Jessica rubbed her sore rear and stormed off to the kitchen to make dinner, still grumbling.
Meanwhile, Jack Kadere was answering a call—from Peter.
Peter (on the phone): "Jack, something big happened! Have you seen the news? It's Harry—he—"
Jack: "Whoa, slow down, Pete. Breathe. What happened?"
Peter: "Okay, okay… it's like this…"
....
A few hours earlier — Ghost Spider Fan Club.
Harry Osborn was standing near a pile of club flyers, helping Ned with the cleanup.
"What's going on, Ned? I need to finish this and head out."
Ned hesitated, holding his phone tightly. "Um… Harry, I don't know how to say this. Just take a look…"
He passed over the screen carefully.
Harry took it—and froze.
His pupils dilated.
Wait… my billionaire dad… is a terrorist?!
On the screen was a live news feed: Norman Osborn, unmasked mid-fight, revealed as the Green Goblin. It showed him getting kicked in the face by Ghost Spider—and then executed by Black Spider.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"No!" Harry shouted, throwing the flyer from his hand.
The paper fluttered in the air like falling snow.
Right at that moment, a song started playing from one of the club speakers:🎵 "Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows everywhere!" 🎵🎵 "Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together!" 🎵
Harry stood frozen.
Was the universe mocking him?!
"Who the hell put on that bubblegum nightmare?!"
Mary Jane, who was jotting down new slogans, looked up and cringed. "Sorry! Gwen made a 'Feel-Good Friday' playlist. Total whiplash, right? Want me to skip it?"
But Harry was already gone.
He screamed again, bolted out the door, and jumped into his Rolls-Royce Phantom 88.
Peter rushed after him, catching only the last line before the car sped off:
"Black Spider… Ghost Spider… I won't forgive you!"
....
In the car, Harry was still fuming.
In his eyes, Black Spider was the murderer who killed his father—and Ghost Spider was the accomplice.
That his father had attacked Ghost Spider first?
Didn't matter. That was his dad. There was no way he could process it rationally.
His personal driver and longtime confidant tried to calm him down.
"Sir, the situation's still unclear. Let's go to the scene first."
"…Right," Harry said, trying to collect himself.
"Jessica was there too," he muttered. "Maybe she knows something."
...
Back at the club…
Ned dropped to his knees, staring at the cracked screen of the phone Harry had just tossed."My baby… my love… my pocket money!!"
🎵 "Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows everywhere~" 🎵
Peter groaned, rubbing his temples. "Mary Jane, can you please turn off the music?!"
MJ raised an eyebrow without looking up from her notes. "Peter, be nice."
Peter pointed at the speaker. "Harry just found out his dad's the Green Goblin and got murdered on live TV. Meanwhile, we've got 'everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together' blasting like it's a Pixar short!"
MJ blinked. "Okay, that's fair."She grabbed her phone. "Gwen's 'Feel-Good Friday' playlist is officially banned."
Ned stayed curled on the floor, cradling his broken phone."First Harry loses his dad… now I've lost her…"
Peter gave him a look. "Dude. It's a phone."
"She had a name!"
.....
Back in the Kadere apartment.
Jack hung up the phone and sat in thoughtful silence.As the chaos of the day replayed in his mind, a strange thought occurred to him.
Why does all this tragedy feel like a comedy from my perspective?
His internal musings were cut short by Jessica running out of the kitchen in a panic."Jack! That weird stew you made is making noises!"She kicked off her slippers, flailing.
"That's not stew," Jack said calmly. "It's fermented Greenland shark. Icelandic recipe. Very restorative."
He went into the kitchen, stirred the pot like an expert, and returned with a thermos and two bowls."This one's yours. I'll take the rest to Gwen."
Jessica leaned over and gave it a cautious sniff."Ugh. It smells like… gym socks soaked in vodka.""I know. It means it's working."
Jessica recoiled. "Nope. Not doing it. Give it all to Gwen!""Suit yourself."Jack poured her bowl into the thermos too, sealing it with a hiss.
Jessica narrowed her eyes. "You're acting shady. Cooking weird stuff for two girls to drink? Hmmm… Jack Kadere, are you trying to drug us?"
Jack blinked. "Excuse me?"
Jessica pointed an accusing finger. "I heard there are ancient Viking recipes that can make people go berserk!"
Jack let out a long sigh, then smirked.His gaze fell to Jessica's outfit—an oversized T-shirt, a frilly black mini-skirt, and a kitchen towel wrapped around her neck. Her legs, long and slender, were wrapped in jet-black stockings.
"Hmm..."He moved closer, one eyebrow raised."Jessica," he said, his voice low and teasing, "how about sleeping in my room tonight?"
"W-What!?" Jessica froze, face flushing red. She squeezed her knees together instinctively and pulled down her skirt."That's not funny! Gwen will get mad!"
Jack gave a wicked grin and gently pinched the side of her thigh."It's okay. I just wanna play with your feet~"
"Feet?!"
Jessica caught on immediately—he was messing with her.She swatted his hand and kicked his shin lightly. "Go deliver your gross shark stew already, you creep!"