By Moonlight (P.P + M.J)

9. What the Hell, He's Big Now

The rest of the day, Peter felt as light as a bird. As he soared through the city, he kept thinking about Michelle. Even as he punched a thug for stealing a woman's purse, he still wore a light-hearted smile. If he had not been wearing a mask, he would've looked crazy. As day slowly turned to night, Peter fought the weariness that was slowly creeping through him. Apart from the crash, not a lot had happened that day.

He finally came to rest on the Cyclone, a roller coaster on Coney Island. He was quite fond of the spot right before the drop because he remembered watching the Vulture being captured from there. Peter silently admitted that he was somewhat proud of his achievement, even though that had dragged Liz, his longtime crush, across America. After mourning her move for maybe the longest time ever, he finally felt free of her, but not in a bad way at.

And Michelle was the one who freed him.

Who knew that he would ever like someone like the mysterious Michelle? But what exactly had even caught his attention in the first place? Was it the sarcastic wit she always carried? Her hypnotic hazel eyes that shown through her bangs? Maybe it the fact that everything she did was honest and true to herself. She wasn't fake and did nothing to mask her personality, even if she was standing in front of a superhero.

Amidst his euphoria, a strange shiver ran through his body. Looking around, something else seemed to be moving his head, pointing it in a very specific direction. Peering through the shadows that cloaked the closed fairgrounds, Peter thought he saw a figure moving around, dodging behind the various rides and standees. At first, he thought it was the night watchman or security guards, but their moves were too deliberately discreet. Watching it closely, he observed as it moved stealthily from corner to corner. There was a moment of stillness, and Peter wondered if he should do something. This mysterious person was just prowling, but he wasn't doing anything super illegal. He thought about what Tony Stark would do, but when he couldn't come with anything that didn't involve blowing something up, he decided to just anxiously await the stranger's next move.

He immediately regretted that decision when the figure broke into a sprint across the grounds, and threw themselves into the door of a fair building, where management kept the earnings of the park.

Jumping into action, Peter webbed to the nearest building and ran the rest of the way. He slowed when he came to the busted door, picking up sounds of metal clanging and rifling. He casually strutted up and leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. His silhouette cast a shadow on the opposite wall of the confined room, and Karen turned on night vision. Through the clear green hue, Peter couldn't spot his perp. There was a shelf in the room that Peter figured he must be standing behind.

Then, the shuffling went still, and Peter cleared his throat, beginning, "you know, I gotta admit, I'm sure this endeavor would have gone unnoticed if I didn't happen to be hanging around."

A gruff, scratchy voice replied, "yeah, a shame."

"So why don't you do me a favor and cut out now, and I'll let you go, provided you leave whatever you stole here," Peter offered generously.

There was a harsh laugh, and the figure, appearing to be a guy maybe a few inches taller than Peter, stepped out from behind the shelf. He was wearing all black, from black gloves to a black ski-mask. Even his eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses. On his back was a large black backpack, probably full of stolen stuff.

"How about another offer," the stranger suggested, "you cut out now, and maybe this won't get messy, eh?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be a no from me," Peter replied, straightening up in the doorway.

The stranger cracked his neck, shaking out his shoulders.

"So be it."

Remember when Ant Man turned into Big Man when Peter was fighting Captain America's crew a while back? Yeah, it was like watching that all over again.