Hmm," Peter let out a yawn as he got out of bed, he took a few moments to rub the sleep out of his eyes before he stood up and head to the bathroom to release his bladder. Once done with that he headed to the sink, firstly to clean his hands, but also to start cleaning his teeth. As he brushed he took a look at his appearance.
'I should probably start working out,' He thought, staring at his slim build. 'Maybe Harry could help me.'
Peter knew that Harry had always been physically active, perhaps not as crazy about it as others, but he did enjoy it. He believed that if Harry wasn't a fellow nerd then he'd probably consider joining the football team. Peter knew that that was what he himself would do, being on the football team made you popular, made you a hit with the girls. Though he suspected Harry never had that problem, he was good-looking and rich, but he wasn't that interested in popularity, even less so after becoming Spiderman.
Peter could admit to himself that he was fairly jealous of Harry, the boy who was good-looking, rich, and just as smart. Not to mention the fact that Harry had powers and both of his parents with him. Peter loved his aunt and uncle, they basically were his parents, though that doesn't change the fact that Peter still knew he used to have another set of parents. Still, despite what Harry had, Peter was happy enough to be himself.
Peter was smarter at understanding science than people, but even then he could still tell that Harry was hiding things. It was blatantly obvious to both himself and Gwen that Harry was hiding something. The two of them wanted answers, desperately, but they had agreed to not push Harry and hoped that he eventually tells them. That wasn't to mention the look that occasionally appeared in Harry's eyes.
'He's lived in a rich family all of his life yet somehow knows all about magic, not to mention his eyes.' Peter thought to himself as he finished cleaning his teeth.
Every once in a while, Peter would see Harry's emerald orbs dull, his face would become paler and for a brief moment it would look like he was reliving something he did not want to experience. Just one more piece of the puzzle that was Peter's best friend.
Tossing some water on his face and rubbing it in, he took in a deep breath before walking out of the bathroom and heading down the stairs.
"We can't go on like this, Ben," He heard his aunt say. Peter stopped on the stairs, wondering why his aunt sounded so upset. He stayed still and continued to listen in, peaking his head out and spotting his aunt and uncle talking with each other in the kitchen. "Our bills are going to build up if we don't get a jump on this, you need to find a job quickly."
"I'm trying, May," His uncle replied. "They're still letting me stay on for another week or so, which is nice enough I suppose."
"Yeah, awfully nice," Aunt May replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "They're going to let you go even though you did nothing wrong but at least they're kind enough to give you a couple of weeks notice."
"Truth be told, that is actually quite nice," Uncle Ben replied. "I was once in a job where..."
"I know all about all of your jobs," Aunt May cut him off impatiently. "We've been married for years, remember? That doesn't change the fact that in a week or so, you'll be out of a job and we'll be out of money."
"I had a call back from one place," Uncle Ben said quickly. "They said they'd get back to me."
"That's good news," Aunt May said, letting out a sigh of relief before pausing and staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Did they say when they'd get back to you?"
"Two to three weeks," Uncle Ben sighed, he had clearly been hoping she wouldn't have asked that.
"Well, that's not too bad," She said after a few moments. "We can last that long, as long as we save our money and spend it wisely."
"Yeah, though that doesn't mean I am guaranteed to get the job," Uncle Ben pointed out. "To be honest, I don't like my chances."
"Well, we'll work something out," She said hopefully. "I mean, I can start working again, I've been getting a bit bored around the house. I can get a job."
"May, that's nice and all but you're my wife, it's my job to work." Uncle Ben replied, if he was able to see Peter then he would have seen the teenager start shaking his head at his uncle's words.
"Oh Ben, don't be ridiculous," Aunt May glared at him. "I am just as capable of working as anyone else, besides this isn't a game. I refuse to let Peter suffer because you're upset at the idea of a woman working."
"That's not what it is!" Uncle Ben said quickly. "Really, it's not! It's just...well...I'm the husband...it's my job to look after the two of you. It's my responsibility."
"And it's mine as well," Aunt May told him firmly. "In a family, we help each other whenever and however we can. I will be going to get a job, end of discussion."
"O...kay, but you've not worked since Peter came to live with us, where are you going to get a job?"
"A friend of mine has told me about a job available at the new F.E.A.S.T centre that they've just built," She replied.
"What's that?" Uncle Ben asked, having never heard of it.
"It's a homeless shelter," Aunt May smiled. "I'm going to apply for a job there, if I get it then I can help provide for us and have a chance to help out those who need it." Peter couldn't stop his lips from curving up at his aunt's excitement, knowing that his aunt lived and breathed best when she was helping someone.
"Okay, you do that," Uncle Ben sighed. "Meanwhile, I'll keep applying and hope we get somewhere."
"Why don't you talk to Harry?" Aunt May asked. "He could help you get a job at Oscorp."
"I'm not going to beg Peter's friend for a job," Uncle Ben glared at her. "I still have some self-respect, you know."
"I am not talking about begging him for a job, all I'm saying is you can ask him to help you get one. The kid knows all about the place, maybe he can recommend you or..."
"No, I'm not going to ask a kid's help in getting a job," Uncle Ben cut her off.
"Fine," Aunt May said after a few moments of silence. "Will you at least let me help you get a job?"
"That I can do," Uncle Ben said with a small sigh.
'Damn,' Peter thought. 'Uncle Ben's going to lose his job. What can I do? Maybe Harry will help...no, no I can't ask him to do that. Damn, maybe I can sell one of my organs, I don't need all of them, do I?'
"That is excellent, Gwen," Dr Connors smiled at Gwen as she handed him a report. "I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised by the capability of you three." He said, glancing between her and Harry, Peter hadn't arrived yet.
"Thank you, Dr Connors," Gwen smiled back at him.
"No need, my dear, you've earned it." He smiled at her before looking over at Harry who was working on a nearby table. "And what are you doing?" He asked, seeing that Harry had what appeared to be Spiderman's mask on the table.
"Just finished adjusting the lenses," Harry said proudly. "Now, he should be able to zoom in and see things from a much farther distance than before. I've also got the thermal lens fixed, so now thermal vision is an option."
"You know, one day I'd like to be able to meet the man behind the mask," Dr Connors replied.
"Maybe one day," Harry hummed. "He's very secretive." He added just before Peter came in.
"Sorry, I'm late," He quickly apologised. "The bus took ages, this one woman kept arguing with the bus driver over a ticket and I..."
"Peter," Dr Connors gently cut him off. "It is perfectly fine, I've set up a table for you." He added, gesturing to a table. "Could you please check the microchips I've left for you?"
"Of course," Peter said quickly, rushing over to the table. "Oh, and by the way, quick question, are we ever going to get paid for this?" He asked in a casual voice.
"Unfortunately not, this is volunteer work," Dr Connors replied. "Anything we make and sell can get you a profit, but apart from that, no."
"Oh," Peter said. 'Fuck!' Peter thought.
"Why do you ask?" Harry questioned him with a curious voice.
"No reason," Peter said quickly, turning his back to them and starting his work. The other three shot him curious looks before getting back to their work.
"Swinging through the city like a boss," Spiderman sang to himself as he swung through two buildings. "Doing my best to not crash into a wall." He added as he performed a triple flip before shooting out another web.
"Harry," Gwen's voice spoke into his earpiece. "Are you busy?" She asked as he swung over to a nearby building and landed on the side.
"Just a Spiderman doing spider things," He replied. "What's up?"
"The police scanner is picking up reports of a disturbance near the docks," She told him. "Sounds pretty big."
"I'm on it," He said before leaping off the building. "Has your dad realised that we have basically nicked a police scanner?"
"Nope, not yet, and I do not plan to tell him," Gwen said bluntly. "Unless you want to tell your parents about your mental instability and the fact that you like to go around the city in a skin-tight outfit and a mask."
"I wasn't judging," He replied as he made his way over to the docks. "Just asking." He added.
A minute later he landed on top of a building close to the docks, he looked around but wasn't able to see anything just yet. He placed his right hand on the side of his head and tapped it twice, activating his thermal vision feature whilst also causing the lenses to zoom in on the buildings around the docks.
"All seems pretty clear," He said to himself as he looked around. "Wait a sec," He frowned as he spotted various heat signatures in one of the buildings a mere second before a large explosion happened. "Found the disturbance." He tapped his head once more to return his lenses to normal, he tapped the side of his neck to activate his voice modifier before he jumped forwards and swung over to the explosion. He landed on top of a tall street light in time to see several men running out of the building, wearing ski masks and dragging out a struggling man that had his arms and legs tied and his mouth muffled. Most of them were dressed up as one would expect from people up to no good, wearing dark clothing that helped them be less visible. Though there was one that for one reason or another happened to be dressed in brown shoes and slacks along with a white t-shirt and a grey tie.
"Are you all mad?!" The well-dressed man yelled at the other.
"Shut it," One of the other men barked. "We got our orders! The boss wanted the building blown up, that's what he gets." He added as the struggling man was tossed to the floor. "Now, do your part." He said, pulling out a gun and holding it out for the well-dressed man.
"I...I can't do this," The well-dressed man said in a shaky voice.
"Yes, you will!" Another man said firmly. "You made a deal! You're going to honour it!"
"A deal? A deal?! You all forced me into this!" The well-dressed man yelled.
"And you're going to do it! Or else face the consequences!" A third man snapped.
"A willing criminal talking about facing consequences," Spiderman spoke loudly, drawing their attention. "You know, there's something funny about that."
"It's Spiderman!" A couple of them yelled, readying their guns.
"Time to test out my upgrades," Spiderman whispered to himself, shaking his wrists, eager to try out his new webshooter improvements. He leapt high into the air and shot two web balls that impacted hard against two of the criminals, knocking them off their feet. He twisted in mid-air to avoid the responding gunfire before he shot another web that stuck itself onto one of the criminal's chest, the web exploded out and connected to the criminal in front and pulled them both together, causing them to crash into each other. "Yes!" Spiderman said happily as he landed on the ground. "I got the web grenades to work."
"You're dead!" The last one yelled, aiming his gun at Spiderman and firing. Spiderman jumped to the side, shooting out a web-line that grabbed the criminal by his shooting arm, Spiderman pulled the criminal to him before sending him to the ground with a hard clothesline.
"Really?" Spiderman drawled to the now unconscious criminal, he looked up and saw the well-dressed man running away. "Hey, where are you going?" Spiderman asked, jumping in the air and swinging off a nearby pole so he could land in front of the man, causing him to grind to a halt, nearly falling over. "Hi, I'm Spiderman, a pleasure to meet you."
"I...I...wait! I'm not a criminal! I'm not!" The well-dressed man yelled, quickly removing his mask. "I am...my name is Robbie Thompson! I'm a reporter at the Daily Bugle!"
"As in the newspaper organisation that constantly chats shit about me? That Daily Bugle?" Spiderman asked in an unimpressed voice as he walked closer to Robbie who took a step back and stumbled onto his back.
"No! Wait! Please!" Robbie cried out as Spiderman got nearer.
"Easy hot stuff," Spiderman said, holding out a hand. "I'm not going to hurt you, now, how about you get up and tell me what's really going on?" Robbie looked at him like he was speaking a lost language, staring at him for several seconds before taking his hand and climbing back up to his feet.
"It's my family!" Robbie quickly blurted out before Spiderman could say anything. "They're threatening them...threatening my wife and my son! If I don't do what they say then they're going to have my son in jail! Or worse!"
"Who is threatening your family?" Spiderman cut him off. "Was it these clowns?" He asked, gesturing to the unconscious men.
"No, not them, their boss! Lonnie!"
"Lonnie?" Spiderman repeated.
"He...he goes by Tombstone," Robbie told him, he was about to say more when the struggling man began making noise.
"Oh right, should probably have remembered to untie him."