Chapter 5 [A/N: More developing scenarios…Love when multiple cooks get involved with a soup. By the way, in this chapter, "deWolff" is the commissioner and "Jean" is Lieutenant deWolff.]

[Stacy Residence]

Gwen shivered. Mist and fog surrounded her. Dimples pock-marked her skin. Humidity dampened her hair. "Peter? Mrs. Kent? Lana? Are you okay?" She groped at the concealing fog.

"Gwen? Gwen, is that you?" Martha called back through the fog.

"Mrs. Kent? Gosh! This makes no sense! Who let the dry ice loose in there?" Gwen turned her head toward where she heard Martha's voice. "Just holler! I'll find you."

"I'm right here!" Martha called back to her. "Clark! Lana!" Panic and fear strummed maternal instincts. "Are you all right?" Is this something that Jor-El would do? Silhouette appeared in thinning fog. Then, a warm breeze blew it away. Her feet felt concrete underneath them. Streetlights flickered overhead. Instead of the museum, she beheld an unfamiliar street and houses all around herself. "Where are we? Gwen?" Shock widened her eyes.

"This is my Dad's house!" Gwen scratched her head. "Are you okay, Mrs. Kent? How'd we get back here? This is so weird! Come on. Let's get inside. We can call for help in there." She fished for her keys.

"Help? Gwen, I don't think regular police can handle that." Martha followed Gwen up the stairs. What pulled us out of there but left the kids and the others behind? "Where are we?"

"We're in Queens." Gwen unlocked the door. "Dad?" She opened it. "Come in, Mrs. Kent. Just close it behind us please. He should be here. Probably in his study." She took her coat off and hung it up in the closet. "I'll get your coat in just a minute."

"Gwen?" Stacy limped out into the main area. "What in…? Mrs. Kent? I thought you were at the museum?" He efforted himself toward the table. "Where are Peter and the others?"

"Dad, there's something going on at the museum! Remember what we talked about after Miranda's step…whatever threatened Peter?" Gwen shook her head. "Agents Petersen and Singleton was trying to get his fellow agents and the officers. Nothing was getting through. Then, Mrs. Kent and I were surrounded by this weird mist. Next thing I know, I'm right outside. I hear and then see Mrs. Kent right with me. Peter's still back there! So's Miranda, Clark, Lana and this really cool Princess from somewhere in the Middle East. I tried to call out to Peter…but you know how he is!" She shook her head.

He rubbed his chin. "Peter went to get his news story." Or maybe to get Spider-Man? Theories continued to coalesce in his mind. "Gwen, he is a photographer. That is his job. He knows how to keep his head down. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad Mrs. Kent is here. However, I'm concerned about our visitors. That Princess is under threat. You just said that those agents were cut off. That is very concerning. I know what Lieutenant DeWolff and I had to talk with you, Mrs. Kent, earlier. Right now, I just know that your son and the others are in the middle of that mess. We were threatened earlier tonight." He picked up the wall phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Commissioner, this is George Stacy. My apologies about the late call. Have you been following the situation at the Metropolitan Museum tonight?" Stacy eased himself into his seat.

"Situation? So far, everything's been quiet. FBI's running point. I have a dozen of my best officers around that sword. There shouldn't be a problem. Stacy, I don't need any hunches!" deWolff brought his fist down on the table next to himself.

"Hunches? Ask Jean. We were threatened earlier tonight right outside the door. Hansei Arighatto confronted Peter Parker. Now, I just heard from my daughter and Martha Kent that there's trouble at the Met. You haven't heard from our people onsite because they can't answer. We have serious diplomatic crises with the Japanese and Javalastani consulates brewing. We have a museum full of potential hostages." Stacy set his jaw.

"I do have a city full of other things going on." deWolff fumed over Stacy's words. "I'll personally try again if nothing comes over the microphone in the next fifteen minutes. Thanks for your concern. I'll fill you in if we hear anything." With that, he hung up.

"Unbelievable." Stacy hung up the phone. "We could be sitting on a diplomatic powder keg!" He slumped back into his chair.

"So, he's not going to do anything?" Martha rubbed her forehead. "My son, his girlfriend and their friends are in there. I knew those two agents back when they were in high school! Miranda's been waiting all her life for this moment. And now what? Arighatto apparently takes her again? Other important people are in there!"

"We can call Jean! She can drive by there. I know Peter's a photographer. I just want him to be okay!" Gwen heard the phone ring. "Please let it be Peter! Hello?"

"Gwen? What the Hell are you doing back there?" Jean looked at her microphone. Then, she regarded the Met's front stairs and entrance again. She watched the evacuees streaming out of the museum. "I've been trying to reach my father. This is nuts. The museum's alarm system is going off. People are rushing out of their like rats off of a sinking ship."

"Are Peter and the others we met earlier there?" Gwen pressed.

"I can't see them. I'm sorry. Can you put your Dad on? I still want to know how you're back there." Jean watched the former patrons' progress toward cars and the subway.

"For you. It's Jean." Gwen handed the phone to her father. "I need some tea. Mrs. Kent?"

"I'd like some. Thank you, Gwen." Martha bit her lip. What do I tell Jonathan? It's not Gwen's or my fault that we're back here. What was that fog? How did it get us back here? Who did this? Why didn't they bring the others?

"Coming right up!" Gwen looked toward him. Now what have you got yourself into, Peter? And here we thought this was a safe assignment? UGH! She filled the kettle and set it on the stove. Who is that Arighatto guy? What does he want with Peter and the others? Can't they arrest him for abuse? Miranda deserves better than him.

"Jean? Where are you? Gwen and Martha Kent are here with me. They just showed up. None of us know how it happened. I just spoke with your father. He'll be checking in…" Stacy started.

"He'll be checking in? We have a full-blown panic here. Alarms are going off inside the building. People are rushing out. I can't reach my father. 911's put me on hold." Jean pushed her beret up on her head. "I can't believe him!" Issues and implications ran through her mind. "Without his authority, I can't patch through to the FBI."

"I know." Stacy's frown curled in on itself. Could this be Arighatto? He has the connections and ties to hold up law enforcement. "Keep trying him. Stay in touch. Thank you." He hung up. "We have a crisis out front of the museum. People are rushing out the door. She can't tell if the others are there with them or not."

"We had to go there tonight. I thought it'd be fun for them. I wanted to go myself," Martha lamented.

"Peter and I wanted to go too. Who knew?" Gwen set tea bags into three mugs. Then she poured the kettle into them.

The waiting game was on….