AN: Hello everybody! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I had a pretty great holiday. I got to see my family, got to try out my homemade eggnog recipe (totally nailed it :D ), and there was something else...

Oh yeah! I GOT ENGAGED!

And as I float in this cloud of infinite happiness, I also cranked out a great chapter for you guys. We did it. We FINALLY reached the school! THE PLOT HAS BEGUN!

Hope you all enjoy it.

As always, eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11. If anyone here wants to have a magical adventure in the world of Disney's Aladdin, please check out her stories Rajah's Curse and Of Rats and Royals.

Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Chapter 13 - A Whole New World

Late August

The Burbs

For as much as Peter was looking forward to this day, it suddenly felt very strange to be packing his life up in boxes.

He had known that going to SLA involved moving into the dorms. The commute was too long to consider doing anything else. He had known that that would involve having to pack up his room and leave Aunt May alone in this empty house. He knew it wasn't a permanent move; there were plenty of weekends and holidays where he would be able to come back and spend time with her. But that didn't change the fact that he was sitting on his bed, surrounded by cardboard boxes, trying to choose what to bring and what to leave behind.

It was really happening. Tomorrow, he was going to SLA.

The two months of summer vacation had flown by. Between spending time with Ned and tinkering at the Tower with Mr. Stark, Peter had done a good job of keeping himself busy. He'd also finally finished his repairs to Uncle Ben's old computer. The desktop was safely boxed up in the attic since Peter had used some of the money from his apprenticeship to buy a more advanced computer for his aunt. May had almost thrown a fit when she figured out how much it cost, but Peter had eventually talked her into accepting that he had wanted to splurge a little if it meant helping her out.

Peter had also just celebrated his birthday just the week before. He was sixteen now. Aunt May had decided to celebrate by taking him to an empty parking lot and letting him try driving her car. That session had nearly given him and Aunt May heart attacks. Despite the fact Peter could jump off the roof of a building with only minimal hesitation now, being at the wheel of a car was utterly terrifying to him.

Peter tossed another sweater in a box and looked over the other items in his room, pondering over every knick-knack and bauble. There wasn't much left for him to bring, honestly. The rooms in the dorm were already furnished with beds, desks, and drawers. All he would need were bed covers, clothes, and personal decorations. He decided to take his Playstation, now almost a decade old and still playing like a champ. He also had a garment bag filled with some nicer hanging clothes just in case he needed them. SLA students were automatically put on a meal plan, but he packed some snacks, teas, and hot cocoa packets.

The posters on his walls came down earlier to be rolled and packed. His SLA dorm would be an unfamiliar place and having something to cover those blank walls might help put his nerves at ease.

Peter's phone lay on his desk playing some soothing piano music. He was so absorbed in his packing that he didn't hear Aunt May come in until she sat down on the bed next to him. She had a small metal box clutched in her hands.

"Sorry to bother you, Peter." She had a sad smile on her face as she looked over the bare walls of Peter's room. "It's going to be different not having you around," she said more to herself than him.

Peter winced and scooted closer to wrap an arm around his aunt's shoulders.

"I won't be very far away," he promised, "and I'll come back home every weekend."

"Not every weekend, Peter," she said, sounding playfully reprimanding. "I want you to make sure you're having fun for yourself. You need to spend time with Ned. Who knows what kind of trouble he might get himself into if you don't?" Her smile turned mischievous. "And you need to spend more time with that Jean girl too. She sounds like a dear."

"Aunt May!" Peter groaned, his cheeks heating up as he nudged her with his elbow. Aunt May just laughed.

To be honest, Peter had been thinking about Jean a lot this summer. He had such a great time spending that day with her and he couldn't wait to see her again. He had been mentally kicking himself all summer for never getting her phone number. Talking to Jean a few times would have been great. Peter hadn't made a new friend since… well, since Ned. Now that he had packed away most of his movie collection, he was fully prepared to have a bunch of movie nights with her. It was another thing to look forward about SLA.

Aunt May drummed her fingers on the metal box in her lap, like she was contemplating a big decision. She took a breath.

"There's something I wanted you to have," she said. She flipped the latch and opened the lid. She pulled out a long metal chain and held it up. At the end of the chain dangled a pair of military dog tags and a gold wedding ring.

"These were Uncle Ben's," said Aunt May. She held them in her hands and rubbed her thumb across the surface of the ring. She sighed. "He wore them every day, no matter what, to remind him of what was most important in his life." Then, to Peter's shock, she extended the chain toward him. "And I can't think of a better place for them to be than with you."

Peter could only dumbly stare as Aunt May placed the tags and ring in his hand and curled his fingers over them.

"But…" he tried to say around the lump in his throat. "But…"

"Take them," she urged. "You should have a piece of him with you." A tear fell from her eye as she gave him a watery smile. "I… I just know he wouldn't want to miss a minute of seeing you become a hero."

It was too much. The both of them seized one another in a tight hug and cried into each other's shoulders. They stayed like that until they ran out of tears to shed. After another hug, simply to reassure each other that they were still there, Aunt May stood up and talked about checking on the meatloaf. Peter stayed on his bed, looking at the heirlooms in his hand. As he lay the chain around his neck, he turned to look at his acceptance letter sitting on the desk.

Peter squared his shoulders. Clasping the tags and ring in his hand, he whispered, "I'll make you proud."

The gates of SLA were open when they arrived. Peter was sure it was to accommodate all the new vehicles arriving to drop off students. Aunt May drove her car through the gates and up the gravel drive.

"Where's the dorm building?" she asked. "Or are you staying in the mansion?"

"The dorms are past those trees," Peter said, pointing at a grove to the left of the mansion. The upper floors of the buildings could be seen over the tops of the trees. "Take a left at the upcoming turn and follow the path. Jean said we would be in the first building on the right."

Aunt May looked like she wanted to make some comment on Peter using Jean's directions, but she just smiled and made the turn.

She drove around the bend past the trees before coming to a long road with dorm buildings on both sides, eight in total. Following Peter's guidance, she pulled the car in front of the first building on the right. After parking, both of them exited the car and took a moment to look at the dorm building.

The opulent structure was newer than the mansion but in a similar style. It stretched up shaped like a large H, with the center area being three stories tall and the wings on the left and right side extending a further two stories up. The center area was emblazoned with the SLA insignia and a sign sat underneath it reading '1-A'.

The bottom floor had a set of double doors while the walls on either side of the doors had modern floor-to-ceiling windows. Peter could see the shapes of a few people milling around inside but he couldn't make out much more past the reflections.

"My, oh my," Aunt May says, looking impressed. "I wouldn't blame you for staying on campus every weekend. You'll be in the lap of luxury."

"Of course I'll be coming home," Peter protested, even though he silently agreed that Aunt May had a point.

The two of them unloaded all five of Peter's boxes from the trunk and stacked them on the sidewalk. When the last box was placed down, Aunt May seized Peter in a firm hug.

"I'm so sorry I have to run," she said, kissing him on the top of his head. "I'd love to stay and help you move in."

"Don't worry about it," Peter said, patting her on the back. "You have a big budget meeting today. That sounds important. And don't worry, I have super strength." He lifted his arm and curled his bicep to demonstrate.

"I know, sweetie," she said. She released him and looked him up and down, as if she were trying to memorize his appearance. "I love you, my little big man."

Peter hugged her again. "I love you too, Aunt May."

Aunt May gave him yet another squeeze and said goodbye before climbing back into the car. Peter waved to her as she drove off. When her car had turned the corner and driven out of sight, Peter ignored the pang in his chest and shifted his attention to the boxes. He picked two of them off the top of the pile, stacking them on top of each other. He smiled to himself, still marveling at how easy they were to lift. Before that spider bit him, he could barely carry anything bigger than a backpack. Now, he felt like he could lift anything.

I wonder if I could lift a car? I should ask Mr. Stark if I can try lifting one of his cars. Actually… no, he probably wouldn't let me. They're too expensive. Never mind.

Balancing his moving boxes, he placed the box of donuts Aunt May had grabbed on the drive over on top. Aunt May had told him that it would be best to bring a dorm-warming gift when he arrived in order to score points with his new classmates. Once he felt like everything was steady, he made his way up the paved walkway to the front door, passing by a short and particularly ugly-looking tree on the side of the lawn. There was a card reader next to the door, but a paper sign taped above it read 'Card reader deactivated for move-in day. Door is unlocked.'

Before Peter could adjust his grip enough to free a hand and open the door, both doors were suddenly yanked open.

"YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!" someone screamed. Before Peter had a chance to react, he was suddenly seized in a surprisingly firm hug. It took a lot of concentration to make sure the boxes didn't topple to the ground.

Peter looked down at the person who had hugged him and immediately felt his face go red. A pretty girl was looking up at him with a toothy smile and sparkling blue eyes. She had blond hair in a bob cut with the ends dyed pink. The girl let out another squeal before squeezing him again.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I finally get to meet you! THE Peter Parker! Ohhhh, you and Aunt May are so adorable! I wanted to run out there and hug the both of you but my bestie wouldn't let me!"

"And I still won't!" said another voice, this one sounding much angrier. Before Peter's brain could finish rebooting, a hand the size of an oil drum emerged from the door and pried the crazy girl off of him.

"You're no fun, Kamala!" she yelled, ineffectually hammering her fists on the giant hand wrapped around her torso as she was lifted away.

Peter blinked rapidly, trying to catch up with everything that had just happened. He stared at the massive hand and then followed it down a stretchy noodle arm to see a girl with light-brown skin and long dark brown hair looking up with annoyance. Her expression changed when she met Peter's gaze. She smiled and gave a bashful wave with her other, normal-sized hand.

"Hey there," she said, "So sorry about this. Gwen's been an absolute handful, but I swear I'll keep her locked in the closet for the rest of the day. Unless," she added hopefully, "you two already know each other?"

"Nope!" Gwen chirped from where she was captured by the stretchy girl's, Kamala's, hand. "I've never met Peter in my life!"

Peter and Kamala both blinked before Kamala just shook her head. "I don't even want to know. Into the closet we go," she said before turning and walking back inside.

All the while, Gwen continued to struggle against Kamala's hold, shouting, "Foolish fools! No closet can contain this much power! The only thing stronger than love is ME!"

Peter took a moment to collect himself before he shook his head and cautiously followed them both inside. All at once, awe replaced sheer confusion as soon as he got his first look.

The bottom floor of the dorm building seemed to be a huge living area. A trio of couches was set up in front of the largest TV Peter had ever seen. Another group of couches was set up around a coffee table near the middle of the room. Peter could see boxes and containers of donuts and cookies already on the table, arranged around a decorative bowl of pine cones. It seemed like a few of Peter's new classmates had had the same idea as Aunt May.

Past the living area, Peter could see a modern-looking kitchen and a ton of dinner tables set up just outside it, looking big enough to feed an army. Finally, on the far wall, there was a pair of elevators with metal doors that shone like polished silver, one of which was open as Kamala tried to corral Gwen inside.

Peter turned to take stock of those who were in the room. Almost everyone was sitting on the couches around the snacks. Peter saw two teen girls sitting on different couches, both of them absorbed in their own activities. The first girl was tall with long, shining black hair that tumbled down her shoulders. She wore a purple t-shirt and blue jeans and had a pair of sunglasses balanced on her forehead. A magazine was balanced on her crossed legs.

The other girl was vastly different. Her hair was cut short and dyed a startling electric blue. Peter thought she may have been Japanese. All of her clothing followed two particular themes: very tight and just a hair too short. The thing that caught Peter's eye the most, however, was the bulky metal gauntlets she wore on her forearms. They looked heavy, but she didn't seem to be bothered by them as she idly scrolled through her phone.

The outlier of the group was a short boy sitting in the corner, wearing an orange hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head. He was bent over a sketchbook in his lap and he took frequent glances upward as he moved a pencil over the page so fast it seemed to blur.

However, to Peter, none of them mattered. His entire focus was on the girl he couldn't wait to see. She sat on one of the couches facing away from him, but he'd know that scarlet hair anywhere.

"Jean! Hi!" Peter said excitedly. She jumped and craned her head around, looking surprised to see him.

"And there's our female lead!" Gwen yelled from across the room. She had her arms extended out and was bracing herself against the sides of the elevator as Kamala tried to drag her all the way in. "You're finally together again! Oh, I can't wait to see the sparks fly just like last chapter!"

"Please ignore her!" Kamala called out as she hammered on the Close button. "She's a little over-hyper today! You get used to her, I promise!" With a final heave, she yanked Gwen inside and the elevator finally closed.

Peter could feel his face becoming a tomato, but, if he was honest, he didn't feel too bad. Just seeing Jean again after all these months had immediately raised his spirits even higher than they were already. Peter gave a big smile to Jean, but she was already looking at the person sitting next to her.

Peter's high spirits immediately crashed. He had just noticed Jean's boyfriend, Scott. Those ruby sunglasses still did nothing to hide the sheer amount of disdain he was focusing in Peter's direction.

"Jean?" Peter asked before he completely lost his nerve.

Jean glanced back toward Peter and sucked in through her teeth. "…Hi, Peter," she murmured before staring down at the carpet.

"Uh… hey?" he responded awkwardly. He didn't know what else to say. His mind was racing.

It's… it's like she's not happy to see me? What happened? Did I do something wrong? Crap, I bet I did something wrong!

Jean winced, her mouth drawing into a thin line. Scott gave a huff and stood up from the couch, pulling Jean up as well by her hand.

"Come one, Jean," he said. "Let's go." He strode across the room as Jean dutifully followed behind him. The two of them vanished into another elevator before heading upstairs. Jean never gave him a second look.

As the door slid shut, Peter stared after where Jean had disappeared. He was stunned. He was shocked. And he was unbelievably confused. He couldn't think of anything he had done that could have upset her.

"What's with them?" asked the dark-haired girl who had put down her magazine and was now looking at the elevator door curiously.

"I'm… not sure," Peter said, defeated.

"Glasses is feeling threatened, so he decided to take his precious little lady away from everyone," said the blue-haired girl without looking up from her phone. The other two stared at her, but she didn't supply any other comments.

"Well, anyway," said the dark-haired girl. She gave Peter a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you. I gather your name is Peter. I'm Kate Bishop. This," she said, jerking a thumb toward the blue-haired girl, "is Noriko. That's as much as I've managed to wheedle out of her."

The now-named Noriko continued to stare at her phone, but she lifted one gauntleted hand to give them a lazy peace sign. A tiny bolt of lightning sparked between her fingers for a moment before she lowered her arm.

"Nice to meet you both," Peter said with a nod. A glance toward the boy drawing in the corner showed that he wasn't paying attention to the conversation and didn't seem interested in sharing his name.

Peter carefully rebalanced his boxes so he could place his donuts on the center table.

"M-My aunt and I got buttermilk bars, if anyone is interested," he said.

"Buttermilk bars?!" Kate said excitedly. She flipped open the box and snatched one up before taking a big bite. "These are delicious!" she said while chewing. "Where did you get them?"

"Oh, we got them from Randy's Donuts over in the Burbs," Peter answered. "We stopped over on the way here."

As he explained, Kate pulled out her phone and tapped a few buttons at rapid speed. "Done," she said. "It's in my places to go. Thanks a bunch, Peter."

Peter allowed himself to smile just a bit. At least he had made a good first impression for someone.

Peter tried to let that comfort him as he left his moving boxes against the wall and headed toward the door, intent to collect the rest. As he reached for the doorknob, he was distracted by his spider-sense tingling. Peter reacted immediately and recoiled away from the door. He was just in the nick of time as the double doors were thrown open with so much force that they both slammed against the wall. Standing in the entryway, with a suitcase in each hand and his foot still extended from kicking the door open, was Flash Thompson.

Peter's spider-sense blasted in his head even stronger than before. He swallowed in fright as Flash blinked a few times, processing the fact that Peter was standing in front of him.

And of course, like many other times immediately before some great disaster befell him, Peter had to open his big mouth.

"Eugene! Hi!" he squeaked. Flash's eyes narrowed and his teeth grit together. Peter's spider-sense flared so loud it almost knocked him over.

Luckily, someone else butted in before Peter could dig a deeper grave. From her spot on the couch, Kate jumped up and demanded, "Hey! What the hell is your problem?!" "You've arrived just now and you're already trying to knock the building down?" She scowled at Flash and put her hands on her hips. "Are you crazy?"

"Shut up! The door was in my way!" Flash snapped. He stomped into the common room, making sure to slam his shoulder into Peter as he passed. "Move it, Parker!" he snarled before crossing the long room to the elevators. The doors opened as he kicked the button and he entered the elevator, making sure to give all of them one last glare as the doors closed on him. Only when Flash was out of sight did Peter's spider-sense stop tingling.

Peter stood there frozen, struggling to comprehend this horrible turn of events. He had woken up this morning so full of hope, so drunk on joy and opportunity. He was going to a new school. He was going to see his new friend. He had a whole new path toward becoming a hero. And now… what? His new friend had quietly spurned his greetings and he had to go to school with the guy who had tormented him since they were kids.

It's like nothing has changed.

"Seriously, another weirdo? What's his deal?" muttered Kate, shaking her head.

"Textbook insecure 'alpha' male," supplied Noriko, startling Peter and Kate into looking at her. "He's used to being a big fish in a small pond, but on the trip over here it occurred to him he's in a new pond surrounded by other big fish," she continued, not even looking up from her phone. "He's solving this issue by acting powerful and aggressive to every person and inanimate object he sees to convince himself he's still a threat. Trust me, he's gonna be a problem."

Peter blinked at Noriko, who had returned to her own little world.

Okay… maybe some things have changed.

Kate shrugged and made to sit back down again.

"Don't sit down yet!" screeched a voice that had not reached puberty yet.

Kate jumped and turned to face the corner, where the boy in the hoodie was rapidly scribbling at his sketchbook.

"Hold on… One second… Done!" he said before flipping his sketchbook closed. Kate blinked.

"Were you just… drawing me?" she asked.

The boy stiffened and gulped. His eyes darted toward the elevators and the doors to the stairwell.

That reaction made Kate narrow her eyes. "May I see it?"

The boy didn't answer.

Kate scowled and took a threatening step toward him. "Show me the picture."

The boy suddenly lunged from his chair and dashed through the doors to the stairwell.

Kate swore under her breath and ran right after him, catching the door as it was closing and following him into the stairwell. There was an abrupt silence in the common room after their departure.

"Well," said Peter, "that was… something."

Noriko didn't respond or even look up.

Then, Peter remembered his original plan of grabbing the rest of his belongings from the curb.

Crap!

He turned to dash out the still-open doors, hoping that nothing had knocked them over. When he took one look at what was outside, he skidded to an abrupt stop.

There was another figure standing at the door, but this one was anything but human. It was tall and thin with gangly limbs. It looked like some sort of bizarre nature spirit, with gnarled bark covering its body and tons of branches sticking out of its head from various angles. It was wearing a dark green vest on its upper body as its sole article of clothing. It opened its mouth to show two rows of wooden teeth and said, "I am Groot."

Peter blinked. "Um… I am… Peter?"

The creature nodded.

"I am Groot," it said again before starting to walk toward the elevators. Peter's mind was swirling with confusion and questions. What was this Groot thing? Where did it — he? — come from? Why was he here? That was when Peter realized the most important fact about this tree creature, one that he had foolishly missed until this moment.

Why is he carrying my boxes?

"Oh, th-that's my stuff!" Peter said. "Um… thank you for bringing it over." He slowly reached toward the stack of boxes, his fingers trembling only slightly. "I'll just, y'know, take those and-"

The creature made a grunting noise and snatched the boxes away from Peter's hands. "I am Groot," he said, sounding annoyed.

"Yeah, you said that already," said Peter, making another reach for the boxes. "Now could you please just give me my stuff?"

"I am Groot!" he said angrily, pulling away from Peter again.

Peter glowered. First Jean, then Flash, now this! Wasn't his day going bad enough. He could even hear Noriko snickering from her spot on the couch, making his ears feel hot.

"Just give me the stupid boxes!" Peter snapped, grabbing for them and trying to pull them away.

"I am Groot!" the Groot creature roared as he fought Peter for his possessions. Branches shot out from Groot's arms to wrap around the boxes while Peter's hands were stuck fast to the cardboard. It was a stalemate, but Peter was not going to lose.

So much of Peter's attention was focused on this creature trying to steal his things that he completely missed the sound of the elevator opening. He also missed the rushed footsteps heading toward them.

Peter, however, did not miss the large and familiar green hand that gently rested atop the pile of boxes.

"Okay, guys, let's calm down for a second."

Peter's eyes widened before he looked at the newcomer. "Teddy?" he said. The large boy looked down at him and seemed to consider him for a moment before his face broke into a grin.

"Peter!" Teddy said happily. "Great to see you. Glad you passed the test." He looked back and forth between Peter and Groot. "So, what's going on here?"

"I am Groot!" Groot said indignantly, sticking his nose — wait, did he even have a nose? — into the air.

"He's the one who's stealing my stuff!" Peter retorted, still keeping his fingers stuck to the cardboard.

Groot grunted and made another attempt to pull the boxes away from him, but Peter hung on.

"Okay, okay, everyone, just take a breath," Teddy said in a calming tone of voice. "Now, Groot?"

"I am Groot?" he said questioningly.

"Do these boxes belong to you?"

"I am Groot!" he said confidently.

"So, that means you brought them to the dorm when you arrived this morning?"

"…I am Groot," he said, now seeming less confident and not meeting Teddy's eyes.

"And those boxes didn't belong to you five minutes ago, did they?"

"I am Groot," he said, looking a little crestfallen.

Teddy shook his head. "Groot, we're all here to learn together. That means we have to live together. And part of living together is that you don't just pick things up and say they're yours. How would you feel if someone just found your backpack or your uniform and walked right off with it, telling everyone that it was theirs?"

"I am Groot," the walking tree said with a sad sigh. The branches it had wrapped around the stack of boxes slowly receded back into his arms and he offered the boxes to Peter.

Peter took the boxes gratefully.

"Now," said Teddy, hands on his hips, "what do we say?"

Groot gave another little sigh. "I am Groot," he said apologetically, nodding to Teddy.

"Not to me, Groot. To Peter."

Groot and Peter locked eyes and there was the slightest hint of hesitation in the tree creature before he nodded to Peter as well. "I am Groot."

"Uh… apology accepted," said Peter.

"And there we go," Teddy said with a smile. "Thank you for listening Groot. I think we're all gonna become good friends."

"I am Groot," Groot said with a shrug before walking toward the snack table. To Peter's surprise, Groot grabbed one of the pine cones and crossed the room towards the elevators, crunching into the top of the pine cone as he walked. When the elevator doors closed on him, Teddy and Peter stood there staring after him.

"Huh," said Teddy. "Looks like he actually did bring some snacks. Or tree snacks, I suppose."

"Yeah," Peter said with a nod. "Thanks for your help, Teddy. We weren't doing well."

"No problem," Teddy said, waving off the praise. "It's good to be helping. Speaking of which, you want some help taking your stuff up?"

"Oh, sure!" said Peter.

Teddy nodded and picked up the two boxes Peter had already brought inside and the two of them headed for the elevators. "How did you do that, anyway?" Peter asked. "Could you understand him?"

"Nope. Not a word," Teddy said with a shake of his head. "He seems like he could only say those three words, but there's enough emotion behind it that I could make some guesses."

"Wow. Cool," said Peter as he freed a hand to call an elevator for the two of them.

As they made their way up to the fourth floor, Teddy asked Peter about his summer and they both chatted as they rode the elevator. The doors opened when they reached the fourth floor.

"I'm in room 404," Peter said, pointing down the hall.

"Right behind you," Teddy said.

As the two of them walked down the hall, Peter saw something in the corner of his eyes. The door for room 403 was opened just the smallest crack. His eyes focused on the opening and… he couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw something standing there in the darkness. There was a tiny glow from one point in the gap, almost like the shine in an animal's eye at night. However, before he could be sure, the door immediately slammed shut.

"Huh? Teddy said. "What was that?"

"I…" Peter said hesitantly. "I think that was my neighbor."

"Really? Well, I guess you'll meet them later then." Teddy had an optimistic expression on his face.

Certainly couldn't hurt, Peter thought. We'll be living close together after all.

When they reached room 404, Peter turned the handle and let the both of them in. He couldn't keep the expression of awe off his face. The room was much bigger than he had been expecting. One side of the room was a plush-looking bed with a bedside table next to a pair of sliding wooden doors that probably led to a closet while the other had a dresser and a desk with a rolling chair. The wall opposite from the door had a large glass sliding door with drapes that led to a small balcony with a good view of the front yard of the dorm. The bare walls only seemed to make the whole place bigger, but Peter had lots of posters to cover the walls with.

Clean sheets and blankets were stacked on the bed as well as two plastic packages. Each held a folded full uniform for SLA. Khaki pants, a white button-up shirt, a blue and red striped tie, and a burgundy blazer. Peter couldn't wait to try them on for the first day of school.

On the desk was a keycard with Peter's name and picture on it. As soon as Peter saw the card he cringed. He looked terrible. His hair was messy, his expression was confused, and he hadn't been ready when the photographer took the picture. He'd begged to take it again, but the photographer had just gotten annoyed and nearly shoved him out the door. Peter hurriedly put the card in his pocket before Teddy could see it while Teddy put down Peter's boxes.

"Well, there you are," Teddy said, turning back to him with a smile. "You want any help unpacking?"

"Really?" Peter asked. "Don't you have to worry about unpacking your own stuff?"

"I've been here since the early morning," Teddy said with a shrug. "I'm already set up. I don't mind helping you."

With a beaming smile, Peter nodded in acceptance.

The two of them worked together to open up Peter's boxes and set up his room. When Teddy opened the box that happened to contain all of Peter's Pro Hero posters, Peter was a little embarrassed. His worries were put to rest, however, when Teddy showed himself to also be a hero fanboy and they spent nearly a half-hour just talking back and forth about their favorite heroes. Obviously, Peter's favorite was Iron Man. Teddy's favorite was Captain America (which wasn't surprising, lots of people loved Captain America), but he was also a fan of She-Hulk).

As Peter was setting up his desk lamp and knick-knacks, he received a text from Ned that he and his parents were on their way to SLA. This led to a new conversation of Peter telling Teddy about Ned and all of the science-y shenanigans the two of them had had in the past. Both Teddy and Peter were both laughing when Peter talked about the solid two months when he and Ned were fascinated by space travel and astronaut food. The freeze-dried cheese pizza had been an absolutely terrible idea. The freeze-dried blueberry yogurt, on the other hand, had been pretty tasty.

Peter was about to launch into another story as he arranged some books on his bookshelf, but he was cut off by the sounds of a loud engine coming from outside. He craned his head around Teddy and stole a glance out the window. His eyes widened.

"Whoa," Peter said. He darted around Teddy and shoved the window open, staring at what had just pulled up in front of the dorm building.

It was a car, but not just any car. A classic-model black muscle car, the kind that Peter had seen in countless movies made before the dawn of Quirks. It was the kind of vehicle that could usually be only seen in museums. Or Tony Stark's garage, Peter considered.

"That's a sweet ride," said Teddy, leaning a little forward behind Peter. "Any idea what kind it is?"

"No," Peter said, shaking his head. "I don't really know cars by sight."

The engine turned off as the car settled at the curb. The door opened and the boys saw the driver climb out. They were shocked, to say the least. Where they were expecting to see an adult, they instead saw a young man their own age. He was dressed head to toe in black, with a dark leather jacket on top of dark jeans. His hair was odd too with an odd skunk-tail coloring of black on the sides of his head and a bold streak of white down the center. Despite the fact he was their age, this boy also had a scruffy goatee on the end of his chin.

I can't even grow chest hair and this guy has a beard, Peter thought bitterly. How is that fair?

The newcomer walked around to the back of the car and popped open the trunk. He pulled something out before unfolding it on the sidewalk. It was a wheelchair. Peter's eyebrows climbed up his forehead as the newcomer pushed the wheelchair to the side of the car before opening the door. He leaned into the passenger side of the car and, when he stepped away, there was a boy held protectively in his arms. The boy couldn't have been older than seven, with big bright eyes and a wide gap-toothed grin. He was talking excitedly about something as he clutched a small stack of comic books tightly to his chest. Peter couldn't hear what was being said, but he could clearly see the excitement in the young boy's face as he stared at the dorm in the same way that Peter had just a short while ago.

As the two brothers — as it seemed pretty clear that's what they were — made their way toward the front door, there suddenly came the sound of another, much different engine. Peter and Teddy both looked up and down the street, but there was no sign of any other incoming vehicles.

Then the young boy pointed up at the sky at the same time a shadow was cast upon the ground.

"Holy…" Peter breathed, scarcely able to believe what he was seeing.

"Cannoli…" Teddy finished, staring with wide eyes. "That's not something you see every day."

Before their eyes, an incredible flying craft flew over the dorm building to lower itself to the road. It was triangular shaped with rounded edges A set of rotors spun inside the wings on each side of the craft and the nose had a darkened glass canopy around the cockpit.

"That's a Wakandan aircraft!" Peter said excitedly as his heart began thumping in his chest. "I remember seeing an article about one in a science magazine!"

As the aircraft settled on four spike-like legs, Peter could see a ramp extend out from the back. Moments later, a line of four dark-skinned people walked down the ramp and down the walkway toward the school. The three in the back wore white robes and were carrying an array of suitcases, but the lead figure was different. He was a young man dressed in dark silk robes. He stared up at the dorm building with piercing eyes, as if he were analyzing it for threats or weaknesses. Peter swore that the young man even looked at him as he led his strange caravan to the curb.

The Wakandans were stopped by growled words from the older of the two brothers. He glared at the head of the newly-arrived group and made various gestures toward his sports car as well as the aircraft landing strut that had touched down only a few inches away from scrapping the car's front bumper. The young man in dark silk gave him a stiff bow and said something back that only seemed to make the driver more aggravated.

"Well," said Teddy, backing away from the window, "I should probably go make sure they don't kill each other. I'll see you later, Peter." Then he turned and left Peter's room without another word. Peter watched him go before returning his attention to the outside.

This is going to be one heck of a year.

What do you know? The Professor knows how to run his brain and his mouth, Tony thought grumpily, shifting position as he sat against one of the Mansion's many chimneys. From this spot of rooftop he had carved out for himself, he had a great view of the sun lowering in the sky, inching closer and closer to the horizon and the end of move-in day. He could get used to seeing a sunset like this. Shockingly, it seemed he had found some singular way that a skyscraper penthouse wasn't superior to a country estate. However, that didn't make up for the company. Down on the lawn in the backyard of the mansion, Professor Xavier was holding court over the children of the new freshmen class of SLA, giving them their orientation address.

He was presenting the kiddies with the usual welcoming spiel, talking about how 'this academy has produced some of the finest heroes the world has ever known' and 'you must be prepared to go beyond your limits' and 'you are now part of a heroic legacy going back decades' and all that other mumbo jumbo.

Tony, on the other hand, was hanging out on the roof, wearing his full armor and waiting for his cue to come down. In celebration of having the Number One Hero on their staff, Xavier had given Tony the 'great honor' of giving a welcoming speech to inspire the new students before they started class the next day.

Tony just kept tripping over that word.

'Inspire'?

How the hell was he supposed to inspire these kids? Tony Stark didn't inspire. He boasted and bragged and irritated. If he ever wanted to inspire someone, he'd just write a six-figure check with the message 'go get em!' Tony shouldn't be trusted to give speeches about duty, honor, or calls to action. That had always been Steve's department.

He's the one who should be here. He'd be a better Number One. He'd…

Tony squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself away from those thoughts. There was no point. Whatever being or cosmic force or sheer act of chance ran the universe had already decided it. Steve wasn't here and, by some sort of sick prank, Tony was.

The current Number One Hero swallowed and lowered his head, catching his helmeted temple in his hands before letting out a tired sigh.

"Are you alright, boss?" asked FRIDAY.

"I'm fine," Tony answered. "Just…" He left the statement hanging for a few moments, before repeating, "I'm fine."

"Alright," she said after a pause.

There was the ping of a new message on his HUD and he opened it by focusing his gaze. A window was projected before him with lines and lines of text.

"I noticed your readings were showing that you were troubled about the upcoming orientation," FRIDAY continued. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of making a speech for you. I know how much you hate scripts, but I thought it might help."

Tony glanced down the speech before he rolled his eyes with a scoff.

"FRIDAY, this thing reads like a Saturday morning cartoon."

"Well, I gave it my best," she said, sounding offended. "My job is keeping you alive, not writing speeches. If you want a better one, maybe you should dust off that PR bot of yours."

Tony shuddered. "Absolutely not," he said with a shake of his head. "The last thing I need is another decorum lesson with NIGEL. Can't stand that guy."

There was a pause before FRIDAY responded "Yeah. Me neither."

Tony looked at the script again. It wasn't that good, but who cares? These were toddlers he'd be talking to. They wouldn't know any better.

"Thanks, FRIDAY," he said after a long moment.

"You're welcome, boss," she said. She sounded like she was smiling.

Before Tony could read more of this speech, there was a sudden and entirely unwelcomed voice in his head.

Tony? Tony, what are you doing? That was your cue.

A shudder traveled up Tony's spine at the sudden psychic message from Xavier. He gritted his teeth and stood, making another mental note to steal Magneto's helmet so he could analyze and replicate it as soon as possible.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered to himself. After shaking out a bit of stiffness in his left leg, he took a running start and jumped off the roof toward the front of the mansion. Tony immediately activated his thrusters and took to the air, flying high over the mansion. His audio receptors could pick up the shocked gasps and yells from the assembled students below. A small smile crossed his face and he indulged in a little display of airborne acrobatics, pulling off loops and corkscrews in midair, simultaneously entertaining the new students and stalling for time until he inevitably had to actually speak to them.

Whenever you're ready, Tony.

Tony sighed and muttered under his breath. Xavier didn't sound particularly amused with his impromptu air show. Tony finished his latest maneuver, a Reverse Half Cuban Eight that he was particularly proud of, and rolled until he was hovering perpendicular to the ground. The crowd — as small as it was with approximately fifty kids — clapped and cheered as he slowly drifted down to earth. Xavier was hovering next to the concrete railing of the mansion's opulent back porch with a wooden podium and microphone in front of him. Several other teachers were sitting in chairs near Xavier's spot. A few of them were giving polite claps to Tony's performance, including Ms. Pryde and Nightcrawler. Magneto, however, just sat with his arms crossed as he glared at Tony and, thank God, Emma Frost was not in attendance this evening.

After a smooth and controlled descent, Tony touched down on the antique stonework of the castle. He gave a wave to the cheering children as he nodded to Xavier. The headmaster nodded with a small smile and moved his hoverchair away from the podium, beckoning for Tony to take his place. With a bit of trepidation, Tony walked to the podium and tapped the mic, letting the feedback fill the backyard.

"Hello. Hey," he said into the microphone, letting his voice carry. He could see dozens of phones snapping pictures of him or recording footage. The whole world would probably know that Iron Man was a teacher at SLA within the next thirty minutes. "Thank you all for coming out here tonight. How are you all doing?"

Raucous cheers and applause greeted his question.

Tony focused on FRIDAY's script again and pulled it up onto his HUD. With an internal wince, he began. "I am very thankful to Professor Xavier and to the faculty of the Stan Lee Academy for extending to me this wonderful opportunity. As you can probably gather, I shall be starting as a teacher at this academy, effective immediately."

There were more cheers. The kids looked ecstatic at the idea of Tony teaching them.

"But this…" Tony paused to give an almost silent groan at the next sentence. "This day is not about me, however. This day is about you. You, who have decided to come to this campus and leave the comfort of your homes. You, who have decided to become a hero to do your part in bettering society. I'm sure you're all as excited to be here as we are to start teaching you."

A few students gave whoops of agreement. At least they were getting something out of this.

"There are very few times in a person's life where they feel truly elated," Tony continued. "The day you enter an academy such as this is surely one of those times. Not only at the amazing things you will learn, but also the amazing things you will go on to do. Why, I can remember when… when…"

Tony stopped and sighed. This didn't feel right. He didn't feel right saying it. He stared down at the mic and sighed. With a few glances, he moved the speech off of his HUD. It was time to fly blind for a little.

"Okay, to be honest," Tony began, "I don't have the best memories involving academia. I only spent one semester in high school when I was thirteen and that couldn't have gone by any sooner. I was solving college-level math problems for fun while other kids were struggling to get through Catcher in the Rye. It was a nightmare."

Lots of kids laughed at that. Their laughter made Tony smirk. Maybe this might not be so awful after all. He looked out over the crowd, his optical sensors logging their faces and looking for one person in particular.

"And, while I'm still giving this whole honesty thing the old college try, your time here won't be all sunshine and rainbows. It's gonna be tough. And it's gonna suck sometimes. And the job of being a Pro Hero is just as rough. Countless hours training. Sleepless nights investigating leads that might end up going nowhere. Weeks spent in the hospital because you jumped into a situation you weren't prepared for. Sometimes… sometimes it won't even feel worth it."

A hush settled over the crowd. A few kids were looking at each other with confusion and Tony could almost feel the gazes of the teachers drilling into the back of his head. He hadn't intended to get on this topic. Damn it, this was why he didn't speak in public anymore. Years of just telling news crews 'I'm not taking questions' had numbed his abilities in this department.

Before he could take the time to try and get himself out of this verbal dead end, a sudden alert popped up on his HUD. The kid had been detected and Tony's optics focused in on him. Peter stood in the middle area of the yard, flanked by his school friend — was his name Nick? Nate? N-something? — on one side and the large green boy from the Practical Exam on the other. Peter was staring up at him, his face drawn with concern as he listened. Tony could swear that, despite the distance, they were still staring eye to eye. And despite everything Tony had just said, there was still that shine of admiration in Peter's gaze.

Tony was barely even aware that he had opened his mouth to speak once again.

"But then… on some normal as hell day, you'll run into someone. Either you save them from a burning car, you rescue them from some muggers, or maybe you just happen to see them on the street. They're… they're gonna look at you with the most sincere eyes you've ever seen and they're gonna say 'you're my hero'. And…" Tony paused to swallow. "In that moment, if you can see yourself the same way they see you… it's gonna be the best feeling in the world."

The crowd was silent, but it was a different kind of silence than before. There wasn't confusion. There wasn't worry or trepidation.

There was hope.

"So, each and every one of you needs to get yourself ready. You need to build yourselves into the kind of heroes you want to see kids looking up to. But before any of that…" Tony chuckled a little and leaned forward. Even though he faced the crowd, he only had eyes for Peter.

"Buckle your seatbelt, kid. It's gonna be one hell of a ride."