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Chapter 1: A Principal’s Principles

James “Jim” Morita, Principal of Midtown School for Science and Technology, has had a very messed up few months.

It all started with the incident from the Academic Decathlon’s trip to DC. Although the cause of the damage to the Washington Monument couldn’t be found, he’s thankful for the unexpected appearance of Spider-man that prevented any injuries or deaths for his students and teacher. To be honest, he’s forever grateful that Roger didn’t have to go through losing another student.

The next piece of frustration has actually been going on over the course of the past few months. Peter Parker has always been a bright and enthusiastic student. Despite multiple teachers in his freshman and sophomore year saying that he isn’t challenged in their courses, he still remained focused during class and received glowing reports from those teachers. Now, however, he seems to have begun to drop off.

It’s completely understandable, in a lot of different ways, but ever since the death of his uncle, the boy has changed. Tardy, unexcused absences, and even just not paying attention while he’s there. He leaves school early, quit two of his three extra curriculars, and barely shows up to the third. There’s even this Stark internship he talks about. Honestly, with the lack of paperwork given to the school, Jim couldn’t even believe it at first. Hell, he could barely believe it when he called to confirm the thing with Peter’s aunt. However, the fact that she told him that Tony Stark himself came to their house to offer it kind of sealed the deal. May Parker is a no-nonsense type of woman, and she wouldn’t give out that sort of lie. Of course, that leads us to the most recent incident with Mr. Parker. Homecoming.

Ms. Allen is probably having just as bad a time as he is, if not more so. First, she was apart of the incident in DC. He even heard she was the last one off the elevator, and would’ve fallen if Spider-man hadn’t caught her. Then, after planning homecoming to such an impressive degree, Peter Parker ditches her. Then, the next morning, she finds out that her father has been arrested for the trade of illegal alien weapons. Honestly, inadvertently or not, Principal Morita can’t help but think that Liz’s father could be responsible for the incident at the Washington Monument. Still, that doesn’t help Liz at all. The girl is having her records transferred to a school out in Oregon, of all place. Sure, there are a few good colleges out there, like the Oregon Institute of Technology, but she’ll have to finish up a lot of her classes in a high school that doesn’t have the same standard and reputation as Midtown. That’s going to be difficult for a girl who had such a bright future ahead of her, but he’s sure that she’ll make it work.

Now, back to the most recent headache for the principal. That is, homecoming night. Even without the incident with Liz, there are still things to be addressed. Like the fact that a member of her father’s criminal organization ended up webbed against the side of a school bus in the Midtown parking lot. In the next few days, Stark Industries, Damage Control, and the federal government will be coming over to investigate the incident at his school. In order to prepare, the principal is trying to become as informed about the situation as possible. Which is why he is reviewing the security footage from that night.

He’s been sitting by the computer screen for the past few hours, watching and reviewing various pieces of the footage. Finally, he sees Liz step out of a car. One that he could guess Adrian Toomes is driving. Only a few minutes afterward, Peter steps out. He starts to feel a little sympathy for the teenage boy. He can remember the “shovel talks” that some of the more protective dads gave him, he can only imagine what sort of intimidation a supervillain can achieve. He watches the car until it leaves the sight of any of the cameras. Then, he continues watching the bus parking area. However, there’s a nagging curiosity that tickles the back of his skull. He switches over to the internal security footage, checking out the hallways that the students are in for the festivities. He watches as Liz enters the dance floor. Then, he sees Peter. The boy pauses before going into the gym. It takes a few moments, but the young teen turns around and starts running.

The principal follows his student’s progress through the school, watching him strip off his dress clothes with an unusually determined look on his face. Finally, the teen stops by a set of lockers, and-.

If anyone else could see Jim Morita right now, they’d say that he’s just calmly looking at something on the computer screen. Internally, though…
WhatthefuckWhatthefuckWhatthefuckWhatthefuck…

Did Peter Parker, a boy whose lowest grade in school is in gym, just lift up a wall of lockers with one hand?! And he pulls out a bunch of stuff that seemed to be hidden underneath. The teen begins slipping on some sort of outfit, one that the principal recognizes.

After the incident in DC, Principal Morita has started watching some of the videos of Spider-man. He noticed the sudden change in costume that happened a few month ago. One that was rumored to be provided by Tony Stark. However, as the man sees the suit that Peter Parker is now dawning, everything starts to fit into place. The absences, the lack of focus, the internship, the fact that Spider-man just happened to be in DC. Now, James Morita finally realizes why Peter hasn’t been putting as much effort into school. He’s Spider-man, and he just ditched the most popular girl in school in order to fight her dad. Wow, that’s a tough break.

The feed goes on to show the whole fight between Spider-man, who Jim can’t help but feel fear for now that he knows it’s a fifteen-year-old behind the mask, and the man with the alien gauntlet. He watches as Ned Leeds is the one that webs the man to the bus. Of course, Parker’s best friend has to know about this whole thing. He starts to think back to that night, with the detention given to the Leeds boy after being caught “watching porn” on the school computer. Later, he’ll have to check out the web history from his login to see what was really happening. Still, he has a lot to consider right now.

The federal government will be here in a few days. Which means, they’ll see the footage. Sure, Stark Industries and Damage Control will be there, too, but he’s not entirely sure who actually knows about Peter’s secret. Tony Stark for sure, and probably May Parker, but neither one of them will probably be there. There’s no telling what’ll happen when they discover Peter, especially with some people’s attitude towards the enhanced. Especially after the whole Accords issue. There are so many things buzzing around in his head, but the biggest… What should he do with this?

He sits back and thinks for ten minutes. Then, fifteen. When he reaches the twenty-minute mark, something catches his eye. A picture, sitting framed on his desk. It was one he’d taken with his grandfather, when he was just a kid. He’s sitting on the old man’s lap, dressed in a homemade Captain America costume, while Grandpa Jim, the man he was named after, is in his full military uniform. Then, glancing back behind himself, Jim sees the picture that he has framed on the wall of his office. The Howling Commandos, all smiling in front of a military truck. His thoughts go back to the story that Grandpa Jim used to tell, with embellishments and details added from the other surviving Commandos. About how the great Captain America rescued them from capture, going against direct orders from a superior officer.

Remembering why he is one of the only schools in the state to still play those PSAs, even though the man is still labelled a war criminal, even though the school board has recommended that he stop. He doesn’t have any plans to do so until it becomes an order, and even then, he’ll fight tooth and nail to keep doing what he believes is right. Just like his grandfather. Just like the Captain. He looks at the paused image on the screen. Just like Spider-man.

“Time to use that computer science degree,” he states as he plugs in one of his spare thumb drives and starts typing away on the keyboard.

***

As he walks out of his office, with the drive in his pocket, he thinks about what he’s just done. He’s fearful, but he holds absolutely no regrets. The video footage from that night has been completely scrubbed. He’ll claim that it was probably one of the students who shut it down that night, no doubt trying to keep from getting caught doing something, maybe with their date in particular, afterhours. It could happen. This is a STEM school, so there are plenty with the ability. The drive in his pocket is just in case it’s needed. Not likely, given everything that’s happened, but still.

On the way out of the school, Jim thinks about Peter. The boy is probably out there right now, saving people. The scene with the lockers is still fresh in his mind, and one other video of him catching a speeding car. Maybe Coach Wilson should be called. Just tell him to push Mr. Parker a bit more during gym. He can understand not wanting people to know about the superstrength, but seriously kid, at least pull an “A” in the class.
 

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Chapter 2: Scoop

Betty Brant is a reporter. At least, that’s what she wants to be when she graduates high school. She’s in charge of the articles for the school newsletter and the main anchorwoman for the morning announcements. She’s only student trusted with the key to the journalism club’s storeroom, and she even has a few blogs online that have a good number of viewers. Now, however, her sights are set on a single person. An anomaly that she has very mixed feelings about, and she’s determined to get to the bottom of.

Peter Parker is someone that Betty can’t seem to wrap her head around. He was one of the few scholarship students that came into Midtown during her freshman year. During that entire year, he was just a normal nerd. She saw him talking with Ned Leeds about Star Wars or some other science fiction or fantasy topic. When she got close to Liz Allen, it was obvious that he started to faun after her like most of the other guys in the school. He’d joined the clubs that you’d expect someone like him to join. Even if one of them was probably because Liz was in it. All in all, the only thing of note that she actually noticed was that he was cute, in a puppy dog sort of way. Then, sophomore year happened.

The death of Peter’s uncle was a topic that spread throughout the school. Before then, people hadn’t even realized that his parents were gone, too. Pitiful eyes looked at him for the month after the incident. Even Flash didn’t bother him for that time. Eugene Thompson is an insecure jerk, but he’s not that much of a jerk.

After that, Peter seemed to change, which is understandable. He quit two of his three extracurriculars, and barely showed up at the third. He started being late to classes, and even skipped a few of his early ones sometimes. He started talking about his “Stark Internship” that she hadn’t even believed he had for the first few months of the claim. That is until she’d eavesdropped on a conversation between Principal Morita and Mr. Harrington. That conversation is what got her an article in the newsletter to confirm that Peter did have an internship. Not front page, mind you, so not too many people actually read it, but still. She doesn’t like bullies. Plus, she’s starting to find a friend in a certain Michelle Jones, a girl who Betty has seen showing a suspicious amount of interest in her flaky teammate.

Now, she’s started seeing Peter Parker showing that same interest towards her new friend. With what happened to the former decathlon captain after she finally accepted Peter’s offer for homecoming on what would probably be Liz Allen’s worst day in her life, Betty is now focusing a fair amount of her efforts into making sure that incident doesn’t repeat.

It’s looking up so far. Sure, he still misses a fair number of classes, but the guy is doing better. He’s attending decathlon regularly, and he calls ahead when he’s not going to be there. There are rumors going around that he’s doing some less than legal things to supplement his income, what with having only one guardian, but Betty can’t see someone like Peter doing those things. You can see it in his eyes, too innocent, and the stuttering doesn’t really show any sort of confidence in the flirting needed for some of the rumors to stick. Still, when she sees him leaving the school during lunch one day, she can’t help but follow.

As he exits the school doors, he looks both ways before heading off to the left. Then, he turns the corner around to the side of the school. Creeping quietly, Betty peeks around to spot him reaching a pile of scrap metal and various appliances that the robotics club stripped for parts a little under a week ago. The boy kneels down by it and starts talking.

“Hey there,” his soft and calm voice echoes through the alleyway. “Are you stuck? Let me help you out, little guy.”

She starts to wonder if the teen in front of her has gone crazy, talking to a pile of metal, when she has to hold back a gasp as he LIFTS THE ENTIRE PILE UP WITH ONE HAND. She’s so shocked by this that she barely even processes him reaching underneath to pull out a small, fuzzy, brown kitten from where it was probably trapped in the scrap metal. He sets down the heavy metal collection carefully, too slow for him to actually be struggling with the weight. Then, he starts cradling the small bundle of fur as a small smile comes to his face. Betty leaves has to leave quickly, or risk him turning around. Either way, her mind is going through what she just saw, trying process whether or not it’s real.

***

She sits down at her laptop, hands on the keys. Her heart is still beating from what she’s seen. Peter was late to his next class, but he also didn’t have a kitten with him. He probably took it to a shelter.

But Peter Parker is enhanced. Everything is starting to fit into place. His “Stark Internship” must be Avengers training or something. Oh my god! Peter Parker is going to be an Avenger! If she wrote this, it could launch her career before she even graduates!

She starts typing out the first few sentences before she pauses. Then, she starts bringing up the different pages she’s had tagged for the last year. About the Sokovia Accords and Captain America. About the enhanced registration. About the Watchdogs that hunt down enhanced just for existing. She continues doing even more research. Both sides of the argument seem close to coming to blows. International news has “Rogue Avengers” sightings all around the world. There are protests that are being squashed and murders that just get swept under the table. Some of the pictures bring tears to her eyes.

After seeing Peter’s face on some of the bodies, her face sets, and she changes her article. She thinks Michelle will be proud of her for the piece she’s about to write. Maybe Betty will join her at the next protest. After finishing her rough draft, she opens another document.

She’s decided. She’s not going to expose Peter. He deserves that privacy after everything that’s happened to him, but she’ll be damned if she lets something like this go unwritten. She starts the first chapter of what she hopes will be her first best seller. A tell all book about an enhanced who’s heart is as big as his muscles. Set to be released the day he reveals himself to the public. There’s no way she’s going to let anyone get the one up on her with that.

Anyways, she’ll probably ask him and Ned to come over to help her move furniture if she needs it. It’s the least he can do after what she’s hiding for him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Numbers Don’t Lie

Ned stretches out as he sits down, ready to get this his project started.

For his engineering elective, he’s supposed to write a compare and contrast report, with various sources, on the tensile strength of a material of his choice. He knows that some of his class members are choosing steel wire, silk rope, and other materials, but Ned has an advantage in that he has access to, and permission to use, an even cooler reference. Spider-man’s web fluid.

Sure, he isn’t allowed to give a lot of the ingredients due to their private nature, but people have tried to reverse engineer some of the material before it dissolved. He can at least give those that have been discovered and posted, and there’s plenty of evidence online of what the stuff can hold.

He starts to look for some high-quality close ups from footage to show how the webbing expands and contracts to hold weight, when he stumbles on something. It’s a video of the “Staten Island Ferry Incident.” A tourist was recording their ride on the ferry and caught the whole event on their expensive video camera. He manages to get the screenshots and cut a few short pieces of video of a closeup on the webs, but something hits him as he sees Spider-man holding the ferry together.

The webs hold up for a short while, but Spider-man, Peter Parker, his best friend, is also in the middle of that tangle of webs. He can hear the straining of the ship, and he thinks he can even hear Peter groaning in pain through the camera. Despite knowing he survived, Ned breathes a sigh of relief when Iron-man comes into focus on the camera. Even though he remembers how depressed Peter was after Stark told him off, Ned can’t help but feel thankful for the Avenger coming to the rescue.

That’s when he starts his calculations. He shows evidence of things that the webs have held up, like groups of people, cars, and other heavy objects; as well as things they’ve managed to slow down until they stop, like the ferry splitting apart, or that one awesome video of the helicopter crashing that Spider-man had to use multiple layers of webbing that kept snapping to slow the momentum, until it was only a few stories away from the ground. What he notices, however, is that a whole lot of those things have Peter at the other end, holding onto the webbing with all of his might. As he keeps calculating the total weight held, combined with the forces influencing the moving objects, he starts to realize just how strong his best friend really got from that spider bite. He also realizes how much strain and pain Peter must feel from some of the heavier things, like the ferry, and that plane crash at homecoming.

He saves all of his notes, videos, and pictures after a few hours of research. Then, he heads to bed, exhausted from the thoughts running through his head.

***

The next day, he immediately wraps Peter in the biggest hug he can.

“Hey, Ned,” Peter pats his back. “What’s up?”

“Just wanna thank you for everything you do,” Ned responds. “You’re the best, man.”

“Thanks, Ned.” Peter returns the hug. “You’re the best, too.”
 

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Chapter 4: Sports, Abs, and Punching Bags

Cindy Moon is having a good day. Her hockey team has been on a roll. Winning the last three games, with Cindy scoring in each of them. She also was also the winning goal for the last game. The best part, her parents haven’t nagged her about the sport for the past few weeks. Now, she’s walking away from being handed an “A” on her latest physics test. It’s on her way to decathlon that she starts to hear something.

“-Decathlon,” a voice sounds from around the corner.

Curious, she peeks around the lockers into the hallway. Peter Parker is leaning against the wall, talking on his cellphone.

“Yeah,” he continues his conversation. “He can pick me up after… Yes, I won’t be too late…” His face starts heating up from something said on the other line. “Mr. Stark! No! I’ll see you later.”

He hangs up, exhaling in exhaustion from that conversation. She walks around the corner, about to ask him about the conversation, when that topic dies on her lips.

Peter Parker reaches underneath his shirt to scratch at his chest. This causes his shirt to ride up on his body, showing-.

“Oh my god,” Cindy gapes. “Peter. You’re ripped!”

***

The other members of decathlon are all sitting down when a sight appears through the room doors. Peter walks in facing backwards, with Cindy close behind.

“C’mon, Peter. This is a STEM school. We need more athletes.”

“I told you, I’m busy after school,” he backpedals. “And I don’t like sports.”

She opens her mouth for more begging, when a voice interrupts her.

“What’s going on?” Sally, Cindy’s closest friend on the team, looks at the pair.

The rest of the team seem to hold the same interest. Looking back and forth between the two still standing there, a few of them squint in suspicion. Cindy turns to her best friend.

“I’m trying to get Peter to join one of our sports teams.”

There’re more than a few shocked noises from the rest of the team. Flash, of course, is the first to voice his opinion.

“Wow,” he snorts. “You must be really desperate to ask Parker.”

Cindy shoots the boy an annoyed glare before, without any warning, she reaches over and grabs onto Peter’s shirt. With a swift tug upward, his shirt rises to show his stomach.

Flash’s next words die on his tongue, while most of the rest of the team drop their jaws in shock.

“Have you considered baseball?” Sally asks.

After that, both of the girls spend another ten minutes trying to convince Peter to join some sport, any sport. That is until, MJ finally decides to cut in.

“Alright,” she snaps. “As fun as it is to watch Peter squirm over his washboard abs, that’s not going to help us keep our title in nationals. So, let’s get to work.”

***

He’s bombarded again at the end of practice.

“I’m sorry,” Peter tries to tug his arms away without hurting them. “But I’m busy after school. Speaking of which, I have to get going. Someone’s here to pick me up.”

“Alright, Parker,” Flash glares. “Spill. I know you didn’t have that type of muscle last year. Where’d you get it?”

“I’ve been doing some self-defense training,” he tries to explain. “And I’ve been working on a lot of engineering at my internship. Some of the parts are heavy.”

“Right,” Eugene Thompson rolls his eyes. “Your ‘internship.’ When are you going to stop with tha-?”

“Kid. I thought you told Tony you’d be right out.”

Everyone turns to see a fairly heavy-set man in a suit standing in the doorway. He’s frowning at the group surrounding Peter. He seems to notice the two girls on his arms.

“Alright, kid,” the man sighs. “I see you’re taking after the boss. Now,” he looks back and forth between the two of them. “Which one is that girl you talk about? You know, the ‘kind of cute, scary smart one.’”

At that, Peter’s face starts to heat up. Most of the other eyes of the team flicker back and forth between Peter and Michelle, the only girl here who could possibly be described like that. One set of eyes, however, remain fixed on the older man in the room.

“Oh my god,” Abe suddenly speaks up. “You’re Happy Hogan.”

The math and statistics specialist of the decathlon team walks quickly forward, pulling a notebook out of his backpack.

“My dad was a huge fan of yours,” he holds out the notebook on a blank page, with a marker in the other hand. “He has all of your fights recorded. And he went to one of your matches a while back. You know, the one where you got the nickname ‘Happy.’ I watched it; it was so cool how you won with a knockout, despite the head injury that cramped up your facial muscles. It was so cool! C-Can I have your autograph?”

The former pro boxer, for his part is a little stunned to see this high schooler fanboying over him. Then, he gives a gentle smile, one that actually throws Peter for a bit of a loop, before taking the marker and notebook and signing his name with a flourish.

“Here you go, kid,” he pats Abe’s head. “Always happy to help out a fan.”

Abe smiles even wider as he takes back the autograph. “Thank you, sir.” Then, the fan turns to Peter. “Peter, you never told me you knew Happy Hogan. How do you know him?”

It takes a moment for Peter to recover. “I didn’t know he was that famous. I just know that he’s a cool dude who picks me up for my internship.”

“One thing led to another, and I started working as Tony Stark’s bodyguard after I retired from boxing,” Happy explains. “I’m now the Asset Manager of Stark Industries, and that,” he points to Peter. “Is the asset that I’ve been assigned to pick up. So, unless you’re dating him or you’re his plucky side-kick over there,” he indicates Ned. “Hands off. The boss is waiting.”

With that he drags the boys away from the two girls, placing him firmly behind him. Then, he glances around before focusing on the captain of the team, who is currently matching his glare.

“Yeah, you look much more like a ‘scary smart girl.’” He smiles. “C’mon, kid.”

The two of them walk out, Peter blushing as red as a tomato, while the rest of them are stunned for various reasons.

“Boss? As in Tony Stark, boss?”

“I can’t believe I met The Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan. Dad is going to be so jealous.”

“Does this mean that Peter’s ‘self defense course’ is with a pro boxer?”

“Do you think Peter would be willing to join the wrestling team?”

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Chapter 5: Class Obstacles

Coach Wilson is a bit confused. The center of that confusion is doing sit-ups in front of him.

When Principal Morita started telling him to get Parker to work a bit harder during class, he took it with a grain of salt. Peter Parker struggled to keep up with the other kids throughout the entirety of freshman year. Sure, in sophomore year, he’s doing a bit better than he was, but the gym teacher just thought it was because the kid had finally hit his growing stage. Now, however, he’s starting to think otherwise.

It started when he heard the rumors from some of the sports teams. Apparently, Cindy Moon and Sally Avril have been spreading around that Peter Parker is ripped. Like, six pack abs ripped. There are also a few people in the other clubs that say the kid has taken up boxing or something like that. With all of that talk going around, Coach Wilson’s interest was brought back to the seemingly lanky kid in his class.

Peter Parker is doing sit-ups, just like anyone else in the class does for their warmups. The problem is, the kid isn’t even sweating. As a matter of fact, it’s been a while since the gym teacher has seen his shirt even have the slightest bit of perspiration like it had last year. Yeah, the kid could stand to work a bit harder. I mean, Coach might as well get him to go for an “A” like Jim asked him to.

“Alright, guys.” He blows his whistle, getting back into teacher mode. “We’re going to be doing something different for the second half of class today. An old buddy of mine managed to get a few pieces of an obstacle course for the school. It’s been set up in the secondary gym.”

***

Of course, Leeds and Parker pair up for the obstacle course. Parker stays a little ahead of Leed’s pace during the entire thing. That is, until the rope wall.

That part of the course has stopped more of the students than any other. Yeah, most of them just don’t have the upper body strength. Of course, he’s actually seen Ned help with carrying some pretty heavy robot parts when they need the gym to set up for their little courses, but the guy doesn’t have the muscle to pull himself up very well. He’s doing it, but it’s a slow process. That is until close to the end.

Peter had just gotten his hand onto the top of the wall, when his other hand suddenly snaps back behind him, without looking and grabs onto Leed’s arm just as the kid’s hands slip off of the rope and he starts to fall. Arm muscles that Coach Wilson never noticed on Parker flex as he supports his friend’s weight while the other guy gets his grip back on the rope. His gym shirt rides up, and Coach, as well as a lot of the class, can see that the rumors about his abs aren’t a lie. When Ned Leeds scrambles up the rest of the way, the two of them do their little handshake before climbing down the other side.

“Good job, Parker!” Coach Wilson calls as the two of them finish. “I expect that sort of effort from now on!”

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Chapter 6: True Strength

Dr. Robert Terrace is excited to be here. He’s always enjoyed seeing the Decathlon Nationals. It brings him back to his time in high school. His team only ever made it to States, but he enjoyed his time on with them. A few of them still keep in contact after all these years. Now, after finishing college, he’s working at the DODC as one of the head scientists in charge of identification and categorizing of the technology they’ve recovered from the various Avengers and SHIELD related incidents. He had to leave last year’s Nationals because of a security breach at one of their facilities, so he’s especially happy to be able to make it to this year’s.

It’s kind of an anticlimactic win for Midtown School of Science and Technology. It was neck and neck for about the first half. Then, they entered the physics and chemistry round.

The reflexes and intellect of one of their students is just astounding. He answered questions in a split second that some of his fellow employees would have trouble getting right with a calculator, pen and paper, and a few minutes. Hell, both teams have those, but the kid seems to do the calculations in his head faster than anyone else can write, especially for the physics. The win was swept up after that, with the other team not able to close the gap during the rest of the match. The boy, who he figures out is Peter Parker, holds the trophy while a few people in the audience, Robert included, are congratulating the team on their victory. As Dr. Terrace approaches the young boy to personally talk to him, he sees the teen’s eyes widen in what he thinks is fear. Then, in a voice that has more authority than Robert would ever expect from someone so young, he yells.

“Everybody! Get down!”

***

“We are live at the location of the House of Sweden in our nation’s capital, as disaster has struck. Thirty minutes ago, this was a place where weddings, competitions, and high-class parties were scheduled; now, as you can see behind me, what used to be a famous event center has now turned to rubble. While the cause is unknown, we have been informed that there are people still inside, trapped underneath the wreckage. Emergency services are currently on the-. Holy… Is that who I think it is?!”

The camera turns away from the gaping reporter, zooming in on a noticeably weaponized metal suit as it lands in an open space within the cordoned off area. Out of the suit steps Colonel James Rhodes.

“Over there!” The reporter points away from the man. “Look, look, there’s more!”

Just getting out of a car and sprinting to the scene are Natasha Romanov and Steve Rogers, with Wanda Maximoff floating quickly over the crowds of people. The Black Widow and Captain America join the Iron Patriot in talking to the man in charge of the rescue effort.

“C’mon.” The reporter starts running towards them. “We have to get closer.” As she gets to the yellow tape, she attempts to stick her microphone into the face of Steve Rogers. “Captain America! Why are you here?! Does the presence of the Avengers show that this is an act of some terror group?!”

The man is about to open his mouth when Ms. Romanov cuts in. “No comment.”

“But,” the reporter carries on, this time with the mic in the superspy’s face. “If there’s some sort of national threat, the public deserves the truth! What are you hiding from us?!”

The Black Widow is about to make what is problem the same statement, when a hand rests on her shoulder. James Rhodes steps forward.

He looks back at Nat. “Go on. We’ve been given permission to help. I’ll handle their questions.”

As the two other Avengers join the Scarlet Witch at the wreckage, Iron Patriot looks back at the people in front of him. There are now multiple microphones from various different news outlets being held in his direction. He just sighs and points at the first one.

“You, you were here first. You get to ask the one question that will be answered. Make it count.”

The original reporter takes a few deep breaths, knowing that the pressure is on.

“What is the reason for the Avengers’ interest in this particular disaster? I would think it’s fairly minor in terms of the scope of your usual focus.”

Rhodey exhales again. “Okay. I’ve just gotten out of a meeting with a whole bunch of politicians, so you’re lucky. I’m not going to give you one of those non-answers that don’t actually have anything to do with the question. I can’t tell you everything right now, but I will tell you this. The Avengers are here because we know someone under that rubble. They’re important to us, and we want to do everything we can to get them out of there. That will be all I’ll be saying on the subject.”

He turns as the group of reporters try to get his attention again, shouting questions as he’s about to walk away. He stops, though, as one question is called out.

“Is that person an Avenger?!”

Looking back, the Iron Patriot answers. “No, they’re better.”

There’s stunned silence from that comment, which gives the authorities time to get between the press and Colonel Rhodes, blocking them from pushing past the yellow tape. James joins the rest of the Avengers, getting into his suit to help Captain America and the Scarlet Witch move the rubble. Natasha Romanov assists the rescue team with transporting the people they manage to dig out of the debris.

“Guys!” The youngest Avenger yells. “I can sense a large amount of people down here! They should be the last ones!”

“Stand back!” Captain America shouts as the telekinetic Avenger prepares herself.

With obvious strain from effort, the center area of the debris begins shaking as it’s enveloped in a red glow. There’s crackling and rumbling as the concrete and metal begins to move and separate. Finally, with one final heave, the pile completely spreads out, creating a hole in the center.

“Go, go, go!” The head of the rescue starts shouting, but the people are already on the move.

As they start bringing out the survivors, the Avengers rush forward. They surround one of the people and take him from the rescue team. Ms. Maximoff hugs what looks to be a young teenage boy. He seems to whisper something in his ear, and she looks up behind him. She waves at another survivor, this one a little girl being carried next to her mother. The girl’s face splits in a big, toothy smile as she waves back.

Captain America starts giving orders to the leader of the operation as the boy is loaded onto a gurney. Then, all three of the not suited Avengers pile into the ambulance that the boy is place in before it drives away. Colonel Rhodes stays behind, talking and assisting in whatever manner he can. He takes a few moments to speak with the other members of the last group, the look on his face and his hand motions seem to show that he’s comforting them, especially the other teenagers in the group.

It’s another hour before the Iron Patriot armor flies off with its pilot inside. Most of the news crews stay, trying to scrounge any sort of information from the people present, but the survivors are all taken to the hospital without the press being able to make contact. Eventually, the only people left are the cursory cleanup crews and the few news teams that are making their closing remarks about the incident.

***

“Ned Leeds… Ned Leeds?”

“He’s at the Avengers Compound with Peter.”

The teacher looks up at the voice, realization on her face. “Oh, of course. Him and Ms. Jones, correct? Does anyone know how Mr. Parker is doing?”

“Still recovering,” Cindy Moon frowns, her own crutches next to her at her desk. “They say he’s going to be alright, but he won’t be back for the next few weeks.”

“I see… Well, let’s get on with attendance for now. Jim said that there was an important announcement today.”

A few minutes after the homeroom teacher finishes attendance, Principal Morita sounds over the PA system.

“Attention students and staff, there is going to be a press conference at the Avengers Compound about the incident in DC. If you would turn on your Television screens, it will begin in a few minutes.”

There’re a few moments of pause after the PA system cuts out before the teacher scrambles to the TV set. Turning it on, the screen shows an empty podium, with empty chairs behind it. A few minutes later, the doors to the conference room open and a group of people walk through. Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and two other people.

“That’s the director of Homeland Security,” a student whispers.

“And that other guy was with us underneath the rubble,” Cindy says. “I think he said he works for Damage Control.”

There’s more whispering as Pepper Potts comes forward to the podium under the flashing of cameras, and with the shouting of the press. Like she always does, the CEO waits patiently for the reporters to settle down. The ones that are more experienced with the current Stark press conferences quiet down quickly, but it still takes some time.

“Thank you,” Pepper Potts smiles as everything settles. “Now, you all know why we’re meeting today. Generally, an incident like this would have the conference in Washington DC, but due to various circumstances, it was thought that it would be best to have it here. Now, I will begin with a brief statement, and then I will turn the mic over to the rest of my associates.”

The Stark CEO then begins to give a basic rundown of why everyone is gathered. About the collapse of the event center and the involvement of the Avengers in the incident.

“Stark Industries’ stake in this conference is that one of our high clearance employees was a victim of the incident. They were close enough to the Avengers to warrant the involvement of those who were present in DC at the time. We will be answering questions after everyone makes their statements. Thank you.”

The next to step up is the director of Homeland Security. He starts talking about the cause behind the incident. There was foul play involved. Some purposeful damaging and small explosives in many of the load bearing pillars. The perpetrator is still unknown, but they have ruled out any Stark or Avengers related motives.

“We are, however, thankful for the Avengers and their assistance during the incident. Although there were many severe injuries, it is due to them and the hardworking men and women in emergency services that we were able to get through the incident without any deaths. Thank you.”

James Rhodes’ speech was short. Just a brief rundown on what the Avengers were doing there. They were meeting with the president and the Sokovian Ambassador. The person that James Rhodes talked about during his brief statement at the scene is still under care but will make a full recovery.

“That’s Peter, right?” One of the students whispers to Cindy.

“Yeah,” she nods, eyes still on the TV. “He works with Tony Stark apparently. I can’t think of anyone else it would be.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Since it has already spread around social media,” Rhodey continues. “I will say that the person in question is enhanced, but they are also a minor. As such, any news reports about the child’s identity or any spread of his information will be met with the fullest legal force of both Stark Industries and the Avengers.”

With that happy little closing comment, he steps aside to allow the final person to make their statement. The man in question steps forward, arm in a black sling to match his suit.

“Hello everyone,” the man from the DODC smiles. “I doubt any of you know me, but my name is Robert Terrace. I’m an employee of the Department of Damage Control. I was at the event center when it collapsed. Because of this, I was asked to speak at this event. To be honest, though, I would’ve volunteered even if I hadn’t been asked. I was told that I could talk on whatever I wanted, as long as it was about the incident. So,” he chuckles. “Public speaking was never my strong suit, but here it goes.” He takes a deep breath before his face goes serious. “During the past week, there has been a lot of time for me to think about what I want to speak about. I’ve been looking online at everyone’s thoughts about the event. There are comments ranging from worship to hate towards the person that Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Potts talked about. I’m here to tell everyone who seems to have any negative feelings towards this person that he is a hero. I don’t care how you feel about the Avengers, or Stark Industries, or the government, do not speak ill of this kid.

When the event center collapsed, I was knocked unconscious for what I found out was a few minutes. As I came to, I saw a sight that made me begin to tremble in fear. I was trapped, with everyone else that was in the room with me, underneath what I’d assumed to be a mountain of rubble. The space was lit by phone flashlights and what little light could filter through the small cracks in the pile, and our makeshift ceiling was barely tall enough for some of the shorter people in the room to sit up in. Immediately, my scientific brain started doing the calculations of just how much weight was above us. What I’d calculated was something that made the fear all the more real. During my time as an agent of the DODC, I’d become very familiar with structural collapses, so I started looking. Looking for the load bearing object that had kept us all alive. When I finally saw it, I was shocked. It wasn’t some object. Not a pillar or a giant piece of concrete. It was a single child. It was someone that I had seen before and could have never thought that they’d be capable of this feat. Everyone looked as this person held the weight of our lives on their shoulders.

We had no signal on any of our phones, we had no food or water other than what was with us, and we had no idea when anyone would be able to come to our rescue. Our only luck was that none of us were bleeding out, and we had air to breath. Everyone was looking at this person, who was younger than many of the other people in the group. I could tell that we were thinking the same thing. How long would this obviously enhanced human be able to hold on?”

There’s a pause as the man noticeably collects his thoughts and emotions.

“When one of the other people asks the kid that very question, they look the man directly in the eye, and with an intensity I could never duplicate, they answer ‘However long it takes.’ It wasn’t that moment that made me respect the person, though. No, in the back of my mind, I was actually panicking even more at their seemingly cocky demeanor. It was a few minutes later, when a little girl started to cry into her mother’s shoulder. This person, who was straining against a weight no normal human could carry, looks at the little girl in concern and compassion, asking what’s wrong. Then, they start to talk to the girl. They just start making small-talk, smiling and laughing as if he wasn’t holding up a building. Once the tears stop, they move on to the next person in the group, asking similar questions. This continues until the entire group had introduced themselves. We were still strained, but none of us were panicking anymore, none of us were crying. Hell, some of us even cracked a few jokes that caused a few laughs. At that moment, I had realized the significance behind the young enhanced’s earlier statement.”

Tears start beading up in the man’s eyes. “He didn’t say ‘However long it takes,’ just to be prideful. No, he said it because he would do anything it takes to protect each and every one of the people in our group. He cared about us like we were his family. Like he would give anything to protect us. At that time, I knew for a fact that, even if he wasn’t enhanced, he would have done anything he could to get us out of there. All of us. At that moment, I had more faith in that one person than I’ve had in the entire Avengers in my life. That kid was and is a hero, and I will not hear anyone say anything to the contrary. Thank you.”

He nods at the stunned reporters, before he walks back to his seat. They recover quickly, as the flashing of cameras floods into Robert’s back as he walks. Once he takes his seat, he receives a pat on the shoulder from James Rhodes and another on his other side from the director of Homeland Security. The Avenger whispers something in the doctors ear that causes the man to chuckle and smile.

.

.

.

Back at Midtown School of Science and Technology, the entire school has pretty much been stunned into silence. In the principal’s office, Jim Morita is standing, looking at the screen with his secretary, with pride and moisture sparkling in his eyes. In the back of another classroom, Betty Brant is typing up a storm at her computer. In one other room, Coach Wilson is gaping, along with the rest of the staff in the room with him. In the original homeroom, however, Cindy Moon groans.

“Dammit.”

“What?” The student next to her shoots her a confused look.

The girl plops her head on her desk. “Enhanced can’t join organized sports teams.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: A Strong Finish

Peter was so excited. Nervous to be sure, but also excited. This is the first time he’s actually been at Nationals. You know, because he was sort of trapped in the DODC last year.

“Alright everyone,” Mr. Harrington smiles. “Here we are again. Michelle?”

“I’m not much for speeches,” MJ begins. “But we’ve worked hard to be here. We’ll win this and bring home the trophy a second year in a row.”

There are cheers from the rest of the team. A slight smile shows on Michelle’s face before she’s all business again.

“Charles, Abe,” she points to the two in question. “You’re on Parker Watch. If he’s not in his seat before the start, you will walk home. Do I make myself clear?”

The two boys salute as they flank Peter. It’s their shift make sure he doesn’t run off before the match. It’s become a regular thing during the official matches. Ned’s even participated under threat of MJ. On home games, he’s sometimes even been escorted from his house. It’s a little ridiculous, but everybody else seems to be determined to guard him. So, for the next few hours, he’s got a couple of amateur secret service agents making sure he doesn’t disappear on them.

***

Peter stands there, holding the trophy above his head, grinning like an idiot. He doesn’t even remember a lot of the match. When the chemistry and physics questions came up, he just went on autopilot. When they won, MJ even gave him a hug.

Now, he standing there while people come up and congratulate the team. There are people approaching MJ and Peter, as the captain and the apparent MVP, to talk with them and shake their hands. He’s just turned down an internship offer when a shiver runs down his spine. His eyes widen, and reacting on instinct, he follows his Spider Sense’s warning and shouts.

“Everybody Get Down!”

He drops the trophy as the rest of the group, obeying his command for some reason that he can think about later, hits the ground. He doesn’t have time to think about that now, though, because he raises his hands as the ceiling drops.

***

It’s heavy. It’s really, really heavy. He looks around at the people, and sighs. As far as he can see, everyone around him is okay, but it’s not like he can turn around to check. He sighs in relief as he sees MJ and Ned kneeling down in front of him. Both of them immediately bring out their phones to shine light on the rest of the area. People are trying to kneel and looking around at the rest of the people. A lot of the eyes focus on Peter, but that’s kind of understandable.

“Shit!”

He looks up, panicking, to see Cindy on the ground. There is a large piece of debris next to her, and she’s grabbing her leg. Sally and Charles, both still conscious, scamper over on all fours. Charles helps prop her up as Sally takes a look at the leg.

“It’s broken,” Cindy tells them.

“How can you tell?” Charles frowns.

The girl looks up behind her, giving the guy she’s leaning against a look. “I’ve broken enough bones to know what it feels like. It’s at least a fracture.”

“Yeah,” Sally nods as she uses her own phone light to examine the leg. “It’s swelling up pretty nice.” She looks around at the surrounding people. “Can anyone see the coolers for the water from the stage? We can use the ice and water to cool off injuries.”

It’s at that point that Michelle, the captain from the other team, and a few of the other adults start to take the lead. They help up treat the other injured and gather them around Peter. He can still see shock and caution on the people’s faces at what they thought was a scrawny teenager holding up a building, but the calm ones understand that it’s the safest place for them.

“How are you so calm?” one of the teens from the other team asks Ned.

“We’re from New York,” Ned shrugs. “We’ve had drills about this type of stuff ever since the Avengers made that their base.”

“But what about…?” the other guy starts motioning towards Peter.

“Peter’s stronger than he looks,” Ned shrugs with a smile.

“That’s an understatement,” Charles snorts.

“Those abs aren’t for show,” Cindy chuckles. “Huh, Parker?”

Peter smiles a bit at that, trying to take his mind away from the weight on his back. It’s at that point that a man speaks up.

“How long can you hold up that weight?”

There’s expectation, and panic, and fear, in the looks surrounding him; but, from the people he knows, and even a few of the strangers, he also sees something he’s seen from a lot of the citizens as Spider-man. He sees a little hope in their eyes. He fixes the man with a gaze that he reserves for training against Captain Rogers up at the Compound.

“However long it takes.”

That sobers up the man as he settles back down. As Peter watches the injured being treated, he’s feeling relief at the fact that one of the people that came to watch the match was a doctor. There are a few other people helping him patch up the wounded. They’re conserving water, but everyone agrees to prioritize cleaning wounds over anything else. They’ll get out of here before they actually need to eat or drink, but infection is a big deal.

Peter is doing everything he can to stay calm, but his heart is starting to pound out of his chest. The crumbling debris, the weight on his back, the sound of water in his enhanced ears, it’s all starting to bring back memories. That other time, it was a warehouse. He was on his own. He wasn’t even sure how he lifted that weight the other time. The pain, the panic, the fear that he’d never get out of there alive. Now, he has people who he has to protect. They’re in the same position he’s in. His friends, the other team, everyone who came out to support them. He can almost feel his breath start to quicken. He has to do something. Anything. He has to get them out of here. They can’t die. He-.

There’s a sobbing that starts to come from in front of him. Sure, there are other people around with tears of panic, but Peter seems to focus on this one. It’s young. When he finds the source of it, he sees a little girl fairly close to him, her mother’s arms wrapped around her.

“It’s okay,” the mother shushes the girl. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Hey,” Peter speaks up softly looking down at the mom.

She looks up, surprise and a bit of caution on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is- Are we distracting you?”

“Oh,” Peter starts, realizing how it might have seemed. “No, no. Just wondering what your daughter’s name is.”

The woman blinks in shock. “W-well.” She strokes the little girl’s hair. “Hey, why don’t you say hi to the nice boy?”

The child looks up at Peter sniffling slightly. “H-hello?”

“Hi,” he smiles down at her. “My name’s Peter. What’s your name?”

There’s another sniffle. “Emily.”

“It’s nice to meet you Emily. Now, I have a question for you. What’s your favorite color?”

She bites her lip a bit before answering. “Red.”

“That’s a great color,” he chuckles a bit. “It’s actually one of my favorites, too.”

With that Peter keeps talking. Asking small questions to the girl until the tears have stopped. He even gets a couple of smiles out of her. Then, she starts asking her own questions. It becomes a full-blown icebreaker conversation. They even start having the other people around them join in. A couple of jokes are even cracked, and there’s full on laughter for the first time since they’ve been under here. That is until Emily asks a blunt question, like one does when they’re young.

“Peter, are we going to die?”

He looks at her, seeing the fear still in her eyes, and gives her a soft smile.

“No, you’re all going to be just fine.”

“B-but-.”

“Hey, Emily,” Peter interrupts her negative thoughts. “Did you know that I work with Iron man?”

Her eyes widen, and she gasps. “Really?”

“Yep,” Peter pops. “I help him build stuff at Stark Industries, but that’s not all. I also train with the other Avengers. Like Captain America, and the Black Widow-.”

“And Scarlet Witch?” The girl asks, hope and excitement in her eyes.

Peter laughs a bit at that. “Yeah, and Scarlet Witch. Is she your favorite Avenger?” The girl nods energetically. “Well, she’ll be so happy to hear that when we get out of here.”

Then, it’s back to the calm, but slightly strained atmosphere that it was before. They talk a bit, get to know each other, become friends. That is until the shaking starts. Peter knows that it’s too much for it to be natural, which gives him hope. Then, a familiar red energy starts to show itself around the rubble, and he smiles.

“Everybody! Get in close! They’re getting us out of here!” He looks down at Emily and smiles. “See, it’s okay. The Avengers are here.”

As the weight lifts off his shoulders, Peter suddenly realizes just how much the ceiling was actually supporting him. As he falls, however, he’s caught by MJ, Abe, and Ned. Light starts fully streaming into the hole where everyone is standing. Emergency services rushes in to start evacuating the people. As Peter staggers up with the support of his friends, he sees a familiar face at the edge of the rubble. She rushes forward to wrap Peter in a hug.

“Hey Wanda,” the teen mutters. “Thanks for getting us out of there.”

“Are you okay?” Concern fills the older girl’s eyes.

“Yeah. Just a little tired.” Then, Peter remembers. “Oh, right. There’s a little girl here. Her name is Emily. She says you’re her favorite Avenger.”

Wanda looks up at that. She gives a smile to someone behind Peter, waving happily. Then, three other familiar faces appear behind the Scarlet Witch. Natasha comes over and helps Wanda support him, while Steve rushes to who Peter thinks is the leader of the operation. Peter can pick up “privacy” and “minor” and “medical treatment” from the conversation, so he can guess what it’s about.

Carried to a gurney, he’s finally able to relax his tense muscles. He starts to fall asleep as he watches Natasha, Steve, and Wanda join him in an ambulance, along with one of the doctors on scene. He drifts off to Nat running her hands through his hair.