The next day, Jack sat in class like it was any other morning, slouched back in his chair, only half paying attention. Beside him, Gwen flipped a page in her notebook, quiet for a second — then,
"Jack, did you forget to tell me something?"
He turned his head, calm. "Don't think so. Why?"
"Reeaally?" she said, dragging it out.
Yeah. That tone meant trouble.
He glanced at her. The way she was looking at him — half suspicious, half trying not to smile — it almost made him laugh. Instead, he reached over and tilted her chin lightly toward him.
"Don't do that. I'm being serious," she said, pulling back, but there was a hint of a smile she couldn't fully hide.
He leaned back again, unfazed. "I'm not hiding anything."
She turned fully toward him, arms crossing. "The bus hijacking," she said. "The one you and Peter stopped."
There it was. George must have told her.
"…Oh. That," he said, like it had just slipped his mind.
Gwen stared at him. "Yeah. That."
"It wasn't a big deal."
"You helped stop a bus hijacking, Jack."
"Peter did," he said. "I just helped him ."
"That's not better."
"It's accurate."
She held his gaze for a second, then her voice dropped a little. "Why didn't you tell me?"
That made him pause. He looked away for a moment. "Didn't want you to worry."
She exhaled, shaking her head. "I am worried. That's how this works."
He tapped his fingers once on the desk. "It happened fast. And after… I don't know. Felt weird to just say it." He glanced at her. "Like, 'hey Gwen, normal day, almost got shot.' Not exactly a smooth topic."
She almost smiled, but held it back. "You're impossible."
"Yeah," he said. "Still here though."
She nudged his arm. "Next time, you tell me. I don't want to hear it from someone else."
He nodded, a little more serious now. "Alright. I'll tell you."
She watched him for a second, then nodded back. "Okay." A small pause. "…And maybe don't get involved in bus hijackings again?"
He smirked. "No promises."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "You're the worst."
"Yeah," he said. "And you're still here."
Then her phone suddenly rang. Gwen picked up, and her expression shifted almost immediately.
"What — okay, I'll be right there."
"What happened?" Jack asked.
"Peter apparently broke something at the basketball court. Come on."
Jack and Gwen got up and left together.
Some time ago —
Peter was watching practice from the sidelines, headphones in, not paying much attention. Then a ball flew straight at him. His spider-sense fired before he even registered it — his hand shot up and caught it cleanly.
He blinked, then looked over at the court. Flash and a few others were staring at him, visibly surprised.
"Hey, Parker — throw it back," Flash called out.
Peter walked over slowly, ball in hand, while a few of the guys kept shouting from the side. "Hey, just throw it, man."
"Here you go, Flash."
Flash reached for it — but Peter pulled it smoothly to his other hand at the last second. Flash's expression shifted. He grabbed for it harder this time, but Peter kept moving it, light on his feet, almost playful about it. Seeing Flash fail, a few guys laughed, and hearing that laughter, Flash's face changed entirely.
"Peter Parker," he said, his voice going cold.
"What, Flash — can't get it?" Peter asked with a sly smile.
A few of the others jumped in at that point, trying to take it themselves. Peter slipped past every one of them without much effort, then made a running jump toward the goal and put it through the hoop — but the force behind it was too much. Something cracked. The backboard shattered.
The whole court went still. Murmurs spread through the watching students almost instantly.
"Did Peter just do that?"
"That last jump was cool though."
"Mr. Parker." The teacher's voice cut clean through the noise.
Outside the principal's office, Peter, Gwen, MJ, and Jack stood in the hallway waiting.
"Looks like Peter's in serious trouble this time," Jack said, glancing through the small window at Peter and Ben sitting inside. "They even called Mr. Ben in."
"It must be bad," MJ said. "They've been in there over twenty minutes."
A few minutes later, the door opened and Ben walked out with Peter right behind him. "Peter, you can talk to me about anything, you know that," Ben was saying, his voice steady and calm. "I walked through your age too once." Peter didn't look like he was really listening, but Ben didn't push it.
Ben noticed the group waiting and smiled, easy and warm. "Hey there, guys. You all waiting on this troublemaker?"
MJ gave a small grin. "Yeah, Mr. Ben. We're waiting for Peter."
Ben chuckled, glancing at Peter. "Figures. Kid's never been good at keeping people waiting — guess that hasn't changed." He looked around at them, a little more serious now, but still gentle. "You know… it's a good thing, having friends like this. People who stick around, even when things get messy. Don't take that lightly, Peter."
Peter shifted a bit. "Yeah… I know."
Ben nodded, satisfied, then checked his watch. "Alright, I've gotta run. Responsibilities don't take a day off." Then, softer, just to Peter — "We'll talk more tonight, okay?"
With that, Ben left for work and the rest of the day passed peacefully.
Then, just as Jack finished up at the dojo that evening —
"Master. Peter and Ben just left the house."
"Is this the day?" Jack said quietly to himself. He didn't hesitate. He slipped into a nearby alley, and a minute later a blur flashed past from there.
At the same time, across the city —
"Peter, remember what I told you."
"Yeah, I remember. With great power comes great responsibility," Peter said plainly.
"Good. I'll be there by ten. Don't be late."
"I'll be at the library only, so don't worry about it."
With that, Peter got out of the car and Ben watched as Peter entered the library before driving away. Soon after, Peter slipped back out.
"Ladies and gentlemen — the moment you've all been waiting for! The final round — Spider-Man versus The Giant — starts NOW!"
DING DING DING
The crowd was electric, shouting and pushing against each other, the noise almost physical.
"SPIDER! SPIDER! SPIDER!"
Among the audience, Jack sat wearing a mask, watching quietly. He hadn't planned on needing it — but as he walked inside he spotted George first, so he immediately put one on. Otherwise there was going to be another whole drama.
Why is George back? Is he looking for a lead on the killer? Or checking if I show up here again?
He pushed the thought aside and watched Peter move through the fight, but even as he did, that uneasy feeling settled in quietly — like something bad was going to happen tonight.
A/N:
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