After Peter left the area of the press conference, he felt like he really needed to get some air. Fortunately for him, it was not hard to find a place to change into Spider-Man and start swinging around the city. He wasn't sure what he expected when he saw John Jameson again, especially since he didn't really know the younger Jameson, but it looked like John Jameson hated Peter Parker with the same intensity that Jonah Jameson hated Spider-Man. Spider-Man dropped off the photo of him and Harry that Fisk gave him in his room at his apartment before he swung back into the city.

Suddenly, Spider-Man heard an alarm. Spider-Man landed on top of the bank where the alarm was blaring and exiting the bank from the roof came the Black Cat, who looked pleased to see him.
"I know I'd get your attention if I caused some trouble." Black Cat teased.

"Most criminals want to avoid getting my attention." Spider-Man pointed out. Black Cat smiled.

"Most criminals aren't like me." Black Cat replied as she leaped off the building and swung from a grappling hook type device onto the next building. Spider-Man leaped after her.

"Hey, swinging around the city is my schtick!" Spider-Man told the Black Cat as he chased after her. Although he found himself to be curious... sure she escaped him one time... why would she risk getting caught again? Although, if Spider-Man knew the truth of the matter, he'd know that Black Cat did NOT intend to have Spider-Man on her tail, but was simply playing off that she did. But she felt a rush of excitement as she ran from the experienced hero. Suddenly the two heard a shriek of terror. Spider-Man landed onto a building and looked to see some kind of gang surrounding a woman.

"You will stay a member of that jury until the end of the trial just like the Kingpin said so... or else, I show these photos to the world." The head criminal threatened as he held an envelope that was suddenly yanked out of his hands via webbing. Spider-Man shined his new spider signal at the thugs.

"Looks like you got caught by your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Now you have two options... go home and forget whatever crime you are trying to do, or I'll have to punch you in the face." Spider-Man warned the criminals. The head thug growled.

"It's Spider-Man! You know what the Kingpin said, if Spider-Man ever interferes, waste him!" The head thug commanded his gang.

'The Kingpin? Like how the rumors describe Wilson Fisk?' Spider-Man thought, wondering if there was any validity to the claims that once Wilson Fisk had been a major crime boss in New York before he was ever Spider-Man.

"What is up with criminals and saying 'waste him' a guy who attacked Oscorp recently said the same thing. Honestly I feel like you thug types are really phoning it in on the dialogue, guys." Spider-Man said as he ducked under a punch from a thug before Spider-Man countered with a punch to the gut. Spider-Man's spider sense started to go off as someone nearly pulled the trigger on his gun, intending to shoot Spider-Man when the Black Cat kicked him from above, knocking the thug into the ground, surprising Black Cat.

"I thought you'd use this opportunity to get away with whatever you stole." Spider-Man told Black Cat honestly as he webbed another criminal's gun from his hands. Black Cat leaped and kicked another criminal in the face as Spider-Man tossed another criminal into a nearby wall.

"I may be a thief, but I'm not a monster. I just... wouldn't feel right if I allowed someone to get hurt by a gang when I could do something about it." Black Cat replied with the same level of honesty. Felicia may have wanted to follow in the footsteps of her thieving father, but allowing this to happen would have been a line even the likes of her refused to cross.

"All criminals go to jail... a thief or a gangster... they all still end up in lockup... so, why even bother being a thief?" Spider-Man pointed out as he leaped onto a wall and leaped off of it, launching himself toward the head thug and nailing his face with a hard punch (but not too hard, as Spider-Man didn't want to kill anyone). To this, Black Cat had no comment. She really didn't think about it... nor had she ever considered what she would do if Spider-Man would have succeeded in catching her on their first meeting... she had been pretty close to going to jail.

"I just... I had some personal reasons and I thought it could be fun... I mean... I got to meet you and you have fascinated me even before I ever got my powers." Black Cat admitted. Spider-Man never expected those words to be said... someone fascinated by him? Soon enough, the two costumed fighters had defeated the criminals and Spider-Man grabbed the envelope.

"Is this the only copies of these photos you planned on using to blackmail this lady?" Spider-Man asked the still conscious, defeated lead criminal as he webbed the crook to the ground. The lead criminal, knowing he'd be going to jail anyway, sighed.

"Yes. Our new boss wanted me to make copies in case something like this happened and I thought, Spider-Man won't notice anyway... shows how much I know." The head criminal replied. Spider-Man ripped the photos in half, and the would be gang assault victim sighed in relief. Whatever this new Kingpin figure had on this lady was no longer a factor in whatever this whole conflict was about. Spider-Man texted Yuri to let her know what was going on before he and the Black Cat left the scene and headed up a rooftop. Black Cat had a conflicted look on her face. She didn't last long being a crook... she felt like she could have done this longer, but saving that random woman... fighting alongside Spider-Man... the whole situation excited her. Before Spider-Man could continue to talk to Black Cat, she left... but she did leave behind the jewelry she stole with the criminals for the police to pick up... making Spider-Man wonder if this short encounter would be the last he saw of the Black Cat. (Hah... that would be too easy wouldn't it! ~Sage)

Meanwhile:
Mary Jane Watson arrived at the hotel room that was occupied by her cousin... a blonde named Tandy Bowen. Mary Jane smiled upon seeing her cousin open the door... the last time they'd seen each other was when they were in high school... although Mary Jane would always convince Tandy to have her visit the hotel room... it was a better environment that Mary Jane's house was.
"Hey, MJ. Long time no see." Tandy greeted.

"It's been too long, Tandy." Mary Jane replied as the two cousins hugged. (I know, I know... they are unrelated in the comics but the Raimi trilogy took so many liberties with the lore that Peter knew Mary Jane before even Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy... just saying. ~Sage)

"So I hear you finally got back into Broadway." Tandy said as the two cousins let go of each other and started to walk away from Tandy's hotel room, heading to the nearest elevator to exit the hotel and go somewhere to hang out. Mary Jane nodded.

"Yeah. It's been a much better experience this time around." Mary Jane replied as they finally arrived at the elevator and pressed the down button. The two then walked inside of the elevator and Tandy hit the button to have the elevator take them to the hotel lobby.

"So, how is John? I'm sorry I missed the wedding, but my boss didn't let me have a day off." Tandy explained. Mary Jane was stunned... sure she hadn't seen Tandy since the high school days... but the last time she called Tandy was back when she was still engaged with John Jameson!

"I didn't marry John. I mean, he was a great guy and all... but I loved someone else... and I still love him but things between that same someone else but he and I are on complicated terms right now." Mary Jane explained. Tandy looked at Mary Jane in surprise and nodded, taking that information in.

"How did John take it?" Tandy asked. Mary Jane shrugged.

"I just ran away from the wedding and went to Peter's apartment. I have no idea what John's reaction was." Mary Jane answered. Tandy was now stunned.

"MJ!" Tandy said in shock as the elevator door opened and the two left the elevator.

"I know, I know.... I should have faced John... but that was years ago. I haven't really seen John since then." Mary Jane responded. Tandy nodded.

"Changing the subject, what's new in your life?" Tandy asked. Mary Jane shook her head.

"Nothing really. To be honest you visiting New York might be the most exciting thing to happen to me in years." Mary Jane replied.

"Besides being saved by Spider-Man, multiple times?" Tandy asked. Mary Jane nodded.

"Besides that." Mary Jane replied in agreement, although exciting isn't exactly the words she'd use to describe being captured by super villains in a constant basis. Finally, Mary Jane wanted to get the subject off of her.

"So, what's been new in your life?" Mary Jane asked. Tandy shrugged.

"Nothing really. Although I have been considering the idea of moving here to New York." Tandy answered.

Meanwhile:
Dr. Connors was working on breaking up the components of Norman Osborn's performance enhancer to better understand how it worked.
"Well, someone looks busy." The voice of Martha said as she walked into the lab. Connors smiled.

"Yes, well... I find that rediscovering what this performance enhancer is truly made from to be a truly captivating task and..." Connors started to reply before Martha giggled.

"This is a science company, of course you find the science of something interesting." Martha pointed out. Connors nodded.

"Is it time for me to make my report to Mr. Modell?" Connors asked. Martha shook her head.

"No. I was curious what you were up to. Also... this data was sent in by Oscorp... in it is reports on various animal trials concerning the performance enhancers. I thought that maybe you could use more information so you can continue your research." Martha told Connors as she passed him a folder full of scientist notes... including notes taken by one Dr. Mendell Stromm, who had been convinced that they needed to rethink how they did the whole performance enhancer project.

"Martha... you are amazing." Connors told her in awe. Martha winked at him.

"I'm pretty aware of that Curt." Martha replied confidently.

Meanwhile:
It had only been her second appearance as the Black Cat, and Felicia Hardy was already considering to change the course of her alter ego's life after helping Spider-Man stop a group of muggers. In her mind, this didn't make any sense... she had done this whole thing in order to follow in her father's footsteps but... she realized that using her powers was such a rush. With Spider-Man's track record of defeating people who misused their super powers being very high, with him defeating Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, and Sandman in the past... she knew if she did stick with a life of crime it would only be a matter of time before she too ended up as a member of that list. She wanted to be more than a name on a list. She wanted to be free and have fun using her powers... she wanted to feel the same rush she believed Spider-Man felt. She wanted the life of an adventurer, and if that clashed with her initial dream of being a thief than it was what it was.

"I went through so much research to gain these feline powers! How can one man have me so confused about how I should use them?" Felicia asked herself before she remembered that this wasn't an ordinary man... it was Spider-Man, a hero who saved the city time and time again. The hero who was given the key to the city! Then another man invaded her thoughts... Peter Parker. The brilliant scientist who didn't treat her as some object to be stared at... she knew like many of the men in her life that Peter acknowledged her beauty, and yet Peter was also one of the few who looked passed that whenever they spoke. He treated her like a real colleague... but there was always something about Peter that worried Felicia. His eyes. They were the eyes of a lonely man.

It was because of those eyes that before she recruited Peter on her Spider-Man study, she had researched Peter Parker's life... wondering if she would be able to find anything on the web about him... and she learned quite a bit. Back when Peter was a child, his parents died... leaving him in the care of his aunt and uncle. His uncle was later killed in one of New York's most well known homicides, the Ben Parker Incident. It was at first believed that Dennis Carradine, a small time crook, killed Ben Parker... but 2 years ago, it became public knowledge that the one who killed Ben was actually Flint Marko, but it had been an accident, which is why Martin Li was able to successfully convince the justice system to release Marko to his care as a sort of reforming program. Felicia also learned that Peter's ex girlfriend, Mary Jane had been captured by everyone of Spider-Man's more dangerous villains, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom. She also learned that Peter has had a closeness to the Osborn family sense he was in high school, being best friends with Harry Osborn. In the end... Felicia had realized that these eyes were the eyes of a man who continued to lose people he loved in his life constantly.

Felicia sighed. If she DID go back to crime for her third outing as Black Cat and Spider-Man caught her... that would be yet another person Peter lost in his life. Felicia sighed.

'Who knew gaining super powers could become complicated so quickly.' Felicia thought as she looked at her Black Cat suit. She knew the story of Black Cat was not over... but would she serve as a hero... or a thief?

Meanwhile:
Peter was sitting at the dining room table at his apartment, doing some paperwork for his job at Horizon Labs when Flash Thompson arrived.
"Hey, Pete. Looks like you're home from work too." Flash greeted. Peter looked up and smiled at his friend.

"Hey, Flash. Yeah, there wasn't a lot to do at the lab today, although the job the Bugle put me on earlier for a bit... awkward." Peter replied. Flash gave Peter a curious look.

"Awkward, how?" Flash asked. Peter sighed. He wasn't sure how he was going to be able to explain everything without revealing he is Spider-Man, but he knew that now that he opened his mouth, he'd have to try.

"So, a few years ago, Mary Jane was going to marry John Jameson, the son of J Jonah Jameson, although, according to MJ she only agreed because she was upset at me for not being there for her when she needed me. Uh, yeah... after you and MJ broke up... MJ and I had some feelings for each other and all that." Peter started to explain. Flash's eyes widened in surprise. Sure, he knew Peter had a crush on Mary Jane since they were kids... but he never imagined that one day Mary Jane would actually return those feelings, although Flash had to give Peter credit... he was nothing like the scrawny guy that was once so easily bullied.

"So... she was about to marry some other guy because you messed up a bunch?" Flash asked. Peter nodded.

"Yeah, but then, after everything with Doc Ock happened and Spider-Man ended up saving her, Mary Jane learned the reason why things were difficult for me... I thought, since I am sorta Spider-Man's official photographer for the Daily Bugle, that if Mary Jane were to get with me, then she'd be used to get to me, to then get to Spider-Man. It was the whole reason Green Goblin first took her all those years ago, and I didn't want it to happen again." Peter explained. Flash gave Peter a look of disbelief.

"It sounds like it still happened again anyway." Flash pointed out. Peter nodded.

"Yeah... it did. So when the day of MJ and John Jameson's wedding came around, MJ ditched the wedding and ran to my apartment. She basically pointed out that dangerous situations can always happen regardless and we shouldn't neglect ourselves because of it. When Mary Jane and I finally started dating, John Jameson hated me for it. I was nearly fired from the Bugle, but it was my other boss, Robbie Robertson who managed to convince J Jonah to keep me on the payroll. Despite being an employee of Jameson, I hadn't seen John in years... until today. Jameson assigned me to take pictures of John's press conference with Oscorp..." Peter explained, Flash's sighed. He knew where this was going.

"And John still hates your guts." Flash stated knowingly. Peter nodded to confirm.

"Yeah. I can't blame him, but after all these years I didn't really think he'd still be as intense about it as he still is." Peter explained. Flash sighed.

"Seriously, I went to the military and your life became a soap opera. Which reminds me... I saw the way you and Mary Jane looked at each other back during my moving in party. There's still a spark there... way more than a spark really. What's stopping you two from just getting back together again. You both make it obvious that you both want to try again." Flash pointed out, knowing, thanks to his girlfriend Louise, the fact that Peter and Mary Jane are broken up. (Although Flash was still, as stated earlier, surprised it even happened)

"I guess because of the many years of baggage between us." Peter replied. Flash sighed.

"Well... baggage can carry good things... like... pizza boxes, or chips, surprisingly tasty off brand cereals... what else comes in a bag?" Flash pointed out, causing Peter to chuckle. Before Peter could respond, his cell phone started to ring. When Peter reached to grab his phone, he was surprised about who was calling him.... Felicia Hardy. Flash curiously looked at Peter's screen and read Felicia's name.

"You never told me you were talking to another girl. Go, Peter." Flash teased. Peter chuckled before responding with, "She's a co worker at my job at Horizon Labs. I hope I'm not getting called in." Peter then answered the phone.

"Hello." Peter greeted when he put his phone to his ear.

"Hi, Peter. Uh, this may seem out of the blue and all, but... do you feel like coming to dinner with me tomorrow night? We've only been around each other at the lab and I think it would be nice if we got to know each other better outside of it." Felicia explained. Peter was stunned. He was not expecting anything like this to happen. What Peter didn't know, was that his phone call volume was high enough that Flash heard the invite. Of course that became clear to Peter when he saw Flash give him two thumbs up in support.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds like fun. Where should we need tomorrow night?" Peter asked.

"Let's meet at Luca's. They have some amazing Italian food." Felicia replied. Despite the fact that Felicia could not see him, Peter nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Peter responded.

"Good. See you tomorrow night, Peter." Felicia spoke before the call ended. Peter looked at Flash in surprise.

"Well, well. Looks like Peter Parker has some popularity with the ladies these days. Mary Jane, that Betty Brant woman I met when I ran into you again, and now this Felicia Hardy." Flash teased.

Meanwhile:
Mary Jane and Tandy was now at the mall to shop around and catch up with each other. Tandy had just finished telling Mary Jane about the fact that Roxxon, an energy company, was being heavily sued by various citizens in New Orleans after certain immoral experiments came to light.

"Yeah, well... no one is immune to facing justice when there are people brave enough to make a heroic stand." Mary Jane commented. Tandy gave Mary Jane a curious look.

"I don't think I have ever heard you talk like that, MJ. It was corny but inspiring." Tandy told her cousin with a smile. Mary Jane giggled before she remembered who inspired her to say such a line. Peter Parker... The Amazing Spider-Man. He had taught her so much by just being who he was. Even now she was amazed that Peter could forgive Flint Marko, and it was the reason why she too was able to forgive him for what happened w 2 years ago. The real villain, Eddie Brock, payed that day because Peter and Harry were brave enough to stand up to him, although it cost Harry his life.

Suddenly, a new voice cut in, and when Mary Jane heard the voice, she froze and she felt her blood turn as cold as ice.
"MJ. MJ is that you? It's been so long since I last saw you. How are you doing?" It was the voice of John Jameson.

Author note: OH MY GOSH!!! The Spider-Man No Way Home trailer released today as I was working on this chapter (as of the writing of this chapter on August 23, 2021)! Once I saw that pumpkin bomb.... My nostalgic memories of first becoming a fan of Spider-Man came rushing back! Hearing Green Goblin's laugh... and then Alfred Molina as Doc Ock appeared and... AAH!!! Now I REALLY want Tobey Maguire to be in this next Spider-Man movie!!!!