DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction only and the author does not own or have copyrights to the characters in this story, nor does the author of the aforementioned fiction have any affiliation of any kind with Marvel Entertainment or Marvel Comics Group. However, this is an original work and should not be distributed without the author's expressed consent.
PROMISES TO BE MADE AND KEPT
by Larry Raymond
Peter Parker sat on the edge of his bed, staring mournfully at a photo taken a year ago. His Aunt May and Uncle Ben standing on either side of him, all of them smiling warmly, happy to be together.
It would never be the same again. Uncle Ben was cruelly taken away by what seemed like fate, as if providence had played a vicious joke with no amusing punch line.
It was an agonizing week and a half after the tragic murder of his beloved Uncle that Peter slowly came back to a minuscule semblance of normalcy again. Normalcy?? It was like unfamiliar territory now.
Now that he acquired powers and abilities he never dreamed existed and all because of a freakish set of circumstances no one could control, leading to his Uncle's death at the hands of a cowardly thief. Although he caught the killer, Peter didn't feel the hurt or the loss lifted. It only seemed to make it so senseless. The whole situation didn't make any sense.
Here he was, a so-called card-carrying nerd from high school with hardly any social life, now possessed of amazing powers he could do almost anything with. He could take whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted and nobody and nothing could stop him.
Well, not exactly. Peter was blessed with a conscience and a good heart, which he sometimes thought of as a curse but he knew better.
His Uncle and Aunt taught him how to be kind and caring to others and that every day was to be cherished and to make the most of it in the best way a person knows how.
What really stayed firmly in Peter was Uncle Ben's enduring words a day before his death. Peter was troubled by the guileful financial transactions a local New York businessman was undertaking and he asked Ben about it.
He sat with Peter at the dinner table and explained that with power comes responsibility, said the businessman had to have responsibility or else he would end up corrupted by his own power.
It was a wise statement on the human condition which spurred Peter to embark on his new life and swore he would never forget those words and meant it.
Peter focused on the image of Ben Parker, and smiled at all the memories that came flooding back to him. It was so hard to say goodbye but the high school student finally did but his great memories would not go away. He'd always keep them in his heart.
"I swore I would help protect people and I won't ever shirk that, Uncle Ben. I promise." Peter affirmed, getting up and placing the picture lovingly back on his bookshelf.
Needing a dose of fresh air, the seventeen year old student grabbed his coat and ambled downstairs. He walked into the kitchen where his Aunt May and her best friend and next door neighbor Anna Watson were talking at the kitchen table. May and Anna turned to look at Peter, making his way to the back door.
" Peter, are you okay?" May asked, concern etched on her face as she rose and walked over to him. Peter turned and put on a brave face.
" I'm taking it one day at a time, Aunt May." he replied quietly, his voice quivering with surfacing emotion. " I don't know how I'll adjust without Uncle Ben but... I'm not going to wallow in grief and misery either. He would have wanted me to carry on and that's what I intend to do."
Touched by her nephew's valiant display of heart, Peter's loving Aunt took him in her arms and kissed his forehead. "Oh, Peter, I know you're still hurting but as long as we're together, we're going to make it through this."
Overcome with emotion herself, Anna rose and walked up to her two grieving friends. "And you know you can both count on me when you need a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. Just call on me and I'll be there, as the old song goes."
"Thank you, Anna. We will." May unfolded her arms from around Peter. "So where are you headed off to?"
"I figured on heading out, trying to find something to do somewhere. I'll be back in a few hours and if I'm around before then, call the Army, Navy and the Marines to find me." Peter joked, putting on a wry smile.
Peter's widowed Aunt giggled and gave her nephew a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, young man. I'll make a note." she said, walking back to the table and watching Peter making his way out of sight.
Anna saw her friend welling up and placed her hand on top of May's and gripped it softly. "That Peter is something else, isn't he?"
Fifty year old May Parker wiped her eyes and a look of pride showed on her wise face. "Yes, he is. He's the spitting image of his Uncle. Strong, courageous and independent but always willing to let love in his heart."
"Those are great qualities, May and Peter might be acting brave now but I know he's still hurting. I know how much he adored Ben."
May nodded. "Whenever Peter was unsure about anything in his life, he'd turn to him to help guide him." May glanced away for a second and turned back with tears in her eyes. " Now-- I'm the only one he can turn to."
May could only think about Peter's life and how difficult things were going to become. " Peter hardly has any friends at school to speak of and he relied on Ben and me for support and love because he's far too shy to make friends with anyone. God, that poor kid. Why did this have to happen to him?"
Anna reached out and comforted May. " He'll be alright. Peter's got such great spirit. He'll get through this, just like I know you will, too."
May smiled through her tears. " Anna Watson, you are simply the best, you know that?"
Anna shrugged modestly but put on a smile. " I'm just keeping up my obligations as best friend and next-door neighbor. Besides, as I said before, you know you can count on me to help you in any way I can."
"Thank you, Anna."
" Hey, no thanks are necessary. Just say the word and I'll be here faster than you can say Mel Gibson is a hunk."
The two women shared a laugh and it made May feel better about things. That was Anna Watson's way; diffusing bad situations and making things better with humor for people she cared about.
Anna was also on many occasions the bearer of good news and she was reminded of a piece of great news to tell May. She figured it might even help in providing Peter with a new person in his life.
"I just remembered about something that came up. I think you and Peter would be interested in this."
May went to the cupboard and brought out two mugs for some coffee. "What about?"
" My niece Mary Jane is supposed to be arriving on the express train from Philadelphia tonight. She'll be moving in with me." Anna answered.
" Hey, that's great!" a more perked up May expressed. " I always loved little M.J. whenever she dropped by to visit you. She was always so precocious and full of energy."
" She's not little anymore, though she still has plenty of energy and some to spare. M.J.'s grown up to become a very pretty young woman."
"What made her decide to move to New York?"
" Family problems she wanted to leave behind. She talked with me about moving in with me and I was more than happy to accept. She decided to come to New York to continue her education, too."
" That's good." May saw how circumstances were taking shape in Peter's favor. "You know something, Peter could meet M.J. I think they could hit it off really well." she suggested.
Anna beamed. "That's exactly what I was thinking. I keep mentioning Peter to M.J. and she seemed to be interested in him. She said she'd really like to meet him."
"I think it would be great for Peter."
" And for M.J. , too. She hardly knows a soul in New York but knowing that redheaded spitfire like I do, she'll make fast pals with a lot of kids in no time."
" Then again, Peter will probably be too shy to just step up and introduce himself to her. We'll need to initiate the first meeting between them."
"Ahh, a little innocent conspiracy. I never would have thought you were capable of that, May."
"You'd be surprised. Got any ideas?"
Anna snapped her fingers as an inspired idea flashed in her mind. " I've got it. You can come over to my house for dinner on Sunday night. It'll be perfect. The kids can get to know each other in a nice, safe environment. No pressure."
"That's a great idea. Peter needs the chance to be with someone his age and find things else to occupy his time besides his school work."
*****************
Walking down the street, surrounding himself with scattered thoughts, Peter roamed down to an almost deserted downtown intersection, passing by a corner store.
It was only for a moment but he was startled by the suddenness of the instinctive tingling in the back of his head. His "spider-sense" as he nicknamed it was warning him of danger, perhaps at the corner store itself.
Sure enough, shots were coming from inside the store. There was no time to loose. Peter ducked into a nearby alley to get a safer look. He peeked around the wall and spied three men wearing ski-masks rushing out carrying guns and heading for a black truck across the street.
Peter worried about the shop owner, wondering if he might have been shot but there was no time to loose. Thanking himself for wearing his costume under his street clothes, he undressed as fast as he could and stashed away his clothes in a safe place.
After setting up his automatic miniature camera to get pictures, Peter fired a slender web line at a tall lamppost across the street and swung out of the alley and headed straight for the crooks just as they were about to pile into the truck.
"Holy crap, it's Spider-Man!!" one of the thugs cried out to alert his cohorts but the warning came a moment too late. Before they could do anything, Spider-man slammed into the trio, scattering them like ten pins.
The webbed wonder released his web-line, front flipped in the air and executed a three-point landing. "Is this a private party, fellas or can anybody join in? 'Cause I'd really hate to feel left out."
The surprised crooks scrambled to their feet and rushed to recover their weapons. Spider-man wasn't going to let them. "You won't be needing those things where you're going, creeps!" he announced, sticking their guns to the ground with globs of webbing. "I suggest you three surrender before I start to get really rough!"
One of trio, built solidly like a line-backer was not amused and was ready to fight. " Why you freaky little bastard, I'll show you who's gonna get rough! I'll break your freakin' neck!"
"Does your mother let you go out in public with such a potty mouth? Shame on her!" Spidey shot back, eying the big man carefully.
Muscle-head lunged at Spidey but all he caught was empty air as the web-spinner leapfrogged over him. With his foe momentarily off guard, Spider-Man spun around and let fly a roundhouse right to the creep's face.
The muscle bound punk was caught totally by surprise by the stunning punch. For what seemed like a frozen moment in time, Spidey faced him, feeling a bit puzzled, unsure of how effective his punch was.
Holy cow, don't tell me my powers are already starting to go on the blink! I thought I popped that creep a good one right in his rotten kisser!
To Spidey's immediate relief, the dazed crook tilted backward and fell like a ton of bricks. The other two, stunned by what the much smaller and thinner figure could do to their partner, tried to flee into the truck. Spidey was not going to let them away.
" Aww, c'mon, fellas. The party's just getting started and already you want to leave!" Spidey shot out a widening spray, ensnaring the fleeing thieves and sticking them to the side of the truck. "Stick around, guys. I don't wanna be all by myself when the police get here." the wall-crawler grinned triumphantly under his mask.
"You little jerkoff, let us go!" one of the webbed up criminals yelled viciously.
" Get us outta this, you skinny piece of crap!" the other man shouted , struggling to get free of the sticky netting of web holding him to the truck. "if I wasn't in this, I'd tear your damned head off!"
" OH, fiddledee dee. I am so frightened, I am shaking in my itty, bitty shoes." Spidey taunted in a good imitation of Scarlett O'Hara, holding out his gloved hands and wiggling his fingers.
Webbing up the thief he just knocked out for the police, Spider-Man heard the wailing of sirens approaching the scene. "Well, guys, it's been a slice but I've gotta get my webbed butt outta here." he fired out another slender web line to swing out on. " See you in twenty, gents."
Getting out of sight and swinging around back to the same alleyway where his clothes and his camera were, Spider-Man made a graceful landing near a few trash cans where he hide his clothes behind them.
"I don't know if I'll ever get accustomed to being a crime fighter but it's great fun seeing the bad guys getting there's in the end." Peter reflected, smiling to himself as he tucked himself back into his khaki pants, black shirt, sneakers and jacket.
A thought about Aunt May occurred to him. It struck him funny that he had kept his secret from her for at least a week and a half without her getting suspicious. Which was amazing in itself.
Though Aunt May was a bit protective as all normal parents are, she usually gave him enough space to let him do whatever he wanted within reason and he often didn't take advantage of that. It was the usual question and answer situation whenever Peter wanted to go out somewhere or he'd be kind enough to let May know where he was going. Peter was grateful for having parents who were progressive in their raising of him.
Only when it came to being Spider-man that it was a different story but it made Peter feel guilty for hiding such a big secret from a loved one whom he placed all his trust in for very important things in his life.
Secrecy and caution were vital and having someone he loved dearly knowing he was a super hero was something he felt very uncomfortable about. Not only that but it was too damned awkward in his view of things.
Who in their right mind would want a high school geek who could climb walls and spin webs living under their own roof?
" Wonder what my loving Aunt would say if she saw me swinging around town in my red and blue pajamas?" Peter thought twice about that. "Okay. Guess I'll chalk that up as a silly question / silly answer thing."
Taking down the camera from its position, he checked to make sure all the film was used and sure enough, it was. He said a silent prayer of thanks for the wonders of modern photographic technology and pocketed the camera. More pictures for J. Jonah Jameson meant more money for Peter he knew he could use.
Making sure the coast was clear, the adventurous student strolled calmly out of the alley and walked past the scene across the street where the police apprehended the trio of thieves. He smiled to himself as he saw an officer interviewing the shop owner and judging from the way the man was talking excitedly, he must have seen Spider-man capturing the criminals.
Peter felt proud about what he did. He helped stop a bunch of punks from hurting others. It may not be his official, certified job but he wouldn't let innocent people get hurt if he could help it.
**********************
An express train bound for New York from Philadelphia traveled through New Jersey, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel that spanned the south eastern part of the Garden State and New York City.
As the train rumbled into the dark, engulfing mouth of the New Jersey end of the tunnel, a pretty redheaded passenger settled in for the journey ahead.
Mary Jane Watson sat in a car near the front, anxious to leave her troubles behind her and start a new life with the only relative who seemed to care about her. When she first talked about moving to New York, she was unsure about the idea, knowing Anna was an independent woman but she was not only surprised but happy she fully agreed to it.
Once she got the okay, Mary Jane packed up her clothes, a few favorite possessions and basically kissed off what amounted to a rocky family life. Rocky seemed too mild a word for it. More along the lines of controlled chaos threatening to go into explosive overload.
Mary Jane's mom and dad didn't see eye to eye about much of anything and what made the unbearable situation worse was her father's increasing alcoholism, making her mother's life a living hell trying to raise M.J. and her younger sister, Gayle.
M.J. strongly urged them to pack up and leave, too, but her mother didn't want to leave, misguidedly believing she could somehow change her husband. Mary Jane had had enough of trying to reason with her mother, so she called Anna and told her she was coming to New York to stay.
She was free from all that now but a stifling sense of worry clung to her. It gripped her heart and made her grow disheartened and forlorn and she didn't like feeling that way. It was there nonetheless.
In the somber darkness of the tunnel, Mary Jane hugged her opened leather jacket close to her, wanting to keep out the cold embrace of the sadness she felt. Tears welled up and flowed as she prayed they would find a way to escape. They had to. She did it, why can't they? She'd never understand why her family had to be so screwed up.
MJ wiped her face, put her head back against the cushion seat and closed her eyes. She was tired from the trip and from her worry.
Time slipped by unnoticed as the train moved along down the tunnel, heading for the final destination at the other end and beyond that, a new life ahead. The welcomed experience of not having to walk on egg shells around her house was the sort of thing Mary Jane craved and was finally going to happen.
A distant and diverting thought took hold of her attention. It was about Peter Parker, the young guy Anna kept on mentioning. A grin slowly crept across her lips as she imagined what Peter Parker looked like.
Since Anna said he was very smart, M.J. naturally assumed Peter was the classic nerd; lanky, bookish, very shy and without much social grace to speak off, if any. Perhaps he wasn't so much a nerd as being a person who was very attentive and ready and willing to learn. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, considering that Anna also said Peter was a rather good looking kid. It could mean paying some lip service but she'd find out eventually when they meet face to face.
After an hour and a half, the express gathered up speed and traveled out of New Jersey and crossed into Midtown Manhattan. The train slowed and rumbled to a stop at Pennsylvania Station and as she shuffled into the line of passengers to disembark, she glanced out a window to see if her aunt was waiting for her outside among other people waiting on the concourse.
M.J. grinned thankfully when she saw her slightly shorter, energetic aunt standing beside a taller, enthusiastic woman she recognized instantly as May Parker, Peter Parker's aunt. They were standing near a news stand.
Filing out with the other passengers to gather up their luggage, Mary Jane slung her purse on her shoulder and took two luggage bags and walked onto the thoroughfare.
"Mary Jane!!" a welcoming voice cried out from a distance and M.J. saw it was Aunt Anna.
The beauty conscious Mary Jane had to admit that for a woman entering into her fifties, her aunt looked great clad in an untucked denim shirt with cream khakis. She always had sandals on her feet but this time, since it was nearing an early Autumn, black Oxfords were the thing.
Anna seemed to always keep her elegant looks but it was her warm heart that made her more lovable. And she still had her chestnut brown hair, longer now and tied into a neat French braid, though it was starting to fade a bit with a touch of gray.
M.J. waved to her and May Parker as she weaved her way through the crowds. She dropped her bags on the floor and Anna moved quickly in to give her favorite niece a welcoming hug. Tears of joy and sorrow welled up as her embrace became tighter. "Ah, it's so good to see you again, sweetie. I missed you so much, since I last time saw you."
"I missed you, too." M.J. could hardly hold back the flood of emotion and tears streaming down. "I-- I miss you-- so much!"
"I know, hun. I know." Anna held Mary Jane's face in her hands and beamed. "I've always thought you were kinda cute when you cried as a little kid; only now, don't do it so much or you'll end up depressing me, okay?"
MJ let a giggle come through her whimpers and wiped her tears away. She glanced over to May and plastered on a smile. "Hi, Mrs. Parker. How are you?"
Despite being asked that question, May was willing to be straight with Peter's potential schoolmate. " I'm in the process of coping, Mary Jane. Considering what Peter and I have been through right now. My husband was murdered by a burglar but he was captured soon afterward by the police."
M.J. picked up on how sad May sounded when she mentioned her husband. "That's so awful. I'm sorry." she empathized, offering May a supportive hug.
"Thank you so much." Parting from the young woman, May glanced at Anna with a knowing look. "I think M.J. takes after you in all the right ways."
"That she does. We Watson women are the most compassionate, understanding people you'll ever meet." Helping her niece with her bags, Anna walked with M.J. and May outside to her car. "C'mon, kid. We've got some major bonding to do."
With May sitting in back, Mary Jane sat up in front with her aunt, cruising through Midtown en route to Forest Hill in Queens. Crossing the Queensboro Bridge, Anna expressed her joy at having her favorite niece staying with her. " You cannot imagine how great this is going to be. We're going to have fun together, you'll see."
Although M.J. was happy about being free, she felt so guilty about leaving her mother and sister behind. She tried her best to hide it. "I know. Me, too."
Judging by the wilting sound in her niece's perennially cheerful voice, Anna knew Mary Jane had leftover sorrow to let out. " Wanna talk about it, redhead?"
M.J. knew what Anna was hinting at. She couldn't fool her or try to hide what she was feeling even if she wanted to. Anna was a trained social worker with fifteen years of experience in dealing with people.
Mary Jane wanted to follow in Anna's footsteps, hoping to go to college to pursue a career as a child psychologist. A noble calling. Even if she herself experienced tragedy when her parents decided to tear their family apart with petty arguments. She knew she had to talk about it but at the moment, MJ didn't feel much like talking.
"I'm just not ready to go there right now. Could I, umm, take a rain check?"
Anna understood and nodded. "Sure thing, kid. Wherever you want to talk, just let me know. No pressure."
She always had that way about her. The calm, assured way of letting Mary Jane know everything was going to be alright. Or was it really going to be that alright right now?
In the years she's known her Aunt, M.J. spent more time with her then she did with her parents. Factoring in that she spent most of the Summer with her and on times when her mom or dad would ship her off when they were too busy to deal with normal teenage angst.
The times when she did spend quality time with her mom and dad were precious and few but they quickly passed when business or family issues came crawling back into the picture.
It really pissed Mary Jane off that her parents worked so hard at being so stubborn, they never fully understood they were missing out on the life their daughters had along the way. Now, Aunt Anna accepted Mary Jane to move in and live with her and MJ was more than welcomed to come and establish roots in the peaceful life she craved for in Forest Hills.
They drove up to Anna's home. Mary Jane's new home. "Well, red," Anna pointed out, "We're home."
MJ took in the sight of the two story brown and coffee wood and brick house with its pillared veranda entrance, shrubbery flanking the wooden steps.
She looked up and saw the window to the room where she spent her teenage days daydreaming about finding the man of her dreams and behind the house was the large oak where the youthful, adventurous sprite climbed the tree and play in it like a jungle gym.
"Home sweet home." M.J. whispered to herself. She was too caught up in the moment she didn't notice Anna and her pal May Parker coming up next to her with her luggage.
"May and I are not going to carry your stuff in the house alone, sweetie, so could you perhaps unglue your attention for just a sec and help us, huh?" Anna urged jokingly.
"Huh??" M.J. realized she was daydreaming and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Anna, Mrs. Parker. Just zones out for a bit. " MJ offered an apology.
"It's okay. You must've thought about the fun stuff you and your aunt did together." May observed.
" Yeah, definitely." M.J. noticed Anna having trouble carrying one bag. "Opps, sorry. I just don't know where my mind is today."
Anna looked understandingly but she nodded to the bags in her hands. "Sorry ain't gonna help pay my bills for the hernia I'm about to get if you don't help me." She handed her niece a luggage bag and they carried them to the door. "Geez, what did you bring anyway? Feels like everything but the kitchen sink."
"I didn't bring much. Just the essentials."
Anna unlocked the door and lugged her bag inside, May and Mary Jane close behind with theirs. " Like what, red? Your rock collection?"
MJ giggled while she took her first step into her new home. "Well, think about it. What would you take along with you so that you'd be comfortable where you're going to live?"
"Aside from the usual, I'd say books, CDs, knickknacks. Stuff like that." Anna answered.
M.J. smiled wisely. "Exactly."
"Okay, little Miss Dimples."
"Okay, little Miss Dimples." MJ jokingly echoed. "You are so predictable. Whenever you've been shown the error of your ways, you've always came out with that line."
"And you can be so know-it-all annoying sometimes. All five foot five of you." Anna countered, grinning cheekily.
May giggled, then decided it was time to head home and allow Anna and M.J. some time together. "Well, I think it's time for me to mosey on back to the ranch. Peter's probably waiting for me."
Anna hugged her best gal pal and gave her thanks for helping out. "May Parker, you're always managing to give a helping hand even when you're busy with other things. You're a saint. Thanks."
" Think nothing of it. Besides, what are friends for, anyhow?"
M.J. took her turn to give a hug to Peter Parker's Aunt. "It's so nice to see you again, Mrs. Parker. I hope I can see Peter sometime. I've heard a lot about him."
" You'll get to see him soon enough, M.J. In fact, May and Peter will be coming Sunday dinner." Anna walked with May to the door. "I hope Peter will come. Judging from Miss Dimples' curiosity, she really wants to meet him."
" I'm sure Peter will accept. I'll just tell him if he doesn't drag his sorry bottom over here on Sunday, he'll miss out on the chance of a lifetime." May stated.
"Bye, May. Give me a call later on, okay? I want to know what Peter said about the dinner invitation."
" Okay. Talk to you later." May waved goodbye to M.J. "Bye, M.J. I'll see you for dinner Sunday night."
" Wild horses couldn't drag me away."
After saying goodbye, Anna went back to the bags piled near the second floor staircase. " I'd still like to know what you've got in those bags."
"Well, if you're that curious, you can help me with unpacking and putting away all this junk."
Anna took up a bag to the stairs and glanced over her shoulder. "First one to unpack their bag and put the things away, the loser makes the winner an ice cream sundae!" She teased.
"You're on!" MJ picked up her bag and chased her aunt up the stairs to her room.
*******************
In the safe privacy of his room, Peter worked on mixing up a batch of web fluid, paying heed to a beaker filled with bubbling chemicals over a Bunsen burner.
He was thankful for the time to himself, since his aunt was in her room peacefully snoozing after she had dinner. It happened practically every night like that and gave the enterprising student at least an uninterrupted hour.
That way, he'd have time to fine tune his web shooters or patch up unsightly tears in his costume or dream up some new gadget to create. Thankfully he didn't need to. Everything was in perfect working order. All that was needed was to whip up more webbing.
Aside from keeping his mind on task, thoughts of the newly arrived girl next door swam through Peter's mind and particularly because Aunt May sweetly suggested he should join her for dinner at Anna's house Sunday night.
After hearing many times about the energetic, fun-loving niece from Philly, it was high time to finally meet the mysterious red headed girl but Peter wondered what she'd look like. Was she like any other normal teenage girl or was she more than that, someone special? It was hard to say. She could be the best looking girl he'd ever seen or the worst. It was so hard to say what would happen.
One thing was certain, Peter couldn't back out now that he'd accepted the invitation, even if something serious did crop up which needed his attention as Spider-man and he couldn't pass up the chance to finally meet Mary Jane Watson and once and for all get his overactive mind put at ease.
Even as Peter injected the newly created fluid into empty web cartridges and attached them to his utility belt, he couldn't get the thought of meeting the new girl out of his mind.
I can't seem to stop daydreaming about who Mary Jane Watson is for some reason. Maybe I'm just getting a bit too anxious about finally meeting her.
Peter realized he needed a little distraction. His straying attention drifted from the work on his equipment to the window. Dusk started to fall. Manhattan was where the action was and he felt a need to get out and follow the adventurous spirit beckoning him. It was a welcomed diversion from dwelling over a girl that more than likely would not be become interested in him.
An oddball notion entered his mind. He thought about what Mary Jane was doing.
Just next door, the interesting girl in question was relaxing in her bedroom, surrounding herself with a comforting zone of easy listening music and reading.
Since she hadn't been around for some time, M.J. was checking out current new in newspapers. What she found very intriguing and exciting were the consistent news coverage about a mysterious costumed being the press dubbed Spider-Man.
Picking up a copy of the Daily Bugle, she stared with wonder at a picture on the front page of a lithe figure in a red and blue uniform sticking to a sheer wall of a building but her eyes darted to the thought provoking headline "Spider-Man: a potential menace??".
Scanning the editorial produced by the Bugle's infamously pugnacious publisher, it said how Spider-Man was taking the law into his own hands by apprehending criminals on his own, usurping police authority. It even went on to say Spider-Man was a reckless vigilante bent on causing potential disaster for innocent people.
Mary Jane had cause to wonder about what the publisher's true motives were by writing such a scathing article. "J. Jonah Jameson? Who the hell is this guy anyway??" she asked herself, finding sympathy for the masked hero's cause.
She actually liked the idea of someone roving around in a mask and fighting crime. It had an almost quaint romanticism to it.
A daydream came to her about a handsome guy underneath that freakish webbed mask and she started fantasizing about one day high above the streets of New York in the arms of Spider-Man.
MJ giggled, knowing how completely silly it was to act like a idolizing, dreamy-eyed school girl, which she was by the fact she had posters of gorgeous actors and singers on the walls but that was beside the point. How could she ever be able to meet Spider-Man? If such a thing was possible.
A loud clattering resounded from outside, bringing M.J. out of her daydreaming with a start. Rushing to the window, she looked down and discovered it was nothing more than a stray cat on the prowl, tipping over a trash can.
"Whoa, get a grip, girl. You're getting jumpy." Mary Jane laughed and took in a breath and when she happened to glance up to the second floor window of the Parker house, her mouth dropped open in utter amazement.
She couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible and yet it was happening before her very eyes. Someone in a webbed red and blue costume was climbing out of May Parker's house!
"Ohmigod! It's Spider-Man!!" Mary Jane gasped, ducking down to avoid being seen but peeking over the window sill to steal a glimpse. Her green eyes widened, observing the astonishing figure scaling the wall with incredible agility and flipping onto the roof.
The masked being shot out a web-line and in an eye blink, Mary Jane witnessed Spider-Man launching his athletic form into the air. He swung out of her field of vision and she stared at the very space he had just occupied.
In a haze of bewilderment, the shocked red headed student sank down on the edge of her bed as her head whirled with the image of the costumed figure crawling out of a second floor window of May Parker's house.
May Parker's house!! And there were only two people who lived there and May Parker couldn't be Spider-Man by any stretch of the imagination. The startling answer flashed in M.J.'s mind like a bolt from the blue.
Words tumbled out as the fantastic conclusion was apparent with the boldness of a neon sign. "Ohmigod, this is so beyond unbelievable! Peter Parker is Spider-Man!"
MJ felt an electric excitement course through her and the urge to go and blab about her amazing discovery was very tempting but she quickly realized how terrible that would be.
If she did spread the word, a fire storm of controversy would erupt and Peter Parker's life, as well as his Aunt's, would be turned into a living nightmare. Newspaper and TV reporters would launch a campaign of unending questions and inquiries about Spider-Man and Peter would be forced to explain everything.
MJ envisioned a horrible future for the young crime-fighter, ending up as a tortured lab rat, hounded and harassed by scientists and researchers wanting to study him to see what made him tick.
She shook her head slowly, shaken by what she saw as something that should never occur, not if she had anything to say or do about it. "I'm not going to breath a word of this to anybody. I'm more than likely the only person who knows and the secret will stay with me for as long as I live." Mary Jane vowed. It was a solemn promise she'd keep for as long as Spider-Man and Peter Parker were alive.
"Whatever happened to you... whatever made you become Spider-Man, I will never tell anyone. You can count on that, Peter. Always."
*****************
Venturing high above the streets of Midtown Manhattan, Spider-Man clung to his slender web line while searching for signs of criminal activity.
Veering toward the east, the webspinner ventured by by an industrial warehouse and instantly, his spider sense warned him of danger.
"Looks like I came just in time." Spider-man landed on the roof of an adjacent building to get a better look at the warehouse and his spider sense grew stronger. "No doubt about it. It's a garden variety heist going on down there."
Down below, at the entrance of the four story facility, a black van was parked near the door and four men darted out carrying bundles of some kind, wrapped in plastic.
"C'mon, you guys! We gotta get this stuff loaded up and sent away fast before the cops show up!" the leader of the crew of street thugs urged his comrades.
"Mister Fisk wanted us to get this load of heroine loaded and shipped off to our dealers over in the Lower West Side. That way, it'll spread out like wildfire and we'll be rich with the nice pay the boss'll give us for this job." a cohort greedily declared.
"First off, less talk and more action. We can't stop to daydream about the money we're gonna get! Now move your ass and let's get with it!" the leader commanded and his fellow partners moved faster. They loaded the packages into the back and rushed back into the building to get more.
From his vantage point, Spidey could only guess at what those packages were but it was obvious they were important to the looters. "It's time I break up this little party!" Firing a line at the top of the van and attaching it to a sturdy pipe, Spidey slid down the web line toward the crooks coming back out with more bundles.
As the crooks loaded their dangerous cargo into the van, by happenstance a watchful thug looked up and saw to his horror a shadowy figure coming out of the sky and descending rapidly toward them. "Holy crap!! Somethin's coming at us!"
The leader saw the agile being heading their way and cursed under his breath. "Damn it, it's that friggin' Spider-Man!! Blast that son of a bitch!!" he barked at his cohorts, taking out a gun and aiming at the crime fighter.
Before the gang could open fire at their approaching human target, Spidey let go of his web line and barreled into the gang of criminals like a colorful costumed cannonball.
Spidey flipped onto his feet and readied himself for a serious showdown. "Awright, fellas, it's time you all save yourselves some major pain and give yourselves up, 'cause I'm just gettin' started!"
"Rush that little twerp!!" the leader cried and all four lunged at their slender adversary but they hadn't reckoned on his amazing agility, using the first thug as a springboard, leapfrogging over him and kicking into two others.
Spidey ducked a fast punch from the leader and gave one of his own, connecting hard on his foe's jaw and sending him sprawling backward. Though his spider sense warned him, it wasn't in time to stop the crook he leapfrogged grab him from behind in a bear hug.
"Quick! Nail him while I've still got a chance!" the punk holding Spidey shouted to his pals but the masked adventurer laughed under his breath. He wasn't afraid of what they might do to him. He knew they couldn't seriously hurt him.
Two crooks waylayed into Spidey, throwing punches to his belly and tagging him a few times in the face but the sting of the on-target hits was felt for only a brief moment. He took the blows with barely a gasp.
" You fine, upstanding men should use a bat or a tire iron, 'cause I'm hardly feeling a thing! It's like being wailed on by a bunch of pillows." the costumed youth quipped, grinning under his mask but he was getting irritated. Fun's fun but it was getting ridiculous.
Spidey jerked his legs up and out, kicking two of his foes away as if they were children. Using a fraction of his strength, Spider-Man easily escaped the bear hug and whirled around to give his foe a right cross, sending him reeling to the ground.
A dazed crook tried to show how tough and unafraid he was, getting up and swinging out at Spidey but he deftfully sidestepped the attack and delivered a backhand punch that sent the man crashing on his back. The leader rose unsteadily to his feet and seeing that the crime fighter gesturing for him to attack, rushed at Spidey, screaming out obscenities on the way.
" Tsk, tsk, tsk! Such language." Spidey swiftly stepped aside to allow the man to ram into the side of the van. "Ouch! That musta hurt." the web-slinger said.
Leaning against the van, arms folded across his chest, he watched the staggering, stumbling path the man took to flop over onto his friends. With the fight pretty much over, Spider-Man needed to wrap things up before the police showed up. So to speak.
"Golly gee whiz. Guess play time's officially over for me." He sprayed a fine but tough netting over the unconscious and stunned criminals, making sure they wouldn't escape.
Deciding on depositing the crooks in style, Spidey managed to swing by the nearest police station with the four captured men in tow. A female police officer had just arrived in her cruiser and when she got out she was greeted by the sight of Spider-Man approaching with a very large bundle.
"Looks like Christmas came early for the people in blue, officer." the wall-crawler called out to the astonished cop, dumping the human cargo onto the steps of the station. " These slime balls were looting a warehouse a few blocks away."
The cop didn't say a word but with her gun drawn, she cautiously walked up to the bundle and saw that the four inside the webbing net were starting to stir.
"Are they okay? You didn't seriously hurt them, did you? I heard about your super powers." the cop inquired to Spidey, not sure what to make of his unexpected appearance at the station or his strange delivery.
Spidey let out a slightly annoyed sigh, knowing the suspicious cop was more worried about the criminals being harmed by a masked vigilante than them actually being caught committing crime.
He just let it pass. " They're all okay, officer. They're just groggy after the little brawl we had. Just give them a couple aspirin, some cookies and milk and they'll be as good as bad again."
After she called out for help to make a formal arrest, she turned back to Spidey with a grateful look. "Umm, what can I say but thanks, Spider-Man."
"Well, at least you're one person who didn't scream bloody murder when I came around. See ya in the funnies, officer. Good night." Spidey concluded without much humor and swung away on another spun web line.
Among the shadows atop the roof of the New York Public Library, one of his favorite places to hang out, Peter took off his mask and sat down beside an air duct. He needed the chance to rest after he had captured and dropped off the looters to the cops.
He was entitled to it. After all, he hadn't seen any other superheros in town swinging around high among the rooftops and making the bad guys' lives miserable.
Peter had to admit, however, that just in the past week or so he had made a big impression on the citizens of New York. The very fickle public either adored him or hated his guts and the police were on the fence when it came to what he did to help them and they could go either way, it was that unpredictable.
It suddenly struck him that he didn't take any pictures of the fight between him and the looters but that didn't matter to him at the moment. There was enough dough to keep him going for a little while.
Of course, J. Jonah Jameson would either pester him or basically threaten him with unemployment if he didn't obtain more exclusive photos of the "Web headed weasel" as Jameson maliciously nicknamed him.
To hell with it! Peter wasn't about to let a grouchy big mouth push him around. He was his own man and wouldn't bow down politely to anyone, not even the self-aggrandizing publisher J. Jonah Jameson.
Then again, a little kowtowing never hurt anyone. Peter needed the money and telling Jameson off was only going to make his financial situation worse. He was just going to have to stand up for himself a little more, that's all.
Propping his chin up, Peter was caught up in a nice thought as a loopy smile crossed his lips. The Sunday night dinner and meeting Mary Jane Watson. He held high hopes the girl was nice enough and good looking to see as potential dating material.
Maybe she'd even be interested in a so-called nerd like him. Who knew? Sunday would tell the tale and there was no real use fretting over it until the day came. Peter would just have to wait one more day to meet her.
*******************
Nestled in the Financial District, an unnamed towering edifice stood among other facilities and office buildings designated for the world of commerce.
However, if any of the occupants of those skyscrapers knew that a malignant force dwelled among them in safety, they would think twice before making business in that attractive fifty-three story building.
On the topmost two floors, in a spacious and well furnished office, a massively corpulent bald man dressed impeccably in a white jacket, black vest and stripped gray trousers sat behind his polished desk.
Smoking a cigarette in a long holder, Wilson Fisk glanced meticulously over reports but they were not items of legitimate business transactions. They were successful results of illegal and very profitable operations he overseen.
A wicked smile settled on the Kingpin's beefy but pleasant looking face. He was not an ugly person despite his massive body and in public he was a charming, humble man but in his secret world, he was cold blooded and ruthless.
Fisk heard the sound of frantic footsteps heading toward the office. One of his hired guns cautiously entered the room, a worried look etched on his face.
The massive mastermind looked up from his papers and frowned, sensing something had happened. " Smith, I hope whatever you have to say is important enough to interrupt my reading the daily reports." the secret crime boss grumbled in a very deep voice.
The nervous henchman fidgeted and then spoke up in a quivering voice. "Uhh, Mister Fisk, there's been a problem over in Midtown. The warehouse job was botched and the four men sent there were captured."
"WHAT??!" The Kingpin shot out of his chair as if struck by lightning and glared angrily at his quaking hireling. "What did you say, you insolent little toad??!"
"The men who were supposed to loot the warehouse in Midtown failed. I just got the word from one of our men. The boys were caught by Spider-Man." the nervous thug explained, hoping not to get bawled out.
"Spider-Man, eh?" The Kingpin slowly sank back into his chair and stared pensively into space. "So-- that upstart pipsqueak wishes to thwart my plans, does he? I had worried about something like this happening ever since he first appeared in New York."
"What should we do, boss?"
"Nothing." was the Kingpin's abrupt answer, as he resumed scanning his reports.
"Wha-- whattaya mean, nothing?"
Wilson Fisk shot a sharp, terrifying glare at his henchman, as if the insignificant man was stupid enough to question what the crime boss said. "That is correct, Smith. It gladdens me to know your hearing is not impaired, so you can listen to me very carefully, you dolt. We shall do nothing until we can discover more information about this Spider-Man."
"You know he's dangerous, don't you?"
"Of course I do, Smith. That is beside the point. I want to be certain that costumed meddler is not going to become a liability to my vast enterprise. So far, he has only made a brief but impressive start but sooner or later, he will start to become an unsettling nuisance. At that time, we will take immediate action."
The hired gun nodded and left after a dismissive wave by the Kingpin. The ingenious crime boss wanted time to be alone to think and plan. He put aside his papers and folded his hands on top of his desk. A trace of a cunning grin showed on the big man's lips as he pondered on the ensuing battle of wits he would play with his new nemesis.
"So, my young foe? You wish to play games with the Kingpin, do you? You have made the first move against me but you will not know where my move will come from or when it will happen--"
Wilson Fisk took a drag from his cigarette and blew a stream of smoke into the air. A loud, vicious laugh came out of the massive man.
"-- no, my impetuous hero. You will be unprepared for what I will eventually plan for you. I will wait until you make another unfortunate mistake of interfering with my plans and then, you will arouse the wrath of-- the Kingpin!!"
NOT THE END, ONLY THE BEGINNING-----