Spider-Man? Who's He?

Ch. 3

"Karen, how have you been?" Peter asked, swinging through New York after school. Harley had told their dad Peter was at Ned's house (the usual lie), so Peter was free to go Spider-Manning.

"Good for not being updated over the weekend," she replied. Peter rolled his eyes, spotting a mugging. He dropped down between the man and the other man who was handing over his wallet.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to steal?" Peter asked. He webbed the gun away from the man and strung him up. He turned back to the man who looked pretty shaken up. "Here, go buy a churro," Peter said, fishing a five dollar bill from his suit and handing it to the man. He nodded shakily and took the bill.

"Thank you, Spider-Man," he replied. Peter grinned even though the man couldn't see it. He saluted him then shot off into the air once again, continuing his conversation with Karen.

"I figured you'd just be happy we were out again," he told his AI. He was pretty proud of her. After hacking his dad's computer, he managed to get FRIDAY's coding and used that as the base for Karen. Of course, he'd made some changes and Karen wasn't nearly as advanced as FRIDAY (she didn't need to run a house and a company, just Peter's suit). However, he'd had to figure out how to connect her to his dad's private satellites without raising suspicion which was much harder than he'd originally thought. Harley and Ned were very proud when he showed Karen to them.

"Well, it would be nice to be updated too," Karen said. Peter smiled and shook his head. "I'm getting alarms from a store on Chelsea Ave."

"On my way," Peter said, spinning in mid air and heading towards the area Karen led him too. When he got there, he immediately recognised Theo and his friend Evan in the park. Right across the street, someone was trying to rob the small jewelry store. Peter crashed in through the door, thankful he hadn't broken it like the last door he'd swung through.

"Turn off the alarms!" the man yelled at the clerk. Peter leaned against the door frame casually, waiting to see how long it would take before he was noticed.

"Spider-Man!" the clerk exclaimed happily. That was his cue. Peter webbed the gun out of the guy's hands and tried to pin him down. He dodged the web and pulled out a knife. He hurled it at Peter, but Peter ducked just in time and it sailed through the window. People on the sidewalk screamed and ducked for cover. Peter didn't have time to assure them they were safe before the man tried to hit him.

"Hey, pal!" Peter chirped, blocking the man's punch and kicking his gut. The man keeled over and groaned. Peter rammed his elbow into the man's back and he collapsed. "Robbing is bad," he said. He webbed the robber and hung up from the ceiling.

"Thank you," the clerk said, covering the phone he was currently using to call the police.

"No problem!" Peter replied. He grabbed the knife from the sidewalk and tossed it in the trash. He was about to web away when kids from the park surrounded him. Theo was one of them.

"Spider-Man! Will you come to my birthday party?" Theo asked. His voice was drowned out by all the other kids asking questions, so it wasn't hard for Peter to pretend he hadn't heard him. He did notice the sad look on Theo's face when he didn't get a reply and felt bad. Maybe he shouldn't have ignored the kid.

"Hey," he said, grabbing Theo's attention. Theo looked up eagerly. "When's your birthday?" Theo grinned wider than Peter had ever seen him smile before.

"Thursday at Stark Tower from 3:30PM-6PM," Theo said excitedly. Peter smiled at his baby brother and nodded.

"I'll be there, kid," he promised. Theo's smile got even wider (which Peter had previously thought was impossible) and he hugged Peter tightly. "What's your name, birthday boy?"

"Theodore Anthony Stark! But I go by Theo," he said. Peter knew this of course, but he pretended he didn't, telling Theo that was a pretty big name for such a small kid. Theo frowned just like Peter knew he would. "I'm not small! I'm turning seven!" Theo held up six fingers then hurried to add another. Peter chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, I guess you are a big boy," he said. Theo nodded. Peter, satisfied that he'd made Theo happy, turned to talk to the other six kids. He ended up staying at the park and playing pirates with them for an hour. He kept his mask and full suit on the whole time, but the kids didn't seem to care. They were just happy to play with Spider-Man. Peter was sure he would hear all about when he got home from 'Ned's house', but at least now he wouldn't have to worry about Iron Man finding him. Theo would be sure to tell his dad he'd already talked to Spider-Man and he had promised to come. Tony was much more likely to recognise Peter's voice.

"Bye, Spider-Man!" Theo waved as he and Evan left. Peter waved back then hurried down the streets to finish up his crime fighting.

"Karen, remind me to put a voice modifier in my suit tomorrow afternoon," Peter said, wanting to remember before Theo's party.

"Would you like me to also remind you not to patrol tomorrow?" Karen asked. Peter frowned in confusion, swinging through New York and happy to find nothing needed his attention.

"Why?" Peter asked. He dropped down in the alley he'd left his backpack and changed out of his suit, leaving his mask on to communicate with Karen while he dressed.

"So you can update me and create a voice modifier," Karen told him. Peter said a soft 'oh' then nodded.

"Yeah, text me tomorrow when school gets out," Peter said. Karen said she would, so Peter said goodbye and took off his mask. He pulled his backpack over his shoulders and walked out of the alley. He hurried to Ned's house to hang out for an hour or so before Happy came to pick him up.