Perched on top of a streetlight, Peter observed as Wilson Fisk was finally led out through the front of the building, a police officer at each side. Even once the Kingpin himself had been taken down, it had still taken much longer than he'd hoped to get the mess cleaned up, between helping wounded officers get to EMS and rounding up all of Fisk's men. As a result, it was already just ten minutes shy of eleven in the morning already, and it wasn't lost on Peter how this was likely to affect things at his other job. Nevertheless, seeing his longest running enemy, the man who had caused so much trouble in this city since even before he'd arrived on the scene being hauled off by the authorities was perhaps the most satisfying sight he'd ever seen in his career thus far.

As Fisk and those escorting him neared the police truck, the man turned his head, shooting a glare Peter's way, a harsh scowl overtaking his face. Deciding this was as good a time as any for what he hoped was his final goodbye, Peter raised two fingers towards his forehead, giving a so long style salute before firing a web and swinging upwards, admittedly taking a little joy in Fisk's inflammatory response as he yelled behind him. Releasing his web, he landed gracefully on a nearby rooftop, where Matt had been waiting for him.

"Was that really necessary?" the man asked.

"Absolutely," Peter replied firmly but jovially, turning to face the scene once again. "After all he's put both of us through for years now, I had to enjoy it at least a little bit. Don't tell me you don't feel the same way?"

A thin half-smile crept over his ally's face.

"Maybe a little," Matt finally replied, his face returning to its usual stern expression as he continued, "but the circumstances behind this still bother me. I know we were getting close, but this whole thing still feels out of left field."

"What are you saying?" Peter questioned. He didn't need his spider-sense to detect that the wheels were turning rapidly in his ally's head right now. Even so, it took Matt a moment before he spoke up once more.

"It's just hard not to wonder if another party was behind this somehow."

"I mean, I guess that could make sense," Peter said. "It's not like Fisk doesn't have a ton of enemies who would love to take his place. At the same time, you and I have been watching the criminal underworld very carefully the last several months, so I'm not sure how we would have missed another player throwing themselves into the mix."

"Maybe," he said. "Something just feels off about all this."

"Maybe, maybe not," Peter replied. "In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if you're right, knowing our luck, but how about, just for today, we take the win and worry about the rest of it later?"

"I guess so," Matt said. "I guess it couldn't hurt to be a little more positive like you, for a change."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Peter replied. "Anyway, I better get ba..."

He hadn't even had the chance to fire a web yet when Peter's phone started ringing. He glanced at it, discovering that it was Mr. Fireheart. Hurriedly, he answered, stepping off to the side.

"Mr. Fireheart! I'm so sorry, sir; I just had an emergen..."

"Relax, Peter," his boss replied. "I saw the news; we all did. I told the board that you had a relative working near the chaos, and you needed to check on them and make sure they got out safely."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Peter said, letting out a deeply relieved breath. "I promise, I'm on my way back right now."

"I'm afraid that won't do you any good regarding your presentation," Peter replied. "The board was on a tight schedule today, so I'm afraid they've already left."

"Oh... okay," Peter mumbled, his boss's words hitting him as if they were from a high-tech stun gun. "Well, uh, when will they be available again?"

"Unfortunately, not for a few months," Fireheart admitted. "Also, there are multiple presentations with others on your team already scheduled, so even if they do approve your project, there's no guarantee regarding how many resources we'll be able to divulge depending on their enthusiasm for these other projects."

"Oh man..." Peter replied softly, rubbing his forehead with the first three fingers of his left hand.

"Look, why don't you just take the rest of the day off?" Mr. Fireheart suggested. "It seems like you still had at least one major victory today."

"Thanks," Peter replied; frankly, he suddenly wasn't feeling all that victorious anymore. "I think I'll head back and take care of a couple of things first."

"Whatever you feel that you need to do," Mr. Fireheart replied. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out this morning."

"Yeah, me too," Peter replied, finally hanging up. He then felt a gentle hand on his shoulder from Matt; he glanced up, observing the man's kind, compassionate expression before he took off, diving off the top of the building they were on. Glancing back to his phone, Peter could only shake his head. He decided to call M.J, figuring he better let her know for sure that he was alright. He fired a web as he hit the call button, the mobile device once again syncing with the earpiece in his mask.

"Hey," his girlfriend answered after about a ring and a half. "Looks like you did it!"

"Yep!" Peter replied, trying to pep up his voice a little as he fired another web. "Granted, there's still getting him through to trial and actually getting a conviction, but still, today was definitely a success!"

"So, why don't you sound happy about it?" M.J. questioned.

"I am happy about it," Peter tried to assure her.

"I believe you," Mary Jane conceded, "but I also know too well how to recognize when there's something more going on by your tone. I'm guessing the presentation fell through?"

Peter sighed; she really did know him so well, or maybe it was from her self-admitted experience putting on a show for others, maybe even both.

"It's just postponed, but it sounds like it'll be a while before I get another shot."

"I'm sorry," she replied earnestly. "Are you going back in?"

"Just long enough to clean up and take care of a couple of things," he clarified.

"Why don't we meet for lunch before I head in to get ready?" his girlfriend suggested. "I can meet you at the lab in a little over an hour."

"Sounds perfect," Peter replied. "See you then."

Peter was just finishing shutting down everything at his lab for the day when he heard a knock against the door. He turned, expecting to see M.J, but was instead surprised to find Debra Whitman standing at the entrance to his workspace.

"Hey," Peter said, a little of his surprise seeping into his tone.

"I heard about what happened," she said as she came in. "Is your family member okay?"

"What?" Peter asked at first before his mind kicked into gear as he remembered Mr. Fireheart's reasoning he'd given the board, which apparently had made it to more people than he'd realized. "I mean, yeah, they were luckily able to get out of the area before the worst of it went down."

"That's good," Deb replied. "I'm surprised they didn't answer when you tried to call though; could you not reach them before having to leave?"

"No," Peter answered, his brain rapidly conjuring up a semblance of an excuse. "This person just never answers the phone; I mean, like, we're talking a gun could be pointed to their head with instructions to answer or they'd pull the trigger, and they STILL wouldn't answer!"

"Wow," Deb remarked; Peter couldn't quite tell from her puzzled tone and expressions whether she was buying it or not. "That is pretty bad."

"The good news though is that Mr. Fireheart said I'd eventually get another shot," Peter said, taking advantage of the opportunity to change the subject. "The bad news is that it will probably be at least a few months."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, the woman following him as he moved over to put away the last thing he needed to. "I'm sure it will work out th..."

Peter's spider sense went off just as Deb suddenly tripped behind him, enabling him to reach back and catch her, preventing her from faceplanting into the floor. She gripped the arms of his jacket tightly, as if she was clinging to life as she looked up at him.

"Thanks," she said.

Of course, it was right at that moment that Peter heard another knock on the door, looking up to find that it was his girlfriend this time. Hurriedly setting Deb back on her feet, he spoke up.

"Hey, M.J; I'm just about finished, actually."

"That's okay; I can wait," she replied, and it didn't escape his attention that she was looking at Deb as she spoke. Peter then went to attend to the last thing he needed to put away when it suddenly dawned on him that there was something he'd forgotten in the presentation room.

"Actually, I need to grab one more thing from another room really quick."

"That's fine," M.J. replied. "It'll just give her and I a chance to get to know each other."

"Oh, okay," Peter said, a little nervousness escaping in his tone. He hesitated at first; he wasn't sure whether leaving the two ladies in a room together was a good idea or not, but he trusted M.J, so he made his way out of the room.

As Peter hesitantly walked out of the lab, Deb could feel her heart rate speeding up rapidly as his girlfriend turned back her way and began strolling over towards her. Her face was probably already turning red from embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry about that," she stammered out. "I just tripped and..."

"Relax," the woman replied as she came up to her. "I'm sure it was nothing."

"Oh, really?" Deb admitted, surprised.

"I know Peter better than that," the woman stated plainly, "and from what he tells me about you, you don't seem like the type."

"H-he told you about me?" Deb questioned. The woman just chuckled, smiling brightly as she extended her hand.

"Mary Jane Watson, but you can call me M.J."

"Debra Whitman," she replied as she accepted the woman's handshake offer, her heart finally beginning to beat a little more normally again. "I guess you can call me Deb though; pretty much everyone does."

"It's nice to meet you," M.J. said. "I've honestly always wanted to meet a woman in one of the STEM fields."

"Wow, thanks," Deb spoke up, admittedly caught off guard by the admission. "I don't exactly get many saying that. My parents really wanted me to be a performer, actually."

"I'm sure you would have been a great addition to the scene, but if this is what you want to do, I'm glad you're wearing a lab coat instead of a ton of makeup and occasionally a wig," M.J. said. "Peter also tells me that he doesn't come across a ton of women in his work."

"It did take a lot for me to get here," Deb conceded. "It didn't help that I didn't get much exposure at a tiny school like Elk Rapids High."

"Oh, so you're not originally from the city either?" M.J. questioned.

"You're not either?" Deb questioned.

"Nope; grew up in Pennsylvania for a while," M.J. explained. "I eventually ended up coming to live with my aunt in Queens as a teenager."

"Wow," she said. "I have to say, I wouldn't have guessed."

"New York is definitely my home though," M.J. said. "I tried the Hollywood scene for a while after college, but it just wasn't for me."

"I'm still acclimating," Deb replied. "It feels a bit..."

"...overwhelming?" M.J. finished for her.

"Yeah," Deb admitted.

"Well, now you've got a friend who can show you around," Mary Jane said. "There's a lot of spots I think you'll really enjoy."

"Really?" Deb asked. "You mean that?"

"Of course!" M.J. said, taking out her phone from her purse. The two then exchanged numbers just in time for Peter to finally return and put away the last of his equipment.

"Alright, I promise, I'm actually ready now," he said as he came over to M.J.

"Great!" M.J. said before turning back to Deb. "It was nice to meet you, Deb; we'll talk soon!"

"Okay, sounds good!" she replied with more enthusiasm than she expected. The couple then took their leave, and Deb let out a sigh of relief and surprise. She had to admit, she didn't expect that to be how it went AT ALL between her and Peter's girlfriend; strangely, she didn't feel nervous about the idea of seeing her again at all either. There was an earnestness that the woman had projected that made her feel surprisingly accepted.

Plus, she'd complimented her having a job as a scientist, something she definitely needed more of in her life.

"Please tell me that you didn't scare her?" Peter asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Actually, we had a really good talk," his girlfriend assured him. "We even exchanged numbers."

"Oh... really?" Peter asked. "You mean you didn't think..."

"Tiger, you know that I know you better than that," Mary Jane stated, "and she seems like a nice girl. Besides, it'd be nice to have a real girlfriend again outside of my fellow actresses, especially since Liz moved away."

"You really are incredible, you know that?" Peter questioned.

"I know," M.J. said. "Let's just hope the crowd thinks so tonight."

"Whaaaaat?" Peter joking challenged. "Don't tell me that Mary Jane Watson is actually getting nervous before a show?"

"A few butterflies always makes a better performance, Tiger," she replied, waving a finger as she reminded him. "I just hope we prove to be the little engine that could of Broadway shows, because that's what it feels like we need to be right now."

"You will," Peter replied. "I'm sure of it."

His girlfriend turned to him, smiling one of her wide smiles that always lit up the room around them.

"As long as I have you in the crowd, that's all that I need."

Hope you're still enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4