[Just as Vulture ordered Herman to retrieve the lost weapon, he had no idea that the gun was already in Spider-Man's hands.]
[At school, Spider-Man was hammering away at the weapon. After several attempts, he finally managed to chip off a small piece of the component.]
["Thanks a lot for ditching me last night!" Ned grumbled as he approached, clearly annoyed that Peter had disappeared without a word.]
["Yeah, well... something came up!" Spider-Man explained hastily.]
[Ned's eyes widened when he saw the Chitauri energy core emitting a faint purple glow. "Whoa! What is that?"]
["No idea. Some guys wanted to use it to vaporize me," Spider-Man muttered, continuing to pry at it without fully understanding the danger he was dealing with.]
[Ned frowned. "Wait, seriously?"]
["Yeah."]
["That's... great!" Ned blurted out, then immediately realized his mistake. "Uh, no! Not great! That guy is terrible! Absolutely awful!"]
[Spider-Man shot him a deadpan look before returning his focus to the weapon. "I think this thing is some kind of power source."]
[Ned squinted at the structure. "Yeah, but it's connected to all these microprocessors."]
["That's an induction charging pad! I use one just like this to charge my electric toothbrush!" Ned pointed at some components, demonstrating his understanding of the device.]
["Whoever made this weapon combined human and alien technology," Spider-Man murmured, surprised at the level of engineering involved.]
["That's honestly the coolest thing I've ever heard," Ned said in awe. "Thank you, man! Thank you for letting me be part of this journey, for showing me—"]
[Spider-Man wasn't listening. Instead, he grabbed the hammer and smashed it against the Chitauri energy core.]
[The loud noise made both of them tense up, worried that their teacher might notice. But the teacher, completely engrossed in his book, merely said without looking up, "Don't cut your fingers on the blade."]
[Seeing that their secret was still safe, Spider-Man sighed in relief before turning back to the glowing core on the table. "I need to figure out what this is... and who made it."]
[Ned immediately jumped in, excited. "We're going to the lab after school to run some tests!"]
[The two shared a handshake, followed by a series of elaborate gestures unique to their friendship.]
"Are kids these days really this reckless?" Otto Octavius muttered, his brows furrowed as he watched Spider-Man's careless actions.
Since the mysterious screen had exposed the failure of his own experiment, Otto had grown far more cautious when dealing with unknown technology. Seeing Peter Parker hammer away at something so clearly volatile made his stomach turn.
"He doesn't even know what he's dealing with, yet he's smashing it with a hammer like an idiot. What if it explodes? What if it takes out half the school?" Otto's frustration grew as he imagined the potential consequences.
No wonder Tony Stark kept Spider-Man restricted to small-time crime-fighting. The kid lacked maturity, and more importantly, he lacked a sense of responsibility.
It was only now that Otto realized why Tony had assigned Happy Hogan to watch over Spider-Man. Stark wanted Peter to learn restraint—to grow into someone who could handle responsibility, not just swing around recklessly on webs.
Instead, Peter Parker continued making impulsive decisions, never considering the consequences. He pried open dangerous alien technology in the middle of a school, followed criminals without backup, and never once thought to inform Happy or Stark about what he'd found.
Tony had noticed these flaws, too, but he knew they couldn't be fixed overnight. Training Peter would take time. Thankfully, there was still time.
At school, Peter's teacher pulled him aside to give him a stern lecture about his behavior. Unlike before, Peter listened carefully. After witnessing so much through the broadcasts, he was beginning to mature—more so than the Spider-Man he once was.
[In the hallway, Ned and Spider-Man walked side by side.]
["First, we need to put this glowing thing into the mass spectrometer," Ned suggested.]
["First, we need to come up with a better name than 'glowing thing,'" Spider-Man replied dryly.]
[Ned smirked. "You're right."]
[But before they could continue, Spider-Man suddenly stiffened. His eyes locked onto two men approaching from the opposite end of the hallway. "Oh, crap!" he muttered before quickly ducking to the side.]
["Come on, come on, come on!" he urged Ned, who hadn't yet realized the danger.]
[Ned, confused, glanced around and finally noticed what Peter had seen—Herman and Mason.]
[Mason wrinkled his nose in disgust. "High school freaks me out. It smells weird. You know what I mean?"]
[Herman, however, was focused, holding a detector in his hand and scanning for the lost weapon.]
["That guy is one of the people who tried to kill me!" Spider-Man whispered urgently to Ned.]
["Wait, what?! We need to get out of here!" Ned exclaimed, instinctively backing away.]
["No, no, no! I need to follow them," Spider-Man countered. "They might lead me to the guy who threw me into the lake!"]
["Wait... someone threw you into a lake?" Ned asked, stunned.]
["Yeah, and it was not a fun experience," Peter muttered as he watched the two men enter a classroom.]
[Without hesitation, Spider-Man started to follow.]
[Ned, a mix of concern and excitement on his face, whispered, "Peter..."]
[But Spider-Man quickly shut him down. "No! Stay here, Ned!"]
[Before Ned could argue, Peter slipped away, determined to shadow his targets. Ned hesitated for a second before calling after him, but Spider-Man was already gone.]
[At that moment, a passing student tapped on the glass, startling Ned. "What are you doing?" the student asked, raising an eyebrow.]
[Caught off guard, Ned stammered, "Uh... nothing! Yeah, nothing! What about you?"]
[The student simply pointed to a girl sitting across from him. "Playing chess."]
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New fanfic :
Marvel : The God Of Punishment System
I Am Raditz
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