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 Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 1:32 pm
 "And what are your thoughts of Spider-Man?" asked Peter, avoiding eye contact with Evaline in case she was able to look inside and find out the truth of who he really was.
"He tries so hard to prove himself," replied Evaline. "Hard not to when you have big names like Iron Man and Captain America and even Thor. But he doesn't need to do all of that. Not heroes have to be in the spotlight all the time. Heroes can lie in the shadows too."
"You think so?" asked Peter.
"Let's just say I am quite close with a 'very good lawyer' who knows this is the case."
Peter looked over at her after hearing her obviously quoting someone else's words. He had heard that exact wording before. Then he realized who had said it - Matt Murdock, the lawyer who was going to help with all of the Spider-Man allegations he was being accused of in relation to Mysterio's death. Why was everything about this woman leading back to that time of his life?
"And what of your Uncles? Do you agree with them being considered villains?"
Evaline shook her head. "No. They were never villains. They were just ordinary men who would put into extraordinary circumstances. Fear and a need for acceptance caused them to indulge in their dark desires. No, the real villain is the ones who put them into the situation they fell into. Oscorp."
"I'm surprised you would speak so negatively of your Uncles' company."
"It was no longer my Uncles' company at the time of their demise," clarified Evaline. "Otto left long time before due to disagreements with Norman. And the board of directors ended up buying the company from under Norman without his knowledge until the day the papers were signed. They both may have still worked for the company but it was not the company it had been when it was theirs."
"You don't seem to like the new owners very well."
"You would feel the same way if someone at Stark Industries decided to let their greed take the company in a direction Tony never wanted it to go. Especially if their actions ended up mistreating the people who you loved and looked up to."
"What makes you think I would care so much about Stark Industries like that?"
"Peter, you can keep saying otherwise but I am an intelligent person. Others may see... or in this case, hear. But I observe. Tony Stark isn't just some hero to you. He meant something more to you. And you're afraid of letting others know that. There's no shame in that."
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 2:09 pm
This wasn't how he wanted his first year back after everything to go. He was lucky enough to make it into the MIT program after everything and his mentorship with Evaline had helped him greatly on his focus. He did have to give his professor credit in regards to that. Despite being an English Literature major, she did know her Uncles' work quite well - perhaps more than she was willing to admit to others. But as the year progressed, he was struggling to keep up with his school work. Now it seemed his questionable performance skills in his regular life was starting to seep into his life as Spider-Man. Having malfunctioning spider web shooters was not helping anything and his senses seem to be diminishing as he continued his fight.
"Is that all of you got, Spider-Man?" taunted the man he was facing off against.
Peter couldn't remember what the guy was calling himself. Not that it mattered. He was just one of those misguided individuals who thought it was easy to become one of the famous villains that the Daily Bugle covered.
"I was just giving you a fighting chance for a moment, that's all," responded Peter. He hoped he sounded convincingly enough but he didn't know how much longer he could go.
The man dived towards him and they once again circled around each other, trading blows. Then Peter's senses tried signaling a warning to him of danger but it came to late. One of the man's punches hit him straight in the head causing him to trip over the side of the roof wall, falling through the air towards the concrete sidewalk many stories below him. He tried to fight the blackness that kept trying to take over. He closed his eyes as the sidewalk drew closer when his web shooters once again failed to shoot any web lines for him. He felt his body lurch to a stop.
I'm dead. I'm... I should be dead? Why aren't I dead?
Peter opened his eyes and jerked in surprise when he saw the sidewalk a few feet away from him. It was then he looked down and saw a shiny metallic claws wrapped around his torso.
"Wait, what?" whispered Peter.
He felt himself starting to be lifted upwards by the arm and turned in its grasp to look at the source of where the arm was coming from. Could it be Dr. Otto Octavius was back in his world again? Did Doctor Strange's spell not fully send everybody back to their worlds and seal the gaps completely as originally believed? Could that be why Evaline was here?
"Evaline!" he gasped when he finally rose over the concrete wall of the roof of the building he had fallen from.
Standing opposite of the guy he had been fighting - who now seemed to be fighting against his flight response, staring at her with wide frightened eyes - was Evaline. Four metallic arms - like the one she had shown him during their first meeting - arched around her in an intimating matter. Three were facing the man and the fourth was setting him on his feet behind her.
"You alright?" asked Evaline, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Thanks to you."
"I wasn't completely sure if I had caught you in time. Still getting used to the images and voices in my head," said Evaline. She tapped at the chip at the top of the metallic spine on her back.
"Voices?" echoed Peter, worried that she had fallen under the same malfunction her uncle had.
"Not now," replied Evaline, turning back to look at the man in front of them. "As for you."
It was then the man finally let himself accept his flight response and tried to run away. Several of the metallic arms whipped out blocking his path and wrapped around him. Hanging in the air, the arms brought the man closer to Evaline.
"You've been a naughty boy," said Evaline, looking at him. "I think it's time I've given the police a little gift. I do owe them, after all."
"No, please, no!" exclaimed the man.
"Should've thought of that before trying to be a villain," said Evaline. Then she said over her shoulder to Peter. "Meet me at the townhouse tonight."
The metallic arms then maneuvered her across the roof and down the building. Running to the edge, he watched as she weaved her way through the skyscraper landscape towards the police station. He was at least impressed by how little damage seemed to be occurring to the buildings as the arms clinched to them.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 2:42 pm
Peter followed the butler awkwardly as he lead down the hallways to the main sitting area of the townhouse. While he had been to the townhouse before with Evaline, this was the first time the butler had been present. The butler opened the door for him and gestured to the living area.
"She will be with you shortly," the man stated.
Peter nodded in acknowledgement as he stepped inside, sensing the door being closed behind him. A warm fire was crackling in the fireplace at the one end of the room, making the armchairs placed near by look inviting.
"I hope Bernard didn't make you feel too uncomfortable."
Peter turned towards the direction of Evaline's voice and saw her coming down the stairs. She was in a rather nice dark green two-piece suit with a dark purple undershirt. He couldn't help notice the subtle nod to the Green Goblin's color scheme from it. How much was she letting herself fall into her admiration for her Uncles?
"I realized this was going to be the first time you would experience this part of the Osborn lifestyle. I hope it wasn't too awkward."
"It... it was different," replied Peter. "You seemed to be dressed up quite nice?"
"Oh, this?" said Evaline, looking down at her suit, wiping at imaginary wrinkles. Then she looked back at Peter in embarrassment. "I've had this for awhile now. I had to attend to some business at Oscorp. Gotta look the part and all, you know."
"Business at Oscorp?"
"With the passing of both Norman and Otto, the question on who was to inherit their part of the business - at least what remained anyway - was in the air. Obviously Norman's son wouldn't be an option due to his passing only a few years after his father's. Otto never had children of his own. And yet... by some miracle, someone found some paperwork that clearly outlined that everything would come to me should other expected parties be unavailable."
"And you didn't know about this plan?"
"Nope," said Evaline, gesturing towards the chairs by the fire. "Not a single word about it. Apparently Norman and Otto kept the whole secret to everyone outside of themselves. I only learned about it when Matt Murdock and his team came to me."
"Wait, I know that name."
"I thought you would."
"Why would Murdock & Sons be involved? Not exactly their usual realm of cases to handle," said Peter, perching on the edge of a chair.
"No," agreed Evaline, settling into the chair across from him. "But when Oscorp decides to file a case against me regarding my Uncles' experiments - the infamous Green Goblin and Doc Ock projects - then it becomes their area of expertise."
"That seems overwhelming."
"It can be," said Evaline. "But luckily I had a 'very good lawyer' on my side."
Peter smirked at her use of Murdock's line again.
"So you won?"
"More or less," said Evaline. "Obviously they keep trying to reclaim what they think is theirs. Like at today's meeting. But then they get reminded of who they are facing up against."
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 2:56 pm
"Guess I saw a bit of that earlier..." said Peter quietly.
Evaline stared at him and then sighed, her shoulders falling. "I'm sorry, Peter."
"Sorry?" asked Peter.
"You must have thought I fell into the same downfall as my Uncles when you discovered what I had built," said Evaline. "I assure you I don't have any intentions of doing that. I am using everything the way my Uncles would've wanted. For betterment of mankind."
"By becoming what... Lady Octopus?"
"Lady Octopus?" chuckled Evaline. "Be careful, Jonah Jameson might try stealing that for his next issue."
"I'm being serious!"
"As am I," retorted Evaline. "You might consider a position at the Daily Bugle to earn some extra cash. I know Jameson would be delighted to have someone who has exclusive access to getting pictures of his favorite topic - Spider-Man. Hell... you might even get some bonuses with photos with the other Avengers."
Peter groaned as he let his hand fall into his hands.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing. Though I'm serious about the Daily Bugle thing," said Evaline. "You're welcome, by the way."
"What?" asked Peter, through his fingers.
"For saving your life."
"Oh... yeah.... that... that was pretty close. Too close for comfort."
"Like I said back on that roof, I was still getting used to the images and voices in my head. It was first time using the mechanical arms. I'm a fast learner but still..."
"So, you decided to take a chance of saving someone's life for your first run?" exclaimed Peter, looking up at her.
Evaline pointed at him. "I'm not the one who is having difficulties with performing as Spider-Man."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Maybe not to the general public. But like I said before -"
"They see but you observe," finished Peter.
"Exactly." Evaline let silence settle between them for a moment before continuing, "What is going on inside that head of yours, Peter? You seem to be distracted more than usual."
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:01 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:41 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:44 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:51 pm
 Oh, Norman... you be gentle with Dum-E, you hear!
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:56 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:04 pm
Ugh, in another congested state again. Just an hour until I can go home and deal with it privately. xp
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:14 pm
Of course the residents decide this is the perfect time to come talking to me. Like... come on! Seriously?!
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:26 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:34 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:43 pm
 Otto wouldn't do it himself. But he would allow himself to wear cat ears on his head for Rosie's amusement.
Peter, MJ, and Ned would be responsible for putting cat ears on the mechanical arms as a joke. Otto would be furious at first until he heard the voices exclaiming joy at being included.
xd
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 4:45 pm
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