A/N: This fic spawned from a couple of different factors, but to summarize it, Peter Parker needs a freaking friend and I want to show Ultimate Spider-Man some love, because I don't see much centered around that continuity in terms of fanfics.
And I mean the original 2000s run of the comics.
And the character of Spider-Man also played a big part of John's development, admittedly, so I'd like to think this is my way of trying to pay tribute, regardless of how worthwhile the attempt may be.
Anyway, the general idea is to put some focus on the harsh reality of superheroes without taking away from who the characters are. I have no set idea for ending this story, and it's mainly just here for me to work on whenever I feel the inspiration arise. But this first chapter sets up the premise easy enough.
I'll admit, for any hardcore comic fans reading this, my knowledge on the Ultimate Marvel Universe is minimal outside of Ultimate Spider-Man, mainly because I've only heard the bad about those comics, so if anything doesn't add-up with official canon... that's why.
That said, on with the story.
This has been a recurring theme as of late. It almost made MJ laugh.
Almost.
Once again, Peter Parker was nowhere to be seen. It felt like it had been forever since she'd gotten to talk to the nerd, and the last time she remembered actually talking to him was at the wrestling match.
Nowadays, Peter seems to have disappeared from school, and MJ barely gets any chance to talk to him anymore. The last talk they had was when she'd asked if he wanted to study on Friday.
He'd switched to Saturday for some reason.
That was another thing… Peter was not one to keep secrets, but MJ didn't have a clue as to what was causing all of the weirdness that he was pulling because he wouldn't say anything.
And Harry didn't seem interested in anything anymore. Perhaps trouble in paradise, the redhead would assume.
So with no plans and no set goal for that night, and her homework done as usual, MJ had stepped outside and found herself simply strolling down the sidewalk with an absent mind and no destination planned.
That should be rare… but lately, it happened more often than not.
"This stinks." MJ's foot kicked a pebble in frustration. She and Peter were best friends, they've known each other since they were kids, and MJ still hasn't been able to talk to him.
Her eyes raised with a sigh, choosing to instead focus on the sight of the orange sky above as she heard the leaves of an occasional tree blow in the wind.
Just herself, her thoughts, and an empty world.
Her eyes flicked back towards the park to her right. Outside of the playground, it also had a decent basketball court for anyone who wanted to play a game with some friends.
In fact…
The redhead's feet began to slow, her pace disappearing entirely as her eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Currently occupying the basketball court was a group of three people, two of whom looked to be MJ's own age. Two guys, a tall one in a flannel and a shorter, more average one in a pair of joggers and no shirt, along with a shorter blonde sitting on the bench to the side.
"Come on, Levi! I thought you said this would be a challenge!" The one in the flannel taunted with a bellowing, gravely voice that was twinged in amusement, as he easily managed to dribble the ball and keep it away from his opponent.
Said opponent, Levi, was currently trying to reach a hand around the taller guy's considerable mass because the one in flannel was a mountain of muscle.
"You're a superhuman, and I definitely don't have the home-field advantage right now!" Levi tried to defend his performance almost immediately.
MJ just watched.
Basketball wasn't really her thing, and it wasn't like she knew any of these people.
But with the bout of loneliness lately, the redhead would still take the demonstration of strangers over the silence.
"Of course, you use that as an excuse." The larger teen chuckled, before swiftly side-stepping out of the Levi guy's barrier bubble and tossing the ball into the air.
Despite being a casual one-handed toss with no set-up whatsoever, the ball cleared the court and still made a perfect landing into the hoop.
Mary-Jane still went unnoticed by the trio, and she felt no instinct to grab their attention at the moment.
"At least they're having fun." The teen mumbled to herself as a bit of jealousy rose.
"I do believe that's three to zero, right?" The blonde on the bench spoke up with a teasing grin as she looked at the two of them.
"You try winning a match against him!" Levi chuckled as he smacked an arm against the other boy's back, earning a throaty laugh in response.
The girl just giggled.
"I live with him now, I struggle enough as it is."
"Ah, fuck you."
Well, that wasn't a very nice thing to say, especially when the joke was just made in good fun.
MJ's impulsive nature almost led her to open her mouth and come to the girl's defense, until she saw the small smile on the aggressor's face.
When the girl's smile only widened, she felt herself relax once more.
Admittedly, watching a couple of strangers began to feel a little weird after what felt like a little too long, and MJ finally turned away.
She was ready to go home. She liked getting out of the house every once in a while, but with nothing to do, it stopped being fun fairly quickly.
"Hey!"
When the voice echoed out, MJ's head swiveled around on instinct from the sheer volume. The sound split through the air like thunder, and the redhead could still hear the echoes.
As the voice faded into non-existence, its owner looked at her with a one-sided grin.
The guy in the flannel.
"What, you stare at your neighbors and then take off?" There was humor in his tone as his game opponent ran to recover the ball, and the blonde now looked at MJ with a surprised smile of her own.
The redhead at least had the decency to look sheepish.
"Sorry." MJ offered, an apologetic smile on her face as she turned back to them fully. "My friends haven't been around lately, I was just bored."
"So come on and join us, then." Once again, the big guy replied quickly and without a second thought, only for his words to earn him a smack on the shoulder from the girl.
"Like she was expecting that." The blonde offered the flannel-clad teen an admonishing look as the one called Levi returned to his spot next to them with the ball in hand.
MJ would admit that she didn't get stage fright, but being the odd one out was still fairly uncomfortable.
Peter must've felt like this quite a lot.
"That's the girl a couple of doors down, isn't it?" Levi's words caused MJ's own eyes to widen in disbelief as he returned from fetching the ball, and it caused the redhead to once again look over the three with a more detailed eye.
…
…
…
Ironically, when it clicked, it was for the two people that still remained nameless.
She still didn't have a name for the big guy, but he and the girl had just moved into the house down the road, on the other side of the Parkers.
MJ hadn't seen them around school yet, but she had seen them outside of the house enough that she was fairly certain she remembered the blonde's name having been spoken at one point or another.
"You're… Maggie?"
The way their lips all tugged up told her that she may have been a little bit incorrect in her guess.
"Close." The blonde rewarded MJ's guess with a hint and a chuckle. "Actually, it's Maddie, but points for only missing two letters."
"I'm John." The big guy finally gave MJ a name to call him as he offered a rough, calloused hand to the redhead.
She smiled at the gesture, and gladly walked over and shook the hand that was offered.
"I'm Mary-Jane, but my friends call me MJ." The redhead introduced herself properly as she came to a stop, smiling at how light the boy's grip was around her own. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." He had a chiseled jaw that was sculpted to perfection and with his size… MJ's first impression so far was a rather nice version of Flash.
"So, what brings you five miles down the road to a one-on-one game?" Well, it was certainly a rather loaded question when worded like that, but MJ chose not to think anything of it as she answered.
"Well, like I said, my friends aren't around right now…"
"Something she did say." Maddie raised a thin eyebrow at the behemoth, a small grin on her face at the behemoth repeating a question.
"Hey, I'm just trying to start some conversation." John put his hands up like he was under fire, a grin of his own tugging at his lips as he chuckled. "Ain't actually talked to the girl yet, thank you."
Unlike the other two, John's voice had a surprisingly heavy southern tang for how clearly his words came out.
It made MJ curious.
"Where are you two from?" She asked, brushing some hair behind her ear as Levi broke away from the conversation, and MJ caught him making his way back to the bench before turning to the remaining two.
"Ohio."
"Bumfuck Egypt."
MJ's eyes widened at the answers, caught off-guard at hearing two very different-sounding answers at the same time.
After a few seconds, of processing the responses, the redhead turned to Maddie, admittedly finding hers easier to reply to.
"Well, welcome to New York." As someone who's lived in Queens all her life, MJ didn't feel the same allure that attracted everyone else to the Big Apple, so it came off as more annoyed than it was.
Something John picked up on.
"Love the enthusiasm." He chuckled, shaking his head as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Take it you ain't the biggest fan?"
"When you live in New York, you've seen it all." MJ reasoned with a small shrug as Levi chose that moment to return, now sporting a white undershirt.
"Wait till you have to live with him, and then say that." Maddie teased, flicking a thin finger towards her six-foot companion as she flashed him a smirk.
"That's not what you're saying when you cuddle up to me in the middle of the night."
"Don't say it like that!" The blue-eyed girl screeched it through the black as she gave the bigger boy a pretty heavy hit.
At least, that's what she assumed. At first glance, MJ was of similar size to Maddie, after all.
"You'll make people think we're dating.
Still, John took it in stride with nothing more than another loud laugh at his friend's expense.
"Hey, if you ain't doing anything, wanna hang out with us?" Levi suddenly offered, offering a small smile to the redhead as he gestured to himself and his two companions.
The offer came out of left field, and it took MJ a moment to reply.
Not that her answer was a confirmation or denial of any kind.
"I appreciate it, but I don't want to bug."
"You're walking out here by yourself because your friends are busy." Maddie didn't hesitate to call her out on that fact. "And it's never too late for a new friend."
Following her declaration, MJ admittedly turned with the blonde and the short-haired basketball player towards John to hear his input.
Admittedly, if he said no for any reason, she would probably leave it at that.
But the blue-eyed boy simply looked at both of his friends' cheeky gazes, before letting what MJ was beginning to believe was a very familiar laugh escape.
"If you missed it," John began as he came down from his laughter, uncrossing his arms. "That means you missed your chance to run." He joked as he flicked a heavy finger down the road.
"Oh, shut up." Maddie waved him away as she rolled her eyes, and the bigger boy obeyed with a chuckle as he backed away.
MJ would admit that her eyes lingered on him longer than she'd have liked.
His flannel spun around his waist as he twisted himself to face the opposite direction, and the student could still see his shoulders shaking in amusement as Levi walked up behind him and offered a friendly slap to the back.
"And he's got you."
That voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts, and MJ twisted her head to the source in surprise.
She found Maddie, staring at her with a pair of crossed arms and an amused grin on her face.
It took a moment for the redhead to catch up.
"Oh, no, sorry!" MJ immediately apologized, offering a similar smile to go with the words as she met the blonde's eyes. "I didn't mean to stare."
"Mary-Jane, do you know how many girls have eyed him up since he got his powers?"
That caused her to perk up, and she suddenly remembered Levi's words from the game at that moment. Something he'd said to John.
"You're the superhuman!"
"Get that look off your face before I smack it off."
The suddenly hostile tone in the originally kind blonde's voice caused MJ to actually step out of her thoughts, it felt like.
Maddie's soft, round features had hardened into a glare, and she didn't look the least bit happy.
MJ didn't know what to feel except…
"What?"
"All I heard was smack it off." Suddenly, the source of whatever had just sprung up between the two girls re-entered the conversation, as John quickly stepped between the two girls out of nowhere.
MJ gasped when he swiftly brushed her behind him.
He was gentle, that much was abundantly clear. So much so that it almost made Mary-Jane forget about how easily he moved her.
"Woah, hey, what the fuck's going on?" MJ was actually thankful for Levi's return as she peered over John's shoulder. Hopefully, he brought some semblance of peace back.
She watched as the athlete brought a hand to Maddie's shoulder, and only after sharing a glance with the behemoth did MJ turn away.
She took a step back as John turned around, still shooting a look of concern at Maddie, before finally facing MJ herself with a confused frown.
"What happened?"
He didn't sound accusatory… but MJ could only focus on one thing.
"You're a superhuman?"
It came out frightened, the only way it really could right now.
She'd heard enough about what mutants could do, and then there were the likes of the Ultimates… she'd never thought about how terrifying superhumans were in comparison until she'd met one for herself.
Almost immediately after uttering the words, MJ mentally kicked herself for that one. If he wasn't pissed before, that was a good way of doing it.
But to her surprise, that wasn't what she got.
At her words… well, John's overall reaction was minimal, to say the least. His eyes narrowed in confusion, before relaxing as his eyelids slowly opened in disbelief.
"Okay, one, you walked up before Levi outright said that, shouldn't be a damn shock."
MJ… opened her mouth.
She… closed her mouth.
Considering she'd already had that though, she wasn't sure how to respond under that piercing blue gaze. Especially when it was John himself pointing it out.
"And two are you fuc-king ser-i-ous?!" His throat roared with each syllable at Maddie.
MJ was genuinely surprised at how swiftly he twisted stunned disbelief into complete outrage, as his knees bent harshly in frustration.
"But she-"
"No!"
"But-!"
"No!"
"QUIT INTERRUPTING ME!"
"NO! NO EXCUSES!"
At this point, MJ had simply walked off to the side as she watched the exchange until she was standing next to Levi.
She gasped when she bumped into him and took a step back as she flashed him an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry if offended-"
"Oh, stop, okay?" Levi didn't let her finish, raising his hand mid-sentence to stop her as he flashed the redhead a small smile.
MJ took in a deep breath, a bit of anger rising at being interrupted, but she calmed herself and offered him a still-apologetic smile.
"Look, I know John said his peace before he started a screaming match with Maddie,"
They were loud, that was certain. MJ couldn't even hear the words at this point, and she was only a few feet away.
But Levi's correct assumption was still surprising to hear.
"And chances are, when they're done and she apologizes, John will be the first to tell you about how your fears aren't unfounded."
Levi paused after he finished, looking at MJ with a small grin on his face.
There was… something, not just about his confidence in him, but of all the factors that had led him to say that.
And what MJ struggled with wasn't the build-up.
No, no, that belonged solely from the pay-off.
Because she'd obviously read the word before… but she hadn't even heard anyone outside of a teacher ever say the word unfounded.
"What?"
Her cherry-red lips fell loose in a disbelieving smile.
"No, I'm serious." Levi shook his head in amusement as he shot a smile toward his still-arguing friends.
"He'll…" MJ laughed as she tried to even think of what John would do, even as she took a step closer to the athlete. "… what, he'll actually say that?"
"Oh, he has a whole speech." Levi admitted as he gave MJ a wide-eyed side-eye.
Before his features softened.
"All to tell you that he understands."
MJ's smile faded when he said that.
Her eyes widened as his remained.
"You're serious?"
"Girl, either way, you have to get used to him." Levi pointed out with a chuckle as he shook his head, before flashing MJ a friendly smile.
MJ thought about that for a moment… and then nodded.
"He does live three doors down." She conceded his point with a small grin on her lips as she met his hazel eyes.
"HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP DOWN THERE!"
A new, louder, much older voice cut through the air, causing MJ to admittedly jump as if she'd been a part of the shouting.
She regretted even being present a second later.
"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU OLD BASTARD!"
That… was John.
Just as loud.
No longer looking at Maddie.
Rather… marching towards a picket fence.
"No, NO!"
"Hey, JOHN, NO! UH-UH, NO!"
Yeah, no, MJ was done with any further involvement.
…
…
"Hey, No, WAIT, THAT FENCE DID NOTHING TO YOU!"
"That fence did nothing to you?"
MJ pouted even as John laughed to his heart's content in the front seat, actually smacking the wheel in amusement as he rattled like a train. Meanwhile, Levi looked at her from the other side of the back seat, and the redhead could see a smile breaking through on the blonde in the passenger seat.
"What did you expect me to do, push?"
"Naw, that's what they were doing! Ha-ha!" Well, if anything, MJ was glad to have made the behemoth laugh like the Joker. His accent was far thicker in his amusement.
"I'm with him, because… what the heck?!" Levi's own sentence was promptly followed by another bout of laughter as MJ's frown deepened.
"Okay, you've made your point." She didn't hesitate to let the annoyance show as she sighed the words out, meeting John's eyes in the rearview mirror.
Blue eyes met hers for only a moment…but the laughter did cease, morphing into a chuckle before it died out.
A frown took its place only a moment later.
"Maddie…"
MJ's eyes widened at the annoyance in his tone and was utterly blindsided by the blonde's regretful sigh.
"I'm sorry for acting the way I did." Maddie finally turned her head, and MJ met a pair of surprisingly genuine eyes. "And for threatening you."
"Threatening me? You didn't threaten me." MJ was tired of all the confusion already.
"Smacking and punching is the same thing to these two." Levi gladly clarified that little mind puzzle for her. "I'm from Portsmouth, myself, but these two don't know much about living in a city."
"Motherfucker that smacks me will be getting the shit knocked out of them." John didn't hesitate to comment from the front seat.
It was still so random…
MJ opted to not even participate in the conversation anymore.
"Anyway…" Maddie's voice still managed to catch the redhead's attention regardless, and she slowly turned back to face the blonde.
The thin teen shot a glare at the driver, before turning back to Mary-Jane with a far more soft and familiar expression.
"John hasn't been a superhuman for very long… and he's already had a hard life."
"Oh good lord, let's not get into all that." MJ was surprised by how easily he waved off Maddie's words, the driver's seat vibrating as low, heavy chuckles of amusement escaped him. "We don't want to scare the poor girl."
The redhead was honestly more focused on what Maddie had said. He hadn't been a superhuman for very long?
"Um…" Her voice caught the attention of all current companies, but MJ remained undaunted as she looked at John in the mirror. "I do have a few questions if that's alright."
"Ask away," John answered with a small grin tugging at his lips.
"What kind of powers do you have?"
"Super-strength and accelerated healing." He answered with a small shrug as if that wasn't so impressive.
Having powers by any definition was impressive to the redhead.
"Well, and I suppose there's an adaptation gimmick to the healing. A little splinter could make me ten times stronger if it could break skin somehow."
Ah, there was the catch. So MJ couldn't even begin to fathom how strong the teen in the front seat was.
"Next?" He offered a quick glance and a curious smile of his own as he beckoned for her next question.
"What is it like?" MJ didn't know any superhumans or mutants personally, but being a superhero still sounded pretty cool to her.
"What?" John's voice was nothing short of genuinely confused, and his face twisted as he struggled to grasp the meaning of her words. "What, do you mean like day-to-day life, or are you asking for some superhero bullshit?"
MJ's eyes widened at his words, rolling back and forth as she processed that. A superhuman that didn't like superheroes? That was new.
"Either one works."
"Well, outside of being gentle with everything, I have like a sixth sense in terms of muscle control," John answered, his head starting to wave back and forth as he looked like he was recalling knowledge. "But that also means that doing that hero crap can be painful."
"You tried out the superhero life?"
"I wouldn't really call it superheroes," Levi spoke up, leaning forward and propping himself up on the front passenger seat as Maddie glanced back at him.
"What do you mean?" MJ asked, giving the boy her full attention. It wasn't he who answered, however.
"You wouldn't believe us, and we all want to tell you just to see your reaction," Maddie admitted, actually giggling in her seat as MJ frowned.
"The X-Men is a school for mutants that fights crime. And I'm pretty sure a few of them are the same age as me."
"Ha! She's got a point on that one." John gladly took MJ's side on that one as he chuckled. "The militia wouldn't be anything new."
John's words only added to the student's curiosity. Admittedly, her fear had faded at some point, as she found herself surprised to notice how eager she was.
She hadn't even noticed until now that she was smiling.
Maddie and Levi looked at each other before the blonde offered a small shrug.
"You can tell it-"
"What the hell?"
John seemed to have a knack for interruptions, and MJ was slowly learning that. Still, his words were concerning to the redhead, and she looked out through the windshield to see what had caught his eye.
Her own green eyes widened when she saw the flashing colors of red and blue lighting up the now-black sky.
"You guys saw that too, right?" MJ couldn't help but ask, trying to look between the houses hindering a clear view. There was a sense of dread in her stomach.
It looked like she could see her house.
How late had she been out? What had happened?!
The redhead yelped when he seatbelt viciously yanked her back into her seat, as the truck suddenly sped up considerably.
She shared a look of concern with Maddie and Levi, and she saw that they were just as worried as she was.
"That was the Parkers…" John mumbled, but his voice was loud enough for the entire cab to hear it.
MJ's grip tightened on her seatbelt.
In the entire time she'd been with these three, she'd completely forgotten about Peter's weird behavior recently. And no John is saying the police were at his house?
The ride there had been stressful, to say the least, despite its short duration.
John took the turns so fast that MJ was scared the truck was going to flip. Now that she thought about it, did he even have a license?
Still, the teen's anticipation only grew even when the big red truck slowed, and the moment her door was unhindered…
She threw it open, and her heels hit the grass harshly. Still, MJ didn't waste a second in throwing herself into a sprint, completely ignoring the yells a few officers gave her and even the especially loud voice of some older man standing on the porch.
She sprinted into the hallway… and stopped at the sight of Peter's living room.
Marred by the sight of a taped outline on the floor.
It hit her in an instant.
The outline was far too big to be Peter's. And she was fairly certain her eyes had brushed over May on the front porch as well.
And in the chest area of the outline… was a fairly sizable blood puddle.
She hadn't seen an ambulance…
And she hadn't seen Ben.
"Aw, no…" She distinctly heard John's voice coming from back on the porch, behind her, and the next thing MJ knew, she was standing on the porch and staring out at the street.
"MJ?"
She was beginning to associate that voice with many different emotions right now. Nonetheless, it was the hand on her shoulder that broke her from her daze, not the voice, and she turned around to face John.
She found a few more pairs of eyes on her than she'd thought. Along with her new friends, an older man was standing on the porch by the wall, and an older lady sitting next to May Parker and MJ's mother.
"Where's Peter?" That was the first thing on her mind after seeing all the new faces.
May's own bleary eyes blinked as she took a deep breath to remain calm.
Because her husband had just been killed.
She didn't get a chance to regret her words as May replied.
"He… He ran off. One of the officers said that he's taking it hard."
"Well, no shit."
"Bryan!"
The unknown older lady, who looked to be in her mid-fifties with a pair of glasses over her eyes, looked at the stocky man with a scathing glare.
"Look, you guys stay here, I'll go find him." John was already walking off the porch before he even spoke.
"But how will you-?"
*BOOM*
John was already gone by the time she heard it in the distance.
"What happened?" Maddie pulled MJ back to attention with her question. John and Peter would have to wait for the time being.
She turned back around to face everyone else, and the first person she looked at was her mom.
"Later, MJ…"
The older man, Bryan, outright ignored Mary Watson's wish in favor of answering MJ's blonde friend.
"Some guy broke in." He answered, digging at the underside of his short, stubby nails. The man shifted his weight as a sad sigh escaped him. "Ben tried to talk him down, but the guy just shot him."
Well, at least MJ couldn't question what exactly happened.
It was so sad… and yet it sounded exactly like the surrogate uncle she'd grown up with.
The redhead could only imagine how her best friend was taking it. Ben and May were the only family Peter had, and now Ben was…
A small gasp escaped her as her eyes drifted back towards the front door…
It hung open. It felt so empty without Ben standing there right now.
He was really gone.
MJ hadn't even felt the tears in her eyes until the involuntary whimper escaped her, and it was Maddie of all people who offered a hug and a shoulder to cry on.
Ben wasn't family, but Mary-Jane had known the man since she was a toddler. All of the Parkers had been a constant in the teen's life.
And now the kind old man was gone.
And worst of all… after everything Peter's been through, with the bite, and everything that happens regularly at school…
Even with his recent absence, MJ was worried to death about how Peter would react.
TWO HOURS LATER
John found him, alright.
It was funny. The short-lived Juggernaut had spoken more to the kind elderly couple next door than he had with their nephew his own age.
In the few weeks since he'd moved to New York with his family, he was loathe to admit that he was often at the Parker household with Maddie while Peter was at school. He'd have thought he'd get to know the guy there since they were due to start at Midtown in a few days.
Instead, he's trying to hunt down his neighbor after the old man's murder.
A part of John, that sick, twisted part of himself that relished in every bit of bloodshed he'd ever participated in, wanted to hunt Ben's killer.
It was the greater concern for a guy he didn't even really know that kept him bouncing from building to building.
"Hm. And I've done so good at getting back to normal." The thought amused him, even as he bounded from building to building.
He could feel his flannel flapping in the wind behind him. Hell, he could feel the air rushing up his sleeves, causing the piece of fabric to bunch up at his shoulders.
He landed with a grunt on a gargoyle.
"Woah." Admittedly, the teen struggled to balance his weight when he felt the architecture shift underneath him. In hindsight, seven hundred pounds on top of such a structure likely wasn't a good idea.
Not with the speed John moved at, anyway.
Out of curiosity, his gaze turned to look behind him… and he frowned.
"Of course, he drags me to the Chrysler building." He commented dryly.
Admittedly, finding Peter hadn't been all that difficult. No, that part was in trying to keep up with him without causing property damage, because the Parker child could move.
And he clearly didn't give two shits at the moment, considering John had first caught him hopping up onto a house while putting his mask on.
How John wished he could land without dislodging the very shingles of the roof. No, he'd had to hop fences and try to follow him on the ground.
He caught up just in time to see the aftermath at the warehouse, and since, it seemed that Spider-Man had gone on a one-man war on crime.
Gangs, purse snatchers, muggers, anything else… you name it, John found the aftermath of Peter stopping it.
He'd give the guy this, he had a lot more patience and care than John would've. He'd have left a few more broken bones at best.
Still, it got tedious after a couple of hours, and John cursed his inability to move swiftly above ground.
Well, up until he'd decided he didn't care about property damage. It wasn't like anyone was gonna figure out it was him, anyway.
Still, that didn't mean he wanted to knock a gargoyle into the streets.
"Can't believe how far ahead he's moved." John muttered to himself, a bottom canine gnawing on his top lip in confusion. "I know I'm heavy, but still, it's like he's jumping buildings without making a sound."
It baffled the teen. He hadn't seen Peter in well over a-
"Why are you following-hrk!"
Well… John wasn't happy to say Pete here had just learned his first lesson.
Don't surprise John Gallagher.
His foot slipped as he spun on instinct to snag the source of the voice, and he found himself more focused on the spandex-clad boy struggling to pry his fingers off his neck than he was on the fact that they were now plummeting down the side of the Chrysler Building.
Midway down, as the wind flapped, John realized just who was in his grip, and he let go so that Peter could catch himself on the side of a building.
As for himself…
"Shit."
Something told him he was never gonna hear the end of this one from Maddie. Even if nobody saw it happen, John was gonna own up to it one way or another.
He slammed his hand into the side of the building, digging his fingers into the bricks for a grip even as the momentum viciously left his body by snapping to the side like a flyswatter.
He hung limply for a moment, shaking his head at the sudden loss of movement, before reorienting himself.
Once the soles of his boots rested firmly against the building's side, John took a moment to process what happened.
"You're a dumbass."
"Noted, Goliath."
John perked up at that one and raised his eyes to Peter in surprise.
"I don't know what's sadder, the fact that I understand the Gargoyles reference or the fact that it doesn't even make sense."
"He was the first strong character that came to mind."
"Really? Not Hulk? Hell, not freaking Juggernaut? That's what everyone called me."
If it weren't for the static mask, John had the feeling he would've laughed at Peter's expression.
He raised a finger as he stuttered out in disbelief. "Y-You? But you're my- I mean, you're just some kid."
John blinked when he heard that, and just stared at Peter for a moment.
"You're an idiot, Peter."
Peter didn't so much as move, but the flannel-clad teen could already see the gears turning in his head.
Admittedly, with a glance down towards the street, John realized that it was still taking way too long for his liking.
If Peter was curious, he'd follow. If not, it was right back to tailing him, the boy supposed.
A foot pushed against the bricks, propelling him away from the wall and allowing him to land on the rooftop of a small skyscraper nearby.
He landed with a grunt, before standing up and turning around to face Peter.
Yelling from the ground was one thing, but John knew he was loud.
Yelling from this high up? Not an option.
He waved the wall-crawler down, and after a few hesitant moments, Peter scaled a solid twenty feet of wall and glass in seconds before casually leaping off and landing on the roof in front of the black-haired boy.
"So… who do you think I am?"
John wasn't even going to dignify that with a response.
He was going to cross his arms and level an annoyed glare masked teen.
There was a long, uncomfortable period of silence that stretched out after Peter's unanswered question.
When John realized he wasn't going to get a straight answer at the moment, a sigh of frustration escaped him.
"Man, I've been chasing your sorry ass for two hours." He knew most would consider him mean, but he didn't care right now. Peter had him on a wild goose chase since he'd left everyone with his grandparents. "I saw you tossing on the mask back in Queens."
Peter's lack of an answer began to grow frustrating after another few seconds of silence followed that statement.
But finally, he gave in and pulled the red mask off his head.
What looked at him afterward was just someone who'd just lost a parent.
"So… the Juggernaut, huh?"
John had the distinctive feeling that the shorter boy was trying to distract himself. And judging by how he looked, he wasn't exactly succeeding.
After a few seconds, he let a small sigh escape him and nodded his head.
"Yeah." He offered a grin to Peter as he walked past the teen, offering his arm a friendly smack before waving for him to follow. "So, what's with the whole trail of criminals?"
Even though he heard the other boy's lighter footsteps behind him, the silence was all that greeted John at first as he took a seat on the building's edge.
"My Uncle told me that with great power comes great responsibility." Peter finally answered as he took a seat next to John.
John didn't say anything for a moment. But yeah… that would've been Ben.
"Did Ben or May ever tell you much about me?"
"Ben said you were a good kid. A tough one too. May said you had a foul mouth."
"First day I met Ben, he walked up to the porch and said 'hi' to Mamaw while I was holding the truck up for Papaw to work on." Talking about Ben would probably help Peter feel better if nothing else.
"What, you mean like…" Peter paused his words and slowly raised his palms into the air as if he were lifting a weight. "That?"
"Pretty much, yeah." John nodded with a chuckle as he turned back out towards the city. "When we were done, we walked up on the porch and started bullshitting with him."
"He probably wanted to welcome you guys to the neighborhood. I think I'd just left for school that morning."
John blinked when he heard that, before turning back to Peter in stunned fascination.
"So you saw that?"
"I saw you lift the truck," Peter admitted with a small grin. "I was actually thinking about asking if you wanted to wrestle with me."
"Uh, yeah." The behemoth laughed. "I'm good on all that. I'd squash you like a bug, anyway."
"Oh, gee, again with the bug jokes." In hindsight, it should've been obvious Peter had heard that a lot already, with a name like Spider-Man.
"Oh, lighten up. It'll do you some good right now."
"I was doing good before," Peter replied, as if to defend himself against an accusation.
Okay, so that backfired. That left dragging him home by the neck or continuing to be lenient.
…
If John ever lost Papaw, he didn't know what he'd do.
And… well, he supposed what Peter was doing wasn't necessarily bad. At least, not in the sense of good or bad intent.
Still…
"A one-man war on crime won't bring back your uncle." John decided to simply be blunt.
Peter visibly recoiled at his words, and as callous as it sounded, the former Juggernaut offered nothing more than a shrug in response.
"Sorry."
"What exactly are you trying to do here?"
"Make sure you got your head on straight, among other things." He replied bluntly as he met the boy's eyes with his piercing hues. "May's worried sick, and considering the way she ran in there, MJ's probably worried about you too."
"Tell them I'll be fine."
"I ain't telling them anything unless you're there-"
"HELP!"
…
'Are you serious, are you fucking serious right now? I'm trying to talk sense into him, and some idiot had to go and become his next victim?'
The thought ran through John's mind even as Peter swiftly threw his mask back down and swiftly hopped off the side of the building.
John was climbing to his feet by the time Peter was already gone.
"Great, just fucking great." Okay, maybe his own agitation was clouding some of his sympathy, but at this point… John just wanted to go home, dammit.
Still, since he'd heard it, John knew he was gonna follow right on Peter's tail.
So with a sigh, he took a few steps back, before sprinting right off the side of the massive skyscraper.
The quickest way down was straight down. Now, John wasn't going to cause some kind of inhuman shockwave when he landed, but he still made sure to aim for the sidewalk.
"Sorry, New York." His own words were drowned out by the wind flying past his face as he landed on the ground.
If there was one thing John had learned during his time with the militia, it was how to control his momentum.
If he did this right…
His feet hit the ground and the flannel-clad teen's weight immediately shifted into a roll, before John's boots kicked off the ground without leaving a single trace of damage.
He could see Peter crawling down the side of another building about a block down, and he made sure not to push too hard on his next leap.
After another flight through the air, John hit the ground running, shooting straight down the road and to an alley as he watched Peter go that way.
When he turned the corner… he froze.
Disbelief flooded him as he came face to face with the site of six different thugs having cornered some random woman.
Six!
He didn't even get a chance to speak, for once.
Peter was suddenly no longer in the building. Instead, John was watching him dispatch the thugs with surprising ease.
"Aw, hell no!" He came here already, he wasn't missing out on the chance to crack a couple of skulls. Especially not since these guys were trying to do it in the middle of one of the most public alleys John had ever seen.
Still, it's not like it took too long.
The woman had already run off by the time John had run into the fray.
One of the thugs, a guy in a hoodie, noticed him only a second before the six-foot teen backhanded him into unconsciousness.
"You little shit!" John immediately jerked to the right when he heard the voice, ready to attack.
He paused, his eyes widening when he came face to face with someone considerably bigger than himself…
And then he chuckled, relaxed, and stood up with a grin as he raised a taunting hand.
"Come on, give me your best shot." The country boy offered, gesturing for the thug to attack.
The guy, whose only notable feature was a gold tooth, took a confused glance at his weapon for a moment. And then shrugged.
"No!"
John's hand instinctively flexed out to catch Peter before he jumped in the way, and he unconsciously pushed the smaller teen behind him as the brute gave a pretty good swing, admittedly.
The steel of the sledgehammer connected squarely with John's cheek, and bounced right back off, hitting one of the thug's friends as the flannel-dressed behemoth offered no more than a flinch.
His grin widened into a full-blown smile when the brute looked at him in disbelief, taking a fearful step back.
"Really? Now you're scared?" John couldn't help but tease, even as he felt his fingers tense up around Peter's arm.
The wall-crawler tensed at first, before relaxing after a moment as John's arm subtly tightened.
John offered the brute another amused head nod before he quite literally threw Peter at him.
The boy's foot collided squarely with the thug's cheek, and unlike John, the brute wasn't nearly as sturdy.
He crumpled like a sack of puppies.
A glance around showed the startling, yet rather unsurprising revelation that Peter had already taken out all of the other thugs as well.
"Why'd you help?" Peter didn't sound sad, anymore. Just curious.
John counted that as a win, as the other teen once again removed his mask and turned to face the behemoth.
"Because I feel that same drive to help," John assured. That had been the biggest struggle he faced with the decision to leave the militia. "The difference is… I know what's important to me."
"What does that mean?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
John's lips pursed together… before a sigh escaped him as he shook his head.
"It means I'll follow you, help you out for the time being." He answered bluntly, shaking his head in frustration but committing to the decision.
"You're… not gonna drag me back?"
John grinned.
"I will if you keep me out past three. I wanna go home, dammit."
Peter didn't verbally respond… but he did grin before donning his mask once more.
As he turned around and lept back up onto another building, John took another look at the thugs.
And then he chuckled.
For a little guy, Pete sure hit hard.
Another part of why he was doing this. Better he work out his aggression now than to do something he regrets later down the line.
With a small shake of his head, John lept up onto the side of a building and followed after Spider-Man.
It was the dead of night. Pitch darkness. Except for the street lamps and porch lights.
It was because of the former that MJ's eyes caught them.
Down the right, just across the street, she saw the familiar brown hair of Peter break through the darkness, followed almost as quickly by the familiar striking black hair of a certain country boy she'd met that evening.
At first, she'd stood up and angrily marched off the porch.
But she paused when she saw the unusually downtrodden look on Peter's face.
Not exactly unusual at the moment, however.
Any frustration faded in an instant, and all the redhead could feel was concern for her best friend.
After a few short moments, she shared a glance with John, who offered a small smile of assurance. Afterward, she turned her gaze back to Peter.
"How you doing?"
"I uh… I don't know." And he didn't look like he was lying either.
MJ could only imagine how he really felt right now.
"You're aunt's staying with us."
"Good."
Finally, something good. Relief.
MJ's eyes flicked back to John.
Despite a rough initial meeting, especially considering the circumstances… she's warmed up to his grandfather quite quickly.
"Bryan said we both have a room with you and Maddie… if that's alright."
A small, proud chuckle escaped John at that.
"He just met ya 'n he's already offering ya a place to stay… sure, that's up to ya'll."
He sounded far more exhausted than he had earlier, and his accent was a little more prominent. Nonetheless, his words were genuine.
With all of the events that had occurred today…
What did it matter if he was a superhuman? The guy was good in her book.
"Hey uh…" John turned to Peter as he spoke, and the boy turned his brown eyes up to meet the taller teen's gaze. "For what it's worth… your uncle was a good man. I didn't know him long, but I knew him long enough to know he'd be proud of you."
MJ blinked at the words that John offered as solace… before smiling when she saw Peter's lips reluctantly tug up.
"Thanks."
John offered a rather friendly grin and gave Peter a quick pat on the shoulder. He offered MJ a farewell nod before he made his way past the two and down the road to his own home.
The redhead watched him leave and smiled.
Overall, he was foul-mouthed, short-tempered, and didn't mince words. Yet, he had one heck of an altruistic heart, considering it had been hours, and yet the faith that had been talked into her had paid off.
She looked forward to seeing them all again, not just him.
Her green eyes drifted back towards Peter, and her expression softened as the nerd's smile faded.
"They asked me to wait for you. Bring you back to our place… if you want…"
The momentary silence offered MJ another chance to speak.
She took it.
"I was so worried."
That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Peter's hand came up to his face as he sniffled, and the tears began to fall.
MJ didn't hesitate to pull him into her embrace.
She comforted him as he sobbed on the sidewalk.
Whatever frustrations she had before didn't matter, they were minor in comparison.
She'd gladly offer her condolences.
The redhead swore she heard a grunt, just barely.
She discretely turned her head for a quick glance.
Rather than retreating to bed like she'd expected… John remained on the porch.
She eventually forgot about him, but as she and Peter made their way into her house… she paused at the door and glanced back down the road.
John noticed her delay, even three houses down… and he offered her a small grin and a playful salute before walking into his home.
He was… interesting, to say the least.