The Only Way Out
The same red mist creeps in again, but it feels different this time, there's something else there.
Peter stares around, hearing the sounds of many voices, bombarding him, trying to overwhelm him. He falls to the ground, hands over his ears, trying to block it out. Then he looks up, and sees it reaching down to help him.
The Spider. But it's different, it doesn't look the same as it once did, there's a big X on it's chest. The Spider looks at him, then shows him another, a man all in black and red with a big X on his chest. The Man and the Spider step close to him and then they merge with him. He is now the Spider-X. The Spider, the Mutant and the Parker. They are all him; they are One!
Peter awoke suddenly, panting deeply before he calmed himself. He reached for a glass of water and drank it all;
'Well, that's new.' He got up, and walked over to the double doors that opened out onto the balcony, he felt the cool night breeze on his skin, and starred out onto the star-filled sky.
His thought's drifted back to the events that brought him to here, and even now he still couldn't quite get over it all.
3 Days Ago
Nightmare. That's what this had to be. All he had to do was will himself to wake up and this would all be over. But Peter Parker knew it was no dream, this was real. He'd just exposed himself to the world; everyone would know his secret.
His whole life was spiraling out of control, and he had no idea what do;
'It'll be alright Peter.' Peter turned, startled, and looked over at Jean Grey, the beautiful redheaded Mutant who'd helped him to save a young Mutant's life, as well as the lives of many others. How ironic, that through an act of courageous heroism, he would now be dooming himself and those around him.
Peter could feel his heart racing away, and he struggled to find his breath;
'Peter, please calm down. You're going to have a panic attack if you don't. Please, I know you're scared, but I promise you this; Me, Scott and the Professor will do everything we can to help you, okay?' Peter nodded slowly, then sat down on the steps of the building to try and calm himself down. He suddenly realised he couldn't hear anything, he looked up; the crowds were still going mad but it was like watching the TV on mute. Peter starred around him,
"What the hell?"
"Don't worry Peter, I just thought you could use some breathing space, and all of that noise wasn't doing you any good." Peter turned, and saw Professor Charles Xavier in front of him. He smiled,
"You did a very brave thing Mister Parker. You risked you life to save myself and many others. I'm only sorry that things have turned out the way they have". Peter smiled,
"That's okay Professor, I knew what I was doing when I had that girl in my arms, I knew what I had to do. I wish I knew what to do now." Peter turned back to look at the crowds, he could hear the sounds faintly now, as if it were far away but getting nearer. The professor moved closer,
"For now, I think the best thing you can do, is join Scott, Jean & myself in the Ambulance. I need stitches for the cut, and yourself, Scott & Jean did inhale an awful lot of smoke, so I insist that you get checked over by a doctor." Peter nodded, and walked over to the Ambulance, pausing briefly to look back at the crowds; they were roaring now, but he didn't care; he just wanted to go. He climbed in after the Professor, joined by Jean & Scott. The Ambulance then started driving off to the Hospital.
For once, Peter's famous 'Parker Luck' didn't strike; the reporters weren't able to follow the ambulance. He sat on a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse in front of him, breathing slowly in and out as the doctor listened,
"Well Mister Parker I'd say you're gonna be just fine, just drink plenty of water and take some deep breaths now and again and you should feel back to normal by tomorrow."
"Thanks doc." Peter smiled gratefully, then turned to go, the nurse stopped him,
"Excuse me sir, but you might want something to wear?" Peter paused, and remembered he didn't have a shirt on. He blushed slightly,
"Uhh yeah, thanks. That would be a very good idea." The nurse smiled, and went off to find something. Peter stood around, not quite sure what to do with himself, he looked around and then spotted Scott and Jean talking to doctors. Jean noticed Peter and smiled and waved, Peter waved back. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, he looked round and saw a plain white t-shirt in front of him, as well as the nurse from before,
"Here, no one will miss it." Peter took it gladly, and quickly pulled it on over his head. He smiled at the nurse,
"Thank you." The nurse winked at him,
"Don't mention it." She walked off, leaving Peter with a small grin on his face. He turned around, and walked over towards Scott and Jean, they both got up and smiled at him,
"Docs give you the okay too?" Scott asked. Peter nodded,
"Yeah, said I'll be fine by tomorrow." Jean smiled, and squeezed his arm reassuringly,
"You did an amazing thing today Peter; you should be proud of yourself." Peter smiled,
"It's nothing; it's what I do." He looked over at Scott,
"What WE do I should say?" Scott nodded, and outstretched his hand to Peter, Peter took it and shook his hand.
"I'm proud of all of you." They all turned and saw Professor Xavier wheeling himself over, the cut in his head cleaned & stitched up. He smiled warmly at the 3 young adults,
"You all reacted calmly and decisively while facing a very stressful and dangerous situation and you all worked together remarkably well."
"Thanks professor. Is there any word on what happened?" The Professor sighed,
"Some Jean, but not much. According to the Police, the man who threw the petrol-bomb is a suspected 'Friends of Humanity' member. No name, but he's a pretty shady character by all accounts." Scott stepped forward,
"Are the Police going to do anything?" Peter looked at the Professor, and saw his eyes fill with disappointment,
"Unfortunately Scott, the Police don't have many solid leads to follow. As well as that, there are a number of officers who aren't interested in investigating a crime against Mutants." Scott clenched his fist and turned away in frustration, Jean walked over and put her arm around his. Peter turned to the Professor,
"What about the girl I saved, what's gonna happen to her?" The Professor nodded over towards a cubicle with a Police-Officer standing outside it,
"She's fine, she'll be staying here over night just to be on the safe side, but her parents are on their way to the hospital. Apparently they're making plans to move away, out of the city." Peter nodded sadly,
"I wish I could say that running away won't work, but they have to do what's right for their family." Professor Xavier nodded, then turned to look at his students,
"Scott, I had a taxi brought round to the side entrance; you and Jean should take it back to the institute." Jean looked at him puzzled,
"What about you Professor?"
"I'm having Logan bring the car here, and then Mister Parker and I need to have a talk. Don't worry, I shan't be away too long." Scott nodded, and went to grab his Jacket; Jean smiled at Peter, and gave him a hug,
"Thank you Peter, I hope everything works out." Peter hugged her back,
"Thanks Red, I hope so as well. You both take care." She followed Scott, who waved back to them both, before they turned the corner and were gone. Peter looked over at the Professor,
"So, what's the plan Professor?"
"Well, I thought we'd first stop at your Aunt May's house." Peter's eyes went wide, and he groaned slightly,
"Oohh boy." He grabbed his head, hopping for a miracle. Suddenly he heard a commotion outside,
"Sir I'm sorry but you can't smoke inside a hospital!"
"Darlin', I don't put out my cigars unless it's real important. I'm just here to pick up a friend and then I'll be gone, real quick." Professor Xavier sighed, and rolled towards the doors,
"Logan, enough. Put out the Cigar, bring the car round and we'll get going." Logan smiled, and gave a small salute,
"Whatever you say Chuck!" Logan paused when he noticed Peter standing there looking at him,
"Hey, aint that the kid from the news?"
"Logan, this is Peter Parker, Peter this is Logan." Peter walked forward nervously, and gave an outstretched hand, Logan sniffed, then shook the hand,
"How ya doing kid?" Peter nodded a little, Logan grunted, then walked off towards the car. Peter looked at the Professor,
"I think I just saw the wild man himself." Professor Xavier chuckled,
"Don't mind Logan, he just takes some getting used to."
May Parker was doing her best not to panic. She'd seen that Peter had gotten into the Ambulance, but he looked fine so she told herself that she shouldn't worry. She trusted Peter, and knew that he could look after himself. But try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from worrying about him. Just as she got up to try calling his apartment again, there was a knock at the door. She turned around, and saw it was Peter standing there. She dropped everything in her hands, and ran over to him; Peter stepped forward into the hug, holding her close,
"Oh Peter, thank the lord. I've trying to call you and call you but there was no answer. I thought about trying the hospital but I didn't know which one you were at."
"It's alright Aunt May, I'm fine, really; the doctors gave me a look-over and I'm fine." May Parker sighed in relief, and then realised someone was behind Peter,
"And who is this?" The man rolled himself forward and extended his hand,
"Mrs Parker, my name is Professor Charles Xavier; I'm one of the people your nephew helped rescue from the blaze. I was wondering if I might come in." May smiled, she could feel by instinct that this man was a good, honest man,
"Of course, please do." Charles smiled, and wheeled himself in and over to the lounge, followed by May and Peter.
"I wanted to talk to about the events of the day Mrs Parker."
"Of course, and please call me May."
"Then I insist you call me Charles." Peter & May sat down on the sofa,
"First May I should like to ask you a question, how long have you been aware of Peter's abilities?" Peter looked at his aunt, stunned. May smiled,
"For some time now, although I did not know that he was Spider-Man." Peter was floored, he didn't know what to think. May put her hand on Peter's,
"It's alright Peter. You weren't as careful as you thought you were, sometimes I'd see you climbing up a wall or leaping across the room or bending a steel bar back into shape. Just little things that you happened to do when you thought no one was watching. At first I was shocked, but then I started reading about Mutations in people. In fact..." She went over to a dresser, and pulled out a book; 'The Truths about Genetics' by Professor Charles Xavier. Charles smiled,
"Thank you May, I've often wondered if people were still interested in my books."
"Oh no, it was fascinating. Of course I couldn't understand everything, but it helped me to understand Peter and what he was doing even better. And then of course, there was today's excitement." She looked over at Peter and smiled,
"Peter, look at me." Peter looked up,
"I'm so proud of you, today even more than before. You risked your life, and your personal freedom to save an innocent girl from death. That girl, and her family, will owe you everything because you kept her safe. And I know your Uncle Ben would be very proud of you as well." Peter smiled, his eyes misting with tears, he rubbed them away and got up and hugged his aunt.
Peter then looked over at the Professor,
"What do I do now though? Everyone will have seen what I can do, some people there put things together; what can I do?" Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and a man, tall and well built in his mid-fifties wearing a black over-coat and a grey suit. He was smoking a cigar and had an eye patch over his left eye,
"Kid, I might just be able to help you out." Peter turned, and was completely surprised,
"Colonel Fury?!" Fury grunted, then nodded at the Professor,
"Charles."
"Nice to see you again Nicholas." He looked at May Parker,
"Hello May, I'm sure you can guess what this is about." Peter looked at his aunt; how did she know the world's top cop? May sighed, and stepped forward,
"Peter, Colonel Fury is the one who told me & Ben about your Parents deaths." Peter looked at Fury,
"You? But why, why you I mean?" Fury sat down on a chair,
"Because kid; we worked together. You're parents were top agents in the CIA, and I was working with them on a mission. We were tracking Hydra members who'd created a number of super-weapons; giant walking tanks that could decimate entire cities, so naturally our job was to find em and destroy em. Everything was pretty smooth, and we finished the mission and we all thought that was it; case closed. Except now I need your help Parker. You're parents were the only ones who knew about where these weapons were hidden, and apparently Hydra kept a few of those weapons hidden away. I think your folks had some leads as to where they might be, that plus our own gives us some very good chances, but it's you I need Parker." Peter starred,
"Me, why me?"
"Because the weapons, when we tracked em to a factory your father tricked them into accepting his DNA and face as a security lock-down for them; they can't function unless you've got his DNA & his face to be scanned. But, if you've only got one of these, then that's enough to activate the signal and get them to show up on radar. Then, all those clever bastards at Hydra have to do is track 'em down, reprogram them and they're all theirs." Peter stopped him,
"Wait, they'd need my father's DNA you said. Or... my own." Fury nodded,
"Which, according to Intel I got, they have, and they're planning on doing everything I just said. And I'm not gonna let that happen." He stood up, and walked over to Peter,
"Peter Parker; you're country, the world needs your help; because you're the only one who can save it. What do you say?" Peter looked around, at the Professor, and at his Aunt,
"I can't just run off now, what about what I did today."
"Kid I know all about that, and I think me and the Professor here have come up with a plan that can save you. And trust me; it's the only one we've come up with." Peter looked over at the Professor,
"Well Peter, since the a lot of people right now think that you are a Mutant, the best place, the safest place for you, right now; is at my institute in Westchester." Peter walked over to him,
"Okay, but strictly speaking I'm not a normal Mutant."
"I know that Peter, but I still think it's the best place for you to be. I've always been fascinated by your abilities, and your work as Spider-Man; and I believe that at the Institute you can learn and become even more of a force for good than before. So, come to the institute. But as Colonel Fury said; he needs you. So..."
"Kid, you'd move in there, and then a couple of days later you're with me; tracking down the sites, there's on a handful, and once that's down you go back to Xavier's."
"Peter, I'm asking you to join me in helping Mutants and Humanity. Will you accept?" Peter thought long and hard; he thought about today with the protestors, the riot and the petrol-bomb. He thought about the girl, no younger than himself, fleeing the city with her family because she was born different. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. He'd always told himself, promised that he'd live by his Uncle Ben's philosophy; 'With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility'. He had the power to change things, to make things better; it was his duty to do so; his Responsibility. He turned to Colonel Fury and the Professor,
"I accept". Colonel Fury grunted, nodded at Peter, then walked out the door,
"I'll contact you in a few days Parker, be ready." Peter looked over at the Professor and his Aunt; they both had a look of pride on their faces.
"Thank you Peter."
"It's like you said Professor, it's the only way." He held his aunt's hand, and looked at them both, his face set in fierce determination.
From outside the house, Logan sat against the car watching events unfold, he took out his cigar,
"Welcome to the X-men, web-head."
