The new transfer student had always been cool and aloof, the dream girl of every boy in school. Now her emerald-green eyes were fixed on Peter, her gaze probing and amused.
Peter met her gaze without backing down. They stared at each other silently for several seconds before Felicia looked away first.
Peter knew perfectly well that this woman was frighteningly perceptive. That exchange of looks had definitely been a test.
The bell rang. Peter had just packed his bag when he heard Felicia call from behind him, "Hey, muscle man, wait up."
Peter pretended not to hear and kept walking. Felicia caught up in a few strides and planted a hand on his shoulder. "I said wait."
"What did you call me?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
"Muscle man. What else?"
"Seriously? Everyone in school thinks I'm skinny as a twig. If you want a muscle man, turn left outside and find Flash."
"Finally, something we agree on!" Flash sprang out of nowhere, stepped between them, and winked at Felicia. "Need something, babe?"
"Get lost, meatball. I'm talking to muscle man." Felicia curled her lip in distaste.
Flash burst out laughing. "Are you crazy? Parker can't even lift a dumbbell!"
"That's because you're all blind." Felicia sneered, walked around Flash, and stepped straight into Peter's personal space.
She suddenly reached out and pressed her hand against his chest through his school uniform, giving his pecs a firm squeeze. Her gaze was challenging. "Don't let the baggy clothes fool you. Muscle man's hiding the real deal under here."
Peter looked down at her wandering hand, a smile tugging at his lips. "Felicia, if you want to cop a feel, shouldn't you at least buy me dinner first?"
Felicia arched an eyebrow and withdrew her hand. "Sure. What does muscle man want to eat?"
"You?"
"Moving pretty fast, aren't you?"
"Likewise. You're the one who just felt up my chest."
Felicia chuckled. "Seriously, are you free?"
"Lunch?"
"I'm starving."
"Lead the way."
Nearby, Mary Jane had watched the whole thing. "I don't like her," she told Liz sourly.
Liz rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Flash, what were you trying to do just now?"
"I was just saying hi to the new girl..."
"Shut up. If I catch you hitting on that vixen again, we're through!"
Ignoring them, Mary Jane grabbed Liz and hurried after the pair. "Come on. Let's see where they're going."
In the cafeteria, Peter and Felicia sat in the most conspicuous spot.
Peter took a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Felicia eyed the food on his tray. "That's all you're eating?"
"I eat better at work. My coworkers treat me," Peter said through a mouthful.
"What's this mysterious company?"
"You won't even tell me your own background. What gives you the right to ask about mine?"
Felicia chuckled. "Fair enough. Tell me, muscle man, why does everyone avoid you?"
"Don't call me muscle man. Call me Peter. Everyone thinks I'm a loner, and I'm pretty smart, so they're scared of me."
"Smart?" Felicia cut into her chicken salad. "You don't act like a high school student. You're used to being isolated. You even enjoy it. You're a genius who should be in college, but you're hiding out in high school. What are you hiding, muscle man? I'll find out."
Peter was slightly startled. This woman's powers of observation were terrifying. She had nearly exposed his secret identity.
"Felicia, I think I'm in love with you." Peter suddenly smiled.
"Sorry, you're not my type."
"Figured. So tell me, what do you actually want?"
"The physics teacher said my grades were terrible and told me to get tutoring from you."
"So you started stalking me?"
"I wasn't planning to, but what you said in history class won me over. I think you're pretty interesting."
Peter thought it over. Between daily patrols, work, and martial arts practice, he simply didn't have enough time. "I can spare an hour after school. But only one hour, tops."
"A genius like you, and all I get is an hour?"
"I have my own life."
"Like that mysterious job?"
"Yes."
"Fine. An hour it is. I couldn't stand you for more than an hour anyway."
During history class that afternoon, Peter was spacing out when his Spider-Sense suddenly went off. He tilted his head, dodging a crumpled ball of paper.
Mary Jane's eyes widened. Then she quickly scribbled a few lines in her notebook and passed them to Peter.
"What's going on with you and Felicia?"
Peter passed back, "She asked me to tutor her in physics."
"Can I join? I need tutoring too."
Peter glanced at the note, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Mary Jane was jealous, and for some reason, that gave him a quiet thrill.
"I'll ask her. She asked first, after all."
"Okay."
After school, Felicia took Peter to a café on the corner.
The tutoring session was something of an ordeal. Felicia's grasp of basic physics was appallingly poor. Still, Peter patiently finished explaining the fundamental concepts to her.
When a waitress came over with their coffee, Peter keenly noticed that Felicia's gaze was glued to the waitress's curves.
Bisexual? Peter wondered. This woman was becoming more and more appealing.
When the hour was up, Peter packed his things and said, "A friend of mine wants to join our tutoring sessions too. Mary Jane. You don't mind, do you?"
"Depends on how she behaves. But if you two dare use my tutoring time for dates on my dime, I'll kick her ass."
"Deal."
In the days that followed, Peter's part-time work with the Fantastic Four remained as busy and fulfilling as ever.
One day, he saw the Thing, Ben Grimm, clumsily holding a sports magazine. His hands were so large that he could barely hold it steady, and he accidentally tore it in half. Ben sighed dejectedly.
Peter saw it and kept it in mind. Ben bore the pain of having become a monster, yet remained optimistic. Peter decided to help him in his own way.
He spent two sleepless nights in the lab, using the Baxter Building's resources to create an invention he called the "Scanning Adapter (SA)."
On Thursday evening, the Fantastic Four were gathered around the dining table eating pizza.
"We really should hire a chef." Susan took a bite of pizza and sighed. "Our finances are in terrible shape. If we don't release a profitable product soon, we may have to cut expenses."
"Are you planning to fire the kid?" Ben asked in a low voice, spearing a slice of pizza with a wrench.
"I hope not, but we might have to." Susan sounded helpless.
"Where's Peter? Haven't seen him all day," Johnny asked.
"He's working on a personal project," Reed said.
"Hey! Everyone!" Peter rushed into the dining room carrying a black, flexible frame, his face alight with excitement.
"Peter, want some pizza?"
"Again? You really should hire a chef." Peter set the frame on the table. "Check this out. I call it the Scanning Adapter."
He pulled the frame open until it was three times its original size, placed it over a magazine, and called out, "Scan."
Blue light shone inside the frame, and the magazine's cover was instantly projected into its center.
"This frame can expand to the size of a blackboard or shrink to fit in your palm. It can scan documents and store them on your phone. It can also scan at high speed." Peter had Susan hold the frame while he rapidly flipped through the magazine. In less than a minute, all hundred-plus pages had been scanned.
"Save as the October 2011 issue of Time," Peter commanded. A check mark appeared on the screen, and all the pages automatically combined into a digital magazine.
"So you made a fancy e-reader?" Johnny curled his lip.
"It's a smart whiteboard that can instantly compile and adapt books! Compared to that birthday candle of yours, it's practically a dimensional reduction strike." Peter rolled his eyes, then handed the enlarged Scanning Adapter to the Thing, his voice softening. "Ben, with this, you'll never have to worry about tearing books again. It's sturdy, and even if it breaks, the data can be transferred straight to a new device."
Everyone froze.
"You... made this just for me, kid?" Ben's voice trembled slightly.
"You've already suffered enough from turning into this. I wanted to make your life a little easier." Peter smiled.
Ben put down his wrench and hugged Peter carefully, afraid of breaking his bones. "Thank you, kid. I really owe you one."
"Peter, this is incredible," Reed marveled. "We never even noticed Ben's difficulties."
"You have your own problems." Peter shrugged.
Susan's eyes lit up. "We can patent it and sell the manufacturing rights to Amazon! Piracy will be an issue, but adding a security system should solve that. This could make a fortune!"
"It can make money?" Johnny perked up.
"Of course." Susan smiled. "Congratulations, Peter. You just saved your job."
"Wait, what?!" Peter's eyes widened. "You were going to fire me?"
"We only considered it." Susan spread her hands. "But now you've saved yourself."
Peter let out a long breath of relief. Susan soon contacted a patent attorney. Not only did Peter keep his job, but he also received a share of the patent royalties.
On Sunday morning, Peter came downstairs for breakfast with dark circles under his eyes. He had been out patrolling until the early hours and was utterly exhausted.
The Thing was sitting in the living room watching television. Peter had intended to go straight to the kitchen, but the news on TV stopped him in his tracks.
"The Stark Expo will open to the public this Friday!"
Today was October 30.
Peter's gaze sharpened. The events of Iron Man 2 had begun.
He knew what would happen next, and he knew this was a tremendous opportunity for him.
Justin Hammer.
Peter silently traced out that name in his mind. He needed a plan, an airtight plan targeting Justin Hammer. He had to make sure everything happened exactly as he envisioned.