Author's Note: Hey, guys! Once more, it's been a while since I posted, though I'm confident you all have been patiently waiting for more. In that case, I'm hopeful you all enjoy this chapter as it was the most exciting one I wrote so far. Keep being awesome and hope to see you in the comments!
Two weeks passed and the green warmness of summer had transitioned into the colorful coolness of autumn. What was once balmy seventy degree weather now cooled to roughly fifty to sixty degree chills, the winds tossing and turning anything they could. Tree leaves began to change color, shed, and blow around with the wind prompting many to rake the town where necessary. Despite the amount of physical change to the landscape, much remained the same in the life of Peter Parker.
For one, committee business had run mostly smoothly in the time it took for them to prepare everything. Though the focus was mainly on the dance, they took some time to prepare for the week as well. Each of them collaborated with Liz on the theme days for everyone to dress up throughout the week and had come up with several great ideas such as Twin Day, Celebrity Day, etc. Meanwhile Liz herself also made sure that everyone stayed on task whenever physical work was required during and outside of their meetings.
Although she had proven to be a little bossy on a few occasions, Liz kept a relatively cool head during this time. Given the way Liz treated them when they were last goofing off, Peter and Gwen made a conscious decision to make sure they didn't get on her bad side. For that matter, they tried not to get too involved whenever Flash showed up to talk to and/or canoodle with Liz in front of everyone.
One day while designing a banner for the ticket booth, Peter and Gwen caught sight of Flash chatting with Liz from their corner of the gym.
"There he is, Pete," Gwen announced. "Hoods up!"
The two of them drew up the hoods of their different colored hoodies they were wearing to ensure Flash did not see their faces while they were working on the banner. Ignoring him as best as they could, they remained fixated on drawing as many flashy and creative designs as they could to fill up the paper. They made an effort not to look as they waited for the moment to pass, hoping that Flash would not notice them. The plan seemed to work well enough until they heard footsteps squeaking across the slick, wooden gym floor approaching their direction. A buff dude's shadow cast over them, shielding them from the light overhead.
"Hey, guys! Working your butts off I see?" Flash said in an oddly friendly demeanor.
Peter's stomach lurched realizing Flash had actually found them. However, he didn't seem to recognize them under their hoods. Hoping to keep it that way, Peter and Gwen silently gave him a thumbs up.
"That's neat," Flash continued. "Well, Liz wanted me to go around telling the whole committee I support your efforts and we want you all to cast your votes to have Kenny Kong and Glory Grant be homecoming king and queen this year. And, if any of you tell Puny Ass Parker and his nerdette friend they can grovel all over them, tell them to keep their geek sweat away from their rightful throne!"
Trembling in their shadowed hoods, Peter and Gwen simultaneously shook their heads to let Flash know what he said registered to them. Tempting as it was, Peter resisted the urge to make a smart alec remark for the sake of concealing his identity the way he did on a daily basis as Spider-Man.
Shortly thereafter, Liz mosied up in her booted leg to watch over them and catch up with Flash.
"Flash! Don't forget to tell Peter and Gwen what a good job they're doing here before you leave," Liz suggested. Hearing this, Peter's heart rate quickened from her giving away their position.
"Wait, what?!" Flash questioned, reaching to pull back Gwen's hood. Startled, she reached over to pull back, wrestling with Flash's large hand to keep her hood down.
"Flash, stop!" Gwen exclaimed, effectively giving away her position.
"Aha! So it is you!" Flash noticed. "What's the matter? Too chicken to tell me you were on this cushy little committee with my girlfriend of all people?"
Seeing her threatened, Peter looked up and pulled his hood down, revealing himself to Flash. "Dude, leave her alone!" he spouted, staring him down.
Flash released Gwen's hoodie, throwing her to the ground rather forcefully. "Oh, look. Puny Ass Parker here to defend his little lady!" Flash said mockingly. "Whatcha gonna do? Break my wrist again?"
Peter shuddered at the memory that entailed: the fight that broke out between him and Flash in the cafeteria that allowed Peter to exhibit his powers. Back then, Peter was so good at dodging and catching Flash's punches that he ultimately broke Flash's wrist and both of them got told off. After a visit with the principal, Flash got suspended for a few days while Peter had to serve community service followed by Uncle Ben having to teach him responsibility. As much as he would've rather that moment be his turning point, he had to live with the fact that Ben died the rest of his life. "I certainly would like to, but I've learned to practice restraint since last year," Peter threatened, standing up to face his tormentor.
"So her 'chickenness' is rubbing off on you, I see," Flash insulted. "I'll bet you're about to call someone like Squirrel Girl to kick my ass for you."
"If I had the option, I would. But right now, I'm short on superhero contacts," Peter admitted.
"That's because you're not cool enough like me! Hell, I'm so cool, I've even got a hot date with Black Widow later this evening!"
"Flash!" Liz scoffed.
"What? I'm just kidding!" Flash attempted to remedy.
"It wasn't a very smooth joke, for one. And two, I told you to treat the committee with respect today. This is far from that. Now stop it and say you're sorry before I report you to the principal!" Liz shouted, putting her foot down.
Flash slumped, realizing that his girlfriend of all people was threatening to tell on him. As little as Peter liked to sympathize with Flash, his current situation seemed to mirror the last time Gwen didn't like the way he was treating her. "Fine. I'm sorry, guys. Your designs look great," he forced himself to say before turning to Liz. "Okay, can I go now?"
"Keep going around until you tell everyone something nice," Liz instructed. Hearing this, Flash sighed and carried on, leaving Peter and Gwen to do their work in peace. While he continued onto the next group of kids, Liz stayed to continue to chat with the two people she liked to consider he star members.
"Thanks for standing up for us, Liz," said Peter. "I didn't know you hated Flash's bullying as much as we do."
"I tolerate it for the most part, though sometimes, like today even, he steps over the boundaries I set," she admitted. "Still, it's not like I can change him or anything."
Peter could not believe what he was hearing. A girl like Liz Allan who treated him somewhat unreasonably before didn't tolerate someone as bad as Flash even though she dated him? Perhaps Liz did have some sense to her after all, even if only a little bit.
"To be honest, we wish we could too," said Gwen. "Still…"
"Ah, what the heck? You guys are doing great!" Liz said, changing the subject. "Keep it up and we'll have special rewards by the end of next week!"
"Sure thing, Liz…" Peter trailed off as she hopped away on her healing foot.
If there was anything he learned from this experience it was that Liz, although a little rough around the edges, genuinely did care for people like him and Gwen. And, with as much as he was spending time with Gwen these past two weeks, he knew he was demonstrating the same level of care to her as Liz was to them. Hopefully, nothing would get in the way of that.
Once the banner was done and Liz congratulated everyone for the evening, Gwen rode in her father's police car home while Peter decided to go the more subtle route and walk home for the evening. With the cops still hot on his alter-ego's trail, he knew nobody would suspect him in his civilian clothes. Although the sun started to set earlier than usual, Peter trusted his instincts among other things would protect him from any and all criminals that would dare attack him at this hour. Having his Spider-Man abilities certainly had its advantages to walking home alone in the evening. Still, the more he thought about his relationship with Gwen and the manhunt orchestrated against him, the more he second guessed his responsibilities as the Web-head.
I can tell Gwen is really into me, Peter thought. She likes me, I like her - it's a mutual like fest! I haven't upset her since the night of the first home game and that's a good thing! Still, that's mainly because I haven't been distracted by anything Spider-Man-related. Moreover, the cops have been after me the way most fangirls chase their favorite boy band - I mean, except without all the screaming and tearing of clothes. Moreover, after what Mr. Osborn said about making the most of my time before it's up, I wonder what that means for my responsibilities? Should I consider hanging up the costume until homecoming's over? Or should I risk my relationship and my reputation to make sure the city's safe? Maybe…
In an instant, Spider Sense sucked Peter out of the vortex of his swirling mind, alerting him to the rupture of an explosion a few blocks away.
Oh no, not again! What is it this time? A lab explosion resulting from a chemical leak?
Without second thoughts, Peter rushed into the nearest alleyway, threw off his clothes, webbed his backpack to the dumpster, and applied his Spider-Man mask and gloves. Once suited up, he propelled himself over the building in front of him. According to his enhanced hearing, the explosion emanated from the nearby, neon-lit Oscorp lab stationed directly in front of him.
"That explosion came from the Oscorp lab!" Spidey exclaimed. "I'd better investigate to see what caused it."
Spidey web zipped over the shadowy streets, making use of the environment and his surroundings to silently pull off flips and trick combos for the sake of making himself look and feel stylish while he worked. As he approached the Oscorp lab, his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of police sirens blaring in the distance, confirming that they were en route to the scene.
Of course the cops noticed the sound of the big explosion, Spidey thought. Let's just hope they don't get there first.
Once he landed on the building nearest to the Oscorp lab, he caught sight of a couple getaway vans similar to the ones he saw the other week driving toward the side of the building. With a little ingenuity in his web swinging, Peter maneuvered himself around the building to follow them, sensing that he was about to witness a heist in progress. Attaching himself to the top of a lamppost nearby, Spidey waited to watch the scene play out in front of him, noticing a shadowy figure standing at a hole blown into the brick wall of the building. He focused in on his enhanced vision whilst the vans drove into the shattered wall, just barely making out the figure's red jacket, brown utility belt, and yellow quilted patterned suit with a mask fit with goggles. His wrists were fit with bulging gauntlets that looked as though they were smoking from whatever he just did with them. Whoever this was, he was either the leader of the heist or the cause of the hole in the wall - maybe both.
Spidey listened in on the brightly dressed figure's speech as he spoke to his associates on a walkie and made out the following: "We don't have much time. Law enforcement'll be here soon, so y'all better better wrangle up the loot like a cattle herder or there'll be ass kickin' later!"
"Not on my watch!" Spidey exclaimed, spinning a web, determined to put a stop to the heist.
Quietly, Spidey tumbled behind the man, shooting a web to yank the walkie out of his hand and smash it against the wall. The man turned around to see what just happened, witnessing Spidey firsthand.
"Accessorize much?" Spidey asked the man. "You know, maybe you should consider making yourself less of an eye candy figure when it comes to pulling heists."
"You! You're that bug who wrangles up my men in all them heists we pull," the man commented, his Southern accent catching Spidey by surprise. "No matter… I've been looking forward to this day!"
The man held up his gauntlets, pointing them directly at Spidey.
"Oh no, I'm so scared!" Spidey said sarcastically, raising his hands in a mocking frightened fashion. "What do those things do? Shock someone to death?"
"Stay quiet and you'll find out!" the man proclaimed, firing up his gauntlets as they glowed a bright blue.
Spidey's senses heightened as the oncoming blast of shockwaves zoomed through the air toward him as if in slow motion. Even then, his Spider Sense was still fast enough to throw him out of the way and back onto the street. He looked back as the blast arched downward and impacted the sidewalk.
"Ooh, snazzy!" Spidey remarked sarcastically. "And I'll bet you're the one who blew the hole in the wall, 'Mr. Shocker of the Night'?"
"Boy, I don't do well with your kind, especially at this time of night. So why don't you just pipe down and take it like a man?!"
The man fired two more blasts, both flying past Spidey as he dodged them and allowed them to hit a car and light post respectively. The car exploded as its alarm went off, blaring into the night, while the lamp's bulb exploded.
"Oh, so now I'm not 'manly' enough?" Spidey said in air quotes as he perched on a newspaper stand. "Pal, I happen to be among the biggest men in town! Who's to say you're any different?"
"I ain't foolin' when I say I'm a man with more experience than y'all will probably ever have. I've rounded up gangsters, bosses, civilians for ransom, you name it! And now… I got these," he said, displaying his gauntlets. "And I'm gonna use 'em to roast you to bits."
"Okay, if we're gonna fight, how about we start with the formalities: hi, I'm Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man here to kick your a-"
Spidey scurried off before the brightly suited man's shockwaves reached him, effectively destroying the newsstand. Spidey then perched on the light nearest to him.
"Well in that case, how's about you call me…" the man continued. "Er, what was that name y'all gave me?"
"Mr. Shocker of the Night?"
"Yeah," he said, thinking to himself. "How's about I shorten it to 'Shocker'?"
Spidey swung away from the next blast. "Oh yeah? Well, how's about I make you 'toast'?!"
The Web-head then propelled himself downward toward Shocker, kicking his legs out toward him in preparation to deliver a kick that, without restraint, would shatter his bones. Just as he made contact with the padded yellow suit, however, Spidey immediately faced the wrath of a wave of Shocker's shockwaves colliding with his system. The blast blew him across the street as he skidded across the ground. He grunted hard as his hardened skin and bones made contact with the concrete, remaining surprisingly intact, but still in pain nonetheless.
"This here suit does more than protect me from my own power," Shocker said. "It also defends from outside attacks like what you vermin deliver."
Despite his daziness, Spidey still willed himself to slowly get back up, his exterior writhing with pain, but he endured it regardless.
"You're good," he humbly admitted. "But are you fast enough to dodge this?!"
Spidey clicked his web shooter towards the dangerous man, but all he heard was the click. No sticky web fluid came out whatsoever. Confused, he continued to click to no avail, and yet still nothing.
"No, no!" Spidey muttered under his breath. "Not a good time to run out of web-"
Shocker's gauntlet went off once more, but Spidey became so distracted by his lack of web fluid in his shooter that he failed to recognize the warning of Spider Sense signaling the oncoming attack. The shockwave attack blew Spidey back into the nearest building, leaving a dent of his outline in the brick wall. Pieces of masonry then crumbled with him as he fell to the ground. Although dazed from the impact, he fought hard and well to stay awake and caught sight of the two white escape vans circling around Shocker to extract him.
"All those stories and all those legends of you putting away my men and here I thought you'd be the toughest bull in the rodeo," Shocker taunted. "I reckon you're more the rodeo clown getting trampled by the bull at this point. In any case, we ought to skedaddle. Better make sure y'all don't keep up."
Spidey watched as Shocker hopped into the back of the nearest getaway van and vowed internally not to let him get away. "Let's hope my other web shooter hasn't dried out yet," he said examining his left hand web shooter.
With as much ingenuity as he could inject, Spidey focused on firing web lines out of his left hand, tumbling forward with enough momentum to keep up with the escaping vehicles. Naturally, the goons riding in the vehicles noticed him and fired their guns out the side windows. The bullets whizzed by Spidey's figure as he performed all kinds of flips and tricks to dodge them; although he wasn't left-handed, Spidey did his best to propel himself forward to catch up with and land on the nearest van. Hearing his feet hit the roof, a criminal popped out of the window, raising his gun to fire at the Web-head, but Spidey was even quicker to kick the gun out of his hand. He then attached a web line to a nearby building and stuck it to his back.
"Here, hold this!" Spidey quipped.
The criminal flew out the window to be left dangling from the nearest building while Spidey flipped downward and into the vehicle expecting to kick the driver out of his seat. His expectations were shattered when, to his surprise, Shocker appeared in the passenger's seat to snatch Spidey's leg with his gauntleted hand.
"Ain't so fast now, is ya?" said Shocker.
Spidey felt a surge rock his system, every fiber, muscle, and bone in his body vibrating like one of those back massagers Aunt May used to help soothe her system - only this was more painful. Unable to dodge anything, Spidey took Shocker's subsequent punch and was sent tumbling out the side of the vehicle and into a dark, dirty alleyway where he face planted hard. Spidey looked up toward his fleeing attacker in envy of his newfound abilities.
"Hey, no fair!" Spidey exclaimed.
He clicked his left web shooter only to find that it, too, had run out, leaving Spidey hopeless as to try and reach the vehicles efficiently.
"And that's just great!" he moaned, sensing himself unable to catch his fleeing foes. "Oh, what am I thinking? I can still catch 'em on foot if I try hard enough. Let's see…"
He squinted to make out the outline of the escaping convicts' van, picking up the relative location of where the van fled to. From what his vision detected, the small convoy was now turning onto the nearest street towards oncoming cars. Although the bones in his body ached from all the hits he took, Spidey still had the strength to stand up and chase the fleeing bad guy of the night.
"If I can detect their route, I can easily run over the buildings and cut them off! Hopefully, they don't go too far!"
Spidey had little experience with chasing people on foot, though he knew he was fast enough to keep up with any cars going fifty-sixty miles an hour. With his enhanced speed, Spidey darted out of the alleyway, crossed the street and aimed for the nearest building he planned to run up the side of. Before he could reach it, however, red and blue lights flashed out of his peripherals alerting him to the police speeding nearby.
"Spider-Man, stand down!" a cop announced through his megaphone.
Refusing to slow up, Spidey leaped across the street to latch onto the building, gained his footing, and ran up the side, dodging the cop's bullets and tasers in the process. As if chasing criminals wasn't stressful enough, now he had to deal with pursuing cops attempting to shoot him down for doing no wrong.
Without losing sight of the escaping criminals, Spidey witnessed them turning a corner and getting into a shootout with the pursuing cops gaining on them from a different angle. From where he sat in the passenger's seat, Shocker's blasts took out two cop cars and wounded many more cops, providing his gang with a massive advantage over the pursuing law enforcement. As much as Spidey wished he could help, he still had no means to act as quickly as he usually could with his webs. That said, he hoped to refill his cartridges once he got home.
The vans turned a corner away from Spidey, forcing him to leap across the street, away from the pursuing police helicopter, which now had him in its sights. Although Spidey remained well out of sight from Shocker's gang, the cops still shot at him with every chance they got, but Spidey refused to slow up and get shot despite his fading stamina. Eventually, the vans swerved around traffic and onto the street directly in front of Spidey. Would Spidey finally have the advantage to gain the upper hand and stop these crooks from getting away?
"Gotcha!" Spidey shouted as he leapt off the building.
However, time seemed to slow to a halt, Spider Sense blaring in every direction that he couldn't seem to make out where the nearest attacker came from. With little indication as to where to look, a pair of green, metallic talon-like feet snatched Spidey by his foot, the whiplash of the sudden pull catching him off guard. The mysterious force dragged him far away from the ensuing chase, pulling him through the air and into the higher portions of the concrete canyons. Confused, Spidey looked up to notice the mysterious attacker was none other than his previous foe, the Vulture.
What's this?! Spidey thought.
"You're not going to keep us from getting away so easily, Spider-Man!" Toomes's voice rang from above. Spidey struggled to focus on his snatcher's face due to the wind blowing from all directions.
"What? Vulture!" Spidey yelled over the updraft. "You're working with these guys?!"
"And rightly so, for they are a valuable asset to my cause!" Toomes explained, his flight suit humming as he continued to pull Spidey away from the chase.
"And here I thought you were more the anti-social type! What's next? You tell me you got a wife and three kids I never even heard about?"
"Th-that doesn't matter!" Toomes stuttered. "What matters is that you need some common sense to stay out of our affairs! So leave us alone and have a nice swim!"
Without even a second to react or even struggle to get free due to a lack of webs, Spidey found himself propelled through the air, flipping upside down until his view faced downward. Through his mask, the most uncomfortable landing surface lay below him: water - and not the clean, fresh water he would have liked. No choice, but to take it, he tumbled into the water, splashing into the drink and becoming surrounded by the dirty, sludge-like water that a place like the Hudson River was known for around New York. Spidey held his breath and forcefully dove lower to ensure that his foe would assume he was dead rather than survive the fall. According to his enhanced vision, it took about ten seconds before the Vulture flew away, assuming he may have gotten rid of him.
With what little oxygen he had left in his system, Spidey swam hurriedly toward the nearest shore, hoping, without a doubt, no one would see him emerge from the drink. Eventually, he rose from the horrid New York water, gasping for air and coughing. His wet costume stuck to him as parts of it filled up with water, essentially drowning him in places he didn't know he had yet. As he crawled up the sandy shore on the edge of Manhattan, he was only certain no one could see him as he removed his wet mask.
"That could've gone better," Peter told himself. "I get my ass kicked, I lose my webs, the cops chase me, and I get blindsided by Beaky. All that and I still don't know what the crap they're planning. That's it, Pete. With all that's going on, maybe you need a break from this job so that it doesn't interfere with homecoming week."
He looked around. No one else was present, but he had barely an idea of how to get back to his stuff and remain inconspicuous.
"Of course, how am I gonna get back to the alleyway without being seen?"
Using his Parker intellect and best stealth skills he could muster, Peter reapplied his mask, snuck around until he could find the nearest subway, and hitched a ride on the back car without being seen. Once the subway took him to the station nearest the Oscorp lab, he snuck out of the station and located the alleyway where he left his bag and ditched his wet costume in favor of dry clothes. Worried for the time, he checked his phone - thankful he didn't take it with him - to find it was only eight thirty, giving him plenty of time to get home before curfew. However, he wasn't sure how much cash he had to buy a bus ticket and take the safe way home. He checked his wallet to find he was in luck: only two tens that Aunt May paid him last time he did chores for her. That amount was more than enough for him to take ten buses home, though he only needed one.
Although it took roughly twenty minutes for the bus to arrive, Peter eventually boarded the bus to Queens and found his way home. On the way, he texted Aunt May to let her know he was on his way so that he need not worry her. Moreover, he thought about how he would explain his lateness as well as potential bruises he received from his fight with Shocker in order that he may cover his tracks. Once he reached the front porch of his home, finally, it was only nine twenty at night and he felt he had planned the perfect excuse.
He opened the door to find Aunt May folding laundry at the living room sofa all while watching a news report of the previous chase downtown.
"Peter!" she exclaimed in relief. "Thank heavens, you made it on time! What took you so long?"
Peter looked down, formulating his words carefully. "Gwen and I just went for a walk in the park following the committee and stopped by the Silver Spoon afterwards. Sorry, I didn't tell you before. We were just having too much fun!"
"Glad to know you're alright. What happened to your face, though? It's filthy," she commented before sniffing the air. "And why do you smell like… Like New York water?"
Peter wiped his hand over his face and a streak of dirt and dust came off onto his palm, shocking him. This must have been from sitting outside the subway car with his mask up or something.
"I accidentally dropped some stuff in the pond and went diving after it," Peter lied. "Guess my face must've caught a bunch of dust since I had no place to dry it off."
"I'm sorry that happened. In that case, you need a bath and a shower before I show you your reward for arriving home on time consistently."
Taking her advice, Peter went upstairs to bathe and shower in anticipation of what Aunt May had to show him. Once he cleaned himself off and got dry, he marched back downstairs to the dining room to find Aunt May sitting at the table, a slice of a special yellow and white desert sitting neatly on a plate beside a fork at Peter's spot: banana cream pie.
"Is that pie for me?!" Peter exclaimed excitedly.
"Sure is, dear. I felt like baking today and decided that if you came home on time tonight, which you did, it shall be your reward!"
Hearing this, Peter beamed from ear to ear for the first time since Uncle Ben's death. "No way, May! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome, dear," Aunt May said with a giggle. "Now dig in!"
Peter sat at the table, sitting and talking with Aunt May as he savored every bite of his banana cream pie. So what, he let the bad guys get the jump on him? So what, the cops were after Spider-Man still? For all he knew, he wouldn't have to worry about either as long as homecoming remained a priority. In addition he knew that, even despite losing one parental figure, he still had an amazing person like Aunt May watching over him, taking care of him. If this was the start of his life getting better for the first time since that fateful day, maybe there was hope for him to have the best homecoming ever.
Mmmm, delicious! I hope that made you guys hungry for more as well as banana cream pie if you have any. See you guys next chapter!