Spider-Man? Who's He?

Ch. 7

The good news was, Ned's plan had actually worked.  The bad news was that they were taking a test in chemistry so all computers were to remain in backpacks.  Peter managed to crack his laptop enough it would continue to update then carefully put it in his backpack.  He glanced at it worriedly throughout the test and was very careful when he picked up his bag after finishing the test.  He went out into the hall and sat outside the gym.  He pulled out his laptop and looked at it.  98% complete.  It had really sped up during chemistry as it had been at 54% when he started his test.

PE was awful as always, but Peter was looking forward to being Spider-Man with all his new updates.  He managed to change quickly then run out of the school building.  He ran down to his regular abandoned alley and changed into his new suit, pulling the mask on and then the rest of his suit.  He turned the suit on and Karen came to life, thanking him to the update and telling him she enjoyed all the new features.

"Glad you're happy,"  Peter said, swinging through the city.  "How's the heat signature detector?"  Peter asked.  Karen scanned a nearby apartment building and told him there were 78 people inside, mostly elderly with a few middle aged and a couple kids inside.

"It's flawless,"  Karen told him.  Peter grinned.  Of course it was.  His dad had created it and everything he made was flawless (except for Ultron, but Peter purposely left that out).

"Great, let's see how the voice modifier works,"  Peter said.  Karen called Ned and activated the voice modifier.  Ned answered in his usual way, but screamed when Peter talked.  "What?  What's going on?"  Peter asked, worried Ned was in danger.

"Who are you?  Why do you have Peter's phone?"  Ned asked.  Peter sighed.  Ned wasn't in danger.  That was good.

"Ned, it's Peter,"  he said.  He told Karen to turn the voice modifier off.  "I used the modifier.  Is it too obvious?"

"No, it works great,"  Ned said.  Peter was happy to hear that.  He didn't have the time or the energy to code a new one tonight before the party.  "Believable and flawless."

"So far everything I've added is flawless,"  Peter told him.  Ned paused for a moment.

"Are you out Spider-Manning?"  he asked.  Peter said he was and Ned turned into a panicked mother of three.  "Peter Stark!  Do you know how dangerous that is?  Get off your phone right now!  Call me when you're done."  Peter laughed and dropped down in front of a small store.

"Okay, mom,"  he said.  He hung up and walked into the store.  The owner was surprised to see him, but quickly greeted him and said there wasn't any problems there.  "I'm here for a birthday present,"  Peter told him.

"Oh, of course!"  the owner cried, clasping his hands together.  "I hope you find what you're looking for."  Peter nodded and went off in search of something Theo would like.  He ended up grabbing two things: one from Spider-Man and one from Peter.  He walked over to the cash register and the owner rang up the items.

"So, did you start this store yourself?"  Peter asked, inserting his card into the reader.  The owner shook his head, tapping his screen without glancing at it.  Good,  Peter thought.  He didn't want to owner seeing the name on his card.

"It was my father's,"  the man said.  Peter nodded and pulled out his card.  The owner handed him the receipt along with a bag carrying the two presents.  "Have a good day, Spider-Man!"

"You too!"  Peter replied.  He was nearly out the door when the owner asked him to wait.  Peter stopped and turned around to look at him, worried the man had found out his name after all.

"Can I have a photo?"  the man asked shyly, holding up a phone.  Peter grinned and nodded.

"Sure,"  he answered.  He walked over to the man and threw up a peace sign.  The man snapped a photo and thanked him.  "No problem,"  Peter told him.  He walked out of the store and pulled the plastic bag over his shoulder as a way to carry it while he swung through New York.  It was kind of awkward, but it worked better than carrying it and swinging with one hand, so he shrugged and pulled himself into the air.  Theo would love both presents.