HEY, YOU! YEAH YOU! I'M TELLING YOU THIS RIGHT NOW! THIS IS RATED M, FOR A REASON! This maybe a Spider-Man tale, but it's also an Elfen Lied tale, and Elfen Lied is the best at what it does, and what it does isn't very nice! This is rated M for some sick violence, blood, slight gore, possible sexual content; but to be fair, it won't be as common as you're probably thinking. But it's there, so I felt it was good to warn you! Enjoy!

Introduction ~ Einführung

"Natural Selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous." - Barbara Ehrenreich

Peter felt his costume beginning to stick to his sores, becoming wetter and itchier as it continued to absorb more and more blood. Some of it, to his horror, wasn't his. His body was riddled with cuts and bruises, his costume almost torn completely open on the right side of his body which exposed a large gash on Peter's side. He kept his right arm stretched across his body and his hand planted on the wound to make sure that his guts didn't topple out while he continued to support his body himself with his left hand on the ground. His mouth was dry, his lips were crusty, and his head was throbbing. He couldn't tell if it was his spider sense or a concussion. Maybe a bit of both.

He managed to sluggishly raise his head; his mask was still on but the lense for the left eye had fallen out. He was in the middle of an ghostly street in the city, there was no hurried new yorkers in sight but there was a lot of destruction, it was a scene you would typically see in any huge action movie: Cars toppled over, buildings bashed in, dust and fire everywhere. There was no one in sight from what he could see, but he could hear some screaming in the distance. There were some slain bodies, most of them belonged to S.H.E.I.L.D. . It was a horror film; limbs were scattered everywhere, blood splattered on all over the street like something out of an Jackson Pollock painting, and dismembered heads that held the terrified expression of those who died such a horrible death. It was all too much for a teenaged boy to comprehend. The sight was so shocking Peter couldn't register it for a moment, he felt… numb. Then he was immediately hit with a feeling that he was going to throw up, but his hollow stomach only growled and cramped in response. He had skipped dinner and breakfast that morning, he hasn't eaten anything in awhile…. God, what he wouldn't give for a nice Burger King double whopper right now...no, no never mind. The thought of food right now just made him want to puke more.

With his left hand supporting him and his bruised legs under him, Peter forced himself off the ground and onto his feet. He could hear his muscles crack beneath him a bit, it hurt. He might have broken something but he didn't care, he couldn't feel it right now anyways, and he couldn't take the risk of going to a hospital and exposing his identity…. Not that it mattered, he was probably going to die anyways. They will find what was left of his body, they will make Aunt May identify what they could salvage at the morgue, and she won't have anyone by her side to help her deal with it all. Tears escaped Peter's eyes as he pondered the horrible thought, his dirty masked soaking the salty droppings, his hot and dry breath rattled his lungs painfully and he let out a whimper; not because of the pain though, just because of the thought of aunt may's face when she found out her boy died horribly trying to be a superhero, and realizing that her entire family was now gone and she had no one left to care for her. She didn't deserve all that pain. What kind of person was he to do that to an old lady like her?...

Peter lifted his head one more time, and through his blurred tears he saw an old payphone. It was perfectly, and almost humorously, standing strong amongst all the destruction and death had taken place on the street… Maybe a sign from god, peter thought. An idea struck. He cleared his throat, once again rattling his pained chest, and pushed himself forward, limping his way to the payphone. There was a few pieces of change that was held in his utility belt, which hasn't been damaged thankfully, only enough for one phone call. He could call anyone for help, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men…. "Would you just happen to know any of their numbers?" he thought aloud, the reality hitting him dead cold. He picked up the phone and brought his forehead down hard on the booth in frustration, his eyes closed and his teeth clenching. He stood in that position for a good ten seconds before he took a deep breath, moved the phone to his ear, and dialed a number.

As the phone began to rang, Peter rested the phone on his shoulder, he removed his hand from the wound on his side and began to cover up the huge gash with some of his adhesive web. The silky webs cooled his hot skin but singed the wound, prompting Peter to whimper out a few curses in pain. Finally, the phone on the other end was picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Aunt M-ow-M-May. It's me."

"Peter? What in heavens, are you okay? Have you come down with something?"

"Naw, no, no I'm okay, I just got a bit of a paper cut, that's all. I, um, I wanted to tell you something…"

"Fire!" A group of brave police officers unleashed a rain of bullets onto what had caused the destruction. They had taken themselves to the front of the fight, standing proud and tall in the face of a monster, side by sides with their partners; people who they worked with on a daily basis. They were probably going to die, but this was their duty, to serve and protect. It's an oath they all made and they were going to do their best to take down this monster with them. Sadly, it was all futile. As they knew it was.

Lucy remained airborne, the bullets bouncing off of what the cops could only guess was some sort of force field. In reality, she was kept held high and protected thanks to her vectors. It wasn't long for her to make quick work of the brave officers, she gently set herself on the ground and pushed forward to make sure she was in reach of the walking flesh and bloods, and in a single swoop they were all headless. Except one. She left one alive to admire her work. To catch a glimpse of the shock, the helplessness in her eyes.

"She looks funny." The voice echoed through Lucy's head. Lucy smiled.

Dewolf had been on the force for a long time with these people, she's busted so many perps with these guys, have come to know them as family, she used to sit with these men and women in the office. Now she was on the ground, covered in their blood, being stared down by the devil herself.

"Fuck you!" She quickly threw her up her arm again, and without a beat she had her gun aimed between the monsters eyes. Before she could pull the trigger though her arm was snapped backwards like a twig.

She sprawled to the ground, her screeches tore through her throat, but could not do anything to express the pain she was feeling. Not the tears, not the cursing, not the screams, not even the words of defiance against the monster who did this to her. She held her bent limb, a piece of bone had peeked its way out of the flesh. Her mind could register nothing else but the immense pain she was feeling right in this moment.

Lucy didn't respond to her words of defiance and thoughtless pain, she continued to stare at Dewolf with cold, uncaring eyes. A child cutting off the limbs of a bug would have more remorse. There was no smile anymore, no emotion towards her latest victim. She just wanted them all to suffer, because that's all they deserve. She raised her hand slightly, reeling back one of her vectors for the final blow. She could just finish her right now, but she wanted the human to feel the anticipation. She wanted to see the fear in her eyes.

"MONSTER!" A voice rang out. Suddenly a red and blue blur swept down, sweeping Dewolf in their arms and out of Lucy's reach.

"She didn't do anything wrong! She was just doing her job!" Spider-Man cried out in devastation, there was a lot of anger in his voice, but there was also confusion, like he couldn't comprehend what was going on in front of him. He landed smoothly on his feet, cradling Dewolf in his arms, but sudden sweep had caused her arm to break a bit more, and she had fainted.

"I-I'm sorry. Are you- Oh my god, what the hell did you do to her?" His voice cracked, he continued to hold the woman close to his chest. Peter didn't know her personally, at least, not as Peter Parker. As Spider-Man, they have worked with each other on a few occasions, solved a few cases, shared some cups of coffee… Sure, she was a few years older than him but….. She was still his friend. "Dewolf, god, i'm so so sorry…"

"Awww, looks like your cop friend isn't going to make it. Too bad you weren't here a bit sooner." Lucy's voice picked at the back of Peter's voice as she continued to hang back, watching the broken man cradle the arms of a dying friend. Her voice remained as sterile and cold as it was before, but there was a hint of defiance, a tinge of mockery present that wasn't there before.

Suddenly the pain in Peter's body left him, his heart began to rattle in his chest, his face became hot and wet. Nothing mattered. He slowly brought Dewolf down, gently laying her on the sidewalk, and unleashing a small bit of his webbing onto her arm in desperation to keep her from bleeding out. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face, and then spun around and began to run a full sprint towards Lucy.

Nothing mattered.

He just wanted a piece of the freak.

StanLee4Ever Presents

NATURAL SELECTION

A few months earlier, before the two met, before the two forces of good and evil began to tear and eat at each other's flesh, there was only the confused boy who tried to do the right thing, and the murderous monster who tried to find understanding and a place in the world. On the next episode of Natural Selection: Separation.