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Moments later, MJ, Ned, Mr. Stark, Happy and I are all piling into a car in the garage. We find the biggest car we can, a large SUV. Happy takes the driver’s seat, while Mr. Stark takes the passenger. MJ and I sit in the middle, and Ned takes one of the back seats. Happy is just starting the car when there’s a knock on my window. I jump, and look out to see…
“May we come?” Mr. Rogers asks. Mr. Wilson and Bucky stand on either side of him. Mr. Stark rolls down his window and says,
“No.”
“Wait,” I say. “Can they?”
Mr. Stark turns and looks at me, raising an eyebrow. “Really? You want them to come?”
I nod. “Please?”
He sighs. “Sure. Let ‘em in.”
I open the door, and the three men pile in. It’s a bit of a squeeze, with Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wilson, and Bucky all squeezing into the back. Ned ends up sitting in the middle seat between MJ and I. I turn and look at Mr. Rogers.
“So um…why’d you wanna come?”
He swallows. “Buck told me you were nervous. About finding out what happened. He thought you could use the moral support.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Thank you.” My eyes sting, and I blink away tears. I turn back to the window so no one will see. Ned puts his hand on my arm and squeezes a little. I give him a grateful smile.
Happy starts the car again, and soon we’re rolling down the highway toward the city. My breath shakes, and I keep balling my hands into fists then releasing them again. MJ leans forward and looks at me. Her eyes are filled with determination, rather than concern. Her resolve bolsters my own, and I take a deep breath.
“Why don’t we go over what we have?” MJ asks.
I turn to her. “Huh?”
“Let’s just go over what we have. It might help?”
I shrug. “Sure.”
“What?” Mr. Rogers asks from the back.
I turn and look at him. “Well uh, we’ve compiled some evidence, I guess. We’re trying to figure out who did it, but…” Nothing so far. I hate that we still don’t know.
“Evidence? Like what?” Mr. Wilson says.
MJ, Ned and I look at each other. “Well uh, we found the files from the police.” I gulp. “And we saw somebody there with my parents. He had…a gun.” I bow my head. “We never found out what happened. I mean, I know what happened, they died, but…”
Silence reigns in the car for several moments. Finally Mr. Wilson looks at me and says,
“I’m really sorry, kid. But we’ll find out what happened.”
“Thank you. That…that means a lot.” I turn back to the front. I take a deep breath through my nose. My heart pound in my chest, threatening to break out. This car can’t go fast enough. I want to find out what happened more than anything. I want to find out who took my parents from me, and then I’m going to destroy them.
The aggressive nature of my thoughts surprises me. But I can’t help it. I’ve never been this angry about anything, ever. I’ve never hated anyone more than I hate this mystery killer. Because they took my parents from me. They took a normal life from me. My family. I could’ve grown up with parents, and maybe I would’ve had a younger sibling, even. That future was robbed from me. Instead, here I am, hunting down my parents’ killer. I’m going to catch them. And I’m going to obliterate them.
My thoughts drift to B.A.R.F, and what I saw. It was incredible, just to get a look at my parents. I remember them now, because of that. I remember their smiles, and how we’d make pancakes every Saturday morning. My dad would let me mess around with the football, knowing that I wasn’t yet old enough to truly play the sport. He thought that one day I would. He could never have predicted what was going to happen to me.
And my mother. She would sing me a lullaby every night. She would hum “Clair de Lune”, a French piano piece. And she could play the piano. I remember that too. Her favorite piece to play was “Heroes” by David Bowie. Man, could she sing. My eyes water at the thought of her playing that particular song. What would she think of me now, now that I’m a hero? Would she be proud of me?
I wipe my eyes, and sniffle. Before anyone can ask me what’s wrong, I plug in my headphones, and take out my phone. I press play on “Home” by Vince Staples and Richie Kohan. I close my eyes and let the lyrics wash over me.
This morning I woke up, in a fortress of distortion
I’m at war with my emotions, I’m at war with they enforcement
Tryna fight for what’s right and got sidetracked
Where your mind at? Nevermind that
I close my eyes tight as I listen to the lyrics, noticing that they fit my life a little too well. Where even is my head these days? I’m not entirely sure I know. But the next lyrics make my eyes sting with unshed tears.
I’m coming home now
I’m coming home
Right where I belong now
Right where I belong
I suppose this whole journey has been about coming home. I’m trying to find the home that was stolen from me. I grit my teeth.
I feel a tap on my shoulder. I remove an earbud, and look up to see MJ and Ned looking at me.
“Peter…” MJ starts. “Are you okay?”
I wipe my eyes. “Yeah. Fine.”
She gives me a flat look. “Don’t you dare lie to me.”
“Okay,” I say, holding my hands up in surrender. “So I’m all torn up inside, so what? It’s not like I’m trying to find out my parents’ killer or anything.”
She glares at my sharp tone. Ned flinches.
“Sorry,” I say, looking down. Her gaze softens. Ned gives me a little smile. “I’m just gonna be happy when this is all over.”
“Peter…” Mr. Stark says from the front. “You do know this isn’t going to bring them back, right?”
“What?”
“Your parents. They’re not coming back.”
I look down, biting my lip so hard it bleeds. “I know,” I finally say after several moments of silence. “But still…”
Mr. Rogers speaks up from the back. “Kid, I admire your grit, but he’s right. Once this mystery is solved, you won’t be able to go back.”
I sigh, and slouch in my seat. “And I know that. But I still want to know.”
Mr. Rogers looks at me, and I shiver at the intensity of his stare. “And I’m going to do my best to help you,” he says. “We all are.”
That, at least, gets me to smile. “Thank you, Mr. Rogers,” I say.
He smiles back. “Call me Steve.”
My jaw drops, but I put it back in place before anyone notices. “Uh, sure. Yeah, okay,” I say. MJ chuckles.
Suddenly my phone rings. I pick up after seeing that it’s Mr. Osborn calling.
“Hello?” I say into the phone.
“Peter,” he says warmly. “Are you on your way?”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just taking awhile to get there. Coming from a long way away, you know.”
“Of course. I’m excited for your visit. I have something special for you.”
I grin. “Awesome. Can’t wait.”
“I’ll see you shortly then, Mr. Parker.”
“See you soon, sir.” I hang up.
Mr. Stark looks at me. “Was that Osborn?”
“Yeah.”
He narrows his eyes. “I never did like that guy.”
I chuckle. “I know, you only say that every chance you get.”
“It’s true!” he says. “That guy isn’t right.”
“I think he’s just fine,” I say, a bit defensively.
“I’m just warning you, Peter.”
“Well, there’s nothing to warn me about. It’s fine,” I snap.
The car falls silent after that. Mr. Stark shrugs tightly, and turns back to the front. The rest of the ride passes in the same quiet, until we’re rolling up to Oscorp tower.
All of us pile out except Happy. “I’ll be back to get you guys later,” he says. “Be safe.”
“Sure.” I wave as he drives away.
After that, I walk up to the doors. They open for us, though this place probably closed a while ago. The whole place is mostly dark as we walk through to the central elevator.
“Creepy,” Ned mutters.
“Hey, it’s fine,” I say. Because it is fine. There are still a few lights on.
That’s when I feel something on the back of my neck. Consciously, I know there’s nothing there, but I know this feeling.
My spider sense is warning me.
But that doesn’t make any sense, I tell myself. There’s nothing to be afraid of here. It’s probably just me freaking out cause it’s a little dark. It’s fine.
It’s fine.
I walk forward toward the elevator, and we all get in. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, but we manage to all fit.
We ride in silence up towards the top floor. MJ grips my hand and threads our fingers together. I look her in the eyes, startled to see apprehension there.
“You okay?” I ask.
She nods. “Yeah. But still. Be careful, okay?”
“I will. What’s there to be afraid of?”
“Right.” She turns away.
When we arrive on Mr. Osborn’s floor, I’m almost blinded by the bright lights that are still on, in contrast to the darkness of the floors below. And my spider sense is screaming at me.
“Hello?” I call. “Mr. Osborn?”
“Oh, Peter.” A voice comes from down the hall. “I’m glad you made it. Come on in.”
I take the lead as my friends and I walk down the hall. Our footsteps echo on the hardwood floors. As soon as we arrive at Osborn’s office, I see him.
“Mr. Osborn!” I say. I wave to him. He’s crouched behind his desk, and I hear papers shuffling. I look on the desk and see the double zero files. “Mr. Osborn?” I ask.
“Oh, Peter. Hello.”
“You all right?”
“Yes, quite. In fact, I feel wonderful.” He rises. I frown. He’s wearing a dark green ribbed bodysuit, and he’s grinning. A wild grin that sends shivers down my spine.
“Nice outfit,” I say. “Everything okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, I just figured, you said you had something special for me. It’s about my parents, right?”
“Yes, yes. Now, if your friends wouldn’t mind standing back…”
He raises a hand, and in it he holds a small device with a button. Suddenly the doors slam shut behind me, blocking me from the rest of my group.
I gasp, turning back to Mr. Osborn.
“What’s going on?” I say in a soft voice.
“Peter, Peter. Surely you can’t be that stupid.” He shakes his head. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think you were going to be bringing friends here. That was a bit of a surprise. But I can accomplish my goal simply enough.”
“Goal?” I frown.
He gives me a flat look, then smiles. “Simple. I killed Richard and Mary Parker, and now…” Before I can process his words, he holds up a device shaped like…a pumpkin? “Now, I’m gonna kill you.”
He throws the device.
It explodes.