As we get closer and closer to the area of Cunningham Park, our eyes are on the meteorite and we can see in real time the moment it comes in contact with the ground. An impact that generates a shock, strong enough to make us stop for a moment.

'If it was a simple meteorite, they could have destroyed it before it entered Earth's orbit. Why didn't they do anything? There was none of the Avengers or anyone else available to take it down, or they couldn't do it for some reason?'

As soon as we get to our destination, we see that a bunch of people have already come, hoping to see the meteorite, however there are already police officers and agents from other government agencies who have surrounded the perimeter to prevent anyone from entering that part of Central Park.

When I'm about to turn to Mary Jane to tell her it's pointless to stay and that we can go home, so I could go back alone as Spider-Man, she decides to turn and go to the one on our right, where there are the cars and vans of the agents who are guarding the place.

We stop for a moment behind one of those cars, and the moment I ask Mary Jane what she's up to, she just tells me to keep quiet and stay on watch, in case anyone sees us there. While I'm on the lookout, she checks if there's any way to get in from here, which looks like a point with less control than where the crowd was.

Not having a chance to replicate, I do as she asks me, in the hope that she abandons her idea of us sneaking in there, but contrary to what I hoped, It looks like the opportunity Mary Jane was waiting for shows up shortly after we stopped behind that car.

At one point a white van arrives and the officers who are patrolling the entrance that Mary Jane is observing, after opening the gates, they go to the driver to talk to him.

With the intention of exploiting that moment in which they are distracted, Mary Jane drags me with her to enter through that entrance. We use the space on the other side of the van to sneak in, so that we can enter without being seen by those agents because we are covered by the van.

Once we are inside, the first thing we do is get as far away from that point as possible but we both keep a calm and confident pace as we move, so that anyone who can see us there doesn't ask questions about our presence.

I have no idea how Mary Jane's plan worked, since what happened looks like a scene from a cheap spy movie. In fact, we do not even take a few steps towards the point where the meteorite is, that a group of agents stops us to ask who we were.

Concerned that we might get in trouble because we got caught, I'm about to give them an excuse in the hope that they'll let us leave after a lecture but without repercussions, however Mary Jane takes a step forward and decides to answer them instead of me.

With her hands on her hips, she complains in an annoyed tone that it is inadmissible that no one had come to greet us and escort us, and that she will surely make sure to report this unpleasant behavior to their superiors, making not only agents confused, but also me.

'She really has talent in acting...'

Another agent, slightly concerned that Mary Jane is a really important person as she is making believe, apologizes for not being there to welcome us and he explains that at the moment it is difficult to keep everything under control for them, since they have to be very careful that no unauthorized person approaches the meteorite. 

Mary Jane, remaining in the part she is playing, snorts and unwillingly accepts those apologies, then she asks them to do their job and escort us to the meteorite, However, the agent who spoke first interrupts her and asks for our names in order to check if they are on their list of authorized persons, as this is a mandatory procedure.

Although we are cornered, Mary Jane has no sign of concern.

When she hears the man's request, she gets even more irritated, complaining that we had to leave an important reception to be here, and while she is complaining about how they are wasting our time, she takes her wallet out of her purse.

She tells them that we are journalists who came here to do an article about the meteorite, then with a quick movement that prevents them from seeing clearly what it is, she shows them a card that is in her wallet, probably her document, pretending it's a journalist's badge.

At that moment, before the officers can find out that Mary Jane was lying, I hear a male voice familiar to me calling behind my back.

"Parker, what are you doing here?" 

That question was asked by Dr Bennett, one of the scientists who are part of the small team created by Dr Connors, whom I have assisted a few times since I started working as an assistant for them.

"Dr Bennet, these two people said they were journalists, do you know them?" One of the officers asks.

"Yeah, I know the kid, he works as my assistant sometimes, and if I remember correctly, you told me you worked as a photographer for the Daily Bugle, right?" He says to ask me a question.

"Yes, Dr Bennet, you remember well." I answer.

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for their presence here and I'll accompany them, you can go back to your duties."

"All right, Dr Bennet, good work." The officers say in unison and then they leave.

As they leave, I can hear one of them complaining about the fact that, although there is a list of people admitted, in the end it is never taken seriously.

Once the officers leave, the doctor turns to me and he tells us that journalists are not allowed to be here, however, since he knows me he has decided to turn a blind eye to thank me for the help I usually give him.

"You can see the meteorite and maybe take a picture, but then you have to leave right now, because even though I told them I guarantee for you, I don't have the authority to stop them from kicking you out if some big shot finds you. This is very important, so try not to get noticed and follow me like you're my shadow, okay?" He explains then he take his cell phone that suddenly it starts ringing.

"Of course Dr Bennet, thank you very much for your kindness." I reply.

"Thank you so much!" Mary Jane says after me.

While he answers the call, he motions us to leave with him and, Mary Jane, while we follow him, approaches me to talk.

"Did you see that in the end we managed to find a way to see the meteorite up close?" She says happy.

"Mary Jane, we were lucky to meet Dr Bennet, otherwise we would have been in trouble since journalists are not allowed here anyway. But I admit that your portrayal of the arrogant journalist was perfect, unfortunately it wasn't enough."

"Thank you Petey for the compliment, but I think we would have made it somehow."

"I doubt it, knowing my misfortune, it is likely that kicking us out would be the best outcome that could happen to us..." I say dejected.

"If you were really as unlucky as you think you are, you wouldn't have met me, would you? Ahah. Anyway, remember little tiger, luck always helps the bold." She says, then she braids her right arm again with my left.

Despite the curious looks that some of the people give us, Mary Jane and I continue to follow Dr Bennet, until we reach a point where a structure of a plastic-like material has been erected to isolate that perimeter.

Dr Bennet escorts us to a point outside that facility where there is a control point with computers and other machinery in front of a window from which we can see what's inside, namely the meteorite and the people in the Hazmat suit who are examining it.

"Dr Bennet, if you can't answer my question, I understand, but let me ask you anyway. It is obvious that there is a reason this meteorite was allowed to fall, and to further confirm this thing is the fact that you are all prepared for it. What is the reason for this, are you just examining the meteorite to collect data, or is there a more important reason for this?" I whisper to Dr Bennet.

The old doctor, hearing my question, reflected for a moment, then, after looking around to make sure no one could hear, he answers my question quietly, making sure that no one but Mary Jane and I could hear him.

"I'm not supposed to reveal this, but you would have known tomorrow after signing a confidentiality agreement, since I'm going to study this meteorite at the lab. I ask you for your sake to not tell anyone about this information I'm about to tell you, okay guys? You don't want to sell this information for a scoop to the newspaper you work for, trust me, going against the state in this way will ruin your life completely."

Hearing the seriousness of Dr Bennet's words, Mary Jane and I look at each other for a moment and then we turn to the doctor and we promise him we won't tell a soul about this.

"When the arrival of the meteorite was detected, there was something wrong with the first analysis that was done on it, and at some point, the meteorite that we were watching separated into other parts. One of those parts is the one you saw earlier, the others have fallen elsewhere, even outside the United States, but at the moment we still have no certainty about their positions unfortunately... In our early investigations of that meteorite fragment, we discovered the presence of biological material within it, so we're assuming that the meteorite is actually a vehicle that carried something else inside it..."

"Dr Bennet, are you telling me that there is a possibility that inside that meteor fragment there are traces of an extraterrestrial life form?"

"Possible, but there is speculation that there is something more than just tracks. There seems to be a real form of extraterrestrial life in it, primitive but organic."

I was already aware of the existence of other life forms in the universe, but still it is impossible for me not to be amazed by this revelation of Dr Bennet, as well as Mary Jane, who was not even aware of this thing unlike me.

"Extraterrestrial life forms? Are you two saying there's a chance there's an alien in there?!" Mary Jane says trying to contain her amazement, then she receives an affirmative nod from Dr Bennet to answer her question.

Following that little chat we had with Dr Bennet, we still have time to look at the meteorite a little longer and take a picture of it as promised by the doctor, afterwards we have to leave before someone catches us and Dr Bennet gets in trouble because of us.

Once we leave Central Park, Mary Jane and I walk back to Forrest Hill, this time there's no one to stop us but once we're in front of our houses, neither of us wants to say goodbye to the other and end this evening, full both beautiful and bad events, but still pleasant.

"Hey, Petey, I wanted to say that despite what happened with those assholes, I had a great time with you. I think this has been one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life so far, so thank you so much for spending your time with me."

"You don't have to thank me for that, as I told you before, I also enjoyed being with you, so I'm glad you enjoyed being in my company too."

"As exciting as the parenthesis about the meteorite was, it's a shame we couldn't continue our chat on the bench, I didn't get a chance to tell you what I think of you... Or do you not care?" She says as she looks at me provocatively.

"Of course I care..." I say slightly embarrassed, despite I suspect that this is her yet another attempt to tease me.

"Too bad I have to go home now and I don't have time to tell you... If you really want to know, maybe we can get together one of these days after school, and we can pick this up again after we buy something to renew your wardrobe. What do you say, little tiger? You mind if we see each other again, just you and me this time?"

"If we can find a day when we're both free, gladly. Hopefully there won't be shooting stars or anything else to interrupt us."

After laughing at my joke, she asks me to give her a moment my smartphone and once I gave it to her, she starts using it for a few seconds, without showing me what she is doing, after, once she has finished doing what she had to do, she gives it back to me.

On the smartphone screen I see a window with a new phone contact open, it is called "MJ♥️".

Mary Jane then tells me to send her a message now, so she could also memorize my number and, after sending her a message, which simply says "Hi", I get a few seconds later a reply to that message saying, "Hi, cutie!".

When I look up, I see Mary Jane showing me her phone, where I see that she has memorized my contact with "Little tiger🐯".

"This way we can write to each other to decide when we can meet up next time and, if you like, we can chat when we have free time." She says, seeing me a little lost, then she puts her phone back.

"Oh, yes, of course." I answer trying not to seem surprised by the ease with which we exchanged our numbers.

"Well, then I'm going to bed now. Good night, Petey!" She exclaims and then she leaves, however before she opens the door of the house where she lives, I call her.

"Hold on a second, Mary Jane, I know you don't want to talk about what happened with those men, but I wanted to tell you that if you ever want to talk to anyone about it, I am here and I will try to help you to the best of my abilities... I'm sure May can help you too if you need something, since she liked you. I mean, as I've told you, I prefer to deal with my problems on my own too, however just knowing that there is someone who can watch my back if I need to, it is a great relief for me. So I just wanted you to know that May and I will definitely be there for you if you're struggling and you don't think you can do it alone. That's it."

After my words, Mary Jane remains a moment to contemplate what I said, then she returns to me and, suddenly, she hugs me tightly.

"Mary Jane...?"

"MJ." She says firmly.

"What?"

"I prefer the people I care about to call me MJ, so I don't want you to call me Mary Jane." She whispers in my ear.

"Oh... okay." I say embarrassed.

"Come on, do it! I want to hear you call me like that, otherwise I'm gonna be here clinging to you until you do it, and if I'm gonna go to bed late, I'm gonna tell my grandma and May it was your fault, because you forced me to stay up all night."

"All right, all right... MJ." I say quietly.

Once I call her in that way, Mary Jane, or rather, MJ separates from me after a few seconds without moving away from where she is. From that position, MJ takes my face with her left hand in the area of my chin and, before I can even realize what is going to happen, she gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, my hero, I hope you have sweet dreams..." She whispers once her lips leave my cheek, then she goes inside her house, without giving me a chance to say anything.

Even after I hear MJ close the door, I stand there in front, in disbelief, while I caress the spot where MJ's lips have landed.

'Mary Jane Watson, you are a force of nature...'

***

'It went bang, bang, bang straight through my heart...'

In the meantime I'm humming the song I'm listening to through my wireless earbuds and I'm thinking back to last night, I'm swinging between buildings as Spider-Man and I'm heading towards what was once the Oscorp Tower.

When I arrive near my destination, I stop at a secluded place where I left my change of clothes before I went on my usual city patrol, and once I am back in the guise of Peter Parker, I'll run inside the building.

The reason for my impatience is that this morning, Dr Bennet informed me that there had been developments regarding the meteorite fragment and that it had already been transported to his laboratory to allow him to continue his studies on it, so I'm in a hurry because I'm dying to know what these developments are.

'Was there really an alien in there? It means that probably someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. will come to pick him up soon... Tonight there will be the auction, and, besides not knowing with absolute certainty if Black Cat will keep her word, I have not yet received any news from S.H.I.E.L.D. about my report. Nevertheless, I will not let this spoil my good mood. If they are not going to help me, I will deal with it on my own, as I have always done so far.'

The moment I get to the floor where Dr Connors and the other scientists in his group are located, I find the floor seemingly deserted. After I put on my lab coat, I do a quick tour of the entire floor and realize that there are several people in Dr Bennet's lab, which is guarded by two soldiers right now.

As soon as they see me, they approach me to ask me questions and to check the badge that Dr Connors gave me when I started working here as an assistant, and although everything was in order, They continued that interrogation thing until Doctor Martha Connors came to help me.

Dr Connors' wife had stepped out of the lab for a moment so she could welcome me and take me to where they all gathered, and after she vouched for me and escorted me to sign the confidentiality agreements with the two soldiers, She escorted me to Dr Bennet's lab.

Inside the lab, there is a group of people, both in lab coats and in business suits, who are examining something that is placed in the center of the table they have surrounded while discussing with each other.

As I approach that table with Dr Martha Connors, I see a glass box with metal coating to make it airtight and inside it there is a black liquid that I suddenly see moving by itself.

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

To ask me that question is Dr Bennet, who has positioned himself next to me, and I can only make a nod with my head to answer, because my attention is completely kidnapped by that strange liquid with a slimy appearance.

"After our meeting last night, we continued to experiment on the meteorite fragment, and when we tried to open it with a heat source, we heard a clear cry of pain. We didn't even have time to realize what had happened that this organism crawled out of the meteorite."

"Is it sentient?" I ask without taking my eyes off that liquid.

"Apart from that kind of cry of pain, it has not yet given signs of being a life-form that can communicate but it is very likely to be sentient. Also I think his state is weakened after the impact of the meteorite, so we don't know anything yet for sure and so we need further study it to understand his nature." Dr Bennet will explain.

After that brief account, I sat down with Dr Bennet to talk about that liquid, until the lab empties out and only the people who work here remain, and only now I realize that here, to admire this discovery, there isn't Dr Curtis Connors.

When I ask his wife about her absence, she tells me that Dr Connors is not here today because he stayed home since he is not very well. She advised him to take a day off and, if he feels better, he can continue working from home.

Hearing that Dr Connors is not coming today, Dr Bennet asks me if I would like to help him with his research on that black liquid and, after I have made sure that there is no one else who needs my help today, I accept with happiness his proposal.

Once it's just me and Dr Bennet in the lab, we get right to work, and every once in a while, I get distracted to look at that liquid, with a slight sadness in my heart, because if it's really an intelligent, sentient being, I'm sorry that it is receiving this treatment.

The moment Dr Bennet steps away from the lab, I approach that glass box and place my hand on it.

"I have no idea if you understand me but I want you to know that I am sorry that you are inside this container, but I hope that you understand that these are measures to allow us to understand who you are and whether you are a threat to us or not. If the reason for your arrival on Earth is not something to do with endangering the lives of the other inhabitants of this planet, I will try to take care of you. I will do everything in my power to make sure they don't abuse you or exploit you during the research they want to do, yet Dr Bennet is a good person, so you don't have to worry about him hurting you willingly. I imagine it's scary to be in a place you don't know, locked away, but I want you to know that I personally have no ill intentions, and neither does Dr Bennet. From what I understand, it looks like you're hurt, so I hope you'll be able to recover during your time here. Maybe we will find a method to communicate with you or at least understand you. So be patient, if everything will be okay, I guarantee you that soon, maybe you can be free and you can go back to your planet, okay?" I say.

I have no idea why I said those things, since it probably didn't even understand them, yet it came naturally to me to say them as I looked at that black slime, as if I could feel how it is feeling at the moment.

'Perhaps the reason I think I understand how it feels is because, the first few days after the spider bite, I was afraid to become a lab rat like this being.'

The moment I remove my hand from that case to get back to work, I realize that, on the other side of the glass I have touched, there is the precise shape of my hand created from that black liquid, and once I have removed my hand, Even that part of the liquid used to create that hand gradually recedes to return with the rest of that black slime.

"Dr Bennet! Come here a moment, something new has happened with the liquid!" I exclaim.

***

Although I would have liked to continue studying that black slime of extraterrestrial origin even beyond the hours agreed with Dr Connors for my role of assistant, tonight there will be the auction of the assets confiscated from the bad old Wilson Fisk, and if what Black Cat told me is true, I can't help but be present at that event.

At the end of my dinner with Aunt May, I'm forced to lie to her for the umpteenth time because of my double life. To ensure that she doesn't notice my absence in the house, I tell her that I immediately go to my room to study since I would have some tests these days. This way, knowing her, she will decide on her own to not come to my room, so she won't disturb me.

After we say good night to each other, I go to my room to put on my costume while I ignore Johnny's messages, which is trying to extrapolate additional information about how last night went from this morning. Once finished, I discreetly walk out the window while carrying a backpack with a change of normal clothes and other things inside, and then I start to head to the place where the auction will be held.