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[b]Queens, NY
Parker Residence[/b]

"Don't forget to do your homework," Aunt May says as she puts her hair up in the mirror by the front door. She's preparing to head out to her job as a nurse at the hospital. The job is one of the reasons I've gotten away with being Spider-man for so long. She's out of the house for 12 hours three nights a week. "There's dinner on the table. Might need to be heated up for a little."

"Gotcha," I nod, leaning against the wall in the hallway. "Be careful on the bus."

"Always am," she winks before heading out the door. "Love you, Peter."

"Love you too, Aunt May," I say, locking the door behind her.

The level of respect I have for Aunt May knows no bounds. I mean, I obviously love her. She's more or less been my mother for most of my life. But seeing how she's handled the time since Uncle Ben died is amazing. It's like she hasn't missed a beat. I'm sure she's still hurting, like I am, but she doesn't let it show. She does her job better than anyone and still has time for me. It's amazing. I haven't made things easy on her, either. When I first started my patrols, my grades slipped, I became distant, and it scared her. Luckily enough, I fixed myself before she was able to get too worried, and we've been on good footing ever since.

After an hour or so of doing my homework, my cellphone bursts out into the [i]Game of Thrones[/i] theme. I answer, knowing that's Gwen's ring, "Hello, your friendly, neighborhood Spider-man speaking."

"You know if I had you on speaker phone you'd be giving that out to everyone around me. I'm sure my dad'd be thrilled to hear that," she responded in a deadpan tone. Gwen's father, the head of New York's Major Crimes and Vigilante Unit, is currently investigating me as public enemy number one. Of course, the two of us are acting in unison with him feeding Spider-man info, but the less everyone knew about that the better. "And I'm sure every lowlife in the world would be interested in that."

"Am I on speaker phone?"

"No."

"Well then I'm clear," I chuckle sarcastically.

"You know if you weren't so cute I'd be upset with how cavalier you are about this," Gwen cracked on the other end of the line. "I saw you extracurricular activities on the news."

"Fun wasn't it?" I smile. Shocker was in over his head, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy taking him down.

"If these kind of people keep popping up, Pete, eventually someone's going to show up that's too much for you," Gwen pleads with me. She's been trying to get me to get help. She knows I've been training with Daredevil, but he's got his own problems to deal with. In reality, there's no one for me to team with. I've got to deal with my responsibility on my own. 

Before I can answer, the TV in the background switches to a breaking news report, "Hold on, Gwen."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we bring news from New York General Hospital where an urgent situation has just been brought to our attention. According to those inside, a prison from Ryker's Island Prison was brought in after prison physicians were unable to treat an unknown condition. We're also getting work that once inside the hospital, the inmate turned into...sand, and then began attacking the staff of the hospital. The inmate's name in question is Flint Marko, known bank robber and thug for the Big Man's Crime Family and later the Hobgoblin."

Marko. This isn't a mistake.

"Peter...Aunt May."

Snatching my mask from my desk, I respond, "Already on my way."