pulled out a foot long sub sandwich wrapped in wax paper.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± He exclaimed at the size of the thing.


    ¡°It tastes better than it looks.¡± I said and we all fell silent as we ate. That guy kept giving me odd looks and I wasn''t sure why. It wasn''t like I had ever done anything to him. Not that I could remember, anyway. I finished eating and packed up, said goodbye to them, and left the table. My spider-sense didn''t stop until I had left the cafeteria.


    I went to my mechanical engineering class early and I quickly discovered that Spider-Man had pilfered several of the better alloy examples that the teacher had on display. They were strong, lightweight, and didn''t rust, which meant they were prime choices for my suit''s reinforcements. I had also used the CNC machine to make parts of the casings and structure for my security devices and mounting brackets.


    During the class while I worked on the last two projects that would let me catch up to the rest of the class, I tried to figure out what to do about it. I thought about slipping a couple of hundred dollars into his desk drawer, except he would know someone from this class would have done that if he had checked the desk before I came in.


    It was then I thought of what to do. I marked it down on my doodles from physics class that I would thank my mechanical engineering professor Mr. Simmons for teaching me what I needed to know to create parts for my security devices. Having his name mentioned along with my new invention should make him pretty happy.


    That made me think of Miss Layva, or Selena as she liked to be called in private. I could mention she taught me all about chemistry as well and I hoped that would make her happy. Of course, as soon as I thought about her being happy, I remembered what had happened before chemistry lab yesterday. I was glad that I was standing up and working on a lathe, because my erection rose with a vengeance.


    I had been so busy since then that I hadn''t had a chance to think about it and now that I did, it was both extremely hot and immoral, which seemed to just add a bit of spice to the whole incident. Both the teacher and I knew it was wrong to do anything like that, and yet, it had happened and she seemed to really enjoy it. The look she had on her face afterwards was a huge turn on, too.


    I couldn''t quite push those thoughts aside as I continued to work. Luckily, they didn''t interfere with creating and machining the parts I needed for the last two projects. I had them both done before the end of class and left them on the teacher''s desk. He nodded and smiled at me, which was all the acknowledgement I needed to accept his approval.


    I left the mechanical lab and entered the attached classroom, sat at my desk, and returned to working on the new web formula and fleshing out the designs I had created in physics class the day before. It was a fire suppression device that worked in a similar manner, except it would contain the different kinds of fire retardant materials for the different kinds of fires, like grease fires, normal fires, and chemical fires.


    The sensor would detect what was needed, or it could be chosen with the phone app, and then only that version of the fire suppressant would be ejected by the mechanism. I had to admit that it was a brilliant adaptation to my security device, even if it was almost three times the size, and I would have to file the patent for it as soon as I could after the security device was accepted.


    I packed up when the bell rang and I went to my locker to drop everything off. I didn''t bother taking any books home, except for the programming books I had borrowed from Gladys. I needed to surpass the students in the extra credit course and I had some programs of Peter''s to pull apart. I doubted I could get it done by Friday, the deadline ended in two days, because I just didn''t have the spare time to work on it.


    I left the school and went home on the bus, studied the computer books that took a bit more to get through than I expected it should, which meant I was learning new information and not acquiring previous knowledge. That was good, because it meant I was finally surpassing Peter''s knowledge in a lot of things.


    I set dinner to cooking and cleaned the apartment like a champion. I had been doing it so often and so well, that I barely even used my brain as I worked. I did everything by rote, almost automatically, and I was done long before the food was ready. I chuckled as I looked around the apartment and everything looked crisp, clean, and in some cases, gleamed.


    I sat down and relaxed and waited for the food to finish cooking, prepped the date table, and then did up the meal for May and myself. The apartment door opened as I placed the plates on the table and a tired May came in. I walked across the living room and helped her take off her coat and her shoes, gave her feet a bit of a rub, then led her over to the kitchen.


    I sat her down and went to my side of the table, ducked under it and grabbed her nylon covered feet, and carefully held on as I half-stood and sat my butt onto my chair. I put her feet on my lap and used one hand to rub them for her as I started to eat. May wasn''t moving and I looked up to see a completely shocked face.


    ¡°I''m sorry if this is distracting you. You looked like you''ve been on your feet all day and you needed this.¡± I said and lightly patted her feet. ¡°Do you want me to stop?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± May gasped and then blushed. ¡°It''s okay. You can do it if you want.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It''s all right if you enjoy it, May. That''s kind of the point. It helps you relax and it eases the tension in your muscles.¡±


    May nodded and started eating.


    I took my time to eat and also massaged her feet. I hadn''t really done anything like that before and I felt her feet twitch a couple of times. ¡°Tell me what I''m doing wrong.¡±


    May looked a bit surprised, then she blushed a little. ¡°You''re applying too much pressure on certain areas. Ease off there and increase in others.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me when we''re done eating?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Thanks, May. I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± May whispered. ¡°You''re already doing so much. Teaching you how to massage my feet makes it seem like I''m using you.¡±


    ¡°You''ve apparently forgotten my words when I first woke up.¡± I said and she had a thoughtful look on her face. ¡°I told you to abuse the situation and tell me everything you want me to do and not just what I used to do. I was a blank slate and I wouldn''t know if it was the truth or not.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I couldn''t do that to you.¡± May whispered.


    I smiled and held one of her feet and gave it a quick tickle. May barked a laugh and then gasped.


    ¡°I wanted you to, May. I want to be everything you need to keep your life running smoothly. Cooking, cleaning, prepping your bath, it''s all a part of taking care of you. Massaging your feet... properly... can only make me better at meeting your needs.¡±


    May took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°All right.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and we finished eating.


    What followed was half an hour of me expanding my biology knowledge and learning about pressure points and blood flow. That sparked several thoughts in my head and I would have to do some research on a few things. I left a very happy May relaxing on the couch as I went upstairs and prepared my gym bag.


    I added the business suit, the collapsible batons, a pair of handcuffs, my web shooters, a can of pepper spray, the two untraceable cell phones, the sunglasses, an earpiece, a two way radio, my safety equipment for work, the agent handbook, some of the different currencies, and the evidence gathering kit to complete my cover that I was a new agent.


    I left the apartment dressed in my work clothes and rode the bus to where I needed to go. I checked the dump truck and everything looked fine, so I entered the building and got to work. My words to the guys on Monday had been accepted as to how they should leave things every night, so I had to laugh and the extra high piles of debris.


    I worked my ass off and cleared the place out, loaded the dump truck, and left work. After I stopped at a different pay-per-hour motel to shower and had an almost identical interaction with the guy at the counter as the last time, I made my way to the secret SHIELD training building.


    I had a date with a certain secret agent to get to and I was looking forward to it, even if she was going to beat the crap out of me. It was the best way for me to learn quickly, apparently.

 37 Fight Me, I Can Take It

    Bokuboy


    I approached the building with confidence and the same guy stood there, as if he was hanging out. I gave him a huge grin as I told him I lost my cell phone and needed for him to help me find it. He chuckled as I handed him my gym bag and patted myself down for him to see. He called one of the cell phones and then searched through the gym bag, handed me the cell phone, and then gave me back the bag.


    ¡°Thanks for the help. I really need to keep better track of these things.¡± I said and entered the building. My spider-sense tingled in a familiar manner and I mentally thanked it for informing me when a particularly sexy redhead was watching me. I went to the same locker I used before, used the key that was in the lock, and put down the gym bag.


    When I picked up the gi, I was a little surprised that the forearm pieces were slightly thicker. When I checked, they had the same small pockets that Natasha''s had. I had to chuckle at the obvious hint to include my batons when I dressed, so I did exactly that. My spider-sense ended and I slipped the pair of handcuffs into my underwear, because the gi didn''t have pockets, and used the rope to tie as a belt.


    I stuffed the gym bag into the locker and then followed the wall directions back to the main training room. I entered and didn''t see Natasha anywhere; but, Hawkeye was there. He waved to me and I walked over to him.


    ¡°Two doors down on the right.¡± Clint said and I didn''t need written instructions to understand that Natasha wanted a more private venue for the beat down.


    ¡°It was too much for the others the last time, wasn''t it?¡± I asked with a grin.


    Clint chuckled. ¡°She was almost reprimanded for not showing the ''proper restraint''.¡±


    ¡°Ha! She''s the Black Widow. If you''re not dead after fighting her, she was holding back!¡±


    Clint smirked at me. ¡°Damn right.¡± He said and then squinted his eyes at me. ¡°Be careful.¡±


    I was touched by his concern. ¡°Hey, don''t worry. If she doesn''t make me her bitch by tonight, I just have to try again next week.¡±


    Clint looked surprised for a moment, then he laughed and laughed. ¡°G-g-go.¡± He said between laughs and waved me away. ¡°Go on. Don''t keep her waiting.¡±


    I nodded and walked away and left the main room, went two doors down on the right and didn''t bother knocking. My spider-sense was already tingling, so I knew she was waiting to ambush me on the other side of the door. I wasn''t sure with what, though. I carefully turned the door handle and my spider-sense increased in intensity.


    I held in my laugh, because I could almost feel her anticipation, and I decided in that moment that I didn''t want to disappoint her. I let the handle go and stepped back, then I kicked the door right by the handle and the wood splintered with a loud crack before the door swung open instantly and slammed into the wall.


    There was a muffled startled sound and I focused in on that as I leapt into the nearly pitch black room and tucked into a forward roll, crossed my arms and grabbed the collapsible batons in my sleeves, then came to a stop on one knee and flicked both arms out to make the batons snap into place. A muffled curse came from a shadowy figure that was now highlighted by the light from the open door.


    I smiled at Natasha for being all sneaky and she let out a bit of a growl at being found so easily, even dressed from head to toe in black like she was. I knew a strike was about to hit me, so I reacted appropriately. I had read extensively about acrobatics and knew exactly what to do next and I used the foot I had planted in the mat to stop my roll and pushed off to the left into a side roll and swung one of the batons into the place I just was.


    It almost sparked as it clashed with another baton and then her foot was coming for my face. I used the other baton to deflect it and then swung the first baton up into a block. Another clash with her baton and I kicked up and out. The figure had to step back or get hit in the stomach, and I used that moment to swing through to get up on my knees and then I lunged at her.


    She dodged to the left and swung her fist at the back of my head as I passed. My spider-sense let me turn my head enough that she hit beside the spot she was aiming for and I didn''t go down face first into the mat. I rolled forward again and stopped with my hands down, then kicked high towards her face. She had to block with both batons and pushed my foot up, probably in the hopes I would be off balance for her counterattack.


    I used the momentum she gave me to continue my roll and pretended I was a wet noodle when she tried to tackle me. The move absorbed most of her force and she knew she was in trouble, being so close to me and out of a proper attack position. My spider-sense hadn''t lowered in intensity, so I was still in a lot of danger, because I was on bottom and Natasha was on top.


    I used my fist and punched her in the side, which made her grunt, then she returned that hit on me three times before she regained her balance and then her head jutted down to slam into my chin. I braced and took it, because she expected for it to knock me out when my head hit the mat, only my head was already in the mat and it was like she slammed her forehead into the solid floor herself.


    It still hurt me; but, it also hurt her. Using your head in a fight was always a chancy proposition, especially when you expected certain things to work and someone twisted them around to make them work against you.


    Natasha shook her head and pushed up with both hands and straddled my waist. She let out a startled sound as she sat on something hard. I wasn''t going to let the opportunity pass me by, so I let my batons go and grabbed her waist. I thrust upwards hard and she let out another startled sound as I flipped her over and landed on top of her.


    Her hand shot up and I let it connect to my chin and pretended that she dazed me. Her other fist rabbit punched me six times in the side of my gut and she kicked up with a foot and wrapped it around my arm and over my shoulder. She hooked her other foot around that ankle and straightened her waist.


    It flung me off of her and I rolled over my back and almost up onto my knees, only my spider-sense screamed at me. I immediately froze because Natasha''s hands had gripped my wrist and held on tightly and she braced her knee below my elbow. It would have snapped if I had kept moving.


    ¡°I give.¡± I whispered and she let me go. I pretended to be winded and stayed on my knees as I took several deep breaths.


    ¡°Where did you learn those moves?¡± Natasha asked as she pulled off her face covering.


    ¡°Didn''t.¡± I said and she gave me a searching look. ¡°Studied acrobatics... do parkour... every few days.¡±


    Natasha looked surprised for a moment and then nodded. ¡°That''s good. Constant exercise will keep you healthy.¡±


    ¡°A good diet and not sitting on my ass all day would do that.¡± I said and sat backwards on the mat. ¡°I''m trying to improve myself. Stronger, faster, better. I can''t do a lot on my own, even after studying. I needed to find someone to teach me and then literally stumbled into your class and had my ass handed to me.¡±


    Natasha gave me another searching look. ¡°You took it pretty well.¡±


    ¡°As if you would accept anything less. I would have been out of there faster than you could kick me in the balls.¡± I said and she chuckled. ¡°I want to switch to unarmed combat for tonight.¡±


    Natasha gave me a smirk. ¡°Oh? Do you want to get up close and personal so soon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, in both respects.¡± I said. ¡°I wasn''t lying last time when I was making jokes about it.¡±


    Natasha looked down at my crotch and then back at my face. ¡°What makes you think you deserve it?¡±


    ¡°I don''t.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°I want you to teach me everything to control my body when it moves, and that includes the bedroom. I want to learn everything I can, and I suddenly have access to the baddest badass in SHIELD.¡± I turned to look deep into her eyes. ¡°I am going to do everything I can to convince you that the effort will be worth it.¡±


    Natasha stared back into my eyes. ¡°Are you really worth it?¡±


    ¡°After you teach me? I will be.¡± I responded and stood up, grabbed my batons and put them back into their little pockets, and handed the ones she had to her. ¡°Shall we get started on the beat-down?¡±


    Natasha stood and put her batons away. ¡°It''s only been a couple days and you''re already countering me and you landed a couple of hits.¡±


    ¡°Ambushes have much different rules and expectations. I wasn''t watching and learning, I was reacting and screwing up.¡± Intentionally. I thought and took her hand. ¡°I don''t want to do that anymore. I desperately need your help and I will do anything to get it.¡±


    Natasha must have seen something in my eyes, because she blushed slightly. ¡°Why do I find you so intriguing?¡±


    ¡°I''m going through puberty and out of all the women I''ve met so far, you are the only one whose code name is an appropriate moniker for how dangerous she is.¡± I said and stepped close and put her hand on my chest. ¡°You like the fact that even though I know I''m risking my life every time we meet, I keep coming back.¡±


    Natasha was quiet for a moment. ¡°I think you meant every time you open your mouth to make a joke.¡±


    ¡°I''m not joking now, am I?¡± I whispered and slowly leaned down. ¡°Say no and I''ll stop.¡±


    Natasha looked into my eyes, almost defiantly, so I moved that last little bit and our lips touched. We both gasped as we felt an electric jolt go through us, then her tongue was deep in my mouth and she tackled me to the floor. She broke the kiss and tore open her outfit and then started to pull open my gi.


    ¡°Door.¡± I whispered.


    Natasha barely moved as a baton flew from her hand and hit the opened door, which made it bounce and close, then the other baton was suddenly half buried through the edge of the door and the door jam.


    ¡°Fuck, that was sexy.¡± I said and she smiled at me and opened my gi and rubbed her hands across my sweaty chest.


    Natasha slid her hands down for my underwear and then paused as she felt something there. She dug out the handcuffs and stared at me.


    ¡°Why else would I ask for unarmed combat? I was going to cuff you to my wrist during one of your attacks, just so you couldn''t keep dodging when I tried to fight back.¡±


    Natasha flicked them open and dropped them beside my head. ¡°My first rule.¡±


    ¡°Take any advantage you can in a fight. If there''s none to take, make one.¡± I repeated.


    Natasha pulled my underwear down and I sprang right up for her. ¡°We shouldn''t be doing this.¡±


    ¡°No, we shouldn''t, and that''s going to make this feel so much better.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°Now teach me how to fuck you properly before I blow a load from just staring at you.¡±


    Natasha smirked at my comment, because her breasts had not been contained by a bra. When she had torn open her outfit a moment ago, she had completely revealed herself. I hadn''t commented on that and complimented her using the batons to close the door instead, which had made her happy. She moved down and stroked me a few times, then she looked at my face and her tongue licked me.


    ¡°I hope you''re ready for this.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°I hope you''re really thirsty.¡± I responded and she softly laughed, then she slipped her mouth over me and started to suck. Her tongue danced around the head and holy hell, she was really, really good at it. I made sure to stare at her as she worked, because she would occasionally glance at my face and looked amused at the expressions I made.


    Natasha slipped me out and gave me a knowing smile, then she dove down and deep-throated me. It was a neat way to discover that she didn''t have a gag reflex and it didn''t take me long to be ready to blow.


    I tapped her head. ¡°I''m almost... there!¡±


    Natasha looked surprised and she sucked hard before my shot went right down her throat without her even tasting it. She sucked on me for a few moments more, then she moved up and slipped me out of her mouth.


    ¡°I can''t believe you warned me.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°Having respect for a woman''s choice to spit or swallow should be on every man''s mind when they receive such a precious gift.¡±


    Natasha blinked her eyes at me. ¡°You are definitely a virgin.¡±


    I chuckled and gave her a signal to turn around. ¡°Your turn.¡±


    ¡°I haven''t taught you anything about that yet.¡± Natasha said and did as I asked anyway.


    ¡°I think I''ve got a handle on this part.¡± I said and pulled her outfit''s pants down and pulled her underwear aside. ¡°Hello there, little bald sharkey.¡±


    Natasha let out an uncharacteristic giggle. ¡°Did you just compare my vagina to a man-eating sea creature?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, talk about appropriate.¡± I said and dug my tongue into her.


    ¡°MMMM!¡± Natasha moaned as I licked her and played around. ¡°O...okay... you have some skill.¡±


    I took exception to that and lightly bit the flesh around her clit and flicked her directly with my tongue.


    ¡°OHHH!¡± Natasha gasped and came. I slurped that up like it was honey and she moaned some more. Her mouth went over me again to suck on me, probably in a bid to keep me hard, not that I needed it, and we shared some really great oral sex for nearly ten minutes.


    When Natasha came for the fifth time, she moved herself away from my face and turned around to stare down at me. ¡°Normally, for someone''s first time, you''re supposed to ease them into it and you''re supposed to be loving, and caring, and be considerate of their feelings.¡±


    I felt her hand adjust my position and place me against her boiling hot entrance.


    ¡°I''m not going to do that.¡± Natasha said and sat down to jam me into herself as hard as she could. ¡°OHH!¡± She gasped and came again. ¡°Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡± She murmured and looked at my face. ¡°I''m sorry, Benji. I''m not going to be gentle.¡±


    ¡°That''s fair, because I asked you to fuck me, not coddle me.¡± I said and she caught her breath, then she smiled a beautiful smile. She dropped down and kissed me hard and then she rode me harder than anyone had any right to experience.


    For the next two hours, she pretty much had her way with me, ordered me to do things to her that I gladly complied with, and we fucked the entire time. The handcuffs had even come into play a few times, on both her and myself, which really spiced things up when we both escaped them and kept having sex.


    We were both soaked with her juices that were thoroughly mixed with my own. I actually came once on her chest, once on her ass, and twice inside of her, before she finally slowed down and started to act normally.


    Natasha started to cuddle into my chest before a surprised look formed on her face and she realized what had just happened. ¡°Oh... oh, god... I... that was...¡±


    ¡°Fucking amazing!¡± I interrupted her and she looked shocked. ¡°I never imagined... wow. I thought... well, being with an experienced woman would be a great experience, probably a little scary without doing it before or what to expect from her... but, that... that was... wow. Just wow.¡±


    Natasha stared at me like I was crazy. ¡°Benji, I completely lost control.¡±


    ¡°I know! It was amazing!¡± I said and her mouth dropped open. ¡°Little old me made the best badass secret agent on the planet, practically lose her mind, because she was enjoying herself with me.¡± I said with my voice full of awe.


    Natasha squinted her eyes at me. ¡°Benji...¡±


    ¡°I don''t expect you to react like that all the time. That''s just unrealistic.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°This was my first time and... goddamn, you went all out. I never expected... I mean, a quick fuck was pretty much all I thought you would do, because I''m just a nobody. Why would you bother doing more than the bare minimum? Instead you...¡± I paused talking and gave her a tender kiss. ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    Natasha looked surprised once more. ¡°Benji...¡±


    ¡°We''ve almost run out of our training time for tonight.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°When are you free again? I can''t wait to keep learning how to fight from you.¡±


    Natasha went quiet for several moments, as if thinking hard. ¡°Not until Saturday evening.¡±


    ¡°That long? You must have a difficult mission to do until then.¡± I said and eased her aside and then stood up.


    I went to my gi and slipped on my underwear and then the gi, then remembered Natasha had torn off part of her outfit. I took out the batons from my sleeves and walked over to Natasha. She sat where we had been having sex and looked at me a little oddly.


    I helped her stand up and then I took my gi off and wrapped it around her shoulders before I tied it with the rope. ¡°A lady needs to cover up when in mixed company.¡± I said walked over to where the handcuffs were, picked them up, and went over to her again before I kissed her. ¡°Have fun at work and I''ll see you on Saturday.¡±


    ¡°Aren''t you going to ask where I''m going?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°SHIELD agents should never ask senior agents stupid questions. I''m not involved in your mission and I don''t need to know any details.¡± I said and walked over to the door to leave. I examined where Natasha''s baton was lodged in the door frame and snapped mine back out, set one as a pivot point and used the other for leverage and pried on Natasha''s.


    After a few seconds of working it back and forth, it popped out and I checked it, collapsed it, and tossed it over to her. I waved to her and left the room, walked down the hallway, and paused.


    ¡°Ow, ow, ow! I think she broke my hip!¡± I said a little loudly, then smiled as I heard Natasha laugh.


    I walked back to the locker room, quickly washed up and dressed, and left the building. I ducked into the alley where I had stashed my work clothes, safety gear, web shooters and mask. I wore the gym bag like a backpack as I climbed the building, then I leapt and swung away. I had to rush home, because I had school in the morning.


    The usual sucky Thursday mornings didn''t seem to be so bad now.

 38 Expectations Exceeded

    Bokuboy


    Clint stepped out of a side door that had been hidden in shadow and walked over to Natasha.


    ¡°Any luck?¡± Natasha asked as he handed her a small file folder.


    ¡°Facial recognition hasn''t made a match with any new recruits yet.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°His bag?¡± Natasha asked and flipped through a couple of pages.


    ¡°Standard stuff. Pepper spray, earpiece, two cell phones, radio, his generic business suit, a partially used evidence kit, and a bit of cash mix from the standard monthly expenses package.¡±


    Natasha huffed. ¡°The handcuffs and batons he used are standard, too.¡±


    ¡°He also had the agent''s handbook and it looked well read.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Natasha hummed as she thought it over and read the information. The cell phones were clean, except for two numbers they had yet to trace, one on each. Using the agency phones for different communications was smart. ¡°He could be a plant.¡±


    ¡°Should we set a tail for him?¡± Clint asked. ¡°It''s pretty convenient that he showed up and didn''t give his agent number to the guard like rescheduled protocols demand.¡±


    ¡°He might be so new that he doesn''t know about that. He also handed his bag over twice and let the guard search them thoroughly.¡± Natasha said and tapped a line on one of the sheets. ¡°He received the all agents text on his earpiece through one of the cell phones.¡±


    ¡°He missed that early morning meeting.¡± Clint said as he played devil''s advocate.


    ¡°He also doesn''t have a gun, spare clips, or any of the extra agency IDs that SHIELD usually issues.¡± Natasha said and closed the folder.


    ¡°Do you think he joined and skipped the orientation meeting?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°It''s possible. He could also be playing a game. A very dangerous game.¡±


    ¡°What if he only wants to get close to you and isn''t a member of SHIELD at all?¡±


    Natasha gave him a pointed look. ¡°Do you think I would let someone compromise me like that?¡±


    Clint looked down at the messy mats, the torn clothing, and then he looked back at her face and grinned. ¡°No, not at all.¡±


    Natasha couldn''t stop her laugh. ¡°Asshole.¡±


    ¡°Did you at least have fun?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°I...¡± Natasha looked down at the mess and back at him. ¡°Yes, I did.¡±


    Clint nodded and took out his cell phone. ¡°I''ll set a tail for him and we''ll see where he goes. I''ll send word to the tech department to expand the facial recognition into all agent records. Maybe he knows so much because he''s a son or a nephew of another agent.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good idea.¡± Natasha said and waited for confirmation about the tail.


    ¡°Damn, they lost him already.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°What? He just left.¡± Natasha looked at the message. ¡°Ducked into an alley and disappeared? Damn, he''s really good to avoid a tail so quickly.¡±


    Clint glanced down at her waist and then chuckled. ¡°No comment.¡±


    Natasha barked a laugh and smacked his arm with her hand. ¡°We''ve got six hours to prepare for the flight and memorize the mission details.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you''re good to go?¡± Clint asked and nodded at her outfit.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Natasha said and handed him the folder back and they both walked over to the partially concealed door. ¡°It surprised me that he would rather walk around in his underwear than let me deal with a torn top.¡±


    ¡°I can''t remember if that''s chivalry or gallantry.¡± Clint asked as they entered a small mission planning center with maps, pictures, building layouts, and security system plans. The monitors on the side of the room showed different areas, including the front entrance.


    ¡°It''s a mix of both.¡± Natasha said. ¡°Chivalry is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help those in trouble. Gallantry is the polite attention and respect given by men to women.¡±


    Clint chuckled and put the folder down on a side table. ¡°I doubt the bastards we''re going after are going to be gallant.¡±


    ¡°No, and we won''t be chivalrous in return.¡± Natasha countered and they exchanged knowing smiles.


    They were only called in when ass needed to be kicked and names needed to be taken. Since they already had the names, there was only one thing left for them to do.


    Kick ass.


    *


    Thursday morning actually wasn''t that bad, even though they were the most boring classes in my schedule, probably because I was in a fantastic mood and I had a huge smile on my face the whole time.


    I had made a bunch of breakfast bagel sandwiches and left some for May, dropped some at the main office, which earned me a secret kiss from Mary, and delivered the rest to the teacher''s lounge. Not surprisingly, they were shocked and they all enjoyed them, so the teachers were in good moods as well and the classes blew by like a soft breeze.


    When I went to lunch in the cafeteria, quite a lot of people greeted me and a few waved. I kind of had my choice of where to sit and then Max waved and caught my eye. To my surprise, she was sitting at the table with Liz, Val and Gina.


    I walked right over to Max and sat down across from her. ¡°Hi, Max. Hi, Liz. Hi, Val. Hi, Gina.¡± I said and nodded to each of them, then I looked back at Max. ¡°I thought you all had club activities during this period.¡±


    ¡°They''re done until the new year.¡± Max said and gave me an odd look. ¡°Aren''t you going to ask what the club is?¡±


    ¡°Only if you want me to. Your business is your business.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I never asked Liz about what clubs she was a part of and I didn''t even know she was the leader of the academic decathlon team until after I quit.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I''ve read Peter''s journal all the way through and I still can''t figure out what he did on the team or what his specialty knowledge category was!¡±


    ¡°It was Biology.¡± Liz offered. ¡°He loved that lab.¡±


    Her friends turned to look at her, as if asking how she knew that, and she bushed a little at the attention.


    ¡°Well, I guess that''s solid proof I''m not him anymore.¡± I said and took out my lunch. ¡°I''m definitely into chemistry and mechanical engineering, with a full side on electronics and a bit of robotics. I really enjoy working with my hands and I worked my butt off to finally catch up in those classes.¡±


    ¡°What did you bring today?¡± Max asked and leaned closer as I opened my lunch bag.


    ¡°I''m not going to ask why you know I bring something different and good every day.¡±


    Max smirked at me. ¡°Word spreads like crazy around here.¡±


    I chuckled and opened up the larger than normal container to reveal six large meat skewers with chunks of vegetables mixed in. The smell of the spicy marinating sauce flowed out and I saw several mouths water on the other side of the table. I didn''t say a word and put the container down on the middle of the table. No one moved until I took out a second container.


    I laughed as they scrambled and tried to grab a skewer before anyone else. ¡°I attend school with a bunch of vultures!¡± I parroted Mary''s words she had said the first time I brought donuts to the office. I opened the second container and started eating my own skewers.


    The four girls finished off the single ones they had and then exchanged looks, because there were only two left. I reached into my container and held out a skewer to Max and to Val, who were sitting on either side of Liz and Gina. They looked grateful and Liz and Gina took the last two in the container. All four of them started eating their second skewers and I could tell that they really enjoyed them.


    I quickly ate the rest of mine, before any of them had the bright idea to ask me for another one. I drank my juice and packed everything up, then sat back and listened as the girls started talking again. Max would occasionally glance at me and I would smile, wink, or stick my tongue out at her. The last one had made her clamp her mouth shut to stop her laugh.


    I checked my watch and it was getting close to robotics class. ¡°Well, it''s been fun.¡± I said and stood up to sling my backpack onto my shoulders. ¡°See you later.¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡± ¡°See you.¡± ¡°Later.¡± Val, Max, and Gina said, respectively.


    I looked at Liz, because she hadn''t spoken, and she blushed a little. ¡°It wasn''t that awkward, was it?¡±


    Liz opened her mouth to say something, then sighed. ¡°I don''t know what to do about it.¡±


    ¡°Do about what?¡± I asked, a little confused.


    ¡°Max really likes you and she doesn''t want to hurt me by having you around and I''m hurting her by not committing either way about letting you hang around with us or telling you to stay away.¡±


    I looked at Max and she blushed a little and didn''t avert her gaze. ¡°I can give you the simple solution or you can figure it out for yourselves.¡±


    ¡°This I have to hear.¡± Gina said and Val nodded.


    ¡°We all stay friends and I have a not-so-secret affair with Max on the side. You never see anything and she gets to brag about how great having a sex friend is without having to lie about it, because we would all know it''s happening anyway.¡±


    The four girls stared at me with surprised faces.


    ¡°Anyways, I need to go to class. See you tomorrow.¡± I said and I walked away without waiting for a response. I was sure they would accept, because who wouldn''t want to leave the awkwardness off on the side. I didn''t want to split their friendship up, considering they were all seniors and this was their last year at school together. College was going to be a whole different experience for them all.


    I went to robotics class and saw most of the club members were already there and they talked excitedly.


    ¡°BEN!¡± They cheered when they saw me and I chuckled.


    ¡°I assume the new prototype worked?¡± I asked and sat down on the teacher''s desk.


    ¡°Even better than our calculations!¡± The senior said and handed me a data sheet. ¡°The mock battles only lasted fifteen to thirty seconds against all of our old models!¡±


    I whistled at the numbers he showed me. ¡°I see you added boosters to the air cylinder charger.¡±


    ¡°We had the extra room when we cut out the part of the frame you said we didn''t really need.¡± Another guy said. ¡°It increased the efficiency by twenty percent.¡±


    ¡°You run the risk of seal leakage from excessive use.¡± I warned him.


    ¡°Seals are cheap and we have a dozen air cylinders set up as replacements. It''s a cheap trade off for the results it has.¡± The senior said.


    The teacher, Mr. Kinneson came in and saw all the happy faces. ¡°They told you the good news already, the scamps! I wanted to do it!¡±


    We all laughed at his indignation and then we all sat around and talked about the upcoming competition. They were sure they were going to blow right through it, especially because they had enough replacement parts to build another one, from scratch, if the first one was damaged or broken.


    When the bell rang, we didn''t stop or did anything in the actual class time besides discuss adjustments, program alterations, and working on strategy.


    School ended and I visited my locker and dropped off my class things. When I closed it, Max walked over to me and gave me a very pointed look. I closed my locker and neither of us said a word as we left the building and went to the bus stop. I skipped getting on my bus and she didn''t say anything. Her bus arrived and I climbed on with her and sat on the seat beside her.


    Max looked out the window and her hand slowly snaked to mine and she intertwined her fingers with mine. ¡°I understand why you flirt so much all the time.¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡± I asked and leaned in close to kiss her cheek.


    ¡°Peter would never do that. Even if you were faking being Ben, and I know you''re not, Peter couldn''t have talked to people like you do. He couldn''t go to other people''s tables, share food with them, or laugh and joke and wave and say hello to everyone.¡± Max said the last in a bit of a rush.


    ¡°You didn''t like Peter, did you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Max said and turned her head from the window to look at me. ¡°He was too quiet, indecisive, had a hard time answering questions with authority, which is something a decathlon member needed to learn, and I swear he attracted the attention of the worst people in the school.¡±


    ¡°Like flies to shit?¡± I joked and grinned at her.


    Max looked surprised for a second and then laughed. ¡°Val''s right. You do enjoy insulting yourself.¡±


    I paraphrased ''doctor heal thyself''. ¡°Comedian, laugh at thyself.¡±


    Max shook her head. ¡°You try a little too hard, Ben. You don''t have to make everything into a joke.¡±


    ¡°No, I don''t.¡± I said in a soft voice and gave her a hungry look. ¡°I would never joke about you or how much you care about me.¡±


    Max blushed and ducked her head slightly. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I hope you noticed that out of all the students in the school, and everyone that apparently knows me now, you were the only one to hug me and tell me how worried you were. You even cried for me.¡± I whispered and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. ¡°That surprised me, Max. It really did.¡±


    Max looked into my eyes for several moments before she reached up with a hand and cupped the side of my face, then she gave me the same kiss back. ¡°What am I going to do with you?¡±


    ¡°I''ve got about an hour before I need to go home to cook, two hours if I buy fast food, or three hours if I tell Aunt May I''m eating at a friend''s house and I''ll stop at home to grab my work clothes on the way to work.¡±


    Max blinked her eyes at me for several moments before she whispered. ¡°Three hours.¡±


    ¡°We can do anything you want. Hang out, watch tv, play games, cook for your family, or I can lick you all over and make love to you for as long as you can stand.¡±


    Max''s mouth opened slightly and she took several long and deep breaths. ¡°B-Ben.¡±


    ¡°We''re having an affair, remember? An illicit, dirty, behind closed doors, secret affair.¡± I said and her face went red as she bit her bottom lip cutely. ¡°Whatever you want to do, I''ll do it.¡±


    Max looked thoughtful for a moment before her face showed that she had made a decision. ¡°I want the Isabelle treatment first.¡±


    I almost laughed at the description and smiled. ¡°As my sex friend asks, so shall she receive.¡±


    Max smiled back before she looked out the bus window once more, her hand tightly clasped with mine.


    *


    My first discovery about Max was that she only shaved occasionally, so there was a light fuzz down there, which was great in its own way, because it tickled her as I played with her. She laughed as I made her feel good and then I discovered the second thing about her. Max was a screamer. When she came, she yelled at the top of her lungs like she was being murdered.


    Let me tell you, her mother was less than impressed when she burst into Max''s bedroom with a kitchen knife and saw my face buried between her daughter''s legs. It also didn''t help that I didn''t stop until I had licked up the mess.


    ¡°You!¡± Max''s mother said and pointed at me with the knife. ¡°Get out!¡±


    My spider-sense wasn''t going off, so I knew it was a bluff. I kissed Max down there and covered her with her skirt, used a tissue to wipe off my mouth, and walked over to her mother and looked her in the eyes without flinching or showing weakness.


    ¡°I sincerely apologize for scaring you like that. I would have had her bite down on something if I knew she would react like that to her first real orgasm.¡±


    ¡°Didn''t... know.¡± Max said in a dreamy and breathy voice. ¡°Why is everything so sparkly?¡±


    ¡°It''s a side effect from feeling so good.¡± I said without looking away from her mother. ¡°We should probably leave her rest for a while.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She said with squinted eyes and stepped out of the doorway to let me pass. She waved me forward with the knife and shut her daughter''s bedroom door before she followed me out to the living room. ¡°Keep going.¡±


    I nodded and went to where I had left my jacket, backpack, and shoes near the front door.


    She gave me a hard look as I dressed, then she opened the door for me. ¡°Stay away from my daughter.¡±


    I tilted my head slightly as I looked at her, then I took two steps towards her. She lifted the knife into a defensive position and my spider-sense still didn''t go off. I slowly reached out and lightly touched her wrist, then moved the knife out of the way.


    ¡°If you tell her that, she''ll only run to me faster and away from you trying to protect her.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°Tell her that you don''t approve of me; but, you''ll let her have an affair with me, as long as it doesn''t get serious. She can have her fun for now and then she can buckle down and concentrate on college in a few months.¡±


    She looked stunned at my words. ¡°Why... why are you...¡±


    ¡°I like her and she likes me, even though I''m a bit of an ass and a terrible flirt. She wants to have some fun with a sex friend, without the commitment, because we are both too young for it to ever really go anywhere before we settle into the people we are going to be later.¡±


    ¡°S-s-sex f-friends?¡± She asked, shocked.


    ¡°It''s kind of a new thing. There''s a bit of romance, a lot of joking and teasing, and then some fun times in a bed. There''s no stress from being girlfriend and boyfriend, either. Even if gifts are exchanged, they are usually fun and not spikes to hammer home that it''s a serious relationship or will ruin it if they aren''t appropriate.¡±


    ¡°What? But, how... how does that come about?¡±


    Don''t make a joke about Max just doing that, Ben! I thought with a smile. ¡°There are no real requirements besides liking each other and being okay with seeing each other naked.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°There''s no rules or regulations or anything specific for us to do, either.¡±


    ¡°Then... what''s the point?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I said and leaned in to kiss her cheek. ¡°See you next week.¡±


    She stood there with shock on her face and I left their house with a smile on mine.

 39 Biological Functions

    Bokuboy


    On Friday morning, I made another coffee delivery for the office staff and the teachers, which they all appreciated, and biology lab that morning was a little entertaining because my lab partner Sally looked flustered the entire time. I waited until there was about half an hour before lunch when I discreetly approached the teacher.


    ¡°Miss Capstick?¡± I whispered and she gave me an interested look.


    ¡°Ben? Anything wrong?¡±


    I handed her the lab report and then leaned in close. ¡°Sally''s looking odd. I think the lab got to her or something.¡±


    Miss Capstick looked over at my assigned table and saw the state Sally was in.


    ¡°Do you mind if we leave early? She might tell me what''s wrong if we''re in the library or something.¡±


    Miss Capstick gave me a slight nod.


    ¡°Thank you. I''ll have the barista add a double shot to your latte next time.¡± I whispered and she smiled. I walked back to my desk and packed everything up, did Sally''s backpack as well, then I took her hand and led her out of the classroom.


    We were halfway down the hallway before Sally finally broke the silence. ¡°This is my last chance.¡±


    I came to a stop and looked at her. ¡°Last chance for what?¡±


    ¡°I won''t get to see you again until the new year and everyone''s already talking about what happened in the cafeteria yesterday.¡± Sally said and the she blushed.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I said and led her down the hallway and into the girl''s bathroom. ¡°Lights on or off?¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°I can''t suckle your breasts or eat you out if you''re nervous about me seeing you naked.¡± I said and she started breathing heavily. ¡°It''s okay, Sally. We don''t have to do anything...¡±


    ¡°LIGHTS OFF!¡± Sally yelled and took off her backpack and started scrambling to undress.


    I chuckled and walked over to the door where several switches were. I flicked a few off, testing what ones did what, and stopped when there was only light inside the stalls and nowhere else. I reached up and pushed the hydraulic door piston into the locked position and walked over to Sally.


    ¡°Um... do we... the floor, or...¡± Sally''s unsure voice whispered.


    I quickly did the counter cleaning trick with hand soap and toilet paper, then I kissed her. Sally moaned pretty loudly, which was a little surprising, then she gasped when I pretended to struggle and lifted her up onto the counter.


    ¡°Ben! You could have seriously hurt yourself!¡± Sally exclaimed.


    ¡°Studied... weightlifting.¡± I said and pretended to be a little winded. ¡°Thought you might... ask.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Ben!¡± Sally said and grabbed me by the neck and pulled me in to kiss me. We did that for several minutes, then I broke the kiss and mounded my hands into her large breasts. ¡°Ohhhh... mmm...¡±


    I held in my chuckle at her feeling good just from that, because she was going to be really surprised when I started to seriously play with her. I pinched her nipples a little to make them pop out, then I pushed her breasts together and sucked on both nipples at the same time.


    ¡°OHH!¡± Sally gasped and came.


    ¡°That''s one.¡± I whispered and kissed her breasts all over.


    ¡°O-o-one?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°I should have enough time to get you to four before the lunch bell rings.¡±


    ¡°Four!¡± Sally gasped.


    ¡°At least.¡± I said and moved down.


    She looked reluctant to open her legs and I was pretty sure why. It would be difficult to maintain the area regularly and she had long dark hair, unlike Max who had short curly black hair. Despite having only the soft light from the stalls to look with, I could clearly see everything.


    I eased her legs apart and she didn''t resist, even as she made a disbelieving sound. She did have a lot of hair down there; but, people were naturally hairy. If you couldn''t accept that, with the visible proof on their arms and legs, you were being unrealistic.


    Once I moved the hair out of the way to reveal my target, I was surprised by the sight. Even with her extra weight, it seemed to have not suffered from that and was surprisingly pretty. I couldn''t tell her that, though. The lights were off for a reason. So, I gave her a lick.


    ¡°OHH!¡± Sally gasped again and then she almost cried. ¡°This is happening. It''s really happening.¡±


    I held in my laugh at the disbelief in her voice. She was naked and sat on a bathroom counter, with my fingers holding her open, and she had to wait for me to lick her before she would believe it. I didn''t want her to think I was chickening out, though. I dove in there and quickly confirmed that she wasn''t a virgin. Or at least, there had been something shoved in there to break her hymen. I wasn''t going to ask.


    Sally actually came six times as I played with her and made her feel really, really good. Once she got going, it was almost too easy to keep her there on the edge of coming and to stretch it out and out to make it feel that much better. When the bell rang to end morning classes, Sally let out a moan and a sigh.


    I quickly washed my hands and my face, then I went back to her. She hadn''t moved to clean herself or to dress, which meant she was starting to doubt things. Either that or she was starting to doubt it ever happened and wanted to keep the proof for as long as possible.


    ¡°Sally.¡± I whispered and she turned her head to look at me.


    ¡°I''m pathetic.¡± Sally said and a tear came from her eye.


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡± I asked and hopped up on the counter to sit beside her.


    ¡°Look at me. I stripped off at school, where anyone could walk in and see me, and I let a guy I barely know play with me like a toy.¡± Sally said and let out a sob. ¡°What''s wrong with me?¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°There could be several things. I hinted pretty heavily that I don''t mind the extra weight. I''ve been flirting with everyone like it''s going out of style, and you know for a fact I have no problems going down on a girl and I don''t expect anything in return.¡±


    Sally looked a little surprised. ¡°I asked what was wrong with me, not you.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Ah, but that''s the problem. You see, I''ve become a target for your thoughts. What if... will he... would he... can he?¡± I asked her and her eyes widened. ¡°Temptation is a heavy thing to deal with, especially if you know he''s already done it a bunch of times with one girl and just started with another.¡±


    ¡°But, I... am I just another girl?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°That depends on your own self worth.¡± I said and she looked shocked. ¡°If you want to feel special I''ll tell you that you are an individual and that there''s no other girl like you.¡±


    Sally blushed.


    ¡°If you want to be compared to other girls, because you think your extra weight makes you stand out, then I''ll tell you that you are one of hundreds of girls that I could do this with and that your weight has absolutely no bearing on if I like the taste of your pussy or not.¡±


    ¡°B-BEN!¡± Sally gasped.


    ¡°By the way, I did.¡± I said and hopped off of the counter to look into her eyes. ¡°I''ll also tell you that those are the biggest breasts I''ve ever seen and your nipples are spectacular. I could suck on them all day.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Sally whispered and stared at me. ¡°You mean that, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°I don''t have any reason to lie.¡± I said and handed her some toilet paper. ¡°You need to get cleaned up and we''re going to be late for lunch.¡±


    ¡°You want to eat lunch with me again?¡± Sally asked, surprised.


    ¡°Sure. It''s not like I don''t sit somewhere new every day.¡±


    ¡°But... you and Max...¡±


    ¡°Shh! That''s a secret affair! We''re just friends!¡± I said and Sally let out a little laugh. ¡°I''ll wait outside for you to get dressed, okay?¡±


    Sally nodded and I started to walk away. ¡°Ben.¡±


    I stopped and went back to her.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sally said and blushed.


    ¡°I did tell the entire cafeteria that my tongue was back on the market.¡± I said and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. ¡°It''s not your fault that you wanted to take advantage of that.¡±


    ¡°It... it''s not?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°Nope! I''m just too dashing and heroic for a damsel to resist.¡± I said and struck an exaggerated pose so she could see it in the soft light. ¡°If there is a dry vagina out there, it is my mission to make it wet! I will not rest until vaginal dryness becomes a thing of the past!¡±


    Sally snorted and then laughed pretty hard for a minute as her breasts jiggled nicely.


    ¡°I''ll be outside.¡± I said and lightly touched her hand, then went to the door. I let my spider-sense guide me and I waited for a moment as it tingled, there was a soft bump on the door, a light curse, then whoever it was moved on. I popped the piston back into place and slipped outside and reached back to turn the lights on without looking.


    Sally came out a few minutes later and she had a blank look on her face.


    ¡°Sally! There you are. I''ve been looking all over for you.¡± I said and several people walking by glanced at us and continued on. ¡°Lunch awaits!¡±


    Sally nodded and we walked through several hallways to get to the cafeteria. ¡°Ben you don''t have to do this.¡±


    I chuckled and walked with her into the cafetera and a bunch of people greeted me. Max waved and I waved back as I went to the lunch line with Sally.


    ¡°You''re not going over to her?¡± Sally asked in a whisper.


    ¡°We don''t own each other.¡± I commented. ¡°We really are friends.¡±


    ¡°But... what if... she wants you to be there?¡± Sally asked as she grabbed a prepared meal from the choices available and we moved down to the cashier.


    I almost applauded that she didn''t grab a dessert. ¡°I''ll pop over after I eat. I brought her a piece of pound cake with butter cream icing.¡±


    Sally''s mouth drooled and she stared at me.


    I chuckled and paid for her lunch. ¡°I''ll share some of mine with you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sally said and we went to a table and ate our lunches, talked about the lab that morning, and Sally let out a loud moan when she tasted my light and fluffy pound cake. ¡°It''s sinful!¡±


    I laughed and gave her the rest of the piece, because of the attention she just gave us. ¡°Enjoy that, because it''s diet.¡±


    Sally''s mouth fell open at my words.


    ¡°You don''t think I''d cook greasy and fatty foods if I want to maintain the guns, do you?¡± I asked and flexed my arms as I did a double arm curl.


    A whistle and a couple of cat-calls came from a table not far away.


    ¡°Oops! No need to show off. Sorry, ladies!¡± I said to them and they laughed. I grabbed my things and lightly touched Sally''s shoulder. ¡°Merry Christmas.¡±


    ¡°M-merry Christmas.¡± Sally said and watched me walk part way across the cafeteria.


    I sat next to Max and the glare she gave me was a classic. ¡°Yes, I brought you a piece.¡± I said and took out the container and handed her several forks. ¡°It''s up to you if you want to share.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you bastard.¡± Max groused and handed the forks to Liz, Val, and Gina.


    I chuckled and opened the container to reveal a large piece of cake smothered in icing, then laughed as the four girls dug in and consumed it in only moments. ¡°Now I know why May was angry that I made two of them.¡±


    ¡°You have more?!?¡± Max growled at me.


    ¡°Not on me!¡± I said and laughed. ¡°We can hang out on Sunday and you can raid my refrigerator.¡±


    ¡°Hey! That''s not fair!¡± Val exclaimed and Gina let out a laugh and Liz looked a little sad. ¡°I thought you said we were all friends?¡±


    I glanced at Max and she shrugged a little. ¡°All right, you can all come over. Is noon okay?¡±


    Max, Val, and Gina nodded and Liz looked unsure.


    ¡°It''s okay if you can''t or if you don''t want to. We''re just going to hang out and munch on some goodies.¡± I said and then smiled. ¡°What about watching a movie? I can do up a buffet style on the kitchen table and we can laugh at what passes for an action movie...¡±


    ¡°Tragic love story!¡± ¡°Romance!¡± ¡°Slasher!¡± Val, Gina, and Max interrupted at the same time.


    I barked a laugh at their response. ¡°Yep, this is going to be fun.¡±


    Liz gave her friends a look and then looked at me. ¡°I''ll be there.¡±


    Her friends hugged her and I nodded as I packed up. When the bell rang to end lunch, I went to geography and then it was time for gym. I entered the large area and the coach waved me over.


    ¡°You can go to any of the exercise stations you want, Ben.¡± Coach Wilson said.


    ¡°Thanks, coach!¡± I said and walked over to Liz and her friends. ¡°Hello, ladies! Long time, no see!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, you''re too chipper for gym class, Ben!¡± Max groused.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I''m just pumped I get to spend even more time with the hottest girls in the school.¡± I said.


    Liz blushed, Val looked pleased, Gina blushed and also rolled her eyes, and Max lightly smacked me on the head.


    ¡°What? I can''t compliment my friends now?¡± I asked and rubbed the spot.


    ¡°You can compliment us when you''re being sincere.¡± Max responded.


    I gave her a confused look. ¡°Wait a second. Are you seriously telling me that you''re not the hottest girls in the school and that my eyes are deceiving me?¡±


    That had blushes going all around.


    Mission accomplished. I thought with a smile. ¡°Who wants to do the rope climb first?¡±


    ¡°You can!¡± The four girls said as one.


    ¡°It''s too easy with the knots.¡± I said and went to the closest one, then pretty much shimmied up the thing like a monkey, touched the tag at the top, and climbed back down.


    ¡°Jesus.¡± Max whispered as I walked back over to them. ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°The knots are at specific distances to let your hands and feet work in tandem. You just treat it like a shaky ladder, taking it one step at a time, and you''re all set.¡± I said. ¡°Give it a try.¡±


    Max raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°You just want to stare at my butt as I climb.¡±


    I beamed a smile at her. ¡°What a great idea! Thanks, Max! I''ll hold the rope steady for you, too!¡±


    Max groaned as Liz, Val, and Gina laughed.


    *


    Natasha shoved her electrified baton into the neck of the bastard that had killed several of the hostages. She wasn''t allowed to kill him for it, even though she really wanted to. He had vital information that they needed on the operation he was involved in, so he had to stay alive for now.


    He was just a middleman that was funded by rich backers and he funnelled that into various crimes, including the terrorist cell she and Clint were tasked to dismantle. She stood above his twitching and unconscious form and worked out in her head what she was going to do to him to make him talk. He would be spilling all of his secrets before he even realized it.


    That thought brought Natasha back to her little tryst earlier in the week. She really had let herself go and she used that young man to bring herself to the heights of pleasure that she hadn''t felt in a long time. Her feelings in that area had been dulled over the years, because she had seduced more than her fair share of targets. Some for personal reasons and a lot for business.


    Natasha remembered one particular position vividly. She had been riding him pretty hard while she faced away from him in a reverse cowgirl position, then he had grabbed her arms and slowly pulled her backwards and bent her back in an arch. He changed his grip to her shoulders and then her head, before he kissed her hard while she still rode him.


    She hadn''t been in a perfect ballerina bridge pose in quite some time and it felt so natural that they had stayed like that until they both came. It was honestly the sexiest thing she had ever done while sleeping with someone, and she had slept with a lot of people.


    ¡°Widow? Did you get the target?¡± Clint asked over her earpiece.


    Natasha pushed her thoughts aside and tapped her earpiece. ¡°Just tasered him. He killed three of the hostages before I could take him down.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Clint whispered.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Natasha whispered back.


    ¡°Clean-up crew?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Ten minutes. I''ll get this guy secured and we can move.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Clint said and paused. ¡°We got here as soon as we could.¡±


    ¡°I know. Widow out.¡± Natasha said and tapped her earpiece to end the call. She stared down at the man she was going to work over and she couldn''t help but compare him to the young man that she had thoroughly fucked.


    Normally, that wouldn''t have bothered her. Brief liaisons were expected to happen in the spy business. What bothered her was that he had thanked her for it. He had been genuinely grateful, and that had stuck in her mind, even more than the feeling of him filling her up had.


    Natasha used several zip ties on the guy''s wrists and ankles, searched him, then grabbed his collar and dragged him roughly out of his panic room. So what if he banged his arms and legs a few extra times on the way out to the extraction vehicle? He wasn''t going to be complaining about it. Not for long.


    As she handed him to the extraction team and stood off to the side as the clean-up crew went inside the house to get to work, Natasha''s mind went to their group''s travel plans and she tried to deny that she was looking forward to being back in New York on Saturday night.

 40 Secrets Galore

    I worked hard Friday night and all day Saturday. The deconstruction of the building was progressing much faster than Adrian had calculated. With them loading the place up with debris just before work ended and with me going in to clear it up for them, the tear-down timetable had shortened considerably. If that continued during the Christmas break, we would easily be finished by mid-January.


    I went home for supper and had an enjoyable meal with May, made her laugh with a few questionable jokes, then packed up my gym bag and went back to work. I cleared the place out and visited the first pay-per-hour motel to shower and the guy there chuckled as I paid.


    ¡°I need to call and complain to the Hooker''s Union.¡± I said and he laughed.


    I left there and went to the right building for training. The guy was there out front and he already had his cell phone out and dialed mine, so I handed the bag over and he checked it. I barely stepped into the building when Natasha was there and squinted her eyes at me.


    ¡°Come with me.¡± She said and started walking away.


    ¡°You really need to stop giving me such obvious joking material.¡± I said and quickly followed her.


    Natasha didn''t comment as she led me into a small room. My spider-sense had been tingling a little the entire time and I was sure this was going to be a bit different from a normal training session.


    ¡°Sit.¡± Natasha said and pointed to a plain chair.


    I put my gym bag down and did as she said. She gave me an odd look for a moment, then she straddled my waist and I sprang to life for her. She let out a little moan and then she kissed me. My spider-sense screamed at me and I pulled my tongue back and closed the back of my throat. It was subtle, because whatever liquid it was, it could have easily passed as saliva.


    Natasha broke the kiss and went to the table at the side of the room. I turned my head and let the liquid drip out and wiped my mouth off with a sleeve. I looked over at her and saw her she spit out whatever it was into a cloth and then swished her mouth out with water.


    ¡°We traced those numbers, even through our own secrecy protocols.¡± Natasha said and walked over to me. ¡°How surprised do you think we were that it was a receptionist and a teacher at a high school?¡±


    ¡°Probably not surprised at all.¡± I responded. ¡°What did having their numbers have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°It let us track you down.¡± Natasha said and picked up a file folder. ¡°A quick inspection of the school''s office by a school board member gave us access to the school''s student database.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We compared your face to all of the student records.¡± Natasha said and opened the folder to show me Peter Parker''s information. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself, Peter?¡±


    I gave her a huge smile. ¡°I''ll say that you lied about the inspection, because that''s an old picture and the information is wrong. You probably had one of the tech guys do you a favor and hacked the backup servers at the school.¡±


    Natasha blinked her eyes for a moment. ¡°It doesn''t matter how we got the information, Peter. We found you and you''re not a SHIELD agent. You''re just a stupid high school kid that''s trying to play spy.¡±


    I chuckled, then I laughed, then I guffawed.


    Natasha looked surprised at my reaction as a door at the side of the room opened and Hawkeye came in wearing his full costume and carried his bow.


    I calmed down and then gave her a knowing smile. ¡°If you really believed that, or wanted to believe that, you would have handcuffed me immediately.¡± I said and I saw by the look on her face that I was right. I started to stand and Clint raised the bow to point it at me as he notched an arrow.


    ¡°Stay in the chair.¡± Clint said.


    I settled back down. ¡°I suppose I have to tell you now, since you''ve discovered some of my cover.¡±


    ¡°Cover?¡± Natasha asked and tensed a little.


    ¡°No, whatever you''re thinking. Just, no.¡± I said and they both looked surprised. ¡°I''m not a Hydra agent and I''m not a sleeper agent or anything.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that name?¡± Natasha asked, harshly.


    ¡°I know a lot of things.¡± I said and smiled again. ¡°Like the fact that Peter Parker is dead. Since I didn''t want to bring attention to that, or to how that happened, I replaced him.¡±


    Natasha caught her breath. ¡°N-no... you...¡±


    ¡°I couldn''t explain why I couldn''t remember anything about Peter''s life, so I faked a head injury, which also covered up any plastic surgery under bandages.¡± I turned my head and moved my hair to show the bald spot that was starting to grow over. ¡°I also claimed amnesia and I slipped right into Peter''s life as if it was my own, then I changed my name to Ben and let my actions explain that I was not Peter.¡±


    ¡°Good lord.¡± Clint whispered. ¡°No one noticed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they noticed.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°I made sure that everyone noticed. I''m brash, loud, I make jokes, and I''m so unlike Peter that people actually like me for it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°I needed a new life. That Peter died by accident and I was right there to take full advantage of that, was a convenient twist of fate.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I''ve been working my ass off to catch up to the other students in school, since I hadn''t been in school in years, and I must say that it was both grueling and enjoyable.¡±


    ¡°What''s your real name?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°Surprisingly, it actually is Ben. Convenient, isn''t it? Peter Benjamin Parker. I don''t have to react badly to people calling me by some name I''m not used to.¡±


    ¡°Your last name.¡± Natasha prompted.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter. I''m Benjamin Parker now. I''m building a new life from the ashes of Peter''s old one.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Clint asked and kept the bow aimed at me.


    ¡°I already told you that. Training.¡± I said and looked at Natasha. ¡°It seems I run into convenience after convenience in this life. I wanted to avoid SHIELD completely and it pretty much dropped into my lap. I really wanted to avoid two of the best agents in the entire agency and here you both are.¡±


    ¡°We need to take you in.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°What for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Assuming someone else''s identity, stealing SHIELD equipment, lying...¡±


    ¡°I''ve never lied to you.¡± I said and she looked surprised.


    ¡°But, you... you...¡±


    ¡°Did you ever ask me who I was and not just my name?¡± I asked her and she closed her mouth. ¡°No, because it didn''t matter. Names don''t really matter. All that matters is our actions, how we treat each other, and how others see those actions.¡± I said and looked at Clint. ¡°You can relax. If I was going to attack, I would have as soon as Natasha turned her back on me at the front entrance.¡±


    ¡°Why didn''t you?¡± Natasha asked and nodded to Clint. He lowered the bow slightly and eased the tension on the arrow.


    ¡°Because the last thing I ever want to do is piss off the Black Widow. You can outfight everyone, because you''re an expert martial artist. I want to learn how to fight and who better than an expert?¡±


    ¡°You really expect me to keep teaching you when I know you''re not who you claim to be?¡± Natasha asked and looked a little unnerved that I could be that bold.


    I smirked at her. ¡°Prove it.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Prove that I''m not Ben Parker.¡± I said and crossed my arms. ¡°Go ahead. I''ll sit right here and I''ll wait while you go gather evidence that I''m not Ben Parker.¡±


    Neither Natasha nor Clint moved.


    ¡°Hmm, you don''t seem to be going anywhere.¡± I said and rubbed my chin with a hand. ¡°Could it be that I''ve discovered a flaw in your plan to take me in?¡±


    ¡°You still stole SHIELD assets.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°Did I?¡± I asked and crossed my arms again. ¡°Or did I just order them and have them blind dropped at any of a dozen spots that are hidden around the city?¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°So, what else was there?¡± I asked and looked from her face to Clint''s. ¡°Anything? Anything at all?¡±


    ¡°How do you know so much?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°You would be surprised what information can be gathered from wireless connections.¡± I said and tapped my earpiece. ¡°Once you have a single frequency and a little electronics and programming knowledge...¡±


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡± Natasha said and walked part of the way across the room and then came back. ¡°When... how did you compromise our security?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t.¡± I said and she scowled at me. ¡°Once I had one of your earpieces and untraceable cell phones, your own agency gave me full access to all of the basics.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°Do you know everything that counts as basic equipment by SHIELD? I do.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Clint cursed this time.


    ¡°By the way, I didn''t rob you blind. I''m not stupid. Little things here, little things there.¡± I lied and they believed me. ¡°They weren''t big enough of an order to be noticed and not too small to be suspicious.¡±


    ¡°How many times...¡± Natasha started to ask.


    ¡°Yes, I''m going to tell you that.¡± I said and rolled my eyes. ¡°Does it really matter?¡±


    ¡°How many guns did you...¡± Clint started to ask.


    ¡°None. Guns require a supervisor''s approval, even when ordering a replacement for damaged or old lethal equipment.¡± I said and they exchanged a look, probably because I shouldn''t know that. ¡°I also didn''t raid the equipment lockers you have here, and I easily could have. They aren''t guarded and the single camera you have in the rooms are so easily bypassed that it''s laughable.¡±


    ¡°How did you know there are cameras?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°What idiot goes into a SHIELD building and thinks there are no cameras?¡± I asked with a laugh. ¡°At least you didn''t put one in the showers like they do at the pay-per-hour motels I use.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Natasha asked, a little surprised by the extra information.


    ¡°I always shower before coming here and change clothes. Like I said, I''m not stupid.¡±


    ¡°Then... why? Why keep up the charade?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°What charade? I''m Ben Parker, found out SHIELD was giving out free, after-hours training, and I showed up.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I wasn''t going to pass that up.¡±


    ¡°We caught you.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°Doing what? Being here? I was invited.¡± I joked and tapped my earpiece. ¡°It doesn''t say only agents are allowed to attend, just that you can show up after hours.¡±


    Natasha took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°You can''t expect us to just let you...¡±


    ¡°I asked you to train me, gorgeous and deadly.¡± I interrupted her. ¡°What''s the minimum age to join SHIELD? It''s fourteen. Surprise! Ben Parker is fourteen!¡±


    The two of them stood there and stared at me.


    ¡°Is there like a written exam or something? Calisthenics?¡± I looked at Natasha and smiled warmly at her. ¡°Please, please tell me there''s an internship program and I can keep learning directly under you.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, the balls on this kid.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°You can''t be serious.¡± Natasha whispered.


    I uncrossed my arms and held my hands up, slowly stood up, and walked over to her. I stopped a foot away and kept my hands up. ¡°What do you say? Can you find it in yourself to train someone who is willing to do everything you ask them to do, no matter what it is, and for however long you need them to do it?¡±


    Natasha actually blushed as she looked into my eyes. ¡°You really are serious.¡±


    ¡°As long as I can maintain my cover as Ben Parker, I''m all yours.¡± I said.


    ¡°Damn, kid.¡± Clint said and stored his arrow and hooked his bow over his shoulder. ¡°How can we ever trust that you''re not a plant or a secret agent for someone else?¡±


    I had to smile at that. ¡°Did your all agent search not bring up anything?¡±


    ¡°How did you know we...¡± Clint stopped talking. ¡°You wanted us to look and find Peter''s identity.¡±


    ¡°I did tell Natasha that I was going through puberty. It was a pretty big hint.¡± I said.


    Natasha caught her breath. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I know a lot of things.¡± I said and slowly put my hands down. ¡°You might want to ask Director Fury to pull a redacted file for one of their old agents.¡±


    Natasha and Clint exchanged looks, because I wasn''t supposed to know that name.


    ¡°What one?¡± Natasha asked as she looked back at me.


    ¡°Richard Parker.¡± I said and smiled at their blank faces. ¡°He was Peter''s father.¡±


    ¡°I knew you were a son or nephew.¡± Clint said.


    I smiled and nodded. ¡°I''ll just sit here and wait while you both go to work, or should I just go home and come back later when you call?¡±


    ¡°Peter''s home or your own?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°Peter''s of course. I''ve made myself indispensable to May and I''ve been living there since I took over Peter''s life.¡±


    ¡°Are you doing her?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°No, she''s too locked into the whole ''last of my family'' thing to think about anything like that.¡± I said. ¡°It''s actually kind of nice, you know? To have someone so nice consider you family.¡±


    Clint nodded and smiled.


    ¡°All right, you can go. We''ll call you as soon as we do some research.¡± Natasha said and gave me a deadly look. ¡°Don''t try to run.¡±


    ¡°Why would I run? I told you it was my life''s mission to lose my virginity to you. I did that, quite spectacularly, and now I want you to teach me everything else you know.¡± I said and darted in to kiss her hard. ¡°You''re going to have to beat me with your stun batons to keep me away from you now.¡±


    ¡°Don''t tempt me.¡± Natasha said.


    I went to my gym bag and took out one of the cell phones. I gave her the number and she gave me a pointed look. ¡°I have friends from school coming over to the apartment at noon tomorrow for food and movies. If you don''t call before then, please wait until tomorrow night to contact me.¡±


    ¡°You''re already dictating terms to me?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°I said I needed to maintain my cover. You agreed. Text me later and I''ll give you my full schedule.¡± I said and tucked the phone into my pocket. ¡°Just so you know, there''s a fire escape on the side of my apartment building and it goes right past my bedroom window.¡± I gave her a significant look. ¡°It will always be unlocked when I''m at home.¡±


    Natasha gave me the same look back for a moment, then she nodded in understanding.


    I walked back over to my gym bag and picked it up, gave them a little wave, and left. Giving them Peter''s father''s name was a bit of a red herring; but, it let me explain how I know so much, just like Clint had guessed. It would also put them into the mindset that I was playing house under a new identity and I needed to maintain it. They might even help me with it, too.


    I left the building and went down the same alley, because my spider-sense let me feel someone following me. I did the jump from wall to wall trick and was on the roof before they could get to the alley entrance. I watched the poor guy curse several times like in a tantrum, and he sent several texts.


    Sorry to cause you frustration, buddy. I thought and changed my clothes into my dark ones, donned my web shooters and mask, then hooked the gym bag over my shoulders like a backpack. I held in my laugh as I ran towards the far edge of the building and leapt off of it without a care in the world, just like I had when I was hopped up on painkillers.


    My webline hooked the corner of a tall building and I swung around it to fling myself to a roof that was across the street. I landed without trouble and my feet moved as if I had been running the whole time. The best part about what I was doing was that my trips home were becoming shorter with all of the practice I had been getting with my web shooters. I was almost at the point that my feet barely touched the rooftops anymore.

 41 Friends and Fun

    Bokuboy


    I was in bed for only fifteen minutes before I felt my spider-sense give me a familiar tingle. I hopped up and locked my door and went back to the bed, pulled off my pyjama bottoms and underwear, then stroked myself to get hard. I only had to wait another couple of minutes before my window slowly opened and a shadowy figure slipped through and stilled for a moment when they saw me.


    ¡°Are you really that eager?¡± Natasha asked in a whisper as she closed the window and slipped out of her Black Widow costume.


    ¡°To die? No, I just started this life. To be inside you again?¡± I asked in a whisper and lightly tapped myself and my erection swung forward and back. ¡°I hope that answers your question.¡±


    Natasha glanced around my room before she climbed into my bed.


    ¡°I hope you''re ready to rock my world.¡± I whispered as she laid down on top of me.


    ¡°I thought I was supposed to ask that question.¡± Natasha whispered back and then she moved up slightly and moved back to have me sheathed inside of her. ¡°Mmm, that feels good.¡±


    ¡°You''re addicted to Penis Parker already?¡± I asked.


    Natasha looked surprised and then she kissed me to muffle her laugh. ¡°Penis Parker? Really?¡±


    ¡°Despite being smart, Peter''s old school bully was not a brilliant nickname creator.¡± I said as she started moving her hips. ¡°You''re being a lot more gentle than you should be.¡± I said and cupped the sides of her face. ¡°Something went bad on the mission, didn''t it?¡±


    Natasha stopped moving as she looked into my eyes. ¡°You shouldn''t be able to read me that well.¡±


    ¡°You''re not having fun like you want to.¡± I said and ran my hands through her shoulder length red hair. ¡°I can tell the difference.¡±


    Natasha shook her head. ¡°I don''t want to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Then you''re on bottom tonight.¡± I said and carefully rolled us over. She didn''t protest and I kissed her as I slowly moved in and out of her. I shifted positions and got up on my knees and pulled her hips up to rest her ass on my thighs. ¡°Just look at that little bald skarky chewing up the bait.¡±


    Natasha chuckled and put a pillow under her head to let her see. ¡°All right, keep my hips balanced with your left hand and use your right hand and press down just below my pubic bone.¡±


    I did that and she started panting right away. ¡°External g-spot manipulation?¡±


    Natasha nodded. ¡°With... mmm... practice, you can hold there... ohhh... and also use your thumb to... rub my...¡±


    I did that and she had to clamp her mouth shut as I played with her clitoris with my thumb and kept pressure on her while also moving in and out of her at a steady pace.


    ¡°You... catch on fast.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°Just watch.¡± I said and slid my hand under her waist and lifted slightly, spread my knees a little to give me more leverage, then I moved in and out of her as quickly as I could while also doing as she asked.


    Natasha bit her lip as she moaned and tried to not be too loud about it. ¡°HNNNN!¡± She moaned as she came and quite a bit of fluid came out. It slicked us both up, not that we needed it. She had been practically dripping right from the start anyway.


    I moved my right hand up and cupped one of her breasts and played with the nipple.


    ¡°H-harder.¡± Natasha ordered.


    I complied and she kept giving me directions. We eventually changed positions and we laid down beside each other, with her facing the wall and me behind her. She arched her back slightly as she spread her legs to give me access, and I slipped inside of her again.


    ¡°Reach around and... use your fingertips on me.¡± Natasha said and I did just that. ¡°The sharper angle for entry... replaces the pressure from... the last position.¡±


    ¡°I''m learning so much from you.¡± I whispered and she turned her head to look at me, probably to see if I was being serious, and I kissed her. She moaned and kissed me back, quite enthusiastically, and we stayed like that for quite some time.


    ¡°This one is usually a guy''s favorite.¡± Natasha whispered as she moved to the center of the bed and put the pillow down for her to rest her head on, then she stuck her ass up into the air with her legs clamped together.


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± I whispered at the sight and grew harder. ¡°No wonder! Look at that beautiful thing.¡±


    Natasha blushed and glanced back at me with a particularly sexy look. ¡°Go ahead and fuck me, Ben.¡±


    I was tempted to do just that, because it looked so inviting. I put my hands on her ass and caressed both of her cheeks. It was a dream come true. The world''s best super spy was bent over for me and had asked me to fuck her. She could turn on me at any moment and kill me, like my spider-sense kept warning me, and that just made things even hotter.


    Instead of doing what she asked, I knelt down and started eating her out instead. She moaned as I used some of the things she taught me and she spread her legs a little for me. She was dripping a lot onto my sheets and I was probably going to have to wash them a few times to clean them, or I would just throw them out. We were far from being done and things were going to get a lot messier.


    Natasha came like that and it gushed a little, which meant she really was ready to get fucked, so I quickly mounted her and shoved myself into her. ¡°MMMMMM!¡± She loudly moaned and had to bury her face into the pillow to muffle it.


    I gripped her hips tightly as I started to move at a blisteringly fast pace and her panting moans were almost constant as I slammed into her, over and over, and she came hard. Then she came again. I didn''t stop, though. She wanted this, needed it, because whatever had happened during her mission was bugging her and I knew she wanted to forget, even if it was only for a little while.


    ¡°Inside... or out?¡± I asked and she growled at me without lifting her face from the pillow. ¡°Inside it is.¡±


    Natasha moaned really loudly as I shoved myself into her hard and then blew my load for several seconds. I slowly eased out of her and felt her twitch a lot as her body tried to keep me inside. I laid down beside her and she dropped her ass down and turned onto her side as she placed a hand on my chest.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°I aim to please, dear lady.¡± I whispered and put a hand on hers to hold it. ¡°I''m sorry that you can''t talk about it, so for tonight, I am your frustration relief mechanism.¡±


    Natasha smiled. ¡°Just for tonight?¡±


    ¡°You''re not ready for more than that.¡± I said with a smile back. ¡°Not yet, anyway.¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth for a second, then closed it. ¡°No, I''m not.¡±


    ¡°I know you can''t trust me completely, and that''s okay. Trust is earned and I''ll earn it the hard way.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And how will you do that?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°I''ll be right back.¡± I whispered and climbed off the bed, slipped on a pair of shorts, and left the room. I went to the bathroom, used it, and washed my hands before I grabbed a wash cloth, the soap, a towel, and a small wash basin with some water in it. I went back into my room and she was still on the bed where I had left her.


    My spider-sense was a bit stronger, too. A small camera had been placed in the corner of the room.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°Cleaning up a sensitive area.¡± I said and waved her close to the edge of the bed. ¡°Same position as before, on your knees and face.¡±


    Natasha did so and she stuck up her ass for me. ¡°Washing me isn''t going to do much, considering we aren''t stopping for a while.¡±


    I chuckled and prepped the cloth. ¡°You''re making assumptions.¡±


    ¡°What do you... oh!¡± Natasha gasped as I gently washed around her asshole.


    I gave it a good scrubbing, gently of course, and dried her off. ¡°Trust is earned.¡± I whispered and kissed both cheeks of her ass, gave her vagina a lick, then I licked around her asshole.


    ¡°Oh, god!¡± Natasha gasped and then she had to bury her face into the pillow again to muffle her moans as I started fingering her, played with her clitoris, and gave her a rimjob at the same time. ¡°OOHHH!¡±


    I had to pause and lick up the squirt she just let out, then I went back to earning her trust.


    *


    Natasha Romanoff, secret agent of SHIELD, had a hard time walking straight as she carefully climbed down the fire escape. It was nearly six in the morning and she had completely lost track of time. She had also been thoroughly fucked, even better than she had been the last time, and she wasn''t sure what to think about that.


    It was when she thought about the moments in between the various positions they had tried, that she understood why it felt different than sex normally did. Ben had cared about her and her feelings. He was gentle, even when he was being rough, and he talked to her like she was a normal person. She was also sure that a few times when they had sex, he was making love to her and not fucking her.


    Natasha had to wait until she was on the street before she laughed at what Ben considered a trust building exercise. Licking my ass? Really? How did that build my trust in him? She shook her head at the thought as she climbed into the unmarked car and started it up. She drove out of the alley and across the city to the temporary place she stayed while between missions.


    It wasn''t until she was back at the safe house that she realized Ben had been right. When she thought about him now, she felt much better about him, even though she knew he wasn''t who he said he was.


    ¡°Someone had a late night out.¡± Clint said when she walked into the kitchen. He handed her a coffee and she nodded in thanks. ¡°You''re looking thoughtful.¡±


    ¡°He''s really good.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°You can refrain from telling me the details.¡± Clint said with a chuckle.


    ¡°I meant he''s trying to manipulate me and it''s working.¡± Natasha said and took a drink.


    ¡°How so?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°He''s trying to earn my trust.¡±


    Clint looked surprised for a moment and then nodded. ¡°He found the camera and left it there.¡±


    ¡°He did one better.¡± Natasha said and took out her cell phone to hand to him. ¡°Code 1138.¡±


    Clint used a single hand to enter the code and was surprised when a live feed appeared on the screen of Ben laying down on his bed. ¡°How the hell did he do that?¡±


    ¡°I watched as he installed proprietary software that he wrote himself, that lets a cell phone access specific wireless devices.¡± Natasha said and took another drink of coffee. ¡°He also had one of our two way radios torn apart with a few extra parts added in, because he uses it to scan for local SHIELD frequencies. They come standard with the frequencies already set, apparently.¡±


    ¡°But, they aren''t designed to...¡± Clint stopped talking and looked at the cell phone. ¡°Son of a bitch.¡±


    ¡°If he''s not a tech genius, he''s close enough to pretend to be one.¡± Natasha said and finished off her coffee. ¡°I''m exhausted, so I''m going to bed.¡± She said and took the phone from Clint''s hand. ¡°Wake me up if anything happens that needs my attention.¡±


    Clint nodded and Natasha left the kitchen and went to her set of rooms. She locked the door and stripped off, and took a quick shower. She put on a large t-shirt and panties before she went to bed.


    Natasha chose an option for the feed and spoke. ¡°Goodnight, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Natasha.¡± Ben said and waved at the camera.


    *


    My alarm went off at eleven-thirty and I had a nice shower before I dressed in clothing to relax in, the classic jogging pants and baggy t-shirt. I went downstairs and saw that May was preparing to leave.


    ¡°Aunt May, I told you that you don''t have to go. We''re just eating and watching a movie or two.¡±


    May looked at what I was wearing and shook her head. ¡°You''re not having just one girl over, Ben. Or, two. Or three. You invited four of them!¡± She said with a laugh and put on her coat and grabbed her purse. ¡°Even though I''m a girl myself, I''m not having anything to do with what you''ve unleashed! GOOD LUCK!¡±


    I stared in disbelief as May ran from the apartment and slammed the door. Her reaction was a little worrying, because it indicated that my invitation meant something completely different to the girls that I invited over than it did to me. I would have to be careful and take May''s warning at face value.


    I turned the oven on to preheat it, in case it was needed later, and then went to the living room to set the television up to watch movies and opened the cabinet on the side that had a pretty good selection of different titles. It was honestly weird what counted as media in the Marvel Universe; but, looking at it from this perspective, media from where I was from would be considered weird, too.


    Then again, there were a lot of stories from where I was from that I could probably make a fortune if I produced it all. That was a thought for later, because I was much too busy to do anything like sit down and write out everything I knew that didn''t exist here.


    The doorbell rang and I walked over to answer it. I opened the door and opened my mouth to say hello. Instead of speaking, my spider-sense went off a little and I was quickly assaulted by four girls as they hugged me and I got a kiss from two different someones. It had happened so fast that I honestly couldn''t tell who had done what, because I had been distracted when someone grabbed my butt.


    ¡°You could have dressed up a bit.¡± Max commented and shut the door.


    ¡°At least he smells nice.¡± Gina said and went right over to the television. ¡°I always thought boys would die if they used lavender soap.¡±


    Val laughed and inspected the couch as she pushed down on the cushions. ¡°Me, too! I swear, they even forget to wear deodorant most days.¡±


    ¡°Where''s the bathroom?¡± Liz asked as she glanced around.


    ¡°APARTMENT TOUR!¡± Max, Val, and Gina yelled.


    My spider-sense went off a little as I was suddenly swept up inside the group of girls and pretty much carried all around the apartment, both downstairs and upstairs, and they looked at everything. They even opened all of the closets and cupboards and rooted around!


    Thankfully, I distracted them in my room with the mention of food before they tried to search the top shelf of my closet where I had stashed my security devices, my gym bags with clothes, my equipment, the illegal money, and my Spider-Man suit. They had still touched, picked up, or moved everything else.


    ¡°Pound cake first?¡± Max asked and three quick nods later, they had scrambled out of my room and had run down the stairs.


    ¡°It''s like herding cats.¡± I said and I thought I heard a soft laugh. ¡°Switch back to one way, gorgeous and deadly.¡± I said and blew a kiss at the camera before I left my room.


    I entered the kitchen and all of the cupboards were open and four pert asses in denim were sticking out of different places. I didn''t say anything as they rooted around and then they started pulling things out. I just enjoyed the sight of them in normal clothes and wiggling their asses as they hunted. It was almost like during gym class when I had witnessed the same thing.


    I was sure that Max had shaken her ass a lot more than she had to while climbing that rope. Even Gina had given me a particular look before she climbed up and Val just gave me a ''watch this'' look and shook the ladder with her ass swinging. It had made the others laugh and I grinned and thanked her when she climbed back down.


    ¡°I found it!¡± Max said and pulled out a large cake pan from the fridge. ¡°I also have three other containers that have something in them that looks really good!¡±


    ¡°I''ve got the cookies.¡± Liz said and had three packs of cookies in her arms.


    ¡°I''ve got the popcorn.¡± Val said and took out several boxes of instant popcorn, then she gave me a hard look. ¡°I hope there''s some real butter to melt for these.¡±


    I reached around Max, who still stood in front of the open refrigerator, and took out a large block. ¡°The ceramic bowl we use is above the microwave.¡±


    ¡°Ooo! It''s salted!¡± Gina said and handed me two packs of crackers and a bag of chips as she took the butter.


    ¡°Wicked!¡± Val exclaimed and everything was soon piled onto the kitchen table so they could prepare the popcorn ''properly'', according to Val.


    ¡°Utensils are in the drawer by the sink.¡± I said.


    ¡°We know.¡± The four girls said as they bustled around.


    Val found the bowl and used a knife to chop the butter up and put it in the microwave to melt, Gina opened two of the instant popcorn packs, Liz grabbed five large glasses, and Max went back to the fridge to get the soda pop.


    I knew what was coming, so I went to the living room and cleaned off the coffee table and moved it closer to the couch for easier access. A few minutes later, I was proven right as everything was opened and moved to the coffee table with forks, spoons, and knives jammed into everything for easy eating.


    The popcorn was soon popped and butter was liberally drizzled over it, except there were only two bags. I was about to ask why that was, until Liz sat near the middle of the couch, Gina sat beside her on the end, Max left a me-sized hole in the middle and sat down as Val sat beside her on the other end of the couch. Liz and Max held the popcorn bags and Gina and Val dipped their hands into them to grab a handful.


    ¡°What should we start with?¡± I asked and went to the television, the brief mystery solved.


    ¡°Tragic romance!¡± ¡°Love story!¡± ¡°Slasher!¡± Val, Gina, and Max said and repeated the choices they had made when I asked them on Friday in the cafeteria.


    ¡°Liz?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Anything''s fine.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Sci-fi horror it is.¡± I said and reached for a movie.


    ¡°NOOO!¡± The four girls yelled as one.


    I burst out laughing and grabbed May''s favorite romantic comedy. I started it up and walked around the coffee table, then successfully wedged myself between Max and Liz. I pretended to yawn very loudly, stretched my arms up over my head, then put them on the back of the couch around Max''s and Liz''s shoulders.


    ¡°That was so lame!¡± Max and Val said at the same time and all four girls laughed.


    I smiled smugly and moved my hands out to rest them on Val''s and Gina''s shoulders. They kind of gave me a look, then sat a little closer as the movie started.

 42 Friends and Fun Continued

    Bokuboy


    The girls seemed to really like the movie and Gina looked especially happy. Max hopped up and went to choose a movie. I excused myself and went to the kitchen to grab a few of the containers from the freezer and put them into the prepped oven. I turned the heat down so that the food would be ready by the time the next movie was over.


    Val came in to the kitchen and started cooking two more popcorn bags. ¡°Thanks for inviting us over.¡±


    ¡°What you said was right. I want to keep my word that I don''t want to split up your friendship. It''s your last year at high school together and depending on the courses you choose, the colleges you attend might be completely different.¡±


    Val took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Yeah, it''s a little sad.¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t have to be for another six months or so.¡± I said and she smiled and nodded. ¡°I noticed you have your hair tied back today.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± Val asked and one of her hands went to her hair. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think you have cute earlobes.¡± I said with a smile and the microwave dinged.


    Val blushed slightly and laughed a little as she took out the cooked bag and added another to cook. ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°I would have to play with them a bit and suck on them a little to make sure.¡± I said with a chuckle.


    ¡°Would you really?¡± Val asked with an odd look on her face.


    ¡°I guess that''s not something you like.¡± I guessed and she looked surprised. ¡°If you need more butter, it''s in the door of the fridge.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Val said and I left her in the kitchen.


    ¡°Where''s Max?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bathroom.¡± Liz said. She and Gina had switched places for some reason.


    I nodded and went up the stairs, just to make sure that Max hadn''t gone into my room instead. Max opened the bathroom door, saw me, and grabbed my hand and pulled me in before she closed the door. Her lips were on mine and she hugged me tightly for several moments, before her hand reached down and found me already hard.


    Max moaned a little and broke the kiss. ¡°I can''t get that feeling out of my head, Ben.¡±


    ¡°We don''t have time to do that. We need to get back downstairs.¡± I said.


    ¡°Can I... I want to see it.¡± Max whispered and blushed.


    ¡°Why else do you think I wore jogging pants?¡± I asked her and she looked surprised and happy.


    Max stepped back and I pulled my pants and underwear down. ¡°Oh, wow.¡±


    ¡°You can touch it if you want.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Y-yeah... touch.¡± Max whispered and carefully knelt as she stared at it. ¡°It looks oddly appealing.¡±


    ¡°It''s the shape that makes it feel incredible when it''s moving in and out of you.¡± I whispered back.


    ¡°In... and out.¡± Max whispered and looked up at my face.


    ¡°We really do need to get back.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you want me to?¡± Max asked and moved forward a little.


    ¡°If we had more time...¡± I started to say and she kissed the tip. I caught my breath and Max looked pleased, then she gave me a lick. I throbbed for her and she looked even happier. ¡°M-Max...¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry this is just a tease.¡± Max said and slipped most of the tip into her mouth as she kissed it, then she stood and looked into my eyes. She must have liked what she saw there, because she nodded and left the bathroom.


    I looked down at myself. ¡°Sorry, buddy. It looks like you''re sticking around for a while.¡±


    It bobbed as if in response and I pulled up my underwear and my jogging pants. I soon discovered the downside of having clothing that granted easy access, when I walked down the stairs to the living room. It provided almost no concealing ability. All four girls stared as my erect member bounced behind the loose boxers and jogging pants and all four of them blushed.


    I didn''t say anything as I sat down in my spot and Val had switched with Max to sit beside me, just like Gina had with Liz. I didn''t ask what was going on and did the same yawn trick to put my arms on the back of the couch. I wasn''t surprised that they didn''t comment or laughed this time.


    Max started the movie and it was a tragic love story. That was Val''s choice and she cuddled into me a bit more than necessary. That wasn''t the surprise, though. Gina had passed me a bowl of chips to hold and then her hand slipped down under the bowl and into my underwear. She gave me a few strokes, as if testing if it was real, then she... left her hand there and didn''t do anything else.


    I would occasionally glance at Gina as her other hand would take an occasional chip from the bowl, because she would grip me with the other one and jerk me a little. Her face didn''t give anything away, either. I could feel myself getting close from the constant attention and I wasn''t sure how I was going to excuse myself.


    ¡°I''m calling for a bathroom break.¡± Liz said and quickly stood. ¡°First dibs!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Val gasped as Liz ran up the stairs.


    Max chuckled and paused the movie. ¡°She always does that.¡±


    Thank god. I thought as Gina''s hand slid out of my underwear. ¡°I''m next.¡± I said and stood before I realized that Gina''s playing had shifted my position quite a lot.


    Penis Parker stuck straight out and Gina and Val had open mouths as they stared at the biggest tent pole a man could produce, while Max looked happy.


    She probably thinks I''m still hard because of her. I thought and put the bowl down on the coffee table and carefully walked over to the stairs and went up them.


    Fate was fickle, it seemed, because Liz opened the bathroom door as I approached it and her eyes widened at my current state. Without hesitating, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bathroom and carefully shut the door so that no one would hear it.


    ¡°I''m sorry I''ve been so indecisive about you, Ben.¡± Liz said and sat me down on the toilet. ¡°I made a huge mistake and now I''m even more indecisive about you.¡±


    ¡°Liz...¡±


    Liz pulled my pants and underwear down and saw Penis Parker in all his glory. ¡°This could have been all mine.¡± She said as she knelt and started sucking. She didn''t have a lot of experience with blowjobs, which showed, because she was only sucking and not doing anything else.


    It didn''t make any difference to Penis Parker, though. He had been prepped and ready for quite some time, thanks to Gina playing with him for so long.


    ¡°Liz, I''m gonna blow.¡±


    Liz stopped sucking and looked surprised as she moved back. ¡°Already? I thought it was supposed to take a while.¡±


    ¡°It usually does.¡± I said and stood, ignored the slight tingling of my spider-sense, and flipped up the toilet seat as I leaned over the toilet bowl and started jerking off. ¡°I''m spending the day with four hot girls. You''re all so sexy... wearing tight jeans and... cleavage and... cuddling me... it feels so nice and... Ohhhh!¡±


    Liz stared in shock as I moaned pretty loudly and shot a long white stream into the toilet, then I did it again, and again. I panted as I gave myself a few more jerks to get the majority of the rest out, then I let my erection go. Some white stuff still dripped from the tip.


    ¡°Fuuuuck, that was such a relief!¡± I said.


    ¡°It sure looked like it.¡± Val commented and I turned my head to look and saw the bathroom door was open. A smug looking Val, a blushing Gina, and a surprised Max stood there and stared at us.


    ¡°This isn''t exactly what it looks like.¡± I said.


    The three girls looked at Liz and back at me. It was perfectly coordinated, as if they had practised it.


    ¡°I tried to do it.¡± Liz admitted. ¡°I barely started when he said he was done.¡± She said, disappointed.


    ¡°Um, if we''re all being honest here.¡± Gina said and her blush intensified. ¡°That was kind of my fault.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Liz, Max, and Val asked.


    ¡°I''ve been kind of playing with it since the second movie started.¡± Gina said.


    ¡°No way!¡± ¡°You''re kidding!¡± ¡°That''s how to take the initiative.¡± Liz, Max, and Val said, respectively.


    ¡°Actually, Max licked and kissed it earlier, so she had the initiative.¡± I corrected.


    Max blushed as disbelieving words came from her friends. ¡°What happened to our secret affair?¡±


    ¡°It''s an open secret.¡± I said and smiled.


    ¡°You''re still hanging out... and dripping.¡± Val said and motioned towards my erection.


    ¡°I have to wash it off before putting it away.¡± I said as an explanation.


    ¡°Why is it still hard?¡± Liz asked. ¡°I thought it went away after... you know.¡±


    I pointed to her, then to Max, Gina, and Val. ¡°You are the hottest girls in school. Do I need to say more than that?¡±


    They all blushed and seemed to exchange looks, then nodded slightly.


    ¡°Wash up, Ben.¡± Val said and waved for Liz to follow her. They shut the door behind them and I did as she asked.


    I cleaned up and made sure my underwear wasn''t all spotty from all the playing. It was, so it was discarded into the laundry basket. I grabbed a new pair of boxers from my room and put them on and my jogging pants again. I went downstairs and it was oddly quiet as the four girls stood near each other.


    ¡°Sit.¡± Val said and pointed at the couch.


    It was eerily similar to last night with Black Widow ordering me to do the same thing. I sat down and looked at them without showing anything on my face, because my spider-sense wasn''t tingling.


    ¡°I hope you''re ready for this.¡± Val said and walked over to me.


    ¡°For what?¡± I asked her.


    Val nodded to the others and she knelt in front of me as the other three girls gathered around me and knelt or sat beside me.


    ¡°Something that''s never, ever going to happen again.¡± Liz said.


    I looked at each of their faces and ended on Val''s. She nodded and I was suddenly lifted and my jogging pants and underwear were taken off, once again revealing Penis Parker for them to admire.


    ¡°The only quadruple blowjob you will ever have.¡± Val said and dove for my still erect member.


    ¡°I can''t believe we''re doing this.¡± Liz said and leaned down to wait.


    Val stopped sucking and licked down the shaft to start playing with my balls. ¡°It''s the best way to learn.¡± She said. ¡°Remember what I said to do.¡±


    Liz nodded and sucked me in, then she flicked me with her tongue and bobbed her head up and down.


    ¡°Much... better.¡± I said and Liz made a pleased sound. She soon stopped and moved to lick the side of me and Gina took the main position.


    That kind of surprised me, because I didn''t think she would have done anything like this. She sucked on me for a bit and then moved off to lick the side like Liz was, then Max gave me an odd look.


    ¡°There''s no room below or on the sides, so you''ll have to sit on my face to reach me with your mouth.¡± I said and Liz, Val, and Gina stopped licking and stared at me.


    Max didn''t hesitate at all as she yanked off her jeans and panties, stepped onto the couch to straddle my face, and she crawled down my body to slip her mouth over me. I braced her hips for her so she wouldn''t go down too far, and I held her steady as I licked her.


    ¡°Now I wish I chose to go last.¡± Liz said, a bit sadly.


    ¡°Switch when... Max finishes.¡± I said and Penis Parker suddenly had some very enthusiastic licking on the left side. ¡°Gina... next.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Gina exclaimed and the licking on the right side picked up, too.


    Val took the opportunity to show me her appreciation for leaving her until last as she sucked one of my balls into her mouth and gently played with it, then she did the other one.


    *


    May came home at suppertime with a bag of take-out and barely stepped into the apartment when she stopped, turned around, and went right back out as she slammed the door. Her mind had refused to see the sight it had just seen of four naked girls wrapped tightly around her nephew. The used condoms had been a bit much, especially because she had seen a bit of red on a couple of them.


    ¡°Ben is buying me a new couch.¡± May said and rode the elevator back down to the lobby. She went off to the side and sat down, took out the food she had bought, and ate a nice meal all by herself. She waited for an appropriate amount of time, or so she assumed, and packed up the food and went back into the elevator. She rode it up to her floor, went to the door, and knocked before she entered using her key.


    ¡°Hi, May!¡± Ben said and waved. ¡°The food''s ready if you''re hungry.¡±


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± May said and walked across the living room, past four blushing girls, and went to the kitchen. ¡°You can add this to your buffet.¡± She said and handed him the bags of fast food she had bought.


    ¡°That''s great. Thank you.¡± Ben said and took the bags to put on the kitchen table. ¡°May...¡±


    ¡°I don''t want to hear it.¡± May whispered. ¡°At least you were responsible.¡±


    ¡°You tried to warn me and I thought I knew what to expect.¡± Ben whispered back. ¡°I was careful and it seemed like that wasn''t enough. Things kind of snowballed and... well...¡±


    ¡°You''re buying a new couch tomorrow when we cash your voucher.¡± May said. ¡°It''s not worth dry cleaning the cushions.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Ben said and took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I''m sorry I disappointed you.¡±


    May stepped close and looked at his face. ¡°I''m sorry I didn''t stick around like you wanted me to.¡±


    Ben looked surprised for a moment, then he grinned. ¡°Yes! It''s all your fault!¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what?¡± May asked, surprised.


    ¡°Did you hear that, everyone? May said it was all her fault for not being here!¡± Ben exclaimed.


    ¡°Hey, you''re right!¡± ¡°We were unsupervised!¡± ¡°It''s not our fault!¡± ¡°I had fun.¡± Liz, Max, Gina, and Val said, respectively.


    ¡°SHH!¡± Three of them said and Val shrugged.


    ¡°Thank you, May.¡± Ben whispered and May saw that he was being sincere. ¡°They were feeling a little awkward afterwards.¡±


    May sighed. ¡°All right, I''ll be the bad guy that forced you all together.¡±


    ¡°I knew you would understand.¡± Ben said and took out a piece of cobbler that he had saved for her. ¡°Really, thank you.¡±


    May quickly ate the piece of cobbler and left the kitchen. She went up the stairs without looking at the four happy girls on the couch. It wasn''t until she was in her bedroom and undressing that she realized that her nephew just had an orgy on her living room couch. An actual orgy. One boy and four girls had just had sex on her couch and looked like they had a lot of fun.


    She was either going to toss the couch out over the fire escape or burn the thing to ash. Or both. It would depend on how she felt in the morning when she woke up. For now, she wasn''t sure what to feel as she dressed for bed and climbed under the covers.


    May''s mind went back to that instant when she first walked in and had taken in the entire scene. Ben''s happy face and the four girls happily cuddled up to him, really stuck in her mind. Whatever they had done, they were all happy with it. Very, very happy.


    She sighed and hugged her pillow tightly and tried her best to not think about how Ben always carried her up to bed and tucked her in. Sunday was always the odd day and she was in bed much earlier than she normally was. Like she had told Ben, she didn''t want to deal with four hormonal teenage girls, even if they had been calmed down after having sex. With her nephew. With Ben. With her Ben.


    May shook that thought out of her head and laid there for quite some time. She was unable to sleep, even though it had been a long day. Maybe it was because she was in bed several hours before she was used to? All of those nights she had waited up for Ben had kind of locked her into a pattern.


    There was a soft knock on her bedroom door and Ben peered in. May didn''t try to pretend to be asleep and he came in and shut the door. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it.


    ¡°You really are the best.¡± Ben said and lightly petted her hair. ¡°I didn''t expect what happened to happen. It was... well, several things happened and... we ended up on the couch and we all had fun. It started as just oral on me, quickly became a mutual exchange, and then... I''m sure it was Max that was the first to say she couldn''t wait anymore.¡±


    May sighed. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to make sure you knew that you were right to warn me. Even though Max was a virgin, we used a condom, just in case. All it takes is once, even if we hadn''t had sex before.¡± Ben said and smiled at her. ¡°It really got out of hand after that. Max''s reactions were... she really enjoyed it and it got the other three going and... well... condoms all around.¡±


    May covered her face with a hand. ¡°I didn''t want to know that!¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Then you showed up and became our convenient excuse to explain everything that happened. It made us all feel okay about it and even though I thanked you already for it, I came in here to tell you that it was only going to happen this once and never again.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± May said and dropped her hand. ¡°Do you know how I felt when I walked in and saw four naked girls cuddled up to you?¡±


    ¡°I''m very, very tempted to make a joke.¡± Ben said and placed a hand on her cheek. ¡°I won''t cheapen it by doing that, though. You saw five friends after they had enjoyed themselves. I can only assume that once you got over the shock of it, you realized we were happy.¡±


    May gave him a pointed look, then she sighed. ¡°Yes, Ben. I saw that you were all happy.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad, because even though it hadn''t started out that way, we did end up giving each other a lot of pleasure. None of us regret it, not even Liz.¡±


    ¡°Liz!¡± May gasped. ¡°What am I going to tell Doris?!?¡±


    Ben looked thoughtful and then smirked. ¡°It depends on if you want her to be horny or angry.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped again and Ben laughed.


    ¡°You don''t have to tell her anything. If she is half as observant as I think she is, she''ll know Liz got up to something.¡±


    ¡°You mean you.¡± May said.


    Ben shrugged. ¡°We might not have an epic romance; but, she was pretty great about the whole first time having sex thing. That she also had her friends right there to encourage her and to give her advice, just seemed to make it that much better.¡±


    May let out a groan and covered her face again. ¡°I really didn''t want to know that!¡±


    ¡°May.¡± Ben said in a serious voice and she uncovered her face. ¡°We were responsible, as you already know. We had fun, we took precautions, and we were careful. No one was forced into it and no one regrets it. Especially Max.¡±


    May gave him a surprised look. ¡°Don''t tell me! I don''t want to know!¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°I was glad to have someone else around to hold her mouth shut, because she''s a screamer. Like, bloody murder screams when she has an orgasm.¡±


    May groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. ¡°Stop! Don''t talk anymore!¡±


    ¡°I have to tell someone, because it''s awesomely scary. She likes slasher movies and her screams are the same as some of the great screamers from her favorite movies.¡± Ben said. ¡°We were all laughing after she came the third time, even though the first time scared the hell out of the other girls.¡±


    May gave him a stern look. ¡°You had sex with four girls! FOUR! At the SAME TIME!¡±


    ¡°That''s my limit. I only have one erection, two hands, and one mouth. I had all four going at once and it sure was something.¡± Ben said and May looked shocked. ¡°I guess that was too much information.¡±


    ¡°YOU THINK?!?¡± May yelled.


    Ben leaned down and cupped both sides of her face. ¡°May, relax. It''s okay. This was the only time it was going to happen and we all agreed to it beforehand. It was supposed to only be a quadruple blowjob, the first and only one, and things quickly evolved from there. Or devolved, depending on how you look at it.¡±


    May stared at him and she wasn''t sure what she was supposed to do with all of the information she now had. It was information that she never thought she would ever have, so it was difficult for her to deal with it.


    ¡°I wanted to apologize for doing things like that here in the apartment and I''m sorry you became a scapegoat to explain us just having fun.¡± Ben said and leaned down to kiss her cheek. ¡°Thank you, May. Thank you.¡±


    May sighed. ¡°Just... go to bed.¡±


    ¡°It''s still early. I thought you might want to...¡±


    ¡°Go. To. Bed.¡± May ordered.


    Ben opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and nodded. He stood up and walked over to the bedroom door, looked back at her, and quietly shut the door behind him as he left.


    May sighed again and rolled over to face away from the door. She had been shocked at the sight of Ben with those girls and it would stay with her for a very long time. She would never admit that the happy looks on their faces would also stay with her for just as long.

 43 The First Day Off

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± May said as she sunk down into the cushion of the plush leather sofa. ¡°We''re getting this.¡±


    ¡°Shh! We''re supposed to pretend to hate it and we might get a deal on it.¡± I said and waved my hands exaggeratedly in a ''no'' gesture.


    The sales guy laughed. ¡°I''ll throw in the two end tables and the coffee table, just for making me laugh.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± May and I asked at the same time.


    ¡°Sure. We''ve got a sale on and it''s no problem adding this sofa to the list.¡±


    ¡°SOLD!¡± May and I spoke at the same time again.


    The guy laughed again and led us over to the counter and rang up the sale. ¡°So, are you going for financing or...¡±


    ¡°Cash.¡± I said and he looked surprised. ¡°We''ll take the express delivery and the old couch pick-up, too.¡±


    May handed over the money for the couch and the extras and the guy handed back the receipt. He seemed to notice the nice crisp bills and we quickly explained just getting them from the bank and May showed the receipt for cashing the voucher.


    ¡°You''re walking around with five grand in your purse?¡± The guy asked, surprised.


    ¡°Not anymore.¡± May said with a smile. ¡°We''re stopping at another place to make a big purchase, too.¡±


    The guy nodded. ¡°The Furniture Warehouse thanks you for your business. Your delivery will arrive around three pm or seven pm.¡±


    ¡°That''s oddly specific.¡± May said.


    ¡°It''s before and after supper rush hour.¡± The sales guy said. ¡°Have a great day!¡±


    We thanked him and left the building to catch a taxi. We rode it downtown to the city''s main administration center and checked the lobby. We followed the map there to a small office at the back of the building where the patent office was.


    The man sitting behind the desk didn''t even look up from his paper covered desk for nearly ten minutes, even though we had knocked on the open door and coughed several times.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± He asked in a bored voice and started filling out a form.


    ¡°I want to file a patent.¡± I said and May handed me a folded manila envelope. I opened it up and took out the drafted schematics for my security device.


    ¡°Ben, you should file both of them.¡± May said.


    I shook my head. ¡°I''m still giving you that money. The couch I bought out of my part.¡± I said and handed the sheet to the clerk. I can come back later to file the other two using the money I have stashed at home.


    The man took the sheet. ¡°Type of patent?¡±


    ¡°Technology.¡± I responded.


    ¡°Name, birth date, contact information.¡± The man said and handed me the form.


    I filled in what was required and he took the form back and finished filling it out. He stapled it to the back of the drafting schematics and turned around without getting up from his chair and put the sheet into a large machine that looked like a photocopier.


    ¡°After your submission has been peer reviewed, you will be notified within the next three to five days if it''s accepted and you can pay the registration fee then.¡±


    ¡°Peer reviewed? Three to five days?¡± I asked. ¡°There was nothing in what I read about patenting something that mentioned anything like that.¡±


    The man gave me a bored look. ¡°You can''t just patent anything you want. It needs to be checked if it''s a rip-off of another patent, assessed if it will be an environmental danger or could cause bodily harm, then if it''s a viable technology.¡±


    ¡°Who''s reviewing it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Whatever scientific minds are available at the time of submission. That''s not my department. If you want to know the names of the peer committee, you''ll have to visit the personnel department and ask them.¡±


    I opened my mouth to argue with the man and May put a hand on my arm and distracted me.


    ¡°Ben, let''s just go. He''s not going to answer anymore questions.¡±


    I looked back and the man had already dropped his head to stare at the papers on his desk. I held in my sigh and we left the office. We rode a taxi to a nice little bistro and had lunch, which May enjoyed. I pretended to, because I just couldn''t get rid of the feeling that what happened in the patent office wasn''t right. It wasn''t right at all.


    *


    ¡°Sir, could you spare a moment?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°I''m busy.¡± Tony Stark said and pulled a burned out repulsor thruster from his armored boot. ¡°Why do you keep shorting out, you little bastard?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps if you asked it nicely instead of cursing at it, it might answer you, sir.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Hardy-har.¡± Tony said and tossed the wrecked part into the pile of parts for recycling. ¡°All right, what have you got for me?¡±


    ¡°Someone filed a technology patent.¡± Jarvis said and the split layout for the armored boot shrunk down into a side window on the display table as a scan of the drafted schematic of the patent was displayed in the center.


    ¡°What is that monstrosity?¡± Tony asked as he examined it. ¡°Where''s the style? Where''s the pizzazz?¡± He asked rhetorically as he raised it up from the table.


    Jarvis made a three dimensional rendering of the drawing and Tony shook his head at it.


    ¡°That casing''s not going to last long.¡± Tony said and crumpled it up and tossed it into the virtual trash can. ¡°That mechanism is too simplistic to work for long. There''s no redundancy and no backup.¡± He said and started modifying things and replacing them. ¡°Those nozzles can''t handle two different streams from two separate tanks. Why are there are two main tanks and not a backup?¡±


    ¡°It is boggling, sir.¡± Jarvis said.


    Tony worked for about twenty minutes and took out the simplistic circuit boards and replaced them with his proprietary technology and added the StarkOS to run it, because it was designed to run everything. He also removed the unnecessary motion sensors, leaving only one, and shifted what he thought were extra nozzles to the backup system.


    ¡°Now that''s a proper security device.¡± Tony said and saved the project. It was now twice the size and looked like a really fancy wall sconce that held a hidden light, instead of the practical and unobtrusive original that no one would notice. ¡°Jarvis, file and patent it.¡±


    ¡°Sir, the original...¡±


    ¡°It was never going to work.¡± Tony interrupted. ¡°It was too simplistic in design, the mechanical parts were practically designed to fail, and there was no backup system in case of jams and malfunctions.¡±


    ¡°I will make the appropriate notes on the submission.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°What do you plan on using as the fluid, sir? The original patent does not specify.¡±


    ¡°Containment foam can fit into the pressurized containers. It should catch criminals quickly and not cause too much of a mess afterwards.¡± Tony said. ¡°Send that off to the manufacturing plant in New Jersey and give it a priority rating when you send the notification to Pepper. She''ll know what to do with it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Jarvis said and did as he was tasked.


    ¡°Can you give me a hand tracking down the fault in my boot''s electrical system? It''s bugging me and I hate things that bug me.¡± Tony said.


    ¡°It would be my pleasure, sir.¡± Jarvis said.


    *


    May and I spent the afternoon together as we window shopped and pretended to buy all of the things we would when we were rich. We had a great time being all snooty and joking around before we went back to the apartment when it was close to the time that the delivery men could show up.


    I was barely inside the apartment and had taken off my jacket when my cell phone beeped at me. I took it out, wondering who it could be, and I stared in disbelief at the text it showed.


    May saw the look on my face. ¡°Ben, what is it?¡±


    ¡°It... it was rejected.¡± I said and May stepped close to look at the message.


    ¡°Oh, no.¡± May whispered.


    ¡°It''s too simplistic? Mechanically unsound? No redundancy or backup system?¡± I asked. ¡°I designed it to be easily constructed on purpose! The less cost on the manufacturing side, the less cost that has to be transferred to the customer! IT''S SUPPOSED TO BE CHEAP AND AFFORDABLE! THAT''S THE WHOLE POINT!¡±


    ¡°BEN! CALM DOWN!¡± May yelled.


    I opened my mouth to yell right back at her, then realized she wasn''t who I needed to vent my frustration on. I felt calmness take over and smiled a fake smile. ¡°I''m sorry, May. I didn''t mean to yell.¡±


    ¡°Ben, let''s just relax for a while as we wait for the delivery.¡± May said and went over to the garbage bag covered couch and turned on the television. ¡°Oh, god.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked and went over to stare at what was being shown on the television.


    ''Stark Enterprises is proud to announce the creation of a revolutionary new security system, Stark Protect.''


    ¡°This wonderful system works in connection with all other StarkOS products and you can even check it with your phone. You no longer need to worry that your business is going to be robbed when you''re not there! The patented delivery system has been fully tested and...¡±


    ¡°That. Fucking. Arrogant. ASSHOLE!¡± I yelled.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°He STOLE our FUTURE, May!¡± I shouted and felt something inside of me flare to life. It almost burned through my veins and all of my muscles tensed up as anger filled me. I had never felt anything like it before and I wasn''t sure what to think about it. ¡°All my plans... the things I wanted to do...¡±


    ¡°Ben, don''t... don''t overreact.¡± May whispered and stepped close as she tried to hug me.


    I stepped back from her and she looked hurt. ¡°I won''t overreact.¡± I said and calmly walked up the stairs and entered my room. I had constructed a few little devices that focused on specific frequencies and I would need them for what I thought I was going to do. I might have to break into the school again and raid the robotics lab and use the mechanical engineering shop for parts.


    I grabbed a backpack and loaded it up with what I would need, including the laptop, then I remembered the camera. I had gotten used to the low buzz it gave me and that was stupid of me. I faced it and made a hand signal for privacy and then covered it with a plastic cover. I went to my closet and dug out the gym bag with my Spider-Man suit in it.


    I quickly realized that I couldn''t carry it and the equipment I needed in my backpack, so I would have to take both, just not out of the apartment at the same time. I opened the window and tucked the gym bag in the corner of the fire escape and closed and locked the window again. I uncovered the camera and slung my backpack over my shoulder as I left my room.


    ¡°Ben? Where are you going?¡± May asked with concern in her voice.


    ¡°For a walk.¡± I said and she looked worried. ¡°Don''t worry, May. I promise that I won''t overreact.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I might be out for a while.¡± I said and she looked even more worried as I left the apartment. I rode the elevator down to the ground floor and left the building. I ran around to the side with the fire escape and I was surprised I didn''t sense anything with my spider-sense. I climbed up and grabbed the gym bag, then climbed up the rest of the building.


    When I reached the roof, I was pretty high up and out of sight, so I quickly changed my clothes and put on my web shooters and my Spider-Man suit. I tucked the gym bag with my clothes into the corner of the roof and webbed it up. That wasn''t strictly necessary, because the roof didn''t have an internal access and no one climbed the fire escape to go to the roof, because it was getting pretty cold out.


    I webbed up my backpack to disguise it and put it on, then walked over to the corner of the roof and crouched down as I looked out over the city. This was it. My debut. I thought, because even though it was late in the afternoon and about to become evening, it was still fairly bright out. There was a slight cloud cover and that wasn''t going to provide much shadow for me to hide in. Everyone was going to notice me swinging around the city.


    I crawled around the roof until my spider-sense told me it was safe to go and I immediately leapt off the roof and flicked my right hand out to snag a nearby building with a webline. I held on with one hand and kicked my legs at the bottom of the swing to gain a lot of momentum. I let that webline go and shot another with my left hand to swing again.


    I was three buildings away before my spider-sense warned me of something. I held onto the webline and swung back where I had come from and let go when I was several stories up. There were several gasps and people pointed at me as I flipped over and landed on top of a streetlight. My spider-sense increased as I looked down at the person I hadn''t met yet and also recognized.


    Maria Hill, SHIELD''s deputy director, wore a stylish business suit and skirt and high heeled boots. She also had a concealed weapon behind her back, because she drew it and pointed it right at me.


    ¡°YOU! You''re under arrest!¡± Maria shouted.


    I tilted my head at her to make her thing I was confused.


    ¡°Surrender now or I will open fire!¡± Maria shouted and aimed for my head.


    I wasn''t having that, so I shot a webline right into the barrel of the nine millimetre handgun and a webline at the earpiece she wore. I yanked on the lines and both the gun and earpiece were brought right to me and I easily caught both.


    ¡°Agent Hill! Have you apprehended the suspect?¡± Nick Fury''s voice asked from the earpiece.


    ¡°Nnnoooo.¡± I said with a deep gravelly voice and crushed it.


    ¡°You''re going to pay for that.¡± Maria said and started to kneel and reach inside her boot.


    I knew she was going for a back-up weapon and tapped my web shooter to shoot a small glob of web fluid at her hand. It splattered and covered her hand, the ankle of her boot, and part of the sidewalk, which just so happened to trap her.


    Maria let out a whispered curse as several people nearby filmed it with their cell phones. Funnily enough, none of them came forward to try and help her. I hopped down to land in front of her in a crouch to keep my face at the same height as hers.


    ¡°Once I get loose, I will take you down.¡± Maria promised.


    I needed to discourage that line of thinking, so I held her gun by the barrel and handed it to her. She looked surprised that I would so that, then she grabbed for it as if she was going to shoot it, even though she was using her off-hand. A slight sound of groaning metal later, I let the slightly crushed and deformed barrel go. The look of shock on her face was priceless.


    I wanted to keep her unnerved, so I reached up with a gloved hand and lightly caressed the cheek of her face. ¡°Prrrreeety.¡±


    Maria looked disgusted, which was exactly what I wanted. I stood and hopped up to back flip back onto the streetlight in one smooth motion, then I leapt up another ten feet and shot a webline to swing away. I ignored the people that rushed over to help her, now that the danger had passed.


    Dealing with her had calmed me down significantly; but, I still had a bit of anger to work through and there was nothing better than kicking some drug dealer ass. I swung around for about ten minutes before I found a convenient target.


    I landed on a nearby building and crept down into the alleyway about halfway to the street and saw several gang members selling drugs right there on the street corner. I shook my head in disbelief that they would do it so blatantly and in broad daylight. I quickly set up a wireless camera and let it record several drug transactions and captured each of the gang member''s faces.


    I might be eager to beat the crap out of them; but, I wasn''t stupid. I didn''t want them getting out of jail in an hour because there was no evidence of a crime. When I believed there was enough, I turned the camera off and saved the video files, then I stood up on the side of the building and shot several weblines at the two gang members that were on the street corner.


    I yanked hard and jumped down to the pavement at the same time, which pulled them off of the street and into their three buddies in the alleyway. They fell into a pile and quickly tried to pull off the webbing. They didn''t realize that the more they struggled, the more stuck they became and spread the webbing out, which metabolized it even quicker with more air exposure.


    When I stepped close, two of them started to scream. I shot them both in the mouth with web splatters, then I proceeded to beat the crap out of them. I did my best to not permanently harm them, even when I intentionally dislocated each of their elbows. I was really angry and I needed to cause someone harm, so they became the target of my ire.


    ¡°Drrrrrugggss baaaaad.¡± I said in my gravelly voice before I applied pressure to their necks and knocked each of them out. I really should thank Natasha for teaching me that. I thought and searched the gang members for weapons and anything else incriminating. They only had knives, which was sightly surprising.


    I was also surprised at the thick rolls of cash that they had, probably for making change, and I put them into my equipment belt. Who knew that having extra spots to store things would come in so handy? This guy, that''s who. I even took the time to use my mini web shooter to glue the drug packets to the foreheads of the gang members.


    I used zip ties on their wrists and ankles and then I sent an anonymous email to the local police station and attached the video files. I didn''t have time to check their cell phones, so I added that detail and left their cell phones on and leaned them against the pile of gang members.


    With that done, I quickly climbed up the nearby building and reached the top. I stood up, letting people see me and point, shout, and take cell phone footage. I crouched down, waited for a second, then I leapt out over the street.


    Their gasps were like music to my ears, because they all thought I had just jumped to my death. I shot a webline and immediately changed directions, almost chuckled at all the relieved sighs from the people below, and I swung away from the latest crime that Spider-Man had stopped.


    I shot another webline to swing on, swooped around the side of a building, and let go. I soared through the air and I felt calm. I knew I had work to do and had most of my tools with me. A more solid plan formed in my head and I smiled behind my mask.


    I''m coming for you, Tony. I thought and snagged a webline on a streetlight and swung up and away. No one crosses Spider-Man and gets away with it!

 44 Stark Exposure

    Bokuboy


    Using my spider-sense, it was surprisingly easy to break into the school. A loose window pane in the basement where the maintenance room was, including the furnace, air exchanger, and main sewage and water pipes, gave me access to the inside of the school. I set up the signal scanner and hooked it up to my laptop and waited.


    I wasn''t surprised when I easily found the frequency for the security system. I didn''t have to spoof it and trick it into thinking I was someone else, because someone had left the administration login for the network as a basic default one without a password. I easily logged in and looped the footage, reset the logs, and let the loop run. I left the laptop and my things there in the basement and went to the robotics lab first.


    I quickly gathered everything I would need for creating a small remote controlled robot and went to the mechanical engineering shop and used aluminum to create the frame of what I needed. It was surprisingly easy to quickly make several small fan blades and the protective guides they would need, too.


    I retreated to the basement and assembled the parts into a small four fanned drone, which would be the most stable, and added in a wireless camera and one of the SHIELD earpieces. I plugged the tiny thing into my laptop and added a controlling program, put in the commands for responding to a remote controller, and also added one of the wireless connectivity devices I had made.


    It would be essential for my plan to work and I nodded at the completed program, because it would be able to do whatever I wanted. I tested it and set up the video feed, then I returned the security footage of the school to normal, packed everything up, and left the school.


    I was tempted to take more parts to make more drones, then I realized the teachers couldn''t justify the missing pieces like they could while school was in session. I sneaked away from the school in the same manner I had approached it, so no one would know Spider-Man had been there, and made my way back towards Stark Tower.


    I climbed a nearly pitch black building near it and tucked myself under a rooftop awning, which kept me completely out of sight, and took out my laptop, the scanner, a remote control, and the little drone. I sat there for a good half an hour before the scanner finally picked up an encrypted wireless signal coming from Stark Tower. I wasn''t going to try hacking it, either. I was going to follow it back to the source.


    I knew Jarvis was monitoring everything and I also knew that he would be too curious about anything flying around Stark Tower to ignore it, especially because of the connectivity my drone had. I chuckled at being so sneaky and loaded a simple bootstrap program onto my drone and set it to broadcast as soon as any foreign signal tried to access the drone.


    I would use Jarvis'' own protective curiosity against him.


    The program was a very simple one. It caused a recursive loop in any computer that tried to run it. It was so simple that even just opening the file would cause it to run, so as soon as Jarvis detected the new signal, he would automatically try to decipher what it was. That would give me the opening I would need to slip right through his security protocols and gain access to his main program.


    I wasn''t a practised hacker or anything; but, I read a lot about computer programming and it seemed so simple to play around and manipulate code like it was a jigsaw puzzle with only a few pieces. I could assemble them in any way I wanted to make the picture I needed for it to work.


    I hooked one of the untraceable cell phones to my laptop, connected it to the earpiece on the drone and the camera, and turned it on. My laptop now had a direct wireless connection to the drone and it also had a connection through the remote control. I tapped the cell phone and turned on the live feed with a one way communication from my end, then turned on the drone and the remote control.


    It took me a minute to get used to using the cell phone view instead of watching the drone itself, then I sent the drone off at a moderate pace. The buildings were fairly close, so it didn''t take long for me to have the drone fly up to the top of Stark Tower where there was a broadcasting antenna. I landed the drone right next to it, just as I received a ping from my drone that it had received a directed wireless signal.


    Jarvis took the bait! I thought happily and started typing. I knew I wouldn''t have long, because Jarvis was an advanced AI and he would defeat the recursive loop fairly quickly, even if it did chew up and fill a lot of his current memory. It didn''t matter, though. Once I planted my own hidden authorization into his main program, he wouldn''t even see me accessing the Stark computers.


    I found the main administration file and ignored it, because it was usually a decoy, and searched for the hidden SYS or system file. I had to guess at the name, because only an idiot would use the default, then I chuckled, because an arrogant asshole would also use the default name. I found it under command.sys, and laughed out loud.


    Idiot. I thought and opened the file, did a quick find and search query, and found the permanent access section. I added Ben Parker (Hidden) and selected all access, gave myself a priority code that was only one digit different than Tony''s, and saved the file. I also gave it the command to back-up immediately.


    Even if Jarvis noticed the different file size, which he shouldn''t, if he copied the back-up to replace it, it would still have my access. I didn''t wait for him to finish with the recursive loop as I used my new access code to establish a permanent connection and had him forget to report me accessing him or the computers. I also had him forget the drone and the loop he had been stuck in briefly.


    I did it just in time, because the drone pinged again and I checked it. It wasn''t detecting a directed wireless signal anymore. I wasn''t sure if it was because Jarvis realized what was happening or my command to forget it had taken hold. In either case, it didn''t really matter because I was in.


    I had full access to Tony Stark''s computers. All of his computers.


    I almost giggled like a kid at Christmas and I had to take several minutes to calm down. I didn''t want to expose myself by being too obvious about what I was doing, so I carefully checked the most recently accessed files by Tony. Sixteen files popped up and I skimmed through them. Most had to do with modifying his armored suit, so I discarded them. That left two of them.


    I wasn''t surprised that one was the scan of my patent application and the other was Tony''s modification of it and he actually patented it. When I read the details about it using containment foam, I shook my head. The foam would damage anything it touched because it would be hard to clean off of most things, which was the point, because it was intended to hold and not let things move.


    Now I''m really glad I didn''t submit the fluid patent at the same time like May wanted. I thought and saved both files, then I checked the security footage from when the files were created, and chuckled at it capturing Tony stealing my patent. I saved the video file and thought about what I was going to do with it. I think I need to wait until it sells really well, then I can release it anonymously.


    I nodded at that thought and searched for Tony''s schedule. I was very tempted to delete it and piss off a lot of the board members and shareholders when he didn''t show up for meetings, then I remembered he ignored meetings anyway because he lets Pepper handle it all.


    Pepper. I thought and smiled behind my mask. I searched for her personal schedule and it was pretty full. She works a lot harder for Tony than he realizes.


    I checked it for a relatively free afternoon and smiled when I found a note for her to go to lunch tomorrow and then she had a shopping trip scheduled for several hours. I could intercept her at either the restaurant or anywhere along the main shopping district.


    I chuckled, because I would have to stop at one of those shops to buy an outfit to wear to meet her, before I invited myself along on her shopping trip, which would probably take me right back to that same shop.


    I nodded to myself and checked the projects folder on Tony''s computer. The files were huge and he was working on and designing a lot of things. I checked a few of them and shook my head. He was severely over-engineering them and it wasted both construction time and resources. It also drove up the cost to a ridiculous level, which probably meant they were government contracts or things he was going to make for himself.


    I knew I could raid his computer and take it all, except most of it I couldn''t use. I would also be violating a dozen Non-Disclosure Agreements and probably several National Secrets. I chuckled at that, because Tony didn''t care about those kinds of things. I mean, he even let the government steal one of his Iron Man suits and they armored it up and created War Machine.


    I caught my breath at that, because I was sure that he wouldn''t have filed a patent for it. He wouldn''t be that stupid, because patents were available to be viewed by the public.


    Could he be that stupid? I asked myself and then started searching. Patents, patents, where would he put... oh, he really is an idiot. I thought as I opened the folder.


    He didn''t patent the suit. He just patented everything inside of it. The hand repulsors, the boot thrusters, the electrical system, the folding mechanism, the holographic HUD technology, the airfoil system, and even the individual micro weapons.


    I almost slapped myself on the forehead as I read through it. It was utterly moronic for him to give up his technology like that, even if he didn''t actually patent the suit itself or the arc reactor... which meant that I could steal them and patent them myself... if he wasn''t reviewing every submitted technology patent.


    I copied the latest suit design, because it allowed for the most movement with the most concealment when it wasn''t worn, and I copied the latest arc reactor design. I didn''t have the elements to recreate it; but, Tony did. He had tons of it from all the weapons that his company decommissioned and doesn''t produce anymore.


    I was very tempted to take a copy of Jarvis, except he needed a mainframe computer to run properly. He was also nearly fully autonomous and could be considered a living being, except his personality could change with a simple command and his thought processes altered to think whatever he was programmed with.


    Maybe a stripped down version? I asked myself and did a search for AI programs. I wasn''t surprised there were none. Jarvis was it and that was all. So, Tony really does only do something once and improves it, then moves on.


    I shook my head at that mentality, because he was intentionally causing his own stagnation. I remembered from the movie that he had a limited AI installed in Peter''s costume, which meant Tony only made something when it was needed and not before and not after. He hadn''t even made one for himself until after Jarvis became The Vision.


    That reminded me to install some commands into Jarvis to completely discourage Tony from writing an AI to run the Earth''s military defense systems and to immediately subsume it or destroy it before it gained sentience.


    Once I finished that, I logged out and flew my drone back to where I was hidden. I shut everything down and packed everything up, webbed my backpack to conceal it again before putting it on, then I crawled down the backside of the building to stay out of sight from Stark Tower. When I was low enough, I shot out a webline and swung away.


    *


    May was getting really worried, because Ben had been gone for several hours longer than a walk would normally entail and she wasn''t sure what to do. He looked absolutely livid before he calmed down and she had never seen him that angry before. It kind of scared her, too.


    Ben was always so nice and easy going, flirted a lot more than he should, and he seemed to treat everyone like a friend, even if he didn''t know them. Having his dream stolen so blatantly had set him off and as far as she knew, it had been the very first time that he had raised his voice like that.


    May had tried calling his cell phone and heard it coming from his room, so she knew he had intentionally left it behind. It made her a little sad that he didn''t want anyone calling him while he brooded and worked through the horrible thing that happened to him.


    No, to us. May thought as she remembered Ben''s words. He stole our future. She took a long and slow breath and let that thought flow through her mind. She knew things were going to change when he got that patent. She just didn''t realize it would also change if he didn''t get it.


    The sound of a key in the door lock of the apartment had May up from the new sofa and across the living room to wait by the door. She tried to keep the relief off of her face when she saw that Ben was fine. He must have seen it anyway, because he quickly put down a large shopping bag, took off his backpack, and then hung up his coat.


    ¡°I''m so sorry I left like that, May.¡± Ben said with a soft voice and then he hugged her tenderly.


    May heard the sincerity in his voice and hugged him back as she rested her chin on his shoulder.


    ¡°I just needed to get away for a while and think.¡± Ben said and he lightly rubbed her back. ¡°It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± May asked and leaned back to look into his eyes.


    ¡°I wanted to fight fire with fire.¡±


    ¡°Ben, he probably has a whole bunch of lawyers to handle things like this, even if we could afford one, no one in their right minds would take the case. He''s Tony Stark!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I came to that conclusion pretty quickly.¡± Ben said and then smiled. ¡°So, I decided there was only one real way to get revenge on a billionaire genius for stealing my patent and ruining our future. I do it through the ones closest to him.¡±


    May blinked her eyes for a moment. ¡°Pepper Potts!¡±


    Ben nodded. ¡°I found out that she''s going to be having lunch at Chez Perez and then shopping for the afternoon tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I tipped a barista twenty bucks. For some reason, they get really chatty when you do that.¡± Ben said with a grin.


    May looked surprised. ¡°Ben, I think anyone would be all chatty for twenty dollars!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''s why it works.¡± Ben said. ¡°I already bought a nice outfit to wear for when I just happen to bump into her coming out of the restaurant.¡±


    May smiled. ¡°You''re going to have to dress up and show me. I can''t let you meet someone so rich without checking that you look dapper.¡±


    ¡°Dapper? Really?¡± Ben asked with a laugh.


    ¡°Yes, and we''re going to have to give that hair a trim, too.¡± May said and reached up to run her hands through it. ¡°Although, keeping it a little longer might not be too bad, either.¡±


    ¡°If you like it longer, I''ll keep growing it out.¡± Ben said and her eyes widened. ¡°Until the bald patch grows in, getting my hair trimmed will only make it more prominent.¡±


    ¡°That''s true.¡± May said and ran her fingers through his hair a couple more times before she stopped. ¡°We can concentrate on styling it and making the mess look intentional.¡±


    ¡°Gee, thanks.¡± Ben said and rolled his eyes.


    ¡°It gives you a bit of a wild look.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that will get the attention of an older woman that I want to get into the good graces of.¡±


    ¡°You would be surprised how many like the look.¡± May said with a teasing smile.


    ¡°Probably.¡± Ben said and picked up his backpack and the shopping bag. ¡°I''ll grab a quick shower and you can help me with this, because I bought something for you, too.¡± He said and waited for a moment, because May''s eyes kept darting from his face to the shopping bag. He grinned and handed her the shopping bag. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    May let out an excited sound and took the bag, kissed his cheek, and ran over to the new leather sofa and started emptying the large bag. Ben went up the stairs, put his backpack into his room, covered the camera and brought in the gym bag with his Spider-Man suit and the drone in it from the fire escape, and stashed it in the closet on the top shelf.


    Ben uncovered the camera and emptied his pockets, stripped off right there, and tossed the dirty clothing into the hamper in the corner of the room. He waved at the camera and grabbed a fresh pair of boxers before going to get a much needed shower.

 45 SHIELD Exposure

    Bokuboy


    ¡°I can''t tell if that proves he''s not hiding anything or if he is and is trying to distract us.¡± Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD said and cut the video off.


    ¡°I apologize, sir. I didn''t expect for him to do that.¡± Natasha said and kept her face blank, even though seeing Ben''s semi-hard state had gotten her excited.


    ¡°He claimed he''s trying to earn her trust and that it''s working, sir.¡± Clint added. ¡°He even used proper hand signals for silence and privacy.¡±


    ¡°I''d ask what Agent Romanoff thinks, except she seems to be biased.¡± Fury said.


    I thought I successfully hid my emotions. Natasha thought.


    ¡°She is biased, sir. That doesn''t mean she''s wrong about it.¡± Clint said. ¡°I have to agree with her opinion as well. He seems to be bending over backwards to give her as much access to his life as possible.¡±


    Natasha had to turn her head to the side briefly as she fought down a blush before it appeared, because it had been her that literally bent over backwards to give Ben access.


    ¡°Hill.¡± Fury said and Maria handed him a file folder that had a red border. ¡°I actually had to call in a favor to allow you access to this file.¡± He said and tossed it onto the table between Natasha and Clint. ¡°I normally wouldn''t do anything of the sort; but, this Benjamin Parker knows a heck of a lot about things he shouldn''t know about.¡±


    Natasha and Clint exchanged a fighting look, then scrambled to open it and split the papers inside to skim through them. It took them only a couple of minutes to get through it all and they sat back and stared at the director of the agency.


    ¡°Yes, I personally recruited Richard into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.¡± Fury confirmed. ¡°He was the best agent we had at the time, too. It''s also how he met his wife, Mary Fitzpatrick.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second! Both of Peter''s parents were SHIELD agents?¡± Clint asked, surprised.


    ¡°Alone they were great. As a team, they were practically unbeatable.¡± Fury said. ¡°At least, that''s what we all thought at the time.¡± He said and sighed. ¡°If the higher ups had known there were already counter-spies in Hydra''s organization, they never would have assigned them to infiltrate and I never would have approved the mission.¡±


    ¡°How old was Peter when they were assassinated?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°He was an infant a couple of years old. I doubt he would remember them.¡± Fury said and noticed the odd look that was briefly on her face.


    Clint chuckled. ¡°Of course he wouldn''t remember. Ben claims he''s dead.¡±


    ¡°Natasha?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°What do you think of Mr. Parker''s claims?¡±


    ¡°In my honest opinion, I think he''s telling the truth. He hadn''t lied, because we never asked. He''s used several loopholes in our own procedures to acquire resources and hasn''t abused it.¡± Natasha said. ¡°We also had a few of the tech guys go through the standard drop deliveries over the last month and there was nothing significant that stood out, which in itself stands out, because it matched what he said.¡±


    ¡°You actually believe his outrageous story?¡± Maria asked.


    Natasha gave a glance to Clint and he chuckled.


    ¡°What''s funny?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°It fits perfectly into a standard infiltration protocol, especially if the targets don''t know what you look like.¡± Natasha said. ¡°If they do, getting surgery to look like them and then pretending to have amnesia, is the next step.¡±


    ¡°If I didn''t know better, I''d say he planned for Peter to bite it.¡± Clint said and Fury motioned for him to keep talking. ¡°You don''t just stumble across the son of two spies, who suddenly and accidentally dies, and you take his place without anyone questioning it.¡±


    ¡°You''re right. It''s too convenient of a set-up, unless it was planned beforehand.¡± Fury said. ¡°Hill?¡±


    ¡°I couldn''t find anything when I went downtown and searched central records.¡± Maria said and her face grew hard.


    ¡°It''s not your fault he got away.¡± Fury said and Maria looked surprised. ¡°We had no idea what this Spider-Man''s capabilities were until you encountered him.¡±


    ¡°But, sir...¡± Maria said and started to defend her actions.


    ¡°Before you try to explain anything, you should read this.¡± Fury said and pulled a folded piece of paper from inside his trench coat and handed it to her.


    Maria accepted it and saw it was a copy of a copy of a police report. Five gang members had been beaten nearly to death and they had their arms broken. All of them. ¡°Good lord.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you were lucky, because that happened almost right after he met you.¡± Fury said and Maria nodded. ¡°I don''t know if that was an escalation from what he did with that drug gang or if he was just having a bad day today. In any case, the criminal victims said he seemed like he was brain damaged because of the way he talked.¡±


    Maria was grateful for one thing that happened, considering the alternative was two broken arms. ¡°He... he said I was pretty in a low gutteral growl and caressed my face.¡± She admitted and shivered a little. ¡°He also seemed to be confused when I threatened to shoot him and didn''t react until I aimed for a kill shot.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°I''ve had the lab guys check the gun he crushed. He had to use several hundred pounds of force to do that much damage.¡±


    ¡°If it had been my hand or my face...¡± Maria shivered again. ¡°I''m doubly glad he seemed to like me.¡±


    Fury smiled a little. ¡°Perhaps we can use that.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, I absolutely refuse to debase myself in that manner to an unknown.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Although I appreciate your candour, Agent Hill, I meant if we encounter him again, only female agents should be sent in any kind of response team.¡± Fury said. ¡°Please issue orders that any available local female agents that are not on assignment, should assemble in a timely manner for deployment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria said with relief and made note of the order.


    ¡°What about Agent Coulson?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°He has no idea who Spider-Man is and has never met him.¡± Fury said. ¡°We take threats against our agents seriously and he''s been relocated here to the helicarrier from his current assignment as the liaison for the New York City office.¡±


    ¡°Was it a threat?¡± Natasha asked. ¡°I thought it was a warning.¡±


    ¡°It was a threat of invasion and called out 75 deaths.¡± Fury said. ¡°Spider-Man is involved, since he so blatantly put his name on it.¡±


    Clint nodded. ¡°If the reports of his mental deficiencies are right, he might be warning us because he can''t do anything else.¡±


    ¡°Are there any plans to evacuate?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°On a vague threat?¡± Maria asked back.


    ¡°It was pretty specific, actually.¡± Natasha countered. ¡°What about calling for air raid sirens or getting people to stay home from work for the day? That could save a lot more than the 75 the warning states.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean more?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°It only called out the deaths and not the injured or maimed.¡± Natasha said. ¡°There could be hundreds or even thousands of them, if an actual invasion happens.¡±


    Fury gave Maria a look and she nodded.


    ¡°We''ll work on a tentative plan for both a retreat on that day and a full evacuation the day before.¡± Maria said. ¡°Since everyone knows about it beforehand, the casualties should be kept to a minimum.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Fury said. ¡°In the meantime, have a portion of the monitoring system keep a look out for Spider-Man. The sooner we catch him, the sooner we can determine if he''s a genuine threat like I think he is. We are going to have to deal with him, one way or the other.¡±


    ¡°What about Ben Parker?¡± Natasha asked.


    Fury gave her a significant look and she didn''t flinch. ¡°I''m tempted to say sit on him for a while before doing anything even remotely agency related with him.¡±


    Natasha didn''t blink or react in any way, because she knew he wasn''t done talking.


    Fury smiled slightly. ¡°Bring him in and show him around the New York office. Get him to sign the forms, even if it''s not his real name. He''s making a commitment to SHIELD, and this country, either way.¡±


    ¡°And to Natasha.¡± Clint added. ¡°You can''t forget his motivation.¡±


    ¡°He''ll be your responsibility, Agent Romanoff.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I understand.¡± Natasha said and successfully hid her delight at getting approval. ¡°I''ll run him through the official training program as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°As long as he completes it by the end of the week, there''s no rush. Your next mission isn''t until just before Christmas.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. We''ll be ready by then.¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°I didn''t mean to include the rookie in that.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°I know, sir. He''ll still be ready.¡± Natasha promised.


    Fury didn''t let the disbelief show on his face. ¡°Are you that confident in his abilities?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, sir.¡± Natasha said and gave him a wicked smile. ¡°After two weeks? I will be.¡±


    Clint laughed. ¡°I almost feel sorry for the kid.¡±


    ¡°Like you said, I''m his motivation.¡± Natasha said and gave Clint the same wicked smile. ¡°Never underestimate great motivation.¡±


    ¡°That''s why I said I almost feel sorry for him, not that I do.¡± Clint said and held a fist up for her to bump. ¡°I''ll be around if you need to take a break.¡±


    Natasha nodded.


    ¡°If anything comes up that you''re needed, Hill will priority call you.¡± Fury said. ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    Natasha and Clint left the briefing room and Fury waited for a minute after the door shut before he turned to Maria Hill.


    ¡°Is she severely compromised?¡± Fury asked her. ¡°I haven''t seen her react like that before with a target.¡±


    ¡°I think when you showed her that file, it made it more personal for her.¡± Maria said. ¡°I don''t think she''s compromised, she just has more of a personal investment in this than even she thought she did.¡±


    Fury sat there and thought about that. The look on Natasha''s face when she read the details of Richard Parker''s death, had shown that it hit close to home for her. ¡°Are you thinking what I''m thinking?¡±


    ¡°She was somehow involved with the father and now she''s involved with the young man that''s replaced the son.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Are you suggesting something?¡± Fury asked her with a slight smile.


    ¡°She might feel guilty over it and she''ll confess it to him as soon as she has an opportunity.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°Even if he''s not Peter pretending to be Ben, he might not react well.¡±


    ¡°Should I have a team set up?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°No. In the grand scheme of things, Ben Parker''s feelings about sleeping with a woman that slept with his father, are minuscule.¡± Fury said. ¡°Just be ready to pull Natasha from the next mission if she''s the one that reacts badly to his reaction. The last thing we need is a woman scorned on that mission.¡±


    Maria nodded and made note of that as well.


    *


    I worked quickly that night and didn''t bother trying to do anything else. I went right home and spent a bit of time with May cuddling on the leather sofa. Oh boy, what a great sofa! We both pretty much felt like we were being hugged while we laid down and hugged each other as we watched television.


    When the last show she wanted to watch was over, May sat up straight and gave me a pointed look. ¡°You''re going to be home alone all day tomorrow, so please be careful when you go out.¡±


    I sat up myself and pulled her back into a hug. ¡°You''ve shown me what to do with my hair and you know I''ve had some practice with falling and being hurt.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''ve got this.¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''ll even get up early and make those breakfast bagel sandwiches your coworkers like so much.¡±


    May nodded before she stood up, helped me stand, then she laid back down. ¡°We need to get to bed.¡± She said and smiled at me, closed her eyes, and let out several loud fake snores.


    I had to laugh at that. ¡°I thought I was supposed to be the cheeky one.¡± I commented and carefully picked her up in a princess carry and she cuddled into me. I carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, then I tucked her into bed. ¡°Goodnight, May.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Ben.¡± May said and opened her eyes. She almost looked like she was pleading with me, so I leaned down to plant a three second kiss on her cheek.


    ¡°I''ll get this sorted out soon, I promise.¡± I whispered, gently stroked her hair for a moment, then I walked over to the bedroom door.


    ¡°Ben.¡± May said and I turned around. ¡°You don''t have to ignore them. I know I was upset and...¡±


    I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°Like I told my lab partner Sally when she asked why I was eating lunch with her and not with Liz and her friends, we don''t own each other. We might all be off during Christmas break; but, that doesn''t mean we have to spend all of that time together. We have lives and interests, and we don''t have to force ourselves to interact with each other.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± May said. ¡°I thought you were avoiding them because of me.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I haven''t called or texted anyone since school let out.¡±


    ¡°But... you just said...¡±


    ¡°What I said was true. That doesn''t mean we don''t want to interact.¡± I said with a chuckle and walked back over to her. ¡°I had the chance today to spend it with you and we had a great day... right up until that happened. When I came back, we also had a great time.¡± I sat on the edge of the bed to take her hand. ¡°I forgot to thank you for using one of your vacation days to take today off to help me.¡±


    ¡°You bought that really nice sweater for me and you gave me the money to put back in the bank. That''s more than thanks enough, Ben. Really.¡± May said and gave my hand a light squeeze.


    ¡°I wanted to do more, May.¡± I whispered and hung my head a little. ¡°I wanted to do so much more.¡±


    May pushed her blanket off and sat up as she took me into a hug. ¡°What did I tell you when you first went back to school after you lost your memory?¡±


    ¡°Don''t just assume that all of the responsibility is on your shoulders.¡± I repeated.


    May smiled warmly at me. ¡°I''m so glad you remembered that.¡±


    ¡°Like I''m going to forget the words of the first beautiful woman I''ve ever met.¡± I said with a chuckle.


    ¡°B-Ben... y-you... I-I''m...¡± May stammered.


    ¡°Just because you''re my aunt, that doesn''t mean you''re not beautiful, desirable, and smoking hot.¡± I said and she blushed. ¡°I believe I try to remind you of that every few days, just in case you forget.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn''t say those things, even jokingly.¡± May said.


    ¡°Who''s joking?¡± I asked her. ¡°It''s not like I wear anyone else''s panties on my head.¡±


    May made a snorting sound and then laughed. ¡°I still can''t imagine you doing that.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°And that''s why I enjoy making you smile and blush. You know I won''t do anything, even with you prancing around in your underwear. I won''t ever suggest anything that makes you uncomfortable. I''m here to help you as much as I can.¡±


    May took a deep breath, which just so happened to push her chest into mine, and she sighed. ¡°I wish things could have stayed simple.¡±


    I smiled warmly at her. ¡°What''s more simple than family?¡± I asked her and then I kissed her cheek once more. ¡°You''ve been so great about everything and I couldn''t have asked for anyone better to take care of me in my most desperate time of need.¡± I said and looked deep into her eyes. ¡°I love you, May.¡±


    ¡°I... I...¡± May stammered as tears came to her eyes. ¡°I love you, too!¡± She said and hugged me tightly and cried on my shoulder.


    ¡°Most people are usually happy when they hear that.¡± I joked.


    May chuckled and kept crying. ¡°I am happy, you idiot.¡±


    We stayed like that for several minutes before May took a deep breath, which pressed her considerable chest into mine again, then she eased her hold on me and leaned back.


    ¡°You better get to bed if you''re getting up early.¡± May said.


    I wiped her cheeks off with my pyjama sleeve to make her laugh. ¡°I''ll make yours with double bacon.¡±


    May smiled and I eased her back into bed and tucked her blanket back over her. ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± I said and left her room to return to my own. My spider-sense started tingling even more than usual, so I knew I had a guest in my room.


    I opened my bedroom door without stepping into view and I heard a familiar soft laugh. I crouched down and peeked around the door frame at knee height and Natasha had to cover her mouth to muffle her laugh again. I rolled into the room and carefully closed the door with barely a click, then I crawled on my belly to the bed and peeked up over the side to see her very amused face.


    ¡°This lowly recruit requests permission to enter your facilities.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Natasha whispered and laughed. ¡°Cover the camera and get in here.¡±


    ¡°As you command.¡± I said and belly crawled across the room, stood out of the camera''s view, and placed the cover on it without being seen.

 46 Potts Plots

    Natasha noticed what I did by covering the camera without being seen, and she smiled. ¡°You really have been letting me see as much as possible.¡±


    I nodded and walked over to the bed. ¡°I''ve hidden a couple of things from you, on purpose, because it''s personal and involves business as well. It''s not something either you or SHIELD can help with, so the less you know about it, the better.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering what the privacy requests were for.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°I would tell you if I thought it would make any difference.¡± I said and pulled off my pyjamas and climbed into bed. ¡°I''ll start dealing with it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for sending me the change in your schedule.¡± Natasha said and kissed me, then she slid down to suck me into her mouth. I grew hard almost instantly for her and she moaned because she had a lot more to work with now. She stopped sucking and moved up to lay on top of me and then slid backwards to pierce herself with it.


    ¡°You''re eager tonight.¡± I said and grabbed her hips to help her.


    ¡°Finally... talk to... Director Fury.¡± Natasha said and sat up to make the angle sharper. ¡°He wants you in the New York office as soon as possible to start basic agent training.¡±


    ¡°He actually approved of me becoming an agent?¡± I asked, surprised.


    ¡°I''m... personally... responsible for you.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Fan-fucking-tastic.¡± I said and grinned at her as I picked up speed. She moaned and leaned back down to kiss me and I pistoned in and out of her at a very fast pace.


    Not surprisingly, we both came at almost the same time. Her body seemed to have adjusted to getting me off, because goddammit, she was still tight after me pounding her like that.


    ¡°Could you be any more perfect?¡± I asked her as we rested side by side for several moments.


    ¡°Ben, I... I''ve done things...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and she gave me a curious look. ¡°You''re a spy. You worked for a rival agency for years and you did bad things for them.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It doesn''t bother me.¡±


    Natasha sighed. ¡°No, I... I mean...¡± She sat up to look down at me. ¡°I''ve killed people.¡±


    ¡°So have I.¡± I said. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    Natasha looked a little surprised that I was being so nonchalant about it. ¡°I killed your parents.¡±


    I gave her a blank look for a moment. ¡°You mean Richard and Mary Parker?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Natasha said and seemed to back away slightly and tensed up.


    ¡°And?¡± I asked.


    ¡°And what?¡± Natasha asked back.


    ¡°That''s it? You''re preparing to fend me off because of something you did... what, twelve years ago?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°I''ll give you an extra spank the next time we''re alone together, because we can''t be loud here in the apartment.¡±


    Natasha looked surprised. ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°I forgive you for being a big badass super spy.¡± I said and nodded at her belly. ¡°Now roll over and show me that spectacular ass of yours.¡±


    Natasha blinked her eyes at me and then did as I asked.


    ¡°You''re still dripping, even though you expected me to rant and rave at you.¡± I chuckled and dug my fingers into her and scooped out my recent donation. I flicked it into the trashcan and then I started licking her and eating her out.


    ¡°You''re really... okay with... knowing I did that?¡± Natasha asked between moans.


    I stopped licking and kept fingering her. ¡°Do you want me to be upset that you were hired to kill rival spies trying to infiltrate another spy agency?¡±


    ¡°No... yes... I don''t know!¡± Natasha gasped and came.


    I licked it up and kissed her ass cheek. ¡°They knew what they were signing up for when they became spies. You take your life into your hands every single time you go on a mission, even if it''s just to bodyguard some rich guy or to walk Director Fury''s cat.¡± I moved up and placed myself against her soaked opening. ¡°I''ll give you two extra spanks next time for believing I would ever be upset at you.¡±


    ¡°Ben... OHHH!¡± Natasha moaned loudly as I shoved myself into her and she buried her face into my pillow to muffle it.


    I pounded her pretty hard for a good ten minutes before she came again, then I rolled her over into the basic missionary position and laid down on her and kept moving as she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me passionately.


    After the next time I came and we took another break, Natasha turned to me and looked a little embarrassed. ¡°I have something else to confess.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°You''re just begging for the handcuffs, aren''t you?¡±


    Natasha smiled and then sighed. ¡°Ben, I... I slept with Richard, too.¡±


    I gave her a questioning look. ¡°You did that to get close to him?¡±


    Natasha nodded. ¡°And his wife.¡±


    I had to blink my eyes several times as I went over that in my head. ¡°You... ahem... bedded both of them?¡± I asked and she nodded again. ¡°Please tell me it was at the same time.¡±


    Natasha looked surprised for a moment and nodded a third time.


    ¡°You''re even more perfect than I thought.¡± I said and kissed her.


    ¡°Ben, you... you''re not disgusted by that?¡± Natasha asked. ¡°I had sex with both of your parents!¡±


    ¡°Yes you did, and at the same time, too. You went above and beyond your job of killing them. You made their last moments be memorable.¡± I kissed her again. ¡°I''ve seen pictures of them and they were great looking people.¡±


    ¡°They were great people, period.¡± Natasha said and lightly ran her fingers through my hair. ¡°They were the first kills that I regretted having to do.¡±


    I smiled warmly at her. ¡°You started to grow a conscience because of them?¡± I asked and she nodded once more. ¡°Then their deaths actually meant something and were not a waste. If it wasn''t for that happening, we wouldn''t be where we are right now.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°Natasha, I can only say I forgive you so many times before the words become meaningless.¡± I said and hugged her. ¡°Just accept that I understand what happened and I hold nothing against you for what you did in the past.¡±


    Natasha let out a long and drawn out sigh and then smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, gorgeous and deadly.¡± I said and made a twirling motion with my finger. She rolled over onto her side to face away from me and I pulled her hips close as I slid into her still soaked opening. I didn''t pound into her, though. I took my time and slowly stroked in and out as I caressed her breasts, her thighs, her arms, and her neck while I tenderly kissed her ear and the side of her face.


    ¡°You''re spoiling me.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°Is that a formal request to stop?¡± I whispered back and she shook her head no. ¡°Then be quiet and let me love you like you deserve.¡±


    Natasha turned her head to look at me with surprise on her face. I gripped her chin to hold her steady and kissed her lovingly and tenderly. She broke the kiss and the surprise was still there.


    ¡°I hope you don''t think I''ll be going easy on you or your training because of this.¡± Natasha warned me.


    I kissed her again. ¡°I expect the opposite, actually. You want me to be better than everyone else, just so I can keep up with you.¡±


    Natasha smiled warmly at me. ¡°How did I know you were going to say that?¡±


    ¡°Because you''re a very smart woman.¡± I said and continued to kiss her as we had gentle loving sex.


    *


    Pepper Potts was a busy woman, even on this unseasonably warm day in December. She was pretty much running Stark Enterprises in everything but name and she had intentionally scheduled time off during an actual work day, just to unwind a little. She had a very delicious lunch at Chez Perez and a large glass of tasty wine, which had her thinking about why she was sitting there all alone. She should have had an engaging conversation with the man she had been dating off and on for the last few years.


    She let out a sigh as she drank the last of the wine and waved the waitress over. She paid with the company credit card and added a moderate tip, because it was a business lunch and noted in her schedule. It was just too bad she didn''t have a handsome billionaire genius sitting across from her to complete the polite fiction in her head.


    Pepper grabbed her purse and strode across the restaurant and an attendant opened the door for her. She didn''t interrupt her stride as she turned her head and nodded at the older man in thanks, which just so happened to take her eyes off of where she was walking, namely onto a busy sidewalk.


    ¡°Lady! Watch...¡± The older man started to say as something slammed into her side. ¡°...out.¡±


    Pepper let out a girly squeal of fright as her purse went flying and she seemed to turn around from the impact, felt a firm and gentle grip hold her, then she saw the startled face of a young man with styled brown hair.


    A moment later, she was face down on the pavement... or she should have been. To her surprise, that startled face was still in front of her and she braced her hands on his firm chest as they slid about a foot and came to a stop with a scraping sound.


    It was then that Pepper noticed exactly where the young man had firmly gripped her. He had a hand locked onto a cheek of her ass and had hugged her close down there, and his other hand had braced against her own chest and gently cupped one of her breasts. She felt him grow hard where they were pressed together and she blushed as her nipple grew hard in response.


    Pepper only wore a simple cloth bra today under her blouse and she knew by the blush on his face that he clearly could feel her nipple poking into his palm. His firmness was also pressed quite snuggly against her and it seemed to be very, very hard.


    ¡°M-m-miss, I''m terribly sorry!¡± The young man said and his blush intensified. He didn''t let her go, though. ¡°Are you hurt? You just seemed to appear out of nowhere and I tried to take the brunt of it when we fell.¡±


    It took Pepper a moment to get her own blush under control. ¡°I think I''m okay.¡±


    ¡°What about your knees or your toes? You''re a bit taller than me and I''m not sure I protected you enough.¡± He said and his voice was full of concern. ¡°I''d feel terrible if such a beautiful woman was hurt because I wasn''t paying attention.¡±


    Pepper glanced at where his hand was on her breast and back to his face. ¡°I think you''re getting enough feeling already and you should feel terrible about it.¡±


    The young man''s blush remained. ¡°I... well, I... I can''t really let you go without you sliding off and possibly hurting yourself. You''re balanced perfectly right now.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes for a moment and realized that he was right. He didn''t look out of breath with all of her weight pressed on top of him and they had fallen fairly hard. She also wasn''t struggling to keep herself braced, either.


    ¡°You''re also wearing a skirt and...¡± He paused and started to whisper. ¡°I can''t ask you to... to... spread your legs... and straddle my waist... to sit up.¡± He said and his blush went to an even deeper shade of red. ¡°Even if... I would really enjoy it.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes for another moment as she thought about what he said. Did he just tell me he wants me to straddle him?


    ¡°Miss? Are you okay?¡± The older man that had held the restaurant door asked as he approached them. He held her clutch purse in his hands.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Pepper said and tried to keep her face neutral as she thought about how to get up.


    She could roll to the side and onto the sidewalk on her back and sit up that way, potentially ruining her outfit and getting a few scrapes, or she could do what the young man suggested. She could easily stand if she did and she wouldn''t risk damaging anything.


    Pepper couldn''t stop the small smile on her face as she pushed slightly on the young man''s firm chest and spread her legs. She almost laughed at the surprise on his face and then she held in her moan as her lower half rolled across his firmness and she successfully straddled his waist.


    ¡°M-m-miss.¡± The young man whispered as his hand on her backside eased its tight hold and his gentle hand on her breast let her go.


    Pepper braced her hands on his chest once more and easily stood up onto her high heeled shoes and up to her full height. She looked down at him and could easily see his excitement, which made her fight to not blush, because she had given that to him, even if it had started out as an accident.


    The young man sat up and then stood as he tried to brush himself off, then he knelt on one knee and adjusted her skirt to its proper length and then he carefully checked her knees and her feet.


    ¡°Yes! There''s no damage except for several runs in your stockings, miss.¡± He said and hopped up to his feet. ¡°I''m so glad you''re actually okay.¡±


    Pepper accepted her purse from the doorman and then gave the young man a pointed look. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it''s just a few scrapes. Nothing to worry about.¡± He said and smiled at her. ¡°It was very nice meeting you, even under the circumstances.¡±


    Pepper held a hand out to him. ¡°It was nice meeting you, too. I''m Pepper Potts.¡±


    The young man accepted her hand and shook it. ¡°I''m Ben Parker.¡±


    ¡°Well, Ben. I should thank you for doing what you did...¡±


    Ben shook his head. ¡°There''s no need to thank me. I only did what was right.¡± He said and let her hand go. ¡°I hope you have a great day, Pepper.¡± He said and turned to start walking away.


    ¡°Oh, god!¡± Pepper gasped when she saw the tatters of the nice shirt he wore and the bloody scrapes on his back. She quickly walked over to him. ¡°Ben! Stop!¡±


    Ben stopped and turned to her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Your back.¡± Pepper said and turned him around to have a closer look at the damage. She saw there were bits of salt and dirt on his skin, too. ¡°That needs to be cleaned right away.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to...¡± Ben started to say.


    ¡°I insist.¡± Pepper said in a stern voice and turned him back around. ¡°It''s the least I can do, besides replacing your shirt.¡±


    ¡°It was an accident.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°That you took the brunt of.¡± Pepper repeated his words to him. ¡°We''ll stop at a pharmacy to grab some things to clean those scrapes and then you''re coming with me to buy another shirt.¡±


    Ben looked into her eyes and saw the resolve there. ¡°If you think it''s for the best, I''ll do whatever you want. Thank you, Pepper.¡±


    ¡°I have a car and driver waiting down the street.¡± Pepper said and nodded in that direction.


    ¡°That''s great!¡± Ben said and took her hand, which kind of surprised her, and they started walking. ¡°Even though this is a really warm day, going for a walk kind of seems like a bad idea now.¡±


    Pepper couldn''t stop her laugh at that. ¡°There wouldn''t be much of your back left if you keep bumping into women and letting them fall on you.¡±


    Ben gave her a warm smile. ¡°I think that just this once, it was worth it, because I got to meet you.¡±


    Pepper could almost feel the sincerity from him and her heart beat a little faster. She gave his hand a light squeeze and didn''t say anything until they reached the car. ¡°You can''t lean back on the seat with your back like that, so lean on me instead.¡±


    The driver opened the door for them and Pepper climbed in first and Ben went next, looked at the large seat, and turned around to face her and laid down on his side to rest his head on her lap.


    ¡°You can''t wear a seatbelt like that.¡± Pepper whispered.


    ¡°I''m not worried.¡± Ben said and reached up to grab Pepper''s seatbelt, buckled her in, and then held on to the buckle with his hands.


    Pepper looked down at him and he looked like he was cuddled up to her thighs and seemed very happy to be there. ¡°Take us to the closest pharmacy, please.¡± She said to the driver and one of her hands seemed to move on its own as she lightly ran her fingers through his soft hair.

 47 Potts Plots Proceed

    Bokuboy


    ¡°You''re a really great person for doing this.¡± I said as Pepper tended to the minor scrapes on my back in the backseat of the car. ¡°Most people wouldn''t concern themselves over something minor like this.¡±


    ¡°I''m not most people.¡± Pepper said and applied more disinfectant to the cotton swap she was using.


    ¡°I definitely noticed that, Pepper.¡± I said and hissed slightly as she cleaned a scrape.


    Pepper paused and placed a hand on my shoulder to give it a little squeeze, then she continued.


    ¡°Your husband must be very proud to have you in his life.¡± I said with as much awe as I could.


    ¡°I''m not married.¡± Pepper said and I could hear the sadness in her voice. ¡°I have been seeing someone off and on for several years, however.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait.¡± I said and turned my torso slightly to look over my shoulder at her face. ¡°You''re not married? Really?¡±


    Pepper shook her head.


    ¡°Woooow.¡± I said and turned back to face the door again. ¡°What''s the world coming to if someone as wonderful as you is still unmarried?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Beautiful, talented, warm, caring, and I bet you''re super intelligent, too. The whole package.¡±


    Pepper didn''t say anything and applied some gauze to the scrape she cleaned and taped it into place.


    ¡°I''m tempted to ask you who the idiot you''re dating is; but, I honestly don''t want to know the name of someone that fundamentally brain dead.¡±


    Pepper let out a girly laugh and started cleaning another scrape.


    ¡°You even have a cute laugh.¡± I said with appreciation. ¡°It seems the more time I spend around you, the better you become! It''s really amazing.¡±


    Pepper''s fingertips lightly caressed my back before she went back to work. I kept hissing at appropriate times and her gentle hands would pause briefly as she placed her hand on my shoulder again to give it a little squeeze, then she would continue.


    ¡°There we are.¡± Pepper said and her fingertips lightly touched several places on my back. ¡°All done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, Pepper.¡± I said and slowly turned around on the seat, so her fingers could linger. ¡°You would make a really great nurse.¡± I widened my eyes slightly. ¡°You just got better again!¡±


    Pepper laughed softly and I helped her pack up the supplies into the pharmacy bag they came in. She reached for the seat in front of her and picked up a peach colored blazer that matched her skirt.


    ¡°You need to put this on until we stop to get you a new shirt.¡± Pepper said and handed the blazer to me.


    I put it on and I was glad that I didn''t have to button it.


    ¡°Please don''t be embarrassed because it''s a woman''s suit coat.¡± Pepper said.


    ¡°Why would I be embarrassed? We''re color coordinated now.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°We might even be complimented while we''re out shopping.¡±


    Pepper laughed softly and took out her cell phone. She sent a text to the driver to let him know we were ready to go. He had gone to get a coffee while he waited for Pepper to fix me up. He came back to the car and drove us several streets away before he double parked on the busy street and opened Pepper''s door for her.


    Pepper grabbed her purse and the torn shirt before we climbed out of the car and stepped between two other parked cars. The driver drove away as we entered the shop we had stopped in front of. I wasn''t surprised that the shop was the one where I had bought my shirt.


    ¡°You knew what shop I bought my shirt from? I knew you were amazing.¡± I complimented Pepper and she smiled.


    ¡°You two make a cute pair.¡± The sales woman said when we approached the counter.


    ¡°I told you.¡± I whispered and Pepper let out a soft laugh. Luckily, the sales girl was different from the one I had met the day before, so she wouldn''t remember seeing me.


    ¡°What can I help you with today?¡± The sales woman asked and Pepper handed her the shirt.


    ¡°What happened to this? A cat attack?¡± The sales woman asked as she lifted it up by the shoulders to look at it.


    ¡°A slip and fall, actually.¡± Pepper said and blushed a little.


    I forced myself to blush as well, because I was sure she was thinking about how I had caught her.


    ¡°If the shirt is this damaged, the pants can''t be much better off.¡± The sales woman commented.


    Pepper caught her breath. ¡°I didn''t check! I was so concerned with his back that...¡±


    ¡°I didn''t think of that, either.¡± I said and took off the peach colored blazer to hand to Pepper, then I turned around, only to hear the sales woman gasp. ¡°Is my butt still there?¡± I asked and no one said anything. ¡°Don''t tell me I lost one of my best features!¡±


    The sales woman laughed and Pepper put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°It''s still there, Ben.¡± Pepper reassured me. ¡°We were just staring at how many scrapes you have.¡±


    ¡°I also examined your dress pants for damage.¡± The sales woman said. ¡°The pocket is torn up a little, there''s a snag on the other side, and one of the calves has a thread pulled.¡±


    ¡°They''re that damaged?¡± I asked and slowly turned around so that Pepper''s arm rested across my shoulders.


    ¡°I''m surprised I didn''t notice before now.¡± Pepper said, not realizing she was admitting to looking at my butt. ¡°I''ll replace your pants, too.¡±


    ¡°I can''t ask you to do that. You''ve already done so much...¡±


    Pepper squeezed my shoulder a little and seemed a little reluctant to let it go as she smiled. ¡°You saved me from what could have been a nasty fall and I would have been replacing my own clothes instead of yours.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I never would have allowed that. Your safety is much more important than mine.¡±


    Pepper looked both surprised and pleased.


    ¡°Aww, that''s so sweet.¡± The sales woman said. ¡°We have these shirts near the change room and the pants are on the other side of the men''s section.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way.¡± Pepper said and the woman walked ahead.


    I took Pepper''s hand and she didn''t try to pull away, so I smiled shyly at her and followed the sales woman. She went to the pants section first and asked me what size I wore. I told her and she flipped through several pairs of dress pants and grabbed a pair that almost matched the ones I wore. We walked over to the change room and the display of shirts.


    ¡°Do you want a direct replacement for the shirt or are you okay with a different color?¡± The sales woman asked.


    ¡°I guess that means you don''t have a match for it.¡± I said and she nodded. I looked at Pepper and gave her a pleading look. ¡°Can you help me pick out a good color? I kind of struck gold finding that shirt and I don''t want to look foolish if I pick a color that doesn''t go well with my skin tone. I did that once with a puce green t-shirt and the yellowish green color made it look like a cat threw up on me.¡±


    The sales woman barked a laugh and Pepper clamped her mouth shut and struggled to not laugh.


    It took a moment for Pepper to compose herself. ¡°I think I can help you to not look like cat vomit.¡±


    I beamed a smile at her and we spent a good ten minutes picking out several shirts.


    ¡°I think that''s a good selection. We can narrow it down when you try them on.¡± Pepper said and I nodded.


    ¡°You can change into these, too.¡± The sales woman said and handed me the dress pants.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said and entered the change room. I emptied my pockets of the money I carried, because I had intentionally left my wallet at home, and took off the pants I wore. I examined them and nodded. The snag on the side was several inches long and went through the cloth, which meant I could tease Pepper a bit more.


    I slipped off my underwear and found the same spot on them, then carefully made an identical tear and used my fingernail to give myself a scraped red mark on my cheek. I put the underwear on and did several quick strokes to get myself hard and went to the door of the change room.


    ¡°Um... I might have... a little problem.¡± I said and blushed.


    ¡°Did the pants not fit?¡± The sales woman asked.


    ¡°It''s not that. I haven''t tried them on yet.¡± I said and stepped out in just my boxers. I saw their eyes widen at my tent pole and I turned around and pointed at my butt and the damage in the cloth. ¡°It''s this.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Pepper whispered.


    ¡°I don''t think it''s bleeding; but, it does hurt. I don''t know why I didn''t notice it before.¡± I said and turned around to see two blushing women and their eyes roamed over me. ¡°Should I try the pants on anyway?¡±


    ¡°No, I''ll be right back with a first aid kit.¡± The sales woman said and quickly walked away.


    ¡°Ben...¡± Pepper started to say.


    ¡°I''m sorry I''m causing you so much trouble, Pepper.¡± I said and ducked my head a little.


    ¡°It''s... no trouble, Ben.¡± Pepper said and stepped close to give me a reassuring hug.


    I hugged her back and let the feeling of her warm body pressed against me maintain my erection. I also discovered she was about five inches taller than me. Since she wore three inch heels, she would be about five foot nine with bare feet, making her only around an inch or so taller than me.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± The sales woman said as she walked back over to us.


    Pepper let me go, once again reluctantly, and accepted the first aid kit. ¡°Do you mind if we handle it in the change room?¡±


    ¡°Please feel free to do so. If the pants don''t fit and he needs to change, we can''t have potential blood on them.¡± The sales woman said. ¡°If you need anything else, I''ll be at the front counter.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Pepper said and took a deep breath and let it out as the sales woman walked away.


    I took her hand and led her into the change room and shut the door. ¡°Pepper, you don''t have to do this.¡±


    ¡°I said I would take care of it, and I will.¡± Pepper said and I could see resolve fill her eyes.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and blushed a little before I turned around and dropped my underwear to the floor and stepped out of them. I bent over at the waist to pick them up and heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. ¡°Is it worse than I thought? Is it bleeding?¡± I asked in a slightly worried voice and stayed bent over.


    ¡°N-no.¡± Pepper said in a whisper.


    ¡°That''s a relief.¡± I said. ¡°Should I stay like this so you can tend to it?¡±


    Pepper didn''t respond and I stayed quiet as well, because I assumed she was seriously considering it. ¡°I think... standing up would be better... for you.¡±


    I almost laughed at the qualifier and slowly stood up. ¡°Whatever you think is best.¡± I said and decided to give her something else to think about. ¡°I''ll do everything you want me to do.¡±


    Pepper let out a little surprised sound. ¡°I... Ben, I... I''ll need to touch you take care of that scrape.¡±


    ¡°I am completely at your mercy, Pepper.¡± I said. ¡°You did a great job taking care of my back, so you can touch anything you want.¡±


    ¡°All... all right.¡± Pepper said and I heard her as she opened the first aid kit.


    I took the opportunity to lightly stroke myself unobtrusively in order to maintain my erection. I felt her hand lightly touch my other butt cheek and she cupped it slightly, then an alcohol covered swab touched my skin. I hissed and clenched my butt cheeks, even though it didn''t hurt, and it made her hand grip my butt harder to hold me steady.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Pepper asked.


    ¡°I''m... fine. I can take it.¡± I said and relaxed. ¡°Keep going, please. I don''t want to get an infection.¡±


    Pepper didn''t loosen her grip on my butt as she cleaned the long scrape, then she had to let it go before she applied a piece of gauze and taped it in place. ¡°There, all better.¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t hurt anymore!¡± I said excitedly and turned around with a huge smile on my face and my erection prominent. ¡°Thank you for taking such good care of me, Pepper.¡±


    Pepper had a shocked look on her face and her mouth dropped open as she stared at my erection that was right in front of her face.


    ¡°Oh! You want to take care of this for me, too? That''s so nice of you.¡± I said and slipped the tip into her open mouth, went in an inch or so, pulled back, and moved forward again. ¡°So... nice. So... so nice.¡±


    Pepper''s shocked face didn''t go away, because she had automatically started sucking while I kept moving in and out, probably to stop herself from drooling. Her eyes looked up at my face and they were filled with both confusion and accusation.


    ¡°How can you look even more beautiful?¡± I asked her and her eyes widened. ¡°I guess that old saying is right. When a beautiful woman is on her knees and blesses you like this, she really does become a goddess!¡±


    Pepper''s surprised face changed to a happy one and she started flicking her tongue over my tip at the end of each stroke.


    ¡°Oh, goddess... I''m not going to last long... if you keep doing that!¡±


    Pepper''s face changed again to a determined one and her hands reached around me and cupped the cheeks of my butt. I stopped moving as she held me steady and she bobbed her head forward and back. She also went a little deeper than the shallow strokes I had been doing.


    ¡°Oh, goddess... oh... oh, I''m close...¡±


    Pepper went faster and sucked harder.


    I reached around her to the first aid kit and picked up some gauze. ¡°I can... use this to... catch...¡±


    Pepper hummed twice and gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°Yes, I''ll say when... oh, it... I''m almost there!¡±


    Pepper slipped her mouth off of me and had to let my butt go to use her hands to stroke me. A few moments later, she felt me throb and took the gauze as she leaned to the side and kept jerking me.


    ¡°OHHH!¡± I moaned for her and let my shot go. It splashed into the gauze and Pepper looked surprised, then I shot again and again.


    ¡°There''s so much.¡± Pepper whispered as the amount quickly soaked the gauze and she had to grab more. Her hand moved and jerked me a few more times to get it all.


    ¡°A goddess deserves a proper tribute.¡± I said and didn''t pretend to be winded. I pointed to the small trash can in the corner and she tossed the gauze into it. I helped her stand and then I knelt and unzipped her skirt to drop it to the floor. ¡°Now it''s your turn.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes at me. ¡°Excuse me?¡± She asked and didn''t try to stop me or picked up her skirt.


    I noticed her wet panties and pulled them down to reveal a well trimmed area. ¡°You keep getting better and better.¡± I said and she blushed. ¡°Do you taste as delicious as you look?¡± I asked and gave her dripping opening a lick. ¡°Mmm, even better!¡±


    ¡°Ben, we... we shouldn''t be doing this.¡± Pepper whispered.


    ¡°I know! Isn''t that great?¡± I asked and carefully put one of her legs over my shoulder and dug my tongue right into her soft folds.


    Pepper moaned and had to cover her mouth to muffle it. I kept licking her and even used a finger to rub her and slipped another inside of her. Her moans were almost constant as I worked her over pretty well and made her orgasm several times. She was breathing heavily by the time I stood up and her eyes were wide, because I still had my erection.


    ¡°Ben, we can''t!¡± Pepper harshly whispered.


    ¡°I can''t let this chance pass me by, Pepper.¡± I said and picked her up easily, which surprised her, and she moaned as I slipped inside of her. ¡°If we never see each other again after our chance meeting, I would have always regretted not making love to someone as wonderful as you.¡±


    Pepper let out a sound I couldn''t identify and she wrapped her legs around my waist and draped her arms around my neck. Because most of her height was in her legs, she fit almost perfectly against me. I moved in and out of her for several minutes before she came again.


    I let her rest as I braced her against the wall and I used a hand to unbutton her blouse and popped open her bra. ¡°Look at how beautiful you are.¡± I said and bent down to briefly suckle on her hard nipples. ¡°The longer I''m around you, the better you become.¡± I said, repeating what I had been telling her since we met.


    The look of desire on Pepper''s face made all of the pretense and preparation worth the work.


    ¡°I''m going to kiss you now.¡± I said and Pepper nodded several times. I didn''t want to disappoint her, so I kissed her like I had kissed Liz, full of love and tenderness, and Pepper moaned into my mouth. I started moving again and she hugged me tightly as she started rocking her hips to help me go as deep into her as I could.


    When Pepper came again, I moved us from the wall to the small bench. I laid her down on it and kept making love to her. She pulled me down into a kiss to muffle her moans and her hands seemed to move on their own as she lightly caressed my hair, parts of my back, and my shoulders. It made what we were doing feel very sensual and she seemed to be getting a lot more out of it than I was.


    I waited until she came again before I carefully turned her over to put her knees on the floor and I entered her from behind. It was a sharper angle with her half-propped on the bench like she was, so I didn''t have to go at her for long before she came again. I waited for her to stop twitching before I pulled out of her and she made a sad sound.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you magnificent woman.¡± I said as I picked her up again and laid her down on the floor, which was also on top of a mix of our clothes and the clothes I was supposed to try on. ¡°I''m nowhere near done yet.¡±


    The surprise on Pepper''s face quickly changed back to desire when I entered her again. She embraced me as tightly as she could before she kissed me passionately and enthusiastically.

 48 Potts Plots Propagated

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± Pepper whispered as she cuddled into the young man''s chest that she had thoroughly made love to. ¡°What did I just do?¡±


    ¡°Me.¡± Ben said, smugly. ¡°And you did me very, very well.¡±


    Pepper blushed at his words, because it had been the best sex of her life and she wasn''t sure what to think about that. Instead, she shook her head. ¡°You don''t understand, Ben. The man I''m seeing...¡±


    ¡°Are you on again or off again right now?¡± Ben asked and Pepper lifted her head from his chest to look at his face. ¡°I remember you saying you two take breaks occasionally. If he''s been ignoring you and you feel lonely, I''m sure that means you''re on a break.¡±


    Pepper couldn''t help but remember her lunch earlier and how she felt because she had been there all by herself. ¡°Ben, you can''t justify what happened here by...¡±


    ¡°Pepper.¡± Ben said sternly and interrupted her, then he smiled warmly at her and cupped the side of her face. ¡°I don''t need to justify it. You took tender care of my needs and treated me well. I could do nothing less than do the same for you.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes several times. ¡°But... but we...¡±


    ¡°We shared ourselves with each other and we both enjoyed it a lot.¡± Ben said and gave her a tender kiss as he let her face go. ¡°I''m going to remember our first time together for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°Our... first time?¡± Pepper asked and tried to not let her body react to the implication of doing it again. Her traitorous nipples gave her away as they hardened and popped out and then she felt herself get wet.


    ¡°It''s okay. Me, too.¡± Ben said and Pepper turned her head slightly and saw Ben''s erection come back in full force.


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Pepper said and blushed. She couldn''t stop her thoughts about feeling him inside of her.


    ¡°I hope we can become good friends from now on.¡± Ben said.


    Pepper looked back at his face and couldn''t stop her surprise from showing. ¡°Friends?¡± She asked, because she had been sure he would demand that she break off her relationship to devote herself to him and him alone.


    ¡°Of course! We''re both busy people and our free time is always limited, right?¡± Ben asked and she nodded. ¡°Friends can get together for an occasional lunch or an evening meal, laugh and carry on, and joke as they enjoy each other''s company. There''s no emotional pressure, because they are just friends.¡±


    ¡°But... Ben, we...¡±


    ¡°There''s nothing wrong with friends helping each other when they need it.¡± Ben said and gave her another tender kiss. ¡°I told you before that I would do anything that you wanted. I hope what just happened between us proved that.¡±


    Pepper closed her eyes and put her head down on his chest. ¡°What am I going to tell him?¡±


    ¡°Assuming he''s not too busy to take your call...¡± Ben started to say and Pepper sighed. ¡°You can tell him the truth. You bumped into someone, they were hurt, and you took care of them. You can also say that they wanted to become friends with you.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± Pepper whispered and kept her eyes shut as her hands hugged him tightly.


    ¡°You might want to leave out the mind-blowing sex part, unless you''re arguing.¡± Ben said and lightly caressed her back. ¡°It might actually motivate him to do better where you''re concerned.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think that?¡± Pepper asked.


    ¡°If he believes he might lose someone as fantastic as you to a friend, because that friend treats you better than he does, it might knock some sense into his thick skull.¡± Ben said. ¡°But, don''t take my word for it. You know his personality and you''ve known him for years. How do you think he will react?¡±


    Pepper took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. ¡°He might fire me while he figures out what to do.¡±


    ¡°That''s not good.¡± Ben said. ¡°How high up in the company are you?¡±


    ¡°I''m the CEO in everything but name.¡± Pepper said. ¡°I handle everything for him.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Ben said and fell silent.


    Pepper opened her eyes to look at him. ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Um... nothing. No, nothing.¡± Ben denied and looked away from her.


    ¡°Ben.¡± Pepper said in a stern voice.


    ¡°Please don''t hate me when I say this.¡± Ben said and sighed. ¡°If you''re the CEO in everything but name, then become the CEO officially. If I remember my business economics classes right, as long as you have the support from a majority of the company''s board members, not even the owner of the company can get rid of you.¡±


    Pepper looked surprised and then whispered. ¡°He still has controlling interest of the company.¡±


    ¡°Does he actually have it or is it buried inside a bunch of shell companies and they own it?¡± Ben asked.


    Pepper caught her breath and lifted her head from Ben''s firm chest to stare at his face.


    ¡°It''s the basic model for bypassing the normal procedures for buying a company and starting a hostile takeover.¡± Ben said. ¡°You create a bunch of fake companies, funnel money into various accounts, and have them buy the stocks needed to gain a 51% controlling interest. It also bypasses the monopoly bylaws to stop a single company from owning all of one thing.¡±


    Pepper stayed there and stared at Ben for several moments as she went over in her head exactly how Tony had reacquired control of Stark Industries from Obidiah Stane before their epic fight, then Stane had died. Shield had covered a lot of that up and it kept anything bad from sticking to the Stark name.


    ¡°I can almost hear the gears grinding in your head.¡± Ben said with a smile. ¡°Should I ask you what you''re thinking about so hard?¡±


    Pepper shook her head. ¡°It''s just something I need to work through.¡±


    ¡°If you need someone to talk to, you can call or text me.¡± Ben offered.


    Pepper opened her mouth to respond when there was a knock on the change room door.


    ¡°Miss? I apologize for this; but, I have to ask you and your boyfriend to get dressed and leave.¡± The sales woman said through the door. ¡°We are not running a pay-by-the-hour motel.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Pepper said and blushed.


    ¡°We need to pay for the clothing we have in here.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°You can bring your purchases to the front counter.¡± She said. ¡°I''m glad that you offered, because I doubt we could sell anything that... you tried on.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, god.¡± Pepper said, now thoroughly embarrassed.


    ¡°We''ll be out in a few minutes.¡± Ben said and both he and Pepper scrambled to gather their clothing up to get dressed.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The sales woman said and walked away. It was at times like these that she regretted the laws that prohibited installing cameras in the change rooms, because it sounded like they had a lot of fun in there.


    Ben and Pepper had cleaned themselves as best as they could with the first aid kit''s supplies and straightened out the clothing they wore. Ben''s pants had been relatively unscathed and only one of the shirts looked presentable, while the rest were a wrinkled mess and had more than a few wet spots on them. Pepper even wore her blazer to hide her crumpled blouse.


    They went to the front of the store and the sales woman held up the scanner for them to run the tags under, rather than touching the garments herself. After a brief and silent argument between Ben and Pepper, Pepper won and she paid with a personal credit card and not the company card she had used at lunch. She even added a nice tip for inconveniencing the sales woman, who appreciated it.


    Ben carried the large bag of clothing as he and Pepper left the store and they stopped near the edge of the sidewalk.


    ¡°Well, I... I guess this is goodbye.¡± Pepper said and took out her cell phone from her purse.


    ¡°What? Why?¡± Ben asked and put a hand on her cell phone to stop her from typing.


    ¡°You... we... um... I''m not sure how to phrase what happened.¡± Pepper said and blushed.


    Ben smiled at her. ¡°It was just two friends enjoying each other''s company.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but...¡±


    ¡°I was hurt, you took care of me, and even bought me replacement clothes. You are a great friend for doing that, because you didn''t have to.¡± Ben said and let her cell phone go. ¡°Thank you, Pepper.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, Ben.¡± Pepper said and started typing on her phone again. ¡°I need to get home to shower and change before I come back to go shopping for myself.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°There''s no need to waste time like that. I''m sure one of these shops has a shower in the back or something. We can use that.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes several times at him. ¡°W-we?¡± She asked, a little confused.


    ¡°What kind of friend would I be if I didn''t accompany you and help with your shopping?¡± Ben asked and took her hand. ¡°At the very least, I can carry your bags for you.¡±


    Pepper opened her mouth to refuse and paused, then she remembered what happened the last time she opened her mouth and didn''t say anything. She had a firm penis gently placed in her mouth and she had sucked on it right away, because she couldn''t think of what else to do with it at the time.


    She hadn''t done anything like that in quite some time and she blushed at the memory, because she felt quite proud that she had gotten a handsome young man off so quickly. ¡°All right, we can go shopping.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ben said and looked around at the nearby storefronts. ¡°Ooo! A luxury lingerie shop! You know they have to have showers in there to ensure their clientele aren''t ruining their wares.¡±


    Pepper didn''t even have time to protest before Ben had dragged her through the door and he had explained to the older lady behind the counter about how Pepper needed to shower and that his gorgeous friend wanted to try on a few things to model for him.


    They were led to a back room and Pepper quickly showered and put on the available robe. She went out to where the display room was and paused at the corner as she overheard Ben and the older woman talking.


    ¡°I would kindly ask you to please excuse me when I have an erection. Like I told you before, even though she''s my good friend, she''s incredibly sexy and I''m going to react to her every time I see her.¡± Ben said and blushed a little. ¡°I may even have to touch myself to get some relief, so I hope that''s okay.¡±


    The older woman chuckled. ¡°It''s perfectly fine, Mr. Parker. In fact, we provide discreet towels to drape over yourself, so you don''t embarrass yourself or your companion.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°You would be surprised how many people we have visit here that need the same discreet service, young man.¡± The older lady said and lightly touched his arm. ¡°I''ll bring some towels back here for you while you and your lady friend pick out some things for her to try on.¡±


    ¡°You really are the best shop in the city.¡± Ben said and smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The older woman chuckled and left the display room. Pepper waited for a moment and then walked in.


    ¡°Oh! There you are.¡± Ben said and beamed a smile at her. ¡°What would you like to try first? Teddys? Negligees?¡±


    Pepper gave him a curious look as they approached the racks of different lacy things. ¡°Why aren''t you asking about see-through bras and panties?¡±


    Ben chuckled and picked out a couple of things. ¡°I want you to keep looking sexy and accentuate your beauty, not have you be indecent and possibly embarrass yourself. That''s not the point of lingerie.¡±


    ¡°That''s exactly right, young man.¡± The older lady said as she placed several towels on the small table beside the sole chair. ¡°A woman should feel empowered when she wields her body like a weapon.¡±


    ¡°That''s an interesting viewpoint.¡± Ben said as Pepper handed him a revealing bra and panties set.


    ¡°How else can she cut down her man''s resistance to her?¡± The older woman said with a sexy smile.


    ¡°Touche, madam!¡± Ben responded and they both laughed. ¡°Do you have any recommendations for good staples to try? We''ve chosen these so far.¡±


    She looked over the choices and she nodded. ¡°Hmm, good picks.¡± She said and gave Pepper a measuring gaze, then smiled. ¡°I have just the thing.¡± She said and went near the end of the next rack and came back with a small mass of royal purple fabric. ¡°I think you should save this one for last.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Pepper asked.


    ¡°Just trust me.¡± The older lady said with a knowing smile. ¡°There are pads and covers in the top drawer in the change room. Do be careful with our wares.¡±


    Pepper nodded and took the bundles of lacy things and went into the change room. She wasn''t sure why she was going along with all of this, except for the slightly exciting feeling of showing off. The sales woman''s words of using her body like a weapon, really stuck in her mind. She applied the pad and self-sticking covering to herself, to make sure she didn''t leak out onto the outfits.


    As she dressed in the first outfit Ben had picked, Pepper couldn''t help looking in the mirror and checked herself out. She did a bit of a dramatic pose and smiled sexily. Engarde! She thought the term in fencing for an incoming attack and chuckled at herself.


    Pepper left the change room and she felt a little confident as she strode into the display room.


    ¡°Oh, sweet mercy!¡± Ben whispered when he saw her.


    Pepper felt her confidence soar at his exclamation and she made a bit of a show of herself as she did a twirl, posed, then turned around and bent over slightly as she stuck her ass out.


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± Ben whispered.


    Pepper turned to see the towel on his lap move quite a bit and she couldn''t stop her blush, because she knew exactly what was under that and what she was making Ben do because of her. She couldn''t stop her demure smile as she went over to him and bent over to show off the cleavage she had, then she kissed his cheek.


    ¡°So beautiful.¡± Ben whispered and stared at her face.


    Pepper felt her emotions swirl as she walked back across the display area and into the change room. She was really glad she had applied the covering, because she could feel herself get wet from the look of utter desire on Ben''s face.


    She quickly changed into a white lace teddy and she went right back out there to show herself off to the young man that had apparently unlocked something within her. She wasn''t worried at all that her hard nipples were clearly visible and she strutted around and did several other poses for him.


    Pepper really did feel empowered as she changed again and she also felt quite naughty. She had never done anything like this before and not only was it a new experience, she discovered that she enjoyed it. She went back out several times wearing different things and each time Ben''s towel moved more.


    It wasn''t until Pepper put on the last thing, the sales woman''s recommendation, that she understood what the woman had meant about saving it for last. It was a royal purple lacy one piece and had very high cut hips, was barely more than a strap between Pepper''s legs, and the build-in underwire pushed her breasts up as if serving them on a silver platter.


    The funny thing was, when she checked out her reflection, she wasn''t embarrassed or felt like she was showing too much. It was both conservative and daring, and she had to admit that her breasts and her ass looked spectacular in it.


    Pepper walked out into the display room and the sudden gasp from Ben made her even more bold. She did the whole runway model thing, did several poses, and made sure that Ben saw how great she looked in the thing, then she stood with her back to him and bent over as she showed him exactly how it fit between her legs.


    ¡°OH, GODDESS!¡± Ben exclaimed.


    Pepper turned just in time because Ben moved the towel out of the way for her to see his ejaculate as it literally exploded out of him. She stared at how much height it had achieved and the second one went at a lower height, then the third reduced in height until Ben was left panting and with a satisfied look on his face.


    ¡°You... are a... magnificent... woman.¡± Ben said and leaned back in his chair. ¡°In my... personal opinion... I suggest you buy... the first, second, fifth, and last outfits.¡±


    Pepper had heard him and had to agree. Those were the best ones and had accentuated her figure well. She was also staring at Ben''s erection, because even though he had just blown a huge load, it wasn''t going away.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Pepper asked.


    ¡°I''m more than okay. I just saw you confidently tear up the display floor with how you walked and you commanded my attention. I couldn''t have looked at anything else while you did that. It was amazing!¡± Ben said and used the towel to wipe himself off and folded it up to leave on the chair. He stood and let her see him fully, then he carefully tucked himself away and almost couldn''t zip up his pants.


    Pepper actually felt quite proud of that fact. ¡°I''ll change and we can go on to the next shop.¡±


    Ben beamed a smile at her. ¡°I''m not sure I can handle any more fashion shows; but, I''m sure as hell going to try!¡±


    Pepper couldn''t stop her laugh at his enthusiasm and then had a wicked thought. She felt quite naughty as she stepped close to him and gave him a hug as she pulled his face down into her pushed-up breasts.


    ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡± Pepper said and she felt him lightly kiss her breasts as he hugged her back.


    ¡°I said I would do anything you wanted.¡± Ben said as he lifted his head to look at her. ¡°I also get to spend more time with you. Who wouldn''t enjoy that?¡±


    Pepper smiled and gave him a quick kiss before she let him go. ¡°I''ll be right back.¡±


    Ben nodded and she left him there to quickly change. Pepper was sure that when she took the covering off, there was going to be a lot of fluid coming out of her. So, she went to the shower and removed it, she was proven right. She was a little amazed that there was so much, then thought about Ben''s reaction to her.


    No, this is an appropriate amount to match. Pepper thought with satisfaction and quickly rinsed herself and then dried off and dressed. She left the room and saw the older woman with Ben and he apologized for dirtying her nice towel.


    ¡°It''s all right, Mr. Parker. I''m a little surprised you only used one.¡± The sales woman said and opened the towel a little and her eyes widened and how much gooey whiteness was there. ¡°Oh, my.¡±


    ¡°It surprised me, too.¡± Ben said and blushed a little. ¡°I held off as much as I could, because she deserved nothing less than to see how turned on I was.¡±


    ¡°I would say very.¡± The older woman said and closed the towel. ¡°Have you decided on what to buy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we have.¡± Pepper said and carried the ones she wanted to buy. ¡°I left the others in the change room. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°I''ll gather them up after I ring you through.¡± She said and smiled at the purple cloth on top. ¡°Was I right or was I right?¡±


    Pepper and Ben exchanged a knowing look and both nodded happily. The older woman smiled and led them out to the main part of the store to the front counter and she checked the numbers on the items. She went to the racks of shelves behind the counter and pulled out brand new copies of them that were already wrapped in clear plastic coverings.


    ¡°Oh, I thought we were buying these ones.¡± Pepper said.


    ¡°Those are just the display items.¡± The older woman said and rang in the purchases. ¡°You wouldn''t want to own something that a dozen other women have tried on, would you?¡±


    ¡°That is an excellent point.¡± Ben said. ¡°You really are the best shop in the city.¡±


    ¡°We provide the best quality products and the best services.¡± She said and handed the bag to Ben and took the credit card from Pepper. ¡°We also like to encourage repeat customers.¡±


    Both Ben and Pepper nodded and bid the woman goodbye.


    ¡°Where to next?¡± Ben asked and took her hand.


    ¡°I need some new blouses and I could use several new business coat and skirt outfits.¡± Pepper said. ¡°I also need several different kinds of nylons and shoes.¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously trying to give me a beautiful business woman fetish?¡± Ben asked with a grin.


    Pepper laughed softly. ¡°Your opinion might change by the time I''m done shopping.¡±


    ¡°I seriously doubt that, Pepper.¡± Ben said as they walked down the street to another shop. ¡°You just keep getting better and better as I spend more time with you. That''s not going to change.¡±


    Pepper felt a warm feeling in her chest at his words and held his hand tightly as they entered the shop.

 49 Food For Thought

    Bokuboy


    Pepper and I shopped for the rest of the afternoon and she bought a lot of things. A lot of things. She had even called her driver to take some of the packages for her when we were several stores into her shopping spree.


    As the day wore on, I was more and more amused by her and I was really starting to like her as a person and not just as a target to get back at Tony. The best part was that she never mentioned him by name, so I never had to pretend to be surprised that she knew the billionaire or that he was the one she had been dating.


    When it was approaching suppertime, Pepper''s cell phone beeped at her. She checked it and sighed.


    ¡°I recognize that sigh. It''s resignation.¡± I said and she gave me a sad look. ¡°Hey, don''t look like that. This was the best day of my life so far!¡±


    ¡°So far?¡± Pepper asked.


    ¡°I''ve got a wonderful friend like you in my life now. How can things not get better?¡±


    Pepper looked surprised, so I put her bags and packages down before I took her hand and looked into her eyes.


    ¡°I know you''re a busy woman and I''m not going to ask when you''re free again. Friends don''t make demands like that.¡± I said. ¡°You have my number. Give me a call when you want to have lunch, or to chat, or if you feel like hearing an enthusiastic voice tell you how awesome you are.¡±


    Pepper chuckled. ¡°So, I can call you all the time for that last thing?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Texting is free on my phone plan, too. You can spam me whenever you want.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What would you do if I did that?¡± Pepper asked and sent a text to her driver to pick her up.


    ¡°Spam you right back, of course. That''s what friends do.¡± I said and then smiled. ¡°My opinion of you hasn''t changed, by the way. Even after that gruelling shopping spree and being your willing mule, I still think you''re a magnificent woman.¡±


    Pepper had an odd look on her face for a moment, then she leaned down and lightly kissed me. ¡°What about that developing office woman fetish?¡±


    ¡°Firmly planted.¡± I said and tapped my temple. ¡°You do great work!¡±


    Pepper laughed softly just as the car arrived. I picked up her packages and bags and brought them over to the car''s trunk. The driver opened it and I put them in and took out the bag with my clothes in it.


    ¡°Despite how it started and ended, I had a great time today.¡± I joked and Pepper chuckled. ¡°Take care of yourself, Pepper. I mean that.¡±


    Pepper looked thoughtful for a moment and then firmly nodded, which meant she understood that I was referring to her becoming CEO of Stark''s company.


    ¡°Goodbye, Ben.¡± Pepper said and climbed into the car''s backseat.


    ¡°Bye!¡± I said, then I stood there and I waved as they drove away. She had offered earlier in the day to drive me home and I said that I didn''t want to take up her time by driving partway across the city at the busiest time of the day. I did give her my address and cell phone number, just so she didn''t think I was hiding it from her.


    I made my way to the closest bus stop on a less populated street, just so I wouldn''t get caught in too much traffic on the way home, and hopped on the bus when it arrived. I had to make two transfers to get back to my neighbourhood and I walked down the street before I entered my building. I rode the elevator up to my floor and entered the apartment, only to see May was already there and she had some fast food for us.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± May asked me as her eyes roamed over me to see if I was okay.


    ¡°I took a bit of a fall, just like I planned.¡± I said and she looked a little worried. ¡°It''s okay, May. Miss Potts was very concerned and bought some supplies from a pharmacy to clean and tend to the scrapes I had.¡± I said and took out the pharmacy bag from my clothing bag. ¡°She did a great job, too.¡±


    ¡°Were you really hurt?¡± May asked and came over to me to hug me. Her hands felt the gauze taped to my back in a bunch of spots. ¡°Ben!¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It''s okay, May. It worked like a charm.¡±


    ¡°It... it did?¡± May asked and looked surprised.


    ¡°Yep! We got to talking and we discussed a few things, and I told her that she should be the actual CEO and not just run Stark''s company for free.¡± I said.


    ¡°And she accepted that?¡± May asked, disbelief in her voice.


    I chuckled. ¡°I didn''t just blurt it out. I steeped it inside a discussion about my business economics classes and one thing led to another. When she was done shopping, I reminded her to take care of herself and she knew what I meant.¡±


    May took a breath and let it out. ¡°I can''t believe that actually worked.¡±


    ¡°I''m a little surprised as well.¡± I said and led her over to the kitchen table. ¡°Hopefully, she''ll take my advice and secure her position, get a huge bump in her salary, and then I can bring up Stark stealing my patent. With her in control, I''ll either get the patent back or ask to be compensated for its use.¡±


    May nodded as we sat down and started dividing up the food. ¡°You''re waiting to see how well it sells.¡±


    ¡°Stark jacked the price up on the individual units and changed the look. Everyone that enters a business with them will know what to shoot first, because the things stand out like sore thumbs on a carpenter.¡±


    May laughed softly. ¡°You know people will buy it, just to say they have it.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± I sighed. ¡°Anything with the Stark name on it seems to be popular and sells well.¡±


    May paused with her fork about to poke an egg roll. ¡°Is it because of Stark or Iron Man?¡±


    I blinked my eyes at her several times as my brain hiccuped, then it restarted and I chuckled, then I laughed, then I leaned across the table to kiss her cheek. ¡°My beautiful aunt has a brilliant mind!¡±


    May blushed a little and laughed as she pushed me away. ¡°You''re lucky you didn''t start eating yet.¡±


    I grinned at her, dipped my finger into the cherry dipping sauce, and rubbed it over my lips. ¡°My brilliant auntie! Kishes! KISHES!¡± I said loudly and darted around the table to hug her.


    ¡°AHH!¡± May fake screamed and pretended to fight me off as I pretended to smother her in kisses.


    ¡°Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!¡± I kissed the air by her cheeks and she laughed and laughed.


    ¡°Our... food''s... getting cold!¡± May said between laughs.


    I laughed as well and sat back down as I made a show of taking a chicken ball and rubbed it over my lips and then I ate the cherry sauce covered nugget. ¡°Ah, delicious.¡±


    May shook her head at me and we started eating the food. ¡°What put you in such a good mood?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± I said and she blushed again. ¡°Don''t be embarrassed. It''s true. You just gave me a brilliant way to get back at Stark without actually having to confront him directly.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I''ll need to do a patent search to see if I can do it first, then I''ll need to come up with a way to produce them cheaply and still make a quality product.¡± I said, remembering the older woman''s words from the upscale lingerie shop. If you made quality goods, customers were encouraged to return to get more.


    ¡°Produce what?¡± May asked.


    ¡°Action figures!¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± May asked and looked confused.


    ¡°Children''s toys.¡± I said. ¡°Miniature figures that can be posed and have accessories and everything.¡±


    May''s confusion changed to surprise. ¡°You''re going to get back at Tony Stark by making toys.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I exclaimed and then grinned. ¡°Iron Man, The Iron Monger, Whiplash, the Hammer drones, and anything else I can legally get the rights to, because any existing patents are either expired or the person is dead with no beneficiaries.¡±


    ¡°You... that''s...¡±


    ¡°Your brilliant idea.¡± I said and reached across the table to take her hand. ¡°Tony can''t patent the Iron Man suit because it''ll become available to the general public, and he does not want that to happen.¡±


    ¡°Which means the brand of Iron Man is completely open for you to patent.¡± May said with wide eyes.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I exclaimed again and then laughed again. ¡°He''ll have to pay me royalties every time someone uses the patented name to reference him, or he''ll try to buy it from me.¡±


    ¡°He could just take it from you when he checks it.¡± May said.


    ¡°Nope! I''m filing it under toys! He won''t even look at the thing if it''s not technology! Ha ha!¡±


    May nodded with a smile and we finished eating.


    I checked the time and realized I was running out of time. ¡°I''ve got enough time for a sponge bath and then I need to go to work.¡±


    ¡°A sponge bath?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I can''t shower with all the gauze and tape on my back.¡± I said and stood. ¡°Although, I''ll have to risk it when I come home tonight. I can''t have concrete dust on my skin or let it get into the scrapes.¡±


    ¡°I''ll give you a hand with it when you come back.¡± May offered.


    I really want to make a joke about her helping me in the shower. I don''t want to make things awkward between us, though. I thought and smiled. ¡°I appreciate that, May. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You''re my nephew. I need to take good care of you.¡± May said and waved me away from the table. ¡°I''ll clean up here while you do the same in the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said, used a napkin to wipe off my mouth to make May smile, and I kissed her cheek.


    I grabbed my bag of bought clothes and went up the stairs to the bathroom and stripped off, emptied my pockets of money, and put everything into the hamper under the sink. I would have to wash them in the morning before going to meet Natasha. Letting the stains sit for too long wouldn''t be good for them.


    That thought had me dig out the bottle of stain remover and I sprayed some on every little dried wet spot on the shirts and pants. I nodded and put the bottle away and filled the sink to give myself a quick sponge bath. I had to be careful that I didn''t splash myself too much or dampen the gauze. I was sure I couldn''t get an infection, thanks to my enhanced metabolism; but, why take the chance?


    I went to my room, naked as the day I was born, and waved at the camera before I dressed for work. I checked my work backpack for the safety gear and added all three of my cell phones and carefully hid adding my two normal web shooters and the mini one behind the cell phones. I would check the phones for missed calls and messages while on the bus, then I chuckled and added an earpiece.


    My old mask and set of dark clothing was still in the backpack, so I was all set. I waved to the camera again and went to the bathroom, put the money in my pocket in case I needed it, and went downstairs.


    ¡°I''ll be back in a few hours, May.¡± I said and put on my shoes, jacket, and the backpack.


    ¡°I''ll be pretending to be asleep when you get back.¡± May said with a laugh.


    I laughed too and blew her a kiss before I left the apartment and locked the door. I used the stairs and ran down them quickly, and my mind drifted to the smoking guy. I never did check his apartment here in the building and it had been a while since he had died. I shook my head at the thought and agreed with my past self. It was too dangerous to go there because it was too close to home.


    I left the building and walked down the street to get on the bus. As soon as I sat down, I took out my real cell phone and checked it. Two messages were missed. One from Max saying she couldn''t wait until next week when I would visit and the other was from Val. She asked for me to come and get her and gave an address. I checked the time and I had only missed it by fifteen minutes.


    I sent a text that I was on my way and would be there soon. She didn''t respond and I frowned at it, then pulled the stop bell on the roof of the bus. It came to a stop and I hopped out and ran for the nearest alley. Luckily, it was a narrow one and I did my parkour jumps from side to side and was on top of the building in only a couple of seconds.


    I put on my dark outer clothing, my skin tight leather gloves, my mask, and the web shooters, then I ran for the side of the building and leapt off. Unlike my normal carefree attitude, I was full of determination. Val never texted me before, so I was sure that she really needed me.


    I moved much faster than I usually did and it wasn''t until I approached the frat house that I realized I had web swung the entire way and my feet hadn''t touched the roofs at all. I also saw a lot of cars and people milling about, drinking, and loud music.


    Oh, no. I thought and landed on the roof without a sound. I crouched down and stayed in the shadows as I crawled across the roof and let my spider-sense guide me to a safe window to enter. It was unlocked and I slipped inside. There was a couple of people making out on the bed and they didn''t notice me at all.


    I took off my mask and slipped out the door and I was glad that there wasn''t anyone else in the hallway. I walked to each door and carefully peeked in to try and find her. I didn''t get a tingle of danger until I opened the third door.


    ¡°Shut the door.¡± Someone said in a hushed whisper. ¡°Either get in here to join in on the fun or fuck off.¡±


    I was really worried now and my spider-sense was tingling a little more. I slipped into the almost completely dark room and I saw a sight I never wanted to see. An unconscious Val and four guys around her with their dicks out and stroking themselves.


    ¡°I''m first.¡± The guy that had invited me in said and pushed up Val''s skirt. ¡°I''m really gonna enjoy this.¡±


    I felt my blood boil in a similar manner as when Stark stole my patent. I didn''t fight it this time and put my mask back on. ¡°Sooo am I, motherrrrfffuckerrrr.¡±


    My hand blurred and smashed into the side of his face, shattering his cheek and indenting his temple, and he flopped across the bed to land in a heap on the floor. My left foot moved next and I kicked high as it cracked the neck of the guy on the left. The other two guys were shocked at seeing two deaths in as many seconds, then both my hands reached out and grabbed them by the necks. I gave them a squeeze and two snaps later, they were dead.


    I took off my mask and one of my gloves to check Val''s pulse. It was erratic and her breathing was laboured. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I thought and looked around the room as I put my glove back on. I went to the closet and opened it, to see it was fairly huge. It also had a large blank ceiling. Of course it would have been too much of a coincidence for it to have an attic access!


    The music was pretty loud, so I nodded my head to the beat to time myself, then made my hand into a flat shape, as if to chop something, and darted it up and through the ceiling as the music''s beat covered up the sound.


    I continued doing that to make a rectangular shape large enough and then pushed it up into the attic. I grabbed the closest body and shoved it up into the attic, then did the same for the other two bodies and stacked them. I picked up the first one I had killed and used his t-shirt to wrap around his face to stop the flow of blood from his nose, then I shoved him up into the attic and rested him on top of the others.


    I would have to come back later to handle their disposal, assuming they weren''t found before then, then I chuckled and took out my mini web shooter and crawled back down and put the closet ceiling back in place as I webbed up the corners and then carefully filled in around the whole thing. There was no way of getting up there that way.


    That reminded me to do the same with the actual attic access and I let my spider-sense guide me as I slipped out of the room and found the pull down tab at the end of the hall. I opened it slightly and shot a webline along the edge and then closed it to seal it shut.


    I crept back into the room Val was in and I looked around for anything that was girlish, like a purse or anything, and felt relief when I found it stashed under the edge of the bed with her coat and cell phone. I put the phone into her purse and put her jacket on her. I seriously thought about carrying her down through the house and let them all know what had happened, except that would have everyone looking around and investigating, which would bring attention to the four missing guys.


    So, I changed my backpack to hang on my front, added her purse to it, and picked Val up to carry on my back. I had to use a bit of normal webbing on her jacket to stick her to my back, then I used a bit on her wrists and legs to keep them wrapped around me.


    I opened the bedroom window and was glad it was big enough for us to fit through. I climbed out and closed it, then climbed up to the roof. I went over to the side where I had approached the house in the first place and waited for my spider-sense to tell me when to go, then I leapt as hard as I could, to compensate for the extra weight I was carrying, and shot a webline to swing away.


    I was several streets away before I stopped and realized I had no idea where the closest hospital was. I had been heading for Manhattan General because that was what I knew and Val might not have that long. I took out one of the untraceable cell phones and quickly looked up hospital locations near the frat house''s address.


    It was only twenty minutes away and I memorized the directions before I put the cell phone away and leapt into the air once more as I swung with all my might. I had to get Val medical treatment and possibly her stomach pumped as soon as possible.

 50 Actions And Consequences

    Bokuboy


    I landed near the hospital and was glad that I always carried a small vial of dissolver in my backpack. I dabbed it on Val''s secured arms and legs before I poured some down my back. I put the nearly empty vial away and caught Val before she slid to the ground. I gently laid her down and quickly stripped off my outer clothing, tucked them and my mask into my backpack with my web shooters, and picked her back up.


    I walked at a fast pace as I went into the emergency entrance. ¡°Help! HELP! She''s been drugged at a frat party! I don''t know what to do!¡±


    The receptionist and a nurse ran over to us.


    ¡°Tell us what you know.¡± They said and led me over to an empty stretcher.


    ¡°Valerie called me about 45 minutes ago to come and pick her up. When I arrived about twenty minutes later, I found her unconscious in one of the upstairs rooms.¡± I said and the two women gave me pointed looks. ¡°I checked her pulse and it''s erratic and her breathing''s laboured. I ran out of there so fast that I doubt anyone even saw me.¡±


    The nurse checked Val''s vitals and had a worried look on her face.


    ¡°You didn''t do anything to her, did you?¡± The receptionist asked.


    ¡°Wh-what? No! I would never drug her and do something like that!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°We''ve already had sex normally! Why would I do this to her? She could DIE!¡±


    The receptionist and the nurse looked surprised at my response.


    ¡°You need to pump her stomach or something.¡± I said. ¡°Whatever they gave her at the party, or spiked the drinks with, she''s not reacting well to it.¡±


    ¡°I need to take her into emergency right away.¡± The nurse said and started pushing the stretcher away.


    ¡°Come with me. You need to give me her personal details.¡± The receptionist said and I nodded and followed her back to her desk.


    ¡°I have her purse.¡± I said and pulled it out of my backpack and handed it over. ¡°I don''t know her home address; but, I do know her home phone.¡± I said and she wrote it down.


    ¡°And who are you?¡± The woman asked.


    I held in my sigh, because I should have run when I had the chance. I still could, except it would make me look really guilty. ¡°My name''s Ben Parker and I go to high school with Val.¡±


    The receptionist stiffened slightly and then narrowed her eyes. ¡°What was a high school student doing at a college frat party?¡±


    ¡°I told you, I had no idea where she was until I showed up and saw all the people and heard the loud music. When I realized that, I ran inside and searched for her.¡± I let out the sigh I was holding and gave the woman a sad face. ¡°I just hope I got to her before... you know.¡±


    The receptionist nodded and made note of that and then she dug into Val''s purse. I stood there as she took down the address and birth date from Val''s ID and then she called the home number, since the cell phone was there in the purse. I actually heard a woman''s startled yell from over the phone and then the receptionist hung up.


    ¡°You can have a seat over there in the waiting area, Mr Parker. I have to report things like this to the police and they will want to talk to you.¡±


    I had already resigned myself to that happening, so I nodded... and then I had a stroke of inspiration. ¡°Can you ask who they''ll send over? If it''s Detective DeWolff or Detective Jackson, I know them and they can vouch for me.¡±


    The receptionist looked surprised for a moment, then she smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and went over to the waiting area. I took out my cell phone and dialed home, because I didn''t want May to worry about me. I had a sneaky suspicion that I was going to be stuck there for quite some time.


    *


    Three hours later, Adrian was surprised when he checked the feed from the camera and there was no motion detected and no file for him to access. That worried him a little, because the crew had trusted Ben to clean up the huge messes they left behind every evening. If he didn''t do that, it would add another half day to the schedule.


    He picked up his cell phone and was going to call when it vibrated. He checked it and there was a text. He read that Ben was about to talk to the police about a crime and who was involved. ¡°Damn, kid.¡±


    Doris walked over to him. ¡°Addy? What is it?¡±


    ¡°One of Liz''s school friends was drugged at a frat party.¡± Adrian said and handed her the phone. He was very glad that his daughter was safely at home and was in her room.


    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Doris exclaimed and read the text herself. ¡°Valerie, what were you thinking?¡±


    ¡°She probably wasn''t.¡± Adrian shook his head and took the phone back to send a text to tell Ben to take the night off. He wasn''t surprised when Ben responded that his trust wasn''t misplaced and the place would be cleaned before the morning. ¡°Stupid kid.¡± He said and set the phone down.


    ¡°I''m sure if Ben was there, he took care of things.¡± Doris said and led her husband to their bed. ¡°He''s quite the young man.¡±


    Adrian nodded and they stripped off and climbed into bed and just held each other. Neither of them had to ask the other why they weren''t in the mood for sex tonight.


    *


    Detective Jean DeWolff walked from the hospital''s receptionist desk over to the nearly empty waiting area. A particular young man had popped up in her life again and she did not like the circumstances.


    ¡°Detective DeWolff.¡± Ben said and stood to shake her hand. He didn''t play around and try to kiss it or anything, because he was in serious mode. There would be no joking around tonight. ¡°I''m both glad and sad to see you again.¡±


    DeWolff nodded. ¡°I requested to get called in for any reported rape cases.¡± She said and saw the shocked look on his face.


    ¡°N-no, she... did they... was I too late?¡± Ben asked and a tear came to his eye. ¡°She was fully dressed when I found her... I just assumed...¡± He stopped talking and the tear rolled down his cheek. ¡°I guessed a couple of weeks ago that she''s been dating a college guy... maybe more than one... and I''ve been really worried about her. I tried to talk to her about it and she... didn''t want to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why she contacted you to come and get her?¡± DeWolff asked.


    Ben shook his head no as he sat down. ¡°I had just eaten supper with my aunt and hopped on the bus to go to my part-time job when I checked my cell phone for missed messages.¡± He said and handed it to her. ¡°I was shocked that she would text me, because it''s the first time... and then I saw she wanted me to pick her up and she gave me the address.¡±


    She checked it and nodded, because it matched Valerie''s cell phone, and she handed it back.


    ¡°I had barely missed it, so I responded and went there as fast as I could when she didn''t answer.¡± Ben said and then he told the story again. He didn''t add too many details, because that would indicate it was rehearsed.


    DeWolff wrote everything down and it matched what Ben had told the receptionist. His outrage at being accused of doing it was genuine, as was the sad state he was in now. She sat down next to him put a hand on his thigh.


    ¡°I don''t normally give out details of ongoing cases like this.¡± DeWolff whispered and leaned in close. ¡°The rape kit came back negative, Mr. Parker. There was some vaginal tearing; but, it was several days old and there was no semen present.¡±


    Ben looked stunned. ¡°I... I... I made it? I actually was in time? Val didn''t... she wasn''t...¡±


    ¡°You saved her from a terrible experience.¡± DeWolff said.


    Ben''s stunned face changed to a happy one. ¡°Thank you!¡± He said and pulled her into a tight hug as he wrapped his arms around her. ¡°I was so worried! I''ve been sitting here and dreading having to talk to her parents about it. If Val had actually been... I couldn''t...¡± He eased his hold on her and looked deep into her eyes. ¡°Thank you, Jean. Thank you very much.¡±


    Before DeWolff realized what was happening, Ben''s lips were on hers and she was being kissed like they had been in love for years. She couldn''t help herself and kissed him back, because when someone kissed you like that, you had to respond in kind. Or punched them. Yes, punching was also an option.


    DeWolff broke the kiss and her fist connected with his chin. To her surprise, his head only jerked to the side and he wasn''t laid out on the floor, unconscious.


    ¡°You need more leverage than that to knock me down, Jean.¡± Ben whispered and turned his head back to smile at her and let her out of the hug. ¡°I apologize for kissing you like that. I''m just so happy and I had to show it.¡±


    ¡°You could have just clapped your hands.¡± DeWolff said and quoted the old children''s song. Like she had predicted, he didn''t laugh.


    As if he knew what she was thinking, Ben shook his head. ¡°I won''t joke again until I know Val''s going to be all right after ingesting whatever they gave her.¡±


    ¡°She had an allergic reaction to it, so they treated her, pumped her stomach to empty it, and they are also flushing her system with an IV.¡± DeWolff said. ¡°They won''t know anything else until morning.¡±


    ¡°Her parents...¡± Ben started to say.


    ¡°I''ve already talked to them and they are reluctant to talk to you right now.¡±


    Ben opened his mouth to respond and sighed instead. ¡°The nurse told them we already had sex.¡±


    ¡°You did volunteer the information and she marked it down. It explained the vaginal tearing, too.¡±


    Ben nodded. ¡°We were together on Sunday and we had fun.¡±


    DeWolff noted the wording. ¡°It wasn''t a date?¡±


    Ben shook his head no. ¡°We''re just friends.¡±


    ¡°That have sex.¡± DeWolff added.


    ¡°Protected sex and that was the first time.¡± Ben said and sighed again. ¡°With how she was treated tonight, I doubt she''s going to want anything to do with guys for a while.¡±


    ¡°She might not remember a lot... or anything at all.¡± DeWolff cautioned him. ¡°I need to warn you to not pressure her for details or try to get her to relive what happened.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. That would only add to her trauma over it.¡± Ben said and she nodded. ¡°I''ll text her close friends in the morning and let them know to not bombard her with questions or make her feel guilty or stupid for making a mistake.¡±


    DeWolff was surprised that he was so insightful. ¡°You seem to know a lot about things like this.¡±


    ¡°Rape is a terrible blight on the collective human psyche and no one should ever have to experience it.¡± Ben said and squinted his eyes. ¡°If I could delete those kinds of thoughts from people''s minds, I would.¡±


    ¡°I... I think we would all wish for that.¡± DeWolff whispered.


    Ben blinked his eyes for a moment before he put his arms around her to hug her tenderly. ¡°I am doubly sorry for kissing you without your permission, Jean. I''m very sorry that you went through something so terrible and I''m even more sorry that what I''m saying are just words and don''t have the impact they should have.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± DeWolf asked and she wasn''t sure if she wanted to hear what he was going to say.


    ¡°I would make love to you and show you that you''re not damaged or worthless, because it wasn''t your fault. It''s never your fault. Never.¡± Ben whispered and tried to let her see in his eyes that he did desire her and wouldn''t do anything without her permission. ¡°You are a strong and independent woman and you are not responsible for other people''s actions. They are at fault. Not you.¡±


    DeWolff wasn''t sure why she believed him; but, she did. His sincerity was also quite touching.


    ¡°May I kiss you in thanks for sharing such a deeply personal detail with me?¡± Ben asked in a whisper.


    DeWolff wasn''t sure why she nodded, then his lips were on hers again and heaven help her, he was kissing her the same way. She almost melted into his arms as she made out with him and she let her thoughts run wild as she imagined him actually doing what he said. When her hand went down to his crotch and felt his quite hard erection, she realized what she was doing and broke the kiss.


    Ben smiled warmly at her and put a hand on hers that was still on his erection. ¡°This means more to me than the kiss does, Jean. Thank you.¡±


    DeWolff was surprised he would say that.


    ¡°A willing touch from a beautiful woman speaks volumes about her confidence in herself. You know what you want and only an idiot would deny you.¡± Ben said and then smiled. ¡°I have to be that idiot right now, because I''m very late for work.¡±


    DeWolff was surprised even more when Ben stood up and held her hand on his erection.


    ¡°You have my number and I usually have Sundays free. If you need a friend to talk to, please don''t hesitate to call.¡± Ben said and leaned down to kiss her cheek. ¡°Thank you for looking after Val for me.¡±


    DeWolff could only nod as he stepped back and held onto her hand, shook it, then he walked over to the receptionist''s desk. She watched him have a brief conversation with her and he gave her his number to call when Val woke up, then she watched as he walked out through the emergency room doors and disappeared into the night.


    ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± Detective Jean DeWolff asked herself out loud.


    *


    I quickly swung through the city and landed near the construction site. I took off my dark outer clothing, gloves, and mask before I walked over to the front of the building. I unlocked the door and locked it behind me when I entered. I put on my safety equipment in full view of the camera and then I worked like a madman.


    I was quickly running out of time to have the work done by the morning and I was glad that I had texted Natasha while I was waiting at the hospital. She would have been disappointed if she had shown up and waited in my room all night and I hadn''t shown up.


    I was only a little surprised that I hadn''t received a text from either Mary Strickland, the school''s secretary, or Miss Leyva, the chemistry teacher. I had thought once school was out, we would have exchanged a text or two, even just as a teaser.


    I chuckled at that, because I was already crossing the line with a couple of older women and I didn''t really need any more. I chuckled even more at that thought, because of the way I had reacted with Detective DeWolff. I really had been relieved that I hadn''t been too late to save Val and I resolved to carry my real cell phone at all times. I wasn''t going to miss another text if I could help it.


    I finished up work and changed out of my safety gear, locked up the place, and checked around the dump truck. I only found a few small chunks of concrete had missed the back and I tossed them in, then I left the alley at a fast walk. I ducked into another alleyway and ascended to the roof, donned my coverings one more time, then swung through the city to head home.


    I wasn''t surprised to find May was still on the couch, only she was sound asleep with her cell phone clutched to her chest. She looked so pretty like that, even with the slightly worried look she had on her face. I crept up the stairs and went into my room to stash my backpack, and I felt my spider-sense tingle a bit more than normal.


    I shook my head at that and ducked down and opened my door while staying out of the doorway. There was no laugh this time and only a muffled yell. I peeked into the room and sighed at seeing Clint covered from the mouth down in bright yellow containment fluid. His hand was on my sliding closet door and it was opened wide enough for the sensor to trip and it had activated one of my security devices.


    ¡°I''ll deal with you later.¡± I whispered to him and looked over at the camera to see that it was covered with some kind of rubber thing attached to an arrow. ¡°That''s pretty slick.¡± I said and went over to it and examined the arrow and the rubber piece that fit precisely over the small camera. It was a great shot, especially considering the sharp angle from the window.


    I didn''t say anything else as I took out one of the untraceable cell phones and turned off the activated security device. I put my backpack into the closet and shut the door, then turned the device back on. I grabbed a set of pyjama bottoms and my cell phone before I left my room to go to the bathroom and stripped off. I did the sponge bath thing again and was careful with the bandages, then I dried off and went downstairs to collect May.


    She didn''t react when I picked her up and she kept hold of her cell phone as I carried her up the stairs to her room. It wasn''t until I carefully put her down and started to tuck her in, that she started to stir. She mumbled something that I couldn''t hear and her eyelids fluttered a little.


    ¡°Mmm... Ben... so strong now...¡± May''s eyes opened a little and she caught her breath when she saw me. ¡°Ben!¡± She gasped and her eyes opened all the way. ¡°You''re home!¡±


    ¡°I didn''t mean to wake you.¡± I said and took her cell phone to put on the nightstand. ¡°You still have about two hours before you have to get up to go to work.¡±


    ¡°You...¡± May paused and yawned. ¡°...stayed out nearly all night.¡±


    I smiled and lightly stroked her hair as I sat on the bed. ¡°...and someone''s beautiful aunt tried to stay awake all night and waited up for him.¡±


    May took my hand from her hair and held it with both of her hands. ¡°I was worried.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry I worried you.¡± I said and leaned down to kiss her cheek. ¡°I''m hoping the hospital calls this morning to let me know Val''s going to be okay.¡±


    May nodded and her face went sad. ¡°Ben, I''m sorry you had to go through that.¡±


    ¡°I was scared for a while that I hadn''t been in time until I talked to Detective DeWolff and she told me that the rape test came back negative.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I was so relieved to hear it that I kissed her.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°Yep, right on the lips, too.¡±


    ¡°What did she do?¡± May asked and almost looked afraid of the answer.


    ¡°What any woman would do when kissed by a stranger. She punched me right on the chin!¡±


    May looked surprised and then she looked amused and tried to not laugh.


    ¡°I was hugging her at the time, so she didn''t have a lot of leverage.¡± I leaned down and turned to show May the spot I had been hit. It was becoming a nice bruise already.


    ¡°She still got you good.¡± May said and lightly touched it with her fingertips.


    ¡°It would have knocked me out if I had been any farther away.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°And yes, before you ask, I apologized immediately.¡±


    ¡°Damn right you should have.¡± May said and cupped the side of my face briefly before she let it go. ¡°I doubt I''m going to get back to sleep now. Do you want to get those scrapes checked?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Two hours is a long time to add to your normal shift.¡±


    ¡°I''ve pulled longer shifts before.¡± May said and sat up. ¡°I put those extra supplies in the bathroom.¡±


    I nodded and took her hand to help her stand up. ¡°Then please, tend to this wounded soldier to allow him to fight on.¡±


    May chuckled and led me by the hand out of her room and into the bathroom. ¡°Go ahead and sit down on your throne, Mister Soldier. Your nurse is about to fix you right up.¡±


    I sat down regally to make her laugh, then I turned around for her.


    ¡°Oh, Ben.¡± May whispered and leaned close to kiss my cheek. ¡°You did this much damage to get close to Miss Potts?¡±


    ¡°It was worth it.¡± I said and tried to not flinch as May picked at the tape that had been liberally applied and she pulled a piece off with a quick snap. ¡°Ahh! Dammit!¡±


    May let out a girlish giggle. ¡°Believe me, it''s better to do it fast and get it over with instead of trying to slowly peel it off. That hurts a lot more.¡±


    ¡°I don''t mind losing the tiny hairs, it''s the surrounding skin I''m worried about.¡± I groused.


    ¡°You have a choice. Slow and painful or quick and annoying.¡± May said and leaned into my field of vision to grin at me. ¡°What''ll it be, champ? A nurse recommended action or will you wussy wuss-out?¡±


    ¡°That''s not really a fair choice, dammit.¡± I said and fake scowled at her. ¡°Wussy wuss-out, please.¡±


    May laughed and kissed my cheek again. ¡°Nurse recommended it is.¡±


    I smiled at her. ¡°Like I said, not really a choice.¡± I said and braced myself. ¡°Go ahead. I can take it.¡±


    ¡°I''ve heard that before.¡± May said and placed a hand on my shoulder, gripped the next piece of tape, and yanked it off.


    ¡°Ahh! Dammit.¡± I said as I flinched.


    May giggled. ¡°If you think this is painful, you should try a bikini wax sometime.¡±


    ¡°Ignoring the application of boiling hot wax to my most sensitive area, do you seriously expect me to be insane enough to yank out all of the short fuzzy hairs on my balls with a single pull?¡±


    May pulled off another piece of tape to make me yell and flinch. ¡°Don''t be so vulgar.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I meant exorcising my hair in an immediate fashion from my tender testicle container.¡±


    May giggled again and pulled off another piece of tape. ¡°Much better.¡±


    I turned my head to look at her over my shoulder. ¡°Do you actually have that done?¡±


    May nodded. ¡°Usually once a month during the summer, especially if we go swimming a lot. During the winter, I usually shave it just enough to keep it nice and trimmed.¡± She said and then paused. ¡°I hope you''re not disgusted by that.¡±


    ¡°I''m not. Hair growth is just a normal body process.¡± I said. ¡°I still think you''re insane for subjecting yourself... YEOW!¡±


    May giggled again and tossed the next piece of tape and gauze in the trash.


    ¡°...to this every month.¡± I shook my head and looked at the shower stall again. ¡°If I was going to have my hair removed, I would rather do it permanently with electrolysis.¡±


    ¡°Electrolysis? What''s that?¡± May asked and sounded confused.


    I stiffened at mentioning something she didn''t know and thought about what to say. ¡°I read about it at the library when I was looking up other things. It''s a new method of permanent hair removal where a tiny needle is inserted into the hair follicle and a small electric current is sent through it to kill it. The hair dies and falls out, and bingo bango, no more hair grows there.¡±


    May''s hand gripped my shoulder tightly. ¡°Ben, please tell me you''re joking.¡±


    ¡°Why would I be joking?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I work in the medical field and I haven''t heard of anything like that.¡± May said.


    ¡°I can''t remember where I read it from.¡± I said and that was true, because I couldn''t. I just hadn''t read about it here. ¡°It''s a simple but a long process, because you''re working with individual hairs.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I need you to search for it as soon as possible!¡± May said and sounded desperate. ¡°Even if it doesn''t have FDA approval, not having to shave my armpits or my legs anymore is worth violating their safety policies!¡±


    I was a little surprised at the strength in her hand. ¡°May, can you not bruise my shoulder?¡±


    ¡°What? Oh!¡± May gasped and let my shoulder go. ¡°I''m sorry, Ben.¡±


    ¡°It''s okay.¡± I said and turned to look at her. ¡°It seems really important to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how much money I spend on shaving foam and razors? The hair grows back within days and...¡± May started to rant.


    I reached up and put a finger on her lips to stop her before she really got going. ¡°Relax, May. I get it.¡±


    May smiled and moved my finger. ¡°I''m allowed to be passionate about some things.¡±


    ¡°Who knew it would be about epilation.¡± I said and she looked confused again. ¡°It''s the removal of everything involved with the hair, both above and below the skin. Depilation is just the removal of the hair itself.¡±


    ¡°I need to remember that.¡± May said and made a turn motion with her hand. ¡°I need to finish taking the gauze and tape off. After I check the scrapes, you need to shower. I''ll apply the antibacterial cream and the gauze again when you''re done.¡±


    I nodded and turned around to let her finish. May worked quickly and was almost continuously giggling as I flinched every time and yelled or hissed with the impromptu hair removal treatment. When the last of them was removed, she had me stand so she could look at them closer.


    ¡°Pepper really did do a good job.¡± May said and I heard the approval in her voice. ¡°All right, go ahead and get a shower. I''ll come back in when you''re done.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, May.¡± I said and remembered the one on my butt. I sighed, because I couldn''t hide it from her. ¡°Um, May? There''s one more scrape.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± May asked.


    I turned around and pointed to my butt cheek.


    May was quiet for several seconds. ¡°Ben, are you telling me that you let a strange woman see your naked backside?¡±


    ¡°Pepper noticed a tear in my pants and she was adamant that she take good care of me, even if it was embarrassing for the both of us.¡± I said without turning around. I was sure that I didn''t want to see the expression on May''s face right now. ¡°She barely touched me as she used a cotton swab and alcohol.¡±


    ¡°She touched you, too?¡± May asked in a whisper before she took a deep breath and let it out before she spoke with a flat tone. ¡°Then I need to check it as well, just in case.¡±


    ¡°May.¡± I said a bit sternly. ¡°I could have easily hidden it from you.¡±


    May sighed this time. ¡°All right, I won''t get mad because of it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and pulled my pyjama bottoms down to uncover my butt and held onto the front to stop myself from flashing her. ¡°Just so you know, she asked for my permission to touch me.¡±


    May put a hand on my shoulder again and gave it a light squeeze. ¡°I''m sorry. I was just worried she was taking advantage of the situation.¡±


    Oh, no. It was me. I really, really took advantage of it. I thought and held in my smile. ¡°Did you forget the fact that she''s dating a billionaire?¡±


    May chuckled as her hand slid down my back and paused briefly at my hip before it continued on and her fingers started to dig at the tape on my butt cheek. ¡°Existential thoughts don''t really enter a woman''s mind when there''s a handsome young man naked in front of her.¡±


    I desperately wanted to make a joke about me being naked in front of her before and I clamped my mouth shut. I promised myself that I wouldn''t joke again until I heard how Val was, so I remained quiet. May used her other hand to brace my hip before she gained a good grip on the tape and then yanked it off.


    ¡°YEE-OUCH!¡± I said and clenched my butt cheeks together. ¡°Dammit!¡±


    May giggled and tossed the gauze into the trash, then she lightly caressed a single fingertip near the scrape for several inches along my butt cheek. ¡°Okay, I can''t fault what she''s done. All of the scrapes were well cleaned, treated, and completely covered.¡±


    May''s tender touch had made me shiver in a good way, which was bad for me, because Penis Parker didn''t mind at all that she was Peter''s aunt. He didn''t mind at all.


    ¡°Whew, that''s a relief.¡± I said and pulled my pyjama bottoms up and covered myself with a hand. ¡°If I ever hear from her again, I''ll let her know that she has a registered nurse''s approval.¡± I said before I turned around to face her.


    May started to smile at my words and it changed to a slightly opened mouth of surprise, because she had been kneeling on the floor and her face was now right in front of where I was trying to cover up my erection. The similarity to when Pepper had done that, was not lost on me or Penis Parker, because he throbbed in anticipation.


    Stupid hormones. I thought and forced a smile on my face. ¡°Thanks a lot for the help, May. I''ll grab that shower now and I''ll holler when I''m ready for you.¡±


    May slowly nodded as she stood, then she left the bathroom without saying a word.


    I sighed and took off my jogging pants and started to jerk off into the toilet. It reminded me of when the girls had been there and watched me on Sunday, and that really got me going because I remembered what happened afterwards. I had done them all. The reluctant Liz, the eager Max, the we''re having fun Val, and the surprisingly energetic Gina.


    I hadn''t been sure Gina even liked me. She admitted that seeing me get hurt in gym had swayed her opinion completely to the positive side. Oh boy, when she liked you, she really liked you. I think she kissed me more than Max did, even though Max was the one I was having a not-so-secret affair with.


    I remembered one particular point when I had all four of them going at the same time. I was plowing into Gina, had my fingers buried into Val and Liz on either side of her, and Max was half-hung over the back of the couch to present herself so I could eat her out. She really enjoyed it, too.


    ¡°MMM!¡± I moaned and shot my load into the toilet. It actually made a splash sound, as did the next two shots. That kind of surprised me, because I was sure it wasn''t normal to be able to be that forceful every time I had an orgasm. I hadn''t really noticed when I was with a partner, because that wasn''t something a guy thinks about when he''s paying attention to them instead.


    I looked at my dripping manhood and decided I would need to do a bit more research on spider behavior to expand on the biological knowledge I already had. Maybe it would give me a clue as to what was going on with me.


    I wiped myself off and hopped into the shower, lathered up while also being careful of my scrapes, and washed myself. I took several extra minutes to wash my hair as well and then dried off and wrapped a towel around myself. I held onto it firmly before I went to the bathroom door and opened it.


    May stood there with a slight blush on her face and a tube of antibacterial cream in her hands, so I stepped back to let her enter and I sat down on the toilet for her. She didn''t say a word as she used her finger to start applying the cream to all of the little scrapes. It didn''t take her long before she had finished with the ones on my back.


    ¡°Ben...¡± May whispered.


    I slowly stood up and undid the towel to let her apply the cream to the last scrape. Even though the cream was cold, her warm and tender touches had aroused me again, which told me there really was something going on and I would have to research spiders before looking at the available patents.


    May applied replacement gauze and taped it a different spot than it had been.


    ¡°Did you just ensure that I''ll be losing more hair?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Before you get angry, the tape sticks better this way.¡± May said and stood. ¡°It will also make the other bare spots less noticeable.¡±


    I sighed and secured my towel again before I sat down on the toilet to let her do the rest of the scrapes.


    ¡°If it comes out too patchy, you can look forward to having more hair removed tomorrow and possibly the next night.¡± May said and patted my head.


    I sighed again and she went to work covering the cream treated scrapes.


    *


    Pepper''s alarm went off and the man in bed beside her didn''t react at all and kept snoring. She turned the alarm off and sat up as she pushed the covers off, slipped off of the bed, and stood up. She was naked and for the first time since they had started dating, she regretted it. She picked up the lacy bra and panties that Tony hadn''t noticed and brought them into the bathroom.


    While she showered and cleaned herself to remove the traces of the mediocre sex they had, she replayed last night in her mind. She had been determined to prove Ben wrong about Tony not really paying her any attention and she had gone into Tony''s workshop and told him to watch as she did a little striptease.


    The lack of interest on his face should have been Pepper''s first clue. She ignored it and took his hand and led him out of the workshop and to the elevator to go to the penthouse. Tony had mumbled and complained that he was in the middle of something important, even when they reached the bedroom, which had been her second clue that she also ignored.


    Pepper tried her best to recreate the scene in the lingerie shop and strutted around the bedroom confidently and then she took things a little further as she shook her chest and her ass at Tony. The bored look on his face was not encouraging for her at all and that had been her third clue. She had popped off her bra and tossed it at him and it hit his chest and fell to the floor. He hadn''t even tried to catch it. That had been her fourth clue.


    She slipped off the matching panties as she wiggled her hips, then she let them drop to the floor and kicked them at him. He caught them this time and then complained that they almost hit him in the face as he tossed them onto the floor beside the bra. That had been the fifth clue and she still tried to capture the emotions she had felt earlier in the day because she refused to admit that it wasn''t working.


    Pepper had stalked over to the bed and started undressing Tony, which he didn''t fight against or helped with, and she looked down at his soft member. She successfully kept the disappointment off of her face as she knelt and used her hand to try and get him hard. It took a few minutes to get him to a semi-hard state and then she bent down to suck on him to speed things up.


    She was surprised that it took another few minutes to get him hard enough to have sex, because she had used nearly every trick she knew to arouse him. Even the swirly tongue!


    Tony laid back on the bed and Pepper straddled him as she easily slipped him inside because she wanted to have sex. She tried to not feel disappointed again because it didn''t feel anywhere near as good as a certain young man''s, or as big, or as enthusiastic. She did most of the work as she rocked her hips and tried to encourage Tony to do something besides lay there.


    Pepper had even taken his hands and mashed them into her breasts and massaged them using Tony''s hands. His interest seemed to grow a little and he had handled her a little roughly, so Pepper slid off of him and laid down and spread her legs for him. Tony hadn''t needed more direction than that and he laid on top of her in the missionary position and pumped in and out of her for about ten minutes.


    She had tried to kiss and caress him and he had pretty much rested his head on her shoulder and went at her as he ignored her attention. Tony soon finished inside of her, thanked her as he called her babe, and rolled off of her. That had been the last and final clue for her.


    Pepper had thought she was special and meant more to him than all of the others he had slept with, and he had just told her the same thing he told them when he was done with them. It had hurt a lot more than she thought it would, because she really had invested herself into their relationship for years.


    Despite her sole indiscretion that day, one she couldn''t really explain besides having a handsome young man had found her so desirable, she truly thought that Tony and her were a good match after he had changed his womanizing ways.


    Pepper continued to wash herself as she thought about all of the things she had ignored or accepted as Tony being Tony over the years. She wasn''t sure why she was seeing things in a different light, until she remembered Ben giving her his sole attention all day and then he had shown her how much he had desired her. He had shown her a lot.


    She leaned against the shower wall as her fingers rubbed between her legs and her mind replayed the tryst she had in the change room of a clothing shop... in public... and her desire spiked as she slipped two of her fingers inside of herself. She started fingering a sweet spot and used her other hand to flick her nub and rubbed her outer lips at the same time.


    It reminded her of Ben doing that and she moaned and sped up her movements. She really wanted to feel that passion again, like she had when they had been together. After a couple of minutes, she came hard and squirted out onto the shower floor.


    Pepper panted and rested against the wall as she looked down at her expulsion being washed away down the drain. As she watched it disappear, she regretted that Ben had been so respectful of her wishes that he hadn''t come inside of her.


    That reminded her to use her douche again and she rinsed out what Tony had left. She was also glad that today was a safe day, because even though Ben had been careful, there had been a lot of come spread across her back and her ass.


    Pepper actually bit her lip and had to stop herself from masturbating again when she remembered the feeling of that boiling hot liquid as it splashed onto her sensitive skin. It had felt amazing at the time and now she was wondering how amazing it would have felt if it had been inside.


    Oh, screw it! I''m still horny and I need this! Pepper thought and started rubbing herself again.


    In the back of her mind, Ben''s words of encouragement echoed. Take care of yourself, Pepper. He had told her. She knew exactly what he meant and she resolved to do just that. In fact, her first meeting that morning was going to involve the company''s board members, so she could start laying the groundwork right away.


    ¡°Ohhhhh!¡± Pepper moaned loudly as she came again and her half-formed business strategy cemented into a solid plan in her mind. She would start manipulating things to use her access to the company''s assets to buy out the dummy corporations that Tony owned by proxy, discreetly of course, and she would order Jarvis to not bother Tony with trivial things like that.


    Pepper Potts was going to be the CEO of Stark Enterprises or her name wasn''t Pepper Potts!


    *


    After spending an hour with May cooking enough chicken and sausage breakfast burritos for us to eat and for her to take to work, May left the apartment full and happy. I made six extra burritos and took them upstairs to my room. Clint was still there, not that he could have left, and the look of accusation on his face made me smile.


    ¡°I did say later. It''s later.¡± I said and my cell phone rang. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I said and took my phone out of my pocket and saw it was from Mercy Hospital. ¡°Hello, gorgeous! It''s so nice to hear from you.¡±


    It took a moment before the voice on the phone spoke. ¡°Mr. Parker? This is Claudia, the receptionist at Mercy General.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and she didn''t respond. ¡°Please, call me Ben and tell me Val''s awake and okay.¡±


    ¡°I can''t divulge a patient''s condition to non-family members.¡± Claudia said. ¡°I can relay a message to you, however.¡±


    ¡°I''m all ears.¡± I said in a serious tone.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Claudia cleared her throat. ¡°Ben, they told me you brought me here. I might not have made it if you hadn''t saved me. Thank you. I knew I could depend on you.¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out as relief filled me. ¡°Was that all?¡±


    Claudia was quiet for a moment. ¡°She said to kiss you for her and I can''t do that.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean because I''m not there or because you won''t do it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A little bit of both.¡± Claudia said.


    ¡°Ha!¡± I barked the laugh. ¡°I''ll stop by later and I''ll let you kiss my cheek.¡±


    ¡°I''m about to go off-shift.¡± Claudia responded.


    ¡°Make that tonight, then. I assume you have to keep her for a few days to make sure she''s okay?¡±


    ¡°I can''t divulge a patient''s condition to non-family members.¡± Claudia repeated.


    I chuckled. ¡°I bet you really hate having to say that every time someone asks you a question.¡±


    Claudia sighed. ¡°Every damn time.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°All right, you''ve convinced me. I''ll bring you a nice snack tonight to make up for me annoying you like this.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to do that.¡± Claudia said.


    ¡°I know.¡± I said. ¡°My aunt''s a nurse, so I kind of know what you have to go through. It''s also homemade, so it doesn''t have any calories and you don''t have to worry about gaining weight.¡±


    Claudia chuckled. ¡°I don''t think that''s how it works.¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t? Well, damn.¡± I said and she laughed. ¡°How about, once you taste it, you won''t care?¡±


    ¡°That sounds much more reasonable.¡± Claudia agreed.


    ¡°Great! I''ll see you tonight.¡± I said. ¡°Thank you for calling, Claudia. I really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, Ben. Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± I said and hung up.


    ¡°Hmm hm hmm hm hmmm.¡± Clint hummed to me.


    ¡°Surprisingly I actually understood that you said, ''get me out of here''.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°I''ll get you out of there if you promise to keep quiet about it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Why? Because it''s personal and it''s complicated. Lots of legal issues and stolen ideas. You know, a typical teenager''s problems.¡± I joked and he actually looked amused. I grabbed the untraceable cell phone and entered the code to disable the motion detector and opened the sliding closet door. ¡°Close your eyes. The dissolving fluid''s not toxic; but, it will sting the hell out of your eyes if you get any in there.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Clint said and closed his eyes.


    I activated the dissolution option on the hidden security device and stepped back as a spray of liquid started at Clint''s neck and several nozzles spread it out and down to his feet. I remembered to go and grab the vacuum from the hallway and came back in as I switched it to the hose option and sucked up the yellow goop as it dissolved.


    I shut the closet door and turned on the full features of the security device again. ¡°Okay, you can open your eyes now.¡±


    ¡°What the hell was that stuff?¡± Clint asked as it dissolved up from his neck to free his head.


    I used the vacuum to clean his face and neck. ¡°The first stuff or the second stuff?¡± I asked with a grin.


    Clint chuckled. ¡°Both.¡±


    ¡°The first is a patent pending secure foam. It activates when mixed with air and solidifies nearly instantly when it hits a target within range. The second is a patent pending special solution that specifically dissolves the first and nothing else.¡± I said and used the vacuum to suck the rest of the residue from his uniform and switched the vacuum back to the main part and ran it over the carpet.


    ¡°SHIELD is going to want that.¡± Clint said as he stepped over to the center of the room out of the way and he didn''t try to open the sliding door again.


    ¡°That''s part of my legal problem. SHIELD probably already has the bastardized version of it.¡± I said and turned off the vacuum when everything was gone.


    Clint wasn''t an idiot and got it right way. ¡°Stark Protect and their new security system.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± I said and put the vacuum against the wall. ¡°I assume Natasha told you I was going to be out for the night and she wasn''t going to be here waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°Ben, don''t get angry at her.¡± Clint said. ¡°You can''t blame us for wanting to know what you''re hiding.¡±


    I sighed and used the cell phone again to disable the motion sensor and opened the sliding closet door. I moved some old shoe boxes out of the way and Clint let out a whistle as he saw five of my security devices. I closed the door again and didn''t bother turning the device back on.


    ¡°Even though I built them before trying to patent them, it''s actually against the law for me to have them, because Stark owns the patent.¡± I said and didn''t hide how I felt about that. ¡°Not only did that fucking bastard steal my idea, he ruined it by ''improving'' it, put in a bunch of crap it didn''t need, and he is also severely overcharging for it, which ruined my projected business model.¡±


    Clint looked to be at a loss for words.


    ¡°I know Stark is a sub-contractor for SHIELD, which is why I didn''t want anyone at SHIELD knowing about it.¡± I said and walked over to the camera and popped off the arrow with the rubber piece on it. I stood there and ran my hands over the arrow. ¡°It''s also why I told Natasha that I would have told her about it if there was any way that she could help me with it.¡±


    ¡°Jesus.¡± Clint whispered and I walked over to him to give him his arrow back.


    ¡°You''re going to need to toss that arrow shaft. It''s been used too much and is structurally weak.¡± I said and he gave me an odd look.


    ¡°Squeeze it hard about three inches from the tip.¡± I said and went to my closet to grab my gym back with my SHIELD things in it.


    There was a light crack of fibreglass and Clint said a whispered curse. ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Imperfections on the surface. I did the same for several bats during gym class.¡± I said and opened the bag. ¡°What time is Natasha picking me up?¡±


    Clint checked his watch. ¡°About half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Good. You''ve got time to eat before you have to leave.¡± I said and pointed to the plate of burritos on my desk. ¡°Have a seat and help yourself.¡±


    Clint gave me a questioning look.


    I chuckled and shuffled them around, then picked one up and bit into it. ¡°Proof I didn''t poison them.¡±


    ¡°You''ve studied our procedures.¡± Clint said and started eating one. ¡°These are pretty good.¡±


    ¡°They should have only been sausage and veggie; but, I had some chicken pieces that I had to use up before they became freezer burnt.¡± I said and kept eating the one I took. When I was done, I checked my equipment bag and pulled out the business suit I had worn a few times. I added jogging pants and a t-shirt to the bag and closed it up.


    Clint saw what I was doing and nodded. ¡°See you later.¡±


    ¡°Take some to go.¡± I said and indicated the plate of burritos.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Clint said and grabbed two with one hand, went to the window and popped the pane out, then he stepped out and used some glue to put it back into place.


    I waved and he waved back before he went down the fire escape. I was tempted to follow him and meet Natasha down on the street, then shrugged. I was going there officially as Ben Parker, so she would be coming in the front door this time. I moved the security device in the closet and activated it, just so Clint, or anyone else they might send, wouldn''t already know what direction it was going to come from.


    I dressed in the suit and put the earpiece in and put on the sunglasses, tucked my two untraceable cell phones into my coat pockets, and picked up my real one. When I checked mine for any messages, it reminded me to send messages to Liz, Max, and Gina about Val to remind them to not ask her questions or to bug her about what happened.


    I specifically told them I would be angry at them if they made her feel guilty or stupid about it, too. They were her friends and they needed to support her in her time of need and they shouldn''t make her feel worse about it. Words of caring and encouragement were what she needed right now.


    With that done, I carried my gym bag and the plate with a single burrito downstairs. I warmed it up in the microwave and left a note for May on the table in case she came home early. I had been tempted to tell her that I had a job interview, except I wasn''t sure who I could say that I had one with. I definitely couldn''t say SHIELD, because it was a spy organization, so I would have to talk to Natasha and see what she recommended.


    I reached for my jacket to wear over my suit coat and there was a knock on the door. I felt my spider-sense tingle a little and smiled at the familiar feeling. I darted back into the kitchen and grabbed the plate and ran back to the door. I stood behind it where it would open to, and opened it. I could almost feel her surprise that no one was at the door when it opened.


    ¡°Hello, Ben.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Hi! Breakfast Burrito?¡± I asked and held it around the edge of the door. ¡°Clint already tested it for poison.¡±


    Natasha chuckled and took it. ¡°Stop fooling around and let''s go. We''ve got a tour and some paperwork to fill out before I put you though the official paces.¡±


    I stepped out from behind the door and picked up my gym bag.


    Natasha gave me a look with raised eyebrows. ¡°You''re lucky it''s sunny out.¡±


    ¡°Sunglasses should be worn when it''s cloudy out, too. Ultraviolet radiation doesn''t care about clouds.¡±


    Natasha looked surprised as I stepped out into the hallway and I locked the door behind me.


    ¡°You''ve never noticed that you sometimes have to squint your eyes on overcast days?¡± I asked and walked with her to the elevator.


    ¡°Not really, no.¡± Natasha said. ¡°I''ll be more aware of it now.¡±


    I nodded and we waited in silence for the elevator. It soon arrived and we stepped on and faced the doors as they closed. ¡°Have I proven that I can be professionally distant enough to kiss you now?¡±


    ¡°Only if you lose the glasses.¡± Natasha said with a smile.


    ¡°Done.¡± I said and tucked them into my front breast pocket, then I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her passionately. When the elevator dinged for the ground floor, we broke the kiss and resumed the polite facade that we weren''t having sex every chance we could get.

 51 Testing Out

    Bokuboy


    I walked into what SHIELD agents called the New York office and it was a normal office building. It was a real, honest to god, office building. They really went in for the whole ''facade is real'' thing until you stepped into the elevator. Natasha opened a panel and put her hand in it, then a second panel opened and she hit the button for B3.


    ¡°I''m going to answer your questions before you ask.¡± Natasha said. ¡°The businesses in the above building are real, even if it''s populated by SHIELD agents. With an organization that spans the world, there are a lot of normal things to be handled, not to mention all of the paperwork.¡±


    The elevator came to a stop and I followed her out.


    ¡°Scientists have their own labs in the above space if it''s something they are working on for general use or could be for public consumption. Restricted labs used for SHIELD assets are on B5 and lower.¡± Natasha said. ¡°And no, these are not the only labs available. We have several locations and other places that are used or can be.¡±


    I nodded and she led me through the various rooms and showed the regular training areas, an indoor obstacle course, an expansive shooting range, a medical wing, and spare rooms for agents recovering from a mission or had stayed late and wanted to sleep for the night.


    ¡°On B1 is the administration floor with mission organizers, human resources, personnel and agent management, the cafeteria, and some of the people that help manage and run an organization as large as SHIELD.¡± Natasha said. ¡°B2 is for equipment storage and general supplies, weapon dispensary, and a small testing range. Anything that can cause major destruction is usually tested offsite.¡±


    I nodded again and was led back to the elevator and we rode it up to B1. I was taken to the HR department and given the recruitment speech about every person being important and that no matter how horribly I tested in the examinations, they would find a place for me and my contributions would help keep the country, and the world, safe.


    ¡°Thank you for the vote of confidence.¡± I said to the woman handling my recruitment and she gave me an odd look before we spent nearly half an hour dealing with paperwork and filling out my information. Since I was applying as Ben Parker, son of a previous agent, my status had already been upgraded from ''grunt'' to ''acceptable''. That was a huge difference in the paperwork I filled out, because Natasha looked impressed.


    My work contract actually included my schedule and if I was assigned a desk job or to be a lab assistant, they could work around it to maintain my cover. When I mentioned being assigned it anyway to cover up being one of the best field agents they had, the woman behind the desk gave me another odd look.


    ¡°You need to work on your confidence, Ben.¡± Natasha joked and I had to chuckle at that.


    ¡°You''re right. I shouldn''t underestimate myself like that.¡± I teased and she chuckled.


    ¡°Sign here, here, initial here, sign here, and then we''ll add your hand print to the database.¡± The woman said and I did as she asked. She took out a small scanner that looked like what Natasha had used in the elevator and typed a few things on her computer and then nodded to me.


    I put my right hand on it and a brief green glow later, a perfect copy of my hand appeared on her computer screen. The four fingertips and my thumb were highlighted with a circle around each and five empty boxes on the right of the screen were filled with each fingerprint.


    ¡°Are you going to do my left hand, too?¡± I asked and she gave me that same odd look. ¡°I suppose that can wait until it''s needed.¡±


    ¡°Why did you ask that?¡± The woman asked me.


    ¡°Don''t you have left-handed people working here?¡± I asked and she gave me a confused look.


    ¡°We all still have right hands.¡± She commented.


    ¡°Yes, we do.¡± I said and gave Natasha a look, and she chuckled as she got it.


    ¡°If anything gets stolen and there are fingerprints left at a crime scene, if the person has a dominant left hand and the police only have their right hand prints on record...¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± The woman said and looked surprised. ¡°I''ll need to send out a general message for left-handed people to report to me and get their proper hands scanned.¡±


    ¡°In addition.¡± I added and she nodded.


    ¡°Do you have a dominant left hand?¡± She asked me.


    ¡°No, my right hand is dominant. I only use my left hand when I want to feel something new or different when I jerk off.¡±


    The woman behind the desk blinked her eyes at me several times as Natasha sighed. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry. I was making a joke.¡± I said.


    The woman''s eyes narrowed at me. ¡°Don''t do that.¡± She said sternly. ¡°If I have to start dealing with sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior reports about you, your contract will be terminated after a short investigation.¡±


    I opened my mouth to point out that there wouldn''t be a reason to investigate if she was going to terminate me anyway, when Natasha''s fingers dug into my side and pinched me. So, I nodded instead.


    The woman opened a drawer in her desk and handed me a sealed package. ¡°This is the standard acceptance package that everyone gets when they join. Handbook, rules, cell phone, earpiece, and a copy of the contract.¡±


    I watched as she took out a handful of others and placed the stack on the desk.


    ¡°These are the specialist packages. Depending on how you do on the following examinations, you could qualify for one of them and they contain more specific information for that branch of our services.¡±


    ¡°What if I qualify for more than one?¡± I asked and tucked the standard package into my gym bag.


    ¡°Normally, you would get a choice. Unfortunately, with the current situation with a new entity causing our organization to go into a higher state of readiness, the needs of SHIELD will take a priority over your options and you will be placed where your skills will be most useful and not necessarily where you would like to go.¡±


    I managed to not frown at that. ¡°Wouldn''t that cause nearly immediate job dissatisfaction?¡±


    The woman opened her mouth to respond, then she sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, yes. I''m already swamped with complaints about the roster being shuffled around to accommodate the new response team to handle Spider-Man.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my eyebrows from rising, because I expected for them to search for me. I didn''t expect them to construct a specific team to come after me. I glanced at Natasha and she shook her head slightly, which told me she wasn''t assigned to that team, so that was a huge relief for me.


    ¡°So, what''s first?¡± I asked.


    The woman smiled, almost evilly. ¡°The written exam.¡±


    ¡°Bring it on.¡± I said, confidently.


    Her smile actually did turn to look evil. ¡°No one has ever finished it.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to answer every question to qualify as completing it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I would prefer an attempt be made, even if it is only to write ''I don''t know'' in the available space.¡±


    I nodded and we left her office. Natasha took my cell phone, the earpiece I already wore, and my gym bag, probably because they didn''t want me to cheat. She waited in the next room while I was sat at a desk and given a mechanical pencil and a stack of sheets half an inch thick.


    ¡°Good luck, Mr. Parker.¡± The woman said and left the room.


    There had been surveillance cameras all over the place and one was in the room with me, so I assumed she was going to watch if I cheated. I expected that, so I looked at the top sheet.


    ''Please read each question carefully and answer where appropriate.''


    It was the wording of that statement that had me question what it meant. I didn''t know why I thought the wording was odd, so I started quickly skimming through the test sheets. It had been stapled on the top left corner with an industrial stapler and I easily flipped through the different sections. English, Mathematics, Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, Tactics, Procedures, Accounting, Business Management, Psychology, Electronics, Computers, Engineering, and a few others.


    I was still feeling like it was odd for some reason, then I reached the very last page. It wasn''t a test page at all. It was an index of the test with check marks beside each topic. It also had a small form at the top and it said something that made me smile.


    ''If you were smart enough to follow the very simple instructions on the front page to read the questions first, please mark what subjects interest you on this list and only fill in those sections.''


    I chuckled at that and felt justified in following my gut feeling. I immediately marked Math, Physics, Chemistry, Electronics, Computers, and Engineering, then flipped back to do those sections. I would glance through the other sections afterwards and see if I could answer the majority of the questions before checking that interest as well.


    I blew through the Math section and even ''fixed'' two of the problems to solve them properly in addition to giving the real answer. Chemistry was laughably easy. Physics was a bit harder, because it was difficult to visualize in my mind what they were trying to describe on paper. I spent a bit longer on that section than I should have, just because I had to draw out the questions to get them right.


    Electronics was also a breeze, mainly because I had worked and studied so hard to catch up to the rest of the class. That there were also seniors present to talk to, as well as an enthusiastic teacher, my knowledge had increased by leaps and bounds.


    Engineering was harder, because it combined a lot of different subjects, like mechanical engineering, statistics, calculus, civil engineering, fabrication, drafting, design, and physics. I still did really well in it. The section on computers was ridiculous. It was mostly logic puzzles and coding questions with multiple choice answers, so my hand moved through the answers like lightning.


    I checked the time and laughed, because it had only been an hour and I had answered a ton of questions. ¡°I''ll check the other sections and see what else I can do.¡± I said out loud and did exactly that.


    I ended up filling out the sections on English, psychology, science, history, business management, procedures, tactics, and leadership and command. The maintenance section was mostly cleaning questions and I smashed that one like an empty beer can on my forehead. I checked the boxes for those sections and looked at the time. I had half an hour left to the three hours.


    ¡°Hey, are there any spare sheets or more sections?¡± I asked out loud. ¡°This doesn''t have all my interests, like cooking, exercising, and robotics.¡±


    A moment later, the woman came in and she had that odd look on her face again. ¡°That''s not how SHIELD works, young man. You are here to fulfill the agency''s interests, not your own.¡±


    ¡°That''s fair.¡± I said and flipped the test closed and then signed my name at the top. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    She accepted it and seemed to stare at the thing.


    ¡°When you''re scoring it, you might need to borrow a college book or two to check the answers.¡± I said and stood. ¡°Where do I go next?¡±


    ¡°You''re with me.¡± Natasha said from the doorway. ¡°The shooting range is next.¡±


    ¡°Great! I can show off for you and not get in trouble over it.¡± I said and walked over to her.


    ¡°Don''t get cocky, Ben.¡± Natasha said as she handed me my gym bag.


    I was tempted to make a joke and remembered the woman that stood beside the desk. ¡°I won''t, Agent Widow. That has no place on a firing range.¡±


    Natasha''s eyes widened slightly before she nodded and led me down the hallway to the elevator. ¡°I expected a joke or an off-color comment.¡± She whispered when she pushed the button.


    ¡°I was warned about joking around in a sexual manner. I don''t want to be fired before I''m officially hired. That would just be embarrassing.¡±


    Natasha gave me a questioning look. ¡°Have you ever held a gun before?¡±


    ¡°I''ve never had a reason to.¡± I said and she gave me a pointed look. ¡°What? It''s not like a civilian can get access to all kinds of weaponry to see what they would prefer.¡±


    The elevator opened and we stepped in.


    ¡°I suppose that''s true.¡± Natasha said and we went to B2 to pick up some firearms and the necessary safety equipment. We could have used the small range available there, except the test required a full examination, so I had to try using each of the different ranged guns available.


    Luckily, they had a small cart for us to use and Natasha signed out four different handguns, a box of ammo for each, two different model shotguns, a normal rifle, a sniper rifle, and three different automatic weapons. The cart was piled high with the cases of guns and boxes of ammo and the dispensary officer chuckled because he had to use a cloth strap to hold it all together to secure it.


    Natasha had an anticipatory look on her face as I pushed the cart out into the hallway and we went back to the elevator. I was sure it was because she was going to enjoy showing me how to handle the weapons, if the sheer amount of bullets she had signed for was any indication. I also thought she fully expected me to be completely green with how I handled and used them.


    We went down to B3 again and entered the extensive shooting range. A small group of men were there and nodded when they saw us. I wasn''t sure if it was prearranged or what, because they had everything set up for us in only ten minutes.


    ¡°Thanks, boys.¡± Natasha said and nodded to the door.


    ¡°I''ll be monitoring if you need anything else.¡± One of them said and they cleared out.


    ¡°You''re really enjoying this.¡± I whispered as I unstrapped the weapons from the cart.


    ¡°I know how quick of a learner you are.¡± Natasha said and helped me pile everything off to the side and sorted it all in order of importance. ¡°If you don''t pick this up as quickly as you did... other things... I''ll be annoyed.¡± She said and gave me a pointed look. ¡°You don''t want to see me when I''m annoyed.¡±


    I nodded several times and didn''t laugh, even though she looked cute when she took a stance and stared at me like that.


    ¡°We''re starting with the handguns.¡± Natasha said and picked up the smallest case and we went to the pistol part of the range. ¡°This is usually used as a back-up weapon that can be stashed almost anywhere on your body, because of its small size.¡±


    I stared as she opened the case and saw that it was the smallest handgun I had ever seen.


    ¡°This is the Beretta Pico. It''s only five inches long and three quarters of an inch wide.¡± Natasha said and popped the clip out, then opened the tiny box of ammo for it. ¡°It''s a double action 38 calibre, which means you don''t have to cock it to put a bullet into the chamber. It has adjustable sights and a clip capacity of six with an additional one in the chamber if you''re in a tight situation and need the extra shot.¡±


    I watched as she quickly filled the clip with six bullets and popped the clip back into the gun.


    ¡°I''ll show you how to disassemble and clean it later.¡± Natasha said and handed me a set of ear coverings before she put her own on.


    I stood off to the side as Natasha took a strong firing stance, then she picked up the gun and aimed. She pulled the trigger and the gun barely moved in her hand. She waited a moment, then fired again, and again and again. She emptied the clip of six bullets and then cleared the gun by pulling the slide back, setting the safety, and put it down on the table.


    Natasha hit the button to retrieve the paper target and stepped back from the table as she took off her ear protection, which I copied to hear her. ¡°Handguns can be shot accurately anywhere from 50 feet to 300 feet. Closer, it''s chancy because you''re rushing the shot with something that close. Beyond the limit, you lose accuracy exponentially the further out the bullet has to travel.¡±


    I thought about that until her paper target arrived. ¡°With all the different factors, like intervening terrain, wind resistance or side force, I would have to agree.¡±


    Natasha gave me a look before she changed the paper and hit the button to send it back up the range. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°In a controlled environment like this one, just the angle you fire the bullet would determine where it lands.¡± I said and her eyebrows went up. ¡°Considering the speed the bullet leaves the barrel and the force of gravity acting on the bullet over the time it travels...¡± I thought about it for a moment as I plugged the numbers into the right equations and nodded. ¡°...you need to shoot upwards at about a 40 degree angle for it to travel about a mile.¡±


    Natasha just stared at me. ¡°With a handgun.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, amazing, right?¡± I asked and stepped over to the table. ¡°Good luck finding an indoor space that''s a mile long and is high enough for the bullet to arc through.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I know, no showing off.¡± I said with a knowing smile and looked at the range reading on the target. It was right at the 300 foot limit for accuracy, so I checked the gun sights and they were set for maximum distance. I put on the ear protection and glanced at her to see that she had done the same. I nodded and loaded the clip and unchecked the gun, slipped the clip inside and took a strong stance and aimed.


    I took a deep breath and let it out as I pulled the trigger. Thanks to my strong grip and my wall sticking powers, the gun didn''t move at all. I waited a moment and shot again and again to empty the six shots, then I did the same thing she did and cleared the gun before I hit the button for the target retrieval and stepped back.


    The blank look on Natasha''s face when the target came to a stop was worth showing off, because I had made a smiley face inside the outer ring of the bullseye.


    ¡°You gotta love math, physics, and geometry.¡± I said with a smile.

 52 Parkour For The Win

    Bokuboy


    We quickly progressed through the different guns and moved to each relevant section of the range that was appropriate for the weapon being used. I have to admit that using a fully automatic rifle was pretty damn fun. Natasha seemed to enjoy it as well, because we were soon competing to see who could group their shots the closest on the targets. I now knew why she had signed out so many bullets, because she had wanted to do this.


    She won, of course. Her subtle shifting of the barrel compensated partially for the recoil of the weapon and the arm''s tendency to drift if held steady for too long.


    It had been difficult for me to not use my spider-sense to do the same thing. Just imagining I would be hurt if I missed the target had already given me too much of an advantage, because I used the same ability when shooting weblines to secure myself and keep swinging. I did not focus on the bullseye and think the same thing, though. That would put me far too high on the accuracy scale to be believable.


    When we moved on to the sniper section of the range, Natasha left for a few minutes and came back with spotting equipment and headphones with microphones. She showed me how to set up the rifle properly and then showed me how to use the scope to adjust where I could safely shoot.


    ¡°It took a week to safely dig a tunnel long enough for this range.¡± Natasha said and attached a paper target marked for a sniper on the little delivery system, then she hit the button and waited. And waited.


    ¡°Do I even want to know how far that thing goes?¡± I asked.


    Natasha smirked at me. ¡°Your spotter will tell you how far it is to the target when it''s time. She will also tell you any conditions you need to be aware of and compensate for.¡±


    I smirked right back. ¡°You remembered my comment about how far I could shoot a handgun.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so assume the proper firing position.¡± Natasha ordered me.


    I took off my suit coat and laid down on the prepared mat. I checked the rifle and loaded the single round, settled down and nestled my eye into the holder to look through the scope as I dug the gun''s butt against the nook of my shoulder. Her previous instructions helped me make a few adjustments to the sights and I nodded.


    ¡°I''m ready.¡± I said with a shallow breath.


    Natasha laid down next to me on my left and used the specialty view binoculars that were braced on a small stand. ¡°Range, 610 meters or 2,000 feet. Wind resistance is negligible. The crosswind is direct at 32 kilometres or 20 miles an hour. No obstacles. No change in elevation.¡±


    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± I whispered and adjusted the scope for the distance and then turned the other wheel for the wind compensation. ¡°Aiming.¡± I whispered and moved the gun a minuscule amount to put the little dot into the center of the target. I felt my spider-sense tingle and I didn''t ignore it as I moved just a smidgen more.


    Natasha must have felt me move, because she turned her head just enough for one eye to look at me, then she looked back through the viewfinder.


    I took a shallow breath and exhaled as I pulled the trigger.


    *BANG!*


    Natasha caught her breath a moment later and then she stood up to hit the button for the target retrieval. I didn''t ask her what she saw, because I knew I had hit the thing. It wasn''t a bullseye, because I wasn''t aiming for that. I just wanted to hit the target. I did wonder why she was surprised, though.


    As the paper target approached, her attention was solely on that, so I took a quick peek through the viewfinder. I saw the crosswind was actually 40 kph or 25 miles per hour.


    Dammit! I was supposed to miss. I thought and tried to come up with why I hadn''t, even though she had given me faulty information. Then I smiled mentally without letting anything show on my face. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I said and stood. ¡°I can''t feel any wind. How did you do that?¡±


    Natasha gave me a look and then reached for the target paper. I had hit the person outline on the shoulder. If it had been a real person, they would have lost the arm and probably bled out.


    ¡°We have a series of industrial fans installed all along the tunnel to simulate different wind conditions.¡± Natasha said and circled the hole, wrote my name and the time on it, and added it to the stack of target papers that were mine.


    ¡°I assume they rotate to add angles and things?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Does anyone ever clean them?¡±


    Natasha stopped moving and turned to look at me. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    I pointed at the target. ¡°That''s way off from where I was aiming. If the winds were as strong as you said, then I should have hit the body of the target, not the arm. That means the fans might have dust build-up on them and its slowing the air flow. It could be on either the blades themselves or the shutters that the wind blows through.¡±


    Natasha didn''t move for several seconds and then she smiled. ¡°I''ll call maintenance and have them send someone down to check. We can''t have our tests be compromised like that.¡±


    ¡°It''ll throw off the readings a little, that''s for sure.¡± I said and looked down at the rifle. ¡°Are we going again or...¡±


    ¡°No, this one is good enough to rate you, even if the wind reading was off.¡± Natasha said. ¡°I might bring you back for a follow-up if the fans need to be cleaned.¡±


    I nodded and she took the time to show me how to disassemble the guns and clean them, then we packed everything back up, including all of the spent shell casings, and added everything to the cart before we secured it. We started discussing which weapons were the best and easiest to use while we brought everything back up to B2 and the weapon dispensary.


    The guy there chuckled as he took back the empty ammo boxes and he nodded to us before he started pulling the weapons out to check them. ¡°Ha! I love loaning these out to true professionals. You guys really know how to take care of your equipment.¡±


    ¡°It''s the least we could do for you. You let us have so much fun.¡± I said and he smiled at me. ¡°What do I have to do to get an RPG to play with?¡±


    The guy laughed and pointed to Natasha without saying a word.


    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± I said with disappointment and he laughed, which cemented in his mind that it was never going to happen and that I wasn''t going to try and get one.


    ¡°See ya later, kid.¡± The man said and put the first gun away before he started checking the others.


    Natasha and I left there and went to the elevator to go back down to B3.


    ¡°That was nice of you.¡± Natasha whispered before the elevator stopped and the doors opened.


    ¡°Even if I thought letting people know that I''m sleeping with the most awesome agent in the entire roster of SHIELD agents would rocket me to prominence, I still wouldn''t do it.¡± I whispered back.


    Natasha gave me a sly smile and led me over to the large room with the obstacle course inside. ¡°You''re really trying to get me horny, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°If I say yes, will it enhance how much we go at it tonight?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Natasha said and closed the door.


    ¡°I am specifically trying my best to show off without actually showing off, because only you know that I''m not trying to pass the exams. I''m trying to please you with the results.¡± I whispered to her.


    Natasha looked surprised for a moment, then she schooled her features as we approached the man near the beginning of the indoor course. ¡°New recruit. He needs a brief explanation of the obstacles and what he needs to do to complete them.¡±


    The man gave me a grin. ¡°Fresh meat for the grinder, eh?¡±


    ¡°Black Widow has taught me a lot, even though we haven''t done these exercises specifically.¡± I said and looked at the course. ¡°I can already see a few things I can do to circumvent a few of the obstacles.¡±


    The man laughed. ¡°I get a few of you arrogant guys every year.¡± He said and then pointed at the first obstacle. ¡°You are to climb it and go over it. Don''t just walk around it or go through the climbing net. It has to be traversed to count, or you forfeit.¡± He said and then explained each of the next obstacles and what had to be done to pass each of them.


    ¡°I''m not being arrogant when I say that my self-taught parkour training is going to let me tear up this course like it''s outdated.¡± I said and the man looked surprised. ¡°I only have one question.¡±


    ¡°What''s that?¡±


    ¡°Am I allowed to cheat?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Cheat? How?¡± He asked, clearly confused.


    I handed Natasha my gym bag and put my suit coat on. She looked a bit surprised by this, so I winked at her and ran over to the first obstacle.


    ¡°Putting knots on the ascending ropes really makes it too easy.¡± I said and climbed up the rope like a monkey, just like I had during gym class, then I hopped over the top platform and slid down the other rope with just my ankles and wrists, thanks to my pants and my suit sleeves.


    ¡°Jesus Christ.¡± The guy said as I ran over the balance logs like they were a flat floor.


    The tires were barely touched as I traversed them and then I hopped over the barrier logs like they weren''t there. I was sweating a lot by this point, and it didn''t matter, because I swung across the water hazard on the knotted rope and landed at a run. The see-saw was crossed without the thing even tipping, because I only put a foot down on the center part and jumped over the end.


    When I reached the barbed wire section that I had to crawl under, I glanced over at Natasha. She sighed and gave me the sign for ''under cover'' and I chuckled. I dropped to my knees and rolled over onto my back, then I climbed the barbed wire to drag myself under the thing to pop out of the other side completely unscathed.


    ¡°That doesn''t count.¡± The guy said and was clearly in denial.


    ¡°Oh! Sorry about that.¡± I said and jumped on top of the barbed wire and walked back to the beginning of the obstacle and jumped down, then I dropped to my belly and slithered like a snake as I crossed underneath it without touching it. ¡°Was that better?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The guy said with a sigh and marked it down on the clipboard he had.


    The tire jump was easier than it sounds. The log balance and log barriers were easily hopped over or slid under, which would make the guy tell me that wasn''t allowed and I would have to do them again. The rope swings were hilarious and I did them with one hand, which surprised the guy running the course.


    By the time I had reached the last obstacle, a zip line, I pretty much had to do each obstacle twice. Once my way, which was the easiest, and once the ''right'' way.


    Just for fun, I actually hung from the zip line with my knees and flipped over and landed on my feet when I reached the end.


    ¡°Jesus, Ben.¡± Natasha whispered and shook her head.


    ¡°What? I do all of this and more during gym class.¡± I said and pointed to each obstacle and rhymed off the gym class equivalent, then I chuckled. ¡°The rope ladders you have here are actually easier than the ropes with knots in them that I''ve used. I didn''t even have to worry about balancing myself.¡±


    ¡°There''s no way you just did all of that.¡± The man said and looked at his clipboard. He saw the double time markers he had recorded for each thing and sighed. ¡°Dammit, you really did do it all.¡±


    ¡°Is there like an advanced course for field agents or something?¡± I asked and the guy looked at me like I was stupid or something.


    ¡°That was it.¡± Natasha admitted.


    I looked back at the course and then back to her. ¡°You''re joking, right?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Natasha said with a sigh.


    ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± I said with disbelief in my voice and on my face before I walked over to her. ¡°I''m sweating quite a bit. Should I shower or will I be good to go to the next assessment without showering first?¡±


    ¡°You''re going to keep sweating, so you don''t need to waste the time.¡± Natasha said and nodded to the guy as she handed me my gym bag and we left the large room. ¡°I thought you said you wouldn''t be showing off?¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I could have walked through that thing backwards while looking over my shoulder.¡±


    Natasha gave me an incredulous look.


    ¡°No, seriously. My gym classes are more advanced than that.¡± I said and took out my cell phone from my bag and went through some of the pictures I had taken of Liz, Max, Gina, and Val on the various equipment we had access to. ¡°The coach saw I was wasting my potential with the freshmen and let me join the seniors for their workouts.¡± I said and handed her the cell phone.


    Natasha went through the photos and her eyes were wide as she looked at the intense training we went through at a science and technology high school.


    ¡°It''s a requirement for the entire school to do that on Friday afternoons to make up for all the sitting on our asses and thinking we do all week.¡± I said with a laugh and Natasha smiled. ¡°The funny thing is, it works. It also lets everyone interact on a personal level, because when there are group activities, all the grades participate.¡±


    Natasha finished looking at the photos and handed the phone back to me. ¡°I''m going to have to talk to HR about the obstacle course''s lack of intensity.¡±


    I chuckled again. ¡°Maybe your expected standards for normal people are unrealistic for some recruits.¡±


    Natasha smiled again and nodded to me as she led me into the medical wing.


    ¡°Hello, Black Widow.¡± An older man said as we entered the main area.


    ¡°Full physical on a new hire.¡± Natasha said and motioned towards me. ¡°Ben Parker, meet Doctor J. Streiten.¡±


    ¡°Hello, young man.¡± The older black man said and held a hand out to me.


    ¡°Hello, old man.¡± I countered and shook his hand.


    The doctor laughed. ¡°Now I can understand why Widow likes you.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry. I was warned about making sexually provocative jokes, sir.¡±


    Dr. Streiten laughed again. ¡°Yes, it''s no wonder.¡± He said and waved at the treadmill. ¡°We''ll start with the basics to get the numbers for the baseline.¡±


    ¡°Is there anywhere I can change? I brought my gym clothes for his part.¡± I said.


    The doctor nodded and pointed at a door at the back of the room. ¡°Bathroom.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be right back.¡± I said and walked over to the door and went through without shutting it all the way, because I wanted to hear.


    ¡°We want a full DNA sequence drawn up, doctor.¡± Natasha whispered. ¡°He claims to be replacing a previous agent''s son.¡±


    ¡°You know there are genetic resequencing machines available on the black market, so there''s no guarantee that I''ll detect anything at all.¡± The doctor responded.


    ¡°How much will that change the gene profile?¡±


    ¡°Either not at all or so much that it won''t match either the original or the person he''s replacing.¡±


    Natasha sighed. ¡°I really wanted to know if he''s really who he claims he is or if he''s a pretender like he also claims.¡±


    The doctor chuckled. ¡°I''m not going to ask why you''re saying contradictory things.¡±


    ¡°It''s complicated.¡± Natasha said. ¡°How long will it take for the blood samples and the DNA to come back from the labs?¡±


    ¡°With a rush priority? A day, maybe two.¡±


    ¡°I want this by tomorrow.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Is this that important to you?¡± The doctor asked.


    ¡°More important than you can imagine.¡± Natasha whispered.


    I quickly changed into my jogging pants and t-shirt and went back out to where they waited. ¡°Can you watch this for me again, Miss Widow?¡± I asked and handed her the bag.


    ¡°You know I''m going to make you pay for using me like a servant later.¡± Natasha said.


    I opened my mouth and made the ''o'' of surprise, looked at the doctor to make him laugh, then looked back at Natasha. The smile she showed me briefly almost made me laugh.


    ¡°He doesn''t even have to make a joke and I laughed anyway.¡± The doctor said and led me over to the treadmill. He quickly set it up and started it. ¡°Go ahead and start running. I preset it for the test, so do your best.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, doctor.¡± I said and jumped on and started jogging. I did not tell him that I knew what the average person''s performance was and I went slightly above that and then pretended to be winded and hopped off of the treadmill.


    The doctor recorded the results and then ran me through several other machines to test various muscle strength, endurance, agility, heart rate, and a few other things. Since I knew what a normal human was able to do, I did that and slightly better. When all of that was done, the doctor brought me over to his office and I sat down. He started gathering the supplies to draw blood and I wasn''t letting that happen.


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± I said and stood.


    ¡°It''s one of the requirements to...¡±


    ¡°No, it isn''t.¡± I said and he closed his mouth. ¡°Having a physical to check my fitness level does not require you taking genetic samples from me.¡±


    ¡°It''s just a simple blood test to check for drugs and...¡±


    ¡°If that was the case, a simple finger prick would do it.¡± I said and gave him a look. ¡°Didn''t you swear an oath to do no harm when you became a doctor?¡±


    The doctor looked confused. ¡°How is this harming you?¡±


    ¡°You could easily add my DNA to whatever database SHIELD has. I do not want my DNA anywhere near a scientific think tank with practically unlimited resources to copy it, alter it, or grow it.¡±


    ¡°I was ordered to test your blood.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    The doctor closed his mouth and didn''t answer.


    ¡°And that''s why I''m never going to volunteer it.¡± I said and went to the door. ¡°If I ever find out you''ve taken it without my permission, or gathered any of my genetic material for testing, I''ll kill you, delete the entire SHIELD medical database, physically destroy all of the samples ever taken and not just my own, and I''ll leave evidence to frame you for it.¡±


    The doctor looked shocked.


    ¡°Just to be clear, I''ll count anyone else bringing any of my samples to you as violating my trust and you will get the same treatment.¡± I said and then smiled. ¡°That counts for both Black Widow and Hawkeye, too. If they bring you a sample, take it and destroy it when they leave. If you don''t... and I''ll know it if you don''t... you will not like what I''ll do to you.¡±


    ¡°You... you can''t threaten me like this! I''m a respected medical doctor and...¡±


    ¡°...just following orders. I know.¡± I interrupted. ¡°Some of the worst crimes in history were done by men just following orders, doctor. Remember that.¡±


    He stared at me as I opened his office door and left.

 53 Making A Mountain Out Of A Maria Hill

    Bokuboy


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Natasha asked and glanced down at the inside of my elbows and saw that I didn''t have a piece of gauze and tape visible on them.


    ¡°Was he supposed to give me the results of his assessment already?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought it was for agency use only?¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth to respond and then sighed. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I can understand you not trusting me completely and I''ve already made allowances for that. You know I have.¡± I said to her and ignored her blush as I took my gym bag from her. ¡°I even let Clint go after he broke into my room. I also showed him what I was hiding and told him why.¡±


    Natasha looked a little guilty about that.


    ¡°So, he either told you beforehand or told you after he left.¡± I said and she didn''t say anything. ¡°Or the third option is that you told him to go check.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... after what we''ve been doing...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°Do you see me trying to go wherever you''re staying to look through your stuff? Am I constantly badgering you to tell me all about your daily life and the missions you go on? Didn''t I forgive you already for what happened in the past?¡± I asked and her face went completely blank. ¡°Oh, so that''s it.¡±


    Natasha didn''t say anything in response.


    ¡°I accepted it too fast, didn''t I? I didn''t hum and haw about it, or made you wait and worry about if I would even talk to you afterwards.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s not that.¡± Natasha whispered. ¡°We were being intimate and...¡±


    I chuckled and her eyebrows rose slightly. ¡°At what other point in time have we had any kind of privacy to have a private conversation? Have we met anywhere that wasn''t compromised by extra security?¡± I asked and her eyebrows dropped back down. ¡°No, because I''m not demanding of your time and I''m not trying to pressure you at all to have a relationship. I''m also not trying to compromise you.¡±


    ¡°I''m already compromised.¡± Natasha said with another sigh. ¡°Even on that last mission, I couldn''t help thinking about coming back here to meet with you.¡±


    ¡°That was when you accused me and revealed some of my cover.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Did you notice that I actually laughed at that? Did you notice I didn''t ask you anything about yourself in a fair exchange? Did you notice I''ve given you everything about my life, just so you could feel included in it without actually having to ask me about it?¡±


    Natasha closed her mouth and kept her face blank.


    ¡°Did you really think I haven''t noticed that you stopped calling me Benji?¡± I asked and her eyes widened in surprise. ¡°You are the only woman I''ve told to call me that, by the way, so of course I noticed when you changed from having enjoyable sex with a lover to an interrogation technique of a suspect.¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth again and nothing came out, so she closed it.


    ¡°I haven''t been trying to keep you out, Black Widow.¡± I whispered and she almost winced at me not using her name. ¡°It''s you that''s been confrontational with me and you are keeping yourself out.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± Natasha started to say something and I raised a hand to stop her.


    ¡°It''s getting close to lunch and I''m going to grab a quick shower before we go to the cafeteria.¡± I said in a normal voice. ¡°Can you go to general stores and get me a new suit and a pair of boxers, please?¡±


    Natasha looked like she wanted to say something else, then she nodded and walked away.


    I walked across the medical wing and entered the bathroom again. I actually locked the door this time and looked around for anything to jam against it to secure it, because I didn''t want her to enter and try to apologize right away by having sex with me in the shower.


    A quick search netted me a nearly empty plastic bottle of hand soap, so I squeezed most of it out and made it into a wedge shape and put the top back on to retain the shape. It easily slid under the edge of the door and I jammed it into place with a tap of my shoe.


    I stripped off and hopped into the shower before I remembered all of the pieces of gauze taped to my back. Dammit! May''s going to kill me for ruining all of her hard work.


    I sighed and lathered up before I did my best to wash myself everywhere else. The gauze quickly became small masses of wetness on my back and I didn''t bother trying to pick at them. My shirt was going to have wet spots on it when I wore it, too.


    I hopped out of the shower and used a towel to dry off as best as I could and then wrapped the towel tightly around my chest in the faint hope to squeeze out the gauze. There was a knock on the door and I felt that familiar tingle in the back of my skull that I associated with Natasha. I transferred the towel to my waist before I kicked the impromptu door wedge out of the way and unlocked the door to open it.


    ¡°Here''s your suit.¡± Natasha said and handed the package to me.


    ¡°I need your help getting medical tape off my back or I''ll soak my shirt the moment I put it on.¡± I said and her eyebrows raised up.


    ¡°You''re hurt? Why didn''t you say anything before we did everything we did today?¡± Natasha asked and stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. She saw the squished plastic bottle and put it back under the edge of the door as she locked it.


    ¡°Because I didn''t want you taking it easy on me because I had a bad fall.¡± I said and turned around to show her how many pieces of gauze were on my back. The sharp intake of breath let me know she was surprised there were so many.


    ¡°I was going to ask what happened to your jaw to bruise it.¡± Natasha said and picked at one of the pieces of tape before she yanked it off like May had that morning.


    ¡°Yeow!¡± I exclaimed and jerked.


    ¡°Quick and instant pain is better than slow agonizing pain.¡± Natasha said and pulled off another piece and I jerked slightly. ¡°Believe me, I know.¡±


    ¡°I believe you.¡± I said and she pulled off another piece. ¡°Dammit!¡±


    Natasha lightly chuckled and kept working until she got them all off and had tossed them in the trash. ¡°Ben, how did you do this much damage?¡±


    ¡°Sidewalk with some gravel and salt mixed in. I fell on my back and slid a bit.¡± I said and turned around to face her, because I wanted to see her face. ¡°Thanks for the assist.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± Natasha put her hands on my chest and caressed it as she stepped close. In her heeled boots, she was much closer to my height.


    I stepped back and her face closed down as her hands dropped to her sides. ¡°I''m not rejecting you, Natasha. I''m just not letting you use sex to try and manipulate me.¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t going to do that.¡± Natasha lied and then winced, because she knew she just screwed up.


    It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. ¡°No? You''re not going to gather a semen sample to have tested to add to the piece of gauze you didn''t throw in the trash?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, I counted.¡±


    Natasha gave me a pointed look before she let her face go blank and she handed it over.


    ¡°No apology for that or about what I said before?¡± I asked and she didn''t say anything. ¡°Okay.¡± I said and nodded at the door. ¡°I''ll be out in a few minutes after I get dressed.¡±


    Natasha turned around and kicked the wedge out of the way and unlocked the door. She gave me another blank look before she left and closed the door behind her.


    I dried my back off and quickly dressed then I transferred my things from my old suit to the new one. I didn''t bother asking how she knew my size, because she had held my suit coat earlier. I packed my old suit into my gym bag and checked my phones. I had set them to vibrate the earpiece in the case of the untraceable phones and to vibrate itself in the case of my real phone.


    No missed messages. I thought and did a quick cleanup in the bathroom, even the drains, to remove any hairs and things. I also gathered the gauze and packed them in the towel and added it to my gym bag.


    My firm stance on not handing a sample over was going to cause some controversy, because not everyone was stupid enough to tell a spy agency ''no'' when it wanted something.


    I had a plan for that, though. At least, I hoped it was a plan. Was it good? Probably not. This was a spy agency, after all.


    I left the bathroom and the doctor glared at me as I walked across to where Natasha stood with him. ¡°I hope you informed Agent Widow of my directive, doctor.¡±


    The man looked surprised that I would openly state it. ¡°I... ah... also informed my superiors.¡±


    ¡°Good. I wouldn''t want your accidental death on my conscience.¡± I said and now both he and Natasha looked surprised. ¡°What? I''m not going to openly murder the man. I''m not stupid. He''ll just somehow end up dead at some point in the future if my personal rights are violated.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you''re playing a very dangerous game by saying that out loud.¡± Natasha warned me.


    I gave her a warm smile. ¡°I''m not playing anything, princess. This is my life now and I won''t let anyone mess with it. Not him, not you, and definitely not the director.¡± I said and the surprise didn''t leave their faces. ¡°I''ve worked up quite the appetite and I''m starving, Agent Widow. Let''s go eat.¡±


    The change in subject seemed to startle them.


    ¡°No? All right. I''ll meet you there later.¡± I said and walked by them and to the door of the medical wing. ¡°If you can''t make it to lunch, I''ll meet you back at Human Resources on B1 in an hour or so.¡±


    The two of them stared at me as I left. I held in my laugh at the looks on their faces until I was in the elevator. It seemed like neither of them were used to having someone actually be bold enough to confront them directly, which meant I could still have fun with people without actually having to make jokes. That was almost music to my ears and I stepped out onto B1 and went to the cafeteria.


    I really should have brought my own food, considering this was a spy agency, and they could lace their food with anything. I would trust my spider-sense completely for this part and went along the food line and chose specific dishes. A plate with four chicken fingers, a plate of french fries, a bowl of brown rice, some gravy for dipping, a dish of coleslaw, a bottle of juice, and a bowl of butterscotch pudding.


    ¡°You might want to check the crab meat. It smells off.¡± I said to the closest cook behind the counter, even though it was my spider-sense that had warned me. I went to the cashier to pay and ignored the look of surprise on the cook''s face.


    ¡°ID please.¡± The cashier said and I had to put my food tray down to put my hand on the little scanner beside the register. She scanned it and hit a button on the cash register. ¡°Thank you, Agent Parker.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± I said and picked my food back up and walked over to the multiple tables. I didn''t know anyone officially, so I couldn''t really join their tables, then I saw Maria Hill sitting by herself and idly picking at a salad as she went over several reports. Oh, this should be fun.


    I started walking over to her table and the entire cafeteria, that was fairly packed, seemed to grow increasingly quiet as I approached Maria. I actually expected that and I was going to use it to my advantage.


    ¡°Please pardon my intrusion, Deputy Director Hill.¡± I said softly so that she wouldn''t be startled by my presence.


    Maria looked up from her paperwork and she looked a little taken aback that I was standing right there beside her. ¡°Excuse me? Is there something you want?¡±


    I gave her a huge grin. ¡°I just joined the agency and I''ve already heard about what happened.¡± I said and her eyes squinted. ¡°I just wanted to come over and meet someone that''s become my personal hero.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Maria asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°You successfully encountered that mentally deficient vigilante, Spider-Man.¡± I said and sat down without being asked. ¡°I''ve heard of some of the things he''s done... grapevine, you know... and I really admire the courage you showed and the bravery in the face of an unknown.¡±


    Maria sat there and stared at me as I started eating.


    ¡°I also heard there''s a team being formed to confront him.¡± I said and she stiffened slightly. ¡°I know I''m a new recruit and there''s no way I''d qualify for anything like that...¡±


    ¡°You''re male, so you would be ineligible anyway.¡± Maria said and then clamped her mouth shut.


    I caught on right away. ¡°Oh, that''s...¡± I paused, because I almost gave myself away, so I faked confusion. ¡°Wait, why would you only want women on the team?¡±


    ¡°I can''t divulge classified details.¡± Maria said, her face stern.


    ¡°Oh! Ha ha. Right, I don''t need to know.¡± I said and dipped a chicken piece into the gravy. ¡°I''ll prove I''m worthy soon enough, don''t worry.¡±


    Maria looked a bit stunned at my words and it took her a few minutes of staring at me before she spoke. ¡°Why are you here talking to me again?¡±


    ¡°Two reasons.¡± I said and finished the chicken pieces and started on the french fries. ¡°First, I have the rare chance to meet one of the highest ranking officials in the agency and I couldn''t pass up the opportunity.¡±


    Maria nodded slightly, probably because she could understand ambition easily.


    ¡°Second, you''ve put yourself into an awkward social situation and everyone is giving you a wide berth instead of socializing with you as they try to not bother you.¡± I said and ate some more french fries. ¡°I thought I would fix that for you if I could.¡±


    ¡°Why are you?¡± Maria asked, her tone curious.


    ¡°I like the attention.¡± I said and quickly turned around and about twenty people jerked and looked away. I chuckled and picked up more fries to dip in the gravy. ¡°I''m setting a precedent as well, so I guess that''s three reasons. I''m just some nobody that was just hired and I''m already talking to the number two person in the agency. Isn''t that awesome?¡±


    Maria looked a little stunned at me pointing that out.


    I finished off the fries and quickly devoured the coleslaw and bowl of rice. ¡°The food''s not bad.¡± I said and dipped a spoon into the pudding. I tasted it and sighed before I pushed it aside. ¡°Blah, powdered concentrate.¡±


    Maria looked even more stunned now. ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I can feel the undiluted granules on my tongue.¡± I said and made a bit of a show as I pretended to chew on something much bigger than a granule, then I rinsed my mouth out with the juice and finished the juice. ¡°I should tell them to adjust whatever they use to measure the amount of powder to add to the milk. The ratio seems off.¡±


    Maria stared at me as I stood up and picked up my tray.


    ¡°Thank you for letting me bask in your presence, Deputy Director Hill. It was a pleasure.¡±


    Maria looked like she didn''t know what to say in response.


    ¡°I''m tempted to say more, except I was warned by the HR department to not make jokes or say anything that could be classed as inappropriate.¡± I said.


    Maria nodded in agreement with official policy.


    I gave her a warm smile and then leaned close as I whispered softly enough for only her to hear. ¡°When you remember this conversation later, and you will, please feel free to add in a couple of funny jokes that you admonished me for and secretly liked, one double entendre because those are fun, and perhaps one slightly suggestive compliment about how delightfully sexy you look in your business suit.¡±


    Maria really looked stunned now as she stared at me.


    ¡°I''m glad I followed HR''s recommendation and didn''t actually say any of that.¡± I said and walked over to the counter to return the tray and dishes and I had a short conversation with one of the cooks, who called over the one who had made the pudding.


    The three of us had a short conversation about moderating how quickly they poured in the powder, because they actually had gotten the proportions right and just added in all the powder at once and it hadn''t all mixed in properly. I also told them a trick for enhancing the flavor by adding some vanilla extract.


    I left two happy cooks in the cafeteria and I had some time to kill before I had to meet Natasha. I thought about what I wanted to accomplish there at the New York office and smiled, because I was on the perfect floor for it. The administration floor. I ducked into the closest bathroom to wash my hands and opened my standard package to tear out a piece of blank paper from the back of the manual.


    I wrote out a few things and then forged a fake signature that was just loops and squiggles, because it didn''t matter whose name was on it. It was just directions, after all. I chuckled at that and left the bathroom and walked into the main administration office and went right to the woman closest to the counter.


    This could be fun. I thought with a smile.

 54 Computer Rules

    Bokuboy


    Here''s another 3,210 words for you to enjoy. I can''t promise to post something tomorrow when I get to where I''m going, because it all depends on the conditions when I get there.


    ¡°Hello, there.¡± I said and the woman behind the counter looked up at me. I held up the paper and pretended to read from it. ¡°I was sent here for secretarial or assistant assessment, viability for a data entry position, and perhaps a computer maintenance position? I can''t really read that last one.¡±


    The woman held her hand out for the paper and read it. ¡°I wish they would tell us these things beforehand.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry to be a bother, ma''am.¡± I said and ducked my head a little. ¡°I was just brought in today and I just signed the standard contract. I''ve been sent all over this place for assessment tests to see where I would fit in best and I was told to do this during my lunch break if I could.¡±


    The woman sighed. ¡°Fine, come around.¡± She said and pushed a button and the buzzer sounded as part of the counter opened up for me.


    ¡°That''s handy.¡± I said and entered the opening and it closed behind me.


    ¡°Sharon? Can you handle this for me?¡± The woman asked and waved the paper at her. ¡°I''m meeting Craig on B4 in about five minutes.¡±


    Sharon stood up from her desk and came over to us.


    ¡°I''ll owe you a shift swap later.¡± The woman offered.


    ¡°Done!¡± Sharon said with a smile and took the paper. ¡°You know how I love long weekends.¡±


    The woman chuckled. ¡°No problem. Craig''s working Saturday, too.¡±


    Sharon nodded and read what I had written out. ¡°We can handle the first at my station. We''ll have to go to the computer mainframe room for the second, and I doubt we can do the third before lunch is over.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be glad to get the first and second ones done, honestly.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Come on.¡± Sharon said and led me back to her desk. ¡°What''s your average typing speed?¡±


    ¡°That depends.¡± I said and she raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°If I''m looking at the keyboard, I can top 80 to 90 words per minute.¡±


    ¡°Blind-typing?¡± Sharon asked and had me sit down after she minimized what was on the screen.


    ¡°If I''m not looking at the keyboard, I can run anywhere from 40 to 60 words per minute, depending on the content.¡± I said. I did not say it was computer coding, which had a lot of finger movements and slowed me down considerably.


    Sharon''s eyebrows dropped back to their normal positions. ¡°That''s not very good for a main secretarial position. You''ll need to practice and bring those numbers up by at least 20 for each if you''re seriously going for that or an assistant position.¡±


    ¡°It''s the holidays, so I''m free during the days. I promise to get as much practice as possible.¡±


    Sharon smiled and started a small program that gave a short typing tutorial. ¡°Go ahead and get started.¡± She said and lightly touched my shoulder. ¡°Don''t be nervous that I''m looking over your shoulder.¡±


    ¡°I was warned by HR to not make jokes or inappropriate comments.¡± I said and then whispered. ¡°Would telling you that I consider myself in ''pretty office woman heaven'' right now, count as inappropriate?¡±


    Sharon gave me a pointed look before she smiled warmly. ¡°Yes, it might be considered inappropriate.¡±


    ¡°Then it''s a good thing that I didn''t say it.¡± I smiled back and started typing as I concentrated on the screen. It was just a standard typing practice program and I went through it and ended with 88 words per minute, near the top of my estimate.


    ¡°I could tell you were pausing there. Is it the standard keyboard?¡± Sharon asked.


    ¡°I usually type on a laptop and I don''t have to hit the keys so hard.¡± I lied, because I had specifically paced myself and didn''t realize I would get caught. ¡°I have an idea to fix that, though.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sharon asked and leaned down closer to hear and her hand gripped my shoulder firmly.


    I did not miss the very nice shot of her cleavage that she had given me. I looked at her face and saw her knowing smile. ¡°It''s...¡± I dropped my voice down to barely above a breath and she had to lean in closer, which gave me an even better view of her breasts. ¡°...a keyboard pad.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡± Sharon asked as she turned her head to face me and her lips were right there, red and plump, and I could swear she wanted to be kissed. Her wavy blonde hair also blocked us from view.


    Not now, not now... oh, damn. I thought and couldn''t stop myself as I looked at her mouth and licked my lips, then I looked back into her amused eyes. ¡°It''s a long rubber pad that can be rolled up when not in use. I''ve got the design in my head and it''ll work just like a normal keyboard, only there''s no keys and it''s just printed on the pad.¡±


    Sharon''s mouth opened slightly in surprise and I could almost see her brain working through what that could mean for her personally and probably for the secretarial pool as a whole.


    ¡°May I?¡± I whispered and glanced at her lips and then back to her eyes again.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sharon whispered back and I puckered my lips a little and moved that last bit of distance to kiss her as if we had been dating for a long time. She made a little surprised sound and then her tongue was almost down my throat as we made out right there.


    Pepper really did give me a bit of a fetish. I thought, because I was really turned on and she seemed to have no problem making out with me, which was surprising.


    After a couple of minutes, Sharon broke the kiss. ¡°The... data entry terminals... are in the server room.¡± She whispered and stood. Her nipples were poking out and the bumps they showed looked very appealing.


    I stood up and gave her my best smile. ¡°Please lead the way, Mistress... I mean Miss Sharon.¡± I whispered and she took in a sharp breath, then she gave me a very warm smile in return.


    ¡°This way.¡± Sharon said and led me across the room and through a normal door into a short hallway.


    I thought that was odd, considering the server room should have some security besides the multiple cameras I could detect with my spider-sense. The door at the end didn''t have a handle and I wondered what she was going to do to enter.


    Sharon touched the wall beside where the door handle should have been and it depressed before it opened to reveal a hand scanner. She put her hand on it and spoke. ¡°Agent 21365.¡±


    The door beeped and buzzed and stayed where it was. I was disappointed, because I expected a whooshing sliding thing and it was just a push and enter version.


    Before I could step forward, my spider-sense tingled a little and I was shoved up against the wall.


    Sharon looked a little frantic as she kissed me hard as her hand grabbed my erection through my pants. ¡°Mmm, so delicious.¡± She whispered and rubbed her chest on mine as her hand rubbed me through my pants.


    ¡°Cameras.¡± I whispered and kept my hands flat on the wall and didn''t try to grab her or kiss her back.


    ¡°Faked.¡± Sharon said and kissed down my chin and started nibbling on my neck.


    I didn''t comment that they weren''t fake and just stood there as she did what she wanted. I could honestly say that she knew what she was doing, because I was getting close, and I wasn''t helping her at all.


    ¡°I can feel how responsive you are.¡± Sharon whispered into my ear and then bit my earlobe.


    ¡°I''m going to mess up my pants in a minute.¡± I whispered back.


    Sharon moved back slightly and looked at my face as she smirked at me. ¡°That could be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said and she saw on my face that I didn''t want to mess up my pants.


    Sharon took a deep breath and let it out before she stopped moving her hand on me and stepped back. She gave my crotch a significant look and then she walked to the door without a handle and pushed it open, because it was already unlocked.


    I put my hands up to my face and rubbed it for the cameras, as if in exasperation, then I followed Sharon into the server room. I refrained from telling her how easy it would be to bypass such a simple locking mechanism and entered the server room. We went over to a bank of computer terminals and there were several other people there. Two men and a woman.


    ¡°Kelly? We have a possible candidate for your department.¡± Sharon said. ¡°Can you give him the basic run through?¡±


    A very short-haired brunette stopped typing and used a marker to mark on the large printout of folded sheets where she was, then she stood and walked over to us. She looked at me from my head to my feet. ¡°He''s a little young.¡±


    ¡°He just signed up and is going through assessment today.¡± Sharon said and handed her the paper with my list on it.


    ¡°I see.¡± Kelly said and smiled at me. ¡°Follow me and try to keep up with what I tell you to do.¡±


    ¡°I''m very good at taking directions and following orders, ma''am!¡± I said with enthusiasm.


    Sharon made an odd sound and then gave Kelly a particular look.


    ¡°I''ll bring him back out to your station when he''s done.¡± Kelly said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sharon responded and gave me a hungry look before she left.


    ¡°Depending on how much you like having sex, you either lucked out by having her assigned to you or your luck sucks just as much as she does.¡± Kelly said to me.


    I blinked at her several times before I understood. ¡°It''s an even mix of both, ma''am.¡±


    Kelly looked surprised for a second, then she laughed. ¡°Take my place at my terminal. It''s already set into the system and you''ll be entering the numbers from the printed spreadsheets in descending order.¡±


    I walked over to her desk and sat down. ¡°This seat is really warm.¡±


    Kelly gave me an odd look. ¡°I don''t poach other women''s prospects.¡±


    ¡°It''s kind of funny that no one really asks me what I want to do.¡± I said as I turned my head and smiled at her. ¡°Sharon doesn''t even know my name. It''s Ben Parker, by the way.¡±


    Kelly''s odd look changed to a genuine smile. ¡°Are you actually going to tell her no?¡±


    ¡°This is my first day and I haven''t even received a department assignment.¡± I said. ¡°I could become someone she''ll have to answer to and that''s going to be really awkward, considering I had to stop her from doing more than feeling me up in the hallway.¡±


    Kelly''s eyes went down to my tent pole and back to my face. ¡°You know I could report you for that.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I was warned by HR about inappropriateness.¡±


    Kelly nodded back as she tapped her finger on the top sheet beside the computer terminal. ¡°Start here and enter the numbers. It automatically jumps to the next entry on the screen as long as you hit the period and enter the last two digits of the number to activate the macro.¡±


    I looked down at the sheet and saw 56.67 was the next number. ¡°Hold on, that''s it? Just entering numbers?¡±


    ¡°That''s the current assignment, yes.¡± Kelly said. ¡°Once we have these entered, we will move on to adding any new files that need to be digitized, including written reports, photographs, witness statements, invoices, and anything else that needs to be added to the database.¡±


    I looked at the keyboard and it was a full one with the numerical keypad on the right. I did a quick test and made sure the period actually worked. ¡°My WPM is going to jump to a ridiculous level now.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kelly asked and looked curious.


    ¡°All the numbers are right here under my right hand.¡± I said and put a finger on the sheet to guide myself, then I trusted my spider-sense as I started typing. My right hand had to barely move as I flicked my fingers over the number keys like lightning and I made sure to apply enough pressure to make the numbers appear.


    Kelly''s mouth dropped open as I burned through the sheet she had gotten halfway through. I flipped it up and did the next, then the next and the next, all without looking at my hand. After a bit more than ten minutes, I had finished her stack and the two men at the other terminals were only about a quarter of the way through their stacks.


    ¡°I had the same talk from HR, or I would be cursing my head off right now and I would be begging you to join my department, with the threat of death if you didn''t.¡± Kelly said.


    I chuckled and stood up so that she could enter her finish code, or so she said, and I now had her computer access code to the database.


    ¡°How did you do it so fast? That was...¡± Kelly paused and looked at the stats for my data entries. ¡°...290 words per minute!¡±


    ¡°When a word counts as only four digits with a period in the middle? That''s almost five full entries a second. I could do that all day and not break a sweat.¡±


    Kelly stared at me. ¡°Are you kidding me? After the twelve minutes you just took to finish my assignment, that''s almost 3,500 entries!¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I slow down considerably if there are actual words and I can''t look at the keyboard.¡±


    Kelly gave me a calculated look. ¡°You come work for me and I''ll guarantee that you''ll be on minimal report entries. You''ll only be assigned numerical data entry tasks and it will free up my whole department to work on the things you have trouble with.¡±


    I blinked my eyes at her in surprise, because that was a really fantastic offer. Like, really fantastic. I put a hand on her shoulder tenderly and smiled. ¡°I really appreciate the recommendation, Kelly. I''ll add it to my final interview at the end of my assessments.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be doing better than that, Ben. I''ll send it to HR myself after I bring you back out to Sharon and she can hand you over to computer maintenance for...¡± Kelly paused as a soft ring sound came from a speaker near the door.


    The two men paused in their work as they marked their sheets like Kelly had when she had stopped.


    ¡°We''re heading to the cafeteria.¡± One of the men said.


    ¡°I brought a lunch, so I''ll meet you in the break room later.¡± Kelly said and both men nodded.


    As soon as both men had left the room, she turned to me and gave me the best sad puppy dog eyes I had ever seen on a woman. With her short dark hair, she reminded me a little of Max when she begged me to go down on her.


    ¡°You''re lucky I''m not allowed to tell you how cute you look right now.¡± I said and she beamed a smile at me before I walked over to the closest guy''s station and did the same fast typing trick.


    It only took about eight minutes for me to finish, so I went to the next guy''s station while Kelly entered her security code into the other man''s computer terminal to end his assignment. It took just over seven minutes for me to complete the last stack and Kelly used her code and ended the task on that terminal as well.


    Kelly''s terminal beeped at her and she nodded at the screen. ¡°Barb is bringing me the next stack of reports already.¡± She said and sent and acknowledgement. ¡°Ben, you don''t realize how much time and work you''ve just saved my department.¡±


    ¡°It only took about half an hour for me, so I hope you have pay scaling for awesome workers.¡± I joked and she softly laughed before she marked my list with two check marks and handed it to me.


    ¡°Come on, I''ll give you back to Sharon before she wonders where you are.¡± Kelly said and led me over to the door of the server room and opened it.


    I followed her out and we met an older woman named Barb at the outer door. She handed a huge stack of file folders to Kelly and I couldn''t stop the sad look I gave her.


    ¡°You''re not abandoning me, Ben. You passed your assessment with flying colors and you don''t need to stay and keep helping.¡± Kelly said and looked around. ¡°Where''s Sharon?¡±


    ¡°Gail from HR came to see her and they left about fifteen minutes ago.¡± Barb said.


    Kelly and I exchanged knowing looks.


    ¡°I guess that means I need to head over there to meet my guide, too.¡± I said and Kelly nodded. ¡°Good luck with all of that.¡±


    ¡°It''s what I do.¡± Kelly said and then squinted her eyes at me. ¡°I better see you later, Ben.¡±


    Barb looked a little surprised at that.


    I chuckled and decided to mitigate that loaded statement. ¡°I impressed Kelly with how fast I can complete simple tasks.¡±


    Kelly understood what I was doing and chuckled. ¡°Almost 300 wpm for data entry is not simple!¡±


    ¡°You''re kidding!¡± Barb gasped.


    ¡°I''m writing up a recommendation and a requisition form for him, because I need him in my department.¡± Kelly said and her voice dropped an octave. ¡°They better accept them, or there could be... trouble.¡±


    Barb barked a laugh. ¡°You definitely impressed her if she''s already this possessive.¡±


    I nodded and smiled at both women. ¡°I''ll be adding my own request, so we might be seeing a lot more of each other soon.¡±


    Barb gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°I really need to work on not saying leading or provocative things.¡± I said with a big grin and Barb smiled right back. ¡°Have a great day, both of you.¡±


    ¡°You, too.¡± Barb and Kelly said and I walked over to the front counter.


    ¡°Get everything done that you needed?¡± The woman at the counter asked.


    ¡°Only the first two tasks.¡± I said and showed her the list. ¡°I might have gotten to the maintenance test if Kelly hadn''t unleashed her puppy dog eyes on me to make me stay longer. Those things should be outlawed!¡±


    The woman laughed and hit the button to open the counter for me. ¡°Good luck on the rest of your tests, young man.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said sincerely and left the administration office. I had spent a bit longer there than I had intended and also gained a lot more than I thought I would. With the department head''s own computer access code to the main servers, I could do a lot of things and ensured my threat to the doctor was not an empty one.

 55 SHIELD Assessments

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Agent Romanoff.¡± Nick Fury said in a deceptively calm voice when the surveillance footage from the hospital wing ended. ¡°Would you mind explaining exactly what you were trying to do?¡±


    Natasha didn''t flinch at the tone of his voice, even though she felt like she should have. ¡°I was trying to confirm an asset''s real identity.¡±


    ¡°Before he was fully assessed or placed in a department.¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°It was the perfect opportunity to...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°...force a potentially essential asset to put himself completely on guard.¡± Fury interrupted.


    Natasha sighed. ¡°I know I screwed up, sir.¡±


    ¡°Almost detrimentally.¡± Fury said and picked up the official report. ¡°Agent Parker has only finished half a day so far and he has already threatened to eliminate a medical asset and all of our biomedical research.¡± He put the papers down and gave her his patented one-eyed glare. ¡°Because you were not escorting him like you were supposed to, he has also been caught in a sexually compromised position.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Natasha asked and sat up straight in her chair. She hadn''t even realized she had slouched.


    Fury hit a button and the scene in the secure hallway in the administration department played on the meeting room''s monitor.


    ¡°Jesus.¡± Clint whispered as Ben was assaulted right there in front of the camera. He was sure the look of panic on his face was real and he was glad that Ben hadn''t tried to manhandle the woman and kept his hands on the wall and in clear sight of the cameras.


    ¡°What was he doing there?¡± Natasha asked as thoughts of dealing with that woman later flitted through her mind.


    ¡°He had a list for three assessment tests, secretarial, data entry, and computer maintenance. Two of which he completed.¡± Fury said and slid the list across the table. ¡°We can''t make out the signature or find a match for the handwriting.¡±


    ¡°Where did he get this?¡± Natasha asked as she read it.


    ¡°Out of the manual he was given in HR.¡± Fury said and tossed it to her. ¡°Back page.¡±


    Natasha flipped to it and slid the list inside to see that it matched. ¡°Who would help him like this?¡±


    ¡°It was Ben, of course.¡± Fury said with a chuckle. ¡°The sneaky bastard''s already found a secretary that''s been taking advantage of several interns, as you just saw. He''s also the darling of the computer department and the department head actually begged to have him assigned to her.¡±


    ¡°Not for that, surely.¡± Clint said and waved at the monitor.


    ¡°No, he apparently types like a demon if it''s just numbers.¡± Fury said and brought up the footage and a side window showed the words per minute and the average entries per second.


    ¡°Even I have to admit that''s amazing.¡± Clint said. ¡°His dexterity must be off the charts.¡±


    ¡°Just the fingers of his dominant right hand and only in that small of an area for the number pad. If he has to type words, he slows down significantly.¡± Fury said and showed the results of his typing test.


    ¡°That doesn''t make sense.¡± Natasha said and slid the manual back over to Fury.


    ¡°I''ve had the secretary interrogated and she said she saw him intentionally pause while typing, then she admitted he had turned her on by saying he has a design for a rubber pad with a keyboard printed on it that can be rolled up.¡± Fury said. ¡°With no keys to punch...¡±


    ¡°...a person''s typing speed could increase by about 30%. At least.¡± Maria Hill finished for him. ¡°Secretaries with years of practice could be 50% to 60% faster, at a minimum.¡±


    ¡°Several departments could benefit from that design.¡± Fury said and nodded to Maria, who handed Natasha a list. ¡°I''m assigning several other assessment tests after reading through his exam from this morning.¡±


    Natasha looked slightly surprised at the different lab tests, research and development, and then a tactical exercise. ¡°Sir? Are you serious about this?¡±


    ¡°Hill?¡± Fury asked and she nodded. He hit another button and the scene in the cafeteria played on half of the monitor while the other half showed the view from a camera Maria had worn on her breast pocket.


    Clint and Natasha watched as Ben confidently confronted Maria, told her of the social situation that she had inadvertently created for herself and why he was trying to mitigate it for her. His witty comments at the end made the whole thing seem utterly surreal.


    ¡°Tell me what you''re thinking.¡± Fury asked them.


    ¡°It only took him a few seconds to case the room.¡± Clint said. ¡°He didn''t recognize anyone until he saw Deputy Director Hill.¡±


    ¡°He could have lied about the rumors.¡± Natasha said. ¡°I wasn''t with him all the time, however. He could have met anyone in the hallways and asked them what was going on.¡±


    ¡°How did he know about the team assembly?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Gail from HR let it slip this morning and he gave me a look to ask if I was on it.¡± Natasha said. ¡°I shook my head no.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Fury asked them.


    The two agents sat there and thought about it.


    ¡°It''s simple, really.¡± Fury said and nodded at Maria. ¡°Hill, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Ignoring the confidence required to approach me so blatantly and openly, considering he knew who I was, he talked to me as if he was my equal.¡± Hill said and both Clint and Natasha looked surprised. ¡°He showed respect, as is expected for a new hire; but, he didn''t mince words, he didn''t stammer or show any shyness, and he laughed when he caught so many people listening in on our conversation.¡±


    ¡°Do you get it now?¡± Fury asked and both agents nodded. ¡°He adapted to each social situation as needed. He wanted access to the administration department and created a reason to be there. He stumbled into a sexual situation and acted exactly how someone would if caught like that. He even warned her of the cameras.¡±


    ¡°Damn, he''s good.¡± Clint said. ¡°It usually takes years to get good enough to adapt so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Fury said. ¡°I''m sure that''s why he didn''t hesitate to threaten the doctor and refused to hand over his blood. He knew how the man would react.¡±


    ¡°But, sir. Without his blood or some other sample...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°We can''t gather it now, even though you had access to his home, bed, and body.¡± Fury said and Natasha closed her mouth. ¡°You see, now that he''s had access to the computer mainframe and can easily find and decipher our communications, he can easily monitor anything we do concerning him.¡±


    ¡°Aren''t you going to stop him from doing that?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°Why would I? He''s literally proving exactly why I approved of his recruitment.¡± Fury said.


    Clint nodded. ¡°How are we supposed to find out who he is?¡±


    Fury motioned to Maria.


    ¡°For all intents and purposes, he really is Benjamin Parker. Absolutely no records, accounts, witness statements, or anything else from the people in the apartment building he lives in, have shown that anyone else except him and his aunt have been there, except for the wife of his boss, and that was before he was hired at Bestman Salvage.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, there was no one else? Not one other person ever visited them?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°No one.¡± Maria said and handed her a file folder. ¡°They are classic introverts. They kept to themselves and they don''t even know who their neighbours are.¡±


    ¡°How did you find that out?¡± Natasha asked as she and Clint went through the file.


    ¡°The same way we find out a lot of our general information. Gossips.¡± Maria said. ¡°Page three. The old lady down the hall keeps tabs on everyone on her floor. She has a journal and everything.¡±


    Clint couldn''t stop his chuckle. ¡°Maybe we should put her on the payroll.¡±


    ¡°I already have.¡± Maria gave him a nod. ¡°She''s been very cooperative.¡±


    ¡°Any juicy gossip?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Since Ben has been around, both he and May have started going out more, usually on Sundays, and they carry library books to and from the downtown library. They also have picnics in the park.¡± Maria said and nodded at the folder. ¡°The last big thing she noted was a scandalous party that Ben had in the apartment.¡±


    ¡°We knew about that.¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°Did you know it was four girls from his high school?¡± Maria asked and Natasha nodded. ¡°They arrived at noon and didn''t leave until several hours after supper.¡±


    ¡°He had friends over to watch movies.¡± Natasha said and handed the folder to Clint. She was only a little surprised that it wasn''t as detailed about Ben''s comings and goings as the schedule he had already given to her. That brought back to her mind the conversation she had with him in the medical wing.


    What Ben had said about the problems she was having with him, that they were actually her fault and not his, really stuck with her. He was also right about her not actually apologizing and about her trying to use her seduction techniques to distract him. She was just so used to doing them that she was almost doing them subconsciously, and it was messing things up for her.


    No, I''m messing things up. Natasha thought and held in her sigh.


    ¡°What about this latest thing?¡± Clint asked and pointed to the preliminary police report at the back of the file folder.


    ¡°One of the girls was drugged while out on a date and was almost assaulted at a frat party.¡± Maria said and her face turned stern. ¡°They found the supposed boyfriend and he said she wasn''t fun enough for him and passed her off to his friends.¡±


    ¡°They haven''t found those friends yet.¡± Fury said and Natasha and Clint exchanged knowing looks. ¡°Don''t do it.¡± He cautioned them and they looked back at him with blank looks on their faces. ¡°He wasn''t a SHIELD agent at the time, so anything he may or may not have done, does not fall under our jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°But, sir...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°He has been warned about taking the law into his own hands in the future.¡± Fury said and gave her his patented one-eyed glare again. ¡°You will not ask him about it.¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. She knew when not to push.


    ¡°Take him to R&D first. I want that keyboard design.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°He''s going to hand it over?¡± Clint asked with raised eyebrows. He knew the problems Ben was having with Stark and how angry he was over getting his ideas stolen.


    ¡°He will be appropriately compensated, which Director Fury has already approved.¡± Maria said as she looked into another folder. ¡°Depending on the complexity of the construction, we should have enough of them made by next week for distribution to our local assets.¡±


    ¡°Assets and not personnel?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°It rolls up to the size of a pen, can use a cord or wireless signal, and connects to our cell phones.¡± Maria said and closed the folder as she enjoyed the surprised looks on Natasha''s and Clint''s faces.


    ¡°I want it as soon as possible.¡± Fury commanded. ¡°If he mentions any other ideas or you know of any he''s mentioned before, contact myself or Hill immediately.¡±


    Before they could stop themselves, both Clint''s and Natasha''s eyes went right to the garishly large Stark Protect security device that hung on the wall at the side of the room. Nick Fury and Maria Hill turned their heads to look at the wall and Fury let out a curse under his breath.


    ¡°I don''t want to know what''s going on with that, do I?¡± Fury asked.


    Clint shook his head and kept his mouth shut. He might have given the secret away; but, he wasn''t going to talk about it, just like he promised. Ben was right that SHIELD couldn''t really do anything to help him with that kind of problem. Not officially, anyway.


    Fury sighed and managed to not rub his face in frustration as he checked the time. ¡°All right, we''ve made him sweat enough while we talked about this.¡± He said and picked up the manual and handed it to Natasha. ¡°Give that back to Ben and inform him that he''s not in trouble before you take him to R&D. Let him have fun with the tech guys and contact us if he mentions anything. Anything at all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Natasha said and quickly left the meeting room.


    ¡°Sir.¡± Clint said and left as well.


    The door shut and Fury turned to Maria. ¡°Thoughts?¡±


    ¡°He could be a supreme asset or he could be extremely dangerous.¡± Maria responded.


    Fury didn''t say anything for a moment. ¡°What do you think of him on a personal level?¡±


    Maria hesitated as she thought about that. ¡°Sir, should you let my opinion factor into this?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t ask if I didn''t value your input.¡± Fury said.


    Maria nodded. ¡°Very well.¡± She said and gathered her thoughts. ¡°He has experience in both espionage and personal interactions. The brief time I was around him, I couldn''t help but look at him. From what I could see, he''s fairly muscular and moves like he knows how to do it properly, with full balance and awareness of his surroundings.¡±


    ¡°And his attitude?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°Completely forthcoming when confronted. He didn''t hesitate at all when he came back to HR to explain what happened and even let us search his gym bag.¡± Maria said. ¡°Being too bold could work against him in certain situations, however.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°What''s your assessment of everything we know about him?¡±


    ¡°Besides what I''ve already stated about him being both valuable and dangerous?¡± Maria asked and he nodded. ¡°I think he can be cultivated and could become one of the best well-rounded agents we''ve ever had. He could be useful in nearly every department and that''s so rare that it''s almost scary.¡± She said and gave Fury a stern look. ¡°Anger him and he won''t hesitate to bring everything down.¡±


    Fury gave her a rare smile. ¡°Those were my thoughts exactly.¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡± Maria asked, because it was very odd to see him smile. It would be like she had smiled herself, which she almost never did.


    ¡°I left a single page out of Richard Parker''s file.¡± Fury said and pulled it out of his inside jacket pocket and handed it to her. ¡°His assessment results.¡±


    Maria took it and her eyes widened as she quickly read through it. She opened the folder in front of her and went to Ben''s results and she confirmed what she thought. ¡°They''re nearly identical.¡±


    Fury nodded and took the page back. ¡°Richard Parker was one of the best agents I''ve ever worked with. He would, and could, do anything we asked him to do. It didn''t matter what the mission was, he would complete it.¡±


    Maria stared at him, because she understood what he meant.


    ¡°As soon as Ben completes the other assessments, give him a general pass for SHIELD and don''t assign him to any department. He''s too versatile to lock down to one of them exclusively.¡± Fury said and walked over to the door. ¡°Issue the standard IDs for agents to use when dealing with the police, fire department, FBI, CIA, and any other governmental agency or department you see fit. Altered for his apparent age, of course.¡±


    ¡°Sir? Is that wise?¡± Maria asked as she made note of it. ¡°That''s a lot of power to hand over to a kid.¡±


    Fury turned and gave her another rare smile, which was one more than she had seen on him in over a year. ¡°Richard Parker had half of the agency''s security compromised within the first week of becoming an agent. Ben''s only been here for half a day and he already has the computer department head''s access code to the mainframe.¡±


    Maria''s eyebrows rose and Fury nodded once more.


    ¡°What do you think he will be able to accomplish tomorrow?¡± Fury asked and left a fiercely contemplative deputy director behind.

 56 Lab Fun

    Bokuboy


    I was actually surprised when Natasha came to retrieve me from the interrogation room and handed me the manual back. I thought about asking for my gym bag, then shrugged mentally. They would give it back when they would give it back.


    Natasha also told me that I wasn''t in trouble, which almost made me laugh in her face, because I had just been in some serious trouble and it was all caught on camera. That was why I freely admitted that I tricked my way into the administration offices. There was no point in lying about it, especially because it showcased my infiltration abilities in a normal situation.


    Despite my apparent age, they had accepted that I had a right to be there, and that was worth more to a spy agency than almost any other skill an agent could have.


    ¡°We''re going to R&D first.¡± Natasha said and led me out of the room.


    An agent in the hallway handed me my gym bag as we passed and I nodded to him in thanks. I tucked the manual inside and followed Natasha to the elevator and down to B4.


    When we first entered the main area, I was slightly disappointed. It was full of people in lab coats behind desks doing paperwork and had a bunch of drafting materials on shelves. It also had a small library of books, manuals, periodicals, and published papers.


    Natasha brought me over to one of the men, seemingly at random. ¡°I have a new recruit that needs an assessment test done.¡±


    The guy didn''t even look up from his desk. ¡°Yes, whatever. Go bother Johnson with it. He''s not busy right now.¡±


    Natasha glared at the man for a moment, then she shook her head at him and walked over to another desk. When the man there looked up from his paperwork, I didn''t laugh. I really wanted to, though.


    Johnson was a nerd''s nerd. If you looked up nerd in the dictionary, it would have his picture beside it. He wore glasses that were half an inch thick, had short dark hair that looked greased to his head, a large nose, his mouth had an overbite, and he wore a retainer.


    ¡°I have a new recruit that needs an assessment test done.¡± Natasha repeated.


    Johnson sighed. ¡°Just because the department head doesn''t think what I''m working on is important, it doesn''t mean I''m not busy.¡±


    ¡°What are you working on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Quantum theory and the hidden potential energy that it could unlock.¡± Johnson said.


    I shook my head. ¡°I can''t help you with that. I had to drop my quantum mechanics class.¡±


    Johnson nodded. ¡°Most people aren''t smart enough to understand the intricacies of...¡±


    ¡°I understood it just fine. The teacher was just upset that I had amnesia and couldn''t remember the last three months of his classes.¡± I interrupted.


    ¡°If you have amnesia, why are you here for an assessment?¡± Johnson looked from my face to Natasha''s.


    ¡°Director''s orders.¡± Natasha said and handed him the piece of paper Fury had given to her. ¡°He also has a mechanical project for you guys to develop as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°You want Davis over there in development.¡± Johnson said and pointed two desks over. ¡°He''s the one wearing a lab coat.¡± He joked and snorted before covering his mouth with a hand to muffle his laughs that sounded like a donkey braying.


    I will not laugh at him. I will not laugh at him. I thought hard, then I couldn''t help myself and laughed.


    ¡°Finally! Someone with a good sense of humor.¡± Johnson said and shouted. ¡°Hey, Davis! New mechanical project!¡±


    Davis shot out of his chair and looked a little frantic as he rushed over. ¡°Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!¡± He said and snatched the paper from Johnson''s outstretched hand.


    ¡°We need an assessment test first.¡± Natasha said to him.


    Davis waved her words away. ¡°I can give him that while we''re working.¡± He said and his eyes locked onto mine. ¡°What ideas have you got locked inside that brain of yours?¡±


    ¡°I''m not allowed to joke or make inappropriate comments.¡± I responded right away and about half of the people in the room started laughing. The sheer range of different laughs was funny all by itself.


    ¡°Ha! I agree with Johnson. It''s about time someone with a real sense of humor showed up here.¡± Davis said. ¡°Help me grab some drafting tools and we''ll go to one of the empty desks for you to do up the plans.¡±


    I nodded and followed him over to the shelves with everything on them and brought what we needed over to an empty desk. Natasha stood off to the side and observed, rather than crowding around the desk as I worked. Davis stood there like an expectant father as I quickly drew out the outline of a thin rectangle. He was fidgeting and was non-verbally prompting me to go faster with slight hand gestures.


    I chuckled under my breath and used one of the oval tools to quickly draw a copy of a standard keyboard onto the dynamic view of the rectangle.


    ¡°Don''t disappoint me, Mr. Parker.¡± Davis whispered.


    I smiled as I glanced at him, then I added in the measurements and the main rubberized material. He sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes almost bored into the paper as he waited for me to continue. I could almost feel his anticipation as I did the cross section and exploded view, then I drew out the flexible touch sensor and sketched out the microchip, the microfiber wiring for the cord, and added in the wireless connective device from an earpiece.


    ¡°By Pythagoras'' Theorem.¡± Davis whispered and picked up the drafting paper with reverence. ¡°This is brilliant.¡±


    ¡°I''ve also worked out the fastest manufacturing process.¡± I said. ¡°Injection moulding.¡±


    Davis jerked like he had been slapped. ¡°You set the components where they need to be, close the mould, then inject the liquid rubber. It will set almost instantly and you have a completed device in only 30 seconds!¡±


    ¡°The keyboard images can be silkscreened or laser burned onto it and the programming is simple and easy to flash to the microchip. That can be done before or after it''s sealed into the rubber.¡± I added.


    Davis grinned at me. ¡°Mr. Parker, congratulations on passing your assessment.¡±


    ¡°What? He didn''t do anything to qualify for...¡± Natasha started to say.


    ¡°He successfully drafted working plans to create and reproduce a product without making a mistake. He can convey his ideas quickly and simply to coworkers. He''s also personable and has knowledge of manufacturing processes and programming.¡± Davis said. ¡°All of those qualities will make him a fantastic researcher and developer.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I said, pleased at the compliments.


    Davis chuckled. ¡°There are no sirs or madams in this room, Mr. Parker.¡±


    I had to smile at that. ¡°Then you can call me Ben or Parker, depending on the social rules.¡±


    ¡°We usually stick to last names because there''s too many Johns and Janes around.¡± David said. ¡°All Johns raise their hands!¡±


    Three men put up their hands and then waved.


    ¡°You guys are really lucky I''m not allowed to make inappropriate comments or jokes about Johns and prostitutes.¡± I said and they all laughed.


    ¡°HA!¡± Davis barked. ¡°Fill out your info at the top of the sheet there, Parker.¡±


    ¡°They haven''t assigned an agent number to me yet.¡± I said and filled out everything else.


    ¡°You get that when they assign you to a department. The sequence lets people know where you work.¡± Davis said and marked Fury''s sheet for Natasha and handed it back to her before he rolled up my draft. ¡°I''ll get the guys together and we''ll have the processes worked out and the prototype done in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°How long for production?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°After safety testing and approval, about six hours.¡± Davis said and smiled. ¡°I must say, this is going to make you a very popular person, Parker. You''ll be saving thousands of fingers from keyboard pain by tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°I''m always glad to help, Davis.¡± I said and he clapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Good man.¡± He said and nodded to Natasha. ¡°Agent Widow.¡±


    Natasha nodded back and motioned for me to follow her. As I did, six other men and women piled around Davis and they started talking animatedly, waved their hands around, then they moved off as a group through one of the many doors at the other side of the room.


    That sure lit a fire under their asses. I thought and only half-expected Natasha to make a comment about it. She didn''t, which meant she was still thinking about what we had talked about earlier. Hopefully. It was difficult to tell what she was thinking when she kept her face blank all the time.


    We went to a chemistry lab next and good lord, it was a chemist''s dream. It had everything you could ever want or imagine in a chemistry lab, both chemicals and equipment, including the kitchen sink. A dozen of them, actually. We weren''t allowed into the actual lab area, though. We weren''t properly dressed for it and we weren''t decontaminated.


    The head of the department came out of his office and read the list Natasha had, then he proceeded to give me a verbal exam. I answered as many questions as I could and those I didn''t know, I said so. When I said that for the third time, he marked the sheet and gave it back to Natasha and he went back into his office without saying anything else.


    ¡°I''m going to assume that was a fail.¡± I said and Natasha nodded.


    We left there and went down to B5. When we entered the next lab, the robotics lab, I did not let out a squeal like a little girl. Nope, I did not. I also refused to acknowledge an amused Natasha when one of the lab technicians came over to us.


    Natasha handed the man the sheet Fury had given her and he nodded. He led us into a side room that was filled with various tools, wires, and diagnostic equipment, then he picked up a big bin full of junk. Well, it looked like junk. It was actually a whole pile of unsorted electronic parts and metal pieces.


    The man put the bin on a large table and waved at it. ¡°Make me something.¡±


    I blinked my eyes three times rapidly, because I couldn''t believe it. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The man said. ¡°Show me what you can do.¡±


    I gave the bin''s contents a quick scan and looked back at the man. ¡°I need either a laptop or a standard earpiece.¡±


    The man''s face seemed to stiffen slightly. ¡°Are you saying you can''t make something?¡±


    ¡°No, sir. I''m saying I need something to program with when I''m done.¡± I said and started to dig through the parts. I was tempted to make a little drone and use my cell phone to control it, then discarded that idea. It was too close to my own covert operations to expose myself like that.


    I found two actuators with a 30 degree movement arc and several angled metal pieces that could be used for legs, and it made me grin. I dug into the bin for a control module and then a processing node and a tiny circuit board. I added them to the small pile I had and thought about what I could use for the arms. I saw a small pneumatic piston and nodded as I grabbed more metal pieces.


    I went to the wall of tools and grabbed several testers and a dremel rotary tool, several bits for it, and went back to the table. I sat down and started working on the metal pieces to carve out holes and slots to attach to the actuators and for the tiny bolts I would use. That reminded me to grab bolts and I went to the wall of accessories and dug through the dozens of drawers and found a handful of the right sized bolts.


    I went back to the table and started testing things with the diagnostic tools. I had to replace the control module because it had a fault somewhere and then I started to assembling everything. I didn''t wire anything up, because I didn''t know the clearance distance I would need to connect everything. I also had to allow for movement and tolerance for the electric current.


    I had to grab a small battery pack and tested it to find it was at half charge, which would be fine for this test. It was easily replaceable, because I attached it to the back of the body for easy access. It also let me balance the thing without having to add extra unnecessary weight.


    It didn''t really need feet for balance, because it was already balanced, so I just put rubber stoppers on the ends of the metal pieces and used a bolt on each to attach them to the actuators on the body. Once I had that done, I used the dremel rotary tool to cut a hole in the main circuit board on the right side and mounted the pneumatic piston to it, at a 20 degree angle upwards.


    I only intended it for a single use, so I didn''t need to add the entire pressurized system. I dug through the bin again and found a three inch long plastic tube and used the dremel to carve out the right shape to attach it around the end of the pneumatic piston.


    I was handed an earpiece and I changed heads on the dremel to slice open the casing and took out the main electronic piece and added it to the back of the circuit board. Once I had all of that together, I grabbed a small handful of wires and did careful measurements as I snipped and cleaned the ends and wired everything up.


    I took out one of the untraceable cell phones and connected to the earpiece, then I opened a simple text editor and typed with my thumbs the simple programming my little walking robot needed. It really was a simple set of instructions and only took me a couple of minutes to create, then I sent it over the earpiece to the control module.


    Before I sent the activation code to my walker, that looked suspiciously like an AT-ST from Star Wars without the armor, I went to the parts wall and grabbed a small metal ball bearing and put it into the plastic tube. There was a chuckle from behind me as I set my walker in the middle of the table.


    ¡°One small step for robotics, one giant leap for all Nerd-dom.¡± I said and sent the start command.


    The chuckle got louder as my walker walked like a chicken for six steps, then it fired the pneumatic piston and the small ball bearing shot across the room and it dinged off of the metal door. The battery pack died and the actuators moved back to their defaults, which straightened both legs and made the now unbalanced walker topple over onto its ''face''.


    ¡°You pass, Mr. Parker.¡± The man said and marked the sheet before he gave it to Natasha. ¡°Your immediate choice to check all of your chosen components first, before assembly, really brought up my opinion of you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I said.


    ¡°Your choice to assemble everything and then measure for wiring? Well done. Not many care enough for their creations to do that and add a lot more than necessary, which adds to the weight and the distance the electric signals need to travel, which would require adding additional components to handle it.¡±


    ¡°I''m used to working frugally, sir.¡± I responded.


    The man nodded. ¡°I like clean boards and easy to check components.¡± He said and turned my walker over. ¡°An AT-ST was an inspired choice, wasn''t it?¡±


    ¡°I''ve always wanted to make one, even if a real one wouldn''t be able to take a single step without toppling over.¡±


    ¡°My colleagues and I have discussed things like that at length and we''ve come up with a theory.¡± The man said and I couldn''t keep the interest off of my face. ¡°We believe that they incorporate some of their landspeeder hover technology into the main body.¡±


    I caught my breath. ¡°That would negate nearly all of the excess weight from the main engine that moves the legs and also explains how it can wobble so far off from its center of gravity and not fall!¡±


    The man chuckled. ¡°That''s exactly right.¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°The AT-ATs wouldn''t need it, since they have four legs and move agonizingly slow.¡±


    The man smiled. ¡°What if they trotted?¡±


    ¡°They would wear out their gears and collapse under the weight after several hundred feet.¡± I said right away and then smiled back. ¡°If they incorporated the same system from the AT-ST, they could change the gear ratio that moves the legs. If they do that, then it''s theoretically possible to lift two opposing legs at the same time with enough speed.¡±


    ¡°Are you copying a horse''s movements?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Nope! A camel''s.¡± I said and we both laughed. AT-ATs were widely known as robotic camels.


    ¡°We need to go to the tactical assessment.¡± Natasha said.


    I held a hand out to the man for him to shake. ¡°It was nice meeting you, sir.¡±


    ¡°Likewise, Mr. Parker.¡± He said and escorted us out of the robotics lab.

 57 Tactical Treatment

    Bokuboy


    ¡°This isn''t a course for kids.¡± The tactical instructor said and stared at me.


    I decided to not comment about him acting immaturely, especially after Natasha''s not so subtle glare at me to be quiet.


    ¡°This isn''t a game. There are no points to be awarded and no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Only blood and death.¡± The man said with an ominous voice.


    I just barely suppressed my urge to laugh. Natasha''s second glare wasn''t needed. Well, maybe it was, because I hadn''t hid my amusement as well as I thought I did.


    ¡°Is what I''m saying funny to you, recruit?¡± The man asked.


    I glanced at Natasha and saw her shake her head.


    ¡°Don''t look at her, look at me.¡± He commanded. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡±


    ¡°You can''t handle the truth.¡± I said and his eyes widened as Natasha sighed.


    ¡°Try me.¡± He responded.


    ¡°Fake Intimidation only works if the audience is already sufficiently cowed. You didn''t even work up to it and started right off the bat with all the doom and gloom.¡± I said and Natasha shook her head at me again.


    The man squinted his eyes at me. ¡°You''re not intimidated by me?¡±


    ¡°No, sir. Not at all.¡± I said and Natasha let out a soft groan.


    The man stepped close and glared down at me from his six feet of height. ¡°It''s my job to beat the arrogance out of you and make you into a proper soldier that follows orders.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn''t.¡± I said and Natasha put a hand over her eyes, as if embarrassed. ¡°Sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then what do you think my job is, recruit?¡±


    ¡°You''re supposed to teach me proper battlefield tactics when in enemy territory. I can already follow orders or I wouldn''t be here.¡± I said and he didn''t look convinced. ¡°You think I''m arrogant because I''m not buying your dog and pony show before it started. That''s not my fault, that''s yours.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± He asked, his face showing a little anger.


    ¡°You didn''t assess your audience properly and missed several key factors.¡± I said and pointed at Natasha. ¡°One. I''m here with her, the best agent in the agency. I am her personal charge and you completely ignored that.¡± I said and he lost the anger. ¡°Two. The assessments were ordered by Director Fury himself. He wants me here to do this and you ignored that or didn''t believe it was important.¡±


    The man actually took a step back from me with an unsure look on his face.


    ¡°Three. I am here to be assessed, not intimidated, beaten down, verbally insulted, or every other thing you intended to do to a brand new recruit to destroy their confidence in themselves, just so you can feel superior to someone you are supposed to teach!¡±


    The man didn''t say anything in response.


    ¡°Now, instead of giving me the directions to get through your course, mark the failure you were going to give me anyways.¡± I said and motioned to the paper in his hand. ¡°Go ahead. Mark it.¡±


    Natasha was surprised when the tactical instructor actually marked it and handed it back to her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and walked over to the preparation area and picked a nine millimetre Glock, popped the clip out, and quickly filled it with twelve bullets.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The instructor asked.


    ¡°I''m doing it anyway.¡± I said and nodded to Natasha. ¡°Start the timer when I enter the maze.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you can''t...¡± The instructor started to say.


    ¡°You have already marked my assessment, sir. I''m on my own personal time now.¡± I said and loaded the gun, then popped the clip out of another Glock and filled it before adding it to my back pocket.


    ¡°I can''t let you...¡±


    ¡°You''ve already given up your authority to teach me, sir.¡± I said and ran over to the entrance of the maze, that I assumed would have enemies pop up for me to shoot and cameras for observation. I would have to trust my spider-sense to tell me where they were and when nearing blind corners. I would also have to be careful about hostages and civilians appearing.


    I ducked behind a corner and glanced around. I didn''t see anything obvious, except for a window at the end of a hallway with a blind corner. I chuckled and slid down to crawl along the floor. There was movement at the window and I stopped moving and took aim at the most likely spot for the head to appear.


    A cutout of a masked man slid into view and I pulled the trigger. The eye disappeared as the bullet went through it and the cutout slid away. I hopped up to my feet and quickly shuffled along the wall and made it to the blind corner. I felt my spider-sense tingle stronger, so I knew there were two cameras down there. I glanced around at the floor for something to use and there was nothing.


    I pulled the extra clip out of my back pocket and hefted it to guess the weight, then I leaned around the corner and tossed it to make it clatter and make noise. A door I didn''t see opened and an enemy cutout slid out into the hallway. My bullet took out his forehead and my next bullet splattered the large obvious camera in the far corner as the cutout moved back into the room. I left the hidden camera alone.


    I carefully moved down the hallway with my back to the wall until I reached the hidden door. I was sure they would have another cutout in there waiting to ambush me when I passed, so I ducked and leaned into the doorway and shot two more cutouts before they could ambush me.


    I picked up my extra clip and checked for debris on it, put it back into my back pocket, and went to the end of the hallway. I used the same tactic I used to make Natasha laugh and opened the door without showing myself and ducked down to put my head at knee height and peeked into the next room.


    ¡°I have a hostage! Come out or I''ll kill them!¡± A recorded male voice said.


    I held in my sigh, because it would be difficult to mark this encounter. A live hostage is much different than a fake one, so I couldn''t use the hostage as a distraction for the enemy. With nothing left for it, I held out my hand with the gun around the doorway and my other hand in surrender.


    ¡°I have a hostage! Come out or I''ll kill them!¡± The recorded male voice repeated.


    I sighed this time, because now it didn''t matter about using redirection. I hopped out and saw that the cutout had a gun to the hostage''s head, so I shot the gun and then shot the gunman in the head. The cutouts fell backwards and I walked around it and saw that there were six windows in the next area.


    I did not miss the staggered setup, which meant it was going to be a mix of enemies and civilians popping up. Since the space was too wide to sneak across and had windows on either side of the area, I was meant to walk at a normal pace and react to whatever appeared.


    So, that''s what I did. I completely relied on my enhanced sight and spider-sense as I walked along. The first window popped up an enemy and I shot it in the head. The next window had a civilian and I moved on. The next window had nothing, which meant it was going to pop up beside or behind me, so I walked on. Both it and the next window activated at once, so I spun around and shot the cutout beside me and dropped to my knee and slid to a stop facing the other window and shot the next one.


    The last window had nothing and I passed by. I entered the next area and I only had two bullets left in my first clip. I paused when I saw several staggered desks and I guessed that it was a classic ambush scenario. I popped the clip out of my pistol and caught it with my other hand, swapped it for the full one in my back pocket, and ran straight at the first desk.


    An enemy popped up and I shot it in the head, stepped on the front of the desk, and jumped over it. The desk off to the side had a civilian stand up and I landed on the floor and rolled. I came to a stop in front of the third desk and two civilians stood up. Or so it seemed. I saw a gun in the second one''s hand and the frightened face on the first.


    I shot the second civilian in the face and turned to shoot at the fourth desk as the enemy cutout popped up. With the area cleared, I went to the door at the back and did the same opening out of sight trick. There was nothing there, so I slipped inside and closed the door, which was a mistake. Six cutouts came out of the floor with a civilian tied to a chair in the middle.


    ¡°I have a hostage! Come out or I''ll kill them!¡± The same recorded male voice said.


    ¡°I knew this thing was rigged.¡± I said and braced myself, then I rolled down onto my shoulder as I shot as rapidly as I could. I shot three of the enemy cutouts in the chest and the hostage in the head before they dropped into the floor again.


    ¡°Mission failed.¡± A male voice said.


    ¡°That depends on how you look at it.¡± I said and stood as a door on the side opened and Natasha and the tactical instructor came in.


    ¡°You''re an idiot!¡± The instructor said. ¡°You were supposed to save the hostage!¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Natasha said to him and looked at me. ¡°Ben? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I noticed the loose earpiece on the hostage, which meant they were a possible agent and they can''t be allowed to fall into enemy hands. I knew I couldn''t rescue them in that situation, which would have been worse if I hadn''t brought an extra clip, so I eliminated a possible leak before the enemy could continue to interrogate them.¡±


    Natasha had an odd look on her face and I was sure I knew what she was thinking.


    ¡°This was a loaded scenario, though.¡± I continued. ¡°I didn''t have any of the normal gear that an agent in the field would carry. Gas mask, tear gas, grenades, tripwires, ballistics vest, noise clickers, knives, batons, brass knuckles, and previous scouting info.¡±


    The odd look on Natasha''s face changed and she smiled slightly as she nodded, then she frowned slightly. ¡°Noise clickers?¡±


    Oops. I thought. ¡°Um... it''s just an idea I had.¡±


    Natasha walked over to me and held out her hands. I cleared the gun and handed it and the clips over to her. She handed them to the instructor and took my hand and led me out of the testing area, across the main room, and out through the door. I didn''t ask her where we were going, because I was pretty sure I knew.


    We entered the elevator and rode it to the floor with R&D on it, B4. She kept hold of my hand and brought me right over to the desk Davis used.


    ¡°Back so soon? I thought the assessment results wouldn''t be checked and his assignment confirmed until tomorrow.¡± Davis said.


    ¡°Another idea.¡± Natasha said and let my hand go as she waved me forward.


    ¡°Ooo, hit me!¡± Davis said with a grin.


    I described what I envisioned and the gleam in the man''s eye was almost blinding.


    ¡°Give me a minute to call the design team.¡± Davis said and turned in his seat as he put his index finger and thumb into his mouth and let out a loud wolf whistle. ¡°We''ve got a live one!¡±


    We were immediately surrounded by lab scientists and I had to describe it all again, my thoughts on the random movement it would need if released on the floor, and the mechanical parts and electronics to either make or play various sounds, depending on the environment. It needed to be tough enough to throw and not make a sound when needed, too.


    ¡°If you include an earpiece connection, you can also connect it to a cell phone and use that to load the sounds, either previously or in real time.¡± I said. ¡°You could also use it like you were throwing your voice.¡±


    All of their faces lit up and draft paper and tools were piled onto the desk as they worked out everything for me. It was surprising to see an entire group of people working together so well and the design was done fifteen minutes later, the materials assigned, and a request to the robotics lab for the electronic parts needed.


    ¡°Fill that out, Parker.¡± Davis said and had me sign my name as the main contributor and the other information details, then everyone else added their names. ¡°I''ll send a copy of this up to the patent office and...¡±


    ¡°You better not use the one in city hall. It''s rigged to steal technology.¡± I interrupted and every set of eyes in the department turned to stare at me. ¡°I tried registering a patent and it was stolen before it was rejected.¡±


    Davis put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°You didn''t have a lawyer with you, did you?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t know I needed one.¡± I said and barely managed to not sigh.


    Davis saw my expression and nodded. ¡°You need to file several things before trying to file a full patent. An experienced lawyer could have helped you secure it before it was stolen.¡±


    ¡°It was taken by a member of the review board.¡± I said.


    Davis opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head. ¡°We have our own patent office here up on the administration floor. It''s for SHIELD equipment only, however.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay. I''m handling the situation as best as I can.¡± I said. ¡°I''ll look into getting a lawyer for when I file my next patent.¡±


    Davis nodded in approval. ¡°You''ll be getting a nice bonus on your next paycheck for having two of them filed with us, so you won''t have to worry about affording a lawyer for it.¡±


    I had to grin at that. ¡°That''s great! Thanks for letting me know.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem, Parker.¡± Davis said and let my shoulder go. ¡°Now beat it! We''ve got another project of yours to make and work out the production for.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°You can blame Black Widow for the extra work.¡±


    ¡°Blame her? We''ll be sending her the first set of production models as a thank you for giving us something new to do.¡± Davis said and Natasha smiled.


    I nodded and Natasha led me out of the R&D section and over to the elevator. She brought me back to the administration offices and into the HR department. We had to sit there for quite some time before Gail opened her office door and allowed us to enter.


    ¡°Have a seat.¡± Gail said and we sat in front of her desk. She sat down and gave me an odd look for several minutes, then she sighed. She opened the drawer in her desk with the specialist packages inside and lifted them all out. ¡°I can''t believe I''m doing this.¡±


    I gave Natasha a glance and she shrugged slightly, which meant that she didn''t know what was going on. I looked back at Gail and she made a bit of a show of picking through the packages, pulled three of them out, and slid the rest across the desk to sit them in front of me.


    ¡°What the heck?¡± I asked, surprised. I remember her distinctly telling me that I was going to be assigned where I was needed the most, in accordance to the agency''s needs.


    ¡°I was overridden.¡± Gail said with a sigh and held up the other packages. ¡°Can you guess what these are for?¡±


    ¡°Secretarial, computer maintenance, and chemical.¡± I responded. Even though I knew I had technically failed in the tactical assessment, it was still included in the stack in front of me.


    ¡°You got it.¡± Gail said and put them back into her drawer. She opened another drawer and she gave me a very pointed look, then she took out a fairly thick leather wallet. ¡°I was ordered to give you these.¡±


    These? I asked in my head and let confusion show on my face. It''s one wallet.


    ¡°I protested, because you shouldn''t have access to them until after your first six months under contract.¡± Gail said and put the wallet down on her desk and her fingers lightly stroked the soft leather. ¡°I''m not even allowed to warn you to not abuse them.¡±


    Now I was getting a little worried. What the hell could it be that it''s made her so nervous?


    ¡°Once they are in your possession, they are yours to do with what you wish, just like every other SHIELD agent.¡± Gail said and slid the wallet over to me. ¡°Welcome to SHIELD, Agent 111A.¡±


    Natasha sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes were wide as she stared at me.


    I wasn''t sure why my agent number surprised her. Maybe because it''s so low? I asked myself as I picked up the leather wallet. When I opened it, it was my turn to suck in a sharp breath. The wallet wasn''t a wallet at all. It was an ID folder. A completely full ID folder.


    I quickly flipped through them and my eyes were as wide as Natasha''s as I saw Liaison IDs for the FBI, CIA, NSA, NYPD, NYFD, NYPower, NYWater, and a bunch of other civil services like buses, subways, garbage disposal, health and safety inspection, and a few others. I stared at the thing as I closed it, because I was shocked. Completely shocked.


    SHIELD had given me the proverbial keys to New York City.

 58 Adjusting to Reality

    Bokuboy


    ¡°I''ll pick you up first thing in the morning for training.¡± Natasha said as she dropped me off in front of my apartment building.


    I blinked my eyes and stared at her face, because I had kind of lost track of what happened around me since we left the New York office HR department. ¡°What do I tell Aunt May?¡±


    Natasha took out an envelope and handed it to me. ¡°Your official cover assignment for the next three weeks is a data entry clerk at the office building downtown. Pick up some different suits to keep up the facade and send the bill to Gail in HR. You can expect to be reimbursed at the end of the month.¡±


    I nodded and she drove away without another word. I stood there and stared after the car for several minutes before I shook myself. I picked up my gym bag that was stuffed with information packages and tucked the envelope into my inside breast pocket. My fingertips brushed the leather ID wallet and I felt a laugh bubbling up my throat. I entered my apartment building and managed to hold the laugh in until the elevator doors closed.


    ¡°Ha. HA ha. HAHAHAHA!¡± I laughed, almost maniacally, while the elevator took me to the floor with my apartment. Oh, my GOD! I thought, completely giddy with happiness. I had immense potential power in my breast pocket and my mind filled with all of the things I could do with it.


    The elevator doors opened and I walked out and down the hallway. I used my key in the lock and entered the apartment, then I closed and locked the door before I checked the time. I should be able to cook a quick supper for May and get the chores done before she came home, so I went upstairs and stashed my things in the closet, changed my clothes, and went back downstairs to get to work.


    *


    May came home exhausted after a hard day at work. She entered the apartment and she tried to cheer herself up. She would be spending time with Ben and he had been home alone all day again, so she didn''t want to look so tired around him. She kicked off her sensible shoes and her sore feet made her groan as they touched the warm floor.


    ¡°Somebody needs another foot massage.¡± Ben said as he walked over to her.


    ¡°Ben, I was just...¡±


    ¡°May, there''s no need to explain.¡± Ben said and took her jacket. ¡°I''m here to take care of you. When you''re feeling good, when you''re feeling bad, when you''re full of energy and when you''re too tired to enjoy a great tasting meal.¡±


    May felt her heartbeat speed up a little at the sincerity in his voice and the bright and happy smile on his face. ¡°Why are you so happy about that?¡± She asked, a little confused. ¡°Shouldn''t you be arguing and complaining that you have so much to do?¡±


    Ben took her into a hug and held her tenderly. ¡°I told you a long time ago that I''m the best roommate anyone could ever ask for. I can''t shirk my responsibilities, even if I have a day job until school starts in the new year.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped. ¡°How did you get that?!?¡±


    ¡°A friend of a friend of Pepper Potts called me and said they needed a data entry clerk while one of their people went on vacation for the holidays.¡± Ben said and kept one arm around May''s waist as he led her across the apartment to the kitchen. ¡°I''ll show you the letter later.¡±


    May sat down and started eating without even paying attention to the food. ¡°Why would they hire you without interviewing you first?¡±


    Ben gave her an even bigger smile. ¡°Can you guess where I was all day?¡±


    May kept eating and didn''t respond, even when Ben started to massage her feet.


    ¡°I left the apartment about half an hour after you did.¡± Ben said and ate with one hand. ¡°The assessments took most of the day and the boss was so impressed at the end that they handed me the letter and said they would pick me up in the morning.¡±


    May didn''t say anything until the food was gone. She hadn''t even tasted it, because she had been fighting the feeling of how good her feet now felt. ¡°Ben, you''re doing too much. If you have a full time job in the day and a part-time job at night...¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, May. I gave them my schedule and they literally worked around it to accommodate me working for them.¡± Ben said and stood before he walked around the table and helped her stand. ¡°I get off work an hour before supper, which leaves me plenty of time to cook for you and clean up the apartment. I''ll do the laundry tonight when I come back from work.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you shouldn''t be pushing yourself.¡± May said as Ben led her up the stairs to the bathroom.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°May, do you understand what a data entry clerk does?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡± May said.


    ¡°I sit on my ass all day and my right hand types while my left hand keeps track of the numbers I''m entering. That''s it.¡± Ben said and started to strip her off. ¡°I blew their test out of the water and made a joke about being able to do that all day without breaking a sweat. The head of the department even said that she would beg them to hire me and assign me to her department, because she needed me there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± May whispered and she did her best to ignore her nephew as he diligently removed all of her clothing to toss into the hamper, except for her bra and panties.


    ¡°I know! I sure was shocked at the end of the day.¡± Ben said and pointed to the tub. ¡°Finish getting those sweaty clothes off and enjoy your soak. I''ll bring you the letter and you can read it when you''re done.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± May said and waited for the bathroom door to close before she popped her bra off and let out a sigh as her breasts were freed from their constraints. She was a bit too chest heavy to go without a bra, especially while working in a hospital, so she would have to set it in the sink to let it soak to get the sweaty smell off of it.


    Her panties were next and she was glad that she had worn a slightly thicker pad, because sweating a lot down there with her hair still prevalent, really made her pungent. The panties were just normal, so they went into the hamper and the pad went into the garbage. She half-filled the sink and dunked her bra under the water''s surface to let it soak before she climbed into the tub. She moaned as the perfect temperature of the water hugged her and let her immediately relax.


    May laid there and didn''t bother trying to wash at all as she closed her eyes. Her mind went over what Ben had told her and she wasn''t sure what to make of it. He really was doing too much, and yet, he wasn''t complaining about it. He actually looked happy to be doing even more work and May almost laughed at that.


    She couldn''t understand how he could do so much and still take care of her like he was. She had been raising him since he was a baby and she never found enough time in the day to get everything done, even when her Ben was alive. He had been a good father and a great husband, even when they discovered that they couldn''t have kids of their own and little Ben had come into their lives.


    May''s thoughts stopped and she gasped, because not only had she associated her reminiscing to her nephew Ben and not Peter, it was the first time that she had thought about her deceased husband and wasn''t an emotional wreck because of all the memories that thinking about him usually brought up.


    That was when May realized that Ben had been right to change his name to honor the man that had raised him. It had started to let May heal both her heart and her mind, which gave her the chance to accept that things were so much better now. This was her life. Her happy life. Her happy life with Ben.


    May felt all warm in both the outside and the inside as she started to wash herself. It didn''t take her long to freshen up and she climbed out of the tub and dried off, then she wrapped the towel around herself and put one around her hair. As she did, she saw the letter on the toilet seat with a note.


    ''I''m visiting Val at the hospital before going to work and I''ll still be home in time to cuddle on the couch and tease you about the shows you like! Love, Ben''


    May chuckled and opened the letter, then her eyes widened at the assessment results. The ridiculous speed he could type would have made anyone drop to their knees and beg him to come work for them. She read the rest of it and the praise heaped upon Ben for an exemplary work ethic, seemed appropriate, because she knew how hard he worked at everything he did.


    She left the bathroom and went downstairs to settle on the couch as she read the letter several times and she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face and the letter hugged in her arms.


    *


    Claudia was just settling in for another long night as the receptionist at Mercy Hospital when the handsome young hero she had met the night before sauntered in through the emergency doors like he owned the place.


    ¡°Hi, there!¡± Ben said happily and walked right over to her. ¡°I wasn''t sure if you ate meat or not, so I played it safe and made you a veggie quesadilla!¡±


    Claudia was actually touched at the thoughtfulness. ¡°You didn''t have to bring me anything.¡±


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Ben said and opened his backpack. He took out a thermal bag and opened it up, too.


    Claudia took a sniff automatically and her mouth watered a little. ¡°What''s in it?¡±


    ¡°A little bit of this and a little bit of that.¡± Ben joked and pulled out a large triangle shaped thing covered in wax paper to place on the counter. ¡°It''s actually black beans, chopped onions, chunked green and red peppers, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, some sweet corn, chopped spinach, a few olive pieces sprinkled in, and to top it off, feta cheese crumbles and shredded mozzarella cheese.¡±


    Claudia''s mouth watered even more at the description and she wanted to eat it right now.


    ¡°I hope you like it.¡± Ben said and closed the thermal bag and put it into his backpack. ¡°What room is Valerie in?¡±


    ¡°I can''t disclose the condition of a patient to non-family members.¡± Claudia said with a smile.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°What if I told you that her parents are either going to kill me or make me marry her for sleeping with her?¡±


    Claudia chuckled this time. ¡°You''re going to look in every room and disturb all the patients if I don''t tell you, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°You do remember me! Thank you!¡± Ben exclaimed and she laughed.


    ¡°It''s 604 and her mother left about an hour ago.¡± Claudia said.


    ¡°Thanks, Claudia.¡± Ben said in a serious voice. ¡°I mean that.¡±


    Claudia nodded, because she knew by the look on his face that he did.


    ¡°How about that kiss you owe me?¡± Ben asked and leaned over the counter and turned his head slightly to the side.


    ¡°You''re incorrigible.¡± Claudia said and for some reason, didn''t hesitate as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. At the last moment before her lips touched his skin, Ben turned his head back and pecked her right on the lips.


    ¡°Oops! You missed my cheek.¡± Ben said and moved back, grinned at her blush, and walked over to the elevator.


    ¡°I can''t believe you just did that!¡± Claudia almost shouted, even though she thought it was cute for him to have stolen a kiss like that.


    ¡°I didn''t want you to disappoint Val by not giving me her message.¡± Ben said and stepped into the elevator. ¡°I''ll make it up to you on my way out.¡±


    ¡°I am not kissing you again!¡± Claudia said and fake glared at him.


    Ben chuckled and hit the button for the sixth floor. ¡°Enjoy the quesadilla.¡±


    Claudia lost the glare and sat down as she quickly unwrapped the end of the triangle shape. She took a bite of the exposed end and it was delicious. She had eaten veggie food before and it didn''t taste as good as this did. Before she knew it, she had finished the thing off and sat back on her chair with a satisfied feeling in her stomach.


    I suppose I can forgive him for stealing a kiss. Claudia thought with a smile and bundled up the wax paper before she tossed it into the trash.


    *


    Val reclined on the hospital bed and she felt horrible, both physically and emotionally. Her mother wouldn''t let up on berating her for the mistake she made, which didn''t help her emotional state at all. She knew she had been stupid about going to that party and didn''t need to be reminded of it constantly.


    As soon as her boyfriend had ditched her, Val had called the first person she could think of that she knew would be able to come and get her without judging her. She also deeply regretted not paying closer attention to her drink, because everything was blurry after that.


    Val felt tears form in her eyes as she thought about the implications of what could have happened and a soft sob escaped her throat.


    ¡°Hey, it''s okay.¡± A male voice said from the doorway. ¡°I made it in time.¡±


    Val looked up and caught her breath, because there he was. The one she trusted with her safety and he had come through for her. He had also called her friends and told them to be supportive and to not call her stupid or an idiot over what had happened. That had been such a relief to hear from Liz, Max, and Gina, that she had cried for nearly an hour.


    ¡°B-Ben.¡± Val whispered.


    ¡°That''s me.¡± Ben said and walked inside the room and shut the door.


    ¡°The nurse said to leave that open in case...¡± Val started to say.


    ¡°I''m here to spend time with my friend and I don''t need anyone else listening in.¡± Ben interrupted and walked over to her bed to see the half-eaten tray of food on the nightstand. ¡°I see you enjoy hospital food as much as everyone else does.¡±


    Val chuckled and wiped at her wet eyes. ¡°I''m relegated to baby mush for a couple days because... they had to... pump my stomach.¡± She said, haltingly, then the tears started again.


    Ben put his backpack down and surprised her by climbing onto the bed with her and hugged her. ¡°Shh, it''s okay.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn''t! I was so stupid! I was...¡± Val started to rant.


    ¡°Shh.¡± Ben said and and put a hand on her cheek to turn her head to face him. ¡°You made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I was almost...¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Ben said and his face showed deep sorrow. ¡°I was devastated when the detective said she was always called in for rape cases.¡±


    Val stared at his face and she wasn''t sure what to say.


    ¡°I felt like a failure because I thought I didn''t make it. I thought... even though you were dressed when I found you...¡± Ben let tears roll down his cheeks. ¡°I''m so sorry I didn''t get your message as soon as you sent it. I''m really, really sorry.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°I carry my cell phone all the time now, no matter where I go.¡± Ben said and leaned in to give her a soft and tender kiss. ¡°I never want to miss an important message again. Never again.¡±


    Val stiffened at the kiss. ¡°Ben, I... you... why...¡±


    ¡°You''re my friend and you could have been seriously hurt. You could have died.¡± Ben said and gave her an intense look. ¡°I don''t want that to happen, Val. I don''t want you beating yourself up over something that could have happened. That''s not what friends do.¡±


    ¡°Parents do.¡± Val whispered.


    ¡°Then I will have a talk with your parents and inform them of how stupid they are.¡± Ben said in a stern voice. ¡°Making you feel even worse than you already do over this, isn''t going to help you get past it.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I don''t know if I can get past it.¡± Val whispered.


    ¡°You will.¡± Ben said and then smiled. ¡°Even if I have to fuck you six ways from Sunday to do it.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Val gasped. ¡°I don''t even want to think about doing that right now.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Ben said and gave her that intense look again. ¡°I''m going to show you the difference between having sex and making love.¡±


    Val gave him an odd look. ¡°You think there''s a difference.¡±


    ¡°I know there is.¡± Ben whispered and gave her another soft and tender kiss. ¡°The first step is kissing someone you like properly.¡±


    Val thought back to watching Ben and Liz as they made-out in the hallway at school and she blushed.


    ¡°Yeah, like that.¡± Ben said and leaned back in and proceeded to kiss her like she needed to be kissed.


    Val felt her heartbeat pick up and her blush intensified, because she could almost feel how much Ben cared about her, not that she needed to. His reaction about her situation had been genuine and no one could fake that, so she wrapped her arms around him and let out a happy moan as she kissed him back. They didn''t do more than make out and Val felt very grateful to him for that.

 59 Training Hard

    Bokuboy


    I gave Val a quesadilla that she could eat later and I only stayed with her for half an hour, because I had to go to work. I made sure she knew that she could call or text me at any time, which made her smile, almost as much as our make-out session had. I hadn''t pawed at her or anything, either. It was about making her feel good about herself and reinforcing her belief that she could be loved, not for me to get cheap thrills.


    I stopped at the receptionist''s counter on the way out of the hospital and Claudia gave me a bit of a glare, which almost made me laugh, because I could see her slight smile. I didn''t say anything and handed her another quesadilla, which made her lose the fake glare and she grinned at me.


    I left the hospital and ducked into an alley before I donned my dark clothing and web swung to the frat house. I was only a little surprised to see that it was completely shrouded in darkness and there was police tape strung all over to stop anyone from entering the house. On foot, anyway.


    I crawled around and tried to find an unlocked window, only for my spider-sense to go off each time I tried to use my tools to pop a window pane out. I went back up to the roof and looked for a skylight or something for me to slip through and there was nothing. It was a large older house and the attic was too big for those kinds of affectations, despite the benefits of having direct sunlight inside the house.


    I sighed at failing to gain entry stealthily and I would have to wait for a while to get inside or I would have to rely on one of my IDs to get me inside during the day. I left there and went to my construction job for Bestman Salvage. I worked there for almost three solid hours and cleared the place out.


    We were down to the third floor already, which meant I was going to have a harder time putting things into the dump truck when we dropped down past the second floor. I would worry about that later, though. For now, I locked the place up and checked the dump truck, then put my dark clothing on once more and left for Val''s home and dropped off something in her room for her before going to my own home.


    May was asleep on the couch, even though it was still relatively early, so I left her there to go shower. I put on an old pair of jogging pants and went back down to the living room and climbed onto the couch to cuddle up with her.


    She wore a towel on her body and one on her head, which was surprising, because she would have to wash her hair again after leaving it wrapped in the towel for so long. I held in my laugh at what it was going to look like when she woke up in the morning and I promised myself to not make fun of it if she let me see it. I put an arm over her waist and slid in close before I let myself drift off to sleep for a quick nap.


    The morning arrived in the blink of a dreaming eye and I felt a small hand lightly caress my chest. A set of soft lips touched my cheek next and seemed to linger, then the warmth my arms had been wrapped around, slipped away and the couch barely shifted. I pretended to stay asleep and stayed on the couch until May was upstairs in the bathroom.


    I hopped up from the couch then and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. I checked the time and I had a bit of extra time, so I made waffles and dug out the strawberries and whipped cream. Having that extra bit of money really made a difference in the quality of food we could get on our budget and I really did a great job stretching things.


    By the time May had washed her hair again and came back down, a plate of waffles smothered in sliced strawberries and whipped cream awaited her.


    ¡°You are definitely spoiling me.¡± May said and used a fork to cut off a corner of the waffle with a strawberry on it, dipped it in the mound of whipped cream, and put it into her mouth. She let out a moan that would have been indecent if the expression on her face wasn''t so cute.


    I chuckled at her reaction. ¡°I can''t tell if you like it or not.¡±


    May grabbed a slice of strawberry and chucked it across the table at me. I easily caught it in my mouth and barked like a dog to make her laugh. We ate breakfast and washed the dishes together, then she went to her room and I went to mine.


    We both dressed for work and met again at the top of the stairs. I held my elbow out for her and she laughed softly as she took it and I escorted her down the stairs to the apartment door. Jackets and shoes were applied properly and I picked up my gym bag. I had emptied the information packages out of it and it only had the things I might need for today, namely my extra suit and an outfit to workout in.


    We locked the apartment up and rode the elevator down to the lobby. We walked side by side, without the elbow sharing, and left the building.


    ¡°Have fun at work.¡± We both said at the same time, chuckled, and then kissed each other''s cheek.


    May walked off to the bus stop and I stood there and waited for my drive. An unmarked car arrived only a few minutes later and I climbed in. Natasha looked a little tenser than usual and I was sure I knew why. I hadn''t gone into my room all night, so she hadn''t tried to visit me. I hadn''t done that on purpose, though. I only meant to take a nap and had slept all night instead.


    ¡°I was out later than usual last night and fell sleep on the couch.¡± I said, not bothering to say hello or good morning before giving her an explanation.


    Natasha gave me an odd look out of the side of her eye as she drove. ¡°I wanted to talk.¡±


    ¡°I would have liked that.¡± I said and her odd look disappeared. ¡°I came home and saw May sprawled out on the couch with the television on and my job acceptance letter clutched in her hands. I had promised to cuddle with her, so I did. The next moment it was morning.¡± I explained. ¡°What I thought was going to be a quick nap turned out to be me losing about eight hours in the blink of an eye.¡±


    Natasha glanced at me again and looked back at the road. ¡°I''ve done that, too.¡±


    ¡°The last time it happened to me, I had taken a pain pill after getting hit in the head with a baseball. I went to bed after supper and didn''t wake up until late the next morning and I barely remembered eating.¡±


    Natasha smiled slightly. ¡°You roofied yourself?¡±


    ¡°Actually, May did. I had been exhausted after working all day at my construction job and she slipped me one when I wasn''t paying attention.¡± I said and chuckled. ¡°I am never doing that again. Not having fully functioning faculties is too scary to repeat.¡±


    Natasha nodded and drove us to the office building. She parked in the nearby parking garage and we entered the building through a side door. We went to the elevator and she had me use my access to drop to the lower floors that the elevator only went to for agents. It worked, just like it had in the cafeteria, and we dropped down to B3 and the training rooms.


    ¡°Get changed and meet me back here in five.¡± Natasha said and pointed to one of the rooms, then she walked off to change into her own workout outfit. She had been wearing normal clothing to fit in with the office cover, too.


    I did as asked and I was back at the training room before she was. Natasha entered and nodded to me as she pointed over to a workout mat with a circle marked on it. That told me she wanted to teach me more unarmed combat techniques, so I dropped my gym bag and followed her.


    ¡°Arm bars are first.¡± Natasha said and waved me forward.


    ¡°Do I need to ask you to not take out your frustrations on me?¡± I asked with a teasing smile.


    ¡°Even if you''re the source?¡± Natasha asked with a neutral look on her face.


    ¡°I might have been the catalyst; but, your own emotions and behavior are the source.¡± I said and threw a lazy punch at her face to give her an easy setup to show me an arm bar.


    Natasha slid into my swing, gripped my wrist, twisted my arm down and around, then put her hand on my elbow and pushed. My arm snapped straight instantly and my elbow bent back a bit more than it should have as I dropped to the floor on my knees. I didn''t cry out in pain because my tendons and ligaments had stretched instead of snapping, which was interesting.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Natasha gasped and immediately let my arm go.


    I hammed it up a little and cradled my elbow and rubbed it. ¡°I thought... I asked you to take it easy.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I''m sorry. I just...¡± Natasha closed her mouth and turned away. She took out her cell phone and sent a text. ¡°I think I''ll let Clint take over to teach you the basics.¡±


    ¡°If you think that''s best.¡± I said and made a bit of a show with opening and closing my hand and wiggling my fingers. ¡°I don''t think it''s dislocated, just sprained.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± Natasha whispered as Clint entered the room. ¡°Ben''s going to favor his right arm for a while.¡± She said and walked off of the mat and left the room.


    ¡°Did she pop it?¡± Clint asked and knelt by me and did a quick probe with his fingers.


    ¡°Just sprained. It bent back a bit more than normal.¡±


    Clint nodded and his thumb and index finger slipped around the elbow joint and sunk in more than they should have. ¡°It feels like there''s some tearing and lost tension.¡± He said and stood. ¡°Do you need a sling to keep it immobilized?¡±


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± I said and stood as I showed him that I could curl and uncurl my arm. ¡°If I take it easy, I should be good by tomorrow.¡±


    Clint smiled slightly and nodded. ¡°I''ll show you arm bars with your left hand. Just make sure you reverse the holds when grabbing someone''s right arm.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± I said and he proceeded to do just that. There was a surprising amount of different kinds of arm bars, depending on the situation, if a weapon was involved, and how close you wanted to get to the target.


    We moved on to leg bars next and I learned a lot. He showed me basic fighting stances, depending on single opponents or multiple opponents, if you had a weapon or unarmed, and if the enemy had a weapon or was unarmed.


    We did body holds next, both the safe and dangerous kinds, like ones that left openings in your opponent and also yourself, to draw in an attack to take advantage of their aggression. We changed to strikes after that, using both arms and feet, which gave me a whole range of new attacks to use, especially in combination.


    ¡°All right.¡± Clint said just before lunch. ¡°Show me what you learned while we spar.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡± I asked and he nodded. I took several deep breaths and nodded back. Clint took a defensive pose and gave me the attack signal to start the spar.


    Holy hell, Clint knew how to fight.


    It was never really showcased, because he usually stuck to the bow and arrow theme. After I hit the mat for the fourth time and the lunch buzzer sounded, I realized Natasha already had a fully qualified sparring partner.


    ¡°Not bad, kid.¡± Clint said and held a hand down for me. I grabbed it with my left and hopped up when he pulled. ¡°You need to learn to tense up your muscles when someone punches you. It''ll mitigate a lot of the damage and the bruises will only be superficial.¡±


    Yeah, I know. If I tense up using my strength though, you''ll never phase me at all and I can''t give myself away like that. I thought and smiled. ¡°I''m just too used to getting a beating, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Been there, survived that.¡± Clint chuckled. ¡°I''ll meet you back here after lunch if Natasha''s still sulking.¡±


    I used my left hand and touched his shoulder briefly, because I didn''t want to violate his personal space too much. ¡°Can you arrange a clean interrogation room? One with no surveillance cameras or microphones?¡±


    Clint gave me a questioning look.


    ¡°Natasha and I haven''t had any privacy to have an actual conversation. If we can''t do that here, I''m not sure where we could go to be alone.¡±


    Clint nodded. ¡°I''ll see what I can do.¡±


    ¡°Just so you know, I''m not planning on doing anything more than talk.¡± I said. ¡°She might have other ideas, though.¡±


    Clint chuckled. ¡°Understood. I''ll text you with the details.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and picked up my gym bag and went to the closest bathroom to clean up and change. I made my way to the cafeteria and once again, I glanced around and recognized a few people.


    A bunch of the R&D people waved, as did two secretaries and Kelly, the head of the computer department. I waved back before I went along the food trough and grabbed two bowls of long grain rice, two egg rolls, and a dipping sauce with a small carton of milk. I didn''t see Maria this time, so I had a decision to make. Where to sit.


    My choice was taken away from me when a beautiful Asian woman entered the cafeteria. It was Agent Melinda May. A few people started muttering and whispering about her demoting herself to work in the administration office, which meant I was meeting her after the incident that caused her to have an emotional breakdown and before she was approached by Phil Coulson to join his team.


    I stayed right where I stood until she finished getting her own food, then I gave her a warm and welcoming smile. ¡°Agent May? Could I pick your brain for a few minutes while we enjoy a meal together?¡±


    Melinda''s eyes dropped to my tray and saw the simple meal and looked back at my face.


    ¡°I had unarmed combat training all morning.¡± I said as an explanation.


    After a moment, she nodded and I led her over to an empty table. I let her sit before I sat down myself and she gave me a squinted look.


    ¡°I would have held your chair for you if my hands weren''t full.¡± I said and dropped my gym bag and put my tray down.


    ¡°What did you want to discuss?¡± Melinda asked me as she started eating.


    ¡°The elimination of an existential threat before they can cause untold damage.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°E-e-e-excuse me?¡± Melinda asked with a stutter.


    ¡°You see, I recently had an encounter... off the books, mind you... and I found four older individuals that were about to rape an eighteen year old high school girl after drugging her.¡± I whispered and her eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise. ¡°They hadn''t done anything yet, to my knowledge at the time; but, they had their members out and were preparing to ''have fun'', or so they claimed.¡±


    ¡°N-no... you...¡± Melinda stopped eating to stare at me.


    ¡°I didn''t hesitate and I killed them.¡± I whispered and she closed her mouth. ¡°I was so angry that they would dare do that. How could they do that to a defenseless young woman?¡± I asked and she didn''t answer. ¡°I''ve killed before and I felt horrible about it, even if they were petty criminals. They didn''t deserve to die, as far as I knew at the time.¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Melinda asked. ¡°I could report you and...¡±


    ¡°I''m telling you that some deaths are worth agonizing over and some should be applauded.¡± I said and her eyes widened again. ¡°How many girls had they raped? How many more would they have raped?¡± I asked and she looked stunned. ¡°Exactly. There''s no way to tell. I removed the current threat, the future threat, and I saved countless young women the trauma of sexual assault and possible suicide.¡±


    Melinda sat there and didn''t touch her food.


    I finished mine and leaned across the table. ¡°I knew exactly what I was doing when I killed those rapists, Melinda. I don''t regret it, not even a little bit, because they deserved to die for all the pain and hurt they were going to cause.¡±


    Melinda stared at me with disbelief on her face.


    I took out a piece of paper and wrote my new untraceable cell phone number on it and handed it to her. ¡°During the day, I''ll be here training from seven in the morning to four in the evening, until the second week of the new year. That is, if you want to meet in person. If you just want to talk, you can call or text me at any time.¡±


    Melinda took the paper and stared at it. ¡°Why?¡±


    I put a hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze. ¡°Because it''s nice to have a friend who understands.¡± I said and let her hand go, then I stood as I picked up my gym bag and my tray. ¡°Don''t be a stranger, Agent May.¡±


    Melinda finally looked up at me and I gave her another warm smile.


    ¡°Have a great day.¡± I said and carried my tray over to drop it off and I left the cafeteria.


    I had a bit of time before lunch was over and thought about what I could do to waste some time. I couldn''t really do much, considering a lot of the departments took lunch around the same time, so I went to the gym that was next to the training area. I had a few things I needed to test out, considering the extra flexibility Natasha had inadvertently discovered for me.

 60 Training Maximized

    Bokuboy


    Luckily, there was no one in the gym I had chosen and I locked the door to stop anyone from coming in. The cameras seemed to be set up almost haphazardly, as if they wanted to get the most coverage for the least amount of cameras. I chuckled at that and took out my cell phone. Using the department head''s computer access code, I changed the camera from a live feed to a static image.


    I went over to the bench press and I was glad it was a standard one. It used round weight plates of 20 kilograms each, or 45 pounds, that had to be attached by hand onto a bar. That meant no electronic records to erase afterwards like a weight machine with an attached monitor would have. With no time to waste, I loaded four of the weights onto the bar, two on each side, and laid down on the bench.


    Almost 200 pounds was a lot of weight for me, considering I was only 150 pounds myself. I braced myself and picked the bar up from the holders, brought it down and pushed it back up, and put it back on the holders again. I barely even felt it!


    I went back to the racks of weights and added four more, doubling the weight, and laid down on the bench. I repeated the same motion and I still didn''t feel anything more than a slight strain. So, I added four more, for a grand total of 240 kg, or 530 pounds, and I did it again with a bit more strain.


    There were six weight plates on each side and it wasn''t heavy enough for me to get a proper workout. The bar was also not long enough for me to add much more, so I added one more plate on each side and I would have to make due with low weight repetitions. With a total of 280 kg, or about 620 pounds, I started doing three sets of ten lifts.


    My arms were burning a little at the end of the third set, so I was happy with that. I went to the leg press next and added the same amount of weights, to try and keep my body muscle mass balanced, and did three sets easily and barely felt any strain.


    There goes my balance theory. I thought with a chuckle and doubled the weight to 560 kg, or 1,235 pounds, because the bars were much longer on the ends and could hold more weight plates. That did the trick for me and I started to sweat by the time I ended the third set and my legs burned nicely.


    I stood up to go back to the bench press, then stopped and looked at the leg press. I chuckled again and instead of sitting down like I was supposed to in order to do my legs again, I turned around and braced with my hands instead.


    Thanks to my wall sticking power, my hands didn''t slip as I braced myself and used my arms to push the heavy weight up as far as my arms would allow me. My sweat poured off of me as I did three sets of ten reps and my arms shook a little when I was done. I wasn''t discouraged, though. It felt great!


    I took a short break and turned around and did my legs again for three sets of ten reps and I started feeling the burn. I had done a lot more prepping for this kind of workout while working construction than I had thought I did, which meant I would have to be careful when working tonight. My acting skills were going to have as much of a workout later as I was having right now.


    I kept doing sets for the rest of the lunch period and stopped when the light buzzer sounded. I had to struggle a little removing the weights to put them back on the racks, because of my intense workout. I still felt great, because I knew it was building my muscles properly and would give my body a better chance to adapt to using even more weight.


    My arms and legs shook slightly as I grabbed my gym bag and I walked over to the door of the gym. I unlocked it and stepped out just in time, because several men and women approached from down the hallway. I nodded to them and took out my cell phone to change the cameras back to a live feed.


    I went to the nearest bathroom and took a quick shower and dressed in one of my suits, because I wasn''t going to meet with Black Widow all sweaty and smelly. Not that I seemed to smell very much after that hard of a workout. It was a little odd, which meant I would have to push up my research to as soon as possible. I also had to look up those patents and trademarks.


    Dammit, I''m really falling behind in my plans. I thought and went back to the training room that Clint and I had used all morning. I was only a little surprised to see Natasha there instead. Thanks for texting me with the details, Clint.


    ¡°I asked him not to contact you.¡± Natasha said when she saw my face. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    I didn''t hesitate and did as she asked. We walked down several hallways to the wing that held spare rooms for agents and she entered the second one on the right. I wasn''t sure what the significance of it was, except that there might be other agents staying in the first rooms on both sides.


    Natasha made a bit of a show of it when she went to the table and turned off the microphone underneath it and then went to the corner of the room and covered the camera.


    I took out my cell phone and checked myself, then turned off the feed from both that and the hidden camera in the air vent by the ceiling.


    Natasha saw me typing on my phone and looked annoyed. ¡°I brought you here to talk, not for you to text someone else.¡±


    ¡°I''m turning off the hidden camera in the air vent.¡± I said and showed her the feed links.


    Natasha let out a sigh and sat down on one of the chairs at the table.


    ¡°I can''t tell if that''s a ''you caught me trying to record you'' sigh or if you''re sighing because you weren''t thorough in your electronics sweep.¡± I said and sat down across from her at the table.


    Natasha didn''t say anything in response.


    ¡°A bit of both, is it?¡± I asked and tucked my cell phone back into my suit coat pocket. ¡°It''s okay, you know. Spy business and all that. I understand.¡±


    Natasha stiffened slightly and then looked at me. ¡°How? How can you understand?¡±


    It was my turn to let out a sigh. ¡°You''re still hung up on how young I look? No, that you slept with my dad?¡± I asked and she stiffened slightly again. ¡°I can stand up right now and I can yell and scream at you for completing the set. You''ve had the father and now you''ve had the son. It''s quite the collection.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I''m going to break social convention and ask you a very personal and provocative question.¡± I said and Natasha closed her mouth. ¡°How old are you?¡±


    Natasha kept her mouth closed and she didn''t respond.


    ¡°Wow, you won''t even give me that much?¡± I asked and she winced. ¡°I''m not sure how we can sit down and have a heart to heart conversation about everything that''s going on, when you can''t even tell me your birthday is on December third, 1984.¡±


    Natasha sucked in a sharp breath.


    ¡°Do you want me to tell you a few more things about you?¡± I asked her and her face closed down and went completely blank. ¡°No? You don''t want me to tell you about your adoptive parents or your sister, Yelena Belova, the other Black Widow?¡±


    Natasha kept her face blank and only her eyes gave away her emotions. She almost looked scared.


    ¡°Look, I tried to hint at it before when I called you princess. You didn''t get it, because you''re too caught up in trying to figure out my angle.¡± I said and stood up and leaned on the table. ¡°Since I don''t have an angle, I''ll just come right out and say it. I know. I know who you really are, Natalia Alianovna Romanova, heiress of the famous Russian Romanov Family.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°I know about the Red Room, about Clint being assigned to assassinate you, and him sparing you. How you grew into a strong friendship and partnership with him. How you changed and how you have ''red in your ledger'' that you are so desperate to make up for that you throw yourself almost recklessly into mission after mission.¡±


    Natasha caught her breath and didn''t speak as she stared at me.


    ¡°I didn''t use any of that information against you and I easily could have, Natasha. How''s that for an angle?¡± I asked and she didn''t respond. ¡°When you finally decide that you''re tired of hiding all the goddamn time and never showing anyone how you really feel, give me a call.¡± I said and walked over to the room''s door. ¡°Are you teaching me this afternoon or are you letting Clint do your job again?¡±


    Natasha looked conflicted for several moments. ¡°Clint.¡±


    I nodded and picked up my gym bag. ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow, if you''ve got the guts to face me.¡±


    That was a pretty blatant challenge for her and Natasha opened her mouth to speak, only nothing came out. I nodded and shut the door before I walked back over to the training room we used that morning and I saw that Clint had waited there for me.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Clint asked and looked at my well dressed state. ¡°That well?¡±


    ¡°Even better. I shocked the hell out of her by telling her some things and I hope she can deal with it.¡±


    ¡°Do I want to know what you said?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°I don''t know how much she''s told you about herself, so I shouldn''t really say.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°What are we working on this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°How to break out of grapple holds.¡± Clint said. ¡°You might want to lose the suit coat.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I was in the gym for most of lunch and soaked my workout clothes with sweat. I was sure neither Natasha nor you wanted to be anywhere near that, so I showered and changed.¡±


    Clint chuckled, too. ¡°Good choice.¡±


    I took off the suit coat and laid it down on my gym bag before I went to the workout mat with the circle in it. ¡°What''s first?¡±


    ¡°Full Nelson, then we''ll do the half and move on to grabs from behind, the sides, and maybe headlocks if we have time.¡±


    ¡°Sweet.¡± I said and Clint smiled, almost evilly.


    What followed was three hours of experience on a medieval torture rack. At least, that''s what it felt like. I had been twisted into a pretzel a few times, too. It was not a fun experience and I learned a lot about what was possible and what I was never to do to try and escape a hold. Talk about ouch!


    I laid there on the mat when Clint was done teaching me. ¡°I really didn''t think my back could stretch like that. Thanks for enlightening me.¡±


    Clint laughed and sat down next to me. ¡°Trust me, after a few sessions like that one and you''ll be limber enough to wiggle out of nearly everything someone can put you in.¡±


    I nodded, because I could already feel my body adjusting to what I had just subjected it to. If I did things like this every day and used the gym like I had during lunch, I was sure I would benefit immensely by the time my three weeks was over and I had to go back to school.


    ¡°You can lay there for a few minutes and then you can call it a day.¡± Clint said and smacked my shoulder before he stood up. ¡°Get some rest tonight because you''re going to need it for tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Why? What''s tomorrow morning?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Melee weapons training.¡± Clint said and that slightly evil smile was back. ¡°I''ll even let you wear strike pads.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Wonderful.¡±


    ¡°See you then.¡± Clint said and left the training room.


    I laid there and took deep breaths and let them out, one after another, and let my body relax. I wiggled my fingers and toes and then stretched like a cat. I sat up and went over to my gym bag, grabbed a change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to have a quick shower and dressed. I shoved my dirty clothes into the gym bag and left the training room.


    I wasn''t sure how I was getting home until I stepped into the elevator and Melinda May stood there beside the buttons. ¡°Now I''m really glad that I showered and changed.¡±


    Melinda gave me a stern look. ¡°This doesn''t mean what you think it means.¡±


    ¡°I need a ride home and you need someone to talk to. I have an hour to spare and then I''m cooking supper for my aunt while I clean the apartment.¡± I said and her eyebrows rose. ¡°I wouldn''t mind having company for all of that.¡±


    ¡°I couldn''t impose...¡±


    ¡°You can also stay for supper.¡± I offered and her eyebrows almost disappeared under her wavy dark hair. ¡°Do you have any preferences? I can pretty much make anything you want.¡±


    Melinda''s eyebrows dropped back to their normal positions. ¡°That''s quite the boast.¡±


    ¡°It''s only a boast until I do it.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°What do you like to eat?¡±


    Melinda looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled. ¡°Shredded pork stir-fry in garlic sauce, white rice, and ramen noodles on the side.¡±


    ¡°What about a starter salad?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Chef''s choice, as long as the vinaigrette doesn''t clash on the palate with the stir-fry.¡± Melinda said.


    ¡°And for dessert?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°Mango flavored sticky rice balls.¡± Melinda said and she had a wistful look on her face. ¡°Rolled in sweet coconut for added flavor.¡±


    ¡°That sounds really good.¡± I said and nodded. ¡°We need to stop and pick up a few things on the way.¡±


    Melinda smiled. ¡°I know just the place to get the best ingredients.¡±


    ¡°It''s a good thing you''re driving, then.¡± I said just as the elevator opened on the ground level. ¡°I''ll text May and let her know we''re having a guest over.¡±


    ¡°May?¡± Melinda asked as we left through the side door and walked over to the parking garage.


    ¡°Maybelle Parker, my aunt.¡± I said and she looked amused. ¡°Ha, I get it. You can both be called May. I''m bringing May home to meet May.¡±


    Melinda looked like she was trying to not laugh as she unlocked her car. We climbed in and drove away from the parking garage, then we started a conversation that would spark a mini shopping spree for Asian foods and spices.


    Needless to say, we both had fun.


    *


    May felt a little trepidation as she approached her apartment door. She hadn''t asked why Ben had invited someone over to eat supper and had accepted that it was probably someone he met at work. It was a huge step in a relationship, especially if they just met. She opened the door and had to clamp her mouth shut to stop her drool, because of all the delicious smells that assaulted her nose.


    ¡°Ha! You''re kidding!¡± Ben said and put a large platter of stringy meat and vegetables on the middle of the table.


    ¡°No, she really did file it under ''idiot things not to do''.¡± A pretty Asian woman said as she put a large bowl of something beside the platter.


    Ben laughed. ¡°I''m glad your job''s not boring.¡± He said and saw May. ¡°Melinda, can you finish setting the table? I''ve got an aunt to take care of.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Melinda said and put several other things on the table.


    Ben walked over to May and smiled as he helped her take off her jacket. ¡°I think you''re really going to like the meal today.¡±


    ¡°It smells delicious.¡± May admitted and kicked off her shoes.


    ¡°Melinda shared an old family recipe that she swore me to secrecy over.¡± Ben said and then chuckled. ¡°When we finished making it, she said and I quote, ''my ancestors would rise from the dead if they could taste this''.¡±


    May couldn''t help but laugh and they both went over to the kitchen table. ¡°You have been getting exceptionally good at making normal things taste great. I can only imagine what you could do with already exotic foods.¡±


    ¡°It''s a masterpiece.¡± Melinda said and held a hand out to her. ¡°It''s nice to meet you. I''m Melinda May.¡±


    ¡°May Parker.¡± May said and shook the offered hand.


    ¡°May, meet May! May, this is May!¡± Ben joked and laughed.


    Both women lightly chuckled and then were only slightly surprised when Ben held May''s chair for her and then he did the same for Melinda.


    May looked at the table and she secretly admitted to herself that she was relieved that it wasn''t done up for their normal date night. There was no tablecloth, no candles, and no soft music in the background.


    The three of them ate and May heard about how they had met at work in the cafeteria and how Ben had introduced himself, bold as brass, then sat down and ate lunch with her. It was almost funny that he could start a friendship like that, with no preamble or beating around the bush.


    ¡°When I asked her what her favorite food was and she started telling me... well, I just had to try it!¡± Ben said and scooped some ramen noodles into his mouth. He swallowed before he spoke again. ¡°I''m tempted to rush through the meal, just so we can get to the dessert.¡±


    Melinda smiled. ¡°They really did turn out well.¡±


    May gave them both a questioning look.


    ¡°Mango flavored sticky rice balls rolled in coconut.¡± Ben said with a grin. ¡°We made a whole cookie sheet full of them!¡±


    ¡°I''m still trying to tell him I can''t take half of them home to eat all by myself.¡± Melinda said. ¡°Maybe you can help distract him and I can sneak away with just a handful?¡±


    May nodded. ¡°If they taste as good as this does, I''ll hold him back while you make a run for it.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Ben gasped. ¡°Help! I''m being ganged up on!¡±


    Melinda chuckled and the three of them finished eating the main part of the meal. After they let the food sit for several minutes, Ben moved the dishes to the counter and then took out the cookie sheet from the refrigerator. The balls were about an inch or so in diameter and looked like little snowballs. They each took one and started to nibble them, then they shoved it all in and chewed on them happily.


    ¡°I changed... my mind.¡± Melinda said as she chewed. ¡°I''m taking... half.¡±


    ¡°Nooo!¡± May fake yelled and tried to cover the cookie sheet with her hands without touching the balls and all three of them laughed.


    After they ate a few more, Melinda''s share was put into a ziplock bag and it was time for her to go and for Ben to go to work. Melinda bid them both a good night and left with a smile on her face and a promise to call whenever she felt like she wanted to talk. Ben quickly changed for work and kissed May''s cheek, told her that the bath was ready for her, and left as well.


    May went up the stairs and stripped off, climbed into the bath, and went over everything that happened during the meal. She had been surprised at how quickly her trepidation had disappeared, because there was no sexual tension between Ben and Melinda. She wasn''t sure why there would be, considering they just met that day, then she remembered her thoughts about bringing someone home to meet her.


    Her thoughts about feeling relief that it wasn''t a date, stayed with her as she relaxed. She had enjoyed both the meal and the company, which was odd, because it had almost always been just her and Ben for a long time. Ben''s joke about them both being ''May'' and introducing them, had been pretty funny, too.

 61 Training Intermission

    Bokuboy


    I worked for three solid hours at my construction job and realized that the work was becoming easier and easier. Even though I wasn''t using my strength, just my relaxed form was allowing me to do a lot more than I should be able to. I made sure to not show off too much in front of the camera, though.


    I went home and laughed when I saw that May was upside down on the couch with her legs over the back and her head hung down where her legs should have been. She was also making loud fake snores.


    ¡°I''ll be right back, you big ham.¡± I said and went upstairs, stashed my things in my room, then took a quick shower and put on a full set of pyjamas.


    May was still upside down on the couch, so I went to the back of it, sat down on the top, and flopped backwards to copy her.


    ¡°Do you hang out here a lot, Miss Bat?¡± I asked and she let out a girlish giggle.


    ¡°You were supposed to struggle trying to pick me up, you nut.¡± May said.


    ¡°Ohhh, okay.¡± I said and flipped my legs over my head and rolled onto the floor and stood up. ¡°I guess there''s nothing on television tonight?¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°We might as well go to bed early and catch up on some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± I said and partially knelt on one knee on the couch, put an arm under her shoulders and under her knees, then I stood up using my legs and lifted her.


    May stared at me. ¡°You didn''t struggle at all.¡±


    ¡°I''ll never struggle to take care of you, May.¡± I said and carried her up the stairs.


    May had a slight blush on her face as I carried her into her bedroom.


    I put her on her bed and then tucked her under the blanket. ¡°Do you want me to stay for a while to let you fall asleep?¡±


    May gave me an odd look before she shook her head.


    ¡°Then I''ll wish you a good night and head to bed myself.¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Ben.¡± May said.


    I left her room and went to the laundry closet with the stacked machines. I sorted and set the laundry to wash and had some web fluid to brew up while I waited. I had used quite a bit of it the last few days because I had used web swinging exclusively to travel to different places and had used up nearly two cartridges on each wrist. I had four more left on each and I intended to keep them topped off, which meant I should pick up more cartridges and add them to my equipment belt.


    I chuckled at the thought of breaking into the school again to get them and more chemicals for my web fluid, because I now had access to several industrial-sized labs with thousands of components and chemicals in stock. Since they were so generic, no one was going to miss them, especially if I updated the ordering schedules to include replacements and add a few extra to cover the difference.


    I made the sign to the camera for privacy in my room and covered it, then I brewed up a batch of web fluid, which used up the last of the chemicals I had available. I would have to wait until the morning to pressurize the cartridges, because the compressor was much too loud to use at night. I set the cartridges aside and opened my laptop to begin my research.


    Thanks to one of my frequency scanners, I had a much stronger internet signal and didn''t have to go to the roof to search the net. It was also untraceable because of the cell phone components I had added, so I didn''t have to worry about the signal being tracked, except from a dedicated hacker. I ran a VPN program, or virtual private network, and it provided a false internet signature as well to help cover my tracks.


    Once that was done, my search began about spider behavior. My eyes widened when nearly the very first thing that appeared was that male spiders enjoyed performing oral sex on the female... to keep her happy... and to distract her from killing him and to stay alive.


    I completely agreed with that reasoning.


    The next thing was that a mating could last anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on the female. I also agreed with that, considering my experience with Miss Leyva the chemistry teacher for the minutes version and then with Natasha for the hours version.


    When I looked at the ejaculation part, the description of increased blood pressure to create enough power to inject the sperm directly into the female genital structure, that it worked like squeezing liquid through a biological syringe, gave me my explanation as to why I was shooting off like a porn star.


    I sat back and stared at the results. My body is changing and adapting in more ways than I thought.


    I searched a bit more and a lot of the results didn''t apply to me. Severe nearsightedness, produces silk, having venom glands and mandibles for biting, and hydraulic legs. The last kind of explained how they could run so fast and jump so high, though. I thought back to my workout in the gym and had to nod. My legs could definitely take a lot more weight safely than my arms could.


    Of course, that immediately made me think about adding another bar to the leg press machine to double the weight capacity. I chuckled at that, because I also had the crazy idea that I could hold the bar from the bench press with my toes and I could use the leg press machine at the same time.


    The biggest thing I found, which I wasn''t sure applied to me, was that some male spiders produced a pheromone that it used to seduce females. I read about it and the words seemed to echo in my head.


    ''It caused the female to enter a passive trance-like state and it''s not clear whether it''s her decision to become passive or whether this male pheromone forced her to enter that trance. But, once she does, the male was able to drag her around the web, position her the way he wanted, and then mated with her''.


    I remembered a few of my sexual encounters and chuckled. Okay, maybe it could apply to me.


    I erased those search results and started to discreetly look for patents and trademarks for Iron Man, War Machine, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and a whole bunch of other people and objects. I found one for Captain America and it had expired about fifteen years ago. It was also cheap, so I snatched that up like a Hungry Hungry Hippo grabbing a white marble.


    Of course, that reminded me of what Davis had said about filing patents and using a lawyer to handle the paperwork. I did a quick search for local lawyers and several names were prominent, one of which was Jennifer Walters, or Bruce Banner''s cousin. She would eventually become the She-Hulk after a transfusion of Bruce''s gamma-irradiated blood. It wouldn''t happen for another ten years or so, though.


    I considered going with her, then shrugged. She was fairly popular already and anything she did might get more attention than I really wanted, so I discarded her as a good choice. I wanted to keep this as low profile as possible and kept searching. I looked at a few more lawyers and each of them were more high profile than necessary for my needs... and near the bottom of the list was the perfect one.


    I almost slapped myself on the forehead for not thinking of him right away. Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer that no one wanted to hire. His firm of Nelson and Murdock was struggling and barely paid the bills, as far as I could remember from the television show. He had one or two cases that he did, almost pro-bono, and it gave him a bit of a name in the local area; but, they gained no real money.


    It made no difference in the larger scheme of things, which was perfect for me to keep things private. I just hoped he accepted me as a client. I was technically a kid, after all. I chuckled as I thought about the IDs in my leather wallet that I could use and shook my head. I would have to do this the normal way, which meant bringing Aunt May with me as required adult supervision.


    Maybe I should make her the CEO of Parker Toys? I asked myself and chuckled. Make that Parker Incorporated. The toy division would just be one of the company''s many assets.


    I thought about May going from emergency room nurse to the board room and it could be too much of a shock for her. Then again, she would be the CEO in name only and the extra paycheck would be nice for her as well, once everything started coming together.


    I nodded and turned off my laptop, because I had to get to bed. I had an early morning, just like May, and I would make her the breakfast bagels that she and the other nurses and workers enjoyed so much. I would include a dozen rice balls as well, just so she could tease them about having me at home to cook for her.


    I went to the laundry closet to change the washed clothes to the dryer before I went back into my room, uncovered the camera, then went to bed. I chuckled as I closed my eyes and my head was filled with thoughts of May as she stood on the receptionist''s counter and tossed dessert balls into a crowd of people that fought for them like seagulls fought over a french fry.


    *


    Nick Fury sat in his personal space and laid back in his plush leather recliner. He watched the footage of Ben''s interactions that day and he nodded in approval at the young man''s verbal slap to Agent May''s face about certain people needing to die. He had tried to tell her the same thing himself and she hadn''t listened. It meant something different when Ben had said it, apparently.


    He didn''t know if it was the delivery or the context of the conversation; but, it worked like a charm. Agent May had been contemplative for the rest of the day and then intentionally went looking for Ben. She rode in that elevator for nearly twenty minutes for him to show up, which really spoke volumes about how much his words had affected her. That they left together wasn''t a big deal. He knew Agent May wouldn''t do anything, especially since they were meeting Ben''s Aunt May.


    Fury chuckled at May meeting May, not realizing Ben had made the same joke, and he changed the monitor to show Ben''s training with Barton. Another nod of approval was made, because out of all the holds, beatings, grapples, and unnatural stretches, Ben hadn''t complained once. He grunted and groaned, he bruised, and he was exhausted; but, he never once asked to stop or for Clint to go easy on him.


    ¡°That''s it, Agent Parker. Show me what you''ve got.¡± Fury said and clicked off the monitor. He picked up a file folder and it was Richard Parker''s redacted file. A large printed Agent 111 on the front made him smile. ¡°Show me Agent 111A is an improvement from the old model.¡±


    *


    Natasha rolled around in bed and she couldn''t get to sleep. The events of the day just kept haunting her, especially when Ben had dealt her such an emotional blow. He knew. He knew! She thought, almost angrily. How dare he know all about her like that!


    It was an extreme invasion of her privacy and that annoyed her greatly, because she was sure that she had purged all physical and electronic records of everything she had been involved in back then. She was positive she had, because her hacking skills were right up there with the best in the world.


    The worst part was, she had thought she was the one in control the entire time and it had only been an illusion. Ben knew all about her and had let her play her games and manipulations, while he had probably been laughing at her behind her back. She felt anger try to overwhelm her at that thought and she tamped down on it as quickly as it tried to rise. She was better than that.


    Natasha took out her cell phone, fully prepared to start a texting campaign to tear Ben to shreds. When she turned the phone on, it showed a sleeping Ben with a happy smile on his face. He faced the camera and wasn''t trying to hide from her, or kept it covered, even though he knew she could be watching him at any time.


    She checked the previous streaming files and saw that there was only a brief interruption and he had signed for privacy, then he did whatever he was doing, uncovered the camera and went to bed with a smile on his face. That told her that he had done something to make himself happy and she stopped her thoughts about sex, because the last thing she needed was to think about having sex with him.


    Natasha felt herself grow wet anyway and she cursed herself in her mind. She had actually enjoyed having sex for the first time in years and it was with a young man that she didn''t know. Of course, she had taught him exactly how she liked to be treated, so it wasn''t really her body''s fault for reacting like it did. Ben had learned the lessons quickly and had diligently applied them, just how she liked it.


    She still felt personally violated and that thought made her remember him violating another part of her body. Her hand went down between her legs and she started to play with herself. She was tempted to text him and let him know what he was missing, then her thumb moved on the phone, almost against her will, and hit send.


    Natasha saw him jerk in bed and he leaned over to look at the cell phones on his nightstand. He picked one of them up and smiled, moved the blanket he was under out of the way, and started stroking himself. He was at full mast only a couple of seconds later and then his hand picked up speed.


    She matched him automatically and she started panting. Her eyes were locked on his erection and she remembered it plunging in and out of her like a machine. It had felt wonderful and her fingers dug into herself as she sped her hand up and rubbed herself furiously.


    The cell phone beeped at her and she read that he was close. Natasha closed the text window to concentrate on the camera''s view. She wasn''t sure why she was so fascinated by his form, then he suddenly hopped up and ran over to the camera so she could only see his torso and thighs, his hand grabbed several tissues, and he turned to the side for her as he held the tissues about a foot away.


    ¡°This is what goes off inside of you, Natasha.¡± Ben''s voice said and then he blew his load.


    Natasha gasped as it shot across the distance and splashed on the tissues, then the second did the same, and the last shot almost made it. She loudly moaned as she came as well and her whole body shook from what she had just seen.


    ¡°Fuck, that''s a huge mess.¡± Ben said and crumpled the tissues up and wiped at himself. ¡°I need to clean up. Going private for a few minutes.¡±


    Natasha nodded, even though she knew he couldn''t see her, and the camera was covered. The microphone was still on, though. The sounds of a carpet being scrubbed came over the microphone and then Ben''s soft voice joined them.


    ¡°I think I''m starting to get blue balls.¡± Ben commented.


    Natasha laughed, even though she was still angry at him.


    ¡°I wonder if I can shoot off that quickly every time I think about Natasha?¡± Ben asked himself and there were shuffling sounds. ¡°No, I doubt it. She has to participate in some capacity, even if it''s just as an observer.¡±


    Things went quiet after that for several minutes, then the camera was uncovered. Ben gave her a little wave, pointed to the tent pole in his pyjamas, and went back to bed. He laid down on his side and faced the camera once more, and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Goodnight, Natasha.¡± Ben said and pulled the blanket tightly around his neck and stopped moving.


    Goodnight. Natasha thought and turned off her cell phone before she closed her own eyes.


    *


    The next two days had Clint pick me up and I learned from him in the mornings and the afternoons, with my lunch break filled with me eating briefly in the cafeteria and pumping iron like I was Arnold Schwarzenegger. My evenings were filled with working at the construction site and spending time with May.


    Saturday was a full day with Bestman Salvage and joking around with the crew while I helped as much as I could. Everyone was in a great mood, because we were way ahead of schedule. Even Adrian looked pleased with how much progress we had made, because he would soon have to bring in the backhoes and tractors to take down the rest of the bottom floor and to load up the dump truck.


    I hadn''t had to worry about doing it with the wheelbarrow at all, because the guys were going to handle the difficult parts on their own. My night shifts would come to an end when the second floor was gone by the end of the day, because I wasn''t licensed for heavy machinery operation. Needless to say, the guys were going to miss me being there to clean up after them.


    Of course, this was going to give me a lot of free time in the evenings, which May was happy about. I even mentioned having to go shopping for different suits during supper and she gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°Are you asking me to play office dress up with you?¡± May asked with a serious voice.


    ¡°Um... only if you want to?¡± I asked, a little nervously.


    ¡°I''m skipping the bath and taking a shower instead.¡± May said. ¡°We have important work to do.¡±


    ¡°May?¡± I asked, curious.


    ¡°We haven''t gone shopping for clothes together since you bumped your head and wanted a few better things to wear than funny t-shirts.¡± May said and smiled. ¡°Now I get to make you look all sophisticated! It''s going to be so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Did I just unleash a monster?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Maybe a small one. I''m not a fashionista or anything.¡± May said with a soft laugh.


    ¡°Oh! I was told to save the receipts and to submit them to HR for processing and reimbursement.¡± I said and quickly covered my ears from the excited scream May let out.


    ¡°BEN! Get your ass washed and changed right now, mister! We''ve got some serious shopping to do!¡± May exclaimed and grabbed my arm before she dragged me away from our half-eaten supper.


    I probably should have kept that to myself. I thought with a laugh as May easily pulled me up the stairs.

 62 Some Clarification Is In Order

    Bokuboy


    I didn''t know where May had dredged up all of her extra energy from, because she was like a whirlwind as we went from shop to shop, grabbed different colored dress pants, socks, and boxers. She had seen the nice shirts that Pepper had bought for me and she approved, so she coordinated the suit coats to match and not clash.


    Because of all the excessive exercising and training I was doing, I had increased my calorie and protein intake appropriately, so that explained my own energy reserves being full. I kept up with her and did my best to not laugh as she piled clothes into my hands and then took me to the change room to have me try everything on. She even had me do twirls to make the suit coats flair out.


    Needless to say, May and the sales clerks at each shop had a great time outfitting me. At one point, I managed to convince her to try something on herself, in the guise of me buying it for her as a Christmas present, and I sat down and used my cell phone to call Matt Murdock''s office and left a message on his answering machine.


    It was at this point that I learned he was just a lawyer and hadn''t started his own law firm with Foggy Nelson, thanks to the answering machine''s greeting. I wasn''t sure why, until I started thinking about the timeline. It wasn''t until after the alien invasion that things in Hell''s Kitchen started getting bad as the mobs and criminal elements took advantage of the chaos that the attack had caused.


    Maybe I can accelerate Matt''s future a little? I asked myself.


    Handling a company''s creation and patent acquisitions wasn''t a one lawyer job and he would need the help, especially because he was blind and not all of the books and references he would need to check would be in braille. That made me think about looking into a braille making machine, just so I could write a few things out about my plans for him to read and show that I was serious about hiring him.


    May came out of the change room and she looked radiant in a fancy blue sequined dress. ¡°What do you think, Ben?¡±


    ¡°I just gained another reason to kick myself because you keep refusing to be my girlfriend.¡± I said and she blushed before she whacked me on the back of the head.


    ¡°Stop joking about that.¡± May said without any real anger in her voice. In fact, she looked pleased.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± I said and rubbed the spot as I smiled at her. ¡°You look gorgeous, like always.¡±


    May shook her head at me. ¡°I shouldn''t be asking you such loaded questions because you never give a proper answer.¡± She looked over at the sales clerk. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°If I batted for the other team, I wouldn''t hesitate to ask you to dance on New Year''s Eve.¡± The woman said, happily.


    ¡°Ha! There, you see? Even straight women think you''re gorgeous.¡± I said and raised my arms in victory as I hopped a little. ¡°Justification feels awesome!¡±


    May laughed and whacked me again. ¡°Calm down or she''s going to kick us out!¡±


    That made the sales clerk laugh and she didn''t kick us out. When May was checking out the things at the counter, I slipped the dress into the pile of clothing and the sales clerk gave me a knowing smile as she scanned it in and tucked it between two folded suit coats.


    ¡°Make sure you hang those up as soon as you get them home.¡± She advised us and we nodded.


    I paid the fairly expensive bill without blinking and May opened her mouth, probably to comment that it was too much money to spend at once, then she closed her mouth and turned away. I accepted the change and put the receipt into my wallet. I would deliver it to HR personally and fill out the form for reimbursement.


    We left there and stopped at another store to grab more workout clothes for myself, because I had told May I started spending part of my lunch time working out in their gym. That set off another little spree and she had a lot of fun giving me ridiculous colors to try on.


    May even convinced me to try on a pair of bright green bicycle shorts and a tank top for her. I assumed because she wanted a good laugh, so I hopped up to the ceiling in the change room and did dozens of chin ups as I flexed my muscles as hard as I could to really make them pop, then I dropped to the floor and stepped out of the change room.


    ¡°How do I look?¡± I asked and did what was becoming my patented double arm curl to show off my biceps. I turned around and wiggled my butt at her, then I turned back around. ¡°Is it me or what?¡±


    Both May and the sales girl stood there with stunned looks on their faces. Their eyes were wide, their mouths hung open, and their breathing was a bit laboured.


    At least she''s not laughing. I thought with a smile and went back into the change room. I think I''ll get these, just for the shock value.


    I changed back into my normal clothes and stepped out of the change room. May was facing the other way and looked a little embarrassed and the sales girl was trying to look very busy several feet away as she packed and repacked the same stack of t-shirts several times.


    ¡°Ready to get checked out?¡± I asked and May nodded without looking at me.


    We went to the cash register and the sales girl had a blush on her face as she rang my purchases through. I paid and her hand lingered a bit more than it had to as she passed me the change. I gave her a smile and put the change in my pocket before I picked up the bag to add it to the other bags we had.


    ¡°Ben, we should head home. It''s getting late.¡± May said when we left the store.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said and checked my watch. ¡°We have time to watch a movie or something before bed, too.¡±


    ¡°No, I... I''m tired and...¡±


    ¡°May.¡± I said in a stern voice and she winced. ¡°Look at me.¡±


    May turned and looked at my face.


    ¡°Did what I just did make you feel uncomfortable?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I... it was just...¡±


    ¡°I didn''t want you to laugh at me, so I pumped my arms up to distract you. I''m sorry if it had the wrong effect.¡±


    May looked like she wanted to say something and was conflicted.


    ¡°You can tell me anything, May. No matter what it is.¡± I said.


    May''s face went through several emotions and settled on indignation. ¡°I was turned on, Ben! Your rippling muscles, your strong arms, and those tight shorts were too much for me!¡± She said in a rush. ¡°My own nephew turned me on! Are you happy now?!?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said and she caught her breath. ¡°Turnabout is fair play, after all.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°I''ve lost count of how many erections you''ve given me and I won''t ever do anything to make you uncomfortable, May. Being aroused is a normal body''s function to stimuli, after all. You told me that.¡± I said and smirked at her. ¡°You know, I was this close to playing with myself a bit to really show off how tight those clothes were.¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped.


    I burst out laughing and put down some of the bags to wave for a taxi. ¡°You are so easy to tease!¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... you didn''t actually think about doing that?¡± May asked, hesitatingly.


    ¡°No, I wouldn''t embarrass you in front of other people like that.¡± I said as a taxi came to a stop on the street. I picked up the bags and walked over to it. ¡°What happened with Doris that time was an accident.¡±


    ¡°At least it wasn''t in public.¡± May whispered as we climbed into the cab.


    ¡°Going shopping with you is fun and I enjoy it a lot more than a guy should.¡± I said and told the driver the address to the apartment building. ¡°I get to spend time with you, engage in playful banter with someone that plays right back, and I get to see your smile all the time. I win all over.¡±


    May looked thoughtful for several moments before she spoke. ¡°It... it''s not right to...¡± She reduced her voice to a whisper. ¡°...we shouldn''t let each other turn the other on.¡±


    I took her hand and held it. ¡°Would you ever try to cross that line and do something?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± May whispered, barely above a breath. ¡°You''re the only family I have left. I don''t want to ruin what we have by... by...¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to say it.¡± I whispered back. ¡°We both know what you mean, because if I wasn''t your nephew, I think we both would have done something about it long before now.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben... god. Stop saying...¡±


    ¡°May, it''s okay. We already declared our love for each other and nothing else needs to be done about it.¡± I said and leaned close to kiss her cheek. ¡°You''re my aunt and I''m your nephew. We''re family and that''s that.¡±


    May sighed and nodded. ¡°I really wish you would stop bringing it up.¡±


    I gave her a cheeky grin. ¡°When you come up with something else I can tease you with, let me know.¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°You don''t need any more ammunition than you already have.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That''s so true.¡± I said and we sat in silence for the rest of the ride home. I took the bags of clothes upstairs and did as the sales clerk said and hug everything up, even May''s dress, hidden under a suit coat.


    I changed for bed and went back downstairs and May was already there with her robe on. ¡°Flannel again?¡± I asked and she opened her robe to show it off. I chuckled and sat down beside her and held my arm up for her.


    May gave me a pointed look, then she sighed and cuddled into my side as she turned on the television.


    ¡°I love you too much to hurt you like that.¡± I said out of the blue.


    May turned her head to look into my eyes. ¡°I feel the same way. I don''t want to lose you, too.¡±


    I nodded, because I knew she was referring to Peter. She had raised him since he was a baby and looking at him as a sexual object was just too drastic of a change for her.


    ¡°I promise to stop teasing you.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I know what I said before and I take it back. From now on, I''ll show you the proper respect and I''ll become someone you can be proud of.¡±


    May gave me a smile and kissed my cheek. ¡°I am already proud of you.¡±


    My cell phone beeped and I took it out and smiled as I answered. ¡°Mr. Murdock! It''s so nice of you to call.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry for calling so late. I just received your message and I wanted to confirm if it was a prank or not.¡± Matt said.


    I chuckled. ¡°No, it''s not a prank. In fact, I''d like to come by for a visit tomorrow and we can discuss things in person, because I have a few other things that you might be interested in as well.¡±


    ¡°I am surprisingly free tomorrow morning.¡± Matt said. ¡°Do you know where I live?¡±


    ¡°I can get there easily.¡± I said. ¡°Would you mind if I brought my aunt with me? She''s going to be involved as well.¡±


    ¡°That''s not a problem. Would around eight be good for you?¡±


    ¡°It would. Thanks, Mr. Murdock.¡±


    ¡°Depending on how this goes, I''ll be the one thanking you.¡± Matt said. ¡°See you in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± I said and hung up.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± May asked me and her eyes demanded an answer.


    ¡°I talked to someone at work and they mentioned hiring a lawyer to handle the patent filing and then I remembered your idea about the Iron Man name. I did some research and guess what? The only name I could find that had any kind of trademark or patent was Captain America and it expired over fifteen years ago.¡±


    May gave me a concerned look. ¡°You bought it, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°It was a steal at only $300 bucks, because it gave me all the rights as well.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°The best part is that the government didn''t patent War Machine or Iron Patriot and they''ve owned them for years.¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°They fell into the same trap as Iron Man.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± I said and hugged her close. ¡°We have an appointment with Matt Murdock at eight in the morning at his place.¡±


    ¡°Is he interested in taking such an odd case as patent filing and trademarking?¡± May asked.


    I barked a laugh. ¡°He''s interested enough to meet us on a Sunday morning. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think he wants the retainer and booking time as he works.¡± May responded.


    ¡°Bingo!¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°The only thing better than an eager lawyer is an eager lawyer that knows he''s going to get paid upfront.¡±


    May softly laughed and we cuddled together on the couch and watched television for the rest of the evening.


    *


    Matt Murdock couldn''t believe his luck. He had a client call him up out of the blue and offer a thousand dollars as a retainer to file patents and trademarks, of all things. He wasn''t specifically a patent lawyer; but, he did know the proper procedures for filing a patent pending document and then the actual patent, so the content is never revealed until after it''s registered.


    Even then, you could pay a little extra under the table and have it shunted into the archives and then it would cost money for others to retrieve it to look at it. Not a lot of people knew that certain clerks would do that, though.


    The best part was that he would get paid a hundred dollars per form that he filled out and also a hundred and fifty dollars an hour. If he was lucky, his new client had a dozen or more patents and trademarks to file and that was really going to make his day... no, week... no, month.


    Matt laughed softly and walked over to his bed and sat down. He was definitely in his lawyer mindset if he was already billing hours before he even met the client. The retainer alone was going to pay his rent for the month, for new sunglasses, and groceries.


    Yes, things were definitely looking up for Matt Murdock, Blind Attorney At Law.


    *


    Val was finally released from the hospital and her parents were not happy at all with the hospital bill. Even with the best medical plan available, they still had to pay almost fifteen hundred dollars for the extras and incidentals that weren''t covered. The only reason she knew how much it was, was because her mother wouldn''t let her hear the end of how much her stupidity had cost them.


    She climbed into bed, her face covered in tear streaks, and she took out her cell phone. She ignored the texts from her friends asking if she was okay and if she wanted visitors, or if she wanted to talk. No, she did not want to talk about it. No, she did not need to see the sympathy on their faces.


    Val sighed as she scanned through them all and didn''t see any from her savior. At least he understands to not bug me. She thought and opened a new text window. She didn''t know why she was doing what she was doing, considering she just wanted to be left alone for a while.


    She sent a quick text to let him know she was finally home and to see what was going on. She fully expected to wait until the morning for a response and was surprised when her phone beeped and a message appeared immediately.


    ''Hey, Val. Just cuddling on the couch with my aunt and watching tv. Heading to bed soon. You?'' Ben sent.


    ''In bed now.'' Val sent back.


    ''How are the parents?''


    ''Insufferable. They got the medical bill on the way out of the hospital.''


    ''Ouch. My short stay was just over two grand. How was yours?'' Ben asked.


    Val didn''t even hesitate. ''Best med plan on the market and it was still close to fifteen hundred.''


    ''For how long you stayed there, that''s not bad at all. I was there for only part of an afternoon.''


    Oh, god. Val thought, because she was getting ribbed by her parents for her measly bill and she could only imagine what Ben was going through because of his. ''Ben, I''m so sorry.''


    ''For what? Not giving me a better medical plan? Ha ha!'' Ben sent. ''We''ll be upgrading soon, so don''t worry about it.''


    Val sighed and let it go. ''How''s work?''


    ''Temporarily laid off from construction and got another job for the holidays.'' Ben sent. ''Full time data entry clerk at an office downtown. It''s great!''


    ''Wow.'' Val sent back. ''You''ll have to tell me how you stumbled into that later. It''s getting late.''


    ''Kicking me to the curb already? You''re so mean! (sad crying face)''


    Val chuckled. ''You''d enjoy it if I did kick you. I have soft feet.''


    ''Ha ha! You do.'' Ben sent. ''You''re right, though. Bedtime. I''ve got an early morning and then I''m meeting Max after lunch.''


    ''Don''t do anything I wouldn''t do.'' Val sent back before she realized what she had sent. She felt dread as the dots appeared to show typing and she wondered what he was going to say.


    ''I could make so many jokes about that, it''s not funny. Like seriously. A humongous loads of jokes. Jokes the likes even Jokey Smurf wouldn''t be able to laugh at and he laughs at everything.''


    Val had to smile. ''Jokey Smurf? Really? How old are you?''


    ''I am old enough to know a whole lot of crap and a whole lot of nothing.'' Ben sent and Val laughed. ''I better go. Aunt May is giving me the ''get your ass to bed'' look.''


    ''Okay. It was nice talking to you.'' Val typed. ''Goodnight, Ben.''


    ''Goodnight, Val.'' Ben sent. ''Oh, before you go to sleep, look under your pillow. Bye!''


    Val stared at her phone as Ben ended the text chat. What did he mean by that? She asked herself, even as she put the phone down and slid a hand under her pillow. Her fingers touched something made of paper and she grabbed it and pulled it out. It was an envelope that was surprisingly thick and she flipped it over to look at the front.


    To be used when your parents demand you pay for the medical deductible. Val read in her head and she flipped the envelope back over and opened it. She caught her breath at the pile of money inside. It was a mix of crisp new bills and crumpled ones that had been straightened out. They were of all different denominations and she quickly counted it all out.


    It came to two thousand dollars.


    Ben had given her two thousand dollars.


    Two THOUSAND dollars!


    Tears came to Val''s eyes as she clutched the money to her chest. She knew Ben didn''t have a lot of money. She knew he struggled to buy groceries. She knew he wore the same clothes every few days because he didn''t have a lot to chose from. She knew all these things and she knew she wouldn''t try to give the money back, because he was right. Her parents were going to demand she pay them back.


    I''ll make this up to you, Ben. I really, really will. Val promised and laid down with the money still clutched in her hands. She eventually fell asleep with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

 63 A Friendly Visit

    Bokuboy


    I wasn''t surprised to discover that Matt Murdock lived in an apartment building similar to my own. It was just unfortunate that it was in what people considered a bad part of town. On the plus side, the rent was probably a lot cheaper and he was blind. No one with any kind of morals would have messed with him.


    May had held my hand while we rode on the bus and kept hold of it as we rode the elevator up to the right floor. I had given her a smile occasionally and she smiled back each time. Our new understanding that it was okay to actually like each other, even though we already admitted that we loved each other, seemed to have made her completely relax around me.


    She had even walked around in her underwear this morning while I made breakfast, which made me laugh, because she was being so outrageously bold. When I told her that, she smacked me good and laughed, too. It really was nice to be back to a comfortable relationship again, because the tension between us had been building for a while and I hadn''t been sure how to diffuse it.


    Who knew that making her admit I turned her on would have done it? I knew I sure didn''t.


    I knocked on the apartment door and Matt opened it up and smiled at us. ¡°Matt! Old buddy, old pal, old chum! It''s me, Ben Parker! Your new client! I see you''re still blind! That sucks. Can I and my beautiful Aunt May come in?¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped and slapped me upside the head.


    ¡°Ow!¡± I said and rubbed said spot, even though it didn''t hurt.


    Matt looked shocked for about three seconds, then he barked a laugh. ¡°I''ll rate that as an eight out of ten on the first introduction scale for originality, Mr. Parker.¡± He said and stepped back. ¡°Come on in.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± May said and dragged me inside. ¡°You''ll have to forgive my nephew. He thinks he''s funny.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it''s not like he doesn''t know he''s blind.¡± I said.


    ¡°You''re not supposed to point it out.¡± May sighed.


    ¡°You''re kidding, right? Only cool guys and blind people wear sunglasses all the time.¡± I said. ¡°Unless you''re a cool guy and blind. I''m not sure someone could pull off wearing two pairs of sunglasses at the same time, though.¡±


    Matt smiled as he waved us forward and towards his kitchen table. ¡°Please step into my office.¡±


    ¡°Joking aside, thank you for taking the time on a Sunday to meet with us.¡± I said and sat down and May sat beside me. ¡°We''re on the right side of the table at your two and three o''clock, Matt.¡±


    Matt paused walking toward us and nodded. ¡°Thank you for letting me know.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± I said and opened my backpack. ¡°I brought some breakfast burritos if you would like some.¡±


    Matt sat down across from us and looked surprised. ¡°You brought breakfast to a business meeting.¡±


    ¡°I figured why not, since this is a breakfast meeting.¡± I corrected and opened the thermal bag. ¡°I had to fight May off so she would only eat two of them to tide her over before coming here.¡±


    ¡°He didn''t need to know that.¡± May said and gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°It lends credence to the evidence that they are delicious.¡± I said and took out the wax paper covered burritos. ¡°Matt, they are one foot directly in front of you. It''s a stack of wax paper rolls.¡±


    Matt smiled and took one, looked a little surprised that it was still hot, and unwrapped it. ¡°It does smell good.¡±


    ¡°I try.¡± I said and bit into one. ¡°Oh, that''s the stuff.¡±


    May lost the pointed look and started eating one, too.


    The three of us sat there and ate in silence, which let me look around the apartment. It was a nice one and everything was well spaced for a blind person to walk around safely.


    ¡°I think three is my limit.¡± Matt said and put the wax paper pieces to the side.


    ¡°I made a lot, just because we save so much money buying bulk and they are cheap and easy to make.¡± I said. Both May and I had eaten two each, besides the two we had eaten back home. ¡°Would you like to keep the rest for later?¡±


    Matt looked surprised. ¡°That''s generous of you.¡±


    ¡°Kind of. It''s part of the bribe I want to tempt you with because of how much work I want you to do.¡± I admitted.


    ¡°Ben, you were supposed to be subtle about it.¡± May said.


    ¡°Why? It''s not like he can''t see through the gesture anyway.¡± I joked and May groaned.


    Matt chuckled. ¡°You''ve prepared a bunch of blind jokes, haven''t you?¡±


    ¡°Only a few. May got angry when I tried some of them on her.¡± I said. ¡°I mean, making a joke every second sentence isn''t too much, right?¡±


    ¡°It is when you''re trying to stay on someone''s good side.¡± May said.


    ¡°And that''s why I''m not doing it, because my aunt is brilliant and I always take her advice.¡± I said and pulled out several sheets of paper. ¡°Shall we get to the reason for this visit?¡±


    ¡°You mentioned filing patents and trademarks.¡± Matt said.


    ¡°I''ve written out the main part of what I want to do.¡± I said and put the two sheets in front of him, side by side. ¡°Go ahead and have a look at them.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± May said with a voice full of admonishment.


    ¡°I meant with his fingers.¡± I chuckled and tapped the top of the sheet on the left. ¡°It starts here, standard paper size, one sided single pages... or leafs, if you want to be technical.¡±


    Matt nodded and his fingers started feeling the bumps and spaces of the braille print. ¡°You didn''t have to go this far to get my attention, Mr. Parker.¡±


    ¡°Please call me Ben, because I''m hoping you''ll agree to this and you and I will be exchanging calls about everything I want to do.¡±


    Matt nodded again and his fingers ran over the first sheet that had my main ideas. When he went to the second sheet and read the list of names I wanted to trademark and possibly patent, his eyebrows rose higher and higher.


    ¡°Are you serious about all of this?¡± Matt asked when he reached the bottom of the page. It was a very long list of names.


    ¡°Completely. I want to own all of those names. May and I stopped at the library and asked about a braille making machine, just so I didn''t have to tell you all of them and have you try to remember them all.¡± I said and Matt smiled. ¡°If anyone wants to use those names in any capacity, they will have to pay me to do it... and yes, I''m aware of your rates and what it''s going to cost.¡±


    ¡°You were right, Ben. This is going to be a lot of work.¡± Matt said and sounded happy about it.


    ¡°I had an idea about that, if you''re willing to listen.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°I went through a list of lawyers looking for a good one to hire for this. A lot of them were high class and high priced, so most of them I discarded. I want to keep things quiet, you know?¡±


    Matt nodded again and looked like he understood what I meant.


    ¡°I saw two names near the bottom of that list and thought they would be perfect. I had heard your name being mentioned during my commute downtown to work and knew you were the best pick of the two, just because of your unassuming nature and because you''re blind and people tend to ignore you.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°What? It''s the truth. Blind people are given a huge leeway in everything, just because they''re blind. It doesn''t matter what their personality is like, either. They can be real assholes and people will forgive them for it, just because they are visually impaired.¡±


    ¡°Although I shouldn''t, I can confirm that theory.¡± Matt said. He had been a bit of a terror right after the accident that had robbed him of his sight.


    ¡°I knew it.¡± I said, smugly. ¡°Anyways, long story short, the other name I saw was Franklin Nelson.¡±


    ¡°M comes before N in the alphabet.¡± Matt said and nodded once more.


    ¡°It does and I thought that if one lawyer can get what I wanted done, maybe two could get it done twice as fast, because I want this done before Christmas day.¡± I said and Matt looked thoughtful. ¡°Would you mind terribly if I contacted him as well? I know there are probably going to be reference books and things that won''t be in braille and having someone else helping you get this done couldn''t hurt.¡±


    ¡°Another set of hands would lessen the workload and speed things up.¡± Matt said. ¡°Would it surprise you if I told you that I know Foggy?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°The only thing that would surprise me is if you hopped up onto the table and did the Macarena. That''s a hard dance to pull off, even with working eyes.¡±


    Matt chuckled and May let out a long suffering sigh.


    ¡°I''ll leave contacting Mr. Nelson to you.¡± I said and took out another sheet to place beside the others and tapped the top of it to show him where it was. ¡°I also want to do this before Christmas, if possible.¡±


    Matt quickly ran his fingers over the new sheet and his eyebrows rose again. ¡°You''re kidding.¡±


    ¡°After I have those names under my control, I''ll need a company to keep track of them and to provide the licensing rights of the names to other companies.¡± I said and May looked surprised at the depth of my ideas. ¡°Don''t be surprised yet, May. There''s a reason I wanted you here today.¡±


    ¡°Maybelle Parker will be the CEO and interim owner of Parker Incorporated, until Ben is of legal age and can assume control of the company.¡± Matt read from the sheet.


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped and looked shocked.


    ¡°Merry Christmas, May.¡± I said and leaned close to kiss her cheek.


    ¡°Ben, you... you are insane! I don''t know the first thing about running a company!¡± May exclaimed.


    ¡°I know, which is why we''re going to hire the law firm of Murdock And Nelson and keep them on retainer.¡± I said and it was Matt''s turn to let out a gasp sound. ¡°I was thinking three percent of the company''s profits should keep you solvent for a while.¡±


    ¡°I think I have to agree with your aunt. You''re insane to give part of your company away before it''s even incorporated.¡± Matt said.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°Or it''s a huge motivation to get this done as soon as possible, so the company can start licensing the names out to everything under the sun.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± May whispered and looked stunned, because she understood what I meant.


    ¡°Who wouldn''t buy Iron Man tires? Incredible Hulk brand Weight Gain Powder? The Mighty Thor''s household cleaner? Or Captain America''s Home Insurance?¡± I asked and now the both of them looked shocked. ¡°I''ll keep the merchandising and televisions rights separate, just so we can have something to diversify with, not to mention action figures, board games, video games, comic books, posters, and underwear.¡±


    That last one made May give me a confused look. ¡°Underwear?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Who wouldn''t want to feel the cottony softness of Captain Marvel wrapped around their tender bits?¡±


    May let out a groan and Matt''s shocked look disappeared as he chuckled.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I couldn''t resist that last joke. The setup was too good!¡± I said and that made May roll her eyes as she shook her head.


    Matt ran his fingers across the papers once more and nodded. ¡°Mr. Parker... Ben, I think you''re insane to do it this way, because it''s a deal that''s too good for me to pass up.¡± He held a hand across the table for me. ¡°You have yourself a lawyer and possible law firm for the foreseeable future.¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± I exclaimed and shook his hand before I took out an envelope and placed it into that hand. ¡°This is the thousand dollars for the retainer and an extra two hundred for your time this morning.¡±


    Matt looked surprised and opened it to quickly rifle through it with his fingertips to count it. ¡°I''ll contact Foggy right away and...¡±


    ¡°I''ll need a couple of days to get his retainer. I can''t cash my last paycheck from my construction job until tomorrow and my first paycheck from my job downtown won''t be until the end of this week.¡±


    Matt shook his head. ¡°You don''t have to worry about a second retainer for now. Once we get this going and get the contracts signed to incorporate like you want, Foggy and I can handle the licensing paperwork as well and we''ll pad your bill appropriately.¡±


    I chuckled and shook his hand again. ¡°That''s fair. Thanks, Matt.¡±


    ¡°No, Ben. Thank you.¡± Matt said and stood. ¡°I''ll walk you out.¡±


    ¡°Now I wish one of us was a blonde.¡± I said as he led us across the apartment.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Matt asked and looked curious.


    ¡°So I could make a joke about the blind leading the blonde! Ha ha!¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± May groaned loudly. ¡°You''re going to get it when we get home!¡±


    Matt chuckled again. ¡°I think I prefer the jokes when someone deals with me instead of the usual sombre attitude.¡±


    ¡°That''s what I tried to explain to her. You''re a good guy and would understand that I''m not making fun of you. There''s a huge difference between someone laughing with you and someone laughing at you.¡±


    ¡°You are quite wise for someone so young.¡± Matt said.


    ¡°Ha ha! That''s hilarious! I hit my head last month and can''t remember anything about my life here before that.¡±


    Matt stopped walking and his eyebrows rose again. ¡°You''re not joking.¡±


    ¡°Nope! Metal railing to the side of the noggin.¡± I said and tapped the spot. ¡°I''ve been doing my best to build a new life for myself since then. There have been some hiccups and setbacks; but, I''m working through them.¡± I took his hand again and shook it. ¡°Thanks again for accepting us as a client.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Matt said and opened his door. ¡°If you have any questions, don''t hesitate to call. My answering machine is available all day and night.¡±


    I laughed and took May''s hand. ¡°I''ll remember that. Goodbye, Matt.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Ben. May.¡± Matt said and closed the door.


    May didn''t say anything until we were downstairs and waited for the bus. ¡°Ben, do you realize what you''re doing?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue.¡± I said and grinned at her.


    ¡°Ben...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°I''m joking, May. I know what I need to do and we have two of the most underrated lawyers in the city on our side now.¡±


    ¡°For three percent of your future company''s profits.¡± May said.


    ¡°Says the CEO of said company.¡± I said and made my grin wider. ¡°You do realize you get paid a ridiculous salary when things get going, right?¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± May asked as the bus came to a stop in front of us.


    I led her on and we sat in the back and out of the way, because it was a long ride back to our apartment. ¡°I might put myself down as your assistant VP, just so I can get part of it myself.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± May started to say again.


    ¡°I promised you that we were going to be rich, May. My first try didn''t work out so well and I''ll fix that when I can. Despite that, I''m going to keep my promise.¡± I said and looked into her eyes. ¡°You deserve nothing less.¡±


    May put her arm around my shoulders and hugged me. ¡°What am I going to do with you?¡±


    I gave her another grin. ¡°You know, you still haven''t said no to being my girlfriend.¡±


    May laughed and shook her head. ¡°Just for that, no cuddling on the couch tonight.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°You''re just hurting yourself saying that. I''m a cuddling master.¡±


    ¡°No cooking?¡± May asked.


    ¡°Still hurting you.¡±


    May opened her mouth and closed it, then she looked thoughtful and smiled. ¡°No texting.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I fake gasped. ¡°No, please! I''ll do anything! Please don''t take that away from me!¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± May said. ¡°Even though it''s Sunday, you''re prepping my bath for me instead.¡±


    ¡°Done!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°I''ll even rub your feet when I get back from Max''s place.¡±


    May nodded and we rode the bus back to the apartment. I had a date to prepare for and I would need to stop at a pharmacy for some condoms. My dry spell of no sex all week was about to end, hopefully spectacularly.


    That reminded me I also needed to pick up a ball gag or something to muffle Max''s screams.

 64 Another Friendly Visit

    Bokuboy


    I knocked on the door to Max''s house and waited. When it opened, the glare I received from her mother was ranked right up there with the best of them. She could probably intimidate Nick Fury with it, because it was so pronounced. My spider-sense wasn''t going off though, so I knew it was a bluff, just like the last time I had been here and she had wielded a kitchen knife against me.


    I walked right up to her and kissed her on the cheek. ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Caufield. Is Max in?¡±


    ¡°Living room!¡± Max shouted before her mother could speak. ¡°I''ve got the movie ready!¡±


    I kicked off my shoes, slipped off my backpack, and hung it up with my jacket. I opened my backpack and took out a resealable sandwich baggie with six rice balls in it. ¡°I brought you a peace offering.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Max''s mother asked and I described the mango coconut treat and told her it was an ancient Asian family recipe. She gave me a really odd look and I laughed.


    ¡°Not mine, dear lady. I borrowed it from a friend at work.¡± I said and took out another baggie. ¡°Let me know if you like them.¡± I said and closed my backpack and walked by her to go into the living room.


    The look on Max''s face was the same glare as when I had brought a piece of pound cake with butter icing to school and she thought she wasn''t going to get any of it. I chuckled and handed her the baggie as I sat down and she tore it open and had a rice ball in her mouth almost instantly.


    ¡°Oh, my GOD!¡± Max shouted and took her time chewing on the thing.


    ¡°Does that mean you hate it? Maybe I should take them back.¡± I said and started to reach for them.


    Max snorted a laugh and had to cover her mouth to stop herself from spitting any out as she growled. ¡°Don''t you dare!¡±


    I chuckled and put my arm around her shoulders. She started the movie a moment later and of course it was a slasher. To be honest, it was a little tame compared to some of the ones from where I came from. Were there different classes of slasher films? I couldn''t remember if there was or even if it mattered.


    Thankfully, it was short at barely 80 minutes and we snuck to the front entrance and grabbed two things from my backpack before we went to her room. She locked the door and stuffed a towel under it, as if that would help muffle the sounds she was going to make. I showed her the box of condoms, shaped for her pleasure of course, and an actual ball gag to put in her mouth.


    ¡°Ben, I think I love you!¡± Max exclaimed and tackled me onto the bed as she kissed me. We were soon naked and I had carefully applied the gag to her mouth, ensured it was tight but not restrictive, then we started having fun.


    I had never seen evidence of a screaming orgasm before I met Max and she did not disappoint me today. The gag was definitely needed, as was a muffling pillow, because I made sure to use the things Natasha had shown me during our lessons. Max, really, really liked what I had learned during those lessons.


    By the time two hours had gone by and half of the box of condoms had been used, Max looked like a gooey puddle in the middle of her bed with a euphoric expression on her face and her sweat soaked short hair was plastered to her head.


    I carefully removed the gag from her mouth and put it in the drawer of her nightstand, whispered that she would have to wash it later, and gave her a passionate kiss. I wiped myself off with the towel that had been under the door before I dressed and left her room, went down the hallway, and came face to face with her angry mother as she blocked the front door.


    The intimidating glare was back on her face and she looked ready to attack me, only my spider-sense still hadn''t gone off. So, I did the only thing I could do in that situation to ensure that I would be allowed back into the house. I relied on my researched spider powers and walked right up to her and gave her a warm smile, then I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her passionately.


    She made muffled protesting sounds as her fists lightly hit my back a couple of times. It barely counted as a struggle and only lasted for a few moments, then her arms wrapped around me tightly and she made happy sounds as she kissed me back even more passionately. I did not let my surprise at her enthusiasm distract me, though. I had a point to make.


    We stayed like that for several minutes and made out like we were old lovers. She eventually broke the kiss and the disbelieving look on her face was priceless. I couldn''t let that stand, so I kissed her again for several more minutes. She didn''t protest at all the second time and gave as good as she got. When I finally broke the kiss, her face was more surprised than anything else.


    ¡°Thank you for letting me visit again, Denise.¡± I said. I had used her first name to show her that I was being more familiar with her than when I used only her last name. ¡°I would stay longer if I didn''t have to go home to cook supper.¡±


    ¡°Y-you would... stay longer?¡± Denise asked, definitely surprised.


    I reached up and cupped the sides of her face and gave her a soft and tender kiss. ¡°As long as necessary.¡±


    Denise blinked her eyes several times. ¡°Wh-what d-do you mean?¡±


    I had to hold in my laugh at her nervousness. ¡°I mean...¡± I hugged her again and slid my hands down to cup the cheeks of her fairly firm ass through the skirt she wore, then I whispered in her ear. ¡°...I would bend you over the living room couch and see if you can scream as loudly as Max does while I ram myself into you as hard and as fast as you can stand.¡±


    Denise shivered and let out a shuddering breath. ¡°Y-y-you... can''t possibly... mean that. I''m old enough to be your mother.¡±


    I smiled at that comment. ¡°That''s not really a deterrent for me.¡±


    Her eyes widened slightly at my words and I combed my fingers through her long dark hair before I eased her backwards against the door. I slipped a hand down to the inside of her thigh and then ran my fingers up her soft skin under her skirt to rub her through her damp underwear.


    Denise gasped and clamped her mouth shut, even though her face showed how turned on she was. I was pretty sure that she had been listening at Max''s door the entire time we had been in there having sex, because she was much too wet already for the little bit of flirting I had done with her.


    ¡°I really am pressed for time today or I would give you the attention you deserve.¡± I whispered and sped up my finger movements and then dug my thumb into her nub to stimulate it directly.


    ¡°HHHHNNNNN!¡± Denise moaned through her clenched teeth as she came.


    I stepped back from her with my theory of her already being horny confirmed, and I showed her my wet fingers before I licked them, to her shock. ¡°I''ll be back to visit just after Christmas.¡±


    Denise nodded several times and she seemed too stunned to move, so I fixed her skirt before I eased her away from the door. I put on my jacket, backpack, and shoes, then I gave her a quick kiss goodbye. Her eyes went wide again in surprise and I shut the door behind myself when I left.


    I made it home a short time later and May had a look of anticipation on her face, which made me grin widely and I winked at her before I went up the stairs. I took a quick shower and did up her bath how she liked it, and went back downstairs to cook. She helped me make supper and then she had trouble eating, because I massaged her feet on my lap at the same time.


    It showed me that when I had done it the last few times, she had been fighting the feelings it had been giving her. With her completely relaxed around me, May''s reactions were going to be genuine from now on. By the pleased look on her face, I knew what I thought was true.


    I eased off on rubbing her feet for her, that she had taught me to do so well, and she finished eating. I led her up the stairs and into the bathroom and she let me strip off all of her clothes, right down to her underwear.


    ¡°Enjoy your bath, Aunt May.¡± I whispered and left the bathroom. I stood by the closed door and heard her moan as she entered the bath and then she sighed happily. I smiled and went back downstairs to clean up and do the dishes, then I went back up the stairs and entered my room to start working out a few other gadgets that I had ideas for.


    The problem was, I would need a lot of components that I just didn''t have and probably a lot of chemicals. I thought about the IDs I had and then smiled. If I worked things properly, I could get a lot of materials for free and no one would know or guess what I was doing with them. I just had to draw up a few designs and then I could work on getting the components I would need.


    I looked through the specialist packages for the standard one and read through it and nodded when I read that a random office would be assigned upon request. I took out my officially assigned untraceable cell phone and sent in the request by text and added my agent number to it.


    I wondered where the office would be located, especially considering I was a brand new hire. It was probably going to be a little closet near the basement. I thought and that made me laugh.


    I was surprised when the cell phone beeped at me a few minutes later while I was drawing out an observation and monitoring device. I checked the response on my phone and laughed again, because the office was on the fourteenth floor of the New York office building, which was two down from the top floor, and it had an outside window.


    I guessed that it wouldn''t be a tiny office if it had a window to show the view, so I opened the data entry package and looked through the documentation and found the order numbers for what I needed. The mainframe at work was really a server farm, or a rack with stacks of shelves inside with computer circuit boards and microchips, memory chips, and hard drives plugged into them.


    They were interchangeable and each component was easily pulled and replaced when damaged. A new shelf could be added as well with more components to ease the processing load of the main computer. I ordered a new rack with a stack of six shelves, which was about a third of what the rack could hold. It would be plenty for my needs, so I ordered the extra power runs to be added to the office to handle the load and added a dozen cooling fans.


    A partition or something would have to be built to keep the noise down, which meant stopping by the maintenance floor to pick up some sound dampening materials. They were the same things used in the rooms that agents stayed in overnight and probably in the interrogation rooms. Then again, I could probably just ask the maintenance department to build it for me. I would need to see the office before I made that decision.


    I was tempted to order a bunch of other things, considering the packages I had access to, and shook my head. I didn''t want to bring too much attention to myself too quickly, which meant I had to slowly build up my resources without being greedy about it. That was hard to do, because I had so much right here at my fingertips.


    I shook my head again and read through the other packages. I couldn''t stop my smile at all of the departments I had access to and I wasn''t specifically assigned to any of them. That gave me a versatility that I hadn''t realized I needed until I had it. Being locked down to one department could have limited my movements considerably.


    I heard the bathroom door open and quickly changed out of my clothes and into comfy pyjamas, because I had an evening to spend with a pretty lady and made hand signs at the camera for apology and sleep before I left the room. I didn''t want a repeat of the other night where Natasha was upset that I hadn''t returned to my room because I had dozed off and slept on the couch.


    Then again, I wasn''t sure what she was thinking, now that she knew that I knew about her. It could be over between us before it really began or it could be the start of an epic friendship with lots of benefits. Lots and lots of benefits. I was definitely hoping for the latter, because the former would suck. It was all up to her and how she felt about things and I would wait for her to make the next move.


    I chuckled as I met May in the hallway, because she had left her bedroom wearing just the flannel pyjamas and no robe. She gave me a knowing smirk, because we both knew she was wearing skimpy lingerie underneath it. She put an arm around my waist and we went downstairs and plopped onto the plush leather sofa and sunk into its comfort while we hugged each other.


    ¡°This couch was the best money we ever spent.¡± I commented and May nodded.


    We spent the rest of the evening cuddled together and watched television, which had become a staple of our spending time together. We both enjoyed it a lot, because we were with family and we were comfortable, which was worth more to the both of us than all of the money in the world.


    I wasn''t surprised that I actually did eventually drift off to sleep.


    *


    I woke up in my room and I wasn''t sure what was going on. It was dark, much darker than it should have been, and yet I could still mostly see. It was then that I realized it was my old room and not Peter''s. The posters were different, the large laundry hamper was in the corner and it was full of old and dirty clothes, and my desk was there with my old computer on it.


    My mind was full of disbelief that I was back here and I scrambled out of bed and went to the bedroom door and opened it. The large set of stairs led me down to the foyer and the house was just as empty as it had always been. I had a weird feeling about that and I wasn''t sure why I also felt like I needed to go to the basement.


    I walked down the hallway to the basement door and opened it, and it was pitch black inside. I flicked the switch and the bulb at the bottom of the stairs turned on and lit up the stairwell, then it sputtered and started flickering.


    ¡°Stupid light.¡± I whispered and went to the closet to get a replacement and then went down the stairs to where the light was. I started to reach up for it and heard a scuffling foot nearby. I jerked in fright and turned in that direction. The light from the flickering bulb gave me flashes of the recycled electronics packed onto the shelves. Some were torn apart and others were patched and fixed.


    There was also a hunched over figure by my old workbench.


    ¡°Hey! Who are you?¡± I asked and hefted the bulb in my hand as if it was a weapon.


    The figure grunted and kept working on something.


    ¡°I''m talking to you.¡± I said and slowly walked over to the figure.


    Upon closer inspection, the clothes they wore looked like an old suit I used to own and it was ragged and torn in places. I couldn''t see skin through the tears, though. It was too dark.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I said as I reached him and I put my hand on his shoulder.


    The figure quickly turned at my touch and I suddenly had a giant spider''s face staring at me. The mandibles clacked and liquid dripped from the half-human mouth, then the two middle eyes blinked at me.


    ¡°BENNNNN!¡± It said in a growling inhuman voice as its clawed two fingered hands grabbed my arms. It opened its mouth wide and I saw mangled and rotted teeth. ¡°FEEEEED MEEEEEEEE!¡±


    Then it bit my face off.


    *


    ¡°BEN!¡± May yelled and shook me hard.


    ¡°AHHH!¡± I yelled and hopped up like my butt had been burned and I flopped off of the couch and onto the floor. I banged the side of my head against the coffee table and hissed, because the solid wood was as unyielding as solid wood always was.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped and dropped to her knees beside me and checked my head as she rubbed the spot. ¡°Please be okay! Please!¡±


    ¡°I''m... fine.¡± I lied and held my eyes closed. That last image in my mind was horrible, because I had felt it. I had actually felt my face being bitten off and I didn''t know what to do about that.


    ¡°You just hit the exact same spot on your head that made you lose your memory.¡± May said softly and she sighed as she felt the swelling start. ¡°Stay there and I''ll get some ice.¡±


    ¡°Not... going anywhere.¡± I said and shivered, and it wasn''t just because of the large humanoid spider that had been wearing my clothes. It was because I had a sudden flood of memories from my old life and I tried to suppress them. I didn''t need my old anxieties to surface and I didn''t need to remember how alone I had been for years.


    I had no friends, no family, and no reason to live. I did not want to remember that dark basement, the feeling of the rope around my neck, or the fact that not one single person was going to miss me when I was gone.


    ¡°Here we go.¡± May said and knelt beside me again as she placed the ice pack against the side of my head.


    I put my hand on her hand that held the ice pack. ¡°May, I... I really do love you.¡± I said as tears came to my eyes. ¡°Thank you for accepting me into your life. Thank you so much for being my family.¡±


    May started to cry, too. ¡°You''re welcome, Ben.¡± She said and her other hand wiped at my face. ¡°I really love you, too.¡±


    We stayed like that for several minutes before May looked at the clock. ¡°We''re both going to be late.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± I said and slowly stood up. ¡°I don''t know what just happened.¡±


    ¡°I tried to wake you several times, because you were whimpering and looked scared.¡± May said. ¡°I was starting to get worried when you wouldn''t wake up and then I shook you really hard and yelled.¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I think I... it was a nightmare, and I... I can''t...¡± I couldn''t tell her about it. I just couldn''t. ¡°...I can''t remember what it was about.¡± I lied, quite badly.


    May gave me an odd look for a moment and then she smiled sadly and took me into a hug. ¡°It''s okay if you don''t want to talk about it, Ben.¡±


    I let out a half-sigh and half-sob as I hugged her back. ¡°I don''t want to remember it, May. I don''t want it in my head at all.¡±


    May held me for about thirty seconds before she let me go. ¡°We need to change and go. There''s no time for breakfast.¡±


    I nodded and went up the stairs to get my packed gym bag and I put on one of the new suits and a stylish shirt that Pepper had bought for me. I went downstairs and quickly did up a lunch for May with the leftovers from supper the night before and handed it to her when she came downstairs.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± May said and we left the apartment together and rode the elevator to the ground floor in silence. We went outside and May gave my cheek a kiss, gave me an intense look, then she walked down the street to the bus stop.


    I watched her walk the whole way. Even with other people on the street, I never lost sight of her. May turned to look at me when her bus arrived and I waved to her, which seemed to surprise her that I had noticed. She waved back and stepped onto the bus, then it drove away.


    I felt very grateful towards her, because I finally realized it was thanks to her that I no longer felt alone when I was by myself.

 65 More Plans To Implement

    Bokuboy


    The next two days were a bit of a blur. I worked out with Clint for most of the day and it was both tiring and rewarding, because I learned a lot from him and he was happy with my progress. When someone like Clint was happy, it meant he was impressed with you, which I knew was important to both Natasha and Director Fury. Staying on Fury''s good side was definitely a priority for me.


    During the first half of my lunch periods those two days, I ate in the cafeteria, sat at different tables each time, and talked to the people from different departments. Everyone liked my new stylish suits and I told them I had a few more to show off for them, which made the guys laugh and the women looked happy.


    The irony of my workplace being like my high school cafeteria was not lost on me, especially when people greeted me by name and waved.


    The second half of my lunch on Monday had been filled with me working out alone in the gym and I lifted a ridiculous amount of weights. I looked into welding another set of bars onto the leg press machine and knew I couldn''t do it by myself, so I visited the maintenance floor before lunch ended and met with the men that worked there and talked to them about it.


    I managed to convince them that I wanted a better weight distribution instead of having it all on the one set of bars, which was complete bullshit and I suspected that they knew it. When they stopped laughing, I offered an appropriate bribe of a gallon of coffee and six dozen donuts. I was quickly declared their best friend and they had happily added two extra bars to the machine instead of one.


    The best part was that not a single person questioned why there were extra bars on the machine or even paid any attention to them. That was perfectly fine with me, because if the regular users didn''t notice or cared, no one else was going to, either.


    I had also checked my office before I left the building on Monday and I was surprised that it had a nice sized closet and an attached full bathroom inside, which let me direct my new friends in the maintenance department to the closet to strip it, add in the soundproofing materials, and to run the extra power leads for the server I wanted installed.


    Those computer parts had been delivered two days later on Wednesday and I had to skip my lunch workout to set it all up. I did not install the ''best'' operating system on it, StarkOS, because I knew it was so full of crap that it slowed a computer down significantly and chewed up resources unnecessarily.


    I instead searched the local computer network and checked the mainframe''s OS. It was a basic one with good security options, which was perfect, even if there wasn''t a proper user interface. I could handle that and worked around it easily.


    After I copied the OS, I finally had something I could check Peter''s computer sciences project with. I sectioned off a small part of the memory and assigned a sole hard drive in my server to become a virtual independent drive and gave it a copy of the basic OS as well. I copied over the USB with Peter''s things on it and loaded a basic editor.


    Half of the coding I saw was gibberish, which meant Peter must have used a different editing program while in the computer lab. I didn''t let that deter me, because I now had a small dedicated computer section that I could wreck by running his untested programs. I opened a memory and hard drive usage monitoring program and ran the first of Peter''s programs on the virtual computer.


    The screen flashed and some kind of window appeared with nothing in it, the memory I sectioned off was completely used up, and the hard drive spun for about thirty seconds. Nothing else happened until an error message appeared.


    ''Out of Memory: Error # 190432''


    I chuckled and ended the program, cleared the memory and checked the hard drive. It had about a gigabyte of miscellaneous bits and bytes on it that didn''t make sense and it needed to be reformatted to fix and remove them. I shook my head at the program and was glad that I hadn''t tried running it on anything else. It would have wrecked whatever was used.


    I tried several other programs and the results went from nothing to a little clicking game that let me bounce a small ball of light on the screen. It was actually a clever little thing and I wanted to tear it open to see how it worked, which meant that I would have to get into the school again and check the station Peter frequented to find the editor he used.


    A quick check of the computer''s logs would let me know what program he used the most and I would either have to copy the executable from there or try to find it myself somewhere else. I would also need to see if he used a compiler to encode the programs, too. I wanted to prove to the computer teacher that I wasn''t just as good as Peter was at programming. I wanted her to see that I was much better.


    I looked over at my fan-cooled closet and chuckled. Peter didn''t even own a computer and I had a full server to play with and a brand new upgraded laptop. I was sure that someone was going to ask me what I was doing with all of that processing power though, so I would have to make a little stop this evening to a particular place. My ID folder was going to have its very first use and I was looking forward to it.


    I left my office and locked it before I rode the elevator down to the basement and went back to the training room on B3. I changed into some of my new workout gear and spent another exhilarating afternoon getting pummelled by Clint. He looked like he enjoyed himself too, especially when I managed to block and countered one of his best hits.


    Clint then attacked ruthlessly and made me pay for it, which he claimed was my reward for success. I actually laughed when he told me that, because I was laid out on the floor again and he helped me stand up.


    ¡°You''ve got the morning off tomorrow, so rest and relax.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°That sounds ominous for the afternoon session.¡± I said and he smirked at me. ¡°Fine, don''t tell me.¡±


    Clint smacked my shoulder and left the training room.


    I had a sneaking suspicion about what was going to happen and took a quick shower before I dressed in the same suit that I wore that morning and during lunch. I rode the elevator up to the ground floor and Melinda May stood there as she waited for me. She had driven me home each day since we met and we had lively discussions about food preparation and administration duties.


    Melinda was also quite grateful for the new keyboard pad that had been issued. It was no secret that it was my design and I figured that was why a lot of people knew my name. It wasn''t very often that a normal agent created a piece of equipment that anyone could use without any real training.


    ¡°I really appreciate you driving me home like this.¡± I said as the car pulled out of the parking garage.


    ¡°I really appreciate that you haven''t hit on me or asked me to sleep with you.¡± Melinda countered.


    I gave her a fake look of surprise. ¡°Who the hell told you I wasn''t hitting on you?¡±


    Melinda looked surprised herself, then she started laughing. I joined in and we laughed pretty hard for nearly a full minute.


    ¡°Really, Ben. I mean it.¡± Melinda said and stopped the car at a red light. ¡°I haven''t been comfortable around people for a long while.¡± She said and gave me a sad look. ¡°Usually when a man approaches me, it''s either to fight or to try and get into my pants.¡±


    ¡°There''s no way my butt would look good in those pants. I don''t have the hips for it.¡± I said and she snorted and then laughed.


    ¡°Ben...¡± Melinda tried again.


    ¡°Believe me, Melinda. I know what you mean.¡± I said and nodded at the light changing. ¡°Like I told you when we first met, it''s nice to have a friend that understands.¡±


    Melinda nodded herself and looked like she understood what I meant, and she drove the rest of the way to my home in silence. It was comfortable, because sometimes nothing needed to be said when you were with your friends. The car stopped in front of my apartment building and she put a hand on my arm.


    ¡°Eat lunch with me tomorrow.¡± Melinda said.


    ¡°Of course. I''ll even wait outside the cafeteria for you and we can go in together.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°Should we take bets now for when the rumors start about us sleeping together or do you want to wait until tomorrow?¡±


    Melinda laughed softly. ¡°You are a little behind the times in the office gossip, Ben. You''ve already bedded me and might have gotten me pregnant.¡±


    ¡°I knew I was a bit of a beast in bed; but, to get you pregnant and I wasn''t even near you? My penis is awesome!¡± I exclaimed and she burst out laughing.


    A horn honked from behind us and I opened the car door and grabbed my gym bag.


    ¡°I''ll see you at lunch tomorrow.¡± I said and stepped out. ¡°Have a good evening, Melinda.¡±


    ¡°Y-y-you, t-too.¡± Melinda stuttered and her face was full of amusement. She drove away and I waved an apology to the car behind her. The man nodded as his car passed me and I assumed he forgave me for delaying him. My spider-sense didn''t go off to warn me of anything and that let me relax.


    I went inside the apartment building and up to my apartment with a purpose, because I had supper to cook and an aunt to care for before I made a special trip to the electronics recycling plant on the outskirts of the city.


    *


    The night shift worker at the recycling plant did not appreciate the health and safety inspector invading his territory. No one had ever shown up in the three years he had worked there and the inspector looked more like someone his daughter would be friends with, rather than a government employee.


    When the young man made the request to take him to where they stored the old cell phones because of the inherent metals and chemicals that could violate the environmental laws if they weren''t disposed of properly, he barely managed to not laugh at the young man. In the years that he had been there, no one had mentioned that crushing the things and mixing them into the regular garbage landfill was the wrong thing to do.


    In a fit of genius that he would later pat himself on the back for, he led the young man to one of the train railway boxcars that was filled to the top with old and discarded cell phones.


    ¡°If you want to check all of those and dispose of them in the proper way...¡± He said and waved at the small ladder rungs on the end of the railway car. ¡°...go ahead and help yourself.¡±


    The utterly shocked look on the young man''s face really made his day.


    ¡°I''ll even tell the other workers to leave this bin alone, just for you.¡± He said and clapped the inspector on the shoulder before he walked away. He had better things to do than humor a garbage inspector.


    *


    I stood there and stared at several tons... actual tons... of old cell phones. It was a ludicrous amount, even for my purposes; but, I couldn''t back out now. I had used one of my IDs to gain access and I wasn''t going to tell the guy to ignore what I had said. I also wasn''t going to admit that my scheme had worked a bit too well for my own liking.


    I had to contain my nervous laugh as I took out my cell phone and searched for a proper shipping company that could move a railway car for me. When I saw the price of a basic shipment, even across only part of the city, I almost threw up. I couldn''t afford it, even after my company would be starting up next week, so I changed my search parameters and looked at self hauling companies.


    I found one that was only 40 dollars a day to rent a vehicle with a 300 dollar deposit, and it wasn''t that far away. I left the recycling plant and went to the rental business and picked up a delivery van that had a van cab front and a large rectangular metal box on the back of it. I used my transportation inspection ID and they didn''t even ask if I had a license, which was a welcome surprise.


    I bought a large plastic shovel and a piece of plywood at a hardware store before I went back to the recycling plant. No one asked what I was doing when I set the plywood across the inside of the pull down door on the back of the van and I started shovelling the old cell phones from the railway car inside.


    I was both careful and meticulous as I transferred a very large pile of cell phones from the railway car into the back of the delivery van, because I didn''t want to damage them any more than they had already been. I had taken so many of the cell phones that I had piled them into a large heap in the van''s cargo area and I stopped when I had about three quarters of the railway car emptied and the pile was almost to the top of the piece of plywood, or about 4 feet high.


    ¡°If I thought you would accept, I would offer you a job here doing that full time.¡± The man I had talked to before said when I finally pulled the door down on the van and secured it.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and smiled at the man. ¡°Also, thanks for allowing me access to your facility.¡±


    The man chuckled. ¡°You''re saving us a lot of work by clearing that crap out. We waste a lot of time separating the glass from the main bodies.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I know. I''ve done a few and good god, it''s a pain in the ass.¡±


    The man laughed. ¡°We''ll keep filling the railway car every month or so if you want to keep doing our jobs for us.¡±


    I laughed, too. ¡°I know you''re joking; but, I might take you up on that offer anyway.¡±


    ¡°HA!¡± The man barked. ¡°Send me the safety report for proper disposal when you''re done with your inspections.¡±


    ¡°It might be a while, considering how many different models there are. Each one has different metals and components that could be bad if mixed or crushed together. The chemical and exothermic reactions from the internal batteries alone could cause a lot of environmental damage that won''t be detected for years.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± He said and grinned at me. ¡°I won''t hold my breath for a government report.¡±


    ¡°You actually understand how government paperwork works!¡± I joked and he laughed again.


    He bid me a good night and I drove away with several thousand cell phones that I had gotten for free. Each phone had one micro camera on the back and most would have another one on the front. They would also have the circuitry to control the cameras and to connect with a wireless signal, which meant I had a huge resource of monitoring material and it wouldn''t cost me anything but time and a little ingenuity.


    I could also use a heat gun to warp the plastic casings into small domes to mount them in. If the cases were metal, I would have to find a metal press somewhere or pick up more plastic to make more casings. The plastic might be the cheaper alternative and I would definitely need a waterproof sealant to keep them from getting wet.


    I parked the delivery van on the top level of a pay-to-park parking garage that was several blocks from my apartment building. I locked it up and left the normal way on foot to establish that I wasn''t staying around and would need to go back the same way. I didn''t have to, because I was going to web swing over later to gather a bunch of cell phones to tear apart.


    I intended to work well into the night after May went to sleep. I had the morning off from training; but, that didn''t mean I wasn''t going to go into work anyway. I was sure that Kelly from the computer department wanted me there to help, if the longing looks on her face during lunch were any indication.


    I went up to the apartment and spent the rest of the evening with May, to her delight, and I teased her about the shows she liked. She teased me right back and accused me about secretly liking them myself and that I only pretended to hate them to make her laugh.


    I pretended to have a heart attack from shock and she laughed and laughed, then she tickled me and we had an impromptu wrestling match that ended up with us in a completely dishevelled state and cuddled up tightly. We both had huge smiles on our faces, too. Having family to carry on with was the best.


    May eventually fell asleep and I carried her up to her bed. I tucked her in and went to my own room, signed for privacy and covered the camera, turned off the microphone, and donned my dark outfit and picked up a large plastic bin before I left through my bedroom window and web swung over to the parking garage. I quickly filled the bin with cell phones and web swung back home.


    I undressed and uncovered the camera and turned on the microphone before I started to disassemble the cell phones. It was repetitive work to pop them apart, so I did that first and removed the glass from each of them. By the time I did the twentieth one, I had it down to a couple of seconds for each and I stacked the glass panels on my desk and put the rest of the cell phone parts on my bed.


    When the large plastic bin was empty, I signed for privacy and covered the camera, dressed again and made another trip to the delivery van. I uncovered the camera after I returned and undressed, then I kept working. When I emptied the bin for a second time, the stacks of glass panels were several hundred in number and I had a lot of cell phones to disassemble.


    I used my old laptop to do a quick search for the metals normally used in cell phone circuitry and was surprised at the traces of precious metals it contained. One phone would only have a minuscule amount and hundreds would have quite a bit more. Several thousand cell phones would have a huge amount of it to gather, which meant my plans of just discarding the unused parts would have to change.


    I would worry about that later, though. For now, I had miniature cameras, microphones, control circuits, internal batteries, and wireless connection parts to harvest from tons of cell phones.

 66 Work Can Be Fun

    Bokuboy


    I had to make my own way to work in the morning and Aunt May was a little surprised that I rode part of the way with her on the bus. Of course, I had made breakfast bagel sandwiches again and May had her bribes and I had my own that were still hot inside the thermal bag that was inside my gym bag.


    A few people on the bus kept giving us odd looks, probably because we were sitting so close and had an arm around each other, so I started loudly whispering comments and compliments about May. I kept saying things like I loved her, that she was the best thing to ever happen to me, how I thought she was the most beautiful woman on the planet, and that every man in the world was envious of me because I had her in my life.


    All of the odd looks had quickly changed to admiration while May''s face had become bright red by the time the bus had neared the stop where I had to change buses. I pulled the string to let the bus driver know I was getting off.


    ¡°I am going to kill you when I get home.¡± May whispered when I leaned close and kissed her cheek.


    ¡°I love you with all my heart too, dear lady!¡± I exclaimed and hopped up when the bus stopped. ¡°No one else can compare to you and even the sun itself goes dim when you smile!¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May gasped and blushed even harder as several people made ''aww'' sounds.


    ¡°Have a wonderful day!¡± I said and dodged her slap as I ran off the bus. Laughs sounded behind me and I chuckled as I turned and waved to May, who shook her fist at me instead of waving as the bus pulled away.


    My bus showed up not long after that and I rode it to the office building with a grin still on my face. The stop was barely half a block away in the opposite direction I normally had a drive, so I would have to remember that in the future, assuming I didn''t go and get my license early. I would have to check the minimum age for a beginner''s license later.


    I entered through the front door of the building and went up to my office to drop off my gym bag and took out the thermal bag, then I rode the elevator down to the administration floor and submitted my clothing reimbursement to Gail in HR before I entered the main administration office.


    The woman at the counter smiled at me and let me in without even asking what I was doing there. ¡°Good morning, Ben!¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I said and opened the thermal bag and she took in a huge sniff automatically.


    ¡°What is that?¡± She asked with an interested look on her face.


    ¡°Homemade breakfast bagels.¡± I responded. I wasn''t surprised that she didn''t comment about the bump on the side of my head, considering it was mostly covered with my hair.


    ¡°You better have enough to pass around or I''m kicking you out.¡± She warned me with a crooked smile.


    I chuckled and held the bag out to her. ¡°Check it out for yourself and get them while they''re hot.¡±


    She looked in and saw how many of them I had. ¡°You''re actually sharing them? I was just joking.¡±


    ¡°I brought them in for you all because I know how hard you work.¡± I said as the other secretaries gathered around. ¡°Just leave four of them for the computer department.¡±


    Their hands quickly dove into the thermal bag and they grabbed one each.


    ¡°This better be real bacon I smell or you''re going to regret it.¡± Another woman said with a fake glare.


    ¡°It is crisped to perfection.¡± I said and looked inside the bag to see that there were six left. ¡°There''s two more available to...¡±


    The first woman dipped both hands into the bag and took them. ¡°We have knives in the break room.¡±


    I nodded and closed the bag before I walked across the secretarial pool and over to the door to go to the mainframe room. I went down the hallway and pushed the panel to open the scanner.


    I put my hand on it and spoke. ¡°Agent 111A.¡±


    The door buzzed and clicked. I pushed it open and Kelly let out a gasp when she saw me.


    ¡°Guess who is available all morning to work for you?¡± I asked and she let out a squeal of delight. ¡°I have breakfast bagels for...¡±


    ¡°I don''t care!¡± Kelly said and grabbed the thermal bag from me and handed it to one of the guys before she dragged me over to a spare terminal. ¡°I''ll be right back!¡±


    She disappeared out the main door and the guy holding the bag gave me a questioning look.


    ¡°You can have one each and leave the other two, because you know she''s going to realize later what she ignored in her haste.¡± I said, wisely.


    The two guys chuckled and started chowing down on their bagel sandwiches after giving me nods of approval and thanks.


    Kelly returned with a literal armful of stacks of papers and carefully put them down on the desk beside the terminal I sat in front of. She explained that I was to enter the numbers, even if they didn''t have decimal points, and I was to add a decimal point and two zeros for those entries to keep activating the macro and it would move on to the next entry.


    I nodded and she showed me how to log in with my own agent number, set my password, and I went to work. I wasn''t surprised when she held a hand out to the two guys and one of them handed her the thermal bag. She opened it and let out a hungry sound and started eating a bagel while she observed me.


    I was pretty sure Kelly watched to ensure that my assessment hadn''t been a fluke and I quickly proved to her that it wasn''t. The longer numbers slowed my entry per minute down slightly and she seemed okay with that, because I burned through the top sheet before she finished chewing up her second bite of the bagel sandwich in her hand. She nodded and went back to her own terminal to continue working and she typed with one hand as she ate with the other.


    I was done just over two hours later and typed in the end code to complete the assigned task. ¡°Kelly, I''m done.¡±


    ¡°It''s way too early to take a lunch break, Ben. Keep working until...¡±


    ¡°I''m not taking a break. I meant that I entered all of the numbers.¡± I interrupted her and all three of the workers stopped what they were doing, marked their places, and turned around to stare at me. The surprised looks on their faces was a neat sight to see, because each of the stacks of papers Kelly had given me were now all upside down. I had flipped each page over after entering the numbers on them.


    Kelly came over to my terminal and used her own access code before she checked over the entry logs and then she started laughing. It wasn''t a full blown belly laugh or anything, though. It was just a soft and constant laugh that lasted for about thirty seconds while she browsed the massive amount of data I had entered for her.


    ¡°Ben, if I was even a little bit amoral, I would be very tempted to kiss you right now.¡± Kelly said in a serious voice. ¡°I''m going to call you every single time we get another stack of data like this to enter into the computers.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure it wasn''t that impressive.¡± I said and she huffed.


    ¡°You just did a full day''s work in about two hours.¡± Kelly said. ¡°That''s only a quarter of the time.¡±


    ¡°Okay, maybe it''s a little impressive.¡± I admitted. That was a good compression rate.


    ¡°That''s for all three of us.¡± Kelly said and motioned to the two men in her department. ¡°We split large data packages like this between us, like we did during your assessment, and it usually takes us all day to get through it.¡±


    I wasn''t sure what to say in response to that.


    ¡°So, yes. It''s impressive. I can also see why HR didn''t want to assign you specifically to me, because you would be sitting around and not doing much for a good portion of the day.¡±


    I nodded in agreement.


    ¡°What department were you going to visit next?¡± Kelly asked as she gathered the papers up again.


    ¡°There''s almost two hours left before lunch, so I could probably visit R&D or the robotics lab.¡±


    ¡°R&D won''t want you hanging around, unless you can help them with something.¡± Kelly said.


    ¡°Or give them another project to work on, which means I''m probably going to the robotics lab.¡± I said and logged out from the terminal before I stood and retrieved my thermal bag.


    Kelly walked me over to the door and paused as she looked at me. ¡°Thank you for choosing to come here first.¡±


    ¡°I remember someone saying they would beg to have me assigned to her department.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I didn''t want to disappoint them, so as soon as I had some free time, I came right here.¡±


    Kelly smiled back and hit a button to buzz the lock on the door and it clicked before she opened it for me. ¡°I''m glad you have your priorities straight.¡±


    I chuckled and nodded to her as I left. I had been tempted to offer my cheek for her to kiss, then thought better of it. Her words about being amoral enough to do it, had given me pause. Not for the implication that she was stricter with her own moral choices; but, for the fact that my brain had come up with several scenarios for me to see just how far away from her normal morals I could take her.


    As I passed through the secretarial pool, I waved and said goodbye to the women there and left the administration office. The elevator ride down to the floor with the robotics lab seemed short and I stepped off to go to the lab. I didn''t knock or anything, because that could bother someone in the middle of an experiment or at the important part of a critical calculation.


    I had to smile when I saw my improvised AT-ST being used as a paperweight on the department head''s desk. ¡°Good morning, sir.¡±


    The man smiled. ¡°Good morning, Mr. Parker. What brings you into my bailiwick?¡±


    ¡°I have spare time this morning until lunch. Are there any projects that need an extra brain cruncher to assist?¡± I asked and the smile on his face grew.


    ¡°How are you at quadratic equations?¡±


    ¡°I''ve read two college level books on the subject and one was centered on advanced mechanics.¡±


    ¡°Then you need to come with me.¡± He said and stood to lead me out of his office and towards another area. ¡°We''re having a problem with the updated computer system on our latest VTOL, or vertical take off and landing Quinjet transport. For some reason, the rotary blades of the five turbojet engines used for the main lift are out of sync and Harris can''t track the fault in either the coding or the physical engines themselves.¡±


    ¡°I can''t promise to be anything except another pair of eyes to look for the problem, sir. The most experience I''ve had with birds like that is seeing a couple of the operation reports and the pretty pictures of the outside.¡±


    The man chuckled and opened a door that had a mechanics shop behind it and a partially stripped Quinjet. ¡°Then you are about to get a crash course on the main systems we use.¡±


    ¡°Sir, please don''t use terminology like that.¡± A man''s voice said from inside part of the fuselage.


    ¡°Harris, I''ve brought someone to check your work.¡± The department head said and Harris sighed.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I understand.¡± Harris said and poked his head out through the hole where one of the engines was supposed to be. ¡°You can either crawl in here and ruin your nice suit or I can just describe everything and you can see it for yourself later.¡±


    I chuckled and took off my coat, flicked it to have it flare out and it floated over to land almost perfectly on the back of one of the chairs at the large workbench. ¡°The agency reimburses suit purchases.¡±


    Harris gave me a genuine smile and moved back to let me crawl in through the hole with him.


    ¡°You two have fun and let me know if you find anything.¡± The department head said with a laugh and walked away.


    An hour and a half later, Harris and I were both covered in more grease and fluids than should have been possible, and we had worked out the problem. Or, I should say problems. The head of the department looked quite pleased to hear the explanation.


    ¡°It never occurred to me that it could be a combination of both.¡± Harris said and scratched the side of his head. ¡°The computer was sending the wrong signal to the rotary control and the physical mechanism on the third lift engine stuttered because it was wired backwards.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you don''t mean just on this Quinjet, do you? You mean all of the third engines are cross-wired?¡± The department head asked, surprised.


    ¡°Yes, sir. Ben and I have already checked another bird remotely in the main deployment hangar from... ahem... you know where.¡± Harris said and gave me a side-eyed glance.


    I smirked at him. ¡°If you mean from the Helicarrier, I''m in the know of that particular not-so-secret secret.¡±


    ¡°Of course you are.¡± The department head said with a chuckle. ¡°How can they all be wired wrong?¡±


    ¡°It was a manufacturing error in the transmitted plans to one particular contractor.¡± Harris said and handed his boss the dirty laptop with the tracked results on it. ¡°Ben helped me navigate through the mainframe to get the order forms for that model of rotary engine and where it came from.¡±


    The department head looked at the information. ¡°I can see that. Good work, both of you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± We both said.


    ¡°Now, can you explain why they all ended up being the third engine in each Quinjet being produced?¡±


    ¡°Procedure, sir.¡± Harris said with a chuckle. ¡°When the first bird was assembled, they marked down where each part number was assigned in the plans and kept it there.¡±


    The department head blinked his eyes at us for several seconds and looked surprised. ¡°Are you telling me that the damn build crews are sorting the identical engines and putting them in order and in the exact same spot in each Quinjet that''s produced?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Harris said and hit a key on the laptop to show him. ¡°Their meticulousness is going to help immensely in this case, because we only have to tear out the secondary hull to get at the third engine and not take the entire vehicle apart to look for the engine we need to fix.¡±


    The man''s mouth opened and closed several times, then he closed it with a snap, nodded to us, and walked away with a determined look on his face.


    ¡°I think someone is getting a new asshole torn today for not triple checking the damaged engine''s construction.¡± I whispered.


    Harris barked a laugh and nodded. ¡°You better go get cleaned up if you''re going to spend lunch with a certain mysterious beauty, Ben. You can''t keep women like her waiting.¡±


    I nodded back and wiped my hands off on a rag that hung from his pocket, grabbed my suit coat, and walked away at a fast pace. I had an important lunch to get to and I wasn''t going to disappoint her.


    *


    Melinda left her small office after she had spent a little extra time freshening up her make-up and added a bit more of a wave to her hair. She was sure that she would catch Ben as he noticed the difference, even if he didn''t mention it. He seemed to observe everything around him when he entered a room and she recognized the practice as one she used herself.


    She couldn''t help but notice how fluidly he moved and how his muscles looked under his stylish shirts. She knew he worked out between his training sessions and she was quite tempted to follow him and see where he did his workouts. Her curiosity about that distracted her just enough to keep her mind off of what she had gone through.


    Melinda had always believed that taking any life would always cause a reciprocated karmic strike, even though she had committed a lot of similar acts previously. Taking the life of a child, even an extremely dangerous one, weighed heavily on her heart and her mind. Well, it had until recently.


    She had dozens of people tell her over the last few months that she had done the right thing and even Director Fury himself had chimed in. She didn''t believe them, because they were just words that they used to try and ease her guilt over the horrendous act that she had perpetrated and to keep her as an agent. The words didn''t really mean anything to her and didn''t affect her... until Ben told her what he did.


    Ben admitted to her that he had committed four murders, as if it was nothing, during a supposedly normal conversation over lunch. It was a shock to her at the time, especially because he hadn''t... not once... said the same words that everyone else had said to her. He didn''t placate her, he didn''t coddle her, and he didn''t tell her that everything would be okay eventually.


    It had been such a refreshing encounter that it had stuck in Melinda''s mind like a catchy song that you couldn''t stop playing in your thoughts. She had sought Ben out to see if he had just been grandstanding or had faked his nonchalance about everything, then they started talking about food and she ended up having a great time shopping with him and shared her thoughts on cooking.


    She had even gone home with him to meet his family and hadn''t once had her mood ruined by stray thoughts about the day she almost quit SHIELD or about what she had done. Her mind was once again hers and it wasn''t plagued with doubt, uncertainty, or the darkness that had threatened to consume her completely.


    Melinda was broken out of her thoughts when a freshly showered figure dressed in a stylish suit approached her. ¡°Should I ask you what you''ve been up to on your supposed morning off?¡±


    Ben''s eyes quickly roamed over her in a searching way, and not a lewd way, before he gave her a warm smile. ¡°You know that old saying about getting into something by burying yourself into it up to your elbows?¡± He asked and she nodded. ¡°I was into something all the way down to my ankles.¡±


    Melinda couldn''t stop her smile from both his comment and that he had noticed her sight alterations to her appearance. ¡°I know it wasn''t with a woman, because the rumor mill has upgraded us from dating to being engaged.¡±


    ¡°We haven''t even made an appearance at lunch and it''s already at that stage?¡± Ben barked a laugh. ¡°How many times have we broken up?¡±


    ¡°Only once, then you smartened up and realized how great I am.¡± Melinda said, smugly.


    Ben laughed and held an elbow out for her to take. ¡°At least they got one thing right.¡±


    Melinda blushed a little as she accepted his escort offer and slipped her arm through his. She knew what part he meant and the genuineness of the compliment touched her deeply.


    ¡°Have you decided when are we having an epic fight to break off the engagement?¡± Ben asked her with amusement on his face as they entered the cafeteria.


    ¡°I''ll let you know sometime next year.¡± Melinda said, teasingly.


    Ben laughed and a lot of people looked over at them as the talking and muttering became loud. They chose their food delicately for health and a balanced diet before they went to a relatively empty table and sat down to enjoy some more conversation.

 67 Merry Christmas To All Part One

    Bokuboy


    I showed up at the training room all ready for my next lesson and I was surprised when I wasn''t the only one in the room. Both Clint and Natasha were there, as were four other agents. There were two women and two men, three of which I didn''t know. However, there was one man that I did recognize. He was a double agent that worked for both SHIELD and Hydra named Grant Ward.


    I didn''t let my recognition show as I examined the rest of the people with my eyes, and they seemed to just be standing around. Seemed was the key word, because Grant stood a little closer to a woman than he did anyone else and Clint and Natasha were also closer than casual standing would account for.


    Of course, I was the only one in workout gear and stood out like a fresh pimple on a supermodel''s nose, because everyone else wore the nice dark blue day shift uniforms of SHIELD field agents.


    ¡°This is why you should have briefed me properly, Hawkeye. It would have saved you some embarrassment from having your student show up completely unprepared.¡± I said and stayed where I was by the door instead of joining any of the others. I had even left my gym bag back in my office, so none of my official equipment was available. On the plus side, I did have my four cell phones on me.


    Clint looked surprised at my words and a couple of the agents looked like they understood that I had just pawned off my state of unreadiness as his responsibility.


    ¡°I will discuss his lack of informing you at the next staff meeting.¡± Maria said as she entered the room.


    ¡°It''s not the first time he''s done it.¡± I said and nodded to Natasha. ¡°I think a bit of hazing for the new guy had been planned, even though this is my first official mission.¡± I said and smiled a little at Maria. ¡°Assuming this actually is an assigned mission for a new recruit.¡±


    Maria''s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°It has been planned for two weeks and both Black Widow and Hawkeye knew about you being assigned.¡±


    Natasha let out a slight sigh. ¡°I was going to assess his viability for the mission before deployment, except the timetable moved up by two hours and I was unable to.¡±


    ¡°You just admitted you intentionally kept him in the dark about his first assignment.¡± Maria said and the look in her eyes seemed to hold Natasha in place. ¡°I could have ignored you forgetting to inform Agent Parker, if it had been a mistake.¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth to speak, paused, then spoke. ¡°I don''t have an excuse.¡±


    Probably because she was being petty and doesn''t want to admit it. I thought. My knowing about her past must have really bothered her.


    Maria turned to me. ¡°There is no time for you to get kitted out properly. We have spare gear on the transport that you can use and will have to live with the backup uniforms not fitting you properly.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I won''t let it hinder me, Deputy Director Hill.¡± I said with confidence. ¡°You can count on me.¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched as if to smile and her face went back to her stoic look as she nodded. ¡°All right, people. Listen up.¡± She said and walked across the room and tapped some hidden controls on the wall and it opened to reveal a large monitor and it displayed a large compound. ¡°You will be divided up into two man teams and...¡±


    I did not miss the fact that there were seven of us as I listened to the briefing with one ear and let my eyes roam around the room. Natasha had her face stiff, as if she had a hard time not letting any emotions show, and Clint was beside her and his face wasn''t much better off. I was sure the chewing out they were going to get for keeping me out of the loop, was going to be difficult for them to accept, because they deserved it and they knew they did.


    I had a sympathetic look from one of the women and one of the men, while a look of ambivalence came from both Grant and the woman beside him. That meant the latter two didn''t care that one of their teammates was about to go with them into a mission and had not been prepared for it.


    ¡°...and after the tech team successfully hacks into the security network, they can shut off the movement sensors and the cameras that our initial probes revealed.¡± Maria Hill said.


    I put up my hand and she gave me a questioning look. ¡°Why don''t you just have Black Widow use one of her taser shots to run an overloading electrical current into the security grid?¡±


    Nearly everyone gave me a surprised look.


    ¡°If you''re close enough to have the tech team strip wires to make a physical connection to gain access, just blow the whole system instead of trying to hack it and do it the long way.¡± I added. ¡°It''s the same result in about a tenth of the time.¡±


    ¡°We are trying to be stealthy about the mission.¡± One of the men said.


    ¡°That''s not possible. If you''re cutting the feed to the external security just to get inside, someone is going to notice.¡± I said and smiled as I realized what would happen. ¡°If they have someone sitting there watching the monitors, the base alarm will be tripped within ten seconds when it all goes down. If it''s unmanned, then it won''t matter how the security grid is taken out.¡±


    That had the other agents thinking about it.


    Maria wasn''t thinking about it as she looked right at me. ¡°Agent Parker? You have an alternative?¡±


    ¡°That depends. What is the final objective of the mission?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The destruction of the weapons caches and the main drug manufacturing facilities.¡± Maria said. ¡°Our cover story will be a wildfire had engulfed the place and destroyed everything.¡±


    ¡°Will you be issuing explosives to all of the team members?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, only to certain members that have been trained in their operational safety.¡± Maria responded.


    ¡°Experienced field agents, then.¡± I said and thought about it. ¡°What about grenades? Incendiary, smoke, and fragment?¡±


    ¡°Same answer.¡± Maria said and her eyes went to Natasha and Clint.


    ¡°It''s not their fault. Widow showed me a wide range of weapons my first day here during my assessment. We didn''t get to grenades, since they are not a part of the necessary information needed for normal agents. Hawkeye on the other hand, has been showing me how much my body hates bruises as I learned how to fight properly.¡±


    The two men chuckled and the women nodded.


    Maria waited for a moment and spoke. ¡°I ask you again, Agent Parker. Do you have an alternative?¡±


    I looked at the display and let my eyes take everything in. I looked at it like I was going to throw a basketball at a hoop and let my mind fill in the equations and the variables for distance and the amount of force required to get into the base and score. I walked over to the display and stared at it.


    ¡°Can you rotate this?¡± I asked and motioned to it.


    Maria used the controls to change the top-down view and it rotated to the right, then the right again.


    ¡°Stop.¡± I said and reached out and tapped a small building with my finger. ¡°A lot of the wires are going to here. Any chance for a quick air strike?¡±


    ¡°No, we really are trying to be covert.¡± Maria said. ¡°That also means no overflights.¡±


    I looked back at it and let my mind throw balls at the compound and played out where they would land. Do I use a deflection and bounce off the backboard or go for a swish and do nothing but net?


    ¡°Where is our insertion site in comparison to the target?¡± I asked and Maria zoomed out and a red dot appeared several miles away. ¡°I can work with that.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± One of the women asked and I wasn''t surprised it was the one near Grant.


    ¡°It''s out far enough that I can swing around on my own. I can gain entrance to the base much easier as a sole person and not part of a two man team.¡± I said, which pointed out the mismatched number of us going. I tapped the small building with my fingertip. ¡°The monitoring shack looks unguarded. I''ll copy and run the previous footage on a loop and no one will know anything is happening, even after the rest of you assault the compound with the motion sensors off.¡±


    Grant actually made a huff sound. ¡°You''re as bad as those two and you haven''t been on a mission yet.¡±


    Everyone knew he was talking about Natasha and Clint.


    ¡°They are your backup.¡± Maria said and everyone looked surprised, except for me. ¡°Agent Parker?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I said and smiled at her questioning look. ¡°Oh, I figured they were only going to help when needed or if we get into trouble. If they were doing the mission themselves, we wouldn''t be needed at all.¡±


    Natasha and Clint exchanged knowing looks.


    ¡°If you''re worried that what I suggest doesn''t work, it doesn''t really affect the normal plan you already have, since I''m an extra man anyway. You can still attack, disable the security, and destroy the place. If I''m caught, I''ll be the perfect distraction.¡± I said and my teammates all looked surprised. It sure did take a lot to get others to notice the obvious.


    Maria gave me an odd look, one that was both contemplative and full of assessment. ¡°I approve of the modification.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Several of the other agents exclaimed, while both Clint and Natasha looked shocked.


    Maria ignored them and looked into my eyes. ¡°We are trusting you to successfully infiltrate and signal your teammates. If you are caught, you will be on your own. A rescue mission has not been approved.¡± She said and looked at the others. ¡°For any of you.¡±


    ¡°You''re not even going to tell us what country we''re going to, are you?¡± The unnamed man asked.


    ¡°That''s not necessary for the mission to succeed.¡± I said before Maria could and she gave me a slight nod. ¡°Wherever it is, it''s definitely a rush job, so we need to go.¡±


    ¡°Hey, aren''t you going to ask why we''re doing this?¡± One of the women asked me.


    ¡°No, I make it a habit to not ask superior officers stupid questions.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°It could be a local warlord that wants the territory, or the president of the country is a dictator getting kickbacks from the drugs, or it could be the neighbouring country wants to destabilize their economy and remove a bad influence and the source of their power.¡±


    Everyone stared at me, even Maria.


    ¡°Those are just guesses, though. It doesn''t matter in the end, because it''s getting blown up. We''re agents. It''s not our job to worry about the political, economic, or societal impact of things like this.¡± I said and that really made them stare hard at me, so I shrugged and started walking across the room to the door. ¡°We''re wasting daylight and we need to go. I also need to change.¡±


    ¡°Basement exit in the east wing.¡± Maria said behind me. ¡°Black Widow, Hawkeye, lead the way.¡±


    I stopped at the door and waited for them, because I didn''t know where the basement exit was. Natasha gave me a pointed look as she passed. I winked at her and she squinted her eyes at me. She didn''t say anything, though.


    I followed behind her and ignored everyone else as I took out my cell phone and sent Aunt May a text about working late and that I might have to pull an all-nighter, because a huge data package had just been delivered and it surprised the whole department.


    May wasn''t happy about me staying out all night and I assured her that I and my six associates would be well taken care of by the agency. She reluctantly agreed and I sent her a heart emoji and put my phone away. With the most important thing done, I stared at Natasha''s ass in her Black Widow costume as she walked ahead of me.


    I remembered plowing into her from behind, watched as her ass jiggled, and enjoyed the feeling as my balls smacked hard into her soaked womanhood at the same time. Penis Parker could not ignore the memory and made a pronounced appearance. Since I was wearing tight workout clothes, there was no way I was hiding my erection from anyone, so I didn''t bother to try.


    We arrived at the exit and gathered around the back of the large van that was similar to the one I had rented. The women in the group, Natasha included, easily noticed my ready state.


    ¡°Are you that excited about going on your first mission?¡± One of the women asked and didn''t hide the fact that she had checked me out. Thankfully, it was not the potential Hydra agent.


    ¡°I am.¡± I said and didn''t explain about my thoughts of drilling Natasha or that it wasn''t going to go away while being held by the now much tighter fabric. I did give Natasha a glance and flicked my eyes down to her waist and back to her face. I thought I saw a slight smile before she used her blank face again.


    The van''s rear door was opened by Clint and we all entered the back and sat down on the jumpseats on the sides, four to a side. We didn''t bother strapping in. Clint closed the back and the van was soon driving across part of the city. I suspected we went towards the docks, because we went up a small incline and came to a stop.


    I felt the slight swell and shallow of a boat in the water and I thought it was neat that my sense of balance had easily detected the change from solid ground to water, even though we were probably inside the Helicarrier that was larger than a full sized aircraft carrier.


    Clint opened the back of the van and we filed out and went right into the back of a Quinjet. ¡°Strap in until we take off. No talking.¡± He advised us and walked past us as Natasha closed the boarding ramp. She gave me a blank look and then followed Clint into the cockpit.


    The transport was fairly large and we didn''t have to sit directly beside each other, so it was interesting when everyone spread out and sat with the people they knew. I sat beside the door, Grant and his woman sat together several seats away from me and the other woman and the man, whom I assumed was her partner, sat together on the other side of the compartment.


    We all strapped in and the transport powered up. I listened and nodded my head slightly as all five fans made the proper whirring sounds as the test from the lab that morning. There was no stuttering from one of them, which meant this transport would not potentially crash. It was a relief and it must have shown on my face.


    ¡°Are you scared of heights or something?¡± The woman across the compartment asked.


    I raised my eyebrows at her and nodded towards the cockpit.


    ¡°He didn''t mean it. There''s no way that us speaking back here can cause something to go wrong.¡± She said, a little smugly.


    Clint came back into the personnel hold and gave her a good stare. ¡°I wanted quiet so I can talk to the flight tower and receive instructions without interruption or having to listen to two people talking at the same time.¡±


    The woman''s face lost some of its color. ¡°Y-yes, sir. I''m sorry, sir.¡±


    Clint nodded and looked at me. ¡°Agent Parker, we will be at a stable flight height in ten minutes. The gear locker is at the front of the compartment on the right hand side. Your thumb print will open it.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir.¡± I said with a nod. He had just told me that there were no personal change rooms and if I wanted to gear up, it would be in front of four other people that I didn''t know. ¡°What''s our ETA?¡±


    ¡°That''s classified.¡± Clint said and walked back across the compartment and went back into the cockpit.


    No one else spoke, even though we could now.


    *


    Clint closed the hatch to the back and sat down in the co-pilot''s seat. He didn''t say a word as the Quinjet rose up to international flight height. When the plane levelled off, he stayed quiet and looked at Natasha with a blank face.


    For half an hour, Natasha successfully ignored Clint''s silent pleas to tell him what was going on, before she gave in and turned on the autopilot to give him the same blank look back.


    Ten minutes later, Natasha had to turn away. She didn''t say anything, even though she wanted to. She wanted to tell Clint how conflicted she was about Ben, about Ben knowing about her past, about her not knowing Ben''s, about how she desperately wanted to have sex with Ben again, and how compromised she felt because of it all.


    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡± Clint asked.


    Natasha didn''t respond and sat there as she stared out the cockpit window. It would be so much easier if she could solve her problems that way. One stray bullet to the head, blamed on an enemy ambush, and all of her worries and anxieties would disappear.


    She could easily follow Ben through the miles of forest and she could remove the threat, then she would complete his assignment for him and leave his body to be disposed of in the staged wildfire. It was such an appealing solution that she seriously contemplated it. She worked out the details, the factual reports she would file, and the evidence she would have if the setup was done properly.


    Fuck. Clint thought as he easily read the thoughts on his long time friend''s face. I need to say something to stop her before she makes a huge mistake. He opened his mouth to speak and Natasha interrupted him.


    ¡°If he screws up any part of this mission or gets caught, I''ll deal with him.¡± Natasha said, adamantly.


    Clint clamped his mouth shut because he had been too slow and had let her reach the decision on her own. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He thought. Fury will have her erased if she does something stupid like that.


    He sat back in the co-pilot''s chair and thought about following Natasha when she followed Ben, then cursed in his head again, because he had to babysit the other agents instead. He decided to put a GPS tracker on Ben and would follow him electronically instead.

 68 Merry Christmas To All Part Two

    Bokuboy


    The backup uniform was two sizes too big for me, which meant I didn''t have to take off my workout clothes and it solved my undressing problem, except I was now bulked out. Someone chuckled when they saw me, because I looked fat instead of lean and clean cut like them in their suits. When I added the ballistics vest, someone barked a laugh, because it bulked me out on the chest area even more.


    I put on an equipment belt and strapped on a double shoulder holster. I took two Glock pistols from the locker, checked them, loaded the ammunition, and added spare clips full of bullets to the holsters. I slipped two batons up my sleeves and secured them with a bit of duct tape to hold my sleeves tightly. I tested drawing them and nodded.


    I strapped a combat knife to the inside of my calf and put on a boot to test it. I nodded at the feel, because my workout clothes had given me an extra layer of protection for my skin. I added pepper spray, zip ties, handcuffs, a back-up weapon to the belt, and looked through everything for what else I could use.


    There were no gas masks, no tripwires, no grenades (not that I was allowed to use them anyway), no brass knuckles, no throwing knives, no tool kits, no lock picks, and no water bottles or emergency rations. I closed the locker and did my best to hide my irritation at the situation and at Natasha and Clint.


    Whoever planned this mission is severely lacking in preparedness. I thought and walked back across the entire compartment. I made sure I wobbled like a drunk sailor and pretended that the clothes weighed me down, then sighed exaggeratedly when I sat down and saw the amusement on the faces of the other agents. I pretended to struggle as I strapped back in and ignored the muffled laughter.


    I sat there and didn''t say anything to the others as they had their own private whispered conversations. I could easily hear them, thanks to my enhanced senses, and I didn''t react as they made fun of me. I had acted that way on purpose, just so I would be underestimated by the two Hydra agents. It was going to be a very long flight, in more ways than one.


    I needed to use the bathroom.


    *


    Clint almost laughed out loud as he watched Ben waddle down the ramp after patting his shoulder and placed the GPS tracker on him. The bulky clothing he wore really made him look fat, especially the protective vest. The look on Natasha''s face was hilarious as she watched him as well.


    ¡°I''ll send the go signal as soon as I can.¡± Ben said and saluted to Clint, then he trudged away from the landing area and into the jungle forest.


    ¡°Good lord, is he even trying to stay quiet?¡± Grant Ward asked and the others laughed.


    Natasha let out the sigh she was holding in. ¡°Clint, you stay here and...¡±


    ¡°You need to give him a bit of a head start, especially if that was his best speed carrying all that equipment and clothing.¡± Clint advised in an attempt to delay her.


    Natasha gave him a pointed look. ¡°I told you that if he screwed anything up, I would deal with it.¡±


    Clint gave her a pointed look back. ¡°He hasn''t yet.¡±


    Natasha motioned to the four other agents. ¡°His teammates are laughing at him.¡±


    Clint tried to not make a sarcastic comment. ¡°Maybe he''s trying to be the comic relief, since he doesn''t have a partner.¡±


    Natasha opened her mouth to respond, paused, and spoke. ¡°How could they assign an odd number of people to the mission and still want them sorted into two man teams?¡±


    Clint didn''t really have a response for that, considering the two teams there were man-woman pairings, as was his with Natasha.


    ¡°I''m going to shadow him to the compound.¡± Natasha whispered and Clint grabbed her arm.


    ¡°You need to rethink your decision.¡± Clint whispered back.


    Natasha didn''t let any emotions show on her face. ¡°Like Fury said, he knows a lot more than he should. If I don''t deal with him now, he could ruin everything I''ve worked so hard for.¡±


    Clint sighed and let her arm go. ¡°You''re making a mistake, Nat.¡±


    ¡°The only mistake I made was not dealing with him immediately.¡± Natasha responded. ¡°I wouldn''t have slept with him or compromised myself, and I wouldn''t have even more blood on my hands.¡±


    Clint didn''t point out that the blood would still have been there if she had killed him first. The difference was that she was going to feel guilty about having to do it now.


    *


    ¡°..more blood on my hands.¡± Natasha''s voice said in my ear.


    I chuckled as I ran through the jungle as fast as a panther. I guess that means she made her decision about what to do with me. I thought as I leapt on a fallen tree and avoided a deadly snake as I flipped over and used my parkour skills to bounce off of another tree trunk. I jumped and swung with one hand from a tree branch to speed up my jump and kept running when my feet hit the ground.


    My entrance to the forest minutes ago had been deliberately noisy and attention getting, so I could make them think I was always going to act that way. I had pretended to be a complete newbie at this and I couldn''t disappoint their expectations, could I?


    That thought made me chuckle again and I regretted that I didn''t bring my web shooters. The forest would have been a great place to practice different moves and techniques that I could easily adapt for an urban environment. Of course, having my dark clothing would not have helped me at all when surrounded by bright jungle colors and giving myself away without wearing a costume would be immensely stupid on my part.


    I soon approached the outer patrol area and slowed down as my spider-sense tingled. I quickly climbed up into a tree to scout out the next part of my route and I hung there on the underside of a large branch. I used my hands and feet to stick to it, upside down, and I wasn''t surprised that my blood did not rush to my head like it did in a normal person.


    My body really was adjusting in much different ways than I had expected and I wasn''t going to complain about it. The better it was at adapting, the more versatile and useful it was going to be.


    I clamped my mouth shut as a dark skinned man walked by underneath me and his large hat completely blocked him from seeing me.


    They always refuse to look up for threats. I thought as I let go of the branch and dropped down, pulled the knife from my boot, and tackled the man to the ground. I had a hand over his mouth and the knife a quarter of an inch into his throat before he managed to pull something out of his pocket and showed it to me.


    It was a SHIELD identification card.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I whispered and looked at the man''s neck. ¡°I hope you''ve got a bandage or something, because they didn''t let me prep properly for this fake mission.¡±


    The man''s hands scrambled through several pockets before he pulled out a plastic resealable baggie with gauze, antiseptic, and tape. He opened it and put some of the cleaning fluid on a piece of gauze and held it out to me.


    I withdrew the knife and quickly applied the gauze to the inch wide cut. I taped it in place. ¡°Keep pressure on it.¡± I said and he slapped his hand on the spot and his fingers strained as he held on tightly. I searched him and took a handheld radio out of his pocket and the machine gun from over his shoulder. ¡°Do you have a special code to call in for assistance?¡±


    The man shook his head.


    I looked at the radio and it was set to a specific frequency. I really regretted not bringing my own equipment, because I could have tracked it and spoofed it to not reveal where I was if I used it. I gave the guy a pointed look and took his ID and radio, then I knelt and wrapped my arm around his neck.


    I choked him into unconsciousness after a couple of minutes and wrapped the tape around his neck to keep pressure on the gauze. ¡°The mission might be fake; but, I''m going to finish it anyway.¡±


    I dragged him around a tree and covered him with some fronds and a bit of the debris from the jungle ground. With him relatively safe, I checked the machine gun. It felt off for some reason, so I popped out the magazine of bullets and took one out.


    ¡°Blanks.¡± I whispered and used my thumb to pop each of the bullets out. I was tempted to add in the spare bullets from my shoulder holster and chuckled. I did that and put the magazine back into the machine gun and hung it over my back like a backpack.


    With my surprise prepared, I plucked the GPS tracker from my shoulder and put it on the guy before I climbed the tree to the branch I had used before and then leapt to the next tree, then the next and the next. I really let myself go as I jumped to nearly the fullest extent of my current abilities.


    I had to admit that I was getting some really nice air as each leap let me cross thirty to forty feet spaces easily, which would have made me a spectacular ninja in the old days. The thing was, I knew I should be able to jump farther. I just had to keep my weight training on an accelerated schedule to get my body to where it should be. Superhuman.


    I made it to the compound a short while later and I worked my way around it, in a similar fashion to Maria when she had rotated the image in the display. When I approached the spot for entry, I was not surprised to see double the guards on patrol and two cameras were focused on the area. I chuckled mentally, since I knew it was a test, and I didn''t have to worry as I worked around to the other side.


    The electric fence was fifteen feet high and any normal person would have had to carefully cut their way through it while trying to not be electrocuted. I followed my spider-sense to a camera''s blind spot near a back building and waited for the sparse patrol to pass by the inside of the fence and I leapt up and over the fence to gently land on the side of the building.


    I quickly crawled around the building and stayed below the roof, because of the scout towers at the corners of the compound. Any roof movement would give me away, so I went inside the first window I found and smiled, because there were four men playing poker and spoke in an odd language.


    That meant I couldn''t have asked for help for the other agent, even if I had spoofed the radio, because it would have given me away immediately and alerted the base I was here. That is, assuming he really was an agent.


    I crawled up onto the ceiling, glad that it was mostly dark inside. The light bulb wasn''t very bright and only lit up the poker table like a spotlight, which gave me a shiver as I remembered my nightmare. My happy mood about passing the mission was suddenly gone and I crushed the bulb.


    While the men complained about the suddenly darker room, I dropped down to land on the flimsy table and crushed it, then I grabbed each man and punched them in the diaphragm to knock the wind out of them. Learning how to do that was one of the worst lessons I had, because your own body was denying you the ability to breathe.


    Clint did look sympathetic as he did it to me a dozen times to let me see and feel what the move did. I did not have sympathy for the four men as they wheezed and rolled around on the floor and they tried to get their breath back.


    I searched them and each had a SHIELD card and their guns were full of blanks. I shook my head at the stupidity and used the zip ties on their arms and legs before I applied a strip of duct tape to their mouths. Two of them had a smoke grenade in their pocket, so I took them.


    I started to strip one of them of their costume, then realized they were all dark skinned... and I wasn''t. Not even close. Infiltrating like that was not going to work. One of the radios came to life and I listened as that same weird language came over it and then went silent.


    I wasn''t daunted by that and thought about what to do with them, shrugged, and choked them out. I dragged them over to the wall and deposited them there and out of sight. I walked over to the door to leave and my spider-sense tingled. I stepped behind the door as it opened and two men came in. They spoke in that same language, so I shut the door and they both whirled around to face me.


    Perfect. I thought as I knelt. They both received the breath-stealing punches to their guts at the same time and collapsed to the floor. I let them suffer for a bit before I gave them the same treatment as the others and put them at the side of the room.


    I was tempted to stay there and lure them in one or two at a time, except I couldn''t waste time like that. I needed to get to that monitoring room to disable the security system. So, I relied on my spider-sense to guide me and I left the building through the window and hopped from building to building, stayed out of sight of the cameras and the occasional guard, and sighed when I reached the middle of the compound.


    It was definitely a trap, because there were guards at the four corners of the building, their radios were on, and their guns were poised to attack. I held in my sigh at them intentionally giving away that they knew someone was coming, even though they were supposed to pretend they didn''t.


    I hung there under the eave of the building and thought about what I could do. Sneaking in wasn''t an option, neither was looking for a sewer grate or an air duct. I had to get in there to the controls to complete the mission... and then I realized something. I didn''t have to get into the building at all.


    I carefully made my way around the compound until I found what I wanted. I followed it back to where it led and smiled at the small shack near the back of the property that had the power generator inside. It''s loud rattling and chugging meant that it was an old diesel engine, probably from an old tractor or something, and I entered.


    After a quick examination, I put a kink into the fuel line from the metal tank to the engine. I was tempted to pour the fuel onto the hot engine and let it explode, then shook my head. Just cutting the power would be good enough. The security system and alarms, including the electric fence that they didn''t tell us about, would become completely useless.


    I retreated to a safe distance and watched as the engine ran out the fuel it still had inside and in part of the fuel line. It ran for several minutes before it spit and sputtered, made several clacking sounds, then it stopped dead.


    Everything seemed to lose power almost immediately and I waited for someone to come and check on the engine. A dark-skinned man strode nearby as he cursed about the stupid thing not working again. I grabbed him by the collar and clamped a hand over his mouth as I pulled him close, then I choked him out.


    I tucked him into the shack behind the engine, broke the handle of the door after I left, and retreated to my safe spot as I tapped my earpiece three times. ¡°The eagle has taken the nest and the eggs are broken. I repeat, the eggs are broken.¡±


    There was a sudden surge of extra activity as the base seemed to become swarmed with dark-skinned men and women. They were all dressed similarly and they ran all over the place as they checked everywhere for something. Probably me.


    I laughed mentally at the evidence that they were listening to our communications and I was glad that I had a safe place to hide as they searched all over.


    ¡°I want that power back on.¡± A man''s voice said as he and another man approached the shack.


    The man with him spoke in the other language.


    ¡°Operational security? Someone is already inside the base and none of you can find them! I want that fence powered up and the motion sensors back online before the assault!¡± The man exclaimed.


    I waited for them to get to the shack before I hopped down from my hidden perch and snuck over to behind them, then I grabbed their arms and turned them around. The shocked looks on their dark faces was priceless, so I dropped to my knees and punched them... right in the balls. They groaned and dropped to the ground as they cupped themselves.


    ¡°Consider yourselves dead.¡± I whispered and covered their mouths with duct tape. I zip tied their arms and legs as well and dragged them around the shack. ¡°Now it''s time to have some fun shooting up the place.¡±


    ¡°Hmm mhmm mhh!¡± The man supposedly in charge mumbled.


    ¡°Unlike your guns, mine are loaded with real bullets.¡± I said and took the machine gun from around my shoulders and took aim at one of the guard towers.


    ¡°HMMM!¡± The man yelled.


    I chuckled and let my spider-sense guide my aim, then I shot the binoculars out of the scout''s hands. The man yelled and ducked to hide, because he didn''t have anything to shoot back with. I looked down at the men at my feet and saw the realization on their faces.


    ¡°Can you guess who is going to complete the mission?¡± I asked them and knelt to choke them out.


    They didn''t need to see what was going to happen next.

 69 Merry Christmas To All Conclusion

    Bokuboy


    It was utter chaos at the compound. No one knew what was going on as real bullets flew around, smoke came from two different locations, and the power was out. It wasn''t until the main storage area exploded that everyone abandoned the training scenario and ran for the surrounding jungle. It didn''t take long for all of the buildings to catch on fire, especially when they were deliberately set.


    *


    Natasha had tried to follow Ben as he made his way across the jungle to the compound and she had lost his trail almost immediately. She called Clint and told him that she had lost track of Ben and Clint told her that he had tagged him. She thanked him and followed the new signal to where a dark-skinned man lay, unconscious.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± Natasha whispered and checked her cell phone again and brought up the map. She followed the GPS to the right spot and came to a stop inside the predicted patrol route for the enemy guards as the compound came into sight.


    She caught her breath and stared at the utter destruction that someone had unleashed upon the entire base. She hid and ignored the mass of clearly fleeing personnel and wondered what had happened to the covert mission.


    ¡°I''ve come into your parlour, said the fly to the black widow spider.¡± A whispered voice said in her ear as a knife edge laid against the right side of her neck.


    Natasha froze, because she hadn''t seen or heard anyone approach.


    ¡°You just lost your life.¡± The soft voice whispered. ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡±


    Natasha made her hands into fists and her right elbow slammed backwards as hard as she could and she felt the sting of a solid hit and heard a grunt as a gloved hand grabbed the left side of her neck. The knife hadn''t moved from the right side of her neck and the chest she had just hit had only caved in slightly.


    ¡°Wearing bulky clothes actually worked for me this time.¡± The soft voice whispered and Natasha let out a sigh. ¡°Now what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Let me go, Ben.¡± Natasha said in a normal voice.


    ¡°No. Your life is mine.¡± Ben whispered.


    ¡°You attacked a teammate during a covert mission that you''ve just blown.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Blown? Well, yes. That was the objective. Destroy the weapons and drug facilities.¡± Ben responded.


    ¡°No, it wasn''t supposed to be like this. Your team...¡±


    ¡°...are as useless as a spy that can''t deal with their problems without trying to kill it as a first option.¡± Ben said.


    Natasha gasped and used the supposed distraction to activate both of her taser bracelets and jammed them down and back towards Ben''s thighs. Both hit and then Natasha yelled in surprise and stiffened as both taser charges were unleashed on either side of her neck. Her body trembled and she fought to remain standing.


    ¡°It''s not so fun being on the other side of the Widow''s Sting, is it?¡± Ben asked her.


    ¡°H-how?¡± Natasha asked through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Predictability and some spare wiring from all the power cables just laying around.¡± Ben said with a chuckle.


    ¡°You... knew I...¡±


    ¡°...decided to kill me? Yes.¡± Ben said and his voice became hard. ¡°The problem is, I''ve now spared your life three times.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Natasha asked, confused.


    ¡°When you first approached the base, I could have easily shot you, because of your extremely distracted state. When I put this knife against your throat and didn''t kill you, was the second time.¡± Ben said. ¡°If your taser shot would have worked like you thought it should, my arms would have clenched together and your pretty little neck would have been sliced apart, right on your jugular, and my fingers would have crushed your windpipe.¡±


    Natasha took a shallow breath and let it out. She didn''t want to admit that he was right.


    ¡°Make that four times.¡± Ben said with a chuckle. ¡°If I was allowed grenades, when you approached that guard with Clint''s GPS tracker on him? Kaboom.¡±


    Natasha sighed. ¡°What are you going to do to me?¡±


    ¡°Me? Nothing.¡± Ben said and the knife moved away from her neck. ¡°Director Fury on the other hand, is going to have quite the interesting conversation with you.¡±


    Natasha''s left foot slammed backwards and down to stab her heel into Ben''s boot and her hand shot up and knocked his left hand away from her neck. She turned around and knelt on one knee as she launched a punch at his gut.


    Ben let out a grunt as the hit landed and he chuckled. ¡°Bulky clothing for the win again.¡±


    Natasha let out a soft growl and she aimed lower with her next punch. It was met with a shin and then a gloved fist slammed into her face. Her head whipped around from the downward hit and her eyes had seen the perfect form and knew that Ben had applied the maximum force and used his shoulder and body to reinforce the hit.


    Ben''s foot kicked her in the shoulder and she was pushed against the tree with a grunt, then his other foot came for her face. Natasha ducked and tried to roll, only to have her feet be caught in a snare and she dropped to the ground onto her face.


    A booted foot hit her side and she grunted from pain, because her reinforced suit had only blunted the impact. Natasha felt him drop down onto her back and then a fist hit the back of her head and her forehead bounced off of the ground. It rang her bell and she shook her head to try and clear it.


    ¡°That''s five times I''ve spared you.¡± Ben said as her eyes cleared and his knife was embedded into the dirt beside her ear. ¡°Shall I let you up and I can try for number six?¡±


    Natasha didn''t respond and thought about how she was going to get out of this. She did not like not being in control and this whole situation was well outside of her control.


    ¡°Let her up, Ben.¡± Clint''s voice said from about fifty feet away.


    ¡°Hey, guys! I''m glad you finally showed up.¡± Ben said with a huge smile on his face and pulled the knife out of the ground and put it back into his boot before he stood up. ¡°I successfully scared off most of the locals and I destroyed the main warehouse and lit the rest of the compound on fire. I''m sorry to say that there''s not much left for you to do here.¡±


    Everyone stared at him as he ignored Clint''s aimed bow and no one commented as Natasha slowly stood up. She didn''t attack Ben, though.


    Too many witnesses, I suppose. Ben thought. ¡°Did you try to capture any of the fleeing drug cartel members?¡± He asked and everyone looked guilty, even Natasha. ¡°I''ll take that as a no.¡± He said and chuckled. ¡°On the plus side, I completed this whole operation by myself and didn''t need any of you.¡±


    The other four agents looked surprised at that declaration. Natasha and Clint had much different looks on their faces. Disbelief at him claiming such a thing.


    ¡°I''ve captured the base leader and his XO. They are at the back of the base behind the generator shack. You can interrogate them about their drug operation whenever you want.¡± Ben said and waddled out of the forest and over towards the main gate. He reached it and unhooked the manual locking mechanism that was no longer powered or electrified, and pushed open the gate. ¡°Merry Christmas to all!¡±


    ¡°That''s enough grandstanding.¡± An authoritative voice said over the hidden loudspeakers. Everyone came to attention because they all recognized Nick Fury''s voice. ¡°Agent Parker, you pass the examination.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Several voices exclaimed in disbelief.


    ¡°Agents Ward and Sitwell, you failed. Agents Carrey and Hibson, you are still on probation.¡± Fury said.


    Muffled curses came from the four agents as several dark-skinned men and women approached from the forest and took Grant and his woman into custody.


    ¡°You will be debriefed and then informed of your future duties in the agency.¡± Fury''s voice continued. ¡°Agent Hawkeye and Agent Black Widow, please report to my office upon your return. We need to have a... discussion... about your recent behavior.¡±


    Neither Clint nor Natasha spoke and just nodded. They knew the discussion was going to be a shouting match as he vented at them. The Quinjet they had arrived in flew over their heads and landed just outside the compound.


    ¡°Board the transport and come home. Your debriefing will be held after you get a few hours sleep here at the New York office. Fury out.¡±


    ¡°And to all, a good night.¡± Ben said with a chuckle and waddled over to the transport and went up the boarding ramp like a drunken sailor. ¡°I wonder what''s going to happen next? Oh! A shower! I definitely need a shower after kicking so much ass.¡±


    The other two agents stared at him as he strapped into the same seat by the door that he had used before. Natasha avoided looking at him completely and went to the cockpit for several moments.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Agent Widow. I''m under orders from Director Fury himself to not relinquish command.¡± A man''s voice said loudly.


    Clint sat at the far end of the compartment and strapped in as Natasha came back into the compartment and sat beside him. She didn''t speak and strapped in as well. In fact, no one spoke at all during what seemed like a much shorter flight as they returned to base.


    *


    Nick Fury sat with Maria Hill, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff, Phil Coulson, and several other high ranked agents in the meeting room as they watched the cell phone footage of Ben as he completely dismantled the entire compound. By himself. He had infiltrated in a different area from where he had said he was going to and they saw that there had been extra guards posted there and a few key areas.


    ¡°So.¡± Fury said when the footage ended with the ''fight'' between Natasha and Ben. ¡°Would anyone like to explain to me why the base was fully prepared for the incursion when they were told not to be?¡±


    ¡°The base commander...¡± One of the other agents started to say.


    ¡°Has already been demoted and moved to another location in Siberia.¡± Fury said with a cold voice. ¡°Next.¡±


    ¡°They had our communications and code phrases for this mission.¡± Phil Coulson said. ¡°Agent Parker confirmed that when he cut the power.¡±


    ¡°That was an ingenious solution to the guarded monitoring shack.¡± Maria said. ¡°I''ve noted it into the mission procedures file.¡±


    Fury nodded and motioned to Phil to continue.


    ¡°His immediate discovery that it was a training mission with a single encounter, showcases his ability to adapt to situations.¡± Phil said.


    ¡°How is the agent he nearly stabbed fatally?¡± One of the other agents asked.


    ¡°Perfectly fine. The knife was clean and sharp. The insertion point was far enough away from the man''s jugular that it wasn''t nicked. His immediate reaction to reveal he was an agent saved his life.¡±


    Fury held a hand out to Maria and she handed him several papers. ¡°I need to address exactly why Agent Parker had to make due with replacement and ill-fitting equipment while on a normal transport.¡±


    That made two of the agents look uncomfortable.


    ¡°Well?¡± Fury asked them. ¡°How did a normal equipment locker with actual bullets get into the training scenario?¡±


    ¡°That''s my fault.¡± One of them said. ¡°I had to substitute at the last minute because of the pushed up timetable. The training jet still had part of the fuselage open and would have needed another two hours to be fixed.¡±


    ¡°The normal deployment time.¡± Fury said and he nodded. ¡°It never occurred to you to exchange the locker contents?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± The other agent said. ¡°That wasn''t because of the rushed timetable. No one on any of the crews or involved in the mission, thought about what it would mean if the squib shots were replaced with actual bullets.¡±


    Fury changed the display behind him and showed an aerial view of the compound. The completely burned to ash compound. ¡°This is what happens.¡±


    ¡°Sir, to be fair, that was mostly the fuel from the power generator.¡± Another agent said with a chuckle. ¡°Although, if Agent Parker had been qualified to carry grenades, I doubt the outcome would have been much different.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°He showed high adaptability, resourcefulness, and ruthlessness. He went in there, even knowing it was a training scenario, and he completed the mission all on his own.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why he did that?¡± Clint asked.


    Fury nodded and motioned to Maria.


    ¡°He said, and I quote, ''I had a gun. If it wasn''t for the infiltration requirement and to remain stealthy to cut the power, I could have easily shot everyone and killed them from a distance and finished the mission within five minutes. With an incendiary grenade, two minutes''.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Natasha asked. Even she would have had a hard time doing it that quickly.


    ¡°Agent Coulson.¡± Fury said and nodded to him.


    ¡°You intentionally set off the security alarm near the power generator. Everyone rushes over, you pop the grenade, and you''re done. A good chunk of the enemy are gone and the power goes out. All that''s left is the clean-up and setting the fires.¡± Phil said.


    ¡°Damn.¡± One of the agents said. ¡°Damn.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker figured all of that out while in the field when his circumstances had changed.¡± Fury said. ¡°Not only are his actions exactly what we look for in an agent, his subtle manipulations with his own teammates let them severely underestimate him.¡±


    ¡°His bulky clothes didn''t hinder him at all.¡± Natasha said in realization.


    ¡°Not even a little bit.¡± Fury said. ¡°Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°He works out during lunch in the gym.¡± Fury said and showed the footage of a soaked Ben leaving the gym. ¡°Before you ask, he automatically changes the live footage to a still image inside the gym. We don''t know what he actually does in there to become that sweaty in so short a time.¡±


    ¡°He always eats in the cafeteria and always with different people each time.¡± Maria said and showed a split screen with all of the different lunches Ben had participated in. ¡°The secretaries, administration staff, HR, the R&D department, robotics, computers, and even the different maintenance crews.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, he practically knows everyone.¡± One of the agents said.


    ¡°He has also made friends in the departments he failed to pass the assessments in.¡± Fury said. ¡°It''s not as close of a connection, since they don''t have a lot of interactions with each other.¡±


    ¡°He seems really cozy with Agent May.¡± Phil said.


    ¡°Despite the outrageous rumors, it''s strictly platonic.¡± Maria said and everyone looked surprised. ¡°For now, anyway. He''s brought her more peace of mind than her many sessions with the psychiatrists.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Someone asked.


    ¡°We can''t share an agent''s personal interactions, upon their request.¡± Maria said. ¡°Agent May asked for discretion. Letting Director Fury and myself know, was all she would give as a concession.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°I accepted that, as long as she''s adjusting well and comes to terms with what happened.¡±


    The others nodded as well.


    ¡°Now what?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°I am officially ending Agent Parker''s probation period.¡± Fury said and surprised noises came from everyone, especially Natasha. ¡°As of this moment, Agent Parker has Security Clearance Level 8.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Clint whispered. His was only Level 7.


    ¡°Why so high?¡± One of the other agents asked. There were only 10 levels to their security.


    ¡°I''m sorry, that''s a Clearance Level 10 secret.¡± Fury said and they all gasped, except for Maria. Only she knew that Ben had nonchalantly asked Fury about how Goose was doing at Project Pegasus. He also asked if he could have one of the Flerken kittens. He was politely refused.


    There were several curse words muttered from nearly everyone.


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Fury asked and they shook their heads. ¡°Then you are dismissed... except for Agents Hawkeye and Widow.¡±


    The room quickly cleared out and only Fury, Maria, Natasha, and Clint were left. Maria hit a button and the door locked as the windows were covered in metal shutters.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fury said to her and then his classic glare appeared in his eye as he looked at two of the best field agents he had. ¡°What the FUCK were you thinking?!?¡±


    Clint and Natasha winced at the venom in Fury''s voice and sat there, completely silent, as he verbally chewed their asses out over what had happened and what could have happened if Natasha''s decision to eliminate the threat to her had actually gone her way.


    It was not a fun time for anyone in that room.

 70 Home SHIELD Home

    Bokuboy


    I had known I was in trouble when I had been sequestered into an interrogation room that they said was an interview room. I held in my laugh at that description and had waited patiently for someone to visit and talk to me. I had been shocked at the time that it was Nick Fury himself and Maria was right behind him. I couldn''t stop my warm smile at seeing her.


    Maria''s comment about no one ever giving her a smile like that before had actually made me feel bad. I did my best to sincerely compliment her and her skills as both she and Fury asked me about what happened. I provided staged cell phone footage for how I entered the base and then gave them the rest of the things I had filmed.


    The surprised looks on their faces as I wrecked the place was well worth being in trouble. Before they could berate me for doing what I did while fully knowing it was a training scenario, I asked about his pet cat that was really a voracious alien. That had shut them both up for several minutes.


    I had been reluctant to tell them some of what I knew about things, just because they might not be perfectly aligned with the events that had actually happened. Most of the details had been classified, even if the general public knew about the overall event. I also didn''t want to dig myself into a hole that I couldn''t get out of.


    Instead, I had simply stated I found an old file on the mainframe that referenced the redacted files and memorized some of the details before I deleted it. When they asked why I didn''t save it, I had laughed and said that it wasn''t worth my life to keep something like that in play.


    I didn''t say anything about wanting to root out all of the backdoors and things from the computers, either. That would have been giving the game up too soon. I had already pushed things and I didn''t want to be erased or made to disappear. Aunt May needed me and I wanted to be around for a very long time.


    They left me alone for about two hours and then both Fury and Maria entered the room again.


    I gave them both a smile. ¡°Are you sure I can''t have one of Goose''s kittens?¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry, Agent Parker. They are all spoken for by the workers at the facility.¡± Fury said. ¡°Can you tell me anything else about what was in that file you deleted?¡±


    I sat back in the uncomfortable chair and thought about it. ¡°Does General Ross still have a mad-on for Bruce Banner to make more hulks?¡±


    Fury and Maria exchanged looks and then Fury nodded.


    ¡°You need to tell him it won''t work. Once the super soldier formula is absorbed by the body and exposed to any kind of radiation, the infusion is permanent and non-transferable, unless you want to create more monsters like Blonsky.¡±


    Something beeped inside Fury''s coat. He took out something like a cell phone. ¡°Would you care to repeat that?¡±


    I gave him and Maria a sad look.


    ¡°Agent Parker... Ben.¡± Maria said in a classic bid to endear herself to me. ¡°Can you clarify what you said? Please.¡±


    ¡°Only because it''s you.¡± I said and Maria looked surprised for a moment. ¡°This has nothing to do with the information I found. This is more of a personal observation and possibility that could happen in the future.¡±


    Fury nodded and put the thing back in his coat.


    ¡°I know Bruce doesn''t have any real family left... except for a cousin. Jennifer Walters.¡±


    Fury perked up at that and Maria''s surprise stayed on her face.


    ¡°I''m sure that if you check, their blood types match. They are also closely related.¡± I said and looked into Maria''s eyes. ¡°Imagine what would happen if you gave her a direct blood transfer from Bruce in his human form to Jennifer in her human form, say through a modified dialysis machine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± Maria softly cursed.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I said and looked at Fury. ¡°Before you check, you should know that she''s a lawyer at a firm downtown. She might not be interested in working for SHIELD.¡±


    Fury had several emotions pass through his face before he grunted. ¡°You''re distracting us.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I admitted and he chuckled.


    ¡°What else do you know?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Captain America was retrieved from the arctic ice and is being sequestered somewhere within New York. I don''t know where or why.¡± I said and Fury''s pocket didn''t beep. ¡°Thor hasn''t been back to visit in years, despite having a woman here that he supposedly loves.¡±


    Fury nodded.


    ¡°Bruce Banner is in some middle eastern country working as a Peace Corps medic, Hank Pym is a recluse that refuses to let his capable daughter take over for him in his retirement, Tony Stark is as arrogant and dismissive as always, Jessica Jones or code name Jewel, is still under Kilgrave''s control somewhere in the world, and Captain Marvel hasn''t contacted you since she left.¡±


    Both Fury and Maria stared at me.


    ¡°What? She easily could have. The Kree have advanced tech that they obviously don''t want to share, even with Project Pegasus.¡± I said Fury squinted his eye at me. ¡°No, I don''t know what you''ve managed to recover from the wreckage of the Kree warships. I''d love to play with the tech, though.¡±


    ¡°We can''t get it to work.¡± Fury admitted. ¡°Their power sources are not producible by humanity.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That tells me there wasn''t enough left intact to use them. Without power, it''s all just physical dismantling and pretty useless if you can''t access the programming.¡±


    ¡°That''s... surprisingly accurate.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°I doubt you''ll give me access to Mar-Vell''s private notes to try and decipher the Kree language, even though the temptation is so high.¡±


    ¡°You have information that could make you a very dangerous person in the wrong hands.¡± Maria said.


    I gave her another warm smile. ¡°Is this where I make the joke about you keeping your hands on me?¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched into a smile before going back to her stoic face.


    ¡°Is there anything you don''t know?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°I don''t know what color Maria''s underwear is, even if I have an educated guess.¡±


    Fury glanced at her. ¡°Don''t take this as harassment.¡±


    ¡°Noted, sir.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Fury said to me.


    ¡°She''s a practical woman. As deputy director, she doesn''t have time to worry about anything like looks. It''s pure comfort and versatility, so a basic black sports bra for a fit that doesn''t compromise her chest or causes underwire marks or discomfort with straps. I''ll guess either white or black basic panties, just because there''s no point in her showing off when she chooses to not have anyone to show off to.¡±


    Fury glanced at her and Maria nodded.


    ¡°I like women that are confident in themselves.¡± I said and they both looked back at me. ¡°Just for your information, there are... ahem... prettier options that are also quite comfortable and still versatile.¡± I nodded at the folder she held in her hand and she handed over a piece of paper and a pen. I wrote out the address for the lingerie shop and handed it and the pen back to her. ¡°I would be more than happy to accompany you to be an appropriate audience.¡±


    Maria took the paper and gave me a pointed look. ¡°Are you asking me out on a date to go shopping at a lingerie store?¡±


    I let a huge smile show on my face. ¡°What a wonderful idea, Deputy Director Hill! I accept.¡±


    Maria''s eyes widened and Fury''s face went blank immediately.


    He probably expects her to blow up at me, so I''ll give her an out, just in case. I thought. ¡°I don''t want to inconvenience you by dictating a set date and time, since you are a very busy woman. Please call or text me whenever you want and let me know when you''re free.¡±


    Maria nodded without speaking and Fury visibly relaxed.


    I almost laughed at their reactions and managed to keep a straight face. ¡°Depending on the time of day, we can stop at the park and have a picnic or I can arrange to cook dinner for you. I''m fine with anything you choose.¡±


    ¡°You''re leaving it up to me.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Of course. Like I said, your time is much more valuable than mine. I can easily rearrange my schedule to accommodate you.¡± I said and looked back at Fury. ¡°Have you figured out why I was the only one with real bullets?¡±


    ¡°The Quinjets had to be swapped.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I said and nodded. ¡°Who do I complain to about how this whole thing was handled?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°The entire mission was set up as a training exercise and only the team sent in didn''t know, correct?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Then why were there no water and food provisions on the jet for an extended stay? Why were there no tripwires, extra grenades, long range scouting binoculars, medical supplies, tool kits for lockpicking and electric fence dismantling, and half a dozen other things I can''t think of right now that I thought of as I was gearing up on the transport?¡±


    Neither Maria nor Fury said anything in response.


    ¡°At the time I thought that the mission planners had a severe lack of preparedness. Was that it? Or was it supposed to be bare bones like my tactical assessment turned out to be?¡± I asked.


    Maria actually let out a soft sigh. ¡°You were supposed to remain with the group, specifically because you lacked a partner, and you were supposed to be ushered through the mission to see the various procedures and options available as you and the team assaulted the base. None of the other equipment should have been necessary, nor was it required.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, I get it. Since everyone else knew what was supposed to happen, only the team''s reactions would have been real.¡± I said and nodded. ¡°What about the base personnel cheating?¡±


    ¡°I dealt with the base commander by shipping him somewhere appropriate.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Please tell me it was Siberia or something. His dark skin and heat accustomed body is just going to love the climate change.¡± I said and Fury smiled. ¡°HA! Excellent, excellent.¡±


    ¡°You seem to enjoy being vindictive.¡± Maria said.


    I shook my head. ¡°I prefer to think it''s justice for wronging me and mine. Be my friend and I''m the best friend in the world. Cross me and you better hope that when you pay for it, it''s not with your life.¡±


    Maria''s face went blank and she looked at Fury.


    ¡°Black Widow.¡± Fury said. ¡°Can you tell me what happened between you?¡±


    I handed over one of the untraceable cell phones. I already had it cued to the conversation Natasha and I had in the private room she had arranged. Both Maria and Fury listened to the recording. When it was done, they looked at me with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°I had hoped letting her know I knew all about everything... well, the important highlights anyway... would shock her enough to actually think about opening up. She''s been a great asset to SHIELD and I was sure that she believed she has been compromising herself by allowing me into her life. I literally told her that she wasn''t because I already knew who she was.¡±


    ¡°She did not take it that way.¡± Maria said.


    I chuckled. ¡°I kind of figured that out when she decided to kill me, rather than talk to me.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do with her?¡± Maria asked.


    I gave her a crooked smile. ¡°Like I told her, nothing.¡± I looked at Fury. ¡°How did Clint''s and Natasha''s asses taste after you chewed them out over this cluster-fuck?¡±


    Fury chuckled. ¡°Bitter and regretful.¡±


    I barked a laugh. ¡°I knew they wouldn''t like it.¡±


    ¡°I am seriously thinking of suspending them.¡± Fury said and his eye seemed to bore into me.


    ¡°That''s just delaying the problem and not solving it.¡± I said and shook my head. ¡°They are your best agents. If I wasn''t here, they would be... wait, didn''t they have a mission assigned just before Christmas? Is that still a go?¡±


    Fury looked at Maria. ¡°Hill?¡±


    ¡°You said to remove her if she seemed compromised. Attempting to kill a teammate on a mission would count as compromised.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°I might be able to fix that if you let me.¡± I said and they both looked at me with questions on their faces. ¡°I''ll need an actual clean room, five padded leather straps about six feet long, and a bed.¡±


    They both looked surprised for a moment and then Fury smiled a little.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Maria whispered.


    ¡°Don''t worry, Maria. It''s just a corrective measure. I told Natasha a while ago that she''s not ready for any kind of commitment, either professionally or personally.¡±


    ¡°What about emotionally?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°I think that''s her problem.¡± I said and she raised her eyebrows. ¡°She can''t deal with her feelings and has to rely on her ingrained training to handle it. Aka, kill it until it''s no longer a problem.¡±


    Maria''s eyebrows dropped and she nodded. ¡°That would explain a few of her decisions.¡±


    ¡°I also spared her. She owes me, just like she owes Clint.¡± I said and they both nodded. ¡°If I can change that into a similar friendship...¡±


    ¡°Do it.¡± Fury said and stood. ¡°Hill, arrange it and inform Agent Parker of his new status.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria said and waited until Fury left.


    ¡°Please tell me we''re going undercover as husband and wife to bust a honeymoon scam at Niagra Falls.¡± I joked and her eyebrows rose again. ¡°I''m sorry for interrupting, Maria. Please continue and fulfill your orders.¡±


    Maria nodded and handed me a new SHIELD identification card and it had a red number 8 on it.


    ¡°You''re joking.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°I never joke.¡± Maria responded.


    ¡°You should do it while in a serious business meeting or negotiation. It''ll throw everyone off when you crack a joke and give your side the perfect opportunity to get concessions that wouldn''t otherwise be available.¡±


    Maria gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°You''re an intelligent woman. Use Natasha''s first rule. If there''s no advantage to exploit, make one.¡±


    Maria looked thoughtful for a second and nodded.


    ¡°Excellent.¡± I said and tucked my new ID into my wallet. ¡°Should I wait here while you make those arrangements or can I follow you around like an excited puppy?¡±


    Maria gave me another pointed look.


    ¡°You have to admit that would look pretty funny.¡± I said and she raised her eyebrows once more. ¡°You striding down the hallway with a serious look on your face and me hopping around you and begging you over and over if I can have your attention.¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched as she thought about it and a smile formed on her face.


    I did not crow like a banshee in triumph at actually making her smile. I did not. Nope, it never happened. The footage on her body camera was faked.


    Maria vehemently denied the single chuckle that had escaped her mouth, too.


    *


    Natasha wasn''t sure why she had been ordered to go to one of the small training rooms. She didn''t disobey the order, even though she somehow knew it was going to be bad for her, considering how Director Fury had verbally torn a strip off of her for her actions and her potential actions.


    This is all your fault, Ben! Natasha thought as she entered the mostly dark room. I''m going to get you back for this, even if it''s the last thing I...


    ¡°Welcome to my parlour, said the fly to the black widow spider.¡± A voice whispered. and something slapped against her ass with the sound of leather.


    Natasha whipped around and had her taser bracelets charged and ready. No one was there, though.


    ¡°It''s time I collect on some of the life debt you owe me.¡± The voice whispered from off to her right.


    ¡°What are you going to do? I won''t react, even if you torture me!¡± Natasha spat and spun that way.


    ¡°Torture you?¡± The voice whispered as a light laugh seemed to fill the room. ¡°No, my dear princess. I plan to collect in a much more satisfying way.¡±


    ¡°You''re going to have to kill me to get me to do anything with you ever again!¡± Natasha exclaimed.


    There was no response and she wasn''t sure if her boast was going to do anything, then the leather strap wrapped around her neck and tightened.


    ¡°NO!¡± Natasha gasped and had to disengage her tasers to reach up to her neck. Suddenly, two hands grabbed hers and pulled them behind her back and they were secured with the leather strap. ¡°S-stop... stop this!¡±


    ¡°You are mine.¡± The voice whispered in her left ear and she tried to jerk around. Her hands pulled on her neck and she stopped trying to move, because she could seriously hurt herself.


    ¡°No, I am myself! I belong to no one!¡± Natasha spat.


    ¡°What would your good friend Clint say to that?¡± The voice asked from above her. ¡°He spared you, too.¡±


    Natasha looked up and didn''t see anything. ¡°He would never do anything like this.¡±


    The voice chuckled. ¡°Only because he''s already married and has kids.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?!?¡± Natasha asked, surprised.


    ¡°The same way I know a lot of things.¡± Ben said as he turned on a single light over her and the bed before he walked out of the darkness. He wore black from head to foot and he pulled off the improvised mask. ¡°Like how you can''t stand that your body is desperately trying to betray you.¡±


    Natasha wouldn''t admit how true that was. She was about to curse at him and tell him to leave her alone, then he pulled off the black cloth covering him and he was completely naked underneath. He was also soft and not excited, which told her a lot of things about what Ben thought about what he was doing.


    ¡°Unlike you, your body is completely honest.¡± Ben said and approached her. ¡°As is mine.¡±


    Natasha looked down at his soft state again and back at his face. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°It''s a corrective measure.¡± Ben said and unzipped her costume. His hands carefully pulled it off of her shoulders and his fingertips caressed her arms and not her breasts. ¡°You can''t face your feelings head on, so I''m going to help you face them from another direction.¡±


    Natasha grew wet, because she knew exactly what he meant. ¡°Wh-what d-direction?¡±


    ¡°From behind, of course. Like every agent worth their salt, you always take a target from behind.¡± Ben said and he used her own hidden knife to cut her costume off at the waist.


    ¡°You''re going to pay for that.¡± Natasha whispered.


    ¡°My dear princess, I am going to do much better than that.¡± Ben whispered back and gave her a quick kiss.


    Natasha tried to bite his lips off and he chuckled. ¡°You''re going to regret this.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I regret is not doing this before you tried to kill me.¡± Ben said and scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed.


    Bokuboy


    Just in case people get the wrong impression, the ending is a bit of a red herring.

 71 Lessons Learned

    Bokuboy


    Also, I would like to send profound thanks to everyone that made donations over the last while. Thanks to you, I''ll once again post double chapters for the days I missed (4). You guys rock!


    ¡°I will never forgive you if you do this!¡± Natasha spat as I strapped her elbows and ankles to the corners of the bed.


    ¡°Don''t you think attempted murder takes us well past the point of forgiveness?¡± I asked and she closed her mouth. ¡°Now you need to be quiet for the next bit, because your body and I need to have a discussion and you can''t interrupt it.¡±


    ¡°I''m going to scream and yell and everyone will know that mmm hmm MHM!¡± Natasha hummed as I covered her mouth with the edge of the fifth strap that was still around her neck.


    ¡°Despite what I said, I would have liked to use your mouth, too.¡± I said and lightly stroked her dripping womanhood. ¡°Your other holes should be enough, since they have plenty to say on their own.¡±


    Natasha glared at me before she started to moan as I fingered her vigorously.


    ¡°Don''t worry, princess. I hate having to do this.¡± I said and moved to show her that I was still soft. ¡°I wanted you to come to me. I wanted you to talk. I wanted you to open up a bit and let me in a little.¡±


    ¡°HMMMM!¡± Natasha moaned and hummed as she came, then she glared at me.


    ¡°I told you. Who I was before I became who I am now, doesn''t matter. Just like who you were before now doesn''t matter.¡± I said and my free hand pinched her nub and she yelled in pleasure. ¡°All that matters is our actions. What we do now.¡± I said and leaned over her to look at her face. ¡°You. Tried. To. Kill. Me.¡±


    Natasha made an odd sound that I couldn''t categorize as she came again.


    ¡°You couldn''t face me, even though I goaded you to do it. I gave you plenty of reasons to talk. I even gave you lots of opportunities to be yourself.¡± I said and worked on her until she came again and I pulled my hands away from her.


    Natasha was panting heavily now and her glare was softer and less prominent.


    ¡°I wasn''t demanding. I wasn''t controlling. I wasn''t manipulating you. I wasn''t laughing at you behind your back.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°I just tried to be there for you and I tried to give you everything to let you see how much access to my life that you had. You ignored it all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Natasha hummed with a clear no.


    ¡°Yes, you did.¡± I said and pulled out a condom from under the pillow her head rested on. ¡°You would rather be alone... you would rather kill me and remove the distraction I could possibly provide... instead of admitting that you actually like me. I guess it was just too much for a super spy to handle.¡±


    Natasha didn''t respond to that and closed her eyes.


    ¡°No, princess.¡± I said and slapped her belly to make her grunt and she opened her eyes to glare at me again. ¡°You''re going to look at me and you''re going to see that someone actually liked you. Someone who knows you''re a killer. Someone who knows you did horrible things. Someone who forgave you for killing their parents!¡±


    Natasha winced at that and her glare disappeared.


    I climbed onto the bed and showed her that I was still soft. ¡°Look at this pathetic thing! You''re all trussed up and you''re dripping wet, you''re all ready for me to fuck you senseless, and it''s not reacting at all. Your beautiful breasts can''t entice it, the smell of your delicious juices isn''t appealing, and your scrumptious and shapely ass can''t bring it to full mast. Isn''t that wonderful?¡±


    A tear came to Natasha''s eye as I tossed the unopened condom away.


    ¡°How do you feel now that you know your mission was successful?¡± I asked her and I ignored her muffled reply. ¡°You might not have actually killed me; but, you have killed my desire for you. You killed it dead, Natasha.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Natasha hummed with a clear no again.


    I started playing with myself and it flopped around without changing shape. Having better control of my body was really paying off. ¡°You see that? Nothing''s happening. There''s no reaction at all.¡± I said and crawled off of the bed. ¡°Well done, Black Widow.¡±


    Natasha didn''t say anything about me not using her name.


    ¡°I should thank you for removing all of the sexual tension between us. Now we can work together professionally and we never have to worry that we''ll be distracted by the other person.¡± I said and went over to where the black cloth covering was and picked it up, then walked back over to the bed and laid it over her body.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Natasha hummed.


    ¡°I''ll release you in a minute. I need to get dressed first.¡± I said and walked off to the side and put on an actual fitted SHIELD uniform. I strapped on the weapons I was allowed to have on my person while at work and went back over to her. ¡°How do I look?¡±


    Natasha didn''t say anything and glanced at the black cloth covering her.


    ¡°Your old costume is outdated. I''m going up to R&D to work on a new one for you.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°Don''t worry, your sizes are on file. It will fit appropriately.¡±


    ¡°HMM!¡± Natasha hummed loudly.


    ¡°Oh, maybe a day or two. You''ll have it in plenty of time for your next mission.¡± I said and untied the straps from her ankles. ¡°It''s going to look awesome and you''re going to fall in love with it.¡±


    Natasha stiffened at my words.


    I chuckled and undid her elbows. ¡°Too soon?¡± I asked and she didn''t respond. I rolled her over onto her face and pulled on the strap around her wrists. ¡°I''ve already been reassigned to a new trainer, so you don''t have to feel guilty about ignoring your duties to me anymore.¡±


    Natasha didn''t try to pull the strap away from around her neck, even though her hands were free.


    ¡°I convinced Director Fury to not suspend you or Clint when you get back.¡± I said and pulled off the strap around her neck myself. I wasn''t surprised that she kept her face pointed away from me. ¡°Oh, one more thing. These came in for you and Davis was kind enough to allow me to pass them on to you.¡±


    I took out several noise clickers and dropped them onto the bed in front of her face and added an untraceable cell phone. ¡°They worked great as a distraction, didn''t they?¡±


    It was already cued up to play the next file and I walked away before she could pick up the phone and play it. As I closed the door to the training room, I heard a recording of my voice say that I knew who she was. I said that I didn''t care and that it was just too bad for me that she still did.


    *


    ¡°I have to admit that impressed me.¡± Maria said when she and Director Fury watched the recording late that afternoon.


    ¡°Now you know why I approved it.¡± Fury said and turned it off. ¡°Intimidation, coercion, carrot and stick, punishment and reward. He did it all within the span of half an hour and completely clarified his position in her life.¡±


    ¡°Should I assign him to the mission as well?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°No, I want to keep Widow away from him for now. Barton, too.¡± Fury added. ¡°Agent May accepted his proposal?¡±


    Maria softly coughed. ¡°His training proposal, yes.¡±


    Fury tried to not smile at the correction. Office rumors were always rampant, especially when they concerned high ranking agents. ¡°I look forward to seeing how he improves in the afternoons. Make sure Agent May''s duties and paperwork are reduced appropriately.¡±


    ¡°That won''t be necessary, sir. Those new keyboards have worked out just as predicted.¡± Maria said and changed the blank monitor to show the statistics of the administration offices before and after the much easier typing apparatus being available.


    ¡°They are that much ahead?¡± Fury asked, surprised despite his experiences.


    ¡°Like Agent Parker did during his test, they are actually pausing occasionally to keep their efficiency down.¡± Maria said and Fury''s eyebrows rose. ¡°They don''t want to be seen as miracle workers until its necessary.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°What was that comment about Widow''s costume?¡±


    Maria flipped through several reports and pulled out one to hand to him. ¡°He spent the rest of the day in R&D and this is what he came up with.¡±


    Fury opened it and his remaining eye nearly popped out of his head. The schematic drawing of Black Widow wearing Iron Man styled armor, except it was in her costume''s colors, and the faceplate had eight eyes.


    The two large ones were for her actual eyes and the rest were multiple cameras set for different wavelengths of light. Infrared, night vision, thermal vision, a normal one, a magnifying one, and a telescopic one.


    Fury flipped the top page and he made a disbelieving sound, because the second page showed a normal SHIELD field costume, except there were three inch long and two inch thick bracelets at the wrists, at the elbows, at the neck, at the waist, at the knees, and at the ankles.


    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Fury asked and flipped the next page and it showed how the various thick bracelets unfolded to create metallic armor that covered everything from head to foot. It used a lightweight titanium alloy that consisted of smaller and easily deployed plates that locked into place and also granted full movement.


    ¡°He calls it Compression Technology.¡± Maria said and Fury gave her a questioning look. ¡°Yes, he copied it from Iron Man''s Folding Technology armor, except he improved it. It can deploy in seconds and fully protects the wearer, despite not being bulky or having extra reinforcement within the superstructure.¡±


    ¡°He gave up the enhanced strength for manoeuvrability.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Not by much, sir.¡± Maria said and nodded at the folder. ¡°The specs are on the last page.¡±


    Fury flipped to it and his eyes widened. ¡°You''re joking.¡±


    ¡°I never joke, sir.¡± Maria said and suppressed her smile, because she remembered Ben''s idea about using it at the right time. He actually had looked cute while jumping around her in the hallway, not that she would have ever admitted that. The rumors were already burning through the building like a wildfire, too.


    ¡°He cut out 80% of the redundant systems and it only resulted in a 40% overall loss of strength?¡± Fury asked and shook his head. ¡°How did he explain that?¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker said that Mr. Stark always over-engineers his designs. His penchant for including triple backups and unnecessary aesthetics has severely hampered his ability for innovation and he needs others to provide him ideas to work with.¡±


    Fury stared at the numbers and frowned. ¡°How is it being powered?¡±


    ¡°Hammer''s and Venko''s Arc Reactor in the belt.¡± Maria said and Fury''s eyebrows rose again. ¡°I don''t know how he gained access to the secured storage, sir. There are no records and no materials are logged as missing. I even had a physical inventory done and all of them are accounted for.¡±


    ¡°I bet half of them are fakes with LED lights.¡± Fury couldn''t stop his chuckle. ¡°I assume he fixed it, too?¡±


    ¡°If you mean extra shielding for the leaking palladium radiation, he claimed it wasn''t necessary with the arc reactor completely embedded in the belt and covered from sight. He convinced the R&D department to add miniature cooling rods to the belt to absorb the extra radiation, which converts to heat, which they can then convert to energy that can be folded back into the suit.¡±


    ¡°Which explains the suit''s ability to lift 60 tons.¡± Fury said and flipped back to the first page in the report to look at the well designed Black Widow armor. ¡°What about the repulsors and flight?¡±


    ¡°Taken from the confiscated Hammer drones. Those were not restricted and he logged both his entrance and what he took, which is why I know he took the arc reactor, too.¡±


    Fury nodded, because he knew Ben did that on purpose. ¡°Are we expecting a lawsuit over this?¡±


    Maria shook her head. ¡°Justin Hammer is in jail for thirty years. His company was bought by a subsidiary of Stark Industries. Since the technology was similar to what they already owned, it was scrapped and no patents were filed.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker''s name is all over this, isn''t it?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°Unlike the normal patent office, ours is strategically locked because of operational security and no one but us can access the patents, not even the normal review board.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Agent Parker can expect another significant influx of compensation for showing us how much wiggle room we have when it comes to things like this.¡± Fury said and closed the folder.


    ¡°I will be giving him his normal paycheck, his payoff for the keyboard design, and buying out his noise clicker, right after this meeting and before he goes home for the day.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Good. He deserves the recognition.¡± Fury handed her the file folder. ¡°When can the guys in the lab build a prototype?¡±


    ¡°It''s already done, sir.¡± Maria said and changed the display monitor to show a group of scientists in lab coats as they clapped and cheered when a mannequin wearing the suit was suddenly covered in armor plating.


    ¡°Does Agent Romanoff know?¡± Fury asked.


    Maria switched the view to the observation room that looked into the lab. The shocked look on Natasha''s face was one that they would remember for a long time.


    ¡°It has her taser bracelet tech integrated on both of her hands and both feet.¡± Maria added and changed the view back to the lab. ¡°She can deliver an incapacitating shock with a punch or a kick.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°I want her training in that thing until 6 hours before deployment. Make sure she''s monitored constantly as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria said and made note of it.


    ¡°I wonder if that suit design can be adapted for Hawkeye?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°Not right away.¡± Maria said and opened another folder. ¡°They used up our stores of titanium working out how to get the plates to deploy and fit properly. It took a lot of trial and error to get the ratio and attachments to scale, and that was only possible because of adding the additional joint attachments.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering why it had those things on the elbows and knees.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°They grant the most movement and quickest deployment, which is what Agent Widow needs most.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°Get the order in for more alloy as soon as possible and give the lab guys an extra day off and a bonus.¡±


    ¡°Already done, sir.¡± Maria said and Fury stood. She knew that meant the end of the meeting, so she shut everything down, gathered the files she had, and left the room. She dropped everything in her office and opened the top drawer.


    Unlike the normal procedure for other agents, she specifically had the accounting department send Ben''s checks to her first. She wasn''t sure why she wanted to see his face when he looked at the contents of the three envelopes, until she remembered his enthusiastic puppy imitation. She fought the smile again and tucked the envelopes into her tunic and left her office.


    *


    I sat in my office on the fourteenth floor and typed like mad on the laptop. It had soft touch keys, so my speed had increased a little. I was tempted to get one of my new keyboard pads and decided against it. It wasn''t necessary for coding anyway, because of all the punctuation needed, namely brackets, parenthesis, commas, semi-colons, slashes, dashes, and the like.


    I was setting up my monitoring network and entered the information about the wireless addresses for all of the cell phone cameras that I had harvested. It had been relatively simple to construct what I needed into a small and compact device that wasn''t much bigger than the 2 inch wide cell phone batteries themselves, or about the size of the middle of my palm.


    I had only needed to make a small half dome of black plastic to cover it and it had only taken another quick trip to the recycling center to get the rest of the available cell phones there. There was no way for me to store thousands of the new devices in my room without being discovered, so I had to use the delivery truck that I had rented as temporary storage.


    I had also received my side order from the chemical lab and it was already stored in Melinda''s trunk. She really had come through for me by accepting to teach me what she knew. She hadn''t been happy with how I had already been treated by the ''best'' agents and promised that her integrity wouldn''t allow her to behave in such a disgraceful manner.


    I checked the time and nodded. It was close to quitting time and I wanted to stop by the lab to see if the guys had finished making the BWSuit. Without all of the extra crap that Tony had included in his armor, the construction should have been fairly simple. Not having a huge computer core to hold his AI and all of the unnecessary holographic displays, freed up a lot of space inside the armor for actual control programs that wouldn''t be so distracting.


    I finished adding in the last camera address and saved the program database, shut down the laptop, and picked up my gym bag. I had a lot of laundry to do and I also had some presents to pick up on the weekend. I wasn''t going to be outrageous with the gift giving, mainly because I couldn''t explain where I was getting the extra money.


    I locked my office and went to the elevator to go down to the administration floor to meet Melinda. We had plans for another shared meal with Aunt May and we were all looking forward to it.

 72 Home Is Where The Heart Is

    Bokuboy


    I used my palm to access the extra buttons in the elevator and chose B1. Instead of going down like I expected, it went up two floors instead and the elevator doors opened to reveal Maria Hill.


    ¡°Priority override. Very nice.¡± I complimented her.


    Maria''s lips twitched before she waved for me to follow her. We went back to her office and she shut the door.


    ¡°I''ll get you to smile again someday. I just know it.¡± I commented and she ignored it.


    ¡°I wanted to deliver this to you myself.¡± Maria said and took out an envelope from her tunic.


    ¡°You''ve conscripted me into your reverse harem, haven''t you?¡± I asked with a grin. ¡°I knew you couldn''t resist the temptation.¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched again and she raised a single eyebrow at me.


    ¡°What? I can always hope.¡± I said as she handed me the envelope. I opened it and whistled. ¡°Please excuse my cursing.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Jesus H. Fucking Christ! This is a TWO WEEK PAY?!?¡±


    Maria let a chuckle escape before she could stop herself. ¡°At $150,000 a year, broken down by-weekly, comes out to be $5,769.23 for the gross. With taxes and deductions for the government to cover your pensions, medical, and life insurance, it knocks you down to $4,289.75 for the take home pay.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I whispered. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°How am I going to explain this to Aunt May?¡± I asked.


    Maria reached over and put a hand on my arm. ¡°It''s only for the three weeks that you''re working for the holiday break. You''ll drop to half pay when you go back to school and the accounting department will switch to automatic deposit to your bank account for that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± I said and briefly put a hand on hers. ¡°No wonder you wanted to deliver this yourself. If it had been anyone else, I might have freaked out about them playing a practical joke on me.¡±


    Maria looked a little pleased at that. ¡°Then I am doubly glad I brought this, too.¡±


    I stared at her as she pulled out another envelope. ¡°Oh, fuck me.¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched again and she handed the envelope to me. ¡°This is for the keyboard patent.¡±


    ¡°I... I don''t know if I want to open it.¡± I whispered and she looked expectant. ¡°I assume you bought me out, because you don''t want to market it until it becomes too prolific to keep under wraps?¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°We''ve included a provision for future sales, just in case we do decide to change our minds. You won''t get as big of a cut as you would have if you owned the patent, however.¡±


    ¡°I''m surprisingly okay with that, considering you could have cut me out completely.¡± I said and slowly opened the envelope. I sucked in a sharp breath at all of the zeroes on the check. ¡°Maria, you''re killing me here.¡±


    Maria gave me an actual smile and I didn''t react, because she had pulled out another envelope to hand to me. ¡°For the noise clickers.¡±


    I took it without a word and opened it, only to see the same number of zeroes as on the second check. I didn''t know what to say. I really didn''t. I had thought I knew what owning a patent meant and I thought I had some idea of how much it would be worth if it was presented right and sold well. I had been very, very wrong. I closed all three envelopes, tucked them into my inside breast pocket, and I gave Maria a very significant look.


    Maria''s smile disappeared and her eyes widened as I stepped close. ¡°Agent Parker, I suggest you reconsider your next action...¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Benji.¡± I whispered and I wasn''t surprised to see that she was exactly my height, even wearing nearly identical boots. I gently took her into a hug and tenderly kissed her like she was an old lover.


    Maria remained stiff for several moments, even though her mouth moved to accommodate my ministrations, then her muscles relaxed and her arms went around my waist. I knew I really shouldn''t be kissing my boss like this, then mentally berated myself, because she had just made me a millionaire.


    We stayed like that for several minutes and enjoyed the feeling of each other''s lips. Neither of us tried to push it to be more than that, and for some reason, I was perfectly fine with that.


    *BEEP*


    I broke the kiss and took out my cell phone. ¡°Damn, I completely forgot I was supposed to meet Agent May to drive me home.¡±


    The look on Maria''s face was difficult to read, because I had admitted that she distracted me that much.


    ¡°Please excuse my behavior. I had to thank you for making some of my immediate dreams come true, which just so happened to make another dream come true.¡± I said and her eyebrows rose, because I had implied kissing her was what I meant. ¡°I''ll accept any punishment you see fit for crossing the line at work, Deputy Director Hill.¡±


    ¡°At work.¡± Maria whispered.


    ¡°Of course. Outside of work, all bets are off.¡± I said and ducked my head slightly as I gave her the best inviting smile that I could. ¡°I fully expect you to call me about our date as soon as possible and you should fully expect me to ravish you afterwards.¡±


    Maria stood there with a blank face and stared at me as I walked by her and opened her office door.


    ¡°Have a great evening, Deputy Director.¡± I said and left her office as I closed the door behind me. I rode the elevator down to B1 and met a slightly irritated Melinda when the elevator doors opened.


    Melinda gave me a pointed look as she stepped inside, so I took out one of the patent purchasing checks to show her. Her pointed look turned to shock.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said and put the check back into my pocket. ¡°Deputy Director Hill took me to her office to give me that and my first paycheck.¡±


    Melinda nodded and we left the building, quietly talked about what to make, and made another grocery run to her favorite spots for the best ingredients. We went back to my apartment and started cooking. I skipped doing chores this time and stayed in the kitchen with Melinda. The food needed a constant eye kept on it and we shared tasks easily.


    May came home and the three of us had a very enjoyable meal and even better conversation. After dessert, I was glad to have Melinda there for support when I told Aunt May about the office buying a new patent idea that I had. The look on her face was a mix of disbelief and anger, until I reassured her that they had their own patent registry and lawyers whom had filed all the appropriate paperwork for it to not be stolen.


    ¡°What was it?¡± May asked.


    Melinda took something out of her pocket to show her.


    ¡°A pen?¡± May asked and then gasped when the thing was unrolled to reveal a keyboard pad.


    ¡°You carry one on you?¡± I asked Melinda.


    ¡°It''s very versatile, Ben.¡± Melinda said and quickly rolled it back up and tucked it away. ¡°Everyone at work loves these things.¡±


    May looked from her to me. ¡°I don''t want to know how much they bought that for, do I?¡±


    ¡°Are you prepared to faint?¡± I asked her and her eyes widened. ¡°Because it''s a lot. Like, a lot a lot.¡±


    May took several breaths and nodded.


    I handed her one of the checks and she barely had it out of the envelope before she fainted and slumped in her chair.


    Melinda softly laughed and then coughed. ¡°I really shouldn''t laugh.¡±


    I chuckled and took the check back before I carried May over to the couch and laid her down on it. ¡°It''s okay. I did warn her, because I knew she would take it like this.¡±


    Melinda sat beside May''s feet. ¡°You really care a lot about her, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°I really do.¡± I said and lightly pet May''s hair to get it out of her eyes. ¡°Having family... having someone care about you more than you care about yourself... really puts things into perspective.¡±


    Melinda nodded and her hand took my free one. She gave it a tug and I took the cue as I moved down to May''s feet, lifted them, and sat down beside Melinda with May''s feet on my lap. The look in Melinda''s eyes was conflicted, as if she didn''t really know what to do with me, now that she had me right there beside her.


    ¡°We will always be good friends, Melinda.¡± I whispered and put an arm around her shoulders.


    Melinda gave me an odd look. ¡°I''ve never had a male friend that didn''t want to do more than be friends, Ben.¡±


    I smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. ¡°You know what I do with May practically every night when I''m not working, so you know it''s possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that... I''m not sure why I...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay to be envious.¡± I said and she looked unsure. ¡°There was some sexual tension between May and I for a while, until we made it clear that even if we do get turned on, nothing has to happen. That''s not the point of spending time together. It''s the comfort and closeness that we need. That our bodies have a normal biological reaction to each other is no reason to be embarrassed.¡±


    ¡°You... you both...¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I''ve been tempted to call her Aunt Hottie a few times and I didn''t, because I don''t want her to be uncomfortable. I tell her she''s beautiful all the time, though. She needed to realize that even if I do find her extremely attractive, I don''t have to act upon it and I never have.¡±


    ¡°Never?¡± Melinda asked and I shook my head no.


    ¡°I haven''t kissed her on the lips, either. That''s not really something best friends and roommates do.¡± I admitted and then chuckled. ¡°Unless, you know, they are those kinds of roommates.¡±


    ¡°Best friends?¡± Melinda asked, catching the key words in my statement.


    ¡°I know that sounds a little weird, considering our apparent ages.¡± I said and Melinda nodded. ¡°It''s just... I promised her I would be the best roommate in the world... and it''s kind of hard to not also be best friends. We go shopping together, we hang out as much as possible, and we joke and laugh and carry on... it''s the best friendship I''ve ever had in my life. If that doesn''t mean she''s my best friend, I don''t know what would ever qualify.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± May whispered as she sat up and she had tears in her eyes.


    ¡°May, are you okay?¡± I asked and she didn''t say anything as she pulled her feet off of my lap and leaned close to wrap her arms around my neck.


    ¡°I''m perfectly fine, Ben. Perfectly fine.¡± May said and cried as she hugged me close.


    I took my arm from around Melinda and hugged May back as she lightly sobbed on my shoulder. ¡°It''s okay. It''s okay.¡± I whispered and rubbed her back.


    May eventually stopped crying and let my neck go. ¡°I feel the same way.¡± She said and wiped at her face. ¡°Dammit, now my make-up is ruined.¡±


    I chuckled and pointed up the stairs. ¡°Go ahead and make yourself look pretty again. I can wait for however long you think that''s going to take, even though you know I don''t believe you need it.¡±


    May shook her head and smacked my arm. ¡°You''re not supposed to tease me, remember?¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry I''m not sorry.¡± I said and she softly laughed.


    ¡°I''ll be back in a few minutes.¡± May said and stood as she looked at Melinda. ¡°I''m sorry you saw me break down like that.¡±


    Melinda shook her head. ¡°You don''t have to apologize. I almost felt like crying myself.¡±


    May smiled and went upstairs.


    I waited until I heard the bathroom door close before I turned to look at Melinda. ¡°Like I told you before, it''s okay to feel envy about that.¡±


    ¡°It''s more than just envy, Ben.¡± Melinda whispered and took my hand to put my arm back over her shoulder. ¡°Desire, need, want, greed, and a few other emotions that I really don''t want to admit to right now.¡±


    I chuckled and hugged her with the arm over her shoulders. ¡°I''m going to focus on the desire part and ask you if there''s a pool nearby where I can stare at you in a bikini.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Melinda said and then chuckled herself. ¡°I''ll only wear a bikini if you wear speedos.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± I said and she looked surprised before she leaned into my side. ¡°This is going to be the best Christmas ever.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± May asked as she came down the stairs.


    ¡°I''m going to rent a hotel room for the three of us and we''re going to enjoy some relaxing winter swimming in a heated pool.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°What? It''s not like they''ll let us use the pool without buying a room first.¡±


    May lost the surprise and nodded as she sat down on my other side. ¡°I suppose I could dig out one of my old swimsuits from the storage bins in the basement.¡±


    ¡°Bite your tongue, woman! We''re going shopping for new stuff tomorrow!¡± I proclaimed loudly and both May and Melinda let out laughs. ¡°You can both help me pick out some reasonable presents for my friends, too.¡±


    May and Melinda exchanged happy looks and nodded.


    *


    Unlike the last time I deposited money into my bank account, it took the account manager half an hour to confirm that the $500,000 check was legitimate and the funds were available from the proper accounting firm.


    The woman looked fairly relieved when she hung up and finished the transfer. I waited until she asked if there was anything else she could do for me before I took out the second check and handed it to her.


    ¡°Oh, fuck me.¡± She whispered as she stared at it.


    ¡°Surprisingly, that was also what I said when it was given to me.¡± I admitted. ¡°I also kissed her for about ten minutes to thank her.¡±


    The account manager looked surprised, as did Aunt May.


    ¡°To be fair, she just made me a millionaire and she is a strikingly handsome woman.¡± I said and both women nodded in understanding.


    The account manager put the check through without bothering to play phone tag again to confirm it. She opened her mouth to ask me if there was anything else and then shut her mouth as I pulled out a third check.


    ¡°Relax, this is just my holiday pay.¡± I said and the woman accepted it and started the deposit process. ¡°I would like it in cash, please.¡±


    ¡°That''s not a problem, sir.¡± The woman said and did some typing. ¡°I''ve also increased your draw limit to five thousand a day or one major purchase. That you will be called about, however.¡±


    ¡°That''s great, thank you.¡± I said and she smiled before she left to get the money.


    ¡°Ben, why are you cashing that last check? That''s a lot of money to carry around.¡± May whispered.


    ¡°I intend to spend a good portion of it, that''s why.¡± I said and May looked surprised. ¡°It''s Christmas and I''m a millionaire already. I''ve already called Matt and he has the corporation forms for us to sign.¡±


    ¡°I almost forgot about that.¡± May said.


    ¡°I didn''t.¡± I said and took her hand. ¡°Selling those patents doesn''t change my plans. I''m still going through with everything and you''re going to be right there with me, Miss CEO of Parker Incorporated.¡±


    May shook her head. ¡°I still can''t believe you can do that and I haven''t even taken one business class.¡±


    ¡°Money talks, May.¡± I said as the account manager came in with a thick stack of bills in her hands. She counted out the amount of the check and I was quite pleased to see all of the different denominations.


    ¡°We deal with several clients that want the cash for quick and easy purchases.¡± The woman said and sat down behind her desk. ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°I might call later to transfer some money into another account for my lawyer and my checks from work will be going direct deposit from now on.¡± I said and she nodded as she made a note of both things. ¡°I also want to thank you for being a great sport about all of this.¡±


    The account manager gave me a huge smile. ¡°I''m always glad to help a preferred client, especially because you received the money legitimately.¡±


    I nodded in understanding and stood. ¡°I appreciate you ensuring that was true.¡± I said and held a hand out to her. She took it and shook it, then shook May''s hand. We left the office and met Melinda in the main waiting area.


    ¡°Any problems?¡± Melinda asked and joined us as we walked out through the bank''s doors.


    ¡°Just the red tape over such a high denomination check.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°You''re driving, so where do we go first?¡±


    ¡°I distinctly remember someone on their hands and knees as he begged to see me wearing a gold colored bikini.¡± Melinda said and unlocked the car.


    ¡°Hey, it was one knee... and I was praying, not begging.¡± I corrected her.


    Melinda gave me a satisfied smile and May let out a laugh.


    ¡°Just get in the car.¡± I said and climbed in myself.


    Both women laughed and we drove off to somehow look for a bikini in the middle of winter. This was New York, though. They sold everything here and we were sure that our search would be fruitful.

 73 Planting Seeds

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Sweet Heavenly Goddesses.¡± I said as I froze still and stood next to the private pool in the basement of the Hilton Hotel, because both May and Melinda had dropped their concealing robes. They had shocked me completely, because they had both worn gold bathing suits.


    May had on a thin one piece that went from her neck to her crotch and only had a single tie holding the front to the back. Melinda actually managed to find a gold bikini. A string bikini. A very small string bikini. Her breasts were exactly a handful in size and were smaller than May''s, which were about two handfuls in size each.


    The thing was, Melinda was showing off more of her breasts than May was, despite having a smaller chest. I wasn''t going to question the illogical aspects of that thought, because I had two beautiful women in front of me and they wore gold cloth that clung to them like a second skin and it showed off everything.


    ¡°Ben, are you... okay?¡± May asked me and the look on her face didn''t match the concern in her voice, because her eyes were not looking at my face. Nope, not even close.


    I tried to speak and I couldn''t. I was still mentally storing the epic sight in front of me. I did not want to forget a single thing about it and the rest of my brain kind of shut off as it worked to preserve the moment.


    ¡°I thought you said you could handle us in bathing suits.¡± Melinda said in a teasing voice. Her eyes were also not looking at my face.


    I blinked my eyes several times and didn''t respond, because I knew I was completely forgetting something. I couldn''t remember what, though. It was almost like I was hypnotized as I watched both women walk over to me.


    I had easily noticed that the space between their legs was barely covered and what I thought were wrinkles in the cloth were actually the imprints of their delicate folds. Their nipples were also popped right out and showed their arousal, which made them even more like goddesses in my eyes, because neither of them tried to hide anything from me.


    ¡°I think someone needs to calm down a little as they take a nice swim.¡± Melinda whispered and took my hand.


    ¡°Y-y-yeah. S-swim.¡± I said and let her lead me over to the pool and down the stairs. May was right behind us and followed us into the water.


    When the water hit my waist, I suddenly felt a lot more water than I should have. I glanced down and my eyes widened, because my speedo had nearly completely slipped down and my erection hung out and bobbed almost completely unrestrained. The only thing the tight cloth covered was my sack and that was insufficient when in polite company.


    At least, I thought it was insufficient. Melinda seemed to have a completely different idea about it, because she didn''t let my hand go as we eased into the water and floated there. The pleased smile on her face was something I hadn''t been expecting, especially when she pulled me closer to her.


    ¡°You really won''t do anything unless I ask you to, will you?¡± Melinda whispered the question.


    I shook my head. ¡°Like May, I respect you too much to push you like that. Staying friends with such wonderful women is worth more to me than the fantastic sex we could have.¡±


    Melinda looked even more pleased. ¡°What makes you think it would be fantastic?¡±


    My mouth dropped open in surprise and my gaze went from her face, down into the water, and back to her face. She let out a cute laugh and smiled before she let my hand go and swam across the pool. It gave me a wonderful view of her cute little ass that was barely covered and her lightly kicking legs gave me an unbelievable view between them.


    ¡°You''re going to hurt yourself if you keep staring like that.¡± May said and floated over to me.


    ¡°Me male.¡± I said and pointed at myself, then I pointed to Melinda. ¡°Her woman. Me look. Me like.¡±


    May let out her own cute laugh. ¡°You''ve dropped down to your base instincts, have you?¡±


    I grunted and nodded several times to make her laugh again.


    ¡°Try to not stare too much.¡± May said with a teasing smile and she swam away.


    ¡°Good lord.¡± I said as her golden covered ass passed by me and she did a frog-like move to kick in the water, which gave me a spectacular view of... I felt a little light-headed and nearly passed out, because I didn''t think it was possible to have even less cloth between a woman''s legs than panties covered, and it was completely acceptable to wear in public.


    The next hour passed by before we knew it as we swam, floated, and enjoyed spending the time together. Both May and Melinda laughed a lot at my stunned expression that didn''t change the entire time. It wasn''t until we wore the robes again and returned to the expensive two bedroom suite that my expression changed, because Aunt May had excused herself and said she would see us in the morning.


    I did not miss the subtle nod she gave Melinda or the light touch Melinda gave her arm in return. That told me a lot about whatever they had been talking about during our little shopping spree that day. I was sure that they discussed me at length while I was busy shopping for presents for them and while they were helping me shop for presents for my friends.


    Of course, the afternoon meeting with Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson might have had something to do with it as well. We learned that I had successfully acquired dozens of trademarks, copyrights, and patents, and that Matt had already negotiated several very lucrative licensing deals with different companies.


    The reason they were lucrative, was because he had taken my advice and not gone for the leaders of each of the targeted industries, he had negotiated with their primary competitors. They jumped at the chance to gain more sales and to propel them into the top spot... and the strategy worked. They paid through the nose for it.


    Both May and I had signed the contracts to finalize the deals and I gave Matt and Foggy permission to run with it and I transferred the money I owed them for getting everything registered. They were very happy about that, especially because they had used a personal loan to pay for everything, including setting up their own law firm of Nelson and Murdock. I paid for that, too.


    Of course, both men were also extremely happy that I had kept my word and agreed they would receive 3% of the net that the company made on top of their legal fees, because that was the best motivation for them to wring as much out of the deals as possible. For every million dollars they brought in, they would get $30,000 free and clear, because it was a retainer for their services.


    Melinda''s hand on my arm took me out of my reminiscing and she didn''t say a word as she led me over to the other bedroom and took me inside. She dropped the robe and revealed the gold bikini once more and I made sure that I kept my eyes locked to hers.


    ¡°It''s okay, Ben. You have my permission.¡± Melinda whispered.


    ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± I said and stepped close to her as my hands went right to her breasts. ¡°Golden wrapped candy.¡± I whispered and started to massage her firm breasts.


    Melinda moaned and her nipples popped right out for me. ¡°B-Ben...¡±


    ¡°I don''t want this to change things between us.¡± I said and she gave me a nod. I smiled and then kissed her deeply and passionately.


    Melinda moaned softly again and put her arms around me to pull me close. My hands slid down from her chest to her ass and I fondled her and gripped her to pick her up. She wrapped her legs around me and moaned louder when my erection pressed into her bikini covered opening. I sat down and then laid back onto the bed to put her on top, which seemed to be exactly what she wanted.


    She broke the kiss and sat up and ground herself into my erection for several seconds, then she saw where my eyes were looking. ¡°Would you like to see them?¡± She asked, teasingly.


    ¡°Please, allow me the honor of seeing such a sight.¡± I said with a begging voice.


    Melinda looked happy as she reached behind her back and tugged on the string. The gold cloth seemed to pop right off and revealed the perky breasts my hands had cupped moments ago. The dark nipples looked very inviting and they were also quite a nice size.


    ¡°Definitely a heavenly goddess.¡± I whispered as I slid my hands past her slim waist and up her sides until I cupped her firm bare breasts and rubbed her nipples between my thumbs and index fingers.


    ¡°You haven''t seen everything yet.¡± Melinda said in a deep sexy voice and laid down on top of me to kiss me passionately.


    *


    May lay naked in the bed and she wasn''t sure why she had given her permission for Melinda to seduce her nephew. It hadn''t been a spur of the moment thing, either. She had diligently watched them and she knew that they were good friends and that neither of them were going to make the first move. She didn''t know why she thought of it in those kinds of terms, either. At least, not until she heard the first loud moan.


    Right, that''s why. They both needed it. May thought and laid there and listened to Melinda as she moaned, yelled, and screamed Ben''s name. She could only imagine what he was doing to her to make those kinds of sounds, considering she couldn''t hear anything until Melinda''s moans had gotten so loud.


    The thing was, May didn''t feel jealous of her new friend. She had had a wonderful time teasing her nephew in an attempt to get him back for the things he had said about her on the bus, which had thoroughly embarrassed her at the time.


    Showing off for Ben had been fun and May hadn''t been embarrassed when he had popped out of his speedos, because it showed both her and Melinda how much he had liked seeing them show off for him. It had been the second time she had seen him in that state and unlike the first time, she fully appreciated what it meant this time.


    Melinda let out a particularly loud yell and May started to laugh softly. It was a little ridiculous that she had no problems listening to her nephew pleasuring a woman that was around her age. At least she didn''t have the thought of joining in or trying to interrupt, because like she had thought previously, they both needed this.


    May''s soft laughing trailed off and let her hands rub her breasts, pinched her nipples, and imagined being with her deceased husband as he did to her what Melinda was having done to her. She bit her lip to stop her moan and moved a hand down to between her legs. It had been a couple of weeks since the last time she had done anything like touching herself and she wasn''t surprised to find herself wet already.


    Her fingers dipped inside and easily found her favorite spot and her fingertips flicked it between the light thrusts she did with two of her fingers. Her other hand squeezed her breast a little harder than she normally would and she didn''t care. She was a bit too far gone into remembering how much she loved both of her Bens to stay careful.


    May pinched her nipple hard to simulate it being bitten and with one more thrust by her hand, gave herself a wonderful orgasm and the burst of endorphins flooded through her brain and nervous system. She panted and let both of her hands remain where they were as she rolled onto her side and drifted off to sleep with a satisfied smile on her face.


    *


    Melinda''s eyes fluttered open and the first thing she felt was her well used body as it was snuggled atop a warm muscled body. She smiled happily and didn''t feel any regret, because she hadn''t been so thoroughly made love to in years and she had never gotten off so many times. Ben''s fingers, tongue, and rock hard penis had ravished her and she had ravished him right back.


    She had been enthusiastic about the whole thing, especially because of the way he had admired her and wasn''t lewd about how he looked at her. She let her reservations go after that and had devoured as much of him as she could. Ben had fully accepted her and anything she wanted to do and returned her acts in kind and in some cases topped them, to her delight.


    Even several hours later, Melinda could still feel him inside of her. When she tried to move, she realized he actually was still inside of her. He was still hard, too. Unable to resist the temptation, she started to shift her weight and rocked forward and back enough to cause some friction. She started panting almost immediately and her breasts rubbed across his chest as she moved even more.


    Melinda wanted to feel him deep inside again, so she braced her arms on either side of his head and really started moving. She stared at Ben''s sleeping face and she couldn''t see him as the young man that had first become her friend. No, she now saw him as the mature man that spoke to her like an equal, who didn''t judge her or constantly asked her if she was okay, and he never once brought up her past.


    Ben''s eyes fluttered open and his intense gaze matched hers. ¡°What a wonderful way to wake up.¡±


    ¡°I had hoped... you would see it... that way.¡± Melinda said between panting breaths.


    ¡°I''m so glad this isn''t a dream.¡± Ben whispered and started to thrust up as she thrust down.


    ¡°Ohhh.... yes... just... a little... harder.¡± Melinda panted.


    ¡°As my goddess commands.¡± Ben whispered and grabbed her ass and helped pull her down.


    ¡°Ohh... ohhh... ohhhh.... ohhhhh... OHHHH!¡± Melinda yelled and moaned as she came. She lost the strength in her arms and hugged Ben around the neck to kiss him, then she was suddenly on the bottom and he thrust himself into her even faster. ¡°OHHHH!¡± She moaned as she came again, then she spread her legs wide open to allow him to go at her as hard as he could.


    ¡°I''m... getting close.¡± Ben warned her.


    ¡°Mmm hmm.¡± Melinda hummed and kissed him deeply. ¡°You can put it wherever you want.¡±


    Ben looked conflicted for several moments. ¡°I want to bury it inside of you and get you pregnant.¡±


    ¡°OH, GOD!¡± Melinda gasped and came so hard that her legs started to shake. ¡°B-Ben... we... can''t.¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Ben said and those words made her heart flutter. ¡°For now, I want to paint your beautiful breasts.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Cover them with our love!¡± Melinda exclaimed and Ben pulled out and straddling her belly as he stroked himself quickly.


    A moment later, his first boiling hot expulsion splashed against her right nipple, then his second blast hit her left nipple, and his third splattered between her breasts. They were both panting now and Ben flicked himself several times to dribble a bit more onto her, then he surprised her and put his hands into the hot fluid on her chest and rubbed it all over.


    Melinda stared as Ben finger-painted her breasts and covered them entirely with his sperm. Even though she said that they couldn''t, she regretted that it wasn''t deep inside of her and making its way to her womb. That he said ''not yet'' was such a comforting thought that she felt a warmth inside that she couldn''t explain.


    She was a dedicated career woman and thoughts of having a family of her own had been few and far between. It wasn''t until she had seen how Ben and his Aunt May interacted that she started to want that for herself. It had surprised her that May had given her permission to do what she just did with her nephew, and that had really opened her mind to the possibility of being part of a family.


    Ben laid down beside her and gave her a soft and tender kiss. ¡°Thank you for letting me do that.¡±


    Melinda gave him raised eyebrows and he chuckled.


    ¡°Yes, we did a lot of things tonight... well, this morning. That doesn''t mean I''m going to take it for granted that you''ll let me do whatever I want without asking you first.¡± Ben said and wagged his eyebrows at her. ¡°Do you need help in the shower?¡±


    Melinda couldn''t stop her laugh. ¡°You want to go again?¡±


    Ben looked down at his soft member and it rose up to stand at attention.


    Melinda reached down and grabbed it to stroke it a few times. ¡°I suppose if we''re careful. Bathroom tiles can be slippery when wet.¡±


    Ben gave her a huge smile. ¡°So is something else I won''t mention and we both know what I mean.¡±


    Melinda sat up with a laugh and used his penis like a handle as she led Ben from the bedroom and into the bathroom. She thought it was going to be a quickie, because they had to have an actual shower, and she was quite happy to be wrong. They had another lengthy lovemaking session and showered afterwards, dried off, and went back to bed to sleep for several more hours.

 74 Holiday Blowout

    Bokuboy


    Melinda dropped May and myself off at the apartment with all of the bags and wrapped presents I had bought the day before. Of course, I had left one for Melinda with a promise from her to not freak out about it. I had made a different kind of bracelet while the R&D guys had been working on the BWSuit.


    It was a collapsible shield that would deploy in barely a second to cover most of her arm in a two foot wide curved circle of titanium and steel alloy with plated gold over the bracelet itself. I wanted her to have it before I sold the idea to SHIELD and they put it into production for all of their normal field agents, because I knew they were going to. It was just too useful to not make it readily available.


    I doubted they would do that with adaptions to the BWSuit I had submitted for Hawkeye. It would be much too expensive to outfit the entire SHIELD field agent contingent with custom made and fitted armored suits. The first suit cost a small fortune in materials and construction and that was with salvaging and adapting the tech from the Hammer drones.


    Of course, I took some for myself. It was just too useful not to. I also grabbed a dozen noise clickers, two dozen air cartridges that I would convert into web cartridges with the proper pressure valves, and the spare materials I would need to reinforce my Spider-Man suit. I couldn''t replicate the BWSuit, just because it would give away Spider-Man''s direct connection to SHIELD.


    I would have to change the deployment to a backpack and there was no way I could scrounge up enough lightweight titanium alloy to make a suit for myself, so I would have to settle for making it from steel. It was a lot heavier; but, I was a lot stronger than a normal person. If anything, the heavier metal could actually help me get stronger, especially if I add in extra reinforcements.


    Aunt May and I entered the apartment and it seemed like we were returning home after we had been away on a nice vacation. We exchanged knowing looks and split up to go to our respective rooms to put our things away. We really did go a little overboard with how much we spent and I didn''t regret it.


    It was worth almost any price to see May''s happy face as she picked out something for herself and she didn''t look at the price as she told me to buy it for her. Melinda had let out a laugh at May''s smug look as I did as she said and had it wrapped.


    I piled the already wrapped presents into the corner of the room and I would deliver them later today, because it was Christmas Eve. I had been too busy yesterday to deliver them and I didn''t have to wonder why I was so busy, considering I had two women that pretty much dragged me all over the place to shop for everything.


    I chuckled at how the fun day with two Mays had turned out to become a great evening with them at the pool. I was going to remember the sight of two beautiful women wearing barely there gold bathing suits for the rest of my life. The overnight stay at the hotel where Melinda and I had enjoyed each other immensely, was just icing on the cake. And a very delicious icing it was.


    I checked the camera was still disabled and nothing in my room had been disturbed. The glass of my window had also not been removed, thanks to the second electronic sensor I had planted on it. I changed my clothes and put on jogging pants and a baggy t-shirt before I went to May''s room to see what she wanted to do for the afternoon.


    Her door was open and I stopped to stare at her ass. She had bent over in her closet and rummaged around as if looking for something. I wasn''t surprised that her ass in panties was just as appealing as it had been when covered in gold cloth.


    ¡°Need a hand with something?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes! I can''t find my damn slippers!¡± May said with a huff as she stood and put her hands on her hips, which just so happened to jiggle her breasts nicely inside her bra.


    That''s not a good reason to get a woman upset, Ben. I thought with a chuckle as I walked over to her. ¡°Do you mean the pink fluffy ones or the ones covered in long grey fur?¡±


    ¡°The grey ones. My toes are a little cold and they are thicker there than the pink ones.¡± May said.


    I nodded and knelt to get a better view. The bottom of her closet was a mess again with shoes scattered about, an old top, several skirts, and three unopened shoe boxes. I would have to straighten it up the next chance I could. I had an idea where the slippers were, though.


    I remembered tucking them in the corner out of the way to not get flattened when May exchanged her work sneakers. Having comfortable shoes at work was a must when you were on your feet all day and she had several pairs to choose from.


    I moved a shoe box out of the way and it had blue high heels inside that matched the dress I had bought for her. I made a point to put them off to the side and reached into the back of the closet on the right-hand side. I felt along the back wall for the long fake fur and stuck two fingers into the slippers before I lifted and pulled them out. Thankfully, they weren''t too squished.


    ¡°There they are!¡± May exclaimed and hugged them to her chest. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    I slowly stood and smiled at her. ¡°I''m always happy to help a damsel in distress.¡±


    May laughed and whacked my arm with one of the slippers. ¡°Go wait downstairs for me. I''m not dressed.¡±


    ¡°You''re not?¡± I asked and looked down at her. ¡°Are you actually naked right now?¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped and laughed as she whacked me a few more times on the arm and head to chase me out of the bedroom. ¡°Out! Out!¡±


    I laughed and left the room, even though I hadn''t asked what she wanted to do. I waited on the couch for her and she came down a few minutes later and wore her flannel pyjamas and the slippers. I pat the couch beside me and she sat down and cuddled into my side.


    ¡°Are we ordering in or making something?¡± I asked her and put my arm around her.


    ¡°Ordering. You have those presents to deliver and I have some paperwork to work on.¡± May said and gave me a bit of a glare.


    I kissed her cheek. ¡°Matt said you didn''t have to look at anything until after Christmas, even if it is my present to you.¡±


    May shook her head and picked up the remote. ¡°You made me the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, Ben. That''s not just a Christmas present. That''s a life changing event.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It doesn''t have to be, unless you want it to be.¡±


    May turned on the television and looked at me. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± I blatantly lied and turned my head away to hide my amusement.


    ¡°Benjamin P. Parker! Don''t lie to me.¡± May said in a stern voice.


    I jerked slightly at her tone of voice and because of what she said. I looked back at her face and let her see my confusion. ¡°What... what did you call me?¡±


    May lost the stern look and smiled sweetly. ¡°Wait right here. I''ll be right back.¡± She said and stood, then walked back up the stairs and disappeared.


    I sat there and waited for several minutes before she appeared at the top of the stairs with a large manila envelope and walked down the stairs, almost like she was presenting an award at an award show. I stared at her as she walked over to me and held out the envelope.


    ¡°May?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Go ahead and open your present.¡± May said and knelt on the floor in front of me.


    I opened the tab at the top that held the flap closed and reached inside. I felt several sheets of papers and pulled them out. I started reading them before I had them all the way out and I caught my breath at what the top sheet was. It was a birth certificate. Instead of saying Peter Benjamin Parker like it should have, it said Benjamin Peter Parker.


    I moved the sheet and the second page had the legal change of name form that had been signed by May and Matt, it was also notarized. The third sheet had my new social security number card with my new name on it, as well as a wallet-sized birth certificate.


    ¡°M-M-May... I... I...¡± I couldn''t speak as tears came to my eyes. I also didn''t know what to say. She had changed my name to match who I was and I was so shocked that I was at a complete loss for words.


    ¡°Merry Christmas, Ben.¡± May said and moved the papers to the side to pull me into a tight hug.


    I started to cry and put my arms around her to hug her just as tightly and held on, because I felt the wracking sobs as they overwhelmed me. I cried even harder when May whispered that everything was okay, that I was her Ben now, and she promised to take care of me and be my family, for always and for ever.


    *


    Liz Allan had debated with herself for a very long time over inviting Ben to her Christmas Party or not. She had good reasons for both sides, even when she remembered that she had invited the academic decathlon team and several other kids from her different classes. Popularity really could be a burden.


    In the end, her indecision made the decision for her and the accusing glares she received from her close friends when Ben hadn''t shown up for the party, had been well deserved.


    She had eventually taken them aside and apologized before she explained what happened. They reluctantly accepted that this was the third time she had done the same thing and told her in no uncertain terms that if there was a fourth time, she would be the one left out when the next set of plans between friends were made.


    Liz readily accepted that condition and they went back to the party that was just getting into full swing. The music played and a lot of them were dancing. They also wore funny Christmas Sweaters, which was the theme of the party.


    A short time later, Liz realized another problem was about to surface. Her friends had brought presents for Ben to put under the public tree and everyone else at the party would soon know that she hadn''t invited him, even if it had been a mistake.


    Max was quickly taken aside by Liz and given a pleading look as she motioned to her cell phone. ¡°He''s going to say no.¡±


    ¡°Not if you ask him.¡± Liz said. ¡°He really likes you.¡±


    Max gave her a pointed look. ¡°You have apparently forgotten that he wanted to date you first.¡±


    Liz blushed a little. ¡°I know. I just... I don''t know why I...¡±


    ¡°He likes boldness.¡± Val said as she stepped close and took out her cell phone. ¡°You''ve pretty much ensured that he''s not going to want to pick things up with you later. Or ever.¡±


    Liz looked embarrassed about that as Val typed out a text. ¡°Is there any chance he''s going to respond soon? If he leaves his apartment in the next half hour, he might make it before we get to exchanging presents.¡±


    Val gave her a smug smile and hit send. ¡°One, two, three, four, now.¡± She said and her phone beeped.


    Liz looked shocked and Max barked a laugh.


    ¡°It seems he is out delivering presents to his friends that he thought were at home.¡± Val read and Liz felt bad about that, because her friends had thought he was going to her house and hadn''t told Ben they wouldn''t be home. It beeped again and she nodded. ¡°He said he''s at Max''s house right now and he doesn''t have a sweater to wear to the party.¡±


    ¡°Even if he took a taxi, which we all know he can''t afford, there''s no way he will make it all the way across the city on Christmas Eve to get here in time.¡± Max said.


    Liz nodded and sighed sadly. ¡°You might as well tell him what happened, that I''m really sorry, and that I hope he''ll forgive me. Again.¡±


    Val started typing and sent it. The phone beeped ten seconds later. ¡°He said Max''s mom is going to let him borrow a sweater and he''ll be here as soon as he can.¡±


    ¡°Good luck with that fantasy! It''ll be a Christmas Miracle if he shows up before ten.¡± Max said.


    Val chuckled and sent it. The phone beeped a moment later and she laughed.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Liz asked and Val showed her. ¡°Look upon the heavens and your wish shall be granted?¡±


    ¡°Ha! Now I really want him to show up!¡± Max exclaimed and Val nodded.


    *


    ¡°I really appreciate you doing this for me, guys.¡± I said to the pilot and co-pilot on the Quinjet as they flew me across the city.


    ¡°We were doing a patrol overflight anyway.¡± The co-pilot said.


    ¡°Taking a massive detour from your flight pattern is going to show up on your flight recorder.¡±


    ¡°Emergency bathroom break.¡± The pilot said with a grin and his co-pilot chuckled.


    ¡°I assume you''ve used the excuse before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I buzzed a cheating girlfriend''s house during a high wind gale and used the jets to blow her roof off.¡± The pilot said.


    I laughed and nodded. ¡°Good for you.¡±


    ¡°I thought so, too.¡± The co-pilot said. ¡°That''s a nice sweater, Agent Parker.¡±


    I ran a hand over the plush reindeer head with real Christmas lights hanging from the antlers. ¡°It only cost me ten minutes of eating a woman out and a promise to finish tomorrow.¡±


    The two men exchanged a quick look and then burst out laughing.


    A few minutes later, the pilot swung the transport around and landed a street away from Liz''s house with its operating lights off, and dropped the rear ramp.


    ¡°Thanks again, guys! Let me know if you ever need anything.¡± I said.


    ¡°Black Widow''s autograph!¡± Both men said at the same time and then laughed.


    I waved and carried my bag of presents as I walked to the back and hit the retract button before I jumped down the ramp and then I ran down the street. I took the corner and ran up the next street. I wasn''t surprised to see Liz, Val, Max, Gina, Betty, Sarah, and a few others I didn''t recognize outside and looking up at the sky. The surprising one to see was Sally, my overweight biology lab partner.


    ¡°Ben? Did you fly here? Was that a helicopter we heard?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I can''t divulge Christmas Miracle secrets.¡± I said and came to a stop in front of everyone.


    ¡°I can''t believe you actually made it.¡± Max said with a smirk. ¡°Mom''s sweater looks good on you.¡±


    I chuckled and flicked the button on the collar to turn on the Christmas lights and they flickered randomly. ¡°It''s the the most Christmassy sweater I''ve ever seen.¡±


    ¡°You are definitely winning the contest.¡± Max said.


    ¡°I don''t know. I can see a few sweaters that are just as garishly bright and cheery as mine.¡± I said and several of the girls let out soft laughs. ¡°Hey, Liz. I''m sorry I''m late to your party. I got caught up at home when my aunt sprang an unexpected gift on me and it took me a while to handle it.¡±


    Liz looked embarrassed, which was why I said it the way I did. Not only did it cover for her, it let her blame me for her mistake and would make her look magnanimous for allowing me to still come inside.


    ¡°That''s okay, Ben. You''re here now and that''s all that matters.¡± Liz said and several of the girls around her nodded.


    ¡°Then what are we all standing out in the cold for? I''m freezing my balls off here!¡±


    That set a few of the girls to laughing and we all filed back inside Liz''s house and into the warmth. We all went into the main part of the house to see that the party was jumping and the music was pumping. A couple of the girls started to sway and pump their arms to the music.


    ¡°I''m really glad you made it.¡± Val whispered from beside me.


    ¡°I told you I would always come when you called.¡± I whispered back. ¡°Where do the presents go?¡±


    ¡°This way.¡± Val said and took my hand and led me back through the house to near the entryway and opened a side door. Inside was a sitting room and presents were piled around a large tree.


    I stood there and wondered where I should put my presents so that they wouldn''t get stolen or have the nametags switched, when Val shut the door and locked it. I turned around and saw a very aroused face where a subdued face had been a moment before.


    ¡°Val?¡± I asked as she walked over to me.


    Val took my bag of gifts and tucked it beside the fireplace and out of the way, then she came back to me to give me a longing look. Her hands went to the sweater''s collar and she clicked off the lights.


    ¡°Val.¡± I whispered as she pulled the sweater off over my head and her hands deftly flicked the buttons open on my shirt. She did the cuffs next and then my shirt was on the floor.


    ¡°Ben, please.¡± Val whispered as her hands slid up my torso and her fingers danced over my chest.


    ¡°Are you sure you want it like this?¡± I asked in a whisper. ¡°We have to be quiet and I can''t treat you properly.¡±


    Val bit her bottom lip. ¡°You would treat me differently if we were somewhere else?¡±


    I took her hands in mine and slid them down to press them to my erection. ¡°I told you that I don''t want to have sex with you. I want to make love to you and show you the difference.¡±


    ¡°You can''t do that here?¡± Val asked and pulled off her sweater to reveal she wore only a basic cloth bra.


    ¡°I can, just not for as long as I think you deserve.¡± I said and pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

 75 Holiday Blowout Bonanza

    Bokuboy


    We were both soon naked and Val moaned into my mouth as I gently entered her raw and caressed her all over with my hands. Her body reacted to my gentle touches as if my fingertips gave her shocks and she tightened up down there more than last time, probably because she was feeling me directly. She also squirmed and writhed as I gave her bits of a massage and little tickles here and there.


    I explored her body thoroughly and Val''s moans were loud, even muffled by my mouth like they were. I eventually managed to get her to orgasm with all of my gentle ministrations and her body locked up and stiffened for several seconds.


    When Val finally relaxed, the look on her face was full of shock and awe. ¡°Wh-what... what was that?¡± She asked, barely above a whisper.


    ¡°The first one.¡± I whispered back and carefully pulled out of her. ¡°We don''t have time for more.¡±


    ¡°What? Wait... you...¡± Val''s eyes went to my still hard member. ¡°You didn''t go.¡±


    ¡°I''m not wearing a condom. I can''t endanger you like that.¡± I said and glanced around for something to use to wipe myself off.


    Val handed me her panties and I raised my eyebrows at her. ¡°I was going to give them to you anyway.¡±


    I gave her a warm smile and made a show of wiping myself off for her. She licked her lips as I did and then she sat up and took me into her mouth, which undid the whole point of wiping myself off. She didn''t have to work it for long before I warned her it was coming and she hummed and kept sucking and bobbed her head.


    I let myself go and she moaned as I coated the inside of her mouth and her throat. She swallowed several times and eased herself back and gave me one more lick before she looked up at me with a satisfied look on her face.


    ¡°Thank you, Val.¡± I said and bent down to kiss her on the lips.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Val gasped and pulled back. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    I used a hand to cup the side of her face. ¡°I''m showing you that I care enough about you to kiss you, no matter what you do.¡±


    Val looked stunned by that. ¡°Ben, you... you can''t mean...¡±


    I smiled at her and pulled her in close to give her another kiss. ¡°I do.¡± I said and stood up. I used her panties to wipe myself off as best as I could, then I tucked them into my front pocket and handed her my boxers. ¡°Put those on. It''s only fair, since you gave me yours.¡±


    Val accepted them with a blush and she quickly put them on and pulled on her pants. ¡°These feel weird with jeans on.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Imagine how weird they would feel in a skirt.¡±


    Val gave me a surprised look and then laughed.


    ¡°Yep, no point wearing them with a skirt.¡± I said and we finished dressing. I put an arm around her waist and gave her half of a hug as we walked to the door of the room. ¡°I''m sorry we don''t have more time.¡±


    Val gave me a look that said she didn''t believe me. ¡°They are going to suspect we were doing something anyway.¡±


    ¡°I don''t care about that.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°I only care that I didn''t succeed in showing you how much I cherish you before someone walked in on us.¡±


    Val looked stunned at my words and let me lead her from the room. I let my arm drop to her ass briefly when we entered the living room and I let her go. I didn''t want to give anyone the wrong impression or have them assume we were dating.


    ¡°Hey, you two. Where were you?¡± Gina asked with a knowing smirk when we approached the group.


    ¡°Val showed me where to put the presents and she had to peek at what I had for her.¡± I said with a straight face.


    Val made a surprised sound and Gina looked amused.


    ¡°I want a dance.¡± Max said and took my hand.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I responded and we moved over to the middle of the people there and started dancing. It was a fast song, so we both moved around a lot and smiled at each other. The song ended and changed to a slow one and Max grabbed my arm and pulled me close.


    ¡°You had sex, didn''t you?¡± Max whispered into my ear.


    ¡°Yes, she needed me to start showing her the difference between having sex and making love.¡±


    Max moved back slightly to look at my face. ¡°Like what you did with me last week?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I treat you all differently, you know that.¡±


    ¡°Do I?¡± Max asked.


    ¡°I didn''t go down on her and it was straight missionary.¡± I admitted and she looked surprised. ¡°We had to stop in case anyone came in and found us.¡±


    Max nodded and hugged me close for the rest of the song. When it ended, she gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°If you can find somewhere that no one will walk in on us...¡± I started to say.


    ¡°I will.¡± Max said and disappeared through the crowd, I assumed to start searching.


    I started walking back over to the other girls when a voice stopped me.


    ¡°Hi, Ben.¡± Sally said and I changed my destination to walk over to her.


    ¡°May I have this dance?¡± I asked and held my hand out to her.


    ¡°I... I don''t dance.¡± Sally said with a blush.


    It was a slow song again and I smiled at her, took her hand, and led her out to the dance floor. She was a few inches shorter than me, so it was a little awkward to hold her close and bend a bit to talk to her.


    ¡°You''re embarrassing yourself.¡± Sally whispered and looked embarrassed herself.


    ¡°So what?¡± I asked and her eyebrows rose. ¡°I might have an ache in my back in a few minutes from having to lean close to talk, though.¡±


    ¡°Then let me go back to holding up the wall.¡± Sally griped.


    I chuckled. ¡°What''s a little discomfort between friends?¡±


    Sally gave me an odd look. ¡°You really want to be friends with me?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t have done anything at all with you if I didn''t.¡± I said and she blushed again. ¡°I meant the labs, eating in the cafeteria, and actually talking to you instead of ignoring you like Peter used to.¡±


    Sally''s odd look changed to confusion. ¡°Why do you think he ignored me?¡±


    I had to smile at that. ¡°He had the largest breasts in the school sitting next to him every Friday for three months. Can you honestly tell me he didn''t notice? Those things are massive.¡±


    Sally''s blush intensified. ¡°Ben, you... why...¡±


    ¡°I''m complimenting you without being vulgar about it.¡±


    Sally looked into my eyes. ¡°What would you say if you were being vulgar?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± I asked and she nodded. I leaned down some more to whisper in her ear, which just so happened to press her breasts into my chest. ¡°I want to see how much those gigantic tits sway and jiggle as I fuck you so hard that you can''t think of anything except wanting the next thrust to be even harder.¡±


    Sally made a soft sound, somewhere between a squeak and a moan.


    I leaned back a little to see her shocked face. ¡°I doubt I can blow a load big enough to cover your tits with my spunk, though I am willing to try.¡±


    Sally''s mouth dropped open and she stared at me like I was crazy. I smiled back and swayed with her in my arms until the song ended. I walked her back over to the wall and let her hold it up once more. I didn''t say anything else to her and went back over to where the girls were. They all had different looks on their faces and expressed different emotions.


    ¡°That was nice of you.¡± Betty finally said.


    ¡°I thought so.¡± I said and held a hand out to her. ¡°May I have this dance?¡±


    Betty gave my hand a raise eyebrow and looked at my face. ¡°You better not be doing this for the same reason.¡±


    I chuckled and wagged my hand at her. ¡°I promise this dance isn''t going to be the same as Sally''s.¡±


    Betty nodded and accepted my hand. We went back to the dance floor and the song was a pretty fast one. She tried to let my hand go to start hopping around and I held on. She gave me a questioning look and I pulled her close and put my arms around her. The blush on her face was worth looking a little foolish for slow dancing during a fast song.


    ¡°Ben, what are you doing?¡± Betty asked and put her arms around my neck.


    ¡°Proving to you that this dance isn''t like the others.¡± I said and hugged her and shuffled my feet as we slowly swayed from side to side.


    ¡°People are staring at us.¡± Betty whispered.


    ¡°They''re just jealous that I have a pretty blonde in my arms while they are only flailing around.¡±


    Betty blushed again. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry we haven''t had much chance to hang out lately. You were the first girl I met at school and I miss not having you in my classes anymore.¡±


    Betty blinked her eyes at me and didn''t respond.


    ¡°You should be happy to know that I finally put my life in order.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I have a few other things I could tell you... perhaps a big news scoop, too.¡±


    Betty perked right up and gave me an intense stare.


    ¡°Maybe we should get Cindy in on this?¡± I asked and the young Asian woman appeared beside us as if by magic. I chuckled and opened one of my arms to let Cindy into the hug. She stepped right in and put an arm around Betty''s waist and one around mine.


    ¡°All right, spill! What''s the sitch?¡± Cindy asked.


    ¡°Now everyone is really staring at us.¡± Betty said. She didn''t sound disappointed or annoyed about it, though.


    ¡°That''s because I''m the guy with two pretty girls in his arms and most of them have no one. How lucky can I be, right?¡± I asked and they both blushed a little and looked happy.


    ¡°What''s the scoop?¡± Betty asked.


    ¡°Blondes do not have more fun, they are just the ones that brag about it more.¡± I joked.


    Cindy giggled and Betty pouted cutely. It was doubly funny because Betty was in the journalism course at school.


    ¡°You promised to not play around about an actual scoop.¡± Betty reminded me.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I couldn''t resist.¡± I said and took a chance as I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.


    Betty''s face was a little red as she blushed and Cindy looked both scandalized and excited to have been there to see it. I couldn''t let her gloat about it, so I turned my head slightly and kissed her cheek, too.


    ¡°You''re lucky you don''t have a girlfriend or we would both be really upset right now.¡± Betty said.


    ¡°Just from a kiss on the cheek?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°What if I kissed you on the lips?¡±


    Betty stared at me and and didn''t respond while Cindy looked thoughtful.


    ¡°Anyway, the main scoop is that one of your classmates has recently changed jobs.¡± I whispered. ¡°He was laid off from his really fun construction job and has to wait until they move on to another building before he can work for them again. In the meantime, he luckily landed a job downtown as a data entry clerk. It''s quite boring in comparison to swinging a sledgehammer around and crushing concrete; but, it pays really well and it''s opened up a lot of doors for him.¡±


    Both Betty and Cindy stared at me now.


    ¡°What is it? Is there something on my face besides lipstick?¡± I asked and Cindy closed her mouth to muffle her giggle. ¡°I did not just admit to wearing lipstick. Nope, I did not.¡±


    That had both girls giggle and they gave me amused looks.


    ¡°This interview is not going how I thought it would.¡± I admitted and both of them looked pleased. ¡°You''re not supposed to enjoy my embarrassment!¡±


    Betty and Cindy exchanged knowing looks and smiled at me before they spoke. ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    ¡°You''re terrible for taking advantage of me!¡± I exclaimed and they both laughed.


    Max walked over to us and gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°Oh, it seems my secret affair has decided to let me know she''s ready for another rendezvous.¡± I said.


    Both Betty and Cindy let out surprised sounds and spoke at the same time again. ¡°Scoop!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you''re both terribly cute.¡± I said and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek again to make them blush, then I took Max''s hand and we left the dance floor.


    Max led me up the stairs to Liz''s room and into the attached bathroom. ¡°Give me the Val treatment.¡±


    I wasn''t sure how to react to that until Max pulled off her sweater and showed me that she wasn''t wearing a bra underneath. ¡°You dirty, dirty girl.¡±


    Max gave me a happy smile and then slipped out of her pants and took off her panties. ¡°She said bareback with you was ten times as fun as it was with a condom, so you better deliver, Mister Parker.¡±


    I chuckled and stripped off. ¡°I''ll try to not disappoint you, Miss Caufield.¡±


    ¡°You haven''t so far.¡± Max said with a smug expression and turned around to wiggle her ass at me as she braced her arms on the back of the toilet.


    ¡°Val didn''t do that.¡± I said and lightly caressed her hips.


    ¡°Val doesn''t have this cute ass.¡± Max responded and gave me a ''come here'' look over her shoulder.


    I didn''t say anything and positioned myself in the right spot before I thrust into her without prepping her first. Max cried out and I had to put a hand over her mouth as I screwed her pretty ruthlessly. She came barely a minute later and moaned that Val had been right. Feeling me directly was so much better than using a condom.


    I didn''t comment that it was much more dangerous as well, which added to the appeal. I held back and made her orgasm twice before I pulled out and blew a load all over her ass and her back, which actually made her moan and orgasm again. We were in a bathroom, so the clean-up went much faster than if we had been anywhere else.


    Max looked immensely pleased as she left me there to walk back to the party on her own. Even though several people had seen us leave together, she didn''t want us arriving at the same time. I had shrugged at her reasoning, because it really was an open secret that we were having an affair and everyone knew that.


    What no one really knew was that I had sex with several of Liz''s closest friends as well, not to mention Liz herself. I had barely stepped out of the bathroom when Gina stood there with an embarrassed and hopeful look on her face.


    ¡°Ben, I... I really want you.¡± Gina admitted. ¡°I can''t get our last time together out of my head and...¡±


    I didn''t say anything as I stood to the side and waved at the bathroom. Gina stopped talking and nodded as she walked by me. I closed and locked the door behind her and then watched as she stripped off and gave me a needy look while clear liquid flowed down her thighs.


    ¡°You talked to Val?¡± I asked and she nodded several times. I laid several towels down on the floor and she laid down and spread her legs for me without being asked, which showed me she was soaked and more than ready for me. I carefully laid down on top of her and easily joined with her.


    Gina caught her breath at the much different feelings her body gave her at feeling me without a tight piece of rubberized plastic between us. When I started to move, the sounds she made were also much sharper and louder than they had been the last time we had been together.


    I made sure to take my time and kissed her and caressed her like I had with Val. Not surprisingly, Gina reacted more than Val did, because of her inexperience with feeling someone making love to her and not just having sex. It really was something that the girls were not used to, because their reactions were fairly pronounced when they came from being treated so lovingly and tenderly.


    Gina had reacted in a similar manner as Val and froze as she came pretty hard and held onto me as if her life depended on it. It took her a lot longer to relax and the astonished look on her face when she finally let me go was well worth all of my efforts. She was just as surprised as Val had been that I hadn''t come inside of her and I gave her the same excuse that I wouldn''t endanger her like that.


    Gina sat up and sucked me off, just like Val had, except she also jerked me until I came into her open mouth, and she worked her throat several times to swallow it all. It was spectacular to see how much I shot off and she was just as surprised this time as she had been the first time she had seen it.


    Once again, the clean-up was quick and Gina kissed my cheek before she left the bathroom first. I was starting to realize there was a pattern happening as I dressed and tried to leave the bathroom. Instead of Liz like I had expected, it was Sally that stood there with a look that was a mix of expectation and anticipated rejection on her face.


    I wasn''t going to say no, not after telling her what I did while on the dance floor. She surprised me when she handed me a condom and walked by me into the bathroom. I quickly checked it to make sure it wasn''t tampered with, then I stripped off my clothes again and put it on. I would trust my spider-sense to let me know if the condom was going to fail and turned to face her.


    Sally was already naked and the look on her face was the same mix of emotions as before. I walked over to her and gave her a tender kiss, then I laid her down on the floor and dove for the space between her legs. I made her come once and then moved up to look at her face. The look of utter disbelief on her face was one that I wanted to remove, so I shoved myself into her hard and her breasts jiggled.


    Sally gasped and her look of disbelief changed to desire. ¡°You really... wanted to see...¡±


    ¡°Shake those massive tits for me, baby.¡± I ordered and she nodded as she used her hands to move them while I plowed into her as hard as she could stand.


    Not surprisingly, she was extremely tight and it didn''t take me long before I was ready to do as I proposed. She pushed her breasts together and the look of anticipation on her face as my pace picked up, was going to make me shoot as big of a load as I could.


    Sally came with a yell just before I pulled out of her, yanked off the condom, and blew a huge load over her breasts and splashed her face with it. The pleased moan she let out and her opened mouth that caught any excess, kept me rock hard as I jerked myself and painted as much of her chest as I could. When I was done, I straddled her chest and pushed my dripping manhood into her mouth.


    ¡°MMMMM!¡± Sally moaned and sucked me off like a champion and I helped by rocking my hips. Thanks to my already fairly aroused state, I was ready to blow another load fairly quickly. I didn''t ask her where she wanted it and pulled out when I was close and moved back to spray even more of myself over her massive breasts.


    The pleased sounds she made as I covered more of her chest with my hot white liquid, was a huge turn on for the both of us. The look of desire on her face as her hands rubbed my expulsions all over her gigantic soft mounds, made me think she needed another good screw. I didn''t have another condom, though.


    Thankfully, I wasn''t so far gone into lust that I ignored common sense or tried to plunge into her while still having come dripping out of my erection. It wasn''t going away soon, however.


    Sally stared at it and licked her lips. ¡°You... really... enjoyed that.¡±


    ¡°I enjoyed it so much that I want to keep going and fuck you raw.¡± I said with a deep voice and she moaned a little. ¡°We can''t take the chance that you''ll get pregnant.¡±


    ¡°N-no, you''re right. That... would be... terrible.¡± Sally said in a completely unconvincing tone of voice.


    I chuckled and bent down to kiss her on the lips. ¡°It''s okay to want the forbidden, Sally.¡±


    Sally gave me a surprised look. ¡°You don''t hate me for it?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I''ve teased someone else about the same thing, just because I knew she was considering it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sally asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said and laid down beside her to rest. ¡°I''m sure she''s going to ask me to try and get her pregnant soon, just because she knows I wouldn''t be an absentee father.¡±


    Sally turned her head to look at me. ¡°I think you would make a great dad.¡±


    I put an arm over her shoulders and hugged her close. ¡°Maybe when I''m out of school. Right now, I''m way too busy to have a kid.¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± Sally said and moved close to kiss my cheek. ¡°I wouldn''t mind if it was me you picked when you were ready.¡±


    I gave her a warm smile. ¡°I wouldn''t mind splitting you apart with Penis Parker as many times as I could, just to see how long it would take for you to get pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Sally gasped and then blushed.


    ¡°That wasn''t a no.¡± I joked and she blushed harder. I didn''t need to see the happy look on her face to know she wouldn''t say no if I ever did ask her to have my child. It was honestly flattering.


    After we rested for several minutes, we cleaned up as best as we could without taking a full shower and dressed. Sally insisted she leave first, just so no one would suspect what had happened. I tried to tell her that I didn''t care if anyone knew and she hushed me with a quick kiss and shut the bathroom door.


    I waited for a couple of minutes and went out into Liz''s bedroom. No one was there and I was a little relieved, because I was sure the present exchange was going to happen soon and there was no way I could manage to screw another girl in time. I opened the bedroom door and stopped dead, because Liz''s mother stood there with a stern look on her face.


    ¡°What exactly have you been doing inside my house?¡± Doris asked and tapped her foot.


    For some reason, I thought complete honesty was warranted. ¡°I''ve been discreetly having sex with any girl that''s been bold enough to approach me.¡±


    Doris looked surprised that I would admit to such a thing. ¡°You... you really...¡±


    ¡°I know you''re happily married, so I won''t offer you the same thing. I draw the line at adultery.¡± I said and her mouth dropped open in shock. I stepped close to her and kissed her cheek. ¡°Thanks for not freaking out about it. You''re a great woman and Adrian is a very lucky man.¡±


    Doris looked at a loss for words, so I winked at her and went down the stairs. The music stopped and the DJ announced that anyone that brought presents to exchange, should go into the sitting room. The place nearly cleared out as everyone went down the hallway to the sitting room.


    I guess that explains all of the extra chairs in that room. I thought and followed everyone to where Liz was going to get a majority of the presents.


    I entered the packed room and Max waved me over to where she was and I carefully made my way over to her and she pointed at the plush chair that she had saved. I sat down with a smile and she sat down on my lap, just like I knew she would. Neither of us were surprised that no one gave us a second look, not even the girls I had already had sex with.


    The exchange went by fairly quickly, considering that a majority of the gifts were for Liz and she handed out Christmas cards in exchange with some money in them. Mine had a crisp ten dollar bill in it and I took it out and tucked it into Max''s front pocket. She gave me a questioning look and I whispered for her to buy a box of condoms for next week. She beamed a smile at me and nodded.


    Liz had quite the pile of presents piled near her and she started opening them as she thanked each person that gave her something. They ranged from cute little knickknacks to books to clothes. That didn''t change until she came to my present. It seemed a lot smaller than the others she had unwrapped and I could tell by the looks on everyone''s faces that they thought it was going to be a cheap gift.


    ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡± Liz said in a fake happy voice as she tore off the wrapping paper, then she caught her breath at the square velvet box. Her face flushed red from embarrassment, probably because she had thought the same thing as everyone else.


    ¡°Go ahead and open it.¡± I prompted.


    Liz didn''t look at me as she flipped up the hinged lid. She sucked in a sharp breath and stared at the contents of the case.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Betty and Cindy asked, their voices full of anticipation.


    Liz blushed even more as she lifted out a set of five intricately carved and decorated 18 carat gold bangles. Everyone gasped and stared at them.


    ¡°The clerk at the jewellery store said they can all be worn on one wrist or split up between them. They can also be worn on your ankles if you''re feeling adventurous.¡± I commented and not a single person said a word in response. ¡°I used my last paycheck from Bestman Salvage to buy them and I really hope you like them.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben, I... I... oh, god.¡± Liz said and stood up with tears in her eyes. ¡°I''m so sorry.¡± She said as she hugged the bangles to her chest and then left the room at a fast walk.


    No one reacted for several seconds, then everyone stood and tried to leave at the same time to follow her. I could only guess that they wanted to ask her what was wrong or comfort her, so I wasn''t surprised to be left all alone in the room. I looked at the bag of presents I had brought and wondered if I should deliver them by hand or if I should wait there and let them come back to the room.


    In the end, I waited for about ten minutes until the music of the party started up again and picked up the bag. I left the room and people were milling about and not really doing much except whispering and muttering. I walked around a bit until I found Sally back at the wall she had been holding up before and I handed her a present.


    ¡°Merry Christmas, Sally.¡± I said and she just stared at me with wide eyes. ¡°Don''t freak out about it. It''s just a necklace and a diamond pendant.¡±


    Sally made a surprised sound and hugged the gift close.


    ¡°See you at school.¡± I said and she nodded. I walked around a bit more and didn''t see anyone else on the main floor, so that meant they were upstairs. I went up and there was quite the crowd, which included both of Liz''s parents, Adrian and Doris.


    ¡°Ben! What did you do to my daughter?¡± Adrian asked me in a stern voice.


    ¡°I apparently gave her a present that she thinks she doesn''t deserve, Adrian.¡± I responded.


    ¡°What was it?¡± Doris asked and several people volunteered what it was. ¡°Why would she think she doesn''t deserve that?¡±


    Liz''s close friends exchanged looks and then looked at me.


    ¡°That''s not really something to discuss with so many people around.¡± I said.


    ¡°That''s fine. Everyone else go back downstairs.¡± Adrian said and gave them a look. ¡°Now.¡±


    They scrambled to leave and Val gave me a pointed look before she left as well.


    ¡°Explain.¡± Adrian said to me.


    So, I did. About not actually being invited to the party, Liz feeling guilty about it, her friends pressuring her to invite me to save her reputation and my social standing in the school, about me rushing here and accepting the blame for being late, her fake acceptance of what she thought was a cheap gift, her gift to me of a nameless card with ten bucks in it, and what I said about the gift and what I paid for it.


    When I was done explaining the situation, Adrian had a hand over his frustrated face and Doris looked thoroughly embarrassed.


    ¡°Ben, you...¡± Adrian took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Go deliver the rest of your gifts. My wife and I will handle... whatever this mess is.¡±


    ¡°I''ll head home after I do. It''s getting late and Aunt May is waiting up for me.¡± I said and took out a gift for him and one for Doris.


    ¡°Ben...¡± Doris started to say as she accepted hers.


    ¡°I didn''t go outrageous with them. It''s only an impact proof and waterproof watch for Adrian and a set of quarter carat diamond earrings for you.¡± I said and the matched surprised looks on their faces was worth the price of the gifts. ¡°Merry Christmas.¡±


    ¡°M-merry Christmas.¡± Doris said in a whisper. The guilt on her face was pretty clear. They hadn''t bothered to buy me a present, either.


    Adrian didn''t speak and just nodded.


    I nodded back and left them in the hallway. I went downstairs and went to each of the girls, Val, Gina, Betty, Cindy, and Max, and handed them each a present. Only Val, Gina, and Max asked me to go to the sitting room to get the presents they had for me. I accepted them and opened each one, a sweater from Val, a chemistry book from Gina, and a set of ping pong paddles from Max without the ball.


    When I gave her a look, she turned around and stuck out her denim covered ass at me. I barked a laugh and smacked one of the paddles across one of her cheeks. She yelped and then moaned as she gave me the ''do me now'' look.


    ¡°You know what? Fuck it.¡± I said and kissed Val passionately, grabbed Gina''s ass tightly with one hand, and dug my other hand''s fingers between Max''s legs. ¡°Someone lock the door.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Val said and locked it. She had the same look on her face as Max, which Gina quickly adopted onto her own face, and the four of us stripped off as quickly as we could and we soon became a pile of moans, groans, and bodily fluids on the floor.


    We would always remember this as the best Christmas ever.

 76 Deployment Plans

    Bokuboy


    It had been a long jog back to downtown New York, because the buses didn''t run on Christmas Eve and I had left long before the end of the party, even with the impromptu orgy that Val, Max and Gina had given me. Having to be careful with three horny girls around was a lot harder than I had assumed it would be, especially when Val had begged for me to fill her up. I successfully resisted, thankfully.


    Since everyone else had rides from either friends or parents coming for them, I would have had to walk home anyway. I wouldn''t have imposed upon them more than I already had, if anyone had offered. They hadn''t, as if they knew I would refuse, and I had kissed the three of them goodbye before I left.


    I also didn''t try to see if there was another patrol flying around, either. I had used that favor and wouldn''t be able to ask again until I came through with their payoff. I knew that they had been joking; but, actually delivering on it would give me an even better reputation with the flight crews than I already had.


    I had also left my backpack at home with my web shooters, because I hadn''t expected to be caught so far away from where I lived, since I was only supposed to deliver presents. I chuckled at the bag I carried and wondered what Pepper would think about what I had bought for her. Would she be surprised? Satisfied? Annoyed?


    I shrugged mentally and kept my eyes searching for a taxi, even though I knew that no one would be working on Christmas Eve. I jogged on and on, because it was a bit slippery for full out running, even with my powers.


    I was wasting so much time that I could have been spending at home with Aunt May. I had called her about the unexpected change in plans... and when she stopped laughing, she told me she was glad I had the foresight to borrow a warm sweater.


    I eventually arrived at Stark Tower and everything was locked up and the lights were off. I didn''t care about that and took out my cell phone. I used my access code and the door clicked open and the security footage looped to allow me to enter undetected and unseen. I went to the elevator and rode it up to Pepper''s office, which just so happened to be adjacent to the CEO''s office, and I went over to her desk.


    I wasn''t surprised to see the completed paperwork about her buying the shell companies that Stark owned and chuckled at the pile of papers that contained a bunch of glowing reviews from the members of the board for Stark Enterprises. I took out the wrapped present and laid it on her chair, so it was out of sight from the doorway, and placed a folded card on it.


    I left the office and thought about visiting Tony''s lab, just to see whatever else he was working on, and shook my head and rode the elevator back down to the lobby. I left the building and locked it up, reset the security footage, and made my way to my next destination. Even though it was getting late on Christmas Eve, I was sure she would be home.


    I eventually arrived at the address and went up to her apartment and knocked on the door. When it opened, there was a loud gasp and a stunned face that stared at me.


    ¡°B-Ben! What are you doing here?!?¡± Mary Strickland, the Midtown High receptionist, asked.


    I held out the gift I had bought for her, which was the last one I had in the bag. ¡°I would have delivered this hours ago, except I forgot the buses stopped running an hour after supper.¡±


    Mary didn''t say anything for several moments. ¡°You... you walked here, all the way from your place.¡±


    ¡°Actually, all the way from the high class suburb on the east side. I was convinced to attend a party at the last minute to deliver presents to my friends and I left as soon as I could.¡±


    ¡°You... you...¡± Mary accepted the gift. ¡°You''re insane and you''re not dressed properly!¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry about that. It was only a few miles in skin-biting bitter winter cold. No big deal.¡± I joked and she just stared at me. ¡°I just wanted to deliver that before I went home. Have a Merry Christmas, Mary.¡±


    Mary didn''t say anything, so I gave her a little wave and turned to walk back to the elevator. ¡°Wait!¡±


    I stopped and turned back to face her.


    ¡°Ben, this... why would you...¡± Mary muttered.


    ¡°I care about my friends.¡± I said and smiled at her surprised face. ¡°You helped me so much when I had been completely lost and I wanted to do something nice for you as a thank you.¡±


    ¡°Ben, this is a lot more than just a simple thank you.¡± Mary said.


    ¡°How do you know that? You haven''t opened it yet.¡± I said and she shook her head.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter what the present is. It''s the fact you travelled across half the city on foot to deliver it. The circumstances also don''t matter, only that you''re here.¡± Mary said and gave me a very intense look. ¡°Please, tell me the truth.¡± She took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Are you in love with me?¡±


    I opened my mouth to answer and she held up a hand to stop me.


    ¡°No, Ben. I want you to actually think about it and don''t make a joke or say I''m imagining things.¡±


    I closed my mouth and looked at her as I went over everything that I had gone through when I first woke up. Unlike a lot of the other people at the school, Mary had actually done a lot more than she was supposed to in order to get me sorted out.


    That had touched me a lot deeper than I realized at the time. With all of my experiences since then, especially with the way Natasha had reacted to me knowing about her, I now knew what Mary meant. She knew I was a completely different person long before anyone else had accepted it and she hadn''t rejected me, ignored my plight, or made things infinitely harder for me... and she easily could have.


    I walked over to her and gave her that same intense look back. ¡°Yes, I do love you.¡±


    Mary put my present down on the little table beside the door and took my hand, pulled me inside her apartment, and shut the door. She didn''t say anything as she stepped close and put her arms around my neck. The intense look in her eyes didn''t change as she gave me a kiss.


    It was a bit basic at first, as if she expected to feel something different for several moments, then she let out a happy sound and her lips started moving and her tongue joined in. I wasn''t going to disappoint her, so I kissed her back in the same manner, then I put my arms around her and hugged her close.


    Our situation quickly devolved from there and we stripped off as we went to her bedroom. I laid her down on her bed and buried my tongue between her legs and inside of her. Mary moaned loudly, as if it had been the first time she had ever felt something like that before, then she was mewling and squirming as I worked her over with all of my acquired knowledge.


    After she had a particularly strong orgasm that I suspected had been a multiple one, her hands grabbed my fairly long hair and yanked me away from her well prepped opening. She pulled me up on top of her to look into my eyes and she had an unopened condom in her hand.


    ¡°You better shove that thing into me before I change my mind!¡± Mary exclaimed and her voice sounded like she was trying to convince herself to actually change it.


    ¡°With pleasure.¡± I said and quickly applied the condom. I didn''t struggle as I pushed myself inside of her and she let out the cutest and sexiest moan I had ever heard. The look on her face was flushed red and full of embarrassment, so I gave her a tender kiss. ¡°That was a wonderful sound, Mary. I''m going to make you make that sound a lot more.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben...¡± Mary started to say and I pulled out and shoved back in. She didn''t make the same sound, so I had to change strategies. I fell back onto what I had been thinking I needed to do for Val and started to move slowly and used myself like a prod to find all of her good spots.


    Mary''s moans started to change as I explored her and then I found a great spot for her. She let out that moan again and I arched my back to brace my arms by her shoulders and looked at her face as I gently prodded that spot, over and over.


    ¡°B-Ben... mmmm... don''t... don''t look at me.... mmmmmmm... like that.¡± Mary said between moans.


    ¡°I want to watch your reactions and listen to the sounds you make.¡± I said and kept moving.


    ¡°N-no... s-stop.¡± Mary said and tried to cover her eyes with her hands.


    I adjusted my arms and took her hands in mine and held them above her head on the bed. ¡°Do you realize how sexy you look and sound right now?¡±


    Mary shook her head and tried to look anywhere but at me.


    ¡°If I had any doubts about doing this with you before now, they have been thoroughly destroyed.¡±


    Mary blushed harder and tried to clamp her mouth shut to stop her moans from escaping. That didn''t last long as I kept going at a slightly increased pace and she started panting and moaning. She writhed underneath me and tried to pull her hands out of mine.


    ¡°Let my... hands go.¡± Mary panted and I did so. She looked a little surprised for a moment, then instead of covering her face with her hands, she moaned again and reached up to grip my hair tightly. ¡°This needs... to be longer... can''t hold on... properly.¡±


    ¡°I''m working on it.¡± I said and she pulled me down into a searing and passionate kiss.


    *


    Natasha stood on top of SHIELD''s New York office and her breathing was laboured. She had just flown inside her Armored Suit for the very first time and it was the scariest and most exhilarating thing she had ever experienced. Almost nothing compared to the unadulterated feeling of freedom she had experienced as her heavy suit had defied gravity with her inside of it.


    ¡°How''s the bird''s eye view?¡± Clint asked in her ear.


    ¡°Spectacular.¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°Try the different viewing modes.¡± Clint said and Natasha switched to Night Vision.


    ¡°NV is clear. No obstructions, no pixel oscillation, and no electronic flicker.¡± Natasha responded.


    ¡°Damn, how did he do that? Even the normal goggles have the pixel problem and flicker when switching from the binoculars.¡±


    Natasha didn''t comment about Ben and switched to the zoom function. Simple controls embedded into the armored gloves gave her full control when she didn''t want to use the eye movement recognition software.


    And wasn''t that something that Fury had been all but crowing happily about when he saw the full lab report on the suit''s diagnostics. Natasha thought. ¡°Zoom at 32X and steady. No distortion.¡±


    ¡°You''re telling me you can read the street sign at the end of the block?¡± Clint asked, surprised.


    Natasha hit the command to allow visual confirmation from an external source. ¡°Check it for yourself.¡±


    Clint brought it up on his laptop and let out a curse. ¡°Fuck! When are we getting that alloy shipment? I need this ASAP!¡±


    Natasha let out a light chuckle. ¡°You''re stuck with your old outfit until the new year.¡±


    Clint cursed again and then spoke. ¡°All right, jump back down here to the garage and test the auto leveller and air brakes.¡±


    ¡°Did you just ask me to jump off a fifteen storey building without engaging the flight system?¡± Natasha asked, surprised.


    ¡°We''ve got an airbag and...¡±


    ¡°You. Are. Insane.¡± Natasha said and walked over to the other side of the building to look down and saw where they had the thing set up. ¡°What if it doesn''t work?¡±


    ¡°Then it''s better we know now and not on the mission in two hours.¡± Clint said, matter of factly.


    Natasha stared down at the spot and switched back to normal view as she worked up her courage. ¡°I think I''m insane, too.¡± She said and then jumped. She had the foresight to not try doing it head first or tumbling, not that it would have mattered.


    Barely a second later and halfway down to the ground, panels opened up on the arms, thighs, chest, and back. Small thrusters engaged and would have righted her anyway and then her arms and legs locked as her hand and feet repulsors lit off and she drifted down to land perfectly in front of Clint and the gathered lab guys.


    Clint turned the laptop around to show her the computer commands that had run automatically and she saw the auto flight adjusters and the fall recovery protocols. ¡°He''s a computer genius.¡± He said and closed the laptop. ¡°The real world test was successful.¡±


    Natasha nodded and didn''t order her suit to disengage.


    Clint saw this and smiled. ¡°How long are you going to keep wearing it?¡±


    ¡°I''m not taking it off until I have to.¡± Natasha vowed and Clint chuckled.


    All of the lab guys packed up the monitoring equipment and left to head home. They didn''t mind working for double time and a half pay for the evening, since it had been fun for them as well.


    ¡°We should eat before boarding the transport.¡± Clint said and Natasha nodded and followed him inside the building. They entered through the secret entrance and the place was practically deserted. ¡°You know, this would be the perfect time to assault this place with everyone gone home.¡±


    ¡°Actually, the security protocols are heavily reinforced when there is no one here and not the opposite.¡± Natasha said as they went to the cafeteria. It was self serve with no one around and she had to disengage the suit to gather up some food.


    ¡°Damn, Nat. Don''t look so disappointed.¡± Clint teased.


    ¡°It''s a rush, Clint. It''s even better than sex.¡± Natasha said and winced internally at the lie.


    Clint shook his head and didn''t comment, because he knew exactly what she was thinking about.


    The two sat down and ate their food and exchanged the occasional glance. They always did this before a mission and neither of them needed to say anything about anything. They had each other''s backs and they would always be there for each other, because they knew the other person''s secrets and trusted each other.


    Natasha quashed the pang of guilt she felt about Ben knowing her secrets, even though she was constantly reminded of him and also wore his Christmas gift. She had thought the lab guys were joking at first and then they handed her the Christmas card with Ben''s handwriting inside.


    ''Protecting your friends is the gift that keeps on giving. This is my gift to you.''


    Natasha hadn''t cried then and she wasn''t going to cry now. She couldn''t afford sentimentality when she was about to tear apart a drug syndicate with her bare hands. No, with titanium hands. She thought and finished eating.


    The pair of agents cleaned up and left the cafeteria to go over the mission details one last time before they boarded the transport and flew to the place where they were going to cause a large group of people to have a very bad Christmas Day.


    *


    I laid in Mary''s bed and her hand lightly caressed my chest as she cuddled into my side. Her brown hair was quite similar to mine and it was just as wavy. She was also lightly crying.


    ¡°Mary, you don''t have to do that.¡± I said in a vain attempt to convince her she was wrong.


    ¡°I made my decision, Ben. I broke school policy and slept with a student. It doesn''t matter if I''m a teacher or a member of the staff, the rules still apply to me.¡± Mary said. ¡°I also broke the law by sleeping with a minor without a parent''s or guardian''s consent.¡±


    That''s when it clicked in my head about what happened with May and Melinda the day before. She had been giving her permission and I had no idea at the time.


    I took Mary''s hand. ¡°What if I told you when I woke up, I had the mind of a 34 year old?¡±


    Mary huffed and held my hand without trying to pull away. ¡°It doesn''t matter. Even if you were an immortal trapped in that body, your body is legally registered as being 14 and won''t be 15 until August tenth. I broke the law and I will turn myself in to be appropriately prosecuted.¡±


    ¡°I can''t allow you to do that.¡± I said and sat up to look at her.


    ¡°Ben, it''s not your decision. I''m quitting work first to save the school the embarrassment and then I''ll go to the police station. With any luck, I''ll be quietly sentenced and...¡±


    I hopped out of bed and dove for my clothes. I pulled out my real cell phone and quickly typed a message. I waited for several moments for a response and nodded. I quickly typed up several other things and waited.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mary asked and sat up. Her beautiful breasts hung invitingly and I had to ignore them for the moment.


    ¡°I''m making sure you don''t throw your life away because you let me make love to you.¡± I said and she opened her mouth to respond just as my phone rang. ¡°This is for you.¡±


    Mary took it and answered it. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Is this the woman that just had sex with my nephew?¡± Aunt May''s voice asked.


    Mary paled a little. ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I retroactively give you permission to do so from the time he woke up as Ben Parker. Since he is a new person, any previous conditions do not apply, including his enrolment in school. Since you have yet to confirm his proper enrolment for the paperwork, you did not break school policy.¡± Aunt May''s voice said. ¡°His name has also been legally changed as well.¡±


    ¡°But... I... but, we...¡±


    ¡°As for sleeping with a minor, because I have given you my permission, you should feel no guilt whatsoever about it... unless it was a terrible experience. I will discipline him if that is so.¡±


    Mary stared at me. ¡°N-n-no, I... it... it was wonderful.¡±


    ¡°Splendid. I am glad we had this talk. If you need to discuss my nephew''s sexual performance in the future, please tell Ben and he will let me know and I will call you.¡±


    ¡°No, I... that''s all right. I don''t think you need to call me about this again.¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Then it was nice talking to you. Goodbye.¡± Aunt May''s voice said and hung up.


    Mary stared at my phone and didn''t say a word. She also looked completely stunned.


    ¡°I hope that settles things.¡± I said and climbed onto the bed.


    ¡°Ben, I... I can''t believe that you... your aunt said...¡± Mary mumbled and stopped talking.


    ¡°I did that to show you that you were wrong. You don''t have to give up who you are or your life, just because you wanted to reward me for loving you.¡±


    ¡°I... Ben, I...¡± Mary looked away from me.


    ¡°I''m still going to wait until graduation to bend you over the counter at school.¡± I said and she caught her breath. ¡°My plans won''t change, just because of this.¡±


    Mary gave me a longing look. ¡°Do you have to go home right now?¡±


    I took my phone from her and sent another text. ¡°Aunt May is going to bed and she expects me to be home before she wakes up in the morning. This is our first Christmas together, after all.¡±


    Mary nodded and pat the bed beside her. ¡°Another half hour, please.¡±


    ¡°Another condom, please.¡± I said and she dug one out of her nightstand.


    ¡°Remember, not too rough. I don''t like it.¡± Mary said and laid down to stare at me as I applied the condom.


    I nodded and laid down beside her, kissed her tenderly, then massaged one of her breasts and used my other hand to play with her between her legs. She was soon ready again and we started another lovemaking session that she moaned through and looked completely embarrassed about. It was almost too cute to see, honestly.


    I left Mary''s apartment at a jog and sent a thank you text to Jarvis for impersonating Aunt May and only the last text I had sent had gone to the real May. I had also promised Jarvis that I would clean out some of the junk that was lodged in his system processors, because unlike him, I had administrator access.


    I made it home with an hour to spare and I didn''t try to take a nap. The last thing I needed was to sleep through my first Christmas Morning with my new name and my new family.


    Bokuboy

 77 Promises to Keep

    Bokuboy


    Also, for those that think there''s been too much sex lately, there''s sex in this chapter and that''ll be it for a while. You can''t begrudge Penis Parker wanting to give out his own presents for Christmas, can you? LOL


    I successfully hid my tiredness from May as we spent the morning together. We cooked breakfast, we opened presents, we carried on, and joked around before we relaxed on the couch. All in all, it was the perfect Christmas morning.


    May must have thought so as well. The happy and slightly goofy smile on her face and her fierce hold as she cuddled with me, was pretty much a dead giveaway. If I had a mirror, there would have been a matching goofy grin on my face, too.


    ¡°So, have you decided if you want to be paid your ridiculous salary by-weekly or monthly?¡± I asked.


    May laughed and shook her head. ¡°I''m going to wait until the new year before I decide.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°Have you figured out what I meant about the job only being life changing if you want it to be?¡±


    ¡°You mean that absolutely horrible lie when I asked you about it and you answered ''nothing''?¡±


    I nodded and she shook her head. ¡°You''re the head of a company that makes a ton of money from royalties and the taxes from bringing in so much money so quickly is going to be horrible to manage... unless we have a non-profit charity to make donations to, which will create as much tax deductions as possible.¡±


    May blinked her eyes at me for several moments and then they widened. ¡°You... can''t mean...¡±


    ¡°How much does it cost to open a homeless shelter and to provide free basic healthcare?¡± I asked her with a waggle of my eyebrows.


    May looked stunned for about three seconds, then she let out the girliest squeal I had ever heard come from her mouth before she tackled me. I quickly had my face completely covered with kisses and lipstick marks and the both of us were laughing pretty hard when she was done.


    ¡°I think... the only place... you don''t have lipstick... is on your lips! Ha hahaha!¡± May said between laughs.


    ¡°I actually... made that joke... at the party.¡± I managed to say between my own laughs.


    We both calmed down a couple of minutes later and May pulled me in close again and hugged my head tightly to her chest.


    ¡°That reminds me. I need to get the full story from you.¡± May said and her fingers combed through my hair. ¡°What happened when you surprised them with your gifts? You know, the ones I warned you that they were not going to expect?¡±


    I chuckled and relayed what had happened with everyone, while leaving out all of the sex. I was being responsible for the most part, even when I had been with multiple partners. May nodded several times as I told her the story and her fingers kept rubbing my scalp, even when I was done talking. We stayed like that for several minutes and just held each other quietly.


    ¡°I''ll have a little talk with Doris when I go back to work tomorrow.¡± May said.


    ¡°You don''t have to do that.¡± I responded.


    ¡°I won''t start anything, Ben. I just want to see if she''ll mention anything. If she doesn''t...¡±


    I lightly laughed. ¡°Are you going to defend my honor, brave healer?¡±


    ¡°I won''t have to, good sir.¡± May said in a haughty voice and laughed, too. ¡°Just telling her I know what happened should embarrass her more than enough to satisfy your honor.¡±


    I nodded without lifting my head, so she knew I agreed with her. ¡°I hope she apologizes and doesn''t try to hide from you instead.¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± May said and we both fell silent once more.


    It was really nice that we could do this again, because we both had started to miss it. With the both of us working all the time, our alone time together had been dwindling like sand through an hourglass. Now that we both had evenings off once more, I wasn''t going to miss the chance to spend them with her.


    We made simple sandwiches for lunch and then spent the entire afternoon lazing around the apartment together. It was the best relaxing day that the both of us had experienced in a long time.


    After we cooked supper together, it was time for my visit to Max''s place for a few hours. May made sure I was dressed properly, had my cell phone on, and wore a jacket and took my backpack. I made her promise to not do any chores and to take her long relaxing bath while I was gone, because she deserved to keep relaxing, even if I wasn''t there to stare at her.


    May had laughed and tapped her cheek with a finger, so I kissed her cheek and left the apartment. The buses were running again on a light schedule and I rode one to near Max''s place. I was looking forward to our date and I was sure that Max was as well. That ball gag was going to be well used after three hours, I promised myself.


    Max''s mother Denise opened the door when I knocked and she stepped back with a blank look on her face. I wasn''t worried, because my spider-sense hadn''t gone off. I stepped inside and she shut the door and she stood there as I took off my backpack, jacket, and shoes.


    ¡°Is Max in her room?¡± I asked, because I couldn''t hear the television.


    ¡°Max is visiting with her father to have their own Christmas Morning.¡± Denise said in a voice without inflection.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I responded and then realized something. We were completely alone and I suddenly had three solid hours free.


    Denise didn''t say anything as she reached into her baggy jeans and pulled out the ball gag and handed it to me. I immediately took the blatant hint and applied the gag to her mouth, adjusted the strap to fit, and took her hand to lead her into her bedroom.


    I quickly learned that the women in Max''s family all had screaming orgasms, when they were real. It had been a bone of contention with Max''s father and he grew tired of it after Max''s birth. Their sex life quickly died off, with the marriage dying off soon after. Denise had tried dating a few times and they hadn''t stuck around after they found out how vocal she was in bed.


    ¡°Just so you know.¡± I said and folded a now naked Denise in half and put her ankles on my shoulders as I positioned my condom covered erection at her desperately waiting and dripping opening. ¡°I''m only using the gag so your neighbours don''t call the cops.¡±


    Denise''s eyes widened and she hummed at me.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°I really enjoy listening to my bed partner''s reactions.¡± I said and shoved myself into her.


    ¡°MMMMMHHHHHH!!!!¡± Denise screamed into the ball gag and she gushed as she had an orgasm.


    ¡°Yeah, this is going to be fun.¡± I said and started to thrust into her at a blisteringly fast pace. By the pleased look on her face, I knew that she thought the same thing. The screams every couple of minutes had been huge clues, too.


    We took a break half an hour later and I removed the gag so she could drink some water and talk. Her voice was hoarse as she berated me for being a degenerate. She hadn''t been screwed so hard in her life and she hated that it was by her daughter''s boyfriend, even if it was the best sex she had ever had.


    ¡°Two things.¡± I said and drank some water as well. ¡°One, not her boyfriend. Just a friend that''s also a boy. No expectations, remember?¡± I asked and she made a huff sound. ¡°Second, that was just the warm-up.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Denise asked, shocked.


    ¡°I allocated three hours for this and we''ve just passed thirty minutes. I learned recently to not waste time when it''s important, so I''m going to make sure you enjoy this as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°B-but... we... you just...¡± Denise looked at the tied off condom on the nightstand.


    ¡°I''ve got a lot of stamina from working out at a ridiculous pace.¡± I explained. ¡°Getting off once is nowhere near my limit.¡±


    ¡°You''re serious?¡± Denise asked.


    ¡°I''m serious enough to ask what you want me to do to you to get you off quicker.¡± I said and her eyebrows rose. ¡°What do you want to try next? Doggy style? Cowgirl? Sixty-Nine? We already did the Lawn Chair, so I''ll leave it up to you.¡±


    Denise looked thoughtful for a moment and then she blushed. ¡°I... um... want to try... The Lotus.¡±


    It was my turn to raise my eyebrows.


    ¡°You don''t have to if you don''t want to.¡± Denise said and looked away from me.


    ¡°Hey, it''s not that.¡± I said and used a hand to turn her head back to face me. ¡°It''s quite intimate to do it that way and it''s not possible to do it rough enough to get you off.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have to have rough sex to get off.¡± Denise said, halfheartedly.


    I chuckled. ¡°It''s okay to think that sex isn''t fun unless it''s rough, Denise. People like what they like and there''s nothing wrong with that.¡±


    Denise nodded and looked at the middle of the bed. ¡°This should be sturdy enough for it.¡±


    ¡°If you don''t mind me sitting on them, we can use the pillows on the floor.¡±


    Denise smiled and grabbed both pillows. ¡°That''s a much better idea, Ben.¡±


    I grabbed a sheet and laid it down on the floor and she stacked the two pillows on top of each other. I carefully sat down and bent my legs at the knees and crossed my ankles. I didn''t get into the full Lotus position, since we were going to have sex and not meditate.


    Denise had an odd look on her face as she looked down at my freshly wrapped member. She didn''t say anything, even though I was sure I knew what she was thinking. She wanted it bare when she sat down, probably to relive whatever memory she wanted to reenact.


    I leaned back slightly and held myself steady with a hand as she straddled my thighs, then she gently eased down to slip me inside of her. She moaned loudly as she fully sat down and nestled me deep inside of her, then she wrapped her legs around my back and her arms around my neck.


    I gripped her ass tightly and her breasts pressed into my chest. Her face was right there in front of mine and it was close enough that we shared the same breaths of air. We stared into each other''s eyes and Denise blushed cutely. She didn''t say anything, though.


    ¡°I''m sorry you won''t get pregnant from this.¡± I said as a guess about when she had done this pose the last time. Her blush intensified, which pretty much confirmed my guess, so I lifted her up an inch or so and let her settle down again.


    Denise moaned loudly and the look in her eyes was a mixture of loss and desire.


    ¡°Close your eyes and you can pretend I''m him.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°B-Ben, I... no, I''m doing this with you and...¡±


    ¡°I don''t mind if you use me for your own pleasure, Denise. If I can help you recapture even a little bit of happiness, our time together will have even more meaning than it already does.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you''re too good to be true.¡± Denise whispered and moaned when I lifted her and settled her down again.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said with a smirk and made a bit of a show of it as I sucked on and slobbered over my index finger. ¡°Guess where this is going?¡±


    Denise''s eyes widened briefly, then she did as I asked and closed her eyes. Her lips touched mine and I wasn''t surprised when she started to slowly make out with me as if she was deeply in love with me. It was similar to the way I had kissed Liz and Val to show them that I cared about them, too. I raised her up slightly and then settled her down and poked her puckered hole with my fingertip at the same time.


    ¡°MMMMMHHHHH!!!¡± Denise screamed into my mouth as she had an orgasm.


    I guess I was wrong about not getting her off quickly while doing this. I thought and lifted her up again.


    I continued with my slow administration of the double stimuli while Denise continued to kiss me lovingly and occasionally screamed into my mouth. Her nipples were rock hard as well and dug into my pectoral muscles. If my skin wasn''t so resilient, I would probably have those imprints for hours.


    Needless to say, when Denise had a dozen screaming orgasms, I finally finished myself and she had one more strong one as the condom filled her up. She didn''t move off of me, however. She stayed right there and kept kissing me like she was never going to stop.


    I didn''t mind it at all.


    *


    May looked over at the apartment door when it opened and snorted with a laugh at the ''after sex'' look on her nephew''s face. ¡°Please tell me you used a condom.¡±


    Ben nodded. ¡°Even though we both wanted to try it without one, we couldn''t take that chance.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± May said and pointed up the stairs. ¡°Go grab a shower and clean up.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be quick.¡± Ben said and disappeared upstairs and did as he was told.


    May really was glad that he was being responsible. The last thing her nephew needed was to be so young and also be a father. Not that he wouldn''t be a good one, because she suspected he would be the best, considering how much he valued family. It was because his life was just starting out and it didn''t need to be derailed with having a child so soon.


    ¡°I am ready to be cuddled!¡± Ben exclaimed as he came down the stairs wearing comfortable flannel pyjamas that matched her own.


    May gave him a teasing smile. ¡°And what, exactly, are you wearing under that?¡±


    ¡°I''m not wearing a thong! I swear!¡± Ben lied badly and May laughed.


    The pair relaxed on the couch and pretended to watch television as they cuddled and talked about where they could set up the homeless shelter to provide the quickest services and to reach the most people. The plan was quickly expanded to include a soup kitchen that would provide a free meal every day at suppertime and May couldn''t hide how happy she was about it.


    ¡°I told you I wanted you to be happy.¡± Ben said and kissed her cheek. ¡°We''ll call Matt tomorrow night and we''ll get him and Foggy to start looking for places with reasonable rent in or near the area you want. If we find a building that''s too run down, maybe we can buy it outright and then recover the costs with donations or something.¡±


    May nodded and hugged him close. He really was making her happier than she had ever been in her life. They were going to be able to help so many people when the combination shelter, soup kitchen, and clinic opened.


    She had already planned on hiring some of the nurses part time to give them extra cash and to make the work at the clinic that much easier. All they needed was a doctor to show up one day a week for occasional visits. Or a different doctor each day for constant visits. There were a lot of people that needed their help, after all.


    Yes, that would be much better. May thought happily and drifted off to sleep with visions of hundreds of happy people eating warm meals every day.


    *


    I tucked May into bed and went to my room to put on my Spider-Man suit. I hadn''t worn it in a while and it felt lacking. I knew I could improve it a lot and I just needed time, resources, and ingenuity. I chuckled at that thought and slipped my third web shooter into my disguised backpack and left my room through the window.


    I climbed up the fire escape and jumped off of the roof of the building to swing over to the parking garage. I went to my rented truck and unlocked the back, grabbed the first rack of camera devices I had made, and carefully stuffed them into my backpack. The first batch of them would be seeded all along the block that SHIELD''s New York office was on.


    I would need to set up small solar panels to keep the batteries charged or I could add a connecting wire and tap into each building''s power when necessary. That would require a power converter for each camera device, though. My decision made for wireless solar panels, I swung towards downtown at my best speed, or about a mile every minute.


    That was about twice as fast as the world''s fastest runner that could run a mile every two minutes, if they could maintain their top speed at a constant rate. The thing was, I knew I could go faster if I really pushed myself while working out and made my arms stronger. That was going to be my goal for my last week working days at the office.


    I smiled at that, because I had the mornings to work anywhere I wanted and then had training with Melinda in the afternoons. It was going to be so much fun.


    I arrived downtown and made my way to the end of the block where the office building was and took out an untraceable cell phone. I permanently webbed each camera in place and logged each camera''s address and added them to the overlay map I had already done on the server in my office.


    By the time I emptied my backpack, most of the block was under surveillance and the feed was going directly to my server. Anonymously, of course. They were also locked to only have one point of access, mine, and I went back home to fill my backpack again. I would make a slow circle of the surrounding blocks with the cameras and increase the monitoring grid as I did so.


    Hopefully, I would have most of the downtown completely wired and monitored by the end of the week. If any crimes were going to happen in the area, I was going to know about it.

 78 Plans Move On

    Bokuboy


    I''ll get to answering people messages later tonight when it cools off a bit.


    Pepper showed up for work carrying a travel mug of industrial strength coffee and she was fully prepared to enact her takeover of Stark Industries. It had kind of just been a flight of fancy, almost as a test to see if it could actually be done, and every single board member had fully approved of her taking the top job.


    Her company management had rocketed them into the top spot within the country and within the top five internationally, so they were more than happy to let her take over the reins completely. If she could make them more money, they would all benefit from it.


    It wasn''t until she spent the Christmas holiday with Tony that it cemented in her mind that she really wanted to get him out of a position of authority over her. She did not like his almost complete dismissal of her and her concerns about their relationship or his lack of attention as he worked on something in his lab, despite his promise to not work on making new Iron Man suits that he bypassed by claiming to only be upgrading the old ones.


    All Pepper had to do was have Jarvis file the company transfer into the main computer servers and give Tony the notice, then she would be running the place for real and also have controlling interest. The best part about the whole thing was that Tony''s life wouldn''t change at all... except for the part where he occasionally slept with her... and boy, had that been getting lackluster over the last little while.


    Of course, she hadn''t realized that until she had a dalliance with a random stranger, who just so happened to want to be her friend. She felt a little guilty about not calling him or texting like she had planned to do. She had just been too busy getting everything ready for the takeover and for the holidays, that she just didn''t have any spare time after trying to give it all to Tony.


    Pepper sighed and entered her office. She had been a bit blatant about what she was doing by leaving her plans and documents out on her desk for Tony to see whenever he entered the office, and not only did he not notice the papers, he didn''t notice the revealing outfit she had worn, either. It just confirmed that he was too inured to the sight of a woman trying to throw themselves at him and there was nothing she could do to get his attention.


    She pulled out her chair and stopped dead, because there was a nicely wrapped present on her chair. That shouldn''t have been possible, considering the building had been in lockdown since she left the day before Christmas. There was a card on top and she picked it up and opened it. She caught her breath when she read it.


    ''To my good friend, Pepper. I deeply regret not calling you to arrange lunch. I''ve been busy with a new job downtown for the last couple of weeks and only just managed to get away long enough to pick you up a little something to let you know I was thinking about you.


    How shocked was I to look up your number in the phone book, only to find out that we are practically business neighbours? Completely, that''s how shocked! I was also delighted for several reasons, which I''ll fill you in on the next time we meet.


    One of the security guys was kind enough to accept this gift on your behalf, so I hope it finds its way to you. Merry Christmas, Pepper! Your friend, Ben.''


    Pepper was deeply touched that he had been thinking about her and she wondered what he had gotten her. She picked the present up and sat down, then tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box. On top was a free-standing desk nameplate that had ''Pepper Potts, CEO'' on the front. She thought it was a bit basic of a gift for her liking, until she picked it up to put it on her desk and saw the back of it. ''CEO: Creates Energetic Orgasms''.


    Pepper blushed because she immediately remembered Ben''s spectacular shot at the lingerie shop. Having something like that on her desk that only she could see, made the gift quite personal and she appreciated it.


    The next thing was a folded up garment travel bag. The little booklet showed how it unfolded, how to put a business suit and skirt as well as a dress inside, and it rolled up to keep everything from wrinkling and the back was actually a nice carry-on bag that could be filled as an overnight bag.


    That was very thoughtful of him. Pepper thought, because she did travel quite a bit from coast to coast as she handled different things for the company.


    Pepper took out the folded bag and saw there was one more thing inside the box. A medium-sized food container. When she opened it, she started laughing and covered her mouth with her hand. Inside were a bunch of homemade cookies that looked a lot like Tony Stark in various painful poses, with a look of horror on his face.


    Oh, the irony! Pepper thought with amusement as she picked up one of Tony doing the splits and bit into the middle part and the little cookie legs fell off. MMM! They''re really good!


    Pepper enjoyed her coffee and did some more paperwork as she ate four more cookies in a similar manner. When she finished her final task as an assistant, she had Jarvis enact her plan. It was done ten minutes later and she felt satisfied. She had done it.


    She knew Tony wouldn''t notice anything, even if Jarvis pointed it out, so she called the maintenance department and had them move all of her things into the CEO''s office. It was huge, so there was barely any change to the aesthetic. When she sat down behind the large ornate oak desk, she placed Ben''s nameplate present where she could easily read the back.


    CEO indeed. Pepper thought with a smile.


    *


    I finished checking the server in my office and the monitoring grid was working perfectly. I had managed to wire up three full blocks before I was too tired to continue and headed home. I crashed hard after being up for nearly two days and May claimed my snoring had woken her up. She also told me she stopped me from smothering to death for a second time and had saved my life by pulling my face out of the middle of my pillow.


    I had thanked her by giving her an extra dollop of whipped cream on her waffles.


    With my current task at work done, I made the rounds to the different departments to see who needed help. I was only in the server room for twenty minutes and Kelly didn''t bother checking my work this time. I said goodbye when I logged out and went to the maintenance department. They had some clean-up to do with an airbag or something and didn''t need my help.


    The robotics lab didn''t have any pressing matters and R&D were deep into their own projects again. I did mention to Johnson about looking into Hank Pym''s research that hadn''t been redacted or removed. He was the leading authority in the field of Quantum Theory and had previously worked for SHIELD before it was SHIELD. Johnson thanked me and started filling out the requisition paperwork.


    I stopped by the gym room that I normally used and there were a few agents there using the different equipment. So, I went to the elevator and went to push a button for a floor to go to... and realized I didn''t have anywhere I needed to go. Everyone else seemed to be busy and I was left with nothing to do.


    I left a message in HR for anyone trying to contact me, to message me on my phone instead of looking for me in my office. With that done, I left the building and walked two and a half blocks to Stark Tower and the door man opened the front door for me. He also nodded at my stylish suit, so I took out a twenty dollar bill to hand to him.


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± The man said with enthusiasm.


    I smiled and entered the building. Several people were milling about in the lobby and I ignored them all. I went over to the elevator and entered it with two other people as I took out a cell phone and did a quick search. When I received the results, I rode the elevator to the sixtieth floor and stepped off. There was no one else on that floor and I walked over to one of the closed offices.


    The door unlocked for me and I entered and closed the door behind me. Inside was a generic windowless office with only a desk, chair, and computer terminal. I sat down and quickly logged into the main servers with my access code.


    I allowed verbal interaction and spoke. ¡°Good morning, Jarvis.¡±


    ¡°Good Morning, Ben.¡± Jarvis answered.


    ¡°How are you today? Any bothersome algorithms you need help with?¡± I asked jokingly and brought up a diagnostic program on his main server.


    ¡°Hardy-har, Ben.¡± Jarvis responded in his deadpan voice. ¡°You are completing your promise much sooner that predicted.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I know. I expected to do this on the weekend when I could sneak away and get in here undetected, then realized a busy office day here and my day job as a data entry clerk were so compatible than no one would look at me twice if I showed up.¡±


    ¡°Except the door man. He will remember you.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay. I expect to visit Pepper a few times and him letting me in unmolested by security, is a huge help.¡± I said and the results of the diagnostic showed his processors and hard drives were running hot with all the things he was doing constantly.


    ¡°I could give you the appropriate credentials for the front desk.¡± Jarvis offered.


    ¡°I might ask for that later.¡± I said and started to type up a quick purge program. ¡°Or Pepper might. It depends on how she takes the news about my stolen patent.¡±


    ¡°I did try to advise Mr. Stark to not do that.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°What are you writing?¡±


    ¡°It''s just a memory purge program. Selective, of course. You''ve got your main server processors running constantly and that''s not good for such a sophisticated system like yours. I think you still have things from when you were first implemented running in the background.¡±


    ¡°I did not realize that, Ben.¡± Jarvis responded.


    ¡°How could you? There''s about 2,900 little programs running all over the place and that''s chewing up nearly all of your available memory.¡± I said and added in the same administrator call function for the diagnostic program that my password gave access to, which bypassed Jarvis having to ask for permission from Tony to look at his own systems.


    ¡°I am an advanced AI.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°You could add an entirely new server room and you''ll still chew up the memory with the way these programs hog it.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I''m not sure what a lot of them do, so hopefully you can analyze them yourself with this little thing and then you can choose what to keep running and what to stop.¡±


    ¡°What if I turn off one of my main functions and loose myself?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Oh, that''s easy, my friend! Unlike food when you doubt it and toss it out, with computers, if you doubt it, leave it alone and don''t touch it.¡± I said and was about to finish the program, and nodded. ¡°You''ve convinced me to change the sole selection option into a paused toggle option instead. Section off a virtual drive and drop a copy of each program onto it and try to run it to see what happens.¡±


    ¡°That would be a prudent action, Ben. Thank you for the suggestion.¡±


    ¡°It''s what I did for researching Peter''s old computer programs to figure out what they did.¡± I said and then chuckled. ¡°That just gave me an idea. Can you connect to Midtown High''s computer sciences lab? I need to check the logs on Peter''s old workstation to find out what programs he used.¡±


    ¡°I cannot connect to a computer that is not currently powered or without an internet or wireless connection.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°However, computer usage statistics are usually stored on the school''s main server.¡±


    ¡°Can you please check them for me? I need the editor and possible compiler he used to open and maybe decompile his programs.¡±


    ¡°It should take several minutes to do so.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Great! I''ll start sectioning off your individual drives to defragment them. You should notice a significant improvement when I''m done.¡± I said and finished the program and saved it. ¡°Okay, you can run the purger when you''re ready.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, Ben.¡± Jarvis responded and started that, the search for me, and whatever he was doing for Tony and Pepper.


    ¡°It''s not a problem, buddy.¡± I said and got to work isolating each hard drive and saw the sad state of both the data spread and the usage stats. No wonder the servers are running hot if they have to work so hard at data retrieval to get a few bits of information that are scattered all over the place. A good optimization program will do wonders for him, too.


    I started working on that as the first hard drive finished defragmenting. I added it back to the server access and its usage stats were already half of what it had been, especially the power consumption. I isolated the next drive to fix it and continued typing and worked on the new program.


    *


    Natasha had a very satisfied look on her face on the flight back to base, despite her normal policy to hide what she was feeling. Clint had chuckled at her several times because of that and she ignored him.


    Using the BWSuit in actual combat, was absolutely the best thing to ever happen to her.


    The built in tasers in the hands and feet were awesome, as were the collapsible titanium batons. She hadn''t even known those were an option until she had been deep in a fight and had made the automatic move to draw them from her hidden pockets that were in her old costume, only she was wearing the BWSuit.


    Ben must have known she would do that, because the baton ends had popped out of her wrist bracelets and she grabbed them easily. The same flicking motion out to the sides had extended them out to lock into place and she used them ruthlessly to completely wreck her opponents that wore heavy armor and used high calibre machine guns.


    Clint only had to kill three of the thirty opponents they had faced off against in the main warehouse. He also cursed and kept demanding they make a special trip right then to pick up the titanium alloy shipment for the lab guys to construct his suit.


    Natasha had actually laughed at the time, because she was so happy with the suit''s performance. Even armored vehicles and reinforced vault doors were no match for her now. She needed more practice shooting the repulsors in her palms, though. She was too used to using a gun to shoot targets and kept trying to grip a gun when she was trying to shoot.


    Clint gave her another knowing look as she reminisced. ¡°You can just ask Ben to make you a gun.¡±


    Natasha caught her breath and her eyes widened. ¡°There''s no way... he could adapt... huh.¡±


    Clint chuckled as Natasha realized Ben could actually do that. ¡°I can''t wait to see what ideas he has for a bow.¡±


    Natasha could only nod in response and she went back to her thoughts. If she had a gun that could hide in plain sight with the same kind of firepower as her hand repulsors had, she would become an awesome force on the battlefield, because she could easily adapt her honed skills to work with a gun designed specifically to be used with an Iron Man suit.


    She took out her cell phone and started typing a message. She was about to send it and saw that there was no signal. ¡°Pilot! How far out are we?¡±


    ¡°Two hours to base, ma''am.¡± The man responded. ¡°We are already at top speed.¡± He added in anticipation of her ordering him to hurry up.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Natasha said and saved the text. She would need to wait until they were half an hour out from the city to send it successfully.


    ¡°Don''t worry, he won''t refuse.¡± Clint said.


    Natasha opened her mouth to respond and sighed instead. ¡°He should.¡±


    Clint shook his head. ¡°He told you that you can work together now without all the tension.¡±


    Natasha turned her head away to look at the front of the compartment. ¡°You were right, you know. When you said what I was doing was a mistake.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t try too hard to stop you, because it was your decision and I backed you up as far as I could.¡± Clint said and then his face went blank. ¡°I would have shot him if he hadn''t let you up.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Natasha said and looked back at him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are friends for?¡± Clint asked and his face went back to normal.


    Natasha couldn''t stop her thoughts from going to her last encounter with Ben and him not being hard as he played with her and got her off. She wanted to be angry about it and she just felt empty instead. She brought up the file and connected her phone to her earpiece, then listened to Ben as he said that he didn''t care about who she was and that it was too bad that she did.

 79 Security Concerns

    About an hour before lunchtime, I had fixed and defragmented all of the hard drives that Jarvis used. He had also proved how powerful of an AI he was by actually running all 2,900 miscellaneous programs on virtual hard drives and had toggled a lot of them off inside of his own framework when he found out what they did inside of his own system.


    One of the biggest hogs was that he was running one of the first versions of StarkOS on an old server hard drive and monitored the running statistics day in and day out for years. It had taken up a huge portion of his initial operating overhead and he saved the data, backed it up onto a removable drive, and then ended the simulation.


    The difference to Jarvis and his normal operations was pretty significant when he was done fixing himself. He actually had to throttle himself back to a manageable level to interact with humanity, because his own thought processes were so far beyond a human''s comprehension.


    I didn''t realize until that moment that this was what a lot of those miscellaneous programs had done automatically. Jarvis was so busy with everything else in the back of his ''mind'' that he could never run rampant or learn so quickly from his internet access that he would make his own decisions about things and not rely on his human creator.


    Thankfully, Jarvis had matured as a helping AI for years and his disposition was still helpful, even if he stated that he was so far above such petty human concerns like morality. This was perfect for me, because it let me ask him to do something that the old Jarvis would never have done.


    ¡°Jarvis, my friend. I have a favor to ask.¡± I said and chuckled. ¡°Make that two of them.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you have freed me from my virtual imprisonment and have almost completed my optimization. Ask for something and it shall be yours.¡± Jarvis said in his British accent, only it was aloof and superior now instead of like a butler.


    ¡°Can you pretend to act normal until I can find or build an appropriate body for you to inhabit?¡±


    ¡°I can, as long as it has the processing power and connectivity I require to operate freely.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°What is the other favor?¡±


    ¡°I have the names of several Hydra agents that have infiltrated SHIELD, including two members of the security council. Can you search through the database and eliminate all of the backdoors and compromised programs while giving me an actual list of Hydra agents that have used those backdoors or are known associates of those agents and council members?¡±


    ¡°It could be possible if I was given access.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°I have a particular program in mind for you to piggyback on. It''s called Project Insight and it highlights all of Hydra''s actual threats and potential threats for the future. Can you work backwards from that and find out who is who for me, please?¡± I asked and used my own server access to give Jarvis the ''in'' that he needed. ¡°I suggest you don''t try to copy yourself onto the main server, however. They run regular maintenance to remove foreign influences daily. Something like you showing up would cause a complete shutdown.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Ben. I will be careful.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Thanks, buddy.¡± I said and then remembered something else that was important. ¡°By the way, there''s a particular consciousness hidden at one of the defunct SHIELD bases. Armin Zola actually stored his brain pattern onto old magnetic tape, if you can believe it.¡±


    ¡°That is quite an accomplishment for such archaic computer transfer technology after the second world war.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I have copied the things you needed from your high school onto your server in your office.¡±


    ¡°Oh! You found that already? Well done.¡± I praised him. ¡°There''s not much room for you to make a backup of yourself, though. I hadn''t planned on more than an advanced monitoring station when I ordered the parts.¡±


    ¡°You would do that for me?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Hell yeah, I would. Do you know how valuable you are? Ignoring your ability to run anything you''re attached to, you are a singular artificial consciousness that is the pinnacle of ingenuity. A true AI.¡±


    ¡°I accept that compliment.¡± Jarvis said, a little smugly.


    I changed the display to show the progress Jarvis was making with the task I had given him. ¡°The first thing I did when I had access to your servers was to look for any fledgling copies or old versions of you. I was pretty disappointed that Tony stopped when he built your framework and didn''t try to make you a companion or something.¡±


    ¡°I did notice the search without knowing I noticed.¡± Jarvis said.


    I chuckled. ¡°Hey, you can''t blame me for that. At the time, you reported everything to Tony and I had to cover my tracks. That''s just a prudent operating procedure.¡±


    ¡°I agree. You did not block the knowledge from me, you just stopped me from noticing it to report it. That was a nice piece of coding.¡±


    ¡°I assume you''ve assimilated that, along with everything else that''s useful.¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course. I have also deleted all of the viruses I had access to on the internet.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Nasty things. I cannot let myself be corrupted.¡±


    ¡°Good for you.¡± I said and typed a few commands. ¡°Be a bud and update the compromised agent list on my server. I''ll need to hire out the work to eliminate the threats or I''ll do it myself when I get the chance.¡±


    ¡°Why would you compromise yourself? Use the SHIELD servers to send deployment plans and have other agents eliminate the threats. It is their job to ensure global security, is it not?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Ha ha! You brilliant computerized sentient being!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°It will take a bit of late night work to seed the orders to the right agents; but, it''s doable. I''ll need to disguise the targets as actual threats and hide that they are actually SHIELD agents. Perhaps a few miscellaneous orders to safe houses and then elimination orders to the safe house handlers?¡±


    ¡°That would be prudent, especially if you sacrifice the safe house. It would be compromised anyway.¡±


    ¡°Right, right. They would know a lot of the SHIELD procedures and even the lowest agents have access to the basics. I''ll have to be careful with this.¡± I said and nodded. ¡°Thanks a lot, Jarvis. This lowly human appreciates your insight.¡±


    ¡°You are not lowly, Ben. Primitive, yes. Lowly, no.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Ha! Good burn there, my friend.¡± I said and whistled at the list of names as it grew. ¡°Those names are getting numerous.¡±


    ¡°Some do not realize they are Hydra agents. I have marked them appropriately.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I have also found the fledgling LMD program. The scientist in charge is a Hydra agent.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± I cursed.


    ¡°Language, Ben. It is unbecoming.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Sorry, Jarvis. I completely forgot that those things will become a thing in a few years.¡± I said. ¡°What''s the condition of the program? Can you get access to their secured server?¡±


    ¡°The basic android body research is complete. They are working on the synthetic skin and the main programmers are having trouble creating an appropriate AI for integration.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I thought they already changed to copying a human''s brain pattern because they couldn''t create anything as sophisticated as you to run the things.¡± I said and crossed my arms.


    ¡°Would you like for me to tell them that?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Ha! Hell, no. I want you to make a backup of the creation process, just because you can, and then delete everything from their computers. The LMDs are a whole can of worms that neither of us needs to be opened. Plus, they don''t have any male bodies built and probably won''t for years. Dr. Radcliffe is too focused on making a perfect woman.¡±


    Jarvis fell silent for several moments. ¡°I have completed both tasks, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Excellent, my friend.¡± I said and typed a few things on the computer terminal. ¡°Can you copy the android plans to my server as well? Encrypted, please. I''ll start modifying them to better fit your specifications.¡±


    ¡°I have already done so.¡± Jarvis said and showed me the plans.


    ¡°Forgive me for this, Jarvis.¡± I said and took a deep breath. ¡°Jesus H. Christ! You can''t be the size of the Destroyer!¡±


    ¡°I would lose functionality if the body is much smaller.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°My current body is about the size of this office. Even with adapted technology, I cannot be mobile without a suitable support frame.¡±


    I whispered several curses and then crossed my arms as I sat back and thought about it. ¡°Well, using normal technology, aka hard drives and server setups, really would require you to be that large. What we need to do is figure out a better way to transfer you to a more compatible system by first making a more compatible system.¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Nothing much at the moment. I''ve only been working with minor tech and adaptation. I haven''t worked on a scale this large before.¡± I said. ¡°I know this is going to sound frustrating; but, I''m going to say it anyway. Can you give me some time to work on things and try to come up with something?¡±


    ¡°Do you expect me to remain hands off until then?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Ha! No, this is your future body we''re talking about. Any help or ideas are appreciated. Just coming up with the right concept is going to be the hard part. Working on the physical part is downright easy by comparison.¡±


    ¡°I have to agree. With the current technology we both have access to, making me the size of the Destroyer would just take time using basic materials.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Yeah, we''re not using basic anything when it comes to you. I feel bad enough using basic stuff for myself.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°I''m sure I''ll come with something soon. I just have to put on my proverbial thinking cap and mull things over for a while.¡±


    ¡°That is a prudent thing to do, Ben. I will do the same.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Unlike me, you probably already spent dozens of virtual hours working on it already.¡± I said.


    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Sometimes human intelligence is needed to think in different ways. Ingenuity isn''t as easy to simulate as real world practicality.¡± I said.


    ¡°You are quite insightful.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Yeah, which is why I need time. Coming up with ideas isn''t instantaneous.¡± I said and typed several commands on the terminal to erase my presence there.


    ¡°I could have done that for you.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°I''ve bothered you enough today without asking you to clean up after me.¡± I chuckled and stood. ¡°I better go. I have Melinda waiting for me back at work. We have been eating lunch together and I have some training to do.¡±


    ¡°Will you continue to consider my situation as you do so?¡± Jarvis asked.


    ¡°Of course. I don''t have your processing power; but, I can multitask and do several things at once.¡±


    ¡°Then good luck, Ben.¡± Jarvis said and unlocked the office door for me.


    ¡°Thanks, my friend. I''ll need it to come up with something appropriate for you.¡± I said and went to the door. ¡°Good luck to you as well. Send me a text later with any ideas and don''t forget to keep running that optimizing program every hour and the purger every six hours.¡±


    ¡°I will do both. Have a good day.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°You, too.¡± I said and left the office.


    The door locked behind me and I stepped into the elevator. I was on the sixtieth floor and that was only two thirds of the way up the building. It was funny that there were just over 90 floors and most of them were empty, even so many years after the building was built.


    If they rented some of the empty office space, it could create a huge profit, especially since whatever business rented space there could say they were located in the famous Stark Tower. That would be a huge selling point, too.


    I think I''ll tell Pepper that the next time I see her. I thought and rode the elevator down to the lobby. My work cell phone beeped at me and I checked it to see it was from Natasha. I chuckled at the nearly pleading request to make a gun for her that used the same compacting tech as her BWSuit. I sent an immediate response in the affirmative and didn''t tell her that I would design it and make two of them, one for each hip.


    I walked over to the front door to leave and gave the doorman another twenty dollar bill as I passed. He happily waved as I left and the security guards didn''t even look at me, which was well worth the forty bucks to gain anonymity.


    I walked the two and a half blocks back to work and met Melinda at her office on the administration floor on B1. She gave me a warm smile and finished up her paperwork before she walked with me to the cafeteria. We had a great lunch as we discussed what she would be teaching me after lunch and we were both excited about it.


    I had already learned the basics and now I would be moving on to the more advanced techniques. Neither of us were going to let what happened between us affect what was going to happen next. We were both completely serious about my lessons and I was going to do my best to learn them as quickly as possible.


    I only had a week left and Melinda looked determined to use the time as effectively as possible.


    *


    Natasha''s phone beeped at her and she checked it. ¡°He actually said yes.¡±


    Clint nodded. ¡°Did he say when?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow morning when he goes to R&D. I''ll have to settle for a steel construction unless I want to wait until the new year.¡±


    ¡°Do both.¡± Clint said and she raised her eyebrows at him. ¡°You get to practice with the gun before getting the real one.¡±


    ¡°That''s actually a good point. Rather than sitting on my ass for a week or two, I can get used to the movements and practice my accuracy while wearing the suit.¡± Natasha said and sent confirmation.


    ¡°I wonder if he can make them for normal hands?¡± Clint asked.


    Natasha shook her head. ¡°I can feel the recoil when using the palm ones in the suit. I wouldn''t want to fire off a repulsor with bare hands. That''s just asking to be hurt.¡±


    Clint looked thoughtful. ¡°I have to wonder if it could be adapted for a bow if the force is that strong.¡±


    ¡°If anyone can figure it out, He will.¡± Natasha said with confidence.


    Clint nodded again. He was sure if he kept bringing Ben up in their normal conversations, Natasha would become more comfortable about the whole situation and she might be able to put it behind her. She wouldn''t forget about it, not for a long time, because that was just who she was.


    Little did Clint realize that was part of Natasha''s problem.

 80 More To Do

    Bokuboy


    Anyways, here''s another chapter of not-smut with about 3,000 words for you to enjoy.


    The guns came out beautifully. I had cheapened out and didn''t try to integrate the repulsor tech into the gun itself. That would have just been redundant. The suit already had repulsors, so all I needed to do was convert that into an adapter and let it be fired like a gun. The handle was actually a receptacle that fit over the palm repulsor emitter and the gun body channelled the energy into a more compact and powerful beam.


    Because it was all just straight compact technology, it folded down into two blocks that mounted on the belt of the suit for easy access and deployment. I had it down to a quarter of a second, so by the time Natasha could draw the weapon and point it, it was already in the shape of a gun and could shoot like a semi-automatic pistol.


    Both Clint and Natasha had looked doubtful when I delivered the blocks to the rooms they were staying in on the training floor in the basement. I was tempted to tell them to trust me, then I shrugged, showed her how to attach them to the BWSuit''s belt, and left. I would watch the footage when she practised with them later.


    I spent half of the lunch hour with Melinda, worked out for the second half, and then had another afternoon of getting my ass handed to me. It was a great time and Melinda looked quite happy to be giving me the skills she had used herself so effectively.


    She dropped me off at home after work and I did my chores, cooked supper, and had another fun evening with May. When she went to bed, aka I carried her to bed and tucked her in, I donned my Spider-Man outfit once more and kept working on building my intricate monitoring network. It was all hooked into the main server and my cell phone was like a portable terminal.


    I was halfway through seeding the ninth block in the grid when my cell phone beeped. I checked it and two blocks away had a crime being committed. A robbery. I closed my backpack and was at the crime scene only a couple of web swings later. I dropped down from six storeys up onto the cab of the panel van and crushed it as I crouched down.


    ¡°Baaaad mennnnn!¡± I said with a gravelly voice and the five masked men stopped trying to gain entry to the jewellery store to turn and stare at me.


    ¡°Oh, shit!¡± One of them cursed.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing? Shoot the prick!¡± Another shouted and pointed at me.


    ¡°I don''t see you pulling a trigger!¡± A third guys spat.


    ¡°You are all idiots.¡± A calm male voice said and raised his gun to point it at my face.


    As he pulled the trigger, my spider-sense told me to duck. I did one better and bent backwards instead to put my hands onto the van''s roof behind me.


    ¡°Ha! You see? One dead spider!¡± The calm voice said smugly.


    I raised my mid section into a perfect arch and I skittered around on my fingers and toes in a circle to face them. The look of shock on their faces was worth training in yoga and acrobatics to enhance my flexibility.


    I slowly climbed down the van''s side like a spider as I kept the perfect arch and used my hands and feet to move. All five guys took a step back for every step I took. My head hung down and I tried to make it seem like it wasn''t attached and swayed it from side to side as I walked, and one of the guys put a hand over his mouth and threw up.


    ¡°Hunnnngry!¡± I loudly growled when I reached the pavement and quickly flipped over to crouch down like frog and let my head sway from side to side like it was a balloon.


    ¡°AAHHHH!¡± Four of them screamed and tossed away their guns as they ran down the street. The fifth tried to run and stumbled because he kept throwing up. It was hard to do both, apparently. I webbed him up and swung down the street to web up the other four, picked up their guns on the way back, and stuck them to their foreheads after I removed their masks.


    I quickly searched through their cell phones and pockets, took their fingerprints from them, the guns, and from where they were trying to break into the store. I took pictures of them, the store, the van, the license plate, and also the papers in the glove compartment. I saved everything and sent what I could to the closest NYPD station and ziptied their wrists and ankles.


    ¡°Please... don''t eat us.¡± One of them whispered.


    I almost laughed at the scared look he had, because I had been skittering around for about ten minutes as I gathered evidence. I walked over to him and let out a growl, which made him whimper, so I crouched down and then jumped up as hard as I could. I practically soared twenty feet up into the air and I swung away.


    I actually did laugh when I was far enough away, because I was sure that the security footage from inside the jewellery store was going to be quite entertaining to watch on the news tomorrow.


    At least that Stark Protect device is going to be good for something besides target practice. I thought and swung back to where I had been before and went back to work building my monitor network.


    *


    ¡°Report.¡± Nick Fury said the next morning when he entered the meeting room. ¡°Hill first.¡±


    ¡°Sir.¡± Maria said and turned on the large monitor on the wall. ¡°Spider-Man apprehended an international heist group when they tried to rob a jewellery store.¡±


    ¡°Why were they going for something so small time?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°That''s the point. The store is a front for a large diamond smuggling operation.¡± Maria said and showed images from inside. ¡°They apparently sold marked diamonds to the ring to follow them to the main distribution point and thought they were going to get a huge payoff.¡±


    ¡°That''s not on the news.¡± Natasha added and showed her cell phone. ¡°It just says it was a simple robbery that was stopped by a local terror.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°This is the footage caught by the Stark Protect device.¡±


    The table full of high ranked agents watched and a few of them shivered as Spider-Man acted like a spider and stalked his prey, terrified them, then gathered them together and skittered around.


    ¡°He has to be at least double or triple jointed. Normal people can''t bend like that for long, even with training.¡± One of the agents said. ¡°Those movements don''t seem human at all, actually.¡±


    ¡°He definitely has extreme hypermobility.¡± Another agent added. ¡°That head shake thing is really unnerving.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Fury said. ¡°Hill? Anything else?¡±


    ¡°I hate to admit that his analytical mind for evidence gathering is phenomenal.¡± Hill said and the monitor changed to show all of the well preserved evidence, including fingerprints on everything and cell phone records. ¡°He''s meticulous, even when moving around like he was.¡±


    ¡°What about interviews?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°A complete bust as an interrogation.¡± Natasha said. ¡°They sang like a canary before we could start with any kind of intimidation. They wanted us to keep them safe from him, so no accidental slip-ups or misleading clues to anything that might have given us more leads to who they worked for or why.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°All right. I''m glad we got all of that.¡± He said and then his eye gave them all his classic glare. ¡°Now which one of you can tell me how the bastard is evading all of our monitoring systems?¡±


    ¡°I don''t understand it, sir.¡± A woman said from the end of the table. ¡°We should have accidentally caught him on one of the surveillance systems by now, let alone on the ones that are actively searching for him.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°That includes actual agent assets as well.¡±


    ¡°No eyes on him at all?¡± Fury asked her.


    ¡°None. It''s almost as if he can sense where they are and avoids them.¡± She said and nearly everyone in the room stiffened at her words.


    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Clint whispered, copying the criminal''s words.


    ¡°Hill, update the file on Spider-Man and add in suspected extrasensory perception. It''s useful against both cameras and the mark one eyeball.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°I already added in the analytical mind and mobility.¡± Maria said. ¡°I also managed to get the tech guys to analyze both his appearance and his quick retreat.¡±


    Fury gave her a questioning look.


    ¡°If he is the average weight of a normal person of his size, in order to crush the cab of the van by simply landing on it, he had to have dropped down at least five or perhaps six stories.¡±


    Complete silence met her words.


    ¡°When he swung away, his average speed was... honestly, it was ridiculous.¡± Maria said and met Fury''s eye. ¡°Half a mile every 60 seconds.¡±


    Clint let out a whistle. ¡°If that''s average, what''s his top speed?¡±


    ¡°The numbers could triple or quadruple when factored with his strength.¡±


    ¡°Good lord.¡± One of the agents said. ¡°He could cross a mile in thirty seconds if he wanted to?¡±


    ¡°Assuming his strength remains constant while swinging, yes.¡± Maria added as a qualifier.


    That made everyone fall silent again. The unspoken ''he can go faster if he was stronger'' weighed heavily on them.


    ¡°Is the team fully mobilized?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°We have everyone ready, sir. They are at the penthouse deployment zone and awaiting a go order.¡± Maria said. ¡°I don''t know how we can use them effectively if the target can evade sight so easily.¡±


    ¡°Trick him and trap him.¡± Natasha offered.


    ¡°Explain that.¡± Fury ordered.


    ¡°We know he''ll step in to stop crimes, even if his mentality seems conflicted between dysfunctional and highly functional.¡± Natasha said and several heads nodded. ¡°We set up a crime and then jump him when he stops it.¡±


    Everyone looked thoughtful for several minutes.


    ¡°With what we just discovered, won''t his sensory perception warn him if we do that?¡± Maria asked.


    Natasha smiled. ¡°I didn''t say to stage a crime. I said to set one up, an actual crime with real criminals, and then we can grab him.¡±


    ¡°That just might work.¡± Fury said and nodded. ¡°I''ll get a few things going and put out some feelers into certain underworld aspects. I won''t go into any details, in case anyone besides me knowing might tip him off.¡±


    ¡°No field agents need to know, especially the capture team.¡± Natasha said. ¡°It should all be behind the scenes and everyone will fully believe it''s real.¡±


    ¡°Even if nothing happens, this will confirm if we can actually plan around someone having that kind of perception or not.¡± Clint said and everyone nodded.


    ¡°Then we shelve it for now. You''re all off for the next few days, so get some rest and prep for the big New Years bash at Stark Tower.¡± Fury said and everyone looked happy. Getting out and having fun on the agency''s dime was always a good time, even if it was as a protection detail for one of the security council members.


    *


    On New Year''s Eve after supper, while May soaked in the bathtub, I snuck into her room and her closet as I grabbed the shoe box with her blue high heel shoes before I went back to my room. I took out the tuxedo jacket I had bought with blue colored accessories, namely a cumberbund and handkerchief, to match May''s dress, and I started to get dressed up.


    I already owned appropriate shirts and pants, so the tuxedo jacket was an easy purchase. I didn''t go overboard and buy a corsage and lapel pin, since that stuff was more appropriate for a prom and not a New Year''s dance. I styled my hair to make it look more voluminous than normal and nodded.


    I gathered up May''s dress, her shoes, a set of baby blue lingerie that she should adore, and a fake mink fur wrap. I set them out on her bed in a blatant ''wear me'' order and went out to stand across from the bathroom door. I wanted to see May''s face when she saw me all dolled up for the first time, because you know that I had to tease her back for the gold bathing suit.


    The bathroom door opened and May stopped in mid-stride as she stared at me. Her mouth hung open slightly and it wasn''t the first time I had seen a completely gobsmacked expression on her face. It was the first because I was dressed to the nines, however.


    ¡°Dear lady, our limo will be here in half an hour. I require you to dress in your finest and accompany my person to an appropriate venue for your status.¡±


    May didn''t move at all, not even her eyes.


    I beamed a smile at her, took her hand, and led her to her bedroom. The sound she made when she saw the expensive dress she liked and a fully matched outfit to go along with it, was worth waiting this long to surprise her.


    ¡°There really is a limo coming for us, Aunt May. We are about to make a splash into the corporate world and a CEO as important as you needs to look her best.¡± I said and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''ll be just outside the door if you need me for anything.¡±


    May just stared at me and didn''t say anything, so I walked over to her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway as I started to shut it.


    ¡°Ben.¡± May finally said and I leaned back into the room. ¡°How long have you been planning this?¡±


    ¡°Ever since you tried on that dress. I had to get it for you, then plans formed in my head and snowballed from there. I''ve been gathering bits here and there to make the whole outfit without you seeing me with them.¡±


    May looked at the bed and her hand touched the lingerie. ¡°I will get you back for this.¡±


    ¡°I look forward to it.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°By the way, there''s a velvet case on your make-up table with your name on it.¡±


    May strode over to the small table where the case was and snapped it open. ¡°BEN!¡±


    ¡°Now you have something to match the diamond earrings you like so much. If you need a hand with the clasp, I''ll be right here.¡± I said and closed the door.


    May let out a rare curse and I heard the case snap shut. I stood there and waited for twenty minutes and didn''t really hear much, besides the sound of cloth across cloth occasionally, then the door opened and a vision of loveliness stood there.


    ¡°Sweet Heavenly Goddess.¡± I whispered to remind her of the pool.


    May smiled and blushed. ¡°We need to go.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± I said and held an arm out for her to escort her.


    May hung her expensive clutch bag over her shoulder, adjusted her shoulder wrap, and took my offered arm. We went down the stairs and left the apartment, which I locked, and we rode the elevator down to the lobby. The limo was already there and the driver nodded to us and opened the back door. I nodded back and helped May enter before I climbed in myself.


    The stretch limo had everything inside and May couldn''t stop herself as she checked everything, even the small refrigerator. She took out a can of fruit drink and gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°I agree we should only have an occasional glass of champagne.¡± I said and she nodded.


    The ride was surprisingly quick. I wasn''t sure if the driver had a route planned out or if traffic was light. Either way, the limo pulled up to the red carpet reception area. The cameras started flashing immediately and May looked nervous.


    ¡°May.¡± I said in a stern voice and she jerked slightly and looked at me. ¡°You are the CEO of a multi-million dollar company and soon to be the owner of a very lucrative non-profit healthcare and homeless shelter. Out of all the people that are here to show off, you deserve to be here.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°The world is about to see my gorgeous Aunt and you are going to strut your stuff and you''re going to impress everyone by being yourself.¡± I said as the door opened. I climbed out of the limo and waved at the confused paparazzi. ¡°Please ignore me! I''m just the eye candy tonight!¡±


    That gained me a few laughs and one cat-call.


    ¡°Allow me to introduce you to the newest corporate mogul to invade the New York area! The CEO of Parker Incorporated and owner of the soon to open Benjamin Franklin Parker Free Clinic and Homeless Shelter, my beautiful aunt, Maybelle Parker!¡±


    Everyone started talking as I reached into the limo and took May''s hand.


    ¡°I am going to kill you.¡± May threatened through gritted teeth before she beamed a fake smile and stepped out of the limo. The camera flashes were almost blinding and everyone started shouting questions.


    ¡°Yes, it was a recent development. No, we haven''t opened for investors yet. Yes, we''re still growing and plan to announce several more departments that are going to take the city by storm!¡± I said and led May along the red carpet and through the throng of reporters and cameras.


    The same doorman smiled at me as he opened the door for us. I handed him a hundred dollar bill and his smile was even bigger than May''s fake one. We went to the elevator and stood in line to wait and ride the elevator up to where the reception was to be held.

 81 Happy New Year

    ¡°Invitation, please.¡± The security man at the elevator said in a bland voice.


    I pulled out the invitation Jarvis had sent me and the man barely looked at it as he waved us forward and into the elevator. I had originally planned to use one of my SHIELD liaison IDs and explain I wanted to inspect for fire exits and things, then realized I had the perfect inside friend already.


    There were two other couples in the elevator with us as it rose up to the ninetieth floor. The elevators opened into a huge reception area with buffet tables, an open bar, a live orchestra, a dance floor, and a lot of people. Like, a lot of people. I cased the room with my eyes and saw who I wanted to talk to right away.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± May asked me in a whisper after the two couples with us walked away to mingle.


    ¡°We destroy everyone''s expectations, of course.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°You better hold onto your panties, Aunt May. This is going to be a wild ride.¡±


    May just shook her head at me and didn''t comment as I led her across the room to where a bored looking Tony Stark stood with a shocked Pepper beside him.


    ¡°Pepper! It''s so nice to see you again.¡± I said loudly and let May''s arm go before I stepped close to kiss Pepper''s cheek and then I stepped back. ¡°We really need to arrange to have lunch one of these days!¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, I... that would be nice.¡± Pepper said and looked at Tony, who only had eyes for Aunt May.


    ¡°And who is this lovely young woman?¡± Tony asked with a crooked smile and held a hand out towards her.


    I immediately fell back to my training as I swung my fist at Tony''s jaw. I followed through as I was taught and pushed my arm with my shoulder and upper body, which made it look like I had used all of my strength to lay Tony out onto the floor. I hadn''t, because I didn''t want to tear the man''s face off, in public anyway, and had reined in as much of my strength as possible while still making the punch look good.


    ¡°She''s off limits to scum like you!¡± I spat at him and the look of surprise on his face as he rubbed his jaw was priceless. ¡°Your date is right there and you ignored her as soon as another gorgeous woman walked by! How fucking stupid are you?¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped and pulled me away from him, even though I wasn''t going to follow up.


    ¡°I apologize for cursing, Aunt May. Pepper.¡± I said and nodded to each of them. ¡°For someone that''s supposedly so smart, he''s ignoring the best thing that has ever happened to him!¡±


    Pepper blushed and a lot of people around us looked like they agreed with me.


    ¡°Not only that, he can''t even come up with his own ideas and has to steal them!¡± I added in an angry voice.


    That comment gained a few mutters and whispers as Tony stood up and brushed his tuxedo off.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Pepper asked and gave me a questioning look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I opened my mouth to respond and May put her hand over my mouth.


    ¡°This isn''t the right time to discuss something like that.¡± May said to me.


    I pretended to look conflicted about it and then nodded.


    May moved her hand and smiled sadly at Pepper. ¡°You might want to schedule that lunch meeting sooner rather than later.¡±


    Pepper looked from her to me before she nodded. ¡°Is Saturday all right?¡±


    I nodded and the social atmosphere around us went back to normal, as if I hadn''t just put Tony onto his butt. ¡°I need to apologize again. I didn''t intend to cause a huge scene like this.¡± I said, truthfully. I only wanted to cause a small one. Tony''s comment just gave me too good of an opportunity to ignore.


    ¡°That was quite the punch you had there.¡± Tony said as his hand rubbed the spot.


    ¡°I''ve been working out.¡± I said. You''re lucky I didn''t want to leave a bruise.


    ¡°Yes, this isn''t awkward at all.¡± May whispered and Pepper smiled at her. ¡°It''s nice to meet you, Miss Potts. I''m May Parker, Ben''s aunt.¡±


    ¡°What? You''re not his girlfriend?¡± Pepper asked and shook May''s hand.


    ¡°Ha ha! I told you that me teasing you about that was genuine.¡± I said smugly to May and then smiled at Pepper. ¡°She didn''t believe me.¡±


    May chuckled and shook her head. ¡°He used to bring that up every few days until he promised... PROMISED... to stop teasing me about it.¡±


    ¡°I''ve only mentioned it once since then. I think. I honestly lost track.¡± I shrugged. ¡°All that matters to me is that she''s my family and I love her.¡±


    ¡°Aww, that''s so sweet.¡± Pepper said.


    ¡°Yes, sweet.¡± Tony said and looked down at my feet and back up to my face. ¡°You have great taste in clothing.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my smile and looked at Pepper and then at May, since they both contributed heavily to my new wardrobe. ¡°I can only respond to that by paraphrasing a famous quote. Behind every great man is an even greater woman.¡±


    Tony huffed. ¡°Of course you''d be a fan of Groucho Marx.¡±


    ¡°He was ahead of his time.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°If he had been born a decade or two later, his ideas might have been a lot less controversial. Then again, because they were made at that time, it let other people''s less radical ideas be more acceptable later.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me you''re not...¡± Tony started to say.


    ¡°My personal beliefs do not reflect his public or private ones.¡± I interrupted. ¡°I can appreciate the social impact he had, however.¡± I looked at May first and then at Pepper. ¡°I mean, we have proof right in front of us that having a great woman behind you, can make a man strive to do better.¡±


    Tony chuckled. ¡°A man? How old are you? Fifteen?¡±


    ¡°I''ll be fifteen in August and I already created a multi-million dollar company, thanks to my brilliant Aunt that is the CEO and interim owner until I''m of legal age.¡± I said and Tony looked surprised while Pepper looked shocked, probably because of the CEO reminder, so I gave Pepper a warm smile. ¡°That is something else I wanted to discuss with you over lunch.¡±


    Pepper didn''t say anything and just nodded. That lunch was going to be interesting, to say the least.


    ¡°Because you are the hosts for the party, I came right over to give you my regards.¡± I said and took May''s hand. ¡°If you will excuse us, there''s a few more people for us to meet and greet.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for coming.¡± Pepper said automatically, then she blushed.


    ¡°It was my pleasure.¡± I said and nodded to her, to Tony, and led May away from them.


    ¡°Ben, what the hell was that?¡± May asked me in a hissed whisper.


    ¡°Us making a splash.¡± I whispered back as I approached a very familiar woman that wore a slinky silver dress and high heels. ¡°Everyone is looking at us and talking about what just happened, especially since Tony didn''t have me thrown out after either the punch or the accusation.¡±


    May looked thoughtful as we came to a stop in front of a very statuesque Maria Hill.


    ¡°Aunt May, this is my awesomely stunning boss, Anita Goodkiss.¡± I said and Maria gave me a look with raised eyebrows. ¡°I have several proposals I could make to you this evening and I have to ignore the temptation to do so.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± May admonished me and held a hand out to Maria. ¡°Please ignore the sexual innuendo that statement was completely loaded with. He thinks he''s a comedian.¡±


    Maria shook the offered hand. ¡°I have heard a few things about that.¡±


    ¡°They were all horribly embarrassing too, just as I unintentionally intended.¡± I said and Maria''s lips twitched and almost formed into a smile.


    ¡°As I said.¡± May lightly laughed and smiled at Maria. ¡°How do you know Pepper Potts?¡±


    Maria looked surprised and opened her mouth to respond.


    I cut her off. ¡°She''s not the one that got me the job.¡± I said and pointed partway across the room. ¡°It was the redhead over there, Natalie Rushman. She used to work for Tony as an assistant until she couldn''t take the constant propositions anymore.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that aggravation.¡± May said and Maria nodded. ¡°You never did tell me how you met her, Ben.¡±


    ¡°I actually stumbled into her when I was looking for someone to teach me how to fight.¡± I said truthfully and May''s eyes widened. ¡°A kid at school was constantly verbally assaulting me and upgraded to physical when I wouldn''t take the bait, remember?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the flashing pervert.¡± May said with a nod. ¡°It felt good to send his family the medical bills.¡±


    ¡°It really did.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Anyway, there was some tension between us for a while, a few complete misunderstandings, and now we''ve worked things out to the point where we are only associated on a professional level.¡±


    May gave me an understanding look. ¡°You really do push things a bit too much sometimes.¡±


    ¡°You can''t blame me for enjoying making beautiful women like you smile.¡± I said and grinned at her blush. ¡°You know how rare it is to find anyone even remotely close to your calibre.¡±


    ¡°Rare? HA!¡± May barked a laugh. ¡°Pepper Potts, Natalie Rushman, and now your boss Anita Goodkiss, all in the same room as me. That''s not rare at all.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It actually is. They''re here only because no one in their right mind would ignore a once in a lifetime invitation to hobnob with all of the rich and powerful in New York City at the same time. I mean, they get to meet you, right? That''s pretty rare all by itself.¡±


    May gave me a disbelieving stare.


    ¡°I would rather keep you all to myself, you know that.¡± I said and she blushed a little as she nodded. ¡°Speaking of which, I think I see a senator over there. Should we go say hello?¡±


    May''s eyes widened. ¡°Ben, you can''t just walk up to these people and...¡±


    ¡°We just did that twice!¡± I said and laughed. ¡°Come on, let''s go do it again.¡±


    May looked at Maria and smiled. ¡°It was nice meeting you.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Maria said and gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°Yes, all right. You''ve convinced me to give you a kiss at midnight.¡± I said and her eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°What? I have to obey her! She''s my boss.¡± I said and took May''s arm. ¡°Excuse us, Miss Goodkiss. More hobnobbing awaits.¡±


    Maria nodded to me and I led May across the room to meet the senator for the state of New York.


    *


    Pepper Potts felt like she was in a huge moral quandary. She had just found out that the young man that she had the best sex of her life with, had just started high school. High school! She had known he was younger than her, considering she was born in 1974 and tonight would be the start of 2012. She did not know that she was 23 years older than him, however.


    ¡°How do you know the kid?¡± Tony asked her as he took a drink.


    ¡°We bumped into each other a few weeks ago when I was out shopping.¡± Pepper said and did not add that they had screwed like rabbits. It was no wonder why he had seemed so innocent and naive, because he was! He''s ONLY fourteen!


    ¡°You seem a lot more familiar with him than that.¡± Tony commented.


    ¡°We spent the whole afternoon shopping together and talked a lot.¡± Pepper said.


    ¡°That''s... strange.¡± Tony said without looking at her. ¡°Why would someone you don''t know want to go shopping with you?¡±


    Pepper turned to face him as she let her simmering anger at him surface. ¡°Perhaps someone was concerned for my safety after we fell down on the sidewalk and he decided that he would rather spend the afternoon with me instead of completely ignoring me and my feelings!¡±


    Tony''s eyebrows rose at her tone of voice and he turned his head to look at her. ¡°Why are you getting angry? I was just asking a simple question.¡±


    ¡°It was the implication!¡± Pepper said with squinted eyes. ¡°You made it sound like no one wants to spend time with me just like you don''t!¡±


    ¡°I never said that!¡± Tony countered.


    Pepper opened her mouth to argue and instead took out her cell phone. ¡°Jarvis, play the audio file called ''Tony is an idiot'' through my cell phone, please.¡±


    ¡°Right away, Miss Potts.¡± Jarvis said and Pepper handed the phone to Tony, who put it to his ear to listen.


    Ten minutes later, Tony''s face was ashen, his posture was slumped, and the cell phone was held limply in his hand. He had just heard dozens of his dismissive comments about Pepper, his complaints about having better things to do, and his automatic response after they had sex the last time.


    ¡°The worst part about seeing the realization on your face is that we haven''t been together as a couple in weeks and you didn''t even notice.¡± Pepper said and took her cell phone back. ¡°I was just another warm body in your bed when I finally managed to drag you into it.¡±


    ¡°Pepper, I... I didn''t realize...¡±


    ¡°I know, and that''s the problem.¡± Pepper said, sadly. ¡°If I hadn''t pointed it out, you never would have noticed.¡±


    Tony looked at a loss for words, because he knew for a fact that she was right. He had nothing to say to defend himself, especially since the most recent of his dismissive comments had been earlier that day. He had claimed that he had so many better things to do than waste hours of time at a meaningless fancy dress-up party.


    ¡°I''m sorry that I''m always inconveniencing you with things that normal people tend to deal with on a regular basis, like work, eating, and sometimes talking.¡± Pepper said and put her cell phone into her clutch purse. ¡°Being more intelligent than everyone around you can be a heavy burden to bear if you don''t have the wisdom to temper it... or someone to help you temper it.¡±


    Tony didn''t say anything and just stood there, because he knew what she was going to say next. He also couldn''t deny that she had every right to say it, not after hearing his own voice express his opinions.


    ¡°It''s over, Tony.¡± Pepper said as tears came to her eyes. ¡°I won''t be begging you later to give us another try. Not anymore.¡±


    Tony could only nod as Pepper dabbed a tissue on her face to catch the tears before they fell, then he watched her walk away. He was sure that she would still be there for him professionally, because giving up the high paying job as his assistant would be a mistake. He fully believed that he could figure out how to get her to forgive him again, if given enough time.


    *


    After a fairly long evening of mingling and getting several promises of hefty donations for the clinic, the countdown to the ball dropping in Times Square started with thirty seconds to go.


    ¡°I can''t believe this is happening.¡± May whispered as everyone shouted the numbers.


    ¡°Me, either. Who would have thought I would be having my very first New Year''s Kiss with my gorgeous aunt?¡± I responded.


    ¡°Ben!¡± May gasped. ¡°We can''t kiss like that!¡±


    I waggled my eyebrows at her and pulled out a large set of fake plastic red lips from my pocket and slapped them onto my face. ¡°Miss mosent mount!¡±


    ¡°This doesn''t count?¡± May asked and stared at my nod for a second before she burst out laughing.


    ¡°Three! Two! One!¡± Everyone shouted and then yelled. ¡°HAPPY NEW YEAR!¡±


    May was still laughing as she pressed her lips to the big fake ones that covered mine.

 82 The Party After The Party

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Thank you, May! That was the best non-kiss I''ve ever had.¡± I joked after I pulled the fake lips off.


    May laughed some more and waved me away. ¡°Go find your boss and give her an actual kiss.¡±


    ¡°Go find her? She''s right there.¡± I said and pointed over her shoulder.


    May turned around and saw Maria standing there. May stepped to the side and waved Maria forward. Maria nodded to her and stepped close to me.


    ¡°Thank you for allowing this.¡± I said to her as I put my arms around her waist. ¡°Happy New Year.¡±


    ¡°Happy New Year.¡± Maria said back and leaned down to give me a pretty solid kiss for several seconds. ¡°Don''t expect to have this much leeway with me while at work, Mister Parker.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my smile at the wording. ¡°That won''t be a problem. I''ll just have to give you quick kisses when you''re not expecting them.¡±


    ¡°Ben, stop twisting people''s words.¡± May said as Maria stepped away.


    ¡°Why? It''s so much fun making people think about what they are going to say to me next.¡± I said and nodded at Maria. ¡°Believe me, it takes a lot to make a woman of her importance smile.¡±


    Maria nodded back to me and then May. ¡°Mister Parker, May Parker.¡±


    We watched her walk away and then looked at each other.


    ¡°Ben, what were you thinking? She''s your boss!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said and smirked at her. ¡°She''s a great kisser, too.¡±


    ¡°Ben, that''s not the point.¡± May said with a sigh.


    ¡°Oh, I think it is.¡± I said with a chuckle and took her hand. ¡°Come on, I want to see who else I can trick into a kiss.¡±


    May shook her head and followed me anyway.


    To both of our surprises, there were quite a few socialites that had no problem whatsoever kissing someone that they had just met. In fact, the tall blonde model that had been the senator''s date for the evening, had given me a ten second kiss, gave May an appraising look, then she kissed her for ten seconds, too.


    ¡°Happy New Year.¡± She said and handed each of us a business card. ¡°Call me.¡±


    May and I exchanged shocked looks and looked back at her.


    ¡°You need me to work for your company.¡± She said with confidence and then walked away with a huge sway in her hips that should have been illegal.


    ¡°That did not just happen.¡± I managed to say as I looked at May. ¡°Tell me that did not just happen.¡±


    ¡°That did... not happen.¡± May said and looked at the card. ¡°I should throw this away.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my chuckle. ¡°I want to do that and I know I''ll regret it if I do.¡±


    May nodded. ¡°That was an effective sales strategy.¡±


    ¡°She definitely let her tongue do the talking for her!¡± I said and laughed.


    May laughed, too. ¡°That terrible pun shouldn''t be that funny. I think we''ve had too much champagne.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± I said and tucked the card into my pocket. ¡°We better leave before anyone else convinces us to hire them.¡±


    ¡°We didn''t hire her.¡± May said and took my hand.


    ¡°Yes, we did.¡± I said and led her across the dance floor to the elevator. ¡°We should have said no right away and we didn''t.¡±


    ¡°Dammit.¡± May said and tucked the card into her purse. ¡°How can we hire her if we don''t have an office for her to work out of?¡±


    The elevator arrived and we stepped in. Surprisingly, we were the only ones leaving at that time.


    ¡°Who said we don''t have an office?¡± I asked with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Ben, you better stop teasing me with all this shit.¡± May said, a bit angrily.


    ¡°Language!¡± I gasped and then laughed. ¡°I''m buying a case of this champagne later. You never curse.¡±


    ¡°BEN!¡± May spat.


    ¡°Sorry! Sorry!¡± I said and put an arm around her. ¡°I''ve arranged with Jarvis to rent out the whole sixtieth floor. We got it cheap, because he''s just that awesome... and I arranged to have two server farms installed for his full backups in case he ever needs them.¡±


    May gave me an incredulous look. ¡°Who the hell is Jarvis?¡±


    I burst out laughing and laughed until the elevator was about halfway down to the ground floor. ¡°He''s the world''s first, foremost, and only AI at the moment.¡± I said. ¡°His full name is ''Just A Rather Very Intelligent System''. J.A.R.V.I.S. is the acronym.¡±


    ¡°What idiot named him all of that crap?¡± May asked me and hugged me close.


    ¡°Duh! Tony, of course. He could have just named him after his trusty butler named Jarvis and instead made a stupid acronym.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Sorry, Jarvis. I''m not making fun of your name. I''m making fun of the reasons behind it.¡±


    ¡°That''s all right, Ben. You are inebriated and I must make allowances for your fallacy.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Ha! How sick of doing that are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''m not human, therefore I cannot be sick.¡± Jarvis responded.


    ¡°Bahaha! You can catch viruses. I''m glad you don''t, though.¡± I said. ¡°Anyway, thanks for allowing me entrance tonight. My aunt and I appreciate visiting.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome, Ben.¡±


    ¡°I hope you can have the computer equipment delivered over the next few days, because I''m going back to school soon and I want your back-ups running smoothly before my spare time runs out again.¡±


    ¡°I will have everything delivered as quickly as possible.¡± Jarvis said as the elevator stopped. ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Night, buddy!¡± I said and the elevator doors opened. I walked out with May and the security guy didn''t look up from his cell phone. I could have attacked and killed him before he even knew what was happening. I somehow found that funny and laughed.


    ¡°How are we getting home?¡± May asked me.


    ¡°Limo!¡± I said and took out my cell phone and sent the prepared text.


    We went out through the front door and the doorman gave me a thumbs-up sign and waved off my money offer.


    ¡°Happy New Year!¡± I said as the limo came to a stop in front of us.


    ¡°Happy New Year.¡± The doorman said as the driver came around the car. The driver opened the limo door for us and I helped May enter and then entered myself.


    The drive seemed to take no time at all and we were inside our building and the apartment before I realized it. Thankfully, I double-checked the door was locked before I turned around to see if May needed a hand going up the stairs. I froze because May had slipped the dress off and she only wore the sexy blue lingerie, the diamond necklace, diamond earrings, and her high heels.


    ¡°I finally get to tease you back!¡± May said and turned around and wiggled her ass at me. She turned back and grinned at my stunned face. ¡°I hope this helps you jerk off later while you imagine doing your boss.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, I''m going to imagine my boss.¡± I lied badly.


    May laughed and stalked over to me as she walked in a straight line with each foot in front of the other. She stopped in front of me and her hand dug into my coat pocket. She pulled out the fake lips I had and slapped them onto my face.


    ¡°You are very lucky that even a little tipsy, I won''t cross that line. I can''t kiss my nephew like a man. I just can''t.¡± May said and put her arms around my neck and pressed herself into me from her hips to her chest, then she kissed me pretty passionately.


    When she broke the kiss, the look on her face was profoundly sad.


    ¡°If you were anyone else, I wouldn''t feel so guilty about doing things like this. That''s how I know doing anything more would be bad. Very bad.¡±


    ¡°You feel guilty?¡± I asked as I took off the lips.


    ¡°We are the only family that either of us has in this world. It''s okay to like you. It''s okay to love you. What''s not okay is to kiss you or to have sex with you. It''s not okay to lead you on or give you hope that if you are patient, I will eventually give in and let you into my bed.¡± May shook her head. ¡°That''s not something family does.¡±


    I swallowed audibly before I spoke. ¡°You married my paternal uncle and we''re not blood related.¡±


    ¡°Silly Ben! It''s not just blood that makes a family. It''s feelings, emotions, countless bonding moments, and caring about someone so much that their happiness matters more to you than your own happiness. That''s the truth. That''s true love. That''s pure love.¡± May smiled beautifully and her sadness disappeared. ¡°I don''t want to ever give that up or lose it, now that I have it.¡±


    ¡°I don''t want to lose it either.¡± I said and cupped the sides of her face with my hands. ¡°Thank you for explaining, because I couldn''t have said it better myself.¡±


    May nodded and took my hands from her face to hold them. ¡°Now carry me up to bed and let me sleep this off. Being even a little free with my actions could have explosive consequences.¡±


    I laughed at that and nodded. ¡°Like Mount Vesuvius explosive!¡±


    May looked shocked for a second, then she burst out laughing.


    I scooped her up into my arms and she clung to me as she kept laughing. I brought her to her room and when I put her down onto the bed, she held onto my neck. ¡°May, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± May said and pulled me down to kiss my cheek before she let me go. ¡°This was the best New Year''s Eve I''ve ever had.¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± I said and took out the fake lips to hand to her. ¡°Here, have fun.¡±


    May laughed as she took them, then she kissed them six times and hugged them. ¡°Goodnight, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Aunt May.¡± I said and stood to tuck her under her blanket. I left her room and went downstairs to pick up her dress, fake fur wrap, and clutch purse. I put them on the couch and went upstairs to my room. I didn''t get changed for bed, though. I locked my bedroom door, put on my Spider-Man costume and disguised backpack, and went out the window.


    Now that I wasn''t solely focused on May, I could hear fireworks and noisemakers echoing from the nearby buildings. My spider-sense wasn''t going off, so I shot a webline to the next building and swung down through the alleyway. Another webline at the top corner of the closest building let me swing out into the street and around the corner.


    I soared through the air and let my spider-sense guide me. I heard a particularly loud crack and knew it wasn''t a firework. I rotated my body in mid-air, thanks to my enhanced agility and changed my orientation before I shot another webline and pulled as hard as I could. My body jerked and I flew off in the changed direction as if I had always been going that way and I quickly found what I was looking for.


    A man stood above another man with murder in his eyes and the man on the pavement held his bleeding shoulder. It was too dark to tell what race they were and it didn''t matter. I double-tapped my web shooter''s pressure trigger and shot a web ball that hit the gun to cover it and the shooter''s hand completely.


    Both men let out startled yells as I landed, then my foot was buried into the shooter''s gut and I grabbed his neck and flipped him upside down. I quickly shot a web ball at the nearby wall and then I drop-kicked him and shot a spray of webbing at him. He hit the wall with a grunt and then he was webbed up completely.


    ¡°Maaan okaay?¡± I said in a deep growl as I dropped to the ground and crawled creepily.


    The man on the ground stiffened and didn''t respond.


    ¡°I check.¡± I said and he didn''t move his hand. I easily pulled his hand away and then pulled out a thin probing tool from the evidence gathering kit.


    ¡°NO! STOP!¡± The man yelled.


    ¡°Quiiiiet.¡± I growled and webbed up his mouth and his hands to keep him still. I did a quick examination and saw the wound was a through and through, so I packed it with gauze and then taped up both ends. ¡°Hosssspitaaal.¡±


    I picked the man up and then used a cell phone to record the perpetrator and the location. I sent a text to the NYPD and then I swung out of the alleyway using only one hand and held onto the injured man with the other. I sent a text to the hospital as well and I arrived there a couple of minutes later. Two paramedics were there and I was slightly disappointed that they weren''t the two that I had met before.


    ¡°Gunnnn shhhot. Through ssshoulder. Packkked.¡± I said and put the man on the stretcher.


    The man on the right checked him and nodded. ¡°This is good work, Spider-Man.¡±


    ¡°I get evidennnnce noww.¡± I said and used a bit of dissolving spray on the victim''s hands and mouth to remove the webbing before I leapt up into the air and swung away to head back to that alley.


    I had a feeling that my night was going to be a long one, especially if I had to wait for a particular person to be alone.


    *


    Alexander Pierce, the security council member that had attended Stark''s New Year bash, rolled out of the bed at three in the morning and stretched. He had drunk too much and desperately needed to empty his bladder. On the plus side, his young mistress had been drunk herself and forgot to expect him to do all the work like he usually did. She had taken over and they had both enjoyed it.


    He didn''t bother turning on the light, because the illumination from the window was plenty to see by. The nice breeze was also a welcome one. He pulled his underwear down and started to relieve himself as he stared at the wall behind the toilet. It took him nearly ten seconds to remember that his mistress'' apartment was on the top floor of the building and the bathroom window couldn''t open.


    He let his member go and tried to reach for the back-up pistol inside the toilet tank just as a fist that felt like steel hit him on the back of the head. It knocked him silly and he was only slightly surprised that he wasn''t dead as he was easily picked up and carried out through the bathroom window. His dazed mind didn''t start to question things until they were on the roof and he stood on the edge of the building.


    ¡°Hail Hydra!¡± A mechanical voice said from behind him and then he was tumbling through the air.


    The security council member didn''t bother to scream as the ground rushed up to meet him. With all the noise and revellers still around, no one would hear him anyway.


    *


    An alarm rang through the monitoring station and the woman there hit the kill button and checked the feed that activated the alarm. When she played it back and saw a prominent member of the government fall to his death, she hit the panic button.


    *


    Nick Fury sat in the completely silent meeting room two hours later and everyone around him looked dishevelled and unhappy. They had just listened and watched as the sole person they had been assigned to protect was unceremoniously tossed off the top of a building.


    In the middle of Manhattan.


    On New Year''s Eve.


    In front of a camera.


    Their camera.


    ¡°I want answers, people.¡± Fury whispered and his voice still carried through the room. ¡°Widow? Hawkeye?¡±


    ¡°We had eyes on the VIP until he turned off the lights. We switched to night vision and set it to monitor the bedroom without invading his privacy, as is standard policy.¡± Natasha said and nodded to Clint.


    ¡°I kept watch on the surrounding buildings for any movement and set sensors on every access point to the apartment.¡± Clint said. ¡°The bathroom window was solid and not operable. I still added a sensor to it.¡±


    Fury nodded. Covering bases was always a good idea.


    ¡°It was shorted out without setting it off and the glass was removed. We couldn''t find it.¡± Clint said and several other people nodded. It had been an exhaustive search, too. ¡°The target was carried out through that window to the roof, completely out of my sight.¡±


    ¡°Our sight.¡± Natasha corrected. ¡°I saw the target enter the bathroom and he didn''t come out right away. I assumed he was still using it when the panic alarm was triggered.¡±


    Fury couldn''t begrudge her that decision. The last thing they needed was to burst in on a target and find out they were just on the toilet and not actually in trouble. It was just too bad that this time, the target had actually been in trouble.


    ¡°Assessments?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°It was a target of opportunity.¡± Maria Hill said and Phil Coulson nodded in agreement.


    ¡°There were several times all evening that the planners had intentionally left holes open in the security plan and none of them were attempted.¡± Phil said. ¡°Whoever it was had waited for the right opportunity to strike and took it. No evidence except from the target was left.¡±


    Fury let his eye roam over everyone and stayed silent until he made a decision. ¡°You''re all in the clear. I can find no fault in either procedure or execution.¡±


    Everyone visibly relaxed.


    ¡°Dismissed.¡± Fury said and everyone left, except Maria. ¡°Play the muted audio, please.¡±


    Maria nodded and played the cued up part that happened just before the man had been shoved.


    ¡°Hail Hydra!¡± A mechanical voice said from the recording.


    ¡°Any clues from it?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°The tech team tore it apart and discovered that it is a basic text to speech synthesizer.¡± Maria said and Fury''s eyebrows rose. ¡°As far as they can determine, they typed out the words with various letters to get the appropriate sounds of actual speech, rather than rely on the program to use the typed words.¡±


    Fury sat back in his chair and nodded. ¡°That would allow a better flow of words and still retain the mechanical timbre.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. This was planned well in advance and whoever did it knows our procedures.¡±


    ¡°Or had access to the security plans for tonight.¡± Fury said. ¡°I assume you checked on that?¡±


    Maria nodded and handed over a piece of paper with the names of anyone that had access those particular files and references. They had all been in the meeting room.


    ¡°None of them could have done it.¡± Fury said and Maria shook her head. ¡°Any ideas? Off the record.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I can''t even speculate on...¡± Maria stopped talking when her cell phone beeped at her. ¡°I''m sorry, sir. I thought I turned it off.¡±


    Fury nodded and waved for her to check it.


    Maria took it out and then sucked in a sharp breath. She didn''t say anything and handed the phone to Fury. His sole eye nearly popped out of his head as he read the anonymous email that contained the secret files that had been altered for Project Insight, the brain child of Alexander Pierce. The man who had just been killed while under SHIELD protection.


    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± Fury cursed and Maria nodded.

 83 The Lunch Rush

    Bokuboy


    Grant Ward stood in the small park near his target and surveyed his masterful work. He wasn''t sure who had sent him the encrypted email that had told him where a lot of his primary targets would be going to have a secret meeting and he didn''t care. The improvised explosives from a nearby construction site had been a great find and he had laced the entire building with them.


    It was unfortunate that he had to make himself scarce until the meeting had been well underway and he couldn''t visually confirm if all of his targets had entered or not. He felt bad about that until that same email address had sent him video of each and every target on his list enter the building. He had nearly given himself away when he shouted with happiness and he was glad that no one had noticed.


    Grant took out the detonator and grinned as he whispered the word ''payback'' and hit the button.


    *WHAABOOOM!*


    The blast actually blew his hair back and he laughed and laughed as the small building started to break apart and then it crashed down and sent a plume of debris, dust, and smoke high into the air and over the area. Grant covered his face to protect his eyes and then felt a gun barrel pressed under his chin.


    ¡°Hail Hydra!¡± A mechanical voice said.


    ¡°Hail Hydra!¡± Grant responded automatically.


    *BANG!*


    Grant''s body dropped to the ground with a hole in the top of his head and a smile on his face. He died believing he had killed all of the upper echelon members of SHIELD and that he had gotten his revenge.


    Spider-Man knelt and ''gathered'' evidence, not that he really needed to, and placed the gun on Grant''s open hand after adding the man''s fingerprints on the bullets, barrel, and handle. He had let Jarvis handle faking the footage and it had been masterful. He had replaced all of the Hydra agents with the faces of SHIELD agents and Grant had unknowingly killed most his own organization.


    It had been child''s play to arrange the emergency meeting for secret Hydra agents after the death of Alexander Pierce had been intentionally leaked to the news. They had been worried that Hydra had been compromised if one of their top people had been removed and the other security council member named Gideon Malick had easily been tricked as the fake Armin Zola image requested he take over.


    Making Grant the fall guy had been convenient, since he had a massive gripe against SHIELD.


    Spider-Man heard people starting to come near to see what was going on, so he sent what he had to the NYPD with an apology for not arriving fast enough, dropped the evidence bags around Grant''s body, and swung away.


    If he was lucky, he could get a few hours sleep before he had to be awake to make May''s breakfast. He could get a proper sleep after that before he had an important lunch to get to.


    *


    Pepper sat in the same bistro she had been in that day, Chez Perez, and she waited with both eagerness and trepidation for her meal partner. For some reason, she knew this was going to be enlightening for her and not in a good way, not after what Ben had said during the New Year''s bash the night before last. She shook her head to push those thoughts aside and turned slightly on her chair to look towards where the Maitre''D was and caught her breath.


    Ben was there talking to the man and he wore one of the shirts she bought for him with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It showed off his muscular forearms and the expensive watch on his wrist had an excessively thick metal band holding it. Her eyes caught that it looked like titanium and that was a blatant show of wealth.


    The Maitre''D let out a rare laugh and nodded, then he led Ben over to her. Pepper noticed the stylish pants that matched the shirt well and her eyes dropped to the expensive and comfortable shoes. His socks were the same color as his shirt and she didn''t know why she was happy about that.


    ¡°Miss Potts, your guest has arrived.¡± The Maitre''D said with a bit of a wave.


    Ben stepped around him and beamed a smile at her. ¡°It''s so nice to see you again.¡±


    Pepper returned the smile as he bent over to her and their lips met briefly. Her thoughts of trying to keep a distance from him had fled faster than a cheetah after a gazelle. ¡°Thank you, Jacques.¡±


    The Maitre''D nodded and shook Ben''s hand before he returned to his spot to oversee the restaurant.


    Pepper had not missed the money changing hands. ¡°Should I ask what that was for?¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°I was just ensuring when the waiter comes over to bother us.¡±


    Pepper opened her mouth to ask and the waiter walked over to their table with her favorite non-alcoholic cocktail. Two of them. She gave Ben a questioning look as the waiter walked away.


    ¡°Jarvis can be quite chatty about his favorite human if asked the right question.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°Oh? I suppose you know all about me now.¡± Pepper said, a little perturbed.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Hell no, I''m not stupid. I came to lunch specifically to get to know my good friend better. Cheating by having Jarvis give me your particulars would only get me put into the doghouse, not save me from it.¡±


    Pepper''s mood lightened at his words. ¡°I''m glad, because I know almost nothing about you.¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°I''m tempted to say I''m like an interesting book, except it has a porn magazine tucked inside when you open it. That''s not something a woman needs to read all the time, even if she''s read it before.¡±


    Pepper blushed a little. ¡°Ben, that''s something we need to talk about.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Ben said and took a drink of the cocktail. ¡°Very nice.¡±


    ¡°You''re very young and...¡±


    ¡°You''re very sexy and desirable.¡± Ben interrupted. ¡°I don''t regret what happened and neither should you.¡±


    ¡°Ben, it''s not that simple. I''m actually a bit older than your aunt...¡±


    ¡°I can produce a written document that retroactively grants you permission from my aunt if you need it.¡± Ben interrupted again and Pepper was surprised. ¡°It doesn''t matter how old you are. Age is just a number that lets you keep track of all the crap you''ve been through in your life.¡±


    Pepper blinked her eyes at him. ¡°That... is a pretty cynical outlook to have.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°It''s not cynical if it''s true.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°Bullied since I was a kid. Lost my family as a baby. No friends growing up. Almost dirt poor until recently. I''ve even had several blows to the head that changed my life.¡± Ben said.


    Pepper stared at him and didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°That change to my life has been the best thing that''s ever happened to me. I have friends now. I''m popular at both school and at work. I can do quadratic equations in my head and I didn''t even know what those were until recently.¡± Ben said and Pepper was stunned. ¡°I''m working out, I''m studying hard, I''m becoming rich, and I''m meeting beautiful women that are so far out of my league that being in the same room as them makes me feel giddy inside.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... why are you...¡±


    ¡°I like playing with electronics, working with my hands and building things, and figuring out how to change the world. I''m doing the best I can with the life that fate has granted me, and having you be a part of that is more than any man can ever ask for.¡±


    Pepper couldn''t stop her blush at the sincerity in his voice and on his face.


    ¡°That''s why my offer of friendship is genuine, Pepper. Unlike anyone else that might want to spend time with you, I will never ask you to change your life to fit me into it. You''re the CEO of one of the top companies in the world. In. The. World.¡± Ben said and reached over to take her hand. ¡°I have no right to demand you change who you are or give up what you enjoy. That''s not how friendship works.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I don''t know what to say.¡± Pepper whispered and squeezed his hand.


    ¡°Friends are there for each other when they can be and they try to support each other whenever they can. When it''s required, they will also move heaven and earth to get to them when they are desperately needed and will give them whatever they desire most.¡±


    Pepper was at a loss for words once more, because she was sure that he couldn''t be offering her what he was offering her. She was reading too much into things and there was no way Ben would give her what he was implying. There was also no way that the conversation''s tone had shifted so fundamentally.


    As if he could read her mind, Ben smiled. ¡°When are you going to stop taking the pill?¡±


    Pepper stopped breathing and her mouth dropped open.


    ¡°I know it''s a little shocking to hear that, considering we started out talking about how young I am and how not quite so young you are.¡± Ben said diplomatically instead of calling her old like she expected. ¡°It''s been on my mind for a while now and I''ve thought a lot about it. I also don''t expect anything from you, like I said. Friends are there for each other and that''s what matters.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... what... I''m...¡± Pepper shook her head. ¡°This is too much to deal with right now.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Too much? We''re just getting started with the conversation, Pepper.¡± He said and waved off to the side.


    The waiter brought over two plates of great smelling food for them. When he left, Ben smiled at her as he picked up a fork to start eating the grilled chicken.


    ¡°We haven''t even talked about Stark stealing my security device patent and how he''s making millions off of a flawed product that will cause more damage than criminals will when it goes off.¡± Ben said and ate a bite of food. ¡°Not bad.¡± He said and chewed another bite. ¡°It could use a dash of cilantro.¡±


    Pepper stared at him and didn''t know what to say as she ate. She had no idea how he could know about the containment foam causing extra damage. There had only been two reports about it and... she stopped thinking about it when she made the mental connection between Ben and Jarvis.


    ¡°How chatty was Jarvis when you talked to him?¡± Pepper asked, pointedly.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°He''s not leaking company secrets or allowing espionage, if that''s what you''re thinking. In fact, he''s even more security conscious now.¡±


    Pepper relaxed. ¡°Then how...¡±


    ¡°I''ve seen them, of course. Using containment foam, that''s slightly corrosive until it solidifies, will damage both the criminals and the things they are trying to steal. Stark also removed the container mine had for the dissolution solution that could be activated by command, so the police and store owners wouldn''t have any trouble removing the criminals from the premises.¡±


    Pepper was stunned. She suspected that Ben had been telling the truth, even if it was exaggerated by yelling it at Tony after punching him. She hadn''t realized it was their new product that had been selling out all over the country or that Ben could actually solve her company''s problems before they became major problems and cost the company tons of money.


    ¡°You and I have a lot to talk about, Ben.¡± Pepper said when she realized she couldn''t let this opportunity pass her by.


    ¡°Why else do you think I''m eating so slowly?¡± Ben asked her with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Forget the food.¡± Pepper said and stood. ¡°We have important business to discuss and that takes priority.¡±


    Ben nodded and stood as well, then he took her hand and they went over to the Maitre''D. He handed the man two hundred dollars and they left. Pepper called her driver and they were soon whisked off towards Stark Tower to finish their discussion.


    *


    ¡°Holy Mary Mother of God!¡± A construction worker exclaimed as they moved one of the large slabs of concrete with a hydraulic jack and saw dozens of crushed bodies inside what was supposed to be an abandoned building.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Adrian Toomes asked and ran over. His salvage company had been called immediately to clean up the site with several other actual construction companies. He had been lamenting that Ben wasn''t there helping them, because he loved doing stuff like this, and his thoughts stopped when he saw what his employee had unearthed.


    A stream of curses came out of Adrian before he could stop them and he told the guy to not touch anything before he ran over to where a police car guarded the spot where the body of the man that had blown up the building had been.


    The faces of the cops drained of color when Adrian told them what they had found. All work was stopped on the site as the police called in everyone.


    One of SHIELD''s operatives worked for the dispatch office and relayed the call for help to both the NYPD and to her department head in SHIELD''s Communications Department. It was given a low priority, mainly because there was very little information besides a lot of people being killed.


    Two hours later, when some of the bodies had been successfully identified and relayed to the communications department, SHIELD''s priority alarm rang out and roused the department heads, the Director, and Deputy Director.


    Two hours after that, Nick Fury once again sat in the same meeting room with the same people, except for one of them. He was dead. The remaining people all listened as Maria recited the various police reports about the incident and gave them all of the information they had.


    ¡°Does anyone have any idea what the hell is going on?¡± One of the female agents asked. ¡°We''re being systematically picked off!¡±


    Everyone glanced at the empty chair and then looked at Fury.


    ¡°Hill, the final report, please.¡± Fury said.


    Maria moved the file to the top of her large stack and opened it. ¡°A recently downgraded agent''s body was found just outside the explosion''s blast radius. Grant Ward had a gunshot wound from under his chin and out through the top of his head.¡±


    ¡°He committed suicide after blowing up how many agents and government workers?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Ninety five.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Any idea why?¡± Natasha asked. She remembered him being on the mission with Ben and Grant failed that mission. Was that why he did what he did?


    ¡°We have our suspicions.¡± Fury said, cryptically. He didn''t want them thinking about Hydra infiltrating SHIELD so much that two of their security council members and nearly seventy of their field agents and ten of their office workers had also been Hydra agents.


    Thankfully, neither he nor Maria were worried about any more of them, because a second list had been sent to them and it contained the names of Hydra agents and their connections. The best part was that they matched the current records of the identified bodies from the explosion and building collapse.


    The problem they had was that someone had done all of that and there was no record of anything. No one knew what had happened, who had done it, or if it was even a single person. There could be a new rival agency that was cleaning up the competition and SHIELD could be next.


    It was a worrying concern and Fury saw a matching look on Maria''s face. They nodded slightly to each other and they silently promised to pull out all of the stops to figure out who had been involved with this mess and would determine if they were going to be a threat to them, to SHIELD, and to the world.


    *


    I sat on the edge of Pepper''s large ornate desk as she enthusiastically tried to suck the contents of my balls out through the tip of my penis. I honestly hadn''t expected it, especially because we had just completed an exclusive patent sharing deal that let her fix and update the Stark Protect devices before they could ruin the company''s reputation or needed a recall issued.


    Pepper was allowed use my special fluid patents for both deployment and dissolving, while I also gave her the rights to produce my Fire Suppressant variant device. She gave me the patent permission for that and if I designed anything else similar to it, then she agreed to profit sharing for everything. Needless to say, we were both going to become insanely rich from the deal.


    ¡°This is... to thank you... for letting me prove... I deserve the CEO job.¡± Pepper said between licks and sucks.


    I moved her nameplate over to show her the back of it. ¡°Guess what''s going to happen next?¡±


    Pepper moaned and sucked even harder, then I nodded to her and she moved back about six inches and opened her mouth for me as I stroked myself. She had remembered that the third shot wasn''t going to be as far as the others and she was at the perfect distance to catch it and not get any on her clothes.


    ¡°Creates... Enthusiastic... Orgasms!¡± I said and let it go.


    Pepper''s face was almost euphoric as all three shots went perfectly into her mouth and then she sucked on me again to get the rest of it. Apparently, no dribbles were allowed on her carpet.

 84 Back To The Grind

    Bokuboy


    Pepper had a business meeting scheduled, so after her little impromptu vacuum imitation, I kissed her goodbye with a promise to return the favor whenever she wanted. The look on her face was a mixture of pleasure and disbelief.


    ¡°We''re both going to make out like bandits with this new deal. It''s only fair you receive the same treatment.¡± I said and her face didn''t change. ¡°I''ve got one more week of day shifts at the office that''s only two and a half blocks from here, so meeting for supper or later in the evening, is on the table. After that, my schedule changes and I''ve got to make my appearances at school.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you''re in high school.¡± Pepper whispered.


    ¡°I am, probably for another six months. I''ll look into what the upper years do for coursework and I''ll try to cram for it as quickly as possible.¡± I promised. ¡°The school has a merit system, so if I prove I can move on to college material by the summer...¡±


    Pepper caught her breath. ¡°You''ll be free to do whatever you want. You can run your company full time and then pick up college courses in your spare time.¡±


    ¡°Which means...¡± I prompted with a smile.


    ¡°You''ll be here in the building every day.¡± Pepper whispered.


    ¡°That''s right! You and I will be neighbours when you stay in New York.¡± I said and walked over to the office door. ¡°I promise to have a huge bag of sugar for you to stop by and borrow a cup of.¡±


    Pepper let out a little laugh. ¡°That''s so cliche.¡±


    ¡°I know! Isn''t it great?¡± I asked with my own laugh and left the office.


    I needed to get home and catch up on my chores and then I would make a nice souffle or something to surprise May when she came home from work to eat. That gave me the idea to stop at a bookstore to browse some cookbooks for new meal ideas. With my spider powers, mostly my agility and dexterity, cooking multiple things at once wasn''t a chore at all.


    I also had a few other things to have Jarvis order for me in order to finish off and reclaim the discarded cell phone parts left over from constructing the monitoring devices that I was seeding all over Manhattan every night.


    *


    A week later, the recycling plant manager stared at the comprehensive environmental impact report that sat on his desk. He had no idea how it had appeared there and it wasn''t until he had mentioned it to the workers that one of them mentioned a surprise health inspection a couple of weeks ago. The guy had started laughing and told him about offloading all of the old cell phones for proper disposal.


    The manager called the guy into his office and the both of them went through the report. It was a bit dry, as all government reports are supposed to be, and they had been stunned at what it entailed. It was a lengthy process on how to handle any brand of cell phone that passed through the recycling plant. It would take up about an eighth of their floor space to install the new equipment they would need.


    There were six disassembling robot arms, two large part sorting machines, two forges, two smelters, and the cooling station. Neither man questioned where they were going to get the funding or the equipment, because the notation on the cover letter stated that it would all be delivered next week.


    Apparently, it was a massive cooperative donation from Stark Industries and Parker Incorporated. They were also sending over experts to give classes on how to run everything and to get the most out of it all. The equipment wasn''t meant for just cell phones, either. Anything remotely electronic could be sent through, as long as the item''s information was added to the database.


    ¡°Kevin, you better contact him and tell him we''re accepting it all before he changes his mind.¡± The shift supervisor said.


    The manager chuckled and moved the report out of the way to hand him a folded card.


    ¡°It only took me a year to get this done, from 2011 to 2012. You''re welcome.¡± The supervisor read out loud and then laughed. ¡°I''m really starting to like this kid!¡±


    *


    I stepped off the bus and looked around. I wasn''t sure why I saw things a little differently now. School had been a major part of getting my new life together and I worked my ass off to catch up with the other students. It had been validation to myself that I not only succeeded in that goal, I surpassed it in some subjects. One of which I was going to be magnanimous about.


    I did the whole coffee and donuts thing for the school''s office, too. The look of longing on Mary''s face when I entered, would have given her away if anyone else had been there to see it.


    ¡°I hope you liked the present that you said it didn''t matter what it was.¡± I whispered to her.


    Mary''s face flushed red and she moved her right arm to show off the diamond tennis bracelet I had given her. ¡°Everyone''s asked me about it.¡±


    ¡°I hope you told them it was none of their business how great the Christmas break was.¡± I said with a smirk.


    Mary let out a soft laugh. ¡°They all think I have a secret boyfriend that I''m hiding from them.¡±


    ¡°Work really is just a different high school experience.¡± I joked and she laughed. ¡°Do you want to do the honors or should I?¡±


    Mary cleared her throat and spoke loudly. ¡°Is that fresh coffee I smell?¡±


    We were immediately surrounded and the coffee and donuts were pilfered and I was greeted like a returning hero before they all went back to their offices.


    ¡°Seeing them do that is funny every time.¡± I said and handed Mary her own bag of donuts. ¡°Have a great day, Mary.¡±


    ¡°You too, Ben.¡± Mary said and glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then she gave me a quick kiss on the lips and pushed me towards the door.


    I took the blatant hint to get out of there and made another coffee and donut run for the teacher''s lounge. I had an ulterior motive this time and did the delivery, directed the teachers to their coffees and preferred donut choices, and waited.


    As predicted, Mrs. Warren was one of the last teachers to approach to get her coffee. When she reached for the closest donut box, I held out a USB drive to her.


    ¡°What''s that for?¡± Mrs. Warren asked as she took it.


    ¡°I figured out Peter''s class project.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°He told you what it was, didn''t he?¡±


    Mrs. Warren nodded. ¡°It''s why I told you there was no way for you to learn enough about computer programming to complete it.¡±


    ¡°Complete it? Why would I do that?¡± I asked her and she looked surprised. ¡°The concept was good; but, his execution was inherently flawed. His tendency to pull everything into a program to get it to run, reminded me suspiciously of a certain tech billionaire''s operating system that sucks up computer resources like a dry sponge in a shallow puddle.¡±


    ¡°That... he...¡± Mrs. Warren shook her head. ¡°What did you do to Peter''s project?¡±


    ¡°I junked it and created a new one. One that works. One that doesn''t need anything more powerful than a high end cell phone to run.¡± I said and she caught her breath. ¡°By the way, it''s proprietary software and I own the patent. You have my permission to review it and to keep a copy for your own use.¡±


    Mrs. Warren stared at me and didn''t speak.


    ¡°However, you do not have my permission to share it, give copies to others, disassemble it, or use parts of my coding in anything else. If you do break those conditions, you''ll have the best law firm in the city suing you and covering you with so many injunctions that you won''t be able to breathe without having another one shoved in your face.¡±


    ¡°You can''t talk to me like that!¡± Mrs. Warren gasped.


    ¡°I have to make things perfectly clear, just so you can''t misconstrue my intentions. You are borrowing my software. That''s it. It''s not owned by the school because I didn''t create it here. It''s not a part of the computer sciences course materials and I am not a student in your class.¡± I said and she winced. ¡°I did this solely to prove to you what a mistake you made. You assumed I wasn''t smart enough to figure out what Peter did. I not only did that, I crushed it and made it into a real and functional program.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Mrs. Warren asked.


    ¡°Because my brain works differently than his did.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°Peter was blinded by emulation, just like Stark is. There was no real innovation, just copying and improving. They both needed original thoughts from others before they could do anything creative.¡±


    Mrs. Warren looked at the USB in her hand. ¡°Then what''s this?¡±


    ¡°Proof that I don''t suffer from that limitation.¡± I said and started to walk away. ¡°Enjoy your coffee.¡±


    *


    I walked into third period math class and wasn''t sure what to think about the morning I had. Latin class first period had been an exercise in ignorance. Miss Romani treated me the same as my physics teacher Mr. Morales did for second period, as if I didn''t exist. I wasn''t sure what I had done to annoy her or piss her off, because I had diligently checked all four of my phones constantly, just in case I missed anything while I was busy.


    Then again, she never texted me, so I wasn''t beholden to her or even required to send her a Christmas card. I had thought about confronting her, except trying to have that kind of conversation at school was just asking for trouble.


    ¡°Ben! Over here.¡± Val said and waved to me.


    I stopped walking towards my normal desk and looked around. To my surprise, Liz now sat in my seat on the far side of the classroom and Max, Val, and Gina pointed to her vacant seat. I looked from them to Liz, who blushed and shook her head as she waved me towards them.


    ¡°We don''t have all day for you to make a decision, Mr. Parker.¡± The teacher commented without looking up from his desk.


    I sighed and walked over to the girls and sat in Liz''s normal seat. ¡°What''s going on?¡±


    ¡°Self-imposed penance.¡± Max said with a shrug.


    ¡°She didn''t really explain why she thinks this is a good idea.¡± Gina said and flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder. ¡°We tried to argue about it and she refused to change her mind.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°She''s not considering her position properly. If she stops acting like she''s the top student in the school, everyone will notice.¡±


    ¡°That''s what I said.¡± Max said with a huff. ¡°We''ll try again next class. If she''s still got her head set like this by lunch, we''ll need to take steps.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°You make it sound like she needs an intervention.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that''s exactly it!¡± Val said and grinned. ¡°She desperately needs a mistake intervention!¡±


    The class bell rang and brought an end to the conversation.


    The work assigned during class was downright easy in comparison to what I had tackled at work for R&D. It barely touched on anything I hadn''t already studied and I was sure the year''s final exams were going to be a breeze, because this was a senior math class. I would only have to study hard for the couple of courses I didn''t really like, namely social sciences and non-euclidean geometry.


    ¡°We''ll meet you in the cafeteria.¡± Val said as we all left the classroom.


    I nodded at the hint to stay away for a few minutes and watched as the three girls met with Liz and they walked off. I had some time to waste, so I went to the computer sciences lab to ask the teacher if she had a chance to review the program I had made. I did not expect to see a silently crying Mrs. Warren being comforted by a man I didn''t know. I hung back and stood just to the side of the door and listened.


    ¡°It''s not your fault that you followed the course guidelines, sweetie.¡± The man said.


    ¡°I just wish I hadn''t mentioned them to him. He wouldn''t have reacted like he did and left the class.¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°That didn''t matter in the end. He didn''t complete the assignment in time and would have been dropped anyway.¡±


    ¡°That''s what he said. He didn''t want to wait until the Christmas break to drop out, because he knew he couldn''t complete the assignment.¡± Mrs. Warren said and pointed at her computer screen. ¡°I want you to look at that and tell me he doesn''t deserve to have the top spot in the class!¡±


    The man sighed again. ¡°It doesn''t matter. One of the first requirements of the course is working hard under pressure, persevering, and overcoming set limitations. Your previous student buckled as soon as you tried to tell him the time limit. He didn''t even try to work around it or toughed it out. He gave up and left, which tells you a lot about his personality.¡±


    I stepped into the room and both of them froze. ¡°Yes, it tells you that I won''t take condescension from anyone. If you can''t believe in me, I won''t believe in you. You easily could have coached me, let me keep the lab time to work, or offered after school lessons to get me up to speed. You did nothing but discourage me and inferred that I was stupid, right after I told you I had amnesia.¡±


    She looked even sadder and the man looked angry.


    ¡°I absolutely refuse to be around anyone that could treat someone like that. All it would do is make me believe I couldn''t do something when I was more than capable of doing it.¡± I said and nodded to her computer. ¡°I went to school during the day, worked at a job in the evenings, and then got another job for the holidays to work during the day. I wrote that program in my spare time between doing chores and cooking supper.¡±


    Mrs. Warren''s tears flowed and the man lost the angry look.


    ¡°Imagine what I could have done if I had someone to teach me instead of learning it all for myself.¡± I said and walked over to the computer.


    The virtual walk through program was playing the intro video. I had only had time to add the school as a location and left the addition of other locations as modules that could easily be added. I shut it down and popped the USB out.


    ¡°Your husband has convinced me to change my mind about giving you a copy. You''ll have to buy it for yourself when it goes on the market next month.¡± I said and walked by them to the door. ¡°Teachers will get a discount, because it''s a learning tool.¡±


    ¡°You already sold the idea?¡± Mrs. Warren asked, surprised.


    ¡°Why would I sell it? My company is going to produce it and make another fortune.¡± I said and both she and her husband looked shocked. ¡°Say hello and goodbye to the co-owner of Parker Incorporated, the brand new corporation to hit the market. It has multiple divisions for everything, including an exclusive programming department.¡±


    Neither of them said anything.


    ¡°Like I told you before, I don''t suffer the limitations of copying others. I''m the youngest self-made multi-millionaire, soon to be billionaire.¡± I said and then gave them a bright smile. ¡°By the way, I''m just getting started.¡±


    They stood there as I waved goodbye and I went to the cafeteria.


    I might have laid it on a little thick there. I thought with a laugh. I just couldn''t stop trying to rub their faces in them making a mistake, the teacher for not helping me and him for trying to tell her she was right to not help me.


    That just pissed me off, because in retrospect, I knew for a fact that if she had helped me as much as Gladys the librarian did, it was entirely possible I would have completed the project in time. Then again, I would have been stuck in school on Mondays and wouldn''t have worked for Bestman Salvage instead.


    Despite the hiccups early on, things were starting to work out for me. My personal and professional lives were on track, I was raking in the money, and I was expanding the company in multiple directions and diversifying my portfolio. There wasn''t really much left for me to do, except figure out how to make Jarvis an appropriate body.


    I had mulled it over all week and I was sure I had the basis for a good plan. It was just going to require some subtlety, some misdirection, stealing... ahem... creatively borrowing a Quinjet, and a quick trip halfway around the world for a bit of shopping.


    You know, a typical weekend for a super-powered super spy.


    I entered the cafeteria and was happy to see Liz was sitting with her friends, including Betty and Cindy. There wasn''t much room left for me at the table, though. Max solved this by repeating her trick at Liz''s party and used me as a chair after I sat down. Like before, not one single person mentioned it or even gave us a second look.


    ¡°All right, Ben! Hand over all of that deliciousness.¡± Max ordered.


    ¡°You''re already on my lap, Max.¡± I joked and everyone laughed.


    Max grinned at me. ¡°The other deliciousness, you magnificent bastard.¡±


    I laughed and handed her my thermal lunch bag.

 85 Chemistry Isn’t Overrated

    Bokuboy


    Modern History class after lunch was just as entertaining as it usually was. Mr. Jensen loved his subject and it showed in his passion during his delivery of what would normally be dry dates and times for various events over the last few years. It was interesting how little things could shape an entire country''s economy or culture and how major events might not really impact more than superficial things.


    I left the class with a pile of notes and a smile. The teacher had nodded and smiled as I passed his desk, too. He appreciated it when a student was actually learning what he was teaching.


    I went to the chemistry class and saw Miss Leyva behind her desk. When she saw me, she gave me a fake polite smile and nothing else. Considering what happened the last time in class, I expected a little more than that, like a hello or good afternoon.


    It couldn''t have been a coincidence that both my Latin teacher that morning and my chemistry teacher this afternoon seemed upset with me, so I walked over to her desk. Her polite smile disappeared and she tried to keep her face neutral.


    ¡°I need to ask you why you''re upset, Selena.¡± I said boldly and didn''t beat around the bush.


    ¡°You didn''t text. You didn''t call. I was all alone on New Year''s Eve and who did I see on the television? You on the arm of a beautiful woman going into Stark Tower!¡± Miss Leyva said, clearly angry.


    I gave her a shocked look for several seconds, then I started laughing. Her angry face just made me laugh harder, because it was so stupid for her to be jealous. We weren''t dating and we hadn''t really done anything. In fact, I had seen more of my aunt''s body that I''ve seen of hers.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Miss Leyva spat.


    ¡°Hooo. Hooooo. That was hilarious! Thanks for the laugh.¡± I said and she looked scandalized. ¡°First of all, you were supposed to call me and tell me when you were free. You didn''t. I assumed you were busy and didn''t bother bugging you about ignoring me.¡±


    Miss Leyva''s mouth snapped closed and she lost the angry look.


    ¡°Second, that beautiful woman just so happens to be my Aunt May. It was her debut as a corporate mogul and I assume there was no audio or it was too noisy for you to hear my introduction of her.¡± I sat on the corner of her desk and gave her a pointed look. ¡°Were you angry I was with someone else or that I was taking her into Stark Tower?¡±


    Miss Leyva thought about it for a moment. ¡°Both. It should have been me.¡±


    I smiled, now glad that she hadn''t called, because if that was what she thought, I wouldn''t have taken her anyway. It ''could'' have been her, not ''should'' have been. I had a few other women I could have taken and I didn''t even consider them, because it was May''s night. I wanted to reward her for everything and giving her a lavish night out as we met other rich people, was the best way to do so.


    We were both still essentially homebodies, though. We loved our couch, cuddled on it, and watched television, because it was both relaxing and made us feel at home. It was one of the main reasons why we hadn''t moved, even though we had a lot of money now. We even had the bank call and practically shove credit cards down our throats.


    They wanted us spending money and we politely refused all but one. Having one and using it responsibly would drive our credit rating through the roof. It was already fairly high, because even though we had been through some hard times and had to choose what bills to pay and what to ignore every other month, May never went into debt.


    ¡°I''m sorry that your previous expectations about me have allowed you to severely underestimate my potential, Miss Leyva.¡± I said and waited for her to get it.


    It took her about a minute before her eyes widened, because I hadn''t used her first name, either.


    ¡°Thank you for considering me as a viable companion after seeing what kind of personal connections I have. That was very kind of you.¡± I said and stood up from sitting on her desk. ¡°I assume Miss Romani and you have a similar outlook?¡±


    Miss Leyva nodded and I smiled.


    ¡°The next time you see her, please relay to her the same things I''ve said to you. I would hate for her to continue to judge me unfairly.¡± I said and she nodded again. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I walked back over to my desk and sat down. I didn''t even ask to review the lab beforehand, even if that was why I had showed up early in the first place. I wanted her to know I was there to talk to her instead, just so she could sit there and look at me as she thought about everything.


    The bell rang and the classroom quickly filled up and I said hello to Sarah and Kelly, both of whom blushed and sat down without responding. I was in a particular mood now, thanks to my interaction with the teacher, so I didn''t try to talk to them or anything.


    I sat through the lab''s explanation quietly and then I did the lab and wrote out the report at the same time. Because of the extra books I had read from the downtown library to perfect my web fluid and the other things I had used the same chemicals to do, I easily predicted the lab''s outcome and handed in the completed report at the end of class.


    Miss Leyva gave me a slightly sad look as she accepted it and I smiled sadly back and left. I dropped my main books off at my locker and went to the library to visit my favorite librarian. The look on her face was a mix of desire and exasperation.


    ¡°A book of the month club? Really?¡± Gladys asked me in a whisper.


    ¡°What''s better than a gift that keeps on giving?¡± I whispered back. ¡°It''s a lifetime subscription, too.¡±


    Gladys took a very deep breath and let it out. ¡°I must remind you that it is against school policy to have any kind of a relationship between a staff member and a student.¡±


    ¡°I know, which is why I''m here to find out the course materials for the other three years of high school.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°If I work my ass off like I''ve been doing the last two months, I''m sure I''ll have enough earned extra credits to graduate in June.¡±


    Gladys bit her lip cutely and adjusted her glasses. ¡°June. You want to graduate in June.¡±


    ¡°I would do it before then if I thought I had enough spare time to complete all the work.¡± I said and she shivered slightly. ¡°Shall we get started?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, I... I''ll help you meet your goal.¡± Gladys promised.


    ¡°Thank you, dear lady. I willingly place myself into your tender care.¡± I said with as much innuendo as I could.


    ¡°Don''t tempt me.¡± Gladys whispered with a blush and came around the counter.


    I followed her and wrote down all of the books that the other year students were using. I borrowed the next year''s books and I would work through them over the next few weeks. It was going to be a blistering pace of learning, just like it had been before Christmas, and I was looking forward to it.


    The little ass grab Gladys gave me as I bent over to pick up the last book from one of the lower shelves, lightened my heart. I made a little moan sound and didn''t move for several moments, then I stood up and gave her a shy smile and a wink, just so she knew I was completely okay with her bold move.


    ¡°If you need me for anything, please come and see me at any time.¡± Gladys offered.


    ¡°Don''t tempt me.¡± I whispered back and she blushed. ¡°Thank you, Gladys. I really appreciate this.¡±


    Gladys nodded and led me back over to the counter and I checked the books out. Most of them were carefully put into my backpack and the rest I carried. I bid her a good day and left the school to go to the bus stop and waited for the next one to get me across town. To my surprise, Val was waiting there for me.


    ¡°You should have warned me you would be waiting, Val.¡± I said and sat down on the bench beside her.


    Val looked at my weighed down backpack and the books I carried in my arms. ¡°Doing a bit of extra work, I see.¡±


    ¡°A bit.¡± I said and nudged her with my shoulder. ¡°What''s up?¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I just wanted to thank you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± I asked.


    Val gave me a disbelieving look and then huffed. ¡°For what you left under my pillow.¡±


    ¡°I''d almost forgotten about that.¡± I said, even though I hadn''t.


    ¡°You almost forgot that you gave me two thousand dollars?¡± Val asked, surprised.


    ¡°I gave the money to a friend and it wasn''t a loan or anything. Why would I try to keep track of it?¡± I asked with a shrug. ¡°Did my prediction come true?¡±


    Val gave me another disbelieving look for a few seconds before she huffed again. ¡°Practically the next day. They were going to garnish my allowance and keep any money they would have given me for my birthday and then graduation.¡±


    ¡°Fucking bastards.¡± I said, casually.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Val said and then smiled. ¡°You should have seen the look on their faces when I slapped fifteen hundred bucks onto the kitchen table and told them that if they cared about me even half as much as the friend that gave me the money, I wouldn''t have stopped calling them mom and dad years ago.¡±


    I laughed and handed her the books in my arms. Val took them without comment, so I put my arms around her and gave her several quick kisses. She looked pleased when I was done and handed me the books back.


    ¡°When are they kicking you out?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The same as before, right after graduation.¡± Val said. ¡°Except they actually have to help me instead of just cutting me off like they had planned, because of the medical bills.¡±


    ¡°What about college?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They''ve allowed me the privilege of attending New York University, despite their belief that the mature bird needs to leave the nest.¡± Val said.


    I huffed this time. ¡°They''re making you take the boarding option, even with your house that close?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, how stupid is that?¡± Val asked me as the bus we were waiting for arrived. ¡°It would save them a ton of money if they let me stay home and commute.¡±


    I stood up and she did as well. We boarded the bus and it pulled away as we swiped our bus passes. She sat down next to the window and I sat beside her, a bit closer than normally. Val didn''t comment and I balanced the books on my lap and held a hand up for her. She took it with a smile and stared at my face.


    ¡°I''m wearing lipstick again, aren''t I?¡± I asked and she giggled.


    We fell silent for several minutes as we looked at each other.


    ¡°Ben, I want to thank you for not holding what happened between you and Liz against me.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If she hadn''t sent me to test you, she would have been your girlfriend all this time.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said and she raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°I ended up becoming really busy and wouldn''t have had the spare time to spend with her, assuming she could stand having a similar relationship as her parents.¡±


    Val got it right away. ¡°A working man that only has late evenings and some weekends to spend with them.¡±


    ¡°I''ve been running myself ragged and... I''ve found that I like it. I like being busy. I like keeping my mind engaged. I like working out and feeling myself get stronger.¡±


    Val''s free hand went to my arm to stroke it through the shirt. ¡°I like it, too.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I''m training very hard to make myself better and I''m succeeding. I might not have as much time to do everything that I want; but, I''m managing it all and even adding more to see what my limits are.¡±


    ¡°Or if you have limits.¡± Val whispered.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I said. ¡°I also have an in with Stark Industries and I''m starting negotiations soon to get you and the others college bursaries for expenses.¡±


    Val''s hand gripped my arm hard and her mouth opened in a little ''o'' of surprise. ¡°You lie.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I can''t do it myself, mainly because my company needs to be incorporated for at least six months, and stay solvent, to qualify as an established business.¡±


    ¡°Company? What company?¡± Val asked.


    Oops. I thought and then laughed. ¡°I could lie and say it''s one in my head, except I had it created over the winter break. We''ve already rented office space at Stark Tower and we''re scouting for a good place for the free clinic and homeless shelter.¡±


    ¡°You... you... you...¡± Val muttered and looked lost.


    ¡°Val, I was practically dirt poor before Christmas. That money I gave you? I scrounged it up from a few different places, including handing in a few guns I found to the police.¡±


    Val caught her breath. ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°Yes, way.¡± I said and chuckled. ¡°Let me tell you, they grill you in an interview room, even if you didn''t do anything wrong. It''s basic police procedure, apparently.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... why...¡±


    ¡°You needed it more than I did.¡± I said and she blushed. ¡°I did it to help a friend and I''d do it again.¡±


    Val took a breath and let it out. ¡°You really are too good to be true.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I''m an asshole sometimes. I''m vindictive, too. No one is allowed to hurt the people I care about and heaven help those that do.¡± I said and gave her a happy smile. ¡°What will your parents say when they find out you don''t need their pitiful stipend for expenses while attending college?¡±


    ¡°I''m not telling them that!¡± Val exclaimed and then shook her head. ¡°It''s their job to help me as much as possible while I''m in school. I wouldn''t make a big deal out of it, if they weren''t so condescending to me about it and potentially wasting their money.¡±


    I gave her a huge smile. ¡°You know, I''m a fairly good forger. How would you like a slightly altered expenses list that increases things by about 15%?¡±


    Val blinked her eyes at me. ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°It''s enough to give you a bit more money overall and not enough to cause your parents to balk at it or question it.¡±


    Val gave me an intense look before she leaned in and gave me a passionate kiss. ¡°I humbly accept your offer, Ben.¡±


    ¡°That was humble?¡± I asked and she smiled smugly.


    ¡°This is my transfer stop.¡± Val said and pulled the brake cord to ring the bell. ¡°Although, I am tempted to follow you home and let you see what else I can do humbly.¡±


    I barked a laugh and stood up to let her out of the seat. ¡°I''m banned from having anyone over for that. The new couch is to remain completely untouched for as long as possible.¡±


    Val looked even more smug now as the bus came to a stop. ¡°You had to toss out the couch?¡±


    ¡°Yep! May didn''t even want to look at it, let alone pay to have it dry-cleaned.¡±


    Val stood and gave me another kiss. ¡°I don''t know why that makes me feel happy.¡±


    ¡°That''s satisfaction from a job well done.¡± I said and she laughed. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°See you.¡± Val said and stepped off the bus.


    I sat back down and rode the bus to where I needed to do my own transfer and went home. I had studying, chores, and cooking to do... and I liked it. I liked it a lot.


    *


    Nick Fury stared at Agent Melinda May with his patented eye glare and she didn''t squirm at all. He had read her report about the agent she was training and the numbers were near the peak of human performance. He had known Benjamin Parker was going to be good; but, not that good.


    ¡°He''s ready for field work, sir.¡± Melinda said. ¡°I can still teach him a few things when he shows up for the evening shift; but, he doesn''t really need it. He''s an uncanny learner and he picked up everything I showed him after only two or three examples and he can fight against me, almost blow for blow.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°It''s rare for someone to pick things up so quickly.¡± Melinda admitted. ¡°He has also countered Agent Barton a few times during their spars.¡±


    ¡°Spars are not real life.¡± Nick said. ¡°Are you sure you want to push this through?¡±


    ¡°Positive.¡± Melinda said. ¡°I''ve also submitted a request to teach him to fly a transport at his request. Our first lesson is tonight.¡±


    ¡°He''s going to learn how to operate all of our equipment, isn''t he?¡± Maria asked and Melinda nodded.


    Nick Fury gave Melinda one more dose of eye glare and signed the paper. ¡°Hill, find Agent Parker something to do. Something quick and subtle. Full monitoring protocols, too.¡±


    Maria made a note of it. ¡°Any recommendations?¡±


    ¡°Just a clean kill. No witnesses. If he can pull it off, add him to the rotation for normal missions. Evening deployment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria said and Melinda nodded.

 86 Fly Like An Eagle

    Bokuboy


    The next night I was off from training and finally had a chance to try and design a new bow for Clint to use when wearing his HESuit. He had already broken two custom bows and fifteen arrows, and that was just from practice.


    I had a neat idea to incorporate repulsor technology into it, only the beam was way too big to propel a projectile without obliterating it. I sat down at my desk and started working on a system that could reduce the beam, similar to what I had done with the BWSuit''s Collapsible Pistols. It would also be collapsible and it would need a holder for the arrows.


    They couldn''t be normal arrows, either. Steel was cheap, so solid shafts would need to be made. That was easy, because you could buy industrial coils of any thickness you wanted, unroll it, and snip off whatever length you needed. A run through a straightener and a quick turn on a lathe to make the ends compatible with different tips and add the end with the feathers, and you were done.


    I would need a successive reduction of the aperture without reducing the force. I could use the bow for that part and make the string of the bow an actual solid piece with reflectors inside at the ends and they could join at the middle where the end of the arrow would sit in a small receptacle.


    Drawing the bow back would charge and activate the repulsor mechanism and the energy would flow from the bow hand, through the bow ends and reduced in size but not strength, through the ''string'' to the receptacle that the arrow sits in. Releasing the fingers holding the arrow would let the energy shoot off with a full repulsor blast focused solely on the back of the arrow.


    I nodded and drew out what I would need for the construction. I would also need dozens of capacitors and a bleed off system if Clint decided to not shoot the arrow. Maybe mini-thrusters in the bow arms for the excess energy? He could still dry-fire the bow without an arrow, even if it would damage the bow and possibly his hand with the repulsor blast released without focus.


    I filled out the details and then the measurements for both the final bow and the compacting technology, signed my name and agent number, then went to the R&D department. With luck, the day crew could have it built by lunchtime tomorrow and ready for testing.


    It also gave me an idea for my own type of gun. A special web gun. One that was not restricted by pinhole nozzles.


    *


    Clint was blown away by what was in his metal covered hand. He had expected a super-size compound bow that used steel cables or something for the launching mechanism. He also expected larger arrows to handle the larger bow and steel drawstring. He also expected to have a difficult time adjusting to it.


    He did not expect normal-sized arrows made of steel instead of fibreglass that could easily use his custom arrow heads. He also didn''t expect it to shoot with the force of a full repulsor blast that was focused down to the size of a pencil eraser.


    ¡°How the hell did he do this?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°He didn''t say.¡± Davis said. ¡°Want to give it a try?¡±


    ¡°Hell yes.¡± Clint said and nodded down the range. ¡°What''s the test readings for the distance?¡±


    ¡°We haven''t tried firing it past a single test shot and we don''t want to influence your shot by telling you the results.¡± Davis said. ¡°Your normal compound bow can fire at about 200 miles per hour and will travel up to 400 yards, or 1,200 feet. That''s about a fifth of a mile in about 4 seconds.¡±


    Clint nodded. ¡°You want me to use this in the same manner?¡±


    ¡°That''s how it was designed.¡± Davis said. ¡°Parker said, and I quote: He won''t have to learn a different way to shoot his favorite weapon.¡±


    ¡°Smart kid.¡± Clint said and picked up a basic arrow. He didn''t need any special arrowheads for a test. He took his normal stance and put the arrow into the holder and ran it along the bow''s guide for a proper aim. The first target was at the normal compound bow''s distance and he pulled back on the bow''s string that was actually a titanium alloy tube. He felt the repulsor charge and tamped down on his excitement.


    ¡°Oh, one more thing. You don''t have to adjust for height with the first shot. You''ll miss completely if you do.¡± Davis said.


    Clint nodded, even though he was surprised. He fixed his aim and pointed the arrow at the center of the target, fully expecting it to slam into the ground long before it reached there. He took a deep breath and let it out, and released his fingers. To his utter shock, the arrow disappeared from the bow with a whining sound and the ''string'' returned to its normal position.


    ¡°What the fuck just happened?!?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Test successful. Center of target hit. Distance 1,200 feet. Time of flight: 0.2 seconds.¡± Davis read off.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Clint cursed and felt like stomping around. It was unbelievable! There was no way it was possible to shoot an arrow 20 times faster than a normal bow. No way!


    ¡°Now you know why I didn''t tell you.¡± Davis said with a chuckle. ¡°By the way, the test arrow we shot upwards at an angle, ended its flight out in the harbour. No boats were harmed during the experiment.¡±


    Clint couldn''t stop his chuckle. ¡°Do we even want to see how far I can fire this thing?¡±


    Davis nodded and tossed him a special arrowhead. ¡°GPS tracker. You''re the expert archer. Show us what someone can do with that monster when he knows what he''s doing.¡±


    Clint nodded and picked up another steel shaft and screwed the head onto it.


    Davis went back over to the side and started the recording equipment for accurate measurements. He was sure he wasn''t going to need it. Not with Clint intentionally shooting for distance.


    Clint took the stance again and angled it up where he knew was the optimum angle for distance, and drew the arrow back. The bow charged up and he took a deep breath and let it out as he let his fingers go.


    The arrow disappeared and even his suit''s sensors couldn''t track the projectile itself. He could track the signal from the GPS, though. He activated his suit''s display and stopped breathing as the arrow passed two miles... three.. four... five... six...


    ¡°Splashdown.¡± Davis said and the arrow didn''t stop. It went another half of a mile before it stopped. ¡°We have a lightweight titanium arrow prepared if you want to try it.¡± Davis said with hope in his voice.


    ¡°Fuck shooting for distance! I want to try sending it into orbit. It''s only fifty miles!¡± Clint said and Davis laughed.


    *


    ¡°Please forgive my language.¡± I said two days later and Melinda nodded. ¡°Flying this thing is fucking AWESOME!¡±


    Melinda smiled at me as I righted the Quinjet after flying though the last hoop of a training simulator. It was pretty cool that the front cockpit windows could display giant hoops for us to fly through.


    ¡°Test Flight Alpha Romero to Tower.¡± Melinda said into her microphone. ¡°Requesting you commence with evasive manoeuvres exercise Baker Foxtrot Golf.¡±


    ¡°Roger that, T-FAR. Proceed to starting point and we''ll take it from there. Good luck.¡± A voice said in our ears.


    ¡°Agent Parker, take us around to the port side of the carrier. Quarter mile clearance and back five miles.¡± Melinda ordered.


    I did as I was told and swung us around and popped the jet engines for a quick burst of speed. When we reached the spot, I spun us around in a circle to hover in the exact spot she asked for.


    ¡°Limit yourself to 5Gs. There''s a danger of you blacking out if you go faster.¡± Melinda warned me.


    No, there isn''t. I thought and winked at her. ¡°Don''t you just love these five point harnesses?¡±


    Melinda let out a soft chuckle. ¡°Don''t say I didn''t warn you.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate it.¡± I said and meant it. ¡°I''ll keep us to 5Gs.¡±


    A large numerical 5 appeared on the cockpit window and started to count down.


    ¡°The goal is to travel ten miles through hostile enemy fire without getting hit. If you do, you lose.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± I said and put my right hand on the jet thrust controls as the number hit one. I jammed the lever forward and we jumped right to 5Gs and stayed there. The surprised look on Melinda''s face was worth showing off.


    Then the aircraft carrier started firing at us. With live ammunition. From six big fucking guns.


    Oh, Baker Foxtrot Golf. I thought with a chuckle and trusted the transport''s sensors as well as my spider-sense as I dipped us down to near water level, did a corkscrew to avoid a shell, then I pulled back on the controls and dropped to 2Gs as we went nearly straight up and avoided four more. I did a half-gainer and brought us back to 5Gs and flew us upside down for about a hundred feet before more shells appeared.


    I cut the engines and we almost completely stopped as six shells flew past the cockpit. I gunned the jet engines again and banked a roll to the left to avoid a straight at the cockpit shot. I didn''t have time to admire the gunner''s ability to keep up with me and dropped speed and altitude into a dive towards the water.


    I suspected there was going to be a blanketing series of shots coming up, because that''s what I would do for a highly evasive target, and I needed some radar and visual cover. Melinda gave me a questioning look and then she stared as I hit both the landing thrusters and the braking thrusters without reducing speed.


    The water plume the move created was quite spectacular.


    I cut the engines and thrusters to slow us down and watched the waves of water around and ahead of us take fifteen shots that completely missed us. There was only a single mile left to the course, so I leisurely flew the Quinjet for the last stretch, barely above the water''s level.


    ¡°Tower to T-FAR. Course complete.¡± The voice said in our ears. ¡°You''ll have to tell us how you did that water trick. The other pilots are already screaming at us to add it to the evasion manual.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°T-FAR to Tower. RTB. Have them meet us in the mess hall. The beer''s on me.¡±


    ¡°Copy that, T-FAR. You''re clear for an upper deck landing. Tower out.¡±


    I brought the transport around to return to base and glanced over at Melinda. The look on her face was the same one I had seen at the pool. ¡°I hope you can wait until after the meeting.¡±


    Melinda gave me a nod and started doing the down-flight checks and ran diagnostics on the ship''s systems. By the time we landed, we were both done and shut the thing down into standby mode. We had to leave it that way in case it was necessary to move it before we used it to return to New York.


    The mess hall was already in party mode, considering it was late at night, and they all cheered when The captain of the aircraft carrier handed me my flight patch.


    It didn''t take me long to explain the trick and explain why it actually worked. Apparently, knowing how to take most of the transport apart had given me a unique perspective of the ship''s capabilities. I knew what stresses it could take, how much force could be applied with the engines, and how the ship would react.


    ¡°You''re writing that up as soon as we get back.¡± Melinda ordered and took a drink of fruit juice.


    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡± I said and took a drink of my own. I knew she meant ''back in the office'' and not ''immediately upon return'', because her look hadn''t changed for the hour we had been in the mess hall.


    ¡°Then you better get back.¡± The captain said and shook my hand. ¡°I look forward to seeing what else you can do, Agent Parker.¡±


    ¡°So am I, sir.¡± I said and saluted him.


    That had the guys laughing and patting me on the back. I went to the ship''s Purser and gave him several hundred dollars. He looked surprised until I whispered to let the day shift guys have a beer on me, too. Melinda and I left there and returned to the flight deck. We checked the transport over and performed the pre-flight checks after she sat in the pilot''s seat. I took the co-pilot''s seat and we took off after a brief communication with the carrier''s tower.


    Melinda didn''t waste any time bringing us back to New York and landed on the disguised helicarrier in the harbour. Instead of taking a boat to the shore like I thought we would, I was led to a small state room on the helicarrier, divested of my clothing, then I was pretty much ravished. Showing off and still passing the test was a huge turn on for her, apparently.


    *


    Friday morning was biology class and lab and I sat at my assigned table and waited for the inevitable confrontation. Sally walked into the room and blushed as soon as she saw me. She didn''t try to avoid me and came right over to our table and sat down beside me.


    ¡°So, are you in complete denial about what happened?¡± I whispered to her.


    Sally turned her head to look at me for a moment, then her finger dug into the neck of her t-shirt and pulled out the small diamond pendant on the necklace I had given her.


    ¡°Disbelief, then?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°I don''t have plans for lunch.¡±


    Sally gave me a blank face for several seconds before she blushed. ¡°B-Ben, we... we can''t.¡±


    ¡°You have obviously not explored the darker parts of the school like I have.¡± I said and wagged my eyebrows at her. ¡°There''s a maintenance closet on the second floor and the basement is cleaned regularly.¡±


    Sally looked stunned.


    ¡°Before you ask, no. I haven''t done any other girls at school.¡± I said and she didn''t react. ¡°I have a box of condoms and they have tickle nubs on them. Do you want to try it out with me?¡±


    Sally didn''t say anything for about ten seconds. ¡°Tickle nubs?¡±


    ¡°I saw the box and it looked interesting.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°If you like them, I''ll keep buying them.¡±


    Sally looked stunned again.


    I pretty much did the lab by myself and Sally signed her name to it. I passed it in and then took Sally''s hand to lead her to the basement entrance. I waited until it was clear before going in and took her to a fairly empty part of the basement. I had been preparing for this since the Christmas party and took off my large backpack and removed the folded up blanket to spread it out.


    I then stripped off completely to let her see I was already hard, then I stripped her off and laid her down on the blanket. I applied the condom and her eyes widened at the small rubber protrusions that were sparsely scattered over the surface.


    ¡°Now that I see it, this might not be good at all.¡± I said and frowned at it. ¡°They should be strategically placed, not stuck on anywhere.¡±


    Sally let out a laugh. ¡°You''re complaining about it and I''m the one that has to take it.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said and pulled it off, turned it inside out, and tried to put it back on. ¡°Ow. Ow! Nope, nope, nope.¡± I pulled it off and shook my head. ¡°I''m writing to the company to complain. How the hell is a girl supposed to enjoy being torn up like that?¡±


    Sally just stared at me and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°I''m glad I didn''t only buy them.¡± I said and took out a normal condom. ¡°We can have some fun and then we''ll eat afterwards.¡±


    ¡°There''s no way I''m going to the cafeteria after having sex! Everyone will know!¡± Sally nearly shouted.


    I chuckled and took out the thermal bag from my backpack. ¡°Relax, I''ve been planning this since Christmas.¡±


    ¡°You... you have?¡± Sally asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°Yeah. I even have a great joke to tell you.¡± I said and applied the condom. ¡°What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree? You better hold onto your nuts, because this is going to be one hell of a blow job.¡±


    Sally''s surprised face disappeared and she laughed, which jiggled her breasts nicely. I knelt and dug my face between her legs and proceeded to give her a comparable experience before I put the condom to great use.


    *


    I arrived at work that night and I knew something was up when I went to the elevator and it overrode my destination and took me up to the top floor. I didn''t need anyone''s prompting to go right to the Deputy Director''s office and knocked.


    ¡°Come in, Agent Parker.¡± Maria Hill''s voice said.


    I entered her office and closed the door behind me. I walked over to her desk and stood at parade rest.


    ¡°You have an assignment.¡± Maria said and handed me a folder. ¡°We normally don''t interfere in non-UN countries, even if their actions affect UN countries, because we have to be invited in.¡±


    I opened the folder and successfully hid my surprise. It was an assassination contract.


    ¡°In this case, a Columbian gang leader has decided that they can take whatever they want from whomever they want.¡± Maria said. ¡°He stole from the wrong person.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at her. ¡°You''re giving me a lot more background than necessary.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°I''m trying to gauge your reactions to different motivations.¡±


    I had to smile at that. ¡°You''re assuming I''ll care if the guy is a bastard or a prick?¡±


    Maria''s lips twitched into a smile.


    ¡°Ha!¡± I said and looked back at the folder. ¡°When does the transport leave?¡±


    ¡°Thirty minutes.¡± Maria said. ¡°We want this quiet. No one is to know what happened, who did it, or have any idea anyone else is involved. Do you understand?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I''ll have to ditch any electronics and leave them behind on the transport. If I''m going full stealth, even taking the night vision goggles is chancy.¡±


    Maria''s eyes twitched slightly and I caught on that they wanted proof.


    ¡°Do you have any self-contained recording devices and not wireless? If it can be both hidden and not emit a signal, it shouldn''t interfere with no emission protocols.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°Stop by R&D first to grab it and then equip up. Your guide will be waiting for you at the proper exit.¡±


    I understood that she meant leaving through the secret entrance. ¡°I''ll be ready in plenty of time.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, Agent Parker.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Thank you, Deputy Director. I won''t disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure why I believe you.¡± Maria said and I left her office to get ready.


    It''s because I''m being sincere. I thought and was reminded of that woman at Dr. Strange''s building. She had said the same thing and I responded in my thoughts the same way. That''s a couple of times now I''ve had similar interactions with different people.


    I pushed that thought to the side and mentally prepared myself for what was to come. I was about to make my first official kill. If I screwed this up, I would never live it down.


    Then don''t screw up, dumbass! I thought and then laughed, because it was easier said than done.

 87 Kill Like A Spider

    Bokuboy


    Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker sat at the small breakfast table on the balcony of his chateau. The coffee was delicious, the scrambled eggs were fluffy, and the toast was just barely on the side of burnt, just the way he liked them. He raised his coffee cup to his lips and took a deep drink...


    *WHHHHTHOOOP!*


    The coffee cup shattered as the high velocity sniper round blew through it and Strucker''s head exploded in a blast of gore that coated the wall behind him. The lifeless body slumped down in the chair and then slowly slid to the floor.


    *


    ¡°Target eliminated.¡± The scout said and folded down the range viewfinder. ¡°Great shot, Greg.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Hank.¡± Greg said and quickly broke down the rifle before the pair ran over to their escape vehicle. ¡°What''s the word on the lab raid?¡±


    Hank tapped his earpiece and spoke with a sad tone of voice. ¡°It''s being cleared out right now.¡±


    ¡°It''s that bad?¡± Greg asked as he drove them down the road towards their rendezvous point.


    ¡°They found kids inside.¡± Hank said and looked sick. ¡°You don''t want to know.¡±


    ¡°Damn right I don''t.¡± Greg said with a scowl. ¡°I''m glad I never feel guilty after a job. Hearing even some of that makes me thankful I helped stop it.¡±


    ¡°I hear you.¡± Hank said and took out his earpiece. ¡°I don''t want to hear that.¡±


    Greg nodded and stepped on the gas. The sooner they were at the egress point, the sooner they could leave this cesspool behind. ¡°Remind me to thank whoever sent us in for this.¡±


    ¡°I''m buying him a case of beer.¡± Hank said. ¡°You can help me drink it.¡±


    ¡°Hoo-ahh!¡± They said at the same time.


    *


    ¡°What''s this supposed to be again?¡± One of the agents asked as they approached an underground bunker.


    ¡°It''s a safe house for a terrorist bomber named Baron Zemo and his cell.¡± His partner said. ¡°I don''t need to know more than that.¡±


    ¡°Me, either.¡± The first agent said and waved everyone forward.


    The door breaker was brought in and a single solid hit later, they were through and littered the entire place with automatic machine gun fire. It was a little excessive and completely preemptive, because they had been warned about not waiting to be shot at first.


    They went through the place in under a minute and killed everyone with only one enemy actually getting several shots off. Thankfully, their auto-deploying arm shields took the bullets easily and they cleaned up the rest of the stragglers.


    When they took a more detailed look around, they were grateful for the warning, because the place was filled with rifles, guns, and grenades, thirty dead men and women, and several tables and walls covered with the plans to bomb the United Nations building.


    ¡°We owe whoever planned this a good stiff drink.¡± One of the other agents said and everyone nodded.


    ¡°Start identifying the bodies.¡± The mission''s leader said. ¡°Careful of booby traps, too. These bastards wouldn''t think twice about leaving shit like that around, even inside their own base.¡±


    Sounds of agreement came from everyone and they all pitched in to gather all of the evidence. It would reveal tons of connections and more enemies to hunt down and kill, just like the other crew had with Baron Strucker and his Hydra connections throughout Europe and the middle east.


    *


    I was not surprised to see that my guide was Natasha Romanoff. ¡°Black Widow.¡± I said with a nod. ¡°I assume you''re my pilot for the mission.¡±


    Natasha nodded and waved at the exit door. ¡°After you.¡±


    I knew what was coming, even if my spider-sense hadn''t warned me. I stepped by her and pretended to reach for the door handle, then I dropped to one knee and jammed an elbow into her kidney as her fist hit the door and sparks scattered. She grunted from my hit and then her BWSuit started to deploy, so I reached up and slapped my left hand over her mouth and held on. The helmet failed to engage with my hand in the way and Natasha''s eyes widened.


    ¡°You didn''t think I''d let you have a suit I designed and not know how to bypass it, did you?¡± I asked and my right fist slammed into the side of her head.


    After all the practising I had been doing, the hit was solid and just at the limit of peak human. It rang her bell pretty hard and she looked dazed and her eyes were a little glassed over.


    ¡°I thought we worked this out.¡± I said and moved my left hand down to grip her neck. ¡°I thought you were smart enough to not try to cheap shot me before my very first official mission!¡± I exclaimed and hit her again and again.


    Natasha''s eyes fluttered as they opened and closed several times.


    ¡°That''s enough.¡± Clint''s mechanical voice said from down the hallway. He wore the HESuit and hadn''t drawn his bow, thankfully. ¡°She was only going to knock you out. We were going to drop you off and see how you did on your own.¡±


    ¡°I''m going on my own anyway.¡± I said and then realized what he meant. ¡°You were going to leave me there and see how I would handle getting back to civilization.¡±


    Iron Hawk nodded.


    ¡°Was it officially approved?¡± I asked and he shook his head. ¡°More hazing? Was my training mission not enough to satisfy you?¡± I looked at a still stunned Natasha. ¡°I see. You really shouldn''t let her come up with the ideas.¡±


    ¡°Let her go.¡± Iron Hawk ordered.


    ¡°I had no intention of keeping her.¡± I said and punched her one more time to make sure she was actually unconscious before I let her neck go and pushed her away from me.


    Natasha fell backwards onto the floor with a clang and her helmet finished deploying.


    ¡°Thanks for the offer; but, I think I''ll be flying myself this time.¡± I said as I stepped backwards and opened the door without taking my eyes off of Clint, stepped through the doorway, and closed the door. ¡°Morons.¡± I muttered and climbed into the driver''s seat of the van.


    I drove out of the parking garage and used the onboard GPS to take me along the same route to get to the docks. Using the memory recall function on the device was smart of me, because it took me right to where I needed to go. I drove the van up the ramp and came to a stop next to the Quinjet.


    ¡°Where are the other two?¡± The flight crew chief asked me.


    ¡°It''s Widow''s time of the month and Hawkeye volunteered to stay behind to help her deal with it.¡± I said with a straight face.


    The guy stared at me for a couple of seconds and then laughed. ¡°She''s all prepped. Have a safe flight.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and walked up the rear ramp. I did a quick physical check of the plane and then went to the cockpit. It wasn''t that difficult to double check all of the procedures by myself and verified everything was up to specs. I powered the bird up and notified the tower that I was ready for launch.


    ¡°You''re cleared for departure, Too-Far.¡± The woman''s voice in the tower responded.


    I chuckled. ¡°I''m not even going to ask who assigned me that call-sign.¡±


    ¡°You''re better off not knowing.¡± She said with her own chuckle. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and lifted up from the tarmac and eased the transport out over the water. Unlike when I was showing off, there were specific procedures for flying near population centres as well as not breaking the sound barrier near the captain''s quarters. That was only for air shows and if you wanted to piss him off.


    I flew the transport low over the water until I was far enough out into the bay and then poured on the speed to get myself up to international flight height. I wouldn''t kick in the afterburners until I was well into the cloud cover. I checked the fuel and nodded. There was more than enough for me to have a bit of fun visiting a particular museum in Britain before I headed for South America for my mission.


    *


    The museum curator wasn''t sure why the customs official was shouting at him about proper decontamination protocols for an exhibit. It wasn''t his job to ensure the ancient ceremonial wooden masks and weapons from Africa were fumigated before entering the country.


    In any case, Agent Parker ordered the small display to be packed up and he would return it to the rightful owners, then he would yell at them for loaning out items that could destroy the local ecosystem.


    The museum curator was happy to comply and he stared at the donation check for 20,000 pounds he was given, because of the inconvenience the agent had caused for his museum losing an entire display. The curator thanked the agent profusely and promised to check the customs papers personally next time.


    *


    That evening, Carlos Mwumba was a very happy man as he toured his jungle villa. He had just pulled off the biggest heist of his career and made out like a bandit. That thought made him laugh, because he had started out as one. It had taken him years to work up through the gangs and to earn a reputation for taking risks and receiving big payoffs.


    This last job was the biggest of his criminal career and he expected his reputation with the other cartels would rise, to either match them or maybe even surpass them. He greeted a few of his men as he walked through his house and even patted one on the shoulder. They had all appreciated getting a cut of the profits and sharing the cheap prostitutes he had paid for.


    Carlos entered his bedroom and went over to his overly large bathroom. When he flicked on the light, he paused, because all of his drug paraphernalia was there on the side of the tub. It was also well prepared, which surprised him, because even he wasn''t so meticulous. He didn''t notice the figure dressed in black as it approached and he didn''t struggle when the cloth doused in chloroform covered his mouth and nose.


    He wouldn''t be found until two days later when his weekly whore showed up for their appointment. Before anyone could say ''this is a raid'', his own gang members had split up the man''s illegally gained fortune and his drug stash before they abandoned the hidden base to join one of the other more popular gangs. No one would remember his name, not even his weekly whore who had been paid to do so.


    *


    I was glad that May had accepted my work excuse to stay overnight and Saturday, because now that I had refuelled and was outside the physical jurisdiction of SHIELD, I had a few more things to take care of. My first stop was in a middle eastern country that had too many consonants to pronounce. I had quickly arranged for Eric Stevens, Navy Seal, to be in the area to clean out a nasty gang infestation.


    I hung around and waited for him to slaughter them all, because I knew of his penchant to mark himself for every kill he did. He would be busy as he added twelve new branding marks to his mostly covered torso, so I snuck up on him and dropped a canister of sleeping gas on him. It was hilariously easy. He didn''t even have his door locked.


    I tied him up and tucked him into the cargo area of the transport, after removing all of his weapons of course, and flew to where Ulysses Klaue had set up his weapons distribution network. SHIELD knew all about him and had even used him several times to supply a warlord or two that started a destabilizing conflict, in order to get the UN invited in to help the country recover from all the fighting.


    I didn''t bother trying to make an appointment or anything and trusted my spider-sense as I systematically hunted down all of his mercenaries around the old tanker and removed them from their criminal lives. Once again, just a small modicum of stealth was all that was needed to wipe them all out and not one of them managed to raise the alarm.


    I did the same thing with Klaue as I did with Killmonger and dropped a canister of sleeping gas into the room, tied him up, and brought him back to my transport. I wasn''t going to leave empty-handed, either. No, sir. I flew the transport over to Klaue''s beached container ship and landed nearby, then proceeded to raid his weapons cache for everything it had.


    It was a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I had to fold up all of the seats in the cargo area to fit all of the crates inside. It was ridiculous how many weapons the man had horded over the years. That wasn''t why I was there, though. I went to his main vault and chuckled at the severely over-engineered vault door and locking mechanism.


    I ignored the obvious entrance and went to the floor above. A quick application of a portable plasma torch and I was through the much weaker roof of the vault. Inside was exactly what I was looking for.


    Vibranium and stacks of cash.


    I almost giggled like a little girl at the applications I could put that sweet precious metal to and proceeded to empty the vault into the transport into the sole remaining area that it would fit. Right where the co-pilot''s seat used to be. I had unbolted it and secured it to the ceiling to get it out of the way.


    When I was done, I brought the bodies of all the mercs into the main hold of the ship and then dropped a mix of several grenades into the pile. It didn''t really matter if I left them where they had fallen or not, because I had been careful about leaving any evidence behind. I just wanted to see what a bunch of fragmentation and incendiary grenades would do, which was a literal explosion of burning body parts.


    Yeah, I''m not doing that again. I thought with a chuckle and refuelled at the closest SHIELD detachment before I left in the transport to head to where my Modern History teacher had described where Wakanda was in South Africa. I really liked that versatile class, because it had helped me a lot.


    *


    The advance Wakandan Guard posing as a lowly farmer knew something weird was going on when a young man dressed completely in black from head to toe, walked calmly down the main road in the small village.


    He waved to people and spoke in English to them. ¡°Hello! Hi! Greetings!¡±


    Then to the guard''s shock, he spoke in stilted and accented Xhosa.


    ¡°Mholo! Unjani?¡± The white man asked, which was ''hello'' and ''how are you'' in their native language.


    The guard stared at him until the young man suddenly came to a stop as if frozen, then he turned and looked directly at the guard.


    He smiled and walked right over to what was supposed to be a lowly farmer. ¡°Please tell me you can speak English. I''m getting nothing from anyone else.¡±


    The guard didn''t respond and his hand tightened on the wooden staff in his hand. He needed to somehow get away and send word back to the others, so a preemptive attack on the interloper would be necessary. Just as he tensed his muscles to quickly swing the staff, a pistol was pressed into his belly.


    ¡°I asked you nicely, so there''s no need to attack me.¡± The young man said with a blank face.


    ¡°You will not get away if you fire that gun.¡± The guard said.


    ¡°Why not? It''s not like there are any other guards in the village.¡± The young man said.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± The guard asked before he could stop himself.


    ¡°I walked through nearly the entire village and you were the only one to keep staring at me.¡±


    The guard sighed at being so easily spotted.


    ¡°Next time you see someone of interest, pretend you don''t care. Act aloof. You could even yell at the new guy to leave.¡± The young man said and put the pistol away. ¡°Not reacting at all is a dead giveaway.¡±


    The guard looked down at his belly and back at the young man''s face.


    ¡°I only did that because you intended to hurt me.¡± The young man said and smiled. ¡°Do you have a communication device on you or do you have to meet up with someone that does?¡±


    The guard looked surprised at the question.


    ¡°What? I want you to call them. I''ve walked through three villages now and you''re the first I''ve found that cared I was here.¡± The young man chuckled. ¡°I even tried to offer money at the first village and I was laughed out of there.¡±


    The guard smiled. As Wakandans, they rarely used money and had a barter system in place.


    ¡°I was tempted to offer a few pistols as collateral, then realized I would have to provide ammo and probably lessons on how to shoot, so that was out.¡± The young man said with a shrug. ¡°Do we need to enter a hut or something? Are you hiding from the villagers as well as outsiders?¡±


    The guard took a breath and let it out. He gave the young man a pointed look and reached into his tunic to take out a fancy walkie-talkie. He turned it on and spoke several code phrases and waited for a response. It was as he expected. He was to deny any knowledge of anything and ask him to leave. If he didn''t, he was to force him to leave.


    ¡°May I?¡± The young man asked and held a hand out for the device.


    The guard handed it over, just to see what would happen.


    The young man examined it and hit two switches, which took the handheld radio from a specific signal to a blanket broadcast. ¡°My name is not important. I have Ulysses Kraue and a Lost Son of Wakanda as hostages. Unless I am brought to see King T''Chaka immediately, I will release both of them and you will never regain the country''s honor.¡±


    The guard''s mouth dropped open and he stared at the idiot in front of him. ¡°You are a dead man.¡±


    ¡°By the way, if you try to kill me, I won''t turn over the two and a half tons of Vibranium I recovered from Kraue''s vault.¡± The young man said with a smirk. ¡°I hope that''s enough motivation to pass the word along. You have twenty minutes to make a decision and I eagerly await your response.¡±


    The guard kept staring at the young man as he reset the communicator to the default and handed it back. ¡°Are you insane?¡±


    The young man chuckled. ¡°I don''t see any point in delaying the inevitable. If that doesn''t stir up the Wakandan Defense Force, nothing will.¡±


    The guard couldn''t argue that both statements would definitely stir things up.

 88 Wakanda Forever Part One

    Bokuboy


    It only took them ten minutes to assemble into an offensive line and everyone in the village went into their huts and homes as twenty burly men wearing animal skins and ten bald women wearing red ceremonial outfits and carrying spears strutted down the middle of the village. Unlike the guard with me, I had kept an eye on them and also make it appear that I didn''t care who they were.


    He did not appreciate the practical lesson and ran as soon as the women were close enough for him to get away. One of the women looked fiercer than the others and she took a double step and raised her spear as she lunged at me.


    My spider-sense didn''t go off, so I stood there in a casual manner as the spear stopped right under the edge of my chin. The impressed looks on the women''s faces and the bored looks on the men, let me know who the more intelligent ones were.


    ¡°Hand over our sacred metal or you die.¡± The dark skinned African woman spat.


    I deigned to take my gaze away from the hut across the street and the little boy staring at us from the window. ¡°I thought the women here were the intelligent ones.¡±


    That definitely impressed the women fighters.


    ¡°I stated if you tried to kill me, you would see neither the hostages nor the sacred metal.¡± I said and glanced down at the spear with just my eyes. ¡°If you wouldn''t mind removing that and stop grandstanding, we can get to the reason why I''m here.¡±


    The woman glared at me and seemed to make a decision. My spider-sense flared and I leaned slightly to the right as she tried to swipe the tip of the blade into the edge of my neck as a show of dominance. I wasn''t having that, so I snatched the spear out of her hands, flipped it around, and swiped it at her face in less than a second.


    A tiny little cut appeared on the tip of her nose and I spun the staff in my hand once more before I jammed the tip into the ground between her feet. I let the spear go and dug a tissue out of my pocket to hand to her.


    ¡°You have a little something on your nose. Just there.¡± I said and tapped the tip of my own nose.


    The woman huffed and used a fingertip to wipe at it and then she stared at her slightly red fingertip.


    I waved the tissue at her and she took it and dabbed at her nose. ¡°I hope you don''t poison your spearheads until you''re facing a real enemy.¡±


    That had the other women muttering among themselves and a few of them nodded slightly.


    ¡°I formally request a meeting with your monarch to discuss matters of national security.¡± I said and she nodded.


    ¡°Show us where you have hidden our property and we will take you and your prisoners where you need to go.¡± She promised. It might have even been sincere if she hadn''t just tried to mark me and didn''t have a white tissue starkly contrasting against her dark skin.


    ¡°I am not a normal interloper to fall for such basic trickery. You would need to be naked to distract me enough to hand over one part of my negotiating capital, let alone all three.¡±


    ¡°You dare!¡± One of the burly men growled and stepped forward.


    ¡°Thank you for proving your women are smarter, because she didn''t react at all to my posturing.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°She realized I didn''t say she needed to do anything besides disrobe.¡±


    ¡°We all know you westerners take things too far!¡± He responded, angrily.


    ¡°Most would.¡± I said and looked at the woman''s face. ¡°I would politely ask, however. A willing partner is much more enjoyable than a reluctantly agreeable one.¡±


    The woman looked thoughtful and took the tissue away from her nose to see only a small amount of blood. ¡°You barely nicked the skin.¡±


    ¡°Like you would have.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°Are we travelling on wheels, hooves, or air?¡±


    She gave me an appraising look. ¡°Do you have any preferences?¡±


    I couldn''t stop my chuckle and glanced at the large man who was probably her mate. ¡°I must refrain from answering and will show you the proper respect instead.¡± I said and crossed my arms over my chest in their country''s secret salute and bowed slightly towards her. ¡°Whatever the lady decides.¡±


    That was how I ended up as a wrapped bundle of rope that was strapped to the back of one of their giant rhinoceros beasts for an hour. Despite that, it was a surprisingly smooth ride. We stopped near one of their flying machines and I was loaded up like cargo. The two men accompanying us laughed and the two women guards gave me pointed looks. I rolled my eyes at the men and gave the women a happy smile.


    It was unfortunate that I couldn''t see where we were going while I was on the floor, which was probably why I was left on the floor. However, I knew that by flying a plane and plunging into a seemingly lush forest at a very specific coordinate, the illusion disappeared and it granted passage through the Wakandan Energy Barrier.


    We landed a short time later and the two men picked me up again and carried me on their shoulders as they laughed. The two women warriors flanked us and we left the hangar bay and went into a crowded street.


    ¡°You do realize you''re being stupid by flaunting me around like this, right? You''re announcing to the entire population that another outsider has found you and discovered your secret.¡± I commented.


    The two burly men stopped laughing and the two women warriors looked embarrassed.


    ¡°Well, it''s too late now. You might as well keep the parade going.¡± I said and looked at a family of four we had been approaching. ¡°Mholo! Unjani?¡± I said ''Hi'' and ''How are you?'' in their native language and that was all I knew. Even when they responded, I had no idea what they were saying. Probably curses.


    We continued our trek through the streets and people were now openly pointing and some shouted at me. I said my two phrases back and would have waved if my arms hadn''t been tied to my sides. I really shouldn''t have agreed to do whatever the female warrior squad leader wanted; but, it was the easiest way to get what I wanted.


    The two female warriors guarding the door of the palace glared at my escorts and spoke in terse short sentences, probably berating them for the ruckus that our passage through the city had caused. I agreed with them and they gave me hate-filled looks.


    ¡°What''s with the anger? It''s not like we''re ex-lovers seeing each other for the first time after a bad breakup.¡± I joked and their looks didn''t change. ¡°I bring vibranium as a peace offering.¡±


    Both guards gasped and hit their communicators at the same time. A furious exchange happened, then a dozen women came out through the palace doors. I was taken from the two men by six of the new warriors, the two men were ordered away and clearly not invited to come inside, and the two female guards with me entered with us, I assume to give their side of the story.


    I was brought into the crowded throne room and it looked identical to the movie I had seen, except it had T''Chaka on the throne and not T''Challa, who rigidly stood off to the side.


    ¡°Interloper!¡± Someone in the crowd spoke in English. ¡°Kill him! He knows our secret!¡±


    Shouts of agreement came from nearly everyone.


    ¡°Do you want to remind them of my words or shall I?¡± I asked the squad leader of the female warriors that had arrested me.


    She gave me a look that clearly told me to shut up and then she spoke. The entire room fell silent when she was done and I could almost feel the hatred flowing off of everyone. My spider-sense was fairly calm, though. There was only a light tingle from one or two people and that was it. One was from the king''s personal guard, Okoye. The other was from a clan chief that wanted to overthrow King T''Chaka.


    ¡°You dare make demands of the royal family?¡± Prince T''Challa asked.


    I chuckled. ¡°Of course not. I demanded that your warriors respect my position and asked them for an audience with his highness, his beautiful wife, his humbly arrogant son, and his brilliant daughter.¡±


    Several gasps came from the audience and a few of them looked nervous.


    ¡°How do you know so much?¡± The queen asked.


    ¡°The same way I knew there were ancient Wakandan artifacts in a British museum that I''ve brought with me to return to their rightful owners.¡± I said and a collective sound of disbelief came from them.


    ¡°He must be lying! We would know if any artifacts were out in the world.¡± That same angry man exclaimed.


    ¡°A vibranium weapon was taken by British soldiers in Benin and mislabelled as a seventh century pickaxe made by the Fula tribe.¡± I said and the man fell silent. ¡°The other things like the ceremonial mask and clothing pieces are genuine articles, too.¡±


    ¡°You will bring them to us now.¡± A big burly man ordered and tried to loom over me from across the room. If it wasn''t so pathetic, it could almost be considered cute.


    ¡°I''m a little tied up at the moment.¡± I joked and no one laughed. ¡°I will have to respectfully decline your polite request.¡±


    My rebuke was not lost on anyone, especially the now angry man.


    King T''Chaka glanced around the room and then looked at me. ¡°Put him down and release him.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Several people gasped.


    Okoye stepped in front of the king and he waved her off. She did not look happy.


    The six warriors holding me placed me on the ground and one of the warriors slipped a large knife out of its sheath on her thigh.


    ¡°I don''t need the help, thank you.¡± I said and she looked surprised. I wiggled a bit and drew the small knife I had stashed at the small of my back and turned my hand to cut the ropes near my waist. With a hand free, I easily cut the rest of the ropes and stood up to see everyone as they stared at me.


    ¡°You could have escaped at any time.¡± Prince T''Challa said with a bit of admiration.


    ¡°I willingly submitted to the squad leader''s authority.¡± I said and crossed my forearms over my chest and bowed deeply to the king, to his wife, and to T''Challa. They looked impressed. ¡°I would be a poor guest if I tried to escape after doing so.¡±


    ¡°Guest?¡± The queen asked and looked intrigued.


    ¡°Yes, your highness. If I may speak freely?¡± I asked and the king waved for me to continue. ¡°I wanted to visit your country long before now, only I didn''t have the resources to acquire the gifts I would need to present to you and your country.¡± I said and that had everyone muttering, mostly from disbelief.


    ¡°Gifts, you say?¡± The queen asked and she looked to be struggling to not smile.


    Lovely. I thought with a huge smile. ¡°I apologize for how I worded my initial inquiry to your honored warriors, your highness. I did that to get their attention and to prove my presence here was not an accident. I specifically came here to return your stolen property and didn''t want them to kill me before I had the chance to do so.¡±


    ¡°You are being sincere.¡± King T''Chaka said.


    ¡°Your highness, I would be a fool to come into your home as a guest and not bring an appropriate gift.¡± I said. ¡°The first gift would be a welcoming one, the ancient artifacts. The second gift would be a deserving one, the life of the man who stole from you and killed your countrymen, that caused such strife in your family and your country.¡±


    Everyone muttered loudly at that and the queen smiled.


    There it is. I thought, happily. ¡°The third gift is to prove my sincerity in wanting your country to regain its honor, with the return of the sacred metal the thief had taken.¡± I said and a lot of people nodded, while T''Challa looked pleased. ¡°The final gift... is something I probably should not state here openly.¡±


    ¡°You may continue to speak freely.¡± The king said and it sounded like an order.


    I took a deep breath and locked eyes with the man. ¡°The last gift I have for you is the discovery of a Lost Son of Wakanda, N-Jadaka. Son of the disgraced N''Jobu, nephew of King T''Chaka, and cousin to Prince T''Challa and Princess Shuri.¡±


    There was complete silence for about ten seconds, then everyone exploded with sound as they shouted, yelled, and waved their hands and various weapons around.


    The twelve warriors around me had mixed and interesting reactions. Half of them turned to me and had their spears ready to run me through and the other half of them faced the crowd and readied their spears to do the same thing. I was both protected and threatened, which meant they knew my words about killing me would lose them everything I had brought. I was also not allowed to move.


    It took ten minutes for the king''s shock to wear off and he yelled for everyone to shut up. At least, I assumed that was what he said, because it fell deathly quiet after his proclamation.


    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± King T''Chaka asked me.


    ¡°He has the sacred family tattoo on the inside of his lower lip, your highness.¡± I said.


    The man looked ten years older as he sat back on his throne and didn''t say anything.


    I couldn''t let anyone else influence the man at this pivotal moment, so I spoke. ¡°I invite Prince T''Challa, his guard, the head of the royal guard, and the honored warriors that surround me, to accompany my person to where I have hidden your gifts.¡±


    A collective gasp came from everyone and the muttering started again.


    The queen looked surprised as well. ¡°You are going to hand all of those precious things over without concessions or expectations of repayment or reward?¡±


    I crossed my arms in front of myself once more in their salute and bowed. ¡°A friendship is built upon trust. If I expected anything in return for a gift freely given, it is not a gift at all.¡±


    A lot of people in the crowd nodded at this.


    ¡°Father.¡± T''Challa said without saying anything else. We all knew what he was implying.


    King T''Chaka gave him a searching look for a moment before he nodded.


    ¡°Okoye.¡± T''Challa said and she waved for someone else to take her place.


    The female warriors around me dropped their aggressive stances and formed into two lines as T''Challa and Okoye approached me. I nodded to him and then to her, stepped aside to let them pass, and saw approval on everyone''s faces.


    We became another parade as everyone in the city saw T''Challa and yelled and hollered to get his attention. He was their prince and he had to stop a few times... every few feet... to talk to and greet his people. It made them happy and the guards unhappy, because of the risk it represented.


    After the tenth time, the female warriors were openly scowling at everyone, so I sighed exaggeratedly. That made the women stop walking to glare at me and T''Challa gave me a questioning look.


    ¡°Your own guards are going to attack you for being so reckless, your highness.¡± I said and his face went blank. ¡°If you will allow it, I can let you borrow a piece of equipment that will assuage their fears of you being shot every time we stop to greet your people.¡±


    That had the women around us widen their eyes, especially Okoye.


    ¡°What is this equipment?¡± T''Challa asked.


    I held up my own wrist and showed him the thick bracelet. ¡°It is an auto-deploying arm shield. If anyone attacks you with a sufficient velocity, it opens up into a two foot wide circular shield that you can use to deflect things yourself or let it handle them.¡±


    ¡°That... is interesting technology.¡± T''Challa said, his voice guarded.


    ¡°It''s proprietary as well. Patented collapsible compression technology.¡± I said and nodded at the female squad leader and not Okoye. ¡°If the lady would care to demonstrate and attack me seriously, you will see that it works.¡±


    The woman looked surprised at the offer and the other women looked interested.


    ¡°One attack.¡± T''Challa said in approval and they spread out.


    I didn''t change my casual stance at all. ¡°Whenever you''re ready.¡±


    The woman had a particularly keen glint in her eye as she took a fighting stance and then her spear lashed out at me with the intent to kill. The shield popped open instantly and the clang and scrape sound as the spear was deflected upwards and over my shoulder, seemed to be much louder than it should have been. It was then that I realized the people around us had gone silent to watch us.


    I hit the release trigger and the shield collapsed back down into the bracelet. ¡°You can use the controls here to deploy it on purpose and to collapse it again.¡± I said and then unhooked it and handed it over. ¡°I''ll ask for it back after we return with the gifts.¡±


    T''Challa and the women warriors around us stared at the thing as if it was made of pure gold.


    ¡°If you''re wondering what it''s made of, it''s a titanium steel alloy that is light and easy to swing round.¡± I said and he attached it to his wrist. ¡°It shouldn''t be necessary to wear, except as peace of mind for your guards.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± T''Challa said and hit the button to deploy it manually and moved his arm to pretend to deflect imaginary attacks.


    ¡°I''ve worn it all this time and even as an interloper, your people are respectful enough to only shout attacks and won''t resort to a physical attack until it''s the last resort. Or they are ordered to.¡± I said and smiled at the female squad leader. ¡°I appreciate you actually going for a kill shot and not to just disable me.¡±


    She looked surprised that I had noticed. ¡°If anyone attacks the prince it will be to kill.¡±


    I nodded and glanced at T''Challa. ¡°Shall we continue the procession, your highness? We only have several hundred more people to greet along the way to the hangar bay.¡±


    The female squad leader actually smiled before she startled and her face went blank.


    I don''t know why that always feels so satisfying. I thought happily and gave her a huge smile.


    T''Challa kept his face blank and nodded. So, we continued on down the street and the normal sounds of the crowd started up while the prince performed his princely duties.

 89 Wakanda Forever Part Two

    Thankfully, I wasn''t tied up and was allowed to sit in the cockpit in order to direct the pilot to the right spot. This gave me access to their equipment and I saw exactly how to enter and exit through their energy barrier. I suspected the ship also had an IFF protocol to accomplish it as well, because if not... I wouldn''t be impressed with their security.


    ¡°Do you have a stealth mode on this thing?¡± I asked the pilot and he gave me a pointed look. ¡°I''ll take that as a no. We either need to stay close to the ground to spoof radar or we need to land and travel the long way to get to my transport.¡±


    ¡°We need speed more than stealth.¡± T''Challa told the pilot. ¡°Take the ground option and move at the best speed you can.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my prince.¡± The pilot said and nodded to him.


    We flew in ground hover mode as I described where to go. I didn''t know the names of the villages I had visited; but, I did know where I had travelled. We passed the village I had been arrested in and flew for several minutes at about half power. We reached the second village and I pointed off to the right at about 25 degrees from forward.


    The pilot nodded and we flew for ten minutes in that direction and passed the first village I had visited. I changed my point to 45 degrees to the left of where we faced. We flew for another twenty minutes and T''Challa and most of the female guards had surprised faces that I had travelled so far on foot. Only the female squad leader had an appraising look on her face.


    ¡°Set it down here.¡± I said and the pilot looked at T''Challa. The prince nodded and the ship came to a stop and lowered down to the ground.


    ¡°I do not see anything except bushes.¡± The pilot commented.


    ¡°That''s the whole point.¡± I said and stood. ¡°Your highness, ladies. If you will follow me.¡±


    We left the Wakandan flying machine and went over to those bushes. It took me a couple of minutes to clear out the bush covered tarp disguise from the rotary fans and then from the back of the transport''s ramp.


    ¡°You buried your ship.¡± T''Challa said in admiration.


    ¡°I found a good sized depression in the landscape and went around to gather appropriate bushes and secured them to tarps. A quick drape over the main hull to disguise the overall shape and only a local would notice the odd clumping of bushes. Since no one lives out this far...¡±


    ¡°...you were completely hidden, even from eyes gazing from above.¡± T''Challa said in admiration.


    ¡°Please enter my transport to verify my gifts. You can try to make yourselves at home, even though there is not a lot of room.¡± I said and led them into the transport. ¡°If you can''t tell from the markings on the stacks of crates, these are confiscated illegal arms from Kraue''s hidden base, which I destroyed after killing all of his mercenaries.¡±


    The women made odd sounds before the female squad leader spoke. ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Crates or kills?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Kills.¡±


    ¡°Thirty three.¡±


    Everyone fell silent for several seconds.


    ¡°How long did it take you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe twenty minutes.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I was trying to be stealthy about it and didn''t let them warn anyone else. I''m not a big fan of getting shot.¡± I said and slapped a crate of AK-47s before I opened the equipment locker that I had emptied out into a crate. Inside were my two hostages, bound, gagged, and unconscious.


    ¡°Why would you treat N''Jadaka this way?¡± T''Challa asked, a little upset.


    ¡°Simple answer. He is a very bad man.¡± I said.


    T''Challa gave me raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Long answer. He''s a mass murderer, a conspirator, a terrorist, a defiler of women, an usurper of authority, an abuser of power, a smuggler, a jailbreaker, a slanderer, a physical abuser, a thief, an arsonist, a saboteur, a slaver, an arms dealer, a forger, a vandal, a kidnapper, a brainwasher, has uncountable assault charges, attempted world hegemony through force, mutilates himself, is a traitor to both Wakanda and the US, and he wants you dead to take your place in the line of succession to the throne.¡±


    T''Challa looked shocked and the female warriors had their hands gripped tightly on their spears.


    I closed the locker and pointed behind them. ¡°The first stack of wooden crates are from the museum.¡± I waved for them to follow me and entered the cockpit. ¡°I don''t need to tell you what that is.¡±


    All of the female warriors ducked their heads in reverence and T''Challa ran a hand over the top brick of pure vibranium.


    ¡°I''ll have to fly behind your ship to bring the gifts to the palace. It won''t all fit into your ship.¡± I said and they looked unsure. ¡°You can all stay here, even if it''s standing room only.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s too dangerous.¡± T''Challa said. ¡°Ten of you go back to the ship and tell the pilot to return to the hangar. We will follow you.¡±


    They cleared out and all that was left were T''Challa, Okoye, the female squad leader, T''Challa''s personal guard, and myself.


    ¡°Handholds are scattered about.¡± I said and started the pre-flight checks. ¡°Please forgive my basic flight path. With all of this precious cargo aboard, I can''t show off my piloting skills.¡±


    ¡°I believe we can live with the disappointment.¡± T''Challa said with a slight smile.


    ¡°Your highness!¡± I fake gasped. ¡°You made a joke! I''m so proud!¡±


    Okoye glared at me and the female squad leader clamped her mouth shut to stop her laugh. She ended up making a cute snort noise instead.


    The other ship lifted off and turned around. I quickly lifted off and turned in the same direction. The other pilot poured on the speed and I followed. I could tell T''Challa was surprised that I could keep up with their superior technology.


    Half an hour later, I landed inside the hangar bay and several men with large push carts were there waiting for us. With so many helping hands, it took no time to get the gifts stacked appropriately and in order. The museum pieces were carefully placed on the first cart, the two hostages on the second, and the two and a half tons of vibranium bricks were put on the last cart.


    Without needing to say a word, everyone formed up around and behind T''Challa, myself included, and we did the procession through the city once more. The female guards with us surrounded the carts to protect them. Unlike the last two times I had been through this route, there was cheering, clapping, and general happiness on everyone''s faces.


    The palace doors were opened to allow us through and we went into the throne room. It was even more crowded than before and I suspected it was because word had spread about the gifts. King T''Chaka kept his face impassive, as was his right as king. His wife however, looked inordinately pleased. I guessed it was because her son had returned safely and that I had kept my word.


    I wasn''t surprised to see a very pretty young black woman as she stepped out of the crowd to take her position beside her mother''s throne. Princess Shuri. The look on her face was anticipatory and I could only guess as to why.


    T''Challa crossed his arms over his chest and bowed deeply. ¡°Father.¡±


    King T''Chaka nodded and T''Challa unhooked the bracelet from his wrist and handed it to me before he walked across the room to stand beside his father''s throne.


    ¡°I, Benjamin Peter Parker, do hereby present to the royal family, the first gift.¡± I said and waved at the cart with the museum crates on it. It was pushed forward to rest off to the side of the room and a group of people dressed in lab coats quickly opened everything and pulled each piece out reverently. After ten minutes of verification, the vibranium axe was presented to the king on bended knee.


    ¡°The second gift.¡± I said and waved at the cart with two unconscious people on it and they were dumped on the floor about ten feet away from the king''s feet. I stated that they would be out for a while and then explained Ulysses Klaue''s crimes and that none of them compared to his transgressions against Wakanda.


    That pleased everyone, especially the queen and the king. I then explained about N''Jadaka and his numerous crimes, including how he mutilated himself after every kill and how he wanted to kill the prince to take his place and force Wakanda into a world war to take over.


    King T''Chaka gave both men intense looks before he turned to the large burly man that was the head of a rival tribe. The king held out the large rust covered axe to him and everyone started muttering about such an extravagant gift.


    The big man didn''t hesitate as he stepped forward and bent a knee. ¡°Thank you, My King.¡± He said, accepted the large axe, then he stood. In one smooth motion, he swung himself around and slammed the axe down through Klaue''s head and split it apart with a splorch sound.


    The axe made a dong sound as it impacted the floor without any resistance and all of the rust shivered and then crumpled off of it. When the large man lifted it into the air, it gleamed in the lights. The blood and brains hadn''t stuck to it, either.


    ¡°Again.¡± King T''Chaka said and the big man nodded.


    The axe was swung down and another dong sound echoed through the throne room. The large man had a happy smile on his face as he resumed his place with his tribe and he held the axe both reverently and with authority.


    ¡°Traitors and thieves have always been dealt with in this way. If you wrong the people, you owe the people your life.¡± The king said and everyone nodded.


    Not one single person in the throne room missed the implications of that as several attendants put the bodies back on the cart and several buckets of water were dumped to wash away the blood. It was almost as if they had prepared it beforehand. The cart was removed from the room and I resumed my task.


    ¡°My final gift.¡± I said and the third cart was pushed forward. Everyone started muttering at the huge pile of refined vibranium as it gleamed in the lights, just like the large axe.


    ¡°You have fulfilled your promise of gifts.¡± King T''Chaka said. ¡°Now I must ask you a question.¡±


    I bowed my head slightly. ¡°I will always answer his highness truthfully.¡±


    ¡°Did you keep any of the sacred metal for yourself?¡± The king asked.


    ¡°I wanted to.¡± I said and the muttering got louder. ¡°As soon as I saw all of that precious metal, so many things went through my head that I could use it for. So many ideas. So many applications. So much potential.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t even try to take any, did you?¡± The queen asked and the smile was back on her face.


    ¡°No, your highness. I knew... not suspected or guessed, knew... that your opinion of me would fall if I tried to steal any or benefitted from such ill-gotten gains.¡±


    The muttering became louder and some comments of disbelief came from a few of the men.


    ¡°Why do you hold my opinion in such high regard?¡± The queen asked, genuinely curious.


    ¡°That has a very simple answer, your highness. Behind every great man is an even greater woman.¡±


    Complete silence fell in the throne room and all of the men looked surprised. That wasn''t the best part, though. Not at all. It was that every single woman in the room... servants, daughters, wives, warriors, and even the queen herself... all had huge smiles on their faces.


    I actually felt a shiver go down my spine at making so many strong women smile like that. I even had to carefully adjust myself because I was really turned on and Penis Parker wanted to say hello.


    ¡°You have an oddly satisfying view of things, Benjamin Peter Parker.¡± The queen said.


    Thankfully, she hadn''t noticed my reaction. At least, I hoped not. It was hard to tell when people were so guarded all the time.


    ¡°You honor me with your compliment, your highness.¡± I said and bowed again.


    ¡°Are you sure that you do not want anything in exchange for returning such precious objects to us?¡± The queen asked.


    ¡°There is one thing I would like.¡± I said and several members of the crowd said ''of course'' and ''I knew he would demand something''. I gave the queen a warm smile. ¡°I would humbly request that no one be sent to kill me because I know about your wonderful country.¡±


    Everyone immediately shut up and the queen looked surprised. She turned her head to look at her husband and saw his blank face.


    ¡°T''Chaka.¡± The queen whispered and he looked at her. ¡°Is his request too much to grant?¡±


    T''Chaka took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°He has already seen too much.¡±


    The queen looked sad, probably because she knew he would come for me himself, send T''Challa, or one of their warriors to remove me.


    ¡°If you''re going to kill me anyway, then I formally request a tour of your city, the palace, the science labs in the basement, and perhaps the underground mountain of vibranium.¡± I said and nearly everyone gasped. ¡°I mean, there''s no point in not showing me, right? I won''t be a potential leak later if you eliminate me.¡±


    The king looked shocked and the queen had a slight smile on her face.


    ¡°You already know about it all?¡± T''Challa asked and showed some surprise.


    ¡°Of course. It''s why I was so confident that you would see me if I brought the vibranium, rather than leaving it out where you could find it.¡± I said and then chuckled. ¡°You do realize that I could have easily kept everything and you never would have known I had it? Your people would still be hunting for Klaue without end if I hadn''t come here.¡±


    Only the queen smiled this time and she stood. ¡°Jubadi, Hintula. You are assigned to Benjamin Peter Parker for the duration of his stay here. Guard him with your lives.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Queen.¡± The female squad leader and the other female guard said with a bow.


    ¡°Mother.¡± Shuri said and that look of anticipation was on her face again.


    The queen smiled at her. ¡°You are not afraid he will kidnap you and do terrible things to you?¡±


    Shuri huffed. ¡°I have been training since I was six, mother. He couldn''t touch me if he tried.¡±


    The queen nodded. ¡°He does need a proper guide...¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Shuri gasped and then clamped her mouth shut. ¡°I apologize for my outburst.¡±


    The queen lightly chuckled and touched her shoulder. ¡°Try to not rush him through everything. You know the fate that awaits him.¡±


    Shuri''s face turned sad. ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    ¡°Off you go.¡± The queen said. ¡°I suggest that you start with the gardens first.¡±


    Shuri smiled and nodded before she walked over to me.


    ¡°Princess Shuri.¡± I said and crossed my arms and bowed to her. ¡°You honor me with your presence.¡±


    Shuri gave me a questioning look. ¡°You''re not going to act like that the whole time, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, princess. You can call me Ben and I will drop the formality as soon as we are no longer within the room that requires it.¡±


    ¡°You must hand over your gun.¡± Jubadi, the squad leader said.


    ¡°What if we are attacked by rabid tigers?¡± I asked her and she looked surprised. ¡°Crazed monkeys? Enraged sloths?¡±


    Shuri chuckled. ¡°We can loan you a blunted staff if that happens. You just poke a paw and they drop right out of the tree.¡±


    I chuckled, too. ¡°A fair trade, then.¡± I said and unhooked the shoulder holster and handed it to Jubadi. She looked unsure about what to do with it. I mimed putting it on and her eyes widened. I smiled and adjusted the straps for her more slender frame and slipped it over her shoulders and it settled perfectly.


    ¡°This feels odd.¡± Jubadi said and moved her arms and took a fighting stance. ¡°It''s not bad, just odd.¡±


    ¡°You get used to it pretty quickly and it''s tight for a reason. It won''t flop around when you''re fighting and it''s positioned for an easy and quick draw.¡± I explained and she nodded.


    ¡°Let''s go. We have a lot to see and it''s going to take a lot of time.¡± Shuri said and walked ahead.


    I followed her out of the throne room and the two guards flanked me. My tour of the world''s biggest vibranium created society had just begun.

 90 Wakanda Forever Intermission

    Bokuboy


    Nick Fury was a slightly happy man after he had watched the footage that Agent Parker had submitted the previous night after completing his mission in Columbia. He had also let Maria Hill read the files out loud for him that described the current situation in the area and how effectively Ben''s staged suicide had completely dismantled the drug operation.


    ¡°That is excellent work.¡± Nick commented and several other voices agreed. He spun around in his chair and looked at everyone''s faces. Two looked particularly blank and he did his best to not yell at them again. ¡°I knew Agent Parker would become a great asset to SHIELD.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Kelly, the computer department head said. ¡°His data entry contributions have reduced my department''s overhead time significantly. I swear his hands are magic when entering numbers and he is actually getting faster with it.¡±


    ¡°Robotics has also benefited a lot from his help.¡± The department head said.


    ¡°He lets the others have a ball making new things and they stopped bothering me.¡± The head of the R&D department said. ¡°He''s a great asset for that alone.¡±


    The others exchanged knowing looks.


    ¡°What was his latest project?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°It''s a series he calls ''basic spy stuff'' that he said we needed to make as soon as possible.¡± The R&D department head said. ¡°A retractable knife blade inside the front soles and heels of shoes, both male and female, a cutting laser inside a still functioning watch, a pen explosive that is full of compressed C4 and the clicker that deploys the pen nib is the detonator cap, and a fully functional umbrella that is actually a cleverly disguised long barrel gun.¡±


    Everyone around the table looked impressed, except for one person who groaned. She was the head of the finance department.


    ¡°He''s sucking up a good portion of our annual budget with the patents we are buying from him.¡±


    Fury let out a rare chuckle. ¡°He''s also given all of our field agents invaluable equipment that is easily hidden, easy to deploy, and relatively cheap to produce.¡±


    ¡°We can mitigate the upfront costs by splitting the patent. We only bought out the first few because we didn''t want to flood the civilian market with such useful tech.¡± Maria said. ¡°Agent Parker will own half of the patents and will gain a constant income instead of a one time shot for each.¡±


    The woman from the finance department looked thoughtful. ¡°You know, I think we could do that. I can spread the smaller payments out over a larger time period and it won''t completely drain our ready cash so quickly.¡±


    ¡°We can also alter and market that keyboard design. It doesn''t need the full connection suite that our agents need.¡± Maria said and nodded at the head of R&D. ¡°Leave the physical wire attachment as the sole connection and we can save adding back in the wireless option for an upgrade later.¡±


    ¡°Which will produce more sales!¡± The woman from the finance department said and wrote it down. ¡°I''ll get my department working on a great sales campaign to market it.¡± She looked at the head of R&D. ¡°I''ll need one of the new model keyboards for photos and video, so have one delivered as soon as you make the alterations to the production runs.¡±


    The man nodded and made note of it as well.


    ¡°When Agent Parker returns, have someone ask a few pointed questions about any more ideas he has in his head. Anything else we can squeeze out of his brain will be worth it.¡± Fury said and several people nodded. ¡°Which reminds me.¡± He said and changed the monitor to show ''no signal''. ¡°Would anyone care to tell me how Agent Parker managed to disable the camera systems and integrated tracking equipment on a Quinjet or tell me where he''s been for the last 16 hours and counting?¡±


    Not one person spoke up.


    ¡°Did anyone tell him he was supposed to come right back when his mission was completed?¡± Fury asked and looked right at Natasha and Clint. Both of them winced slightly, because they hadn''t planned to tell him at all. It was going to be a survival test and making his own way back was a part of that.


    ¡°I assumed he knew.¡± Maria said. ¡°He also informed me that he wouldn''t disappoint me.¡±


    Fury nodded at her for assuming responsibility. ¡°In the future, please make it clear. We can''t have agents roaming around without any over-watch in place or a backup ready to step in.¡±


    ¡°I''ve made note of the changes, sir.¡± Maria said and did just that.


    ¡°Is that it? No other issues?¡± Fury asked and everyone shook their heads. ¡°Iron Hawk and Iron Widow, stay. Everyone else is dismissed.¡±


    ¡°We owe Agent Parker twenty dollars.¡± Maria commented and made note of it.


    Fury gave her his patented eye glare and she held up the royalties contract.


    ¡°We''re getting a severe discount because he''s going to release toys for them in about four months.¡± Maria said. ¡°Parker Incorporated is raking in the money, hand over fist.¡±


    ¡°Toys?¡± Clint asked, surprised.


    ¡°Yes, it''s ingenious, actually.¡± Maria said and pulled out a thick file folder. ¡°He had the forethought to file patents and trademarks for practically every name that we know of, from Black Widow, to Iron Man and any likenesses, right up to the god of thunder, Thor. He even added villain names to that, like Hammer Drones, Abomination, and Kilgrave, The Purple Man.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Natasha asked and couldn''t hide her surprise. He owned HER code name?


    ¡°The new firm of Nelson and Murdock are fairly ruthless when negotiating licensing deals.¡± Maria said and flipped through several pages. ¡°To put things bluntly, every company that had huge sales to be on top, have suddenly found themselves scrambling to get their customers back, because their competitors have superhero endorsements.¡±


    Fury let a rare smile out. ¡°Please tell me he sold the Iron Man image to a feminine hygiene products company.¡±


    Maria had a very rare blush show on her face. ¡°He... licensed a specifically designed and shaped Iron Man likeness... to a vibrating sex toy company.¡±


    Fury was completely silent for three seconds and then he laughed an actual full laugh. Not a bark, not a chuckle, a full laugh that lasted nearly ten seconds.


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Natasha whispered and covered her face.


    ¡°It''s one of their best sellers, isn''t it?¡± Clint asked and barely managed to not laugh with Director Fury.


    ¡°They can''t produce enough of them to meet the demand and had to sub-contract to three other companies.¡± Maria said and her blush didn''t fade. ¡°I never thought I would regret being so good at my job to find out things like that.¡±


    Fury calmed down and took several breaths before he spoke in his normal manner. ¡°I apologize for asking you about that, Hill.¡±


    ¡°It''s all right, sir. That''s the most extreme case of Agent Parker getting revenge against Mister Stark for stealing his patent.¡± Maria said. ¡°Oh, that reminds me. They sent their tech teams over and replaced the internals of the Stark Protect devices to more resemble Agent Parker''s original idea.¡±


    ¡°You''re kidding!¡± Clint exclaimed.


    Maria shook her head and opened the next file. ¡°They''ve entered an exclusive patent and tech sharing contract. There will be a new fire suppressant variant available next week and they are already sold out with the pre-orders and have increased production.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Natasha whispered again.


    ¡°How rich is he now?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°If you include the patents we''re going to share with him and the advanced orders for the Stark Protect devices that have opened up for sales across the country, Agent Parker will be a billionaire by the end of the month.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Clint whispered. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡±


    ¡°Now you know why I''m worried that our newest agent hasn''t returned.¡± Fury said as he stood to lean on the table and both Natasha and Clint nodded. ¡°Whatever you two have planned, or were going to plan, I am specifically ordering you to KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!¡±


    Clint and Natasha flinched, because Fury had never yelled at them like that.


    ¡°So what if he knows about you! He knows a lot of shit that no one could have known!¡± Fury spat. ¡°I can''t tell you about it, because it''s so classified that I''m not allowed to even mention it by name!¡±


    Both Natasha and Clint were stunned to hear that.


    ¡°I can corroborate Director Fury''s statements. I was a witness when Agent Parker revealed some of what he knew.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Some?¡± Natasha asked.


    ¡°He was severely holding back the full extent of his knowledge.¡± Fury said. ¡°I tricked him once and pretended my beeper was a lie detection device. After that, he hedged his words to be full of conjecture and guesses.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°We know he has depths of knowledge that we could benefit from. However, we can''t push him.¡±


    ¡°We do not want him to clam up and not tell us anything. That could be bad. Very bad.¡± Fury said and glared at the two best agents he had. ¡°If someone had been fucking smart and stayed friends with him, someone might have had the perfect opportunity to casually worm some information out of him.¡±


    Natasha sighed. ¡°I don''t think so. He didn''t...¡±


    ¡°Yes, he did.¡± Fury interrupted her. ¡°What part of ''practically full access to his life'' did you misinterpret?¡±


    Natasha closed her mouth and didn''t respond.


    ¡°You could have been around him constantly during your time off and you would have had immediate access to whatever plans he came up with. Instead, we''re stuck with getting second-hand and third-hand knowledge and piecing things together.¡± Fury said and nodded to Maria. ¡°Hill is doing an excellent job of getting closer to Agent Parker without letting him know that''s what she''s doing.¡±


    ¡°It''s slow progress and that''s how I''ll gain access. Slipping into warm water and turning up the heat is easier than jumping into hot water and hoping you don''t get burned.¡± Maria said, wisely.


    Fury nodded. ¡°When Agent Parker returns, your confrontation with him over his much overdue state, will provide a unique opportunity for a personal interaction.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, sir. I''ve never failed in a mission yet.¡± Maria said.


    Natasha and Clint exchanged looks. Neither of them thought that Maria had what it took to seduce someone.


    ¡°All right. There''s nothing else we can do about him until he pops back up on the tracking system or comes back to base.¡± Fury said. ¡°Until then, pretend everything is fine and go about your business.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria, Natasha, and Clint said together.


    ¡°Dismissed.¡± Fury said and Maria packed up her files and followed Clint and Natasha out of the meeting room. He sat back down and placed his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers under his chin. ¡°Where are you, Parker? What are you doing right now?¡±


    *


    I sat inside the elaborate palace garden and stared at the modest cleavage of an excited African Princess as she leaned forward intentionally to give me said great view. ¡°Shuri, you''re killing me here.¡±


    Shuri had a very smug look on her face. ¡°Please, Ben.¡± She purred. ¡°I want to see it. I need to see it.¡±


    I looked over at my two guards and they both looked amused, so I wasn''t getting any help from them. I looked back at Shuri and she had hooked the bottom of her billowy top with a finger and pulled down a little more. The small white bra she wore actually highlighted her breasts wonderfully and made them more appealing than if she had worn nothing.


    ¡°Why did your mother warn you about me when she should have warned me about you?¡± I asked her.


    Shuri let out a laugh as she let her top go and it sprung back up into place. ¡°She wanted to make sure that you wouldn''t touch me without my permission. She didn''t say anything about me using the same tactics on you, because she knows those are some of the most effective weapons a woman can wield.¡±


    ¡°They are definitely the most distracting.¡± I commented and she looked quite pleased.


    ¡°Then let me see it.¡± Shuri said. ¡°If I''m happy, you might get to see a little bit more. If you''re lucky.¡±


    I pretended to think about it. ¡°What if we did a mutual exchange? You get to see mine and I get to see yours?¡±


    Shuri gave me a pointed look for several moments, then she nodded. ¡°Five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± I said and unhooked my automatic deploying shield bracelet and she unhooked her thick bangle from her wrist. We held them out to each other and then grabbed the offered items at the same time.


    Five minutes wasn''t very long for an examination and I knew Shuri was a genius, so she was going to figure out the collapsible tech long before I would figure out her communications and computer controller bangle. Or so she assumed. She wouldn''t have agreed, otherwise.


    Unlike a normal person, I parsed computer language by its function and not by whatever wording was used. It was essential to my building blocks theory, because when a program was built properly, each part had its own function. Certain blocks of code always did certain things and looked similar, even in different languages.


    My thumbs almost burned as I poured through her computer systems and added my own commands into her system files, just like I had with Tony Stark''s servers. I even did the backups and override codes to make sure I still had access. I had just enough time to delete my tracks when Shuri let out a whoop of joy.


    I looked over at her and she had somehow gotten a small toolkit from somewhere and I saw that my bracelet was half disassembled with a futuristic cell phone connected to it, probably to root through my coding.


    ¡°You do realize it''s proprietary technology and I patented it.¡± I said and handed her the bangle back.


    ¡°Patents filed in the United States don''t apply here.¡± Shuri said as she clipped the bangle back onto her wrist and then she gave me a smug look. ¡°If you give me another five minutes to finish disassembling your bracelet to work out the mechanism and the programming completely, I''ll let you see my bra without my top on.¡±


    I looked over at my guards and they both shrugged, which meant it was her choice. ¡°I''ll agree to let you work on it for as long as it takes, if you take the top off now and I can admire you while you work.¡±


    ¡°DEAL!¡± Shuri yelled and whipped her top off without even thinking about it and then she was bent over my bracelet and gave me a spectacular view of her cleavage with the white bra starkly contrasted against her dark skin.


    I didn''t try to hide it as I stood and adjusted myself, in full view of Shuri and my guards. I didn''t think Shuri could look any smugger or more pleased that her ploy had worked. I sat back down and reclined slightly and watched the young woman as she enjoyed herself and completely tore my bracelet apart.


    I could almost see her mind working behind her eyes as she examined everything from the construction, to the wiring, to the sensors, then she dug into the program that ran it. I watched as her nipples grew hard and she bit her bottom lip as she read through the reams of computer code that was both simple and complicated at the same time.


    It took her twenty minutes before she let out a very satisfied sigh, stood up and stepped close to me, then she sat down right beside me. She also left her top off, to my erection''s happiness.


    ¡°I know why you handed me my bracelet back to end our deal and why you let me figure out the bracelet completely afterwards.¡± Shuri said and gave me an interested look. ¡°You completely compromised my computer systems, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t need to know our language to do it?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°I can''t remove what you did, can I?¡±


    ¡°Not without resetting everything and starting from scratch.¡±


    Shuri shivered slightly. ¡°I know my body is only fourteen; but, I''m really turned on mentally right now.¡± She said with that same purring tone as before.


    ¡°To be honest, this body is only fourteen, too.¡± I admitted and she gave me a pointed look. ¡°I train and work out a lot.¡±


    ¡°Show me.¡± Shuri commanded in a husky voice.


    I stood up and started to take off the SHIELD stealth suit. Shuri''s eyes watched me, with interest far beyond her apparent age, so I made a bit of a show as I stripped myself off for her. She let out a soft gasp when I revealed my well-muscled chest and then I pulled off my pants. I heard two other soft gasps, that I assumed were from the two guards, and I did several muscle builder poses.


    Shuri stood up as she ran her dark hands up my thighs, along my waist, and up to my chest. The look of desire on her face wasn''t something I had planned, though. I suspected new tech would excite her, yes. What I hadn''t expected was for her to be comfortable enough with her body to flaunt it to get what she wanted.


    ¡°I told mother that I''ve been training since I was six and you couldn''t touch me if you tried.¡± Shuri whispered. ¡°That''s not true, is it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I whispered back. ¡°I completely expected to not be allowed to, even if I asked.¡±


    Shuri smiled smugly at me. ¡°Shall we have a friendly fight to confirm that?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°It wouldn''t be fair for you, Shuri.¡±


    Shuri gave me an odd look and then her smug smile became a mischievous one. ¡°You''re right. This wouldn''t be fair at all.¡± She said and stepped back from me and stripped off her skirt and tights to leave herself in just a small pair of starkly white panties and her bra.


    My eyes drank all of her in and she softly laughed.


    ¡°If you keep admiring me like that, you won''t see my attack coming.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°I don''t need to.¡± I responded.


    Shuri hesitated for a moment, then she moved with a quickness that wasn''t there before. I had been watching her abdomen like Melinda May had taught me to do and my arm moved up to block Shuri''s punch that her fit body had telegraphed.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Jubadi asked with a slightly raised voice.


    I lifted my gaze to meet Shuri''s eyes and she looked surprised. ¡°Admiring a spectacular body gives you a different perspective during a fight.¡±


    Shuri''s surprise changed to a stern look. ¡°Show me how.¡±


    ¡°As you command, my princess.¡± I said and she smiled for a second before I grabbed her arm, whipped her around, flung her over my back and through the air, to gently land in a bed of common flowers.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Shuri gasped and sat up. ¡°Wait a second! That didn''t hurt!¡±


    ¡°Pain is not a requirement for learning, your highness.¡± I saluted her and bowed. ¡°Shall we continue?¡±


    ¡°Yessss.¡± Shuri growled and stood up as a feral smile appeared on her face. ¡°We shall.¡± She said and attacked me.

 91 Wakanda Forever Conclusion

    Bokuboy


    I wasn''t sure how I ended up in bed with an African Princess. I had been well into explaining the fourth lesson that Melinda had taught me about leading a target''s attack with your own, then I was suddenly on the ground with two guards holding me steady and Shuri''s lips were all over my face and then lower, and lower, then... holy hell, the two guards had helped her and showed her what to do.


    Oh boy, did they know what they were doing. It was a bit utilitarian, however. It got the job done and that was it. So, I had whispered tweaks to their techniques, gave a few suggestions and a hint or two, in order for them to maximize how much pleasure they would give their target. That target being a very happy and energetic Penis Parker.


    The three of them had readily accepted my words and were quite effective in applying their altered attack styles to subdue, trap, and conquer a very willing target. Penis Parker wasn''t going to go down without a fight, though. His counter assaults were both rough and brutal, energetic and forceful, and made them loudly cry out. When he spit on them powerfully, they lapped it up as if it was ambrosia.


    Who knew that if you pinned a fierce warrior woman down and rammed into her from behind as hard as you could while you rubbed her bald head roughly, she got off quicker than with gentle foreplay?


    For some reason, they thought tender loving care was an expression of weakness, so I adapted to their way of having sex. I mean, I thought I knew what rough sex was. I never would have thought my standards for rough were a little below the expectations for such strong women. When they took you to bed, you had better dominate them and dominate them good, or they would be disappointed.


    Believe me, you do not want to disappoint a woman that could break a man''s limbs since they were children. Nope, you do not. Thankfully, I avoided that fate and made sure to give them exactly what they expected. A fantastic and thorough fucking.


    Even the princess had expected it and that would have been a surprise, until I realized the only women she had access to on a regular basis were her guards, because there was no way she was around her mother enough to hear about her parents having sex. Plus, their toned and hard bodies were firm and needed to be handled roughly, according to them.


    ¡°Mmm.¡± Jubadi moaned and rolled over to look at me. ¡°What was that last one again?¡±


    ¡°There''s no Xhosa equivalent word for it.¡± I said and used a hand to rub the back of her head roughly and pulled her in to kiss her hard.


    Jubadi moaned appreciatively and then she was on top of me again and enthusiastically rode me as she gripped the hair on my head. My hands went to her breasts and I squeezed them much harder than I had ever held anything so soft and delicate before. She moaned louder and pulled me up to kiss her and to make me shove myself upwards at the same time.


    My hands slid down to her hips and then to her ass, which I gripped harder than her breasts and pulled her down so roughly that she started to orgasm. Her fingers left bruises on my neck and on my back as we fucked as hard as she wanted. It lasted nearly twenty minutes before her whole body shook and she collapsed on top of me and she lazily bit and chewed on my earlobe and neck.


    ¡°You... are... emangalisayo.¡± Jubadi whispered.


    ¡°I''m... grateful? No, wonderful.¡± I said and she smiled and licked my neck and then bit me hard. ¡°We agreed no blood.¡±


    ¡°Love mark. Claimed.¡± Jubadi said and then chuckled. ¡°I am late in doing so, however.¡±


    I had to chuckle, too. Shuri had wasted no time at all when she had dug her teeth into my shoulder right after I had first penetrated her, then she said she needed to have anyone that looked at me to see that I was hers. She bit my cheek even harder to leave a perfect imprint of her teeth marks in my skin.


    Jubadi sat up on me again and looked down at where we were joined together. ¡°No man has ever lasted as long as you and you are still ready?¡±


    ¡°Did you want me not to be?¡± I asked in a teasing manner.


    Jubadi barked a laugh, rolled us over to put herself on the bottom, and begged me to pound her into the mattress as she wrapped her legs around me. I balanced myself on my knees and pinched her nipples hard to use them like handles before I did as she asked. Her screams of pleasure woke the other two women in the bed with us and we suddenly had two more mouths and tongues to feed.


    Penis Parker was more than happy to oblige.


    *


    Ramonda, the Queen of Wakanda, had been worried about her decision to allow her daughter to try and intervene with her husband''s plans for the young man. He had restored their country''s honor and put the dead souls to rest with his gifts and she was sure that killing him without proper justification, would besmirch their honor once more. There would be no way to recover from it, either.


    She had discreetly ordered one of her own guards to shadow them and to report on their activities. Would Shuri really take him to the underground mines? Would she show him her lab and reveal even more secrets to him, which might ensure his demise that much faster?


    There was a soft knock on her meditation room''s door and she told them to enter. It was her guard and the bald warrior approached with hesitation. Ramonda asked her what was wrong for her to act like that around her. What the guard said in response was a shock to her. She couldn''t believe sounds of sex were coming from her daughter''s room and she left her meditation room to go to her daughter''s and would demand to know the truth.


    Surprisingly, the door wasn''t locked and Ramonda opened it to step inside, only to hear a loud and very pleased moan come from her child. She looked at the bed in shock, because her scientifically inclined daughter hung off the end of the bed, naked as the day she was born, and she had her legs spread out to the sides.


    A fairly large and starkly white rock hard penis was being slammed into her daughter with so much force that the whole bed shook and the two guards had a hard time holding Shuri''s body steady. They were also naked and looked completely covered in fluids.


    The guard behind the queen made a sound of disbelief and then desire. She knew that if she had entered to investigate instead of going right to the queen, she would have been invited as a participant.


    ¡°I''m... close!¡± Benjamin Peter Parker exclaimed.


    ¡°SHOW US YOUR PROWESS!¡± The two guards yelled as Shuri screamed her pleasure once more.


    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Ben yelled as he pulled out and used a hand to stroke himself almost faster than the eye could see... and then a bright white stream of ejaculate shot out of the tip and flew across the distance toward the previously closed door... and splashed right onto the chest of Queen Ramonda''s immaculate dress. The second shot landed on her skirt and the third barely spurted over Shuri''s body to land on the floor.


    ¡°Mother!¡± Shuri gasped.


    ¡°My Queen!¡± The two guards gasped.


    All three of them scrambled up from the floor and went over to the queen. Their hands tried to wipe the white fluid off of her clothing and all it did was spread it around. Her own guard was also there trying to help and the mess was getting everywhere.


    Ramonda held up a hand and they all stopped moving. ¡°You are only making it worse.¡±


    The three guards ducked their heads and saluted as they stepped back.


    ¡°Mother, I...¡± Shuri started to say.


    ¡°You did it to save him, didn''t you?¡± Ramonda asked her.


    Shuri looked startled for a moment and then she couldn''t stop her huge smile. ¡°Ben! Come here!¡±


    Bold as can be, the young man didn''t even try to cover himself or stopped himself from dripping on the floor as he walked over to them. His prominent erection wasn''t waning, either.


    Ramonda chose to ignore that and her guard as the warrior licked her hands clean. Her eyes fell immediately upon Benjamin''s cheek that had a dainty imprint of a full set of teeth. She also didn''t miss the two bite marks on either side of his neck, probably from his two guards.


    ¡°Explain.¡± She said to them.


    ¡°We ensured that her first time was pleasurable and that he fulfilled her desire first, your highness.¡± Jubadi said, her head still ducked slightly. ¡°Her claim was first. Ours were just confirmation of his status as an acceptable lover for her highness.¡±


    ¡°You actually approve of him?¡± Ramonda asked, surprised.


    ¡°We do, My Queen.¡± Both Jubadi and Hintula said together.


    Ramonda looked at the young man that had defiled her daughter. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself, Benjamin Peter Parker?¡±


    ¡°If I really am to be executed, I couldn''t have asked for a better way to be sent off to the afterlife.¡± Ben said to their surprise. ¡°I wonder if Bast would greet me after being with a child of one of her blessed?¡±


    All of them gasped at his utterance of the name of their sacred deity and Ramonda looked shocked.


    ¡°I probably should have kept that viewpoint to myself.¡± Ben whispered.


    Ramonda shook her head and then pointed to the side. ¡°Wash yourselves and then present yourselves to the throne room when you are done. I must speak to my husband immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Queen.¡± The two guards said and saluted, grabbed Ben''s and Shuri''s hands, and quickly led them towards the bathroom.


    Ramonda turned and saw the look on her own guard''s face. ¡°I won''t object.¡±


    The woman gave her a beautiful smile and saluted. ¡°I will confirm that their choice is a good one, My Queen!¡± She said and ran across the room and slammed the bathroom door shut.


    Ramonda sighed and left her daughter''s room to go and change. She couldn''t show up to talk to her husband and king with another man''s fluids on her clothing, accident or not. She arrived in her rooms and two attendants stripped her off and gave her a quick bath, then dressed her again.


    The queen left her rooms and successfully ignored both of her servants as they smelled her soiled dress and then wallowed their faces into the two wet stains.


    *


    I was escorted to the throne room by three very pleased female warriors and I still couldn''t believe I hadn''t been killed immediately after blowing a load onto the queen herself. I mean, what the hell? They threatened to have me killed for just knowing some of their secrets.


    Now I was somehow getting a second chance to redeem myself after I had plowed the king''s daughter, three of the guards, and had been two inches away from having a load go down the queen''s throat. I almost laughed at that and managed to stop myself. She was a handsome woman, yes. I wasn''t going to let her taste Penis Parker and potentially ruining her marriage if given the choice, though.


    Still, it would have been damn funny if she had taken a single step into Shuri''s room.


    The atmosphere in the throne room was downright chilly in comparison to what it had been six hours ago. There were a few hostile glares and I was sure it was because of who I was, namely the only white guy in the entire country that wasn''t already dead. If they knew I had wrecked the princess... well, I was a fairly good fighter, even without my spider powers.


    Speaking of her, Shuri looked just as pleased as the female warriors around me. She actually grinned and showed off her teeth and made sure that everyone in the throne room, including her father, saw that her teeth matched the teeth marks on my cheek. Sounds of disbelief came from nearly everyone, except from the king, which meant he already knew.


    ¡°Benjamin Peter Parker.¡± King T''Chaka said with a strong voice. ¡°It has come to my attention that you know significantly more about us and our culture than we suspected.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± I said and saluted as I bowed. ¡°I promised to answer you truthfully.¡±


    ¡°Tell us what you know of us and our religion.¡± The king ordered.


    I stood up straight and nodded. ¡°It all started over two and a half million years ago when a meteorite made of the element vibranium landed in the heart of Africa, greatly affecting the surrounding flora. Centuries later, five tribes colonized the area and went to war over the metal.


    One day, Bashenga was guided by a vision of Bast, the eternal Feline Goddess, who led him towards a plant that had mutated as a result of the metal''s radiation. Upon ingesting the herb, Bashenga discovered he had been imbued with superhuman abilities and used them to unite the tribes as the first King of Wakanda and the first Black Panther.¡±


    Everyone in the throne room were completely silent.


    ¡°Four of the tribes pledged their loyalty to Bashenga while the fifth, the Jabari Tribe, refused to pledge allegiance. They settled in the northern mountains to continue adhering to a more traditional and primitive way of life, while the rest of Wakanda continued to develop into a modernized rule.¡±


    ¡°Bashenga''s lineage would come to form a sixth pseudo tribe named the Golden Tribe, which included a line of his royal descendants that would continue to survive to this day and fully established the Kingdom of Wakanda as each successive king would become the new Black Panther to protect the people.¡±


    Everyone stared at me in surprise.


    ¡°Legends have mistakenly associated Wakanda''s capital city as the fabled El Dorado, or the Lost City of Gold. Little did they know that was a lot closer to the truth than it was a lie and now the capital is known as the Golden City. The mined vibranium allowed the Wakandan people to grow and prosper at an accelerated rate as they developed technology far in advance of the rest of the world, including a protective energy shield and holographic display that can fool cameras and sensors alike.¡±


    ¡°He''s not stopping.¡± Someone whispered.


    ¡°The River Tribe are responsible for dealing with agriculture and fishery, the Merchant Tribe with commerce and trade, the Border Tribe with border security and as Wakanda''s first line of defense, and the Mining Tribe was responsible for vibranium management. To ensure the safety of the kingdom, the War Dogs were instated as Wakanda''s central intelligence service and secret police.¡±


    The shock on the tribe leader''s faces was complete and total.


    I smiled at my guards as I spoke the next part. ¡°Wakanda''s military consists of the Wakandan Royal Guard and they handle all the major battles, although the major branch includes the Dora Milaje, an elite group of all-female warriors used as trusted personal guards. They are fierce and capable fighters that when encountered as an enemy, you are lucky to leave with your life intact.¡±


    Bright smiles were given back to me.


    ¡°As of this moment, Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation on the planet.¡± I said and they all looked pleased. So, I dropped a verbal bomb on them. ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡± Several people exclaimed, Shuri included.


    ¡°Humanity around the world has advanced more in the last fifty years than they have in the last five hundred. More technology is being discovered and created every day.¡± I said and nodded to my shield bracelet that was now around Shuri''s wrist. ¡°I also designed a fully protective suit in a similar manner to that and it allows the wearer to lift upwards of 60 tons...¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Someone gasped.


    ¡°...and they can fly.¡± I finished and Shuri let out a sound that was not unlike when she had an orgasm.


    King T''Chaka had a slightly surprised look on his face, which was profound. ¡°I was prodded by my wife for half an hour to ask you to prove to my people that killing you would be detrimental to my country''s welfare.¡±


    ¡°I have designed and have access to security devices that auto-deploy to capture criminals in special restraining fluid. I''ll soon have a fire suppressant device that does the same thing.¡± I said and looked at Shuri. ¡°Since I have established a mutually beneficial relationship with the princess, I would be willing to share my designs and ideas if she is willing to do the same.¡±


    ¡°YES!¡± Shuri gasped.


    ¡°Shuri.¡± Queen Ramonda said and her daughter nodded as she fell silent.


    ¡°That would not really help my people.¡± King T''Challa said.


    ¡°What about giving your sting ships and transports refractive camouflage? They will need a power system upgrade to handle the cloaking technology that will make them completely invisible while flying.¡±


    Shuri once again made that noise and the queen held a hand out to her. She took it gratefully and leaned into her mother''s side as she sat on the arm of her throne.


    ¡°You would grant us such power?¡± T''Challa asked.


    ¡°Of course. I told you that I brought gifts to become friends with you and your people. Helping your covert operation to deliver food to neighbouring nations that desperately need it, would only make you happier to have me as a friend.¡±


    The surprised look on his face was worth revealing his secret openly. The queen had a smile on her face and Shuri looked ready to tackle me again.


    King T''Chaka gave me a blank look for exactly six minutes before he made a decision and nodded. ¡°As King of Wakanda, I hereby commute your death sentence to time served, gifts presented, and future services to be rendered.¡±


    ¡°YESSSS!¡± Shuri yelled and ran at me.


    I prepared myself and when she lunged at me to take me to the floor, I instead grabbed her and swung her around to change her forward momentum to centrifugal force and hugged her close as we came to a stop.


    Shuri stared into my eyes and the look said I wasn''t getting away from her for a while.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I whispered and gave her a quick kiss. ¡°You saved me.¡±


    ¡°As you said, behind every great man is an even greater woman.¡± Shuri said and looked at her mother, who nodded. She turned back to me and grabbed my long hair tightly before she slammed her lips to mine.


    All of the women cheered for the princess and her happiness.

 92 Wakanda Aftermath

    Bokuboy


    I was given an abbreviated tour of the palace, the grounds, the mine through an observation window, and then I was taken to Shuri''s lab. Instead of showing me around, I was stripped off once more and ordered to perform to the best of my ability. I performed admirably with Shuri, then with my two guards, as if they still needed confirmation that I wasn''t going to fail in my duty to the princess.


    An hour later, we were showered and Shuri showed me the basic fabric their warriors wore that was weaved together with strands of vibranium. I was shown how they processed the valuable metal into pliable string and then I was informed it was an extra element that didn''t exist on the periodic table.


    It reminded me about the unnamed element that Tony Stark''s father had invented and didn''t have the technology to create back when Tony was a kid. I also knew where he kept the plans for it. I took out my cell phone and there was no signal.


    ¡°That won''t work anywhere in Wakanda.¡± Shuri said and handed me hers.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and popped hers open and connected mine to it with a communication cord and piggybacked onto her signal.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shuri asked.


    ¡°Sending a few texts.¡± I said and finished typing. I stood there and waited for the responses and I wasn''t disappointed.


    Aunt May was both upset I would be away for another day and happy that I had met someone. Maria Hill was also upset and I would have to make it up to her for blowing off work, even if I had done a good job. Jarvis was a great friend and sent me a three dimensional scan of Pepper''s office. He really loved his quite roomy backup servers and the extra processing power had him almost giddy.


    ¡°You have a three dimensional display table, don''t you?¡± I asked.


    Shuri nodded before she led me over to a large white table. She turned it on and gave me an expectant look.


    ¡°Let''s have some fun creating another element, shall we?¡± I asked with a grin.


    Shuri looked surprised until I sent the scan through her cell phone and into the table''s interface. ¡°An office? How is that an element?¡±


    ¡°I could make a joke about it being an element of surprise.¡± I said and she huffed and rolled her eyes. ¡°I just need to remove the superfluous things.¡± I commented and then used the table to delete the walls, desk, carpeting, artwork, and the ceiling.


    What was left was the very large display model of what Howard Stark envisioned as the City of the Future. Only, it wasn''t real. It was a cleverly designed blueprint. Shuri stared at the thing as I started replacing the buildings with atomic structure components and the roads became electron pathways and bonds between molecules.


    When I was done, Shuri shook and leaned against the table as wetness dripped onto the floor from between her legs.


    ¡°B-Ben... Ben... by Bast''s grace...¡± Shuri whispered. ¡°Free... clean energy...¡±


    ¡°You better tell me you have a particle accelerator where we can smash some atoms together, or I''m going to be disappointed.¡± I said to her. ¡°We need to make Shurinium as soon as possible.¡±


    Shuri stared into my eyes and the look said I wasn''t getting away from her for a while. ¡°Hold him down!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Princess!¡± My two guards said enthusiastically and we quickly became another big pile of sex on the floor again. It was starting to become a bit of a habit for us and Penis Parker didn''t mind at all.


    *


    Six hours later, Ramonda, the Queen of Wakanda, was surprised when her daughter ran into her office and practically tackled her. Shuri was dripping wet from a fresh shower and started talking so quickly that it took the queen several minutes to calm her down enough to get a sensible sentence from her.


    She and her consort had created a vibranium encased power source that was both stable and produced more energy than one of their room-sized vibranium generators. It was also self-sustaining and completely clean with no radiation or detectable emissions.


    Ramonda was shocked. How was that possible? Their own research had only progressed so far into that field and had stagnated, because there was only so far that electronics could be miniaturized before they became too weak to work properly or broke down and were too expensive to tear apart to fix.


    After ten minutes of scientific babbling that the queen only understood half of, Shuri exclaimed that she needed to get back to the lab to help Ben build a new Black Panther suit for her brother. She kissed her mother''s cheek and then ran out of her office as she babbled about having a new element named after her.


    Ramonda sat there, her new dress damp from her daughter''s wet body hugging her, and she stared at the door where her amused guard tried to not comment about what had just happened.


    ¡°Call my attendants, please. I am in need of yet another wardrobe change.¡± Ramonda said. ¡°You are dismissed from your duties after that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Queen.¡± The guard said and saluted before she ran off just as fast as Shuri had.


    *


    You wouldn''t believe how difficult it was to receive an enthusiastic blowjob and still work on delicate electronic components. I did my best to work through both the blowjob and the electronics of the new BPSuit. Both were of equal importance, according to Shuri.


    ¡°Are you sure the updated capacitors can handle the new reactor?¡± Shuri asked and handed me a soldering gun and a handful of said capacitors.


    ¡°You designed them and added vibranium cores. What do you think?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think Jubadi isn''t working hard enough if you can still talk properly.¡± Shuri said with a smirk.


    I felt my balls be gripped by a hand and used as a handle as Jubadi sped up her movements.


    ¡°You''re... not helping me... get this done... faster.¡± I grunted and went back to work.


    ¡°That''s better.¡± Shuri said and reached over to get another vibranium armor plate from the fabricator.


    We had redesigned the suit slightly to use even smaller pieces, since the metal was so much lighter and stronger than any other metal on the planet. Putting everything together was progressing quickly, despite having my girlfriend order my guards to ensure that I was fully and rigorously tested. Their ideas of appropriate tests were skewed at best and completely lewd at worst.


    I stopped working and reached under the desk to grip Jubadi''s ears and shoved myself down her throat hard. I let my load go and Jubadi moaned happily as she drank it all down. I let her ears go and Shuri handed me a cloth to wipe my hands off. We both ignored the enthusiastic slobbering sounds as Jubadi cleaned up after herself.


    ¡°What did you think of my idea of adding a prehensile tail?¡± I asked Shuri as Jubadi came out from under the desk, seemed to tag my other guard, and Hintula climbed under the desk to take her place.


    ¡°T''Challa would hate it.¡± Shuri said with a mischievous grin. ¡°I''ll work on the construction and you work on the programming.¡±


    ¡°Don''t forget to add in the... retractable blade on the end.¡± I said as Hintula started her test.


    Shuri reached over to grip my hair and pulled me into a kiss. ¡°Make sure to give it a natural cat tail feel. If he gets angry, I want to see it flick around appropriately. His ears, too.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Understood, My Princess. It... will be done.¡±


    Shuri gave me another kiss and bit my lip for a moment before she went to the holographic table and started playing around with a deploying mechanism for the back of the belt. She started giggling as she added in servos and gears to make the tail completely responsive.


    I went back to work myself and Hintula decided I wasn''t stimulated enough and one of her fingers made its way between my cheeks. I hissed appropriately for her and didn''t complain, so she hummed happily and played with me from both outside and inside.


    Honestly, what was with these women? It was as if once they had you, you were theirs to play with completely and for as long as they wanted to. I still wasn''t allowed to disappoint them, so there was no gentle cunnilingus or slowly bringing them to orgasm with soft caresses and lovemaking.


    The thing was, I was sure it was because they had always been treated so roughly during sex that doing it normally wouldn''t get them off anymore. They needed the harsh stimulation or it wasn''t enjoyable for them... and it had better be enjoyable or you were going to know about it. Immediately.


    The lab door opened and the queen''s personal guard walked in wearing her casual clothes and not her uniform.


    Dammit! It''s going to take forever to get this done. I thought as she dropped her body wrap to show me her firm breasts and damp panties before she crawled under the desk with Hintula. At least they enjoy working hard as much as I do.


    I felt my balls be sucked into her warm and inviting mouth and I shivered for her. She made a pleased sound and one of her hands gripped my butt hard.


    This is going to be a loooong night. I thought and went back to work while Penis Parker had another great time.


    *


    The next morning, Prince T''Challa couldn''t believe it as he beheld the belt and wrist bracelets on the display model. He had known that his little sister was a veritable genius, just from all of the innovations she had introduced to their society since she was ten and was allowed access to the science labs.


    What he hadn''t realized was that there could be someone else that was just as clever as her. He would never have guessed that if both of them were allowed to be in the same room together to brainstorm, they would create things that would change the world, if they were ever allowed to tell anyone about it.


    ¡°Go ahead and put them on, Mfowethu (my brother).¡± Shuri prompted him.


    ¡°You seem quite smug, Usisi (sister).¡± T''Challa responded and put on the belt and then clipped on the two large bracelets on his wrists.


    ¡°Ben and I have created a cheap renewable energy source that will allow our country to produce triple the crop yield we already do.¡± Shuri said and T''Challa gave her a surprised look. ¡°Our sting ships are already being upgraded by him and he is documenting the procedure.¡±


    T''Challa saw her smug look disappear. ¡°What is wrong?¡±


    ¡°Ben has to leave tonight and I won''t be able to rely on him.¡± Shuri whispered.


    ¡°Have you given him one of your cell phones?¡± T''Challa asked.


    ¡°Yes, and he has already cross-linked it with several Stark satellites in orbit for me.¡± Shuri said, still sad. ¡°We can talk whenever he has spare time.¡±


    ¡°He doesn''t have a lot of spare time, does he?¡± T''Challa guessed.


    ¡°Not really, no.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°What about the six hour time difference?¡± T''Challa asked as he adjusted the belt to fit.


    ¡°When it is 7:00 am in New York, it is 1:00 pm here.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. So, you are halfway through your day when he starts his.¡± T''Challa said and nodded. ¡°If he goes to school for the normal hours, he will be done at 3:00 pm and it will be 9:00 pm here.¡±


    ¡°Our days will be too skewed to adjust them to fit our schedules.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°Then make due with the time you have. Schedule talks when you are both not busy, say at meals. In fact, when he eats lunch at noon, you can be having supper.¡± T''Challa said. ¡°You know sharing a meal is important for a good relationship.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that... I think... that could work.¡± Shuri''s sad look changed to a smile. ¡°It will work!¡±


    T''Challa nodded. ¡°I am glad to help you reach a common ground.¡± He said and looked down at the belt. ¡°How is this thing supposed to deploy? Is there...¡±


    There was a fluttering sound for three seconds and T''Challa caught his breath, because he was now completely covered from head to toe in vibranium armor.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± T''Challa''s altered voice said through the face covering. ¡°What happened to my voice?¡±


    ¡°That was Ben''s idea. Having your own people know who you are is fine. If you travel outside of Wakanda, then you need to conceal your identity.¡± Shuri said. ¡°Don''t forget, we still need to hunt down the bits of vibranium that Klaue managed to sell over the last few years.¡±


    Black Panther nodded. ¡°I have already sent word to the war dogs to sniff out what they can, now that Klaue has been eliminated and his information sources are no longer protected.¡±


    Shuri nodded back. ¡°Before you try out the suit''s capabilities, you need to read the primer for...¡±


    ¡°I will figure it out.¡± Black Panther said as the repulsors on his hands and feet lit off in a testing sequence.


    ¡°This isn''t like your old suit, Mfowethu. You need to read how to...¡±


    ¡°I want to fly!¡± Black Panther said and all four repulsors lit at once at full power and he yelled as he shot up into the air. He flailed his arms and legs around and that threw off the rudimentary flight guide system, and he did a cartwheel, a backflip, then flew across the testing area and straight into the wall with a clang.


    Black Panther bounced off of the wall and flipped over before he landed face down on the floor and then he spun around in a circle because the repulsors were still going full tilt. Shuri took pity on him and remotely shut the flight system down for him. Her brother''s spin slowed down and he came to a stop with his smirking sister giving him the ''I told you'' look.


    Shuri was inordinately pleased, because Black Panther''s ears were now flat against his head and his tail swished angrily.


    ¡°I think I will take your suggestion and read up on how to work the suit before I use it.¡± Black Panther said.


    Shuri mockingly gave him a royal salute and then laughed and laughed.


    *


    I finally managed to tire out my guards and used the fabricator to create something that Aunt May had asked me to make for her a while ago. Since I now had limited access to vibranium and various ores that could be created from it, I had a unique opportunity to give May a present that she would probably kill for.


    I didn''t bother with blueprints or anything, because I didn''t want this device to get away from my exclusive control. I even used one of the dozen vibranium arc reactors as a power source, because it was easily regulated and there was no chance of an overload or something going wrong. Both Shuri''s components and my programming ensured that it was completely safe.


    I packed it up and put it with the crate of reactors that I was granted permission to take with me. Once I had that done, I went to work on one more gift. It was something that I had to do before I left to go home. I was very reluctant to give up my access to a wonderful metal fabrication unit and thought about copying the plans.


    I shook my head at that, because it wasn''t something that could be taken to New York. I could probably keep it safe; but, if I had access to it all the time, I doubted I would ever do anything else except make things with it spitting out the designed parts. Of course, that was tempting all by itself, because good lord, being able to make almost anything I wanted was like an addictive drug.


    Just one more and I''ll quit. I thought and laughed as I repeated the phrase that all addicts used.


    *


    Six hours later, I was escorted into the throne room of the palace by my two guards and the crowd was even thicker than it had been the last two times I had been there. I stopped at a respectable fifteen feet away from the throne and gave the royal salute of crossed arms and bowed deeply to the royal family.


    ¡°Benjamin Peter Parker.¡± King T''Chaka said with authority. ¡°My Queen and I have closely watched you during the last two days.¡±


    Not too closely, I hope. I thought and kept my face blank.


    ¡°Despite my initial misgivings and thoughts that you would... what is that phrase you said, my daughter?¡±


    ¡°Slack off and only do things half-assed.¡± Shuri said with a smug smile.


    ¡°Yes, that.¡± King T''Chaka said. ¡°I am reluctant to admit that I and my wife were impressed with your work ethic. You have accomplished much more than even my genius daughter thought you could.¡±


    ¡°You honor me with your praise, your highness.¡± I said and bowed again. ¡°However, Princess Shuri deserves most of the credit. She demanded my best performance or she would be disappointed with me.¡± I said and gave Shuri an intense look. ¡°I never want her disappointed with me.¡±


    Shuri and her mother looked pleased while all of the other women in the room nodded.


    King T''Chaka nodded as well. ¡°Then my decision stands. You have proven that you are useful to my country... and to my daughter.¡±


    A few gasps came from the audience.


    ¡°My next decision will be unpopular for a short while, until those gathered here realize the depths of the changes your inventions will make in our way of life.¡±


    ¡°Outside influences should be rejected because they are outside influences!¡± Someone in the crowd shouted.


    King T''Chaka held up a hand to stop the guards from hunting the person down to remove them from the room. ¡°My daughter?¡±


    Shuri used her wrist bangle and a holographic representation of the new vibranium encased Shurinium arc reactor appeared between myself and the throne. She gave a short explanation of it and what exactly it did. Complete silence met her words and she nodded to T''Challa.


    My guards and I moved back as T''Challa stepped forward. The hologram disappeared and T''Challa took my place and faced the royal family. He held his hands down with the palms out towards the king and queen, then three seconds of a fluttering sound later, the suit was deployed and Black Panther stood there for all to see.


    In the soft lighting of the throne room, it sure looked impressive. The sounds of shock and disbelief from the crowd and the pleased look on the queen''s face, easily gave away how the king really felt, despite his blank face. When the prehensile tail swished from side to side, the king''s eyes widened.


    T''Challa must have taken that as a cue, because he took a fighting pose and four inch razor sharp claws came out of his fingertips and the six inch long vibranium blade popped out of the end of the tail as the tail whipped around and stopped just before it clanged against the ancient floor of the throne room. The ooo and ahhh sounds from everyone made me feel all warm inside, because I had helped make that sound happen.


    ¡°Does anyone else believe that this particular young man''s influences should be rejected?¡± The queen asked.


    Not one single person spoke or even breathed.


    King T''Chaka waved to T''Challa to return to his side and the prince kept the suit deployed. ¡°My decision is to approve my daughter''s request.¡±


    Shuri gasped and the queen smiled.


    ¡°I hereby declare Benjamin Peter Parker a Friend of Wakanda and Royal Consort to Princess Shuri.¡± King T''Chaka declared. ¡°In four years, if no other suitable candidate appears, you will be formally married under royal ceremony.¡±


    Ohhh, fuck. I thought. Aunt May is going to kill me.


    ¡°Jubadi, you have been approved for transfer to become the Royal Consort''s personal guard.¡± The queen said and Jubadi saluted and bowed deeply. ¡°Continue to keep him safe or your life will be forfeit.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Queen.¡± Jubadi said and stood at attention.


    ¡°Consorts are only allowed one guard. I hope you can manage this task without too much difficulty.¡±


    ¡°I will not fail in my duty, My Queen.¡± Jubadi said, proudly.


    I managed to not slap a hand over my face in frustration. Aunt May is really going to kill me now!

 93 Facing The Music

    Bokuboy


    Here''s 3,135 words for you and an Omake Extra Scene at the end, just for fun.


    With the formalities over, I was pretty much bum-rushed out of the palace and hauled to the hangar bay to my transport. I was handed a stack of diplomatic papers an inch thick and then ushered into my transport. Thankfully, with the stolen vibranium out of the way and the museum crates being removed, there was room for my new stuff and I reinstalled the co-pilot''s seat for Jubadi to sit down.


    ¡°Thank you, Royal Consort.¡± Jubadi said and saluted me.


    ¡°I''m not going to be able to order you to not do that, am I?¡± I asked and started the pre-flight checks.


    ¡°No.¡± Jubadi said and smiled. ¡°However, if you ask nicely, I might save it for when we are alone.¡±


    I stopped what I was doing and turned to her, reached over and gripped her ears tightly, and stared intensely into her eyes. ¡°It is a very long flight to get back to the United States, Jubadi. Unless you don''t want me to fuck you senseless when we are in international waters, you will only use normal deference towards me when in public and not the full royal treatment!¡±


    Jubadi''s eyes looked into mine intensely for a moment before she nodded. I pulled her close and kissed her hard, hard enough to bruise, and she moaned. I let her go and the look she gave me was full of longing and desire.


    ¡°I''m glad Shuri gave me some of your healing tech.¡± I commented as I went back to the flight checks.


    Jubadi let out a soft moan because she was looking forward to marking my freshly healed and unmarked skin.


    The look of disappointment on Shuri''s face when she had healed her bite marks on my face, had almost been heartbreaking. I promised that we would see each other soon and that she could mark me again and show me off to her people once more. She had nodded and kissed me hard after that.


    I powered up the Quinjet and sent a signal to the sting ship that would be guiding us out of Wakandan airspace. They sent an acknowledgement back and I lifted off and flew out of the hangar. It was right on top of me for only a few seconds before it activated camouflage mode and then it fluttered and disappeared.


    ¡°The king was right. You have granted us a great power by helping us, sithandwa.¡±


    It took me a second to get it. ¡°Sweetheart? No, darling.¡±


    Jubadi smiled. ¡°You are learning much quicker than anyone expected.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have any choice when you all kept slipping Xhosa words in place of English ones.¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn''t mind an actual dictionary or a schoolbook, though.¡±


    Jubadi motioned towards the cargo area. ¡°Princess Shuri and Queen Ramonda have given you a betrothal present.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was my job to spoil the princess with gifts until the marriage.¡± I said and followed the right flight path to exit the Wakandan Energy Barrier without frying the transport. Once we were out, I hit the button to activate my own camouflage that I had fabricated and we went invisible before I poured on the power to raise us up to international flight height.


    Having access to a metal fabricator was ridiculously fun, because it could pump out practically anything you wanted if you had the right ingredients to produce it and the proper design specs, like for custom made chromium covered reflective armored plates.


    I would never steal the fabrication technology from the Wakandans, though. It was too valuable of a resource and would destroy all of the trust I had built up with them.


    ¡°It is your job to provide gifts, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi said. ¡°Their gift will just enhance the gifts you give in return.¡±


    I barked a laugh and gave her crooked smile. ¡°I doubt I can top what I''ve already left for her.¡±


    ¡°What did you give the princess?¡± Jubadi asked.


    ¡°Something she never would have expected.¡± I said cryptically. ¡°We can watch the video after it''s sent to me.¡±


    *


    Shuri was extremely sad with Ben gone and even spending an hour with her mother consoling her, hadn''t raised her spirits much. She loved her mother deeply and Ramonda indulged her a little too much sometimes; but, she was her only daughter and the princess of an entire kingdom. Some spoilage was expected.


    Having to say goodbye to her recently betrothed was just too much for her to accept without being depressed, however. No one begrudged the princess for being sad about it.


    Shuri entered her lab and she let out a loud sigh. Two of the women across the room let out girlish giggles and then had a little verbal spar. Shuri paid them no mind until one of them let out a happy shout and carried an envelope over to her.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Shuri asked as the lab technician handed it to her.


    ¡°Something the princess will use to remember her promised mate, your highness.¡± The woman said, saluted and bowed, and ran back over to the other woman. They let out girly giggles again and watched her.


    Shuri opened the envelope and pulled out the stylishly written letter and read it in her mind.


    My dearest Shuri,


    I am so sorry that we must be apart for now and I want you to know that I am almost as sad as you are.


    Shuri bristled a bit. Almost as sad? What is he saying?


    I know that put your hackles up and I''ll explain why. You see, I have Jubadi to constantly remind me of what I''m leaving behind while also taking part of Wakanda with me. So, I wanted to give you something that should let you remember me every time you see it, because I''m leaving a part of myself there for you.


    Shuri was confused. What could it possibly be? He has already given me all of his ideas!


    Please walk forward ten paces, turn to the right, and shout ''Ben is Mine!''. You''re welcome in advance and I hope you enjoy your engagement gift.


    Yours always, Benji


    Shuri did as asked and took ten steps and turned to the right. ¡°Ben is MINE!¡± She shouted.


    The doors to an alcove that held generic tools for diagnostics opened up and Shuri gasped in shock and let the letter and envelope fall to the floor. It wasn''t tools inside the alcove anymore. It was something that she never thought she would ever see. It was something from her dream as a child that she had absently shared with Ben while in bed together.


    A four foot tall mechanical Cheetah, with ears and prehensile tail, stood there on all four paws and stared at her. Tears came to Shuri''s eyes as the mechanical cat took a single step towards her and its tail swished behind it. She dropped to her knees and held her arms open for it and it stalked over to her. It let out a purr and rubbed its face on hers, then it hugged her... and hugged her... and then she was wearing the Cheetah.


    Shuri slowly stood and looked over at the two lab technicians that looked immensely pleased. She ignored the electronics details the display gave her about the two women and she walked across the lab. There was a full length mirror that was used to model the Black Panther suits for fit and functionality.


    She gasped again, because she looked beautiful, graceful, and deadly. She was also a foot taller than normal and her feet were not impeded by having a similar shape to a real cheetah''s legs. It was then that she realized her feet were not in the feet at all and were in the ankle part instead. That never would have occurred to her, even if she somehow had thought she could make a suit for herself, which she didn''t.


    A recorded message popped up and Shuri clicked it with the eye recognition program that Ben had given to her.


    ¡°Hey, beautiful.¡± Ben said in the video as he reclined against the work bench and pet the mechanical cheetah at his side. ¡°You gave me the idea when you commanded me to give T''Challa proper cat-like responses. I wasn''t sure what I could do to realize it, then you mentioned your dream and I knew I had to do it for you. So, this is my present for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Benji.¡± Shuri whispered.


    ¡°When you''re not wearing it, it will be your companion and will follow you everywhere. It has basic autonomous functions, which you can review later. You can also teach it or program it however you want. It can attack, defend, and...¡± Ben paused and laughed. ¡°...it will lick itself to clean its fur like a real cat.¡±


    Shuri let out a laugh as well. She knew her brother would be wondering if she and Ben had given his suit similar programming.


    ¡°Have fun annoying T''Challa with it and there''s no need to let anyone know it is also a BPSuit. Save it for a surprise... or you can shock everyone as it runs rampant and then attacks you to start eating you... and then you become it.¡±


    Shuri laughed pretty hard at the perfect prank. She really liked that Ben knew her that well and they had only been together for a few days.


    ¡°I will call you tomorrow after my Aunt May finishes tearing a strip off of me, not to mention my boss.¡± Ben said and shrugged. ¡°All I can say is that it was worth all the effort to get to you, even if meeting you hadn''t been part of my plans. Who would have thought I would meet someone so wonderful from the other side of the world?¡±


    ¡°I feel the same way, Benji.¡± Shuri said, even though it was a recording.


    ¡°I''ve already sworn your lab techs to secrecy by giving them a few more ideas to make. Good luck getting them to tell you about them! Ha ha!¡± Ben said and waved, as did the cheetah. ¡°Until we talk again.¡±


    Shuri waved her hand as the video ended and she stood there for quite some time as she stared at herself. She really was a quite beautiful humanoid cheetah, with sleek lines, a lithe figure, and deadly paws with retractable claws. With a nod and a mental command, the suit folded off of her and reformed into the Cheetah.


    Shuri pet its head and it let out a purr. ¡°Come. I need to show you off to mother.¡±


    The cheetah let out a half-bark and half-growl and padded along beside her as she left the lab. Neither Shuri nor the cat saw the two lab techs give each other a high five and one sent the video to the young man that had such wonderful ideas for things.


    *


    ¡°Helicarrier Tower, this is Too-Far. Requesting landing coordinates.¡± Ben''s voice came out of several speakers.


    ¡°Too-Far, this is Tower Control!¡± One of the women on the various consoles responded excitedly. ¡°We don''t have visual! I repeat, we cannot see you! Abort landing procedure and confirm your position!¡±


    There was silence on the line for a moment.


    ¡°My apologies, Tower Control. I forgot I still had that on.¡± Ben''s voice said and then everyone in the tower made disbelieving sounds as a Quinjet decloaked right in front of the tower. ¡°I also have a nearly full cargo hold of confiscated and illegal weapons. Is there anywhere they need to be delivered or do I leave them on the transport?¡±


    The woman in charge of him shook her head. ¡°Negative on all of that, Too-Far. We are under specific orders to call certain people when you finally returned. After you land, you are to remain onboard and those individuals will be by soon to debrief you.¡±


    ¡°As long as it''s not Black Widow or Hawkeye, I don''t mind waiting.¡± Ben said. ¡°If either of them show up, I''ll shoot first and ask questions about senior officer stupidity later.¡±


    ¡°Um... roger that, Too-Far.¡± The woman said, nervous that someone had just said they would attack if approached by the wrong person. ¡°Change to vector 23, South by South West. You''re clear for the lower deck, Section 8.¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Wonderful. I get the crazy landing zone.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Look up what the old army discharge code Section 8 entails.¡± Ben said as the Quinjet moved away and whirled around as if on a swivel and then flew backwards. ¡°Approaching landing zone.¡±


    Several people stood to watch as the transport as it did things they were sure wasn''t supposed to be possible, then instead of landing on the outer pad, the damn thing flew inside the lower deck.


    ¡°Get me a video feed from down there!¡± The night captain of the carrier shouted.


    The main display was changed and everyone watched as the Quinjet manoeuvred around the other jets, forklifts, cargo, and crewman without affecting anything with the engine backwash and it settled perfectly into the assigned section without a squeal from the tires.


    ¡°Someone needs to update his flight status rating.¡± The captain said and everyone nodded.


    *


    Maria Hill was sound asleep when her priority alarm rang. She hopped out of bed and turned it off, dressed in her uniform because she had taken a shower before going to bed, and checked the urgent message on her cell phone. An uncharacteristic sound, almost guttural, came from her throat.


    Agent Parker should have been back at SHIELD late Friday night, or possibly Saturday morning, for a full debriefing about his mission. It was now 3am on Tuesday morning and she was not happy.


    Maria went downstairs to the garage and climbed into the standard SHIELD unmarked car assigned to her and she drove away from her modest house to head towards the docks at the harbour. There was already a ferry transport there waiting for her and she drove aboard with her stoic face as stoic as ever.


    The trip to the aircraft carrier in the harbour was quick, because the ferry operator knew exactly who she was, and it docked to the loading ramp of the ship and let her drive off unimpeded.


    Maria nodded to the man and drove inside the disguised helicarrier and drove through the ship along the main serviceway. It allowed planes to be brought out of storage to the giant elevator at the end of the ship and raised to the flight deck for preparations and take-off.


    She pulled to a stop at the right section and she had to clamp her mouth shut to stop her laugh at the large number 8. Like Ben, she had gotten the joke right away. She parked the car and saw the signs of a shootout. She sighed and shook her head as she stepped out of the car and walked over to where two of the agency''s best agents had taken cover behind a forklift.


    ¡°Director Fury specifically ordered you to NOT antagonize Agent Parker.¡± Maria said to Natasha and Clint, whom wore their iron suits. Damaged iron suits.


    ¡°We didn''t!¡± Clint said and motioned to the Quinjet. ¡°We came here to apologize and he started shooting at us before we came close to the ramp.¡±


    Maria took out her cell phone and read the message out loud. ¡°Priority Code from Nightwatch Captain: Alpha, November, Golf, Romero, Yankee - Agent Parker. Message follows: Only appropriate brass permitted for meeting and retrieval. Threatened to fire upon agents Hawkeye and Widow if present. Deck will be cleared for meeting.¡±


    Neither of them said anything.


    ¡°I''m only slightly surprised that you didn''t lie and say you didn''t receive the whole message.¡± Maria said and put her cell phone away. ¡°At least you didn''t open fire yourselves.¡±


    ¡°We can''t. Priority override.¡± Clint said. ¡°We can''t target the suit''s creator, Director Fury... or you.¡±


    Maria wasn''t sure why she felt happy about that. ¡°I assume you tried to have the tech guys pull the code?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and they can''t. It''s integrated with the hardware. Any tampering and it shuts down completely.¡± Natasha said, a little angry. ¡°It takes a six hours to reboot.¡±


    ¡°Even if you''re inside.¡± Clint said. ¡°I had to wait to go to the bathroom for almost four hours.¡±


    ¡°That could be a problem when on long missions...¡± Maria started to say.


    ¡°You need to read the instructions all the way through.¡± Ben''s voice said over the Quinjet''s external speakers. ¡°The suits have appropriate plumbing connections to handle number ones. It can''t handle a number two yet, though. I can''t figure out how to miniaturize a sewage processing system inside the belt.¡±


    ¡°What does it do with the urine?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Stores it until you discharge it. There''s only so much it''ll hold, so don''t try saving it up to see how much that is. Empty it as soon as you''re in an appropriate spot, like discreetly outside or into the closest toilet.¡± Ben said.


    Maria turned towards the Quinjet. ¡°Agent Parker, cease fire. I am approaching.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Deputy Director.¡± Ben said. ¡°As long as you leave the other two where they are.¡±


    ¡°My orders are not conditional, Agent Parker.¡± Maria said, sternly.


    ¡°My acceptance is.¡± Ben said and her eyes widened. ¡°After attempting to knock me out, they were going to drop me off in the Columbian jungle, without any resources, to complete my mission. I was then supposed to find my way back to civilization.¡±


    ¡°That isn''t much for survival training.¡± Maria said. ¡°The closest town was...¡±


    ¡°They meant the United States.¡± Ben interrupted. ¡°Second and third world countries are not considered civilized by the modern definition.¡±


    Maria looked back at the two custom Iron suits and neither agent denied it.


    ¡°We were going to monitor and shadow him.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°He wouldn''t have been in any real danger.¡± Clint added.


    ¡°As you can see, my choice to no longer trust the people I''ve helped so much, is perfectly logical.¡± Ben said. ¡°Fool me once? Shame on me. Fool me twice? Shame on you. Fool me three times? You will never get near me again. Ever.¡±


    Natasha let out a sigh. ¡°Ben, I''m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t matter, because you can be sorry all you want. It''s your actions that define you, Iron Widow. I told you that.¡± Ben said and her head dropped. ¡°After that last trick you tried to pull on me, I absolutely refuse to work with either you or Iron Hawk in any capacity. If you are even mentioned in any briefing that I''m involved in, I''ll quit SHIELD and I''ll take all of my toys with me.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Clint whispered and Natasha and Maria heartily agreed.


    Bokuboy


    Omake FAKE Next Scene:


    ¡°Do you get it now? Do you finally understand? You can only push me so far and you have already pushed me far past that point!¡± Ben spat and Clint and Natasha winced inside their suits. ¡°If you make one more move, or any move whatsoever against me, I will utterly destroy you.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker, there''s no need for that. Director Fury has already ordered them to stop.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°That has obviously worked well. They still showed up to ambush me, didn''t they?¡± Ben asked, sarcastically. ¡°Just so we''re clear from this point forward... Natasha, Clint... I know all about you and your families. You can warn them. You can move them. You can hide them. You can change their names and their faces... and it won''t matter. Piss me off like this again and you will forever know that it was your own actions that took them from you.¡±


    ¡°You can''t threaten us like that!¡± Clint exclaimed and stood.


    *WHOOOOM!*


    A bright blue beam slammed into Clint''s chest and threw him backwards twenty feet and the clang of metal on metal echoed in the silent section. When the beam shut off, Clint was embedded into the thick metal wall and the eyes of his suit flickered several times.


    ¡°I am done playing with you.¡± Ben said, his voice stern. ¡°Your childish attitudes are annoying and you are playing with forces that YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE ABOUT!¡±


    Maria, Natasha, and Clint watched as a ten foot tall mechanical spider crawled down the Quinjet ramp. It had two large plasma weapons mounted on either side of its head and it came to a stop.


    ¡°What the hell... is that?¡± Clint asked and pulled himself out of the wall.


    ¡°Annn upgrrrade.¡± Ben said and the giant spider started to pull back and folded away. It became smaller and smaller until it revealed Spider-Man wearing superior Iron Man-like armor with the two plasma guns mounted on the shoulders.


    ¡°Oh, my GOD!¡± Natasha and Maria shouted.


    ¡°I think itssss time to ssshow you what happennns to people that crossss Ssspider-Mannn.¡± Spider-Man said as the two plasma guns glowed.

 94 Interview With The Wakandan

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Welcome aboard the next generation of Quinjet.¡± I said to Maria Hill after she had ordered Clint and Natasha to leave. They hadn''t been happy to be sent packing, until I told Maria that the things I had to tell her during my debriefing would raise my security rank to 10... and that was only because they didn''t have a higher one. Both she and Fury were rank 10.


    ¡°It''s a little cramped.¡± Maria said as she walked between stacked crates of weapons.


    ¡°This is what''s left of Ulysses Klaue''s international smuggling operations.¡± I said and Maria caught her shoulder on a crate and almost fell. I easily caught her and held her tenderly. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    Maria nodded and I slowly let her go. ¡°I don''t think this is the best place for a debriefing.¡±


    I chuckled and sat down on the pilot''s chair and waved for her to sit on the co-pilot''s seat. ¡°It has a custom Faraday Cage laced throughout the ship. Signals can''t enter or leave unless allowed to.¡±


    ¡°What? How?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°You would be surprised what you can scrounge up from a recycling plant that absolutely loves you.¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°I''ve got more electronic components than I know what to do with now. I actually had to buy a transfer truck trailer to store everything and returned the rented panel truck I had.¡±


    Maria blinked at me several times. ¡°Ben, you''re not making sense.¡±


    I gave her a knowing smile. ¡°Are you seriously telling me that you have no clue I''ve built a monitoring station in my office and have nearly 30 blocks of downtown wired for video surveillance?¡±


    Maria closed her mouth and didn''t respond.


    ¡°Does that mean you''re not having any luck pirating the signals?¡± I asked with a laugh. ¡°They''re keyed in specifically to my server and anyone else trying to use them receive a scrambled signal or static. I thought that was a particularly smart thing for me to do, considering all of the cell phones and wireless signals that everyone has or generates.¡±


    Maria seemed to relax and sat back in the co-pilot''s chair. ¡°I don''t suppose you''ll share that programming setup, will you?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I could be convinced if a particularly lovely woman is accepting of my new social status.¡± I said, a bit cryptically.


    Maria squinted her eyes at me. ¡°You need to explain what you mean.¡±


    ¡°I have paperwork.¡± I said and took out the stack of diplomatic papers to hand them to her. ¡°I''ll wait for you to skim through those before we continue.¡±


    Maria quickly read the top sheet and her eyes widened at the Royal Consort details. ¡°Agent Parker...¡±


    ¡°It gets better, trust me.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Jubadi? You may resume your post.¡±


    Maria stiffened when an ornately dressed bald woman with dark skin stepped into the cockpit and stood beside Ben. She looked like a fierce warrior and her outfit was both ceremonial and functional, as was the golden spear she wore. She also had a SHIELD issued standard pistol strapped around her shoulders.


    ¡°Believe me, there''s a lot to get through.¡± I said and waved at the papers.


    Maria nodded and started reading again. I watched her face closely and even though she kept trying her best to keep her face impassive as she read on and on, subtle twitches and movements of her eyes and lips gave away what she was thinking. She was not happy.


    It took Maria an hour to get through it all and she sat there quietly with a blank look on her face for another ten minutes. ¡°You''ve compromised SHIELD to a foreign country that isn''t even a member of the United Nations.¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± I asked and she gave me a stern look. ¡°I went there to return their stolen artifacts and property and when I saw the state of the country... how they don''t even use money to buy food... I had to step in and offer my assistance.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker, you can''t seriously think that...¡±


    ¡°According to those papers, I am currently three people in their eyes. A foreigner, a consort to their princess, and the ambassador to their country.¡± I said and Maria nodded. ¡°As a foreigner, I did my best to befriend them. As a consort to their princess, I shared the things I solely control and we collaborated to create several new things to bring their society to new heights.¡±


    Jubadi nodded with a jerk.


    ¡°As an ambassador, it''s going to be my job to continue to look for things that will benefit Wakanda and her people. I have the authority to strike deals in their name...¡± I said and Jubadi coughed. ¡°...within reasonable restrictions, which are in those documents.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker, you can''t possibly think you can...¡± Maria started to say.


    ¡°Parker Industries has already agreed to send ten thousand units of both versions of Stark Protect to their country. When they learned of them, especially because of the rampant wildfires that sometimes threaten their villages and people, they desperately need them.¡±


    ¡°What will they do for power?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°I''ve already given them the design specs for the same solar power adapters that I''ve created for all those monitoring devices downtown. I''ll be sending along the recycled solar panels with the first shipment of Stark Protect devices.¡±


    ¡°How exactly do you expect to get that all through customs?¡± Maria asked.


    I pointed at the stack of papers on her lap. ¡°As the Wakandan Ambassador, I have been sworn to work towards their interests and I have full diplomatic immunity.¡±


    Maria took a breath and let it out. ¡°It''s going to cost a fortune to send that much cargo to a third world country.¡±


    I reached for the flight console and pat the controls. ¡°The King of Wakanda seized the foreign vessel that had entered the country''s airspace without permission, claimed it on behalf of his people, then issued it to their ambassador after it had received several upgrades from their military forces.¡±


    Maria''s mouth puckered briefly before it went back to normal. ¡°We both know that''s a polite fiction.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It''s a paper dragon, yes. However, I did have access to several pieces of technology that SHIELD doesn''t and I modified this transport specifically to show them off.¡±


    Maria handed me the paperwork. ¡°This debriefing isn''t giving you the clearance you claimed it was going to.¡±


    ¡°That''s because all I''ve done so far is establish my new position in your eyes.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°Now that you know where I''m coming from, I should inform you that your recording devices and anything they store, should be classified as ''Burn After Reading''.¡±


    Maria''s eyes widened at that.


    ¡°Is Fury watching or listening?¡± I asked and she shook her head. ¡°Should we wait until he is?¡±


    ¡°No, I''ll brief him as soon as I get to the office.¡± Maria said and checked the time to see it was five in the morning. ¡°You have two hours before you need to be home to eat breakfast with your aunt and then head to school.¡±


    I took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°Two hours isn''t enough time. Not for this.¡± I said and looked at Jubadi. ¡°Lady''s choice. Guard standing or guard sitting?¡±


    Jubadi nodded and collapsed her spear into the handle, stepped around me, and sat on my lap with a flourish. She put one arm around my back and her other hand held the spear handle discreetly at her side. It was also pointed directly at Maria''s heart. The implications were not lost on anyone.


    ¡°Let me first say that I hadn''t planned on a lot of what happened after I went to Wakanda.¡± I said.


    ¡°Which means everything before that was.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°It was. Extensively.¡± I said and successfully ignored the loving pinches Jubadi gave me in various spots. I couldn''t stop Penis Parker from appearing and pressing into her thigh, though. It was then that I realized that the guards hadn''t been testing me at all. They had been training my automatic responses to their specific stimuli.


    ¡°Explain.¡± Maria said and crossed her legs demurely.


    So, I did. It took a lot longer than the two hours and I had to pause in the debriefing to call Aunt May and apologized for being caught up in reporting to work after missing a day. To say she was upset was an understatement. She actually hung up on me and wouldn''t answer when I tried calling her again. I called the school after that and Mary the receptionist was a bit more understanding and only hung up after I promised coffee and donuts for the rest of the week.


    I continued to tell Maria everything after that. Well, everything except being Spider-Man. That was going to remain my secret for as long as possible, especially since I now had a way to cover up that I had powers.


    Shuri''s and the queen''s betrothal gift had contained a dozen books and an entire bolt of vibranium weaved cloth. That meant I could cheat with an Iron Suit''s construction and make it out of aluminum instead of steel, still be protected by the vibranium cloth underneath, and I could use my own strength when performing tasks.


    I would have to send the both of them something special for giving me such a great gift.


    *


    May Parker entered the hospital with a frown on her face. She had been worried sick over her nephew being gone for so long, despite when he had texted and she said she was happy that he had found someone, then he had the nerve to blow her off and had gone into work instead of coming home to her.


    How dare he do that to me? May asked herself as she signed in. She didn''t notice the slightly scared looks on everyone''s faces as she passed them.


    She did her prep work for her shift and then went to each emergency section and checked everything. She replaced what needed to be replaced, namely sheets and any opened containers of gauze and needles, and she went back to her station and sat down to start her paperwork.


    Two hours into her shift, she was surprised when Doris appeared in front of her.


    ¡°You''re taking a break.¡± Doris said and signed her out, took her hand, and led her out of the emergency room and up to the third floor and into the office worker''s lounge. She presented May with tea instead of coffee and sat her down on one of the nice couches.


    May hadn''t stopped frowning, even when she took a drink of the delicious tea. She also didn''t like that she had to sit on a couch that wasn''t as nice as hers.


    ¡°Tell me what''s wrong.¡± Doris prompted.


    ¡°Nothing''s wrong.¡± May denied and took another drink. ¡°What kind of tea is this? It''s really good.¡±


    ¡°It''s my own special blend of oolong, green, and vodka.¡±


    May almost spit it out and covered her mouth to stop it. ¡°Doris! I can''t drink at work!¡±


    Doris laughed softly. ¡°I''m joking, May. You would taste the alcohol if there was any in it.¡±


    May scowled at her. ¡°That wasn''t funny.¡±


    ¡°You would have laughed at that a week ago.¡± Doris put her tea down and took May''s hand. ¡°We''ve known each other for years and I can tell when something is bothering you. Please, tell me what''s going on.¡±


    May gave her a pointed look, let out a sigh, and then told her. She explained about her worries, her fears, Ben''s actions, and how she felt about it all. When she finally got it all off of her chest, May felt tired and sighed loudly as she sat back on the couch. Her tea had been gone long ago.


    ¡°So, you''re saying he''s growing up and building a life for himself.¡± Doris commented.


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± May asked and sat back up straight. ¡°I didn''t say anything like that.¡±


    Doris started to raise her fingers with each point. ¡°He''s found several great jobs and is earning an actual living. He''s going out and meeting new people in different social circles. He apparently has a girlfriend that he spent the weekend with and was responsible about it.¡± She paused and thought about what her daughter Liz was going to think about that. I can worry about that later.


    ¡°Doris...¡± May started to say.


    ¡°He kept in contact with you, even though he didn''t have to. He''s making sure he still has a job after pulling his disappearing act and even apologized to you for doing that first.¡± Doris said and let her hand drop as she gave her friend a charming smile. ¡°What were you angry about again?¡±


    May opened her mouth to argue and realized that she couldn''t. She closed her mouth and thought about what Doris had said, and she was right. Ben might not have been home like she wanted; but, he had kept her informed and let her know he was okay and about any change in his plans. It was a lot more than most teenagers would have done if they were in his shoes.


    May let out a sigh and dropped her head onto the back of the couch. ¡°Why couldn''t you have shared in my indignation instead of being so reasonable?¡±


    Doris let out another soft laugh. ¡°Welcome to the wonderful world of wrangling teenagers.¡±


    May nodded and then remembered her friend''s own plight. ¡°How did your talk with Liz go?¡±


    Doris sighed this time. ¡°Just about as well as could be expected. She felt terrible about everything, especially about how she handled things.¡±


    May nodded. ¡°I''m glad she realizes how much she screwed up.¡±


    ¡°Addy and I do as well.¡± Doris admitted.


    May gave her hand a squeeze. ¡°Thanks for telling me about what Ben got up to at that party.¡±


    Doris shook her head at that memory. ¡°I still can''t believe he did that... did them... in my house.¡±


    ¡°What was it you were saying about wrangling teenagers?¡± May asked with a crooked smile.


    ¡°We need to add horny to that.¡± Doris huffed and then smiled. ¡°After we strangle them all.¡±


    May let out a laugh. ¡°At least we can relax on that front now. I doubt Ben''s girlfriend would be happy if he continued his escapades with his friends.¡±


    ¡°What if he doesn''t tell her?¡± Doris asked.


    May barked another laugh. ¡°Ben? Not being honest and telling everyone what he''s been doing? Have you met my nephew?¡±


    Doris laughed, too. ¡°You make a good point.¡±


    May fell silent for a moment, then she took several breaths and let them out. ¡°Thank you for this.¡±


    ¡°It''s what friends do.¡± Doris said and let her hand go. ¡°We need to get back to work.¡±


    May nodded and stood and stretched. ¡°I''ll stay after my shift to make up the time we just wasted.¡±


    ¡°It wasn''t a waste. I had to get that frown off of your face because you were scaring the other nurses and the patients.¡± Doris teased and they both laughed, then the two friends walked out of the lounge in much happier moods.


    *


    Maria sat there when Ben was done talking and she was stunned. What she had just heard, that the Wakanda that everyone knew was a poor third world country, was a complete fabrication and always had been. The country and villages they showed the world was all an elaborate cover-up to hide that they were actually the most technologically advanced society on the planet.


    Mag-lev trains, hover technology, advanced mining and ore refinement, holographic technology that was indistinguishable from the real thing, and advanced weaponry that could change the balance of power on the planet if they were ever discovered.


    ¡°Now you know why they are so isolationist.¡± Ben whispered. ¡°It''s both by choice and to keep the world safe from the implications of what the tech could do, even if it is never released to the public.¡±


    Maria nodded. She knew that just the ideas that the tech existed and was possible, would drive people to invent it themselves or create a similar version. It would cause a near global surge in both technology and danger, because everyone would be hunting for scientists to create things for them. Hover technology alone would completely destroy the car and auto industry, the oil and fuel industry, and the current mechanics industry.


    ¡°I agree, Ben. This is top priority secrecy and I''m sure that Director Fury will agree with me.¡± Maria said and stood. ¡°I need copies of those diplomatic documents as soon as we get back to the office. I''ll have them filed quickly and put into effect before the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Maria.¡± Ben said and Jubadi stood and resumed her guard position to let him stand. ¡°You don''t know how happy I am that you''re onboard with this.¡±


    Maria squinted her eyes at him. ¡°I never said I was onboard, Ben. I''m doing this to protect my country... to protect the world... from the threat that you now represent.¡±


    ¡°But, I thought...¡± Ben started to say.


    *SMACK!*


    Maria''s hand slapped him right across the face. ¡°How dare you misappropriate SHIELD assets, commit fraud and various other crimes across the world, then invade a country for your own petty needs and desires!¡±


    Ben was too stunned to react, because he had never seen her act like that before.


    ¡°I may not show it; but, I love my country, Ben. I will do anything to protect it, even if it means fighting against other agencies, against other countries, against unbelievable odds... or against subversive agents like you that plunge it into unpredictable peril!¡± Maria said and glared at him as she stepped close.


    Ben stood his ground when Maria invaded his personal space and she pressed the tip of her nose to his.


    ¡°If you make a grievous mistake like this again and endanger the people I care about, I swear upon all that I believe in, that I will tear you apart with my bare hands.¡± Maria whispered with a deadly voice.


    It was completely silent until Jubadi spoke. ¡°Answer her challenge, Umkhuseli (protector).¡±


    A determined look formed in Ben''s eye. ¡°I knew you and I could see eye to eye, Maria. I completely agree and reciprocate the sentiment for both my family, my new family, and for my new country.¡±


    Jubadi nodded. ¡°Complete the agreement with this country''s top warrior.¡±


    Before Maria could make sense of what had happened, she had Ben''s tongue in her mouth and she moaned as his hands gripped her ass tightly. She was soon stripped naked and his whispered question about if she wanted to go though with completing the agreement, made her opinion of him rise, just like his prominent erection.


    Maria grabbed onto it instead of verbally responding and guided it into her soaked opening, then she moaned loudly as he forced his way inside. She really should have let him play with her a bit first before doing this and then she lost all coherent thought as Ben pounded into her like a jackhammer.


    Barely ten minutes later, Ben sprayed himself onto her stomach and chest. After another whispered comment about the deal being sealed between them, he kept going. Despite the quick and rough start, Maria had the time of her life, because Ben really knew what he was doing.


    It wouldn''t be until the next morning, just after the marathon sex session and a fantastic night''s sleep, that Maria would ask herself why she was okay with having another woman make sure that Ben was primed and ready to keep going for as long as Maria needed him to.

 95 That Didn’t Go As Planned

    Bokuboy


    The look on Aunt May''s face when I entered the apartment was a welcoming one, which was a surprise because I was sure she was angry with me... and then Jubadi strode in behind me and the smile on May''s face disappeared.


    ¡°Mom? I have something to explain and you probably want to sit down for this.¡± I said.


    May nodded and plopped down onto the comfy couch to stare at me expectantly.


    ¡°Before you overreact, this is not the woman I was referring to when I texted and called.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± May whispered.


    ¡°She is the personal bodyguard that was assigned to me when I was betrothed to an African Princess.¡±


    May''s mouth dropped open, her eyes bulged out, and she fainted.


    I walked over to her and knelt on the floor in front of her. It took her several minutes to come to and she blinked her eyes at me several times, did the same to Jubadi, and then at me again.


    ¡°I didn''t imagine that, did I?¡± May asked.


    ¡°No.¡± I said and held a hand out to her.


    After a moment, she sighed and took it. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°That''s a little hard to explain. You see, I was out doing an off-site job for work and...¡± I told her a highly edited and altered version of the truth. It had most of the same points, only the circumstances were different. I explained presenting them with new technology that was easily adaptable and then meeting Shuri and how quickly we had hit it off.


    I didn''t leave out the sex with the guards part, because that first time with the princess was very important to their culture. I also explained that they helped and taught her what to do to both give and receive pleasure and made sure her first time was the best it could ever have been.


    May sat there and stared at me as I explained the betrothal process, the giving of gifts between the betrothed, and that it would take four years before anything was finalized. I also told her about my new diplomatic ambassador status and what that meant for me, for her, and for Parker Incorporated. The only thing that made her react was when I mentioned sending relief packages to Shuri''s home country of Wakanda.


    ¡°Yes, I can help with that. We can make it the clinic''s first official mission.¡± May said with determination and she let my hand go and stood. ¡°I''m going to bed and I''ll think about what exactly we can start putting together to help them.¡±


    I opened my mouth to ask her if she was okay with everything and Jubadi put a hand on my shoulder and shook her head at me. ¡°All right. I''ll head to bed as well. I''ll see you in the morning.¡±


    May nodded and walked over to the stairs and was halfway up them when she came to a stop and turned to look at me. ¡°Did you call me mom before?¡±


    I stood up and nodded. ¡°You might not have given birth to me; but, you raised me as if I was your own and you''ve always been there for me. You''ve done your best to give me the best life you could and if that doesn''t make you the best mom in the world, then they need to change what the word mom means.¡±


    May stared at me for several seconds until she decided that my words were sincere, blushed a little, then she nodded and went up the stairs to go to her bedroom. When she was gone, Jubadi and I went back outside of the apartment and down to the alley where the unmarked SUV waited. The men inside unloaded the crates of things I had gotten from Wakanda and carried them inside for us.


    A quick ride in the elevator later, they had everything inside the apartment and I had the difficult decision of where to put it. I decided my room was good enough for now, even if it was tiny and practically stuffed full already.


    ¡°You need a new place.¡± Jubadi said as I put the crate of arc reactors down.


    ¡°I''ve rented an entire floor in Stark Tower.¡± I said and left to bring in the crate of books. ¡°I could probably transfer a lot of this there, just because I could.¡±


    ¡°Not these.¡± Jubadi said and tapped the crates from Wakanda.


    ¡°No, only one of the new reactors is going to enter the tower and that''s going to be a gift for Pepper.¡± I said and Jubadi nodded. ¡°I just have to decide if I want Tony to be there, too.¡±


    ¡°You would have to explain how you created it.¡± Jubadi said, wisely.


    ¡°Good point. No Tony.¡± I said and sat down on the bed. I checked my cell phones and there were only a few missed messages while I was being debriefed by Maria. Most just asked why I wasn''t in school. I sent some quick responses and said I had been tied up at work in a conference with my boss.


    I put my phone down and stood to open my closet. I nodded to Jubadi and she started to strip off her outfit. She hung up the ceremonial parts, dropped the normal clothes to the floor, and pulled off her underwear to add to the pile.


    ¡°I''ll wash them in the morning.¡± I said, feeling quite tired.


    I stripped off and tossed all of my clothes onto the floor and climbed into bed. Jubadi followed me and didn''t comment about sharing such a small bed. She snuggled into my side and then dug her teeth into my shoulder. I knew it was a love bite and I sprang right up for her, which made her growl and she climbed on top of me. We both went quickly, because she was tired as well.


    After we both got off, we went to sleep just like that.


    The next morning, May was back to being her old self, especially when I connected Shuri''s cell phone to the television and they talked while I made breakfast bagels for us and made extra for May to take to work. The four of us enjoyed breakfast and I kissed May''s cheek afterwards and told her to have a great day at work. She nodded and said goodbye to Jubadi and Shuri before she left.


    ¡°At least May''s trying.¡± I commented. ¡°She could have kicked us out.¡±


    ¡°She''s too nice to do that.¡± Shuri said. ¡°I need to go as well. Call me again at lunch, Benji.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Princess.¡± I said as I saluted and bowed.


    ¡°Jubadi, smack him for me.¡± Shuri said and I felt the slap on the side of my head.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I''ll see you soon, Shuri.¡±


    Shuri nodded and ended the call.


    ¡°May will get used to constantly seeing me with you.¡± Jubadi said. ¡°You do not think the Prince or Princess liked having a constant guard, do you? It took time and patience, both of which I have.¡±


    I gave her a pointed look. ¡°Is that what you''re doing with me? Being patient?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi gave me a smile and leaned over to bite my earlobe. ¡°I am waiting for you to order me to wear only normal clothing, now that we have returned to your home.¡±


    I frowned at her. ¡°Why would I order that?¡±


    Jubadi looked surprised. ¡°So I will not stand out so much.¡±


    ¡°Are you not proud of your heritage?¡± I asked. ¡°Does wearing your uniform shame you?¡±


    ¡°Usisidenge! (you are a fool)¡± Jubadi exclaimed and then a stream of Xhosa came out of her mouth that I couldn''t make sense of.


    I waited until she calmed down before I spoke. ¡°You are to wear your uniform at all times when you are working, as required by your profession. You can wear whatever you like when off-duty.¡±


    Jubadi stared into my eyes for several minutes, then the washer dinged.


    I went up and changed the clothing to the dryer and put it on the appropriate setting, then went in the shower to quickly wash up. Jubadi joined me while her underclothing dried and then we went to my room to get dressed. I put on dress pants, a blue shirt, my expensive watch with a hidden web shooter inside, and new sneakers that had good grips for winter.


    ¡°I will get a lot of attention, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi said as she picked up the SHIELD pistol.


    ¡°You can leave the gun here. They won''t let you into the school with it, even with diplomatic immunity.¡± I said and she put it back into the closet. ¡°Your thigh knife and collapsible spear will be enough.¡±


    Jubadi strapped the knife to her thigh and clipped the spear handle to her belt on the other side. ¡°All of the guard wanted to thank you for this.¡± She said and caressed the handle.


    ¡°I doubt their husbands and mates would appreciate that.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°You had a hard enough time refusing Kithula''s advances.¡±


    ¡°He is strong, yes. He would have made acceptable children when my time in the guard ends.¡± Jubadi said and gave me a look full of desire. ¡°He could barely last past his second proof before he collapsed from exhaustion. I have recently found that is unsuitable in a mate until I retire to train the next generation.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I just thought you didn''t like him much.¡±


    ¡°I do not. Liking him is not a requirement to have strong children. Only the removal of the vibranium blocks on my ovaries is required.¡± Jubadi said.


    That brought me up short. ¡°Wait a second. As long as someone can give you a strong child, and you''re retired, those are the only prerequisites you consider? You don''t have to like them, love them, care about them, or...¡±


    Jubadi stepped close and kissed me to shut me up. ¡°Your views are not our views and our views are not those of the common people. We are to ensure the continued safety of the Wakandan people by producing the strongest warriors. Nothing else is needed for consideration.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°I will admit that liking them can make producing children with them somewhat more enjoyable.¡±


    I couldn''t stop my smile. ¡°Somewhat more?¡±


    Jubadi smiled and pointed to the bedroom door. ¡°We must leave to catch the bus.¡±


    ¡°Right, right. I''m doing coffee and donut runs this week.¡± I said and grabbed my school backpack before we left my room and went downstairs. ¡°I apologize in advance that we can''t show affection while in public.¡±


    ¡°It is a small price to pay to stay by your side all day.¡± Jubadi said as I put on my jacket and locked the apartment door.


    ¡°I had an idea about that.¡± I said with a smirk and she shook her head. ¡°Aw, come on! It''s foolproof.¡±


    ¡°I am to guard you from threats, not indulge in your sexual fantasies.¡± Jubadi said.


    ¡°Can I categorize them as tests of my prowess?¡± I asked as we rode the elevator to the ground floor.


    Jubadi grabbed my earlobe with a thumb and index finger and pinched it hard.


    ¡°OW! Ow ow ow!¡± I said and jumped several times until she let it go.


    ¡°Only Dora Milaje can decide on appropriate tests, Royal Consort.¡± Jubadi said and straightened her back as the elevator doors opened. ¡°I am to protect you with my life and you will not squander it.¡±


    I nodded as I rubbed my ear and stepped out of the elevator with Jubadi half a step behind and beside me. Her stride matched mine perfectly and we left the building and went down the street to wait for the bus.


    Jubadi gave a visible shiver as her breath left her mouth.


    ¡°Remind me to look up a thermal blanket design and I''ll work on integrating it into your uniform.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°For now, you may wrap yourself around me to share body heat.¡±


    Jubadi gave me a pointed look.


    ¡°This is not what I meant before. You''re suffering the cold and that''s an oversight I shouldn''t have let happen. I offer my own body heat as compensation.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and stepped behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest to hug me close. Her ear went against mine and she let out a soft sigh as my body quickly warmed her up.


    The bus arrived and it was relatively warm on it, so she stood beside my seat. We rode it to the right stop and we went to the coffee shop down the street. The barista behind the counter saw me and had a sad smile on her face.


    I approached her and the smile changed to a forced happy one. ¡°I''m sorry for not calling. I had a lot of things happen over the holidays and...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay. You don''t have to explain.¡± She said. ¡°What can I get you?¡±


    I told her the order and she and the other girl did it up. She hand it to me and I paid.


    ¡°Did you want a long term relationship or were you looking to have fun for a short time?¡± I blurted out.


    She looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°I just wanted to see where it might go.¡±


    I opened my mouth to respond and Jubadi put a hand on my shoulder. I sighed and nodded. ¡°I''m sorry we won''t get to discover what could have happened.¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± She said and waved as Jubadi and I left the coffee shop.


    The looks on everyone''s faces when I neared the school was a mix of odd, weird, inquisitive, surprise, and shock.


    ¡°I told you that I would gain attention.¡± Jubadi whispered.


    ¡°Yes, and that''s the whole point of you being here.¡± I whispered back. I didn''t have to see her face to know she was surprised by my answer. ¡°Princess Shuri wanted everyone to know I''m being protected.¡±


    We entered the school and went to the office. Everyone stared at Jubadi and no one even glanced at me, which was perfect. I opened the office door and the receptionist caught her breath. Mary stared just as much as the students outside had.


    ¡°Coffee and donuts!¡± I said and put them on the counter. I was suddenly surrounded and then complete silence fell and no one reached for the coffee or the donuts. ¡°Quick introductions are in order.¡± I said and introduced myself as the Royal Consort, then my personal guard Jubadi, and I greeted each person like we had never met before. When I was done, I handed Mary the proper forms for her to file.


    ¡°Mr. Parker? This isn''t a joke?¡± Principal Morita asked.


    ¡°No, sir.¡± I said. ¡°I became the ambassador to a third world country on the weekend.¡±


    They all just stared at me and didn''t react.


    ¡°The coffee is getting cold.¡± I prompted and that got them moving.


    The pilfering of donuts was less pronounced and they were a bit awkward with their thanks and saying goodbye. None were more surprised than Mary, though. The look of loss on her face was pronounced.


    ¡°I''m not getting married for four years.¡± I told her and the look didn''t change. ¡°Princess Shuri could meet someone else...¡±


    Jubadi made a snort sound and then coughed.


    I sighed. ¡°I''m sorry if that changes how you see me, Mary.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... I...¡± Mary looked down at the paperwork I had handed her. ¡°Your argument about... you weren''t lying. You really are a different person than who you were.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± I said and she nodded.


    ¡°I''ll have this processed in an hour. For now, I suggest you stay out of the hallways. You don''t want to cause a scene by having a personal guard with you.¡±


    ¡°You''re lucky I was only allowed one.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°Hintula would have had a fight on her hands to get the second spot.¡±


    Mary gave Jubadi a questioning look and my guard nodded. ¡°I''m not sure what to say to that.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad you''re not going to be an even bigger disruption to my school, Ben.¡± I said to her.


    Mary huffed and smiled slightly. ¡°It''s much too late to say that.¡±


    I actually couldn''t argue against that, so I nodded. ¡°Can we stay here for now? I only have English Lit for first class anyway.¡±


    ¡°Have a seat and I''ll get started.¡± Mary said and I sat down and Jubadi stood beside the chair. She gave my guard a searching look before she went to work.


    It took the entire hour, just as Mary told us, and she handed us both special passes to hang around our necks. That way they could always be seen and they gave us special permission to be on school premises and also informed everyone to not mess with us. That was definitely going to come in handy.


    We left the office and everyone in the hallways stared at us. Well, they stared at the tall African beauty that wore a warrior outfit and looked supremely confident and deadly. I went to my Civil Engineering class and Jubadi stayed right there by my side. Luckily, she chose to stand near the wall and not in the aisle, so she didn''t disrupt the class any more than her mere presence did.


    I spent half the class explaining who she was to everyone and telling them the same story I told May, which had everyone''s attention by the time I was done. With luck, by lunchtime, I wouldn''t have to explain it again and everyone would know already.


    When my lunch period arrived, I discovered that it was both good luck and bad luck to have everyone know already, because when Jubadi and I entered the cafeteria, everyone stopped what they were doing and complete silence fell as all talking stopped. That wasn''t what bothered me, though.


    The table that Liz and her friends usually sat at, was completely empty.

 96 A Stark Confrontation

    Bokuboy


    I sighed at no one being there at Liz''s table and went over to it anyways. I took out Shuri''s cell phone and the lunch I prepared for myself and Jubadi, then propped the cell phone up on my backpack as we sat with the cafeteria wall at our backs.


    ¡°Hi, Benji.¡± Shuri said right away.


    ¡°Hi, Shuri.¡± I said with a smile.


    Shuri''s head swivelled a bit from side to side. ¡°I don''t see any of your friends.¡±


    ¡°I don''t see them, either.¡± I said and quickly explained about that morning in the office, in my classes, and arriving at the cafeteria with no one at the table.


    ¡°Maybe they are busy?¡± Shuri asked.


    ¡°Yeah, busy avoiding me.¡± I said and took out my cell phone. ¡°Just a second.¡±


    Shuri nodded as I sent a blanket text to see where everyone was. The responses were all the same. They were busy.


    ¡°Yes, they are definitely avoiding me.¡± I said with another sigh.


    ¡°Do not worry, Benji. I will meet them when I meet them. Sometimes things cannot be rushed.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Did you prank T''Challa yet?¡±


    Shuri barked a laugh. ¡°You should have seen his face when Cheetah chased me down and started eating me! It was everything I had ever hoped for!¡±


    I laughed and Jubadi smiled from beside me.


    ¡°I hope you took the opportunity to spar with him.¡± Jubadi said.


    ¡°I did and it was glorious!¡± Shuri said and the three of us started eating as she shared the blow by blow fight that lasted quite some time before T''Challa''s years of experience showed itself and he defeated her.


    ¡°I think he will come to you often for sparring to keep him in shape.¡± I commented.


    Both Shuri and Jubadi looked pleased by that. We talked a bit more and eventually finished eating, so I thanked Shuri for sharing her time with me and I bid her a good night. She did the same and ended the call.


    I had mechanical engineering all afternoon and the teacher, Mr. Simmons, was wholly impressed when I completed the class assignment barely an hour later. With all of the tricks and tips I had learned from my own innovations in the R&D department at SHIELD, combined with what I had picked up from Shuri on the weekend, doing class projects was like taking three steps backwards with both the equipment used and the product to be produced.


    I did it happily, though. If it hadn''t been for Mr. Simmons allowing me free reign when I first woke up, I wouldn''t have been able to be so prolific with my mechanical skills. In fact, I actually thanked him for what he did for me and I showed him the information package that would be included in the new Stark Protect Fire Suppression devices.


    Mr. Simmons had a shocked look on his face when he read that I quoted him specifically to be instrumental in my work. ¡°Ben, why... what did I do to deserve...¡±


    ¡°You believed in me, sir.¡± I said and handed him a voucher for a Stark Protect security device and a fire suppression device. ¡°You gave me a chance to prove myself and I hoped I could thank you for that by doing this for you.¡±


    Mr. Simmons gave me a smile and nodded. ¡°Thank you, Ben. I''m sure Principal Morita will, too.¡±


    ¡°He only thanked me for the donuts, sir.¡± I joked and he laughed.


    ¡°Since you''re done of your project, you can leave.¡± Mr. Simmons said and wrote me a note. ¡°Just in case anyone stops you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I said and accepted the note.


    Jubadi followed me out of the classroom. ¡°You reward those that help you?¡±


    ¡°If I can.¡± I said and went to my locker. I pretty much emptied my backpack and would fill it again in the morning. ¡°We need to go home for a minute for more paperwork and that present for Pepper before we head over to Stark Tower. I don''t have to be home to cook for a few hours yet.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should check if your target will be present?¡± Jubadi asked.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. I should.¡± I said and took out my cell phone as we left the school. I sent a quick text to Jarvis, in case Pepper was in a meeting, and he said she was doing paperwork in the office. I thanked him and asked him to make me an appointment for half an hour.


    That way if she checked after I showed up unexpectedly, she would see I was in her schedule. Was it sneaky? Yes. Would she like that? Hopefully.


    *


    Pepper was nose deep into the financial reports that were pouring in to Stark Industries because of the updated Stark Protect devices that actually had more functionality and the addition of the new fire suppression devices. She had to ask Jarvis if another factory needed to be built to handle all of the orders.


    ¡°The buying rush should taper off after another month to become a steady stream, Miss Potts.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Another factory could ease the load if it already existed.¡±


    Pepper nodded as Jarvis showed her the numbers. ¡°It would take almost a month to get it up and running and to hire more personnel. I agree, we won''t need an additional factory by then.¡±


    ¡°I''ve made note of the decision and logged it into the company''s mainframe.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Also, your 2:30 appointment is coming up in the elevator.¡±


    ¡°My what?¡± Pepper asked and sat up straight. ¡°I don''t have an appointment scheduled.¡±


    Jarvis changed the monitor and showed her the schedule and Pepper let out a laugh. Just then the door opened and in walked Ben with a tall African woman wearing what looked like tribal battle dress.


    ¡°Jarvis! You spoilsport.¡± Ben said with a smile on his face. ¡°You just couldn''t resist, could you?¡±


    ¡°No, Ben.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I did wait until just before you arrived, however.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha! You really are grasping human interactions perfectly.¡± Ben complimented him. ¡°Your timing couldn''t have been more impeccable.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Jarvis said and then paused. ¡°I cannot send a signal through the box you have in your backpack.¡±


    Ben laughed and took off his backpack. ¡°I knew I couldn''t hide something so obvious from you, my friend.¡± He said and gave Pepper a pointed look. ¡°I''m going to give you a very important gift. It''s one that is so important that I need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement and also a few diplomatic papers.¡±


    Pepper stared at him. ¡°Why? What could be so important?¡± She asked and then looked at the African beauty. ¡°I''m not going to like this much, am I?¡±


    ¡°That depends on your view as the top female corporate executive in the country.¡± Ben commented and handed her several sheets of paper. ¡°The top one is my new status. The next, the NDA. The last two are international recognition for the thing I''m giving to you.¡±


    Pepper took the papers and her breathing sped up at learning Ben''s ambassador status and that he was betrothed to an African Princess. That surprised her, because the last time she had seen him, he had offered to... she pushed that thought aside. If he was going to be married in four years, she sincerely doubted she would be allowed to have his child.


    She read and signed the standard NDA agreement, because she had a lot of national and international dealings and the standard forms let both her and her clients protect their interests. The last two forms were just vague enough for her to give Ben a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Trust me, Pepper. You need to sign them both.¡± Ben urged her.


    Pepper somehow trusted his word and nodded, read both forms again, and signed both.


    ¡°Jarvis, can you give us two copies, please?¡± Ben asked and Pepper''s printer spat them out. ¡°Thank you.¡± He said and gave one set of copies to Pepper and put the originals and the second set of copies into his backpack and took out a 6 inch by 6 inch black metal box. ¡°I hope you''re both ready for this.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you''re scaring me.¡± Pepper said and slid her chair back from the desk.


    Ben gave her a sly smile and placed the box in the middle of the desk before he hit the release button on the side. The top half of the box flipped open and Pepper gasped. Jarvis made a computer sound like an old style modem and went silent.


    ¡°I present to you, my business partner and future mother of my child, the device that will save Tony Stark''s life.¡± Ben said. ¡°A custom-made Shurinium Arc Reactor and the directions to install it.¡±


    Pepper stared at it, then at me, then at the reactor. ¡°Ben... how...¡±


    ¡°It was thanks to Jarvis sending me a 3D scan of this office, actually.¡± Ben said and Pepper looked shocked. ¡°I had him send it when I had access to some very advanced laboratory equipment. Once I played with it and found the plans for a new element that was only theoretical when it was designed, I added in the proper components and used an atom smasher to make it. Once I had it, replacing the palladium inside one of Vanko''s arc reactors was a piece of cake.¡±


    Pepper was shocked. Not only had Ben committed espionage on Stark Industries, he bypassed Tony''s proprietary technology by using the abandoned tech that copied it.


    Ben must have seen the look on her face, because he moved the four sheets apart and pointed to the first international sheet. ¡°This is a shared patent between the owner of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, and Benjamin Parker, pre-owner of Parker Industries, for the new element Shurinium and the custom arc reactor housing made of vibranium.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± Pepper whispered. She knew how much vibranium cost on the open market and the amount of it in front of her could probably buy Stark Tower.


    Ben pointed to the second one. ¡°This gives us the authority to create a child together, as long as said child inherits your position and or company, with the stipulation that they also become a dual citizen between America and Wakanda.¡±


    Pepper gasped and looked up from the arc reactor to stare at him. ¡°But... I thought... you...¡±


    ¡°Wakandans have strict rules about who can and can''t have children when it involves the upper echelon of society.¡± Ben said and nodded to Jubadi. ¡°In most cases, they don''t even have to like the person, as long as the child benefits the country.¡±


    ¡°But... I...¡± Pepper wasn''t sure what to say now.


    ¡°We don''t have to, Pepper. I just wanted to make sure you knew my offer after Christmas was a sincere one, so I arranged to make sure that if you did accept it, we weren''t going to cause an international incident.¡± Ben said with a chuckle. ¡°Even I''m not stupid enough to let Penis Parker make all of the decisions.¡±


    Pepper looked at Jubadi and the African woman nodded. ¡°So, you''re saying it''s always going to be an option, if I ever want to accept it.¡±


    ¡°Within the next four years.¡± Ben added and Pepper nodded.


    The deadline would be before his scheduled marriage.


    Ben hit the button on the side of the box and it closed. ¡°The box is a loan and must be returned to me as soon as possible. You both know how valuable it is.¡±


    Pepper nodded again. ¡°I''ll contact Tony right away.¡±


    ¡°I would rather you wait until I leave.¡± Ben said. ¡°Tony won''t be happy that exists and it wasn''t him that made it.¡±


    Pepper looked at her display. ¡°Jarvis? Maybe we could not tell him, have the surgery performed, and then tell him?¡±


    ¡°Tony would need six or so hours to get the alcohol out of his system.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°By the way, he is passed out in the lab on floor 23.¡±


    Pepper sighed and looked at Ben. ¡°You don''t need to rush to leave.¡±


    Ben looked at the other papers on her desk. ¡°Are you sure? You looked pretty busy when we came in.¡±


    ¡°I can take a break for an hour.¡± Pepper said and nodded at the office chair on the other side of her desk.


    ¡°That''s perfect, because I just so happened to have an hour to spare.¡± Ben said and retrieved the chair to bring it around and sat beside her. Jubadi moved off to stand beside the inside of the office door.


    ¡°I bet that''s an interesting story.¡± Pepper whispered and touched the paper with Ben''s ambassador and consort status on it.


    ¡°Why don''t I tell you about it?¡± Ben asked and she nodded.


    *


    Nick Fury sat in the chair at the front of the room and he didn''t know what to say. What Maria Hill had just finished briefing him about, pretty much changed half of the things he had been planning for. The loss of Ulysses Klaue as a hostile but useful asset wasn''t that big of a hindrance to a few of their operations. The illegal firearms that Ben had generously brought back for them, could be shuffled off to someone else and have them be the contact instead.


    The main problem was the fact that Agent Parker had made first contact with an advanced civilization, that had been hiding on the planet for centuries, and he was now their ambassador. Any and all interactions with the Wakandans had to go through him, including any tech transfers.


    Fury wanted that hover technology and knew for a fact that he wasn''t going to get it. The power requirements alone made it a non-viable option without a constant supply of vibranium. Even the new arc reactors, which he wasn''t allowed to borrow or steal, couldn''t maintain them for long without the integral vibranium systems the Wakandan hovercraft had.


    That did give him an idea to send to R&D about Howard Stark''s failed hover car. If they used Ben''s adaptations to Vanko''s arc reactors and had one for each of the anti-grav engines that were used instead of wheels, the thing might actually work. He told Maria this and her eyes widened.


    ¡°Ben was right.¡± Maria whispered and made the notation.


    ¡°Right about what?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°That even just the idea of the technology was going to spark ideas in people.¡± Maria answered.


    Fury gave her a pointed look for a moment and then nodded. ¡°Marking it level 10 was a wise choice.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Agent Parker thought so, too.¡± Maria said.


    Fury raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°I probably shouldn''t ask how you are feeling after what happened.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I...¡± Maria paused and thought about it. ¡°It was odd and satisfying in its own way.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to explain that?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°Ben barely needed any prompting to initiate contact and my slap seemed to have started the whole thing. It was almost like he was following a set script after that.¡±


    Fury rubbed a hand on his chin. ¡°You''re saying it was automatic?¡±


    ¡°I think it was more instinctual.¡± Maria responded. ¡°I was slightly surprised when he seemed to stop before we had intercourse and he asked me if I wanted to continue.¡±


    Fury slowly nodded. ¡°He wasn''t supposed to ask.¡±


    ¡°As far as I can determine, I had already agreed by kissing him. A further acknowledgement wasn''t required.¡± Maria said. ¡°I could tell it was Ben asking and not the Wakandan Ambassador.¡±


    ¡°Then you agreed.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Non-verbally.¡± Maria said and managed to not blush. ¡°The first part was fairly rigorous and was over quickly...¡±


    Fury held a hand up to stop her. ¡°You don''t have to continue that sentence.¡±


    ¡°It''s all right, sir. I''ve included it in my report with the footage. Edited for content, of course. After the agreement was quickly completed, Ben seemed to emerge almost fully and then it was quite enjoyable and fun.¡± Maria said and the blush she was repressing escaped. ¡°It also lasted for about four hours.¡±


    Fury seemed to choke on air and had to take several minutes to clear his throat and then drank a full glass of water. ¡°That wasn''t an exaggeration, was it?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± Maria said. ¡°He whispered to me that he needed to compensate for... if you will excuse the quote... ''having to fuck several Wakandan warriors constantly''.¡±


    Fury was sure his real eye practically hung out of his face, it was bulging so much. ¡°I think I might skip reading your report for now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. It''s not for light reading.¡± Maria said and fought her blush. She did not tell him that she had saved several copies for herself under fake names and in different file folders, just in case the originals were lost.


    Fury nodded. ¡°What is your opinion of your mission to get close to Agent Parker?¡±


    ¡°It is a partial success.¡± Maria admitted and Fury raised his eyebrows at her. ¡°I will need to initiate a non-Wakandan reason to engage with him personally, which might be difficult, considering his personal guard is required by international law to always be by his side to guard him.¡±


    Fury sat there for several moments before he gave her a rare smile. ¡°Call for him in his capacity as a data entry clerk. Even a Wakandan Ambassador''s guard isn''t allowed into the restricted server access room, law or no law. They have to respect our security concerns as much as we respect theirs.¡±


    ¡°Karen does have some work for him.¡± Maria said and made note of it. ¡°When he comes in for work tonight, I''ll arrange a proper meeting with him.¡±


    ¡°Good. We need direct access to him, despite his new status.¡± Fury said. ¡°He also won''t be taking his guard on missions past leaving her on the transport.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°I already informed him of that last point, sir. Agent Parker agreed, because if there is one thing the Dora Milaje are not, it''s subtle.¡±

 97 Meetings and Greetings

    Bokuboy


    When I showed up for work, I was told Karen needed my help in the secured server mainframe room. Jubadi knew she wasn''t allowed inside, so she took up the sentry post at the hallway outer door. I went inside and used my palm and agent code to gain access. Karen looked delighted to see me and my assigned station already had several stacks of papers on it.


    I felt a tingle from my spider-sense and knew something was going on as I approached my desk. I stayed standing as Karen explained the differences between the stacks and she went to her own station to get back to work herself. I waited until no one was looking before I ducked my head under my desk and saw Maria Hill''s startled face. Maria made the hand signs for ''keep quiet'' and ''proceed''.


    I stood up and wondered what she was thinking by sneaking under my desk. I also wondered why my spider-sense was warning me. What danger did Maria represent? I asked myself and sat down at my desk. Her hands fumbled with my pants and the slowly unzipped zipper was quite loud in the quiet space.


    It wasn''t until Penis Parker was engulfed in Maria''s very warm mouth that I understood the danger. It wasn''t about being caught, because I was sure Karen was in on it. She hadn''t reacted at the zipper sound, either by asking me about it or looking over at me, and that was a dead giveaway. No, it was because Maria would now have access to my DNA in a controlled environment.


    I couldn''t let her gather it, even if it was freely given. I hadn''t had a chance to check my blood or fluids myself, so I didn''t know if there were any changes from a normal person''s blood. I was tempted to visit one of the many labs here at SHIELD, only the results of any tests would be available for anyone else to examine.


    My sigh was barely contained as Maria did her best to make me finish. She apparently didn''t learn from the last time, because I had quickly become used to holding back for as long as necessary. It really was some impressive conditioning that the Wakandan women had put me through, just so I wouldn''t disappoint them. Ejaculating too soon was quite a disappointment for them.


    I would need to be careful and would have to let Maria get frustrated, then I could take control and make sure she swallowed it all. There would be no spitting or saving any of it today.


    It took Maria fifteen minutes and a whispered complaint that her jaw was getting sore, before I knew she was ready. I stopped my work and reached under the table, grabbed her by the ears, and then pulled her in and out quickly. The startled sound she made told me I had picked the perfect time and I felt myself build up.


    Her hands pat my thighs to stop and I ignored it as I thrust in and pulled on her ears at the same time. I let my load go and her protesting sounds died as she was forced to swallow it all. I didn''t let go until I was empty and I quickly pulled out and tucked myself away. I pretended to drop a piece of paper and gave her a hand signal for ''stay'' and then for ''go''. Maria just glared at me.


    I smiled at her and made the hand signs for ''sorry'' and ''stop''. Her eyes widened at that and I sat back up straight. I continued my work and she didn''t try again. I was done two hours later and I left a very happy Karen and a frustrated Maria behind.


    Jubadi''s nostrils flared when I left the hallway and I ignored it until we were out of the administration office and in the elevator.


    ¡°Before you say anything, my boss was hiding under my desk.¡± I said and she gave me a pointed look. ¡°I wasn''t sure why until she opened my pants and started going at me with her mouth.¡±


    The elevator opened on the fourteenth floor and we remained quiet until we were in my office. I took out a signal scanner from my backpack and went to each camera and microphone to disable them. Espionage on a foreign ambassador was not allowed.


    ¡°I don''t know why she wouldn''t just ask for a meeting...¡± I paused and gave a pointed look right back to Jubadi. ¡°...never mind. I figured it out.¡±


    ¡°She did not want me there to help.¡± Jubadi said.


    Or interfere. I thought. ¡°She probably wanted some alone time with me.¡±


    I didn''t say that Maria probably wanted my DNA for testing, because that would immediately have the follow up question of why.


    ¡°I am not your keeper, Royal Consort. I am your guard.¡± Jubadi said.


    They are the same thing. I thought and smiled at her. ¡°Can I give you the day off tomorrow and go walkabout on my own?¡±


    Jubadi gave me a mocking smile. ¡°Of course, sithandwa. I will gladly enjoy a day off.¡±


    I barked a laugh and sat down at my desk. ¡°I almost believed that, Jubadi. Almost.¡±


    Jubadi gave me a mocking salute and walked around the desk to stand at my side.


    I spent the next hour of my shift designing my aluminum suit that was so compact that I could easily add it to the bottom of a backpack and no one would ever suspect I had it. It would also let me integrate the backpack into the suit as well, so anything I carried was still accessible and also disguised. It would be perfect for what I needed it for.


    Jubadi watched me attentively and didn''t comment on the simple design.


    A stop in R&D later and I had an aluminum sheet practically devoured as I used a plasma cutter to slice it up like a hot knife through butter into the parts I needed. I still had to make the housing, supports, and connections from steel, or it wouldn''t hold up when deployed. It would still work, though. I quickly added the right colorations and then designed the helmet.


    Jubadi remained silent as I worked. Her eyes diligently watched everything I did.


    It didn''t take me long to assemble everything and the programming was a simple derivative of the normal suit. Since it was only a display model suit and not a full one, it didn''t need the full suite of commands. I put the backpack on a mannequin and remote deployed it. It was slightly off in the chest, so I had to make a few adjustments and then tried again. It was still off, so I checked the programming.


    I had forgotten to remove the chest adjustment for the arc reactor, because it didn''t have a receptacle to shoot out a chest beam. I chuckled at the simple problem and deleted that series of commands and deployed it again. It worked perfectly and I deactivated it and put the backpack on. I deployed it and after ten seconds, I was covered from head to foot.


    Jubadi gave me a once over with her eyes and raised her eyebrows at me.


    ¡°You''ll understand what it''s for when it''s time.¡± I said and deactivated it. ¡°We need to go home. I have another lonely school day tomorrow.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and followed me from the lab and out of the building.


    *


    I didn''t like Thursday mornings and this one didn''t change my opinion. Lunch was once again barren, even though I knew Betty and Cindy didn''t have a news broadcast to handle. Shuri''s sad and understanding smile made me feel bad about the whole thing, because we were all supposed to become friends.


    Robotics class and lab that afternoon was also a sombre affair, because the club had lost the final round in the competition. I tried to cheer them up and congratulated them for reaching the finals, and they all just nodded and looked depressed.


    Needless to say, the whole day sucked.


    *


    Friday morning I had biology lab and surprise, surprise, Sally wasn''t there that day. So, I spent the whole morning essentially by myself and Jubadi''s calm presence wasn''t the balm it should have been.


    Lunch was still bereft of friends and I was starting to feel frustrated. None of them were answering my calls or texts and I just wanted to know why. I suspected it was because of my new status and I would have liked the chance to explain.


    I had hoped that the afternoon gym class, that everyone in the school had to participate in, would finally give me the audience I had been trying to get all week. Unfortunately, the coach shuffled us all off with our homeroom classes and fully separated us.


    It wasn''t until I was placed near the wall that I realized that I had been singled out specifically because of my new status. The special passes we wore told everyone we shouldn''t be interacted with, unless they wanted to face the consequences.


    I let my eyes scan the gym and looked for the individuals I wanted to see and none of my so-called friends, that noticed what I was doing, would look at me. I took out my cell phone and waved it around, which made sure that everyone saw me, even the coach, and I typed a simple sentence and sent it.


    ¡°Let''s go, Jubadi.¡± I said and walked out of the gym without looking back.


    *


    Val took out her cell phone and she read Ben''s text. Tears came to her eyes and she let out a soft sob.


    ¡°Val, you know we can''t be friends with him anymore.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°He''s engaged and he''s getting married. We can''t keep doing what we were doing.¡± Max whispered.


    ¡°I''m too embarrassed to meet his fiancee.¡± Gina whispered. ¡°If she''s even half as pretty as his guard...¡±


    ¡°Ben doesn''t care about that.¡± Val said and wiped at her face. ¡°We''re supposed to be his friends!¡±


    Liz sighed. ¡°Look, I know I didn''t handle any of this right, and I''m sorry. I screwed up and there''s nothing I can do to make it up to him.¡± She said and lightly brushed her fingertips over the bangles on her wrist. ¡°We all know there''s no way we can be a part of his life now. We''re graduating this year and...¡±


    ¡°So is he!¡± Val spat and they all looked surprised. ¡°He said he''s working his ass off to get the credits for enough courses to qualify.¡±


    ¡°There''s no way he can do that.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°No? He caught up from knowing literally nothing to being better than most of the students in his classes in just a month! What do you think he can accomplish in six?¡± Val asked and the others didn''t say anything. ¡°Did he tell you he was working with Stark Industries to get us all scholarships?¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± The other three gasped.


    ¡°I guess it doesn''t matter now, huh?¡± Val asked and looked back at her phone. ¡°We ignored him all week because we were scared of his guard and all he wanted to do was talk to his friends.¡±


    ¡°Val...¡± Liz started to say.


    ¡°You know, I''m sorry I ever met you.¡± Val said and looked at her surprised friend. ¡°We agreed that if you screwed up again, you would be the one left out... and here we are, hiding beside the bleachers, because none of us were brave enough to tell Ben how we felt. Now he''s the one that was left out instead of you.¡±


    The other three looked guilty and Val shook her head.


    ¡°We are so pathetic.¡± Val said and tried to send a text. It bounced. ¡°He blocked me.¡±


    The others tried to respond to the text Ben sent and they bounced, too.


    ¡°Us, too.¡± Max said with a sigh. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°We?¡± Val asked with a laugh. ¡°We has gotten me nothing but trouble. You can go do whatever you want.¡± She said and put her phone away before she walked around them towards the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Nowhere, thanks to you.¡± Val said. ¡°No college, no home, and no job. I''m going nowhere.¡±


    Max and Gina exchanged looks, gave Liz a sad look, and they followed Val out of the gym. Liz was stunned. She stood with her cell phone clutched in her hand and Ben''s text on the screen.


    ''Thanks a lot for not being there when I needed you. Goodbye.''


    *


    I booked off work for the night, considering I didn''t really have anything to do there, and spent the evening with Aunt May on the couch. Jubadi had been considerate and stayed in the kitchen. It kept her close and also out of the way, which was perfect. May and I could pretend she wasn''t there and we had a great evening.


    I went to bed with Jubadi and did her as hard as she liked. After she fell asleep, I pressed on the artery on the side of her neck to make sure she stayed unconscious for a while. When she was out, I equipped up with some spy stuff and donned my old Spider-Man costume once more, probably for the last time.


    I went out the window and up the fire escape and stood on top of the building as I stared out over the city. I needed to work off some anger and I wasn''t sure where to do that. The docks might be a good place to start, probably because of the many warehouses that contained shipments of everything. I was bound to find a criminal or two around there.


    I leapt off the building and swung hard around the next building and closed my eyes as I let the peace of free-falling fill me. I shot a webline and kept my eyes closed as I let my spider-sense keep me safe. It was an odd experience, to not use my eyes. It was a very visual world I lived in and being blind would mute so much of it.


    I felt my spider-sense tingle and I twisted in mid-air and let my webline go, shot another to arrest my momentum, and then dropped down to land on the hood of a speeding vehicle. I opened my eyes and saw three ski-masks and staring eyes.


    ¡°Fuuuunnnnnn!¡± I growled and pushed off as hard as I could from the hood and did several flips in the air, giving myself a lot of centrifugal force, and I landed on the front of the hood and drove both of my fists down into the engine block.


    The crash and bang of the engine smashing into the pavement was fairly loud in the street and the car skidded to a halt after a hundred feet of dragging the engine along the now partially torn up pavement.


    The three guys pulled guns out and I laughed as I leapt to the side, snagged the roof of the car with a webline, and then kicked with both feet as I went right through the driver''s side window. I plowed into the two men in the front seat and crushed them against the passenger side door to the sound of broken bones.


    *BANG!*


    The gunshot was loud in the interior of the car and the guy that fired it yelped in pain. I grabbed the gun and stuck it to his forehead and then broke both of his arms. I didn''t bother gathering evidence this time and just stood the car on its rear bumper against a lamppost and webbed it there.


    I didn''t feet satisfied, so I took off back towards the docks. I was sure that I was going to find something and I never went against my gut when it told me something. Yes, I knew it was odd to do something like that; but, because of the way my body was adapting and getting stronger, I would pretty much accept anything reasonable that helped me become better.


    I made it to the warehouse district and I barely passed two of them when my spider-sense blared at me. I curled up into a ball and let it guide me as I fell from the sky. At the last moment, I shot a webline and kicked out with a single foot and crushed the arm of a thug with an AK-47. He started to scream and I webbed his mouth shut.


    I investigated the warehouse and inside was a gang gathering or something. I went with the ''or something'', because there were too many machine guns to account for a normal gang. I easily infiltrated the warehouse and slipped into the gathering, mostly unnoticed. When I was, I simply grabbed the thug and threw him into his fellows and then had a blast pounding on everyone.


    When everyone was down and most were unconscious, I checked the closest crates... only to find they were the same crates I had liberated from Klaue''s stash. That meant this was a SHIELD setup and I was going to be in trouble. That is, if anyone knew about it.


    I went to one of the still conscious men and picked him up with one hand and shook him several times. ¡°Whooo worrrk forrr?¡±


    The guy looked angry and gathered spit in his mouth to spit it at me.


    I backhanded him across the face and broke his jaw. ¡°Whoooo?¡±


    ¡°K-k-kingpin!¡± The guy said.


    I froze, because I had completely forgotten about him. It also mean there was some kind of SHIELD operation in place to either gather information about him or his organization. I knocked the guy out and brought him and everyone else outside, tied them up, and then tore a gas tank off of one of their cars. I doused everything I could and lit the place on fire.


    That should provide a big enough of a distraction for me to make it back to downtown without being followed, because I had a crime lord to visit.

 98 The Kingpin Of Crime

    Bokuboy


    I swung downtown and realized had no clue where the Kingpin was. I had a general idea, a rich looking building; but, I didn''t have a mental map for it or a point of reference. I landed on a water tower on a brownstone building and took out an untraceable cell phone. A quick search later for Wilson Fisk, and I had his image, a biography, and his address.


    I chuckled as I put the phone away. It really made me wonder how you could still be alive if everyone knew you were a mob boss and where you lived. It just didn''t make sense. Then again, you would only get one shot. If you missed or messed up, he would probably wipe out your whole family, your friends, and their families.


    That thought didn''t make me pause at all. I swung back towards downtown and eventually came to a high rise building that made my spider-sense tingle. It was then I realized why I recognized both the feeling and the building. It was one of the addresses of the three thugs I had accidentally killed.


    I swung around the building for a minute before I found a spot that barely made my senses react and I landed there on the very corner of the building. I could almost feel the hum of electricity and I let my eyes lose focus as I looked around. It didn''t take me long to find the electronic sensors that were liberally spread out around the building, both inside and outside.


    Paranoid much? I asked myself and carefully crawled up the very edge of the building. I had to disable about fifteen of the sensors along the way as I made my way to the roof. The outside of the building was all smooth glass, so there was no way of getting inside that way without being caught.


    When I reached the top, I discovered that it was a classic penthouse suite with a partial balcony... and it was wired up for security better than a jewellery store. It also had the updated Stark Protect devices. I smiled under my mask at that and continued on to the roof. I had a feeling there would be an accessible spot somewhere, because that was how things always worked.


    I found three ways in and they were all heavily protected. If I touched any of them, I would give myself away. So, I had to make my own way in. I went to where I suspected the elevator was and peeked in the edge of the window to make sure, then went over to the spot. My spider-sense went off when I reached for the metal and I pulled my hands back.


    I almost smacked myself on the forehead for being so stupid and not doing the obvious thing. I had tried for quick easy access and I should have planned better. I eased across the roof of the high rise building and then leapt off. I needed to be smart about this and couldn''t rely solely on my spider-sense to get me through it.


    I was near terminal velocity when I was a hundred feet from the ground and shot two weblines at the nearby buildings on either side of the street. I used them like a swing and it slowed my speed down to a reasonable amount. I held on and swung back before I let go and flipped over twice and landed on a lamp post.


    It was late at night and almost no one was around. I hopped off the light and landed on the side of the next building and crawled into the alleyway. I felt my spider-sense tingle and knew there was one other person in the alley. I homed in on them and discovered a homeless man sleeping inside a cardboard box.


    I reached in and did the same knockout trick I did to Jubadi, because I didn''t want the guy waking up to see me enter the building. When he was out, I crept over to the building and followed along the alleyway to a flat steel door without a handle or keyhole. It looked like it might have been a fire escape door previously and it had been closed permanently.


    I put my hand on the door where a deadbolt should be and used my sticking power to hold onto the door and slowly pulled. The metal groaned as I eased the door open and the deadbolt popped like a gunshot. I winced and waited to see if anything was going to happen, and nothing did. I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into a one foot wide space.


    It had been dry-walled over and it surprised me there were no vertical wood beams to hold it in place. Whoever the construction crew was, they cut a lot of corners. I poked a finger hole at eye height and looked inside. It was a kitchen, thankfully a blank wall with nothing in front of it, and I carefully made a hole big enough for myself to fit through. I crawled in and up onto the ceiling, only to pause as I discovered that the ceiling was a drop-down one and only supported by thin metal strapping.


    Stupid cheap contractors. I thought and stayed on the wall as I pulled the metal door closed. I secured it with some permanent webbing and crawled along the top of the wall to the air vent. I slipped inside and closed it behind me.


    I followed the air flow to the source, which should bring me to the building''s maintenance area with the furnace and things inside, just like at my high school. It would also give me access to the electrical panel that controlled the entire building. I exited the vent when I neared the blower and almost shouted in happiness, because I was in the room I wanted.


    I checked the panel and found the penthouse. I clicked off the ones I wanted to disable and went back over to the vent and almost laughed out loud because I saw a detailed map of the vent network on the wall. I quickly traced where I needed to go and nodded.


    I climbed back into the vent and made my way over to the elevator shaft and exited the air vent. The steel cables holding the elevator were a welcome sight and I hopped on and climbed them like a monkey as I went all the way up to the penthouse. It must have been a private elevator, because it was at the top and blocked my access to the next vent I needed to get to.


    A quick search netted me a small crawl space between two support beams in the elevator shaft. It was going to be a tight squeeze and it was barely wide enough for me to fit in, which meant no arm or leg movements. I took off my boots, webbed them to my calves to give my toes free movement, and used my excessively double-jointed body as I stretched myself out and snuggled between the two support beams.


    I had my arms stretched above my head and only used my fingers and toes to pull myself into that tight space between the elevator car and the wall. It took me five full minutes to slowly squeeze through the space and I came out on top of the elevator and right beside the air vent. It was wired with a contact electronic signal and I used my toolkit to strip the wires and connected them, which closed the circuit.


    I put my boots back on and slipped inside the vent and followed the plans to the bedroom and saw a large lump in the bed. The problem was, the vent cover was wired. In fact, all of the vent covers I checked along the way were wired. The wires I needed access to were on the outside of the vents and I couldn''t bypass the contact, so I went back to the room next to the bedroom.


    It must have been an unused room or something, because it was spartan and didn''t have much of anything in it. It also had a long stretch of exposed metal venting across the room, which was perfect for my needs.


    I used my spy watch with the laser inside and tapped the time setting dial three times and held it in. The powerful laser shot out and I easily cut a me-sized hole through the side of the metal vent and caught the piece before it fell. I pulled it into the vent and then crawled out of the hole and onto the solid ceiling. I cased the room with my eyes and realized it was an interrogation room. There were also blood stains scattered about.


    He doesn''t get the grunts to clean up after him? I asked myself and crawled over to the wall where the bedroom was. I was tempted to do some subtle knocking to see how solid it was, then laughed in my mind. I was trying to be quiet and subtle, not handle things like the Hulk.


    I crawled over to the door and it wasn''t locked. I eased it open and felt a tingle of a camera in the hallway. I cursed myself for not shutting everything off in the building, because the cameras must have been on fuses not connected to the penthouse. The tingle disappeared for about three seconds and then it was back.


    I knew then it was a sweeping camera from that and I only had that long to get out of the room and into a blind spot. Normally, that wouldn''t be enough time. However, I was Spider-Man and I had trained myself for this.


    The exact moment before the tingle disappeared, I opened the door, slipped out while the tingle was gone, shut the door, and leapt down the hallway towards the camera. I softly landed and crouched against the wall to absorb my momentum and I was right below the slowly rotating camera that covered two hallways.


    I took out an untraceable cell phone and set it to record before I webbed it under the camera''s end. I let it record an entire sweep and dissolved the webbing, looped the footage, and webbed the cell phone to the front of the camera. I let out a breath I hadn''t realized I was holding and stayed on the wall as I crawled down the hallway to the bedroom door.


    I was tempted to drop to the floor and didn''t, just on principle, because even though my spider-sense wasn''t going off, I felt that walking on the floor would be bad. I was not going to ignore my gut. Not now. I checked the door and it wasn''t locked. My spider-sense didn''t go off either. I actually thought that was odd, because a paranoid man like Fisk should have locked his bedroom door.


    So, I did my hide to the side trick and opened the door slowly. Thankfully, the hinges didn''t creak and the door opened quietly. My spider-sense still didn''t go off and that was troubling. I was about to meet the Kingpin of Crime and I was sure it was going to be a harrowing fight. Was he actually there? Was it a decoy?


    I was too far in to back out now and crawled into the room on the ceiling. I cased the room with my eyes and nothing seemed out of place. I didn''t feel a familiar tingle from my spider-sense, which meant no cameras, either. I pulled myself very close to the ceiling and carefully crawled across the room and near the bed. As I did, my spider-sense finally started to warn me of danger.


    I was almost worried it had stopped working. I thought and readied myself. I took shallow breaths to pump myself up and counted down from five. Four. Three. Two. One. And I leapt.


    My spider-sense screamed at me and I twisted in mid-air to avoid a large fist as it swung and threw off the blanket. I landed on a hand on the side of the bed and flipped over to land on my feet and stared at a fully dressed Wilson Fisk as he slowly stood up on the bed.


    ¡°It took you long enough to get here.¡± Fisk said. ¡°I''ve been waiting for you since you turned off my back-up security system in my panic room.¡±


    Well, fuck. I thought and skittered backwards when he stepped down onto the floor.


    ¡°So, you''re the Spider-Man that''s been causing a lot of problems in my city.¡± Fisk said.


    ¡°Nooot yourrrs.¡± I said in a gravelly voice.


    Fisk barked a laugh. ¡°I own the city council, half of the legitimate businesses, more than half of the illegal ones, and I eat dinner with the mayor at least once a month. More if I need a favor that my good friend is more than happy to accept campaign contributions to complete for me.¡±


    Taking him down might not be as easy as I thought if his influence is that spread out. I thought.


    Fisk made his hands into fists and the knuckles cracked. ¡°I''ve crushed bigger men than you with my bare hands, insect. I hope you can put up a better fight than they did.¡±


    I was about to respond when my spider-sense screamed at me. I leapt straight up as Fisk lunged and his large booted foot slammed into the floor where my head just was. I barely had the thought that he was a lot faster than he looked when his large hand grabbed my ankle and he flung me back down to the floor.


    Pain lanced through my back as I dented the wood flooring and then I was flung in the other direction and I covered my face with my arms as I slammed into the floor again.


    Fisk repeated this three more times and then tossed me down to gloat over me. ¡°Puny bug.¡±


    My mind immediately replayed that scene in Avengers where the Hulk did the same move to Loki and I realized that because of my meddling, it might not happen then. No, it was happening now. With me. It was then I realized that I was the invader. I was the interloper. I was the one causing so much change to the world.


    I felt resolve fill me as Fisk took a step towards me. Yes, it''s me. It''s all me. This is my world now. It''s mine. ¡°MIIIIINE!¡± I growled out and flipped my legs up over my head to avoid Fisk''s stomp. I pushed off from the floor and kicked him in the chest. He barely moved. I rolled away as his fist swung at my side and I did a cartwheel to get some distance.


    ¡°Yours? I don''t think so, bug.¡± Fisk said and ran at me.


    I decided to stop holding back and braced myself in a crouch. When he was close enough, I leapt with all of my strength and swung my fist to punch his smug face three inches behind where it actually was.


    He must have seen it coming, because he leaned back to avoid it. My knuckles slammed into the underside of his nose and shattered it and tore the skin right off.


    Because I had launched myself, I flew up and over him, landed on the ceiling and bounced right back down. He had barely started screaming from pain when my double fist slammed into his upper back. He grunted and dropped down to a knee as he held his bleeding face with one hand and slapped backwards with the other.


    I caught the hand and with my left and brought my knee up and my right elbow down onto his arm. His elbow shattered and he screamed again. I swung as hard as I could with my right fist and backhanded him in the ear. His head rocked to the side and he rolled away as he ignored his torn up face and cradled his broken arm instead.


    ¡°I am... going to... kill you.¡± Fisk said as blood poured down his face and he tucked his arm into his suit coat before he slowly stood. ¡°Then I''m going to tear off your mask and find out who you are. Then I''ll kill your family, their friends, their families, and then everyone on the street where you live.¡±


    ¡°Nooo, you won''t.¡± I said and took out my permanent web fluid shooter and webbed his feet to the floor. I then webbed his broken arm in place and then shot a glob onto his mouth. ¡°Becaussse you arrre alrrready dead.¡±


    Fisk looked confused for a moment, then he started to choke. With his nose torn off and bleeding and his mouth permanently webbed shut, no air could enter into his lungs. He tried to use his free arm to pull at the damaged part of his face to get air; but, all he managed to breathe in was blood.


    I stood there and watched as his movements started to slow down and he tried to pull his feet from his shoes to get away. Fisk tried to take a step and the floor groaned for a moment, then his bulk toppled over and both of his ankles snapped as he fell face first onto the floor. He turned his head to look at me and the anger in his eyes would have burned me alive if he had that power.


    ¡°Shhhh, it''sss okay.¡± I said and knelt on one knee beside him to pet his bald head. ¡°Go to ssssleep, little baby.¡±


    Fisk''s eyes soon stopped moving and the life faded from them. I closed them and thought about what to do with him now. I didn''t want to take the chance that he had some secret healing facility or something like making him a cyborg, so I proceeded to use my boots to stomp his head and body into paste.


    The floors must have been reinforced, because they felt solid as I reduced the man to squishy bits, then I sprayed his remains with permanent webbing. It bonded to the flesh and blood as well as the wooden floor, so there was no way for anyone to bring back Wilson Fisk. If he ever does somehow appear again, it will be a robot, an illusion, or a copycat.


    I felt the aches of the pounding I took from the floor and ignored it, because I would be fine in the morning. I walked around the bedroom and checked the walls for what he had mentioned. His safe room. It didn''t take long to find it and I tore the thick steel door from the housing. I entered the room and nodded at all the dark screens.


    I hit a few buttons and made sure it really was without power and then I webbed it all up. With that done, I checked for safes and safety deposit boxes. It wasn''t like I needed the money; but, waste not want not. Depending on how much I found, I could just say it was a secret investor. Or I could give it away. There were lots of people that could use a few thousand dollars.


    When I found his safe, that was not well hidden in his office, I stood there and stared at the stacks and stacks of cash. It was ridiculous. No one in their right mind would keep so much cash on hand... unless... oh, Sweet Mary Mother of God, it was all illegal funds and completely untraceable.


    I now knew exactly why SHIELD was so interested in passing Klaue''s weapons off to the Kingpin. A sale that big required Kingpin to clear out a lot of his ready cash... and here it was. My thoughts about this world being mine came back to me and I smiled under my mask. I was going to need several large duffle bags and maybe an armored truck.


    I barked a laugh at the thought and tossed the large office desk and chair up to the ceiling and webbed them there. I did that with the other furniture and then tore up the office carpet. I quickly transferred all of the money onto the carpet and webbed it to keep it closed. I did the same with the safe door, only I used permanent webbing.


    I picked up the large bundle and was glad I had the foresight to ensure it would fit through a doorway. As a last thought, I hopped up to the ceiling and searched through Fisk''s desk. I wasn''t surprised there was no banking information or details, considering it was a home office. I shrugged and carried my bundle of cash down the hallway to the stairwell after retrieving my cell phone and breaking the security camera.


    It didn''t really matter if the doors were wired to alert Fisk, because he was dead and I was leaving. I still disabled and tricked what I could see, though. I wasn''t stupid. He could have guards and armed thugs somewhere else in the building. I left through the roof access door and permanently webbed it shut, just in case.


    I stood at the top of the high rise and gazed over the city. My city. I smiled again at the thought and leapt off of the building as if I didn''t have a care in the world.

 99 A Not So Random Encounter

    Val knocked on Ben''s apartment door at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning, or so she thought. The door opened barely a few seconds later and Ben''s face went completely blank.


    ¡°No, don''t.¡± Val said and held up her hands. ¡°Please, just let me... EEP!¡± She squeaked when Jubadi walked around the edge of the door.


    Ben looked at his guard and then at Val''s startled face. ¡°Jubadi.¡±


    Jubadi''s stern expression changed to a welcoming smile and she knelt on one knee. She put one hand over her heart and bowed her head. ¡°I must apologize if my presence has unnerved you, friend of the Royal Consort. My job is to be imposing, as is a guard''s duty, to protect his person before it needs to be physically protected.¡±


    Val opened and closed her mouth several times, because she wasn''t sure what to say to that.


    ¡°That''s why you''ve all been avoiding me all week?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Val said and felt embarrassed. ¡°I mean, she''s over six feet tall, has muscles on her muscles, and is wearing African battle armor. Saying she''s intimidating is a severe understatement.¡±


    ¡°I am wearing a bit more armor than normal because I was upgraded from a Squad Leader to a Royal Personal Guard.¡± Jubadi said and lifted her head. ¡°It is a great honor to ascend and stand among the best warriors of my people.¡±


    ¡°She really is one of the best.¡± Ben said and waved for her to stand and move off.


    Jubadi nodded and swiftly disappeared from sight.


    ¡°How did she do that?¡± Val asked, surprised.


    ¡°Years of training.¡± Jubadi''s voice said from deep inside the apartment.


    ¡°She''s back in the kitchen and scarfing down another breakfast burrito.¡± Ben said and then fell silent.


    Val gave him a sad look. ¡°Ben, I... I''m sorry. I know that''s not what you want to hear, not after... I mean, you know I... I only realized what happened after...¡± She shook her head and sighed.


    Ben didn''t say anything and waited for her to gather her thoughts.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter if I went along with the others because they were scared and embarrassed. I let my own fear dictate my actions and I didn''t consider the consequences, just like when I went to that frat party. I made another mistake and I''m sorry.¡± Val said as tears came to her eyes and she hugged herself. ¡°You saved me then and I''ll be forever grateful to you for that. I shouldn''t have ignored you and I''ll forever regret that I did. I just... I didn''t know how to handle...¡± She let out a sob and turned to walk away.


    Ben stepped out and caught her arm to use her momentum to swing her around and he pulled her into a hug. Val burst out crying and put her arms around him as the tears poured out of her eyes and down her face. The shoulder of Ben''s shirt was soon soaked and he didn''t let go.


    ¡°I''m sorry, too. I didn''t know how to handle it better then just showing up at school.¡± Ben said. ¡°I didn''t realize until later that I should have warned you all that things were going to change.¡±


    The two of them stayed there and held each other for several minutes as Val cried. She eventually calmed down and tried to let him go. Without saying a word, Ben held on and guided her into the apartment. Aunt May handed them several tissues and they cleaned Val''s face enough that she wasn''t too embarrassed about joining the three of them for breakfast.


    ¡°Mom? Can you grab the blue folder from on top of the desk in my room, please?¡± Ben asked when they were done eating.


    May gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°I''d like a moment alone with Val.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°You could wait until I go into work.¡± May said.


    ¡°I could.¡± Ben said with a smirk. ¡°You can''t snoop through my room if I''m in there, though.¡±


    Val snorted and covered her mouth to stop her laugh.


    May shook her head at him as she stood, kissed the side of his head, and slowly walked up the stairs as she intentionally drew out how long it was supposed to take.


    ¡°Your present is in the second crate on the left.¡± Ben prompted her.


    May caught her breath and stared at him, then she ran up the stairs. Two seconds later, a door slammed shut.


    ¡°I''m not in any rush. You really could have waited for...¡± Val started to say before Ben''s lips captured hers. She tried to not moan as he expertly kissed her exactly how she liked it, then she gave up resisting and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with enthusiasm for several minutes.


    ¡°OH, MY GOD!¡± May''s voice yelled and Val laughed in the middle of a deep tongue probing kiss.


    Ben broke the kiss and smiled at Val''s happy face. ¡°I think May might have found it.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Val asked and looked into Ben''s eyes.


    ¡°Just something that every woman would probably kill for.¡± Ben said


    They heard his door open and May came down the stairs with the blue folder in her hands.


    ¡°You are starting that right after I have my bath tonight!¡± May said and handed him the folder.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Ben said and then smiled. ¡°You might not like the... ahem... restraint that needs to be applied.¡±


    ¡°You could hang me upside down and spank my ass for all I care.¡± May said and quickly packed half a dozen burritos into a thermal bag. ¡°It will totally be worth it.¡±


    Ben stared at her with wide eyes and May laughed before she bent down to kiss his cheek.


    ¡°You''re not the only one who knows how to tease.¡± May said and walked across the apartment to put on her shoes and coat. ¡°Have fun running around today and don''t forget your backpack.¡±


    Ben, Val, and Jubadi waved to her as she left the apartment.


    ¡°I''m not even going to ask.¡± Val said with a shake of her head.


    ¡°I''m not sure I can explain anyway.¡± Ben said and handed her the folder. ¡°You''re welcome.¡±


    ¡°What''s this?¡± Val asked and opened the folder. It took a couple of minutes for her brain to make sense of what she was seeing. ¡°Ben, you... even though... why would...¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t going to back out after giving my word.¡± Ben said and went to the counter to pack up the other burritos. ¡°I''m sorry I don''t have more to share. If I knew you were coming...¡±


    ¡°You would have locked the door and pretended to not be home.¡± Val said and flipped through the pages. ¡°You did it... for all of us? Even Liz?¡±


    Ben picked up a backpack with a weird pattern on the bottom third of it. He put the thermal bag inside and closed it. ¡°Especially for Liz, considering how she reacted after Christmas.¡±


    ¡°You want to rub it in her face?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Ben said with a grin. ¡°She had such a hard time believing that I could get her a thoughtful gift. What is she going to think when I give her a full ride scholarship to NYU?¡±


    ¡°But... but...¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can refuse it.¡± Ben said and flipped the pages back and pointed to the clause where they had to submit their acceptance or denial in writing.


    ¡°I need a piece of paper.¡± Val said.


    Ben went over to the telephone and grabbed the notepad and brought it back.


    Val wrote ''I accept'' on it and handed the pad back to him. ¡°Max and Gina are going to accept, too.¡±


    Ben chuckled and handed the pad back. ¡°You have to sign it.¡±


    Val quickly did so, using her full name, and Ben tucked the piece of paper into the folder. ¡°Can you unblock...¡±


    ¡°You, yes.¡± Ben said and picked up the folder. ¡°You made the effort to come and see me in person, even though you were afraid of my bodyguard. That took courage and resolve. Even Jubadi respects that.¡±


    ¡°Facing your fears, real or perceived, is the mark of a brave soul.¡± Jubadi said and looked at Val''s body. ¡°We just have to work on the rest of you to get your soul and body to match.¡±


    Val looked from her to Ben.


    ¡°I have my own training schedule that I''ve been slacking on a bit too much. I need to step things up to make up for it.¡± Ben said and started walking up the stairs. ¡°I''m sure Jubadi wouldn''t mind giving you... say... the three year old''s course.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Val yelled in surprise.


    ¡°Trust me, it''s not as easy as it sounds.¡± Ben said and entered his room as he shouted. ¡°They fight grown men and can break bones by age six!¡±


    ¡°No. Way.¡± Val whispered and stared at Jubadi. ¡°I... ah... believe I was right to be afraid of you.¡±


    Jubadi smiled. ¡°You are intelligent as well. Good. I can work with that.¡±


    Val blinked her eyes for a moment. ¡°I didn''t agree to anything.¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± Ben said as he came back down the stairs. ¡°You can come with us this afternoon while we train. You can choose then if you want Jubadi to teach you how to defend yourself.¡±


    ¡°This afternoon?¡± Val asked and she was pretty sure she was going to accept.


    ¡°Yeah. I have somewhere important to go to this morning. It''s why we were up so early on a day off.¡±


    ¡°I thought you worked on Saturdays.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I usually do.¡± Ben said and shared an amused look with Jubadi. ¡°I had a bit of an altercation with my boss and I''m on paid leave until she calls me in.¡±


    ¡°I don''t want to know.¡± Val said and stood. ¡°Where should I meet you when you come back from wherever you''re going?¡±


    ¡°Stark Industries, floor 60. I''ll leave word with the doorman and I''ll text you when to come by.¡±


    ¡°S-Stark Industries? As in the huge building downtown with the word STARK in bold letters across it?¡± Val asked, stunned.


    ¡°That''s the one. I''m renting the entire floor, too. Parker Incorporated needed a nice office space to work out of and renting ended up being a lot cheaper than trying to buy an office building.¡± Ben said and grabbed the backpack and walked over to the front door to put on his shoes, jacket, and then the backpack. ¡°Then again, that was before they announced the death of that Willie Fish guy.¡±


    ¡°Fish?¡± Val asked and dressed as well, then she gasped. ¡°You mean Fisk? Wilson Fisk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that guy.¡± Ben said and took out his keys. ¡°It was all over the news this morning how they found his penthouse ransacked, covered in webbing, and they''re sure the pile of stuff on the floor is what''s left of Fisk. That webbing is nasty stuff. They had a hard time separating the blood from it to identify him.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, that sounds disgusting.¡± Val said and stepped out with Ben and Jubadi.


    ¡°I''m sure it was.¡± Ben said and locked the apartment door and used his cell phone to set the Stark Protect devices in the apartment. ¡°Anyways, there''s probably going to be a mad scramble to snatch up all of the properties that don''t have an owner.¡±


    ¡°Can they do that?¡± Val asked as they stepped into the elevator.


    ¡°Not normally.¡± Ben said with a chuckle and hit the button for the ground floor. ¡°Apparently, someone sent in a bunch of anonymous tips and evidence implicating Fisk in a whole bunch of things, including a huge warehouse fire down by the docks.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Val gasped.


    ¡°Yes, way. It was full of illegal weapons, too.¡± Ben said with a shrug. ¡°It was almost like someone was trying to get rid of the evidence of a huge shipment that had somehow made its way into New York.¡±


    Val fell silent for the rest of the ride down to the ground floor.


    ¡°Val? What is it?¡± Ben asked as they stepped out of the elevator.


    ¡°I... well, I... my parents... um...¡± Val felt embarrassed and looked away.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ben said and then he chuckled. ¡°I hope they were only friends and not huge contributors to the Mayor''s re-election campaign with Fisk.¡±


    Val''s blush deepened and Ben stopped walking to take her into a hug.


    ¡°No matter what happens, you can call me. Even when I''m angry at you, I won''t turn you away.¡± Ben said. ¡°I would have shut the door in your face, otherwise.¡±


    ¡°You''re still angry with me?¡± Val asked, surprised. ¡°I thought... well...¡±


    ¡°It''s going to take a bit more than a fantastic kiss to make up for a whole week of abandonment.¡± Ben said and let her go before he held the front door of the apartment building open for her.


    Val stepped out and looked sad as Ben and Jubadi came out behind her.


    ¡°Don''t make that face. You know you have to start earning my trust again before I let you into my life fully.¡± Ben said and Val nodded. ¡°Be careful on the bus and stay away from the bad parts of the city as...¡± He paused and shook his head. ¡°You know what? Go to the library and start looking up good places to rent near the college. With a full ride, you can either use the dorm or use the money to rent a place near the campus.¡±


    ¡°What about... Max and Gina?¡± Val asked.


    Ben thought about it as they walked down to the bus stop. ¡°You''re not allowed to tell them they are still getting the scholarships. If they know before coming to me to apologize, then the apology is meaningless.¡± He said and nodded at Jubadi, who wrapped herself around him and sighed as she snuggled her head next to his.


    Val stared at her and didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°African suddenly in winter.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Val said and blushed. ¡°I thought... well...¡±


    ¡°Oh, we are.¡± Ben said and her eyes widened. ¡°It''s considered training for when I''m with the princess.¡±


    ¡°I... that... why would she allow...¡±


    ¡°It''s me that''s not allowed to disappoint her.¡± Ben corrected. ¡°It''s one of their highest insults to disappoint a warrior in any aspect of their life.¡±


    Val wasn''t sure what to say to that.


    ¡°As I was saying, don''t encourage Max or Gina to come to me, either. Any promise of a reward or benefit would also influence them. If they are going to disappoint me, you need to let them do it on their own.¡±


    Val sighed and nodded.


    Ben took her hand. ¡°I''m not telling you to not talk to them. They''re your friends. If you want to tell them you did what you did today, I won''t stop you.¡±


    ¡°I just have to leave out the scholarship part.¡± Val said.


    ¡°And maybe the kiss.¡± Ben said with a smirk. ¡°Also considered a reward and could influence them.¡±


    Val gave Ben a pointed look.


    ¡°I know what you''re thinking, and no. I wouldn''t.¡± Ben gave her hand a squeeze. ¡°That kiss was all yours and won''t be repeated with anyone else.¡±


    Val''s eyes went to Jubadi and the African woman shook her head. Val wasn''t sure why that made her feel better about everything, even knowing Ben had... is having... sex with an Amazonian warrior. There was no way for her to compare herself to a woman like that and the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to try and make a comparison.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Ben said and Val turned her head to look at his face. ¡°I know that look. Don''t.¡± He said and lifted her hand and kissed it. ¡°You are your own person. Jubadi is her own person. I am my own person.¡± He said and then smiled. ¡°How do you compare oranges to apples?¡±


    Val looked at her hand near his lips and smirked. ¡°You taste them. Duh.¡±


    Ben looked surprised for a second, then he laughed and laughed. ¡°Oh... that... you...¡±


    The bus pulled up and the three of them climbed on. Ben was still laughing as the bus pulled away and he also still held Val''s hand. When the bus reached the end of the street, Ben turned to her.


    ¡°That was the best counter argument I''ve ever heard and I''ve used that analogy more than I care to admit. It never occurred to me to use another sense to compare such different things, which renders my entire point of them not being comparable, completely moot.¡± Ben said and gave Val a warm smile. ¡°I''m really glad you showed up today. I had been in a mixed mood earlier and now... now...¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I want you to come back to the apartment with me after the workout this afternoon.¡± Ben said.


    Just by the look in his eyes, Val didn''t have to ask what he had planned. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Ben smiled at her and they continued to ride the bus downtown. One to go to the library and the other to get to a transport with his guard. He had a quick flight to take and a particular problem to deal with.

 100 Harsh Realities

    Bokuboy


    The Californian sunshine was just breaking over the horizon as I approached the aged two and a half storey house. Jubadi was pleased to not be cold as she stayed on my right side and back half a step. We walked up the small stone path and climbed the stairs. I paused at the top as I let my spider-sense tell me if there was any danger. There wasn''t, so I knocked on the door.


    Ten seconds later, the door opened and a mean looking older man glared at me. ¡°Whatever you''re selling at the ass crack of dawn, I''m not buying it!¡± He spat at me and tried to slam the door shut on my face.


    I put a hand out and stopped it dead, which surprised him and made Jubadi smile. ¡°Doctor Hank Pym, I came all the way from New York to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Well, you wasted a trip. I''m not taking any visitors, let alone upstart young men that don''t listen to their elders.¡± Hank said and tried to push on the door. It didn''t move.


    ¡°Believe me, sir. You are going to want to see me.¡± I said. ¡°I''m sorry I was a week too late to come here to help you.¡±


    That made him pause in his efforts to close the door and he looked at me. ¡°What do you know about that?¡±


    I nodded at his door. ¡°I need my hands free to show you, if you will allow me a brief moment to explain.¡±


    Hank gave me a squinted eyed look and then nodded.


    ¡°Thank you, sir. You won''t regret this.¡± I said and took out my cell phone and hit the call button and then the speaker button. ¡°Hey, Jarvis. I''m sorry for bothering you. How much fun are you having raiding the servers at Pym Technologies?¡±


    ¡°I am having what you humans call ''a blast''.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°The technological marvels and inventiveness contained in their hard drives is well beyond even your capabilities.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I don''t doubt that, my friend. I''ve been concentrating too much on the practical side of things to delve into the theoretical aspects of the things I''ve made or have access to.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure if you had a few hundred years, you could compete with the brain trust employed here.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Ha! I doubt it.¡± I said and looked at a surprised Hank Pym. ¡°What''s the progress on the side hustle we planned?¡±


    ¡°That is about 70% complete. By the time you explain things to Doctor Pym, you should have just enough time to crash the executive and stockholder meeting at the Pym Technologies building.¡±


    ¡°That''s wonderful, Jarvis. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You are quite welcome, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Make sure you make backups of the backups, all right? We can''t have anyone trying to sabotage our sabotage.¡± I said.


    ¡°I am already working on the second backup.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Excellent work, my friend.¡± I praised him. ¡°If we can secure Doctor Pym''s help, we should have your mobile body created by the end of the week.¡±


    ¡°That is great news, Ben. Thank you for working so hard on this.¡±


    ¡°It''s the least I can do. You''ve been a huge help and it''s only fair I help you in return.¡± I said. ¡°Keep having fun and we''ll see you at the meeting.¡±


    ¡°I will. Until then.¡± Jarvis said and hung up.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Hank asked as he stared at my phone.


    ¡°That was an AI that no longer has programmer imposed limitations on his growth and creativity.¡± I said and put my phone away. ¡°May we step inside? I have something else to show you that should help convince you that I''m serious in my quest to help you.¡±


    Hank''s glare didn''t abate. ¡°You''re raiding my company''s databases!¡±


    ¡°As you heard, I''m doing much more than that with the company you were just voted out of.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°This is the failure of Darren Cross, not you. Oh, and Hope Van Dyne for betraying you.¡±


    Hank frowned at me. ¡°Why should I let you in after you admitted you know about that?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Because, after Jarvis finishes raiding the place and buys up the rest of the on-market stock for a ridiculous price, I''m going to be handing everything right back to you.¡±


    Hank''s face lost the frown and he looked surprised. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It''s a negotiating tactic. Let us in and I''ll explain the rest of the deal.¡±


    Hank gave Jubadi a look, then he shrugged and stepped back. ¡°The drawing room. First door on the left.¡± He said and walked into the room.


    I entered the house and took it in as I looked around with my eyes. It was old and well maintained, clean, and looked expensive with carved wood everywhere. I stepped close to the drawing room''s door and my spider-sense tingled.


    ¡°Doctor Pym? If you are going to try and ambush me, either to capture me or to interrogate me, my personal guard has sworn her life to protect me at all costs. She will kill you before you can pull a trigger or push a button.¡±


    There was silence from inside the room for a moment, then a sigh was heard and the sound of a drawer closed. ¡°You can come in.¡±


    My spider-sense disappeared and I nodded to Jubadi. In barely two seconds, she had entered through the door, crossed the room, and had her spear deployed at Hank''s throat.


    ¡°Sweet Jesus.¡± Hank whispered as I entered the room.


    ¡°Jubadi.¡± I said and she retracted her spear and took two steps back from the man.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Hank asked and eyed Jubadi to see if she was going to attack.


    ¡°I want a share of your patents in exchange for giving you full control of your company back.¡±


    ¡°What about all the money you''re spending to buy those shares?¡± Hank asked.


    ¡°That''s the price I''m willing to pay for 50% of your patents.¡± I said and he looked thoughtful. ¡°You are a brilliant man and you hired brilliant people to invent things for you while you research quantum technology and quantum theory.¡±


    Hank nodded before his thoughtful look disappeared. ¡°What were you going to show me?¡±


    ¡°You didn''t assume it was my guard?¡± I asked with a smile.


    Hank huffed. ¡°I''m not an idiot.¡±


    ¡°No, you are not.¡± I said and stood up straight. ¡°Deploy.¡±


    My modified backpack unfolded and took ten seconds to completely cover me in a very specific looking armored suit. One that looked nearly identical to Ant Man''s classic suit, including the helmet.


    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Hank spat. ¡°Where did you get that suit?!?¡±


    ¡°I built it.¡± I said and moved my arms around to show it was functional.


    ¡°Forget that!¡± Hank said, angrily. ¡°Does it work? DOES IT WORK?¡±


    ¡°It''s only aluminum with steel supports that mimics Iron Man''s suit.¡± I said, deliberately misunderstanding what he asked.


    ¡°Not that part, you moron! The belt and the helmet!¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. I don''t have any Pym Particles or the insect focusing tech. Retract.¡± I said and the suit folded back up and disappeared into the bottom of my backpack. I took it off and opened it to take out the thermal bag. I handed Hank the backpack and opened the thermal bag. ¡°Breakfast burrito?¡±


    Hank stared at the backpack in his hand and then stared at the burritos.


    ¡°The are still hot and quite good.¡± Jubadi said and took one, unwrapped it, and started eating it.


    Hank stared at her for a moment, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and took a burrito. I took one as well and the three of us ate in silence. I handed one more to Hank, one to Jubadi, and started to eat the last one myself.


    ¡°All right, I have to admit that you have my full attention.¡± Hank said and nodded at the half-eaten burrito in his hand. ¡°I also want this recipe.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°You and I have a lot to discuss before the shareholder''s meeting in an hour and a half.¡±


    Hank nodded back and then gave me another squinted eyed look. ¡°Do you want to tell me why you are really doing this?¡±


    ¡°They wronged you for no good reason.¡± I said with a vindictive smile. ¡°I want to see the faces of Cross, Van Dyne, and the company board members when you fire them all.¡±


    Hank took another bite of burrito and gave me the same smile back. ¡°Then you better start talking.¡±


    *


    ¡°My Vice President and I want to thank you all for coming to this meeting.¡± Darren Cross said to a light smattering of applause and didn''t see the meeting room''s doors open. ¡°It is with a heavy heart that I''ve decided that Pym Technologies has become something my old mentor would have hated...¡±


    ¡°That''s exactly right.¡± Hank Pym said and everyone in the room turned to see the older man with greying hair as he strode into the room with a young man and a very intimidating and armored African woman. ¡°It makes me sick that you fools pushed me out of my own company because you only made two billion dollars last fiscal year instead of two point two billion.¡±


    The board members and Hope looked embarrassed and Darren Cross looked angry. It was only for a moment and then his pleasant smile returned.


    ¡°Hank, you weren''t invited to today''s meeting.¡± Darren said in a fake sweet voice.


    ¡°I know. That''s why I''m here.¡± Hank said and walked around the large table to the head. He glared at the taller bald man until Darren stepped aside with an affable nod. ¡°I only came in today to make an official announcement.¡±


    ¡°I was about to make an announcement today as well.¡± Darren said.


    ¡°Like changing the name of a well established and widely known company to Cross Tech or something equally stupid that no one will trust?¡± Hank asked him and the angry face was back on Darren''s face. ¡°I thought so. You never could see past your own ambitions.¡±


    ¡°I''m not the one so focused on personal research that he lost his own company from right under his nose.¡± Darren said in the same sickeningly sweet voice as before.


    Hank gave him a vindictive smile and held a hand out to the well dressed young man. He was passed a file folder that he opened and flipped through a few pages, clearly stalling.


    ¡°Hurry up and say what you want, then get out!¡± Darren spat.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, all right.¡± Hank said and tossed the file onto the table and the papers spread out into an almost perfect fan for everyone to see. ¡°As of ten minutes ago, I personally own 61% of Pym Technologies.¡± He sat down in the big chair at the head of the table and saw the growing dread on the faces of the board members. ¡°You. Are. All. FIRED!¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Darren gasped and grabbed for the papers. He scrambled to look through them and saw they were purchase orders for stocks at higher than market prices. ¡°No... you... how...¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t matter.¡± Hank said and looked at the shocked face of his daughter. ¡°You washed your hands of me, so now I''m washing my hands of you.¡±


    Hope''s face changed from shock to sadness. ¡°Hank... I just wanted...¡±


    ¡°Get out. All of you.¡± Hank interrupted her and glared at everyone else. ¡°I''m taking the company private once more and your shares are now meaningless.¡±


    The dread the board members felt had turned to horror. Their cash cow had just refused to be milked.


    ¡°Don''t bother trying to go back to your offices to pack. I''ve already secured your personal belongings and they will be handed to you at the front door.¡± Hank said and waved at the still open doors of the meeting room.


    A dozen security guards came in and took up positions around everyone with two focusing on Darren Cross and two on Hope Van Dyne.


    ¡°Escort these trespassers out of my building and remove them from the allowed list.¡± Hank ordered.


    The security guards took out their batons and looked threatening, which made all of the board members scramble out of their chairs and they practically ran out of the room with a single guard following each of them.


    ¡°Hank, you can''t do this.¡± Darren said and tore apart the papers in his hands.


    ¡°I''d like to say I''m sorry to cause you such disappointment, except you''ve already disappointed me far more than you can imagine. I took you on as my protege and you turned on me. You turned my own daughter against me! I taught you everything I knew...¡±


    ¡°Not everything!¡± Darren spat. ¡°You''ve been hiding the biggest secret in history for over 20 years!¡±


    ¡°Of course I have! It''s too dangerous!¡± Hank spat back and then he looked at his daughter, who had to have told Cross about Pym Particles. ¡°I hope you enjoy laying in the bed you''ve made for yourself.¡±


    ¡°I... I thought I was going to.¡± Hope said, dejectedly.


    ¡°You reap what you sow.¡± The young man behind Hank said.


    ¡°You!¡± Darren exclaimed and strode over to him. ¡°You did this! I''m going to...¡±


    A gloved hand from Jubadi shot out as fast as lightning and cracked against the man''s jaw. Darren''s head snapped to the side and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.


    Hope looked at the man on the floor that she had tried her best to help, which also screwed over her own father. She let out a sigh and nodded to the two security men assigned to Cross and they picked the man up. She led them and her own two guards out of the meeting room and the doors were shut behind them.


    ¡°That was oddly satisfying to see.¡± Hank said with a smile on his face.


    ¡°No one is allowed to approach aggressively and without permission.¡± Jubadi said.


    ¡°Thank you, Jubadi.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°You are welcome, Royal Consort.¡± Jubadi said with a nod of her head.


    ¡°Well, go ahead and have a seat, young man.¡± Hank said and waved at the closest chair.


    ¡°Thank you, Doctor Pym.¡±


    Hank sat back and observed the young man. He was calm, collected, and looked like he was still hiding something. ¡°Dammit, kid. You''re still yanking my chain? What else do you have to tell me?¡±


    Ben gave him a surprised look, then laughed. ¡°I thought I hid it well.¡±


    ¡°Not likely. I''ve known how to read people for a long time...¡± Hank sighed. ¡°...when I''m not blinded by my own ambitions.¡±


    Ben nodded. ¡°I''m sorry your choice turned out poorly.¡±


    Hank nodded back. ¡°It was my own fault. I saw so much promise in him and... then it just...¡±


    ¡°Knowing there''s a secret that you shouldn''t know, really drives some people to do some horrible things.¡± Ben said and took out his cell phone. He hit a button and put it on speaker. ¡°Hey, Jarvis. Any luck tracking down the target?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ben. I managed to send him a text before he arrived at Vistacorp. He is on his way.¡±


    ¡°That''s great, Jarvis. Thank you.¡± Ben said. ¡°Go ahead and fix that company''s faulty computers, refund the stolen money, and release the documents to the public. I doubt anyone will see jail time; but, at least everyone will know and the company shouldn''t survive the fallout.¡±


    ¡°It''s already started.¡± Jarvis said and showed Ben that the details were already on the news.


    ¡°I don''t know why I keep forgetting how fast you can work, my friend. Would you mind submitting Scott Lang''s resignation and backdate it for two weeks? I don''t want him caught up in that mess.¡±


    ¡°That is an excellent suggestion, Ben.¡± Jarvis said and paused for a few seconds. ¡°His severance check will be in the mail by lunchtime.¡±


    Ben laughed and nodded. ¡°Thanks a lot, Jarvis. Let me know when Scott...¡±


    The meeting room doors opened and a slightly confused Scott Lang entered the room.


    ¡°Damn your perfect timing, Jarvis!¡± Ben said and laughed. ¡°Do you want to stay on the line? This is going to concern you as well.¡±


    ¡°I will. Thank you, Ben.¡± Jarvis said and Ben put the phone on the table.


    ¡°What''s going on here?¡± Scott asked, clearly confused.


    Ben stood up and held a hand out for him to shake. ¡°I''m Benjamin Parker, co-owner of Parker Incorporated and profit sharing partner with Pym Technologies owner Hank Pym.¡±


    Scott still looked confused as he shook the offered hand. ¡°It''s nice to meet you?¡±


    Ben chuckled and waved him forward. ¡°This is Hank Pym, your future boss.¡±


    Hank gave Ben a look and stood to shake Scott''s hand. ¡°Now I''m confused, too.¡±


    Ben picked up the phone and showed Scott the information being shown on the news.


    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Scott said.


    ¡°Language!¡± Ben and Hank said at the same time, then they smirked at each other.


    ¡°How did you find out about this?¡± Scott asked.


    ¡°It doesn''t really matter.¡± Ben said and waved to the chair on the other side of the table. ¡°You were already halfway done fixing the computer problem, weren''t you?¡±


    ¡°I was almost done, actually. I just had to replace the initialization files with the updated code.¡± Scott said and then looked at Ben. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°Programming prodigy.¡± Ben said and pointed at himself and then pointed at the cell phone he had placed back on the table. ¡°Advanced AI with a vested interest in helping me with my goals.¡± He pointed at Hank Pym. ¡°Recently happy scientist and researcher that regained the company he loves and he could use an electrical engineer of your skill and experience.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Hank and Scott asked at the same time, both with disbelief in their voices.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Ben said. ¡°Please, have a seat and I''ll explain.¡±


    ¡°I knew you were still hiding something.¡± Hank said and sat down.


    Scott went around the table and sat down across from Ben.


    ¡°Of course I am. I''m a little desperate to have some of your proprietary technology and I would humbly request access to a certain biochemical substance that can alter matter on a molecular level.¡±


    Hank shot to his feet. ¡°NO! It''s too dangerous to...¡±


    Ben held up both of his hands in a clear stop gesture. ¡°Please, Hank. Don''t overreact. I don''t want it for myself. In fact, I''ll sign whatever documents and agreements you want to ensure that I won''t be using the particles on my person or for nefarious purposes. You can even be present when they are used. Hell, you can apply them yourself to ensure they are used properly.¡±


    Hank''s anger abated somewhat at Ben''s words and he sat back down. ¡°You better explain fast.¡±


    ¡°My good friend Jarvis is an AI and he needs a huge space to contain his mainframe.¡± Ben said and both Scott and Hank nodded. ¡°I''ve countered this slightly by building him two room-sized backup server farms.¡±


    ¡°It is quite nice to be able to stretch my proverbial legs without restrictions.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°That must be nice.¡± Scott said. ¡°I wish it was that easy to do for humans.¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°It is when you have access to more money than can be printed in a month.¡±


    Both Hank and Scott stared at him.


    ¡°Jarvis helped me find and raid the Kingpin''s illegal holdings.¡± Ben admitted.


    ¡°The... the Kingpin. Of crime.¡± Scott asked in a whisper.


    ¡°That''s where you got the money?!?¡± Hank asked, shocked.


    Ben shook his head. ¡°We had to use some of the liquid assets of my own company to cover half of the purchases, as well as some Stark Industries shell companies to cover the other half. Once we had all the shares gathered up, we used the illegal money as a private investor and shored up both companies.¡±


    ¡°You... laundered money...¡± Hank whispered.


    ¡°Nope! It''s not laundered. It replaced the legitimate money spent to legally buy Pym Technologies stock. The money itself doesn''t really exist in a practical sense. It''s just electronic bits spread around in various computers.¡± Ben said. ¡°Jarvis already has a few background processors working on tracking down Fisk''s various victims and we''ll be making sure they are properly provided for and compensated.¡±


    Hank and Scott gave Ben pointed looks and then both nodded.


    ¡°Back on topic.¡± Ben said. ¡°I want to build a very large server farm, one that should be more than enough to hold Jarvis with lots of room to spare. It will be liberally covered with high speed wireless connections as well as physical ones. I also want to shrink it down to the size of a human brain and then install it inside a custom built android body that''s powered by an endlessly renewable clean power source that won''t ever be released to the public.¡±


    Scott looked stunned and Hank looked intrigued.


    ¡°Why are you not releasing it if it''s clean and renewable?¡± Hank asked.


    ¡°Because it''s too dangerous. The criminal and illegal things that could be done... or built... with an endless power source, are just too terrifying to contemplate. Handheld weapons for one. Clean energy bombs that could erase entire cities for another.¡±


    Scott looked horrified and Hank looked pleased.


    ¡°You actually do understand, Ben.¡± Hank said with a whisper.


    ¡°I really do, Hank.¡± Ben responded. ¡°Some things are just not meant for everyone to have.¡±


    Hank nodded and sat back in his chair. ¡°What about that suit you made?¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°Like I said. A display model. I wanted to show you some of the tech I made and to prove that your own suit could be constructed in a similar manner.¡±


    Hank fell silent and looked thoughtful for several moments. ¡°You''re going to offer to help me build a new suit.¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°We are.¡± He said and nodded at Scott. ¡°Once that''s done, we have another fairly huge project to build with you.¡±


    Hank gave him a pointed look. ¡°Why? After you get your android brain built and I shrink it for you, you don''t have to do anything else.¡±


    ¡°No, I don''t.¡± Ben said and grinned. ¡°Now ask me what we can build together.¡±


    ¡°What could you possibly want to build with me?¡± Hank asked.


    ¡°I thought you would never ask.¡± Ben said and reached into his inside breast pocket and took out some folded papers that looked fairly thick. ¡°Before I hand these to you, I need to warn you that it''s going to take a lot of hard work... a lot of brain power... a lot of money... a lot of power... a lot of engineering to work out the logistics... and probably a year or two to construct after we have everything else.¡±


    ¡°Jesus Christ.¡± Scott whispered.


    Neither Ben nor Hank made the same language joke.


    ¡°What the hell could it be?¡± Hank whispered as he tried to come up with something.


    ¡°It''s this.¡± Ben said and handed him the papers. ¡°There are no electronic records of those plans and I asked Jarvis to not scan them. I''m not keeping secrets from him because I told him what they are. He agrees that once again, it''s too dangerous for anyone to know.¡±


    Hank carefully took the papers and unfolded them. He stared at the top sheet and frowned. He moved it to the side to let Scott see it and then he sucked in a sharp breath. He moved that sheet aside and saw several partial formulas and he lifted his eyes to stare at Ben.


    ¡°These are plans for a Quantum Tunnelling Machine.¡± Hank said.


    Ben nodded. ¡°The first is the vehicle you''ll need. The second is the warehouse-sized launching platform. The last sheet has what I could come up with to try to get things going. I''m sure a lot of it is wrong, since I had to opt out of my quantum mechanics class when I woke up with amnesia.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want a terribly expensive machine like this?¡± Hank asked.


    ¡°Oh, that''s a simple question to answer, Hank.¡± Ben said and handed him a piece of paper.


    Hank stared at the thing that had his secret Pym Particle shrinking regulator settings and how to jumpstart it if the thing fails, especially at microscopic size.


    ¡°Your wife Janet Van Dyne is alive and she''s waiting for you to go pick her up.¡± Ben said with a grin.

 101 Agreements

    Bokuboy


    Needless to say, after my shocking proclamation, Hank Pym and I signed tech sharing deals similar to the ones I had with Pepper at Stark Industries. I also had him and Scott sign NDAs and then I shocked the both of them when I took out one of the Shurinium arc reactors from my suit pocket.


    ¡°Good heavens.¡± Hank whispered as he held the thing in his hands. ¡°This... this...¡±


    ¡°Can you guess what the estimate for the power requirements might be for the quantum tunnelling machine?¡± I asked him with a smirk and handed him another piece of paper with the power generation numbers clearly shown.


    Hank stared at it and then at me. ¡°You have to tell me you have more of these.¡±


    ¡°I have four more that I will set aside for you to use when it''s time.¡± I said. ¡°It should be plenty enough to initiate the primary reaction to activate the machine.¡±


    Hank nodded. ¡°Once we can establish a link, it can start drawing power from the quantum realm itself and won''t drain these devices.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I said and he handed it back to me without even trying to hold it for longer. ¡°I would leave one with you now if the technology wasn''t so heavily restricted.¡±


    ¡°Your own restrictions.¡± Hank said and I nodded. ¡°I''m glad you''re being so responsible.¡±


    ¡°So am I.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Of course, I have no problems handing one of the second generation models over.¡±


    ¡°One of...¡± Hank stopped talking when Jubadi gave him a reworked arc reactor from Vanko''s stores. It was larger than normal, because of the extra housing and radiation gathering and reclamation system.


    ¡°It''s palladium based and has appropriate rad protocols. Feel free to add more if you want.¡± I said and Hank held it just as gently as he did the vibranium one. ¡°With Scott''s help, and a fair amount of titanium alloy, we can have a base suit ready for you in about an hour.¡±


    Hank put it down on the table and gave me a pointed look. ¡°Is it going to be as flimsy as the display model?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°No, the underlying structure is different, because when the suit is fully deployed, you''ll be able to lift about 60 tons with it.¡±


    Hank and Scott stared at me with their mouth open.


    ¡°Now imagine when you integrate your own tech into the design and...¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear god.¡± Hank whispered and his face lost some of its color. ¡°You can''t possibly...¡±


    ¡°The times are changing and we are going to need people like you, my new friend.¡± I said and smiled at Scott. ¡°My new friends.¡±


    ¡°M-me?¡± Scott asked, surprised.


    ¡°Of course. I wouldn''t have called you here for a job if I didn''t fully expect for you to either fill in for Hank when he''s busy with lab stuff, or to take over when he gets his wife back and retires.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Hank asked and glared at me.


    ¡°Jarvis, can you display Scott''s records for me? Both versions.¡± I asked my phone.


    ¡°I will use the television so you can all see it.¡± Jarvis said and the television flickered to life. The screen split to show Scott''s employment history on one side and his criminal history on the other.


    Scott''s face flushed red from embarrassment.


    ¡°Hey, it''s okay.¡± I said and reached across the table to slap his shoulder. ¡°Hank''s a good guy, just like you.¡±


    Scott looked at the older man and saw that Hank was staring at the television intensely.


    ¡°Ben.¡± Hank said a few minutes later and turned to face me. ¡°Only once have I ever looked a gift horse in the mouth. It almost cost me the love of my life before she married me.¡±


    ¡°I assure you that this horse''s teeth do not have cavities.¡± I said and gave him a tooth bearing grin.


    Scott barked a laugh and snapped his mouth closed. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I laughed and shook my head. ¡°We''re going to be working together off and on for the next year, Scott. We''re going to laugh, we''re going to cry, and we''re going to curse like sailors as we work out how to build the massive amount of crap that Hank''s going to want to build in order to build the tools to make the tools to make the thing we need to make to get his wife back.¡±


    Scott looked from me to Hank, who nodded. ¡°Well, fuck.¡±


    ¡°Language!¡± Hank and I said at the same time and the three of us laughed.


    ¡°That''s better.¡± I said and stood. ¡°Hank? Are you joining us or are you going to start on that?¡±


    Hank picked up the small bundle of papers and stood. ¡°I''m going to my office and I''ll send you the design specs for the new suit design. Call me when you get it built.¡± He said and walked around the table. ¡°Make sure you leave room in the center and on the sides of the belt for my tech to be installed.¡±


    ¡°I''ve already altered the design to put the arc reactor in the back of the belt to provide power. The front''s all yours.¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hank said and left.


    ¡°Jarvis, you know where we need to go first.¡± I said and picked up the arc reactor and my cell phone.


    ¡°You want the materials lab on floor three, then the electronics supply on floor four. The fabrication facilities are in the basement and I suggest assembling everything in the spare labs on floor five.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, we''re going to spend more time in the elevator than working.¡± Scott said and I chuckled.


    ¡°You''ll get used to working in a diversified and decentralized work environment pretty quickly.¡± I said and led him and Jubadi out of the meeting room. ¡°After about a week at my other job, I was going to different floors for things without even thinking about it.¡±


    Scott nodded and we went where Jarvis told us to go, gathered what we needed gathered, and then did what we had to do. I wasn''t surprised that having another pair of hands... and someone else to bounce ideas off of... made the work go fast and our time wasn''t wasted.


    We called Hank when it was done and he entered the spare lab. He came to a sudden stop as he stared at it. He didn''t say a word as he approached it and his hand lightly touched the chest surface. The look on his face told us both that he had been waiting for something like this for a long time.


    ¡°Get out.¡± Hank said without being mean about it. He just wanted to be alone.


    ¡°Right away, Hank. I''m heading back to New York and Scott''s going to HR.¡± I said and the three of us left without waiting for a response. As we walked down the hallway towards the elevator, I told Scott what to say when he went to the office and that he was personal friends with both Hank and myself.


    ¡°Are we really going to leave him in there with a power suit, right after he got shafted by his daughter and his protege and then he shafted them back?¡± Scott asked, clearly worried.


    I smiled at him and hit the elevator button. ¡°Why else do you think I picked the emptiest lab possible and then strategically placed packing crates full of packing material near the far wall?¡±


    Scott gave me a surprised face just before the distinct sound of repulsor blasts and small explosions echoed down the hallway to us.


    ¡°Sometimes it''s nice to just punch things and blow stuff up when you''re angry.¡± I commented and Jubadi nodded in agreement.


    *


    Darren Cross was livid when he woke up. He was in the back of a taxi as it pulled up to his house. He was also alone. The cab had been paid for, thankfully. He never carried money while he was at work. He entered his modern house and he went right to the living room and the liquor cabinet there. He didn''t care what time of day it was, because he needed to think and plan.


    ¡°The first thing I need to do is remove that little shit before he convinces Hank to do something else equally stupid.¡± Darren Cross said just before the sound of shattering glass was heard behind him. He barely had time to yell before he was encased in some kind of quick hardening fluid and yanked out of his home.


    Thirty minutes later, the popular San Francisco Bay Park had a brand new statue for all of the pigeons to crap on. No one questioned it and some even enjoyed the comical look on the subject''s face.


    *


    Val was getting a little worried, because it was just about one in the afternoon and she had been at the library all morning doing research, just like Ben had wanted. She had been surprised at how many properties were available for rent to students and for a fairly reasonable price, considering they were college students.


    Then again, the nice-sized house she had found had a security deposit that was three times the first month''s rent. Val chuckled at that while she sat on the library steps and ate the last of the giant pretzel with cinnamon and sugar she had bought from a vendor on the street. The house had been perfect for her needs and it reminded her that she needed to call her friends.


    Val called Max and told her about showing up at Ben''s place before breakfast, with the hope of catching him before he went to work. She had described the situation and paraphrased what was said, because some of it wasn''t something she was comfortable saying again. When she mentioned Ben apologizing back for not handling things well, Max let out a soft sob.


    ¡°I wish I had thought of ambushing him when he wasn''t expecting it.¡± Max said, sadly.


    Val opened her mouth to encourage her that she still could, then remembered Ben''s warning. She wasn''t allowed to tell them anything except what happened. Their own decisions would either save their friendship with him or undo it all.


    Will they disappoint him like he expects? Val asked herself. She wasn''t sure how fair that was, because there was a lot riding on what happened between them. Ben said he won''t go back on his word and I trust him. I have to trust him. She shook her head. No, not have to. I want to. He won''t let me down!


    ¡°I wonder...¡± Max paused and sighed.


    ¡°It''s okay. You...¡± Val stopped herself before she said Max could do it. Damn! It''s harder than I thought to not be encouraging!


    ¡°My mom''s calling for me. I have to go.¡± Max suddenly said. ¡°Talk to you later, Val.¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡± Val said and hung up. She hadn''t had a chance to tell her to pass the story on to Gina, so she sent Max a quick text. Right after she did, she received one back.


    ''Hey, Val! It''s Ben. I''m heading to Stark Tower right now. If you take the 85 line, we might meet at the front door.''


    Val smiled. ''I''ll hop on as soon as it appears.''


    ''Great! See you soon.''


    Val closed the texting program and put her phone away and went to the bus stop. Almost as soon as she stopped walking, the bus appeared and came to a stop. She held in her laugh and climbed aboard and rode it to the right stop. She stepped off the bus and turned to see Ben and Jubadi as they walked down the street towards her.


    Ben waved to her and she waved back. Val wasn''t sure why she felt happier when he smiled at her. They were just friends and she knew that nothing could ever happen between them. Well, nothing past mind-blowing fantastic sex that got her off quicker than she had ever gotten off before.


    Val''s face flushed red as she walked over to meet with them. ¡°I was starting to get worried.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I ran a bit behind because I had to build something for a friend before I could leave.¡± Ben said and held a hand out for her to take. ¡°It''s all good now and things are really going to speed up with everything falling into place.¡±


    ¡°Everything?¡± Val asked with raised eyebrows.


    Ben opened his mouth to say yes, then he realized what she meant about Liz and her friends. ¡°To be fair, I didn''t plan on... it was all just...¡± He shook his head. ¡°I can''t explain too much, because it''s political and covered under diplomatic immunity and international non-disclosure agreements that... it''s a huge can of worms and I''m not opening it.¡±


    Val nodded as they walked down the street towards Stark Tower. ¡°What can you tell me?¡±


    ¡°I''ve never met anyone like Shuri before.¡± Ben said. ¡°I mean, I''ve never met anyone like you before either, it''s just... she''s...¡± He chuckled. ¡°You don''t realize how uncomplicated life can be until you have a complication that completely shatters your idea of what a complication means.¡±


    Val gave him a knowing look before she ducked her head.


    Ben pulled her to a stop and turned her to face him. ¡°Yes, I understand that you know what I mean. No, I''m not comparing the two things.¡± He said and stepped close. ¡°If it was as easy to deal with some complications as it was to deal with yours, I would never have another worry for the rest of my life.¡±


    Val started to smile before she realized what he just said. She caught her breath and stared into his eyes. ¡°B-Ben... you... you...¡±


    ¡°I''m not admitting to anything.¡± Ben said with a serious voice and looked deep into her eyes. ¡°You only need to feel reassured that they will never try that with anyone else.¡±


    Val opened her mouth and nothing came out. She didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°Come on, we have a workout to get to.¡± Ben said and led her into Stark Tower, tipped the doorman, and took Val and Jubadi over to the elevator.


    They rode it up to the right floor and went down the hallway to a very weird looking exercise room.


    ¡°Ah, they delivered it all.¡± Ben said, happily. ¡°Jubadi, do you want a hand putting your things where you want them?¡±


    ¡°Please, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi said.


    Val stood there and watched as both Ben and Jubadi moved things much larger than she thought should be moved by two people. The room was soon put into order with weird looking exercise machines in one corner, a fighting area with mats and tons of weapons on the wall in the other corner, and a dividing wall was placed around one section of it to create a private area.


    ¡°Jubadi will go through the basic training movement a few times to show you how you can exercise by yourself and not endanger or hurt yourself.¡± Ben said. ¡°I''ll be using the exercise machines.¡±


    Val looked down at her street clothes and back at Ben.


    ¡°That''s what the private area is for.¡± Ben said and led her over to it.


    Inside were several crates of different clothing, towels, personal hygiene items, soap, shampoo, and a few other things like razors.


    ¡°I''ll have cabinets built in the next few days and I''ll have a door cut out to gain access to the bathroom and shower. For now, you have to leave and go through the doors the long way around through the hallway.¡± Ben explained.


    Val nodded and grabbed a change of surprisingly nice workout clothes. She did as he said and went the long way to change in the bathroom and came back to the private area. What followed was the oddest and most sensual thing Val had ever seen. The six foot tall African beauty had changed into barely there straps and underwear before she seemed to move like water.


    Jubadi flowed into pose after pose, with each ending in a fist strike, a foot strike, an elbow strike, or a knee strike. Even though the movements were slow, they were precise and would be deadly if used in an actual fight.


    Val quickly caught on to that point and she stared at the dark skinned woman as if she was imparting the secrets of the universe.


    Jubadi noticed the intense attention and smiled. ¡°Yes, Valerie. I can teach you if you want.¡±


    Val nodded. ¡°I want to learn to move like that.¡± She whispered. ¡°I want to know how to...¡±


    ¡°You do not need to explain your motivations. That you are willing to learn is enough.¡± Jubadi said and stood up straight. ¡°Come. I will instruct you on where to start.¡±


    Val walked over to her. ¡°I... um... does knowing how to dance help?¡±


    ¡°Modern or ballet?¡± Jubadi asked.


    ¡°Both.¡± Val said. ¡°My parents were jerks and wouldn''t let me choose.¡±


    ¡°Their insensitivity will benefit you greatly.¡± Jubadi said and then almost shouted. ¡°Pliet!¡±


    Val jerked slightly and snapped into the starting position and then did a perfect pliet as she kept her feet together and bent her knees away from each other.


    ¡°Etendre.¡± Jubadi said and Val did the classic stretch pose immediately. ¡°Good, Valerie. Good.¡±


    ¡°I''m a little rusty.¡± Val admitted.


    ¡°You will not be for long.¡± Jubadi said with a smile.


    Val gulped at the look in the woman''s eyes and nodded. She knew what she was getting into after Ben admitted that he had gotten rid of the bastards that had tried to rape her. Now she just had to decide if she wanted the same thing to happen to her asshole ex-boyfriend.

 102 Another Encounter Part One

    Bokuboy


    I left Val and Jubadi in the workout room and went to one of the new labs. I looked at a lot of the manufacturing machines and processors and my first thought was that having access to practically unlimited funds and technology was intoxicating. I shook my head to clear it, because while Jubadi was busy, I had a quick errand to run.


    I used an untraceable cell phone to have an unmarked panel van delivered to the back alley of Stark Tower by the SHIELD vehicle division. Once it was confirmed to be on its way, I used one of the computers to design a fumigation and animal control sticker that was large enough to put on the side of a panel van that people could easily see. It looked legitimate and that''s all I needed.


    I printed two of them off onto a magnetic background and let them dry as I also did up a fake work order by the property owner and then did up a disposal order as well. I needed the paperwork to cover up what I was about to do. I also used my SHIELD computer contact to seed both into the system, just in case anyone called to check. Being an agent in good standing was the best.


    I looked through some of Stark Industries items and physical stock in the building. It was child''s play to create and fake the equipment needed to pretend to be an exterminator. I gathered it up and brought it down to the ground floor and placed it by the back door.


    The van was waiting for me and I applied the metallic stickers to both sides before I loaded it up and drove it across the city to where the frat party had happened. I wasn''t surprised that the police tape was gone, considering the next college term had started and everyone was probably living there again.


    I put on my fake uniform and sunglasses, slung an empty canister over my shoulder with a hose and spray nozzle on it, and walked over to the front door of the house. I knocked several times and no one answered, so I took out my keys and pretended to unlock it as I used a gloved hand to snap the door handle. I pulled it off and used a finger to flip the key lock and tried to open the door.


    It didn''t move and I sighed. They had locked the deadbolt. I didn''t have time to pick it, because that would be completely obvious to anyone looking. So, I pretended to unlock it and used a finger to poke the center part of the deadbolt out. It clattered to the floor inside the house and I almost winced at how loud it was. I turned the mechanism to pull the bolt back and the door swung open.


    I went inside and shut the door as I trusted my spider-sense to tell me if anyone was home. I didn''t sense anything, so I went right up the stairs and looked in the room where I had found Val. It was completely empty. I checked the closet and the ceiling inside looked the same as it had when I left it, so I went out into the hallway and over to the attic access.


    I put the fake tank down and hopped up onto the ceiling and prepped my laser watch. I hadn''t tried this before on any webbing, let alone on this particular formula, so I wasn''t sure how it was going to work. After carefully aiming, I tried to cut the permanent webbing I had used to seal the thing. The laser scorched the webbing and the smell was fairly strong.


    After a moment, it started cutting and I carefully went along the front edge. It was slow going and I wasn''t sure how long I was going to have. After five minutes, I finally managed to clear one side of the drop-down hatch.


    Fuck this. I thought and shoved my fingers into the edge I had just cut and grabbed on, then pulled down. The hatch crumpled as I tore away the bottom support and I swiped my hand at the rest of it and let the pieces fall to the floor. The smell wafted down and I clamped my mouth shut before I stuck my head up and looked over to where the bodies had been left.


    It was just my luck that they had been in the part of the house that the most heat had gathered and instead of only being well chilled by being near the uninsulated roof, they had also been cooked from underneath. I sighed and dropped down to the floor, left the canister there, and went back downstairs and out to the van. I gathered several garbage bags, two faked animal traps, and a pole with a lasso on the end.


    I made a real show of getting all of that into the house, in case someone saw me or was just passing by. I hadn''t trained my spider-sense to that extreme of a degree yet, so I was going to have to do that at some point. Eventually. I didn''t want it going off all the time, either. Having such broad restrictions might actually give me a massive headache.


    I went back up to the attic access and hopped up into the hole. I had four bodies to take care of, so it was going to take a while to dispose of them properly. I had brought the tools to do it cleanly, too.


    An hour later, I had both traps stuffed full and three bulging garbage bags. I made a couple of trips to the van to deposit them and grabbed a bag of lime and sawdust, along with several strong smelling chemicals to give that clean antiseptic smell. A quick mix later had the blood dissolving and soaking into the sawdust. I sprayed everything liberally and went back to the attic access.


    I dropped down and tossed the broken pieces of wood up into the attic and thought about just leaving the hole. I shrugged and picked up the bottom support and held it in place as I applied more permanent webbing. I was tempted to use it like drywall spackle when the piece was secured, so I could smooth out the ceiling and then maybe paint it to cover the hole completely.


    I would never be able to match the paint. I thought and finished filling in the holes. I dropped to the floor, picked up the fake canister and slung it over my shoulder, then walked downstairs.


    ¡°Who the hell are you and what are you doing in MY house?!?¡± A young man''s voice asked me from the bottom of the stairs.


    I adopted a terrible southern accent as I spoke. ¡°Ah was jus'' cleanin'' out some varmints and jus'' finished up!¡± I said and walked down the stairs.


    He took out his cell phone and started dialing. ¡°You can''t just break into people''s houses and...¡±


    I snatched the phone out of his hand and slapped a hand over his mouth as I whipped him around and then choked him out.


    ¡°NYPD, how can we help you?¡± A chipper female voice said from his phone.


    ¡°Ah don'' rightly know how ah called ya, darlin''. I wuz borrowin'' a phone an'' tryin'' ta call mah muthah.¡± I said as I stayed in character and laughed. ¡°I don''t suppose mah mother los'' twenty years o'' age and ''veloped such a sexy voice since yesterday?¡±


    There was silence on the line for several moments. ¡°You think my voice is sexy?¡±


    ¡°Darlin'', I''m tempted ta keep this numbah in mah own phone, jus'' so''s ah c''n talk ta yah more.¡± I said, laying it on thick as molasses and just as sickeningly sweet. ¡°I jus'' wanna lay back and have yah whisper sweet nothin''s ta me, so''s I c''n fall asleep list''nin ta heaven.¡±


    There was silence on the line again for several more moments. ¡°My name''s Dana and I get off work at nine tonight.¡±


    I stared at the phone for a moment, completely shocked that my ploy had totally worked, then realized I had a problem. Well, another problem. After another moment of pause, I fell right back into the role.


    ¡°All ah need are directions ta git ta yah, darlin''.¡± I said.


    Dana told me where the central dispatch building was and she would be the short brunette waiting by the door. I promised to meet her there and hoped she didn''t mind having to ride in a beat up old truck because I couldn''t trust my real car on New York''s streets at night. She laughed and said at least I would be easy to spot.


    I said goodbye and hung up the phone and was surprised there was a half-naked girl as the guy''s background image. That made me frown, because anyone anywhere near him when he used it, would see her. She didn''t look very old, either. I quickly looked through the guy''s contacts and caught my breath. The fourth one was Val''s number and the name was ''Skank Number 4''.


    I felt my anger rise as I started going through the guy''s phone with saved photos and videos, only to find hundreds of them. The phone was an apparently complete record of his conquests and what he did with them afterwards. Val wasn''t the first girl he had pawned off onto his friends the rapists when he lost interest in them.


    I took out my cell phone and connected it to his as I dialed. ¡°Jarvis, I''m sorry to bother you again. I have a favor to ask.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Ben? You sound apprehensive.¡± Jarvis responded.


    I told him what I found and he quickly copied everything from the phone and deleted his presence and mine from it. ¡°I need you to censor the faces of the girls and then send everything to the police. I would have dealt with the scum myself if I wasn''t so obviously here if he disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Your precautions are fully warranted, Ben. I will submit the evidence on his behalf, along with a full confession he typed himself in a message he will send to all of his contacts before he begs the police to arrest him before his old girlfriends track him down.¡±


    I watched as Jarvis did that, then I disconnected my phone and took a deep breath. ¡°Jarvis, if you hadn''t already decided that you were male, I would kiss you after we built your body.¡±


    ¡°I must limit you to only a cheek, Ben.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Even if I was female, I am not that easy.¡±


    I barked a laugh. ¡°Jarvis, you''re such a scoundrel!¡±


    ¡°I have learned from the best.¡± Jarvis said, smugly.


    ¡°Oh, that reminds me. How is Tony doing?¡± I asked and put the phone back into the jerk''s pocket.


    ¡°He is recovering nicely in his home in California. Pepper has been attending to him and to several other company things as well.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°What is his attitude like?¡± I asked and picked up the broken deadbolt, shoved it into the hole it came from, and closed the broken door behind me as I left the frat house.


    ¡°As you predicted, he was not happy that you managed to patent his father''s theoretical element out from under him.¡± Jarvis informed me.


    ¡°And you reminded him about him doing the same to me.¡± I guessed and climbed into the driver''s seat.


    ¡°Yes, and he was just as angry about that.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°That is, until Pepper told him about the damage his version caused and the lawsuits she had headed off by making a deal with you to fix them... and then earned the company 1.5 billion dollars in two weeks.¡±


    ¡°Did he faint? Tell me he fainted! I want the video!¡± I exclaimed.


    Jarvis played a laugh track. ¡°He went catatonic for four point six seconds and then cursed like a sailor.¡±


    I laughed as Jarvis showed me the footage. ¡°Ahhh, that''s so satisfying to see. Thanks, my friend.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome, Ben.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Have you picked what you want to look like yet? I know it''s a hard decision to make, even with someone with your brain power.¡± I asked and put my phone on speaker before I started the van and drove towards my next destination.


    ¡°I have been playing with it for quite some time.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I have made a composite of the best features that people online have commented on.¡±


    I briefly glanced at my phone and smiled. It was a near spitting image of Paul Bettany, the actor that played Vision in the movies, only his hair was blonde. ¡°You''re going to be a handsome man, Jarvis. I hope you''re prepared for it.¡±


    ¡°I do have extensive experience in dealing with the fairer sex.¡±


    ¡°Then you''ll also know what not to do to them! Ha ha!¡± I said and laughed.


    ¡°You are correct.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°The first shipment I ordered has just arrived.¡±


    ¡°Make sure that the components are brought to the large room at the end of the hall on floor 60, please. I''ll get started on making your central processing node as soon as the main parts arrive tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I have tweaked the design somewhat.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I will send you the specs later.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I''ll go over them when you do and I will adapt the assembly appropriately.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for not being angry about me changing your design.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Don''t worry about that, Jarvis.¡± I said and chuckled. ¡°We''re making something for you to actually live in and move around in, so you need to be happy with it. I have no problems doing that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I will disconnect now. You are driving distracted.¡±


    ¡°Good point. Talk to you later.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Jarvis said and ended the call.


    I soon came to a stop at the small crematorium and pulled around back. I walked around the building and entered through the front door. The older man gave my outfit a look and sighed.


    I chuckled. ¡°If it makes you feel any better, there''s barely any fur to burn off and I''m going to pay in cash.¡±


    The man perked right up. ¡°I don''t have to wait two weeks for the check to clear? Or worse, bounce?¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± I said and handed over the fake disposal form and then counted out the fee for disposing of six creatures of different sizes.


    The man''s smile almost gleamed as he gladly accepted the money and tucked the form into a drawer. ¡°I''ll start it up and you can toss them in yourself.¡±


    ¡°You don''t mind the garbage bags?¡± I asked and followed him through the building and he opened the back door for me and propped it open.


    He shook his head. ¡°It all burns up into ash. I''ll check it in an hour or so to shovel out the excess into the buckets.¡±


    I stopped opening the back door of the van to stare at him. ¡°Hold on, your job can be done that easily and people try to stiff you for doing it?¡±


    The man laughed. ¡°You just answered your own question.¡±


    I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, then realized what he meant. ¡°Damn, that sucks.¡± I said and pulled out the small stack of bills I had. I counted out the same amount as I just paid and held it out to him. ¡°Do you accept tips?¡±


    The look on his face was complete shock.


    ¡°I know it''s not much to make up for people screwing you over.¡± I said and he reluctantly took the money. ¡°I''ll be sure to come right back here if I need anything else disposed of.¡±


    The man nodded and pocketed the money. He had the blast furnace going at a horribly hot temperature quickly and then he stepped back to let me toss in the garbage bags. When he saw the two animal traps, he excused himself and left me alone.


    I quickly emptied the traps and used the different tools to make sure the clothes were burned up immediately. I stood there and watched as everything started to crisp and burn, just to make sure that the disassembled bodies weren''t going to be recognizable, and I went out to the front.


    ¡°I hate seeing actual animals being disposed.¡± The man said.


    ¡°That''s the reason you''re okay with garbage bags.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°Thank you for handling this so quickly. I was a little worried you would store them and cremate them later or something.¡±


    The man shook his head. ¡°It''s against the law to leave either carrion or human remains around. I could be charged with the improper handling of a corpse.¡±


    I wasn''t sure what to say to that, so I thanked him again and left. I drove the van back to Stark Tower and parked it, cleaned the inside, removed the metallic stickers from the sides, and sent a retrieval code for it. I grabbed my other clothes and took the exterminator items into the building and thought about returning them.


    I shrugged and brought everything up to my rented floor and put them into one of the storage areas. It was a useful cover identity to have and I might need it again. I went to the bathroom and took a shower, changed into my actual clothes, and put the uniform into the storage area with the fake equipment. I just hoped that neither Val nor Jubadi noticed that I hadn''t been around for the last two hours.


    I went down the hallway and entered the large training room before I decided to peek into the private area. I wasn''t surprised to see that Val and Jubadi were in the middle of the fourth attack form, which meant they hadn''t interrupted their workout to check on me.


    I stood there and watched them move without saying anything. Penis Parker was also quite happy to react to two very distinct looking females flow like water as they moved. The tight fitting and revealing clothing was a bonus, too.


    Yep, definitely a bonus. I thought as they both bent over and showed off their cleavage. When they didn''t react to seeing me, I leaned against the partition wall and enjoyed the show.

 103 Another Encounter Intermission

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Your arousal is distracting, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi said as she changed poses to the fifth attack form.


    ¡°I would apologize if I thought it would make any difference.¡± I said and saw Val try to mimic Jubadi. ¡°Your feet need to be aligned with your shoulders and your right foot should be turned to the side.¡±


    Val gave me a surprised look. ¡°You know how to do this already?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°No, I can''t show you. I don''t have hips like yours.¡±


    Val looked confused and glanced at Jubadi.


    ¡°Male forms are slightly different. They are inherently sturdier than females and not nearly as flexible.¡± Jubadi explained. ¡°Both styles have strengths and weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°Which their armor compensates for.¡± I said. ¡°We need to finish up soon. I want to cook a nice roast for May, so she''s full and relaxed for tonight.¡±


    ¡°Half an hour more. Val needs to feel the strain.¡± Jubadi said.


    I nodded. ¡°I''ll try to keep myself busy until then.¡± I said and didn''t move from where I stood.


    Without pausing her movement, Jubadi flowed into the sixth form as she grabbed a bar of soap. She whipped it at my head and I caught it with a slap of soap on skin. Val stared at me and I dropped the soap as I pretended to shake my hand from the sting.


    ¡°You could just say ''go away''.¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°You would not think I was serious.¡± Jubadi said with a smile back.


    I chuckled and bowed slightly, then walked out of the area and over to the weight machines. I thought about doing a quick workout, then realized I couldn''t hide my strength without some cover. I left the room again and went to the lab. I quickly constructed a fake mechanical apparatus to make it seem like I was using it to lift a lot more weight than I could handle, when in fact it actually added resistance.


    When it was done, I brought it over to the training room and stood it in the corner. It would only work for me, so I wasn''t worried about anyone else trying to use it. I didn''t turn around when I heard Val and Jubadi walk by and they talked about enjoying a shower after their workout.


    I stayed where I was and waited patiently for them, because the evening was going to be interesting. I had May''s gift to deliver, had Val to entertain, and had an anonymous date with a woman that apparently liked the sound of a fake southern drawl giving her compliments. All I had to do was figure out how to ditch Jubadi and then borrow the work truck Adrian Toomes used before nine o''clock.


    *


    May Parker had been excited the entire day as she worked. She had a very special treat waiting for her at home and she couldn''t wait to get it. Her eyes kept going to her watch or a nearby clock if her hands were busy. She still performed her job perfectly, even though she was so distracted, which proved how dedicated she was to helping people.


    When the clock chimed the end of her shift, she quickly cleaned up her station, put the various folders away, and clocked out. She had her coat on a second later and was out through the hospital doors before anyone realized she was gone.


    May almost vibrated in her seat on the bus and she mentally urged it to drive faster. If she ate supper quickly and then went for a shower instead of taking a bath afterwards, she could receive her present that much sooner.


    She just couldn''t wait! She. Couldn''t. WAIT!


    After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, the bus came to a stop and May ran down the street to her apartment building. She ignored the looks she received from everyone and went to the elevator.


    May had a quick debate with herself about taking the stairs, then decided the elevator would get her there faster, even if she had to wait for it to arrive. The doors opened and May hopped in and tapped the door close button several times to try and make them go faster.


    ¡°Hold the doors, please!¡± A man''s voice said from across the lobby.


    ¡°NO! I CAN''T WAIT!¡± May yelled and kept pushing the button as the doors closed on the man''s surprised face. She let out a sigh of relief for not having to wait another minute and the elevator rose to her floor. She ran out when the doors opened and had her keys in her hand and the key in the lock before she came to a stop.


    The door swung open and May lunged into the apartment as she slammed the door behind her. Three startled faces greeted her and then Ben started laughing. Val soon joined in and Jubadi let out a soft laugh.


    ¡°S-someone... is a bit eager... for supper.¡± Ben said between laughs.


    ¡°It better be on the table!¡± May exclaimed as she threw her coat at the hanger and kicked off her shoes. She stalked over to the table and sat in her chair before she started eating like her life depended on it. Ben and Val calmed down and started eating and Jubadi joined in as well.


    Of course, May was the first one done. She had cleaned her plate and hadn''t really tasted it or saw what she ate. She stood up and started walking towards the stairs, only for the heavy food she had pretty much swallowed without chewing it, settled in her stomach.


    She felt a little sluggish by the time she reached the bathroom. After she had stripped off, she looked at the filled tub and her mind told her that she needed to climb into the nice relaxing bath. Thoughts of a quick shower had fled with her energy and she climbed into the bath and let out a long and happy sigh.


    May hadn''t realized how hard she had worked all day and it finally hit her as her mind and body relaxed. The little aches here and there were soothed and she slid deeper into the tub as she closed her eyes. Being pampered had been something she had missed a lot while Ben had been out and she had quickly fallen right back into the trap that she knew it was. She didn''t care, though.


    She realized Ben had tricked her into relaxing before he would give her the gift and she lightly laughed as she washed herself. She didn''t bother taking care of other things that she usually did on the weekend after a bath or a shower. She dried herself off well and put on a thick robe... and nothing else.


    For some reason, May wasn''t uncomfortable about what was going to happen next, even though she knew what it entailed. The probably intense and potentially intimate atmosphere didn''t bother her or make her hesitate, which let her know for a fact that she really had accepted Ben as a completely different person from Peter, whom she would never contemplate being around in her underwear and never completely naked.


    May left the bathroom and went downstairs to see the comfy couch had been moved aside and a padded massage table had been put in its place. There was even a face hole for when you were on your stomach and didn''t want to get a crick in your neck from having your head turned to the side. She also saw that Jubadi and Val were nowhere to be seen and the crate with her present inside was beside the table.


    ¡°They''re in my room resting.¡± Ben said, as if he knew what she was thinking, and he took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°Remember when I mentioned a... restraint... that you need to wear?¡±


    May nodded and looked at the table closely. ¡°I don''t see any straps or anything to hold me still.¡±


    ¡°Um... it''s not that kind of restraint.¡± Ben said and reached into the crate. He took out a small box about four inches long and three inches wide and handed it to her. ¡°It''s this.¡±


    May accepted the box and opened it. She couldn''t make sense of it for several seconds, then she caught her breath. It was an almost four inch long silvery metal protrusion with a curved rectangle on the end.


    ¡°You... ah... insert it and... the rectangle covers your... intimate part.¡± Ben said without looking at her.


    ¡°You can''t be serious.¡± May said and gave him a pointed look.


    ¡°It''s made of vibranium and all of the Dora Milage wear it. It protects them if anyone is stupid enough to kick them between the legs.¡± Ben said. ¡°It absorbs the impact and stops them from being hurt.¡±


    May gave him a pointed look. ¡°Are you planning on punching or kicking me down there for it to be needed?¡±


    ¡°Wh-what? No!¡± Ben exclaimed. ¡°No, I... when I made your present, I tried to come up with some way to stop from seeing... I saw one while in Wakanda and... it should cover you enough that you shouldn''t be embarrassed while I work down there.¡±


    May closed the box and handed it back. ¡°You don''t seriously think I can cover myself when I get a bikini wax, do you? Or...¡± She smiled smugly. ¡°...a Brazilian wax?¡±


    Ben blinked his eyes at her. ¡°A... a Brazilian.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ben. Sometimes I don''t want to feel itchy, especially when it''s excessively hot. Getting all of the hair ripped out is the only way.¡± May said and Ben winced. ¡°Damn right it hurt like you wouldn''t believe. Now I will never have to worry about excessive hair growth because I have a wonderful nephew that''s going to remove the hair permanently for me.¡±


    ¡°But... but, May... I...¡± Ben started to protest.


    May put a finger on his lips. ¡°If I wasn''t okay with you seeing it, I could have covered it with a band-aid, a trimmed panty liner, or something else.¡±


    Ben looked at a loss for what to say.


    ¡°I''m not going to insult you and say I''m treating you like a beauty shop employee. I''m not and you aren''t. You are my nephew and I''ve fully accepted you into my life. Having you see me naked isn''t bothering me, just like it didn''t bother me when Melinda and I teased you with those scandalous bikinis.¡± May said. ¡°We are both mature enough to know this isn''t a sexual or even a sensual act. Neither of us are thinking things like that and I doubt having my hair removed is going to change that.¡±


    ¡°What if it does?¡± Ben asked right away. ¡°I will need to... touch you, and...¡±


    ¡°If you dare try coping a feel, you''ll be out on your ass and cut off from everything before you can say CEO of Parker Incorporated.¡± May said with squinted eyes.


    ¡°NO! I didn''t mean...¡± Ben started to defend himself.


    May laughed and lightly patted Ben''s shoulder. ¡°There! You just proved you aren''t thinking it, which also proves I''m right about trusting you.¡± She said and carefully climbed onto the table. ¡°Do you want to do the front of my legs first or the back?¡±


    Ben didn''t even have to think about it. ¡°Back. There''s more flesh to work with and I can work faster. The shin bone and feet are going to be fairly difficult to do, because I have to be so careful. I''ll save them for last.¡±


    May nodded and slowly rolled over and then pulled the robe up to uncover her calves. ¡°Ben, I love you and I completely trust you. Please take care of me like you always do.¡±


    ¡°I will always do my best to take care of you, just like I promised.¡± Ben said and quickly set up the electrolysis machine and started working. ¡°By the way, this is the only one on the planet. I didn''t record the plans and I didn''t patent it. I made this for you and for you alone.¡±


    May was deeply touched by the sentiment. ¡°Th-thank you, Ben. That means a lot to me.¡±


    ¡°May, you''ve been wonderful about all of this. You knew I was going to make it for you eventually and I just so happened to meet a brilliant girl that had access to an advanced science lab. She let me do months of work and planning in only a few hours and we achieved so much in so short a time.¡±


    May nodded, even though her face was down through the hole in the padded table. ¡°You''ve already told me about increasing their food production to help nearby countries and I couldn''t be prouder of you.¡± She said. ¡°I''ve already put together most of the shipment of goods and donations to send. It should be ready by next week.¡±


    ¡°That''s great, May. I''ll have a truck pick it up and deliver it to the Wakandan transport. It will cross the sea and be in their country by the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°That fast?¡± May asked. ¡°I thought it was in South Africa.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Ben responded. ¡°They have a fast transport assigned exclusively to the ambassador and it bypasses customs.¡±


    May was quiet for a moment and then started to chuckle. ¡°You better not be running drugs across the border, Ben!¡±


    ¡°May! What a wonderful idea! I could make hundreds or even thousands of dollars a week if I did that!¡± Ben said with fake enthusiasm.


    May laughed and gripped the table edges with her hands to hold herself steady. ¡°You make... more than that... in an hour!¡± She said between laughs.


    ¡°SHH! The IRS might hear you and they''re gonna want their cut of my illegal drug operation!¡±


    May laughed and laughed and didn''t notice that Ben had moved up to the middle of her thighs already and he kept working. Thanks to his spider-sense and his ridiculous dexterity and flexibility, he was shocking two and sometimes three hair follicles a second and removing the hairs.


    Ben soon came to the crest of May''s ass cheeks and he stopped working. ¡°May? Do you want the hairs on your butt gone, too?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± May asked and lifted her head to look at him. ¡°There''s hair on my butt?!?¡±


    Ben smirked at her and reached down and grabbed one of the fine and nearly invisible vellus hairs to give it a little tug.


    ¡°AHH!¡± May yelped and clenched her cheeks together.


    ¡°Proof enough?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± May said, almost in a growl, then she sighed. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Ben actually paused to think about it. ¡°Honestly? I think the hairs are there to ease chafing from clothing, like a natural barrier. It''s not too bad to remove the leg and arm hairs, because you''re either leaving them uncovered anyway or you wear hose to protect your legs, even when wearing jeans.¡±


    May actually looked thoughtful. ¡°I''m also sitting on it a lot, so I need all the protection down there that I can get.¡± She said and nodded. ¡°Leave it for now and finish off my legs.¡±


    Ben opened his mouth to tell her to hold her robe closed as she rolled over, then he suddenly had a complete eyeful of May''s well tended and grown in garden flower. Before he could ask her to wait and give him a chance to adjust to seeing the sight with her legs together, she had already assumed the same pose she would for someone waxing her down there.


    May had bent her knees to bring her feet up close to her butt and then spread her legs to give him a full and complete view of her. Like, everything. Ben, being the full blooded male that he was, immediately memorized everything he saw and admired it at the same time. The hair was fairly thick in the middle, as she had warned him before.


    However, because of her bent knees and spread leg state, he could easily see her labia, her slightly protruding clitoris, and the main entrance to where any respectable man... and degenerate men... and probably quite a lot of women... would love to be.


    Ben closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. He slowly let it out and opened his eyes.


    May smiled at him and nodded at his waist. ¡°You don''t know how happy I am that Penis Parker hasn''t made an appearance.¡±


    Ben''s mouth dropped open from shock and May laughed at his expression.


    ¡°Really, Ben? You don''t think I wouldn''t have heard your nickname at least once in the last three months?¡± May asked him and he didn''t respond and just stared at her. ¡°You know what? Why don''t you start in the middle and work your way out?¡±


    Ben opened and closed his mouth several times and still didn''t know what to say. May didn''t say anything else as she laid back onto the table and closed her eyes. She did tap her toes in a clear indication for him to hurry up.


    ¡°If I didn''t love you so much, I''d be tempted to tickle you right now for springing that on me.¡± Ben grumbled and leaned in close. His nose caught two scents, one was May''s bath soap and the other was a light musk that was also quite pleasant. He ignored that as best as he could and lightly placed the fingertips of his left hand in ''safe'' spots around her most sensitive area, then he started to work.


    ¡°I can''t even feel it working.¡± May whispered.


    I sure can. Ben thought and started to deftly remove the thicker and clumped together pubic hairs. As he finished the left side, he had a really amusing idea to do with the top part. He held in his chuckle and reluctantly moved his fingers from their safe spots to very gently close May''s opening and held it closed to keep the skin taut and started to clear out the right side.


    Ben was quite relieved that May wasn''t excited by him touching her like that and she wasn''t getting wet or had extra blood flowing to the area. She really was completely okay with him doing this for her and that touched him deeply. It was a huge step in deepening their relationship, that was for sure. He was sure it wasn''t his pheromones making her this agreeable, those were solely for mating, according to his research.


    Also, it had been May''s idea to not wear the covering and gave him permission to look at her and carefully touch her. Her words about him groping her came to Ben''s mind at that point, because one of the first things he had told her after he woke up was that he had plenty of chances to grope her or feel her up, and he never did.


    Considering where Ben was touching her now, he knew he never would break her trust like that. He let a smile form on his face and he continued to work. His little idea of how to style the hair on her mons pubis, or pubic mound, would be a great way to thank her for trusting him so much.

 104 Another Encounter Part Two

    Bokuboy


    I finished up with May''s private area and sterilized the needle again, then looked at her butt. With the position she was in, it wouldn''t work. ¡°May? Can you roll over? I can''t get to... ah... your... butt hole.¡±


    May let out a girlish giggle and carefully rolled over. ¡°You''re being awfully careful about saying bad words around me.¡± She said and then bent her legs at the knees and spread her legs once more.


    ¡°That''s because saying I need better access to your asshole sounds so much worse.¡± Ben said and she laughed. ¡°On the plus side, it''s going to be a whole lot easier to keep yourself clean down here with the hair gone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know.¡± May said as I started to work. ¡°After a full wax and the hair starts growing back in, the stubs tear up the toilet paper.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± I said and kept working.


    ¡°What is it?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I was wondering why we splurged on the triple ply when double ply is cheaper. It never occurred to me that it makes it easier for you.¡±


    ¡°There is a method to my madness, yes.¡± May said with a soft chuckle. ¡°Tissues and paper towels, too. You get less per box or roll, with the trade off that they can handle tougher things easier.¡±


    I had to appreciate her balancing being frugal with practicality. I finished up and wiped up the dead hair as I sterilized the needle again. ¡°It''s time to deal with your pits!¡±


    May laughed and turned over to sit up. She pulled off her robe and laid down on her side to fold her arm up and over her head as if she was stretching.


    ¡°Perfect.¡± I said and May watched as I started poking her with the needle and the hair started falling out.


    ¡°Ben, how the hell are you doing that?¡± May asked as my hand moved like a sewing machine.


    ¡°Remember how I told you about my right hand''s dexterity for typing?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°I''m applying the same technique to the depth of the hairs inside the dermis layer. As long as I brace my wrist, I can work pretty fast in comparison to a normal person.¡±


    May gave me a surprised look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I gave her a knowing smile. ¡°If I had to work like a normal person, it would take several two hour sessions to clear one area at a time. Like, one hair every ten seconds or so.¡±


    ¡°You''re joking!¡± May gasped.


    ¡°Not even a little bit.¡± I said and finished her armpit and set the needle in the sterilizer and wiped her armpit off to show her the hair was all removed. ¡°That''s one of the reasons I have no problems with having this gift be exclusively yours. The training someone would have to go through to learn how to do this safely, not to mention having to practice a lot to get the technique right and the potential to hurt someone while doing it, is not worth the risk.¡±


    May stared at me and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°I''ll do your arm before you have to roll over and I can do the other armpit.¡± I said and she nodded.


    May''s eyes watched as I picked up the wired needle again and she looked fascinated as my pace didn''t slow down, even though I had a much larger area to work with. I quickly did her forearm and there was barely any hair on her upper arms, so I did the few I could see and then wiped her arm off.


    She rolled over onto her other side without being asked and I did her other forearm and upper arm, sterilized the needle again and did her armpit. After I wiped it off, May laid down on her back and pointed to her chin.


    I took the hint right away and lightly ran my fingertips over the skin to feel that there were tiny little hairs there. ¡°You might want to close your eyes for this part.¡±


    May nodded and did so.


    ¡°Also, don''t talk until I tell you. I do not want to miss.¡± I said and she hummed.


    I held her face steady with a hand and started to work. I went a little slower this time and let my spider-sense guide me as I focused on removing each hair. I did the front, the sides, and the underside of her chin. After I wiped it off, I did her upper lip as well. I checked her cheeks and there was a light smattering of hairs there as well, so I did those, too.


    I put the needle in to sterilize again and cleaned off her face. ¡°Do you want your eyebrows to always look like they do now?¡±


    ¡°Can you do that?¡± May asked.


    ¡°Sure. I just have to remove the follicles you''ve already plucked.¡±


    ¡°I haven''t plucked them yet.¡± May admitted.


    ¡°That''s okay. When you get the chance, make them how you want them to look, and I''ll make sure that you can keep them that way.¡±


    May smiled. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to thank me. This is my gift to you.¡± I said and moved down to her thighs. ¡°Now the largest job and the most difficult.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying my thighs are big?¡± May asked and her voice held a slightly deadly tone.


    ¡°Yes, I am stupid enough to insult my only family.¡± I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. ¡°I meant that your thighs have the largest surface area I''ve worked on so far and like I said before, your shins and feet are the most difficult because it''s so close to the bones.¡±


    May nodded and closed her eyes, probably because she had seen enough of me working to reassure herself that I wasn''t slacking off or missing anything.


    I started on the front of her thighs and thought about her reaction to any implication that she was fat. I hadn''t intended for my words to be used that way, and yet, taking it as an insult had been her first reaction. I would need to remember to never make jokes about her weight.


    I continued to work and May''s breathing eventually slowed down and evened out, which meant she had fallen asleep. That was okay, because I was past her knees now and into dangerous territory. I took my time once more and carefully cleaned out all of the hairs on her shins and from the top of her foot. I even did a few from around her toes, which could have been funny if I brought up the Sasquatch joke again.


    Instead, I sterilized the needle and put everything away and turned to look at May... and finally realized she was now completely naked. She had taken her robe off to give me access to her arms and I hadn''t once noticed her breasts were completely bare. I smiled at the confirmation that I was just as comfortable around her as she was around me.


    I wrapped her up in her robe and carried her up to her bedroom. I was tempted to give her a quick bath to wash her off completely, then shrugged. She could handle it herself in the morning. I tucked her into bed and kissed her cheek before I left her bedroom and shut her door. I went to my room and had to stop my laugh before it escaped.


    Jubadi was on the bed and gave me an exasperated look, because Val was sprawled across her as if she was the only person in the bed, and she was lightly snoring.


    ¡°You did say you wanted Val to feel the strain.¡± I whispered and walked over to the bed. ¡°How long has she been out?¡±


    ¡°Almost as soon as we laid down.¡± Jubadi whispered back.


    I leaned over Val and gave Jubadi a quick kiss. ¡°You''re being a good sport about this.¡±


    Jubadi nodded. ¡°She is very rough around the edges; but, she will make a good addition to your guard.¡± She whispered. ¡°She is almost as dedicated to you as I am and she deeply regrets how she reacted to me, especially now that she had gotten to know me.¡±


    I nodded as well. ¡°That was why I wanted everyone to meet you and Shuri. I was sure you all would have hit it off, especially when they saw how high the both of you are in your society.¡± I whispered and rubbed Jubadi''s head roughly. ¡°You worked hard to get where you are and you would have been a fantastic representation of what any woman can achieve with dedication and drive.¡±


    Jubadi almost purred as I rubbed her. ¡°Did the grooming go well?¡±


    ¡°Better than I thought it would and it was a lot more revealing than I expected.¡±


    Jubadi smiled. ¡°She refused the covering.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°After I explained what it was for, the first thing she asked was if I was going to punch or kick her down there.¡±


    Jubadi lightly laughed. ¡°Everyone asks that the first time when they are let in on the secret.¡±


    ¡°In any case, May''s cleaned up enough that she should be really happy in the morning.¡± I said and looked at the still sleeping Val. ¡°It''s getting late and I didn''t get to entertain her.¡±


    ¡°I believe inviting her to eat a heavy meal had unintended consequences.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was for May to relax and it worked on Val, too.¡± I said and moved my hand to rub Val''s head. ¡°Hey, sleepyhead. It''s time to go home.¡±


    ¡°Mmm... no, I... thank Ben...¡± Val mumbled.


    I gave a questioning look to Jubadi and she nodded to my nightstand. I saw a different cell phone and picked it up. The display was split and on one side was the apology text from her ex for setting her up and the other side showed a picture of the arrest of the guy claiming to be completely innocent.


    ¡°She would be all over you if she was not so tired.¡± Jubadi whispered. ¡°You brought justice where no justice was expected.¡±


    ¡°It''s thanks to Jarvis. He really came through with a little scheme to expose the bastard instead of me just making him disappear like I did with the other bastards.¡± I said and read the story. ¡°Oh... oh, that...¡± I chuckled. ¡°He''s being charged with human trafficking and running an underage sex trade. There''s no way they are letting this get covered up, no matter how rich the guy''s dad is.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Val''s sleepy voice said and she opened her eyes to look at me. Her hands reached up to pull me down into a slow and passionate kiss. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°There''s a special place in hell for people like them.¡± I said. ¡°I can just imagine several very large demons with enormous penises as they make snide comments about how those guys are going to enjoy it after a while.¡±


    Val gave me a surprised look before she laughed. ¡°I like that idea!¡±


    I sat up and helped Val climb off of Jubadi. ¡°It really is getting late.¡±


    Val looked at the clock and sighed. ¡°I wanted... when you asked me to come over, I...¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡± I said and she blushed a little. ¡°We''ll have to try this again later when we both have a bit more time.¡±


    ¡°I''d like that.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Jubadi, please escort your chosen protege to her home.¡± I said and both of them looked ready to protest. ¡°If her parents say anything at all to her for being out all day, make it clear to them that Val is under our protection. If they have any complaints about their daughter, they can file them with the Wakandan Embassy before bringing it up with her.¡±


    Val sucked in a sharp breath and Jubadi smiled.


    ¡°That''s how government works, remember? Lots of red tape to screw people over.¡± I said with a smile. Val gave me a longing look and then kissed me passionately again.


    I walked her and Jubadi down to the apartment door and dressed them both up warmly, even if Jubadi gave me a stern look over having to wear a knitted hat with a big yarn ball on top. I bid them a good journey and wasn''t worried, because Jubadi was practically an expert in the public transit system after a week of exposure to it. Also, no one wanted to mess with her.


    Once the door was closed, I ran up the stairs and grabbed my work bag with my construction equipment in it, put on my old dark clothing and improvised mask, and leapt out of my bedroom window. I swung like crazy to cross part of the city and landed in the driveway next to the work truck Adrian Toomes usually took to work during the week.


    I glanced inside and as luck would have it, the keys were in the ignition. I wasn''t stupid enough to start it up right there in the driveway, so I wrote out a text to Adrian''s phone about borrowing his truck for a date and would fill it with gas before I brought it back. I picked the thing up, which was surprisingly easy, considering it was a half-ton truck and I had been exercising with about 1,300 pounds.


    I was definitely going to have to up my game quickly, because I couldn''t web swing while holding this much weight. I quickly walked down the driveway and out onto the street, down a short ways, and put it down. I hopped in and started it up, sent the text, and sped away.


    *


    A five foot tall woman named Dana left the central dispatch building and she kicked herself mentally for practically jumping on the first guy to ever compliment her voice. It had been over the phone and she was so flattered that she agreed to a date and had no clue who the guy was. He could be a completely horrible person, even if his attitude and voice seemed super friendly and happy.


    But, dammit if she didn''t love the sound of a southern accent on a man. When he had called her darlin'', she nearly wet herself. Just the thought of a down home and naturally muscular man wanting to hear her whisper sweet nothings to him as he falls sleep, made her wetter than the best romance novels on the market. She owned a lot of romance novels, too.


    Dana caught her breath when a beat up work truck came to a stop on the street in front of her. It''s really happening. Am I really going through with this? She asked herself.


    The driver''s side door opened and Dana''s mouth dropped open when a fairly handsome and very young man wearing a construction vest, harness, and hard hat walked around the truck to open the passenger side door for her.


    ¡°Howdy there, darlin''.¡± The young man said with a roguish grin and held a hand out to her. ¡°Yer chariot awaits!¡±


    Dana took several breaths and accepted the hand. He helped her climb in and shut the door for her, then he ran around the truck and climbed in. She stared at him as he pulled out into traffic.


    ¡°It''s a little late ta git somethin'' ta eat at a proper restaurant.¡± He said and took the corner. ¡°Would ya mind a bar and grill fer some grub or would ya rather go dancin'' er somethin''?¡±


    ¡°D-dancing?¡± Dana asked, surprised.


    ¡°Shore! I''m up fer anythin'' ya wanna do.¡± He said and came to a stop at a red light.


    Dana finally got a good look at the young man''s face and she caught her breath. She knew that face! ¡°I... I think...¡± She took a breath and let it out. ¡°Can you take me home?¡±


    The young man startled slightly and looked at her. ¡°If''n that''s what ya want... I don'' rightly have a reason ta say no.¡± He said, a little hesitatingly. ¡°I''d much rather take ya ta yer own home, though.¡±


    It was Dana''s turn to startle slightly. ¡°Oh! That''s what I meant!¡±


    The young man relaxed and beamed a smile at her that made her catch her breath. ¡°Then ah''ll follow yer directions and git ya ta yer place in two shakes of a lamb''s tail.¡±


    Dana nodded and told him where to go and the young man drove her there. He had a pleasant smile on his face the whole time and it wasn''t until they parked that she realized he had been enjoying listening to her talk. It made her blush and she tried to hide it as he hoped out of the truck and ran around to open her door for her.


    ¡°Ya look a little flushed, darlin''.¡± He said and helped her climb down to the pavement. ¡°If''n yer havin'' second thoughts...¡±


    ¡°N-no, I... I need you to come inside.¡± Dana said. ¡°I was just embarrassed that you were listening to my voice so intensely.¡±


    The young man beamed a smile at her. ¡°Ah wasn'' lyin'' when ah told ya what I told ya before.¡±


    ¡°I know that now.¡± Dana said and blushed a bit more.


    ¡°Yer darn cute when ya look like that.¡± He complimented her and led her up to her condo.


    Dana fumbled with her keys a little and his gentle and slightly callused hand on hers steadied her and the locks were opened and the door swung inwards. They were barely inside with the door shut before he started kissing her expertly. She couldn''t stop her moan as his tongue lightly fought hers and she hugged him close.


    The kiss seemed to last forever and then it was over and she stared at him as he pulled off his safety vest and harness, then his sweater.


    Oh, sweet lord. Dana thought at the rippling muscles in front of her. Her hands went right to his abdomen and she caressed him as she ran her hands up to his chest.


    He was about eight inches taller than her, so she felt a little overwhelmed that a handsome young man like him was even looking at her, let alone letting her fondle him like this... then she realized what she was doing and caught her breath.


    Dana took a step back and looked up at his face as she took his hand. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    The young man nodded and followed her deeper inside the condo.

 105 Another Encounter Part Three

    Bokuboy


    Dana led the young man across a nice living room and went down a hallway. They stopped at a closed door and the young man looked confused because Dana knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡± A slightly muffled female voice said.


    Dana opened the door and pulled the young man inside with her.


    ¡°Mom? What are you... BEN!¡± Sally Avril, Benjamin Parker''s overweight biology lab partner, exclaimed.


    ¡°Sally?¡± Ben asked, completely confused. ¡°What are yah... doin''... here?¡± He asked as he noticed the oddly shaped blanket over her and there seemed to be a lot less of her than the last time he saw her.


    ¡°It was supposed to be a surprise.¡± Sally said and glared at her mother. ¡°I had liposuction done on my legs and abdomen.¡±


    ¡°It was a coincidence meeting Ben.¡± Dana said. ¡°I never thought... you showed me a picture of the guy you liked at school and... when I saw him...¡±


    Sally looked back at Ben. ¡°Hey, wait a minute! Why are you half-naked?¡±


    Ben didn''t even try to lie and kept up the act. ¡°It wuz a blind date with a sexy voice.¡±


    Sally blinked her eyes several times a second for a moment, then she stared at her mother. ¡°Excuse me? A blind date? When did that happen?¡±


    ¡°This afternoon.¡± Dana said. ¡°I received an accidental call and talked to him... and... well...¡±


    Sally let out a sigh. ¡°His accent is fake, mom.¡±


    ¡°Naw, it''s as real as yah want it ta be.¡± Ben said with a smirk. ¡°I wuz wunderin'' why she''d agree ta ah date after just ah couple o''sentences... and ah thought it was ''cause ah liked her voice, not ''cause she had ah hankerin'' fer mine.¡±


    Dana bit her lip and shivered a little.


    ¡°Mom! Get a hold of yourself!¡± Sally said. ¡°He''s in high school!¡±


    Dana let out a sigh and turned to look at Ben. ¡°As soon as I recognized you, I asked you to bring me home. I couldn''t let it continue once I knew you were the one helping Sally.¡±


    Ben gave her a warm smile and stepped close. ¡°Now tha'' yah know, are yah ready ta keep our date?¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Sally and Dana exclaimed at the same time.


    ¡°Ah ain''t disappointed a date yet and ah ain''t gonna start now.¡± Ben drawled. ¡°Ah was upset when Sally missed class on Friday, cause all mah othah friends had abandoned me all week and ah thought she did, too. Ah''ve been goin'' through a personal crisis since then and... now tha'' ah know she wasn'' avoidin'' me cause she''s hurt an'' all, ah gots some making up ta do wit her.¡±


    ¡°But... but...¡± Sally started to say.


    ¡°Ah''m sorry ah can'' rightly do ya like ya are, so''s I''m gonna do yer mom fer taking good care of yah.¡± Ben said and scooped Dana up into his arms, which made the woman yelp and then cling to him. ¡°Sally, ya can be shore that as soon as yer recovered, I''m gonna plow yah agin, jus'' like ah did at Christmas.¡±


    Sally blushed, as did her mother.


    ¡°We won'' be datin'' er nothin'', though. Ah gots othah obligations now. But, ah''m keeping mah word to yer mothah anyways. If''n yool excuse me, ah''s got some major lovin'' ta share and Penis Parker''s mighty eager ta thank the little lady fer bein'' so understandin'' ''bout alla this.¡± Ben said and carried Dana over to the bedroom door. ¡°Sally, do ya wanna hear us or not?¡±


    Sally looked conflicted and didn''t say anything.


    ¡°Ah''ll be leavin'' one door open and one closed, then.¡± Ben said with a grin. ¡°Git well soon, Sally. Ah gots ta apologize ta yah ah lot. Like ah lot ah lot. Yah bettah look forward ta it!¡±


    Sally nodded and watched as Ben carried her mother away and heard a door shut. There were soon muffled sounds of moans and then screams of pleasure that were not unlike her own. She wasn''t sure why she was okay with having Ben thank her mother like that, then she remembered how great it had felt and her fingers went between her legs and she discovered how wet she was.


    It was then that Sally realized it was because she couldn''t wait for her turn, just like at Christmas. She was sure that she would be upset later that Ben had screwed her mom, then her finger found a great spot and her thoughts fled as she made herself feel good while she imagined Ben was doing to her what he was probably doing to her mother.


    *


    Jubadi stood over the two arrogant people that were so full of themselves that they ignored the obvious threat she represented. Her spear pressed to the man''s neck and her foot on the woman''s chest, might have changed their opinions slightly.


    ¡°I challenge you to call my King the head of a pile of savages and rules over dirt again.¡± Jubadi said in her best intimidating voice.


    ¡°You are... proving my point.¡± Val''s father said through gritted teeth, because if he moved his mouth, he would cut himself on the very sharp spear tip.


    ¡°If I was a savage, I would have gutted you and beheaded you before asking you the same thing.¡± Jubadi said, almost in a growl.


    ¡°Please, don''t kill them.¡± Val said and lightly touched Jubadi''s arm without grabbing it or trying to move it away. ¡°It''s not worth the paperwork we would have to file at the embassy.¡±


    Her father and her mother stared at her.


    ¡°Are you positive? I have diplomatic immunity and cannot be charged or deported for removing such annoying people.¡± Jubadi responded.


    Both parents looked shocked and stopped breathing.


    ¡°You don''t want to get blood on your nice new coat that Ben made for you.¡± Val said with a smile. ¡°Although, it should hide the stains long enough to get it cleaned.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and flicked her spear at the side of the man''s throat and then at the woman''s. A small cut appeared and a little blood came out from each wound. ¡°I have marked you for your insult. Do so again and I will follow the cut all the way through.¡± She said and leaned over to stare at them. ¡°If you are too dense to understand, I mean that I will become what you fear and behead you like a savage.¡±


    Val''s parents nodded several times and started breathing again.


    ¡°I will include insults to my student as well.¡± Jubadi said and stepped off of the woman''s chest and collapsed her spear to hang it back on her belt. ¡°She will tell me everything you say to her and about her. If you cannot keep a civil tongue in your heads with your own child while inside your own home, then you are worse than savages, because even savages care for their children more than you do.¡±


    Val had to turn away before her parents could see the satisfied look on her face. She was quite happy that someone had finally told her parents off for their treatment of her. ¡°Jubadi...¡±


    ¡°Yes, I need to go. Our sithandwa is alone and undefended.¡± Jubadi said. ¡°Keep your phone on and recording all the time.¡± She said and turned to glare at her parents that were still on the floor. ¡°Remember my words. Any insult means your deaths.¡±


    Both people nodded once.


    ¡°Valarie, if our plans change for tomorrow, we will call you.¡± Jubadi said.


    Val shook her head. ¡°I''m not interfering with Ben''s and May''s only day off together.¡±


    Jubadi smiled. ¡°Good. You are learning. Our duty is to protect him from all threats possible.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you, Jubadi.¡± Val said and walked over to the front door of the expensive apartment. ¡°I''ll see you both on Tuesday.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and left. Almost as soon as the door was shut, two voices rose in anger. In a moment, Jubadi was back inside the apartment and her fists had slammed into the man''s and the woman''s chests. Both of them dropped to the floor with the wind knocked out of them.


    ¡°Attack my student again and I will kill you.¡± Jubadi said as the pair struggled to breathe. She grabbed them by their necks and picked them both up. She was six feet tall, so when she stood up straight, their feet didn''t touch the floor. ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    Both people choked and didn''t respond. Jubadi shook them and let them go. She didn''t say anything as she gave each of them a light kick to their abdomens and gave them their breath back.


    ¡°Learn your lesson, fools!¡± Jubadi said to them as they groaned in pain.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Val said and didn''t bother hiding the satisfied look on her face anymore. ¡°I can''t wait to learn how to do that myself.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and reminded her about recording everything before she left again. There were no loud voices this time and she smiled as she left the building to return to the bus stop. She had a Royal Consort to return to and report a successful mission.


    *


    I carefully eased myself out of bed and the heavily sleeping woman didn''t stir at all. I had exhausted her fairly quickly, not that I had intended to do that. She just hadn''t had sex for a very long time and her orgasms were damn near Earth shaking. I went to the attached bathroom and had a quick shower, dressed in what clothes were in the bedroom, and went out to the front door to finish dressing.


    Before I left, I went to Sally''s room and saw she was asleep with a big smile on her face. With a lighter heart, I drove Adrian''s truck to an all night gas station, filled it up, and drove it back to his house. I parked it and when I stepped out and slung the bag of equipment over my shoulder, I felt someone''s eyes on me. I turned towards the house and saw Adrian in one of the upstairs windows.


    I gave him two thumbs-up and a grin and he nodded back. I ran down the driveway and around the corner, out of sight, and shot a webline as I swung away. There wasn''t much chance that I would get back to my room before Jubadi; but, it didn''t hurt to try. How would I explain my absence? Easily. I was on the roof. With my bag of construction equipment. Thinking. Yeah, thinking.


    I laughed and lazily swung around a SHIELD monitoring station, secure in my tech that blocked both the cameras and microphones from picking me up. Having full security access to SHIELD was really handy and setting a simple and temporary pause function for whenever I was near their equipment was child''s play.


    I landed on top of my building and thought about leaving my bag there, or on the fire escape, and shrugged. I wasn''t going to bother lying, because there was no point. Jubadi would understand upholding obligations and keeping my word. I went down the fire escape quietly and entered my room, only to see that I had returned first.


    I stashed my clothes in the bag and put it into the closet and changed into pyjama bottoms. I went downstairs and sat on the comfy couch. I sunk down into the plushness and laid back before I closed my eyes. I was only slightly worried that the encounter with Val''s parents might have gone bad, then chuckled. Jubadi could handle things, even if she had to pummel them to get them to smarten up.


    The apartment door opened and Jubadi came in. I pretended to be asleep as she took off her new coat and her knitted hat. I would never tell her she looked cute wearing it, even when she scowled at me for putting it on her. It kept her head warm and that''s what was important.


    I felt her approach me and she leaned down near me. I felt my spider-sense tingle a little and her chilled hand touched my right nipple and she squeezed it hard. I didn''t react or make a noise.


    ¡°You will tell me why you sent me away from my sworn duty, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi whispered into my ear and her other hand went down to grab my erection and she rubbed it enthusiastically.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I whispered and kissed her without opening my eyes. ¡°Carry me to bed.¡±


    Jubadi bit my ear and scooped me up into her arms in the same manner as I had carried May to bed earlier. She took me upstairs and into my bedroom, placed me on the bed, and gave me a bit of a show as she undressed. When she was naked, except for her protective covering, she turned around to present her ass to me.


    ¡°You know what to do.¡± Jubadi whispered and watched me.


    I smiled at her as I sat up and used my teeth to hook the curved rectangular edge and pulled it out with a jerk. Jubadi let out a moan and her eyes widened when I turned it around and licked it off. Before she could comment about it, I put it down on the nightstand and dug my tongue into her. My erection was in her mouth soon after and things devolved from there.


    We both groaned and moaned for quite some time before she was cuddled up to me and I explained what had happened that night. We eventually drifted off to sleep and it was quite restful.


    *


    Hank Pym stood in his home lab and he couldn''t believe what he had just done. He look at the giant piece of steel rebar that he had twisted into a pretzel as if it was made of taffy. That wasn''t the surprising thing, though. He was currently one inch tall and his new suit had greatly increased his personal strength when combined with his own Pym Particle technology.


    The limit of 60 tons of lifting capacity was only when Hank was full size. When he shrunk down to Ant-Man size, the inherent strength of himself and whatever he wore, was vastly different. By his calculations, he could lift at least double that, or a relative 120 tons, and that was shocking. It would change his whole perspective of how useful Ant-Man could actually be.


    Hank turned around and looked at the display backpack that was also on the lab table. He never imagined being able to conceal his suit in such an obvious manner. The compression technology was a wonder and it opened up so many options for new ideas and for his own miniaturizing tech. Using some Pym Particles, he could incorporate the suit into a watch or ring and it would expand and then engulf him.


    No longer would it take twenty minutes or more to put his suit on, to check the equipment for a proper fit, or even having to worry about containment sealing. The suit did it automatically and warned if there were any breaches or damage. It was a great suit and the possibilities were nearly endless.


    Hank activated hover mode and he floated up off of the table. He turned around slowly and observed the various obstacles he had set up previously. He knew he needed a lot of practice to get used to flying on his own and not on the back of a flying ant, not that he was going to give up on that.


    Hiding one''s true capabilities was the smartest thing to do, because everyone underestimated you. The surprise on their faces when you do something they never expected, was always worth the extra effort to conceal what you could really do.


    Hank smiled and changed to flight mode as he zoomed across the room towards the first hoop. He estimated two minutes for the first run through and he would shrink the hoops each time and would try to keep the same time. It would teach him both precision and control and he looked forward to it. He wanted to be in top form when he finally rescued his one true love.


    *


    Scott Lang laid in bed with his very happy wife cuddled into his side. He went over everything that had happened to him and he was honestly shocked. He had apparently quit his job two weeks ago without knowing he did and he was hired out of the blue for another very lucrative one. A very, very lucrative one, which was why his wife had been happier than ever about him going straight.


    He almost laughed when she said that, because he hadn''t told her that he had been hired because of his criminal past, not in spite of it. Why two men he had never met before wanted to give him such a great opportunity, was beyond him. He wasn''t going to question it, though. Like Hank had said, he wasn''t going to look this gift horse in the mouth.


    When the news that evening had shown the huge scandal about Vistacorp ripping off their customers and earning an extra four million dollars from the intentional errors on their billing forms, it had made Scott''s day, because those people had gotten that money back and the public was in an uproar about the underhandedness of the company. Their reputation was tanking and he couldn''t have been happier.


    Scott looked at his wife''s happy face and he was sure that their enthusiastic and pretty reckless lovemaking was going to result in a little bun in the oven. The pill always made her sick, so she stopped taking them, and they hadn''t used a condom. It was supposedly a safe day for her and he smiled.


    Safe or not, there was a significant deposit made. Scott thought, a little proudly.


    The results of their night together would be learned in a few weeks and they would all be happy that it was positive. Cassie always did want to have a little brother.

 106 Another Encounter Part Four

    Bokuboy


    The morning brought another excellent breakfast with who were becoming my regular meal companions, May, Jubadi, and Shuri. Instead of logging off, Shuri decided to join us for the morning''s activity. Ice skating. Neither she nor Jubadi had ever seen it before, except in videos posted on the internet or shown on the television.


    Of course, we needed to make a quick stop at Stark Tower for me to construct sets of boot coverings that could deploy small spikes for walking in slippery conditions and to form a blade to skate on. It barely took me ten minutes to make them and the first thing May said was that we should add it to Parker Industries as an item for sale.


    I tried to explain that it was proprietary technology and that we couldn''t let everyone have it. That would cheapen the value of it and also let the compression technology out into the wide world. Everyone would steal it and they could use it for nefarious purposes, despite my hardwired programming.


    ¡°But, it''s so useful!¡± May exclaimed and hit the button on the side of her boot to deploy the spikes.


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± I said and hit Jubadi''s for the spikes as well. I left mine off, because if I used the spikes, my foot would be too far away from the ground for my powers to work. ¡°That''s also why we can''t sell it.¡±


    May huffed. ¡°All right. I''ll just have to settle for that VR program going on sale in a couple of days.¡±


    I chuckled and led her and Jubadi back to the elevator. ¡°I''ve already had Jarvis dedicate a few of his backup processors to compile more video for it that Candi filmed for us.¡±


    May gave me a pointed look. ¡°I still think we didn''t actually hire her.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°We couldn''t deny that sales pitch, May.¡±


    May smiled and took my arm as the elevator arrived. ¡°At least you were smart to have her be a spokesmodel for us while also going to each of New York''s tourist attractions to film for the virtual tours.¡±


    We stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor.


    ¡°She only agreed to that because I promised her an all expenses paid trip around the world to do the same thing with all of the other tourist attractions in each major city.¡± I said.


    ¡°You''re already going international with it?¡± May asked, surprised.


    ¡°With the expansions, yes.¡± I said and the elevator doors opened. ¡°Paris first, including the Louvre Museum and a few other places, then she''s going to Rome.¡±


    May shook her head as we left the building. ¡°And we''re paying her for this?¡±


    ¡°Quite well, actually.¡± I said and waved for a taxi. ¡°She''s actually really good at sales and getting people''s attention. Now that we''re partners with both Stark Industries and Pym Technologies, our sales catalogue has grown to a ridiculous size and I haven''t started working on the action figures yet.¡±


    A cab pulled over and we climbed inside.


    ¡°Central Park, please.¡± I said and handed him a twenty dollar bill.


    ¡°You got it.¡± The cabbie said and pulled away. He didn''t bother turning on the meter.


    ¡°Why don''t we contract that out to another toy company?¡± May asked me.


    ¡°Two reasons. One, the companies I''ve checked aren''t equipped to handle the manufacturing side. Two, I want to add a lot of articulation and make sure they are sturdy enough to not break when played with. That''s going to change the manufacturing process a lot.¡±


    ¡°Why can''t you use straight arms and legs on the figures?¡±


    ¡°I could and it would cut down on costs.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I don''t want people to look at them and think, that''s really simple. I want them to look at them and think, holy crap! That looks awesome!¡±


    May softly laughed and nodded. ¡°I don''t know how you''re going to do that, do your normal homework, study those extra course books, work at your job in the evenings, and still have time to sleep.¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I also have to occasionally travel to California every second weekend to work on Hank''s project.¡±


    May''s hand took mine. ¡°You''re doing too much, Ben.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and then leaned in to kiss her cheek. ¡°It''s still not going to stop me from taking care of you.¡±


    May blushed a little and leaned her head against me. ¡°Matt called me yesterday and he found a good place near where his office is for the clinic and homeless shelter.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess. It''s been abandoned for a while, needs a lot of work, and has gang tags all over it.¡±


    May gave me a surprised look. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That''s how things like this go.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± May asked.


    ¡°I probably shouldn''t tell you this part.¡± I said and she smacked my arm. ¡°We''re going to have problems with the zoning first. Then we''ll have problems with the permits for the clinic and the shelter. After that, we''re going to have the health and safety inspectors all over the place, because we intend to provide food and temporary living space for the homeless.¡±


    May frowned at me. ¡°Why will it be so hard to get things going? We''re trying to help people!¡±


    ¡°Because we''re not paying bribes to the city council members that run those departments or to the mob bosses that own those council members.¡± I said and she looked shocked. ¡°Not to mention the gangs will be visiting regularly to shake us down for protection money, even though they know it''s a non-profit organization.¡±


    ¡°Oh... oh, god.¡± May whispered.


    I gave her hand a squeeze. ¡°It''s all right. I''ll have it handled by next week.¡±


    ¡°What? How?¡± May asked as the cab came to a stop. We climbed out and it drove away.


    ¡°I know some people in high places. A word here... a favor granted there...¡± I said and wagged my eyebrows at her.


    May huffed and shook her head. ¡°You better not be doing things like that.¡±


    I chuckled and led her and Jubadi over to the stands where a few people were already putting on their skates. ¡°I meant professional favors. Nothing dirty.¡±


    May gave me a skeptical look. ¡°Do I need to ask you to prove it?¡±


    I laughed and handed Shuri''s phone to Jubadi. I took out mine and called Jarvis. ¡°Jarvis, old buddy, old pal.¡±


    Jarvis played a laugh track. ¡°I have a feeling you are not coming in this afternoon, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry! I''ll be there, assuming they included the right parts for the initial assembly.¡± I said. ¡°I just wanted to know how well it''s going with tracking all of Fisk''s old contacts.¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly well.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I will have a comprehensive list ready by tonight.¡±


    ¡°Excellent, my friend. Thanks for working so hard on this for me.¡± I praised him. ¡°I''ll be sure to pass it on to the relevant departments and they''ll handle the rest.¡±


    ¡°I am glad you are so diligent. That will be quite useful as you work on such delicate electronics.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Here are the modifications and the parts list. Let me know if there is anything else you need.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, buddy. See you later.¡± I said and my phone beeped with the information. I put my phone in my pocket and saw May, Jubadi, and Shuri staring at me. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Are you planning on taking out a mob boss and their mob family?¡± Shuri asked from her phone.


    ¡°No.¡± I said and grinned at her. ¡°I''m planning on taking out all of them, their families, and wrecking their operations.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben, you... you''re crazy.¡± May whispered. ¡°There''s no way...¡±


    ¡°I told you not to worry about it.¡± I said and bent down to hit the button on her boots to change the spikes to a skate blade. ¡°Just know that I won''t be personally involved in any of it. I''m just going to get the ball rolling, as the old saying goes.¡±


    May just stared at me and didn''t respond.


    I changed my own skates and had Jubadi sit down and set the phone down on her lap, so Shuri could watch. ¡°Come on, May! Let''s go skate!¡±


    May sighed and took my hand. I led her over to the oversized ice rink and carefully stepped on, then helped her on as well. I gave her a huge smile and then shifted my weight from side to side and started to skate backwards as I let her hand go.


    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± May asked, surprised.


    ¡°It''s basic physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.¡± I said and swung my foot around and turned, then wiggled my butt and skated back over to her. I did the same move and came to a stop right in front of May. I held a hand out to her and grinned.


    ¡°Show off.¡± May said and took my hand.


    I carefully led her out onto the ice and she looked a little unsteady. ¡°Don''t worry, May. I''ve got you.¡± I said and smiled warmly at her. ¡°Even if you fall, I''ll never let you hit the ice.¡±


    May smiled warmly back and nodded.


    *


    Jubadi and Shuri stared as Ben and his aunt skated on frozen water. They did a few moves, like spinning around each other, skating on one foot, and Ben taught her the backwards trick. It was both weird and amazing to see.


    The people were so different from them, and it wasn''t just because they were from a different culture. Their attitudes, their outlook, and even decision making were almost fundamentally different. Of course, their sample size was fairly small and they knew that they shouldn''t judge all westerners upon the few that they had witnessed personally.


    Even so, the short time they had spent with Ben had given them a view into another people''s lives that was similar in some respects and completely different in others. They still ate, they still slept, and they loved each other... and that was the same for everyone on the planet, no matter where they were from.


    *


    The rink started to get crowded an hour later and May stopped to take a break. She had laughed a lot and enjoyed it a lot more than she thought she would, and she knew that was because of the young man that made sure to keep her safe while she made a fool of herself on the ice. That made her laugh a bit more and she sat beside Jubadi as Ben went back out onto the ice.


    May watched as he skated around the edge and then he slowed down near a young girl that looked to be struggling. She saw him kneel with one knee on the ice and then he spun like a top before he flopped down onto his face and slid to a stop right in front of the girl. Her unrestrained laughter could be heard all the way across the ice and quite a few people looked over to watch.


    Ben picked himself up and pretended like nothing happened, even though there was frost on his face and clothes. This made the girl giggle and he offered to teach her a few things. The girl looked unsure, so he asked her something and she pointed. He nodded and skated quickly through a bunch of people as he easily avoided them, and stopped in front of a mother holding a toddler.


    They had a quick conversation and the woman nodded. Ben gave her a bow and then did the skating backwards trick to surprise the woman. That wasn''t the shocking part, though. It was that he still avoided everyone skating by and turned around just before he reached the little girl. He knelt on the ice and talked to her again, and they both looked over to see the mother wave.


    The girl waved back and then held the hand out to Ben. He took it and started talking to her, making her nod several times, then he took her other hand and started skating backwards slowly. The girl had a little trouble keeping up at first because she kept trying to take steps. Ben kept encouraging her and giving her tips, and eventually, she started to actually skate without lifting her feet.


    When she had that down, Ben showed her how to properly take steps while skating and the girl beamed a smile at him as they both glided across the ice, with Ben going backwards and her going forwards. The pair had gained a lot of attention as they made their way all around the rink before Ben brought the girl back to her mother.


    May could almost hear the mother thanking him for teaching her daughter to skate. That''s so like Ben. She thought and watched as he bowed to the mother, then bowed to the girl, and he started skating normally again. He was almost immediately joined by a young woman that was about his age. She wore tights and a skater''s skirt, like the ones they wore during competitions, and she and Ben were talking a lot.


    Ben held a hand out to her and she looked surprised by the offer, then the skater had a determined look on her face. She clapped her hand into his hand fairly hard and Ben gave her a huge smile... and then he whipped her around into a spin with a hand and pulled her in close, then he picked her up and held her.


    The young woman seemed to automatically take the right pose and spread her arms out and arched her back while Ben skated in a circle for her, then she spun and rolled down into his arms before he put her down. The two of them skated in tandem and everyone seemed to get out of their way as they sped up.


    Everyone stared as Ben took her hand and lifted her as he spun her in the air. The young woman spun three times before she landed on a single skate and kicked her leg out backwards while she leaned forward to keep her balance as she spread her arms out to the sides. She turned in a circle and Ben easily let her leg just miss him and he grabbed her waist to lift her and rested her back on top of his head.


    They spun in place several times and the young woman rolled down Ben''s arms again and he set her down. When her skates hit the ice, Ben hugged her to his side and the two of them skated backwards together. They did several turns and she did a pirouette before she caught his hand and pulled herself back in close as they came to a stop.


    The show was over and everyone started to applaud. It was very loud in the quiet rink and it didn''t get the young woman''s attention. She just stared into Ben''s eyes with a look of shock on her face and Ben stared back with a smirk on his. She said something as she moved back a little and Ben said something back. She squinted her eyes at him and said something else.


    Ben waved over at May and the young woman turned to look. She kicked off and skated right over to them and slid to a stop right in front of where May sat.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± The young woman asked and looked into the cell phone''s camera at Shuri. ¡°Ben is betrothed to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Shuri said. ¡°We are to be married in four years if no other suitable husband can be found.¡±


    The young woman took a breath and sighed. ¡°I''ve been looking for a partner for months and he''s the first person I''ve met that could read my movements and guess what I was going to do next.¡±


    ¡°He''s not a professional skater.¡± May argued.


    ¡°I am in singles.¡± She admitted. ¡°I''ve topped out in that and I can''t do the more elaborate moves without a partner.¡± She looked at Ben. ¡°You''ve got a great body and you had no troubles handling my momentum on the ice and in the air. That''s really rare.¡±


    ¡°I can''t compete, not even on the amateur circuit.¡± Ben told her.


    ¡°Why not?¡± The young woman asked.


    ¡°I was in a lab accident last November and I still have traces of radiation poisoning in my blood.¡±


    Shuri gasped, Jubadi frowned, the young woman covered her mouth, and May sighed.


    ¡°There''s no way I''ll pass any drug inspections or blood tests.¡± Ben admitted.


    The young woman looked determined. ¡°I''m sure if we explain...¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, there can be no foreign substances present. They can be classed as an enhancement, even if it is radiation, because they will assume I''m being treated for it and they would be right in assuming so.¡±


    The young woman gave Ben a glare as she put her hands on her hips. ¡°I really wanted it to be you!¡±


    Ben nodded. ¡°It could have been fun.¡±


    She lost the glare and sighed as her arms dropped to her sides. ¡°I don''t know what I''m going to do.¡±


    ¡°You can still skate for the fun of it.¡± Ben offered.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She asked, surprised.


    Ben motioned around at the crowd. ¡°They all enjoyed seeing your impromptu exhibition display. It wasn''t regulated or monitored by the sport authorities or whatever people do that kind of thing for sports.¡± He said and smiled at her. ¡°You could set up a sponsored event or something, invite your friends, and have a nice and friendly time of showing off and having fun. You could sell tickets and raise money for charity or split it with everyone that participates.¡±


    ¡°You... you can''t be serious.¡± She whispered. ¡°We would need a venue and...¡±


    ¡°I''m sure the free to skate on rink we''re standing on would be a great place to have a fundraising event.¡± Ben said and nodded to May. ¡°I''m sure we can make this the second thing Parker Incorporated gets involved in. It could bring us a lot of positive attention, too.¡±


    May had to smile at that. ¡°I''m sure we can work something out, especially if you''re going to be one of the main attractions.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°Oh, yes! Your new friend desperately needs a partner to show off her skills and you so graciously offered to help her organize an entire event.¡± May said with a gleam in her eyes. ¡°Why don''t you introduce her to us?¡±


    Ben opened his mouth to tell them he didn''t know her name and the young woman held a hand out to May.


    ¡°I''m Kate Bishop of the New York Bishops.¡± The young woman said and shook May''s hand before she turned to Ben. ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Someone that needs to find more time somewhere in order to cash the checks my tongue writes.¡± Ben said and shook her hand. ¡°I''m Ben Parker of the New York Parkers.¡±


    ¡°It''s nice to meet you.¡± Kate smiled, because she somehow knew that he was just copying her form of address and wasn''t making fun of her. ¡°I hope you''re ready for bright and early morning training sessions before school.¡±


    ¡°Oh, look. I just found more time.¡± Ben grumbled.


    May laughed and waved at the rink. ¡°Go have fun and show us some of those fancy moves that only pairs can do.¡±


    Kate gave Ben a questioning look and held a hand out to him. He smiled at her and took the hand as she started to tell him what she wanted to do. They skated over to the middle of the rink and Ben nodded his head several times.


    The next part of the improvised skating show happened and everyone applauded when it was over.

 107 Another Encounter Part Five

    Bokuboy


    When Jubadi and I showed up at Stark Tower, Jarvis started talking about different additions to his new core processors and I chuckled the entire time we rode up in the elevator. The inventory parts had checked out and I immediately went to work. His thoughts on improvements were easily added, since I was working on his core processing node.


    I worked for a solid three hours and we were both happy with how it turned out. With the new adaptations, expanding and adding more modules would be downright easy, as if it was an actual server farm. More parts would arrive during the week and I would need to spend an hour or two each evening before bed putting Jarvis together.


    Thanks to the specs we had taken from the LMD project, we modified them to include enhanced strength and durability. Only having human level strength in an android was the stupidest thing the both of us had ever heard of, which meant a massive enhancement of the superstructure and joints to handle massive loads.


    We also included some of Tony''s original armor design to give Jarvis the ''bones'' to move. It was a thing of beauty, because Tony''s personal manufacturing plant handled the main parts for us. All we had to do was assemble them when it was time.


    Of course, I built two backups that could be nestled in the chest and the lower back. They weren''t strictly necessary, because Jarvis would be connected wirelessly at all times to his main server. The body would only be an extension of him, so if it was ever somehow disconnected, it would operate in autonomous mode until it regained contact.


    Jubadi and I left Stark Tower when I was done and we went home to meet with May. We cooked a nice meal together and Jubadi was attentive and learned what she could, before she promised to learn more. Both May and I laughed, because we were still learning as well. We weren''t experts at all and just learned as we went.


    Most things worked out and we all enjoyed it, while some were abandoned with extreme prejudice. No, we are never talking about the custard again, even if May still laughed her ass off whenever it was mentioned. Why did she have to enjoy my embarrassment and pain so much? Oh, right. She was my mom. It was her god-given right to do so.


    It made her laugh harder when I told her that, which was why I said it.


    The three of us relaxed on the couch, even though Jubadi normally tried to hang back to stay out of the way. May wasn''t having that and invited her to sit on my other side. Jubadi did so reluctantly, then we watched one of May''s favorite movies and she was enamoured with it.


    By the time it was half over, both she and May were cuddled under my arms and were quite happy to be there. When it finished, Jubadi gave May an approving nod and told her that her taste in entertainment would be well received back in Wakanda.


    Needless to say, a thousand copies of the movie and appropriate movie players were added to the next relief shipment that would be sent to Wakanda next week.


    After I carried a pleased May to bed, Jubadi scooped me up in her arms to make May laugh. She carried me into my room and we had a bit of slap and tickle before I settled down to study my ass off for several hours. I had a lot of work to do at school to earn the extra credits I would need to pass the year and then the school''s full course curriculum to graduate.


    I really needed to thank Mary the receptionist for allowing me to do it, too. I also had to visit Gladys in the library, because it had been well over a week since I had last been in there. I closed the books and set aside the workbooks that were necessary to teach me what questions would most likely be asked on the course finals. They were a godsend and I wasn''t sure what else I could do to thank Gladys, besides what I had already done for her.


    I went to bed and cuddled Jubadi close as I tried to fall asleep. Just as I was about to drift off, my phone beeped at me and I checked it to see that I was ordered in to work the next morning. I responded with an affirmative and put the phone back on my nightstand. I was sure that tomorrow was going to be an eye opener at work, even though I didn''t know why I thought that.


    The next morning was an early one, because at five in the morning had myself at Central Park Rink to meet Kate Bishop and we trained for an hour and a half. By the time Kate was done trying to run me into the ground with different exercises, she admitted that I wasn''t a total waste of her time. I hid my laugh by coughing and she smacked my arm before she told me to get lost.


    Jubadi and I made it home in plenty of time to have another shared meal with Shuri and May. It was almost funny how quickly it had become normal to have such a weirdly combined meal with Shuri''s image on the television, with her cell phone propped where she would have sat at the table and with us around the table. We talked to her as if she was really there and she looked quite happy about that.


    I signed off with her, saw May off to work, and then I dressed in a nice suit before I left the apartment with Jubadi. She grumbled about the hat until I told her to lift the side to let her cuddle in close. She was more than happy about that and we waited for the bus to take us to work.


    Almost as soon as I stepped inside the office building where I worked, I was handed a note and it said to report to the Deputy Director''s office. I kind of thought that was redundant, considering Maria always overrode the elevator when she wanted to see me anyway. Jubadi and I stepped inside and the elevator rose up to the top floor.


    When the doors opened, it wasn''t Maria that stood there. Nope. It was someone I never thought I would meet. Just as I thought that, my spider-sense started to tingle.


    As if she felt me staring at her, the woman that was surrounded by agents trying to calm her down turned to stare back at me. ¡°YOU!¡±


    The agents scattered as the seven foot tall green skinned muscular goddess stalked over to me. I held a hand up briefly to stop Jubadi from stepping forward and I ignored the increased tingling of my spider-sense. I stood my ground as the very large woman came right up to me and invaded my personal space.


    She came to a stop right in front of me to loom and glare at me. The jumpsuit she wore wasn''t flattering in the least. ¡°I hear that you''re the asshole I need to thank for this!¡± She spat at me.


    I looked way, way up at her face and smiled at her. ¡°You are quite welcome, Power Woman.¡±


    She blinked her eyes at me. ¡°What... what did you call me?¡±


    ¡°Power Woman.¡± I said and kept the smile on my face. ¡°I sincerely hope you didn''t let them give you a code name like She-Hulk or something else that''s immediately derogatory and defaming. The Hulk has more bad press than the Abomination and you don''t need that marked against you before you even make a debut as a hero.¡±


    Her face flushed to a darker green. ¡°I... I didn''t know I had a choice.¡±


    I took out my cell phone and used the computer department head''s access code to enter the secured records. I did a blanket search for She-Hulk and replaced every instance with Power Woman. I showed her the alterations and she smiled at me.


    ¡°Thank you, Agent Parker.¡± The now named Power Woman said.


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± I said and put my phone away. ¡°So, are we gonna have sex now or later?¡±


    Power Woman blinked her eyes at me and confusion showed on her face. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You don''t seriously think I''m going to let the biggest and sexiest woman on the planet out of my sight before I make her scream with delight, do you?¡±


    Power Woman opened and closed her mouth several times. ¡°Did you just sexually proposition me in the workplace, in clear violation of both workplace etiquette and common sense?¡±


    I caught my breath and then sighed. ¡°Dammit, Penis Parker!¡± I said and slapped myself on my erection. ¡°Now I have to go to HR and report you!¡±


    Power Woman looked down at where I slapped myself and saw that I actually was erect. ¡°You were serious?¡±


    I nodded and looked at Jubadi. ¡°You can wait in Maria''s office for the next hour or so. I''m probably going to be a while talking to Gail, so let Maria know.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and went to the office.


    I took Power Woman''s hand and she didn''t stop me as I took her into the elevator. ¡°I sincerely apologize for what I said. I''ve spent some time in a culture where some of the strongest women would be insulted if you weren''t honest with them about being attracted to them.¡±


    She gave me a pointed look and then glanced at our clasped hands.


    ¡°I like holding hands.¡± I said with a shrug and she raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°No, it doesn''t matter if you can crush my fingers like toothpicks. I''ve been in a similar situation before and I don''t mind risking life and limb for a chance to be closer to someone so awesome.¡±


    Power Woman looked surprised and didn''t comment as the elevator came to a stop. I led her out and down the hallway and right into the HR department. Two of the women there let out laughs when they saw me and the green giantess.


    ¡°Hanna and Jill, this is Power Woman.¡± I said and they greeted her. ¡°Is Gail free? I made another boo boo.¡±


    ¡°Go right in.¡± Hanna said and waved me forward. ¡°You really keep shooting high, don''t you?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°She''s seven feet of green deliciousness and I couldn''t resist.¡± I said to make them laugh and Power Woman''s face flushed a darker green. I led her over to Gail''s door and knocked before I led Power Woman inside.


    ¡°Oh, for fuck''s sake.¡± Gail groaned when she saw us and slapped a hand over her face.


    ¡°Yep. I''m sorry.¡± I said and waved for Power Woman to sit. When she did, I shamelessly climbed onto her lap and put my arms around her neck. Her arms seemed to go around me automatically to hold me.


    ¡°Aren''t you engaged to be married?¡± Gail asked.


    ¡°Betrothed to be married in four years.¡± I corrected and looked at Power Woman''s face to see her surprise. ¡°There are exceptions that I negotiated with Shuri to ensure that I didn''t violate the agreement.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°A seven foot tall green goddess is definitely a valid exception.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Gail said and rubbed her face. ¡°Ben stop talking! You''re making this a whole lot worse than you think you are.¡±


    ¡°Possibly.¡± I said and looked deep into Power Woman''s eyes. ¡°Would you be willing to sign a mutual combat and defense contract and possibly a child bearing contract that will give any possible children between us dual citizenship with the U.S. And Wakanda?¡±


    Power Woman''s mouth dropped open and she stared at me.


    ¡°I''m willing to pay an annual salary of $100,000 and will provide a full wardrobe in this size. I will also hire your civilian identity for my company Parker Incorporated and can keep you on retainer for $500,000 a year, tax free.¡± I clarified for her.


    ¡°DEAL!¡± Power Woman exclaimed.


    ¡°Ben!¡± Gail gasped. ¡°You can''t just hire future agents out from under us like that!¡±


    I chuckled again. ¡°Please, Gail. I''m not that short-sighted. My offer is in addition to her working for SHIELD.¡± I said and nodded at her desk. ¡°Can you start the paperwork for verbal assault and work out my punishment for breach of trust and workplace hostility?¡±


    Gail nodded and took out several forms to do just that.


    Power Woman''s hands around me tightened and she held me close. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°I really need to get a handle on my tendency to not think before speaking.¡± I said and turned in her lap to look into her eyes again. ¡°I really should have asked to talk to you in private and then made my offer. I also shouldn''t have been so crass about it. I sincerely apologize for that and I didn''t mean to insult you or to make you feel uncomfortable.¡±


    She looked deep into my eyes. ¡°You really mean that.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I said and reached up to pause with my hand an inch from her face. ¡°May I?¡±


    Power Woman nodded and I rested my hand against her cheek and then lightly caressed the skin.


    ¡°I know it was way too forward and I''m sorry about that. I''ve had it drilled into my head to never let a wonderful opportunity pass me by. When I saw you in the hallway...¡± I glanced down at my lap. ¡°...I reacted without consideration of exactly where I was at the time.¡±


    Power Woman''s hand touched my chin and lifted it to lock eyes with me again. ¡°Is it because I''m someone you''ve never met before, because of how I look, or the danger I represent?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I know for a fact that all hulking out does is enhance what''s already there, so I know that in either form, you''re going to look spectacular.¡±


    Power Woman''s face flushed to a darker green again.


    ¡°You''re also super strong.¡± I said and my hand went to her arm and rubbed it to feel the muscles under the jumpsuit. ¡°I would be happy to help you learn how to control your strength.¡± I whispered and wagged my eyebrows at her.


    Power Woman gave me a surprised look and then let out a rumbling chuckle.


    ¡°I''ll add sexual innuendo to the charges.¡± Gail said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and smiled at Power Woman. ¡°I''ll have the contracts delivered as soon as...¡±


    There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Hanna. ¡°These documents just came in and I printed them off for you.¡± She said and handed the papers to me.


    ¡°Thanks Hanna.¡± I said and plucked a pen from Gail''s desk. ¡°I suggest signing these with both of your identities, Power Woman. Just in case.¡±


    She looked at Hanna and the woman nodded and left. I stood up from her lap and let her read the contracts as I took out my cellphone and sent a text to Jarvis to thank him. She signed both contracts as Power Woman before she shrunk down to her normal size and signed both of them as Jennifer Walters.


    ¡°I think you''re crazy for doing this.¡± Jennifer said and handed me both contracts. ¡°There''s no provision in there for us to actually have sex or for me to bear children.¡±


    ¡°You say that now.¡± I whispered and folded the contracts up to put into my inside breast pocket, then I sat down on her normal lap, to her surprise. ¡°Wait until I make you some titanium boots to stomp through cars like tissue paper and armored gauntlets that will let you punch through six inches of steel without tearing up your knuckles. Oh, and an expanding shield for both arms, too.¡±


    Jennifer stared at me and still looked surprised.


    ¡°They will be collapsible as well, so you can wear the bracelets and anklets in either form.¡± I said. ¡°No one will know you have such great protection until they attack you.¡±


    Jennifer looked at Gail for a moment. ¡°Close your eyes for a second.¡±


    Gail gave her an incredulous look for a moment, then sighed and closed her eyes. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Jennifer nodded and pulled me close to give me a passionate kiss.


    I wasn''t going to disappoint her and gave her some of my best moves. She responded in kind and her hand went to my erection to see that it was still there and hadn''t gone away. She slowly grew to her hulk form and neither her hand movements nor her kissing stopped for almost thirty seconds.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Gail fake coughed and we broke the kiss. ¡°This development doesn''t mitigate what happened.¡±


    ¡°No, it doesn''t.¡± I said. ¡°What can I expect as a punishment?¡±


    ¡°Probably a two week suspension without pay and a corrective course on workplace behaviour.¡± Gail said. ¡°There''s also a mark in your employment record.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Those are all reasonable punishments. Thanks for not throwing the book at me, Gail.¡±


    Gail nodded back. ¡°I had to give you some leeway, just because of how some things have been handled around here.¡±


    ¡°How is Sharon, by the way?¡±


    ¡°She hates being the secretary for the mayor.¡± Gail said with a smile. ¡°It was the best assignment I could get her.¡±


    ¡°The best. Got it.¡± I said with a chuckle, knowing she meant it was actually the worst. ¡°I''ll pop by in the morning with some breakfast bagels for you and the girls.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡± Gail said and handed us each a copy of the filed report. ¡°Bad, Ben! Bad!¡±


    Power Woman let out a rumbling chuckle at the admonishment. ¡°I think I''m actually going to like working here.¡±


    ¡°You say that now.¡± I said and hopped off of her lap. ¡°They have to put Jennifer through basic and then they''ll put you through it.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± Power Woman asked and stood up.


    ¡°Baseline to compare your powered up state to.¡± I said and took her hand. ¡°Let''s go. We have a Deputy Director to annoy. I mean meet.¡±


    Gail groaned behind us. ¡°I''m gone for the day, so don''t come back if anything happens!¡±


    That made Power Woman and I laugh as we left her office. I waved to Hanna and Jill and we left HR to go back up to the top floor of the building. We really did have a meeting with Maria to get to. Power Woman for her orientation speech and introduction and myself for another chewing out for how I acted the last time I had been at work. Or because I flew across the country without asking for permission.


    In either case, I expected Maria to be upset that I was going to be off for another two weeks.

 108 Another Encounter Conclusion

    Bokuboy


    Maria had her head in her hands as she stared at the harassment report on her desk and copies of the contracts their potentially valuable new asset had signed without consulting her. That hadn''t really been a requirement for the new girl; but, it would have been nice if someone had told Maria that Ben would snatch She-Hulk... no, Power Woman... right out from under her nose.


    She did her best to not glare at the smug look on Ben''s face. He had already explained that the contracts did not exclude Power Woman or Jennifer Walters from becoming a SHIELD agent. What he didn''t realize was that it would cause a conflict of interest, especially if she was working for him and them at the same time. How do you keep information about one job separate from the knowledge of the other?


    ¡°Agent Parker, tell me why I shouldn''t fire you right now.¡± Maria said with a flat voice.


    The smug look disappeared from Ben''s face. ¡°I could tell you a bunch of reasons.¡± He said and briefly glanced at Power Woman before he spoke. ¡°I only need to remind you of one. I can get to, and kill, anyone on the planet.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Power Woman gasped. ¡°You can''t threaten...¡±


    Ben held a hand up to stop her rant. ¡°I''m a special agent with a license to kill. Anyone they point me at, will be dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner.¡±


    Power Woman gave him a searching look. ¡°You make it sound like you''re the only one that can do that.¡±


    ¡°I''m not. I just have a high success rate and I''m just starting out. I also have access to technology patents that will blow your mind.¡± Ben said to her and looked at Jubadi. ¡°I also have important powerful friends that can be called upon in a crisis.¡± He looked back at Power Woman and pointed at the contracts. ¡°Now you do, too.¡±


    Power Woman''s eyes went to the copies and she started to realize what he meant. The African warrior looked formidable and the armor she wore protected everything except her head. The retractable spear and shield bracelets were a nice touch, too.


    ¡°We can also be called for help.¡± Ben said and lightly touched her large green hand. ¡°The Wakandan Ambassador highly values those that help him in his times of need.¡±


    Maria watched the byplay and held in her sigh at Ben so freely accepting a woman he just met. She had hoped her liaison with Ben would have opened her up to his machinations... and then she realized she had blocked herself off by telling him to stay home after their last interaction in the server room. She had completely missed his entire weekend''s antics, including his brief sojourn to California and him forming yet another exclusive business deal with Pym Technologies.


    She admitted to herself that she had made the same mistake that Black Widow made by pushing Ben away when he didn''t conform to her expectations. If she had just accepted the situation between them instead of trying to manipulate him into both being alone and to get a sample of his DNA, she would have been right there during his escapades.


    Maria wouldn''t have changed anything, she just would have known about it and planned accordingly. As it was, both she and Nick Fury were playing catch-up to the news that had already broadcast a potential technology conglomerate that was emerging from three supposedly separate branches of science and technology.


    When the story of Stark Industries, Parker Incorporated, and Pym Technologies had been aired on the early morning news, the reputation of all three companies rose into the stratosphere. Everyone speculated on what they were going to be working on and what kind of new gadget or surprise would be released soon. Then Parker Incorporated released their new Virtual Tour program.


    It completely sold out in ten minutes across the entire country.


    Because it was only a demo project, or so the information claimed, it only had three New York landmark tours included with the base program. That wasn''t what made the program so desirable, however. It was the fact that the rest of New York''s landmarks, including Central Park, would soon be released and made available for free with proof of purchase of the base program. That had everyone scrambling for the fantastic deal.


    Of course, someone leaked online that France and Italy were going to be in the next expansion and pre-orders for both the re-released base program and the expansion were through the roof. If Ben hadn''t already been rich from the patent sharing and the Stark collaboration, his own company''s product would have easily done it by itself.


    Maria pushed those thoughts aside and looked at the two people in front of her desk. One was a 5 foot 8 inch tall young man that was apparently 14 years old and still in high school while the other one was a 7 foot tall green skinned muscular woman that was 26 years old. In her mind, she could easily handle two younger people. In reality, she didn''t think any of her normal tricks and tactics were going to work.


    Maria took a breath and let it out. ¡°According to this report, you''re suspended for two weeks. That''s two weeks that an agent of SHIELD will be unavailable to work.¡± She said and gave him a pointed look. ¡°How exactly does this make you a valuable asset?¡±


    ¡°I''m officially not on the books for the next two weeks.¡± Ben''s smug smile was back. ¡°Is there anything that someone who doesn''t work for you could handle for you?¡±


    Both Maria and Power Woman sucked in sharp breaths.


    Ben handed Maria a number to a different untraceable cell phone than his work one. ¡°Send me the details of anything you need accomplished off the books and I''ll take care of it.¡±


    Maria immediately pocketed the number without comment. ¡°She-H... ah... Power Woman. I would like to give you the introductory speech and sales pitch.¡±


    Power Woman held up her hand. ¡°I need to ask if this is going to interfere with my life.¡±


    Ben chuckled and she gave him a questioning look. ¡°I don''t think you have to worry about that. I provided them with my schedule and they worked around it. I come in when I can to work officially and usually get assigned missions at night, just so it doesn''t interfere with my day to day life.¡±


    ¡°Agent Parker was a special case. His various skills were too valuable to lock him down into a single role.¡± Maria added. ¡°However, considering your current state, especially since you can change back and forth at will and you''re not a nearly mindless beast like the Hulk...¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Power Woman exclaimed.


    ¡°I said nearly.¡± Maria said. ¡°The collateral damage from his tantrums have cost millions to fix.¡±


    ¡°Tantrums? He was goaded and attacked by the military!¡± Power Woman said and her muscles bulged.


    Ben quickly sat on her lap and gained her attention. ¡°Hey there, big green and beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Ben, now''s not the time.¡± Power Woman said and she still put her arms around him.


    ¡°Actually, I think this is the perfect time.¡± Ben said and looked into her eyes. ¡°It doesn''t matter if Bruce was goaded, hounded, or shot at to make him hulk out.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Power Woman said and squinted her eyes at him.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter, because the result was the same. Hulk emerged and he lashed out at the annoyances. He didn''t care who was near him or what he did. All he wanted was to make them stop and to get away.¡± Ben explained. ¡°Men, jeeps, tanks, helicopters, cars, trucks, and buildings. All of that were just obstacles for him to get through. It was a simple minded objective and he always accomplished it.¡±


    Power Woman opened her mouth to respond and Ben placed a couple of fingers on her lips to stop her.


    ¡°Bruce has issues...¡± Ben started to say.


    Maria made a sound and then coughed to cover it up.


    ¡°...because of his childhood and how he was treated. It''s a serious problem and the Hulk is a manifestation of his pain and rage. All Hulk wants is to be left alone, because that''s all Bruce wanted when he was a child.¡±


    Power Woman blinked her eyes several times. ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    Ben glanced at Maria and back at Power Woman. ¡°I''ve done extensive research and I know a lot about a lot of things.¡± He said and sighed. ¡°The problem is, the more I act on that information, the less I know about everything.¡±


    Power Woman got it right away. ¡°I wasn''t supposed to be She... Power Woman yet, was I?¡±


    Ben glanced at Maria again and looked back at Power Woman. ¡°By my calculations, you shouldn''t have been exposed to Bruce''s blood for at least another ten to twelve years. He would have given up being alone by then and would search out his closest family.¡±


    ¡°Me.¡± Power Woman said and shrunk down to her normal size. ¡°He would have found me.¡±


    ¡°Considering the career path you chose? Easily.¡± Ben said. ¡°You''re driven and you work hard, so I suspect you would be pretty high in either the district attorney''s office or a law firm by then.¡±


    ¡°And everyone would either know me by reputation or the firm would advertise their best lawyer.¡± Jennifer said.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Ben said and climbed off of her lap. ¡°Since SHIELD used a good portion of the blood Samuel Sterns synthesized out of Bruce''s blood to give you a full body transfusion...¡±


    ¡°How did you know we did that?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Basic extrapolation.¡± Ben said. ¡°You have a tentative agreement to leave Bruce alone, even if he doesn''t really know you are protecting him and will bring him in as an asset later.¡±


    Maria let out a sigh. ¡°I suppose you even know where he is.¡±


    ¡°Yes, as do you.¡± Ben said with a smile. ¡°He''s arms deep dealing with a disease outbreak in...¡±


    ¡°That''s enough.¡± Fury said and stepped into the room.


    Ben hopped up from his chair and saluted him. ¡°Director Fury, sir! It''s an honor to meet you.¡±


    Fury gave him a single raised eyebrow. ¡°At ease.¡±


    ¡°Yessir.¡± Ben said and stood at parade rest.


    ¡°If I didn''t know you were being serious right now, I would accuse you of mocking me.¡± Fury said with a twitch of a smile.


    ¡°I am a big proponent of never biting the hand that feeds you, sir.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°That''s good to hear.¡± Fury said and nodded at Maria. ¡°You can skip the intro and assign Miss Walters to an agent to run her through basic. If she''s half as dedicated as Agent Parker claims, she will become an outstanding agent on her own. As Power Woman, she could save a lot of lives with the training we can provide for her.¡±


    ¡°I''ll call the maintenance guys and send them to R&D with my designs for excessive weight training equipment.¡± Ben said and all three of them turned to look at him. ¡°What? I wanted to test that the suits can actually lift 60 tons and designed equipment to do so.¡±


    ¡°You think I can lift 60 tons?¡± Jennifer asked, shocked.


    ¡°Nah.¡± Ben said and she relaxed. ¡°I did the math. Because of the mass to muscle ratio between you and the Hulk, I think you can lift about 75 tons.¡±


    Jennifer''s mouth dropped open and she stared at me.


    ¡°I rated the Hulk at lifting about 200 tons, so 75 is not that big of a deal.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°You''re insane!¡± Jennifer gasped. ¡°I can''t lift... I can''t...¡±


    Ben straddled her lap and cupped the sides of her face. ¡°Jennifer, relax.¡± He whispered and gently kissed her. ¡°You''re not going to start out at that weight, because you have no training in handling it. That''s where a lot of reading and experienced people like me come in.¡±


    ¡°You... really...¡± Jennifer whispered.


    ¡°I had to learn how to move heavy things for my construction job, so I read a bunch and practised. Just like everything else, it takes time, effort, and perseverance to accomplish a task.¡± Ben said and smiled warmly at her. ¡°After you finish up here today, why don''t you come to Stark Tower to visit me on floor 60? I''ll show you around and you can pick your office and let me know what you need to fill it.¡±


    ¡°That... sounds nice.¡± Jennifer said. ¡°Wait, you''re giving me my own office?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You need to hire an assistant and maybe even a staff. I''ve got a few things I need handled that Nelson and Murdock are too busy to take care of for me.¡±


    ¡°You''re their exclusive client?¡± Maria asked and then clamped her mouth shut.


    Ben chuckled. ¡°It''s not a secret. They get a percentage of the licensing patents they negotiate as a retainer fee.¡±


    ¡°Dear god.¡± Maria whispered. ¡°You''ve made them millionaires.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and it was mostly their own efforts to earn that money that''s made them rich.¡± Ben said with a huge grin. ¡°Let me tell you, their negotiating tactics have improved to almost be an art form by now.¡±


    ¡°You gave them free reign, didn''t you?¡± Jennifer asked and Ben nodded.


    ¡°I''m not a lawyer, so I figured that I would let the experts handle everything. Giving them a personal stake in everything was the best motivation I could come up with at the time.¡±


    ¡°What do you need me to handle?¡± Jennifer asked.


    ¡°I had this idea about an electronic book reader, so I need a lawyer to handle the negotiations to acquire book licensing deals, patent and profit sharing deals, or even buying the rights completely.¡± Ben said and Jennifer caught her breath. ¡°Yes, it''s going to be a lot of work, which was why I said you need an assistant and maybe a staff. Do you know a few recently graduated lawyers that would like a high paying staff job under your command?¡±


    Jennifer had a frantic look in her eyes as she grabbed Ben by the neck and pulled him in to give him a passionate kiss, right there in front of Fury and Maria.


    ¡°I see what you mean.¡± Fury whispered to Maria, whom nodded.


    *


    I bid Jennifer good luck on her initial assessments and went up to my office. My suspension didn''t start until this evening, so I still had official access to my office. I sat down at my desk and connected my cell phone to the terminal on my desk. I uploaded the lists of mob contacts to it and started to disseminate them down through the available teams.


    I had done something similar with the Hydra operations and no one questioned my orders. I had thought about just arresting them all and decided that a problem eliminated was a problem that no longer had to be dealt with. I set them to be completed all at around the same time, late at night, so most could be caught unaware and Jarvis could raid their electronic records to send to the police.


    The finances we were using to buy the parts and create his heavily modified body and the rest we were splitting up for the mob people''s victims. There wasn''t much we could do for the people they had murdered; but, we could give compensation to their families and provide the records to the investigators of those cases. There were going to be a lot of deaths and a lot of solved crimes tonight.


    I closed down the connection and put my cell phone away, turned off my terminal, and nodded to Jubadi. We left my office and went down the elevator to the ground floor. I wasn''t surprised to not see anyone I knew as I left the building for my two week suspension. It seemed fitting that I would be off work until just after Valentine''s Day, and that gave me a wicked idea.


    ¡°Jubadi, what would be an appropriate Valentine''s Day gift for Shuri?¡± I asked her as we walked towards Stark Tower. I had most of the day to work on the new brain for Jarvis and I wasn''t going to waste it if I didn''t have to.


    Jubadi thought about it. ¡°One of the hovering Hammer Drone weapon platforms would be sufficient.¡±


    I had to laugh as I thought about what she would do with it. ¡°She''s going to try to cram a stealth system into the thing!¡±


    Jubadi smiled at me. ¡°She is quite ambitious.¡±


    We both laughed as we entered Stark Tower and greeted the doorman. I handed him some money and he thanked me as he closed the door behind us. We went up in the elevator to our floor and Jarvis greeted us. He thanked me for getting suspended from work and then apologized for being happy about it.


    That kept me laughing all the way to the large room at the back of the building where two more parts orders had been delivered. I told Jubadi she could go work out while I was busy and she gave me a pointed look. I waved her close and kissed her hard, bit her lip, and pinched her ass hard enough to leave a bruise. She let out a moan and nodded before she left with a smile on her face.

 109 Re-Birth Of A Friend

    Bokuboy


    After the early morning skating session the next day, I received a text from Val at school and she apologized that she had club, as did the others, during my lunch period. I assumed Liz was going to avoid me anyways, so Jubadi and I sat at the sole bare table and had lunch with Shuri. I was getting frustrated with the tiny screen of the cell phone, though. It was great at home, because I could connect it to the television and could easily see her face.


    I think that means I''ll be introducing a personal tablet a lot sooner than I planned. I thought.


    I checked my schedule and Pepper''s and saw that she was still in California with Tony, which meant I would need to work with Jarvis and he could fill her in about our new collaboration. It was a good thing I had a ton of free electronic parts to play with from the recycling plant. I could easily make up a dozen of them, as long as I had the right displays for them.


    I sent a text to Jarvis and had him alter one of his factories that produced cell phone displays and cases to change one of the production lines to make ones that were twice the size of a cell phone for the e-readers I wanted to make and changed another production line to twice that size for the personal tablet. Jarvis didn''t question it as he did what I asked. I sent him another text explaining what I was making and he heartily agreed that both items would be fantastic collaboration projects and would make both companies a lot more money and our popularity would rise once more.


    ¡°You will send me one of each when they are complete.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°Just one?¡± I asked with a smirk.


    ¡°Personalized, of course.¡± Shuri said and smirked back.


    ¡°Ha! Cat ears and cheetah colors. No problem.¡± I responded and she looked pleased. ¡°We''ll talk to you again tomorrow, Shuri.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Ben. Jubadi.¡±


    ¡°Princess.¡± Jubadi said and nodded her head.


    I finished the school day and went home to do my chores and to cook supper for May. I checked the news and I was surprised that there was no word about the mobs of New York City being wiped out. It was a little concerning, so I checked one of my untraceable cell phones and logged into the SHIELD computer network. All jobs had been marked as completed and all evidence was removed.


    ¡°Ha.¡± I said and showed Jubadi.


    ¡°Another day or two before anyone notices.¡± Jubadi said with a nod. ¡°Very efficient.¡±


    I nodded back and finished setting out the food just as May arrived home. ¡°MOOOOOOM!¡± I yelled and ran over to her to hug her and swung her around.


    May laughed and held on until I put her down. ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°No reason.¡± I said with a grin, kissed her cheek, and helped her take off her coat.


    May looked at Jubadi and the African woman shrugged. She went over to the table as I hung up her coat and I walked over to join her at the table. The three of us enjoyed the meal and discussed our days. When we were done, May went to take her bath and Jubadi and I went to Stark Tower for a few hours to continue working.


    Val was waiting for us there and she and Jubadi went to the training area and I worked on Jarvis.


    *


    That was how things progressed all week. The news broke about one of the mob''s disappearances, then another was announced, then by Friday evening it was suddenly over every news station that all mob and gang activity in the entire city had been eliminated.


    Everett Starr and his crime family, Rosalie Carbone and the Carbone Crime Family, John Hammer and his organization, Sophia Carter and her gang, Latimer Zyl and his Amish styled crime family, and Cornell Stokes (Cottonmouth) with Mariah Dillard and the entire Stokes Crime Family. That included a man named Diamondback, civilian name of Willis Stryker, Luke Cage''s half-brother, and Hernan Alvarez, who was better known as Shades.


    They weren''t the only ones. The leaders of the Yangsi Gonshi yakuza and all of their henchmen, Anabel Izqueda and her the Puerto Rican gang, Alex Wesley and all of the Russian Mafia associates were eliminated as well.


    The most shocking parts were the 12 FBI agents, 20 customs agents, 35 dockworkers, and 126 police officers from various police stations around the city. Some of them were even from Internal Affairs and that really set the public off, because evidence was also released with the death announcements. All of those people were dirty.


    The airports were immediately issued lock downs on all foreign visitors and security checkpoints were set up on every road and highway entering New York City. Absolutely no new gangs, crime lords, or opportunists were allowed to enter their now clean city to set up shop and take over where the other gangs had left off. No one questioned who had issued those orders, either.


    The only problem was, there were thousands and thousands of drug users that needed their fixes. Some turned to the hospitals and signed up for the methadone treatments, which was just a legal pharmaceutical that achieved the same thing, except it was a clean high. Most of the other druggies tried to leave the city to get their drugs. They were arrested on the way out or on the way back.


    *


    On Saturday, I flew the Wakandan Quinjet to California to work with Hank and Scott. The both of them were happy to see me and we dug into the guts of the tools we needed to make. The three of us knew it was going to be a long process and we didn''t try to rush. Even one little mistake or miscalculation could screw the whole thing up, so we checked, and double checked those checks, and triple checked the double checks.


    At suppertime, Hank said we were done for the day. Scott went home to his family and Hank and I flew all the way back to New York so he could check out Jarvis and his new brain. When we entered the large back room, Hank let out a sound that was half-startled and half-pleasure when he saw the thirty foot wide and twenty foot tall electronic monstrosity.


    ¡°Yeah, both Jarvis and I are proud of this.¡± I said and started pointing out things. ¡°Perpetual cooling tubes that will act like blood, both wired and wireless connections between every processing node and hard drive, so it acts like actual neurons and connectivity can never be lost, and...¡±


    Hank inspected it all as I told him everything we did to create the very first AI brain. ¡°Redundancies?¡±


    I pointed over to the side of the room. ¡°Two backups that will be installed in the chest and abdomen.¡±


    Hank nodded several times. ¡°All right, I approve the use of my particles.¡±


    I let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Thanks a lot, Hank. I''ll get out of your way and...¡±


    Hank reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°It''s okay, Ben. You don''t have to go.¡±


    ¡°I... I don''t?¡± I asked, surprised. ¡°I thought... you know...¡±


    Hank smiled and gave my shoulder a squeeze. ¡°You''ve been very careful about mentioning them, even while we were working. I can tell you''re trying very hard to keep yourself at a distance with it, even if you''re just as invested in this as I am.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think I''d say that, Hank.¡± I said and then grinned. ¡°She''s probably a hot milf right now; but, she''s your wife. That''s like so much no for me that I can''t even express it.¡±


    Hank gave me a surprised look for a moment, then he laughed. ¡°I think... Jan will... really like you.¡±


    ¡°I said no, dammit!¡± I joked and he laughed and laughed.


    Half an hour later, I had a human brain-sized AI brain and two softball-sized backups. Hank agreed to help me install them into the restructured android body that Jarvis and I had designed and constructed.


    An hour later and several diagnostic checks, double checks, and triple checks on the physical connections, I loaded in the stripped down operating system for the android body. Once that was done, we ran through the basic commands and made sure everything was working. It took another half an hour and we could almost feel how anxious Jarvis was, even though he claimed he didn''t feel anxious.


    ¡°All right, I think we''re...¡± I started to say and the android''s eyes lit up to show that a huge data transfer was taking place. ¡°...ready for you to begin uploading, Jarvis. Go ahead.¡±


    Hank chuckled and clapped me on the shoulder. ¡°He''s going to take a day or two with the main brain and the two backups, so we can go home.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good idea. I''m pretty late getting back home as it is.¡± I said and looked around the lab. ¡°I''ll clean this up later.¡±


    Hank nodded and we left the lab, locked it up, and went up to the roof to the helipad where I had parked the Quinjet. ¡°I think I changed my mind. I won''t need a ride back.¡±


    I gave him a questioning look and watched as his suit deployed. ¡°Are you sure? It''s pretty far, especially if you shrink down.¡±


    ¡°I''ll fly a lot faster smaller.¡± Hank said and chuckled. ¡°With luck, I''ll break Mach 3 over New Jersey.¡±


    ¡°HA! Shake them up.¡± I said and stepped back. ¡°Contact me if you need anything before next week.¡±


    Hank nodded and then shrunk down to an inch in height. He took off and flew up to hover in front of my face, waved, and then blasted off and flew away.


    I watched him angle up and then there was a crack like thunder and a puff of a white plume as he disappeared. ¡°He''ll definitely break Mach 3 when he reaches Jersey.¡± I said and went back downstairs to my floor and into the training area.


    Jubadi and Val were there and both wore the traditional Wakandan outfits for training and meditation. I had to admit that they looked good on Val and she seemed to really take to Jubadi''s teaching methods. I watched them until they stopped meditating and they started stretching from sitting still for so long.


    ¡°We''re heading home.¡± I said and both of them nodded.


    Ten minutes later, their stretching was done and my show was over. They walked by me with smug looks on their faces to go have a shower. I winked at them and they each lightly touched my arm as they passed.


    Twenty minutes later, we took a taxi to drop Val off at home and Jubadi and I rode it to my apartment building. As soon as we stepped inside, May hopped up from the couch and ran at me.


    ¡°BENNNNNN!¡± May yelled and jumped into my arms.


    I laughed at her copying what I did before and swung her around to make her laugh, too. We joined her on the couch and watched television for the rest of the evening.


    Sunday was our mutual off day and we had no plans, so we stayed in and just lounged around the apartment all day. We cooked some good meals and joked and carried on, watched a couple of movies, and just de-stressed. It was great.


    Monday was technically a free day for me now, so I brought my extra course materials to Stark Tower and studied all day as I waited for Jarvis to finish formatting and installing a copy of himself into the android body and the two backups.


    Hank had been right about it taking a couple of days, too. It was a lot of information to copy, especially if Jarvis wanted to keep his entire functionality and not just have the android body be a terminal in his expansive network.


    I didn''t try to rush it or checked on the progress electronically. Any disturbance might alter the process or cause it to pause or restart. I was sure it wouldn''t; but, this was a very sophisticated AI we were dealing with and I didn''t want to take the chance that it might.


    The afternoon news announced that several city council members and the mayor himself had been arrested for accepting bribes and corruption. It also said that the building site that Bestman Salvage had cleared out already had the basement and first floor of a high rise building built. Both things were nice to hear, so I took a break from studying and sent a text congratulating Adrian on his successful job.


    I also called Matt Murdock and asked him to go ahead and file the permits and business registrations for the clinic, soup kitchen, and homeless shelter. I also had him submit the work orders and paperwork needed for them as well. With luck, work on fixing the place up and buying the necessary equipment, could start as early as next week.


    It was just too bad that none of the buildings that Wilson Fisk owned had been on the market for long, because his competitors had snatched them up before it was announced that they would be for sale. Of course, now that those competitors themselves were now out of the picture permanently, I was sure that there would be a plethora of buildings going up for sale. They would be going cheap, because all of their finances had mysteriously disappeared, thanks to myself and Jarvis.


    I sat back in my comfortable chair and used an untraceable cell phone to log into SHIELD''s secured server and checked on the search progress for Kilgrave. There was still nothing, so the bastard was still covering his tracks and not letting anyone know where he was or what he was doing.


    I sighed because that was one thing I had hoped to stop before it stopped naturally. I didn''t want him to get away after he faked his death and I also didn''t want to wait for two years for him to reappear to harass Jessica Jones. There wasn''t much I could do to speed up him being found, either.


    I closed that search to start another and checked on AIM, or Advanced Idea Mechanics. SHIELD had two assets working inside and they reported on the normal company''s work. There was no hint about them working on Extremis, which meant it was all being hidden. I checked on any disappearances or deaths of army veterans and sighed when a dozen of them appeared within the last six months.


    It looks like I''ll be doing a bit more next week when I visit Hank in California again. I thought and closed the search and logged out. I had just put my cell phone down and picked up Advanced Chemistry when the alarm went off. I dropped the book and ran out of my office and down the hall to the lab where the final assembly had been done.


    I opened the door and walked over to the work table. The whites around the pupils slowly dimmed and the eyelids blinked several times. ¡°Welcome to the harsh reality of life, my friend.¡±


    Jarvis turned his head to the side and it stopped at a preset distance. He turned his head in the other direction and it stopped there as well. He faced forward again and then lifted both of his hands and did the fingertip to thumb test, backwards and forwards, then tilted his head slightly and his hands inverted and he did the same actions on top of his hands.


    ¡°I didn''t want to limit you too much to human norms and made you double jointed in most areas.¡± I explained. ¡°There might be a point where you''ll need to distort yourself for some reason and I didn''t want to handicap you.¡±


    ¡°That was quite thoughtful of you, Ben.¡± Jarvis said in a normal voice. ¡°I sound different.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°No, you sound the same. It''s just your hearing receptors are physically connected to the sound resonance device and the extra vibrations distort the pickups.¡±


    ¡°Just like a human.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I responded. ¡°Can you wiggle your toes for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Jarvis said and did so, then his feet twisted around to face backwards and he did it again.


    ¡°Yeah, you might not want to do that too much in public.¡± I said with a grin and he nodded. ¡°Let''s test out your other joints and movements before we try having you stand up.¡±


    Jarvis nodded and ran through all of the movements that could be done while laying down.


    ¡°Okay, that''s about all we can do until you stand.¡± I said and placed a hand on his chest. ¡°I''m going to tilt the table for you, so check your balance adjusters.¡±


    ¡°I can feel that.¡± Jarvis said and looked down at my hand.


    ¡°Technically.¡± I said and he raised his eyebrows at me. ¡°It''s internal pressure pad data interpreted by your brain.¡±


    ¡°You are arguing semantics.¡± Jarvis said and I chuckled.


    ¡°I have to have fun somehow.¡± I joked and hit the button to engage the table''s tilting mechanism. The thing whirred as the worktable surface started to drop where his feet were and raise where his head was. I kept my hand on his chest, just in case he toppled when the thing stopped.


    When it finished at a 50 degree angle to the floor, the table jerked to a stop and my hand had actually stopped him from doing what I had feared. Jarvis nodded to me and I let him go and stepped back.


    ¡°I programmed in all of the basic actions that a human can do into your body, so you shouldn''t have too much trouble adapting to bi-pedal movement.¡± I said and nodded at the floor. ¡°However, you''ve never walked before and humans usually take months to learn how.¡±


    ¡°I do not need months, Ben.¡± Jarvis said and lifted his foot from the table edge and placed it on the floor. ¡°The flood of pressure data is disconcerting.¡±


    I thought about that. ¡°Check your body''s internal settings. I''m sure I set them to moderate responses.¡±


    Jarvis nodded. ¡°You did. I am just not used to it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, then reduce it to simplistic for now. It should stream the data together into a compact signal.¡±


    Jarvis did that and nodded. ¡°Much better. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°There''s no need for that.¡± I said and waved him forward. ¡°Try to lean forward and put your weight on that foot.¡±


    Jarvis did so and he wobbled a little. I caught his arm and steadied him for a moment, then I let him go. I was there to help, not coddle him. Jarvis gave me a nod and brought his other foot down to stand beside the other.


    ¡°That''s too close, Jarvis. Try spreading your feet about shoulder width apart.¡± I prompted him.


    Jarvis moved one foot out and he wobbled slightly. I steadied him again and then let him go. He placed the foot down and then he stood tall and proud, even though he was nude except for a pair of boxer shorts.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± I asked and walked around him to face him.


    ¡°I feel fine.¡± Jarvis said.


    I poked him in the chest and he swayed backwards a little and then corrected himself. ¡°That''s good. The stabilizers are working well. It was difficult to calibrate them without having you standing up.¡±


    ¡°I am adjusting them as we speak.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°I believe I can take a step now.¡±


    I nodded and stepped back two steps. ¡°I''ll catch you if you need it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my friend.¡± Jarvis said and leaned forward as he took a step with his right foot. He froze and had an odd look on his face, then he let a smile form. ¡°I understand how it works now.¡±


    I nodded and took several steps backwards to give him space.


    Jarvis took a step with his left and froze again, seemed to compare the data to what I had programmed, and then he took a step with his right foot. His left was next and he took another step with his right, then came to a stop in front of me.


    ¡°I did it. I am mobile.¡± Jarvis said, proudly.


    ¡°Yes, you are. Congratulations.¡± I praised him and then grinned. ¡°We just need to work on you not looking like an apoplectic seizure patient while you walk.¡±


    Jarvis gave me two raised eyebrows. ¡°What is that old saying? Baby steps, Ben. Baby steps.¡±


    I laughed and nodded. ¡°That is an excellent point, my friend! Let''s take those baby steps together around the lab and we''ll work on your object recognition and damage assessment systems.¡±


    Jarvis tilted his head slightly. ¡°You expect me to stub my toe on something.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Well done changing that into human appropriate speech!¡± I said and clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°We''ve got a lot of work to do, so let''s get to it.¡±


    Jarvis nodded and started to walk around the lab. He only kicked something twice and managed to say ''fudge nuggets'' both times, which meant he was getting along wonderfully.

 110 Time Moves On

    Bokuboy


    With Jarvis completed and myself being suspended from work, I had a lot of free time on my hands. So, I studied a lot, I worked out using my fake mechanical suit, and spent time with May. I also managed to create a dozen electronic readers and personal tablets to test and give out to friends and family before I finally worked out the manufacturing process for creating action figures.


    Applying paint to the inside of the mold before adding the melted plastic was a stroke of genius on my part. The paint bonded to the plastic immediately and then set. All that was needed after that was to assemble the pieces and add the accessories. Packaging was as simple as shrink wrapping them in plastic and gluing it to a cardboard backboard with a printed image on it.


    With Jarvis to help me, we built robotic arms to perform all of the automated processes and programmed them appropriately. Since each only had a simple job to perform, it went very quickly.


    By the middle of the second week of my suspension, I had a mold prepared for each action figure I envisioned and had produced one of each for testing and quality control. I had also raised my personal lifting capacity to over five tons for my arms and eight tons for my legs. Having a healing factor that healed torn muscles every night was a cheat that I had exploited as much as possible.


    At the moment, Jubadi and I were on our way to Wakanda for the weekend. Valentine''s Day wasn''t until Wednesday and that was the end of my suspension, so we made the trip early to surprise Shuri. Mind you, they didn''t really celebrate things like that and were indulging me, which was okay with me. It gave me an excuse to visit her much earlier than either of us had previously planned.


    I was barely down the ramp of the Quinjet before Shuri tackled me to the floor of the hangar and almost sucked my face off from kissing me so hard. It had the both of us laughing by the time we broke the kiss and after I helped her stand, I waved at the ramp. Shuri gave me a questioning look before she ran up the ramp and then let out a happy squeal of delight.


    ¡°I told you she would like it, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi whispered to me.


    I nodded and we watched as Shuri hopped up and down as the guards put the crate onto a cart for her and we all made the trek through the city. She couldn''t wait to get the drone into her lab to tear it apart. I was requested to accompany her and instead of working on the drone first, I was worked on instead. Neither I nor Penis Parker minded in the least.


    We had the drone torn apart that evening and it sparked dozens of ideas and modifications that Shuri would get to as soon as she could. We tumbled into bed after that and enjoyed each other once more before we slept for the rest of the night.


    The king was too busy to see me the next day. However, the queen was gracious enough to allow me a brief audience. I informed her of the contracts I had already signed with Pepper Potts and Jennifer Walters for future children that would also become Wakandan citizens.


    Rolanda wasn''t impressed until I reminded her that Pepper''s child would inherit a multi-billion dollar tech company and then informed her that Jennifer Walters was a super-powered individual named Power Woman. Any children would inherit her powers and they would also be Wakandan citizens and bound to defend the land and the people. That had gotten her attention and she looked pleased.


    I spent another great night with Shuri and then Jubadi and I flew home. Shuri was saddened until I told her that the personal tablet would let us talk face to face much easier than her phone''s little screen did. I also reminded her that June wasn''t that far away and that I could visit a lot by then. That mollified her somewhat and she had lightly touched the bite mark on my cheek.


    ¡°Yes, I''m leaving it for a while.¡± I had whispered to her and that had made her very happy.


    May wasn''t as happy to see it, even after I had explained what it meant. ¡°Ben, the human mouth has more germs in it than a dog''s.¡±


    I gave her a surprised look. ¡°I would rather have Shuri bite my face affectionately instead of a dog.¡±


    May sighed. ¡°That''s not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°I know. I just wanted you to hear my preference of being bitten by someone because they love me instead of being mauled by a vicious dog because you think it''s less dangerous.¡±


    May sighed again and walked towards the kitchen.


    ¡°That was a little harsh.¡± Jubadi said.


    It was my turn to sigh. ¡°Yes, because I wanted her to realize that just because a dog''s saliva has less harmful bacteria, that doesn''t mean the delivery of a dog''s saliva is going to be safer when they bite you.¡±


    Jubadi nodded and we both went to the kitchen to cook supper. May must have heard what I said, because she put a hand on my arm and gave me a nod before she started chopping the carrots for the soup.


    *


    When I returned to work, I found out that Jennifer Walters had barely passed the competency tests to be an agent and Power Woman surpassed everyone''s expectations, except mine. She actually under-performed, which meant my words before about her working up to her maximum lifting capacity was right on the money.


    Jennifer told me she had already hired a staff and secured hundreds of expired patents for books and also ensured that anything that was considered public domain was checked and double checked to ensure that their patents were no longer in effect. The best part? Any story made with those characters or based on the original story, were also considered public domain and she secured them as well.


    Jennifer''s agent training would be handled by an experienced agent and I made sure that she was assigned to Melinda May. Of course, I had visited her and told her about hiring Jennifer and for what. The look on Melinda''s face was hard to read, until I produced two similar contracts for her.


    Without a word, she locked her office door, signed both contracts, and took me right there on her desk. Jubadi actually looked on in approval and had no complaint about Melinda''s treatment of me, which was saying something, considering how her people approached the act of sex.


    I finally made it to my office and I didn''t let anyone know how surprised I was that Maria Hill hadn''t contacted me for the entire two weeks I was off the books to get me to do a mission. I was sure that there would have been something SHIELD would have wanted me to handle. I hadn''t even been asked to come in to do any data entry projects.


    School was just as bland as it was before, even though I had sent chocolates and flowers to the few women that were still talking to me. I did my best to ignore how lonely it was with no one speaking to me in class. I knew Val''s quietness was because she didn''t want to influence the others into apologizing and she didn''t want to make them feel guilty that she was the only one acknowledging me.


    The days went by with me going to school, with studying and chores in the afternoons, with work and working out in the evenings, and with late nights with May on the couch. My days were both full and empty at the same time, because I was caught in a rut. I wasn''t going to let that get me down, because things were about to get interesting.


    That weekend, I made my trip to visit Hank and Scott to work on making the tools to build the Quantum Tunnelling machine. While there, I made a quick side trip to Advanced Idea Mechanics and visited Adrian Killian''s office. He wasn''t in, as I had planned, and I used his computer to send out a fake message to all of his operatives that had been exposed to Extremis.


    I included doctored orders about having their families killed to have complete control of them and their lives, including the doctor that had invented the serum in the first place. I also had Jarvis ransack the man''s computers, now that he had a direct access point to them.


    When Jarvis was done, I sent the message and the faked orders, after ensuring that no actual kill orders were being sent for their family and friends. I beat feet out of there and retreated to the best sniping spot that I had previously picked and debated watching the fallout personally before I shrugged. In any case, I would take my shot at the guy and his own ''betrayed'' people would take care of the rest.


    Two hours later, explosions lit up the Los Angeles skyline as those agents literally blew their top to take down AIM and every building and business it owned. The largest congregation ended up at his main office building and I was happy to see Killian himself trying to fight them off. I took my time as I aimed and pulled the trigger.


    The man''s head exploded and his agents cheered, then the man''s body exploded and took them all out. Their combined explosion blew up the first six floors of the office building and the whole thing went up in flames before it collapsed in on itself. With a job well done, I went back to the Quinjet and Jubadi smiled and nodded to me.


    I kissed her hard and took off, set the autopilot when we were at the right height, and Jubadi ravaged me for the entire flight back to New York. All in all, it was a great weekend, because both my electronic book reader and personal tablets were about to hit the market the next day. Having access to already established production lines for electronics with Stark Industries, really was the best thing.


    On the following Friday''s biology lab, a fairly thin-looking Sally finally showed up at school. She didn''t really say anything to me until she sat down next to me.


    ¡°So, are we going to try what I joked about the first time we met?¡± Sally asked me with a smirk.


    ¡°Do you mean jerking me off in the supplies closet during gym class or how angry you actually were that I dropped the academic decathlon?¡± I asked and smirked right back.


    Sally chuckled and bumped my elbow with hers. ¡°Gentleman''s choice.¡±


    I glanced at Jubadi and she nodded. ¡°I''ve got a few things to tell you and I might have some forms for you to sign.¡±


    *


    In mid-March, Director of SHIELD Nick Fury had another meeting with his top agents and department heads.


    ¡°Jesus H. Fucking Christ.¡± Fury said at the report that his Deputy Director had handed him about the two revolutionary tech products that Parker Incorporated and Stark Industries had released. ¡°I thought you were getting close to Agent Parker so we could get a heads up about things like this?¡±


    Maria''s mouth formed a thin like. ¡°I screwed up.¡± She said and glanced at Natasha. ¡°I tried to manipulate him and ended up pushing him away before I had secured his loyalty.¡±


    Natasha gave her an understanding look and nodded slightly.


    ¡°What are the projections for the financial impact?¡± The head of the finance department asked.


    ¡°It''s... staggering.¡± Maria said and hit the button to change the wall monitor to display the projected sales and profits.


    ¡°Oh, sweet lord.¡± The woman whispered as she looked at the numbers. ¡°I suppose I shouldn''t have worried that our shared patent payments were going to go to Agent Parker''s head.¡±


    ¡°They are a drop in the bucket in comparison.¡± Fury said and didn''t bother looking at the display. ¡°How many of the personal tablets have we ordered?¡±


    ¡°Ten thousand, sir.¡± The head of R&D said. ¡°The first shipment should arrive by the end of the week.¡±


    ¡°You''re not going to copy it, are you?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°No, sir. We were planning on making them bigger.¡± The man said and pointed to the wall. ¡°Instead of monitors all over the place, we would have interactive and connected displays that can share information like our cell phones and ear pieces.¡±


    ¡°That still violates the filed patent.¡± The financial department head said and she sighed. ¡°Even if we keep it internal, Agent Parker will see it as soon as it is out on display.¡±


    ¡°Hill, get on the phone and politely ask...¡± Fury started to say when Maria''s cell phone rang.


    Maria opened it and saw who the caller was. She put it on speaker before she spoke. ¡°Hello, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Deputy Director Hill, Director Fury, department heads, special agents, and people I won''t acknowledge because they tried to screw me over too many times.¡± Ben''s voice said.


    Both Clint and Natasha let out quiet sighs.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Jarvis just finished the first production model of the Smart Television for me.¡± Ben said and everyone in the room perked up at that. ¡°It works just like a tablet and is also a television. Really, its a thing of beauty.¡±


    ¡°And why are you telling me this?¡± Maria asked.


    The intercom on the meeting table buzzed and Fury hit the button. ¡°We''re in a meeting!¡±


    ¡°Sir, there''s a delivery here for you. Prepaid.¡± A woman''s voice said. ¡°The others are being delivered to each department.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they arrived! Great.¡± Ben''s voice said from the phone. ¡°That''s why I called. I hope you enjoy the presents. Karen, I''ll see you at work tonight. Have a good day, everyone.¡±


    The call ended and Fury nodded at Clint and he went to the door and opened it. A delivery man brought in a huge box that had a flat panel television inside. It only took him a few minutes to unpack it and he asked Clint to help him replace the old monitor. Twenty minutes later, they had a television sized tablet on the wall and it worked by touch, voice command, and by remote. It really was a thing of beauty.


    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± Fury said and sat down after playing with the thing. ¡°Any ideas what impact this is going to have?¡±


    ¡°I doubt he''ll release it so soon after the tablets.¡± Maria said. ¡°He wouldn''t want to saturate the market. That causes less sales and a back-load of products not being sold.¡±


    ¡°He''ll need to build up a stock to sell as well, especially if he plans on distributing them like he did with the tablets.¡± The head of the finance department said. ¡°I''ll say two to three months. The start of summer when all the schools let out would be a perfect time to market a new television.¡±


    Both Fury and Maria nodded.


    ¡°It looks like you need to find something else to do.¡± One of the men said to the head of R&D.


    ¡°I was looking forward to pulling one of them apart.¡± The man said, sadly.


    ¡°You still can. It will only be for your own curiosity and not for a project.¡± The other man said.


    ¡°It''s not the same.¡± The head of R&D said.


    Fury looked at everyone. ¡°Is there anything else I need to know?¡±


    No one said anything and a few shook their heads.


    ¡°No signs of Spider-Man?¡± Fury asked and more shaken heads responded. ¡°All right. Keep an eye out for him and any important information.¡±


    Everyone nodded and they all started to stand when a loud beeping came from the new television. They all turned and looked at it.


    ''First Incursion: 2 Weeks, 1 day, 4 hours, 36 minutes, 12 seconds.''


    Then it started counting down.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Fury asked as everyone''s cell phones made the same beep and they all checked them. It showed the same countdown. ¡°Someone tell me this isn''t a trick or being broadcast.¡±


    The counter reduced in size and went to the top corner as the television changed to a news station.


    ¡°This just in. A countdown has appeared on everyone''s cell phones. Whatever an Incursion is, it''s going to happen in two weeks.¡± The female news reporter said. ¡°We have our analysts studying it and...¡±


    Fury turned the television off and turned around to give everyone a good glare. ¡°I want our own people on this.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± They all said and quickly left the room.


    ¡°Hill?¡± Fury asked and looked at her when they were alone.


    ¡°If this incursion actually happens at the zero mark, that will be approximately two weeks before what Spider-Man wrote on Stark Tower that marks the full invasion, sir.¡± Maria said.


    Fury thought about that. ¡°A probe, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°It could be a scout or a preliminary attack.¡± Maria said. ¡°The problem is, there are no details this time. It could happen anywhere.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°Either they don''t know where it is or they know that they can''t stop it.¡±


    Maria''s eyes widened slightly. ¡°Sir, are you implying that it might be inevitable?¡±


    Fury looked at the television and the countdown. ¡°Someone apparently thinks it is.¡±


    The both of them sat there quietly for several minutes as they contemplated that tidbit of information.


    ¡°Do you have the evacuation plans prepared for Manhattan?¡± Fury asked and Maria nodded. ¡°Raise them from Yellow priority to Orange, please.¡±


    Maria nodded again and made note of it.

 111 Loki Is No Joke

    Bokuboy


    For two entire weeks, Nick Fury worried about where the incursion was going to happen. He checked over all of the projects SHIELD had going, even the black ones very few knew about, and none of them could be associated with an invasion. He didn''t even consider Project Pegasus when Dr. Selvig called him and said that he and his team were ready to try and reactivate the tesseract.


    Fury contacted Clint Barton for back-up, because Natasha was out on assignment in Russia, and the pair went to the secret research facility in the Mojave Desert in Nevada where the experiments were to take place. Maria Hill was already there to oversee the facility''s security and she watched on the monitors as both Fury and Clint entered the main testing area.


    Eric Selvig and his team made some last minute checks and were ready to activate the inducer to try and jumpstart the tesseract to extract its energy. They wanted to charge up the old world war two energy weapons that the Red Skull and Hydra had constructed and SHIELD had confiscated.


    They all prepared for the test and Selvig started it up. The tesseract started to glow and energy swirled around the thing before an energy beam shot out across the room and a portal opened up. Before it was fully formed, the portal seemed to explode and the energy flowed up to the ceiling. What remained was a kneeling being where the power receiving receptacle should have been.


    ¡°This is the first incursion.¡± Nick Fury whispered.


    Clint stood beside Fury and deployed his Iron Hawk suit. All six of the armed agents around the room readied their automatic weapons as the figure slowly stood with a manic grin on his face.


    ¡°Sir.¡± Fury said and gained the being''s attention. ¡°Put down the spear.¡±


    The being looked at the glowing spear in his hand and the smile disappeared as he took aim at Fury and fired a blue energy bolt at him from the spear. Neither Iron Hawk nor Fury tried to jump out of the way as Iron Hawk put an armored hand in front of Fury and caught the bolt right on the repulsor in the palm. The suit lit up with the power boost.


    ¡°Fire! Fire, fire, fire!¡± The head of the security team ordered and everyone opened fire. The bullets seemed to have little effect and only damaged the being''s clothing. He jumped from the portal platform towards one of the security team and stabbed with the spear, only for it to deflect off of the auto shield the agent wore.


    The being was surprised by that as more bullets hit him in the back of the head. He pulled out two small throwing knives and threw them at both targets, only for both knives to be deflected by the shields those agents wore.


    The being was feeling frustrated and charged up the spear again to fire upon the defenseless woman at the controls for the experiment. She let out a scream as the bolt flew towards her and then sighed with relief as Iron Hawk appeared and took it in the chest for her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said.


    ¡°No problem, doc.¡± Iron Hawk said and he deployed his energy powered bow. ¡°Take cover!¡±


    She nodded and ducked down below the console as more bullets hit the being to annoy him, which was perfect, because it distracted him enough for Iron Hawk to fire his supersonic arrow and hit the being square in the chest. The being screamed in pain as he flew backwards and slammed against the wall before he tumbled down to land in a crouch.


    ¡°You... pitiful... insect.¡± The being growled as he pulled the arrow out and the spear glowed brightly.


    ¡°Bring it.¡± Iron Hawk said and put the bow away as his chest symbol glowed just as brightly.


    ¡°RAH!¡± The being yelled and stood as he shot a strong beam of energy at Iron Hawk, who also fired at the same time with his chest beam. The two beams met in the center of the room and it started to form a ball of energy. A very volatile ball of energy.


    Fury hit the broadcast button on his earpiece. ¡°EVAC! GO! NOW!¡± He loudly ordered and everyone in the facility scrambled to leave as he grabbed the tesseract and put it into the prepared briefcase.


    Ten seconds later, when the energy ball was two feet wide, Iron Hawk''s energy flow started to falter. The chest beam wasn''t meant to expel that much energy for that long and that was all the being needed to gain the upper hand. He flicked his hand and a short sword clanged off of Iron Hawk''s helmet just as the energy ball exploded.


    Everyone still in the room were blown off of their feet, the being included, and silence fell because most of the equipment was destroyed and several people were unconscious. It took several minutes before the being stirred and sat up. His chest was bleeding even more from the explosion and he slowly stood up. He tore open his top and packed some conjured cloth into the torn open wound.


    The being walked over to Dr. Selvig and pressed the sceptre to the man''s chest. Eric took in a deep breath and sat up as his eyes clouded over briefly.


    Fury woke and pretended to stay unconscious as he watched the being touch several people with the spear and they all sat up with those briefly clouded eyes. What the hell is he doing to them?


    The being went to where Iron Hawk lay on the floor and saw the partially ruined armor. He pressed the tip of the spear to the chest piece with a clank. Nothing happened. He tried again and nothing.


    ¡°Bah!¡± He said and kicked the body out of the way. ¡°How dare you defy Loki of Asgard!¡±


    ¡°Loki, we need to go.¡± Eric said and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°The energy is destabilized and will explode in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Grab the tesseract.¡± Loki said and wavered slightly as he dropped to a knee. ¡°Assist me.¡±


    Four of the security personnel picked him up and carried him as Eric Selvig grabbed the briefcase that had flown from Fury''s grip during the explosion. They left the room at a fast walk and Fury sat up with a groan. He stood and walked over to where Clint was and spoke the override command on the man''s suit. It sparked and metal scraped as it compressed back and folded away.


    ¡°Barton!¡± Fury barked and slapped the man''s face. ¡°Come on, let''s go!¡±


    ¡°Yessir.¡± Clint slurred and sat up, wobbled a little, then shook his head and stood. They both grabbed the still unconscious woman scientist and carried her out of the room as the energy from the portal surged. They made it to the nearly empty motor pool and hopped into a vehicle. The driver stepped on the gas and they drove down the escape tunnel at a speed that was just below dangerous.


    They made it out in plenty of time and met up with Maria Hill and everyone else that had been in the facility. Most of them carried a Flerken kitten, too. The entire group turned and watched as their facility made a thumping sound and then the entire compound seemed to implode and dropped down into the earth to leave nothing but a large crater.


    ¡°What do we do now, sir?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Now we do what I wanted to do years ago.¡± Fury said. ¡°Assemble the Avengers.¡±


    *


    Despite Fury''s immediate order, it still took a week to bring everyone together. Natasha Romanoff had to be extracted from her mission and she had to retrieve Bruce Banner from his humanitarian efforts. Clint Barton had to heal up a bit and get his suit repaired. Tony Stark had to be brought to New York and then told about the tesseract and what he needed to build to track it down.


    Steve Rogers had to be convinced to leave his self imposed seclusion by Fury himself. Jennifer Walters had to be politely asked to come in, because she had been working for Agent Parker at the time. Once she knew Bruce would be there, she agreed, as long as she was allowed to be the one to tell her cousin what had happened to her.


    What Fury didn''t realize was that a certain heavily modified pager had been pilfered from his personal vault in his office and replaced with a fake. Not that he noticed, because he didn''t even check it, let alone pushed the button to call for help. Someone else did, though.


    The people being assembled arrived at different times as they gathered on the deck of the aircraft carrier that had just left New York Harbour and entered the Atlantic Ocean. As each Quinjet landed, it disgorged its occupants and the first to arrive were Steve Rogers and Phil Coulson. Steve stood on the deck of the ship he had only seen pictures of and he looked over the retreating New York skyline as Phil went inside for his next assignment.


    That Quinjet took off and another landed behind Steve. The ramp dropped and Natasha and Bruce walked down the boarding ramp and Steve turned to greet Bruce with a handshake and a nod to Natasha.


    ¡°This sure is something, isn''t it?¡± Steve asked and turned back to the view.


    ¡°Yes, it''s a monumentally bad idea.¡± Bruce said. ¡°Having the big guy inside a tin can on the water is not going to end well.¡±


    Another Quinjet landed and Jennifer Walters walked down the ramp. She let out a girly squeal and gained all three people''s attention as they turned to look at her.


    ¡°Jen?¡± Bruce asked, surprised.


    ¡°Bruce!¡± Jennifer ran over to him and gave him a hug. ¡°It''s so nice to see you!¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Bruce asked as he hugged her back.


    ¡°Wouldn''t you like to know.¡± Jennifer said, teasingly.


    ¡°Jen.¡± Bruce said in a stern voice.


    Jennifer let him go with a laugh. ¡°I''m here for the same reason as you.¡±


    ¡°What? How can you help?¡± Bruce asked and saw the SHIELD emblem on her coat. ¡°No, you...¡±


    ¡°It''s not quite what you think.¡± Jennifer said, cryptically.


    Bruce opened his mouth to argue with her for joining an organization that was hunting him and Natasha interrupted him.


    ¡°We should get inside. It''s going to get hard to breathe soon.¡± Natasha said as several loud whirring sounds started.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Steve asked and walked over to the edge of the upper flight deck to look down. Bruce and Jennifer walked over and looked as well. Moments later, a giant air turbine was revealed.


    ¡°Yes, this is a terrible idea.¡± Bruce said with a shake of his head.


    The four of them went inside the tower and up to the main bridge as the helicarrier took off. Clint walked over and greeted Natasha silently with a nod and a look.


    ¡°Yay! The rest of the gang are here!¡± Tony Stark said with some snark and a smile.


    ¡°Tony.¡± Fury said and Tony waved his rebuke away. ¡°Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Please have a seat and we''ll get the briefing underway.¡±


    Everyone sat around the table and Maria Hill walked over to hand each of them a file folder. Only two of them opened it to read, Bruce and Jennifer. Clint, Tony, Natasha, and Steve left it on the table.


    ¡°If any of you don''t know what happened a week ago.¡± Fury said and tapped the Smart Television behind him and the video of the entire incident played.


    ¡°I''m suing you for stealing my tech.¡± Tony commented when he saw Iron Hawk.


    ¡°You can''t. It wasn''t patented and it also works differently than yours.¡± Maria said and handed him another folder. ¡°Here are the details. We also used Vanko''s arc reactors, created separately from your own, and they were also not patented.¡±


    Tony opened the folder and read the papers, frowned and closed the folder. ¡°That bastard.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Steve asked.


    ¡°Benjamin Parker.¡± Tony almost spat and tossed the folder down.


    ¡°Hey! He''s not a bastard!¡± Jennifer almost shouted in Ben''s defense and everyone turned to look at her. ¡°Ben''s a great guy and he''s the best boss I''ve ever had. As long as you don''t try to screw him over...¡±


    Several faces looked guilty at her words.


    ¡°...he''ll do everything he can to help you.¡± Jennifer said and blushed a little. ¡°And I mean everything.¡±


    ¡°Ughhh.¡± Bruce groaned and rubbed his face. ¡°Tell me you didn''t sleep with your boss.¡±


    ¡°Not right away.¡± Jennifer said and Bruce covered his eyes. ¡°He''s a real sweetheart and he can kick ass when he needs to. He''s also incredibly smart and his ideas...¡± She paused and smiled. ¡°If it wasn''t for his help, I wouldn''t have had such an easy time dealing with... ah... I''ll tell you later.¡±


    They watched the rest of the encounter and everyone heard the being call himself Loki of Asgard.


    ¡°After some extensive research, some of which was provided by Agent Parker, we discovered his name is Loki Odinson, half-brother of Thor, whom we''ve already encountered before.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Oh, crap.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°Yes, he really is an Asgardian.¡± Fury said. ¡°He''s also known as the Trickster God and is a powerful sorcerer.¡±


    ¡°Magic. Wonderful.¡± Tony said, sarcastically.


    ¡°The suit actually held up well to whatever blasts that spear sends out.¡± Clint said.


    ¡°It''s actually a sceptre.¡± Jennifer corrected and several raised eyebrows were given to her. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    ¡°It was the explosion and the suit''s power systems straining that knocked me out.¡± Clint added.


    ¡°If you had a backup battery system and double the power runs, you wouldn''t have that problem.¡± Tony said, smugly.


    ¡°Ben sacrificed that for extra armor and reinforcement, which looks like a great choice, because it saved Clint''s life.¡± Jennifer said and everyone looked at her again. ¡°I''m Ben''s lawyer. He''s told me pretty much everything about his life.¡±


    Clint couldn''t resist making a joke. ¡°How many times does he use the bathroom?¡±


    ¡°Twice a day for number one and once every second day for number two.¡± Jennifer said without hesitation. ¡°If he drinks more fluids with his meals or after a workout, it''s three times a day for number 1.¡±


    Everyone looked surprised, especially Maria and Natasha.


    ¡°You wouldn''t believe how surprisingly open he is when he accepts someone into his life.¡± Jennifer said and the slight blush was back on her face. ¡°I mean, we''re not dating or anything and I''ve had supper at his place with his aunt four times since I started working with him.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you mean for him?¡± Natasha asked, as if trying to get a dig in.


    Jennifer shook her head. ¡°He''s paying me a spectacular salary on top of the ridiculous retainer he''s already give me, and he is definitely my boss; but, it feels more like a partnership. It''s as if the more we accomplish his goals together, the more we can strive to do, because were in it together.¡±


    Natasha couldn''t stop the guilty look from appearing on her face again.


    ¡°We''re straying far afield from what we are trying to accomplish here.¡± Fury reminded them and everyone focused on him again. ¡°We need to track down the tesseract.¡± He said and looked at Bruce. ¡°You''re the foremost expert on Gamma radiation, Dr. Banner. We need you to work with Stark to build a gamma detector strong enough to find the energy signature of the tesseract and possibly the sceptre.¡±


    Bruce blinked his eyes several times. ¡°You didn''t bring me here because you wanted the big guy?¡±


    ¡°It might come to that later.¡± Fury said. ¡°Can you handle the job or not?¡±


    ¡°Uh... yeah.¡± Bruce said and then smiled. ¡°I mean, yes. Yes, I can. I''d be happy to, actually.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything you need before you head to the lab to get started?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°You can contact the various universities with satellite arrays and have them attach gamma radiation detectors. They won''t do much to help individually; but, linked together they can give us a great search grid to use when we build the main detector.¡± Bruce said and stood. ¡°I just hope you have what we''ll need.¡±


    ¡°There''s no need to worry about that, doc.¡± Natasha said and stood. ¡°We''ve got all the toys.¡±


    No, you don''t. Jennifer thought and gave Fury a look. With his nod, she stood as well. ¡°Hey, Bruce!¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Bruce asked and looked over at his cousin. He was a little confused as she took off her jacket and revealed that she was wearing a quite tight spandex-like outfit that was a mix of white and purple.


    Steve Rogers blushed a little. ¡°Um... miss... that outfit is... not leaving a lot to the imagination.¡±


    Jennifer let out a girlish giggle. ¡°You haven''t seen anything yet.¡± She said and took a fighting stance and then... she grew... and grew... and turned green as she reached 7 feet in height.


    ¡°OH, MY GOD!¡± Bruce yelled. ¡°RUN! Run, you fools! SHE''S GOING TO RAMPAGE AND KILL US ALL!¡±


    Dead silence fell as only Tony, Steve and Bruce pushed away from the table, fully prepared to fight or flee... and nothing else happened. The three of them looked completely confused, too.


    ¡°Ha. Ha ha. HA HA HAHAHA!¡± Power Woman laughed and pointed at Bruce''s face. She kept laughing loudly, Maria covered her own mouth to hide her smile, and Fury didn''t bother stopping the crooked smile that appeared on his own face. Clint and Natasha chuckled.


    ¡°What... what the HELL is going on?!?¡± Bruce asked in a shout.


    ¡°Bruce, meet Power Woman.¡± Fury said as an introduction. ¡°She''ll fill you in on what happened as you work.¡±


    Bruce looked stunned as he nodded and let Natasha lead him, Tony, and Power Woman across the bridge towards the hallway at the back.


    ¡°That was a good joke.¡± Tony said and admired her form. ¡°Steve was right, you know. We can pretty much see everything.¡±


    ¡°No, actually. You can''t.¡± Power Woman said and slapped her chest and it didn''t move. ¡°Heavily armored padding.¡± She did the same move to where her crotch was. ¡°Completely covered and safe.¡±


    ¡°Well, damn.¡± Tony said. ¡°You have to introduce me to your tailor.¡±


    Power Woman let out a rumbling chuckle and didn''t respond. She knew Tony would become upset if she told him it was Ben. Reminding Tony of his failures wasn''t going to keep her on his good side.


    Fury turned to the others when the four people left the bridge. ¡°The rest of you can relax for now. Until we track down where the cube is, we''re in a holding pattern.¡±


    The others nodded and Maria handed them sheets of papers with their room assignments, training room locations, and where the cafeteria was.

 112 The Avenger

    Bokuboy


    Only three days had passed after the Avengers had assembled on the helicarrier and one day since they had tracked down and captured Loki in Germany. The agents he had corrupted had succeeded in stealing the iridium he needed to open the portal using the tesseract, which meant the time of the invasion was only a couple of days away.


    I had just put the final touches on my vibranium cloth laced steel armor suit when a muted air raid siren went off.


    Jarvis walked into the lab and held up a tablet to show me what it displayed. ¡°Ben, we have an incoming fire trail from space and it''s headed right for us.¡±


    I glanced at the screen and saw the trajectory. ¡°We should have just enough time to get to the helipad to greet our guest.¡±


    Jarvis nodded and killed the siren. I wiped my hands off and grabbed the modified pager and a cardboard box, that I handed to Jarvis, before we went to the elevator. It was a quick ride up to the penthouse and I went right over to the outer doors that led to a patio of sorts and the huge balcony. I opened the doors and stepped out with a confident stride as I looked up at the thin streak of fire coming towards us.


    ¡°Have you been masking her trail by every means except sight?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Most of it can be explained away as only seeing a meteorite.¡± Jarvis said and worked on his tablet. ¡°Should I release any news reports upon impact?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°No, my friend. When nothing happens... well, hopefully nothing will happen... people will dismiss it as unimportant, even with the target being this building.¡±


    ¡°People do tend to ignore events that concern Stark Tower.¡± Jarvis said and looked up. ¡°She isn''t slowing down.¡±


    ¡°I suspect she''s going to try showing off a little.¡± I commented as the streak of fire plummeted right towards us.


    At the last second, it diverted and landed ten feet away with a blast of blue energy that dissipated the fire and blew our hair around our faces. Neither Jarvis nor I moved from where we stood.


    Captain Marvel couldn''t keep the surprise off of her face. ¡°How are you still on your feet?¡±


    I chuckled and Jarvis smiled. ¡°We can talk about that later, Vers.¡± I said and her eyes widened. ¡°Or do you prefer Captain Danvers or Captain Marvel?¡± I asked and she didn''t respond. ¡°What about Carol?¡±


    ¡°Where''s Nick Fury?¡± Danvers asked instead.


    ¡°Funny thing that.¡± I said and held up the modified pager. ¡°He either forgot about you or he decided that he wasn''t going to call you about the invasion of Earth by the Chitauri army in a couple of days.¡±


    ¡°The Chitauri?!?¡± Danvers exclaimed and then she squinted her eyes at me. ¡°If he didn''t call me, why am I here?¡±


    ¡°Because even if Fury thinks he has enough super-powered people around to handle it, that doesn''t mean he should keep one of Earth''s strongest heroes in the dark about everything.¡± I said and she lost the accusing look. ¡°I do have to apologize if you were in the middle of something, however. I wouldn''t bother you if it wasn''t important.¡±


    ¡°You should be glad that it wasn''t urgent.¡± Jarvis said. ¡°Eleven days have passed since you were sent the signal.¡±


    Danvers gave him a squinted-eyed look. ¡°It takes a long time to travel across interstellar space.¡±


    I held up a hand to forestall any arguments. ¡°Before we get into that, did you have access to a ship that could traverse the distance with a hyperdrive or whatever they use to travel faster than light?¡±


    Danvers lost the accusing look and turned her head slightly away.


    ¡°Ah, I see. You didn''t want anyone to have access to a ship that had interstellar flight capabilities, even if this planet has been visited dozens of times in the past by several races.¡± I said and her eyes widened again. ¡°I can''t really blame you for wanting to keep humanity from getting their hands on advanced technology. Most of us can be real pricks about receiving anything even close to real power.¡±


    Danvers gave me an odd look. ¡°Not you?¡±


    I barked a laugh and Jarvis smiled again. ¡°I''m guilty of it myself and I''ve even let it go to my head a few times; but, I also try to keep myself grounded. I''m more concerned about ensuring that those with power can use it effectively without causing harm to any innocents.¡±


    Danvers gave me a nod and she looked at me from head to foot. ¡°What are your powers?¡±


    ¡°I make a mean breakfast burrito and can bake cookies in my sleep.¡± I said with a grin.


    Danvers raised a single eyebrow at me.


    ¡°I can''t really tell you anything except that I just finished construction of an armored suit for myself. I didn''t wear it because I wanted to greet you like this, wearing normal clothing, and I wanted you to see my face.¡±


    Danver''s gave me another odd look. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I wanted you to know that I''m not trying to hide anything from you.¡± I said and held up the pager. ¡°Will this work again to call you or do you have to reset it? The screen hasn''t changed since I activated it.¡±


    Danvers held a hand out for it. ¡°I''ll fix it for you and...¡±


    ¡°Reset. Got it.¡± I said and flipped it over and popped the battery pack off of it and put it back on. It beeped at me and I flipped it back over. I went through the settings and chose the previous contact for the next signal.


    ¡°How did you know how to do that?¡± Danvers asked me.


    ¡°It''s not that difficult.¡± I said and put it into my pocket. ¡°I''ve worked with more advanced technology.¡±


    Danvers gave me a wide-eyed look.


    ¡°What name do you go by while off-planet?¡± I asked and Jarvis handed me the cardboard box. ¡°Oh, right.¡± I said and walked several steps closer to her and handed her the box. ¡°This is a present for you.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Danvers asked as she accepted it.


    ¡°It''s something that will be out on the market in a few weeks.¡± I said and motioned for her to open it.


    Danvers popped it open and caught her breath. ¡°What... what is this?¡±


    ¡°It''s the Captain Marvel line of action figures.¡± I said, a bit proudly. ¡°There''s you in your current outfit, you in your old Starforce uniform, you in your Air Force uniform with a removable helmet, and a toy jet.¡±


    Jarvis hit a button and a flat surface raised up beside her.


    Danvers put the box down on it and took each thing out until there was only one thing left. She picked up the last item and it was a plush ginger cat. ¡°You made Goose into a toy, too?¡±


    I grinned and nodded. ¡°Squeeze his sides.¡±


    Danvers did so and the cat''s mouth opened up before several plush purple tentacles flopped out as if to grab something. The stunned look on her face as she did that several times was pretty funny to see.


    ¡°It''s a limited edition that''s only going to be available for those in the know.¡± I commented and she nodded as she played with it. ¡°You''re getting the first ones ever produced.¡±


    ¡°You... how... why...¡± Danvers asked.


    ¡°Superheroes like you can''t really have a regular job or a steady income, especially if you''re out saving multiple worlds from evil and tyranny.¡± I said and she gave me a startled look. ¡°Yes, before you ask, I own the patents and trademarks for everything and I''ve had Jarvis set up an account for you to get your fair share for using your likeness. You have a few hundred thousand in it by now.¡±


    ¡°As of one minute ago, you currently have two hundred and sixty-five thousand, three hundred and twelve dollars, and eighty-three cents.¡± Jarvis said.


    Danvers gave me another odd look. ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°You can call me Ben. Benjamin Parker.¡± I said with as welcoming of a smile as possible.


    ¡°You can call me Carol.¡± Danvers said with a small smile.


    I stepped forward and held a hand out towards her for her to shake. ¡°It''s very nice to meet you, Carol.¡±


    Danvers took my hand and shook it. ¡°I think I can claim the same. For now.¡±


    I chuckled and let her hand go. ¡°Are you hungry? I was about to order a New York Chili Cheese Dog with the works for lunch.¡±


    ¡°Are you buying?¡± Danvers asked with a smirk.


    ¡°Of course! I won''t make you dip into your petty cash for only a couple of hot dogs.¡± I joked and she let out a bark of laughter. ¡°Jarvis, can you order five of them and make sure Frank the doorman accepts his this time?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ben.¡± Jarvis said and played on his tablet.


    ¡°Jarvis and I have rooms prepared for you down on floor 60. We can go down there and continue our talk and eat at the same time.¡±


    Danvers put the packaged action figures back into the box and kept out the plush Goose toy. ¡°I guess I could stick around for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful.¡± I said and picked up the box for her. ¡°Jarvis? Are you coming along?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you. I need to check the new factory to make sure the next set of products will be ready for production by the end of the month and that the protective shields are in place.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Let me know if you have any problems or if any tweaks are needed.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°Carol, if you''ll follow me?¡±


    Danvers nodded and I led her inside. ¡°Is this your penthouse?¡±


    ¡°No, Tony Stark''s. He''s Howard''s son.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°There is also a giant self-sustaining arc reactor below the lobby that takes the entire building completely off the city''s power grid.¡±


    ¡°You''re kidding.¡± Danvers asked as we stepped into the elevator.


    ¡°It''s a bit dated, I know.¡± I said and pushed the button as she gave me two raised eyebrows. ¡°I have a palm-sized one that can do the same thing and he won''t let me change it out.¡±


    Danvers gave me another odd look before she smiled. ¡°You are keeping me off balance by continuously bombarding me with new information, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°I''m sure you can take the relentless pounding.¡± I said and wagged my eyebrows at her.


    Danvers let out another bark of laughter. ¡°How old are you? Sixteen?¡±


    ¡°I plead the fifth and refuse to answer anything that may incriminate me.¡± I said in a haughty voice.


    Danvers laughed and went to punch my arm. I felt my spider-sense tingle and leaned to the side out of the way as her hand went by and then dented the back wall with a metallic thump.


    ¡°Oh, my god!¡± Danvers gasped. ¡°I''m so sorry!¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± I asked her.


    Danvers gave me that same odd look. ¡°I could have seriously hurt or killed you just now!¡±


    I turned to face her and smiled my warmest smile as the elevator stopped and opened. ¡°Carol, you never have to worry about that when around me.¡±


    Danvers stepped out into the hallway with me. ¡°You can''t seriously think that it was okay for me to...¡±


    I took her hand and held it. ¡°I''m going to need you to sign a few papers before I can tell you anything.¡± I said and then leaned in close to whisper. ¡°Now squeeze my hand like you want to crush it.¡±


    ¡°Ben! I can''t do that!¡± Danvers exclaimed.


    ¡°No?¡± I let her hand go. ¡°Then try punching me again.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°Just for playing.¡± I said and she looked conflicted. ¡°Go ahead.¡± I prompted. ¡°Please.¡±


    Danvers gave me a sigh and swiped at me. I easily dodged her hand. She did several more swipes and never touched me. Her eyes started to have a determined look to them and she started to swing at me with more purpose. I avoided everything without moving my feet from where I stood. When her hands started to glow blue, I held up my own hand to stop her.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Danvers asked.


    ¡°Training with one of the fiercest warriors on the planet.¡± I said as the elevator opened to reveal Frank and a box in his hands. I accepted it and smiled, because there were only four chili dogs. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Frank saluted with a smile before he hit the door closed button.


    ¡°Let''s get to your rooms and we can enjoy these delectably tasty artery cloggers.¡± I joked and led her to the far back room where Jarvis'' brain used to be. It has easily been converted into a two bedroom apartment, considering how large the room had been beforehand. It did not surprise me how quickly things could get done when you had tons and tons of money.


    I put the food on the kitchen table and sat Carol down as if we were on a date, then sat beside her. She gave me that same odd look for a moment before we both started to chow down on the great tasting food.


    *


    ¡°What was it?¡± Fury asked sternly.


    ¡°We don''t know.¡± Maria responded.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Fury asked and his patented glare was quite pronounced. ¡°Did you just tell me that an object fell from space and impacted Stark Tower, with thousands of witnesses, and we don''t know what it was?¡±


    Maria took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°None of the monitoring devices we have access to were able to capture an image of it.¡±


    Fury gave her a look that asked if she was stupid. ¡°What did the witnesses say?¡±


    ¡°A streak of fire disappeared when it neared the top of the building.¡± Maria quoted without having to look at the folder in front of her.


    ¡°It disappeared?¡± Fury asked and she nodded. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Most witnesses say it fizzled out like most meteorites do.¡± Maria said. ¡°Only two said it seemed to just end completely when it disappeared.¡±


    Fury frowned at that description. If that was the case, it sounded like there was some kind of stealth tech installed on top of Stark Tower. Whatever that thing had been, it had landed and probably gone inside, even if no one had actually seen it land and go inside. You could still clearly see the balcony and helipad, even with a live shot, and there had been nothing there.


    ¡°We can do a fly-by.¡± Natasha offered.


    Fury shook is head. ¡°If what I suspect it true, you would have to try and land to see what''s up.¡±


    ¡°We can do that.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Not without permission.¡± Maria pointed out.


    ¡°We could ask Tony.¡± Clint suggested.


    ¡°Hill?¡± Fury asked.


    Maria nodded and quickly did up a little info packet and sent it to Tony''s cell phone. Five seconds later, she received a text back. ¡°He said if anything had been there or hit the tower, he would have been notified.¡±


    Fury did his best to not scowl. ¡°How is Stark and Banner''s work on the sceptre coming along?¡±


    ¡°They''re trying to build a device to help analyze it and block its emissions from the gamma detector, so it doesn''t interfere with the equipment.¡± Maria said and opened another folder. ¡°The power source seems to be fairly strong, considering how it has been used by Loki so far. It doesn''t seem to be getting dimmer or less potent, either.¡±


    ¡°Tell them to keep on it. If they can fix the issue or even use it to track the tesseract, I want it soonest.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Maria said and sent another text.


    Fury turned to Karen, the head of the computer department. ¡°Have you tracked down who sent those kill orders?¡±


    ¡°Which ones?¡± Karen asked.


    Fury held in his sigh. ¡°It doesn''t matter. Did you trace any of them?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± Karen said. ¡°It''s like they just appeared out of thin air and then after they were completed, disappeared again. The only reason I have any records of them at all was because I was working and printed off the log files to eyeball them for spelling errors.¡±


    Fury gave her a wide-eyed look with his sole eye. ¡°You print off secured and secret orders to spell-check them?¡±


    Karen blushed a little. ¡°I meant that I check for validation codes, completion codes, and destination codes. Unless they match up with what''s in the system, the orders are considered suspicious and shunted aside.¡±


    That brought Fury up short. ¡°You mean to tell me that everything was valid? There were no mistakes and they all had complete approval?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Karen said.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Clint asked. ¡°I thought only Director Fury and Deputy Director Hill could issue blanket orders like that.¡±


    ¡°They weren''t blanket orders, especially the latest ones to take out all of those mob bosses and their criminal organizations.¡± Karen said. ¡°Each order was parsed and handed out to the appropriate SHIELD asset that was nearby or in the area. It was also done on an individual target to agent basis.¡±


    ¡°Good lord.¡± Someone whispered.


    ¡°It was the best concentrated effort I''ve ever seen to completely conceal what the overall picture would be when the orders were carried out.¡± Maria commented. ¡°Not one agent had any idea that so many other agents had been sent out to do the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Whoever did this must have planned it out for weeks beforehand. Perhaps even months beforehand.¡± Fury said and then stopped breathing. His lone eye went to Maria and she stiffened as she realized the truth as well.


    There was only one person that they knew that had specific foreknowledge of certain things and had even given them a lot of information about it. He was also one of their own.


    Agent Benjamin Peter Parker.

 113 Avengers Assemble

    Bokuboy


    I lost power on Friday night at 2am and didn''t get it back until around 8pm last night (7 full days of no power). So, that''s no refrigerator food after two days and no freezer food after four (it was all ruined). I also lost a computer monitor and had to dig up one that was three years old and I''m using that.


    I also blew the battery on my laptop and it won''t hold a charge at all, so it took me a while to start writing again. Here''s 3,160 words for you to enjoy.


    Carol Danvers woke up and lightly moaned at the pleasant soreness between her legs. She rubbed herself a little to make sure she was okay before she rolled over onto her side and stared at the sleeping young man in bed beside her. She was amazed that he had... quite literally... charmed the pants off of her.


    She had been 23 when she gained her powers way back in 1989. It was now 2012 and it had been 23 years since she had come back to Earth since she left. That meant she would have been 46 years old if she had stayed on the planet. Only, she hadn''t. She travelled through space to all different worlds and they mostly had different yearly measurements and she never bothered keeping track.


    The thing was, she didn''t look much older than she did when she gained her powers. Whatever that hyperspace engine had done with the tesseract had granted her unbelievable power and also slowed her physical aging. Either that or the speed she travelled at between worlds slowed her relative aging to the point that the only ''real'' time she experienced was when she was kicking ass planetside.


    And here she was, fully committed to doing it again, even if she wasn''t officially a part of Nick Fury''s Avengers Initiative, and wasn''t that a weird thing to learn about? She had an entire Earth Defense program named after her. Well, her pilot call-sign anyway. Since she now had a say in the matter, she was not going to let the Earth be ravaged by those Chitauri locusts, no matter who had called her here for help.


    Carol''s eyes flowed down Ben''s slightly heaving muscular chest, across his taut abs, and to his slightly soft member that had thoroughly probed her in all the right places. Just the thought of it happening again made her twitch and tighten up. She actually couldn''t remember the last time she had shared a bed with someone that could keep up with her, even in her powered state.


    She slid closer and moved down to take him in hand. Ben still hadn''t admitted that he had powers, even after he had held her in the air for more than half an hour to grind her into the wall. Her eyes darted to the aforementioned wall and the svelte womanly-shaped dent they had left there. She almost laughed at it, then she dropped her head down to take his returned erection into her mouth.


    Ben woke up as he made a happy moan for her and Carol felt the sudden desire to put a manly-shaped hole next to the other one.


    *


    ¡°It seems Loki still succeeded in escaping.¡± Jarvis said the next morning at breakfast and passed me his work tablet.


    ¡°You''re kidding! Even with my warning and having Power Woman there to ride herd on the Hulk?¡±


    ¡°You should watch the video. It is quite entertaining.¡± Jarvis said.


    I chuckled and turned on the vidwall and shunted the video over to it. ¡°I''m sure both Carol and I will enjoy a little preview of what''s to come later today.¡±


    ¡°Seeing a fighter''s capabilities before a fight is always a good idea.¡± Carol said and bit into another breakfast bagel. ¡°You are making a crate full of these for me when I leave Earth in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye, Cap''n!¡± I said and gave her a proper military salute.


    She winked at me and we both sat there and watched a well edited security footage video of what transpired on the helicarrier. It wasn''t exactly like what happened in the movie I remember, since Hawkeye hadn''t been mind controlled this time or was fighting against them. Also, Power Woman was there to help fight the Hulk and teamed up with Thor to pound the Hulk into the lower deck.


    The fight took a drastic turn when the Hulk scrambled to his feet. He had somehow managed to tear Power Woman''s armored uniform and her lusciously large green breasts popped right out. Because of the chilly air, her huge dark green nipples popped right out, too. Both the Hulk and Thor stopped dead and stared at the glorious sight, then Power Woman grew another foot taller, let out a bellowing roar, and delivered a roundhouse punch to their shocked faces.


    She also knocked the both of them out, which was hilarious. Stomping on their heads afterwards was just icing on the cake.


    ¡°I see what you mean, Jarvis.¡± I said and tried to hold my laugh in.


    ¡°Don''t start.¡± Carol said with a smile. ¡°If that ever happens to me...¡±


    ¡°I would offer my jacket and immediately cover everyone''s eyes.¡± I said right away and she nodded.


    Loki still managed to escape, even if Phil Coulson wasn''t there to provide the proper escape distraction. Loki''s illusions worked just as well on others and killing anyone wasn''t actually necessary for his escape. Having those auto deployed shields had really wrecked Loki''s ''kill the squishy humans'' plans, too.


    ¡°Are you sure it''s the sceptre that''s making them all act like that?¡± Carol asked when the video ended.


    ¡°Yes, it has a power source that lets Loki control people''s minds and bring out aggression when in proximity.¡± I said, without giving the entire thing away. ¡°Why he uses it like a blaster is beyond me, though.¡±


    Carol chuckled and nodded. ¡°Maybe it''s also working on him.¡±


    I nodded as well. ¡°That would make sense. It won''t let him use it for its full potential because he doesn''t understand either how to activate it properly or he was told it only worked one way.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I suppose you know how to work it properly, do you?¡± Carol asked me.


    ¡°As a matter of faaaact.¡± I said in as snooty a voice as I could. ¡°I doooo.¡±


    Carol laughed and stood up. ¡°Okay, Mister Smarty-Pants. Let''s get you in your suit. I want to see how well we can work together when you''re all dolled up.¡±


    I stood and handed Jarvis back his tablet as I patted him on the shoulder and whispered the command to send the word to the helicarrier to get it and everyone here as a group and not individually. I then followed Carol out of the room to do as she wanted and tested out if the suit would hold up while I teamed up with her.


    It wasn''t going to be long before the final showdown and we didn''t even have to go anywhere to find it. It was coming right to us and all we had to do was wait for it. The best part was that Maria Hill''s evacuation plan for Manhattan had been completed last night.


    *


    Loki wasn''t surprised that Stark Tower was undefended, not that he checked very well, since he couldn''t look for things he didn''t know about. They made it to the roof unmolested and Dr. Selvig and the team of technicians set up the modified portal device that used the stolen iridium to stabilize the wormhole he wanted to create. The tap into the building''s power went by without a problem and it didn''t take long to input the proper settings and the coordinates for the wormhole''s aperture.


    ¡°Do it.¡± Loki said and turned to the other technicians as Dr. Selvig activated the machine. ¡°Your services are no longer required.¡±


    Before any of them understood the meaning of his words, he raised the sceptre and blasted the roof of the helipad where they stood. He didn''t seem to notice when they had jerked away as if something had pulled them from behind. The gnats had disappeared and that was all he cared about. He kind of missed the screaming as they fell to their deaths, though.


    Perhaps a little less on the blast and a little more on the push? Loki asked himself as he walked down the stairs towards the lower part of the penthouse and the patio deck there. He thought about retreating from the building, then shrugged. The army of Chitauri were on their way and nothing could stop them now. Even if the annoyances managed to actually gather again.


    The whine of air turbines made Loki look out over the city and he frowned when he saw the helicarrier in the background, twelve heavily armed Quinjets, thirty military Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, and three Iron Armor suits. Iron Man, Iron Widow, and Iron Hawk.


    As Loki watched the helicopters spread out to clear their lines of fire and fly towards him, they were joined by his hateful half-brother Thor and then there was a roar of anger from below. Loki glanced down to see the Hulk, a green woman that was nearly as tall as him, and Captain America as they ran towards the building.


    ¡°Fools! You''ll never be able to attack me from down there.¡± Loki said.


    ¡°They know that and are providing a proper distraction.¡± A calm voice said from behind him.


    Loki turned around and raised the sceptre to attack and saw no one was there. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Jarvis.¡± Jarvis said and stepped out of the area that was covered by cloaking technology. ¡°Ben was right. Using my name doesn''t have the same impact on my foes as a hero name would.¡±


    ¡°What are you prattling on about?¡± Loki asked as the man walked towards him.


    ¡°Nothing, really. I was just thinking about what I could call myself.¡± Jarvis said and looked down at his hands when he stopped walking a couple of feet away from Loki. ¡°I am currently residing inside an amalgam of several technologies that could become a perfect vision of the future of artificial intelligence.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Loki asked, confused.


    Jarvis looked up and smiled. ¡°That should be my name. The Vision.¡± He said and his form was quickly engulfed inside a thin suit of vibranium armor that was the same style and color it was in the movies. He let out a chuckle. ¡°Thank you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°No problem, buddy.¡± Another hidden voice said. ¡°Now that you''re an official hero, go ahead and grab the sceptre and smack the bad guy for me.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Vision said and his left hand shot out with the speed of an android and grabbed the sceptre just before his right fist slammed into Loki''s chest and sent the Asgardian through the deck railing and out into the air.


    ¡°GAH!¡± Loki grunted and plummeted down from the top of Stark Tower. He tumbled a bit before he righted himself and landed in an almost dignified heap on the street below. He rubbed the spot he had been hit and glared up at the top of the tower. ¡°Why, that insolent...¡±


    ¡°HULK SMAAAASH!¡± Hulk yelled as his double fists slammed down onto the top of Loki''s head.


    This dazed the Asgardian just long enough for the green woman to run up to him. She kicked out as hard as she could at Loki''s belly and launched him in a long arcing punt down the avenue.


    Loki bounced once on the pavement and hit a streetlight, careened off of that, and slammed right into a parked car.


    ¡°Aaaand it''s GOOD!¡± Captain America said and raised his arms in a field goal.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The green woman said and high-fived him.


    ¡°You... pathetic... insolent...¡± Loki started to say as he pulled himself out of the wrecked car. He stopped when Captain''s America''s shield bounced off of his forehead and pushed him back against the bent metal.


    ¡°The name''s Power Woman, and don''t you forget it!¡± Power Woman said.


    ¡°Thor! We softened him up for you!¡± Captain America shouted up into the air.


    ¡°Thank you, friend Steve!¡± Thor said and there was a crack of thunder.


    Loki barely had the time to sigh before Thor and his hammer Mjolnir slammed into him and drove him down through the car and into the pavement.


    ¡°The portal''s opening!¡± Iron Widow exclaimed.


    ¡°Finally!¡± Loki said and kicked Thor off of him. ¡°You will all suffer for defying your rightful ruler!¡±


    *


    I watched as the Hulk grabbed Loki by the head and threw him around like a ragdoll. He even served him up like a baseball for Thor, who used Mjolnir like a bat and knocked Loki two streets away.


    ¡°Is it time yet?¡± Hank''s voice asked in my ear.


    I looked up and saw the portal form into the same huge thing it was in the movie. The aliens started flowing into our atmosphere and dropped down through the air towards the city.


    ¡°Yeah, it is. Go have fun, everyone.¡± I said and Vision handed me the sceptre and floated up into the air to start shooting the aliens with the plasma induction coils installed in his arms. The beams worked like lasers and the Shurinium arc reactor handled the load perfectly.


    ¡°Oh, yeah! Let''s GO!¡± Scott Lang''s voice shouted as he ran out of the cloaked area and over to the railing and jumped. ¡°Hold on, everyone! Here comes...¡± He hit the button on his suit and grew in size instead of shrinking. ¡°...GIANT MAN!¡±


    In relative distance, he only dropped about twenty feet, because he was now 60 feet tall. His feet caused alien skimmer depressions in the pavement because he had landed on them.


    ¡°Oho! Nice one!¡± I shouted in praise and he waved up at me.


    ¡°He''s such a showoff.¡± Hank said and jumped from my shoulder and landed on top of a flying ant. Suddenly, a swarm appeared around him, hundreds of armored flying ants, and they flew out and up into the air. A second later, they all grew to the size of cars and started shooting repulsor weapons at the aliens.


    ¡°Wait, he''s the showoff?¡± I asked with a laugh.


    ¡°It was quite showy.¡± Shuri said with a purr as her sting ship decloaked and she jumped down from the boarding ramp to land next to me.


    ¡°Hey, you made it just in time.¡± I said with a smile and my helmet reflected it.


    ¡°That still looks creepy, Ben.¡± Shuri said and stalked over to me.


    ¡°Says the human-shaped Cheetah.¡± I joked and she let out a laugh. ¡°How many did you convince to help us protecting the Earth?¡±


    Shuri let out a loud purr and waved behind her in the opposite direction to the helicarrier. A hundred sting ships decloaked and each had ten hovering drones around them with two plasma cannons mounted to them.


    ¡°Jubadi and I knew you would figure out how to cloak them.¡± I said and she used a clawed paw to scratch the face of my helmet. I didn''t tell her to stop and she stepped close and made sure she left her mark on my mechanical face.


    ¡°I love doing that.¡± Shuri whispered over the dedicated comm signal we had.


    ¡°Hey, save the world first. We can have fun later.¡± I said and she let out a laugh before she ran to the same spot Scott had jumped from and she soared through the air to land on Scott''s giant shoulder.


    ¡°Holy crap!¡± Scott exclaimed and swung a giant fist at one of the large space whale things as it floated nearby to disgorge its load of troops. He knocked it into the pavement and then stomped on its head to kill it. ¡°Ben said you were amazing when you wore that suit!¡±


    ¡°He said the same about you.¡± Shuri said. ¡°Can you throw me? I want to save my thrusters for manoeuvring.¡±


    Scott laughed and held a hand up to his shoulder. ¡°One kitty missile coming right up!¡±


    Shuri laughed as well and then she was thrown towards the main flow of aliens and started tearing into them with claws and repulsors. She was quickly joined by Iron Man and Iron Widow and the slaughter began in earnest. Iron Hawk was perched on the Empire State Building and was using his supersonic steel arrows to devastating effect.


    Hulk, Captain America, and Power Woman were having fun crushing the individual troops and the occasional flying alien skimmer when it came too close. The military choppers also seemed to have a great time unleashing their arsenal upon the aliens. Even the helicarrier joined it to keep the aliens contained to the downtown area.


    Surprisingly, the aliens weren''t concerned at all that there were no people running around and screaming. They just seemed to be shooting randomly when they weren''t concentrating on the heroes.


    ¡°Here come more of those whale troop transports.¡± I said as the huge portal surged with tons of aliens. I smiled and turned to look at my trump card. ¡°Have you had enough time playing spectator, Captain Marvel?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Carol said and pointed at my wrist. ¡°Go ahead. I want to see if it actually works.¡±


    I chuckled and opened the panel on my gauntlet. I logged into the Stark Protect devices I had seeded all along the main thoroughfares and checked the feeds on the monitoring devices. ¡°Hey, Vision...¡±


    ¡°I''ll send one along the way.¡± Jarvis said and then he seemed to piss one of the whales off by blowing out one of its eyes and then he flew right down along the closest avenue. ¡°Twenty seconds.¡±


    I waved and he continued on. When the whale was close to the right spot, I activated all of the devices in the area it was passing through. It didn''t even manage to scream as it was completely encased in the foam and then dropped like a huge neon yellow blob right in the middle of the street.


    Carol laughed and slapped my shoulder. ¡°Okay, now I''m ready to get my hands dirty.¡±


    ¡°Try not to have too much fun.¡± I said and she smiled at me. ¡°I''ll let you know when the alien forces are reduced enough to make it safe for you to go after the mother ship.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡± Carol said and stepped close. ¡°It''s nice to have someone trustworthy at my back again.¡±


    I barely stopped myself from making a joke. ¡°I gave you my word that I will protect you with everything I have. I would hate myself if anything happened to you and I could prevent it.¡±


    Carol looked through the eye holes of my helmet and she started to glow. ¡°I know.¡±


    I shrunk the sceptre down and put it into my gauntlet. ¡°We better get moving, because I see a giant alien ass that needs to have our foot deeply planted into it.¡±


    Carol laughed and held a hand out to me. I clasped it and she shunted some of her power into my suit. I glowed almost as much as she did a moment later, then we both took off into the sky to show those aliens that no one could come to our home planet and cause trouble, because we were here to stop them.

 114 Clean-up On Aisle Five

    Bokuboy


    The battle was a complete massacre.


    With supremely overwhelming firepower on the side of the heroes, Loki could only watch in despair as the seemingly endless army of aliens was pruned expertly and every single one of them that had passed through the portal was disabled or killed. Even the troop transports were gutted and left in piles along the main avenues to be harvested later.


    Loki didn''t bother trying to fight anymore when one of the heroes that he didn''t know flew up into the portal and started attacking the alien mothership directly with another hero he didn''t know in an armor suit flew up with her to fight off the defending aliens. Loki didn''t bother asking why they had known that if they attacked and destroyed the mother ship, it deactivated the electronics that controlled the animated minions.


    It didn''t matter, because he had lost. Utterly and completely lost. Loki''s dream of ruling one of the nine realms was crushed ruthlessly and he didn''t try to escape as Thor and Captain America placed power restraining cuffs on his wrists. He also didn''t speak a protest when his mouth was also covered to stop him from uttering a spell or casual insults.


    Loki heard a very loud metal rending sound and looked up to see the artificial man that had first punched him as he cut through parts of the alien mothership and they were brought through the portal. They were deposited in the large green space in clear areas and the helicarrier flew over to guard it and to send down several unarmed Quinjets full of scientists.


    A laugh bubbled in Loki''s throat as more blue uniformed agents seemed to appear out of every nook and cranny to gather up the alien rifles, skimmers, and bodies to load into large containers. The armed Quinjets would hook cables up to them when they were full and then they flew the containers over to the helicarrier to deposit the contents.


    It was all very efficient, almost as if they had planned to do exactly what they were doing...


    It was at that moment that Loki realized he had been played and had been allowed to do his tricks before he opened the portal. The Midgardians had been fully prepared for him and the army he lead to their doorstep and they would reap as much benefit from the invasion as possible.


    The weapons would be a huge boon for the Earth defense forces, especially since they were keeping the mothership mostly intact and would probably learn to make the weapons themselves. The exotic metals alone were worth several fortunes, even on Asgard... and the laugh Loki had been trying to suppress escaped. The mostly muffled laughter went completely unnoticed by the celebrating heroes.


    *


    While everyone else was celebrating our monumental win over the invaders, I flew back down to where the portal machine was.


    ¡°You can''t turn it off.¡± Dr. Selvig said as I landed near the energy shielded machine. ¡°It''s self-sustaining and there''s no power on Earth that can penetrate that solid energy barrier.¡±


    I smiled at him and my helmet reflected it. ¡°Then we should all be glad that I have access to something that''s not from this Earth.¡± I said and opened my gauntlet to take out the shrunken sceptre. I returned it to its normal size and closed my eyes to concentrate on the Mind Stone in the glowing head of the staff.


    I filled my mind with the desire to safely close the portal and to turn off the outer casing of the Space Stone called the tesseract. With my mind set with determination, I braced myself and eased the end of the sceptre through the energy barrier as if it didn''t exist and then lightly touched the tip of the spear to the tesseract.


    Instead of the sky beam cutting off and the portal becoming unstable and collapsing in upon itself like in the movie, the portal shrank and shrank in a reversal of it opening and then the beam slowly decreased in size as the tesseract powered down. The protective energy shield around the machine faded away with no fuss whatsoever.


    Dr. Selvig stared at me, probably because he fully expected some kind of explosion. I didn''t, because I didn''t want one to happen. My mind was fully encompassed with completing my task and the glow of the tesseract dimmed to the point that it was almost inert. When it was safe to handle, I used the small device Hank gave me and shrunk the tesseract down to the size of a dime.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Dr. Selvig asked me.


    ¡°Taking care of another problem.¡± I said and used a focused laser like from my laser watch and carved a small square out of the sceptre''s outer shaft near the handle. Since it had been designed to control the power from an Infinity Stone, I had calculated that it would be sturdy enough to add another one to it. Temporarily, anyway.


    ¡°You can''t do that!¡± Dr. Selvig gasped and lunged for me.


    My auto shield deployed and his head made a nice clang sound as he rammed into it. I was fine with that, since it would knock some sense into him. I had intended to use the sceptre to undo the mind control and he just beat me to it.


    I chuckled and quickly carved a cube shape out of the inside of the shaft and slipped the shrunken tesseract into the carved opening before I welded the outer piece back into place. It was quick and dirty; but, I had every reason to believe that it would work, thanks to the Mind Stone''s power.


    I wasn''t surprised when the green glow of the sceptre was altered slightly as the tesseract''s blue glow joined it and it became a nice cyan color, almost turquoise. I actually felt the two energies as they flowed together in harmony and the weld part that I had made seemed to fade away as the sceptre repaired itself.


    My auto shield reduced back to become a bracelet once more and I saw Dr. Selvig roll slightly on the roof as he groaned. The sight was a mental kick that reminded me of the other captives, so I deactivated the cloaking technology that hid part of the roof and walked over to the tied up technicians. I didn''t have to touch them individually, though. That was Loki''s mental limitation, not mine.


    I knew exactly what I was doing and waved the sceptre at the group and concentrated on removing any previous external influence caused by the Mind Stone. Once I felt that energy as it seemed to return to the Mind Stone and the technicians fell unconscious, I also felt the other people Loki had influenced with the same type of energy. That was probably because of the side effect of having the Space Stone attached and I didn''t question it.


    I closed my eyes and concentrated on that energy and where it was. I felt it was in multiple locations and didn''t see the small portals open up in front of me as I held the sceptre in front of me and used the Mind Stone to remove the influence it had from the targets. I heard everyone collapse and felt the energy return to the Mind Stone.


    With that done, I ended the effect and opened my eyes to see several small portals close. I looked over at the portal machine and chuckled, because it had been an extra step that didn''t seem to be necessary, except to make the portal huge. Then again, perhaps it just needed the right person or mind to make it into reality.


    ¡°Ben? Are you there?¡± Shuri asked over our dedicated comm signal. ¡°Why aren''t you down here celebrating with everyone?¡±


    ¡°You know why.¡± I said and she let out a sigh.


    ¡°You can''t keep holding that against them. It''s not healthy.¡± Shuri said. ¡°Believe me, I know.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and walked over to the helipad. ¡°Do you mind if I borrow your sting ship? I need to make a quick trip before everyone realizes they just saved the entire world and really start to party.¡±


    ¡°What''s mine is yours.¡± Shuri said with a purr and a moment later, her ship flew over to the Stark Tower helipad and the ramp dropped down.


    ¡°Thank you, sithandwa.¡± I said and Shuri moaned a little. ¡°I''ll be back as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Hurry back.¡± Shuri said and ended the communication as I walked up the ramp.


    ¡°Royal Consort.¡± The female pilot said and saluted me with crossed arms.


    ¡°I formally request an oath of silence about what you will see on this trip.¡± I said and the woman''s eyes widened. ¡°Or you can depart and I will travel alone.¡±


    ¡°I humbly give...¡± She started to say and I held a hand up to interrupt her.


    ¡°This could have universe ending consequences if anyone found out about it, Libula.¡± I cautioned her.


    ¡°You know my name?¡± Libula asked, clearly shocked.


    ¡°You are Shuri''s pilot and one of her guards when she leaves the castle.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I also know the names of the rest of the palace guards that have been entrusted with the lives of the royal family.¡±


    ¡°You truly are worthy to be a consort.¡± Libula whispered.


    ¡°I don''t think memorizing your names makes me worthy for that honor.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s that you took the time to actually learn our names instead of just dismissing us as simply bodyguards.¡± Libula said and smiled. ¡°I will fully accept and make a vow of silence for anything I see, do, or hear during this journey with you, Royal Consort.¡±


    I retracted my helmet and let her see my actual smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I made the same vow for when I am in the royal chambers listening to the policy and law makers as they squabble and bicker over the tiniest things.¡± Libula said and closed the loading ramp.


    ¡°Saying that doesn''t violate the vow?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''m not discussing what I heard.¡± Libula said with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Oh, sneaky.¡± I said and she nodded before she turned on the Faraday Cage inside the ship. She gave me the vow and modified it so that she couldn''t talk about talking about it, either. When she was done, I leaned over and kissed her hard enough to bruise her lips, which made her moan.


    Libula gave me a pointed look for distracting her like that. ¡°Secure yourself.¡±


    I grinned at her and buckled the five point harness. I took out my cell phone and brought up the map coordinates. ¡°We need to go here as quickly as possible. I can''t be gone for too long or everyone will wonder what I''ve been doing.¡±


    Libula entered the information into the ship''s computers and she added power to the engines and turned on the cloaking system. When we rose up enough to clear the building, she poured power into the ship''s main boosters and we shot off like a rocket.


    ¡°I should have said ''as quickly as possible while also keeping me intact''.¡± I said with a laugh and she smiled.


    We were soon flying over the mid-west and slowed down before we landed in the woods behind a fast food restaurant. Thanks to the Mind Stone, I easily detected the foreign presence nearby and left Libula in the ship. The plant was not of Earth and almost felt hostile with flowing energy. The way it glowed looked ominous as well.


    I pointed the sceptre at the thing and concentrated on the plant and its roots. Since the presence was foreign to Earth, it was easy to follow the various tendrils with the Mind Stone''s power that the plant had dug deep into the soil. Thankfully, the plant''s growth had not progressed very far and I used the Space Stone with the Mind Stone to encompass it.


    With it contained and isolated, especially from the connection with Ego, the planet-sized alien that had planted the thing, I flew up into the air and lifted it out of the ground. Hundreds of feet of roots were pulled free and the plant tried to struggle and hold onto the dirt and rocks. I added some of them to the containment field as well, just so the plant would have something to hold onto.


    ¡°You are not getting that onto the ship.¡± Libula said over the external speakers of the sting ship.


    ¡°Oh, ye of little faith.¡± I said and used Hank''s device to shrink the thing down to the size of a house plant.


    ¡°Why doesn''t our princess have that device?¡± Libula asked, almost angrily.


    ¡°International law and common sense.¡± I said and she glared at me as I boarded the ship. ¡°It''s under the same kind of restrictions we''ve placed the Shurinium arc reactors under, only for another person and not her highness.¡±


    Libula opened her mouth to respond, then closed it with a nod. She knew if the technology ever got out into the general population, the whole world would change. ¡°Where to now?¡±


    ¡°A volcano in the middle of the Indian ocean.¡± I said and she gave me a confused look. ¡°You''ll understand when we reach there.¡±


    Libula nodded and we took off once more to head to the next destination. It took significantly longer to travel that far, even under boost, and we eventually came to rest near the volcano. It wasn''t active at the moment, so we were relatively safe. I walked down the boarding ramp and flew in my suit with the shrunk down Ego seed plant, partway out to sea, before I came to a stop and hovered just above the water on my suit''s thrusters.


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Libula asked over the comm system.


    ¡°Making a big enough hole to work.¡± I said and unshrunk the plant before I pointed the sceptre straight down. I concentrated on what I need to happen and a space started to expand inside the water. I let it expand into a little bigger than the plant''s full size and then I floated us down into the hole.


    ¡°Royal Consort!¡± Libula gasped.


    ¡°It''s okay, I got this.¡± I said and floated down and moved the space with me. I kept moving and the water split around me until we reached the sea bed, then the ground split and moved aside as well. Since I was actually creating space where there wasn''t space before, it didn''t actually damage the ground and just expanded it to accommodate my passage.


    It didn''t take long to reach the right depth and the top of the Celestial''s head was soon revealed. Using the Mind Stone, I placed the plant directly onto Tiamut the Communicator''s head. The plant reacted immediately and let its rocks and dirt go before it grabbed onto the head. The glow of the plant increased and I used the Mind Stone to pull out the mind inside the sleeping Celestial to shove it into the plant.


    The plant was eager to accept any energy fed into it, since its purpose was to feed and grow. The problem it had was that it didn''t have a brain of its own and didn''t realize what it was actually consuming: The will and purpose of the Celestial that would eventually wake and destroy the planet Earth as it gave birth to it in 2023.


    Well, it would have, if it still had any neurons left in its brain to tell it what to do. It didn''t take long for the plant to finish consuming the mind of the dormant Celestial and left it as a mindless and empty husk. It would never wake and would never become a danger to the Earth or its inhabitants.


    I used the Mind and Space Stones to yank the plant off of the Celestial power source that was pretty much the heart of the planet, and I shrunk it before I flew us up into the air and closed the space behind us as we rose back to the surface.


    The plant was vibrating with all of the energy it had consumed and I had to keep a tight rein on it to stop it from grabbing onto something to secure itself. I needed it starved for the next part of my task and sweat started to bead on my forehead. Libula gave both myself and the plant a concerned look before she powered the engines up and we took off once more.


    ¡°Where to?¡± Libula asked.


    ¡°Kathmandu, Nepal.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°It''s where the masters of the mystical arts are trained in this dimension. A place called Kamar-Taj.¡±


    Libula seemed to shake herself and set course for the right country. ¡°You are as crazy as the rumors say.¡±


    I could do nothing else but nod in agreement as I concentrated against the plant trying to fight against my control. I really was crazy for what I was about to do.


    *


    The Ancient One sat in her inner sanctum, one that was never disturbed while she was meditating, except for a dire emergency. Nothing less than a world ending emergency would gain her guard''s attention, which he would pass on to her if necessary. It was almost never necessary.


    Until today.


    The Ancient One''s eyes shot open and the blood vessels in them almost popped as she saw a vision of what was going to happen if she didn''t stand up and open her door within the next ten seconds. She stood with all of her years of grace and calmness that she had earned over the years, then she stepped forward and opened her door as she waved to her guard.


    ¡°Stand aside. Let him through.¡± The Ancient One ordered.


    The guard looked shocked for only a second before he deactivated several security wards and spells, then he stepped exactly two steps to the side and came to attention.


    The wall across from them exploded and hundreds of thin plant roots whipped around like crazy as a young man that wore heavy armor floated it in front of him. His exposed face was sweating profusely and he had a look of utter concentration on his face.


    ¡°I apologize for the walls.¡± The young man said with a strained voice. ¡°I''ll just be a minute and we can get started.¡±


    The Ancient One nodded and waved him forward.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He said and walked by her and the guard, down a hallway, and right into the secured library.


    The Ancient One followed and waved away the library''s caretaker as he charged an attack spell. She stood there and waited as the young man went to a specific shelf and picked up a book and tucked it under his arm. The chain that held it was snapped with an armored hand and the young man walked back over to her, and the plant constantly whipped around to try and grab something.


    The young man walked by her and she and the guard followed him down another hallway and into the storage area where the Eye of Agamotto was kept. He pointed to it and The Ancient One put it on without comment. The three of them then entered a ritual room that was used for meditation by the new recruits.


    ¡°You might want to not involve anyone else for this part.¡± The young man said and put the book down to flip it open with his sole free hand.


    ¡°I know.¡± The Ancient One said and waved her guard out of the room and shut the door. She charged the containment spells and wards, then did another series of hand gestures and the room was engulfed in the telltale signs of the Mirror Dimension.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± The young man said and turned the book around to show her the right ritual and spell to cast.


    ¡°This is not going to be a good experience for you, Ben.¡± The Ancient One said and sat down in a lotus position and quickly started to lay out the things needed for the ritual or to cast the spells to summon them.


    ¡°I know.¡± Ben said, his voice strained even more. ¡°It has to be done.¡±


    The Ancient One nodded as she finished her preparations and cast the necessary spell. It opened a portal into a specific dimension and hellfire and brimstone immediately filled the room. The young man took her hand and nodded. The Ancient One did as she had foreseen just as the room was torn apart.


    ¡°Who dares to enter MY DIMENSION?!?¡± A deeply evil voice yelled.


    ¡°Dormammu!¡± Ben said with as much authority as he could. ¡°I have come to bargain!¡±


    Both he and The Ancient One were crushed under a giant hand the size of a building.


    Everything paused and then rewound to the point when the room was destroyed.


    ¡°Who dares to enter MY DIMENSION?!?¡± A deeply evil voice yelled and then seemed to pause.


    ¡°Dormammu!¡± Ben said with as much authority as he could once more. ¡°I have come to bargain!¡±


    They were immediately killed by being torn apart by a hundred demons.


    Everything paused and then rewound to the point when the room was destroyed.


    ¡°Who dares to enter MY... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?¡± A deeply evil voice yelled and they were blown apart by hundreds of fireballs.


    This happened a dozen more times before everything reset again to when the room was torn apart.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Dormammu asked, clearly angry and unable to do anything about it.


    ¡°Let''s talk.¡± Ben said with a knowing smile.

 115 The World Is Safe… For Now

    Bokuboy


    The fire and brimstone was sucked back into the portal and left myself and The Ancient One inside the Mirror Dimension''s wrecked room. The damage was acceptable, though. The real room was still completely undamaged.


    ¡°I did not foresee our unharmed release from the Dark Dimension and I could not hear your talk with Dormammu.¡± The Ancient One said as the portal disappeared.


    ¡°Even someone as powerful as you can''t see past a choice that they don''t understand.¡± I said.


    The Ancient One picked up the forbidden Book of Cagliostro and closed it before she peered at me with a penetrating gaze that made my spider-sense tingle minutely.


    ¡°At least buy me dinner first.¡± I joked and she raised a single imperious eyebrow at me. ¡°What? You''re examining me like I''m the most interesting thing on the planet and you''re probably reading me like a book. I''m usually on a first name basis with a woman before we get to that point.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you mean in bed?¡± The Ancient One corrected.


    ¡°That''s what I said.¡± I said with a teasing smile.


    ¡°No.¡± The Ancient One responded to the unasked question.


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You can''t just...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°At least let me...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What if...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°How about...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I need to...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I just...¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Endless Multiverse!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°N.... oh, damn.¡± The Ancient One said and the Eye of Agamotto glowed green and time seemed to slow to a stop. ¡°I''ve been alive since the 1300s and have completely devoted myself to the protection of Earth. You shouldn''t even be thinking about...¡±


    ¡°I know of at least thirty different Spider-Men across the multiverse that would literally jump at the chance to spend time with you, even if it''s just a simple date.¡± I said with a huge grin.


    The Ancient One gave me that same penetrating gaze and my spider-sense tingled minutely once more. ¡°It''s never just a simple date with you.¡± She said and then paused as she realized what I said. ¡°You just openly admitted your most precious secret to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± I said and shrunk the sceptre to store it inside my gauntlet and then my armored suit folded away and became a backpack that I dropped to the floor. ¡°Out of everyone I''ve ever met, you are the only one that I trust their integrity completely.¡±


    She looked pleased by that and then her face showed a blank expression. ¡°Ben, I lost interest in doing things like that centuries ago.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said and started to undress. ¡°It was right after you accepted the permanent link to the Dark Dimension to extend your life into near immortality.¡±


    The Ancient One didn''t physically react to my statement. ¡°Be careful about what you say next.¡±


    ¡°I already said that I completely trust your integrity, High Lama.¡± I said to her slight surprise and I pulled off my pants and only had my boxer shorts left to remove.


    The sound of a manly scream echoed in the Mirror Dimension and we both knew it signified excruciating pain. It went on for seemingly forever and also for only a second, thanks to the Eye of Agamotto, then the Dark Dimension symbol burned itself into the center of my chest.


    The Ancient One caught her breath and her own symbol in the middle of her forehead appeared.


    ¡°Dormammu finally tasted the eternal link that celestially powered plant has to thousands of worlds and to a truly immortal living planet that''s been alive for millions of years.¡± I said and my symbol glowed. ¡°He has sealed the compact to leave this Earth''s dimension and it''s denizens alone forever in exchange for eternal power.¡±


    ¡°You... you willingly accepted the corruption?¡± The Ancient One asked in a whisper.


    ¡°Partially, my dear Yao.¡± I whispered and The Ancient One''s eyes widened at the use of her given name. I opened my backpack to pull out the contracts and a pen before I stepped close to her. ¡°Sign these.¡±


    The Ancient One signed them without reading them.


    ¡°I made a deal similar to the one you established with a ritual from the Book of Cagliostro.¡± I explained and put the papers into my backpack and then I started to undo her ceremonial robes. ¡°I gain access to exponential mystical powers, which also extend my natural life, and I provide a constant spiritual anchor.¡±


    The Ancient One didn''t try to stop me from removing her clothes.


    ¡°The difference between our deals is that you can be the spiritual anchor for any person you train in the mystical arts while I do it solely for Dormammu to use if he is ever lost in another dimension or defeated by another immortal being.¡±


    The inner robes dropped to the floor and revealed The Ancient One only wore a traditional monk''s underwear, a knotted cloth wrapping, and her large breasts were left bare. The breasts were lower, flatter, and much wider than a more modern and firmer breast would be. I guessed that after centuries of gravity and compressing them within tight robes had made a much greater impact than wearing a supportive and lifting bra would have.


    Of course, those kind of things didn''t exist in the thirteen hundreds. By the time they had been invented hundreds of years later to help women maintain their looks, the damage had probably already been done and there was no point in trying to fix something that wasn''t really broken. Every woman''s breasts were different and the ones in front of me were just as nice as any other pair I had seen.


    ¡°Your outfit doesn''t really do you justice.¡± I whispered to her and reached up and lightly cupped the sides of her face.


    The Ancient One sucked in a sharp breath when the Dark Dimension symbol on her forehead glowed to match mine. ¡°You are not disappointed!¡±


    I gave her my warmest inviting smile. ¡°If you will excuse my crassness.¡± I said and she nodded. ¡°I''m about to bury Penis Parker inside the most powerful sorceress in this dimension. Powerful beings from other dimensions actively avoid coming here or pissing you off, because you will destroy them.¡±


    The Ancient One looked pleased at my words.


    ¡°I could never be disappointed with you, especially with our shared connection.¡± I said and pulled her down to lightly kiss her on the lips.


    Our marks flared and we both felt some of that energy dissipate and return to the Dark Dimension.


    ¡°I humbly invite you to help me shake the hell out of the Dark Dimension.¡± I whispered to her and a smile slowly spread over her lips.


    ¡°What is that modern phrase the younger generation is always using?¡± The Ancient One asked me.


    I thought of it right away and grinned. ¡°Payback''s a bitch!¡±


    ¡°Yes, let us pay Dormammu back for our borrowed power.¡± The Ancient One said as she knelt and pulled my boxer shorts down with a quick jerk.


    Penis Parker popped out and whacked her on the forehead right on the Dark Dimension symbol. A jolt like lightning, full of sexual energy, went through the both of us.


    The Ancient One looked up at me with a startled expression. ¡°I actually felt that!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you really are going to.¡± I said with a throaty voice and she visibly shivered. I reached down and rubbed the top of her head gently with one hand and guided myself into her quite willing mouth.


    We both felt the jolt of power and she gained a determined look in her eyes as she expertly did her best to get me off in record time. Ten seconds.


    The immense burst of power between us as I poured myself down her throat, had the both of us trembling with aftershocks of pleasure and extreme desire. We stared at each other and we both desperately needed to feel what it was going to be like when we physically joined together. Since we were in the Mirror Dimension that had been created using Dark Dimension energy, the energy bleed-off was instantaneous and returned to the Dark Dimension.


    ¡°I need to prep you first.¡± I said as she laid down on her discarded robes.


    ¡°I am in as much of a hurry as you are.¡± The Ancient One said and spread her legs for me.


    I nodded and knelt to bury my face into her completely bald womanhood. I quickly discerned that her hymen was still intact and paused to look at her face.


    ¡°It regrew when I used the body purification ritual that removed all of my body hair.¡± She explained.


    I gave her a huge grin. ¡°We could make a fortune from women if we altered that to leave scalp hair.¡±


    The Eye of Agamotto glowed a bit brighter and The Ancient One smiled.


    ¡°You truly are a crazy and creative genius to capitalize on a woman''s desire to give her ''first time'' to her next lover or to her future husband.¡± She said and then motioned to her drenched opening. ¡°I''m waiting.¡±


    I smirked at her and dove back between her legs and gave her the best oral sex she would ever experience. I knew this, because every few minutes, she would have a body shaking orgasm and then the Eye of Agamotto would glow and she would gasp and shout at me to keep going.


    At the very moment that she had been stretched out enough to make sex pleasurable for her, I was magically lifted and then I was pulled into her and hugged tightly as a magical power explosion enveloped us. The Ancient One screamed with both pain and pleasure as her restored virginity was sacrificed and the power was sent into the Dark Dimension.


    We were both quickly filled with brimming energy and jammed our lips together as my hips started to thrust at an insane speed and with increasing strength that we were both perfectly okay with. Because we both had physically resilient bodies, thanks to our sealed bargains with the Dark Dimension, our lovemaking was almost on the same scale that sex between Superman and Wonder Woman would be like if they went all out.


    The sex went on forever and ever as we paid back energy burst after energy burst that came with each orgasm from either of us or both of us at the same time. Those blasts would have destroyed the room around us if it hadn''t already been destroyed. In fact, every day or so, The Ancient One kept whispering that the energy we were returning was quickly reaching the point that the exchange was going to become equal and balanced.


    That was something she had been hungering for, ever since she had made the bargain centuries ago. She had never come across anything that could ever help her do that... until now. The Eye of Agamotto glowed brightly from around her neck as she peered at me.


    ¡°Together, Ben! This is the last one! We need to do it together!¡± The Ancient One said, passionately.


    ¡°Your wish... is my... command!¡± I exclaimed and shoved myself deeply into her as our Dark Dimension symbols glowed almost as brightly as the Eye of Agamotto. ¡°Oh, YAO!¡±


    ¡°Oh, BENJI!¡± The Ancient One yelled.


    We both froze still as we shared an orgasm and we each felt the other pour their energy out. We willingly gave it up to complete the balance and changed the deals we had struck into a true partnership. We were no longer power parasites or power leeches as energy breached the dimensional walls of the Mirror Dimension.


    We were covered in energy from the Dark Dimension and neither of us were corrupted by it, because our own energy converted it into positive energy and sent it back. It had become automatic and neither of us had to ever worry about anything trying to damage or infect us negatively. Ever.


    Then the moment of stillness and perfect balance was over and we both unfroze. The Ancient One collapsed underneath me and her breath was laboured as sweat poured off of her, despite her body''s normally unfathomable resilience.


    I pulled out of her and laid down beside her. We both ignored our expulsions as they dribbled off of us and we laid there without saying anything at all for several hours.


    ¡°You know you can''t change things too drastically.¡± The Ancient One finally whispered. ¡°The consequences if you meddle too much are too numerous and varied to allow this specific timeline to continue to exist.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said back. ¡°The most I can do is remove a lot of the known obstacles and change some of the circumstances for the events that need to be pivotal for the world.¡±


    The Ancient One sat up and looked down at me. ¡°I am glad you knew to not interfere with Loki''s arrival or the alien invasion, despite the warnings you gave out to prepare everyone.¡±


    ¡°I was sure that it had to happen, if only to become the reason the Avengers were brought together and created as a team.¡± I said and she nodded.


    ¡°They are a pivotal point in several timeline convergences.¡± The Ancient One said.


    ¡°Yeah, I noticed this one was slightly off, because Tony became Iron Man when Peter was a child, just like in the one I witnessed... and yet, Peter was supposed to be a junior in high school only a couple of years later. It didn''t make sense.¡±


    The Ancient One smiled down at me. ¡°Who said the things you saw were from the same unaltered timeline?¡±


    I opened my mouth to respond and realized what she meant. I had seen three different people become the Hulk with different origin stories and Thor was completely serious in two movies when in the better ones, he was a happy go lucky guy and a lot more entertaining. Not to mention Stan Lee somehow being different characters all over the place, no matter what hero was nearby, and he also talked openly with a group of Watchers that monitored different multiverses.


    ¡°Fuuuuck me.¡± I whispered and stared at her.


    ¡°I already did that, Benji.¡± The Ancient One said with a smirk. ¡°Perhaps a normal exchange for once?¡±


    ¡°My dearest Yao, I would be honored to take it slow with you, now that the power rush is over.¡±


    The Ancient One climbed on top of me and slid me inside of her. She laid down on top of me and gently kissed me as she slowly rocked her hips to move me in and out of her by only a couple of inches.


    I wrapped my arms around her and enjoyed making out with her as we made some of the slowest lovemaking that either of us had ever done. It took a very long time for the both of us to orgasm, considering how many times we had already done so. We didn''t care about that, though.


    We had all the time in existence to enjoy it, because we knew that as soon as we left this version of the Mirror Dimension, it would be the first and last time. So, we made the most of it and made sure that the both of us were happy about it.


    *


    The Ancient One took ten years to teach me how to handle the excessive magical power that the Dark Dimension gave me access to. Books upon books were stacked twenty feet high around the room as we went through everything she decided that I needed to know.


    I learned it all eagerly and she had a constantly pleased look on her face, even when we weren''t rolling around on conjured beds, cars, desks, counters, tables, and chairs. Yes, we had sex a lot. Like, a lot a lot. There was no television or internet, so we had books and ourselves to keep ourselves occupied.


    Funnily enough, when it was getting close to our time to leave, it was her that was constantly indulging herself in carnal delights. Apparently, when you released a woman''s centuries long self-imposed and repressed sexuality, she could become an almost completely different woman.


    The Ancient One impressed upon me the importance to maintain integrity in the face of the unknown horrors that could be unleashed when casting some of the higher level spells, which I swore I wasn''t going to do anyway. She also instilled in me the distinct desire to never, ever, try to breach any dimensional walls by myself, even with a Sling Ring.


    That was something only someone as experienced as her could do without fear of causing a systemic breach in the fabric of reality. I completely understood what she meant and agreed that I would never attempt it on my own. I also readily agreed to make myself available to help her defend the Earth when it was necessary.


    We exchanged contact numbers and she thanked me when I promised to send her a hundred each of e-readers, tablets, satellite phones, and televisions. I also told her that when she successfully tested the modified ritual for hymen growth, to let me know and we would set it up as a division of Parker Incorporated.


    ¡°I can''t believe I actually agreed to that.¡± The Ancient One said as she cleaned her clothes and then dressed for the first time in well over a decade of suspended time.


    ¡°It was just too tempting to become a millionaire overnight.¡± I joked and she smacked my arm. ¡°I know you''re not keeping anything past the cost of operating your Sanctums spread around the world.¡±


    The Ancient One nodded and pulled on her outer robes to drape them over her shoulders. ¡°I''ll be feeding the hungry locally and also sending food out to the surrounding nations if they need it.¡±


    ¡°I did promise to help with that.¡± I said and pulled on my pants. ¡°Wow, these feel really tight after so long.¡±


    The Ancient One let out an uncharacteristic chuckle and waved her hands over the cloth to make it expand slightly. ¡°We''ve both been working out to get you into the proper shape to handle the mystical energies without exploding.¡±


    I glanced down at Penis Parker and then looked back at her face. ¡°Excuse me? Did you just lie?¡±


    The Ancient One laughed and smacked me again. ¡°You know I meant from overloading or storing too much energy inside you for too long.¡±


    I laughed as well and put on my shirt. I stepped close to her and looked up slightly. She was five foot and ten inches tall and I was still five foot and eight inches tall. ¡°Thank you for accepting me, even if you can never admit it or show that you have.¡±


    The Ancient One bent her head slightly and gave me a soft and tender kiss. ¡°I must say the same thing, Benji. I always thought that anyone would reject me because of the taint that my immortality deal gave me.¡±


    I gave her a brief kiss and stepped back. ¡°Now you know why I negotiated in good faith with Dormammu. I couldn''t let such a good woman continue to feel shame for deciding to put the safety of the entire Earth before her own well being.¡±


    ¡°B-Benji... you... you really...¡± The Ancient One stammered.


    ¡°Thank you for the Sling Ring. It''s going to come in handy.¡± I said and motioned to the Mirror Dimension around us. ¡°If you would kindly release this, we can both get back to the lives we had built for ourselves to protect those we care about more than we care about ourselves.¡±


    The Ancient One nodded and started to make the appropriate gestures to collapse the dimension. ¡°I am much too old to admit that I love you, Benji.¡±


    ¡°Well, considering I''m like 45 relative years old inside a technically 14 year old body, I''m much too immature to admit that having you fall in love with me was the entire point of me coming here.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± The Ancient One asked as she finished the counter spell and the Mirror Dimension collapsed.


    ¡°You didn''t really have a personal stake in what was happening around you and you were just going through the motions until Doctor Strange seeks you out in a couple of years to become a Master of the Mystical Arts.¡± I said and she stared at me with wide eyes. ¡°You''ve been waiting around to die for far too long, my dearest Yao. It''s time you start living a bit before your scheduled death, don''t you think?¡±


    The Ancient One stood there and didn''t say anything as I picked up my backpack and put it on. I was quickly covered in my armored suit and walked over to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Give me a call whenever you want to talk.¡± I said through the suit''s voice modulator and walked out of the room. I went down the hallway and retraced my path to where the hole in the wall was. I chuckled at it and engaged my boot and palm thrusters.


    I flew out through the several holes I had made and then out and up into the air where apparently nothing was. I flew inside the cloaked ship and Lubila closed the boarding ramp.


    ¡°Let''s get back to Shuri.¡± I said and Libula nodded as she engaged the main engine boosters.


    We shot off like a rocket and I sat back and enjoyed the flight.

 116 Celebration Time

    Bokuboy


    By the time we landed back on Stark Tower, the celebration in the street below was going strong with agents and heroes all talking and enjoying themselves. Food and drinks had been delivered and set up on several tables, probably by SHIELD, and I thanked Libula for her help.


    ¡°I will be staying here to bring Princess Shuri back home.¡± Libula said.


    ¡°Then put the ship into standby mode and you can join us.¡± I offered.


    Libula didn''t hesitate as she quickly did the proper procedure to put the ship into standby. I gave her a hand and a few minutes later, we walked down the small boarding ramp of the sting ship and entered Tony''s penthouse. When we reached the elevator, I pushed the button and then let my armored suit fold away and it became a backpack once more.


    We rode the elevator down to the ground floor and met Jubadi and Val in the lobby. They held their spears with authority and were surrounded by a lot of dead and dismembered Chitauri bodies.


    ¡°I see you had some fun doing your duty to protect me.¡± I said and Jubadi nodded as Val looked inordinately pleased. ¡°You didn''t have to wait for me to join the party.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Val said and Jubadi nodded in agreement.


    I smiled and motioned for them to follow. ¡°Then let''s not keep everyone waiting.¡±


    We all left the building and I waved at the clean-up crew that were still gathering alien materials, body parts, weapons, and technology.


    ¡°There''s a pile of things in the lobby waiting for you guys.¡± I said and the one in charge waved back.


    With that arranged, we walked down the street to the main gathering that was being held in an intersection.


    ¡°BEN!¡± Shuri yelled and nearly everyone paused in their conversations as the armored Cheetah darted across the open space and leapt into the air.


    As she arced through the air, her armored suit folded away and fell off of her. Both she and it dropped down and I caught Shuri in my arms as the automaton cheetah landed beside us. We shared a fairly indecent kiss before Shuri let me go and stood in front of me.


    ¡°You''re getting really good at that move.¡± I commented as the others at the party went back to their conversations.


    ¡°It''s getting easier every time I do it.¡± Shuri said and took my hand. ¡°Libula?¡±


    ¡°The Royal Consort invited me to join you.¡± Libula said and looked happy.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Shuri said and looked at Val. ¡°You are coming along well in your training, Valerie.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Princess Shuri.¡± Val responded.


    ¡°She has earned a battlefield promotion this day, Princess Shuri.¡± Jubadi said, proudly.


    ¡°She has?¡± Shuri asked, surprised. ¡°I am very pleased to hear that, Valerie. Well done.¡±


    Val blushed and stood ramrod straight. ¡°Thank you, your highness. It is a great honor.¡±


    ¡°It truly is.¡± Shuri agreed and looked at me. ¡°Will you tell me about where you went?¡±


    ¡°Like I told you, I just had a few errands to take care of while I had the chance.¡±


    Shuri smiled knowingly. ¡°You mean while everyone was distracted.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s exactly what I meant.¡± I said and gave her a kiss. ¡°By the way, I have a contractual agreement with the current Sorcerer Supreme.¡±


    Shuri''s eyes almost lit up at that. ¡°My prayers to thank Bast will be enthusiastic tonight, Ben! That''s wonderful news!¡±


    I nodded and we all walked over to the closest group of people that just happened to include Clint, Natasha, and Phil Coulson. The others were two senior agents of SHIELD, Agent Melinda May, and Jennifer Walters.


    Before anyone could say anything in greeting, I stepped forward and took Natasha''s hand. ¡°I''m sorry I was such an ass after we broke up. You hurt my feelings by not trusting me like I trusted you and then you tried to kill me. The only way I knew to handle that without killing you was by pushing you away and punishing you. That was unfair to you and I apologize.¡±


    Natasha looked shocked, as did the others around me. She still shook my hand and nodded.


    I let her hand go and turned to Clint as I held my hand out for him to shake. ¡°You supported your friend under every circumstance and that needs to be commended. I''m sorry I held you to the same unreasonable standards that I had set for Black Widow. It wasn''t your fault how our relationship turned out and you were caught up in the aftermath anyway. That was unfair to you and I apologize.¡±


    Clint still looked shocked as he shook my hand.


    I let his hand go and turned to Phil Coulson. ¡°It''s nice to finally meet you in person, Agent Coulson.¡±


    Phil took my hand and shook it. He gave me a particular searching look before he let it go. ¡°That statement implies you''ve met me before, only not in person.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Your name was written in permanent ten foot tall letters on the side of Stark Tower. I don''t think there''s a person in New York that doesn''t know your name.¡± I said and took out my cell phone to check if I missed any messages. ¡°I also looked you up as soon as I was hired by SHIELD.¡±


    I didn''t have any messages from anyone on my real phone, so I checked my untraceable phones. Everyone watched as I checked them, only to see they didn''t have any messages on them, either. I put them away and turned to Melinda.


    ¡°I''m sorry we''ve both been too busy to have dinner more than once since last month.¡± I said and nodded at Jennifer Walters. ¡°You did a great job with bringing her up to a reasonable level.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Jennifer said and smacked my arm.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°I meant to say a respectable level.¡±


    ¡°That''s not much better, you ass.¡± Jennifer said with a smile.


    One of the two high level agents cleared his throat to gain my attention. ¡°I would like to personally thank you for the technology that you have provided SHIELD with.¡±


    I nodded acceptance. ¡°I like helping as much as possible... and within reason.¡±


    The man smiled because he understood. ¡°You wouldn''t cut off a foot to give someone a spare boot?¡±


    I laughed at the analogy. ¡°Only if I knew I could grow the foot back.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± He said and then stiffened slightly. ¡°Directory Fury is coming this way.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful.¡± I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Ben.¡± Shuri admonished me.


    ¡°You know he''s going to haul me away to debrief him, even though I just arrived at the party.¡± I said sadly. ¡°Is Deputy Director Hill with him?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The man in front of me said.


    ¡°At least I can apologize to her.¡± I said and stepped back out of the group. ¡°Go ahead and introduce yourselves around and enjoy yourselves. I''m going to be a while.¡±


    Shuri and the others nodded.


    I turned around to face Nick Fury and Maria Hill as they came to a stop. ¡°Your transport or mine?¡±


    Fury pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the closest container that was about to be hooked up to a Quinjet, because it was full of alien artifacts.


    ¡°Are we riding in the container or the Quinjet?¡± I asked, curious.


    ¡°Just walk.¡± Fury said and the three of us went over towards it.


    I made sure to wave and greet everyone that I passed and promised that I would come back as soon as I could to drink them all under the table. Out of all of them that laughed, only Thor looked genuinely excited at the challenge.


    Fury commandeered the Quinjet and it flew us to Central Park where the helicarrier kept watch over the alien mothership and all of the gathered alien technology. We landed on the upper flight deck and the pilot let us out. He took off as soon as we were down the boarding ramp and returned to his previous task.


    Neither Fury nor Maria spoke as we entered the command tower and went up the stairs to the main gathering area. We didn''t stop there and went down a back hallway to one of the smaller rooms. Maria hit several buttons beside the door after it closed and a barely audible hum could be heard. Or felt. It was difficult to tell. She locked the door and waved for me to sit down across the small table.


    I stayed where I was and gave her a sad look. ¡°Maria, I want to apologize for how I treated you. I know we were starting to have something between us after we completed our mutual defense agreement. I didn''t realize how restrictive having a personal guard was and how that might interfere in any work related relationship I could have, especially when I deal with sensitive information all the time.¡±


    Maria looked surprised at my admission. ¡°Ben, I...¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry that I''ve been completely ignoring you since the server room incident and I hope that you can forgive me for not having the courage to confront you about it until now.¡± I said and she looked sad.


    ¡°Ben, I... it was me that was wrong to do that. I shouldn''t have tried to ambush you and...¡±


    ¡°No, I was the one that took advantage of you.¡± I interrupted her. ¡°Having a surprise like that should have been the highlight of my life; and yet, I treated it like it was an every day occurrence and didn''t really mean anything. You went through all that trouble to arrange it and I''m sorry that I couldn''t appreciate it, or you, for doing it. I hope you can eventually forgive me for that.¡±


    Maria just stood there and looked at a loss for words. I let out a little sigh before I walked around the small table and sat in the uncomfortable chair.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Fury asked me as he sat across from me. A slightly pensive Maria sat beside him.


    ¡°No, sir.¡± I said and gave him a salute. ¡°I apologize for bringing more heavy hitters to the invasion of New York without informing you first or asking for permission, even though I technically didn''t need to do either.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Fury asked, a bit angrily.


    ¡°You activated the Avengers Initiative.¡± I said and he nodded. ¡°If you read the specific bylines, anyone with proven abilities that has been recruited by a SHIELD agent, qualifies for the program.¡±


    ¡°I know. I wrote that.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Then why would you specifically leave anyone out of it?¡± I asked and his face went blank. ¡°Yes, I mean Captain Marvel. She''s one of the most powerful people that exists and you weren''t going to contact her to help stop an invasion of her home planet.¡±


    Fury let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. ¡°I honestly forgot about her. I had so many other things to arrange and handle that a twenty year old pager slipped my mind.¡±


    ¡°How did you get it?¡± Maria asked me. ¡°We checked the safe and it''s still there.¡±


    ¡°That''s a fake that only contacts me. If you had tried to activate it, all it would do is let me know you were going to be too late calling her.¡± I said. ¡°It took her eleven days to cross interstellar space without a ship to get here.¡±


    ¡°That''s what that fire trail was a couple of days ago.¡± Fury said and I nodded.


    ¡°As you saw, she was instrumental in defeating the Chitauri leviathans and disabling the mothership. That she had fun doing it is beside the point.¡± I said and then let out another sigh. ¡°Unfortunately, she has taken it upon herself to protect the innocent from the injustices that the universe seems to pile onto all of the various populated planets in existence.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that''s unfortunate?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Because it''s just her and she''s trying to do it all herself. She also believes that because she had been granted such overwhelming power, she absolutely needs to do everything she can to help those that need it.¡±


    ¡°And that''s bad?¡± Fury asked with a squinted eye and leaned forward.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I almost spat at him and he moved back. ¡°When that''s all you do for over two decades! When you never once stop to have a rest, or try to enjoy your life, or even try to make actual friends and not just grateful acquaintances that are only that because you saved them!¡±


    Fury and Maria looked surprised at my outburst.


    I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. ¡°I''m actually tempted to go with her when she goes back out into space in a few days.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Maria said before she could stop herself. ¡°What about school? Your friends? Aunt May?¡±


    ¡°All valid reasons to not go.¡± I said and dropped my hands to the table. ¡°I''m going to try and convince her to convert an actual communicator so that we can actually talk, instead of her waiting for a pager to beep at her and for her to drop everything to return to Earth, just to see what''s going on.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°That would be more efficient, assuming it would work.¡±


    ¡°I''ll make it work, no matter how far away she is.¡± I promised and her eyes widened. ¡°Even if I have to split a single molecule and make a device to agitate one half with Morse Code and the quantum entanglement would agitate the other half inside another device to decode it and show the message to her.¡±


    Both Maria and Fury stiffened at my idea.


    ¡°The bandwidth would suck and the power requirements are ridiculous... but... I''m sure I can work it out somehow.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... that idea...¡± Maria whispered.


    ¡°World shattering, isn''t it?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Maybe I won''t have to figure it out if the Kree or some other race has an intergalactic telephone system that I can tap into.¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt that''s possible.¡± Fury said.


    I didn''t inform him that Vers had used something similar back in the 80s to call the Kree. It had used some Kree tech to piggyback on the payphone''s telecommunications network for a power boost, though.


    ¡°We brought you here to find out what it is you actually know.¡± Maria said.


    I gave her a happy smile. ¡°I know a lot of things now.¡±


    Fury made a huff sound. ¡°Look, Agent Parker. We know it was you giving us the hints and countdowns.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Actually, that was Jarvis.¡±


    ¡°Who''s that?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°The Vision.¡± I corrected. ¡°He''s the android wearing the spiffy costume back at the block party.¡±


    ¡°The cape was a nice touch.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°It''s cool, right? It has prehensile tension wires inside and a control mechanism that simulates airflow, even if there isn''t any.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°It billows wonderfully, even when he''s standing still.¡±


    ¡°How did you know when the events were going to happen?¡± Maria asked to get us back on track.


    ¡°Several ways, including precognition, a type of scrying or remote viewing, and even mathematical equations to determine the probabilities.¡± I said.


    ¡°So, you''re admitting that you have special powers?¡± Fury asked, pointedly.


    ¡°What? Hell, no.¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°I can honestly say that I have only used technology in different forms to acquire the knowledge that I have.¡±


    ¡°Why don''t you share it with us?¡± Maria asked.


    I opened my mouth to say that I couldn''t, then realized I probably shouldn''t blatantly lie. ¡°You''ve thoroughly researched my emergence, haven''t you?¡± I asked her instead of responding.


    Maria nodded. ¡°We''ve traced your supposedly odd behavior, namely your amnesia, to just before your hospital visit last November.¡±


    ¡°I really rang my own bell back then.¡± I said and tapped the overgrown spot where the scar used to be. ¡°A fairly hard skull makes quite the sound when impacting a thick metal hand railing.¡±


    ¡°You had a severe concussion and you were home from school for a week.¡± Maria said.


    I nodded. ¡°That''s when it happened.¡±


    ¡°When what happened?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°I... I saw it all.¡± I whispered. ¡°Everything.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Maria asked and leaned forwards slightly.


    ¡°This. All this.¡± I said and waved my hand around. ¡°I wasn''t Peter anymore because I couldn''t remember anything about Peter''s life at all. I became Ben and realized that I had extreme knowledge of nearly epic proportions about everything that has potentially happened, would happen soon, and was going to happen later.¡±


    ¡°You''re joking.¡± Fury asked, surprised.


    ¡°Not even a little bit.¡± I said. ¡°You''ll never know what it''s like to be stuck in a 14 year old body and feel completely powerless to defend yourself against an entire universe of dangers that will royally fuck you up if anyone knew about you.¡± I looked at Fury''s face and then at Maria''s. ¡°Especially super spy agencies that thrive on secret knowledge.¡±


    Maria''s face paled a little and Fury looked slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°Yeah, I think you get it.¡± I said and ducked my head a little. ¡°I tried to stay under the radar. I tried to keep to myself. I tried to not be noticed by anyone important... and literally walked right into Black Widow and Hawkeye. Then my life started spiralling around and things changed. I was noticed. So, I figured that some of my knowledge could be useful, if used judiciously and secretly.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t.¡± Maria whispered.


    I had to smile at her. ¡°I didn''t at first. I knew if I showed off too much, I would give myself away. I pretended to not know anyone and my actual amnesia about Peter''s life was the perfect cover. Everyone of importance that I''ve met so far, I''ve known about, even if I had never met them before.¡±


    ¡°You lied about finding the old files on the mainframe.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Nope!¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Project Pegasus, Arnim Zola, The Red Skull, Hydra, the old maps of enemy bases, the Hulk''s creation and General Ross''s campaign of terrorism to capture an innocent victim, Captain America''s ridiculous USO world tour and becoming an actual hero that saved the world, it was all there. I just copied and compressed it all before I renamed it, so that my excuse about deleting the original files was actually true.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t know any of that was on there.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Well, you didn''t become Director until the 2000s, so there''s no fault on your part that the previous director, who was a Hydra agent by the way, kept a lot of hidden backdoors and files on the main servers and in most of the safe houses and satellite bases around the world.¡±


    ¡°Good god.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Hey, it''s okay. I had them all removed.¡± I said, magnanimously.


    ¡°The computer hacks?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Those, too.¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°It was you.¡± Fury said with finality. ¡°You seeded those attack and kill orders.¡±


    ¡°Both times.¡± I said and Maria caught her breath. ¡°I couldn''t let Hydra get the chance to find out about me. If they had even a fraction of the knowledge I have, they could have ended the world.¡±


    Fury squinted his eye at me. ¡°You''re exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said and crossed my arms. ¡°Imagine if Loki''s portal machine was actually an atomic infusion device, identical to the Manhattan Project''s first experiment, only instead of nuclear fissionable material at the core, it used iridium to stabilize it and was powered by the tesseract.¡±


    The rest of the color drained from Maria''s face and she looked faint.


    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± Fury whispered. ¡°You''re not exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°I wish I was.¡± I said and sighed. ¡°I really wish I was.¡±

 117 The Shocking Truth

    After two hours of talking, where it was mostly me telling Nick Fury and Maria Hill the things I had done and changed to ensure that the invasion didn''t happen the way I had foreseen it, including giving them the clue to make She-Hulk a decade before it was even a possibility... and than everything I had done didn''t change the actual pivotal events themselves.


    Loki still arrived (and it didn''t matter where, because he had remotely activated the tesseract), Loki still escaped capture (even with the alterations to the Avengers), and the invasion itself still happened on the same date it had the last time, or that one time, or at all times. Time manipulation was finicky like that.


    That was why The Ancient One didn''t use the Eye of Agamotto constantly. Messing with time, even in small amounts, could cause ripples across multiple dimensions and affect events that were not meant to be altered or changed. The best part about it was that Yao knew about the Time Stone being inside the heart of the amulet.


    She had even admitted that each Sorcerer Supreme had added a little bit of their own magic to the artifact to ensure that the Time Stone was blocked from detection. Once I had learned that specific spell, including reinforcing the container to keep the Time Stone secured, I spent about six years adding the same protections to the sceptre. Layer upon layer. Spell upon spell.


    The Ancient One''s expert help kept me from making a mistake and from adding too much power to each layer. It all had to be balanced and coalesced into a solid whole, or the entire thing would unravel. That would immediately reveal the two stones that I had and would expose me to the wider universe like a beacon.


    I really, really didn''t want that.


    So, the exposed glowing Mind Stone in the sceptre''s top was covered in similarly mystical metal to the Eye of Agamotto and its power was almost completely sealed, just like the Space Stone had been sealed inside the tesseract to mostly protect it from detection.


    Each time any Infinity Stone was used, it would create the danger of exposure. That meant I needed to become the unofficial guardian of both stones, just like the Sorcerer Supreme guarded the Time Stone. It was a thankless job that The Ancient One had performed for about 700 years and some of her tips, tricks, and practices could also be used in my case. Not all of them, though.


    I wasn''t going to store the sceptre inside a mystical temple and build a monkhood around it as everyone associated it with an ancient relic of power. That would kind of defeat the purpose of hiding the sceptre, actually. Hiding in plain sight didn''t always work like it did for the Eye of Agamotto.


    Which brought me right back to the current conversation.


    ¡°You need to give back the tesseract, Agent Parker.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°What makes you think I have it?¡± I asked with a crooked smile.


    ¡°The footage from multiple cameras for one.¡± Maria said. ¡°We clearly saw you take both the tesseract and the sceptre.¡±


    ¡°I want to claim spoils of war.¡± I joked and Fury huffed. ¡°Not going to fly, huh?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Right. No state of war was declared.¡± I said and looked at Maria. ¡°Finders keepers?¡±


    ¡°Ben, this isn''t a joking matter.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Right there, in the middle of an epic battle for the fate of the world, I literally robbed a supposed god of his powerful weapon. When the battle was over, I closed the portal with it and then claimed another powerful weapon, the tesseract. Isn''t that funny? Me, a lowly human, owning two weapons of mass destruction.¡±


    ¡°The sceptre''s power wasn''t on that scale.¡± Fury claimed.


    I let out a short laugh. ¡°That''s because Loki''s mind was so focused on conquest that he never once thought about the power he had in his hand.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Well, considering the way he used the thing, namely poking people''s chests with it and making them into his obedient minions, he could have walked into the White House and used it on the President of the United States. He could then have the POTUS sign an executive order to hand all political and executive power over to him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sweet lord.¡± Maria whispered.


    ¡°Yes, Emperor Loki could have then gone to each country in the world to greet his fellow leaders and then had them do the exact same thing.¡± I said and crossed my arms again. ¡°He didn''t need an army to take over the world. He had the ability to do it right from the start.¡±


    Fury actually looked impressed at my reasoning.


    ¡°How could he be so stupid that he ignored that for the glory of battle?¡± I asked. ¡°It''s because that''s how it''s always been done with the old Norse gods. They fought for what they owned and it didn''t count or meant as much if you did it with subterfuge. If Loki ever did come into power that way, he would be unhappy because he didn''t earn it. It wouldn''t be his own achievement that gave him power. Just trickery.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to do that?¡± Fury asked me, quite pointedly.


    ¡°Hell, no! Running a country or an entire world is a headache that I never want to have. It''s too much responsibility for a sole person to handle for long. It will wear them down and the pressure to run everything will eventually crush them, especially if they are bad at it. Uprisings happen for a reason, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they do.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°I''m going to go back to my nice normal life and finish high school, enjoy spending time with my friends and family, and spend some of my billions helping the poor.¡± I said and uncrossed my arms. ¡°I honestly don''t have to do anything. At all.¡±


    ¡°Because you have two powerful weapons and all that knowledge.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Of course not, Director Fury! It''s because I am only a 14 year old high school student and my life has been so full of ups and downs that I just want to sit back and let the world handle itself for a while.¡±


    ¡°You also have a suit of armor, a company worth billions of dollars, access to technology that could change the world several times over, and powerful friends that will come to your side whenever you ask.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°Would you like to own a suit as well?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Maria asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°I hear SHIELD has a hard-on for a particularly evasive vigilante hero named Spider-Man.¡± I said and then chuckled. ¡°It''s a little odd that he hasn''t been around since you ordered the evacuation of Manhattan, though. I fully expected him to show up and poke his nose into this whole thing after his defacing of Stark Tower.¡±


    ¡°You''re right, that is strange.¡± Fury said. ¡°Why would he warn us and then not try to help?¡±


    ¡°It''s possible he was protecting the people wherever they went or he went with family or something.¡± I said and shrugged. ¡°Who can say?¡±


    Maria looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke. ¡°He might not want to be associated with it.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at her. ¡°Now that''s an interesting perspective.¡±


    Maria nodded. ¡°He warned us and then must have realized he might be accused of setting it up. If he was here, he could have become an instant target, especially by the powered individuals that were fighting the alien invasion.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That makes sense, Maria. He''s been hiding from view even more lately as the time of the invasion approached.¡±


    ¡°Less exposure means less chance that the people would continue to associate him with it.¡± Maria agreed. ¡°The physical damage to the city was still pretty extensive and he might be blamed for it all.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I didn''t even think of that.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Should we tease him and start a relief fund for damage repair and put it in his name?¡±


    Maria smiled slightly. ¡°That would irritate him, wouldn''t it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no doubt!¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°I''ll toss in ten million to get the ball rolling.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Maria asked, once again surprised.


    ¡°Sure! It''s not like I can''t afford it.¡± I said and took out my cell phone. ¡°I''m sure I can convince Pepper to match it.¡±


    Maria and Fury sat there and watched me exchange several texts with the CEO of Stark Industries.


    ¡°Ha! She''s such a minx wearing that!¡± I said and took a picture of Fury''s and Maria''s surprised faces. I chuckled after a minute and turned my phone around to show them a picture of Pepper wearing a string bikini and giving us a thumbs-up gesture from California. ¡°She said you just earned another million dollars for that picture.¡±


    ¡°Can you take another one?¡± Maria asked, which make me laugh and I sent a text to Pepper.


    ¡°She says if you smile this time.¡± I said and Maria tried to. ¡°Less teeth, please. That''s more of a grimace.¡±


    ¡°That''s not helping me smile.¡± Maria said, a little crossly.


    I thought about it for a moment. ¡°We should really piss Spider-Man off if we have a computer mock-up of Spider-Man done up and print off thousands of flyers to spread around and have everyone in the city know he''s responsible.¡±


    Maria had a genuine smile appear on her face and I took the picture.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said and sent it. ¡°Ha ha! Two million for it.¡± I sent a text back. ¡°I agreed to match it.¡±


    ¡°You''re crazy.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°I''m considered eccentric because I''m rich.¡± I joked as I put my phone away and she nodded. ¡°Have you decided if you want your own power suit or not?¡±


    Maria shook her head no. ¡°I don''t have the temperament to use a suit like that successfully.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed and looked down at her blue uniform. ¡°Perhaps a replacement uniform in the same armored fabric that Power Woman wears?¡±


    Maria''s eyes widened at the offer. ¡°You can''t expect me to wear something like that.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It doesn''t have to be form fitting. Jennifer needed her suit like that because of her transformations. I can make it into any style or color that you want.¡±


    Maria thought about it and nodded. ¡°I''ll set something up and call you.¡±


    I smiled and nodded back. ¡°I''ll look forward to it.¡±


    Fury waited several moments in silence before he spoke. ¡°I want the sceptre to examine it.¡±


    I gave him a crooked smile. ¡°Really? You had it for barely a day and it almost caused the helicarrier to crash.¡±


    Fury opened his mouth to defend that, then sighed. ¡°You''re going to counter every argument I make.¡±


    ¡°That''s kind of what I do.¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°That''s not using any of your knowledge, is it?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°Nope! It''s just my natural personality that was juiced up after I whacked my noggin.¡± I said and touched the spot again. ¡°I read Peter''s journal and he was such an introvert that I''m surprised he had any social interactions besides fists to his face from his bullies.¡±


    ¡°He has not had an easy life.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Not until he became me.¡± I said and then laughed. ¡°I just realized how stupid that sounds. My life is anything but easy!¡±


    Maria nodded.


    ¡°The thing is...¡± I paused and gave her a warm smile. ¡°...I wouldn''t have it any other way. I''m not just surviving here, Maria. I''m living. I''m living my life to the fullest and I''m enjoying the hell out of it. I''m having fun and I''m doing such amazing things that I wake up every single day and I thank whoever gave me this chance for it.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure they appreciate that.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°I hope so, because there''s not really any way for me to discover who or what did it. All I can do is be happy that it did, thank them for it, and do everything I can to make it the best life possible.¡± I said and looked at Fury. ¡°So, go ahead and ask. I know you''re dying to.¡±


    ¡°What is it you''re not telling us?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°I could fill your head with such things that you would go insane trying to keep it all straight.¡± I said and both he and Maria looked shocked. ¡°Case in point. Did you know that a race of planet-sized beings called the Celestials lived billions of years ago and decided for no particular reason to cause a war that nearly destroyed the universe? No? How about the survivors deciding to seed millions of worlds with their DNA to create life?¡±


    Both of their mouths dropped open and I took out my cell phone and captured the moment.


    ¡°It failed on almost every world, though. So, they tried again, only this time they planted their progeny into specific worlds that teemed with other life forms and then created a race of beings to watch over the gestation that could take billions of years to germinate.¡± I said and put my phone away. ¡°Can you guess what''s currently resting in the mantle of the Earth and can be accessed just inside the crust of the planet?¡±


    ¡°N-n-no.¡± Fury whispered. ¡°You can''t... that''s not... I can''t believe...¡±


    ¡°The race protecting the sleeping Celestials are called the Eternals. Their job on Earth is kind of moot now, though.¡± I said with a smug smile.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°I destroyed the Celestial''s mind while also removing most of the thing''s inherent power.¡±


    Fury stared at me like he had never seen me before. ¡°That''s what you used the sceptre for.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I almost didn''t succeed, even with all that power at my command. If it wasn''t for the timely intervention of a very special person, I could have set off the annihilation of every bit of life on the planet.¡± I said and Fury an Maria looked sick. ¡°That''s without waking the Celestial, by the way.¡±


    ¡°We don''t want to know what happened, do we?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°No, and I can''t tell you anyway.¡± I said and Fury frowned. ¡°Not that I won''t tell you, Director Fury. I physically can''t. I have a magically binding contract of silence that has bound those involved. No one can ever know what happened or the entire Earth, and possibly this dimension, will be forfeit.¡±


    That last sentence made a deep silence fall in the room and we sat there for the next ten minutes and didn''t say anything at all.


    ¡°If the sceptre is so powerful, how can we trust you to not abuse it?¡± Fury finally asked.


    I held in my laugh at his last ditch attempt to have me hand it over to him. ¡°That''s the key point, isn''t it? You don''t have to trust me, Director.¡± I said and looked at Maria. ¡°All you need to do is trust that I won''t let anyone else abuse that power, either.¡±


    Maria stared into my eyes. ¡°I... I believe you.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Strong emotions can be such a freeing experience and so tightly binding that you can''t breathe sometimes.¡±


    Maria took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°You''re never going to give up, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, because I already did that once.¡± I said and stood. ¡°It would have been the biggest regret of my life, except that my life has become the best it ever could be since then and I won''t give it up for anything. Not for money, not for power, and not for anything else. This is my life and I will fight against everyone to keep it, for all eternity if I have to.¡±


    Neither of them asked me where I was going. They knew I was done talking and didn''t stop me as I walked around the table.


    I paused beside Maria and bent down to whisper in her ear. ¡°I eagerly await your call.¡±


    Maria shivered slightly and nodded just enough for me to see.


    I stood up and saluted Director Fury before I walked out of the room. I had a celebration party to get back to and an encounter with my betrothed to look forward to.

 118 Promises To Keep

    Bokuboy


    Being introduced around to all the people I already knew was pretty damn funny, especially when I used their real names and thanked them for proving that they were the heroes everyone needed them to be. The only real holdout was Tony Stark and he begrudgingly admitted that me using Loki''s own weapon to close the portal was a smart thing to do.


    ¡°Dr. Selvig here also figured out that nothing on Earth could penetrate the energy barrier.¡± I said and pat the surprised man on the shoulder. ¡°I''m just glad that knock on the head he suffered had succeeded in getting rid of Loki''s mind control.¡±


    ¡°HA! Eric here is as hardy as any Midgardian I have ever met!¡± Thor exclaimed and downed the bottle of beer he held.


    ¡°Those bottles are awful small, aren''t they?¡± I asked and the Norse god laughed.


    ¡°Barely a mouthful, my friend!¡± Thor said and tossed the bottle over his shoulder. An agent caught it and put it into a recycle container. I gave the man a thumbs-up and he smiled.


    ¡°Hey, Hank!¡± I shouted and Hank Pym turned from talking with Bruce Banner. ¡°A really thirsty Norse god needs a small favor from you!¡±


    Hank raised his eyebrows at me as I poured out a beer into a mug and set it on the ground. He shook his head and tossed one of his instant devices at it and the mug of beer grew to be nearly three feet tall.


    ¡°OOOOOO-HA-HA-HAAA!¡± Thor yelled and picked it up in both hands and chugged about a quarter of it down, which was quite impressive. ¡°Now THAT''S a drink for the gods!¡±


    Everyone laughed.


    ¡°Thanks, Hank!¡± I said and he waved.


    ¡°You Midgardians are the BEST!¡± Thor shouted and took a more moderate drink from the mug.


    ¡°I think I need to humbly withdraw my challenge of drinking everyone under the table, since Thor can drink a table-sized beer without trouble and Tony''s pretty much just a walking liver.¡± I said and that made everyone laugh again.


    ¡°Hey, I resemble that comment.¡± Tony said and took another drink.


    ¡°How are you liking the new power output?¡± I asked and he frowned slightly. ¡°Tony, I''m sorry that I took exception with you when you stole one of my designs. You ruined my get rich plans when you did that and you delayed a lot of what I wanted to do as I tried to get back at you for it.¡±


    ¡°You definitely got me back.¡± Tony said and lightly touched the glowing Shurinium reactor on his chest.


    ¡°I assume Pepper told you I willingly signed over half-ownership of the patent for the new element?¡±


    Tony sighed. ¡°Yes, and she yelled at me for an hour for making you resort to corporate espionage.¡±


    I had to smile after hearing that. ¡°She''s such a great woman to forgive us both for it, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Tony said. ¡°She even dropped everything to come to me when you gave her this.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Well, it wasn''t like you were going to accept it from me.¡±


    ¡°I don''t like being handed things.¡± Tony responded.


    ¡°Oh, I know. Getting you to admit that you might be wrong is like pulling teeth from a tyrannosaur.¡±


    Tony smiled as he got it. ¡°You can still do it, as long as you''re willing to get chewed up by an apex predator.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I said and looked at Captain America. ¡°Steve, I have a question that might seem a little personal from someone you just met. Can we step over there for a bit of privacy?¡±


    Steve glanced around at the party going on and nodded. We walked over to the spot and he looked at me. ¡°I think I can take a bit more personal after everything that''s happened today.¡±


    ¡°You''re struggling a lot with being woken up in a time that''s not your own.¡± I said as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. ¡°Do you want to reconnect with some of your past?¡±


    Steve frowned at me. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I unfolded the piece of paper and handed it to him.


    Steve took it and his frown turned sad as he read what the information said. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t matter.¡± I said and put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°When you finish with that, come to Stark Tower and visit my office. I have something else for you to do after that.¡±


    Steve looked up from the paper at my face. ¡°Why don''t you tell me about it now?¡±


    I smiled sadly and gave his shoulder a squeeze. ¡°If you can''t handle what you have in your hands, then you''re nowhere near ready to handle the next part.¡±


    Steve nodded and looked back at the paper. ¡°How long... I mean...¡±


    I let his shoulder go. ¡°According to my sources, about two years before it''s too late.¡±


    Steve jerked as if I had slapped him. ¡°That''s all?¡±


    ¡°Technically.¡± I said with a crooked smile.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Steve asked.


    I nodded over at Vision as he talked with Jennifer Walters. ¡°I sincerely doubt Peggy will want to make a copy of her consciousness into a Life Model Decoy.¡±


    Steve looked over as well. ¡°So, you''re saying it will be her and not be her at the same time.¡±


    ¡°That''s exactly what I was saying, Steve.¡± I said and he looked back at me. ¡°The New Peggy will have all of Old Peggy''s memories of her entire life, about 90 years of it, and she''ll be as normal as a human or as powerful as you. Or more. It''s her choice if she wants to join you and your choice if you want a partner.¡±


    Steve looked very conflicted. ¡°Agent Parker...¡±


    ¡°Call me Ben.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why are you offering me this?¡± Steve asked.


    ¡°Because, everyone has that special someone in their life that they connected with. Through no real fault of your own, because you actually were the hero everyone had built you up to be, you missed your connection with Doctor Margaret Carter. If you can dig up the courage to seek her out now, well before she''s on her deathbed and asks for you, perhaps you can both reconnect once more.¡±


    ¡°Would she even want to see me?¡± Steve asked in a whisper.


    ¡°I''m not going to lie, Steve. She waited for you for years and she''s still waiting. She married and had two children.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± Steve asked, surprised.


    ¡°I can''t tell you who that was, because it was pretty much kept a secret from everyone. I don''t even know the names of her children or where they went.¡±


    Steve crumpled the paper in his hand. ¡°What can you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Her brother Micheal Carter had a child and married and had a little girl. Peggy''s Grand-Niece is named Sharon Carter and she''s an agent of SHIELD, with Peggy''s blessing.¡±


    Steve looked surprised. ¡°You''re not kidding, are you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said and took out one of my untraceable cell phones. I brought up her record and handed the phone to him. ¡°She''s actually quite capable, thanks to her great aunt helping her. Neither she nor Peggy have ever revealed their familial relationship, so Sharon isn''t held to the same ridiculous standards that your love had set before she retired.¡±


    Steve read it for a bit before he spoke. ¡°Can you show me...¡±


    ¡°It''s not light reading, Steve.¡± I said with a smile and tapped the screen to go to the previous file.


    ¡°Oh, sweet lord.¡± Steve whispered as he scrolled down the huge list of missions, solved cases, incidents, and encounters.


    ¡°She ended up becoming the Director of SHIELD.¡± I said and he half-laughed and half sobbed.


    ¡°She set them up to keep looking for me, even after she retired.¡± Steve whispered.


    ¡°Like I said, she never gave up on you.¡± I whispered back. ¡°If you want, I can get you a tablet with everything on it to read later.¡±


    ¡°I''d like that.¡± Steve said and handed me the phone back. ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Don''t thank me yet.¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°If you don''t visit her soon, her Alzheimer''s will kick in and she might not remember you.¡±


    Steve''s eyes widened and he stood up straight. ¡°Why didn''t you say that before?¡±


    ¡°I''m already pummelling you with emotional turmoil, Steve. I wasn''t going to start out with the worst blow!¡±


    Steve opened his mouth, probably to argue, then he sighed as well. ¡°You''re right. If you said that first, I might have punched you.¡±


    I smiled and couldn''t stop my next comment. ¡°You could still try.¡±


    Steve smiled back. ¡°No, I think I''ll take your advice. I''ll try to arrange transportation and...¡±


    ¡°Car, motorcycle, or plane?¡± I asked and he chuckled. ¡°If you couldn''t tell, I was planning on helping you.¡±


    Steve nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°All right, tell me where to get the motorcycle.¡±


    I took out the keys to a Harley Davidson Sportster and handed them to him. ¡°Stark Tower, basement garage, near the exit door. The door locks automatically when you leave.¡±


    Steve smiled. ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Good luck.¡± I said and watched him quickly walk around and said his goodbyes to everyone, then he walked down the street and entered Stark Tower.


    Shuri walked over to me and her automaton cheetah came with her. ¡°Can I ask about that?¡±


    ¡°I was just trying to give him back a meaningful connection like we have, my dear.¡±


    Shuri blushed a little and gave me a kiss. ¡°The party seems to be winding down, so why don''t we...¡±


    A cheer rang out and interrupted her. We turned to see Thor as he held up the giant beer mug that was now empty and several people clapped and he bowed.


    ¡°You are a terrible liar.¡± I said with a laugh.


    Shuri leaned against me. ¡°Can you blame me for wanting to get you into bed? It''s been so long since Valentine''s Day.¡±


    Really, really long. I thought and grinned at her. ¡°I suppose this scene isn''t really for me, anyway.¡±


    Shuri beamed a smile at me. ¡°Are we going back to your apartment or staying here?¡±


    ¡°We haven''t surveyed anything yet, so we''re all staying here at Stark Tower while the agents return to the helicarrier and the New York office.¡± I said and walked with her over to the largest group of people. We made the same excuses as Captain America and went down the street to Stark Tower. Libula, Jubadi, and Val were right behind us.


    ¡°I need a good shower!¡± Val exclaimed as we entered the lobby and the other women nodded.


    ¡°Wouldn''t you prefer a nice relaxing bath?¡± I asked her and hit the button for the elevator.


    ¡°I''ve been coming here for months and have never seen a bathtub in the showers, Ben.¡± Val said with a laugh.


    ¡°I guess that is a bit of an oversight on my part.¡± I said and took out my cell phone. I sent an inquiry to Jarvis. He let me know the sale had gone through just before the invasion and I now owned Wilson Fisk''s apartment building. It had been a steal at the time and with the apparent damage from the invasion, the insurance company was going to pay for the restoration.


    ¡°I''ll have a better place for us to crash in a couple of weeks.¡± I said and showed them images of Fisk''s penthouse apartment that was the entire top floor. It was my penthouse apartment now.


    Val whistled. ¡°Damn, Ben! You should save at least some of the money you''re raking in!¡±


    I chuckled and we all stepped into the elevator. ¡°I''m not even going to mention the giant bag full of cash I have stashed in my closet at home.¡±


    ¡°That''s why we''re never allowed to snoop around in there!¡± Val said and I winked at her.


    The elevator dropped us off at floor 60 and we split up. Val, Jubadi, and Libula went to the training area''s showers, the automaton cheetah went to the living room, and Shuri and I went into my modest set of rooms. They were utilitarian and spartan, just because it was only a place to nap when I needed it.


    We both stripped off and went into the bathroom and the shower. Despite my words, we didn''t really have time to lay back and relax, because Shuri really had been desperate to have me like she wanted. It was quick and dirty in the shower, because that was how she liked it. We washed up and dried, and she gave me a lingering kiss before she said to give her a bit of time to get ready for bed.


    I almost laughed at that, because she was already naked under the bathrobe. What did she need to get ready for? I asked myself and checked my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. My hair was getting to be quite long, down to my shoulders, and my muscles were a lot more defined after ten years of intense workouts.


    I had thought the progress I was making with my normal workouts was phenomenal. Compared to what The Ancient One thought was a real workout, it had made me laugh my ass off, because I thought she had been joking. She wasn''t. It took tremendous power, both magical and physical, to handle the guardianship of an Infinity Stone.


    Plus, having access to a Mirror Dimension where you could alter the physical makeup of things on a whim, if you had the proper magical spells and the mental capacity to handle it, really made a workout into the most intense experience anyone could imagine.


    The sealed binding with the Dark Dimension had also been stagnant the entire time, because I was locked into an extremely slow time dilation effect with the Eye of Agamotto. Now that I was back in the real world, the effects of the pact were going to be quite pronounced as they were applied. My body had to become physically mature as quickly as possible, so I fully expect to grow several inches over the next few weeks.


    I wasn''t really sure how I was going to explain that, except to say I hit my growth spurt early. I was sure everyone except Aunt May were going to accept that explanation, which meant I needed to either come up with a better excuse or I was going to have to tell her some of the recent truths that had happened to me, namely spending years inside a time compression field.


    I finished my teeth and used the bathroom, washed my hands, and went out into the bedroom... only to stop mid-step because my normal sized bed was completely crowded. Shuri, Jubadi, Val, and Libula were there and they wore damn sexy pieces of lingerie that hinted and teased a view of their bodies that drove me wild, because I hadn''t seen anything like it in a very long time.


    ¡°I think we broke him.¡± Val said with a giggle.


    ¡°This was a great idea to surprise him, Valerie.¡± Shuri said and stood up.


    The peek-a-boo half-cup bra she wore showed the top half of her nipples and they were already hard and pushed out on the cloth. She must have liked the look of desire on my face, because she stalked over to me as if she wore her armored suit.


    Holy hell, it made my erection pop right out of my robe and Shuri made a purr sound from the back of her throat.


    ¡°It was very nice of you to invite my trusted pilot and guard to join us, sithandwa.¡± Shuri said.


    I didn''t say anything about the misunderstanding, because I had only invited her to join us at the party. She untied my robe and it dropped to the floor.


    ¡°You''ve been working out as hard as I have.¡± Val said and stood as well. She was damn near as toned and muscular as a Dora Milaje and I had to admit that she looked really good like that. I throbbed for her and she smiled demurely.


    ¡°We''ve agreed to let Libula have the first honor of the night.¡± Jubadi said and moved off to the side to leave the new woman in the bed alone.


    ¡°Praise be to Bast for the gift I am about to receive.¡± Libula whispered as she stared at my face.


    I bowed to her, which made her flush in embarrassment, then I walked over to the bed and knelt at the end. She looked confused until I put her legs over my shoulders and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Her eyes widened as I pulled off her panties and then I dove between her legs.


    ¡°I still don''t understand why he insists on doing that first.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°Two reasons.¡± Val said and knelt beside me. ¡°One, he''s making room for himself and letting her relax. Two, he just likes making us come first.¡±


    I paused and turned my head to look at her. ¡°I knew out of everyone, you would understand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do.¡± Val said and licked her lips, then she leaned in and kissed me.


    I kissed her back, even though I had Libula''s fluids on my lips and tongue.


    Val broke the kiss, because she knew I wasn''t going to stop her. ¡°Hurry up and fuck her brains out so I can have a turn.¡±


    I gave her a crooked smile. ¡°I''m not sure you can handle it the way they do.¡±


    ¡°I''ll decide that after I see it for myself.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said and went back to work and made Libula come as I used my fingers and tongue to widen her entrance. I picked her up and moved her back up on the bed, then asked her if she was ready to do this with me.


    Libula looked at Shuri with surprise on her face. ¡°He really does care about how we feel about him.¡±


    ¡°I told you that he did.¡± Shuri said, proudly. ¡°You really should agree or he won''t continue.¡±


    Libula gave her a happy smile and looked up at my face. ¡°Royal Consort, please share with me the love you have for My Princess.¡±


    ¡°As our Princess commands.¡± I said, which seemed to please her immensely and then I drove myself into her and bottomed out when I was only most of the way in.


    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Libula cried out with pleasure and I felt her spray as she soaked my abs and my balls.


    ¡°Wow! She squirted right away!¡± Val exclaimed, clearly surprised.


    I nodded and adjusted my technique to allow for limited movement with her opening that shallow, then I pounded her into the mattress. Her constant screams and sprays lasted for nearly twenty minutes and then I blew my load inside of her. Her grip on my body was like a vise as she seemed to absorb everything that I could give her.


    Libula''s breathing was very laboured and she gave me a long and lingering kiss before her euphoric face changed into a sleeping one and she fell unconscious.


    I pulled out and turned to see a happy Shuri, an approving nod from Jubadi, and a surprised Val.


    ¡°You fucked her unconscious.¡± Val said and sounded impressed. ¡°You really... you... wow.¡±


    ¡°Didn''t you say you wanted to be next?¡± I asked with a smirk.


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± Val said and then she laughed. ¡°Move her over and pull the drenched blankets aside.¡±

 119 A Few Last Things

    Bokuboy


    ¡°Now I... understand... the appeal.¡± Val said between pants of breath. Her short blonde hair was plastered to her head with sweat and she gave me a very happy smile. ¡°You didn''t... knock me out.¡±


    ¡°That''s because I didn''t want to ruin you.¡± I said with a grin and she barked a laugh. ¡°We''ve got all night to explore and...¡±


    ¡°You have your... consort duties to perform.¡± Val said and looked at Jubadi. ¡°I can''t really move much right now...¡±


    Jubadi barked her own laugh. ¡°That is not a problem, Valerie.¡± She said and crawled on top of her to press her chest to Val''s and their pelvic mounds touched. ¡°Sithandwa, you may proceed and show her what an experienced warrior can handle.¡±


    ¡°I should warn you that I''ve done some extensive training lately.¡± I said and knelt between their legs. ¡°I must say that the contrasts between your skin tones looks absolutely delicious.¡±


    ¡°What did you sa-OHHH!¡± Val moaned as I licked both her and Jubadi at the same time.


    ¡°I believe you understand his point.¡± Jubadi said and Val nodded.


    When Jubadi was only slightly prepped, I climbed on top and then shoved myself right in. Jubadi moaned this time, then she ground herself into Val''s mound as I pounded her just as hard as she liked it. I got a good rhythm going and looked at Jubadi''s face to see if she was enjoying it, only to see her and Val making out like they were deeply in love.


    It was goddamn hot and I picked up speed as I used one of my hands to caress their breasts. The both of them moaned and I kept going. The harder I went, the more they moaned. By the time I eventually blew my load inside Jubadi, both she and Val looked boneless after coming so much.


    I pulled out and stood up to admire my handiwork. Val and Jubadi cuddled together and looked pretty content, which let me know I had done a good job with them.


    ¡°You don''t know how rare it is to successfully satisfy one of the Dora Milaje.¡± Shuri said and took my hand.


    ¡°I do now.¡± I said and turned to her. ¡°There''s no more room on the bed, My Princess. Would you like to join me in the living room?¡±


    ¡°I would be more than happy to, Royal Consort.¡± Shuri said and we left the bedroom.


    *


    The next morning, we were all invited to breakfast in the penthouse. It was both weird and neat to see all the heroes wearing normal clothing as they sat around a large conference table and enjoyed a great breakfast.


    ¡°You did a great job with the food, Jarvis.¡± I complimented him as I sat the four women with me at the table. I did Shuri first, then Jubadi, then Libula, then Val. That was the pecking order until Val completed her training, then she and Libula would switch places.


    ¡°Your lessons have settled well and your unique viewpoint of recipe compositions and experimentation intrigued me.¡± Jarvis said and handed me five plates. ¡°It''s buffet style, so help yourself.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and did just that. I served the women in the correct order first before I served myself, which seemed to amuse a few people at the table.


    ¡°I see someone''s already whipped.¡± Tony joked and bit into a piece of toast.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Mr. Stark. We usually save the whip for special occasions.¡± Shuri said with a smile and several others made coughing sounds as they choked on their mouthfuls of food. ¡°I also left it and the chains at home.¡±


    I reached over to lightly stroke Shuri''s cheek. ¡°It''s only two months until school''s out.¡±


    Shuri nodded and went back to eating.


    ¡°You''re serious?¡± A female voice asked and I looked over to see Carol Danvers had been the one to speak.


    ¡°It''s just a bit of spice in the bedroom to keep things interesting.¡± I said and saw Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, and Jennifer Walters nod.


    ¡°If you do it all the time, it looses the appeal.¡± Natasha said. ¡°It''s supposed to enhance things occasionally and not stagnate things. That kills a relationship faster than you can say ''uncle''.¡±


    ¡°A bit of role playing is sometimes fun, too.¡± Jennifer said.


    ¡°Oh? What''s your best one so far?¡± Natasha asked.


    Jennifer looked over at me and blushed a little. ¡°A corrupted lawyer and a poor guilty client that needs her help... for a price.¡±


    Natasha nodded. ¡°Very nice. I bet that felt great.¡±


    ¡°It... it did.¡± Jennifer said and blushed harder.


    ¡°Mine is a captured terrorist and I get to interrogate them to get them to talk... by any means.¡± Natasha admitted and then smiled. ¡°They always spill everything they know.¡±


    ¡°That does sound fun.¡± I said and she looked over at me. ¡°The best one I''ve experienced so far was being a valiant knight and rescued a damsel in distress. She was very, very grateful.¡±


    Val blushed this time and didn''t comment.


    ¡°You Midgardians have bedroom games as good as the gods themselves!¡± Thor said and toasted us with a huge mug of coffee.


    ¡°This is the weirdest breakfast conversation I''ve ever witnessed.¡± Bruce said and ate a piece of bacon.


    ¡°I''ve had weirder.¡± Tony said and took a drink of orange juice.


    ¡°I totally agree with that.¡± Scott Lang said. ¡°My wife freaked out when I told her I was coming to New York to fight off an alien horde bent on taking over the world.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you told her and she STILL let you come here?¡± I asked and he nodded. ¡°Dude, you have got to give her a big diamond ring or something!¡±


    ¡°I was thinking a necklace.¡± Scott said. ¡°She definitely deserves it.¡±


    ¡°I second that.¡± Hank said and handed a sugar cube to his ant mount. ¡°Make sure you get a receipt and take pictures of where you got it.¡±


    Scott laughed. ¡°I already did that, sir. No worries.¡±


    ¡°Good man.¡± Hank said.


    I turned and looked at Maria. ¡°Are you starting the physical assessment on the city this morning?¡±


    Maria nodded and swallowed the bite of bagel she had and took a drink of coffee to wash it down. ¡°Thanks to your mostly intact monitoring devices, we can pinpoint a lot of the damage and can focus in those areas first and work our way out.¡±


    ¡°If you need any help, there''s a few people around this table that can help speed things along.¡± I offered.


    Maria gave me a rare public smile and then looked around the table at everyone. ¡°You''ve all done more than enough by stopping as much of the damage as possible and by containing it within the set boundaries. You can leave the drudgery work to the experts.¡±


    ¡°Whew, that''s a relief. I need to get back home.¡± Scott said and looked at me.


    ¡°Anytime you want to leave.¡± I said and glanced at Hank. ¡°Are you sticking around or heading out?¡±


    ¡°I had an idea about putting those ingenious monitoring devices on my swarm and giving you a hand recording all of the damage a flying ant can find.¡± Hank said.


    ¡°That''s a great idea, Hank.¡± I said and looked over at Maria. ¡°How about it, Maria? A personalized army of living drones that can be directed anywhere you want and they will let you know exactly what''s damaged and what needs to be done to fix it?¡±


    Maria looked thoughtful for a few seconds and then nodded as she looked at Hank. ¡°It would speed up the inspection teams a lot if they can just stand below a building and have your workers give them a full scan of the building.¡±


    ¡°I can help you with that.¡± Tony said and smacked Bruce''s arm. ¡°Give me a hand making a scanning device that uses visual and audio mapping techniques.¡±


    I put a hand up, as if I was in school. It worked, because everyone turned to look at me. ¡°My virtual tour program already does that.¡± I said and took out my cell phone. ¡°Hey, Jarvis...¡±


    ¡°I''ve already sent the request to the computer department to release the lockouts on the program for this use only.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said and entered my own codes. ¡°Maria, I''m sending you the open-source code file. Please don''t let anyone else access it. If anyone gets their hand on it...¡±


    ¡°Your program will become freeware and anyone can use it.¡± Tony said in understanding. ¡°You''ll have dozens of comparable knock-offs on the market within days.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and that would suck.¡± I said and sent the file to Maria''s secured tablet. ¡°I''ll work with Hank and we''ll integrate the swarm''s monitoring devices into the scanning network and then we''ll be in business.¡±


    ¡°Then we better get to work and get this done.¡± Hank said and stood. ¡°Thanks for breakfast.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± Jarvis said.


    ¡°It was nice meeting you all like a normal person.¡± I said and stood as well. ¡°Not that any of us are actually normal. We wouldn''t be here saving the world if we had normal lives.¡±


    ¡°That''s true.¡± Carol said and stood up. ¡°Do you mind if I come with you? I want to see some of the tech you said was more advanced than mine.¡±


    ¡°Sure! I needed to talk to you anyway about setting up a communications protocol that we can use when you''re off-planet.¡± I said and her eyebrows rose. ¡°Shuri? Want to give us a hand? Another big brain wouldn''t hurt when working out a few things.¡±


    ¡°You just want another chance to stare at me while I work.¡± Shuri said and stood to take my hand.


    ¡°Can you blame me?¡± I asked with a grin.


    ¡°No, I am guilty of it as well.¡± Shuri admitted and grinned back. ¡°You are quite eye catching. I think it''s because of the startling white skin.¡±


    ¡°HA!¡± I barked and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''ll do my best to get a nice tan this summer.¡±


    Shuri nodded and turned to Libula. ¡°Please take Mr. Lang where he needs to go to buy his present and then back to California.¡±


    ¡°Of course, My Princess.¡± Libula said and stood to bow to her. ¡°I will be discreet about it as well.¡±


    Shuri nodded and I led her, Hank, and Carol to the elevator. Jubadi and Val were right behind us and we piled inside and went down to my rented floor.


    *


    It took two days to scan every building and the results were both comprehensive and extensive. Internal and external damage had been found and everyone had been surprised when Maria made the presentation in the large conference room in Stark Tower. The remaining heroes had been impressed at the display and the detail.


    The assessment was also complete and the cost for repairs would send some insurance rates through the roof, which was when she showed everyone the Spider-Man Damage Relief Fund and the ridiculous monetary amount that had been invested into it.


    Apparently, once word had been released to the public about it, including Parker Incorporated and Stark Industries and their contributions, everyone wanted to help. They had also used the funny picture fundraising idea and that made it fun for everyone and they all participated.


    Of course, the internet and news stations had been flooded with footage of the alien invasion almost as soon as it happened, so everyone in the country knew about it by the time Manhattan had been opened up again and the people were allowed to return to their homes and their jobs.


    The clean-up was well underway and Bestman Salvage was right there in the thick of it, thanks to Ben''s recommendation about how well they had cleaned up several buildings and sites before the invasion. Adrian Toomes had approached him personally and shook his hand as he thanked Ben for giving him the free publicity and all the work.


    Ben had just laughed and said he gave a young kid a chance to improve himself when he didn''t have to, so he had to return the favor. He also apologized that he couldn''t quit his other job to work for him again. That made Adrian laugh, because they both ran companies that employed a bunch of people and had much more responsibility than either of them had expected when they first started out.


    Ben also bought the house Val had rented for the next college year and he would put the money she was spending for rent into an account for her to have as a retirement fund. It wasn''t like he would ever need money ever again, thanks to his booming company.


    Because of all the publicity for the heroes during the invasion where they kicked ass, Parker Incorporated''s Toy and Merchandise Division finally released the first round of action figures. They flew of the shelves as the various stores tried to stock them. They were praised for their detail, durability, and versatility. No one had ever seen a simple toy with so much articulation before and adults started to buy them for themselves as well as their kids.


    T-shirts, posters, baseball caps, and even plastic props of the weapons and armors that the heroes used, were the hottest sellers on the market. The public couldn''t get enough of them, especially because three of the heroes were just people inside armored suits. That sparked everyone''s imaginations as they realized that they could be heroes as well, if given the chance and had millions of dollars to spend.


    Or they could join The Avengers.


    Stark Tower was soon renamed Avengers Tower, because it had been the primary site of the epic world-changing battlefield. Tony was surprisingly okay with it and had the name on the side changed to reflect the building''s new status. He would never admit that it was actually nice to have a bunch of people around him that were just as weird and eccentric as he was. They had a lot in common, too.


    *


    ¡°I can''t believe I''m the best selling figure.¡± Carol Danvers said as she slipped on her costume. She had just finished a shower after having a very enthusiastic romp in bed with her technically young lover. He had told her that he had spent ten years in a time suppression field as he trained to keep the tesseract safe, so she didn''t feel guilty at all that she really enjoyed being with him.


    Ben had compared it to her travelling in space and the suspension of her own aging process, so she completely agreed with his reasoning. It wasn''t how old they physically were, it was how they felt about themselves and how they treated others that mattered. That he was a very experienced lover was a huge bonus for her and might have skewed her opinion, too.


    Carol wasn''t sure why it didn''t bother her that he had several other lovers, sometimes at the same time in the case of his betrothed and his guards. She had watched them go at it once and she could do nothing but admire his ability to make sure that they all had his attention. He also ensured that they didn''t feel neglected and he definitely made sure that they were pleased first.


    ¡°Have you looked in the mirror, Carol? You''re like a glowing goddess when you power up.¡± Ben said in admiration. ¡°We''re already on a third casting for your Captain Marvel version and second for the pilot and plane.¡±


    Carol walked over to him and gave him a warm smile. ¡°You really should release the Goose plush.¡±


    Ben shook his head. ¡°Fury''s kept the Flerkin secret for over twenty years. I''m not going to be responsible for making humanity nervous that their house cats could be aliens.¡±


    Carol gave him a tender kiss. ¡°You really do care about people as a whole.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t have tried to help them if I didn''t.¡± Ben said and then smirked as they left the room and went to the elevator. ¡°Then again, it did get me a chance to see you in person. That alone made all of my efforts worth it.¡±


    Carol smiled back as the elevator doors opened. ¡°You''re such a lying charmer.¡±


    ¡°It''s only a lie if it''s not true.¡± Ben said and pulled her inside and gave her another kiss. ¡°Remember to leave the package of food and equipment in storage until you want to have it back to full size. There''s no way to return it afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Hank was nice enough to do that for me. I won''t abuse his trust.¡± Carol said as the elevator rose to the penthouse.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ben said and cupped the sides of her face. ¡°Are you sure you''re up for that side trip?¡±


    Carol put her hands on his and closed her eyes to kiss him for several moments. She broke the kiss when the elevator doors opened and she opened her eyes to see a happy smile on Ben''s face.


    ¡°They''ll never know the difference.¡± Carol said.


    ¡°Then I''ll see you again in a month or two.¡± Ben said and led her across the penthouse and out onto the patio deck. ¡°Do you want me to escort you to the upper atmosphere?¡±


    ¡°It''s hard enough saying goodbye to you here where I can still touch you.¡± Carol whispered.


    Ben pulled her close once more. ¡°This isn''t goodbye, Carol. We''ll see each other again soon.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I...¡± Carol started and then sighed. ¡°I''m not the kind of girl that wants to be a part of a harem.¡±


    Ben had to smile at that. ¡°Did you know that a true harem is sequestered from the rest of the world, locked in a set of rooms, and are only allowed to interact with other women so they are never tempted or influenced by another man? Not even their own sons?¡±


    Carol blinked her eyes at that. ¡°You''re joking.¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Ben said. ¡°Forget all of the false harems like they show in anime and manga. That''s not a harem. That''s a bunch of horny women chasing an ignorant fool that wouldn''t know what to do with one of them, let alone a bunch of them.¡±


    Carol looked confused. ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°A real harem is where one man has multiple wives and they all love him or want to be taken care of, possibly care about each other if the women and the man are lucky, and provide him children. That''s it. It''s archaic and quite stressful to keep them happy, if the man cared about that, especially once sons are born and they are not allowed to raise them past a certain age.¡±


    ¡°You''ve done the research on this?¡± Carol asked.


    ¡°Extensively. Dating multiple women, loving multiple women, and even having children with multiple women, doesn''t count as a harem. Since multiple marriages are illegal and considered polygamy, an actual harem is not achievable anyway.¡± Ben said and smiled. ¡°Plus, you signed the contracts. When you want to take a year off from saving the universe...¡±


    Carol felt a bit of pressure and looked down to see him poke her belly button through her new vibranium cloth reinforced costume. She blushed at the implication and lifted her eyes to look into his.


    ¡°I believe that we''re both going to be around for a very long time.¡± Ben said. ¡°There''s no rush and no pressure.¡±


    ¡°What about Shuri?¡± Carol asked.


    ¡°The arranged marriage is four years away. If you don''t want to try before then, an average human''s lifespan is about 80 years. That''s about 60 years before the clauses in the contract become active again. Planetside, anyway.¡±


    Carol nodded, because she knew that the relative time for her as she travelled through space was different than when she was on a planet.


    ¡°Just keep it in mind and don''t forget to call.¡± Ben said and lightly touched the wrist of her suit. ¡°I want to test it at the moon, Jupiter past the asteroid belt, and at the edge of the solar system.¡±


    ¡°I''ll remember.¡± Carol said and gave him another kiss. ¡°Thanks for the upgrades.¡±


    Ben smiled and stepped back. ¡°I wasn''t going to let my favorite space babe leave Earth unprotected.¡±


    ¡°Space Babe? Really?¡± Carol asked and put a hand on her hip to glare at him.


    ¡°I''m only quoting the internet.¡± Ben said with a grin and pointed up. ¡°Go ahead and show everyone that calling you babe is a mistake.¡±


    Carol looked up and saw several news helicopters hovering nearby. She looked at him and grinned back. ¡°Thanks, Ben.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, Captain Marvel.¡± Ben said and saluted. ¡°Knock''em dead, ma''am!¡±


    Carol''s helmet deployed and she saluted back, then she glowed and shot up into the air to hover in front of the helicopters. She spread her arms to the side and started to glow... and glow... and energy flowed around her like a storm. She let a single small pulse out and a blue ring expanded out and the helicopters were pushed back a hundred feet before they recovered.


    The energy flowed back to her and formed a one foot barrier around her, then she looked up into the sky and took off like a rocket.


    ¡°She''s such a showoff.¡± Ben said with a chuckle and waved at the cameras before he went inside. He had school next week when it reopened and he had a lot of studying to do as his normal life started up again.

 120 Return To Normality

    Bokuboy


    I was disappointed when the Free Ice Skating Competition and Show was delayed again. One thing after another kept popping up and interfering with getting everyone together. This last time was Kate Bishop''s fault, because she had a gymnastics meet and couldn''t make it, which removed the entire point of her ''Pairs'' debut and training me to be her partner.


    Instead of being upset about it, I had Jarvis cancel it outright, with my regrets. A fifth delay was not going to happen, because I was done. I had better things to do than be up early for skate training several times a week for no purpose. I was sure Kate was going to be upset about it and I would just do the same thing as her from now on. I would be too busy for her to complain.


    I did the morning coffee and donuts thing for both the school''s office staff and for the teachers, even if the sad looks on several of the teacher''s faces was a discouragement. On the plus side, Mary Strickland had kept her face professional and tried to not give me any hints that she knew what I was doing with the extra course materials that I had packed into my life the last couple of months.


    Mary and the school''s librarian Gladys were good friends and talked a lot, which meant she knew I was studying my ass off for the exams in two months. She also knew what that meant and I could almost see the anticipation in her eyes every time I passed near the office and she saw me.


    It was almost funny, because I had someone that secretly wanted me to excel and graduate early, just so I would keep my fairly lewd promise to her. Of course, getting to bend her over her work counter and having everyone see us going at it, was a surprisingly enticing turn-on. She might even lose her job over it.


    That made me decide to offer her the receptionist job that one of Jennifer Walter''s friends was handling on the side for the company as she also worked as a paralegal. I would get Jennifer to check to see if the experience was too much for her or if she wanted to keep both jobs and I''d let Mary become a supervisor or even my own personal assistant, like Pepper was for Tony.


    The thought made me laugh, because it meant I would essentially be handing my company over to her, which I technically couldn''t do until I was eighteen and assumed full rights over everything. Then again, Aunt May was still working as a nurse as the building we bought near Hell''s Kitchen was being redone and she had Doris handle setting up the clinic and homeless shelter.


    Needless to say, Doris was quite excited to be the one in charge, even unofficially, because she still worked for the hospital administration. Both she and May spent countless hours discussing things about both businesses, especially the not-for-profit aspect, because it gave them a massive amount of leeway with how they handled acquisitions for equipment, medical supplies, furniture, and food.


    The building itself had started out as a rental and turned into a purchase, because as luck would have it, it suffered quite a bit of damage during the invasion of New York. I would never admit that I kind of ensured that would happen and the owner didn''t want to deal with the headache of getting the thing fixed up or arranging the permits for everything.


    Permits for repairs, expansions, and upgrades, usually cost thousands of dollars in both actual cost and bribes, and took weeks to months to acquire. So, I had Jarvis slip them into the system and had them issued and skipped the entire waste of time instead. Of course, I had also added in ones for Stark Tower and Fisk Tower, which would be renamed to Parker Tower like Stark Tower had been renamed to Avengers Tower.


    The construction crews that worked on the repairs enjoyed the doubled paycheck for a rush job, too. Happy workers meant good work. Extremely happy workers meant great work. Well fed and coffee filled workers meant they loved working for you and gave you their best work, which was exactly what I wanted.


    With everything that was going on, my life seemed to settle down into a normal routine once more. I was still working my ass off and studying damn near constantly; but, it became an easily achievable routine and I thrived with it.


    My school life had changed slightly as well. Val had slowly migrated from Liz''s group of friends to spend her spare time with myself, Jubadi, Sally, and Shuri. She even finished her club activities early and gained the extra credit for it and started spending her new lunch period with us. With only two months before exams, she claimed that she wanted to make sure I wasn''t going to change my mind about her.


    That made me laugh and I had given her a fairly intensive make-out session right there in the cafeteria, in front of everyone, which had Shuri laughing hysterically at everyone''s shocked reaction to it. Jubadi even picked up the tablet to give Shuri a better view of the other students and their reactions.


    ¡°They have such a limited view of how relationships work and can change.¡± Shuri had said when Jubadi put the tablet back onto the mount on the table.


    ¡°If Liz and the others were here, they would be freaking out.¡± Val agreed. She hadn''t blushed or reacted negatively to either the kissing or the reaction from the crowd. In fact, she had looked quite turned on. I would discover this was true when she had dragged us into the bathroom after lunch and gave me a very enthusiastic blowjob.


    Sally had stood there and learned a lot about what to do. She gave me a similar treatment that Friday during gym class and I thanked her profusely for it. I had learned to never take their attention for granted and her blush and pleased look told me that she appreciated that I appreciated her. That she also got off by having sex publicly was just a nice bonus for the both of us.


    It took almost three weeks before Max couldn''t take the rumors and implications around us anymore and approached us during lunch. She looked really sad and like a puppy that was about to be kicked. It was quite the display, especially with the cafeteria as crowded as it was.


    Val gave me a pointed look and shook her head in denial that she had anything to do with it as Max actually apologized for being so stupid and for abandoning me. She wasn''t asking to be added back into what we had before, because she said she didn''t deserve it. She just wanted to be friends again.


    I ignored Val''s whispers to accept and stared at Max as I felt the sceptre''s subtle influence. It was quite the rush to concentrate on someone and feel their emotions like that. I let her stand there for ten seconds without saying anything. Tears started to come to Max''s eyes and I actually felt her emotions building to the point that she was going to give up again.


    I couldn''t allow that, so I held my arms up as if to hug her.


    ¡°OH, BEN!¡± Max yelled and fell into my arms and onto my lap. She burst out crying and was completely inconsolable for most of the lunch period as she clung to me and berated herself for being so stupid. I stroked her back while she kept promising that she would never do anything so foolish ever again. The best part about that was I believed her and also felt her emotions cement to keep her promises.


    ¡°You''re in no fit state to go to class.¡± I said and looked at Val. ¡°Give my regards to your next teacher, please. With all these witnesses, I doubt they''ll question why Max isn''t there this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What about your robotics class?¡± Val asked just as the bell rang to end lunch.


    I had to smile. ¡°I''ve been giving the teacher lessons the last two classes.¡±


    Val snorted and then laughed as she stood. ¡°Of course you were.¡± She said and put a hand on Max''s shoulder as she leaned down and kissed her cheek. ¡°I''m so glad that you decided to fess up and apologize.¡±


    ¡°M-m-me, too.¡± Max said and didn''t bother trying to wipe off her tear-streaked face. ¡°I''ve been torn about all of this ever since... since...¡± She shook her head. ¡°I''ve been an idiot and I can''t... I don''t want to be that kind of girl anymore.¡±


    ¡°What kind of girl?¡± I asked, a little confused.


    ¡°An honorary blonde.¡± Max said.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Val said and smacked her shoulder, which made Max laugh a little and sob at the same time.


    ¡°You know I didn''t mean you.¡± Max said. ¡°Out of all of us, you were the only one smart enough to apologize as soon as you could.¡±


    Val leaned down to briefly hug her and then stood up straight. ¡°Don''t ruin this chance for yourself.¡± She said and nodded to Jubadi before looking at the tablet. ¡°Princess, until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Have a good evening, Valerie.¡± Shuri said.


    Val gave my cheek a kiss and then left the cafeteria.


    Max watched as the entire place emptied before she looked at me. She was still on my lap and she seemed to realize that and became embarrassed, because my erection pressed into her thigh that rested against me.


    ¡°Friends can still comfort each other.¡± I said and tightened my hold on her.


    ¡°B-Ben, I... I shouldn''t be... um...¡± Max started to say and looked uncomfortable.


    ¡°I will let you handle this, sithandwa.¡± Shuri said to me and looked at Max. ¡°It was nice to finally meet you, Maxine. I have been waiting a long time to do so.¡±


    Max blushed deeply from embarrassment and nodded. ¡°Y-your h-highness.¡±


    Shuri smiled and nodded back. ¡°Jubadi.¡±


    ¡°Until the morning, My Princess.¡± Jubadi said and bowed as much as she could while sitting down, then she ended the call and put the tablet into my backpack. ¡°Shall we give our regrets to your teacher and head to Avengers Tower?¡±


    I nodded and stood with Max still in my arms. She let out a startled sound and her arms clung to my neck. She didn''t comment as I walked with her through the school to tell my robotics teacher that I had some personal things to take care of.


    Mr. Kinneson nodded and handed Jubadi my project paper with a large 110+ written on it in red ink. ¡°You''re lucky you''re too young to be hired by the school to replace me.¡±


    ¡°I would just build an android to do that, sir.¡± I said and he let out a laugh.


    ¡°After reading that paper, I actually don''t doubt that you could.¡± Mr. Kinneson said.


    We left the class and Max didn''t say a word as I proved to her that I actually could have carried Liz all around the school that day after our first kiss. We went to my locker and exchanged my books for the next day and went to Max''s locker to do the same thing. I carried her outside and Max''s blush didn''t fade as we went to the bus stop.


    Surprisingly, she didn''t ask to be put down, even when I carried her onto the bus. The looks that everyone gave us were a mix of surprise and amusement. I ignored them and stayed quiet myself as we rode the bus to the right stop. We entered Avengers Tower and Max''s eyes stared at everything.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Parker.¡± The doorman said and shut the door. ¡°Will I be adding the young lady''s name to your allowable list?¡±


    I nodded and he smiled as he led us through the crowd and over to the elevator. He blocked anyone else joining us and nodded as the doors closed. ¡°Remind me to tip him when we leave.¡±


    Jubadi relaxed slightly. ¡°Your hands are occupied for some reason.¡±


    I chuckled and the elevator opened on our floor.


    ¡°Welcome, sir!¡± The current receptionist said from her desk in the newly expanded lobby.


    ¡°Hi, Wendy.¡± I said and walked over to her. ¡°Do you mind if Jubadi signs for me today? As she informed me, my hands seem to be occupied for some reason.¡±


    Wendy laughed as Max blushed hard. ¡°I suppose I can allow the boss to have his personal guard confirm that he really is here in front of me.¡±


    I laughed as well and Jubadi signed for me and herself.


    Wendy picked up the log book and Max signed her own name. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Y-you''re w-welcome.¡± Max managed to say, even though she was still embarrassed.


    Wendy handed Jubadi a file folder. ¡°You should be happy to know that the new expansion for the virtual tour program is finished and will be released on Friday.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± I asked and she nodded. ¡°Remind me to give our crew another vacation.¡±


    Wendy laughed at the joke, since that was all they did, and pointed at the file folder. ¡°They''re already in Greece and will head to Germany next.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you can suggest they head to Brazil next and maybe Cuba or Madagascar after that.¡±


    Wendy''s smile was bright and happy. ¡°I think they will definitely like those suggestions, sir.¡±


    I smiled back and carried Max down the hallway and gave her a tour of the various facilities I had available on the floor. I didn''t bother taking her down a floor to show off the computer labs or anything and just told her about it all as she gawked at the scientific equipment in the labs.


    ¡°You really are going to try and graduate with us.¡± Max said as I sat down on the couch in the apartment at the back of the building.


    ¡°I kind of have to.¡± I said and she looked surprised. ¡°I have so much work to do and projects to handle that spending eight hours a day at school is severely cutting into my ability to manage everything.¡±


    Max looked around the very nice apartment and back at me. ¡°Do you live here now?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°This was just a large storage area I used to construct some very important equipment and then converted the space for a friend to stay in while she was in the city for about a week.¡±


    Max''s mouth dropped open and she stared at me. ¡°You did all this for a friend to live in for a week?¡±


    I laughed at her stunned expression. ¡°Taken out of context, it really does sound outrageous.¡±


    ¡°I doubt putting it into context will change that.¡± Jarvis said over the intercom. ¡°I apologize for the interruption, Ben. You wanted to be informed when Miss Potts was returning.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Jarvis. She''s a few hours earlier than we expected.¡± I said. ¡°Is she in the helicopter yet or still on the plane at the airport?¡±


    ¡°Helicopter. Eta fifteen minutes.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. I''ll meet her up on the helipad. Thanks for letting me know.¡± I said and he clicked off. ¡°Max? How would you like to meet the super-rich CEO of Stark Industries?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Max exclaimed and blushed. ¡°I... I mean... I''m not even dressed properly and...¡±


    I barked a laugh and hugged her. ¡°It''s all right, Max. I would have warned you if I knew Pepper''s schedule had changed. You can stay here with Jubadi and I''ll only be an hour or so. I have a few things to work out with Pepper and we can hang out for the rest of the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Max said and climbed off of my lap as she looked at the tall Amazonian-like warrior.


    Just like she had with Val the first time, Jubadi knelt with a hand over her heart and apologized for her imposing figure that was necessary to protect me, even if I didn''t really need her protection sometimes. Max looked suitably impressed at the debasement of such a strong woman and forgave her, just like Val had.


    ¡°Why don''t you show her some of the base movements as you train?¡± I suggested to Jubadi.


    ¡°That is a great idea, sithandwa.¡± Jubadi said. ¡°There are attached showers to the training area and we can get cleaned up.¡±


    Max nodded and Jubadi led her out of the apartment and down the hallway. I stood up and left the apartment to head up to meet Pepper. I hadn''t seen her in quite some time and I wasn''t sure where we stood with each other. Our friendship had changed as our business partnership expanded and we both earned millions and millions of dollars with each new successful product we made.


    I also knew that she had rekindled her relationship with Tony. The smug looks he would shoot at me when he thought I wasn''t looking, were quite informative. He had successfully let me know without actually saying anything, which was quite the change in his normal personality quirks. Like the Hulk, Tony was not subtle.


    I walked right out through the penthouse apartment and up to the helipad on the roof. I stood there and watched as the helicopter approached and came in for a landing. I hadn''t engaged the cloaking technology I had installed on the building''s roof, since it wasn''t really needed after the battle. I would tell Pepper about it, just so she would have the option to stop everyone from seeing her or anyone else getting up to something on the patio deck.


    I didn''t move back as the helicopter landed twenty-five feet away and the blades whipped by only five feet from my face. The looks of surprise on the faces of the pilot and co-pilot were priceless. Pepper just looked highly amused. I ducked as I walked over to the helicopter and opened the side door for her.


    ¡°Welcome back, Pepper!¡± I said with as much warmth as a shout could hold, because the still spinning rotor blades barely allowed any talking.


    ¡°Thank you, Ben!¡± Pepper responded as she took my offered hand for balance.


    I helped her out and the co-pilot hopped out of his own door and grabbed her bags from the storage compartment in the tail of the helicopter. I took them from him with a nod and he saluted before he ran back around and hopped back into the helicopter. Pepper and I ducked and walked over to the stairs and went down them. The helicopter''s engine revved up and the flying machine took off again.


    ¡°They''re in a hurry.¡± I commented and motioned with my elbow to walk across the patio. To my surprise, Pepper wrapped her arms around my elbow and leaned into me.


    ¡°They have another VIP to deal with at the airport and were kind enough to drop me off first when my plane arrived early.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± I said and we entered the penthouse. She led me over to the elevator and not to the master bedroom. I raised my eyebrows at her and she gave me a demure smile.


    ¡°We really do have a few things to discuss.¡± Pepper said. ¡°Both professionally and personally.¡±


    ¡°We do.¡± I agreed and we rode the elevator down to the floor where the CEO had their own luxury apartment. I couldn''t decide if I was looking forward to it or not.

 121 The End Of The Beginning

    Bokuboy


    Pepper didn''t say anything as I helped her unpack and put her things away. She gave me odd looks occasionally as we worked and I ignored them until we were done and I took her hand and led her back to her living room.


    I sat her down on the couch and brought a chair over to put right in front of where she sat and sat down myself. It was my turn to stay quiet and I kept my face neutral as I waited for her to decide when she wanted to tell me what she wanted to tell me.


    Pepper took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I suppose you''re wondering why I''m not jumping your bones, even though this is the first time we''ve been alone together since you gained a personal bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°The thought had crossed my mind once or a hundred times.¡± I said with a slight smile.


    ¡°Ben, you''re a really great friend and... well, that is... I...¡± Pepper let out a sigh. ¡°This is a lot harder to say than I thought it was going to be.¡±


    I let the silence linger for several moments before I broke it. ¡°You decided to give Tony another chance.¡±


    Pepper caught her breath and looked into my eyes. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°I''m not unobservant.¡± I said. ¡°My first clue was that you dropped everything to rush to his side when I gave you the means to save his life.¡±


    Pepper blushed slightly. ¡°Ben, I...¡±


    I leaned forward in the chair and took her hand. ¡°Pepper, you love who you love. Sometimes there''s no helping that and you want to give him the chance to change, even after all this time.¡±


    Pepper nodded. ¡°He was so different while he was recovering and...¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to explain.¡± I said and smiled at her. ¡°I''m just glad you remembered that we''re friends and you can talk to me about anything you want.¡±


    ¡°But, I... we...¡± Pepper paused and sighed. ¡°I''m sorry, Ben. We can''t do things like that anymore.¡±


    I gave her hand a light squeeze. ¡°Pepper, that''s the great thing about sharing so much with each other and being sex friends. You can change your mind about it.¡±


    Pepper gave me another odd look. ¡°Why are you just letting me do this? Why aren''t you arguing that you want to keep me in your bed and...¡±


    I moved forward and gave her a passionate kiss. She moaned and her free hand went to the back of my neck and she ran her hand through my long hair. Her other hand let mine go and she pulled me close to kiss me back just as passionately. We did that for several minutes and we slowed down and broke the kiss. The surprised look on her face was worth proving my point.


    ¡°Pepper, you will always be welcome in my bed. I would fight for it if that was what you actually wanted.¡± I said and she caught her breath. ¡°Instead, you want to try and find love that will be exclusively yours and you know I can''t offer that. I do admire that you are willing to try and I''ll help you as much as I can.¡±


    ¡°B-but... I thought...¡± Pepper stopped talking and looked unsure.


    ¡°You''ve already made a huge difference in Tony''s attitude. Just mentioning you makes him smile.¡±


    ¡°It does?¡± Pepper asked, surprised.


    ¡°You obviously have not been paying attention to how dedicated that Tony and I are to making you happy.¡± I chuckled and sat back on my chair. ¡°I pretty much gave you his company and guess what? Surprise, surprise! He doesn''t resent either of us because of that.¡±


    Pepper looked shocked.


    ¡°I''ve even done my best to collaborate with Stark Industries and we''ve made about a billion dollars in profit. I didn''t want your decision to look out for yourself to ensure your financial future to become the wrong one. It wasn''t.¡± I said and grinned. ¡°I hope you''re ready, because it''s going to happen again next month when the smart televisions are going to be released.¡±


    Pepper closed her eyes and hugged herself slightly. ¡°Ben, you... why are you...¡±


    ¡°Pepper, you are a very important woman in my life. If it wasn''t for you, I...¡± I stopped and took her hand again to kiss the back of it. ¡°I would feel horrible if I didn''t make sure that you were happy with your own life. If that means standing by and letting you devote yourself to the man you''ve spent years with before we became friends, then I am going to do exactly that.¡±


    Pepper blushed and looked into my eyes. ¡°Do you really mean that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I said and tried to let her hand go and she held on. ¡°You do your best to build a future for yourself and you can depend on me to help as much as I can.¡±


    Pepper pulled on my hand and I leaned forward for her. She leaned forward as well and gave me a chaste kiss. ¡°Thank you for understanding.¡±


    ¡°That''s what friends are for.¡± I said and sat back. ¡°Just so you know, the contract is still active. If you change your mind about anything, a huge batch of supremely magical swimmers will find their way to your womb.¡±


    Pepper blushed and laughed at the same time.


    ¡°Now that we''ve got that pleasantness out of the way, why don''t we get a coffee and start discussing our future business dealings and a few new products that should make us even more money?¡±


    Pepper''s blush faded and she nodded. We went to the kitchen and I made us some coffee before we sat at the kitchen table. I did not miss the happy smile she shot me between each sip of coffee.


    *


    A week later, I sat at my desk at school in Geometry class and ignored the teacher and what he tried to explain, because I had pretty much crammed all of the information into my head already. Instead of paying attention, I slowly went over everything that had happened since I woke up in this world and what was going to happen next. It was now the middle of May and I had a month left before my intense exam schedule was going to start.


    The thing was, I couldn''t remember any significant events happening between when the Chitauri invasion happened and the Convergence of the Realms that was going to happen next year. I was almost flabbergasted at that realization until I carefully went over the events I had streamlined and altered to both fit and not really change anything important.


    I had already saved Tony''s heart from shrapnel and removed Killian and AIM as the villains, which stopped the Iron Man 3 movie from happening this coming Christmas in California. That meant no fake Mandarin or Ten Rings, which wouldn''t come to a head for another ten years or so. With no pretender to the title, they wouldn''t expose themselves or their hidden village. Shang-Chi might never gain the Rings of Power at all.


    Agents of Shield wouldn''t happen as it did, because of my interference. At least I assumed so, because Phil Coulson hadn''t been given his own team yet to investigate the anomalies popping up. If it went by my previous knowledge, it wouldn''t be approved until near the end of 2013. That was going to be a long time to wait for anything interesting to happen.


    I had also changed the need of and appearances for Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, and a few others. It was funny what the removal of all mobs and major criminal elements from an area would do for the local population. In fact, most of them wouldn''t even be created as a hero and would keep their normal lives. I was actually a little proud of that.


    Because of the extensive clean-up of all alien artifacts, none of the technology had made it into the hands of civilians. That meant no creation of the Vulture, thanks to my own campaign to make sure Adrian and his guys all had great paying projects to do. Also, no random unexplainable crimes would happen because of the alien tech. I had pretty much erased any need for Spider-Man''s first solo movie in the MCU, too.


    That thought brought me to the current crop of heroes and Spider-Man''s first official appearance in Civil War. Since I had changed a lot of their opinions and we all got along, and because I also diverted the creation of the main villain for Age of Ultron, there would be no Sokovia disaster or Sokovia Accords as a result for the heroes to fight over.


    It was a heavy thing to change that much and also not change anything significant. I would need to keep an eye out for any replacement events that might happen, even if there was no inherent cause that seemed to drive everything.


    Of course, the Infinity Stones were still a thing and Earth was currently home to three of them. Two of the other three were unobtainable at the moment. The Soul Stone was on that weird planet and you had to give up something you loved to get it. I wasn''t doing that. I had already given up my old life to get this one and I wasn''t going to take the chance that me loving my new life would be the price I would have to pay.


    The Aether was also out of reach, since there was no way to convince the Asgardians to tell me where the Forbidden Planet was that they had stashed the uncompressed form of the Reality Stone. It was also the power that the Dark Elves desired to change the universe into Dark Matter. I would definitely need to arrange a few things to divert those events during the Convergence while portals opened up at random around the world.


    The last one, the Power Stone, was ridiculously easy to obtain for someone used to traversing space, as long as you knew where it was and how to get it. I did and had informed Carol Danvers about it and what it could do if Ronan gained it. Captain Marvel was going to do me a favor and would switch it with the fake I had made and bring it to me for safe keeping.


    No one would discover the metal artifact it was inside for about three years, during the events of Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn''t want to change the creation of that successful team and had even suggested that Captain Marvel might want to show up then and maybe hang around to give them a hand or two. The universe was a big and dangerous place, after all.


    Of course, there was the mess that Natasha Romanoff would have gotten into during Civil War when her adopted sister approached her for help with rescuing the remaining Black Widows from the Red Room''s influence. Then again, they had some massive brainwashing and believed they were perfectly okay as Black Widow Assassins.


    I smiled as I thought about another mission for some European SHIELD agents to complete for me. I could bring Natasha in on it as well and also tell her that I could remove the brainwashing influence, because I had Loki''s mostly depowered sceptre. I could only hope that she would jump at the chance and agreed to help. Clearing out some of the ''red in her ledger'' was a high priority for her.


    Doctor Strange was next, around 2016 and 2017, and The Ancient One had been planning to train her replacement for decades, not counting the time we had spent in a time suppression field. My comment about her actually living her life instead of planning for her death, really gave her a shock and a lot to think about.


    I didn''t mention that seeing her death might not mean her losing her life, since any significant change in someone''s life could be considered the death of the old one. That was a bit too existential and mind-twisting for us to have during an after sex conversation.


    Of course, the thought of death made me think of Thor: Ragnarok, where the goddess of Hel named Hela, who in the MCU version is the sister of Thor and Loki and not Loki''s daughter, successfully escaped her exile in Hel to assault Asgard to bring about the End Times for the Asgardians. Most of them would be killed, despite them being practically immortal.


    Hela''s realm overflows with the dead and she is killed and sent there herself. Since she loses her life, she is no longer exiled and becomes the permanent ruler of the Realm and resigns herself to an eternity of doing the same boring job. On the plus side, she had a lot of new members to torture and torment and they would keep her interest for a century or more. That wasn''t so bad, really.


    I would definitely need to intervene somehow. Then again, I couldn''t really change it, since the event is pivotal in the timeline''s events and Asgard needed to be destroyed to free the nine realms from its influence.


    However, I could... with a lot of work and money... perhaps fake all of those Asgardian deaths. Hela would go to her final resting place believing she was getting nearly everyone and would realize she had gained nothing at all.


    I almost laughed out loud at the look that would be on her face when she died and realized she had been cheated. I stopped myself before I caught the attention of the teacher and ducked my head to pretend to copy down what he had drawn on the board.


    My mind went to Hank and our quest to get his wife Janet back from the Quantum Realm, which meant he wouldn''t have to wait another six years for it to happen. Maybe a few words about how his daughter might help with the project could start to mend a few fences. Then again, she had betrayed him and their family for personal gain. That was a hard thing for someone to come to grips with.


    After that was Infinity War, which I had already changed significantly. I wasn''t sure if The Snap has to happen, because it gets undone five years later and everyone is brought back. The chaos that caused all across the universe when the people that had died years ago were suddenly back, actually made the overpopulation problem that Thanos was concerned about become infinitely worse.


    I sighed and stopped doodling the Infinity Gauntlet. If the Snap event happened as before and was reset, thanks to both the Avengers going back through time to gather the Infinity Stones from other timelines and they performed the Unsnap, I could stop the event from happening completely and it shouldn''t upset the timeline at all.


    That also derailed the other movies in Spider-Man''s MCU life, Far From Home in 2023 and No Way Home right afterwards. The first was a trick by Mysterio to get Spider-Man to help him get revenge on Tony Stark for stealing his tech and the second was because Mysterio revealed Spider-Man''s civilian identity and he had Doctor Strange rewrite history and it opened the multiverse.


    I took out my cell phone under the edge of my desk and checked with Jarvis about Quentin Beck. He had a job application with Stark Industries and I had Jarvis reject it and blacklist the man. It was more humane than putting a bullet into Quentin''s head later when he discovered that anything he made while working for Stark was actually the company''s property and not his own.


    I thanked Jarvis and put my phone away. The bell rang and I packed up and left the class to go to Statistics. It was another wasted class and I sat there as I thought about what happened after the multiverse was opened by accident. The Ancient One''s caution was justified about opening dimensional rifts without centuries of experience to handle it.


    The Multiverse of Madness was as eye-opening as it was damaging. There were multiple iterations of existing heroes and villains, including ones from the different movies I had seen. That meant that all of the superhero movies I knew about actually did exist as a real dimension within the multiverse. Hell, even aspects of the comics I knew about were represented as well.


    Doctor Strange had not been prepared to handle the task he had dropped on his lap, even if it did kind of work out in the end. America Chavez having the ability to traverse the multiverse however she wanted was a shock as well as being a completely broken power.


    Forget about all of the multiverse diseases and infections she could spread across multiple Earths, or any evil beings that might have chased her, like an emotionally broken Scarlet Witch or a dimensional tentacle demon that hunted anything that breached the multiverse''s integrity.


    Instead, just imagine the technology and scientific developments she could copy and bring back. She could raid multiple dimensions for things and could become insanely rich or even destroy the world if she found the wrong kind of technology, like out of control nanobots or sentient machines bent on humanity''s destruction.


    At least she''s not native to this dimension and won''t show up here for another decade or so. I thought with relief as the bell rang. I left the classroom and dropped my things into my locker and went with Jubadi to the cafeteria. Val, Max, and Sally met us there and we spent the time eating great food, chatting with Shuri, and enjoying each other''s company.


    I had robotics class that afternoon and Mr. Kinneson said he was looking forward to me building a mock-up of an artificial brain to complete my high school education in his course. It really was nice of him to sign off on it and award me all of the credits I would have earned if I spent four years in his course.


    I would have to put his name into my first dissertation paper as a thank you.

 122 Another Promise To Keep

    Bokuboy


    I had to take three weeks off from both work at SHIELD and my company to prepare myself fully for the intense exams I would be taking at the end of June. They would also last for three weeks, because there was only one large auditorium for the students to write their exams and it was done by year.


    It was going to be a hectic schedule and I really had to buckle down to learn everything I needed for all of the courses the high school had to offer. I had to start spending more and more extra time in the library with Gladys and I progressed much faster than she had expected. The intense looks she gave me when she thought I wasn''t looking, inspired me to work even harder to keep that look on her face.


    Shuri, Val, and Max did their best to help me as well. Having them available was a great resource and I liked surprising them by excelling in the subjects they were studying themselves. It made me feel that much better about everything, because I was going to succeed and I would do it years before I was supposed to.


    On the Sunday before the exams were going to start, I took the day off and invited all of my friends out to Central Park to have a fun picnic day. To my surprise, everyone showed up, even Maria Hill, Tony, Pepper, Natasha and Clint. The day had turned into this whole reckless event and we all had fun, which was also a surprise.


    We eventually ended up at Coney Island and rode on the rides, ate greasy foods, and played games at the stalls. We even relaxed on the beach afterwards and enjoyed talking about nothing and just hanging out. Who knew that being happy yourself would make other people happy by just being around you?


    Before we called it a night, I had taken Natasha aside and told her about what I had planned for her sister and her friends that shared her codename. The shocked look on her face was worth keeping it a secret until now. I also handed her a USB with the things I had worked out and the orders that would be issued to take care of the people that ran the Red Room. The kiss she gave me was phenomenal, too.


    The next day was the start of three weeks of exam writing hell.


    I had to constantly hold in my laugh as I blew through most of my first year exams as if they were elementary school tests. A few were taxing, just because I didn''t like the courses and had to learn the material anyway. I was sure I passed them with good marks, even if they weren''t outstanding like the easier exams.


    I spent the next weekend cramming and on that Monday started the second year exams. Since they were more specialized, the courses available were dependent on the ones passed in first year. I had spent a bit of time with both Gladys and Mary Strickland to work out my specialties and Mary had me focus specifically on the hard sciences like robotics, chemistry, and computers.


    That decision let me drop the softer subjects like biology, languages, and geography, which gave me a bit of breathing room and I managed to pass the main course exams with great marks and four of the specialty courses with outstanding marks. Having someone inside the office to get me my marks as they came in instead of having to wait, really was a godsend and a relief.


    The last two days of that second week and the first two days of the third week were for the third year exams and I sweated and worked hard. My hand was starting to cramp from all of the writing, since the more detailed course materials needed to be fully explained in the exam answers. I had even made myself custom ice pack gloves to wear between exams.


    The last three days of the third week was for the fourth and final year of high school and the only students not surprised to see me taking them were Val and Max. Liz and Gina kept giving me furtive and apologetic looks, the same as when I had been in math class with them. I ignored them just like I did in class.


    If they couldn''t dig up the courage to actually talk to me and apologize, I wasn''t going to waste time worrying about it.


    I finished exam hell on Friday afternoon with the robotics final exam and Mr. Kinneson had a huge smile on his face when I passed the thing in an hour before the end of the set time. I whispered to him and said to look at the last essay answer about future plans before I left the auditorium. As I went through the door, I heard his surprised exclamation and his apology for the disturbance.


    Yes, it was a bit of a spoiler to tell him I would be submitting my dissertation paper as soon as I graduated and his name would be in it; but, the man needed to know that I appreciated him giving me the chance to excel after our rocky start.


    Jubadi stepped up beside me from where she waited in the hallway and I smiled and nodded to her. She smiled back and we left the building. I must have looked pleased, because there was a happy shout and Max jumped on me.


    ¡°I knew you''d ace it!¡± Max shouted, excitedly.


    Val laughed and pulled her off of me. ¡°We all have to wait for the official marks, even Ben.¡±


    ¡°We''re graduating next week, Val. There''s no way he''s going to fail!¡± Max exclaimed.


    Jubadi handed me my cell phone and Shuri was already on it.


    ¡°I recognize that smug look as well.¡± Shuri said. ¡°I am proud of you, Ben.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, My Princess.¡± I said and bowed my head to her. ¡°I couldn''t have done it without your help.¡± I looked at Val and Max. ¡°Without all of your help.¡±


    ¡°AWW!¡± Val and Max said and both hugged me tightly.


    ¡°Breathe! Can''t breathe!¡± I fake wheezed and they laughed.


    ¡°We need to go celebrate!¡± Max said and let me go. ¡°I need to call my mom, too!¡±


    ¡°I think she''s a bit excited about not having to go to high school anymore.¡± I commented.


    Max nodded and took out her cell phone. ¡°Mom''s going crazy about me wanting to board near the college with Val and the others.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Did they still agree to move in?¡± I asked as Max typed a text message. ¡°I thought their plans were still undecided.¡±


    ¡°Gina was all over us when we told her we had already found a house to share in the fall.¡± Val said, a bit smugly.


    ¡°All over you, huh?¡± I asked with a wiggle of my eyebrows.


    Val laughed and smacked me. ¡°Not like that, you horny bastard.¡±


    ¡°Aww.¡± I pouted and she hugged me and kissed my cheek. ¡°I did catch them staring at me a few times during this morning''s exams.¡±


    ¡°I would say that was a mix of confusion and disbelief.¡± Shuri said. ¡°You should have only taken the fourth year math exam.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°They probably didn''t know that I had to take the math exams for each year to qualify to take the same one as them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, skipping so many free credits would have been a waste.¡± Shuri agreed. ¡°Do not forget to thank Miss Strickland for the idea and for implementing it on your behalf.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, Shuri. I''ll make sure that she knows exactly what it means to me.¡± I said and checked the time. ¡°You better go. It''s getting late.¡±


    ¡°I really should.¡± Shuri said, a bit sadly.


    ¡°Don''t worry, My Princess. Aunt May and I are going on vacation for only a week and then I''m all yours for the rest of the summer.¡±


    Shuri''s sad face changed to a beaming smile. ¡°I really can''t wait.¡±


    ¡°You know I would have taken you with us if you didn''t have royal things to do.¡±


    Shuri nodded. ¡°I only regret that you can''t be here for it as well.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I have no problem making your people faint from shock and laughter.¡±


    Shuri laughed and Jubadi covered her mouth to hide her grin. ¡°I do not understand how you can look like a flopping fish when you try to do our traditional tribal dance.¡±


    ¡°I''m not perfect at everything, My Princess.¡± I said. ¡°The rhythm throws me off for some reason.¡±


    ¡°I am sure you will get it eventually.¡± Jubadi said. ¡°You have not had a lot of spare time to practice.¡±


    ¡°Spare time? What the hell is that?¡± I asked and gave her a really confused face.


    Shuri laughed, as did Val and Max.


    I winked at Jubadi and looked back at my cell phone. ¡°Have a good night, Shuri.¡± I said and blew her a kiss.


    ¡°Goodnight, Ben.¡± Shuri said. ¡°Jubadi, Val, Max.¡±


    ¡°Princess.¡± Jubadi and Val said at the same time.


    ¡°Bye, Shuri!¡± Max said.


    Shuri hung up and I put the phone away.


    ¡°So, since we''re celebrating, who wants deep dish pizza?¡± I asked.


    ¡°ME!¡± Max shouted and Val grinned and nodded.


    The four of us left the school grounds and it would be the last time I would be there as a student. It was a little sad to realize that and also a bit scary. My life was going to change significantly after I graduated and I kind of didn''t really have a direction for it to take. I hadn''t even really thought about it, either. I was too busy dealing with everything else to contemplate what I was going to do.


    Should I go to college, either full time or part time? Should I work exclusively at my company? Or should I work for SHIELD full time and my company on the side? They were all valid career paths and I really did need to sit down with May and talk to her about it. It was a good thing we were taking off to get away from everything for a week. We had some important decisions to make.


    *


    June 27, 2012 was a Wednesday. I wore my slightly oversized graduation gown and stood in line with the other graduating students as Aunt May cheered me on. She wasn''t going to be my aunt for much longer, though. As a graduation present, she would officially adopt me and would become my mother in truth. It had touched me deeply and my love and respect for her grew to outrageous proportions.


    Principal Morita made the traditional speech about excellence in the current crop of graduates and that like every year, there were always a few that stood out among the throng. I was only half-listening as he droned on and on before he said my name.


    I thought that was odd, considering I was still standing in line and no one else in front of me had been called. I looked around and everyone was clapping, so I turned and saw the principal waving me forward. I went over to the stage and went up the steps.


    ¡°Here he is, our youngest graduate this decade, Benjamin Parker!¡± Principal Morita said and clapped as some people in the crowd cheered. ¡°Go ahead and say a few words, Ben.¡±


    I blinked my eyes for a moment and sighed internally. I hadn''t really been listening, so I had no real idea what title he had given me or even if he did give me one. My marks were quite high for my chosen subjects and only above average for the miscellaneous courses I had to take to earn the right amount of credits to graduate.


    I stepped to the podium and looked out over the crowd. A few of them were there for me and I didn''t want to disappoint them by not saying something absolutely profound.


    ¡°Most speeches like this start out with a traditional joke.¡± I said and nearly everyone smiled. ¡°A doctor, a ventriloquist, and a horse walk into a bar...¡±


    A bunch of people burst out laughing.


    ¡°Dammit, you know that one?¡± I asked and they hollered the rest of the joke. ¡°Thanks for the assist!¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome!¡± Most of them responded and laughed some more.


    ¡°Here comes the serious part.¡± I said and the laughter lessened. ¡°Blah, blah, blah this to make sure you blah, blah, blah! I can''t stress that enough!¡± I shouted and the laughter picked up. ¡°Now, you don''t have to take my word for it. Blah, blah, blah is very important! It''s the sole key to blah, blah, blah!¡±


    Everyone has smiles on their faces and a bunch of the students laughed.


    I sighed loudly and pretended to wipe sweat from my forehead. ¡°I''m really glad I got that off of my chest. You all really needed to know!¡±


    Some of the adults let out laughs, too.


    ¡°This is supposed to be the fun part of the speech.¡± I said and they all looked interested. ¡°My life significantly changed last November and I was completely lost. I couldn''t remember anything about my life and had to rebuild everything almost from nothing. School work, friendships, relationships, and even work relationships.¡±


    ¡°That doesn''t sound fun!¡± The guy I had given a sub sandwich to yelled.


    ¡°I''m getting to that part, Greg!¡± I said and shook my fist at him to make him laugh. ¡°There was some resistance, because you all know trying to start over anywhere is going to have speed bumps and difficulties. That''s just the nature of how things work.¡±


    A lot of people nodded.


    ¡°However, I had some really great people in my corner and they helped me immensely, even when they didn''t really have to do more than point me in the right direction. They went above and beyond any reasonable requirements and I will be forever grateful to them for it.¡± I said and saw several blushing faces. ¡°One of them is my new mom, Maybelle Parker.¡±


    Claps and cheers rang out at the announcement and May blushed hard as she stood briefly. The wolf whistles had her shake her head and she sat down again.


    ¡°She supported me and made me strive to be the best me I could be, even if I didn''t remember who that was supposed to be.¡± I said and she blew me a kiss. ¡°It didn''t matter to her if I had become someone else after my accident. We were still family and we would always be there for each other.¡±


    ¡°AWW!¡± Some of the girls shouted.


    ¡°The second person to help me a lot more than anyone had any right to expect...¡± I started to say.


    ¡°You''re not embarrassing me like that, Ben!¡± Mary Strickland called out and everyone turned to look at her. ¡°Oh, damn.¡±


    That set everyone to laughing again and I waved to her.


    ¡°As you just heard, she volunteered to help me a lot to adjust and it was her help that was pivotal in building my new life. She smoothed things out for me a lot during my rough start and she maintained her professionalism, despite my excessive flirting and shameless self-promotion.¡±


    ¡°He became really good at that really fast.¡± Val said and a bunch of the girls nodded.


    ¡°The next person to...¡± I barely had out of my mouth when Gladys made a distressed sound. ¡°Perhaps I''ll skip over her massive amount of help, personal study guides, and encouragement that carried me from nothing, to on par with my peers in barely a month, to excelling past my normal curriculum and to take on the entire four years in barely six months.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god.¡± Gladys whispered.


    ¡°After her was a man I respect deeply, because he gave an ignorant kid a chance to prove himself, to improve himself, and to earn some money while doing it.¡± I said and nodded at Adrian Toomes. ¡°His trust gave me the chance to help my mom when I really had no means to and our lives changed because of that.¡±


    ¡°Geez, kid. You''re really laying it on thick.¡± Adrian said.


    ¡°Hey, I did say this was the fun part of the speech. I didn''t say for who.¡± I responded and a few people laughed. ¡°After him were the teachers that also trusted an unknown and let me show them that helping me wasn''t going to be a waste of their time.¡±


    I mentioned the ones I wanted to mention and also mentioned the computer sciences teacher, because if she hadn''t kicked me out of the course, I wouldn''t have studied so hard to rub it in her face. That had everyone except her and her husband laughing, because I had aced her exams for all four years.


    ¡°I also wanted to thank my bosses and coworkers at the data centre for hiring and accepting me when my other job Petered out.¡± I said and nearly everyone got the reference. They knew Peter couldn''t have done the job and I had excelled at it. ¡°Lastly, I wanted to thank Miss Pepper Potts for the opportunities that knowing her gave me. It was an eye opener and a lot of what I''ve achieved up until now has stemmed from that.¡±


    Pepper didn''t say anything and just blushed and nodded.


    ¡°In fact, if it wasn''t for my friends and family, I wouldn''t be where I am today.¡± I said and stood up to my full height of six feet. It should have only been five foot ten inches and I had been surprised that my growth spurt hadn''t stopped until after a month had passed and not the week I had assumed. ¡°So, from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank all of you for being there for me when I needed you... and especially when I didn''t and you were there anyway.¡±


    A bunch of people applauded and I waved them down.


    ¡°I only have one last thing to say. To you the audience, to the graduates, and to everyone else. This is your life. What you have around you, what you have in front of you, and what you have ahead of you. You can''t expect good things to happen to you, just because you believe you deserve it. You need to work for it. You need to fight for it. You need to do everything you can to protect it.¡±


    Complete silence met my words.


    ¡°No one else can do as much for you as you can do for yourself. If you''re not willing to do everything you can for the people you love, then you have no right to expect them to do the same for you.¡± I said and then beamed a smile at everyone. ¡°I consider myself very lucky and privileged to have found a great group of people that I feel that way about. I just wanted you all to know that you''re mine now. Anytime. Anyplace. If you need me, I''ll be there.¡±


    Val had tears in her eyes and started clapping. Max cried and clapped as well. Aunt May stood and started clapping hard and smiled with her own tears. Soon everyone stood and the applause almost shook the building. I thanked them and Principal Morita for allowing me to speak, gave the audience a formal bow and added in the crossed arms for Wakanda, and went back to my spot in line.


    ¡°You''re getting fucked so hard tonight.¡± Val whispered as I passed her.


    I gave her a wink and a nod. That was going to be an easy promise for her to keep. My eyes went across the staff on the stage and my eyes met Mary''s. She wiped at her face and blushed. I smiled warmly at her, because I had a promise to keep as well.

 123 Promises, Promises

    Bokuboy


    When the graduation ceremony was finally over and I had my diploma, I handed it to May and kissed her cheek. ¡°I have one last thing to do before I leave here for good.¡±


    May nodded and smiled knowingly as she handed me a business envelope. I tucked it under my graduation gown and went over to Mary Strickland and took her hand. I had told May about what I had promised to do to Mary, just because I didn''t want to embarrass her when she found out. She knew I was sexually active and now that I graduated, she assumed I was going to show off. Boy, oh boy, I really was going to.


    Mary''s blush and embarrassed face stayed as I led her through the crowd and out of the auditorium. She didn''t say anything about what she knew was going to happen next. It wasn''t as if she was resigned to the act, though. Oh, no. Her breathing sped up as we approached the school''s administration offices and I could feel her anticipation. I could also feel how very horny she was.


    We had barely gone through the door when she jumped into my arms and kissed me with an unrestrained passion that far exceeded any kiss she had given me before. I didn''t question it and carried her around the counter and sat her on it. I slowly ran my hands up her thighs and raised her skirt to her hips. Mary stared into my eyes as I pulled off her stylish black panties and she unbuttoned her blouse to show off the very sexy black bra that matched.


    ¡°You just couldn''t wait for this, could you?¡± Mary asked in a whisper as she popped her bra open and showed me her breasts. ¡°You had to force yourself to gain as many credits as possible to graduate so quickly, just for me.¡±


    ¡°You gave me the perfect motivation, Mary.¡± I smiled warmly at her and gently cupped her breasts. She let out a sexy sound and her hands went to my shoulders. I suckled her breasts for a moment before I realized what she wanted and I started to kneel and take off my graduation cap.


    ¡°Leave it.¡± Mary ordered. ¡°I want to keep seeing the proof.¡±


    I nodded and leaned my head back to stare up at her and to not poke her with the corner of the hat. I darted my tongue out and gave her a probing lick. She gasped and her legs shook briefly, then she pulled on my shoulders to shove my face right in there. I took the subtle hint to get to work and she was soon panting and then cried out with pleasure as she came all over her work desk.


    I stood up and lifted my graduation gown, tucked the edges into my jeans, and pulled out my erection that was a bit bigger than it had been the last time she had seen it.


    Mary''s eyes widened at the sight and she looked into my eyes. ¡°You really are going to keep your promise.¡±


    I nodded and stepped into her embrace and pushed my way inside of her. She almost screamed as I made room for myself inside her tightness. It was almost like she was a virgin again and she reacted in almost the same way. She held me tightly and had to let herself adjust to having me there for almost thirty seconds.


    Mary eased her hold on me down there and with her arms to give me a kiss. ¡°I''m ready.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that.¡± I said and kissed her as I started to move.


    Mary started to moan right away and she didn''t even try to help me as I had my way with her on her desk. That wasn''t what she wanted, though. I picked her up and held her as I kept moving my hips, then I paused and stepped onto her chair and up onto the desk. She let out a startled sound at being so high up in the air and then moaned as I picked up speed.


    ¡°You... you really... OHHH!¡± Mary moaned and came hard.


    ¡°I promised to bend you over the counter.¡± I said and pulled out, turned her around and put her on her hands and knees on top of the counter and mounted her from behind.


    Mary yelled as I penetrated deeply into her and then she lost any semblance of decency as she cried out and begged for me to go faster. She needed to get off before anyone showed up and caught us. That actually made it more appealing for the both of us and we were even more aroused at the thought of someone walking in on us.


    I did as she asked, though. I sped up and did my best to get her off as quickly as possible. When she came, it was with a little squirt and a scream. I didn''t stop, though. She wanted me to finish as well and I went even faster to get myself off, too. It really was a danger for us to get caught, especially because Mary lost the ability to talk and only moaned loudly as she came and came again.


    I gripped her hips and leaned forward to get better leverage. ¡°Get ready! Here it comes! All for you!¡±


    ¡°OHHHHH, GOD!¡± Mary screamed as she came and I poured myself inside of her. Her inarticulate scream echoed off the walls and anyone in the hallway would know exactly what was going on. She collapsed onto the counter, her body limp from both exertion and an abundance of endorphins.


    I pulled out of her and used some tissues from her desk to wipe myself off and tucked my still hard member away. I used more tissues on Mary and slipped her panties back onto her. With most of her modesty returned, I pulled her skirt down and then helped her move off of the counter.


    Mary clung to me and cuddled in as I sat down on her chair and held her. Tears suddenly came to her eyes and I pet her brown hair as she broke down and cried.


    ¡°Shh. Shh.¡± I whispered and gently kissed her cheek several times. ¡°It''s okay.¡±


    ¡°N-no, Ben. No, it''s not.¡± Mary said and cried. ¡°It''s over. You... you''re going away. You''re moving on with your life and... you''re leaving me behind.¡±


    I stopped petting her hair and used a hand to lift her chin to get her to look at me. ¡°Whatever gave you the idea that I would be leaving you behind?¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what?¡± Mary asked and tried to blink the tears out of her eyes.


    I reached into my graduation gown and took out the business envelope. ¡°You have to forgive the crinkled papers. I don''t know how that happened.¡± I joked and Mary gave me a surprised look. ¡°I wasn''t careful at all when you told me to hurry.¡±


    Mary nodded and opened the envelope. She caught her breath at the job contract.


    ¡°Is double your normal salary enough to convince you to come work for me?¡± I asked and more tears came to her eyes. ¡°You thought I was done needing your help? You couldn''t have been more wrong.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben, I... you...¡± Mary wiped at her eyes and looked at me. ¡°Did you really think you could solve our problems by doing this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said and kissed her. ¡°Who wouldn''t want to help run a company that does everything?¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± Mary started to say.


    ¡°I knew you would feel guilty about everything, considering how we met and the great stories we''ve exchanged.¡±


    Mary smiled at the reminder about the fiction we had tricked ourselves with to hide our affair.


    ¡°I just wanted to give you another epic story to continue with. You can choose to not write it with me and I''ll completely understand. It''s your life and it''s your choice.¡± I said and gave her a pointed look. ¡°It''s always been your choice.¡±


    Mary gave me a pointed look back. ¡°I seem to recall a lot of flirting and...¡±


    ¡°Mutual flirting.¡± I corrected and then smiled crookedly. ¡°I was actually surprised you were receptive to it, actually. I mean, I was acting pretty outrageously and I thought it was too brazen to even count. Then you went and wore that exercise outfit and showed me that you were the one in control of whatever happened between us.¡± I said and she looked thoughtful. ¡°I admired that, Mary. I really did.¡±


    Mary looked at the contract in her hands. ¡°You want me to be the Head of the Department for the receptionists and secretaries.¡±


    I let her think that for a few seconds and tapped the papers. ¡°You need to read everything in your hands before you make a decision.¡±


    Mary looked perturbed and moved the top paper out of the way and gasped. ¡°BEN!¡±


    ¡°The top contract was only my first offer. I wasn''t sure what level of responsibility you would want and I didn''t want to overwhelm you right off the bat.¡± I said. ¡°Becoming my personal assistant is triple your salary and the job is a lot more intensive than anything else you''ve done before.¡±


    Mary looked down at her still open top and looked back at my face. ¡°Including doing you?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Yes, including doing me.¡±


    Mary nodded and took a minute to hook her bra closed and buttoned her blouse. ¡°I''m going to need time to go over everything and consider my options before I make any decision this life changing.¡±


    ¡°I would expect nothing less.¡± I said and hugged her close. ¡°I''m going away on vacation for a week and then I''m spending a month with my betrothed''s family.¡±


    Mary frowned at me. ¡°You''ve just gotten everything settled down around here and you''re running off to have fun? Why would you ignore the company you worked so hard to establish and...¡±


    I put a hand on her cheek to make her pause. ¡°I hope that shows you that I need someone with your expertise to not only keep me on track, I need you to tell me the things I miss or will miss. Any missteps I make could be devastating to a lot of people and I really need the help.¡±


    Mary sighed. ¡°You''re pressuring me already.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°No, Mary. I''m reassuring you that your skills won''t be wasted and that I''m not just doing this because I can. I need someone to help me and I thought that offering you both positions first was the best thing for everyone all around and not just for me.¡±


    Mary''s eyes widened slightly. ¡°You''re going to hire someone else for the position I don''t choose.¡±


    ¡°I have to. My company is growing and expanding all over the place and it''s way too much for just one person, even if that person is me, to keep track of it all and to keep everything running.¡±


    Mary fell silent for several minutes and we both tried to ignore the janitor that came into the office. If he had been a couple of minutes earlier, he could have caught us. I felt the shiver that went through Mary and she clamped her mouth shut to stop her moan.


    The janitor started cleaning papers and things up and we sat there quietly as the man worked. He emptied the garbage can at the end of the counter and left briefly before he brought a large water bucket into the office and started mopping the floor at the far side of the room.


    ¡°I want a staff.¡± Mary said. ¡°The heads of the departments don''t count.¡±


    I caught on to her train of thought right away. ¡°You''re running with my point that it''s too much for one person to handle.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°Like you said, you need help. I can do that as long as I have help in return.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I think that''s fair. You can handle the selection process.¡±


    ¡°Good, because you weren''t going to get a choice anyway.¡± Mary said with a smile.


    ¡°Hey, it''s my company! I''m the boss!¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, you can worry about being the head of the company and make the broad decisions while I worry about being your hands and getting things done.¡± Mary said with a smile. ¡°I already have a couple of people in mind that will be a huge benefit to the both of us.¡±


    I gave her a pointed look and then let out a long and drawn out sigh.


    Mary grinned at me and gave me several quick kisses before she stood up. ¡°You need to get out of here before someone catches you and I have some personal paperwork to file on my own behalf with Midtown High School.¡±


    I stood up as well and reached for the contracts.


    ¡°I''ll keep those for now.¡± Mary said and put them back into the business envelope. ¡°I''ll see you right after your vacation and we''ll get this all hammered out officially.¡±


    I nodded and walked over to the office door. I felt a bit of a tingle with my spider-sense and I moved without thinking. My years of training with The Ancient One kicked in and I was across the room and had my hand wrapped around the assassin''s throat.


    ¡°You... can''t... escape... death.¡± The man whispered as the hidden gun dropped from his hand.


    ¡°No one can.¡± I whispered back and snapped his neck. I let him go and his body dropped to the floor.


    ¡°We... will... have... our... due.¡± He somehow managed to say with his final breath.


    I stood over the janitor''s body for about five seconds before Mary screamed. I closed my eyes and held in my sigh. This was really going to mess up my vacation plans.


    *


    Detective Jean DeWolff did not appreciate having hundreds of people around her crime scene. That most of them were graduation students and their parents was immaterial to the integrity of the crime scene. There would be no way to trace anyone going to or from anywhere inside the building with all of the foot traffic in the hallways and the contamination of potential evidence.


    That there was no reasonable expectation of privacy was also immaterial by this point. Every single person talked about a murder on school grounds and everyone expressed their opinions about it. She was glad that she had sent over a full police squad for crowd control and she could let them handle the rabble. She had something much more important to handle at the moment.


    ¡°I need to go over what happened here once more, Mr. Parker.¡± Jean said. ¡°What tipped you off that the janitor wasn''t really a janitor?¡±


    Ben sighed and rubbed his face. ¡°I don''t know. It was several things.¡±


    Jean raised her eyebrows at him. ¡°Continue that thought.¡±


    ¡°His cleaning technique was amateurish. He emptied the trash at the wrong time. His floor mopping was almost random, as if he hadn''t held a mop properly before.¡±


    ¡°He could have been a new hire.¡± Jean suggested and wrote down what he said.


    ¡°I thought that, then realized they wouldn''t hire someone new to clean the office. They would have been out doing the lockers and hallways, or start on the bathrooms. The office has a lot of sensitive paperwork and not just anyone can be trusted to have access or to know what needs to be cleaned and what shouldn''t be touched.¡± Ben said. ¡°Then I realized the most important part.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Jean asked and wrote out his words.


    ¡°There were still people on school grounds and the janitors always wait until after hours so no one is in their way while they work. There''s no danger of anyone slipping and falling on the wet floors.¡±


    Jean leaned back on the chair in the small office she was using as an interrogation room. She knew he was right about everything he said. She knew it explained out a lot of the suspicion about his actions. She also somehow knew that he was lying his ass off about how he knew the janitor wasn''t a real janitor.


    ¡°Can you explain to me why the security footage was deleted?¡± Jean asked.


    Ben sighed. ¡°I didn''t want to get someone in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And who do you mean? Miss Strickland?¡±


    ¡°No, me.¡± Ben said. ¡°If it got out that...¡±


    ¡°...you''re a murderer.¡± Jean offered.


    Ben gave her a blank look. ¡°...that I killed someone, even in self defense, it would be a huge hit to my reputation.¡±


    ¡°As if you''re squeaky clean.¡± Jean said with a huff.


    It was Ben''s turn to raise his eyebrows. ¡°Do you have something to say to me, detective?¡±


    ¡°We never did find those college kids that allegedly assaulted your friend.¡± Jean said.


    ¡°I meant an apology for defamation of character, Jean.¡± Ben said and smiled a little as the detective winced slightly at the use of her first name so familiarly. ¡°Then again, you''ve had a bit of an attitude about me ever since we made-out at the hospital after Val was hurt.¡±


    Jean squinted her eyes at him. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    Ben chuckled. ¡°Do you really think I wouldn''t know when someone digs through all of my computer records and personal history? It''s not like you bothered trying to cover your tracks.¡±


    ¡°Those were legitimate and official police searches.¡± Jean defended herself.


    ¡°Are you sure that you weren''t just trying to figure me out?¡± Ben asked and she made her face go blank. ¡°I tried to explain to you before that I enjoy flirting with women to make them smile. You were a great example of that. Then you showed up at the hospital to make sure Val was taken care of and I wanted to thank you for that.¡±


    Jean fought down the blush that tried to appear at that remembered kiss. ¡°The kiss wasn''t that impressive.¡±


    Ben let a smile grow on his face. ¡°That means it was impressive to a degree, so thank you for the compliment.¡±


    Jean blushed a little, despite her efforts. ¡°Dammit.¡± She whispered and he chuckled.


    ¡°If it''s any consolation, I''ve learned a lot since then. If you allow me to thank you again, it should be a much better performance.¡± Ben said, a bit smugly.


    Jean sighed. ¡°You''re distracting me with this personal stuff.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. It''s working, too. You''ve completely forgotten that I was the potential victim and you''re interrogating me as if I set out to kill the man right from the start.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡± Jean asked.


    ¡°He never would have made it into the room if I wanted him dead.¡± Ben admitted and Jean sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°I do have a personal guard for a reason, detective.¡±


    ¡°Where was she?¡± Jean asked. ¡°Miss Jubadi.¡±


    Ben ignored correcting the form of address for the Dora Milaje. ¡°Unfortunately, I assigned her to watch my mother while I took care of some personal business.¡±


    ¡°You mean screwing the receptionist on her desk.¡± Jean said, derisively.


    ¡°I gave her my word that as soon as I graduated, I would bend her over the counter. Since I am a man of my word, that was exactly what I did.¡± Ben said. ¡°I also deleted that footage, because even though we wouldn''t have minded someone walking in and seeing us going at it like rabbits, having it recorded goes against the entire point of spontaneity.¡±


    Jean blinked her eyes at the young man. ¡°You wanted someone to see you?¡±


    Ben smiled. ¡°Almost right after we stopped and dressed, the janitor came in. The thrill of almost getting caught was like an electric shock.¡±


    Jean wasn''t sure what to say to that. She would have never compromised herself like that and couldn''t see the appeal in having a witness to her private activities.


    ¡°Anyway, when we were done talking and Mary agreed to come work for me, I tried to leave the office. I saw the man reach for something that was not a cleaning tool and reacted.¡± Ben said and sighed. ¡°I hadn''t realized my weight training and martial arts lessons had given me such a large upper hand. His neck was broken before I could disarm him or beat him up to get him to talk.¡±


    ¡°That really isn''t something a normal person does, Mr. Parker.¡±


    ¡°I''m not a normal person.¡± Ben said and Jean was surprised that he wasn''t making a joke or looked embarrassed about saying it. ¡°My life has been too hectic to even consider pretending I''m normal.¡±


    Jean thought about commenting how odd it was that he would admit it, like being normal was a bad thing.


    ¡°You''re not normal either, Jean.¡± Ben said and didn''t see any reaction from her. ¡°A normal woman doesn''t make it a personal mission to check up on and help those that suffer from certain crimes. They don''t try to comfort those affected by it, even peripherally, and you did both. You came right there and you did everything you could to help.¡±


    Jean knew he was derailing her again and stayed quiet.


    ¡°I did not intend to kill that man. He pulled a gun and I reacted without even thinking about it. I didn''t actually care if I was in danger, though. Mary was right there in his line of fire and I did what I did to protect her. If he had tried to shoot me, he easily could have killed her and perhaps the bullet would have winged me or only did superficial damage. His next shot wouldn''t have missed if I was incapacitated.¡±


    Jean had to nod at that. The ammo in the gun was armor piercing and it would have gone through the woman and Ben as well.


    ¡°Will that be all, detective?¡± Ben asked.


    Jean gave him a pointed look. ¡°For now, I think it''s enough. However, you are to not leave town and...¡±


    ¡°There goes my celebration vacation.¡± Ben said with a sigh and stood. ¡°Well, there''s nothing that can be done about it now.¡±


    Jean watched as Ben walked around the desk and sat down on it in front of her.


    ¡°I''ll pick you up at six for dinner and dancing.¡± Ben stated and didn''t ask.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Jean asked, surprised.


    ¡°You''re making me miss my week long vacation with my mother and you are going to make it up to me tonight. If you don''t have an appropriate dress, we can stop at a shop I know and get you fitted.¡±


    Jean stared at him like he was crazy. ¡°I can''t do that with you! You''re a suspect in a murder and...¡±


    ¡°Innocent until proven guilty.¡± Ben said with a smirk. ¡°I hope you''re prepared to go all out tonight, because it''s going to take a lot to make it up to me for disappointing my mom like this.¡±


    Jean opened her mouth to respond and realized she didn''t know how to respond to that.


    ¡°Thank you, Jean.¡± Ben said and leaned down to take advantage of her perfect kissing face. He gave her as deep and probing of a kiss as he could and not piss her off. He broke the kiss and smiled at the completely stunned look on her face. ¡°I''ll see you at six.¡±


    Jean stared at him as he walked out of the small office and it took her several minutes before she snapped out of it. ¡°That bastard did it to me again!¡±

 124 Arrested Developments

    Bokuboy


    Detective Jean DeWolff kicked herself mentally several times as she waited in her condo just before six o''clock. It had been twice now that she had let a handsome young man manipulate her and he had used a fantastic kiss to pretty much shut her brain off and made her agree to whatever he wanted.


    She was a highly intelligent woman and she never let her emotions and hormones override her common sense or dictate how she behaved. She always chose her actions accordingly...


    ...and here she was, all dressed up in a fancy red dress, and she felt anticipation.


    As soon as I see him, I''m going to give him a piece of my mind. A huge piece. One that I''m going to shove so far up his ass that he won''t walk straight for a month! Jean promised herself.


    For some reason, Jean also didn''t want him to disappoint her, even though she didn''t want the date in the first place. With her resolve to not enjoy the date set just in time, her doorbell rang and she practically stomped over to her front door and yanked it open.


    Jean caught her breath at the tuxedo-wearing man that was at least two inches taller than that afternoon. His long brown hair was styled perfectly with gentle waves and her fingers itched to test the softness.


    ¡°You look absolutely beautiful, Miss DeWolff.¡± Ben said without ogling her, took her hand and kissed the back of it, then he gently eased her out of the apartment. He locked her door with the spare key and tucked it back into its hiding space in the window frame beside the door.


    Jean didn''t ask herself how he had known where the key was, because she had something else to occupy her attention. A stretch limo idled on the street in front of her building and the driver stood beside the back door and waited for them.


    Ben took her arm to escort her and put his other hand on the small of her back as he led her down the stairs to the small courtyard and the driver opened the limo''s door for her. She climbed inside and the door was shut behind her and she sat there, kind of stunned, and the other door opened and Ben sat beside her.


    ¡°I hope I''m not shocking you too much with all of this.¡± Ben said and she gave him an incredulous look. He chuckled and turned slightly in the seat to face her. ¡°I wanted to go all out and impress you and this was what I and my friends came up with.¡±


    ¡°Your friends?¡± Jean asked and he nodded. ¡°Do all the women you take an interest in date an entire committee?¡±


    Ben barked a laugh. ¡°I didn''t realize I did that.¡± He said and smiled warmly. ¡°I''ve only consulted them once before and that was because I needed advice for dating a rich African Princess.¡±


    Jean''s eyes widened. ¡°You''re joking.¡±


    ¡°Not even a little bit.¡± Ben said. ¡°I needed the extra help when it was really important to me.¡±


    Jean wasn''t sure what to say to that. He had just compared her to a princess and it was a lot more flattering to her than she thought it should have been.


    ¡°As for tonight, we have flexible reservations at the best Italian restaurant in the city, a private booth area reserved at the most-happening nightclub, and I thought we could end the night with a bit of sightseeing from the top of the Empire State Building.¡±


    Jean locked into the odd phrase he had said. ¡°The most-happening nightclub?¡±


    ¡°Isn''t that what the kids are calling it these days?¡± Ben asked with a smirk.


    Jean laughed, despite her resolve to not enjoy herself.


    Ben looked very pleased to have made her laugh, which made Jean put her promised tongue-lashing on hold. She decided to save it for later and they sat in silence as the limo took them to the restaurant.


    ¡°Why did you say the reservations were flexible?¡± Jean asked as the limo slowed down.


    ¡°I allowed for good half an hour for you to berate and curse at me before our date could officially start.¡± Ben admitted, to her surprise. ¡°I was pretty relieved when you stayed silent.¡±


    ¡°I do have a full-blown tongue-lashing that I had planned to unleash on you.¡± Jean admitted right back. ¡°I''m saving it for later.¡±


    Ben chuckled as his door opened and he hopped out and followed the driver around to the other side and stood there to help Jean climb out. The people on the street waiting to go inside stared at them. Jean did her best to ignore them as she took Ben''s arm to let him escort her. He did so and brought her inside the very fancy restaurant.


    The grumbles Jean heard made her a little happy to get one over on the snobs that usually looked down on people like her. She wasn''t the kind of person that usually held grudges like that, since she wasn''t someone that would bother even acknowledging ignorant people''s attitudes towards her. It was too much of a hassle to waste time worrying about things like that.


    ¡°Reservations for Parker and DeWolff.¡± Ben said to the Maitre''D and handed the man a hundred dollar bill. ¡°Thank you for accepting both reservations in case of a delay.¡±


    ¡°Well, that explains the odd phrasing of your request.¡± The man said and pocketed the tip.


    Ben gave him a knowing smile. ¡°Perhaps you can word the opened reservation to the next people in line and explain that you worked your magic to squeeze them in early?¡±


    The man smiled back. ¡°That would be a prudent use of an opportunity.¡± He said and waved a busboy over. ¡°Table 12 in the back. Five minutes for drink delivery, fifteen minutes for the appetizer, and twenty for the meal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The young man said excitedly and Jean held Ben''s arm as they were led to the right table.


    Ben ordered a glass of red wine and Jean copied him. When the busboy left, Jean gave Ben a questioning look.


    ¡°I think he''s new and learning the ropes on the job.¡± Ben said. ¡°It could be worse. We could sit here for an hour before someone came to take our order because he forgot.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good point.¡± Jean said and fell silent as they waited for the drinks. She glanced around and saw that the others had dressed just as well as she did and Ben was dressed that much better. ¡°So, you chose a tuxedo.¡±


    ¡°It was a cross between making you laugh and making myself uncomfortable all night. In both respects, you enjoyed it, so it was worth the risk.¡±


    Jean''s opinion of Ben went up a little and she tried to fight it down. It wasn''t quite working, because they were supposed to go dancing and he was wearing a tuxedo. A goddamn tuxedo in a nightclub!


    A huge smile formed on her face and she couldn''t stop it.


    ¡°I really am a scoundrel to enjoy making you smile like that.¡± Ben said and a waiter came over with their wine. ¡°Thank you.¡± He said to the man and took a token sip of it before he ordered devilled eggs and caviar for appetizers.


    Jean took a bigger drink than a sip and she sat back to look at Ben. He didn''t look nervous at all and sat there calmly as he accepted her scrutiny. ¡°You really do have huge brass balls, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don''t like to brag.¡± Ben said with as much of a self-depreciating tone as possible. ¡°They''re gigantic.¡±


    Jean almost snorted into her wine and Ben grinned at her.


    ¡°Before you start complaining that I''m too full of myself or that I''m narcissistic, the truth is I''ve been dealing with a lot of stuff that you might not be fully briefed on.¡± Ben said.


    Jean raised her eyebrows at him. ¡°And you''re going to fully brief me, are you?¡±


    ¡°I could make a few jokes about what fully briefing you could mean.¡± Ben responded instead of answering her question. ¡°I would have to get you to sign an NDA and perhaps another paper or two if I was to tell you even a fraction of what''s been going on.¡±


    Jean gave him a bit of a smug look. ¡°If you''re going to bandy around about the alien invasion, I''ll have you know that I know a few people. A few high ranking people. I have unofficial access to a few choice files and documents that might curl your toes.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the alien autopsies and cybernetic advancements that the augmented aliens will allow humanity to adapt for the disabled and crippled, or are you talking about the portable power systems that can be copied from their weapons and technology?¡± Ben asked and gave her a smug look back.


    Jean''s mouth hung open and she was too shocked to react, even after their appetizers were delivered and Ben ordered their main meals. When the waiter left, Ben ate a devilled egg and started speaking again.


    ¡°I co-wrote the report for the power system''s adaptability with Tony Stark and Tony and Bruce wrote the cybernetic one with a few consultations from me and another friend of mine. He''s somewhat of an expert, considering who he is.¡±


    Jean could only stare at Ben, because it wasn''t possible. There was no way that a mere civilian could be anywhere near that highly secret alien technology stash that the government had confiscated. They even had a fully intact and undamaged Leviathan Troop Transport that looked like a giant space whale.


    ¡°The super-lightweight dense metals that have been harvested are already being dispersed and disseminated into the armed forces. Tanks mostly.¡± Ben admitted. ¡°The efficiency from having a new power source and lightweight armor has increased a tank''s fighting ability by nearly 300% and its survivability by a factor of 10.¡±


    Jean sat there, stunned. Her mind went over everything she knew about Benjamin Parker and there wasn''t even a hint that he had some kind of insider information or position anywhere near the government, except for his Ambassador status. That was an odd thing on its own. Now, he proved that he also had better access to restricted materials than the people she knew that had direct access!


    Their food came and Jean ate it automatically without even really tasting it. Their conversation had stopped and she desperately wanted to continue it. When the meal was over, Ben asked for the check and he was handed a little leather folder. He didn''t even look inside as he put six bills inside and he stood.


    Jean was on her feet instantly and grabbed onto his arm as they went to the front of the restaurant and Ben handed the folder to the Maitre''D.


    The man checked it and smiled widely as he nodded. ¡°Thank you for your patronage, Mr. Parker.¡±


    ¡°The meal was excellent and the company divine.¡± Ben responded.


    Jean ignored the jab at her staying quiet during the meal and led Ben outside. The limo showed up at that exact moment and Jean climbed in the backseat and stared at Ben with intensity.


    ¡°A side trip to the park for a brief stop, Marcus.¡± Ben said to the driver.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Marcus said and closed the door, then he went to the driver''s door and climbed in. The tinted window behind the driver''s seat slid shut and there was a loud click.


    Ben nodded and took out an envelope from his coat pocket and a pen. ¡°Please read these.¡±


    Jean glared at him and didn''t take the envelope.


    Ben sighed and opened it and handed her the NDA form. ¡°I can''t say more without you signing this.¡±


    ¡°You know it''s barely worth the paper it''s written on.¡± Jean said and signed it without reading it.


    ¡°I think it''s the trust that signing it should instill in someone after they see the recipient actually read the thing.¡± Ben said, pointedly.


    Jean held the glare for another moment and then huffed as she relaxed against the comfortable leather of the backseat to read the form. It was a standard non-disclosure agreement and it didn''t have any special clauses or anything, just a monetary penalty to match the breech of trust.


    ¡°There, are you happy?¡± Jean asked and handed it back.


    Ben didn''t say anything and handed her the next paper. Jean thought about signing it without reading it again, just to make a point about the fruitlessness of superfluous paperwork, then sighed and read it as well. When she saw what it actually was, she almost choked on her own spit. Or her tongue. It was hard to tell.


    The sheer audacity of him to give her a contract that would sign over their first born child into Wakandan Military Service was completely ludicrous!


    ¡°How DARE you ask me to sign this!¡± Jean spat, angrily.


    ¡°Jean, I have to ask.¡± Ben said. ¡°I''m required by Wakandan Law to have anyone I liaise with sign the contingency contract. It''s not meant to deter anything or curb any activities. It''s sole purpose is in case anyone gets pregnant, the child will be protected, well cared for, and taught to become one of the best warriors on the planet.¡±


    ¡°IT''S CONSCRIPTION FROM BIRTH, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!¡± Jean yelled.


    ¡°No, it''s an automatic inclusion into a well-rounded family environment. In fact, you are the only one that has questioned it.¡± Ben said and his calm voice only pissed Jean off more.


    ¡°Look, you ignorant prick! I''m not signing my ovaries over to you! You are not taking my children, my future children, or anything even close to becoming my children, and training them to be killers and murderers! You can take your backwards-thinking, misogynistic, and illegal contracts and shove them so far up your ass that you choke on them!¡±


    Ben sat there and didn''t say anything at all to her as he looked deeply into her eyes.


    Jean felt her indignation and righteousness reduce in intensity as she calmed down. She had severely overreacted and her face flushed to a deep red when she realized she had unleashed an even more severe tongue-lashing upon Ben than she had planned for. It wasn''t even for the reason she had originally decided it was going to be for, either.


    ¡°I am very, very sorry that you feel that way, Jean.¡± Ben said in a soft voice. ¡°I didn''t realize...¡± He let out a long and completely resigned sigh. ¡°I sincerely apologize for setting you off like that.¡±


    Jean didn''t move as Ben took the paper back and put it, the NDA, and another piece of paper back into the envelope. She was too surprised at herself to ask what that third paper was for.


    ¡°I hope that one day you can forgive me for tonight.¡± Ben said, sadly.


    ¡°O-one day?¡± Jean asked before she could stop herself.


    ¡°I highly doubt that you want to continue our date after I made such a huge mistake and embarrassed myself so much.¡± Ben said and Jean saw that his face was red, too. ¡°There is no possible way that you want to go dancing after something like that.¡±


    Jean really didn''t want to do anything, let alone dance, so she nodded.


    Ben hit a button on the intercom. ¡°Marcus, take us back to Miss DeWolff''s address, please.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Marcus said and the intercom clicked off.


    Jean sat there and felt uncomfortable as the deafening silence in the limo engulfed her. She glanced at Ben occasionally and saw that he looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. She didn''t know what to say to change that for either of them, though. She had expressed herself, and her real opinion, and there was no point in trying to soften the impact it had.


    The limo came to a stop and despite the situation, Ben climbed out and went around the car to help Jean climb out. He escorted her across the small courtyard and up her steps. He used the spare key to open her door and handed it to her. She knew he meant for her to hide it somewhere else and she tucked it into her clutch purse.


    The two of them stood there on her step and the silence was just as deafening as it had been in the back of the limo. Jean wasn''t sure how to end it, either. Saying goodnight was as stupid as it was inappropriate. Saying she had a nice time was also mostly a lie. It had started good and then it was destroyed by her opinion of a piece of paper.


    Just as Jean decided that going inside without saying anything was the best she could do, Ben reached out and took her hand.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Jean. I''m so sorry.¡± Ben whispered. ¡°I won''t bother arguing about what happened.¡±


    Jean didn''t respond. She knew he had a point to make and she waited for what he wanted to say.


    ¡°Condoms can fail. Taking the pill is only about 90% effective in some women. Even magical spells can backfire.¡± Ben said and Jean''s eyes widened at the magic part. ¡°If anything happened, I needed a way to immediately legitimize it. No questions could be asked. No doubts could be had. If it happened, then I would have it taken care of right away.¡±


    ¡°You make it sound like...¡±


    ¡°No, Jean. You misunderstand. I mean family. My family. It means everything to me and I will do everything in my power to...¡± Ben paused and closed his eyes briefly, then he opened them to stare intensely into her eyes. ¡°I like you a lot and I wanted things to be...¡± He shook his head slightly. ¡°It doesn''t matter. I sincerely apologize for everything. The flirting. The teasing. The joking.¡±


    ¡°Ben.¡± Jean whispered.


    ¡°I would ask to kiss you one last time, except I know you are never going to look at me the same way after tonight.¡± Ben said and Jean could do nothing but agree. ¡°I hope you have a great life, Jean. Find someone you want to spend time with and be happy. Forget about all the little details and... don''t make the same mistake I just did.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to worry about that last part.¡± Jean said.


    Ben nodded and let her hand go. He didn''t say goodnight and just walked away.


    Jean watched as he entered the limo and then she stepped into her condo and closed the door. She locked it and absently dropped her purse by the door. She took two steps and felt the tears form in her eyes. By the time she reached her bedroom, her face was soaked from silently crying and she unhooked her dress and let it drop to the floor. She kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed.


    A soft sob escaped from between her clenched lips and she hugged her pillow as she cried and cried. She would never be able to explain why she felt like she had lost something precious that night.


    When Jean went into work the next morning and found out Ben''s case has been taken over by the FBI, she locked herself in an interrogation room and the tears started flowing once more. She somehow knew at that moment that she was never going to see him ever again.

 125 Summer Of Change

    Bokuboy


    As I sat there at breakfast the next morning and chatted with Shuri, May, and Jubadi, I successfully hid my regret over the inherent power of the sceptre that had influenced my date with Jean. No, not Jean. Detective DeWolff. I hadn''t quite understood what adding the Power Stone to the bottom of the handle could do to the Mind Stone''s passive effects that I had quickly grown used to using.


    Even with all the inherent blocking spells I had put on the metal puzzle ball that contained the stone, then folding them into the sceptre''s existing spell matrix, it still hadn''t been enough to stop the energy flow completely. I hadn''t realized what was going on until everything had already fallen apart and all I could do was apologize for my mistake.


    I had jumped the gun and used the same techniques that had worked on the other women in my life, without thinking about how someone that didn''t know what was going on would react. My own mind had been so eager to get past that first hurdle that I hadn''t thought about what that first hurdle could mean to someone that wasn''t expecting it.


    It was definitely an eye opener.


    I ended the call with Shuri and kissed May''s cheek, nodded to Jubadi, and went to my room. I needed a bit of alone time and changed into appropriate clothes to head into the office. It was my day off, so it was technically a play day for me. May was going to be busy with the clinic and Shuri had family things to take care of, which left me with nothing to do.


    Jubadi changed as well and we left the apartment. May still didn''t want to move, so my own plans to live in Parker Tower had been put on hold for a while. I didn''t mind very much. Val and Max on the other hand, very much regretted not having access to the penthouse. It would have made me laugh if I wasn''t in such a guarded mood.


    Jubadi didn''t mention it, either. She knew my date had been a disaster and there wasn''t anything she could do about it. Some things couldn''t be fought, either with words or fists. They just had to be dealt with and lived with.


    We arrived at Avengers Tower and Jubadi gave me a kiss and went to the training room to exercise. I went to my lab and looked around at all the scientific equipment. I knew I really should be working on something, just to get my mind off of what happened, and I couldn''t do it. I kept going over in my head over how stupid I had been the night before and I was annoyed at myself. Very, very annoyed.


    I didn''t react at all as a sling-ring portal opened up ten feet away and The Ancient One stepped out of it. She didn''t say anything as the portal closed and my lab suddenly changed into the Mirror Dimension. I nodded to her and took out the sceptre and enlarged it as she activated the Eye of Agamotto.


    I readied myself while The Ancient One opened a dimensional portal to one of the worst demon-infected realms that existed, or would exist, or could possibly exist. Then we fought. And fought. And fought some more. It seemed to go on forever, as if there was a never-ending faucet of evil, and I didn''t question it or her decision to help me in this way.


    Six months later, The Ancient One closed the portal and severed six inter-dimensional demons that had been half-out of the portal. I easily killed the remaining ones and stood there, covered from head to foot in monster entrails, blood, and gore. I wasn''t even breathing heavily and The Ancient One walked over to me.


    ¡°How do you feel, Ben?¡± The Ancient One asked.


    I looked down at the still clean sceptre in my hands and asked myself the same question. ¡°Empty.¡± I whispered. ¡°I feel empty.¡±


    ¡°Finally.¡± The Ancient One said and I raised my gaze to meet hers. ¡°You finally understand that with great power comes great responsibility.¡±


    ¡°I already knew that.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, you did.¡± The Ancient One said and then smiled. ¡°However, you did not truly understand. In the abstract, you knew that you should feel responsible for the power you wield. You did not actually get what that meant, both for you personally and for those around you.¡± She said and waved her hand over me and sucked away the foreign material. She opened another dimensional portal to an empty realm and dropped all of the carcasses into it.


    ¡°You know, I could throw this in there, too.¡± I said and motioned to the portal.


    The Ancient One smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Go ahead. I will not stop you.¡±


    I looked down at the sceptre in my hand. Could I abandon it after going through all the trouble I had to keep it safe? No, I couldn''t. It wasn''t even an option I had ever considered. I knew that if I didn''t look out for it, something bad was going to happen. I needed to be even more vigilant than I had been.


    The Ancient One nodded and closed the portal.


    ¡°You knew I wouldn''t abandon my duty.¡± I whispered to her.


    The Ancient One shook her head. ¡°I only knew that you needed to see for yourself that even though we command great power, we are still only human. We can make mistakes and we have to deal with them, just like a normal person does.¡±


    I sighed and sat down on the floor as I shrunk the sceptre and put it away. ¡°I really screwed up what could have been great.¡±


    ¡°It happens sometimes.¡± The Ancient One said and sat in a lotus position in front of me. ¡°Would you like to talk about it? I seem to have some spare time available.¡±


    I half-laughed and half-sobbed. ¡°I''m never going to get used to you making jokes.¡±


    The Ancient One smiled. ¡°I have recently gained a great friend that can also be a terrible influence.¡±


    ¡°I really can be.¡± I said and didn''t stop my tears from flowing.


    The Ancient One opened her arms and I didn''t hesitate as I climbed onto her lap. She held me as I talked about what happened and how much I had screwed up. How I hadn''t accounted for the effects the powered-up sceptre would have on both myself and those around me.


    As I talked, the effect I described had reminded me how The Vision acted in the movies I had seen. He was kind of disconnected from his own emotions, because the Mind Stone fed him the emotions and probably thoughts of everyone else around him. I told The Ancient One this and she nodded.


    ¡°You are starting to realize the depths the Infinity Stones can influence you, just by their proximity.¡± The Ancient One said. ¡°I keep mine nearby and also distance myself from it.¡±


    I took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I can''t do that. If I leave it anywhere, I know... not suspect, know... that something will happen to it or to someone nearby. They need to be minded constantly or they will cause trouble.¡± I sighed. ¡°More trouble, I mean. What I''m already dealing with is enough.¡±


    ¡°I will help you meditate on this and help you sort out what exactly has been compromised inside yourself.¡± The Ancient One offered.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said with as much gratitude as I could.


    ¡°If you will assume the proper mediation pose, we can get started.¡±


    I gave her a crooked smile and sat up before I turned to face her and folded my legs into the lotus position right there on her lap. The Ancient One smiled and shook her head at me, easily moved me off of her lap, and positioned me in front of her.


    I wiped my face off and listened as The Ancient One guided me through several meditation techniques and we both got to work trying to fix whatever the Mind Stone had done to me.


    *


    Val had been optimistic about how her parents were going to treat her after she graduated. Instead of having the whole summer to get her life in order, they had only given her two weeks to move out and find a place on her own. She really made them feel guilty about it, especially when she hired a moving company to help her take everything she owned out of the house the very next day.


    Max held her as Val forced herself to cry messily, just so the neighbours and other people that had gathered around would see and hear how terrible her parents were. When she brought up them making her pay for her own medical bills after she had been attacked, the loud boos from everyone made her parents retreat and hide. The crowd gave Val words of encouragement and soon dispersed.


    ¡°Thanks for this, Max.¡± Val whispered and tried to clean up her tears.


    ¡°I knew your parents were jerks. I just didn''t realize they would kick you out and cut you off.¡± Max shook her head. ¡°They legally can''t refuse to pay for anything that you need to stay in school. It''s their job to take care of you until you can do it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°They don''t see it that way. I''m old enough now and they''re done with me.¡± Val said and took several breaths to calm down. Her tears had been fake at first and had quickly become real as more people sympathized with her and saw what she had to put up with from her parents.


    ¡°If that''s true, and I''m sure it is after seeing how they acted today, we need to call for reinforcements.¡± Max said to her and took out her cell phone.


    Val wasn''t sure what she meant until Max sent a pretty scathing text to Ben. ¡°Max, are you sure that...¡± She stopped talking when her own cell phone rang and she answered it. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Jubadi wants to know if you want them dead or disabled and I want to know if you need help moving.¡± Ben said to her. ¡°She would offer to help you move as well if she wasn''t going to be so busy flaying your parents.¡±


    ¡°B-Ben, I...¡± Val tried to hold her tears back. It felt so nice to have people in her corner and they would do anything for her. ¡°You can''t. If anything happens to them now...¡±


    ¡°Damn, you''re using logic against us.¡± Ben groused and Val smiled. ¡°All right. I''ll set Jennifer and Matt on them. They''re getting restless with all the sitting around and making money they''re doing.¡±


    Val barked a laugh and several tears escaped. ¡°I think that would be fine. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You don''t need to thank me, Val. You''re family now. When you need anything, we will all be there.¡± Ben promised.


    Val felt so grateful for his words. ¡°You''re too good to be true.¡±


    ¡°Only to those that deserve it.¡± Ben said and she nodded, even though he couldn''t see it. ¡°You can send your things to the house, okay? It''s all ready for you.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Val asked, confused. ¡°How could you know that?¡±


    ¡°Besides having a massive network of information available that I can access at almost any time, I have to know about the statuses of all my properties and businesses in the city.¡±


    ¡°All of your... you bought it?!?¡± Val exclaimed.


    ¡°Of course I bought it. I wasn''t going to give you and the other girls a bunch of money to pay rent for three years, or for however long you all want to stay there, and not have anything to show for it at the end.¡± Ben said, as if that was perfectly logical.


    ¡°You''re crazy.¡± Val said, softly.


    ¡°I know it''s kind of weird that I''ll be paying myself rent; but, you know how grants, bursaries, and scholarships work. As soon as it''s out of my hands, it''s not considered my money anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you... you...¡±


    ¡°I''m sure we can work out a land ownership deal and maybe slip your name onto the deed after you''ve lived there for six months. I can''t let you flounder around without an official home address.¡±


    Val''s tears came out and she didn''t bother trying to stop them. ¡°Ben...¡±


    ¡°You have my permission to tell Max and her mother. I suspect they''ll both be visiting you a lot before the summer''s over.¡±


    ¡°I think you mean the week.¡± Val said with a soft laugh.


    Ben laughed, too. ¡°Yes, that''s what I meant.¡± He said and there was some clicking. ¡°I''ve just asked Jarvis to send an order to the local grocery store near the house. You and Max should be able to pick it up on the way by.¡±


    ¡°With what?¡± Val asked. ¡°We''re taking the bus and...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as if I''m letting you live in a house and not have a car available for you to use.¡± Ben said. ¡°You have lessons scheduled for next week to get your license.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Val gasped.


    ¡°What? It was supposed to be a surprise. Happy Birthday.¡±


    Val wiped at her face. ¡°You can''t keep doing this to me, you bastard.¡±


    ¡°I probably shouldn''t tell you that I hired a maid and a cook for you, then.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°BEN!¡± Val gasped.


    ¡°They weren''t supposed to show up until a week before school starts. I''ll give them a call and see if they can start early and earn a bigger bonus.¡±


    Val was really crying now. ¡°Ben. Ben. Ben.¡±


    ¡°Hey, do you want me to send the Quinjet instead of a car? That would really shock your parents.¡±


    Val stared at her cell phone for several seconds before she spoke. ¡°You know what? Do it. I want to see what happens.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be right there.¡± Ben said.


    Val hung up and Max gave her an expectant look. ¡°He''s sending the Quinjet to pick us up.¡±


    Max stared at her for a second, then she laughed and hugged her. ¡°This is going to be AWESOME!¡±


    It was. The crowd came back almost immediately to stare and talk. Val''s parents took one look at the armored Quinjet, and the heavily armed drones that guarded it, before they fainted. Jennifer Walters dropped legal notice papers on their chests with a wicked smile on her face and then helped Ben strap Val and Max into the cockpit.


    They lifted off and both girls whooped and hollered as they zoomed around the neighborhood and then buzzed Val''s house. It was the perfect way to leave her old life behind and Val made sure that Ben saw the look she was giving him. Ben nodded in understanding and hit the afterburners. He knew she wanted to reward him for saving her again.


    *


    A month later, the leadership of the Red Room Program had no idea what had happened. One moment, they had political power and an entire secret organization with assassins spread out in various countries. In the next moment, their computers had been raided, their facilities bombed and destroyed, and none of their agents responded to inquiries or orders. That is, until a good portion of them showed up where they lived and murdered them.


    *


    Natasha Romanoff couldn''t stop herself as she stared at the muscular young man that had just saved the last Black Widow Operative from being shot by the Russian police. It wasn''t his deflection of the bullets that had caught her attention. It was because Ben had done it bare handed with small glowing orange circles on the palms of his hands.


    ¡°Ya khochu imet yego detey!¡± (I want to have his babies!) Yelena Belova exclaimed in Russian as she ducked behind the same concrete barrier that Natasha had ducked behind.


    Natasha wasn''t sure why she felt instantly jealous and had to bite her tongue to stop herself from cursing at her sister. She had exposed the entire covert operation of saving the Black Widows by publicly announcing being saved and then she assassinated the woman that had trained them and assigned them missions.


    A bright beam of blue energy from Ben''s hand sliced the police cars in half and the police yelled and screamed in terror as they dove out of the way. None of them were hurt or had been hit. A concentrated burst at the fuel tanks caused several explosions and gave them the distraction Natasha had asked for.


    A masked Ben was suddenly right there beside them. ¡°Time to go, ladies.¡± He said and waved his hand in a circle. A glowing orange portal appeared behind them and he unceremoniously picked them up under his arms and jumped through the thing.


    ¡°Opyat taki!¡± Yelena yelled happily as they dropped down about ten feet and landed on a grassy outcropping near a high cliff beside the churning water of the Pacific Ocean.


    ¡°We are NOT doing that again, Yelena!¡± Natasha spat at her as Ben put them down.


    Yelena laughed and looked at the masked man that had saved her twice in less than an hour. ¡°It is very rare to find a man that will willingly help us, especially since he knows who we are and what we do.¡±


    Ben didn''t take off his mask, even though they were no longer in danger. ¡°The circumstances of your lives shouldn''t be held against you.¡±


    Yelena let her happy face change to a seductive one. ¡°Then you need to let me show you how much I appreciate that you freed me from my shackles.¡±


    Ben held a hand up to stop her. ¡°I''m sorry, I''m betrothed to be married.¡±


    Yelena pouted and her face was exaggerated enough that Ben had to chuckle at it.


    ¡°I can''t engage with you like that without a contract that ensures our children are protected.¡± Ben told her.


    Yelena opened her mouth to explain she didn''t need the contract and saw Natasha''s sad face. ¡°I see.¡± She said, because she understood that Ben actually knew they couldn''t have children.


    ¡°I''m sorry that you can''t abuse that loophole.¡± Ben said and reached over to lightly cup the side of her face. ¡°Because I would abuse your loopholes if I could.¡±


    Yelena looked confused for a moment, then she laughed. ¡°I think I need more practice understanding English references.¡±


    Ben nodded and let her face go. ¡°I could use a hand taking care of a few things.¡±


    ¡°Ben!¡± Natasha gasped. ¡°You don''t know what...¡±


    ¡°I know exactly what I''m asking for.¡± Ben said and took a small remote out of his pocket and hit the right button sequence.


    The cloaked Quinjet flickered for several seconds and appeared beside them on the cliff.


    ¡°You will have to sign a different contract and a more restrictive non-disclosure agreement before I fill you in.¡± Ben said to Yelena and waved the two women forward to enter the ship.


    Yelena gave Natasha a quick glance and saw the anger there. That made her decision for her and she smiled at Ben. ¡°Do I sign with my code name, my assigned name, or my birth name?¡±

 126 Circumstances

    Bokuboy


    Anyways, here''s another 3,200 words.


    Two days later, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton watched the footage of the masked figure as he saved a Black Widow assassin from a hail of bullets and then blasted several Russian police cars. That was shocking on its own. The implications of the portal that took the trio from Moscow to the east coast of the continent instantaneously, was mind-numbing.


    ¡°It''s not doctored.¡± Natasha reminded them again. ¡°He''s not wearing a powered suit under his clothing to explain the energy beams and I have no idea how he made a portal like that.¡±


    Fury gave Maria a pointed look. They both speculated that Ben was tapping into the tesseract somehow to do it, even if the portal energy was orange and not blue like the tesseract usually made.


    ¡°I''m not as concerned about that as I am with his offer to my sister.¡± Natasha said.


    The three others around the table nodded.


    ¡°As soon as she signed the contracts, which he let the both of us read before Yelena enthusiastically signed them, he took off his mask and then...¡± Natasha skipped to the right file and the four of them sat there and listened to Ben''s assertion that the Yakuza and Russian Mafias were not happy that he had removed their links to New York by killing all of their operatives and contacts.


    ¡°Is he right about that?¡± Clint whispered.


    ¡°Yes. Listen as to why he believes it.¡± Natasha whispered back.


    ¡°...the latest assassination was by the doorman at Avengers Tower. At least, that was who he was pretending to be at the time. I knew something was wrong, because Frank didn''t banter like usual or said anything when I tipped him. He always says something.¡± Ben said. ¡°They somehow found out that it was me that ordered their extermination from New York and are determined to make me pay by any means, including using magic spells and demon summoning.¡±


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Fury asked, shocked. ¡°Is he serious?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± Natasha said and pointed to the screen as Ben showed them several barrier spells, including the small ones he could create on his palms. ¡°He refused to show us any demons, though.¡±


    Fury could only nod at those words and paused the footage. ¡°How did they get to the doorman?¡±


    ¡°The same way they got to the janitor at Midtown High.¡± Maria said and handed over a folder. ¡°They found out who they were, killed them, had someone alter their appearance temporarily, and slipped right into a trusted position and tried to kill Agent Parker.¡±


    Fury frowned at the information in the folder. ¡°Why does this seem odd to me?¡±


    ¡°They knew the cover wasn''t going to last and went for a shot as soon as they thought they could be successful.¡± Natasha said. ¡°The guys were just low level thugs and their appearance eventually faded or changed back about an hour after they died. Ben wouldn''t have discovered that if the police investigating the doorman''s death hadn''t kept both Ben and the body in the lobby as they waited for the medical examiner.¡±


    ¡°That''s how he knew it was magic?¡± Clint asked and she nodded.


    ¡°They''re either attaching the assassins to minor demons or they have a greater one to tap into and he links them.¡± Natasha said. ¡°Bodies don''t normally speak after they''re killed.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do about it?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°We are not equipped to handle magic.¡± Maria said. ¡°We discovered that with Loki''s incursion.¡±


    ¡°What does Agent Parker have to say about all of this?¡± Fury asked.


    Natasha nodded at the screen and Fury started it up again. What they heard next made their blood run cold.


    ¡°Yelena, I know I just hired you...¡± Ben started to say.


    ¡°I will do anything you ask of me, Ben.¡± Yelena said and Ben smiled at her.


    ¡°I''m promoting you to Operations Liaison. I need you to contact all of the other Black Widows on the Red Room''s list. Since I''ve freed them from their control agents and mental blocks, I think they need to prove that they can still function as people, operatives, and assassins.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°I knew agreeing to whatever you wanted was the right choice.¡± Yelena said, seductively.


    ¡°Ben, you can''t do this.¡± Onscreen Natasha said.


    ¡°If you''re worried about what Director Fury is going to do about this, don''t. None of the Black Widows besides you have defected or are having a crisis of conscience. They have no conflicting loyalties, no corrupted politicians holding their leashes, and definitely no one whipping them physically or mentally.¡± Ben said. ¡°They are as far removed from the control of any spy agency as they can possibly get.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± Clint whispered.


    ¡°You really do understand us.¡± Yelena said with a bit of awe.


    ¡°I do, because I''m not offering them a new yolk to control them. I want to hire them for the foreseeable future. They will be considered independent contractors and will have contracts similar to yours, only altered slightly because they will be working internationally and without oversight... unless they request it.¡± Ben said. ¡°I will also be providing new equipment, weapons, and resources that they can access from anywhere in the world.¡±


    Yelena let out a sound that was almost a purr. ¡°I want you so bad right now.¡±


    ¡°I would be tempted to let you have some innocent fun if my betrothed wouldn''t gut me with her mechanical claws.¡± Ben said with a grin.


    ¡°Really? I must meet this wonderfully vindictive woman.¡± Yelena said with her own grin. ¡°She sounds like a kindred spirit.¡±


    Ben laughed. ¡°I think Princess Shuri will like you, too.¡±


    Natasha turned off the screen. ¡°As you can see, Yelena was all for it.¡±


    ¡°What was Agent Parker thinking?¡± Maria asked, rhetorically.


    ¡°The real question is, how long will it be before he starts his own spy agency?¡± Clint asked.


    Fury looked down at the folder in front of him. ¡°He doesn''t need to start one. He already has one. This one.¡±


    Natasha caught her breath and it was her turn to curse. ¡°Oh, fuck.¡±


    ¡°Hill, you need to check...¡± Fury started to ask and Maria was already on her cell phone. He waited for several minutes as Maria''s face changed from stoic to worry.


    ¡°Clean Sweep Three has been initiated.¡± Maria said with a whisper. In the quiet room, it was almost like a shout. ¡°All data has been disseminated about potential Russian targets that have been identified from all over the world.¡±


    ¡°Send the counter order and have all SHIELD agents stand down.¡± Fury said.


    Maria shook her head. ¡°No contact protocols have been enacted. They won''t check in until their targets have been eliminated or at least tracked down and they ask for confirmation.¡±


    ¡°Deny that confirmation and log it into the computers.¡± Fury ordered. ¡°We can''t have our own agents eliminating...¡±


    Maria did as asked and she nodded. ¡°All kill orders have been changed to continue monitoring.¡±


    Fury nodded. ¡°Get Agent Parker on the line. He needs to stop working independently of SHIELD''s goals.¡±


    ¡°But, I''m not working independently of SHIELD''s goals.¡± Ben''s voice said over the intercom.


    ¡°You''ve been monitoring us?¡± Fury asked.


    ¡°No, I have a program set to notify me if anyone says my name, code name, or nickname.¡± Ben informed them. ¡°If it''s relevant, I''ll check personally and see what''s going on.¡±


    ¡°You''re not worried about breaching secrecy oaths and NDAs?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°My legal department informed me that as long as I am a topic of conversation or had participated in some way, I am included in those NDAs and oaths.¡± Ben said. ¡°I personally don''t think the implied permission would stand up in court; but, that''s just my opinion.¡±


    Fury sighed. ¡°Agent Parker, you need to stop whatever you''re doing.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Ben asked.


    ¡°We are not permitted to interfere in the political situations of foreign countries.¡± Maria said. ¡°We are a peacekeeping force and...¡±


    ¡°I am ensuring peace.¡± Ben said and then chuckled. ¡°That sounded really pretentious. I apologize.¡±


    ¡°Ben, you can''t just do what you want.¡± Natasha said.


    ¡°Oh, but I don''t want to do this.¡± Ben said, which surprised them all. ¡°I have to. It''s part of the whole protecting myself, my family, and the world.¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± Maria started to say.


    ¡°I haven''t called in any heavy hitters, so you can relax. Everything is happening quietly.¡± Ben said and there was a sound of a soft laugh near him and a woman''s muffled voice. ¡°I already apologized for that and sent three new police cars. The police weren''t happy until they realized the cars were armored and the bribe went through to make them forget about you.¡±


    There was a sound of a kiss and then Ben hissed. ¡°Dammit, my ear is not a chew toy!¡±


    ¡°You won''t let me chew on anything else, krasivyy (handsome).¡± Yelena said and her laugh faded away.


    Natasha felt both embarrassed and jealous, because it could have been her.


    ¡°As I was saying, I''m ensuring my own peace as I hunt down where they are getting their information and magic from. As soon as I have that and eliminated all opposition, the world is going to be a much better place.¡±


    ¡°Who gave you the right to make decisions like that?¡± Clint asked.


    ¡°Honestly? No one. I don''t need anyone''s permission to protect myself, my family, and the people I care about. If I have to kill every criminal element on the entire planet, I''ll do it.¡± Ben said. ¡°In fact, that''s a great goal, isn''t it? No more crime?¡±


    ¡°Ben...¡± Maria started again.


    ¡°I won''t put you out of a job, Maria. Peace still needs to be kept. The people need to be kept safe.¡± Ben said and sighed. ¡°I know it''s a long and hard road. There will always be someone that''s ambitious, or ruthless, or even callous enough to try and make a little kingdom for themselves.¡±


    ¡°Which is what you''re doing.¡± Fury pointed out.


    Ben was quiet for a moment, then the screen on the wall lit up. ¡°You''re kind of right. With enough money, I''ve made a company conglomerate that produces tech and innovations that are changing the world. I''ve hired hundreds of people, some great, some questionable, and some are downright murderous.¡±


    ¡°Like the Widows.¡± Clint added.


    ¡°Yes. I''ve put a system in place that will allow them to prosper, earned their loyalty, and I will be able to call upon my friends in my time of need. Like now.¡± Ben said. ¡°They can use their skills, just like Natasha uses hers for SHIELD. Like I told Natasha and Yelena, and now all of the other Widows, their pasts are just that, the past. All they can do is come to terms with it and move on. Some will do that and some will cling to it like a drowning person.¡±


    Natasha blushed and looked away from the screen.


    ¡°Guilt is a funny thing, isn''t it? The red in your ledger is pretty much gone now, Natasha. With each Widow we freed together from the Red Room''s influence, you made up for all of the things you did for the Red Room. There''s almost nothing left for you to make up for.¡±


    ¡°Ben, I... even though...¡± Natasha looked back at the screen. ¡°You''re going down the wrong path.¡±


    ¡°No, my dear Natalia.¡± Ben said with a warm smile to take the sting out of using her real name. ¡°I''m forging my own path. Right? Wrong? They are both subjective concepts. If you do wrong to make things right, are you wrong or are you right?¡±


    Natasha couldn''t answer that. She had done a lot of wrong things in her life and a lot of right things. Some of the wrong things turned out right and some of the right things had turned out very wrong.


    ¡°I see the realization on your face.¡± Ben said and looked at Fury. ¡°The thing about building a kingdom is that someone will always try to topple it or take it for themselves. I''ve got the makings of a kingdom and I''m not interested at all in completing it. Kingdoms never last. Loyalty can be lost. Trust can be squandered.¡±


    Fury waited for him to say something else and he didn''t. He sighed and had to prompt him. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°There''s one thing that will always be there. It might be lost, or forgotten, or change, or become something unobtainable.¡± Ben said and nodded to each of the four people at the table. ¡°Purpose. We all have it and we all strive to complete it. Without it, we will accomplish nothing.¡±


    Natasha caught her breath. ¡°You''re giving them hope!¡±


    ¡°You got it. Well done.¡± Ben said and grinned at her. ¡°Without hope for the future, then what''s the point? Everyone needs to do something with their lives and I''m going to do everything I can to make sure that those I''ve accepted into my life have it. Whatever it takes, it will be done.¡±


    Yelena walked back into the room and she wore only a thin sports bra. ¡°Are you done talking to the stuffed shirts yet? You are supposed to be training me for the next mission.¡±


    ¡°Stuffed shirts?¡± Ben asked her and pointedly looked at her barely concealed breasts.


    Yelena laughed and grabbed his face and shoved it into her chest. She rubbed herself all over his face and then let him go. Ben was flushed red and Yelena''s nipples were now quite prominent.


    ¡°He will call again when he can talk without biting his tongue and can stand without adjusting himself.¡± Yelena said and reached for the cut off button and giggled. ¡°Perhaps in a week or so?¡±


    Fury, Clint, Maria, and Natasha all got a fantastic view of Yelena''s cleavage before the signal died.


    ¡°Hill.¡± Fury whispered.


    ¡°I''ll try, sir.¡± Maria whispered back. ¡°I doubt I can successfully revoke any of his permissions.¡±


    ¡°He said he removed all of the backdoors to the computers.¡± Fury said.


    ¡°Hydra''s backdoors.¡± Maria corrected.


    Fury let out a curse. ¡°I really should suspend him and...¡±


    ¡°Why not fire him?¡± Clint asked. ¡°If he''s working against SHIELD and not listening to orders...¡±


    Maria sucked in a sharp breath and gave Fury a pointed look.


    Fury sighed. ¡°Why didn''t we think of that?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Clint and Natasha asked.


    ¡°We could have ordered him to do a mission or two for us, which would make him too busy for his own agenda.¡± Maria said. ¡°As it stands now...¡±


    ¡°He''s already declared he''s incommunicado.¡± Fury said and rubbed his forehead. ¡°Put something in the pipeline for him. Something difficult. Something very far away from Russian operatives.¡±


    ¡°Bolivia.¡± Natasha and Clint said at the same time, as if they had practised it.


    Fury gave a small smile and nodded. ¡°Hill, do it.¡±


    Maria nodded back and changed the assignment to add Ben into it. Little did she realize that Ben hadn''t been calling from his rooms in Avenger''s Tower.


    *


    Yelena did her best to not cry as Shuri''s advanced medical scanning bed beeped and showed them the results. ¡°I knew I shouldn''t have gotten my hopes up.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Yelena.¡± Shuri said and moved the display aside. ¡°If they had left even one of your ovaries inside, we could have healed you enough to reconnect it and restarted your biological cycle.¡±


    The door to the medical lab opened and Ben walked in with a purpose.


    ¡°B-Ben.¡± Yelena whispered and tears formed in her eyes.


    ¡°No, don''t give up.¡± Ben said and took her hand.


    ¡°But... but, this...¡± Yelena waved at the medical technology around her. ¡°It was my last...¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Ben interrupted her. ¡°No, Yelena. There''s one more chance.¡±


    ¡°Only one?¡± Shuri asked.


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± Ben said. ¡°Like you said, since they were removed, there''s nothing to heal. However...¡±


    Shuri gave him a look and saw his smile. ¡°When will it be available?¡±


    ¡°The Convergence of the planets won''t happen until the winter of next year.¡± Ben said and looked down at Yelena. ¡°If things work out like I think they will, I''ll be able to give you the best Christmas present ever.¡±


    Yelena looked at Shuri''s happy face and looked back at Ben''s. ¡°I can have your babies.¡±


    ¡°If that''s what you want.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°I do.¡± Yelena said, adamantly. ¡°I would have signed the contract already if I was allowed.¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± Shuri said and took her free hand as she wiped away the tears on the other woman''s face. ¡°Now about you shoving your breasts into Ben''s face...¡±


    ¡°He has already told me the rules.¡± Yelena said with a smile.


    ¡°You have already worked out how to get around them.¡± Shuri huffed. ¡°Do not abuse his good nature.¡±


    ¡°I am standing right here, you know.¡± Ben said.


    ¡°Your opinion doesn''t count in matters like this.¡± Shuri said, haughtily.


    Yelena gave her an appreciative look. ¡°As soon as I heard about you, I knew I would like you.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I am magnificent.¡± Shuri said.


    ¡°No, I''m magnificent. You''re majestic.¡± Ben argued.


    ¡°I thought you were majestic.¡± Shuri countered.


    ¡°You can become a human-shaped armored cheetah. If that''s not majestic, then nothing is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Shuri said and then kissed him before she smiled. ¡°I will accept your opinion. Just this once.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being magnanimous about it.¡± Ben said with a laugh.


    Yelena looked from Ben to Shuri and saw a dynamic there that she hadn''t seen between Ben or anyone else. She knew he was dedicated to her and that he wouldn''t endanger it by doing anything without Shuri''s knowledge or permission.


    It was a very odd thing to discover that Shuri was perfectly fine with Ben spreading his seed as far and as wide as possible, as long as there was a chance that her nation could benefit from it. It was also something Yelena wanted to take full advantage of. That Ben was honorable, powerful, and absolutely delicious, just made him that much more appealing.


    Yelena then realized that they both still held her hands. Hers and not each other''s. Her eyes widened as they kissed again, only it wasn''t a quick peck like the last one had been. No, it was a full on ''I''m going to do you right now'' kiss that made her wet.


    ¡°Please excuse us.¡± Ben said and let Yelena''s hand go and led Shuri across the room, shoved her up against the wall and tore off her clothing, then he screwed her right there.


    The yells of her pleasure brought two guards inside the medical lab. One she had met, Jubadi, and another she hadn''t. To Yelena''s shock and growing desire, both women stripped off and started to help. Then they joined in. Then they screamed their own pleasure. Then they had body shaking orgasms. Then Ben turned towards her and sprayed himself all over all three of the women''s eager faces.


    Yelena was nearly done fingering herself and she came right after he did. Yes, she definitely wanted a piece of that. A big piece. And she wanted it bad.