Chapter 6: The Prelude
The sound of gunshots and police sirens could be heard throughout lower Manhattan.
Speeding at over a hundred miles per hour was a battered-up ,two-thousand-and-six, Honda accord.
There were three masked men in the vehicle and a bag full of stolen cash.
Three police vehicles were in pursuit but they were struggling to catch up to the battered car.
"We're almost there, once we lose them in Chelsea we dump this piece of junk for the lancer and we're home sweet home," the driver said to his accomplices, "Easier said than done Frank! How the hell do you think we can shake off a police helicopter?" one of the men said as he started blasting at the aircraft.
"We'll shake em', the fortune cookie I had earlier said that I had good luck coming my way," the driver said confidently.
"They're slowing down!" one of the men said in astonishment as the police cruisers abruptly slowed down.
"See!" the driver said with a fat smile on his face, "I'm lucky."
"Wanna test that?"
All the men in the car instantly perked up at the unfamiliar voice, "Who said that?" one of them said urgently as they looked around.
"Take a guess?" the mysterious voice said cheerfully.
A split second later all the thugs inside the vehicle froze as something landed on the hood of the car as hard as possible, causing the back wheels to lift off the ground temporarily. They stared wide eyed, in complete and utter shock, as the form of Spider-Man was sprawled in front of them, his white lenses staring back at them with their own reflection.
Showing them how screwed they really were.
"It's Spider-Man!" they yelled as the back wheels landed on the ground.
"He-Hey, you guessed right! Wanna take another shot and tell me what happens next?" Spider-Man cockily asked as he looked at the three men who were swerving on the street in an attempt to get him off.
"Your goddamn brain on our windshield!" the man in the passenger seat retorted as he leaned out the car window and aimed his gun at the web-slinger.
"Wrong!" Peter said as quickly kicked the man in his face before kicking the gun out of his hand. "And I had such high hopes for you," he mockingly said as the man was knocked out cold by his swift movements. The other man in the back seat sought to capitalize on Spider-Man's attention being on his friend and fired his gun at the hero clad in red and blue spandex, however, his sixth sense had other ideas.
His Spider-Sense went off immediately as the trigger was pulled and he turned his attention to the man who sat in the back, but everything suddenly slowed down. The car, his surroundings, the gun, the bullet, they all slowed.
"Woah," Peter thought as he saw the bullet spiraling towards him before he flipped off from the hood of the car and onto it's back. Everything resumed it's pace quickly. Spider-Man grabbed the man who had fired the gun through the rear windshield, and he, in turn, screamed in fear and panic as Peter fired one web line at a building before connecting it to the man. He watched how the man shrieked like never before as he was instantly yanked out of the car. He then hopped to the roof of the car and grabbed the knocked-out man before throwing him out and webbing him to a wall. He and the driver had eye contact as he peered his head through the passenger seat window and all the thug could say was: "Can you be gentle?" he asked in a hopeful tune as it was too late to surrender now.
"Sure," Peter said as he launched his body through the passenger window, forcefully kicking the man out of his car and taking the door with him. He contorted his body as he left through the driver's side so that he could once again be on the roof of the car. Within the scuffle, it did a hard turn to the right causing the vehicle to lose control and flip over. In a swift motion, just as the car was in the air and the roof facing the street, Peter, from his spot on the roof, planted his feet on the street, catching the vehicle effortlessly before it even hit the ground.
It was lighter than he expected but it has been a while.
And yet it felt like it was yesterday.
"No…better than yesterday," he thought as he put the car down and dusted his hands.
The police cars had pulled over at this point but before they could say "Freeze," he broke out into a sprint, jumping on their cruiser and using it to launch himself even higher before swinging off, leaving them to only adjust their hats and sigh.
Laura was at the intersection, watching on at the spectacle alongside everyone else who was in the vicinity. When he got close enough she turned her motorcycle around in the direction he was going and started to drive off with the both of them being neck and neck.
He gave her a little glance and a sailor salute before going up into the sky.
She watched how he let go of his web line and let out a loud and jovial scream as he did multiple tricks in the air.
He seemed to be enjoying himself.
Peter was enjoying himself.
He smiled widely at the feeling of the wind upon his face, the strength of it being one you could only feel if you went free falling. It felt good to be doing all of this, to be wearing the suit, to be stopping crimes, he could go without the police trying to arrest him but that would be asking too much. So far that was the first crime he's stopped and they just entered New York through the Manhattan Bridge minutes ago.
If things were this bad during the day, he could only imagine what it would be like when night came along.
Laura and Peter traveled through the city at a steady pace, despite their introduction they made it to midtown with ease. They would have reached their destination much sooner but Peter insisted that she oblige to the rules of the road after she ran a red light to catch up with him the first time.
She stared at the red light, and then back to Peter who was high in the air, impatiently, as she waited for the light to turn green.
She looked around, the people took out their phones to take pictures and videos of him, some people cheered him on, some people called him things such as a 'menace.' There was one man earlier who had a giant sign that proclaimed he was a threat to the city on the corner of a street.
He was busy arguing with a woman who was saying he was a hero.
Peter was quite polarizing, to say the least.
The red light came on and she immediately pressed forward with Peter firing a web line high above her. They were nearing the Baxter building now for she could see the giant and ridiculous 'four' on it. As she neared it, she turned left on a nearby parking lot and entered an alleyway.
The plan was simple: they meet on a rooftop of a nearby building and he brings her to the roof of the iconic thirty-five-story building. According to him, there was an entry to the building in the form of a large hatch door to accommodate for the countless flying vehicles they have and the Human Torch, who he referred to as "Flamebrain."
She climbed to the rooftop of a building of her choice using her claws and then simply waited for him to notice her. He did, and immediately went to meet her.
"Alright, not so bad, honestly I was expecting to run into like, three more crimes while getting here," he said truthfully.
"What now?" she asked him as he didn't inform her how he would bring her to the building.
"Climb on," he said as he turned his back to her and hunched a bit forward.
"What?" she asked him as she looked at the round spider logo on his back.
"Climb on," he said gesturing to his back, "I'll swing us to the building and then I'll run up the wall and bring us to the rooftop," he said to her as he did little gestures with his fingers which resembled the plan.
She just looked at him and he stood back up, extending his hands out wide.
"Look, it's better than taking the first-floor elevator, " She didn't say anything.
"I'm all ears for a better idea if you have one?" She did not have one.
"I'm gonna take that lack of a response as a 'no, I don't have a better idea,'" Peter said to her. "It won't be that bad," he said trying to win her over, "...unless you're afraid of heights," he added.
She continued to say nothing.
"Are you afraid of heights?" he questioned.
"No," she immediately said.
She was not afraid of heights.
"Oh my god… you are!" he exclaimed in a surprised tone, eyes wide beneath his lenses.
"I am afraid of nothing," she stated fiercely as she glared at him but he started chuckling.
"I can't blame you given how short you are," he joked in between laughs.
"I am not short," she stated angrily. She was the average height of a girl and he was not so much taller than her.
He laughed harder.
"Stop laughing," she demanded.
He laughed even harder at her demands to cease which caused her to grit her teeth and try to contain the anger that was quickly making its way to the surface.
She let out a growl and the idiotic superhero that was right in front of her quelled his laughter to look at her with confusion. "Did you just growl?" he asked before he saw the expression of pure hate on her face. He quickly stopped laughing at her and raised his hands in the air as a sign of forfeiture.
He did not want to piss off a lady who had metal claws.
She let out a breath as she tried her best to calm herself down.
"Ever been on a rollercoaster before?" he asked her after giving her a minute.
"Once," she said, referring to the moment she once shared with her first and only friend.
It was one of the few times she's had fun.
"Web swinging is kinda like that… but better…and without the safety," That didn't convince her.
"But who needs safety when you got me," he said with a smile as he pointed to himself. "I'm the dude who invented web-swinging, I promise ya, you're in safe hands," she was feeling a bit better about it.
"Besides…even if you somehow manage to fall, I'll catch ya. I am a super-hero after all," he struck a stupid pose as he said that last part confidently.
She let out a sigh.
"Fine," she finally said.
He had won her over.
"Sweet," he said as he once again turned his back to her, "It'll only take a second."
"It better," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Ready?" he asked her as he leaned forward off the edge of the building. She nodded and instantly regretted her decision as the both found themselves plummeting down to the street below.
She held on to him as tightly as she possibly could, expecting him to immediately fire a web line.
He didn't.
A panicked expression soon found its way on her face as the ground grew closer at an exponential rate.
She could feel him holding back a laugh as he waited for the last minute to fire a web line.
She was going to kill him…
…but as she felt the wind upon her face, that thought quickly disappeared. The speed they were going at was…exhilarating. As they reached the end of the swing he let go of the web line and they briefly stayed floating in the air.
It stopped as soon as it started however as Peter was now stuck to one of the walls of the Baxter building. "Told ya it would only be a second," he said as he turned to look back at her.
"How was the Spidey express?" he said lightheartedly.
"Not…bad," she replied, as the pounding of her heart persisted.
She liked it.
He had a feeling she'd like it.
"You need a breather or-"
"-I'm fine," she responded instantly. He nodded at that and proceeded to run up the wall, keeping his back hunched as far as possible in order to keep her comfortable.
They made it to the top floor in seconds with Laura instantly letting go of Peter, for once, grateful to be on solid ground. She followed him as they walked on the roof of the famous Baxter Building. Like she always did, she observed her surroundings: There were a couple of trees that decorated the roof, giving the building some life to it; In one of the corners there was an observatory class telescope and opposite to that was something she noticed to be unnatural to the building.
The unnatural addition to the building was a silo.
She could smell…fuel…rocket fuel, among a variety of other things that were inside.
They had a rocket ship.
She expected them to have such a thing but that didn't stop her from being surprised.
The Fantastic Four was already bigger than she imagined.
"And Peter is friends with them," she thought as the two of them approached a large circular 'four' insignia. It stood above the ground by at least half a meter and was huge.
This was the hatch.
He walked to the middle of the hatch while she waited and watched. When he was at the center a blue light that seemingly came out of nowhere began to shine and envelop his entire body before abruptly turning off.
"Welcome: Spider-Dork," a robotic voice said flatly.
"What?" Peter and Laura both thought.
He let out a small laugh as he immediately knew who it was who did this.
"He found that funny?" Laura thought as she heard his laugh.
He did a flip as the hatch doors began to open and landed right next to her.
She looked at him, his heart was beating faster than usual.
He was nervous.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
He looked at her, a bit surprised by the concern the girl showed, "It's just…it's...it's been a while," he said nervously.
When he was gone, all of them left him messages and calls, making sure he was doing fine.
He listened to each and every one of them.
"I…I don't know what to say…"
"Webs! Peter! get down here!" a voice boomed from far below as the hatch had completely opened.
They both stared down with surprise at who said it. Peter let out a small laugh though and gestured for Laura to once again grab on for the distance between the roof and the floor was quite big and she didn't feel like breaking her legs.
He landed on the ground in a crouched position with Laura doing the same as she let go of him.
Large footsteps that practically shook the floor approached them at an alarming rate and she looked up to see a giant rock 'thing' come up to Peter.
Instinctively she withdrew her claws but stopped as she saw the scene before her.
Peter and the rock thing- "man," she corrected as she noticed the humanoid body, hugged. The orange golem practically crushed him. He wore a pair of blue shorts that had a black outline with a giant circular emblem at the centre of the belt area. It had a black outline and stood above the cloth, a white background, and a blue four.
The contents of the uniform were something she's never smelled before.
"I didn't think ya'd come back!" his foghorn voice boomed as he let out a joyful laugh. They stayed like that for a couple of seconds before letting go of each other.
She retracted her claws before he could even notice.
"You always gotta be so negative orange slice?" Peter said with a laugh and a smile as he took off his mask.
She watched how "orange slice," let out a small chuckle at that before saying, "When you're on a team fulla' nothin' but dreamers, ya gotta have at least someone livin' in reality," he replied back in a friendly tone.
He let out a sigh though as his smile morphed into a softer look, "How've ya been webhead," the man asked in a concerned tone as he had his hands on Peter's shoulders.
"Good…I think I'-"
"He's lying," Laura thought as he spoke.
"-You can lie to that aunt of yours but not to me webs," the golem interrupted fiercely.
Peter looked at him stunned for a moment before letting out a small laugh.
"...It's...it's been hard but...it's getting better," he told the man in a sincere tone.
"We're always going to be here for ya webs, you just gotta give us a call instead of sulking by yourself," the man joked as he tapped his shoulder. "If ya stayed in that little home of yours fer' another bad guy attack, I would've dragged you're sorry butt out, secret identity be damned," He finished with a smile.
"Yea and you'd scare my aunt to death while doing so too," he retorted.
"I mean it, you know we think the world of you," The man said with a firm voice, each syllable in in that sentence full of sincerity and truth.
Peter looked away, feeling both honored and embarrassed at such words but looked back at the golem, reciprocating the warm look he gave Peter.
"I know, I feel the same way about all of you," Peter said with a smile.
Both men smiled at each other before the rock man turned his attention to her.
"This da girl I've been hearing on da news?" He asked Peter as he pointed at her.
"What?" Peter asked, confused.
"It's all ova' town, you and a girl stopped a dinosaur-thing before saving a coupla' lives, is that you?" Ben asked Laura.
She nodded, and the man made out of stone let out a smile before putting a hand on her shoulder. She froze in place, her base instincts told her to brush it off but the man had a warm presence to him, not to mention that based on his interaction with Peter, they were good friends.
"Thank you," Ben said to Laura, causing both her and Peter to look at him with wide eyes. He then stuck out his hand, "Any friend of webs is a friend of mine," he said in a friendly manner to the girl.
"Names 'Ben' by the way, Benjamin Grimm. If ya wanna go by superhero names, it's the ever-lovin' blue-eyed, Thing," he said to the girl as he stuck out his hand that was many, many times the size of hers.
She looked at his hand briefly.
"X…"
She looked at Grimm who held a friendly smile.
She looked at Peter who was also smiling at the scene.
He trusted them.
"...Laura, Laura Kinney," she hesitantly said to Ben as she slowly shook his hand.
As she was shaking his hand her nose immediately picked up fire and not even a second later, a figure made out of flames came zooming into the room through the stairway. The flames around his body immediately extinguished revealing a caucasian boy with wavy blonde hair. He wore a blue full-body uniform which had a black collar, gloves and a belt; at the center of his chest was the same circular emblem that Grimm had.
She assumed that this was The Human Torch.
He was the same height as Peter and if she could guess, they were the same age too.
Him and Peter stood in front of one another, looking at each other with their azure eyes. Their expressions went like this: surprise, observation, and a playful grin on the blonde-haired boy's face as Peter had a soft smile.
"What happened to your hair? You look like shit," the blonde-haired boy said.
"Least I can say it's temporary," Peter retorted with a grin that caught the boy off guard. He was stunned for a second and turned his attention briefly onto her before focusing back on Peter. "You're back," He said in a relieved and happy tone as he walked towards Peter who opened his arms for a warm embrace that the two shared.
"I'm back Matchstick, so get ready to be moved back to page eight," Peter joked.
"Who's verified on Twitter again?" he rhetorically asked as they pulled away from the hug.
"No one likes you," Peter said as he furrowed his brow in mock annoyance.
"That's ironic coming from you, and for your information, everyone likes me," the blonde-haired boy said confidently.
"No one does Torchie," Ben added.
"My three million followers says otherwise," at this Peter and Ben rolled their eyes. He turned his attention to Laura, "I would introduce myself but you probably already know who I am," he finished with a shrug.
She looked at him blankly, this was the idiot Peter was talking about.
"Johnny Storm," the blonde-haired boy said as if it was obvious.
She remained unphased.
"The Human Torch?" he asked questioningly.
She said nothing.
"Hello?" he asked as he was unsure what to do in the presence of the girl with jet-black hair who seemed to ignore his very existence.
Johnny turned his gaze to Peter, "Does she speak?" he said in a low whisper as he put his hand to cover his mouth from her.
"When she's not planning on killing someone, yes," Peter joked.
Johnny took multiple steps back away from her after this which made her inwardly smirk inside.
"Where did you find her?" he questioningly asked Peter, "On the rainy streets of New York City," Peter simply responded.
"Last time I checked, It was I who found you," she said confidently as she grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "Getting beaten by a green reptile on the side of a street," she stated as she recalled his less than desirable situation.
Johnny and Ben chuckled at that, making it only get worse.
"Hey! Who was getting squished by it like it was a carnival won plushie?" Peter rhetorically asked her.
"Your point?" Laura asked him.
"You weren't faring any better against it than I was," Peter defended himself.
"That wasn't the point of this conversation. The point was who found who, and I found you," She stated strongly. Peter tried to come up with a rebuttal but she had a point and he ultimately stopped whatever it was he was going to say as there was no point in arguing with her.
He wouldn't win.
Ben and Johnny were amused by this interaction.
"Does she know who you are?" Johnny asked as he just realized that Peter was unmasked in front of someone new.
"I have my mask off, what do you think?" Peter said to him.
"What!?" Johnny exclaimed as he turned his attention to her then back to Peter.
"How long have you known her?" he asked as he looked at Laura, completely and utterly flabbergasted.
He thought about it, "Like… two days?" he said questioningly as he was unsure of the exact time he came into contact with the girl known as Laura Kinney.
"Sixteen hours and twenty minutes," she stated to the astonishment of Peter and bewilderment of Johnny.
"It took me a year!" Johnny frustratingly exclaimed to Peter.
"Look, maybe if you saw me out of costume and read my name on the tag of my jacket, you might've figured out who I was...but then again, you'd have to read and I don't think you can do that," Peter retaliated.
The two members of the Fantastic Four looked at Laura, with a surprised expression and increased their guard ever so slightly, however when Peter said, "I trust her," they immediately returned to their casual behavior; in fact, upon hearing his words they let their guards completely down.
His words meant that much to them that they would trust a complete stranger.
The elevator to the room dinged and out came the other two members of the Fantastic Four if their uniforms meant anything. One was a young adult woman who had blonde hair and a resemblance to Storm, while the other was a man who looked to be in his late-twenties. He was tall and had a lanky build with neatly combed browned hair, and was the only person inside this room outside of her, to not have blue eyes, with his being hazel.
The both of them wore the same uniform Storm did, however, the man wore a labcoat over his, alongside a monocular magnifying glass which was rested aboce his eye.
"Peter!" the woman exclaimed happily as she hugged him. "It's so good to see you again," he let out a smile as he reciprocated the hug.
"Who's this?" the man said in an interested voice as he looked at Laura.
"That's Laura," Ben said as he put his hand on her shoulder as if he's known her for countless years, "She the girl that helped Pete with the Dinosaur thing-"
"-That was kicking his ass," Johnny interjected.
"-that the news was talking 'bout earlier. He trusts her," Ben said with a smile.
The man turned his attention from Ben and onto her, a warm smile adorned on his face.
"Reed Richards, It's a pleasure to meet you Laura," he said as he stuck a hand out to her.
She took it.
He gestured to the blonde-haired woman who was looking at her with fond eyes, "This is my fiancee, Susan," Reed said with a loving smile.
Susan extended her hand out as well, "Susan Storm. Friends call me 'Sue' and as far as I'm concerned, you can call me that too," she said warmly.
She shook her hand after she was done shaking Richards.
She wasn't expecting such a warm welcome.
They all seemed quite fond of her already just by the fact that she assisted Peter. No questions about who or what she is outside her name, no nothing, just warm introductions and trust that was immediately given.
She didn't get any of that back at the mansion, although, she should've expected that after Logan introduced her. He said that she'd kill them if they pissed her off and while that was true, it made the other students hesitant to even speak to her.
Which is something she preferred but…this...wasn't so bad.
"So what brings you here Peter? I take that everything's alright, right?" Reed asked in a concerned tone.
He scratched the back of his head, "I wouldn't say 'alright' but… it's getting better. I actually wanted to stop by and say 'thank you' for the messages you guys sent me when I was gone. Sorry I didn't return them." he said with regret as he continued his instinctive nervous gesture.
"It's alright, we understand," Reed said empathetically.
"I listened to every last one though, especially the one where Ben caught Johnny wearing Spider-Man-themed pajamas," Peter said with a laugh to the embarrassment of Johnny.
"You promised not to tell anyone!" Johnny frustratingly yelled at Ben who let out a laugh.
He smiled softly, they helped a great deal, a lot more than even he knew.
"But that's not all you came for is it?" he said in an almost cold manner. Peter knew that Reed said that with no intentions of being cold, it's just that because he was incredibly smart, he knew the reasoning behind the things people did. He was often blunt and almost always unapologetic about it though, still, that didn't stop Sue from glaring at him.
He let out a sigh which grabbed everyone's attention
"I uh…I got new powers and I don't know why," he awkwardly said to the interest and confusion to all inside the massive hanger.
"Really? Dude, what are they?" Johnny said excitedly as he wondered what his friends new powers were.
"Well I got these guys," Peter said as he opened his mouth wide to reveal his fangs.
They gained the interest of everyone in the room.
"They're massive!" Johnny exclaimed.
"What?" Peter said in a confused tone, "You said they were barely visible," he said as he turned to Laura.
Laura scowled at him, "They are," she stated.
"I don't know Pete, I can see them perfectly from here," Johnny said, increasing his growing worry.
"You didn't even notice them before he pointed them out," Laura said with annoyance reeking in her voice.
"Yea, but I notice them now," Johnny replied.
"Only after he pointed them out, you dimwitted fool," Laura retorted as he just proved her point.
He went to open his mouth but Sue had stopped him.
"Don't mind my idiot brother Laura, he can be like this sometimes," Sue said with a furrowed brow as she turned her attention from the raven-haired girl and onto her blonde-haired brother.
"I won't," Laura coldly replied.
"And Peter, Laura is right about your fangs. They are barely visible. If you hadn't pointed them out, we wouldn't have noticed them in the first place," Sue said encouragingly which helped quell his worries.
"However, once you see them it is quite hard to unsee them," Reed stated as he kept his gaze on them. "I'm guessing there's more to these new powers than just fangs?" Reed asked with immense interest.
"I also got these," Peter said as he unveiled his stingers, at the fascination of Reed and surprise to everyone else. Those were quickly sidelined however as when he withdrew his stingers a loud "pop" could be heard.
He swore his heart stopped beating at that moment.
There was a pause in the room as webs started to drip from his wrists.
She watched how he shriek-ishly screamed "no," in response to this.
The three adults in the room held in their snickers and chuckles.
She looked at him with a deadpan expression as Johnny burst out laughing.
"You idiot!" Johnny said between laughs.
She was thinking the same thing.
The mess was cleaned up immediately with a dissolver that was in Peter's belt.
The damage to his web-shooters couldn't be so easily reversed.
The damage to his pride was permanent.
Most of them laughed as they all traveled to the lower levels. She preferred to stay quiet and observed the interactions and the information given through casual conversation. The Fantastic Four operated on the top five levels of the Baxter Building, with the room they were just in being the hanger that housed countless aircraft vehicles.
The Storms saw fit to prioritize Peter's appearance, instantly getting a robot helper to take measurements of his stingers. She looked at the odd-looking machine with mild interest as it floated around him.
The best way she could describe the robot was a washing machine with four thrusters at the bottom with a computer monitor at the top of it. It had two, cartoonishly big yellow eyes that displayed its "emotions."
Could it even have emotions?
From what Richards had told her, it had a name: H.E.R.B.I.E, which stood for Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration. It was built and created by Richards just like she was by the men in white coats.
But unlike it, she was a person.
She was sentient, she could think for herself and do things she wanted.
She was a person…she thought as she looked at Peter.
She wondered if he would have said those things to her if he knew what she's done.
She hoped that he would.
She shook her head, now was not the time to dwell about such things.
She watched how the robot started to cut Peter's overgrown and uncut hair, styling it to what it "used to be." He was visibly pleased with the outcome as Johnny had given him a mirror. It was shorter now, allowing you to see the back of his neck and instead of bangs covering his face, now his hair was styled upwards.
"Now you don't look like you just came out of twilight," Johnny said, which made Peter scowl, "I hate you."
In comparison to what it was previously, she much preferred it this way and from it appeared, so did everyone else.
She stood side by side with Ben in silence as they watched the two tend to Peter. Reed was in another room preparing the machines they were going to use to observe every aspect of his body.
As the robot went to fetch a new and repaired version of Parker's costume, it passed by them and Ben simply said, "Could ya' get me a glass of lemonade too Herbs?" The robot nodded before turning to her "Error: Unregistered biometrics."
Ben stroked his chin, "Forgot bout' that, register her with level two clearance," Ben simply said but he stopped himself before turning to her, "Wait a minute…he said he trusted ya' right?" he asked her as he stroked his stone chin. "Actually Herbs, make it…make it level three clearance. Anyone who's got a problem with that can come talkin' to me," Ben confidently said as he looked at her. She looked at him very confused by the sudden change, "Level one gets ya past the secretary, level two allows you entry at all points, level three gets ya to use anything outside of ole' Stretch-O's lab, and level four is free reign, which includes access to the keys of the fantasticar," he explained with a raised brow.
She still didn't understand why she was getting such authorization?
"Webs got level three, we've been thinking of making it level four but don't go telling him that," he said offhandedly, she nodded. "Seeing as ya already got his trust which is higher than any level of security, I think it's fitting to give ya three. If he trusts you, then we all trust you," he explained much to her surprise.
"Register your name," Herbie said to her.
She looked at the robot before saying her name.
"Laura Kinney."
"Laura Kinney," the robot reiterated before taking a scan of her, the scan was done in a matter of seconds and what the robot said next surprised her. "Welcome to the Fantastic Four: Laura Kinney," H.E.R.B.I.E said before a ding could be heard on her phone.
Ben watched with an anticipated grin as she went to her contacts. There were new names now: Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, and Susan Storm. Ben simply put a hand on her shoulder as she was still surprised,
"You can call us wheneva' you need us."
"Who…who else has level three?" she asked as she was still caught off guard by this warm welcome.
"Outside of you and webs? Just the love of my life: Alicia Masters," he said softly.
His gaze was on Peter, and a soft look found its way on his hard and stone-like face, "He saved her ya' know," he said in a gentle, almost whispered voice.
She had her gaze on Peter now who was talking with Storm.
"Because he trusts me you are giving me all this?" she asked.
"No, it's cause' ya helped him," Ben simply stated as he saw the smile that was on Peter's face. She was confused, she merely stopped a giant creature with him but she decided not to press the conversation on.
She didn't regret agreeing to come here.
"Query: would you like a cold beverage as well Ms. Kinney?" Herbie asked.
She looked at it before simply replying with, "Water," she did not yet have the adequate amount of water needed for the current time it was and energy that was exerted.
In other words, she was thirsty.
The robot displayed a smile before blasting off to another room.
It came a minute later with the drinks and Peter's costume.
She sipped quietly alongside Ben as they watched the conversation.
"Wow," Peter said as he held a new costume in his hands.
"That quick?" he asked Johnny.
"That quick," he responded.
"Can I come to you guys now for costume repairs? You don't know how much money it costs to be constantly repairing this thing and the time that goes into sewing this too," he joked.
"You can always come to us webhead," Ben reiterated.
"Now go change into that dorky costume of yours, the one you're wearing smells," Johnny said to Peter, shoving him off to a room.
Though she was not a fan of the younger Storm, he did agree with him.
It did smell.
He came walking out just moments later in the new costume given to him, there was very little difference when it came to his previous one. She could see the spider logo on the front now, it was a simplified angular spider placed at the center of his chest with four legs pointing up and four legs pointing down. For obvious reasons, it wasn't dirty anymore and the red shined brightly as it was complemented with the dark navy blue.
"Dr. Richards has requested that there be mini slits into your costume so that it wouldn't tear when you retract your stingers. The instructions as to how to do this manually have been sent to your mobile device should your costume need manual repair," Herbie said to Peter as he observed his new costume.
"Nifty," he responded as he drew them out once more.
"Those things are too cool for a dork like you," Johnny said as he looked at them once again, "It's like the hidden blade from the assassin's creed games."
"Brotherhood and two were the only good ones and hers are cooler," he said as he looked at Laura.
Johnny looked at her with surprised eyes, "You got stingers too?" he asked her as he approached her.
She waited for him to get close before withdrawing them in his face causing him to step back in surprise.
"Holy shit!" Johnny said in a startled voice.
He looked at hers and then back to Peters, "...I think hers are cooler," Johnny said to him as she pointed at Laura's claws.
"Hers is made of metal, mine is bone-"
"-Disgusting by the way," Storm inputted.
"-Of course hers are cooler," Peter exclaimed as her metal claws looked a whole lot more appealing than his stingers.
She agreed with that statement.
"Why are yours made out of metal anyways?" Peter asked her with a furrowed brow.
"I would…prefer not to say," she told him, at least not in front of everyone. Peter understood her tone and decided not to ask, surprisingly, Johnny did the same.
"Alright, everything has been prepped, please, everyone, make your way to the laboratory," Richards said over the intercom. She followed them as they all made their way, she was going to find her answers.
Peter had reported a new power, when he stopped those thieves. He said that he could see the bullet approach him, while also saying that the car he lifted felt lighter than usual.
She wondered what else he had…
They took a blood sample of him first and had him bite into something with his fangs before putting him in a room. The first test was a strength test, which could easily be measured by the device Richards had. As she suspected, he was a ten-tonner which was stated by Richards when discussing his previous results.
Peter simply stood on a circular platform, underneath a device that was designed to push against him, inputting whatever amount of force the person in charge wanted.
Essentially, it was a high-tech, hydraulic press.
They started off with one ton which was nothing, five tons he was starting to feel but it wasn't straining, and at ten tons there was physical exertion; he started to physically struggle, bending his knees and letting out groans.
At fifteen, he started to shake and collapse under the weight which worried everyone as it looked like he couldn't hold but to the to the surprise of everyone, including herself, he managed to push back.
"Go for twenty," Johnny and Ben cheered while Sue looked at Reed worryingly, "Maybe we should stop this here."
Laura wasn't worried as machinery as complex as this most likely had multiple safe guards in check.
She wanted to see Peter's limits and she could tell Peter wanted to see them too.
"No! I…can...still do more," Peter said through grunts as he stood his ground. Reed reluctantly complied and increased it to twenty. The machine pushed down on him heavily and his legs were beginning to shake as if he was on the precipice of breaking but he still persevered. His newly refurbished costume was starting to tear as his muscles expanded under the pressure. He was barely holding on as the machine had once again started to gain significant ground on him.
He let out an agonizing yell as he started to crumble underneath the weight and Reed frantically began to shut it down.
"Wait," Laura simply said as she kept her eyes on him.
"He can do it," She said as she observed how his legs were no longer shaking. They all watched with astonishment as he continued to yell his lungs out as he started pushing the machine back up, ever so slowly. He managed to bring it up so high that he could fully extend his arms and when he did that, Reed had decided to end it there.
"Holy shit," Johnny said with amazement written all over his face.
"And that's why…they call me…'The Amazing…Spider-Man…'" Peter said between breaths before eventually collapsing on the floor.
Johnny and Laura instinctively went to his side. One going to watch over him while the other went to pester him.
"Not bad webs. Still nowhere near me though," Ben both proudly and cockily said as he stood beside Sue and Reed.
"You're a class one-hundred-plus Ben, the only one near you is the Hulk," Reed inputted. "Still, Peter's results are impressive, and this changes my initial thoughts about the future possibilities of his strength," Reed said loudly so that the three teens who were currently standing in the middle of the room could hear him.
"...What?" Peter tiredly said as he turned his head to look at the scientist.
"Your strength is proportional to that of a spider, well originally at least. I estimated that you'd only get stronger as you grow. My initial thoughts were that in your prime, you'd be class twenty or thirty in strength but with these enhancements, I believe you're gonna be more in line with a class thirty level of strength, most likely forty," Reed said as he was impressed by the boy's display of strength.
"I like the sound of that," Peter said as he sat back up, slowly feeling his strength and energy come back to him.
"But can you go nova?" Johnny rhetorically asked with a smirk.
"Shut up, Johnny," Peter said irritably,
"Just admit my powers are better than yours and I will."
"Your powers were really cool when Doom took over your body and used them to fight me," Peter retorted.
Laura focused on the word "Doom," There was only one person that came to mind and that was Victor Von Doom, Supreme Leader of the Kingdom of Latveria, the most dangerous man on the planet.
From what little she knows of him, she knows this: almost all who cross him end up dead.
And yet he talked about him as if he was just another foe.
Storm and Peter continued their back and forth while she simply stood next to him, observing their friendship. The others gave him twenty minutes of rest alongside repairing the minor tears that were within the costume before proceeding with examination. Storm and Peter were close, they were relaxed with each other and though they incessantly bickered with each other, they looked at one another with genuine care.
The second test had him have his stingers get scanned by another machine before proceeding to slash and pierce through multiple objects made out of different materials and metals.
Thanks to his superhuman durability and the inherent sharpness of the stingers, he managed to cut though most of the metals easily.
While his stingers paled in comparison to her claws, they were still impressive considering the fact they were bone.
The final test had him hooked up to a device that scanned his brain as he performed tasks that would activate his spider-sense.
"I still don't believe that that's real!" Johnny said as he watched Peter do the tests.
"Believe it!" Peter yelled as he dodged multiple objects that came behind him.
There was no way for them to detect the spider-sense, which was odd, but they found that his optical nerves operated at an accelerated rate than that of regular humans, explaining why he could see the bullet that was fired at him earlier. While that didn't sound like much to most people, based on how Storm said "lame," for someone who understood what that meant like her, it was a terrifying power.
He could see anything no matter how fast it went, or how fast he went, and he comprehended things so fast that things seemed slow at times. While it was limited to just whenever his spider-sense went off according to him, she wondered if it could be used outside of that.
The tests were done by the time a loud 'ding' echoed around the room. "Lunch is ready," one of the robot helpers said which prompted Johnny to abruptly turn aflame which caused her to instinctively back away immediately and draw her claws.
Peter immediately hopped over her and seemingly raced him as they went to the living room, however, as the two made it to the stairs they abruptly slammed against…nothing? their bodies seemed to have been splattered on an invisible wall.
She quickly regained her composure and put her claws away as she witnessed the two boys who were now on their backs. There was nothing there, nothing she could smell, she looked around to see Storm's sister holding out her hand. This wasn't a form of telekinesis or else they would have stayed in place, could she create invisible constructs?
"Johnny, you should know that there's no hurry for lunch, everyone eats at the same time, and Peter…I expect better from you," she scolded the two like children.
Ben simply shook his head and said "Teenagers," as he made his way to the kitchen.
"Unruly children," she corrected, she was not to be grouped with those two.
Ben let out a huff, "Keep that up and you'll get level four in no time," he said with a smile.
He took a glance at her and she did the same.
She liked Grimm.
They went to the thirty-first floor which was starkly different from any of the other floors. Instead of metallic floors and walls that were decorated with intricate and advanced technology, the thirty-first floor looked like a floor that belonged to a regular house. The floor was covered with a light yellow carpet as the walls were painted lime green. There was an orange couch that was against a wall, with another one beside that one leaning against the other wall. In front of both couches was a vintage coffee table with a huge television opposite it, which lay on a massive stand that had countless devices such as a recorder and the exact system that Drake used back in the mansion.
The dining room had a clear view of the city and in the middle of it was a simple wooden table that could fit a whole family. Richards sat at the head of the table with Sue and Ben to the left of him, Johnny and Peter sat to his right, and she sat beside him.
Robot helpers immediately came and plated their food, with the food itself being a roast beef fillet. Peter was given the food alongside repaired web-shooters with Richards saying playfully, "I recommend not using your stingers when you have those on Peter," Peter let out an embarrassed chuckle as he put them on again.
Peter was given extra portions of food, alongside Grimm and Richards, to accommodate the demands of their powers.
She ate quietly and so did Grimm, it was good.
She listened in on the conversations that took place at the table, keeping her gaze on her meal until she found a piece of food on her plate that wasn't hers.
She turned her head slowly to see Storm and Peter…
…playing with their food…
"Hey Pete, look, it's Big wheel," Storm said as he pointed at two pieces of roast beef which were crudely put together to form a circle.
"And that's you," he said as he rolled the beef over a flat-leaf laughing as hard as he could. "Oh will you shut up about that, you don-" he stopped talking abruptly as he leaned back on his chair as if he was knocked out.
"Pete?" Johnny asked as he abruptly stopped playing with his wheel of beef.
Peter started drooling which caused Ben to give a snicker.
Johnny didn't get what he was doing.
Peter and Ben tried hiding their laughs at Johnny's cluelessness.
"What is he doing?... did the brain damage finally get to him?" Johnny asked Ben.
"No you numbnut, that's you when you were under da' control of da' monocle," Ben stated with a laugh and Peter soon broke out of his act laughing as well. Johnny furrowed his brow, "That's not funny!" he said as he flung some of the shredded herbs on his plate at Peter, and inadvertently at her as well.
She picked it up and looked at it blankly.
…these two were renowned superheroes?
Sue looked at the display of immaturity with a warm smile.
Richards seemingly was oblivious to everything around him as he was looking at a datapad, observing Peter's blood. He said words such as "fascinating, interesting," and "amazing," not even paying attention to the food in front of him much to the dismay of Storm's Sister.
Peter and Storm only stopped fighting with each other when the sound of sirens could be heard from the streets below.
She made the mistake of not thinking much of the police sirens.
Instantaneously, both Storm and Peter got up from their seats and ran towards the window with Reed simply saying at the same time, "Open the kitchen windows."
Upon his command, the windows next to them opened wide and she realized too late what the two heroes were going to do.
"Time to hero up!" Peter yelled as he put on his mask and jumped out the window.
"Stop saying that dorky catchphrase," Johnny said as he too jumped out the window with him.
She tried to follow them as they jumped out the window but was left in the dust as they free-fell together.
She watched the two flatly as she wondered what just happened.
"You get used to it," Grimm said to her as he looked at her briefly before returning to his food.
She did not like this.
And she would not get used to it.
Peter smiled to himself as he dived out the window.
Being with Laura, Johnny, and the rest of the FF made him feel like himself again.
"You should've stayed back in the dining room Webhead, I don't need you for this," Johnny cockily said as he free-fell side by side with Peter.
"I remember when there was a time where you didn't deal with these types of crimes," Peter retorted.
"I remember there was a time I thought Jameson was right about you!" Johnny said back.
"Better times if you ask me," he added with a shrug.
"So you mean you liked being my punching bag?" Peter rhetorically asked.
"I could beat you any day of the week, at anything," Johnny stated with the utmost confidence.
"Oh, yea?" Peter said challengingly, "First one to the crime has to do whatever the loser says."
"Deal," Johnny said before clenching his fists and shouting his own iconic line.
"Flame on!" he excitedly yelled as he blasted away from Peter who fired a web line to give chase, however, he could only stare deadpanned as Johnny started flying over the buildings.
"You're breaking the rules you idiot!" Peter yelled as he tried to catch up to him.
"Stay on the goddamn ground, you hear me!" a gunman said as the hostages within the bank panicked at the sound of an explosion. The plan was simple: use explosives to make their way to the safe, so that retrieval of money was quick. Threaten to kill everyone in the room if the people didn't comply, grab as much money as they could, and get one hostage per person to warrant the police not to shoot.
Simple, easy, ingenious, if you asked him.
They've already gathered almost half a million dollars alone.
No one could stop them.
The unnamed gunman immediately retracted the statement as the ginormous window that belonged to the bank immediately shattered.
As if he was seeing his imminent death, in slow motion as the glass flew, he could see Spider-Man and the Human Torch come bursting out the window.
He didn't see anything else as Spider-Man had webbed his face.
Upon firing a web line Peter had pulled on it and immediately had the gunman's face collide with his fist.
"Spidey's here," he said as he stood at the center of the room.
The eight, now seven, gunmen in the room however paid no attention to him as they all had their guns pointed upwards. "The Human Torch is here!" Johnny said confidently as he hovered in the air and had his hands on his waist.
They all fired at him however Johnny only laughed at their attempts.
"You do know my flames melt bullets right?" Johnny said as he scratched a nail.
Peter rolled his eyes and effortlessly dodged gunfire as they turned their attention to him
"I know I've been gone for a month but don't you guys remember? I can dodge bullets, which is infinitely cooler," He said as he gracefully dodged their fire.
He landed next to Johnny, "No it's not," Johnny stated before turning his attention to the gunmen.
"You can always surrender," Johnny recommended.
"You don't know who you're messing with!" one of the crooks fiercely said.
"Do you guys have some supersecret superpowers I'm unaware of? Because last time I checked you were a bunch of unnamed nobodies and I was Johnny Storm, The Human Torch, and he's Spider-Man," Johnny cockily said as he pointed between him and Peter.
"We work for the Kingpin!" one of them stated, which immediately caused Peter's demeanour to change. He immediately clenched his fists, "Good, cause I got a message for him!" Peter yelled as a news helicopter filmed them through the busted window.
He took a step forward which caused the crooks to take a step back.
"I'm back! and he's first on my list of bad guys to beat," he said fiercely.
"Not before I burn him to a crisp first!" Johnny added with a smirk as his flames burned stronger.
The gunmen stood their ground and just before one of them could pull the trigger, Peter punched him right across the face, knocking him out cold.
"But before I get to the entrée I gotta have the appetizer first," he said with a small grin.
They readied their guns with their minds set on blasting him but they were missing something…
There was a reason why Peter wasn't facing Johnny right now.
"It's looking a bit dark here though Spidey, I think we gotta...Lighting up the place!" Johnny said as he instantaneously heated his body up, exponentially increasing the light his flames generated, resulting in an effect that was similar to that of a flash-bang which blinded everyone in the room. He then immediately flew towards one of the gunmen in an instant, delivering a scorching punch that would leave a personal signature on his face.
They took a glance at each other and smirked before going after another pair of goons, swapping sides as they once again knocked two out with one hit. Three remained, and they bundled up with each other as they were starting to recover from the flash.
Peter swiftly jumped in the air and kicked one across the face while Johnny simply flew into another. The last one to remain fully recovered and could only look on in fear as he could see the grin Peter had underneath his mask as he punched him right across the face before doing a sweeping kick that took his feet off the ground.
He followed this up by doing a backflip kick which propelled the guy up, allowing Johnny to deliver a bicycle kick from above, he then immediately flew around Peter in a half-circle as Peter drop-kicked the gunman into Johnny who flew at him, delivering the finishing blow with a powerful punch to the face.
The non-superpowered, and extremely regular human gunman, who is very susceptible to brain damage, was sent tumbling to the ground.
"Ouch!" Peter mock winced, "You're gonna feel that in the morning," he said with a small laugh.
"...Mother…" were the only words that escaped the gunman's mouth as he succumbed to the immense pain of getting hit by a teen with superstrength and another who had control over one of the four major elements.
Peter and Johnny stood together triumphant, bumping their fists together before crossing their arms as the crowd and cameras looked at them in awe.
They grinned at their victory.
"Four to three," Peter said to him, "it's four-four, that last one counted," Johnny replied. "If it counted then it should be five to four," Peter replied. "I delivered the finishing blow, so no," he replied with a smirk.
"You're lucky that it's even a draw Spidey, if I was really trying it would be eight to zero," he said cockily.
Peter scoffed at that.
"The Human Torch is second to no one," Johnny bragged.
"When it comes to coping," Peter retorted, "It's better than self-loathing," Johnny said with a smile.
The two laughed at each other.
He missed this.
They both did.
What he didn't miss was the fact that civilians instantly swarmed Johnny, completely ignoring his existence. He shook his head and smiled underneath his mask before jumping to the wall that was next to the broken window.
He allowed Johnny a moment to take praise.
"Oh my god, Johnny Storm, you're amazing," One girl said with complete praise and worship.
"I know, I know, you don't have to tell me that beautiful, but keep talking anyway," he said flirtatiously to her which got him a giggle from the girl.
Peter rolled his eyes.
He was glad that Johnny at least had the common sense to not do this with Laura.
He let his interaction with the masses pass for at least two minutes before deciding that Johnny's ego had been stroked enough.
"Torch!" he yelled, grabbing his friends' attention. Johnny looked up at him and reluctantly followed his friend but not before saying, "You guys can follow me at 'TheRealJohnnyStorm' on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube!" he yelled as he flew off.
"Oh yea, and tik tok!" he added causing Peter to roll his eyes as the both of them left the building, with the civilians cheering them both on, mostly Johnny though.
He looked at his friend giving a blank stare, "You have a tik tok?" Peter asked.
"Yea, it's all the rage," Johnny said casually.
"I hate you sometimes you know that?" Peter said light-heartedly.
"What can you hate about me, I'm perfect," Johnny said as the both of them landed on a nearby building.
"And you of all people should be thanking me, I was covering your butt this last month," Johnny said as he crossed his arms waiting for his thanks. Peter paused for a moment, looking at his friend before softly saying, "...thank you for that."
Johnny was taken aback by this because he wasn't expecting a 'thank you,' and he recognized that voice.
"...it's no problem," Johnny said sincerely as he scratched the back of his head, "I can handle your dorky little world with ease," he said with a grin.
Peter let out a soft laugh.
"You…you alright Pete?" Johnny said in a soft and concerned tone as he put his hand on Peter's shoulder.
He looked at his friend who had his hand on his shoulder. For a very brief moment, the oblivious expression that was constant in his eyes was replaced by an all-knowing and concerned one.
"...I…I Loved her Johnny…" he said as he looked at his friend, he could hear the pain that was in his voice.
"It wasn't your fault," Johnny said in a wholehearted attempt to console his friend.
"It was my fault Johnny…it was my fault…" Peter looked down as he said this. "...and now this 'Kingpin' is flooding the city with crime because I was too busy crying in my room," he said bitterly. "How bad is it? DD's been giving my updates but…"
"It's pretty bad Pete. I don't know much but I do know he has at least half the villains are under his payroll," Johnny said truthfully. Peter angrily stomped his foot on the ground, "I'm such an idiot! I never learn, this is what happens when I-"
"Hey!" Johnny said as he yanked on his shoulder, "It's not your fault! you're not the only hero in New York remember? It's all of ours, you were the only one who dealt with this type of stuff when me and the others stayed comfy on our couches waiting for the next big bad guy to destroy the earth when the people who live on it, the little guy, were having their lives, their own world, destroyed," he said sincerely.
Peter looked at him stunned for a second.
He blinked a good couple of seconds before responding.
"Johnny Storm? taking responsibility? Caring for the little guy? When did this happen?" he said with a soft laugh.
Johnny let out one himself.
"When I met someone who taught me what it was like to be a real hero," he said with a smile. "This stupid idiot taught me something about power and responsibility. He taught me that there were different ways to save the world that didn't include stopping world-ending threats," Johnny said as he looked at the civilians hugging their loved ones from down below.
He looked at Peter and shrugged.
"Honestly, those two things were all he was good for," Johnny finished with a small laugh.
Peter let out a laugh.
"Can't be as bad as that one moron who came to my school one day and taught me that I should never give up," he finished with a small laugh of his own.
"Obviously that speech flew over your head," Johnny retorted.
They both shared a laugh before looking at each other solemnly.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"...No…not yet at least, but it helps that you're here."
"Always Pete," Johnny said with a smile.
"You can always drop by the Baxter Building you know? We meant everything we said earlier," he reiterated.
Peter let out a laugh.
"I mean it, after everything you've done, after saving Alica-"
"I didn't even know who she was before Ben came along and broke my spine with that 'hug," He said with a mock shudder recalling that moment. .
"That's a point for a future topic Pete. Right now, the one I'm trying to make is that whenever we need help, you're always there. Always willing to do some weird, borderline suicidal plan that Reed comes up with. You're more than just a friend to us, you know, and while the words might not be coming up right now, you'll always have a place for yourself in the Baxter Building as long as we're there. As long as I'm there," he said strongly towards Peter.
Peter looked at him stunned for a moment before letting out an earnest joyful laugh.
"Spider-Man and Human Torch?" Johnny said as he held out a hand.
"Peter Parker and Johnny Storm," Peter said as he raised his.
"Friends forever," they both said as they firmly shook hands with each other smiling at each other in the process.
"Anyways, how is it going? How were your exams? How's Dorrie?" Peter asked as it's been a month since he's seen Johnny.
Johnny's eyes drifted to the ground.
"What is it?" Peter asked his friend, he knew he wanted to say something.
"It's nothing," Johnny said immediately.
"C'mon, after saying we'll always have eachothers backs you pull this," Peter said bewildered.
Johnny let out a sigh.
"Me and Dorrie broke up,"
"What? What happened?" Dorris Evans was Johnny's longtime girlfriend for at least a year now, from what he remembers of her, she loved him, so what happened?
"The Beatle happened," he said bitterly. "He stole something for someone who I would later discover was the Kingpin. I was with her at the time, as I left to go 'hero up' as you put it, she told me that if I left her she wouldn't be there when I returned," he said looking down.
Johnny paused for a moment.
"I left, kicked his ass too, but when I came back she wasn't there. When I tried to call, she didn't answer. She eventually picked after half an hour to say we were over," Johnny said, holding back tears.
"...I…I'm sorry Johnny," This was all his fault. If he hadn't left, then he would've been there to stop the Beatle, the kingpin would never have come to power. He ruined his only friend's relationship.
"Sorry about what?" he asked his friend but as he looked at his friend's demeanor he instantly said, "NO!, NO!, NO! NO! this is not your fault!" he said as he pointed at his friend.
"If I was there to stop him you could-,"
"This is not your fault Peter. I-I think it was going to happen anyways… she wasn't too happy with the whole superhero gig," Johnny said truthfully.
"Johnny…"
"Don't feel sorry for me webhead, she'll call back," he said with a forced laugh.
"I'm…I'm the Human Torch, you don't dump the Human Torch…"
Peter simply hugged him.
He hugged back and let the tears flow from his eyes.
"I'm such an idiot, I don't even know why I'm crying, your girlfriend died, mine dumped me. I have no right to even feel-"
"You loved her Johnny, you have a right to be sad," Peter said.
"But-"
"-Mines dead, so what? That doesn't mean you can't feel bad about yours," Peter said adamantly.
"When did it happen?" Peter asked as he and Johnny let go of the hug.
"Three days ago," he said, wiping some tears off his face.
"You could've told me," Peter said sincerely.
"You would've punched me in the face," he said with a laugh.
"Yea…yea, I would have. You actually made a good choice for once," he said as he thought about what he would've done in his previous month-long mindset.
"It's why I wanted to hang out with you today but I see you're busy," Johnny said, referring to Laura.
"We're going to hunt down a giant alligator, wanna come?" Peter could picture the three of them working together.
"And be a third wheel? No! Besides, I think she'll kill me," Johnny said honestly as he looked at his friend, "Maybe another time though."
Peter looked around the city, wondering what the two could do together.
He nudged him with his elbow when a good idea came to mind.
"Hey, I think we got time to do a little something before we head back," he said, hinting at something, Johnny perked up at that. "Pretty sure the score is still one-one right?" Peter asked.
"If you're demented," Johnny scoffed. "I beat you earlier so It's two-one," Johnny said as he got what he was referencing, "You flew over the buildings, that doesn't count," Peter said.
"Doesn't matter, the results would still be the same."
"Really," Peter said, not believing his statement.
"I can show you," he said with little sparks coming off of him.
"Lap around New York?" Peter said as he started hopping between feet.
"Of course," Johnny exclaimed.
"Remember the rules?"
"No flying above street level," he said in a mocking tone but Johnny rolled his eyes.
"It's the only way it's fair," Torch could fly at supersonic speeds if he wanted to, flying at street level was the only way to make it fair.
"So you admit that I could beat you under any other circumstance?" Johnny said as he raised a brow.
"I didn't say that," Peter playfully denied.
He shook his head as he gazed at the horizon.
"Get ready to lose," Johnny said as flames engulfed his eyes.
"On three Matchstick," Peter said as he got ready to jump.
"One," Peter said.
"Two," Johnny said.
"Three!" they yelled together as they blasted off from the rooftop, going as fast as they possibly could around the concrete jungle, leaving a trail of webs and flames in the process.
They were dishing out quips and insults as this happened. Peter tried firing webs at him but they burned on impact, and Johnny tried retaliating with fireballs only for them to be dodged with ease.
Despite this, the both of them tried their best to let the other person win without them knowing.
They ended up drawing.
They were laughing the entire time they raced around the city.
When they came back to the Baxter Building an hour later they were greeted with a "Who won?" and Laura simply glared at Peter fiercely for abruptly leaving her.
After declaring that they ended with a draw Ben disappointedly yelled "Oh come on!" as he handed a twenty to Sue who smirked at his loss.
"The one time I bet on you Torch," he muttered.
Reed walked towards the two, mainly Peter in an attempt to deliver the news of his blood test…however Laura beat him to it, abruptly standing in his way and looking at Peter seriously.
"You're a mutant."
Four figures stood watching the news play out before them.
Three of them stood in front of a desk as a large man in a white suit had his fingers together with his brow furrowed as he stared silently at the sight before him.
"Whaddya reckon we do," a western accent spoke as he held onto his cowboy hat.
"We work for the kingpin!"
"Good, cause I got a message for him! I'm back! And he's first on my list of bad guys to beat!"
"Not before I burn his butt to a crisp first!"
"First Spider-Man returns with an unknown acquaintance, and now the Torch is with em'," he continued to say. "I say we dust em," another man who stood at five- three said.
Another man who stood at six-eight nodded, silently agreeing with the midget.
"We do nothing Montanna," the large man powerfully stated.
"Nothin'?" the western man named Montanna said questioningly.
"I want to get the word out: all activity is to cease immediately," he commanded.
"But-" one of them tried to speak but was quickly interrupted.
"Do you understand?" the man said threateningly.
"Yes sir!" they all said in unison.
"Contact every super we have, we shall hold a meeting tomorrow," he said as he got up from his chair. "Does anyone know what happened to the group that was sent to the Connors last night?" he asked as he looked out his window.
"They were all killed, nothing left of em' cept' bones," Montana said.
"Good," he said firmly. "I need every edge possible, the 'Devil' and those 'heroes for hire,' were tolerable but Spider-Man?…alongside both the Human Torch and a girl who was powerful enough to stand her ground against Connors…it changes everything," he said as he pondered upon what he should do. "Scratch what I said," he told the group as he turned around to face them. "Contact every super you can find, tomorrow we plan for war," he commanded firmly.
"Yes sir!" they all said.
"That is all," he said as he dismissed them.
As they left his room the man in the white suit let out a sigh.
"Spider-Man is back…" he thought to himself as he fell onto his chair.