Chapter 286: Stark Road

Chapter 286: Stark Road

If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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3rd March 2013, New York City

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

Choosing to change the subject, he spoke up, "So, what are you doing in Queens?"

I shrugged, "Just walking around. I've been dealing with a few things in the last few months, and I wanted to clear my head."

An idea popped in my head. There's something I've been wanting to do for a few weeks. I was going to do it in a few days, but with the kid there, there's no reason not to do it now.

I decide to speak up, "You know what, Peter, why don't we do something fun?" Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

The spider themed hero sounded confused, "Like what?"

"Well, I was planning on speaking with Tony Stark about something. I was going to do it in a few days, but since you're here I might as well ask you to come with me."

The kid was jumping up and down, "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"Yeah, kid. Do you want to come with me and see Tony Stark right now?"

The kid actually ran towards me and hugged me in gratitude.

It took a few minutes for Peter to hide in a deserted alley and change his clothing. Finally, he returned wearing Jeans, a geeky t-shirt underneath a hooded jacket. I raised an eyebrow at his attire, and he looked at me indignantly, "Look, I wasn't prepared to go see Tony Stark of all people today."

I shrugged, "It's your call."

"I still don't understand why I can't go see him in my spider suit." Peter grumbled.

I snorted, "Kid, we are not going to walk into Avengers tower wearing masks."

"Fine," he relented.

It was impressive seeing the kid act this way even with the darkness that he witnesses every night. There are many reasons that experienced police officers, especially in a city with a high crime rate, are often serious and stoic. Seeing so much crime, violence, and death would change anyone. People often choose to ignore the existence of humanity's dark side. It is uncomfortable for people to think how monstrous people can be and the kid voluntarily goes every night to fight that darkness. I would applaud him, if I wasn't afraid that he would lose his innocence, his belief in justice, and his faith in humanity. Outside of him getting physically hurt, this has to be one of my biggest fears for him.

I let out an amused chuckle, "He's a businessman competing with Tony Stark in the tech industry. He would do a lot worse than that. But it's not like you can arrest him either. He's used to people trying to sue him to the ground and knows how to cover all paper trails from his operations. Outside of a public confession, even if you find something, it'll be thrown out by his army of ivy league lawyers."

"But you can do it, can't you?"

I shrugged, "I probably could, if I put my mind to it, that is. But I'm dealing with a lot of more sensitive problems, than a mob boss and a corrupt businessman. I handle very different and far more dangerous problems. Look, kid, you're not ready to take on something like this. This isn't going to be your regular catching a robber and leaving a funny note for the cops. You need to understand the consequences of going after people this high up the ladder. Kingpin is probably going to go after you in a while, but Osborn probably loves you. You always reveal the vulnerabilities in his machines when you fight them, and with you destroying them, you keep the demand for his tech going."

"So, why is Kingpin buying so many suits? They have to be expensive as hell."

I shrugged, "It's to manage the loss of his mutant lieutenants. For the last few years, the number of biologically enhanced people be it through mutations or accidents have dropped. The criminals disappeared, the innocent ones did as well. This phenomenon has been occurring all around the globe and every single spy agency has been trying to find out what's happening. SHIELD was the last organization that had any pull with the enhanced and with its fall, the enhanced have disappeared as well. Unfortunately, the technologically enhanced remained, which is why Kingpin wants to fill the void of his lieutenants with them. He relied on his old crew to maintain a balance of fear and respect throughout the city and with their disappearance, he was vulnerable."

"So, what happened to the mutants?"

I gave him a cheeky grin, "I have no idea."

Outraged, Peter asked, "You're lying."

"Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not. Who knows?"

The spider themed hero huffed and grumbled, "Fine. But there's something still bugging me. It's not about the Kingpin or anything. It's about the first time we met. When Fury tried to arrest you, why didn't the Avengers tell him that you were the Morrigan. Didn't they know that you were still alive?"

"Don't worry, I told them. I asked them not to tell anyone, but I called them afterwards and they had called Fury warning him that going after me was a mistake. He didn't listen. I dislike the foolishness of stubborn fools in desperate positions."

Peter gave me a curious look, "Have you spoken to any of them after the invasion?"

"Yes, but not really. It was mostly business not social calls. Stark tracked me down a bit after we left, and we let each other know what we're doing so that we don't step on anyone's toes. Truthfully, we're not all that close, outside of Thor that is."

"What about Thor?"

I gave him a cheeky grin, "He's staying at my place."

The teenager choked on his own spit and I could tell that he wanted to ask a thousand questions at once. However, I didn't let him do it, "Would you look at that, we've arrived."

And I was correct, we had just arrived at the tallest building in the city. The kid must have been distracted by our conversation. Well, I wonder how Tony will react when I arrive at his tower unannounced. This was going to be fun

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.