Part Two
"Peter Parker, out here in the sunlight with the rest of us surface dwellers?" Flash Thompson yelled jokingly, while he stood outside a burger stand on the first floor of the galleria next to Phil Urich who was chomping down on a small meal. "What happened, Peter, you ran out of work to do."
"No way!" Peter walked up to the jock with a light smile upon his face. He gently tapped the side of Flash's head, "You're a life's work." He and Flash shook hands. "How are you doing, Phil?"
The other teenager turned away from his meal and with a mouth full of hamburger he smiled and snapped his fingers. "I'm okay." He said muffled.
"Flash, Phil you need to hear this." Gwen stepped forward and took them into her confidence, "Peter is Spider-Man." Parker smacked his head in disbelief as the word got out.
Flash looked at Peter for a moment and then back to Gwen, "Are you serious?" She nodded and Flash looked back at Peter. He then burst out into laughter, "Puny Parker is Spider-Man? No offense, Pete. Boy is that rich!"
"None taken." Peter jovially responded.
"Come on, remember how in gym he got winded after five minutes of basketball, and you're trying to say that he's the guy swinging around beating up all those mutant freaks and stuff!" Flash laughed and patted Phil on the back who was more concerned with finishing his food. "Th-that's th-the funniest thing I-I've ever heard!" He said gasping for air between breaths for air.
Peter grinned, "That's what I told her."
"Listen; just keep an eye on Peter for me if I'm gone, okay." Gwen pleaded.
Flash shrugged, "Fine, but I think this is a big joke, come on I want to drop by that music store on the third floor, they've got a stereo I'm thinking about buying and I want your opinions."
Maybe I can make it through this; I mean how hard can it be? Peter winced for a moment as he ribs ached painfully. For a moment he had forgotten that his fight with Venom had just ended several hours before. He was wounded despite any pretenses, if somebody did show up it might be out of his hands either way.
Adrian soared over the city. He dived and ascended periodically depending on his mood. He checked the list he had formed in his mind. Thus far he had removed three of the five figures primarily responsible for his expulsion from the company and science in general. Adrian had been gathering information on them, finding out where'd they be on this very special day.
They had been ignorant fools all of them. Now he'd make them suffer. His next targets would have to be removed in a manner fitting their betrayal of him. He'd kill them with his own bare hands.
He peaked over past a few building rooftops and saw his destination directly ahead. It was a small and insignificant place but one of his enemies would be there, shopping with his family like he always did on Sunday. Adrian headed for the galleria.
Peter rubbed the back of his head. It was a familiar tingling sensation that forced every hair on his body to stand at attention. Something was happening, he could sense it. "Stay focused." He mumbled, "It's not your fight."
"What?" Gwen asked pressing a dress against her body and seeing how it looked on her in a mirror inside the Sears.
"I didn't say anything." Peter replied casually.
Gwen shrugged and stared at the dress silently for a moment, "So does Mary Jane know?"
Peter frowned at her inquiry, "No because I'm not."
"Yeah, you're not Spider-Man you just tripped on a rock." Gwen replied sarcastically as a clerk passed by and shook his head as he overheard their discussion.
"Stranger things have happened." Peter replied.
Gwen smiled in a sly manner, "Well, suppose you were and she knew before I did. What would that mean? I mean for us?"
"Us?" Peter asked perplexed.
"Yes, a relationship is a commitment, a bond that we're supposed to share. If you are Spider-Man then MJ has to know which means that you trusted her more then me." Gwen sat down beside Peter on a steel bench, "Pete, what's going on?"
Peter stared into her eyes for a moment and saw the caring person underneath. He sighed heavily and squeezed her hand, "I-I, I'm not Spider-Man." He moved away from her and stared out through the display window.
Flash Thompson and Phil Urich stood outside the entrance to the Sears, as Phil was munching on some tacos and couldn't enter the shopping store until he was done. "Hey, let me ask you a question, where do you think a guy like the Green Goblin gets his gas?"
Phil frowned, "What kind of stupid question is that? He has his own."
Both teenagers were standing in front of a newspaper stand with the covers all carrying a nice shot of his ugly mug.
"Do you think that thing takes regular?" Flash asked holding the newspaper in his hands, "I mean, that thing must cost a bundle to use."
"Trust me, it doesn't." Phil smugly replied grabbing another nacho off the tray in his hand.
Flash scoffed at his friend, "Like you'd know. You're talking like you've flown that thing before. For all you know it doesn't even use gas."
Phil clicked his tongue after swallowing another bit of his taco, "You were the one that brought up gas."
"Shut up."
Ted Job walked alongside his family. They looked like any other family and would have been except for the fact that their father was a multi-millionaire. He made a fortune through all of the dealings he had through the years with aspiring inventors.
He brought his daughter towards a gum-drop machine strategically placed alongside the escalators leading up to the children's level and the fast-food stands. She placed the quarter into the device and called a candy down the descending ramp.
Ted smiled at the sight of her young daughter tracing the gum-drop falling into her hands. He tried to give her everything he could. The side of the mall exploded sending chunks of debris in all directions. Ted shielded her daughter and looked into the smoke at the emerging figure.
"If it isn't my old friend, doing some shopping, eh?" Adrian floated off the ground as he flapped his arms, "I am too, I'm been looking for something for bowling. I think your skull would do quite nicely!"