"Hey. You're late," Alexia said as Devon got out of his car.
"I guess that makes us even," he responded jokingly. "I stopped by the movie theatre on the way here. Nothing but bad teen horror movies and the latest Adam Sandler flick. Probably not your thing, right?
"Right. So, what should we do?"
"I thought we could go for lunch and then go rock climbing over at this sports centre I go to sometimes."
Alexia smiled and resisted the urge to laugh. 'Sure, why not? Of course, I'll definitely have an edge on him...', she thought.
"Well, I'm not exactly dressed for it," she said, gesturing to her dark jeans and high-heeled boots."I'm going to go change. I'll be right back."
She sprinted up the stairs to her room. After changing into black sweatpants and sneakers, she grabbed her carry-all bag, which contained her costume. It never hurt to be careful.
"How do you manage to look so good in sweats," Devon asked as she came back out, then looked a little embarrassed at what he'd said. Alexia chuckled.
"It's a gift."
They got in Devon's car and drove to the cafe next to the sports centre, and bought their lunch. They sat down at a table and talked about school, politics, anything except how and why they had met.
"You know, this place has some great martial arts classes. I'm betting you're into that kind of thing," Devon commented.
"Not really," Alexia responded. Devon's eyebrows raised.
"You're not?"
'Careful. This guy's a reporter', Alexia thought.
"Well, I took this modern self-defense course back in L.A. I can't pronounce the name," she said. Devon nodded.
They finished their lunch and went next door to the sports centre. They were shown how to strap themselves into their harnesses, then approached the wall. Alexia was careful not to look too skillful or get too far ahead of Devon. At one point, Devon slipped on a foothold, and Alexia grabbed his hand to keep him from falling. They both laughed at his clumsiness.
"How many times have you done this," Devon asked.
"A few times," Alexia said. It was partly true; she rarely used her wall-climbing ability. It still felt a bit creepy.
When they were both done and had returned the equipment, Devon asked,"Want to go for a walk? Central Park is only a few blocks away."
"Sure," Alexia said.
As they left the building and started walking toward the park, Devon offered his hand to Alexia. She laughed and took it. It felt so nice being with him. She liked him. She really did. 'Could it work between us?', Alexia thought.
She wanted to think so, but there were so many secrets between them. Every time he mentioned his job, his family, or his past, she would have to lie, and he didn't deserve that. She wanted to be truthful with him, but doing so would put lives in danger. Peters. MJ's. Her own. Maybe one day, when she absolutely knew thatshe could trust him-
Alexia's spider-sense went off suddenly. Without even thinking, she pulled Devon into an ally.
"What is it," he asked.
Alexia was spared the need to answer him as a man followed them into the ally. He looked a bit menacing, and slightly drunk. He pulled a knife from his pocket and pointed it at Devon.
"Gimme your wallet," he said. Before Devon could respond, Alexia stepped in front of him. In one fluid motion, she kicked the knife out of the man's hand and kicked him in the face. Unsurprisingly, he retaliated by trying to punch her. She simply moved her head out of the way, perhaps a little too quickly, and hit him in the face. He fell to the ground, his nose bleeding. Alexia gave him an icy glare, and he scrambled to his feet, afraid, and ran out of the ally.
"That must have been one hell of a self-defense course," Devon said in an awed but suspicious tone.
"I still practice sometimes. This is a dangerous city," Alexia replied.
If Devon didn't believe her, he didn't say anything. They went for their walk, but mostly remained silent, thinking about questions that they would never ask each other. Finally, they headed back to Devon's car and drove to Alexia's apartment. They both got out of the car to say goodbye. Devon was reflective for a moment, hesitating.
"Alexia, I really like you. I had a lot of fun today. Well, except for the almost getting mugged part," Devon added. They both laughed at this.
"I'd like to keep seeing you. I really feel that there's something between us. Is there?"
Alexia nodded.
"I like you, too, Devon," she said. Devon smiled and took her hands, his eyes asking a silent question. They drew closer until their lips touched, and they kissed. They pulled away slowly, both of them smiling.
"So I'll call you tomorrow," Devon asked.
As Alexia answered "Yes", she saw Peter coming down the street. When their eyes met, Peter turned and jay-walked across the street, careful to stay out of Devon's sight. Alexia wondered why.
"Goodbye," Devon said.
"'Bye," she responded. Devon got into his car and drove away.
After the car had turned the corner, Peter walked back across the street toward her. He seemed different. Stressed. Tired. Almost angry. He looked afraid.
"A Bugle reporter. You're dating a Bugle reporter. Why," he asked.
"It's not...," Alexia sighed. "He tracked me down for an interview about the train. At first, I refused, thinking that he'd twist my words. But then he mentioned that he had a personal connection to what happned. I believed him. He asked me out to dinner for the interview. I went, but I didn't tell him anything about seeing you. Then he asked me a question… that I didn't want to answer. He told me why he'd asked it. Peter, his uncle was at the Quest Aerospace compound when the Green Goblin blew it up. The only reason he took this job was to try and figureout who the Green Goblin was and make him pay for what he did.
"He... he thinks that it's possible that he's still alive. From what he's learned, he knows that you wouldn't have killed him. He's chasing after a ghost, Peter. But I really like Devon, and it hurts for me to lie to him. Right now... I want it to work out. I want to keep seeing him. I don't know if I can, but I'm going to try."
"So, you're dating a Bugle reporter, and you didn't tell him anything," Peter asked.
"Peter, if I had, you'd surely know about it by now," Alexia pointed out. Something else was bothering Peter, she knew. She could read him like a book. Peter nodded.
"Peter, what is it? There's something else bothering you, I can tell."
"Okay. I guess it doesn't really matter if I tell you now. Lets go upstairs first," Peter said.
His distrust hurt her just as much as lying to Devon did, but there was nothing she could do about it. She followed him upstairs, and after checking to make sure that Mr. Ditkovich and his daughter weren't home, Peter told her what was on his mind.
"Someone from my old high-school went on a rampage. He... I don't know how exactly, but he's able to control electricity, and use it. He was in Times Square a few hours ago, blowing up cars. I tried to stop him. He blasted me into a building and came after me. I tried to avoid him, but one of the bolts hit my face, and set my mask on fire. I had to take it off. He recognized me, and told me that his girlfriend knew MJ, and knew where she lived. He told me to find Spider-Woman, so he could 'pay her back' for taking his girlfriend. He said he'd kill MJ if I didn't find her."
Alexia covered her mouth. Max. 'Oh, . How did this happen?', she thought. But then her eyes hardened as Peter continued.
"I have to find Spider-Woman, but I have no idea how. I'll never get to her in time. How am I supposed to find her," Peter asked hopelessly.
Alexia looked down, then directly at Peter as she pulled something out of her purse.
"You don't have to," she half-whispered, holding up a card with a Black Widow spider on it.
Watching Peter's expression turn to shock and disbelief, she added,"If it's Spider-Woman he wants, it's Spider-Woman he'll get."