Here We Go Again

4: Day One

It was a surprisingly sunny Sunday afternoon, even for summer. It was August now - the 10th, to be specific. His birthday was coming up and he was excited, to say the least.

Peter was living in Matt's apartment now. He had talked to his parents about it, and Matt had his own talk with them, and they finally agreed. Peter was happy to be out in the world, even if he was only a few blocks away. He could still visit home whenever he wanted and he could drive now - he took the test earlier that year and passed with flying colors. He would have taken it earlier, but Steve wouldn't let him. Something about safety or whatever.

Though Peter was officially living in Matt's apartment, he was barely ever there. Peter sent his time out with his friends; Gwen, MJ, Harry, and Wade, and visiting his family, as well as being Spider-Man. Now that it was officially summer, he had a lot more work to do. Everyone was out of school and the heat seemed to be messing with their heads, as the teenage crime rate spiked. Peter did notice a strange pattern, however.

When he arrived at the sites of most of the teenage crimes, they looked pleased to see him. It was as if they had only committed a crime to see Spider-Man. Peter understood how cool it was to see a superhero, but getting yourself arrested because of it was just stupid.

On this particular day, August 10th, Peter was out being Spider-Man. The heat was slightly unpleasant and his suit was sticking to his skin, but the breeze he got from swinging from building to building was helpful. He was hanging out on top of the Empire State building, which he had been given special permission to do by the workers. Usually people aren't allowed to sit on the top of building, but he was Spider-Man and they said it was okay.

He looked around at the streets below him and spotted some thing suspicious. There was a car that looked surprisingly familiar and a darkly-dressed man standing a little too close to said car, fumbling around with something in his hand. Peter decided that was a little strange and stood up, pointing a wrist at the building across the street. He jumped off the Empire State Building and flew toward the ground, landing on top of the yellow car.

"I don't think that's a good idea, sir," he advised once he finally saw what the man was doing. He was trying to pick the lock of the strikingly familiar yellow car and looked up, eyes wide.

"You a cop or somethin?" he asked nervously, taking a step back.

"Yeah, a cop. A cop in a red-and-blue skintight suit. For sure," he said seriously. "No, I'm not a cop you idiot. But, if you really want to see one, I can take you!" He reached forward and grabbed the guy by the shirtfront. The man tried to hit him away, terrified, but Peter held tight, rolling his eyes under his mask. "Let's go, big fella." He wrapped his arm around the guy and made sure to hold tight as he shot a web up and soared through the sky.

The guy screamed the whole time and really didn't appreciate it when Peter hung him upside-down at the station. You can't really blame him though. Like you wouldn't hang a guy by his feet if he screamed in your ear for five minutes? Exactly.

Peter was webbing his way to Central Park to relax in a tree for a while when his phone rang. He settled on the top of a building for a short break and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Get your ass over here, kid." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Hello to you too, uncle Bucky. What do you need?"

"You know how long it's been since we last saw you? You've been cooped up in that damn apartment with Matthew for far too long. Now, get your ass over here kid or I'm making Sam come and pick you up." Peter sighed. The funny thing is, he knew Bucky was serious. He would actually send Sam in his Falcon suit to get Peter if he didn't go.