AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place during the continuity of the 1970s TV series "The Incredible Hulk", and takes place directly after the events of the two-part story "The Chinese Web" of the 1970s TV series "The Amazing Spider-Man", both of which aired on CBS.

"Sir? Excuse me? Sir?"

Peter Parker opened his eyes, awakened from his long flight on an airplane by a blonde stewardess. Judging from the empty seats on the plane, he was the only one who had yet to exit. Peter saw the stewardess who was shaking him gently by the shoulder, though the look on her face was far from friendly. His bags were already waiting for him to pick up on the aisle floor.

"Sir, the plane's been grounded for the last five minutes."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Peter said apologetically, standing up. "It's just been a long flight."

"Longer for some of us, I'm sure," the stewardess said, stepping aside. She handed him his bags, practically pushing them into his arms. "Thank you for choosing us as your airline of choice."

"You're welcome... I think," Peter muttered, grabbing his bags. He moved by the annoyed stewardess, not giving her a second glance. Peter didn't mean to seem rude, but he'd been through a lot the past few days. He had been to China, had saved the life of his college teacher Professor Dent, had his identity discovered by his friend Emily, and had stopped a corrupt corporate leader named Zeider and his lackeys. Life was never easy, sure, but for the Amazing Spider-Man, life was just a little more difficult than usual.

As Peter walked out of the plane, down the stairs, and to the airport, all he could think about was Emily. How she was back in China, how it was unlikely he'd even see her again, how they shared that kiss together before he had taken his flight back to New York...

... and that she'd seen his face when he was unmasked by a doctor that was treating him for being hit by a poisoned dart. Two things then swam through Peter Parker's mind. First, he had to rely more on his strange spider-sense power to better protect himself from danger. Sure, he'd been Spider-Man for a while now, but his spider-sense was still so strange and new for him to handle. Secondly, he really, REALLY had to find a way to make his mask less accessible. What if it wasn't a doctor who had unmasked him? What if it was one of the crimelords or petty thugs he had webbed up and sent to the police?

That's when Peter Parker noticed that his aunt, May Parker, was waiting for him at the airport. He flashed her a friendly smile.

"Aunt May?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her in a warm hug. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Ooh, it's so good to see you, Peter!" Aunt May said happily. "I haven't seen you in quite a while! How are you? How was your trip in China?"

"Oh, it was just fine, Aunt May," Peter said, walking with her into the airport. "I have a lot to tell you about."

"Wonderful," Aunt May said. "I was hoping you could come over to dinner tonight. I've invited my next door neighbor, Anna Watson, and I'd love to catch up with you."

Peter smiled at the thought of this. He had slept through dinner during his flight back home. Of course, given the quality of the airline food, Peter was sure that it was a blessing in disguise that he wasn't conscious at the time. Besides, he did miss his aunt, and nobody - NOBODY - could beat her delicious home-cooking.

"I'd love to, Aunt May," Peter said. "I need to go home first, drop off my luggage, and then swing by the Daily Bugle to check in with Mr. Jameson. How does six thirty sound?"

"Perfect!" Aunt May said. "They'll be at my home by then."

"They?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Aunt May said, "Anna Watson's bringing her niece from Florida with her. She's about your age. Her name is Mary Jane Watson. She's going to the same college as you."

Peter's smile quickly became forced. "Oh...Great. I can't wait to meet her, Aunt May."

"Oh, you're just going to love her," Aunt May said, leaving the front doors of the airport with her nephew. She wrapped her arm around his and grinned from ear to ear. "I just know you two are going to love each other."

Peter looked at the parking lot and spotted his aunt's car. He knew what his aunt was implying. A blind date. With his neighbor's niece.

If only that poison had done the job back in China...

Elsewhere, at the National Register newspaper building in Chicago, Illinois, reporter Jack McGee was seated at his desk. He was on the phone, looking at a map of New Jersey. There were three green thumb tacks stuck into different parts of the map, two closer to the other and one at the western side of a distant town. The clock on the wall across the room read 1:10 p.m.

"You're sure that there wasn't a trace of him left, Cliff?" Jack asked.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Cliff said on the phone. "The last anyone saw that Creature of yours was down at Kirby's Deli. I saw the thing trash the entire southern side of it and then it ran off into an alleyway. Four would-be robbers were left unconscious after they tried to shoot the thing."

"So, the Hulk foils some block heads' burglary plans and then it runs off into the sunset once more," Jack groaned, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. He had left again. Again. Without a trace... "Just once," Jack muttered, "I wish somebody could nail that thing's green feet to the floor."

"Well, from what I saw, Jack, he probably would've ripped the ground out from under them and kept on running," Cliff said.

Jack paused. He could easily picture that thing running off and not letting a simple thing like being nailed to the ground slow it down. Heck, the nails would likely break when they made contact with that brute's skin.

"Well, if you get anything, Cliff," Jack said, "ANYTHING at all, you call me. If I need to ask you anymore questions, I've got your phone number."

"And I've got yours," Cliff said on the other end. "Good luck, Jack. You're going to find that thing. I just know it. Goodbye."

"Yeah, sure," Jack moaned. "Goodbye."

Jack hung up the phone. He lit a cigarette with his lighter, puffed on it, and then lowered his head. Cliff Benson had been his friend for nearly three years and had just been in Jersey for the past two months. Cliff didn't believe Jack's Hulk stories. He found them to be a colossal waste of time. That is, until two days ago, when he was working the cash register in Kirby's Deli. And he saw the thing come in through the back door, and he did mean through the back door.

Jack lowered his head and looked back at the map. That Hulk was out there somewhere. He knew it was close. He wasn't sure how, but he just... knew. He could feel it, all the way down to his bones. Jack looked at every inch of the map, and took the cigarette out of his mouth. He was trying to figure out which way the Creature had gone this time.

"Hey, Jack!"

Jack turned around and saw his friend, Mark, walk over to his desk. He had a file on his desk.

"Any luck with that Hulk of yours?"

"No," Jack said. He suddenly grinned, perking up. "Why? Have you got something?"

"In a way," he said. "You want weird? You should take a look at this."

He dropped a file down onto Jack's desk and a copy of the Daily Bugle newspaper fell out of it. Jack eyed the paper and then Mark.

"You want me to read our distinguished competition?" Jack asked. "What is this about?"

"Something that's more real than the Hulk," Mark said, "and a LOT easier to find."

Jack saw the headline of the newspaper. COSTUMED VIGILANTE SIGHTED OVER CITY. To his surprise, Jack's interest was piqued. He looked at the photo and saw a familiar man in a costume of red and blue, and a whole lot of webbing sown onto its red areas. On the man's red mask were mirrored lenses that covered over his eyes.

One word escaped Jack's mouth: "Spider-Man."