You reach for your right side, unhooking the demon mask.
Holding it to the early morning sunlight, it's eyes shine back at you with malice. You sigh, dropping it back to your side.
Super-powered foes wearing Chinese opera masks who's fists glow with dark energy. If you didn't know any better you'd almost think they were like you; that or you've started seeing things...
Perhaps they could also manipulate solar energy into concentrated power?
No, that was just confirmation bias kicking in. Instantly your brain kicks in to lab mode, the two sides of yourself joining to decide how to handle this. Firstly you would have to think about it empirically, pure scientific method, if you will.
You'd already completed step one: Observation.
Being knocked around by those guys and their weapons easily gave you one piece of evidence, that dark energy made them a lot more powerful, a lot more violent, and a lot more durable. And obviously, they all wore masks.
Step two: Question
Well, you would have a lot more information had you gotten your hands on that file. But as usual in a high stakes mission, the bad guy got away with the thing you wanted. But— from what Mary Jane had indulged to you, the file contained information about something named "Devils Breath".
Odd how men in demon masks we're looking for a file on something called "Devils" Breath. This presents two questions: What is "Devils Breath"? And who are these "demons"? You gaze downwards. It was obvious which question you were closer to solving. You have a demon mask in your hand right now, meanwhile the file is who knows where.
That brings you to Step Three: Research
There was one person who you knew could identify this mask, Professor Redfield, head of the history department at ESU. But it was Sunday, and besides, did you really feel like explaining how an antique Chinese opera mask came into your possession?
All the big red arrows in your mind pointed to the most obvious choice:
BOTHER THE SPIDER!
You sigh and tap his contact on your com pad, which reads 6:47AM in big block text.
It rings for a moment before a tired voice answers, "Hello?" It croaks.
"Aw, sorry to wake you."
"Mm, no voice I'd rather hear." He quips.
Doesn't matter if he's joking, it still makes your face heat up, "Ha. ha. Listen I don't know if Mary Jane Watson contacted you last night, but we had a run in with these...demon guys, and I took one of their masks as a souvenir. I need someone to identify it."
"Yeah, she did. I was waiting for your call last night, then it got so late I figured you were gonna call in the morning. I was worried, Star."
"Sorry. I just didn't wanna bother you." Your heart is thumping so hard; you squeeze your eyes shut, trying not to be embarrassed by your frustratingly uncontrollable body.
"You're not bothering me— think of it like you're giving me peace of mind. But you're right, I do know someone who can identify the mask. I'll swing by and take it off your hands."
"What, I don't get to meet this contact?"
"Hey, what kind of partner would I be if I let my other half do all the heavy lifting?"
Gah! He hits you with the killing blow, "other half" rolls off his tongue so smoothly, so pleasantly, you're sure you could fall off this rooftop and die a happy woman.
You shake your head, "Fair enough. I'm in Morningside Heights right now. Don't keep me waiting."
"Aye, Aye Captain."
You grin, on to step four.
_
Your leg bounces lazily as you nurse your steaming cup of coffee, freshly purchased from the kiosk downstairs. You'd pretty much pulled an all-nighter, and now you were fighting total blackout as you tried to repair the power connectors on the C.R.A., and grimly recall how they had sparked and bellowed smoke just before your brief meeting with the grant committee.
You glance around the empty lab. Peter was supposed to show up today, what time was it, noon? His absences, although not unusual, were beginning to become a pattern. Your heart sinks, all the work the two of you have done, not only to create the CRA, but to also fix your grades, would be fruitless if he lost interest now.
You put your head down, just to sulk, promising yourself that you won't allow yourself to slip into unconsciousnesses, no matter what. There was plenty of work that needed to be done.
_
"Heyyy, wakey, wakey..." A voice calls.
Spider-Man?
You lift your head up, opening your eyes and blinking slowly. Shit, you fell asleep.
No Spider. Just Peters warm gaze, looking upon you with a pure fondness.
"Pete. You came." You smile tiredly.
"Of course. I'm sorry. I had to run an errand for a friend, got caught up in few phone calls—"
"No, no, you're fine. I just thought you forgot me," you chide.
He takes this seriously though, "I could never forget about you! I've just been so busy— You, the CRA, everything we're doing, it's all so important to me...my priorities have just gotten a bit skewed lately."
You didn't mean to make him feel bad or guilt trip him. It was more so a self deprecating joke. But the way he spoke so sincerely of you and your research, it made your throat heavy with emotion.
You wave your hands, "Peter don't worry, I'm not mad, or anything. I just don't want you to stretch yourself so thin. You're only human."
How ironic coming from you, someone who performed a balancing act everyday with two personas, both hell bent on sacrificing themselves for the greater good.
He shakes his head, "Yeah, of course. Of course," he flips his wrist and checks his watch, "Well it's only 3 o'clock, we have the whole day ahead of us. Let's get to work."
He hands you a fresh coffee, and a brown bag.
This boy had brought you your favorite order from the bodega across the street. Had you no dignity, nor loyalty to the Spider, you would've dropped to your knee and married him on the spot.
How infuriating is the fickleness of a human heart?
After an hour or so of fixing the various technical issues of the CRA, you're in the green to continue your test trials.
"I think you should be the one to test it this time." You push the neural connector towards him.
""Yeah?" He slips the band on his forehead, "I'm still trying to figure out how you overloaded the machine. Theoretically, no one's brain should be able to generate that big of a surge."
You simply shrug, feigning innocence, "Maybe it was a software problem. Didn't you said you installed some new stuff, let's give it a spin."
He was right, theoretically, no one's body should be able to generate that much energy. Except maybe Electro. But with your modified physiology from the accident, your body stored powerful solar energy, regardless if you wanted it to or not.
Turning your attention back to the computer, you boot up the CRA and grab your dictation machine, "Beginning official test 103 on the C.R.A., Peter Parker is our test subject."
You turn to him, "Ready?"
Peter nods, then places a blue solo cup in front of the arm.
You speak into your recorder once more, "Now Mr. Parker's just gonna think of what he wants it to do, and..."
You motion at Peter to begin, on the edge of your seat in anticipation. He narrows his eyes with determination.
Before you, the arm begins to slowly rise up, it's fingers extending, grasping for the object before it. The hand reaches forward, and clutches the cup with just enough force, lifting it in the air.
After completing the trial Peter breaks into a grin and removes the band.
"The machine successfully completed trial 103 with zero error, which means we can confidently begin formatting the the arm for civilian trials." You click off the recording and dart to Peter who embraces you joyfully.
"We did it, Pete!"
There is an odd linger before either of you can let go, his surprisingly strong arms wrapped around you snugly; his soap, Irish spring, jolting your dormant senses alive. You often saw little distinction physically between Peter and other friends, but in this moment you were keenly aware of the fact that he is indeed a man— not that you didn't see him as one before.
It's just, no man was as nearly as kind or gentle as Peter, except Spider-Man. And it's the thought of him, your other partner, that has you pulling away. Suddenly concerned, you realize he hadn't yet called you with information on the mask.
"You okay?" Peter asks, his eyes big and pupils blown, face slightly pink.
"Are you?" You place the back of your hand on his cheek, then his forehead, "Your face is really hot."
With this, his face heats up even more, "Must need— need some water that's all, haha."
He darts to his bag, grabs a blue bottle, and begins gulping water furiously.
You shake your head, "See, you need to take care of yourself. One test and your already on the brink of death."
He places his bottle down, and before he can respond, the door to the lab bursts open: A man and a woman, both very official looking, let themselves in. Immediately, the man begins rummaging around the lab.
Peter tries his best to block the man, "Hey! Hey, you can't be in here! What are you doing—"
The woman walks up to you and hands you a clip board, "This site has been declared a safety hazard."
You look at the form on the board, not sure what to make of it.
The man grabs a black case, which contains an early prototype for the CRA, you instantly drop the clipboard and snatch the bag from him, "This is all highly sensitive material! ESU is a private university. You people have no right—"
"Peter Parker!" A voice booms from behind you.
You turn, mouth almost dropping. The mayor. Norman Osborn. In your lab. Also, technically your boss. In. your. lab.
"How the hell are you?" He greets, clapping Peter on the back with a heavy hand.
Peter looks just as aghast as you, "Mr. Osborn—"
"Oh, c'mom Peter, how long have we known each other? Just "Mr. Mayor". Kidding, kidding! It's Norman." He turns his attention to you, "And how could we forget Ms._____, loyal OSCORP employee!"
You're scared, but still desperate, "Mr. Osborn I don't understand, what's happening?"
Osborn shakes his head, "The public grant agreement you signed, which comes from the city, has strict safety provisions. And this isn't your first violation."
"But those— those were excused." Peter chimes in.
"Yes, by your supervisor, Dr. Octavius. A private employee. But, don't misunderstand me, the two of you are free to continue your work, just in a more secure environment."
He smiles a snakes smile. By continue your work he means continuing your work at OSCORP. Signing over everything you had worked so hard for to another soulless corporation.
"Hey Peter, Harry will be back from his Europe trip early next year. Maybe the two of you can start that business you always talked about."
He turns to the two of you, "This is opportunity knocking." His eyes crinkle in a fake smile.
With a wave of his hand he rounds up all his cronies and they exit the lab, their arms full of random equipment, data and files.
After they leave all you can do is sigh, and plop down on the nearest stool. It's only five o'clock and the amount of emotional whiplash you experienced today is enough for the rest of your life.
Peter places a hand on your shoulder, "They didn't take everything, maybe we can start
over—"
You look up at him, eyes glossy, "Peter. There's no "we" without the grant from the city. We can't afford to pay for our own research. We're broke."
Your head drops, and you think of only hours ago, when you had been in this position sleeping, blissfully unaware of the events to come.
"You should probably start looking for a new research partner. Preferably one with money."
He laughs, "I'm not leaving you. We're partners, remember? Besides, who else can I count on to brew the perfect cup of coffee and weld the perfect seam?"
"Listen," he takes a seat next to you, "We'll figure this out. Tomorrow, I'll talk to Doctor Octavius. I'll make him scrape together all the money the engineering department can offer, and we'll find a way to fix this."
You peak your head at him, "You mean it?"
He crosses his heart, "I promise."
_
After the draining day, you and Peter successfully packed up lab, only leaving what you couldn't carry. Luckily the lab space was still allotted to you and Peter for the foreseeable future, but you had both realized it was too risky to keep sensitive information there, lest it was apprehended by Osborn.
Everything you didn't want to take home, or haul back and forth, the two of you tucked away in Doctor Octavius' office with a brief note to explain. You both trusted him greatly, but you also knew of the grudge he held towards Osborn. If anything, you knew would keep your things safe out of pure spite.
The moment you got home though, the second your head hit the pillow, you were out. So exhausted from today and last night, you didn't even have the energy to message the Spider about the mask. Currently, you were dreaming about the CRA, except the CRA was sentient and chasing you around, grasping at you with its little robotic fingers.
Beep
Beep
Beep
You groan, slapping your com to answer it and bringing it to your face, "Yes?"
"Hey— hgn, Star! Star! Shocker, I'm— gah! Need help! Im fighting Shocker!"
Your brows furrow, still sleepy, "What's so shocking?"
"SHOCKER! Shocker got out, Midtown— huf robbing bank, I need your help!"
"You're robbing a bank? Agh, whatever I'm— I'm on my way." You shake your body, trying to wake yourself up. It's close to 1AM now, so at least you're somewhat well rested.
If you heard Spider-Man right, which you weren't entirely sure you did. He was currently fighting Shocker AKA Herman Schultz. From what you remembered, Schultz was supposed be locked up at The Raft: a super-maximum security prison for super-powered criminals.
You did know the man was brilliant, but ultimately misguided. Which you were starting to recognize as a pattern between the people you fought. You, unfortunately, had never had the pleasure of fighting Shocker. But your partner had mentioned him a few times, so you knew that he wasn't too dangerous, but still someone to be taken seriously.
Selfishly, you grab some food and water from the fridge and stuff your face before you begin your usual stumbling dance of securing your gear and getting out the house. Then again, who would want a starving superhero to protect them?
After just a few minutes of gliding your way around the city, you more so hear the chaos happening at the Midtown Bank before you see it.
Inside, Spider-Man is unsuccessfully attempting to subdue shocker, webbing bits of rubble and tossing them in his direction. And for a second you watch as he catches Shocker off guard and begins pummeling him with kicks.
"Spider-Man!" You shout.
He turns but can only spare a glance before Shocker is back on his feet again, "Nice of you to join us! Shocker, Black-Star, Black-Star, Shocker, you know how these introductions go!"
"I don't care!" Shocker yells, knocking the Spider off him with a dome-shaped shockwave.
Landing, you dodge the rubble that comes toward you like a wave, Spider-Man gracefully flips backwards to a halt at your side.
The fighting continues with Shocker sending blasts in both your general directions, and the two of you taking turns attempting to catch him off-guard to trade blows.
"Why are you doing this, Herman?" Spidey shouts, dodging a piece of marble floor careening his way.
Shocker launches himself upwards and lands hard near the pair of you, "Because if I don't, they'll kill me!"
Your partner unexpectedly tosses a chunk of concrete towards him and it takes Shocker by surprise. Like that you and Spidey are on him, you with plasma punches, and him with relentless kicks.
Shocker dodges your hand, and you take the moment to speak to him, "Listen, we can help you!"
A bubble appears around Shocker and he blasts the both of you away, "You really want to help me? Then let me have the money!"
It's Spidey's turn to speak, "What's wrong Herman? It's not like you to be afraid of people."
Shocker continues his flurry of damaging shockwaves from his gauntlets, "Not even sure these guys are people, they could be anything under those masks..."
Masks?
Spider-Man turns to meet your gaze, the significance of Shockers confession not lost on the two of you. He quickly pulls you behind one of the only pillars in the bank left standing.
"Star, I have a plan." He points upward at a golden globular structure hanging from the ceiling, "I'm gonna disable Shockers gauntlets, and when I give you the signal, I need you to blast that thing from the ceiling, got it?"
You nod fast, and he nods in return, then steps out from behind the pillar.
"Okay, this is your last chance to give up. This time I really mean it!"
Shocker ignores his words and simply resumes launching more shock waves towards him. Luckily for you, staying perfectly in the center of the hanging globe.
Spider-Man dodges the waves with relative ease and then looks at you, who is ready to strike.
"Okay, I was kidding before, NOW is your last-last chance. Seriously." Spider-Man quickly hooks a web to the pillar and swings around.
He launches himself forward square into Shockers chest and he begins webbing and clawing at shockers gauntlets. After a moment of this, a loud beeping noise sounds, and you know the gauntlets are now temporarily disabled.
"Star, Now!" Spider-Man shouts.
Instantly you send beams of plasma to the concrete securing the structure. Your partner swings out of the way and lands across the room.
Shocker looks up and jumps out of the way, but he's not quick enough. The structure comes crashing down, trapping his lower half. His gauntlets continue beeping wildly, and then they burst into a ball of smoke, broken.
Spidey simply looks at your assailant and shakes his head sadly, "You brought this on yourself Herman. ....Literally.
You stifle a laugh and follow your partner outside, you both carrying a cloud of rubble and debris with you. Police cars crowd the scene, but everyone's too busy surveying the damage and doing paperwork to notice the two of you.
"Why don't we get some victory pizza?" Spidey suggests.
_
You both sit there, masks pull up to your noises chewing loudly on your 3AM pizza.
Spider-Man turns to you, pointing his slice with conviction, "Shocker was scared, and desperate. Those demons that you saw at the auction house are everywhere all of a sudden. Yuri told me that the guard who let Shocker out had that— dark energy, you talked about. His eyes were glowing."
He takes a bite of food, and you nod, "What did your contact say about the mask?"
He swallows, "Well, you were right. It is a Chinese opera mask. And the symbol on the back translates to demon. He told me...well, he told me it could be connected to dangerous people."
"Oh, really? I kind of got that idea when they were trying to kill me."
Step four: Hypothesis
Hypothesis' were generally if then statements. Such as: If you piss off Norman Osborn then you get your grant taken. You grimace. Turning you attention back the situation at hand, you begin to wonder about the nature of this new crime syndicate. Firstly, they're brand new. But why? Why show up now?
If you arrest a Kingpin then there will be a power vacuum.
The demons were taking advantage of a delicate situation, a situation that you and your partner created. It made sense, if there was any time to reveal yourself and how dangerous you were, it would be now.
"Your reporter friend— Mary Jane, did she tell you anything?"
He looks away, "She said the demons are trying to fill the power vacuum left by Fisk's arrest."
"Smart girl."
"Yeah. But that means it's my fault, Star. I was listening to Jameson's broadcast earlier- and now I realize he's right, the Demons are my fault."
Ugh, Spider-Man was talking about J. Jonah Jameson's podcast, "Just the Facts". It was pretty popular; even though all Jameson did was use his platform to criticize superhero's, mostly Spider-Man, (but sometimes you too!). He also offered his half-baked takes on the happenings around the city. You tried to stay away from it, not particularly wanting to rot your brain. But your partner on the other hand...it's like when you know something awful is happening but you can't look away.
"Hey, we're a team. We took down Fisk
together— and what the hell were we supposed to do, let Fisk keep Godfather-ing around?"
He huffs, "You're right. Just had a rough day, I guess."
"Well, your mistake was listening to what Jameson had to say in the first place."
"Next time I do a com maintenance, I'll make sure to block his frequency, just for you." He smiles, his real smile, before he finishes his slice and pulls his mask down.
Your face flushes a little, it's odd, times like this you swear you know who he is under that mask. The way the both of you get on so smoothly, your unserious attitudes and quick thinking; it's no wonder Fury made you partners.
You dust off your hands from the pizza crumbs, "Would you look at the time. I'm afraid I have to leave you, got work in the morning."
"Cutting the night short are we? I'm hurt," he whines, his voice dripping with its usual sarcasm.
"Never. Just trying to keep some semblance of a sleep schedule."
"Maybe you're the smart one." He waves, "Night, Star."