Possibility of Tomorrow - 18

Cont...

 The first time he saw her in his freaking school, he froze, understandably. She was walking into his English class, his first class of the day looking as self-confident as she had the first time they'd met when she'd dropped him two stories. She had scanned the room and hadn't seemed at all surprised to see him. Peter cursed her in his head; of course, she wasn't surprised; she'd planned this. Like his life wasn't crazy enough as it was. Peter laid his head down on his desk as the teacher did attendance.

 "Darling Barnes." The teacher called. 

"Present," Darling responded. 

"Welcome to Midtown Tech, Ms. Barnes." The teacher paused to nod. 

"Thank you." Darling smiled back. 

Oh, she had this planned alright. Peter huffed. 

"The new girl looks cool," Ned whispered, leaning over as the teacher began their lesson. 

Peter shifted over to give Ned the stink eye while still having his head in his arms as he wallowed in my-life-just-can't-get-more-complicated. 

"What?" Ned asked innocently.

 Peter groaned and buried his head deeper. What was his life coming to? To make things better (or worst if you asked Peter), she shared all his classes. She was in every last one. She never spoke to him, but he knew she was there floating in his peripheral. 

Ned thankfully didn't bring her up after that first class, and for that, Peter was thankful. She was distracting enough without anyone commenting on it. Having her in his school was like watching his two very separate worlds collide in slow motion. Flash was flirting with her, flirting! And who knew she was good at writing? It was a slow-motion train wreck, and Peter Parker was along for the ride. Even MJ thought she was "chill." 

After school that day and as Spider-Man, Peter went looking for her. It took him two hours, and it was dark when she found him. 

"Sorry about today. I meant to warn you, but I didn't have enough time." The Reaper came up behind him silently as she always did.

 His spider senses didn't flair like they used to but just hummed like they always did when he was on patrol. "A little warning would have been nice." Peter retorted, pulling up his mask up as he kicked his legs, dangling over the side of the building he was sitting on top of. 

"I'm sure." Darling pulled back her own veil and sat next to him. And then it wasn't Spider-Man and the Reaper. It was just them, Darling and Peter, sitting next to each other like kids did. 

"Why are you here? You don't strike me as the type to settle down." Peter asked, looking over at her. 

Darling raised an eyebrow, "Settle down?" 

Peter flushed when he realized how his words could have sounded, "Not like that! Like you're a free spirit that can't be pinned down or stay in one place. Not that you're a weirdo drifter dude or anything! Just that you seem the type to constantly be on the move from place to place, seeing the world! Not that you couldn't find a place to call home-" 

Darling snorted, "Relax, Parker. I'm messing with you." She sobered, "But you're right, there is a reason I'm here." 

Peter shifted, so they were facing each other, "Why?" 

"I have creditable intel that says the Ten Rings are here in New York. They've been very active recently in the Middle East and Europe. I believe they're trying to make the jump over here to try and start a cell." Darling explained.

 "Wow, wow, back up. The Ten Rings? In New York? How?" Peter's thoughts spiraled in a million directions at that bombshell.

 Darling paused a moment before explaining, "The Ten Rings lost power after Tony Stark blew them off the map and then proceeded to wipe out their funding which you already know. Now they're trying to bounce back. A lot of tech is still circulating, from the Battle of New York to the Destruction of Sokovia. The Ten Rings have been flying under the radar, biding their time. After the "Civil War," the Avengers split. The Rouges have been working in the Middle East area but were unaware of the Ten Rings until recently. Because of that-" 

"The enemy was divided and easier to conquer." Peter finished the thought, "So what do they want?"

 "They're still in the rebuilding process, so what they need now is resources. Money, leverage, publicity." Darling laid it out.

 "How they gonna do that?" Peter asked, thinking of all the banks with sitting cash in the immediate area before her answer knocked him sideways.

 "You." Darling was quiet as she watched him process that.

 "Me- Why? How?" Peter sputtered. 

"They tried to kidnap the princess of Jordan two weeks ago. They need publicity, a way to get back on the world stage. They almost started World War Three." Darling shook her head.

 "But why me?" Peter shook his head in shock.

 "Peter, your Tony Starks intern. And if you haven't seen the celebrity magazines, the press thinks your his son. A connection like that is worth a lot. A lot of publicity, a lot of money. The Ten Rings were wiped out by Tony Stark almost ten years ago. Now they kidnap his intern-son as revenge is pretty poetic." Darling shook her head, "Don't you get it?"

 "But I'm not his son!" Peter half shrieked.

 "The public doesn't know that." Darling reminded him quietly. 

Peter looked at her like his world was falling apart, "What are we gonna do?"

 "We're going to be ready. I think they're going to hit Midtown. A lot of rich kids go there. It's a lot of possibilities. A lot of targets. A lot of cover." Darling looked back out to the skyline. 

"And if they don't?" Peter asked, still shaken at the thought they could be coming for him. 

"Then at least we'll be forewarned." Darling shrugged. 

"What about school?" Peter asked, getting his head back on straight. 

"What about it?" Darling looked back at him, confused.

 "What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to act around you?" Peter stumbled over his words and flushed again.

 "Ignore me. At school, in everyday life, we don't know each other. The less is know, the better." Darling nodded, "When the time comes, if it does, we act."

 "Alright. You'll keep me updated, right? When we're, you know," Peter waved his mask that was in his hand. 

Darling smiled, "Of course." She got up and pulled up her veil. 

"What about Mr. Stark?" Peter called out his mentor's words of coming to him with big things, and the Ten Rings classified as a big thing, came to mind, "What do I tell him?" 

The Reaper turned half back to him, and he swore she was grinning, "He already knows." Then the Reaper was gone.

 Well, that was that.

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