Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 2

Chapter 6

Perched on top of a streetlight, Peter observed as Wilson Fisk was finally led out through the front of the building, a police officer at each side. Even once the Kingpin himself had been taken down, it had still taken much longer than he'd hoped to get the mess cleaned up, between helping wounded officers get to EMS and rounding up all of Fisk's men. As a result, it was already just ten minutes shy of eleven in the morning already, and it wasn't lost on Peter how this was likely to affect things at his other job. Nevertheless, seeing his longest running enemy, the man who had caused so much trouble in this city since even before he'd arrived on the scene being hauled off by the authorities was perhaps the most satisfying sight he'd ever seen in his career thus far.

As Fisk and those escorting him neared the police truck, the man turned his head, shooting a glare Peter's way, a harsh scowl overtaking his face. Deciding this was as good a time as any for what he hoped was his final goodbye, Peter raised two fingers towards his forehead, giving a so long style salute before firing a web and swinging upwards, admittedly taking a little joy in Fisk's inflammatory response as he yelled behind him. Releasing his web, he landed gracefully on a nearby rooftop, where Matt had been waiting for him.

"Was that really necessary?" the man asked.

"Absolutely," Peter replied firmly but jovially, turning to face the scene once again. "After all he's put both of us through for years now, I had to enjoy it at least a little bit. Don't tell me you don't feel the same way?"

A thin half-smile crept over his ally's face.

"Maybe a little," Matt finally replied, his face returning to its usual stern expression as he continued, "but the circumstances behind this still bother me. I know we were getting close, but this whole thing still feels out of left field."

"What are you saying?" Peter questioned. He didn't need his spider-sense to detect that the wheels were turning rapidly in his ally's head right now. Even so, it took Matt a moment before he spoke up once more.

"It's just hard not to wonder if another party was behind this somehow."

"I mean, I guess that could make sense," Peter said. "It's not like Fisk doesn't have a ton of enemies who would love to take his place. At the same time, you and I have been watching the criminal underworld very carefully the last several months, so I'm not sure how we would have missed another player throwing themselves into the mix."

"Maybe," he said. "Something just feels off about all this."

"Maybe, maybe not," Peter replied. "In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if you're right, knowing our luck, but how about, just for today, we take the win and worry about the rest of it later?"

"I guess so," Matt said. "I guess it couldn't hurt to be a little more positive like you, for a change."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Peter replied. "Anyway, I better get ba..."

He hadn't even had the chance to fire a web yet when Peter's phone started ringing. He glanced at it, discovering that it was Mr. Fireheart. Hurriedly, he answered, stepping off to the side.

"Mr. Fireheart! I'm so sorry, sir; I just had an emergen..."

"Relax, Peter," his boss replied. "I saw the news; we all did. I told the board that you had a relative working near the chaos, and you needed to check on them and make sure they got out safely."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Peter said, letting out a deeply relieved breath. "I promise, I'm on my way back right now."

"I'm afraid that won't do you any good regarding your presentation," Peter replied. "The board was on a tight schedule today, so I'm afraid they've already left."