I forced myself to comply and lower myself to the floor, remembering that I didn't have my mask and web shooters on me, let alone my suit. Besides that, while I probably could have taken them all on, I didn't want to get any of my friends hurt. Of course, there was also the matter of me revealing that I'm Spider-Man, but if I could've taken them down without any harm being done to anyone else, I would have risked it. However, there was no way around it – Spider-Man couldn't come out to play at the moment.

"Okay, we'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt them!" I pleaded.

"As long as you and the police do what we say, you won't have to worry about that." He turned towards one of the others. "You, stay here and sit on them." He then turned to the others. "The rest of you, go inside with me and get everyone under control. Don't shoot them unless you have to. Understood?"

After chorus of "yes", "yeah", and the like, they rushed inside, leaving the assigned guy deal with us. This would have been cake for me, but I still held off. I flinched when I heard gunshots from the inside. I hoped they were warning shots.

"Just don't do anything stupid," the gunman looking over us warned. "I don't like harming kids, but I will shoot you if you get out of line."

With that, he started to pace up and down the lobby as he looked towards the doors, waiting on the police to show up.

"…So… not the way I wanted my night to end," Ned whispered.

"Let me guess, you wanted to make out with a hot blond while Extraordinary Girl was playing?" MJ deadpanned.

"…I mean, I am with Betty."

"…You think I'm hot?" Betty asked in earnest.

"I told you this already, many times."

"And he can't even go one day without talking about you," MJ added. "Ned's more likely to cause diabetes than anything my workplace sells."

Despite the situation we were in, I couldn't help but chime in. "Wow, Ned, you must be extra sweet."

Betty let loose a moan of appreciation. "He sure is."

"While I'm quite impressed… and unnerved… that you guys can have such lighthearted banter at a time like this, I need to ask you guys a random, but serious question," Craig interjected. "Can you guys keep a secret?"

"…I'm sorry?" MJ replied in confusion. "Is this the part where you confess your deepest darkest secret?"

"…No, Michelle, it's not." The seriousness of Craig's tone caused everyone else to turn their heads to look at him. "I need to know if you guys can keep a secret. Because Kitty and I are about to do something and I need to know whether or not we have to deal with our real names being on the news afterwards. So I'm going to ask you guys again – can you keep a secret?"

I stared at him for a few moments. I then realized what he was trying to say.

"Yes," I said. "Yes we can."

"Okay." Craig blinked. "Thank you. Just whatever you guys do, don't freak out or do anything to get that guy's attention. Kitty, how do you want to do this?"

"The usual way," Kitty replied.

"Okay, let's do this."

That was when things got crazy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kitty sink into the ground slowly. We all remained quiet, even though I knew Ned was shaking with excitement from what he was seeing. I was amazed, too. The only person I knew who could do that was Vision. Kitty disappeared into the ground. After some seconds, two arms reached out from the ground in front of Craig and grabbed his hood before pulling it over his head. As the arms disappeared into the ground, Craig quickly moved to his knees, reached into his hood, and pulled down a mask over his face. The mask looked like a simple ski mask that covered his mouth, but left his eyes and the bridge of his nose exposed. He quickly zipped up his jacket and stood up.

"Hey you!" he yelled out, stepping towards the gunman, putting himself between him and us. The gunman quickly turned around. "Let me holla at you right quick!"

"Who the hell are you?" the gunman demanded, pumping his shotgun.

"I'm Frictor. I'm going to be part of the reason you're going to have yourself a bad night."

The gunman aimed the shotgun at him. "This will be your first and last warning. Get down on the ground now, or I'm going to open your chest up."

During this, I started to feel the air warm up a bit. Craig… "Frictor"… chuckled. "Shoot your shot, homie. But you better make it count!"

I didn't know if Craig was trying to call his bluff or not. But if he was, I was going to find out real soon that he was prepared for it.

The gunman let loose a round of buckshot into Craig – who I assumed got hit in the chest. I couldn't tell since all I could see was his back. All I knew was that Craig was sent sprawling onto his back from the shot, skidding to a stop near me. As Betty Brant screamed out, I quickly rose to one knee and scooted up Craig to check on him. I looked down to see that the chest area of his hoodie was riddled with holes. But there was no blood. After he groaned, Craig sat up and brushed his chest off casually, sending the pellets that hit him onto the ground. He then stood up.

The eyes of the gunman went wide as Craig chuckled.

"You know, that was hurtful, and I should smack you for that," Craig deadpanned. "But my partner wants in on the action."

On cue, those same arms I saw earlier shot up from the ground and grabbed the gunman by the legs. As he screamed out, he was pulled into the ground until only his head was visible. After that, Kitty rose up from the ground. She was no longer wearing a red coat. This time, it was black. And she had on a black cat mask that covered the top half of her face. Slowly, she walked around the gunman before she sent a swift kick into his face, knocking him out. After that, she turned towards Craig.

"You okay, Frictor?" she asked.

"I'm good, Shadowcat," he replied. "I'm probably going to have to ice my chest tonight, though." He then turned towards us. "You guys good?"

"…Are you… are you two superheroes?" Ned asked as we all stood up.

"I guess," Kitty replied. "We're going to take care of this situation. I need you to get out of here and call the cops."

"Will you guys be okay?" I asked.

"This ain't anything new to us," Craig assured.

"Okay but…" I sighed. "Can you guys swing by Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop on Monday around four? It's in Brooklyn. I need to know you guys are okay." I would have said tomorrow, but I figured they'd want some time to rest after they handled this.

"…I'm touched," Kitty said with a smile. "Okay, we will. Just get out of here and call the cops already."

"Got it. Be safe. Let's go guys. Betty, please call the cops."

We quickly exited and ran a block away before we made our way into an alley. We didn't stop until we were out of the lights. After that, I leaned back against a wall with MJ. Betty was on the phone with the police, explaining everything that happened, making sure not to mention Kitty and Craig's names. As she did so, Ned rubbed her back with his right hand, trying to comfort her.

"…Okay, so that went south," MJ quipped. She looked at me. "Probably not how you wanted to spend your Thursday night,was it?"

"Believe it or not, I had worse Thursday nights," I replied. "At least this one was great until intermission. And we're okay."

"And we did meet two superheroes. I never heard of them… though guy in the hoodie reminded me of Luke Cage, albeit a lot smaller."

"And the music was great," I added. "…You're a good singer."

"No I'm not, stop." MJ turned her head off the side and scowled. I had to force myself not to smile. I knew she was trying to hide the fact that she was blushing a bit. I found it cute, as usual. I also knew that she was going to change the subject in a moment. "So, you think Shadowcat and Frictor will be able to handle things?"

See?

"Hopefully." I looked in the direction of the theatre. "But they seem like they know what they're doing."

At this point, Betty hung up the phone. She took in a breath, then looked at the rest of us. "Okay, let me begin by saying that I'm so, SO sorry about tonight. All I wanted to do was hang out with my friends. I didn't want for this to happen."

"Betty, unless you planned on having a bunch of armed gunmen rush in and take hostages, you have nothing to be sorry about," MJ pointed out. She rolled her eyes. "Maybe Peter should work at your job since both you apologize for stuff that's not your fault a lot."

I chuckled. "You're not wrong. But it's part of my charm."

"Whatever, loser." Still, MJ smirked. I smirked back at her before I looked forward at Betty and Ned. The latter gave me a sly, knowing smirk. That's when I became a bit warm in the face.

"Speaking of Peter," Betty interjected. "I'm going to need your number so I can pass it along to my boss. I know you said you'd think about it, but I could really, really, use a familiar face in the workplace."

"…So why not get Ned a job there?" I suggested.

"Yeah, journalism isn't my thing," Ned replied. "And… even if it was, when it comes to the Daily Bugle…. No, just no."

"Go for it," MJ urged.

"Are you saying this because you want a bigger tip?" I joked.

"Yes, I am." She smiled slightly. "By the way, Ned and I are taking your number, too."

"How come?"

"Isn't it obvious?" MJ walked around and stood in front of me. She looked me straight into my eyes. "We think you're cool, Peter." I really wished she didn't say that. That fluttery feeling in my chest returned.

"I thought you find me strange," I replied in a whisper, not trusting my full voice.

Michelle tilted her head briefly. "I do, but not in a creepy way. It's just… You come into a coffee shop, see some barista you never met before, and introduce yourself with both your first and last name. No one does that. You come in at the same time almost every day. You don't take my jabs and teasing to heart during little time we do talk. You're willing to help me with stuff at the shop from time to time. And you're like the only GED student I know that can fix a TV with a penny, gum wrapper, and a roach clip." I chuckled. "You are strange. But Ned and I've been told we're far from normal, so let's be strange together."

"And I need someone to talk to about Star Wars and Legos!" Ned quickly added. "And to game with on the weekends and other stuff. Only time I ever see you is at the coffee shop. After tonight, I'm sure I want to hang out with you more. We both do."

"Both?" Betty spoke up. "You know, I'm still here, guys. And I can't let you claim Peter all to yourself, you know?" Betty looked at me. "So are we getting that number or what?"

I went quiet. This was normally the part where I would make an excuse in my head about why I couldn't give them my number. I tried to think of one, but I couldn't.

And that's because I didn't want to.

I finally nodded. "Okay."

Eventually, we saw the police drive by. After the ten or so squad cars passed, we took that moment to get home. While we were on the subway, Betty got off a few stops earlier than us, imploring us to text her so she knows we got home safe, resulting in MJ sarcastically calling her mom. Ned got off next, leaving MJ and I alone.

"So, where you getting off at?" she asked.

"In Manhattan," I replied.

"…I thought you were from Queens."

"I am. I just moved to an apartment in Manhattan recently. But, Queens is where I was born and raised. So, I'd say I'm from Queens even if I moved to Jupiter."

"I'd ask if you meant the city or the planet, but given the former is in Florida, same difference." She looked at me. "Though you'd fit in either way."

I scoffed. "Maybe you're right."

"Don't get any ideas, though."

Eventually, MJ got off at her stop, reminding me to text everyone before "Mother Brant grounds us all".

When I got home, I texted everyone I was okay before I sat in front of the scanner, listening to emergency calls. During this, I was angry at myself. I told myself I wasn't going to get close to MJ and Ned again. I told myself I wasn't going to let anyone get close to me again. And what have I done? I got close to MJ and Ned again, I once again ended up friends with Betty, and I ended up befriending two new people. Though, at least Kitty and Craig are heroes, apparently.

I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard my phone vibrate. I picked my phone up and saw I got a text. I decided to check it.

"Betty Brant added you to the group 'American Idiots'."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I sent a text to the group.

"Wow, Betty. Wow."

"I think it's clever," Ned responded.

"I never expected gallows humor from you Betty – I'm so proud," MJ wrote.

"I'm glad you all like it. Now that I know you are all okay, just wanted to say a few things before I go to bed. First off, Peter, I'll get you that interview soon. Secondly, after what happened tonight, the show is likely going to be rescheduled. When it does, we are going. This is not up for debate. Speaking of the show, I'll be by Peter Pan on Monday to make sure our saviors are okay. With that said, good night."

"G/n Betty," I replied.

"Good night, Mother," MJ wrote.

"Good night, Sweetie!" Ned concluded.

I set my phone down, then shook my head.

"Why am I like this?"