The Masks we Hide Behind || Peter Parker [1]

nineteen: it was the last straw.

It was the last straw.

Avalanche had tried to kill one of my best friends, and that was it. I'm not letting him get away with anything else anymore. I've basically been slacking, when I should've worked harder to stop him. I was so ignorant...after he killed Dad, I just stopped. That's not fair to anyone else. Avalanche is still regularly harming and killing innocent people, and someone has to stop him.

I sigh and sit up in my bed, before bending down and grabbing the bag from the library under my bed. I've kept this thing hidden under my bed, almost afraid to look through it. That night at the library had left MJ and I so shaken, so I just hid it under my bed. I set it in front of me, unzip it, dump everything out of the bag.

Books, books, more books, and some more books pile out of the bag, along with crammed journals and scratch pieces of journal paper with pen marks scribbled all over them. I search through the pile on my bed, looking for anything that jumps out at me before I begin to search through every single journal and book.

As I move a few books to the side, I spot a small black flash drive. I smile and hold it up, turning it over in my hand before sliding off of my bed to grab my laptop, which is sitting on my desk. I unplug it from the charger and bring it back to my bed, sitting down and setting it in my lap. I stick the flash drive in as soon as the computer turns on, and I immediately open everything saved to the disk.

I click on the first document I see. It's titled 'Log', and once it loads, I begin to skim over everything listed. Boston library. Boston courthouse. Boston marathon. Boston State College. Several locations in Boston are listed, and I remain completely confused until I scroll down to the second page of the document.

Queens. Queens library. Benjamin Lee.

Benjamin Lee. Dad.

I soon read through all of the locations listed in New York, quickly realizing that this is literally a log of everything he has done. Including killing my father. I exit out of the document and click onto the next one, tears stinging my eyes.

Why in the world would he need to log every bad thing he's done?

The next document is an incomplete list of random names, which has me even more confused, because none of the names are familiar. James Howlett. Charles Xavier. Raven Darkhölme. Jean Grey. The list goes on and on, and I open a new browser and type the names into the search bar.

I decide to google the names later, and I continue clicking through everything saved onto the flash drive. It's all lists of names and places, logs, some maps, even, and strange articles about mutants. I sigh and click onto the last file, which takes me to a forty-seven pages in Microsoft word, all filled top to bottom with small words. I begin to read the first page, scanning through the first few paragraphs. My eyes widen as I slowly read what looks to be some kind of application essay for a school or college.

I've always been different, I'll never be ordinary. I'll never be the same as anyone else. I'm Lance Alvers, and I'm a-

"Whatcha doin'?"

"LUCAS!" I shout with a flinch, throwing everything off of my lap. Several books fall to the floor, along with my laptop, which makes a very loud sound. Lucas bends down to pick up a few of the books as I hear my mom shout from the kitchen.

"Dinner!"

"What is this?" Lucas asks, flipping through one of the many books. I reach up and snatch it out of his hands.

He bends down, reaching for my laptop, but I beat him there. "None of your business." I mutter.

"Don't make me yell again!" We hear Mom shout from the kitchen. I sigh and look up at Lucas.