"Can you believe we are THIS closer to the Avengers' Tower, and yet, we can't go there?" Ned Leeds turns to his best friend, Peter Parker, his face a lesson in disappointment.
Peter nodded his head in tacit commiseration.
"Do you think if Mr. Stark knew we were here for a field trip, he'd let us take a tour?"
"Yeah, Penis Parker, call up your good friend Tony Stark, and get us a private tour," Flash taunted.
Peter studious ignored the crack, his attention more focused on the passing scenery and not the pain that was Flash Thompson.
"Hey, did you guys the sonic boom from last night?" Another student pipped up, their eyes wide with excitement.
"Do you think it had something to do with Mr. Stark, Peter? Was there Avenger business last night? Was Spiderman there—?" Ned whispered excitedly, leaning in close to Peter tow watch for his reaction.
"Peter glanced around nervously, wishing for the tenth time that Ned were more discrete. He shook his head in the negative as he tried to communicate that this was neither the time nor the place for such a conversion.
"Yeah, Parker, did Tony call you up to ask for your help? Were you at the Tower for your INTERNSHIP last night?" He laughed loudly, not seeming to notice that very few others actually joined him.
"Not sure if you know how to read time, Flash, but the sonic boom happened around midnight. No internship would go that late but hey, maybe we can get you into remedial classes to work on your reading an analog clock," a sharp-edged voice retorted back.
Peter glanced across the bus aisle to see MJ rolling her eyes at Flash's stupidity. He tried not to stare too long, but he must also have a time issue cause MJ caught the stare and raised an eyebrow back, her lip curling ever so slightly at the corners. Peter ducked back down, trying to ignore the slight fluttering in his stomach at having been caught. He let the rest of the ride pass in silence, his mind returning to the events of last night. He had returned from patrol only a few minutes before the sonic boom rent the air, causing the windows to rattle and the building to shiver in response. He had just enough time to shed his suit, slid on his PJ pants and hop into bed before his Aunt May had flung his door open in alarm. Sonic booms were not a common occurrence, despite Tony Stark having made a name for himself with the Iron Man suit in the beginning. It had taken some legal action to prevent him from scaring the resident by breaking the sound barrier on multiple occasions.
What scared others, only reassured Peter Parker, to him it was proof that Tony Stark was doing his own patrols; his own way of defending the citizens, even if it was at the expense of a few rattled windows. So when he first heard and felt the air displacement, he hadn't worried too much, assuming it was Iron Man but he did have to play the part for his Aunt May. After she saw that he was in bed, and not upset by the breaking of the sound barrier, she apologized for waking him, which he was quick to reassure her that she hadn't, and she returned to her own room to attempt to return to sleep. Peter had stayed up a little longer, adrenaline still pumping through his veins as he watched the sky for any tall-tale sign of Iron Man in the sky, but even with his enhanced vision, he couldn't spot New York's defender. He only checked his phone once before he too tried to sleep.
They arrived at their destination about an hour and a half later due to rush hour traffic. They filed out of the bus and glanced around at the Financial district and neighboring building which housed multiple museums within walking distance. Peter could see MJ eying the famous bull statue, and knowing her, Peter could see a snapshot of her staring it down, right in front of it like the girl statue activist. His fingers twitched, wishing he had a camera in preparation of such a photo. He quickly looked away when he saw her head start to turn in his direction. He tuned in to Ned's chatter as he talked about the various museums and moaned at the missed opportunity to get inside the Avengers' Tower. Given the close proximity of each location, it didn't take more than a couple of hours to visit them all, even with a group as large as theirs. They were breaking for lunch when Mj's voice again startled Peter.
"Did you see the report last night? A body was found at the edge of Central Park."
Peter glanced from Ned to MJ, "That's not uncommon given the amount of people that frequent it. There's bound to have someone die in the area every so often."
"That is true, but the nature of the death is what caught my attention."
"W-what do you mean?" Ned asked, his eyes wide in anticipation.
"A dead body is normally pretty pale, but this one was nearly bone white, so much so that the veins in the body stood out; almost like someone had painted them on a white canvas."
Ned's face turned a little green at the mention of this. Peter leaned in closer, "do the police have any leads? Or how they died?"
"No. Not yet. The discovery was so recent that the autopsy hasn't been completed yet and the blood work won't be back for a few weeks."
"Wh-where did this happen?" Peter tried to ask nonchalantly.
"A few blocks northeast of here," MJ replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. With that, she turned and left the two to stare after her.
Ned turned to Peter so fast he was sure he would get whiplash.
"Do you think Iron Man is look into it?"
"Iron Man? No, that's not an Avengers' level threat. They leave that to the Police."
"Wh-what if the killer is right around the corner? What if they attack us? What if we're next?" Ned's voice bordered on hysterical.
"Ned, chill. 1. We don't know there is a killer, could be natural causes or drug overdose. 2. We're not going to be staying much longer, so the odds are in our favor. 3. Why would they attack us out of all the people here? We are the most exposed and there are too many of us not to notice."
"Or, because there are so many of us, it's easier to pick us off, one by one," Ned whispered back.
"How about we stick near MJ, she'll protect you," Peter retorted.
"Dude, harsh."
Peter just rolled his eyes as they went to join the rest of the group as they met for lunch before they headed back to school to finish the rest of their day. The lunch crowd was considerably bigger than Peter had expected, as such, he had a hard time avoiding bumping into people. He tried to pin point the exact moment his SpiderSense started to go off. They were standing near the street while waiting to cross the street when he heard Flash cry out. Peter saw him stumble off the curb and into traffic. Darting through the crowd, Peter snagged the cuff of his polo and pulled him back to the safety of the curb just as a taxi sped by, horn blaring. Flash jerked out of his grasp.
"Watch your hands, Penis."
The sudden change in direction sent Peter briefly off balance. He stumbled backwards knocking into someone passing by. He righted himself quickly, calling out an apology but the person didn't stop. Their light changed, and Peter crossed the street with the rest of his classmates, his heart pounding at the sudden shot of adrenaline coursing through his system. By the time he reached the other side to the food court, he could feel the edge coming off; leaving only exhaustion in its wake. Reaching into his pocket, he extracted his wallet as he neared the front of the line, noting with surprise that his hands shook the tiniest bit. His stomach growled in misery so he made sure to order a slightly larger lunch in hope that would help to stave off the sudden drop in blood sugar. After eating his fill, he felt more awake and was able to keep up with Ned and the rest back to the bus where he claimed the window seat. He rubbed his eyes, trying to settle down, to ease the feeling of ants crawling up his arms. He closed his eyes, resting his head against the sill and let the smooth rolling of the bus lull his to sleep, knowing that Ned had his back and would realize that Spiderman needed his sleep, however brief it might be. His mind drifted off with thoughts of Iron Man patrolling the skies above them, watching over them. He'd never let anything happen, if he could prevent it. Never.
—
A/N: 3/10/2020, Rehabilitated Sith.