" . . . but I didn't know he was working for you," Spider-Man said, finishing his over-the-phone recap.

"Calm down, Peter. This is an easy fix. I'll move Danger's parents, he'll lead you to the former location, I'll call him and make sure he knows he's not getting out of our arrangement and it will be as if this morning's fiasco never happened."

"Right . . . okay. But next time, I should know about the bank robberies you've got planned."

"Yes; an unfortunate lack of communication between myself and Danger's handler. You should have been informed about this robbery, but he won't be making the same mistake again."

"How long do I need to stall Danger before your crew will be out of there?" Spider-Man asked.

"Just give them until tomorrow night so they can make sure we don't have any sensitive material or expensive equipment around. In the meantime, take your girl out on a date or something."

Peter rang the doorbell and waited, leaning his shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed. He was answered by the foster mother of the house whose eyes bugged out at the sight of his black shirt with five buttons undone. "Is MJ here?" Peter asked.

"Mary Jane?!" the foster mother called out, not taking her eyes off him.

"Yeah?" MJ said, coming into Peter's line of vision.

"You know this guy?"

"Yeah. That's my boyfriend. Thanks," Mary Jane said in a way that politely implied she could go.

Once the foster mother was gone, MJ asked, "Hey you, watcha doing here, dressed like that?" She was of course referring to his black blazer, slacks and mostly unbuttoned shirt.

"I'm taking you out on a date; that's what I'm doing. And don't you like how I'm dressed."

"I would . . . if there weren't kids and foster parents nearby." MJ took the liberty of walking right up to him and buttoning up his shirt. "And what do you mean by taking me out on a date?"

"Well you see MJ, when two people like each other, they –"

"I mean, I wish you had called first."

"Eh. Decided to be spontaneous," Peter said with a shrug.

"Well, if you had called first, I would have been able to tell you I'm getting to know my foster family tonight."

Peter rolled his eyes and then double checked for anyone close enough to hear them. "So you can take a break from your foster family to check up on the bank robbery, but not to go out with your boyfriend?"

MJ looked at him, confused by how confrontational he was being. "Yes, Peter, I had the time to take a break so I could pretend I'm going to the bathroom for a few minutes, but not to leave the house for a few hours. What's going on with you? You only act like this when something's wrong?"

Peter winced with panic. He wasn't being careful enough and MJ had noticed his difference in behavior. "I'm sorry," he said, pretending to be his normal, nice self. "I've just been having a rough day and I thought some time with my girlfriend would be just what the doctor ordered."

MJ wasn't fully satisfied. She may have accepted his explanation, but it didn't explain his behavior the other night. Deciding to overlook the missing details and compromise with him, MJ said, "Well, I'm sure my foster parents would like to meet you. Want me to ask if you can join us for dinner and games?"

The Peter who was affected by the symbiote knew that the regular Peter would accept the idea. "That sounds great," the Peter who was affected by the symbiote lied.

The night went horribly. Peter was repeatedly rude, no "Thank you"s for the dinner or inclusion. When he wanted something, he made an order of it. He did his best to avoid the younger kids and talked to the older ones with an air of superiority. During the games, Peter was visibly annoyed when it was his turn to do anything and yet he was also invested enough to be a sore loser. At various times, the foster parents gave MJ a look that begged the question, "This is the sweet boy you were practically singing about?"

One of the more troubled teenagers started insulting Spider-Man and with the way Peter went off on her, they thought he would physically attack her. It got so bad that MJ asked him to leave.

Eventually MJ decided to go see him.

"Is Peter here?" MJ asked.

"He's in his room," May said, nodding. "What happened? He seemed upset when he got home."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," MJ said, mortified.

Who would believe that Peter Parker, SPIDER-MAN, would yell at orphans?

The first thing MJ said when she got alone with Peter was, "What was that?!"

"That ungrateful girl deserved every word I said to her," Peter said defensively. "Where does she get off talking about me like that after all the times I've saved the city?"

"I know it's hard to understand this, but she knows Spider-Man as the guy who killed her dad."

"Killed?" Peter asked, wondering how she could come up with such a ridiculous idea. Spider-Man doesn't kill people.

"I know you didn't mean to, but you banged him up pretty bad and he didn't make it. Her dad was working for a villain because he was desperate. The consensus from the paramedics and police was that you hit him a little harder than you thought. And most of the reporters either didn't notice or didn't care."

Peter turned to the side, considering this. How many people has he accidentally killed without the general public or even himself noticing? He's shattered ribcages, knocked skulls against I-beams, strung people up dangerously high with webbing that dissolves after an hour, thrown weapons back at their owners, etcetera, etcetera. When he thought about it, it was kind of silly to think none of them took a bit too much blunt force trauma or internal bleeding to survive. And it was entirely possible for reporters to just consider the accident death or a criminal to be inconsequential in the shadow of their Spider-Man-saves-the-city headlines. The only part of this concept that didn't make sense was J. Jonah Jameson's refusal to report Spider-Man's accidental killings, but that could be explained by him caring less about criminals' safety than the imaginary threat he thought Spider-Man posed to the rest of society. "If he died, it was his own fault," Peter said, deciding to be apathetic. "Are you telling me she was right to say that about me because I fought a criminal?"

"No! I'm just saying you could be more understanding!"

"Understanding?! I was trying to help that girl understand how stupid she was to not understand that Spider-Man is a hero. I've saved her life multiple times since she's been in the city I've been saving and I've gotten nothing in return for it!"

"Okay, okay; I know that's hard for you," MJ said, letting her frustration go. "Listen, I had a talk with May a little while ago. She said the money you get for those pictures isn't exactly retirement money. I'm getting the sense that that's what's bothering you."

Peter shrugged, nervously laughing off the idea. He figured he could afford to deny it sense he'd found a bigger source of income. "I, uh, I think May was using outdated information when she told you that."

Mary Jane found it hard to believe him as she considered the look on his face. She didn't know if it was a complete lie or an exaggeration, but she decided to just treat it as confirmation of his lack of money. "Well, I've been thinking . . . it's kind of weird for a famous superhero to not be rich."

"You're right, next time I save someone, I'll ask 'Will that be cash or credit?'" Peter joked.

"That's not what I meant . . . and I'm being serious. There are other ways to make money off of being Spider-Man. Endorsements, biographies, movie licensing, merchandise. I know a few kids at the foster home who would love a Spider-Man action figure."

"I've thought about that, but there's no way to collect that money without putting my identity at risk. I mean, it's not like I can ask them to make their checks out to 'Spider-Man'."

"Yeah, about the secret identity thing," MJ began cautiously. "Have you considered that maybe putting your identity out there might be good for you?"

Peter didn't know how to make a face that fit how stupid that sounded to him.

"Okay, listen," MJ said. "I know there's that whole tale as old as superheroes; if my enemies found out who I am, all my loved ones would die and then be held hostage. But Steve Rodgers doesn't keep his identity a secret. Or Tony Stark, Steven Strange, Bruce Banner. You're not even considering the advantages and, if I had to guess, I'd say it's because you think that doing the right thing means never doing what's best for you. Besides, if I was a criminal, I'd stay as far away from a superhero's family as possible."

"That's not the logic that Green Goblin used on Gwen," Peter said, almost instantly feeling guilty about bring up the example, all things considered.

"Exactly," MJ said in all seriousness, confusing Peter. "Green Goblin threatened someone you loved . . . and then you took his head off."

It was scary to think that these wonderful concepts could be enacted. If it was so possible to make money while staying morally sound, then what kind of idiot was he for working with the Green Goblin? If he had sent a message that would protect his loved ones by decapitating the Green Goblin, then what message was he in the process of sending?

"I know you want to do the right thing even if it's hard and I love that about you," MJ said, unknowingly cutting deep into his heart. "But that doesn't mean you can't take care of yourself, too."

He could take care of himself, too. MJ had assumed Peter would take care of everyone else, when all he had been doing was taking care of his own greed. Peter couldn't bear the thought of seeing the look she would have on her face if she found out about his deal with Green Goblin. But if he backed out of that deal, Green Goblin would probably come after MJ and she would have to know what's going on. And he had another problem with standing against Green Goblin. He hadn't forgotten those noise makers built into the gliders. If he tried to break things off with Green Goblin, he'd press his button and the symbiote would be in agony. Maybe if he got rid of the symbiote? Peter shook his head impulsively and then hoped MJ hadn't noticed. "How can I abandon the symbiote? It gives me power, it gives me clarity," were the words Peter either thought or was fed. "The symbiote doesn't give me clarity! The symbiote is what got me into this," Peter thought, and it was definitely his own thought this time. "But it does give me power. Isn't it good for Spider-Man to have power even if he's not working for Green Goblin. Spider-Man saves people; he's a hero. Heroes need power." Then Peter said out loud, yet weakly, "MJ?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Let's say . . . what if I had a way to be better at taking care of myself and taking care of other people, but it came at a price? Maybe it would take a piece of who I am."

MJ shook her head, unable to understand him with that level of vagueness. "What do you mean?"

"If I had a way to be stronger, but I was a little less . . . me . . . less nice . . . would you support that?"

MJ stared at him, trying to figure out what would do that. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but Peter spoke first. "I'm sorry. Dumb question." In his mind rang the words, "What am I doing?! I can't get that close to letting her know! I just need to get better at not letting her notice the difference. As long as no one knows I have the symbiote, I can keep the power and keep MJ."

But it was too late. MJ's heart dropped when she figured out what would give Peter power while making him less nice. She remembered their conversation about Eddie and how the symbiote messed with his mind. Peter had said that Eddie was upset with him for things he did which, come to think of it, probably happened when Spider-Man was wearing the black suit. It explained everything about how Peter had been acting all day, including his more brutal treatment of the bank robbers.

"I was just talking about a weird, random idea. Forget I said anything," Peter said, trying to back out of this. "You should probably go home. Your foster family might be worried about you."

Uh-uh.

"Wait. I wanted to ask you about Miles Morales," MJ said, having thought quickly. Up until then, she had assumed Peter was handling that situation however was appropriate, but that assumption was made before she thought he might have a symbiote problem. "Did you find his parents?"

"He knows where his parents are. We're going to rescue them tomorrow," Peter said, feeling a muted twinge of guilt.

That sounded suspicious. The Spider-Man she knew would do nothing else until the hostages were rescued. She wasn't sure she wanted Peter to know she thought he might have the symbiote, so she chose a tactic of emotional manipulation. "Well, I think it's great that you're willing to help him even after that fight. The way you always do the right thing is why I support you," she said with a big smile.

Peter stared at the floor, the symbiote losing its ability to silence the guilt.

"About your question," MJ began nervously. "I think there's a reason people call you your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It might not seem as practically useful, but the fact that you're so friendly does do a lot. You already know that you saved me from supervillains, but . . . what I never told you, or anyone, is that you also saved my life in a different way. Back then, I was feeling especially bad and I was thinking about . . . not living much longer. When you did all that fighting for me, to save my life, and you told me so nicely and friendly that you'd happily do it again, it made me feel worth saving. So, how could I kill myself when Spider-Man wanted me to live so much?"

That was a lot for Peter to process. The idea that MJ was that close to suicide was concerning if not unsurprising. And to think he stopped her just by being friendly. How many people had he inspired like that, not just because he was strong, but also because he cared?

"So, no, Peter. If you had a way to be stronger by sacrificing who you are, I would not support that," MJ said.

Peter was visibly choked up, on the brink of tears perhaps.

"Peter?" MJ said, hoping to know what was going on in his head.

"I have to go," Peter said, making his way to the door.

MJ saw that she had gotten through to him. So she wasn't afraid to be direct anymore. "You're wearing it, aren't you?"

Peter stopped and remained silent. MJ took that as a yes. She thought about asking why and how he could have put it back on, but that could wait until he was less likely to be volatile about such questions. She decided to start with, "You've taken it off before. You can do it again. Don't worry, Peter. You don't need the symbiote."

Peter just stood there silently, his back turned on her.

"Who needs an alien suit when you have a girlfriend like me, right?" MJ said, trying to sound amusing in spite of her nervousness.

"Just a suit. Not a sentient being or a life equal to a human's; just a suit," he said ominously.

All MJ could come up with was, "Um."

"We tried to make this mutually beneficial. But if you insist on making that impossible, we can be selfish."

MJ shook with fear. There was no telling what level of trouble she was in and no telling what he was getting at. Did he mean that he would break up with her or that he would beat her into submission? She knew little about how much of an affect the symbiote could have on him. In her mind, anything was possible.

"Peter, please just . . ."

"You're not talking with Peter anymore," said a monstrous, reverberating voice.

Author's Note: Anyone who's played the PS4 Spider-Man game knows that Spider-Man does not kill . . . on purpose. But let's be real, with all the crazy takedowns he's pulled, there's no way they would all be fine.

In addition to writing fanfictions, I also have a YouTube channel. The main thing I do is review fictional romantic subplots, but I also do book reviews and various other things. Some of my better videos are the Rapunzel and Flynn/Eugene series. (Flynn and Eugene are the same person in case you didn't know.) To find me, go to YouTube and type in the search bar –

Couple Reviews by MVPKnight