Hi again! Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! Keep it up! But I must say there are some pretty tough critics out there. But that's good! Constructive criticism can be an empowering thing. On that note, I just wanted to point out a few things…

1. I spell Spiderman instead of Spider-man just because I'm just to lazy to put in the hyphen!

2. The two types of indents for the paragraphs came around because I wrote the first chapter on two different writing programs and didn't realize the difference until it was posted on the site. Hopefully that won't happen again…

3. My grammar and spelling have always been a problem. I couldn't spell to save my life! And even spell checking doesn't manage to catch all my mistakes. And you should hear my English teacher nit pick about my grammar…oh, what an ear full! But then again, that's just the way I write…

4. For the story, I have Spidey with his organic web shooting abilities like in the movie. Sorry, but the whole mechanical web shooter thing doesn't appeal to me.

Well that's all I can think of for now. Enjoy the very very…very long chapter! Don't get spoiled, this is a fluke. Usually I'm very busy and don't this long a chapter up. Enjoy!

Note: I don't own any Spiderman characters although I wish I did! Don't sue, please! I don't have enough money to cover even the lawyers bill!

********************

MJ paced the kitchen floor restlessly, her shoes giving off a tiny squeak every time she turned to retrace her steps. Finding that pacing was not help, she flopped down into a nearby chair and began to drum the tabletop.

'Where's Peter?' Her stomach cringed at the nagging feeling that something bad had happened to him. He had promised to be back sometime before eleven that night but it was already edging on twelve thirty.

Looking to the counter top, MJ eyed the boxes of take out Chinese food that sat uneaten there. Frowning, the red head stood and stalked over to them. Picking up the box of pork low mien, she tested its temperature and again frowned. She had bought the food to surprise Peter when he got back from his night of crime fighting, and so the two of them could spend some time together.

"Oh well. Mr. superhero can heat his up whenever he decides to show," MJ muttered as she placed Peter's portion in the refrigerator. Grabbing her own, she padded out into the living room.

Falling onto the couch, MJ reached for the remote control and flicked on the TV set before ripping her General Tso's chicken open. Shoveling a mouthful of the spicy meat in her mouth, she began flipping through the channels aimlessly.

'I guess I can't be too mad at him being late,' MJ reasoned as she flipped through the channels slowly to waste time, 'It's not like crime fighting has any set hours. But why can't I get over the feeling that something bad happened?'

Shrugging her shoulders helplessly and flipping her shoulder length red hair behind her ears, Mary Jane decided to flip to the twelve o'clock news to see if there was any news about Spiderman's activities for the night. "At least I can get an idea of what his excuse for being late will be…" she said to herself as she waited for the commercials to finish.

Finally the news station's jingle sounded from the TV screen followed by a full head shot of the anchorman's face framed by the blue backdrop of the set. "We return now with late breaking coverage of the United Federal Bank shooting that occurred earlier this evening. For those of you just joining us, an attempted homicide was stopped tonight by the heroic efforts of Spiderman."

MJ smiled as she took another bite of chicken and waited for the newscaster to continue. 'Just like Peter to find trouble and have to step in…'

"Unfortunately, the police were unable to subdue the shooter before he managed to fire off a number of shots, critically wounding Spiderman in the process, who had jumped into the path of the bullets that were aimed at mayoral candidate, Donald Collins, and editor of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson."

Mary Jane felt her blood run cold. Grabbing the remote, she slammed her finger on the volume control as the newscaster went on, turning the volume up just to below a roar. "Oh God," she moaned as she sat on the edge of the couch and leaned closer to the screen, trying to remain calm.

"On the scene at the time of the shooting was our camera crew, headed by WPXI newscaster, Christy Rice. In our possession is the only known footage of the shooting. The images we are about to show you are graphic."

The TV screen went dark as the image suddenly changed from that to a distant view of what looked to be a large plaza. In the distance stood two men pressed against the far wall of the area while another darkly clad man paced restlessly in the foreground, waving something in the air. Suddenly there came a blur from the upper right corner of the screen. MJ instantly recognized the blue and red suit as being that of Spiderman. There was a flurry of action that was partially blocked by some bystanders that MJ couldn't make out. Then there was a series of sharp pops from somewhere out of the camera's range that was followed by multiple shouts nearer to the recording film crew.

There was then a break in the crowd as the people dropped to the ground. MJ's stomach knotted together in nausea at the scene that followed. Laying in a heap of blood across the view of the plaza, lay a bundle of limbs. Mary Jane stifled a gasp at the sight as police swarmed forward around the fallen body, again blocking the view. The TV screen then turned back to the close profile of the newscaster as he continued.

"Spiderman was taken shortly after being wounded to the St. John Hospital in lower Manhattan. There was little comment from doctors there as to his condition at the moment when our news team arrived at the hospital. Spiderman, we were told, was taken immediately into surgery. We now turn you over to Christy Rice on the scene outside of St. John's Hospital…"

"Thanks, Eric. We are outside of St. John's Hospital waiting for more news on the city's web swinging hero. We are told that Spiderman has suffered three bullet wounds to the chest and abdomen. Doctors are reluctant to give any predictions as to his recovery at this time. We are waiting for more news from the hospital's spokesman shortly…" said the brunette reporter on the screen as the scene suddenly changed from that of the news station to that of a sidewalk view of the white exterior of the downtown hospital in the background.

Not waiting for any more, MJ sprang to her feet and hastily discarded her food on the coffee table and ran for the door. Snatching her coat from the peg and purse from the end table, Mary Jane bolted out the door. "Oh god, please don't let me be too late," she prayed as she bounded down the stairs of the apartment building two at a time, not waiting for the elevator, "Just please don't let him die…"

Bursting out onto the sidewalk, MJ almost ran out into on-coming traffic to hail down a taxi cab. Jumping into the cab that glided up to her, she practically screamed at the driver, "Take me to the St. John's Hospital as quick as you can!"

*****************

A gray light slowly began to filter into the dark room from the single large window. Outside the sky say overcast with ominous clouds threatening rain. A still silence permeated the room as its only occupant inside began to stir. Breaking the silence, a rhythmic beeping ticked off the heartbeats of its patient. Various tubes and machines stemmed off from the body that lay in an immense hospital bed in the shadows of the room.

Clouded in a fog of painkillers and strong sedatives, Spiderman struggled to wake despite the lethargic condition of his body. Breaking through the heaviness of chemical induced sleep, came an echoing sound, bringing Spiderman to rouse himself out of the darkness.

Beep

'What is that noise?'

Beep

'Where am I?'

Beep

Dragging his eyelids up, Spidey's blinked back the misty fog of drowsiness that clouded his vision. Fighting the urge to allow his eyes to fall shut, the feeling of disorientation overwhelmed his senses, as the room seemed to spin around him. After a minute, the room began to settle down and Spiderman looked around at his surroundings.

The machines continued to beep and hum, slightly annoying the wall crawler as he struggled to sit up in the bed. Pulling his arms beneath him, Spiderman stifled a moan as his body exploded in pain from his movements and his head swum from vertigo. Unable to summon the strength to sit, Spidey collapsed back to the pillow and panted in exhaustion.

His body felt like he had been hit head on by a semi truck. A dull ache radiated through his body as Spiderman pulled his limbs close to his body in a vain attempt to block out the pain and rolled onto his side.

Across his chest and stomach spanned a huge bandage that wrapped itself clear around to his spine. Still in a haze, Spiderman gently touched the gauze uncomprehendingly.

'What's this…?' Touching the center of his body with an exploring hand, Spidey writhed as a searing pain shot through his body. As the pain subsided under the painkillers once more, the events of the previous night slowly came back to the wall crawler.

"How am I going to get out of this mess," Spidey muttered in self-pity as he rested his throbbing head on the cool cover of the pillow, facing the far wall of the room.

As he lay listening to the hypnotic whirls of the machines around him, a sudden tingle at the base of his skull jolted the web swinger out of his daze. His spider-sense tingling, he rolled onto his other side carefully to face the open door of the hospital room. Ignoring the pain that crashed over him, Spidey propped himself on an elbow and waited for the unknown danger to present itself.

A second later, a darkened silhouette filled the doorway. Spiderman prepared himself as the figure stepped into the room towards him. As the unknown person stepping up beside the bed, Spidey's muscles tensed in anticipation of a fight.

Bending over the side railing of the bed, the person's face came into view. The young face of a dark haired nurse smiled softly down at him. "So sleeping beauty decided to finally wake up," she smiled sweetly.

Suddenly aware he hadn't checked to make sure his mask was still on to hide his identity, Spiderman immediately shot a hand to his face. A wave of relief flooded over him to find his mask intact over his head. But then another thought made his stomach clench in fear. Had the doctors left his mask on while he had been out? There was no way to tell for sure. He could only pray that the doctors hadn't taken advantage of him. The red mask remained shoved up above his nose to allow for an oxygen tube to sit between his nostrils and wrap around behind his ears, but it otherwise still hid his face.

Reaching up carefully so as not to cause any unnecessary pain, Spiderman yanked the piece of cloth down to cover the exposed part of his face quickly and tore the oxygen tube from his nose and discarded it on the mattress. Squirming upright to address the newcomer, Spidey winced under his face covering as he was met with failure and slumped back down.

"Don't worry," the nurse soothed as she placed a hand on the wall crawler's bare shoulder to calm him before he hurt himself further, "The doctors here are honest people. No one took off you mask while you were sedated." Half her words ran together and made no sense to the arachnid as he fought with his own body to stay conscious. But the few words he caught and the soothing tone of the nurse, helped ease Spidey's momentary panic.

Striding up to the IV line the young nurse, dressed in brightly colored scrubs and holding an armful of charts and papers, began to check the fluid level in the bag suspended off the ground by a tall metal stand.

"Where am I?" Spidey asked in a raspy voice, his throat burning with thirst.

"St. John's Hospital," replied the nurse in a pleasant voice, "I'm actually surprised you're awake already. Most people don't wake up from the anesthesia for a couple more hours. In fact, there's a group of doctors that are very curious about you. Your recovery rate so far has been astounding! Any normal person probably wouldn't be alive after what happened to you. A couple of ER doctors are especially interested in you after seeing your wrists when they were prepping you for surgery."

Leaning over the railing again, the nurse gently touched the raised area of skin on the underside of Spiderman's exposed wrists. "Sorry. But if you don't mind my asking, does it hurt when that web stuff comes out?" she asked curiously with a hint of embarrassment.

"No," came a tired reply as he pulled his arm closer to his body protectively. Not that he meant to be rude, but Spiderman didn't appreciate the feeling of being like he was under a microscope to be poked and prodded as if he some curious science experiment. Nodding her head in understanding, the nurse continued her check over her patient.

Unwinding the stethoscope from around her thin neck, she pressed the medical instrument against the wall crawler's bare chest to check his heartbeat. According to Spiderman's charts, the ER doctors had almost lost him twice when he had flat-lined and they had had to shock the arachnid to jumpstart his heart. But as she continued to listen to the steady beating on the other end of her stethoscope, she felt a wave of relief that the superhero now seemed stable. Ever since he had come out of surgery she had been regularly checking in on him every ten minutes or so.

"What time is it?" Spiderman asked groggily, still not completely awake, as she removed the cold circle of metal from his naked chest.

"About five o' clock," she answered simply while she turned to press miscellaneous buttons on one of the various machines hooked to the wounded superhero, causing some of the mechanical banter to die down.

"In the morning?" he slurred.

"Oh, no! It's five at night, honey. You've been out for almost a whole day," she exclaimed almost in shock at Spiderman's ignorance, "You were in surgery for a good six and a half hours."

"What!?" he squealed. He had no idea it was so late. Aunt May was probably having an episode right now, not to mention MJ. He was supposed to meet her last night before being rudely sidetracked. Jameson had also probably thrown a temper tantrum that morning in the Daily Bugle newsroom for having no pictures in hand from Peter Parker. Speaking of JJJ…whatever happened to him and that other guy from the previous night? Spiderman had lost track of the editor somewhere between being gunned down and realizing he had been shot as he lay in his own blood on the pavement.

A twinge of anger stirred in the wall crawler's chest as he thought of the salty newspaper editor. No doubt blaming Spidey himself for his attempted assassination. No matter that he had saved the man's life, but Jameson was probably littering the front page with how disrespectful and unruly Spiderman was when it came to the law.

Breaking through his thoughts, the nurse stated cheerfully, oblivious to Spidey's inner turmoil, "I think there's something you'd like to see"

Walking across the room, the nurse reached above her head to the TV set mounted on the wall and flipped to the five o' clock news. There on the screen, crowded a multitude of two hundred people or more in front of what looked to be a hospital.

Spidey could make out a few hand-painted posters in brightly colored paint sticking out of the crowd reading such phrases as "Get well soon, Spiderman", "NYC misses you", and "No one can squish our spider!"

In shock, Spidey lay silently as he watched the reporter on screen talk in rapid syllables of the turn out of well wishers to the hospital in support of the fallen superhero.

"They've been out there since this morning," explained the nurse as she stood beside Spidey's bed again, "The hospital's been flooded with letters, flowers, and everything else imaginable since you came in. Plus we've been getting nonstop phone calls from almost every TV station imaginable, local and national, and newspapers demanding information on your condition."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Spidey remained speechless as he continued watching the reporter interview the mass of people. Half the time, the majority of the city was out to crucify him…and now this! They were literally holding a twenty-four hour vigil outside the hospital, just for him. What happened?

Before Spiderman could utter a word, there came a sudden outburst of shouts from down the hallway. It sounded as if a small group of people were coming towards him while simultaneously arguing with each other quite loudly.

As the voices drew nearer, Spidey could make out a very distinct and authoritive voice drowning the others out. "I don't care if he's sleeping right now or not! I don't even care if he's in a coma! I'm going in to see that troublemaker of a spider-- I don't care! Go ahead and try to arrest me!"

"Speak of the devil…" Spider mumbled behind his mask as the voice came to a stop in front of his room. That kind of yelling could only be produced with such intensity by one person…J. Jonah Jameson.

"Is he in here?" demanded Jameson as his body filled the doorway. The hallway's lights cast a dark shadow around the edges of the editor's frame, giving the editor a somewhat frightening appearance. Behind him followed a pair of uniformed officers.

Spiderman couldn't help but think how even after fighting all the super villains he had in his somewhat short career as a crime fighter thus far, he had never been intimidated so much now as by his alter ego's boss.

Spotting the arachnid amongst the sterile white sheets of the single bed of the room, Jameson stalked into the room in a direct path towards Spidey. Too weak and tired to put up a fight, Spidey lay in wait for what was sure to be the verbal berating of his life from Jameson.

"Sir," started the nurse suddenly as she stepped between Jameson and Spiderman, "my patient is under strict orders not to be disturbed by any visitors. I don't know how you got here, but if you'll kindly follow those officers there-"

"I will not 'kindly' do anything," Jameson roared as he stared down the petite nurse, "I have business with the bug, and I'm not leaving until I talk to him!"

Ignoring Jonah's ranting; one of the officers, the portlier of the pair, stepped forward and said, "Sir, this is a restricted area. Only authorized medical staff has permission to see Spiderman--"

"Whose permission?" shouted Jameson, now red in the face, "What's with all this security anyway?"

"This area of the hospital has been sectioned off totally because of security reasons for Spiderman's safety while he's here," answered the second officer patiently, "Now if you'll come with me…"

"I already told you I'm not leaving till I talk with that infuriating wall crawler!" Jameson bellowed as he thrust an accusing finger in Spiderman's direction who was laying quietly on the sidelines watching the drama unfold.

"Sir, if you don't come with us now, we will be forced to arrest you for trespassing," threatened the first officer, now reaching the ends of his ropes with the disgruntled editor.

"What kind of people are my hard earned tax dollars going to?" Jonah screamed as he turned to now stare down the officer.

Spiderman now decided that before there was an incident, he should speak up. Gathering his strength, he shouted out as loud as he could over the arguing men that filled the room, "Hey!"

Stopping their shouting match, the others turned to regard Spiderman for the first time since entering. Seeing his chance, Spidey said placental, "It's OK, guys. He can stay. It's alright with me. Plus you'd have one hell of a time dragging ol' Jameson out of here even if you handcuffed and hogtied him."

Looking at each other, the officers exchanged glances before turning in a huff towards the door, obviously perturbed they hadn't arrested Jameson when they had had the chance.

"You've got five minutes," stated the chubby officer curtly as the two left the room; keys and guns jingling around their waists.

"I'll be at the nurse's station. If you need anything, just ring the buzzer," the nurse said as she headed for the door.

"Turning his attention back from the retreating officers to the wounded man laying helpless before him, Jonah's nerves began to falter. Outside the far window of the room, fat raindrops began to slowly thud every now and then against the thick glass.

Looking down at the web swinger, Jonah became further unnerved as Spiderman lay in silence waiting for the editor to speak. Huffing a defeated sigh, Jameson stalked towards the nearby chair that was situated beside Spiderman's bedside. Sitting slowly in the chair, Jonah leaned back uncomfortably as Spiderman's shimmering white eyepieces followed his every move, unblinking. 'What I wouldn't give to see behind that thing,' Jonah thought with a growl.

"So you wanted to talk to me…," Spidey began, cutting the silence, "Is this your way of conversation or do I have to use hand signals?"

"I don't need your smart talk right now, bug," Jameson barked back instinctively, "I came to tell you something." Again Jonah took on the appearance of someone at a loss and fell silent.

Staring transfixed at the huge bandage covering Spiderman's midsection, Jonah became acutely aware of the rhythmic dripping of the IV drip over the sound of the rain crashing harder now on the window. Through the gauze of the bandage, Jonah noticed five distinct quarter-sized spots of muted brown standing sharply against the cold whiteness.

'Damn you and your heroics,' he cursed in his mind as he again felt the unblinking, blank stare of the spider's mask.

Breaking out of his trance, Jameson grasped for words before finally sputtering just above a whisper, "I…I just…I wanted to…just…thank you for…saving my life."

Taken aback, Spidey stifled a small laugh that began to threaten to rock his debilitated body. "What's so funny, bug?" growled the aging editor dangerously, almost half out of his chair.

"Nothing!" Spidey spat out hastily to save himself a confrontation with the one man who could possibly stare down the Green Goblin himself, "I just never thought I'd see the day when you'd thank me!"

"Yeah, well, don't expect this too often. This little incident hasn't changed anything between us!" Jonah snarled in an attempt to regain his pride.

"Whatever…" Spidey smiled tiredly, too weak to think up a quick comeback.

Sitting back into the uncomfortable hospital chair, Jameson suddenly questioned, "Why did you save me? I mean, after all the problem's I've caused you?"

Taking the older man in with a sideways glance, Spiderman groped for a suitable answer. He had never really thought about it before. Why did he save Jameson and risk his neck every night patrolling the city? "Because it was the right thing to do," he finally responded.

"I kind of thought you were going to give me some crappy answer like that," Jameson hissed. A moment of silence passed between the two rivals as the rain quickened outside and the machines continued to beep off Spiderman's vitals tirelessly.

Suddenly, in the near distance, a muffled scream broke the air followed by a hollow thump. Sitting straight, Jameson growled under his breath, "Now what are those half-wit cops doing?"

Not answering, Spiderman struggled to sit up. Bracing himself on wobbly arms, he steadied his swaying body while willing his head to stop spinning. Then, out of nowhere, came an insistent hum from the base of his skull. Almost knocked on his back by the ESP bullet through his brain, Spidey thought, 'Oh no. Spider-sense. Can't be good…"

Down the hallway sounded a set of heavy footsteps. As the sound neared, the tingling sensation began to intensify. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

"Jameson, get behind the curtain. Now!" directed Spiderman as he motioned at the white divider positioned in the center of the hospital room. Unsure of what was happening, but taking no chances, Jonah leap behind the plastic curtain and hid.

Hearing the slow footsteps nearing the door, Spidey lowered himself quickly to the mattress. Rolling his head to the side, he lay motionless and pretended to be asleep. Luckily the one sided transparency of his eyepieces allowed Spiderman to lay eyes open without fear of the intruding person seeing.

Slowly a head appeared in the doorway. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation from the intruder as he appeared to evaluate if Spiderman was really unconscious. Finally deciding to make his move, the stranger stepped into the dim room.

Coming to stand at the foot of the bed, the man reached inside his jacket. As his hand returned, Spidey knew without a doubt what the man was holding. From his line of work, the wall crawler quickly recognized the outline of a semiautomatic pistol capped off with a rather bulky silencer tip. As the man leveled the weapon square at the arachnid's head, Spidey sprang to life.

In one motion, Spiderman shot up as his upturned hand snapped back and a thick stream of webbing exploded from inside his wrists. Caught off guard, the man dropped the weapon with a loud clatter and tried to dive for the door to escape the sticky white substance. Too quick even in his current condition for his would be assassin, Spiderman caught him mid stride and pushed the man against the far wall by the intensity of the blast. Keeping a steady stream, Spiderman quickly covered the man from head to toe in a giant web, leaving only his eyes and nose exposed. Muffled curses resonated from behind the spider's organic gag.

Catching his breath, Spidey clutched his stomach weakly as pain exploded through his body. "Oh, damn…" he muttered under the blinding white pain.

Coming out from his hiding spot, Jameson glanced first at the struggling but trapped man against the wall then to half buried semiautomatic gun covered in webbing on the floor. A moan of agony brought Jameson to look towards the wounded wall crawler. Rushing to the bedside, Jonah stood helpless as Spiderman collapsed down half conscious to the bed. In the distance, the editor could hear a muffled shout from down the hall, "Yo, Mike! Everything alright? Did ya pop the spider yet? Let's get out of here before anymore guards come."

"Shit," Jameson cursed to himself. Now what? Hit-men are coming and the bug obviously can't fight. What do I do? They've already killed those worthless cops and they probably won't hesitate to take me out either.

For a moment Jameson was struck by the idea of just running for his life and leaving the arachnid to fend for himself. But glancing at the weakened form laying before him, he knew he morally couldn't leave the web swinger to be killed in cold blood. Especially not after the bug had saved his life the previous night.

Leaning over the railing, Jameson hurriedly ripped the multiple electrode patches placed strategically over Spiderman's bare chest and heart while also undoing the small tube connecting the wall crawler intravenously to the bag of clear fluids that hung above his head.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Jonah coaxed roughly as he pulled the bandaged man to the edge of the bed. Stripping his trench coat from his body, the editor swung the clothing over Spiderman's body; which was covered only in a pair of hospital scrub pants, the bandage around his midsection, and the wall crawler's only remnant of his costume, his mask.

Hoisting the limp body up, Jameson swung the arachnid's arm over his shoulder and half carried, half dragged Spiderman to the door. Glancing down the length of the hallway, Jonah saw no sign of the man who had called out earlier.

Not waiting, Jonah hurriedly trudged down the hallway in the opposite direction the voice had previously come from. Rounding a corner, the editor caught the faint footsteps of heavy boots on tiled floor coming towards the direction of Spiderman's hospital room. As the unlikely pair continued into the maze of corridors, Jonah heard a sudden shout of surprise and a flurry of other cries. Following that came the distant stampede of feet from the room into the hallway.

Picking up the pace, Jameson snarled at the fact that Spiderman had blacked out and was now totally dead weight. Suddenly in the distance, a bay of brightly painted red elevators came into view. Racing for them as fast as he could drag the wall crawler, Jonah heard the gut retching sound of thundering footsteps somewhere close behind him.

Not looking back, Jonah rushed for the elevators. The footsteps sounded nearer. Reaching the first one, Jameson slammed his finger onto the call button and repeatedly tapped the button mercilessly as the numbers above the door slowly began to dink and light as the car lifted away from the ground floor six levels below them.

'Ding' '2nd floor'

"Come on…"

"Hey, I think I hear something this way!"

'Ding' '4th floor'

"Hurry up…."

"Look they're this way! By the elevators! Hurry before they get away!"

'Ding' '6th floor'

"Open open open, you piece of junk!"

"Shoot them, they're getting away!"

'Ding'

As Jameson dove into the small elevator car with his cargo in tow, a series of gun blasts pierced the air as bullets whined by his ears. Lashing out to hit the 'close' button, Jameson felt plaster and wall shower onto his head as the bullets impacted the wall behind him.

Finally with an another annoying and overly chipper 'ding', the doors slid shut as Jameson saw the last glimpses of the attackers between the closing doors of the car. Heaving a sigh, Jonah hit the B button to take him to the basement parking garage. Looks like it was now personally up to him that he actually repay Spiderman for saving his life; by now saving his.

"Let's just hope I'm doing the right thing," he muttered to the unconscious form beside him. From above, the elevator continued to beep off every floor.

***********

The words began to blur together as MJ paged restlessly through the magazine that was propped in her lap. Finding no escape for her anxiety, she tossed the months old magazine onto of a stack of others strewn carelessly on a nearby end table. Heaving a frustrated sigh, Mary Jane crossed her legs and glanced at the TV mounted in the corner of the spotlessly white waiting room of St. John's Hospital.

Around the red headed woman sat a multitude of other people; many being reporters and camera crews of local news stations and papers awaiting updates of the hospital's resident superhero's condition. Others waited patiently for news of their loved ones. Only MJ could realize the irony of her being part of both groups.

Glancing at her watch for the millionth time that day, MJ stifled a yawn. She had been there in the waiting room since two that morning and it was now well past five thirty at night. Despite her fledging celebrity status as fashion model and Spiderman's own speculated girlfriend (thanks to the little Brooklyn Bridge incident…) she had been denighed access to see the wounded wall crawler after hearing of him being wheeled out of surgery hours earlier.

After several attempts, MJ finally realized that no amount of teary eyes or sob stories were going to get her in to see Peter.

On the TV screen above her played a rerun of 'Friends.' Finding no distraction for her worried mind, Mary Jane stood and trudged out of the waiting room tiredly. Shuffling her feet from lack of sleep, MJ made her way to the vending machines just outside in the hall in search of caffeine and sugar.

"I'm going to have bags under my eyes the size of Manhattan when this is over with," she muttered under her breath as she produced two quarters from her purse and plunked them into the coffee machine.

Pressing the button for French Vanilla, MJ stared transfixidly through the clear plastic shutter of the machine as an empty Styrofoam cup dropped from above and a sputtering stream of black liquid began to fill it.

'I wonder how Peter's doing,' she thought as she grabbed her cup of coffee and sipped it without tasting the stale, bitter liquid, 'It's been awhile since that annoying hospital spokesman has given any more updates. I just hope he's OK."

Taking another sip of her lukewarm coffee, MJ wrinkled her face as she snapped out of her trance and became aware of the bitterness attacking her mouth. Chucking the undrunk portion of her coffee into a nearby trashcan, MJ turned to walk back to the waiting room.

Taking two steps, she stopped and reconsidered, 'There's nothing I can do but sit and read magazines. And I've been doing that all day. I'll walk around and stretch my legs a little. Then I'll go back and see if there's anymore news on Peter. It's not like he's going anywhere anyway…"

Turning a bend that lead in the opposite direction of the waiting room, MJ walked slowly as she glanced at the decorative landscape paintings adorning the otherwise colorless hallway. Her sandals tapped noisily on the cold tiles as she strided by a large bank of windows looking out onto the sea of buildings laid out before her. Pausing in her aimless travels, Mary Jane turned her wandering attention to the falling drizzle that had been showering the city on and off the whole day. 'What a beautiful day,' she frowned to herself sarcastically. The weather seemed to be a manifestation of MJ's mood and only managed to depress her further.

Hanging her head, the young model started back towards the waiting room. Rubbing her drowsy eyes sluggishly, MJ thought miserably, 'I'll wait around another hour or so. If there's no news on Peter by then, I'll have to go home and get some sleep then come back in the morning.'

Continuing on her way, thoughts flowed through MJ's mind, 'It's kind of weird having so many people here worried about Spiderman when the rest of the time they couldn't give a damn. It makes me mad that Peter had to get shot before anybody saw what a hero he really is. Even that jerk, Jameson, wrote a decent article for once on Spiderman this morning. What a shocker that was…I swear there's at least one reporter from every news station in the tri-state area. Hopefully after this, Peter won't have to be made into Swiss cheese before getting some positive PR. I wonder if I could get one of those nurses up there to see how the poor guy's doing. Then maybe I can go home and get some sleep without spending half the night worrying…'

Completing her lap around the floor, MJ spotted a small group of nurses talking amongst themselves in the confines of their nurse's station. At first MJ assumed it was friendly small talk and gossip between some off duty nurses, but as the red head neared she could detect an air of tension around them.

"-Yeah, and the whole sixth floor's swarming with cops right now. The hospital director, Mr. Hender, let them in the back way so the cops wouldn't upset the medic out front until they know for sure what happened."

Curious, MJ pretended to ponder the selection of pop inside a nearby soda machine by the nurse's station while the nurses continued on oblivious to the eves-dropper.

"Rumor's going around that two guards were shot," said the nurse as her news was met with gasps of surprise and murmurs from the others, "Yeah, and get this. Spiderman's missing too. On one can find him. There were bullet holes all through the hallways up there" Motioning upward with a finger she continued on in a hushed voice, "Cindy saw it herself. The place is a zoo up there. I heard some cops talking and they said it looks like some guys tried to sneak into the hospital and take out Spiderman. They said they managed to arrest one of the guys. He was stuck to the wall by some of that webbing Spiderman always uses."

For the second time that day, Mary Jane felt a knot grow in her stomach from fear for Peter.

"The cops don't know how, but they think the hit-men got in by sneaking around the security and somehow finding out where Spiderman was."

Breaking in, an older Chinese nurse questioned, "But why would they try to assassinate Spiderman when there're all these people and media around?"

"I heard one of the cops say they think the hit-men were able to get in and out by getting lost in the crowd. You know how hard it is trying to keep things straight around here with all these extra people around," the narrating nurse answered curtly for being interrupted, "But anyway, the bug's missing and the police can't find him or the other gunmen. I think they're going over some surveillance tapes now. In any case, if Spiderman did get away, he couldn't have gotten far. Not in the condition he's in."

MJ stood motionless for a minute before bolting for the nearest exit. If all that was true, then Peter may need her help. He may have returned to the apartment or be trying to call her. Praying that Peter was safe, MJ hailed frantically for a cab as she rushed out onto the sidewalk, now clear of people due to the rain falling heavily from above.

***************

"Now, Mr. Kathal, let's get down to business. I'm curious as to how much my company is going to be paid for its services so far to your endeavor," Harry Osborn said as he placed his half drunk glass of scotch on the table before him.

Across from the young CEO of Oscorp, sat Muhammad Kathal. The older middle eastern man smiled beneath his bushy mustache at Harry's business like attitude. He always admired a man who could take charge. Leaning back in his plush executive chair., Kathal answered in a friendly yet serious tone in perfect English, almost completely void of any accent, "Yes, Mr. Osborn. I think that would be an excellent idea. The sooner we finalize the money arrangements, the sooner we can put our plans in action."

Nodding in agreement Harry sat straight in his chair as his client continued on.

"Because of you invaluable research and technology given to my organization, we are prepared to pay you two hundred million dollars," Kathal said as he smoothed his slicked back hair from his face. Opening his mouth to go on, Kathal paused as he noticed a frown spread across Osborn's face.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Osborn?" he asked.

Leaning forward over the shiny surface of the table, Harry leveled his eyes at Kathal and folded his hands before his face, creating an intimidating aura around himself. "It's just that two hundred million dollars doesn't seem much when you're about to hold America hostage for one hundred billion dollars, does it?" Harry whispered in a level tone that could have almost come across as threatening, "In addition to the already agreed upon two hundred million, I want a cut of forty billion dollars."

Shocked at the statement, Kathal stuttered, "Mr. Osborn, that was never spoke of in our initial agreement." Nervously shifting in his expensive business suit, the middle easterner squirmed under Harry's relentless gaze.

"Well, Mr. Kathal. You have two options. One; you pay me the money I'm asking for and you get your weapons that are still technically in my possession. Or two; you don't pay up and get nothing. It's up to you," Harry stated plainly as his nonchalantly picked up his glass and downed the rest of his drink in one swallow.

Harry revealed at Kathal's facial expression as the man's eyebrows knotted together and his bushy black mustache twisted over a visible frown. A moment of silence passed through the office as its two occupants stared down each other. A low rumble of thunder sounded overhead as raindrops pelted the large bay of windows overlooking the sprawling metropolis below.

Sighing in defeat, Kathal muttered, "Fine, Mr. Osborn. 40.2 billion it is."

Breaking into a broad smile of victory, Harry leaned back into his chair as Kathal shifted the conversation away from money. "How soon will the bombs be ready for transport?"

"They can be ready for you tonight, at your convenience," Harry answered, "The six weapons are housed in my warehouse on the docks. I have men already there ready to help load the cargo for transportation to their final destinations."

Again Kathal ran his hand through his hair. Harry began to suspect it was a nervous habit of the man's. "What is your guarantee that the bombs will not go off during transportation?"

"Minimal," the young Osborn answered, "The weapons have been wired so the only way they can be detonated is by remote-satellite control or by hand. The protective casing around the devices are also very sound."

Cracking a small smile, Kathal eased back in his chair to mimic Harry. "That's good to hear. It would be terrible for those things to go off before properly placed to cause the most damage."

"Yes, I'm sure it would be. At least a hundred mile radius would be infected by the bomb's virus. No one within that distance would live long to tell about it," Harry trailed off apathetically.

"Good," Kathal said as he stood to leave, "I will go make the final arrangements before the ultimatum is given." Shaking hands with Harry, who also stood to see Kathal out, the middle easterner man strolled out of the room.

Watching the door close with a soft click behind him, Harry stared at the door. Breaking himself back into reality, the young man glanced at his glass sitting forlornly on the table where tiny beads of water had begun to condense on the surface of the glass. Picking it up, Harry twirled the cup until the melting ice cubes at the bottom began to spin in a circle while the clicking of glass and ice filled the room.

Stopping the motion, Harry stalked towards the alcohol cabinet on the opposite side of the room. Reaching in, Harry produced an expensive crystal decanter filled with a golden brown liquid, and poured himself another glass. Taking a small sip of the alcohol, the young man turned towards the far bank of windows.

Strolling towards them, Harry looked out over the waterlogged city as the rain continued to cascade from above like a waterfall from heaven. Contemplating the jungle of concrete below, the young man pondered the future.

'How much longer does this city have?' he wondered with a tug of a frown on his face.

For some reason the thought of the city's possible end caused no remorse in the boy's heart. What had anybody in this retched city done for him? Nothing, that's what. Only bad memories remained, causing him pain. His lost love Mary Jane and his falling out with his only friend, Peter Parker, still remained an open wound. Not to mention the fledging love affair that had been taking place practically right under his nose. He still vividly remembered walking in on the two in the hospital when Peter's aunt had been there after being attacked by the Green Goblin. They had acted all innocent when he had walked in, but he had seen them; holding hands and a second away from swapping saliva.

But the worst of all remained the death of his father, Norman Osborn. Just when they were starting to become closer, Spiderman had to murder him. The loss had created a void in Harry's heart he doubted would ever be filled. But he would have his revenge…

Growing depressed as the clouds darkened overhead, Harry turned back to his desk. Sitting down, he swallowed the rest of his drink uncaringly. Feeling the cool liquid taking effect on him, Harry again glanced outside. Not much longer now, he thought…

************

"Come on, bug," growled J. Jonah Jameson at the superhero who weighed heavily on his shoulder as the editor helped Spiderman walk down the empty hallway of a large apartment building.

"Bite me," Spiderman said almost in a whisper too low for Jameson to actually hear. The pain in his chest was blinding and the editor's constant berating was grinding on the wall crawler's last nerve. One could only tolerate Jameson for so long. Plus exhaustion now clawed mercilessly on Spidey's body making him unnaturally irritable.

Struggling to keep up to Jameson, Spiderman's mind wandered to thoughts of blissful sleep and his own bed back at his apartment. As Jonah kept up his brisk pace, Spiderman's last strength finally gave out as his knees buckled beneath him. Stumbling, the only thing that kept the web swinger from falling face first on the floor was the irate editor who growled under his breath as he hefted Spidey to his feet again.

"Where are we?" Spidey asked as he chocked back the stabbing pain welling up within him from the short tumble.

Snorting, Jameson suddenly stopped in front of one of the many door in the hall and pulled out a key from his pockets with his free hand. "My apartment," he said as he unlocked the door and kicked it open. Pulling Spiderman quickly with him inside, Jameson slammed the door behind them with a swift kick.

"What?" the web swinger squeaked groggily, thinking he had hallucinated what he had just heard from blood loss.

"I said my apartment, web head. The hospital's obviously not safe for you in your condition. I couldn't think of anywhere else to take you for now," Jameson stated as he hauled Spiderman to a large couch that served as one of the only pieces of furniture in the apartment.

Positioning the wounded superhero by the edge of the couch, Jonah lowered Spiderman slowly down until the wall crawler slid off his shoulder and collapsed into the overly stuffed cushions. A stifled gasp escaped from behind the red mask as Spidey clasped his hands over the bandage on his abdomen. Jameson's insides twisted as he noticed fresh spots of red seeping through the white gauze and guiltily recalled how the web swinger had obtained his wounds.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he stooped to examine the wounds. "It looks like a couple of the bullet holes opened up again when you pasted that guy to the wall. We're going to have to get you to a doctor soon, but this time keep it a little more discrete," Jonah said gruffly as he swatted Spidey's hands from his stomach, "You saw what happened last time with those incompetent police officers…"

"What's with you helping me all of a sudden? The last time I checked, I was still number one on your personal public enemies list. What happened?" Spidey asked utterly confused by Jameson's sudden concern for his welfare.

"I owe you, insect. That's it. And when you're back to normal, nothing's going to have changed. I'm still out to prove to the public that you're not all you make yourself out to be. Got it?" Jameson snarled dangerously.

Standing, Jonah vanished into the adjacent kitchen. "You want some coffee?" he barked from within.

"No thanks," Spiderman called back as loudly as he could, "I don't think my stomach could handle it right now." Getting no audible response from his alter-ego's boss, Spiderman surveyed his surroundings.

The room stood for the most part bare with only the bare necessities filling the room. A small thirteen inch TV stood in the far corner of the room while facing it stood only a leather armchair and the plush couch Spidey currently lay on. A curtain less window overlooked the street below, letting in a gray muted light in outside.

A few other items were thrown about the apartment in what Spiderman assumed was Jameson's attempt at interior decoration. The distinct stench of cigar smoke lingered in the air, making Spiderman stifle a sneeze. All in all, the room resembled that of a cloistered monk; fitting Jonah perfectly, Spidey thought with an ironic smirk.

"You know a few potted plants and maybe a few paintings on the wall, and it could pass for cozy," Spiderman quipped as Jameson reentered the room with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

"You never stop, do you?" he snarled as he fell into the leather armchair. Grabbing the TV remote from the nearby end table, Jameson flipped on the TV screen.

"So are we going to watch a movie? Maybe pop some popcorn? How about a comedy?" Spidey called out sleepily, unable to pass up the chance to poke fun at the grouchy older man.

Glaring out of the corner of his eye at his guest, Jameson ignored the outburst and flipped to FOX NEWS with a snarl. He was beginning to question if he had been clinically sane when he had decided to offer the vigilantly arachnid safe haven.

"OK…news is good. Whatever you want, JJ. Can't get behind on world events now, can we?" the wall crawler smiled behind his mask. A sting of irate mumbles came as a response as the editor cranked up the volume on the set and shoved a fresh cigar into his mouth without bothering to light it.

Taking advantage of Jonah's 'hospitality,' Spiderman nestled deeper into the cushions of the couch. The low roar of the TV became muddled as darkness crept over the web swinger. The searing agony of his wounds began to dull as Spidey's eyes slowly slid shut and sleep took him.

***

A rough hand shook his body violently, bringing Spiderman back to consciousness. Startling awake, Spidey drug his heavy eyelids up to reveal Jameson's angry snarl glaring back at his through his transparent eyepieces.

"Wake up, bug. You need to see this."

"What…Who?" stuttered the superhero as his head swum with sleep and his body rebelled at the jerky movements rattling his weakened body awake. Disoriented, the wall crawler struggled to remember where he was.

"Hurry up and look at the TV," ordered Jonah ordered gruffly.

Rolling his head in the direction of the television set, Spiderman's gaze was met with a darkened screen with a lone figure filling the frame. The face and features of the person were undistinguishable with the darkness, but the basic outline of the man was visible by a single light casting a shadow from behind.

"We have six biological bombs hidden within six of the major cities of the United States. These include New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Miami. If our demands are not met, we will detonate the bombs."

"We are demanding payment of 100 billion dollars from the United States federal government to be delivered to a secure location that will revealed at a later time. If our demands are not met we will release the worst biological virus to ever descend upon this planet."

"The virus contained in these bombs are capable of decimating an entire population within two to three hours of infection. The virus is airborne and highly contagious. This virus will make Ebola look like the common cold in comparison. Victims will be stricken with hemorrhaging of the internal organs, leading to uncontrolled bleeding from every opening of the body. Before death, the victim is attacked by massive seizures and total respiratory shut down…It is not a pleasant sight and very painful, I assure you…"

"The US government has forty-eight hours from now until we expect payment. Again, if our demands are not met, then we will be forced to take drastic action. I highly suggest to every citizen in this country to call you local government official and demand that your tax dollars be turned over to this cause. Otherwise…well, you know."

With that, the transmission ended and was replaced by the newscaster who began recapping the threat to the audience.

"What are you planning on doing?" Jameson suddenly demanded, turning sharply on the wounded man.

Pausing, Spiderman groped for an answer. Coming up short, he answered weakly, "I don't know."

"Well that's just great!" Jonah shouted as he threw his hands in the air angrily, "What's the point of having a superhero around when he can't save the city?!" Scowling, the editor stalked towards the door, "I need to get to the newsroom."

"Hey!" Spiderman called suddenly after the retreating man. As Jonah paused in the doorway, Spidey said flatly, "I won't be here when you get back."

"Good. Because I was going to tell you to be out of here by morning. I don't need some free loading pest building a web in my apartment," he growled back at the man sprawled across his couch.

Turning to go, Jameson paused again on the threshold as he heard a low voice resonate from the depths of his apartment. "By the way, thanks for saving my life earlier. We're even now."

Grunting a response, the man disappeared into the hallway, slamming the door behind him. Spiderman turned his attention back to the TV where the newscaster continued pleading with his audience not to panic.

Still feeling weak, but feeling a surge of rejuvenation by the impending threat, Spiderman reached for the nearby telephone placed within reach of the injured man. Ripping his sweat drenched Spiderman mask from his face, Peter Parker punched in the phone number of his only source of help.

"Pick up. Pick up," Peter chanted pleadingly as he waited for an answer. Counting the rings till the answering machine was suppose to kick in, he became worried there may be no one home. Suddenly there was a click on the other end.

"Hello? This is Mary Jane," came a quick, tension strained voice. Peter thought he could sense a hint of hopefulness in her voice for whatever reason.

"MJ, it's Peter," he began in a weak voice, "I need your help…"

To be continued…..

Next time: Spiderman confronts Donald Collins, mayoral candidate, on the inside scoop of the threat against the city.

Don't forget to review….pretty please?

-LAXgirl