Ch. 13 Finale: Moving Onwards
"JJ! Breaking news! I got a huge scoop for you!" Ned called while running, in the middle of the night to the office of J. Jonah Jameson, chief editor of the Daily Bugle.
"What is it?! The secret identity of that menace?!" Jameson wondered with excitement.
"No sir! It's something else way big! The ownership to Oscorp Industries' operations in New York has been transferred to that shady perfume company CEO Roderick Kingsley!" Ned explained.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier!? What are you waiting for, a compliment?! Get out there and get us that scoop before anyone else does!" Jameson ordered in his usual loud tone.
"Roger that sir! See you later with something for the paper!" Ned responded before running off to get the scoop.
—
In a clean and somewhat fancy apartment, located in a luxurious condo…
"Ugh, thesis work is just garbage. But, for the creds, better finish this; get the degree; and... hopefully, my daddy could get out of jail..."
Sitting up on her king-sized bed with a foldable lap table was a platinum-haired bombshell beauty, finishing her masters' degree with a motive and mission in mind. She is internally conflicted between choosing her own path to free her father and the ideal path a certain someone hoped for her behalf…
"Man, you know what, let's take a break for a while," the girl sighed as she stretches her arm up high before hopping out of her bed and looks around her closet filled with black or dark-colored clothes. "Okay, eenie meenie minie mo, which one should I wear for show?"
Catching her attention is a skin-tight spandex suit with white furry tassels on its forearm and calf sleeves, holding a black eye mask on its collar.
"Hmmmm, not tonight, 'cause I'm not in the mood," says the girl as she turns away from the suit and closes her closet before lying on her bed in an elegantly seductive manner, wondering how Spider-man would react to seeing her again after a long while, blankly staring at an ESU identification card laid next to her, with her portrait and name, Felicia Hardy, printed on it. "Sometimes, I forget that I can be just another girl any day."
To hide and contain her sad feelings, she forces herself to sleep through the night with tears leaking down her eyelids.
—
Weeks have passed after that great revelation and battle against Norman's band of madmen, Peter has been greatly overwhelmed from his return that it haunted him once more, but not for long on a momentous day…
"Say chess!"
"Chess!"
Just days before the start of summer vacation, Midtown High School's graduation day arrives with all the families and guardians present for their children's greatest time to grow up! Everyone's scattered around to be merry with their families and guardians before hanging around with their cliques, talking about their futures...
"Man, never thought I'd pass high school," Hobie huffed beside Bobby, who is itching his back and nape from the graduation gown's nasty texture.
"Hobes, c'mon, you aced Science while managing to stay on the varsity, how wicked is that?!" Peter pointed out, getting out of Flash's strong noogie hold after their wacky group photo as Midtown High's batch of graduating students.
"Oh Peter, I am so proud of you!" Aunt May screamed while running over to proudly embrace Peter. "If your Uncle Ben were still around, he would be reckless in spending to celebrate this new chapter in your life."
"Aw thanks, Aunt May, for everything in supporting me," Peter thanked, breaking a smile.
"Peter!"
Coming to their direction were Gwen and Liz, along with their families following behind them.
"Congrats Petey!" Liz warmly congratulated while tackling Peter into a tight embrace.
"Yeah! Congrats too, Liz!" Peter congratulated, getting her vibrant smile in return before turning to Gwen behind her. "H-Hi, congrats to you too, Gwen!"
"T-thanks, you too! So um, Pete? I was wondering if we could uh, hang around later together somewhere after this, you okay with that?" Gwen nervously asked, conscious of her father being around.
"W-well yeah! Sure! Wait, you mean with everyone else?" Peter asked for clarification, referring to Hobie, Bobby, Kitty and Liz.
"Uh huh, what do you say?" Gwen asked with her cute smile.
"S-sure! Let's do that!" Peter answered jitteredly.
"Gotta say, Tiger, you really picked yourself up real well, big time," Mary Jane congratulated, walking up to him while her aunt's currently in a conversation.
"Ah Ms. Watson! Congratulations! Your family must be so proud of you!" Aunt May congratulated, going over to embrace Mary Jane, inciting jealousy within Liz, Gwen, and Kitty as they turned to Peter and gave him 'the look'.
'Hey, I wasn't planning on dating her in the first place, sadly. She was part of my aunt's scheme, c'mon!' Peter internally groaned with his hands up in panic.
"Hobie!"
"Bro! You're here!"
Pulling Hobie into a tight embrace was an African American man sporting an afro and a mustache-beard combo.
"Hey Hobes! Could you care to introduce us?" Peter wondered, with Liz holding his hand.
"Dude! Meet my older brother, Abraham, Abraham Brown," Hobie introduced.
"Hey, call me Abe," Abraham replied, shaking Peter's hand.
"He's been the only person and relative looking out for me. He owns a bike shop and teaches at a gym, for martial arts," Hobie explained, making Peter and Liz give him confused looks at the last bit. "Bet you're wondering about how he is a martial arts teacher, am I right?"
"Uhhh well…yeah?" Peter nervously shrugged, making Liz softly laugh at his response.
"Feel free to stop by anytime at the gym. It taught lots of stuff that my li'l bro absorbed over the years," Abraham suggested before nudging Peter's arm. "The place's also got some female instructors if you're interested."
"Um, no thanks, I'm good. But I think Liz might be interested," Peter answered.
"Mmm sounds cool, I'll think about it," Liz replied.
"Great! Lookin' forward to you enrolling! Here's my card," Abraham bade, handing out Liz his business card labeled "Tiger Gym", with an address, email address and a phone number imprinted on it before being dragged along with Hobie into a random conversation with other guardians and their children.
"Well done, children! You have exceeded my expectations, adjusting to your new environment."
Wheeling to the scene was the calm and collected Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, complimenting the two mutant adolescents, entering the scene with few other people behind him. One of the guys seems to wear red shades while the other has a cybernetic arm, along with a redhead and a platinum haired African American beauty.
"You two seemed to have an incredibly good time here in the city. Congratulations on graduating," says the smiling African American beauty with platinum hair, holding one of the handles of Professor X's wheelchair.
"Ororo!? Scott?! Jean?!" Kitty squeals as she runs over to embrace her closest friends and teammates that have come to attend her and Bobby's graduation. "Wait! H-how'd you guys get here?! I thought–"
"Well uh…" Scott, the guy in red shades with the face of a leader, nervously trailed off, holding his nape.
"C'mon Scott, tell her you allowed us to use that as an excuse to skip school," Jean, the redhead with a sisterly personality around Kitty, smirked at his odd tactic.
"Wait, what?! Are you serious?!" Kitty screamed sassily with her hands at her side.
"Hey hey, it was alright though, 'cause a lot of us just wanna let you know that we still remember you as our good friend, right Jean?" Scott asked, making the tall redhead give him 'the look'.
"Wait, who else is here?" Bobby asked.
"Dudes! Congrats!"
Appearing behind Bobby and Kitty was a boy talking in some German accent, startling Hobie nearby.
"Ahh Kurt?!" Kitty screamed as she embraced the boy that appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey, how'd the fur ball hitch with ya? I thought only a handful, Charles?" Logan, who was attending the program as the students' guardian, wondered out of curiosity.
"Well, I did mention a handful, but then he happened to 'be' there among the handful. And it'd be quite rude of us to reject a friend, won't it?" Professor X straightforwardly answered with a cheerful smile, making the grumpy Logan facepalm.
"Hey guys! Mind introducing us?" Peter asked, walking to Kitty and Bobby with Liz and Gwen following behind him.
"Oh Pete! This is Kurt! That guy in glasses is Scott, the girl beside him is Jean, and this is Ororo!" Kitty cheerfully introduced every one of her closest friends.
'Wow, never thought I'd meet another redhead like MJ,' Peter thought to himself, making Kitty somewhat jealous and the two girlfriends at his sides pinch his waist to snap him back into reality. "Ouch!"
"Yo! Bobby! What's shakin'?! Congrats on acing high school!" Forge greeted in some retro fashion.
"Forge! Great to see ya! Wait, weren't you busy when I last called you?" Bobby wondered as he and Forge clasped their hands following a quick side hug.
"Bro, that was last time, this time, just wanna see my buds. Oh! And about your friend, yeah…" Forge trailed off as his thumb pointed to a familiar friend behind him.
"No way…!" Peter trailed off in awe, catching Liz's attention.
"What's up, Petey?" Liz wondered until her jaw dropped as she looked where Peter's gaze was facing, seeing her brother, Mark Allan, clean and well after the sad ordeals they've been through.
Barely able to hold her tears and her screams of joy, she runs over to her brother, who welcomes her tackling hug with open arms as they embrace.
"Mark! Is this you!? Is this real?! Please tell me this is real?!" Liz cried out with tears in her eyes, feeling his hand caressing her cheek.
"Yeah, sis, I'm back home," Mark smiled brightly as he wiped away her tears before embracing his sister tightly.
"Mija? Mija? Where are you–?!"
Spotting Liz and her brother Mark from afar were their parents, overjoyed with their mouths wide open, awed to see him back in New York.
"M-Markito!? Is it really!?" Mr. Allan stuttered, seeing and reuniting with his son who was once jailed for causing a ruckus around New York and troubling Spider-man, pulling him into a tight embrace with his wife hugging him tightly as well.
"This...is nice…" Peter thought to himself out loud while watching the happy and overjoyed look on Liz's face from afar, with Gwen and Kitty nearby noticing the whole thing going down.
"What's up, Tiger?" Mary Jane asked after a short conversation with other graduating classmates nearby, getting a silent answer as he pointed to the direction where Mark is found reuniting with his family.
With wide eyes opened and her thoughts close to exploding that she covers her mouth, she slowly approaches the family and Mark from a distance until he quickly notices her presence coming close to him.
"Mary Jane…!" Mark paused, looking at her. "It has been a long time…"
"Yeah, sure has been…" Mary Jane nervously trailed off as she turned her gaze away and reflexively held and caressed her arm out of worry.
"Mary Jane, I'm sorry for what really happened, but look, I'm cured…! I'm normal again…" Mark assured, walking up to her. "So...Mary Jane...can we um–"
"Sorry Mark, you're too nice a guy, and I like you...but, I'm not the type that might suit you…" Mary Jane apologizes, keeping one step away from him. "...Maybe we should see other people...it's for the best…"
"Oh...alright…" Mark responded as he awkwardly and quietly averted his gaze from the redhead, making his parents and Liz exchange worried looks.
Watching from afar, Peter can only be a quiet spectator of the sad drama ongoing on that side, until…
"Hey Pete…"
Just when things got less dramatic as they already are, Harry Osborn, his former best friend and the ex of one of his current girlfriends, walks to him with his mother and loyal butler or servant Donald Menken beside him...
"H-Harry!" Peter nervously responded before frantically looking around for Gwen, who is found pretending to engage in a conversation with one of her father's friends, who's also attending the graduation ceremony as a parent. 'Whew, awkward atmosphere avoided…'
"Sorry for being a jerky snob and a brat around you...and Gwen...and everyone else…" Harry nervously apologized. "It's just that, my dad's death has taken a toll on me and the company on so many levels, not to mention the expectations he still has for me and...you get the idea."
"Yeah, kinda," Peter nervously answered back. 'Except he isn't dead, and he's got bigger things in mind that are not in any way pleasant, to say the least…'
"That is why, to somehow help me move on from all that pain, I've decided to sell our properties and base of operations in New York to an interested buyer. A cool guy too," Harry nervously replied.
"Really? Who?" Peter asked out of curiosity.
"Some guy named Roderick Kingsley," Harry answered, shocking Peter upon saying the name. "Pretty weird if you asked me, how the CEO of one of New York's best perfume and fashion industries would be so interested in a research and technology development enterprise like Oscorp, right?"
"U-uh yeah, I know right?" Peter nervously joked back. 'Are you kidding me!? He wanted the specs and data on how to make more Rhino armored suits, and now he's got the whole building filled with crazy tech that supplied the Goblins and other mad villains! Who knows what kind of crazy plans he's got to show!?'
"My mom and I plan to move to Europe again to get away from all the madness and recuperate, hopefully. This...somehow means goodbye, Pete," Harry bade before embracing him into a side hug. "You two should take care...you and Gwen…"
"Harry, it is time now," Menken called as he escorted Emily Lyman, the mother of Harry, to their limousine.
"Bye Pete," Harry bade farewell as he entered the limousine, driven away with Menken as their driver.
"Bye...Harry…" Peter trailed off as he watched him quietly leave the ceremony until a familiar hand was laid on his shoulder and caught his attention.
"At least this way, he won't have to obsess so much about Spider-man and everything, right?" Gwen pointed out of concern.
"Yeah, kinda…" Peter agreed before noticing his aunt May calling for him from afar. "Aunt May's calling for me, wanna come?"
"Why not?" Gwen did not mind as she followed him.
"Peter dear! Come! Let me take one last memory! Call on anyone to join you too if you please!" Aunt May called.
"I'll be taking the picture, do you mind if I borrow this? Your aunt lent it to me," Scott asked, holding Peter's camera that Aunt May lent.
"Sure! Thanks!" Peter permitted.
"Cool, now get into position, everyone!" Scott called, preparing and learning how to operate the camera.
"Photobomb!" Hobie yelled while pushing Liz closer to Peter.
"Hasn't even started yet," Liz groaned.
"Mind if we cut in?" Gwen asked with Kitty beside her.
"By all means!" Peter and Liz replied, catching each other off guard before pausing and blushing for a moment.
"Alright!" Kitty screamed as she pushed Gwen close to Peter's side.
"Heeey! Wait for me!" Bobby called out, running to Kitty's side.
"Hold on, Peter, where is Harry? I remembered that he was your best friend, yes?" Aunt May wondered.
"Oh uh, he said he had to leave early for some things. Sorry Aunt May," Peter apologized for the absence of his friend leaving for Europe.
"Oh, I see, that is unfortunate. Ah, Ms. Watson! Please come join the picture!" Aunt May requested for Mary Jane's presence. "Anna, may I borrow your niece for a moment? Just a moment?"
"Oh sure!" Anna Watson, Mary Jane's aunt, permitted as she lets her niece join Peter and the others.
"Hey Tiger, smile for the camera," Mary Jane playfully suggested as she walked over to Hobie's side, stunning Peter for a moment that Liz and Gwen can only stiffly smile and pinch his sides again to snap him out of it.
"Alright, you guys ready?" Scott asked, aiming the camera for a group photo.
Behind the group, Gwen and Liz secretly hold the forearms of Peter from both sides, catching Mary Jane's eye by surprise by what they're doing.
"Okay guys! 3...2...1...cheese!" Scott yelled as he clicked the camera trigger and took the group photo.
—
Later, as Oscorp's operations in New York are now under the new management of Roderick Kingsley, he quickly implemented lots of changes in the new venture with some of his plans proving to be unpleasant for most people. One of these plans of his was to fire most of the employees and workers that seemed to show some great loyalty or dedication for the Osborns when they were around overseeing the business operations so that he can have utterly full control down to the smallest detail...
"Mr. Morris Bench, correct? I'm terribly sorry to say this, but we have been informed to let you go," says one of the Human Resources Department clerks.
"What? Why?! What did I ever do?!" Morris demanded.
"You are in no position to ask any further. Here is your salary for your services. Please take care," the clerk bade, handing out a cheque with a salary amount written on it.
"But I–?!" Morris paused, noticing the strange new security personnel spectating the scene by the entrance of the office. "I...understand…"
Holding his frustration and anger, he quietly leaves the office professionally with a cheque in hand and makes his way out of the building before glancing back for one more look at his former workplace. Out of nowhere, his cell phone rang and vibrated in his pocket, making him take it out and look at the anonymous caller with no name before answering it.
"Hello? Who is this?" Morris asked over the phone.
'Who I am does not matter, but what I can do for you may be of greater interest. So, are you interested?' the strange voice offered over the phone.
"Okay? But lemme think about it, not now," Morris barked before ending the call so suddenly after a bad day of getting fired.
—
"Mr. Brock, are these files adequately evaluated?"
"You bet, doc. Even double-checked in my last shift."
After some time contemplating, Eddie Brock accepted the internship offer of Dr. Ashley Kafka to work around Ravencroft as an assistant and assistant counselor with the patients under them.
"Mr. Brock...are you...alright?" Ashley asked out of concern, noticing Eddie's depressed complexion.
"Maybe, just still trying to get used to things. Much different compared to my previous workplace…" Eddie answered, remembering the time he worked at the Connors' lab.
"Oh Eddie, I'm positive that it might not be about the work environment...do you miss it?" Ashley reluctantly asked, referring to the Venom symbiote that was once attached to Eddie Brock.
"I...guess so, but it's fine, doc. I'll get over it," Eddie assured with a weak smile before leaving her office after having placed and organized the files in their respective drawers, hiding his true feelings, feelings of losing a friend.
—
"Thank you, you may wait for your order. Oh! Hello sir! Can I take your order?"
In a busy food district in Manhattan, a popular pizza parlor called Joe's Pizza, has gotten a lot of customers for the weekend, until a hidden special figure casually arrived to buy their pizza…
"Uh hey, may I buy um, let's see..." Peter carefully chooses while looking at his cash-on-hand in his wallet and the extra cash Gwen and Liz lent him. "I would like to order three Hawaian Style pizzas, two Full-on Cheese pizzas, and then uh the one with just pepperonis."
"Alrighty! Please wait for your order sir, here's your ticket," the clerk lady kindly gave before letting Peter sit down at the corner to wait.
"Ooookay, now to wait. Hopefully they won't be too early at the rendezvous point," Peter thought out loud as he checked his cell phone before watching the scenery outside to pass the time.
After ten minutes, two grown masked men entered the front door, armed with pistols and a shotgun, intimidating the nearby customers from their menacing appearances.
'Uh oh, thug alert. Unluckily for them, I've been waiting to pass the time in a fun way,' Peter thought to himself as he swiftly enters the restroom across his left side and immediately dons his costume on.
"This is a stick up! Drop to the ground, all of you!" one of the armed robbers yelled, pointing his shotgun at them and scaring the innocent bystanding customers in the area before pointing his gun at the clerk lady by the register. "You! Put the money in the bag, right now!"
But as the lady was attempting to open the register, the next thing she heard were 'thwipping' and webbing sounds before looking up to see the two robbers quickly webbed and trapped, with one wrapped around and hanging on the ceiling while seeing the other trapped onto the floor.
"Guys, c'mon, broad daylight? Seriously? You better think of a better schedule to rob a pizzeria, like, if I was asleep," Peter, now donning his Spider-man suit, quipped while crawling on the ceiling before dropping to the floor and being bombarded with cheers from the innocent bystanders saved in the scene.
"S-Spider-man!?" the clerk lady yelled in shock. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh! Y-you're here!?"
"Yeah, I was in the neighbourhood, no biggie," Spider-man answered confidently while scratching his head, embarrassed from all the cheering and silly reactions.
"Order up!" yelled one of the employees as he laid a stack of six pizza boxes on the counter.
"Oop! That's my order, goodbye! And don't forget to call the cops!" Spider-man noticed and bade before taking the straw-bound pizza boxes and swinging away.
"H-Hey! Wait! That's somebody else's pizza!" the clerk lady yelled out before noticing cash and a note webbed to the counter near the register, with the note saying: "Courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man. Keep the change."
—
Hours have passed after the graduation ceremony, and somewhere on the rooftops of the Allans' hotel…
"I'm here! Sorry I'm late, it's tiring to keep swinging around without all that superhuman strength," Prowler panted as he lands on a boxed turbine.
"Oh no pressure, I just got here too. We should just wait for the others," Ghost Spider assured.
"Hey hey hey! Iceman's in the house, baby!" Iceman yelled while sliding atop an ice slide with Shadowcat as his passenger until they both hop off his slide, carrying a plastic bag filled with liters of bottled soda and plastic cups. "Uh, waitaminute, where's Spidey?"
"Dunno, he's supposed to be here any minute," Ghost Spider shrugged.
"Guys! Sorry for being late!"
Coming their way, Spider-man swings hard with one hand while carrying a stack of pizza boxes with his other hand, accompanied by an invited friend skating nearby along the rooftops. They both safely reach the rooftops and meet with the rest just a minute late from their appointed time.
"Took you long enough, Spidey," Ghost Spider sassily pointed out with her arms crossed.
"Ehehehe, my bad, had a little run-in with some trouble, and also tried inviting a friend to join us," Spider-man answered, reintroducing their newest ally, Screwball.
"Hiya!" Screwball cutely greeted, confusing Ghost Spider as to why she's invited.
"Hey! You were with us, fighting those thugs back there!" Shadowcat pointed out.
"Yeah, Spidey and I owe her one. She assisted us just in the nick of time. Although, I am quite curious how she knew about us getting into trouble last time," Prowler wondered, holding his chin.
"Pfft, well, Spidey knows lots of reasons why, don't you, Spidey?" Screwball confidently and flirtatiously smirked with her hands on her waist, making Ghost Spider and Shadowcat glare daggers at the Webhead.
"Oh really?" Ghost Spider wondered in a slightly angry tone.
"Mind telling us more, Spidey?" Shadowcat kindly demanded in an annoyed tone.
"Hey hey, this is something I wanted to open up, alright," Spider-man nervously assured with his hands up.
"What were you trying to open up to us, huh?" Ghost Spider demanded, walking up to his face with crossed eyebrows under her mask. "What do you think will happen if I tell Liz about what you're doing behind her back, hmm?"
"She will flip, that's for sure," Shadowcat confidently adds, further making Screwball contain her laughter from the sidelines.
"Guys?" Spider-man sheepishly asked for Iceman and Prowler's help, only to see them turn their backs on him before turning to Screwball. "Screwball, help…?!"
"Pffft, pfft, pfft–hahahaha! Okay okay, Spider-girl, calm down, alright!" Screwball assured, unable to contain her laughter.
"Why? What's so funny? Do you find it funny to break someone else's heart?" Ghost Spider scolded, turning to the playful vigilante.
"Girl, there's no heart getting broken here, because…" Screwball then proceeds to take off her helmet and flip her long hair, revealing her identity as Liz Allan and astounds the rest of the team before smiling with confidence. "It's me, alright. So cool your jets."
"Liz!?" Ghost Spider screamed out of shock before unmasking her face, showing her identity as Gwen Stacy as she runs to her. "You're kidding me, Liz?! Is it really–!?"
"Uh huh, and I could fairly tell you were that freaky that now turned into a cool-looking heroine today when you stormed out of the lab back then. So we're even," Liz smiled before being tackled by Shadowcat into a hug.
"I knew it! I knew it was you the whole time!" Shadowcat exclaimed. "Your mannerisms were similar, and your voices were similar, and man! I was right!"
"Wait, pinch me, punch me, am I dreaming? Dude, hit me," Iceman requested, making Prowler slap his back so hard that it knocks him off his balance and fall to the floor painfully. "Ow, okay, this really isn't a dream."
"Yup. I already had my suspicions with how familiar her voice is from that previous incident," Prowler pointed out, embarrassing Liz from his remark.
"Oops, hehe, right," Liz laughed before putting her helmet back on with Gwen masking her face with the symbiote.
"Alright guys, let's all settle down for a moment and enjoy, 'cause today's "Pizza Time!"" Spider-man excitedly quipped as he opened up one of the pizza boxes with the Pepperoni pizza.
"Hey, lemme do the slicing," Ghost Spider offered as she forms sharp talons from her hands and takes the pizza box from Spider-man's hands and then pushes the pizza up in the air and slashes it into eight equal slices.
Shadowcat and Screwball caught a slice each, Iceman and Prowler got two slices each, while Ghost Spider caught the other and the last one fell on Spider-man's face, making everyone laugh at the last bit.
"Oops, sorry 'bout that," Ghost Spider apologized, getting the pizza off his face and onto his hand.
"Nah nah, it's cool. You need to work on your swinging and aiming though," Spider-man joked, getting a strong punch to his arm.
Now, the team soon enjoys their awesome company with Screwball as their new addition. Not to mention, the great heavy snack that Spidey brought and the refreshments Iceman brought as their walking refrigerator and ice dispenser. In the middle of their gathering...
"So, where you guys planning for college anyway?" Prowler asked, pouring in another cup of soda.
"Hmmm, I was thinking of going for something around education. Still thinking where though," Iceman answered before touching and cooling Prowler's soda.
"Same here! I wanted to teach English, and I plan to learn how here in New York!" Shadowcat gleefully answered.
"That's awesome, Kitty! I'm going to study business at ESU. It sounded like fun and I wanted to learn how to help my parents, or even better, expand the family's horizons!" Screwball answered before biting her pizza.
"Cool! That's where we planned to enroll too! We got scholarships waiting for us in the science department there!" Spider-man answered.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Ghost Spider wondered what he meant by that.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you, Dr. Warren, our homeroom science teacher, recommended us to ESU with a chance of obtaining a full-ride scholarship! But only if we also help out the Connors' in their lab. And do well there," Spider-man plainly answered.
"Really!? You're not joking, are you!?" Ghost Spider screamed, asking for clarification.
"Would I lie to you?" Spider-man jokes.
"Uh, yeah? You can," Ghost Spider deadpanned, with Screwball and Prowler nodding in agreement.
"Hey I'm serious! It's not a joke!" Spider-man assured. 'At least this way, Aunt May won't have to worry about tuition. I just hope the dorm over there will be nice…'
"Dang, good for you guys," Prowler huffed. "I planned to work lots of jobs to enter ESU too. I wanna learn more about information and technology there to try making new crazier tech or upgrade my current gadgets."
"That's great!" Spider-man complimented.
"Will we...still have hangouts like these again next time? Fighting or no fighting?" Shadowcat wondered before sipping on her soda.
"We can and we should. Just, maybe not too often anymore now that we're going to college," Spider-man shrugged. "Probably not too often as a team, but we gotta stick around to fight and protect this city."
"Why so?" Prowler asked, standing and leaning onto a boxed turbine after a good meal.
"Because…'with great power, comes great responsibility'..." Spider-man trailed off, feeling a heavy weight over his shoulders from those words. "Those were the last words of advice from my late uncle Ben Parker...he always learnt to do what is right, no matter what. I never thought about it until he died. I even got to meet the person who killed him..."
'Peter…' Ghost Spider thought to herself, hiding her sadness behind her mask, remembering full well concerning his late uncle.
Even Screwball stayed silent and sad, which got the attention of the three others upon getting the context and the mood.
"But he would never approve of me getting revenge…because 'with great power comes great responsibility.' I understood from that moment...how I should use the best of my abilities to protect those that can't protect themselves, although I...sometimes can't protect everyone…"
"Sounds like my case…." Prowler sighed. "I owe my older brother lots of things, and it's what's gotten me to become the Prowler in the first place. But after you guys showed up, I felt a greater weight heavier like never before, being part of a bigger picture."
"Us too," Iceman adds.
"We also want to protect everyone, although not everyone really likes our protection," Shadowcat modestly added, scratching her hind temple.
"Yeah, not everyone would really like what we do, but that never stopped me, or us from doing what we can do best, in fighting for them," Spider-man encouraged. "Because we now have a huge burden on our shoulders wearing the masks, but we must never forget who we are, under the masks. Things can and will get bumpier from here on out, but...are you guys still wanna stick with me on this?"
"You bet your shooters I will," Prowler smirked under the mask.
"Of course! It's never a dull day being a crime-fighter!" Shadowcat exclaimed.
"Right you are, Kitty!" Iceman fist-bumped Kitty's fist.
"As long as my folks and brother never know, I'm in," Screwball agrees.
"We're with you, Spidey, always," Ghost Spider nods in agreement, playfully nudging the side of his arm.
"Thanks...thanks you guys…" Spider-man smiled, under the mask.
"Let's not forget about Mr. Logan though. He would gladly lend a hand when needed, probably," Shadowcat nervously added.
"Riiiight," Spider-man realized.
Suddenly, he hears sounds of burning and crackling coming from far behind him, indicating some huge fire occurring on an apartment building.
"Welp, looks like it's time to work again," Spider-man quipped, finishing the last of his pizza and then wrapping all of their trash into one huge web ball before dragging it down into a giant dumpster nearby below them. "Is everyone ready?"
"You bet they are," Ghost Spider quipped, with everyone else nodding in agreement.
"Alright then, team. Let's move out!" Spider-man rallied as they quickly made their way to the burning building to save the trapped innocents.
—
"I must say, this place is really nice. A tad eerie, but nice," Roderick thought out loud, examining and sightseeing around the Osborns' old home.
As he was looking around and tries getting a feel of each strange-looking artifact, he knocks on the knight armor by the wall, noticing that it is more hollow than it should be before pulling some sort of lever that triggered the mechanism to split it open, revealing a hidden pathway to the supposed wine cellar.
"Well what do you know. Let's see, what is behind secret door number one?" Roderick smiled as he entered the hidden passage that is well lit down the stairs.
He slowly enters the Osborns' secret wine cellar and looks around the old shelves holding bottles of vintage fermented drinks until he stops to notice a faint light behind some bottled wine and then attempts to press it, which later opens the wall. Behind the opened wall reveals a hidden research laboratory filled with Oscorp technology and weapons that seemed to have been used by the two villains Green Goblin and New Goblin, along with a giant gas chamber on the other side of the lab.
"Whoa! Call me a lucky man, 'cause I think I just found the Goblins' den, smack dab in the home of the Osborns!" Roderick smiled as he picked up a mask belonging to the Green Goblin and one of Goblins' razorbats, gradually laughing maniacally from his fortunate discovery.
—To be continued
A/N:
Sorry for the long wait. This is it for Season 3 now, hooray!
Next time, the team's preparing for college, so get ready!
Just finished my exams and requirements.
Thanks for sticking around once again.
God bless, and take care in this pandemic.
