Flash walked ahead, explaining all the last-minute changes to the script as they hurried along.
By the time Peter stepped back onto the stage, the play was already nearing its conclusion.
Originally, Spider-Man and Black Cat were supposed to share quite a few scenes: Black Cat stealing a jewel and being tracked down by Spider-Man; their snarky back-and-forth; the jeweler showing up to stir conflict; Spider-Man arguing with the jeweler; Black Cat chiming in between; and finally, the two teaming up to defeat the jeweler and his thugs and returning the gem to its owner.
Since this was a stage play, most of the performance relied on dialogue; the fighting was symbolic at best.
But with Taskmaster's unexpected intrusion—and Peter's sudden disappearance—Flash had no choice but to improvise the entire middle portion.
So now the plot became: Spider-Man gets lured away by the jeweler's mysterious henchman; Black Cat is overwhelmed 1-on-2; Spider-Man rushes back just in time to save her; then the duo finish the villain together.
The changes weren't huge, and Peter memorized them quickly.
When he reappeared on stage, Black Cat had already been captured and was trying—awkwardly—to ad-lib a verbal spar with the jeweler. Both actors visibly relaxed the moment Peter arrived.
From there, things went smoothly. Peter adjusted his lines on the fly, and together they somehow pulled this chaotic, surprise-ridden performance to a decent finish.
But—just as the curtain was about to fall…
The script originally ended with Spider-Man and Black Cat embracing. But as Peter held Betty in his arms, she suddenly tilted her face upward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips.
The tender sensation, magnified by his hyper-sensitive skin, shot straight to his brain.
Peter froze.
The audience erupted into whistles and cheers.
The curtain dropped.
In the dimness behind it, Betty's soft voice asked, "Peter~ are you planning to hold me like this forever?"
"B-Betty… why did you—That wasn't in the script, right?" He quickly released her, still stunned.
Betty straightened up but didn't back away. She remained pressed against him, looking up with wide blue eyes. "But you agreed to it backstage. I thought it fit Black Cat's bold, flirty personality better. And Peter… you didn't hate it, did you?"
Peter's ears burned red.
Of course he didn't hate it. Betty was the sweet, cute face of the school TV station—half the boys in Midtown dreamed of dancing with her at parties. And in that tight black catsuit, she shifted from sweet to dangerously seductive in ways Peter absolutely was not prepared for.
But… why did she kiss him? Just because he played Spider-Man? He genuinely couldn't figure it out.
"Let's go~" Betty said with a lilting smile, hugging his arm.
The soft, warm pressure against his elbow made Peter go rigid again.
He let her pull him along like a puppet.
Backstage
When they stepped off the stage, Peter immediately spotted Flash.
Flash stared at their interlocked arms—his whole expression collapsing.
Betty, his type of girl, walking away with Peter. After Peter already stole the role of Spider-Man from him!?
Peter swore he could almost see a chibi Flash in his imagination, hurling dozens of throwing knives and pinning a helpless chibi Spider-Man to a wall.
"S-so scary—" Peter muttered and sped up.
Betty blinked in confusion but followed suit, her steps quicker— resulting in even more friction against Peter's arm.
Peter felt the murderous aura behind him intensify.
"What's wrong, darling?" Betty asked sweetly.
—Just as the chibi Flash prepared his ultimate attack, a golden beam suddenly smote him from the heavens. CRITICAL HIT! 9999 DAMAGE! Chibi Flash's HP bar instantly dropped to zero.
K.O.!
In the real world, a pained scream echoed.
Peter didn't dare look back. He all but dragged Betty away.
Changing Rooms
At the dressing room entrance, Betty finally let go—she had to remove her makeup and change out of the catsuit.
"See you in a bit~" she said, wiggling her fingers in a wave.
Peter nodded like a malfunctioning robot.
He had never been this close to a girl in his life. Even with all the borrowed Spider-Man experiences in his head, he was still spinning.
Only after Betty disappeared into the girls' changing room—and Flash's agonized wail sounded from down the hall—did Peter fully snap back to reality.
He rushed into the boys' changing room, peeled off the spider costume, and inspected it carefully. Luckily, Taskmaster had barely used weapons, so there wasn't a single scratch on it—just a faint scent of body powder from the performance.
He had even mixed multiple powder brands, following the hard-won advice of Spider-Man B, to avoid anyone identifying him by smell.
After dressing in his own clothes, he strapped on the watch hiding his nano suit and walked toward the door—
then hesitated.
Should he wait for Betty? …or make a run for it?