Spider-Man and His Spectacular Friends

Chapter 10: Along Came A Tarantula

*Vrb! Vrb!*

"Hello, who is this? I'm busy," Blackie Gaxton responded in an annoyed tone over his phone while sitting up from his recliner.

'Relax pal, relax, it's me,' Hammerhead spoke over the phone. 'How is business?'

"Business? Huh, funny you should ask. After that last fiasco at Montana's bar, he fired me and dragged me to the streets. So yeh, just fine," Blackie replied in a depressing tone.

'Good, because I have a job that could make your life more a little more worth your while. All you gotta do is will you accept it or not,' Hammerhead offered. 'Your call.'

"At this point, I've hit rock bottom already, so sounds good enough," Blackie responded and accepted the offer.

'Good, I'll see you then in a while. Expect me to show any time,' Hammerhead replied back before ending the call.

—

Two days passed since the "Gwenom" incident, but nothing was totally reported about it as Peter never intended to say anything about it, much to the anxiety of Gwen's stern and stalwart father, Captain George Stacy. However, Gwen, who was miraculously quickly discharged from the hospital after recovering from a day's stay and able to attend school again, still harbors a feeling of guilt for hurting Peter and Kitty, even though they both forgave her for everything that has transpired.

"Hey there!"

Catching Gwen's attention was Kitty Pryde, still bubbly as usual with a casual greeting that's accompanied with her vibrant smile as if nothing went wrong between them.

"You alright? You look like you need a transfusion," Kitty joked sassily. "Come on, join us!"

Behind Kitty were Peter, Hobie, Bobby, and Liz, who was holding hands with Peter.

"Oh...it's fine, thanks. Um...I'm sorry for all the things I've done. I was—"

"Gwen, for the last time, it wasn't your fault. You weren't thinking straight, that's all," Peter assures.

"Ummmm...I might be in the dark about what happened, but whatever it is, surely you couldn't be the center of the problem," Hobie nervously remarked with a smile.

"Hey, we all mess up a lot, sometimes even before we could realize that we did," Bobby adds. "Take Pete for example."

"Hey whoa, dude! That's a low blow, even for you!" Peter punched his bicep hard, purposely using a bit of his Spider-powered strength in his fist.

"Awgh! Ow! That actually hurt!" Bobby screamed in agony from the sudden soreness right around his bicep, making Hobie and Kitty laugh at his blunder.

"It's all good, Gwen, come on. Hang out with us, and you won't be alone messing around," Liz offers with a genuine smile, having already forgiven her for the things she's done.

"R-really...!?" Gwen wishes to clarify, holding her tears from exploding while covering her mouth.

"C'mon, give us a chance, Gwen," Peter reaches a hand out to her.

"...Okay, Pete. You win," Gwen accepted in a joking tone while holding Peter's hand.

"Awesome! Say, wanna hang by the Silver Spoon again? I just really love their frappes!" Kitty eagerly suggests.

"I'm down," Hobie responded with a smirk.

"Gwen, wanna come with us? Or are you busy with something else again? Maybe with Dr. Connors perhaps?" Peter wonders in a slightly joking manner, since that was the common excuse she made up around him.