Chapter 10: Christmas Blues

The students of Midtown High were officially on winter break, which meant two weeks off to celebrate the holidays and the upcoming new year. It was a few days before Christmas, and Peter and Valeria were hanging out at a local coffee shop.

"So, what are you doing during the holidays?" Peter asked.

"Nothin' really. With my dad in jail, I'm not spending Christmas with him, especially not in a prison," Valeria said sadly.

"I understand. So, what are you gonna do for Christmas?"

"Probably just hang out at home. Every place nearby is closed."

"Well, my aunt is making Christmas dinner at my house. It'll just be me, her, and Harry. You should come over," Peter invited.

"Really? I won't be intruding?"

"Of course not. No one should be alone during the holidays."

That comment made Valeria sad, not because she knew Peter was right, but because she knew her father would be alone on Christmas. As angry as she was about what her father had done, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was the man that had raised her nearly her whole life, and although he did horrible things for her, she couldn't ever forget the good things he did.

Wanting relief and not wanting to think about her heartbreak, Valeria agreed to go.

"Alright, I'll come," Valeria accepted. "Thanks, Pete."

"No problem."

On the morning of Christmas Day, Peter and Aunt May were downstairs in the living room, where presents were waiting under the Christmas tree.

"Here you go, Aunt May," Peter said, handing a present to her. "Present number one."

Aunt May opened her first gift to find a $50 gift card to her favorite Italian restaurant.

Aunt May smiled. "Peter, this is great. Thank you"

"You're welcome. You're gonna love the second one even more," Peter proudly stated.

Aunt May opened the second gift to find a scrapbook inside. She skimmed through it to find pictures from when Peter first started living with them, to family photos with Uncle Ben that showcased Peter's life with his aunt and uncle.

"Peter, this is absolutely wonderful. Brings back great memories. I'm very proud of the young man you've grown up to be, and I know Ben would be, too," Aunt May delightfully said.

"Thanks, Aunt May."

"Well, looks like it's your turn now, Peter. You're in for a surprise."

Peter opened his first present and was shocked to find a Canon EOS-1D X Mark II inside.

"A new camera? May, you shouldn't have!" Peter exclaimed, genuinely shocked.

"It's fine, Peter! I've been working extra shifts at the office, so it was enough. Plus, you needed to replace that camera of yours anyways. How did your old camera break again?"

"Uh...I dropped it."

Truthfully, Peter had accidentally broken it during a battle with thugs a few days before.

"May, I don't know what to say."

"Maybe a thank you," Aunt May chuckled.

"Thank you," Peter responded.

Peter opened the second gift, only to be even more shocked by what he saw.

"A new microscope? May, I seriously can't believe this. Thank you so much."

Peter hugged his aunt.

"Right back at you," Aunt May warmly responded. "Even though it's our first Christmas without your uncle, all of this truly makes me feel better."

"I'm glad, May."

While Peter and Harry were waiting at the table, the doorbell rang.

"That must be Valeria," Peter said as Aunt May went to answer the door.

"Hi, I'm Valeria!" Valeria introduced. "You must be Aunt May! I've heard so much about you!"

Valeria hugged Aunt May.

"Likewise, Valeria. Very nice to meet you," Aunt May greeted.

Valeria hugged Peter. "Hi, Pete."

"Hey, Valeria. Glad you could make it."

Peter guided her to the dinner table. Once Harry spotted Valeria, he stood up to greet her.

"Valeria, you made it!" Harry said as he hugged Valeria.

"How's it going, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Okay. Dad's too busy with work to celebrate Christmas."

"And my dad's in prison. Peter Parker, providing great Christmases for friends without dads to celebrate with them since late 2016!" Valeria joked.

The three friends laughed. At that moment, Aunt May pulled the turkey out of the oven.

"Alright kids, Christmas dinner is ready!" Aunt May announced.

Peter and Aunt May put the dinner on the table. The delicious dinner consisted of turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables such as carrots, turnip, and creamed spinach.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," Aunt May happily told the teens. "Enjoy your dinner."

The four of them started helping themselves to the food.

"Aunt May, this is amazing!" Harry complimented, with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, it is," Valeria agreed.

"Why, thank you!" Aunt May thanked.

Peter took a bite of the turkey. "Your meals get better and better every year, Aunt May."

"Thank you, Peter," Aunt May replied gratefully.

"I'd actually like to say something if you guys wouldn't mind," Peter announced as he stood up.

They all waited for him to speak.

"This is a tough Christmas for all of us. I don't have an uncle, Aunt May doesn't have a husband, Valeria's dad is...away. And Harry's dad can't commit to anything. I don't mean to bring up any bad memories for any of us, but I'm really glad we can all be here tonight and celebrate such an amazing holiday. Family is the most important thing in the world, whether family is just friends or not. The fact that we can put aside our emotions for this day just makes us that much stronger."

"Well said, Pete," Harry praised, clapping.

"I agree," Aunt May replied.

Valeria was too sad to respond. All she could think about was her dad sitting in his cell, all alone, with no one there to celebrate Christmas with him. As angry as she was, she felt so guilty and sad for him. But she didn't want to be rude and leave so early.

However, during the meal, Valeria couldn't stop thinking about how her father felt about being alone for Christmas. She decided to take Peter's words to heart and put aside her emotions. She needed to see her dad. Valeria stood up from her seat, and everyone looked at her.

"Is everything okay, Valeria?" Aunt May asked.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I have to go. Thank you for the meal and for having me," Valeria said before rushing out.

Confused, Peter chased after her.

"Valeria, wait!"

Valeria stopped and turned around.

"Why are you leaving?"

"I have to see my dad."

"I thought you didn't want to see him again," Peter mentioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, but this is such an important day, for my dad and I. Some of our best memories were during the holidays, and even though I'm mad at him, I can't let him sit in a cell celebrating Christmas by himself. I don't want to live the rest of my life filled with regret if I don't see him, whether this is the last time I see him or not."

Peter nodded. "I understand. You should go."

Valeria smiled. "Thanks, Pete." She hugged him and left.

Peter went back inside to continue celebrating the holiday.

Adrian was sitting in his cell, alone, and wishing that he could be free to be with his daughter. He was filled with so much regret after Valeria said she no longer wished to see him. Christmas had been a favorite day of his, especially after his divorce, because that meant him and Valeria could be much closer on that day. And that meant the world to the both of them. He wished he could see her one last time.

"Toomes! You have a visitor!" a guard shouted.

"Send 'em in," Adrian responded.

Valeria walked in, and when Adrian saw her, he couldn't believe his eyes. He was actually seeing his daughter again. It wasn't a dream.

Adrian stood up in shock. "Valeria. Hi."

"Hi, Dad," Valeria smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, too, sweetheart. Can I give you a hug?"

A tear rolling down her cheek, Valeria nodded and hugged her father like she hadn't seen him in years. They were both filled with so much emotion in that very moment.

"How are you doing?" Valeria asked as she pulled away.

"Great now that you're here. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too."

"Listen, when I saw you last, I didn't lie to you. I really did try everything I could to protect you. But after Oscorp, I couldn't get a job that paid as good as that one. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to support you, and I couldn't bear to see how you'd feel if we were on the streets," Adrian rambled.

"I know, Dad. I understand. It doesn't mean I can condone it or forgive you for it, but I understand. I just want to move past this."

"Me, too. But I have to ask. What made you come here today?"

"I didn't want you to celebrate Christmas alone. I know how important the holiday is to you," Valeria confessed.

"To be honest, it was only so important to me because it meant you and I were celebrating together. That's one of the reasons why I'm glad your mother left us. That just meant we could become closer. You used to be so close to your mother, and I always wished you and I were closer. Granted, this isn't the way I wanted to bond, but I'll take that any day over having you in another state," Adrian told her.

"Same here. New York is my home. I couldn't leave this place."

"Pretty soon, you'll be graduating, and you'll be off wherever. And I might never see you again. You see, I still don't know how long I'll be in here because the trial keeps getting delayed."

"I know. I've been paying attention to the news," Valeria said.

"I'll be out eventually. Don't you worry," Adrian promised.

Peter and Harry were walking at a park. They had finished their dinner with Aunt May and decided to get some air. The snow was getting everywhere, so Peter and Harry were both dressed in thick clothing.

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day where Valeria Toomes, one of the hottest girls at school, would come over to your house on Christmas," Harry admitted.

Peter chuckled. "Neither did I."

"And I have to say, Valeria's dad being the Vulture? I didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I."

"It's nice to have a dad who cares," Harry sighed.

Peter's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I'm not trying to justify what Valeria's dad did for her, I'm really not. He did a bunch of terrible things, but at least he did it for her," Harry explained.

"He killed all those people at Specter," Peter argued. "He robbed several places. He nearly killed your dad, Harry!"

"That I'll never forgive him for. Maybe if I was closer with my dad, I'd probably be a little more mad, but I can't help but ask myself, what would I have done if I were put in his position? It's just like you said, Peter. Family is everything, isn't it?"

A chill went down Peter's spine as Harry said that. It was no doubt true that Vulture had done horrible things, but as Harry pointed out, Peter himself had said family was everything. His entire life, Peter had been taught to look out for his family first and do anything for them, but would that include crossing the line and doing heinous things? Was Peter willing to harm someone to help his family? For now, the answer was no, but what if something worse happened to him in the future? Surely, a hero like Peter wouldn't ever go down that path. Especially after what happened to Uncle Ben, he couldn't.

"But what if your father had been killed by the Vulture?" Peter questioned. "What would you have done?"

Harry looked up at the sky, thinking about his answer.

"For now, the only thing I can say is, if anyone ever took my family away from me, I'd make them pay."

"Mac, I'm done!" Phineas shouted.

In their warehouse, Phineas had just finished the final upgrades to the Scorpion armor. Gargan was sitting on a foldable chair nearby, reading a newspaper. Inside the warehouse were also Wilson Fisk and some of his men, curious on how the armor would turn out.

"Excellent," Mac excitedly stated, throwing his newspaper aside.

Mac had been a soldier of the Royal Marines for a decade and had seen some pretty nasty stuff unfold. The most trauma he had ever experienced was in the war zone of Afghanistan for two years. He had seen friends die, and it only resulted in more anger at the world. Once the government issued a secret experiment known as the Scorpion program, Mac was instantly intrigued. He discovered that the program's intention was to genetically enhance a human's ability to one of a powerful scorpion with superhuman abilities. It was essentially the test to make a powerful soldier. Wanting to make a difference, Mac volunteered.

However, after taking the scorpion serum, the results were catastrophic. The experiment didn't go as planned, and Mac went ballistic. As a result of destroying government property and killing several agents, Mac was dishonorably discharged. He fled, and since then, Mac had been living on the streets.

At some point recently, Phineas had hacked into the government's files to find useful information for potential men to kill Spider-Man, and he happened to stumble upon Mac's file. Tracking him down, Phineas offered the proposition for Mac in exchange for the prize money from Fisk's bounty. Without thinking, Mac agreed.

And right now, Mac's new and improved Scorpion armor was complete, and he was more than ready to test it out.

Phineas helped Mac put the Scorpion armor on, and they were both amazed.

"It's heavy, but it feels good," Mac commented.

"Give it a try," Phineas suggested. "The reinforced steel armor has an A.I. that utilizes the scorpion serum throughout your body.

Scorpion rammed his fist through the table, smashing it in half.

"What else can I do?" Mac wondered.

At that moment, every part of Mac's body started to hurt in agonizing pain. He collapsed to his knees, groaning and struggling to get up, and his eyes closed.

"Mac!" Phineas shouted.

Phineas tried to examine the armor while one of Fisk's men ran over to calm Mac down.

"I don't get it. The intelligence protocol should be helping you manifest your body, but why is it hurting you?" Mason pointed out, confused.

Through the armor's yellow glass lenses, Mac's eyes opened again, and he punched the man, sending him into the door of the warehouse.

Panicking, Fisk's five other men pulled out their guns and started shooting at Mac.

"Hold your fire, you idiots!" Fisk yelled.

Scorpion jumped over to one of the men and threw him at another one, knocking him down. The bullets continued coming, but they simply didn't do any damage.

"Shit!" one of the men yelled, trying to run away.

Scorpion ran over to the man and snapped his neck, killing him. Scorpion grabbed another man's gun and bashed him over the head with it, knocking him down. The two men from earlier got back up and tried to flee, only for Scorpion to jump over and slam one of them to the ground. Before the other man could run, Scorpion's tail impaled right through the man's chest, killing him.

During the massacre, Fisk and Phineas had taken the chance to flee the warehouse. Scorpion dropped back to the ground, trying his best to control his armor, particularly the tail.

"AHHHHH!"

Scorpion punched the ground in frustration. Slowly getting back up, he calmly swung his tail, controlling his abilities.

"Looks like it's successful," Fisk concluded as he and Phineas walked back inside.

"Then, it's time for him to start his objectives," Phineas added.

Fisk nodded. "Indeed. Gargan, tomorrow, you will kill Spider-Man, and then you'll get your money. After that, you will break Adrian Toomes out of prison."

Scorpion sadistically smiled. "Merry Christmas, Spider-Man."

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Next chapter: Spider-Man and Scorpion battle it out.