Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spectacular Spider-Man Characters or Marvel Characters included in this fanfic, I do this for fun :)
LIVING ON THE EDGE - ALLAN RESIDENCE
For once in a LONG time, the last few months have been solid for Peter Benjamin Parker. He can finally take a breath and picture his future…
From getting accepted into his dream college, Empire State University, to having a beautiful cheerleader girlfriend who supported his secret, everything seemed picture-perfect. He even had his job back as the Daily Bugle's photographer… Albeit it took some convincing, for 'Jolly Jameson', till he gave in… but as a punishment for that lengthy absence, Peter was back to the starter pay of $40 a pic—That's a whole other debacle he didn't want to worry about. Especially as the beautiful Sunday evening sky rolled in, where Peter could officially sit back and check off his daily list.
Going to morning mass with Aunt May, CHECK.
Afternoon grocery shopping with Aunt May, CHECK.
Play chess with Elizabeth Gargan at the children's hospital, CHECK.
Stopping by Liz's house for some playtime… CHECK… What?—Building a SpongeBob Lego set was extremely exhilarating for them.
Which, it was time for Peter to have a beautiful dinner with Liz…
And her parents…
YEESH…
Actually to his surprise, it was going well. Huh, nice!
This wasn't his first time meeting her parents. Actually, he met with her parents a few months back, once they considered their relationship: 'Serious.'
That dinner started expectingly stiff but things slowly worked out on their own… which made Liz's parents fine with Peter dating their daughter, preferring him to Flash Thompson, which was a start.
And Peter's momentum continued that beautiful Sunday night.
Mr. Allan playfully mentioned, "Has Liz never mentioned to you she loved sports, Pedro?"
"Dad…"
"Actually she's never mentioned it… this sounds like a fun story, Mr. Allan," Peter answered with a smirk. And Liz just playfully scowled at him, which made his smile grow.
Mrs. Allan pointed out, "Lizzy loves soccer… used to watch all the soccer games with her brother."
"Soccer, huh? You never tried out for the team," Peter teased.
"I liked it as a kid, but I obviously wasn't good at it," Liz admitted.
"She also liked football," Mr. Allan added.
"That's cuz that was the only thing she played with Markito," Liz reasoned again.
"Makes sense, when Mark played for the football team… he was pretty great," Peter complimented.
"Yeah… Mark really was. We actually visited him the other day, he's doing much better now," Mrs. Allan mentioned,
"That's great… that's really great," Peter added. He practically tried to avoid any awkward silence as possible.
"Anyways, Peter… what about you—you like any sports?"
"Ummm, not really. My uncle and aunt never got into it, so I never did. Although I like going to football games… but not to watch the game," he answered.
"What about your father, I bet he watched some sports?"
"Dad," Liz raised her eyebrow at him.
"Wha-Oh… I'm sorry to bring it-"
"No, it's okay Mr. Allan. I just don't remember much about my dad… or my mom. But I'm sure they watched some sports"
"That's… good," Mr. Allan commented.
After that, the sound of utensils clinking or scraping against the plates were the only things heard… not one peep was heard for a while.
However, Mrs. Allan broke the silence, when she asked, "So Peter, have you heard about the big senior retreat, they're planning in Florida?"
"I did actually," he answered.
"Are you going? Because we already signed Liz up for it"
"I actually don't know."
"Why?" Mr. Allan asked.
"There's so much here I need to do. Like if there's another big megalomanic terrorizing… I'm gonna need to be there… for y'know—taking the pictures of Spider-Man, obviously," Peter reasoned.
"Isn't there someone else at the Bugle to take those pictures? You deserve a break, Pedro"
"There is another guy… but my boss loves the angles I get-"
"I've actually seen some of your pictures in the paper, and WOW, they're really impressive," Mr. Allan acknowledged.
"It's like you're swinging with him," Mrs. Allan joked.
Liz raised her eyebrows at the mention of it, which she devised a cover.
"They're not that good. It just helps that Spider-Man is so photogenic. He's just a really nice guy for that… Really helps Petey out," Liz loudly admitted.
"She's… right," Peter supported. Although, in his mind, he was stunned. 'Wha-They're not THAT good?! She really said that!'
The energy of the conversation died down once Peter, and Liz finished their delicious lasagna. They quickly excused themselves, as they cleaned up the table, placing their dishes by the sink.
"Mama, we're gonna study in my room…"
"Okay, mamacita. You sure you don't want more food, Peter?"
"Oh no, Mrs. Allan… I'm stuffed, but thank you!" he kindly rejected. "The food was delicious," he added.
"You're welcome, Peter. Now please go help Liz study hard!"
Peter nodded at her, before the gleeful Liz took him by the hand, and led him to her room. A couple of giggles were heard as they made their way to her room.
"Can't believe you said my pictures aren't that good!" he smirked.
"I had to think of something, Petey—My parents were getting too close," she teased.
"Speaking of your parents, I think they like me"
"Noticed that too. It's great that you all getting along!"
Then she laid against the headboard of her bed, as Peter laid his head on her lap. Her fingers twirled and twisted his shaggy brown hair.
"Also I'm sorry about my dad… he shouldn't have brought that u-"
"Liz… it's fine… really!"
"You sure?"
"Yes. I don't really have much to remember them by… and Uncle Ben and Aunt May are practically the best parents I could ask for, so it all worked out in the end"
"Do you ever think about them?"
"Sometimes… whenever I look at the mantle on our fireplace. I see their picture, framed there"
"You ever miss them?"
"Sometimes. I just wished I knew them, you know… cuz all I remember is their names, and their voice…" he began.
Peter tried his hardest to not well up, thinking about it.
"Sometimes, I just wanted to know that they ever loved me…That's all I wanna know," he tearfully continued.
Liz's hands gently wiped the trickling tears from his eyes, which led to a smile growing on his face.
"Thanks for listening, Liz," he gently kissed her hand.
"I'm always here, baby," she smiled at him while she played with his thick brown hair. "You know Petey, that SpongeBob Lego Set isn't going to build itself," she playfully acknowledged.
"Liz, get out of my head," he joked.
Once they got up to finish the Lego set, her window lit up with this light-green-tint. Peter peeked over to see a nearby bank being lit up, with a familiar glow.
Peter instantly turned to her, giving her this familiar look, and she kissed him goodbye.
"Swing safe… and text me when you get home!"
He pointed at the Lego Set, "Don't finish it without me! Night!"
She snickered in response before he dashed out her door. Once he saw her parents, not that far away, he quickly bid farewell.
"Thank you for the dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Allan, and a wonderful night," he complimented. "I have to run cuz there's a situation outside, and… I gotta take more pictures of Spider-Man!" he quickly explained.
"Of course. Be safe out there Peter!"
He waved to them before leaving through those doors, "Will do, goodnight!"
ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME - NEW YORK CITY
The main thing Peter forgot to CHECK off his to-do list was of course, being New York City's nighttime crime fighter, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN!
He urgently moved up to the rooftop of the building, quickly changing out of his suit as he moved. Once he caught sight of the bombastic blasts, he realized it'd take forever to swing. So he improvised. 'Thwip, thwip!'
He rooted two webs on each side of the rooftop, and stretched out the webs, tying them together. Then he readied himself to be the human slingshot, stepping all the way back to the other side of the rooftop. 'Here we go–here we go–here we go-'
"WAAA-HOOO-OOO-OOO!" Spider-man joyously hollered once he catapulted into the air.
He rocketed to the scene where he heard that familiar sound of those bombastic blasts that rocked the nearby bank.
PEWWWRRRUUUUMMMM!
It didn't sound like any ordinary gunfire or bombs, with that unique, rippling rhythm. The webhead knew who it was… the one, the only… SHOCKER!
'Shocker?!… It's been a while since I've seen him. Huh, of all the people that Fisk let out from the vault, he let out the rodeo clown! Maybe I gave him too much credit'
Once the web-swinger sprung to the scene, he quickly grabbed any bystanders and moved them out of harm's way. Thankfully, there weren't many bystanders, with many police bringing many to safety.
"Hey Montana, shocker to see you here!" Spidey greeted.
"Nice word-play, bug"
"Thanks, I really worked on that on the way here…"
Instantly he narrowly dodged one distant blast for the shocker. "Got a new gig?" he asked.
"Not really. Still doing dirty work, squashing bugs, and spiders… although one's REALLY gettin on my nerves," Shocker snapped, once he shot a blast at the web-swinger.
"Heh, sounds like a personal issue, Montana"
"It sure does. But it's gonna be gone, sooner or later… hopefully sooner"
Shocker blasted another one to the webhead's way.
"Heh. You sound sure about that"
"I'm sure about it. Big man seems sure about it-"
"You can cut the big guy act. I know Hammerhead's the new big man… and he isn't even that big!"
Shocker launched his signature blast at him, nearly getting Spider-Man in the head, "He sure ain't that big, but he sure knows how to pack a PUNCH!"
"Touchy subject, I see," Spidey snapped back.
"Just doing what the boss would've done. But with more flair"
"Plus, he mostly hits things with that big Ol' head he got" Instantly he dodged another blast from Shocker's gauntlets.
"He seriously charges like a bull but doesn't have the flair of one," he snappily added.
"It's never about the flair, bug… it's about the EXECUTION!"
BAM, the powerful blast rocked Spidey to the ground. 'Umph!'
"Oh, good one…" he spat, trying to get back up.
"Thanks. Thought of it, myself, bug," Shocker uttered, towering over the hero.
Spidey noticed the van filled with Hammerhead's men was on the run, stealing millions of dollars' worth of resources, so he knew he had to wrap this up.
"Hey Montana!… Loved catching up with you, man. But y'know the drill. I gotta catch the bad guys… y'know"
"But the big man ain't-"
"Again, cut it with the big man schtick!"
He dodged the final two blasts from Shocker and found an opening, which he webbed up his legs. Then he used a bundle of webs and quickly morphed it into a thick, makeshift lasso. It wasn't perfect, but passable as he lassoed around the Shocker's arms, giving Spidey enough time to rip off those gauntlets, grab them in mid-air, and aim and fire at the runaway van's tires.
Seemed like a simple, reckless process.
Spider-Man quickly swung over to the damaged van, thankfully with them still in it and alive.
"Hey, sorry about that one, guys. That was kinda hard… but hey, killed two birds with one stone with this one," Spidey commented. "Even got Montana in a bind… feels like getting the best deal of my life," the hero excitedly acknowledged.
In an instant, he webbed all of them onto the side of the van, to their dismay. However, he had to be careful not to use too much, needing enough web fluid to go home on time.
Spidey checked on every single goon, then turned to Montana, who still had his mask on. So he ripped off his mask, which revealed a small earpiece in Montana's ear. He instantly snatched it and spoke into it.
"HAMMERHEAD! Long time no talk. You ghosting me?!"
"Spider-Man, nice hearing from you… again," the crime-lord deviously greeted.
"Gotta say Hammerhead, for the newest crime-boss in town, you're seriously lacking!"
"Lacking how?"
"Tombstone and Fisk were good at this, albeit they're psychos… but good at this part of the job. Especially getting good help. You should've taken some pointers from Tomby, since you worked under him and all"
"If I've been so bad at this, why haven't you come for me? Seems like you're not good at this hero gig"
"You really believe that? Heh, don't worry, I'll get you soon… Just been busy enjoying life lately, so I'll come around to it or the police will," Spidey explained. "So enjoy that severance package… cuz that's the last money you'll ever spend," the hero taunted before crushing the device.
Just then, he turned to see the mostly costumed criminal and his goons being led into the large police van, in cuffs.
"See you Montana! Hope they have a nice cell for you in the Vault"
"See you soon… Bug," Montana miserably muttered.
Not long after, Captain George Stacy approached him with a grateful smile.
"Good work again, Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man turned his attention to the police captain, "Thanks, Captain Stacy. Honestly, couldn't have done it without your boys in blue"
"Unfortunately… they aren't the biggest fans of you. I'm working on it though"
"It's alright. Not everyone's gonna like me… I've pretty much accepted that. Plus some of them were Kingpin's pawns, so I don't expect them to be my number one fans anytime soon," Spidey acknowledged. "Although I can always count on Officer Carter being my number one fan!" he loudly added.
"That's right SPIDEY!" Officer Stan Carter applauded in the distance, before Officer Dewolff discouraged him.
Captain Stacy chuckled, patting Spider-Man on the back.
"Stay safe out there Spider-Man. We need you in one piece, to keep this city in one piece"
"Yeah… don't worry about it Cap! I won't be going anywhere," he casually saluted. "Have a good night!" he exclaimed launching himself into the night sky.
He checked his phone, to make sure he was on schedule, '9:50pm - Phew, with time left to spare to pick up my clothes!'
PARKER RESIDENCE
'I'm alive! So please don't finish that set without me!' - Peter
'Instructions unclear, finished the Lego set-lol' - Liz
'Liz please tell me you're joking' - Peter
'I am lol-Love ya' - Liz
'Night, love you too :)' - Peter
The instant Peter strolled onto the porch from his hectic patrol, he snappingly switched out of his spandex get-up, and went straight to the living room. He stared at a dusty picture of a family portrait on the fireplace mantle… with a young Peter being in the middle of that picture, as his aunt and uncle were on his right, and his parents were off to the left. That picture looked like it hasn't been touched for the past decade, with how much dust that had gathered on it.
"Oh there you are, Peter. I didn't even hear you come in," Aunt May admitted.
She saw him staring at that picture, with such focus, it was almost funny. "Awe, you looked so cute in that picture… with that little bowtie and glasses," she observed as she rested her hands over his shoulders.
Peter turned to her, "Aunt May, this might sound like a weird question…"
"I'm listening… Ready to answer anything"
"Um… well… uh, what were—my parents like?"
"Your parents?"
"Yeah… I don't remember much about them"
"I could say the same thing about them, dear"
"Really?"
"Yes. Like, what is there to tell? Your father was your uncle's younger brother, who came around occasionally, and I rarely spoke to him. He always seemed like the timid type. As if he had this burden weighing on his shoulders. And your uncle talked little about your father… except that he loved sports"
Peter had a tiny smile growing on his face, 'I knew he loved sports…'
"And when he got married, we saw less of him around… Your mother was nice, but was very to herself. That's why it startled us when your parents dropped you off here"
"Why?"
"Because they were always so secretive. They never told us where they're off to, they just said they wanted us to take care of you, while they were gone"
"I sure was a handful"
"And you still are," she teased. "Where was I–OH YES—Then that's when your uncle and I heard the news of what happened, to them and their friends," she continued.
"The Brocks"
"Yes… And that's all I know about your parents, dear"
"Oh," Peter mouthed.
"Why the sudden interest?"
"Tonight I had dinner with Liz's parents, and we were on the topic of sports… and I know we never watched any, but then they asked if my dad did… and I froze"
"Honey, I'm confused… where are you going with this?"
Peter clarified, "I froze, cuz I don't remember my dad… Or my mom. I can't remember the little things like if he watched sports. It's just a mess, Aunt May cuz I had these parents for 5 years, yet I remember nothing about em… just vaguely remember their faces and voices." He expressed, "They are a part of me I want to know more about."
"If that's the case, there's probably something up there in the attic, if you want to find anything. I remember after whatever happened to your parents, your uncle put something of theirs up there. But I never bothered to go up there, because it's dusty"
"It's fine, I'll do it"
After climbing up the skinny, fragile ladder to ascend to the attic, he instantly started searching through the piles of piles of dusty boxes, filled with documents with meaningless words. But he stumbled upon some old books and pictures from Uncle Ben's memorabilia.
"Who's this guy?" he wondered.
He noticed a picture of a man with blonde hair in a unique military uniform. With a very patriotic red, white, and blue uniform. The poster boy for America. 'He looks familiar… looks like that guy in my history books'
Right next to it was a weathered brown leather suitcase with Richard Parker engraved on the front.
'Bingo' He searched inside the case, finding nothing but papers about his research. A paper here, a paper there, just more and more PAPER. 'Jeez, did he ever recycle?'
"You find anything up there?" Aunt May loudly asked.
"Nope, just a bunch of meaningless papers," he answered.
"Sorry about that dear, but let's call it a night. Remember, you have school tomorrow"
"Okay. I'll be down in a sec"
However, he searched underneath all the files, which was almost a dud. Till he found a small pager. It looked DEAD, and ANCIENT. So he messed with it, pressing any buttons that could function. After a minute of messing with it, trying to find the battery compartment in the pager… but nothing happened. The pager remained lifeless.
'Aunt May's right, let's call it a night,' he told himself, as he pocketed the small device. …
SWINGING FROM THE HIGHEST LEDGE - PARKER RESIDENCE
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The alarm roared in his room, much to Peter's dismay.
'Ughhhh, Monday mornings… the bane of my existence!'
He glanced at his clock, '6:30!' and figured that it was early. 'Just five more minutes, PLEASE! Thank you…'
However, Aunt May interrupted those temptations by firmly knocking on his door.
"Time to get up Peter… come on, you've been on a roll with not being tardy. Don't break that streak now, Honey!"
"I know… I know, Aunt May… Just… let me get changed," he yawned.
Peter glanced around his room, till his eyes landed at the old pager that was set on his dresser. It completely fixated him.
However, Aunt May snapped his focus back, with, "Don't forget to shower, too! Especially after your late-night adventure in the attic"
"I will," he muttered as he dragged himself out of bed.
A freezing cold shower started off his day, and 5 seconds later, he dashed out and quickly put on his tight Spidey suit, before putting on some warm, clean clothes… After quickly changing into his clothes, he packed his book bag, glancing around to what else he needed to pack, which his eyes set back on that old pager. He had to decide in five seconds about this pager. Five, four, three, two, one… he quickly pocketed it. Peter didn't want to risk Aunt May snooping around and finding it.
"PETER! COME DOWN HERE AND GRAB YOUR BREAKFAST PLEASE!"
Instantly, he stepped out of his room, and hurried downstairs to see brown paper bags on the table. Since Aunt May's new job at F.E.A.S.T, she's woke up early to make it to the bus on time. So she figured she should cook breakfast, either the night before, or real early in the morning, and pack their breakfast. Today's breakfast was blueberry pancakes, one of Peter's favorites.
"Breakfast is on the table, sweety! Bit of syrup in there, and I packed extra… in case Elizabeth wanted some pancakes as well. Tell her these are vegan friendly"
"That's sweet, Aunt May, but I don't think Liz likes vegan friendly blueberry pancakes anymore," he joked.
"You're just saying that, so you can eat those too" she chuckled.
"Maybe… that's besides the point. I'm just looking out for my girlfriend," he hilariously tried to convince her.
Aunt May had a large, bittersweet smirk on her face, seeing her nephew taking his packed breakfast and lunch, and putting it in his book bag. She felt like it was just yesterday when she had to push the young Peter to talk to his crush in 4th grade and being stressed about procrastinating science projects. Now he has it all; a girlfriend, a job, and a future. It relieved her, for once.
"What?" he grinned at her.
"Nothing… let's get going, dear. Don't wanna be too late for the bus."
While waiting for his aunt to lock up, Peter checked his phone for any messages. He rarely checked his phone, because nothing new would pop up, only old texts from Liz, and late notifications of missed calls from Aunt May. But to his surprise, he had one from his oldest friend, Harry Osborn.
'Hey Pete, how have you been doing, bud? We haven't hung out for a while… so wanna hang at the Silver Spoon tomorrow? Let me know if you can… thanks!' - Harry O.
'Been a while since Harry and I talked… so I'm down!'
Right as he looked back up from his phone, his aunt stood in front of him… hilariously spooked him. Spider-sense let him down there.
"Alright. Let's walk to the bus stop"
"I'm fine, Peter, no need to"
"I'm willing to wait Aunt May, it's completely fine-"
"Peter, you don't have to worry about me all the time. Go on, enjoy these last few weeks of senior year!"
"You sure?"
"Yes. Have a good day at school, dear. I love you, and tell Elizabeth I said hello!"
"Okay. Just be safe then, Aunt May. Love you!" he pecked her on the cheek. "And make sure that Mr. Li doesn't work you too hard!" he added with a small smirk.
She smiled as she saw her young man quickly disappear in the distance, seeing on how far he has come as a young man. Ben would've been as proud as she was, of their boy.
LEAP ABOVE OUR HEADS - MIDTOWN MANHATTAN MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL
As Peter waited in the front of the school, he reminisced all the good surprises this school year. His biggest surprise from these past couple months, wasn't that his grades have increased exponentially, after a SLOW start. Or that Liz got back with him. Or that kids at school actually found him cool for once. Or that more girls finding him attractive… something he's been oblivious to, for the most of his time in Midtown.
His biggest surprise was that… Sally Avril TOLERATED his presence now. Emphasis on, TOLERATED. Peter still didn't know how Rand had the patience of a saint, dealing with the lively Sally every day.
As glad as Peter was with a larger social circle, he missed talking to his oldest friends, Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. Especially Harry, since he became this disappearing act, only catching glimpses of him in the mornings, and occasionally after school.
So Peter waited there early, to catch him before he went into hiding again. Plus, a text back wouldn't do it justice.
Peter walked up to that familiar limo, and warmly greeted, "Morning Har! I got your text… and sure, I can go!"
When the door opened, a sleepy Harry took one step out of the limo, then stumbled out, which Peter instantly rushed to his side.
"WHOA! Har, you alright? You seem… off," he noticed as he helped him back up.
"Just tired Pete… nothing new for me"
"What time did you sleep, dude?"
"12 am… just talking with my therapist. Late session, that's all"
"You sure that's all?"
"Uh yeah- then I have this company to run and all"
"Stressful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it kinda is"
"Doesn't your mom help out with the company?"
"Sometimes. Mostly though, Mr. Menken is the one running the show at Oscorp, since he's the interim CEO"
"That should at least, take the pressure off your shoulders, Har"
"No, Pete you don't get it. He's running everything my dad worked for, to the ground"
"Oh," Peter mouthed. "Obviously I might not be the smartest when it comes to running a company, but I have ears to listen, so there's that," he added, patting him on the shoulder.
Harry gazed up at his oldest friend, with a smile on his face.
"Thanks Pete… I knew I could talk to you about this-"
Just then, Peter's attention split elsewhere when he saw Liz stroll through the archway of the school.
"No problem. Actually, let's talk later? You can tell me everything" Pete quickly asked.
"For sure, yeah, Pete. Silver Spoon later, right?" Harry clarified.
"Yes, just call me when you get there!"
Liz greeted with a small wave, as she approached the two boys, "Hi Harry!"
"Hey Liz…" Harry greeted, before slowly inching away from the couple.
Before entering those school doors, Harry turned to see how happy they looked together.
'Happy for you, Pete. Truly… You're living the dream. You're living my dream'
Something he wished he had with Gwen when they dated, but destiny said otherwise.
'At least he didn't get with Gwen, as he planned…'
Peter waved to Harry with a small smirk before turning his attention to Liz.
"Morning Petey, glad to see you're alive," Liz greeted with a soft peck on the lips.
"Please don't tell me you got nervous there?" Peter playfully asked as they stepped inside.
"A little. But I knew you'd come through," she smiled. She weaved her arm around his, before she asked, "So who was that last night?"
"The Shocker… it's been a while since I've seen him, so it was actually nice catching up with him"
"Sounds like you had a fun night," she brightly commented.
They went up the flights of stairs, till they finally made it to the cafeteria. Right as they sat down in their usual seats, Liz eagerly asked, "Did your aunt pack you some of those blueberry pancakes?"
"Um… yeah. You want em?"
"YES, PLEASE! I LOVE YOUR AUNT'S PANCAKES!" she instantly answered with an ever-growing smile. "I'll only eat a few," she promised before munching on those glorious flapjacks.
"Don't worry about it, Aunt May made vegan friendly pancakes, just for you anyway… plus I owe you for the coffee"
"Tell your Aunt, I love her… SO MUCH!" she mumbled as she chowed down on the flapjack.
For three minutes of studying, from the corner of Peter's eye, he saw Liz viciously munch on those hotcakes, to his amusement. Once she took her last bite, she asked, "So Petey, you give more thought about the Florida trip last night?"
"Florida Trip?"
"The senior retreat," she clarified.
"About that, I still don't know, but I'm leaning towards… no," he unconfidently answered.
"Is it a money problem? Cuz my parents literally said they could pay for you after you left," she quickly pointed out.
He lowered his voice, "Nononono Liz, it's not that. Sure the price is hefty, but…I'm just worried about the other guy"
"Other guy?… oh-OH!"
"Yeah, him. He can't just stop. New York's gonna need him… who knows what happens when he's gone for 5 days! You remember the last time he was gone for 5 days?" he emphasized.
He continued to plead his case, "Plus I have to keep an eye out for Aunt May."
"Fine… I drop this… for now. Let me know the instant ANYTHING changes"
"Duly noted, Mi Lady"
A few tables away sat the blonde Gwen Stacy and the Redhead, Mary Jane Watson, as they observed Peter and Liz in the guise of 'studying.'
Mary Jane concernly asked, "I know it's been a while… but you and Peter are getting along, right?"
Gwen paid no attention to Mary Jane's question, as she texted Mrs. Martha Connors.
"Gwen, who're your texting?"
"Just an old mentor of mine… she's inviting me to her home for the retreat"
"You want me to come with? Don't want you going alone"
"Maybe… I should ask her first"
"You should definitely ask Peter if he wants to come with"
It's been a drastic few months for Gwen Stacy, romantically; she dumped her rich boyfriend that made her miserable, confessed her love to Peter, just for him to reject her, and now… she's following MJ's steps, as a free agent. Although, a huge chunk of her missed what they had.
"Don't know about that Mary Jane, especially since there's awkward tension between us," the blonde snarkingly answered.
"Awe Girlfriend!"
"Don't worry about it, Mary Jane. I really don't have time for boys right now. There's so many moving parts about the next few years that I haven't wrapped my head around yet. 16 colleges accepted my application, I gotta focus on that first," the blonde explained.
"Sounds like a good plan, Gwen. Finally, a free agent"
"Thanks, Mary Jane," she sighed. "What about you? Any colleges you have your eye on?"
"Honestly, I'm eyeing Queensborough Community. They have a great theatre program there. Glory and Kenny planning on going there too… And probably Sally, but she's going wherever Rand goes"
"What about Flash?"
"Unsure. But I know Flash applied to ESU"
Gwen joked, "So I guess I'm checking ESU off my list."
The rest of Peter's day at M3 felt like any normal day. Went and breezed past all six classes, had lunch with Liz and the rest of the 'in-crowd,' and now, he was ready to close it up for the day…
Yet he felt disconnected from it, because he's fixated on the mysterious pager he found in the attic. He fidgeted with it when he got the chance. It wasn't just that. All of this stuff he'd never seen before, from his own parents, was stuck away in that attic. And the-
Liz grabbed his attention by poking his shoulder, "Hello?! Earth to Petey! Are you there?"
Peter finally snapped back to reality.
, "Yes?" "You alright?" She softly placed her hand on his cheek.
"Y-yeah… I'm fine. Just preoccupied with something"
"Like you always are"
"You know me… one busy spider," he playfully acknowledged.
"Too busy to study tonight?" she asked.
"Study?"
"Yeah. I need to do a quick run-through with you before tomorrow's big unit test for Anatomy."
Liz wasn't confident with this unit of Anatomy, since it focused on the nervous system, so she hoped Peter would be there to help her prepare.
"Oh okay, I'll see. I'm gonna hang out with Harry in a bit. And maybe, if there's time and the city is completely safe, I'll swing over…" he expressed. "You never know, Liz… Electro could break out of Ravencroft, and want to take over the city again… which would be a terrible excuse to cancel studying with you," he humorously acknowledged.
"Sometimes I'd like to think you're exaggerating… but after seeing Electro in action, I know you're not"
"Thank you"
"But if that terrible possibility doesn't occur… my place at 7?"
"Push it to 7:30. If I get my pictures to Jolly Jameson earlier, then 7…" he lifted her chin and quickly pecked her lips. "I'll just call if I'm gonna be late… or not make it at all"
NEW YORK CITY
After he found a perfect changing spot, to hide his belongings, he took off, as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, patrolling throughout the city to kill some time before he hung out with Harry. He swung so freely through the New York skies. He'd spin, twirl, twist, and even wrapped a web around his foot and swung from there. It was going smoothly… till he unknowingly hit a brick wall. 'Ah, I'm gonna feel that tomorrow!'
As he looked around for trouble, something kept buzzing in his pocket.
'Wait… the pager is alive?… Nope, I left that in my bag… I bet it's just Harry texted or is calling. I'm coming, Har, don't worry, just gonna be late. Gotta save this ginger cat?- no… it's a black cat. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?!'
"Don't worry, Ma'am. I'll help with that!" he assured the owner.
THE SILVER SPOON CAFE
Minutes after saving that ginger-turned-black cat, and returning her to her rightful owner, and grabbing his stuff back, Peter walked through the doors of the cafe. It took a moment till he spotted Harry sitting in the mini booth.
Peter called out to him, "Hey Har, I'm here!"
"Pete! Thanks for coming. Order anything you want, it's on me!" Harry offered.
"Thanks, but I'm good. Liz gave some coffee, in return of me giving her my aunt's pancakes"
"Nice. Your aunt's pancakes were always the best"
"I'll tell her that. She loves the complements"
"Figures"
"So… Har, how's therapy been? Has it helped?"
"It's whatever… although I wished I got a girl therapist… A-she-therapist?"
"I think girl therapists are just called therapists, Har"
"Oh right," he lightly chuckled.
"Har, are you working out? Your arms look huge… especially your shoulders," Peter enthusiastically observed.
"Thanks for noticing. Boxing's where I've been spending all my time these days. Helps clear my mind"
"That's great!"
"Looks like you've packed on muscle yourself, Pete"
"Oh y'know, calisthenics and good genes go so far"
"That's great… we should spar sometime, Pete"
"Sure Harry—sounds like a fun time"
"Anyway… you going to the senior retreat, Pete?"
"Honestly, I don't know, man. Liz really wants me to go… but I've a lot here to take care of."
"Like chasing around and taking pictures of the bug? Sounds… fun"
"Heh, it's actually not as fun as it seems… I can't climb walls, so getting good shots of him is difficult"
"How is he these days?" Harry smugly asked.
"He's still swinging. Heh, what else is there to say?" Peter awkwardly laughed.
"Mhmmm"
Peter knew where this conversation would go if they lingered on Spider-Man for too long, so it was time to shift lanes.
"Ahem… well… what about you? You going to the retreat, Har?"
"My mom's making me go, thinks it's a good way to have fun… the funniest thing is that she thinks DisneyWorld is gonna relax my mind"
"I mean, I've never been to DisneyWorld, only seen a couple of pictures. So I'd never know-"
"Yeah. But I gotta be focusing on the bigger picture, Pete"
"Oscorp?"
"Yup. Gotta live up to that Osborn name, right?"
"Sounds like a lot to handle. Your mom has a point, you should give yourself a break… you're still in highschool"
"Dude I can't. It's not like I'm going to college after this. This is my future… everything my father built, is in the palm of my hand now. I can't let anything, run that into the ground"
'Please don't tell me he's talking about upholding Norman's legacy as Gobby'
"Honestly, I'd think that Oscorp leaders should have a plan to overcome their competition. So you don't have to sweat about it"
"Yeah. I bet they do," Harry muttered.
He stirred the straw in the strawberry smoothie he ordered, realizing Peter was right. He needed a plan.
"You sure you don't wanna order something, Pete?"
"No Harry, I'm fi-"
Suddenly Peter had this offputting feeling sent down his spine. A feeling that he was being watched. So his eyes darted around the cafe, looking for suspects. 'The toddler waiting in line - No. Elderly woman sitting alone… No. That's actually really sad, hope she came with somebody. And… the mysterious-looking figure, wearing all black, peering through the window with binoculars… that's maybe it"
Peter caught eye of the individual and stood up for a second.
"Pete, everything alright?"
Peter turned to Harry for a second.
"What're you looking at?" Harry questioned.
He darted back, and the individual disappeared.
Peter anxiously chucked, "It must've been nothing. I'm probably seeing things—because of the dehydration. Maybe I should order something to drink after all."
VILLAINS ON THE RISE - JOSIE'S BAR, HELL'S KITCHEN
Building a criminal empire was difficult. Especially trying to cement himself, better than the other crime-lords. Which's why, the current 'Big Man of Crime,' Hammerhead needed a night out of his headquarters, and go out for a drink. So of course, he went to the quietest places to have a drink… Hell's Kitchen's beloved bar, Josie's. The stumpy, big-headed man entered through the door, greeted with uncomfortable glares. So he sat at the empty bar, as Josie, the bartender, approached him for his order.
"What can I get you tonight, Hon?" Josie asked.
"A bottle of Wild Turkey 101… and Flint Marko," he ordered.
She observed, before heading in the back, "Interesting order you got there. I'll see what I can do for you, Hon."
A short moment later, the bartender came back with his order, and behind him, the man himself, Flint Marko. His appearance was jarring, having a gruffy beard, with his wavy hair being longer than desired.
Flint's eyes bulged out of his head once his eyes landed on the crime-lord.
"Marko, looks like nothing has changed for you," Hammerhead snarkingly observed.
"Wha- How'd you find me?" Flint lowly asked.
"Aint that hard. Know some guys who've seen you around back"
Flint rolled his eyes, as he covered his face in frustration.
"Why are you at this dump?"
"It's the only job I could find… the only job that would take a wanted thief," Flint passively explained. "Why'd you call me out here, anyway?" he whispered.
"Marko, we need you back into the business, as the Sandman. We need to take out Spider-Man"
"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" he snapped at the crime-boss.
"You don't sound too thrilled by it"
"Course not! I don't wanna get back to that"
"Why? You'd be getting the money of a lifetime. The big score you always wanted"
"Because its not about the score anymore. I don't wanna be remembered like that. For these past few months I realized I got another shot at life. And this place gave me that"
"You've gone soft, Marko—Looking like an absolute degenerate—working at this dump?"
"Watch it Hammerhead-"
"Prove me wrong, then… prove to me you haven't gone SOFT!" he snapped at him.
Everyone in the bar had their eyes on the two, expecting for a big brawl to begin.
Especially since, Flint was ready to unleash on him, with that intense, boiling look on his face. But he took a deep breath and released. Slowly he stepped away from the instigating Hammerhead. 'Don't wanna be remembered this way,' Flint thought to himself as he walked away.
"Y'know what? I won't. Done with you… and ALL OF THIS!" he proclaimed.
Before Flint could turn his back on Hammerhead, the fed-up crime-boss grabbed his shoulder "Don't you turn your back on me!"
Out of instinct, Flint created a giant fist and powerfully punched Hammerhead out of the bar doors.
"And you better not come back!" Flint spat.
He gave once final glance at the struggling crime-boss before he officially turned away from him and shut the doors.
In a fit of frustration and rage, Hammerhead boomingly snapped, "MARKO, DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME, YOU MOOK! MARKO!"
His screams caught the attention of many people outdoors, one being Hell's Kitchen's Guardian, Daredevil. His chillingly horned silhouette on top of the building, was enough for Hammerhead to think twice before marching back in Josie's.
From the side of his eye, he saw his ride waiting for him, which he hurried into the car, and the car booked it.
Hammerhead pondered as he gazed through the windows of the car, 'That mook! I created him… I created the sandman… and he treats me like this?! He's gone soft… I don't need weak men as the muscle. I need something BIG, to shut that wall crawling creep up, once and for all. I NEED TO THINK BIG! I don't wanna go out as some mook. Cuz once a mook, always a mook.'
FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS - MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
Before Peter could come over to Liz's place to study, The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man had to finish his daily patrol. This night felt like any ordinary night for the wall crawling hero.
'Checked on Aunt May, at F.E.A.S.T… Checked if any supervillains escaped… Nobody escaped, thankfully. Hmmm, what else? Stopped some shoplifters and a bike thief… Hmmm… And it's only…'6:50' I can send in those photos to Picklepuss, and maybe go to Liz's place after all.'
BOOM!
'Right when I even think it!'
Oh, the other part of his normal routine was hearing loud blasts nearby. Not good obviously, so like usual, Spidey urgently swung to the scene.
However, again, there was this strange feeling that irked him. The feeling of being watched. So again, he quickly glanced around to make sure nothing was happening.
'Nothing there. Nobody there… No one there… Wait-'
His suspicions were right, there was a distant, mysterious figure with binoculars. 'Again, with the binoculars!' But the mysterious figure put their binoculars down once they realized they caught Spider-Man's attention. They immediately stood up and stared dead in his eyes. 'Now I know I'm not seeing things'
Spidey had other priorities to attend to and went to the blasts. But before he did, he had one last look at the perp before swinging toward the danger.
Finally sprung onto the disastrous scene, where multiple explosions went off in the building, with panic erupting down below, with police barely arriving. In an instant, Spidey urgently swung toward the collapsing building and picked up as many civilians.
"C'MON EVERYONE! HOLD ON TIGHT!" he exclaimed.
Once he safely let down those civilians on stable ground, he returned to grab more.
But the web-swinger thought creatively and launched himself the near the collapsing building and as fast as he could, made entire giant spider webs to act as a cushion for the rest of the civilians to 'safely' land on. Thwip!
'I gotta pick up the pace! C'mon, Spider-Man!' Thwip, Thwip, Thwip, Thwip, Thwip, Thwip!
After making all of those webs in such a short time, he rushed back up to the 13th level. He quickly evacuated every person he could get his hands on, and as gently as he could, threw them onto the large cushion of webs.
"Please don't take this personally," he told one person before lightly throwing them.
After he quickly evacuated everyone, he could grab from that level, there was relief for a moment. Before the tower inevitably toppled down to the ground.
'The one time it would've been nice to have Captain Jupiter's help. Genuinely hope he's doing okay in Ravencroft'
After checking on every single rescued civilian, Captain Stacy approached Spider-Man, "You always seem to be in the right place at the right time."
"Was just in the neighborhood… like usual," Spidey lightly chucked.
"Did you get a look at the perp?"
"What makes you think there's a perp?"
"These were newly constructed condos. It's unlikely there's foundational damage, especially to this extent"
"Got any suspicions?"
"Nothing yet, do you?"
"One person I've had on my radar since Kingpin, is Hammerhead"
"You think Hammerhead had something to do with this?"
"Seemed like he wanted to go pretty all out for me… maybe this is it"
"Don't know about that Spider-Man… doesn't seem like his MO…" Captain Stacy acknowledged. His fellow officer, pulled him aside to disclose some news. "But we'll keep you updated. Good work today, Spider-Man," he saluted before turning to his fellow officer. Spidey gave him a friendly nod, before launching into the sky.
"Captain, we got three casualties… one girl, one older man, and one recognizable face: Donald Menken," Officer DeWolff unfortunately reported.
AH-AH-AH–AH - PARKER RESIDENCE
So many growing questions in his head, once he arrived home… 'Who could've done all that damage? As much I'd hate to admit it, that isn't Hammerhead's MO, who else could it be? In a city filled with lunatics left and right, this feels off… And that pager—does nothing, don't know why I kept it with me the whole day…' his brain needed a break cause the splitting headache is making things all the worse. 'Also, I'm here before Aunt May… what did I forget to do?'
Then Peter realized that he still needed… to email his latest Spidey photos to the Bugle. So he ran up to his computer to do so. It took forever for his computer to load, so he checked his phone for any messages, and he finally realized what he forgot to do.
'Hey, are you still coming over?' - Liz
'AH SHOOT! I missed studying with Liz tonight. She's so gonna kill me tomorrow. I guess I gotta help her first thing tomorrow morning,' Peter thought to himself.
As he was about to text his girlfriend back, his spidey-sense went off, which rung rampantly in his headache-induced head. 'What's happening?!'
He was in his room, at home, what threat could there be? 'Didn't see any reports of Eddie escaping. And no one else knows about this place'
With his eyes wide open and his heart pumping out of his chest, he instantly checked out his window. Instantly a trank dart launched out of the tree, which Peter caught in a flash.
Just then the mysterious man, wearing all black, a trench coat and a terrifying eyepatch, burst into his room. And the instant Peter caught a glimpse of who it was, his heart level spiked. It's the mystery man, who stalked him.
'HOLY CRAP! It-It's THE GUY! HOW DID HE FIND ME?!' He was literally stunned, unable to do a thing.
"You can't swing out of this one, Mr. Parker. Or as the streets call you, Spider-Man," the man smugly uttered, pointing a gun at him.
His heart dropped at that moment. He was speechless… His mouth, so wide open, bugs could've started crawling in.
'WHAT THE FU—'
TO BE CONTINUED…