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Never change in an alleyway where someone could easily see you. Peter Parker learned not to make that Rookie mistake after his latest encounter with Jameson from The Daily Bugle. It all started when Peter was walking close to the Daily Bugle’s headquarters and heard a cry for help.
Peter couldn’t help the call to help, so he went into the nearest alleyway and changed where he thought that no one could see him. He had initially been heading into the Daily Bugle to deliver more photos, but then he had heard the cry for help. He helped the person who cried out and headed back to the same alleyway where he had left his backpack and camera webbed up to the back of a dumpster.
Instead of changing out of the suit, he just pulled on a hoodie and jeans over the spider suit. He really should have checked his surroundings though, and that was his rookie mistake. Peter had decided to change in an alleyway, and he didn’t make sure the alleyway was clear and that no one had seen him enter. He had been distracted.
Peter finished putting normal clothes on over the suit and then he finally took his mask off, only to turn around and see a very shocked J. Jonah Jameson staring back at him at the end of the alleyway with a camera. The camera never clicked, as Jameson had been too shocked to take a picture. Peter froze.
Jonah broke the silence by saying “PARKER! WHAT THE? YOU’RE THE SP-----”, but Peter webbed his mouth shut before he could finish the sentence.
Peter sighed as he could still hear Jameson grumbling and trying to talk around the webbing.
“Okay, Mr. Jameson, I know that this must be a shock for you, but please, please, please, do NOT reveal my identity, or fire me.” Peter said as he got closer to Jameson.
Jameson’s face was very red in anger at that point, but Peter made the decision to go ahead and get the webs off of his mouth. Jameson surprisingly stayed quiet after the webbing was off, but his eyes held a fiery anger.
After a few awkward minutes Jameson spoke “Parker, get to my office, NOW!” and he proceeded to exit the alleyway and go into the Daily Bugle’s building.
Peter thought to himself ‘I can’t believe that I made such a rookie mistake! That was so stupid! Jameson’s not even a photographer! Why was he even trying to find me! This is such a mess!’
Peter then gathered his things and reluctantly entered the building. He made his way up to Jameson’s office shortly after Jameson himself had arrived back. Peter had been surprised that Jameson had even taken any time to go outside of his office.
Peter greeted the receptionist as he entered and they immediately sent him to Jameson’s office as Jameson had cleared his schedule for a meeting with Spider-Man’s photographer. Peter entered Jameson’s office quickly and Jameson directed him to close the door as the conversation would have to be very confidential.
“Parker, I never expected to say this, but I won’t out your identity. I know that I’m a loud and obnoxious person, but you’re a good kid, and I can’t reveal your identity no matter how much I want to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to publish articles about Spider-Man, but now that I actually know who he is, I really can’t badmouth him as much. Especially since he works for me. This is so frustrating! You’re in college and you’re a vigilante! That is not normal! Your girlfriend died right in front of you!” Jonah ranted while Peter cringed at some of the topics that were brought up.
Gwen’s death was still a sore spot for him. He had only gone back to Spider-Manning a few months ago when The Rhino began attacking. He still had not caught the Rhino. The Rhino always seemed to escape his grasp at the last second, and it was really irritating. Peter let his thoughts wander as Jameson ranted.
“PARKER! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!” Jameson loudly asked as Peter started listening to him again.
“I am now that you’re yelling again.” Peter snarkily commented.
Jameson huffed and rolled his eyes and grumbled about Peter being a menace just as much as Spider-Man. Peter snickered when he heard Jameson say that.
“Kid, you can continue working for me, and your identity will be safe. I didn’t get a picture, and I really don’t want to get on your Aunt’s bad side. I will be paying you less for those photos though since they are of yourself!”
Peter groaned and said “Okay, Mr. Jameson. Thanks for not revealing my identity. Can I call us frenemies now? Is that even a thing?”
Jameson rolled his eyes and said “I don’t care, Parker! Just get out of my office. I’ve got some reporting to do.”
Peter left Jameson’s office with a hopeful attitude. He was just really happy that Jameson wasn’t going to release his identity. May still didn’t know that he was Spider-Man, and the only other people who currently know are either incarcerated, or his friend Mary Jane.
Peter soon left the Daily Bugle and called Mary Jane. She picked up after the first few rings.
“Hey, Tiger. What’s going on?” MJ happily answered.
Peter answered with “Hey, I just left the Daily Bugle, and I really need to talk to you about something, but I cannot do it over the phone. Can I come over to your apartment later?”
“Sure, Tiger. It’s no problem. Is it an off day?” MJ questioned.
“No, not really. I’ll see you in about an hour. Bye, MJ.” Peter said as he hung up.
Peter eventually arrived at MJ’s apartment. He knocked and she let him in.
“Hey, Tiger. You look stressed. Well, more stressed than usual I mean.” MJ noted.
“Yeah, and I have a pretty good reason why. Jameson figured out my identity today because of a rookie mistake I made. I forgot to check my surroundings and listen to my spider sense while also changing in an alleyway.” Peter said as he waited for MJ’s reaction.
MJ shot him a flat look and rolled her eyes while saying “Only you, Tiger. Only you.”
“We then went to his office and had a surprisingly civil talk. On the bright side, I don’t think that he’s going to be reporting on me nearly as much now.” Peter said.
“Well, that’s good. We’ll see what happens. If he does try to expose you though, do you want me to go off on him? You know I’d do it. I’ve wanted to smack him upside the head ever since I figured out that you were Spider-Man.” MJ said as Peter snickered.
“Nothing like that is needed right now MJ. I just wanted to talk to someone about it, especially since he brought up Gwen.” Peter quietly said.
“He brought up Gwen?! That idiot! You’d think he’d be smart enough not to bring up one of the most tragic events of your life! Ugh, he makes me so mad sometimes!” MJ angrily said as Peter approached her.
“It’s okay, MJ. I don’t think that he meant anything by it. I tuned out most of his rant anyway. I’m honestly just glad that you’ve been here to support me ever since then. You were a pretty good friend before you switched schools when we were little, and you’re an even better one now that we’ve been reunited in college.” Peter said as MJ calmed down and smiled.
Peter eventually hugged MJ and left. All was calm for a few weeks, and Jameson did a few reports on Spider-Man. Jameson didn’t quit calling him a menace, but he did stop printing complete lies about him. It was all going pretty well until the Rhino, aka Aleksei Sytsevich, decided to appear again.
The Rhino appeared on the same block as the Daily Bugle. He had just robbed a bank in the area and was fleeing when Peter got the alert that the Rhino was on the loose again. Peter had just delivered his latest batch of photos to Jameson, so he checked the area, made sure no one was watching, and got ready to fight. He had full cartridges of web fluid, so he was hoping that today could be the day that he took down the Rhino.
The Rhino came racing by the Daily Bugle and Peter jumped towards him. He made a web lasso and caught the Rhino around the horn. Peter was pulled forward some, but he was still strong enough to stop the Rhino’s momentum.
The Rhino stumbled and fell, but recovered quickly and let out an angry shout.
“SPIDER-MAN! HAVE YOU COME BACK TO LOSE AGAIN?!” Sytsevich shouted.
Peter responded with “Nope. I’m here to take you down. You’ve terrorized this city for long enough.”
Peter was tired of dealing with the Rhino. He didn’t feel like making any jokes. Sytsevich had already caused so much damage around the city, and it was no laughing matter. The fight began without prompt, and it was brutal.
The streets had been cleared of anyone except for the police, S.W.A.T, and the two fighters. They had to stay back from the fight though, so as not to be injured. Spider-Man’s strategy was to try and wear down the Rhino, but it was not working too well. It was tiring him out more than it was tiring Sytsevich.
The Rhino had webs hanging off of his heavy armor, but none of them were keeping him restrained. Peter was fairly sure that his left wrist was sprained or possibly broken now. Sytsevich had gotten close enough to grip his wrist and throw him across the street.
Peter decided to change tactics. He had to find a weakness. He had to find a way to disable the Rhino armor. Peter got up again, and was slightly woozy, as his head had hit the ground hard when Sytsevich threw him. He most definitely had a concussion.
The Rhino charged, but Peter was still disoriented. He barely heard the police and others trying to yell out for him to look out. Peter barely dodged the charge in time. The Rhino’s horn caught his side and shredded that part of his suit while giving him a gash on the side.
Peter got back up and tried to fire a web at the Rhino, but he was too disoriented to hit the proper spot. He was aiming for the horn of the Rhino, but ended up hitting one of the large mechanical legs. He hadn’t felt this bad fighting anyone in a very long time.
Peter tugged the web in an attempt to knock the Rhino down, but the Rhino got down on all fours again to attack before he could. The Rhino charged him again, but he had been able to jump out of the way in time for the Rhino to crash into the side of the Daily Bugle building.
Debris went flying and screaming was heard inside the Daily Bugle. The Rhino yelled out in rage, and got back up quickly. Peter jumped on top of one of the light poles and waited as the Rhino spotted him. The Rhino spotted him at the top of the pole and began to mock him.
Peter then waited for the Rhino to charge the light pole. The Rhino charged, and just as he got under the pole, Peter jumped onto his back. The Rhino roared in indignation. Peter had stuck himself to the Rhino’s back, and the Rhino could not shake him off.
Peter held on tight as the Rhino raged and knocked himself against buildings in an attempt to get him off his back. Peter continued to search for any weaknesses on the back of the metal suit. The Rhino’s suit was rather large, and Peter had landed close to the head.
Peter noticed that in the neck of the suit close to where Sytsevich sits, there was what appeared to be an opening for the inner wiring that connects the head of the suit to everything else. Peter ripped the covering off of the juncture and ripped wires apart. The Rhino’s suit began to spark and it was no longer working properly. Peter could hear Sytsevich yelling loudly.
Peter eventually completely disabled the suit, and Sytsevich must have hit the disengage button, because it completely shut down and opened. Aleksei Sytsevish jumped out of the suit. Peter jumped off of the back of the now disabled suit and prepared to web Sytsevich up.
Peter landed on the ground, and Sytsevich charged at him before he could fire a web. Sytsevich punched Peter, and that was when he realized that Sytsevich was no longer a normal human. Sytsevich had somehow been enhanced. It was not going to be an easy take-down.
Peter attempted to take Sytsevich down with his webs, but Sytsevich had gotten faster as well as stronger, and was easily able to dodge the webs. Peter then noticed Aleksei smile wickedly, ignore him, and charge to his right towards something behind him.
Peter went to subdue Sytsevich, but surprisingly missed, and Aleksei made it to his target, whom Peter immediately heard yelp and scream his last name.
“PARKER!?” Jameson yelled as Peter cringed.
Figures that J. Jonah Jameson had been stupid enough to exit the Daily Bugle while Sytsevich was still loose. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had also screamed out part of Peter’s civilian name.
Sytsevich grabbed Jameson around the neck, news helicopters in the air documenting the fight.
Sytsevich smiled wickedly and said “Parker, is it? Well, Parker, who is this to you? He stopped publishing all of those true stories about you being a menace a while back and has been publishing fluff pieces about you ever since. I wonder what changed his mind, Parker? What is he to you Parker? What will you do if I kill him now, Parker?”
Sytsevich mocked Peter by using his last name and threatening Jameson. Jameson had gone very still, and was uncharacteristically quiet.
“Oh, wait, he said the name Parker, and I happen to know the name of someone very close to the Daily Bugle with the last name Parker. Could Spider-Man possibly be his own photographer? I think so, seeing as this one here knows who you are under the mask. You’re Peter Parker, photographer for the Daily Bugle, who also happens to be Spider-Man. That’s some very useful information. All the more to help me make your life terrible!” Sytsevich said as he threw Jameson to the side and charged Peter.
Peter used his webs to slow Sytsevich down, but it was futile. They were soon engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Peter kicked Sytsevich behind the knees, and he cringed, but did not drop. Sytsevich then somehow surprised Peter with an uppercut. Peter was knocked backwards by the force. He coughed, rolled his mask up over his mouth and spit out a tooth.
The fight continued in that fashion, and Sytsevich gained the upper hand. He got Peter in a choke hold and ripped his mask off. Peter’s nose was broken, he was missing a few teeth, had bloodshot eyes, and blood was running down from a cut on his forehead. He looked terrible.
Sytsevich attempted to strangle him, but Peter recovered his position quickly. He broke the choke hold and delivered an uppercut of his own to Sytsevich. He didn’t even bother to pull his punch. Sytsevich flew backwards, and hit the side of the closest building. His body dented the wall, and he was knocked out. Blood was running down his chin. Peter quickly took his chance to web him completely up.
Peter had stopped the Rhino, but it had been at a great cost. The Rhino, Sytsevich, had revealed his identity to the world, and there were many other criminals out there waiting for their chance to attack him.
Peter looked around at all of the stunned remaining cops and special teams. They could take care of Aleksei Sytsevich, but he had to get to his Aunt as quickly as possible. She was in so much danger because of his mistakes. Before anyone could question him, Peter swung away in the direction of he and May’s home, completely mask-less.
It had been May’s day off from the hospital and Peter was terrified. Now that his identity had been outed, his information was readily available online. Peter swung as fast as he could, but he was too late. It hadn’t taken him too long to get back, but it had been enough time for someone to find his home address.
The front door was wide open, and there was a bloody trail of boot prints leading to the kitchen. Peter cautiously approached the kitchen, terrified of what he would find. Peter stepped around the blood trail and saw a large pool of blood coming from behind the kitchen table. He didn’t want to step around and see the gore.
Peter was already in panic mode, and he stepped around the table to see one of the worst things he could possibly imagine. His Aunt’s body lay behind the table in the kitchen/dining room, completely lifeless. She was covered in cuts and wounds. She had been tortured, but the killing blow had been a gunshot wound directly between her eyes.
Peter completely lost any control that he had had. He collapsed beside his aunt’s body. He cradled her body in his arms and wept. He didn’t even hear when the police force arrived just under fifteen minutes later.
Someone had called the cops, but they had been too late. They arrived at the scene to see a traumatized teenage Spider-Man cradling his dead aunt. They recalled the news alerts that came over their precinct’s television screens after Spider-Man’s identity was revealed. They knew that this teenager was Peter Parker. They knew that the older teen had just suffered the loss of his last relative.
As soon as news crews gained Spider-Man’s name, reporters were on the case. Peter’s whole life story became hot news within thirty minutes of his identity being revealed. There were photos of him as both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. There was even a closeup shot of Peter’s face after Sytsevich ripped his mask off.
None of that mattered to the devastated hero at the moment though. All Peter Parker knew was the cold embrace of heart wrenching pain. Peter let out the most guttural and primal scream as he was gently pulled away from May’s corpse. He was wailing hysterically as a blanket was put around his shoulders, and he was escorted to the back of a police car.
The cops knew that they wouldn’t be able to question the poor young adult for a while, but they still had to take him down to the station for when they did. They also had to gather all of the security footage from the street around the Parker home.
May’s body was taken away in one of those dreadful body bags. Peter was soon escorted to the station, yet he had no cares about that. He could barely focus, and he knew a major sensory overload was in progress. He had quieted down a little during the ride, but he was far from okay.
He was soon escorted into the precinct. They didn’t even bother to try and question him yet. They did ask him if he wanted to call anyone and he agreed. He had lost his phone during the fight with the Rhino. He hadn’t even gotten medical care for those injuries yet, but he had been too hysterical for the emergency personnel to help him.
He was soon offered a phone to call someone. He only knew of one person he could call, as he had lost almost everyone else he cared about. He had to call the only other friend he had that knew about his identity.
Peter soon used the phone that he was handed and dialed the number that he now knew so well.
The phone rang for a minute, but then Mary Jane Watson’s soothing voice answered.
“Hello, this is Mary Jane Watson, to whom am I speaking?” she questioned as Peter began to cry again.
“He-Hey MJ. I-I’m not doing so well right now. I’m sure th-that you’ve seen the ne-news by now, but something worse happened, an-and I really need you right now. I-I’m a-at the police precinct closest to m-my home. We’ll ta-talk more wh-when yo-you g-get h-here.” Peter said as he stuttered terribly and broke down.
MJs voice soon took a concerned lilt and she said soothingly “Okay, Tiger. I’ll be there in a little bit. Do you need me to bring you anything?”
Peter stuttered and responded with “Y-yeah. I n-need a ch-change of clothes. I-I’m s-still in the s-suit.”
“Okay, Tiger. I’ll bring you one. I’ll be there really soon.” MJ responded as Peter hung up.
Peter handed the phone back to the cop and leaned over. He put his elbows on his knees and his hands cupped his forehead. He continued to cry and panic. His life had taken a tragic turn all because of a prolonged fight with the Rhino.
MJ arrived at the station and was soon escorted to Peter’s side. She sat down by him and he immediately leaned into her side and cried on her shoulder.
“Hey, Tiger. I know it’s hard, but why don’t you agree to get some medical help now. You’re covered in blood, and it’s really scaring some of us here. Will you do that for me, Tiger?” MJ calmly requested.
Peter nodded and MJ was allowed to escort him to an ambulance outside of the precinct that they had on standby because of the vigilante’s battered condition. They had to re-break his nose and set it right after it had healed incorrectly. They cleaned the blood off of his face and checked out assorted wounds. He reluctantly let them check his mouth where the teeth had been knocked out.
Peter would have to have more medical care at a later time, but for the moment, he was patched up and allowed to go back into the precinct. MJ led him to one of the private restrooms and handed him the change of clothes she had brought for him.
Peter quickly changed and came out of the restroom with his suit in the plastic bag that MJ had brought the clean clothes in. He sat down beside her again, a steady stream of silent tears going down his now blood free cheeks. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and he looked much older than he actually was.
He had calmed down significantly compared to how he had been when he had been brought into the precinct. That was when the officers decided that he was calm enough to question. They were awkward, but not because he was Spider-Man. They were awkward because the situation was a terrible one, and they felt awful for having to question the young adult who had been through so much within the past day.
They began by asking “Mr. Parker, do you have any idea who targeted your aunt?”
MJ had been allowed to sit with Peter during the questioning and she offered support as he answered. Peter was barely in control of his emotions, but he was able to get an answer out, though hostile in tone.
“Any one of many could have targeted my aunt as soon as my name and information became public knowledge. There were no distinct links to a certain person at the scene. I just arrived to find my aunt dead in our home.” Peter answered as MJ soothingly rubbed his back while he continued to cry quietly.
The officers were not deterred by Peter’s hostile tone, as they knew it was not directed towards them. The other one questioned him about the scene when he arrived.
“I arrived to see the door of our house open. Today was my aunt’s day off. When I walked in I had a heavy sense of dread, as if my spider sense was telling me that something terrible had already happened. I immediately saw bloody boot prints on the floor. I followed the prints to where they began. They were in our dining room and kitchen. There was blood everywhere. She had been tortured. She was tortured because someone wanted to get back at me!” Peter yelled as he began to sob again after his last sentence.
“Mr. Parker, it may not have any connection to your identity. It could have just been a home break-in gone wrong. Did you notice anything missing?” the first officer questioned.
Peter protested and aggravatedly said “Of course it was because of me! My uncle died because of a stupid mistake I made, and now my aunt is dead because of me too! I didn’t even care about looking to see if anything was missing! It was a break in, but it was purely to steal a life! They stole my aunt’s life and left me behind to face the awful reality that is life!”
The officers didn’t try to console him as he was becoming hysterical again. They watched as Peter leaned against MJ again and cried into her shoulder. She hugged him and was doing her best to hold it together for him. She had formed a great friendship with May Parker almost as soon as Peter had introduced her to his aunt. She was teary, but she would be the support that Peter needed. She would show him that he still had people who genuinely cared about him.
The officers had no more questions and the two young adults were left to wallow in their sorrow. Peter was curled into MJ’s side, and she rested her head on top of his. Both of them were crying. They didn’t move from that position until the officers came back with news.
MJ noted that they looked very reluctant to release any information to them.
The first officer who had spoken to them said “As this is an active investigation, we’re not really supposed to tell you much, but this case does involve you, and you also happen to be Spider-Man, so it can qualify as a loophole. We went through your block’s security footage and caught images of the suspected killer. We have a name and photo to go with the suspect, but I’m going to need you to confirm their identity.”
The second officer joined in by saying “Please follow us, and we can show you some of the evidence.”
Peter rubbed his bruised and tear stained face and followed the officers. MJ stayed behind and would be ready to help him when he got done looking through evidence. They led him into one of their conference rooms where evidence was laid out and he saw pictures of a villain that he fought and incarcerated months ago shortly after he went back out as Spider-Man and first fought the Rhino. He also realized that it was the same person who had escaped from prison a few days back and was all over the news.
Peter stared at the picture of Mac Gargan. He stared at the picture that showed Mac Gargan wearing heavy boots and a bloody overcoat while staring directly into the camera closest to the Parker residence while pausing in the Parker’s doorway.
Peter had stopped Gargan from killing Jameson and got him incarcerated in the process. Peter had taken Gargan’s decision to kill Jameson away, so Gargan took his aunt’s life. Peter cried out in agony and grabbed the closest thing to him and threw it. It luckily was just a light paperweight that broke nothing, and it did not help to relieve Peter’s immense anger very much.
The officers cringed and watched as Peter yelled and broke down. Luckily for them, the precinct was not very busy, so they weren’t drawing too much attention. Peter curled his arms around himself in an effort to comfort himself, but it did little to help.
Peter breathed heavily through his nose and got the gumption to confirm Gargan’s identity.
Peter spoke with anger in his voice “Mac Gargan. I caught him attempting to kill Jameson, and he ended up being imprisoned. He vowed revenge and apparently this was it. He must have been in the area looking for me after he escaped. He must have seen the reports and gone after my aunt since I was occupied with fighting Sytsevich.”
The first officer spoke and said “Thank you for your confirmation. We have to report this and put out a press release. We won’t mention who it is that was killed unless you give us explicit permission to release any details surrounding the case. We are limited n what we can release at the moment as the investigation is open, but it is pretty obvious that Gargan is the number one suspect. We will handle it from here Mr. Parker. I do not advise that you go after Gargan while you are in this state.”
Peter sighed and said “I know, but I’m one of the only ones in this city who is strong enough to stop Gargan. Anyone else strong enough to stop Gargan is currently off somewhere else. He killed my aunt, and I will be the one to drag him back to prison and make sure that he can never get out again. I won’t kill him, but he definitely won’t be in one piece after I get to him. I almost made the mistake of killing someone when I first started out as a vigilante after my uncle died, and I will not let my rage enfold me again. I have a responsibility to this city, and I must catch Gargan before he can do anything else. Knowing him, he is either going to go after Jameson again, or he is waiting for me to show myself. Either way, he better be prepared to go back to prison with a few new scars.”
Peter then stormed out of the room, grabbed the plastic bag with his suit in it, and put it on in the restroom as MJ wrinkled her brow in confusion. Peter soon came out of the restroom while the two cops arrived again without saying anything, but their faces held looks of worry and perhaps pity.
MJ approached Peter and questioned him “Tiger, what’s going on? Do you know who it is?”
Peter stared straight ahead and answered flatly “Yeah, it was Mac Gargan, and I’m going to stop him. Stay here where it should be safe, MJ. I’m not losing anyone else today.”
MJ stood there shocked as she watched Peter walk out of the station with an air of superiority and anger. She watched as he shot a web into the air and swung away from the station. It was getting close to dark, and she had a feeling that a major showdown was about to happen.
Peter immediately made his way to the Daily Bugle. He knew that was where Gargan would hit next no matter what happened. He didn’t even care if Gargan was going after Jameson anymore, he just wanted to stop him.
As expected, Peter arrived outside of the Daily Bugle’s building to see Gargan standing right beside one of the dents in the wall that Sytsevich had made during their fight. Gargan was looking at him and smirking. Peter felt the anger coursing through his veins, but he would channel it into catching Gargan and ending his quest for revenge.
Peter didn’t even care that he was mask-less. Gargan still smirked even as Peter looked at him with a harsh and furious glare.
“Well, well, well. Spider-Man arrives at last. Did you like the present I left you, Peter. I know I did. The blood was so beautiful as it flowed out of her head. I had to give her a few presents too of course. I don’t think she liked them very much though. Do you think those cuts on her arms and legs improve her looks? I think that they made her look much better. She looked great in red.” Gargan teased.
Peter growled and clenched his hands as fury filled his entire being. Gargan had tortured his aunt and now he was talking about how great it had been. Peter was enraged, but he channeled that rage and used it to his advantage. He stored it for the time that he would need it most. He would not be pulling any of his punches for this fight.
“Let’s get the show on, my fellow arachnid. Once I kill you, maybe I can go after Jameson without being hindered. I could have done that first, but it’s always fun to eat dessert before dinner, and well, you’re the desert because it’s going to be so sweet wiping you off the face of this planet!” Gargan said as he made the first move.
Gargan removed his blood covered overcoat and revealed his scorpion armor. He had stolen during his break out at the prison he had been kept at. He then launched himself at Spider-Man in an effort to poison him with his stinger.
Peter shot a web at the stinger and yanked with all of his strength. The tail was ripped off of Gargan's suit and Gargan was knocked to the side. Gargan hit the ground and rolled. He got up with a furious shout and launched himself at Peter again.
Peter launched himself at the other enhanced man at the same time and they collided in a flurry of fists. Gargan no longer had the power to poison him, but he was a formidable opponent in combat. His strength was not quite as strong as Peter’s but the fight was brutal.
Gargan was getting fewer and fewer opportunities to attack Peter as the fight continued. His hits were also barely affecting Peter. Peter was not tiring in the slightest. He channeled his rage into every hit, and Gargan was heavily injured but still fighting. He fight had moved out into the street by that point.
Gargan had gotten a couple of lucky hits and broken Peter’s collarbone, but Peter pushed through the pain. He had a goal, and he would fulfil it. Peter hit Gargan again, and Gargan fell. Gargan fell down to the ground face first, but he was not done fighting yet. Gargan had landed right beside the tail that had been ripped off of his armor.
Gargan pretended to be defeated as Peter came close. As soon as Peter got close enough, Gargan quickly grabbed the tail and shoved it in Peter's direction to deliver the toxin, but Peter was much faster.
Peter had sensed the attack coming, and he had been prepared. When Gargan launched to attack him again, he channeled every single bit of rage he had into one last hit. Peter performed an excellent uppercut. Peter heard Gargan’s jaw shatter in part with the massive hit. The impact threw Gargan into the wall of the closest building, and Gargan went straight through the concrete.
Peter’s fists were balled up, and he walked through the hole in the wall and up to Gargan’s prone body. He looked down at Gargan’s clearly damaged form. He had knocked Gargan out completely. Peter took note that he had shattered Gargan’s jaw, and that surgery to fix that would leave another scar for him to deal with.
Peter did not smile as he looked at Gargan’s defeated form. He webbed Gargan up and alerted the police that he had caught the fugitive. He waited and watched emotionlessly as Gargan’s unconscious form was loaded into an ambulance. He knew that Gargan would get a much worse prison sentence this time around.
Peter saw news crews around the scene, and he was not sure if any of the fight had been recorded or televised as during the fight, they had moved out of the shadows and into the streets. It had been dangerous, but vehicles had swerved, and barriers had been set up to prevent anyone from entering the street as Peter fought Gargan.
Peter really did not want to make any statements. He took one look at the closest camera and shot a web line to the closest building and left as fast as he could. He went back to the police station where he had left MJ. His home had been blocked off with police tape, and even if it hadn’t, he didn’t think that he could bear staying in that home for the moment.
Peter came through the precinct’s doors and was immediately greeted by a strong hug from MJ. She had been crying.
“Tiger, I was so worried. When you two started fighting in the street, I thought a car was going to hit you for a minute there. The precinct buzzed with activity as police were called out to set up barriers and monitor the situation. You’ve got a cut on your forehead again, and your right shoulder looks like it’s dislocated, and something’s wrong with your clavicle! You need medical attention!” MJ said with her worried tone.
Peter exhaled with relief. MJ was safe and Gargan had been caught. He was still angry, but he could function a little better. He was no longer hysterical with his grief or violent with his anger. He was perfectly calm as MJ urged him to seek medical attention. He smiled at MJ’s obvious care for him. It was the one light of his terrible day.
Peter and MJ left the station as MJ brought Peter to the closest hospital. Normally, he would just try to fix injuries himself, but he had gotten so many today, and his identity was no longer a problem, so he figured that it would be best to be checked out by a professional. Peter was soon examined and his broken ones were set. He knew that those would heal within the next day or so.
His shoulder had been dislocated,and it had begun to heal wrong, but for doctors so unused to dealing with enhanced or human mutates , they handled everything well. They fixed his shoulder and he was provided with a sling. They cleaned up assorted cuts that were already well on their way to healing as well. He was still heavily bruised, but he was able to be discharged from the hospital fairly quickly.
Peter went with MJ back to her apartment. She was more than happy to let him stay there. They both sat together on her couch and watched one of May’s favorite movies. They cried when they could both quote her favorite part. They eventually fell asleep together on her couch. Safe within each other's arms.
~One Year Later~
May’s funeral had been a nice one. It had been filled with friends, and the press had tried to enter, but some of Ben’s old police buddies who had still been close to May were eager to ward them off. It had been quick, and she had been buried right beside Ben. Gargan had also been sent to the Raft for his crimes.
Peter had turned twenty within the past year, and it had been hard to spend the day without his Aunt, but he had MJ by his side the whole time. It had finally come to the one year anniversary of her death though, and they both went to visit her grave.
There was a bench stationed in front of the Parker’s graves, and there was enough room for both MJ and Peter to sit. MJ sat by him and comforted him as he spoke to his dead relatives.
“Hey, guys. I’ve been twenty for a little while now. I still miss all of you very much. I know that it’s been a while since I have visited, and I’m sorry for that, but I wanted to wait until the press were busy doing something else. They’ve calmed down quite a bit within the past few months after MJ and I were married. I hope that you were fine with me gifting MJ with your family’s wedding rings Aunt May. You told me to only give those to someone who I deemed to be special. I once thought that Gwen Stacy was the love of my life, but I was wrong. I met MJ after Gwen died, and it was like love at first sight. It took us a little while to figure things out, but we’re doing great. We’re both doing well with our studies right now too. I’ve been working with the police more ever since my identity was revealed as well. Jameson never writes anything bad about me either. He actually hasn’t written anything concerning me in over three months now. I don’t know if that is a blessing or what. I've also finally gotten a good set of replacement teeth, therefore I have a proper smiles again. Anyways, I just wanted to come here and tell you that I miss you all. I love all of you, and I wish that you could’ve been at our wedding in more than just our hearts. We’ve got to go soon though because I have a meeting at Stark Industries. I applied for an Internship position, and the interview is today. MJ’s already got her next acting spot in line, and she’s set to star in a new show as the lead actress. Both of us are following our dreams, and for the first time in a very long time, we’re happy. I really hope that you guys are proud of us. I promise that I will try to visit more in the future. I thank all of you for being the loving people I grew up with. All of you taught me to follow my dreams and be the man I am today. Thank you.” Peter said with love and passion in his voice.
He and MJ got up and walked back to their car. The press were luckily nowhere to be seen. Mj drove Peter to Stark Industries for his interview and wished him luck. They kissed goodbye and Peter entered the building with a smile on his face. He never thought that things could get better after losing so many people, but MJ proved him wrong, and he was extremely grateful for that.
Later that day, a new article was posted by the Daily Bugle as a tribute to May Parker on the first anniversary of her death. Jameson had written it himself.
“Hello, patrons of the Daily Bugle. I am here to write this article today to honor May Parker who was killed one year ago on this date. I had met her a few times before her death because her nephew, who we now know is Spider-Man, worked for me. She was a brilliant woman, and I should have been more like her, but instead all I ever did was bad mouth the heroes and accuse them of working with the villains. I am here to apologize for those many statements and inform people of the dangers of antagonizing these heroes and belittling them. I accused Spider-Man of so many idiotic things, and I regret them all now.
At the time, I was trying to force him to reveal his identity to the people because I didn’t trust someone who wouldn’t show me their face. I was wrong, though. Spider-Man actually turned out to be one of the best of us. I constantly bad-mouthed him and even stalked him. I figured out his identity at one point in time, and that was why I stopped printing as many articles about him.
I still did not retract many of my previous statements though, but I am now. Spider-Man is a hero through and through. He has even saved my life on a couple of occasions, yet I still badgered him. In the end, it was actually my fault that Peter’s identity was let out. While I was held hostage by the Rhino, I screamed his name out in fear, and the criminal unfortunately connected the dots.
My mistake had many consequences. I don’t blame myself for May Parker’s death, but I do find it to be partially my fault as I unintentionally led to Spider-Man’s identity reveal. Peter’s identity had been revealed and the consequence of that was May Parker’s death. Ever since I unintentionally revealed his identity, he has had so many more villains come after him while he was in his old home. It got so bad that he sold his old childhood home and moved somewhere else that was not disclosed to the press, and I cannot blame him for hiding that information.
We should not antagonize heroes who wish to keep their identity a secret, or else we may be condemning them to live in a world where attention is always on them when they never wanted it. I caused so much attention to be cast on not only Spider-Man, but Peter Parker as well. We need to leave other vigilantes alone to their own devices because if we try to force them to reveal their identity, their families could be threatened just as Peter’s was. I’m not trying to say that that would happen every time, but we need to let these people have their secrets. They are protecting us when they do not have to, and in return we should trust them to protect us when they ask for nothing in return.
I sincerely apologize to Peter Parker, Spider-Man and any other persons whom I have wronged with my poisonous articles and words. From this day forward I want to build a better news source. This will be the first issue of the new Daily Bugle. We have even changed our formatting. I thank you for reading, and please, heed my words, and do not press heroes to release their identities, or you could be the next person to cause a tragedy in one of our hero’s lives. I’m John Jonah Jameson, and this has been the Daily Bugle.”
Peter and MJ had read Jameson’s article together after they had both gotten back to the apartment. They were both in tears by the end of the short piece. Peter pinned the article up to their living room’s memory wall that held photos of their marriage and assorted other pictures with May and other friends. Peter and MJ hugged.
About a week later Peter got a call back from Stark Industries. He was accepted into their internship program. He and MJ had celebrated by going out on a date. Their lives were not perfect, but they were pretty good, and they were grateful to have each other. They were grateful that things didn’t always end in tragedy or disappointment for Peter Parker.