Peter's bedroom buzzed with a strange tension, a mixture of anticipation and anxiety thick in the air. Posters of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and a signed Stark Expo banner hung crooked on the walls, their corners curled with time and overuse of tape. The only light came from Peter's laptop, its screen flashing with lines of green code and encrypted files Ned was working tirelessly to crack.
Raj sat cross-legged on the edge of Peter's bed, arms folded across his chest, hoodie sleeves pushed up to the elbows. His body language said calm. But the slight glow pulsing in the crooks of his elbows told a different story.
Ned tapped the keyboard like it owed him money. "Okay, so this firewall isn't your average school-grade 'don't-download-games-on-my-network' nonsense. This is like—'if you mess up, satellites explode' level."
Peter leaned against the desk, chewing on a protein bar like it might keep his nerves steady. "And yet you're still poking it with a digital stick?"
Ned shrugged. "It's what I do." He paused, glancing over at Raj. "Still don't get why you guys are so interested in this Hydra thing. I thought that was, like, an old-school Captain America villain. Ancient history."
Peter and Raj exchanged a glance. The moment had arrived.
Peter straightened. "Okay. Ned. You're our guy. Our friend. And after everything, I think you deserve the truth."
Ned blinked, fingers still poised over the keyboard. "Oh man, are we doing the 'Big Secret' reveal? Is this it?"
Raj let out a breath. "Yeah. This is it."
Peter started. "You know I'm Spider-Man."
Ned grinned. "Yeah, duh. That one I figured out back when you missed your third calculus quiz and showed up with a dislocated shoulder."
Peter gave a sheepish shrug. "Fair."
Raj stood slowly, the glow in his veins intensifying for a second before dimming to a soft pulse. "And I'm the guy they're calling the 'Blurred Hero.'"
Ned's jaw dropped. "You're—wait. The glowy guy from the Midtown footage? The one who stopped the fire mutant and threw a car like it was a soda can?"
Raj nodded once.
Ned's eyes widened. "Dude. That's so cool—wait, no. Sorry. Not 'cool.' Serious. Dangerous. Terrifying. But still—kinda cool."
Peter added, "And that's why we need your help. Hydra's not just myth. They're real. And they've been watching us. Tracking Raj especially."
Ned sat down, hard. "Man, I thought my deepest secret was the time I cried watching WALL-E. This is next level."
Raj smirked. "Your secret's safe with us."
After a pause, Ned turned back to the laptop. "Okay. So now that I know this is life-or-death, let's break into some bad guy files."
For the next hour, Ned's fingers danced over the keys with purpose. Raj and Peter stayed quiet, occasionally offering suggestions or calling out flagged lines of code. The laptop's screen flickered, beeped, and finally—clicked.
"Boom," Ned whispered. "Access granted. Like cracking a Hydra egg with a digital hammer."
Files flooded the screen. Surveillance logs. Satellite images. A folder labeled EMBR-09. Peter leaned in.
"What's that?"
Raj clicked it open. Inside were detailed schematics of his movements—heatmaps tracking his solar spikes, timestamps of his encounters with the mutant, and even footage from the recent construction site brawl. Blurry, distorted, but clearly him.
"They've been watching me since the day I got the power," Raj muttered.
Ned clicked another subfolder: Operations Blacksite Locations. A list of coordinates appeared.
"Hold up," Peter said, pointing at the last one. "That location… that's not near the city. That's way out in the Adirondacks."
Raj frowned. "That's state park territory. No towns for miles."
Ned pulled up satellite imagery. "There's a decommissioned mining facility there. Supposedly abandoned in the early 2000s. But look at this…"
He zoomed in. Heat signatures. Energy spikes. One very active underground bunker.
Peter crossed his arms. "They're hiding in plain sight."
"No," Raj said. "They're hiding where no one would think to look."
They sat in silence for a beat.
Ned broke it. "So… what now? We storm the evil mountain lair?"
Peter cracked a grin. "Feels a little early for that."
Raj didn't smile. "But not too early to scout it."
Peter nodded slowly. "We gather intel. Stay low. No powers unless we have to. If this is where they're based… we find out what they're planning."
Ned added, "And maybe why they want you so bad."
Raj stood, his voice low. "Because they don't just want to observe me anymore. They want to control me."
Peter stepped beside him. "Then we make sure they never get the chance."
Ned clapped his hands. "Alright. Time for some covert ops prep. I'm downloading everything. Bring snacks next time. And maybe a taser."
As files loaded, the three teens looked at each other—more aware than ever that their world was changing. The game had shifted. And now, it wasn't just about control. It was about choice.
And Raj was ready to make his.