Michelle "MJ" Jones

I excused myself and went into my room. I told my parents and Liz that I wanted to change out of my clothes since I was out in them all day. That wasn't a lie, per se. I really did want to change into some fresh clothes. But I needed to make a phone call and it wasn't one I could make out in the open. So, after I closed the door behind me, I locked it before I walked over to my bed and sat down. I pulled out my phone. I thought about calling Scott directly, but I decided against it. I remembered that Scott made a point that Beck would have extra surveillance on those who he was working with. It wouldn't have surprised me if there was one of those surveillance vans circling the block at the very moment. Instead, I decided to call up Buford. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Howdy," Buford greeted. I smirked. It was still pretty interesting how I ended up meeting the most Southern person I ever met in New York, working as a NYPD officer working in Harlem.

"Hey Buford," I greeted back. "Um, can you do me a favor?"

"What you need, Em?"

"Can you call up Peter's uncle for me? Erik, that is. I lost his number."

Buford didn't answer at first. I guess it took him a moment to process that I was speaking in code. "Okay… what do you need me to tell him?"

I took a moment to think about it. "Ask him if he wants to… come over for dinner. There's something really spicy being cooked up."

There was another pause from Buford. "…How spicy?"

I grimaced. "Carolina Reaper spicy."

"Understood. I'll let him know."

After the call ended, I set my phone down before I went about changing my clothes, deciding to wear black sweat pants and a red t-shirt that was two sizes larger than my normal size. After I got changed, I checked my phone. I got a text from an unknown number. I opened the text and read it.

"I can't come to dinner. I'll call you tomorrow morning."

I pressed my lips together before I set my phone down. I decided not to respond. I figured Scott would see that the text was read. After that, I made my way out.

After a while, dinner was served. It was braised chicken with yellow rice on the side. I was sitting across from Liz, who looked like she was enjoying herself. I didn't know how to feel about that. Dinner was rather quiet. As we ate, I just waited for the conversation to start. I was curious to see how Liz was going to play in my face.

"So, how's Oregon?" my father asked.

"Well, it's not New York," Liz replied with a chuckle. She took a moment to take a drink from her cup of water. "I was in Eugene since I was attending University of Oregon. It's pretty woody and a lot more of a smaller city. But it's pretty chill there, and I enjoyed the outdoors. Of course, it rains quite a bit and rainy season can be rather dreary, but you got to take the good with the bad, you know?"

"I see," my mom said. She took a sip from her water. "How's the food out there? It can't be like the food here."

Liz chuckled. "It's… different. The food is good still, but they're mostly known for their seafood, fruits and veggies, nuts, and doughnuts."

From the corner of my eye, I saw my mom nod. "Nothing too outrageous, I see."

Liz shook her head. "Nope. I got to say, Oregon is pretty low key – at least where I was staying at, anyway, football season aside. I guess we kind of needed the peace and quiet, my mom and I."

"You didn't fall in love with a sparkling vampire while you were there, did you?" I deadpanned.

At that, Liz scoffed. "I almost wish. There weren't many guys that caught my eye. Then again, I wasn't in the mood for romance."

"I guess not everyone is ready to find their Peter, huh Miche?" my mom commented. I swallowed as I looked at my mom. I looked back at Liz who raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a knowing smirk. A part of me wondered if I got tripped up. Fortunately for me, my mom continued. "How is Peter doing, anyway?"

"He's not doing well," I said matter-of-factly.

"What's wrong with the boy?" my dad asked. "He got problems at work or school?"

"I wish." I sighed. "…Last thing I heard, he's in a medically induced coma." I frowned. I started to get that feeling of guilt again. I ignored that feeling as everyone's eyes were on me. "Peter was trying to get pictures of Spider-Man. Spider-Man was rescuing someone out of a burning building. Peter got too greedy and got caught in the fire because of it. Peter tried to escape, but he ended up crushed by some debris. I'm honestly surprised he's even alive when Spider-Man got to him. Whether or not he'll make it, though, is up in the air. He was in Presbyterian for a bit, but he's been transported to a facility out of state. Apparently, that's his best bet." Of course, I didn't know that, at the time, Peter was back on his feet and just standing by in a SHIELD facility. So, the concern was very real, even though I knew better than to count Peter out.

My eyes landed on Liz. I wanted to see her reaction. For a moment, just a moment, the mask slipped. I could see in her eyes that she was feeling some type of way. She looked conflicted. Did she feel bad about what she did to Peter? Was she starting to have second thoughts of working with Beck?

"Man, being a photographer is dangerous in these streets," my dad commented. "It seems like every other day, some superhuman stuff pops off. I pray he pulls through and I hope he has some good insurance." I looked at him as he shook his head. "Though, nowadays, it seems like this whole city is liable to be a fire hazard ever since that fiery woman showed up."

"She seems to be bent on taking down Spider-Man," my mom mused. "I wonder if she's working for the government."

I could see Liz shift a bit in her seat. She looked a bit uncomfortable. I took the moment to twist the knife in a little further.

"God, I hope not," I said with a shake of my head. "It seems like everyone Hammer works with has more than few screws loose, to say the least."

Liz took in a breath. "Be that as it may, Spider-Man is still going around breaking the law. Besides, we don't have any idea what kind of person is underneath that mask." She stabbed her fork into a piece of chicken. "For all we know, he could be manipulating things from behind the scenes."

I raised my eyebrows briefly. "Well, I'd hate to be on the streets when Spider-Man returns. Good guy he is, but he's definitely a certifiable crash out."

It wasn't lost on me how uncomfortable Liz looked.

After dinner, Liz and I went up to the roof. Liz said she wanted to shoot the breeze. I went along with it, even though I was reluctant. Once we were on the roof, we stood in silence as we looked out towards the city for a little bit. After a while, Liz broke the silence.

"It's been a while since we stood here and took in this view, hasn't it?" Liz stated.

"Yeah, it has," I replied.

"I'm glad your parents are doing a lot better."

"So am I."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Liz look at me. "Em, are you really okay?"

I grimaced. "Ami I okay? No, Liz, I'm fucking fantastic. Can't you tell?"

I saw Liz turn and face me from my peripheral as I still looked out towards the city. "What's wrong?"

I scoffed. "What isn't wrong?" I turned and faced her. "I got government agents showing up to my workplace and pressuring me because they think I'm affiliated with the X-Men or some shit like that."

Liz looked at me in confusion. "Why would they think that?"

"Do you remember The Midtown Incident?" Liz nodded. "Well, after the X-Men showed up and took down The Friends of Humanity members that were there, Spider-Man took me by the hand to Coach Wilson's office so he could apply a little first aid to my lip." Liz raised her eyebrows. I frowned. "…I knocked out one of those creeps because they said some really racist stuff about Ned. And then another hit me in the face with the butt of their rifles."

Liz went ajar. "Oh… oh shit."

I nodded. "Yeah. Well, anyway, apparently, Spider-Man leading me by hand was caught on camera, and that was enough for them to think we were dating or something." And, to be fair, we weren't really dating at that moment. "And it's starting to get to the point where they're threatening to go after the people around me – my friends, my family, even this co-worker of mine who just started working at Peter Pan just because she was just standing there." It was at this point that Liz averted her gaze. I got the feeling that she knew about that part. "…Did anyone come knocking on your door?"

Liz looked back at me and shook her head. "No, not at all."

I tilted my head. "Are you sure?"

Liz nodded as she raised her eyebrows. "Yes, MJ, I'm sure."

I decided to press just a little bit more. "…If they did, you'd tell me right?"

Liz scowled at me. "MJ, what is this?" she demanded. "I've had your back since freshman year, especially when you told me the reason you have a hard time trusting people. You do remember that, don't you?"

This was when I used a bit of my own pain as bait. "I do remember that," I assured.

"So why are you doubting me?" Liz was getting rather defensive. This wasn't like her.

"I'm not trying to doubt you, Liz. But right now, I just really need to know who's in my corner. I burned a bridge with Peter before he got put in a coma, and I'm afraid to even reach out to Betty or Ned in case my phone is being tapped and my own family has been threatened. I've been so extra-paranoid these days that I feel like every person I pass by on the street is a government agent and I could get hauled off at any given moment. So, no offense to you, but I need a little more reassurance."

Liz stared at me for some seconds. There was a certain change in her expression. I couldn't quite pin it down. She took in a deep breath before she nodded slowly. "If anything like that happened, I would've let you know, okay?" She frowned for a moment before she looked out towards the city. I stared at her. She actually sounded sincere. I wanted to believe her.

I nodded. "Okay." I frowned. "I'm sorry."

Liz nodded again. "I get it. I didn't know you've been going through so much." She frowned. "Is Peter really in that dire of a situation?"

"He is." Well, as far as I knew, he was. I knew that Betty and David went looking for someone who could help Peter. I didn't know how successful they were. "It was hard for me to see him like that."

Liz scowled as he averted his gaze. "…If he pulls through, maybe he should take that as a lesson."

I tilted my head briefly. "Peter's an idiot. But he takes his job seriously."

Liz scoffed. "If you say so."

I raised an eyebrow. "…Liz, what's your deal?"

Liz looked back at me. "My deal?" she repeated. She shook her head. "What do you mean?"

"What's your deal?" I said once again. "With the way you talk about Peter… It seems like you have some kind of personal issue with him."

Liz sneered. "I don't."

"Are you sure? It seems like ever since I told you about the issues Peter and I have, you've been pushing me to cut ties with him altogether."

"…" Liz leaned forward as she looked at me with raised eyebrows. "…Bitch… you're the one complaining about how you have a hard time contending with the issues between the two of you, and you're the one who broke up with Peter because of those same issues. All I was trying to do was help you out."

Did she have a point? Yes. But I wasn't convinced.

"Okay, I get that, I do, but…" I trailed off for a moment before I shook my head. "It just seems like he wronged you directly?" That's when I saw it. I saw the very slighting widening of her eyes as she suddenly straighten up. "…Did you know Peter in the past? Did he wrong you?"

"…NO!" Liz said suddenly loudly. My eyes went a bit wide. There was a look of anger on her face. Plus I could've sworn that the air around me got hotter – literally. She took a breath to still herself. The temperature went back to normal. "No. I just care about you a lot. I don't have many friends here left since my dad got arrested, so I guess I'm a bit overprotective of them. You can relate to that, can't you?"

"I can." I put on a fake frown. "I'm sorry."

"I get it." Liz smiled. "Let's just drop it and enjoy the view, okay?"

I smiled as I nodded. "Okay."

I got what I needed, anyway.

Early the next morning, I got a call from an unknown number. I had a feeling it was from Scott. So, as I sat in my bed, I answered the call and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Hey MJ," Scott said from the other line. "How did dinner go? I was told you had a rather interesting guest."

"…I did." I took a moment to crack my neck. "Liz was there."

"So I've been told." There was a slight pause. "Why was she there?"

"She said she wanted to check up on me. I don't know how true that is."

"…Do you think she is who you theorize she is? I need you to be sure."

I frowned. "I can't say I'm 100 percent sure." I paused a moment. Even now, there was a small part of me that wanted to give Liz the benefit of the doubt. If my intuition was wrong, then we'd be targeting someone who been through quite a bit since her father was locked away. But if my intuition was right and I ignore it well, then things can go from bad to worse. Or perhaps it'd be going from worse to worst. "…I can't ignore my intuition, though. I think we need to roll with the 66 percent."

"…Okay. Then we'll roll with that. Just do me a favor and standby. Things are coming together now. I'll need you for preparations. And yes, that includes the suit."

"Okay." I was about to start ending the call before something came across my mind. "…Hey, before I go. Is You-Know-Who okay?" I was referring to Peter.

"He's back on his feet and wants payback… especially after Carmilla told him who we believe Firestar to be."

I groaned. "And why would she do that?"

"She didn't feel right keeping that part a secret before I could tell him, despite my orders."

I almost laughed. "Of course she did." In all honesty, I had conflicting feelings. On one hand, I was happy Peter was okay. Even though I still harbored some anger and distrust towards him, I still cared about his wellbeing. On the other hand, though, I dreaded the talk we would have to have. We left things off on a bad note and I wasn't so sure that Peter would be in a mood to talk things out. Hell, the thought of me even being in the same room with Peter made me uneasy, because I was low key afraid that the tiniest thing would spark an argument between us.

Ugh.

"And what about… you know?" I asked. I was referring to Craig this time.

"He should be back on his way back to New York," Scott said. "He was found by You-Know-Who and Carmilla. They had to make a stop in Connecticut along the way."

I smiled slightly. "I'm glad."

"So am I. Well, I'll let you go. I'll keep in touch."

"Thank you. You have a good one."

"You too, MJ."

The call ended. I set the phone down. I took in a breath before I huffed it out.

"Welp, here we go," I said to myself.