Chapter 3

“Here you go, Officer,” Spider-Man said as he dropped the metal into the sergeant's hand.

“Wow, you Super Hero types never stop surprising me. One of you steals something, another one brings it back,” the cop said.

“Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on. The guy who got away is usually on our side,” Spider-Man replied.

“We know. Daredevil's helped us before, too,” the sergeant said. “But he's now wanted for questioning.”

None of this was making sense.

“Well, got to run—or swing, I should say,” Spider-Man said. “Hey, before I go, what's so special about that chunk of metal?”

“It's from the vibranium exhibit at the museum,” the sergeant said. “It's the strongest metal on earth. Really rare. Captain America's shield is made from it. Better hope Cap doesn't go bad. This stuff would hurt if it was thrown at you!”

“Yikes!” Spider-Man said, not wanting to think about it. He waved to the officers, who thanked him; then he swung off across the river toward home. By the time he got there, the sun was setting. He swooped down behind his garage and changed out of his costume.

“Peter! I was worried about you!” Aunt May said when he finally walked into the house. “Where have you been?”

Aunt May had always been edgy. But she'd been worse since Uncle Ben died. She often thought the worst when Peter was running late. Peter kissed her on the cheek and smiled, which always made her smile, too.

“I'm sorry, Aunt May,” Peter said. “I lost track of time studying after school, and then I got stuck on the train. I didn't have service in the tunnel, so I couldn't call.”

Peter didn't like lying to Aunt May, but he couldn't ever tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her he was the amazing Spider-Man.

“I'm just glad you're home,” she said, squeezing his hand.

After dinner, Peter went up to his room to do his homework and was soon ready for bed. But he had a lot of trouble sleeping. He wondered why Daredevil had stolen the vibranium. He worried about his upcoming science test.

Before he knew it, morning had arrived and it was time for school again. He wasn't sure how much he'd slept, or if he'd even slept at all. He felt like a robot going through the motions as he showered, brushed his teeth, and got ready for school.

“See you later, Aunt May,” he said between yawns as he left the house.

“Peter!” his aunt called after him. “You forgot this,” she said, standing at the door, holding his backpack. “You know, studying is great and important, but if you study too hard you'll just exhaust yourself.”

Peter pecked her on the cheek and continued on to the subway, which he rode to school, completely wiped out from the night before.

“Hey, look who it is!” Flash shouted as Peter walked into Midtown High.

“Not in the mood,” Peter replied.

“Bookworm's ‘not in the mood,’ ” Flash teased.

Peter opened his locker and yawned.

“Tired, Parker? What, was the Math-lete World Series on last night? Went into extra innings?” Flash said, elbowing his buddies for a laugh.

“Hey, check this out,” one of Flash's friends said. “Somebody's posted another angle.” He held up his smartphone, and there was a clip of Spider-Man battling Daredevil. Peter's fight had gone viral!

“Ooooooh!!!!!”

“Dude, let me see that,” Flash said, grabbing the phone from his friend. “Man, he's freaking amazing. Send me this link. I want to print out some of those pictures and put them up in my locker. Maybe that's what I'll major in when I get to college—Super Hero. You can do that, right?”

Anytime anyone talked about Spider-Man around Peter, he became uncomfortable. He couldn't let anyone find out he was Spider-Man. So he never knew how to react.

“I don't think any of them go to college,” Peter said. He was immediately sorry he said it.

“Huh?” Flash said.

“I don't think Super Heroes go to college. I think they're a bunch of dopes. I don't trust any of them,” Peter said, not sure how to get out of the conversation without bringing more attention to himself and to Spider-Man. He felt himself blush a little at being put on the spot. Of course he didn't believe these things, but if the other guys thought he hated Super Heroes, they'd never discover he was one.

“Hohoha!” Flash laughed. “I think Petey here is scared of Spider-Man! Is that it? Is Petey-weety afwaid of spiders?” he said in a babyish voice, making “Itsy-Bitsy Spider” gestures with his hands.

Peter slapped his hands away.

“Ouch!” Flash shouted genuinely, grabbing one of his hands where Peter had hit him. Peter had held back his strength, but even a light tap from Spider-Man was going to sting a little. Still, Flash tried to make it look like he wasn't hurt.

As he walked away he shouted down the hall, “Better be careful, Petey. Spider-Man is going to get you! Bwahahaha!”

As Flash moved on to his class, Peter couldn't help burying his face in his locker and cracking a smile.