A First Meeting (November 2012)

To celebrate Serena’s success, Peter wanted to take her downtown, do a little shopping and get a bite to eat at some swanking restaurant using the Stark clout...aka Serena’s celebrity status. Before they could go though Tony asked Serena to put the gauntlets on again so he could test and adjust their abilities. It only took about 30 minutes and then they had their coats, scarves, gloves and hats on and Richard from security had called them a cab.

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“Hannah, there’s some activity at the tower. Someone appears to be leaving,” A voice said in her ear. “I’ll mark the cab with a homing beacon for you,” He said. The drone he controlled remotely looked very complex. It also had reactive, ablative armor, a complete weapons and sensor array and the ability to blend its armor to its surroundings which made it very difficult to spot. And it was extremely silent. As the cab waited the drone shot a tiny gray ball at the cab. It made a noise when it hit and the ball flattened out to a degree as it stuck to the back of the cab. The driver looked back but didn’t see anything then shrugged and turned forward.

Peter opened the door for Serena, took her hand and helped guide her into the cab then got in after her and shut the door. The cab took off toward downtown and up in the air they were followed by the drone. The man in Hannah’s ear searched his database for the the faces that appeared in the photos that he had just taken of the two that left. In seconds Serena’s likeness appeared and several seconds later, Peter’s likeness appeared. “Well, it looks like Serena Stark, Tony’s daughter and a guy named Peter Parker, a boyfriend maybe,” He said.

Serena was excited about her evening out with Peter. They got dressed and Serena put on some makeup and fixed her hair and then spritzed on the perfume Peter liked. Her dad wanted her to come to the lab first so he could test the gauntlets again to readjust them. After that was finished Serena and Peter headed out. Happy had the day off so Richard from security got them a cab. Serena smiled at Peter as he opened the door for her and took her hand and helped her in. After he got in she leaned over and kissed him and the cab took off. Little did they know that they were being tracked.

Hannah had waited for this opportunity for several years. Stark had killed her father and she sought out revenge. She hated Tony Stark with every fiber of her being and had waited patiently for the time to strike. At first, she considered just taking him out, but upon hearing Dax tell her that he had spotted Serena Stark she began to reconsider her plan. Tony had killed a person she loved and so she would return the favor. Serena was Tony's only child and she knew he was protective of her. Killing her would be worse for him than his own death. He would have to live with the guilt for the remainder of his life. That thought made Hannah smile.

Hannah was not one to easily blend into a crowd. She had inherited her mother's fiery red hair and green eyes. Her mother had been Irish, and Hannah looked every bit it. She stood at 5'9" and was lithe yet strong from her time with the Navy Seals. She had left that life upon learning of the death of her father several years ago. Now revenge was her only focus.

She began to receive the homing beacon signal onto a special watch that Dax had made for her and when she put on her motorcycle helmet that information was displayed inside the visor. She was dressed in black leather pants, knee high boots, and a burgundy leather jacket. Her hair was in a French braid down her back. She revved up the motorcycle engine and took off from a side street into traffic. With the bike she was able to easily maneuver through traffic.

"Is there any information on this Peter Parker?" she asked Dax as she blew through a red light and nearly caused an accident.

“Uh, give me a moment,” Dax said. Dax had short, brown hair and hazel eyes. He, like Hannah had graduated from MIT and was more or less a computer genius and was very good at programming. That and he loved Hannah and was completely devoted to her. He knew she was likely stringing him along but after she had kissed him...on the lips no less, he was very much hers. He typed quickly on one of the thre keyboards in front of him. In front of him was 6 computer monitors and a slew of cables and computer boxes that lit up and warmed the area.

“He’s a scientist presently working for Oscorp. He lives in queens with his Aunt May. Awwww, we love Aunt May,” Dax said as he continued to type.

The cab made its way downtown and Peter handed the driver a 20 and told him to keep the change. He got out then helped Serena out of the cab like a gentleman should. The sidewalk bustled with activity and the lights and sounds of New York were all around them. Peter smiled and hand in hand they headed down the street.

“Oh, could we stop at VIctoria’s Secret?” Peter asked. When she looked at him he explained. “I wanted to get myself something for Christmas,” he said with a very big smile.

Serena smiled and laughed and she and Peter went shopping for a while before getting hungry. A new restaurant and bar had opened up recently and was currently the hottest place in New York City. It was nearly impossible to get a reservation. However, as soon as the host realized Serena Stark had walked in through the doors she and Peter got a table immediately. It was the best table in the house and the waiter began fawning over Serena. Serena was rather used to this kind of treatment and took it in stride. She smiled politely and she and Peter ordered their drinks.

Hannah had managed to get a seat at the bar and she casually watched Serena and Peter. "I've changed the plan," she told Dax. "Tony Stark took away someone I loved...I'm going to do the same to him. The target is now Serena"

Dax was not a killer but being separated from it. Being at these monitors allowed him to avoid the guilt of knowing he has helped Hannah hurt and kill people. “Then just kill her, I don’t have eyes in there so I can’t really help you,” Dax said.

Peter and Serena were actually at a table that had a wrap around couch. It was soft and black and allowed them to sit side by side. The waiter set down what they called ‘The Chef’s taste of the day’ A small hors devours as well as ice waters and the menus. “Wow, this place is great!” He said as he handed Serena her menu then leaned back with her. He decided to just look at her menu and he put his arm around her and leaned in to read what there was to order. “So what sounds good?” He asked as he kissed her cheek. “Besides you,” He whispered and kissed her again.

"What? And be done with this so quickly?" Hannah said to Dax. "No, I intend on playing with my prey a little bit first. I want to draw this out and get as much satisfaction as I possibly can."

Serena had worked up quite the appetite from her sparring match with Logan earlier in the day and she was looking forward to this meal. She took her menu and began to look it over. She smiled at Peter as he kissed her cheek. "I was thinking the Salmon en Croute sounded delicious."

She and Peter ordered their meals and some drinks and sat there enjoying one another's company. Hannah stared at them and watched as their food was brought out and they began to eat. Then, she got up and walked over to their table. She looked at Peter.

"Peter...what are you doing here with this woman?" she said accusatorily.

Peter ordered an old fashioned and they sat back and held hands as they waited for their meals to arrive. He noticed a woman looking at them and he looked up and smiled politely at her when she came up to their table. The woman was tall with bright fiery hair and pretty green eyes. He was caught off guard by what she said though as he had never met the woman.

“Uh...I’m sorry, have we met?” He asked politely but there was a hint of alarm in his voice.

Hannah blinked as Peter asked if they had met. "Are you kidding me Peter Parker? We've been sleeping together for months!" she said loud enough to get the attention of the people around them. "You told me the other day in bed that I was the only woman for you! Clearly that was a fucking lie!"

Serena was rather shocked by this woman's outburst. This woman clearly knew Peter, but Serena did not believe that Peter was sleeping with her. Serena eyed the woman suspiciously, but remained quiet.

Peter’s eyebrows wanted to go up to the top of his head. He was shocked by the accusations. And whatever this woman’s game was, she didn’t know him other than his name. Certainly not who he really was or how ‘he’ had come to be here in this timeline. He was completely devoted to Serena.

“Miss, I don’t know who you are, if there is something you’re after sit down and we can talk about it. But we’ve never met and I suspect that you know that,” he said plainly. It took alot to get under Peter’s skin. His cheeks were flushed though in embarrassment and he half turned to Serena. “I’ve never met her,” he said to Serena.

Serena looked at Peter. "I know," she told him honestly. She had no doubt in her mind of Peter's devotion to her. The man had traveled from a different timeline to be with her. He wasn't going to do anything to screw up their relationship.

Serena turned back to look at the red haired woman. "Who are you?"

Hannah felt her anger grow by the second. She was upset that her plan to cause doubt's in Serena's mind of Peter's loyalty to her had been squandered. Her eyes fixated on Serena and she glared at her. "I'm coming for you Serena Stark," she said in a growl before turning and walking out.

Once the woman left Peter shifted out from the couch and stood. “Serena, we’re leaving...lets get back to the tower,” he said and helped her up. As they moved through the restaurant he had a feeling that they were being watched. That odd woman and what she said had unnerved him and so he wanted to get Serena home and fast. Just as Serena stood their meals came and the Salmon looked delicious! When she paused he pulled her away.

As soon as they cleared the door his danger sense kicked in. In an instant he took hold of Serena just as something bounced at their feet. He rolled with her behind a raised plant box and the grenade exploded. Peter protected her with his body as shrapnel and the force of the concussion struck him hard in the back and knocked him unconscious. Unfortunately there were 2 people headed into the restaurant and the valet heading out who had gotten caught in the explosion.

Serena stood with Peter and he helped her put back on her coat and they began to walk away from the table. Serena was still hungry and wanted something to eat, but Peter seemed insistent on getting her back to the Tower. She gave in and they headed out the door. Almost the moment they crossed the threshold something was thrown at their feet. In a split second Peter had grabbed her and rolled with her behind a planter box. Peter protected her with his body as the grenade exploded only feet away. The explosion was loud and car alarms were set off all down the block. People began to scream and flee the scene. Serena was rattled but otherwise unharmed, apart from the ringing in her ears. She shook Peter and began to panic when he didn’t respond.

“Peter!”

It more than a little jostling, shaking and the sound of her panicked voice but Peter eventually came to. He was bleeding and he said his back hurt but he was able to move as they stood she saw people kneeling above other people. A woman had lost a leg and a young man who couldn’t have been older than 18 looked as if half of his face had been turned into hamburger. Others moaned in pain as sirens rang out in the distance.

“We need to get off the street...get that cab,” Peter said as 2 cans pulled up. He felt that he was hit in the back and was bleeding but he also knew he needed to get Serena home.

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“I’ve got eyes on them Hannah...apparently you missed,” he said. By this time she was on her bike and speeding away.

Serena didn’t realize just how much she was shaking until she tried to open the cab door. She felt disoriented and slightly sick, but when she saw Peter was bleeding he became her only priority. She got him into the cab and told the driver to go to Stark Tower. She immediately called her mother and told her what had happened and told her to prep the biobed for Peter. After she hung up with her mother she looked at Peter with a few tears in her eyes.

“I thought I had lost you. I thought for a moment that now I was going to have to travel to a different timeline to be with you again.”

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“Damn it!” Hannah exclaimed in pure anger and frustration. She didn’t have any other weapons with her and so for today she was done. She sped back to the old warehouse that served as their base of operation. She parked the bike and pulled off the helmet and threw it across the room in anger. She saw Dax looking at her and she scowled at him. “Your gernade was obviously faulty. They should have been dead!”

Dax didn’t say anything, he knew it wasn’t his grenade. He had seen the devastation that it had caused. Likely 2 dead, 2 wounded and the front of the building was nearly destroyed. ‘How did she miss?’ He wondered and he played back the video over and over. She threw the grenade but even as she threw it, the man...Peter Parker moved. He was so fast too. He had to have seen her, somehow.

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“The cab driver turned to face back toward them. He was obviously foreign and he looked angry. “What do you do, you’re getting blood all over my cab!?” He said angrily. He was a New Yorker after all and his cab was his livelihood.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Peter said weakly. God he hoped he wasn’t!

Peter felt woozy and in pain. At least 2 pieces of shrapnel had hit him and maybe splinters from the planter box. It and the dirt had saved his life, maybe both their lives. That and the speed in which he moved them away. He laid his head back and felt like he was going to pass out but Serena wouldn’t let him. Each time he closed his eyes she’d yell at him or shake him. The seat was soaked in blood as well as his coat and shirt. Serena barely even had a scratch on her. Mostly from the fall onto the pavement than anything else and she had gloves and a coat on to protect her from that.

"What about my cab!" The driver asked angrily and gestured to the backseat.

Serena refused to let Peter pass out. She kept her hands on him and if he looked like he might black out she would shake him or yell at him. She was terrified at the amount of blood she saw and could see the pieces of shrapnel but was afraid to pull them out.

Serena glared at the cab driver. “Just drive! We’ll pay you for the damage.”

At the Tower, they were met by Isabella and Tony who quickly got Peter out of the cab. Tony saw the blood in the backseat of the cab and pulled out a roll of bills. She handed the driver about $2,000 and the driver seemed more than satisfied about that and began going on about how he hoped the boy would be alright.

Isabella could see that Serena was a little unsteady on her feet as well and put her arm around her to help her inside. They quickly got Peter up to the medical bay and put him face down onto the biobed. A hole appeared so he could breathe. Serena was still trembling but refused to leave Peter’s side.

Peter felt the injection and he heard Serena murmur soothing words and sounds as his eyes fluttered closed.

“Ok, Serena tell us what happened. The news says there was some kind of domestic terrorist attack. The FBI and SHIELD are getting involved in this,” Kate said. Isabella looked and was worried for her daughter and for Peter who she liked a lot and knew Serena loved. The others were upstairs waiting for them to come up. The Boone’s began cutting clothes and preparing Peter for surgery.

Isabella had her daughter sit down and got her some water to drink. “Peter and I were having dinner and this woman walked over to our table. She was about 6 feet tall with bright red hair that was braided and green eyes. She was wearing leather pants, knee high boots and a red leather jacket. She began causing a scene and saying that Peter had been sleeping with her and she was upset seeing him with me. It was all a bunch of lies, but she knew Peter. When I refused to play her little game she became upset and threatened me and then left. Peter insisted that we leave and as we stepped out of the restaurant a grenade was thrown at our feet. Peter threw us behind a planter box and protected me with his body. If he hadn’t I’d likely be dead.”

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Hannah was pacing because she was still furious. “I don’t understand how he could move that quickly. Is he a mutant?”

“Well, he could be but he seemed like just a regular guy. He and Serena appeared to be dating and she works at OsCorp. as well.” He said. “Now though we’ll just have to wait for them to leave the tower.” He added.

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Isabella shook her head. It didn’t make any sense. “I wonder if the restaurant has video of her.” She said and looked at Kate. “I’m on it,” Kate said and stepped away and got on her phone. Isabella moved her chair up to Serena and opened up her med kit. She started treating some of Serena’s cuts and scrapes. “This just doesn’t make any sense. Could it have something to do with what you two are working on?” She asked.

Serena felt disoriented still. Her ears still had a slight ringing to them and she knew that would likely take a few days to go away. She and Peter were lucky to be alive. She looked at her mother and gave a slight shake of her head. “No one knows what Peter and I are working on but us. This woman had such hate in her eyes as she looked at me. It was as if I had something truly horrible to her but I’ve never met her before.”

The biobed arm located one of the larger pieces of shrapnel and removed it as Serena watched. Every year her father makes improvements on it and recently Peter had made a few suggestions. More and more his influences were changing things. His knowledge of the future were guiding Tony into new, innovations. He was a kind, giving man who never liked to impose on anyone and gave so much of himself.

Kate turned back to them. “They checked the tapes, there was some kind of interference with the security cameras but SHIELD looked at the street cameras and found some images of her on a motorcycle. In the helmet though they couldn’t get an ID. Phil says hello by the way and hopes Peter will be alright,” she said then went back to her phonecall.

“This is obviously a targeted act...there has to be a reason and if you’re not the reason than I can only assume either me or Tony are,” she said as she though hard about that but didn’t know who or why. She saw Serena’s worried face.

“Hey, he’s going to be fine,” she said as she stood and gave Serena a hug.

Serena remained by Peter’s side throughout the night. The shrapnel was removed and he was stitched and bandaged up. Isabella brought Serena something to eat because Serena refused to move. Eventually, Tony and Isabella went to bed, leaving Serena alone with Peter. She reached out and took his hand and lightly caressed the skin as she sat there next to him.

“I was in love with Evan and I was in love with Gambit, but I never knew true love until I met you Peter. You were the missing piece in my life...the hole in my heart and soul. You made me complete when I didn’t realize I was incomplete. I cannot imagine my life without you.”

After the biobed told everyone that Peter could be moved he was moved to Serena’s room. He woke up the morning after the surgery and though he was sore he was happy to find Serena next to him in the bed. She was sleeping and he just watched her sleep for a time. He had been so worried but besides a few bandaids, she looked unharmed. When she woke she’d find him smiling at her.

“I had the best dreams about you,” he said. He had been propped up onto his side and though it had become somewhat uncomfortable. When he shifted onto his back the jolt of pain he felt made staying on his side preferable by far. Peter was tired still but not very sleepy. “We’ll have to try that place again, sometimes. The food looked great,” He said with a smile. He was trying to soothe her. He had seen the worry in her eyes and didn’t want her to worry about him now. He was fine for the most part anyway.

Serena didn't actually sleep until Peter was moved to her room. She laid down in the bed next to him and finally became so tired that she fell asleep out of pure exhaustion. When she woke up, she found Peter awake and smiling at her. Seeing his eyes open and his smile brought a sense of relief to Serena, although the reality of what might have happened still weighed heavy in her mind.

She moved closer to him and brushed back some hair from his eyes. Despite her relief that he was awake, she was still concerned about him. "You saved my life Peter. If it hadn't been for you I would be dead right now. You're my hero."

Peter blushed to her compliment and honestly felt that she was making large on what he actually did. All he had done is grabbed her. protecting her with his body was just luck that they landed right. “I hope to always be there when you need me Serena,” Peter said.

“Now we just need to figure out who that woman was and why she tried to kill us. Was she after you or me? Why was she after us? Does anyone know yet?” He asked.