The next morning, Midtown High buzzed with its usual organized chaos. Students flooded the hallways, lockers slammed shut, and teachers tried to enforce some semblance of order with coffee in one hand and exhaustion in their eyes.
Nathan stepped through the front doors with his backpack slung over one shoulder. He hadn't slept much not after the visit with Matt, the memory of his mom, and the cold breeze of closure that came with it. But he felt different today. Lighter. More grounded. Like his soul had taken a breath it didn't realize it was holding.
"Nate!" a familiar voice called.
Peter and Harry rushed over. Peter looked concerned, holding up his phone. "Dude, I was texting you last night. You didn't answer. You okay?"
Nathan gave a tired but honest nod. "Yeah. I'm alright. Just… needed some time for myself."
Peter nodded slowly, but Harry, ever the disruptor of emotional moments, clapped a hand on Nathan's shoulder.
"Good. You're alright. But now we need to talk about something very important."
Nathan arched an eyebrow. "What?"
Harry's eyes sparkled with manic glee. "Getting. You. A. Date. To. The. Prom."
Nathan laughed. "Harry, I told you that I'm not going."
Harry narrowed his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "You will go, because your best friend demands it. And because you owe me."
"I owe you?"
Harry nodded like a mob boss recounting a blood debt. "Freshman year. Girls' locker room. Flash stuffed you in a locker, inside the girls' locker room. Peter and I orchestrated the greatest distraction in Midtown history to get you out. I had to pretend to faint."
Peter groaned. "He still talks about it like it was Normandy."
Nathan sighed, shaking his head. "Fine."
Harry grinned, already plotting. "Excellent. Now let the matchmaker work his magic."
By mid-morning, Nathan was regretting everything.
Harry had him talking to girls between every class period. In the hallway, by the vending machines, even by the janitor's closet. And while every single girl seemed to like Nathan… they all had dates already.
"Sorry, I'm going with Kenny."
"Aww, you're sweet, but I'm going with my girlfriend."
"Ugh, I wish I wasn't already going with Brad."
Harry paced in front of his locker like a man betrayed by the universe.
"I am the matchmaker. This is not happening. No. We have two days. Two. I will not fail. Not on my watch."
Peter sat next to Nathan in the lunchroom, watching Harry spiral as if he were watching a National Geographic special on "Overly Dramatic Rich Kids in Their Natural Habitat."
Nathan shrugged, picking at his food. "Maybe it's just not meant to be, dude."
And then—
The doors opened.
A girl walked in, confident and calm, her brown hair tied up in a low ponytail. She had a cool air about her, like she'd seen through high school nonsense and decided she was above it. She carried herself like someone who didn't care to impress but impressed anyway.
Harry froze. "Oh. That's the new girl. Ava Ayala."
But Nathan wasn't listening. He was staring.
Ava scanned the lunchroom until her eyes met Nathan's.
And she smiled.
Nathan blinked. His heart thudded. He looked away, cheeks reddening.
Peter nudged Harry and whispered, "Did you see that?"
Harry smirked. "Got him."
Without missing a beat, Harry pulled out his phone and fired off a text to Gwen:
Harry: Nate's into Ava. Work your magic.
Across the room, Gwen looked down at her phone, nudged MJ, and showed her the screen. MJ raised an eyebrow. Then both girls stood up with Ava in tow and started walking toward their table.
Nathan's eyes widened. "Why are they walking over here?"
He turned to see Harry smirking like the smugest heir to a tech empire ever born.
"You rich, smug asshole."
The girls reached their table, and Ava took the seat right next to Nathan. She smiled again, and this time he smiled back.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Ava."
"Nathan," he replied, clearing his throat.
"Hey," she said.
Nathan blinked. "Uh. Hi."
She smiled again man's it was casual, and amused. "You always stare at people like you're trying to X-ray their soul, or am I just lucky?"
Nathan coughed. "Only on Tuesdays."
"Today's Monday."
"Wow, you're good. And here I was hoping to coast by on charm and bad posture."
Ava rested her chin on her hand, studying him like a puzzle she already mostly solved. "So far I'm seeing more bad posture than charm."
Gwen and MJ were pretending to not listen. Peter was failing to not grin. Harry just sipped his drink like he was watching live theater.
Nathan smiled anyway. "That's fair. I'm Nathan. Official Midtown danger magnet."
"I'm Ava," she said. "Officially not impressed."
Nathan mock-sighed. "You wound me."
"You'll survive."
Peter and Harry, sitting across the table, quietly fist-bumped.
As the bell rang and students started to clear out, Harry leaned over and gave Nathan a gentle shove.
"Ask. For. Her. Number. Dumbass."
Nathan turned, heart racing. "Hey, Ava… can I, uh… get your number?"
Ava grinned. "Sure."
She typed it into his phone, handed it back, and walked off with Gwen and MJ.
Harry turned to Peter and held out his hand.
"The matchmaker wins again."
Beneath the city, in the dim light of Oscorp's secret underground lab, Herman Schultz stood with his arms crossed.
He didn't want to be here. He'd told Norman no but he threaten his family. And yet, here he was, looking at a sleek, intimidating new suit sleek armor plated with reinforced shock-absorption, advanced circuitry, and built-in amplifiers.
"It's stronger," Norman said. "Smarter. Lighter. Everything you need."
Herman hesitated. "I told you I'm not that guy anymore."
Norman's voice turned smooth, like velvet draped over a blade. "Half a million dollars. Cash. For one job."
Herman stared at the suit.
Half a million could change his life. Pay for his wife hospital bills. Get his son through college. Buy them out of the hellhole they lived in.
He clenched his jaw… then nodded.
Norman's smile widened. "Good. Get ready."
That evening, Spider-Man soared across the city skyline. The sun was setting, casting orange and purple over the glass towers. He'd had a good day. For once.
And he was texting Ava. He grinned under the mask as he sent a quick message:
Nathan: You ever been to one of these school dances before?
He paused. His fingers hovered over the screen.
Should he ask her?
Then his spider sense flared like a siren.
"Whoa—!"
A force slammed into him from the side, sending him crashing through a warehouse window.
Spider-Man tumbled, rolled, and landed in a crouch. His eyes darted around the shadows.
Footsteps echoed.
A large man in a green, armored suit with a thick tail stepped forward. His tail twitched menacingly, a glowing green stinger poised like a scorpion's.
"So," the man growled. "You're the bug everyone's buzzing about."
Nathan stood up slowly. "Let me guess. You're the exterminator?"
The man sneered. "Name's Scorpion. And this—" he motioned behind him.
Spider-Man's senses screamed again and he flipped backward just as a yellow blast slammed into the floor.
"—is Shocker."
Nathan's eyes widened as he saw the man from the bank Herman Schultz step out in his new armor, gauntlets pulsing with kinetic energy.
Both villains circled him.
Nathan straightened up, cracking his knuckles.
"So, I'm guessing this isn't a surprise party."
Shocker raised a hand. "Could be. Depends on how fast you bleed."
Spider-Man rolled his shoulders. "Right. Last chance anyone want to leave before we start?"
Scorpion roared, and Shocker powered up.
Nathan grinned beneath his mask.
"Didn't think so."
And with a leap, the fight exploded.