Believer

9. Kind Words

"One kind word can change someone's entire day."

Peter clung to the side of the compound as he climbed, the peace around him momentarily soothing. Then the fear took over again as he heard a window break and he scrambled through the window directly above his.

Rolling across the floor, Peter knocked into a table. That was when he realized the room above his was Tony's lab! And there; his trusty suit. Peter pumped a fist in the air. No longer the unprepared Slug-man with no weapons and no cool suit!

Peter pulled off his makeshift mask and started putting on his real suit. "Karen? Volume minimum please." Peter whispered as he crept to the door of the lab. "Pleased to have you back, Peter." Karen greeted him, obeying his request. "Can you tell me how many people there are downstairs, and what's going on?" Peter asked his AI already opening the door to the stairwell.

"My request to FRIDAY for the downstairs security feed has been granted." Karen announced, and Peter paused as a video popped up in his face. "Oh crap, there's a big robotic dude!" Peter hissed. "Why is it always alien tech? I thought Mr. Stark's tech was the most advanced!"

"The most advanced legally." Karen corrected, and Peter bit back an annoyed groan as he reached the door. All the Avengers were down, and the place was flooded with tear gas. "Karen, filters on, full stealth mode." Peter hissed before pushing open the door.

"Little spiiideeer!" Doc sang as one of his tentacles turned the knob to the room the Avengers had been defending. He then flung the door open; only to find it empty. "No!" He yelled, and Peter's webs grabbed his three still arms. "Surprise octo-freak!" Peter laughed, webbing his arms to the cieling. "Spiderman!" Doc yelled in frustration, turning the attention from his one free arm onto pinning down his quick foe. Peter dodged the swipe attack with a flip, landing him by Clint and Strange.

"Come on you guys!" He growled, shaking their shoulders. Distracted, even for that second, Peter didn't see Doc's tentacle until it's sharp claw attachment dug into his shoulder. With a scream, Peter was yanked away from his friends.

"Lemme go!" Peter yelled, writhing in the air. Doc yanked his arms free from the cieling, ripping the webbing that had lost some strength after it dried. Its tensile strength was still record-breaking, even dry, making Peter suddenly afraid of the strength in these tentacles. They could crush him.

"I caught you, bug!" Doc laughed. "Game over!"

"First of all, if you're as smart as you claimed, you'd know spiders are arachnids." Peter quipped, shuddering at the memory of the security footage and Doc taunting the Avengers with his 'superior intellect'.

"Second, the game has only begun!" Peter fired a web grenade that splattered across Doc's face. Shrieking, Doc dropped Spidey in surprise and Peter managed to scramble to Tony. "Nap time's over!" Peter hissed, trying to override Tony's system and engage the reboot procedure.

"Finally, a foe worthy of my time!" Doc announced, and a sharp-tipped arm caught Peter across the back as he jumped away. "We will have lots of fun together!" Doc laughed, trying to stab Peter as he leapt from wall to wall to ceiling to wall. "So, you wanted the game to be over... and now you want to play?" Peter scoffed, dodging a too-close-for-comfort spike. "That's really bad logic."

Peter was running low on options and - oh, yeah - his shoulder was bleeding heavily, as was the deep gash across his chest from being flung. He dropped to Natasha's side and grimaced as he tried the last thing he could think of. Attaching a web to her collar, he sent a small electric shock, hoping to wake her. She seemed to stir, but Doc again grabbed him and yanked him away.