THE SCREW WAS tightened as Y/N finished turning the tool. His eyes were fixated on the project in front of him and tuned out his surroundings. Voices seemed muffled as he focused, and after a moment he finally heard his name being called.

"Y/N." Peter called out from the other side of the classroom. He grabbed a part from a case on the table. "Let's not forget this."

"Huh?" Y/N asked as he kept tightening some screws.

It was then when Peter threw the metal part at his friend, who swiftly caught it in the air before it could go over his head. Y/N looked at it and then back at Peter.

"How about a warning next time?"

"Well..." Peter glanced at the few others students working on their projects as he walked up to Y/N. "I figured you'd know how to catch."

Y/N chuckled as he placed the part on the table and the two friends continued their work.

Midtown was hosting a science fair in two weeks which Y/N and Peter entered. The school partnered with the city to recognize the innovating young minds within, and their top prize was $20,000.

The two friends were confident they could win, more so Y/N. Peter had his doubts, but couldn't deny the fact that his intellect combined with Y/N's could do it.

And the project they were doing was sure going to be special.

It was after school and they worked for about an hour more until they noticed students starting to leave. Y/N and Peter thought they could work some more, but then a familiar face walked into the classroom.

"Hey, guys." Gwen greeted as she went up to their table.

Peter gave a smile as he looked up from the project. "Hey!"

"Hi." Y/N greeted back as he kept working.

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked, his attention now only on Gwen.

"I had some things to do."

Y/N finally looked up at the blonde and took off his protective eyewear. "Please don't tell me you signed up for the fair."

"No, I haven't." She said with a chuckle.

There was a sigh of relief between the two friends. If they had to be honest, Gwen was the smartest in their friend group and would blow the competition away if she entered the science fair. A part of them thought Gwen decided not to participate just so she could see them win.

Gwen continued. "I volunteered to help Ms. Warren after school. I just got done."

"With what? Uh...I could've helped. You know Ms. Warren loves me." Peter said.

"And leave me alone with our project?" Y/N asked.

"I would've come back."

"Sure."

"I would've! It's always good to help a friend in need."

"Sure."

Gwen laughed. "It was nothing special, Pete. But I'll remember you next time I need a knight in shining armor."

Peter nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. Y/N knew that it would probably lead to an awkward silence, so he chose to speak up afterward.

"So, this is coming along nicely." Y/N said mentioning their project. He put down his tools and looked at it.

Gwen examined it closely and nodded her head. It was still unfinished but was pretty impressed. They told her their idea about a week ago and she was glad to see they were accomplishing it.

"So you actually are doing it?" She asked.

Y/N smiled and began to explain. "A clean power source. Using a few household batteries—"

"And our brains." Peter interjected.

Y/N continued. "We're able to have a battery that harnesses about a fourth of a gigawatt."

"Wow. That's about 250,000 watts." She remarked.

"Yeah." He replied.

"It's like Iron Man's arc reactor." Peter added. "But worse. "

"His first one produced three gigajoules per second. That's three gigawatts." Y/N said. "I don't think we're gonna be able to harness the power of three power plants with just a box of scraps."

"Still, this is crazy." Gwen replied as he looked at the cylinder closely. "You're doing something people haven't dared to try."

"Why is that?" Peter crossed his arms. "Is this illegal? Oh, God. What if it is?" He started to dart his eyes around. "Will the FBI come after us? Tony Stark?"

"Relax, Pete." Y/N said. "Nobody's busting down our doors for a simple science fair project. It's not like we're creating a weapon of mass destruction or something."

"That's what Oppenheimer thought." Peter pointed out, which garnered an eye roll from his friend.

"Okay, okay." Gwen laughed. "How about you call it in for the day and we go grab a bite?"

"Delmar's?" Peter asked.

"Best sandwiches in Queens." She replied.

"All right!"

"Y/N?"

Y/N nodded. "He has that tagline for a reason. Let's go."

They put away their project. Y/N closed the cabinet and looked back at Gwen.

"Ned or MJ around?" He asked.

"Haven't seen them since dismissal. They're probably at home."

"That's fine. I don't mind being the third wheel here."

Gwen chuckled as she turned toward the door. Peter feigned a laugh before nudging Y/N on the side for his remark.

"What?" He chuckled.

Peter shook his head and followed Gwen out the door. Y/N laughed to himself as he left the classroom too.

• • •

THE CAR PULLED up beside Robert Farrell as he leaned against the lamppost carrying a duffel bag. He looked around for a moment before the windows rolled down and was face to face with a suited Caucasian man.

"Mr. Farrell. Pleasure to finally meet you." James Wesley greeted. "Get in."

Robert nodded and opened the door to the SUV. Once settled inside, the car pulled away from the curb and drove off.

"So where is this place?" He asked the man.

"Eager to begin?" Wesley replied.

"I just want this done. So you can pay me."

"My boss is a man of his word...if you complete your end of the bargain."

Robert nodded and looked out of the window. Wesley eyed him for a moment before looking down at his bag.

"Is that your gear?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Like we discussed before, this needs to be done quickly."

"You still haven't specified what establishment I'm hitting."

Wesley nodded. "There's this small warehouse posing as a shoe outlet within Queens. Between you and me, they do more than sell discounted footwear."

Robert kept listening as Wesley pulled his cellphone out from his suit jacket and displayed a photo of a pristine samurai sword within a case.

He continued. "This was my boss's. It was stolen a couple of months ago. The big guy loves antiques like these. So we want you to retrieve it. With your tech, it'll be like your a blur. They won't know what hit them."

"Sounds simple." Robert replied.

"It is...if you're smart, which I can tell you are, Mr. Farrell." He said.

"So I do this and then I get my money?"

"If it goes well."

The car stopped at a curb. Wesley looked out the window and spoke again.

"This is your stop. The establishment is a few blocks from here. We'll keep in touch."

Robert grabbed his duffel bag and exited the SUV. The car immediately drove off, leaving the man by the side of the road. He looked at his bag for a moment, then walked into the alleyway behind him.

• • •

THE THREE FRIENDS walked down the sidewalk toward the sandwich shop. They had been talking during their trek there and started conversing about a trending topic.

"You're going to see Episode VII again?" Y/N asked Peter.

"I've been thinking about it. This would be my..." He started counting his fingers. "Fifth time."

"It's still in theaters?" Gwen asked.

"This movie is breaking records. They're not pulling the plug anytime soon." Y/N replied.

"They shouldn't." Peter added. "It's a cinematic masterpiece. Redemption for the prequel trilogy."

Y/N chuckled. "The prequels weren't that bad."

"We're not having this discussion again." He interjected.

All Gwen could do was laugh at the boys' exchange. Y/N was about to speak again, but he then heard the familiar high pitch sound within his head. He stopped walking, which his two friends noticed him and halted as well.

"Y/N?" Gwen asked.

He turned around when a sudden blur sped through the street. The trash from the floor dispersed everywhere and a couple of cars at the intersection crashed into each other because of the distraction.

"What the hell?" Peter exclaimed.

Gwen eyed the collided vehicles and saw a woman struggling to get out.

"Call 9-1-1!" She said then immediately went over to try and help.

"Uh...my dad took my phone." Y/N turned to Peter. "Go inside Delmar's and call the ambulance."

"And you?" He asked.

Y/N gave a look. "You know, man."

He nodded and ran inside the shop. Y/N looked at Gwen for a moment who was assisting the lady, then immediately ran into the nearby alley with his backpack.

• • •

THE SKYLIGHT of the warehouse was blown open. Robert, in his orange synthetic fabric suit, glided inside and surveyed the area. He knew he'd have a minimal amount of time before backup would respond to the explosion.

Using his jet-powered hoverboard, he flew through the open area of the building. He blew open walls with miniature rockets that came out of his gloves, and it wasn't long until he stumbled upon the room where the antiques were.

Robert saw the same case that Wesley showed him in the photo. He hopped off his board and walked up to the table where it lay, then opened it to see its contents. He smirked upon seeing the sword within.

"Bingo."

He closed the case and held it as he walked through the hole in the wall. Suddenly, a voice startled him.

"Hey!" Y/N called out from the ceiling he was dangling from. "Woah, cool suit. You think you can give me pointers?"

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Robert asked in genuine confusion.

"I should be asking you that."

"Then you answer first."

"Uh, well...I'm Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man? Really?" Robert scoffed. "You some type of Black Widow fanboy?"

"I am not! But don't get me wrong, she's cool." Y/N sighed and shook his head. "Look, I'm gonna need you to explain yourself."

"I don't have to tell you anything." He shot back.

Y/N lowered himself from the ceiling and landed on his feet. "You caused a little pileup a few blocks down. And then I catch you stealing from this warehouse. I don't know about you, but that seems a little shady."

Robert didn't want to explain, nor did he have the time. "Just mind your business, kid."

He was about to walk toward his board, but the case he was holding was suddenly webbed away from him. Y/N held the case.

"Then I'm just going to have to take this." Y/N said.

Robert gave a glare and immediately lifted his arm. Y/N didn't have time to react to his senses as three rockets blew open the floor beneath him. He fell through and landed in the lower level.

"Ugh..." Y/N groaned.

The man glided through the hole on his board and picked up the case. Through his visor, he glared at the teenager.

"I said to mind your business."

He started speeding away, but Y/N quickly shot a web-line that stuck to his board. He pulled on it, keeping Robert from dashing away.

"You're not going anywhere!" Y/N shouted.

Spider-Man pulled harder and took the board out from under Robert. He fell on his stomach and the board was flung to the side. With a snarl, he laid on his back and aimed his hand at the teenager to fire again.

Y/N deftly evaded the miniature rockets using his acrobatic prowess. Robert got back on his feet and ran up to the teenager to try to fight him.

He swung but Y/N was able to dodge his attacks easily. Robert kept trying nonetheless.

"Ever thought of taking up some martial arts?" Y/N quipped as he weaved away from another punch. He planned on not punching back and just tire out the criminal.

Robert suddenly charged up his glove. He quickly landed a blow at Spider-Man's stomach and the rocket-powered punch sent the hero through the wall into another room.

"Ever thought of shutting the hell up?" Robert retorted.

Y/N groaned as he rolled on top of the rubble. "Okay...good comeback."

As the hero was getting up, Robert heard a commotion in the area. He looked to his right and saw gunmen running in. It was the backup he was worried about.

"You got to be kidding me..." Robert muttered and immediately called his hoverboard. He looked back at Y/N. "You just made this a lot more complicated."

"What?" The teenager asked as he got up.

Robert quickly sped away and the gunmen tried to shoot him. He raised his arm and shot the wall beside some of the men, the explosion taking them down. His board was able to travel up the walls and fly through the skylight he originally broke through, fleeing with the case.

Y/N ran through the broken wall and saw the gunmen shooting. They immediately noticed the hero and pointed.

"He wasn't alone!" One of them shouted.

"Wait! I'm not the criminal! He—"

They started shooting again and Y/N quickly swung up to evade the gunfire. He zipped through the skylight and left the area.

Y/N leaped off the roof and stuck to the side of a building nearby. Robert raced down the road on his hoverboard and the hero chased after him. Spider-Man swung down the street, which was something he still had to get used to.

"Right. Left. Right. Left." He spoke to himself as he alternated hands. Y/N was about to hit a pole and quickly shot a web-line to his right. "Oh, crap!"

Robert kept speeding down the road, weaving away from cars and even hovering on top of some. He made it to another intersection and passed a red light, causing a car to suddenly stop.

Another vehicle speeding down tried to brake, but it drove over the hood of the stopped car and flew toward the nearby sidewalk. Y/N watched it all happen, and as if it was in slow motion...he saw somebody by the side of the road.

MJ.

Holding a bag of groceries in her hand, she looked up in horror at the oncoming car. She fell to the floor and shielded her face, but didn't feel an impact after a few moments.

She opened her eyes and moved her arm away, seeing the hero standing in front of her holding the car with both arms.

"Okay...okay." Y/N grunted as he held the car. He saw the man inside the vehicle he was holding in awe as well. "Slowly. Steady. All right."

He placed the car down gently and dusted off his hands. Y/N then motioned toward the man.

"Are you good, sir?" He asked, in which he franticly nodded. Y/N gave a thumbs up. "Great! That's great."

He then turned around and faced MJ who was still on the floor. "Emj—uh...ma'am! Are you okay?" Y/N started to help her up.

"Yes. I'm...I'm fine." MJ replied between breaths. She then looked at the vehicle that was about to hit her. "Wow. I could've died. This is surreal. "

Y/N turned to his right and saw no sign of Robert anymore. He let out an exhale, then looked down at the grocery items that fell out of MJ's bag. He started to pick them up for her.

"Oh, it's fine—" She spoke again.

He wasn't listening and started handing them back to her. "Are you sure you're okay? No need for a doctor or anything?"

"More like a therapist." She nonchalantly replied, then held up the broken carton of eggs. "Or a coupon so I could get another dozen."

Y/N let out a chuckle. "I wish I could help with that."

MJ was still processing what had just happened. She was still in shock but kept up her usual facade of being unbothered. She kept looking at the red-balaclava-wearing vigilante.

"What...what are you supposed to be?" She asked. "Some super-strong Good Samaritan?"

He finished handing her the last of the items, which was a carton of milk. "Something like that."

Police sirens were heard in the distance and Y/N knew that was his cue to go. Bystanders were standing idly by still in awe at what transpired.

"Uh, I gotta go." He quickly said and started jogging away. He looked back at MJ. "Um...stay safe, ma'am!"

The hero swung away as people looked on, some even still had their phones out. MJ watched as the vigilante fled the scene, and she thought back at her exchange with him. One thing stuck to her after observing him before...his eyes.

They looked familiar. It was as if she's seen them before.

• • •

PETER SAT AT his desk writing in a notebook. He turned the page of the book in front of him as he jotted down info that'd help enhance his project. As he continued, there was a knock at his window.

He turned to his right and saw Y/N on the fire escape in his Spider-Man attire. Peter quickly went over and opened it to let his friend in.

"Hey, man. Everything all right?" He asked as Y/N entered the room. Peter closed the window right after.

"You won't believe what just happened, bro." Y/N said as he took off his balaclava. "That guy that sped down the street? I fought him in a warehouse. Then there were these gunmen that tried to shoot both of us. Then I chased him down Metropolitan. And then he caused this crash that flung this car toward MJ! Then—"

"Woah, woah!" Peter interrupted. "MJ's involved?"

"Yeah, but she's fine! She's fine." Y/N answered then sighed. The severity of what happened started to dawn on him. "Thank God, I was there."

Peter nodded and pat him on the shoulder. "So the dude got away?"

"Unfortunately. He ran off with some case, and he really wanted it." Y/N replied. "You got some extra clothes for me? I left my bag back behind Delmar's."

"I knew you'd leave it so I remembered to bring it with me after Gwen got picked up." He said as he pointed toward his closet. "In there."

Y/N smiled and went over to his closet where he took out his backpack. He took off his red shirt and grabbed the other one he was wearing before.

"So did you and Gwen have that lunch date after I left?" Y/N asked Peter.

"Please stop."

Suddenly, the door opened and May walked in. Y/N quickly took off his web-shooters and threw them in his bag. She immediately spotted the shirtless teenager in Peter's room.

"Oh! Y/N, I didn't know you were here." She said in surprise.

He gave a nervous chuckle as Peter rolled his eyes. "May, can you please knock next time?"

"Sorry." She looked away from her nephew's friend. "I forgot teenage boys hate non-knockers."

"It's okay, May." Y/N said as he put on his other shirt. "I should've let you know I was coming. Peter and I are still working on our project."

"That's perfectly fine." She replied. "And how is that coming along?"

"Good." Peter answered and looked at Y/N. "But I think we should call it a day. Our synapses need a break, don't you think?"

"Can't argue with that."

"Well, I know how much you two hate my cooking. So how about order Thai food or something?" May asked then pointed at Y/N. "Your dad's still at work, right?"

"Yeah. He won't be home until a couple of hours."

"Then I'll make sure to let him know you're with us since you can't call because he took away your phone."

Y/N sighed as he remembered how he's still basically grounded from the constant skipping of P.E classes last month.

"Only a couple more weeks." Y/N said with a chuckle.

May smiled before walking away. "I'll order the food."

Peter closed the book on his desk and looked at Y/N. "It's kind of a blessing you came. I would've been stuck with whatever she was making in the oven."

Y/N laughed as he knelt over his bag and looked at his web-shooters. He then zipped it up before walking out of the room with Peter.

• • •

ROBERT FARRELL ENTERED the building he was told to come to after his job was done. Now wearing civilian clothes and holding the case, he walked through the dark corridor and into a room with a slightly ajar door.

He looked around the empty office space. It didn't look like a usual office, but more run-down as if it hadn't been occupied in some time. Suddenly, he felt a presence to his left.

"Mr. Farrell." Wesley spoke from the corner of the room. He still wore his suit and had his hands folded in front of him. "You're back."

"I did what you wanted me to do." He said and held up the case. "Now pay up."

Wesley grabbed the case and placed it on the table. He opened it and was pleased to see the antique sword within. Although, his silence was agitating Robert.

"Now pay up." He repeated.

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple, Robert." Wesley replied.

"What?" He rose his voice. "I got the damn sword for you. I held up my end of the bargain—"

Wesley turned around. "Remember how you said this was a simple job? And then I said for someone smart? I thought you were, Mr. Farrell."

Robert glared as the man continued.

"I said this was supposed to be a quick job. In then out. Little to no commotion. But you were spotted by the men running the establishment."

"It wasn't my fault! That damn kid..."

Wesley raised a brow. "Kid?"

"Yeah. Some kid in joggers and a balaclava held me up." He explained. "Weird fella. Shoots webs and shit."

The suited man wondered who he was referring to. He wasn't sure if this unknown subject knew about his boss's operations or if he was associated with any of his enemies.

"Did he tell you anything?" Wesley asked.

"More like a lot of things. He talked a bunch." Robert replied.

"Did he have a name?"

Robert nodded and looked directly at Wesley.

"He calls himself Spider-Man."