Chapter 11

Hope you enjoy this one!


Twhip!

That familiar sound filled Bayville's sweet airs as their friendly neighborhood wall crawler, Spider-Man, swung through the sky in a frenzy. His hands quickly taking up space in his peripherals as the web slinger rushed down the busy streets.

"Excuse me! Coming through!" the boy exclaimed as he passed the bustling and noisy cars in town. He held onto a line and traveled with minimal distance from the ground as his momentum slowly rose up and slung him through the sky. Twisting his body and then facing to the next building as he zipped over to the right and once on its surface he hit the wall running. He was in a full sprint heading across the brick before lunging off of it and landing directly on the top of a car that buckled and dented from the sheer force.

"The hell?!" shouted one of the few men within the vehicle.

"Crap, it's that Spider guy!"

"Spider-Man, for real???"

Exclaimed the driver as he began to take erratic and viciously sharp turns to throw off our web slinger, the action to no avail as he stuck to the shiny navy blue car.

Our hero grabbed the roof and leaning over to the right, greeting the man with a wave before he grabbed the gun and crushed its barrel with his barehands. A greeting that was met with astonishment and violence from the backseat members who fired shots off at the wonder, the windshield shattering as our hero ducked from the blast and jumped into the air, out of sight.

"Don't shoot me you idiots!!"

"Sorry" the two guys sheepishly said.

The driver turned back to them for a second and cursed under his breathe, a roll in his eyes as they all turned towards the road again and found themselves heading for the rear of a slower car. The one in charge held onto the wheel and steered to the right in an exaggerated fashion, everyone inside jerking at the sudden motion before holding onto nearby objects like the seat or glove department for support. Luckily, they had missed the bystanders and neighboring cars in the road. All of them taking deep breathes as they were not prepared for a crash or the thump of the arachnid on their roof.

"Hello!-" shouted the web slinger as he poked through the passenger side and webbed the guns shut belonging to the men in the back.

"I'm a have to ask for the driver to pull this here vehicle over. Or I'll have to give a ticket on top of the speeding fines."

The men all looked at eachother before bringing the car to a hault on the side of the road. Spidey smiling under his mask as he enjoyed the more simpler crimes that could be solved in five minutes at most. These Bayville issues often times would solve themselves from the intimidation that an actual super hero brings was something that made crooks in this small town cower. Which was something he could appreciate from the new scenery. Spider-Man didn't need to spend hours upon hours beating down crooks and so in return often found himself just enjoying the bright sunny days. That was until some distraction would suck him back into the real world.

'Da du du du duuu... da Du du du duuu... da Du du du duuu. da Du du du duuu...

Livin on thee edge fighting crime, swinging we-'

The hero stopped to answer the call as he flipped off of the car and landed on the pavement before lunging into the sky and swinging to a nearby building. A small smile as he welcomed the soft spoken sound of his aunt's voice after a good days work.

"Hey Peter."

"Oh Aunt May! Hi, how are you feeling?" he asked.

His aunt amused by the concern, giggled towards her partner of the call before replying "I'm feeling fine Peter, how are the eggs coming?"

The boy's eyes widen at the sudden realization, with all of the swinging and crime busting he had forgotten to pick up extra eggs for the cookies tonight. An awkward silence from his end spoke volumes and May just sighed while rubbing her eyes. She knew what was going through the boy's mind from the lack of a response and moved onto speaking for him.

"Just come over, I'll get the eggs Peter."

"No no no!" exclaimed our hero "I'll get them Aunt May, I just got sidetracked is all!"

"Nonsense, I could use the excercise anyway-"

"Nyo! no no no... I got this and I'll be there soon. Love you!" Peter shouted in a hurry before hanging the phone up, its dial tone rung in May's ears before she began to just look down at her phone, rolling her eyes with a grin. She found her nephew to be an interesting young boy at times, her smile followed with laughter while preparing the other ingredients that came from an old binder which read "Mary Parker's".

The Xavier Students

The girl with dark black hair looked outside of Scott's car and watched the scenery they passed, her body calm and composed in the back seat as their vehicle was moving at a moderate pace towards the Parker's House. A sigh leaving her lips as she looked back up at the others she was traveling with before her eyes circular motions brought her vision back to the window to watch the surroundings. She couldn't focus on anything else other then last night truth be told. It crawled under her skin how much the Parker boy felt off, like he was hiding something... and she wanted to know what it was.

Last Night

"U-uh... uhm" Peter spoke in a timid and broken mumble.

"What are you hiding Parker?"

"What? Nothing" he stated as he walked over towards the kitchen to grab a water bottle out of the fridge. He didn't think that the victim's crimson liquids would stain his torso with its scent, and neither did he expect for the raven haired girl to pick it up or interrogate him about it. Peter's palms grabbed the door and lightly pulled it open just before the raven haired girl slammed it back shut and stared our protagonist directly in the eye. The action surprising and stunning the poor boy as his eyes widened and his feet took a step away from the girl.

"The smell of your sweat is getting real potent. Nervous much??"

this girl questioned with eyes of a caged animal just peeking right into the soul of a silent Peter. His lips wanted to move and defend himself but he couldn't think of a good enough excuse at the moment. Fear of stuttering over words or just murmuring kept the boy from jumping on the spot with any random thought that came to mind. On one hand, if he gave an excuse sooner then she would be off of him sooner. But, if he gave something that lacked logic or spoke incoherently it would only make things worse as she was no where near stupid or gullible.

"Hey, alright guys lets just settle down" said their leader, Scott standing up and walking over with both hands up passively while making his way to the two involved.

"T-thanks Scott."

The taller boy looked towards Parker and gave a reassuring smile before staring at the girl before him. She wasn't happy with Scott's interruption in the slightest, a glare that scared most into submission didn't phase the boy as he stood his ground and did what he thought to be right. He took control of the situation and decided to try and deesculate the situation with this raven haired girl next to them before things got ugly.

"Don't mention it, she can come off a little... strong. But, listen Peter... she does have a point."

Peter's eyes widened again and the boy caught himself jumping in his statement

"Are you serious?-"

"Sorry, but nothing ever gets pass Logan's or her nose. Just tell us what happened and then we can all move on."

Peter's brain was running a marathon as Scott finished his sentence, the boy needed an excuse and fast to get out of this one. So, he started relying on the truth to form his little lie.

"Well, I was out and about in Bayville, getting used to the town. Then this crazy Shocker guy blew up a building and I got hit by some debris-"

"Oh my gosh are you okay?? Like, we didn't even know you were there!" shouted Kitty from the group near the couches.

"Yeah, I didn't want any of you to worry. It was just a small cut" Peter mentioned while rubbing the back of his head as he awkwardly chuckled under his breathe. An action that only made the girl's eyes squint in suspicion before walking off to the door with a stank look. Stopping as she grabbed the handle and she almost hesitated leaving the way she did.

"Uh you alright?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah" she answered before leaving the house and closing the door.

Infront of The Parker Household

The two cars full of kids stopped next to the house as the lack of any vehicle left room for their rides. One of the passengers, the girl with raven hair exited the car and closed the door behind her before stuffing each pocket neatly into her pants and dusting her outfit off. The rest group following in her example as KItty hopped out and stood next to the loner girl. Greeting her with a smile as tried to make conversation as they walked towards the door casually, Scott doing what he does best, took the initiative to knock first. Everyone getting silent as the sound of his knuckles hitting the wood brought a sudden wave of tension before the entrance suddenly opened and all of them was met with an older woman. Her gentle face greeting the teens in front of the house as her hand then motioned for the young guest to enter.

"Hi, I'm Peter's aunt. Please do come in~" she stated while moving her body's position to allow easy passage. The kids all walked in, and before anyone knew it a small aroma had invaded their nostrils, opening up the feeling of a truly open home even more so then her smile did.

"I took the liberty of making a few delectables~... but, I'm still preparing for the eggs so me and Peter can make the cookies. So, in the mean time have a seat and feel at home."

The kids did just as she asked, looking around at their environment as the welcoming space reminded many of their houses before the Xavier Institute. Kitty holding her hands together behind her back glancing around before her hazel eyes took the pleasure of staring at a the row of pictures. she noticed a frame which held what one would assume to be a family portrait.

Peter and his aunt both smiling at the camera with the most joyful faces that were just contagious in the cheer it brought to ones heart. But, then there was an older man as well standing in the frame. A smile much like the others, he seemed very close to the two as well from how he held an arm around them like a father does with his loved ones. Ethan noticed the way Kitty stared at the images and decided to join her, he walked over to her side and took a peek at the pictures as well. Though his eyes fell on a different one, and his whole face lit up before he picked it up and held the item to get a better look.

"Yooo, Pete's rocking some serious spectacles here!"

Kitty leaned over and examined the photo before a big smile just came over her soft cheeks, a reaction that incited some of the others to sneak a peak as well.

"Uh guys, we were supposed to take a seat-"

"Don't worry Scott, we're just looking around, no harm in that" Bobby said.

Their leader rolled his eyes under those ruby sun glasses while Jean just snickered at the predicament and decided to get up as well to see what the commotion was about. A smile coming over her face once she had made it into the group and gotten a glance of what they were all looking at. It was a picture of Peter, Big glasses nearly three times the size of his eyes all while exposing whatever teeth he had at the time in a cheerful grin. Science fair trophy in hand as he held onto a cart which carried some type of gadget the boy had developed at the time of the fair. Kitty cooed at the photo, remarking at how adorable he looked with the one missing tooth all while the others did the same or started talking about the other pictures on display.

"Ms.Parker, I figured Peter was intelligent. But, what is this?" asked Jean.

May chuckled at the statement and smiled while she rubbed off her hands with a towel and entered the living room "Yes, my Peter is a very bright boy." She beckoned for and received the frame from Ethan, looking down at it's contents. Gently smiling at the picture inside of simpler times before she proceeded to provide whatever context she could.

"Honestly I couldn't tell you myself. The boy was in love with science, his admiration for its methods led him to try and deconstruct our Tv remote by the time he was six. I suppose its why he was always asking for some new doohickey I could never remember the name of."

The rest smiled at the story and examined the others on display, Kurt eventually stopped at the image Kitty noticed earlier and looked to the older woman behind them.

"Who is this?" said their blue haired friend.

May stared at the frame and went silent for a quick second before answering the boy.

"That's my husband, Peter's uncle, he passed around a year ago."

"Oh."

Kitty elbowed the boy from his left and appropriately he reacted while rubbing the new found pain in his side. May laughed while she shook her head a little, interjecting as she provided some more information to the kids.

"Oh no, no... it's fine, a curious mind is never a bad thing. He was a great man, ya'll would've loved him." She then made her way to the kitchen to check on her ingredients and double check that every step was followed correctly. The rest watched her leave before returning back to whatever seats were available to them at the time.

Kitty and Rayne sitting down with closed legs while Bobby did just about the opposite and flopped down into a single square on the couch. Jean and Scott walked over to the left side of the room and each took one of the two spaces on the love seat this time. Meanwhile Mat, Ethan, and Kurt dropped to the floor, sitting with crossed legs and began a conversation to pass the time. It wasn't long though before another attention grabber came in the form of a knock on the house's door.

"Come in, it's open!" shouted May from the kitchen entrance.

The knob turned and there stood Logan as he looked around the place and set his eyes on the raven haired girl sitting down.

"Sorry, but I'm a need this one for a sec" the man said as she stood up and walked over without a word, the both of them heading outside of the house. Scott and the others looked at the scene and then at each other mentioning how "weird" it was and random at the time being. Then suddenly came another knock as Peter bursted through that same door, grocery bag in hand.

"Hey guys!" the boy shouted as he jetted past the kids and into the kitchen where a startled aunt May yelped.

"My god Peter, don't scare me like that..."

"Sorry, I-I was just running late and I had to bring the eggs." he answered while putting on a performance, shortness of breath and leaning over onto his knees. His aunt shook her head and received the eggs as she then began to count out how many the different recipes would need in total.

"Yo Pete, where ya been man?" asked Ethan.

Peter turned around and stepped into the living room as he waved to the rest of them and responded. "O-Oh! yeah, you wouldn't believe i forgot how the busy the streets of Manhattan are compared Bayville. You're lucky if your cab can reach past two miles an hour."

"Bayville doesn't compare. Some of us are used to more... 'rural' areas" said Rogue.

"I could believe it, but how long have you all been waiting for me?"

"Not too long, only been ten minutes" Kurt said reassuring their friend that he wasn't inconveniencing them all that much. Peter in return gave a sigh and readjusted his hair out of the way while looking for a seat, that was until aunt May called for him to come help with the cookies. Peter looked at the chair and then headed off into the bathroom to wash his hands. Meanwhile, Logan walks back inside with the raven haired girl.

"Sorry to interrupt, just had to talk with this one for a sec."

"Oh no worries, I know the feeling" May replied.

"Well she's open to help if any is needed" the girl's shoulders tensed up at those words, and she looked back towards the man behind her only for him to chuckled back. May smiled at the offer and accepted the extra hands for the task.

"Alright I'm off, don't give May here any trouble."

"When have we ever given any trouble?" said Bobby, a statement that Logan didn't even bother to acknowledge on his way out the door.

"Well if you don't mind, there's only a few things that need to be done for these cookies" said May as motioned for the girl to follow her into the kitchen. A sigh leaving this girl's mouth as she hesitantly let the older woman lead the way. Once at the counter the raven haired girl stood there and examined the bowls in front of her, an assortment of ingredients invaded the girl's nose within their current state.

"Hey aunt May, you just need some help with getting these shaped up and in the oven right?" May nodded in return and then returned her focus towards their helping guest.

"May I know your name sweet heart?" Peter's aunt asked in a sweet voice.

"I go by Laura."

"Oh Laura such a beautiful name~. Have you ever made cookies before?"

Laura shook her head from side to side, and May motioned for her to stand next to the woman, the girl doing so as she grabbed a bowl of dough and placed it in front of their guest. A smile on the woman's face as she continued on "This is the dough for sugar cookies." Laura sniffed the air and looked at the substance before moving her attention back to the older woman.

"Alright, now we-"

Ring Ring Ring

May rolled her eyes at the number of interruptions, her hands grabbing the straps of her apron as she took it off and set the fabric aside. "Peter, I hope you don't mind to help our guest out, I have to take this"

"Nope, it's fine aunt May. I can hold down the fort" Peter motioned with a swing of his arm and a wink towards his loving mother figure. A small laugh left her lips as she then hurried to answer the call.

"So, Laura is it?" the boy asked.

Laura rolled her eyes in irritation as she looked down to the bowl with curiosity. Seeing as his attempt to get friendly was to no avail, Peter walked around her and began to grab the exact number of eggs the recipe called for. Taking one and cracking it perfectly before moving to the next. She watched him and examined exactly how and what he was doing for this task at hand.

"Here, give it a stir."

Laura looked down at the bowl and then back to him, her hands gravitating towards the bottom of this dish as she held it and grabbed a spoon.

"Don't do it too rough though. Trust me, that's a mess not worth the extra energy."

Laura heeded to his advice and began to slowly twist and circulate the spoon to combine the eggs and other ingredients. Peter grabbing a spoon and stirring the other so they could get the work done much faster in the time by preparing two bowls at once. Peter took a glance of his guest and then went back to his bowl, after last night there was a tension in the air for sure. Her animalistic nose wasn't one easily fooled. he even worried about if Laura could smell any gun powder residue from the weapons fired at him during that high speed chase.

"Hey, Parker."

Peter's shoulders tensed at the stern mention of his last name, his hands rotation coming to a halt while gathering the energy to speak back without any suspicion raising red flags.

"This enough?" Laura simply asked.

"Oh, Yeah yeah. Nice Job."

Laura nodded and then moved onto grabbing small balls of dough while rubbing and shaping the pieces into disk to which she neatly set down onto the freshly sprayed sheets. One after the other, Peter gently placed a cookie onto the sheet whenever he had one ready. Not saying a word to her as she helped him do these cookies, the girl didn't make him feel comfortable with her insane sense of smell and determination to unveil any secrets. But on the bright side his spider sense wasn't triggered in the slightest, so he knew that she didn't plan any physical harm to him at the moment. which definitely helped to set the boy at ease while he worked on filling up his second tray of cookies now while looking over to check Laura's progress.

"Oh, you're making those too big. They're gonna end up pushing into eacho "

Laura looked down at her sheets and gave a questioning glare. Which then led Peter to try and help her out before they get them into the oven.

"Here, we can split these and then set the other half into the next pan."

Peter reached over and took a disk before ripping the dough into two and setting them down onto the seperate sheets. Picking them up and shaping the soon to be sweets into the shapes they needed soon after before giving a joyous "Ta-Daa." Laura followed in his example and began filling the other pans with the halfs they needed for another batch.

"Okay, it was just Professor Xavier calling to make sure everyone had made it in one piece. So, where were we?"

Peter turned to his aunt that just entered the room, giving a smile as he said they had already finished and the cookies weree baking. A surprise that May welcomed.

"Seems another set of hands really makes all the difference. We could use you next time Laura" May commented before laughing at her own joke and then rushing the two back into the livingroom. She wanted them to relax and begin searching for a movie while she waited on the deserts and snacks. Both of the kids accepted that and entered the room which everyone was residing in while waiting for the two before starting the festivities. A news story kept them busy and on it was the coverage of Spider-Man's battle with the Shocker yesterday.

"Yesterday afternoon Herman Schults, also known as the 'Shocker', engaged in a battle with New York's once Manhattan hero now residing most of his recent activities in Bayville, the Spider-Man. Their fight lasted no more then ten minutes as the esteemed vigilante put a quick and swift end to his heist. Now with on the streets with Kevin, a few statements from eye witness statements about what transpired Thursday afternoon."

"Thanks Sherley, we're here with our first witness. Tell us, what did you see?"

The black haired young man pulled on the collar of his shirt and a visible sweat droplet ran down his forehead as he looked at the television screen. A stutter in the beginning of his phrase before he finally got over the camera jitters.

"We- well... I was walking around with a frien when all of a sudden BOOM! This guy blows a hole in a wall no more then a feet or two away from me! I could've died!"

"That must had been terrifying-"

"You don't know the half of it! He didn't give a damn about whoever was caught in the blast!"

"Well then it must've been a relief to see Spider-Man put an end to his anti-"

"Yeah!" the young man shouted in excitement "If he wasn't here, I don't know what would've happened to me?!"

Peter takes a seat and askes the crew about what they were watching, and to his surprise it was a story about the wall crawler's fight with Shocker. Taking a seat in one of the lone chairs Peter begins to take the moment in and see what the public thought of him since nothing else was any better. The camera then switches to Kevin with a new witness, a older woman around her mid twenties stood infront of the camera with a pair of black shades that contrasted her blonde shoulder length hair. A form fitting black tank top to go with her white and black Yoga pants and running sneakers.

"Ma'am, what were your thoughts on the altercation between Spider-Man and Shocker?"

"It was an interesting. He was quick and efficient, agile and strong."

"Yeah, the web slinger's really something. Though, it's intriguing that the hero now operates in Bayville of all places, a town in a more rural and quiter part of New York when compared to Manhattan."

"Who could blame him, sometimes a guy gotta get to the simpler days. Leave behind the big bad muscle heads to flex their biceps elsewhere, maybe catch a cat burglar instead~. But, gotta give it to him. He can surely put on a show." she stated while her painted fingers ran up to the side of her face and brushed the excess strands behind her pierced ears studded in an expensive ear ring.

The man cleared his throat before speaking "I'd say, quite the original one isn't he?"

The question made this woman smile to herself as reached for the her gigs. Pulling them off of her face as she whipped the hair on her head with a sassy and smooth movement of her head. Vibrant green colors from the iris met the camera with a glance that spoke volumes to whoever looked into her eyes while coupled with a smug grin across her pink lips.

"Yes" she stated with a sudden sultry tone in her voice "He's quite an interesting man indeed~."

Peter nearly choked on thin air from this woman on screen, the gears in his head were definitely turning as he began to think to himself. "Wait wait, was that the Black Cat?? It had to be! Her word choice and attitude, it was almost as if she was hoping I would watch the news. And, if she was hoping Spider-Man was watching she must've left something in there important..."

"Hello, Earth to Peter..."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, we asked you if everything was alright" Jean asked with one eyebrow raised at his actions.

Peter now being snapped back into reality once again tried to play off his behavior with a smile "Yeah, everything's fine I just thought about something. While all of that was going down I never got a picture of Spider-Man."

"Why would you need a picture of him?" asked Rayne.

"Oh, well you see... You're looking at the official photographer of the wall crawler~."

Everyone gasped and then Peter found himself bombarded with the surprised and curious faced of these friends of his. Some of them, like Kurt and and Kitty, rushed the poor boy with questions on this fact about him while others were suprised to say the least.

"Like, why didn't you tell us before?"

"Uh... you never asked" Peter said sarcastically, to which Kitty pouts in return before Bobby cuts in.

"Well yeah, but no one expected that news from you. So, spill! How you get such great pictures of the guy??"

"Would you believe me if I said just dumb luck?" Peter replied with a chuckle.

"Then you'd have to be one of the luckiest guys we know" said Scott from the other side of the room. "No one can get a clear shot of him for the most part."

"I should know, I tried snapping a pic back when that Jonah guy was offering cash for them. Now I know who got to it before I did!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Wasn't that like, a year ago Bobby? Are you still hung up on that?" Kitty asked with an eyebrow raised while poking fun at the blonde friend of her's. He spun around and detested that statement. The boy merely just reminded of the small disappointment that came with his failed attempts at a clear and prize winning photo of the wall crawler.

Seeing as Kitty and Bobby had preoccupied theirselves with more teasing, Kurt decides to go ahead and ask his question to Peter.

"Well, now that he's back in action. What do you plan to do now?"

"You mean about Spider-Man?" Peter asked. "I don't really know, I'm no longer in Manhattan and Jameson was a real pain to work for."

"How does that not suprise me?" said Rogue.

Peter looked through the corner of his eye and gave a nod towards Rogue as just the thought of the man gave Peter mixed feelings. Jameson wasn't exactly the easiest guy to get along with back then, and if he was honest with himself probably still isn't now. The constant shouting at the top of his lungs and the scent of smoke in his office was enough to scare away most free lancers entering the Bugle doors. And, with Peter's senses fine tuned from the bite the smell of a fresh cigar always punched him square in the nose til he started holding his breath.

Honestly, Peter himself only stayed because it was simple and easy money for him. The job didn't require a set time or destination in need of his attention besides whenever he was already fighting crime and needed to snap a few shots.

"Not to mention the guys a cheapskate, trust me Bobby. You'll be glad I took the position before you did" Peter commented with a laugh.

"Peter, come here for a sec" aunt May called.

Peter did just that, and got up from his seat before jogging into the kitchen's entrance to assist his mother figure. He placed a hand on the door frame and askeder "what's up?"

Aunt May was holding two pans of cookies and wanted to get some help in bringing the food to the livingroom for their movie. Peter walked towards a cabinet and removed a couple plates before taking the cookies from his aunt and setting them into their respective display dish. He then took each one in hand and made his way into the livingroom where he had placed both onto a coffee table to which he was met with appreciative faces and words. His aunt following right behind him as she brought in a cooler filled with sodas along with a few other snacks like cake balls.

"Oh my god, this smells so good you guys!" commented Kitty with wide eyes, a sentiment everyone agreed to as they examined the simple yet delicious options.

"Oh don't mention it, I figured that all of you hard working and gifted kids could use a pick me up"

"Shoot, if this is a pick me up. Sign me up for anything else you got planned Mrs. P!" Ethan stated before sending a high-five Bobby's way and a chorus of like minded teens joined in with the same emotion.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind then.~"

Peter jumped back into his seat and grabbed the remote to the television, pressing the button and bringing up the "On Demand" options for a movie rental to complete their night.

"So, any of you have a movie in mind?"