he makes a fair argument, but she still wonders about the perhaps symbiotic relationship between super heroes and their enemies. can one exist without the other? when heroes rise, would not naturally someone rise in opposition? would criminals remain the everyday garden variety if heroes weren’t around? her head tilts in consideration, pointer finger idly flicking the corner of the folder he’d given her.
“ i’m equally as critical — if not more-so — of spider-man’s enemies, if that’s your concern. they want nothing but power and do nothing but destroy. you think i should run a story about them?”
the adage if it bleeds, it leads, has some truth to it. it’s not a half-bad idea. his offer is extraordinarily tempting, as well. “ to be clear: i’m not the sort of reporter whose words can be bought. ” there’s a pause as she gives him a pointed look; the integrity of her writing is something she takes very seriously.
“ but it’s actually not a half-bad idea, parker. i’ll do some digging and see what i can put together. i suppose you can tell your guy he’ll have a little break. ”
her thoughts are already racing on where to start with an investigation, but she does snag one of her business cards from her desk, scribbling her personal number on the back before extending it to him with a smile. “ if he decides on that interview, let me know. even if i do give him a hard time, i’d love to hear his side of the story. ”
what came first: the villain or the hero? peter had a biased opinion of course — he'd argue that villains prompted the need for heroes, that without someone who wanted to make a difference and put an end to these things, the world would be overrun with those who went unchecked. law enforcement was supposed to keep these types in check, but the integrity of a broken system was only as strong as its weakest links — which was to say that the system was far too broken to work anymore. those like spider-man could fill in the gaps and actually give people hope, not wage a war of fear.
— but he's getting ahead of himself in thought now!
“ well, yeah! i mean — where do these guys come from? what are they after? because it sure isn't spider-man. i mean — not initially. he just. . . gets in the way. you know, trying to stop them. ” jaw presses to the left, lips pursed, brow raised as he looks her over with consideration, arms crossed over his chest. maybe he's getting too personal with this, too obvious about which side he's on ( if such a thing can really exist ). really, peter's just getting tired of spider-man constantly getting berated from all sides of the journalism spectrum ( with the exception of the few independent papers that glorify him, sometimes to a level of embarrassment ).
“ no, no! yeah! totally get it! just consider it a, uh. . . free suggestion. from an anonymous civilian. ” lips curve in a wide grin, taking the business card with a quick stuttering nod. “ yeah, yeah for sure! next time i run into the guy, i'll uh, run it by him. sorry i can't get you an interview with one of the baddies, but uh, ya know, probably for the best. not that i don't think you could handle yourself, just — ” lips snap shut again as peter reconsiders his words before continuing. he flashes the business card again in a silent acknowledgement before tucking it away into his pocket. “ i'll uh, i'll let you know what he says. ”
as much as he wants to call her right back and wow her with the good news that spider-man himself is happy to oblige, peter knows he needs to wait. but patience is not exactly a word that's well practiced for him; he teeters a fine line between impatience and forgetfulness. for april, unfortunately, the latter ends up taking over in that return phone call ( though it's probably for the better ).
it's a week before he finds her business card again, and a lucky chance that he'd turned his pants upside-down before tossing them into the laundry where it had fluttered out and onto the floor. it isn't as though he hadn't thought about his proposition; it was more that other events had taken priority, like not getting his ass handed to him. he barely waits for her to answer before words come spilling out again. “ heyyy april! it's peter — parker. sorry i didn't get back to you sooner, but i finally got the okay from the man himself if you want to do that interview still! ”