CHAPTER NINE: HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

. . .

Peter Parker

. . .

. . .

Remember that part in the super old Jumanji movie right before the stampede of African animals comes barrelling through the living room wall?

The little girl reads the poem, and even though it literally says staying put is a bad idea, they sit there and stare as an ominous rumbling starts to shake the room. And Robin Williams, again, instead of running, gets like nose to nose with the shaking bookcase with everything starting to fall off the shelves.

All while you're screaming at the screen for them to get the hell out.

My ribs connect with the blunt edge of an open dumpster, and I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my side.

The masked attacker, AKA the Murderous Cyber Ninja, AKA Logan West (I think), advances on me. And, like the people in Jumanji, I stay where I am, staring at the oncoming danger instead of running.

Because I have a theory.

Letting myself get pummelled by this guy could serve two possible purposes.

One, if I'm covered in bruises and lacerations, I'll have the proof I need for Sam and Mr. Stark that this isn't in my head.

Two, the closer my attacker gets, the greater my chance is of getting that mask off his face and proving my theory about his identity.

He reaches for me, and I sweep out my leg, hoping to bring him down, but he instead catches my ankle, and with a stomach lurching jerk, I find myself hanging upside down with an awkward view of his knees.

Before I can punch him in the gonads, a dirty move but not one I'm above dishing out, I'm being thrown across the alley into a pile of trash.

I'm starting to see some problems with this plan of mine.

My body is aching, but my attacker hasn't dealt a single blow to my face. In fact, now that I give myself a once over, there's not a single injury that feels like it will have left a mark, at least one that can't be waved away as teenage antics. This guy is bringing me to heel, the way a trainer would an aggressive animal, careful to not hurt me too badly.

I feel my teeth clench at the realization.

Fine. New plan. Kick his ass and string him up in the new/old Avengers tower as a present for Mr. Stark.

I press the spider emblem on my chest to release Droney, hoping to use it as a distraction.

Nothing happens.

And I realize once again that Karen has gone quiet, any extra tech beyond the basics in my suit dark and useless.

Mother trucker.

I take on the goliath in a fury of movement, trying desperately to remember all the moves and training Natasha and Bucky have been instilling in me, trying to summon that murderous calm they both excel at.

But all I succeed in summoning is the murderous part. A desperate, wild fury at being toyed with, at being hunted yet again, with everyone thinking me crazy. Reckless and lashing out, an animal cornered . . .

God, Parker, enough with the animal analogies! You're getting your ass kicked.

"Come on!" I urge through gritted teeth, as the masked man dodges a wild swing, then hits the back of my knee, shoving me forward as I stumble.

I let myself fall onto my hands, shifting my weight forward as my legs spin out, catching him in the chest. He grunts and hits the alley wall.

"Ok, I've had just about enough." I stalk forward. "No more games."

The hair on the back of my neck lifts in warning, and a distant scream echoes down the street, followed by two, then three gunshots.

My head whips toward the street, then back to my attacker, who's standing there, waiting, head tilted to the side.

I clench my hands into fists, my body wound up so tight I feel like I might explode. I want to lunge forward, to continue this fight and bring this guy down. I have to, I have to or things will go right back to the way they've been. I have to for May-

Another scream, a scattering of gunshots, the squeal of tires.

"Damn it!" I hiss, wrenching myself away and firing off a web to launch myself out of the alley. Glancing back, I say, "This isn't over."

The masked man just watches me go, like he knew I had no choice.

It has to be here. It has to.

I'm at Ned's desk, mask off, logging onto his computer. Behind me, Ned snores soundly in his bed. He'd been asleep when I ordered Karen to start livestreaming a video feed from my suit.

My hands are kind of shaking, leftover from the adrenaline or fresh from nervous anticipation as I search the home screen.

There are folders marked "English Essays", "Bio", "Cosplay", "Badassery", and . . .

I roll my eyes. "Subtle," I mutter.

"Not Porn".

I double click. It's encrypted, requiring a password.

There's the sudden, unmistakable sound of a lightsaber igniting, and a purple glow fills the room.

Ned's sleepy, panic stricken voice says, "Step away from the computer."

I half turn, giving him a look. "Ned, it's me."

He blinks, purple saber still raised defensively, his hair sticking up in all directions. "Oh. Hey. What are you doing in my room?"

"I ran into the Murderous Cyber Ninja again."

"What?"

"What's your password?"

He lowers the lightsaber but doesn't turn it off or put it back on the wall. Instead, he hovers over my shoulder, squinting at the bright computer screen. "WinningWindu87."

I snort, but enter it quickly, and all the monitors are instantly switched over to "Guy in the Chair" mode. Highlight reels of what Ned dubbed Spiderman's most badass moments, notes and schematics of my suit I didn't even know he had, including some new designs that Ned has designed himself.

My eyes quickly find where the night's recordings from my suit reside, unclipped and unaltered. The main monitor fills with a first person POV of myself swinging out my bedroom window, heading to the zoo.

I fast forward to the right time stamp, seeing what I saw earlier as I perched on a streetlamp, looking toward the alley.

I leap off, then . . .

My fingers entangle themselves in my hair, pulling as my teeth grind. I watch as I explore the alley, calling out and getting no answer. Nothing happens. The alley is empty, and I'm yelling at myself like a complete psycho for ten minutes before I leave, hearing sirens and screams.

My forehead falls forward to slam itself on the desk, narrowly missing the keyboard.

"Move," Ned says.

I lay there, drowning in dismay.

Then the rolling desk chair I'm sitting in is rolling away toward the bed. I hear Ned typing rapidly, but I don't look up.

How the hell am I supposed to get proof if this keeps happening?

How is this happening?

"Dude."

I'm going to half to unmask him, knock him unconscious, and bring him in. It's the only way.

"Dude."

Or maybe I'll just kidnap Logan West straight from the zoo, tie him up somewhere and interrogate him until he admits he's the Murderous Cyber Ninja and then take him to Mr. Stark and-

"DUDE."

"What?" I snap.

Ned's staring at me. "You have a parasite."

"Come again?"

"I found him."

"The Murderous Cyber Ninja?"

"The hacker. While you're busy fighting, someone else is busy hacking Stark tech to alter the footage in real time. A parasite. Anything Stark related is completely compromised."

I'm on my feet, looking over Ned's shoulder this time. "Holy shit. Can you trace it back to the original source?"

"Not unless I was hacking the hacker while he was busy hacking. Peter . . . I have an idea."

He meets my eyes, and it's the most serious/excited I've ever seen him. "Whoever is doing this is targeting Stark tech specifically. Now . . . I've been working on a few designs of my own, and-"

"We replace Stark tech with Ned tech," I finish, eyes widening.

"Way to steal my thunder. Also no."

"No?"

"If we just replace it, the hacker won't have anything to hack into, he'll become suspicious, then figure out what we are doing and start trying to hack me. But if we layer the tech, hide my stuff under Stark's designs-"

"Then you can record everything while they are altering my original suit's video feed! Ned, you GENIUS."

He smiles smugly. "Mic drop."

"I could kiss you right now."

"Please don't."

"How long will it take you to put this all together?"

"If I start now, it should be done before May's date tomorrow night."

I start pacing, heart leaping wildly. "Ok. Okay, yes! It's all coming together, we just need one more element to make this plan work."

"What?"

"Not what," I say, looking at the monitors. "Who."

Happy Hogan

. . .

. . .

"This better be good."

I'm standing outside the car, staring rather doubtfully up at the building's worn neon sign. "Silver Age Comics and Collectibles."

I take a long drink of my coffee, adjusting my sunglasses before I heave a sigh and walk in. There's a bell on the door that jingles when I enter, much to my annoyance, and I'm met with a few judgmental looks from the employee behind the counter, and a costumed customer.

My lips tighten, and I give them a little nod.

Their expressions don't change.

Just act like you belong, Hogan.

The store's walls are crowded with posters, neon signs, and shelves of nerd memorabilia. There are rows and rows of comic books, movies, cds, action figures, plushies . . .

Good god.

I wish there was something stronger than coffee in this paper cup. Sidling past a couple school age kids entranced by the open pages of the comic book they are holding, I make my way to the back right corner of the store, walled off by a few large bookshelves and a beaded curtain.

Reluctantly pushing the beads aside, I duck under a sign that says "Special Editions" and come face to face with the reason I am here in the first place.

Again, I say, "This better be good."

Ned Leeds and Peter Parker exchange glances, the latter with his arms crossed.

"Seriously," I repeat, taking off my sunglasses. "This is my day off. Why the hell am I here?"

"You should know . . . what we are about to tell you is highly classified, extremely sensitive, and-" Leeds stops at my expression.

"Mr. Stark fill you in on my psychotic break?" Peter asks flatly.

"More or less." Less being more accurate, but I got additional information from Wilson.

The kid takes a steadying breath. "Look. I'm not suffering from PTSD delusions. Not to the extent everyone thinks."

"You called me to Nerds R Us to convince me you're not struggling from trauma?"

"I called you here for your help," says Peter.

"We believe the Murderous Cyber Ninja is hacking into Stark technology to keep himself in the dark. He's attacked Peter twice, has been stalking him forever, and even set a tiger on me and Aunt May!" adds Ned.

That catches my attention. "Wait, what now? What about May?"

"This guy isn't a figment of my imagination," Peter insists. "He knows my identity, Happy. And this isn't just about me anymore. It's about my family, my friends-"

"A tiger?"

Leeds thrusts a tablet in my direction. I take it with my free hand, glancing down and raising a brow. "I'm looking at someone's Tinder page because?"

"Oops. Sorry," Ned takes it, swipes across the screen, then hands it back.

I look at the Bronx Zoo employee profile. Logan West is his name, and the picture shows me a guy that looks more ex military than he does animal trainer. I scan through the information, eyes narrowing the more I look at the page. "This is from the personal employee files at the zoo. You hacked into a zoo?"

"Not important." Ned yanks the tablet away.

"What is important," Peter interjects. "Is that I am one hundred percent positive this is the guy who's been attacking me."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. God, I wish I hadn't left the spa for this. "And your proof is . . . "

"I'm working on that part."

"Look, kid-"

"I knew as soon as I saw him, Happy. This guy is dangerous. And I'm not hallucinating these attacks!" The teenager's voice starts to rise slightly, desperate to prove me wrong. "Ned found traces of the hacker last night. Logan West is the guy that's been messing with my tech, kicking my ass, and-"

"Have you told Tony about him?"

"No."

"To be fair," Ned says. "Tony Stark has made it pretty clear he's the conductor of the 'Peter's Crazy' train."

Peter shoots him a look, then turns wide eyes back on me. "Happy, please, you have to help us."

"Look, I am not getting involved like this. If you want me to take you to Tony or Sam-"

"There isn't time! West has a date with May tonight, and if we-"

"Hold it," I raise my hand, stepping closer, my attention thoroughly caught. "Your aunt is going out with him?"

"Yes, tonight. And I'm worried about him hurting her to get to me."

"Let me see everything you have on this guy."

Ned hands me the tablet, and I start looking thoroughly through the information, ignoring Ned's retelling of the tiger incident in vivid detail. I spend a long moment looking at the guy's picture, at his dark eyes, his huge build.

I'm suddenly aware of the holiday weight still settling around my midsection.

I look up at Peter, his face tight, eyes hopeful. "You say this guy is dangerous?"

"Yes."

"You're absolutely sure."

"Yes. I'm telling you, May's in trouble, and so am I."

I look at each of them, and they stare back, breaths held.

"Alright," I say, putting on my sunglasses. "We need a plan."

"We have one."

Bucky Barnes

. . .

. . .

"What?"

I slowly turn my head to look at Sam, his eyes fixed on the road before us, expression tight with irritation.

"I didn't say anything."

"Your contempt is fogging up my car," replies Sam. "What's your problem?"

"Well for one, your taste in music sucks," I say, reaching forward to shut it off.

He snorts with disgust. "You and Steve need a serious education when it comes to music."

I lean back in my seat, watching the buildings pass by, waiting for the silence and my "cloud of contempt" to send Sam over the edge. It doesn't take long.

"What?"

"I don't approve of how you're handling Parker's case."

"There it is."

"Did you know there was an incident at his high school field trip to the zoo?"

Sam frowns, glancing over at me. "What kind of incident?"

"An escaped tiger kind."

"Shit. How the hell did you hear about that?"

"It was on the news."

"And you think it lends credence to his insistence he's being hunted?" Sam asks. "Accidents happen."

"Not around that kid. We can't dismiss coincidences, Wilson, not when there's no proof it's just PTSD."

"There's no proof it isn't either," Sam argues. "Look, I want to believe him as much as you do-"

"I doubt that."

"What the hell is your problem, man?"

"My problem is a minor coming to his team for help and being completely dismissed because he's been unlucky enough to have been traumatized by a year's worth of nightmarish hell."

The car jerks as Sam takes us suddenly off the freeway to an exit ramp. He doesn't speak until he pulls over a block away and shuts off the car abruptly. "Don't tell me how to do my job."

I open my mouth, but he cuts me off, an elbow on the steering wheel, his furious eyes pinned on me. "And don't you dare imply again that I'm not taking this seriously. You really think Tony or I haven't been following up every lead, every clue that there's a real threat out there?"

"I haven't gotten a call since Stark asked me to check out the warehouse of the first attack."

"So your feelings are hurt because you weren't included? Seriously?"

"This has nothing to do with my feelings, Wilson. If Peter's claims were still being investigated, you would have put me on it."

Sam snorts, shaking his head. "You are something else."

"I am," I say calmly. "Which is why you should be using me to hunt down whoever is after the kid."

Silence lapses, and I can see Sam taking several steadying breaths. His shoulders relax the slightest amount. "Look, man, there just hasn't been enough evidence of a real threat. Let me finish," he says, seeing my expression. "But we're looking for it. We all want to help the kid, in whatever way he needs. And I'm willing to bring you in on this and talk to Tony, but you have to promise me something first."

I wait.

"If the monster under the bed turns out to be just a nightmare, and there's a good chance that's all it is, you'll need to accept that. And help Peter accept that too."

Sam's eyes are hard, and I can see the strain in the lines around them. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"God, you're a peach in the morning."

"So I've been told."

Sam sighs. "Let's go talk to Stark."

Peter Parker

. . .

. . .

"Uh, hello?"

"Heard you had a close encounter with Mufasa." says Mr. Stark.

My brows crease as I adjust the phone to my ear. "Huh?"

"The zoo?"

"Oh . . . oh. Uh, it was a tiger, actually. Not a lion."

"Everybody still in one piece?"

"Yeah. Yeah, no one got hurt."

"Good thing Spiderman happened to be there to save the day."

"Actually, an animal trainer stepped in before I could do anything," I look at my watch. "Can I call you later?"

"You're coming over later, so I'll raincheck on the phone call."

"I'm . . . what?"

"Coming over. To Avengers Tower. Thought we'd work on a new firewall program for your suit. Show you a few new projects I'm considering. Get your input. You in?"

I glance out of my bedroom door, seeing May pausing by the hall mirror to put in a pair of earrings. "Uhhh, I-"

"Come on, kid. You'd be helping me get out of wedding planning. Which, by the way, you two haven't RSVPed yet, and Pepper's getting on my case to get those done."

"Oh. Yeah, yeah May and I will be there."

"Perfect. See you tonight. Eight o'clock."

"Mr. Stark, I can't-"

I glance down at the phone. He already hung up. Crap.

"Everything ok?"

I jump as May pops her head into the doorway. "Mr. Stark was just making sure we were coming to the wedding."

"Oh that's in a couple weeks, isn't it? Damn, I meant to mail back the RSVPs already. Think we're gonna be stuck with the vegetarian option at the reception?"

"I hope not. Wow. You look . . . you look amazing, Aunt May."

She smiles, doing a little turn that makes the skirt of her dress twirl. "I do clean up pretty good, huh?"

I roll my eyes and smile. "You're always beautiful."

May ruffles my hair. "Good answer, kid." Then she leans against the doorframe, crossing her arms, her face growing serious. "You're okay with this, right?"

My stomach squirms. "Of course."

"Convincing," she smiles. "Look, Peter, I can call and cancel. I want you to be comfortable, and if you're not ready. . . "

"No," I insist firmly, taking her hand. "I'm fine, I promise. Go out, have some fun. I'm . . . I'm ok with this, honestly."

I'm not. I'm really not, but only because I'm sure that Logan West is a super villain disguised as a zookeeper. But like I told Ned, if I say anything to May about it, she'll think I'm not okay with her dating at all, and she'll sacrifice her own happiness for mine.

She pats my cheek. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

I follow her into the living room, perching on one of the kitchen stools as she slides on a pair of wedge sandals. "So . . . where's he taking you?"

"I can't even pronounce the name," May admits. "That fancy italian place on 31st."

"Wow. Well, even if he's terrible company, at least you'll get a good dinner out of it."

"Exactly."

Her phone buzzes, and she glances down. "Looks like he's here. There's frozen pizza in the freezer when you get hungry. You sure you're ok?"

"Positive," I insist. Then pause. "You have that pepper spray in your purse?"

May pats her bag as she slings it over her shoulder. "It's New York. I always have pepper spray in my purse."

I give her a hug, trying not to completely freak out and failing miserably. "Stay safe. And have fun."

"I will, Peter, I promise."

"Text me if he tries anything. Spiderman will be there in two seconds flat to kick his ass."

May laughs, pulling away. "What, you think I can't kick ass on my own?"

"Of course you could. I'd just be back up."

She kisses the top of my head. "See you in a few hours. Be good. See if Ned wants to come over and have some pizza."

"Will do."

I watch May greet Logan West in the parking lot from my bedroom window. They stand there chatting for a moment, before he walks her over to the passenger door of his black Honda Civic and opens it for her.

I lift the phone to my ear. "Black 2017 Honda Civic. Need the license plate?"

"Negative. I got eyes on them," says Happy.

"Don't tail too close and make him suspicious."

"Kid, this isn't my first time tailing someone. Did you get the location of the restaurant?"

"The italian place on 31st. I'll have Ned send you the address," I say, watching with knots in my stomach as Logan shuts May's door, sealing her in the car.

God, I hate this.

"I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thanks, Happy. I . . . I owe you big for this."

"You owe me big for a lot of things. I'll add it to the list. You know where you're going, right?"

"Karen has the coordinates."

"Good luck then, Spiderman."

I hang up, watching the black Civic pulling away. A moment later, a charcoal gray Rav-4 quietly pulls out after them, maintaining a casual distance.

"Please be safe," I mutter under my breath, my insides a tangled mass of worry.

I could have insisted May stay home tonight, could have told her I wasn't ready, just to keep her out of harm's way. But there's not much Logan West could do to her if he's taking her to a public restaurant, and if he tries to take her anywhere else, Happy will step in and let me know.

I turn away from the window, picking up my mask that Ned returned to me an hour ago. Just in time.

I'm gonna trust that May can take care of herself, and that Happy will be there for her if she needs help. it gives me the perfect opportunity to sneak into West's apartment and find the proof I need that he's hunting me.

I pull the mask over my face, blinking as the lenses come into focus, a new set of data streaming around the edges of my vision.

Ned's voice fills my ears. "Guy in the Chair, ready to lock and load."

"Let's do this," I say, then swing out into the night.

A/N:

I'm keeping this one super short, guys. Thank you SO SO SO much to everyone who left a review on the last chapter! It means so much to me that you're all still here, still reading! I really want to get back to responding to each reviewer, but I'm out of time today, and I want to get this chapter out to you, so I will go ahead and promise a response to everyone who leaves a review on the next chapter! I'd love to hear your thoughts! This story is finally getting going for real and I'm SO excited to share the rest of it with you.

Thank you for all the congratulations and kind words! I hope you guys like this chapter! I've never written Happy's POV before and it was a blast! Much love guys!