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chapter eleven
ADVANCED
INTERROGATION MODE
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THE FIRST THING THAT Lena does when she gets home is answer Graham's texts. After realizing he didn't have anything to do with the secrets Peter and Ned had kept from her, she feels guilty for even jumping to the conclusion in the first place. Graham is her best friend— he would never keep something like that from her.
LENA BENA: tell your fam that i'm ok!! i promise.
Graham's reply comes lightning fast.
GRAHAM CRACKER: if you say so
GRAHAM CRACKER: BUT BITCH YOU WON!!! flash posted the trophy all over instagram. he can shove it up his ass for all i care because he probably didn't do anything
LENA BENA: he didn't
GRAHAM CRACKER: i knew it
The next day at school, Lena notices an immediate change when she walks through the entrance. It comes in the form of a younger girl — maybe a freshman — that she doesn't recognize. She sprints up to her, causing Lena to remove her earbuds and cut off the sound of the Beach Boys in confusion.
"How did it feel to be rescued by Spider-Man?" the girl questions, her brown eyes wide with wonder.
Oh, right. She'd momentarily forgotten she was on the news.
"Um, pretty cool," she responds vaguely. When that doesn't seem to be enough to get the girl to leave, she adds, "His biceps were great."
It doesn't take her long to realize that the Spider-Man craze has swept the entire school. People she doesn't even know keep approaching her to ask her about the incident and if Spider-Man really is 'that strong.' She's not jealous at all that her alter ego never got this much attention— especially when she notices Peter's full-blown smile as he walks down the hallway, which means he hasn't gotten expelled.
She turns her attention to the daily newscast just as they begin their segment on the weekend's events.
"This past weekend, Midtown's Academic Decathlon team defeated the country's best to win the National Championship," Jason reports as a slideshow of pictures from the competition appears on the screen. "Later that day, they also defeated death."
"Explosion! Sally screaming, Flash screaming, everybody screaming!" Abe shouts from the front of the Washington Monument. Lena vaguely remembers receiving a shock blanket from a paramedic outside of the building, and they must have filmed these interviews while she was sitting with the nice lady.
"Purple lasers, smoke everywhere, it was" — a bleep briefly cuts off Charles' voice — "tight. It was just like a Bon Jovi concert."
"As you know, we made it out alive, and that's the important thing," Mr. Harrington says, the typical teacher response. But then his eyes lose focus as the camera zooms in close to his face. "We couldn't bear to lose a student on a school trip. Not again."
"Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, thanks to the Spider-Man," Jason continues as an extremely grainy picture of him climbing the monument pops up between him and Betty. It's conveniently captioned The Spider-Man!!! in comic sans. Lena clamps her lips shut to keep herself from laughing at the terrible picture and font choices.
"Thank you, Spider-Man," he and Betty say in almost robotic tones.
"Up next: the Spider-Man mania is sweeping the school! How can you show your Spider Spirit?"
Lena turns away from the screen and locks eyes with Peter as he comes closer, hands shoved in the pockets of his brown jacket. She pauses her music and shoves her earbuds in the pocket of her own jacket.
"How's your Hannah Montana life?" she asks with a teasing grin.
Peter rolls his eyes, but she can tell he's still giddy with excitement and pride. "It's great, actually. A little weird, but great."
Luckily, as they walk toward Lena's locker, she doesn't get bombarded by any more people about Spider-Man. She's decided that she'll make up some outrageous thing to say if she's approached by more peers throughout the day. He smelled like a forest— specifically Beech Hill. He actually has a British accent. Part of his suit ripped because his muscles were too big. I heard him say he visits pet adoption centers and plays with puppies in his spare time.
"Why are you smiling?" Peter questions, effectively breaking through the trance she didn't realize she was under.
"Nothing," she says, pulling her lips into a line to keep herself from laughing. A giggle slips out anyway and she finds herself unable to keep her eyes from crinkling in the corners.
Peter raises an eyebrow in disbelief, but ultimately doesn't question it. "I still need to stop by my locker, so I'll see you in Physics."
As he speaks, he walks forward and turns around so he's still facing Lena, pointing toward the direction that the sophomore's lockers are in. He awkwardly hooks both thumbs in the straps of his backpack like he doesn't know what to do with his hands. Lena had thought that they'd outgrown the slightly awkward stage of friendship, but Peter can manage to be flustered at any given point in time.
She turns to her own locker after bidding him goodbye. Her eyebrows crease as she catches sight of something sticking out of the space between the door and the metal separating her space from her neighbor's. It's an envelope — a bright red one — and doesn't have any writing on the front.
Lena turns the envelope over in her hands, glancing around to make sure nobody else is looking for it. It's not addressed to anyone; it could be intended for someone else. She's gotten multiple notes from random strangers because they were put in the wrong locker. What if this is the same thing?
She decides to tear it open before she can think twice about it. Underneath the red paper is a home-made card, the message Sorry for being a dick!!! written in huge block letters. In the corner is a cartoon spider hanging from its web with a tear coming from its comically large eyes. Inside she finds the message:
I recognize that I was a huge dick for not telling you the truth. I know we already forgave each other and stuff, but I still feel super bad. Like, so bad that I wanted to make you cupcakes, but then I realized that it's currently 11:47 p.m, May already went to sleep, and I can't bake for shit. I hope this card is okay ???
I'm really really really sorry!!!
-Peter P.
Lena's smile takes up virtually her entire face as she glances down the hallway. Peter has long since been swallowed by the rushing student body, but she still feels a burst of joy upon seeing the effort put into the card.
"Hey," Graham greets tiredly as he appears beside her, leaning against the row of lockers. "What's that?"
"A dick message," she replies as she flips the cover to show him the title. "For everything I told you about on Skype."
Lena glances up to look at her friend, stopping short upon noticing how much darker his undereye circles have gotten over the weekend. On video chat, she'd assumed his shitty webcam and lack of quality lighting had been to blame. They set deep lines into his face that seem almost like slices in his skin. His usually bright brown eyes droop downward as if succumbing to gravity's pull.
"Okay, what is going on with you?" she asks, voice full of concern as she crosses her arms over her chest. "And no lying. You know how I feel about lying."
"I don't know," Graham answers as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his brown jeans. His tone is level, meaning he's telling the truth— or something close to it. "I just haven't been able to sleep well lately."
"You shouldn't even be here," Lena argues. "You look like you could be cast as a zombie on The Walking Dead."
He inclines head at her as if to say, Really? "First of all, they're called walkers, not zombies. And second, you wouldn't miss a day of school like this, either, so don't even tell me that."
Because she can't think of a clever response, Lena, in a very mature gesture, sticks her tongue out at him and resumes gathering her books for Physics.
The day goes by surprisingly quickly. At lunch, Graham informs her that he found a cool Halloween costume for her online, which is their code for the fact that he found a replacement wig. After she picks up another voice changer from Prank Palace, she'll be set to return to the streets as Havoc.
"The wig is fifty dollars?" Lena hisses in outrage to a sheepish-looking Graham.
"It's a really high-quality one," he replies defensively. "At least, it says so in the description." He points to the bullet points that describe the details, where it indeed says Made of high-quality material. "And the reviews are good."
"I don't have fifty dollars to spend on this," she points out. "My budget goes up to thirty, and that's if there are no options left. We can just go to that Party City on Elmhurst after school. It's not that far from Prank Palace— we can take the Subway."
Graham closes his laptop disappointedly and rubs at his eyes. "Fine. But we're also going to Ristretto because I need, like, ten shots of espresso."
"I'm pretty sure that counts as overdosing on caffeine," Lena says as she sympathetically pats her friend's shoulder. "And you're not allowed to die."
"If AP Calc has anything to say about it, no promises."
-♕-
Lena is in the middle of looking at Party City's collection of platinum blonde wigs when Peter calls. And, by collection, she means there are about three to choose from.
Her phone starts vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans and makes her jump in surprise. She quickly answers it, wondering what he could possibly want when school had ended barely twenty minutes ago. Didn't he say he had detention?
"What?"
"Hello to you, too," Peter says sarcastically from the other end. "Look, I have a lead. Karen said—"
"Whoa, stop," she orders. "Who's Karen?"
"Well, after Ned disabled the Training Wheels Protocol, I realized he put some sort of digital assistant in the suit and I named her Karen," he rapidly explains.
Lena absentmindedly examines one of the wig options. "Did you, by any chance, get that idea from Spongebob?"
"You're missing the point," Peter says dismissively, sounding slightly annoyed that she keeps interrupting. "Karen said she records everything I see. It's called — don't laugh — the Baby Monitor Protocol."
Lena snorts.
"Anyway, she managed to track down one of the dudes we saw at the bridge. The buyer, specifically. His name is Aaron Davis and I guess he's on his way to go grocery shopping right now."
"So, what's the plan?" she questions.
"We're gonna go talk to him, ask him about what Vulture's next move is, all that fun stuff," Peter replies. "You in?"
Lena picks the wig off of the shelf and angles it toward Graham, who gives an approving nod. "Yeah. Let me just pick up another voice changer and I'll be good to go. Give me" - she calculates the time in her head - "about forty minutes?"
"Sure," he agrees. "Meet me near Ascan and Metropolitan in Forest Hills."
"Got it. See ya."
After she hangs up, Lena turns toward Graham, who's holding an aquamarine wig in his hand with an amused smirk.
She glares at him. "Absolutely not."
"Aw, come on." Graham holds the package next to her head. "I think it would look great. You should try something new, take risks."
She throws her money and the blonde wig at him and says, "Buy this for me. We can't have people connecting dots."
Forty minutes later, true to her word, Lena has fitted the new wig onto her head and secured the voice changer to her hip. She'd left Graham at Ristretto because he really did need caffeine and wanted to study for a test. She felt guilty about it, but he'd promised he didn't mind as long as she tells him everything when she gets back.
She spots a familiar figure clad in red-and-blue crouched on top of a parking garage, just where he'd said he'd be when he'd texted her. Although she's gotten slightly better at the whole flying thing, she still envies his ability to swing everywhere as she sprints across the top of the office building next to the garage. Her heart beats wildly as she comes to the edge. She hops up on the ledge and pushes off with all of her might, soaring through the air. Just before she starts to fall, she releases energy and pushes herself over the gap in buildings. She lands near Peter and crouches into a roll so she doesn't hurt her knees.
"That was awesome!" Peter cheers as she pops back to her feet.
"Thanks," she says with a burst of pride, glad that it at least looked like she knew what she was doing. Peter holds his hand up for a high-five that she returns with a grin.
"Okay, so, Karen said she has an Advanced Interrogation Protocol," he tells her. "It sounds useful, so I'm gonna use it. You've got your new voice changer, right?"
"Yeah," she confirms, reaching to her hip to flick it on. "Testing." Her eyes widen as her voice comes out super distorted. "Wow. That's new. Is there a different setting?"
Peter, struggling to hide his chuckles, peers at the tiny box. "Um, yeah." He flicks a different switch. "That better?"
"Let's see." That time, Lena's voice comes out slightly more normal, but still different than her real one. "That's fine, thanks."
"What are partners for?"
"We should probably get going before he leaves."
"Yeah, you're right." Peter taps the spider at the center of his chest. "All right, Droney, find Mr. Aaron Davis."
To Lena's surprise, an actual robot spider unfolds itself from the suit and hovers in mid-air. It makes a small squeaking sound as if agreeing to the order before flying off.
She blinks. "That thing shouldn't be so adorable."
"Isn't he cute?" Peter questions. "Okay, Karen, what's going on?"
It takes Lena a moment to realize that the voice comes from inside of Peter's suit, and, therefore, she's met with absolute silence as the robotic assistant assumingly responds. A car honks in the distance.
Realizing this, he sheepishly says, "Oh, right. Karen, this is Lena. Karen says hi and she likes your costume. Oh! Droney found him. Looks like our criminal is on the third floor."
Lena blinks, stupefied at the words coming rapidly out of Peter's mouth. But she doesn't have much time to process them before he's launching himself from the top of the building and she has no choice but to follow.
Peter uses a web to swing into the garage. Lena rotates her wrists, hoping she doesn't slam into the concrete wall and actually makes it through the horizontal opening he's aiming for.
Luckily, they both succeed. Lena spots Droney silently following the buyer as he walks toward his small car with a shopping bag in hand, oblivious to the two superheroes approaching.
Aaron Davis doesn't look like a criminal. He's wearing the same gold chain around his neck that he had at the heist, a plain white shirt with a blue stripe over the shoulders, and normal jeans. His chin is covered in a slight goatee. In short, he looks like an ordinary guy who'd just gotten groceries.
Just as he puts his hand on the top of the trunk and opens it, Peter shoots out a web and sticks him to the car.
"Remember us?" Peter questions as he stalks toward the criminal. Lena has to cover her mouth to avoid laughing at the sound of his overly deep voice. It's supposed to be intimidating, but knowing it comes from a boy as small as him is too much.
"Uh, hey—" Davis stammers as he attempts to back away, but with his hand stuck, he's literally glued to his spot.
"You're gonna give us information and you're gonna give it to us now."
Lena forces her laughter down and joins Peter's side, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to be threatening. She transforms into a different person when she's dressed as Havoc. Although she's pretty confident already, she finds it easier to stand straight and tall when she's in her suit.
"Alright, chill," Davis says.
"Come on!" Peter shouts impatiently.
The older man wrinkles his brow in confusion. "What happened to your voice?"
"What do you mean, what happened to my voice?" Peter demands, the white areas on his mask narrowing along with his eyes.
"I heard you by the bridge," Davis replies. The fear from earlier has seemingly disappeared; he only appears inconvenienced now. "I know what a girl sound like."
Lena bits the inside of her cheek.
"I'm not a girl, I'm a boy! I mean, I - I'm a man!" Peter asserts, clearly embarrassed.
Davis looks to Lena, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Then, addressing Peter as he continues to put his shopping bags in his trunk with one hand, says, "I don't care what you are, boy, girl..."
"I'm not a girl, I'm a man!" he insists.
"Look, can you just tell us who's selling the weapons?" Lena questions exasperatedly.
"We need to know!" Peter adds more aggressively. "Give us names, or else."
Blank-faced, Davis slams his trunk closed using the hand stuck to the top of it, causing Peter to jump back a step in surprise. Lena shakes her head at him.
"This is why I'm here," she mutters.
"You ain't never done this before, huh?" Davis questions.
Peter sighs in defeat as Droney flies back to its home in the suit. "Deactivate interrogation mode."
Davis chuckles in amusement and glances at the ground.
"Look, man," Peter says desperately in his normal voice, "these guys are selling weapons that are crazy dangerous. They can't just be out on the streets. Look, if one of them could just cut Delmar's Bodega in half—"
"You know Delmar's?" the man questions in sudden interest.
The whites of Peter's mask blink in surprise. "Yeah, best sandwich in Queens."
"Sub Haven's pretty good."
"Eh, it's too much bread."
"I like bread."
"Hello?" Lena bursts out. "This is about the safety of New York, and, like, the entire world. Not sandwiches." She looks to Davis pleadingly. "Come on. You gotta give us something."
He merely twists his mouth to the side without a word. Lena's heart sinks at his silence. She'd known they'd taken a risk by talking to him out of the blue, but she'd thought that he'd give them at least a little bit of information. He doesn't seem similar to the other guys at the bridge whatsoever. While they had started to shoot at Peter and Lena right away, Davis appears to at least have a little humanity in him. At least he hasn't tried to hurt them.
Peter turns around, starting to storm away in defeat. "Stupid Interrogation Mode. Karen, don't ever do that again."
"The other night, you told that guy, 'If you're gonna shoot somebody, shoot me,'" Davis says, effectively causing Peter to stop in his tracks and for Lena to turn back toward the older man. "And you?" He points to her. "You rushed after him without a second's hesitation. That's pretty ballsy. I don't want those weapons in this neighborhood; I got a nephew who live here."
Peter, who had been slowly walking back as he was talking, raises an arm desperately. "What can you tell us about the guy with the wings?"
"Other than he's a psychopath dressed like a demon, nothin'. I don't know who he is or where he is." He merely watches as Peter leans his back against the car in frustration and heaves a sigh. Scratching the goatee on his chin thoughtfully, he continues, "I do know where he's gonna be."
Lena's heart jumps hopefully. "Really?"
"Yeah, this crazy guy I used to work with, he's ... he's supposed to be doing a deal with him."
"Yes!" Peter cheers excitedly, pumping his fists as he jumps up and down. "Yes!"
As he starts to walk away, Davis calls after him, "Hey, hey, hey! I didn't tell you where. You don't have a location." He turns to Lena again. "Man, is he always like this?"
"Unfortunately," she replies with a shrug.
"He really need to get better at that."
"I'm working on it."
"I'm right here," Peter reminds them in annoyance. He'd stopped walking and has returned to his spot beside Lena, casually leaning one arm against the trunk. "Where is it?"
"Can I give you some advice?" Davis asks. "You really need to get better at this part of the job."
"I don't understand," Peter feigns innocence as he rests his hip against the car with his arms crossed. "I'm intimidating."
Lena smacks her palm onto her face.
"Nah." Davis points at her. "She's pretty good. I can tell you guys are pretty young, so I guess that's why. Anyway, Staten Island Ferry, four-thirty."
"Oh, that's soon," Peter mumbles, then points at the webbing that's covering Davis' hand as he jogs away for the third time. "Hey, that's gonna dissolve in two hours."
"No, no, no, no." The man points at his hand. "Come fix this."
"Two hours. You deserve that!"
"I got ice cream in here."
"You're a criminal! Bye, Mr. Criminal!"
Lena rolls her eyes before running after him. She admits that, while Peter still has a lot to learn, it makes their team efforts all the more interesting.
_____
honestly, i love donald glover and the easter egg about his nephew was awesome!! that whole scene was iconic— i always laugh at peter's interrogation mode voice
we love an author (me) who actually researches queens on google maps to look up real locations for this book
also, i'm in a bit of a predicament. should i put infinity war in this book or make a new one? i didn't really want to create a whole new book because it'll be so short and i don't want to clutter up my profile, but then again, i'm indecisive as heck. please help a girl out!!!
-kristyn