To Be A Hero | Peter Parker

06: "it restores electrolytes!"

Chapter song: Someone to You by BANNERS

It's kind of a funny story how I discovered my invisibility. 

I had just taken down a thug who was cornering a woman in an abandoned alleyway. He was out cold because I dropped down on top of him from a building. I wasn't as graceful with my take-downs back then. While I was checking on the woman, making sure he hadn't hurt her, I heard a shuffle at the opening of the alley. 

Three men stood there, looking pissed that their friend was on the ground, unconscious. And it was an automatic reflex when I became invisible. A fight-or-flight situation. I looked down to see that I couldn't see my hands, or my body for that matter. The woman I rescued started freaking out, rightfully so. I had just disappeared in front of her. I reached out to comfort her, to let her know I was still there, when the weirdest thing happened. 

She turned invisible, too. 

I hesitated, but not long enough for the three men to catch us. When they started running toward the end of the alley, where we once stood, I pulled her to my waist and webbed us to the top of the building. Of course, I got her to safety, but that night something changed for me. 

My invisibility changed the whole game. I wasn't great at outright fighting at first, and I still preferred sticking to the shadows. My strengths rested in stealth and being unseen, unheard. Janet forced me to learn to properly fight later on, but I never shook my preference of using my invisibility to my advantage. 

I seemed to be sticking to my old habits as I peeked around a tree in front of the school. A school bus was parked on the side of the street, and the entire decathlon team stood next to the bus, waiting on Mr. Harrington to give instructions. Ned had already arrived, wearing his bright yellow blazer just like everyone else, but there was still no sign of Peter. 

I rolled my eyes, because I was only here for him, and he had the nerve to be late. If the team left before he got here, we'd have to hitch a ride to D.C., and both of us would have to stay hidden, instead of just me. Even though I wasn't looking forward to hiding under the bus seats for hours, this was our best plan of action. 

Not soon enough, Peter tripped his way across the school lawn, spotting me peaking around the tree and waiting. When he reached the group, I could hear numerous students delighted to see him, and I even heard Liz say, "Peter?" which made my stomach lurch. I ignored the horrible feeling in my gut and watched, waiting for Peter to give me the signal.

"Yeah, I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team," I heard Peter say as he approached Mr. Harrington. The teacher was about to reply before Flash unintentionally interrupted him.

"No, no way. You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone," Flash almost yelled, and the urge to wail on him was stronger than last time, when he ran his mouth in the gym.

I could hardly contain my smile when I heard Mr. Harrington say, "Hey, welcome back, Peter. Flash, you're back to first alternate." I looked back around the tree to see Peter making his web shooting gesture behind his back and smiling at Liz. I scoffed and willed myself invisible, dodging students and getting on the bus before any of the back seats were taken. 

I crouched down in the back and crawled under the seat, wondering if Peter was really worth all of this. I found my answer when I discovered a black pillow, a black blanket, and a small bag of snacks under the next few seats. There was a little slip of paper on the blanket that read,