A lot of girls come to school with an earbud in, hidden by her hair. Most girls probably would be listening to the latest music or a podcast, though, not the police scanner. Luckily, May Parker was used to being unlike most girls; after all, she was Spider-Girl. Well, even so, she technically still wasn't supposed to be listening to the police scanner -Dad always told her school came first- but, what if something went down in the minutes before the bell rang, just a block or two away? She could swing by, take care of things, and be back before anyone knew. She had the tardies to spare, anyway.
Of course, May knew she would get the scolding of a lifetime if she tried. For all of Dad's talk about responsibility, he didn't let her do much to fulfil it. Sure, school was important, but what good would calculus do her when there were muggers and drug dealers on the loose? What good were her powers when she had to hide them most of the time?
May decided to turn off the police scanner as she walked into Midtown High, not dwelling on the issue for the moment. For the next six hours, Dad or Uncle Miles would have to deal with any crimes in the city.
"Mayday," a voice called, breaking her reverie. "Hey, Mayday!"
"Hey, Kat," May replied. She resisted rolling her eyes at her best friend's nickname for her. "Or, are you trying to ask for help in French?"
"That joke hasn't been funny once since you started telling it."
"Whatever," May scoffed in reply. "Come on, we'll be late."
The day passed by quickly, and soon the girls were on their way out the door once more.
"The girls and I are meeting at the rink later to go over routines," Kat mentioned. "You coming? Not that you need the practice, but finals are coming up soon."
"I wish I could, but, I'm working with my dad." As much as May complained about not being able to be Spider-Girl, she hated it just as much when training or patrols interfered with her normal life. She had asked her dad for the opportunity, though, and considered it her responsibility, so she couldn't complain- but that didn't mean it didn't suck sometimes.
"Ah, right," Kat sighed. "You know you're one of the luckiest kids in school, right? Getting to intern with Stark Industries?"
Ah, yes, the other part of Spidering that May hated: cover-ups and lying. Well, technically, she could be considered an intern with Stark, since her dad worked with the Avengers (just for tech development- for actual superheroing, he preferred to retain his "friendly neighborhood" motif), and she worked with him, but… well, semantics. It just hurt that May couldn't share the most intimate parts of her life with the closest person she had to a sister.
"So everyone tells me," May replied, feigning humility. "Anyway, I've got to run so I can drop my things off at home before I meet Dad. See you!"
She waved goodbye to her friend, then quickly made her way to her home in Queens. As usual, it was too early to expect anyone to greet her as she turned her key and opened the door. Passing by the kitchen on the way to the stairs to her room, she saw two shiny apples on the counter, sitting on top of a note.
"Even spiders need a pick-me-up," it read. "Stay safe and happy web-slinging. Love, Mom."
May smiled, carrying one of the apples in her mouth and the other in her hand as she climbed upstairs. Once she reached her room, she flung her backpack on her bed and dug through her closet to find her shiny pink and blue suit with white accents. She had no idea what the colors had to do with spiders, but she adored the suit just the same. Her father had fashioned every element of it with care, and it made her feel official. She quickly slipped it on, and checked out the window before zipping off to the nearby rooftop where she knew her father would be waiting for her.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted as she swung in to perch next to him.
"Hey, Dad," May replied, taking her apple out of her mouth. She tossed the other to Dad. "Compliments of Mom."
"Ah, sweet sustenance." He lifted his mask slightly to take a bite. "It's no pie from Eddie's-"
"But it'll do in a pinch. I know the line." May couldn't help but giggle. If nothing else, being married to Mom helped Spider-Man keep a more balanced diet. "Where's Unc?"
"There's some sort of protest in Harlem today," Dad explained. "Miles is keeping an eye on things to make sure it stays peaceful."
"Does he have a reason to think it wouldn't?"
"Don't know. He was kind of evasive when I asked for details. I trust his judgment, though, and he'll ask for backup if he needs it."
"Right. I just hope this won't end up meaning trouble for Mamá Rio."
"You and me both. She has enough on her plate. But enough about that. How was school?"
"Same old, same old," May sighed. "I already know at least half the stuff everybody's talking about."
"That means you just need to focus on the other half," Dad encouraged.
"Whatever. It wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't missed getting into Brooklyn Visions by one point on the entrance exam."
"Don't beat yourself up over that, kiddo. You'll find in life that, one way or another, you end up where you need to be."
"Look who's getting all philosophical with age."
"Yeah, I'm nothing but a crusty ol' sod, training the youngins…" Dad stretched an elbow and rotated his shoulder to emphasize the joke.
"You know that's not what I meant," May chuckled. "You're in better shape than men half your age, which isn't even that old to begin with. Anyway, what's on the agenda for today?"
"I figured that while we went on patrol, we could get you some practice in wall running."
"Sounds good."
Spider-Man and Spider-Girl stood, zipping towards the nearest building. The two ran along the sides, swinging out and jumping from one building to the next. May loved the rush she felt when she was out and about like this: the speed, the rush of the air whizzing past, the views of the city… it made her feel alive, as only Spidering or ice skating could. The cherry on top was the fact that she got to help others all the while.
Speaking of…
"All units, there is a storefront robbery in progress," the police scanner alerted. "Advance towards the flower district."
"That's our cue," Dad called, changing direction.
"Robbing a store in broad daylight?" May wondered.
"Some crooks just aren't very bright."
"We'll just have to teach them a lesson, then."
Arriving on the scene, Spider-Man and Spider-Girl took care to disarm the robbers before they were detected. Once that was taken care of, the two could swing in to take them down. May felt a little out of practice when it came to her fighting skills, but her spidey-sense helped keep her from getting majorly hurt. Several kicks, some well-placed webs and a couple of witty quips later, the situation was taken care of. By that time, the sun was starting to go down.
"Now it's time to scatter," Spider-Man said. "What say we check on things in Harlem then go home and have dinner?"
"Yeah," May agreed. "Who's cooking tonight, you or Mom?"
"Well, I'm slated to cook, but since it's Friday, and we just happened to mention pizza…"
"Eddie's? Sounds good."
The two swung over to former Roxxon Plaza, where the protest had been happening. It appeared that people were already dispersing. Scanning the crowd, May spotted the younger Spider-Man and pointed him out to her dad so they could meet him on a nearby rooftop.
"Hey, Squirt," Miles greeted. "Hey, Coach."
"Hey," Spider-Man replied. "Looks like things were exceptionally peaceful over here."
"Yeah. They had a permit and everything, and they left once it expired."
"Then what were you so worried about?" May wondered. "What was the protest for, anyway?"
"A sister company to Roxxon, Terrinc, has been setting its sights on the neighborhood," Miles explained. "After what happened with Nuform and everything back in the day, people are understandably resisting the idea. I just wanted to make sure that didn't escalate to the same levels as it did with the Tinkerer."
"Boy, is that a blast from the past," Spider-Man shook his head. "Er- sorry, poor choice of words."
"It's fine. Anyway, I need to get home to Hailey and Jeff. You still taking point after dinner tonight?"
"Yep, we were just about to grab a pie at Eddie's."
"Can I come with you tonight, Dad?" May asked. "Please?"
"I've told you, I don't know if you're ready for the night shift."
"But didn't Unc start doing night patrols with you when he was about my age?"
"Yes, but he had a little bit more experience in full-on Spidering by then. I'm not budging on this one."
"Fine."
"Sorry, Squirt," Miles empathized. "You'll get there."
The three spiders parted ways. Soon, Peter and May arrived home with a steaming hot pepperoni pizza, just in time for MJ to get off work. The family casually talked and joked over dinner, then had their ritual debate over a movie to turn on before Peter had to go back on patrol. That night, May went to bed smiling, content in the fact that, for all the ways she complained, she had things pretty good.
