Mary Jane looked with disbelief, seeing her father standing before her after all these years of nothing. Thinking he was dead or god knows where.
"Dad, I-I. Why? How?" She could form words properly just in complete shock overseeing him again.
"This must come as well, world-shattering, seeing me again. I just couldn't stay away from you anymore. You're my child. My daughter." He said, starting to come closer.
"Why, why now?" Mary Jane questioned.
He sighed. "I was in New York, employment, I couldn't say now. My new boss wouldn't be pleased if I declined. Besides, it was a chance to see you again and Anna. I've not seen either of you in years. Hurts everyday, being apart so long."
Mary Jane nodded unsure. "You left us. Me. Aunt Anna. Why?"
The man scoffed at himself. "The classic excuse, protecting you two."
"Right. Always protecting. You could've told me why you left. All that time ago, I was young, but I'd have understood if you told me. I thought, maybe you didn't want me. I'm still thinking that." She expressed.
He looked heartbroken. "No, no, Mary Jane, I'd never want you to think that. It wasn't why I left. You were all that kept me together all these years. How much I've loved you, before you even took a single breath. The day I knew you were coming, I loved you more than anything in this world. I can promise that."
"You should be in jail, I don't understand."
Her father nodded. "Indeed, I should be. It's complicated, technically I wasn't in jail. It doesn't matter, I was kept away from you by nasty people. Wasn't my choice. Perhaps if I made better life choices, things would be different. I didn't."
She pondered for a moment, unable to look at him. "What about mom? What happened to her?"
"I'm sure Anna told you she left as well, which is true. Your mother, as much as I loved her. So many snuggles befell her." He looked around suspiciously.
"Could we get inside? Please?"
"Why? Are you a fugitive?" She asked, disappointed greatly.
"Not exactly. Again it's complicated; it's all just too much to say and catch up on. I don't want this ruined. I've not seen you for over half your life. All that doesn't matter. I want to hear about you, everything." He said genuinely.
Mary Jane shook her head. "Yes, you're my father, but you're a criminal too. Aunt Anna could get into trouble if you come inside, couldn't she?"
"I'm afraid so." Her father said with his voice lowered.
"Perhaps we cou-"
Before he could continue, Spider-Man leaped in between the man and Mary Jane, who was still about 8 feet away from him. "Looter isn't it? I believe we've already met, how about you step away from this sweet girl and give yourself up lightly?"
"Spider-Man! Please don't hurt him." Mary Jane said, sounding very conflicted.
"Did you call the police!" He shouted, unclear as to who it was directed towards.
Spidey stood in front of Mary Jane. "Let's relax, no cops, we can work this out. I just want you to step away from the young lady. Let's just talk."
"I've got nothing to say! You won't take me from my daughter!" He shouted, running towards Spider-Man.
"Crap." He whispered to himself and grabbed MJ getting out of the way, bringing her to safety about 50 feet away. "Stay here!" He exclaimed.
"Please don't hurt him. He's still my dad." She whispered.
"I'll try my best MJ." Peter said, before hopping backwards getting in front of her father once again. "You're not a fan of listening are you?"
"Neither are you!" He exclaimed backhanding Peter smacking him away.
Mary Jane was shocked. "What? Dad?"
"I would've explained, but this fool had to interrupt. Looks like I'm stronger than him. Maybe I should teach a lesson!" He exclaimed angered.
"Please stop. He's a hero, a good person!" She proclaimed, trying to get close to her father reaching for his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, you should look away, this isn't going to be pretty." He brushed off her trying to hold him back.
Mary Jane backed up, thinking of what could be done.
Spider-Man meanwhile got back up A little hurt and his spider senses started to flare as Looter leaped up and came crashing back to the ground trying to crush Peter, making a creak in the pavement.
"You know, I'm missing your silly suit, it made it easier to find you funny. I'm not finding this a laughing matter." Peter said, unsure of a joke in that moment. while avoiding another attack.
"Glad. We. Agree." He replied angered.
"On which part?" Peter said joking again and webbed up his face smacking him in the face knocking him back a bit. "Could we please talk like, uh, adults? So you know, we don't fight in front of your daughter or in this lovely neighbourhood. Think something isn't going to call the cops now?"
"You caused me to attack. To reveal myself."
"A criminal visiting his daughter who he hasn't seen in years, someone like you made me think she'd be in danger. I wouldn't allow that. You know, hero thing?"
He looked suspicious. "How do you know my daughter? And me for that matter? My life?"
"Um, people talk." Spider-Man tried webbing his hands together and legs. "Now we can talk right? Lik-"
He didn't agree, breaking free and upcuttering Peter quickly as his spider senses blared getting himself knocked back quite a bit. "Rude!" Peter exclaimed.
Looter revealed his balloon once again and started to lift away.
"No!" Peter exclaimed and webbed onto his leg. "Yet another flight! I'm starting to hate flying!" He expressed as he got higher in the air.
Unfortunately for the Web-Slinger, Looter pulled out a knife and slashed the web, leaving Peter to fall back down to earth, landing in a neighbor's bush which lessened the impact a bit. "Hey look at that. It doesn't feel like I'm dead. Fantastic!" He remarked to himself, getting up slowly patting his back. "You're not broken either, specular!" Peter saw the police pulling up. "I should get out of here. I'm not sure what I can say. Hope MJ is alright." He said softly to himself before leaving to get undressed back into Peter Parker clothing.
Mary Jane sat on her porch talking to the police officers and detectives who came along. While taking a brief sad look at Peter, who was sitting on his porch looking over at her. Shortly, Captain Stacy came right over and told the two detectives who were speaking to her for a few minutes before he arrived to take a break.
"Mary Jane? We don't know each other the best, but when I got the call I came right down. Figuring a somewhat formulir face would be good right about now." She nodded and looked over again at Peter.
Stacy did too. "I'll get them to allow Parker to come over, just a few more questions. I apologize, but it's standard. Tell me truly, did you expect your father to come here?"
"No sir, I thought he was in jail. Or dead. Didn't give a crap about me, I thought, still not sure if he does or heck if it should even matter right? He's going back to jail once you catch him. Right?"
"Yeah, afraid so." Stacy replied, frowning.
"Then it really shouldn't matter." She replied.
He shrugged. "Well, he might have visitation rights."
MJ looked unsure. "I don't really know this man at all. Don't think he's someone I want in my life, ever."
Stacy looked at her closely and nodded. "Understandable, tell you what. I'm going to tell these detectives to back off. Call me if you think of anything. And uh, we're going to have to station officers out front to keep watch for your father and keep you safe."
Mary Jane nodded sadly.
Seeing this captain Stacy walked off disappointed and motioned all the cops to back right off.
Seeing this, Peter naturally rushed right over to see MJ and sat right next to her.
"Is this a hug type of situation?" Peter asked.
"You bet." She replied, hugging him tightly.
"Hard day"
"Understatement." MJ hugged him as tight as possible.
Peter hugged back, not as tight of course. "I'm sure about getting into a fight with your dad. Physically."
"Yeah, not exactly the best way of meeting my missing dad huh? Him getting into a fight with my best friend and being chased out by the police. Dad of the year."
He couldn't help laughing softly. "Could've gone a bit better."
She nodded, frowning.
"Hey, at least you know what happened to your dad now right?" Peter pointed out trying to be optimistic.
"Yeah it feels great." She said sarcastically.
Her friend couldn't help nodding. "Fair. As silly as it is, I'd still be happy if my dad came back as a supervillain, at least I'd know he's alive."
"I'd personally rather have let the past be the past. I moved on from him. Sometimes I wondered, but not for long. Only in passing."
"I get that, I'm sorry your dad came back as a supervillian MJ." Peter said genuinely.
"Yeah it sucks. And aunt Anna's almost back, maybe you shouldn't be around when she comes back. Might not be in the best mood." Mary Jane replied, looking at her phone replying to her aunt, who said she was a couple minutes away.
"True, I don't really want to add any more fun to this exciting day." He expressed and looked over at the cops stationed outside and some people in the neighbourhood looking at the house. "Looks like some nosy people are around, you should go inside. And I hope those cops won't peak at my home at all while being Spidey." He remarked, giving her yet another big hug before taking his leave.
She went to sit down on the couch inside, thinking of doing that destroying thing from movies and tv shows, but figured it'd realistically not help anything.
Aunt Anna walked in. "Mary? Are you alright?"
She shrugged. "As much as I can be."
They hugged each other. "I'm so sorry for not telling you everything, I thought he would never return."
Peter returned home finding Harry laying on the couch with his headphones on.
"Hey Pete! I can't believe you came back so fast. Was this couch always so uncomfy?" He asked, seemingly oblivious as to what happened outside minutes ago.
"You didn't hear anything?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.
"Nothing at all?" He persisted.
"No? Should I have?" A puzzled Harry asked again.
Peter smirked and waved his hand. "Nah, it's fine. What are you doing?"
"Listening to music. What else is a guy meant to do around here? It's not like you got a giant tv, this one is like, 80% smaller! How the heck would I see anything! And what movies do you even have man! I'm going to die of boredom."
"You've stayed over before, what's different now?" Peter questioned.
"Well, it was only for a day or less. This could be days, weeks!"
"Months!" Peter joked.
Harry pretended to shoot himself. "I'll run away if I have to stay here for more than a month! At least if I'm hopeless that's some excitement!" He expressed.
Peter shook his head at his friend's overractions. "Alrighty, I'm sure you'll last a couple hours homeless." He went up stairs and flopped onto his bed.
It could've gone so much better today. Or would it have? Maybe if Spider-Man didn't show up that Looter might have grabbed MJ. Some crappy dads have kidnapped their kids before. Yeah, I made the right choice. Right? I should call myself Captain Second Guesser. He could've been a cool guy, just wanting to see this daughter who he was ripped away from because of his mistakes. Was I the real bad guy in this case? Then again, she didn't seem happy with him back. Why. Can't. Things. Be. Easy. He wondered to himself groning.
As he buried his face into his bellow of course the phone rang.
"Gosh!" He exclaimed, annoyed and picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey? Parker? It's Fredrick Fosswell. I've got Ned Leeds with me, I'm going to put it on speaker, wanna keep him in the loop, you know?"
"Oh yeah sure. Anyhow, sorry for not calling back. Mary Jane's dad, the Looter guy was here, but Spider-Man chased him off and now the cops are here keeping an eye on her in case he returns, which he won't, right?"
"Well, I can't answer that." Foswell admitted.
Ned joined in. "Yeah, some parents would do anything for their children. I would too if-" There was a clear pause. "Never mind."
Frederick continued. "I feel horrible about this whole situation. I thought Phil would be out of their lives forever. We might go speak to them later about everything. How did they seem?"
"Uh, well, I think? Well enough, you know, considering this."
"Yeah, yeah. Alright. I think we should go investigate Looter some more."
"Agreed! We'll find him before he has anytime to strike again! Likely so." Ned said, not so confidently.
Peter sighed as he hung up. "Maybe this is a job for Spider-Man?" He asked himself out loud.
He continued to himself. If I leave, MJ might need me still or Harry and aunt Mary. Then again, crime could be happening out there. Alright, here's what I'll do. Go be Spidey for a couple hours and keep my phone on. Great plan. I'll be back in a flash! Peter felt confident in this plan and carefully suited up after locking his door and making sure the police weren't looking at his home's reaction. They weren't and he promptly left.
Back across the homes, Mary Jane had questions for her aunt.
"Did you know dad was a supervillain?" She questioned.
Her aunt sighed. "I'd rather you not call him a supervillain, he's a criminal, yes, but not to that extreme, then again you said he went toe to toe with Spider-Man. Perhaps after all these years, my brother is truly gone." She frowned.
"I'm sorry for upsetting, it makes things worse hearing me call him that, I guess. Can't believe this is happening." She hugged her aunt again.
"This, it-it's hard for us both. I never wanted you to see him as a criminal, now it's unavoidable and facing the police, Spider-Man. It's insanity."
MJ nodded. "How does Fowell tie into all this? Honestly?"
Anna sighed heavily, hesitating before continuing to speak. "Mr. Foswell discovered what he was doing, with the police, a deal was given. Bring down a larger group of crocks. Once that was done, another deal came in. Continue helping, avoid jail time. They had enough tied to him to give him life, which was bogus, but nothing could be done. Foswell regrets what went done, sometimes he's visited, feels guilty for how everything went down. It's a shame. I forgive him for it all, but not sure if he does having, being tricked like that by the justice system like that. Foolishness, the things that happen in this city sometimes. I don't know how your father escaped, but part of me is glad he did. Now I don't know what comes next."
"I mean, Aunt Anna, he's a fugitive, shouldn't he return to jail proper?"
"Well, it's complicated, isn't it? How things should be, what I'd wish for. I truly believe, if that man got his act together, he'd be a wonderful father."
She looked unsure. "What about mom?"
"I'm sorry, what I told you was true. She left us. Philip, he never talked about it really. They thought a lot and she had issues. He thought it was best she wasn't in your life anymore, both of yours. Not the answer you'd have liked, I can only imagine Mary."
She nodded with a frown. "Will things be normal in my life?" She wondered allowed.
Elsewhere Spidey as expected, was out on patrol swinging around, as he did, trouble could be heard a block away sirens around. Hero time! Wait, that's not my line. I need a catch phrase that's all mine! Or is that not copyrighted? Whatever. He thought to himself, focusing more on swinging into action.
Another car crash, multiple, seemed normal in NYC at this point. A fire broke out and a father and daughter were clearly trapped. Firefighters were around, but likely wouldn't have been fast enough, not as fast as Spider-Man as he hopped into action smashing through the car door, grabbing them both webbing them all to safety just as the car exploded. Giving some blow back to poor Peter getting thrown into a wall.
"Owch!" He exclaimed. "I'm alright though everyone!" He said happily as nobody really paid attention as Firefighters and EMTs helped get everyone to safety, along with the young girl and her father. Surprisingly, they stopped for a moment.
"Thank you for saving my daughter's life. I don't know how I'd have gone on without her. Thank god for you!" He exclaimed cheerfully and held his daughter close as they got escorted to an ambulance.
Always a great thing, getting thanks. A good confidence booster! He swung away from the crash site, figuring he'd let first responders to their work. Looking down he wished and wondered if somehow MJ's dad could become a firefighter, after getting through with his sentencing. Peter wasn't sure if he was a mutant or got his strength some other way, but knew being strong and resisting pain more would be incredible for someone in that line of work. Now the only thing was he wasn't sure if MJ would even wish to talk about the situation with her father again. Or if she'd wish to speak to him again, assuming they get into a final showdown or something. With the Parker luck, it was surely that would occur, because of course it would. To get his mind off all this, he decided what, in hindsight, might not have been the bestest choice for a time like now. Calling Liz.
As the phone rang, he felt pretty nervous, more so after nearly getting blown to smithereens.
"Hello?" It was a male's voice, not Liz's.
"Uh, hi, is Liz there?" Peter asked skeptically.
"Liz Allen? Who is this?" The voice asked.
"Um, Peter, Peter Parker?" Replied Peter lacking a ton of confidence.
"Oh crap, not you." He replied.
"Excuse me?"
The voice paused. "I'm her boyfriend."
Peter clued in. "Ah, yes, Jamie Ryder right?" Great, fantastic, her boyfriend. Exactly who I wanted to speak to! He thought to himself sarcastically.
"Why are you calling her?" Jamie questioned.
"I-I just wanted to check on her, you know?"
"Yeah, here's the thing, you pissed her off pretty good, so I'd personally not think it'd be best for her to know you call. You know?"
"Why? I don't know-"
"Hey man, just leave her be alright? You don't her bad she is doing When I met her, never mind. Hearing from you wouldn't help a damn thing! So do the right thing, leave her be. You aggravate her. And she's got enough crap going down. I'm trying to help her feel better, you won't."
"I could try. I." Peter paused. "Listen just tell her I called, please?"
"Yeah, sure, I will." He hung up.
Great job Pete, did good work there, as usual. Jeez, could I be anymore of a homewrecker? I shouldn't ask or tempt fate. Alrighty, I think I'm going to go home, I might as well see MJ. Or not, might wanna see me either. I'll just hang with Harry and Aunt May, then sleep. Deal with whatever comes next tomorrow. He swung off.
Elsewhere, Mary Jane's father stepped into a mysterious warehouse their were some guards outside and inside. As he walked into a smaller room without any the man was quite on edge.
A voice began to speak from the darkness. "You put things at risk today, going to see your daughter, I understand it, but still, risky for our operations." The voice said, The Crime Master.
"I didn't have a choice, couldn't go on without seeing her. Especially if what you say is true and this plan of yours will succeed. I'd get a life with her. She should know her father." He replied genuinely.
Crime-Master took a moment to respond. "I can agree. And understand where you're coming from. Next time, avoid Spider-Man, it seems he must have a connection to that girl of yours."
"If you find his identity, kill him and leave her out of it, got it?"
"Crystal clear. She'll be left alone and you'll get a happy ending. I can promise that. As long as we all complete this takeover. It must go well. I'll contact you once again when I need you, lay low here. We'll be having more guests arrive. Allies. I hope."
Mr. Watson looked around. "Are you even here?"
"No. You'll not be seeing me in person again. Until this is over anyways." The voice stopped and Watson left, unsure. Keeping thoughts of his daughter clear on his mind.
Thanks for continuing to read the series! I can't believe how many favs and followers there are! Also, I can't ******* believe that I've only now managed to hit 100k words after, let's see, 3 years? Not bad right? Batwoman is at 150k. It's been 6 months. DARP. And has less forevers and favs, by 3x the amount. Life is funny.
Anywho, the mystery of the Crime-Master only continues, more explanation on Mary Jane's father and Peter having just the best of luck. As expected. I feel like I'm at a point where I'm excited again to be writing for this amazing character and the upcoming plotlines. I'll admit, hit a massive bump in the road, hopefully it'll be the last. It looks like smooth sailing now, and it appears the twist of MJ's father landed, which was worrying me quite a bit. I'm taking my love's advice of relaxing it seems pretty well. For now, let's hope I'll stay this way lol.
I can promise another shocking turn is approaching, the appearance of a hero (or two) previously seen and more villains in the next few chapters. Along with of course, more clues, I hope, as to the Crime Master's identity and plans.
Thank you once again to ShadowStrike for the reviews and enjoying this story, totally recommend his series if you enjoy this one. (Assuming your not already reading of course lol) More progress and I personally think better! Objectively speaking and my own feelings.
Thanks again all, best wishes as always.