MIND GAMES|PETER PARKER

1.1

Jessie had finished putting away her groceries and typed in more information about Spiderman into her laptop which she sent off to Tony.

Only a few hours later, she was getting a call from the playboy philanthropist. She sighed in frustration at the idea of him calling her and she picked up the phone after the third ring.

"What do you need, Tony?"

"Why do you suspect I need something?"

"Uhh, because your calling me?"

"Oh. Yeah. I need something."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes.

"I have enough information on this....spider....guy. I want you to figure out the face under the suit."

"What? But you said all you needed was videos and facts about him. You didn't tell me I'd have to keep this up."

"Oh, come on, JT. Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, if you can't do it, I'll understand. I'll just get someone else to-"

"No, no. I'll do it."

"Atta girl. I transferred more money to your bank account to keep you financially relieved. I'm giving you four months to get the name of this guy, okay?"

"I just fell for your stupid reverse psychology, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I would say so. Have fun." He ended the call and Jessie groaned and threw her phone on her bed.

She stood there for a few seconds before deciding to take a walk. She knew big cities like Queens were never safe at night, but she had an advantage seeing as she could read anyone's mind and would know if anyone had the slightest thought about touching her.

She didn't like to use her powers on certain people, though. It made her feel guilty knowing things she shouldn't. She realized that after digging into Loki's mind a few years ago. She still had dreams of Loki coming back to kill her.

She breathed in the cold air and listened to the sounds of the late night traffic and laughing pedestrians. She paused mid-step when she heard an ear splitting scream not far away. She ran to the area where she heard the screaming and arrived in an ally next to a bar.

There was a girl pinned against the side of the wall of the building and a man was keeping her from moving. "Help!" She screamed and he placed his hand over her mouth, warning her to keep quiet.

He had thoughts of killing her if the girl didn't tell him what he wanted to know and that was something that sent Jessie over the edge. "Hey! Get your hands off of her!" She ran to them and he quickly backed up and turned toward her.

The girl whimpered as she slid down the wall frightened. He grunted. "A young girl like you shouldn't be out here alone," He warned and she rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"I think I can handle myself," She spat at him and he chuckled.

"We'll see about that," He returned and started walking toward her. Jessie's eyes found his as he walked closer toward her and she entered his mind which controlled his movements.

He stopped. He stood completely still and the girl nearby, looked at them in confusion. Then she got up and ran. Jessie's eyes tore away from the man's as she watched in disbelief as the girl ran away. A punch landed on her cheek and she twisted to the side, but quickly regained composure.

"I don't know what the hell you just did, but I'm gonna make sure you don't do it again," He croaked and tried landing another punch to her stomach and face. She blocked his attempts and he grunted in frustration. Her eyes finally landed on his and he stood completely still, unmoving.

"You're such a terrible person. Like, how have you not been caught yet?" She panted. Not training like she was supposed to had made her a little out of shape. She'd been doing so much research and background work that fieldwork hadn't been an option for a while.

Suddenly, what felt like a foot slammed into her back and she fell to the ground. "You okay, man? Who is this chick?" Another man said from above her as the other guy she was just controlling was getting used to moving again.

"The bitch has some kind of superpower or something. Don't let her look you in the eyes," He warned before kicking her. She tried to scramble up to fight, but the other guy dug his foot into a certain part of her spine that kept her implanted on the ground. She had no defense mechanisms and she'd forgotten what Natasha had taught her to do in this situation. She tried to look at him so she could control him again, but the impact on her body kept her from being able to turn around or twist her body as well.

Finally, she screamed for help.

"Shut her up!"

Another kick to the side. And another. Then two more and she cried out.

"Hey!" A boy's voice yelled and the men turned away from Jessie to see who had called out. Jessie heard a thump and a scream before the weight on her back was immediately lifted. She was finally able to pick herself up from the ground.

"I've been looking for you, Spiderman," The other man sneered as the guy whose foot was digging into Jessie's back was now passed out against the brick wall of the alley. The boy laughed in response to the man. Jessie looked toward him

"Really? That's funny because I've been avoiding you," He replied and webbing shot from his hand and it instantly tied the man's hands together. "You seem to be a bit stuck," He joked.

"You got my brother arrested!"

"Was he doing something wrong?" He asked and the man stayed quiet. "Exactly. You see, you bad guys don't really like to think about those things. You should probably finish school," He finished and Jessie had grown tired of the conversation.

She clasped both her hands together in front of her and hit the man on the back of the head in which he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Jess?" He mumbled, but Jessie couldn't hear him. She was feeling very tired from the overexertion of her powers and the five kicks she took to the side of her stomach. He was thankful she didn't hear him too. He wasn't ready for anyone to know his real identity yet. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, noticing her wobbliness and the fatigue that seemed evident on her soft featured face.

He walked over to her and she looked up at him, smiled softly, and nodded. Her eyes looked dazed and confused. But mainly tired. "Thank you, for helping me. I thought I could handle it on my own but-"

She stopped talking when the boy in the red suit wearing small black goggles held his hand up to her cheek. His thumb softly traced over the bruise imprinted there from the earlier punch she took and then she heard him clear his throat as he jerked his hand away.

"Can you get home okay?" He asked.

"Um...yeah," She she said quietly, feeling completely disoriented. She put her hand against his chest to push him out of the way. He moved and she stumbled a few steps and then crumpled to the ground.

"Woah! Hey, Jes-Girl?" He corrected himself as he bent down to help her back up. "Um, girl, can you hear me?" He asked moving her hair out of her face so he could see if her eyes were open. Of course, his luck, they weren't.

He sighed and looked around before picking her up from the ground bridal style and swinging home, holding her close to his chest with his arm.

The next morning, Jessie awoke on a bed she wasn't familiar with in the same clothes from the night before. She looked around and started to panic only remembering that two men had almost beaten her to the point of unconsciousness.

She heard footsteps outside of the door and crawled out of the bed. She stepped off the bed and tripped over something laying right next to it. It was a boy.

He quickly woke up and blinked his eyes a few times to get rid of the sleep still present. Jessie's jaw dropped at the sight of him.

"Peter?"