Adventures in Babysitting ↠ Peter Parker [1] ✓

11 | The Dark Side of the Sun

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xi. THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

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   NO SUPERHERO IS INVINCIBLE. They all have flaws. It's not always kryptonite or a malfunctioning arc reactor, but rather, it can be themselves. For some, it's as obvious as having an uncontrollable alter-ego, but for others, it's their lack of thought, their inexperience, or even their trauma that results in their demise. For Riley Stark, her greatest flaw wasn't her stubbornness or arrogance—it was her impulsivity.

   When Riley was struck with an idea, it was impossible for her to think about anything else. She could spend days working out all the kinks, always finding ways around them even at the last possible second. This time was no different.

   All week long, Riley had been trying to get her hands on some form of technology. She didn't have her suit, which meant JOCASTA wasn't able to help. Even her cell phone had been confiscated by her family, which meant she needed to borrow someone else's device. That wasn't a problem though. The issue at hand was that all cell phones were banned from Mirkhaven, meaning that they were all locked away in an unknown location.

   Actually, that wasn't even the real problem. Stealing a cell phone was easy, especially for someone who could turn invisible. All she had to do was find the phones, which was a piece of cake.

   Riley was stumped because she found the cell phones secured in a sturdy safe rather than a flimsy box like she'd been expecting. She couldn't just open it. This thing required some kind of code.

   Riley had tried to phase through the stupid safe (like she did that one time she infiltrated an alien spaceship), but she didn't even know how she did it in the first place. She, then, considered blasting it open, but she chose not to.

   Riley just wanted to make an emergency call without gaining attention. She knew she could've asked the faculty for permission, but she didn't want word to spread that the leader of the Avengers, otherwise known as the girl who had been personally entrusted by Captain fucking America, thought there was a problem that she couldn't handle.

   So, she was back to square one until Peter Parker said the magic words, "Too bad you can't just go up and fight someone for their phone like we could in a regular emergency, you know?"

   Of course, Riley wasn't going to shoot UV rays through someone's head for a damn phone. Not only would that result in someone's death, but it would be a total PR nightmare for the Avengers.

   Riley's plan was much simpler than it seemed. She was just going to threaten the person who was in charge of keeping tabs on the phones—the head of the camp counselors. As luck would have it, that person just so happened to be the infuriating Warren Park.