Lakeshore Drive
Peter backed away from the window, he didn’t even notice his fist was balled up until he felt blood dripping down from his nail digging into the flesh. MJ turned back to look at him and put her hand over her mouth when she saw his hand. It felt like time had stopped as Peter stared at his bloody hand. MJ was the one to snap him out of it as she came over to him and wrapped his hand in gauze. She wanted to ask Peter what was wrong, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he saw Gwen again. MJ gave him a tight hug as she led him to the couch. After a long silence, Peter spoke up. “I got to mentor another spider person today.”
“Peter…”
“Her name is Cindy, she’s Jameson’s adopted daughter I guess.”
“Peter.”
“Yeah I invited her and Jameson to dinner someti-”
“Peter Benjamin Parker!”
Peter went quiet as his enraged wife looked at him, fury in her eyes. God she was even beautiful when she was angry.
“We need to talk about this ghost you keep seeing Peter.”
“I…”
“Peter, I know you must feel some guilt about what happened with Gwen. It was all over the news that Spider-Man was responsible for her death. I know we’ve never talked about it but… Maybe it’s time we do.”
“I… No you’re right.” Peter adjusted himself on the couch to look at MJ. “I was fighting the Goblin. He figured out who I was and used Gwen against me. He captured Gwen and dropped her and I…” Peter struggled to get the words out. “I was too late. I grabbed her with my web but…”
“But?”
“When I pulled her up… It snapped her neck. If I was just more careful Gwen would…”
MJ put her hand on his shoulder. She could feel that he was stiff and massaged his shoulder a little. The two of them were quiet for what felt like hours. Mary-Jane still didn’t blame Peter for the death of her best friend. The two spent the rest of the night watching Quinten Beck’s Tricks of the Mind, a show demonstrating the latest in Hollywood special effects. MJ could start to hear Peter snoring next to her and placed a blanket on him before heading to the bedroom to get some sleep herself.
The bell started to ring as Peter’s class scrambled out of the room. Peter let out a huge sigh of relief as no one in his class failed the finals, which was good for him since it showed he wasn’t completely incompetent as a teacher. Miles and Kamala were talking to each other and Peter stopped them before they walked out the door. “Hey guys, hold up!” The two stopped as Peter closed the door. “First off, if you guys need any, like, tutoring with your future science classes just let me know and I’d be happy to.” The two nodded and assured Peter that they would. Then, Peter lowered his voice. “Miles, has your uncle told you about anything else going on?” Miles shook his head. It had been months since Kingpin’s ominous threat, whatever Tombstone stole, he hadn’t used it yet. Keyword being “yet”. Peter had been asking people on the inside about what the device was but none of the big corporations had had any sort of theft, unless it was majorly off the books, which, if we’re being honest was just as likely as nothing being stolen at all. Peter nodded and opened the door. “Well, in any case have a good summer break you two.” The two left the science room, holding hands as they left.
Peter started packing his things up, making sure to grab everything he couldn’t live without for three months as he made his way back to his apartment. The walk back to his apartment proved relaxing as he used the time to clear his mind. He had told Reed he couldn’t make it that night since he and MJ had dinner plans, which Reed was okay with. Peter had his hands full lately with not only his two jobs but also training Cindy, who had chosen the name Silk for her hero name. Whenever the two were out doing superhero business and snapping photos, Jameson always made sure Silk was front page news. It was adorable, at least to Peter. Thankfully, Cindy had taken up Peter on his dinner offer at a great time when he both had the money to spare and when he could manage the time off from his second job. Peter walked through the front door of his complex and slipped the month's rent into their landlord’s mailbox, making sure the envelope was correctly labeled this time.
Walking into his apartment Peter placed the box of things from his classroom desk on the dresser in his and MJ’s room and started getting himself ready for the dinner. MJ was off modeling maternity clothes for some major fashion company, but once she got home they just needed to grab some champagne and head over to Jameson’s house for dinner. Peter didn’t know what they were having, but Cindy promised that she was cooking, and that she was good at it, something that Jameson backed up. After stepping out of the shower Peter heard the door open. “Oh hey babe, welcome ho-” Peter was stopped mid sentence when he saw Gwen in his living room. At least the illusion of it being Gwen was shattered by the lack of iris in her eyes. Despite this lack of iris, Peter could feel her staring him down. She cocked her head to the side and started walking towards him before disappearing. Peter took a deep breath and before he could process what happened MJ walked in. “Oh, and to what do I owe the pleasure of you standing here in your boxers?” She said with a mischievous look on her face. “Oh, Nothing, I was just getting changed for the Jameson dinner and thought I heard you coming in.”
After getting dressed in a simple button-up shirt and slacks Peter and MJ jaded to Jameson’s house for dinner. Jameson’s house wasn’t a huge mansion, but it was definitely bigger than the house Peter grew up in. Peter knocked on the door and they were greeted by Cindy. “Hi! You must be Mary-Jane, Peter talks about you all the time.” MJ looked at Peter, eyebrow raised. “It’s true, I do talk about you all the time.” Peter and MJ walked into the living room, decorated in both modern and retro furniture in a way that surprisingly did not clash. The walls were adorned with framed newspapers of stories Jameson was proud of. Peter examined the papers, noticing that a few of them were about heroes. Clearly he had added the first paper he wrote about Silk, which led to a chuckle from Peter. Him and MJ sat on one of the couches as MJ smelled the food that was cooking. “What is it that you’re making Cindy?” “Oh, well Dad loves my chili so it’s that with a side of homemade cornbread.” As if on cue Jameson walked in, lighting up when he saw Peter and MJ. “Hey Parker! I didn’t know you could be someplace early!”
“If I really try hard enough I can be.”
Jameson laughed. “And How have you been Mrs. Watson?”
“I’ve been as good as I can be, being pregnant and all.”
“How far along are you?”
“Seven months.”
Jameson whistled. “Not too long now huh?”
“Nope, thankfully we had our baby shower last month so we have everything we need. We just signed a lease at our complex for a slightly bigger apartment with a second room for the baby.”
Jameson nodded as Cindy poked her head out of the kitchen. “Oh, hey Dad! Dinner’s almost ready.
Everyone sat around the dinner table, bowls of chili in front of them. Peter hated to admit it but Cindy really did make a good bowl of chili. As they were eating Jameson spoke up. “So Peter, have you heard about the war Latveria declared on Atlantas?”
“Yes I did. Actually, according to Reed Richards It’s a power move for Doom and Wanda, Namor can either accept the declaration and fight it out, making Atlantas look as power hungry as people think, or they can surrender and look weak.”
Jameson nodded. “Right, I don’t think the Sub Mariner would show his belly that easily so they’re gonna risk looking power hungry, attracting the attention of Wakanda.”
“Which would make it easy for Doom to send troops into the vibranium mines, which would be less heavily guarded.”
“Exactly! Are the Fantastic Four doing anything about this?”
“Reed’s planning on sending The Thing and Sue to guard the mines, if it gets to that point.”
As the two discussed superhero politics, MJ turned to Cindy. “This chili is really good, did you learn how to make it yourself?”
“Uh, yes and no. While I did get the recipe off a website, I thought it was a bit bland so I started adding spices to it and once i got the right balance, Jameson loved it.”
MJ smiled. “So, is Peter doing a good job teaching you how to be a hero?”
Cindy nodded. “He’s honestly a great teacher, Mi- I mean, the other Spider-Man praises him a lot too.”
“Oh, you mean Miles?”
“Yeah!”
After the dinner was over, Jameson turned in for the night and Peter and MJ said goodbye to Cindy and started walking back to their apartment. “Cindy seems nice.”
“She’s a good kid, She’s picking up on things quicker than Miles.”
“Peter Parker, do I sense favoritism?”
“Of course not, I treat all my apprentices equally.”
“Uh huh. How is Miles anyway?”
“He’s doing good, He’s taking Kamala to Avenger’s Con over the summer break.”
“That’s good, I remember our first big date, Miracle Man’s show at Radio City Hall.”
“Yeah, Although I did have to leave halfway through to fight him on stage.”
“Yeah, it was still fun though.”
She gave Peter a kiss as the two spent the rest of the walk reminiscing on their relationship, and discussing what was next for them. Peter knew he would have to take some extra jobs over the summer break to help with the baby, but thankfully he already had some photography jobs lined up thanks to his wife. The two got back into their apartment and as soon as Peter’s head hit his pillow he heard a huge crash outside. Looking out at the city he saw a glow in the distance. He looked at MJ who gave him a nod as he changed into his Spider-Man costume and swung out of the window towards the glow. While swinging Miles caught up to him.
“What’s going on Pete?”
“I don’t know, but I do have an idea.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, remember that tip your uncle gave me? I think this is a result of that.”
“Oh sh- Really?”
Before Peter could answer, Silk joined them.
“Criminal underworld being turned on its head?” She asked.
“Pretty sure.” Peter answered.
When they reached the building with the glow coming out of it, Peter couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Tombstone was tapping on what looked like a smartwatch as a giant culture made out of what looked like sand started rising out of a pod. The sand formed into a person before quickly disappearing. “Flint Marco?” Peter mumbles to himself. Miles and Cindy turned to Peter. “Who?” They both said. “Marco was a petty crook who I caught almost monthly. Last time I caught him he was sent to Rikers, where he was supposed to serve a life sentence for stealing Stark tech. I guess Tombstone got him out somehow.”
“That’s good and all Pete, but what’s with the show here?” Miles asked.
“I think Tombstone wants to show what Marco can do.” Cindy replied.
Just then a giant sand fist came out of nowhere, hitting Peter. As Peter got up off the ground the fist dissipated, With Marco appearing in front of them. The Spiders knew they had to move to fight him. Peter swung at him, just to swing through a wall of sand. Coughing, Peter tried punching Marco, but every hit seemed to miss as Marco would use the sand to shift his location. Even as Miles joined in Marco would turn his body into sand, causing every hit to go clean through him. Tombstone was laughing at the Spider-Men’s attempts to fight his new underling. Cindy used this to her advantage, however, and used her webs to grab the smartwatch off of Tombstones wrist and smash it. “Damn it.” Tombstone hit the wall behind him. “Great, now the device is useless!” He glanced back over to Marco fighting off the Spider-Man, an evil smile forming on his face. “But I guess that doesn’t matter, since I’ve got a sandman.” Tombstone whistled. “C’mon Sandman, let’s get out of here.” Peter and Miles were on either side of Marco and right as they swung their punches, he walked out of the way leading to the two Spider-Men punching themselves, collapsing onto the floor Peter saw Marco and Tombstone walking away before blacking out.
When Peter opened his eyes he was in a car. Turning his head to the side he saw Uncle Ben, his warm smile filling Peter’s heart with sorrow. In the backseat of the car was Gwen, and beside her was Aunt May. Peter started tearing up, seeing those who were no longer with us. It looked as if the three of them were having a conversation that Peter couldn’t hear. Tears flowed down Peter’s face as his breathing got heavier and heavier. Suddenly, he heard a voice, Gwen’s voice. “You’re doing great.”
Peter woke up, face wet with tears. He looked around to see his bedroom, with Miles, MJ, and Cindy all staring at him. “Did I miss something?” MJ immediately hugged him tightly. Peter put his arms around her, still confused Peter looked at Miles.
“Bro, you’ve been asleep for days.”
“Days?!”
“Yeah man, 3 days. Sorry, it was, uh, my punch that knocked you out.”
“Well, at least I taught you how to properly knock out a villain.” Peter felt a sting in his jaw. “Still, ow.”
Peter saw Cindy send a text, he assumed to Jameson, as he laid his head back on the pillow. As he was surrounded by people who cared about him Peter smiled to himself. For such a loser he sure got lucky with the people around him. He shot back up once he remembered the Fantastic Four. “Oh shoot, I need to call Reed!”
“No need Tiger, I already called and told him everything, he said to take the time off, He’d still pay you.”
“Ah, You know I hate handouts MJ”
“He knew you’d say that, he said to think of it as paid time off.”
Peter grumbled before standing up, still a little lightheaded. He walked over to the kitchen, MJ following close behind in case he fell, and grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge. After pouring a glass and then downing said glass, He let out a sigh, sat on the couch, and opened his phone. Going to contacts he swore to only call in emergencies, and he felt his current situation fit the description of one. After a few rings the person picked up.
“Hello, Peter?”
“Yeah Ben, it’s me. Listen, how soon can you get to New York?”