This is what I see
- ONE YEAR INTO THE SNAP -
College wasn't easy. It was a breeze. If it wasn't for a late student coming in late constantly.
Now listen, Peter was sometimes a late bird. With patrolling and babysitting duty with Morgan, it was a doozy. So yes, he was late but he knew his excuses and to better everyone (especially his professors) he sometimes didn't show up, knowing Pom had his back in whatever he missed in class. Other times, he'd just not come because he can feel several eyes on him as he enters late with bedhead and clothes that you'd wear to sleep.
But the woman didn't seem to care. She would always come in with hair sticking in different places as the rest of it was in a low ponytail, her brown parka jacket having fur as her satchel wasn't full of it but had some stuck as Peter notices the satchel looked old and ready to rip. Her sweatpants being stained from bleach and her shoes were a dirty grey (Peter could only assume her shoes were white before that tragedy) and if the woman took her feet out for whatever reason it needed to be taken out, maybe the shoes would talk.
This time, she came in later. Way later. When her late time was 10:30, she arrived in class around 11:09. She didn't knock or do anything to let the professors know she had come. She just waltzed right in and both Professor Warren and Octavius ignored her.
It was as if she was a ghost stuck in a time loop she just now broke.
She sits next to Peter as usual. He could smell the heavy spritz of Bath and Body works lavender perfume (Peter owns the same fragrance okay). She taps him on the shoulder and he turns to her, face stoic. Guess he learns from mom.
"Hi, names Gwen Stacy. What page are we on?" She asks as she takes the book out of her satchel and looks at him.
"Page two fifty-five."
"Thanks."
"Stacy!" An excited Professor Octavius exclaims nearly scaring Gwen, "So nice of you to join, right, Mr. Parker?"
Peter nods, "Very nice, indeed."
Gwen glares at Professor Octavius, "Is there something I'm missing, Professor?"
"Yes, where's your home learning?" She asks, cleaning her glasses to focus on Gwen.
"Don't have it," Gwen simply responds.
"Ms. Stacy, you do realize I have to take measures if you fail this quarter, yes?"
"Don't care."
Everyone was silent as she said that. Peter looks at her with a raised eyebrow, not impressed. His parents were dust and bonus, dead. Yet, he still turns in homework.
Professor Octavius gives her an 'It's only Tuesday and I'm beginning to get annoyed already' look, "Let's talk outside when I'm finished with lecture, okay?"
Gwen shrugs.
Peter was already annoyed by Gwen Stacy.
As the lecture went on, he thinks about the Scorpion who he recently put in jail with the Vulture and the recent Rhino. He wondered if any of them talked about Spider-Man. Did he want to find out? Maybe. Maybe no-
Gwen interrupts his train of thought by poking him with her pen.
Peter turns to her, "Yes?"
"I asked... if you want to team up?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You and I can become team spider, Peter. Let's team up one of these days."
"Can't wait for it, mom."
"Didn't you hear Professor Warren? We have a group project."
No. "Oh, totally yeah," He murmurs in reply, "You want to be partners?"
"That's what I asked."
"Oh... Well, sure."
"Harry Osborn offered to help just before he went to the restroom." Gwen supplies.
Peter stares. Harry? Osborn? "Harry Osborn?" He asks, "Like Norman's son?"
Gwen nods awkwardly as if to ask: yeah, who else dickwad? "Yeah, he'll come back in a jiffy."
How come Peter was so blind to miss his ex in the same damn class? Peter will never know?
Peter nearly wanted to curl into a ball or become a tiny fairy. He didn't want to work on a project with his ex. Not after the disastrous breakup, they had in freshman year due to Norman Osborn finding out his son was bisexual.
"What do you mean we're breaking up?" Peter asks Harry.
"We are BREAKING up!" Harry exclaims, "After dad opening my eyes, homosexuality is a sin! Being gay is wrong, Peter!"
I've been in conversion therapy and was forced to become straight.
"It's not Harry!" What the fuck is your dad putting in your head?" Snap out of it, please. I love you.
"A lot of things Nothing! That's exactly what he did to me Peter and how will I go to heaven if you keep pushing me down to hell, huh?!"
Peter resisted the urge to clench his fist and connect it to Harry, "I'm not doing any of those things Harry! I will throw you to heaven even if it means I'll spend time in hell forever Being gay is okay, Harry! I-"
Harry throws a vase near Peter's head.
Peter flinches and stays silent, the anger deescalating to fear.
Harry looks at his hands, shocked.
Peter walks out. Harry doesn't follow.
He walks all the way down to the exit and breathes before calling his mom. It took three rings but she picked up, "Pete?" She asks.
"Can... Can you come to pick me up?"
"Where are you?" She asks and Peter could hear her beginning to stand with Odie and her small pups yipping.
"Osborn penthouse. Outside."
"On my way. ETA five minutes because I need to get dressed."
"But why five- Are you using the quinjet?" Peter asks with a chuckle and proceeds to sniffle.
"Totally am. Are you okay, little spider?"
Peter takes in another breath, "No, not really. Please pick me up-"
"GWEN!" Peter never thought he'd hear that voice again, but there he was.
Harry Osborn struts up to the pair, he was dressed just as how his younger self dressed. His signature black leather jacket, a white plain shirt, jeans, and Nike shoes finishing up with wild bed hair and a necklace.
Harry pauses for a second as he looks at Peter before smiling and putting his hand out, "I'm Harry, you are...?"
God, he couldn't be serious... Is he?
Peter didn't shake his hand or introduce himself. Harry awkwardly retracts his hand and Peter realizes he was serious.
Did Harry not know Peter?
The air was certainly awkward.
"Okay," Gwen drags out the 'o', "Where should we start the project?"
"My place, I got all the stuff you need for it."
Peter shrugs. He was okay with that since no one needed to know where he lived and what he did as a side gig besides being in charge of P.I.
"We all agree, now the time?"
"Before seven," Peter adds in this time.
They all agreed.
After twenty minutes passed (yes, Peter was counting he wanted to leave!), the bell rang. Peter left with Harry staying behind to accompany Gwen.
-
Spider-Man crouches near Captain Yuriko Watanabe. Examining the scene before him, they were at the old sanitarium in Harlem, receiving an anonymous tip from someone that a shootout began.
It was true as Peter saw thugs shotting behind crates, little packets of concrete, anything to use as a shield. Both Yuri and Peter were on the edge and were muttering to each other before coming to the decision, "Spider-Man will be a distraction for us and we'll infiltrate Hammerhead and his goons." Watanabe explains, "If there is any problem, contact Spider-Man or me, okay?"
The policemen nodded and without further ado, Peter slings a web to stick between the wall of the sanitarium and the door on a work building. Everyone (except Peter) swung down while Peter web shoots two webs on the floor of the sanitarium and instantly kicks a guy and knocks him out, "Is this where you keep insane people like yourselves, gentlemen?! I'm disappointed!" Peter shouts before going into action, "Here I am thinking you guys had dignity!"
"Kill him!" One thug yells.
"Don't kill him!" Peter yells back and he kicks a man upward and lets him hit the wall. This was going to take a while.
-
Yuriko decided that going ahead and attacking Hammerhead and his goons wasn't a good idea.
The sanitarium certainly sets the atmosphere, Yuriko notes. If this was any other place, Yuriko wouldn't feel so nervous but instead, it was an abandoned sanitarium. One where people died and left their things. The way from the 50s. Yuriko really hated this.
She sees Hammerhead. His forehead a noticeable part of his whole body as he kept blabbering. She sees his goons. One has a gun aimed at her (but she wasn't scared) and the other had his gun aimed at Valdez. Yuriko wasn't scared for herself. Why would she be? She can surely defend herself but she didn't know about Valdez.
Valdez can sometimes seize his moment in the most untimely moments. Yuriko joked that would be the death of him and looking at the current situation, Yuriko hoped the joke won't turn bitter.
She can hear her ear com pick up Spider-Man, "Y...Yur!"
The coms went dead. Yuriko wishes Spider-Man knew that they don't work in places like these. But she couldn't focus on Spider-Man and his old man problems. She was worried about Valdez. She already lost so many men. She surely couldn't lose him.
Yuriko didn't want too.
Breathe in, Breathe out.
"You know," Hammerhead snaps Yuriko out of her thoughts, "I outta teach a lesson in fear." He slaps her face gently.
Yuriko snarled.
But at the same time, Valdez had his untimely moment, "YOU'RE NEVER GONNA WIN!"
Hammerhead took that to an offense, "Pardon me, Captain." And he walks right over to Valdez and pulls him off the ground as if he were nothing but a twig, "You said somethin'?"
"He said nothing!" Yuriko shouts.
But Valdez is louder in Hammerheads perspective, "I SAID! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA FUCKING WIN!" Valdez spits in his face.
Where are you, Spider-Man?
Hammerhead throws Valdez over his shoulder and onto the floor, chuckling lowly as he did so, "As I said before, lesson in fear."
He walks over to Valdez and Yuriko took that as a hint to finally fight. So, she stands from her knees and kicks the goon in the groin before getting her gun out and shooting the two goons before she turns to Hammerhead. And to her astonishment, Hammerhead had Valdez in front of him. Gun in back of his head and Valdez looking at Yuriko with such fear in his eyes.
Yuriko wanted nothing but to at least take him home to his family.
"PUT THE GUN DOWN!" She shouts, "HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD! NOW!"
Hammerhead stares at her. Just stares as if she was some artwork he'd have to examine to get an A on the next history test. Then, he smirks, "Ah," He says sounding smug, "There's the fear."
Yuriko emphasizes her gun, "HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD! NOW!" She wanted to ignore the sudden anxiety she had. Yuriko didn't want that menace to feed off of her fear, no. She wanted him to suffer in jail or suffer in her hands. She resists the urge to throw up and instead swallows her own vomit.
She can't lose more men over her reckless mistake. She can't.
Yurko feels the air intensifying. She wishes it was the faulty A/C.
"Shoot me," Hammerhead says, "Come on, Captain. Just. Do. It."
"DO IT!" Valdez yells, "IT'S OKAY!"
No, it wasn't okay. Yuriko thinks. It wasn't okay that her men suffered the consequences of her reckless planning or how it wasn't okay to employ Spider-Man as a way to confirm her hunches or beat up henchmen (Even if it was his job). It wasn't okay that she was being encouraged to shoot someone and she was willingly being sucked into that rabbit hole.
"Yuriko... honey."
"What is it, grandfather?"
"It's John... He got arrested."
"ARRESTED?! FOR WHAT?!"
"Accepting bribes. They're taking him right now as we speak, Yuriko."
"I can- I can come back and help grandfather! The army is nothing compared to my family!"
"No. You stay there."
"Please-!"
"Yuriko, stay there. You have anger issues, so you have to stay there."
Yuriko sees the lights were off. She can only assume it was Spider-Man's doing. And she'll take advantage. From her flashlight going on and off, Yuriko can only shoot at the oncoming goons and Spider-Man doing his job on Hammerhead.
Bullets were exchanged and Yuriko certainly didn't receive any of them.
But as Spider-Man shouts her name, Yuri leaves the flashlight on and follows his shouts.
This is what Yuri sees.
Yuri sees Valdez dead with bullets inside him. She can see the blood staining his uniform and holes decorating his body as the bullets came out of his body. She can see his Spider-Man watch. It took a beating. She can see Spider-Man himself holding Valdez. He may have not had an expression but his big spider eyes said enough as it was widened a little but not enough to appear happy.
Yuriko questions if this the way Valdez wanted to go. Spider-Man holding him for his very last moments. Or if he just wanted to die around the people he loved and biding them the final goodbye as his heart finally gives up.
This is what Yuriko sees.
Yuriko sees her men dead. All twenty of them. She sees each body ontop of the other and Valdez only made the list which made Yuriko furious.
This is what someone else sees.
They see an unwanted circumstance. No justice served. They want to serve that justice. But they couldn't come out and jeopardize everything they worked for. So, they hid.
This is what she sees.
She sees people dead. Her friends, dead. Not to take another breath, not to take another happy birthday or another holiday off. She sees Spider-Man holding one of the noisest people she had ever met and she met Spider-Man. Spider-Man who is holding the noisest person was also holding the most silent person as the noisiest one just died and was replaced by a corpse.
Yuriko falls to her knees, shellshocked.
Spider-Man can only stay silent as more policemen came in and investigated the scene.
Beneath all the grief and anxiety, anger flared up inside of her.