Brand New Isekai (Jean Grey Self Insert)

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Spoiler Warning

This contains heavy spoilers for Spider-Man Brand New Day, so uh, don't read it if you don't want those

Peter Parker POV

Flipping over an upturned truck, I heard the bullets ping off the metal and a few whiz over my head. "Gotta say guys, not really feeling welcome. Is this how you treat every friendly Spider-Man that drops by to visit? I'm neighborhoodly too!"

Gunfire and shouted orders were my only response, though I felt my Peter Tingl- Spider-Sense, gotta call it that now - flare up with a threat from over my head. Bracing my hands against the side of the armored vehicle and adhering to it, I flipped up and over, kicking the Damage Control agent that was nearing the edge.

He tumbled over the other side and I spun around atop the vehicle, kicking down another agent attempting to get out of the side door, now standing on its end. Grabbing the door, I slammed it down and webbed it shut, trapping the agents within. This also removed the one piece of cover I had from the agents on the ground on the other side of the road, forcing me to dodge against the spray of gunfire once more.

My senses, especially including my danger sense, warned me of where the shots were coming from, and my enhanced speed and agility let me evade the shots. Despite my advantages, I still felt the familiar rush of excitement and danger as I charged in, feeling like an electric current was running across my very being as I slipped between danger.

Rushing ahead, I punched one in the gut, then smacked the heavy gun out of the hands of another before having to run away. I'd positioned myself from practice such that most of the others' shots would have risked hitting their comrades that I engaged in close combat, but these foes clearly didn't care, lining their guns up. I didn't think it was because they really trusted the dark, heavy duty tactical gear and body armor they were all wearing either.

I kept a look out for any telltale twitches and the subtle sense that there was something up with any of them, but it looked like Jean had moved on, not controlling this bunch. Firing off a web-line at two trees, I jumped, pulling myself towards one, before cutting the line off and firing another strand out to a tree closer to the first strand I was still attached to.

One of the agents was smart enough to see what was coming and jumped out of the circle of webbing I was making before it pulled tight, trapping the rest of his five buddies together. Unfortunately for him, he rolled his ankle as he landed, cursing as he landed and stumbling, unable to take advantage of his position before I casually shoved him towards the others and webbed him up against them.

"Language!" I chided. "There might be Spider-children about? What would they think if they heard an upstanding federal agent swearing like that? You know, if the kidnapping and wanton violence wasn't enough to send them running."

"You're the criminal Spider-Man, and when we get you-" I shoved the cluster to the side, watching as they flailed like a turtle on it's back for a moment before webbing them up further. They weren't giving me any more intelligible commentary and I had bigger problems to deal with, like the next armored vehicle barreling down the road towards me.

Setting off at a light jog so as to not outpace the newcomers too far while still getting closer to the gate around the compound, I saw that while they'd chosen not to run over their fellows, they had no such compunctions regarding me, not even trying to lean out the windows and shoot at me.

Backflipping over the speeding van, I sent a web line to the front of it, then yanked hard when I landed on the ground behind them. The heavy vehicle resisted mightily, but with my adhesive nature and super-strength let me combat the forces pushing it ahead, and with a heavy lurch, mental crunching from the opposing forces, the machine rose up in the air, nearly flipping over before it stopped.

Letting it drop back down with a heavy thud, I webbed the wheels to the ground and waited a moment for the doors to burst open. Snagging the first men out of the van, I tossed them to the ground, using the force to throw myself inside, kicking another in the gut. In such close quarters none of the agents could fire at me, while I launched a flurry of punches and kicks at them. One tried to stab me with a knife, but the attack seemed so slow to me that it barely registered on my Spider-Sense and I broke the offender's wrist with a slap.

The agents in the front of the van aiming through the iron mesh covered opening between the back and the front, was enough to flare a feeling of danger within me, however. Pushing the last of the assailants in the back with me down, I leapt to the ceiling, clinging there and letting the bullets whiz harmlessly beneath me and above all the others on the floor.

They adjusted their aim and I scuttled out, pulling myself around the corner and landing by the passenger side door. Ripping it open easily, I punched the first, cracking his helmet and dazing him before immobilizing the driver with a bunch of webs to neutralize her.

With them handled, I swapped web cartridges from the shooters on my wrists with the ones in my belt pouch. Seeing the guards at the gate scrambling to pull out heavier weaponry, I fired a pair of web lines at the towers by the gate and pulled myself forward.

The turrets they rolled forwards on wheeled platforms and had some big guns on them, big enough that they could have seriously hurt me… had they come anywhere close to hitting me. As it was, these were clearly not designed to fight a foe as acrobatic as myself and couldn't draw a proper bead on me before I'd webbed all the guards up operating them. Some of them cursed me, wondering, "Why are you doing this Spider-Man? You're supposed to be a hero!"

"If you knew what was being held in here, you'd know that this is what a hero does." The door in front was barred, and thick enough that I had to put serious effort into punching it open, tearing at my knuckles and making my wrist twinge.

The two agents I'd thrown to the ground before had chased after me, and I didn't even turn around to dodge their shots, letting them follow me as I entered the facility. There was practically no one inside, and I only needed to wait a moment after turning a corner inside and stopping for them to rush past me. Webbing them up before they could recover, I picked the two of them up and rushed ahead, slamming open the doors to a long hallway, at the end of which stood another agent.

There was more than that however, within his body was another presence, a controlling mind. Somehow, I just knew that Jean Grey was controlling him. Showtime.


A/N: Hello and welcome to my latest story! I got inspired after watching Brand New Day in theatres and this came to me as a fun idea. I hope you'll enjoy it.

The story started out on my snippets page, but I decided to add a little In Medias Res prologue to kick things off. It's not how I usually start things, but I kinda liked it. What do you think?

 

[ENDDRAGON]

Will Jean date Peter?

 

[Spearow]

oh interesting, reading a self insert on the villain is always nice

 

[Lillie Jones]

Absolute Cinema
10/10
Continue on
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

oh interesting, reading a self insert on the villain is always nice

Click to shrink...

Yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff you can do with stories like that

Will Jean date Peter?

Click to shrink...

It's a self insert, so no. SI!Jean's not into guys, but their friendship will be important for the story

Absolute Cinema
10/10
Continue on
Cheers!

Click to shrink...

Thank you!

 

[Skyfyre]

A day earlier

Jean Grey POV


Alright, let's try this one more time: My name is Jean Elaine Grey and I am a telepath. Possibly the future wielder of a cosmic force known as 'The Phoenix.' Did Jean have any cool codenames beyond that? I feel like she must have, right? Scott was Cyclops, Logan was Wolverine, what's his face was, uhhh Kurt! Kurt was Nightcrawler, Henshaw was Beast- no, that's a Superman foe, Beast is McCoy. I think.

The thoughts buzzed around my head, joining the other thoughts that buzzed outside it. There was everyone on the bus, but also people nearby too. Everyone within my range of forty feet or so I could sense, no matter what obstacles lay between me and them. Their thoughts weren't distinct things I could read, no matter how much I focused, or even how few people there were around to grab my attention, but I suspected that was only a matter of time.

Jean Grey was a strong telepath and telekinetic in the comics. One of the strongest, even without the Phoenix. I didn't feel particularly strong right now, my hoodie pulled up, trying to avoid any cameras that might give me away. Damage Control wasn't omniscient, but they sure felt that way sometimes in a city like this.

New York was constantly busy, and I'd felt crowded living here even before my psychic powers had kicked in, and that was despite having lived in a big city my whole previous life. New York was just different though, and more than just the whole 'aliens/ninjas/supervillains sometimes invade' thing.

A man in a suit got onto the bus and I stiffened up. Shield? Hydra? Damage Control? TVA? As he took his place standing at the front, not paying attention to me and just watching videos on his phone, I relaxed a little. Most of those organizations are gone now, or mostly defunct at least, but still. I spent far too long worried about if some sharply dressed businessperson was actually an assassin sent to eliminate me for knowing and/or being capable of too much.

I had hoped that with Endgame done that the TVA would be neutered and I could finally live my life in peace, but then Damage Control had swooped in to ruin my life.

Shaking such depressing thoughts free, I got off the bus at the stop and walked to the nice, peaceful cemetery. It had taken a while to find it, but the 'Battle of Three Spidermen' had been pretty public. From there, finding a 'May Parker' who had died just around that time, who had been married to a 'Benjamin Parker' who was also deceased led me to Shady Groves Cemetery.

I set myself up a good ways away from tombstones, but kept them in line of sight as I sat down at the base of a tree. Zipping open my ratty backpack, I pulled out one of my journals from it. These could be the most dangerous things in the whole universe… pshhh. Yeah right. Maybe a few years ago, back when they contained the locations of the Infinity Stones.

Despite the limited use right now, it was a risk to keep some of this information contained, but too vital for me to not keep. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was a mess and while I had kept up with most of the early movies and series, that was a long time ago and I'd never been the biggest Marvel fan (see: My lack of all but the most basic X-Men knowledge). Writing everything down helped me keep track of it all and review what I knew.

My biggest issue right now is a lack of any sort of protective gear or powers. Even skills; I workout a ton and I'm great at parkour and alright at martial arts, but that's just not enough to deal with laser beams, magic, and super-strength. A Vibranium suit would be a dream, but I didn't exactly feel like pissing off Wakanda. Same for Stark Tech and the armors they kept hidden away, though I felt my chances of being able to get in and out with one of those to be slightly better.

Catching sight of movement, I cast my head up and saw a young man walking through this section of the cemetery, carrying a small bouquet of flowers in his hands. He was caucasian, brown haired, late teens. Could it be him? Finally? The last set of flowers on May's grave were getting a little old- yes! He's replacing them! It's him! Spider-Man!

Excitedly I jolted up, catching his attention, his gaze immediately whipping up to me. Forcing myself to calm down, I stuffed my notebooks back in my bag and began casually strolling over, angling myself as if I was just heading out of the park, but taking me closer to him.

The man relaxed, saying something to his late aunt as I approached, veering closer to him. He frowned as I walked up to him, standing up. He was average height, but I was rather petite in this life and he looked down at me. "Can I help you with something?"

Well, that's an open line, might as well take it. "Yes, actually. My sister, Sara Grey, was kidnapped a couple of months ago."

"That sounds like a job for the police-" He began, stiffening up slightly as he realized what was to come.

"The police won't help because it's Damage Control that took her so only Spider-Man can save her!" I said in a rush to get it all out. That just seemed to make him more nervous and he turned to leave.

"Uh wow, that sounds bad but he's not here-"

"I know you're Spider-Man, Mr. Parker, and you might be the only one who can help me. Please," I said, projecting the last word into his mind telepathically. He staggered slightly from the unexpected mental protrusion, my power clearly somewhat unsettling as he turned around to look at me, a mixture of worry and pain on his face. Damn, that aspect of my power clearly needs some work. Why is it so much easier to not just take control of people but possess them than anything else?

I wasn't sure, but I chalked it up to whatever strange continuity it was that put an X-man in the MCU. Spider-Man was still staring at me ,so I awkwardly stuck a hand out. "Uhh, hello there, my name is Jean Grey."

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he sighed and shook it. His grip was solid but surprisingly light for someone I knew to be capable of ripping my arm off like a toothpick. "You already seem to know who I am."

"Not really - I knew enough to remember that you had an Uncle Ben and Aunt May that had raised you, but Doctor Strange's spell hit even all of my memories of your secret identity. Changed everything I'd written about it so it all just read 'shshshshsh.'"

He let go of my hand. "How do you know all that?" He asked.

"The same way I know a lot of things. But that isn't enough to save my sister by itself, so will you help me?" I knew Spider-Man, in pretty much all his incarnations was a good guy, but just a hint of worry niggled away at me. What if he doesn't believe me? What if he's hit a slump in his and toss his spider suit in the trash?

The latter was unlikely as he had been spotted swinging over Manhattan just a couple of hours ago on the Spider tracker App. Still, it wasn't until he nodded his head that I let out a sigh of relief. Spider-Man is going to help me, everything will be alright.

Spoiler: A/N:

This was the first chapter I wrote. As I said before, I was really inspired by the new Spider-Man movie, and I've always liked the Marvel cinematic stuff (especially the Spider-Man stuff), but I've been kinda worried about how dense and convuluted the continuity can be. Hopefully I won't mess up too badly, but if I do, hey, that's what we have the multiverse for, haha.

Jean going for Spidey for help is going to drastically cut down on her difficulties, but as we'll see, there are still some bumps in the road ahead. What are you looking to most from this story? Let me know down below or on the Discord where we have discussions about this and my other story, Like No One Ever Was, a Pokemon Self Insert as Nemona from the Scarlet and Violet games.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Absolute Cinema
10/10

 

[Skyfyre]

Peter Parker POV

For the fifth time today, I glanced over at the girl in the seat beside me. Even inside the taxi cab she kept her hood up, though she would turn to face me whenever I talked, or just every so often. I supposed she was pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way with freckles and short brown hair. Short dyed brown hair, I noted, my vision sharp enough to see the red in her roots beginning to seep back in.

It spoke to someone paranoid, or at least spoke more to that, as her darting glances, state of her clothes, and general huddled posture already opened the conversation on someone who had been on the streets for a while now. Despite how she made herself look small (and generally was small), she had a decent amount of slender muscles on her.

"Is there anything you want to ask me?" The cab driver said- no, Jean said, puppeting the cab driver's body as they rode to my apartment. It's unnerving; I can just tell that there's something wrong with him. "Do other people really not notice? Also, can you talk with your own voice," I requested.

"Right, sorry about that," she said. "They really don't- well, there's a bit of bodily jerk when I first take control. It's not much and I quickly take over, but if anyone was looking for it, they could tell. Afterwards, there's no outward signs and I get an intuitive sense of their thoughts and skills. It lets me mimic them fairly well though if I act out of character for whatever reason that'll give away that something's up."

She paused for a moment, deep in thought before continuing. "The people I control don't remember anything after being possessed, though I've started to work on 'smoothing over' memories. For instance, the cabbie is not going to remember any of this and just think he had a boring ride dropping off two people that look wildly different than we do to a different stop. The closer the details are to what actually happened, the easier it is to cover it up without them questioning."

"So you turn people into little puppets you can control at will and they won't even remember what happened. Not creepy at all," I muttered and she pouted.

"I didn't choose my powers," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "They're a more general telepathic set with some telekinesis but for some reason possession is the easiest power to use." The young girl frowned as if the universe had conspired in such a fashion solely to spite her. Then she snapped her focus back over to me. "You probably don't like it because of your Spidey-Sense! It's warning you of danger, or just general bad juju."

"My what now?"

"You know, your Spidey Sense. The thing that warns you when the bad guys are gonna punch or shoot you. It's what lets you intuitively know where to put your webbing on a structure so it doesn't break and mess up a swing. With practice, you could even use it as a lie detector, possibly even get minor true precognition of your own depending on how strong it is- oh right, you call it the 'Peter Tingle,' don't you?"

"No I don't," I said quickly, denying the embarrassing name I had come up with. Peter 2 and Peter 3 called it their 'Tingle' too, but were they just humoring me? Also, did they call it their 'Peter' Tingle or just a Tingle? I forget. "That would be silly, what would I even tell people that ability was called without giving away who I am? I was just surprised you knew the proper name for it."

As I did that though, my mind went into overdrive about what the psychic had just said. The pieces all lined up, and explained a lot of what I thought had been pure skill. She sounded unsure of how far I could go with my Peter Tingl- Spider-Sense, but what she was saying was intriguing. Somehow, she knows my powers even better than I do.

"Right, cause you name alllll your various powers based on marketability and public reaction. 'Oh would you look at that, he's using his Superior Spider Punch! And what a dodge thanks to his amazing Spider-gility!'" She teased in a faux announcer voice. I couldn't help but shake my head and chuckle at that, watching as she seemed so much younger in this unguarded moment. Jean should have been in high school, laughing with her friends and worrying over homework.

Just like Ned and MJ were back then. Like I was too. We were just kids… A deep pain resonated in my chest at the thought. I'd hoped it would go away. I still did. It's only been what, two years? I'll get over it. Just need a bit more time.

The cab pulled to a stop and let us out. Jean notably didn't pay our controlled cab driver so I took out my wallet and passed him the fare. He drove off without a word. "So how long can you keep him…" I gestured toward my head but she didn't say a thing. Her hoodie was back up as we walked up my apartment building, keeping her head down from anyone we passed by. She's terrified, of everything. I felt it went deeper than just her sister being kidnapped somehow, but I'd take things one mystery at a time.

Only once we reached the top floor and my shack of an apartment did she relax, unconsciously taking a deep breath, then coughing slightly from the dusty air. Jean looked on in awe at it all, from the day-old pizza boxes to my computer set up, to the workshop where my web shooters sat, currently undergoing upgrades. Maybe more awe for the latter than the former.

"Whoa, are these your web shooters? So cool," she said, practically drooling over the devices. I snatched them up before she could be tempted to touch them. "I always wondered if you used electronic or just a straight mechanical pneumatic design, I assumed the former because of the whole Iron Boy Jr. stuff, but you've moved away from the nanite suit since… actually, why have you moved away from that suit? It was awesome and so versatile."

"You think I have nanite repair money here?" I said, gesturing to the state of the room we were in. It was serviceable, but musty and old. The wood creaked constantly whenever anyone walked across it and it could get sweltering in the summer.

"Actually, yes, I think you do," she argued. "The apartment might not be much, but you live in it by yourself, with no seeming method of employment. Or at least a form of employment that lets you work from home with very flexible hours, given some of your sightings. You could do some freelance coding?" She considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "Maybe, but more likely Stark left you a bit of money after he passed. Even peanuts to that guy would be enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your days."

I blinked. It wasn't quite how it had gone - Mr. Stark really had only given me the glasses. After the events with Mysterio however, Pepper Potts had arranged for a million dollars to be deposited in my account for the next few years. I'd been distracted with the invasion of villains from other dimensions and different Spider-men and hadn't noticed until after Dr. Strange had cast his memory wiping spell. I wasn't sure how the memory loss affected that and hadn't ever gone to Ms. Potts to ask her questions about it.

Did she read my mind- "I didn't read your mind, it was just the obvious conclusion," she said, only making me more suspicious. Sighing, she added, "I may have prophetic abilities too. I had a massive conflux of visions on the day I awakened my powers, different events in this and other worlds, so I know a bit about how Tony Stark mentored you, how he gave you those glasses with all the drones."

Hearing her so calmly reveal that made me shiver. It feels almost violating to have a stranger know so much about me. Of course, some of that must have shown on my face (or she just read some of my thoughts as I still half-suspected she was doing) because she looked like a kicked puppy. Ugh, that's just no fair.

Trying to inject some peppyness into my voice, I took a seat by my desk while saying: "I've got enough to get by, but the facilities to maintain a nanite suit cost a pretty penny and more importantly, are super conspicuous for some average nobody to have. But that's enough about me, what's your story? If you can see the future, how did your sister get kidnapped?"

She huffed heavily, carefully taking a seat on the one space open on my cultured couch that served more as a holding space for half finished science projects. "I saw some things, and none of them involved me. They were big things, like the Avengers fighting Thanos, Doctor Strange sealing Dormammu, that kinda stuff. Some smaller things too," she said with a surreptitious glance towards her bag. "But yeah, none of them involved me or my sister."

There was once again more going on there, but she seemed adamant that it wasn't relevant, so I moved on. "You said it was Damage Control that took your sister? But they're the good guys, I work with them all the time."

Things between us when I was unmasked were bad, but some of that was just confusion, right? And they've changed Directors since and everything has been running super smoothly with them from then on. I really wanted to believe that there were good people in charge that I could trust; it made the whole superhero business a lot smoother, and that was kinda my whole life now.

She gave me a very flat look. "The Department of Damage Control are the authorities, not 'the good guys.' They like stability and, obviously, control. They took my sister because like me, she has abilities beyond the norm and it scared them. Or maybe they wanted to study her powers. I don't know why they took her, but they did."

Okay, so that's not going to convince her, maybe another tactic will work. "Are you sure they were Damage Control? Maybe this was some other group pretending to be them to get close to her."

Jean snorted derisively at that idea. "They shot her with a tranquilizer dart from the back. Dozens of armed goons rolled up into Central Park with Damage Control logos on their vehicles -they had drones and almost certainly facial recognition software. I caused enough trouble that they had to write the event off as a 'rogue squadron,' but they went out of their way to eliminate any mention of my sister. Only the real Department of Damage Control would have the kind of reach to pull off something like that."

Her voice was withering and Peter could empathize. Of course, that's only if this is true, and she's not leaving anything out. Finally he asked the girl, "Is there any reason why Damage Control might be after your sister? Beyond just having powers."

Jean was silent for a few minutes, understanding the real thrust of my question, of if her sister was a super villain. "Sara… was a bit more free with her powers than I was. She'd be okay with using them to play pranks or just try them out, and was even more skilled at possession than I am. Never anything that hurt anyone, however technically, any Enhanced using their powers on someone else is against the law," Jean admitted. "But! If that was the case then she should have gotten charges against her and representation. Instead, they just took her away. They wiped away any trace of her or me online too."

Opening her backpack, she rummaged through it, searching past notebooks and a small silvery case before pulling out a pair of Driver's Licenses. One of them, the learners permit, was for Jean Grey herself while the other was of a girl with dirty blonde hair. 'Sara Valerie Grey,' it said.

"She existed, we both do," Jean said, her eyes starting to water as she spoke. She held the cards out for me. Before I could roll my desk chair over, the cards floated out of her hand and into mine. "They're real, but everything about us was wiped out online. You can check that, right? With your VI and prove it?" 'Then you can save my sister' was unspoken, but clearly felt.

Going against Damage Control could put me against the law if she is just playing me… but I don't think she is. Maybe she's some incredible actor, but is this really the story someone would use for that? I put the cards aside for the moment and decided to trust her.

"I'll look into that later. For now, why don't you tell me what happened."

"It started just like any other day. My sister had taken me out to the park to practice our powers…"

Spoiler: A/N:

The question of where Peter gets the money might be a small one, but it did kinda bug me during the film, so I came up with my own answer here.

What do you think of the Peter POV? I like having him to play with and see Jean from another side, so I'm going back and forth with them for this introductory arc. We'll have other people in later arcs, but I was thinking he'd still be a prominent viewpoint character going forward, the most so after Jean herself.

 

[readsalot]

It started just like any other day. My sister had taken me out to the park to practice our powers…"

Click to shrink...

Kick ass and save the day Spidey…. Heh the Peter Tingle , hilarious

 

[Skyfyre]

Jean Grey (Flashback) POV



I closed my eyes, letting the wind wash over me. I could feel the sun on my skin (I really should have put some sunscreen on) and hear the sounds of families playing. The bench I was on was sturdy and dry. It was a lovely day out, and I was trying my best to enjoy it. For some reason, I found this easier to do when my eyes were closed than when they were open.

"Hey, wake up," my older sister said, nudging me with her elbow. "We didn't come to the park just so you could doze the day away." Her voice was cheerful, teasing, but there was a quiver to it that was slightly ragged. She's trying so hard to keep my spirits up after mom kicked us out.

Technically she had just kicked me out, but she would have come up with an excuse to kick Sara out soon afterwards. Being gay wasn't the real reason she couldn't tolerate me; it was our powers. I'd just managed to successfully argue around her when we first reunited after the Blip, and I hadn't appeared to be using them for a while.

"I'm awake," I said calmly, opening my eyes. The picture in front of me, of people enjoying life entirely fit with my mental image. It was a wonderful day, and one that could have totally happened even before life got turned upside down, yet somehow by looking at it I was reminded of our current situation; living on the streets, adrift.

"C'mon, I want to show you how to Jump." My sister said enthusiastically.

"I know how to Jump," I replied. Possibly better than you, at least in some ways. The months spent following the return of everyone Blipped had seen me controlling people in Europe, unbeknownst to my family.

"Oh do you now?" Sara raised an eyebrow then smirked. "Alright, try and do… this!" A series of twitches passed through half a dozen people at the park and a woman a hundred meters away in bright pink jogging gear suddenly turned and waved excitedly at me.

"You know I can't go that fast." Her range is slightly shorter than mine, but I would need a couple seconds between each Jump. " I do wonder though, what is it that keeps our minds tethered like that? Why do we have a range limitation on our baseline range but can go seemingly any distance beyond that? Or at least any distance on Earth."

"Still thinking about going to space in another body?" Sara asked from her own body, letting the jogger go back to her routine.

"I'm thinking about going to space, period. There's so many fantastical elements yet to be discovered in the universe… though there's so much to look at here. Is there some underlying principle of Connection that enables these Jumps? It would explain why our mind needs to get settled briefly before the next Jump and why once that connection is forged we can extend farther beyond our range."

She pushed my shoulder lightly. "Neeeeerd," she teased, and I cracked a smile. You don't know the half of it. My science experiments thus far in other areas had failed, despite the notes and sample I had safely secured in my bag, but I recognized I was probably reaching too far in chemistry without enough of a grounding in the subject. Psychic potential was of great interest to me and an area I felt more comfortable calling myself an expert in. Though that only applies because I don't know of any other psychics besides my sister in this world.

"Why don't you experiment a bit if you're so keen on science," my sister said, waving her hand out at the park.

I hesitated. "What if they notice?"

"No one is going to notice," Sara argued back. "They black out and just assume they lost track of time whenever we take over."

"It's not exactly right to control people," I said and Sara frowned. This was an argument we'd had several times before, over the ethics of our powers, however hypocritical it might have been for me to argue this. Life after the snap had necessitated it before social order was restored and now that we had no home, we'd been forced to rely on it again.

My arguments against controlling people had grown weaker and weaker, especially now that we were likely free from any TVA interference, and Sara sensed that, pressing me here. "Look, no one is doing anything important right now. Taking control of them here won't hurt anyone and it'll help you learn to control your powers better. That could be really useful in the future for saving people. You want to save people, like the Avengers right?"

"Of course I do; everyone wants to be a superhero." Our generation had grown up with heroes, our lives had been wholly shaped by them. Even with a prior life than this one, I'd still read the comics and watched the shows. Living in a world where my first conscious memories were of the Avengers saving New York… it was amazing. Fantastic. Spectacular, etc.

"Then go on, try it out." With her encouragement, I sighed then focused, planning my route out. I pretended my range was shorter than Sara's both as a general measure of not wanting to give too much away about my powers and the fact that she'd started to pout when I'd begun manifesting telekinesis, even if it was only a couple pounds at this point.

Reaching out with my mind, I 'Jumped' into the mind of elderly man walking by. It felt like plunging into a pool of cold water, though I was growing used to that sensation, and the strange double senses as I felt everything he was feeling at the same time as I felt my normal senses. My control was instant, and I could feel the other minds in a range extending out now from both him and myself in somewhat overlapping fields, but it would be a few seconds before I could jump again.

He jerked a little as I took hold, but I stabilized him quickly, leaning on his cane as I prepared the next Jump, this time into a little girl who had just thrown a frisbee to her dad. I went like that, finding people I felt could best explain away the sudden jerks from (sometimes forcing the people I controlled to slap at themselves as if trying to hit nearby bugs) till I was in the woman in jogging gear.

Giving Sara a quick wave with this woman's body, I then had her return to her stretches, keeping her activities normal. It was easy to do, requiring next to no attention from myself. "Fifteen seconds," my sister declared. "You're improving."

"Ehhh," I said, waving a hand back and forth. "I've gotten better at planning and making a route, but my speed between jumps is about the same." Once or twice I'd managed to go two seconds between Jumps, but those had been straining, and only when I was in a dangerous situation.

"Improvement is still improvement," Sara declared, using some of my own words against me, when I'd pointed out how she had improved her math grades from a C- to a C+. I rolled my eyes but grinned.

"Yeah, you're right." My sister cheered before lighting her eyes on the Ice Cream truck nearby.

"I think this deserves a reward, don't you?" Despite ostensibly being for me, I knew this was more for her. She's struggling in her own ways about this and wants to feel good too. These Ice Cream trucks were stupidly pricey, but since she was going to control the person selling them, that wasn't much of a concern either, so I nodded my head.

"Ice Cream Sandwich please," I told her my usual order and she got up, walking over to the truck. Then, about three quarters of the way away, a dart hit her in the neck and she collapsed to the ground.

"What." I said dumbly before watching as vans raced in across the narrow pathway in the park meant for foot traffic more than vehicles. Men in black tactical gear, heavy kevlar and helmets rushed out, over a dozen of them rushing out to pin my sister, while others moved to ward off the civilians standing as slack-jawed as I was at the scene.

Are they after the vial? How could they have found me- no, this isn't the Power Broker, though I'm sure she could move Damage Control if she wanted too. These people rushed after Sara, they aren't even paying attention to me. Or at least it didn't look that way; none of the men were rushing towards me. I still kept my head down, not wanting to take a dart from wherever that sniper had been.

Most of the other park-goers were worried too, despite how one of the goons tried to tell them this was 'an official Damage Control operation' and that none of them were in danger now. It was shocking how much that seemed to calm people down already, so trusting they were. Or perhaps just relieved that the dozens of men with assault rifles aren't turning those weapons on them.

I still had a hold on the jogger, and after making sure to smooth over her memories so she wouldn't suddenly be unduly shocked by this, I let go of her mind and entered that of a young man who was still trying to get close and film the whole thing. He jerked right as one of the officers snatched the phone from his hands.

"Hey, give that back, man," I said, making his voice as whiny and nasally as I could while taking in the scene from his eyes. My own were pointed away as I quickly marched off, acting like many other, random citizens who wanted to avoid being part of this.

The gruff agent didn't respond to the man I was puppeteering, dropping the phone and crushing it beneath the heel of his boots. I made the man whine some more, trying to come up with a plan. Sara is being pinned and either unconscious or soon to be from that dart they shot her with. I could control one of the men and make him turn on the others. It was a possibility, but one I felt unlikely to succeed. Even with my ability to Jump between bodies, they would eventually kill the one I was controlling before I could Jump again. There was also a high risk of collateral damage, for the people nearby and my sister herself.

I waited, watching as the agents dragged my sister's unconscious body into the van. Two agents rode in the back with her, with a driver and another agent in front. The rest piled into the other vans, including the sniper who had been hiding in some bushes. At the last moment I Jumped into the minds of one of the agents watching over my sister.

The other agent glanced over briefly at me before returning his attention to my sister. I waited a few minutes, and the other agent was completely professional. No small talk or distraction from his task. Of course, even that wasn't quite enough to prepare him as I suddenly drew the combat knife out of the sheathe on my puppet's side and rushed him.

His first instinct was to attempt to level his gun at me, but the quarters were too close for that and I pushed it to the side as I rushed him, jabbing the blade towards his neck. He managed to grip my wrist, desperately trying to hold off the blade and we crashed into the side of the van. He struggled to hold me off for a moment but I let go of the hand with the gun, now too close for him to accurately use, and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him forward and onto the blade.

The fight left him as I ripped the knife out, but as it did so, his hand pulled the trigger, firing a few shots into the floor. I cursed as cries from the front came, asking what was up. Gotta go fast. Stabbing my own puppet in the neck, I Jumped into the driver. He had stopped the van, and the man beside him was opening the door to investigate.

Smoothly, I drew the new puppet's gun, smoother than I could have ever managed without his subconscious skills to aid me, and I fired a shot in the back of his head. Or at least into the helmet which cracked loudly from the impact, and he fell onto the ground. I didn't waste time to see if he was dead or not, slamming his door shut and turning the van.

It pulled out between the two escort vehicles and into oncoming traffic, narrowly avoiding an accident, but creating a traffic jame that would slow down pursuers. Or so I hoped. The other agents were clearly not willing to let this stop them, firing their guns in the air to stop any other traffic and pursuing me.

We raced down the streets for a couple blocks… before heavy traffic indicated a blockade ahead that nothing could clear. Not in time at least. Taking a gamble, I waited until the closest van grew near enough and Jumped into the driver there, then slammed the brakes hard enough to give the other enemy van no time to get out of the way.

Their van smashed into ours, jostling the man beside me who had already begun to draw his gun on my new puppet. I struggled with that for a second before Jumping back to the first driver who had done the smart thing and immediately stopped the vehicle to check on my sister. With him, I unstrapped her from the gurney they had her on and ran out.

Bullets whizzed around me as some of the other agents had gotten out and begun firing at us. Idiots! You clearly want my sister alive, don't you!? The answer to my unspoken question came from the radio in his helmet as it crackled to life.

"Target is in control of Jeffries and using him to escape. All vehicles are stalled out and unable to pursue. What are our orders sir?" One of the other agents asked.

There was a pause, then a deep voice said, "She can control them even while unconscious? Interesting. Attempt to disable him from outside her range and prevent anyone from getting too close to her. Failing that, eliminate them both."

"Sir… the asset's abilities-"

"Are no use to me if I can't control her. Getting her in alive would be for the best, but I'll settle for stopping anyone else from getting her if I have to."

The words chilled me and I realized I had to get my sister out of here, no matter what. I had a lead on the other soldiers, but that was closing, having to carry my sister. I've got more people to use than they do.

Shoving her into the arms of a man on the corner of a street, I yelled at him, "Take her around the block." The huffed at her unexpected weight, confused and shocked before I raised my gun in the air, firing a few shots. "Now!" I yelled, and he scampered off. Then I turned back to the other agents.

Immediately a shot hit my puppet in the shoulder, digging through the thinner strap of the kevlar jacket and into my arm, but I forced him to ignore that, laying down suppressive fire. The other agents cursed and shouted, diving behind stopped cars, heedless of the screams from the passengers inside.

I fired a few more times, until something changed. New orders had been given, clearly orders that didn't get transmitted to this agent's helmet anymore, and the agents surged forth, all them uncaring of death and firing a hail of bullets my way.

I'd hoped to use a smoke grenade at this guys' belt, but as a shot took him in the knee, I Jumped away. From the perspective of a civilian off twenty feet to the side, I saw the agent get gunned down remorselessly by his fellows. One of whom was sharp enough to have recognized the signs and pointed at my new body. "They twitched, they're over there!"

Diving to the ground, I took cover behind another car before waiting until I could Jump ahead, this time into the body of a kid in the back of a car. I prayed that these innocents would be okay, but when it didn't seem like they'd recognized whom I'd hopped into, I unbuckled the seatbelt and left the car, not listening to the kid's parents.

They followed him, like many others who were attempting to flee, and the armed men hesitated. I used that to race after the man I'd passed Sara off to, having to Jump a few times to catch up, even with my sister weighing him down. Did this guy do track and field? Or maybe the threat was enough to spur him onward.

I caught him as he rounded the block, Jumping into his body. From there I had him run some more before passing Sara off to another hapless civilian and Jumping into their body. Repeating the process several times, I finally felt I had lost them by the time I'd given her to a postal delivery driver and had that woman drive her away.

Should I take her to a hospital? No, they'll probably be on the lookout for her. Maybe I can take her to Matt Murdock. I hadn't kept super close tabs on him the past few months, but I bet he was still in Hell's Kitchen. Karen Paige could help at least too, especially on the legal front- no, damn, she's moved and Foggy is gone-

My thoughts came to a screeching halt, literally as an odd circular drone dropped down in front of the van I was driving. It was far more advanced than the drone of my past world, without any visible propulsion system yet hovering in the air. Also blasting me with an agonizing sonic wave.

Ah fuck! The pain was easier to ignore in a puppet body than my own, but I still felt it, and caught off guard like this, it froze me enough to let a small panel on the drone slide back, revealing a barrel. It fired twice, catching the innocent woman in the head and gut. She collapsed, and my control began slipping away. I couldn't do anything other than watch on as the drone moved over to the passenger side door, extruding two mechanical arms from its base that ended in clamps. Four more drones joined it, reaching out and ripping the door off.

I Jumped to another body nearby, but was debilitated by the sonic attack, able to do nothing but watch as the drones pulled my sister out of the vehicle and hoisted her through the sky. Letting go of that civilian and snapping back to my own mind, I fell to my knees, sobbing in the middle of the street.

Spoiler: A/N:

It's been a while since I've seen Miss Marvel, but I think I remember them having drones there? If not, it still doesn't feel like that big a change for Damage Control to have access to something like that. The drones aren't the strongest in the grand scheme of things, but they were enough to stop Jean's rescue attempt, and enough to convince her that a lower powered hero like Daredevil wouldn't be enough to save her sister, no matter how many goons they could cram in a hallway.

Oh, and it might not be clear, but Jean is not telling Peter all of this. She's leaving out some personal thoughts (especially about her adventures in Europe or about Matt Murdock) and is shading certain events, like claiming she 'incapacitated' the guards in the van, making it sound like she and her sister were just 'hanging out' in the park, etc.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Absolute Cinema
10/10
Continue on
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Peter Parker POV

As Jean finished her tale, her voice was ragged and her hands bound up in tight fists. I could feel the helpless anger coming off from her, and knew it well from the times my friends had been in danger. Must be worse for her; I was always able to do something about the situation, even if I didn't always succeed.

"That's awful," I said, searching for something else to say to comfort her. "We'll find your sister, I promise." It felt hollow to me, knowing there was every possibility she was already dead, but she brightened up at the words.

"Thank you," she said before taking a deep breath and letting some tension go. "Okay, so to find Sara we need to locate where they're keeping her." From her backpack she pulled a map of New York, Damage Control sites circled in red and marked with Xs. Wow, never realized how many facilities they had here.

"You think they're holding your sister in one of these places."

Jean shook her head. "Nah, these are all the public sites. If I was hiding a psychic, or maybe a bunch of various Enhanced illegally, I'd do it in a site completely unconnected to my public fronts." That feels like maybe you've thought about this too long and too hard. She continued, oblivious to or ignoring my thoughts. "That's not to say it's impossible they used a legitimate facility for this either; they can transport materials and troops easier to those sites as a trade off for less secrecy. The circles are for places where it would be impossible to feasibly hide Sara while the Xs are places where they could technically manage it."

"Given you don't expect it to be anywhere you know, how are you planning to find out the place they actually took her?"

"That's where you come in," Jean said, getting animated. "You're super smart, so you can code something to hack into their systems."

"Well, I mean probably yeah, but Damage Control-"

"Wouldn't keep that information on an open network. But they still need to keep it somewhere, right? DC is just too big and has too many moving parts to the agency to not keep records, even of their illegitimate activities. Maybe especially those ones. So you make some flash drive or device that can crack their security and I can take control of someone and they can carry it to the airgaped computer!"

She finished with a proud (and slightly scary) grin on her face, while I could only feel unease. "And again, are we certain that this really is Damage Control and not a splinter group?" Jean's expression became hard at the drop of a dime and I held my hands up defensively. "Sorry, but I just want to make sure that-"

"Records of severe traffic incidents and several shootings following an incident with Damage Control were reported on July 14th, 2026," EV's digital voice came from the computers behind me. She continued, noting that "While Damage Control claimed it was an incident involving a few rogue actors within their agency, no official arrests were made following this and the funereal services of all the agents killed in the incident were paid for by the Department."

"Okay that's a little odd-" I began before EV interjected again.

"Furthermore, an agent took most of the police files regarding the incident, particularly those centered around witness testimony at Central Park. Most of the recordings have been scrubbed as well, but I picked up at least three that seem to corroborate Miss Grey's story," EV said, pulling up the pictures on the screen. They were a little blurry and usually with Sara partially or mostly out of frame, but there was clear evidence that a girl had been carried by multiple people, all with proper timestamps matching Jean's story.

More pictures showed some of the damage and destruction that had been caused by Damage Control in their attempts to chase after Sara, including a couple of bodies of their own agents. They were really willing to kill so many of their own, put the civilians they were supposed to be protecting at risk, just to catch one girl… that's horrible.

Part of me felt like Jean bore some responsibility for that, but I reminded myself she was just a young girl, confused and caught up in an event far beyond her control. From the sounds of it, she likely had no time to think things through and realize the risk she was putting others in. Not like I didn't have my own share of that as a kid. I remembered how I nearly killed Brad in an accidental drone attack during our school trip.

"Alright, Damage Control is the bad guys," I admitted. "Or at least a significant percentage of the higher ups are. I can try and make something that can hack their systems, but no promises on how effective it will be. Damage Control has some serious high tech and cybersecurity - this isn't like hacking into the police database… not that I've done such a thing."

Jean didn't even bother to give me a skeptical look, and bit her lip. "But I mean- are they really that much better than Tony Stark's systems? You hacked the Iron Spider Suit. Oh wait! You didn't do that, it was Ned who hacked it! Alright, let's get him." She knows even that about my life? I was beginning to suspect that she knew a lot more than she had hinted at, but I had bigger problems for the moment.

She hopped up from her seat and began striding to the doorway before I raced in front of her holding a hand out. "Whoa whoa whoa. Hold your horses. We are not going to talk to Ned. He doesn't know who I am."

"And it's well past time he did," she shot back. "Him and MJ. You need your friends, Peter."

"Who are you to say that? Who are you to come into my life and think you know everything about me?" I demanded, finally getting a little angry, with a lot of fear to stoke those flames.

"A girl with multiverses of knowledge crammed in her head. A psychic capable of reading your innermost thoughts. Someone with eyes who can see the state of your life," she finished, throwing her arms out to gesture at my apartment. At the take out boxes, dirty dishes, and crumpled clothing scattered about. "You're alive Peter, but you aren't living. Spider-Man can't exist without Peter Parker or vice versa."

She stated it like it was a law, some immutable fact of the universe, as solidly supported as gravity or the periodic table of elements. Looking into her eyes, right now I didn't see the scared little girl desperate for help to find her sister, but someone far older and disturbingly insightful.

"They are," I hissed. "My friends are better off without me in their lives." I couldn't help but glance back to the old coffee cup on my desk, the note to MJ carefully folded up and kept inside it. Jean caught what I was looking at and she sighed. Cause of course she knows about even my most intimate and painful moments.

Aggravatingly, this girl remained firm in her position. "Peter, isn't that kinda selfish? To make that decision for them?"

"We're not doing it, we'll find another way," I stated, ignoring her. "I'm sure with EV's help, maybe I can call in-"

"Maybe I'll just tell them myself," she challenged me, jutting her chin out slightly.

"You have no right-" I sputtered.

"To make a decision that affects you without respecting your input? Hmm, wonder where I heard that before?" She's treating this like it's just some dumb debate to be won. This is my life, the life I've spent the last two years careful preserving and now it's slipping out of my hands!

"If you do that, I won't help you save your sister," I blurted out

Jean blinked looking truly thrown for the first time since I'd met her, but then slowly, she shook her head. "I don't believe you. Spider-Man, Peter Parker, he's not the kind of man that would abandon an innocent just because he was upset." How dare she? How dare she think she knows me better than I know myself? How dare she be right? "Besides, right now it feels like I need Ned more than you so-"

"Can't I be selfish? Just this once!" I screeched. "I've lost so much…" Mom, Dad, Uncle Ben, Aunt May… can't I at least keep MJ and Ned safe? My eyes were shut tight as I stood there, wrestling with my demons, so I didn't notice her approach until I felt a pair of arms around me. Looking down, I saw Jean hugging me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," she whispered. "We can go to Ned - and MJ, they're roomates - without revealing your secret identity today." There was a certain weight to her final word that said that this argument wasn't over, not by a long shot. I was too tired to fight anymore today.

Disentangling myself from her, I grabbed my mask. It was time for Spider-Man to meet Ned Leeds and Michelle-Jones Watson. Why couldn't it just be a super villain? I can fight someone like the Vulture no problem.

Spoiler: A/N:

And the main cast draws together! With a bit of pushing from Jean; perhaps a bit too much. She might not have been wrong with what she said, but was a bit too eager to get Peter back together with his friends. Speaking of his friends, they are in NYU! Yeah, I forgot that they were at MIT in canon and there wasn't a good way to fit them back into the story smoothly from there. I don't feel it's that egregious a change (much could change regarding their university applications with the spell and we know they applied to a fair number of schools) but I thought I'd just let you know here that's what is going on.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Absolute Cinema
10/10

 

[Skyfyre]

Jean Grey POV



Swinging through the New York skyline was an incredible, fantastic experience. A sense of freedom on velocity that defied words. Even more than what I imagined true flight would be like, the pull of gravity catching us each time and then being funneled to rocket us across the air was a rush.

It was also incredibly awkward, the man I was clinging to not saying a word since we left. I feel bad for arguing there. I mean, he has to reconnect with them, and just in general start building a life again for himself, but… I didn't need to go that hard, all at once. I'll give him a bit of time to adjust to this. Hopefully interacting with his friends again even with the mask on will warm him up to the idea. And I'll construct a better argument next time! Less emotional, more fact driven, on why it is imperative that he reconnects with his old friends.

As we neared the university campus, several students already had their phones raised as we soared through the air, taking photos or videos of us. The Spider Tracker App, useful and I think actually good for PR, but potentially problematic.

Peter landed and I dropped off his shoulders easily. There were a few questioning glances but far more cheers. So strange, to see him so beloved here. Then again, I guess J. Jonah Jameson not getting much traction helps… though the people acted quite furious after seeing him unmasked. It can be easier for the masses to hold up an idol on a pedestal when they don't have to see his flaws.

Some of the heroes of the past had gotten away with it, but they tended to already have a great public image before it. Or at least decent public image and a boatload of money to throw at any problem in Tony's case. My thoughts on the matter kept me distracted until I heard Spider-Man ask someone for directions to Ned Leeds.

"Oh he's just in that building over there, on the first floor, room 38A. But uh, why do you need to see him, Spider-Man?" The young, probably stoned man asked as he pointed us in the right direction.

Peter hesitated so I stepped in. "Oh Ned's a friend of my cousin. After Spider-Man saved me I told him about the incredible app Ned had made and he wanted to chat with him."

The freshman nodded, as did the other students gathered around. They still stared at the superhero in their midst, but just with awe and admiration now, no longer curious as to why Spider-Man would be here.

"Good cover," Spidey said, his voice too low for any one else to hear and his mask covering the movements of his mouth. I considered sending him a telepathic message back, but those could still be a bit disconcerting, so I just nodded my head.

Making it inside easily we knocked on the door to the dorm room. After a moment, the door opened suddenly, revealing a woman that looked a lot like Zendaya Coleman. Michelle-Jones 'MJ' Watson stared down at us, the beautiful woman taller than Peter and towering over me. "Nice Spider-Man costume," she said to him after a long moment before turning to me. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Black Widow, got that real arachnid theme going on" I quipped, and she snorted. Oh right, I dyed my hair to throw off any Damage Control people that might be using old photos, so I'm not a red head right now. Ah well, there are certain other attributes I'm missing on that front anyways.

"This is the actual Spider-Man though, we were hoping to talk to your roommate about the App he developed. Is he in?"

"No," she said, then after weighing it out for a moment, stepped to the side and held the door open for us. "Come in, I'm sure Ned will be rushing over as soon as he hears you're here." And you're too much of a softy to deprive him of that chance, no matter how you act. But then again, that's your whole deal, isn't it? She pulled her phone out and typed out a quick text to Ned.

"Thanks MJ," Peter said as he entered, immediately causing her to snap her head towards him.

"How do you know my name?" She nearly demanded, narrowing her eyes at Peter. I mentally facepalmed. Dammit Peter, you're the one who doesn't want to give anything away. I still figured I should help him here, considering how hard I had pushed him earlier.

"One of the people we asked said your name and that you were Ned's roommate," I said, covering for Peter again before he could stammer out an answer. If anything though, MJ just looked even more suspicious, her attention now focused on me.

She got us some tea while we waited, not offering much by way of conversation. For his part, Peter just seemed to be taking in every detail of the dorm room, drinking in every photo, knick knack, even the textbooks on the desk as if they were an oasis and he'd been in the desert for two years. A desert of your own making, but still.

It could be hard to tell what he was looking at behind the mask, but the small movements of the black edges around the white of the costume gave away that something was going on, if you paid close attention. And MJ definitely does that, she's been watching him closely since we got in, and not just for his physique (though I caught a few glances that way too). The young woman was also looking at me curiously, raising an eyebrow. I just smiled innocently back. She's probably waiting for me to get awkward enough to offer something up, but I can wait.

We took the offered cups of tea, Peter performing a very unusual action of lifting his mask up partially as he raised the teacup to his mouth. Tipping the cup back, he drank a bit while showing off very little of his face even as he drank. As soon as he finished sipping on the tea, he rolled the mask back down.

MJ let out a sound that might have been a chuckle, if one were favorably inclined. "You seriously drink like that?"

Peter shifted a tad. "The mask stays on, always." Before MJ could reply, the door burst open and a sweaty Ned Leeds rushed inside.

"I got your message and this better not be a prank- oh my gosh," Ned let out an amazed gasp as he saw us (really just Spider-Man), sitting on the couch in his dorm. As he stumbled forward, I pushed the door behind him with my mind letting it close as if it had just naturally been sent winging that way. A bit loud though. Modulating my force is still difficult, especially on something that takes most of my effort to move in the first place. "Can you uh, do something?"

"Sure," Peter replied, likely grinning behind his mask. He glanced up for a second, then jumped up, placing his hand flat against the ceiling, hanging there for a second before flipping his whole body up until he was standing on the ceiling in defiance of gravity.

"Whoa…" Ned said, enthralled. Even MJ looked a little impressed, though she was trying to hide it. Show off, I thought fondly. This is a good thing though, getting him used to them again. I hoped it would all work out between the three of them, but my sister was more important at the moment.

"You're really him, aren't you? Spider-Man." Ned let out breathlessly

"The one and only," Peter flipped back down. "Now I know I said I wanted to talk about the Spider Tracker App-"

"Right, I made that!" Ned said proudly before glancing over at a post board on the wall with pictures of Spider-Man, various news clippings about him, and a bunch of technical notes about surveillance cameras, tracking algorithms, theories, and the like. "Oh god, it's uh, it's not stalkery, I swear! You just saved us so many times in high school and I thought you were cool and just wanted to thank you in-person," he began rambling and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Uh, I'm sorry, who are you?" Ned asked, finally noticing my presence.

"My name is Jean Grey, and apologies for the subterfuge but we aren't actually here about the app - though you should at some point find a way to adjust it so that if Spider-Man wants to be stealthy he can 'go dark' for a bit on the system to catch criminals off guard." I let that idea sink in for half a moment before continuing. "My sister, Sara Grey has been kidnapped due to the psychic powers we both possess and you're the only one who can hack into Damage Control to tell us where she is."

There was a moment of silence as MJ and Ned digested that, before he said, "Really?"

"Yes, or at least, you're one of a few hundred individuals with the skills to hack their systems and the only one both nearby and that we felt we could trust. But saying 'help me Obi-Ned Kenobi, you're the only one who can save me' sounds a lot better."

Ned nodded, and MJ pointed out, "You didn't actually say that."

"I'm paraphrasing," I countered.

"Yourself?"

"Yes," I said primly before cracking a small grin, which she matched.

Peter cleared his throat. "I know it might be hard to believe that the Department of Damage Control would do something like this, but we have significant evide-"

"Nope," MJ said.
"Not really," Ned scratched the back of his head.
"It's super easy to believe they'd do something like that, barely an inconvenience," I added.

Peter gave me a very unamused look, and I felt that was less due to the meme and more because of my own involvement on the subject. Also because we didn't have Pitch Meetings here, so that wasn't a meme.

Spider-Man and I explained the situation to them and our plan so far. "...That's why we need your skills to break into Damage Controls servers, so Spider-Man and I can go and rescue her," I finished.

"Wait, you and I? I don't want to put you at risk," Spider-Man said and I shook my head.

"I won't be there physically, but having an extra hand won't hurt. Besides, since my sister has the same powers as I do, they'll probably have stuff like double locks that need to be unlocked at the same time to prevent her from getting out if she managed to possess one guard."

"Ned hacks computers, he hacks doors," MJ said, jerking her head towards Spider-Man and then turned to me. "And you hack people. Sounds like you don't need me." She stood up to leave, and I quickly said:

"Any advice you could give us on the plan would be greatly appreciated." She paused at that and I added, "Plus, we'll probably need your help going through the files once we hack them. I don't imagine that kidnapping my sister was the first dirty little secret Damage Control hid and I want to see them pay for everything," I growled.

The sudden tension in the room was then undercut by my stomach growling. "I uh, could use some food while we work on this, if you don't mind," I said meekly. MJ nodded and Ned enthusiastically agreed ordering a pizza, and I relaxed a little. The whole Spider team is together, working on saving my sister. Just hang on a little longer Sara.

Spoiler: A/N:

Not a super dramatic scene but an important one, both to get everyone together and also to show a bit more of Jean's thoughts/character. Next up, Peter tries to awkwardly get along with MJ who has no clue who he is and then the team enacts the first step of the plan

 

[readsalot]

Damage Control hid and I want to see them pay for everything," I growled.

The sudden tension in the room was then undercut by my stomach growling.

Click to shrink...

Heh that tense and possibly scary moment disappeared XD
Not so scary when your hungry

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Peter Parker POV

"Sooooo, nice place you've got here. Very, umm, clean." Smooth, real smooth Parker, I thought to myself while trying not to groan at my own ineptitude. The flat look I got from Michelle indicated she noticed it, before a hint of amusement crossed her face.

"You don't do this often, do you?" She asked and I shook my head. I wasn't looking directly at her, but out of the corner of my vision I caught her gaze and tried to memorize every inch of her face. Of the way she stood, of the burgundy hoodie she was wearing, everything. It's been so long since I've seen her. In person at least. I'd been following their social media ever since that fateful day in the coffee shop.

"What do you do when outside the suit?" She asked bluntly before adding, "If you can't tell me that's fine-"

"No no, I can tell you everything," I blurted out. Everything, except what I need to say. That was part of why it had been so hard to argue against Jean when she brought up telling MJ and Ned the truth. There was a large part of me that just wanted to tell them everything, without any care for the consequences.

"I mean to say, there's not much to tell. It's mostly just Spider-Man stuff. Working out, investigating criminals, beating them up, saving people, you know. Hero stuff."

She arched an eyebrow, "Ah yes, 'hero stuff,' I know all about that ," she said mockingly. Under the mask I grinned broadly. You have no idea. You are my hero. Such thoughts led to another pang of guilt at the secrets I was keeping from her. Then, more sincerely, MJ said, "How did you end up saving her?"

I followed her gaze to where Jean and Ned were debating the nature of pizza, specifically Jean's choices when ordering. We watched Ned and her bicker for a moment.

"Pizza without cheese is unnatural," Ned declared imperiously.

"Nuh uh! Pizza without cheese is normal - they have it as an option on most ordering sites. Why would they have that if people didn't often order it without?" Jean countered.

"That's for people who are lactose intolerant. They may be far from the grace of our most holy food, but they deserve what enjoyment they can stomach." Ned was now waving his arms about grandly. "You admitted you're just not having any because you don't like it." He finished, sounding both confused and horrified, though I knew he was exaggerating, the way he did when he was having fun with a bit.

Jean narrowed her eyes. "Don't make me make you give yourself a swirly."

My friend blinked. "You can do that?" He asked paling a bit, and Jean quickly waved her hands frantically.

"Ah no! I mean, I could, but I would never actually do that. I try not to control people without their permission unless it's serious. I was just joking around there."

"I didn't save her, she found me," I told MJ. And I'm not sure if I'm saving her from Damage Control or saving them from her, I thought as Ned volunteered to be controlled for a moment and Jean had him do the chicken dance.

The pizza arrived and we dug into the food, Ned having the grace not to laugh at me for how I handled the food and my mask. MJ just smirked at it, while Jean's attention was fixed on the food, and she devoured a whole large pizza herself.

Jean had enough wherewithal to not quite act ravenous as she ate, but it was clear she was quite hungry. The teenage girl hadn't gone into much detail about her life since her sister was taken, but I couldn't imagine it had been easy.

After the pizza, Ned got to work on the program to hack Damage Control, Jean telling him everything she thought might be relevant from what she had gathered about the department. Which is extensive, and that folder is one of the slimmer ones in her backpack.

This left me and MJ standing silently again. This time it didn't feel so uncomfortable, though as we waited, I noticed some books hidden underneath a pile on her desk. "Mechanics of bioengineering?" I asked her.

She groaned. "I've got homework due for that tomorrow, but it looks like we're overthrowing the government instead."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-" I tried before MJ shook her head.

"It's fine, this is way more important. Besides, I wasn't sure I'd even finish that homework when I got up today." She shrugged, in the way that I knew she did when trying to play off something as not mattering to her when it was something she had clearly thought about and struggled over for a while.

"We got a while yet, I could help you look it over?" I offered. "I'm something of a scientist myself, you know."

"Did you make those webs yourself?" Ned asked, turning from where he was seated in front of the computer. "People wondered online if you had invented them or if it was Iron Man. Do they use a synthetic polymer-" his ramblings were cut off as Jean grabbed Ned's head and gently faced him back towards the computer. "Right, right, hacking first, questions later."

"Definitely, we can have a little party after we rescue my sister and Spider-Man can answer all your questions," Jean promised him. So pushy!

I hadn't the privacy to reprimand her for that however, so I took my place besides MJ at her desk. "Alright, what are we working with?" She dropped a sheet of paper. "So the first question involves Howardian principals. Howard Stark came up with a number of theorems towards the end of his life…"

I explained a few of the concepts to her, but barely needed to do anything, really. Just a few corrections here and there and she was off to the races. After a few hours we'd finished all the troublesome homework and we had gone ahead, chatting about various elements that would come up in the finals.

"Thanks," Michelle-Jones said as we finished, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear.

"It was no problem, you had it down pretty much already," I insisted.

She didn't argue the point but looked over at me curiously. "So, saving damsels from criminals and homework, you do it all, don't you, Spider-Man?" She asked, her tone somewhat teasing, but there was a sparkle to her eyes that showed real interest. God, I've missed seeing her like that.

"Well, they do call me the 'friendly neighborhood' Spider-Man for a reason," I said back before thinking about it. Was she… flirting with me there? Just a little bit, I think she was. I also noticed the proximity between us.

She's so close. We'd slowly shifted together over time. There was still a space between us, but it was so narrow now, just a few centimeters apart. I could just lean over, lift up my mask and-

Jean yawned, and it broke the spell and we stiffened up. MJ got up stiffly and walked away, busying herself in the kitchen. Probably wondering why she let her guard down so much around me. But of course she did, I knew every little thing to set her at ease, how to hold myself, how to speak, where she keeps her favorite mechanical pencils, etc. Even if I didn't do it consciously, I still took advantage of that knowledge. I might find Jean's knowledge to be creepy, but my behaviour is even worse.

Of course, that was part of why I tried to keep myself separate from MJ and Ned, but Jean had been forcing the issue. All of that would be something I'd deal with another time, though. For tonight, we had a mission ahead of us. I wandered over to my once best friend and Jean. "How's it going?"

"Sorry, but their systems are pretty tough to crack," Ned apologized. "Even using some sample code from their regular database, I can tell this'll be tough. Maybe if I was there in person I could help more, but-"

"No, it'd be way too tricky to get you in there. Maybe if we had Sling Rings, Kamar-Taj should have a few to spare after Multiverse of Madness," Jean mumbled groggily before yawning heavily again.

"You alright?" I asked. "We can wait till tomorrow."

Jean gave me a glare so heated it almost felt like the temperature actually went up a few degrees. Then the anger burned out of her, and she crumpled in on herself, slumping down and wearily nodding. "You're right, of course you are. We need to come at this fresh." Turning to Ned, she asked, "How long do you think this will take to finish the program?"

Ned's expression was focused, serious as he ever was. "I'd say about eight more hours. It's 1 AM now, so I'll have the thumb drive ready for you by 10."

I gave him a skeptical look, but Ned hurried over to a cabinet, reaching around inside and pulling out to small red tins with the word 'Sharkfire' emblazoned on the front. "These bad boys will keep me going all night, no worries."

That can't possibly be healthy for you, I thought as MJ marched over. "I thought you were done with those," she said, glowering down at him.

"Aheh, well, I was done with them, for school. Of course I'd never use them for that, but this is Spider-Man," Ned defended.

"And you kept a couple of those cans around 'just in case' Spider-Man was going to ask for your help?" She asked, and I couldn't help but chuckle. Ned gave me a look of betrayal and I shrugged. Sorry bud, can't save you from this one, especially since it seems to be MJ saving you from yourself.

I wondered briefly though if Ned would have still had this apparent problem with energy drinks had I been in his life, if I hadn't hid my identity from them. Is Jean right? Was I not actually protecting them by keeping them in the dark? Or is that just what I want to think, because I want my friends back so badly that I'll grasp at straws? Those thoughts swirled around in my head until I pushed them away. Later. I can deal with that stuff later. For now we have to rescue Jean's sister.

We worked out a plan on where MJ and Ned were to meet us tomorrow at the abandoned apartment Jean was staying in, then I took her back to my place. She insisted that it would be for the nest, in case Damage Control had somehow caught wind of her before our operation, but apologized for the risk it ran for my secret identity.

I waved her concerns off easily. Indeed, that was the least of my worries as I lay awake in bed, not any potential problems with the plan - those were easy, knowable things - but instead with the idea of telling my friends the truth. Will they hate me for what I hid? Will they understand why I did it? And what comes after? If they know the truth and stick by my side, they could get hurt again, and I'm not sure I'm strong enough to save them.

***

We got ready quickly in the morning, tension filling the air. Her for the mission and me for what came after. There wasn't any use in dwelling on that, so I changed into my spider suit, pausing halfway through as I felt her eyes on me. Ah right, too used to living alone.

When I finished putting the top of my suit on, Jean hadn't turned away nor was she blushing, instead frowning. "You're hurt," she said simply.

"Oh, those?" I said, jerking a thumb back at the bruises I knew to be on my back. "Those are nothing, I heal fast," I said easily.

"I'm sure you do," she said, in a tone that while perfectly polite, said she saw right through that to everything I wasn't saying.

"Things really aren't so bad for me," I insisted. "It's a tough job, but I can handle it."

"You could handle it a bit better with some friends at your side. We can talk more on this later, I've got some ideas and options that could help keep Ned and MJ safe. Or safer, at least. No one is ever perfectly safe in this world, no matter how much power you have or how much you hide."

That was true, I knew it. That Michelle or Ned could die in a traffic accident just as easily as to a super villain, but I still had no desire to invite the latter. She was right that we didn't have time for it. Packing up, we swung out to Jean's little apartment. Or rather, base of operations, I thought as I entered the seventh story window and into the room.

Newspaper articles were pinned to the walls and lay littered on the floor. Some of these were of Damage Control but others were of heroes and vigilante sightings. Big ones like the Avengers, but also far quieter individuals, like the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and White Tiger. Even articles about lawyers who had defended vigilantes or otherwise seemed unconnected. One side of the walls was covered in television screens, each displaying different news programs from here and a few abroad. A desk stood covered with many more folders like the ones she kept in her backpack and a top of the line computer. Very little by way of amenities however, just a bunch of research and a mattress in the corner.

"What does the CEO of a big company have to do with finding your sister?" I asked.

"Had I failed to reach you I might have gone to Danniel Rand, a man who's mastered his Chi and gained supernatural abilities through him. It's also possible that if Damage Control is going after people with supernatural abilities they'd try to grab him. I hadn't had any luck with the basic contact attempts though. I'll have to look through those files in more depth once we get her, make sure I'm not missing too much. The world is moving quickly…" she mumbled the rest of her words as she finished getting the blueprints up and everything ready for the heist.

They arrived at 9:55, Ned holding up the thumb drive boldly, stumbling slightly as he passed the threshold to the room. "The program is ready! Whoa," he said, taking a proper look at the room.

"Very conspiracy theorist chic," MJ commented as she followed.

"Not exactly the homiest, I know, but it should do. Spider-Man, you ready?" Jean asked as I took the thumb drive.

"Uh, not really. So how does it work? Will it feel… weird, when you're inside me?" There was a moment of dead silence before MJ started snickering, which set off Jean chuckling and Ned just full out howling. "Wait wait no, that came out wrong!"

"Hahaha, ah I know, but still," Jean said after she stopped laughing.

"It's pretty freaky, man," Ned offered. "I felt myself doing the actions but I had no idea why I was doing those things. They felt totally normal though, until she stopped."

"I can also make people forget the portions I've controlled them for - it's actually slightly easier that way - but it'll be better if you aren't disoriented." She explained and I gave her the thumbs up. Suddenly, there was another presence in my mind, it felt like my head had grown physically cramped though I knew no such thing had happened. "Urk!" She exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" I asked instantly, stepping towards her before realizing I could move on my own. "Aren't you supposed to be in control?" Why does it seem to hurt her more than it does me?

Because this is your mind, not mine. If you were psychically invading my mind, the situation would be reversed - and then some. Her voice transmitted mentally to me.

"Usually, I am," Jean said aloud, grunting. She steadied herself after a moment. "I'm not sure if it's due to your enhanced biology or willpower, but I can't take control of you. I'll be able to Jump from you to one of the agents however, so there should be no problem, so long as you don't try to force me out."

That immediately had me thinking about doing just that, and as she let out a few more pained sounds I worked to temp down on those thoughts. "Sorry! Should we find someone else-"

"No, we've waited too long and I'd rather possess as few people as possible. Just get going. I promise, it's okay." I still felt a little unsure, but didn't want to waste more time arguing with her. Leaping out the window, I began swinging through the city.

So, how did you get your powers? Lab accident, alien heritage, swallowed part of an Infinity Stone? I asked mentally, trying to keep it light.

I'll be glad to tell you later, but for now I need to concentrate.

Got it, no more talking. Wait, you can hear all my thoughts though can't you? Which means the only way to not talk is to not think and I'm bad at that-

It's fine, just don't expect responses.

She kept true to her word there, but I could still feel her feelings, broadcasted to my head. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just bleeding over given the difficulty she had staying in my mind. Soon enough we were close, and I swept down, landing close to a Damage Control agent. The woman jumped back startled slightly, as well as being pushed by the force that left my head.

"Ah whoops, sorry about that," I said for any passerbys as Jean's voice came on the earpiece I'd put in before putting on the mask.

"I've got her," she confirmed while at the same time, the woman she was controlling shook her head. "No worries Spider-Man, keep on keeping this city safe," she said, offering a hand to shake. I slid the thumb drive into it and she marched towards the building.

With that done, I took to the air, finding a skyscraper nearby to perch atop, waiting. Jean let me (and Ned and MJ in the room with her) know when she was inside the building. "This woman is a bit too low-ranked to get into the database. I'll Jump into a captain, give me a bit." A minute later, "Got him too. Heading over now." Another bit of silence. "I'm in!"

That set off some cheers from Ned and I was tempted to join in until she spoke up again. "There was a bit unusual activity before I got here though, not sure what that's about. Hopefully not a problem. Alright, moment of truth, inserting the drive and… yes! It works!"

"Woohoo! I can't believe it- I mean I knew it would work," Ned shouted.

Jean didn't say anything after that, so I continued to wait. I'd been on stakeouts before, where I had to wait for something to happen but it felt weird to wait for something to hopefully not happen. If the plan went well, I wouldn't be going near Damage Control (yet), but Jean felt it better to have me around 'just in case'. At least she's giving us updates. She's been quiet for a bit though-

"I got it, everything on the database. They've been working on so much; armor suits of their own, a small amount of adamantium to test, drones, Enhanced registries- uh oh."

"What? What's 'uh-oh'?" I demanded.

"Looks like the system flagged me taking everything off of it," she explained and Ned groaned.

"Damn it, I should have known I'd screw everything up. I'm so sorry-" he began.

"It's fine, it's fine. You got me past the security system and I have the files. I just need to get them out of here. One of the guards outside the room is searching me, I've said that the Director told me to do the search but I didn't take anything, just need to Jump and… there! I've passed the file off to the new agent. I've told their partner I'm going to check with the Director and I'll be home free."

Only a few seconds later however, she was screaming panickedly. "Shit shit shit! They had a Psychic alarm and contingencies! The captain knew what was up - which means he knows about my sister. Dammit, I didn't delve deep enough into his mind, though it's hard getting more than surface thoughts and skills out anyways."

As Jean spoke, I began to dive down. "I'm coming to meet you! Where should I aim for?"

"Thirteenth floor, west side! Uhh I don't know which room you should aim for, fuck! They've hit my person," Jean's voice was panicked, but thankfully she gave me enough information. That, and bullets cracking through the glass let me know where to swing in.

"I've got you, heading in now!"

The gunfire hadn't been enough to shatter the glass, but my kick was, breaking the window into a million pieces. I hung in the air, the moment seeming to freeze in a shocked tableau. Director Bill Metzger, an African American man in a suit, had left his office at the far end of the long hallway, drawing a handgun and shouting orders. The usual order of the office had been thrown into disarray, papers flying through the air, computers sparking from the bullets that had shot through them in the chaos. A half dozen agents were the ones doing the firing, crouched behind desks. Their target was one of their own, already heavily injured with more bullets striking him with every passing moment. He - or rather Jean controlling him, twisted, tossing the thumb drive up to me.

The moment passed and I was in the thick of the action. Snatching the device out of the air, I flipped around and fired off a bunch of web strands to their guns. I ripped the weapons out of their hands as I landed, then kicked one of them far backwards. He flew across the room and I charged the others, punching and striking them before they could recover from my sudden entrance.

I beat the first lot easily, moving so much faster than them and hitting hard enough to bypass their body armor, but that wasn't the end of it. More agents poured in from the sides, and I fired off some web bursts to block off the doorways until someone shouted "Stop!"

Jean and the others have stopped talking, or more likely, I can't hear them. There must be something in here that stops communications in and out. The few agents remaining and I all came to a halt, Director Metzger striding forward. He remained a dozen meters or so away when he said, "Spider-Man, we appreciate your assistance but the problem is in hand."

"Really?" I said with an exaggerated glance at the agent they had shot to death.

"It was an unfortunate incident, but we have it handled," Metzger began, his voice hardening slightly as he added, "Or we will, once we have the device they passed you." Instantly his remaining agents grabbed their side pieces and raised those guns at me again.

"Like you handled Sara?" I spat out.

"Who?" He asked, looking confused.

"Jean's sister! You kidnapped her and are doing who knows what-"

"Ah, Jean Grey. She's a troubled youth. She might have convinced you that she's innocent, or trying to help this 'Sara,' but the truth is she's dangerous. Just look at the damage she's caused here!" I couldn't help but glance over at the body of the man she'd puppeted, his blood now seeping into the floor. Her methods got a lot of people killed before too.

"She's tried to break into our systems before and failed, so now she's recruited you to help her, making up some story about a sister to save. Please, I know you're a good man Spider-Man," he said sympathetically as he walked closer. "Those files could do a lot of harm in the wrong hands. Give them to me and we can resolve this peacefully."

He held his hand out and I could almost believe him, except I'd heard the pain in Jean's voice, seen the photos of someone being carted away by Damage Control, and I knew how she wanted to help me. She took actions that weren't helpful to rescuing her sister at all, just because she wanted to help me. Even if I don't agree with how she wants to help, she cares about me. Who would care that way about a mark they're trying to use?

"Sorry Director, but I don't think she's ly-"

"Kill him," the man ordered calmly, snapping off a few shots at me. My Peter Tingle Spider-Sense warned and I dodged to the side, letting the bullet fly harmlessly past me before shoving Metzger a good ten meters away.

He crashed into the ground as the other agents turned on me and I weaved between their shots. A sudden 'boom' saw the webbing by the doors disintegrate and more agents charged in, the ones in the front carrying large, high tech cannons. I shot webbing at those weapons, only for one of them to fire another blast off, the shockwave somehow disintegrating my webs and pushing me back.

"Weapons to break my webs? Real nice, for a guy who sent you most of your prisoners!" I shouted at Metzger before a few more bullets impacted the wall near my head. Or at least the ones you admit to taking. Flipping around, I got out of the line of fire and jumped through the broken window, diving down.

Placing the thumb drive in one of my belt pockets and zipping it up, I swung away from the building. The chatter came back, Ned and Jean screaming if I was alright. "I'm fine, I'm fine. They gave me a rude welcome but I'm in the clear no- whoa!" I cried out as my web line was suddenly broken and I was sent tumbling through the air.

The cause of that became apparent as I spotted a familiar looking drone flying nearby, with one of the web destroying cannons mounted atop it. Three more joined the first one, circling in the air around me.

"You've given us quite a bit Spider-Man, like these drones we've picked up and repurposed from your fight with Mysterio," Metzger's voice came from one of the flying machines as I tried to right myself in the air, firing off another web line, swinging for a few seconds before it was blasted apart too. "It's a shame that this partnership needs to come to an end, but sadly Sara and her sister have the potential to give us so much more-"

"Omega delta eighty six alpha centurion," I said, and all four of the drones shut down. "Do you really think I didn't program in a shutdown backdoor after that fiasco?"

The question was rhetorical, as Metzger could no longer hear me, but it felt good to say it aloud. No longer interrupted, I was able to continue my flight, webbing the drones as I did so and tossing them in a heap on a nearby rooftop. Damage control thankfully had nothing else to throw at me.

Or at least nothing physical to throw at me. As I got inside, I saw the television screens, the closed captions all declaring messages like: 'Spider-Man assaults Department of Damage Control!' 'Masked Menace Massacres Many at federal office!' 'Spider-Man: Public Enemy #1'

Spoiler: A/N:

And the action is picking up! Next chapter will be the climax of the first arc, covering what happened in the first chapter but from Jean's POV (and going beyond where Peter's ended off at).