Hobie glanced down at the ground as he waited anxiously for his contact to arrive. If he was honest, he was also second guessing the move in general; had this really been the right call? He'd worked so hard to get his second chance in society, but at the same time, he didn't really feel as though he had any other options. Besides, if things went as he hoped they would, this was the only part of what he was doing that would even be remotely shady. With any luck, he could even figure out how to duplicate the power source on his own and he wouldn't even have to come back to this point ever again.

Finally, his contact arrived, the figure turning into the alley.

"Didn't expect to hear from you again," the man said. "What prompted you to call? Miss the night life too much?"

"I meant what I said on the phone," Hobie clarified. "I'm not going back. I just need a little something to kickstart my new life. Do you have it?"

The man then reached into his jacket pocket, taking a small device that could be held in just two fingers, something no one would think to call a power source.

"I want you to know how fortunate you are that I was able to pull this off for you, and so fast too," the man explained. "Normally, I'd charge someone a pretty penny for this kind of thing, and I got a lot of customers willing to pay such a price too."

"Then it's a good thing that you're a man who always pays his debts, considering that you wouldn't even be alive today if it wasn't for me," Hobie reminded the man, holding out his hand. The man complied, putting the device in his hand.

"Just know, my offer still stands if you ever want to come back," the man assured him.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Hobie replied. "Like I said, I'm strictly legit now."

"Careful," the man said. "You're already making an exception by doing this. It's a slippery slope, my friend."

Hobie then turned and walked away, determined to ignore the man's warnings.

This was just a one-time thing, that was it.

Once Hobie had turned the corner and left, the man did the same, taking out his phone from his jacket as he left in the opposite direction, finding the number he was looking for and dialing it.

"Did he show up?"

"He did," the man confirmed, "like a moth to a flame."

"And he didn't suspect anything?" the one on the other end of the line questioned.

"No sir, Mr. Wesley," the man assured him. "He just seemed glad I got it for him."

"Very good," Wesley replied.

"Thanks again for meeting with me Robbie," Peter said just before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"My pleasure," the older man replied. "Besides, any excuse to come to the best sandwich place in the city is always a good thing."

"Mm," Peter said, trying to finish chewing his food before adding, "you'll get no arguments here!"

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Robbie questioned.

"I need your advice on something," Peter replied.

"Is it about a girl?" Robbie asked.

Peter shook his head.

"Is it that obvious?"

"At your age, that's probably the number one thing a guy needs advice on," Robbie said.

"Fair point," Peter conceded. "It's just that I really, really care about this girl; we've known each other for years now, and I know that she cares about me too. We both really like each other, but we're just kind of stuck, I guess."

"Well, it sounds like one or both of you is afraid of something," Robbie replied as he prepared to take another bite of his sandwich. "So, what are you afraid of, Peter?"

There it was: the part where Peter knew he couldn't tell the whole truth but wanted to get at least some of it out. He'd hoped the conversation wouldn't lead into it so soon, but then again, Robbie was a man who didn't tend to beat around the bush, so he should've known better.

"Mary Jane deserves the world," he said. "I just don't know if I can be the guy that gives it to her."

"Sounds to me like you're being too hard on yourself," Robbie assured him. "I've known you for a long time too, Peter; you're a fine young man, with perhaps the biggest heart of anyone I know. If anything, I'd say this Mary Jane you mentioned would be the lucky one of the two of you."

"That's because you've never met her," Peter replied with a scoff. "I don't know, I just..."

All Peter could do was shake his head; maybe this had been a bad idea. He'd hoped that he could find a way to express his concerns in a way that made sense without leaving his alter ego out of the picture, but his efforts seemed useless.

"Peter," Robbie said, leaning in against the table, "we both know that life isn't easy. Frankly, we never know what tomorrow may bring, good or bad. Everything going on at the Bugle has been reminding me of that recently; plus, there have been enough nearly world-ending disasters in the last eight or nine years alone that have helped me keep in mind both how fragile and precious life is. But one of the biggest things that has helped me get through it all even today is knowing that, when I come home, the woman I love more than anything else in the world will be there waiting for me. It certainly doesn't solve all my problems, nor do I fix all of hers, but there's no other way that I'd rather go through this messy life than with her by my side."

Peter lowered his gaze, taking in what the older gentleman had said. All of it made sense, certainly, and it all sounded great, perfect even, but still...

"Robbie, I hear what you're saying," he said. "But what if..." He trailed off.

"Peter, what's going on?" Robbie questioned. "What is it that's REALLY keeping you from being with this woman?"

Peter's fist began to clench tightly in frustration; he wanted so badly just to spit it out, just to tell Robbie everything. He had little to no doubt that the man was trustworthy enough to handle something like this, but still, his desire to keep the circle of those who knew as small as possible was winning out.

"Nothing," Peter said, stuffing the last of his sandwich in his mouth. "Maybe it's just something I need to figure out on my own. Thanks again, Robbie!"

Peter started to gather his tray to get up when the man spoke up again.

"Can I add one more thing?"

"Oh," Peter said, sitting back down. "Sure."

"Don't forget that there is a whole other person involved here."

"What do you mean?" Peter questioned. It felt like he was being told something that he already knew.

"You say that you believe that this woman cares for you too," Robbie continued. "Assuming that's true, you owe it to her to have a say in the matter. Whatever it is that you won't tell me, you at least need to tell her, so that she can decide for herself whether it is worth it to her. If she's as great as you say she is, her answer just might surprise you."

Peter had to fight back a nervous swallow. He'd had the thought of telling Mary Jane his secret multiple times before but had always held himself back for one reason or another. Could he really go through with it this time? What if she got upset that he hadn't told her sooner? What if she did accept his secret, but someone found else found out and used her against him? What if she'd just be weirded out by it all?

Cutting this train of thought off before his mind could go too far down the rabbit hole yet again, Peter spoke up.

"Thanks again, Robbie."

Grabbing her purse and throwing it over her shoulder, Mary Jane walked off the stage, heading down the aisle of the theater towards the exit. However, she began to hear footsteps coming behind her, so she turned around to see one of her fellow actors approaching her.

"Hey," he said. "I just wanted to tell you that I thought you were magnificent today."

"Oh, thanks," M.J. replied. "I thought you did really good too."

She started to turn around and resume walking when the guy spoke up again.

"Are you doing anything? If you weren't, I thought that maybe we could grab a drink or something?"

M.J. smiled lightly; though she knew her response wouldn't be what she was hoping for, it was hard not to appreciate the sincere way he'd asked her out.

"Thank you," she said, "but I'm afraid that I already have plans."

"Oh, I see," the guy said before turning and walking off. Now M.J. found herself pitying him; the man looked like a sad puppy dog who'd just been told to go away when all he wanted was to play fetch.

"Wow, you turned HIM down?"

M.J. spun around to see a couple of her fellow actresses coming up to her.

"You must already have a big date if you refused his offer," the same woman said, "because that was adorable!"

"Yeah, something like that," she said, pushing past the others.

"So, who is the lucky guy?" the second woman asked.

"He's a guy that I met when we were neighbors just before we went to E.S.U. together," M.J. explained. This wasn't the first thing she had in mind to discuss when bonding with her new castmates, but hey, if that's what they wanted to start off with, she could certainly roll with it.

"Ooh, a guy next door story!" the first one said. "Nice, very down to earth, and probably a lot different from the scene you were used to back in Hollywood, right?"

"Oh, how did you know about that?" M.J. questioned.

"Please, you were the talk of the group once you were cast!" the second woman said as they turned and began walking down the street. "A lot of us were surprised that you would come back after getting such a huge part on a show like that."

"Yeah, well, when they try and tell you that you look too 'fit' or whatever they can make up as an excuse to get you to look how they want, you realize that you might just need a change," Mary Jane explained.

"No!" the first girl exclaimed. "Are you serious? They really said that to you? I mean, girl, look at you!"

"What can I say?" M.J. said with a shrug. "I guess it's their loss."

"Personally, even if they hadn't said that, I think that you still did the right thing getting out of the show," the first woman said. "The rest of that cast wasn't doing you any favors."

"Oh, don't be such a hater!" the second woman said. "Anyway, tell us about more about this guy. We want to know everything!"

"Well, seeing as we all basically just met, I don't think we're there quite yet, ladies," M.J. responded, admittedly enjoying teasing them this way. "Give it time."

"Oh come on, you're really going to do us like that?" the first woman questioned.

"I think that means that things aren't going the way she'd like and she just doesn't want to admit it," the second woman asserted.

"No, that's not true," M.J. said, a little more caught off guard than she would've thought by the assertion. "It's just that..."

"Oh, please!" the second woman interrupted her. "Your eyes give you away! You're not happy with this guy, admit it!"

M.J. shook her head.

"What I am or am not is none of your business," she replied as she managed to wave down a taxi. "Now, if you ladies will excuse me."

Ignoring their protesting and assertions, M.J. got into the cab, shutting the door. However, as the vehicle pulled away, her mind lingered on the last part of their conversation. What had her eyes looked like that supposedly "gave her away?" Was she really that frustrated with things? Sure, she was a little disappointed with the fact that she still couldn't discern what was holding Peter back, but still, she wasn't actually UPSET with him...

...right?

Finishing clipping his belt into place, Hobie then reached down for the first of his gauntlet gloves, sliding it over his hand, the end clipping to the arm of the suit. He then grabbed the other one and strapped it in as well, the low hum of them activating as they did a pleasant sound to him. He then reached up and tapped the tiny piece within his ear to trigger the final part into place: a protective mask that was also capable of helping him see in the dark and analyze the environment around him. Sure enough, it came perfectly over his face, all systems seemingly active and ready to go.

Coming over to the mirror, Hobie examined his new look; frankly, it was even cooler than he'd imagined. Now all he needed was a name to go with his new persona, something that would draw people's attention. He racked his mind for an idea as he continued to study the outward appearance of his suit and how it might look to someone else. To him at least, he looked like a creature of the night, like one ready to prowl the streets as he searched for his next prey... which was when the perfect name suddenly hit him.

Prowler.

Yeah, that was perfect!

Moving away from the mirror and hopping onto the edge of his open window, Hobie stared out into the city, all the buildings and streets around him now practically screaming with possibility.

It was time for the Prowler to put himself to his first test.

Hope you're still enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord & Messiah." Acts 2:36