Chapter 7: The Webs of Change
…..
Mary Jane was at her table, eating a meal. It was meatloaf. She was very grim. Work today was largely unimpressive. She performed well, but got no joy in it.
Just then the phone rang. Grimacing, she went to answer the phone.
"Hello. Oh, hey Liz. No I'm fine." She paused for a moment. "No, don't trouble yourself, I'm fine." Her eyes narrowed. "I said no, Li. And I don't need anyone to cuddle me." She listened to Liz's reply. "Thanks. If I need help, you'll know. Bye."
She hung up and groaned. Ever since Peter's funeral, people tried to comfort her when all she wanted leave her alone. They kept trying to be there or her, which was pathetic since it wasn't helping.
Some have given up, giving her the distant she desired. But every once and while someone like Liz, Flash or Harry would try and contact her, offering to visit or talk with her. Her career in modeling was the only time she could mask her emotions and pretend everything was fine.
She returned to the table and resumed eating her meal quietly. A tear suddenly drip down her left cheek. She missed Peter.
…..
It was after midnight. Mary Jane was in her room, trying to sleep. Suddenly she cried out, her sides were in great pain. The pain then stopped.
"Oh man," The redhead moaned. "What was that?" She sighed and lay down on the bed; annoyed with her sleep getting interrupted.
….
The sun was arising; light rays came through a window over the bed of a sleeping Mary Jane. Just then woman had awakened; feeling very exhausted and her sides ached.
"Oh man," Mary Jane moaned, refusing to get up.
She had trouble sleeping all night. Ever since the intense pain last night, her sides had ached slightly, making sleep elusive. She glanced at her clock. It was 7:00 PM. "Good thing I don't have work today." She told herself, trying to relax.
Amidst her fatigue was a great sadness. "Oh Peter," She said, wishing her husband was with her. Falling into a semi-conscious state, the ache in her sides faded.
When she looked at the clock again, it was 11:08 AM. "Well I've slept enough."
Throwing the blanket off herself, revealing her white PJs, she got out of bed and out headed downstairs. Going to the fridge, she took out a piece of bread, carrot. Grabbing an apple from a fruit bowl and headed back to the den and sat on the sofa, eating her meal. She turned on the TV. The news featured a man talking about a robbery performed by Doctor Octopus.
"If Peter was alive, he could something about it," MJ told herself; a flash of anger suddenly took her. "Why Peter? Why did you have to be a hero?" She groaned. Deep down, she knew the answer. She also knew that being a hero was a large part of why she loved Peter. But it didn't make her loss any less painful.
"AAAHH!" She screamed, clutching her sides, falling off the sofa. "What is happening?!" She yelled, wishing the pain would stop.
Then it did. She gasped for breath. Her whole body ached but it wasn't excruciating.
…
Dr. James had finished his examination. Across the room, MJ sat on a seat, clad in a hospital gown. She didn't enjoy getting examined.
"Well I finished my tests," Dr. James said. "And there is nothing wrong with you."
"What?" MJ exclaimed in disbelief. "What about the pain?"
"I suspect it might be cramps," Dr. James said. "Have you been working out a lot?"
"Not really." MJ answered irritably.
"Strange," The Dr. James murmured. "Your health is remarkable. I suggest you go to a chiropractor."
"Sure," MJ said softly, though deep down, she was sure she didn't need one.
…..
MJ exited the hospital, clad once again in her favorite clothes, yellow sweater, purple pants and red cowboy boots. Walking down the steps towards the road, MJ suddenly felt exhausted.
"Oh, my head." She moaned, her steps faltered. She started to walk down the road. She then heard a loud car horn to her right.
She snapped out of her daze and moved left, almost getting run over by the car that was coming by.
"What?" She gasped in horror as she lay on the sidewalk.
"Miss, are you alright?" A man asked, running up to her.
Mary Jane was silent, a terrible realization entering her mind.
"Miss, are you alright?"
"Huh?" MJ said, looking up at the stranger. "Oh, yeah I just…I didn't see that car coming."
"Are you hurt?" The man asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine," MJ answered as she, got to her feet, very troubled by what had happened. "Thanks." She looked around and this time making sure there were no cars passing, ran across the road.
Once she had crossed the street, she took a few quick breaths. "Why didn't I sense the car coming?" She examining her hands and gasped. "My spider powers are gone. How?"
….
Dr. Connors was in the lab, doing his regular work. Just then the door opened. "Dr. Connor." MJ said, entering the lab.
Dr. Connor looked up in surprise. "Miss Parker? What are you doing here?"
MJ hesitated. "I…I need help."
"What's wrong?" The Biologist asked.
MJ hesitated, trying to find the right words. "You remember how I got powers like Peter?" She asked.
"Yes," Connor said, fearful that the news would be bad.
"I lost my powers and I don't know why."
Connor became tense. "OK. I'll do some tests. Wait here, I'll get some stuff ready."
Connor went to a closet and opened it, taking out a syringe. "Give me your arm and hold still."
MJ scowled. "OK." She said, pulling her right leave. She really hated getting needles in her arm. She grunted in pain as the needle pierce her arm.
Extracting a blood sample, Connor went over to a microscope.
MJ grimaced. She trusted Connor. She knew she helped her husband when he needed help. He was also one of the very few people who had learned that Peter was Spiderman. He had tried to be supportive after the funeral. She didn't want his help then. Now she needed him.
Connor then took the sample out from the microscope and took it to some equipment. MJ waited nearby anxiously. The biologist gasps and then looked worried.
"Dr. Connors what is it?" MJ asked, fearing the answer.
"I'm afraid I got some bad news, Miss Parker," Connors said grimly. "Do you know that your husband mutated into the Manspider over a year ago?"
"Yes, but what does…" MJ froze, her face paled. "You mean I'm going to turn into…? But how?"
"Spiderman had a disease that caused him to transform into a monster." Connors explained. "Though he was cured, it seems that when you…" He paused trying to find the right words. "When you two got together and got his DNA inside you, it rewrote your genetic code and…somehow it hasn't stopped mutating your system."
"So I'm going to be a Spider Monster like Peter did?" Mary Jane asked fearfully.
"I'm sorry Miss Parker," Connors apologized, his expression. "Believe me; I know what it's like to be a monster."
"But wait," She exclaimed, becoming hopeful. "I lost my powers. Shouldn't it mean I'm turning normal?"
"In simple terms, your human and Spider genetics are in flux." Connors elaborated. "But it's more than likely you will become more spider than human in time. I'm sorry."
"You cured Peter," MJ argued. "Can you cure me?"
"I'm sorry. I can't duplicate what I did to cure Peter."
"Why not?" MJ asked. "What did you do?"
"Long ago, Peter had to take a treatment that kept his mutation in check. But then a man called the Vulture used technology to steal Spiderman's youth and powers but also absorbed the mutated disease that caused Peter to become the Manspider and…well he randomly changed into the Manspider himself. He forced me to redesign his technology so he could transfer the disease back into Spiderman."
"You did?" MJ demanded indignantly.
"NO. But I arranged the tech to give Peter back his youth and super powers while the mutated disease stayed in the Vulture."
"You did that for Peter?" MJ asked in amazement.
"Yes. As you can see, I can't really duplicate the scenario."
MJ grimaced and then suddenly cried out in pain, clutching her sides.
"Miss Parker?" Connors said his face full of concern.
"Make it stop!" MJ screamed, wishing the pain would stop.
Connors hesitated, unsure to do.
MJ finally stopped screaming and sighed as the pain finally receded. "Connors, what am I going to do?"
"I'll need to run some tests," The biologist told the woman grimly. "I've had limited success in treating certain conditions of Neogentics, maybe I can refine it to treat your cells."
"Really," MJ asked hopefully. "How much will it cost?"
"No need," Connors assured. "Your husband helped me and never charged me. This is the least I can do."
"So what do I do in the meantime?" MJ asked.
"For now, go home. I'll need to do some more tests but I'm sure I can find a way to treat your condition. Contact me if anything changes"
"Sure thing," MJ said wearily. ''Thanks Dr. Connors.'' with her head bowed and her hair red hair covered her head.
Getting to her feet, she left Connors' office, giving the biologist a finale look before exiting. Curt Connors was troubled by the despair in her eyes.
"That poor woman."
….
Mary Jane returned her home. Closing the door behind her, she sighed. She sat on the sofa, and her grief swelled in her. "Please," She begged. "I never wanted these powers. Oh I wish Peter was here."
She sniffled, trying not to cry. She missed Peter. With a sigh, she kicked off her boots and headed to her bedroom and then headed to her dresser.
…..
Bare foot and clad in gray shorts and sleeveless black top. MJ entered the kitchen. "OK sweetie, what should you have?" She headed to the fridge and looked inside.
Taking out some items, she headed to a counter and made a salad and a ham sandwich with cheese, mayo, and mustard. Taking a cup out of the cabinet, she poured herself some water. Heading back to the counter, she began to munch her meal, her mind troubled with the past, the present and the future.
She really missed Peter. She was troubled with what was happening to her and what would happen to her. She didn't want to become a monster.
Her mood suddenly shifted. A rage took her. "It's not fair!" She shouted, slamming the counter. "Why is this happening? Was I wrong to love Peter?"
She suddenly threw her cup across the kitchen at a wall, shattering it. She snapped out of her rage and groaned. "Great. Now I got a mess to clean up."
She paused when she realized that her feet were bare and the broom was near where the broken glass was scattered and the kitchen exit was also blocked by the glass and she couldn't go get her boots.
Scowling she looked at the wall. She looked at her hand. She attempted to climb the wall, but her powers were absent. "Come on. I wish I didn't have these powers and they're gone when I- AAAH!" She cried out as pain surged through her body. She clutched her sides.
Then she felt the pain recede and…a familiar sensation. She examined her hand. "Is it back?" She then put it on the wall, she smiled.
She proceeded to climb the wall and got out of the kitchen without stepping on the glass. She then went for her boots. Putting them on, she then returned to the kitchen, stepping on the broken glass and grabbed the broom and dustpan and began to clean up the broken glass.
She then put the broken glass into a several paper bags to reduce the risk of the broken glass cutting the garbage man- and threw it in the trashcan.
….
That night, MJ exited the bathroom, her wet hair wrapped in a towel. She was clad her white pajamas, leaving her feet bare.
She sighed and removed the towel from her damp hair and threw it in a hamper. She climbed into the bed. She felt very tired. She dozed off.
….
MJ was walking in Manhattan's empty streets, bare foot, clad in her white PJs. She didn't know where she was or where she was going. All she knew was dread. She sensed that something dangerous or evil was nearby. She considered entering a building, but she saw no doors on any of them. Just dark gray walls or giant black widows.
She kept walking until she realized she had walked through the same dead-end street for minutes.
She found another street at her left and turned around there. Then she came face to face with a monster. It was roughly human except it had black fur and six long arms with huge claws. Its face had six glowing red eyes and a mouth with two hook-like fangs.
MJ screamed in terror and turned and ran.
. She began to run opposite direction but she lost her footing and fell down. The monster roared and jumped on top of her and bites her from her shoulder. MJ froze, feeling a slight burn in her shoulder. Suddenly the monster disappeared.
Getting on her hands and needs, MJ looked around in fear. The pain in her shoulder was gone and there was no injury. She didn't understand.
Suddenly her sides ached. She clutched herself, grimacing. The pain receded and to her horror, she saw four extra arms sprouted below her armpits.
…
MJ gasped as she woke up, full of dread. She and checked her sides. No extra arms. She sat in her bed's corner and put her head in her hands and began to crying in despair. ''What I should expect now?''
…
To be continued
Author note by Data Seeker: the plot thickens. Like the story where Peter's DNA became unstable, Mary Jane is now experiencing the early stages of her mutation.
With Peter gone, I felt that Mary Jane would need friends to help her with her problem, so after much debate with Mr. Rock and we settled with Dr. Connors being her ally in this dark time for her.
At some point, Connors learned the truth about Spiderman's identity and naturally wants to help Mary Jane. I didn't think I needed to show Conner actually learning Spiderman's identity. After all, a lot can happen in a few months.
Author note by Mr. Rock: The Nightmare scene from the Alien Costume episodes in Spiderman TAS was my favorite scene. So ı decided to use it while merging it with the mutation. Sprouting extra arms giving hints to readers what would happen in the future.
