Chapter Text
“Dad”
“Just one picture please”
May was in no rush to leave but when you’re freshly 18, starting college in a brand new city with bright eyes and a will to live, standing at the front door of your new house and taking first day of college pictures you'd also want to be anywhere else.
“Fine. Just one”
“Thank you dayday”
Dayday, the only person in the world who could ever utter that name to her. Her dad, Malcolm Jones “MJ” Wilson and yes sometimes you do have to say his whole name, is a first year professor at NYU and universally loved.
I mean you would be too if you discovered Vibranium.
May grabbed her backpack, heavy with everything she thinks she needs for her first day. Pencils, pens, notebooks, her laptop, snacks, waterbottle, IPad, chargers– the list goes on.
“Okay now pose in front of the stairs.” She does as he says, giving the camera a blank stare. MJ raises his phone up but quickly puts it down upon seeing her blank face. “Dayday, smile” She rolls her eyes and smiles without her teeth. Her dad grits his teeth and gives her the look. “With teeth May”
“Ughhhhhh”
She gives in, with the brightest smile she could muster up. What he doesn’t know is that smile hurts. Bad.
May Daysha Wilson was bit by a radioactive spider in her fathers lab in Wakanda two years ago. Since then she’s been developing these powers quietly. Her powers are similar to Spiderman's except hers are far more advanced than she can imagine or even handle. She still doesn’t know skills like how to distribute her strength or absorb energy in combat. So last night when probably the largest man she’s ever seen threw a nasty right hook to her jaw, she felt every inch of it. Still does.
“Aw, my precious angel. You’re so beautiful” She gave him a soft smile. Her dad was always so loving towards her and did everything in his power to protect and love May endlessly. Which is why he didn’t know her secret and she needs to keep it that way.
“Thank you dad” MJ smiled as he stared at the photo on his screen. He can’t believe his baby, his little May, is starting college. He remembers when she was just born, so small and so fragile. Now, she’s this grown woman with a purpose and a life and college-
“Dad are you crying?”
Oh.
He didn’t realize he had tears running down his cheeks. He finally looked up, smiling through his tears and finally making eye contact with May who immediately melted.
“Aw you’re such a baby” She pulls him into a hug, sniffles filling her hair and her eyes burning just a little. They’re both a little too empathetic for their own good but it works for who they are. May pulls away first and wipes the remaining tears from MJs face. “Can we go to school now, please?” MJ smiles back at her with nostalgia laced in his eyes. “Of course, let me just grab my bag.”
-
May thought that being an exception was better than being the rule. She quickly found out that her and her dad had become an example. New York roads are not meant for driving, that’s why there’s a subway system. Regular civilians should never be trying to drive into the city at 8am or at all for that matter. “Dad, I feel like I could just walk and make it. It’s 8:17 and we’re still 20 minutes away.” MJ glanced at the time on the dash, the soft sounds of Boyz II Men playing on the stereo. May had class at 8:30 and MJs first class wasn’t until 10. He groaned, not wanting to send his baby into the busy streets of New York all alone but he knew she wasn’t going to budge especially when a first impression is at stake. “Just go, please text me when you get inside of your classroom” May jumped in excitement and gave her a dad a quick hug before jumping out of the stopped car and running through traffic and around the block.
One of her newfound superpowers made her an extremely fast runner. She could reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Of course, when the public is viewing MayDay Wilson, she tends to slow it down a notch. She made it to her school by 8:22, not a drip of sweat on her body. Of all the things she has trained the most for, running was number one. Since she had to keep her identity a secret, she could never practice swinging and would only be able to do it at night far away into the woods of Wakanda. She would run though. Everywhere, anytime she could. She practiced web shooting in her room using darts and household items. Fruits were her number one target practice so her dad thinks she just loves apples.
Campus was big and beautiful and full of life. Students filled every walkway, with so many different stories. A kid on a skateboard with wired headphones listening to what sounds like Chevelle. A group of girls laughing at a picnic table about a video they all watched the night before. A couple, happy to see each other after being away at internships across the country. May could hear it all, every heartbeat, every voice, every soul. It was overwhelming at times but she’s learned to tune it out especially being from such a loud and lively place. This was her new home and she was so excited to find herself here.
-
8:31am.
Class started a minute ago and there was no sign of the Professor. The class was small, only about 19 students inside. May was a perfectionist which caused her to project that onto others sometimes. I mean how could you be late on your fi-
!
Her head snapped toward the door one second before a frantic man barged through it, piercing through the low noise of the classroom. He immediately made eye contact with May both giving the other a confused stare before the professor collided with his desk muttering apologies about a late train and oversleeping. Some students assured his “lateness” was okay but some just stared, including May. There was something off about him and her spider sense was going haywire.
“Again, everyone, I apologize for my lateness. It is completely unlike me to be late like this. I mean one minute come on that's just asking you guys to leave right”
He laughed awkwardly waiting for a response which never came. His eyes flickered to meet Mays who stared blankly back at him. Who is this guy? “Right. Sorry. Okay so, My name is Peter Parker– Professor Peter Parker. Well actually it’s just Professor Parker. Damn.” This got a few laughs out of the students, except May who didn’t budge her blank stare and pure confusion. Who is this guy? “If you didn’t read your schedule this is Photography & Imaging Digital which is paired with Photography & Imagining Analog which are the two classes I teach this semester. So if you’re signed up for both, you’re stuck with me all semester. And if you decide to take The Aesthetic History of Photography in the spring then you must really like me because I also teach that.”
Great. Now May is stuck taking three classes with this mystery man that she can’t seem to gripe about. I mean seriously, who is this guy? And why does she have such a superstition about him? Okay his name is Peter Parker but surely there’s more to him than that and May was gonna spend the rest of the year figuring that out.
Peter Parker on the other hand was scared out of his mind. He was late sure but what frazzled him was not his commute to work or being literally one minute behind, it was the overwhelming sense of fear that struck him as he made eye contact with one of his students. He’s faced space demons, alternate universes, the most dangerous criminals to ever grace the planet yet what he felt right then was something he’d never felt before.
Dread.
He powered through this feeling even though it was consuming him. He had to know who she was, and what that stare meant. What was behind those eyes. She had an innocent look, and seemed like a sweet girl but there was something not normal about her. Not human about her. Was she a villain looking for him? Did she know his real identity? That he’s Spiderman? Was she sent here to kill him? Or worse, she’s just a normal student and he has officially lost it? God this can’t be happening. Not so soon. It’s been years of nonstop moving and fighting and protecting and this was finally a period of time where he just wanted to exist as himself and actually start to live a life away from the fight. Just for the fight to be in his Monday lecture.
Peter pushes through his first lecture, making it a priority for students to interact. He had everyone talk about their summer and show a picture from every event they talked about. This went on the entire class, simply because he doesn’t want anyone to feel excluded. He kept a lingering eye on the student who would already be looking at him when he glanced up. Every single time. It’s like she knew he’d look at her, like she felt it before he could even do the act. Overall she was engaged, all smiles and interacting with the other students. That somehow eased his mind. At least she wasn’t a stone cold killer loner.
Time doesn’t flow when you’re watching over your shoulder the entire time so by the time 9:50 rolled around, it felt like an eternity had passed. It was time to do attendance which Peter opted to do at the very end of class to make sure people stayed and had a chance to come.
“Ester Bennet”
“Here”
“Alfonso Yang”
“Here”
“What a new york name” May thought to herself. She inched a smile at her own thoughts. Professor Parker glanced over at that but her eyes were already on him. He kept looking at her throughout the class, following her every move. He attempted to play it off by staring at other students the same way but she knew he was keeping a close eye on her. It wouldn’t bother her if she didn’t have such an inkling about her Professor. She could sense his moves before he actually did them, which was scaring her to say the least. She had no idea she was able to do that so every time his eye would flicker, she sensed it and knew when it was directed at her versus when it wasn’t. Her own name pulled her out her thoughts.
“May Wilson”
They met eyes and May gave her professor a soft set of eyes for the first time accompanied by a slight hand raise.
“Right here”
-
9:57am.
MJ was a nervous wreck.
Students were flowing into the huge lecture hall. The sounds of their youthful voices filling the space. MJ could barely breathe. He’s met thousands of people, spoke at conferences with far more people than this room filled– hell he’s giving national speeches that have been watched by millions. He has a noble peace prize for fucks sake.
But today was different. It was almost like none of that even mattered. His entire life's work was being put to the test today and the rest of the semester beyond. Teaching students engineering in one semester is like trying to.. teach.. It's like trying to teach.. ENGINEERING!
Ugh.
Normally MJ is pretty relaxed. He takes on any challenge he sees and doesn’t react to things so quickly. However when it comes to stuff he really cares about he doesn’t want to get it wrong or fuck it up in any way. That’s why this was so nerve wracking for him.
9:58am.
The room filled almost instantly and students barely flowed in at this point. He sat behind his desk, attempting to connect the computer to his smartboard. Apparently this school didn’t believe in upgrades or maybe he was just spoiled with Wakandan technology. Either way he couldn’t figure it out and his TA was too busy passing out worksheets to help out. He could call his daughter to help except she isn’t anywhere near him, being that the portion of NYU that he teaches at happens to be all the way in Brooklyn.
9:59am.
Yes!
He finally got it to connect. Thank God. Students have stopped flowing in and there is a soft hum of voices that fill the room. He goes to shut the door as the clock hits 10am and takes a deep breath before starting his lecture.
“Good morning everyone”
He awaits a response that comes immediately. It was a soft response but he didn’t wanna push them just yet. He needed to come off cool so they’d trust him and not hate him instantly. You know this generation can be so quick to judge people.
“My name is Doctor Malcolm Wilson, but you guys can call me Doctor MJ or Professor MJ, either works. Today is the first day of your engineering career. It is a step in the right direction for what it will take for you to reach your goals. I am just a mere stepping stone for that. This class under no circumstances will be easy as engineering is a language within a language but together, as long as you show up and ask questions and continue to be engaged, we will conquer this semester and set you up for success.”
He clicks to the first slide which showcases a picture of him in his white coat as well as some pictures from college and his working years.
“So before we start I want you guys to get to know me-”
A voice interrupts him. “We already know you”
A few students laugh and he just smiles.
“Do you?”
Another student perks up. “You literally invented vibranium”
“Discovered” He quickly corrected. “Same thing! You’re a hero and you’re at NYU.”
Students begin to mummer in agreement. MJ just kept his smile but it didn’t stop him from showcasing his confusion. “You say NYU like it’s a bad thing but you’re all here aren’t you?” It confused him truly why him being here was such a big deal. Sure he discovered a world altering resource that was sought after by life forms from all kinds of dimensions and realities and built suits and armor for the strongest heroes of all time but what does that have to do with him teaching the next generation? Isn’t that what he should be doing?
“Anyway, since you all know me so well. Should I just skip this portion and jump right into the lecture?” He teased. A loud course of no’s and please continue erupted in the room. He smiled back at this. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Okay so it started at MIT when I was 14…”
-
May didn’t think she’d have problems making any friends so when she trotted out of computer science and ran directly into an already frantic individual, she knew this would be her first friend of her college career.
“I am so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” a sorta Canadian accent sounded which caught her entirely off guard. “It’s fine, don't worry. Where’re you headed that fast?”
He glanced at his watch and groaned. “Nowhere, now. I missed my ride.” Perfect for May. “Well If you want I could give you a ride later. If you could wait.” He hesitated for a second scanning her face. She didn’t seem like a threat but why would she help some random guy she just ran into. Weird but he honestly needed it and he didn’t have much money for the subway. “Sure yeah. Thank you so much. My name is Tim by the way”
“May”
“Well it’s nice to meet you May. Where are you headed now?” They shifted to a nearby patch of grass as students began to pour out of the building. “I was thinking of grabbing something to eat. How do you feel about black people?”
“What?”
-
Black people just meant a bodega run by undercover Wakandans. It was a great place for them to keep an eye on both May and MJ, while also working operations out of New York. They had them all over the world and this one just so happened to be near Mays school and the food was incredible.
“MayDay Wilson!” A familiar yet annoying voice rang through the shop. M’Baku stood behind the counter, arms up with a giant smile. “My brother! M”Baku. Long time no see” She went in for a hug and was scooped up and swung around. It’d been a few years since they’d last seen each other.
“I know that’s not who I think it is.” As May was set down she made eyes with her longtime best friend Shuri. “Shuri!” The two ran into an embrace, rocking back and forth. “What are you doing here I thought you were in space” They pulled apart and Shuri gave her a smile. “Finished up early. I wanted to explore the famous big apple all the Americans speak so highly of.”
“It’s a big city that’s for sure.”
Shuri held onto Mays shoulders staring at her fondly. They’ve been best friends since they were children and it was just so good to see one another again. Her eyes diverted past May and onto the white boy standing a few feet behind them.
“Does this white boy belong to you?” May turned around to face Tim who was rocking back and forth with his hands in his pocket. He noticed them looking and gave a cheerful wave. May turned back to her. “No?”
Shuri rolled her eyes and focused back on May, dropping her voice.
“How’s it been?”
Shuri was the only person in the entire world who knew about Mays powers. Simply because if anything were to go down, May trusts she would be able to hold her own against danger. She also makes her suits. “It’s been okay. My senses are constantly going off and the noise here is a lot harder to drown out than back home.” May shrugged it off like it was nothing and not something that literally keeps her up at night. “Have you tried swinging yet?” May rolled her eyes. This is sort of a sensitive topic. “No. I haven’t had the chance to sneak off and do it.” Shuri nodded in understanding and gave her shoulder a pat. “Mm. Now that I'm here I can take a look at your suit. Add some things to it.”
Shuri let go and walked toward the kitchen. “Order whatever you guys want! I’ll have it out.” May smiled fondly to herself because she knew now she wasn’t going to be alone in this new city.
-
“Shuri whoever gets to bounce on it is so lucky”
“You know ‘The food is so good!’ also works”
May had a mouth full of food and God this was the best meal she’s had in a long time. Her dad hasn’t been able to cook as often as he used to with his Professor prep so this is as close as she’ll get to a homecooked meal.
“So you’re from Canada.”
“Yes.”
“And you play hockey?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re gay?”
“What? No. I’m not gay-”
“Oh!”
“Bisexual”
“Oh!”
“Are you?”
“What? Canadian? No. I was born in SoCal”
“Gay.”
“Ohh. I don’t think so. I could be.”
May shrugged. She never thought about it but she could add it to her plate of things to consider. Being Gay. She highly doubts it but who knows. Everyone she encounters seems to be and you know what they say befriend 4 gays become the 5th! They continue to banter and get to know each other over the next hour until a call disrupts a poorly done Michael Jackson impression from May. It’s her dad.
“Who’s calling my phone?”
“Dayday I just finished my last lecture. I’m about 30 minutes away. Where are you?”
“Bodaga”
“Ooh is M’baku there?”
“Maybe”
“Tell him to make me a number 3, no tomatoes.”
“M’Baku”
M’Baku peaks his head from out the kitchen with a raised brow.
“Dad wants his usual”
He nods and puts a thumbs up before going back into the kitchen.
“Okay I’ll see you soon-”
!
What was that?
Mays spider sense went off like a piercing alarm. Her face dropped, she knew this was real danger and she was nearby. She had to go. Her fathers voice shook her back.
“I love you May, see you in a bit”
“I love you!”
She hung up the phone frantic and jumped out her seat, babbling an excuse that she forgot her notebook somewhere on campus.
“I can come with”
“No!”
She shot Shuri a knowing look from the booth and she nodded, silently letting her know she’ll hold it down for her while she’s gone. The last thing she heard before the door closed was “No worries white boy, ill keep you company while she's gone” and an accelerated heartbeat from Tim.
-
Peter Parker had finally shaken off the feeling of dread he had from earlier in the day. He sat in his office staring blankly at his class roster for the semester. She was in his Tuesday class too, which isn’t surprising to say the least. It made him more curious. Was this intentional? Did she work for someone he knew? He clicked on a new tab and typed her name into the search.
May Wilson.
A bunch of articles popped up in turn. He clicked the first one with the headline from Forbes? Like the magazine Forbes. Seriously Who is this girl?
Through the lens of May Wilson
Come to find out, the girl who stares at him in his lecture is a famous photographer from Wakanda. She shoots all around the world, so what the hell is she doing enrolled at NYU for photography? Forbes is writing about her so why would she need to go to school for this? This has to be a setup. In reality, the article was written after her dad mentioned she did photography to the CEO of Forbes at a charity event.
He kept scrolling through the pictures and wow, she has an eye on her. One that feels unnatural to be able to catch on a regular camera. He kept reading, each picture capturing a new essence and Woah.
“The raw of Discovery, captured on 35 mm Sony. This photo captures the unseen aura of Universally recognized Scientist Dr. Malcolm “MJ” Wilson and father to May”
That’s her dad?
Holy shit.
Peter shifted in his seat all of a sudden getting warm. This man was beyond anything or anyone he has ever seen in his life. He looks like a God or an angel or if God had an angel or whatever. This was the most beautiful man he’d ever laid eyes on and Peter was at a loss for words. He shifted tabs again and typed in the name Dr. M- and his name was the first to come up. How come he doesn’t know who he is? He started to click on articles and read them. All about his discoveries, the noble prizes he’s won, the years of research and education and missions he’s had to encounter. This man was a legend! How did Peter never know about him? Maybe he’s just always been in his own bubble that sometimes he isn’t able to digest anything that isn’t right in front of him. A link catches his eye. It’s the faculty page for Tandon and
Holy fuck he’s the new engineering professor.
Peter leaned back in his seat all of a sudden, finding it a little hard to breathe. This gorgeous man was his colleague. I mean they’re at different campuses but they still may have to interact. Who knows what he may need from him.. Professionally of course. I mean he could really learn a few things from the man with so much knowledge and beauty.. Professionally. Maybe Peter could teach him or help him with things. Yeah! New school, new city, maybe Peter could mentor him instead. It’d be nice to actually make a friend here. He’s been here for about 3 years now and he only has one coworker he talks to and considers to be a friend of his, Dr. Banner but he’s so busy this year with budget cuts that he has to take on an extra class which means less friend time for them.
Most importantly he was the father of his new found enemy? A student who has something she’s hiding? Whatever. So since Peter had no friends and any excuse to befriend a sexy fellow colleague is a good one, he made it a priority to get in contact with him somehow. He had to get to the bottom of whatever May and Malcolm Wilson had to hide. Whatever has brought two world famous figures to New York he needed to find out.
Hopefully it’s not a wif-
!
Danger.
He immediately jumped out his desk and in an instant changed clothes and slipped out the window. Luckily his office faced a bunch of trees so he was easily able to get out without being seen. The blue and red spandex clung to him with comfort as he swung through the traffic, distant screams were heard from below him as everyone made their way away from the danger.
A car flung his way that he dodged with ease, shooting a web to stop it from colliding with anything. A giant sized grizzly bear ran through the street, Peter shot a web at him to get his attention and it worked. Grizzly charged at him but right as he did a fast moving force that Peter just barely caught, struck him in the head with their feet and in the same second shot their own webs backwards pulling themselves back to get a second hit in.
Peter froze. Webs?
Grizzly let out a nasty growl that snapped Peter back into reality. He charged forward aiming directly for his chest causing him to stumble backwards. The second web shooter grabbed a hold of Grizzly's chest and pulled him upright.
What is he doing? We I need to get him on the ground.
Peter couldn’t believe this. A new masked vigilante in town? Seriously? After the day he’s had.
The vigilante was moving so fast that Peter could barely keep up. He couldn’t find any opening to get in the fight. They were handling it and they were handling it well. They began wrapping Grizzly in webs while throwing blows to his head and Peter found himself directing traffic away from the fight. Grizzly couldn’t fight against the webs, they were strong and the vigilante was too quick. After not even a minute of combat, Grizzly finally fell to the floor, unconscious and wrapped tightly in webs. Police began to surround his body and civilians emerged from hiding. In the midst of this, the vigilante climbed to the top of Grizzlys chest, revealing themself. Spiderman finally got a good look at them. Their suit almost matched his, but instead of the famous blue and red, their suit was all pink and instead of spandex it was clear their suit had better technology than his as it glowed where they stood. The silhouette matched that of a young woman and she stood tall, and confident. She gave a few waves, her suit eyes moving with her emotions before she made eye contact with Spiderman and immediately shot a web and took off.
Peter quickly followed her to the top of the building, waving at spectators who shouted his name and asked him questions like “Who is that?” “Spidergirl” “Your daughter?”
He landed ontop the nearby building, the girl being nowhere to be found until he spotted her running up the side of a higher building almost to the top.
How the hell did she run up there so fast?
He shot a web chasing after her.
“Hey!”
She didn’t look back and just ran faster. Why is she running from me?
“Hey wait up!”
She disappeared over the top and before she did Peter shot a web at her back, using her momentum to pull himself up. As he hovered over the building and she was about to jump, he shot another web and pulled her toward him. She let out a yell but quickly reacted by flipping backwards on his webs and using her feet to kick his chest. The blow sent Spiderman flying and into a train.
Before he could even register what had happened, she was long gone and he was stuck on the side of the M train wondering what the hell was today.