Chapter 1

TEN YEARS LATER

He took a deep of breath air before taking the first step across the threshold. Peter looked down the long hallway of Midtown School of Science and Technology in New York City. First day at a new school…. First day at a public school in general. Due to his parents' circumstance, Peter spent much of his youth homeschooled from a safe house out of Westphalia, Indiana. It was the smallest town in the state… totally different from New York. He had been tutored primarily by his parents, but as he got older a variety of S.H.I.E.L.D Agents virtually communicated with Peter to teach him specific subjects. He was fluent in six languages (English, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Chinese and German). Honestly, if he wanted, he could have graduated college already. His best subject has always been chemistry, but with special agents as tutors you worked hard to be proficient in everything. They treat every subject as if it could save your life, and that knowledge probably could.

It wasn't until September of his Sophomore Year that Malik was finally captured. While his parents were joyful for the freedom, Peter couldn't help but feel trepidation at the change of scenery. Peter could barely remember anything other than the rustic walls of the cabin where he spent his childhood. With each step through the hallways, the anxiety built within his chest. Students slammed into him while rushing to great their friends. A dark-haired boy whose clothes showed his privilege crashed into his shoulder. Peter stumbled to the floor.

"Watch it nerd!" The boy stepped over Peter's fallen form and continued down the hall. Taking a deep breath, he stood and continued on his path. Peter gently pushed open the door to the main office. He shuffled up to the secretary's desk. It was occupied by a stout woman whose attention was focused on her computer. Peter rocked on his heals waiting for her to notice him. He softly cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"Can I help you?" The woman questioned shortly, not letting her eyes stray from her computer.

"My name is Peter Parker, I'm the transfer student from Indiana." Blindly, the woman reached behind her and grabbed a manila envelope off the shelf behind her. She slammed it on the counter inches from Peter. The boy jumped in shock.

"Class schedule, map and locker information are all inside. Do you need anything else? No. Great. Have a good day." Peter's eyes widened at her dismissal. He tentatively slipped the envelope off the counter and stepped out into the hallway. He thumbed through the pile of papers that resided inside. After spending ten minutes searching the halls, he managed to find his locker. He rolled in the combination then pulled on the handle. The door stuck in place. The latch refused to move, even with the lock open. Confused, Peter put in his combination again with the same result.

A girl aggressively leaned against the locker next to his.

"They are a pain, put in your combination for me." Peter did as the girl asked. She slipped up to his locked door, slammed her knee into the center section, then pulled. The latch gave way and opened. "You got to be a little forceful with it."

"Um, thanks."

"I'm Michelle Jones, most people call me MJ. Well, at least they will if don't want punched in the face." Peter's eyes widen in surprise. "You must be new. Do you have a name?"

"Peter, Peter Parker." He placed his afternoon class supplies in his locker before shutting the door, tossing his bag back onto his shoulder.

"Well welcome Parker. Are you smart?"

"I would like to think so," Peter blubbered.

The girl reached forward snatching the class schedule out of his hand. She skimmed over the list before grunting. "You have all your classes with either me or Ned. We can show you around if you want."

"That would great, but why would you do that?"

"Cause I can. Do I have to have a reason?"

"People typically do."

"Huh. Cynical. I like you Parker. Maybe if you are as smart as you think you would make a good addition to the decathlon team. We are short a couple of members. We've run through about everyone in the school and no one fits the bill. Maybe you, the new kid, would."

"Uh thanks." Without another word, MJ turned on the spot and walked off. Peter rushed after her. They weaved through the crowds of students to the other end of campus. She took a sudden turn into a classroom door; Peter was barely able to skid to a stop to follow. The room was set up with rows of double seat desks. MJ weaved her way between them to a portly boy in the center of the room. She plopped down behind the boy, before gesturing to the seat next to him. Peter gingerly set down at the desk.

"Hello, my name is Ned Leeds. What's yours?"

"Peter Parker."

"It's so great to meet you Peter Parker! I have an important question, do you like Star Wars?"

"Um of course!"

"Oh! You are my new best friend!" Ned leapt at his neighbor wrapping him in a hug. Peter sat stalk still in the boy's arms, surprised at the reaction.

MJ rolled her eyes. "Welp, the nerd has arrived. Don't mind Ned's enthusiasm. He just hasn't had someone to geek out with in a while." Students filled into the classroom one by one, filling in the available seating. Peter saw the boy who slammed into him earlier enter and sit in the second row by the door. Another blonde-haired girl, who he would later learn is named Betty Brant, joined MJ at her table. The teacher, Mr Cobbwell wondered into the room right as the morning bell rang.

"All right class, with the first quarter exam happening in two days, we are going to have a trivia review session. Split into groups of four." The students scrambled to rearrange seats. Ned, MJ, Betty and Peter stayed exactly where they were. "Alright working from the door to the window, then front to back, the teams will be in alphabetical order." This made Peter's group, Team C. Honestly, he didn't expect to be very helpful, since he was new, but he figured he would give it a try.

"Alright class, first question. John Wesley Hyatt, an American inventor, combined nitrocellulose with other volatile ingredients to make the first of what important material?"

Peter raised his hand without delay. Cobbwell pointed to him. "Plastics"

"Correctamondo. You are our new student, right? Peter Parker?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well congrats for getting the first question right, look forward to having you in the class. Let's talk at the end of class in regard to the exam on Wednesday. You can request a later date or take it with the rest of the class. Since you are a new student."

"Thank you, sir." Peter appreciated the offer.

"Alright, what important industrial compound did Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero invent in 1846 by adding glycerol to a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids?"

Without hesitation, Peter raised his hand again. When no one else in the room joined Cobbwell picked him again. "Nitroglycerin"

"Right, that is two points for Team C. Next Question, which pair of scientists received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactive isotopes?

Peter raised his hand again. "Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie" This continued for almost the entire hour. Suffice to say, Peter's team won in a landslide. His team ended the class with 40 points, whereas next highest score was Team A with Flash Thompson, Suzan Yang, Tyler Corbyn and Zach Cooper with 18 points. Flash glared at him from across the room.

MJ couldn't help but smirk from her seat behind him. "Alright, you have to join decathlon now. I can finally make Flash be an alternate again. His reaction will be hilarious." Without evening realizing, MJ just put a target on Peter's back.

Author's Note: Sometimes my favorite thing about writing (as weird as it sounds) it the research side. I spent an hour going through academic decathlon practice tests and online trivia pages determining questions for the upcoming chapters...

Hope you all are enjoying it. Thanks!br /
-Writercrash