I slowly regained consciousness to the sound of a soothing voice. Someone was saying something to me.
“Petey wake up” Liz said, poking me lightly in the face. I rolled over, turning my face away from her.
“Petey, wake up” she said more forcefully, shaking me.
“Give me a minute” I mumbled into a pillow. I felt a finger poke my back before Liz started trying to pull me off the bed. I groaned and tried to push her away before pulling her in towards me and falling back into bed. We lay there for a few seconds. This was nice.
“Petey this is great and all but you’re late for work” Liz said. I bolted upright suddenly wide awake.
I turned to look at my alarm clock before remembering I was at Liz’s apartment. I looked over to her bedside table. 10:23.
“Shit” I said, clambering out of bed. I searched the floor, grabbing my clothes as I quickly changed into them.
“No, thank you?” Liz asked as I pulled on my top. I pulled her into a quick kiss.
“Thank you. You’re an absolute lifesaver” I said, quickly rushing out of the room. I grabbed my shoes and threw them on quickly, then scooped up my bag and threw the door open.
“See you later!” I shouted. Liz said something back, but I’d already closed the door. I rushed down the hallway before reaching the stairs. I paused, glancing down then up. It’d be faster if I put on my costume. I just had to pray nobody needed any help.
-
“Thank you young man” the old lady said, still clutching my hand tightly.
“It’s no problem, really” I said, subtly trying to pull away. She didn’t let go, instead clutching tighter.
“Would you like some candy?” she asked. “My grandson loved these when he was younger and I must say they are a personal favourite.”
“Thanks for the offer, really, but I’m sorry I have to go” I said.
“Well take some anyway” she said, pressing candy into my hand.
“It was nice talking to you Mr Spider-Man” she said, flashing a gentle smile as she let go of my hand.
“The pleasure was mine. And please if you ever need help crossing the road again, just call me” I said. She chuckled slightly and I flashed her a thumbs up.
“Thanks for the sweets” I said, leaping up and swinging away.
She’d been nice. She probably shouldn’t have been out in the streets alone though. I sped up, swinging faster before I reached Brooklynn Bridge. The sound of sirens caught my ear and I glanced down to see two police cruisers in a car chase. Goddammit. I leapt towards the cars, effortlessly weaving through the bridge’s supports before landing on the roof of one of the police vehicles. One of the cops poked his head out the window to look up at me.
“Spider-Man!” he shouted with joy.
“What’s the situation!? They have anything dangerous on board!?” I asked, shouting over the sound of wind.
“Nah! The idiots robbed a jewellers!” he shouted back. I nodded and leapt forwards landing on top of the thieves car. I peered over the edge looking through the window.
“Stop the car!” I shouted as two thieves turned to look at me. Instantly they hit the breaks and I went flying. I hit the ground and rolled before coming to a stop. Ow. I hadn’t meant instantly. I stood up as the police cars swerved around the car blocking the thieves path. I flashed the cops a thumbs up then leapt off the bridge.
I swung quickly, praying nobody committed anymore crimes before I made it to work. Thankfully, God was on my side today. I landed on the roof of the building and rushed inside. I pulled off my mask and gloves as I juggled with my bag. I’d down this enough times to pull on my clothes and make my way down the stairs faster than your average person. I reached the tenth floor and threw open the fire exit door, stepping out into a professional looking hallway with glass doors at the far end.
I jogged over to the door and presented my keycard, slipping inside as I looked around cautiously. Nobody had seen me yet. I made my way through the main corridor and stopped outside my office. I stepped inside and threw my bag into the corner, pulled my lab coat on and grabbed the stack of folders on my desk. I didn’t bother checking my computer. I left quickly giving a small nod as a few of my colleagues walked past the office, then I speed walked through the building and stepped inside my lab.
“Oh come on” Bella said, throwing up her hands. Grady raised his hands in celebration and high fived both the interns a smug grin on his face.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Oh yeah. Oh yeah” he said, doing a little dance. Sajani sat behind them, at her desk and just rolled her eyes. I felt a small smile play on my lips.
“Sorry I’m late guys or am I not late enough” I said.
“No. Sajani was the only one who thought you’d be here before 10:40” Bella said.
“Wow, you guys have no faith in me” I said.
“Nope we just know you too well” Grady said with a chuckle.
“Well, what was the bet this time?” I asked.
“Whether you’d wear the lab coat with the ketchup stain” Grady said with a grin. I glanced down at the ketchup stain on my left breast pocket. Crap.
“Can you believe it Pete? I’m the only one who thought you wouldn’t wear it. I know Todd always sides with Grady but Maria’s betrayed me” Bella said with a comically exaggerated sadness.
“Hey, I didn’t want to get stuck paying for lunch” Maria said with a shrug. I smiled.
“Alright guys, I’m gonna go change. Can you guys get started without me?” I asked.
“We already started. I’ll fill you in when you get back” Sajani said.
“Perfect” I said, flashing a thumbs up. I quickly slipped out the room and jogged back to my office. I grabbed a clean lab coat, checked my hair in the mirror and then stepped back into the hall, coming face to face with my boss.
“Oh, uh… Mr Banks. Great to see you” I said. He stared at me red faced.
“Peter… do you have any idea what time it is?” he said, through thinly veiled anger.
“11:00”
“Yes, yes. It seems I haven’t gone batshit insane” he said, nodding.
“Mr Banks I-“
“Peter what hours do I pay you for again?” he said, his voice still slightly distant.
“9 till 4 sir”
“Oh. That’s right, isn’t it? Sorry but if you don’t mind me asking… WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHOWING UP AT ELEVEN OCLOCK?!!!” he shouted, his voice echoing down the hall. Everyone turned to look at us.
“Sorry sir I-“
“Do you know how much competition we have?!”
“Y-“
“I could’ve hired Miles Warren, y’know?! Or even Julia Fines! But I chose you” he said, jabbing me with a finger. “I pay you good money Peter. Because you’re smart, connected and I don’t want you going anywhere else. For some reason you only really seem to remember that last part”
“Sir I- ”
“Stop taking advantage of me!” he said, interrupting me again. Before I could say anything, he stormed off, feet thudding heavily as he made his way down the hall. People stared at us and I sighed, shaking my head.
“I really need to stop coming in so late” I mumbled.
-
I sat in the lab, scanning through the documents Sajani had showed me. Things were going ok. Some of the volunteers were seeing better than expected results, but most of them weren’t experiencing anything. It was lunch and the others were in the cafeteria, but I’d stayed to get some extra work finished. It was bad enough that I showed up as late as I did, but if the project was behind then Mr Banks would definitely fire me. I doubted anyone else would be as tolerable of my tardiness as he’d been. I needed to keep this job. Even if it was stressful, it was the only one that allowed me to live both my lives completely. To some extent at least.
Speaking about that… I set down my folder and turned on my computer. I tapped my password in quickly and went straight to google.
“Markov Boscovich… arrested” I mumbled, typing away. The search results came right away, and I clicked on the first link. The headline loaded onto the screen in big bold letters.
FREEZE: PROLIFIC CRIMINAL MISTER ICE APPREHENDED BY MDA
Heh, Mr Ice. That was a lame name. I skimmed through the first part of the article. Damn. They hadn’t even mentioned me. Well, they’d got him at least. He was in custody at the Hortz-Bruig penitentiary, awaiting sentencing. Hopefully he stayed locked up for a long time.
My phone buzzed, shaking the table. I glanced at it. It was Liz. I answered.
“Hey babe, what ‘s up?”
“I just started lunch and thought I’d call you”
“Nice, how’s work?”
“It’s alright. Miranda’s still a bit annoying but it’s whatever. What about you Petey?”
“Work’s fine. We’re making great progress”
“Mr Banks didn’t fire you?” she said with a small chuckle.
“I think he came close” I replied chuckling. Liz’s laughter stopped. “Liz?”
“Petey… are you being serious?”
“Huh? No…. no” I lied.
“You really need to stop showing up to work late”
“I know”
“I’ll start setting alarms whenever you stay over at my place. I feel like it’s my fault when you-“
“It’s not your fault babe”
“Ok. I just don’t want to get you fired”
“It wouldn’t be your fault even if I did get fired. And I promise you, I won’t”
“Ok. Oh- sorry Petey, something came up, I have to go. I... sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to insult you, or call you an idiot just because I was upset.”
"It's fine Liz. I was an idiot for missing our date" I said. She let out a slight chuckle.
"See you later" she responded sounding slightly relieved.
“See you later babe” I said. She hung up and I set down the phone letting out a yawn. I probably needed to bring her flowers as an apology for yesterday.
The door to the lab opened and Sajani stepped inside, alone.
“You’re back early. You finish lunch already?” I asked, glancing at my watch.
“Not exactly” she said, her tone hesitant. I frowned turning to face her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I came to talk to you“
“Wouldn’t it be better to discuss project stuff with everyone here?”
“It’s not about the project Pete” she said, her tone serious now. Oh. I went to say something but Sajani spoke first.
“Pete, this is your third time being seriously late this week” she said.
“I know. I’m sorry”
“Peter you’ve been seriously late at least twice a week for the past year. And that’s not including-"
“Saj I know it’s difficult for the team when I keep messing up. I really am sorry and I-“
“Pete, you can’t just keep apologising when you keep coming in late!”
“I-“
“No. Pete I’m your friend and I don’t want to heart your feelings but you need to get your shit together” she said sternly. We both went silent, the air suddenly awkward.
“I… ok” I said.
“Promise me Peter. Not just for yourself, but for the others too” Sajani said, pleading slightly.
“I promise I’ll try” I said.
“You… fine” she said. She walked over to her desk and sat down, turning on her computer.
I sighed. She was right, wasn’t she? As Peter I had a duty to take my job seriously. But Spider-Man’s job was more important than Peter’s. Or was it? If this research worked it’d save more lives than I could ever hope to save as the Spider. Didn’t that mean I owed it to everyone it would help to be here? But that meant ignoring people in need whenever I was going to work. It meant not being Spider-Man because of the possibility I could be doing more elsewhere. What if this didn't pan out? What about all the people who would suffer if I focused on this and it didn't work? I couldn’t win. My stomach growled and I let out a low sigh. All this thinking was making me hungry. I stood up, turning off my computer.
“I’m heading off to lunch” I said.
“O-ok” Sajani replied, glancing at me nervously. I made my way out into the hall and stretched out cracking my back. I glanced out the window, looking out over the city. I yawned and momentarily caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass. A pair of tired eyes stared back at me. I was probably too tired to think straight. I’d come up a solution after a good night’s rest. I mean, I was Spider-Man. I could get through this.