CHAPTER III

"ARCADE WONDERLAND"

Amora still couldn't get the wonderful taste of that pizza out of her mind. Something that tasty should be much more easily accessible across all realms, instead of being confined to just one. Oh well, there wasn't much she could really do about that. Each realm was different in it's own unique way.

*POP!*

"Huh?" Amora turned to her side to see Peter blowing what appeared to be a large pink bubble from between his lips. She curiously watched it expand as they walked until finally it burst, making that popping sound. What kind of sorcery was this? "What is that?"

"Hmm? What's what?" Peter asked whilst blowing another bubble.

"That." she gestured to the bubble he just popped.

"Oh, you mean my gum? You have had gum before, right?" the silence was telling. In hindsight it was dumb question. Asgard despite having magic, was technologically primitive to certain extent. Things like pizza and gum were not entities there. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stick. "Here, try some."

The blonde eyed the white wrapped gum critically. It was so small and almost as thin as a piece of parchment. This is what made the popping? Carefully she plucked it from Peter's hand and felt just how light it was. It didn't even weigh anything. She found the where the wrapping began and peeled it back to reveal the sugar coated pink stick.

"Chew, but don't swallow. Also make sure to keep it as far away from your hair as possible." Peter warned.

"Why?"

"If it get's in your hair, it's almost impossible to get out." he would know, Flash stuck gum in his hair one. "And if you swallow it, let's just say gum doesn't digest."

She took in the man's words and finished unwrapping the candy before placing it in her mouth. Much to her surprise it also tasted sweet, but more than that the more she chewed the softer and sweeter it became. The creations of mortals were surprising her more and more.

"This is incredible. How do I blow a bubble like you?"

"You see, the trick is to flatten the gum with your tongue as much as you can. Once you do that, carefully move it between your lips and tongue. Then all you have to do is open you lips just a bit and blow. If you do it right then you'll make a bubble." Peter explained.

Amora tried to follow Peter's instructions as best she could, but found next to no success. She tried again and again and again, determined to conquer the mortal treat, but the gum itself was proving to be a worthy adversary. All that would come out of her mouth was are and at one pint she accidentally spit the gum out onto the sidewalk.

Peter giggled a bit watching the Goddess try and fail to blow a bubble but kept his laugher low. The last thing he wanted was for her to turn her ire on him.

"Peter? I need another stick." Amora demanded.

"Sorry but I'm all tapped out." Peter apologized. The blonde deflated hearing that. The gum may have won today, but she would conquer it when they met. "Don't feel too bad, I couldn't blow a bubble on my first try either. Unlike me, you didn't accidentally swallow your gum when trying."

"I did not. I simply let the ground claim it." she said, glaring daggers into the concrete.

"Yeah... anyway, we're here." Peter gestured to the sign beside them. Amora read the glowing blue sign and noticed this was another small building similar to Joe's, the main difference being there was no scent of food coming from within.

"What is this... arcade?" she had to ask.

Peter held the door open. "Step inside and be amazed."

Amora snorted at the mortal's attitude and walked forward into the establishment. What she found puzzled her. She was no stranger to certain Midgardian technology as she'd seem some pretty interesting devices when she was with the Masters of Evil, but these weren't anything like what she'd seen.

The place was much larger on the inside and was decorated wall to wall with boxes decorated with pictures. Inside each box was a little screen with something different happening, all while sounds and music emanated from within.

"What kind of place is this?" she asked aloud.

"It's a place where people come to hang out and play video games, although home consoles have pretty much almost wiped arcades out." the place wasn't as crowded as used to be when Peter was a kid. He could still remember coming here with his uncle Ben and watching bigger kids huddle around the machines. "Why don't you walk around while I go get us some quarters. I'll be right back."

While Peter went to go collect what counted as currency in thus realm, she decided to take his advice and explore. There were a few people there, but not many, they were far more engrossed in the glowing lights and buttons than they were her. One or two glanced her way, but otherwise stuck to their games.

Eventually she came across a small arcade cabinet that caught her eye. She could tell it was older than most as it looked to have a little more wear and tear than the others, It was tall and yellow and had a small screen with a little red stick just below it. She observed it closely until her eyes settled on the title above. "Pac-Man?"

"A classic." a voice said from behind. She nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise before realizing it was only Peter.

"Don't do that." she warned. She could've blasted a hole through him and ruined her day.

"Sorry." he smiled that goofy smile of his. For some odd reason, it made her chest feel... warm. "A-Anyway, I got the quarters."

Amora looked down to see a small plastic cup filled with change.

Peter meanwhile turned his attention back to the game his date had found. "Pac-Man, huh? You sure do have great taste. This game here's an oldy but a goodie. Wanna try it?"

Did she? It looked interesting. On the screen was what looked like a yellow ball that reminded her of the pizza she just ate after Peter took the first slice. It was eating small white dots while multicolored ghosts chased it. "You try first so I can see how it works."

"sounds good to me." Peter smiled. Amora took the cup while Peter placed four quarters in the machine. She watched him huddle up to the screen and firmly grasp the joystick. He pressed some button and then the screen changed. It showed the four ghosts she saw earlier and was surprised to see they all had names.

The red one's name was shadow, aka "Blinky", the pink one was called Speedy, aka "Pinky", the blue was called Bashful, aka "Inky", and the orange one was called Pokey, aka "Clyde."

"Odd names." Amora voiced.

"Yeah, they are." Peter agreed.

The screen then shifted again to reveal a black screen with a blue maze, covered in white dots with the ghosts in the center. Loud music rang out and the Enchantress watched as Peter began to game. Apparently the goal was to eat all the dots without getting hit by the ghosts. If you managed that then you won and moved onto to the next stage with the ghosts becoming more aggressive.

Watching Peter play was interesting to say the least. He expertly dodge around the ghosts and gobbled up every white dot in his path. His timing was so crisp and his movements so precise, it reminded her of when she had him fight his way through Asgard.

Eventually though he did succumb to the ghosts after 10 stages. "Dang pinky." he cursed. "Okay, ready it give it a shot?"

Amora supposed the could give the game a try. After all it did look fun and she'd never actually played a video game before. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

Peter took the cup and put in four more quarters. "It's all yours."

She nodded before setting her sights on he screen. The gripped the stick, but not too forcefully as she'd snap it in half. The game came on and she tried her best to get a feel for the controls. Movement felt strange and the ghosts hounded her. Before she knew it, all four of her lives were gone before she could even clear the first stage.

Fury at her defeat bubbled in her stomach and as if reading her very thoughts, Peter deposited four more quarters in the machine. Amora tried again to clear the first stage but would up being defeated by Clyde. Four more quarters were poured in and the goddess struggled time and time again to defeat the enemy. Her only consolation was that she got a little closer each time. It was frustrating, but at the same time challenging. She wanted to play again and Peter obliged her.

She kept on going but came up short. She was down to her last two lives and felt her anger swell at Blinky taking her second life away. She would've voiced her thoughts at the red ghost but felt a gentle touch on the back of her hand. She looked to see another hand on top of hers and saw that it belonged to Peter.

"Easy now, keep gripping the stick like that and you'll snap it off. Just take a deep breath okay." he said calmly. She did just that and felt her grip loosen. "Good, now let me help." He leaned in close, as close as she'd been all those years ago when she first tried to ensnared him. Normal she would never let a mortal touch her in any way, but this was different, this was a mortal she genuinely had a respect for and at one point served as her champion. Because of this she allowed him to guide her hand hand as she avoid the ghosts and gobbled the dots. It was strange, she felt so warm and didn't mind the closeness at all.

Peter himself was also in a strange way. This was the same woman that caused him and his friends a lot of grief, and yet here they were on an improvise date, acting as if they were old friends. He shared a civil conversation with her without the use of her magic, they'd shared a lunch without something going colossally wrong, and now they were at the arcade with him trying to lean over her to help her win, which was kind of hard considering she was way taller than he was.

And why did he feel so warm under the collar?

In a matter of minutes the stage had been cleared and he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. Not a literal one caused by her but, he got lost for a second. He broke away which surprisingly disappointed both he and her, though neither voiced that.

"S-See! You did it!" Peter cheered. "I knew you could."

"Only because you aided me." Amora stated. "Though it is nice to know my champion will still assist me when needed."

Peter actually laughed at this. "Happy to be of service."

The pair soon abandoned the machine to explore the rest of what the arcade had to offer. They played many different titles both old and new, and Peter also learned that the Enchantress herself had a natural talent for light gun shooters. Before long however, Peter's coins ran dry which signaled the end of their time at the arcade.

They left out to see the sun was now beginning to set, bathing the New York sky in a sea of orange. "I guess the funs over now, huh?"

"So it would seem." Amora agreed. "But I still had a lot of fun. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I had a lot of fun too." he said as the began to walk into an abandoned ally. Once out of the public eye, Amora's disguise vanished in a puff of green smoke revealing the sensual goddess green attire. Peter had a light blush on his cheeks now. As a teen he found her attractive, and as a young adult that hadn't at all changed. "I take your headed off back to wherever you usually go."

"Indeed. I take it your going on your patrol?" she asked.

"Yeah, but if things remain quiet like they have been then I'm going to check in early." he answered honestly.

"Very well." With a wave of her hand, Peter's outfit vanished in a green haze, leaving him dressed from head to toe in his costume.

"Woah! I forgot you could do that." Peter admitted. "Thanks for that by the way."

"No problem." she whispered. The two just stood their, staring at the other. The only thing keep the ally from being dead quiet were the sounds of cars on the street. "Peter..."

"Y-Yeah?" why was he stuttering?

"Why is my heart beating so fast?" the enchantress wonder. "Do you think that we could... do this again sometime?"

Peter gulped. "S-Sure, I don't see why not."

The emerald-eyed woman smiled and Peter could feel a smile tugging at his lips under the mask as well. Feeling bold, the goddess sashayed over to the young hero, leaving him a bit stuck admiring the sway of her hips. She gently placed a hand on his cheek and tranced it downward towards the hem of his mask. She carefully lifted it just above his nose before giving him a light peck on the cheeks. Now she could see his face heating up.

"You..."

She smirked before rolling his mask back down. "No magic... this time. Until I see you again, Spider-Man."

And just like that she vanished, the only clear sign she'd been there was the green mist blowing off into the wind. He was all alone now with his thoughts, he was left with the memories of what he'd done today, and who he did those things with. The Enchantress, who would've thought.

He shot a web-line and launched himself onto a nearby rooftop. Life really was like a box of chocolates, never know what you're gonna get. The funny thing was, Peter honestly didn't mind seeing her again. Hopefully things could remain pleasant like they had today.

But then again knowing his luck, probably not.

TO BE CONTINUED...