Ch 6
Everyone was so quiet. The Green Goblin was thought to have been dead; killed by his own glider—or so it had seemed. "Spider-Man, I can't imagine what that monster's put you through," Mr. Fantastic told him. "But you can't jump into rash actions. You need to keep a state of mind that knows the right way to do it." Spider-Man agreed, "I know, but I'm thinking that there is no right way for me anymore. No matter what I do, I always end up a criminal. Maybe if I did it the way I wanted to do instead of the right way, I'd be respected." The Thing placed his massive, stone-like hand on his scrawny shoulder. "Listen, Pal. You won't respect by acting like some bloodthirsty lunatic." He began. "Well, bloodthirsty may be a little harsh…" Spider-Man interjected. "Like I was sayin, respect doesn't come like that. Look at me. People never respected me. They ran from me and screamed when they saw me. It was really a nightmare." "How did you deal with it?" "I didn't for a while. I acted like God hated me. But then my mini-family over here showed me that they respected me, no matter how I looked and that I'm Ben on the inside." "So you just…acted like it didn't bother you?" "After a while, it was cool to be me. I mean, superpowers, come on! How awesome is that?" Spider-Man chuckled along with everyone else. And though he tied to act like it helped him so much that he could invent a cure for cancer, it didn't make much difference. He'd been doing his own thing and hoping people would realize his goodness, but they never fully did.
Spider-Man sighed. Maybe going after them was a bad idea. The Fantastic Four, who'd be been counting on, wouldn't completely agree to help him, that much was clear. Spider-Man headed out of the park once he'd bidden them farewell, and started towards the Daily Bugle offices. Once he was a block away, he quickly changed into Peter Parker and went over to see the construction going on. Boy, he realized now that he did make a mess in there! But, with six evil masterminds on board, too. And Johnny was there, also, so he couldn't be blamed for this entirely.
Peter walked over to J. Jonah Jameson, who was shouting at one of the construction workers. "You hurry it up! I need to get into my building! You can't keep me out here!" Peter Parker laughed and patted Jameson on the back. "Don't worry, J.J. he'll get you in there soon as he's done making sure it's safe." "Safe? Safe! I don't want safe! I want a newspaper out by today, that's what I want!" "Well, there's some good news." Peter laughed. "Yeah, what?" Peter smiled, "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico." Jameson stormed past the 'Do not cross' tape and went to talk to the head of construction, totally ignoring Peter's remark. But Peter smiled and mumbled, "I've always wanted to say that to somebody!" Jameson came back a few moments later and started on about Spider-Man. Peter rolled his eyes, here we go again…
"It's all Spider-Man's fault! Now I can't get into my building! Spider-Man ruined it all, blasted, he probably meant to do it!" "Jameson, I mean, yeah, Spider-Man did most the damage, but there were other people in there, too. Human Torch, Doctor Octopus, and fiver other super-powered--" "Don't give me that! Now, even though we don't have a working area, I'm still handing assignments to everyone! Parker, get some pictures of Spider-Man! Make them good!" "Sure, J.J. I'm not exactly rolling in the dough right now, anyways." Peter Parker strolled down the busy street and headed to his apartment.
Mary-Jane was there already. Peter prayed he hadn't forgotten something as he greeted her. "What's up, M.J.?" He asked her. "Peter, I…" "Please tell me I didn't forget some made-up anniversary again." He laughed as he plopped down next to her on his sofa. She laughed and smiled. "No, Sweetie. I wanted to check up on you, make sure your okay." He sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine," There was silence. "Really," More silence. "It's all good." Mary-Jane through her arms around him. "Oh Peter! I was so worried! I thought you'd gone after those monsters all alone!" "Nah, I tried to get some help first, raffa fraffin, stupid Fantastic Four." "They didn't agree, did they?" "They were against it, yeah." Mary-Jane laughed. "Anyway, I need to take some pictures of myself for Jonah. Sorry I need to drop-kick you outta here." She put her hand up in that peaceful manner and got up from the couch. She walked towards the door, but quickly stole a kiss before she left.
Minutes later…
Spider-Man started swinging high above the city, showing off in front of his secret automatic camera. Flip, webbing, tumble, pose. He figured he needed to make it look as real as possible, that Spider-Man was actually caught and not posing. Yet, the real Spider-Man was a total showoff, so there really was no difference! Spider-Man had finished up a clear, perfect shot when he packed everything up and decided to head to his home before sunset. He skimmed his surroundings on a rooftop to make sure everything was okay. But as he started to make his route home, he saw something that had happened to him when he was in high school; bullying. A young brunette girl with tears dripping down her eyes was being followed by a group of seniors. She was speed walking with her small pink pocketbook bouncing around. Spider-Man watched angrily. He hated bullies. The girl tried to ditch the click behind her by cutting into an alleyway. Perfect, Spider-Man thought. I could help the girl if I need to in this dark alleyway where no one can see me picking on high school girls! Wait…that came out wrong….
The brunette had been cornered by the small group of people. "You owe us money, Hanson." One of the boys said, smacking his fist in that threatening pose. "Leave me alone, Dash!" The girl yelled, trying to protect her bag. His other boys walked forward and smacked the purse right from her hands. They started running for the streets, when Spider-Man took his queue. He fell down from his hiding place and said," One thing I hate more than the sinisterly evil people and the common thieves is a big, dumb, high school jock-slash-bully." Spider-Man yelled. The boys said nothing. Spider-Man rolled his eyes behind his mask. "I used to be bullied in school, too. So taking out that anger on you will be fun!" The boys threw the purse at him and started running away like little girls. He laughed. "That's one way to do it."
Spider-Man walked over to the girl, who was now huddled in a corner. She seemed very scared. "Ta-da! I present to you, your purse!" She looked up at him, with a small tear running down her face. "Don't worry, they're gone." Spider-Man told her, kneeling down, too. "Please, take my money! Just don't hurt me." The teenager sobbed. "No, no, look, I got your purse back." The girl looked confused. "I don't understand. Why won't you leave me alone? You have my money!" Spider-Man stood up with the pocketbook in his hand. "Great! F#&ing wonderful!" He cursed. "Another person who thinks I'm gonna mug them!" The girl stood up now and walked over to him. "I'm sorry. I've never met a super hero before. I guess I'm a little scared," Spider-Man handed her the pink bag. She smiled. "Thank you, Spider-Man. How can I repay you for helping me?" Oh, he thought. First, she's scared shitless, now she wants to repay me! Typical! "Well, maybe next time you see me don't scream and run away." He bent down his two fingers to make the famous hand motion of spinning a thick, gooey web. Before long, he was out of sight. "I am so sick of people hating me." Spider-Man moaned to himself as he saw the oh-too-familiar building that was his destination. He landed on top of the Daily Bugle. He quickly changed into Peter Parker and headed to the red room inside. Peter greeted his co-workers, though he was only a freelancer, and entered the red room near the closet. He took out his film from the camera and set it in place. Now, all he had to do was wait. He heard Jameson screaming on and on about the usual Spider-Man chickens out and hides in a forest. Peter laughed as his pictures appeared and he placed them on the hanging rack. Once they'd dried, he put them in a folder and headed out to the halls.
He was instantly greeted, "Parker! Where the hell have you been? Where's my photos?" "Nice to see you. J.J.! How's life?" Jameson grunted and dragged Peter into his office and slammed the door behind him. He then took the folder right out of Peter's hand and pulled it open to look. "What's this crap?" Jameson cursed. "The photos that will sell you your stinking paper! Jesus, will you ever admit my pics are great and just leave the flaws alone?" Jameson starred down Peter. He was furious he couldn't fire the freelancer right on the spot, but Peter felt on top of the world that he held a power over J.J.J.
"Alright! I'll use 'em!" Jameson pouted as he scribbled a check out for him. "Here! The standard freelance fee! Now, shoo, and don't spend it all in one place!" "Why, thank you for your concern over my budget, J.J.! See 'ya 'round!" Peter laughed as he marched out of the steaming man's office. As he held the check in his hand, Betty Brant spied him and ran over. "Hey, Pete! What's up?" "Just pushing old man Jameson's buttons and getting paid, other than that, just chilling." She laughed as he headed out for the bathroom. Peter made sure no one was coming in, and he changed into his trademark tights. He made his way up the wall through the air vent he used so often, and climbed through it to the roof. He thought of how far he'd come from his geeky self back in high school.
Once he reached the fresh air at the end of the air vent, he breathed in deep and sighed even deeper. Spider-Man spun a web line and swung off to nowhere in particular. "If I go crazy, then will you still call me super-man?" He sang to himself as he switched arms. He laughed at himself for being such a dork when he heard a blast from behind him. His jaw dropped in awe under his mask. He couldn't move, it was like he was numb from the shock. It was him! And the others! Together! Spider-Man's spine chilled as that maniacal laughter filled the air. That laughter. It was true, and it wasn't someone posing. The Green Goblin really did live. And, to top it all off, he'd teamed up with the Sinister Six.
"Long time no see, Spider-Man!" He laughed. Spider-Man just swayed there, holding on to his web line. "Before you die, there's one thing I want to say to you," Spider-Man was too awe-stricken to speak or lash out with a funny comeback. All he managed to do was gulp. The Green Goblin smiled, showing that bright white, evil smile. He opened his mouth, saying one word that hit Spider-Man the hardest, "Gotcha!"