Volume II: The Bluebird
Note: This will be the twenty-first chapter of Volume II, Sally Avril will be making her first appearance as an amateur vigilante known as Bluebird, she uses her new double life to fight off crime and gaining reputation for her actions. But she will soon cross paths with Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider who believe that she is in way over her head in this misguided quest in following their footsteps, she will bring her friend Jason Ionello as her confidant as he records her performance as Bluebird. Man Mountain Marko will play a villain as he becomes the acting boss of the Manfredi Crime Family. Meanwhile Prom Night is coming to Midtown High as everyone is getting ready for the night of their lives as teenagers, Flash Thompson will ask Mary Jane to be his date for prom.
... Also, Happy 60th anniversary, Spider-Man.
Tonight is May 2nd, at an abandoned theater in Queens, a man with a bulky muscular figure is sparring against four men on the mat practicing his fighting style, he push kick the man in front and then does the spinning back fist to the man charging at him, a couple of men came charging in for an attack, he then jumps up for a helicopter kick and effectively took the two out with ease, he stands victorious as many have fallen before his skills. He finished sparring for the night, he walked over to the table nearby and grabs a bottle of water, he drinks and waters his face, he then grabs the towel and started to wipe off the sweat he build up.
"Boss, it's Silvermane. He's waiting for you."
This man finished wiping off the sweat and tossed away the towel as he walked over to his desk and access his laptop computer, the image of Silvermane and Hammerhead shows up on the screen, they're both far away in a country evading Interpol.
"Man Mountain Marko, long time!" Hammerhead greeted Man Mountain Marko.
"Hammerhead, boss, what a surprise. Never thought I'd hear from you again, it's been months since you two skipped town." Man Mountain Marko speaking to his bosses.
"Good thing we left you in charge of the crime family in our absence. How are things at home?" Silvermane asking about the status of the crime family.
"We're staying under the radar, keeping our operations secret, avoided attracting any attention to ourselves. Don't worry, everything is under control." Man Mountain Marko assured his bosses.
"Good, cause I'd rather not return home to find out that we lost everything we worked so hard to build. I still plan to get back all of New York City one day, and destroy those heroes responsible for all our misfortunes, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider." Silvermane still holds a vendetta against the heroes.
"Not to worry, if those two come knocking on our door, I have a surprise waiting for them." Man Mountain Marko isn't afraid of them.
"Use caution, these heroes aren't to be underestimated." Hammerhead cautioned Man Mountain Marko.
The live chat of Silvermane and Hammerhead got cut off as Man Mountain Marko opens his desk drawer and pulls out a small box, inside the box contains injectors filled with an unknown type of steroids he plans to use for himself against the spiders. Man Mountain Marko is a acting head of the Manfredi Crime Family in New York City, he is responsible for keeping the crime family intact during Silvermane's absences.
Later at the same night somewhere in Queens, a van pulled up to an alleyway as two gangbangers are meeting up with members of the Manfredi Crime Family who are armed to the teeth. Unknown to any of them, they're being watch by two unknown individuals.
"You're late!"
"Sorry, had to drive around the neighborhood a few times, avoiding any unwanted attention."
"What did you both bring?"
The gangbangers came around to the back of the van, they opened up the back to show them a few UHD TVs, some Blu Ray Players, video game consoles, laptop computers, and brand new smartphones all their packages.
"Whoa! Where did you get theses?"
"Jersey, got these from a cargo container, can't exactly steal shit around New York City these days. But we're here to fence these stolen items, should be worth about 1.3 million."
A flash bang was tossed onto the ground as it flash a bright light and made a loud ringing sound on all the criminals here. Everyone is temporary blinded and deafened as some blonde girl wearing a blue and black costume came out of hiding and wielding a bo staff as she does her work in swing it hard at all the bad guys who are too stunned by the flash bang. A person in a hoodie is hidden nearby as he is filming all the action happening right now. She's effectively taking them all down without difficulty using her skills in Karate and Gymnastics to fight. Even though the thugs are all armed, she's getting the best of them, the guy nearby has got it all on video. She finished off the last one as she stands over the defeated thugs victorious, one of the thugs looked up to see a girl in a costume.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Bluebird." Bluebird introduced herself.
She then kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold as the guy came out of hiding, she looked at the guy, he is Jason Ionello, a teenager and student of Midtown High. She walked up to the guy holding the phone with the footage.
"How'd did I do?" Bluebird asking the guy.
"Perfect! Got it all on video!" Jason Ionello gave Bluebird the thumbs up.
"And this is just the beginning." Bluebird smiles with confidence.
Bluebird and Jason heard sirens coming in as they take their leave before the cops show up. The police cars came to the scene but the two are already gone as cops came out of the cars to see all the thugs on the ground defeated, they're all very confused as to who had done all this
"What the?"
"Who did all this?"
"Doesn't matter, they're all criminals with stolen merchandise. Take them in!"
The cops all rounded up the criminals for stealing and fencing stolen merchandise, nobody knew who or what intervened, but this clearly wasn't Spider-Man nor Ghost-Spider.
The next morning at Midtown High, Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane, and Harry are all attending school as some of the students are setting up for junior prom night, the speakers are announcing to the entire school.
"Attention Midtown High, Prom night is only a couple days away, get your tickets ready and have them before Friday night, it will be the night of your lives for all you Juniors!"
"Wow, just two days before our junior prom, I assume you're both going together, right?" Harry figured Peter and Gwen are going together.
"But of course, I've already got the tickets saved up. All we need is something to wear and we're all set." Peter already has the tickets for him and Gwen.
"You're so sweet, Pete. I'll be heading into the city to pick out my dress." Gwen told Peter.
"Mind if I tag along?" Mary Jane asking Gwen.
"You got a date too?" Gwen is curious.
"Not yet." Mary Jane told Gwen.
"Honestly MJ, a lot of boys here are itching to ask out the hottest girl in school. I thought by now someone would've asked you." Harry says to Mary Jane.
"Hey, why don't you ask Flash?" Peter suggested to Mary Jane.
"Flash? You're kidding, right?" Mary Jane says to Peter.
"Why would I kid? We've seen how close you two are lately." Peter noticed Mary Jane's closeness to Flash.
"Yeah, I'd doubt that he'd turn you down." Harry says to Mary Jane.
"Go ahead, take a chance. Don't miss out on prom." Gwen encouraged Mary Jane.
Mary Jane rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine, I'll ask him."
"Great, if he says yes, then let's head into the city together for our dresses." Gwen told Mary Jane.
"It's a deal." Mary Jane agrees with Gwen.
"What about you, Harry? Got anyone special?" Peter asking Harry.
"Nah, but it's only a matter of time, who could deny a chance of going out with the rich boy?" Harry is being confident in his status.
"Okay, good luck with that, Richie Rich!" Peter teased Harry.
"That ain't funny!" Harry replied back to Peter.
"Yeah, it is!" Peter says to Harry.
Harry smiled as he walked down the hallway to find a date for Junior Prom, Peter and Gwen are already going together, Mary Jane on the other hand watched as Flash is walking with the varsity team, she wants the chance to ask him out to prom. But her train of thoughts got interrupted as she received a video link on her phone, as did Peter and Gwen, but they see that everyone at the school all received the same thing.
"What is this?" Mary Jane asking her friends.
"I don't know." Peter is confused.
"Let's find out." Gwen told her friends.
Mary Jane played the video on her phone to see a footage of Bluebird fighting off the bad guys with only a bo staff and her hand to hand combat skills, Peter and Gwen are surprised to see a new vigilante fighting crime recently, everyone at school is watching the footage as she stands in front of a defeated thug.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Bluebird." Bluebird then kicked the thug and knocked him out cold.
"Bluebird?" Gwen is confused.
"Who is Bluebird?" Mary Jane is curious.
Peter and Gwen are curious as to who this Bluebird is, they've never of her, whoever she is, they must find her.
At the Manfredi hideout, Man Mountain Marko slams his fist down in anger after he received news about a new vigilante who just took down his men last night and disrupted his business, a lot of the thugs here are scared when he gets angry.
"How is it that one girl managed to take down our men armed with guns with just a bo staff?!" Man Mountain Marko demanded answer.
"We don't know, boss. She just took our men by surprise and took 'em all down by herself. The cops already have them in custody and seized all the goods, about 1.3 millions worth of stolen goods."
"Damnit! This is not good, we were suppose to stay under the radar, and now the cops have a few of our men in custody!" Man Mountain Marko is troubled by recent events.
"Are you worried about the cops or Spider-Man?"
"The cops don't bother me, as for Spider-Man, if I ever see him against, I'll be ready." Man Mountain Marko isn't afraid.
"What do you mean by that, boss?"
"You want to know? Fine, I'll show you." Man Mountain Marko will gladly demonstrate.
Man Mountain Marko pulled out a syringe as he then injects a new steroid into his body, he then began to feel the effects happening, his strength has been increased to superhuman, making him more stronger than the average human or any human on regular enhancement. Every thug sees Man Mountain Marko getting stronger than ever right before their eyes as his muscle are bigger than before.
"Like it, courtesy of these new experimental steroids, much more powerful than any ever created, but the effects are only temporary. You asked what I'll do to Spider-Man? This is what I'll do!" Man Mountain Marko told his men.
Man Mountain Marko then tossed a strong punch on one of his men as he got hit very hard and sent flying towards the wall with so much force, he took the impact and died out right in front of them as they all looked in horror and fear what Man Mountain Marko is capable of.
"Did you all the picture now? If you guys fail me again, then your fates will be the same as his, understood?" Man Mountain Marko threatening his men.
All of his men nodded their heads as they realized what could happen if they screw up their jobs.
"Good, now clean up this mess." Man Mountain Marko then walked away.
Some of them started to walk over to the corpse that took the full force of Man Mountain Marko's new strength, he is now powerful enough to face Spider-Man on equal terms of raw strength.
Back at Midtown High, Mary Jane is at the football field watching Flash Thompson practicing with his teammates as Liz with the cheerleading squad are practicing their routines, including a black haired girl named Sally Avril. Flash finished practice as he turns to see Mary Jane at the seating view, he walked out of the field still wearing his gear.
"Hey MJ, came to see me practice?" Flash says to Mary Jane.
"That, and I was hoping we can talk. If you're not too busy." Mary Jane is wondering.
"Nah, I got time to spare. I'm already finished practice anyway. So what's up?!" Flash is sitting next to Mary Jane.
"How are things with your family? Ever since you know..." Mary Jane is hesitant to finish her sentence.
"We're getting by, it's been awhile since we had any peace at home." Flash told Mary Jane.
"Have you heard from him? Your dad?" Mary Jane is curious.
"He called my mom last week, he's staying with a friend in the city, he's been going to counseling, attending AA meetings, but me and Jessie haven't seen him lately, don't know if he even wants to see us." Flash explained about his father.
"Well, it's good that he's seeking professional help, maybe it's finally gotten to him." Mary Jane says to Flash.
"I hope so... But I take it that's not the only reason you wanted to see me." Flash could tell there's something else Mary Jane wants from him.
"Yeah, but it's not a big deal." Mary Jane is hesitant to ask him.
"Come on, you came all this way to see me. So level with me?" Flash wants to know.
"Okay, prom is about couple days away, and I this is going to sound embarrassing, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me, as my date?" Mary Jane worked up the courage to ask Flash to prom.
"Oh? Well..." Flash is hesitant to give her an answer.
"If you're not up to it, it's okay. Like I said, it's no big deal. Sorry if I asked." Mary Jane then walks away from Flash.
Flash watched as she continues walking away as he can't deny that there's something between him and MJ that goes beyond simple friendship.
"MJ, wait!" Flash calling out to Mary Jane.
Mary Jane stops and turns to look back at Flash Thompson.
"Actually, I would be honor to take you out to prom, Mary Jane." Flash accepts being Mary Jane's date to prom.
Mary Jane smiled. "Great!"
Flash smiled back. "Great! Pick you up Friday night at your house?"
"Sure, see you soon." Mary Jane told Flash.
Mary Jane then walks away as Flash is happy that he's finally going to prom with Mary Jane Watson. In the past, they never bonded much due to his bullying nature and he thinking him as a jerk, but now things changed between them as they discovered they have so much in common.
Meanwhile, Sally Avril is still practicing as she spotted her friend Jason Ionello on the seating view watching the cheerleaders practicing, Liz is still leading the squad as they've done their final performances together.
"Well done, that'll be enough practice for the day! See you all tomorrow!" Liz tells the cheerleading squad they're done for the day.
Sally Avril left the squad and walked over to her friend Jason on the seating view.
"Wow Sally, you sure know how to bring it on." Jason Ionello complement Sally's performance.
"Cute, so how did it go?" Sally is curious.
"Everyone at school has got the footage, and don't worry, as a computer whiz I've covered my tracks, no one can trace it to us." Jason Ionello told Sally.
"Thanks Jason, what would I do without you." Sally thanked Jason for all his help.
"So you plan to go out again later?" Jason is curious.
"You know me, Jason. Once I have my mind on something, nothing is going to stop me. Come on, let's get ready to tonight." Sally is walking down the view.
Jason watched his friend Sally all confided and fearless as he can't help but feel something for her as more than just a friend, but he'll follow her through everything.
At the 13th precinct in the city, George Stacy and Yuri Watanabe are finished interrogating the suspects brought in from Queens last night, they walked out of the interrogation room after they've heard of this new vigilante calling herself Bluebird.
"So there's another vigilante in town? This city really attracts all sorts of crazy." Yuri Watanabe told George Stacy.
Yuri Watanabe walks away as George Stacy got a text on his phone, it's from Spider-Man telling him to meet up here on the rooftop of the precinct.
(Rooftop)
Spider-Man is on the rooftop waiting all alone until George Stacy came up to the rooftop and spotted only Spider-Man here.
"Where's Gwen?" George Stacy asking about his daughter Gwen.
"She's with MJ, picking out a new dress for prom." Spider-Man told George Stacy.
"Can't believe that my little girl is finally going to prom, she couldn't have picked a better date than you." George Stacy smiled at that thought.
"Yeah, I just hope that nothing ruins it. But that's not why I'm here, I need to show you something." Spider-Man pulls out a phone.
Spider-Man plays a video he got earlier at school along with everyone else, George then watched the footage of what appears to be a blonde girl in a blue costume fighting off bad guys with just a bo staff, he recognized some of them as the one he interrogated earlier. She managed to defeat them all with ease as she stands over one looking up at her in confusion.
"Who are you?"
"I"m Bluebird!" Bluebird then kicked the thug out cold.
"Bluebird? Who is that?" George Stacy is unfamiliar with that name.
"I don't know, but this just showed up at the school and nowhere else." Spider-Man told George Stacy.
"Can you trace the origins of who sent it?" George Stacy ask Spider-Man if he can find out.
"I already did, but the problem is that it was sent from various places, bouncing place to place, for all I know it could've been sent from Latveria. But I suspect that the person who sent this is most likely local, probably someone very good at computers and hiding his tracks." Spider-Man told George Stacy.
"No matter, I recognized some of those thugs in the footage, me an Watanabe have interrogated them, they've been brought over from Queens last night." George Stacy told Spider-Man.
"Who are they?" Spider-Man is curious about the thugs.
"Couple of them are small time thieves, but the others are known members of the Manfredi Crime Family." George Stacy informed Spider-Man.
"Silvermane, think he's back?" Spider-Man is wondering.
"That's what I thought too, but I've contacted Interpol, he's still in Europe evading them. But doesn't mean that the organization itself isn't still active, somebody is probably taking control in Silvermane's absence." George Stacy tells Spider-Man.
"Can you find out who's currently in control?" Spider-Man asking George Stacy for his help.
"Sure, I'll get right on it." George Stacy told Spider-Man.
"And can you get me a list of places the Manfredi hang out, particularly in Queens?" Spider-Man asks for more information.
"Thinking about taking them on?" George Stacy is wondering.
"I'm more worried about this Bluebird striking back again, if they find out that she's the one responsible to attacking their people, then they'll want payback." Spider-Man is worried for Bluebird's life.
"Good point, alright, I'll dig up what I can and send them to your phone." George Stacy agrees to help Spider-Man.
"Thanks, Captain." Spider-Man told George Stacy.
Meanwhile at the dress shop in the city, Gwen is trying on new dresses for prom night as she came out of the dressing room wearing a pink dress and shows it in front of Mary Jane who is also picking out a dress to wear.
"What do you think?" Gwen showing off in a pink dress.
"Hm? No!" Mary Jane gave a disapproving look.
"Really?" Gwen told Mary Jane.
"Yeah, I know that pink is part of your costume, but no. Try out the light blue one. See how it looks." Mary Jane suggested to Gwen.
Gwen sighed. "Fine, give it."
Mary Jane hands Gwen the light blue dress, she takes it and heads back into the dressing room to try it out.
"So how did things go with Flash?!" Gwen is in the dressing room.
"He was a bit surprised when I asked him, and a bit shy." Mary Jane told Gwen.
"Shy?! Him?! Really?!" Gwen sounded surprised.
"Hey, I'm one of the most beautiful girls at school, everyone would be shy when it comes to me!" Mary Jane smiled at that thought.
"Sounds like Peter and me, when we realized that we had feelings for each other, neither one of us had the courage to tell the other how we felt. We had some obstacles along the way, but in the end we finally found our way to each other." Gwen is in the dressing room.
"You're both are made for each other in every way, you're both the perfect match." Mary Jane says to Gwen.
Gwen came out of the dressing room wearing a light blue dress, she looked very divine like an angel.
"How is this dress?" Gwen asking Mary Jane.
Mary Jane smiled. "It's definitely you, Peter is going to love you."
Gwen smiled as she finally found the perfect dress to wear to prom.
"Okay, now it's your turn." Gwen told Mary Jane she's next to try on.
Mary Jane grabbed the black dress she picked out earlier and went into the dressing room, Gwen is all set for her junior prom date with Peter.
The sun is setting down in Queens, at the house of Sally Avril, she's in the bathroom changing as her friend Jason Ionello is on the laptop hacking the phone company tapping into some calls between members of the Manfredi Crime Family, he is receiving one that is happening now as he puts it on speaker.
"Boss, the weapons buy is set, Queensbridge Park, 10 o'clock."
"Excellent, we have the money ready and waiting, let's go get our new toys." Man Mountain Marko told his henchman.
Sally came out of the bathroom wearing the Bluebird costume, she is the vigilante known as Bluebird who has making trouble for the Manfredi Crime Family, she hold a blonde wig with a blue mask she uses to hid her identity.
"Anything?" Sally asking Jason.
"We have an opportunity, a weapons buy is happening tonight at Queensbridge Park at 10." Jason informs Sally.
"Perfect, let's get going. It's showtime for the Bluebird." Sally Avril puts on the wig and mask.
Sally Avril becomes Bluebird as she grabs her Bo staff and jumps off the bedroom window along with her friend Jason who would follow her to danger.
Back at the Spider-Cave, Peter is already dressed in his Spider-Man suit as he awaits his partner and some intel on how to find this Bluebird. Spider-Man is sitting at the supercomputer listening to police scanners while waiting, Gwen Stacy just came into the Spider-Cave to see her boyfriend in his suit.
"So I'm late, Pete." Gwen apologizes for being late.
"It's fine, but what took so long?" Peter asking Gwen about the delay.
"I had to drop off my dress at home." Gwen explained the lateness.
"So you finally picked out a dress? How is it?" Peter smiled in curiosity.
"Can't tell you, I wanted to be a surprise." Gwen wants to surprise Peter on prom night.
"Okay, can't wait." Peter says to Gwen.
"So any luck on finding this Bluebird?" Gwen asking about Bluebird.
"Nothing yet, I'm just waiting to see if your dad has any info that could help us find her." Peter explained to Gwen.
Peter's phone rang as George Stacy is calling, he picks it up.
"Speaking of whom." Peter answered the call and puts it on speaker. "Hey Captain, I'm here with your daughter."
"Great, one of our C.I.s just informed us that the Manfredi are attending a weapons buy happening tonight at 10, Queensbridge Park." George Stacy informs Peter and Gwen.
"Thanks Captain, we're on it." Peter hangs up the phone and turns to Gwen. "Let's suit up."
Gwen smiled as she pulls out her Ghost-Spider costume as she started to change and head into action.
It's almost 10 o'clock at Queensbridge Park as members of the Manfredi Crime Family are waiting for the gun runners to arrival, Man Mountain Marko is personally overseeing the buy, unknown to any of them, Bluebird and Jason Ionello are hiding nearby looking at the criminals waiting as it's only 9:59 PM, just a minute away from reaching 10. They then see a vehicle coming in, a box truck along with a SUV.
"Okay, this is it. Get the phone ready." Bluebird tells Jason Ionello.
Jason is holding the phone ready to record the action soon to happen, as they stay hidden, the box truck is stopping along with the SUV that pulled up next to it, a group of gun runners have came out to meet up with Man Mountain Marko and his men.
"You're right on time, and I see that you came to do business personally."
"Give some setbacks that my organization has suffer, I make an exception on this occasion. Do you have the merchandise?" Man Mountain Marko is eager for the guns.
"Do you have the cash?"
Man Mountain Marko hold up the duffel bag and shows the money inside.
"This way to the back."
Man Mountain Marko and his men all follow the seller to the back of the box truck, the gun runners opened up the back doors to show them a load of assault rifles with grenade launchers. Unknown to anyone, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are underneath the bridge overlooking down to the park where the weapons by is happening, they spotted a group of criminals along with the swole man who looks like he's in charge of the organization.
Man Mountain Marko whistled. "That's nice."
"Allow us to show you the merchandise, these bad boys are FN SCAR 17 assault rifles, the type used by special forces, equipped with scopes, laser beams, and not to mention the under barrel grenade launcher to cause some serious damage."
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider still remain hidden as they looked at the gun runner handing Man Mountain Marko the assault rifle to exam, they're troubled that very dangerous weapons are being sold to criminals.
"Are you seeing this?" Ghost-Spider whispers to Spider-Man.
"I know, we can't let them leave here with those guns. We have to stop them." Spider-Man whispers to Ghost-Spider.
Back to the ground where Man Mountain Marko is finished examining the guns and is impressed.
"So do we have a deal?"
"Oh yeah, we have a deal." Man Mountain Marko then shake hands with the head gun runner.
Meanwhile a flash bang was toss on the ground as everyone spotted it, it blew up and caused a loud flash that temporarily took out their senses. Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are far up on the bridge as they see the action happening, Bluebird finally came out of hiding and is taking down the criminals with her bo staff all by herself. Meanwhile, Man Mountain Marko is recovering his senses to spot the Bluebird here in person, he then took the opportunity for some payback as he aims the assault rifle at her while she's distracted, but Spider-Man came in for a drop kick as Bluebird stop the fighting and see that Spider-Man has joined the fight. She got distracted herself as a couple of thugs have recovered and pulls out their guns, but Ghost-Spider joined in the fight as well as drops in and fired a couple of web nets onto them, trapping them. Meanwhile Man Mountain Marko got back up and spotted Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider here at the scene, he then pulls out a syringe as he plans to enhance himself.
"Spider-Man, I wondered when we would cross paths. This is my lucky day." Man Mountain Marko is eager for a fight with Spider-Man.
"No offense, but I've taken on thugs like you without any difficulty." Spider-Man isn't impressed.
"Well, try this for size." Man Mountain Marko then injects the syringe.
Spider-Man watched as the man injected himself with something as all his muscle mass around his body are increasing to superhuman level, Man Mountain Marko is now more stronger and durable than ever before.
"What the?" Spider-Man is shocked.
"Courtesy of my new steroidal compound, make me more stronger than ever." Man Mountain Marko explains about his new drug.
"You know, you shouldn't be taking that stuff, heard it bad for your health." Spider-Man told Man Mountain Marko.
"I like living on the edge. If it can help me take you down, it'll be worth it." Man Mountain Marko isn't concerned about his health or his life.
"Your funeral!' Spider-Man fired off a webline at Man Mountain Marko.
Man Mountain Marko uses his arm to block, he then pulled the web line in and yanked Spider-Man towards him with so much force as he then strikes back with a punch to the face as Spider-Man fell back down and felt so much strength put into it, it was superhuman.
"You got lucky." Spider-Man tells Man Mountain Marko.
"It more than luck, bug. Not only am I stronger, but I've been trained personally by Hammerhead himself in hand to hand combat." Man Mountain Marko is prideful in his abilities.
"Is that suppose to impress me? Cause I've faced Hammerhead before and kicked his butt." Spider-Man told Man Mountain Marko.
Man Mountain Marko then charged in and slams his fist down hard, Spider-Man backflips and then jumps for a flying knee strike. Meanwhile most of the thugs have recovered and spotted someone nearby with a phone recording the events, Jason got spooked as he was discovered, Ghost-Spider then spotted someone very familiar nearby, she then left Bluebird's side as she rushed to help Jason who is in danger, the thugs are about to threaten him until Ghost-Spider jumps up and does the split kick on the two thugs. Ghost-Spider took them down and finally recognized the boy as Jason Ionello from school.
"You?" Ghost-Spider is surprised to see Jason Ionello.
Spider-Man is fighting off against Man Mountain Marko as this guy is proven to be a challenge even for him, Spidey jumps up and does the hurricanrana on the guy and flips him down very hard. Man Mountain Marko is laying on the ground as he spotted the assault rifle laying next to him. He picked it up and started shooting at Spider-Man who is dodging the bullets with his gymnastics skills. He kept missing as the rifle ran out of bullet, he then switches to the under barrel grenade launcher as he aims at Spider-Man, but he spotted Bluebird unprotected. Spider-Man noticed the guy aiming the grenade launcher at Bluebird, he rushed to her as the guy fired off a shot, Bluebird spotted the grenade coming towards her but Spider-Man got a hold of her and jumps away before the impact. Spider-Man and Bluebird made to dodge and survive the blast, Spider-Man looked at Bluebird and noticed that her wig gotten loose, he saw her face and immediately recognized her as Sally Avril.
"You?!" Spider-Man is shocked to learn the Sally is Bluebird.
Spider-Man noticed that the thugs are arming themselves with automatic weapons as they're about to be caught in a gunfight as Sally and Jason are in the middle of it, they can't fight off the crime syndicate and protect the teens at the same time.
"Ghost-Spider! We have to retreat!" Spider-Man told Ghost-Spider.
"Agreed, let's go!" Ghost-Spider then took Jason with her.
Bluebird puts her wig back on as Spider-Man took her and swings away from the scene along with Ghost-Spider with Jason as the Man Mountain Marko and the thugs are all firing their guns at the heroes, but they've managed to get away without a scratch. Man Mountain Marko then turns his attention towards the gun runners and fired off some shots, killing them all.
"Pack up the rest of the weapons, we're leaving!" Man Mountain Marko orders his men.
Man Mountain Marko grabbed the duffel bag full of cash as his men hopped onto the box truck with the guns, they all took the opportunity to make their escape before the heroes return or the cops show up, leaving only a handful of corpses on the ground for them.
Later somewhere on a rooftop in Queens far away from the crime scene, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider managed to save both Jason Ionello and Sally Avril who is the vigilante Bluebird from getting killed in a crossfire.
"Thanks for saving our skins back there." Jason Ionello gave his gratitude.
"Save it, what were you two doing back there?" Ghost-Spider didn't sound too happy.
"Same thing as you, taking down bad guys." Bluebird told the heroes.
Spider-Man took the phone off Jason's hand.
"Hey!" Jason told Spider-Man taking his phone.
"While recording?" Spider-Man holding the phone.
"We've seen the footage. Why are you really out there? The truth please?" Ghost-Spider wants to know the real reason.
Bluebird sighed. "Fine, I wanted to make a name for myself just as you both did."
"So this is all about fame, isn't it?" Spider-Man suspected as much.
"Yeah, me and my friend Jason figured that if we do as you did, fighting off bad guys and filming it, we can gain fame and fortune on social media." Bluebird confessed that it's about fame.
"You can't be serious?!" Spider-Man is troubled hearing this.
"Why not? You're both pretty much famous for all the things you've done. So why shouldn't I do the same? What's the difference between you and me?" Bluebird is curious.
"Because what we do isn't about fame, this is very serious! We have powers and training, those are the only things that kept us alive for so long. Don't think that your karate skill and gymnastics is a going to keep you alive when going up against guys like them." Spider-Man says to Bluebird.
"You're both lucky that you've made it out alive if we hadn't intervened." Ghost-Spider told them.
"It wasn't that bad, right?" Bluebird asking their opinion.
"It was way worst, you almost got yourselves killed back there. And now thanks to your actions, we had prioritize in saving you both rather than stopping those thugs! Because of you, they now got their hands on very dangerous hardware capable of causing massive destruction to the neighborhood and everyone in it!" Spider-Man is very upset for Bluebird's actions.
"Okay, I'm sorry." Bluebird apologizes to them.
"If you mean it, then do one thing for us." Ghost-Spider tells Bluebird.
"Sure, anything." Bluebird wants to know.
"Stop this, and we mean all of this, stop being Bluebird and go back to being a normal high school girl." Spider-Man told Bluebird to quit.
"What?! You can't be serious?!" Bluebird doesn't like what they're asking her to do.
"We are being serious! If you think that this life is all about fame and glory, well it's not! This isn't the way to fame, this is how you get yourselves killed. So please, let this go before it's too late." Spider-Man tries to persuade Bluebird in giving up.
Bluebird remains quiet as she's feeling conflicted by what they're asking her to give up, being Bluebird has gotten her fame than she can ever dream of, but this life is danger too.
"Come on, we'll take you both home. And please end this, this isn't worth it." Spider-Man is being sincere with Bluebird.
"What about my phone?" Jason is asking about his phone,
"Don't worry, I'll return it to you once I'm done erasing the footage. You have my word." Spider-Man told Jason Ionello.
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider each got a hold of them as they jumped off the rooftop to send them home where they'll be safe and hope they return to their normal lives.
Back at the hideout in Queens, Man Mountain Marko just returned as his men are unloading the guns from the truck, they managed to escape with everything despite the fact that they've run into some trouble with the heroes.
"So much for staying under the radar, now they're aware of our criminal activities. But so be it, at least I've proven that I can take on Spider-Man thanks to these new drugs giving me incredible strength." Man Mountain Marko is happy with his success.
"Aren't you worried about the cops, boss?"
"Of course not, now that we have serious firepower at our side. But first we need to get rid of a few obstacles in our way, starting with those heroes. Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, and now this Bluebird will all fall before my awesome power." Man Mountain Marko wants to go to war with the vigilantes and the police.
"How do you plan to do that?"
"I have some ideas." Man Mountain Marko smiles as he has a plan.
Back at the Spider-Cave, Peter is uploading the footage from Jason's phone into the supercomputer, they're playing the video watching the fight from early tonight as they got a glimpse of the man Spider-Man faced earlier. George Stacy came into the Spider-Cave hoping he'd find them here.
"Wow, you both made quite a mess last night. About eight bodies laying dead in Queensbridge Park." George Stacy told them about the body count.
"That wasn't us, Bluebird and her friend interfered and we had to prioritize in saving them. I'm guessing that the Manfredi turned on their suppliers when things went south." Peter explained to George Stacy.
"So you found this Bluebird?" George Stacy asking them.
"Yeah, the Bluebird is none other than Midtown's cheerleader Sally Avril." Gwen told her dad.
"Sally? Your classmate?" George Stacy is surprised to hear.
"Yeah, that Sally I once asked out, but got turned down. She's the Bluebird who has been making trouble for the Manfredi." Peter told the identity of Bluebird.
"Wow, this is new." George Stacy is still surprised.
Peter found an image of Man Mountain Marko who Spider-Man faced earlier, he had the supercomputer running facial recognition to find this man through the system, the computer got a match.
"Got him, Michael Marko, A.K.A. Man Mountain Marko, according to this he's a high level enforcer for the Manfredi Crime Family, and the one who is in charge obviously." Peter read the man's criminal record.
"How is it that this guy managed to slip through your fingers?" George Stacy asking Peter.
"This guy is using some kind of enhancement drug, it made him strong enough to fight me on equal terms." Peter explained about this drug Man Mountain Marko is using.
"Great, a crime lord juiced up on steroids, that's new." George Stacy is surprised.
"Now all we need to do is find him before he gets the chance of using those new weapons again." Peter told the group.
The next day at school, Flash Thompson is walking down the hallway as he spot Harry Osborn chatting with Liz Allan, he wanted to talk with the guy himself concerning his date with Harry's ex Mary Jane.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Harry asking Liz.
"Sure, I'll wait for you." Liz then walks down the hallway.
Harry then spotted Flash walking up towards her.
"What was about?" Flash asking Harry.
"Oh, I was just asking Liz if she wanted to go out with me as a my date. Hope you don't mind?" Harry told Flash.
"Don't worry, it's all good. Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about." Flash wants to talk with Harry.
"Sure, what is it?" Harry is curious.
"Me and MJ are going to prom together." Flash told Harry.
"Oh?" Harry is surprised.
"Is that cool with you?" Flash asking Harry if he's okay with that.
"Yeah, I'm already over it, me and MJ are only friends now." Harry is fine with Flash going out with MJ.
"Are you sure? Because last time she and Parker hid something behind your backs, you bit his head off." Flash reminded Harry of that incident.
"I admit that I wasn't too thrilled to find out that they had something while me and MJ were already separated, but I came to realize that we weren't meant to be. So seriously Flash, it's okay, we're good. MJ needs somebody in her life right now, and I hope that's you." Harry is fine with Flash and Mary Jane.
"Thanks Osborn." Flash told Harry.
"So are you planning to pick her up at her house tomorrow night?" Harry is curious.
"Why?" Flash is curious.
"You'll see." Harry has something special in mind.
Meanwhile Sally Avril is walking down the hallway as he walked past Flash and Harry, she looked at her phone to see a lot of followers asking where is Bluebird, she knows that Spider-Man told her to give up this life but she can't resist the fame she's been getting as the Bluebird.
Later after school at the home of Sally and her family, she and Jason are hanging out in her bedroom as Jason himself is on the computer tapping into the phone lines the Manfredi are using to communicate with one another.
"Anything?" Sally asking Jason.
"Nothing yet, all we can do is wait." Jason says to Sally.
"I thought for sure that these guys would be planning something now that they've got their hands on some dangerous weapons." Sally says to Jason.
"Sally, I was wondering if... well..." Jason Ionello is shy in speaking to Sally.
"What is it, Jason?" Sally is wondering what's on Jason's mind.
"You know that prom night is tomorrow and I got the tickets." Jason is being nervous.
"Yeah? And?" Sally is wondering.
"Well... if you want, we can go together." Jason confessed to Sally.
"Oh?" Sally is surprised to hear that Jason want to go to prom with her.
"So?" Jason is awaiting an answer.
"Look Jason, that's sweet and all, but you're just not my type. I'm a cheerleader and you're a computer nerd, we just don't match." Sally turned down Jason.
"I see, I'm sorry if I suggested it." Jason told Sally.
Jason then focuses on his work as Sally looked at him, she always thought of him as a friend, but she never had any fantasies of going out with a guy like Jason Ionello. But a part of her does have a heart as Jason has stood by her since she started this misguided crusade of hers, she had second thoughts about his request.
"Jason... I..." Sally was about to give him an answer.
The computer then got something as a call is coming in from one of the Manfredi thugs.
"What is that?" Sally is curious.
"We finally got something." Jason is typing the computer.
Sally and Jason listens in on the call from the Manfredi.
"Boss, we got the location of the local heads of the gangs, they're gathered at the at the abandoned theater in Jackson Heights."
"Perfect, this is the opportunity we've been waiting for, take out the heads and take over their territories. Have all our men armed and ready, we're heading out to Jackson Heights!" Man Mountain Marko told his henchmen.
"Now that we know something is about to happen, we should get this to the police, or at least Spider-Man." Jason told Sally.
"No." Sally refused.
"What?" Jason is confused.
"This is it, this is the big one. If I can stop the bloodbath and defeat this guy, then I'll finally prove myself worthy and gain more followers." Sally wants to go out as Bluebird again.
"Sally, are you being serious?! No! Last time we came across these guys, we almost got ourselves killed!" Jason protest this idea.
"You're starting to sound like those heroes." Sally tells Jason.
"I hate to break it to you, but they're right." Jason agrees with the spider heroes.
"Are you seriously turning your back on me?" Sally is troubled by what's Jason is saying.
"I stood by you through many things, but I won't stand by and watch you endanger your own life." Jason refused to be a part of this anymore.
"Fine, I don't need you. I'll do this myself." Sally made up her mind.
Sally grabs her gear and jumps off the window, Jason stay behind refusing to join her misguided crusade anymore, but he can't help but watch Sally head of into danger.
"What do I do?" Jason is feeling conflicted by this whole thing.
Despite Jason being on bad terms with Sally's decision, he still worries for her life, he needs some help in saving Sally before it's too late.
Later outside the abandoned theater in Jackson Heights, Sally is looking at the place to see that it has very little guards around, she spotted the box truck from last night, this is definitely the place. She then sees a fire escape nearby that she can use to sneak in undetected and catch everyone by surprise. She snuck past security and made it to the fire escape unnoticed, she started climbing up towards an opening. She climbed into the opening and sneaks around the place. She made it to the viewing room to see what appears to be people gather at the stage along with men with guns.
"This is it, time for me to shine." Bluebird tells herself.
She placed a phone nearby and sets it on recording, she pulls out a flash bang and tossed it at the crowd, Bluebird covers her eyes and ears as the bright loud light flashed around them, Bluebird then charged forward with he bo staff as she stopped to see that everyone is still standing but nobody has moved even with the flash bang, she walked in closer to one of them, she become surprised only to find mannequins dressed as thugs.
"What the?" Bluebird is shocked.
A dart was fired and hits her neck, she felt the sting as he reached her neck and pulled out the dart, she felt the effects doing its work as she falls down on the ground and see starts to lose consciousness, she then spotted Man Mountain Marko standing over her looking down.
"Looks like a little birdie just flew into our nest." Man Mountain Marko smiled in pride.
Bluebird closes her eyes as she is now at the mercy of Man Mountain Marko, not knowing the fate that awaits her.
At the same time at the Parker Residence in Queens, Peter and May are having a conversation in the living room concerning Sally Avril being the Bluebird, this subjects affects Peter since he once gained glory during his early years when he gain powers, before he became Spider-Man.
"I can't believe that same Sally Avril, the girl you once asked out is the vigilante Bluebird. Does she even know the type of danger she's putting herself in?" May says to Peter.
"She knows, but I don't think that matters to her, she's just doing this for the fame and recognition being the Bluebird brings her." Peter explains Sally's reason for being Bluebird.
"Guessing watching you fighting off bad guys must've given her a reason to emulate you, she figured that she can gain fame by doing what you do." May told Peter.
"Yeah, but all that fame is going to blind her from what's really important, something I've learned the hard way." Peter is saddened talking about this.
"You talking about that time you used your gifts for fame and fortune?" May is curious.
"Yeah, I ignored my uncle's advice and headed into the arena to fight for money, and I gained so much fame in the process. But I was blinded by fame that I didn't consider the consequences of my actions, and those consequences took Uncle Ben from us." Peter explained the price of being blinded by fame.
"Peter, you were only a kid back then, you had no idea that could've happened to Ben. No one could've seen this coming." May tries to comfort Peter.
"That's why I want her to stop, I don't want Sally making the same mistakes I did." Peter explained his reason for asking Sally to give up being Bluebird.
"Ben would've been proud of how wise you've become, even for someone your age." May smiled at Peter.
"Thanks, Aunt May." Peter smiled as he felt better.
"Speaking of your age, I still can't believe that you're going to prom for the first time, this is like a rite of passage for you." May is excited for Peter.
"I hope this turns out good, because of our double lives, we never know if we get called to action." Peter is worried about ruining prom night.
"I'm sure things will be perfect for you and Gwen." May says to Peter.
The doorbell rang repeatedly as Peter and May stopped their conversation, May got up and walked over to the door, she opens it to find a young teenage boy here, Peter then sees him and immediately recognizes him as Jason Ionello from school.
"Jason?" Peter is surprised.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Peter, but we need to talk." Jason looks desperate to speak with Peter.
"Sure, come on in, young man." May invited Jason inside.
Jason walked up to Peter as he looks trouble, even Peter and May noticed it.
"Okay, what's going on, Jason?" Peter is curious.
"What I'm about to tell you will violate my trust with Sally, but right now I'm desperate." Jason is working up the courage.
"Get to the point, Jason. Tell me what's going on?" Peter wants to know what's going on.
"Okay... Sally Avril is the Bluebird." Jason confessed the truth.
"Whoa! Really? Sally the Bluebird?" Peter acted surprised since he already knew.
"Yes, that Bluebird that showed up on social media and gained followers, that's Sally. I was the one who recorded her performances and uploaded them through the internet." Jason told Peter everything.
"So why are you telling me all this, Jason?" Peter is curious as to why Jason is telling him.
"Because I believe that Sally is in danger." Jason told Peter.
"What do you mean that she's in danger? Explain?" Peter wants to know.
"Last night, me and Sally were at the Queensbridge Park to take down a group of criminals, but things went south and we almost got ourselves killed until Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider came to our rescue and saved our lives. Afterwards, they asked us to stop all this, but Sally didn't listen too well. She's still blinded by all this fame she's been getting as the Bluebird, she won't even listen to me when I told her that this is dangerous." Jason explained everything to Peter.
"So she's heading out all by herself facing danger again?" Peter suspected as much.
"That's why I'm here telling you all this, I know that you take photos of Spider-Man for the Bugle, so you must know the guy. I was hoping that you'd tell him about Sally, I want him to save her before it's too late." Jason told Peter.
"Sally must mean so much to you for you to come to me?" Peter told Jason.
"You must be wondering why I'm telling you all this?" Jason is shy in this conversation.
Peter looked at Jason's face and saw his eyes, he knows that to Jason sees Sally in a different way than just a friend. Peter had that same look in his eyes when he thinks about Gwen Stacy.
"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Peter figured it out.
Jason said nothing as he nods his head in shyness.
"Yes, but she doesn't feel the same way, she's a hot cheerleader and I'm just a computer geek, girls don't really dig guys like me." Jason told Peter.
"You'd be surprised." Peter smiles as he speaks from experience.
"Do you know where Sally is now?" May asking Jason.
"She's heading for an abandoned theater in Jackson Heights, that's the only lead we got." Jason told them where Sally is.
"Okay, I'll go and find Spider-Man. Hopefully he'll find her before it's too late." Peter is walking out of the house.
"Peter!" Jason told Peter who then spotted and looked back at Jason. "Thank you."
Peter smiled and nodded his head before he heads out of the house, he then pulled his phone and dialed Gwen Stacy.
"Hello?" Gwen is on the phone.
"Gwen, I need your help." Peter asking Gwen for help.
At the abandoned theater, Bluebird is waking up as the effects of the tranquilizer have finally wore out, she finds that she's still here at the theater only to be tied up to a chair, she looks to her right to see mannequins all sitting down. Meanwhile Man Mountain Marko is walking down whistling a tune while holding an aluminum bat.
"Ah! You're awake, good! You're just in time for the show! Do you like baseball? I love baseball!" Man Mountain Marko told Bluebird.
Man Mountain Marko then swings the bat hard enough at the mannequin's head, it got lopped off with so much force that Bluebird is scared by what this guy has planned for her.
"Wow! So much strength in that single swing! Oh, just so you know, I gave myself another shot, though I am curious to know how strong my swing is against a human head." Man Mountain Marko still holding the bat.
Man Mountain Marko swings the bat hard at the mannequin next to Bluebird, she flinched as he lopped off the head. He took out two mannequins, only leaving Bluebird the last one on the chair.
"There never was a private meeting, was there?" Bluebird realized that this was a trap.
"I'd figured that you were tapping our phones, so I set the bait and you my little birdie came flying into our cage. Did you really think that you could just get into our business and think that there were no consequences? Now you're here all tied up to the chair, about to die. You're in way over your head, but don't worry, you're about to lose yours. Goodbye, Bluebird." Man Mountain Marko holds his bat into swinging position.
Bluebird is scared as she is about to die at the hands of a criminal, she thought about here friend Jason Ionello in those moments. Man Mountain Marko is assuming swinging position ready to lop off Bluebird's head.
"Jason… I'm sorry." Bluebird whispers as she has her eyes closed.
Man Mountain Marko swings the bat hard but a webline fired at the chair Bluebird is tied to, it got pulled hard as she fell backwards and Man Mountain Marko missed his swing on her head, he got confused as to what happened as did Bluebird who looked up to see Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider here to the rescue, they're the ones who saved her from certain death. Man Mountain Marko and his thugs looked up and sees the heroes here in their hideout.
"You?!" Man Mountain Marko yelled out.
"Surprise!" Spider-Man taunts the guy.
All the thugs in the room pulled out their guns and started shooting up at the spiders. Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider jumped down and avoided the bullets as they each face off against the thugs in close quarters hand to hand combat. Spider-Man fired a webline at one and pulled him in for a hook punch, Ghost-Spider does the helicopter kick on the thug's head and knocked him out cold. Spider-Man does the push kick on one of the thugs as he crashed against several more thugs. Man Mountain Marko charged in with his bat as he swings at Spider-Man who bend backwards to avoid the swing, Ghost-Spider does the roundhouse kick on one of the thugs as she sees Spider-Man facing off against Man Mountain Marko.
"Spider-Man!" Ghost-Spider is worried for Spider-Man.
"Don't worry about me! Just get Bluebird out of here! I'll hold him off!" Spider-Man still engaged in combat.
Ghost-Spider rushed over to Bluebird's side as she help her up and untied her from the chair, Bluebird is still in shock as she almost died if those two spider didn't arrive in time to save her life.
"Are you alright? Can you move?" Ghost-Spider asking about Bluebird's condition.
"Yeah, thanks." Bluebird still froze up with fear.
"Let's get out of here!" Ghost-Spider grabbed Bluebird by the waist.
Ghost-Spider then swings out of here with Bluebird as Spider-Man stayed behind fighting off Man Mountain Marko. The swole villain is swing his bat so hard trying to hit Spider-Man who is proven to be too evasive to hit.
"Why so serious?" Spider-Man taunts Man Mountain Marko.
Man Mountain Marko swings hard as Spider-Man does the backflip.
"You can tell me? Are you really the Batman?" Spider-Man makes a joke.
Man Mountain Marko then swings his bat hard down vertically as Spider-Man moves slightly away and strikes back with a backfist to his face. Man Mountain Marko then got mad as he came in charging with a bat as Spider-Man strikes with a strong side kick, he fell down hard and dropped the bat.
"I can see that you love baseball, too bad you can't play in the major leagues with those enhancements you've been taking. You seriously need to lay off the juice, it's making you too aggressive." Spider-Man told Man Mountain Marko.
"Oh, I'll show you too aggressive, Bug Boy!" Mountain Marko got very angry.
Man Mountain Marko grabbed another bat nearby and came at Spider-Man, but Spidey webbed up the one that Man Mountain Marko dropped and pulls it towards his hand, Man Mountain Marko swings as Spidey blocks with a bat. Both of them are now fighting with bats, trading swings as they're evenly matched in terms of strength. Man Mountain Marko swings down vertically as Spider-Man holds his own bat to block the strike.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Man Mountain Marko has too much rage.
"Okay, you're obviously suffering from roid rage, you're not thinking clearly." Spider-Man holding back.
"SHUT UP!" Man Mountain Marko is too aggressive.
Man Mountain Marko uses the knee strike to knock the bat off Spider-Man's hand, disarming him, and then strike with a push kick as Spider-Man stagger back. Man Mountain Marko came charging about to swing the bat, Spider-Man dodged the swing and gripped the bat, he then strike back at the head with an elbow strike, then he side kick the man hard and disarmed the bat in the process. Spider-Man is getting the best of Man Mountain Marko as he walks closer with the bat he just took of Man Mountain Marko's hands.
"Okay buddy, let's play ball." Spider-Man holds the bat in swinging position.
Man Mountain Marko recovers as he charged in for another attack, Spider-Man waited for him to get closer, he got close enough that Spider-Man swings the bat hard at his gut and sent him flying towards the wall.
"Whoa! I hit a home run!" Spider-Man told himself.
He dropped the bat to walk up closer to see Man Mountain Marko laying on the ground all defeated and unconscious.
"Strike three, you're out, pal!" Spider-Man told a defeated Man Mountain Marko.
Spider-Man dropped the bat as he defeated Man Mountain Marko, he looks around to see all of the Manfredi are down as well. Ghost-Spider just came back to see Spider-Man has taken care of business while she got Bluebird to safety, Spider-Man looked up at her and gave the ok sign.
Later the NYPD are outside the theater as Man Mountain Marko is being escorted in steel shackles along with members of the Manfredi, the police confiscated the weapons and millions in stolen goods. Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are on the rooftop across looking down to see the Manfredi Crime Family is finished, Bluebird also got a look at the work the heroes have done in cleaning up crime.
"You both came to my rescue, thanks." Bluebird gave her gratitude to the heroes.
"Don't thank us, Sally. What were you thinking? You almost died again!" Spider-Man is upset with Bluebird for her reckless actions.
"I know! I know! I screwed up! I'm so sorry, I wanted to gain so much fame that I never consider how much I'm risking my life! I really screwed up!" Bluebird finally accepts the consequences of her actions.
"Sally, I know what that's like." Spider-Man understands what she's been through.
"You do?" Bluebird is very surprised.
"I once thought as you did, I gained fame the first time that I allowed myself to be blinded by what's truly important. And because of it, I made a mistake and it cost me something most dear to me, and it's a mistake that I still regret making." Spider-Man told Bluebird of his own mistake.
"I had no idea." Bluebird is still surprised.
"I'm only telling this so that you learn from these mistakes, so that you never repeat them ever again. It was already too late for me, but it's not too late for you. You can still make the right choices, for yourself and for everyone who loves you. Trust me, all this fame you're craving, it's not worth it." Spider-Man gave Bluebird words of wisdom.
"I understand, thank you both for saving my life. I really thought I was going to die in that moment, and all I can think about is Jason. He told me that I was making a mistake in continuing this foolishness, and he was right. I ignored his advice and told him that I didn't need him, I really regret the way I treated him." Bluebird is full of guilt and regret.
"He still cares about you, in fact he went to Parker's house to ask Peter for his help in seeking out my help, he did all that for you, Sally." Spider-Man told Bluebird about Jason.
Bluebird took off her mask and smiled at the thought of Jason Ionello seeking out help for her, it was most heroic thing he's done for her, if he hadn't, she'd be dead by now, his actions might've saved her from herself.
"Come on, he should be waiting at the Parker house." Spider-Man told Sally.
"Right, take me to him." Sally asking Spider-Man.
"Alright, hang on!" Spider-Man grabbed Sally by the waist.
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider both swings off the rooftop with Sally Avril as they're heading back home to Forest Hills.
Back at the Parker Residence, Jason Ionello is still waiting, hoping to hear news of Sally's safety, the front door opens as Sally still in her costume showed up and spotted Jason here, he got up and ran towards her and she did the same, they reached and hugged each other.
"Sally!" Jason hugging Sally.
"I'm so sorry, Jason, I'm so sorry!" Sally cried up hugging Jason.
They stopped the hug as Jason looked at Sally all teared up.
"What happened?" Jason asking Sally.
"I almost died, and all I can think about in that moment is you, Jason." Sally told Jason she almost died.
Jason hugged Sally again. "I'm just glad that you're okay, Sally. I'd died if anything happened to you."
"Spider-Man told me that you came asking for help. Why did you do that? After the way I've treated you? Why risk yourself for me?" Sally is curious about Jason.
"Because... I... like you." Jason blushed as he felt embarrassed confessing to Sally.
Sally smiled as she kissed Jason on the cheek, he blushed as she hugs himself again, he smiled as he is happy that Sally is safe. May looked at the door to see Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider looking at the couple, she smiled at them as they've saved Sally and brought her back safely.
It's Friday at Midtown High, school has ended as everyone is leaving for the day getting ready for the big night, Peter and Gwen are walking together outside the school grounds as Sally came running towards them.
"Parker! Wait up!" Sally rushed towards Peter.
"What is it, Sally?" Peter stopped and looked at Sally.
"Jason told me that he came to you for help, thank you for asking Spider-Man to come to my rescue." Sally gave her appreciation to Peter.
"It was no problem, I'm glad that you're okay." Peter told Sally.
"If you reached to Spider-Man, then that means that..." Sally was about to finish her sentence.
"That you're Bluebird, don't worry, I haven't told anyone. You're secret is safe with me." Peter kept Sally's secret.
"Thank you. Here!" Sally hands Peter a duffel bag.
Peter took it and opened up to take a peek, it's her Bluebird costume.
"Your suit?" Peter is confused.
"If you see Spider-Man again, give this to him. I'm done being the Bluebird, I won't need it anymore." Sally told Peter.
"Wise choice." Peter smiled that Sally has finally quit.
"Sally!" Jason calling out and waving to Sally.
"Gotta go! Good luck at prom!" Sally ran away towards Jason.
Peter and Gwen watched as Sally and Jason are walking together as their relationship has grown into something more. Peter is glad that they're together and Sally gets to live her normal life again.
"This is one of the reasons I've became a hero, watching those two go on with their lives happy together, that's the best reward we could ever ask for." Peter told Gwen.
"I agree." Gwen smiled with Peter.
"A cheerleader and a nerd, who knew?" Peter smiled at that thought.
"You did, since you dated a cheerleader last year, and I got to see you both kissing more than once, unfortunately." Gwen reminded Peter of Liz.
"Ah, gotta let that go, Gwendy." Peter smiled at Gwen.
"Convince me." Gwen smiled as she dares Peter.
Peter and Gwen leaned in and kiss romantically, they've stopped as they looked at each other smiling.
"Pick me up at 7." Gwen told Peter.
"I'll be there." Peter told Gwen.
"You better." Gwen smiled as she walks away.
Peter looked at Gwen walking home alone, he knows that his greatest challenge is ahead, prom night.
It's about 6:45 at the Parker Residence as Peter is in his room dressed in a tuxedo with a bow tie, the door is knocking outside.
"Come in!" Peter told whoever's outside.
The door opens as May came in and looked at her nephew Peter dressed in a suit for prom.
"You look so handsome, Peter. This will be the biggest night of your life." May smiled at Peter.
"Thanks, Aunt May." Peter told Aunt May.
"Here, I got your a corsage to give to Gwen." May handed Peter a corsage.
"She's going to love it, thanks." Peter smiled at May.
Peter and May hugged each other as this will be a rite of passage for Peter.
"Better get going, it's almost 7." May reminded Peter it's almost time.
"Right, wish me luck, Aunt May." Peter then walks away from May.
"Good luck!" May told Peter before he left.
(Outside)
Peter exited the house as he walked down the sidewalk and passed by MJ's house, he continues walking towards Gwen's house as Flash Thompson is walking his way wearing a suit.
"Heading for Stacy's house, Parker?" Flash asking Peter.
"Yeah, you heading to MJ's?" Peter asking Flash.
"Yep! Osborn has a surprise waiting for us, don't know what it is but he's coming to pick us up soon." Flash told Peter.
"Okay, I'll head for Gwen's house and wait there." Peter told Flash.
"Great, see you soon." Flash told Peter.
Peter walked away heading for the Stacy Residence as Flash walks up to the Watson Residence's door and rang the doorbell. Flash waited outside alone as the door opens and Flash's eyes are shocked by what he's seeing.
"Whoa!" Flash is amazed.
Mary Jane is all dressed up in her black prom dress looking very elegant and stunning.
"You've hit the jackpot!" Mary Jane told Flash.
"MJ, you look beautiful." Flash complimented Mary Jane's beauty.
"Thanks, you quite dashing yourself." Mary Jane told Flash.
A car horn honked loudly as Flash and Mary Jane are very surprised by what they're seeing.
"Is that?" Flash asking Mary Jane.
"Yep, that's Harry, being a show off." Mary Jane smiled.
Meanwhile Peter made it to the Stacy Residence as he rang the doorbell, George Stacy opened up and sees Peter outside in a tuxedo with a corsage in a box. Gwen hasn't come down yet as she's still putting on the dress.
"Come in, son. Gwen should be down in a minute." George Stacy invited Peter inside.
Peter came inside the house waiting with George for his girlfriend Gwen to come down the stairs.
"Is that suit a hand me down? Gwen deserves better than that." George Stacy told Peter.
"Hey, this is a rental, all those times I've taken pictures of Spider-Man has paid off." Peter told George Stacy.
"Well, at least you and Gwen took down the entire Manfredi Crime Family, so things are looking good for tonight, I don't expect there to be trouble anytime soon." George Stacy told Peter.
Gwen then came down the stairs as Peter and George looked up to see her all dressed up in a light blue dress, Peter is amazed. Gwen made it downstair and stands in front of Gwen as Peter couldn't help but see her in her divine beauty.
"Gwen, you look absolutely stunning." Peter told Gwen that she's all beautiful.
"Thanks Pete." Gwen blushed in his presence.
George Stacy coughed as he looked at Peter to do his part.
"Oh, this is for you, it's a corsage." Peter holding the box.
"It's lovely." Gwen likes the gift.
"Here, let me put it on you." Peter took the corsage out of the box.
Gwen held out her hand as Peter puts the corsage on her left wrist, Peter is finished as Gwen looked at it on her wrist.
"It's beautiful, thank you." Gwen told Peter.
"Anything for my girl." Peter smiled at Gwen.
"You kids have fun." George Stacy told Peter and Gwen.
"We will, dad." Gwen told her dad.
Gwen and Peter are walking out of the house as George stayed behind watching his little girl going out with Peter to prom for the first time. Peter and Gwen are outside waiting for their friend Harry to come and pick them up.
"Where is Harry? He said that he'd be coming to pick us up." Gwen is waiting with Peter.
"He also said that he has a surprise waiting for us." Peter told Gwen.
A car honked it horn as Peter and Gwen are looking at their left to see a limousine driving up to the sidewalk near Gwen's house, the door opens as they see Harry inside the back along with Liz, Flash, and Mary Jane.
"What are you both waiting for? An invitation? Get in and let's go!" Harry told Peter and Gwen.
"Show Off!" Peter and Gwen smiled as they said in unison.
Peter and Gwen climbed on through the limo and joined their friends all dressed up for prom night.
"Should've figure this was the surprise, Harry." Peter told Harry.
"Hey, if I'm going to go to prom, I might as well do it in style. Being friends with the son of a billionaire does have its perks." Harry told his friends.
Mary Jane got her phone out. "Everyone, gather around for a selfie!"
Peter, Gwen, Flash, Harry, and Liz all joined up together with Mary Jane as she's holding the phone in front of them preparing to take a selfie photo.
"Ready?" Mary Jane asking her friends.
"Ready!" Everyone said together posing.
"1… 2… 3!" Mary Jane took the photo.
The phone flashed a selfie as Mary Jane has the photo of her friends together on prom night on her phone.
"Did you get it?" Gwen asking Mary Jane.
"Yeah, I got it. I'll be sure to send you each a copy." Mary Jane told her friends.
Everyone is enjoying the ride in the limousine as they head for prom.
At Midtown High, a lot of students are dress up outside entering the school attending junior prom, everyone then looked at a limousine coming up to the sidewalk, it stopped as Harry and Liz are the first ones to exited the limo, followed by Flash and Mary Jane, and lastly Peter and Gwen.
Everyone then walked together inside the school as they've reached the gymnasium where everyone is gathered around, the music being played as everyone has a date.
"Let's get the party started, shall we?" Harry tells his friends.
Harry and Liz went up to the dance floor and joined in dancing together, as Peter, Gwen, Flash, and Mary Jane watched.
"Care to dance with me, Ms. Watson?" Flash asking Mary Jane.
"Of course, Mr. Thompson." Mary Jane accepts dancing with Flash.
Flash and Mary Jane joined in with everybody else on the dance floor, meanwhile Peter and Gwen spotted Sally and Jason together dancing.
"Those tow looked so happy." Gwen told Peter.
"They deserve to be happy, thanks to us, they can be happy together." Peter told Gwen.
"So shall we dance?" Gwen asking Peter.
"Yeah, let's dance!" Peter smiled as he agrees to dance with Gwen.
Peter and Gwen joined up on the dance floor with all their friends as the music is being played, Peter and Gwen dance together slowly as they look at each other eyes. They then look at Harry and Liz dancing, but the one that is getting the most attention is Flash and Mary Jane who are doing better than anyone else.
"MJ sure knows how to dance great." Peter told Gwen.
"She always does." Gwen told Peter.
Peter and Gwen got back to dancing together as the music is being played all around, Peter and Gwen are enjoying this night as it's their first time at prom.
(Later)
Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane, Flash, Liz, and Harry all drank punch together after they're done dancing and chatted together.
"Hey, how about after this we all go out to this fancy restaurant I know in town? The food over there is out of this world. My treat?" Harry asking his friends.
"Well, me and Gwen were planning to go to Stan's, but I guess we can go with your idea." Peter told Harry.
"Still showing off, Osborn." Flash told Harry.
Meanwhile someone is grabbing the mike and began his announcement for tonight's prom king and queen.
"And the votes are in, tonight's king and queen are... Flash Thompson and Mary Jane Watson!"
Flash and Mary Jane are surprised that they've been voted prom king and queen, everyone is clapping their hands together including Peter, Gwen, Harry, and Liz.
"Congratulations Mary Jane." Gwen congratulated Mary Jane.
Flash and Mary Jane came up to be crowned prom king and queen, their friends clapped their hands together for their success.
"Should've figured that Mary Jane would be queen, she was always the most popular girl in school." Gwen told Peter.
"Perhaps, but you'll always be a beauty queen to me, Gwendolyne Stacy." Peter told Gwen.
"Still being sweet as always, Peter Parker. That's why I love you so much." Gwen smiled as she looked at Peter.
"I love you, Gwen." Peter smiled at Gwen.
"I love you too, Peter." Gwen smiled back at Peter.
Peter and Gwen kiss each other as everyone is still congratulating Mary Jane and Flash for being king and queen.
(Later)
Sometime later, Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane, Flash, Harry, and Liz are done for the night as they walked out of the gymnasium and walking down the hallway leaving the school.
"That was epic! Next stop, the restaurant. I'll go get the limo!" Harry walks away from the group.
"Hey, wait for me!" Liz follows after Harry.
"I for one enjoyed my prom night." Gwen told the group.
"Ditto." Peter also liked the night.
Flash and Mary Jane looked at one another as Peter and Gwen are too distracted by their night of fun.
"Why don't you both go on ahead, we'll catch up." Flash told Peter and Gwen.
"Alright, we'll wait for you both at the limo." Peter told Flash and Mary Jane.
Peter and Gwen walked up ahead as Flash and Mary Jane stay behind to talk alone.
"How was your night, MJ?" Flash asking Mary Jane.
"It was wonderful, thank you Flash for taking me out." Mary Jane told Flash.
"I'm glad that I said yes to you, best decision I ever made." Flash told Mary Jane.
"Being with you, made me feel special." Mary Jane told Flash.
"You are special to me, Mary Jane." Flash told Mary Jane.
Flash and Mary Jane looked at each other's eyes as they're in a moment, they moved in closer to each other and leaned in for a kiss, Flash and Mary Jane are finally kissing each other. They continue kissing until the limo's car horn honked loudly as they've stopped and smiled.
"They're waiting for us." Mary Jane smiled at Flash.
"Then let's not keep them waiting. Shall we?" Flash has his arm out for Mary Jane.
"Let's go." Mary Jane locks her arm with Flash.
Mary Jane and Flash then walks down the hallway to leave the school to join up with their friends, their relationship has evolved from a friendship to a romantic one.
Note: Please write comments or reviews about this chapter and tell what you like about it, thank you and continue reading the story.
Also Happy 60th anniversary for Spider-Man.