Monday in New York
Monday afternoon:
After spending the morning with Aunt May and having some lunch, Peter took a walk over to the Watson house.
"Peter!" Mary Jane yelled, rushing out to hug him. "You're back!"
"I'm back," he confirmed, returning the hug.
"Is this for good?" Mary finally let go as she asked that. He had to admit, she was one of the things he missed most about New York. Her and the regular superheroics.
"No, it's just for a few days. Fall semester starts next week, so I want to be better prepared for that than I was when I first went there," Peter said.
"Yeah, with the whole, what, two days you had when you started there?"
"I think it was three, but I was asleep for most of the first one."
"I remember you telling me that," she said. She looked towards the ground before asking the question Peter knew she was going to ask eventually. "How're you and the girl?"
"Zero," Peter said almost immediately. "We're good. I think we have something good. And you? Is there anyone...?" There was just no casual way of asking your first love that kind of thing, he decided.
"I've gone out with this one guy a few times. Mark Raxton. He's in a band, too, actually."
"What are the odds?" Peter asked, laughing a little.
"I know." Mary Jane laughed with him. "And, um, how're things with Spider-Man stuff?"
"Only a couple people -" Peter was totally lying by more than half "- know the name, but I'm pretty much out as a superhero. Except for the people who don't know, which is a lot of people, actually."
MJ blinked. "People don't know you're a superhero when you're telling people you are, but they find out when you're trying to keep it a secret. You're doing things backwards, you big dork."
"Hey, that's King Dork," Peter said. "The town radio even says that."
"You sound proud."
"I take pride in all of my accomplishments, even if one is an imaginary reign over all of dorkdom."
"So, other than that, fight anyone cool?" Mary Jane asked.
"Just the mummies I told you about."
"When you broke your arm?"
"Yeah. And last week a friend tried to beat me up because he thought I pulled a really mean prank on him."
"Did you?"
"No! Of course not." Peter looked incredulous.
"And he attacked you even though he knew you had powers?"
"Well, he didn't know that, actually."
"Some friend you are!"
"I thought he knew! I webbed his bed to the ceiling once!"
"Oh my god, you're a terrible friend!"
"We prank each other! It's our thing!"
"Your thing?"
"Yes, our thing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm done being teased."
Mary Jane laughed. "Okay, fine, King Dork. Going to do something fun?"
Peter patted his backpack. "It's been way too long since I got the chance to go for a swing."
"Well, have fun. Stop by for dinner if you don't have anything more death-defying to do."
"Of course. See you later, MJ."
*****
Monday evening:
Three muggings. One bank robbery. One lost balloon returned to a kid.
All in an afternoon's work. But now it was time to get back home and probably have dinner at the Watson's and... there goes a siren. "A superhero's work is never done."
From the street below, Peter heard a familiar yell. "Back up!! I am not kidding around!! I'm walking out of here, so get out of my way!"
"Herman?" Spider-Man asked himself as he threw himself into a freefall to the street. "I do believe that is the battle cry of the world famous Shocker. I should say hi."
The Shocker fired blasts from his hand-mounted vibro-shock units, destroying a police car. "Now step the hell off!! I'm not joking!!"
Spider-Man landed softly right behind Shocker and motioned to the officers not to say anything. He leaned in close to Shocker's ear and said, "Hi, Herman, I'm home. Miss me?"
The Shocker's face turned stark white before turning around and stumbling back. "You're kidding me! You're dead!"
"Sorry to disappoint you," Spider-Man said casually. "I've just been on vacation. Boy, do I feel rested."
Shocker fired a pair of blasts and turned himself around quickly to run away. "I gotta get out of here!!"
Spider-Man ducked the blasts easily and fired webbing at Shocker's feet, glueing his feet to the sidewalk and causing him to hit the ground hard. Shocker turned over and started to fire again when webbing gummed up the vibro-shock gauntlets.
"What did we learn today, Herman?" Spider-Man asked, leaning over as the units shorted out with two small explosions. "First, never count on dead meaning dead. Second, you suck at crime. Get a job at 7-11 next time you're out."
As the crowd started to gather and either cheer or boo him, Spider-Man shot a web and took off. "Same to you! All of you, whether you're saying nice things or bad things!"
He spotted a large, furry thing moving in an alley as he started to swing off. Remembering the Bugle reports of a giant rat-creature around the city, Spider-Man swung to the alley and dropped in. "Anyone home? No? Just me?" A couple minutes of looking produced no evidence that anything had been in that alley, so Spider-Man took off again. "I can't say that I didn't look for it. Crap. I'm probably late getting to MJ's. And to home. Aunt May's gonna be mad. Just like old times."
[OOC: NFB due to distance. There are a couple of images behind the cut.]
After spending the morning with Aunt May and having some lunch, Peter took a walk over to the Watson house.
"Peter!" Mary Jane yelled, rushing out to hug him. "You're back!"
"I'm back," he confirmed, returning the hug.
"Is this for good?" Mary finally let go as she asked that. He had to admit, she was one of the things he missed most about New York. Her and the regular superheroics.
"No, it's just for a few days. Fall semester starts next week, so I want to be better prepared for that than I was when I first went there," Peter said.
"Yeah, with the whole, what, two days you had when you started there?"
"I think it was three, but I was asleep for most of the first one."
"I remember you telling me that," she said. She looked towards the ground before asking the question Peter knew she was going to ask eventually. "How're you and the girl?"
"Zero," Peter said almost immediately. "We're good. I think we have something good. And you? Is there anyone...?" There was just no casual way of asking your first love that kind of thing, he decided.
"I've gone out with this one guy a few times. Mark Raxton. He's in a band, too, actually."
"What are the odds?" Peter asked, laughing a little.
"I know." Mary Jane laughed with him. "And, um, how're things with Spider-Man stuff?"
"Only a couple people -" Peter was totally lying by more than half "- know the name, but I'm pretty much out as a superhero. Except for the people who don't know, which is a lot of people, actually."
MJ blinked. "People don't know you're a superhero when you're telling people you are, but they find out when you're trying to keep it a secret. You're doing things backwards, you big dork."
"Hey, that's King Dork," Peter said. "The town radio even says that."
"You sound proud."
"I take pride in all of my accomplishments, even if one is an imaginary reign over all of dorkdom."
"So, other than that, fight anyone cool?" Mary Jane asked.
"Just the mummies I told you about."
"When you broke your arm?"
"Yeah. And last week a friend tried to beat me up because he thought I pulled a really mean prank on him."
"Did you?"
"No! Of course not." Peter looked incredulous.
"And he attacked you even though he knew you had powers?"
"Well, he didn't know that, actually."
"Some friend you are!"
"I thought he knew! I webbed his bed to the ceiling once!"
"Oh my god, you're a terrible friend!"
"We prank each other! It's our thing!"
"Your thing?"
"Yes, our thing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm done being teased."
Mary Jane laughed. "Okay, fine, King Dork. Going to do something fun?"
Peter patted his backpack. "It's been way too long since I got the chance to go for a swing."
"Well, have fun. Stop by for dinner if you don't have anything more death-defying to do."
"Of course. See you later, MJ."
*****
Monday evening:
Three muggings. One bank robbery. One lost balloon returned to a kid.
All in an afternoon's work. But now it was time to get back home and probably have dinner at the Watson's and... there goes a siren. "A superhero's work is never done."
From the street below, Peter heard a familiar yell. "Back up!! I am not kidding around!! I'm walking out of here, so get out of my way!"
"Herman?" Spider-Man asked himself as he threw himself into a freefall to the street. "I do believe that is the battle cry of the world famous Shocker. I should say hi."
The Shocker fired blasts from his hand-mounted vibro-shock units, destroying a police car. "Now step the hell off!! I'm not joking!!"
Spider-Man landed softly right behind Shocker and motioned to the officers not to say anything. He leaned in close to Shocker's ear and said, "Hi, Herman, I'm home. Miss me?"
The Shocker's face turned stark white before turning around and stumbling back. "You're kidding me! You're dead!"
"Sorry to disappoint you," Spider-Man said casually. "I've just been on vacation. Boy, do I feel rested."
Shocker fired a pair of blasts and turned himself around quickly to run away. "I gotta get out of here!!"
Spider-Man ducked the blasts easily and fired webbing at Shocker's feet, glueing his feet to the sidewalk and causing him to hit the ground hard. Shocker turned over and started to fire again when webbing gummed up the vibro-shock gauntlets.
"What did we learn today, Herman?" Spider-Man asked, leaning over as the units shorted out with two small explosions. "First, never count on dead meaning dead. Second, you suck at crime. Get a job at 7-11 next time you're out."
As the crowd started to gather and either cheer or boo him, Spider-Man shot a web and took off. "Same to you! All of you, whether you're saying nice things or bad things!"
He spotted a large, furry thing moving in an alley as he started to swing off. Remembering the Bugle reports of a giant rat-creature around the city, Spider-Man swung to the alley and dropped in. "Anyone home? No? Just me?" A couple minutes of looking produced no evidence that anything had been in that alley, so Spider-Man took off again. "I can't say that I didn't look for it. Crap. I'm probably late getting to MJ's. And to home. Aunt May's gonna be mad. Just like old times."
[OOC: NFB due to distance. There are a couple of images behind the cut.]