Chapter 87: Reading the Signs (Patreon)

Late at night, Wilson Fisk stared at the projector screen displaying an image of a clay tablet.

“So, that’s what the newly discovered clay tablet looks like,” Fisk said, taking a deep puff from his cigar. “What’s so special about it, Louis?”

Louis Wilson, one of Kingpin’s lieutenants, said gravely, “Throughout the ages, countless men have died for it, Kingpin. It’s older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. They say whoever deciphers it may learn the greatest secret of all time.”

“I’m not interested in fairy tales, Louis,” Fisk scoffed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that an ancient artifact such as this must belong to the Kingpin.”

Kingpin took another puff of his cigar. “Where is it now? How do I get my hands on it?”

“Finding it is simple,” Louis said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with a cloth. “The Science Foundation has been sending it to different universities, hoping that someone can finally translate its inscription.”

He put his glasses back on. “Currently, it’s on exhibit at ESU.”

“Good,” Fisk said with a faint smile. “It’ll be child’s play to seize it from there.”

Louis frowned. “But it’ll be heavily guarded. And then there’s Spider-Man and Arachne. You can’t even sneeze in that part of town without them crawling out of the woodwork.”

“Spider-Man?!” Fisk bellowed. “Do you think I alter my plans because of that insect?”

Kingpin neither knew nor cared much about Arachne. By coincidence, she had never interfered with any of his operations until now. Spider-Man, however, was a different matter. He had sabotaged Fisk’s operations numerous times.

“It was only through sheer luck that he escaped me last time,” Fisk said disdainfully. “I was rather hoping our paths would cross again. The next time we meet will be his last.”

Fisk turned to his subordinate. “Don’t waste time on pointless worries. Do your job. Tomorrow, the tablet will be ours.”

“Yes, boss.” Louis nodded.

Fisk left the room, changed his clothes, and headed to his private gym. Several muscular men were already exercising inside.

“It’s time for my workout,” Fisk said, taking off his robe and baring his upper body. At first glance, Fisk's massive frame could easily be mistaken for that of an extremely fat man. Judging by the expressions on the six men’s faces, they clearly thought the same. Fisk continued, “All of you come at me at once.”

“But, boss,” one of the men protested. “There are six of us.”

“That’s what they all think,” Fisk snorted. “That the Kingpin is just a jolly fat man. ‘He probably can’t even climb a flight of stairs.’ Enough chit-chat. Come at me.”

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you, boss,” the first man said before charging at Fisk. Three more charged him from different directions.

One of the two men still hanging back whispered to the other, “Make sure you drag this fight out as long as possible.”

The second looked confused. “Why is that?”

The first man said, “Think about it. There are six of us. If we beat him too quickly, we barely get paid. The longer we keep this going, the more money we make.”

The second man nodded, and the two joined the fight.

They quickly realized that something was different about Fisk today. Fisk moved with startling speed and broke through their encirclement. He drove a fist into one man's stomach, dropping him with a single blow. The man immediately tapped out.

Two more rushed Fisk from either side. Before they could reach him, Fisk grabbed each man by the neck and slammed them into each other before tossing them aside.

A man in a martial arts gi and black belt punched Fisk in the back, but Fisk felt little more than a sting and shrugged it off. Fisk spun around and grabbed a fistful of the man’s gi and hurled the man into the wall.

Another man kicked Fisk in the shin, but Fisk remained as immovable as a mountain. While Fisk’s attention was on him, the last man crept up from behind. Fisk smirked. He caught the leg of the man who had kicked him, pivoted, and hurled him into the man creeping up from behind.

The six men groaned in pain as they struggled to get back up.

“You’re all fired!” Fisk snapped. “I told you I wanted a workout. You didn’t even give me a chance to break a sweat.”

Fisk put on his robe and left the gym. Outside, Louis was already waiting for him.

“Round up a new group for my next workout. And next time, get twice as many. Perhaps they’ll give me some competition.” Fisk paused as something occurred to him. “Isn’t there a new gang in Chinatown? Something... Max Gang?”

“It’s the Axe Gang, boss,” Louis corrected him.

“Yes, them,” Fisk said. “Didn’t they say their martial artists were strong? That karate black belt was a bust. Let’s see if they can be a little more useful. Bring some of them in, too.”

“Yes, boss,” Louis said. He hesitated before continuing. “You seem particularly worked up tonight, boss. Is it because of Spider-Man?”

Louis had seen his boss fight the sparring partners before, but that was all it had ever been—a spar. Tonight, it hadn’t looked like one.

“The mere mention of Spider-Man makes my blood boil,” Fisk growled. “The next time we meet, it will be our final reckoning.”

—

Empire State University, Monday morning

‘The subway during rush hour is the worst,’ Peter thought as he walked toward ESU.

He had barely taken a few steps onto campus when someone called out to him. “Hey, man.”

Peter turned toward the voice. The guy who called out to him looked about his age.

“Aren’t you Peter Parker?” the guy asked with a smile.

“If you aren’t a debt collector...” Peter laughed. “The answer’s yes.”

“Randolph,” the guy introduced himself. “But you can call me Randy. My dad told me about you.”

“Your dad?” Peter asked, confused.

“He’s Joe Robertson, Metro Editor of the Daily Bugle,” Randy said, introducing his father. “He said one of his freelance photographers was kind of a big deal around here.”

“Big deal?” Peter laughed. “Most of the campus doesn’t even know I exist.”

“Anyway, nice to meet you.” Peter shook Randy’s hand. “If you’re Robbie Robertson’s son, you must be all right.”

“Come on, bro,” Randy laughed. “If nothing else, people know you because of your hot girlfriend. Do you have any idea how many guys envy you for landing MJ?”

Peter laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Just then, another student walked over.

“Hey, Josh,” Randy called. “Say hi to Peter.”

“Oh, it’s Peter Parker,” Josh said.

Randy smiled and made an expression to Peter as if saying, “See, I told you, people know you.”

Josh's expression turned flat. “I wanna ask you something, Parker.”

Peter looked at Josh.

“Where do you stand on the Exhibition Hall issue?” Josh asked.

“I'm not following you, Josh. What issue?” Peter asked, confused.

“Dude, have you been living under a rock?” Josh scoffed.

“Guess I’ve been, uh... a little out of touch lately,” Peter said.

“Since you’ve apparently just gotten back from the moon, I’ll fill you in,” Josh said. “After the clay tablet exhibition ends, the university plans to convert the exhibition hall into upscale accommodations for visiting alumni.”

Peter frowned. “But what about the students?”

“Now you’re getting it, my man,” Josh said. “Rent’s through the roof, everyone’s drowning in student debt, and there aren’t nearly enough affordable beds on campus. If you’re not from New York, just finding somewhere to live can bleed you dry.”

Josh’s expression hardened. “We’ve been petitioning the dean to turn the hall into affordable student housing. Those old grads are loaded. They can afford a hotel.”

“So, what’s the verdict?” Peter asked.

“What do you think?” Randy snorted. “They said no.”

“But not for long,” Josh said quietly. He glanced at the time. “Come on, Randy. We’ve got class.”

‘Sounds like trouble’s brewing,’ Peter thought, watching them leave.

Suddenly, two hands covered his eyes.

“Guess who?” a playful voice whispered from behind him.

“Who else could it be but my MJ?” Peter said with a smile.

“Correct answer, Tiger,” MJ said. Peter turned around, and they kissed.

They pulled apart, and Peter spotted Harry walking toward them with his new girlfriend, Liz.

“Harry.” Peter smiled and dapped him up.

“Liz,” he said, turning to her.

“Peter.” She smiled.

Peter spotted Gwen approaching in the distance.

“Hey, Peter,” she said with a smile. She was still his friend, but Peter could feel an invisible wall between them.

“Gwen.” Peter smiled back, though her distant behavior still bothered him.

‘What if—’

Peter immediately cut off the thought.

‘MJ’s my girlfriend now. I can’t think about Gwen like that.’

—

Empire State University, Tuesday morning

“The fuck is going on here?” I muttered as I saw a crowd of students gathered with signs and posters.

EXPAND WITHOUT DISPLACING

PEOPLE BEFORE PROPERTY

ESU, DO BETTER

Marko gave me an exasperated look. “Dude, this has been all over the university’s social media groups. Don’t you check them at all?”

Well, I don’t really have the time—or interest.

I shrugged.

Marko shook his head and sighed. He pulled out his phone and showed me several posts with the same hashtags plastered all over them.

#ESUHousingCrisis

#HousingEquity

#HousingIsARight

“They were at it yesterday too, but it was much tamer,” Marko said. “Today, they look ready to go to war. Something about affordable student housing.”

I gave the protesters one last look, then turned away. “Whatever.” Not my problem. Marko shrugged, apparently sharing my lack of interest.

A moment later, Marko spoke again. “By the way, you wanna go see the tablet? They’re opening the exhibition hall to students this afternoon.”

Marko took one look at my blank face and sighed in defeat. “Do you know anything that happens at this university?”

“I know when my classes are,” I said with such confidence that knowing anything else was useless.

Marko shook his head and pulled up a news article about a clay tablet.

A clay tablet at ESU? Why does this feel familiar? Is it canon?

I had a hunch what the tablet might be, but I couldn’t confirm without seeing it first.

“Sure, let’s go see it,” I said.

“Cool,” Marko said. 

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Felicia walking toward me. As soon as she reached me, she leaned in and kissed me.

“Hey, kitty,” I said as we pulled apart.

“Hey, babe,” Felicia said.

We talked for a few minutes before spotting Peter and the others sitting on the grass. We headed over to them.

No, we didn’t suddenly join their friend group.

Gwen, who was sitting with them, noticed us. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.

“Kevin,” she said, getting up. She walked over to me. “I missed you.” She leaned in and kissed me.

I could practically feel the envious glares burning holes in my back. I’d been getting looks like that around campus ever since Gwen officially became my second girlfriend.

I saw Peter trying hard not to look at us. He was clearly not over her.

It had all started a few days after Gwen came to my room that night. In the cafeteria, instead of sitting with Peter and the others, she walked straight up to us. Then she kissed me in front of everyone and told me she loved me.

Everyone’s jaws dropped. Then their attention shifted to Felicia, anticipation flickering in their eyes. They were expecting a show.

However, to their disappointment, Felicia didn’t react the way they expected. It would be wrong to say she wasn’t jealous, even though she’d already made it clear that she was okay with me having other girls. But more than anything, she seemed impressed by Gwen’s guts, as apparent from her amused smile.

I was sure Gwen had pulled that move because she knew that if she confessed during one of our regular library visits, I could just reject her with the same excuse as before: I didn’t want to come between her and Peter. So she did it in the cafeteria, in front of everyone, to burn her bridges and show me her resolve.

“You know I already have a girlfriend, right?” I asked with a smile.

“For the record, I’m not giving him up,” Felicia said with a playful smile.

“I don’t mind sharing,” Gwen said with a smile. Her eyes never left me.

Nani the fuck?!

The collective jaws of half the cafeteria practically hit the floor. Marko choked on his sandwich and started coughing violently.

Even Felicia stared at Gwen in surprise.

Gwen didn’t seem to care what anyone else thought.

If she willingly walked into the wolf’s den, who was I to turn her away? But if she wanted in, she’d have to accept the terms.

I got up. Gwen studied my expression, searching for an answer.

“This is a one-way road, Gwen,” I said, looking directly into her eyes. “There is no going back. Once you’re mine, you’re mine. And you will never be the only one.”

Several girls—and even a few guys—visibly bristled at that.

A cluster of girls exchanged wide-eyed looks. One covered her mouth, while another leaned toward her friend and whispered, “He just said that out loud? In front of everyone?” A few others glared at me with open dislike, one muttering something about “male ego” as she shook her head.

Flash, apparently appointing himself representative of the entire male student body, shot to his feet. “Say that again, asshole.”

Gwen gave me a gentle smile. “I agree.” She leaned in and kissed me again. I kept my attention entirely on Gwen as I kissed her.

Behind me, a chair scraped loudly across the floor as someone shot to his feet.

“Felicia, you still want to be with this cheating asshole?” Flash shouted as he stormed toward us. “He isn’t worthy of your love. Come back to me.”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” Marko said.

There was a dull thud, a yelp from Flash, and then silence.

Marko, my friend. I am extremely proud of you. For obvious reasons, I can’t show it right now, but that took some serious guts.

When we finally pulled apart, Gwen looked flushed but happy. Then she looked at Felicia, her expression turning uncertain. After all, Gwen had said she was willing to share, but Felicia had never said the same.

“Felicia, I...” Gwen began hesitantly.

Felicia’s expression darkened.

Gwen visibly tensed.

I rolled my eyes, sat down, and started eating. They could sort that out among themselves.

Felicia pouted when she realized I wasn’t going to play along. She turned back to Gwen, her angry expression disappearing in an instant. Then she smirked. “Welcome to the club.”

I looked around at everyone’s reactions. So much for my plan to remain Background Character A.

Peter looked uncomfortable but said nothing.

Liz looked disgusted—more with Felicia and Gwen than with me. She hid it well, but from her later actions, I could roughly guess what she was thinking. Something about Felicia and Gwen breaking some kind of feminist code or whatever.

MJ looked uncomfortable too, but her eyes glinted. The biggest block in her path was gone.

After that, Gwen started sitting with us in the cafeteria. She was still friends with Peter and the others, but she'd drawn a firm line between friendship and anything more with Peter.

MJ didn't waste much time taking advantage of the opening, and soon she and Peter were officially a couple. Not exactly a difficult decision for him, considering he'd been attracted to both girls. Still, the occasional glance he sent Gwen when he thought no one was watching told me he wasn't completely over her.

The reshuffling didn't end there. Peter and Harry started hanging out more and quickly became best friends, with Harry eventually abandoning Flash's table for Peter's.

Liz, realizing she no longer had a chance with Peter, gave up on the nerd she expected to build a multibillion-dollar company someday. Instead, she went for the safer investment: the heir to one that already existed. Soon enough, Harry and Liz were a couple too.

And just like that, despite all my interference, the two couples more or less ended up the same as in canon.

We were just chilling and talking on the grass when we saw the protesters heading in our general direction.

“Looks like the protesters are ready,” Liz said.

“You’re joining the protest?” Marko asked.

Annoyance flashed across Liz’s face, disappearing almost as quickly as it appeared. Normally, Liz, the head cheerleader, would never bother talking to someone she considered a “loser” like Marko. She considered herself far above him in the social hierarchy. In her mind, Marko should probably consider it a privilege just to breathe the same air as her. However, through a strange string of circumstances, they had ended up loosely belonging to the same extended friend group. If she’d been with her usual cheerleader and jock crowd, she probably would’ve insulted Marko just for daring to talk to her. But around this group, she couldn’t openly treat him like dirt, so she had little choice but to play nice.

Fortunately for Liz, MJ answered first. “Yeah, we were planning to join. It’s the right thing to do.”

Peter, Harry, Liz, and Gwen all nodded in agreement.

Then they noticed that Marko, Felicia, and I didn't share their sentiment.

Gwen looked at me. I shook my head with a smile.

Gwen looked troubled, but after a moment, she said, “Then we can study together in the library.”

Such a sweet girl.

“Don’t worry. You can join them if you want.”

Gwen smiled brightly and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

I might be possessive and a control freak, but I had no interest in micromanaging my girls. Letting them make their own choices was part of what made them their own people. If I tried to control everything they did, they'd eventually become little more than copies of each other.

Before anyone else could respond, one of the protesters seemed to recognize Peter and called out to him.

“Hey, Peter,” the guy called. “Come on over, man.”

Another guy beside him drawled, “If you can spare the time, Parker.”

I frowned. The passive-aggressive jab hadn't escaped me.

“Everything alright, Pete?” I asked.

“Yeah, no problem.” Peter smiled. Apparently, Peter had decided to ignore that bastard’s tone.

Peter walked over to them, and the rest of us followed.

Peter introduced us to the two guys. The guy who had called out to him was Randy, and the passive-aggressive asshole was Josh.

“We’re gonna shut this place down until we get what we want,” Josh said. “Get everyone you can and tell them to bring their friends. Once we’ve got enough people to make some real noise, we’ll march on the exhibition hall.”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, buddy,” Harry said, raising a hand.

“Yeah, Josh, what happened?” Peter asked. “Yesterday, this was supposed to be a peaceful protest.”

“Now, listen here, dude,” Josh said. “We’re done doing this the peaceful way. The university is taking the exhibition hall away from the students. It belongs to us, and we want it. And we’re gonna get it.”

“Okay, but you’re jumping ahead,” Peter said calmly. “We still don’t know where the dean stands. I checked—the decision isn’t even final yet.”

“Doesn’t matter what he says,” Josh scoffed. “We’re done listening. From now on, we do the talking.”

“From what I heard, the dean’s actually on the students’ side,” Harry chimed in. “It’s the board of trustees pushing to turn the building over to the alumni.”

As the heir to Oscorp, getting that kind of information wasn’t exactly difficult for him.

“Shut up, you fascist!” a female student among the protesters shouted at Harry. “What the fuck would a trust-fund brat like you know about struggling students?”

“Hey, come on,” Marko said, raising his hands placatingly. “We’re all students here.”

“Fuck you, fascist pig,” the female student from earlier sneered. “Who the hell are you to tell us what we can and can’t do? You’re just another privileged asshole whose family profits off this city while students sleep on couches. Don’t pretend we’re ‘fellow students’ when people like you are the reason we can’t afford housing.”

Marko went still. His fists clenched, but he said nothing. Maybe he didn’t want any trouble.

My jaw tightened. That bitch had not only insulted my best friend but also his family—a family I considered my own. Just as I was about to step forward and put that bitch in her place, someone grabbed my hand. I looked at Felicia.

“If you do it, you’ll only get yourself into unnecessary trouble.” Felicia smiled. “Leave it to me.”

I thought for a moment, then nodded. Her smile widened as she walked with catlike grace toward the female student. Something about the way she carried herself made the students instinctively part to let her through.

“What do you want, bitch?” the girl demanded, though her bravado suddenly seemed forced.

Felicia gave her one look and backhanded her across the face. The girl cried out and fell to the ground.

“Damn!” Marko and I exclaimed at the same time.

Felicia crouched beside her and tilted the girl’s chin up. “Next time, think twice before you insult one of my friends.”

She stood and walked back toward us.

“Thanks, Felicia.” Marko gave her a grateful smile.

“That’s what friends are for,” Felicia said with a smile.

“That bitch just—” one of the guys started forward. He and several other students started toward her.

Marko and I blocked their way. “You don’t want to get suspended for starting a fight right before your big protest, do you?” I asked with a smile, cracking my knuckles.

“Forget it,” Josh said. “We’re not fucking up the protest over this.”

The others hesitated, then backed off.

Look at that. Asshole or not, the guy knew how to keep his people in line.

I’d had enough of their bullshit, so I picked up my bag to leave. As expected, Felicia and Marko did the same. Gwen actually picked up her bag, too.

“They’re not worth it,” Gwen said with a smile, giving Marko a small nod.

Even Peter and the others joined us.

“Hey, where are you going?” Josh called after us, as if the confrontation had never happened. “We have enough signs for everybody.”

“Anyone can paint a sign,” Peter said quietly. “That doesn’t necessarily make them right.”

“Then leave,” Josh snapped. “You’re all too chicken to stand up for what’s right.”

We ignored the yapping dog behind us and kept walking.

—

Even without Kevin and the others, the protest’s numbers barely took a hit. More than half the campus was already involved.

Even major news outlets had gotten wind of the protest and sent reporters to the university to cover it.

Everyone was watching to see how the protest would unfold.

Including the Kingpin.

In his office, Fisk watched the news coverage in silence as protesters filled the screen.

“Louis,” Fisk called.

“Yes, boss.”

“I believe I’ve found our opportunity to steal the tablet,” Fisk said. He took a slow puff from his cigar, a dark smile spreading across his face.

“We move as soon as it gets dark.”

*********************

[Author's Notes]

Can you tell which tablet it is?