"Something bugging you, Peter?" Victor Cranston asked as the duo walked across campus on their way to class.
Peter just shot Victor a glance, that just screamed "duh!"
"Okay, I guess better question is, what's bugging you most right now? MJ?"
"To a point," Peter replied. "But I really don't understand why Mysterio is involved."
"You think he was hired?"
"It makes sense. That's usually the pattern that happens when we get more than one villain showing up at the same time."
"Well, you know I'm always around to help."
"Yeah, but I think this time, I'm going to deal with the Peter Parker part of this problem, and not the Spider-Man."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not gonna go out looking for the bad guys. I'm gonna take care of my girl, first priority. Then, if the bad guys show up "
"We'll be there to kick their asses," Victor finished as the two slowed to a stop.
"Something like that. Well, I gotta head over to Ditko Hall."
"Yeah. Catch you later," Victor said with a slight wave as he turned towards his building.
He continued onward, processing the events of the weekend. It all started out simple and innocent enough, with a frat party on Saturday night. Now, it was Monday morning, and it had become a giant complex web of intrigue involving all of his friends, a few enemies, and even some painful secrets from the past.
Trying to sort this mess out was starting to give Victor a headache. No, that wasn't it. Victor looked around. Someone's here, he thought. The slight headache started turning into more of a burning sensation. This is familiar somehow. But I can't place it.
Victor looked around, trying to find the source of the pain. He saw no one out of the ordinary, just the usual mix of college students of all shapes and sizes and origins. Origin . . . That Asian kid . . . Victor thought, noticing the student walking directly past him. I've seen him. Victor stared as the boy walked past. The boy gazed at Victor, and flashed a quick smirk before his eyes flashed.
Khan! The word exploded in Victor's mind, and then suddenly, it all subsided. There was no more pain in his head, and he could no longer see the Asian student.
Victor gazed around the campus again and shrugged, continuing his walk to class.
At lunch, Peter spotted Gwen sitting by herself.
"This seat taken?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, no. Hey, Peter," Gwen replied.
"Whoa, it's only noon on Monday, and you've already got that look."
"What look?"
"The is it Friday yet' look."
"After this weekend, I'm not sure if I'm ready for the next one. Oh . . . damn," Gwen moaned. "I was totally hitting on you."
"Don't sweat it," Peter said. "No harm done. And you have an excuse."
"Ugh. Don't remind me."
"I'm guessing yesterday wasn't fun for any of us, then."
"No, it wasn't." Gwen thought for a moment. "Wait a minute, what happened with you? Last I saw you, you were leaving the party."
Peter took a deep breath. The thoughts of the past few days were not easy to digest. There was pain layered on confusion, all making for an intense mystery that Peter was not in the mood to figure out. "Yeah . . . Mary Jane wasn't really doing too well, and then some stuff went down at her place."
"Stuff went down at the party too."
"Victor filled me in. Although I have to say, even with all of that, it was still surprising to see you there."
Gwen smiled. "Can't a girl just go have fun?" she asked playfully.
Peter chuckled. "I didn't really expect to see my lab partner there, that's all."
"What can I say, I have brains, beauty, and the time to go party."
"I can't argue with that," Peter said, taking a sip from his drink. He noticed Gwen's face changing slightly. Her smile lessened, and she quickly lowered her own glass. "You okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Fine," she replied.
Peter turned to see what was going on behind him. The only thing he saw was Jason Todd approaching their table. "Hey, what's up, Jason?" he asked.
"Check it out," Jason said, gesturing to the person that was walking up behind him. "I found him this morning after class."
"Harry," Peter said cautiously. Ever since the events a few months ago, Peter had not quite been sure how to deal with Harry Osborn. His father had gone missing around the same time they all learned that he was using Harry as a guinea pig for a new drug called Oz. To make things worse, Peter had since learned that his parents were involved in investigating a substance called Scarecrow, which apparently had become an ingredient for Oz. Harry had disappeared for a few weeks, but returned for the final few months of high school. Peter himself had not seen Harry since graduation. "How's life?"
"Can't complain too much," Harry replied. "Just got back from Europe."
"Vacation?"
"Partly. Business trip too. I had been hoping to get back stateside in time for school to start, but that didn't happen."
"Will you be joining us in the spring, then?" Peter asked.
"Perhaps. Because it seems like there are a lot of interesting people here I would like to meet," Harry replied, turning his attention to Gwen.
Gwen smiled and offered her hand. "Gwen Stacy. I'm Peter's lab partner."
"Nice to hear. So, would any of you be opposed to getting together sometime this weekend?"
"My schedule's clear," Jason said.
"I guess," Gwen replied.
All three looked over at Peter.
"Pete?" Harry asked.
"I'll see. Gotta make sure I keep the grades up."
Harry laughed. "Always the bookworm, no matter how social he gets. Alrighty then, I'll see you guys around sometime."
Peter looked up from his book when he heard a knock on the door, glancing at the clock. He got off of his bed and walked to the door, opening it.
He was definitely not prepared for his visitor. Even being a superhero, he knew that all sorts of characters could show up at any time.
But a monkey in a dress shirt and tie was a little much.
"Um . . . " Peter said.
"Yes, I'm a chimp. And I talk. Gotta a problem with that?"
"No. It's just . . . shirt and tie . . . "
"What? You expected an I'm with stupid' tee-shirt?"
"Well, actually . . . "
"Okay, you got me, it was laundry day. Now, mind letting me in? I'm walking cannon fodder for a dormitory."
"I suppose," Peter replied, stepping out of the way. "Although I can honestly say I wasn't expecting a monkey to show up at my door today."
"Actually, I was looking for your roommate," the chimp said, looking around.
"He's at class."
The chimp climbed up into Peter's desk chair. "I can wait."
"It'll be a while."
"I don't really have a choice. I can't really hide out on campus too well. I'll end up in the lab within an hour."
"True," Peter said.
"So, you're Peter Parker, I take it," the chimp said.
"Oh, yes," Peter said, extending his hand. "I suppose I forgot common courtesy when you showed up."
The chimp shook Peter's extended hand. "Yes, that happens," he said, breaking the handshake, and then pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket which he used to wipe his hands. "My name is Bobo T. Chimpanzee, and I am a private investigator by trade."
"A detective chimp?"
"You know, I didn't laugh at the last hundred people that made that remark."
"Sorry. Should I call you Bobo?"
"Whatever you please. It is my name, after all."
Peter nodded. He stood, and Bobo sat, in awkward silence for a moment before Bobo broke it.
"You're Richard's boy, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?" Peter asked, not sure of what Bobo was getting at.
"Your father was Richard Parker, correct?"
"Why, yes," Peter replied. "Did you know him?"
"For a time. It was a shame that happened to him."
Peter perked up a bit. "You know was happened?"
Just then, the door opened, and Victor returned. "Um, Peter, we might have " He stopped midsentence when he saw the visitor. "-- a well dressed monkey in my chair?"
"And I can talk too!" Bobo added.
Peter quickly closed the door. "Victor, this is Bobo. He's a PI. And a chimp."
"And I have a message for you," Bobo said. "An associate of your father's sent me."
"So you know both of our fathers?" Peter asked, half mumbling.
"What's the message," Victor asked, setting his backpack down.
"The sun is shining."
"Yes, and the ice is slippery. That's the password, which should have come before this part."
"Okay, so I forgot." Bobo smiled. "I am just a chimp."
Victor and Peter both sighed.
Bobo raised a hand. "Okay, I know. You have important things to do. I know about what happened at the party. Electro and all that. But there is a bigger evil brewing."
"We sorta guessed that," Peter said. "Especially when Mysterio appeared too."
"Mysterio?" Bobo asked. "That's news."
"Khan," Victor said. "It's Khan. Dammit!"
"So you've already met."
"Yeah. He's on campus. Some kid. But all I know is that he makes me go all dizzy and my head hurts like hell. And then the bastard made me forget about it."
"Forget about what?" Peter asked.
"Whatever he did to me," Victor replied. "It was on my way to class this morning, right after we parted. I saw him, felt the pain, then it went away and I went on to class. Completely not thinking about it until now."
Bobo hopped out of the chair. "I'm sorry about that, but that's not what I was getting at, though. There's more than one agent at work here."
"Someone else is the mastermind?" Peter wondered.
"It's just unfortunate that now is when Khan has decided to resurface as well. I'm sorry boys, but your trouble just doubled."
May Parker was sitting comfortably on her couch, watching the evening game shows. It took her mind off of the emptiness of the house now that Peter was away at college. She was able to keep herself busy, joining several senior activity groups, and making a point to always have at least one meal a week with her friend Anna Watson. But all in all, her new state of life was a quiet one.
Therefore, she was slightly startled to hear the doorbell. Granted, she did have visitors fairly often, but most of them confined their visits to the daytime hours. Most of May's friends should have all been at home, enjoying their own nightly routines. And Anna Watson was checking in on Mary Jane this evening, so it could not be her at the door.
May cautiously walked to the door, trying to get a glimpse out the window as to who her visitor was. She could tell it was an adult male, but that's all she could ascertain, due to the way he was standing, and the lighting on her porch. She peered through the peephole.
"Oh, my," she whispered. The silhouette standing outside looking vaguely familiar. But surely, it can't be either one of them . . . she thought as she started opening the door.
When she finally had the door open, she got a good look at her visitor.
"Hello, May," he said. "Sorry I didn't call. Is Peter around?"
"Richard?!"
Oh yeah, this one's continued!