The Kingpin, nicely dressed in a tuxedo, stands besides the bed of his ill wife, Vanessa, who still lies unconscious and is supported by a life machine. Rose interrupts Fisk, informing him that the man auditioning to be his “fist” is waiting for him. Kingpin reminds Rose that, even though he knows he is still new to this level of operation, they do not discuss business in front of his wife. After a visibly frightened Rose apologizes, Fisk warns him that those roles will not be broken again, as Vanessa is an ill woman. There’s no need to fill her head with their ugliness.
Elsewhere, in a dreamworld…
Standing near a swing, a girl with red hair asks for an explanation. Steven Grant doesn’t know what there is to explain, as “he” goes undercover. The little girl is surprised he’ll be going as the Kingpin’s hit man?!? Grant explains putting “him” in prime position will take the Kingpin down. Down down. Permanently down. The little girl reminds them this was Daredevil’s idea. Actually, Marc Spector corrects, a man named Shang-Chi thought it up. The girl knows, but it was Daredevil that came to Moon Knight with this idea of all the underworld vigilantes teaming up with a plan to take the Kingpin down together. And she doesn’t like this plan.
Grant says that Daredevil is the gun, but their boy will be the bullet. The girl dislikes the idea of creating a new persona to do it. Grant reminds her “he” has done it before. The girl recalls that, and asks Grant if that doesn’t concern him. Spector is just glad they’ll be taking the Kingpin down. This is what they’ve always wanted. He doesn’t see the problem.
The girl agrees to explain a bit about Moon Knight. Their boy, their guy, he’s a sick man. He suffers from multiple personality disorder. To the point that none of this is real. They’re all part of him. She herself, Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Moon Knight… they’re all the same person! They’re all him and now they want Moon Knight, with his history of fragmented psychosis, to create another persona? They want to create a killer. A hit man. And she’s surprised that doesn’t worry the two men. Marc points out they’re only doing it to take the Kingpin down. The girl fears what’s going to happen if this new personality becomes the dominant personality.
Grant doesn’t think the girl should be talking like this. Spector agrees, as he can hear them. The girl again says he is her! And she thinks this is too dangerous for them. It will kill them all. Grant shouts at the girl to stop it. Spector claims that nothing else matters but to take down the Kingpin. Nothing! The girl tries to calm them down, wanting to know the name of this new killer is going to be.
Fisk Towers, the parking lot…
A costumed individual, wearing a black uniform with a facial mask and green gloves and holding nun chucks in his hands, introduces himself as Ronin. An interviewer wants to know what Ronin does, to which he answers: what needs to be done. “Uh-huhm” the Kingpin smirks. He wants Ronin to prove himself. Ronin begins by beating up the Kingpin’s bodyguards, with great ease at that. When he’s finished, he looks at the Kingpin. Smiling, Kingpin says this isn’t what he had in mind, to which Ronin apologizes.
Kingpin asks Rose how Ronin checked out. Ronin reads from a file that Ronin’s real name is Marc Spector, an ex-Navy Seal. He’s the product of a Gulf War experiment gone wrong. He worked for Roxxon under the name Paladin until the company fell apart. He checked. To this, Kingpin asks if Roxxon was as big an idiot as he appeared to be, but Ronin replies that he doesn’t get paid to gossip. He gets paid to act. Kingpin likes that answer. Ronin wants to know how he has to prove himself. “Spider-Man,” Kingpin grins. Ronin has to wreck Spider-Man’s life and bring him there. Ronin asks for an address, but Kingpin wants Ronin to figure that out by himself.
Peter and MJ’s school…
Mary Jane is making a documentary about her school, and the fact Spider-Man possibly goes there. She says that every day his name echoes through the halls of Midtown High School. The theory that this costumed figure may either go to school there, or is on faculty, does not go away. Just two weeks ago, in the very alley Mary Jane stands now, Fred Thompson, a sophomore here at Midtown High, was kidnapped by mystery assailants who mistakenly took him for Spider-Man. She goes to interview Flash on the football field outside.
Flash is kind of sick of talking about it. He is just happy to be alive. He mentions they did this poll thing on the internet… and half the world thinks he is Spider-Man, anyhow. And he might as well be. MJ points out that Flash still claims he isn’t Spider-Man. “Duh,” Flash jokes. If he was Spider-Man, why would he be sitting at school all day? MJ also asked Principal Siuntres his feelings on the growing Spider-Man controversy. The Principal explains he doesn’t know if Spider-Man is one of the students, but they’re pretty sure he’s not one of the faculty. He shows a file, adding they’ve done a thorough investigation of all faculty members and school employees. And no one who works here matches Spider-Man’s physical type. The problem is – really, it doesn’t matter if Spider-Man goes to school there.
So far most of the damage to this institution has come from the local media who keep reporting this story based on nothing but rumors! They reported it with no facts. The principal pulls a curtain open and shows MJ that outside a lot of news vans are waiting for something spectacular to happen. The principal continues on to say Flash Thompson was abducted by people who thought Spider-Man goes to school there, which still doesn’t make it a fact. And it won’t be a fact until they catch him and unmask the webslinger. Right now it’s still just a rumor. But the vans still remain, they park in the school’s parking lots, they distract and harass the students. And the principal fears they’ll keep doing it until somebody gets hurt. And he’s sure they’ll report that and pretend like they have nothing to do with it.
The principal worries about the students and families of this school every day and they take this Spider-Man situation very seriously. It cost his predecessor his job. But the truth is the principal would be proud to know Spider-Man went to school there, because he once saved his mother from an out-of-control bus. Mary Jane asks if that’s true, which he confirms. So, the principal concludes, if Spider-Man does go to this school and, if he’ll be watching this, he wants to tell him to keep doing what he’s doing. The world desperately needs good people. And the principal would be proud to hear that their school helped produce someone like him. But he can’t have chaos in his halls and can’t have children put in harm’s way. He wants Spider-Man to keep it off the school grounds. MJ ends her interview there.
Later…
Mary Jane has shown her interview tape to some people who are quite impressed by it, especially since nobody helped her with it and that she edited there. Only Jessica Jones is a bit jealous when she hears that MJ’s only fifteen years old, and will turn sixteen in a month. One of the men present welcomes Mary Jane to the Student News Network and gives her a camera. MJ is thrilled, but Jones doesn’t like it one bit.
Again later…
MJ tells the good news to Peter by the lockers and jokes, “Ben Urich… in your face!” Peter jokes MJ totally used him to get a good interview. MJ reminds Peter all the things that have been happening in her life because of Spider-Man, so she had this coming. Peter and MJ start flirting with each other, until Kitty appears from behind a corner and sees them. Peter sees her too, and wants to introduce Kitty to MJ, but she just leaves, clearly upset. MJ sighs and wonders how many times that’s going to happen, to which Peter jokes they’ve only got two more years of high school left. He hopes maybe Kitty will meet someone.
Liz and Kong show up and Liz thinks Kitty should go back from where she came from. Mary Jane tries to calm her down, but Liz calls Kitty dangerous and disgusting. MJ reminds Liz Kitty is just a mutant, not a leper. Liz is confident Kitty should stick with her own kind. Mary Jane wants Liz to stop talking out her mutantphobia in front of her because it creeps her out. Kong wants to know why Liz hates mutants so much, to which she leaves.
Outside, Ronin steps inside a bus where he puts on his costume. He activates the vehicle and drives it through the school’s entrance! The students are shocked and Peter warns everyone to get into safety.
Into Moon Knight’s head, the young girl asks what he’s doing. In reality, Ronin starts shooting around and demands a word with Spider-Man. MJ asks Peter who the villain is but he has no idea. The girl warns Moon Knight to stop because he’s going too far, but he ignores her. Peter warns the students to go to the kitchen or the football field where they’ll be safe. Ronin keeps demanding to see Spider-Man.
Kitty shows up to fight Ronin, and mentions she has been wanting to hit somebody for a week now, and he’ll do. Ronin shouts that he just wants Spider-Man and points his gun at Kitty. She jokes that the line forms behind her.
The girl in Moon Knight’s head fears it’s going on wrong, but the Moon Knight identity promises Ronin is just trying to lure Spider-Man out, and that they need to gain Kingpin’s trust.
Outside the school, the principal warns the students to just run home and not go back inside.
Inside, Ronin shoots Kitty! Steven Grant, the girl, Marc Spector and Moon Knight are all shocked by it. Luckily, Kitty survived the shot by phasing her body with her mutant powers. She punches Ronin and warns that she has been trained by Wolverine, meaning he’s toast. Ronin pulls a fire extinguisher off a wall and fires foam across Kitty’s face, and then hits her with it.
The red-headed girl warns that innocent people are getting hurt and that Ronin is taking over. They need to do something! A gigantic spirit-form of Ronin appears behind Moon Knight, ready to attack. The girl tells Moon Knight to do something. A battle begins and Moon Knight is the first to have a winning hit.
In reality, Ronin continues to hit Kitty who is slowly starting to faint.
Ronin’s form gets up and punches Moon Knight out of his way. The girl shouts at Ronin not to do this.
Spider-Man arrives and starts fighting Ronin and jokes that he hopes prison really sucks, and calls him an idiot for wanting to hurt kids. In Ronin’s head, he gets hit by Moon Knight again and the other dual identities cheer for their hero. Peter tends to Kitty but has no time, as Ronin quickly breaks free from his webs and continues the battle. He throws darts at Spider-Man, who manages to outmaneuver some of them. However, one manages to find its target in his neck, knocking him out.
In the other world, Ronin manages to defeat Moon Knight and strangles him with his nunchucks. The girl panics but Grant and Spector want to let this happen. After his victory, Ronin glares furiously at the other identities.
In reality, police sirens are heard and Ronin makes his escape with the unconscious Spider-Man. He uses Peter’s webslingers to websling away, carrying Peter along with him. Outside in the football field, some of the gathered students wonder where Peter is. MJ looks up in the sky and sees Ronin and records him with her camera, worrying as she does so.
Inside the school, Kitty wakes up but is surrounded by soldiers, who wonder if SHIELD will show up.
Elsewhere…
Ronin is back at the Kingpin’s office and shows him the defeated Spider-Man. The Kingpin and Rose smile, and Ronin asks who’s next.
