Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-Man- the character was created by Marvel Comics and this version appeared in the movie directed by Sam Raimi-, nor do I own the Charmed Ones, who were created by the very talented Constance M. Burge
Feedback: This is a risky story I'm attempting; I'd like to know it's appreciated
Kalong: Yeah, I know what you mean; he tangled with that 'Morlun' sucker when he found out about that, didn't he? Regarding using it here… might be a bit difficult, but it's definitely worth thinking about…
Wolflver: That'll probably be fairly soon, but I can't make any promises.
angel: Thanks for that; I wasn't too sure about it myself, but it seemed like an interesting idea, so I decided to use it nevertheless.
.elementalbabe: Thanks for that.
Sean Malloy-1: No ideas on that front; we'll just have to see how everything works out.
BlueSilverLining: Thank you; this soon enough?
Sara Wolfe: Um… thanks for that, but where's the Murphy's law reference?
Guardian452X: I do what I can; always glad to hear a positive comment
CharmingStar: Sorry this took so long, but things kept on coming up
Tanya: Here you are; sorry about the delay
Webs and Witches
Niiiiice… Paige thought to herself, as she looked around the room that Cole and Phoebe had picked for her. It was on the thirty-second floor of the W Hotel, just off Times Square; a fancy, ultramodern hotel with rooms in an almost futuristic style of black and silver decoration.
Her room was located on the thirty-fifth floor of the hotel, in between the rooms of the others; Piper and Leo had the room on her left, while Cole and Phoebe had claimed the one on her right.
"Like it?" a voice said from behind her.
Turning around, Paige smiled as she saw Phoebe standing behind her, looking curiously at her younger sister.
"Yeah, it's great," she said, nodding at her sister. Then a thought occurred to her. "Find anything?"
Phoebe sighed. "Not really," she said, as she moved over to sit on Paige's bed. Paige sat down beside her, and looked at her sister as Phoebe continued to speak. "After we'd found rooms, Cole and I nipped off to try and buy a few newspapers; you know, see if we could find anything out about these disappearances we're investigating."
Paige nodded in agreement. "And?" she asked, looking curiously at Phoebe.
Phoebe sighed. "Nothing," she said regretfully. "There's the occasional missing person mentioned here and there, but nothing concrete." Then she rolled her eyes and chuckled slightly. "Well, this one paper had a theory, but it doesn't really count…"
"Why not?" Paige asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"It's this paper called the Daily Bugle," Phoebe explained. "It's generally fairly credible, but the publisher apparently has a serious 'vendetta' of some kind against the guy he's claiming committed the crimes, so he's hardly a credible source."
"Who is it?" Paige asked.
"Spider-Man," Phoebe replied.
Paige blinked in surprise at that comment.
"What kind of name is that?" she asked.
"An apt one, apparently," Phoebe explained, as she reached into her bag, which had been lain down on the floor as she sat down, and pulled out a newspaper, passing it to Paige. "He's the guy on the cover."
Paige looked at the paper curiously, and blinked in surprise at the sight. The front cover showed a man, apparently in good physical shape, swinging- yes, swinging- through the New York skyline, holding on to a thin line of some kind. He was dressed in a blue-and-red skintight costume, with red glove and boots, and a red mask that completely covered his head, with what Paige could only assume were one-way-mirrors covering his eyes.
"Interesting costume…." she said, looking it up and down critically…
And then her eyes fell on the name below the picture.
Photograph by: Peter Parker"Peter?" she said, almost half to herself.
"'Peter'?" Phoebe said, looking curiously over at Paige. "Who's Peter, and what's he got to do with anything?"
"Peter Parker, the guy who took this picture," Paige said, tilting the paper slightly so that Phoebe could see it and tapping the name with her finger. "It's just…" She sighed. "Freaky coincidence, but I ran into him while I was out on the town and arranged to meet him at a restaurant tomorrow night."
Phoebe blinked in surprise.
Paige was right; that was a rather freaky coincidence…
Then she realised just what her half-sister had said.
"Wait; you arranged to meet him tomorrow at a restaurant?" she asked, looking over at Paige with a slight grin on her face. "Are you saying that we've barely been here a day, and you've got a date already?"
She smiled and patted Paige on the back. "Good for you. I told you this was just a rough patch you were going through, man-wise."
"Well, it's not like it's that big a deal," Paige said, shrugging dismissively. "I mean, it's just a dinner date; it's not like it's anything that major."
"Paige, compared to what you've had recently, it's a step or so up, the way I see it," Phoebe smiled, looking over at her sister. "I mean, your last few dates just took you to a club or bar or something; this guy's taking you to an actual restaurant."
She grinned even wider and gave Paige a quick hug. "Don't act like it's nothing, Paige; this guy might just break your bad streak."
Paige smiled. "Yeah, maybe…" she said, hugging her sister back.
As her eyes fell on the paper lying on the bed beside them, Paige made a mental note to ask Peter a bit about Spider-Man; even if he wasn't responsible for these disappearances, the web-slinger may have some ideas as to who might be behind them…
"Bad," J. Jonah Jameson said dismissively, tossing the first photo from the envelope off to one side.
Peter sighed slightly, but didn't worry too much about it; after so many months selling photos to the Bugle, he was used to Jameson's rather harsh attitude towards his pictures, no matter what condition they were in at the time.
"Lame… bad lighting… shoddy angle…" Jonah stopped glancing over them and looked up at Peter. "I'll give you three hundred for all of them."
Peter shrugged; that should be enough to pay the rent for the next month or so, when put together with his savings, and still leave enough for tonight's dinner with Paige.
"Thanks, Mr Jameson," he said, standing up and taking the offered check. Then a thought occurred to him, and he looked back at Jameson. "Any further news on these disappearances?"
Jameson looked up harshly at Peter at that. "What are you; a detective?" he asked. "You're not here to ask questions, Parker; you're here for your photos! Now get going!"
Sighing, Peter walked out of the office, stuffing the cheque in his pocket. He knew it had been a long shot, but he couldn't help it; he really hated it when something like this happened in his city.
Mary Jane being targeted by the Green Goblin was bad enough; at least he'd known who'd be after her…
But this? He didn't even know whether she was a potential target, never mind who her captors would be…
He shook his head, trying to clear it; this wouldn't get him anywhere. Until further notice, Mary Jane wasn't his concern; he had a date tonight, and he couldn't afford to spoil it. Despite the fact that Paige probably wouldn't be around for long, he wouldn't mind the chance to get to know her better.
Besides, he could do with a few more dates anyway; it couldn't be healthy to moon around after one girl for his entire life…
He just hoped that his life as Spider-Man didn't interfere with the relationship before it had even got started.
"Tough time from Jonah, huh?" a voice said from one side. Looking over, Peter smiled as Robbie Robertson walked over to him. Peter hadn't really talked to Robbie that much- never really been much opportunity- but the few conversations they'd managed had always been friendly ones, and he'd enjoyed them nevertheless.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Peter said, sighing. "I just asked him about the disappearances and he lost it."
"You can't blame him, really; this whole thing's got everyone stressed out," Robbie sighed. "Jonah's belief that it's Spider-Man doesn't help either; I've tried to point out that it can't be him, and nothing's helped."
Peter looked up, curious. "Any particular reason it can't be him?" he asked inquiringly.
"Well, aside from the fact that for at least two of the disappearances he's been confirmed at other locations, in a couple of the alleyways where the women vanished, the ground was dusty enough to show footprints," Robbie explained. "I'm hardly Sherlock Holmes, but given that the feet just seem to have vanished rather than been dragged away, I think that rules out Spider-Man; even if he yanked them up with webbing there'd probably be some kind of… skid mark, right?"
Peter nodded. "Yeah, seems sensible," he said, as he stood up. "Well, I've got to go; I've got an appointment in a restaurant in a couple of hours."
"A date?" Robbie asked, smiling casually up at Peter.
Peter was about to protest, but then just shrugged casually; after all, where was the harm?
"Yeah, pretty much," he said, smiling slightly at the thought.
Robbie smiled back at him, patting him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Have a good time, Pete," he said to his young friend.
"I will, Robbie," Peter reassured him. Then he turned around and headed for the door towards the lift. If he hurried, he might just be able to reach his apartment and change before he had to meet Paige at the restaurant…