That Day between Saturday and Monday

Part One

            "Now, don't jump to conclusions." Peter stammered while giving an MJ a look that asked why she didn't keep Gwen out of here.

            MJ shrugged replying that it was out of her control via her body language.

            "You're Spider-Man?" The blond asked with a smile spreading across her face, "Oh my God, I can't believe this!" She jumped in the air happily, "I can't believe it, you're Spider-Man!"

            Peter clenched his teeth and took a nervous step forward, "No! I'm not! This is just a big misunderstanding."

            Gwen's smile transformed from one full of joy to one that was very sly, "Oh? Then why are you wearing Spider-Man's costume?" She tilted her head and tapped her foot.

            "Well, you know that I take pictures of Spider-Man?" Peter said quickly. "This is how I get those shots." He shrugged, "It's a living."

            "Nice try, Peter." Gwen replied, "But I know there's been this huge fight between you and some other baddies all over the city and it just ended and here you come." She turned an eye towards MJ, "And I can't believe that she didn't have any clue as to what was really going on here."

            Peter shook his head, "Listen, I'm not Spider-Man; you've got this totally mixed up." He laughed, "Remember last year when I puked up my lunch when the school bus had to drive over all those potholes? Does that sound like someone who can climb on walls to you?"

            Gwen clicked her tongue, "You've got a point." She stared at the redhead inquisitively, "Is he telling the truth, MJ."

            The redhead hesitated for a moment but then nodded her head in agreement. She sighed, "Pete can barely climb up a ladder much less a building."

            Groggily, Ben Parker entered Peter's room and stepped back in surprise, "Gwen?" He spotted his nephew in costume standing before the blond, "Pete, you told her about this?"

            "Yeah I did, Uncle Ben!" Peter said excitedly, "I told her all about I take pictures of myself dressed as Spider-Man so I can sell them to the Bugle. She's got the idea I am Spider-Man!" He said faking humor and doing a poor job at it.

            "What?" Ben asked confused moments before realizing what must have happened, "Oh, oh yeah! He does it against my wishes but you know how tough teenagers are to convince once they've made up their minds these days."

            Gwen stared at each one of them suspiciously, "I don't believe it. Prove it."

            Peter gulped, "Prove it? How should I do that?"

            "Stay with me the whole day, we'll move around the city and if Spider-Man shows up and you don't vanish when he does, you're off the hook, but if he doesn't then I win."

            "A day doesn't mean anything." MJ interjected.

            Gwen nodded, "Good point, make that the entire week!" MJ smacked herself on the head.

            "S-sure." Peter stammered.

            "Great, get dressed, unless of course that suits you better, I'll be downstairs." Gwen left the room, headed for the living room.

            Ben sighed and walked towards the bathroom, "I think I've got the runs."

            MJ approached Peter, "How are you going to keep out of costume all week?"

            "It's simple really. This town is crawling with plenty of law enforcement groups; one week without my lovely mug won't make that much of a difference." Peter stated confidently. "Nothing and I mean nothing will make me put that costume on."

            Adrian Toomes gazed at his flight suit proudly, "They said I was a washed up fool to believe this sort of flight propulsion was possible. Did I prove them wrong? Oh I did indeed." The design seemed increasingly simple, hiding the genius behind it. A metal exoskeleton protected his exterior while the arms had two retractable wings attached to them in order to enable flight.

            He ran his hands against the wings, made out of a special material light enough to suspend him in mid-air but more durable than the strongest steel. "This will be my crowning achievement."

            Adrian was an old man, in his late sixties and his face showed it. He stood in the center of his lab on the top of an office building, he wasn't even supposed to be here but he refused to be prevented from making the greatest achievement since man had reached the moon for the first time.

            "They took my funding away from me, my reputation was permanently tarnished." He laughed and clasped his hands together, "Now I'll show each one of those CEOs the cost of standing in my way. The Vulture comes for them!"

            Peter was riding the bus with Gwen Stacy, the both of them headed for the galleria. Every time they hit a speed bump, Gwen eyed her boyfriend suspiciously. "You okay?"

            "Sure." Peter replied nervously. He spotted a police car stationary in front of a grocery store and followed it with his head.

            "What are you looking at?" Gwen wondered, the question was full of implications.

            Peter shrugged, "Nothing."

            Gwen nodded confidently, "Oh, because I thought you were looking at those cops back there but I guess I was wrong."

            "That doesn't mean anything; a guy can look at the cops without being Spider-Man can't they?" Peter retorted.

            "We'll see." Gwen answered back, "The galleria is at the next stop, I told Flash we'd be meeting him and Phil there."

            Peter nodded, "Okay." He maintained a calm exterior hiding the tornado brewing inside his chest. He was itching to get off this bus and start knocking some heads together. Just a week, it can't be that bad!

            Fred Dalton was a corporate man it was obvious in every aspect of his demeanor.  From the arrogant walk he performed to the hateful sneer he gave all others while dressed in a nice and pretty and civil Armani suit. He oozed power.

            He walked across the street on his way for a meeting of high-powered businessmen several blocks downtown. The fight that had torn the city apart earlier this morning did little to deter his plans, a multi-million dollar deal was going to go down and nothing would stop him from being there on the ground floor. Dalton turned his head following a woman in some overly tight clothes for a second, smiled and sneered at a garbage man at work.

            It was going to be an unusually warm day especially considering that it was first day of February. He reached a street corner and waited for the signal to change. "Come on, this light's going to cause me to be late!"

            Dalton stomped his feet like an angry child throwing a fit. "This light is a piece of junk! It must have been put there by some stupid nig-."

            "Be careful, Freddy." A familiar voice called from behind him. "You could get sued for saying things like that."  

            "Who's that?" Dalton spun around only to come face to face with Adrian Toomes fully decked out in the armor that made him the Vulture hovering a few feet off the ground. "What are you doing here?"

            Adrian laughed, "Do you see it? The suit works just as I predicted." He laughed while pedestrians scattered already used to fleeing when costumed people showed up.

            "It does!" Dalton watched Adrian hover captivated by the feat, "You made it work! I-I can't believe it. We can go back to InTech, we'll go right to board with this! I can't believe it."

            "I know." Adrian smiled, "Do you know how I knew? I knew because you were the one to motion a petition to remove me and cut my funding!" He spat out furiously, "You forced me to salvage parts from second-rate labs! But I did it, alone! No, I didn't come here for a demonstration so you could pitch the idea to the board!"

            Dalton stumbled back as got a gist of where Toomes was going, "What are y-you going to do?" He retreated into the street while the Vulture took on a more menacing posture.

            "Me? I don't have to do a thing; I'm not some cold-blooded killer. I get my hands dirty when the occasion really calls for it. Thankfully, you've done all the work for me." Adrian pointed down the street. The sound of screeching brakes pierced the city and grabbed Dalton's attention. He looked down the street just in time to see a pick-up truck run him down.