Rats!
He stretches, humming to himself as he listens to his lectures in his room. After yesterday’s incident with the two Roxxon Agents, Miles had suggested they take the rest of the night off. That didn’t stop Peter from going back to Belvedere Castle to try and figure out where they went wrong, though, and his discovery? Well, it kind of changed where they should be-
BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT.
The buzz of his going off catches Peter off guard as he looks down, grabs the device, eyes flicking to the contact ringing his phone. Harry. Peter hadn’t really thought about it but… It’s been almost a week since he last talked to Harry.
“I’ve been so absorbed in- Wait, I should answer!”
He pulls the green bar on the shattered screen of his phone, letting the phone pick up the call as he brings the phone to his ear.
“Pete! How’ve you been? I know how you were in the whole gym thing, and I was thinking, why don’t we go somewhere after school today? I’m thinking of pizza and maybe going to Coney Island. I’ll call the usual gang! I’ll meet you at Conney! See ya!”
“Wai- and he hung up on me. Unbelievable,” Peter mutters, a smile creeping onto his face as he mentally checks a box as he sits down, drumming his pencil against the table as he hums to himself. Well, it’ll be a nice distraction for him. Taking breaks is important. The wise words of Mr. Jameson ring through his mind.“That’s a point. Where's the Bugle? Let’s see what he’s saying about the incident yesterday…”
Clicking through the tabs on his computer, the app that he managed to crank out in a day, beeping to life, Peter looks at the front page article. Mr. Jameson had specified he wanted it to feel like a miniature paper in your phone, so he’d designed the app to be simple to input articles. Simplicity is beauty. The paper turning sound effects. The Bugle-style columns and article style. Like a Kindle, but for a newspaper. Tilting his head as he reads, Peter's grin turns into a half smile.
The menace Spider-Man has dragged a youth into his scheme! Whilst Spider-Man caused mass destruction of property and personal vehicles, his sidekick, my sources have told me he’s called Arachkid, went around helping repair the destruction of city property!
Whilst I do not condone the actions of this Spider Duo, I will admit that whilst Spider-Man continues to be the masked menace that he’s always been, Arachkid is holding himself accountable for the damage caused. As this is the one thing I’ve been asking Spider-Man to do over the last decade, I believe that when Arachkid succeeds the mantle of Spider-Man, New York will potentially be a better place!
This is assuming, of course, that no new villains that threaten the status quo appear in our glorious city with vendettas aimed at New York's newest hero.
Well, it’s not bad news, at least. Definitely not great news, either, but the praise is definitely good. Sighing to himself as he leans back, he realises he’s forgotten to pay attention to his class, scrambling for his pen and paper as he starts writing down notes.
Oh, boy. This is going to be one heck of a catch-up session.
The rest of the day seems to fly by, Peter’s school work getting increasingly boring as he waits for the end of the school day. Having sent a message to Miles and Ganke about meeting up with friends, Peter has begun the normally lengthy process of choosing an outfit.
His first thought? Why is he putting in so much effort? It’s not like he has anyone to impress anymore. MJ is with Flash now… Oh, god. Is Flash going to be going with them to Coney Island? That’s going to be annoying.
Potentially, seeing MJ and Flash getting ‘lovey-dovey’ with each other aside, how many of the friend group will actually be… well, single? Harry, Peter, and Liz? Well, saying that, Liz and Harry have been getting closer recently… Oh, god, this is going to be awkward.
“Great. I’m going to be the third wheel of all third wheels. Way to go, Parker.”
Deciding to not bother with his hair, Peter ambles down the stairs, going to the front door as he locks it. Scribbling a note on the table to let May and Ben know where he is, Peter goes back upstairs, grabbing the new respirator-equipped suit from under his bed, pulling the suit over his body before opening the window to his room. Maybe swinging will give him some form of peace. He needs some relaxation with the way the world seems to be leaving him behind.
Shoving a random shirt, jacket and pair of jeans into his backpack with his glasses and wallet, Peter crawls out the open window, slowly closing it behind him before leaping into the air, twirling as he jumps between the roofs of the neighbourhood. He twists in the air as he passes between the large park between Queens and Brooklyn, passing over the main roads as he vaults through the air. It’s not clean air, but it's definitely cleaner than in the glittering lights of Manhattan.
It’s strange. His mind has been feeling like it’s buzzing with too much information since waking up from the spider bite. But here? Right now? It’s calm. Still. Like he’s exactly where he’s meant to be. Peter silently hopes that this isn’t some kind of precursor or omen of who he’ll become. He doesn’t want to put Spider heroing before being Peter Parker, but the peace that he’s feeling swinging and doing this? It’s hard for him to argue that this isn’t what he’s meant to be.
Passing over the cemetery before travelling through Brownsville before entering Brooklyn proper. His feet run along the brickwork of the high-rise buildings as he dances and swings through the borough, humming to the music in his earpieces.
Landing on the top of the Conney Island hospital, Peter hums to himself, thinking about how he didn’t encounter any criminals. Switching into the outfit, he pulled out of his closet, looking down, raising an eyebrow. It’s the same baggy, long-sleeved red shirt and pair of way-too-baggy jeans that he got from Miles. The difference? He’s wearing a white T-shirt with ‘The Mary Janes’ plastered across it. A token from when he went to their last concert.
He clicks his tongue as he pushes his suit deep into the backpack and slides down the side of the hospital, a webline used like a rappling line. His feet hit the floor, slowly walking through the busy street as he heads towards the amusement park he can faintly see in the distance. Peter smiles to himself as he thinks about how he’s early again . Something that he’s notoriously bad at.
Clicking on his phone to see the group chat with his friends buzzing with activity, Peter writes a quick, I’m 15 minutes away , to the group chat. An explosion of shock and surprise erupts from his device as he holds it away from him to avoid the flashing lights. Most of them seem to be in awe of the fact that Peter is going to arrive before anyone else, Harry mockingly threatening to use his helicopter to get there first, although Peter wouldn’t put it past him to actually live up to that threat.
It’s a quick dash. Honestly, if Peter wanted, he could have arrived even earlier, but… well, clearing his head is good, and the sea breeze against his face is nice. Kicking his feet against the sand as he watches the happy couples and families going around, ice creams in hand or fries, burgers… It's peaceful, and if it wasn’t for Peter questioning if the beach is about to become Sandman, he’d almost think this is a nice scene. He walks over to the ticket booth, smiling as he stands in line.
“Next!” a brunette woman says from behind the booth, “How can I help you?”
“Um… what’s different with the Spider-Man wristband?”
“Oh, nothing much, just that M- I mean Spider-Man has saved the park so many times, we wanted to create a wristband that lets you experience the sensation of being Spider-Man. It’s unlimited access to all the rides and attractions, including the air-based attractions like the Spider-Slinger.”
“Oh, well… how much is it?”
“Thirty-eight dollars, although you get twenty percent off for being a student.”
“So, thirty dollars forty cents?” Peter asks, pulling out his wallet, counting out the money and placing it on the counter between them.
“Thank you! Here’s your wristband, and I hope you have a webtastic time!”
Raising an eyebrow as he slips the wristband on, a small smirk on his lips, Peter walks through the gates and into the park. His eyes wander over the colourful signs, and the smell of popcorn, grilled onions and hotdogs mix with the sounds of laughter, screams and cheers.
Hearing the hum of helicopter blades overhead, Peter looks up, seeing the familiar silhouette of the Oscorp helicopter descending onto the landing pad within the park. Rolling his eyes as he checks his phone, Peter spots Harry getting out of the vehicle.
“Peter! I can’t believe it! How are you early ?!”
“Eh, I just made sure to leave on time.”
“Nice shirt,” Harry mentions, clicking his way over to Peter as he slings his arm around the other boy, “Any news on the others?”
“We’ve got about five minutes until they’re meant to be here,” Peter mentions as he looks at the messages from MJ, chewing his cheek, “Is Flash going to be here too?”
“I think so… Let’s not talk about that, though. How are you?! I’m glad to see you don’t seem to be shaken up by the whole Spider-Man incident. My dad is always calling that man a menace. Endangering people like that… It’s bad, man.”
“Oh, yeah…” Peter responds sheepishly, scratching his cheek, “But I did get saved by him before the school exploded. I was trapped in the boiler room and-”
“Wait, I thought he got you out before the floor collapsed?”
“Well, I mean, would you try and get to the exit when a Minotaur and a man dressed as a spider are fighting? Plus, Spider-Man doesn’t seem that bad.”
“I don’t know, man… I think that he takes things too far and shouldn’t destroy all the public property. Although that new Arachkid is all right.”
“Right…”
Walking towards the main gate as they wait for the rest of the group to show up, the pair fall into a steady rhythm. The click of Harry’s crutch rings through the thoroughfare, their eyes trained on the main entrance as they watch for their friends. Finding an empty bench, the pair sit, breaths steady as they take in the scents of the amusement park around them.
“So, how are you finding school now?”
“Eh, same old, same old.”
“Not a challenge then.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, I don’t do anything. I don’t even actually attend the classes because my dad just hired private tutors instead.”
“Benefits of being rich.”
“Speaking of,” the rich boy says, looking at Peter’s phone in his hand, “Want me to buy you a new phone?”
“I… Harry, I can’t ask that of-”
“But you aren’t asking. It’s a gift…”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just… Something feels… different, Pete. Like we’re growing apart, and I still want to keep in contact.”
“Harry. We are not growing apart. It’s just that I’ve been busy with some things recently, like making that app for the Daily Bugle.”
Harry blinks, raising an eyebrow as he chuckles, “That was you?”
“Yeah. I wanted to make some extra money, and Mr. Jameson asked if I could do it so one thing led to another and boom.”
“Huh. I’m guessing there’s more to that story, but it looks like the rest of the guests of honour have arrived,” he mentions off-handedly, vaguely nodding in the direction of a shambling group of teenagers. The eclectic mix of varsity jackets, punk rock, and gothic stood out like a sore thumb.
“I swear, this friend group is one of the weirdest groups of people I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, yeah, but hey, what’s a friend group without diversity ?”
Groaning at the attempt to smooth the differences, Peter stands, helping Harry to his feet as they wave towards the group. Seeing the fiery redhead’s eyes light up as she spots them, dragging the blonde teen next to her towards them, the rest of the group follow, clearly understanding that she’d spotted the early arrivals.
“You’re late.”
“Oh, shut it, Pete,” MJ responds playfully as she rolls her eyes, “It’s actually because you’re early .”
“Right? Normally, I give Pete a time thats about thirty minutes earlier so he ends up on time.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah, you’re not great with staying on schedule, bro,” Eddie says, huffing as he slaps Peter on the back.
“Didn’t realise all of you were friends with Parker…” Flash mutters as he stands to the side of the group, a small pout on his face.
“Well, that’s because you’ve never asked him for help,” Lonnie says, wrapping an arm around Peter, frowning before the smile on his face returns, “He’s actually kinda goated.”
“Lo, less slang. We’ve talked about this,” Pearl says, kicking the albino man's shin lightly.
“Right, right. Sorry.”
“Oh! I almost forgot! We brought someone else with us today, normally, we can’t get her to go anywhere. Meet our little stray cat of the Mary Janes: Felica Hardy!” Gwen says, standing aside as she pulls forward a platinum blonde.
Watching as the girl's eyes flash with annoyance as she’s thrust into the circle of the group, Peter frowns, seeing the girl pushing the tip of her tongue against her molars.
“As drummer girl said-”
“Hey!”
“I’m Felicia. It’s a displeasure to meet you,” the girl finishes, huffing as she slinks back to the outside of the circle.
“Oh, she’s- urgh! Sorry,” Flash mutters as MJ hits him in the ribs with her elbow.
But Peter is lost, his mind racing as he begins looking over the girl. Same build. Less revealing clothes, obviously, and a less flirtatious personality. There are some signs there, but-
“Looks like Flash isn’t the only one that finds her pretty,” Eddie says, smirking as he playfully nidges Peter.
Fighting back the urge to retort, Peter shrugs, “Well, she’s definitely… striking. Almost like she could steal a person’s heart… or their wallet,” he says, muttering the last phrase as he sees her eyes turn, narrowing as she looks him over.
The biggest difference Peter can see between the girl and the Black Cat? Her eyes aren’t the same cat slit’s. That could be easily changed, though, if she were to put in contact lenses…
“So, what school do you go to, Felicia?”
“I don’t. I’m homeschooled by private tutors.”
“So, just like Harry,” the rest of the group says, a small laugh running through the group.
Hearing the buzz of his phone, Peter looks down, seeing a notification from Ganke as he internally groans. Opening the message, he frowns. Apparently, the tip that he sent to Miles and Ganke about the UV residue. The trace of the water tracks traced out, two places marked for something . Luckily, nothing seems to have happened yet, but there are two targets. They really can’t afford to let whatever it is happen, so it looks like Peter’s going to need to head to… Conney Island Wastewater treatment plant.
“Uh, hey guys, I’m gonna have to go. Mr. Jameson has found a problem with my app and he needs it sorted ASAP.”
“Wait, app? No, wait, Peter, we haven’t even-”
“I’m sorry! I’ll try and catch up with you guys later!” Peter yells, pushing through the crowd as he tries to ignore the disappointed faces of Harry and his friends. He faintly hears the murmured relief of Felicia, saying something about being able to leave now that she isn’t making up numbers.
Ignoring the snide comment, he leaps out of the park, running towards the nearest hidden alcove as he pulls his clothes off and shoves them into his bag, swapping them for his Arachkid suit. Webbing the backpack to the underside of the metro bridge before swinging off at full speed towards the wastewater treatment plant, Peter questions the timing and how badly it sucks, as he perches on a streetlight. Looking down at the treatment plant, he tilts his head.
“Ganke, where am I going?”
“Yikes, no, how are you ?”
“I was trying to relax with my friends and had to ditch them.”
“Right, sorry. Uh, it looks like you’ll need to sneak into the water treatment room before finding a device that looks like either a rediverter or something that might inject a poison or toxin into the water supply.”
“This guy was trying to poison the water in Conney Island? Why?”
“No clue. Miles hasn’t caught him yet. You should be in the clear, though. Miles heard Vermin talking and is currently heading to stop him in Harlem.”
“This feels a bit like a hate crime, considering where this Vermin dude has been targeting.”
Looking around for a vent to crawl into, Peter slowly approaches the water treatment plant. Seeing an open window, he shrugs to himself, leaping up and sliding through the gap before zipping himself to the ceiling. Crawling around the ceiling, he heads towards the water treatment facility.
Tilting his head as he sees a collection of rats scurrying around the room, Peter frowns. The faint ring of what sounds like a flute being played in the distance. Following the noise as he heads towards the source of the noise, he looks into the room, the large concrete holes of filtered and disinfected water gape up at him as he looks around. Spotting a young boy playing a flute, surrounded by rats as they seem to bustle around him, Peter lowers himself down to eye level.
“Hi there. You know rats are one of the most unsanitary creatures in New York. You know, because they crawl through sewage.”
“Spiderman?”
“There’s a hyphen. I know you said it out loud, but I can tell. Also, I’m not. I’m Arachkid.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter, and my rats are clean! That’s why my dad told me to bring them here and wash them with this powder!” the boy says, showing Peter the bag as the rats begin swirling around the room.
“I see… what’s your name?”
“Oh! I’m Elvis, but my dad said I should call myself Rat Prince.”
“Alright, Elvis, and how old are you?”
“Eight!”
“Geez…” Peter mumbles as he lands on the floor, carefully avoiding the rats on the floor, “Can I see that powder, Elvis? Just to make sure that it’s safe for your rats.”
“Hmm… papa said that I shouldn’t give this to anyone but… I can trust you if you work with Spider-Man!” the boy says, a big toothy grin on his face as he holds out the bag to Peter.
“Thanks, Elvis,” Peter says, returning the smile from under his mask. Taking the powder, the lenses on his mask flicker as he opens the bag, the faint bitter almond scent clinging to the packet.
Cyanide. Who in their right mind would leave a child alone with cyanide ?! Let alone send them into a water treatment plant by themselves! Cursing out Vermin, who he’s assuming is the father of Elvis, he takes the powder and looks at the boy. He’s looking up at him with those big, doe eyes, and Peter feels his heart twist.
“Alright, buddy. I’m going to keep a hold of this because it’s a little dangerous for rats.”
“Oh.”
“The good news is I can help you get your rats somewhere they’ll be safe and cleaned up.”
“Yay! Where?!”
“Come on, bud. Use your flute, and we’ll take them there.”
Slowly carrying the boy out of the plant, the small army of rats following them, Peter leaps through the air. The boy in his arms laughs gleefully as they swing across Salt Marsh Park, placing the boy down as they look at White Island.
“You see that island?” Peter asks, watching the boy nod, “If you tell your rats to go over there, they’ll be nice and safe, and once they swim through the river, they’ll be clean as well!”
“Okies!”
Watching as the boy plays a series of notes on the flute, Peter sees the rats swim across the river, the first landing on the island and shaking as Elvis laughs. Biting his tongue, Peter taps his earpiece.
“G?”
“Already sent someone. They should be arriving at your location in two minutes.”
Nodding, Peter lowers himself, looking at Elvis, “Hey, buddy. Some people are going to come here, and they’re going to want to talk to you. Just tell them the truth like you did with me.”
“Ummmmm, okay!”
Hearing the soft footfall of people approaching behind him, Peter turns, nodding at the police and CPS workers as he hands them the sealed bag. Stepping away as he lets the proper authorities talk to the boy, Peter looks towards his house, sighing in frustration as he prepares to leap into the air.
“Thank you, Arachkid!” the voice of Elvis calls out to him. Turning to look at the boy, he gives a two-fingered salute before leaping and swinging away. As much as he’d like to return to his friends, his lie means he should probably head home instead.
Heading back towards where he left his backpack, Peter double-checks all the items are safely tucked away before swinging back through Brooklyn. Silently taking in the setting sun, he continues moving, the motion getting faster and faster as he traverses the area back to Forest Green. How is he going to explain how early he’s back to May and Ben? How is he going to explain anything to his friends? If he knew that being a hero would mean lying to his closest friends and family, Peter might have wanted nothing to do with this.
Sighing, he flips as he lands on top of the Cinemart, changing into his clothes before flipping down to street level. Walking up the road towards his childhood home, Peter can’t shake a sense of unease as he approaches the building. Something feels… different. Unpleasant. Like something is waiting for him, and he’s not liking the feeling.
Feet thudding heavily against the wooden decking, Peter can make out the faint murmuring of voices. It almost sounds like… like May and Ben have a guest. Two, to be exact, but that’s even stranger. Silently pressing open the door, Peter crouches as he stalks his way towards the living room, the hairs on his body sticking up as he raises his wrists. Sure, it’ll give his guardians a bit of a shock, seeing him shoot webs, but he shouldn’t be hiding this from them if they’re in danger.
Turning the corner, Peter peeks in, seeing a wheelchair, and he freezes. A wheelchair? Why is there a wheelchair here? No, wait, the more important question is, how did the wheelchair get in the house? Telekinesis? Wait, but that means-
A sharp inhalation and the sound of someone falling to their knees snap Peter out of his thoughts as he barrels into the room. Looking around, he sees the surprised faces of May, crouched against the floor as she steadies a young woman with dark, crimson hair. A woman whom Peter knew a bit too well from his fantasies about being a hero.
Jean Grey.
Then the person in the wheelchair is-
“Hello, Peter. I’m Professor Charles Xavier.”