Chapter 4
The beginning of a new week meant one thing for Peter, a successful weekend of crime fighting. It wasn't all that bad. But it was the same old same old, a few burglaries, muggings and a high-speed car chase. Just a typical few days in one of the most exciting cities in the entire world. Not all of the weekend was full of fighting crime, Peter was able to get some schoolwork done and be able to spend some quality time with Mary Jane. There was one thing that was bothering Peter. At a few of the places where he was stopping a crime he had the funny feeling that he was being watched. When he stopped there was no longer a danger present at the scene of the crime he did feel a low buzz from his spider sense. A quick look around and his spider sense stopped tingling. Peter hadn't told Mary Jane about it but if it continued he would so that they could figure this out. With that decided Peter continued to get ready for class.
Time for his first class of the day was fast approaching. Peter knew that Mary Jane had class today as well, so he thought that he would take her to ESU the quickest way he knew how. He picked up the phone and called Mary Jane. Peter told her to meet him on the roof of their apartment building in five minutes.
After Peter's phone call, Mary Jane finished getting herself ready and made her way to the roof. She looked around but there was no sign of Peter.
"Peter," Mary Jane called out. "Where are you?"
"Right here," said Peter as he landed right behind Mary Jane.
"Geez Peter. Don't do that," Mary Jane said. "Why are you dressed as Spider-Man?"
"Well, I thought that since we both had class this morning we could go to ESU together and the quickest way to do that is by Spider-Man Express."
"How can I refuse that," Mary Jane said as she approached Peter and pulled up his mask to give him a nice, quick kiss.
"What was that for?" Peter asked.
"Just for being you."
"Thanks, MJ." Peter said while pulling his mask back down. "Climb onto my back and hold on tight. Also keep your seat belt fastened at all times and enjoy the ride."
Peter adjusted is backpack so that Mary Jane could get on his back and then they were off.
Like always Mary Jane enjoyed the ride she shared with Peter. Swinging through the streets of New York was such a rush for her and she learned from Peter that he felt the same way. In no time at all they were at ESU. They stopped a few blocks away so that Peter could put on his regular clothes over his costume. Since Peter was so used to changing quickly it took him no time at all to change. Then he and Mary Jane continued to walk to ESU holding hands.
Once they made it to campus they gave each other a quick kiss and headed to their respective classes promising each other that they would meet up again later.
Two hours laterPeter's first class of the day went fairly well. Having Dr. Connors again was okay as far as Peter was concerned. Connors was a great teacher and he really knew his stuff. Plus it wasn't difficult to keep up in his class this time. Ever since he was able to balance his life with being Spider-Man, Peter was able to get everything that he had to do completed on time for a change. But there was the occasion that he would lapse to his old self but it wasn't often.
Peter's next class was Japanese History. It was something different for him to take but he welcomed the challenge. When he got to class there wasn't a lot of people there yet so he waited patiently for class to start. A few minutes later his spider sense started to tingle and a pair of hands covered his face.
"Guess who?" the stranger announced.
Peter knew who it was but he played along, "Betty, is that you? You know if Mary Jane ever knew about…"
"Peter Parker!" exclaimed Mary Jane while swatting Peter in the arm.
"Sorry MJ, I couldn't resist. I knew it was you all the time. So what brings you here?"
"Well, I wanted to surprise you. I'm taking this class too."
"Now that's a pleasant surprise. Now we'll have at least one class together." Peter said as he pulled out a chair next to him for Mary Jane.
Then the class started to fill up. Peter then noticed Elektra walking into class with someone he thought was the professor. As he watched them come in, his spider sense began to go off.
"What's the matter Tiger?" Mary Jane asked Peter.
"My spider sense is going off," Peter whispered to Mary Jane.
"Any reason why?"
"None that I can think of. You know that it goes off when someone comes near me," Peter said and Mary Jane nodded, "This was a little stronger than that."
"Was it stronger when I tried to surprise you earlier?"
"Yeah. The thing is I wonder why. Well, I guess this is something to think about."
"You'll figure it out, Pete."
Peter was about to answer her when the professor spoke.
"Good morning, everyone," the professor began, "I'm Professor Keiko Ling and welcome to Japanese History. While the course outline is being passed out, I'll go over what we will cover in this course." Professor Ling then explained what was being covered and then came to a very interesting part of the course. "There will be something new in this class that has never been done before. We will also learn a little about martial arts. Just to let you know it will not be a martial arts class. It will be more of a demonstration with class participation. When we reach that part of the course, I'll let my teaching assistant to cover that. And speaking of which I would like to introduce you to Elektra Natchios who will be my TA."
"Good morning," Elektra said to the class.
"Now with that taken care of, lets get class started," Professor Ling said and class began.
Once class came to an end both Peter and Mary Jane were glad that they were taking this class because it was really interesting. As they were making their way out of class Elektra approached them from behind.
"Peter," said Elektra.
Peter and Mary Jane turned around to see Elektra.
"Ms. Natchios, good to see you again." Peter said.
"Nice to see you too. So, what did you think of class today?"
"It was very interesting even though it was the first day. Japanese History sounds like a fun course."
"Who's your friend?"
"This is my girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson."
"Nice to meet you, Mary Jane," Elektra said shaking hands with Mary Jane, "and please call me Elektra."
They then continued out of the class and continued with their conversation as they made their way to the student union. The three of them continued discussing the class.
"So, who will be showing us the martial arts part of the course?" Mary Jane asked Elektra.
"That would be me," Elektra responded.
"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been practicing martial arts Elektra?" Peter asked.
"Since I was a little girl. My father got me interested in it and I have been studying martial arts ever since. Plus it is a great way to stay in shape."
They all laughed at that. Peter knew that all too well. Being bit by a genetically altered spider did wonders for his physique and so did traipsing around the city as Spider-Man.
"Ladies, it's been fun, but I've got to go. See you in class Elektra. See you later, MJ." Peter said, giving Mary Jane a kiss before he left.
"Where's Peter off to?" Elektra asked.
"He has a job at Stark Enterprises. It's part of a work study program from the college and if he is not working there he's freelancing for the Daily Bugle as a photographer," Mary Jane answered.
"What kinds of pictures does he take for the Daily Bugle?"
"Peter takes whatever they need but mostly he takes pictures of Spider-Man."
"So, he's the one that takes pictures of Spider-Man."
"Yep. Peter is definitely one busy guy."
"How does he do all that and have time to spend with you, Mary Jane? If you don't mind me asking."
"Well, we make time for each other. Going to school together helps. The thing that really helps is that we have known each other for a long time. We both understand that both of our lives can get complicated but we're there for each other. Everything works out in the end. Plus I couldn't be happier with anyone else."
"That's great, Mary Jane. It's been nice talking to you, but now it's my turn to go. See you in class, Mary Jane."
"Yep, see you later, Elektra."
They then went their separate ways. As Elektra was leaving campus she now understood what Peter's connection to Spider-Man was. She had learned a lot about Peter by talking to Mary Jane. Elektra was lucky enough to have seen Spider-Man on a few occasions and was able to follow him a bit. Elektra continued on her way thinking about both Peter and Mary Jane. They are good people who make a wonderful couple especially after what Mary Jane said. She hoped that neither one of them got in the way when she had to complete her job.
"What a beautiful day for web swinging," Spider-Man said while swinging through the concrete jungle that was NYC. Peter was making his way home from Stark Enterprises after another good day of working there. He decided to go home as Spider-Man because it was that fastest way to get home and to patrol the city now instead of later.
As he continued through the city, Spider-Man felt his spider sense go off and changed his direction to see what was making it go off. He made his way to an alley where he could see that a mugging was taking place. "A web slinger's work is never done," Spider-Man said as he quietly made his way to the alley.
The mugger was working over his victim pretty good until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was shocked to see whom it was.
"Pardon me, but do you know that it's not nice to steal?" Spider-Man asked as he was hanging upside down on a web.
The mugger then pushed his victim off to the side and lunged at Spider-Man saying, "I'll teach you what's nice you wall crawling weasel."
Spider-Man was more than able to avoid the attack of the mugger. His spider sense really started going off when the mugger pulled out a knife.
"You know it's not nice to play with knives," Spider-Man said as he shot a strand of webbing at the knife and pulled it free from the mugger's hand.
The mugger wasn't done yet, he then pulled out a gun a fired a couple of rounds at Spider-Man.
"When will they ever learn," Spider-Man said to himself.
As he did with the knife, Spider-Man fired a web at the gun and yanked it out of the mugger's hand. Then he shot a couple more webs out and pulled the mugger toward him. The last thing the mugger saw was Spider-Man's fist fast approaching his face and then nothing but blackness.
Spider-Man proceeded to web up the mugger and plastered him up on the alley wall. He then did the same thing to the weapons that the mugger used. Spider-Man went to check on the victim to see if she was still around. She was slowly getting up and was surprised when Spider-Man gave her a helping hand.
"Are you ok, Miss?" Spider-Man asked.
"I'm fine thanks to you," she replied.
"Good. Now if it isn't any trouble, could you call the cops about our friend over there? He should be stuck up there for an hour or so."
"No problem, Spider-Man."
"Now since that's taken care of, I guess I'll see what other trouble I can get myself into," Spider-Man said as he began climbing up the wall of the alley.
"Take care, Spider-Man and thanks again," the lady said.
Spider-Man gave her a quick wave and was off again.
Unbeknownst to Spider-Man he was being watched. Elektra was able to spot Spider-Man before he made it to the alley. From a safe distance away she was able to see him enter and after a short while exit the alley. She couldn't see what he did because the alley was dark. Then something unexpected happened. Spider-Man started swinging his way towards her. Elektra moved like lightning so that she wouldn't be discovered.
"That was close," Elektra said to herself as Spider-Man passed her by. "He sure is quick and agile. I wonder how he shoots those webs? I guess I'll call it a day." Elektra packed up her gear and headed home.
As with Spider-Man, Elektra was being watched as well. Matsuo and Takashi had been following Elektra ever since she had left the university. The two of them watched her pack up her things and leave. Matsuo took out his cell phone and dialed the number to check in with Roshi. It wasn't long before the call went through.
"Status," Roshi asked.
"We've been following Elektra all day, sir. It appears that she has a job at a university here because that is where we saw her go to this morning," Matsuo answered.
"Is there anything else you wish to report?"
"It appears that she has an interest in the vigilante known as Spider-Man. We spotted her tailing him."
"Very interesting. The exploits of this Spider-Man have traveled all the way over here. It would be interesting to have him join the Hand."
"What do you want us to do, sir?"
"Keep an eye on Elektra as well as Spider-Man. Find out as much as you can on him. When the time is right, make an offer for him to join the Hand."
"What if he refuses?" Matsuo asked.
"Then eliminate him along with Elektra," Roshi answered.
"Ok. We'll keep you updated on our progress."
"Good." Roshi said and hung up.
"What did the boss say?" Takashi asked Matsuo.
"We keep doing what we have been doing. Also we look into this Spider-Man character and make him an offer to join the Hand," answered Matsuo.
"And if he refuses?"
"His fate will be the same as Elektra's."
With that they left to go do some research on Spider-Man and to prepare to make him an offer that they hoped he wouldn't refuse.
AN: Now things are starting to take shape especially since Elektra will be able to keep an eye on Peter at ESU. The Hand is about ready to make their move against Elektra and have a keen interest in Spider-Man. What will happen when they all cross paths? You just have to keep reading to find out. A special thank you goes out to Jenn1 and Georgia Kennedy for their reviews of the previous chapter. If you haven't already, check out Twin Demons by Georgia Kennedy, it's a great story and I highly recommend it. Don't forget to review.