(A/N: I do not own Spiderman or Assassin's Creed. That right belongs to Ubisoft and Sony).
Mary-Jane was worried about Peter. Ever since he met those two guys, he's been acting incredibly weird. These new clothes, this new attitude of his, his constant need to be around those two. It was pretty unsettling.
This wasn't to say that she wasn't glad he was finally sticking up for himself and that he had other people to talk to other than her but these two...there was something about them that felt just off.
Of course, though, this was pretty much a gut feeling based on nothing but her own woman's intuition. If only she just knew more about them. How could she though? They won't tell her anything or why exactly they're so close to Peter.
She contemplated this problem as she put her books in her locker and was preparing for her next class. As she was about to close her locker, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked around but saw no one.
"Ok...that was weird. Maybe some class clown Freshman with a crush on me?" Mary-Jane thought as she flipped her hair, thinking highly of herself in that moment until she turned back to her locker to find a folded piece of paper with her name on it in newspaper clippings.
"Ok...totally not creepy at all" Mary-Jane thought. She looked around to see who possibly could have put this here but she didn't find anyone that stood out. After about a minute of looking, she turned back to her locker and took the piece of paper and unfolded it. In the paper, there was more newspaper clippings that read
"Your friend, Peter Parker, is in deep trouble. I need to speak to you as quickly as possible. At around 8PM, meet me by the school dumpster. I'll explain everything there. Don't tell anyone else. Until then, AC.
P.S. Get rid of this note as you as you've read it"
Mary-Jane's concern suddenly grew by a factor of 10. Not just because she had to meet some weird guy at school at night but also because this kind of confirmed of the worried feelings she had about Peter.
She put the letter at the corner of her slightly open bag and turned but as soon as she turned, Gwen was in her face.
"H..hey, MJ" Gwen said, rubbing her arms awkwardly and putting on her usual shy smile.
"Gwen...hey" Mary-Jane said with a confused look on her face. She hadn't really heard for the whole summer as she was busy with Harry.
"How...how's it going?" Gwen asked, sheepishly, trying awkwardly to make conversation, knowing well there was probably some tension between them what with her staying with Harry despite hers and Peter's agreement and her ignoring her over the summer.
"It's ok...where's Harry?" Mary-Jane asked, practically sneering at the mere mention of the name.
"We...we're not speaking right now. He acted out badly with Peter yesterday and said very uncalled for things so I'm taking a break from him" Gwen explained.
"So does this mean you're broken up?" Mary-Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...no. Not exactly" Gwen said, frowning and looking to the ground.
Mary-Jane rolled her eyes. "Of course not"
"MJ, I swear I will end it soon. I just need more time" Gwen said, trying desperately to defend her decision to stay with him for a while longer.
"And when will that be? You've comforted him for 3 months straight and practically cut everyone else out from your life, including me and most importantly Peter, the guy you supposedly love. He was really hurt from your decision, you know. I could hardly make him even smile the whole summer" Mary-Jane said.
Gwen sighed with pure guilt. That hit her hard. She hated making Peter feel bad, especially given her feelings for him. Why was this so difficult for her?
"I...I will make it up to him, MJ and you. I promise I will" Gwen said, trying to assure her friend.
"Well you may want to fulfill that promise soon...I'm worried about Peter, Gwen. These guys he's hanging around with now...there's something off about them...and I'm going to get to the bottom of it" Mary-Jane said.
"Maybe...I can help you. I don't feel right about them either and I want to know exactly what their true intentions are with Peter" Gwen said.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Gwen. I don't think Peter has the best feelings for you right now and to be honest, I don't really feel too good about you right now either with this constant need to stay around Harry at all times. I need to do this alone. We'll...we'll talk again later, maybe. I gotta get to class" Mary-Jane said, turning and walking away from her.
Gwen lowered her head and sighed. She felt awful. She hurt the guy she cared for a lot and maybe even loved. Staying with Harry was probably a mistake. It wasn't fair to Peter who had broken up with a girlfriend he seemed to really like and it wasn't really even fair to Harry to pretend like there was still something between them and that she wasn't just staying with him out of pity. She made a mental note to talk to Harry about this and to talk to Peter. To apologize and cover every last inch of his face with kisses until he accepted her apology and finally, finally get together with each other like they were supposed to from the start.
She then heard something hit the floor. She looked and saw that it dropped from Mary-Jane's backpack.
"Wait, MJ!" Gwen said but she was too far away to hear at that point. She bent over and picked it up and saw it was a weird newspaper clipping note from those old detective movies addressed to Mary-Jane. While she was usually against going through people's personal property, curiosity got the better of here and read the letter.
The young girl saw Peter's name and looked at it with great interest and read it. After reading carefully, she quietly put it in her backpack.
As she was about to go to class, she could see Harry approaching her. She gave a slight glare as he approached with a sad look on his face, one of regret.
"Gwen. I...can we talk? Please?" Harry asked, pleading with her.
"Depends. Have you apologized to Peter yet?" Gwen asked, still glaring.
"I...I will. I swear I will. The next time I talk to him. I just want to speak to you first to make sure we're fine" Harry said.
"I don't think we are, Harry. What you said about Peter's aunt was uncalled for. The woman lost her husband and is frail and elderly. Peter has to take care of her all by himself and you know that" Gwen said.
"I know, Gwen, I really do. That's why I want to do something for her. I remember Peter telling me one time that she's had back problems so I want to get her a new mattress so she can sleep better. I read memory foam mattresses are the best ones for the elderly so I'm going to get her the highest quality mattresses for her" Harry explained, smiling sincerely at his girlfriend.
Gwen after a while smiled. "That's very sweet of you, Harry. I'm glad you're doing that"
She leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"So...we're ok then?" Harry asked, hopefully.
"Um...well...yes. I guess so...Harry...we...we're going to need to have a talk soon. Not now but pretty soon. Maybe we can meet over at the Silver Spoon on Monday to talk about it" Gwen said awkwardly. She was tempted to stay with Harry for just a little bit longer after what he just said but she felt it was best they should end it as soon as possible. She couldn't hurt Peter anymore than she already has.
"Oh ok. It's not bad, is it?" Harry said a little worried.
"No, it's not bad Harry. It's just...it's just that it's something that needs to be talked about. It'll be something that'll be good for both of us" Gwen said.
"Oh...Ok. Sure" Harry said with a raised eyebrow. It sounded ominous but he didn't want to risk damaging their relationship any further so he just went along with it.
"Say, Harry….why don't we meet up tonight around the school dumpster tonight. I...want to see something there" Gwen said, twiddling her thumbs.
"The...school dumpster. Uh...ok...wh...why?" Harry asked, kind of getting excited. Was she implying what he thought she was?
"Well...there's...I just have a feeling there'll be something interesting to do there tonight and I want to see for myself" Gwen said.
"Ok. Sounds weird but I'm game!" Harry said with a wide smile. Tonight could be a very big night in his life. He was a bit concerned about wanting to do this by a dumpster instead of at his home or anywhere else but he wasn't really complaining.
Gwen noticed him grinning and mentally heaved. She wanted Harry to be there so they could all figure out what was going on with Peter and these 2 new friends of his so they could all help out in their own way but she had a feeling he wouldn't be interested in going if he realized what it was about so she decided to let him have this fantasy for now. After all, guys were guys and most of the time, they had just one thing on their minds.
"Right...anyway, I gotta get to class, Harry and so do you. I'll see you later" Gwen said, giving Harry a hug and walking away.
Harry just grinned like an idiot. This may be shaping up to be a great day after all. Thoughts of Gwen breaking up with him entered the back of his mind.
Little did they know, someone around the corner and was pretty interested as to what they were going to be doing around the school dumpster that night. That person knew Gwen wasn't that sort of girl and felt there was something else at hand, something involving a certain person of interest to them.
They made a mental note to be there at 8. They would hide around the corner and see what exactly was going on. This person smiled at their scheme as they went on to class, acting like nothing had happened.
It was certainly going to be an interesting night for these people…
*Later that night, 7:55PM*
Mary-Jane Watson wore a black coat and dark pants around the school dumpster that was lit by only a dim light from above. This was a pretty shady place to be at night but it would be worth it, she thought as long as she could get an idea as to who these guys that Peter hung out with were.
She spent some time walking around the dumpster until suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder from behind.
The redhead let out a shriek as she jumped behind her and found someone, a white male, in a white hoodie with jeans.
"Mary-Jane Watson?" He asked in a sort of monotone voice.
"Y...yes?" Mary-Jane asked.
"I'm AC from the letters. Those are the initials of my name. I'll tell you it later should we actually communicate for that long but for now just refer to me as Creed" The man said.
"Uh...ok...Creed? Good to meet you...I guess" Mary-Jane said awkwardly with an even more awkward smile.
"You need not be afraid. I'm only here to help and was wondering if you could do the same for me? Your friend is in trouble and could very well put many other people in trouble as well if he keeps going down the same path he's going on" Creed said.
"What do you mean? Just who are you?" Mary-Jane asked, getting a bit hostile.
"Let's just say I know who those 2 are that Peter's been hanging around with. They may look friendly but they're dangerous" Creed explained.
"How?" Mary-Jane asked, growing concerned and curious.
"Those 2 are the sons of 2 prominent women in a secret society that's dedicated to controlling every aspect of people's lives all around the world. They're interested in Peter because they believe him to be an asset to their current operation" Creed said.
Before Mary-Jane could say anything else, Creed heard something from around the corner. They both turned to the direction where the sound came from.
"I thought I told you to come alone?" Creed said, accusingly.
"I did. I didn't tell anyone else" Mary-Jane said, getting worried.
"Did you get rid of the note?" Creed asked.
"I...I put it in my backpack...oh god...I think I lost it!" Mary-Jane said, panicking.
"For god's sake! Don't worry, get behind me!" Creed said, practically shoving Mary-Jane behind and revealed a knife from under his wrist. This caused Mary-Jane to become quite concerned.
"Come on out! Now!" Creed shouted.
Two people came out from behind the corner. It turned out to be Gwen and Harry. Gwen had on a shy and worried frown while Harry had on a face with a mix of worried, disappointment and angry emotions.
"Gwen? Harry?" Mary-Jane asked, confused.
"Hi…" Gwen asked, rubbing her forearm.
"What's up?" Harry asked, grumpily, obviously disappointed this wasn't what he thought it was. Then again he didn't really want his first time to be by a school dumpster so he guessed he could let this pass. Though he hoped no one would look in his pockets. Then he'd have to explain contents and that would make for awkward conversation.
"Wait….you took my note, Gwen?!" Mary-Jane, getting an angry look on her face.
"I'm sorry, MJ. I...I'm just so worried about Peter. I want to make sure he's alright" Gwen explained passionately.
Harry had to roll his eyes. Of course this would be about Peter. He was practically kicking himself for not figuring that out sooner.
Mary-Jane also rolled her eyes. "Fine. Is it alright if they stay?"
Creed gave a long sigh and pulled his blade back. "Whatever. I'm already breaking one of my...group's rules anyway, 3 counts won't do anything more. Besides...I'd like to have a word with these 2 in particular"
He said that last part with a glare towards the both of them which caused them to be both confused and a little scared.
As Creed was about to say something else, he suddenly stood perfectly still for a second and got in a focused stance.
"Wait...this isn't all of us...someone else is here" Creed said, unsheathing his blade again. He went in front of Harry and Gwen.
"Whoever is there, come out now or I'll come out and look for you! Your choice"
After several seconds, another figure came out. A certain Latina girl with a sheepish smile on her face.
"Liz?!" Mary-Jane and Gwen said at the same time.
"Hey, guys…" Liz said, waving awkwardly.
Creed sighed and sheathed his blade again. He then turned to Mary-Jane.
"This. Is why. I told you. To get rid. Of the note" The hooded man said, breaking the sentence into several short pauses, showing his annoyance.
"...Sorry. I got distracted" Mary-Jane said with an embarrassed blush.
Creed rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I guess I'll need as much outside help on this as I can get anyway. Come on, gather around everyone. I have a story to tell and it'll take a long while to explain"
"Great. This is how I want to spend my night alright" Harry said before Gwen lightly smacked his arm.
"Hush….and how did you expect this night to go?" She said as she sent a knowing glare to Harry.
"I...uh...I…" Harry replied like a bumbling fool to which Gwen just groaned and told him to forget it.
They all went by the dumpster and the hooded man started to talk.
"As I said to Mary-Jane, the 2 guys that Peter's been hanging around with are the sons of 2 women that are part of the inner sanctum of a society dedicated to controlling the world and all it's governments" The man said.
"Oh please. This sounds like a raving lunatic's conspiracy theory" Harry said, rolling his eyes. He already wanted to leave.
"I assure you, sir. It isn't and unless you want to find that out the hard way within the next few weeks when they'll potentially have several politicians in their back pocket to pass any law they want. That is unless we do something about it so I suggest you be quiet while I tell you what is going on" Creed said, glaring at Harry.
Harry did as asked, especially after a glare from Gwen.
"As I was saying, these 2 guys are also members of this society and they want to make Peter a member as well" Creed explained.
"Why Peter?" Gwen asked, interested.
Creed suddenly got uncomfortable. He had the answer but didn't know how to say it.
"Well...he...he has a certain skill that...they need" Creed explained, trying not to expose a secret that wasn't his place to expose.
"What skill would that be?" Liz asked with a raised eyebrow. She didn't know her ex-boyfriend was this special.
"I'll explain that later. Right now, all that needs to be said is that they need him" Creed said quickly, honestly hoping they would forget.
"Ok then. Who are you? How do you know all this?" Harry asked.
"I belong to a society that like the one these 2 are members of is hidden from the public eye and has been for a very long time. We dedicate ourselves to stopping these people in their mad conquest to control the world. We've had mixed success in the past but nowadays, we're having a hard time and it's only going to get harder if they get Peter on board with their society" Creed explained.
"And...why can't you do that right now? Why can't your group protect Peter right now? Why can't you actually talk to Peter yourself about this" Mary-Jane asked.
"Well...he won't listen to me. He thinks my group is nothing but a bunch of criminals as his new friends convinced him of such, especially as of last night. I figured the only way to talk some sense into him is to have his best friend talk to him which for the moment was Mary-Jane" Creed explained.
"What happened last night?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's...not important" Creed said, trying to wiggle his way out of this.
"Ok. No. I'm not dealing with this vague stuff. I want an explanation. Why is this group so interested in Peter of all people and what happened last night that made Peter think of your society to be criminals?" Harry asked, getting hostile again.
"I kind of have to agree with the rich boy here" Mary-Jane said. Gwen and Liz followed suit with nods.
Creed stood silent for a moment before sighing a long sigh.
"Alright...but you have to promise me you will never say this to another living being as long as you live and believe me, if any of you tell and word gets out, I'll know the group of people to go after. Got me?" Creed asked.
All 4 of them nodded, slightly scared.
"Peter….Peter Parker...is Spiderman" Creed revealed.
A long, drawed out silence came until all 4 of them were laughing loudly. It was a miracle someone didn't notice.
Creed kept shushing them until they got quiet.
"Shut up! This is supposed to be a secret meeting, emphasis on secret" Creed angrily whispered.
"Come on, man. Peter as Spiderman. There's no way. I know Peter very well. Have for years" Harry said.
"Well clearly you don't know him as much as you think and just because you all think this is so hilarious of an idea, let me put your minds at ease" Creed said as he took out a tablet device and started typing on it.
After a few moments, he turned it around and showed a picture of Peter changing from his civilian clothing to his Spiderman gear. The video also showed him swinging away from the alley he was changing in.
The fact that Peter was changing out of his clothes except for his underwear into his Spiderman gear made both Gwen and Liz blush.
Needless to say, all 4 of them were astonished, particularly Harry.
"Wait...if...If Peter is Spiderman...then...he...my dad…" Harry thought, letting this new revelation soak in though it was taking a long time to process.
"Wait...so Peter...I was dating Spiderman for months and I didn't even know?!" Liz asked, shocked. The fact also made her a little sweaty. She dated Spiderman. That fact would make several girls in her class jealous.
"Yes and please keep your voice down as I said. That's why they're interested in Peter. They believe he can help them with their latest conquest. They've been tracking him for some time and they also know he's Spiderman. They've been wanting to recruit him for a while know. We've had success in deterring them from influencing him for some time but they figured now would be their perfect opportunity to use their kids to get him to join their cause, something we weren't expecting but we probably should have" Creed explained, kicking himself at the fact.
"So Tiger is Spiderman. I guess that would explain why he disappears a lot" Mary-Jane said, scratching her chin.
"Definitely" Liz said. That did explain a lot.
"So what happened last night?" Gwen asked.
"He infiltrated a warehouse that we were using as a base. Our enemies must have figured out we were using it. We were experimenting with a sleeping gas that we would use on them should the need ever arise for it" Creed explained.
"Wait...I remember dad telling me something like that this morning. He said that the tip they got told them that you were using it on local authorities and that you would soon escalate it to lethal gasses" Gwen said with a skeptical look on her face.
"That is a lie! We don't use this on local authorities and we certainly wouldn't use lethal toxins either. This is just a throwback to something we used in the past so that we don't have to kill anyone" Creed said.
"So it was Peter that exposed your operations?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sort of. Our group goes far beyond New York but he definitely made the police suspicious of something bigger going on and that's not ideal for us either. We tried to stop him by injecting him with drug doses that we sometimes put on our blades. It wasn't lethal, mind you, it would just make him pass out but he was too much for us to handle though I guess that was to be expected" Creed said, lowering his head in practical shame.
"So what exactly do you want us to do?" Mary-Jane asked.
Before Creed could answer, he was interrupted by Harry who had been quiet for the past few minutes to take this new piece of information in.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, let's not gloss this over. Peter is Spiderman so that means...he killed my dad!" Harry said, getting angry.
"Harry! Calm down!" Gwen exclaimed quietly, trying to get him to calm down.
"I can't calm down! I just found out that my supposed best friend kept this secret from me for years and also killed my dad too?! How can you not be upset about that?!" Harry said, starting to yell at Gwen who was getting scared of him, starting to back away from him.
"You do realize your father was a criminal right? Was the Green Goblin?" Creed asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He was my dad! We may not have been close and yeah, he had issues but I loved him and he took him from me! He's a murderer!" Harry kept yelling.
Creed rolled his eyes again. "No. He didn't. Your father's death was caused by his own hand"
"You're a goddamn liar and I dare you to say that again" Harry said, stepping towards Creed and getting in an offensive manner, huffing his chest out.
Creed closed his eyes and shook his head. He had no time for this.
He got out his tablet again and typed on it for a bit before showing another video. It was Spiderman (Peter) fighting with the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn). He saw the Green Goblin throw pumpkin bomb after pumpkin bomb at Peter until the spider based hero grab one and shoot a web onto his glider. The bomb exploded and it caused his glider to malfunction and crash into a vat filled with hundreds, if not thousands of his other pumpkins. Osborn crashed into it and the vat exploded.
Harry hated to watch it but he couldn't look away. A tear went down his cheek.
"Spiderman acted in self defense and your father was a maniac. Peter didn't murder anyone" Creed said.
"How...how did you get that footage?" Harry demanded to know.
"We've been tracking Peter for some time as well as I've said before. We take videos like these in case the time should the need ever arise for them" Creed said.
"That...that doesn't change anything! There were several other things he could have done other than that! He still killed my dad!" Harry practically screeched.
"What could he have done exactly in the split seconds of time that he had to make a decision?" Creed asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...he could have...he could have maybe shot a web at him when he was falling and saved him!" Harry said, grasping for straws.
"Don't you think he would have if he could have?" Creed asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Clearly not! This video doesn't prove anything. If Spiderman didn't put that bomb on my dad's glider, he'd probably still be here" Harry said, angrily.
"And if your father wasn't trying to kill Spiderman, he wouldn't have needed to put the pumpkin on his glider and if your father wasn't a criminal, it wouldn't have happened to begin with" Creed said nonchalantly. He could understand why the kid was acting irrationally but it was getting pretty annoying.
Harry just glared at him, not saying anything else.
"So now that we've got that out of the way, why don't we bring up the fact that it was you and your little girlfriend here that pushed him into the arms of the Templars to begin with?" Creed asked.
"Templars?" Mary-Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's what their group calls themselves, based on the Knights Templar of the Crusades" Creed explained.
"What are you talking about I pushed him into the arms of these 2 goons? I didn't do anything" Harry said.
"Exactly...you didn't. You ignored him all summer, you and your little girlfriend here. You allowed his sadness to turn into depression from loneliness and that depression only got worse as time went on. He was desperate for human companionship and the Templars figured it was the time to strike so they sent their 2 sons to your school to get their hands on him" Creed said, glaring.
"So what? So I didn't call him. Big whoop! He could have called me or texted just as easily" Harry said, defending himself.
"True but you also caused him to be emotionally distraught that day at your father's funeral when you manipulated your girlfriend to stay with you instead of break up with you for Peter like she wanted to do" Creed said, still glaring at Harry.
"W-What?!" Harry asked, worried. He knew about that?!
"Yes. Surprised, Mr. Osborn? We have and eyes and ears everywhere in New York or at least we did before your actions allowed the Templars to take the upper hand in one of the last places on Earth where we had an advantage" Creed scolded.
"Harry...what is he talking about?" Gwen asked her boyfriend, frowning at him.
"Well...I...I don't…" Harry practically stuttered.
"He knew about yours and Peter's plan to break up with your respective partners and get together with each other so he used his father's death at his funeral to get you to stay with him" Creed explained.
Gwen blinked. No...that couldn't be true...could it?
"Harry...please tell me that isn't true" Gwen said with a tear going down her eye.
"Gwen...I...please...please...I didn't want to lose you. I already lost my dad. I needed you" Harry said, pleading with her.
"You...manipulated me. I...I thought you were hurting but you were just saying all those things about needing me in order to get me to stay with you. How...how could you?!" Gwen asked, more tears beginning to fall.
"Please don't do this, Gwen. Please. I love you" Harry said, trying to take her hands in his but she shoved them away.
"I...hurt Peter badly because of what you said to me that day. I wasted an entire summer trying to comfort you instead of being with him like I really wanted to do because of your lies and deceit. Now thanks to you and me, he's now pushed into the arms of some cult!" Gwen said, her eyes flooding.
"I...I'm sorry. I-" Harry said before Gwen closed her eyes, held her hand up and just shook her head.
"No, Harry….no. I'm tired of your lies. I...I think you should go….Now. I don't want to speak to you right now. We're officially over and after what I just learned, I don't even know if I even want to still be friends with you" Gwen said, turning around from him, refusing to even look at him.
"...Can't we just talk? Please?" Harry silently whispered.
"Go!...Please, Harry. Just go" Gwen said as more tears went down her face and onto the ground.
Harry just lowered his head in shame and turned around. He walked away, not saying another word until he was out of sight.
"This is better than any show on Netflix" Liz whispered to Mary-Jane who just looked at her weirdly.
"Just saying" Liz said, shrugging. Mary-Jane just rolled her eyes.
After a few minutes, Creed decided it was time to move on.
"Ok, if this little teenage soap opera is done, let's get back to business" Creed said, getting annoyed.
Gwen just nodded. "Right...ok….I screwed up. I realize that now. What can I do to fix it?"
"What can we do to fix it?" Mary-Jane asked, coming besides Gwen and putting her arm around her which caused Gwen to smile sadly at Mary-Jane.
"I want in too. I still lo...I mean...like Peter. Yeah. That's it. Like. Not that other word" Liz said, smiling awkwardly, showing her teeth.
Creed just rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Alright. I guess all of you can help"
All 3 of them nodded.
"In the next day or so, they're going to ask Peter to seek out a boy one year below your grade. His name is John Standish. He looks like this" Creed said, pulling up a picture of his face to show to the three.
They all got a good look at the boy in question. They saw his peculiar looking nose and noticed his eyes.
"I...think I may have seen him once or twice. He spends most of the time in the computer lab" Mary-Jane said.
"Yes, that seems to be his specialty from what we've heard" Creed said, nodding in affirmation.
"What do they want with him? What's so special about this guy?" Liz asked, confused.
"It'll take too long to explain the full context to you and quite frankly, it'll probably make you even more confused so for right now, let's just say that he knows the whereabouts and has the means to gain access to some powerful place with a device that no one should be able to get their hands on" Creed explained.
"Ok...what is this device?" Mary-Jane asked.
"It's something of an ancient device. The place where it's located is called the Observatory. Its power allows the user to spy on and locate every person on Earth, no matter where they are" Creed explained.
"That sounds silly. Like a fairy tale story or some bad science fiction movie" Mary-Jane said with a raised eyebrow.
"I assure you it's as real as the ground on which we stand on right now. Our group has seen it's power in the past and it cannot be allowed to fall into the Templar hands. If they get it, they will be able to spy on and blackmail politicians, business leaders, even presidents and Prime Minister's of countries all over the world. The world will essentially be in their back pocket" Creed explained.
"O….k" Liz said, finding this very hard to believe.
Creed sighed. "Look, I know this is hard to believe but what I'm saying is true and your friend is in danger of not only harming himself but putting the future state of the world at risk and I wouldn't be doing my job if I just stood by and allowed it to happen. Therefore, I need you to either keep Peter away from Standish or to keep Standish away from Peter"
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Mary-Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know!...Please...just figure something out while I come up with a plan" Creed explained.
The three girls looked at each other and shrugged and nodded at each other before turning back to Creed.
"Alright...I think we can do that" Mary-Jane said.
"Good...thank you. Now remember, this is between us. No one else can know about this meeting, not even Peter...not yet. Just give me a couple of days to find out where me and my group can hide the Sage and we'll take it from there. Agreed?" Creed asked.
"Agreed" All three of them said.
"Did he say Sage?" Mary-Jane asked herself.
"Also, if that Osborn kid sqawks, deny anything he says and call him a loon. I doubt anyone will believe him anyway. Alright... I gotta get out of here. Remember. His name is John Standish" Creed said.
"Ok, we won't forget" Mary-Jane assured him.
"Good. Leave. Now" Creed said, pointing away from him to where they came from.
The girls just did what he said and walked away. As they were walking away, Mary-Jane wanted to ask one other question but as she turned around, she found he was already gone.
"Huh...well, now you see him, now you don't" She thought.
"This is exciting. We're like some spy group like that old cartoon with the three spy girls! What was it called again?" Liz said, thinking to herself again. Before she could say any more, Gwen spoke up after being quite for a while.
"MJ...I...I need a ride home. Harry brought me over here" Gwen stated, wiping off dry tears on her face.
"Sure thing. You need one too, Liz?" Mary-Jane asked.
"Nah, I think I'm good. Thanks though. I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow" Liz said with a smile as she walked off.
The Latina girl honestly didn't really know about Gwen right now. Of course, Peter probably still loved her but that didn't mean she considered herself out of the game for winning back Peter's affection. Of course, she would accept any decision Peter made though regarding them. It was only fair after all he'd been through over the summer.
"Alright...see you tomorrow, then" Mary-Jane said as she walked Gwen to her car.
"I can't believe I let myself get manipulated like that. Peter and I could have done so much over the summer" Gwen said, shaking her head and letting more tears fall from her eyes.
"You couldn't have known, Gwen" Mary-Jane said, trying to comfort her.
"Maybe not but I didn't have to be there as a girlfriend. I could have been there as just a friend but instead I decided to break Peter's heart and leave him alone for months. Because of that, (he's now part of this cult that wants to rule the world or whatever" Gwen said, still being hard on herself.
"We'll get him back, Gwen. Don't worry" Mary-Jane said, grabbing Gwen's hand in her own.
"How? Those 2 probably have him in a tight grip already and he's probably still upset with me" Gwen stated.
"We'll bring him home. I promise we will. For now, we just need to get this Standish guy away from Peter and we'll be all set" Mary-Jane said, determined.
"How will we do that? This guy isn't exactly social. I've seen him a bit myself and he usually just keeps to himself" Gwen said, a bit concerned.
"Let me think about that" Mary-Jane said as they drove off into the night.
(A/N: Thanks for reading. Please leave a favorite or alert if you enjoyed it and leave a review if you have feedback or constructive criticism [And please only be constructive. There is a human behind this text]. See you next time)