A/N: This is the start of a three-part arc introducing my third Spider hero. Also, Gwen doesn't do much in this one, and there's not much action either.
Please read and review?
On Thursday, April 7th, at Midtown Prof. Warren stood outside near a bus, which included Miles, Anya, Sha Sha and Janice Lincoln, as it was time for their trip.
"Okay, now, everyone get on the bus." he said.
The class all filed onto the bus, as Prof. Warren stared at the school, seeing no sign of Gwen by any of the windows. He got onto the bus as the students all began to take their seats, when Anya noticed Miles was by himself.
"Janice, you mind if I sit near Miles?" Anya asked, turning to her. "He's still new and doesn't know most of us well."
"Okay, go on." Janice said, a bit coldly.
Anya was taken aback by her lab partner's tone, before she sat down next to Miles, who blushed.
"Still nervous?" she asked.
"Yeah." Miles nodded. "I just hope nothing happens, the way this city is."
"I know what you mean." Anya said, as the bus began to leave.
As the bus left, Peter saw them all from a classroom window he sat by, hoping they had a good time, but also was slightly worried.
"I hope Dr. Connors doesn't go Lizard on them while they're there." he hoped.
He turned to Gwen, who sat next to him, who had the same look on her face. She wrote a small note on some paper and passed it to him, which read.
"I know what you're thinking. I don't want the Doc to turn into the Lizard either while they're there. I know it's been a while, but we still need to find a way to cure him."
Peter looked up at her and nodded in agreement.
Later, the bus was parked outside Empire State University, then Prof. Warren and the class all filed out, with Miles and Anya being the last.
"Okay, is everyone here?" the Prof. asked.
"Yes, Prof. Warren." the class said.
"Right then. Let us go inside." the Prof. said.
He and class all walked inside, as Debra Whitman approached them all.
"Welcome to Empire State University, everyone." she said. "I'm Debra Whitman, student intern to Curt Connors, and I'll be taking you to him to show you all around."
"Um, where is Dr. Connors?" Prof. Warren asked. "When I brought my class here last year, he was waiting for us by the entrance?"
"Oh, Dr. Connors had a last-minute thing he needed to attend to, but he should be finished by now." Debra explained. "Now, if you'll all follow me?"
The class and Prof. Warren all began to follow her, as Miles looked around nervously.
"You okay?" Anya asked.
"Yeah, just nervous." Miles assured.
Debra led the class into one of the labs, when Dr. Connors approached them all.
"How'd he lose his arm?" a boy muttered, noticing it.
"You got me?" another shrugged.
"Prof. Warren, good to see you again." Dr. Connors said.
"Likewise, Dr. Connors." Prof. Warren said. "Your student intern was nice to show my new class around."
"Well, glad to know that." Dr. Connors said. "Now, my name is Dr. Curt Connors, and I be guiding your through this place with the help of Debra. So, if you'll all follow me please?"
After half-an-hour, Dr. Connors and Debra had shown the class around most of the campus, before they entered the experimental animal area.
"Whoa!" a few students said.
"Cool." Janice said.
Some of the girls freaked out slightly, including Sha Sha, while Anya looked amazed.
"Amazing work you have here, Dr. Connors." she remarked.
"Why, thank you." Dr. Connors said. "Some of the students last year said the same."
They all approached a cage divided into 15 - the one with the genetically altered spiders in - but no one was freaked out.
"Well, this is different from last year." Dr. Connors said. "Most of the girls last year freaked out. I think only one wasn't originally."
"Really?" Anya asked. "Who?"
"I think her name was Gwen." Dr. Connors said. "Yeah, Gwen Stacy. That was her, wasn't it, Prof."
Prof. Warren ignored him, as he was looking at the spiders, with an idea coming to his head.
"Prof. Warren?" Dr. Connors said.
"Oh, yeah. She was." Prof. Warren said. "Sorry, I've had a bit on my mind lately."
"Oh." Dr. Connors said. "Now, these 13 spiders are an experimental case. They're all genetically enhanced and modified, so hopefully they might be able to help the world one day."
"Why 13?" Miles asked.
"Yeah, isn't that an unlucky number?" a boy asked.
"Well, we original had 15, but we lost two of them last year." Dr. Connors explained. "Don't know how though."
He wasn't lying, for the two that had bitten Peter and Gwen, giving them their spider powers had died not long after biting them.
"Um, 12." Anya corrected, looking at the cage carefully. "One's missing, Dr. Connors."
Dr. Connors looked at the cage and saw she was right, as one was missing.
"Oh, again? This happened last year with another." he recalled. "Guess it's being tested right now. Let's just hope it doesn't die like the last one."
Unbeknownst to him however, it wasn't, as it was crawling along the ceiling.
"Now, if you all want to look around for awhile, go ahead. I'll be waiting on the other end of the room." Dr. Connors said.
He moved away towards the door as the class and Prof. Warren looked around.
"Man. Gwen wasn't kidding when she said this place was amazing." Anya said.
"Well, I think some of it's cool." Miles admitted. "But I'm not sure unlike you."
"Oh, come on?" Anya said, patting his arm. "I can defiantly see why this place is cool. Just give it a chance?"
"I won't make my final decision until I've seen the rest of the place." Miles said.
"Okay, fine." Anya said.
She turned and walked off to get a better look around the place, finding it fascinating.
Prof. Warren kept his eyes on the 12 spiders, then looked around at the place.
"Hmm? Since my first experiment on Mr. Allan failed, maybe it's time for another approach." he thought. "I'm sure good old Curt won't mind losing some of his work."
He grinned evilly as he put his hands together behind his back, before he walked off.
As Miles looked around at some of the stuff, the 13th spider slowly lowered itself down and landed on the back of his shoulder, but due to his dark clothes, nobody saw it.
"Alright, everyone, if you're done looking around, it's time to move on." Dr. Connors said.
The class all walked towards him, as he smiled at them all.
"Okay, now, if you'll all come with me, we can continue onto the next area." Dr. Connors said.
He turned and opened up the door, then lead the class down a hallway, with Miles in the back, folding his arms.
"Okay, maybe there's more interesting stuff further along." he thought.
As he thought, the spider slowly crawled along his arm without his knowledge, then it moved onto his hand and bit him.
"Ow!" he yelped, shaking it.
The spider went flying away as he looked at his hand, not seeing the bite mark, confusing him.
"I know that spider bit me?" he thought, as he'd seen it as it flew.
He followed after the rest of the class, his head spinning slightly, before they entered another room.
Once the trip was over, the class was all on the bus back to school again, with the Prof. grinning.
"I'll make my move tonight." he thought. "But, I'm gonna need some professional help. And I think I know who to use, since I've seen her work before."
As the driver turned the bus right down the street, Miles began to touch his head, as he was starting to burn up.
"Oh!" he moaned.
"Miles, you okay?" Anya asked, sitting beside him.
Some of the students all turned and noticed Miles wasn't looking well, including Sha Sha, who sat in front of them. Others however, including Janice, didn't as they were no where near him.
"Yeah, Miles. You don't look so hot." Sha Sha noticed.
"I'm... I'm fine. It's probably just a headache." Miles assured.
Anya lowered his hand and felt his forehead.
"Hmm? You're burning up, Miles." she said. "Maybe you better go home as soon as we get back."
"I... I'll see how I am when I get back." Miles said.
"Okay." Anya sighed.
"You sure you're okay?" Sha Sha asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Miles assured.
Sha Sha sighed as she turned around and sat back down, followed by everyone else, as Miles leaned his head against the window.
"Man. Why I am burning up like this?" he wondered.
Anya looked at him worriedly, as she'd developed a closeness to him, as he'd been in her shoes when they first met, new kid at a new school.
"I hope nothing's wrong with him." she thought.
Later, Miles had gone straight home to his family apartment, due to his headache having gotten a lot worse since getting back to school.
"Oh, man, this is worse than earlier?" he thought, as he walked down a hallway. "Maybe Anya and Sha Sha were right. Maybe I am sick."
He stopped outside his family apartment, then opened the door and walked inside. He put his bag down to take off his jacket, when Rio came towards him.
"Oh, hijo mío, you're back." she said. "Have a nice time?"
"Well, sort of." Miles said, picking up his bag.
"Did you find the place interesting?" Rio asked.
"Well, it was okay." Miles said. "Anya practically loved the place. You know I was never much into science like Ganke was."
"Oh, Miles, I'm sure you found something there interesting." Rio said. "Now, I'm about to start dinner, so what would you like, mío?"
"Uh, Mom, I'm actually not feeling very well." Miles said.
"What do you mean?" Rio asked.
"I... Ever since the trip ended, I've gotten this massive headache, and it's getting worse." Miles explained.
Rio gasped and approached Miles, before touching his forehead.
"Oh, mi, you are burning up." she said. "Maybe you better go lie down."
"That's what I was thinking, Mom." Miles said. "I might skip dinner actually."
"Well, I'll keep something in the microwave if case you feel better and want something." Rio promised.
"Thanks. Mom." Miles said.
He turned and walked off, as Rio followed him, before he got to his bedroom door and opened it up, closing it behind him.
Rio looked at his son's bedroom door, wondering what was wrong with him.
"I hope he doesn't have a fever." she thought. "I better phone Jeff and tell him."
In his bedroom, Miles had stripped down to his underwear, as he was burning hot, and then he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep. What he didn't know, was that his body and DNA was changing due to the spider bite.
Meanwhile, Peter was at the Daily Bugle, in Jameson's office, who looked at several recent pictures he took of the Spider Duo.
"Hmm?" Jameson muttered. "Okay. Okay. Crap."
He threw them down, Peter seeing the first two had the Spider-Duo on the side of a building near a TV store, while the third had them on a lamppost.
"Crap. Crap. Garbage." Jameson said, throwing them down.
Peter saw those three had just the Spider-Duo swinging through the city.
"Okay. Okay. Whoo. I love this one." Jameson said.
He showed it to Peter, which had the Spider-Duo on top of a armoured car, staring at several robbers. The other two just had them climbing up a wall together. Jameson threw down another two without saying a word, each with a close up shot of Spider-Man and Ghost Spider swinging towards the camera, when he got to the last one.
"Wow. This last one's amazing." Jameson said.
He showed it to Peter, which had the Spider-Duo together outside a bank, as several robbers came out.
"Let me guess; you think they helping to rob the place?" Peter assumed.
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Jameson said. "I'd say more likely they were gonna rob those people with the money bags for themselves."
"But those guys were the crooks." Peter explained. "I saw them running out of the store before the Spider Duo arrived."
"Doesn't look that way to me." Jameson said. "I'll give you 300 for these."
He handed Peter the cheque, then Peter sighed and walked out of the office.
"I guess he's never gonna change." he thought.
He turned to Betty and handed her the cheque.
"You okay, Peter?" she asked. "You seem a bit down."
"Oh, I'm fine." Peter assured. "Just got a lot on my mine right now."
"Oh, I see." Betty said. "Well, here you go."
She handed him back the cheque, then he smiled.
"I'll see you later." Peter said, walking off.
"See you, Peter." Betty said, waving.
Peter smiled as he checked his watch, which said 4:30pm.
"Gwen won't get off work for another 2 and a half hours." he thought, as he stopped. "Guess I'm on my own unless something happens in Chinatown."
He turned and walked off, ready for his patrol for the day before heading home.
That night, at E.S.U., as a car was parked outside, it all seemed quiet, while Black Cat was on an opposite rooftop, as someone had hired her to rob that place.
"Still don't see why someone wants to rob this place?" she thought. "Still, the payment of 5,000 dollars is satisfactory."
She brought out her grappling hook, then shot it down towards the building she'd been asked to break into, then she moved down it like a zip-line. She landed on the rooftop, then grabbed her grappling hook and held it up, before putting it on her belt. She then ran towards a skylight and looked down it, seeing a lab down beneath.
"Need to make sure this is the one I'm looking for." she thought. "The man said it was filled with animals, including spiders."
She opened up the skylight, then wrapped her grappling hook around her waist, then attached the other end to edge of the skylight, then began to lower herself down. She held her arms out as she did, with her legs together, stopping halfway down to the floor, then she looked around, seeing this was the place, as the cage with the 12 spiders were in the room.
"Well, this is the place." she thought. "Now, to get to work."
She lowered herself down some more, then detached herself from her grappling hook, her feet on the floor. She approached the spider cage, then picked it up and moved back to her grappling hook, then she grabbed it. She pressed the button on it, raising herself and the cage up to the skylight, then she got out and put the cage down beside him.
"He told me to get some animal samples as well." she remembered. "I better go back in."
She grabbed the grappling hook and lowered herself back down into the lab, before she jumped off it, landing on her feet. She looked around, and took out a few syringes from her pouch, then moved towards the animal cages. She moved among them, trying to decide which animals to get DNA from for the man, as he hadn't asked. She then stopped and spotted a jackal in one small cage, then a small rhino in another, a bee in one that was asleep, and a small bear in one.
"I think those will do." she thought.
She put a syringe in the bear's back, taking some DNA from it, then did the same with the rhino, then the jackal. She moved to the bee, then did the same, as it didn't move, surprising her.
"Must be dead." she thought. "Well, time to get outta here."
She put the syringes into her pouch, then approached her grappling hook, then pressed the button on it, and rose up to the rooftop. Once on it, she picked up her grappling hook and put it on her belt, then she picked up the cage, then ran along the rooftop.
Down in the parking lot, the car remained still, with a male figure inside it, when Black Cat showed in front of it, crouched down while holding the cage.
"Well, here's all the stuff you needed." she said, getting up.
The male figure got out of the car, showing he had dark black clothes on, had a hoody on, which was up, a face mask which covered all but his eyes.
"Good." the man said. "And as promised, you money."
He moved to the back of the car, then opened up the boot and took a case from it, which he put down.
"Just help me put everything in and it's yours." he said.
Black Cat nodded and put the cage in the trunk, then took out the syringes from her pouch and handed them to him.
"Here you go." she said.
The man held up a small bag, which she put the syringes in, then he put it in the trunk, beore closing it up.
"I still don't see why you want these for?" Black Cat said. "They're just a bunch of animals used for experiments."
"But that's why I wanted them. The spiders for more research, while the DNA from the others will be useful to me in other ways." the man explained. "Speaking of which, which animal DNAs did you get me?"
"A jackal, a rhino, a bee, and a bear." Black Cat explained. "They seemed to be the most dangerous out of them all in there."
"Well, I guess they'll do." the man said. "Now, there's your money. So, you may leave, Black Cat."
"Thank you. I love doing things for money." Black Cat flirted.
She picked up her case, then ran off towards a building, before she climbed up its fire escape, and made it to the rooftop.
The man meanwhile, got into his car and drove it away from the scene. As he did, he took off his mask, revealing he was Prof. Warren, who turned to the back seat.
"Time to begin my experiments." he smirked.
The next day, at the Morales apartment, Miles woke up in his bedroom, covered in sweat, before he sat up and looked around. He wiped it off his forehead, seeing he was burning and his headache was gone.
"Guess that sleep was what I needed." he thought.
He looked at his clock and saw he had just over an hour to get ready and get to school.
"Must've been asleep since I hit the bed." he thought.
He got out of bed and approached his mirror, but then saw that he was slightly more muscular than last night.
"Huh?" he thought. "Okay, this is weird?"
He got dressed quickly and entered the main room of the apartment, where Rio was.
"Morning, Mom." he said.
"Oh, morning, cariño." Rio said, turning around. "How you feeling?"
"Much better, Mom." Miles assured.
"No headache at all?" Rio asked.
"No. I think that rest I had was what I needed." Miles said.
"Well, good." Rio said.
"Where's Dad?" Miles asked.
"Oh, he had to leave early." Rio explained. "Something happened last night which he needs to investigate."
"Oh..." Miles said.
"Yeah." Rio said. "Now, I'm almost finished breakfast, so you just wait."
Miles sat down at the table and smiled.
Once he had his breakfast, which was bacon on toast, he left to get washed, but once he finished doing his teeth, he found his toothbrush was stuck to his hands.
"Huh?" he muttered.
He tried to put it down in the cup they went in, but it still wouldn't.
"What's going on?" he wondered.
He put his toothbrush down in the cup, but this time, it stayed there.
"Must've imagined it." he thought.
He left the bathroom and approached the door, when Rio approached him.
"Well, I'll see you, Mom." Miles said.
"I know. Tonight's the night of the school play, isn't it?" Rio asked. "The one your friend MJ's in?"
"Oh, yeah." Miles said.
"Well, I'll try to be there." Rio said. "And I'm sure Jeff will as well."
"Glad to know, Mom. I'll see you there." Miles said. "Love you."
"Love you too, mío." Rio said.
Miles smiled and opened the door and left the apartment. As he closed the door behind him however, he found the handle stuck to his hand.
"Huh?" he muttered, shocked.
He looked at his hand, before he slowly pulled it off the handle. He then turned and walked off, while looking at his hand, feeling something was happening to him.
Once he was outside, his hands having not stuck to anything else, he looked at them as he walked down the street, when he heard a tingling noise in his head.
"Huh?" he gasped.
He turned left, seeing a car heading his way, as he was trying to cross the street on the way to bus stop. He jumped to his right to avoid the car, jumping so high no one noticed him sticking to a wall, which he quickly found out.
"AH!" he gasped. "What the?"
He lost his balance and fell down, landing on a garbage bag near a dumpster.
"Oh!" he moaned.
He lifted his head up and shook it.
"Just what's happened to me? I've... I've become like the Spider Duo." he realized. "But how?"
He got up and walked off as he began to think about what happened, before remembering the trip yesterday.
"That spider bite." he realized. "Dr. Connors said there were two spiders which went missing last year? That must be how they got their powers."
He stopped by the school bus stop in the area, where a few people were waiting.
"I need to learn to control this." he thought. "But how am I gonna get in contact with them both?"
He thought hard as he waiting, knowing he needed to find one of the Spider Duo and ask them for help in learning to control this.
At the Parker House, Peter walked downstairs while putting on a hooded jumper, then walked into the kitchen, seeing Aunt May making breakfast.
"Morning, Aunt May." Peter said.
"Morning, Peter." Aunt May said. "I've got no work at FEAST today, so I'll make sure I'm there for the school play Mary Jane's in."
"Good to know." Peter said, sitting down at the table.
Aunt May turned and put his plate on the table, but he noticed it wasn't wheat cakes, but bacon and waffles.
"I ran out of flour, Peter." she apologised. "I'll get some at the store today, since I don't have work."
"Oh... Okay, Aunt May." Peter said. "Just annoyed slightly I can't get my favourite on the last day of term."
"Well, I'm sorry, Peter." Aunt May said, as she sat down opposite him with her own plate, which was toast.
They both quickly ate breakfast, then Peter got up.
"Well, I better get going." he said.
"Okay. I'll see you, Peter." Aunt May said.
Peter smiled and kissed her cheek, before he picked up his bag and walked out of the house.
"Time to suit up." he thought.
His phone beeped before he could leave to change, making him take his phone out, seeing it was a text from Gwen.
"Dad's gonna take me to school in his car. He's got an emergency to go and school's on the way. Sorry, Pete. I'll see you at school. Love Gwen. XXX."
Peter sighed and put his phone away.
"Guess I'm on my own if there's crime on the way." he sighed, as he put it away and walked off, to start to the day.
A little later, at Midtown High, Peter and Mary Jane both stood by the latter's locker. She smiled widely as she sorted out her stuff, as was the day of the school play she was staring in.
"Oh, I can't wait for the play tonight." Mary Jane said, closing her locker's door.
"I know what you mean." Peter said.
"You'll do great, babe." Harry assured, coming towards them.
"Thanks, guys." Mary Jane said. "Fitting the end the school term with a play, you know."
"I know." Peter said.
"And right before your birthday too." Harry said. "Remember?"
"Yeah, I know." Mary Jane said.
"Guys!" a familiar voice called.
The three friends turned as Gwen came running towards them frantically.
"Hey, Gwen." Peter said. "What's up?"
"Did you guys hear the news?" Gwen asked. "E.S.U got robbed last night."
"What?" Harry questioned. "You sure?"
"Yeah. It was in the experimental animal area." Gwen explained. "Dad still doesn't know why though, but quite a lot was taken, including the experimental spiders."
"Who'd wanna rob that place?" Harry questioned.
"I have no idea." Gwen said. "A lot of years hard work has been lost in a single night. It's horrible."
Peter touched her shoulder, calming her down.
"Gwen, I'm sure they'll find out who did it and why." he said.
"I hope so." Gwen said. "I can only imagine Dr. Connors being upset about all that."
"I know what you mean." Harry said. "My Dad would feel the same. He was practically frantic last year when someone killed his assistant and stole his work last year. It'd been something he'd been working on for years."
Peter and Gwen remained silent, as they knew Norman Osborn had stolen it himself after accidently changing into the Green Goblin last year.
"Tough luck." Mary Jane said. "I'm sure the Police will find out what happened."
"Well, my Dad's gonna be over there for a while." Gwen said. "Might end up missing your play, MJ."
"Well, given what's happened, I'll understand." Mary Jane said.
Gwen smiled before the bell rang.
"We better get to class." Peter said. "We'll see you later."
Peter and Gwen walked down the hallway towards History, as Harry and Mary Jane walked in the other direction, as they had Maths first.
"This the emergency you texted me about?" Peter whispered.
"Yes." Gwen sighed. "Dad's baffled by what happened. I think we need to investigate this later."
"Okay, but we've still got the play. We promised MJ we'd be there, remember?" Peter said.
"Yeah, I know." Gwen assured. "We'll begin after school, then come back later if we don't find anything."
Peter smiled as they walked down the hallway, before they spotted Miles coming towards them, who looked nervous.
"Hey, Miles, you okay?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Miles said. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."
"You sure?" Gwen asked. "You look well rested to me."
"Oh, well... I just wasn't feeling well after the trip yesterday." Miles explained. "That's all."
"Okay, we'll take your word for it." Peter said. "See you tonight for the play."
As Peter and Gwen turned and kept on walking, Miles turned and looked at them, before he turned and walked off, as he had English first.
"Maybe I should tell Peter at least." Miles thought. "As he's their photographer, he must at least know how to find them."
He sighed as he approached English, then opened the door carefully, making sure his hand didn't stick to it, before he entered.
"I'll try and talk to Peter after school, or if not, after the play at least." he decided, as he approached his seat. "If I'm to have any control of this, he'll know where to find them."
After school, Peter and Gwen were outside talking, being watched by Prof. Warren, who stood near the door.
"We better get going if we're gonna investigate." Gwen said.
"Yeah, and if I have too, I can pretend I'm investigating for the Bugle." Peter said.
"Perks on being a photographer." Gwen teased.
Peter laughed as Prof. Warren stared at them both.
"Hmm? I think it's time to separate them. And I know just how for tonight anyway." he thought.
He took a few steps forward and cleared his throat, getting Peter and Gwen's attention.
"Oh, Prof. Warren." Gwen said. "What's up?"
"Gwen, I was wondering if you'd stay and help out?" Prof. Warren asked. "We need some more hands to help out in getting ready for the play."
"Um..." Gwen said. "Okay, Prof. Warren."
"Good. I'll be waiting for you inside." Prof. Warren said.
He turned around and walked back inside, hiding a grin from both teens, who turned to each other.
"Guess you're on your own." Gwen sighed. "Sorry, Pete."
"It's okay, Gwen." Peter said. "I'll see you."
They both kissed each other briefly, then Peter turned around and ran off, as Gwen sighed and walked back towards the school. Once inside, she began to follow Prof. Warren down towards the auditorium, where the play was being held.
"That should keep them separated for now." he thought.
At E.S.U., several Cops and Crime analysts were all over the campus, surveying Black Cat's robbery last night. Among them was Capt. Stacy, Lt. Watanabe and Sgt. Davis, the Capt. standing by an officer called Carlie Cooper - who was with forensics - in the lab.
"This is weird." Carlie said. "I don't see who would wanna steal a bunch of spiders."
"Neither do I." Capt. Stacy sighed. "I'm still baffled by all this."
Sgt. Davis came into the lab and approached them both.
"I don't get it either." he said. "This is weird."
Capt. Stacy sighed as he turned, seeing some students were being nosy, standing behind the police tape keeping them away, when two Cops moved over to them.
"Sorry, kids. Nothing to see here." one said.
"Go on, get to class." the other said.
The students sighed as they all turned and walked off.
"Where's Yuri?" the Capt. asked.
"Speaking with people who work in this lab, teachers and students." Sgt. Davis said.
"Well, good." came a familiar voice. "That's a start."
The Cops all looked around, when they saw Spider-Man hanging upside down nearby like a yo-yo from the ceiling.
"Spider-Man?" Capt. Stacy said. "I take it you heard?"
"I did." Spider-Man said, as he jumped down to the ground. "I would've been here sooner, but I had things to do."
"Well, where's Ghost Spider?" Carlie asked, approaching. "You two almost do everything together."
"She's helping some friends of ours out." Spider-Man explained, which wasn't a complete lie.
"Carlie, get back to work with the others." the Capt. said.
"Understood." Carlie said.
He turned and walked off as the Capt. and Sgt. Davis both approached Spider-Man.
"That's Carlie Cooper, he's with forensics." the Capt. explained.
"Right." Spider-Man said. "Do you mean if I look around?"
"Sure." the Capt. said.
Spider-Man looked around, before he stopped by where the Spider cage had been. He put his hand on his chin, when Dr. Connors and Lt. Watanabe came towards him.
"Spider-Man, surprised you're here?" the Lt. said.
"Thought you might need some help." Spider-Man said.
"Well, good." the Lt. said. "Since you've dealt with stuff like this, so you might have an idea of who could've done this."
"I do. This looks like the work of Black Cat." Spider-Man said. "She's a known cat burglar."
Capt. Stacy and Sgt. Davis came towards them all.
"You met this woman before?" the Capt. inquired.
"Yes. Ghost and I have had a few encounters with her before, but she's always given us the slip." Spider-Man explained.
"What have you seen her rob before?" Capt. Stacy inquired.
"Jewellery stores and a golden statue." Spider-Man explained. "But Ghost told me she's only stolen stuff she's been hired to steal."
"Which means someone hired her to steal that cage?" Sgt. Davis deduced. "Dr. Connors, do you know of anyone who hates you?"
"I... I know a few people." Dr. Connors sighed. "Electro for one, since I turned him into that accidently, but I'm still working on a cure for him. I'm actually glad none of the stuff I've been using for that was taken at least."
"Is there anyone else you can think of?" Capt. Stacy asked.
"Well... No, I can't." Dr. Connors sighed. "Whoever did this is someone I don't know."
"Probably a jealous rival or something." Spider-Man deduced.
"Yeah, a one who's keeping quiet about it." Sgt. Davis said. "Probably someone you'd least suspect."
"Hmm? I guess you're both right." Dr. Connors sighed. "Problem now is though, what's E.S.U. gonna do? That's years work gone down the drain. We might never be able to fully replace what was taken."
"You'll just have to try your best." Capt. Stacy assured. "Does this place have a security room?"
"Yes, it does." Dr. Connors assured.
"We've got a man already working in there, sir." Lt. Watanabe assured.
"You stay here with Cooper and the others, Lt." Capt. Stacy said. "Spider-Man, you come with me and Sgt. Davis."
"Okay." Spider-Man said.
"Take us to the security room, Dr. Connors?" Capt. Stacy asked.
A little later, Spider-Man, Capt. Stacy, Sgt. Davis and Dr. Connors all entered a room filled with computer screens, where a man sat.
"I think I have something." he said. "Yeah, here it is."
They all looked at one of the screens.
Black Cat held her arms out as she lowered herself down on her grappling hook, with her legs together, stopping halfway down to the floor, then she looked around, seeing this was the place, as the cage with the 12 spiders were in the room.
"Do you recognize her?" Capt. Stacy asked.
"Yeah, that's Black Cat." Spider-Man said.
"Well, at least we know she looks like." Sgt. Davis said.
"True." Capt. Stacy said.
"But there's more, sir." the man said.
Black Cat put a syringe in the bear's back, taking some DNA from it, then did the same with the rhino, then the jackal. She moved to the bee, then did the same, as it didn't move.
"She also took DNA from animals?" Spider-Man questioned.
"Looks like it." the man said.
"Whoever hired her has to a scientist like you, Curt." Capt. Stacy said.
"I agree, George, but who?" Dr. Connors wondered. "I have no clue as to who could've hired her to do this."
"Guess there's not much more we can do then." Spider-Man sighed.
"Agreed, for now anyway." Capt. Stacy said. "Still, I think you better tell the Principal to up the security around this place."
"I told him that earlier." Dr. Connors assured. "And after he sees this, he's bound to agree."
A little later, Spider-Man swung off away from the campus, before he landed on a rooftop nearby. He then took out his phone and texted Gwen, feeling it was safer than a phone call as she'd be around a bunch of people.
"Gwen, I've just finished investing with your Dad and other Cops, including Miles' Dad. From what we've gathered and seen, it was Black Cat who did all this, but from what we've seen her do, I think she was most likely hired by someone else, as this isn't her type of target. Dr. Connors has no clue as to who would do this though. I'll see you later in time for the play. Love Peter. XX."
He waited for a few minutes, then got Gwen's reply.
"Okay. Looks like Dad's not gonna get anywhere for a while. We'll have to keep our eyes open in case something similar happens later. See you later. Love Gwen."
Spider-Man looked at the clock on his phone, telling him it was 4:35, meaning he had over 2 and a half hours to pratol and get home, as the play started at 8pm.
"Well, better make the most of it." he thought.
He jumped off the rooftop and began to swing off, hoping nothing was big was gonna happen tonight for Mary Jane's sake.
That night, the school play was on, with Peter, Gwen, Harry, Anya and Miles sitting near the front with their families and Anna Watson. Only Norman Osborn wasn't there as he had a meeting. Further back in the crowd was Flash, Randy, Sally, Liz and Hobie with their families, as Gloria was part of the play with Mary Jane and Sha Sha.
The three girls stood on the stage with four other boys, playing the other characters, as it was the last scene, with everyone waiting for which ending it would be. While Mary Jane was Miss. Scarlet and Sha Sha was Mrs. Peacock, Gloria was Mrs. White. As for the boys, there was a Jason Ionello, who was playing Wadsworth, a CJ Vogel, who was known to joke around, who was Mr. Green, while the other two were unknown. One was white, wearing a fake moustache, who was playing Col. Mustard, while the other, who looked part Lebanese and had fake glasses on, was Prof. Plum.
Sally stared at Jason - who was a Hispanic boy with black hair - as he was the kid who'd been asked to tutor her. Throughout the play, she had seen how talented he was, shocking her, as he was a bit of a nerd.
"Maybe Liz is right." she sighed, as the stage went dark. "Maybe not all nerds are bad. I'll start acting nicer to Parker and all them after Easter Vacation."
"You okay?" Liz asked quietly, who sat beside her.
"Yeah." Sally whispered.
Everyone watched as the play was coming to a close, as it was ending number 2, with Mrs. Peacock as the culprit. Jason stared at Sha Sha, as CJ held a hand over his mouth, while Mary Jane, Gloria and the two boys stared at them.
"Mrs. Peacock did it all." Jason said.
"There's no proof of that?" Sha Sha said, annoyed.
"Well, the gun is missing." Jason said. "So, whoever has it, is the murderer. Everyone, turn out your pockets and empty your purses, so we'll find out who has it."
The others did that, Sha Sha pulling out a prop pistol for the play.
"Okay, you got me." she said. "But what are you gonna do?"
"Nothing." Jason said. "I don't approve of murder, but it seems you've done the world a great favour by riding it of that blackmailer and his disgusting informers."
"But the Police will be here. What happens then?" CJ said.
"Well, nobody's called them." Jason said.
"You mean?" Sha Sha asked.
"Yes. Now, I suggest, we stack the bodies in the cellar, then leave quietly one at a time, and pretend none of this has happened." Jason said.
"Great idea." Sha Sha said. "I'll leave first, if you don't mind."
She motioned for Mary Jane and the others to move towards Jason and CJ, which they did.
"Be my guest." Jason said.
Sha Sha turned to the other stars, as she backed away and walked off the stage and out of sight.
"I told you all I didn't do it!" CJ said, annoyed.
"But what if the Authorities find out what happened?" the white boy asked.
"The FBI will handle that." Jason said, walking off slightly.
"You mean...?" the boy said.
"My phone call for Mr. Hoover. I work for him." Jason said, turning to the others. "How else could I have known everything about you all."
"There's still one thing I don't understand?" the boy said.
"One thing?" Gloria questioned.
"Who was Mrs. Peacock taking bribes from?" the boy asked.
"A foreign power. Her husband, the senator has influence over defence contacts." Jason explained.
"Isn't there going to be a cover up?" the Lebanese boy asked.
"Well, what could be gained by exposer?" Jason said. "The FBI's run by a man called Hoover."
"Let go of me?!" Sha Sha exclaimed.
They all turned as she got dragged back onto the stage by two boys playing Cops, with a third behind them, who had a fake grey bread on.
"We got her." he said. "Nice work, Wadsworth."
"You see, we always get our man." Jason said.
"Mrs. Peacock was a man?" CJ questioned.
The white boy slapped him, as Mary Jane folded her arms.
"Of course not, dummy." she said.
CJ shook his head, as the curtains came down over the stage, as the play was over. A minute later, it rose up again, showing the whole cast was on the stage, who bowed, as the audience clapped and cheered, with some whistling.
"Whoo!" several girls said, including Gwen, Liz and Anya.
"Way to go!" Harry whooped.
The cast all raised their heads up, then smiled and waved, as they all walked left along the stage, vanishing from sight.
A little later, Mary Jane and Gloria both came towards their friends in a hallway - expect Anya, Sally, Flash and Randy.
"Well, what did you guys think?" Mary Jane asked.
"You were great, MJ." Gwen remarked. "So were you, Gloria."
"Pretty amazing." Liz said.
"Thanks." Mary Jane said.
"Same here." Gloria said.
"MJ, you defiantly were great." Harry said. "I can really see this as your career."
"Thanks, Harry." Mary Jane said.
She kissed his cheek, before turning to Peter.
"Well, what'd you think, Pete?" she asked.
"You were amazing, MJ." Peter said. "You all were."
"Thanks." Mary Jane said.
She hugged Peter like a brother, making everyone smile, before Gloria turned to Gwen.
"You're not jealous?" she asked.
"Nah. They're like brother and sister." Gwen whispered. "Plus, she's my best friend. I know her."
Gloria smiled as Peter and Mary Jane pulled apart, before Anya came towards them all.
"Hey, you guys coming!" she called. "We all have to leave, you know."
"We're coming." Harry assured.
Miles stared at Peter, Gwen, and the others, as they were all about to leave.
"Okay, it's now or never." Miles sighed.
He walked over to them all, as they turned to them.
"Hey, Miles. Enjoy the play?" Mary Jane asked.
"Yeah, it was great. Look, Peter, I need to talk to you?" Miles asked. "Alone?"
Peter looked at Miles confused, but then sighed.
"Okay." he said. "I'll be back, guys."
"Don't be too long?" Gwen asked, kissing his cheek.
"I won't." Peter promised.
He walked off with Miles until they were all alone in gym room, which seemed like the best place for Miles to tell Peter.
"So, what is it, Miles?" Peter asked.
"Well, I feel like I can trust you with this." Miles began. "Something's happened to me."
"What?" Peter inquired.
"I was bitten...by a spider." Miles explained.
"A spider?" Peter questioned. "When?"
"The day of the trip to E.S.U." Miles explained. "I had this massive headache afterwards, but then the next morning, I found out I changed."
Peter looked at him, for he had a feeling he knew what had happened to Miles, as it sounded like what happened to him and Gwen last year.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well... I think it might be better if I just show you." Miles said.
"Well, go on?" Peter said.
Miles took a deep breath, then he jumped up and struck to the ceiling, shocking Peter, who moved away.
"I knew it." he thought.
"Pretty weird, right?" Miles asked.
"I...wouldn't be so sure." Peter said.
"Look, I figured since you're their photographer you could ask them to meet me to help me learn how to control this, so I don't do any accidents." Miles explained.
Peter looked at him, knowing he might as well come clean since Miles was now like him and Gwen. And since this was different from the other new heroes they'd been finding over the past few weeks, he knew it might be better if they train him instead of Daisy's group.
"Well, I think that might be easier than you think." he said.
Miles looked confused before Peter jumped up and stuck to the ceiling near him.
"Oh, my gosh? You're Spider-Man?" Miles questioned.
"Yeah." Peter said.
They both jumped down and landed near each other.
"So, you'll-" Miles began.
"I promise, Miles. But right now, I need to get some stuff sorted out." Peter explained. "And so does Gwen."
"Gwen? Wait, she's Ghost Spider?" Miles inquired.
"Yeah." Peter nodded. "I'll talk with her, and as soon as we get some free time, we'll start training you. In the meantime, just be careful so you don't accident break anything?"
"Okay, Pete." Miles said. "And thanks."
Peter smiled as they both turned and walked off, surprised and glad to know there was now another spider hero in the city, or at least soon will be.
To be continued...
Translations:
Oh, hijo mío - oh, my son.
cariño: sweetie.