This is a short story I wrote after finishing a test at school. Thought it was pretty good and decided to publish it. Hope Y'all enjoy!

Time ticked away slowly for me. I laid in the bathtub in my apartment; water surrounding me. The water was cold, but felt refreshing on my sweaty body and stinging back.

Spider-Man had recently encountered a new "villain". The man was dressed like the character Indian Jones. This guy had everything! The hat, the jacket, the satchel, and unfortunately the whip. But, this whip had small spikes that cling to you after it made contact with your skin. The only way I got them off was pulling them out of me.

Yes, I was able to dodge almost all the lashes, but a few had caught me off guard. I was just thankful that all the lashes that hit me were all on my back and shoulders. That way Aunt May won't be able to see them.

I allowed myself to sink deeper into the water. Fully aware I may go completely under. With every movement, I sank deeper into unconsciousness. I knew I needed to sit back up, but something inside told me not to. I felt like it was useless to fight the urge to go under the water. The last thing I saw was the clock striking 5 A.M. on a Saturday morning.

I jolted awake when I heard a bang on the door. My eyelids were still heavy and I felt like closing them again. I slightly sat up, keeping my eyes glued to the ceiling. "Peter? Are you okay?" A very familiar voice called through the door frame.

When I realized who it was, I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the railing in the shower. After I gathered enough strength, I lifted my naked body from the water. My whole body ached from the sudden movement. I allowed my eyes to close again, trying to release my headache. My head was throbbing, my back was stinging, and my legs were shaking.

I glanced up at the clock. 6:15 A.M. I was only out for an hour! There was a knock on the door just then. I turned my head to and gasped. There was blood everywhere. I looked around the area. My gut twisted in a knot at the sight of the bathroom. What did I do? Did decide to paint the bathroom with my blood?

"Peter? Honey?" May called to me.

"I'm fine! Just a little nauseated." I called back. Misery escaped with the words. "What had happened?" I whispered to myself. Slowly, everything came back to my memory. The man I was fighting. The mess I caused because I could barely lift my legs to walk. Then, the pain came back to me too. My back was stinging like I had just flopped on a nest of wasp.

I let my head drop to my chest. When I saw what I was standing in I almost screamed. I was standing in a tub of... blood? I shot up in the air and stuck to the ceiling. The blood began to swirl around in the tub. It sloshed from side to side, almost escaping its container.

As I stared at the surface below a sharp, brutal pain shot through my back. I dropped to the floor to examine the blood. I hesitated before sticking my hand into it. Quickly realizing that is wasn't completely blood, I calmed down a bit. It wasn't dense enough to be blood. My back must have been bleeding more than I thought.

I took a step back and felt something squish between my toes. When I looked down I saw my blood caked Spider-Man suit. There was blood smeared on the door handle and across the wall, leading to the bathtub. I don't even remember taking my suit off.

"Peter! I'm heading to work now! You have a visitor!" May hollered from the living room.

"Tell Ned I'm busy and-and I can't hang out!" With every word that slipped through my lips, pain inflected my throat. I needed to clean this mess up before May comes home tonight.

"It's not Ned! It's Mr. Stark, Peter! Are you sure you're okay? You don't sound 'okay'! What's the matter? Do I need to stay home, with you?" May was screaming at the top of her lungs. She just yelled all that with Tony Stark in the room!

"I'm fine May! Have a good day at work! Oh, and tell Mr.Stark I'll be out in a moment!" There was no way I could clean this before he started getting suspicious. I'd have to wait until he leaves. I was about to just walk out the door when I remembered I was still standing with no clothes on. "Wait! May!" She didn't answer.

I cracked the door open and stuck my head out. The sight of Mr. Stark standing to the left of the door made me jump. I slammed the door shut and I heard him laughing. I could just imagine him shaking his head. "What's up, kid? Need something?" He knocked on the door a couple of times as well. My breath was released as I realized he didn't see anything. (And yes I mean the blood.)

"Umm... No. I was just gonna ask her a question." I said through the door. "Do you mind not standing right there? It's kinda weird." Footsteps indicated he had walked back to the living room. "What am I gonna do?"

I could ask Tony freaking Stark to get me some clothes or try to run to my room. Both of those things were too risky. I wasn't doing either of them. Instead, I searched through the dirty clothes hamper. I found a pair of sweats that didn't smell too bad and slipped them on. Not having a shirt on wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't chopped up! I was forced to wear one of my Star Wars shirts. It wasn't that bad. I mean all it had on it was the Millenium Falcon and its blueprints.

I opened the door slightly and squeezed out. I quickly shut the door and strolled to the living room, in search of my mentor. I found him sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and his nose stuck in his phone. "H-Hey! Mr. Stark, what a surprise." I managed to choke out. Tony immediately stood up and turned around to face me. I stood behind the couch, trying to stay out of view.

"I thought you fell in, kid. What took you so long?" Tony walked around the couch and came up to me. He was wearing his normal attire. A black suit with a white button up undershirt. He had a red tie on and his black dress shoes. His normal clothing.

"Like I said, didn't feel so good. I think it was just something I ate. Anyway, why-why are you here?" I moved away from him to the other side of the couch. Tony eyed me closely making my face heat up and turn beet red.

"We caught your Indian Jones guy. He was an escaped inmate at a mental hospital." He squinted his eyes and looked me up and down. I walked to the kitchen while I listened. Trying to flee his sight. "Pete, you alright? You're limping pretty badly." He followed me. Of course, he would!

"Yeah... Is that all you wanted to tell me? You could have just called." I shot out a web and swung open the fridge. Then I shot another web at a water bottle. The sticky formula latched on to it and in one pull the bottle was in my hand. I popped open the medicine cabinet and grabbed the Tylenol.

Tony was standing behind me now. He forcefully placed a hand on my shoulder. "You know what, I just wanted to-" Before I knew it I pushed Mr. Starks hand away and winced in pain. "Pete?" This was like nothing I'd ever felt! My breaths started picking up and my vision started to blur. I leaned over for a split second.

"I'm okay." I stood straighter and opened the medicine bottle.

"I didn't even ask you that," Tony said. My eyes darted to the hallway and the back at him. "Okay, games over. Did that guy hurt you? What are you trying to hide?" I dropped the bottle of pills, but quickly reached down and snatched it mid-air. The sudden movement made me wince even more.

"Look, I'm just a little sore..." I wasn't looking at Mr.Stark. I couldn't look at him and lie like that. I felt like I was dying. I'd never experienced pain like this. I looked up and saw Tony was gone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him walking down the hall towards the bathroom!

"Wait! No! Mr. Stark, you can't go in there!" Me, the Spectacular Spider-Man, yelling at Iron Man not to go in a bathroom. Ned's gonna get a kick out of this. I gathered all the strength I had left and dashed through the hallway. I used my body to block him from the door. I had arrived just in time. Gosh, he walks slow.

"Okay, now I know you're trying to hide something. Kid, you need a lesson on how to lie. Well, I guess that's not something I should be teaching teenagers. Anyway, let's see it." Tony didn't look away from me at all. He made eye contact the whole time, something that would give any teenager anxiety. Sweat started trickling down my forehead and I started shivering like I was cold. My head dropped slightly. Mr. Stark placed a hand on my other shoulder. I dropped it lower so the touch would be lifted off. He got the memo and put his arm down. "Peter," I looked straight up when he said my full name. He hardly ever calls me Peter. "I'm not going to be mad. Just let me see what ever's in there. I'm here to help." I shook my head yes, I guess I was trying to say I understand.

This time Mr.Stark gently placed both hands on my shoulder and pushed me to the side. My dumb ass let him shove me aside! I sighed a leaned back against the wall. Instantly, I jerked away. Tony looked at me one last time before grabbing the doorknob.

Once the door was open Tony stood frozen still. His eyes were wide and his lips slightly parted. He has seen the blood filled room. The blood on the door, the wall, and sink. The blood covered suit. The bloody water in the tub. He's seen it. I'm screwed...

Tony whispered something under his breath. I heard what he said but didn't want to seem rude. "What?" I practically yelled. I didn't mean to be so loud.

He turned on his heel in a panic. His eyes stared into my eyes. I felt like he was going to devour my freaking soul! "Your back... Peter, take off your shirt." My eyes fell from him to the ground. "Shirt! Now."

There's something about adults saying 'now' in a calm voice that makes you move. If he would have yelled it I wouldn't have thrown my shirt off so quickly. As the cloth scraped on my back, I wanted to cry. It made my shoulders and back sting and my weak body made me shake. When is my healing factor gonna kick it!

That's when I realized Tony Stark just told me to take my shirt off. This was weird. Boy, was Ned gonna laugh hard! I smirked at the thought and it gave me something to think about.

After my shirt was off I looked at Tony in an uncomfortable manner. "Uh... You want me to turn around don't you." I huffed and turned before he even answered. "It's really not that bad. I was half out of it when I tried cleaning my back. That's why there is so much blood everywhere." Mr.Stark didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. We stood in silence, the only thing I could hear was his heavy breaths. Or maybe those were my heavy breaths.

"Peter... you need medical attention. I'm going to take you to the compound. Have my medical team take a look at you. Put your shirt back on." I tried to bend over and get it off the floor, but the pain was too much for me to bare anymore. I fell to my hands and knees. "Kid!"

"I'm okay," I said through the tears that slid down my face. "Really..." I stopped. I couldn't see. Maybe it was from the tears that hung in my eyes, I'll never know. "I-I..." I felt a cool hand land on my shoulder.

"Peter, it's okay to be hurt you know." He lifted me up on my feet, but I couldn't stand. "Those needles weren't normal kid. They dig deep in your skin and leave behind a small piece of metal. I have to take you back. How many times were you hit?" He placed his arm under my legs and scooped me up in his arms. Just imagine a Prince carrying his princess away. No, this scene was more like when someone dies and a loved one is carrying them out of a burning building.

"Only four... so four pieces of metal in my back, huh?" I laid my head on his shoulder and I caught him smiling down at me. "Just like you had in your chest?" I could hear his heartbeat speed up as I closed my eyes. I heard the door open and Happy's booming voice. Tony put me on the couch for a moment. The next thing I felt was metal wrapped around my body and cool air slapping against me.

We were flying in the air. I hadn't even noticed until we landed on the roof of the compound. "Maybe... next... T-time we should drive." I managed to spit out.

"Hopefully, there will never be the next time." Tony smiled down at me again, but this time he wanted me to see him. I returned with a slight smile, but soon my smile faded. My body fell limp as I blacked out. The last thing I saw in my mind was a clock that read 5 o'clock.