The Dare
Peter spun a pencil between his fingertips absentmindedly. Ned scrolled through the laptop in front of him, before freezing. "Hey, Peter. You have anything to do right now, or can you fill out this survey for me?" Ned asked.
Peter looked up, throwing the pencil in the air and catching it, before replying. "For what?"
"I saw it on the news this morning, Stark Industries is doing some lottery thing. If you pass a test, then you have a chance to become an intern. I bet you'll pass." Ned explained, an eager look crossing his face.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "What do I need put in? I don't exactly have an address and I'll bet I need to do that."
"You can put mine! You just need first and last name, address, which you can put mine in, date of birth, and email. Then fill out the test and wait for the response email telling you whether you passed or not! I dare you to do it, you can't turn down a dare." Ned explained eagerly.
After a few moments, Peter shrugged. "You know what, why not? It's not like he'll pull my name out of however many others pass. Even if I do pass." He finally replied.
Ned slid over the computer, and Peter began answering the questions. It took all of study hall, and into lunch. Actually, it took most of the lunch period too. He ate at while he filled it out. "Jeez, this is a long test," Ned muttered.
"Dude, I just got like three-quarters of the way through. I'm gonna have to steal this computer if I'm ever gonna finish it." Peter growled, looking irritated.
Harley gave him a half-smile, as Ned just frowned. "How long is this supposed to take for adults?" He asked as Peter scribbled an equation on a piece of paper.
Harley raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at the computer. "This is complicated stuff. Like, college stuff." He pointed out.
Peter put his pencil down and typed down an equation before hitting enter, and moving on to the next problem, a word problem in which a 500-word answer and explanation needed to be provided. "Jesus..." Harley muttered, not able to watch anymore.
When lunch ended and foods class began, Ned realized that the test he had dared Peter to finish, had 200 questions. Peter was at question 194. "You're almost done." Ned encouraged, as Peter typed quickly, his hands flying over the keyboard barely touching the keys before moving on to the next key.
Ned watched curiously as Peter typed, occasionally moving on to the next word before finishing the previous one. This was something Peter had always done. He always spoke quickly, because his mind moved quickly. Because of his Jewish heritage, he'd always been raised to speak his mind, and have few unspoken opinions. Combine this with his open personality and hyperactive mind, he's almost never quiet. He needs to get something out, write it down, put it into the world somehow before his brain moves onto the next thing to focus on. It was a cycle he always followed. Think, say it, move on, repeat.
Ned watched Peter type, as the teacher went on about how too much flour or sugar can ruin a dish. Ned watched as the number in the top left corner of the browser slowly went up. 193... 194... 195... Halfway through the class, Peter finished the test. Ned sat up eagerly. "Great job, Peter! You finished a 200 question test- if you get an internship you totally have to introduce me to Tony Stark."
"Internship doesn't mean I'll meet the former CEO. Or the current CEO. Or anyone really important as a matter of fact." Peter sighed, closing the computer as a relieved look crossed his face. "I'm gonna take the most hardcore nap. Wake me up five minutes before the bell rings." He sighed, as he set his head down on his arms.
Ned watched his friend slept and began filling out a paper they were given by the substitute.
* * *
Rain pattered down on the ground, seeming to never stop, as Spider-Man swung downtown, listening for a crime. Or anything of value really. The test had drained him, but he had more than enough energy to go and fight crime as his alter-ego. He smiled as he found a tall building, to sit and look over the city. The view up here is beautiful... this will never get old. He let his mind wander, as he stood on the roof. The wind blew into his face, and even though his sad excuse of a mask kept him from straight up freezing, it still sent chills up his spine. Peter glanced around for a moment, before he felt a sharp, almost painful, throbbing in the back of his skull, warning him. He quickly leaped out of the way, when a round of bullets went off behind him. He dodged the bullets expertly, before finally getting a good look at his attackers. Two men and one woman were aiming their guns at him. "WOAH! Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on people like that?!" He shouted, before getting some footing.
The man with a goatee smirked, as he stopped to reload. The woman had two guns strapped to her back, and a Winchester rifle in her hands. The other man had a bandana over his face and a number of grenades strapped to his belt. He was firing an Uzi at him. Spidey dodged expertly. "Man- why are you guys firing at me!? What'd I ever do?! Other than potentially stop your drug rings?!" He shouted.
"We don't give a damn about you. We just need you out of the way before we initiate phase two." The woman replied, a smile on her face.
"Woah I'm phase one? What's phase two? It sounds cool."
"Phase two is Debbie and Bubble's kid." Bandana hissed.
Spider-Man went rigid. Debbie and Bubble were two women that visited the FEAST shelter often. They had their own financial troubles, and they'd had trouble finding a job. Debbie was an Irish immigrant, and Bubble was from Spain. Unfortunately, neither spoke English so that made them finding a job so much harder. Their son's name was Arturo, Peter and Harley would essentially babysit him for them. Arturo was just eight, he called Peter, Debul, and called Harley, Bubbie. He mixed his mother's names, and nickname, to make their nicknames. The boys wore them like a trophy.
The woman elbowed Bandana sharply, as Spidey turned, his voice going from the lighthearted tone to dark and threatening. "You aren't going to lay a hand on him." He growled.
"That's why taking you out is the first priority. Those kids will be difficult, but you're the biggest concern." Goatee sneered, as he began firing again.
With renewed vigor and a sudden urge to protect, Spider-Man dodged the bullets with ease, before getting close enough to disarm the man. The woman frowned and sighed. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." She picked up her rifle and fired a round.
It completely missed him, hitting a wall behind him. Spidey stared at her. "Was... was that supposed to hit me?" He asked genuinely confused.
"Of course not, I never miss."
A loud cracking sound made Spidey turn when red pellets began flying everywhere. They stuck to Spidey's suit and began burning. Smoke emitted off of them, as they turned white hot. Spidey screamed as they began burning through his undershirt and into his skin. He stumbled backward as the burning pellets burned their way painfully into his skin, and he was falling. His mind spun, as pain enveloped his limbs and torso. Without thinking, he began swinging in a random direction, before crashing onto the ground. He let out a pained sob. His ears rang, as he curled in on himself, trying to stop the pain. A hand touched his head, before pulling the mask up. "-der? Got... up... -ap..." A voice spoke to him.
He attempted to decipher what they were saying, but his head didn't stop spinning, as pain erupted in his chest. He felt whoever had found him, pick him up, and carry him somewhere. Peter closed his eyes. Where-ever they're taking me can't be much worse than this...
* * *
The sun set on the New York City skyline, as Harley paced anxiously back and forth. Ned and MJ watched the boy pace. "So you have no idea where he could be?" Ned asked.
"No! For the billionth time Ned, I have no idea where Peter is! He went out after school for a bit, and he didn't come back." Harley snapped.
"Chill out man, maybe he's just taking forever. No need to hit the panic button." MJ sighed.
"You don't get it. People don't like us. Hell- most of them want us dead. We check in, leave notes, draw symbols. We let each other know when we're going somewhere. I haven't found any signs or notes, and he wouldn't forget something like this. It's really important for us, it's how we know we're okay." He whimpered, his hand beginning to shake. "It's how we know the other is still alive."
Ned and MJ went quiet, giving the trembling boy a worried look. "What should we do? Call the police?" Ned asked.
"No- if we get the police involved they'll get CPS involved, and that'll make the situation so much worse." Harley sighed
MJ kept a calm look on her face. "I'm sure he's fine. He probably just got caught up with something. You know how he is."
* * *
"He's definitely not fine. The pellets embedded themselves in his skin, they'd have kept sinking deeper into him if you hadn't found him." Claire sighed.
"Thank you for helping him, I can take care of him from here." A resident lawyer, Matt Murdock sighed.
Claire nodded. "He'll probably be in a lot of pain when he wakes up, he burned through the medication pretty quickly. Superhuman metabolism I guess. Just try to keep him calm, if you need help, you know who to call." She added, tugging gently at the red and blue clad vigilante's mask.
Both of them had truly wanted to pull the mask off. To know who the man was, how young or old he was, how healthy he was. They were curious, just like every other human was. But they had resisted temptation and left the mask untouched. Claire left the room, leaving an exhausted Spider-Man and concerned Daredevil. He had heard gunshots and left to investigate it and realized that Spider-Man was being attacked. And he'd lost. He had listened to the spider scream in pain, and beg for help. He'd called Claire Temple, who had found multiple white pellets embedded in his skin, and removed them, only to find out they were scalding hot.
Matt's train of thought had been cut off, by a soft groan. He looked up from the sandwich he was making, he was on his third. He was sure that the man must be hungry, Claire had elaborated on how he was severely malnourished, and in his early twenties at the latest based on his body structure. So Matt was making food for him. He turned to face the waking vigilante. "W-what..? Where... where am I?" He muttered.
"You're at my place, I found you and brought to my place. Don't worry, we never took off your mask." He promised the man, who had jolted up.
"Oh... okay... where is your place?" He asked, sitting up.
Matt frowned, hearing the vigilante's heartbeat speed up to a dangerously high pace. "Calm down, we're just in an apartment complex in uptown Hell's Kitchen." He reassured. "Just take a deep breath, you were in a nasty condition."
Spidey turned to the lawyer, as he picked up the three sandwiches he had, and walked towards the couch. He sat next to Spidey and stared at him as he shifted uncomfortably away. It was like the man was seeing straight through him, or like he wasn't seeing him at all. Spidey hesitated, even more, when the man handed him two sandwiches. "Did you think I seriously just made myself three sandwiches? I can't eat that much. But I'm willing to bet you can." He offered, putting his hand out farther.
Spidey hesitated once more, before snatching the sandwiches quickly. He quickly lifted up his mask, just above his nose, and scarfed down one. He stared at the second sandwich for a moment, before holding onto it. Harley'll be hungry too...
"So. How do you feel?" Matt asked.
Spidey stared at him for a moment, before bringing his hand to his chest with a soft groan. "Like I was dropped in a bucket of acid."
"You practically burnt to a crisp. If I'd taken any longer to find you, I doubt you'd be alive. Those little pellets are magnetized and are attracted to each other. They'd have kept burning through your body till your full of holes." Matt explained, pointing to the tray of little black pellets.
"They were red when the bullet exploded," Spider-Man observed curiously.
"They're dark because they've cooled off. Are you going to eat that other sandwich?"
Spidey stiffened, looking hesitant. "It's for a friend."
"Okay, then take more food. It's not like I'm running out." Matt said firmly, turning around, and grabbing granola bars.
"No- no no no no- it's fine. I don't need it-"
"Don't lie, I can tell you need it," Matt replied, barely acknowledging the vigilantes' yelps in protest.
He grabbed a Walmart bag and put granola bars in. "Take it. I can hear your stomach growling from here." Matt snorted.
Spidey hesitated, staring at the bag, before taking it. "Thank you." He whimpered.
Before Matt could reply, Spidey turned, and leaped out of the window, with the granola bars and sandwich.
"I'm sorry." Mat murmured, as the red and blue clad vigilante fled.
* * *
Harley paced. "Oh god, what if Peter's dead." He whimpered out loud.
"Okay, now you're taking it a bit far." MJ sighed, crossing her arms.
A loud thud made the group jump. "PETER!" Harley screamed, seeing the boy faceplant through the window.
"Oh god are you okay?!" He asked panicked.
"No," Peter replied, pulling off the mask, and taking a gasping breath.
"What happened?" He immediately asked, throwing the mask off to the side and cupping his brothers face.
He groaned softly, pulling away from the touch. "Got shot."
"What?!" Ned screamed, as a horrified look crossed MJ's face.
"Where?" Harley demanded.
"Burns. They're going after Arturo, we gotta tell his moms'." Peter hissed, touching his stinging side.
Harley thrust a shirt and sweatpants at him. "Go change. Then we can talk about this." He demanded.
Peter rolled his eyes, but stood up and left the room. Harley stared after his twin brother, a nervous look on his face. "Something bad happened. I know it." He murmured.
He looked around for a second, before seeing the bag. He opened it and stared in disbelief at the plethora of granola bars and single sandwich. "What the hell..?"
Peter stepped out, his arms wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. "Peter-"
"Guys, I hate to interrupt but Harley interrupted me when I first got here so I guess it's fair. But anyway, I got news." Ned broke in.
The two looked at Ned. "What is it?" Peter asked.
"Peter, we got the results of the test. You passed." MJ answered.
"Yeah, and out of 4.7 million people, only 50 people did," Ned added.
Peter went rigid. "You're kidding." He replied.
"Here's the email!" Ned replied, pulling out his computer.
"No- I... I believe you... holy shit."
"Peter if you get an internship, which could have money involved, you better accept it." Harley hissed, shoving him lightly.
Peter whined in pain, and Harley paled slightly. "Sorry-"
"It's fine. Just let my wounds heal before you do that."
"Who patched you up?" MJ asked.
"Okay, you guys sit down, cause I've got one helluva story to tell you."