A/N: New story! I have a vague idea of where this is going to go, but nothing's certain yet.

WARNING: Rating may go up if I continue the story.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! I make no profit off of this. This is solely for my enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of others! ;)

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"How's it in SoCal?" Peter fired another web at an adjacent building as he reached the end of his last swing.

"It's kinda cold actually." Came May's slightly resentful voice from the other end of the connection. "I'm glad I thought to bring a few cardigans for the weekend," she mused. "Did you get all your homework done?"

Peter huffed slightly as he landed in a crouch on the lip of another building's roof. Carefully, he spun around until he was facing outwards towards the streets of the city; a perfect vantage point.

"May, we've already talked about this," he said, eyes scanning the dark streets below. "I did all my homework on Thursday before you left and we didn't have school today because of teacher conferences. I don't have any anything due."

"Alright, just checking. Did you eat today?"

Peter nodded absentmindedly as he squinted down at a man with bright green hair walking way too quickly, looking way too nervous, at way too late o'clock.

"Uh yeah, yeah I ate."

"What did you have?"

"Some… banana." Peter began to scale down the side of the building face first.

"Some banana? Sure. What else did you have?"

Peter changed directions, scampering sideways instead of downwards. The guy was moving fast. Once Peter reached the edge of the building, he coiled his muscles and leapt onto the brick walls of the next structure, making sure to stay above the man. "A- uh- a sandwich."

"And what was on that sandwich, Peter?" There was smirk in May's voice now.

The teen was too distracted to give his full attention to the conversation anymore. "Um…"

"Lettuce?" Karen supplied helpfully in his ear.

"Lettuce!" Peter blurted to his aunt, keeping his eyes on the quickly moving target.

"Mustard?" Karen continued.

"Mustard." The man had turned into an alley way, long-legged strides carrying him quickly into the shadows.

"Mhmm?"

"Pickles?"

"Pickles," Peter whispered, advancing as quickly as he could in the dim lighting without charging blindly into the unknown.

"Sauerkraut?"

"Sauerkra– sauerkraut? Really?" Peter grimaced as May's laugh bubbled across the line.

"Who're you talking to, Pete?" She chuckled.

"It's just Karen. Look, May, I'll call you later." They exchanged their goodbyes over the phone and May's caller ID slipped of Peter's display. It was only once they'd stopped conversing that Peter realized he'd lost sight of the green-haired man.

He mumbled a curse under his breath. "Karen, where'd he go?"

The AI was quick to respond. "I'm not sure. This alleyway branches off in several directions and I am detecting multiple heat signatures. Any one of them could your target. Would you like me to switch to thermal cameras?"

A sigh escaped unbidden from Peter's lips. "No, that's okay. Thanks, though."

Damn it. Who knows what crime that guy was going to commit? Or had already committed? And Spider-Man had just let him get away. Great.

Peter was just about to shoot a web to carry him up out of the alley when he heard a timid voice call out.

"Sp-Spider-Man?"

He spun on his heel and saw a little boy standing five feet away from him, huddled into a doorframe.

"Hey," Peter said softly as the boy stepped out into the open space, hands gripping the edge of his jacket. "Are you okay?"

The little boy shook his head quickly, bright blonde hair swaying across his forehead. "I- I'm lost," he sniffed, almond-shaped green eyes filling with tears. "I can't find my mom!" He threw his hands over his eyes as the tears streamed harder, a sob wrenching from his throat.

Peter rushed over and dropped into a crouch in front of the bawling boy. The kid's cries tore at his heart; the boy couldn't have been more than six or seven. Why would his parents even have him out this late?

"Hey hey hey, it's gonna be okay! Don't cry," he pleaded, gently taking hold of the boy's wrists and tugging them down from his face. "I'm going to help you find your mom, okay?" He said, squeezing the boy's hands.

A few stray tears leaked out of the boy's eyes, but he was no longer sobbing. He hiccuped slightly as he stared into the white lenses of Peter's mask. "Pinky promise?" He gasped, extending the digit in front of the masked hero's face.

Peter gave a small smile, even though the boy couldn't see it. "Yeah, I pinky promise." He hooked his gloved finger around the boy's smaller one and shook it slightly, eliciting a giggle from the child. "Can you tell me your name?"

"George," the boy sniffed. "George Towns."

"Hi, George Towns. I'm Spider-Man." A photograph of George slid onto Peter's HUD along with a phone number and a home address. Thank you, Karen.

"What do you say we get you back home?" At George's nod, Peter offered the boy a piggy-back ride, knowing it would faster if he simply carried the kid home. George didn't need to be asked twice. He climbed onto the hero's back, arms and legs wrapping around the teen securely.

"Ready?" Peter asked, rising back up to his full height and linking his arms beneath the child on his back.

"Um…Mr. Spider-Man?" George said, voice suddenly tainted with… was that regret? "I'm really sorry. I didn't want to do it."

"George, what are you talking abou–" Peter's words were cut off with a gasp as something sharp was suddenly plunged into the side of his neck. His breath stuttered as the world around him almost instantaneously began to blur and shift.

His legs felt like jelly underneath him and his knees no longer wanted to support his weight. Peter grunted as his kneecaps smashed into the stone of alley, bringing his hands in front of him to prevent himself from faceplanting entirely onto the ground.

George slid off his back and retreated a few steps, all the while whimpering, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

On all fours, Peter looked back the crying child, or rather he tried to. Black spots were starting to swarm across his vision, making it difficult to see anything in the already darkened backstreet.

"What did you do?" He whispered, arms finally giving out and sending him crashing to the ground, face first.

"Peter, you've been drugged. Try to stay awake."

That was Karen, Peter's mind vaguely registered.

"I'm going to send out a distress signal to–"

The display went dark. That never happened. Karen was always there. Oh, this was bad.

"Karen?" Peter slurred, fighting to keep his eyelids from slipping shut. "Karen?" He tried again, louder this time.

Crap, crap, crap.

A pair of pristine blue and yellow sneakers stepped into Peter's line of sight. "Oh, well done, George," a gleeful voice commented from above. "This is… this is truly wonderful. You're eatin' good tonight."

The owner of the sneakers crouched down and ducked his head to stare into the eyes of Peter's mask. "Hello, Spider-Man," he whispered delightedly, neon green-hair catching the light of the streetlamp. "Are you ready to have some fun?"

It was the last thing Peter heard before he lost the battle with unconsciousness and the darkness washed over him completely.

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Thanks for reading! Let me know if you think it's worth continuing. Drop me a review if you've got the time!