The old butler—who had once served Norman Osborn, then Harry Osborn, and now Felicia Hardy—listened to their inquiry and spoke with confusion.
The moment the words left his lips—
Mary froze in shock.
Gwen's mouth fell open.
Hawk's brows rose sharply.
Well now.
So Peter had figured it out—why struggle when you could find a rich girl? Dump Mary and elope with the Black Cat instead?
No.
Wait. In the comics—not the movies—there was a run where Felicia Hardy and Spider-Man were an item.
So strictly speaking, this wasn't even "elopement."
But still—
Unacceptable!
Peter hadn't even broken up with Mary yet. That was two-timing. That was scummy.
And Hawk, whose whole persona was built around loyalty, couldn't help but sneer inwardly at his friend's behavior.
At that moment—
Gwen caught sight of the sly grin twitching on her fiancé's face. She jabbed her elbow into his side.
Hawk snapped back, meeting her glare.
Gwen then quickly pulled Mary—still in shock—into a reassuring hug, and asked the butler, "Did Peter or Felicia say where they were going? What for?"
The butler shook his head. "No. But they left in a hurry."
"In a hurry?"
He nodded. "Yes. But you can call Miss Hardy's satellite phone. She used it just yesterday."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "Could we?"
Mary stayed silent.
The butler smiled and said, "Of course." He excused himself to fetch it.
Gwen gently guided Mary to the couch. "You heard him. They left suddenly. Something urgent must've come up. Peter doesn't have a satellite phone—that's why he couldn't reach you."
A fake friend would tell Mary to dump him.
But Gwen was a true friend.
So she defended Peter.
As Peter's best friend, Hawk said nothing. Gwen was Mary's bestie and his fiancée. If he joined in, it would look like the two of them were ganging up to shield Peter.
That wouldn't do.
Mary, though, shook her head. "But Felicia had one. He could've borrowed hers."
Gwen froze, then glanced at Hawk for help.
He caught her look and was just about to step in when—
The butler returned, phone in hand. "It's connected—"
Before he could finish, Mary snatched it up. Two sentences later, Felicia's voice came through. Calmly, Mary said, "Put Peter on."
A pause.
Then Peter's voice came across the line.
Mary walked away toward the window, speaking quietly.
Gwen and Hawk exchanged a glance, then looked to the butler.
He looked just as puzzled. "When I called Miss Hardy yesterday, Peter told me he'd phoned Aunt May. Didn't you check with her?"
Gwen blinked. "Aunt May? She said Peter never called."
Hawk chuckled. "That's not what she said. She only said she got home late, and the next day she and Mary didn't see him in his room."
Gwen turned to him, shocked. "You mean Aunt May hid it? Why?"
"Who knows." Hawk shrugged.
At least Peter wasn't missing. That was what mattered.
As for why he'd only called May and not Mary—that was his business.
Gwen fell quiet, eyes drifting back to Mary by the window. She stood there with the phone, speaking to Peter without any hint of panic, worry, or relief. Only calm.
And Gwen suddenly had a bad feeling.
Moments later, Mary ended the call, returned the phone with a polite smile. "Thank you."
The butler took it back.
Mary turned to Gwen. "Sorry. False alarm. Peter's fine. Let's go."
Gwen stared at her, wanting to press, but only nodded and stood. "Thank you for your time," she told the butler.
Hawk echoed the thanks.
The butler smiled and saw them out.
…
The yellow Corolla sped away from Osborn Manor.
On the way back to Mary's house, she finally spoke.
"Peter didn't vanish. It was Felicia.
"She called him that day. Said she'd found an old videotape while cleaning the manor—something tied to Richard and Mary Parker. She thought it might hold a new lead."
"His parents?" Gwen murmured.
Hawk, hands on the wheel, glanced at her through the mirror. "That's what the reports said—the plane vanished over the Pacific. But they never found the wreck."
In the real world, no wreckage meant death. Case closed.
But this was Marvel's world. If there were no bodies, there was always a chance.
He even smirked, thinking he should've asked Mephisto about it while in Hell.
Mary continued.
Richard and Mary Parker had both worked for Osborn.
Back then Norman wasn't bedridden yet. He bankrolled their research into the spider serum, meant to cure his "illness."
Of course, they hadn't known the "illness" was a curse from a Hell-witch on the Osborn line.
In their experiments, a trace of their DNA contaminated the serum—mutating the spider. That was the key.
Which meant: their serum only worked on Parkers.
For anyone else, it was poison.
When they realized, they told Norman, asked him for a second spider—the "golden spider."
He revealed its origin. So the Parkers left young Peter with Ben and May, and boarded Osborn's private jet to chase the trail.
And never returned.
The plane vanished. The Parkers disappeared.
Norman stashed the golden spider in his museum. Years later, Peter got bitten.
"And the tape?" Gwen pressed.
Mary nodded. "It had the coordinates of where they found the spider."
"Where?"
"Peter didn't say. Said it was an Osborn trade secret."
"…Fine." Gwen accepted it.
But she frowned again. "Then why didn't Aunt May tell us? She knew how panicked we were."
Mary shrugged. "Maybe because I'm an outsider."
Her smile turned bright, almost defiant. "It doesn't matter. Peter's fine. That's all that matters now, isn't it?"
Gwen fell silent.
…
Half an hour later, Mary hugged Gwen goodbye and went inside her house.
Hawk drove on, Gwen beside him, lost in thought.
"Hawk."
"Yeah?"
"I think Mary's going to break up with Peter."
"Yeah." Hawk's tone was flat, but he nodded.
He wasn't blind. Her reaction spoke volumes.
Gwen frowned again. "But why would Aunt May hide it? Even if she didn't want us to know, she could've told Mary. Why not?"
Hawk thought for a moment, then smirked.
"Maybe… she doesn't approve of Mary either."
"…"
(End of Chapter)
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