Chapter 2

Peter spent the rest of the day distracted. In chemistry lab, his teacher noticed that he was not quite himself.

“Can anyone tell me the symbol for gold on the periodic table of elements?” the teacher asked.

When no one could answer, he turned to Peter, hoping his star student would know.

“Peter?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh...” Peter said. “Sorry, what were you asking?”

His teacher looked deflated.

“The symbol for gold. On the periodic table,” the teacher repeated.

“Ummm, G???” Peter answered.

“AU. AU is the symbol for gold,” the teacher said with disappointment.

And Peter was disappointed, too. He didn't like anyone getting the better of him. And Flash was certainly doing just that. He had him so down that Peter couldn't even concentrate in his favorite class. He couldn't even remember the most obvious answers.

But he did remember that piece of paper with the drawing and how he'd felt when Gwen saw it. Peter just wanted that day to end!

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Peter made his way to his locker to collect his things.

“Pete!” someone called from behind him.

He turned to see Gwen.

“Hey, I just wanted to say that I think what Flash did before was a bit mean,” she said.

“Yeah, well, I don't let it get to me,” Peter replied, trying to smile.

“It sure doesn't look that way,” Gwen said.

“You're not your upbeat self. Don't let that jerk get to you. You'll be the one laughing when you've won a Nobel Prize and he's still repeating sophomore year.”

Peter tried to imagine this.

“Thanks,” he said, forcing a smile.

“You're welcome,” she said, grinning. “Want to go hang out at the Queensboro Coffee Shoppe? We can finish up our studying. Pick up where we left off in the library?”

Peter thought about it. It sure was tempting. But he knew he might not be the best company right now. He was in a really bad mood, after all. And besides, what if Flash busted in on them again? Peter was sure he wouldn't be able to hold back. And he couldn't hit Flash. Peter packed an unusually powerful punch.

“I wish I could,” Peter said. “But I promised Aunt May that I'd run a few errands before I got home.”

Gwen looked disappointed, but understood. Peter searched for things to grab from his locker and paused, his eyes landing on his gym bag. Then, as Gwen walked away, he snatched it and made his way up to the school's top floor.

Peter looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Then he slipped into a small supply closet that he knew hadn't been used in years.

He unzipped his bag and took out his famous red and blue mask, gloves, and boots. He always wore the rest of his costume under his street clothes, just in case he needed a quick change. He put on the rest of his costume and relied on his special power—his spider-sense—to warn him if anyone was around.

Confident, Peter sneaked up the stairs to the rooftop and pointed his wrists at the school's clock tower. Then he shot streams of webs from his web-shooters, and faster than anyone could notice, he swung out over Queens toward the city.

Being Spider-Man didn't mean Peter didn't have to deal with the same problems as ordinary teenagers. But it did give him unique ways of blowing off steam. One of his favorite ways was using his webbing to swing over the rooftops of New York and through the skyscraper canyons of Fifth Avenue.

Spider-Man swung his way to the Queens cable car that ran over the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. He shot his webbing at a car and hitched a ride under the cab into the city. The wall-crawler would make it to Manhattan in no time!

“Woo-hoo!!!!!” Peter hooted as he swung over the East River. There were few things that made him happier than this. He climbed up the side of the car and noticed a little boy looking out over the skyline with his hands against the window. Peter waved at the surprised kid, who smiled and waved back. The boy tugged on his dad's shirt, but before the man turned around, Peter was gone. He'd leaped off the cab and was swinging between skyscrapers and springing from water towers.

Soon he was in Central Park, swinging from the trees and enjoying the crisp fall air. He noticed people running and biking on the park trails, pointing up at him in amazement as he swung by. A little boy dropped his ice cream as he watched his favorite Super Hero swing right overhead. Everything was so different when he was dressed as Spider-Man. People were interested in him. They were excited when they saw him. They grabbed their smartphones and snapped pictures. It wasn't like school at all.

Peter looked down and saluted his fans. He loved the attention.

But being Spider-Man wasn't all about having fun. And Peter was reminded of this when his spider-sense began to tingle.

“Of course,” Peter said. “Nothing like a problem to spoil a perfect afternoon.”

As he continued to swing through Central Park, he looked for any sign of trouble. Then he noticed lights flashing from police cars. There were at least a dozen of them parked at odd angles in front of the Museum of Natural History. Then he looked up and couldn't believe his eyes.

“What's going on?” he said.

Daredevil, another Super Hero, whom Spider-Man had worked with a bunch of times, was swinging away from the scene. Daredevil had a special extending billy club that he used to swing around the city the same way Spider-Man used his webs.

Daredevil turned around.

“Spider-Man!” he said, looking at Peter.

Peter noticed Daredevil's glance. He must have been using his other senses to spot Spider-Man. After all, as Spidey knew, Daredevil was blind. No matter what had tipped him off, Daredevil started to flee over the city. Spider-Man chased after him. Both of the heroes swung through alleyways, over rooftops, across bridges, and through tunnels until Spidey finally caught up with Daredevil to confront him.

“Hey, DD, what's up?” Spider-Man asked. He looked down. “Other than us, obviously.”

Daredevil gritted his teeth and took a swing at Spider-Man with his billy club.

“Whoa. You in a bad mood or something?” Spider-Man asked.

Daredevil just grunted and swung at him again.

“Um, okay, if it's a fight you're looking for...” Spider-Man said, then lifted his wrists and shot webbing at Daredevil, and the pair began to struggle in midair!

In the clash, Spider-Man noticed something fall from Daredevil's belt. He shot a web to snatch whatever it was. And in that moment of distraction he allowed Daredevil to escape.

Peter looked at the object he'd caught. It just looked like a chunk of metal—very heavy metal, but still metal. And if it came from the Museum of Natural History, it must be valuable. Peter rushed back to the gathered officers. He might have lost Daredevil, but he got something in return.