Spider-Man: Destiny - Year 1

Chapter 7: Shell Shocked

In the top floor of Fisk Tower at midnight, a decently bruised Adrian and Wesley were facing the darkness.

"I managed to bruise her up pretty badly. But I gotta admit, she put up a pretty decent fight for just some lady," Adrian admitted.

"Fisk, I give my deepest apologies for even allowing myself to be incapacitated like that," Wesley apologized. "I definitely could've been looking more and-"

"Don't you dare apologize, James," a deep voice in the darkness insisted. "You're both among my highest soldiers, and with that surprise assault, nobody ended up winning that fight. The things I plan on doing to Sable… they terrify even me."

"So, what's our next move?" Adrian asked.

"We'll have to plan that out. Until then, keep doing what you're already doing. Multiplied by a thousand," the voice instructed.

"Wilson. We're going to have to address this with the media eventually. It's already blowing up all over the news and social media. This whole situation with Sable is going to have to be taken care of quickly," Wesley pointed out.

"It'll all be taken care of. It always is. We could literally drown in the amount of influence we have on this wretched city. Sooner rather than later, that little army is going to topple, with or without us. And before she dies, I'm going to look that silver-haired bitch right in the eye and make it clear that it was all for nothing," the voice in the darkness declared.

The next day, Peter woke up at around noon. He got up and looked at his slightly healed facial bruises in the mirror. Putting more concealer on them, Peter changed and went downstairs. Making himself a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of coffee, Peter sat on the couch. Turning on the TV, Peter started going through the channels.

"No, Sally! How could you! You stupid-"

"Are you the father? We'll find out in-"

"New Italian footlong for seven and-"

"-shootout at the Blood Rose nightclub reported to have zero fatalities. However, several bouncers and a few civilians were injured in the-"

Peter's eyes widened as he felt his heart drop. He turned the volume up and put his coffee down.

"Eyewitnesses reported there being a costumed individual that fought several of the bouncers. Afterward, a mysterious woman in all silver attire appeared and joined the chaos. The partygoers all started fleeing at the sound of gunshots-"

Peter went on his phone and looked up the shootout, seeing that nearly every news publication and social media site was covering the incident.

"Later on, it was reported that the mysterious individuals were supposedly climbing and jumping across buildings near the nightclub. At that point, a flying individual-"

Peter shut off the TV at that point. Going back up to his room, Peter set his laptop on his desk. Pulling the flash drive from his drawer, Peter inserted it into his computer. After a few minutes, a file pulled up. Clicking on it, Peter found a few pages worth of evidence of the Kingpin's criminal activities. Specifically, hideouts and fronts for criminal activity, weapons and narcotics deals with businesses, corrupt names and affiliations. All under Fisk Industries.

"Holy shit. Wilson Fisk?" Peter exclaimed.

Peter took out his phone and took pictures of everything.

Outside of the NYPD's division on Queens, a police officer came out of the front door to find a shoebox hanging from a web on one of the pillars. Opening the box, the officer found a flash drive and a note.

URGENT. CRIMINAL EVIDENCE FOR THE KINGPIN.

Smirking, the officer took the drive and note, walking off to his car. Getting inside, he made a phone call.

"Boss. Drive was turned in. I got a hold of it before anyone else could," the officer reported.

"Excellent. Head over and drop it off. They think they're a step closer. I'll prove them wrong. Brutally," a voice declared in the call.

In the medbay in their underground base, Sable was lying on a bed. Her ribs and left arm were bandaged up, with her face having a few bruises. Kris walked over with a tray, carrying a bowl of cheese and broccoli soup, wheat crackers, and a glass of water.

"Cooked up your favorite," Kris chuckled, setting down the tray for Sable.

Sable took the soup. "Thank you."

"How you feeling? Any better?"

"Not as terrible as yesterday. Not exactly amazing either."

"I know you're gonna try to push yourself, but seriously, take your time and rest up. You'll be no good out there if you're too bruised up or battered to even fight."

"What are you all going to do in the meantime?"

"I mean… we usually follow your lead on these things," Kris pointed out.

Sable sighed. "Well, I have to admit that things last night went less than stellar. The news is only picking up more traction on this war. The more attention on us, the more difficult things will get."

"So you're saying we have to lay low for now?"

"Not necessarily. I mean, we won't be able to carry out our operation as normal for the next few weeks. But we can find something… some way to keep…"

"Sable. Our options are limited here. As much as we don't want to admit it, the Kingpin isn't exactly somebody who's going to be easy to take down. Especially with that damn flying bastard of his," Kris stated.

Sable groaned. "Everything we've done to get here. The casualties. It has to be worth it. We'll make sure it is."

"Look. I can go out there solo for a little. Based on the amount of intel we have, they got a weapons shipment transfer tomorrow. I can head over, take it out, and see what I can learn."

"Kristopher, no."

"Sable, don't fight me on this. I know you're in charge, but you're out of commission right now and we can't risk sacrificing any more of our pack. I've got the years and training, I've done solo missions before and it's really our best option at the moment."

"I completely hear you, but we saw what the hell happened when I went out there alone yesterday," Sable started to argue. "And if that flying son of a bitch is there-"

"Silvija, you've barely put me out there in the field the past few months," Kris countered. "I've got a lot more to offer, and it's not being utilized as much as it should be. Now, I'm not accusing you of doubting me-"

"I don't."

"You've seen everything I can do. Respectfully, do you remember when I trained you for a few years?"

Sable looked down, like she didn't know how to respond.

"I'll go out tomorrow and I'll see what I can do. You just have to trust my call on this," Kris affirmed.

"Okay. Do what you can, but obviously keep yourself safe. Learn everything you're able to, and keep an eye out on all corners."

"You know it."

The next night, a black SUV was waiting outside of an abandoned industrial building in an isolated part of Brooklyn. The moon hung low in the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the desolate landscape surrounding the trashed building. Four of the Kingpin's thugs sat inside the SUV while two of them stood guard outside. However, one of the thugs outside was struck down by an eerily familiar blue energy beam. Before the second thug could even pull out his gun, he was shot in the shoulder and knocked down.

"She's here!" one of the thugs inside the SUV exclaimed, frightened.

The thugs came out of the SUV with their weapons, only for all four of them to be swiftly shot down in less than two seconds. The Foreigner descended with a grapnel hook, encased in his black-and-yellow armor and holding his advanced silver Skymkarian rifle in his left hand. He grabbed one of the injured thugs and pinned him against the building.

"Fisk! Everything you know! Or I'll personally make sure you'll never walk again," Foreigner threatened.

"Shit! Please! All I know is what they got planned for all these weapons! I swear to God, please!" the thug yelled.

The Foreigner punched the glass window next to the thug, shattering it and causing him to scream. "Talk! Now!"

At that moment, a truck was heard speeding up to the building. Foreigner knocked the thug out with a punch to the face and jumped through the broken window. Eight armed thugs pulled out of the truck, and one of them threw a grenade in the window. However, the grenade was thrown back in a quick second. The grenade detonated at the ground, knocking two of the thugs back as the others jumped out of the way.

"Open fire!" one of the thugs yelled.

The remaining six thugs started shooting at the already-damaged building as they walked towards it. Two of the thugs were shot down, and the other four ducked for cover or ran into the building.

"Come out, you piece of shit!" one of the thugs yelled inside the building, aiming his rifle.

He turned around to be greeted by a punch to the throat by the Foreigner, who proceeded to knee him in the face and slam him against a wall. Another thug ran over aiming his gun, only to have a knife thrown at his shoulder, knocking him down. Two more thugs came in, shooting at Foreigner, who ran behind a pillar. Reloading his rifle, Foreigner came out and quickly shot the thugs down. Foreigner then walked over to the thug with the knife in his shoulder and picked him up by the throat.

"You're crazier than she is!" the thug yelled.

"I know. Now, tell me everything you know. The weapons transfer. What are you planning on doing with all that? Anything you know about the Kingpin! Any remote thing you remember. Or I'll dismantle every single bone in your body. Slowly," Foreigner threatened.

"Pl-please! You don't know him! The shit he'll do and the lengths he'll go-"

The Foreigner threw the thug against the wall, cracking part of it as the thug screamed in pain. Foreigner pulled out his rifle and walked over to the thug, aiming it point blank at him.

"Five. Four. Three…" the Foreigner started to menacingly count.

"Okay, okay! Recently, the big boss started having us collect some of your guys' weapons and tech after shootouts. They've been trying to reverse engineer it all. Take it apart and modify it with our own shit," the panicking thug confessed.

"What for?!"

"To take you guys out! To compete! Look at the guns you guys got, it's a bunch of Terminator shit! The big guy was thinking that could be great for us. Please! That's all I know! I swear to God, don't hurt me!"

Yelling in anger, the Foreigner smacked the thug in the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking him out. Storming outside to the truck, the Foreigner opened the truck to find crates. Opening them, Foreigner found an assortment of damaged and recovered Sable technology, gear, and weaponry. Furious, Foreigner called Sable through his earpiece.

"Sable. One of the thugs revealed to me that our weapons are being recovered at the shootouts. They're trying to reverse engineer it to use for themselves and take us out. I'm looking at a shipment of some of our stuff as we speak," the Foreigner explained.

"Unbelievable. We've always taken the maximum efforts to clean our tracks after our missions," Sable pointed out. "How could they have-"

"It's like I said before. As much as we hate this guy to his core, the man has his rep for a reason. Even with everything we've got, think about the resources these people have that we don't even know about."

"I have to just remind myself that these bastards are gonna lose everything by the end of this all. There's no other way nor outcome with what everything's been leading to."

"Either way, we're going to have to get creative. For now, what do I do with this tech? Should I-"

The Foreigner started to notice two trucks driving up to the building from a distance.

"Shit, they brought backup. One sec," Foreigner said in the earpiece.

"Kris-" Sable started.

Foreigner turned off the earpiece and pulled out his rifle. He ran to the side of the building and started shooting the trucks. A few beams took out the tires of one of them, and the truck started swerving. Foreigner fired a few more shots, causing the truck to crash into the building. The second truck drove over and five thugs came out, holding guns, baseball bats, or metal rods. Foreigner started shooting at the thugs, who all jumped out of the way or behind the truck. Once Foreigner had to reload on ammo, he ran back behind the building. Before he could refill, the thugs came in and started shooting at Foreigner. Foreigner blocked off his face with his bulletproof gloved fist, with his equally bulletproof armor also blocking off some gunshots. Foreigner then swiftly threw some shurikens at the thugs with guns, causing them to drop their weapons in pain.

"Get him!" one of the thugs yelled, swinging his baseball bat at the Foreigner.

Foreigner dodged the bat swing and grabbed it, kicking the thug in the knee and taking the bat from him. Foreigner smacked the thug in the arm with the bat and threw it at another thug, knocking him out. Another thug ran over to the Foreigner with a metal rod, only for the latter to get down and sweep his leg. The fourth thug grabbed Foreigner from behind, though Foreigner backed him up against the building and elbowed him in the face, breaking out of his grasp. One of the thugs got up from the ground and threw a punch, which Foreigner dodged and countered with three punches to the ribs and a kick to the face. One of the thugs on the ground tried reaching for a gun, only for the Foreigner to kick him in the face, knocking him out.

"You guys didn't even make this a challenge," Foreigner mocked.

A loud whistle was then heard, and Foreigner turned in the direction of it. However, he was met with and sent flying a few feet back by a vibrational shockwave. Groaning, Foreigner looked up to see a thug walking towards him. An African-American man in his early thirties, the thug had a little blood running down the side of his face, and was wearing a black armored vest and a mechanically advanced gauntlet on his right hand.

"Great? Now what?" Foreigner sighed as he started to get up.

"Everyone else in that truck is dead because of your psycho ass," the thug angrily responded.

"Funny enough, I recall you all shooting at me first."

"Because you all started this shit in the first place. We were doing just fine, minding our own business. Takin' you out alone will definitely make my life easier."

The thug shot another shockwave towards the Foreigner, who barely jumped out of the way. Foreigner quickly pulled out a blaster and started shooting at the thug, who ran out of the way. Foreigner ran over to his rifle, grabbed it, and quickly reloaded it. Foreigner ran around the building, only for the thug to not be in sight. However, a shockwave hit the Foreigner from behind, sending him flying forward. Getting up, Foreigner turned around to see the thug approaching him. The Foreigner tried to grab his rifle, only for the thug to deliver an electrically charged punch to the Foreigner's chest, knocking him further back.

"That gauntlet looks eerily similar," the Foreigner remarked.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," the thug scoffed.

Angered, the Foreigner threw a few shuriken at the gauntlet, with one hitting the thug's arm.

"Gah! Bastard!" the thug yelled as he waved his arm in pain.

The gauntlet started acting up, prompting the thug to hit it. Foreigner then ran over, punched the thug across the face, and performed a hip toss to throw him to the ground.

"You talk too much, anyone ever tell you that?" the Foreigner asked, genuinely annoyed.

At that point, sirens could be heard as police cruisers were heard pulling up.

"Shit," Foreigner muttered, pulling out a smoke bomb and throwing it on the ground.

The entire area was enraptured in heavy smoke as the Foreigner pulled out his grapnel gun and made his escape. As eight police officers ran towards the smoke, a vibrational shockwave sent them flying back, with two of them crashing against the cruisers. Eventually, two of the cops got up from the ground and searched through the smoke, only for there to be no one.

Underground in the Wild Pack's base, Kris had finished catching Sable up on everything in the medbay.

"Our own technology. Weaponry. Those cowards can't even rely on their own tech," Sable ranted.

"Exploitation isn't exactly something Fisk and those animals are opposed to. That gauntlet alone was definitely one of our soldiers' gloves, just modified. No doubt about it," Kris admitted.

Sable put her hand to her face. "God."

"It'll make no difference. We designed that technology ourselves and nobody else will be better able to counter that than their makers. They're real arrogant if they think they can make our tech better," Kris affirmed.

Sable rubbed her arm. "Damn right. Either way, thank you for your service out there tonight."

Kris nodded. "Just the job."

"Also, I genuinely mean it when I say that I'm already starting to feel slightly better. Bruises and cuts have been mildly healing up, and none of my bones were even broken."

"One of the benefits of peak human conditioning."

"Tell me about it. Speaking of, I'm still struggling to comprehend what that guy from the other night is made of."

"The one who shot out the webs?"

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, his combat is more than rusty, but he definitely has above-average strength and agility. And for a child, too," Sable pointed out.

"Well, in a world with Gods throwing lightning bolts and Tony Stark flying around in a robot suit, I don't doubt anything anymore," Kris admitted.

"That's my point, though. Usually, he'd come off as some adolescent trying to act like an Avenger. Forget about how he potentially got his powers, he mentioned something about the Kingpin taking everything from him as well."

"That clears it up. I mean, it speaks more volumes about how many lives Fisk has destroyed, but he's probably just trying to get revenge like we are."

"Maybe, but I don't know. There was still something peculiar about him."

"Either way, he might still have our drive. We'll definitely have to catch him out on the streets."

Sable shook her head. "That little naive soul probably turned it into the authorities. And if we haven't heard anything in the media by now, one of Fisk's rats definitely took care of it already."

Kris groaned. "God. Either way, we'll turn things around. I still say that spider guy is someone we gotta keep an eye on, though."

"No doubt. We'll have to take the next few weeks to strategize. No need to risk losing any more of the pack. Either way, it takes no genius to realize we're in for a shitshow," Sable nonchalantly remarked.

"So, to recap. Drive was taken in by one of our officers. Then, one of our shipments was attacked, with some of our men killed. The rest were taken in, but as usual, we'll make sure they don't talk," Wesley said on the phone to the Kingpin, driving home at one in the morning. "Foreigner's got his own sense of crazy, but I gotta admit, Herman put up a fight."

"So, good and bad news. And that thug who ratted on us?" the Kingpin's voice asked over the phone.

"Adrian took care of him already. Made it slow like you instructed. What do we do with the tech at this point?"

"We'll worry about it later. They've got an army and we have several. Though I am curious why Schultz was particularly so passionate tonight."

"I mean, Herman's always been a sentimental guy. Preaching about the crew sticking together and all that. I won't deny how impressive it is that he even managed to land a few hits on the Foreigner. Could be useful."

"What are you trying to propose?"

"I looked back at Schultz' background check. Electrical engineering degree from Empire State, four years in the Marine Corps, three charges for theft. On top of all those credentials, Schultz has been an astounding security chief the past five years. And he's certainly been one of our best dealers and smugglers. Adrian couldn't make it over to the attack on time tonight 'cause he got caught up with a major weapons deal in Manhattan. Which went well, by the way. My point is, we could use another big gun other than Adrian, and I think Schultz put up a more than decent audition tonight," Wesley proposed.

"All valid points. As usual, I respect the dedication, but these things could always very easily go south. Remember when we had the Enforcers a couple years ago? And when that red bastard from Hell's Kitchen took them out?" Fisk's voice pointed out.

"Yeah, and you remember how we dealt with him afterward. Besides, this Symkarian technology is pretty damn advanced, and Tinkerer could work with Schultz and his degree to keep upgrading that thing."

"I'm not denying that it's a decent idea. However, the past month has reminded me that risks still need to be considered."

"That's true. But at this point, we also need all the firepower we can get. Multiplying the mass armies we already have will guarantee everything for us. This is our second attack in the past few days, we need everything and everyone now."

Around thirty seconds passed, and Fisk's voice finally responded. "Okay. If there's anybody's judgment I trust, it's always been yours. Next week, you and Adrian will take Schultz out for dinner. Discuss everything and lay it out front. Until then, send a message to every clan we have. The Irish, the Yakuza, the Sicilians, all of them. Excluding Sable, any associate of that pack will be immediately killed on sight. Same goes for that freak with the webs. They are not going to win this war."

At the end of the week, Peter sat in his Spanish class, looking up updates on Wilson Fisk as he had done every day. Still nothing.

"And next, we'll be discussing Pablo Escobar in that unit. In the one after that, transitional dances and foods and-" Señora Wood rambled.

Peter took his phone and texted Harry.

PETER PARKER: Hey bro we've been talkin ab it for weeks and it still hasn't happened yet

PETER PARKER: We actually gotta hang for real soon

HARRY OSBORN: Ayyyy facts. Wanna go get food or see a movie this weekend?

PETER PARKER: Sure, sounds like a plan!

"Alright, class! You're dismissed, just make sure to read the next five pages in the textbook and continue to communicate with your partner about your project!"

The class got up to pack their stuff and leave, and Peter managed to catch Liz as she walked out of the classroom.

"Hey, Liz!" Peter said.

Liz turned to Peter with a smile. "Hey, Peter!"

"How's your end of the project going?"

"Pretty well! I started drawing out ideas for a board or poster. Hopefully, it'll turn out pretty! How about you?"

"I've done a decent amount of research. I could probably be doing more, but I'll get it all figured out!"

"Sounds good! You got any plans for the weekend?"

"Uhhhh, I'm hanging out with a friend!"

"Ooh, who?"

"You- you know Harry Osborn?"

"Oh, Norman Oshorn's son? Yeah, I've seen him around before. He's pretty cute."

"Oh. I mean, yeah, he's a really great dude. We're hanging this weekend, getting some food."

"That sounds fun! I'm going out with friends to the city."

"Downtown?"

"Yeah! I usually do it once or twice a month. It's always fun getting to just walk and explore Manhattan."

"For sure. I gotta head this way, but I'll see you next week!"

"See you!"

Peter turned to the right, and Liz walked over to meet Flash and Rand.

"S'up, boys?" Liz greeted.

"Hey, Liz," Rand responded.

"Why you hangin' out with that weirdo?" Flash chuckled.

Rand punched Flash's arm.

"Oh, I mean, we're just partners for a project in class," Liz answered. "So we've been talkin' about that."

"Parker really ain't that bad. You just shit on him way too much," Rand said to Flash.

"Dude's pretentious and a weirdo. And he made me look like an idiot in gym," Flash vented. "Swear to God, when I see the guy next-"

"I mean… he's pretty funny," Liz added.

"Yeah, maybe you should've taken that nerd to Homecoming instead," Flash joked.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

In the Osborns' penthouse, Harry was sitting on a couch in the living room, watching TV. Norman came in, looking visibly stressed.

"Dad? Everything alright?" Harry asked.

"What do you think? On top of the fact that my research with the spiders has regressed, certain parts of the military contract have gotten complicated. The company has to be at its peak whenever virtually possible. If you try to argue anything less, you'll pick up the misconception that mistakes are simply just something to learn from," Norman ranted.

"So if you make a mistake… it what? Defines you?" Harry asked.

"Not necessarily. There's the argument that everyone makes them, but it's completely possible to make significantly less than the average man. In this business where you have to fight for your spot and survival, bad decisions aren't affordable."

"Uhh, yeah. I gotcha. Makes sense."

"Trust me, son. I've become more than an expert in this business. In more ways than one. When you've been doing this as long as I have, and when you've taken the highest effort to get the experiences I have… you learn things. And I didn't have to do that by making any idiotic mistakes. You rebuild yourself. And you adapt. You have to be the king."

"Sounds great, dad. I'll keep that in mind."

"How are you doing with everything in school?"

"Well, I got A's in everything, including bio and geometry. Eh, I mean, I guess I got a B in world history," Harry answered.

"Alright, not bad," Norman admitted. "Obviously bring that B up. But not bad."

"I mean, I did get A's in the subjects most relevant to the stuff you do."

"Sure, but it's like we just talked about. Always be at your peak whenever you can. The more you know over anyone else, it's never anything less than an advantage."

"Okay, I gotcha. Well, I got plans with someone this weekend. It cool if I still go to that?"

"I don't care. What's the kid's name?"

"Peter. I brought him up to you before. The guy who was at the exhibit. The one I've been talking with," Harry explained.

"Oh, yes. Yeah, kid sounds like a genius based on what you told me. Hang with him, definitely won't hurt you," Norman chuckled.

"I bet."

That Saturday night, Aunt May drove Peter up to the Hillcrest movie theater in Queens.

"Alright, sweetie. Have fun," Aunt May encouraged, pulling out two twenty dollar bills from her purse. "Here's some money for food and drinks."

"My God, May. No, I can't-" Peter started to protest.

"Don't go there with me, Peter. You've worked so hard since everything that's happened. And you deserve to have fun tonight. Especially since you're actually hanging with a friend."

"I don't deserve you, May."

Aunt May smiled. "Yes you do. Seriously, have a great night. You've really earned it."

Peter hugged his aunt. "Thanks a lot, May. Love you."

"Love you too. Now have fun!"

"Will do."

Peter got out of the car and walked into the theater, texting Harry. The smell of popcorn and butter instantly hit Peter's nose, and the theater itself was decently crowded.

PETER PARKER: Hey just got here

HARRY OSBORN: Bet. Gonna be there in a few min

A few minutes later, Harry came into the theater.

"S'up, bro?" Harry greeted, giving Peter a fist bump.

"Hey, man," Peter responded as the two got in line. "Do you know what you wanna see yet? I mean, I looked at all the movies before this and we got some options."

Harry shrugged. "Honestly, I'm pretty open to whatever got great reviews."

Peter walked up and looked at the showtimes. "Hmmm."

The Glory of Speed - PG

Joe Striker, Part II - R

Rogers: A First Avenger - PG-13

Mystical Island and the Fire Ponies - G

Me and Her and the 67-Year-Old Neighbor - PG

Dark Descent - R

The Battle of Jupiter - PG-13

Cigarette Ashes - PG-13

"I mean, I've heard decent things about The Battle of Jupiter. Or we could see Rogers or 67-Year-Old Neighbor," Peter suggested.

"I mean, maybe… but I kinda got an idea," Harry admitted.

"Yeah?"

"You know how people at school were talkin' about that trailer for Dark Descent?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, it's got amazing reviews so far. That the one about the mom who gets possessed and tries to kill her own kid?"

"May I say any less on why we gotta see it?"

"As much as I'd love to, it's R rated and we're literally fifteen," Peter pointed out.

"Easy. We buy tickets for Battle of Jupiter and sneak into the movie," Harry suggested.

"Sheesh, bro. What if we get caught?"

"Worst case scenario, they tell us to leave or just make us go to the movie we paid for. Seriously, let's just mess around a little tonight."

"Why, 'cause we're teenagers?"

"That, and dude, that trailer looked freakin' terrifying. We HAVE to see that shit. You could brag to Liz about it."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, she'll totally date me for sneaking into an R rated movie for the first time."

"My first time too. Let's just do it, bro," Harry encouraged.

"Screw it. Sure."

"Sick. Also, tickets are on me,"

"No way, man. Seriously, that's nice of you, but you really don't have to."

"My treat, bro. One of the perks of being the son of Norman Osborn."

"Well, if you insist, man. I appreciate it, seriously," Peter thanked.

Harry nodded. "Of course."

The two made it to the ticket booth.

"Welcome to the Hillcrest, what are you guys seeing tonight?" the theater employee asked.

"Two to Battle of Jupiter," Harry stated, giving the employee a credit card.

The employee swiped the card and printed out two tickets, handing them to Harry. "Enjoy your movie."

Harry took the tickets. "Thank you."

Peter gave the employee a nod as he and Harry walked over to the concessions area.

"Want to just get a large popcorn to share?" Harry asked.

"Sure. I can cover that and soda since you paid for tickets," Peter offered.

"You sure, bro?"

"Yeah, definitely. I'll give you some cash and I can go into the theater first. Just so it's not as sus."

"Okay, sounds good. And thanks, bro."

Peter handed Harry a twenty and headed off to the theaters. While his ticket was for theater 7, Peter saw that the showing for Dark Descent was in theater 5. Peter walked up to the usher, who ripped his ticket.

"Theater five," the usher said.

Peter nodded. "Thanks."

Peter walked across the mildly crowded hallway, with his heart pounding a little bit. He pretended to go near theater 7, only to quickly approach theater 5.

"Hey, wait!"

Peter turned to see the usher walking in his direction. However, the usher instead approached two middle school aged boys outside of theater 6.

"What are you guys doing outside of Joe Striker? Let me see your tickets," the usher demanded.

Peter quickly rushed into theater 5 at that point. He went up to see that the theater was mostly crowded. Peter found a few empty seats in the middle rows and sat down, quickly texting Harry.

PETER PARKER: Inside. Get seat G8. Hurry your ass up, I almost got caught

HARRY OSBORN: Oh shit bet, be there soon

As the previews went on, Peter anxiously waited for a few more minutes before Harry came into the theater and started approaching his seat. Instantly relieved, Peter took the popcorn and large Sprite from Harry as the latter sat down.

"Bro, we actually did it," Peter whispered.

"Hell yeah we did. You feeling a thrill?" Harry asked.

"Not even gonna lie, yeah," Peter admitted.

Harry pulled out two small boxes of Peanut M&M's from his jacket and handed one to Peter. "Guess how much I paid for these?"

"You snuck 'em in, didn't you?"

"Never hurts to save money. Now let's see how scary this shit actually is."

"Can I confess something real quick?"

"What's up?"

"I actually feel pretty happy now," Peter admitted.

Harry smirked. "Good."

The previews ended, and the movie started as all the lights went off in the theater.

Wow, it's been over a MONTH since I last updated. I do severely apologize for that. Truth be told, writer's block and being busy with other things in life can serve as a pretty nasty combo. In terms of things in my personal life, I'm actually about to end my last class ever of graduate school, and over a week ago, I passed my internship! It was literally the best experience and people ever, and they made it an amazing last day for me. It's an indescribable feeling being told I made a difference, and that's something I want to capture in this story. Real adulting and getting a job is about to start soon, yeesh.

I know I've said this before, but I do want to up the speed on getting some of these chapters out. Especially after this longer break. I obviously have taken my time to not rush things with the storytelling and characters, but I also do think I could be getting them out in a slightly faster manner. I really do want to stress again that this'll be a more different Spider-Man tale than you're used to.

I am REALLY going to try to get Chapter 8 out sooner. It'll definitely be sooner than a month, I'll say that. We're only going to further build up towards the climax of this year, and you'll definitely see more hints into the overarching narrative of the entire story. Until then, favs, follows, and reviews are always appreciated. And thank you for the continued support!

-redbirds12