Michelle watched in horror as the Rhino impaled Spider-Man through the stomach. She whimpered as Rhino lifted him up into the air then flung him hard into the wall. Even as Spider-Man shot out his webs over and over to safely encase the Rhino, her stomach clenched to see his arm wrapped around his midsection as if to hold himself together.
She must have watched this gritty video of the awful fight over a hundred times by now. The policeman's body cam footage had been leaked on the internet and her Spider-Man group had picked it up. She'd first seen it this morning as she scanned the posts during breakfast. Thank goodness her father had already left for work because she'd spit her cereal out all over the table and burst into tears. Since then, she'd watched it on repeat every moment she got. On the walk to school, between classes, sometimes even during class. Now she sat in the library for study hall, her calculus book sprawled open in front of her but completely ignored. All her attention stayed glued to the video of Spider-Man.
Ned plopped down in the seat next to her, startling her. She looked up, guilt worming through her.
"MJ, you've got to stop watching that. You're obsessing. I've never seen you like this." Ned gave her those puppy-dog eyes that usually made her relent to any of his requests.
Michelle sighed and put the phone down. Ned was right. Usually she could put on a cool, detached demeanor even when her emotions raged inside her. This time she just couldn't. She couldn't focus on anything, the scene playing out in her brain over and over, even without the video. It brought back the distress of knowing she had gaps in her memory, the feeling of forgetting something so important but unable to remember it. "I know. I can't help it. Didn't you see? He got hurt, Ned. Really hurt."
"He's Spider-Man! He gets hurt sometimes but he always bounces back. It's got to be part of his superpowers."
"Not like this!" She grabbed the phone back up and fast-forwarded the video, pausing on a specific screen. "Look at him right here. He's in the process of covering that guy, who they're calling The Rhino, in webs. He's got his other arm slung around his middle. But underneath, you can see his outfit is soaked!" She traced the area on the screen with her fingertip.
Ned squinted as he leaned in to examine the image closer. "Hmm, yeah."
"It's blood! And you can see here it's dripping on the floor around him. This video is showing him bleeding out!"
"He's going to be okay." Ned's tone made his words sound more like a question than a statement.
"I'm just so afraid for him," Michelle whispered.
"Me too," Ned whispered back. Then he cleared his throat and straightened up. "You working today?"
Michelle shook her head. Good thing because the thought of slapping on a smile and playing nice with the customers did not suit her mood right now.
"I don't think you should be alone and I know your dad's working late tonight. I've got wizarding lessons with Master Wong at the Sanctum Sanctorum after school. Why don't you come with me?"
Michelle chewed her lip as she thought about it. She hadn't been back to that place since before all that hazy business at the Statue of Liberty. Heck, she couldn't even remember why she'd been there in the first place! Yet, it had been fascinating there with all their ancient books and relics. Might take her mind off her spiraling panic over Spider-Man for a little bit. "Okay," she relented.
Ned smiled. "Great!"
So when the final bell rang after her English Lit class, she rushed out to find Ned waiting for her. They talked little as they traveled on the subway, lost in their own thoughts. When they walked through the front doors of the Sanctum Sanctorum, she had an odd memory of the place being cover in snow.
Master Wong emerged from one of the hallways, a perpetual scold on his face. "Good afternoon, Ned. Hope you've been practicing."
"Um, yes, sir. Although that one spell you gave me gets a little sticky on the landing. I owe my Lola a new toaster now."
Wong rolled his eyes, which then fell on Michelle. "This isn't a class that just anybody can join. And I don't appreciate an audience."
"Of course not, sir! But MJ's been having a rough day and l didn't want her to be alone. Besides, she's been here before. She's cool."
Clearing her throat, Michelle interjected, "I don't need to watch. If there's a place where I could get a glass of water and study for my calc test, I'll be fine."
Wong's manner softened. "There's a kitchen down the second hallway to the right."
"Perfect."
Ned touched her arm. "Please don't watch that video again."
She gave him a thin-lipped smile. "I'll try." She adjusted her backpack and started in the direction Wong had indicated.
"Don't eat any of my pudding cups!" Wong yelled behind her.
She couldn't help but to chuckle at the absurdity of such a statement. Then she made her way down the hallway. It branched into another hallway, then some stairs, then some kind of grand reception hall. She tried to backtrack but ended up in a completely different area she didn't recognize. She started trying to open doors but most of them were locked. Nobody seemed to be around to help as she found herself hopelessly lost. "Hello?" she finally called out.
"Hello?" came a voice muffled behind a door further along the hallway. Then the door opened and a familiar person stepped out. "MJ?"
"Peter! Oh my god, what happened to your face?" Michelle exclaimed as she saw all the bruising surrounding his eye. It looked a few days old, which was super weird since she just saw him yesterday and he'd been fine. His skin had an odd pallor to it and a dark purple bag hung under his good eye. Of course, he was also wearing a hospital gown.
"Oh, that," Peter said as he reached up and gingerly touched that side of his face. "I...umm, got hurt." His arm wrapped around his middle, emphasizing his hunched stance. The position reminded her of...
Michelle's brain revved into overdrive, processing all the information laid out in front of her. Like puzzle pieces clicking together to form a coherent picture, the realization hit her.
Peter was Spider-Man.
This shy, awkward guy that put butterflies in her stomach whenever he walked into the donut shop was Spider-Man. The knowledge shocked her, and yet not as much as she'd have thought. It more so seemed like she'd already known that about Peter but had forgotten. How could she have forgotten something so pivotal?
Outwardly, she blinked.
Shoving her new-found/remembered knowledge of Peter's identity to the back of her head for further analysis later, she focused on the injured young man in front of her. "Shouldn't you be in a hospital?"
He frowned. "It's a little complicated. I got into an accident, me versus messenger bike." His eyes flicked down for a split second.
Michelle pegged this as his tell. He was lying about the accident, but she let it go. She understood he couldn't exactly tell anyone about battling Rhino as a masked superhero.
Peter continued, his words picking up in pace as he rambled. "I was in a hospital, even got surgery, but Strange said I should recover here. I know, that's weird, but he's sort of a friend of mine. Oh!" Peter gasped as he looked down, seemingly to realize he still wore the hospital gown. "Crap. Ah, let me change." He quickly backed into the room and shut the door.
Michelle smiled widely as she imagined how open the gown probably gaped in the back. She heard some rustling sounds and one whispered curse as he dressed himself on the other side of the door.
Then he emerged in a blue t-shirt and loose fitting grey shorts. He still walked somewhat hunched. "So what are you doing here, MJ?"
"My friend Ned has magic hands. He's taking wizard lessons with Master Wong." She paused a moment, then made up her mind to tell him the rest. "He made me come with him because I've been freaking out about this video of Spider-Man from last night. "
Peter froze. "Video of Spider-Man?"
"Yeah, leaked police footage of him getting impaled by this new bad guy everyone's calling The Rhino. I think he got really hurt."
With his mouth gaping open and eyes widening, he choked out, "Oh, geez."
Michelle wondered if he said it more for her benefit or if he was having his own freak-out about a video of him circling the internet. She figured most likely the latter. "I'm scared for him," she added.
He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "He'll be okay. Beat up, but he'll survive."
"You think so?"
"Definitely."
They stood there like that for another minute in silence. His warm hand still rested on her shoulder, sending tingles across her skin. She watched him drag his tongue across his lower lip, making her mouth water. She had the urge to kiss him. Even though she couldn't remember, deja vu told her she'd done it before.
