Flying in through his window, Peter ripped his mask off, his frustration palpable. He discarded it on his bed and sat down beside it, running his hand over his face and hair, letting out a moan of frustration. He then heard a knock at his door.
"Peter, are you in there?"
Though he was a little frustrated that he couldn't seem to get a moment to settle himself, part of him was relieved to hear his girlfriend's voice, so he hurriedly threw on some clothes over his costume before answering the door. She might know his secret identity, but anyone else who could happen to walk past the doorway didn't, so it was still best practice to keep up.
"Hey, M.J; I'm sorry, I saw your calls, but I was just..."
"I know," she assured him as she stepped inside and held up a bag in her right hand. "That's why I picked up a few of our favorite sandwiches, since, you know, I'm sure you're not taking the time to feed yourself."
"You're a lifesaver," Peter replied as he practically snatched the bag from his girlfriend's hand, immediately unpacking it on the counter and digging in. Almost instantly, the taste of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and grilled chicken was hitting just the right spot he needed, and he already was feeling reenergized.
"I'm guessing you've had no luck?" M.J. asked as she came and sat down on the stool at the other side of the counter.
"Nothing," Peter said once he finished swallowing what was already his third bite. "No sign of him operating anywhere, no sightings reported even on social media, nothing."
"I don't get it," M.J. said. "Why make such a big dramatic announcement and then just run and hide for over a week?"
"Knowing the Goblin, probably for two reasons," Peter hypothesized as he swallowed another bite. "First, he's probably drawing this out to put myself and everyone else in this city on edge, but especially me. I was the one he threatened in that video; he wants me to sit with that and let it stir, hoping it will get to me."
"Is it working?" Mary Jane asked. Peter paused, setting the little that remained of his sandwich down.
"Maybe," he admitted. "Yeah, a little more than I care to admit. I just hate knowing that I have no idea what he has planned next, and that's the other thing about this: the fact that he hasn't acted probably also means that whatever he has planned is big, like, REALLY big."
"I'm guessing you still haven't heard from Harry either?" Mary Jane asked. "I tried calling and texting him again earlier today, but he's still not answering me."
"Me neither," Peter replied, "and I don't like it."
"I mean, Norman's a real piece of work," M.J. stated, "but if the non-crazy side of him is still in there at all, wouldn't he make sure that Harry was off limits?"
"That's what scares me the most," Peter said. "That's how it used to be: everything the Goblin did, at least at first, was in the service of Norman. He wanted to eliminate all of the people who made life miserable for him while taking over the underworld, presumably to increase Norman's wealth and therefore his comfort while taking out his enemies, but the Goblin had never gone after Harry before."
"Does that mean..." M.J. started but struggled to finish. "You think that Norman is...?"
"I don't know, but I have to believe that he's still in there," Peter responded.
When his girlfriend didn't respond, he then glanced over towards her, finding her staring down at the table, seemingly frozen.
"M.J?" he questioned, the use of her name seemingly shaking her back to reality. "What is it?"
"Nothing," she tried to insist.
"Come on," he said, coming over to her. "Don't forget, I know you pretty well too."
His girlfriend sighed, shutting her eyes for a moment as she seemingly tried to relax herself.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'd hoped to come here to be able to be here for you, but if I'm being honest, this whole thing is starting to put me on edge a little, which is the last thing that you need right now."
She then pointed a finger at him sharply.
"And don't you dare let that guilt-ridden brain of yours start rationalizing ways that this is your fault, as if I didn't make the choice to be with you," she added. "You know, I'm trying this whole 'be honest and trust your partner to react properly' thing."
Peter let out a huff.
"I appreciate that," he said. "For the record, that won't stop me from doing exactly that, but hey, we all have our areas of growth, right?"
"What's my area then?" his girlfriend question, her expression shifting into a knowing look.
"I mean, I don't see anything that needs to change," Peter said.
"Yeah, sure," she teased. They then instinctively leaned forward, planting a kiss on each other's lips. When they parted, Mary Jane's eyes seemed to give off a more peaceful expression, as if that had been just what she needed. Maybe that had been true for both of them.
"You going to be okay for your show tonight?" he asked.
"I think so," she replied. "If nothing else, this is pushing me as an actress, so I look at it as just another acting challenge."
"I'm sorry you had to leave your meeting with Deb last week," he said. "Have you talked to her since?"
Mary Jane shook her head.
"She's texted once, but I'm just trying to wait until this all blows over," she said. "You know, I'm turning into you."
"Uh oh, that's a scary thought," Peter teased, producing a chuckle from his girlfriend. She then got up, coming around to him.
"Look, just... just be careful out there," she said, the two sliding their arms over the other person's backsides. "Okay, Tiger?"
"I'll do my best," Peter assured her. "The Goblin's always slipped up before; he'll do it again, and I'll be there. With any luck, that'll be the end of it. Then again, 'Parker Luck' has never really been a good thing."
"Don't forget though that I'm proof positive that you do have at least some good luck," she said, smiling.
"That's true," he said, kissing her again.
"You're going back out there once you finish those sandwiches, aren't you?" she asked.
"I am," he said.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she assured him. "You just do what you do best."
Getting out of his cab, Jonah shut the door, stuffing his gloved hands in his jacket pockets as he marched towards the building before him. It wasn't much, just an old, rundown building on the far east side of Harlem, but it was where he hoped he might find something useful. He then peered inside the building and, after deducing that it seemed empty, opened the door and let himself in.
He tried flipping the light switch, only for the room to remain just as dark as it had been when he first entered. Undeterred, he took out a small, portable flashlight he kept on his person for situations like this one, a habit he'd formed during his own reporting days many years ago. Walking around, he examined the place, finding nothing but broken chunks of wall scattered on the floor and the occasional rat scurrying by. Sighing, he turned around, only for his light to reveal Robbie Robertson behind him, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.
"Goodness, Robbie!" he said. "What are you doing here!?"
"I could ask the same of you, boss," he said. "Jonah, what's this all about?"
"Well, I'd hoped this might be where I'd find out a little more about what that Goblin freak is up to," he explained.
"Yeah, and how did you deduce that?" he asked.
"Before he seemingly disappeared, Harlem was one of the last places a sighting was reported," Jonah explained. "This area in particular was near one of the major drug operations in the city that Wilson Fisk presumably ran; since it seems that clown in a Halloween costume is running the show now, I thought maybe I could find some clues and help point the police in the right direction."
"And maybe nail a good story in the process?" Robbie questioned.
"This isn't just about a story, Robbie," Jonah replied. "A dead man's body was slung straight to the window of my office that came with a warning to the whole city. I take something like that kind of personally, and you should too."
"I do," Robbie explained, "which was why I was coming here not to talk you down, but to back you up."
Jonah was admittedly taken aback by his right-hand man's admission, but he was certainly willing to accept the help. Before the two men could further discuss a plan, however, the sound of something stirring around could be heard, causing Jonah to shine his light in that direction. They didn't find a person, or even a rat, but instead what appeared to be an envelope. Walking over to it, Jonah picked it up and opened it, unfolding the paper itself and discovering the following words written within:
"Don't worry, more to come soon..."
Releasing his web, Peter landed gracefully at the corner of the nearest building, squatting down onto his toes. He'd been searching for his purple and green adversary for hours, but just like his attempts over the last week, there was no sign of the Goblin. He just shook his head as he looked out into the city, puzzled at where his nemesis could be. He'd done his due diligence in checking as many of the Kingpin's known bases of operation as possible, only to be met with nothing each time. He'd heard of a place of business overhauling when new management came in, but this was ridiculous!
Even more so, the biggest thing Peter was surprised by was the Goblin's self-control. As they'd faced each other more and more throughout the years, his flying nemesis had seemingly come to define himself as much by their conflict as he had by becoming the lord of New York's underworld. He'd rarely have been able to wait such a length of time before challenging him in the past, so what was the deal now? Was he really planning something that big, or had he just forgotten about him? Actually, he knew the second one couldn't be true given the nature of the video the Goblin had released to the public...
So... did all superheroes have enemies who latched onto them, or was it just him?
Peter was about to fire a web to head back home when he suddenly heard it...
"HAHAHAHA!"
Turning towards the sound of a familiar laugh, Peter found none other than the Goblin, who was casually flying overhead of him just to his right. Leaping to get into a better position, he fired a web, sticking it onto the Goblin's leg. He then yanked his enemy clean off his glider, causing him to crash onto the same building he was on.
"Wow, that was quite a greeting, Spider-Man," the Goblin said as he stood to his feet. "Did you miss me?"
"Aww, so you really do care?" Peter quipped. "And yet, you never call, you never write, so where have you been anyway?"
"Today?" the Goblin questioned. "Why, I've been looking for you, wall crawler!"
Peter's spider sense alerted him to the glider heading back for him, enabling him to perform a quick backflip to avoid it colliding with him. By the time his feet had returned to the roof, the Goblin was already back on it, flying off. Peter fired a web, this time sticking it to the backside of the glider. He then held on for dear life as he rocketed off into the city, trying to climb up the line even as the Goblin made several hard turns around nearby buildings. Unfortunately, his enemy proceeded to throw one of his trademark "Razor Bats" behind him, cutting the web line in the process. Still, he didn't run this time but instead circled back around towards Peter, unleashing a flurry of pumpkin bombs straight for him. Trusting his spider sense, he twisted, turned and pulled himself with his webs, narrowly avoiding the barrage of explosions. Knowing he was coming right up onto his enemy, Peter reared back his fist, catching the Goblin off guard and striking a blow straight to the face of his opponent. The Goblin recovered quickly though, grabbing him by the arm and putting him in a headlock as they flew along.
"Man, aren't we feisty today!" he said gleefully. "That's good, because I'm going to give you one last chance to stop me before I enact my fiendish plans."
"Great, because that's all I'll need," Peter replied before managing to rear back just enough against his opponent to deliver a knee to his face, freeing him from his grip and causing the Goblin to toss him off. He managed to snag another web onto the edge of the glider though, his strength and stickiness all that was keeping him on.
"Sorry, Spidey, but I'm afraid I don't mean tonight!" the Goblin quipped. "But trust me, I'll make sure to clue you in when the hour is at hand. See you around!"
Peter's spider sense went off again, causing him to turn and see that the Goblin was flying him straight into a building. With no options left, he released his grip on his web, barely managing to avoid crashing through the glass. When he looked up, however, his nemesis was well beyond his reach, disappearing into the night clouds.
"Perfect," he grumbled.
Hope you are still enjoying it!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy." Psalm 94:19