Arc One. Chapter Seven. Gone In a Flash

Peter was on a high as he went about his school day. First, he had got the warehouse smelling and looking a lot cleaner after sweeping for a few hours and bagging up most of the trash, and second, with the delivery of the four portable offices, he could get some flooring down and actually build a basic workshop inside the warehouse. Without paying attention, he'd been searching the web for storage container house designs and hadn't realised where he was walking.

Slamming into the back of Flash his phone went flying and of course, Flash angrily turned, ready to swat the person stupid enough to barge into him. "Parker" he growled and without missing a beat swung a fist at him.

Peter's eyes went wide as the fist Flash had thrown seemed to move in slow motion, it was clear where Flash was going to strike, and Peter felt that with no effort at all he could move out the way. Squatting down as if going for his phone, Flash missed his swing, pulled back for another and realized Parker had ducked, switched to an uppercut. Flash's punch sped towards Peter's exposed face but to Peter, Flash might as well have been moving underwater. Smiling to himself, Peter made a plan.

Peter rolled back on his heels and skidded away from Flash, avoiding the blow. Flash's temper rose and with a growl, he lined up a kick to Peter's midsection as he tried to stand. There was a sickening crunch as Peter seemed to slip, falling out the way and as Flash's foot collided with the concrete wall support, he howled in agony and dropped clutching his foot. The force of the kick had twisted it at an abnormal angle, the noise of his own bones breaking, and as Flash saw the damage and the pain began to radiate from it, he began to feel queasy and a line of vomit dribbled from his lips before he passed out.

"What the hell is going on here?" yelled Mrs Donaldson, as students quickly hid the phones they had been using to record the fight. Of course one of Flash's cronies, Peter couldn't even remember his name, piped up, "Parker started it," and Peter found himself being hauled off to the Principal's office.

He sat there for hours, an ambulance came and Flash was taken to hospital, a uniformed police officer came but after reviewing the cell phone videos shook his head and left. Peter had no idea if he was disappointed he wouldn't get to arrest a kid or if he was pissed at having his time wasted. Peter knew exactly how that felt as he sat waiting.

Eventually, though Flash's Father, Jack Thompson, came into the office, yelling and his face was beet red, probably a sign of congestive heart failure thought Peter before he began yelling at the boy. He looked old and the well-pressed suit and tie did nothing to hide the man's obnoxious stench. Peter could smell the booze on his breath and the faint scent of lipstick on him. He never had a high opinion of Jack, someone who let his son act as Flash did was just as bad, and right now, he was proving Peter's point.

"You, You little shit, I'm going to sue you. My son's ankle is broken and he'll miss the finals. You've ruined his career."

Having heard enough, and having had enough from Flash, Peter stood straight. "Go ahead, go ahead and I'll stand before a judge and tell them, about the bullying, about the previous assault, all the complaints my aunt already put in, and about how I seemingly managed to injure Flash while on the floor, me, 5 ft 7 against Flash, a high school football player" and Peter took a step forwards, "So yeah, sue me? Go right ahead and see how well you do."

Peter's anger was palpable and even Jack took a step back, his fury being doused by the boy in front of him. Of course, someone like Jack Thompson just moved target, if the boy wouldn't be intimidated then the Principal would.

"Him, I want him expelled, for fighting. He's cost you the season, the final is next week and Flash will be out for at least 6 months. So do something!" He yelled.

"Uh Mr Parker, while I can't expel you because I would have to expel Mr Thompson as well I do feel that such behaviour is unbecoming of the school valedictorian. It might be better if Ms Stacy took your place, don't you think?" The Principal stammered. Peter blanched though, losing the top spot was going to hurt him in a lot of different ways.

"That's it? Expel the little shit, you feeble-minded moron," Jack shouted,

"Umm Mr Thomson, as I said I would have to expel your son as well, however, removing Peter's name from the valedictorian list does deny him access to several scholarships. Several scholarships I might add that is the only way Peter would be able to attend college." The Principal had whispered in Jack's ear but Peter had heard what he said, cursing internally because he was right. The conditional scholarship offers he got were for top students only and this not only screwed up his college plans but his university plans as well.

Jack shrugged his arm away from the Principal, "Fine." Jack Thompson stared at Peter, "Hey wait, you're that kid who puked in the lab weren't you?" he smirked and pulled out his phone and dialled a number, "Yeah it's me, Jack, I think you've got an internship for Peter Parker lined up yeah, shred it, yeah it's fine. Hammer won't care anyway, just some loser punk." He smirked at Peter, who subconsciously balled his hands.

Ending the call he smiled, "Nice to see you again Ernie, golf on Sunday?"

The principal shook his hand, "Of course, of course," as if ending a child's career and ruining his life was just another normal Monday for him. "Oh, Jack. How long did you say Flash would be in the hospital?"

"About a week and then he'll need to have surgery, so maybe 4 weeks".

"Ah, not good. Peter, you're suspended for 4 weeks, if Flash has to miss school then I don't see why you should be free to attend. I'll have Gladys send a message to your Aunt, I'm sure she'll have words to say to you as well." The principal motioned to the door, dismissing Peter while Jack stayed behind, no doubt to see what else they could do to make Peter's life hell and as he left he tried to avoid slamming the door closed.

As he made his way through the corridors, Peter swore in his mind, fucking assholes. Not only did they just take his future but with 4 weeks of missed classes, he'd miss mock tests and study time for his midterm exams, ones he needed to get any chance of a scholarship at all, with the 250k almost gone he needed them. Grabbing his bag from his locker Peter stormed out of the school, ignoring Gwen's shouts about helping him with what he would miss. He was too angry to talk to anyone, too angry to think of anyone but that fucking Jack Thompson.

Peter had done his exam prep already but the school provided more materials that only the teachers got their hands on. Peter knew full well that it wasn't really for students like him, it was for the stupid assholes like Flash, the ones too dumb to get a decent score without cheating. The problem however lay in that by missing them his attendance dropped, his test scores, graded on an average dropped, and finally, his chance to get top marks in the final exams dropped. Missing out 4 weeks of school, right before exams was a nightmare, and with the suspension already a black mark on his record he was being punished even more for that asshole's temper tantrum.

As Jack Thompson walked through the school halls he was feeling smug with himself, he'd maybe not gotten what he wanted but ruining that little shits life was even better. Flash would lose out on several football scholarships and if his ankle didn't heal properly then his football career was over. As he made it through the parking lot he clicked the fob for his car and scowled as the normal beep beep came out distorted. He had been so angry at hearing about Flash he had left his car near the school's entrance, ignoring the no parking signs. There were no cameras, so why should he care.

Jack stood open-mouthed staring at his car and in his shock, he dropped his briefcase. Someone had vandalised his car. No, someone had rammed one of the 'No Parking' signs right through the roof and into the driver's seat. The wheels were bent at an angle and all four tires had been slashed open, not just cut but great gouges were ripped out of the tire walls. Stunned, he just stood there, unsure of how to even report this.

While Peter knew Jack couldn't and wouldn't say anything, the random act of violence he committed against the car did make him feel better, he'd made sure no one saw him and drove it right down through the car's chassis, even removing it would wreck the car. The smugness lasted until he got home and an irate May was waiting for him.

"So, fighting? What did I tell you about that, It's not like you Peter," she was mad, and she stood with her arms crossed as she glared at him.

"Aunt May, I didn't, honest, Flash's dad blew it out of proportion." May calmed down after he'd explained it all and even had a small grin when he explained how Flash had broken his ankle. That left her face when he explained that without the valedictorian spot and the four-week suspension, he'd lose out on every scholarship that he'd applied for.

She was downright mad after Peter had finished explaining and had reached for the phone when Peter stopped her, shaking his head, "Aunt May, we can't, you can't do anything. Flash's dad is on the board at Oscorp. I lost, even with pictures and evidence to clear me, I still lost.''

A deflated Peter couldn't bring himself to tell her he'd spent almost all of the 250K he had, it would be better to wait until the warehouse actually looked like a startup company rather than a warzone.

"No, but I can still phone the school board about this Peter. Twice now, twice Flash Thompson has cost you. I don't care if his father is a board member, I don't care if he's rich. Peter, I have to do something."

He patted her shoulder as she sat slumped at their kitchen table. "Don't worry Aunt May, it's fine." Knowing that May wouldn't let this go, "It's fine, I uh, kept it secret but, I've got a job and I've got a plan, everything is going to be okay, I promise."

It would be fine. Even without help, he had a different way to get back at Jack and the Principal. One that involved more than just a signpost through a car. One that would make a broken ankle seem like a minor scrape, Peter decided there and then that if Flash Thompson dared to make a move on him again, he wouldn't hold back this time, he would make sure Flash got what he deserved. If his life was ruined anyway, why not make Flash's life hell as well, make him feel what he was going through, make him know what hell was like.

Aunt May stared at Peter, the frown on his face and the anger that blossomed after it. "Hey, it's fine Peter, It's fine. You'll be okay." she reached over and gently patted him on the hand, taking it in her own and rubbing it with her fingers.

Peter shook his head, "yeah, sorry Aunt May, sorry, just, angry I guess," and as he leaned into her and cupped her hand with his other one, he realised he'd been thinking about doing a lot worse than wrecking a car. He needed to get a grip, needed to take back control, not just of his life, but of his anger as well. Before things got out of hand, and it was more than just a car he smashed up.