The Bite of the Spider: Spider-Man

Chapter 17

The walls of J. Jonah Jameson's office were simply covered in portraits of Spider-Man, all of them being the front pages he's published over the last few years labelling the hero as a menace. Y/n tapped her pencil against her notepad, lightly humming to herself as she looked at the many pictures around her. Spider-Man was everywhere, taunting her. Her heart raced every time she thought of that Christmas day. She had seen Spider-Man many times after that, but the kiss he had given her was never fully addressed. Was it a one time thing? Did he feel the same way as her? Should she even feel this way? She doesn't know his name or what he looks like. Was she crazy for being so head-over-heels for the hero of New York?

"L/n. L/n!"

Y/n blinked, and jumped in her stance as she looked to see Jameson looking at her with a raised eyebrow. One of his editors, Robbie Robertson, was standing beside his desk with a concerned look on his face. Robertson was always a very kind man, and was one of the only people who could battle Jameson about the Bugle's opinions on Spider-Man. "Miss L/n, are you alright?" Robertson asked, and Y/n realized it was Jameson that had called her before. He hated calling people twice, and she immediately felt a rush towards her cheeks in embarrassment.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Yes, thank you, Mr. Robertson. I'm fine. Mr. Jameson, was there something you needed?"

"What are you good for if you have to ask that?" Jameson snapped, taking his cigar from his lips with a snarl. "What do I even pay you for?"

"You, uh... don't pay me, sir," Y/n carefully responded, doing her best not to look down at her shoes.

Jameson seemed confused at first, looking to Robertson and asking, "We don't?" Robertson shook his head, although seeming a little offput about it. Turning back to her, Jameson let out, "Right! And you'll do good to remember why!"

"I certainly do, Mr. Jameson," Y/n winced with a faux laugh. Yes, she wanted to be a reporter more than anything, but Jameson was simply the most awful man she had ever had to work with, apart from her own father.

Jameson opened his mouth to speak again, then looked to Robertson and said, "What was I saying before?"

"The new masked guy," Robertson reiterated with a light sigh, holding up a slightly blurry photo.

"Right! There's someone new in the city, another mask wearing menace," Jameson spat the words, taking the picture in his hands. "Swords crossed on his back. That can only mean one thing! The man in this photo is a homicidal maniac!"

Y/n crossed to Jameson's desk quietly, knowing he wouldn't see her anyway. Looking down at the photo, she saw a tall man in a red suit and mask with what appeared to be katanas crossed on his back. He almost looked like he was posing for the camera. A hand on his hip and a pointed finger where his mouth would be. "We don't know anything about this guy yet," Robertson soothed Jameson's words. "We can't print anything about him until we know what he's actually doing here!"

"Aha!" Jameson exclaimed in a laugh, and rooted through the many photos and files on his desk. Taking a single photo from the pile, he handed it to Robertson and pointed at the image. "Look at that! He's in league with Spider-Man! Now, you can't tell me that isn't a criminalizing photo!"

Y/n's eyes widened, and she managed to strain her eyes down towards the photo. Indeed, just as he said, there was Spider-Man. He appeared to be arguing with the strange man, his hands raised in annoyance. The other man was gesturing down to something on the ground. "We don't know anything about what's happened here," Robertson defended. "We can't print anything until we have hard proof of any illicit activity."

Jameson slammed his hand on the desk in irritation. "Damn!" He looked to Y/n and said, "Go find every reporter we've got! I want everything we can get on this new vigilante."