M.J. slowed her bike down to a stop, parking it in the available space. Once the rumble of the bike ceased, she took a moment to prepare herself for what was to follow. She was actually going to do it; she was going to help her father. Specifically, she was here to pay for his hotel room for another couple weeks or so as he continued to work towards nailing down a job.
Part of her was afraid this would prove to be a waste of her time and money. After all, her father hadn't exactly been very motivated to work on himself before, so it didn't feel too likely to be the case now. Still, he'd come all this way to see her, and he'd appeared to have taken the time to sober up, so M.J. still felt like she should at least give him the slightest benefit of the doubt.
Removing her helmet and strapping it to her bike, M.J. ventured into the main lobby of the hotel, walking up to the woman at the front desk. Explaining who she was and why she was here, she took care of the payment.
"Also," she said, "can you tell me what room he's staying in please?"
"304," the lady replied.
"Thank you," M.J. said, walking towards the elevator. As she got in, she could feel her heartbeat go up a few notches. She took a couple breaths in through her nose to steady herself just in time for the doors to open, and she walked out. Finding the room number in question, she gave three knocks. Within seconds the door opened.
"You came," her father said, almost looking surprised.
"Yeah," she replied. "Anyway, I took care of the room, so you're covered for two more weeks."
"Great, thank you," he replied. "Would you want to come in?"
Mary Jane took a moment to think it over; she still wasn't 100% comfortable with being around him for too long yet, but she had to start somewhere. She stepped inside and he shut the door behind them.
"Your timing is pretty great actually," he said, "I just got back about twenty minutes ago from a job interview. It's too early to know for sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting the job."
"Really," M.J. said. "What is it?"
"An associate professor position in the English department at ESU," he replied. "Isn't that great?"
M.J. nodded hastily. "Yeah, absolutely."
"Really?" her father asked. "Because it doesn't sound like your very enthusiastic."
M.J. hung her head for a moment; she didn't want to disrupt her father's positive momentum, but still, she had to be realistic.
"I'm guessing they still need to run a background check?" she asked.
"Yeah, but...that was five years ago," her father countered, "and it was just a drunken disorderly charge."
"That you still did time for," Mary Jane reminded him.
"But I have the AA card to prove I completed the necessary rehab," her father argued.
"I know, it's just..." M.J. paused. She wasn't sure how to convey this point very gracefully. "I hope you get it, but I also don't want you to get your hopes up either."
"Why are you trying to shoot me down like this?" her father asked, a confused expression on his face.
"I'm not," M.J. contended. "I want you to get it."
"I believe I will," her father reiterated.
"Good for you," Mary Jane replied. "Well, I still need to grab something to eat really quick before heading back to work, so I better get out of here." She turned and began walking toward the door, but her father spoke up.
"You want to grab something together?" he asked. "It might be good for us, you know?"
M.J. spun around just enough to look at him.
"I think it's a little early for that," she replied.
"I understand," her father replied, nodding lightly. "Maybe some other time then."
"Maybe," M.J. said before heading out the door.
"Thank you so much for everything, Mrs. Parker," Eddie said.
"It's not a problem," May replied, "and please, just call me May. You can even put it on the record if you want."
Eddie chuckled.
"I'll remember that," he said before turning to Peter. "I'll go get our spots for the unveiling."
"Cool, I'll be right there," Peter responded. Once Eddie was out of earshot, he turned to May.
"Before you say anything," she said, clearly having anticipated this conversation, "I'll be spending most of my time inside, so don't worry. I'm not about to get caught in some crossfire that might not even happen, by the way."
"I know," Peter said, "I just..."
"You have a feeling," May said, letting out a sigh. "Well, you're the experienced superhero between the two of us, so I'm not going to tell you to just ignore your gut, but at least try not to worry too much. I know that's like telling water not to be wet, but I thought I'd give it a try."
Peter couldn't help but chuckle a little at May's analogy.
"Well, I can't say I haven't learned from the best when it comes to worrying at least," Peter countered.
May's jaw dropped.
"Peter Benjamin Parker," she said, putting her hand to her heart, "what on earth could you be insinuating?"
"Oh, I don't know," Peter said nonchalantly, "I just know this woman who worries all the time about some nephew of Her's, though I have no idea why. I mean, it's not like he's done a dangerous thing a day in his life. He's really quite boring, if I do say so myself."
May playfully slapped him on the side of the arm as she laughed silently.
"I guess the only reason she does worry is because she has a big heart," Peter continued, his tone becoming more sincere. "She doesn't give it away easily, but once she does, there's nothing she won't do for that person. Sometimes it hurts her, but she somehow still manages to be the most joyful person I know. I'm not sure how she does it honestly, but...she inspires me."
"Aww," May said, giving her nephew a hug, which Peter gladly returned.
"See, I can be nice sometimes," Peter said.
"Sometimes," May reiterated. Peter could've sworn she was starting to tear up a little, evidenced further by her wiping her left eye.
"Well, I better get in there," she said, "and you better find your seat. I worked hard to make sure the Bugle's photographer could have the best spot possible for pictures, and I'd hate to see all that effort go to waste."
"Yes ma'am," Peter replied dutifully. "Thanks again May, for everything."
"Of course," May replied before turning and walking into the building. As she did, it was hard for Peter not to feel a tad uneasy still, but he was intent on trying to take May's advice. He understood that he worried and worried a lot, and he knew that it wasn't the best thing for his physical or mental health, spider powers and all. Maybe, just for today, he could find a way to not worry too much.
With any luck, he just might enjoy himself a little too.
Peter walked over to the front row seat he and Eddie had for the unveiling and demonstration of this new power source before its proper full installation.
"Your aunt really hooked us up," Eddie said.
"Yeah, I guess that's what a good reputation combined with a determined personality can get you," Peter replied. "Being around for years also helps I guess."
"You two seem really close," Eddie noted.
Peter couldn't help but smile.
"She basically raised me," he said, "her and my Uncle Ben. She's had to put up with a lot over the years."
"I'll bet," Eddie jabbed, drawing a look from Peter.
"Anyway," Peter continued, "she's pretty much the only family I have left. I'd do just about anything for her."
Eddie nodded, his expression turning surprisingly solemn.
"What about you?" Peter asked. "You still have much family?"
"Oh yeah," Eddie affirmed, "my parents still live over in Brooklyn. They're great, other than the fact that they won't leave me and Anne alone about when we're finally going to give them grandchildren. They've always been very supportive though, even when they didn't understand why I turned from wanting a career in the NFL to journalism."
"Sounds nice man," Peter said. "Well, accept for the constant pestering about grandchildren."
"What's funny is they talk like Anne and I have already hit forty and we're going to be too old to enjoy our kids as they get older," Eddie admitted. "We've tried to reiterate to them that we do want kids, just once we're sure we're ready; oh, and that we're both barely thirty too."
"I guess I should consider myself lucky I don't have that problem," Peter joked.
"There are many wonderful sides to marriage," Eddie replied, "but parents and in-laws constantly questioning you about grandkids is NOT one of them."
Peter laughed, but deep down, it was hard for him on some level not to want that problem for himself. He'd always struggled to some degree with the concept of family; as much as May and Ben loved him, he still felt displaced growing up. He'd tried not to dwell too much on the topic of having his own family once he'd lost the person that he'd wanted to share that with, but it was still hard not think about from time to time.
Fortunately, the presentation appeared to be getting under way, so at least Peter had something else to focus on. He grabbed his camera, already preparing in the hopes of getting the best shot possible. A gentleman dressed in what looked like a very expensive suit came up to the stage to address the crowd.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Thank you all for being here today."
That's when Peter felt it: his spider sense. The tingling sensation was particularly poignant and it was directing him upward, so he looked up to see none other than Adrian Toomes, the Vulture, come flying in from up high. He swore he could see some guns of some kind mounted on his back pointing down, which suddenly opened fire towards the crowd below.
Instinctively, Peter grabbed Eddie and dived out of the line of fire.
"You good?" Peter asked.
"I think so," Eddie replied. "Looks like we have a different story to cover now."
Peter looked up to see Vulture making a nosedive toward the crowd before pulling up. The green winged enemy seemed almost like he was acting more like a distraction, maybe even to draw Spider-Man out.
Well, if he wanted Spider-Man, that's what he was going to give him.
"I'll be back," Peter said, starting to get up. "I need to check on May."
"Do what you need to man," Eddie affirmed, and that was all that Peter needed. He sprinted off, eventually finding a somewhat closed off area near the backside of the building where he ditched his street clothes, revealing his Spider-Man suit underneath. He slipped on his mask as he raced up the side of the building, making his way toward the rooftop. He then ran back in the direction of the crowd, spying Vulture as he did so.
Timing his leap, he jumped off just in time to catch his enemy unprepared, landing on his backside.
"Hey, you old buzzard, long time no see!" Peter shouted. "Tell you what, if we're going to catch up, how about we do it somewhere else?"
Firing web lines onto both of Vulture's wings, Peter tried to steer him away from the crowd, but his opponent resisted. The result was an uneven back and forth struggle, with no clear direction as to where they were going. Vulture managed to throw him off after a moment, with Peter landing back on the hospital wall.
"I'd wondered if you might be here wall crawler," Toomes said. "Now my friends and I get to finish you off!"
"Friends?" Peter said, when his spider-sense went nuts again. He looked to the side to see a tentacle made of sand flying at him, and he flipped up out of the way.
"Hey Marko, missed you too man!" Peter greeted. "Look, guys, if you wanted a visit, all you had to do was ask. Seriously, you didn't have to go through all this trouble."
His enemies said nothing in response, instead coordinating an attack, with Vulture taking the air and Sandman the ground. Peter's spider sense led him to twist and turn out of the way just in time, but it was only enough to avoid blows, not deal any of his own.
As he was working to fend them off while keeping them away from the crowd, Peter noticed a third guest to the party: Rhino, who was focused on stealing the machine.
"Hey Aleksei," Peter shouted, "no taking what doesn't belong to you, remember?"
Just as he was heading in Rhino's direction, his spider sense rang out yet again as Vulture swooped, barely missing him. Unfortunately, this set him up to get wacked by Sandman, sending him crashing into the building itself. Peter landed in a heap, surrounded by debris. Marko came after him looking for more, wrapping him up tightly before throwing him through multiple walls, causing him to collapse again.
His whole body already was aching from the impacts, but Peter wasn't about to give up. Plus, May was in here somewhere. He had to get Sandman back outside. He narrowly avoided a crushing blow from the villain, diving out a window and forcing himself to fire a web to swing from again, despite his aches and pains. He found a water hydrant, landing in front of it.
"Come on, Sandy," Peter jabbed, "afraid to get up close and personal with your favorite wall crawler?"
"I'm not afraid of anything!" Mark protested. He formed his fist into a hammer and came running, and Peter leapt out of the way for him to bring it down right on the fire hydrant, causing it to burst and water to spray onto him, reducing him to a muddy mess. He would reform, but not for a while.
Making his way back, Peter found that Sandman had been a bigger distraction than he realized: Rhino and Vulture were gone, and the power source along with them. How had he let himself get so sidetracked? The good news was no one in the crowd seemed to be seriously injured, so at least he'd managed to keep them safe, which was his number one priority, always.
But what about May? The fight between him and Marko had shook things up quite a bit, so he ventured inside to try and find her to make sure she was okay. He found the hospital staff checking on each other, but there was no sign of his aunt.
"Excuse me, is everyone okay?" he asked a nurse.
"I think so," she replied somewhat shakily.
"I'm looking for someone; a May Parker," he asked. "Have you seen her?"
"She's still who we're looking for," the woman replied. "She was heading to drop off some samples in the infectious disease area; someone was going to check on her."
Without responding, Peter raced to the room, bursting through the doors. His eyes quickly scoured the area, and in seconds he found her.
She was lying unconscious on the ground.
Hope you're still enjoying this!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 17:6