No Lie

Masks Save Lives

Spider-Man had seen better days, that was for sure. Most criminals weren't too difficult to take care of, but for some reason, these guys didn't want to surrender. Whether it be the determination to kill Spider-Man or the desire to stay out of jail, Peter wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was in over his head and Mr. Stark was on his way. Until he arrived though, he had to focus on not getting dismembered, shot, or killed and the news reporters surrounding the battle weren't helping.

"Spider-Man is now taking on seven men all at once!" a reporter exclaimed. "Look at him go!"

Peter grunted, trying to block out the commentary. Relying on his senses made it difficult to ignore the multiple news stations, though.

"Spider-Man, need a hand?"

At the familiar metallic voice, Peter looked up to see Iron Man hovering over him. He grinned as Mr. Stark raised a repulsor and shot the guy Peter had been fighting.

"Thanks!" Peter yelled, watching as Mr. Stark shot down another guy.

Distracted, Peter didn't notice one of them sneaking up behind him until a knife was at his neck.

"Don't move, Spider-Man," the man threatened, grabbing his arms.

"Or what?" Peter retorted, "You'll shoot me?"

He made to throw the man off him but another guy jumped on him and he stumbled closer to the reporters. Not wanting to hurt any of them, Peter refrained from tossing the guy over his shoulder.

"Let's see who you are, Spider-Man."

Peter could have easily fought them both off, but suddenly a bright flash appeared in front of him and he had to blink rapidly to prevent himself from going blind. When he recovered, he realised his mask was off.

"Hey! My mask!"

Peter hastily snatched his mask out of the man's hands and put it back on, but he knew the damage was already done.

"Dude, what the heck?" Peter yelled, glancing frantically at the surrounding reporters. "You don't mess with a guy's mask!"

"You're—You're a kid," the man stuttered, staring at him in shock.

Peter rolled his eyes and webbed the two men up. As Iron Man had finished off the others, the reporters realised the fight was finished and surrounded them with questions.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled, rushing towards him as cameras and reporters followed him.

Iron Man extended his arms and picked up Peter.

"Let's go, Underoos," he said before lifting off into the air and shooting towards the Tower.

* * * * *

Peter's face was all over the news that night. Zoomed in photos of Spider-Man with his mask off dominated every station and #SpiderMansIdentity was trending on Twitter and Instagram. After discovering his face was plastered all over the news, Peter had refused to leave the Tower.

As soon as they'd arrived at the Tower, Mr. Stark had called May to let her know Peter was safe and with him, but she seemed most worried about what they were going to do now that the whole world knew Peter's face. Mr. Stark had promised her he'd take care of it then left to find Peter who was curled up on the couch snuggled in a blanket with hot cocoa. Beside him, Pepper was running her fingers through his hair.

"Hey, kiddo," Mr. Stark said softly, sitting on Peter's other side so the teen was between him and Pepper. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm scared," Peter mumbled into his mug.