"Wait, you were attacked too?" Peter said, his voice frantic and shaky. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," M.J. responded. She still sounded a bit shaken. "I grabbed something and hit my attacker with it before making a break for it. I don't think he's followed me, but I'm not sure."

"Okay, okay, uhm, where are you now?" Peter asked, running his hand through his hair anxiously.

"I made it to Central Park," M.J. replied. "I figured it'd be a good open place to keep an eye out."

"Okay, got it," Peter said. "I'm headed to you right now. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Cool," she said. "See you soon then, I guess."

"Yeah," Peter replied before hanging up. He then looked over to Happy.

"I'm good," Happy said, waving a hand up towards Peter.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, absolutely," Happy said. "I'll just need to rest a little bit, you know, to recuperate from my brain being hijacked by someone who wanted me to kill you, but I'll be fine."

"Alright," Peter replied. "Well, like you said, just take it easy for now. I'll be back as soon as I can." He then grabbed his key and rushed out the door. Not even considering the elevator, he raced down the stairs instead, occasionally hopping whole levels down to speed up the process. He was fortunate most people had settled in for the evening and the stairwell wasn't very busy, thus he didn't have to worry too much.

What he was worried about was M.J. Clearly, she could take care of herself to some degree, as she had proven by hitting her would be assailant and getting away. Still, the fact that she was even attacked at all, and therefore could for some reason be a target of someone put a fear in him he hadn't felt in a long time.

He couldn't lose her. Peter wasn't losing anyone else.

Of course, there was also Happy to think of as well. He seemed to be recovered from whatever happened to him. However, the fact that he was chosen and temporarily brainwashed by whoever was behind this was deeply concerning. Someone clearly wanted Peter, or more likely Spider-Man out of the way for some reason. This individual had to know who he was, and who he was living with, in order to pick Happy to be the one to kill him.

Which meant that both M.J. and Happy could be at great risk even now.

This thought propelled him to move even faster as he reached the bottom of the stairs, bursting out the door.

Peter arrived on the outskirts of Central Park, glancing around. There was no sign of M.J, which made sense really, because she likely wouldn't be just hanging out for a potential attacker to see her from outside the park. He pulled out his phone, texting her to let her know that he had arrived. It took less than a minute for a response to come.

M.J: "Just walk down the path. I'll find you."

A cryptic response, but it was what he had to go off. Peter glanced right, then left, before deciding on the right. He glanced around as he walked down the path, but there was no sign of her. Even though the hour was getting late, there were still plenty of people out and about. Peter glanced around at each person he passed, but there was still no sign of M.J. He was starting to get worried. Was he too late?

Suddenly, Peter felt a hand on his right shoulder, and he spun around quickly, eyes wide and body ready for another defensive stand.

"Easy!" a hooded M.J. said in a hushed voice, putting her hands up. "It's me."

"Oh my goodness, M.J," Peter said, throwing his arms around her instinctively, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad I found you." For a moment, he just held her, and she eventually returned his hug with one of her own. It then dawned on Peter that perhaps he had been a little too forward and he grew nervous that he was making her uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," he said as he pulled away.

"Nono, it's my bad," M.J. replied, and for a second, they both went back and forth, both seemingly trying to excuse the other's behavior as if they had done something wrong or crossed some obvious line. Sure, they had hugged that day on the roof at F.E.A.S.T, but that was a much more rare and more heavily emotional of a circumstance. This situation hadn't called for that... had it?

Shaking his head out of the cobwebs, Peter refocused.

"Like I said, I'm glad you're safe," he said. "What happened?"

"I was just at F.E.A.S.T, sitting and reading by myself in one of the lobby areas, when I saw some guy come into the room," M.J. explained. "He came up to me and grabbed me, but I managed to grab a coffeepot nearby and hit him."

"You were attacked AT F.E.A.S.T?" Peter questioned. "You can't stay there anymore, at least until we figure this out."

"I know," M.J. said. "I don't know where else to go though."

"You can stay with me then," Peter said without hesitation. M.J.'s expression changed as her eyes widened a bit, which made him a little nervous.

"I mean, only if you want to," he added.

"No, no, that would be cool, I guess," M.J. replied.

"Awesome," Peter said. They started walking back, before Peter thought to ask another question.

"M.J, the guy who attacked you... what did he look like?"

"That's the weird thing," M.J. replied, "it was kind of dark, so I couldn't see for sure, but his face and skin looked... distorted somehow."

"Like a grey color?" Peter asked, trying to get clarification.

"I think so," M.J. answered. "Why, did your attacker look like that?"

"Yeah," Peter said. "I've never seen anything like it. It was as if I was looking at a photonegative of him."

Then Peter remembered something that made him stop in his tracks.

"That reminds me," Peter said, turning to M.J, "the man who attacked me is actually the person I've been staying with. I'm pretty sure he's better now though."

M.J.'s eyes widened. "Pretty sure?"

"I managed to knock him out," Peter said, choosing his words carefully to play down how easy it really had been, "and almost as soon as I did, his face and skin looked normal again. When he woke up, he seemed like his old self."

"Oh, okay; I guess if you say he's fine, then it should still be cool," M.J. said, looking a little nervous, "if it's still okay with you, of course."

"Yeah, absolutely," Peter said. "As long as you feel safe."

"Well, it is two against one even if he did try again," M.J. said, "and we've both proven we can handle ourselves at least a little bit."

"Okay then," Peter said. "Let's go, I guess."

The two of them were pretty quiet most of the rest of the way, only talking occasionally about what happened. If he was being honest, Peter was still a little shaken from the experience, and it wasn't even because someone had tried to end his life. His speed, reflexes and super strength had done their job, guiding him in conjunction with his spider-sense (which had faintly gone off when Happy had entered the apartment earlier) to avoid the danger. Rather, the fact that someone had gotten to someone close to him like that, messing with Happy's mind to achieve their goal, still rattled Peter to his core.

He could tell M.J. was a bit rattled too. She was a tough woman that not much probably phased on a regular basis, but her eyes were wide and alert the whole walk back, and she glanced around on occasion. Unlike in his case, getting attacked was a new experience for her, so Peter could likely guess at least a little of what was going through her mind.

They finally made it to the apartment. Peter stepped in front of M.J, not just because he was the one who had the key to the place, but also because he wanted to be ready in case Happy had had a relapse of his more... negative impulses. He put the key in the lock, twisting it gently and opening the door slowly.

"Happy?" he called out.

"I'm in here!" Happy answered from what sounded like the kitchen. Satisfied that the man still sounded like his normal self, Peter swung the door fully open, M.J. following behind him as he walked into the place.

"And you must be M.J," Happy said as M.J. stepped in front while Peter turned to close the door. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Uhm, thanks," M.J. said, seemingly caught a little off guard by Happy's friendliness.

"What are you doing, Happy?" Peter asked curiously as he observed Happy working away in the kitchen.

"I just thought that our guest would like a little something to help settle the nerves a little," Happy replied.

"Oh, that's okay," M.J. replied. "I'm fine."

"Oh, come now," Happy fired back. "No one can resist my homemade pizza."

That was true; Happy wasn't the most well-rounded chef in the world, but his homemade pizza was actually pretty good.

"It's really okay," M.J. said. "Besides, I'm..."

"Vegetarian, right?" Happy replied. "I thought I remembered that, so I actually split yours and Peter's half in half. Your side is just cheese and some onions, plus a little sun-dried tomato and some figs. Don't worry; all the sausage is on Peter's side."

M.J. turned and looked at Peter, and he looked away to avoid eye contact, his face instantly flushed. Everything Happy had just cited on her pizza was exactly the way she liked it, a fact she had clearly caught onto. She was likely putting together that he had talked to the man about her pizza tastes, and maybe her in general...

"Awesome, so how soon will it be ready?" Peter asked, anxious to move along in the vain hope that this somehow would make M.J. forget the realization she had just uncovered.

Yeah, right.

"Should be just a couple minutes," Happy replied.

"Okay, good," Peter said.

Thankfully, that two minutes went by quickly as Happy continued talking (though not revealing anything else Peter had told him about M.J, thank goodness), and soon they were diving in. Some good food seemed to do the trick, and before long, everyone seemed in at least a little better of spirits. However, the main subject of the evening could not be ignored for long.

"So," Happy said, "anyone have any theories as to why all this happened tonight?"

Peter still hadn't really put together his thoughts enough to form a solid idea, other than that perhaps one of his enemies had figured out who he was and had come after him and those he cared about. He glanced over at M.J, and the look on her face told him exactly what was on her mind.

"M.J," he said.

"It's him," she said. It has to be."

Peter rested his face in his hand, running it into his hair. She had to have been holding that in all night.

"Peter, think about it," M.J. continued, "all this happens right after what we did for him? It's too coincidental."

"That still doesn't make sense though," Peter said. "Why would he attack us for giving him a heartfelt thank you card?"

"I'm sorry, who do you think attacked you because you gave them a nice card?" Happy inquired.

"Martin Li," M.J. answered before Peter could get out an answer of his own.

"What?" Happy inquired. "The guy who runs F.E.A.S.T, which is only providing maybe the most help to those in need of anyone in America right now?"

"I know how it sounds," M.J. said, becoming more animated as she turned back to Peter, "but it's not just the card. Remember how he acted when he read it, what he said about showing him what he needed to do? Maybe we were getting close to something we didn't even realize, and now he thinks he has to takes us out to protect it."

"But what though," Peter asked, "what kind of big secret could a man like that be hiding?"

"I don't know," M.J. said. "Maybe he's secretly a crime lord, or a serial killer or something. Like, what about Wilson Fisk? He was a rich guy who claimed to want to help the city, especially those in poverty, but he ended up being some big kingpin or something."

Peter didn't respond; frankly, his thoughts were too all over the place to put together a cohesive answer. He still felt like Martin Li had done nothing that would even make him think that this was a possibility. The man had shown him such hospitality and kindness in the short time he had known him beyond anything he had received from a stranger in a long time.

But M.J... she just seemed so convinced. In the short time that Peter had really gotten to know her, one thing he had come to realize was that she was extremely logical by nature. They were both scientifically inclined, curious individuals, but he still tended to make more decisions based off his emotions. M.J. seemed much more thorough in coming to her decisions, making them based off the facts she knew and rarely anything else. What she was doing now though, basically accusing a man despite little to no real evidence, or at least none that Peter could see for himself... it just felt unlike her. Should he still trust her instincts when nothing else seemed to back them up?

"What are you thinking, Peter?" Happy asked.

Peter finally looked up, glancing at Happy, then M.J.

"I think we're not going to solve any of this tonight," he stated, his more take charge superhero voice coming out a little. "We should try and get some rest, and tomorrow, we'll talk some more about this and try to figure out who could be behind this."

Happy agreed and got up from the table. M.J. sat there, avoiding eye contact with Peter.

"Hey," Peter said, prompting her to look up at him. "We're going to figure this out."

M.J. only lightly nodded in response before getting up, taking her plate with her.

Peter tossed and turned, but sleep would not come. He had offered to let M.J. take his room while he came out and slept on the couch, but she said she would be fine out there. More than her words though, it was the look on her face that bothered him. It wasn't a look of anger, just... disappointment, or sadness maybe? She could tell he still wasn't too keen on her theory, and it was clearly bugging her. This in turn was only keeping Peter up in the process. He was almost starting to get angry with himself.

Martin Li seemed like a good man, but M.J. was Peter's friend, the girl he had a huge crush on even. She had given him no reason to doubt her before, so shouldn't he take her word over the word of a man who, while seemingly good on the outside, was someone he still didn't actually know all that well?

He finally couldn't take it anymore; Peter threw the covers off himself, sitting his feet down on the floor. He knew he had said they weren't going to figure out anything at the table earlier, but he was beginning to feel like he had to take action now, at the very least for his sanity, as well as maybe at least some sleep. There was a particular course of action that he was pondering over, one that he hadn't ever done before, but was beginning to feel might be necessary. It would be risky, but he should be able to pull it off discreetly if he was careful. It felt wrong on a fundamental level, but at the same time, there might be no other way to truly rule out Martin as a suspect.

Peter stood up. That was it, he was going to do it.

He was going to break into Martin Li's office.

Moving Right Along! Hope you all are still enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23