Peter Parker Stark-Rogers was wrong.
The trip could indeed get much, much worse.
As they pulled up in front of their hotel room, he balked.
He wasn't spoiled, in any means, despite the wealth his mother had. But staring at the hotel sign that was falling off the dingy building, he couldn't help but feel like the perfect trip he'd planned out in his head was all falling to pieces.
"Looks like we're here," Mr Harrington announced, "They're doing some renovations to the place. Getting some upgrades."
Was this what renovations looked like?
"This place is trash," one of his classmates announced, taking the words right out of his mouth.
"That must be the concierge," Mr Harrington said, ignoring him, as he got out of the boat they'd arrived in.
He followed his teacher inside, glancing over at MJ who seemed confused by the place.
"Everyone, here we are!" Mr Harrington said, stopping short as he stepped into a puddle of water.
"Oh, whoa," Mr Dell, the other teacher accompanying the, said, looking a little rattled.
"This place is sinking," Flash said, "Tell me we're not staying here."
"I think you meant charming!" Mr Harrington said, trying to sound optimistic.
"Okay everybody!" Mr Dell said, as he herded them inside, "Drop your bags off and we're going meet at the Da Vinci museum at 3. Let's go!"
"Vamanos," Mr Harrington said, in Spanish.
"It's andiamo," MJ corrected.
"Andiamo!" Mr Harrington corrected.
"When in Rome, you do as Romans do. When you're in Venice, your socks get wet!" Mr Dell said, giving them all a fake smile.
Peter lugged his suitcase up the stairs to the third floor before throwing it onto the bed. Despite his super strength, he couldn't just pick up the suitcase and carry it around like it was nothing, especially with the way the others were struggling with theirs.
But wouldn't it be nice if he could've just picked up MJ's and bring it to her room for her?"
He took his phone out, as he pressed the icon to call his Mom directly, knowing his parents would want to know that he got to the hotel safely. He'd texted them when he'd landed and promised to give them a call once he'd settled.
And well, given the hotel they were staying at, how settled could he really get?
"Peter," Toni said in relief, "I was wondering when you were going to call."
"You knew it was going to be a bit before he could," Steve teased her, "He did just land two hours ago."
"Yeah, and a lot of things can happen in two hours," Toni said, as she looked him over on the screen. "Did you get any sleep on the plane?"
"Not really, no," Peter admitted. But sleeping wasn't the plan. Talking to MJ had been, and even with that completely shot, he'd still wanted to experience the full flying experience.
"Well, hopefully you can catch up tonight," Steve said, "I looked over your itinerary, and seems like you guys are in for a busy day."
"Can't wait," Peter said with a smile.
"Show us your hotel room?" Toni asked, and he was grateful that Ned had insisted on helping Betty get her luggage to her room, even if he'd struggled the entire time, as it gave him some privacy.
"Uh," Peter said, knowing she'd be unhappy. But he clicked the button to turn his camera around, as he showed her around the room.
"Why does it look like your room is falling apart?" Toni said, a frown forming on her face, "Where do they have you staying? I want to look the place up."
"Toni," Steve said, warningly.
"Ah, I found it from your class' trip details," Toni said waving her husband off, as she brought up a hologram on her end of the hotel. Looking just as worn out as the place he was currently staying in right now
"They have you staying here?" Steve said, looking a little concerned.
"They couldn't even find a better place?" Toni said, as she began typing on her screen.
"What are you doing?" Steve asked her, "You better not be hacking their trip plan to change the hotel room."
"Would I do that?" his mom asked his dad innocently.
"Yes," Peter deadpanned. "Don't worry about it, Mom. It's fine. Really. We'll barely even be here anyways. Going to be too busy exploring Venice."
"If you say so," Toni said, looking less than convinced. "Then what's on your mind? Cause clearly something's bothering you."
"I just had a lot of plans for how this trip was going to go," Peter admitted, "With MJ. And it seems like it's all falling apart. I thought I was the only one who liked her, but now Brad seems interested too, and what if she decides she likes him instead?"
"Oh Peter," Toni sighed, "MJ likes you, Darling. I promise. I've seen the way she looks at you. And the two of you have a solid foundation. You have years of friendship, which is one of the most important things in a relationship. You just need to get out there and take a chance, even if she may say no. And if she decides she likes this Brad more than you, well then there are plenty of other fish in the sea."
"I just had this long, well thought out plan," Peter said, a little frustratedly, "To show her how much she means to me. But what if by then, it's too late?"
"If the two of you are meant to be together, then you'll be together," Steve told him gently. "And nothing will be able to tear you apart. So follow through on your plan. But be flexible and make adjustments along the way. You know her best, so do what feels right for the two of you, okay?"
"Okay," Peter nodded.
"We'll talk to you later, okay, Sweetheart?" Toni smiled, "I know you guys are supposed to head out soon, and I'm sure you don't want to spend all your time on the phone with us."
"Bye Mom. Bye Dad," Peter said, as he hung up the phone. He looked at his plan on his phone determinedly. He would not go down without a fight.
As they got to Saint Marco Polo's Square, Peter watched as his classmates got wrapped up in the beauty of the place, while he looked around.
"What's up, Flash Mob, how are you guys doing? I'm in Saint Marco Polo's-" Flash was saying, before he doubled over in pain after being hit in the groin. The two women dressed up in costumes with him burst into laughter at that, and Peter couldn't help but smile a little.
Ned and Betty were off getting their picture drawn as a couple, and he smiled, knowing their 'Bachelors in Europe' was now a thing of the past.
Mr Harrington was struggling to take a picture on his old time camera, and to his dismay, MJ was taking pictures with Brad Davis.
He sighed, as he walked over to the glass shop.
"Buongiorno," Peter greeted, "I, uh, am looking for a glass necklace. Shaped like a black dahlia. Can you help me out?"
The shopkeeper looked at the picture on Peter's phone and smiled, as he got to work. He was grateful they had an hour to spend at the square, as he waited for the design to be completed.
"Fiore Nero," The shop keeper said after finishing the design, as he held up the black dahlia to the light.
"It's perfect," Peter grinned. He handed the shop keeper a banknote as he exited.
Only to nearly drop the necklace he's just procured as MJ snuck up behind him.
"Boh!" she said loudly, causing him to jump.
"What?" he asked, puzzled, as he hid the bag behind him.
"Boh," she repeated with a grin, "It's the most perfect word in the world. Italians created it, and I just discovered it."
"What does it mean?" he asked her curiously.
"That's the thing, it can mean a million things," she said, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked in the sunlight, "It can mean 'I don't know', 'get out of my face', 'I don't know and get out of my face'. It's the best thing Italy ever created, except for maybe espresso."
"Oh," Peter said teasingly, "So you've been drinking espresso."
She shrugged, as a man came up from behind them.
"German?" he asked, "American?"
He was holding individual roses, as he held one out for MJ to take.
Peter wondered if he should get his wallet out so he could buy it for her and be romantic, but she simply grinned.
"Boh," she said, and the man frowned as he left them alone.
"Whoa," he said in surprise at the usage of the word.
"It's my new superpower," she grinned, and he felt himself warm.
Sometimes he wondered if she knew the truth about him.
"What, like Boh Man?" he asked with a laugh.
"It's like the anti-aloha," she said solemnly. "I was born to say this word... So, what's in the bag?"
He tensed, "Uh. Boh."
"Nice," she said appreciatively, before pausing. He noticed a group of crabs quickly scurrying into the water, and MJ stopped to take a picture, smiling at him.
He felt his heart thump, before seeing water be dragged into a grate, and a feeling of unease washed over him.
Something was wrong.
The water erupted then, splashing up an unnatural wave, and the sounds of screams echoed through his ear drums. He could see people struggling to get away, as the water flooded onto the shore.
Ned and MJ's boat crashed straight into a building beside them.
"Betty, are you okay?" he asked, helping his best friend's girlfriend out of the boat. "Come on!"
He pulled Ned towards him, trying to get them away from the water.
The water rose up then, into the shape of a man, and Peter knew he'd made a mistake by not wearing his suit under his clothes for once.
"What is that?" Ned asked, panicking.
"I don't know," Peter said quickly.
"What are you going to do?" Ned questioned in distress.
"I left my suit in the hotel room," Peter said frustratedly. It was too far to go back and get it.
"Why?" Ned asked, in a higher pitched tone.
"Because I'm on vacation, Ned!" he exclaimed frantically, "Everyone's gonna see my face, just get them outta here!"
He pushed his friend towards MJ and Betty, trying to get them to leave, as the water monster smashed its fist into a building, destroying it.
He ran down to the boats, trying to help people off of them.
"Get out of here. Go!" he said, helping a man towards the stairs, before turning back to the building. Maybe he could wrap his shirt around his head as a sort of hood.
He still had his web shooters, which was at least something.
He stumbled backwards then, as the monster crashed a wave towards him, and he tried not to get washed away by the water.
"Oh my God!" he said, as he took a deep breath, and turned on his web shooters. "Come on!"
He turned around the corner, as he aimed a web to the monster. But to his dismay, since there wasn't anything of substance to hold onto, the web just moved through it.
"What am I going to do?" he muttered, "What would Mom and Dad do?"
The monster headed towards a bridge then, filled with people, and he knew they would be in danger if he couldn't get to them.
"Oh no you don't!" he said, as he jumped across the poles in the water, grabbing a peddle to vault onto the bridge.
He helped a man up as he landed, clearing the last of the people just in time for the monster's fist to collide with the bridge, knocking him backwards.
He felt the water in his lungs, as he coughed it up, struggling to catch his breath.
He saw the green light shooting at the monster before he saw the man appear out of the mist, wearing a cape, and a glass bowl over his head that looked like a fortune teller's ball.
The masked man dodged the water monster's attacks, with powers that looked all too reminiscent of Doctor Strange's own powers.
He spotted a mask on the ground then, a souvenir masquerade one that would do very little to hide his identity. But it was better than nothing.
He put it on quickly, as he climbed up to the top of the building, spotting the man fighting the monster.
"Excuse me, Sir!" he said, trying to get his attention. "I can help! Please! I'm really strong and I'm sticky."
He winced at the last part, knowing that it might not help his case. But thankfully, the masked man nodded quickly.
"I need you to lead it away from the canals," the man said, seemingly having a plan. So Peter obliged.
He landed on a nearby roof, just before the monster smashed a building next to it, and he used the momentum he'd gained to swing around the building, holding the monster together.
He spotted a bell tower then, looking on the verge of collapse after the man and the monster fought past it, as it hovered dangerously over a group of people.
"Oh, come on!" he said, knowing that if it crashed, they'd be in for it.
He swung quickly around it, webbing it together as he looked down at the fight below.
Only for the man to send a blast that hit the tower again, nearly bringing it crashing down once more.
He shot a web then, attaching the tower to two buildings.
As the monster crashed into the tower this time, and Peter hit his head on the bell above him.
He groaned in pain, as the tower began to fall, and as he hit his head once more, he accidentally released the webs he was holding,
He released two more webs, struggling to hold the tower together, and he knew it wouldn't be long before it crashed down.
But there was no Toni to save him this time. Not like she had on the ferry. He needed to keep it together.
A force of air burst past him, and he released the webs then, as the Tower crashed onto the ground, thankfully, away from the people.
It seemed as if the man had destroyed the monster, and Peter saw him land in front of a gathering crowd.
He reached into his pocket, checking on the necklace he'd got for MJ and was relieved to find it still in one piece.
And just like that, the new hero took off flying, leaving a tail of green smoke behind him.
He wasn't surprised when his dad called him less than a few hours after the attack.
"Peter, are you okay?" Steve said the second Peter answered the call, "I saw the footage of the attack. You were in that tower when it collapsed."
"I'm fine, Dad," he said with a quick smile as he closed the door, wanting to make sure he wasn't overheard. "My ego's more bruised than anything."
"You did the best that you could," Steve reassured him, "You didn't have your suit on you, and you made a makeshift disguise. It was real quick thinking of you."
"It wasn't enough," Peter said, a bit frustratedly. "I wouldn't have been able to contain the water monster by myself. Not if that man didn't show up when he did."
"All that matters is that everyone is safe," Steve told him gently. "You made the best of a bad situation, and you came out on top."
"He was the real hero," Peter sighed, "I'm never going anywhere without my suit ever again.
"Maybe you can talk to your mom about making one for you with nanobots," Steve mused, "Then it'll be a lot more discrete for you to carry around. And you won't have to worry about it accidentally showing through your clothing or anything."
He perked up at that, "Do you think she'd let me wear one?" he questioned, and Steve grinned.
"Please, you know she'd love the chance to go into the lab with you and work on it," his dad laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised if she already has some designs drawn up for it."
"Where is Mom, anyways?" he questioned, knowing it was odd that she hadn't been there on the call.
He just hoped that she wasn't halfway across the world already in her suit to come check on him.
"She's trying to get to the bottom of what caused the attack," Steve said with a sigh, "Water monsters don't just come out of nowhere. If there was one, there's a very decent chance that there'll be more, and she doesn't want you in the line of fire if there's another attack. Or not as caught off guard, anyways."
"I was hoping that would be the last of it," Peter sighed, "I really don't want to face any more of those monsters."
"We'll figure out what's happening," Steve promised him. "We may not be on the field anymore, but we still have many contacts that are. And Strange has already promised to pop in if anything happens again, so you won't be fighting it alone. One way or another, we'll learn the truth."
"Thanks, Dad," he said with a smile, as Steve nodded at him. He was grateful to have them in his life and that they were doing so much to make sure that he was okay.
"I'll let you go join your friends now," Steve said, "We'll let you know what we find out."
He said goodbye to his dad as he ended the call. He knew his friends were gathered downstairs, so he tucked his phone into his jean pockets and made his way down the stairs.
He could see his classmates gathered in front of the television, and he slid into a free chair beside Betty and Ned who were cuddling on an aim chair.
"It's aliens," Ned said, looking over at Betty, "It has to be. I mean we already know they exist right? Look at Thor! And clearly whatever that was, it was nothing from this earth."
"Buzzfeed says there's a sailor named Morris Bench who was exposed to an experimental underwater generator and got hydro powers," Flash said, looking at his phone.
It seemed as if the world was getting crazier each day. If he could have spider powers, then was it so unreasonable that someone else had water-powers?
"Yeah, you should definitely believe everything you read on the internet." MJ deadpanned, and Peter stifled a laugh.
"Spider-Man could take him," Flash said loyally, before giving Peter a dirty look, "When did you get here, Dickwad? I thought you drowned."
He rolled his eyes at the duality of the guy who loved one side of him and disliked the other.
"What do you think it is?" Mr Harrington was talking to Mr Dell too quietly for the rest of the students to hear.
"You know, being a man of science," Mr Dell said back, "Witches."
The screen changed then, showing a cellphone shot of the man who'd defeated the water monster.
"Who is that guy?" Betty questioned.
"He's like Iron Woman and Thor rolled into one," Brad said in admiration, looking over at MJ who was still watching the television.
"He's all right. He's no Spider-Man," Flash scoffed, and Peter let out a small smile. Even if it was Flash, it was nice to have someone still support him after the catastrophe that was today.
"What is it with you and Spider-Man?" MJ rolled her eyes, and Flash got defensive quickly.
"What? He's just awesome, okay? He protects the neighborhood, and you know, he's inspiring. He inspires me to be a better man," Flash gave a speech, and Ned nodded in admiration.
In all honesty, he was surprised that Ned had managed to go so long without revealing the truth about him, knowing that it had been hard for his friend to keep it a secret.
"Sounds like his name's Mysterio," Brad nodded at the tv, talking as if he understood the anchorwoman.
"L'uomo del Misterio is Italian for man of mystery," MJ corrected. "They don't actually know who he is."
"Mysterio," Ned said, looking over at Betty before they both spoke at the same time, "Cool name! Babe!"
Betty beamed at him.
"So, how much did you actually see?" he asked her curiously.
"Not much," she admitted, "I was running."
"Right," Peter nodded quickly, "Right, me too. I was also running. Away!" He tried to change the subject then quickly, "So, Paris tomorrow. Go to the Eiffel Tower. Should be great."
He glanced back over at her, wanting to see if she was interested in going. Now that he had the necklace, he was excited to be able to give it to her, hopeful that she would appreciate all the work he'd put into it.
"Yeah, I read it was secretly built as a mind-control antenna to create an army of the insane," MJ nodded, and he felt his heart drop.
"Oh," Peter said, feeling disappointed. Why did it feel as if nothing was going according to plan?
"Which is why it's my favourite destination on the whole trip," she grinned.
He smiled back at her, feeling his heart in his chest once more, as they both quickly looked away from each other.
"Okay, that's enough excitement for one night!" Mr Harrington said, standing up, "Time for bed! We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
He glanced back at MJ once more, before he and Ned trudged up the steps to their room.
"So what are you going to do about the water monster?" Ned asked him the moment the door closed.
"Nothing," Peter said simply, "It's dead. That Mysterio guy had it handled, didn't you see?"
He sighed.
"I just want to spend some time with MJ," he admitted after a moment, "We were talking about Paris and, Ned, I think she really likes me."
"Duh," Ned grinned, "That's nice. Reminds me of when Betty and I first fell in love. I had just finished my fruit cobbler, right-?"
Ned cut out then, as he collapsed onto the bed, a dart in his neck.
He stood up quickly and saw none other than the legendary Nick Fury standing in a dark corner of his room.
"Nice to finally meet you, Spider-Man," Fury said, and Peter dropped his bag.
"You're Nick Fury," Peter said, looking down at his friend, "And you just shot Ned!"
"It's a mild tranquilizer. He'll be alright," Fury waved him off. "So good to finally meet the prodigy that the Stark-Rogers were hiding away. I saw you at the post-Thanos celebration. But didn't think your parents would be pleased if I talked to you then."
"Do my Mom and Dad know you're here now?" he questioned, "Because I'm not sure they'll be pleased to know that you're here to see me now."
"They're retired," Fury shrugged, "You, on the other hand, are not."
"I'm still technically a minor," Peter reminded him, "Until August."
"A superhero who needs to get his parents' permission," Fury said sarcastically. "The important thing is, you're here. I wanted to bring you and your parents here. They avoided me, and now, you're here. What a coincidence."
"Wait. Was this a coincidence?" Peter asked, confused. Because last he checked the trip had been planned for months.
"I used to know everything," Fury told him, "Then all of a sudden, your parents apparently invented time travel, and now I know nothing. It was as if something changed that I couldn't explain. And I couldn't even get them on the line. Here's what I do know... a week ago, a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say that cyclone had a face."
Ned snored then, interrupting Fury's story.
"Three days later, a similar event in Morocco. A village was-" Fury stopped, as he was cut off by a knock on the door
"Just making the rounds. See if anyone needs any emotional counseling after today's traumatic event," Mr Harrington said through the door, and Fury pointed his dart gun at Peter's teacher.
"No, we're okay!" Peter said quickly, "We're fine. Thank you!"
"Great," Mr Harrington said in relief. "Cause I'm not qualified to actually..."
Ned's snoring continued.
"Oh," Mr Harrington said in surprise, "I hear that Ned's passed out. I'm not really qualified to do it anyway, so... good night."
"That was my teacher," Peter turned to Fury, "Sorry about that. You were saying?"
"A village was destroyed by what may well be another world-threatening..." Fury said, only to be cut off again by another knock.
"Babe?" Betty asked, "You still awake? You're not answering any of my texts."
"He's asleep, Betty," Peter called out, not wanting to open the door.
"Oh, already?" Betty said disappointed. "Okay."
"That's why it's imperative- Fury repeated, as there was a third knock.
"Hey, boys! So, that canal water today was filled with dangerous bacteria-" Mr Dell said, and Fury stood in annoyance.
"Another person touches that door, you and I are going to attend another funeral," Fury said, and Peter knew that they were going to leave, "Suit up."
"-Let me know if either of you develops vomiting," Mr Dell continued.
"No we're fine, Mr Dell," Peter said, as he nodded at Fury and pulled his suit out of his luggage. He sighed as he looked down at the black dalia in its pouch still, and hoped that he'd be back so he could give it to MJ on top of the Eifel Tower like he'd planned.
But being a superhero meant the world came first.
And it seemed as if the world would need to continue to come first.