Spyder and The Changes [ON HOLD]

Chapter 1 - Incredibly Isolated

A few weeks after his funeral, I just couldn't bring myself to care any more. About anything, or anyone.

I mean, I still cared about Uncle Ben, but... well... I felt empty. He's stinking dead now, and then there's Peter, who's practically as good as dead himself, under control of that tyrant. And I have no effing idea what Marceline's doing with and to him, or where they even are.

You know what? I can't even call her "Marceline" any more. It's too formal, too... friendly. And we certainly aren't friends. So, from now on, I'm calling her Phlame. And that's that.

So Phlame has complete control of Peter, doing God-knows-what to him, and I have no idea where they'd be. None.

Aunt Mae visits the tower occasionally, bringing good tidings (decent food) and lots of "I'm-So-Incredibly-Sorry-For-Your-Loss-type" cards from extended family and friends. I took one look at her most recent pile after she had left and swiped them all into a garbage can.

And it wasn't just Aunt Mae, it was everyone. Thor, Cap, Black Widow, everyone. I did my best to act strong, but it was more of a "mumble-nod-and-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-die" situation. Unfortunately.

So now I mostly stayed in my room all day, staring at the walls and clutching a box of tissues. Uncle Ben's last message to me was almost constantly playing and replaying, over and over. I forced myself to listen every time, and eventually I came to memorize it. I now knew it by heart.

"Hi, Pepper. It's your favorite uncle." The laugh, the one that never fails to bring a smile to my face, even now. "I just wanted to tell you how much your aunt and I love you. I know you're going through a hard time now, as an ever-changing teen, and that's okay. I understand. We all went through it at your age. So please, Pepper, don't push anyone away. Cherish the time you have with people, because time is precious beyond measure. I love you, my angel, and don't ever forget that."

Occasionally I gave in to Jarvis' pleads and took a shower or ate. Eating and showering were my main priorities, my little break from... whatever it was that I was doing. However, I refused to answer anyone's calls, and the only other voice I heard was Uncle Ben's, from said message.

No one questioned my disappearance. While I had no other school friends, Aunt Mae probably constantly wondered why her niece was holed up in Avengers HQ. As long as she didn't ask, I'd never tell. I bet she interrogated Fury, though.

I felt bad never letting my aunt in any more, I but just couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes, knowing I caused her husband' s death. Not that I'd ever tell her that, but still.

It felt like a red-hot rock in the pit of my stomach, consuming me from the inside out. All of the secrets I would never tell, some light and embarrasing like crushes (Guess who?) and darker ones I'd never even consider sharing (Like the fact that I was being emotionally torn apart), they were all there. Every last one.

Then, one day, that all changed. Why? I got an idea. A brilliant, marvelous, and amazingly clever idea.

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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>

Part two, chapter one is complete.

I was such a drama queen.

Granted, I was going through some... things... back then, but dang. Until I watched those security tapes (and yes, they were filming me during my grieving process), I had no idea I was so isolated. And what effects it had on the team. Heck, what effects it had on everyone who knew that there was a superpowered kid out there named Spyder.