With everyone gathered, I made my way to the front of the crowd before I kneeled down and readied my camera. MJ stood to my right. I didn't know where the others were, but I figured they were in the crowd somewhere. There were also cameramen and reporters from other local news organizations. I figured that The Daily Bugle was going to use some of their footage.
After a few minutes, Martin Li stepped up to the podium. He was sharply dressed, wearing a black formal suit and dress shoes that I just knew cost more than my rent. His hair was neatly combed and trimmed, and he was clean shaven.
I read up on Martin Li a long time ago when Aunt May started volunteering for F.E.A.S.T. I liked the guy a lot. The man emigrated from China with his parents decades ago and ended up living in foster care after he lost his parents in an explosion. He went back to China at the age of 18 and became a billionaire from the shipping industry. He came back to New York and started F.E.A.S.T., with this very building being the first F.E.A.S.T. shelter. And honestly, how can you not respect that? Then again, I always held a bit of respect for those with power and influence that use said power and influence to help make the world a better place.
So, I smiled as I started to take pictures. Before he started, he looked straight into my lens and gave me a small yet friendly smile. He then looked out towards the crowd and spoke.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "For those who may not know me, I'm Martin Li, founder and head of Food, Emergency, Aid, Shelter & Training – or FEAST, if you will. For about twenty years, FEAST has been providing for the less fortunate, not only by giving the needed assistance, but also with job training so they can get back on their feet. The old saying goes 'If you give a person a fish, they'll eat for a day, but if you teach a person how to fish, they'll eat for a lifetime'. While I do believe in that saying, I believe in feeding that person fish until they properly learn how to fish for themselves." He was about to continue, but he was interrupted by a round of applause. He allowed himself to smile briefly as he waited for the applause to die down. Once it did, he continued. "While I have put my own money towards this mission, we at FEAST have been blessed with the generosity of many people from across the economic spectrum, from those with in the working class to the likes of multibillion dollar corporations such as Stark Industries.
"And this Gala – which, I'll admit, has been put on rather short notice, which I deeply apologize for – is happening because we're celebrating another corporation supporting us."
It was at this point my senses went off. And they went off hard. The buzzing in my head was almost like a siren. The chill up my spine made me want to shiver. Frantically, I started to look around. I tried look for any sign of danger, but I couldn't find one. I tried to ignore the feeling, but I couldn't.
"Said organization has reached out to us rather recently and pledged their monetary support. As a matter of fact, two of their own are here tonight. So, without further ado, I'd like to welcome Justin Hammer and Scorpion on behalf of our new corporate sponsor, Hammer Industries!"
Most of everyone around me applauded. I looked up at MJ, who looked down at me. Both of us had a look of worry on our faces. We then looked back at the podium as Justin Hammer emerged from the backdoor. A few seconds later, Scorpion walked in, carefully ducking down through the doorway. I clutched my camera, just barely remembering not to break it with my own hands.
Internally, I was trying my very best not to go nuts. It was already bad enough that both Justin Hammer and Scorpion were within feet of me. But them being here in this particular place made my blood boil. I then remembered I had a job to do. So, I took a deep breath and started taking pictures.
Martin took a moment to shake hands with both Justin and Scorpion before he walked away, leaving the floor for Justin. After that, Justin stepped up to the podium and spoke.
"Good evening, everyone," he said with a smile. "I know I'm usually one for long speeches, but with the food and drinks about to be served, I'll keep it as short as I can." He chuckled a bit before he continued, and that alone made me want dropkick him in the chest. "Ever since I was reinstated as head of Hammer Industries, I've been on a path of redemption." He beckoned towards Scorpion, who stood a bit behind him with his arms crossed. "Scorpion is a part of that path of redemption as we work to rid New York of rampant vigilantism and encourage those who want to be heroes to do so as properly licensed operatives of the U.S. Government for the sake of oversight and accountability. But while that is extremely important, I also understand that there are other ways to help the people of New York – a way that Mr. Li has shown me.
"So, from this point forward, Hammer Industries will be sponsoring FEAST. Not only will we be providing financial support for FEAST, Scorpion here will be a part of many FEAST functions to come." At this part, Justin sighed dejectedly. At that moment, I knew he was going to say something that was going to make me want to gnash my teeth. "I understand that, before, it was Spider-Man who would often appear during these kinds of functions. As I said before, I don't doubt his heart and his intentions. But FEAST needs an actual hero – one who is legitimately law abiding. So know that whenever you see Scorpion, you'll see a friend and supporter of FEAST. Thank you."
Once that speech was over with, most of everyone in the crowd gave a round of applause. I internally went over my shot list. Realizing I had everything, I stood up and turned towards MJ.
"Let's get out of here," I said. I didn't want to be here anymore. At that moment, I'd much rather be at a house party hosted by Flash, with him getting everyone there to call me Penis Parker.
Michelle nodded. "Cool, we'll just get the others and…" she trailed off as she looked over to her right. My senses went off again. I turned my head to the left, seeing Justin Hammer walk up to us with Scorpion in tow.
"I'm happy to see that my friends at The Daily Bugle sent someone to take pictures," he said with a smile. He then stuck his hand out towards me. "You already know this, but, I'm Justin Hammer."
Putting on my best fake smile, I took his hand and gave it a shake, reminding myself not to rip his arm off and beat him unconscious with it. "I'm Peter Parker," I replied. "And this is my girlfriend Michelle."
"An honor," MJ added with that "I'm trying very hard to hold back my disgust" tone of hers.
Justin nodded. "Quite the grip you got there, son. I like that." I nodded as I let go of his hand. "So, how long have you been working for Jonah?"
"Just a few weeks." My stomach churned. I didn't want to be around this guy. I didn't want to be around Scorpion. Speaking of Scorpion, I took a glance at him, doing everything I can not to drop everything and fight him right there and then. I knew it would be stupid for me to do so – people would get hurt, my identity as Spider-Man would be exposed, and it'd be the Beck situation all over again. But I really want the two of them out of here. Them being in the same place that Aunt May devoted a lot of energy to just felt wrong… offensive, even. "Quite the guy you have here." I looked back at Justin. Justin looked back at Scorpion and nodded approvingly.
"Isn't he?" Justin agreed with a tone befitting of a father proud of their child, which made me want to punch him in the throat. He looked back at me. "Much like myself, he's on a road to redemption. So partnering up was only natural for us, I'd say." He then made a tsk sound as he shook his head. "It's such a shame that Spider-Man and his new friends are making it so hard for themselves. Though, I'm sure there is still a chance that things can be resolved peacefully."
"Hopefully… for your sake," MJ quipped, once again using that signature tone of hers. During this, she slipped her hand into mines, and thank God she did, because the more I was around Justin and Scorpion, the more I wanted to toss the former through a window and slam the latter into the ground. Fortunately, Justin didn't seem to understand the meaning behind her tone as he nodded.
"Indeed. Well, it's great chatting with you two." He looked at me. "Say hi to Jonah for me. He and I will have to do lunch soon." With that, he walked away with Scorpion in tow. With him gone, I was able to take a deep breath and center myself. It was during this time that the others walked up to me.
"…I don't want to be here anymore," I said.
"Yeah, neither do I," Craig replied. He took one last glance towards Scorpion before he looked back at us. "Let's get out of here before I heat up and do something stupid."
So, we left.
We walked out and piled into Craig's vehicle – a black Toyota Highlander Hybrid. MJ and I took the back row. I was quiet and had my head bowed. Come to think of it, everyone was quiet. Not even the car radio was on. Maybe it was for the best. But the silence wasn't going to last too long as Ned spoke up.
"So… are we going to talk about tonight?" he asked.
"Ned, I don't think anyone wants to talk about tonight," MJ replied. I balled my fists against my lap. My knuckles cracked. From my peripheral, I saw MJ look at me.
"Well maybe we should," Craig suggested. "Because I don't think he's supporting F.E.A.S.T. out of the goodness of his heart."
"Of course he isn't," Kitty replied. "There's an ulterior motive to this."
"That much is obvious," Betty chimed in. "But what is his reason? I understand that F.E.A.S.T. is not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but… why is Hammer Industries supporting that organization all of sudden? What's the reason?"
"…To punch us," I said slowly. I raised my head and looked forward. "To punch the X-Men."
Ned looked over his shoulder at me. "Wait, what?"
"He's playing chess with us, Ned," Kitty explained. "Just last night, we just saved a whole bunch of people from a burning building. That got us a lot of goodwill. We're the super team looking out for the little guys now. So now, Hammer slides in and not only financially supports F.E.A.S.T., but pretty much installs Scorpion to be there Superhuman Face like Spider-Man was."
"Is there anything we can do about that?" Betty asked. "Like, honestly, we should do our own thing for F.E.A.S.T. and…"
"No," I said a bit more loudly than I wanted to. Almost everyone turned to look at me. Craig was the lone exception, being the responsible driver that he was. But I was pretty sure I had his attention. "We're not using F.E.A.S.T. as a battleground or a chess piece. It wouldn't be right." I sighed. "It wouldn't be what Aunt May would want."
And that was the most frustrating thing about it. Ulterior motives aside, F.E.A.S.T. could definitely use the financial backing, and I knew Aunt May wouldn't speak up against it, even if she would have found Hammer to be very shady. Also, using F.E.A.S.T. as a chess piece in our conflict with Scorpion and Justin Hammer was wrong. And even if we had no scruples about doing so, going down that route had potential to backfire and make us look worse in the public eye and destroy any goodwill we built up recently.
"Looks like we're taking an L on this one," Craig grunted out. I could feel the disdain radiating from him.
"Yup," Kitty agreed, sounding just as depressed.
The car ride went quiet again. I wished someone would say something because I was now in my head, thinking about how we took a loss. I gritted my teeth and balled my fists up even more because, quite frankly…
"…I really want to smash something," I stated. Honestly, breaking something really sounded good. MJ leaned over and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I turned towards her and placed my hand on top of her hers. I was about to thank her when Ned turned in his seat and smirked as he looked back and forth between MJ and I.
"Well… you know… MJ is right there… and her parents are out until tomorrow afternoon, so, if you want to smash…"
It took me a full five seconds to realize what he was jokingly saying. Then my face became extremely hot. Betty looked at Ned with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Kitty was looking back from the front passenger seat, mouthing a "Wow". Craig stayed silent, but his shoulders were quivering as he held back a laugh. Ned laughed out loud, looking extremely pleased with himself.
He wasn't going to be laughing for long.
MJ took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She then opened them and looked towards Craig. The look on her face was enough to make me lean away from her.
"Craig," MJ said.
"Yes, MJ?" Craig responded.
"Pull over for me please."
Ned stopped laughing as his eyes went wide. "Wait!" Craig pulled off to the side of the street and put the SUV in park. "I was just kidding!" As soon as the car stopped, MJ unbuckled her seatbelt. "Betty, help!" Betty quickly opened her door and stepped out. There was no helping him. In one quick motion, MJ leaned forward and into her right, reached for a handle and pulled before she pushed the back of Betty's former seat, folding it. Ned looked at me. "Peter! Please, help me!"
"No, I like my life," I said.
Wisely, Ned unbuckled his seatbelt and tried to get out. But it was too late. At this point, MJ dove onto Ned and started wailing on his shoulder. The rest of us looked on laughing as Ned screamed out for help. Kitty recorded the whole thing on her phone. After a good thirty seconds, I decided Ned had enough. So, I pulled MJ off of him. She tried to break out of my grasp, but she couldn't. So, when I sat her down on her seat, she glared at me. I smiled sheepishly at her.
"Ned had enough," I said. I then looked towards Ned, who was still favoring his shoulder as Betty readjusted her seat back into its original position before she stepped back into the SUV.
"So, Ned, was that worth it?" Betty asked.
Ned smirked. "Maybe." MJ leaned forward as she raised her eyebrows as if she wanted to know if Ned wanted another round. Ned's smile faded as he quickly shook his head. "No, no it wasn't."
Betty gave Ned a glare. "Sweetie, perhaps we shouldn't goad the person that even the strongest person in the vehicle is afraid of."
"And don't you forget it," MJ said with a devious smile.
I laughed. It was funny to me because it was quite true. I then looked at Ned. "…Thanks Ned," I said sincerely. "I really needed that." I really did. For better or for worse, I missed the shenanigans between MJ, Ned, and I. It was our thing.
"You owe me a Coke," Ned grumbled halfheartedly.
I chuckled and nodded. "I got you."
"You can square that up tonight," Craig chimed in. "I don't know what your curfew is like, but right now, I'm starving, and I'm craving Haitian food. Y'all with it?"
"As long as they more than just griot as a meat option on the menu," Kitty stated as she nodded. I tilted my head.
"What's wrong with griot?" I asked, not knowing what it was.
"Nothing, really – I just can't have pork."
"Oh… right."
"I can eat," MJ said.
"I don't think I really had anything decent since lunch, come to think of it," Betty mused.
"I'm starving myself," Ned added.
"I guess we're eating," I stated as we nodded.
At that, Craig chuckled. "Yeah, we are. We rollin'!"
As Craig continued to drive, MJ pulled out her phone from her satchel and started to type away at it. I didn't think anything of it until I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw I got a text from MJ. I glanced at her curiously before I opened up the text and read it.
"You're sleeping in my room tonight. This isn't up for debate."
My mouth went ajar and my face went flush. Before I could do anything else, MJ leaned against me and rested her head on my shoulder. She glanced up at me and shot me look, almost as if she was daring me to say something. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. She rolled her eyes, but smiled back.
Maybe this week won't turn out too bad.