Not long after, Peter appeared in the restroom.
He had ultimately decided… to run.
The main reason was that he still hadn't figured out how to deal with things between him and Betty.
He and Betty weren't even that close. This sudden development had completely thrown him off.
Besides, he had two very important matters to deal with right now.
The first was to check whether Tony Stark's people had already taken the Mimic Master away.
That guy didn't know his real identity, but somehow he seemed to know that "Spider-Man is at Midtown Tech High."
Though it was also possible he really was just an idiot who got lured here by Flash's poster—which was obviously for a stage play.
Either way, Peter couldn't rest easy. He had to confirm personally.
The second matter was Ned.
Earlier, Ned had secretly hidden inside one of the stalls—and accidentally discovered Peter's true identity!
Peter knew his best friend's personality very well, so he needed to warn him. He couldn't let Ned go blabbing.
Even though the bully Spider-Man from the Earth-96283 universe had exposed his identity by accident and still wasn't affected too much… and although taking off the mask seemed to bring some positive outcomes…
Peter's spider-sense kept telling him: Do not remove the mask lightly.
At least not until he had the strength to protect himself, Aunt May, and his friends.
Or… perhaps never take it off at all.
Even someone as powerful as Iron Man had his villa bombed after revealing his identity.
Peter might be able to protect himself with his abilities, but his family and friends would definitely get dragged into danger.
But when Peter opened each of the two stall doors one by one, he discovered Ned and the Mimic Master were both gone.
Soon, he received a message from Tony Stark.
It turned out that when the Avengers' logistics personnel came to take away the Mimic Master, they discovered Ned. So Tony asked Happy to take Ned away as well.
The reason he asked Happy instead of the logistics personnel was because Happy was Tony Stark's head of security and personal driver.
He also knew Peter's secret identity.
But those Avengers logistics people were a mixed group, and Tony didn't trust them much.
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. had nearly turned into "HYDRA Headquarters," and many Avengers operations had been leaked to the Secretary of State.
Who knew what those logistics people were?
Leftover HYDRA agents?
Spies from the Secretary's office?
Maybe even moles from some other faction?
Since Tony had decided to protect the little spider, he would not casually expose the identity beneath the mask until everything was prepared.
Otherwise, he could've sent literally anyone to handle the handoff—why bother having his long-time trusted aide Happy do it?
Seeing this, Peter hurriedly texted an explanation about his relationship with Ned, then rushed out.
Peter found Happy and Ned in a car parked outside the school.
The two chubby guys sat in the backseat, staring wide-eyed at each other and taking up the entire space.
"What are you two doing?" Peter asked, baffled.
"I don't know. He's glaring at me," Ned said, glaring at Happy.
Happy said, "Clearly you were glaring at me, kid."
"You glared first!"
"No, you did!"
Neither was willing to back down, and they immediately started bickering.
Peter reached in and pulled Ned right out of the backseat."Happy, I already spoke with Mr. Stark. I'm taking this guy with me. I'll handle everything."
"Fine, fine. Actually, I think the simplest method is—"Happy waved dismissively and made a finger-gun gesture."Maybe you should consider it."
Peter: …?Sure, that's definitely one way to keep a secret, but isn't it a bit too extreme?
Ned: ⊙﹏⊙∥So that fat guy dragged me out here to execute me?! I almost died?!
Ned muttered quietly, instinctively shrinking his neck, terrified that the brutal fat man might pull a gun at any moment.
Peter stared speechlessly at Happy. He hadn't known Happy long, but he did know Happy wasn't the type to kill innocent people.
Happy winked at him.
Peter roughly understood his meaning:See? I scared him for you. Now he should be much easier to talk to.
…You're surprisingly thoughtful, actually.
Peter wrapped his arm around Ned's shoulders and dragged him toward a quiet corner of the school.
"Peter, are you really—"Now that they were away from Happy, Ned revived instantly. Apparently, Happy had given him quite the psychological trauma.
Peter nodded. "Keep it secret."
"Why?" Ned asked. "Everyone likes you! You saw it too—you're not just a celebrity at Midtown Tech, you're famous across all of Queens!"
"Because I'm just a student. If my identity is exposed, what do you think will happen to me? If the bad guys I've fought decide to take revenge on Aunt May… on you… on our classmates—what do I do then?"Peter explained patiently.
Ned was his best friend. Peter shouldn't have been hiding this from him in the first place.
But he had to—because Ned truly had a teenager's impulsive nature.Which, honestly, had been the same for Peter not long ago.
Teenagers loved showing off their abilities, wishing the whole world would notice them.
Peter had matured after everything he'd experienced, but Ned hadn't.
Fortunately, Ned was someone who listened. After hearing Peter's explanation, he immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and swore he would never tell anyone.
Not even his grandma.
"But… can I be your guy in the chair?" Ned asked excitedly.
"My guy in the chair? What do you mean?" Peter blinked.
Ned counted on his fingers."Like Batman's butler Alfred! Whenever there's a crisis, Batman goes out to fight, and Alfred stays behind to monitor everything, gathering intel and supporting him from the backend!"
"But you still have school," Peter said—even though he was already tempted.
He knew Ned's computer skills. Back when they played single-player games, Ned could quickly hack into the game's source code and alter it to make things more fun.
Ned was probably the youngest, most naturally gifted IT whiz Peter had ever met.
To have him as "the guy in the chair"… it actually sounded pretty good.
Should he start building his own little team?
(End of Chapter)