chapter eight!
008. down memory lane

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    PETER PARKER made sure to try and find Yuri after Shocker was taken care of. He needed to talk with her about it▬Shocker was scared and desperate, and these Demons were the reason behind it. He almost wanted to laugh at his own words, pushing aside these mask guys as if they were nothing▬another night in the city, yeah, sure, Parker. All of a sudden, these guys seemed to be showing up everywhere he looked, and perhaps Nina had been right. There's more to this than what's on the surface.

    Captain Watanabe was bound to be on a night shift▬that was one thing she and Spider-Man had in common: they were stubborn overworkers. They both cared about this city, determined to protect it from anything that might threaten it, whether it be Fisk, supervillains or strange mask guys. Peter had no idea how long he had been in that bank until he swung back out into the city and found it dark from the evening. New York at night was always like swinging through a star cluster; a sea of bright lights blinking and helicopters above.

    He easily found her when she arrived at the bank scene amongst the red and blue swirls. As soon as she got out of her car▬and he saw the leather jacket and short, dark hair▬Spider-Man stuck a web and slowly dangled down close to her. Before he could come up with something smart to greet her, she turned around▬as if she knew he was there the entire time.

    Captain Yuri Watanabe crossed her arms, scowling at Spider-Man with dark brown hues. She was of average height, with the muscles of an officer a few years in the force. Despite being in her late thirties, Yuri still had a youthful tone to her skin that made her seem five years younger. "If someone sees you, we're both in trouble," she said to him in a sharp, bothered voice.

    "Oh, come on, Yuri," Spider-Man kept to the shadows, his hands wrapped around the web at his feet, hanging upside down, "seeing me is your favourite part of the day!"

    "Hardly," she grumbled and closed her car door. "What do you want?"

    Spider-Man was not pushed back by her disgruntled and distant tone▬it was just a staple of Yuri's character. "Just swinging by to chat about Shocker, you know▬the usual."

    "Well, this time, you shouldn't have to worry about him getting out so easily," muttered Yuri as she faced him again. She propped a hand on her hip. "We have a special cell waiting for him at the RAFT."

    "That's not what I meant," Spider-Man twisted his body so he landed face-up. He stood out of his crouch and approached Yuri. "I'm pretty sure he was working for the Demon gang."

     She made a face immediately at the same▬she didn't seem impressed. "Demon gang?" Yuri rolled her eyes. "That sounds like a Daily Bugle headline."

    Spider-Man held up his hands. "Hey," he was quick to defend the company Mary Jane worked for. "The Bugle is a perfectly fine news organisation."

    Yuri snorted softly. "Not sure I'd call it news."

    "Well, I've heard they have some really good reporters. Anyway," he waved it off and sighed. He stretched out his shoulder slightly, still feeling an ache from hitting the safe door, "have you had any more reports on demons▬uh▬guys with masks?"

    She fixed her jacket and sighed. "I'll get back to you on that," she promised him. Yuri then glanced out at the bank and winced at the sight of it. She sighed once again. "How much of a mess did you make inside that bank?" she shot him another scowl.

    Behind his mask, Peter Parker winced and hesitated. "You ... you probably don't want to know."

    Yuri pinched the bridge of her nose. "I shouldn't have asked..." she muttered. "Now get out of here before someone spots you or I squash you."

    "Ouch," Spider-Man chuckled and went to turn away. He glanced back at Yuri. "Hey, call me if you get anything on these guys, all right? Doesn't matter how small. I got a bad feeling about this."

    She nodded at him. Spider-Man stayed there for a moment longer, glancing at the bank with troubled thoughts before he struck a web upwards to the street lamp and quickly spun around it, leaping out into the evening.

    He took a sharp turn into the next street, though he quickly found himself arching himself up towards a rooftop. As soon as he landed, he let out a sigh and sat down. He stretched his limbs, feeling a short breath of exhaustion. Peter has been able to teach himself to go more than a day without sleep, but he felt as though he'd tackled five Rhinos in two days▬Fisk, Shocker (twice), construction sites, these Demons ... Spider-Man was tired, and he knew he wouldn't be able to relax for long.

    And now that he didn't have a job? How was Peter going to pay his rent? He was already way behind. He's had his second eviction warning. If he reached his third, that'd be it▬he'd be kicked out, and then Spider-Man would be homeless, too.

    He sighed and let his head rest on the brick of the rooftop. It took all of his energy not to fall asleep then and there. Spider-Man grabbed his phone to distract himself. He knew he'd have to get out there again soon enough▬catch up on all he missed while fighting Shocker▬but he really needed a breather right now. Automatically, it seemed his fingers took him to one place on his phone in particular▬a single contact.

    Peter pressed Nina's contact, not sure what compelled him to call her right now. Perhaps it was because of the research stations? Yeah, that was surely it▬he could tell her about the success he had at the station in Hell's Kitchen.

    The call connected to his suit and he waited, listening to her ringtone, for the moment she'd pick up.

    He wasn't expecting an oncoming call to switch his attention. Peter frowned and decided to answer it as soon as he saw the name. He stood up. "Ian?" he answered, perplexed to receive a call▬at this time of evening▬from Nina's brother. Peter paused and then propped his hand on his hip. "Did you call the wrong number again?"

    "No," responded Nina Hart's younger brother. "Your number is pretty hard to accidentally call."

    Spider-Man transferred the call into his suit. He slipped his phone into his suit compartment and walked to the edge of the building. "Everything okay?" he frowned. It was unusual for Ian to call. After Nina distanced herself, by association, Peter also ended up distancing from Ian. Six months later, it probably was no surprise that Nina's younger brother would end up calling▬slotting himself back into these adventures as he followed his sister's shadow. But still, Peter was wary. He didn't want anyone else to get involved in what was happening right now. "Do you need help?"

    "No, but▬well▬" Ian sounded hesitant, which made Peter's frown deepen behind his mask, "Are you busy right now?"

    Spider-Man hung one foot off the side of the building. He made a face. "Well..."

    "Yeah, stupid question. Look, if you have any time, do you think you could swing by the Coffee Bean rooftop at E.S.U.?" asked Nina's younger brother.

    Peter was confused as to what Ian wanted. His initial reaction was always one of concern▬usually, when he was asked to swing by a rooftop, there was always something going wrong. Spider-Man jumped off the side of the building and began to make his way to his old college grounds▬Empire State University. "You sure everything's okay?" he asked as he zipped through the gaps of old fire escapes.

    "Yeah, yeah, everything's okay," said Ian Hart quickly. On his end of the phone, he sounded as if he was rushing around his dorm room. "I just have something you might want to check out. You know, as some Spidey-help."

    Spider-Man swooped low to gain some speed and mentally sighed to himself. He was sure that the last thing Nina would want to hear was that her brother was getting involved again, too. "Ian, I really don't think you should▬"

    "Blah, blah, save the whole speech," Ian cut him off and there was the sound of him zipping up a bag. "You know you're curious and you're gonna come anyway. I bet you're already on your way. I can hear you swinging."

    Peter went to argue but then stopped himself. He couldn't help the slight chuckle escape his lips at Ian's impressive reading skills. Or maybe Peter was more of an open book than he thought. "All right, kid, I'll be there in ten."

    "I'm not a kid, you bug." Ian objected and Peter grinned, amused.

    "I'll see you soon," he chuckled before ending the call. As he swung towards the Empire State University campus in Lower Manhattan near Washington Square Park, Peter couldn't help but feel a breath of nostalgia. The Coffee Bean was a place most students at E.S.U. meet up and hang out▬and Peter and his friends were no different. He remembered the days when he was in his late teens and early twenties, trying to put enough coffee in him to make sure he reached his lecture in time while still supporting a bruise after tackling Fisk's thugs downtown. Or how MJ took him and Harry to get coffee after Peter just defeated the Vulture and on his very first day at college (that had been a fun first day).

    He could remember days when Harry would drag them all in for an early morning perk-of-the-day beverage, and Peter would be running on either no sleep at all, or less than a few hours. MJ would be rolling her eyes and laughing at Harry's go-to attitude that always brightened up a room, while Nina was always the first at the counter to order her hot chocolate with Peter hovering by her shoulder. He first introduced her to Harry and MJ at the Coffee Bean. It had seemed like everything had finally linked well together after that day▬as if they had all found their missing piece to the puzzle.

    Peter remembered every moment of that day like it had been yesterday. He had promised to take Nina after a tutoring session at the college library. Of course, he had been late stopping some amateurs trying to rob a bank in Queens.

    "Where were you?" she had frowned at him from the library entrance when she saw Peter rushing towards her, out of breath and still slipping his flannel back on. "I tried to call you like three times, and I texted you?"

    "I'm sorry," Peter had rushed out, skidding to a stop in front of her. Nina had been wearing an oversized cardigan that day which hugged her textbook to her chest. Her gaze had been tense▬trying to hide her miffed annoyance and hurt feelings. "I'm so, so sorry, I▬something came up. I▬I had to ... uh ... traffic was terrible."

    She had frowned at him, perplexed. "Something came up? Or traffic was terrible?"

    Peter gave her one his awkward chuckles and smiles. He had shrugged. "Uh ... both? Look, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, okay? Today's session can be free."

    Nina pursed her lips. She had fiddled with her fingers and picked at the spine of her textbook nervously. She folded the bright-coloured tabs from her chapters back and forth. "Oh, well ..." she didn't meet his gaze and Peter had stressed; his heart had raced as he started to wonder whether he had messed this up (and then wondered why it was so important to him in the first place). "I should probably head back home..."

    Peter had shaken his head. "No, no, wait, wait, I'm sorry," he held his hand out and she pursed her lips, her eyes widening in a soft surprise. "Nina, wait, I'm sorry. I want to make it up to you. If you don't have time for a study session, then let me buy you a coffee before you go all the way back home." At her hesitance, Peter sighed and gave her a gentle look of his own. "Please." He then paused. "As long as the coffee is like under ..." he rummaged into his back pocket,  "... ten dollars?"

    His defeated realisation of how broke he was at that moment had caused a little amused smile to tug at Nina Hart's lips. She quickly hid it and sighed, as if it was such a chore for her to do, before nodding. "Alright. I'll have a hot chocolate and I'll pay. Next study session is half price, though."

    Peter had slowly grinned, chuckling and awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. He nodded. "Alright. It's a deal. You know what?" He reached for his phone and Nina tilted her head, watching him curiously. "If you have time, I'll text my friends Harry and MJ and ask them to join us▬I think you'd like them." 

    When Peter arrived at the Coffee Bean roof, he set his memories aside. He noticed Ian Hart already sitting there on a storage box, his laptop open on his knees. Once he landed, he took off his mask and walked up to Nina's younger brother. "How did you even get up here?"

    Ian glanced over at his voice. Nina's brother was nineteen. They both shared the dirty blonde hair and the same shaped nose. However, while Nina had a sweet, round face with plump cheeks, Ian's jaw was sharp and his face was long; he looked a lot like Mr. Hart, his father. Ian dangled a set of keys as his answer. "I have the keys to the rooftop door, obviously? Is that seriously your first question?"

    "Well," Peter shrugged and walked over to him. "I was curious. What's going on, Ian? Why did you call?"

    Ian tilted his head up at Peter, almost suspicious and accusing. Around them, even at night, the E.S.U. campus was alive in the glow of New York City around it. The grounds outside the administration room where Peter fought with Vulture on his very first day was empty of its usual student traffic, but if Peter imagined bustling activity, lost students trying to find their classes and the noise of the city around him, it was as if nothing about his old college changed.

    When he glanced back over, he still found Ian's accusing frown. Peter suddenly felt like he was in trouble, which was amusing since he was seven years older than Ian sitting in front of him. "What?" He let out, sheepish. Ian and Nina had a very similar suspicious scowl, and Peter caved at it every time. "What did I do?"

    Ian hesitated and frowned back down at his laptop. His fingers hovered over the mousepad. "These mask guys I've seen on the news ... Nina's gotten herself involved in it, hasn't she? Involved with you again?"

    Peter held his breath for a moment, not sure how to answer. In the end, he sighed. Spider-Man sat down beside Nina's younger brother. "I'll keep her safe. I promise. I always do."

    Ian pursed his lips and hunched forward, gazing out at the city. E.S.U was planted right in the centre of the Big Apple▬a place full of dreams; a place to thrive. "I hope so. She likes to tell me it's her job to worry, not the other way around. But, I worry about her, Pete. I really do."

     Peter didn't want to pry. After six months, he knew he was in a very complicated situation. He never knew he could be a stranger and an old friend simultaneously, but perhaps there was a very thin line between the two, and he was standing on it. "I hate to ask, but ... Do you know what happened? What really happened? When ... when she left."

    "You need to have that conversation with her," murmured Ian. "I don't know▬she doesn't tell me much. I think it was a combination of a lot of things. Those things made her step away, but they're also the things that lured her back in."

    "What things?"

    Nina's younger brother gave him a disbelieving look. "Come on, I thought the main reason was the most obvious one."

    Peter shrugged, waiting for Ian to tell him. Nina's brother shook his head, incredulous before answering: "You, man. She throws herself into all of this for you."

    He was momentarily breathless with thought. Peter frowned at Ian's words, the first question coming to his mind was: Why? He glanced out at the city he swore to protect, and felt the exhaustion getting to him▬the aches and pains that always hovered. You, Ian had said▬as if that was the only true explanation needed to understand why Nina made the decisions she did. And while Peter felt his heart flutter, it also twisted. Why? The question haunted him. Was it the thrill? Was it the mask? Was it the idea of helping out a superhero, and the reward that came with it that Ian meant? Or was he saying that Nina believed that Peter Parker was worth it▬that he, behind the mask, was why she came back? 

    And also why she left. 

    But then, what did that mean? That question returned: Why? 

    Peter supposed there was a part of him that was too scared to ask Nina that question himself. 

    He decided to move on. He took a deep breath and turned to Ian. "Look, as much as I like chatting with you, the reason you asked me to come here can't just be for a catch-up?"

    Ian chuckled. "Unfortunately, no, but you're gonna like this." With that said, he opened his laptop lid more and shifted it on his knees so Peter could frown at the screen, curious. 

    It didn't take him long to recognise the format of the city on the screen, nor the radio signals hovering in the top right corner, right underneath an OSCORP watermark. Spider-Man turned his stare onto Ian disapprovingly. "Don't tell me this is what I think it is?"

    Ian just matched it. "Come on, don't tell me you weren't thinking of doing the same thing when those OSCORP police towers went down." He tapped the spacebar and the camera zoomed out to show many points he had marked▬Greenwich, Chinatown, the Meatpacking District, Harlem, Upper East Side ... "For high-security police towers, they're not exactly secure. You'll thank me later."

    "You're going to get yourself in trouble," Peter couldn't help but be slightly impressed, though he wasn't prepared to tell Ian that. "You can't be doing this. You're young, you should be focusing on college, relationships, having fun▬"

    "I'm nineteen, Pete. I'm not a kid."

    "Yeah, well, there's still a 'teen'," Peter pointed out technicalities as he pulled the laptop onto his own knees to glance at what Ian had managed to achieve. "Nineteen." He pointed out the points marked on the city map. "What are all of these?"

    "When Nina mentioned Fisk, OSCORP and that file," Ian leaned forward, tone suddenly quite serious, "I got a bit curious. You can't blame me for finding that a bit fishy. So, tonight, I've been cross-referencing crimes by those mask guys reported through the towers with this map▬marking them all down and wondering if I'd come across any connections. Tonight alone, there's been tons all across New York. At first, they seemed pretty random, until I tried to think what they'd all have in common."

    He reached over and pressed a finger down on the enter button. Another set of pins, bright red, appeared on the map. All of them were in close range to the first markers of demon crimes. "These are locations of all OSCORP lab facilities, companies, warehouses▬anything funded by OSCORP, or supporting Osborn's campaign I could think of, or find. And these▬" Ian tapped enter once again. Yellow pins popped up across the map, "▬are Fisk construction sites, fundraisers, properties ..."

    "Right where the Demons have been attacking," finished Spider-Man, his stomach churning with worry. "So, they've been targeting Fisk and OSCORP?"

    "That's the thing," Ian shrugged, "it seems like they're trying to take over Fisk's terrain. There have been reports of shootouts at every one of these locations connected to your old pal Willy. But these OSCORP locations? That's something I found along the way. No sightings reported, no attacks on OSCORP facilities, but a lot of these labs ..."

    "Are in Fisk's territories," sighed Peter, shaking his head. He was baffled. Norman Osborn and Wilson Fisk weren't exactly best friends. Their hatred and rivalry with one another have caused Peter more trouble than good these past years. "So, Willy had an OSCORP file about this Devil's Breath, these Demons wanted that file and are now attacking Fisk's construction sites and warehouses, but no OSCORP facilities which are in these areas▬And all the while these Demon guys had Shocker try and steal money..." Spider-Man groaned and shook his head. "None of this is making any sense."

    "Maybe Shocker was a distraction?" offered Ian, taking his laptop back. "Maybe this is just a brewing gang war▬maybe OSCORP is just ... coincidentally an insignificant part of it?"

    Peter wanted to agree and say that was it, and then maybe try and get some sleep tonight▬but something wasn't settling right. Maybe he was a little superstitious, but he's always had a bad feeling about OSCORP▬he's always had a strike of bad luck when it came to that place. And if these Demons were targeting Fisk, what did they need the file for?

    "Whatever it is," he decided to say in the end, standing up. He grabbed his mask, "a brewing gang war is the last thing any of us need." Peter turned to Ian. "You have MJ's number, don't you? Send that map to her, maybe she'll be able to find out more and see something you could've missed. If there are Demon attacks out in the city, I have places to be."

    "Before you go▬" Ian chucked him something. When Peter caught it, he looked in his palm to see it was a small hard drive. "Take that, put it in your suit when you get the chance. It'll give you access to these satellite towers. Just don't tell anyone it was me that totally broke the law to give that to you."

    "Thanks," Peter said, pleasantly surprised. He smiled before pulling his mask down over his head. "And don't worry, Ian, your secret's safe with me." He went to leave, but a thought occurred to him and he turned back around. "Hey, what Fisk properties haven't been attacked yet tonight?"

    Ian quickly looked at his laptop. "Uh ... just one▬an old Shipyard near Hell's Kitchen."

    Spider-Man nodded. He slipped the thumb drive away into his suit. "Thanks. I'll head there now." He walked towards the edge of the building. "Keep yourself out of trouble, Ian. I mean it▬" he sent him a finger gun as a goodbye (which was a bit awkward) before leaping off the side of the roof, and into the night. 

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   A SHIPYARD WAS incredibly spooky at this time of night. As Spider-Man landed on the top of an apartment complex on the west side of Manhattan, he gazed down at the stretch of concrete in front of two, large rundown wooden ports amongst the many piers on the riverside. Despite looking as if they haven't been used in decades, there was activity. Spider-Man could see the flare of scopes in the pitch black, the distant chatter and silhouettes walking in the dim glow of the shipyard's tall lamps. Fisk's men were swarming the place▬all of them on high alert after tonight, and Peter didn't blame him. 

    He stood up on the edge of the building, frowning at the shipyard below as he planned his best entrance. At that moment, Yuri called him.

    "You have impeccable timing," he muttered as a greeting. 

    He heard her sigh and Peter bit back a grin. "Whatever. So, I looked into reports of ... Demons."

    Peter did grin this time. He went back to crouching on the edge of the building. "I knew you'd come around."

    He knew Yuri was rolling her eyes on the other end. "They've been pretty busy tonight."

    "I know," answered Spider-Man. "They've been going after Fisk."

    There was a suspicious pause from Yuri. "You ... know?"

    "I got impatient," let out Peter in a soft 'please don't hit me' voice even if Yuri was in another place possibly on the other end of the island. "I found some things out myself."

    She sighed. "Do I even want to know?"

    "Eh ... not really." Spider-Man tapped the side of his mask near his lenses, marvelling at the technology Dr. Octavius had manufactured. Peter was almost envious. He watched as they narrowed down into the shipyard, pinpointing multiple heat signatures belonging to Fisk's men in mere seconds. Octavius was an incredibly smart guy▬he was a genius, in fact; the smartest person Peter Parker knew. He was going to change the world in his research into bioengineering and biophysics▬and he had no superpowers or enhanced durability. Otto Octavius was just a man, but his superpower was his mind ... and with his mind, he was doing amazing things. Peter Parker felt honoured to be working on those amazing things beside him. 

    "Look," went on Peter, continuing to scan for his way in. He noticed a sniper standing alone inside a crate below an old water tower. "I'm already at one of Fisk's shipyards▬it hasn't been attacked yet tonight. I'm going to try and get in, see what these Demons want."

    He knew Yuri wasn't happy about him stepping ahead of her, but they had to keep moving for now. Spider-Man heard her sigh once again but took a deep breath. "All right. I'm not surprised. What do you see?"

    "A lot of Fisk guys, old cranes, rotting buildings ..." murmured Spider-Man. "Any idea what Fisk uses this Shipyard for? Because, you know, call me crazy, but I don't think he's using it to fix his holiday yacht."

    "No idea," replied Yuri, ignoring his sarcasm. "Let me send an officer to meet you there. His name's Jefferson Davis▬this is his beat. He's a good cop, been working the Fisk case for years. If anyone knows what's going on at that shipyard, it's him."

    "Fun times," Spider-Man checked his web shooters, making sure his canisters were full. "I'll mop the deck for when he gets here." He waited for Yuri to say something. When he was met with silence, Peter hesitated. "You ... you know? Because it's a shipyard, and you mop the deck on▬on a ship ...?" Still nothing. "Yuri?" Spider-Man awkwardly stood there at the edge of the roof. "Yuri, you still there?" Nothing. Peter pursed his lips, sheepish. "Yeah, she totally hung up on me. It's okay, I know she loves me ... And now I'm talking to myself."

    His focus narrowed the moment he heard wheels squeak from a white truck as it turned off the road and into the shipyard. Spider-Man stiffened and quickly jumped off the edge of the roof, attaching his web to the top of an old crane. He landed and frowned down as the truck pulled up to a stop in the centre of the yard, soon met by a group of Fisk's men▬it was surrounded by men wrapped in bulletproof vests and armed with rifles.

    Peter crawled to the underside of the crane point, trying to hear what was being said. He had to get closer. Glancing down, he noticed one of Fisk's thugs standing alone in the shadow of the brick facade of a storage warehouse. Spider-Man lowered himself down on a thread, making barely any sound. He descended lower and lower until he hovered right behind the criminal. Cheeky, Spider-Man reached out and tapped his shoulder. 

    The thug spun around, startled and couldn't even shout before a web planted itself across his mouth. Spider-Man twisted upright and swung forward. He wrapped his hand around the base of the man's shoulder, twisting around him and locking his legs around his neck. Spider-Man somersaulted. The thug hit the ground and Spider-Man quickly silenced the fall by blanketing him up in a snug web. 

    He leapt up and caught himself on the side of the storage building. Spider-Man continued to crawl towards the roof, peering over the edge and watching the back of the truck open up, revealing even more men▬all fully armed. They jumped off the back of the truck and onto the ground, fixing their radios on their vests. 

    "You got it, boss," one was saying into his earpiece as he stood guard near the truck. Spider-Man gritted his teeth to know Wilson Fisk was on the other end of the phone call. Even inside the RAFT, the Kingpin was still organising his crime as if he never even left. "Trippling security. Demons won't touch a thing."

    With that said, he grabbed his radio and held it to his lips. "Listen up!" he announced and Spider-Man crawled to the very edge of the storage building roof. "Demons're making moves on all our caches. Lost two tonight already. Boss may be in lockup, but that don't mean his hardware's up for grabs."

    Spider-Man's frown deepened at this. He glanced at the snipers across the rooftops. He glanced up and found another crane to get himself to a higher advantage point. As his feet touched the steel, he wondered what caches Fisk's men were talking about▬what exactly were the Demons after? He didn't have an answer, but it told him Fisk's men were guarding something, and it was Spider-Man's job to take them out and figure out what that something was. 

    The first sniper was easy. The poor guy was posted alone on the furthest rooftop away from his friends. He never saw it coming. Spider-Man almost felt bad when he pulled him upwards with his webs and wrapped him up against the scaffolding of the crane▬he was sure this was what flies felt like. 

    The next on his list was the sniper high above in the water tower. Spider-Man kept to the shadows, crawling up the back end and then around the side, using the night to his advantage as he climbed right underneath the man's shadow and yanked him down from his post. Just as his struggles were muffled by a web against the support beams, a phone call linked to his suit.

     Before he could hang up, the call connected and Peter bit back his slight frustration. He crawled up to the top of the water tower. "Hey, you called earlier?"

    Realising it was Nina, Peter's frustrations slipped away like they were nothing. He froze momentarily. "Oh, uh▬uh▬Hey. Yeah, yeah, I did," he whispered and then cringed at his words. Smooth, Parker. 

    Nina noticed his whisper. "Is ... Is this a bad time? Is everything all right?"

    "No, no, all good▬" Spider-Man swung to the next rooftop. "Everything is a-okay..." he aimed his web shooter downwards just as a nearby thug turned around, leaving his friend ripe for taking. In just seconds, Spider-Man tugged him upwards. His friend soon followed, having not even the time to react to his friend's disappearance. "Just ... doing some cleaning. I just called earlier to▬uh▬you know, see how you were going. Had some free time, you know?"

    "Oh," at Nina's reply, Peter immediately shook his head. He held up his hands slightly and clenched them▬Why would he say that? He was thankful that the darkness covered him like a blanket from the view of Fisk's men below, otherwise, he was sure they'd get quite the splendour in watching Spider-Man fret over what he just said to a girl. "Oh, really?" She sounded almost surprised▬pleasantly surprised. (Maybe Peter hadn't overstepped).

    "Yeah, yeah," relieved that her response wasn't as negative as he had stressed, Spider-Man continued his way across the shipyard. Whenever he found a lonesome thug, he quickly webbed them up to the side of the building or twisted them in a white cocoon, hanging from a tall light. "I mean, you said I could call you whenever...?"

    "Right, right," said Nina quickly. She sounded as if she was standing out on a busy street. "Of course, yeah. Totally."

     Peter hesitated on the rooftop. His heart was fluttering. "That's ... it's not a problem, right?" he asked, for a moment worried that maybe he had gotten it all wrong. 

    "No," blurted out Nina, and she sounded almost just as nervous as him. Peter's heart skipped a beat. He wished it didn't. He had to focus. But the thought of Nina feeling as though her breath was lost from her just at the sound of his voice like he was to her, made him feel a lot of fluttery things. "No. It's not a problem at all. I mean, call me whenever you want. About whatever. I mean, like, you can call me. Or talk to me. I just mean▬you know▬It's like▬"

    The nervous weight in Peter's chest lifted and he couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle from his lips. Here he was trying to take out Fisk's men, and Nina Hart still had the ability to make him smile. She had always been like that. Peter Parker could be bruised, and broken, and wanting to drop and never get back up, and then Nina Hart went ahead and made him smile▬made him feel enough strength to stand, remembering all he fought for in the first place. She never realised just how much power she had, just in her kindness alone. Peter was glad that even after six months, that hadn't changed. 

    "Look," said Peter gently, the smile still evident in his voice as he whispered, "I'll have to call you later. I'm at one of Fisk's shipyards. These Demons have been attacking Fisk's properties all night, and I need to figure out why. But still, you don't hesitate to call me whenever, either, all right?"

    He heard Nina smile, too. "Right, because we're a team."

    "Not just that. Because we're friends," he corrected softly. "I'll see you around, okay?"

    "Okay," there was a tenderness to Nina Hart's voice that Peter Parker couldn't exactly describe. "See you around, Pete."

    With a fresh surge of confidence and feeling as if he was finally getting somewhere with Nina, Spider-Man swept the shipyard in under half an hour. Just as he caught the final thug, striking him down and wondering if he should send Fisk a friendly note to prison to tell him to get a payroll that's not so oblivious, he heard the sharp toot of a police car horn. 

    Spider-Man stood up, glancing around as the car pulled into the shipyard. It dimmed its headlights. He was sure this was the officer Yuri told him about. Dusting off his hands and his suit, Peter walked over as the driver's door opened. 

    Out of the vehicle stepped a man who could be nearing his middle age, but still looked as if he hadn't aged past his mid-thirties. He could be Yuri's age, he could be older, Spider-Man couldn't guess at first glance. The officer's uniform and cap were pristine and freshly washed, pressed and proper▬an authoritative deep blue that belonged to only one of the bravest people in New York. Spider-Man knew, first-hand, that the first responders of New York were more of a hero than any person in a spandex costume with powers. He had seen Captain George Stacy throw himself in the shadow of a falling building to save a young boy, and Peter Parker will forever regret never being able to get to him in time. 

    The officer bit back an amused smirk when he saw Spider-Man. He fixed his cap and walked over. "You know we can't have vigilantes trespassing or doing illegal searches."

    Spider-Man shrugged. "Yeah, I know..."

    "Which is why I brought a warrant," he held up the slip of folded paper and behind Peter's mask, he grinned. "So what do you say we do some perfectly legal searching?"

    Spider-Man chuckled. "I like the sound of that. What's your name?"

    He held out his hand. "Officer Davis▬" Spider-Man shook it with a firm grip. "Call me Jeff. And you are?"

    Spider-Man hesitated as he let go of the handshake, not sure whether Officer Davis was being serious or not. At his reaction, Officer Jefferson Davis chuckled and nudged his shoulder. "Just messing with you. My son's a big fan."

    He turned towards the entrance to the main warehouse and Spider-Man followed. The two of them walked towards the building, stepping into its eerie shadows. "So ... That warrant cover breaking down doors?"

    They stopped right at the roller door. Officer Davis chuckled. "Not without a lot of extra paperwork."

    Spider-Man took a deep breath and shrugged. He rolled his shoulders back. "Okay. Guess I'll find another way in."

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    a/n: i feel as if i've said this before but i'll say it again, we're gonna have a lot of primarily peter chapters just because i know a lot of you haven't seen/played this game and are experiencing it for the first time, so i want you guys to understand the plot and what is going on. i hope it doesn't bother you. i'll try to make them interesting and include my own aspects and characters. and i'll also try and include nina and/or ian in all of them, whether it be mentions, phone calls, scenes together or flashbacks. 

    (we met ian! he's not a toddler!)

    this first act is really peter/nina focused, which i sorta apologise for because it doesn't leave much room for mj, yuri, vinnie, ian, may, octavius and other characters. i need to introduce octavius properly though for the storyline, which i'll be doing soon. there's just a lot of rebuilding and growth between nina and peter i need to do before the end of this first act so they can be in the position i want them to be for the next one. and we are already getting close to the end of the first act anyway so i is sorta stressed. 

     but, like i said, i hope you guys like reading peter chapters. i like writing his character. writing his action scenes are always a little hard because i'm more of a heartwarming/heartbreak scene sort of writer, and my style really reflects imagery, metaphors etc while action is straightforward. you don't want action to be too flowery because then it loses the fast pace it needs to be. but i do like writing these scenes as well because i'm always looking to improve my writing, so. 

     officer jefferson davis - if you know, you know. i'm pretty sure all of you know, though haha. 

    (writing peter and nina again after i finished deja vu actually hurts me physically and mentally). 

    (minimal editing)