Part 10

"Oh man, not more of this USA Idol crap." Grabbing the remote, Gwen resumed her endless cycle of channel surfing for anything remotely stimulating for the mind as she lay upside down in front of the TV. A half empty bowl of popcorn rested on her stomach and had cooled off to the point that it wasn't worth eating anymore.

"Hey leave it right there. The Tardashians are on." Johnny storm, The Human Torch, had his feet propped up on the armrest of the couch with a Big Gulp in hand. "Oh yeah, there's my ladies."

"No way, smokey." Gwen rolled her eyes at his request and choice of TV show. "I hate those bimbos."

"They're not bimbos. They're hot."

"I'm hot, they're skank's."

"Says you."

"Exactly." Gwen reached into her bowl and tossed a popcorn kernel at Johnny's head where it bounced off. "Womp, womp."

"Kids," came Aunt May's voice. "Come and eat. Dinner's ready."

"You think she'll actually talk tonight instead of just grunt?" asked Johnny.

"Don't count on it." Gwen changed channels one last time before setting the remote on the coffee table and followed Johnny into the kitchen where Bobby Drake, Iceman, was already sitting at the table with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other.

Aunt May had finished setting a bowl of meatloaf on the table as the last of the two kids entered and sat. Like the nights before, dinner was late and all was quiet without a single word being spoken except "pass this" or "pass that." On the rare occasions that a conversation was attempted it would end by trailing off into nothing and the night would end in silence.

Again, they sat quietly with only the sounds of their silverware and glasses clinking on the table. Time passed with no one saying or trying to say a word and only glances taking the place of words.

"Uh, Aunt May? The uh, the meat loaf is good. Thanks." Gwen was hesitant to say anything at first but hated the silence that surrounded them. She was partially relieved that both Bobby and Johnny agreed with her and that May had actually said thanks. This time however, like before, nothing else was said for the rest of the night.

Inside the living room, the channel Gwen left the TV on was interrupted with a breaking news broadcast. On it showed footage of a man wearing a purple jacket hanging from a streetlight with a red boarder heading reading "Second Spider-Man?" underneath it. No one paid it any mind as they sat with their quiet dinner.

A few blocks from Times Square. Mary Jane was doing her best to follow the hooded man who moved very similar to Peter Parker. She pushed people out of her way, ducked through alleys and cut off cars as she ran across the busy streets. It was a wonder that she wasn't hit at all with the carelessness for her own safety being of no concern. She just wanted to catch up to the mysterious person that moved and behaved so much like Peter.

"Peter!" She yelled between breaths and continued to run after the hooded individual.

It didn't matter who got in her way, Mary Jane continued to avoid those that stood in her path and ducked through yet another alley. She emerged on the other side to see the hooded man land atop a building across the busy New York street and remove this hood before taking a seat on its ledge. Without thinking, she ran across the car filled Street and between the building the man landed on and another one with boarded up windows. Horns and obscenities followed her but she paid them little mind, if any.

Knowing that he wouldn't be on the roof for very long, Mary Jane searched for a fire escape to climb to the top of the building. Unfortunately she found one, right behind a group of leather wearing thugs who were counting money from a plastic bag.

"Well look at what we have here." One of the thugs hopped off a large dented trash bin and took a few steps toward her. "Dang, ain't she pretty."

"Not after I get through with her." A woman with several tattoos adorning her face and a mohawk came from her place against a wall and cut off Mary Jane's path behind her.

"I, I'm sorry. I think I took a wrong turn. So I'll just…" Mary tried to move around the leather clad woman but was cut off immediately from doing so.

"Oh come on Barbie, don't you want to play?"

"I didn't see anything. I just want to go…"

"On a date?" said another man. "Come on sweetie, let's paint the town as red as your hair." Two of the thugs advanced on her along with the woman as a fourth tied his loot bag closed and joined the other members of his gang.

Mary Jane had no room to breathe and even less room to move. As all four thugs closed in on her one of the men grabbed her purse and ripped it from her arm while another slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle any screams she might make before pinning her to the wall.

"I like her hair," said the female thug. "But I think it would look prettier on me." She flipped open a butterfly knife and waived it menacingly before the captured redhead. The other gang members laughed as she raised the blade to Mary Jane's scalp

She came within a few steps of Mary Jane when a gleaming strand of web snared her knife and yanked it from her grasp. The thugs as well as Mary Jane looked up to see who was responsible for the disarming and laid eyes on a hooded figure clinging to the opposite wall. A cold shiver crawled up their spines when the hooded man spoke in an angered and gruff voice.

"Get away from her you freaks!"

To be concluded