Chapter 13: Chapter 13
"Thank you," the man says weirdly, as if not used to saying the words.
"Don't worry about it," he says as he checks his watch. He is glad to see the suit back to its normal temperature, completely missing the other guy checking him out. Nodding to himself, he looks up because, of course, the guy is taller than him. Only to see him looking at his hands again. Peter takes off his shirt and motions for Johnny to grab it. At his bewildered look, Peter motions to the space around them. "It's chilly," he says as a way of explanation.
Johnny shakes his head sullenly. "I'll burn it. Besides, I don't feel the cold that much."
"That means you still feel it a little," he points out.
"... What about you?" Johnny finally asks with a sulk as he grabs the shirt.
In response, Peter presses the button on the watch to make the costume cover him again. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"I wasn't worried," he says petulantly as he wears the shirt that barely covers his lean, muscular frame. He has never been as glad as today that he wore one of his largest, clean shirts. "Now what?"
Good question.
He thinks for two seconds before nodding. "Do you want some help contacting anyone? Do you have any family or friends you want me to call?"
Johnny gives him an impersonal once-over so he doesn't get flustered. "With which phone?"
He smirks even if the other cannot see it. "Oh, I've got a better option than a phone. So what's gonna be, Mr. Storm?"
Johnny pulls a face as he crosses his arms and puffs his chest a little, proclaiming, "Don't call me that. I'm Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm, amazing astronaut at your service."
He does a slight magician's bow, clearly expecting awe. But if he wants that, he will have to wait longer because only superheroes and really smart people make him fanboy. Luckily, not as much as they did before the Snap, but still, the famous ones get him flustered. "Nice to meet you, Jonathan. You can call me Spider-Man."
Storm coughs at his amused tone. "You can call me Johnny if you want."
"Sure will, Johnny!" He sees some flickers of orange on his head, but aside from it, he's normal. "Now, do you want me to call someone?"
The unfairly attractive man looks annoyed, but he reluctantly nods. "I've got a sister who's probably angry at me for escaping the hospital."
He knows about it, but he still feels worried. "Susan Storm, right?"
"So you do know about me." Johnny blinks twice before smiling and puffing his chest a little. It's cute. "Of course you do. I am the youngest astronaut NASA has, after all."
His confident smile makes Peter want to bully him a little.
"Actually, I only know about you all because I followed the story of Reed Richards going into space with his self-built starship said to be capable of hyperspace." He chuckles awkwardly as he rubs an arm before getting excited just thinking about it. After all, that grabbed his attention when he started searching for the Fantastic Four in this universe. Peter knows that Reed Richards is one of the smartest men in every world where he exists, but to see him just starting without any of his more notable creations and achievements is humbling. "Was it capable of really going at that speed? I know Reed Richards is a genius, but even with all his doctorates, he can make mistakes. Still, it must have been brilliant. He's just so cool."
Johnny's voice is dry as the desert as he says, "He's a nerd."
"There's nothing wrong with nerds." Peter quickly answers, knowing the eyes of his mask are narrowed enough to convey his annoyance. "Thanks to these nerds, we've got the commodities we do now."
Rolling his eyes, Johnny scoffs. "It's thanks to him we've got these weird powers."
"Oh, sorry." He says, confused, that he does not know how the spaceship could have caused their mutations. "Did he... did he cause it somehow? Was there some malfunction in it?"
"Er... Well, not really. Just the shields of the Marvel-1 weren't strong enough or something."
That's vague; he thinks as he tilts his head. "Was the cause of your changes the cosmic radiation in space?"
"Oh, yeah, that! Yes, you're right. I heard something like that from my sister, which he heard from Reed." He narrows his eyes at his playfully. "So, you're a nerd, huh?"
Peter scratches the back of his head but doesn't lower his head. He's learned to be proud of his intelligence. Though not to Richards or Tony's level, he's still proud of everything he accomplished.
He's about to defend himself when a growl-like sound occurs between them. For an embarrassing moment, he thinks it comes from his stomach, but when he sees Johnny's hand on top of his belly, he sighs softly in relief.
"Hungry, huh?"
Johnny chuckles. "You've got no idea. I've been eating only horrible hospital food the last few days."
Tilting his head, Peter thinks of the small pocket change he still has saved for emergencies and tries to remember the nearest cheap food that could be working at this hour. "Want a hot dog?"
Johnny's eyes practically sparkle as he nods. "I could marry you just for that, Spidey."
"Slow down, Romeo. Just wait here for a moment as I go swinging, okay? Then we can call your sister."
"Sure, man!"
As he walks to the roof's edge with Johnny following him, he presses a button on his watch. "You heard the man, Edith. Bring the map."
He doesn't bother hiding Edith, as Johnny has already seen enough of his suit's technology for him to try to cover it. He's not going to say she's an AI, though. He probably thinks she's his support or girl in the chair.
"Of course, Spider-man," she answers, her voice coming out barely enough for Johnny to hear. "There's one at three minutes away from you."
He nods and then waves at Johnny before jumping out. He hears a small gasp and can see Johnny leaning towards the edge, but it's only for a second as he's already shooting a web to the next building, following Edith's directions.
Ten minutes pass, and he's back with two hot dogs. The man selling them is nice enough to give him a bottle of water for free, which he soon gives to Johnny. They're standing up, mostly because Johnny doesn't want to sit on some dirty building, which is fair as he's still half-naked.
They're silent as they open the goods, and he lifts half his mask from covering his mouth. Johnny keeps stealing glances at him, probably curious about his identity. Of course, when he's about to give a bite to the heavenly goodness, Edith decides to interrupt him.
"Spider-man, SHIELD's base in the Mojave Desert has been attacked. Readings of an energy similar to the Space Stone are coming from it."
Well, at least it's important, he thinks as he tries not to choke around the bite. Johnny looks at him worriedly as he pats his back. For one whole second, he hoped Edith didn't say that across the speakers and only he could hear her voice. However, that hope is soon dashed when Johnny asks, "What's Shield?"
Shit.
Is this another one of Edith's plans to stop being antisocial and seek help from others?
"SHIELD or Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is an agency that protects the public from threats beyond the scope of standard national security agencies," she's quick to say as he continues coughing.
"Edith!" he rasps, glad Johnny gives him the water bottle to soothe his throat.
"I'm sorry, Spider-man, but you know what this means." He moves the bottle away from his lips to answer, but Edith interrupts, "I hacked what I could while being discrete, and I confirmed that Loki has indeed been sighted."
He really wants to punch something.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone