(I should probably update Spiderkid... but I'm too into this for now.)

Peter carefully and quietly opened the window to the hall. He was really wishing his bedroom had a skylight or something right about then. If any of the Avengers saw him in a burned up red jacket and an old ski mask, they would surely be suspicious. He hoped to avoid Ava and Luke too. Who knows what they would say about his spontaneous act of heroism?

Not to mention what Sam and Danny were probably thinking right then. He had ditched them at the apartment building without telling them where he was going or what in the name of hell he just did. And Miles...

Oh fick. Miles wasn't stupid. He would have noticed that as soon as he disappeared the masked man showed up to save that boy. Good job, Parker. Really messed this one up. So much for incognito.

Aww, he head left his longboard too. He had seriously started to get attached to it.

The pain in his back brought him back to the present as he crawled through the half open window. He wasn't sure how bad it was, but it felt like he was being stabbed with old, rusty knives. Peter crept across the hall, peaking into the living room cautiously.

Vision was the only one in there, cleaning in the kitchen half of the room. Apparently he had been stuck with dish duty. Or he might have volunteered. Peter never knew when it came to the man-droid.

Said arachnid tip toed past the open doorway and made it to his team's hall. He relaxed slowly as he pushed the door open to his own room and stumbled inside.

"Thank god," he wobbled weakly for the connected bathroom.

When he twisted his back the wrong way, his trophies flared up again. The teen hissed through clenched teeth and leaned heavily on the granite sink.

He pulled the ski mask off with little difficulty and stared at himself. His clothes were smeared with dark ash, the red jacket painted grey in some places. The mask had left a Smokey mark across his eyes from the long hole in it. He chuckled at his robber-like face paint.

Now onto the hard part. Getting that damned jacket off.

There was a choke behind him. "Peter?"

Ava's papers slid out of her hands and floated to the floor unnoticed as she stood frozen in the open doorway. Staring at his back. Which was most likely covered in angry red blotches with burnt jacket.

"What in the name of hell did you do, you idiot?" She gasped and strutted quickly across the room as he swayed.

"I've had worse," he grunted and started to slide his arms out of the sleeves, which only made him growl in frustration and pain.

Ava glanced around helplessly before narrowing her eyes at his desk. Peter didn't see anything nearly as interesting as she seemed to.

The Tiger swiped a can of pens from it and dumped them out, picking away the scissors. She glanced back up at him quickly.

"Um, no. Nuh uh," he shook his head. "I still remember what happened last time you got a hold of one of those. No thank you."

"Your scissor-phobia can wait, Spidey," she huffed and sat him on his bed. "Now let me help you."

Peter rolled her eyes at her attitude, but did as she asked. He winced every time the sharp tip trailed over a burn, Ava mumbling apologies every time. Eventually he slipped what was left of it away, along with his ruined T-shirt. He nearly rolled his shoulders back freely, but thought better of it almost immediately.

"I'm going to find Luke," Ava sighed.

Peter's head snapped up. "Why?"

She narrowed her eyes. "He knows how to wrap people up better then me. You know that."

Ugh, bandages.

"Yeah, okay," Peter glanced over to where the ruined jacket lay in a heap. He ignored Ava's last worried glance before she left hurriedly. Great. Now he was 'the foster kid' to Miles and 'the kicked puppy' to his team. Stupid Spidey luck.

The loud football game got abruptly cut off in the other room. There was are seconds of yelling, mostly Luke, then Ava. Then they both shut up and it was silent. Peter waited impatiently as they sorted out their problems. He wasn't sitting on his bed severely injured or anything. They should definitely take their time.

Actually, he could already feel it healing. Admit slowly, very slowly, but healing all the same. He grimaced every time a piece of skin knitted itself back together. It was like a bad itch that he could never scratch.

Luke burst suddenly into the room, booming, "Alright, what did you do?"

Peter frowned at how similar his words were to Ava's. "Why does everyone always assume it was my fault?"

"Because it always is," Luke grumbled and dug around under his sink as Ava trailed in on the phone.

"...yeah he's here...well I know that!" She scowled into the phone. "Danny, just–Danny! Just tell me what happened?"

She paused for a few seconds. Her eyes slowly widened as she listened and her jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? ...Sam, what...yeah I agree. We need a break...yeah okay, now give the phone back to Danny. Sam! Don't you dare...!"

She slammed the phone down on the bed in frustration. "He hung up on me!" She growled. "They're on their way, Peter."

She shook her head in irritation and turned away mumbling to herself. Luke emerged from the bathroom looking victorious, a wad of bandages in his hand. In the other he held a wet wash cloth.

Peter blanched, knowing what was coming. Mostly pain.

"You brought this on yourself, Pete," Luke shot grimly. Peter groaned, but didn't fight the fact that his back could be infected.

"Just make it quick. I'm not really in the mood to die of torture today."

"Are you ever?"

Peter sighed. "You'd be surprised."

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An hour later Ava switched on the news so that they could all watch in the arachnid's room. Danny and Sam had come back and explained that they handled the Miles situation. He wasn't sure he wanted to know how they did that, but was relieved all the same. It had only now just occurred to him that his super powered heroics may have gotten him a spot on the news channel. Peter braced himself for the worst only to get worse then the worst.

"A fire at an apartment building downtown had no casualties thanks to a masked mystery man–" A photo of him standing sideways on the bricks with the boy in his arms was shown. "–before the fire department even arrived on the scene. He saved a little boy named Leo Valdez, leaving him in the hands of his mother, Esmerelda without a scratch, winning some, what doctors guess to be, third degree burns in the process. The police are urging anyone who has any information about this man, with seemingly mutant abilities, to step forward as soon as possible, for he could be a seen as a threat. The name nor identity of this mystery man is not known, only that he is a young Caucasian male, in his twenties, around 5'9 in height..."

Peter snorted. The lady was being nice. He was barley 5'6. And he wasn't sure that fifteen was in the twenties, but oh well. At least they got the Caucasian part right.

"Here is a armature video recorded by (*) at the scene."

(*Vote here for Mary Jane or Michelle Jones* Okay, continue.)

Peter immediately remembered the teenage girl with the phone at the fire. He had thought about breaking it, but there didn't seem to be a point at the time. He was regretting that decision now.

It started a few seconds before he appeared in the window. She seemed to have gotten the perfect view, unfortunately. The camera caught him climbing out and - ouch - the fiery explosion that waved over his back as he shielded the boy. It looked even more painful then it actually was. But video Peter only grimaced a little before climbing down the wall expertly.

The girl had caught the moment he glanced away awkwardly from the 'thank you' and when the woman had kissed his hand. Sam chuckled a bit at his confused and frozen stature.

She also caught the wounds on his back in extreme detail. And the moment he looked back suspiciously. And when he whipped an arm out and swung away.

Which would explain why Tony was suddenly shouting from the living room.

"Peter Benjamin Stark! Get your ass in here right this second!"

Peter turned red at being called a Stark. His friends 'ohhhhhed' like a bunch of little kids, knowing he was in trouble. Some friends you are.

He had forgotten about the news on in the other room.

"NOW!"

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Ha.

Seriously though, Mary or Michelle (if you didn't comment already)? Thank you to those who did, it's greatly appreciated!

- Wanda