Chapter 170

[Third Person's PoV] 

As they flew on the Weaver, Betty turned towards the Hulk, who was simply sitting on the floor with his hands resting on his knees.

"Uh, Hulk… Can I talk to Bruce for a moment, please?" Betty asked, carefully wording her question so as not to upset him.

"There is no need for puny Banner. Hulk is all that matters," he scoffed.

Betty placed her hands gently on his large ones. "Please," she said, giving him a pleading look.

Hulk wanted to refuse again, but he faltered at her earnest gaze. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he let out a grumble, "Fine… Hulk shall retreat for now. Just because Hulk's friend asked."

"Thank you," Betty said graciously.

The Hulk grumbled some more before he began to shrink, his anger long since passed, leaving him stubbornly clinging to control. It wasn't long before Bruce sat where the Hulk had been, shirtless, with pants comically too oversized for him. His eyes were foggy, still disoriented from the transformation.

To his surprise, he was tackled to the ground as Betty wrapped her arms around him. "Bruce!!" she shouted, tears in her eyes.

"Huh? Betty? Where are we?"

"Greetings, earthlings," Spider-Man said, walking towards Bruce with the Spock hand sign, mimicking an alien's voice. "You are in our mothership, where we have decided to take you to our home planet, Arachnia, for further investigation."

Nightwing and the others had to turn away to stop themselves from laughing. Even Betty had an amused expression, while Bruce looked shocked. "Wha–Are you serious?"

"Nah, man, I'm just messing with you. You should've seen your face," Spider-Man said, lowering his hands and speaking normally.

Bruce let out a sigh of relief, while Betty giggled in amusement.

"Arachnia? That's absolutely brilliant. How did you even come up with that?" Spider-Kat asked, laughing.

"It was literally on the fly," Spider-Man smirked.

"I still don't understand what's going on," Bruce said awkwardly, looking at Betty.

Betty didn't answer. She simply grabbed his face and kissed him deeply.

"Oh?" Spider-Man said, covering his mask's eyes and turning around. "We'll give you guys some privacy."

When Betty let go, Bruce just sat there, stunned, not knowing how to react. Betty returned to hugging him. "Oh, Bruce, I'm so glad you're alright."

"Yeah… don't worry, I'm fine," Bruce reassured her, then turned towards Spider-Man and the others. "Now, for real, what is going on?"

"Well, the Hulk and I became really good friends, and he agreed to join us. We were hoping to help you out with your problem."

"Help me out? Help me out how? Because trust me, I've tried everything in my power to get rid of this thing, and nothing's worked. The last 'help' I got involved someone experimenting with my blood and creating another version of my problem. So forgive me if I'm not very receptive to what you have to offer," Bruce said, a bit suspiciously.

"Bruce, you can trust them," Betty said, trying to reassure him.

"What? Why should I? I don't even know them," Bruce replied, looking at Betty in confusion.

"Because they're heroes. Helping people is what they do. They want to help you, too."

"Heroes? Seriously? Is that why they're wearing ridiculous outfits?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oi!" Spider-Man exclaimed, offended.

"Not cool, dude," Nightwing said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"We should throw you off this jet for your words alone," Spider-Kat scoffed, glaring at him.

"I thought we looked nice, though…" Scarlet-Spider mumbled, looking herself over.

"Bruce, don't be mean. They're good people trying to help you," Betty said, giving him a disapproving look.

Bruce sighed. "Look, I'm sure you mean well, but even the military is supposed to be the good guys who help, and look how that turned out. So if I come off a little hostile, it's because I can't be sure what your objectives are. At least with the military, I know what they're after. But you guys? Nada. I don't know who you guys are, your objectives, and what you benefit from helping me out. I'm sorry but I simply can not trust" 

They all remained silent, understanding where Bruce was coming from, he had been hurt too many times and had lost faith in people's goodwill. Spider-Man nodded towards Bruce, "I understand…"

Spider-Man walked up to Bruce, sat down in front of him, crossed his legs. He reached up, took off his mask, and revealed his face to Bruce.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" The others shouted in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Betty's eyes widened, as did Bruce's. "You… How old are you?" Bruce asked, taken aback by how young Peter looked.

"My name is Peter Parker. I'm 15 years old. And Bruce Banner, I want to help you," Peter said, looking straight into Bruce's eyes with a serious expression.

Everyone in the jet stood in stunned silence. Betty had her hands over her head. "You're telling me New York's most famous and popular hero is literally a child?!"

"Peter… What are you doing? Are you sure about this?" Ghost-Spider asked in a serious tone, knowing how much Peter valued keeping his identity secret, and all the trouble he went through so no one would know. 

"Yeah, Bruce wouldn't have accepted our help any other way. To gain his trust, I threw all my cards on the table." Peter nodded confidently, without a hint of regret.

"Why… Why do you want to help me so much?" Bruce asked, surprised. 

"Have you ever heard the term *Noblesse Oblige*?"

"Are you serious?" Bruce asked, recognizing the term, knowing what it meant and what it entailed.  

Peter nodded. "When I took on the mantle of a hero and started parading myself as such, it became my duty and responsibility to help everyone I see suffering in front of me… to help those in need who can't help themselves. And Bruce Banner, when I look into your eyes, all I see is a man who knows nothing but suffering. So it's my responsibility and duty to help you."

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle. "So you want to help me because it's your responsibility, huh…" Bruce couldn't help but find it admiral that a kid had such a deep sense of responsibility. 

Peter turned toward the others and gave an awkward smile. "Sorry for being selfish, guys…"

Nightwing didn't hesitate as he reached for his mask and took it off. "Nah, we all signed up for this when we decided to be heroes. *Noblesse Oblige,* right? Then it's my duty as well. If this is the only way, who am I to judge?"

Betty was taken aback again, seeing Harry's face. She looked around the room and, with a serious expression, asked, "Are every single one of you just teenagers?"

They all sighed and reached for their masks, removing them as well, following Peter's and Harry's example.

"This is insane," Betty said, looking at them with a serious expression, her voice trembling with emotion. "You are all children. You shouldn't be going through this. You should be spending your childhood having fun, not worrying about responsibilities… not… not worrying about saving the life of another or putting your own lives at risk."

The room fell silent, the weight of Betty's words sinking in. Each of them understood the gravity of what she was saying, but they also knew they couldn't turn away from the path they had chosen.

"Okay, so how do you expect to help me?" Bruce asked, seeing how serious Peter was. He had just exposed his identity, something they clearly valued greatly, so the least he could do was hear him out.

"Ah, actually, could that wait?" Spider-Man asked.

Bruce looked at him in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

"We're now over Harlem, where the fight officially began. We made quite a mess of the place, and we need to clean it up. I hope you don't mind waiting," Peter said awkwardly, grabbing his helmet.

"Actually, can you do me a favor? At the college, there's a room filled with my blood. Can you destroy it so it doesn't get into the wrong hands?" Bruce asked, to which Peter nodded.

The others put their masks back on as the hatch opened, and they all rushed out to the destroyed city block.

Betty and Bruce were left alone in the jet. Betty sighed as she leaned back against the wall next to where Bruce was sitting.

"You seem really affected by the fact that they're children…" Bruce said, not knowing any other way to start a conversation.

"That's because you don't know who they are, Bruce. You've been in hiding, so you aren't aware of what they've done for the city. Especially Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider—the girl in the white spider costume," Betty clarified.

"They're good people who've helped everyone they could. People love them and look up to them. Even though they receive some hate for what they do, they don't let it stop them."

"It sounds like you look up to them…" Bruce said curiously.

"That's because I did… Honestly, finding out they're just kids doing what they believe is right makes me admire them even more. To choose the life they have takes a lot of courage. Their identities have always remained a mystery, so for them to reveal themselves to you just because they want to help you is something you should really appreciate," Betty sighed.

"Just how much did I miss by being away and in hiding?" Bruce asked awkwardly.

Betty smiled and nudged him. "Don't worry, I'll fill you in on everything you've missed."

"Aren't I lucky…" Bruce smirked.

"Please don't have intercourse in the vehicle."

The sudden voice caused them to jump and look around cautiously. "Uh, hello?" Betty called out, as it was a voice she hadn't heard before.

"Hello to you too, Ms. Betty Ross, and Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Wait, are you this ship's A.I.?" Bruce asked, as that seemed the most logical explanation for the sudden voice.

"An observant one, aren't you? Guilty as charged. The name is Arachnid… you may refer to me as Aria," she said proudly, appearing as a holographic projection.

"Aww, you look so adorable, and what can we do for you?" Betty said, looking at Aria, who appeared in her own hero costume.

"I've come to give you a warning," Aria said, her voice turning serious. "Father is way too trusting sometimes, and I believe what he just did was very reckless. I'm here to warn you not to even think of betraying the trust he has put in you both by revealing his identity—or there will be consequences to be paid."

Although they knew they should be taking her seriously with the threats she was making, they couldn't help but find it difficult due to how cute she appeared and sounded.

Bruce was mostly surprised. "You seem like a sophisticated A.I. You have feelings, emotions, and act independently from your creator, who I'm guessing is Peter Parker, as you referred to him as 'Father.'"

Aria put a hand on her hips. "But of course! My father is a genius; he was able to make someone as great as I am," she said, puffing her chest out and lifting her chin high.

'Seeing how loyal she is to her creator, I guess we don't have to worry about her going rogue. Not that it really matters. But it does mean that this Peter Parker is an intelligent individual, even at just 15 years old… Maybe… just maybe, he could really help me out.'

Bruce couldn't help but sigh outwardly. 'I'm seriously getting hopeful that a kid is going to be the one to help me…'