Peter took Mayday and Giselle out for the night to try and explain everything. New York was the perfect place for it; the city of crazy things where talking about things like this out in the open was sort of the norm. So there was no reason to worry about someone taking what he said the wrong way. He took them to the pizza place that he ironically used to work at for deliveries once a long time ago.
"So, I guess you have some questions about what you saw out there," Peter said as he took a bite of a slice.
"Who was that strange octopus man?" Giselle questions.
"His name is Doctor Octopus," Peter explained as he watched Mayday eat at a small table beside them. "But his real name is Otto Octavius. He was a respected scientist before he became evil. An accident in a lab caused him to fuse with his metal limbs and turn into that monster after suffering brain injuries."
"And you have fought him before?" Giselle asked.
"Many times," said Peter, chuckling as he recalled his dozens of encounters with Otto. "Which is sad, since he used to be a good friend of mine."
"He was?" Giselle seemed surprised to hear. "What happened?"
"Well, we were partners. We used to create stuff we thought would change the world. Then he got some news he was sick, and...he used some technology that wasn't properly tested." Peter thought of his old mentor and sighed. "It was hard. To see what he had become."
"I'm so sorry," Giselle said sympathetically as she held his hand.
"Thanks," he said with a smile. "You know, I never get to get this stuff off my chest. I can't really openly talk about this stuff with many people. And those I can talk to, they're not the most sympathetic or supportive."
The two of them smiled and gazed into one another's eyes; they were a little awkward in their conversation. There wasn't much to really say since Peter wanted to explain what happened with him and his spider bite and his rogue gallery.
"This is a very nice place." Giselle complimented.
"Yes, it's a place I usually take Mayday when we go out to eat," Peter confirmed.
"And we're eating dinner?" Giselle asks.
"Yeah," Peter confirmed.
"This is a date." Giselle had come to a conclusion.
"Yeah," Peter said, but then he realized what he had said. "Oh, wait, no." He wasn't entirely sure how to explain it. "We're just...friends." He then chuckled as he looked over to Mayday. She was talking with Cindy Moon, who frequented the place herself. "Besides, people don't usually bring their children on dates."
Giselle seemed to be a bit upset by that news. "Oh, that's too bad," she said. "Mayday is a lovely girl." She complimented to Peter. "She's very kind, and very sweet."
Peter didn't give him the credit for where she got it, believing it was all from MJ. "She gets it from her mother."
"Does she miss her terribly?" Giselle asks Peter.
"Uh..." Peter knew this was a bit of a tough subject. "We don't talk about it that much."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Giselle tells him.
"Yeah, well...it's more I don't talk about it much," Peter explains and sighed, thinking back to years ago. "To Mayday or anybody."
"Because it was very sad?" Giselle asks.
"Not at first," Peter said, a smile growing on his face. "Mary Jane Watson, she was..."
Giselle smiled as she recognized the smile. "You were in love."
"Yeah," Peter confirmed. "That's what the problem was."
"How could love be a problem?" Giselle asks.
"In my line of work," Peter explained with a sorrowful look, "it's a big problem. The 'happily ever after' you constantly talk about—it's a fantasy for people like me. We don't...we have to wake up and realize we can't have everything we want."
"What made you wake up?" Giselle wonders.
Peter sighed and went back to the beginning. "She died," he said. Giselle let out a small gasp and placed her hand over her heart. "She was in the middle of one of my fights, and I couldn't save her."
Once upon a time in the bustling city of New York, Spider-Man swung through the towering skyscrapers, ever vigilant in protecting the innocent. However, an old enemy resurfaced with a vengeance. The Green Goblin, a deranged and powerful villain, had returned to wreak havoc on the city.
The Green Goblin, fueled by his insidious plans, sought to strike at Spider-Man where it hurt the most. He devised a nefarious scheme to bring chaos and despair into the life of Peter Parker. The villain discovered Peter's deepest secret: his love for Mary Jane Watson, a woman who had captured his heart.
Unbeknownst to Peter, the Green Goblin had used this information to his advantage. While Peter was out picking up some things for their newborn daughter, the Goblin came into his home and kidnapped Mary Jane, intending to lure Spider-Man into a deadly confrontation. The Goblin knew that by attacking Peter's heart, he could weaken him both physically and emotionally. Fortunately, Mayday happened to be with Peter's aunt at the time and he was supposed to go there after he learned his home was under attack by his enemy.
As the sun set and cast an eerie glow across the city, Spider-Man swung through the night, following the Green Goblin's trail. He arrived at an abandoned warehouse, the designated battleground for their fateful encounter.
Within the dimly lit warehouse, Spider-Man confronted his arch-nemesis. The Green Goblin's maniacal laughter reverberated throughout the air as he taunted Peter, relishing in his sinister plan. Suddenly, his spider sense alerted him mere moments before the Goblin launched himself into attack. The ensuing battle commenced with fervor, their agile movements illuminating the shadows.
However, the Green Goblin's strength and cunning proved to be a formidable challenge for Spider-Man. Exchanging powerful blows and dodging deadly projectiles, Peter fought valiantly to save the love of his life. As they fought through the warehouse, he came across Mary Jane, bound and gagged, watching helplessly as the battle raged on. She tried to free herself from the restraints, but they were too strong for her.
In a moment of distraction, the Green Goblin seized the opportunity to strike a devastating blow. With a merciless glint in his eye, he laughed before launching a powerful explosive towards Spider-Man. But Peter, fueled by his love for Mary Jane, managed to dodge most of the blast. Tragically, he couldn't avoid the shockwave entirely. The explosive shockwave took an entire portion of the warehouse and toppled it down on top of the two innocent parents.
As the dust settled, Spider-Man rose from the wreckage, his body battered and bruised. Even as he fought for his own life, his first thoughts went toward Mary Jane. Stumbling, he rushed over to her side, tears streaming down his face.
"No!" Peter whispered in pain. "No, no. Please, not you too..."
With her last breath, Mary Jane whispered something to Peter. "Peter...I-I love you." She wheezed out through the pain. "Take care of Mayday."
Then Mary Jane passed away as she succumbed to her injuries. The loss was devastating; it shattered Peter's spirit.
In that moment, grief transformed into a burning resolve. Spider-Man, now consumed by vengeance and guilt, vowed to bring the Green Goblin to justice. With renewed determination, he chased after the villain, their final battle becoming a clash of titans.
In a climactic showdown on a towering rooftop, Spider-Man unleashed every ounce of his strength and agility. The Green Goblin fought with a ferocity born of madness, but Peter's grief-fueled determination proved to be his undoing. In a final, desperate move, Spider-Man managed to overpower the Green Goblin, incapacitating him.
As the police arrived to apprehend the defeated villain, Spider-Man stood alone on the rooftop, his heart heavy with loss. He had avenged Mary Jane's death, but the price was too high. With a heavy heart, he vowed to continue fighting for justice, forever haunted by the memory of the battle that had taken the love of his life.
And so, as the city lights glimmered below, Spider-Man swung into the night, burdened by his grief but committed to protecting the innocent, a hero forever marked by tragic loss.
"It was my fault," Peter muttered. "It was because she fell in love and got involved with me."
"I'm so sorry for you both," Giselle said to him.
"It's okay," said Peter, wiping away the tears. "I'm a big boy; I was able to handle it." That was a lie. He then gave Mayday a look and saw the good time she was having with Cindy. "It's her I'm worried about most." He sighed and knew having his father's personality would be terrible. "She's not a social kid, pretty shy. And I know she has a hard time making friends. I just want her to be strong. And I'm worried one day, she'll wake up and discover she has my abilities. It's not something I want her to live with. The burden that I need to carry. Because that day, she'll need to be prepared to face the world for what it is." He then looked towards Giselle. "That's what kind of world I live in. Dreams don't often come true in my line of work."
"But dreams do come true." Giselle tried to encourage. "And maybe something wonderful will happen."
Peter chuckled at himself. "Look at me, I forgot who I was talking to."
"Well, I hope you don't forget," Giselle said as someone approached. "I like talking to you."
Out of nowhere, Nathaniel appeared wearing a tuxedo and carrying a glass; he placed it in front of Giselle. Dressed as a waiter and sporting a fake mustache, his disguise was what he considered to be perfect. It was at least going to be enough to fool Giselle, since Peter had no prior interactions with him and doesn't know him personally.
Nathaniel says to Giselle, using a fake accent as he places the apple martini, he made using the poisoned apple. "For the nice lady." He adds, "From a secret admirer."
"A secret admirer?" Peter asked as he wondered who that could possibly be and looked around. "What's with New York and giving you free stuff?"
"What is it?" Giselle asked as she picked up the glass.
"It's an apple martini, miss," Nathaniel tells her.
"Oh, it looks yummy," Giselle said.
"Be careful, it's poison." Peter quipped, missing the look of fear from Nathaniel.
Giselle however saw through his rouse and smiled. "You're joking."
Peter chuckled. "Yeah," earning a laugh from Giselle, and a forced laugh from Nathaniel. "But it is New York, I'd be careful. You never know what kind of weirdos out there."
"I'll just have one sip," Giselle said as she picked up the glass.
Mayday suddenly felt something wrong with herself, even though she was halfway across the room. She had a strange gut feeling, telling her that something bad was going to happen. But she wasn't entirely sure why or what was wrong to set off an alarm in her head.
"A sip is all it takes," Nathaniel said, excited to finally have his task accomplished.
That's when, suddenly, Pip came flying out of seemingly nowhere and tackled the glass. Giselle gasped, expecting to see a sniper, only to realize it was a squirrel that had come in. Pip then jumped onto the table and started squealing at Giselle, trying his best to communicate. As he did so, Nathaniel attempted to grab him, but the two ended up squirreling around.
"Oh, come on." Peter groaned when he saw the chipmunk, not even expecting it to be sentient or able to understand him. "There's a squirrel in the place. Can we get some help over here?"
Giselle tried to hear what Pip was trying to say, but it was impossible with Nathaniel trying to hit him. When Pip manages to give Nathaniel the slip, making Nathaniel assume that he jumped away, he gets the opportunity to jump over to Giselle.
"Pip, you're here!" Giselle was amazed to see him and held him up to her ear.
Some of the other residents of the restaurant took notice of the commotion, and an elderly man took notice of the situation. "Face front, true believer! It's eating her face."
"Oh, it's a chipmunk," Mayday said as she approached her father.
"Stay back, sweetie," Peter said as he kept his daughter off the ground from the creature. "These things carry all kinds of diseases."
Pip then tried to explain everything to Giselle, who actually seemed to understand him. "Edward is here?" she asked.
"I'll save you, miss!" Nathaniel cried as he used a broom to try and attack Pip.
Pip jumped to avoid the attack and landed in Giselle's hair in the process. Nathaniel said as he tried to swing and strike Pip and Peter saw he and Mayday were in the path.
"Look out!" Peter ducked and clung to Mayday, not wanting his daughter to get hurt.
When Nathaniel swung the broom, he missed both, Peter, Mayday, and even Pip in the process. Pip jumped out of the way and ran around the table to dodge the attacks. Giselle made it out of the way as Peter was still a little concerned for her.
"Are you okay? Did it scratch you?" Peter asks Giselle, inspecting her for injuries. "Let me see your face."
"Oh, I'm fine. Pip wouldn't scratch me." Giselle assured him.
Nathaniel looked around for Pip and wondered where he had gone. He looked underneath the table, inspecting it to see if he and sneaked underneath. He missed that the pizza was rising on the table, revealing something was hiding inside the cheese.
"Uh, Dad, the pizza looks like it's breathing," Mayday tells her father.
"Huh?" Peter looked down and saw the pizza; he figured that's where the chipmunk was. "Oh, okay."
Nathaniel heard that and rose from the ground, eyeing the pizza. He didn't want to freak out the chipmunk or give away that he had found him.
"Oh, Pip!" Giselle was relieved to see he was okay.
Nathaniel, however, grabbed the pizza and had other ideas when he saw the open pizza. He threw the pizza, missing the flinging chipmunk that flew off and landed in a glass vase. The pizza smashed into the oven and went up in flames, causing the restaurant to erupt in cheers. Giselle was left in distress when she saw her friend, assuming he had gone up in flames. Nathaniel wasn't used to this kind of thing and enjoyed it.
The noise from the passing trains caused the walls of the hotel room where Edward and Nathaniel were staying to shake violently. He sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through different channels on the television, completely oblivious to the unfolding events outside. Unbeknownst to Edward, Nathaniel was in the process of carrying out a sinister plan to end the life of Giselle and had left the hotel room earlier to put his plan into action.
"Tell me, magic mirror, what is this awful place?" Edward asked the television. "Why is everything so difficult? Will I ever find my heart's duet?"
"Preliminary search of the pizza oven did not reveal any rodent remains." An animal control officer reported, "This animal's still out there."
"Joining us is the woman who was attacked by this chipmunk." A newscast reported.
Giselle walked onto the screen, causing Edward to jump. "Giselle!"
"Tell us, how does it feel knowing this dangerous animal is most likely still alive?" The reporter asks Giselle.
"Wonderful!" Giselle said in relief. "Pip is my very best friend, and..."
"Giselle, why don't we go home?" Peter said as he stepped into the frame, still carrying Mayday. "It's getting late."
"I wasn't finished." The reporter said. "One more question, please."
Suddenly, Edward became insanely jealous when he noticed Peter in the room. Jumping onto his bed, he drew his sword as if prepared to attack his perceived enemy.
"What villainy is this?" Edward exclaimed.
"Is this unprovoked attack part of some new trend? Is "rodent rage" on the rise?"
Edward jumped off the bed and knelt down in front of the TV. "Magic mirror, I beg you," he said. "Tell me where she is."
"...Currently staying at 116th and Broadway."
"116th and Broadway!" Edward cried in relief. Then, strangely enough, he kissed the television screen. "Thank you, magic mirror!"