Spider-Man Mayhem

[Third Person's PoV] 

Seeing that Johnny was still being reprimanded by Susan the entire time, Reed turned toward Gwen and Spider-Man.

"You two can head back to school. I'll handle everything from here," he said.

"Are you sure?" Spider-Man asked, concerned.

Reed offered a reassuring smile. "I'm in charge of this team—it's only right that I handle the situation."

Spider-Man studied Reed for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But just because we're on different teams doesn't mean we can't help each other out."

Gwen nodded in agreement. "Can you keep us updated on the situation and anything that might happen?"

"Of course. Now, get moving—I need to stop Sue before she accidentally kills Johnny," Reed said lightheartedly.

With that, Spider-Man webbed up to a building and swung away, with Gwen following close behind. The rest of the students, still in awe, held up their phones to snap pictures until Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider disappeared from view.

---

During lunch, Gwen sat on Peter's lap while they ate with the others. She was busy typing on her phone when Harry lightly slapped Peter's arm.

"Hey, we never had that sparring session we promised last night," Harry said.

Peter smirked. "Harry, don't say things like that—my girlfriend might get jealous."

"I might even get jealous," Lizzy scoffed, resting her head on Harry's lap while giving him a playful look.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

Peter sighed. "We got distracted yesterday, and a lot happened. We completely forgot about it. But we should be able to do it today since we're inviting them over."

Harry nodded, while MJ turned to Gwen. "So? What's the verdict? Is Johnny in trouble?"

Gwen shook her head. "No… Johnny is incredibly lucky."

She then turned to Felicia. "You didn't use your abilities on him, did you?"

Felicia scoffed. "What? No. I've been in school all day. When would I have had the time?"

"Well, according to Sue, the principal decided to forgive Johnny this one time and isn't pressing charges," Gwen said as she scrolled through her messages.

"He isn't?" Peter asked, surprised.

Gwen nodded. "Apparently, despite how he acts, Johnny is actually a really smart student. The principal sees him as a good kid and knew there was no malicious intent behind what happened.

"Sue said the principal didn't want to ruin Johnny's chances of getting into a good college—or his future—by giving him a criminal record for arson. So, he's not pressing any charges."

"Wow," Peter muttered.

"That doesn't mean Johnny's getting off scot-free, though," Gwen continued. "He's racked up a mountain of debt to pay back for all the damages. He's lucky the school burned down so close to the end of the semester—otherwise, that would've been a whole other issue."

"Man, Johnny just turned 18, and he's already in debt. Add student loans when he starts college, and… I don't think 'lucky' is the right word for it," Peter teased.

"Yeah, it's definitely going to be rough for him, but I'm sure he'll manage," Gwen said as she continued texting Sue.

Then she chuckled. "Oh, and apparently, the principal thinks it'll be good for the school's reputation if people know a superhero went there. So, if Johnny becomes successful, the principal will definitely be benefiting from this, too."

The group continued discussing Johnny's situation until lunch was nearly over.

As they went to throw out their trays, Peter turned around and saw Flash Thompson running toward them.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Flash had an excited expression as he looked between Peter and Gwen. "Can I talk to you two?"

Seeing that Peter was with his usual group, Flash hesitated for a moment before adding, "Alone?"

Peter exchanged a puzzled glance with Gwen before shrugging. He motioned for his friends to go ahead. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Harry and the others nodded and headed toward class while Flash continued to grin excitedly. "Alright, follow me!"

Peter and Gwen shared another look of confusion before following after Flash.

Flash led them to an abandoned staircase. As soon as they arrived, Peter and Gwen instinctively scanned the area, half-expecting an ambush.

"Just so you know, if this is some kind of shakedown, it won't end well for you," Peter said, making playful karate chops with his hands.

Flash blinked before waving him off. "What? No! I'm not here for that. I'm not stupid. Honestly, the way you two are looking at me kinda hurts. Anyway—just show me!"

"Show you?" Gwen asked, still unsure of what Flash was after. "Show you what?"

Flash rolled his eyes. "Come on, the others might be slow on the uptake, but I know. I know you two have superpowers."

Peter and Gwen's faces dropped, their color draining as panic set in.

"W-What do you mean?" Peter asked, his mind racing. What mistake could they have made for Flash to figure it out?

Flash grinned as he pulled out his phone and held it up to them.

Both Peter and Gwen quickly leaned forward, half-expecting to see an incriminating photo or video. But to their surprise, it was just a news article.

"Huh?!" they blurted out in unison, their faces scrunching up in irritation.

Flash grinned. "Duh, isn't this the place where you guys were doing your internship?" He puffed his chest out. "As a huge Spider-Man fan, I always check the Daily Bugle. But this time, I saw something different—a new superhero team."

He scrolled through his phone. "I kept reading and saw the name Baxter Building or whatever. It sounded familiar, so I asked around. The teachers told me that's where you two have been interning."

Flash gave them a smug look, his expression practically screaming I know all your secrets. "From what I read, those guys must've gotten their powers from some accident, which means… you two must've been affected too! I knew it! You two have superpowers now—I just know it!"

His eyes sparkled with excitement. "I wanna see! Don't worry, I'm great at keeping secrets! I won't tell anyone!"

Flash leaned forward eagerly. "So? What powers did you get? Super strength? Super speed? Telekinesis?"

Peter and Gwen stared at him in stunned silence before slowly turning to look at each other.

Then, their lips trembled.

And they burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Gwen clutched her stomach, wheezing as she leaned against Peter for support. Peter wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling.

Flash, now the one looking confused, furrowed his brows. "What's so funny?"

Peter placed a reassuring hand on Flash's shoulder. "Flash, buddy, I get why you might think Gwen and I have superpowers, but we weren't even near the accident when it happened."

Gwen let out a deep sigh, still catching her breath. "Yeah, we're minors and interns. We weren't even allowed anywhere near the accident site, let alone exposed to whatever caused it."

Flash's confident smirk wavered as he processed their words. Meanwhile, Peter and Gwen were still softly chuckling between themselves.

Peter then proceeded to scrunch up his face, biting the nail of his thumb. "Man, I'm so freaking jealous and pissed off. To think we were just a couple of rooms away from getting our own superpowers! Ugh! Just thinking about it hurts my chest."

Gwen nodded in agreement, crossing her arms. "Seriously. Talk about bad luck."

Flash blinked, still confused. "Wait... so you really don't have any superpowers?"

Peter sighed dramatically. "Flash, think about it. Like Gwen said, we're just interns. There are some things they wouldn't dare reveal to us, especially something that could give people superpowers." He shook his head with a look of lament. "If only we were a little closer..."

Flash scratched his head. He really thought he had them. But what Peter was saying… it actually made sense. "So you really don't have powers?" he asked again, his tone softer, laced with disappointment.

"Nope!" Peter answered shamelessly.

Gwen scoffed and playfully slapped Peter on the back. "Honestly, Flash, don't you know how much of a show-off Pete is? If he did get superpowers, there's no way he'd keep it to himself. He'd be rubbing it in everyone's face."

Flash let out a heavy sigh. "...Yeah, you have a point."

"Oi! Just what do you think of me?!" Peter said, sounding genuinely offended.

Flash just shook his head regretfully before turning to leave. "Sorry for bothering you guys… Man, I really thought I was about to meet some real-life superheroes."

His voice trailed off as he walked past the staircase doors and disappeared down the hall. His footsteps grew fainter and fainter—until finally, silence.

The moment he was gone, Peter and Gwen collapsed against the walls on opposite sides of the staircase, both clutching their chests.

"Holy shit," Peter exhaled, completely out of breath. "He almost gave me a heart attack."

"Same," Gwen sighed, rubbing her temple. "For a second, I really thought we were caught. I was this close—" she pinched her fingers together, "—to knocking him out and pressing the right pressure points to cause long-term memory loss."

Peter stared at her. "...That's terrifying."

Gwen shrugged. "We do what we have to."

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