A/N: So it's been a while... I need to apologise to you guys (those of you who've stuck around anyways). This past few months were really hard for various reasons. For better or worse writing simply couldn't be a priority up to a few days back. I was keeping random notes of ideas every now and then on the story but I couldn't bring myself to so much as get out of bed let alone sit down and be productive with my hobbies. Still I made it out of the dark period and I am back. To those of you who reviewed all this time asking me back and hoping for this story to continue I owe a huge thank you. You are part of the reason I pushed through. This is a bit smaller than usual but I am already working on the next one. No promised on the next update (summer term in my master has been hard and it's barely started) but it will come. Please read and review!

The sound of the ringing bell was almost drowned by the hastily moving students who hurried to gather their things and leave the classroom as soon as possible, yet Professor Gerting's voice managed to be heard over the commotion, "Mr. Parker, a word please!"

Feeling all eyes turning on him in surprise, Peter gathered his things and approached the teacher's desk, as his classmates filled out of the classroom."Yes Mr. Gerting?" he asked, somewhat surprised himself. His science teacher rarely had comments for him that demanded privacy.

The middle-aged, grey-haired man removed his glasses and intertwined his fingers on the desk before establishing eye contact with his student. "It's about your essay on circuits." The man paused long enough to retrieve said paper from the stack of papers in front of him.

Peter all but gasped at the big, red, circled 'C-' that was marked on the top right corner.

Clearing his throat the professor continued, "Compared to the rest of the handed in work of your classmates this was satisfactory, but knowing you, this is clearly last minute and not your usual quality work, Peter. This is sloppy, poorly referenced and completely vacant of your usual critical thinking and insight."

Peter looked at the man dumbfounded. He knew it wasn't his best work, but after two years of impeccable performance, he'd expect the man would've cut him some slack.

"I would like you to work on the paper again and hand it in on Wednesday."

Peter now gaped at the man disbelievingly, "But Mr. G! That only gives me two evenings! I've got a ton of homework for the rest of my classes, not to mention the oncoming exam for your class in two weeks! It's not an F and you said it yourself, it is satisfactory! Why do I have to redo it?"

The man shook his head before answering, "Because I would hate to be forced to lower your term grade to a B. I know you're aiming for Ivy League universities and a B would not look nice at all in your future applications. You need to learn to produce top-notch material, Peter and this clearly is sloppy work. I don't want you losing your focus. If you wish I can take this directly to your guardian and discuss it with her."

"No, sir. That won't be necessary," Peter said through gritted teeth. "You'll have the new essay by Wednesday." Not expecting any answer by his up-to-now favorite teacher, the young man turned his back and left the classroom as quickly as he could without running.

Arriving at his locker he attempted opening it, but his trembling with anger hands could not get the combination right. Yelling angrily he punched the metal door causing a big dent to form on it.

"Shit!" Peter mumbled looking around him to make sure nobody had noticed what happened.

"Indeed… You ok?"

Jumping a bit at the spoken words he turned to face Wanda before shaking his head tiredly, "Stupid Gerting wants me to redo a perfectly satisfactory essay or he'll drop my term grade."

Wanda grimaced and gestured with her head for Peter to follow her outside. "Sorry to hear that. Can't you take the lowered grade and tell him to shove it up his…..? I mean you are some sort of genius, right?"

Peter laughed sarcastically at that, "Tony was a genius, graduating from MIT at 17. I am just doing better than the average student. If I want a chance at an Ivy League school I need my GPA as perfect as possible. Plus, Tony would be extremely disappointed if I screwed up in Science of all things."

Tugging a few stray locks behind her ear Wanda clicked her tongue and eyed her friend sideways, "I seriously doubt that Pete. You need to tell him if you're in a tight spot. He could help you, or you could arrange to do fewer patrols until things at school get back under control."

"Are you kidding?" Peter exclaimed disbelievingly. "I fought tooth and nail to get to be able patrol and to be taken seriously! I am not gonna look like a stupid kid who can't handle what he is assigned!"

Rolling her eyes Wanda chose not to voice her thoughts on male pride and ego. "Well, hang in there then. It's a rough week. It will pass."

Humphing in an annoyed way Peter shook his head and mumbled something under his breath before collapsing at their usual bench at the back of the schoolyard. "Anyways, how was your day up to now?"

"Kinda weird. Mrs. Kloss announced that she will go on leave due to some urgent family matters. I am expecting the substitute tomorrow."

"That's bad luck. Mrs. K rocks. I hope she'll be back next year," Peter answered rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Yeah. I hope whoever comes in her place is at least tolerable. Hey, Pete? Don't go rabid on me or anything, but you really look like shit. Ghostly pale, dark circles… Even if you don't say a word, if Tony sees you he'll know immediately you're in over your head."

Smiling at her concern he simply shook his head dismissively. "Tony won't see me till next weekend hopefully. And I'll try to get some more sleep tonight. Don't you go turning into May on me."

"Aren't you worried though that she might tell Tony how tired you look?"

"Are you kidding? All you have to do to reassure May that you are ok is to ask for food."

Shaking her head, Wanda chuckled and hopped to her feet to greet her fast approaching boyfriend with a kiss.

The muffled ringing made Peter jump from his seat. He looked around him in a bewildered way to search for his phone. After some rummaging under the loose papers and open books that cluttered his desk, he managed to grab it and answer before checking the caller. "Hello?"

"Hey, kid, everything ok?"

"Tony?"

"The one and only. I saw you were still at home and got a bit worried."

"Still at home?" Peter asked his mind still foggy. Removing his cellphone from his ear for a second to check the time he saw he was half an hour late to start his patrol. "Shit! I lost track of time! Shit, shit, shit! I'm off Tony, I'll be out of the window in less than five!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Slow down!" Came Tony's suspicious answer. "I asked you if everything is alright!"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's great, just a lot of homework and I lost track of time. Sorry!"

"Don't apologize, Pete. School comes first. Always. If you need to take the night off or the whole week..."

"No! No way! I can handle this, don't worry!"

"Are you sure? It's ok having a rough week kid, nobody will think any less of you…"

"No, Tony, really. It's fine, I promise. I need to go! Bye!" Hanging up the phone abruptly the slim framed boy ran to his wardrobe and made fast work of pulling his suit on before throwing himself out of his window.

The glowing blue eyes followed the fluid movements of the young superhero examiningly. He watched from a distance noting his reflexes and more aggressive than usual attacks. He analysed his defensive moves and his judgement calls. Five minutes into his second scene for that night and Tony knew Peter was somewhat off his game. Not to the point that he was endangering his safety but enough to get the man worried. He opted to continue to observe from a distance and not get involved unless absolutely necessary.

When the time neared Peter's curfew, he watched in relief the kid move through the town towards his home. Allowing ten minutes to pass, he made his own way towards the familiar by now balcony. As soon as he approached the building he turned down the power on his own suit to avoid making loud noises that would stir or startle Peter or May in case they were already asleep.

Almost silently he managed to land on the balcony floor and then promptly removed the armor before glancing through the kid's window.

Peter for the third time that day all but jumped from his chair, feeling that someone was watching him. When his eyes met those of Tony he sighed in relief. "You scared me, man, I thought someone had followed me home!"

"Just me…" Tony said casually as he climbed through the window into the teen's room. He scanned the small space and knew that Peter had no intention of sleeping any time soon, what with his laptop turned on with a word document open, and numerous books and printed papers cluttering the kid's wooden desk. Returning his gaze to Peter he noticed how quickly the teen turned his back on him to presumably continue working on his assignment.

Walking to the twin bed next to the desk, Tony sat down and peered at Peter intently. "This does not look like you're handling things, Pete," he said in an even tone after a few silent sighed but said nothing, simply shaking his head. He felt too exhausted to argue and he had a shitload of work to go through."Why didn't you tell me you needed some time off?" Tony asked again.

"Because I don't! Ok?" Peter snapped in an exasperated tone turning towards the man as he threw his hands in the air. Tony's brow immediately furrowed and he eyed the young man with what Peter had come to recognize as the "warning look".

Sighing, Peter rubbed his eyes as he apologized, "Sorry. Sorry for snapping. It's just a bit busy at school, but I can make it work. I can do this."

"Nobody doubts you can, Peter, but that doesn't mean you have to. You might be doing solo acts but you are also part of a team. That entails the luxury of asking for help when you need it."

Peter's fatigue started winning over as he reacted angrily again, "I don't want to need help, Ok? I need you all to back the hell off and let me handle my own shit!"

Tony immediately stood and walked directly over to the kid placing his hands in his denim pants pockets before informing Peter in a stern tone, "You obviously can't handle your shit if you can't go through a simple discussion without behaving like a disrespectful brat! This is your last warning, mind your attitude!"

Losing it now at the scolding tone, Peter jumped to his feet as well, "I am minding my fucking attitude! I wasn't bothering anyone, I came home to do my damn homework minding my own bloody business! I am just trying to attend to my responsibilities and all of you people are all over my case constantly!"

"Ok, you know what, I've heard and seen enough! You look and sound like you haven't slept in days, you were decent enough out there but you were obviously off your game, and you are clearly not willing to solve this logically…"

Peter interrupted the man in an accusing tone, "Wait, you mean you followed me out there even after I told you everything was under control?"

His tone rising slightly Tony answered, "Yes because what you told me was clearly a lie, possibly to yourself as well, along with me! Peter that's enough! Consider yourself grounded from Spider-Man duty for a week. If you're not gonna take this seriously on your own accord. I will do it for you!"

"This is bullshit!" Peter exclaimed angrily.

"Utter one more word that is not respectful acceptance of your grounding and we'll be visiting my house for a quick attitude adjustment."

Peter groaned loudly before slamming his laptop shut and plopped dramatically face first on his bed.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose trying to remind himself how irritable he also used to be at Peter's age and took a couple of deep breaths."One week, Pete. Focus on just school and rest. We'll talk tomorrow." When he received no answer he rolled his eyes at the drama-queen attitude and simply ruffled Peter's hair as he climbed out of his window and into his suit.

Peter waited a bit before peeking through the window. When he made sure he was alone he pressed his pillow over his mouth to muffle his angry yell of "FUCK!"

Peter waited patiently for the answer on the other end of the line.

"There's a call I wasn't expecting this morning," came Tony's amused tone.

"I feel like an ass. Sorry about last night," Peter said in what he hoped was an apologetic tone.

"Apology accepted. And don't worry, I get it. Everyone loses it every now and then. It comes with the territory. Did something happen at school?"

"Nothing too important. Don't worry. Just stupid teachers who think we have nothing better to do than completing their assignments."

"Which is kinda true, you being a student and all."

"Not true for me, Tony. Or Wanda. Anyways. Look, is there any chance you might change your mind about my Spider-Man grounding?"

"Nope. You focus on school for this week, it won't be the end of the world and you know it. School should be your top priority now anyway , Pete. We've talked about this."

Shoulders slumping Peter managed to not sigh in disappointment. "Right. It was worth a try. Anyways, I gotta go now. Talk to you soon."

"Have a good day kid!"

The young man hanged up the phone and shoved it in his denim pocket. He glanced absent-mindedly around him as he slowly walked through the school gate. He was a bit surprised to see a tall and muscular looking man sitting outside of the small guard-room next to the gate. He peered through the ajar door as he passed by thinking Mr. Clover, the middle-aged chubby security guard that usually worked in that post would be inside. Spotting nobody else he turned his gaze back to the school and continued walking.

Passing through the main building's entrance he moved towards his locker. Peering at the dent he caused last night momentarily, he sighed and made quick work of unlocking the metal door and arranging the books he wouldn't need for the first two periods inside.

When he closed the locker's door he gasped audibly and shifted automatically to a defensive combat posture, at spotting suddenly a tall and slim figure that stood directly next to him.

The slim man smiled looking down at the young man, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Peter lowered his hands and shifted his body and awkwardly replied, "No worries."

"Martial arts?" the man asked again, his smile broadening but never reaching his eyes.

Peter cleared his throat. "Yeah, martial arts." He couldn't place why exactly but this man creeped him out a bit. Nodding once he turned his back to him and headed hastily back to the yard, wondering who the guy was and why his Spider-Sense did not alert him to his presence.

"Have you spotted all the new personnel around here?" Quill asked with his eyes closed. He was laying on the grass, his head was resting on Wanda's lap and she was running her fingers through his thick blonde locks.

"New personnel?" she asked back glancing at the rest of their company.

"I spotted a janitor I hadn't seen before," came MJ's answer from her spot on the bench next to Peter.

"And there's this new guard. I hope they didn't fire Mr. Clover," added Ned.

Peter noted everyone's words and contemplating mentioning the creepy man he spotted that morning, but quickly changed his mind as he hadn't seen him again after that.

"Probably changed the personnel agency they used before?" Ned continued.

"Yeah, probably," commented Peter absentmindedly.

Wanda glanced around them in time to spot the guard Ned mentioned looking their way. When their eyes met he averted his eyes and scanned over the rest of the yard.

"Creepy day…" She said quietly.

"You think so too?" Peter asked.

"She's just in a bad mood. the substitute will be coming in today," MJ commented. "Don't worry, Wen. It's gonna be fine, I'm sure of it."

The brunette girl only smiled in response. Her mind raced through all what her friends had noticed though, thinking it was a bit of a weird coincidence that all of the school's helping personnel and her teacher changed in one day.

As the bell marked the end of their recess period, the small group got to their feet and headed slowly back to the building, each lost to their own thoughts.

Wanda was pacing about tiredly in the room where she'd meet her new teacher. The fact that he or she was 10 minutes late did little to impress the girl and she couldn't shake the feeling that she wouldn't enjoy this sudden change in her academic routine.

The sound of the door opening made the young girl turn. At the other end of the room, a tall thin man smiled at her. His hair was ashy blonde, his face pale and his cheeks flushed -probably from running. He wore a thin pair of glasses and had dark circles under his eyes. His shoulders were a bit hunched and he was dressed in a checkered blue shirt and grey pants. The girl could not make a guess on his age. He could pass anywhere between 35 and 50.

His voice sounded hoarse when he said, "You must be Miss Wendy Jones! I am Jared Shawl, we'll be doing Geography and Science together."

Forcing a smile Wanda approached the man and offered her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Shawl."

As the man took the hand and shook it the small stack of books he held in his hands fell to the floor with a loud thud. "Oops! Sorry for that, Wendy!" he uttered hastily and lowered to grab the books from the floor. He then offered an awkward smile as he set them on the closest desk.

Wanda forced another fake smile and sat at the table waiting for the man to sit. She couldn't explain why but she didn't like him at all.

"How about showing me what you've covered so far?" Mr. Shawl said with his hoarse voice, as he came to stand above Wanda.

The girl opened her notes and books and started guiding the man through the various chapters.

"Wow! You sure have progressed very well for such a short time. You've been here for less than two months right?"

"Just about, yes."

"Now, I just received your file yesterday so please do remind me, where did you use to live?"

Eyeing the man uneasily Wanda again forced a smile "I used to live in California. I don't like getting into details if you don't mind. What's important is I lost a couple of years in school and now I am trying to cover the gaps. I am sure you know from my file that the goal is to join 11th grade next year."

Smiling a dull smile that showed yellowish teeth the man nodded and rubbed his hands, "Let's begin then!"

The group of five reclined lazily in the local park enjoying what should be one of the last warmish days of the season.

When Quill, MJ, and Ned briefly left to get ice creams for everyone, Wanda scooted closer to Peter.

"Not that I wanna be a jerk or anything, but shouldn't you be working on that essay thing instead of hanging out with us?"

Shaking his head tiredly Peter mumbled, "Between last night's patrol, the fight with Tony and the pop-quiz on history during the last period, I couldn't even stay awake, let alone study if I went home. I have already done half of the stupid paper and will finish up tonight. I'm not allowed out to patrol so I can exploit those hours to complete it."

Nodding in understanding Wanda only commented, "you know best I guess."

"Oh!", Peter exclaimed after a few silent seconds. "How was the new teacher, I completely forgot to ask you."

Wanda contemplated her answer for a few seconds, playing with her hair absentmindedly. "I really don't have the words. I can't say I liked him but I can't explain why. He was pretty decent in Science though. He said he has a great idea for something that could help me develop my knowledge much further but that he'd tell me more tomorrow 'cause he needed to research it a bit."

Nodding Peter commented, "Sounds nice." A thought playing in his head, he then asked, "Hey, Wanda, has Cap forbid you from using your powers at school?"

"Yeah. I mean we aim to keep my identity hidden and in school, we could risk that if anybody saw. Plus they're still a bit unstable and with nobody around to intervene if things go south they could potentially be risky and dangerous," the girl answered rising a bit from her lying down position to recline on her elbows. "Why do you ask?" she asked her friend suspiciously.

"Selfish reasons that I won't share unless it's absolutely necessary."

"You want me to manipulate Gerting, don't you?" the girl asked knowingly.

"Maybe… That way I could get some rest tonight and start revising for the exam," Peter answered truthfully looking the girl in the eyes.

Wanda shook her head unsure of what to answer. "I guess I could if we make sure nobody saw. Steve will go ballistic though if he finds out."

"I got my Spider-sense and everything so I'll know if anyone approaches," Peter reasoned.

Wanda thought that over for a bit before nodding. "Yeah, ok. I think he was unfair to you anyways. We won't be doing anything wrong, right?"

A huge smile started spreading on his face as Peter answered, "Thank you so much, Wanda."

"Mr. G, I got the essay," Peter yelled through the usual commotion that accompanied the end of the science period.

The middle-aged man smiled proudly at his student and turned his attention to gathering his things to place them back in his worn, brown, leather document bag, as he waited for Peter to approach.

The young man stalled successfully, pretending that he was gathering his things and checking if all the pages of the supposed paper were there. As soon as the last student left the class he walked to the teacher's desk coughing loudly as he passed in front of the classroom's ajar door.

Wanda who was patiently waiting outside, immediately stepped in upon hearing the agreed upon a cough.

Professor Gerting turned with a kind smile towards her, as Peter handed him a stack of papers, "If you could give us a minute please?" the man kindly said.

Wanda smiled widely answering, "That won't be necessary Mr. G.!"

Before the man had the chance to answer she moved behind him and raised both her hands on each side of his head. As the pupils in the man's eyes enlarged considerably and his gaze turned vacant, Peter jogged to the door to lock it from the inside.

His spider-sense not alerting him for anything he turned his back to the door and got captivated by the red swirling light that swirled from his friend's fingers and danced around the man. Wanda was whispering in his ear with her hair swaying from the flow of energy that coursed through her. After another second the girl lowered her hands and winked at Peter.

"So, Mr. Gerting, how was the assignment after all?" Peter asked anxiously.

"Exemplary as always, dear Peter. Now, if you two would excuse me, I need to proceed to the staff meeting!"

Smile becoming even bigger, Peter unlocked the door and held it open for the man to exit. Then he jogged to Wanda and the two of them bumped their fists triumphantly.

"I think I liked that trick," Wanda winked at her friend. And the two of them exited the classroom completely missing a figure hiding in the corridor's shadows just a few feet away and watching them.

Quill looked at his girlfriend longingly as she broke their kiss and smiled. "Please say yes! I can't stand the guy and you are pretty decent in science!"

Chuckling at her words the blonde answered, "Pretty decent is one thing, tutoring is another! I've never been asked to tutor anyone before!"

"Well, I am not anyone and this is not tutoring. It's paired studying. 'Mr. Slime' says it's a very effective method and he asked me to choose someone close to me who is decent in science. You'll be studying with me reviewing the material and helping me get things I haven't really understood so far." Wanda tried.

"Wouldn't Peter be a better candidate for this kind of thing?" Quill asked running a hand through her silky soft hair.

"In terms of academic performance yes. In terms of who I want to spend my time with even when I'm studying, nope!" An idea popping in her mind she smiled suggestively at him adding, "Plus, it's kinda hot don't you think? You teaching me?"

Groaning at her less than fair play, Quill answered, "It would be hot if we were alone with no adult supervision. And a uniform for you, actually…" At the playful slap on his shoulder, he chuckled and brought her in for another kiss.

"Fine, yeah, Ok. I'll give this a try. It might earn me some brownie points with your aunt too. You sure 'Slime' will be ok with this?"

"He already said yes. I told him 'my friend Peter would love to do it' and he happily agreed."

Snickering Quill answered, "I would bet he thought of Parker. He's the famous science Peter in the school after all."

"Well, who cares? He said I could choose, right? I chose you and that's the end of it."

Smiling and leaning in for another kiss Quill mumbled, "You are something else, Wen'."

As the bell rang notifying them that recess had ended, Wanda hopped to her feet first. "Remember, today after-school period! I need you in room 107 at four fifteen! Don't let me spend any more minutes alone with that guy."

"Four fifteen, room 107. See you then!"

As Quill moved through the corridors he gasped at the sudden abrupt collision with another moving body.

"Watch where you're g… Peter?"

Rubbing his nose that had slammed into the bulkier teen's shoulder Peter asked back, "Quill? Sorry man, I was not expecting anyone being around. What are you doing here?"

"I am staying late to help Wendy with something she asked," he answered and then noticed what resembled a robotic foot in the other boy's hand. "What's that?"

"Robotics," Peter answered awkwardly.

"I thought all clubs were finished by now."

"I had some issue with my programming and stayed back to solve it. I'll be done in an hour or so. Do you guys wanna meet when I finish?"

"Nah, we'll be here until five thirty and Wanda needs to get home afterward.

"Oh, ok. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Peter quipped waving the metal foot.

When Quill disappeared at the end of the corridor Peter worriedly wondered if something was indeed off with his powers. His Spider-sense the day before, his reflexes now. Something felt a bit off and he couldn't place it.

As he proceeded towards the computer lab, he glanced out of the window and noticed that the schoolyard was unusually quiet. Setting the robotic foot on the closest table he quietly moved back towards the room's door and peered through its glass window. His eyes catching the sudden movement he immediately dropped to the floor fractions of seconds before the glass shattered into a thousand pieces by something that crashed onto it. Looking behind him he saw a small dart with an attached vial rolling across the floor.

"Shit!" He cursed quietly. Using his hearing he detected two pairs of feet moving towards the room.

Moving silently he climbed from the wall on the right side of the door all the way to the ceiling and waited for the pair to enter the dimly lit room. As soon as the two men walked into the room, Peter immediately blasted two balls of web that successfully threw their weapons out of their hands. Before they had time to raise their heads towards him, he blasted webbing from both of his wrists covering the men's heads tightly. Their yells muffled, the teen jumped down and grabbing one of the guns used it to knock them both out with a solid hit on each of their heads. Taking out his phone with trembling hands he immediately called Wanda.

When she didn't answer he felt his gut clenching and he desperately tried Quill, who again did not answer. Fingers trembling he typed a quick message and sent it to both of them hoping they weren't picking up because their lesson had started.
'Armed men in school. I think they're after us. Hide!'