The door to Peter and Ned's hotel room closes. The do not disturb sign is hanging on its handle. Peter and Ned unpack, shaking various belongings like wires, the purple weapon core, toothpaste, and braces out of their backpacks. Peter connects a wire to the suit. Ned is using his laptop, complicated lines of codes flashing through the screen. Peter holds a flashlight with his mouth, working on his suit.
"Peter, why are we removing the tracker from your suit?"
"Uh, because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it."
"So you're lying to Iron Man now?"
"No, I'm not lying. He just doesn't really get what I can do yet." Ned warily eyes his friend. Peter removes the tracking device from the suit. "Ah... Gotcha." He takes the flashlight out of his mouth. "All right, Happy. Enjoy tracking this lamp." Peter sticks the device on a lamp, then gets back to the suit. Ned is still working on the laptop.
"There's a ton of other subsystems in here..." Ned says
"Hmm?"
"...but they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol." Ned laughs
"What?" Peter hops up next to Ned and looks at the screen. The words "Training Wheels Protocol" are written in red. The codes declare that the protocol is currently active and that "Stark Industry Key Identifier" should be entered to disable it. "Training Wheels Protocol?" Ned chuckles. "Turn it off."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, they're probably blocked for a reason."
"Come on, man. I don't need training wheels. I bet Stas doesn't have them." Peter steps onto his bed and jumps up and down.
"Cause she's an Avenger and has had powers a lot longer then you." Ned reasons
"I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It's not cool." Peter whines
"But you are a kid."
"Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands."
"Peter, I just don't think this is a great idea. I mean, what if this is illegal?" Peter jumps down to kneel beside Ned.
"Look, please. This is my chance to prove myself. I can handle it. Ned, come on."
"I really don't think this is a good idea."
"The guy in the chair." Peter whispers
"Don't do that." Ned scolds his best friend
"Come on." Peter begs. Ned sighs and types reluctantly. A blue flash of light briefly pulses through the suit. Peter and Ned look at it.
Peter, wearing the suit without the mask, zips up his sweat shirt to hide it and puts on his hood. He peeks out the door and looks around. The corridors are quiet and empty.
"Yeah, the glowy thing, it's evidence. Keep it safe." He tells Ned "All right?"
"Okay, okay." Ned says. Peter activates the tracker.
"They're moving." Peter hurriedly walks out of the room.
"Be careful." Ned whispers. As Peter tries to walk down the hall unnoticed, Stas runs down the hall in a bathing suit.
"Hey, Stas." Peter smiles
"Perfect timing. We're gonna go swimming. Come on, come on, come on." She says. She waves the other students forward.
"What?" He asks. Turning around he sees MJ, Liz, Cindy, Sally, Charlie, Abe, and Flash running and laughing
"Hey, Peter."
"Hi." Flash slaps Peter's butt.
"Hey!" Peter squeals in a high tone, offended. "I was, uh... I was gonna go study, um, in the business center."
"Really? Why?" She asks
"Extra practice." He tells her
"You don't need extra practice Peter. Your one of the smartest people I've ever met. And besides... Um, a rebellious group activity the day before competition is good for morale." She tells him
"Hmm?" He asks
"Um, well, Liz read that in a TED Talk, so, heard it in a TED Talk." She laughs "Plus we raided the minibar and these candy bars were, like, eleven dollars. So get your suit on and come on." Stas throws a candy bar at Peter in a smooth arc.
"Come on." MJ whispers
"I'm coming, I'm coming." She whispers back. She turns to Peter and places a kiss on his cheek before running down the hall.
At an indoor swimming pool, the Decathlon teammates swim. Stas sits on a wall between the pool and a hot tub. Wearing his suit without the mask, Peter watches Stas through a window on the roof. Stas playfully chats with her teammates, laughing. Peter sighs. Stepping back from the window, he tightens the straps on his backpack. Peter puts on the mask. A brief glow expands from the spider emblem on his chest.
"Good evening, Peter."
YOU ARE READING
MARVEL • THE INFINITY WITCH (PETER PARKER X OC)
FanfictionAnastasia Stark grew up feeling like a modern day Rapunzel. Trapped in a tower her whole life and having magical powers. When Tony and Pepper finally let her out into the real world she tries to act as normal as she can to have a "normal" high schoo...
