It was 10pm at night and Peter couldn't focus. His mind kept coming back to the murders. The police are still investigating and informing the civilians on the serial killer's 'pattern'. It was already established that the killer preferred to kidnap the victim and then kill them, after what the police assumed was torture, based on the previous victims' autopsy reports. One of his victims Nakita Dowling (Nuh-keeta DOH-ling), a woman in her mid 20s, was saved when a witness by the name of Samael Stein showed up causing the killer to run away. Stein was a shy nerdy looking man, who looked practically petrified in the photo of him shown on T.V, most likely due to recent events. He felt bad for Stein and Dowling but at least Ms. Dowling was saved. She's currently resting in the hospital and under guard in case the killer decided to snatch her away again.

Peter really wanted to go to Brooklyn today to scope out the area and look for potential spots the killer might attack. He also decided that he wanted to visit Ms. Dowling at the hospital in Brooklyn. He felt an obligation to check on her... And maybe she had something more to say.

Peter decided to stick to dark clothing - a hoodie and ripped jeans. He debated on wearing his old Spider-Man costume but decided against the brightly colored and loud apparel. Plus, Tony would probably check TheSpiderWatch on Twitter for reports if he went out or not. He walked towards the door and called out to May.

"Hey May? I'm going to take a walk to clear my head."

"Oh, can't sleep?" May sympathized.

"Yeah, I guess the stress is just getting to me..."

"Okay sweetie, but stay safe and OUT of Brooklyn."

"Of course, May. Don't worry, I'll be safe."

Peter internally cringed.

~~~

Peter had just walked out of the convenience store with a box of chocolates and a cup of ramen for later and quickly started to make his way towards the hospital in which the patient was currently at. He kept his hood down so he would seem less suspicious, wearing black was already enough.

Peter used his phone's GPS to find the hospital he heard on the news. He didn't really know Brooklyn as well as he knew Queens.

After a while of fast-paced walking, he went through the front entrance of the hospital to be greeted by a friendly receptionist. Peter gave back a wide grin, making himself look ten times younger than he was.

"Hello, young man! What can I do for you today?"

"Hi! I saw the news today about the serial, um, murdering... And stuff. I wanted to drop off some chocolates for Ms. Dowling to enjoy when she wakes up!" He said, genuinely holding up the box of chocolates he bought earlier.

"Oh! How nice! Of course...?"

"Peter." Peter replied not wanting to give away his name.

"Peter! It's so nice of you to think about someone besides yourself, which is what most you millennials do nowadays." Peter narrowed his eyes and looked down.

"Yeah..." Peter said through gritted teeth and a fake laugh.

"Room 22. Just take the elevator straight and on your right to floor 2."

Peter nodded his head with a smile and quickly made his way to the elevator, pressing the floor number.

Peter made his way towards the room checking the numbers on each door.

18... 19... 20... 21... 22!

He slowly opened the door expecting to see Ms. Dowling sleeping or doing something.

Instead, Peter sucked in a deep breath. His spidey senses were tingling, informing him to be cautious.

"Uhf!" Peter softly let out as he bumped into a gurney being run out the door by a man wearing glasses and odd looking hair. His face was covered with a surgical mask, which is what most doctors use... I think...

"Sorry. Excuse me." His voice was deep, grave, and very unforgettable as Peter would soon learn. He didn't smell of hand-sanitizer or bleach, which is what people who worked at a hospital usually smelled like. At least that's how he remembered May smelling like right when she comes home from her shift as a nurse at the nearby Queens hospital.

He unusually smelled like a... Butcher's shop? And raw meat...?

"Um, are you the, uh, doctor?"

"Yes, I am. The patient needs to go into surgery, please move aside."

"Oh! Okay, I am so sorry." Peter said as he quickly moved out of the way.

Huh.

Peter opened the room's door and set the chocolates down on one of the tables. Peter closed the door and leaned on it.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Peter?" Peter opened his eyes and looked around, his eyes landed on a man with curly brown hair and a wide lopsided grin.

"Jake?"

"Peter! Hey man! What are you doing all the way over here?"

"I'm just here to see Ms. Dowling." Peter replied trying to keep a straight face. Don't give anything away. Don't give anything away. You got this, Peter. Jake can't know.

"Oh, you know her?"

"No... I just felt bad for her, so I dropped off a box of chocolates."

"Really? God, your too nice for your own good." Jake laughed. "She's sleeping right now, though."

"No, the doctor just took her in for surgery." Peter said, puzzled.

"What? She just came out of surgery! Why-?" Jake said frantically opening the door to confirm if Peter was right or not. He closed the door abruptly, knowing he had screwed up.

Suddenly the doctor walked by, this time without a surgical mask.

He walked into the room and came out immediately, looking completely baffled.

"Where's the patient!?"

"Y-you took her into surgery? I just talked to you!" Peter said frantically. What the hell is going on? Why does he sound so different?

"I don't remember having any sort of conversation with you. She just came out of surgery and should be resting."

"Shit!" Jake quickly ran to the security room with Peter following closely behind.

Jake opened the door and leaned into the cameras.

"Detective Peralta, nice to see you again?" A member of the security team said, sounding more confused than happy.

"Sorry, guys. A patient has been kidnapped. Look for some suspicious behavior. They couldn't have gone far."

Peter was on the verge of panicking. He was completely silent during his inner turmoil. This is all my fault, I should have known. The dude was so suspicious, my Spidey sense! What's wrong with me?

Peter started to calm down, taking in deep breaths to do so. I should do something.

He opened his eyes and tuned out everything, listening for any suspicious noises. He heard random voices and normal sounds when suddenly he zeroed in on the sound of a car beeping and the unmistakable squeak of a gurney. He furrowed his eyebrows and shouted without thinking.

"He's in the garage!"

Jake looked at Peter before pulling up the footage. He cursed and swiftly ran out once more.

Peter narrowed his eyes and followed soon after. He was much faster than the average person and had made it down the stairs right when Jake came out of the elevator. He ran a little ahead of Jake towards the garage.

"It's the black sedan!" Jake shouted.

Peter looked ahead to see the car  still sitting in the parking lot. Weird.

He dashed to the car and peered inside.

"It's empty." Peter muttered.

"What?" Jake said, loudly wheezing. He was very out of breath.

"What'd you say?" He shouted.

"There's no one inside the car!" Peter shouted back.

Jake groaned and lightly threw his badge to the ground (he didn't want to break the precious masterpiece).

"Dammit! Why can't I do anything right!?" He pulled at his hair and shouted in vain.

Peter rushed to his side and shook his shoulders.

"You didn't do anything! It was my fault!" He said, at the verge of crying.

"Oh okay, if you say so." Jake said immediately. "Let's go back inside, Pete."

Peter blinked and nodded his head, not expecting that response.

"Also, what gave you the bright idea to chase after the culprit? Who do you think you are? Spider-Man?"

Peter smiled slightly at the question before coughing and keeping a straight face.

"I'm sorry, dude."

"It's okay, bro. But never again. Got it?"

"Yea..." Peter said muttering. "Can you not tell my aunt I was here. She didn't want me in Brooklyn but I really really wanted to give Ms. Dowling, uh, chocolates. I took an Uber to the hospital! So, I was safe. I promise... Please just don't mention it to her, she's already stressed enough as it is." Lies. He hadn't taken an Uber, but since he's Spider-Man, did he really have to? He couldn't exactly tell that to Jake.

Peter found it was easier to lie nowadays. All he had to do was speak and whatever he was saying would sound more believable than it actually was. A few months ago, he would be a complete, stuttering mess.

The stronger the desire, the easier it is to let go of things that really matter. Like honesty.

He sighed and looked down.

"Fine. But only because I trust you." Jake said pointing a finger at him.

Peter breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

"Let me at least drive you home?" Jake suggested. "We can finally catch up!"

Peter smiled. That sounds great.

"That sounds great, Perry."

"Don't call me that!" Jake was never fond of Peter's nicknames for him. They weren't as badass as he would like.

~~~~

They sat in Jake's car in silence. Both of them didn't really know what to say. Jake was trying not to think of how he would get fired. Or what was happening to that poor innocent women.

Peter couldn't help but think it was his fault. He had all the right evidence to be suspicious of that man but just couldn't think properly when he needed to the most.

"Can you not tell the media my name? I-I don't want the attention."

"Sure, kid. I'll just use witness protection as an 'excuse'."

"Thanks, Jake." Peter dully replied, still feeling dejected from the previous events.

"Hey, kid?"

"Yea?" Peter said looking up.

"I just wanted to say that it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. Honestly, it's mine for not staying on guard. I just really wanted some pudding. I bet he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her." Jake groaned in frustration. How could he have been so stupid?

"Don't beat yourself up, Jake. It's not healthy."

Jake hummed in response.

"You talked to him, right?"

Peter nodded his head.

"We might need you to come in once in a while to identify any suspects. By voice, ya know?"

"Really? Wow, okay."

"Did you see his face?"

"No, he was wearing a surgical mask."

"Oh." Jake tsked.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Peter nodded his head and stayed silent, deep in thought. After a few minutes, he spoke up.

"Honestly, I don't really understand criminals. Especially murderers. It's so much harder to do bad than good. Why would you go out of your way to be a criminal? It takes up way too much effort and time. And then you would have to not get caught and somehow hide from the police? And if you do get caught, you end up rotting in jail and eating disgusting prison food. I mean, get a life!" Peter ranted in exasperation.

Jake scoffed with a small smile.

"If only everyone had your mindset, Peter. Our world would be a much better place."

~~~~

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