"Do you even know how expensive vibranium is?"
Tony answered a few more questions before waving goodbye to Peter’s class and headed back to his lab. Flash’s red face would have made Peter smile on any other day, but he was just as embarrassed as Flash was. However, Peter was glad that Flash wouldn’t be grilling him anymore about the internship, it was starting to get on Peter’s nerves. The class all crammed into an elevator as Letitia asked F.R.I.D.A.Y to take them to the 27th floor as it was one of the lower level labs mainly home to various prototypes. As soon as the elevator “dinged” and the doors slid open, the students filed out of the elevator, most of them not too fond of the tight space.
“Okay, Midtown! We have reached the prototype floor, my personal favorite! This floor contains lots of unused or retired technology, mostly built by Tony Stark himself. You will have about 30 minutes for this floor and then we will head on down to the cafeteria for lunch! Sound good?” Letitia asked as she finished explaining the plan. The class nodded in agreement as they split off to cover the floor.
Many of them were particularly interested in the first arc reactor that Tony had built in Afghanistan. It was mind-blowing to Peter that Tony was able to create a seemingly impossible arc reactor in a freaking cave. The blue glow that radiated off of the device was reflected in MJ’s curious eyes. She observed the object for a few more seconds before some other prototype caught her attention. Not that Peter was staring at her or anything, he was just, curious.
He and Ned wandered over to the section that displayed all of Captain America’s shield variations back in World War II. None of them were made of vibranium, as the only one was the shield that Steve carried on his back. They were mostly made of tough metals ranging from steel to titanium. Peter and Ned often wondered how Howard Stark was able to get his hands on vibranium, as Wakanda obtained almost all of it.
“Do you know how cool it would be if you incorporated vibranium into your web shooters?!” Ned asked Peter, grinning from ear to ear.
“Dude, do you even know how expensive vibranium is? Mr. Stark can barely get his hands on it, let alone a sixteen year old high schooler.” Peter replied, still pondering the idea that Ned brought up.
“But aren’t you like, best friends with the princess of Wakanda?” Ned questioned, as Peter gave Ned a look to lower his voice. The conversation was getting too loud for such a private topic, even though Peter and Ned were both pretty sure that MJ, who was quietly observing them, already knew.
“You mean Shuri? Nah, I’ve just hung out with her a few times when she and her brother visit the compou-”
“Code red. There has been a compromise in the security of the building. Please find a safe place to remain as the issue is currently being handled. Code Red. There has been a compromise in the security of the building.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted as the AI’s cryptic words washed a wave of fear over everyone. Peter felt a familiar tingle in the back of his neck and he knew that danger was present.
“Ned, we gotta get everyone behind those doors,” Peter said as he gestured towards the glass doors of the adjoining lab. Ned flashed Peter a worried look. “I know the doors are glass, but it’s the best we’ve got.” Peter reassured him. Peter and Ned returned to the frantic group of students who were being rounded up like a flock of cattle by Letitia and Mr. Harrington.
“I know this is probably scary but I can assure you that we are all going to be alright,” Letitia told the frightened students. Even the stupid smirk Flash always displayed was wiped from his face.
“We need to get behind these glass doors,” Peter said to the group, and no one seemed to protest. Any protection from whatever threat was out there was protection. The students squeezed through the double glass doors and Peter shut the doors behind them. He tried his cell phone to call Mr. Stark but was met with a “no service signal.” Whoever these intruders were must have been good, as it was nearly impossible to infiltrate the cellphone signal to the compound. This only worried Peter more as there was an actual threat looming somewhere in the compound.
No one made a sound, you couldn’t even hear the shifting of legs as everyone was dead silent. The class was all sat down on the floor behind a large lab station.
“Are you okay?” Peter whispered to Michelle, whose usually stern and emotionless face showed some signs of worry. The answer she gave him surprised him to say the least.