Bruised But Not Broken - Irondad/spiderson

The Field Trip Begins

As the bus arrived, whispers around me started dissipating, and everyone quickly turned to awe. Even I was staring at Stark Industries Tower; its shadow loomed over us, a gleaming monolith of steel and glass that reflected the sunlight in brilliant shards.565 feet, to be exact. Everyone shoved past me as Mr Harrington yelled, 

"Quickly off the bus in an orderly fashion! Hurry along now! We must not be late!"After everyone rushed past me and pushed me back into Ned, I finally got out of my seat and followed the class line to the entry.

"Woah, Pete, are you seeing this? look how cool everything is!" Ned was off in his own world, carefully studying this place; this had to be his favourite place in the whole world. He never shut up about it.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Those doors are huge, and their security looks very intimidating," I say with a slight cough; hopefully, with all these cameras, Flash isn't stupid enough to bash me like he promised. All I have to do is stay where the cameras can see me. As if on cue, Flash leaned over and whispered,

"Don't think I have forgotten about you, Penis; you're going to love what I have planned for you today." The thought of what he had planned for me this trip makes my heart sink, my stomach feels like a nervous pit, I can't handle another beat down, and my body and mind are breaking. My palms start getting sweaty as I see Mr Harrington move to the front desk.

"Ah, good morning, ma'am. Uh, I'm Mr Harrington of Midtown School of Science and Technology; we uh have an all-day tour booked *cough* uh yeah", Mr Harrington spluttered out nervously to the receptionist at the front desk.

"Oh yes, good morning, Mr Harrington! if you could please gather your children up, I would love to speak to them before we head in!" The receptionist lady spoke back politely. Mr Harrington nodded and signalled for us to move over to him.

"Gather around Midtown High. Gather around quickly now!" Mr Harrington yelled, huddling us up in a squished group in front of the lady.

"Welcome Midtown School of Science and Technology! My name is Emma, and I will be your guide today! Firstly, I would like to go through some rules with you, so I need you to listen up carefully; breaking these rules can and will result in any number of students being removed from the premises and collected by their parents." she hummed as she motioned us to sit on the floor in front of her.

"We here at Stark Industries take pride in humanity and its equality; please always keep your hands to yourself. Strictly, no violence is permitted on the premises. Please stay with the group at all times. We will only be going in specific cleared areas for the tour; beyond that point, it can be harmful for children to wander. Our AI system 'FRIDAY' will alert security if you wander from the group or are lost."

"Lastly, these are your Level 1 access badges. You will need these to access the bathrooms and eating area; do not lose them, "Emma says as her colleagues start handing out a grey flimsy card with 'LEVEL 1' in bold.

"yes?" Emma gestures towards a student, Ella, with her hand up.

"So if we have a level 1 badge, what other levels are there? "she questioned

"Oh yes, we have Levels one through ten, each card granting specific access to different areas. Leaves one through four are given out to tour groups, simple business guests, and contractors, and levels five to eight are for interns, workers on different levels, and security. Level nine, of course, goes to the Avengers and frequent hero guests. Lastly, level ten is Tony Stark, his wife, Mrs Potts and his personal security, Mr Happy Hogan." Emma replied

"Now, if you please stand up in one line and scan your card through here as you walk through the door, FRIDAY will announce your name. Then, we can start the tour by walking to the museum's first level of Avengers artefacts. We ask you not to touch the glass."

Flash, of course, shoved through, knocking me flying. As I push myself back up, I hear "Eugene Thompson guest level one" from a voice inside. That must be Friday. One by one, all the students in my class passed through the sign-in, including Ned and me. We were standing in The Stark Industries Tower. This is amazing. Everything looks so white, clean, organised. Everyone looks happy and friendly. People are actually excited to be working here. The awe was silenced as students lined up behind Emma, ready to follow her through the museum.

"Alright, Midtown, line up and follow me, please. No flash photography and, once again, no touching the glass," Emma reminded us as everyone started walking forward towards two big glass doors. Through the doors to the left were old Avengers suits, and to the right, I could see weapons of defeated aliens and villains, each perfectly in their own little glass cases polished to perfection, clear glass so clean I could see my whole face reflecting in the dry and dreary air.

I was snapped out of my dark thoughts when Ned yelled, 

"No way, Pete, look, it's Ultron's whole head; how did they even get his head in here!"

I looked over at Ned, and sure enough, there it was, Ultron's head, robotic eyes open and cables falling from the neck; it looked C3PO if he got decapitated and wasn't gold. It's strange to think that he was trying to destroy the world just a few years ago. Now, he's just a lifeless piece of metal. It's a reminder that even the most powerful beings can be defeated. Next to Ultron's head, I could see Hovercrafts and weapons from the alien invasion that created the Avengers; so much death and tragedy formed this band of superheroes that I absolutely idolise. Especially Mr Stark. I know he can be... blunt sometimes, but he's so brilliant that he deserves to say what he thinks.

"Woah, yeah, Ned, that looks awesome. Look! Can you see the alien's aircraft? And a scale from those massive aliens!" I replied. As we walked through the museum, I couldn't help but feel like I was a part of something bigger, something important. This was where the Avengers worked, saving the world countless times. And now, I was standing right here, in the heart of it all.

It was surreal. I hear Ned's excitement as he tells me how he wants to take a selfie with Ultron's head. I can't blame him for being excited. Not every day you get to see a piece of history like this up close. I can already picture him showing off the photo to everyone he knows. As for me, I'm just glad that Ultron is no longer a threat. Knowing that the world is safe from his destructive intentions is a relief. Moving through the exhibits, Emma told us stories about each artefact on display. She discussed Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, and even the Iron Man suit. I soaked up every word in awe. My spidey senses start to tingle. Flash was definitely up to something, But what could it be? I catch up to Ned after being left to my thoughts and continue to follow my class out the other side of the museum to the next section of the tour. We eventually went to a large room filled with screens and computers. 

"This is our command centre," Emma explained. 

"From here, we monitor all of Stark Industries' operations and keep an eye on potential threats to the world. Please do not touch anything or disturb our hard and dedicated workers." I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the high-tech equipment and the seriousness of the room. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, and I couldn't believe I was actually here in person.

As we continued the tour, I made sure to stay close to the group and keep an eye out for Flash. I didn't want to risk getting into trouble, especially on such an incredible field trip, but my spidey sense was getting stronger; something was going to happen soon.