chapter one
001. a jolly, jolly christmas

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(2017.)

    THE RAFT.

    Located off Ryker's Island in New York, the RAFT housed the worst of the worst▬supervillains and ambitious high-risk criminals. It was created to ensure that after capture, individuals who caused the most destruction, danger, and death would never▬ever▬escape again. It was the destination of any and all who tried and failed against the Avengers and every other superhero across America; each and every single one ended up here, locked behind steel-enforced bars, high-security electric barricades and on constant watch from special-trained agents and officers who were highly armed and not afraid to use force if it was required.

    Adrian Toomes, the Vulture, never expected to find himself amongst them. At first, he thought they were going to lock him away at Rykers▬Originally, he had been considered not enough of a threat to be contained with extra care and force. But last minute, things changed. The once mighty businessman thought himself higher than most even before he met his downfall▬and he would have succeeded if it weren't for Spider-Man.

    And how, with his empire crumbling to ruins at his feet, his team scattered and his family so shamed they had no choice but to move▬and never say a word to him again▬the Vulture had no one else to blame except the fifteen-year-old kid from Queens. Spider-Man had torn the Vulture's entire life apart and simultaneously took the Vulture's daughter to Homecoming. The irony.

    The Vulture hated Spider-Man, but he also respected him. The kid saved the most important person in the Vulture's life▬his daughter, and his family, and for that, the Vulture supposed he owed the webhead a reluctant debt.

    Good behaviour got Adrian Toomes a lot of luxuries at the RAFT. And no matter how bitter he might be, he was not a stupid man. He would much rather kiss up the asses of the officers and wardens if it meant being able to eat a good meal out of his containment in the cafeteria at Rykers.

     His meal was his favourite thing of the day. After months of having no visitors from his wife and daughter, no letters, no phone calls and no evidence they wanted to even think he existed after all that happened, Adrian Toomes's delight in his everyday routine had become very narrow, and very pathetic.

    The luxuries he received for good behaviour were all he looked forward to. One day, his good behaviour might even get him out on parole, and from there, he would be able to find a way to rekindle his relationship with his daughter, his Gumdrop. That was all that mattered to the Vulture now.

    Unlike the RAFT, Rykers was much more spacious and much less miserable. The Vulture had room to walk, he had room to breathe, and he didn't have the strangest of supervillains and high-risk criminals glaring at him whenever he was escorted past their cells. And there was even a nice view of the harbour and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. Better yet? No petty criminal nor thug at Rykers even tried to annoy him or jeer at him, because they knew where he came from▬they knew he was dangerous if he wanted to be.

    He could eat his meal of scrambled eggs in peace, within his own thoughts before he would be escorted back to the RAFT, and there, he would read the new book he got for his ongoing agreeable attitude. An entire political commentary on the fall of the Avengers and Tony Stark, now that is something the Vulture is going to love reading.

    Today was a good day. The weather wasn't miserable, either, and Adrian Toomes was enjoying watching the tourist ships pass on the water through the reinforced windows of the prison cafeteria.

    And if he kept his good behaviour up for the rest of this week, he would be allowed to go on an expedition to the main island, and to a newsagency to have a go at this month's lottery, and send the letters he's written to his daughter, Liz.

    Today was a good day.

    The Vulture stopped tossing his scrambled eggs on his tray with his cardboard fork, pausing to comprehend the sounds of what were footsteps getting closer to him. They had a slant to them, as if each step wasn't completely balanced, but instead weighed down on one side more than the other. Adrian looked up, wondering who had made the mistake of bothering him on a good day.

    "Well, well, well..." drawled a familiar voice. A shadow stepped in front of his view, a slanted silhouette of a man▬and in his shadow, something long and spiked curled up on his right side; almost like a scorpion's tail. When Adrian's eyes wandered upwards to the man's face, he realised the spiked tail belonged to the metal brace locked on a plaster cast from shoulder to wrist on his right arm▬the only thing keeping the shattered bones together to regrow. "Look who it is."

    The Vulture recognised the sly grin on the man's face▬even with the horrible scar that ran across the top of his shaved head and down the left side of his face, leaving him blind in one eye. And he recognised the tattoo on the side of the man's neck: a scorpion with its tail curled up and ready for the attack.

    "What are the odds," mused Mac Gargan as he smirked down at the Vulture, filled with mirth. "Thought they had you rotting away at the RAFT with all the other big boys."

    Adrian Toomes didn't say a word, but an uneasiness settled on his shoulders, making them stiff as he remembered how Mac Gargan got that scar on his face. Recognising the shift in his composure, Mac Gargan chuckled. "Relax..." he murmured, leaning forward as his voice lowered. He gestured the side of his head with his good hand. "This? It's not on you. It's on our..." he glanced around at the mess, eyeing the security hovering around before leaning in closer and dropping his voice, "... mutual little spider friend."

    "You know," Mac Gargan took a seat on the bench opposite the Vulture, something cruel and malicious glinting in his dark eyes, "I'm glad I found you here, Toomes, it's like the world decided today would be the day ... for both of us. Almost like it's ..." He considered his next word: "...destiny." 

    He smiled, but it was cold. The Vulture stayed silent, his frown turning into an unamused scowl. "You see, I got a bone to pick with the little spider▬or rather, I got a dream. A dream where I made that bug suffer for what he did, and we all want our dreams to come true." He shuffled even closer, his voice a deadly whisper: "Here's the thing, Toomes ... I heard a rumour going around that you know who the little spider is."

    The Vulture let out a bitter, amused chuckle and set down his fork. He glanced around at the security guards as well before leaning in close, and waited for Mac Gargan to hold onto bated breath before he whispered his own secret: "If I knew who he was, he'd already be dead."

    Mac Gargan was silent. He nodded, and sat back, a twisted, forced smile tugging at the scarred side of his lips. "Hmm..." he hummed, considering the Vulture's words. "Lucky bug."

    Adrian Toomes didn't flinch. "Hmm, guess so," he muttered, voice low.

    Gargan smirked for a moment longer before he stood back up. "It's good to see you, Toomes," he said, but something lurked in his tone▬something venomous. "Glad to see they haven't got you locked away in containment▬You know, they say, when all a man's got is the empty darkness and his own nightmares? That sends even the strongest of minds to insanity."

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(Present Day.)

    THERE WAS no other place in the world quite like New York City.

    It was something unique and incredibly special, and not just in its towering skyscrapers, iconic historical monuments like the Empire State Building and a city-wide mixing pot of modern architecture from Art Deco to the contemporary. New York City was most definitely unique for its communities, its amusement park and its many boroughs that were all famous for their own reasons. From Harlem and all the way down to Colney Island, New York City captured the eyes of its residents and tourists alike, all of them welcomed by the fire held in Lady Liberty's hand.

    But, the truth was, these days, New York was becoming memorable and infamous for many reasons other than its traditional characteristics. Now, what drew people to New York, or what pushed them away, was not its lively nightlife, iconic buildings and Broadway Theatre, but instead the superheroes that always seemed to inhabit it. And even as old superheroes left and passed, there were only just new heroic teams and super-powered individuals to take their places.

    New York has seen alien invasions, war machine armies at the Stark Expo in Queens, warps in the very space-time reality, magic and Hulk rampages in Harlem▬life in the Big Apple was chaotic, dangerous, and yet just as exciting and filled with potential as it always has been.

    And for over eight million people, it was home.

    And as October swept on by and in came the distant oncoming winter breeze hidden in the days of November, New York slowly began to transform. Bright Christmas trees started to appear in the windows of shops along Fifth Avenue, colours of bright red and green, and sparkling stars began to cameo on the billboards in Times Square and more and more people donned scarves and gloves in their everyday walks for coffee before work. Everyone was too eager to get into the Christmas spirit even before winter arrived at their doorsteps▬and carols were even being sung underneath peoples' breaths from behind the computers at their desk jobs and as hard-working folks scraped up fallen leaves on the footpaths outside the entrances to apartment complexes.

    Because for the little guy, not even the distant warning of the upcoming winter meant a stop in the daily grind of hard work for an income that would barely cover their bills and rent for the month. Those superheroes in their towers and travelling across America and the world, they never really cared about the little guy behind the crane controls constructing their next facility, or those cleaning the pathways outside their high-rises. They, the background characters of the extraordinary, crazy world they lived in, were the real heart of New York City.

    Just like the doorman who stood outside a motel for individuals who cared little about anyone except themselves and their expensive cars once they arrived for their expensive holiday. Right before his shift was to begin in the early New York morning, Stan warmed his chilled fingers around the body of his hot cup of coffee. He blew at the very tip amongst the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, glancing up at the billboard across the road where the a morning news segment greeted the loud car horns with its own very loud theme music.

    "Welcome to today's segment of The Daily Bugle with J. Jonah Jameson, where we alert you to the threats you don't even know about. Now, my first note of business is to you!" said the grumpy broadcaster in front of a very green, green screen. "The people of New York. Tell me one thing. The idiotic, irritating, irresponsible excuse for college kids to dress up and get drunk, that I call Halloween has only just passed mere weeks ago. And yet here we are! Already seeing gigantic Christmas trees in the malls, and this script forcing me to wish you all a Merry Christmas when Decemeber first is still an ENTIRE MONTH AWAY! Now, don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. I dress up as Santa Claus because making children smile is a gift and a responsibility I do not take for granted. But only when Christmas Day is at a respectable distance from▬"

    Stan shook his head, grumbling to himself as he took a sip of his coffee, careful not to burn his tongue in the cold Fall morning. But just as he raised his cup to his lips, came the loud, screeching sound of a car horn down the street. Following it were more loud horns, and some shouts of alarm.

     Stan the Doorman looked over and frowned, pushing his glasses further up his nose to help him see. He saw the car coming before he heard the sound▬a highspeed trailer miraculously weaving in and out of New York traffic this early morning, its tyres screeching and skidding on the frosty tarmac surface.

    It flew past Stan on the sidewalk and sent his coffee cup soaring out of his hands. It would have struck the ground and that would have been a waste of five dollars, until▬

    Something sticky and very strong latched around the base and lid of Stan's cup, yanking it backwards in its soaring flight and returning it to Stan's cold hands. He stared at the webbing, surprised to find only some of his coffee spilt.  

    He looked up to see his early morning caffeine saviour, and a bright beam warmed his cheeks when he caught the glimpse of red and blue swoop down low in the streets. "Thank you, Spider-Man!" shouted Stan, holding up his coffee cup in cheers.

    Spider-Man pulled himself up into the air and twisted his body, gaining speed in a deep dive before striking another web on the corner of the next building as the truck took a dangerous turn onto the next street. A man of mystery▬an enigma to New York City; a superhero with a secret identity, where none of them truly knew who it was behind the mask, but a superhero who has saved them countless of times▬a superhero who cared about them; about the little guy.

    They would see him blur past their windows at work, send them a thumbs up as he swooped low in the streets or even caught him while waiting in line for a hotdog. Spider-Man in his red and blue suit▬but more importantly, the symbol he wore every day on his chest; a symbol of hope to anyone who saw it.

    "Breaking News! This has just come in ladies and gentlemen!" bellowed the gruff voice of J. Jonah Jameson across the Daily Bugle billboards in Manhattan. "We have a high-speed chase happening live in the Fashion District this brisk, New York morning folks! I advise you to stay indoors for your own safety, but even then are we truly safe from the destruction that is certain to ensue at the hands of the web-headed menace, Spider-Man!? You would think, as a so-called superhero, Spider-Man would go out of his way to make sure no pedestrians are harmed and no tax dollars are wasted on fixing government property destroyed by his apparent 'heroic' measures chasing down criminals. WRONG! Because Spider-Man only cares about one thing: HIMSELF!"

    A cheer broke through the angry car horns and swerving wheels, where the dash of red and blue swooped right past J. Jonah Jamson's bushy moustache. Spider-Man twisted his body into the next dive to gain speed, following the speeding trailer down Fifth Avenue. The webheaded vigilante▬or menace! (depending on what one believed)▬swung low through the streets, dashing between two breaking cars at the intersection. Last minute, his free hand caught the momentum of the second car by its tail and pulled▬saving it from a crash before the driver could comprehend.

    Once the superhero passed, the passenger wheeled down her window, flustered and breathless. "Go get 'em, Spidey!" she shouted, grinning with the bright eyes of admiration after his silhouette.

    Meanwhile, Spider-Man was closing in on the grand-theft auto truck. He landed on the hood of a police car and webbed a long thread to the tail lights of the truck. He pulled. 

    The sirens on either side of his feet chirped an uneven sound, and an annoyed face showed itself from the adjacent police car's window. "Spider-Man!" shouted the officer. "We've got this handled, we don't need you!"

    "Officers!" greeted Spider-Man, a voice that was young and vibrant▬filled with the energy that no one else could muster this cold morning. "Top of the morning! My name is Spider-Cop▬Hey, is that you, Bristy?" he tugged a bit harder on the web and the truck's wheels smoked on the tarmac. Spider-Man tilted his head and waved excitedly at the police officer in the passenger seat. He easily remembered the man from the night he had stopped a gang meeting right before vacation. "Hey, man, sorry about not getting that selfie to you. It's so good to see you! How about we get coffee and a whole packet of doughnuts after I quickly▬whoa▬!"

    The surprised yell that followed was a little bit too much like a pre-puberty squeal to be considered cool enough for the live news broadcast catching every minute of the high-speed chase. 

    Spider-Man stumbled to grab ahold of his web properly, hitting the road with a painful thud. He skidded along the tarmac. "Road burn! Road burn! Road burn!" With a grunt, he pulled himself back up onto his feet▬God, it hurt. "Man, I hate road burn! I don't care how cold it is, that is not the way to warm up in the morning!"

    When he was sure his feet were about to burn off, Spider-Man pressed the trigger on his webshooters and a second web gripped the edge of the top of the rear end of the trailer. He tugged and leapt upwards. 

    Landing on the top of the trailer, Spider-Man took a moment to balance. He held on as the truck took a dangerous turn through a red light and barely missed a head-on crash with a passing car. He needed to stop this truck, now. 

    He crawled to the front of the truck and down the side, staying out of sight to the driver and the passenger, taking a moment to listen to the conversation inside. 

    "Hurry up!" the passenger was saying, rushed and frantic to the driver. He looked stereotypical bad guy in Spider-Man's experience▬tattoos, greasy hair and dressed in a black jumper and jeans; always the go-to wardrobe when you're up to no good, and it also helps when they're also already grand-theft auto-ing a stolen truck supposedly filled with stolen pharmacy prescription bottles. "We need to ditch them, otherwise Boss'll kill us!"

    "Calm down!" snapped the driver, whose long hair was pulled back in a greasy bun. "You know I suck at driving in stressful situations!" Spider-Man found that very ironic. 

    "Don't tell me to calm down!" freaked the passenger as the driver frantically glanced at the rearview mirror. "Spider-Man's after us! We're screwed!"

    It was then he decided it was time he should step in. Sticking to the side of the truck still, Spider-Man leaned sideways to show his face through the window. "Tada!" he let out and both men inside jumped out of their skins. "License and registration please▬Whoa!"

    Spider-Man threw himself back to the side of the truck at the gunshot. Glass shattered and the truck veered. The passenger was breathing very heavily, his grip on the weapon trembling. "Now, that's not the way to greet somebody!" Faster than he could blink, Spider-Man's webs latched around the barrel of his gun and tugged it right out of his grip. The handgun was stuck to the side of the trailer. "Okay! How about we start over?" Spider-Man crawled in close and held out his hand. "Good morning! My name is Spider-Man, and you, sirs, are definitely gonna be on Santa's naughty list this year."

    "Grab him!" the driver shouted and his friend obliged. Spider-Man ducked a wide swinging fist. 

    "So!" Spider-Man reappeared. "You gonna tell me who this scary boss is▬?" he ducked again. "Oh, come on, you really think that's gonna work?" He avoided another desperate punch. "Okay, okay, okay, let's▬" 

    He struck a web towards the passenger's eyes to throw him off. Spider-Man crouched against the side and tugged open the door. "We do not have to do it like this, guys!" He reached in and pulled out the passenger, hearing him yell in terror before he was webbed to the side of the truck. "It's barely even eight in the morning and I've got a lecture on biomolecular thermodynamics at nine and a physics workshop▬which I am embarrassingly behind in reading  my textbook, by the way▬"

    Spider-Man flipped himself over to the driver's side. "Which, I mean, long story short, I really can't be late so how about we just pull over and▬" the driver glanced frantically between him and the road before fumbling out a gun, aiming it out the window. "Hey, no shooting and driving!" Spider-Man yanked the barrel out of his hand with a web. "Eyes on the road! That's very irresponsible of you."

    He forced the door open with another web. "Yoink▬!" Spider-Man grabbed a fistful of the driver's shirt before he could think twice and the man yelled, flailing his limbs as he was tossed out into the street.

    His yells were cut off when his back hit a very sticky substance▬and he was trapped there between two street lights like a fly on a spider's web. 

    The hairs on Spider-Man's neck stood on end and he glanced up. He sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Oh, come on..."

    The truck was speeding towards another busy intersection with no means of stopping. In the centre, crossing a green light, was an unbeknownst oil tank▬and if this high-speed truck were to hit it, well, boom. 

    Spider-Man sighed once again before pushing off the side of the truck. He pressed one hand on the top of the trailer and somersaulted forward. Landing right in front of the vehicle, he dug his feet into the tarmac and pressed his hands against the front. He pushed with all his might. 

    The wheels squealed, Spider-Man's feet dragged through the road, and smoke curled. 

    Until he skidded to a halt, right at the traffic stop line. 

    Spider-Man slumped in relief and glanced over his shoulder, awkwardly waving at the pedestrians who decided now was the perfect time to cross the road▬as if a trailer hadn't been racing right towards them seconds before. Most looked at him with frowns, annoyed that he had interrupted their day. Another saw him and gasped, excited. "Hey, it's Spider-Man! DO A FLIP!"

    Yeah, there was really no other place quite like New York City. 

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    GRACE AVERY made a promise to never be someone who was easily forgotten. It was easy to be someone forgettable in a world they lived in, where it was quite possible that any face they passed in the street could be a mutant, or a secret Avenger or even a supervillain. They lived in a world where everyone had some gimmick, some crazy story and something special about them that special had become forgettable. Interesting was never interesting enough, less is never more and ambition for greatness always needed to be greater. Some would say that being forgotten was a blessing▬to be normal was safe; to be able to keep one's head down and continue about their days. To never have to worry about the danger in the world, and most definitely the city of New York, because you were never in places you weren't supposed to be, and if you were, you turned the other way. People who tried to be heroes were always in over their heads, people who tried to change the world were always let down, and people who chased after heroes, change and doing the right thing were just naive. 

    After the Blip and half of the world disappeared, after the Avengers lost, this was the best way to live your life. This was the only way to live one's life▬to move on and not fight, to keep one's head down and just keep going about life. There was no point in change and no point in a fight. Grace Avery remembered how miserable the world had been, how dark and gloomy▬how lost everyone felt. It was as if they were living in a graveyard, and were just ghosts who were left to inhabit it▬a world post-acopolyse. It had been something worse than awful, and yet some people somehow preferred it. Because chillingly, it had been simple. 

    She was not one of those people. 

    When the Avengers had finally won▬had decided they weren't going to give up, that they were going to fight, that they were going to make things right▬Grace felt as if a light had returned to the world. It was chaos, but it showed the world that things were worth fighting for: family, hope, good. It showed Grace that they were worth fighting for. Suddenly, the graveyard was alive, and they were no longer ghosts. Suddenly, the classrooms were full and the roads were busy. Suddenly, families were reunited and names on the walls were no longer just names, but instead people who had been given a second chance. 

    And if people were given a second chance, why should anyone waste it? That created purpose, and that created motivation▬a need to always fight and to never give up. It meant that they all had a purpose and a responsibility▬perhaps even a duty▬to do something with their lives, whatever that might be. Living through all of that, it told Grace that life was fleeting, and just like that, people were forgotten. She never wanted to be forgotten.

    She also was just incredibly stubborn. 

    And last night had been ... interesting.

    The morning sunlight through Grace's dormitory was more a curse than a blessing. It hit her like needles to her head, causing her to groan and clench her eyes shut, rolling over to further bury her head into her pillows. The pounding in her temples didn't go away even after she curled up for the limited darkness still left in the room, and it made her want to hide away forever. 

    Across the room, hidden under the mountain of laundry, pillows and blankets followed a second groan. "Ugh, did you not close the blinds?"

    The voice was too loud, even when it sounded as if it was speaking through mud. "I thought I did," managed Grace as she pulled her blankets up to try and block the sunlight. 

    An alarm went off and both roommates groaned simultaneously underneath their mountain of blankets and pillows. 

    Carlie Cooper reached a hand out of her hiding place and fumbled with her phone to turn the alarm off. When her phone fell off and hit the ground, both girls groaned again. Grace's roommate had no choice but to sit up, looking as though she had just walked through a squirrel's nest with smudged makeup and her hair strewn over her face. She brushed it out of her eyes and reached down, finally managing to put a stop to the annoying, obnoxious sound of Spider-Man's theme song▬because somehow the webheaded vigilante had his own song.

    It had been a drunk decision. Their mutual friend, Randy Robertson thought it would be funny to download and install the theme song as Carlie's wake-up alarm during their Freshman orientation, and none of them had found the energy, or remembered to get rid of it. 

    Now, the theme song had found its home in waking up both Grace and Carlie every morning without fault, and it wasn't going away any time soon. 

    Carlie huffed and sat there on the edge of her bed, ultimately regretting their decisions last night. "Who has their own theme song?" she grumbled and fell backwards so she hit the pillows once more. "And why is it Spider-Man? Why not the Avengers or the Fantastic Five?"

    "I don't know," groaned Grace, wanting to just go back to sleep. "But it's too loud."

    But she knew she had to get up, as much as she dreaded it. Grace took a deep breath and pushed herself to sit up, glancing over at her friend and roommate. 

    Carlie Cooper is a friend who was thrown into Grace Avery's life. If they weren't forced into the same room together as roommates, neither of them would have met in their day-to-day schedules. They had completely opposite degrees, completely opposite lifestyles and almost completely opposite personalities▬almost. Carlie was a chemistry major, specialising in forensics hoping to get into the force just like her father while Grace was destroying her chance at a good career by seeking investigative journalism (at least, that was what people had told her to try and deter her▬sorry, save her). 

    Reaching for her glasses and pushing them up her nose, Carlie then forced her messy brown hair out of her face and into a rushed ponytail. "I'm never going to a frat party ever again."

    "Agreed," yawned Grace and grabbed her water bottle. "Especially if class is on the next day."

    Grace knew she had a morning lecture today, so deep down, there was no one at fault except herself, but it was more satisfying to blame the dumbass wannabe frat boys at their college residential hall. 

    Neither of them wanted to go, but it had been whispered into every ear in their hall, and soon it became one of those things that if they didn't go, Carlie would be complaining about missing out on something crucial to their college experience. That and Randy told them they needed to engage with the party atmosphere more and have fun. Except Grace's idea of fun was binge-watching her favourite television shows late into the night with a bowl of potato crisps. 

    But she supposed she did end up having fun last night. She and Randy won a game of beer pong against two law students, and everyone loves knocking down a law student's ego. 

    Sighing, Grace Avery forced herself to stand up. "I have to get ready," she told Carlie, sounding like it was the worst possible thing to do▬and right now, it sure felt like it. "I promised Randy I'd meet him at the Coffee Bean before we go to our lecture this morning."

    Grace met Randy in her first-ever lecture. There was a special bond with the first person you chose to sit down next to on the first day, stepping into a lecture hall awkward and not knowing a single soul. Randy had sat down next to her, and when they found out they were pursuing the same troublesome degree with its troublesome dying career path, soon their conversations turned into what they wished to do as journalists, and then into school unions, activism and Randy's father who was an editor at the Daily Bugle. That had been one of the few times the universe had decided to have Grace's side for once because it was through Randy's father that she managed to get her internship. 

    The only thing that motivated Grace to get dressed and leave her dorm with such a hangover was the promise of getting Randy to buy her a coffee▬and it was the best coffee on campus, too. 

    Randy was waiting for her in the common room on the ground floor, and Grace arrived with only a minute to spare for their meetup time since the elevators on her tower somehow moved slower than sloths. 

    She didn't understand how he managed to give her that bright grin and look as though he had the best night's sleep, because he had gone to bed even later than her. 

    "You look ..." Randy's grin fell at her scowl the moment she walked up in front of him. "Charming." he decided in the end and she rolled her eyes, accepting the arm he threw over her shoulders.

    Randy was very tall and slim with a wide happy smile, dark curly hair and a heart of gold. Sweet, determined and always thinking of others, no one could match Randy Robertson in his selfless duty. He might just be the nicest person in the world. 

    Grace walked with him out of their residential hall, pressing the button so the door would open and stepping into the brisk morning hair▬and if the stupid Spider-Man theme song hadn't woken her up, that most certainly had. She hunched up immediately and pulled her down jacket tighter around her, hiding her chin in her scarf. "I look like I need a coffee, and then I might just sleep through Dawson's lecture."

    "Same," Randy tugged her closer, enough to make her stumble▬knowing her balance was off and doing it on purpose. "Are we sure he isn't secretly a robot?"

    "I'm pretty sure a robot can be programmed to have more emotions than him."

    "Damn. Well, I'm gonna probably spend the lecture making more rally posters," he shrugged and briefly waved to a student he knew passing by. "Wanna try and get as many people on board as we can to get the union to support, you know? I'm sick of the prices we pay for accommodation."

    "You know Carlie and I will be right there with you," Grace promised and Randy smiled.

    "Yeah, I know."

    "Maybe I can write a column about it," continued Grace. "Publish it for the student paper. What else am I gonna do if I'm not sleeping in Dawson's lecture?"

    Randy shook his head, chuckling. "Not even a coffee in and you're already making plans. Gotta love that about you, Avery. Carlie not joining?"

    Grace made a face at that, scoffing as they made it to the centre of campus. "After last night? No way, she has to rot in bed for at least another hour before getting up."

    The E.S.U. Campus, even early in the morning, was alive with students and teachers. Hidden in amongst the high-rises and busy streets in the middle of Manhattan, Empire State University was always the centre of action, energy and very stressed college students. There was a mixture of contemporary and old, with pristine science buildings and musty humanity lecture halls that still looked as though they hadn't been refurbished since the 19th Century. But it had heart, and it had character. The heart of the campus is located in the shadow of the library and all of the E.S.U. banners were the Coffee Bean. One of the few, but most definitely the favourite, on-campus cafe with the best coffee, the most delicious pastries and even the most desirable milkshake or two. Nearly every university student came here to hang out before, during and after class alone or with friends, to study or to just chat. And from here, they'd take their coffee and their food onto the lawn near the fountain and eat in the rare bit of sunlight they'd get.

    Halloween decorations were still up even though the holiday itself passed a few weeks ago now. Since Randy was so tall, he had to duck underneath low-hanging Dr. Strange and Captain America shield fairy lights. Staff at the Coffee Bean were predominately all students, and there wasn't a day where they didn't walk in and Randy recognised someone. 

    Today, it was, "Maddie! Look at you!"

    Maddie, an Australian studying a psych major abroad with a keen interest in creating a double degree through criminology lectures. Usually a light brunette, now she was supporting a pretty blue bob. She shared a few of their literature and writing classes. A bright grin donned her cheeks. "Hey, Randy!" she started putting in their usual orders without asking. Noticing Grace, she nodded. "Hey, Avery. You guys want the usual, cows' milk?"

    "You bet," Randy glanced at the options in the display. "And one of those pastries, too." He fished out his phone. "If I'm gonna suffer through Dawson's lecture, I'm gonna need some sugar."

    "Hmm, me too, I need to stay awake," Grace agreed, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Except I want the chocolate croissant, pretty please," she grinned. 

    "Also the most expensive," her best friend whistled lowly to himself as he paid for their coffee and food. "Are you trying to wash my spending money clean?"

    "No..." Grace said slowly, teasing as they moved to an empty spot within the cafe nearby to wait for their order. "Now, I would never do that." She grinned at him and Randy scoffed, shaking his head. 

    He looked down at his phone, and there were a few moments of silence between them as they waited before Randy let out another low whistle. "Ooh, look at Spidey go."

    Grace arched a brow and shuffled in close to frown down at his phone. "What?"

    Randy showed her the playback of the clip, and she watched Spider-Man stop a runaway truck seconds before it was about to crash into pedestrians and an oil tank crossing the traffic lights. "Just this morning▬literally a block from here. How crazy is that? Dude has to be stronger than the Hulk."

    She made a face at that. "Okay, I wouldn't bet on that if it comes up in trivia this Saturday. And it's not that impressive."

    "It's not that impressive?" Randy couldn't believe her. "Are you▬girl, are we watching the same video?"

    Grace backtracked. "I mean, yeah, it's impressive, but I just▬He's not my favourite superhero. He's no Captain Marvel, and besides, if I liked him, I would just be kissing my internship goodbye. I'm pretty sure Jameson can sniff out Spider-Man fans like some bloodhound."

   "True," Randy relented. 

    Truth is, Grace had nothing against Spider-Man. She had nothing against any superhero who focused more on the people they were saving instead of the people in the high-rises who funded their fancy superhero trips. When it comes to it, Spider-Man would help get a cat from a tree or walk an old lady across the street rather than join a superhero team like the Avengers who were rarely ever in town▬let alone actually existing these days. Everybody loved a superhero. However, no matter how much sense Randy tried to drill into her head about it, Grace Avery couldn't trust a man who hid his face. She couldn't help it. Truth was incredibly important to her. She lived by promises of truth, it was one of the reasons why she wanted to be a journalist. Hiding behind a mask, even if one was stopping crime and saving lives, never settled well with her. 

    Their orders were ready, and once they picked them up, Randy turned to Grace with a little smirk and his coffee held out. She smiled and tapped his with her own for small cheers▬a little ritual of theirs every Monday. "Ten bucks you'll fall asleep in Dawson's lecture."

    "Ten bucks he'll start the robot apocalypse."

    "Good thing Spider-Man's a block away then, huh?"

    Grace snorted an amused scoff and started leading the way to their lecture hall. "Shut up."

    "I'm just saying!" Randy laughed before following her. 

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   a/n: first chapter is outttttttt lets gooooo.

   heading back to uni tomorrow so i applaud myself for getting this out before i will most likely disappear again.

   (we are in america in this fic so here i am being a responsible 21 year old and say NO UNDERAGE DRINKING!!!!! 👀 safe environments guys!).

     man writing this chapter was hard, writing this book is gonna be tough, and perhaps i have already predicted the plot of spider-man 4 but here we go hahaha. 

     a reminder for everyone to calm down about nina not being in this chapter cos y'all promised me to not be immature about this and about grace. nina will appear, but she's also not the main oc okay? 

    also i know in the mcu the raft is somewhere else but whatever idc its in new york where it's supposed to be. 

     be prepared for plot holes, bad gramma mistakes, more plot holes and a sad attempt at trying to be linear about planning a story cos i'm too adhd for that shit so we're going with the flow.

    (minimal editing).