"....ugh," is all I'm able to manage as I stumble off of the elevator into Norman's penthouse. Since I already changed back out of my Spider-Man outfit, there really wasn't much need for me to sneak in, and since it was already established that I was going out on a date, and that public transportation was stopped up during the attack on Times Square, there's no need to explain why I'm so late coming in.
Now all I need is a reason for why I wasn't answering my phone.
"Dude! PETE!" Harry shouts from the top of the stairs when he hears me come in. He practically flies down the staircase, taking two or three steps at a time.
"Where have you been, man? Mary Jane called my phone like three times to make sure you got home okay 'cause you weren't answering yours, and---oh, man. You look pretty banged up."
Dang. I hadn't really taken time to look at myself in the mirror, so I forgot to cover up all the scrapes and bruises I'd gotten during the big fight with that monster.
"Yeah, I heard about everything going down in Times Square and I was only a couple blocks away, so I thought, y'know, maybe I could get some pics of it? Then I got sprayed with some debris in the middle of the fight. Just some scrapes, I'm fine."
"It looked pretty bad on the news. You know if anyone was killed?"
"I'm not sure, but.....I think so."
Actually, I
know so. While I was running back and forth tending to the wounded, and getting folks to safety, there were at least a dozen people who were either already dead or too far gone to save. Some of them had been crushed by overturned cars, some were burned by the monster's fireballs, some just bled out from getting hit with debris. Tonight was my first real brush with the scary side of being a superhero. I was too late to help those people.
But, I mean, I was still able to help a lot of other people too, right?
"Well hey, at least you got home in one piece then. Did you get any of the pictures you wanted?"
"Well, I got a couple," I say as I pull out my camera. Turning it on, I pull up the last couple of shots I took, of the Avengers staring down the HAMMER forces.
"Spider-Man had already ran off, but check this one out."
"....whoah," Harry gapes.
"I mean, yeah, it's horrible what happened out there, but man, that is an amazing picture. You should try to sell it."
Fat chance of that happening, now that that Ned Leeds guy from the
Daily Bugle has the same pictures. He's probably gonna take them to Mr. J. Jonah Jameson and make a fortune off of the photos
I took on his camera, then they'll spin the whole story to blame the attack on Spider-Man.
It's then that I realize something Harry said a second ago. Something very important.
"You said that Mary Jane called?"
"Yeah dude, you need to get on that. Call her back so she doesn't go crazy worrying about you. Lord knows that Gwen already drove herself nuts doing that, we don't need you doing the same thing to MJ."
I raise my eyebrow for a second, something about what he said that caught my attention, then I dismiss it and pull out my phone.
"I'm gonna have to hook it up to the charger. I ran out of batteries," I lie. I just had my phone off during the fight. I was gonna text her afterward, but in all the chaos of trying to get out of Times Square and back home, it completely slipped my mind.
"All right, well, I'm gonna call dad and let him know you got in okay....like he'd care if it was me out there...." Harry trails off and wanders into the kitchen, while I bound upstairs into my room, turn on my phone, and dial MJ's number.
".....Hello?" I hear her voice on the other end of the line.
"Is this Peter?"
"Hey, Mary Jane, yeah, it's me," I stammer.
"I was just calling to, y'know, make sure you got home okay and stuff. I mean, because of the big attack in Times Square and stuff."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was stuck in the subway until the whole thing passed, but I made it home. Got in about an hour ago. What about you?"
"I was....well, I was actually right there when the fight was going down. Thought I could get some pictures. I ended up spending the whole time ducking behind some cars. Seriously scary stuff."
"Oh my God, wow. We were blocks away from the attack, and you went towards it? Heh, Peter Parker's more gutsy than I thought."
"Well, I dunno about that," I say, trying not to make my cover story sound
too much like I'm just making crap up. I mean, technically I
was right there when the fight was going down. And it
was some seriously scary stuff.
"But yeah, a whole bunch of superheroes teamed up all at once and took on that big monster, and then HAMMER showed up, and--"
"And then the commander or whoever from HAMMER got shot, right?"
I stop dead in my tracks when she says that.
"Wait, what?!"
"There's nothing official, but the news showed some leaked footage someone grabbed on their phone. The woman leading the troops took a bullet, then everyone scattered."
"...oh my God, I....oh my God."
Okay, I have no love for HAMMER whatsoever. They love to chase me around and demand I hand over my identity and generally make being a superhero as much of a pain in the butt as humanly possible. I'm seriously weighing the pros and cons of tax evasion once I turn eighteen, just so I won't have any of my money going to fund them. Doesn't mean I want them
dead, though. Maybe if I hadn't ran off, I could've seen something, have my Spider-Senses warn me about the bullet, maybe stop it somehow....I dunno.
".....Pete? You sure you're okay?" Mary Jane says, a genuine concern in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little more shaken up by this whole thing than I thought. I just need a good night's--hang on," I'm interrupted by another incoming call.
"Sorry, just got another call."
"Yeah? From who?"
"Let's see...ah, okay, it's Gwen. I can call her back when--"
"It's okay, Pete, talk to her. I can wait; I was actually in the middle of changing anyway."
"Umm, all right," I say, trying as hard as I can to not bring up the fact that Mary Jane just indirectly told me she wasn't fully clothed.
"I'll, um, answer on the other line."
I put MJ on hold and answer the incoming call.
"Hey Gwen, are you okay?"
"I was actually just about to ask you the same," she says, her voice almost a relieved sigh.
"I saw some of the footage on the news. That....thing you fought tonight, what was it?"
"I'm not sure. All I know is that it beat the living crap out of me when I tried to get close. I mean, I'm okay, just some more cuts and bruises to add to my collection. Fortunately, there were a bunch more seriously heavy-duty heroes who saved my butt. I spent most of the fight just trying to evacuate people."
"Was everyone all right?"
"....not everyone. The thing managed to kill some people before I got there. I wasn't fast enough. I just....I need a faster way to get around town. I'm just not sure how."
"Well, we'll figure out something," she says.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask. Your costume? I've been thinking of some possibilities for--"
"Can I get back to you about the costume later? Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, it's just....I've got Mary Jane on the other line, and..."
"Really? So, when I saw you and Mary Jane at the movies tonight, you were....together?"
I'm about to say yes, but the words get caught in my throat. There's a stabbing burning feeling in my chest, and I can feel the hints of tears in the corners of my eyes. It's the same feeling I used to feel when Aunt May or Uncle Ben would catch me doing something I know I shouldn't be doing.....guilt? But why am I feeling guilt now?
"Well, together-ish, I guess. I think. I'm not sure, actually." I mutter.
"I mean, it was fun and she said she wants to do it again, and she called a bunch of times during the attack to see if I was okay, but....I dunno, I've never done this sort of thing before. I have no idea if we're actually 'together' or not, but well, it....kinda seems to be heading that way."
"......oh." And there's that stabbing pang in my chest again. Something in her voice causes a lump to rise in my throat.
"So....ummm.....Eddie took you home, right?"
"....I guess. I mean, I went home and Eddie happened to tag along. He kept wanting to stay and make sure that I would be fine....especially once he found out my dad's going to be working late on some possible homicide at ESU."
After trying to tune out her talking about Eddie, my ears prick up at that last bit.
"Possible homicide? Know if it's anything I need to get involved in?"
"How would I know? That's all he told me, other than to remember to lock the doors before I go to bed. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him."
"Yeah, I might do that when I go back out tomorrow," I say, making a note of it.
"Oh! I still have MJ on the other line! I, um, I really need to get back to her! I'll be back on in a sec, okay?"
"...actually, I think I'm just going to go to bed," Gwen says, still sounding a little deflated.
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt too badly out there. Anyway, good night, Peter."
"Okay, um, g'night," I say before she hangs up and I switch back to MJ's line.
"Hey, you still there?"
"Still here, just finished changing," Mary Jane says, while I hear the shuffling of clothes on the other end of the line.
"So what did Miss Stacy have to say?"
"Oh, you know, checking in to make sure I didn't get hurt, back-handedly complaining about her jerkwad boyfriend, that sort of thing," I say, dancing around the fact that telling Gwen that MJ and I went on a date made me feel absolutely awful and I have no idea why.
"Speaking about, you know, boyfriends and stuff, when we went--"
"Okay, Tiger, I'm gonna stop you right there," she cuts me off.
"Like I said before, tonight was a lot of fun--monster attack aside--and I'm definitely up for doing it again. But as for anything official? That's for later. Anyway, I'm about to head out--......to bed. Head to bed, I mean. But hey, thanks for checking in."
"No problem," I say, letting the 'head out to bed' thing slide; I've said dumber things in the past.
"You get some sleep, okay? I know I could use some myself. See you tomorrow?"
"Sure thing. Night, Pete."
With that, Mary Jane hangs up, and I plop down on my bed.
After all that's happened tonight, the monster attack, Captain America and the Avengers showing up and kicking butt, HAMMER trying to bring us all in, then apparently an assassination attempt on their leader....all right after that amazing but confusing but still amazing night with Mary Jane Watson....I'm too tired to stay up and think.
I drift off to sleep, and my dreams come quickly. Awesome fights with the Avengers, nut-shrivelingly terrifying moments against the big green monster.....
....thoughts of Mary Jane getting closer, that get my heart racing.....
....and thoughts of Gwen fading farther away, that, for some reason, make me want to cry....