Chapter Text
(( April 24th 2016. Queens, NYC ))
IT WAS A UNUSUALLY QUIET LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON, the wind brushed through leaves and came through a half opened window in a small one-room apartment. A girl with deep brown hair hoisted herself up from her stiff bed.
Emeline sighed to herself as she looked out at the loud and busy street from her window. April was cold and rainy this year, and this day was like any other. The gray sky took over and made the city seem darker than it actually was.
It was after her supply run when Emeline walked home that night; she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. A feeling she often had throughout her life. Slipping up her fire escape, she carefully sneaked through the window she had left open that morning.
Jumping back onto the carpet, she heard a shout from a very startled Peter Parker, who was standing in the doorway. The 14-year-old boy was one of her neighbors from the other building. It had been nearly 10 months since she had been living there, and Emeline had no intention of interacting with them.
It had taken a while to get used to the bubbly boy, she had almost trusted him. But she knew not to get attached. In the end, she would only end up hurting people.
"What the- Emme?" He shouted, frozen in place with wide eyes. Emeline let out a small sigh, relieved that it was only him as she removed her hand from the spot at her waist.
"Why are you in here?" she questioned, going to her fridge to get some milk.
He laughed awkwardly, "Aunt May wanted to invite you over for dinner and your door was open, why were you climbing through the window?" he asked.
It was moments later that she wished she could have changed everything from this point on. Let herself have her own life, away from those prosecuting her. But, as we all know, lies have their way of unraveling sooner or later. It's all just a matter of when.
The door burst open to reveal heavily armored men with rather large guns, all pointed at the two. Men filed in through the door, raising their guns.
Emeline's blood ran cold; at first she had thought this was them, coming to take her back. But this wasn't like them, there was no Hydra emblem, and these soldiers had come in with no plan, she could tell.
Peter's heart raced even more rapidly as a gun was planted against both their heads; Emeline brought in her calm facade.
"Come with us calmly, and we'll let the boy live." A man came forward and requested, well, it wasn't a request as it was an order.
Leave it to the American government to handle things calmly.
She could grab Peter and run, crash through the window, and maneuver down the fire escape. She could grab her gun and shoot them, attack them all before they shot Peter. She could use her strength and fight her way out. She knew Peter was enhanced, it was painfully obvious he was the vigilante Spiderman, but she held the risk of outing his identity to the government, and she couldn't live with that.
Emeline was fast, but not fast enough.
They would kill Peter.
And for some reason, she couldn't live with that either. She already had too much red on her ledger, and she refused to gain any more. So she allowed her own hands to betray her interest and rise above her head.
Why the fuck did she care so much about him? She didn't even know him.
"There we go," the man said. "You know, it's really a pleasure to meet you after all this time. I'm Secretary Ross," and he smiled beatifically at Emeline, as if nothing could ever trouble him. "You are under arrest for violation of the Sokovia Accords, principles one, three, four, and nine."
Emeline was lightheaded now, dizzy, operating somewhere outside her body. It was surprisingly easy to be unaware in that sort of state, even if it scared the hell out of her. Nothing was real, and her fake life was over.
Well, at least it was okay while it lasted.
She slightly winced as they locked her wrists into a heavy set of vibranium cuffs and added a small device to her ear but didn't fight back. "Wait," Peter was saying. "You didn't even read her rights! You have to-"
"Fifth Amendment rights apply to human Americans. You-" Ross smiled at Emeline, "are neither."
Peter was confused and frantic as they took his friend away. He was so freaked out that he abandoned all of his overthinking and pulled out his phone to dial a number.
He felt guilty; he hadn't done anything. He could've swiped the gun the man was holding and taken Emme to safety. He supposed it was the shock that a friend he had known for almost a year was enhanced. But this was on him.
It was happening all over again, the same thing that happened with Ben. But he tried his hardest to remind himself that this wasn't the same.
But it was. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Emme. They were just beginning to become friends, he couldn't lose her just like that.
"Hey, kid, what's up?"
"Um- hey, Mr. Stark, look, I really need your help."
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"Well, what if we-" MJ was cut off as they walked into the courtroom. Emeline was only taken four days ago, and the trial was already underway. Plus, it had taken a miracle for Tony to get them in.
"Violators of the Accords are locked up in the Raft, period. No apologies, no second chances." Tony went on, putting on his glasses. He was only here because the kid had called him, but the fact that there was a superpowered teenage girl living in Queens couldn't help but leave him curious.
That and the fact that she was just a kid.
"There must be a way to get Emme out of there. With all of your money, all of your power, all of the Avengers-" MJ added on angrily, tired of Tony and dismissing every idea they've had. She only knew the girl from a few previous encounters; she and Ned were over at Peter's apartment those times and invited Emme over to watch movies.
Tony sighed. "The Avengers are extinct." However, Peter protested. "She could escape," he whispered. "She could hide, go underground-"
Tony turned to Peter, trying his best to meet his eyes, "If she did, she wouldn't be able to contact you. She'd be all alone, no team, no backup. When Ross finds her, she'll be dead. Or worse, she'll disappear, and you'll never find her."
There was a lot of head shaking. "She could join up with Captain America," Ned muttered, sneaking a look at the guards. "Don't try to tell me you don't know where he is."
This time, Tony turned over to Ned quickly, raising a brow. "Surprisingly enough, I don't. But at any rate, she wouldn't be trusted."
"What about the others? Black Widow, she was on your side, wasn't she?"
Tony groaned, tired and anxious from all the questions. "She doesn't trust anyone. Ever. But from what you're telling me about your friend, they'd get along just swell." Tony's sarcasm rising up to the surface once more. But since it wasn't usually appreciated under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be now.
He continued, keeping a hushed voice. "Although, if she's your friend like you say she is, all Ross would have to do is threaten you, publicly, and the kid could cuff herself and plop herself down on Ross' doorstep."
They were interrupted as the courtroom doors clanked open again. Peter craned his head to see Emme as the guards frogmarched her down the courtroom aisle, between empty columns of pews. He could see that she was still in yesterday's clothes, rumpled and exhausted, eyes bruised dark with lack of sleep.
Emeline's eyes locked onto Peter, MJ, and Ned for a moment, then to Tony Stark himself. Great. Wasn't this day just getting better and better?
The guards shoved her into her seat and locked the cuffs to the back of the chair. She twisted to look back over her shoulder at Peter. He waved, while Ned flashed her two thumbs up.
And with that, the judge entered with a flourish of dark robes.
Peter watched Emme's thin shoulders straighten and set. Feet planted firmly on the floor, hands clasped behind her to stop her shaking, one finger compulsively running back and forth over the cuffs.
See, in time, there always was an unexpected end. Much like an unexpected beginning. This was neither.