21 Chapter 21: The Red Dawn

Life was fucking awesome. Spider-man was finally getting the good press he deserved. Since I was seen in public as an Avenger, people didn't even listen to what JJ said anymore.

BugleJJJ: Spider-man's actions in the city are nothing short of vigilantism!

I was going to respond, but then another man responded;

JKE_Ford: Tonight at 9 in the night I was held at gunpoint. Spider-man saved me. This 'vigilant' made sure I came back to my family tonight. Fuck you BugleJJJ.

And the best part? It was true, I had saved the man's life, it wasn't just a troll. The man had attached a picture of the arrest sheet the police issued on the mugger they arrested with the time and date!

And he wasn't the only. Every time someone came to call me out, people came out in the droves. They were like a tsunami, and the best part is they weren't trolls, they were real people, real honest to God people whose lives I touched in someway or another.

I had become a beacon for the people. 1.2 billion followers of Twitter wasn't something to scoff at, I literally had the ears of a billion people, the kind of power politicians killed for. But, I knew that with great power comes great responsibility.

I was on cloud nine, my life was perfect. I was a superhero who was actually appreciated, people actually had fan clubs of me! At work Sue and Reed were always asking my opinion on stuff, half the time I couldn't help, but I did what I could.

At home my aunt and uncle were happy I was finally coming out of my shell and into the real world. And unknown to them I was secretly paying off any new bill they got that was overdue. I had the bank simply state there was a filing error while I payed out my own salary.

The the summer break allowed me to become a hero full time. I swooped in and saved the day more times that I could count. Heck, I even had a favorite hot dog stand while in costume, and my constant patronship made the guy pretty famous for being, 'Spidey's favorite dog place'.

I interacted a lot more with people, stopping by and cracking jokes with old men in the park, sharing coffee with morning workers, challenging joggers for a race through Central Park, that kind of stuff.

I always took photos too, putting them on Insta, featuring my daily hero life for the whole world to see. I was kind of world famous now, each photo I post gaining nearly half a billion likes.

I was basically the hero of NY, after all Tony isn't here half the time and Cap is more like a national wide thing. Thor was...well, a God, Nat and Clint were spies, meaning I was the only one who gave the Avengers any public exposure. No pressure.

But it wasn't all just web swinging and games, I did spend a lot of time at the Baxter building as well. Reed and Sue has been pretty busy, him with inventing new toys and her with getting the patents and the keeping the cash flowing.

Johnny and I did what we could, but honestly, no one had a thing on Reed, that guy was a genius worthy of the name. Honestly though it was a little awkward, Sue and him weren't really...well, ever in a relationship.

Reed was trying, in his own way, but Sue just kept ignoring him. After some time the poor guy just gave up. I honestly didn't know when they were going to get married, but at this rate I don't see little Franklin coming around any time soon.

Good thing too, I have no interest in letting a little kid have the power to warp reality itself. Next thing I know I'll be stuck as a teenager forever! I mean seriously, I had just gotten my driving licence a few weeks ago, I don't need this shit!

But I did also have time for my own personal projects. More specifically my personal tech. I worked on the alien junk I stole from the alien invasion and began to research into it.

From the weapons I found a way to telepathically operate machinery. It really was ingenious, There was a metal plate with an unknown alloy that feed on the electricity in brain waves like a symbiote. It channeled people's brain waves and with a sensor on the other side any machine could track what was being eaten.

I used this tech in my arms, making them much more safe to use, no chance of them exploding, driving me crazy and fusing with my spine now. I really should have thought of that before I began using these things.

Sue was really excited when I brought her the telepathic metal. She knew immediately where I got it, but was impressed I managed to figure it out as quickly as I did. She already began the process of patenting it, when asked for a number I went with the obvious choice: Teletech Plate.

I also managed to analyse the metal they used for armour. It was a very unique alloy, the materials not found anywhere on Earth. But I did manage to decompose the metals a little, finding out just what made them tick.

I couldn't synthesis my own metal, not even close. But I did have the basis for a metallurgy formula which should create an element that rivals Wolverine's claws. If I could figure out what the missing ingredient was that is.

I then turned my attention to the alien's power source, a type of glowing stone that seemed to push out radiation like candy on halloween. It was the most radioactive element I knew, radioactive and still not too damaging to humans. Somehow the shell it was inside kept it from killing everything in sight. Only an external source of radiation could startle it, making it go boom!

I did manage to reverse engineer the tech, figuring out how it ticked. I was able to synthesis, with Reed's help of course, a way to make these battery cells. But unfortunately the result was disappointing. The rocks we produced gave out a quarter of the amount of energy an aline cell did.

Reed wasn't disappointed though, he was thrilled, he said he would keep working on this technology, it could mean the difference between humanity's extension or ascendance, or something in that light.

I also took a crack a what allowed them to levitate, though it seemed to somehow involve their glowing purple rocks which served as a power source and a levitation assistant. I couldn't really do much, it was after all alien tech I was dealing with, so for now I pushed them to the side.

Nat was relentless with my training, it seems Fury had made improving my fighting skills a number one priority. Training lasted for hours, one time it lasted a day as Nat wanted to see how long I could go without food or sleep, needless to say I impressed her with my stamina.

I did begin learning more of what it meant to be a spy. Nat finally decided it was time to teach me the delicate art of espionage. How to track someone without them knowing, how to spy on people and find out exactly what they didn't want you to know.

It was difficult work to be honest, I honestly didn't like it, but it had to be done. I needed to be ready, for anything and everything.

A few weeks after the alien invasion the city was finally starting to recover. I found myself having to go out as Spider-man less and less now, people finally started to get their shit together. And so I decided it was time I took on a new personal project.

I had decided if I had a freaking DeLorean in my garage it was best that I actually used it. But it would need some upgrades, luckily I knew just the man who could help me with it.

I called Johnny and told him I needed his help bringing my new ride up to date. He was more than happy to help. I drove the car to the Baxter building parking lot where he was waiting for me. The moment he saw the DeLorean his jaw dropped.

"What?!" he gawked. I stepped out and smiled, he turned to me, "what?!"

"Yeah, I know."

"How?!"

"It was my dad's," I shrugged, "my uncle gave it to me on my birthday. Figured it needed to be in the family. But it's honestly a piece of junk, think you can help me out?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You want me to help trick out a DeLorean?!" Johnny screamed.

"So...is that a no?"

"Yes! It's a freaking yes! A hundred times yes!" his eyes practically sparkled. We loaded the car up into an industry sized elevator they had installed for Ben. But when the lift opened up into the top floor we realised it was going to be difficult getting it into Johnny's lab.

"Hey rock head!" Johnny called out, "we need your help!"

"Don't call me that matchstick! Or next time-" Ben stopped as he stared at the car, "Johnny, why do you have a time machine in the lift?"

I grinned, "it's mine. I asked Johnny to help pimp it up for me. Think you can give us a lift?"

Ben nodded as he gently picked up the car and walked into Johnny's lab, tilting the car so that it could fit through the door.

Johnny had already cleared out the middle of his lab, arranging various tools and other pieces of tech around the car. Ben stepped aside and Johnny quickly pulled up the car's blueprints on his computer screen.

"The DeLorean, a sports car manufactured by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company for the American market from 1981–83," Jonny began, "The car features gullwing doors and an fiberglass body structure with a steel chassis, external stainless steel body panels. It became widely known and iconic for its appearance, and it was modified to represent the concept of a time machine in the Back to the Future media franchise."

"But it was a piece of junk," Ben recalled, "it kept breaking down all the time. People hated it, the only reason it's so popular is because of the Back to the Future movies."

"Yeah, who doesn't want a time machine," Johnny nodded as he looked at the car, "I'll be honest Pete, I don't really know what I can do. I mean, it's engine is shit, the gearbox even more so. The chassis is basically paper mache, and the design, while iconic, isn't exactly aerodynamic. I can see the places where you dad made some changes, the back seats are a nice touch, but it honestly isn't worth buying new parts."

"I know Johnny," I smiled as I pulled out my personal SA and displayed a diagram, "I was hoping we could maybe strip the insides and build it anew, with this."

Johnny took me SA and looked it over. His eyes slowly widening as he began to recognize what it was, "dude! How?!"

"Just something I thought off," I shrugged, "it's a new type of electrical engine that runs on my version of the arc reactor. We can get rid of the engine and the gear box, basically bringing the old time machine into the 21st century."

"Dude...this is going to take days," Johnny looked over the diagram I sketched out.

I smiled, "I'm not hearing a no."

Johnny grinned, "I'm in."

"So am I," Ben nodded.

"You? What the hell are you going to do Rocky? Sit on it?" Johnny scoffed.

"What it flame brain, or I'll toast you," Ben growled, "and for your information, cars just happen to be something I'm good at. I did help Reed build his first engine you know."

"Wait, then how come you and Johnny never work together?" I asked curiously.

Ben shrugged, "kid's more into the 21st century stuff. I specialise in the old fashioned stuff."

Johnny sighed, "fine, but I swear to God, if you accidentally sit on it or something I will burn your rocks off! Got it!"

Ben nodded, "hey, if you're going to get my rocks off I can't complain," I snorted but held back my laughter.

"Good! Now...wait a minute," Johnny narrowed his eyes as I burst out laughing, "that's not funny!" Ben and I laughed hard.

We got to work on the car. Johnny had a hundred different ideas he wanted to use, but Ben and I held him back. I so did not want my car shooting out fire, this was supposed to be Peter Parker's car, not Spider-man's. And even then I don't that would be a good choice.

I called up SHIELD's resource management team and had them send over all the parts we would need. I signed it off as a business expense, bwahahahahaha!

We first replaced the engine, petrol was a thing of the past and caused way too much pollution. We replaced it with the electricity engine I designed and Johnny helped build. The engine was so small it took up a quarter of what the petrol engine used, giving us the front to use as trunk space.

The engine was powered by an arc reactor in the center of it, making sure the car wouldn't run out of power in the next hundred years or so. Excessive? Sure, but totally awesome.

We redid the interior as well, putting in ergonomic seats, giving up plenty of legroom for those in the back and front. The seats were red and black, sort of sticking with the Spiderman theme here. The flimsy stainless steel body panels were replaced with a steel and titanium alloy. Never know when an supervillain will attack, could be useful.

Ben decided the gearbox was pointless, and since it ket breaking down it wouldn't be much use. So instead we converted the car into a automatic, made it much easier to drive.

Johnny then went a little crazy, we couldn't really stop him at this point. We said no to so many of his other request we kind of felt bad to be honest. Plus he kept giving me a puppy dog look, which was more disturbing than cute.

Johnny went to town on the car, he changed the suspension, put in a set of tires which he designed that would never puncture, made the windshield and windows out of bullet proof glass.

The doors opened upwards and we decided to keep them just the way they were. After a couple of more minor additions and adjustments Johnny's part was finished. He smiled, kept going on and on about how I should let him borrow it to pick up chicks.

I then began to work on the interior. I changed the entire dashboard, replacing it with smooth mahogany wood. I installed a HUD below the AC which was basically a miniature computer that regulated the car's engine and monitor all other functions.

I then decided to splurge a little and put in a kick ass music system as well. When we turned it on for the first time on max volume Sue had heard it all the way from her room. Needless to say she was pissed we woke her up.

"Hey Pete," Johnny asked me as I helped in put in the sound system.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about this?" Johnny showed me a blueprint. I blinked as I examined it.

"Dude..."

"I know, but listen-"

"-Dude!"

"Come on! It'll be so cool!"

"...Dude?"

"The energy output will be more than enough, come on Pete, don't tell you haven't even thought off using it!"

I sighed before smiling and nodded, "dude."

We then got to work. We put in four repulsors on the bottom of the car near the wheels and one large one near the back that was designed to look like a spare tire holder. Ben kept asking what we were making, but we refused to tell him. Honestly though, I'm surprised he couldn't guess it.

And finally, it was done. We stepped back and admired it. The car had gotten a complete overhaul, but I decided to keep the outwards grey colour, with neon blue timmings running down the side that glowed when I turned on the headlights.

It looked like it could be a real time machine. I smirked, "this is so cool!"

"Damn right," Ben nodded, "want to go for a drive?"

"Hell yeah!" Johnny cried out.

Ben helped us get it into the industrial lift and take it down to the parking lot. I smiled as I took out the keys and put it into the ignition, pressing my thumbprint on the middle of the wheel, allowing the scanner to scan my thumb print.

"Welcome Peter," a robotic voice from the HUD called out.

Johnny grinned, "so it recognizes you."

I nodded, "yup. Alright you two, get in."

Johnny had to sit in the back while Ben sat forward, pushing his seat back all the way. The car began to topple towards his side, when suddenly the online system activated and the suspension began to work overtime to compensate for the weight.

"Warning, weight anomaly detected. Compensating now. Speed limited to 50 miles per hour," the robot voice called out.

"Thanks Doc," I smiled.

"Serious? You named the car's AI Doc?" Johnny rolled his eyes.

"Hey, it fits," Ben shrugged, "now come on! I want to see what this thing can do!"

I nodded as I put it into drive and pulled out of the basement into the open New York road. The traffic was not bad today, though we did end up stopping a few times. People looked at us, I didn't really mind, it was a well known fact Peter Parker worked with the FF, let them gawk.

"Hey Doc, put some rock and roll would you?" Johnny called out as he put on his shades. The music coming roaring out as he stretched and sighed, "yeah, this is the life."

I rolled my eyes as I pulled onto the bridge heading into Queens, the drive was now a lot faster. I could feel the wind going through my hair as I drove carefully across the giant metal bridge. And then on the other side I took a 'U' turn and headed straight back to the Baxter building.

As we drove back Johnny turned to me and grinned, "hey, want to use it?" he tapped the hand brake button gently, flipping it up to reveal a red button inside.

I grinned. Ben looked over in surprise, "what's that?"

"Oh nothing, just a little surprise we made," I grinned pressing the red button and suddenly the car started to hum.

"Flight mode engaged," the AI system stated, suddenly the car started to move upwards into the air.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ben cried out as the repulsors under the car kicked in, sending us flying up.

"Come on Ben! Like a little!" I laughed as I pressed on the accelerator, kicking the giant repulsor behind the car into overdrive, shooting us off the bridge and into the sky. I steer the steering wheel to pilot the car, grinning like a madman.

"Hey Pete, want to race?!" Johnny asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"You're on!" I yelled. He opened the door and jumped out, flailing on in mid air as he took off, me following closely behind. We stayed out of the city, mostly flying above the East River. I grinned, this was amazing!

It was a great first drive.

Sue was pissed though. By the end of the day everyone in the city was claiming the FF had a flying car and Sue was getting calls all over the city from investors. She yelled at Johnny and me for like a hour before making me give her the blueprint for the engine I designed, she hoped this would make people less...jumpy.

Reed on the other hand loved my car design, he even got a new idea to make something similar. He dubbed it his summer side project and I got a feeling I knew what it was.

Johnny and Ben insisted on making a few more adjustments and more importantly getting the car registered with the state, it was after all heavily customized. We did avoid mentioning it being able to fly, leave a little something for ourselves.

By the end of the July I drove my new, improved and road legal DeLorean back home. When May saw it she nearly fainted. Kidding...kind off.

"Peter, how did you pay for all of this?!" Ben asked in horror.

"The FF had a lot of funds left over and a lot of toys that they didn't use. I just got Johnny and Ben to help me throw in some old scrap they had lying around, it's really not that big a deal, it looks way more expensive that it is," I lied easily. I should be worried I'm getting so good at this but...well, I am supposed to be a superhero. Lying comes with the job.

In the end they clamped down, Ben insisted I drive him around for a while. I should him all the new features and needless to say he was impressed. When I finished showing my aunt and uncle the car I figured the next best person would be my girlfriend.

I pulled up to her apartment and called her, telling her to come down. She did, wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. She looked at me and the car and raised an amused eyebrow, "so, you finally went full nerd huh?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I've always been full nerd," I chuckled. I opened the car door and motioned for it, "want to go for a spin?"

Felicia smiled, "sure, why not. It's not going to like, stop half way right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Felicia, you insult me."

I took her around town for a bit, showing off all the cool new features. After a while Liz called her wanting to hang out, it was the perfect opportunity for me to show off the car, so Felicia told her we would be coming right away.

We pulled up to Liz's house and she practically ran out the door, "come on daddy! You have got to see this!"

"Oh what now Liz," an older man came walking out and stopped in his tracks seeing the DeLorean. I walked out and leaned on the hood of the car waving at Liz.

"Hey Liz, how's the summer?" I asked.

"You totally tricked this thing out!" Liz's father cried out before she even had a chance to answer, "what did you do to it?!"

It took me all afternoon to satisfy the man's curiosity. He was so excited, he insisted I let him drive it. I was reluctant, but after Liz begged me to let him, I agreed. He was like a kid of Disney World.

Later that night I showed the car to MJ and she was pissed she was the last one I showed. So in return I took her and the others out for dinner in a street shop in town.

As we ate our chilly dogs MJ gushed, "it's so spicy."

"I keep telling you not to eat it all at once," I rolled my eyes.

"The trick is limitations MJ," Felicia replied, "don't just swallow."

I snorted, "yeah, don't swallow. I don't usually say that though."

Felicia turned red as she smacked me up the head, "watch it!" I laughed as MJ and Liz tried to ignore the obvious perverse meaning.

"So," Liz called out, "you know who would have loved this thing?" she tapped the car's hood, "Jean."

MJ sighed, "yeah. How is she anyway?"

"From what I hear she's doing fine," Felicia shrugged, "kind of lonely though. It's only here, those adults we met and this Scott guy. She says they'll get more students soon, but she doesn't really know when."

I nodded munching on my chilly dog, "maybe we should visit her."

MJ blinked, "what?"

"What? Why not? It's what? A two hour drive from here? We can be there and back within a day if we want."

"Peter that's brilliant!" Liz cried out, "we should totally surprise her! This Saturday, what do you guys think?!"

MJ and Felicia didn't really seem to mind and I was the one who suggested, so we were all in agral. Getting permission from Ben and May was a little difficult, mostly because May didn't like the idea I could be so independent at such a young age, but Ben did convince her otherwise.

I did want to visit Jean, I didn't lie. But I also wanted to keep an eye on Xavier and see what he's doing. I don't trust the man, never did, and no, Patrick Stewart's amazing acting isn't going to convince me otherwise.

On Saturday we all meet up at my place at around 6 in the morning. I had packed up some clothes, in case of a Spider-man emergency, and lots food. MJ was the first to arrives, she came with her own bag of stuff and walked up to the car currently parked out on the driveway.

"Morning Red," I called out as I stretched the kinks out of my body.

"Morning Tiger," MJ put her stuff in the front, which we now used as a boot.

I got into the driver's seat and MJ sat besides me. We drove to pick up Liz and then Felicia. When Kitten arrived she insisted on sitting shotgun, but MJ just flipped her off saying she called shotgun. Felicia didn't like it, but she didn't really mind.

I drove out of the city, the morning traffic barely there to slow us down. Once we hit the highway the DeLorean sailed smoothly down the clear highway with music playing in the back.

"You know, you really should name this thing," Felicia said from behind.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, don't all the best cars have names?" Felicia asked.

"Well, I mean it's the DeLorean, what other name do you need?" Liz asked.

"How about….Dorothy?" MJ suggested.

"Something from this century please," Felicia rolled her eyes.

"Well it already has a name," I told them, "isn't that right Doc?"

"That is correct Peter," came my car's electronic voice.

"Woah!" MJ looked at the HUD, "you're car can talk!"

"Can you trick out my car Pete?" Liz asked.

I chuckled, "not sure, I used SHIELD assets to build this and wrote it off as a business expense." Liz pouted, but understood.

It was a nice two hour drive, we chatted, listened to the music, just relaxed to the smooth running engine of Doc. Finally we arrived at the gates of the Xavier mansion. I drove up to the gate and pressed the intercom.

"Hello," I called out, "anyone there?"

"Who is-Peter?"

I waved at the camera, "hello Logan. What's up?"

"What are you doing here bub?"

"We," I moved aside showing the other girls, "came to see our friend. Open up claws, please."

I heard him sigh and press a button, opening the gates, "I'll send her down."

"Thanks," I called out as we drove in. The mansion was huge, I could see it even from here. The driveway was long too, you could fit my entire house in here with much more room to spare.

"This is where Jean's studying?" Liz whistled as she looked around at the fancy marble statues and the rose gardens, "no wonder she's getting used to it."

I chuckled as we drove up to the main entrance and I parked the car to the side. We got out of the car just as the doors to the mansion were thrown open and Jean came running out.

"Guys!" she cried out.

"Jean!" Liz cried out as she swooped the redhead into a hug, "oh my god I missed you!"

"And I missed you," Jean cried out, she quickly hugged the rest of the girls before turning to me, blushing just a little bit, "hey Peter."

I nodded, "Jean, you're looking well." She really was. She had grown to around 5 feet 9 inches, her frame became thinner and she had finally started letting her hair grow as it now reached the middle of her back, "Are they treating you right?"

"Oh stop it, it's not so bad once you get to know them," she hugged me, whispering into my ear, "I really did miss you and Felicia a lot."

I blushed as we broke the hug, "y-yeah." I turned to Felicia, she was blushing a little too, damn Jean works fast.

"So Jean, show us around!" Liz said as she grabbed Jean's arm.

"Okay Liz, just give me a moment," Jean chuckled as we all walked into the mansion She opened the door revealing the amazing interior.

"Woah," MJ said looking around, "it's amazing."

"How many rooms are there?" Felicia asked.

Jean shrugged, "I don't know. About a hundred I think."

I looked around, the place was pretty cool, I'll admit. But what I really was interested in was the Danger Room, but I guess I can't just ask her to show me that...wait…could I?...Neah.

"So Jean, what has Baldy been teaching you?" I asked as the girl showed us around.

"I really wish you would stop calling him that. He really is sad about what he did."

"You do remember what I told you right?" I asked raising an eyebrow, "he's a man with the power to brainwash people, around him anything you feel should be taken with a grain of salt."

"Come on Peter, you're being paranoid," Jean rolled her eyes.

"Which is exactly what someone who was brainwashed would think," Felicia said with a chuckle.

I narrowed my eyes, "whatever, either way I've made sure he won't be able to read our minds this time."

Jean blinked, "what? How?"

I pointed at my ear showing a black circle looped around the lobe, "it's a more advanced version of the helmet I made for you to keep your powers at bay. I made one for the girls as well."

Felicia tapped a similar pair of earrings she had while Jean and Liz pointed at the hair bands they wore.

"So that's why I couldn't feel you guys," Jean said in wonder.

"Feel us? Do you mean you tried to read our minds?" Felicia asked cautiously.

"No, not like that. It's like a psychic's version of sight, I couldn't feel your presence, it was like you just weren't there."

I hummed, "sound's interesting, learning a lot from the old man?"

"Oh yes, he' shown me a lot Pete and-"

"-Jean? Who's this?" a new voice called out.

We all looked up to see a young man in a blue sweater vest and khaki slacks walked down the stairs towards us. He had brown hair and wore red coolers that covered his eyes completely. I recognized him immediately, Scott Summers.

"Scott, these are my friends, the ones from Midtown high?" Jean smiled, "guys, this is Scott, he's another student."

"Cool, so you're a mutant too?" Liz asked excitedly.

MJ groaned, "for god's sake Liz you can't just ask someone if they're a mutant!"

Scott blinked, "they know?"

"Of course they do silly," Jean giggled, "you're a student at a mutant school, they aren't stupid."

I smiled and walked forward extending my hand, "Peter Parker, pleasure to meet you."

Scott blinked before shaking my hand, "Scott Summer."

"So Scott, what can you do?" I asked.

"Ah, that's kind of personal?" he looked nervous.

I nodded, "I understand. Anyway, think you can give me and the girls a tour of this place?"

Scott shrugged, he and Jean walked in front of us as they took us all over the hundred plus room sized mansion. I'll admit, Xavier has style. The place was classy yet not in the snobbish sort of sense.

Each room was decorated like it was meant for a VIP, there were several classrooms in the ground floor, though they weren't currently in use. And the library looked like it could rival that of any fancy prep school.

"And this is the garden," Jean took us outside to the back, showing the large garden. There was a pool near the side and a basketball court. There were rose bushes and what looked to be a maze near the back.

"Ah, I see you all have arrived to see Jean," I heard a familiar voice. We turned to see Xavier coming out of the bushes, being pushed by Ororo. He smiled at us and nodded, "it is good to know Jean's friend's haven't forgotten about her."

"We haven't forgotten about you either Xavier," I tapped my mental protection, "don't even think about it."

Xavier sighed, "Peter, I am truly sorry for what I did, but you must understand, I did it to prevent you from being a killer."

"He came to my friend's house and threatened to kill her. As far as I'm concerned he was a corpse the moment he thought he could get away with something so horrible."

"Peter," Jean put a gentle arm on my shoulder, "please."

I sighed, "sorry," I turned to Xavier and took a deep breath and let it out, "you have an amazing place, Makes me want to join."

Xavier smiled, "you are always welcome Peter, from what Jean tells me, you are more than qualified to teach a few subjects."

Felicia rolled her eyes, "I'm sure that's not all she tells you."

"Hey, I don't just talk about Peter! You guys are my friends too!" Jean cried out.

"I'm sure," MJ and Liz giggled, making the other redhead blush red.

"Are you kidding, she won't shut up about you guys," Scott smiled, "she told me how you guys tried playing superhero?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it, it was kind of a dumb move," Liz grumbled.

"Told you," I sang out.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to rub it in," Liz huffed.

"Still, the costume you made was really inspiring," Xavier commented, "I've had something similar designed for Jean."

I raised an eyebrow, "costume? For what?"

"You said it yourself Peter, we need to show that mutants aren't a threat, that we can work with humanity," Xavier motioned for me to follow as he, Ororo and I walked into the grass maze.

I sighed, I turned to the girls, "I'll be back." They didn't really say much, though Felicia gave me a warning gaze, I swear sometimes she worries too much.

Scott watched Peter leave and forced folding his arms, "why did the professor call him out?"

"He probably wanted to talk to him in private," MJ shrugged.

Scott huffed, "what's so special about Peter Parker?"

Felicia smiled, "everything."

I didn't like it, me, him, alone...well, not alone, his bodyguard that should shoot lighting out of her butt was with us, which really wasn't looking good for me.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked him as we walked through the maze.

"I have...I have been thinking about what you said," Xavier explained.

"Oh? Which part?"

"The part where….I abused my powers."

"I see," I didn't push him, though I really wish I did, "and?"

"You said how there was no difference between Erik and I, how he would use his powers to hurt others and...I would use mine to get what I want, regardless of people's free will."

I nodded, "yes, and?" We came to the center of the maze was a water fountain waited for us.

"I wanted to apologize, I understand you don't trust me, I do. But I don't regret doing my actions."

I took a deep breath and let it out. "I get it, I do...you're not human, you're a different breed altogether. What seems natural to you is...different for us. I don't pity the way Jean will have to adapt herself into our lives."

Xavier nodded, "I'm glad you understand."

"Was there anything else?"

Xavier smiled, "yes, I was going to offer you a tutoring position in my school, maybe something during the weekends. But since your recent outing as an...Avenger, I wager your time is very tight at the moment."

I shrugged, "it's honestly not a big thing, we don't' actually have like daily meetings or the like...hey, would you like to join?"

Xavier blinked, "me?"

I shrugged, "I don't see why not. You're a pretty smart guy, and your heart is in the right place," I turned to Ororo, "you too Storm, I mean, we already have a thunder god, but we could always use a thunder goddess."

Ororo smiled, "you are quite the charmer Peter, thank you, but I believe my time will be better suited here."

I nodded, turning to Xavier, "and you?"

Xavier looked thoughtful, "I'll admit...it's an appealing thought. I doubt I could help stop a war like you did."

"I wouldn't need you for that," I told him, "we need more members. I don't think Strak would care to admit this, but we were so close to losing that battle. Next time though, and believe me, there will be a next time, I don't want it let up to chance. Can I count on your team to help if the time comes?"

Xavier nodded, "it would be my pleasure. Seeing mutants working together with Earth's mightiest protectors would do well for our cause."

"I figured."

"Tell me, was this the real reason you came?" Xavier smiled.

I chuckled, "no, just a very nice bonus. I really did miss Jean, plus I just got a car, figured we could do a nice long road trip."

"Well, then let me not keep you," Xavier nodded. I quickly walked out of the maze, waving at them over my shoulder.

Xavier looked up to Ororo, "what is your opinion of him?"

"He's….smart, but also very complex," Ororo looked at Peter's retreating form with curious eyes, "I don't doubt his dedication to his friends, but his anger...it could be his downfall."

Xavier sighed, "yes, I'm afraid it could be."

I walked back to the others and found Scott and Jean playing basketball with the girls. I stood by the side and smiled, watching the two mutants beat the three, Felicia was the only one having any success, scoring a point of every two the others score.

"Hey, you joining?" Scott asked just as his scored a three pointer.

I shrugged, "it wouldn't be fair."

"To who?" Scott chuckled.

"To you," I replied.

"You think you can take us on?" Scott chuckled.

"Oh he can," Jean said bouncing the ball, "he's really agile."

"Really?" Scott raised an eyebrow, "alright then, let's go, you and me, one on one."

I smiled, "you really don't want to do that Scott."

"Confident are you?"

"No, just really, really sure on what I can do."

"Alright, how about a bet?" Scott smiled, "if I win, I get to take your DeLorean for a spin."

I smirked, "fine, and if I win, you have to tell me what you can do. Deal?"

Scott tossed me the ball, "deal."

I took off my jacket and walked into the court. "Great, we get some entertainment," MJ smiled as the girls sat down next to the court.

I stood before Scott checking the ball once, "you sure you want to do this?"

Scott checked it back, "hell yeah."

I grinned, "sucker."

Five minutes later….

"And the king of Xavier's school for mutants basketball court is Peter Parker!" I cried out, dunking my fifth basket in a row. I landed on my feet and grinned at a slack jawed Scott.

"HOW?!" he yelled.

I smiled, "I'm really agile."

"Come on you two, it's time for lunch!" Jean called out as she and the girls made their way inside.

"Coming," I called out, putting my hand on Scott's shoulder, guiding him inside, "so, since I won, what can you do?"

Scott sighed, "it's ah, it's complicated. I can sort off….blow things up."

I grinned, "cool."

We ate lunch with the other in one of the cleanest kitchen I have ever seen. We all sat around one table big enough for twelve, the girls were quickly catching up while Scott and I discussed his powers.

"So, it's like a beam of concussive force? Not heat?" I asked a little surprised.

Scott nodded, "yeah, that's what the professor said. He said my powers came from inside my eyes, but he doesn't really know where."

I hummed, in my Earth there was this theory that Scott's powers came from another dimension, so maybe it was like Johnny's powers, able to absorb them from another dimension and then channel it into our own through a form of energy.

"Close your eyes," I told him.

Scott looked surprised, "what?"

"I want to see how your eyelids look with your eyes closed, close them," I repeated myself. He did so and I took off his glasses. I was glowing red energy just below the surface of his eyelids, they somehow didn't tear his eyelids off.

"Are you done?" Scott asked a little impatiently.

"Yeah," I put his glasses back on and saw his eyes open up from behind the red shades. "So, I think I have a theory on how your powers work."

Scott blinked, "what?"

I nodded, "I know someone who has similar powers. His powers come from another dimension, a plane of existence that his body can somehow at will, call upon. I think your body works the same way. And this energy is somehow a part of your body, that's why your eyelids aren't being ripped apart. I would wager your fingers or any other part of your body would also be immune to your powers. Maybe they are somehow absorbing the energy back into your body and channeling it inside you...but I can't be too sure."

Scott gaped, "how do you know that?!"

I shrugged, "didn't Jean tell you? I'm a genius."

We spent the rest of the day with Scott and Jean, just walking around, looking at the mansion. Scott and I talked about cars, though I wasn't a fanatic like him, I did learn a little from spending so much time with Johnny and Ben working on my car that I could share a few conversations with the man.

By around late afternoon we had to leave. Scott, Jean, Xavier, Ororo and Logan meet us at the front to see us off.

"I can't believe you drive that," Scott said whistling at the sight of my car.

I smiled, "yeah, I call him Doc."

"Creative," Logan smirked.

"I missed you all so much," Jean said as she leaned in giving us all a big hug. When it was my turn she placed a small kiss on my cheek, before removing my psychic dampers. I looked surprised and was about ask why when I heard her voice in my head;

"Next time, have it be Felicia and you, alone. We three can spend some time, together." Jean smiled as she put the earpieces back on my ears, leaving me blushing red.

"Thanks so much for having us professor," MJ said politely, "you really have an amazing place."

"Yeah, glad to see our little Jeany's being taken care off," Liz nodded.

"You are welcome," Xavier nodded, "and please feel free to come and visit any time you wish. Our doors are always open for friends."

"Though next time you better call," Logan growled.

I blinked, "oh wait, that reminds me!" I quickly opened the front and looked through my bag, pulling out my history textbook. I walked up to Logan and opened to the page about world war 2, "here, can you sign this for me?"

Logan and the others looked surprised when I handed him the book. "What are you going on about bub?" Logan asked.

"This," I tapped the photo off Captain America and James Howlett, also know as a Wolverine, I had found the photo a long time ago, it was actually when I realised mutants were a thing in this world, I didn't realise it then but this would be a perfect to tell Logan about his past, without giving away anything, "that is you right? I talked to Cap about it and he told me how cool it was to serve with you. By the way, do you mind me telling him about you? Steve would love to hear about you, between us, the guy's kind of lonely."

Logan's eyes went wide as he stared at the picture, "t-this is me?"

The other mutants looked at the picture, each gasping.

"My God," Xavier gasped.

"Why didn't' I ever notice this!" Jean cried out.

I shrugged, "I'm just more observant."

"Peter, I don't think you understand what you just did. Logan here...I mean, James here has amnesia, he has no idea who he was and now..." Xavier trialed off.

"And now I do," Logan turned the pages trying to find more information about himself but failing too, "dammit! This thing is useless!"

"Calm down Logan, this in itself is a huge step forward, we'll find more, now that we actually know where to start," Xavier assured him.

"I guess," Logan threw the book to me, "tell Rogers I want to talk to him," he growled before slowly looking gloomy, "and kid...thanks."

I blinked, "ah...you're welcome?" I must have been an oscar worthy performance because they totally bought it.

Soon the girls and I were back in my car driving home. This time Felicia was in the front with MJ and Liz asleep in the back. We didn't really talk much, though my head was filled with thoughts and ideas.

There's been something I've been avoiding for sometime now, ever since Ben mentioned my dad had a storage space Downtown where he kept this car along with his other stuff...well, I've been curious. Just what was in there? Could it give me a clue as to what Richard did to Peter's book?

Whatever it is, it's time I take a look into that storage space. But something inside me told me that this would be the start of something, really, really dangerous. Sigh, fucking comicbooks.