Chapter 12: Rage

Peter and Gwen sat across from each other, hunched over a table painted in neon, psychedelic swirls. The medium-sized pizza they had ordered an hour earlier was practically untouched as they raddled off and discussed the most current discoveries in the scientific world.

"Well, it could be the Higgs particle." Gwen's eyes danced as she spoke, "We all know that the Higgs Field is a real thing. We just haven't found substantial evidence to substantiate-"

Gwen's words were drown out by Peter's thoughts. He watched her as she spoke, not completely paying attention to the words she rambled off and instead, watched the way she spoke them. Here was a woman who was not only beautiful but kind and intelligent. When Peter had first mentioned the very recent potential discovery of the famed Higgs particle, he was doubtful that the fair-skinned beauty would have any idea about the discovery. He often found himself underestimating Gwen's immense knowledge, selling her short because of her bleach-blonde appearance.

From the very beginning, Peter couldn't believe that Mary Jane and Gwen were best friends. As Gwen continued on about the Higgs particle, Peter sat back in his chair and smiled, nodding every so often, but his thoughts were elsewhere. While Mary Jane was fire, Gwen had seemed to be ice. But perhaps Peter was wrong- perhaps Gwen had just as much fire as her red-haired best friend, just in a different way.

'It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about something.' Peter chuckled softly at his thoughts. Hearing his laughter, Gwen abruptly stopped listing off the chronological order of discoveries relating to the Higgs particle from its initial discovery in 1964 to its most recent discovery in 2013.

"What's so funny?" She laughed with him, mistaking his laughter for something she had said.

Peter shook his head, smiling. "Nothing."

Gwen leaned back in her chair and smiled back at him, content in the comfortable silence developing between them.

The silence was short-lived as Peter's cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He furrowed his brows as he reached into his pocket.

'I wonder who that could be.' He pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at the picture of him and his Aunt May flashing upon the screen.

"Aunt May?" He spoke into the phone as he held it against his ear. Before his aunt uttered a single word, he knew something wasn't right. Her breathing was ragged as though she had been crying. Peter stood from his chair, limbs aching to spring into action.

"P-Peter, something happened at Anna's home." Aunt May sobbed softly before continuing, "Mary Jane came to check on her and-"

"Gwen, I have to go." Peter's voice was more stern than he had meant it to be. Gwen nodded adamantly, sensing the alarm rather than anger in his voice. He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear as he pulled out his wallet. "And what, Aunt May? What happened?"

"There was a woman- I saw her drag Mary Jane from the house." Aunt May's words froze Peter in place. His wallet dropped from his hands and fell onto the tabletop.

'He's got her.'

"Peter," Gwen stood and reached across the table to gently place her hand on his arm, "Are you okay?"

Gwen's touch spurred him back into action. "Aunt May, I want you to stay in your house. Lock the door and don't open it for anyone. Got it? I'll be there soon."

Aunt May sobbed her compliance with his demands and Peter shoved the phone back into his pocket. He reached down and picked his wallet back up.

"I'm sorry, Gwen. I have to go." He pulled a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and placed it on the table.

Gwen nodded, retrieving her hand from his arm. "I understand." And she did understand. For as long as she could remember, her father would receive these kinds of phone calls- the kind that ended with him running for the front door with no explanation at all. Gwen had always understood and never asked for an explanation. Her father was a hero, Police Chief George Stacy, and someone needed his help. That was always explanation enough.

Peter paused for a moment, his brown eyes sweeping over her. He fought the urge to lean across the table, grab her by the shoulders and kiss her.

"Thank you." He stuffed the wallet back into his pocket and turned away from her, running towards the restaurant door.

Somewhere, Mary Jane was being held hostage by the Kingpin and his henchmen. His selfishness in focusing on his own wants had left Mary Jane open for attack. She had trusted Spider-Man to protect her and he had failed her.

'If only we had stayed at their apartment- I could've kept an eye on her. Damn it!'

These thoughts drove Peter blind with rage. He ran from the restaurant, shoving people out of his way as he dashed through the night. Making a sudden beeline from the sidewalk and into a dark alleyway, he emerged as Spider-Man, swinging with incredible speed towards his Aunt May's home in Midtown.

He swung into his upstairs bedroom and hastily changed back into his civilian clothes. He opened his bedroom door and breathlessly called for his aunt. He heard a muffled voice coming from the bedroom his aunt and uncle once shared.

"Aunt May?" He called again as he stepped into the bedroom. Suddenly, his elderly aunt stumbled from the bedroom closet with curlers still in her hair, a long cotton nightgown on and a baseball bat held haphazardly into the air.

"Peter!" She cried, dropping the baseball bat onto the floor. Peter spanned the short distance between them in two giant steps, engulfing her tiny frame within his arms. "Anna and Mary Jane," She cried against his chest. When she spoke, her words were broken and hardly intelligible. "That woman- pale as a corpse- dragged Mary Jane- oh, Peter! What if they-... what if they hurt her?"

Peter pulled his aunt from his chest and looked into her tear-streaked face, "Aunt May, wait for the police and stay here. Don't open the door for anyone." He hugged her again. "I love you."

Not wasting a single second more, he released her from his embrace and sprinted from the room, closing the bedroom door behind him. He ran back into his bedroom and threw off his clothes to reveal his Spider-Man suit underneath. He pulled the tightly wadded up mask from the back pocket of his discarded jeans and pulled the tight spandex mask over his face.

He crouched in the eve of his bedroom window and peered into the darkness at a home only a hundred feet away. The window that had once belonged to a young Mary Jane was dark. For the briefest of moments, he remembered a time long ago when he would watch from his window for hours for just a glimpse of the young red-haired beauty.

"Why didn't you just listen to me, MJ." Spider-Man shook his head, groaning. He knew there was no use searching for clues in his neighbor's home- The Kingpin's men never left clues...

"...unless the Kingpin wants to be found." He sprung from the window, swinging from a webline attached to his neighbor's porch roof. He stepped into the dark home and sure enough, there was the clue: a piece of paper left on top of the coffee table. He snatched the paper and walked back out onto the porch to read it in the moonlight.

"Spider-Man: Meet us at Pier 13 or Red will meet a slow, painful demise. Come alone. Yours Ever So Truly, -W. Fisk"

Author's Note:if you like the story, please let me know. If you don't like the story, please let me know! I use your reviews as tools to make myself a better writer :) Anywho, thanks for everyone who has reviewed and stayed with me! Sorry for the big gap in updating- the holidays were super busy! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season! Stay tuned for the next installment! :D 3