The trouble in Monaco had barely died down after Tony Stark beat Whiplash into the ground. During Monday morning study hall, their homeroom teacher, old Duncan, announced that the whole class would be taking a fall field trip to the Stark Expo on Friday.
The classroom erupted.
"Holy shit, seriously?!"
"That Hammer Industries presentation! I saw the preview-land, sea, and air models, all on display!"
Peter leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the desk. Everyone else looked excited. Only one thought filled his head: We're screwed.
He knew all too well what would happen at that expo. Drone swarms, machine-gun fire, the glass ceiling exploding-it looked awesome in a movie, but being there in person meant getting thrown into a meat grinder.
For the rest of the week, he was like a tightly wound spring.
The lights in the Baxter Building's laboratory never went out. Reed set aside a corner for him, and Peter turned it straight into a makeshift armory. His first finished product was an EMP gun, its pulse powerful enough to fry a drone's main control chip outright. The second was concrete webbing, its formula readjusted to double its tensile strength.
He set Johnny Storm's number as an emergency contact. Johnny sounded thoroughly confused, but he thumped his chest and promised to come whenever Peter called.
Early Friday morning, Peter wore a black muscle shirt and a skintight layer beneath his school uniform. His Silk-Shooter and folded suit were stuffed into a hidden compartment in his backpack. Before leaving, he stood in front of the mirror for two seconds. His backpack bulged as though he were heading to war.
In a sense, he really was.
On the bus, Felicia sat down beside him. She studied him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Nervous?"
Peter didn't deny it.
"Stark's been off lately," he said, lowering his voice. "You didn't see his birthday party. Hammer Industries is no pushover, either. They built that Rhino armor last time. If something else goes wrong today-"
"Give it a rest, Parker!" Flash twisted around from the seat in front, loud enough for half the bus to hear. "With an imagination like that, why don't you write novels? Hammer Industries builds drones, not killing machines."
Peter couldn't be bothered to argue. His hand found the EMP gun in his backpack, its metal casing reassuringly cool. Sue Storm had been rather critical of his using the laboratory to build weapons, but after hearing his concerns, she hadn't said anything more.
The expo was packed when they arrived. Their group leader held up a little flag and led them through one exhibition area after another before finally entering the main auditorium, where Hammer Industries was holding its new product launch.
They were seated in the back, with the first few rows reserved entirely for VIPs. Peter scanned the room, his gaze settling on the curtains on either side of the stage. He knew what was hidden behind them.
Justin Hammer took the stage. He rambled and boasted for a full twenty minutes, throwing around phrases like "revolutionary," "redefining," and "transforming warfare." Then he swept out his hand, and the curtains rose.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines-eight drones in each lineup. The grand finale was the War Machine squad.
The whole audience cheered. Flash stood up in excitement, and Harry joined in the applause. Peter didn't move.
The next second, Iron Man descended from the sky.
Tony landed onstage and leaned close to James Rhodes's ear to say a few words. Then he fired his thrusters and took off. The Air Force drones and the War Machine squad activated simultaneously, charging after him through the dome.
The glass ceiling exploded.
The shattering sounded like a thunderclap, and shards rained down in a torrential shower. Screams rose everywhere as the crowd descended into chaos.
"Get down!"
Peter was already moving as he shouted. He grabbed Mary Jane and Felicia and pulled them down, throwing himself over them with his back exposed to shield them. Glass struck his backpack, its padding cushioning the sharp edges, but the impact still knocked a grunt out of him.
Around them, some people screamed in pain while others wailed.
Peter got up and looked around. The drones were moving down along the platform. They weren't firing on civilians-not yet. But Tony's battle in the air could spill onto the ground at any moment.
"Is everyone okay?!" he shouted.
"I-I'm fine." Harry's voice shook.
"Mr. Duncan's hurt!"
Peter turned. Mr. Duncan lay facedown on the floor, a palm-sized shard of glass embedded in his back, blood soaking his shirt red. Liz knelt beside him, cradling his head as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
"He took it for me!" Liz cried. "He shielded me!"
Mary Jane covered her mouth. Several girls went deathly pale.
Peter crouched and glanced at the wound. The glass was embedded deep, but it hadn't struck anything vital. They couldn't pull it out yet. He turned to Flash. "Carry him on your back."
"What?" Flash froze.
"We need to get out. Those hunks of metal are coming this way." Peter pointed toward the platform, where the drones' mechanical feet clanged against the steel framework. "Get him on your back. Now!"
"But I-"
"Flash, please!" Liz sobbed.
Flash gritted his teeth and crouched. Together, they carefully lifted Mr. Duncan onto his back. Peter took the lead, clearing the way and issuing instructions in a low voice. "Don't run into open areas. The drones aren't targeting us. Stay out of the fighting and we'll be safe. Head for the parking lot. Move!"
The group rushed out of the auditorium.
Peter pulled out his phone and dialed Johnny. He picked up after two rings.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I need you! Now!"
"Dude, it's not that I don't want to help, but right now I'm-"
"No time for bullshit, Johnny!" Peter roared. "The drones at the Stark Expo have gone berserk! People are dying here! Flame on and fly over, as fast as you can! Bring the others if you can, but don't let them slow you down!"
"On it!" Johnny hung up.
Running beside him, Felicia asked breathlessly, "Who were you calling?"
"Reinforcements."
Peter gripped his phone. He calculated rapidly in his head: he could put on his suit and fight as Spider-Man, but that wasn't right. These drones weren't street thugs. They had machine guns and missiles; taking them head-on wasn't worth it. More importantly, he couldn't expose his identity now.
They had just reached the stairwell when a drone crashed down from above, its metal body slamming into the ground in front of them, its twisted mechanical arm spitting sparks.
The girls screamed and backed away.
Peter stared at the wreckage for a second. The mechanical arm's joint had snapped, exposing the wiring inside. The ribbon cable for the weapons interface was clearly visible.
He charged forward.
"Peter, what are you doing?!" Mary Jane's voice rang out behind him.
Peter clamped both hands around the broken section of the mechanical arm and drove with his core. Steel screeched as he tore the entire arm off the torso. Wires crackled with blue light at the break. He turned the arm over and found the firing system's ribbon-cable connector.
His index and middle fingers precisely shorted two wires.
The machine-gun module activated.
Another drone landed beside him and began swinging its gun toward the crowd. Peter raised the severed arm, aimed its muzzle at the drone's head, and fired-there was no trigger, so he directly shorted the firing circuit.
Bullets poured out.
Steel met steel, sparks spraying like fireworks. Smoke burst from the drone as bullets riddled it. Its head listed to one side, and it crashed to the ground.
The barrel overheated. Peter dropped the ruined mechanical arm and turned, panting.
His classmates stood behind him, dumbstruck.
"Move," he said.
Nobody objected.
Once they rushed out of the building, more drones poured out of the auditorium. They fired missiles at Tony overhead. Most missed, trailing flames as they plunged toward the streets. The crowd scattered, screams and explosions erupting one after another.
"Stick to the sides! Don't look up!" Peter shouted.
Another squad of drones appeared ahead, forming an interception line, the whine of their spinning gun barrels piercing his ears. Peter reached into his backpack and gripped his Silk-Shooter.
A streak of orange-red flame descended from the sky.
The drones were instantly swallowed by fire. Johnny, transformed into the Human Torch, swept through the blaze, his burning body tracing an arc through the air. Steel melted wherever he passed, molten metal spilling across the ground.
"Hey, Peter! Sorry I'm late!" Johnny called, hovering overhead.
Peter grinned. "You're not late. Melt every last one of these tin cans for me!"
"You got it!" Johnny laughed wildly. Blistering flames burst from his body, and two more drones lost power in the blaze, crashing down and crumpling into scrap.
Peter asked, "Where are Sue and the others?"
"Behind me. I'm the only one who can fly, and Ben can't fit in the car, so they're a little slower." Johnny looked toward the distant explosions. "These guys are trying to hit Stark, but they keep missing. All their missiles are landing in civilian areas. Should I intercept them?"
"Give it a try. Don't push yourself."
"Relax. Blowing up fireworks is what I do best!" Johnny kicked off on a jet of flame and flew away.
Peter turned around and once again met his classmates' stunned gazes.
"What?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Dude!" Even Flash's voice was shaking. "That was Johnny Storm!"
"So?"
"You know Johnny Storm?!"
"We're coworkers. Friends from work," Peter urged. "Do you want to keep chatting, or get Mr. Duncan to a hospital?"
Flash swallowed and shut his mouth.
They skirted the still-smoking pools of molten metal and ran toward the parking lot. As they ran, Felicia asked, "You work for the Fantastic Four?"
"I do work for them. I'm not an official member."
"So that's the job you've been so mysterious about all this time?" Felicia understood. "No wonder you wouldn't say much."
"Now you know."
They rushed onto the bus and settled Mr. Duncan in the back row, with Liz staying beside him. Peter urged the driver to start the engine. The bus had barely accelerated when a drone fell from the sky, crashing directly in front of it.
Screams erupted inside the bus.
"Don't stop!" Peter rushed to the driver's seat and stomped on the driver's foot, forcing the accelerator to the floor. The bus roared into the drone, its bumper pinning it down and dragging it along the ground. The drone's machine gun opened fire. Bullets struck the front of the bus in a rattling barrage, and the windshield cracked into a spiderweb.
"Keep your foot down!"
Peter pulled the door open and jumped out. He rolled on landing to absorb the impact, swung his backpack around in front of him, and pulled out the EMP gun.
The drone had already grabbed the bus's bumper and heaved. The bus skidded sideways, coming to rest across the road.
Peter ran behind the drone and aimed at the core module on the back of its head.
"Hey, Iron Man."
The drone turned its head.
"Die."
He pulled the trigger. The electromagnetic pulse was invisible, but its effect was immediate. The drone began convulsing, its mechanical arms jerking spasmodically. Thick smoke poured from its joints before it collapsed like a puppet with its power cut.
Breathing hard, Peter put away the EMP gun and spat on the ground. "Worthless scrap."
Back on the bus, everyone was staring at him again.
"Everyone okay?" he asked.
"Y-yeah." Harry's voice was as faint as a mosquito.
Peter told the driver, "Sir, get us out of this hellhole."
"No problem, boss."
As the bus left the expo grounds, a tremendous explosion boomed behind them. The drone disabled by the EMP erupted into a massive fireball. Thick smoke and flames shot into the sky. The entire Stark Expo grounds looked like hell on earth.
Peter leaned back in his seat and suddenly chuckled. "Well, I'm never going on another fall field trip."
Nobody laughed. Everyone looked at him as though they'd seen a ghost.
"What?" he asked. "Bad time for a joke?"
Felicia stood up.
"You reckless bastard."
She threw herself at him.
Peter instinctively caught her around the waist. The next second, Felicia's lips pressed against his. Her hands plunged into his hair, and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.