Shout Outs: Thanks to MythologyStar for reviewing the story. Thanks to Master Skywalker 121 for following me as an author.

Chapter five: A Friendly Experiment

"Alright, up you get. I guess Spiders aren't for everyone."

Peter groaned as he was finally getting back to normal. He winced and flickered his eyes open only to meet with a blurry vision for a brief moment. The eyesight was eventually cleared and two heads came in his view.

"Peter, are you alright?" it came from Michelle.

"Sure…" he muttered as he pushed himself up, leaning against the balcony.

"Here's water," Curt said, handing a cup of water. Peter took it and took a gulp which relaxed his muscles as he felt the cool liquid going through his body.

"What happened?" Peter quizzed.

"We…would be hoping that you would know the answer," Dr. Connors answered. "But I guess not. Tell me, what do you remember before collapsing?"

Peter shrugged and racked his brain for an answer. He found nothing and so he tried to describe the situation to the best of his ability.

"Well…all I know is that my skin felt cold, everything was spinning and then, well I guess you know what happened next," Peter explained while he motioned his hands towards himself.

"Alright then; not much to go on but all I can say is to drink the water. You will feel better. It's possible that you were probably dehydrated. I will call Stark to have him pick you up—"

"Er, no. Really, it's fine. I'm fine. See?"

As to prove himself, Peter got up but failed miserably when he awkwardly stumbled forward but he used the rail for support. Michelle stared at him with a small frown. There was something going on around Peter.

"Yes because you totally have us convinced," Curt stated as he watched Peter stumbled.

"Wait," Michelle spoke. "Stark? As in Tony Stark?" she asked, eyes wide. She turned around to face Peter again. "You know Tony Stark?"

"Not now," Peter mumbled.

"Now, you wait here while I go reach the phone. I want you to be safe, Peter," Curt said as he went back to the lab.

Sighing, Peter watched Connors walking back to the lab and once he was out of sight, Peter mumbled to Michelle.

"Come on, let's go."

"But—"

"Please Michelle. I really don't want to face Tony right now."

Michelle sighed while Peter started to walk away until he was out of sight. It wasn't long when Dr. Connors came back only to have a confused look as he stared at Michelle.

"Where did he go?"

She pointed to the right, earning a small disapprove shake of nod from Connors.

"Well then. Can you make sure that you gets home safely? It would do…wonders for me."

"Sure, Dr. Connors. Thank you for today. I really appreciated it."

Connors smiled. "Not a problem. Now, off you go."

Peter walked out of the building. In all honesty, he was a bit woozy but he didn't want anyone to fret over him; he can take care of himself. While he was walking down the path, he heard a voice calling his name out.

"Peter. Peter, wait!"

Peter didn't bother to turn around as he knew that it was only Michelle. However, the boy stopped, deciding to have Michelle catch up with him.

"What do you think you're doing? Wandering by yourself. You've just fainted; you could faint again."

"Really, I'm fine. Fainting was only…temporarily. I really do feel fine."

Michelle sighed. "What is up with you, Peter? When we went in there, you were all excited but then we entered the Spider room and things went downhill for you. Then, you started to act all weird whenever Spider Man was the topic. What aren't you telling me?"

Peter pursed his lips, knowing that he can't tell who he really was. He didn't have much of a choice other than to lie which he hated.

"Trust me, Michelle. If you knew what I really was…you would react differently around me."

Michelle tilted her head to the side, studying Peter who was looking at the ground, kicking a small pebble at the ground. He really was strange but either way, Michelle wanted to know why and of course, she wouldn't know the answer since Peter wasn't telling him anything. What was he hiding?

"Well, alright. If you're going to be a hard-headed child then fine. I suppose we should get going."

Peter gave her a quick smile. "Thanks,"

Nodding, Michelle reached the edge of the street and looked left and right. When the street was clear, Michelle started to cross the road to reach the other street. Peter was about to cross the road but there was a tingling sensation which made him shout at Michelle who was halfway across the road.

"Michelle! Wait!"

As if on cue, there was a speeding car that just turned around the corner and it didn't seemed to stop. Eyes wide, Peter cringed as he had to somehow use his webs since there was no way he could make it there on time without someone being hurt. Inhaling, Peter used his web rush mode and the web got attached to Michelle's back. Michelle barely had the time to register what got stuck at her back since the next thing she knew she was pushed down to the sidewalk, away from danger just as the speeding car came. The car narrowly avoided them.

Michelle gasped but before she could talk to Peter, Peter was already out of sight as he had used his web to sling towards the truck. It was a tricky move and he hoped that Michelle didn't notice anything but he had a gut feeling that she did saw a glimpse of white string from the corner of her eyes.

"Peter! Peter!" Michelle exclaimed, whipping her head to the side only to find him missing.

"Where are you?"

However, as Michelle scrambled up, she started to jog down the street to search for Peter but it wasn't even a few steps since she heard something—a low growling sound that made her turn and gave out a scream.

Peter struggled against the rapid car who swerved left and right as though it was trying to shake him off. He was lucky enough to change into Spider Man when he had the time but a troubling situation began to bother him.

How was he going to come up with a good enough excuse to throw Michelle off his trail?

He was sure that Michelle saw something.

In the form of Spider Man, Peter crawled at the side of the truck to reach the front. He tilted his head to the side as he saw thugs who seemed to be unfriendly. He gave a small wave.

"Uh, hey guys. What's up?"

Roaring with surprise, the driver sharply turned the truck when it had the chance. Peter shouted out with exclaim as he gripped tightly at the rear mirror before he went back to the front.

Just as Peter began to use his web to gunk up the window, the passenger peeked out from the window but what had he carried caught Peter's attention. It held a medium-size gun and then, he pulled the trigger. Luckily, Spider Man leaned backwards, letting the bullet fly past by him before he used his web shooters to grab the weapon.

"No weapons for you, mister!"

Not too far, sirens were heard as Spider Man resumed covering the front window with his webs.

"Ah, my friendly friends are here."

"Damn it! I can't see!" the driver yelled, driving blindly.

"Hey uh is there something on your window? You might want to get rid of it," Spider Man pointed out.

Raging, the man unexpectedly made a sharp corner and Peter barely had the time to grab the edge since he flew out of the spot.

"Woah!" Spider Man exclaimed.

He used this flight to throw the vehicle up in the air so that the truck was now stuck to a large web which Spider Man created. Spider Man landed on his feet, sliding a bit before he came to a halt. Just in time too since the police sirens were coming closer and closer until they were in sight.

Spider Man bowed. "All in a day's work. No need to thank me."

One of the officers scoffed, scowling at the vigilante.

"It would be real nice if you could stop letting them from being hanged from the air, wise guy," he growled, shoving past by Spider Man.

"Well then Officer…" Spider Man trailed down to the tag. "Watson. I could just simply let them go if you wish but of course, that wouldn't be in my bag."

Watson narrowed his eyes. "Are you mocking me, kid? We should put you behind bars."

"Who are you calling a kid? I just helped you capture criminals, I think you should be a little bit more grateful—"

However, Spider Man didn't get the chance to finish his sentence since all of a sudden, the ground began to shake and the officers turned around to face the web crawler who put his hands up.

"Don't look at me. It's not my doing."

Without a warning, something jumped from the ground which made a powerful blow to Spider Man who went swinging into the air, giving out a shout. The police instantly got out their weapons as voices from the cops were heard.

In front of them, a massive unidentified object started to form; dirt and small rocks swirled around its body until they shaped a face. The nasty brute made a loud terrifying roar and one of the cops yelled.

"Fire!"

Bullets came, all shooting at the target but it did little effect. Spider Man released his web shooter that got stuck to the top of the street lamp, swinging forward in an attempt to knock the fiend down. But like with the bullets, it did little damage since all the beast did was stumbling backwards, causing some destruction. Spider Man flipped through the air, doing a free fall before he landed on the ground, being to the other side.

"Yeah!" Spider Man cheered before he instantly widened his eyes. "Oh no…"

The humanoid creature raised its mighty fist, bringing it down to the intruder. Spider Man quickly released his web that got latched at the sandy beast, swinging away just in time as the large hand slammed down at the ground. Spider Man grunted as he swung around the body, hoping to bring him down somehow. His web then got extended when Spider Man landed on the ground and he used all his muscles in attempt to bring him down.

Spider Man struggled as he felt himself sliding towards him.

"Hey! Ever heard the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall?' Well, this is the part where you're supposed to fall!" Spider Man shouted but he gave out a sharp yelp but he felt something nick past by his shoulders before the object shot at the creature.

The beast roared, swinging his arms almost aimlessly and because he was in the way, Spider Man got smacked, having him fly backwards to a window.

He groaned as the tinkling sound of the glass came.

Man…this is not my day… he muttered before he swung himself out of the building. Where the heck is Iron Man?

As Spider Man tried different tactics, the cops got out different guns; some bigger than others. The cop aimed at the spot and when his aim was true, he released the trigger, sending the bigger blow. The brute roared heavily when there was a great big hole at the front of his body. Spider Man landed on a nearby mail box but as he looked at the hole, he narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw something in there.

It took two seconds for him to figure out what it was—it wasn't clear but a gut feeling told him to rescue it. Spider Man heard commotions from the police force and he glanced down to see the same officer was ready to fire.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" Spider Man exclaimed.

Realizing that they weren't listening, Spider Man used his web rush in order to reach the large gap. He landed in the opening and he used his strength to pull it out.

"Time to get you out!" Spider Man grunted, struggling to break the prisoner free.

Luckily enough, Spider Man just managed to pull the object out of the body just as the fire power from the cop's weapon was released. Spider Man flipped backwards, holding the item firmly in his hands before he fell clumsily to the ground and the power from the police's weapon made contact with the brute.

Again, the fiend roared from the heavy impact; this time, his arm being demolished. And because of the blast, the arm exploded, sending a large puddle of sand to fall down. Spider Man widened his eyes as he quickly went on top of the being so that the sand fell on him instead of the figure.

"Ungh…it's going to take out weeks just to get the sand out," Spider Man muttered and had his eyes trailed down before letting out a gasp of surprise.

There, on the ground, was a familiar person who seemed to be unconscious.

"Michelle!" Spider Man cried out. "Hey. Come on, wake up!"

While he was performing the CPR, Spider Man wasn't aware of the beast who was refilling his gap and rebuilding his arm. Due to the attacks, Spider Man was forced to move out of the way, dragging Michelle with him until they reached a safe place.

"Michelle, wake up!"

However, Spider Man saw a shadow that loomed over him and he turned around to see the beast, ready to make another impact. Spider Man held his arms in front of his face as a shield. The brute's fist started to lower down but before it even had the chance to smash, two powerful forces collided against the beast, forcing it explode into millions of sand puddles.

Spider Man lowered his arms and he saw Iron Man who was floating above the police force, lowering his arm.

"Sorry about the delay."

Letting out a sigh, Spider Man glanced down at the ground and noticed the sand. Eyes narrowed, he grabbed a handful of sand and wrapped it around in a cocoon of web. However, there was a startling gasp which made the web crawler jump and he turned around to see Michelle waking up, coughing out sand.

"Michelle!" Spider Man cried out. "You're okay!" he exclaimed. Without thinking, he gave a hug.

Michelle blinked with surprise. "You didn't tried to kiss me, didn't you?"

Quickly withdrawing, Spider Man stuttered. "Uh…er…CPR…" he stuttered.

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. How did you end up in…him…it?"

"I don't know," she answered as she shook her head. "I only remember some sort of growling and then…." she trialed off, widening her eyes. "Peter! Where is he? Is he alright? I think I might've left him back there. That thing could've attacked him!"

"Uh, that thing…I think you're referring to this guy," Spider Man motioned with his head and Michelle stared at the ground.

"Okay but where is it?"

Spider Man gave a confused look. "What do you mean where…" he trailed off when he saw the empty spot. He jumped from startled, staring at the ground. How can that thing move so fast?

"Anyways, I've got to find Peter. He could be hurt—"Michelle replied, scrambling up to her feet.

"But's he not. He's perfectly—oh for the love of," Peter groaned as he noticed that Michelle was already gone.

"Great. I can't even get a girl to stop running away from me," Peter mumbled as he web-sling from the spot.

Tony narrowed his eyes as he was staring at the screen that was performing its function. There was Peter who seemed to be looking around, staring at odd objects that were lined up in a straight line on a shelf. He picked one up but from the voice of Tony startled him which made him drop the item, having the other items falling like dominoes.

"This could take a while Peter," Tony spoke while Peter was trying to fix the damage he done. "Why don't you call it a day? I'm sure you're exhausted after today's events."

Peter stopped what he was doing, leaning against the shelf casually when Tony looked up. If Tony saw the broken line, he didn't acknowledged it.

"Uh…I'm fine, I think. Trust me, I don't need another yelling or at least I think Aunt May will yell at me…"

Tony frowned. "What happened to the girl? Did you find her?"

"Yeah but I wish she didn't," he mumbled.

Tony gave him a knowing look. "Peter…"

He sighed. "She had a…colorful language when she saw me…wasn't pretty, really."

"Well then…if I was in her place, I would probably yell at you too."

"Thanks for the moral support," Peter muttered, scowling a bit. He paused. "Hey uhm…you don't happen to have a copy of the Daily Bugle, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Tony then moved to another spot where he fiddled for the keyboards for a bit until they popped up in the air as holograms.

"You know, I must say…I'm really not a fan of Jamieson's work."

Peter stared at him. "You too?"

"Yes. He's an annoying arrogant writer. In all honesty, I wouldn't waste my time reading on this garbage."

The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, reading the articles that were listed. "I know but this keeps me updated on the news and stuff."

"Hmm…"

While Tony was staring at the analysis screen, he suddenly had a thought in mind.

"Oh by the way, when you have time, drop by at the Stark Enterprises. Happy is er…happy about something when he contacted me."

Peter grinned. "Nice pun but sure."

The boy resumed glancing at the articles, flipping through them until a story caught his attention. Curious, Peter zoomed in and he began to read. Eyes wide, he swiftly flipped through page after page, collecting the information in a rapid speed until Tony's voice called out, snapping him out of his trance.

Peter looked up, looking slightly frazzled.

"What's the matter with you?"

Peter blinked. "Nothing…it's just…" he looked down then looked up. "The article…have you read it?"

The boy quickly swiped back to the first page of the mysterious headline that read:

MYSTERY AND DISAPPERANCE

"There were people who all of a sudden went missing right when this…creature…this thing appeared. What if there's a connection to the sand creature?"

"Peter," Tony sighed. "You need to stop yourself."

"But—"

"Even if these recent disappearances comes whenever the sand monster appears, how can we prove it? We need to collect facts, Peter. We need to gather all the data we can and from there we can make a connection. It would be unwise to jump into a situation where you don't have any evidence to prove it. You need baby steps, Peter. Work your way from the bottom to the top."

Peter sighed, slumping at a nearby char. Maybe he does need to relax. After all, his mind is feeling way too frazzled right now; he can barely tie up his thoughts properly.

"I'm just worried…"

"We all are."

"I was just too busy that I didn't even know these disappearances were happening," Peter sighed.

There was a small silence until Peter broke it.

"Does that make me a terrible hero?" he spoke quietly.

In an instant, Tony narrowed his eyes as his expression changed.

"No. Absolutely not. We all make mistakes and it's almost always impossible to stay on top of things when you're a hero but that does not make you a horrible person. Even I made a mistake—a terrible one."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "You? No way."

"Yes way. And I've got proof…well at least, half of it anyway. See, as a child, I was sort of an oddball…kind of like you. I took things for granted, always cared for fame and wealth, rubbing my success to everyone who I meet. But that's all a part of being a human. We're all humans here and you, Peter, when you go out there, you need to be careful. Don't do stupid things. Don't be foolish. Think things through, alright?"

"Alright…" Peter mumbled which earned a soft smile from Tony who placed his arm around Peter's back.

"Good. Now since the analysis is going to take forever, you go home and get some rest; you really do look like you came back from the dead—just a little joke," Tony cleared his throat. "Anyways and I promise you, if something changes, you will be the first one to know."

Author's Note: Ahhh, I just love Tony's and Peter's relationship 3 but I'm still depressed that they're going replace Iron Man/Robert with someone else T_T like can any one more perfect than Robert for Iron Man? /sigh/ but anywho, I'm gonna end it here and let you guys figure out with these disappearances ^^ toodles!