Chapter 2: MJ is a Knockout

Entering my 3rd year of PhD now with a PI obsessed with getting tenure, I can totally see why most villains hold doctorates. The entire experience trains you more in being a bitter petty supervillain than it does for anything to do with your actual course of study.

"Do you have the Lego set?"

"Yes."

"And the latest Minecraft update?"

"Plus patches. And you're getting the snacks, right?"

"Yup, I'm heading out now."

Ned held out his hand, and Peter grinned as they completed their handshake.

Peter had convinced Ned not to do anything extravagant for this one-year anniversary of his powers. He really didn't want to drag anyone else into this. It wasn't that big of a deal after all. He hadn't even started being a vigilante until a few weeks after. It took time to get all the supplies for his homemade suit and web shooters.

So today they were just going to hang out, build Legos, and spend a few hours exploring the latest Minecraft updates. It would be a fun day, like their days used to be before Ned became his Guy In The Chair and Spider-Manning took up most of their free time. Not that Spider-Manning wasn't fun on its own, but it carried a certain level of stress, and a break would be nice, especially since there were no major supervillains in the area right now.

"Okay," Ned said. "See you at your place in ten?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm gonna walk, so make it thirty."

Ned made a face. "You're gonna walk today of all days?!"

"The weather is great! I'm going to enjoy the day for once instead of rushing around."

"Okay, fine. See you soon." Ned waved and went on his way.

Peter went in his own direction, focusing on the thrum of his spider sense.

For the past few weeks, Peter would get a strange sense that he was being watched. Every time, he traced that feeling back to Michelle Jones, who could sometimes be seen peeking up at him over her sketchbook.

At first, Peter thought she was just checking up on the members of the AcaDec team since she became team captain, but she didn't seem to give the same attention to the others. Then Peter worried if his absences were making her consider removing him from the team, but she hadn't approached him about it yet. And then Ned pointed out that she had begun to ask about Peter's wellbeing when he wasn't around. Peter was very confused about that, but Ned said it meant one thing:

Maybe Michelle liked him.

Peter wanted to feel flattered about that, but mostly he was worried. Nothing had gone well with Liz, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the life of another classmate. What if he went on a date with Michelle only to learn that one of her moms ran the biggest gang in the city? That would make Peter feel obligated to detain the bad guy. But he didn't want to use his personal connections with his classmates to uncover secrets about their families. Liz's dad had been a complete accident, but now he felt like he would be too suspicious of other people's parents.

And yet that didn't stop him from wondering what it would be like to get to know the most enigmatic person in the school . . .

He was only wondering though. He wouldn't actually do anything about it. He hadn't even told Ned about his curiosity yet. Because if Ned knew, then he would ask questions. And if Ned asked questions, Peter would have to answer them. And if Peter answered his questions, he would end up telling the truth. And the truth was . . .

Peter kind of had a crush on Michelle.

She was just so cool! How could he not have a crush?!

Well. If he could survive being crushed by a building, then he could survive having an impossible crush.

And anyway, he had other things to focus on today. Like how much fun he and Ned would have. And also his spider sense right now? It was a little strange how his spider sense was humming louder this time around. But maybe thinking about Michelle was only making things worse.

And, oddly enough, the feeling continued even as he entered Delmar's. Had she followed him all the way to his local deli? That was odd, even for her.

The bell above the door jingled as a girl with wild brown curls entered, making Peter's heart flutter.

Apparently she did follow him here. That was a first. It really did explain his buzzing spider sense. And her steady approach explained his rapidly increasing heartrate. Why was she just walking up to him? Why was she invading his personal space?!

"Hey, Parker," Michelle greeted in a whisper, coming to stand uncomfortably close to him. Peter took a step back, but she followed. "A strange man with long hair and a cape has been following you by running across rooftops."

"W—what?!" Peter's heartrate spiked higher.

"He's watching from across the street right now," Michelle continued in her hushed tone. "If you head out the backway, maybe you can lose him."

Peter nodded, brain racing as he wondered if this was it, if Toomes had finally revealed his secret identity and got hitmen to go after Peter Parker. "Alright, Caped stalker man sounds potentially dangerous. Come with me and we'll head to my place. It's not that far. Plus, you can tell me anything else you've noticed about him." He had no doubt that Michelle already had a modest profile of this mystery man.

Michelle nodded sharply, already pulling him towards the back door. "Let's get out of here."

They stepped out into the back alley. Peter immediately looked up to see if the stalker had moved to any of these roofs. He didn't see anyone, but his spider sense spiked even higher. A threat was imminent, but from where?

A shout from behind startled him. He turned to protect Michelle, only to pause in confusion.

Which Michelle should he protect?

Two identical Michelles were before him. One had jumped onto the other, holding her in a chokehold.

"Peter! Get her off of me!" the choked Michelle pleaded.

"You didn't buy the rights to use my image!" the choker Michelle yelled furiously.

That went a long way in convincing Peter on who was who.

He surged forward, pulling the two Michelles apart, but keeping a strong hold on the choked one. "Okay," he said. "I have no idea what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure you're the fake."

The girl in his arms did not gasp for breath or even struggle. She opened her mouth wide and laughed. Except the laugh sounded like it should be coming from a middle-aged male supervillain instead of a sarcastic young Michelle.

Peter's spider sense surged again, but he couldn't dodge the blast of energy that came from the fake Michelle. He was thrown against the brick wall of the alleyway. He felt his head crack again the bricks, and then everything went dark.