the villain continued. He raised his
tentacles and prepared to bring them
down on the three heroes. But before
he could, there was a spark and some
smoke. His metal arms went limp.
“My arms!” Doctor Octopus cried.
“What have you done?”
“That’s called short-circuiting,”
Ant-Man said. The trap-jaw ants
streamed out of the tentacles and
returned to his side.
“And these are called web-shooters,”
Spider-Man added. He tied the
tentacles together with his webs.
“And this is known as a wasp
sting,” said the Wasp. She stunned
Doctor Octopus with her stinger.
Then he fell at last, defeated,
to the ground.
Chapter
10
Officer Stanley snapped the final
handcuff shut. It was a special set of
eight cuffs linked together by thick
chains.
“And we just had this lying around
in the squad car?” Officer Ditko asked
his partner.
Officer Stanley nodded. “Two cuffs
for the hands, two for the feet, and
four for the metal arms,” she said. She
led Doctor Octopus out of the building
and put him in the back of their police
cruiser.
Spider-Man lowered himself
from the ceiling and addressed
Officer Ditko. “Just when you
think you’ve seen it all, am I
right?” he said.
Officer Ditko did a double
take. Then he shook his head and
followed his partner outside.
Spider-Man swung over to Ant-Man
and the Wasp. “I’m sorry I spilled your
Gigantor Particles,” Spidey said.
“No worries,” replied the Wasp. “We
figured it out once. We’ll do it again.
And maybe this time we’ll make it
Super Villain–proof.”
Ant-Man added, “I’m sorry we made
you tiny.”
“No big deal,” said Spider-Man. “It
was actually pretty cool to see things
from your perspective. I used to think
the bigger the better. But I guess not
always. I mean, look at how tough those
ants were!”
“Never underestimate the little
guy,” Ant-Man agreed.
“Or the big guy,” the Wasp added.
“There’s usually more to people than
what you see on the surface.”
Spider-Man looked over to where
Aunt May was helping Flash clean up
his broken science fair project. “There
sure is,” he agreed. Then he said
good-bye to his super pals and swung
out of sight.
Chapter
11
Despite the destruction caused by
Doctor Octopus, the science fair carried
on. Soon it was time to announce
the winner of the Big Apple Science
Trophy. Peter could barely contain his
excitement. He stood beside his project,
squeezing Aunt May’s hand.
“And the trophy goes to . . .” The
head judge opened an envelope. “Peter
Parker.”
The crowd of scientists, students,
and their families applauded. Peter
hugged his aunt. He walked to the front
of the room to claim his prize. “Thank
you,” he said to the crowd. “This trophy
means a lot to me. But if it’s okay with
the judges, I’d like to share it with
someone else.”
Peter pointed to Flash Thompson.
“I got to see Flash’s ant project
before it was destroyed tonight. And I
can tell you it was really good. But even
more impressive? It was Flash’s project
that saved the day. I heard that when
Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp
needed Flash’s ants to defeat Doctor
Octopus, Flash said yes. He even told
them which ants to use, which was
some quick and smart thinking. For
that, he deserves this award as much as
I do.”
The crowd cheered. Flash joined
Peter at the front of the room and shook
his hand, a giant smile on his face.
After the ceremony, Flash pulled
Peter aside. “Thanks for including me,
Parker,” he said. “It means a lot that a
smart guy like you thinks I did a good
job.”
Peter looked at his feet. “To tell you
the truth,” he said, “I didn’t expect you
to make such a good project. I thought
you were only interested in sports. I’m
sorry I judged you, Flash. I promise not
to do that again.”
Flash considered this. “So does
this mean there’s more to you than just
being a supersmart guy? Have you got
some mad basketball skills I don’t know
about?”
Peter laughed. “Next time we have
PE, pick me first and you’ll find out.”
“You’ve got it, Parker,” Flash said.
He and Peter walked toward the exit,
where Aunt May was waiting for them
with their projects. “Hey, why don’t we
meet at the courts this weekend and
practice some one-on-one?”
Peter smiled. He’d learned a lot
today, and not just about ants. “You’re
on,” he said.
About the Authors
MacKenzie Cadenhead is a trained dramaturg and former editor for Marvel Comics. She is the author of the middle grade fantasy novel Sally’s Bones and the young adult science fiction thriller Sleeper. She lives in New York with her family, and if she could have any super power, she’d definitely go with super-strength.
Sean Ryan has worked in the comic book industry for over a decade, including for Marvel and DC Comics. Currently, Sean lives in Los Angeles writing comics for a variety of publishers, including New Suicide Squad for DC Comics, which debuted at number four on the New York Times Best-Seller List for Paperback Graphic Books. If he could have any super power, he’d have to go with flight.
THE BUGS ARE BACK IN TOWN!
Spider-Man teams up with Ant-Man and the Wasp to
save the school science fair from the treacherous tentacles
of Doc Ock, and they won’t stop until the fair
is back on track—no bugs about it!
Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Buggin'' Out!: An Early Chapter Book (Super Hero Adventures Chapter Books) Page 3