Spiral - A Marvel Tale

New Life

Things could not have gotten more complicated. 

It was one thing having to uproot my entire life and move across the country, but now my dad got himself into a relationship. I don’t want to come off as bitter, no. I’m quite happy for my dad. It’s the happiest I've seen him in a really long time. It’s just… there’s a lot to explain, so let me try my best here. 

My dad is Dr. Theodore Lightfoot, a renowned physicist, who along with my mother Dr. Helena Lightfoot, worked on a suit that was able to use and convert different types of energy. It was supposed to be for protection after an incident where an alien wreaked havoc in San Francisco and no one seemed to be able to stop it. This suit was going to be the help we needed. The Avengers covered the world, but who was going to keep San Francisco safe? That’s what my dad’s philosophy was anyway, and so he and my mom began working on the P.E.S.T. program, otherwise known as “physical energy suit test”. 

I was fully aware of what they were doing, even going far as to helping them from time to time, but most days they kicked me out of the house to do test runs in case things got dangerous. And things did get dangerous. Two years ago, they hit a breakthrough with the suit. They were able to contain almost all of the known energy sources within the suit. That was a step in the right direction, but still a ways to go. But a step was all that was needed for the wrong people. When I was fourteen, a group of men broke into our house while me and my parents were in our lab. They told me to hide while they tried to keep the assailants out. The gun shots were so loud, it was almost deafening. One of the bullet’s ricocheted off our protective glass and struck my mom...killing her. Another hit the suit. In all the chaos, I moved from the hiding spot in the test chamber to see what was happening and then...boom. 

The suit exploded, completely destroying itself...but that wasn’t all. 

I was lucky to be alive after the explosion, but strange things started to happen. Random objects would float toward me at times, then after an argument with my dad, I took down the wall in our home by just slamming my bedroom door. We couldn’t explain what exactly happened, so my dad started doing his own tests, and it turned out that his work wasn’t completely destroyed. My body somehow absorbed the various energies from the explosion, granting me the ability to control gravity and kinetic energy. Over time, though, it seems like new things appear, and my dad says that this will probably happen until all the energies manifest. 

In short, I have superpowers. 

I haven’t used them for good or anything, they’re just...there. And they’re the reason why we left home. The further we got away from San Francisco, the safer I’d be, or at least that was my dad’s philosophy. And with that move, came May Parker. May was nice, kind, and very smart. She was a widow too, and met my dad at a charity event for Spider-Man. They have been dating for a year and in that year, I’ve met and hung out with them both, but never got to meet her nephew Peter. She constantly told us about how “great” he was and how he was so “smart” and busy with all these school programs. I never thought much of it. 

“Hey Jade, you mind coming here a sec,” my dad’s voice drifted through my bedroom door. I got up from my vanity and opened my door to see my dad awkwardly trying to fix himself in the hallway mirror. 

“Here, let me,” I said, my hands moving to his collar. I pressed it down and he smiled at me in the mirror. 

“What would I do without you,” he gloated, and I rolled my eyes, leaning against the wall. 

“It seems like you’re figuring it out,” I commented with a deadpan tone. My dad sighed, and turned to face me, his eyes serious. 

“I know things have been… strange for you these last two years and trust me I wish I could change things but… I can’t. And I can’t help how I feel about May. I want us to have a new life and I want you to have a complete family and I think May wants that to for herself. Aren’t you even happy for me a little,” he started, only stopping once I put my hand up. I looked down at my shoes, trying to muster some type of encouragement. I was happy for him. I wanted nothing but the best for him but it only seemed like mom was here just yesterday and I couldn’t help how I felt. 

“I am… happy for you, dad. It’s just new to me, that’s all. If you are sure that marrying May is what you want, I’ll support you,” I replied, giving him a slow smile. He grasped my shoulders, squeezing them slightly. 

“That’s all I need. Give her a chance. She really likes you, you know? And besides, won’t it be nice to be hanging out with another kid your age? I’ve met Peter just a few times. He’s a great kid, super smart. I know you two will get along just great,” he went on, but everything at that point was in one ear and out of the other. He gave me a smile and turned to grab his keys, and I followed behind. 

-20 minutes later- 

“God Teddy I could hear that story a thousand times and still laugh,” May’s voice floated from the kitchen as my dad’s laugh followed. I stood awkwardly in the living room, looking around at her place. It wasn’t much, but you could tell it was a home. She had pictures of her and Peter up, which I promptly took a look at as soon as the two lovebirds left the room. Peter was a good looking guy, a little on the nerdy side, but not bad. 

“Oh, Jade, you can check out Peter’s room if you want, he isn’t home right now,” May said, her head poking from the kitchen. I smiled at her politely and nodded. Well, better than hearing the sounds of two adults swooning over each other. I made my way down the short hall and entered the only other room in the apartment. 

I slightly regretted it when I did. 

It was slightly messy, some clothes hung off a chair and there was a scattering of papers on a desk with junk. I moved to the desk, a dark curl falling in my face as I peered at the stuff. It was clearly second hand or fetched from a garbage bin, but it looked like he was tinkering around with it. The papers were scribbles of notes on the stuff and blatherings that I could barely make out. I scrunched my nose trying to decipher some of it, my finger tracing the words as if it would help. 

“What are you doing?” 

I jumped nearly a foot in the air and turned, wide eyed as Peter stood staring at me...in the flesh. 

“Uh..,” I let out, feeling something heavy behind me start to slowly move across the desk and toward me. Oh god… 

Peter raised an eyebrow at me, setting his backpack on the ground. 

“You okay,” he asked slowly. I clenched my fists, trying to release the object before it reached me. I nodded instead, afraid of what my voice would come out as. Peter blinked at me, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he awaited a further explanation. 

“I’m Jade,” I blurted, my hand shooting out toward him. He nervously laughed and took it. 

“Peter. I’ve heard all about you. Sorry we haven’t met sooner, I just have a lot on my plate at the moment. You know how school is,” he started, turning away from me. I relaxed and felt the object’s weight released from me. Good. 

“Oh it’s okay. I knew we’d meet eventually,” I brushed his apology off with a wave of my hand. He took his jacket off and I immediately noticed that he was built for a nerdy looking guy. Weird. 

“Peter? Is that you?” 

“Oh yeah May, I’m home!” 

Peter looked at me and made a dramatic face as May bounced in, brown hair swaying on her shoulders. She smiled broadly, placing a hand on her hip. 

“Glad you two finally get to meet! Dinner’s ready. Where’s MJ, Peter,” she chattered. MJ? Never heard of her… 

“Oh she had some studying to do. Said she’d catch us next time,” Peter answered, getting up. May nodded and left us alone again. We stood there, awkwardly, trying to figure out what to say. What does one say to another teenage boy whose aunt was in relationship with their father? 

“Guess we should go eat then,” he let out slowly. I nodded in agreement and followed him out to the kitchen, where May was setting the small table. It smelled delicious, enough that my mouth watered. 

“Please thank Teddy. If it weren’t for him, I’d have burned this place to the ground,” May groaned, as she flopped in her chair. I looked over at my dad, who was opening a bottle of expensive wine. He was glowing, something I hadn’t seen him do in a long time. Okay so maybe this all wasn’t so bad. 

“Aw stop. You practically handled it all on your own,” he gushed as he poured two glasses for him and May. Peter awkwardly sat across from me, clearly weirded out by the whole situation. 

“So Peter, how was your day,” my dad asked cheerfully, taking his seat after he handed May her glass, kissing her in the process. 

“It was, um, good. Nothing too crazy,” Peter replied. He took a sip of his water, eyes tracking my dad’s movements as he helped himself to some pasta. Silence again. Everyone seemed to dig into the food for the time being. I snuck a glance at my dad, who seemed to be nervous as hell. C’mon man, just do it already! 

“Um, actually,” my dad sputtered, causing May to look up at him, and Peter to cast a sideways glance. I watched as my dad’s hand slipped into his pocket, reaching for the ring when it tumbled out. A zing of panic ripped through me and I felt my powers shift on, stopped the ring from hitting the ground, the box floating silently in my dad’s reach. He grasped it quickly as he took a deep breath. 

“May, I just… okay I’m just going to say it because if I try to overcomplicate it, I might lose my nerve,” my dad started again, getting up at Peter watched him wide eyed and May blinked at him in slight surprise. My dad moved around the table to May’s side and got on his knee, pulling the box out and opening it up to a very crafty and very expensive diamond engagement ring. 

“May Parker, in the time you and I have been together, I haven’t been happier. We’ve both lost something precious to us and I would never want to replace that for you, but I also can’t deny my feelings for you any longer. I want to make you happy, not now, but until we’re old and shriveled. I want to give you everything in this world and so much more. I want to be your security, your inspiration, and your best friend forever. Will you marry me?” 

The words hung in the air like a dense fog and honestly it could’ve been cut with a butter knife. 

“What?!” 

Peter’s voice was shrill with shock as he stared at my dad and his aunt. 

“Teddy… of course I will,” May managed through her teary eyes. My dad scooped her up in his arms and swung her around like a princess. I had to admit, it was pretty cute. Peter sat, his jaw hanging open like a puppet. 

“Uh, excuse me, but what just happened,” Peter asked, bewildered. May gave him a look as my dad slipped the ring onto her finger. 

“I’m getting married!”