CHAPTER 5: Experimental Psychology
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spectacular Characters or Marvel Characters.
ARACHAPHOBIA - PARKER RESIDENCE
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
That morning alarm pierced through his skull and inevitably his dreams, getting Peter to spring out of bed. 'UGH CRAP! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!' The drowsy Peter immediately turned off the blasting alarm and sneaked into the shower with his cloth towel in hand. Of course, after an ice cold morning sprinkle, Peter got changed into his usual outfit, and softly ran down the stairs. On the side of his eye caught his Aunt sleeping on the living room couch, snoring the blues away. Right next to her, he saw a half-empty tissue box, and a trash can filled with tissues. He felt terrible, and guilty to see her like this being the one who caused this stress on her, which kept her up at night.
Then he noticed the note on the coffee table written for him, and quietly picked it up.
"Peter, I know you're growing up and I'm proud that you're maturing into the man that your uncle was. And I love that about you, dear. But a year ago, I lost your uncle, out on those streets... Now I don't want to lose you to the same thing that took him away.
You're ambitious and will do anything to do good, especially help your poor aunt. But you have to be honest with me because you've been so mysterious lately, Dear.
But I love you, Peter, and I always will. However, keep in mind, you're grounded for life. And you gotta be home by 7:00 pm.
Love - Aunt May"
Peter gently set it down on the counter, with a little smirk on his face, and grabbed his lunch. Before he left out that door, he gave Aunt May a goodbye kiss on her cheek. Then he grabbed the trash from inside and threw it outside.
After Peter got out the front door, he plugged his crappy, crummy earphones into his phone. He searched through his phone and found his music. But he hardly had any music in his playlist, only 6 songs.
"Raindrops keep falling" on my head by B. J. Thomas.
"We didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel.
"Basket Case" by Green Day.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day.
"Big Shot" by Billy Joel.
Peter loved all of his songs in his tiny playlist, especially "We didn't Start the Fire," which was Uncle Ben's favorite. But the one song that resonated with the young Peter was "Hold On" by Jet. He didn't know why it did, but it felt like the song spoke to him. His finger pressed play on that song whenever he'd get the chance. So having this moment was refreshing. Especially since he hadn't listened to music on his way to school for the longest time. And once his favorite song reached its end, he'd reached his desired destination, a large garbage bin. Peter ran into the dark hallway and made sure there's nobody there. There wasn't anybody there. He rapidly searched through his bag and found his torn red and blue suit. He looked at his suit for one last time before he did what he thought was right. Then Peter opened a large garbage container, which was filled with smelly garbage, and God-knows-what else, and discreetly threw his suit in. He threw the burnt-to-the-crisp Spider-Man suit in the trash like it was his most precious item. Only the rats could see. Right there and then, it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. A weight that he had for about a year was finally off his shoulders. But he had to get out of there, before anyone could spot him. Seconds after the alley was vacated, a couple of young teens cut through the alley as their shortcut, on their way to Midtown Manhattan Magnet. Until the young freshman stopped and threw away his snack in the garbage. He thought little about it until he noticed something odd in the garbage. His friend noticed that he'd stopped and oddly held the garbage lid up, looking at the garbage.
"C'mon Miles, we gotta go!"
"Ganke, hold up... look!" Miles motioned his friend to come to him. Then he pointed at the shredded red and blue costume in the trash.
"What the- why's Spidey's costume in the trash?"
"Beats me. AH!- it's covered with trash, dude!"
"Smells like burnt spandex... You know, if we bring it to the Daily Bugle, we'd probably get good money for this"
"Don't know, Ganke, the Daily Bugle's going to-" Miles sounded hesitant.
"LOVE THIS!... they've hated Spider-Man for the longest time, they've massacred him on the streets. So we'd probably get a cool hundred bucks," Ganke mentioned.
Then he noticed his friend's disappointed expression on his face. Ganke knew Miles loved the wall-crawling vigilante, but he also knew that they could benefit from this. But it looked like Miles was reluctant to give in to the idea.
"Miles, I know that you love Spider-Man and-" Then his eyes darted down on his watch. "Oh shoot! It's 7:10! Quick, put it in your bag and– we'll figure it after school," Ganke urged.
"Alright," Miles hurriedly shoved the raggedy suit in his backpack before he ran with his fans.
M3 HIGH SCHOOL
For the first time in a week, Peter didn't have to rush or swing to school. He finally found time to take the bus and arrive the normal way. Right as he got out those doors and stepped foot on campus, he noticed a crowd of students around the water fountain.
'What's happening over there? Was there a fight?' Peter knew the tendency for students his age to be oddly attracted to school fights, although he found it weirdly exhilarating, himself.
But it wasn't that at all. It was Homecoming season, and proposals were flying left and right. And right now, Harry Osborn, held out his proposal to Gwen Stacy, in front of everyone.
"Uh- Gwendolyne Stacy, will you be my date to the dance," Harry proposed, holding his neat, large homecoming poster out in front of her.
However, Gwen didn't know what to say. She was speechless. Her eyes darted back and forth between Mary Jane and Harry. She didn't know whether to take the redhead's advice and reject Harry in front of the entire student body. But she didn't want to leave Harry alone. To where he fell back into his former, destructive state.
That's what she feared. Feared so much that she gave a subtle nod to his proposal and gave him a stale embrace. Sadly, it felt more like an obligation than anything genuine.
Some students clapped and cheered for the couple, even some of the yearbook students took pictures of the unfolding event.
So Peter kept his head low, casually breezing past the crowd. But he wouldn't get so far without interruption, once Principal Davis called him into his office.
"Mr. Parker, I need to speak to you, in my office"
"Yeah, of course," Peter nervously gulped before he entered the office.
He noticed all the school's memorabilia and accomplishments, which his eyes immediately noticed the large stack of small detention slips on the top of his desk, which frightened him. He'd never got in trouble in school; they saw him as this bookworm, who followed the rules. But senior year completely flipped on his head and he'd finally receive his first detention.
"Mr. Parker, I know you're a good kid, and usually unproblematic. But you've been distracted lately and been tardy. So unfortunately, because of school rules, you got after school detention today."
'Ugh, this reeks! Now I gotta tell Aunt May I got detention!... Should've seen this coming'
"Mr. Davis, can I text my aunt that I'll be staying after school-"
"No need, I've already notified your Aunt, and she said that she expects you home by 7. That sounds like a tight curfew, son"
"Yeah... I kinda screwed up, and now I'm grounded"
"That's a shame, you're a great kid... you probably need to focus and take some responsibility"
"I know... um-can I go now?"
"Yes, Mr. Parker, just don't forget to take your slip and close the door on the way out. See you after school."
Moments after Peter exited the office, he noticed some girl walking towards his way. The sun was immensely bright, so he couldn't make out who it was. It was all a blur. Until he noticed the familiar light green cheerleader uniform and the sleek brown hair. Then it immediately clicked, it's Liz Allan.
"Hey, Petey," she softly greeted.
He barely gave a small wave to her. To say he feared a petite teenage cheerleader was an understatement. She could expose him and tell the entire school about it, and the thought of it made his heart pump faster than the speed of light. The pressure was on.
"Liz, I know you might be pissed at me right now, and understandably so... but I was hoping you'd keep that secret to yourself-" Peter speedily babbled, running out of breath.
But something extremely odd interrupted him. She stopped listening and gave him a warm, tight hug.
Liz Allan, his ex-girlfriend, who despised him for the entire summer and part of the earl school year, now held him in a affectionate hug in the hallway. And he liked it.
"What was that for?" Peter asked once he pulled away from her embrace.
"Everybody needs a hug, Petey. Even you!" she gleefully smiled at him.
"T-thanks, Liz. Although I've treated you awfully... I want us to be friends... please"
"I'd like that a lot. But the only way that could happen is your honesty with me... please," Liz urged.
"Please promise me you won't-"
"I promise... I won't Petey. My lips are sealed"
"Cool, I promise Liz that I'll... try my best to be honest with you."
'Parker, y'know don't make promises you can't keep,' he reminded himself.
"You can start with that detention slip in your hand"
"Oh-uh that's for my after school detention. I got it cause I was late... a lot this semester"
"Really? Of all the people, you?"
"Are you surprised? I thought you knew I was a man of many surprises"
"Got me there, Petey," she chuckled with him.
"How'd you know it was a detention slip? You got detention?"
"No... Flash used to get a lot of those, but the football coach would bail him out if it was during football practice"
"Coach doesn't like their star players dropping practice. I would know, I was a star football player," he grinned.
"Yeah, in tryouts! By the way, you really dropped the ball," she winked at him, while they chuckled.
"Well... you know, I was holding back."
"Sure... but what you should've been holding was that football, maybe you could've made the team," she humorously jabbed at him.
"Ouch Liz, you really are gonna go there," he smiled.
"I'll never let you off the hook for that!" she giggled.
Unknowingly she softly placed her hand on his arm, which caught Peter's attention.
However, the loud bell rang, preventing anything from going further.
"So Petey... are we still going to meet with Mr. Murdock later?"
"Yeah, but can you wait for me. I got detention, obviously"
"Hopefully cheer practice's done by that time... I'll meet you there by the room, I know where it is"
"Cool, see you in Second!"
"See you later, Petey," she subtly waved at him.
Peter walked away from her, not expecting that confrontation to go the way it did.
'That's not how I pictured that going– oh shoot! I forgot to put my bag in my locker. Crap!'
...
As the day breezed by, lunch time had arrived. I know right, school days go by quickly.
The day went by as fast as Hobie Brown and Glory ran past Mary Jane, which caught her attention.
"MARY JANE? HAVE YOU SEEN FLASH?!" Glory turned around and asked.
"No. Why?"
Suddenly, they heard some yelling nearby. They quickly followed that yelling to the lockers to see Flash stand over his brother, Miles.
"HEY FRESHMAN! WHERE'D THE HECK YOU GET THIS?!" Flash Thompson loudly interrogated the boy.
'Oh goodness, what did Miles do?' Hobie facepalmed.
"Flash... what're you doing, man?" Hobie calmly confronted.
"Your freshmeat brother was about to spread false information," Flash spat.
"What false information?"
"THIS!" He tossed over what was in the bag: the shredded and burnt spider-man suit.
"Is that Spider-Man's suit?!" Mary Jane's eyebrows raised at the sight of it.
"It smells burnt," Glory mentioned.
"Where the HECK did you get this, Miles? Y'know Dad wouldn't like this," Hobie mentioned.
"We just- I found this in the garbage. No big deal," Miles nervously reasoned.
"NO BIG DEAL?! YOU'RE GONNA GIVE THE BUGLE MORE FALSE INFORMATION!" the star quarterback lashed out at the freshmen.
"Flash, relax... what were you all going to do with it?" MJ asked the freshman boys.
"We were uh- going to give it to the Bugle for some money," Ganke answered.
"Why would Spider-Man throw away his suit, anyway?" Glory curiously asked.
"It's FAKE! You could buy that from a halloween store," Flash pointed out.
"Flash, cut it out... Glory, you don't know what this means?:
"MJ what?"
"Glory, when you trash something, and quit trying to make it work," MJ pointed out.
"You're saying-"
"I'm saying, probably Spider-Man... quit"
"NO, SPIDEY WOULD NEVER QUIT! HE WOULD NEVER!"
After all this yelling, Principal Davis finally approached him in the hallway, which everyone else took a step back.
"Mr. Flash Thompson, my office, now!" The Principal demanded.
Security took the hotheaded football star away like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the corner.
"C'mon Miles! Let's go!" Ganke yelled.
Then the two freshman boys jumped and ran past Hobie and the girls, heading to the cafeteria.
"But what if he did?" The red-head questioned.
"Then there's nothing we could do about it, MJ"
Then MJ softly gazed at Hobie, who still wrapped his head around this truth. She realized the situation she was in, and glared at Glory, which she instantly got the message, and ran off.
"Anyways Hobie... you thinking of going to Homecoming?" she segued.
"Homecoming? Oh– oh yeah, I have"
"You got a date?"
"Me? Oh no no, I'm not... going"
"Why not?"
"Oh– y'know I'm busy... with work, and all that"
"Can't you take the day off?"
"My boss is... real strict. He'll kill me"
"Don't think he's that literal... but I mean, what if I came with you?"
"As my date? I thought you flew solo"
"Well this bird can be flexible," she softly spoken into his ear, which led a smile growing on Hobie's face.
"Thought the guy had to do all the asking?"
"Isn't that a primitive misconception? I'd think so. I find it kinda cliche"
Both of them chuckled lightly, till it grew into an awkward silence.
"So will you?" the redhead breathily asked.
The running back was anxious when the red-haired beauty, asked him the question. The young Hobie has been chasing Mary Jane Watson ever since he got a dance with her last winter. He didn't know what stood out about her, instead of her drop-dead gorgeous looks, but it kept him attracted to her. Since then, he's been drooling over her till now. This was his chance. Whatever Wesley threatened him with the day before, didn't phase him.
"Yes," Hobie awkwardly smiled, before he gave her a small side-hug.
Meanwhile, Peter had a spring in his step, while he headed to the cafeteria. Although getting after-school detention isn't the best news, at least he wasn't late to his classes and he and Liz seem to be cool with each other. He sat down at the same cafeteria table, with his best friend, Harry Osborn.
"Hey Harry," Peter greeted.
"What happened to you, Pete! Jeez, I thought you died?" Harry admitted.
"Why'd you say that?"
"Y'know Gwen told me you went missing, or something like that. So I figure something was up... you alright?"
"Well, obviously I'm good!"
"That's good Peter, it's good to get a break once in a while... what did you need a break from?"
"Oh y'know, I needed a break on my assignments, yeah... especially those missing assignments," he reasoned.
"Oh okay, so you think you can hang out after school?"
"Uh-not today, Har"
"What is the busy Peter Parker doing today?:
"I got after-school detention..."
"Whoa, wait, you? Peter Benjamin Parker... got after school detention?"
"Yeah, it turns out that the school doesn't appreciate my tardiness and absences"
"Figures, what about tomorrow?"
"Uh-I can't... I gotta do the history project with Liz, actually all week"
"Ooo, Liz," Harry teased as he jokingly punched his shoulder.
"What?"
"You remember when you wanted to be with a cheerleader, I know it was Sally but-"
"I remember that was back at the beginning of junior year"
"Either way, you got that dream by dating... Liz"
"Har, what're you saying?"
"I'm saying, give her another shot. You two are meant for each other, like me and Gwen," Harry acknowledged. "Pete, take her out for Hoco, man," Harry added.
'That depends if Aunt May lets me go... even if I go with Liz... wait, what would be wrong taking Liz? She's gorgeous, caring and funny and-'
"Pete, you zone out on me?" Harry brought his attention back.
"Oh-uh sorry, you're right Har..."
"Aren't I always?"
Peter playfully rolled his eyes in response.
Just then, two of Peter's friends approached the table, MJ and Gwen. The blonde sat right next to Peter, while the redhead sat next to him.
"Hey there, Tiger-"
"Pete, you alright? Like your aunt told us you've gone missing?" Gwen sounded concerned.
"Gwen, I'm fine. I'm here, right?"
"Well, what's up with you? It's not like you to miss school or be late to a class..." The blonde reasoned.
"I thought I'd to do something, but turns out I didn't, not anymore," Peter quietly expressed
"Well, it's good to have you back, Tiger," the redhead smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Actually, did you hear what's going on?" she added.
"No, what is it?"
"They're saying that Spider-Man's given up!" Mary Jane pointed out.
"WAIT REALLY!? He did?!" Harry excitedly asked.
"Some freshmen found his suit in the garbage," MJ acknowledged.
Peter's thoughts were screaming at him, 'Wait, they found it already... that was barely this morning!'
"Wow... I wouldn't expect him to do that"
"The Bugle probably won't need you to shoot pictures of Spider-Man, huh, Pete?"
"I guess"
"Don't worry, Pete, OsCorp could use an intern like you. Plus, we pay our interns well"
"Thanks for the offer, bud. But, I'll pass... I probably need to focus on school, anyway"
"You sure, buddy? We got a position open and we could use someone with your brain in OsCorp"
"Yeah, I'm sure. And hey, I could get a job delivering pizzas," Peter mentioned.
"You serious, Pete? Pizza delivery man? Sounds kind of lame," Harry chirped.
"Eh- it's something new to try out"
"But Peter, what about the ESU internship?" Gwen asked.
"Crap! I forgot- I've been busy working on the history project that I haven't gone in days"
"Pete, you know that's a great opportunity for you... it'll help you get into ESU next year"
"I know... I may need a few days, I need to finish this project. My grade in history stinks like sewer water"
"Fine, a few more days, plus they're under construction for something... the lab's a real mess"
"What for?"
"I don't know, but tons of the equipment was destroyed and there were even holes in the walls. Dr. Warren must be experimenting with some crazy stuff," the blonde concernedly mentioned.
...
Later that afternoon, significant news came for the Daily Bugle, mostly for James Jonah Jameson, when the destroyed Spider-Man suit was delivered to their office. He despised the wall crawler, and to know that Spider-Man had given up, made him jollier than a schoolgirl. Weird, right? But that's how much the chief of the Daily Bugle despised him.
"According to the infamous newspaper company, The Daily Bugle, a sudden development has unfolded today that the vigilante, Spider-Man, has given up. This is based on evidence of a trashed Spider-Man suit that was found earlier today! This begs the question to all New Yorkers, is Spider-Man, No More? We will keep you updated on this unraveling situation," the news anchor reported.
Daily Bugle Newspapers flew out of control, because of today's bold front-page headline, "SPIDER-MAN: NO MORE!"
This headline came across many eyes, especially the green eyes of a certain white-haired Felicia Hardy, who sat in her kitchen, when she saw the viral headline on the local news station. Her mind hasn't tuned out of it.
Usually, if there's a slanderous report about her, she wouldn't bother tuning in, because she knew who she was. A dirty old cat burglar. Plus, some of them were hilarious to listen to in the background.
But this... she couldn't take her eyes off this. Especially since she knew she was a part of it. Apart of every little thing that led to this very moment. And she couldn't breathe.
"Oh Kitty, what have you let Fisk do?" she uttered to herself.
Her heart beat so fast till it dropped, as sadness was too heavy to hold.
Her hand shook.
Her lip quivered.
Her mouth dried up.
Her eyes watered up, as she gazed up at the ceiling.
She peeked over at her father, who sat there in her living room, taking his medication.
"You okay there honey?" he concernly asked.
She gulped and wiped her eyes before giving him a slight nod. All of the heinous stuff she's done for the Kingpin, got her father out of Rikers, and got him sitting right across from her. And that's all that mattered, there's no going back.
...
After school detention was such a waste of time. It wasn't hell or heaven; it was just boring and useless. No phones, no games, only boredom till death. You barely could talk with people... barely. But there does come some exceptions.
"I'll be calling attendance for today's after school detention... hmm okay, Flash Thompson?" the instructor announced.
"Here," Flash grumbled, slightly raising his hand.
"Peter Parker?"
"Here..."
Flash turned around to see Peter sitting behind him, with his hand raised.
"Parker, how'd you get here?" Flash asked.
"Oh, I had a lot of tardies. Uh- you?" Peter discreetly whispered.
"I-uh yelled at a freshman..."
"Not the worst thing you've done"
"Well, Sha Shan's pissed that I'm in detention... again. She wants me to be better"
"That's good... great actually. Um-so... what'd you yell at the freshman about?"
"Well, this kid pissed me off when he said that Spidey gave up! Like Spidey would never do that! Kid was about to spread false info about the webhead... and y'know the Bugle, always spewing bad stuff about my boy"
Peter immediately felt chills sent down his spine.
"Oh him... I've heard about that."
"The Bugle's going to spew garbage about Spidey anyway... that's how they make money. Like I know you take pictures for the bugle, but you don't honestly believe that crap, Parker? "
"Um- of course... not"
"Good."
"But what's your fascination with Spidey anyway," Peter questioned.
"Well, Y'know chicks dig Spidey... "
"You sure? I think girls find the spandex bit goofy"
"Parker, Trust me... girls like a guy in tight spandex"
"Is that why you like Spider-Man, though?"
"That's not it, something about the guy... he's inspiring, y'know what I mean?"
"I kinda don't know what you mean, Flash"
"C'mon Parker! Y'know what I mean. Spider-Man... he's just a dude, in a costume... who gets up no matter how hard he gets punched down. That's inspiring!"
"Oh..."
"You don't think so?"
"I don't know what to think... I only took the pictures, and I gotta say Spidey does more harm than good"
"Well, nobody's perfect, not even Spidey... he's just a dude"
"Exactly"
"But that's what so great about the dude! He's not a god or a super-soldier... he's a dude, like you, Parker. But he inspires me to want to do good. I bet he inspires other people too"
"Wow," he mouthed to himself. He never expected Flash to express himself about something else than sports. Sure, Flash and Peter were never close, even when they're best friends in nursery school, but it felt like this was the best it could be.
"Yo Parker, if you ever tell anybody about what I told you-"
"Flash, I promise I won't."
"Good," he nodded at him.
Moments quickly passed in detention, and before he knew it, students darted out of the room and headed for the exit, leaving the last two students, Peter and Flash. Once Peter stepped out the door, noticed from the corner of his eye a girl waiting for him, with a smile on her face.
"See you around Flash!" Peter waved.
"You too, Parker," The blonde boy nodded at him with a small grin.
"What was that about?" Liz observed.
"I don't know, I guess, Flash Thompson opened up to me?! Weird, but oddly heartwarming," Peter playfully shivering as he explained.
"Eh- stranger things have happened, like when I found out that his name is Eugene"
"Well, I gave him the nickname Flash in preschool... man, I can't believe he flashed me when we ran onto the playground."
"Jeez, you've known him for that long?"
"Yeah... although we took our separate paths. Good thing I met Harry in second grade, or else Elementary School would've been rough"
As they made their way out of campus, Liz still had one thing on her mind.
"About Harry? Is all that stuff true... about his father?" she asked.
"Norman Osborn? Yeah-he was a lunatic. The glorious Green Goblin... Can't believe Harry still worships him," he admitted.
"They're saying you... you know-"
Liz could tell that he's bothered by what happened to Norman Osborn. He became quiet and avoided looking her in the eye.
"Petey, please be honest with me-" she urged him.
"Fine... I-I killed Norman Osborn," he admitted. "Apart of me regrets it. Like I didn't aim to kill him... but I just did. Right when I heard he framed his own son... my oldest friend... I snapped. I shouldn't have. He was the absolute scum of the earth, an absolute monster... but he was the father of my best friend. Sure, the Green Goblin maybe gone, but Harry's father went with him... and that's what I'll have to live with," he explained.
"Jeez, now I get why Harry hates Spidey. But-it isn't right, obviously..."
"Don't worry, I get it too. That's why I needed a break from all of this madness. Like months ago, I used to think that was my destiny... weighing me down. But you're right. I had a choice and I'm just a kid in highschool... who just needs to worry about school, my college applications, my Aunt and y'know... girls. I don't think I need the weight of the world on my shoulders"
A small smirk grew on Liz's face. Not because of what he said, it's that he said it to her. That's all she ever wanted from Petey, his honesty. And she could tell he's walking with more spring in his step. Like he can finally breathe, while he broke down these walls.
Liz turned to him, and playfully asked, "Are you ready to go into the Hell hole, known as Hell's Kitchen?!"
"Hell's Kitchen, here we come!"
They glanced at each other with an excited smile, before strolling on in.
NELSON & MURDOCK ATTORNEYS AT LAW
"Hi, Mr. Nelson and Ms. Page," Peter delightfully greeted them, once they entered through the doors.
"Uh-where's Mr. Murdock?" Liz questioned.
"Oh-Matt hasn't come to the office today," Karen informed the students.
"Sometimes I think he fell in a manhole," Foggy jokes.
Karen slapped his shoulder, reminding him to not joke about that... probably because they think that's a real possibility.
"Slow day today?"
"No, this is the usual foot traffic we get.We're new to the city... so it's expected," Foggy sighed.
"Although, we wished it was better than this," the blonde haired secretary admitted.
"Don't worry Karen, Matt would say, by the grace of God, hopefully, we'd get a big case," he turned to her.
'Mr. Murdock's religious?' Peter thought.
Then Franklin Nelson turned to the kids, "Anyway, what do you kids need?"
"Um, well, we're here to review the interview questions for our video... if you'd like"
"Of course, let's work on the table"
Right as they sat on the chair, the two noticed the Daily Bugle Newspaper, on the table, with the big and bold headline: 'SPIDER-MAN: NO MORE?'
"Oh, did y'all hear the news... one of New York's vigilantes is finally out of the picture," Foggy announced.
"Well that's new, but who's the other vigilante?"
"We got one here in Hell's Kitchen. I'm dead serious. But he doesn't have a fancy name like Spidey, but our clients called him our guardian Devil... which fits this neighborhood, actually," Foggy hilariously acknowledged.
"But he isn't Spider-Man, the other guy is pretty badass... in his own way of course"
"Karen, you know these vigilantes seem interesting, but they're acting above the law... which essentially makes them criminals..."
"Yeah, but don't you think that this helps some people? Like sometimes, the law can't help everyone"
"But isn't that what it was made to do? That's why the law is important"
"That's it's purpose, but some people are so powerful that they can bend the law into something wicked, twisted... that it benefits them"
After Peter heard this, he understood why Tombstone and Kingpin had so much power. Wasn't their strength, goons, or money... although that played a big part... it's the ability to bend the world to their will.
Immediately their door slowly opened, which everyone turned their heads to see the blind lawyer, Matthew Murdock, enter the room.
"Hey Matt, where've you been? These kids have been- OH MY GOODNESS! Matt, you're bleeding!" Foggy loudly observed.
"Matt, were you mugged?!" Karen frantically asked.
The bleeding was around Matthew's upper abdomen, and the blood seeped through his classic white dress shirt. It looked like he'd been mugged by people who hate blind people, or he'd been slashed by a blade. Either way, there were so many possibilities how he received such a bloody injury.
The Midtown students couldn't believe their eyes with the injuries they witnessed. Liz noticed Matt's injuries were similar to the injuries she patched up for Peter, which concerned her.
"Matt, do you need to go to the hospital?" His best friend offered.
"No Foggy, no hospitals... please," the blind man pleaded.
"But you'd bleed out if you don't," Karen mentioned.
"I'm fine guys. I got stitched up earlier, the blood is probably from the residue"
"But that's a lot of blood just to be residue... what did you do?"
"Oh- I got clipped by a bike, my fault... I didn't know where I was going," Matt reasoned.
"Well obviously you didn't... you sure you don't those guide dogs? They're pretty cute," Foggy recommended.
"Guys, I'm fine, everything is fine... Anyway, it's Peter and Liz right?"
A few back hairs raised when he guessed correctly. It was like he knew they were there, even if he just got there a minute ago. But Matt was blind, he couldn't have known... right?
"Wait, how'd you know?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets," Matt chuckled.
"Cool! Well it would be Liz, Petey and our other partner, Hobie... but he'd gone to work!" Liz mentioned.
"That's alright, hopefully we'll meet him later. What do y'all need help with?" the lawyer asked.
"Um reviewing our interview questions, Mr. Murdock," she answered.
"Matt's fine, Liz. Well, let's get to work."
FISK TOWER
There were many types of labor in the United States. It's the land of opportunity, after all! But sometimes, not all opportunities are legal, especially for the Kingpin. And what comes with every King, are his pawns, which he offered the young Hobie Brown to come be his pawn of execution, as the Prowler. But Hobie didn't believe in everything Fisk did for the city, especially if he had to be as committed as Fisk was.
"We must take out any obstacles that may cause harm to our operation, Mr. Brown... and if that obstacle is the Man in Black, I'll make sure that obstacle won't destroy our operation," Fisk emphasized.
"Can't you get someone else to do this? Like Gargan or the Shocker?" Hobie asked.
He didn't want to lose his chance to get a date with the beautiful Mary Jane Watson, especially since she's the one who asked him out. But he also knew had this new responsibility to fulfill.
"Mr. Brown, you have many talents, and I'd hate for those talents to go to waste"
"C'MON FISK! I have a life of my own, and I'd like to keep it that way! My life doesn't stop because you tell me to."
His pawn's outburst stunned the Kingpin. No one ever raised his voice at him, except for his father. And he never had the best relationship with him, obviously.
"I'm trying to build something here, Mr. Brown. And I'd like for you to be in the front row of that change in New York"
"This change in New York is covered with blood... that's the change that you want?"
"If it had to get to that point... this city would get better through that sacrifice"
"Well, I will not be a part of it!" Hobie exclaimed. Fisk looked at Hobie's gauntlets, which were ready to strike. And Wilson knew how powerful they were, so he didn't strike the boy. He gave him a deep stare before he stormed out.
Hobie bursted out of those doors, which James Wesley took notice of, especially when Hobie gave him such a sharp glare, which Wesley went to check on Wilson.
"What happened, sir?" he questioned as he entered.
"Mr. Brown doesn't want to take the bullet. He doesn't align himself with our operation, no longer... So we cannot have these disturbances in our operation!"
"What are you saying, sir?"
"He can exploit this vision. My vision! That's a great danger to us, to me!"
"What option shall we propose?"
"We take that disturbance out of the equation... tell me, Wesley, are any of our allies available?"
"Only Mr. Brice and Ms. Hardy are available-"
"What about the enforcers?"
"They're in the vault sir"
"Fine, please inform Mr. Brice and Ms. Hardy that I need them to handle this intrusion, as soon as possible"
"I'll inform Mr. Brice and Ms. Hardy, right now," his assistant replied.
He immediately went on his phone to fulfill Mr. Fisk's request.
"Thank you, Wesley" he nodded and deviously grinned to himself.
TO BE CONTINUED...