The night was too quiet. Mary Jane Watson never trusted quiet nights. They always meant some kind of bullshit was about to go down.
So when she was sitting in her apartment, scrolling through her phone while waiting for her nails to dry, she should've known.
She glanced at the time. Midnight. Gwen hadn't texted back after the Thanksgiving disaster, but that wasn't unusual. Gwen was a lot of things Spider-Woman how can she not be MJ wasn't stupid , possibly emotionally unavailable, definitely allergic to proper communication. MJ sighed, tossing her phone onto her bed and stretching.
"Guess it's just me, myself, and my incredible ability to look hot without trying." She smirked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, admiring the way her silk pajama set hugged her in all the right places. "God, I'm so hot, it's exhausting."
She was halfway through admiring herself when she heard it.
A thud outside her window.
MJ's eyes narrowed.
"If that's Parker trying to be a Peeping Tom, I swear to God—"
BOOM! The window exploded inward.
MJ barely had time to throw up her arms as glass shattered across the room, the freezing night air blasting through her apartment. She coughed against the dust and debris, heart pounding, but not screaming. MJ Watson does not scream unless you wreck her dress or owe her money.
And then she saw him.
The Green Goblin.
He stood in the remnants of her window frame, glider hovering, pumpkin bombs dangling from his belt like some kind of twisted holiday decoration. His mask reflected her stunned face back at her as he stepped inside, slow and menacing.
MJ tilted her head, unimpressed. "Oh. It's just you."
The Goblin's head tilted in return. "You don't look scared."
She scoffed, brushing glass off her arm. "A creepy old man in a dumbass outfit breaking into my apartment? This is, like, the third weirdest thing that's happened to me this month." She crossed her arms. "What, you here to give me a villain speech? Gonna monologue about power and legacy and how you're totally not a lunatic?"
Norman Osborn's patience had left the chat.
"You should be terrified," he growled, stepping closer.
MJ inspected her nails, unimpressed. "Yeah, I would be, but you're giving major midlife crisis energy right now. Like, what's next? Are you gonna start quoting Shakespeare at me?"
His gloved fingers flexed, a sign of barely restrained rage.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of."
MJ snorted. "Bro, you literally got your ass kicked by a teenage girl. We both know your capabilities are questionable at best."
Norman Osborn saw red as he shook in anger.
In a flash, he lunged, grabbing MJ by the throat and lifting her off the ground. MJ gagged slightly but managed to keep her composure, gripping onto his wrist as he held her high.
She coughed. "Jesus—personal space, man."
Goblin's mask hovered close to her face. "You think you're clever, girl?"
MJ, barely winded: "I know I'm clever. You're just mad because you don't know what to do with a woman who has a functioning brain."
Norman threw her against the wall.
MJ bounced off it like a rubber ball, groaning. "Okay, ow. Rude much."
He lifted a pumpkin bomb. "Enough games."
MJ squinted at it. "Cute. You make that in a craft class?"
Norman, growling, finally knocked her out.
Gwen was pacing her apartment.
Her mind raced a mile a minute. Thanksgiving had been a disaster. Norman knew. She knew he knew. But she didn't know what his next move was, and that was what had her so wound up.
Her symbiote suit, wrapped around her body like a second skin, pulsed faintly in response to her anxiety. The red and black sheen flickered across her hands as she flexed her fingers.
Her phone rang.
Her heart stopped.
She grabbed it off the counter, glancing at the unknown number. Every nerve in her body screamed at her not to answer, meaning it could only be her bestie MJ.
She answered.
"Ah, Miss Stacy. I was hoping to see you at your best."
Her blood ran cold.
Norman's voice was calm, measured, like he was discussing business over coffee.
Then she heard it.
MJ's muffled voice, still absolutely done with this shit.
"YOU STUPID OLD FREAK, YOU THINK KIDNAPPING ME IS GONNA MAKE GWEN GIVE A SHIT?! SHE DOESN'T EVEN TEXT ME BACK HALF THE TIME."
Gwen nearly dropped the phone.
Norman chuckled. "She's got quite the mouth."
MJ, still in the background: "AND QUITE THE BOOT, TOO. COME OVER HERE AND UNTIE ME, SEE WHAT HAPPENS."
Norman sighed. "Do hurry, Miss Stacy. I'd hate for our guest to overstay her welcome."
The call ended.
Gwen stood frozen, her grip on the phone so tight it could crack.
Then she moved.
Wanda was already waiting in the hallway.
She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, smug as hell. "Took you long enough."
Gwen glared. "He has MJ."
Wanda's smirk didn't falter. "Then let's go get her."
Before Gwen could argue, Natasha and Talia appeared behind her.
Natasha, calm as ever: "Hope you weren't planning on doing this alone."
Talia, grinning ear to ear: "It would be a real shame if that Goblin found out just how bad he is at fighting women."
Gwen stared at them, then sighed. "I don't have time to argue, so let's go and kick some questionable villains ass and save MJ, but definitely in that order."
MJ was tied to a metal beam, dangling from a construction site high above the Brooklyn Bridge.
She was bored.
"You know," she called out, swinging her legs, "if this is your big evil scheme, it kinda sucks."
Norman, standing on his glider, clenched his fists. "You're really pushing your luck."
MJ grinned. "I love pushing my luck."
He moved closer. "You think this is a joke?"
MJ did not blink. "I think you're a grown man throwing a tantrum because some teenage girl keeps kicking your ass."
Norman was going to explode.
Then a voice echoed across the skyline.
"LET HER GO."
Gwen landed on the scaffolding, mask on, stance ready.
MJ sighed dramatically. "Took you long enough, dumbass."
Gwen gritted her teeth, whispering to herself. "I swear to God, MJ—"
Norman threw a pumpkin bomb at her.
Before it could hit, Wanda appeared out of nowhere, hitting it with the Chitauri Scepter.
Norman barely had time to react before Wanda whipped the scepter forward, launching the bomb straight back at him.
It exploded right in his face. Again.
He stumbled back on his glider, coughing out smoke, charred and absolutely livid.
MJ cackled from above. "Damn, dude, you're always the butt of explosive jokes, huh?"
Norman screamed in frustration.
Gwen, Natasha, and Talia landed beside Wanda, weapons drawn.
Norman looked around, realizing he was surrounded by a team of very pissed-off and attractive women with attitude.
He growled. "Is all you care about women?"
Wanda blasted him with chaos magic.
"Yes."
Gwen, Natasha, and Talia all blushed.
MJ, watching from above, screamed with laughter. "YOU HAVE IT SO BAD FOR HER, SPIDER-WOMAN."
Gwen threw a web at MJ, quieting her down as if such a thing is possible, then she yelled at MJ. "SHUT UP."
Norman, losing his mind, yelled: "YOU ARE ALL INSANE."
Talia grinned, countering Norman saying. "And you're outnumbered."
The fight began.
Join my patreon today to read up to 349 in advance your support is my inspiration join for only to 3 to 5$
patreon.com/everstone