Hello. Welcome to my first Spiderman story. As much as I'd like to, I do
not own any of the characters they all belong to marvel. In case you're
wondering, I'm following the movie story line, so this story is going to
take place between movies 1 and 2. Please be patient with my story, all
will become revealed soon enough. Thanks a lot,
--Peach man
Spiderman Issue #8 – Fallibilities
Wind pushed past several clouds, moving clothes that were draped over lines. Several pigeons caught this breeze and it lifted them up, giving them a huge sight of the city. Peter sat at the main table in the apartment, finishing his bowl of cereal. He had made plans with M.J. again for today; they were going to meet in Times Square for some lunch.
Last night seemed almost like a dream to him, actually getting there on time and getting a greeting unlike any other. He had been surprised when she embraced him, but couldn't get the thought out of his head. A smile spread across his face, as he gazed down into his cereal, still recalling last night's events.
"What are you so happy about?"
Peter turned, seeing Harry stumble down the stairs that led up to their rooms. His shirt was everywhere, and his hair was really messy, like he hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever.
"What are you so grouchy about?" Peter asked.
"Liz." He scowled, taking a seat in front of him.
"Oh? What happened?" Peter asked, trying to sound interested.
"She's kind of flaky. I don't know what her problem was." He snorted, opening the fridge.
Peter sat and thought for several moments, wondering if he should reply. Harry was too self-absorbed to have a girlfriend let alone keep one happy. He finished his bowl of cereal before lifting his head, to see what Harry was doing. He had the paper out and was glancing from the paper toward the TV, trying to find a decent news station.
Finally he settled on channel four, where they claimed to have live coverage of a disturbance in the central New York area. The reporter began to talk quickly, as the crowd was panicking.
"It seems that since 12:30 pm today that the masked vigilante calling himself the hobgoblin has perched atop the Samsung enterprises building and is making many demands." The reporter began. "He threatens to release a wave of bombs down on the streets below and claims he's here to shake up New York. The terrorist's demands are as follows; He wants ten million dollars given to him in an adamantium brief case, he wants...I'm sorry it says here he wants Spiderman."
Peter didn't wait to hear the rest; he was up the stairs and plowing through his closet already, looking desperately for his costume. He could hear Harry calling after him and making his way up the stairs, but he didn't have time for this. He snatched up his mask and shoved it into his pocket, grabbing a brown jacket off of the door and heading out.
He pulled his mask down and over his face before leaping out of the window. Harry entered Peter's room but was too late, the window was open and peter was nowhere in sight. The cool breeze swept through the room, moving Harry's hair around and leaving him with suspicions.
Peter was flying through the air at record speed, his brown jacket flailing in the wind behind him. Thankfully he was moving too fast for anyone to really see him, as he caught air currents, which propelled him higher into the air. This was no time for panic, that madman is perched, just waiting to slaughter these people. And on top of that worry was Mary Jane. She was down there, waiting for peter to meet her at the sunshine café.
"Gotta move spidey, MOVE!" He screamed, back flipping and launching himself through the air.
"Yes, you see how serious I am now, don't you?" The goblin sneered, holding the reporter by the throat.
A helicopter had ventured up to get some more shots of the hobgoblin and had been bombed, the reporter leaped from the helicopter onto the building. Hobgoblin took joy in snatching him up and scaring the life out of him. And now, the helpless correspondent flailed in the air, hundreds of feet above the streets. He clung to the Hobgoblins arm, screaming for his life.
"That's the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear!" He cackled.
The police arrived on the scene and immediately fled, their cars, drawing their weapons. They aimed their guns up towards the hobgoblin and the chief mounted the top of the cruiser. He held up a megaphone, pressed the small button on the side and began to talk.
"Hobgoblin, we have your money!" He yelled.
From atop the Samsung building several birds scattered, frightened by the loud noise. Hobgoblin chuckled deeply, his red eyes glancing toward the reporter.
"Thank your lucky stars." He snarled.
"Oh thank god." The reporter whimpered.
With that, hobgoblin released his hold over the man, letting his body slip and drop down toward the ground below. The man's screams could be heard all throughout New York, the ghastly echo carrying through the streets. His screaming stopped suddenly, as something darted in and snatched him up.
He looked up to see another man, with a red mask over his face, large white eyes examining the city in front of him. It was Spiderman. Spiderman spun another web line and swung them back onto the roof of the Samsung building. He landed suddenly and let the man down, standing in front of the goblin.
"What's the matter? You forget your costume or is the brown jacket your new one?" He scoffed.
"I don't need a costume to take you out Gobby." Spiderman answered.
The two darted at one another, once again entangled in a wave of brutality. Punch after punch, Spiderman was laying it in to the Hobgoblin, knocking him backward toward the edge of the building. Hobgoblin teetered on the edge, letting out a few whimpers of fear.
"What's the matter? Don't like heights?" Spiderman joked.
Hobgoblin glanced toward the edge of the building and back up towards Spiderman, a smile spreading across his face.
"No, just wondering how long it would take for these to land." Hobgoblin retorted, dropping the small pouch he had at his side.
Dozens of pumpkin bombs fell, creating an orange cloud in the sky. Citizens in the streets began to scream and flee in panic, the police tried to calm them down. The bombs were now in mid air and ready for their purpose, Spiderman's spider sense was roaring.
"A-Ha-HA!" Hobgoblin screamed.
Spiderman landed a quick punch in the left side of hobgoblin's jaw and then leaped off the edge of the building, putting his webbing to work. He webbed up several at a time and then pulled them up towards his body, keeping them out of harms way. As he continued down he webbed up any groups of bombs that he saw, and pulled them in. He had about half done when it happened. The nauseous feeling made its triumphant return. Spiderman felt his arms go numb, and the agility fade right out of his body, leaving him vulnerable in thin air. The bombs he caught sat heavily in their webbing, the rest continuously sailed towards the streets, their metallic smiles dancing as they exploded on the concrete.
Several cars toppled over due to the explosion, and streetlights fell over, crushing the hoods of several cars, and even trapping one person under their weight. Spiderman had failed again, and this time people were injured and aware of it. The police immediately began to evacuate the area, and people were fleeing quickly. Spiderman however, still hung in the air, falling towards the ground without any powers whatsoever.
"THIS SUCKS!" he screamed, the collar of his jacket whipping wildly in the wind.
Unexpectedly something swooped in and struck him hard in the ribs, and took him high into the air. His hands were gripped on something metallic and purple, with a spiked middle. Spiderman looked up to see what he had feared most; The Hobgoblin.
"Nice of you to join me on my afternoon flight!" Hobgoblin cackled.
"Shut...Up." Spiderman replied, trying to pull himself onto the glider.
Hobgoblin landed a brutal kick into Spiderman's shoulder, knocking him back down, and causing him to lose any balance he once had. The glider swerved and he groaned, not having his powers made this extraordinarily difficult.
"If you would be so kind to hand up those pumpkin bombs, I have some business to finish." The goblin exclaimed.
"Sorry, can't do that." Spiderman answered, letting go of the glider.
His body fell downward, the air rushing up to greet him as he began his plummet. Hobgoblin was not pleased with this; he turned the glider around and swooped downward, catching Spiderman on the right wing. Spidey looked up, a bit confused and a little surprised.
"You're not getting off that easy." Goblin hissed.
"Thanks." Spiderman replied.
"I'm going to hand deliver these treats to Jameson and you my friend are going to help!" Hobgoblin exclaimed.
'Hm, this actually doesn't disagree with my morals that much.' Spiderman thought. He grit his teeth and began to pull again, trying desperately to get on top of the glider. Hobgoblin didn't notice this time, and Spiderman made a clean sweep at Hobgoblins leg.
As expected, the goblins knee gave in and he fell forward, knocking the glider into a downward position, pitting both costumed combatants towards the streets. Hobgoblin screamed for his life, and so did Spiderman, realizing what he just did. The webbed up pumpkin bombs were once again in the air, and he was powerless to stop it.
"Guess we both lose." Spiderman said, glancing at the goblin.
"I don't think so!" He screamed frantically pushing buttons on the upper part of his glove.
The glider made a quick turn around and began to slow down, right in range to catch them. Hobgoblin began to laugh once again, and so did Spiderman. He felt his strength returning to his body. Quickly, Spiderman landed a kick into the goblins lower half, pushing him just out of the way of the glider. Spiderman secured himself on the glider and the goblin sailed right past it, heading toward the streets below. He breathed heavily, and then looked up to see the bombs still sailing downward; he had forgotten he threw them back up toward the sky. With expertise he webbed them a second time and let them sail past the glider, then pulling them back up toward it and securing them.
"That... was a pain." He said to himself, sitting on the glider.
The bombs were out of harms way, he had saved the city...somewhat. Below in the streets fires had broken out and ambulances were on the scene. Maybe he hadn't exactly won the battle after all. He let out a deep breath, and then glanced at the glider.
It had two appropriate slots for his feet, and the controls didn't seem that complicated. He stood; placing both of his feet into these slots and blinked several times. This was easy. He applied pressure with the front of his foot and made the glider lurch forward, speeding off into the sky. With the right pressure with his heel, the glider came to a stop in the sky.
"Alright, spidey. I knew it didn't take a genius to ride one of these." He said to himself.
"First rule of using a glider for transportation,"
Spiderman glanced behind him to find the Hobgoblin, on an even bigger glider than the one he was riding. It was massive, its wings expanding a good seven or eight feet. Hobgoblin stood on top of it, arms folded and he smirked.
"What now spider? You've got nothing. You don't even know how to use the weapons systems." Hobgoblin said again.
"Uh...uh..." Spiderman stuttered.
In a flash, Spiderman tapped the top of a pumpkin bomb in the web net and tossed the net over to hobgoblin. The net landed neatly on the end of the left wing, and Spiderman webbed it into place. The goblin was in an uproar, trying to fly the glider away.
"Night night gobby." Spiderman joked.
A few feet later the net exploded, the wing of the glider erupting in flames. Hobgoblins screams were muffled and the glider took off in the opposite direction. Spiderman had a good feeling Hobgoblin was going home. He swung himself to a nearby building, landing softly and he removed his mask. He tucked the mask into his back pocket and removed his jacket. He placed the jacket in the corner of the roof and back flipped onto the fire escape.
"Where is he?" Mary Jane asked herself again, for the hundredth time.
It had been almost two hours since she sat down in the café, and Peter was nowhere to be found. They were supposed to meet at one o'clock, and it was now two forty seven. Then again with Spiderman making an appearance and the maniac in the square, traffic was probably backed up.
She sighed again, glancing at her glass of Lemonade, drops of water slowly leaking down the sides of the glass. She dried them with a napkin and placed her drink back on the table. She couldn't stop thinking about the night before, how Peter made everything so special. His only flaw was that he's always late.
She sighed again, checking her watch. Two ten, and nobody was out on the street. The cops cleared most of the people from the streets and told them to seek cover. She thankfully was in he café, and didn't need to move at all. Her cell phone rang, the small melody shaking her out of her daydream. She glanced down at the number and she didn't recognize it. Shrugging, she shoved the phone back into her purse, muting the melodic tune.
"Sorry I'm late!" Peter said, taking the seat in front of her.
Mary Jane smiled a bit; relieved he had made it there on time. She took another sip of her lemonade and then leaned forward brushing the hair out of Peter's face.
"Where were you?" She asked.
"Ran into trouble. The subway was mobbed, there was some masked weirdo flying around." Peter answered.
"As opposed to the one you take pictures of for a living?" She asked, grinning somewhat.
"Quiet you." He said playfully.
She smiled and he leaned forward, their lips pressed lightly and his hand traveled up, moving a few strands of her hair to the side. Peter chuckled a little, kissing her deeply and the two parted, smiling at one another. She blinked, taking a small sip of her lemonade, and dabbing her lips with a napkin. Peter glanced up at her from the café menu smiling widely.
"You're amazing you know that?" He said.
"Thank you." She replied, moving some of her hair back behind her ear.
The two sat and talked for some time, before ordering with their waitress. She brought peter a tall glass of Pepsi and the two talked about their day. Peter told Mary Jane of Harry's misfortune with Liz, and M.J. sympathized for Harry.
"I know how he is, he's too...overbearing." She said, softly.
"Yeah, just a little self absorbed." Peter said, a little angry.
"Well he is taking over Oscorp." M.J. added.
"Kind of a shocker." Peter said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Why's that? Harry always looked up to his father; I knew he'd take over the company." Mary Jane said.
"Harry's so obsessed with Spiderman it's creepy. He blames Spiderman for his dad's death; his pictures are covering Harry's room walls. He's a different person M.J. I mean he gets to inherit this company and I haven't even gone to college yet. His life's been handed to him.." Peter said, trailing off.
His stomach sunk. He felt horrible, he was jealous of Harry. Jealous of his friend who had just lost his father and forced to inherit a multimillion- dollar company. What hurt even more is that if it weren't for Harry peter would still be living with aunt may, which would further complicate things as Spiderman. This was awful, in his attempt to overcome Norman Osborn's death he felt himself liking Harry less and less.
"I'm sorry." Mary Jane said, looking quite meek.
"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that. I'm just stressed I guess." Peter said.
Mary reached across the small table, stroking the side of Peter's face with her fingernails. Peter smiled, his hand draping lightly over hers and they locked eyes. She was stunning; to the point where she brought tears to his eyes each time she smiled. In that instant he had forgotten all about Harry, all about his stressful double life and just lost himself in her. The trance slowly faded as she pulled her hand back and began digging through her purse.
"I picked this up the other day, I thought you might be interested. I knew that you weren't in college, so I thought you might like it." She said handing him a brochure.
It was a brochure for the Landon College. Landon College of science and technology. Peter smiled at her, opening the brochure. On the inside cover there was a picture of several students and Dr. Curt Conners. Peter had forgotten all about Conners up until this point. With all the fighting he forgot to bring that up to Hobgoblin. Now his heart began to race again, what if conners was dead?
"I'll look for him tomorrow." Peter mumbled to himself.
"Huh?" M.J. asked.
"I said, maybe we could look tomorrow." Peter answered.
"That sounds good." She said with a smile.
The two ate dinner, sharing the warmth and comfort of each other's company. The night seemed to rush underneath them, before they knew it was nine thirty. Dinner and walking, that's all the two had accomplished on their date. They were so entranced with one another, nothing else mattered. They ate for a while and then decided to take a nice walk down the block, away from the square where the ruckus had emerged earlier. They laughed hard into the night, and when the smell of dusk leaked in, it was time for M.J. to go.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Mary Jane asked, stepping into the cab.
Peter kissed her, hard on the lips. His hands met her sides and hers wrapped around his neck. The two stood like this for several moments, the night seeming to pause and the cab driver began to scream. They broke their kiss laughing and she hopped in the cab once again, speeding off into the night.
Peter stood, his hands in his pockets, watching her cab drive away. His hair whipped from side to side as the wind picked up and he smiled, anxiously waiting to see her again. From behind him, a hand gripped his shoulder, and he turned his spider sense in a panic.
"Hey Parker." It was Paul
Peter sighed in relief rubbing the back of his head and sighed heavily. He chuckled lightly then glancing up at Paul.
"Thank god its you. I thought it was a mugger or something." Peter said.
"Nope just me, Paul. Listen I really have to talk to you." He began.
"Sure what about?" Peter replied.
"Well it's just that I haven't gotten any pictures from you in days, our sales at the Metro are down. I really need something." Paul added.
"Well sure, I mean, I have some pictures from last week that I just got developed. I can probably snag a few shots tomorrow-" peter tried to explain.
"No. I need something fresh! Something direct that no one's ever gotten!" Paul said, his eyes shining mysteriously.
"Okay.." Peter said, rubbing the back of his head.
"What I want is a direct interview with Spiderman." Paul declared.
"Well Paul you see, the thing is.." Peter tried.
"C'mon Parker! If anyone can do it, it's you! You share a special bond with the web slinger!" Paul added
"It's not like that I just.." Peter tried again.
"C'mon I need you to take pictures too, I...I'll pay you eight hundred BUCKS!" Paul screamed.
As he said this, he raised his arms, moving his body back somewhat. The streetlight caught the left side of Paul's face, which was covered in a big bruise. The bruise was near his jaw, and a small cut covered the corner of his mouth. Peter studied it for several seconds.
"Oh man, what happened to your face?" Peter asked changing the subject.
"I was in the city earlier when all hell broke loose. A piece of concrete fell off of that building and clonked me on the head." Paul grumbled, rubbing his jaw.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that." Peter replied placing his hands back in his pockets.
"So you'll do it kid?" Paul said, touching again on the subject.
"Yes." Peter replied.
Paul laughed loudly, and shook Peter's hand before walking off in the opposite direction. Peter grinned watching his boss walk away, and he turned away as well. The walk back to the apartment was a quiet one, peter had lots of thinking to do.
With Peter and Spiderman being put in a tight spot, how can Spidey possibly work this one out? He has to give an interview and take pictures of the interview out of costume! How can he keep his secret from Paul without losing his job? And what of Dr. Curt Conners?! Keep reading to find out! Thanks, please review – Peach man!!
--Peach man
Spiderman Issue #8 – Fallibilities
Wind pushed past several clouds, moving clothes that were draped over lines. Several pigeons caught this breeze and it lifted them up, giving them a huge sight of the city. Peter sat at the main table in the apartment, finishing his bowl of cereal. He had made plans with M.J. again for today; they were going to meet in Times Square for some lunch.
Last night seemed almost like a dream to him, actually getting there on time and getting a greeting unlike any other. He had been surprised when she embraced him, but couldn't get the thought out of his head. A smile spread across his face, as he gazed down into his cereal, still recalling last night's events.
"What are you so happy about?"
Peter turned, seeing Harry stumble down the stairs that led up to their rooms. His shirt was everywhere, and his hair was really messy, like he hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever.
"What are you so grouchy about?" Peter asked.
"Liz." He scowled, taking a seat in front of him.
"Oh? What happened?" Peter asked, trying to sound interested.
"She's kind of flaky. I don't know what her problem was." He snorted, opening the fridge.
Peter sat and thought for several moments, wondering if he should reply. Harry was too self-absorbed to have a girlfriend let alone keep one happy. He finished his bowl of cereal before lifting his head, to see what Harry was doing. He had the paper out and was glancing from the paper toward the TV, trying to find a decent news station.
Finally he settled on channel four, where they claimed to have live coverage of a disturbance in the central New York area. The reporter began to talk quickly, as the crowd was panicking.
"It seems that since 12:30 pm today that the masked vigilante calling himself the hobgoblin has perched atop the Samsung enterprises building and is making many demands." The reporter began. "He threatens to release a wave of bombs down on the streets below and claims he's here to shake up New York. The terrorist's demands are as follows; He wants ten million dollars given to him in an adamantium brief case, he wants...I'm sorry it says here he wants Spiderman."
Peter didn't wait to hear the rest; he was up the stairs and plowing through his closet already, looking desperately for his costume. He could hear Harry calling after him and making his way up the stairs, but he didn't have time for this. He snatched up his mask and shoved it into his pocket, grabbing a brown jacket off of the door and heading out.
He pulled his mask down and over his face before leaping out of the window. Harry entered Peter's room but was too late, the window was open and peter was nowhere in sight. The cool breeze swept through the room, moving Harry's hair around and leaving him with suspicions.
Peter was flying through the air at record speed, his brown jacket flailing in the wind behind him. Thankfully he was moving too fast for anyone to really see him, as he caught air currents, which propelled him higher into the air. This was no time for panic, that madman is perched, just waiting to slaughter these people. And on top of that worry was Mary Jane. She was down there, waiting for peter to meet her at the sunshine café.
"Gotta move spidey, MOVE!" He screamed, back flipping and launching himself through the air.
"Yes, you see how serious I am now, don't you?" The goblin sneered, holding the reporter by the throat.
A helicopter had ventured up to get some more shots of the hobgoblin and had been bombed, the reporter leaped from the helicopter onto the building. Hobgoblin took joy in snatching him up and scaring the life out of him. And now, the helpless correspondent flailed in the air, hundreds of feet above the streets. He clung to the Hobgoblins arm, screaming for his life.
"That's the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear!" He cackled.
The police arrived on the scene and immediately fled, their cars, drawing their weapons. They aimed their guns up towards the hobgoblin and the chief mounted the top of the cruiser. He held up a megaphone, pressed the small button on the side and began to talk.
"Hobgoblin, we have your money!" He yelled.
From atop the Samsung building several birds scattered, frightened by the loud noise. Hobgoblin chuckled deeply, his red eyes glancing toward the reporter.
"Thank your lucky stars." He snarled.
"Oh thank god." The reporter whimpered.
With that, hobgoblin released his hold over the man, letting his body slip and drop down toward the ground below. The man's screams could be heard all throughout New York, the ghastly echo carrying through the streets. His screaming stopped suddenly, as something darted in and snatched him up.
He looked up to see another man, with a red mask over his face, large white eyes examining the city in front of him. It was Spiderman. Spiderman spun another web line and swung them back onto the roof of the Samsung building. He landed suddenly and let the man down, standing in front of the goblin.
"What's the matter? You forget your costume or is the brown jacket your new one?" He scoffed.
"I don't need a costume to take you out Gobby." Spiderman answered.
The two darted at one another, once again entangled in a wave of brutality. Punch after punch, Spiderman was laying it in to the Hobgoblin, knocking him backward toward the edge of the building. Hobgoblin teetered on the edge, letting out a few whimpers of fear.
"What's the matter? Don't like heights?" Spiderman joked.
Hobgoblin glanced toward the edge of the building and back up towards Spiderman, a smile spreading across his face.
"No, just wondering how long it would take for these to land." Hobgoblin retorted, dropping the small pouch he had at his side.
Dozens of pumpkin bombs fell, creating an orange cloud in the sky. Citizens in the streets began to scream and flee in panic, the police tried to calm them down. The bombs were now in mid air and ready for their purpose, Spiderman's spider sense was roaring.
"A-Ha-HA!" Hobgoblin screamed.
Spiderman landed a quick punch in the left side of hobgoblin's jaw and then leaped off the edge of the building, putting his webbing to work. He webbed up several at a time and then pulled them up towards his body, keeping them out of harms way. As he continued down he webbed up any groups of bombs that he saw, and pulled them in. He had about half done when it happened. The nauseous feeling made its triumphant return. Spiderman felt his arms go numb, and the agility fade right out of his body, leaving him vulnerable in thin air. The bombs he caught sat heavily in their webbing, the rest continuously sailed towards the streets, their metallic smiles dancing as they exploded on the concrete.
Several cars toppled over due to the explosion, and streetlights fell over, crushing the hoods of several cars, and even trapping one person under their weight. Spiderman had failed again, and this time people were injured and aware of it. The police immediately began to evacuate the area, and people were fleeing quickly. Spiderman however, still hung in the air, falling towards the ground without any powers whatsoever.
"THIS SUCKS!" he screamed, the collar of his jacket whipping wildly in the wind.
Unexpectedly something swooped in and struck him hard in the ribs, and took him high into the air. His hands were gripped on something metallic and purple, with a spiked middle. Spiderman looked up to see what he had feared most; The Hobgoblin.
"Nice of you to join me on my afternoon flight!" Hobgoblin cackled.
"Shut...Up." Spiderman replied, trying to pull himself onto the glider.
Hobgoblin landed a brutal kick into Spiderman's shoulder, knocking him back down, and causing him to lose any balance he once had. The glider swerved and he groaned, not having his powers made this extraordinarily difficult.
"If you would be so kind to hand up those pumpkin bombs, I have some business to finish." The goblin exclaimed.
"Sorry, can't do that." Spiderman answered, letting go of the glider.
His body fell downward, the air rushing up to greet him as he began his plummet. Hobgoblin was not pleased with this; he turned the glider around and swooped downward, catching Spiderman on the right wing. Spidey looked up, a bit confused and a little surprised.
"You're not getting off that easy." Goblin hissed.
"Thanks." Spiderman replied.
"I'm going to hand deliver these treats to Jameson and you my friend are going to help!" Hobgoblin exclaimed.
'Hm, this actually doesn't disagree with my morals that much.' Spiderman thought. He grit his teeth and began to pull again, trying desperately to get on top of the glider. Hobgoblin didn't notice this time, and Spiderman made a clean sweep at Hobgoblins leg.
As expected, the goblins knee gave in and he fell forward, knocking the glider into a downward position, pitting both costumed combatants towards the streets. Hobgoblin screamed for his life, and so did Spiderman, realizing what he just did. The webbed up pumpkin bombs were once again in the air, and he was powerless to stop it.
"Guess we both lose." Spiderman said, glancing at the goblin.
"I don't think so!" He screamed frantically pushing buttons on the upper part of his glove.
The glider made a quick turn around and began to slow down, right in range to catch them. Hobgoblin began to laugh once again, and so did Spiderman. He felt his strength returning to his body. Quickly, Spiderman landed a kick into the goblins lower half, pushing him just out of the way of the glider. Spiderman secured himself on the glider and the goblin sailed right past it, heading toward the streets below. He breathed heavily, and then looked up to see the bombs still sailing downward; he had forgotten he threw them back up toward the sky. With expertise he webbed them a second time and let them sail past the glider, then pulling them back up toward it and securing them.
"That... was a pain." He said to himself, sitting on the glider.
The bombs were out of harms way, he had saved the city...somewhat. Below in the streets fires had broken out and ambulances were on the scene. Maybe he hadn't exactly won the battle after all. He let out a deep breath, and then glanced at the glider.
It had two appropriate slots for his feet, and the controls didn't seem that complicated. He stood; placing both of his feet into these slots and blinked several times. This was easy. He applied pressure with the front of his foot and made the glider lurch forward, speeding off into the sky. With the right pressure with his heel, the glider came to a stop in the sky.
"Alright, spidey. I knew it didn't take a genius to ride one of these." He said to himself.
"First rule of using a glider for transportation,"
Spiderman glanced behind him to find the Hobgoblin, on an even bigger glider than the one he was riding. It was massive, its wings expanding a good seven or eight feet. Hobgoblin stood on top of it, arms folded and he smirked.
"What now spider? You've got nothing. You don't even know how to use the weapons systems." Hobgoblin said again.
"Uh...uh..." Spiderman stuttered.
In a flash, Spiderman tapped the top of a pumpkin bomb in the web net and tossed the net over to hobgoblin. The net landed neatly on the end of the left wing, and Spiderman webbed it into place. The goblin was in an uproar, trying to fly the glider away.
"Night night gobby." Spiderman joked.
A few feet later the net exploded, the wing of the glider erupting in flames. Hobgoblins screams were muffled and the glider took off in the opposite direction. Spiderman had a good feeling Hobgoblin was going home. He swung himself to a nearby building, landing softly and he removed his mask. He tucked the mask into his back pocket and removed his jacket. He placed the jacket in the corner of the roof and back flipped onto the fire escape.
"Where is he?" Mary Jane asked herself again, for the hundredth time.
It had been almost two hours since she sat down in the café, and Peter was nowhere to be found. They were supposed to meet at one o'clock, and it was now two forty seven. Then again with Spiderman making an appearance and the maniac in the square, traffic was probably backed up.
She sighed again, glancing at her glass of Lemonade, drops of water slowly leaking down the sides of the glass. She dried them with a napkin and placed her drink back on the table. She couldn't stop thinking about the night before, how Peter made everything so special. His only flaw was that he's always late.
She sighed again, checking her watch. Two ten, and nobody was out on the street. The cops cleared most of the people from the streets and told them to seek cover. She thankfully was in he café, and didn't need to move at all. Her cell phone rang, the small melody shaking her out of her daydream. She glanced down at the number and she didn't recognize it. Shrugging, she shoved the phone back into her purse, muting the melodic tune.
"Sorry I'm late!" Peter said, taking the seat in front of her.
Mary Jane smiled a bit; relieved he had made it there on time. She took another sip of her lemonade and then leaned forward brushing the hair out of Peter's face.
"Where were you?" She asked.
"Ran into trouble. The subway was mobbed, there was some masked weirdo flying around." Peter answered.
"As opposed to the one you take pictures of for a living?" She asked, grinning somewhat.
"Quiet you." He said playfully.
She smiled and he leaned forward, their lips pressed lightly and his hand traveled up, moving a few strands of her hair to the side. Peter chuckled a little, kissing her deeply and the two parted, smiling at one another. She blinked, taking a small sip of her lemonade, and dabbing her lips with a napkin. Peter glanced up at her from the café menu smiling widely.
"You're amazing you know that?" He said.
"Thank you." She replied, moving some of her hair back behind her ear.
The two sat and talked for some time, before ordering with their waitress. She brought peter a tall glass of Pepsi and the two talked about their day. Peter told Mary Jane of Harry's misfortune with Liz, and M.J. sympathized for Harry.
"I know how he is, he's too...overbearing." She said, softly.
"Yeah, just a little self absorbed." Peter said, a little angry.
"Well he is taking over Oscorp." M.J. added.
"Kind of a shocker." Peter said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Why's that? Harry always looked up to his father; I knew he'd take over the company." Mary Jane said.
"Harry's so obsessed with Spiderman it's creepy. He blames Spiderman for his dad's death; his pictures are covering Harry's room walls. He's a different person M.J. I mean he gets to inherit this company and I haven't even gone to college yet. His life's been handed to him.." Peter said, trailing off.
His stomach sunk. He felt horrible, he was jealous of Harry. Jealous of his friend who had just lost his father and forced to inherit a multimillion- dollar company. What hurt even more is that if it weren't for Harry peter would still be living with aunt may, which would further complicate things as Spiderman. This was awful, in his attempt to overcome Norman Osborn's death he felt himself liking Harry less and less.
"I'm sorry." Mary Jane said, looking quite meek.
"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that. I'm just stressed I guess." Peter said.
Mary reached across the small table, stroking the side of Peter's face with her fingernails. Peter smiled, his hand draping lightly over hers and they locked eyes. She was stunning; to the point where she brought tears to his eyes each time she smiled. In that instant he had forgotten all about Harry, all about his stressful double life and just lost himself in her. The trance slowly faded as she pulled her hand back and began digging through her purse.
"I picked this up the other day, I thought you might be interested. I knew that you weren't in college, so I thought you might like it." She said handing him a brochure.
It was a brochure for the Landon College. Landon College of science and technology. Peter smiled at her, opening the brochure. On the inside cover there was a picture of several students and Dr. Curt Conners. Peter had forgotten all about Conners up until this point. With all the fighting he forgot to bring that up to Hobgoblin. Now his heart began to race again, what if conners was dead?
"I'll look for him tomorrow." Peter mumbled to himself.
"Huh?" M.J. asked.
"I said, maybe we could look tomorrow." Peter answered.
"That sounds good." She said with a smile.
The two ate dinner, sharing the warmth and comfort of each other's company. The night seemed to rush underneath them, before they knew it was nine thirty. Dinner and walking, that's all the two had accomplished on their date. They were so entranced with one another, nothing else mattered. They ate for a while and then decided to take a nice walk down the block, away from the square where the ruckus had emerged earlier. They laughed hard into the night, and when the smell of dusk leaked in, it was time for M.J. to go.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Mary Jane asked, stepping into the cab.
Peter kissed her, hard on the lips. His hands met her sides and hers wrapped around his neck. The two stood like this for several moments, the night seeming to pause and the cab driver began to scream. They broke their kiss laughing and she hopped in the cab once again, speeding off into the night.
Peter stood, his hands in his pockets, watching her cab drive away. His hair whipped from side to side as the wind picked up and he smiled, anxiously waiting to see her again. From behind him, a hand gripped his shoulder, and he turned his spider sense in a panic.
"Hey Parker." It was Paul
Peter sighed in relief rubbing the back of his head and sighed heavily. He chuckled lightly then glancing up at Paul.
"Thank god its you. I thought it was a mugger or something." Peter said.
"Nope just me, Paul. Listen I really have to talk to you." He began.
"Sure what about?" Peter replied.
"Well it's just that I haven't gotten any pictures from you in days, our sales at the Metro are down. I really need something." Paul added.
"Well sure, I mean, I have some pictures from last week that I just got developed. I can probably snag a few shots tomorrow-" peter tried to explain.
"No. I need something fresh! Something direct that no one's ever gotten!" Paul said, his eyes shining mysteriously.
"Okay.." Peter said, rubbing the back of his head.
"What I want is a direct interview with Spiderman." Paul declared.
"Well Paul you see, the thing is.." Peter tried.
"C'mon Parker! If anyone can do it, it's you! You share a special bond with the web slinger!" Paul added
"It's not like that I just.." Peter tried again.
"C'mon I need you to take pictures too, I...I'll pay you eight hundred BUCKS!" Paul screamed.
As he said this, he raised his arms, moving his body back somewhat. The streetlight caught the left side of Paul's face, which was covered in a big bruise. The bruise was near his jaw, and a small cut covered the corner of his mouth. Peter studied it for several seconds.
"Oh man, what happened to your face?" Peter asked changing the subject.
"I was in the city earlier when all hell broke loose. A piece of concrete fell off of that building and clonked me on the head." Paul grumbled, rubbing his jaw.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that." Peter replied placing his hands back in his pockets.
"So you'll do it kid?" Paul said, touching again on the subject.
"Yes." Peter replied.
Paul laughed loudly, and shook Peter's hand before walking off in the opposite direction. Peter grinned watching his boss walk away, and he turned away as well. The walk back to the apartment was a quiet one, peter had lots of thinking to do.
With Peter and Spiderman being put in a tight spot, how can Spidey possibly work this one out? He has to give an interview and take pictures of the interview out of costume! How can he keep his secret from Paul without losing his job? And what of Dr. Curt Conners?! Keep reading to find out! Thanks, please review – Peach man!!