Outside Midtown High, people were screaming in panic, as a few cars were overturned and a few cracks were visible in the pavement. Spider-Man swung onto the scene, landing on an abandoned car as civilians were running past him.
"Well, this is a good sign," he said aloud, before he heard heavy stomping coming his way.
A pile of cars were immediately flipped forward, as a large man wearing a grey suit with a horn on it charged through.
"Rhino!" Spider-Man exclaimed, as the large behemoth stopped at the sight of him. "Hey buddy! I didn't know you were going back to school! Good for you!"
Rhino growled in frustration. "You!? Why are you here!?"
"What, can't a friendly neighborhood spider be friendly in a neighborhood?" He asked, before Rhino charged at him. Peter jumped off the car, narrowly avoiding the attack, before landing on the road nearby.
"I ain't here for you wallcrawler!" Rhino roared, as he threw a huge punch at Peter, who dodged it.
Spider-Man jumped over another fist, before landing right on Rhino's back, and started to punch him in the back of the head. "Come on hornhead, just give up. I've beaten you more times than you can count."
"We only fought like, twice," Rhino responded, as he stumbled around slightly.
"Yeah, more times than YOU can count," he quipped, as he kept hitting the large man.
"Oh, you got jokes?" Rhino angrily asked.
"Uh, yeah. It's kinda my thing."
"How's this for a joke!?" Rhino roared, before grabbing Spider-Man off his back, and throwing him hard into the side of a car a couple yards in front of him, making the webhead crumple down to the ground.
"Not...the best joke...I've ever heard..." Peter quietly muttered to himself, in pain. "Ow..."
Rhino snorted in frustration, as he slowly walked up to the dazed hero. He grabbed Peter by the head with one hand, and picked him up. "Now, where's Stark!? I know he's here!"
"Stark? What..?" Spidey asked, still not exactly sure what was happening.
"Fine, you don't know where he is!?" Rhino yelled, as he slowly applied more pressure to Peter's head. "I'll find him myself!"
"Someone looking for me?"
Rhino turned, to see Iron Man, yellow and red, standing down the road from him.
The faceplate of the armor opened, showing Tony's face. "Wow, aren't you a big one."
Rhino dropped the webhead, who landed on the ground with a thud. "If it ain't Iron Man!"
"Last time I checked, yeah. How about you step away from the kid, and give up?"
"How about I break open that tin can of yours?" Rhino threatened.
Tony sighed, as he closed the faceplate. "It's always the hard way..." he complained, before he raised his hands up, and had them charged up. He shot a repluser beam right at Rhino, sending the criminal flying away from the scene.
Tony then walked up to the webhead, who was only just starting to get his bearings back. "Anyone got the number for animal control?" He absent-mindedly asked, before his eyes focused on the Avenger in front of him.
"Are you ok, kid?" Iron Man asked.
Peter was silent. He was staring at one of the world's greatest heroes, and seeing his reflection in his shiny visor.
"Kid?" Tony asked again.
"You're Iron Man," Peter dumbly stated.
"Uh, yeah."
"I just got saved by Iron Man," Spider-Man stated. "I am totally geeking out right now. I'm geeking out so hard that I'm getting dizzy. Of course, that might just be my concussion..."
Tony smirked inside his armor. "Hey, I'm a big fan of yours too. I saw you take down that armored car the other day. Impressive."
Peter rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah shucks, you're making me blush."
The moment was interrupted by a car flying towards them, making Spider-Man jump out of the way, and Iron Man cutting the car in half with a laser beam. The two looked back, to see Rhino charging towards them.
"I'll kill you both!" Rhino exclaimed, as he charged at the armored avenger, grabbing him in the process.
"Hey!" Tony protested. "No touchy!"
Rhino then took a hold of one of Iron Man's legs, and slammed him into the ground, dragging the man through the asphalt of the road in the process. Rhino stopped in his tracks, before throwing the genius up into the air, and slamming him back down to the ground.
Tony groaned in pain, as Rhino planted a foot on the man's back. "I always wanted to squish an Avenger," he told the shellhead, as he put more and more pressure on him.
"Hey, Big Dumb and Ugly!"
Rhino turned around, to see Spider-Man, using his webs, slingshot a manhole cover right at his exposed face, knocking the villain off of Iron Man, and dazing him.
"My turn," Tony said, before he rose out of his crater, and delivered a hard right hook to Rhino's temple, who was still standing.
"Smush...you..." Rhino quietly grumbled, knocked for a loop.
"What's that? Kick you in the face?" Spider-Man asked, before swinging towards Rhino and having both of his feet connect with the large thug's face. "Good idea."
Rhino stumbled back a bit, before finally collapsing on the ground, knocked out.
Spider-Man stretched, trying to ease his muscles, as Iron Man rotated his arm. "Does it always hurt fighting this guy?" Tony asked.
"Usually it hurts a lot more," Spidey explained. "Thanks for the help."
"Anytime..." Tony told him, as Spider-Man went over to the large man and started to web him up into a cocoon.
"So, Peter?"
Spider-Man froze at the sound of his real name, as he slowly turned back towards the Avenger, who now had his faceplate down to reveal his smirk.
"I think it's time we finished that talk."
Wilson Fisk was a philanthropist.
He was a rich man. A man who could donate to any charity, a man who could help anyone he pleased.
However, the only man he ever wanted to help was himself.
He was known by many names. But only one name means anything at all to the man.
Kingpin.
"Report," he ordered the man next to him, as he sat at his desk in his tower.
The man, who wore a dark red mask and white suit, read the contents of his tablet. "We've taken control of over 13% of all drug operations in lower Manhattan. It also seems that we have taken over at least five gangs in the Brooklyn area."
"Good," Fisk grinned, as the large man looked out the window of his top floor office.
"We seem to have a problem though," the Rose informed him.
The mob boss immediately frowned. "What is it?"
"As usual, Spider-Man is halting our operations in Queens and certain areas of Manhattan. However, we're completely being stopped in Hell's Kitchen."
"Hell's Kitchen!?" Kingpin fumed. "What's so damn special about Hell's Kitchen!?"
"It seems we have an enemy or two inside the area," Rose answered calmly.
Fisk hit the arm of his chair with his fist, breaking it off entirely. "Mister Rose, as my right hand man, I expect matters such as these to be dealt with quickly, and quietly."
"Of course, sir," Rose agreed.
"As such, I expect you to get a handle on this, NOW!" Kingpin growled. "I want complete control of this city, and I will not stop for anything less. Is that understood?"
The Rose was not phased in the slightest. "Absolutely."
Kingpin tented his fingers, as he looked back out the window. "Good."
Spider-Man just stared at Iron Man, not able to move. Not able to breathe.
He knows. He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows.
"Well, Peter?" Tony asked again. "What do you say?"
Peter inwardly cringed. His name coming out of the millionaire's mouth was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Who?" Spidey asked, feigning ignorance.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that's going to work?"
Peter went quiet for a moment, a million thoughts racing through his mind. He looked back to the school, to see a lot of his classmates looking at the two through the windows, in awe of the sight of the two heroes.
Without warning, Spider-Man jumped in the air, and started to swing away from the scene.
"Hey!" Tony called, dropping the faceplate back down and flying after him. He followed the webhead as he sped through the air, swinging from one web to the next.
"Hold up! I just want to talk!" Iron Man pleaded, as he followed the boy halfway around Queens.
"Yeah?" Peter called back, as he gracefully soared through the air. "Well maybe I don't want to talk! Ever thought about that!?"
Iron Man was able to fly closer to the costumed teenager. "Kid, I've watched most of your work in the past 24 hours. You always want to talk."
Peter then landed on a nearby rooftop, only to be joined by the Avenger a second later. "What do you want!?" He asked, turning around in fury.
"Honestly, I just wanted to meet you," Tony explained, showing his face again. "I don't know why you're all huffy."
Peter's eyes widened under his mask. "You came to my school just to find me!? Are you serious!? Why do you think I'm all huffy? Did you think I'd be cool with some random guy knowing who I am!?"
"Uh, I'm just some random guy?" Tony responded. "Uh, hello, I'm Tony Stark. Ya know, Iron Man? I'm not just some random guy."
"So, how'd you find out?" Peter interrogated. "Got some secret mind reading device at Avengers Tower? Maybe you have a secret telepath on the team? Called one of those psychics for three dollars a minute? What!?"
"Actually, I just figured it out," Stark explained.
Peter went quiet, as he was absolutely dumbfounded. "What?"
"I saw you on TV, thought you were interesting, came to your school, met you, and then put two and two together. I am a genius, and it wasn't like I was trying to figure out the Da Vinci Code."
Peter rubbed the back of his head. "Was I that obvious?" He asked.
Tony shook his head. "No. I'm just that good." He bragged.
Peter just looked to the ground, suddenly depressed that his secret was so easy to figure out by the Avengers. "So...what happens now?" He asked.
"Now?" Tony repeated, as he smiled. "Now, we go back to my place."