The day began with Manny Spamboni sitting on top of a building staring intently at something with binoculars and a wicked grin on his face. As the best days tend to start.

He muttered to himself. "Okay… okay… entry there… over there… cut him off there…"

"What are you doing up here, Manny?"

Manny yelped and dropped his binoculars. They plummeted down the side of building to become a black speck on the pavement below. Danny whirled around. "Look what you made me do!"

Danny Rebus crossed his arms and looked offended, which was nothing new at all. "I didn't make you do anything. I don't control how tight a grip you have on your own binoculars."

Manny grumbled and turned away, squinting to find what he was looking at before.

Danny looked in the same direction. "What were you using them for, anyway? Plotting against the Electric Company?"

"Nah, not today. Today I'm going after bigger fish." He pointed at the event going on a block away.

Danny frowned. "The Young NYC Science Expo? I thought you were banned for life from that."

"I am. But this year, I have to find a way to sneak in, because Tony Stark is there."

"Tony Stark? Really?"

"Yeah. Today I'm finally going to explain my inventions to him and he's finally going to listen."

"Even if you have to corner him and make him listen."

"Exactly. I'm planning my strategy to the teeny-tiniest little detail, so that I can get Stark to listen to me no matter where he goes." Manny cackled.

As Manny's laughs grew ever more maniacal, Danny quietly retreated. He was going to find someplace where he could watch the show from a safe distance.

Lisa was holding a model so large you couldn't see her head behind it. And it wasn't just large, it was complicated. You'd probably need to have completed at least four years of various university science classes before even understanding what it was a model of.

They whole project was very advanced. Lisa and Peter were kind of prodigies.

Lisa peered out from behind the model. "Peter, can I set this down yet? It's getting kind of heavy."

"Yeah, yeah, just let me get the base here, and, um, it'll be good- ow!" There was crash.

"Peter?"

"Fine, it's all fine, everything's good. There, you can set it down."

Lisa set it down and smiled. "There. It looks nice."

Peter blushed. "Thanks".

"Yeah, yeah, it's nice sure, but the blue tablecloth? I would have gone for more magenta, myself. Never undervalue the right aesthetic choices."

Peter and Lisa turned around. Behind them was Tony Stark himself, closely followed by his personal security.

Peter jumped. "Mister Stark!"

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"…who I've never, ever met in person before. Ever. Never." Peter hastily added.

"Right. Of course. Well, looks very smart and science-y. Best of luck." Tony and his entourage moved on. As they left, Lisa thought she saw Tony and Peter's eyes meet.

"Are you okay, Peter?"

"What? Yeah! Totally! One hundred percent fine. No problemos here, amigo. All is quite on the Parker front. …I'm, uh, gonna stop talking now."

Peter was a little odd, but he sure was cute.

Have you ever seen the tip of a worm wriggle its way out of the ground?

Imagine that, multiplied by a million in every conceivable way on every conceivable level, and making a ton of noise.

That's what it was like when the big gray thing burst out of the ground beneath the Young NYC Science Expo.

Some ran away, yelling, as others just stood there with their mouths hanging open in pure shock.

A large metallic something has tunneled its way out of the earth, and on its side, painted in big yellow letters, was the word CLIFFHANGER.