..

Notes:

Okay so, I just want to take this time to say that with the way this chapter turned out, the story is going in a bit of a different direction than what we all thought. Don't worry, it's still a fieldtrip story and the gang will see more things, but it's not really a linear reason like going to exhibits then museums then lunch and then another museum. It's more like the rest of the trip being an effect of this chapter…eh, you'll get what I mean and learn why soon enough.

Anyways, mark it down, folks! Chapter Eleven is the historical moment where it finally happens. That's right, the one character you've all be asking about finally enters the stage!

Chapter Eleven – Teenage Troubles

"Really? You're gonna go there?" M.J. asked in a tone of disbelief. Her folded arms lost some tension as she continued to stand in front of Flash. Peter was impressed. It was like she was just looking down at an annoying bug instead of an annoying person.

"And what's that supposed to mean," Flash demanded. He spared a look to Ned, Jason, and Peter before he chose to ignore them in favor of the one right in front of him.

"It means that you're outnumbered, and I can just do this," she said as she easily walked around him and began to head over to the food line.

Flash flushed and fumbled with his words as he tried to react. He did not reach out to M.J. but he did try to move to stand in front of her again, blocking her and stopping her from taking another step.

"You better stop, Flash. I'll force you to if you don't do it on your own terms."

He gave a deeper frown at those words but as he opened his dumb mouth to say something else, Peter easily jumped in.

"Seriously, dude. Just stop. She already said that you're outnumbered."

Flash was stupid to think he could just walk up to the four of them in the middle of a large, crowded food court and expect anything different. Peter was certainly not going to get physical and he knew that Ned preferred to be a pacifist. M.J. was a bit of a wild card however and Peter was sad to admit that he did not know much about Jason and how he could act in such a situation.

Instead, he just let one of his arms loosely spread out in between M.J. and Flash to stop them from moving closer to one another.

By some stroke of luck, he finally backed down. It was more like he backed away while still looking angry and sort of threatening but that was a typical Flash characteristic at this point. So, when he at least moved away enough to not be sharing the same air as M.J. and Peter, the young hero was quickly able to nudge her elbow.

That got her to finally stop glaring and to start moving again.

She gave a loud huff that Peter was sure Flash heard, but she still moved on and away from the stupid confrontation.

Peter even heard Ned's small sigh of relief from behind him. He turned slightly to see him and Jason keeping up and further behind them, Peter saw Flash still looking in their direction.

He still had his usual angry look about him but when Peter first turned and Flash had not noticed him outright staring, he did not look completely crazy. But then he did catch Peter's eye and he gave another deep frown. His so-called friends made their way up to him then and with Flash distracted by whatever they were saying, Peter tried his best to forget all about the idiotic confrontation and instead let his stomach and nose lead him to the glorious smell of fast food.

.

.

"God, I hate him." M.J. stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans as they finally got in line for Taco Bell.

"Yeah," Ned mumbled.

"Just ignore him like usual," Peter said, "and he'll get bored like he always does."

"The little ass will get a taste of his own medicine one of these days. And I'll be the doctor force feeding it to him sooner rather than later if no one else does."

Peter and Ned just traded a look while keeping quiet. There was no stopping M.J. once she was on one of her roles. Hopefully she would be able to cool down while their small group was away from him for the rest of the lunch break. And at least after, it would also mean that M.J. would be away from Flash since she was in a different group.

By the time they ordered and got their food, she calmed down a bit and Peter and Ned both felt relieved to see the chill girl they knew. M.J. sure was protective of the two of them. Peter always felt happy and even a bit nervous whenever she would stand up for them and herself no matter who it was.

It was nice to have another close friend act like for him and sometimes he would also feel fluttery in his stomach. And whenever Peter would think too much about why he liked how cool M.J. was, he would feel anxious and try to shake off the feeling.

Noting that their previous table had been taken up by employees, the foursome had to make their way around a bit before finally sitting down closer to the entrance to the food court.

Surprisingly, it helped Peter out a bit since the doors were slightly open and were filtering out some of the buzzing noise. He could focus a bit of his attention to the silence outside the room and it did wonders to help him continue to keep calm.

He was the first to dig into his second lunch meal with Ned a close second. Jason gave a laugh at their actions before he too joined in while M.J. just ate the cinnamon twists she ordered.

Most of the table consisted of Peter's food and while Ned looked both envious and concerned, he still acted like it was the usual.

M.J. barely batted an eye at the amount and rate that Peter was wolfing down his tacos and burritos.

Jason was the most concerned seeing as he was a usual at their table and had no idea that the amount he saw before Peter was a typical everyday thing.

"Are, are you alright there, Peter?" Jason finally asked after eating only some of what he ordered.

"Hmm?" came the muffled response.

"Oh yeah, he's fine," Ned replied for Peter.

"You're sure? That's so much food. He bound to get sick or fall into a food coma."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said with a laugh. "Pete's just a black hole. He eats like this all the time. It can take some getting used to but at this point, I just let him be when he's eating."

Ned went back to his own meal and eventually, Jason followed.

The four of them continued to make small talk as they ate their fill, and after a while, one by one, they were done eating until it was just Peter left. He continued to happily chow down on his fake cheesy nachos and drank his fifth refill of water.

M.J. had pulled out her book again and let the three boys keep talking to fill the silence. It was more like just Ned and Jason though.

"I just don't know where you're putting it all, Pete," Jason said with a smile and a shake of his head. He missed the amused look that passed between the best friends.

Peter shrugged, "Who knows. I'm just always hungry and eat when I can. Guess I'm just still growing."

"Yeah well if you're eating this much because you're growing, you'll probably be the tallest person in the world."

They each gave a chuckle at that. Peter tried to imagine himself as the tallest person in the world and thought it would be bad for his secret identity. Since if he really was that tall, it would just be too obvious to connect the dots to the tall hero and the tall Peter Parker.

"Well, I think I'd rather be the tallest person than the shortest person. You can reach anything!" Ned said aloud as he rested his head in his hands.

"Or be the best at sports," Jason pointed out.

"Ew, no. I'd rather be shortest person," M.J. said.

"What? Who wants to be short? You're always picked on, clothes can be too long, and you couldn't reach anything."

"Well you're just afraid of heights in general so of course you'd say that. But if you're small, you can fit in anything. Small clothes are a perfect fit and anything bigger would just be comfy. Plus, it's called 'fun size' for a reason."

Peter suddenly had the thought of M.J. being bundled up in one of his sweaters. They were about the same size, but he still liked the idea of her wearing something of his. He tried to shake his head as though he could physically get the thoughts to leave.

She and Ned noticed the movement but said nothing. Though Peter did spot Ned give him a grin as though he knew what Peter had been thinking about. He just glared at his friend until he looked away, dropping it.

"Yeah I guess I can see your point," Jason said with a nod. "But I still think that I would like to be taller than shorter."

M.J. gave a sort of accepting shrug at his answer before she turner to Peter. "What about you?"

"Short sounds cool. You can fit in smaller spaces. Ya know, take up less space and everything would just be cool and big," he said as he let his thoughts drift to the benefits of being a small spider-man. Though he was already quite slim and agile. It might not be that much of a difference compared to now, but Peter could easily picture how much easier his crime righting could be.

He looked over to Ned to see him subtly nodding his head as though he has just read Peter's mind.

It seemed that the cogs were turning in Ned's imaginative head at how much a of benefit it would be to Peter if he were smaller.

Peter just smiled and let the other let his imagination run wild with all the fun things. He was sure that by the end of the day, he would be able to come up with a new idea that would help Peter be Spider-man that would relate to height and size.

Instead, he turned to focus on M.J. and Jason who has started up a different conversation.

"So, what have you seen in here so far?" The dark-haired teen asked.

"Eh, some cool things but not really what I've been looking forward to yet. Our group did get to see the multi-floor museum. Have you guys been there yet?"

"Yeah but only the two bottom floors. Do you remember which ones, Peter?"

"Uh, I think it was twenty-seven and twenty-eight?"

"Yup. That's the one I'm talking about. So, you guys have been there already. I mean, it makes sense that we would be seeing the same things."

"Sure, but since we're all going in different orders, I'm sure you've been somewhere we haven't."

"We did get to see a workshop area. I think that was on floor thirty-four. That one you've been to yet?"

Peter and Jason traded a look, and both gave a small frown in thought. He started shaking his head in a negative almost at the same time as the other.

"No, I don't think so," he said as he turned back to M.J.

"That's been the most interesting thing I've seen so far."

"Well come on then. Don't leave us hanging. What's it all about?"

"And ruin the fun? Why would I do that?"

"Oh c'mon, M.J. I told you all about what we've been to."

"I never asked you to. All I ever asked about was how your guys side had been doing. You're the one who likes to tell everyone about your day, Pete." She gave a teasing look as she spoke. Peter thought the easy smile she gave look pretty.

"Wha-. But-. Oh-!" Peter fumbled as he tried to think of a quick comeback before he just slumped in his seat and leaned to rest his head against a hand and ate with the other. He finished off the last of his large meal by scraping that last of the fake cheese with the few remaining nacho chips.

"You want come chips with that cheese?" M.J. asked as she watched him eat. The side of her nose lifted slightly.

"Nah I'm good. Want some?" he asked as he pushed the small plastic cup of orange goo across the table.

She silently pushed it back.

That made the three guys laugh while M.J. just went back to trying to read her book. Peter noticed that it wasn't working as well as she had clearly been hoping for when he watcher her eyes move across at the same height more than once.

Trying to let had get a few minutes in before the lunch break would be over, Peter let her be and instead just talked with Ned and Jason about whatever came to them.

.

.

It was a good few minutes as the three teens just compared canon and their head canons about Star Wars, talked about their favorite stories from D&D campaign, and what the next Lego video game might be. It was nerd heaven for the three of them and the longer he chatted with Jason, Peter felt bad that he had never really tried to interact with him more than just a passing chat in the school hallways.

But it was the past and now Peter was just happy to have gained another friend to his growing group. Sure, it was now only a grand total of three people, but it was a huge increase from when he first began high school with only Ned.

He fit right in with the three of them. He was almost as calm as M.J., as passionate as Ned and Peter could even tell that he was quick witted like himself.

As the different topics easily shifted all over the place, they took their time sitting at the table just chatting. Peter did eternally have to say that he was still hungry and wanted to go grab something else to tide him over until dinner. Jason gave an utterly gob smacked look at the words while the other two acted like it was nothing new – which was absolutely true.

Peter offered to go grab something by himself so that they could keep their seats.

When he got back, he had two different bags of fried chicken and sushi rolls. Balanced on his arms were a plastic container holding a regular garden salad and large jug of water.

It almost looked like he might topple over with how much he was carrying. But Peter was easily able to make his way over and settle everything down without even dropping a napkin. Again, he got some funny looks from people around them who watched him slowly set everything down, but he was used to it by now.

This was certainly not the first time that Peter had gotten heaping amounts of food in public.

It must have been even more impressive for the small audience and Jason to see everything disappear into Peter's stomach almost as soon as he sat down.

"I'm just going to say it again 'cause I just don't get it. Where the heck does it all go?" Jason desperately asked Peter. When he just shrugged with a smile, Jason turned to Ned as though expecting to him have the answer. Ned gave his own shrug.

"Don't look at me. He's been like this since the start of high school. He's just one of the lucky ones I guess and has a great metabolism."

Peter pretended to cough to hide his laugh. Ned was technically telling the truth since Peter did indeed have a great metabolism. It was just not because he was a teen going through puberty and growth spurts.

"Well whatever is going on with you, Peter, you're one lucky dude."

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's great being able to eat a lot, don't get me wrong, I love eating like everyone else, but it can get expensive real quick. That's why I just eat so much junk and fast food."

"That does suck. Guess there's always a good and bad thing everything, huh."

"Guess so."

"Hey," M.J. interrupted as she looked down at her phone, "looks like it almost time for my group to head out."

Peter checked the time as well and noticed that it was the same for his group. "Yeah, guess it's the same for us."

Ned gave a sad frown, "Man, already? Time always flies when you're actually enjoying yourself."

"What are you talking about, Ned? The fun is just beginning. I thought you were pumped to see so much of S.I.?"

"Oh, right!" He said with a sudden smile. Ned happily jumped up form the bench first, finally urging the rest of them to get up as well.

Once they all threw out their trash, the group of friends took their time walking to the pillar that Erin had told them to meet up at. It was not too far from where they had been sitting so from where they were, Peter could already spot a few of their classmates hanging around there. And that also happened to include one Flash Thompson who was leaning against the tall, white pillar.

M.J. let out a tired kind of groan at the sight and Peter could not agree more even if he tried.

It seemed that at the same time that the two of them noticed Flash, he spotted them as well. With a tilt of his head, he got up and began make his way over with his lacky's falling in behind him. He was swaggering in a kind of obnoxious way as his large arm strides made his shoulders look larger than they really were.

"Not again," M.J. mumbled as she rolled her head backwards and let out a sigh through her nose.

Peter could not agree more. Why couldn't the idiot just leave them alone? It would just be easy for all involved.

But clearly, that was just too much to ask for, Peter thought to himself. At least if it escalated (like it was almost certain to) Flash would be the one at the center of it. He really was stupid to try and act so tough in such a high-profile place like Stark Industries where he was being constantly watched from wither the employees in the room of the cameras that were in every nook and cranny of the tower.

M.J. stopped walking and the three of them followed her actions, letting Flash be the one to make his way up to them with his own friends by his side.

It practically looked like a western standoff with how both groups were standing shoulder to shoulder.

At least they were off the to the side of the room near the large entrance doors to the food court and sort of away from everyone else. That way at least they could book it if Flash really did try something and not have to deal with the confrontation.

They were already getting some worrying looks and some glares from employees and passersbys. Peter could not blame them. Who would like the look of a group of people, let alone teenagers, who were staring each other down with frowns and folded arms?

It practically screamed enemies or at least people who were clearly not on friendly terms.

None of them spoke but the longer that they all stood there, the more Peter was feeling his senses go off. It was not like any outright danger, but it was like the tension was getting thicker.

Then Flash did finally say something.

"Welcome back to the tour, Penis. Looks like you won't be able to have your girlfriend be your bodyguard for the next few hours. Who knows what could happen then, ya know?" He gave a grin to Peter at those words as he folded arms and tilted his head to the side a bit.

Peter thought he looked dumb but did not say anything. He just glared while he could practically see the anger radiating off M.J. next to him.

"You seriously want to do this, Flash?" M.J. demanded as she tightly crossed her arms across her chest as well. "Because if you wanna go, we can go."

A dry laugh escaped Flash. He lifted an eyebrow and did the cliché look as he eyes M.J. up and down as though he were judging if she was even worth a fight. "Sure, why not. Let's see what you can do. I mean, do you seriously think that you're going to do anything to me with all these people around?"

"Well then what the hell did you think you were going to do to us? You're in the same position, genius," Ned said.

"Please, I just wanted to have a nice, friendly chat with Parker here, that's all. It's not like I was going to rough him up."

"Cut the crap, Flash. There's nothing friendly about you and even if Peter was going to suffer through listening to your voice, it's not like we would leave him alone with you."

"Yeah and in case you forgot, genius, Jason and I are still in the same tour group as you. And besides, you're one to talk. You're the one out numbered here seeing as they don't even want to deal with you either," M.J. said.

That one got a reaction out of Flash. Though it was only a twitch of an eye and his face gaining just the smallest hint of pink.

"Shut your mouth, Leeds!" Flash finally took the few steps needed to be right in front of them. He reached out to the other but was stopped before he could even brush against a hair on Ned's head.

Peter had quickly felt the anger growing in him at the sight of how aggressive Flash had been towards his friends ever since the day started. It never let up and now, it was the boiling point.

Faster than should have been for a regular teenager, Peter had snapped his hand upward, catching Flash by the wrist as he had arched his hand downward towards Ned.

"Don't you dare touch him."

Peter was surprised by the tone of his voice and clearly so was Flash as he jerked backwards but did not get far due to his trapped hand.

Sean, Christopher, and Damion had moved forward from behind Flash after seeing the predicament of him but did nothing. They just tried to glare at Peter and his friends while sharing uncertain looks with each other.

Flash tried pulling his hand out of Peter's grip but the few times he tried to jerk his hand away, he did not get far. A hint of worry finally flew across his face as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When it seemed that he understood that his wrist was not going anywhere anytime soon with the grip Peter had, he instead tried to go for attacking verbally, as he always tended to do.

"You better let go of me, Parker!"

"Not until you swear to leave us alone."

"I don't have to listen to a nobody like you. Let go!"

While Peter would have loved nothing more than to continue to hold onto Flash's wrist, he did eventually let go of the other male. He certainly did not want to make the larger scene than there were already probably making and the longer that the four of them crowded around Flash, the more obvious it would look that there was some type of altercation going on.

Peter could already spot a few of the closer people already eyeing them up while a few were standing up as though to interrupt or go get someone.

They were a group of kids after all and they were in one of the most prestigious places in all of New York city. They most likely assumed to all be just a bunch of regular teens (which they were) and assumed that they were up to no good (which only half technically were).

Feeling the shame begin to well up in him from how they all must have looked, Peter backed up a few steps, bringing out his arms a bit to brush against M.J. and Ned's hands as a sort of signal that they should probably move along. Peter wanted to get out of there now before anything else could be done.

But of course, Flash had to have the last laugh.

As soon as Peter's grip slacked, he had forcefully pulled his wrist away to protect it against his chest and cover it up with his other hand. He was acting like it had been painful to be in Peter's grasp, which was ridiculous.

But as much as the young hero would have loved to know for sure that he did no such thing, he slowly began to doubt himself when he saw just how genuine Flash appeared to be as he cradled his wrist and looked at Peter with a look he had never seen before.

It came and went soon enough and instead, the usual, angry Flash took its place.

"What is wrong with you, Parker?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you!"

The two of them were suddenly in each other's faces. It was nothing buy ugly frowns and grimaces.

A vice like grip found its way around Peter's upper arm and when he turned to look, he saw M.J. who quickly pulled Peter back and away.

"You better just stop it and walk away," she interrupted as she stared straight into Flash's eyes. "You came rushing up and he just retaliated. If you think that he actually hurt you, you are even worse than I thought." That time, M.J. fully grabbed Peter's arm and shoved him further back behind her to where Ned and Jason were standing.

Flash naturally shifted his growing frown to her as he lost sight of Peter. The glare was still there and the longer it stayed, Peter started to feel even more uneasy when his spider sense kept going haywire.

"Back of, Jones. Nobody asked you for your opinion."

"Well I didn't ask if you wanted it anyways. I'll say whatever the hell I want, thank you very much."

"So now you're growing a backbone too? What is wrong with you freaks? It used to be better when the quiet people knew when to keep to themselves and just leave things alone."

"Well I'm not going to 'leave it alone' when I see you acting like you're the best goddamn thing in the world when you're clearly not. Grow up would you, Flash?"

Flash's frown grew utter rage as his lip lifted to show off teeth and his eyes widened a bit. The longer M.J. continued to speak and it shifted more and more until Peter thought he might burst a blood vessel. He eventually took a short step towards her and Peter reached out for her forearm, hoping to drag her back and away from the other teen.

He was able to brush his fingers against her before she moved out of the way and took a step too. It seemed that when he made his move to get in her face, she saw it and made the move first, getting into his space as well.

M.J. and Flash were almost nose to nose now, they were so close. A single pin drop or a wrong twitch of muscle could be the trigger to finally have the two go at it. It was beyond tense and Peter did not even have to look around to know that they were making a full-on scene now.

And then suddenly, the rescue began approaching.

At least, it was rescue in Peter's opinion.

Erin's bright red hair and Mr. Johnson's stark white hair were the first things he spotted from the two people as they made their way over, through the small crowd that had formed around them by then. Further behind the two of them, Peter could even see the other teachers trailing after and classmates shifting around at the back of the crowd trying to a get a look at what was going on.

When he looked around once more, Peter noticed that there were also a lot more people than he had previously thought.

It was quite uncomfortable being ogled like they currently were, but Peter could not blame any of the employees. Though it did nothing to help the small amount of shame that was blooming within his chest at all the looks. The small scuffle that they were having was on their turf so of course they would be curious about the drama of some teenagers going on right in front of them and in front of all the other people wearing black badges.

They were just other regular tourists and people. And here Peter was in the middle of a fight that was probably going to be a stain on Stark Industries reputation.

"Grow up? I could say the same to you," Flash responded. He clearly had not spotted the two adults heading over but Peter was not even sure if he would try to do anything to help his own case anyways. He looked furious now and there was clearly no going back for him since the crowd watching were seeing his true colors.

Even his so-called friends were already backing up, saving their own skin as they became more aware of the audience. Sure, they were not as bad as Flash, but Peter was still glad to see the crowd was not letting the three of them try to blend into the background, instead forcing them to clearly be seen as part of the problem.

"Well maybe she wouldn't have to if you would just leave us alone. I mean seriously Flash, just stop it. You came walking up to us and we don't want to be a part of whatever it is that your trying to do." Ned interjected as he placed a hand on M.J.'s shoulder as though to make sure she would not leap forward again to stand in Flash's face.

"Ya know something Leeds? I really hate it when you always try to talk to me when I wasn't speaking to you."

Ned's own frown did not let up, but Peter saw how the words still affected him as a sort of humiliating flush grew upon his face and he looked down. M.J. jerked once more and finally broke free after those words.

It was then Peter's turn as he quickly tried to stop her from doing something. Sure, Peter would have liked to see her deck Flash, but he knew she would probably get in trouble since it would be the first swing. He was able to grab ahold of M.J.'s hand and she stopped. It more like it was from the startling contact than actually being restrained as he felt her fingers twitch in his palm. She did nothing to back up, but Peter was fine with that as long as she did not go fists swinging.

And then finally, finally, Erin was there like knight in shining armor.

"Mr. Thompson. Ms. Jones. What in the world going on here?" she demanded.

Sure, she sounded a clam even if she was stressing some of those words, but Peter still had to give her credit for not being biased right out of the gate. She did not glare at either one or let her eyes linger on one of them longer than the other.

Erin clearly did not like Flash already considering how she had talked about the teen to Peter and Pepper back in the Trinkets Hall. It was just such a nice thing to see an authority figure for once on his side. Or at least just not on Flash's side.

Mr. Johnson then made his way up to her side and eyes flickered this way and that, taking in the whole scene while letting his own frown fall upon his face as he realized that the people at the center of this whole thing were his very own students.

Erin too took in the sight before looking all around at the people gathered before she finally met eyes with Peter.

Not knowing what to do, he just gave a weak shrug of his shoulders and a grimace as he looked down. He knew that it looked bad with a whole bunch of teenagers trying make a scene in the food court of Stark Industries. The name and reputation were surely ruined now, and Peter just did not know what to do.

"Parker here tried to break my arm while this chick here is defending the guy. She's clearly trying to attack me," Flash quickly said. He was frowning at everyone and everything as he continued to hold his wrist.

"I see. And you, Ms. Jones? What is your side of the story?"

"What?! No, you shouldn't be listening to her. She's obviously going to lie. She just a crazy chick and clearly wants to hurt me. Just ask anyone here, they saw her coming for me when I didn't move a muscle!"

"Mr. Thompson, I wasn't talking to you. Please just let me do my job."

Even as Erin tried to keep everything professional while surrounded by the crowd, Peter could tell that she was slowly losing control of the situation too when Peter heard some whisperings of agreement from some people around. This was not her area of expertise. She was scientist who worked in a lab – not a crowd controller.

"Please, settle down everyone and back up just a bit. I can take care of this and I apologize on behalf of Stark industries," she began, "I along with the teacher of these students can handle this. Please try to go back to your business."

Some thankfully listened to her, finally moving away from the circle and going back to their own tables or just outright leaving the food court. However, some still stayed albeit from a bit of a farther distance.

"And as I was saying, Mr. Thompson, I would like to hear everything from everyone before I go making any judgements."

"Well I'm just telling you the truth. You can ask those liars if you really want but it really doesn't matter what they have to say."

"You are such a liar!" M.J. practically shouted as she fisted her shaking hands. "Dammit Flash, I've had it with you. You're an egotistical bully, a pathological liar, and frankly, I don't know if you'll ever be able to grow up. I'm sick of dealing with all the shit you put people like me and my friends through and if I am the only one around here who has the guts to stand up to you and put you down, then you can just go ahead and call me whatever you want but it won't stop me from kicking your ass."

"Now please wait just a moment, Ms. Jones, surely we don't need to do that-" Mr. Johnson tried to say before Flash interrupted him as though he had not heard a single word.

"Kick my ass? How about you just shut the hell up, Jones. You can't do anything to me, and I know that you won't, you crazy bi-"

The next thing that Peter was fully aware of was loud shout from M.J. followed by a scream from Flash and yells of shock from some of the bystanders. It all happened so fast and after instinct melted away, Peter realized that he was trying to pull M.J. off from atop Flash with help from Ned.

She easily got with help from the two boys cradling her elbows, getting her to stand on her own after just a few seconds of making sure she would not try to go on the offence again.

Meanwhile, Flash rolled over onto his side as he tried to bend into a fetal position, cupping his nose as he continued to shout and yell and swear at basically everything around him. He twisted his head all over the place as he clearly tried to deal with the pain he was feeling in his face, and Peter eventually spotted a small trickle of blood underneath the hand that was protecting Flash's nose.

M.J.'s fist was still somewhat in the air from how Peter and Ned were holding her, and he could see it bruising a bit on the knuckles that she had clearly used to deck him.

It was a bit chaotic as one was screaming about how he was sure his nose was broken while the other was shouting about how she wanted to throw in a few extra punches so that he could get a taste of his own medicine.

Meanwhile, Erin and Mr. Johnson had quickly jumped in, using their own bodies as a barrier between the two.

Erin crowded around M.J. shouting all sorts of things ranging from if she was injured anywhere that she could not see to why she through punching someone was a good idea.

Mr. Johnson had gotten onto his knees, leaning over Flash as he tried to get him to move his hands so that the teacher could get an idea of how injured he was.

After the strike, the previously cautious crowd became re-energized and swarmed closer, trying to get a good look at the action or at least the aftermath.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

The single sentence had the entire place falling into silence.

Peter was even impressed that other people had even heard the voice since it was so loud. Even he had a bit of trouble hearing it. He, along with most of everyone else, turned their heads as one to face the large entrance doors that were now wide open.

There, standing in all their glory was the one and only Pepper Potts. Her eyes were wide while the small folder she held in one hand looked like it might fall to the ground from how loosely she held it.

The look of shock and anger was a horrible mix on her beautiful face and once more, Peter felt the rush of shame and embarrassment flood his system.

What was even worse was that it was not just the C.E.O. of the very building they were in, but it was also the fact that she also had a small entourage with her, making her appearance all the more intimidating and official. Peter sure hoped that it was just usual for her to have a few people hanging around her like that and it was not people she had been planning to have a business meeting with. At least two of the people with her were the familiar faces of Happy Hogan and Maria Hill.

Either way, Pepper's very presence seemed to be the breath of fresh air that was needed for as soon as her voice carried throughout the room and made her first steps towards the crowd, the employees began leaving by the dozens.

Their heads were down as though they were kids being scolded for stealing a treat. People wearing badges of all colors flew by her as they made their way out with the crowd mentality making those wearing black badges even begin filing out on their own.

Those that dared to remain were not forced to leave the cafeteria but were told to go back to their own business. Pepper's people were easily able to disperse the remnants of the crowd by then and when it was all over, the only people left loitering nearby were all the people from Peter's and M.J.'s tour groups.

By then, Erin had led M.J. a few feet away, letting her compose herself and to calm down. M.J.'s own teacher that was leading her group was also there, apparently trying to get the whole story from her. Mr. Johnson had convinced Flash to at least sit up and show him his face. There was indeed a steady flow escaping from his left nostril while the bridge was already swelling.

"Ms. Potts!" Erin exclaimed in relief after spotting the other woman. "Thank goodness you're here. I've tried my best, believe me but this had clearly grown to be outside my field of expertise. There was just a fight between two students and I just don't know what you would want to be done."

"A fight?" she asked as she eventually looked all around before settling her eyes on both M.J. and Flash. "Yes, I see."

Pepper then gave a sigh as she touched a temple and closed her eyes briefly.

It clearly seemed that she had more on her plate and did not want to even think about dealing with something like an actual fight that had broken out on the property.

And then, another voice spoke up. It was both anticipated ever since Peter stepped one foot inside S.I. today and yet, it was also unexpected that it would have been now, of all times for him to make his move. Then again, Peter should never be surprised when it came to Tony Stark. The man himself could be an enigma at times and Peter should have learned long ago to expect the unexpected with him.

"Looks like I missed the party. That's always the best part of the event but I guess I have to be the adult now and clean up the mess, don't I?"

Once more, heads swiveled over to the entrance to see Tony standing there all by himself. His hands were casually stuffed into the pockets of his trousers while the classic red tinted sunglasses rested upon his nose.

There were clearly audible gasps from all around Peter when people realized just who it was standing there.

"Tony! Finally. You deal with all this since I already have a headache and I've only been for a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, sure thing, Pep. Just be warned if you let me have my fun with this, you can't come to complaining to me about possible paperwork and or complaints that you might get later down the line."

Pepper was clearly not happy with hearing that as her frown only grew stronger. When it was clear that Tony very much meant what he said, she finally gave another seep sigh before she gave a small nod. "Fine, whatever. Do what you want but make sure it's legal. That is the only thing that will me make come after you so if you don't want that, follow the law, got that?"

Tony gave his classic smile as he watched Pepper make her way past him with her group right behind her. Right before she could escape him, Peter noticed that he leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek and a nod to Happy which was returned.

When Pepper was finally gone, it was just Tony, Peter, and a whole bunch of students and teachers from Midtown left standing there.

The shock was still quite clear on most faces and while Peter watched Tony happily look around at the scene before him, Peter could only think about how doomed he was in all the possible ways he could think of.

"So then," Tony said as he took a hand out his pocket to casually scratch as his beard with a growing smirk, "How're we gonna clean up this mess?"

End Chapter Eleven

Notes:

Has Tony Stark finally entered the ring? You bet. Chaotic and all over the place chapter? You know it. Fast paced again? Or at least picking up the pace? Perhaps. Am I sorry? When am I not. Hotel? Trivago.

I hope that this wasn't too much a shift for people, and I hope that you still enjoyed it. As always, let me know what you thought!

Also, can I do a shameless plug right here if it's not too much of a bother?

On my FFnet profile, I have a poll at the top of the page. If you have an account, please consider checking it out. It's a new story idea that I might do when this one is finished. It's a MCU crossover. If you can't vote for whatever reason, you can still let me know what you think in a comment to this chapter!

Chapter Ten Guest Review Replies:

Guest 1 – Well I don't think this update was soon but I'm glad you like the story! I hope this chapter wasn't unrealistic like you were talking about, lol. But either way, I hope it was still somewhat fun to read. Thanks!

ThatOneGuest – Haha, yeah, no Budapest. I don't know, I've just always liked the idea that we'll never really know what happened there. Who doesn't like some mystery once in a while? Glad you liked the chapter and thank you.

WhityX – Well thank you for such kind words! It's always nice to see you folks want to make sure I take my time writing my stories.

Satre – Wow, three times! Thanks so much! And yeah, I do think Thor might be in this. But please don't quote me on that. Though that does remind me that I never really said when this story takes place. It's actually Avengers I.W. complaint which, unfortunately, means that for the sake of this story, Thor is the last Asgardian and thus, now lives on Earth with everyone.