Title: SpiderMan – Between Heaven and Hell
Author: angelsoul
Rating: R (For violence, language and sexuality)
Summary: Eight months after the movie ends, Peter and Mary Jane find themselves once again being drawn to one another. Only this time Peter isn't sure if he can push her away.
Chapter One: The Spark
New York City, April 4th, 2003
****
Mary Jane Watson chewed her food slowly, trying to listen to what Harry was saying as he sat across from her in the Moon dance Diner. Her ears perked up as Harry began speaking about Peter.
"I saw Peter the other day, ya know? He sure has changed; I swear he goes to the gym now or something. He said he's been taking some self defense classes or something like that."
Harry Osborne waved his hand dismissively.
Mary Jane leaned in closer to her friend, "How's he look? Is he doing okay, I mean?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "He looks fine, physically he looks better than ever…"
She noticed the way Harry trailed off.
"And…" she pressed.
Harry shook his head, "It's weird…it's not like before, like he was in high school, the spark in his eyes ya know? That was one of the things I always admired about Peter. He had this spark to him."
I know all about his spark, Harry. Trust me on that.
Mary Jane closed her eyes, a brief flash of her and Peter standing so close together with only a little fence keeping them apart.
"It's like the spark died or something…like he's not really himself these days."
Mary Jane nodded sadly, "Yeah…I get that."
Should I ask him? What if Peter doesn't care anymore?
She paused for a moment, as if not wanting to ask the next question. Harry noticed her hesitation and smiled a little.
"Yeah, MJ…he asked about you."
Mary Jane slumped in her seat, "I miss him."
Harry stopped chewing on his burger long enough to chuckle.
What the hell is he laughing at?
Mary Jane fixed him with a cold stare, causing Harry to raise his arms.
"Relax, MJ…it's just weird because he said the exact same thing."
MJ could have sword she felt her heart stop, she sat up straight and leaned even closer.
Oh. My. God. He does still care.
"He did?"
Harry nodded, "Yep, said that he was really missing you, stress on the really part. Dude has it bad for you, MJ. But then, I've always known that."
Mary Jane slapped his hand playfully, "That didn't stop you from making the moves on me, did it now?"
Harry dropped his shoulders in guilt, "I know…look, you and I have already had this talk. Peter is important to me, he's like a brother, even when my father was alive, he was the only one who understood what I was going through, he didn't like me because of who my father was, or how much money we had…he liked me for me."
Mary Jane touched her friend's hand gently, "I know, Harry. I am sorry it didn't work out with us, we were both wrong to even start it."
Harry nodded slowly, "You're right, especially considering that you were pretty much in love with Peter when we started dating."
How the hell?!
Mary Jane's eyes widened, "How did you know that? I barely even knew it myself."
Harry grinned, "Elementary my dear, Watson."
At that moment, all hell broke loose outside. Mary Jane and Harry grabbed hold of the table as the ground shook, their plates and glasses of soda easily shaking off their table and crashing to the ground.
The police sirens were next, and the shouting followed closely behind.
Mary Jane clung to Harry's arm as she followed him to the window to peek outside.
What the hell is that!?
Mary Jane was at a loss for words; there outside on a sunny April afternoon, was some huge man in a gray suit of armor with a horn on his head pulverizing everything in his way. People were frantically running away, while the cops were fighting through the crows to get closer to the behemoth of a man.
Harry winced as they saw one of the cops smack into the wall outside their window.
"Harry, what is that thing?"
Her friend shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I want to get a closer look, you with me?"
Mary Jane noticed the mischievous look in his eyes, and against her better judgment, she nodded.
"Only to keep you out of trouble Harry."
Harry laughed, "Yeah, right. You think this is just as cool as I do."
The two friends slowly opened the diner's door and stepped out into the sunlight.
Mary Jane nearly screamed as more cops were thrown away from the large man, they were like rag dolls twisting in the wind, their bodies landing at odd angles.
That was when she saw it, out of the corner of her eye, a flash of black and red fly past her and Harry, and she gasped in shock as it slammed into the side of the man, picking him up off his feet and hurtling into a cop car.
Yes! I was hoping you would show up!
People gathered on the sidewalk as the figure that knocked down the two-legged rhino, you know, the one that a couple dozen cops couldn't contain, flipped backwards in the air and landed perfectly in a crouch 20-feet away.
The large man moaned and rose slowly to his feet, shaking his head.
He turned to face Spider Man, who had his head cocked slightly to the side, studying the 400-pound monstrosity who was now snarling at him.
Mary Jane gave Spider Man a questioning look.
He…he changed his colors, black and red. What happened to the blue?
She felt Harry tense up beside her, and placed a restraining hand on her friends shoulder.
Dammit, Harry! It's not his fault your father died.
"Leave it alone, Harry."
Harry looked at her, and for a moment, Mary Jane thought he was going to do something totally stupid and rush Spider Man, and she really didn't want to watch one of her best friends get pummeled by the man who had become her personal hero.
Finally, the intensity left Harry's eyes and he nodded.
Spider Man remained in his crouched position, and Mary Jane couldn't shake the feeling of him looking so sleek and naturally dangerous.
"Hey, Peaches. The circus let you run around free like this all the time?"
Mary Jane quickly noticed that she wasn't the only one who had to stifle a giggle at Spider Man's comment, even Harry, let a hint of a smile appear on his face.
The muffled laughter turned into gasps and shouts of warning, as the beast roared and charged at Spider Man.
****
Peter didn't even move, not once while the man moved forward to crush him like the proverbial bug.
He sure makes a lot of noise. Dude's as big as a house. Big and stupid, I so love that combination.
At the last moment, when the shouts and pleas for Spider Man to get out of the monsters ways grew to their loudest, he jumped, easily and cleanly over the beasts head, flipped twice in the air, turning his body back he outstretched his arms and two strands of webbing shot out from the spinnerets located in his wrists.
The webbing caught the man by his backside, causing him to jerk back and fall on his rear.
The people began to cheer and holler, but Mary Jane knew this was far from over. She took a step forward as the monster rose to his feet again and pulled on the webbing that was stuck to him.
With an audible groan, Spider Man was pulled roughly from his perch on the police cruiser, and went sailing through the air, only to be stopped when his chest met the giant fist.
Mary Jane looked away, fighting back the blur of tears that formed in her eyes as Spider Man met the monsters fist and went careening through the air over a police cruiser and into a light pole. The pole buckled against the impact, and fell over backwards on to a few parked cars.
Peter felt the adrenaline rush through his system like a freight train, whatever this was, it was at least twice as strong as him, and could take a lot of abuse.
Really should have stayed in bed this morning.
Peter slowly rose to his feet, tossing an errant piece of light post off. His vision cleared, and he saw that the big freak had apparently forgot all about him, and was now terrorizing the people that had gathered on the sidewalk, the blur of red hair made Peter's breath stop in his throat, and his heart clench tightly in his chest.
Mary Jane.
The rage built up to an insurmountable level as he leaped at the man, kicking him squarely in the chest, the beast, who was within a foot of grabbing Mary Jane, yelled in pain and flew backwards, across the street and into a brick wall, his large form creating a very define impression in the brick.
Peter turned back to Mary Jane, and immediately noticed two things that utterly confused him, one was that she was clinging to Harry Osborne's arm very tightly, and the other was that she was looking at him so tenderly that he felt his knees begin to turn to jell-o.
Mary Jane dropped her grip on Harry's arm and stepped closer to Spider Man, his condition immediately clouding her judgment as she took in his torn suit, the blood and scratches that dripped from the wounds on his chest.
What is she doing!? She'll get herself killed!
Forcing back his emotions, Peter held his arm out.
"Don't Mary Jane, stay there, better yet, get back into the diner."
Mary Jane stopped, her voice cracking with emotion, "But…you're hurt."
His resolve almost broke, "I'm fine, you're the one I'm worried about, I don't want to see you get hurt."
Peter pointed at Harry, "Get her to safety, yourself too."
A flash of annoyance appeared on Harry's face, but it quickly faded as concern for his friend took over.
"Come on, MJ." Harry said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the diner. "The guy is right."
Mary Jane looked back as Harry pulled her into the diner, her eyes watching Spider Man's every move as he and the monster squared off once again. She leaned against the window, her eyes brimming with tears as Spider Man fought the beast toe to toe, his costume being torn away from his chest and shoulders.
Suddenly, she watched in awe as Spiderman reached to the heavens and shot his webbings apparently into thin air, but then decided that wasn't his plan because as the beast charged and rammed into him, both Spider Man and the monster flew straight up into the air, so high that even after running back outside she lost track of them.
Harry came up behind her, "What the hell happened?"
Her lips trembling, Mary Jane shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then they both saw it, the large man falling back towards the ground. Squinting her eyes, Mary Jane could make out Spider Man perched on its chest, pounding away with his fists.
Harry's eyes widened, "Oh my God! MJ! Get back, now!"
Oh God! Please be okay!
Mary Jane turned away, her face pushed into Harry's chest as the monster hit the street, correction, went through the street. Small chunks of pavement and dust flew outwards; covering the buildings and parked cars, the earth shook, and Mary Jane clung to Harry as he fought for balance.
After the earth stopped shaking she tore away from Harry and got as close as she could to the impact area. She reached the outer rim when a couple police officers pulled her back.
"Hey! Let me go! Spider Man might need help!" she shouted, the tears now flowing down her cheeks.
Please be okay!
That was when the all too familiar thwip sounded came from within the 10-foot hole in the ground. A strand of webbing shot out and took hold of a tall building across from the crater; suddenly Spider Man came flying out of the hole, his suit torn and battered, blood seeping from the scratches that covered his chest and back, even from his lip, as a small piece of his mask was also torn away.
People raised their arms and cheered as Spider Man shot another strand of webbing and came swinging back to the hole as the beast poked his head out, his face covered with soot and blood.
Spider Man brought his feet down into the beasts face with everything he had, its head whipped around like one of those bobble-head toys, blood sprayed out from his mouth, he stood there for a moment, his head swaying, before he finally dropped back into the hole unconscious.
Spider Man landed gracefully on the other side, his nearly bare back to Mary Jane, who immediately noticed a strange looking tattoo that covered the back of his left shoulder.
Peter had to force himself not to fall over with exhaustion. Every single bone in his body ached, which he was glad for at the moment, because the gash that ran diagonal across his chest hurt like a motherfucker. He grunted and slowly limped towards the crater and looked down.
Looks like he's out for the count.
That was when the cops surrounded him, their guns pointing at his battered body.
Behind his mask he frowned, "You've got to be kidding me."
They all began shouting at once.
"Keep your hands where we can see them!"
"Don't you move a muscle!"
"You're under arrest!"
Peter sighed and raised his arms in the air slowly and almost casually.
The crowd that had gathered began to yell at the police, shouting obscenities.
Mary Jane was among them, trying to get past the police line that separated her from Spider Man, she turned and looked at the wounded hero who was now facing her, his arms still in the air. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him looking right at her, she smiled at him, her eyes silently asking him if he was okay.
He nodded to her, and the corner of his mask that was missing, exposing the lips that she had kissed those long, eight months ago, in the pouring rain.
The webbing the shot out from his wrists surprised everyone, and faster then almost anyone could see he was flying up and through the air, swinging away from the carnage.
Forgetting everything around her, Mary Jane ran off around the corner and followed him as fast as she possibly could. After a few blocks she saw him swing into an abandoned warehouse.
She quickly raced towards it, her heart pounding in her chest, whether it was from the running or from the completely stupid act of following Spider Man around, she wasn't sure.
Mary Jane through the broken gate open, and dashed for the open door to the right of her. There she was met with a set of stairs that would possibly lead her to the second most important person in her life that she had sorely been missing.
Her legs felt like lead weights when she reached the top of the stairs, but she forced herself to go on, her heart in her throat as she entered an old loading dock, its walls covered with dust and cobwebs.
It was so dark that she nearly missed the huddled figure by the window.
Quietly, almost unsure of what she was doing exactly, she stepped closer to him, her hand reaching out to him.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, MJ."
Mary Jane started, her hand covering her mouth.
"Are you okay?" she asked, trying her best to hide the flow of emotions that were beginning to run through her body.
Spider Man nodded and chuckled, "Yeah, just peachy. If you think getting tossed around like a rag doll by a 500-pound walking zoo reject is my idea of a good time."
She smiled at his ability to find humor in just about everything, "May I sit here?"
He looked up at her, "Like you need to even ask, MJ."
She sat cross-legged beside him, her hand in her lap. She sat there for a few moments and just listened to his breathing; out of the corner of her eye she could see him looking at her.
Might as well tell him.
Mary Jane looked at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"I've missed you." She whispered.
Peter's heart hadn't stopped racing since the fight, and now that she was here beside him, he doubted that it would stop anytime soon.
"I've missed you too, MJ." His voice dropped to a whisper as well.
She shook her hands, trying to get the feeling back.
"I know this isn't really the best of times, but I was wondering if…maybe you've seen Peter lately."
Spider Man laughed quietly, "Yeah, you could say that. Saw him just this morning."
Mary Jane paused, her mouth opening and closing for a moment.
"How is he?"
Spider Man dropped his head a little, "Missing you."
She smiled at that, the tears now falling freely. "God I miss him so much." She paused again and laughed to herself, "It's amazing how much he has become apart of me, you know?"
Spider Man nodded, "Yeah, I get that."
She turned her body completely to face his, "You know…I never did find out how you two met."
Spider Man looked out the broken window. "I guess you could say that this is where we first met, in a way at least."
Mary Jane raised her brows in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Spider Man hesitated.
Let her in, Peter…just a little…you know you need her in your life.
He faced her again, and for a second she thought that she could see behind the mask, beyond the barrier that had been raised to separate this obviously warm and caring person from the rest of the world.
"It's quite a story…you sure you want to hear it?"
Mary Jane took hold of his bruised hand and squeezed it gently, "I'm listening."
Peter smiled, reveling in her touch, allowing the spark to once again flow through his body.
"This is the place where I killed the man that murdered his uncle."
****
To Be Continued….
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