Gone // Spider-Man: Far From Home [Book 4]

nineteen {Peter's POV}

"Thanks for coming with me. You didn't have to do that," I told MJ softly as we strolled down the bridge across from our hotel.

"You're welcome," she said. "Did you know they used to execute people on this bridge? They would, like, put them in a basket and drown 'em in the water." 

"Oh..." was all I managed to say. 

"Sorry," she muttered. 

"It's okay." I chuckled softly. 

"Peter, there's this thing I've been wanting to talk to you about," MJ said, stopping our stroll.

I turned to look at her with a frown. "Okay?" Upon seeing the nervous look in her eyes, I said, "MJ, I-" 

"Am Spider-Man?" 

Of all the words I thought she was going to say, those two were at the far bottom of the list. I was left completely speechless as my mouth opened and closed a couple of times. "What?" I then asked.

"That's what you were gonna say, right? That you're Spider-Man and Arya is Electric Shadow," she said.

I shook my head. "No," I told her. "I'm not Spider-Man." 

"I mean, I've been watching you for, like, a while now," she said. "It's kind of obvious." 

"I'm not Spider-Man," I repeated. "And Arya is not Electric Shadow. What would make you think that?" 

"Peter, she's Tony Stark's daughter. She has a suit similar to yours and his. You were in Washington, and you disappear out of nowhere, for no reason," she elaborated.

"No, that wasn't- I wasn't-" I rambled.

"Did you know Susan Yale thinks you're a male escort?" she told me. 

"What?" I asked, my voice higher-pitched than usual. "Of course, I'm not a male escort!" 

"Well, then, you're Spider-Man."

"No, I'm not Spider-Man, at all," I told her, my voice finally lowering in pitch.

"Then what about tonight?" she asked. "You snuck off and you fought that thing, I saw the two of you. Who else can create electricity domes like that?" 

"Thor?" I tried, but she just looked at me knowingly. "Okay, you can't have seen me because I'm not Spider-Man and Arya is not Electric Shadow. And also, on the news, they said it was the Night Monkey and Static Shade." 

"Night Monkey and Static Shade?" she sceptically asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah, that's what it said on the news. And the news never lies," I said. 

MJ rolled her eyes lightly before taking off her backpack. "Okay," she chuckled. 

"What are you doing?" I asked nervously.

"Well, do the Night Monkey and Spider-Man use the same webs?" she asked, fetching a metal object from her bag that was covered in webs. My webs, to be precise, but she couldn't know that.

"I mean, maybe," I said. "Maybe he's a Spider-Monkey, who knows?" 

"Peter, I have all the facts. Just confess you're Spider-Man and Arya is Electric Sha-" Before she could finish her question, she accidentally pressed a button on the device in her hands and it dropped to the floor, revealing a large life-like hologram of a thunderstorm. 

I stumbled back as I stared at the apparition in horror. An arm made of smoke erupted and a face followed, resembling a creature that fully consisted of smoke and thunder.

It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and I exclaimed, "What the hell was that?" 

"I don't know..." MJ breathed, looking around.