CHAPTER ELEVEN
❝ once the student, now the teacher ❞
AFTER THEIR CLOSE brush with death, the Decathlon team was suddenly the talk of the school.
Overnight, they went from the bottom of the food chain to more popular than any of Midtown's sports teams. Other students congratulated them on their win, both in terms of the competition and escaping from the Monument alive. Kids who were once considered nerds were now being admired because of the thrilling retellings they shared.
More importantly, the entire school was raving over Spider-Man, all showing their appreciation for the masked hero who saved everyone in the elevator. Peter had a smile on his face all day, even though the attention wasn't necessarily on him.
In the hallway, Ned ran up to Peter and Aster, grinning ear to ear. "Dude, dude, dude, dude. What is it like being famous when nobody knows it's you?"
Peter laughed, peering around to make sure no one was listening. "Crazy, dude."
"It's crazy. Should we tell everyone?"
Aster and Peter shared a look at Ned's idea. "No," Peter told him.
"...Should I tell everyone?"
"Oh, yeah, that should be okay," Aster hummed sarcastically.
Peter was staring at him, dumbfounded. "No, dude, no, that's not a good idea."
"Okay, come on, we'll be late to class."
When Ned tried to pull him along, Peter didn't budge. "I'm not going to class."
That was news to Aster. "You're not?"
Ned's eyes darted between the two. "You're already in so much trouble for ditching the Decathlon."
"Dude, listen, I figured it out, right? The wingsuit guy is stealing from Damage Control. And what he takes from Damage Control, that's how he builds the weapons. So all I gotta do is catch him."
It was silent between them for a moment. Aster took in the information Peter revealed and all the pieces fell together in her head. Of course, that's how they were getting those old parts. She should've known.
Based on the frown on his face, Ned clearly had other concerns. "But... we have a Spanish quiz."
Aster sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead. "Ned, please reconsider your priorities right now."
Peter blinked once. Then again. "Ned, I'm probably never gonna come back here. Mr. Stark is moving the Avengers upstate, so when I bring this guy in—"
"Dude, you want to be a high school dropout?"
"I am so far beyond high school right now."
The sound of Principle Morita's voice cut into their conversation. "Parker, my office."
Aster and Ned both offered Peter a nervous glance. Peter simply released a heavy sigh and gave in, walking over to the Principle's office with his head hung down in shame.
───
Peter ended up in detention.
He and Aster were supposed to get together after school and figure out what their next move was now that they knew where these men were getting their supplies, but with Peter in detention, they wouldn't be able to do that.
So, Aster encouraged him to just walk out.
It was a joke at first. He texted her about how bored he was, sitting there watching Captain America scold him for getting detention. Which, to Aster, was total bullshit. Steve was the master at breaking rules, despite his image as America's perfect hero.
But when Aster jokingly told him to walk out, he did, right in front of Coach Wilson. He texted Aster to meet him at his apartment and that he would be there after grabbing another bottle of web fluid from his hiding spot at school.
When Aster got there, she let herself in. Peter was lounging in his room, with his feet kicked up on his desk and his arms folded behind his head. He had his usual jeans and a sweatshirt layered on top of his entire suit, with the hood pulled up over his mask. Aster leaned against his doorframe with crossed arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "Comfortable?"
Pulling his hood down, Peter shifted in the chair. "Not really. This suit is tight."
Laughing, Aster moved to sit criss-cross on his bed.
"Check this out," Peter said, swiveling around to face Aster. "Hey, Karen. What's up?"
"Hey, Peter. How was your Spanish quiz?"
Aster tilted her head, amused. "You named your A.I. Karen?"
"Yup."
"Hello, Aster. I have heard a lot about you—"
"Listen," Peter cut Karen off before she could go on. "I was wondering if you could help us. We're trying to figure out who the guys under the bridge were that night."
"I can run facial recognition on the footage of that encounter."
The mask over Peter's eyes narrowed. Aster frowned at him, wondering what Karen was showing him. Sensing her confusion, he tapped the side of his web shooter and displayed a string of data in the form of a hologram, ripping his mask off to view it with her. He ran a hand through his unruly brunette hair and asked, "Footage?"
"Yes, Peter," the A.I. kindly told him. "I record everything you see."
"...Everything?"
"Everything."
"Like all the time?"
"It's called the Baby Monitor Protocol."
Frustrated, Peter threw both hands into the air. Aster couldn't help but cackle, slapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry, but that is too good."
"Yeah, of course it is," Peter mumbled. "Um, yeah, just roll it back to last Friday."
"With pleasure."
Footage of Peter in the mirror appeared in the air. With his mask on, he rambled to himself, "Hey, everyone. Yeah, kick-ass party. Hey, what's up, Liz? Peter's told me a lot about you." He finished his sentence with a wink, doubling Aster's amusement.
"No, no, no. No, no, no," Peter rushed out, waving his hand in the air. "This is just me messing around. Go later in the day, later in the day."
Karen fast-forwarded the video. Again, he was standing in front of the mirror with his mask on. But this time, he held a wooden hammer in his hand. "It is I, Thor, son of Odin!"
"No, no, no, no, no, no! That's definitely... no. That's definitely not what we wanted to watch. Just..."
Aster was struggling to keep her laughter under control. She had to wipe tears from her eyes and hold her stomach with how hard she was laughing. "This is golden. The only thing that would make it better is popcorn."
"I agree with Aster. Your impressions are very funny," Karen told him.
Peter's face was red with embarrassment. "Fast-forward to the arms deal."
The men from the arms deal popped onto the hologram. Finally calming herself down, Aster sat up and willed herself to pay attention. Peter stood, sharing a hopeful look with her. "Okay. The two on the right, who are they?"
"Searching law enforcement databases..." A long moment passed. "No records found for two of the individuals."
"Nothing?" Peter asked, sinking down on the bed next to Aster.
"Not nothing. She said two and there were three of them," Aster attempted to calm his disappointment. "Karen, who did you identify?"
"One individual identified. Aaron Davis, age 33. He has a criminal record and an address here in Queens."
She zoomed in on the buyer from the arms deal. His criminal record appeared beside his face, along with his mugshot.
"Let's pay him a visit," Peter said, looking at Aster to make sure she was on board. She gave him a nod in response.
"Would you like me to activate the Enhanced Interrogation Protocol?"
A slow smile spread on Peter's face as he stared at Aster. Shaking his head, he told Karen, "I don't think we'll need that."
Aster understood what he was implying. A wave of excitement spread through her and she smirked back at him. "You're lucky I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Interrogation was kind of my thing."
───
Aster decided that confronting Aaron Davis would be a good teaching moment for Peter. On their way there, she tried to channel her inner Natasha to be the best mentor possible. She gave him tips on interrogation, knowing he was far too nice to have the natural ability to pull information from people.
If he wanted to be a high school dropout turned Avenger, he was going to step out of his comfort zone anyways.
By the next morning, Karen had used the city's security cameras to track him down to a parking garage. Both teenagers had their suits on, peering down at Aaron from the next floor up as he carried groceries to his car. Aster gave Peter a nod of confidence. "You got this. I'll be right behind you."
At her words, Peter took a deep breath and pulled his mask over his face, jumping down to the level below. He thrust a hand forward and shot a web at Aaron's hand, sticking it to the trunk of his car. More annoyed than fearful, Aaron squinted at the webbing on his hand.
"Remember us?" Peter asked him, stepping closer. Aster jumped down after him, internally cringing at the deep metallic voice changer that Peter had insisted on using. He sounded dumb, not intimidating.
The annoyance on Aaron's face shifted to recognition. Clearly, he remembered both of them. "Uh, hey..."
"I need information. You're gonna give it to me now."
Aster crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold back a proud smile. Peter was doing great at holding his ground. So far.
"All right, chill—!"
"Come on!"
Holding one hand forward in surrender, Aaron tilted his head in confusion. "What happened to your voice?"
Peter froze. "What do you mean, what happened to my voice?"
Peering past Spider-Man's shoulder, Aaron asked Aster, "What happened to his voice?"
"Nothing happened to my voice!" Peter insisted.
"I heard you by the bridge. I know what a girl sounds like."
"I'm not a girl! I'm a boy. I mean, I'm a... I'm a man."
Aster pinched the bridge of her nose. She spoke too soon.
Lifting the hatch to continue loading groceries, Aaron rolled his eyes. "I don't care what you are, a boy, a girl..."
"I'm not a girl! I'm a man!" With a sigh, Peter tried to collect himself. "Come on, man. Look, who is selling these weapons? I need to know. Give me names or else."
Aaron slammed the trunk door shut, making Peter take a startled step away. The teenager glanced back at Aster, to which she sighed and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head at him.
Seeming bored, Aaron asked him, "You ain't ever done this before, huh?"
Peter let his head hang low and muttered, "Deactivate interrogation voice."
Aster cleared her throat, deciding then that it was her time to step in. "Listen, these guys are selling dangerous weapons that shouldn't be out on the streets. Look, if one of them can just cut an entire building in half—"
"Delmar's bodega," Peter interrupted Aster. His voice was back to normal.
Rubbing a hand over her forehead, Aster murmured, "Not the point, Webs."
Aaron's interest was piqued at the mention of the deli. "You know Delmar's?"
"Yeah," Peter shrugged. "Best sandwich in Queens."
"Sub Haven's pretty good."
"It's too much bread."
"I like bread—"
"Okay," Aster cut them off. "You guys can argue over sandwiches later." She stepped closer to Aaron and bored her eyes into his. "I know you were hesitant when they were trying to sell to you. You know these guys are trouble."
For a moment, Aaron stared at her. Slowly, he nodded and shifted his attention back to Peter. "The other night, you told that dude, 'If you shoot somebody, shoot me.' It's pretty ballsy. I don't want those weapons in this neighborhood. I got a nephew who live here."
Peter nodded at his compliance. "Who are these guys? What can you tell me about the guy with the wings?"
"Other than he's a psychopath dressed like a demon, nothing. I don't know who he is or where he is."
Dramatic as ever, Peter leaned his head back against Aaron's car and he let a heavy sigh from his lips.
"...I do know where he's gonna be."
Both of the teenagers perked up at Aaron's words, especially Peter. "Really?"
"Yeah, this crazy dude I used to work with, he's supposed to be doing a deal with him."
"Yes! Yes!" Peter cheered, starting to skip away. "Thank—"
Aster grabbed the back of his suit and yanked him back. "He didn't tell us where, dummy."
"Right, of course. Yeah, my bad. Silly. Just..." Embarrassed, Peter leaned on the car, trying to act nonchalant. "Yeah. Where is it?"
"Can I give you some advice?"
"Hm?"
"You got to get better at this part of the job," Aaron said, cocking a finger in Aster's direction. "She's got it down. You do not."
Crossing his arms, Peter attempted to puff his chest up. "I don't understand. I'm intimidating."
Aaron turned to Aster and told her, "Staten Island ferry, eleven."
"That's soon," Aster pointed out, starting to back away. She glanced at Peter and jabbed her thumb in the opposite direction. "We've gotta go."
Peter nodded, running after her sideways so that he could still point at Aaron. "Hey, that's gonna dissolve in two hours."
"No, no, no, no," Aaron chided, pointing down at the webbing stuck to his hand. "Come fix this."
"Two hours. You deserve that."
"I got ice cream in here!"
"You deserve that. You're a criminal." Waving at him, Peter turned around. "Bye, Mr. Criminal!"
Aster giggled, playfully shoving Peter. "There you go. You're toughening up!"
"I've gotta work on that, don't I?"
For now, they were going to have to stick with their good cop, bad cop dynamic. "Yeah, Webs. Big time."
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
SHIT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWNNN!
aster passing natasha's teaching onto peter makes my heart soar.
i miss nat.
the difference between homecoming peter and no way home peter is crazy looking back.
this kid's been through some shit.
anyways, i hope you all enjoyed!
buckle up for next chapter!
<3 mal