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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
ii. SHADOWS OF YESTERDAY

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   THE MOST IRREFUTABLE TRUTH about Peter Parker was that he was trying his best.

   Every day, he tried. To get through the day, to stand tall. No matter what it was, he always felt like he could try harder, try to find solace in the darkness of his heroes' shadows. Every time he put on that suit, it was his way of announcing to everyone that he was trying: to be enough, to make the world — or at least New York — a better place.

   Trying was all he was capable of, it seemed. Try to wear a brave face, try to ignore Flash's snide remarks, try to juggle school and his hero duties. Try, try, try. And for the past month, he'd been trying to mend his broken heart, and he was failing with flying colors.

   Only Ned knew what happened that night on the rooftop, but Peter sensed MJ knew because she'd been acting differently. Not in a bad way. In fact, she didn't entirely change. She still made jokes about him being a dork and sat with them at lunch, but at the same time, she smiled at him a little bit more. She stuck her neck out for him and Ned a little more fiercely. It was her silent way of comforting him, of saying, I know things are weird, but we'll always be friends. Peter was glad she never said that aloud because he would've shed a tear or two into his styrofoam lunch tray.

   Because things had been hard. Harder than usual. He was so used to having Riley so close to him that he felt cold in her absence.

   He was trying not to miss her. How she laughed at his jokes and stole his nerdy t-shirts, how her body felt with his arms wrapped around her, how she used to play with his hair, how they would watch the world from rooftops and talk about everything and nothing. He was trying not to dream of her. He was trying not to see the ghost of her in all of the prettiest corners of New York.

   The thing was — Peter didn't regret saying how he felt. In a twisted way, he could almost imagine Riley telling him how proud she was that he stood up for himself, even if it drove them apart. No, he was glad he said what had been ruminating all year. All he regretted was not fighting for their relationship a little bit harder.

   But how could he? He was insecure, unsure of himself, and that followed him long after that night, just as it had for most of his life. It didn't help that he saw Tony's face plastered across every building in New York, even his school! All Peter could think about, when he wasn't trying to not miss Riley, was how to fill Tony's shoes. How to be the hero Tony and Riley and all the other Avengers would want him to be. How to be good enough.

   If he could be good enough, he could win Riley back, he could make Tony proud, and he wouldn't have to try as hard anymore.

   Everything was wearing Peter down these days. The more he noticed it, the more he pondered how long this fatigue had been dragging from his ankles. It wasn't the last month, it wasn't the night of loose threads, it was longer than that. Everything made his shoulders sulk, his frown feel heavier than usual. May could see it, Ned could see it, MJ, even Tony, according to his endless stream of texts (which Peter ignored). Roman, too, the few times they crossed paths in silence.

   Everyone saw him for who he was, but the only person he wanted to notice him again was her. It would always be her.

   But this was for the best. Riley was always good at making snap decisions, and if she believed this was necessary, then it was. For now. Just for now.

   Because Peter had a plan.

   Peter was exhausted from trying so hard, and that was why he was so ecstatic to be going on a school trip to Europe this summer. He needed time away from New York, where things were perpetually going wrong. He needed a break from the suit, from the world. For a brief month, he wanted to be the boy he once was, the boy he tried to be when he wasn't wearing the mask: normal, a nobody, invisible.

   His plan was simple. Go on vacation, relax, have a great month with his friends (and remind Ned that he didn't want to be an "American bachelor in Europe"), start feeling like himself again. Then, he would find Riley, give her a gift he picked up along the way (maybe something made from glass in Venice), and they would rekindle things between them, whatever that meant. He wasn't sure yet. He barely understood what a "break" meant. But he had a whole month to figure out the little details.

   This month, everything would change, and Peter couldn't wait.

○ ○ ○

   There were many times in Riley's life where she wanted to scoop out Nick Fury's good eye with a rusty spoon, between events of nearly excluding her from the Avengers Initiative, throwing her to the sharks before she could form intellectual sentences, and pairing her up with the ruthless Black Widow. And despite growing a little older, a little wiser, and not much taller, that incessant urge had yet to die.

   Reuniting with him last night for the first time since the wedding wasn't pleasant, but it was exactly what Riley was anticipating.

   "Nice of you to show up, Stark. You really know how to waste a man's time," Fury had said. He hardly blinked when she magically materialized in their undercover base, simply sifting through the files in his hand. "If I'd known you have a secretary these days, I would've called him first!"

   "I've been busy." Riley nodded to Maria Hill, who copied the unspoken greeting. Hill was standing near a man in a strange suit, metallic with gold, green sleeves, and a burgundy cape. He seemed familiar, but Riley had seen plenty of faces before. Too many to count. If she didn't know his name, he probably wasn't important at the time.

   Though his costume snagged her curiosity. Maybe he was new to the hero gig.

   "Oh, believe me, I know. Sorry you had to cancel your cover on the Teen Vogue magazine to come save the world again," Fury remarked. "So kind of you to fit us into your tight schedule. I thought I raised you to be punctual."

   "You raised me to be unpredictable," Riley said. Fury finally looked back at her. Stone-faced as always, he hadn't changed much, though something about him seemed different. It wasn't his face or body language. It was in his voice, his inflections, his pattern of speaking. Maybe it'd just been a while since they worked together.

   "Seems I have," Fury said, surprisingly pleased with her answer. "I could part with your pet alien, but... Where's the bug?"

   "Excuse me?"

   "You're a team now, are you not?" he sharply said. "I told Roman I needed you and Spider-Man."

   Riley remained calm, holding a finger to her ear. "I'm sorry, say that again? You need me?" Fury didn't laugh. "We aren't a team. He's busy, safe at home."

   "Aw. Hear that Hill? He's safe at home."

   "I'm serious, Fury. We don't need him. He's already helped save the world before, he's out of business. Leave him out of this," Riley demanded, this time more firmly. "Speaking of, fill me in. Why's the world ending this time?"

   "I guess that's my cue." The caped man stepped forward. Under the fluorescents, his face was kind, eyes blue like the deep sea. "My name is Quentin Beck. It's an honor. I've heard a lot about you. They have plenty of stories about you around here. The children on my planet would have admired someone with your courage."

   They shook hands with a firm grip. "Good things, I hope," Riley said. "What planet are you from?"

   "Earth."

   She blinked. "I'm confused."

   Beck chuckled. "I'm from an alternate reality, hence a different Earth. I was told you have a little bit of background knowledge regarding the multiverse?"

   Riley perked up. "Yeah, of course. We utilized what little we know about the multiverse theory to invent time travel last year. But alternate realities are a further step away from alternate timelines. What you're referring to is a parallel dimension. Am I getting that right?"

   "Spot on," Beck praised. "In my dimension, my planet was destroyed by beings we referred to as Elementals, creatures composed of the primary elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The Science Division said they were born in stable orbits within black holes. We've been at war with them for... for years. In the end, they won." He twisted the wedding ring around his finger remorsefully. "They wiped out everything. I barely managed to flee with my life, but the past has a strange way of following us."

   Riley's face fell. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm sorry."

   Beck shook his head, forcing a small smile. "All I hope is that we can stop them before this Earth faces the same fate as my home. Fury found me when I was hunting down the Earth Elemental in Mexico. We decided to team up. I asked Fury to recruit his best men, and he insisted you're one of the best soldiers this planet knows."

   "Okay, it wasn't like that—" Fury tried to say, but Hill cut him off with, "Yes, it was."

   Riley stood taller after that. "So, we have three left?"

   "Two. We tracked the Air Elemental Cyclone to Morocco. It was no easy feat, so I'm glad you're here to help now," Beck corrected. "All that remains is water and fire. Those two, they're tough. You have to understand, these things have killed millions. The chances of them killing either one of us—"

   "Death stopped being scary to me a long time ago. The safety of this planet, that's what matters," Riley said. "What's the plan?"

   The next thing she knew, she was lounging near the canals in Venice, Italy, awaiting the emergence of the Water Elemental. If you squinted, you could see her sitting atop a bell tower, adorned in her new and improved suit, wondering how much trouble she'd get in if she rang it.

   She thought coming to Europe would immediately ameliorate her mood, all things considered. Summertime was here, the sun was shining on her face. She hadn't been able to travel out of the country much, between the Blip and visiting Pietro's memorial in Sokovia from time to time (unless traveling into outer space a few times counts).

   But of course, she was immediately thrown into the thick of it. Riley didn't know why she thought this time would be any different. When was the last time she went sightseeing in her entire life?

   At least Beck seemed nice. Nice enough. He was easy to talk to and plan with. He listened and shared everything he could think of. Every so often, they broke into tangents about the multiverse, which Riley made a mental note to relay back to Tony when she returned home. Beck had no secrets to bear, only hope for a better future, and as nice as that sounded, Riley didn't trust people with nothing to hide.

   She couldn't stop thinking about Beck's past. Facing intergalactic villains... Watching everyone you've ever known and loved get killed... Fleeing at the last minute, only for the bad guy to return... His story reminded her a little too much of Roman's.

   Then again, the multiverse was something they knew nearly nothing about. Beck could be telling the truth. Fury seemed to trust him enough to work with him, but that was the thing about Fury. He compartmentalized his secrets. He once told Riley that nobody spills the secrets because no one knows them all. No one but him.

   That was something she always kept close to her. Because it meant there would always be something Fury knew that Riley didn't, and that "something" could include Beck. She wouldn't know until Fury wanted her to know. That was how he worked, and that was how he raised her to think. Fury was the one who taught her the costs of the world she was thrust into all those years ago, even if she didn't know it at the time.

   "You ready for this, Riley?" Beck asked through her comm.

   Riley hummed. "How hard of a punch can water throw anyway?"

   It was a surprise to hear Beck's quiet laughter. She was so used to everyone groaning or scolding her over her comments. "That's the spirit. I know it's not easy asking you to play defense here, but Hydro-Man's powers could easily sweep the people into the canals. If you stay close to his range, we have a good chance of keeping him isolated. With the two of us, it'll be easy to distract him, too."

   "Got it. Side note, who thought it was a good idea to name him Hydro-Man?"

   "Huh. I said the same thing."

   As if on cue, the water began to rumble. JOCASTA didn't need to report increased levels of seismic activity. Even from the height of the bell tower, Riley could see it crystal clear. The water of the canals bubbled and gurgled, swirling in rotation so violently that the ground began to tremble. Riley was already flying forward before the first BOOM!

   Geysers shot skyward. Colossal waves stretched out, thrashing against the canals and the screaming people. Forcefields scooped the gondolas onto the drenched cobblestone, allowing those in them to flee with a higher chance at survival. When Riley looked up to see the Elemental that had finally formed, her jaw fell.

   A titan of water raised itself from the canal, its face lined with white foam, hollow eyes fixed on the buildings it was punching with its fists. They didn't stand a chance, toppling beneath the pressure. It was huge. The Elemental could probably swallow the nation in two gulps.

   Riley was so focused on evacuating the city and putting barriers between it and the monster behind her that she didn't realize until it was too late: the only thing left unprotected was her. As she turned, the Elemental soared toward her, bringing its forearms down, sending a massive surge of water toward her place in the sky.

   Her body slammed against the debris, and now, Riley had an answer to her question. Water could punch hard.

   Groaning, Riley stumbled to her feet. She used her forcefields to push the debris aside, carving out a clearer path of escape. Civilians rushed ahead, each one passing with a new shout about how Valor was here to save the day. As she was about to jump back into the action, she took one last look at the people in case anyone was stuck under the rubble, only to falter as a face caught her eye.

   No... That was impossible.

    Riley blinked furiously, shaking her head like it could clear her vision. But he was right there. Dark eyes, dark hair. That look of mischief, like you could see the gears in his head rotating. He looked like something out of a dream she once had.

   Hesitant, Riley called, "Rob?"

   As if hearing her, Rob O'Dair's lips flickered into a smile. He turned with the crowd, letting it sweep him away.

   "STOP!" Riley shouted, beginning to push forward. It looked ridiculous, an Avenger running from a fight. But they didn't know. No one here knew. How could they? There were so many villains in this world. How could they notice one casually roaming the streets, especially when he was supposed to be locked away in the RAFT?

   She would know his face anywhere. She would know it blind. She spent years memorizing it. Every curve, every point. She couldn't mistake it for anyone in the world.

   "ROB!" Riley screamed, but she blinked, and he was gone into the shadows of daylight.

   Fear pumped through her. He was right there. She saw him. She saw those beady eyes, that tempting smirk on his face. She saw the swirl of darkness that slipped away before she could attack with her light.

   Riley couldn't breathe. When did he flee the RAFT? Was he stalking her again, watching her every move, making a business out of learning her secrets? How long had he been following her? Why didn't anyone notify her that he was missing from the RAFT? How the fuck was Rob O'Dair in Venice?

   The shouts of the people pulled her back to reality. She couldn't keep standing around, no matter how aggressively her heart was pounding in her chest.

   She kept trying to stretch the distance between the Elemental and the people, but she couldn't focus. Every time she raised a forcefield, it was too late. Buildings were falling apart, the bell tower collapsed. She could barely save the people before they got sucked into the canals.

  Why now? Why did he have to show his face here? Why, why, why?

   "I NEED YOU HERE, RILEY!" Beck shouted.

   Riley flew after Beck as he chased the Elemental, trying to corner it. This was the first time she was seeing him use his powers. Some form of energy manipulation. They came from his hands in a cloud of green, allowing him to use shields, fly, and make someone regret standing in his range of fire. He wore a mysterious bowl around his head, concealing his features.

   Riley fired at the Elemental, putting all of her fear into her energy output, but Beck stopped her before she could really show the turmoil running through her.

   "I have an idea!" Beck revealed. "But when I finish him, it's going to bring a tidal wave onto the city. I need you to contain it—"

   "Okay, I got it! Just do it!"

   She flew close to him, watching how he raised his hands. Two triangles of energy floated between him and the Elemental, taking each fist. Riley could see his plan now. He was going to rip it in half.

   Beck tugged and pulled, and at the last second, before the Elemental could break free, it split. The water sprayed in another explosion. The two heroes landed before Riley could raise her forcefield. She planted her feet by the fallen bell tower, holding her breath as she balled the water into her shield and gently released it back into the canal.

   Cheers burst across the city as the public realized the crisis was over. Riley would have taken a moment to relish in it, the feeling of success. Instead, she buried her face in her hands, sighing miserably. All she could think about was Rob.

   Had she hit her head back there? Maybe that man was just someone who looked like her sociopathic father? But the more she questioned it, the more certain she was. Rob was back, alive, free. And no one bothered to tell her.

   Riley went to reunite with Beck, hoping to explain why she hadn't performed as well as she usually did, only to realize she was standing on something. She squinted, looking a little more carefully. Was that... a web?

   "Riley?"

   Riley quickly pivoted. A mist of rainbows from her light colliding with the water shifted with her movement, clouding around her. Standing before her, soaked from head-to-toe, web-shooters strapped to his wrists, was none other than Peter Parker.

   On any other occasion, she would have been excited to see him. "What...? What the hell are you doing here?" Riley demanded, ignoring the urge to run into his arms and beg for forgiveness.

   He looked as taken aback as she did, eyes wide, chest heaving. "I... Um, I..." There was a small container in his hands, but he moved it behind his back when she glanced down at it. "I'm on vacation. School trip. What, what about you?"

   "O-Oh. That makes sense." Riley swallowed hard. "Uh, saving the world again, I guess."

   "Makes sense," Peter returned. He ran a self-conscious hand through his curls. "Who was that guy you were fighting with? The floating fishbowl dude? What was that water thing—?"

   Riley ignored him, panicked alarms blaring through her mind. "Were you trying to help us just now? Your identity—"

   "No one saw me."

   "You're sure?"

   "Positive."

   Riley stiffly nodded. "Okay. Okay. Good. Well, I should... uh, you know, I should... go. I hope we didn't ruin your trip or anything. You deserve a... mostly normal vacation."

   "Nah, you're okay. You're fine. I gotta... go, too, actually," Peter stammered. "Um, if you need anything... I, uh... Be careful?"

   To her surprise, Riley smiled, and when she did, she could see Peter's eyes soften. "I'll consider it," she gently said.

   Stepping away, Riley joined Beck as he waited for her, and they flew off, riding the waves of the grateful cheers of the people. She knew she shouldn't have, but she looked back before the people faded in the distance, catching Peter staring up at her with that twinkle of awe she missed so much.

   And for a minute, just one minute, all of her troubles faded away, and all she could think was how nice it was to see Peter again.

   But the shadows of yesterday nipped at her ankles, and Riley knew, no matter what, this feeling wasn't made to last.