the siren |peter parker x siren!oc|

Serenity: Part 15

It was strange watching the room of reporters fall under her trance. He felt the wind, a strong brush washing across his ears and hitting every noisy reporter like a wall. She manipulated the speed of time passing in that room as every reporter failed at resisting the lure. Peter looked at Mr. Stark who looked right back at him, his eyes filled with panic. He had never seen the man scared before, but the control that Lena had was terrifying.

It was a force to be reckoned with.

She set them free, the atmosphere returning to normal. nodding at Mr. Stark to continue what he was saying. It was deathly silent except for the heavy breathing of Pepper standing behind them. He could feel the tension rising both in her and Mr. Stark, they were just doing a phenomenal job of masking it. Peter felt his jaw lock and his teeth clench for what felt like the hundredth time that day. This time he was lucky no one could see his face under the mask.

When Pepper took over, Mr. Stark guided Peter and Lena out the door, a gentle push with his hands on both of their shoulders. The second the door closed behind them, Mr. Stark had let go of him and grabbed Lena.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he sounded nervous, and Peter could see that his hands had a slight shake to them.

"Mr. Stark don't-
"Peter, quiet," Mr. Stark snapped pointing a single finger in between Peter's eyes and then returning to Lena, whose mouth was wide open, probably not having the words to come close to responding.

It was too loud, she said in Peter's head.

Then tell him that, he thought at her, not sure if she would even hear it at all.

She was starting to shake as well, her hands clasping as she tried to manage them. Peter wanted to help, to let Mr. Stark know what the hell she was thinking. It made sense to him; he had seen her have a panic attack before.

"It was too!" was all Lena had in her. Loud wasn't a part of her vocabulary yet, and that wasn't her fault.

"What? It was too what?" Mr. Stark was frantic, almost shaking her to try to get her to speak. 

"Loud, Mr. Stark. It was too loud in there. I'm sure that's the loudest scenario she's ever been in, and I understand why it freaked her out. Hell, the first time she cried she freaked out. Can you blame her? You're throwing everything at her pretty damn fast," Peter had started talking, and words were spilling out faster than he could think. "Give her a break okay? She just found out with the rest of the world that she's going to be a superhero."

Mr. Stark stood upright, and turned around, looking shocked at the audacity Peter apparently had. He was surprised with himself, that was for sure. Most conversations he had with Mr. Stark involved a copious amount of nervous stuttering, and that was when he was relaxed. Seeing Lena being carelessly tossed around like she was less than human was starting to drive Peter insane.

"I am," she said, breaking the awfully uncomfortable silence forming between the three of them. "Less than human. I am."

Mr. Stark expelled the remaining air that he had been holding in his lungs, "Peter. Do you understand what just happened? Do you understand that she revealed her capabilities on live television? People are going to think she's a threat. We know that she's not a threat, but how are they supposed to know that? Huh?" he pointed at the door, referencing to the press within the room, "Tell me Peter!"

The yelling, the frustration, and the undermining of Peter's knowledge was reminiscent of the last time Peter had taken matters into his own hands. He was swept away into the moment he almost had his suit permanently taken away. Both Mr. Stark and he had learned a lot since then, but his mentor's raised voice tended to ring in his head, bouncing between his ears.