Shout Outs: Thanks to MythologyStar for reviewing the story. Thanks to Phoenix X 2 for reviewing the story. Thanks to HayabusaDragonForce for favoring and following the story. Thanks to Nindragon for favoring and following the story. Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story.

Chapter 10: Spider Man's Upgrades

The news of what happened last night spread around the school like wildfire. It seemed that was the only thing people could talk about. Even the Daily Bugle got people talking from outside work. Peter still remained tense from the haunting image that had been displayed and if to make things worse, Tony was on the point of losing his mind. He was now more uptight than before and his guard was definitely up.

Tony even stated that he would come every day after school to pick him up. Of course, Peter refused, insisting that he would be careful but Tony shot down the idea instantly. Because of this mishap, Tony was also being secretive and Peter wanted to know what was going on.

DISTURBING SIGHTS, INTIMIDATING THREATS

Peter glanced at the headline from a nearby table and he heard whispers from the people who were sitting a few seats away from him.

"…It's all Spider Man's fault," one of the students spoke.

Peter recognized him as Trent. He was one of those people who think they're superior—kind of like Flash. If Peter didn't know any better, he would think that Trent and Flash were secretly twins.

"How so?" a girl, Deirdre, asked.

"My mom's insisting that starting from today, she will pick me up and drop me off every day. It's embarrassing," Trent hissed. "If Spider Man wasn't such a threat to Smythe, me coming to school wouldn't be an issue. Hell, I can't even drive by myself without having her telling me to text her whenever I arrived," Trent huffed.

"Oh, that's terrible," Deirdre cooed.

Peter scowled, quirking an eyebrow. Trent then felt that someone was staring them. He turned around to see Peter and shot him a glare.

"What are you staring at, Parker?" he snapped.

"Nothing," Peter shot back.

"Man, I can't believe what had happened the other night. People literally have not stopped talking about it. I bet the News is playing it 24/7," Ned said as they were sitting at their usual seats at the cafeteria table.

"Tell me about it. My dad told me, back at the Police station, it's a mess there," Michelle spoke. "He won't even let me come to visit him like I always do. It's that bad. The scene had everyone on the edge but the question still remains; who would've done it?" Michelle asked, scanning the article as she joined them. She threw a disgusted look, seeing that there was nothing but garbage in the story.

"I have a hunch," Peter replied bitterly.

"What are you going to do about it? You've got to be more careful, Peter. I doubt Tony would let you roam free by yourself because of this," Michelle pointed it out.

Peter suddenly realized what Michelle had said was true. He glanced around as though he was expecting a disguised body guard or hidden cameras which only Tony would know about but yet again, seeing as how Peter hadn't heard from Tony at all, Peter doubt that Tony would send a body guard though Peter could be wrong.

"I doubt it," Peter responded in a low voice. "I haven't heard anything from Tony. No calls, no texts, nothing. I'm getting a bit worried."

Michelle placed on a thoughtful look. "Maybe he's busy? With all of what's going on, of course he wouldn't have the time to say 'hi'."

"But a little 'check in' would be nice, though."

"I guess that's Tony Stark for you," Ned said.

Peter sighed. "I suppose so," he muttered.

After lunch, science came and usually Peter would be excited about having it next but now, he seems so sluggish. He couldn't even pay attention to the subject and got called at least three times. Of course, this would earn a few snickers from Flash and his group though their conversation seemed to have perked Peter's interest and to some extent, he felt a bit irritated.

"How long do you think Spider Man's going to last before his 'daddy' comes to the rescue?" Kong asked, sneering.

Flash rolled his eyes. "You do realize that Spider Man's stronger than you, right? He could pick you up and throw you across the hall without breaking a sweat."

Peter opened his mouth, forming a small o as he just realized that Flash had unknowingly defended Peter. But yet again, Flash was a huge fan of Spider Man, anyway. Meanwhile, Kong merely scoffed.

"But still though. He's not going to last much…whoever is behind the stunt seems pretty keen on wanting to annihilate Spider Man."

Flash gave a thoughtful look and he grinned. "Do you suppose I will make a better Spider Man?"

And that's where Peter dropped his papers and he instantly went down on his knees, slowly picking them up.

"Why don't you be him? Everyone's wondering whose behind the mask," Deirdre cooed.

Flash grinned stupidly. "Yeah, I would be a great Spider Man. I can do half the stuff he can do. I'm better than him anyway."

Peter quirked an eyebrow as he picked up the last paper. Right.

After picking up his papers, Peter walked back to his seat, irritated and slammed his paper down on the table and made a moody look.

Michelle sighed. "Now what happened?"

"Nothing."

While the school was coming to an end, Peter discovered one thing. Even though he had more on his plate to deal with, he now has to worry about Flash and being troubled about Flash was the last person he wanted to be concerned about.

Peter breathed out a sigh of relief as his mentor tightened his jaw, being tense. Almost right after school, Peter had received Tony's text message to meet him at the Stark Enterprises and needless to say, the boy had been relieved to hear from Tony.

But this wasn't quite the greeting Peter had expected. The minute he got here, the air around them felt unnerving and intense.

"I do apologize for not keeping you in touch, Peter but there's a lot going on around here," Tony replied grimacing.

"Like what?"

Tony drew in a sharp breath as he glanced at Happy who gave a nod. He let out a breath and spoke.

"Ever since…that stunt had been pulled, people had started to question whether Iron Man is good enough of a mentor for Spider Man."

"What?!" Peter cried out, jumping from his seat. "But I want you as my mentor—"

Tony made a quavering smile. "You do but the public doesn't. They claim that Iron Man can't keep Spider Man under his wing and all that crap so in two months from now, I must attend a hearing. If the favor is in my side, I will resume being a mentor to you, if not, then I must resign and stand down."

Peter felt deflated, sitting down to his seat as he stared bitterly at the floor. It just wasn't fair. If anything, they should go after Smythe.

"Peter, I want you to listen to me," Tony murmured, sensing that Peter was upset. "Do not worry about this. This is not yours to worry about. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"It's not fair…" Peter mumbled.

Tony cracked a weak smile. "Life's not fair and no one said it would be easy. Keep pushing through and you must remain strong."

"Who's going to look after Stark Enterprises?"

"Oh I will still be around, don't you worry," Tony replied as he felt a hidden plan coming to his mind. "When that time comes, Pepper will be helping out. I trust her enough. However, there is also another reason why I have called you. I guess you could say this news would be more…lighter."

Peter lifted his head as he watched Happy giving an item to Tony who took it.

"New web shooters?" Peter asked as his eyes sparkled with delight. Tony grinned.

"Yes as I think that it's rather time for a new upgrade, don't you think? I think your old one is getting a bit…rusty. These one are your new and improved web shooters. They are still electric proof but they have added features. The new webbing is called Magnetic Webbing; they are able to interfere with any remote controlled frequencies, being fused with magnetic particles. Quite handy, if I do say so myself. You also have LED light which will flash red to indicate if you are ever running low on webs while in action and I think you will find an advantage to other features," a spark was seen in Tony's eyes.

Peter felt eager as he wanted to try out the new tools from the well-designed web shooters. The web shooters was a midnight black color with red linings and to the side, there were patterns of the spider engraved to both sides. Peter traced the design with his hand and it felt rough and cold.

"Cool," Peter breathed as he grinned from ear to ear.

Tony paused as he gave a thoughtful look. "Oh and uhm," he cleared his throat. "Don't touch that button…the one on the side…"

Peter curiously turned the gadget to the side and saw the button.

"Why?"

"Er, trust me. Just don't."

The boy gave a strange look but shrugged it off. If Tony said not to touch it then he won't. Tony probably means well though for the life of him, that damn button got Peter be even more curious about it.

Alistaire stared at the large machine that was in front of him with a hardened look. They had to continue to build the contraption with or without Tony's help. He hoped that the conversation what they had would've went smooth but it didn't. That damn Stark refused. Because of him, Smythe had to think of other plans in order for him and his brat to get off his trail. At least for the time being.

Smythe grinned cruelly.

This plan of his would have them be constantly on the run and he can't wait to get his revenge on Stark.

Him and that little rodent of his.

Author's Note: Good ol' Smythe…tsk green doesn't become you :'D but shit is about to go down and yes, Spidey will also have his suit be upgraded as well but it will be sometime in the future ^^ and Flash…you stupid fool…just—just stay on the ground, will you? What happens next? Find out! Toodles!