Chapter 11

It was already deep evening when I finished my walk with Laura. After my monologue, she was silent for a while, and then began to ask questions. Moreover, they are quite correct, as for a child of her age. I couldn't answer everything, for her own good, of course, because sometimes it's better to have pink glasses and some naivety in life, because it's much more interesting and happier to live with them. At their age, you should not think about the problems of adults, the universe and the universe. So, we finished our conversation just a couple of minutes ago, I took the girl to the room and went towards another room, namely Petra.

"Trig," Logan finally showed up, who had been hovering by the stairs for about a minute. "There is a conversation," he said with some anger and irritation.

"I have some things to do, so let's make it quick, okay?" I replied mildly, because I saw that our plan had started to work.

- You... I was talking to Laura," he began. - For a long time and on various topics that I would like to discuss with her myself, without your intervention. Do we understand each other? Howlett said with some emphasis in his voice.

"I don't see a problem," I shrugged. - We discussed only what is contained in the circle of interests between the teacher and the student. First of all, I want to convey to her the knowledge of subjects, views on life and her own thoughts, she will form herself, without our intervention," I highlighted the main thing. - The maximum that we can do is to give advice, as adults, as the last generation of people who have already grown up and what they have already understood in this life. And, James, you should be involved in this, too," I patted the guy on the shoulder and walked on, under Logan's dumbfounded gaze.

"I'm already involved," he shrugged in annoyance. - As a father, I have to take care of her safety. This is the first thing I have to do in such a situation, education and knowledge can be passed on later.

- Here I disagree, - I am surprised by the stubbornness of this man, who does not see the full picture. - Upbringing was one of the most important moments in her childhood, from the age of five, and knowledge can be given from three. But yes, there is a catch, not all children want to do this at this age, but knowing the conditions in which Laura lived, then everything was completely different," I sighed. - Yes, and Xavier assured me that this place is the safest for all mutants, and you still think about safety in the safest place? Don't you think this is stupid and just an excuse for your own narrow-mindedness?

"I'm not interested in your moralizing," he growled, most likely missing most of my words. - I know better how to raise my own daughter, and now go to hell. And remember, you go up to her again and I'm not responsible for myself," Logan nudged me with his shoulder and left.

I don't even know how to call such behavior other than childish. It's like a little child who has his favorite toy taken away from him, but only shows his teeth more strongly at advice, like a real animal. People...

"Okay, my thoughts won't change anything," I shook my head and walked on. After a while, I knocked on the girl's door. Of course, there was some chance that Petra went to bed, but to be honest, it's hard to believe.

- Trig? I already thought that I wouldn't be able to work today," Parker's surprised face looked out of the door.

- yes... I'm sorry, I talked a little and didn't notice how the evening came," I said with an awkward smile. - If you are free, then we can continue my preparations.

- Yes, of course I'm free! The girl shouted joyfully, opening the door completely. - Anna, I'm sorry, it won't work today, - turning back, Petra turned to her friend.

"Nothing, I understand," Anna-Maria said with a soft smile and got out of bed and went to the door. "Hello, Mr. Trigg," she nodded at me and hurried out of the room.

"I think she's avoiding me," I said, laying out my own thoughts that have been gnawing at me for some time. I perfectly remembered our first meeting with this girl and from that moment, I closely watched everything that was happening at school and in principle... Everything was fine here. I did not notice the oppressive or oppressive atmosphere, the atmosphere in this mansion was light and quite... Joyful? Anna, apparently, is winding herself up too much, though I didn't find out why. I wasn't going to ask Charles, I wanted to find out from the source, but she avoided me in every possible way. After the incident when I almost touched her, she started running away from me. Her first thought was that she was just afraid of men, you never know what was going on at her house. Maybe she was bullied by classmates in the past or some other mental problems. This theory was also hinted at by the permanent gloves on her hands, which completely clung to her palms. But these thoughts quickly collapsed, she communicated with her classmates here normally, was not afraid, and sometimes even touched with gloved hands. In general, there were a lot of oddities.

"Well," Petra drawled. - It's not really about you, but I can't tell you the reason either. Anna asked me," the girl answered my dumb question. - I'm sorry, the topic of her abilities worries her very much, so she won't just talk about it. It takes time," she shrugged, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

- hm... It's clear. Time, so time, - in any case, I was not going to put pressure on the girl to find out something, even if it would be more effective, but I did not want to do it. Probably, it would have been just nicer for me that the girl trusted me and decided to tell me about this personally, and not in the way I would have heard from the outside. I'd get lost because of that... the piquancy of the situation. Because I am trusted, I feel some satisfaction. - And now let's go and, by the way... Did you forget to give anything back? I said with a small smile, giving her my hand.

- And? ... - the girl thought for a second, making some kind of incomprehensible squeak, and then her face flushed red. - Oh, I'm sorry, I was too excited then and took the web shooter without a second thought, - fumbling in her pocket, the girl put her own invention in my hand, which was only slightly corrected by me.

"I see," I said, tousling her hair. - We'll just finish early, you still have classes tomorrow morning, - I immediately changed my tone to a tougher one, I continued.

"Good~," the girl drawled contentedly, despite my words. - Then what are we waiting for!? Go ahead! - raising her voice a little, Petra said happily.

- Don't run... eh, it won't help anyway, - I interrupted my sentence, because Parker galloped down the stairs. Well, at least the work will be much easier than yesterday, because the creator of this invention will be with me...

***

- And... it's done! The girl shouted joyfully, raising her hands up, holding three more web shooters in them. Let's just say I didn't regret taking a little more metal with me than I needed. There were also quite a few cobwebs, fifty cartridges. To make the work go faster, we split up and the girl made new web shooters, and I made a web.

- Not bad, - I sedately agreed with the girl, picking up a small box filled with cartridges. - Four in the morning... I said, looking at my watch.

"We've been working a little hard," Petra giggled, throwing the web shooters into my box. - Well, I can stay awake for more than three days and stay awake! And you... Are you sleeping at all?

- Rarely, - but aptly. Sleep is the last thing I want to do right now. I can lose too much time... - I control my own body to the fullest, so I can always keep awake - of course, this can also be considered true, because I have full control over my body. I can grow at least six arms and it will all look organic, as if I was born that way.

- Oh... The girl was slightly embarrassed, painting her face red. What was she even thinking about? Or is it... Hmm, hormones? Well, that's right, teenage girls. Hormones are hitting my head hard enough, especially if you remember what happened in the morning when I heard... a couple of interesting suggestions from her friends. Maybe they were joking, of course, but I just didn't understand it. He is still too poorly socialized.

- Well, let's go, - stroking the girl on the head, I went to the corridor that led to the elevator.

- Ah!? Where to? - as if waking up from a dream, the girl immediately caught up with me and now we were walking together.

- You're not going to sleep anyway, as I understand it, but knowing you... It's easier to go to the city with you and try out these toys. You never know what might happen," I shrugged.

- Oh, oh, oh... Parker drawled pointedly. "Admit it, you just want to fly yourself," she said, laughing, excitedly poking me in the side with her elbow.

"Hmm," I smiled slightly. Girl... I don't need these things to fly, but okay. In any case, it doesn't make sense to open up just like that. If they ask, I will answer, and since everyone is silent, it makes sense to change something. - So be it. And by the way, you mentioned this afternoon that you've already been here and managed to work on something. And... if it's not a secret, then what were you doing?

"Well..." Petra drawled, thinking seriously for a couple of minutes as we walked to the elevator. - It was, in general, related to my abilities. Do you know how I got here in the first place? - in response, I just waved my head negatively, pressing the elevator button. - A couple of years ago, during a school trip to the main building of Oscorp, I was bitten by a radioactive spider... I've changed, in general. At school, I was quiet and, one might say, even a nerd," Parker said with a bitter smile as she entered the elevator. - I was still wearing glasses at the time and was the object of all kinds of bullying. Well, I think you know that if you wear glasses at school, then you are automatically enrolled in a club of nerds and all sorts of nerds. To be honest, I don't like to think about my last school because of this. So that's what I was leading up to. Professor Xavier was very interested in the way I obtained this power, because I am not a mutant in principle. And I also wanted to understand why and how, so I agreed and helped him. The result was that my genetic code was changed even before the bite, most likely even before birth. My parents were well-known scientists on the topic of genetics and it seems that they set up various experiments on themselves, which eventually affected the fetus. But the most interesting thing is this - was the spider bite accidental? It seemed strange enough to me that it was me who was bitten and it was my body that adapted and adopted some abilities after that.

- Hmm... do you think someone decided to conduct an experiment on you?

- There were such thoughts, but to be honest, they scare me and wind me up even more, - Petra said with a shudder.

"So don't think about it, and I'll try to find out," I said encouragingly, smiling and stroking the girl's head. Oscorp, then. Well, let's check it out.

- But you know, even if it was an experiment on me, I still don't regret it all! My uncle told me that with greater power comes greater responsibility. At first I was... playing. Well, like a little girl who got an interesting toy, and then accepted everything... a serious turnaround. I didn't think to take his words seriously. But after ... - at this point, the girl's voice trembled and she continued to speak in a hoarse voice. - My uncle died because of my mistake. It was early in the morning, it was raining heavily, and I asked my uncle to wait in the car while I went to the grocery store. To me... there was not enough money and the seller refused to sell the product, even part of it. And then a robber runs in, demands money, poking a gun in his face, and I just... She stood there. And I was watching with someone... gloating. I don't know exactly how I felt then, but that robber looked at me, grinned and threw a bottle of milk. The milk that I didn't have enough for and then ran away. I quickly packed up and ran away, leaving the money I had. I don't know what exactly I was thinking at the time. But when he returned back to his uncle, that robber shot him in the stomach and hurriedly drove away in our car - do I feel sorry for her? No. I haven't felt sorry for anyone for ages, and there are always fates much worse than simple death or mental trauma. Immortality is much worse. You can't die, but existence doesn't bring any pleasure either. You are looking for a way to entertain yourself, to dispel boredom and loneliness. I feel much more alive now than before. At least something is going on here.

- ... - without saying anything, I just patted the girl on the head and the elevator immediately stopped for a couple of seconds and the doors opened.

***

New York in the evening was not bad, the streets were lighted up, and the skyscrapers literally glowed from the inside, but it was only a reflection of the lanterns in the windows. Petra and I set off on foot to the city center, but we walked fast enough and within half an hour we were on the roof of a building in the center. It would probably be worth taking care of a car to take students on vacation to the city. Although, as far as I know, we have a small bus here that can be picked up for all sorts of trips or shopping trips. Hmm... I think we will need it in the future.

"I like to sit like this in the evenings," Parker said in a whisper. "Looking at the city in this way, you realize how small you really are in it.

"Do you do this often?" I casually raised an eyebrow, as if hinting that I was her teacher.

— well... Hehe, every night. But in my defense, I'll say the same thing tonight! I can sleep for about three days and be awake! Well, almost. As it is, four hours a day is enough for me to get enough sleep.

"Hmm," I chuckled softly to myself. - Don't worry, we already know all about it. And you're not the only one who does it. In any case, we are not too worried about this, first of all, you are in an educational institution, not in prison or college, and you can manage your free time as you want. Unless, of course, it interferes with my studies," I said with a sly look.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that there is an agent network among the teachers," Petra jokingly said.

- Apparently, it's time to change the strategy. The girl looked at me blankly. "You're the third one who's figured out our secret," my voice was deadly serious, Parker even hovered a little, peering into my face, wondering if she should laugh or start being afraid of the entire teaching staff. But when she noticed that my lips were smiling at the corners, the girl giggled into her fist.

- Damn it! I almost believed it! She laughed. "You had such an impenetrable face!"

"I guess," I smiled in response to her laughter. - And now, let's take a test flight, - I said, rising from the ledge on which we had been sitting and talking all this time.

- Uh-huh! - the girl nodded vigorously, getting up at the same time as me. - You just keep up! - the girl winked at me playfully, stretching her hand forward and shooting a web, catching on the building and flying away from me towards the skyscrapers. I followed her movements, going right after her.

The flight was somewhat sobering, helping to collect a lot of thoughts. My first thought was Laura. I could only vaguely imagine what to do next, the main thing was simple communication. Logan has already taken care of the whole situation, but does not understand what he needs to do. He's trying to scare me away with his aggression to protect my daughter from the imaginary dangers that I can bring. But you can also understand James, he has a lot of animal traits and instincts, he feels danger and tries to shield the girl from it.

- Let's go to the high-rise! Petra shouted to me and changing course, she landed on the roof, sitting down on the ledge, cheerfully tapping her legs. "I love flying under the night sky," Parker sighed blissfully, raising her arms and arching like a cat.

- yes... but there are places much more beautiful," I raised my eyes to the sky, peering at the stars in the sky.

"And what are they?" - the girl said with interest.

- Other planets, stars, even galaxies. Entire interstellar clouds of energy can fly through space. They can shimmer in different colors..." I stopped, remembering these feelings when I first saw something like this.

"I didn't know you were into astronomy," Petra chuckled, but she also raised her head to the stars. - I would like to see our planet from the outside personally, and many other things too.

- Perhaps in the future I will show you all this - when someone shares hobbies with you, then you want to show this person everything that you have seen and see his reaction.

- I wonder how you will do it? You can't fly," Petra said mockingly, and I just chuckled softly.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," I smiled slightly.

- So tell me! The girl shouted excitedly. I didn't quite understand how to answer such questions. I just don't see the point in talking about my abilities and powers, either they won't believe me, or they'll call me a braggart. Both of them completely displease me.

- There is nothing to tell, he existed, studied, collected knowledge, and then began to pass it on to the next generation - this, in principle, is not a lie, but not the whole truth. If we talk about Ivan's past, there were a lot more interesting things there, but I stopped classifying myself with him a long time ago, he is now like a separate being for me. We are too different.

- Somehow... It's dry," Petra said, somewhat offended. - It can't be that there haven't been any happy moments in my whole life, there must be at least something! Everyday life at school, university, gatherings with family, conversations with ... beloved, - the girl finished the last part in a whisper.

- With your family, right? I said, and the relics of the past began to play in my memory, as I began to teach my daughters. They were small and stupid, but super-powerful dragons, capable only of destroying several systems at will. It was... Good. Nice. I can even feel it now... some form of happiness. I didn't think about it then, it was just a chance to share my loneliness with someone else, and also transfer a lot of knowledge into someone's heads. I was glad that I just turned out to be useful to someone. - Maybe there was something.

- You see! You have to look for advantages everywhere," Petra quickly regained her composure, and I smiled slightly and stroked the girl's head.

"Thank you, Petra," Parker was slightly surprised when she felt my hand on her hair, but when she turned and saw my soft smile, she returned it to me, leaning confidentially on me. I hugged her and stared at the sky. After these words, there was a short silence, but I knew what I had to say. Now, perhaps it would be too harsh and radical, but I feel the girl's fear, which is too strong for her, which needs to be let go. - That robber... Did you kill him? - my words dispelled all the silence and some comfort of the moment, the girl instantly tensed and tried to break the embrace, but I did not let it happen. She needs to talk it out. I can feel it.

- Yes ... or not. I ... don't know, - Petra trembled and realizing the senselessness of her actions, only pressed herself more tightly into me, as if into the only support, a fortress that will never collapse. - Everything happened too fast. I... wanted revenge. I searched for him for more than a month, stopped more and more criminals, until finally he showed himself. After robbing a store or bank, a police chase began after him. I bought a radio then and listened to the police frequencies literally twenty-four by seven, and as soon as I heard about it, I immediately went. On the way, he crashed into some kind of car and tried to hide in an abandoned house. I... wanted to kill him," sobbing softly, she only clutched my shoulder with trembling hands and tears poured down her childish face. - I stopped at the last moment, then something clicked in me and I realized that revenge would not solve everything. But it was too late. The robber stumbled and fell out the window behind him, and I just stared at his sprawled body. It didn't get better with his death, as I had hoped in my heart, it just got worse. It didn't bring my uncle back, and the guilt only consumed me more. Constant nightmares and thoughts that I took someone's life almost broke me," she pulled back slightly to look at me. - But... I decided to take a responsible step for myself. I decided that I would not let this happen to anyone else again. That's why I started constantly listening to police frequencies, helping to deal with crime, I became spider-man," there was an iron and indestructible determination in her gaze, so strong that she was ready to tear the heavens apart. There is an incredibly strong will in such a little girl, which did not allow her to give up.

"You're doing great, Petra," I said, running my fingers along the tracks of tears on her face. I just physically felt that she needed to be praised, given some confidence, which she lacks so much. In a word, to help. - Even the Gods can envy your steadfastness, not many people dare to fight their fears, and not go along with them, - I have seen enough fears that only dig deeper into the minds of creatures, like poison. Fear makes them do absolutely terrible things. People are afraid of mutants, they cannot understand them and this makes them want to destroy them. So that the fear goes away with them. But can this be called a solution to the problem? Yes, you can. If you look only from one side. But that people, that mutants, are fully conscious beings, reasonable in their actions and judgments, means there is a chance to come to an agreement. Even with a beast, you can negotiate. "But that doesn't mean you have to deal with everything alone. You have your friends who you can trust, teachers who are ready to share advice, as well as your family. It's time to take this heavy load off your shoulders," I put my hands on her head and pressed her to my chest. I didn't use any abilities right now, just my own thoughts. Petra helped me realize that my past is not so empty, just as I will help her. You can't let go of your fears, but you can fight them. And she won't be alone in this case.

We chatted with Petra for about two more hours, discussed a lot, shared different experiences from our lives, although I was the one who spoke most of everything. Perhaps she already guesses something, she is not a stupid girl and it is quite easy to connect two and two. After all, my stories belong to the genre of fiction, there are too many details, as if I invented it all myself. Nevertheless, it was already beginning to dawn, and I still had to prepare for lessons, and I have had some thoughts for a long time. I've always considered myself... I was a keeper of Knowledge, a living library, and I believed that I would never be able to create anything myself. Such thoughts partially disappeared as soon as I got a large database in my head and now I can roughly imagine how to cure many diseases or come up with some new devices. Ahem, so, the idea was both simple and complex. Create a new metal alloy based on my Indestructible. Indestructible metal is very hard, dense, and most importantly, incredibly heat resistant. Even the explosion of the planet's core could not completely melt it, and there the temperature is more than six thousand degrees. So, it is difficult and long to melt this metal, and to fuse it with others is a matter of a completely different caliber. Is it possible? In theory, yes. But in practice, this still needs to be clarified.

- It's too late, let's get ready slowly, - Petra, who was literally lying on top of me, lifted her head a little and nodded, blissfully closing her eyes. As I managed to understand, she is a very affectionate girl, she likes physical contact, by type, hugging, stroking and more. She feels comfortable in my arms, and I personally had nothing against it.

- Wait, - Petra immediately got out of my arms, which I did not feel and stared seriously at the alley, a couple of blocks away, which was visible from our height very well. - Did you hear that? She quickly looked at me, but I just nodded. There was a small scream from the girl, literally on the verge of hearing for an ordinary person.

- Go, I'll cover you, - I waved my hand and smiled gratefully, she jumped down. Be a hero? Mmm, no, I don't want to. But to help your student? With pleasure. She taught me a lot today, perhaps the main thing can be called acceptance. I believed that there was nothing important in my past, just a stupid and unjustified existence, without meaning, logic and life itself. But now... She showed me that I already felt something like that back then, I just didn't understand it. I didn't remember. I didn't take it as something important to me. Some form of happiness, pride and joy for their little dragons. They made a lot of mistakes while learning from me. I scolded them, encouraged them, and always helped them. Was it really all because of loneliness? No, I already considered them my family back then, I just didn't understand it. I didn't understand the feelings that surrounded me, but now...

There was a small group of guys in the alley, most likely just bandits or scumbags, four people, three of whom were getting punched in the face. The fourth tried to load the revolver and loaded bullet after bullet with trembling hands. I shot a spider web into the handle, at the same time tying the guy's hands, and then tied him behind a lamppost. After coming down, Petra had just finished with the trio who were now lying and moaning, holding onto sore spots.

- It's done, isn't it? Petra smiled happily at me. The drum clicked, the bandit was able to align the barrel in such an awkward position and shoot towards Parker's head, but I reacted instantly, caught the bullet in her face, and then sent it back into the gun, which did not take it so well and exploded. "Wh-what was that?" Petra asked, turning pale.

"Nothing," I smiled slightly, stroking her head and went towards the victim, who was a young girl. - Are you okay? I asked, giving her my hand. The platinum blonde with green hair, who was lying on the ground somewhat scared, looked quite surprised by such a rescue. Hesitantly accepting my hand, I pulled her up to me, putting her on her feet.

- Yes, yes, I'm fine. Thank you," she looked gratefully at Petra and me.

- Damn it! I'm not wearing a mask! Parker suddenly exclaimed, apparently forgetting about the absence of her usual wardrobe.

"I should have thought earlier," I shrugged. "And I don't think this girl is going to turn you in to the police," I said with a grin.

"Haha," the platinum blonde laughed lightly. - No, really, thank you. I just don't know how to pay for your rescue.

- No, no, no! Petra immediately exclaimed, jumping up to the girl and starting to shake her shoulders. - Your gratitude is enough for me! Now, it's time for us to go, right, Trig? - releasing the stunned blonde, Parker was already next to me.

- Hmm, yes. Come on, Petra. Good luck to you," I waved that hand, and Parker repeated exactly the same thing. The blonde waved uncertainly after us, and then stared at the guys who were lying around her.

- It went well, boys... I didn't even have to lift a finger," the blonde smiled slyly as soon as she stopped hearing our footsteps. I just took us behind an alley and hid our presence, first covering Petra's mouth with my palm so that she wouldn't say anything. I didn't like her initially, I just wanted to check her honesty. - Thanks for the help! - she drawled contentedly, humming softly to herself, picking up the guys' small bags and leaving from the other side of the alley.

- She?.. Petra asked a dumb question as soon as I took my hand away, speaking uncertainly and at the same time looking at me dumbfounded.

"A criminal," I chuckled to myself. - Come on, we have nothing to do here, - platinum blonde with green eyes... Well, I remember your smell of fear, I hope you will not pose a danger and interfere with my students. Apparently, there are enough such criminals in the world.