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Chapter 7

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The Next day Penny submitted the photos form the Green Goblin attack on the fair, she was glad she learned to use her webbing to place the camera anywhere she wanted. However, like before Jonah just made Spiderman out to be the villain, in fact after seeing the photos Penny gave, he started saying they worked together to cause the disaster at the fair. Penny did agree with him that she could be doing more as Spiderman but now he was taking things too far about lying.

"Mr. Jameson, that's not true! Spiderman was saving those people not hurting them!"

"Oh yeah! Tell me what you see when you look at this?" Jonah then raised a photo of her as Spiderman rescuing Mary Jane and Harry. Penny looked at Jonah in disappointment as there was clearly no other conclusion to come to.

"Spiderman saving the day? What else?"

"Oh yeah? Then why is he giving the girl more priority?"

"Because I- ahem! Spiderman couldn't carry them both!"

"Probably, or! He was trying to make her thing he was a hero, and he didn't give a crap about what the guy thought. His buddy the Green Goblin might have even caused the explosion to allow Spiderman to look like a hero! You see it's a scam to make him look even better than before!"

"Mr. Jameson, that's ridiculous! If he really was working with the Green Goblin, then why haven't we seen them before?"

"Let me tell you something, princess. I don't pay you for your little theories I pay you for photos! Photos that make Spiderman look like the crook that he actually is. Now go on, get out of here!" Penny just sighed as she walked out, she didn't even notice the man in a large jacket right next to her. He entered Jonah's room and took off his hat to show himself as Uncle Ben, Jonah looked at him confused as Ben walked up to his desk with disappointment clearly on his face.

"Jonah Jameson!"

"What are you a fan? No someone with a complaint, listen pal, you're supposed to take them up with-"

"Yes, I have a complaint!" Ben then threw a newspaper on Jonah's desk showing Spiderman as a criminal.

"You have real nerve showing people this garbage!"

"Garbage! Do you even know what this is? This is the Daily Bugle!"

"More like daily trash! How can you call Spiderman a criminal after everything he's done?"

"Why the hell does everyone defend that bastard?"

"Because he's not a bastard! She's a hero! She saved those people on the fair that day!"

"She?"

"Ah... You know what I mean! Now you have no right to be calling a hero like Spiderman a criminal!" Jonah threw his cigar out the window and stood up while looking at Ben with anger while Uncle Ben glared at him with disappointment.

"You also have no right to throw litter out the window."

"Listen bub! I go by one life rule, never trust a man in a mask! And never once has that rule forsaken me."

"Oh, come on, that normally applies to robbers. Spiderman is the one putting them in prison!"

"Yeah, well how do you know all of them are robbers? Maybe some of them were just regular folks that Spiderman put on masks! Then the police just arrested innocent people and it's all Spiderman's fault!"

"What?! That's the most- That just means the police are the ones who- oh my god, my wife was right, men can be so unreasonably stubborn!"

"Ha! Finally admitting defeat huh? Good, now get out of here! And buy that wife of yours a bouquet! Clearly, she deserves it for having to put up with you!" Uncle Ben was just about to leave before Jonah had said that; Ben just sighed and then glared at Jonah.

"My wife is dead." Jonah just looked at Ben shocked while Ben looked back in disappointment however, the two of them then focused on the cigar bud that Jonah threw out earlier being thrown back onto his desk.

"What the hell? How does that-?" Suddenly the wall behind Jonah blew up and the Green Goblin floated into the office with his glider. Jonah got up in shock only for the Green Goblin to grab him by the throat and raise him up.

"You! Your newspaper is the only one that has clear pictures of Spiderman! That means you know a lot about him, or at least your photographer does!"

"No! I don't! And I don't even have a photographer on Spiderman!"

"Your lying!"

"I'm serious! We receive hundreds of photos form anonymous people! I only use the ones that aren't crap!"

"Then your worthless!"

"Stop protecting me, Jonah. I already lived a good life." Uncle Ben stepped forward allowing the Green Goblin to see him; once the Green Goblin did, he dropped Jonah and seemingly snarled at Ben.

"Ben Parker? You're the Photographer?" Jonah and Ben looked at one another shocked, Ben then looked at the Green Goblin while glaring at him with skepticism.

"How the hell do you know who I am?"

"Never mind that! If you value your life, then you'll tell me where Spiderman is!"

"Right over here pal!" Ben, Jonah, and the Green Goblin turn to the hole in the wall to see Penny as Spiderman handing upside-down on one of her webs.

"Spiderman! I knew it you two are working together!" Uncle Ben then grabbed Jonah and dragged him out of the office.

"They're not working together you moron! Spiderman's trying to save you!"

"After destroying my office?!"

"That was the Green Goblin you- Stop whining and come on!" Once Uncle Ben and Jonah were safe Penny then faced the Green Goblin with confidence that this fight will go well.

"Looks like it's you and me Hob Goblin!"

"It's Green Goblin idiot!"

"I know! Hob Goblin just sounds cooler; I mean mainly why say Green Goblin anyways? Aren't all Goblins supposed to be Green?"

"Enough talk! Sleep now!" The Green Goblin raised his arms and from his gauntlets sprayed sleeping gas, Penny quickly recognized the gas was not something she wanted to breath, so she held and breath and looked the other way. Penny shot his gauntlets with webbing to stop the gas, she then jumped off her web and kicked the Green Goblin's glider almost damaging it again.

"Oh no! Not this time!" Suddenly the glider flew forward and the Green Goblin grabbed Penny by the leg and didn't let go as he flew out into the open, the Goblin then raised her up while laughing at her.

"Not so tough without a web to swing on huh?" Penny quickly kicked the Green Goblin in the face with her other leg forcing him to let her go. As she fell, she shot a web towards the top of the tower and swung away from the Green Goblin.

"Argh! Huh? No! You're not getting away from me!"

"Who said I was trying to?" Penny suddenly started swinging back and shot a web at the Green Goblins face, as she swung closer, she let go of the web and kicked him in the stomach and off his glider. She shot some webs at the glider and swung it at the Goblin while midair, forcing him to fall down harder. Of course, he was going to hit the cars of innocent people, so Penny used one hand to shoot another web to the roof of the closest building and the other to shoot a wide web grabbing both the Goblin and his glider. She used all of her strength to swing them both onto the top of the nearest rooftop. Once she got the Goblin on a roof, she used her webs to swing onto the roof though by the time she got there the Goblin was nowhere in sight, just his glider. She looked around for the Goblin not really focusing on the glider at all, which ended up being a mistake as it suddenly shot out blades in front of it and charged at her. Penny only barely managed to dodge them as they flew by her.

The Green Goblin jumped out form cover and landed on the glider and threw several cybernetic orbs that spun blades around them. They flew towards Penny, so she jumped and spun midair to dodge them and shot them with webs after she got back on her feet again. she quickly threw them to the ground, smashing them immediately. However, upon turning around to face the Goblin again he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up with his glider further elevating them both in the air.

"You really think your some kind of superhero, don't you?"

"I'm trying to be."

"Well, knock it off! You think these people care about you? No! Your nothing but a spectacle for them! The moment they get bored they'll demonize you! Turn you into a monster! Villainize you! They're already doing it on the daily bugle!"

"So what? All that matters is that I try in the end! I'm not doing this to be famous, I'm doing it to save lives!"

"And you're wasting your time as a result! You should team up with me! Together we can rule over this city and all of the-" Penny was tired of listening to the Green Goblin talk so she swung her legs back and with her whole body, swung them forward and hit the Goblin in the crotch. He let her go out of pain making her fall back to the roof, though she wanted this as she shot a web at the bottom of his glider tearing off a part of it as she fell down.

"Argh! Not again! Fine! You wanna be my enemy then we'll be enemies! I'll get you next time Spiderman!" Penny fell hard on the roof, but she didn't care as the Green Goblin retreated allowing her to breathe again.

With the chaos finally over Penny quickly got out of her costume and ran back to the daily bugle to see how Uncle Ben was doing, she was glad to see him standing behind the crowd gathered outside the building. Though she wasn't as happy to see Jonah standing next to him, she knew this wasn't going to end well if they were still together especially if she wanted to keep her job as a photographer.

"Uncle Ben! Are you okay!"

"Penny, thank goodness you weren't here when it happened." Uncle Ben then hugged Penny and got close to her ear to whisper.

"You fought well Penny, but watch your back, the Green Goblin knows who I am. He's someone we know." Penny was shocked as Uncle Ben let her go, unfortunately she didn't have time to think about it as Jonah walked up to both of them in anger.

"Hey, princess! Did you just call this old man your uncle?"

"Hey, don't call her princess bub."

"I'll call her what I wasn't she's, my employee! or at least she was until she got fired!" This is what Penny feared, she was about to ask Jonah to give her another chance, but Uncle Ben raised his arm in front of her to keep her form talking.

"Alright then, we'll be going, good luck finding new pictures of Spiderman on your own, I heard my niece was the only one who could take good photos after all." Uncle Ben then wrapped his arm around Penny's shoulder and turned around so the both of them would walk away.

"Uncle Ben!"

"Relax Penny, he knows he can't get good photos of Spiderman without you."

"But he's a stubborn man!"

"Oh, believe me I know, but every man has a breaking point, especially when his lively hood is on the line. You'll see he'll break in 3... 2..."

"Wait! Arugh! Prin... Parker! I expect you to redeem yourself by next week! Or else you really will be fired! Got me?!"

"Uh Yes sir! Thank you for not calling me Princess by the way!"

"Well maybe you should have asked earlier, think about that." Penny glared at Jonah, but she was glad she at least got her job back. Uncle Ben patted her on the back and she smiled at him and the two walked off to get some food.

"So, what do you mean, the Goblin is someone we know?" Penny and Uncle Ben were now at their favorite burger shop where the two of them were talking at a table while eating the burgers and fries in front of them.

"He looked at me and called me Ben Parker, he said it as if we had known each other for a long time."

"That's impossible."

"It might not be Penny, believe me, there are plenty of people out there who hate my guts."

"But the Green Goblin is a psycho that is equipped with advanced technology like a flying glider for crying out loud. Who do we know has that?"

"Hm... What about your friend Harry?"

"No! Absolutely not, Harry might be prideful, but he would never do something so crazy. Besides I rescued him after defeating the Green Goblin at the fair."

"Hm, then maybe his dad."

"Mr. Osborn? No way! That man is brilliant, is an owner of an entire company, and has a massive wealth. What could he have to gain being a psychopath who kill people, people might I had that were related to the company he owns. You know those poor people I didn't save? Those were the board of Oscorp, what would he have to gain form killing them?"

"Hm... I guess you're right, but don't let people's good nature fool you, Penny. Do you know why I always say with great power comes great responsibility?"

"Because it sounds cool?"

"No! ... Well yes, but it's mainly because it's the responsibility of the person to decide whether they want to be good or evil. The green goblin had great power, but he disregarded responsibility entirely and decided to be a selfish bastard and now the city is paying for it."

"All the more reason for me to stop him as soon as possible. That's MY responsibility after all."

"Hm, well said penny, but just because it's your responsibility doesn't mean you have to face it alone, so don't be afraid to call on your uncle every so often."

"Of course, Uncle Ben, you're the best... just like Aunt May." Uncle Ben looked at Penny shocked a little but then smiled warmly and nodded. The two of them then finished their food and left the restaurant afterwards, though as Penny walked down the street, she noticed one of the daily bugle newspapers, blaming Spiderman for the attack at the building saying he was helping the Green Goblin. Penny looked at the paper frustrated but then shook her head realizing she was getting mad for the wrong reasons.

"It doesn't matter if people like Jonah hate me, I just need to keep protecting this city the best way I can."

"Who are you talking too?" Penny stopped and turned around to see Mary Jane there.

"Oh! MJ! How are you!"

"I'm great just returning home after... another failed audition."

"Oh... I'm so sorry MJ."

"Don't be, it's not your fault, what about you? the Daily bugle must be paying you well for giving them those awesome photos."

"Oh... yeah, I mean I almost got fired defending Spiderman though."

"Woah really? I was actually going to ask you to put in a good word for Spiderman's sake for me, but I don't wanna do that if it's going to cost you, your job."

"Yeah, say, why do you want a good word for spiderman? Oh, it's because he saved your life right!" Penny already knew this for obvious reasons but had to keep up the appearance that she didn't know much.

"Yeah, he's amazing, a... a real-life hero! He saved my life, and... I don't know a lot of guys that would actually do that for me... Uh. besides Harry I mean!" Penny smiled at MJ while she blushed in embarrassment.

"God, look at me gushing over some guy I don't even know."

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, I'm actually a fan too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I think he could do more for the community than just beating up bad guys, but I have a pretty good feeling that we're going to be seeing more of that very soon."

"Ha, that would actually be nice to see... well, I gotta go. It was really nice seeing you, Penny."

"You too MJ."

"... Hey, call me Mary Jane again."

"Huh? Why?"

"Oh, I'm not mad at your or anything, it's just... I like it better when you call me Mary Jane." Penny blushed upon hearing that and smiled lightly because of it.

"Uh okay... Mary Jane..." Mary Jane smiled and seemingly blushed at this, she then waved Penny goodbye and walked down the road. Penny just stood there while awestruck at what had just happened, a small part of her actually dared to hope that maybe, just maybe... no, not happening. Penny quickly shook her head as her thoughts were getting out of control. However, as Penny looked at Mary Jane again, she saw that there were some strange men following her and clearly not with good intentions. Penny could feel the hairs on the back of her neck raise up, this feeling only happened when something dangerous was incoming for her or someone she cared about so she knew what she had to do.

Penny quickly ran down and opened her backpack to put on her costume inside, she shot a web on the roof and swung up onto it to have more privacy in case there was someone hiding behind the trash like a hobo or something. Thankfully it was quite easily to get the suit on because Peter was in there too. Peter the spider quickly got off the bag and used his webbings to help pull the suit over her body and in the right places. Penny didn't mind Peter helping her chance since he was just a spider anyways, even if he was intelligent, it didn't mean he was a pervert. Penny then thanked Petter for his help but as soon as she was about to go help Mary Jane Peter shot a web at him keeping holding her back.

"Hm? Peter what are you doing?" Peter hissed in a way like he wanted something form Penny.

"Huh? You want to come with me?" Peter then jumped in anticipation.

"No way! Peter being a hero is tough work and a lot of responsibility!" Peter hissed at Penny with lots of hostility, Penny then felt bad and sighed in disappointment.

"Alright fine! But stay close to me alright!" Peter jumped with joy and used his web to swing onto her shoulder.

"And don't do anything stupid!" Peter seemingly hissed in a way to show he thought Penny was worrying too much. Penny rolled her eyes under her mask and quickly ran off the roof to go and help Mary Jane. Unfortunately, by the time she got there she was already surrounded by a group of rapists already trying to get their hands on her. Penny used one of her webs to swing down and kick one of them away from Mary Jane, as Penny swung by Peter jumped off her shoulder and landed on one of the criminals faces and stared shooting webbing on him blinding him. Peter then jumped on another's jacket before he first could crush him under his hand only causing his hand to get attached to his face by the webbing.

After the first guy Penny took down with the swinging kick, another guy tried to ambush her, but she sensed it and jumped in the air and did a roundhouse kick stunning him. She finished him off by shooting a web at his chest, pulled him forward, and punched him hard on the face knocking him out. Then another guy tried to back him up, but Penny shot a web on his face, walked up to him, and kicked him in the face. Another guy tried to grab Mary Jane, but he didn't do anything else as his hand were suddenly tied up then he fell back on the ground as his legs were tied up. Peter then ran off and tied up the feet of another criminal that tried to run away.

One of the last criminals ran to Penny with a crowbar he found but she grabbed it out of his hand and kicked him in the face with a high kick knocking him out instantly. Then there was the last guy who tried to run away only to be shot by Penny's webs trapping him to the wall. Penny sighed deeply it wasn't an exhausting fight thankfully, if anything it was a nice change of pace after having to deal with the Green Goblin psycho. Penny then walked over to Mary Jane who was still shaken but started calming down when she saw Spiderman.

"Are you alright ma'am?"

"I am now that your here." Penny blushed under her mask.

"Ah, well it's all in a day's work ma'am. I know this is awkward of a stranger to ask but, do you need me to escort you home?" Mary Jane smiled in delight and nodded.

"Very well then, hold on tight to me and point me in the right direction." Mary Jane happily complied, she gave her address, and held onto Penny making her blush redder than ever before. Penny then gently held onto Mary Jane and shot another web to swing her up in the air, Mary Jane was obviously scared at first but then after a while started to enjoy the swinging in the air and the sight of New York at night. Mary Jane had her breath taken by the sight, after a while she then looked up at Spiderman. Soon it started to rain but that didn't ruin the moment at all, instead Mary Jane just rested her head on Spiderman's chest, but in doing so she realized how soft it was almost as if... no that can't be right. Mary Jane threw away that thought in her head and just in time too as they reached the destination and Penny used her webs to slowly descend down gently.

"Thank you, Spiderman."

"Any time ma'am."

"... Call me Mary Jane please."

"Uh, what?"

"Well, my friends call me MJ but those special to me call me Mary Jane." Penny blushed as her heart began to flutter with joy, Penny just got confirmation that she meant a lot to Mary Jane possibly just as much as Penny liked her.

"Uh of course... Mary Jane." Penny felt her heart sink as she accidently let her voice slip a little, Mary Jane actually noticed this but giggled seemingly not noticing what it really meant.

"Uh, well, I think you can take it from here, have a good night ma- Mary Jane!" Penny was about to leave but Mary Jane grabbed her hand and as Penny turned around Mary Jane came closer, quickly pulled the mask up just enough to reveal Penny's lips and kissed her. Penny was shocked in one second only to be floating in clouds in the next she was so full of blissful joy in that moment that she couldn't even comprehend what was going on anymore. Then suddenly Mary Jane stopped, and Penny was snapped back into reality.

"Uh... I... I have to go." Penny clumsily shot a web to the nearest roof and swung away; Mary Jane giggled as she watched Spiderman leave, though Mary Jane felt weird about the kiss. She didn't regret it at all but for some reason Spiderman's lips didn't feel like a man's lips and she would know as she had the unfortunate past experience to help her know. Instead, they felt, oddly feminine almost as if Spiderman was a girl. Mary Jane thought about this for a short while but then shook her head as that was too much of a stretch, so she just threw it out of her mind and walked to her building apartment. However, before she opened the door, she couldn't help but say one thing to herself.

"But even though it's impossible for Spiderman to be a girl... I don't hate the idea at all."