The last bell rang, and Midtown High spilled its students like a broken dam. Laughter, shouting, backpacks, and sneaker soles echoed down stairwells. But Raj moved against the flow, slipping past the final crowd, up the side stairs, and onto the rooftop.
The air up there was quieter. Less chaotic. But not less heavy.
Peter was already waiting near the far edge, one foot resting against the parapet wall, fidgeting with a pen in his hand. He looked up as Raj approached, and the two nodded—no need for greetings anymore. Not when the air buzzed with shared unease.
"They're still watching," Raj said, no preamble.
Peter nodded grimly. "I figured."
Raj joined him at the edge. The late-afternoon light stretched the school's shadow long across the parking lot. "I didn't see them today. But I feel it. Like I'm in a spotlight, even when I'm not glowing."
Peter blew out a slow breath. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. About the one watching you. I've been looking into things. Carefully."
Raj's eyes flicked toward him. "And?"
"I don't think it's random." Peter tapped his fingers. "I checked city surveillance feeds—stuff I shouldn't have access to, but… let's just say I've picked up some bad habits."
Raj raised a brow. "And?"
"Blacked-out vans parked near the school multiple times last week. Always different spots, different plates. No logos. Tinted windows." Peter paused. "And the same black sedan idled down the street from your apartment last night."
Raj's stomach twisted. "You tracked that?"
Peter nodded. "Didn't like what I found. The car's registered to a tech shell company. One of Stark's dummy corps."
Raj went still. "So it really is him?"
"Or someone working off his blueprints," Peter said quietly. "Look, I know Stark's a showman, but he's not exactly subtle. If he wanted you gone, you'd already be a crater. This… this is someone cautious. Interested. Testing the waters."
Raj's fists tightened at his sides. "I don't care if it's him or one of his lapdogs. If they're watching me, they'd better be ready for me to watch back."
Peter gave a half-smile. "There's that glowing bravado again."
Raj didn't smile. "Not glowing right now."
A pause. Then Peter asked, "So what do we do?"
Raj exhaled. "We dig."
Peter blinked. "Like… hacking and cloak-and-dagger stuff? Because you might be invulnerable, but I get grounded if I so much as jaywalk into a data breach."
Raj gave him a sidelong look. "You hacked government satellite feeds to spy on yourself. Don't pretend you're allergic to espionage."
Peter winced. "Touche."
"I want to know why I was targeted," Raj said. "And how much they know. About me. About us."
Peter nodded. "Then we start small. Track movements, find patterns. And maybe…" He hesitated.
Raj narrowed his eyes. "Maybe what?"
"I think I can get us into one of the databases Stark's people are using."
Raj blinked. "You've been holding onto that?"
"I wanted to be sure it wouldn't trigger alerts. It's an old system, pre-AI era, semi-retired. But still connected to a few active branches."
Raj crossed his arms. "Peter. You're Spider-Man, not Edward Snowden."
"Yeah, well," Peter shrugged, "one of them wears tights and swings from buildings, the other gets whistleblower awards. We all have our thing."
Raj smirked—barely. "So what's the catch?"
Peter hesitated. "We'll need a distraction. While I'm in, someone has to pull focus. Something public enough to keep eyes away from my signal pinging their net."
Raj frowned. "You want me to play bait?"
"You're kind of glowing bait already," Peter pointed out. "Might as well make it work for us."
Raj turned back to the skyline. A pigeon landed nearby and promptly flew off again, startled by a faint flicker of light rising from Raj's palm. He clenched it shut. Controlled it. That much, at least, he could do now.
"I'll do it," he said. "But we plan every step. One mistake, and they'll come in full force."
Peter nodded solemnly. "We'll move like chess players. One piece at a time."
Raj looked at him, genuinely curious. "Why are you doing this?"
Peter blinked. "Because someone has to."
"No," Raj said. "I mean… why not just walk away? Keep swinging through your neighborhood. Let me deal with my own problems."
Peter's expression grew serious. "Because I've been where you are. Different power, same fear. You think I slept the week I first climbed a wall by accident? I hid from everyone. Thought I was becoming a freak." He paused. "And then someone helped me."
"Who?"
Peter's smile turned wry. "An old lady with bad eyesight and a bigger heart than I deserved. Point is—this is what we do. We help each other."
Raj looked away. His throat tightened slightly, but he said nothing.
Then Peter added, "Besides, I owe you. You let me test my Spider-scanner on you."
Raj snorted. "You mean your modified Ghostbusters meter?"
Peter threw up his hands. "It was picking up solar radiation at levels normally found in the upper atmosphere! That's not nothing."
Raj shook his head, but the tension eased a little.
Then his phone buzzed.
He pulled it out. A message. Unknown number.
"Stop digging."
Raj showed the screen to Peter. "They know."
Peter's eyes narrowed. "Too soon for coincidence. They're onto us."
"No sender ID," Raj muttered. "No traceable number. Just two words."
Peter swallowed. "You still in?"
Raj locked eyes with him. "More than ever."
A silence settled. Far below, the school yard emptied. The sun dipped behind a neighboring building.
Raj exhaled. "We start tomorrow. You hack. I distract."
Peter nodded. "Let's bring some paranoia to the paranoid."
They turned toward the stairwell, but Raj paused.
From here, he could see the alley across the street.
A black sedan sat parked.
The windows were tinted, but he felt the stare.
Without a word, he raised his hand—and glowed. Just faintly.
The car started.
Then it drove away.
Peter watched too, eyebrows raised. "That… wasn't subtle."
Raj smiled coldly. "Wasn't supposed to be."
And somewhere, two streets away, in a moving surveillance van, Monica watched her screen go dim as the live feed cut out.
She touched her earpiece.
"They've made contact," she said calmly. "He's aware."
A pause.
Then the voice on the other end: "Then it's time."
Monica's eyes narrowed.
"No more shadows?"
"Not unless you want to lose him."
She looked at Raj's last moment on screen—his faint glow, his unreadable eyes.
"Understood," she said.
The feed went dark.
The hunt had officially begun.