3(A/N: I do not own Spiderman or Assassin's Creed. That right belongs to Ubisoft and...is it Disney or Sony? I haven't really been keeping up. Anyway, either one of those 2).
Peter Parker was an absolute mess. Spiderman was even worse.
It was the end of summer and around 3 months since Gwen chose to stay with Harry over Peter even after they agreed to get together by breaking up with their respective boyfriend/girlfriend. That tore Peter in 2 emotionally because not only was he not getting with his dream girl but also because he didn't even have Liz (Who hated his guts now because he broke up with her) to go back to.
Peter also hadn't heard a word from them since the funeral that day. No phone call, no visit, not even a text message. Nothing. Just pure and utter silence. And even then, he didn't even know if he wanted to because seeing Gwen would drive him crazy with depression because of what happened and seeing her in Harry's arms would drive him crazy.
Mary Jane would still talk to him as usual but it just didn't make him feel better no matter what they would do together, whether it would be going out to the Silver Spoon, seeing a movie, going to an arcade (Which wasn't really her thing but she went to one and played video games with him there in a desperate attempt to do anything to cheer him up), etc. However it was all in a vain. Peter Parker was now an empty shell of a man.
Spiderman still went out and did his business. However, he no longer had any funny or snide comments to make to the villains he fought. Plus, he was still wanted for 'killing' the Green Goblin which was complete and utter shit but it didn't matter. A good chunk of the population didn't see it that way. They turned on him and in a way, he couldn't blame them. With the situation, it was hard not to think he didn't (Even though he really didn't).
That was another thing going on with Harry at the moment. He was slightly pissed off at Peter for supposedly being 'good buddies' with Spiderman with Peter constantly getting pictures of Spiderman to help out at home with Aunt May. It was purely for an unselfish reason but of course being a rich boy, financial troubles were never an issue with him.
Of course, Peter knew deep down that Harry was probably somewhat in the right when the situation drove far deeper than him being 'pals' with Spiderman. Although, even though Harry didn't know about the identity of Spiderman (As far as Peter knew), how exactly did he expect Peter Parker to 'stop' Spiderman? Calling the police wouldn't do anything. Going at him would get him beat down. However, thinking about this was all for naught and it didn't change the fact that Harry was practically no longer his friend.
So that was how life was like for the both of them now. Just one hard turn after another and it seemed nothing and no one could repair his broken heart and fill his empty soul at this point.
Peter was not looking forward to being back at school. With having to deal with Flash, Gwen and Harry being together, backlash from Liz. He could very well be looking forward to a miserable year back.
Peter went to his locker and opened it using the combination. He put his books he didn't need for the next 3 periods in his locker and put the ones needed in his backpack. The 17 year old practically slammed his locker and moved in the direction of his class.
As he turned, he slammed into another boy. Around his age, slightly taller, dark hair, kind of good looking (Not that Peter was looking...honest). They stumbled to the ground. The boy's books fell with him
"Oh god, I'm sorry" Peter said, helping him pick his books up once he regained composure.
"Oh, no worries. No troubles. It happens" The boy said, picking up his books with him.
Once they got all the books, they stood up. Peter gave him the books he grabbed.
"Thanks" The boy said, taking his books and putting them into his backpack.
"No problem...you new here? You don't look like a freshman" Peter said.
"Yeah, transfer student. Moved here recently from Philadelphia. Emmanuel England" Emmanuel said, introducing himself.
"Emmanuel England?" Peter asked, almost amused.
"Yeah, my parents didn't give me much of a chance of a social life with a name like that, I'm aware" Emmanuel said, nodding and pulling his lips in as he looked to the ground.
"Oh no, it's alright. My name's Peter Parker" Peter said.
"Peter Parker...that name's familiar...ah! You're the one getting pictures of Spiderman around the city, right?" Emmanuel asked, gaining a lot of interest now.
"Uh, yeah. That's me" Peter said, practically almost ashamed of it.
"No kidding. Hey that's really cool, dude. You know him personally?" Emmanuel asked.
"Well...somewhat" Peter said, shrugging nervously.
"Well that's so cool. Well hey, I'm actually on my way to class but maybe we'll catch up at lunch. I'll save you a seat if that's ok with you" Emmanuel said.
"Uh, yeah. That sounds great. Thanks a lot!" Peter said with a big smile. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all back at school. He already made a new friend.
"What class you headed to?" Emmanuel asked, curious.
"Uh, AP Biology. Warren. You?" Peter asked.
"You don't say. That's where I'm going. Maybe you could show me there?" Emmanuel asked.
"Yeah, sure! No problem" Peter said, grateful that he has someone to talk to besides Mary-Jane.
As they walked towards the class, a very unwelcome sight came across Peter's eye. Flash Thompson. He quickly turned to Emmanuel and instructed him to hold his hands over his face as they walked across. Emmanuel tried to ask why but Peter just insisted and Emmanuel followed suit.
Peter also sped up his pace. He was practically dragging Emmanuel to the class until a familiar voice yelled out "Peter Parker!"
The 17 year old winced and brought his hand down. He turned with his new friend alongside him to find Liz Allan, Peter's ex-girlfriend, practically stomping toward him.
She stepped in front of him and angrily hissed at him. "You've got some explaining to do and I want answers now!"
Flash of course noticed and moved towards her position in front of Peter and Emmanuel.
"There a problem, Liz. Ah, now I see. I see Parker has a new little crony. What's up? Not even your little geek squad wants to hang out with you anymore?" Flash asked with a cruel grin on his face.
"Now hold a second here, pal. Peter was just showing me to class before your little friend here just started marching towards us and barking at us for no reason" Emmanuel said holding his hand up.
Flash chuckled. "Look, because it's your first day and you look like an alright guy, I'll give you some advice: Parker is bad news. He ruins everything he touches and it's best you stay away from him"
Emmanuel shrugged. "Doesn't seem like that to me. He's been helping me out ever since I got here. He seems alright to me. I also don't think I'll be taking advice from someone with pit stains a mile wide and a breath that smells as if he's been drinking water from a toilet"
Emmanuel said this with a smirk as the crowd around them 'oooo'ed at the smack talk.
Flash glared and gave a deep sigh. "You got about 3 seconds to get out of my face before I teach you a lesson you won't ever forget, bub"
Emmanuel shrugged. "Fine. I'll just be taking Peter with me"
"Uh-uh. I'm going to teach Parker here a lesson for making my girl here upset" Flash said.
"What did he do?" Emmanuel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He...he made me so upset I broke up with him" Liz blurted out, knowing full well that wasn't true.
"He made you so upset you broke up with him...which is why you came stomping in our direction to tell us that yourself...even though you already broke up with him. Sounds to me like he broke up with you especially with that little pause you did there" Emmanuel said, not impressed with what he was saying.
"W-what?! No! That's...that's not what happened" Liz said, getting a bit flustered. She was not making a good argument for herself.
"Uh-huh. Real convincing there" Emmanuel said, rolling his eyes.
"You're nothing but a little punk, aren't you? You know what, scratch that. Your time's way up anyway. I'll be teaching both of you a lesson" Flash said.
"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if I was you, you big gorilla" An English accent came from behind Flash.
Flash turned to see someone. A guy with dapper hair, a sweater vest, tie and black skinny jeans and black loafers.
"What you're going to do is turn around and stop bothering these 2 fine gentlemen here" The boy said.
"Who the hell are you?" Flash demanded to know.
"The name's Christopher Rikkin. Friends call me Chris. My mother is Sofia Rikkin, CEO of one of the world's largest developing technology companies in the world and as of this summer, a deep investor in the NYPD. If you lay any hands on them or me, we'll have you charged with assault. Not only will we hire a lawyer that will get you the maximum sentence, you can kiss your entire future goodbye. No American football scholarships and a big fat prison sentence that will be on the front page of every job application you ever fill out. Your choice, mate. Either you let these 2 go or deal with me. What's it going to be?" Christopher said.
Flash just stared at him for a moment before sighing. He turned back to Peter and Emmanuel and simply said "These 2 ain't worth my time anyway"
Flash angrily turned back to his locker and began shoveling books sloppily back into his locker making a mess.
"What a heathen" Christopher sneered in disgust before turning to Liz.
"I suggest you go check on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid" The English boy said.
Liz just did a miniglare before walking towards Flash.
Christopher then turned towards the two.
"Sorry about that. I hate it whenever I have to pull that card but thugs like...Flash was it? I just can't stand them" Christopher said.
"Wow. Thanks for the assist, man. I like anyone that can get under Flash Thompson's skin like that" Peter declared.
"Thank you. Emmanuel, how's it going?" Christopher asked, fist bumping Emmanuel.
"No worries, Chris. Peter here was just showing me to class before we were rudely interrupted" Emmanuel said, glaring at Flash and Liz.
"So I saw. Well Peter...Parker, was it? Name's Christopher but anyone who's friendly to my friend Emmanuel is a friend of mine so you can call me Chris from here on out. A pleasure" Christopher said holding out his hand which Peter accepted gracefully and shook Chris' hand.
"Good to meet you" Peter said with a smile. This was not how he was expecting his day to go but he wasn't complaining. There were worse things that could've happened than meeting 2 cool new people.
"So Emmanuel, Peter, I see you're headed towards AP Biology? That's where I'm going. Our ways lie together it seems" Chris said.
"Well then I suppose we're all going going together then" Peter said.
"Splendid!" Chris said and stood beside Peter and Emmanuel. They then walked together to class.
The next 3 classes went pretty well, considering. Flash left Peter alone, he saw no traces of Harry or Gwen and he was getting along well with Emmanuel and Chris. Apparently they had gone to the same schools and had known each other for years before coming here to Midtown and their mothers had been good friends through the company they worked at: Abstergo since they were kids.
When asked why they transferred here, they said that their moms had business to do here for the next year or so.
So the 3 of them went on with class until it was lunch time. They put their books up and headed towards the cafeteria. When they got their food, Emanuel asked Peter if he had friends that was having lunch right now that he would like to sit with as well so they could sit together with them, Peter shifted.
"It's….complicated" Peter said as they sat down at a table. Peter felt he could speak with these people rather well so he decided to tell them about what happened with Harry and Gwen, including breaking it off with Liz to be with Gwen and Gwen picking Harry over him despite their agreement.
"Woah now. This girl asks you to break up with your girlfriend so you two can be together but blows you off once you do? That is sick" Emmanuel said.
"Well…yeah but she had good reason, I guess. Harry needed to heal and she felt she needed to be there for him" Peter said.
"Nonsense, Peter. She could have been there as a friend but she instead decides to abandon you for the summer for this guy she doesn't even like anyway while you're left all alone with no one. That's not right" Chris said.
Peter couldn't really argue with that. It was pretty unfair.
"If you ask me, it sounds like this guy Harry knew what was coming so he used his father's death as a reason for her not to break up with him" Emmanuel said as he took a sip of his tomato soup.
"You think so? It doesn't really sound like Harry" Peter said although he couldn't deny the possibility.
"I have to agree with Emmanuel, Peter. This Harry bloke sounds like he was fighting to keep what he had no matter what would make her happy. That sort of thing doesn't sit right with me" Chris said.
"Hm…." Peter said, considering that theory.
As he continued talking to them, Mary-Jane Watson was coming out of line for food and saw Peter with Emmanuel and Chris. Mary-Jane raised an eyebrow. She moved towards the table and stared down at Peter. She cleared her throat.
Peter looked up and saw the redhead staring at him.
"Oh, MJ! Good to see you. How's your first day back?" Peter asked.
"It's going well though I guess not as good as yours is going" Mary-Jane said, looking at the 2.
"Ah, yeah. Emmanuel, Chris, this is Mary-Jane Watson. My best friend" Peter said.
"Good to meet you. Emmanuel England. Yes, yes, I'm aware it's a funny name" Emmanuel said while rolling his eyes but smiling good heartedly.
"Christopher Rikkin, at your service" Chris said, taking Mary-Jane's hand and kissing it.
"Uh…yeah. Good to meet you too" Mary-Jane said, wiping her hand off. She understood he was being polite but she felt that as just weird honestly.
"So…Peter…when exactly did you meet your new friends?" Mary-Jane asked as Peter offered her a seat which she accepted.
"This morning, actually. I bumped into Emmanuel and accidentally knocked his books over. We talked actually and found out our schedules are pretty identical, really. Same with Chris here. You should have seen him this morning, MJ. He really gave Flash a talking down to" Peter chuckled, recalling the scene.
"Oh yeah, I've been hearing rumors about Flash getting told off and made a fool of. He hasn't really said much to anyone since then" Mary-Jane said.
"It was really good to see him being taken down a notch, finally" Peter said with a smile.
"So…where did you guys transfer from?" Peter asked.
"From a private school in Philadelphia where our moms did business but they both were called to New York for business so we had to follow suit" Emmanuel said.
"I see…where do your moms work?" Mary-Jane asked.
"Abstergo Industries" Emmanuel and Chris answered.
"Ah, yeah, I've heard about that company. They're the ones that make those Assassins Creed games, right?" Mary-Jane asked.
"Yeah, that's Abstergo Entertainment, a division of Abstergo Industries. It's used mainly to bring money in for their more…innovative operations" Emmanuel said.
"Uh-huh…and those would be?" Mary-Jane asked, pretty suspicious of these two.
"We're not allowed to say unfortunately. We both signed NDAs" Chris said.
"Shame...Peter, can I talk to you for a moment...alone?" Mary-Jane asked.
"Uh...yeah. Sure, MJ" Peter said. They both then stood up and went to a corner of the cafeteria where they began to talk privately.
"Peter...Are you sure about these 2? I'm getting bad vibes from them" Mary-Jane said, concerned for her friend.
"What do you mean? They've been nothing but nice to me" Peter said, confused.
"That's just it though. It's a bit convenient that they both just so happen to run into you and all of you just become such good friends all of a sudden" Mary-Jane said.
"What are you implying, MJ?" Peter asked.
"I don't know, Peter. If you think they're cool, I'll go by your word but...be careful. Ok? I just don't want you getting hurt...especially after...you know" Mary-Jane said, her eyes glowing with sympathy towards Peter.
Peter knew what she was talking about a gave a deep sigh. "I know, MJ. Believe me. I won't make a mistake like that again. I'll be fine on my own. I promise"
"Well...if you say so. I'll talk to you later...and you better call me…or else. K?" Mary-Jane asked, playfully threatening him.
Peter chuckled. "Yes, mom"
"Hush. I'll see you later" Mary-Jane said, kissing Peter's cheek and moving to another table with a bunch of her girlfriends.
Peter went back to the table that held his two new friends.
"What was that about, Peter?" Emmanuel asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Just girl stuff, you know?" Peter said, trying to put light to the scenario.
"Ah. More than that to go around for everybody for a lifetime" Chris chuckled.
"Don't I know it?" Peter asked, taking a sip of his soda.
"So Peter, you doing anything after school?" Emmanuel asked.
Peter shook his head. "No. Why? You guys doing anything?"
"We were wondering if you could show us around and maybe afterwards, we could go over to either mine, yours or Chris' house so we can do homework and hang out?" Emmanuel asked.
Peter shrugged. "Yeah, that'd be great"
"Good plan. Now let's get to eating, shall we? Lunch is already halfway over and I could eat right now" Chris said, beginning to scarf down his food.
Peter chuckled and began following suit on eating.
After lunch, they all went back to class. Unbelievably, they all had the same classes together. Peter couldn't believe his stroke of luck. What he was thinking would be a horrible, horrible day was turning out to be one of the best he had in a while.
Emmanuel and Chris also weren't these snobby little rich kids that guys like them usually were. They were easy-going, funny and just fun to be around. Peter felt like this was a friendship that had the potential to go a long while.
So of course because it was senior year, they were flooded with homework on the very first day. It was to be expected but it didn't make it any less painful. At least Peter wasn't going to go through this alone.
"So...Peter, you gonna show us where everyone hangs out?" Emmanuel asked.
"Yeah, of course. It's a good little place. People go their for milkshakes, ice cream, some food and just to spend time together" Peter said.
Once they were out of the school, they were at the said place in very little time and found a table. A waitress came by and took their orders. Peter and Emmanuel both wanted chocolate milkshakes while Chris wanted a medium sized sundae.
"So...can you believe that Chemistry homework?" Peter asked.
"Ugh. Just shoot me now and be done with it" Emmanul said, agreeing.
"Ah, it won't be too bad, lads. We'll just put our heads together and get to work on this. We'll be done in no time" Chris said.
"Ah. Mr. Optimistic strikes again" Emmanuel said.
"Well someone has to be. Not everyone can be a depressing bloke like you" Chris said, ruffling Emmanuel's hair.
Peter and Chris chuckled while Emmanuel rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, keep laughing. I'll strangle both of you in your sleep" Emmanuel said.
"Ah, big talk" Peter said, waving him off, causing the two to laugh more.
As things were going pretty well, things typically turned sour...and that proved to be no different here as two different pairs of feet approached the table where the three of them sat.
"...Peter?" A small, soft voice asked. Peter froze. He recognized that voice.
"Oh no…" Peter thought. Just as this day was going so well.
He looked up to see Harry and Gwen staring down at the trio. Then came an intense stare off between the three with each just waiting for the other to say the first word.
"...Not that this awkwardness isn't fun or anything but...you came to our table so we assume you have something to say to us?" Emmanuel asked.
"Right. I'm Harry Osborn and this is my girlfriend, Gwen Stacy" Harry said.
"Oh. Is that right? We heard quite a bit about the two of you" Chris said, almost glaring.
"How much?" Harry said, giving the same stare.
"Enough to know what we needed to know about someone like the pair of you" Chris answered.
Emmanuel nodded in confirmation. "Yep. Enough to know that you aren't really our kind of people. This is also a bit of a private affair so if you could hurry on away and let us eat and prepare our study session, that'd be great"
"I'm sorry. Who exactly are you two and how exactly do you know Peter?" Harry asked, trying to understand exactly what was going on.
"We are Peter's friend. My name is Christopher and this is Emmanuel" Chris answered.
"Uh-huh. We are Peter's BEST friends" Harry said.
"Yes. I've heard what a stellar friend you are. Ignoring him all summer, abandoning him. Friendship goals" Emmanuel said sarcastically.
"Now listen here, you!" Harry started to say before Peter interrupted.
"Guys, please. Let's not make this ugly" Peter said.
"Yes…maybe we should all calm down a bit" Gwen said.
"Yes, quite. Waitress, we'll be taking our orders to go if you please. We need to get to studying" Chris said to the waitress who nodded, placing a 20 dollar bill on the table.
"Wait, Peter….why don't you come studying with us instead. Maybe…catch up on this summer. We're really sorry we didn't call or text. It's just been…it's just been difficult for all of us the past few months. Could you please give us another chance?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, I don't think he's interested" Emmanuel said.
"Let him speak for himself" Harry said, glaring at the two.
After a few minutes of Peter staring between the two groups, Peter chose the one group that made the most sense to him.
"My house alright, guys?" Peter asked Emmanuel and Chris.
"No trouble" Emmanuel said, giving a smirk to Harry.
"Of course, Peter" Chris said, nodding.
They all got their stuff and got their drinks and ice cream and left.
"Unbelievable" Harry said, shaking his head.
Gwen could actually believe it. She honestly couldn't blame Peter for choosing them. Especially after what she did. She needed to talk to him alone so she could explain herself. She did want to be together with Peter, she just needed a little more time before fulfilling their agreement. A small tear left her cheek.
"Babe…babe, you ok?" Harry asked, noticing the tear. He attempted to wipe it off but Gwen swatted his hand away.
"Yes, Harry. I'm fine. Thanks. And you know I hate those kinds of pet names. Just call me Gwen" Gwen said.
Harry gave an annoyed look. "I bet she wouldn't mind if it was Peter calling her that"
They both just sat down and took their orders though they had to say, their appetite was quickly fading away after what just occurred.
*Later that night*
Peter, Emmanuel and Chris were doing their Chemistry homework at Peter's house and helping each other whenever needed.
Aunt May met them and described them as 'perfectly behaved young men' and such stuff elderly aunts say about people like them.
When they were done, Peter noticed something peculiar about the both of them. They both had rings on with a red cross in the middle. It wasn't anything like he had seen before from any charity, organization or anything. He figured it may have been a friendship ring or something but wanted to bring it up anyway.
"Those are some pretty fancy rings you guys have on" Peter said.
"Hm? Oh yeah, they're sort of a mark for our…group" Emmanuel said.
"Group? You mean like a club?" Peter asked, getting curious.
"Not really a club. More like a…secret society" Chris said.
"Oh…then…why are you telling me about it then? Is it a cult or something" Peter asked, getting slightly concerned.
"No, not a cult. It's just...well…Peter…we actually have something to confess. You notice how we had the exact same classes and lunchtime together?" Emmanuel asked.
"….Yeah" Peter answered, getting a little scared.
"Well…we…knew quite a bit about you already…and we requested those classes to get close to you" Emmanuel said.
Peter said nothing but those bad vibes Mary-Jane was talking about was creeping up behind him.
"You see, Peter…we know about your nightly activities or should we say….Spiderman?" Emmanuel asked with a small smile.
Peter's fear grew exponentially and got into a fighting stance.
"What? How? How do you know? Who are you people? What do you want with me?" Peter asked fanatically. It was a miracle his Aunt May had taken a nap and didn't hear anything that was happening.
"Wait! Hold on! Don't get scared, Peter. We really do want to be your friends and we want to show you we mean it when we say we mean you no harm. We just want to give you the opportunity to start a new chapter in your life. To grow, prosper, to care for your aunt and to gain new positive insights on life. Look for new ways to help your fellow man and woman" Chris explained.
Peter calmed down after a bit and lowered his stance.
"How…how do you know who I am?" Peter asked.
"Our group is very resourceful, Peter. We've known for some time. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with us and if you want no part in this, you're free to cut us out from your life and you never have to worry about us again. All we ask is for a moment of your time and allow us to show you that we are not only sincere in our friendship towards you but that we are also sincere in our concern for the safety of the people of this world" Emmanuel said.
"….What is this group you're talking about?" Peter asked.
"All in good time. Just let it be known that we must keep whatever is said in this room in this room. No one must know about us" Chris said.
"Is this some cult?" Peter asked.
"Far from it. We along with our parents are members of a group that has been around for millennia, dedicated to nothing but the protection and growth of every society on earth. The only people who know are people who are deemed worthy to understand and potentially be a part of our mission...that includes you" Chris explained.
"….I…I need time to think. I'm not sure about this. It sounds shady, honestly" Peter said.
"We understand, Peter. Just remember if you're not interested, we can just forget this ever happened and we can go back to being friends but just know we are not a kool-aid drinking cult. We are a rational thinking society with only a select few knowing of our existence" Emmanuel said.
"…Alright…I'll…I'll think about it" Peter said.
"Cool. I think we have to get home soon. We'll meet tomorrow in class. Is that ok?" Emmanuel asked.
Peter nodded. "Yes. Yes it is"
"Ok. Great. Thanks for hearing us out, Peter" Chris said.
Peter nodded, a blank stare appearing on his face.
"No problem"
With that, the both of them left the room. There wasn't really anything to be said. Peter was curious but also scared shitless. This seemed like a cult but he just wasn't sure. Was this legit or was it just one of those kind of things you hear about on the internet by raving lunatics. He didn't know…he just didn't know. He needed to sleep on it. He honestly didn't really feel like going out as Spider tonight after what just happened. He felt it was best if he just went to bed.
He did his nightly routine, brushing his teeth, changing into his pajamas and such. Aunt May was still asleep so he just picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. It looks like she was sleeping for the night. He tucked her in bed and locked the doors to the house. Afterwards, he went to bed.
Outside, there was a hooded young man from the other side of Peter's house on top of another house's roof looking into his window from a pair of binoculars. This was not ideal. He needed to get this over to his bureau immediately. If the Templars get their hands on a superhero and get him to join them, then their fight against their tyranny will only be that much harder.
The hooded young man leaped off the roof and landed in a large bush. Almost immediately, the young man reappeared out of the bush and quickly ran off into the night, like he wasn't even there to begin with.
(A/N: So what do you guys think? Something you'll want to read further into or no? Forgive me if I don't get certain details of the Spectacular Spiderman show correct. I've only seen some clips of it but I find it interesting and I LOVE Assassin's Creed [More the early years though. The recent year games are good but kinda eh]. Anyway, I wanted to write something like this for a few weeks and I had some time to spare so I figured 'why not?'. Anyway, love it, hate it, feel free to leave feedback but please be constructive in your criticism though. Remember there's a human behind this wall of text).