Later that evening, Peter set out on patrol, planning on at least giving the city a good onceover before returning home. He kept one ear tuned to the police scanner in his mask, still hoping to pick up anything that might be related to Tombstone. Though he hadn't been met with much if any success finding something on him out in the field to this point, he had to believe that something would turn up. Either some thug would slip up and give him just the right piece of information he needed to run with, or maybe he would stumble onto one of the primary sights of one of his operations. Granted, he had no reason to expect he'd have such luck, but hey, after over a year of searching, he had to find something one of these days, right?
Instead, all he was met with was quiet in the city, the police radio picking up only the mildest of disturbances that hardly warranted his attention. Nights like these were nice in the short term; Peter could just swing around, have some fun and help out some random civilians here and there. Long term though, this kind of night historically meant that disaster would strike anywhere between tomorrow and the next month. This wasn't even him being superstitious, just observant. As much as he wanted the city to just stay safe for longer than it did, it just never seemed to be in the cards.
Still, Peter tried to enjoy it while it lasted, feeling the wind ripple against his costume as we swung through the air, his mind wondering towards what the next few days and even weeks might look like. Ever since the night prior, he'd been already making a list in his head of things he would need to do to get his lab set up. The first and most obvious was that he would need a place to operate out of. His and M.J.'s apartment was as spacious as any place he'd ever lived in, but it wasn't practical to start out of his home if he could help it. He didn't need much, just a little space to be able to work safely and store his equipment. Speaking of equipment, he also needed...
Peter's thoughts were interrupted by a report coming through the police radio in his mask: someone had called in some kind of shady dealing in a section of Midtown not too far from where he was. Quickly shooting a web to his left, he quickly changed course, making his way to the location in question. Within a couple minutes, he'd made it, landing on a rooftop higher up. He landed on all fours, glancing down to see what was clearly some kind of exchange taking place, though he was unclear exactly as to what. It clearly wasn't a weapons deal, so maybe drugs? Either way, there were some guys guarding both sides of the alley, which clearly meant that whatever was going down there wasn't exactly someone planning a surprise party.
Still, wanting just a little more information before springing into action, Peter dared to crawl down the side of the building just a little bit to try and listen in. He soon got to where he could hear some bickering going on.
"This isn't what we agreed on!" one of the men in the center shouted at one point, throwing a tablet down in disgust. The two sides then suddenly drew their guns in the direction of each other.
"Woah woah, guys!" Peter called out from just above them. "Seriously, if you need money, you could have just gone and sold that tablet; I'll bet it would've at least bought you a couple days of groceries?"
"Spider-Man!" one of them shouted. Naturally, they collectively turned their guns on him, but Peter was already one step ahead of them, diving down and landing right in the middle of them. Switching tactics, they tried rushing him, but he was more than ready for them, ducking and flipping out of the way of their attacks while methodically dishing out a few of his own. Once it was down to just a few of them, a couple tried to draw their guns on him, but Peter swiftly knocked them away with a web and a yank before flipping into the air and striking them in the head with his fists, knocking them out.
"Stop right there, Spider-Man!"
Peter turned to see that the last guy he had to deal with was behind him, gun drawn. Really, he'd intended to get to him next; the guy had simply beat him to it. Pretending to play along for the time being, Peter slowly raised his arms in the air.
"Look man, it doesn't have to be like this," he said, deciding to give the guy a chance before he had to resort to violence once more.
"Oh yes it does," the guy explained, a smile on his face. "Once I've taken you out, I'll finally have my ticket into the big leagues."
"As nice as it is to be held in such high esteem," Peter began, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to..."
Before he could finish, someone struck his opponent in the back of his head, the man tumbling to the ground. Peter glanced back up to find that a woman had been the culprit. The lady glanced his way.
"You're welcome," she said before immediately bending down and taking out a pair of handcuffs.
"Yeah sorry, thanks," Peter said. "But is this like, a citizen's arrest? Let me guess, he was trying to tell you what you could and couldn't do, who you could talk to or something like that?"
The woman then reached into her pocket, pulling out and showing him a police badge.
"Detective Terrie Lee," the woman introduced herself.
"Ah, that makes more sense," Peter acknowledged as the woman stood back to her feet.
"Well, not that I don't appreciate the take down, but you did leave quite a mess," the lady remarked.
"Yeah," he acknowledged, glancing around at the unconscious figures around him. "Once they try to gang up on me, all bets are off."
"I'm just disappointed it had to come to that," the detective replied. "I'd been listening in trying to get any intel I could on the larger part of their operation."
"So was I," Peter said, "but things seemed to get a little testy before anything important could come out. Then again, in my experience at least, you only strike it lucky enough to get anything out of these guys every once in a blue moon."
"True, but that doesn't stop us from trying, does it?" the detective questioned.
"Nope," Peter confirmed. "I just..."
He paused for a moment, uncertain of how much to share with this woman. Part of him wanted to give her Tombstone's name and try to get her to run with it, but she likely couldn't even act on it without proof. Besides, Tombstone was exceptionally dangerous; on top of controlling the entirety of the city's underworld, he still had no real idea what he was capable of physically.
"You were saying?" the detective prodded, bringing Peter back to the moment.
"Let's just say I have my suspicions about people involved," he answered. "I just can't prove it right now."
"Hmm," the woman said, giving him an inquisitive look. The detective then glanced back at the alley before turning back, her eyes indicating she was contemplating something. She finally reached into her wallet, opening it and taking out a card, offering it to him. Peter took it, noting the detective's name and phone number on it.
"The force is about fifty-fifty on whether you're good or bad for the city," she explained, "but I've always believed that we could accomplish more if we worked together. I think you're trying to do the right thing, Spider-Man; maybe you just need a little help from the law."
Peter hesitated to respond; honestly, he was kind of taken aback by this gesture. In all his years in the suit, no cop had ever put this much trust in him before.
"Yeah, that would definitely help," he finally said.
"Do me a little favor though: keep that between us for right now, okay?" the detective asked. "The last thing that I need is them thinking I'm going rogue by joining up with someone who is a vigilante as far as the law is concerned."
"My lips are sealed," Peter assured her, pretending to zip his mouth shut through his mask before he fired a web. "Pleasure to meet you, detective."
He then swung off.
Over the next two weeks, things came together surprisingly quickly. Peter found a small but spacious place to rent out for his lab that was less than ten blocks from his apartment. From there, he began ordering the necessary equipment to get things underway, including safety precautions. He also took the electron microscope that his wife had given him and set it up there. Speaking of Mary Jane, she more than lived up to her word, getting either meetings or direct funding for Peter through various contacts she'd made through her business. Everyone he met through her contributed at least a little something to add to Robbie's initial fund, with a few giving more generously.
As happy as he was to be doing all of this, Peter found it more difficult than he'd expected as his last day at the Bugle was rapidly approaching. While he'd never intended it to be a permanent solution to his financial needs, the building and the people within it had almost become like a second home and family to him over the years. Of course, all of this was punctuated by the fact that Robbie had decided early on that the staff would throw a party for him on his last day, something that had basically become a tradition at the Bugle for any longstanding employees, especially since the man had taken over.
There was a part of Peter that didn't care for the idea, since he was never big on receiving so much direct attention. At the same time, he knew that it was their way of sending him off and wishing him well in his next adventure, and he appreciated that. Plus, there was ALWAYS good food at these kinds of things, which was something he certainly wasn't turning down. All that to say, when the time came, he happily welcomed it, with Mary Jane joining the festivities when she could get away from the store.
For most of the party, Peter spent most of the time shaking hands and having light conversations with his several people regarding what was next for him, both in the lab and personally. More than one person asked him about when he and M.J. were planning to have kids, with Betty Brant particularly reassuring them how cute their babies would likely be. Both Peter and his wife consistently answered this inquiry the same way:
"When it happens, it happens."
As the evening began to run late, Robbie got everyone's attention, with Peter turning to face the man, his wife by his side.
"First off, I would like to thank you all for sticking around so late," he began. "I know that we all lead busy lives, so I'm very grateful for you all as we wish our friend here the very best in his next adventure."
He then locked eyes with Peter.
"You know Peter, when you first joined us as a freelance photographer, I wasn't sure that you were going to make it," he said, puzzling Peter. "Here's why: you were a kind, gentle kid working in what can sometimes be a very rough business. There's a lot of good to be seen in this city, but at the same time, the news tends to find the worst of the worst as well. Considering what you were particularly assigned to, I was afraid that seeing the worst the city had to offer would either change you or drive you away from us in a matter of months. Instead, you've grown into a skilled photographer and an even better man, a man who wants to make an impact in the world in a new way, and I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say that we wish you all the very best in that. We know that you'll make us proud, Peter."
The room then burst into applause as everyone raised their glasses in agreement with Robbie's words. Peter glanced over to his wife, who was applauding as well while giving him the most beaming and beautiful smile of pride. The people then began cheering for him to make a speech, something that he'd been absolutely dreading the possibility of, but eventually he reciprocated, starting with a few words that he'd come up with just in case of emergency.
"Thanks everyone; wow, I can't believe this is it. This is definitely the end of an era. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for what's next, but at the same time, I'll be sad not to see you all every day anymore. No more having Glory come to my desk to tell me that I had to come to the principal's office, no more going out on wild adventures with Ben, chasing who knows what lead, I'll miss it all. More than that though, I'll miss you all, and I'll never forget how pretty much everyone in this room helped me out when May was sick. You guys went above and beyond in a way that I never could have even imagined, so I guess all that's really left to say is just...thank you."
Once more, the room erupted in applause.
Finally, the time had finally come. Almost everyone else had left the building already, save for Peter, Mary Jane, Robbie, and a few others. His desk now fully cleared, Peter threw his bag over his shoulder, walking over with the others as he got in the elevator for the final time as an employee. No one said a word on the way down, everyone seemingly content to let him soak it all in. Eventually, the doors opened, and he walked out towards the door. Before he took his exit though, Peter glanced at the building around him one last time before finally following the others out. From there, everyone said their good nights, with Peter thanking Robbie especially for everything before he and his wife turned and walked down the street.
"So, how does it feel?" she questioned.
"Weird," he acknowledged. "I can already picture myself starting to wander this direction in the mornings for a while."
"Well, they say old habits die hard for a reason," M.J. replied. "I'm really proud of you, Tiger."
"Thanks," he said. "I couldn't have done all of this without you."
"Nah, you probably could have," she insisted. "I'm just glad that I could help make it a little easier."
The couple then put their arms around each other as they continued back towards home.
Hope you're still enjoying it!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:17
