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All Spider-Man and all its related characters belongs to Marvel Entertainment, which is owned by Walt Disney Company, and the Sam Raimi Original Trilogy belongs to Sony Pictures Entertainment. No infringement of these copyrights are intended, and not authorized by copyright holders.

"It's all over town, Robbie."

Jonah was leaning back on his office chair as he was discussing with his trusted editor, Robbie Robertson, on the bloody events that was unfolded at the hospital, where Dr. Otto Octavius was admitted the night before.

"Gossip. Rumors. Panic in the streets, if we're lucky," Jonah said, before standing up from his chair and walked to his office window to look over the city. "Crazy scientist turns himself into some kind of a monster. Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. What are the odds?"

After that exchange with Robbie, Jonah yelled out for someone else's attention. "Hoffman!"

"Yeah."

When he saw Hoffman just simply appeared in his eye view, Jonah did a weird double take, as if his most bullied employee somehow just knew the moment his name was being called out.

After a few moments of silence, Jonah asked him for a good villain name for his next headline. "What are we gonna call this guy?"

"Uh, Dr. Octopus," Hoffman said the first name that popped up in his head.

"That's crap," Jonah nonchalantly rejected.

Hoffman then suggested another name. "Science Squid"?

"Crap!" Jonah rejected again.

Feeling a light bulb above his head, Hoffman figured out a perfect name. "Dr. Strange."

"That's pretty good," Hoffman looked brightened up at Jonah's compliment, but quickly faded when it was rejected anyway. "But it's taken. Wait, wait! I got it. "Dr. Octopus"," Jonah said, somehow forgetting, or probably ignoring, the fact it was actually Hoffman who came up with that name first.

"But... " Hoffman tried to argue it was his idea to begin with, but knowing who he was talking to, he broke his sentence to make it as though he wasn't opposed to it. "I like it."

"Of course you do. Dr. Octopus. New villain in town. 'Doc Ock'," Jonah emphasized the last two words with quotation fingers.

"Genius," Hoffman said with a forced smile, pretending to praise Jonah's 'clever nickname'.

"What, are you looking for a raise?" Jonah gestured him to leave. "Get out."

As he sat back down on his office chair, his secretary budged right into his office with the young photographer trailing behind her. "Chief, I found Parker," Betty said.

"Where you been? Why don't you pay your phone bill?" Jonah said out loud, wondering about where Peter had been. "Mad scientist goes berserk, and we don't have pictures!"

"I heard Spider-Man was there," Robbie pointed out, giving the photographer a look.

Peter looked tensed, feeling a single drop of nervous sweat on the side of his head when he gave a quick side glance at Robbie's weird look of suspicion.

"Where were you? Photographing squirrels? You're fired," Jonah yelled out at him to leave, which was becoming a regular routine for Peter in almost every meeting up at this point.

Before Peter could walk out the door in disappointment again, Betty stood in front of his path, stopping him from leaving. "Chief, the planetarium party," She reminded her boss of the reason why she spent all that difficult time and effort of finding him.

"Oh, you're un-fired," Jonah realized his mistake. "I need you, come here," He gestured to Peter to walk back into his office. "What do you know about high society?"

Peter tried to speak. "Oh. Well, l -"

"Don't answer that," Jonah abruptly cut him off. "My society photographer got hit in the head by a polo ball. You're all I got. Big party for an American hero. My son, the astronaut."

"Could you pay me in advance?" Peter begged profusely, hoping to get the payment needed for his rent this time at least.

After a short awkward silence, Jonah just let out a long and loud obnoxious laughter to such a ridiculous plead, as if he thought the photographer was joking about asking for a paycheque he hadn't even earned yet, even Robbie couldn't help but grin a little at his boss's antics, despite shaking his head in a no-nonsense fashion.

When he realized Peter was actually not kidding, Jonah stopped his laughter. "You serious? Pay you for what? Standing there? The planetarium, tomorrow night at eight o'clock. There's the door."

With that, Peter just turned away and walked out of the Bugle offices, feeling a little humiliated by Jonah's more upped antics than usual.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Big Apple, Mary Jane stood in front of the hotel her sister, Gayle said she would be staying in for the duration of her stay.

It wasn't just any hotel. In fact, she's actually standing towards the entrance to one of the most luxurious hotels in Manhattan: The Plaza Hotel.

Her big sister must be that well connected to even get a stay like this. Maybe she called in a favor from someone during her stay in Florida.

Pushing the thought aside, upon her entering through the lobby, MJ was met with the spacious, enlightening interior, with fancy decorations that makes you feel like you're entering into a royalty's palace, and the men and women inside all dressed very dapperly with their suits and dresses, all to the finest details that would give a well-experienced fashion designer a good run for their money.

After a short observation of her unusual surroundings, MJ made her way to the hotel's receptionist, who was currently browsing through her reservation books and answering phone calls.

Noticing her just walked up to her desk, the receptionist gave her final words with the caller before turning her attention to the redhead. "Welcome, ma'am, to the Plaza Hotel. Do you wish for a book-in?"

"Um, hi," The redhead introduced herself to the receptionist. "I'm actually looking for Gayle Watson. She told me she was staying in this hotel."

"Hang on a second," The receptionist then look down at her desk and grabbed a file filled with current customers book-ins. After almost a minute of browsing through the pages, she found a name. "Ahh, yes, we do have a Gayle Watson here. Also said here she's also booked-in with a... John Jameson."

MJ's eyes blinked and did a double take when she thought she just heard a name belonging to her boyfriend's not-well-esteemed employer. "I'm sorry, did you say 'Jameson'?"

Giving another quick check, the receptionist nodded in confirmation. "Yes. John Jameson."

MJ never recalled her sister ever bringing up about dating someone before, let alone a person to be related to someone who made a living giving bad reps to her boyfriend's and her retired alter ego. Maybe it was just a mere coincidence, but her kind of life, that's a rarity nowadays.

"Do you know which room they're staying in?" MJ asked kindly.

"Yes, they're in room 259," The receptionist informed. "Just take the elevator on your right and head up to the 20th floor."

"Thank you," MJ appreciated her kind words. She then made her way to said-elevator, walked right in after its twin doors slide opened for her, and inputted the button for the floor Gayle's booked room was in.

Soon, the elevator doors finally opened again, showing a long hallway with red fancy carpets and numbered rooms that were equally spaced from each other.

MJ then stepped out of the elevator and started looking at the numbers on the doors. "Room 259, Room 259, Room 259... "

Just a short walkthrough out the hallway later, she finally found the room her sister and her mysterious boyfriend were staying in. After MJ gave a few knocks, she heard her sister's mumbled but recognizable voice on the other side of the door.

"Wait a minute."

A few moments later, a twisty movement on the handle knob started shifting, until the door opened inwards, revealing Gayle Watson in her casual clothing.

"Hey, lookie who's finally here; New York's most beautiful Broadway star, herself," She said with fond enthusiasm, making the redhead smile. "Come in, come in," As Gayle let MJ walked right into her hotel room and closed the door, she turned and noticed the flabbergasted look on her sister's face. "Not bad, huh?"

MJ blinked her eyes rapidly as she was still processing the luxurious decor around her. "How... how on Earth did you afford a room like this?"

"I think it's just my dancing charm," Gayle said cheekily.

Got a suspicious feeling of how she gotten this room, especially when she could easily guess, thanks to the receptionist downstairs, MJ decided to play the long game.

After the redhead let herself be accustomed to her unusual surroundings, she and her sister took a sit on the extremely comfy couches adjacent to each other.

"So, what's it like being back in the Big Apple?" MJ asked curiously.

"Oh, for the most part, feels very much the same. It's like I never left," Gayle said. Then, a keen smile appeared on her lips. "Well, asides from seeing your lovely face on almost every ad corner billboards I see. I swear, it's almost like you're trying to stalk my every move."

"Well, after you being gone for all those four years, I have to make sure you don't make it out of my sight again."

The two Watson girls chuckled at their usual fun sister banter. It's almost like neither of them left each other's side.

"How's Mom back home?" Gayle asked all of the sudden. "She seemed very excited about us being together again in her letters."

MJ's gleeful smile then turned to a frown at the reminder of her ill-health mother. She knew she had to break the unfortunate news to her eventually. "Actually, that's something I need to tell you about," MJ said sadly, Gayle raised an eyebrow at the redhead's peculiar words. "Mom's very sick."

"What?" Gayle was taken aback by this news. "Since when?"

"Since last year," MJ elaborated. "Had a heart stroke when I was about to tell her about my first gig."

"She never mentioned that in her letters."

"I guess Mom just didn't want to add another worry on top of mine."

"Yeah, sounds like her alright; always trying to think the best for her two girls other than herself." Gayle sighed as she looked down.

"Yeah... " MJ agreed softly. Feeling the depressing, awkward silence irradiating in the air, she tried to change the topic as she let out a sly smirk. "Are you seeing any particular boys I need to know about?"

"I... " Gayle was caught off-guard as her cheeks started to turn bright red. "I don't know what you're actually talking about... " Catching the cheeky look in the redhead's eyes as they winked at her, the brunette eventually gave in, knowing she couldn't hide it any longer. "FINE, yes, I am seeing someone now. How did you even know?"

"Oh please... you think I'm just called a Broadway star for the looks?" MJ chuckled with smooth suave. "No, actually, I found out from the receptionist downstairs."

"Damn, I didn't think that through," Gayle muttered to herself, as she smacked herself on the forehead. Then, she let out a meek smile. "Yes, John and I been together for two years now."

"Wow... "

It was crazy to think things could get even much more coincidental; what were the odds of her and Peter bitten at around the same year as her sister and this John pursued into their relationship?

"Speaking of boyfriends... " Gayle suddenly remembered something. " What about yours? Mom's been boasting about you having another boyfriend after you broken up with Flash in her letters. And I was wondering: Where was he at your play? I thought he would be the one who come to you first, and he didn't seem to be around."

"Oh... um, he actually phoned me earlier, said he couldn't make it," MJ said, which wasn't a total lie.

Of course, she understood why. To force Peter to come and watch her own play, as opposed to giving some poor souls a chance to live another day, that would've been completely selfish and hypocritical of her. After all, it wasn't even that too long-ago MJ used to be in his shoes before she decided to hang them up to focus on her career.

Gayle looked doubtful of her sister's claims about her boyfriend. "Are you sure? Doesn't seem like it."

MJ quirked an eyebrow at her sister's words. "What do you mean?"

"Well, why wouldn't he be there?" Gayle expressed her worse speculations about him. "What kind of boyfriend misses out on the night of your best play?"

"Gayle, trust me, if you knew him like I do, he'd make it if he could," MJ defended her boyfriend.

"Okay then," Gayle shrugged. Even though she may seem accepting on the surface, deep down she didn't really believe it, considering the redhead's past luck with finding boys, especially the kinds their father would always force them to be with, such as Flash Thompson. "If you don't mind my curiosity, who is he?"

MJ gave a gleeful smile upon giving her answer. "Peter Parker."

Gayle did a double take at the name. "Wait. Peter Parker? As in, the quiet kid with glasses? That Peter Parker?"

"Yeah," MJ said, hoping at least knowing who her boyfriend was could offer some reassurance Gayle that this one's not like any other ones she had in the past.

Gayle still remained skeptical, thinking this new boy in MJ's life, while seem innocent on the surface, could probably be another bad influence on her. It didn't help that she only heard about him mainly from bad gossips during her time in Midtown High before moving to Florida.

Getting a sense of doubt from her big sister, MJ tried to refocus the topic back on Gayle's 'secret' boyfriend. "So, what was the reason you and John were in town?"

Gayle let out a sly smile. "Oh, you wouldn't even believe me... "

Words: 2314

A/N: Now we get to see little bit more of Gayle's character. Tried my best to nail most of the sibling dynamic between the Watsons Girls, especially going off some of the pages during the brunette's appearance with the redhead. Hopefully, with this and the future appearances of her in later chapters would be decent take on her.

Next chapter will, of course, be the Doc Ock heist acting as a filler, as it's nothing that different to how the movie turned out due to lack of MJ in it.

Anyway, any constructive criticisms and comments would be greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

Reviews:

CT311998: Cheers, dude. And yeh, I knew, after that chapter ended, I needed a good transition after what Peter's going through in that moment, and deleted scenes often given so many perfect moments for that (do expect one more to make its way into this fanfic down the line)

And if you read this chapter, you're spot on my intentions to have Gayle and Jameson together. Maybe the most obvious trope, but I like having them together to act as a parallel to Peter and MJ's relationship in this, as well as a way to get this familiar story going while still keeping the redhead around.

DCDGojira: Appreciated the review, and great to hear your progress on your fanfic.

TW: Thanks.