Peter Parker

I woke up the next morning to a phone call. I groaned as I grabbed my phone. I looked at the screen. To my surprise, I saw Scott's name. I sat up and answered the phone before I put it to my ear.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Good morning, Peter," Scott said from the other side of the line. "I hope I didn't wake you."

I glanced over at the digital clock. "You did, but I had to wake up in about thirty minutes anyway. How're things in Haiti? Are you still there?"

"Things went well. Shuri is doing well, all things considered, and so is Nakia. I pledged the X-Men's support to Wakanda. So, there's likely a chance we'll be helping in their affairs the future. How about you? How are you holding up?"

"I'm about as good as anyone can be when they're being hunted by a big game hunter."

He hummed for a moment. "You know, I was really hoping that the picture shown in Time Square would lead to nothing, but so much for that. I talked to Kitty before I called you. I'm glad you guys are being extra careful."

"So am I," I replied. "I just don't want to deal with another Vinegar Hill situation."

"I hear that," Scott said in agreement. "But, listen. I didn't call you about Kraven. I already got briefed on everything by Kitty. Something occurred to me. And it's something I have to ask both you and Carmilla."

I raised my eyebrows. "What's up, Scott?"

"Did you take the SAT yet?"

I thought about it for a moment. It then slowly sunk in that I didn't. "Oh…" My eyes went wide. "Oh shit! Oh shit oh shit oh shit!" I quickly got out of bed and stopped pacing. How could I have forgotten about the SAT?

"I'm going to take your colorful response as a no," Scott deadpanned.

"Scott, I did," I replied. "But, that was before The Spell! I have no SAT scores to send and – "

"Look, don't worry your head over it. You still have time to register for the SAT so you can take it in May. Assuming that Carmilla hasn't taken the SAT either, I'll be encouraging you two to study together. I'll even have Kitty send you both studying materials."

I nodded. "Yeah, that would be great," I responded. "Thanks."

"No problem. Well, I'm going to give Carmilla a call right now. I'll talk to you later. Bye Peter."

"Bye Scott." I hung up the phone. I then sighed as I went to the alarm on my phone and dismissed it. "Well, no point in getting some more sleep in."

I tossed my phone onto my bed and went into the bathroom. After I showered, brushed my teeth, and the like, I got dressed. Once I was done, my phone was ringing again. I made a mental note to actually assign each of my contacts their own ringtone as I walked over to my phone and looked at the screen. I smiled in amusement before I answered the phone.

"Hey Carmilla," I greeted.

"Peter, are we idiots?" Carmilla asked. She actually sounded sincere.

"No, I don't think we are."

"Then how the hell did we forget about the SAT?! Like, seriously! I wake up in the morning. I brew a cup of coffee. I actually step out to the balcony. I'm looking towards New York City thinking 'You know what? Today is going to be a great day!' And then I get the call from Scott. He asks me if I took the SAT and… Ugh. What the fuck?! How did we forget?"

"Well, we're not normal teenagers, considering what we got on our plates," I pointed out. "I guess we have some signing up and studying to do."

"Yeah we do. Let's do it at the apartment. After we sign up, we'll talk schedule."

"I'll even check with MJ, Ned, and Betty to see if we can form a study group."

"It's been a while since I been in one."

"They're usually fun. We study, we eat, we watch movies…"

"It does sound like fun… but I got to drag Craig along."

"Why?"

"Because there's absolutely no way I'm going to be the only one their without their significant other."

I actually laughed. "I get that. Okay, well, I'll see you at dinner. You have a good day, Peter."

"You as well," I replied before I hung up phone. I smiled. "Maybe today won't be so bad."

Yeah, about that…

I made my way over to The Daily Bugle. The day started off normal. After I uploaded pictures, I talked with Betty at the water cooler about the SAT. Betty was excited about the idea of a study group, wanting to help Carmilla and I get a high score on the rest. Things were going good until Jonah called for us from the door of his office.

"Parker, Brant, in my office, now!" he barked at us.

"Yes sir!" Betty responded as I finished my cup of water.

The two of us walked over to Jonah's office. After I let Betty go in before me, I walked in and closed the door behind me before I took one of two seats in from Jonah's desk, with Betty having already taken the other.

"What can we do for you, Mr. Jameson?" I asked.

"There's going to be a press conference at Central Park at about six o'clock tonight," Jonah explained. "I don't know what the press conference is about or who is putting it on, but I do know that every major news network has been invited. The normal reporters and cameramen I'd normally send won't be available, so I'm tasking you two to go there tonight. You will be paid extra."

Betty nodded. "Sounds good."

"Good. Now get your credentials ready."

Betty nodded as we stood up. We walked out of his office and towards the elevator. After I hit the button, the doors opened up. Betty and I stepped inside. None of us even hit the button for the proper floor as the doors closed.

"How do you feel about this?" Betty asked.

"The first press conference I covered, Justin Hammer announced he is back as head of Hammer Industries and is working with the government to help enforce The Accords," I began. "The second time… well, it was really a gala, but still, we found out that Hammer and Scorpion was supporting FEAST." I turned my head to look at Betty. "I know two times don't make a pattern, but I just know we're not going to like what we see."

Betty nodded slowly as she pressed her lips together. "I was afraid you'd say that." With that, she reached out and pressed one of the buttons.

After I got my credentials, I went home. I pulled out of my phone and sent Kitty a text, telling her that I got a press conference to go to and that I thought it might me something major. A bit to my disbelief, she responded with just a thumbs-up emoji. I shook my head before I got changed and went to school. School past by in a blur. I was barely able to pay attention and take notes. I was hoping that the press conference would be something minor, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to be another headache for me. I hated to be pessimistic, but it was hard not to be.

And, of course, I was proven right.

After I went home and changed, I met Betty at Central Park. I brought along a tripod, along with an extra battery, an extra SD Card, and a few other items in carrying case. We made our way to the site of the press conference – The Bethesda Fountain. In front of the fountain was a simple set up. There was a podium with microphones situated on top of it. There were two speakers flanking it, along with the cables and the like. There were a few people in suits milling about nearby. I guess they were the ones who set the whole thing up. There were a lot of reporters from different news outlets. There was CNN, Fox News, The New York Times… I even recognized Trish Tilby from CNBC. Betty and I found a spot of our own to set up. After I attached the audio adapter kit to the tripod, I attached my camera to the top of the kit. I pulled out a pair of headphones and plugged them into the adapter kit before I put the buds in my ears. From there, Betty plugged in a handheld mic into the adapter kit via an XLR cable. From there, we made adjustments.

"Testing, testing, one two three," Betty said into her handheld mic as she stood a few feet in front of the camera. "How am I sounding?"

"You sound great, Betty," I told her as I gave a thumbs-up with my right hand.

"And how am I looking on camera? Am I looking good?"

I looked down at the viewfinder. Betty looked professional, wearing a black formal vest with a matching tie over a white long-sleeved dress shirt and a black business skirt that reached just above her knees. "Good enough to make Ned want to make his way here as soon as possible."

At that, Betty chuckled. "Well, that's good enough for me." She tilted her head. "I know that'll likely be edited out, but… you think I should do an introduction?"

"Go for it," I urged. "I think it'd be great. Want me to count you in?"

Betty nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay." I pressed the record button the camera. I then raised my right hand, holding up all of my fingers. I used that hand to count her down. During this, Betty took in a deep breath. After I gave her the go ahead, she looked into the camera and spoke into the microphone.

"Good evening, everyone. This is Betty Brant of The Daily Bugle. As you can see, we're at The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, Manhattan. A press conference is about to start soon. The purpose of this press conference and who called for this press conference is yet to be known. However, as my cameraman, Peter Parker will show you, many a news outlet is on the scene." Taking that as a cue, I turned the camera, recording the crowd of journalists. "Other major outlets like CNN and The New York Times are on the scene. Needless to say, there's quite a buzz." I put the camera back on her. "We'll be providing footage of this press conference once it starts, so please stay tuned. Reporting live from Central Park in Manhattan, this is Betty Brant, The Daily Bugle." After that, I ended the recording. I then smiled at Betty and applauded.

"That was awesome!" I complimented.

"I felt like I could do better," Betty replied with a shrug. "But thank you!"

We waited for the press conference to start. And we didn't have to wait long. A blonde woman dressed in a black formal suit walked up to the podium and spoke into the mics.

"Ladies and gentleman, Sergei Kravinoff."

As the journalists quieted themselves down, I closed my eyes and took in a breath. Of course he was here. Of course he was. I let the breath loose before I turned the camera and aimed it towards the podium. I hit record just in time to see Sergei walk up to the podium. To my surprise, he was dressed semi-formally, with a black blazer over a grey button up shirt and a pair of black slacks. He took a moment to look around the crowd. I had to fight the urge to fight him on the spot. After some seconds, he spoke.

"This won't be long," he began, speaking in fluent English though his Russian accent was still notable. He had on the same scowl he had on his face in the video, making me wonder if he just scowled all the time. "I want to get to work as soon. I called this press conference for two reasons. The first reason is announce that I'm here. Your government was kind enough to grant me a work visa for me. The second reason… well, you all might be a little confused about why I'm targeting Spider-Man. Well, the reason is personal.

"You see, my family used to be in very high standing in Russia. One could even call my family oligarchs, if they so choose. My family had a lot of power and influence. Most of that was because of the constant import of weapons from Stark Industries. Unfortunately, Stark decided to go a different direction." The scowl on his face deepened. "Tony and his company flourished. Meanwhile, my family fell from grace. They tried to import other weapons, but their buyers decided to go elsewhere. We lost money, we lost power, and we lost respect. Over the years, I developed a great hatred for Stark. Unfortunately, he sacrificed himself before I could get to him."

I felt my heartrate go up. The very fact that he said Tony's name with such contempt angered me. Apparently, my anger was starting to show. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to my left to see Betty giving me a look of concern. I gave her a smile that was so fake that I could feel it. I took in a breath as I looked back into the camera.

"However, while I can't take down Iron Man, I can do the next best thing. I've been watching Iron Man for a long time. And during that time, I've seen him mentor this Spider-Man. No doubt that Spider-Man is his protégé. Not only that, but the U.S. Government have put quite a lot of money on your head. So, it's a simple deal. I help the government rid New York of Spider-Man, along with the likes of Cyclops, Shadowcat, Frenzy, Scorpion and…" He paused to actually chuckle. "…Frictor. In return, not only will I get my revenge, but I'll be able to restore the power my family held. So, Spider-Man… I'll deal with you first." Kraven took in a breath. "Thank you." With that, he walked away from the podium, ignoring the reporters trying to ask him questions.

I ended the recording before I closed my eyes and took in a breath.

"It always leads back to Tony," I whispered to myself. I was getting frustrated. Why couldn't people just let Tony rest in peace? Why does everyone want their pound of flesh from him after he died? And why do people expect me to pay for the sins of his past?

"Peter?" Betty said. I opened my eyes and looked at Betty, who gave me a look of worry.

"Yes Betty?" I replied.

"Are you okay?"

I took in a breath and shook my head. "No." After that, I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen. Seeing I got a message from Kitty, I unlocked my phone to read it. I looked over at Betty. "Need a ride?"