Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 2

Chapter 3

Reaching over and grabbing his phone, Peter swiped down, finally ceasing the annoying but necessary sound it had been emitting for the last several seconds. He put his hands to his face, letting out a heavy sigh. He'd stayed out later than he'd intended to with Mary Jane last night, finally dropping her off at her apartment at almost two in the morning. Part of him wrestled with the idea of just rolling over and sleeping for another couple of hours or so. After all, it was Saturday, and he didn't have anything concretely planned. Therefore, he could always go to the lab in the afternoon for a while if he wished.

That was when his late uncle's words came to mind; not THE words, but some of many little nuggets of wisdom he'd offered over the years:

"Remember, Peter: early to rise means early to success as well."

They were words that he'd done his best to live by, even if begrudgingly at times, but had struggled to follow through on for significant periods of his life. There was always some excuse, usually one that pertained to his primary-colored alter ego, but this was something he knew that he needed to heed Ben's advice on. The earlier he got there, the more time that he would have to make sure that he got things as prepped and ready as possible; he could troubleshoot and be ready come Monday for anything that might come his way.

Realizing he needed to make his body commit to what his mind was telling him, Peter finally threw the covers off himself, sliding his feet off and onto the floor. He then got up, went over and picked out some clothes to wear; since he wasn't likely to be around much of anyone there, he figured some basic jeans and a T-shirt would suffice, naturally fitting his Spider-Man suit underneath. Once he'd combed his hair and ensured his scent would be acceptable to the public, Peter stuffed his pockets with the basic necessities before heading out the door.

Part of him had considered swinging over and changing near the building, but the commute from his place wasn't far from his apartment, so he opted to walk. It was a gorgeous day outside, and besides, he was going in on his own time instead of trying to punch a clock, so he figured he might as well enjoy it. Also, he enjoyed occasionally slowing down enough to observe the various sights and sounds of the city; there was something about the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, seeing street vendors selling everything from food to homemade goods and seeing the many different types of individuals heading to who-knew-where that just made the place feel like home to him.

Eventually, after soaking up plenty of sights and sounds (he'd seen a man with his kid selling homemade sock puppets of all things, which he'd promptly contributed to of course), Peter finally arrived at the Fireheart Research Facility. Pulling out his badge, the light turned from red to green, allowing him to let himself in the front entrance. From there, he opted for the elevator this time as he ascended to his floor, emerging just in front of his area. Scanning himself in once more, Peter grabbed and threw on his lab coat, going around and acquiring all the equipment he needed.

From there, he was finally able to proceed.

---

Wiping off his hands, Peter hurried out the door, intent on getting back to his work. He'd spent the last three hours working almost exclusively on maximizing the efficiency of the device's solar intake, and he was almost at the point where he'd felt good about it when he finally decided he couldn't hold it in anymore. On top of that, his body was also starting to let him know that he hadn't eaten anything yet that day, which would be bad enough for a normal adult, much less one with his insane metabolism. Mary Jane had texted him and seemed to have deduced the same, having offered to meet him for lunch soon.

Man, seriously, what would he do without...

Peter stopped in his tracks, his train of thought interrupted when he saw what appeared to be Debra Whitman examining his work. He could only see her backside from the angle he was at, but he could tell she was pouring over his work quite intently. His spider sense wasn't giving him any indication of foul play or ill intentions though, so he allowed himself to relax a little as he opened the door back into his section of the lab.