Story © 2019 Ryan Hill

Characters María Álvarez/La Fuerza and The Elemental © 2019 Ryan Hill

Gwen Stacy woke up to the sound of giggling coming from the next room. Groaning, she rolled over toward Peter.

"Peter, he's up." She mumbled. Getting no response, she tapped his shoulder.

"Hm?" Peter muttered as he was awakened. "Wutsit?"

Gwen yawned, then replied "He's up."

Peter groaned as he rolled to face her. "I can tell. Isn't it your turn?"

Gwen tried to think. "I took care of him Wednesday morning when he had a bad dream."

Peter propped himself up enough to look over Gwen at the clock on her nightstand. It read 3:35 am, 03/19/33.

"It's Saturday morning." Peter sighed as he lay back down. "I took care of him on Thursday, remember?"

Gwen nodded. "Right, I'll get him." She yawned again as she climbed out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She walked out of their room and into the next room, where she found a blonde three year-old sitting on the wall and trying to spit across his bed onto the floor.

"Benjamin George Parker." Gwen said as sternly as she could in her half-awake state, putting her hands on her hips as she spoke. "Get down."

Ben smiled. "On wall Mommy!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I can see that. You need to sleep. Get down."

Ben giggled. "Sleep on wall!"

Gwen sighed. "No, you're not sleeping on the wall."

Ben put on his best pouting face and started crawling farther up the wall.

"Oh no you don't." Gwen stepped closer and fired a web at Ben, pulling him off the wall and into her arms. He squirmed as she set him down and tucked him in.

"Mommy…" Ben whined.

"You can climb on the wall in the morning." Gwen mumbled. She kissed Ben on the forehead, then walked out and closed the door behind her. She slipped back into the bedroom, where Peter shifted in bed to look at her.

"What was it this time?" He asked.

"Up on the wall again." Gwen replied as she climbed into bed next to him.

Peter chuckled. "You know, a decade ago I told you our kid would have powers."

Gwen smiled. "Yes you did." She gave him a peck on the lips.

Six hours later, Gwen was sitting on the couch reading a book, Ben was playing with Lincoln Logs on the living room floor, and Peter was drying his hands after rinsing his bowl. As he walked into the living room, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, and a moment later his face lit up.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, sitting up slightly.

"It's María." Peter replied as he sat down next to Gwen. "She wants to know if we can help her with a superpowered criminal that's been giving her some trouble."

Gwen closed her book and sat up straight. "Is she still in Del Rio?"

Peter sent a text. A moment later he got a reply. "No, she's in El Paso now." He looked at Gwen. "I'll tell her we'll get back to her?"

Gwen shook her head. "Ask how long she thinks she'll need our help for."

Peter nodded. A moment later he looked up and said "Not sure. At least a day or two. She's been dealing with this guy for two months now, so probably longer."

It was 6:30 pm when Peter parked in front of Aunt May's house. Gwen carried Ben inside while Peter brought a suitcase.

"Sorry about the short notice." Peter said as May let them in.

"Don't worry about it." May replied, closing the door behind them. "Let me know if you think you'll be gone more than a week." She said as Peter took the suitcase upstairs to the spare bedroom.

"Will do." Gwen set Ben down and knelt down in front of him. "Mommy and Daddy are going on a work trip. We'll be back before you know it. Aunt May is in charge while we're gone, okay?"

"Okay." Ben said before immediately wandering off.

May suddenly got a confused look on her face. "You said you're flying to Texas, right?"

Gwen nodded. "5:00 tomorrow morning. Only time we could get on such short notice."

May considered this. "So what happens if you get selected for a random search and they find your Spider suits?"

"They won't." Peter replied as he walked back down the stairs. "We mailed them to the address María gave us on the way here."

"Smart." May said with a chuckle.

"Yep." Gwen kissed Peter's cheek. "You raised him well."

Peter blushed and looked at Gwen. "I thought embarrassing me was May's job."

"It is." Gwen and May said together.

Peter rolled his eyes. "It's all a conspiracy." He said jokingly.

May shrugged. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

They laughed. After a moment, May gave them each a hug, and then they turned and left.

It was 11:45 the next morning when their plane touched down in El Paso. Gwen and Peter got their bags from the luggage claim, then headed to the exit. Outside, the front passenger side door of a purple SUV opened and a familiar looking dark-haired woman got out.

Gwen and Peter stopped. "María?" Peter asked.

The last eleven years had been kind to María Álvarez. Now 25, she was about 5'8" and had the build of a gymnast. A large smile appeared on her face, and she rushed over to them.

"¡Qué bueno verte!" María exclaimed as she hugged Gwen, then Peter.

"You too." Peter replied.

"You look great." Gwen added.

"Thanks." María turned back to the SUV and waved for someone to come out. The driver side door opened, and a redhead woman around María's age got out and walked around the car to join them. She was a couple inches shorter than María, but had the same build.

"Guys, this is Katie, my girlfriend." María said. "Katie, this is Gwen and Peter."

Katie smiled and shook their hands. "María told me a lot about you."

"Hopefully not everything." Gwen replied.

Katie chuckled. "Well I do know that María is the only one of the four of us who's not dating a superhero."

Peter shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong."

María smiled. "There's a restaurant nearby we go to fairly often. How about we buy you guys lunch?"

"I think we'd like that." Gwen replied.

They climbed into the SUV, and Katie pulled out and started driving.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Peter inquired.

"Almost four years." María replied. "We were roommates in college."

"How did it start?" Gwen asked.

"During our junior year my boyfriend and I broke up." María explained. "It was mutual, but it still hurt."

"She wanted to go out and get hammered." Katie added. "I convinced her to stay in the dorm and drink with me instead."

María nodded. "We watched Sleeping Beauty, and we were halfway through Cinderella and had just started a second bottle of wine when she kissed me."

Katie giggled. "I was so worried she'd push me away that I pulled away almost immediately, but…" She blushed lightly as her words trailed off.

María took Katie's hand and squeezed it. "I grabbed her and kissed her." She giggled. "One thing led to another."

Katie sighed. "The next morning we talked about it and decided to have it be a one time thing."

"Until that night when it happened again." María added. "After the third time-"

"Fourth." Katie corrected her.

María smiled. "Right. After the fourth night I asked her out."

"Best decision I ever made." Katie said.

A few minutes later they arrived at L & J Cafe and went inside. They got a table and ordered drinks, then looked at their menus. After a couple minutes, their waiter, Marco, returned with their drinks.

"Can I get you started with an appetizer, are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?" Marco asked.

"I think we're ready." Gwen said. The others nodded.

"What can I get for you?" Marco asked.

Gwen double checked the menu. "Can I get a bacon cheeseburger with nothing extra?"

Peter chuckled. "Some things never change."

Marco tapped on his tablet, then looked at Peter. "¿Señor?"

"I'll do the steak burrito." Peter said. "Hold the onions please."

Marco nodded and looked at Katie.

"I think I'll get the chicken tacos." Katie said.

Marcos tapped on his tablet. "¿Señora?" He asked María.

María nodded. "¿Puedo tener enchiladas de carne molida?"

"Por supuesto." Marco replied with a smile as he took their menus, then turned and walked away.

"Show off." Gwen muttered before immediately bursting into laughter. The others laughed as well.

Once Marco was gone, Peter leaned forward and asked "So who's this powered criminal you've been dealing with?"

María took a sip of her lemonade. "They call him the Elemental."

"His powers?" Gwen asked.

"He controls the 'elements.'" María replied, making air quotes. "Earth, air, fire, water."

"He's basically the Avatar." Katie added.

Peter chuckled. "Just what we need. An evil Avatar."

María leaned forward. "He doesn't work alone. He's robbed banks and other places with a team. I'm not sure if any of the others have powers, because when I catch them he always stays behind to fight while they get away."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Of course he does."

Peter thought for a moment. "So is his 'airbending' like your telekinesis?" He asked María.

"Not exactly." María replied. "He uses it like a blunt instrument. He can push things and hit things and harness the air as a weapon, but it's not nearly as advanced as mine. I don't think he can do anything that requires precision."

Gwen thought for a moment. "Well, having several different powers would mean spending less time practicing each one."

Katie nodded. "That makes sense."

There was a long moment of silence, then Katie asked. "So how did you two get together?"

Peter leaned back. "Oh boy, here we go."

They chatted for a while before Marco returned with their food.

"Steak burrito, no onions?" He asked.

"That's me." Peter said. "Thanks."

Marco nodded and set down the plate. "Chicken tacos?"

Katie put a hand up. "That would be me."

"Ground beef enchiladas?"

María smiled. "Gracias Señor."

Marco smiled back, then turned to Gwen. "And the bacon cheeseburger."

Gwen nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"De nada." Marco replied. "Enjoy." He turned and walked away.

They finished their lunch, then drove to María and Katie's apartment. Hours later, they were playing Cards Against Humanity when María got a notification on her phone. Her eyes widened, and she quickly used her phone to turn on the TV.

"...today. Eyewitnesses report that the gunmen were led by the man known as the Elemental." The news anchor was saying. "They are believed to have gotten away with over $500 million in cash."

Gwen looked at Peter. "Back to work."