Chapter 11:

"You really should see a doctor."

"I'm fine."

"At least let me take a look."

"I'm fine."

"It could be broken, Shadowcat," Peter said with as much force and friendship he could muster. He was fully aware that he might be treading on thin ice with her, combined with his new-found knowledge of her real identity, he was afraid to speak.

"I can manage," She replied as she half-limped over to the edge of the roof. "My house isn't far from here. I can get to a hospital from there pretty quick." She looked as if she was about to jump.

"Yeah, and you'll tell your family you fell down a flight of stairs or something, right?" he said with a grin. "Let me take a look at your arm at my hideout. I've borrowed some medical equipment for just such an occasion." She let out a little half-smile.

"A hideout?" She asked as she edged herself closer to him, away from the roof's edge. "like a spider-cave? How cool is that!"

"More like a warehouse of solitude," he replied with a grin, knowing he had won. "Now hold on tight, or you'll fall." He wrapped an arm around her body, and underneath her injured shoulder. "Try not to move it to much," He said as he stepped closer to the edge. "And don't swallow any bugs." He finished as he leaped off the roof and swung out over the street.

Initially, carrying someone with him while web-swinging was a bit awkward at first, but he managed to adjust quickly without hurting her to much. He pumped his legs harder to compensate for the increased mass, allowing him to accelerate more.

"WHO-HOOOO!" Kitty screamed as he pulled out of a particularly powerful swing. "Is it always like this?"

"Usually!" he replied he rounded a corner, bringing an abandoned warehouse into view. "Hang on!" he repeated as he propelled them into the air. At the very last second he loosed a strand of webbing that allowed for a safe landing on the roof. With one hand, he opened the rooftop access that led to a ladder. Gingerly, he helped Kitty down too the ground using a web-line, as she was unable to use her right arm. He nimbly landed next to her and indicated to the right, where there was a door. Once it was opened, a room full of medical equipment and crime-fighting gear was revealed. "Welcome to my warehouse of loneliness."

"Wow," Kitty said as she stepped into the room, marvelling at all the high-tech equipment. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"

"When I first got my powers," he said as he opened a supply closet. "I wanted to make a quick buck, so I started in a couple of low-level MMA fights. I won, of course. Over twenty thousand under the table."

"Why'd you stop?" She asked as she took a seat on one of many crates littering the floor. "You could be as rich as Tony Stark in a year."

"You're right, I could." He said as he gathered what he needed and moved to her side. "But I got some sense knocked into me when I made a mistake."

"Must have been a pretty big mistake for you to give up a free pass on life," Kitty muttered under her breath. "I'd kill for that kind of chance. A condo in downtown New York, and a hot pink Ferrari for me."

"That's just the thing," Peter replied as he examined her limp arm, "I got someone killed." He ran his fingers up and down the length of her shoulder and arm, both in an attempt to determine the extent of her injury and to distract him from the pressing memories surfacing in his mind. "Good news," he said once he finished his analysis, "It's not broken, only dislocated. Easy fix."

"You sure?" Kitty asked as she examined her arm for herself.

"Yep," He said as he positioned himself to properly re-locate her arm. He slipped off one of his gloves and handed it to her and said, "put this between your teeth, 'cause this is gonna hurt a little." He saw a flicker of fear in her eyes as she placed the glove in her teeth, inhaling deeply with her nostrils as she did so. He followed suit, before giving her dislocated shoulder a quick push with absolute minimal force. The tiny Pop! was barely audible over her muffled scream of pain. Tears swelled in her eyes briefly, before the pain faded away.

Carefully, Kitty flexed her fingers as her arm rested in his arms. Her movements become more and more complex as she tested for pain of any sorts.

"All better?" he asked.

"All better," she replied as she handed him back his glove. Her eyes darted toward his bare hand, where his web-shooter was exposed against his flesh. "What's that?" she asked, indicating to his wrist.

"These?" he replied as he took a seat next to her. "My web-shooters. It's where my webbing comes from."

"Really?" she asked intently, "cause I always thought you're webbing was organic."

"I wish," he said as he pulled the device off, to show it to her in greater detail. "It's a fluid that's stored in these little cartridges. Once I press this button, I shoot out some of the fluid. It becomes all stringy on contact with the air. I've got different types for different situations. Flame-retardant, non-conductive, acid, even some laced with garlic from when I teamed up with Blade."

"Just a little push?" she asked gleefully as she stuck out her thumb and pushed down on the firing button. Nothing happened, so she pushed again with more force. "I think it's broken," she said.

"Nope," he replied as he pulled his mask over his nose, allowing himself to breath more easily. "Sorry, the mask gets a little stuffy sometimes. Anyway, you'd probably have to punch it to get it to fire for you."

"Why?"

"Because," he replied with a grin, "I designed it that way, so that no one without super-strength would be able to fire them."

"Why?" she repeated.

"So that if some idiot ever got a hold of them, he or she wouldn't be able to try and swing from rooftops." he answered her. "it also only accepts only a certain amount of pressure, so that when I grab something, or make a fist, I don't trigger them by accident."

"Genius!" Kitty exclaimed before she brought her fist down on the web-shooter, finally causing it to disperse some web-fluid. All over her uniform. "Whoops," she giggled as she tried to clean herself up, only to find that she could no longer move due to the adhesive nature of the webbing, "I'm stuck."

"Hang on, I've got a solvent," he said as he did his best not to burst out laughing. It reminded him of when he had invented his web-shooters, and they exploded on him. He grabbed the solvent from where it lay and proceeded to use it to free Kitty.

"So..." she said as she waited for the chemicals to do their work. "How many people have seen your spider-cave?" she asked innocently.

"Counting me and you?" he grinned, "Two. The Torch is the only other person who knows about this place, but he's never been here personally."

"Why not?" Kitty asked as she discovered that her arms where free once more.

"Because this is my backup place, only to be used in certain circumstances. I also want it kept off of the Avenger's radar, and the FF's uniforms have tracking chips in them. It'd be to easy for Mr Fantastic to give Iron Man the location." Peter replied as the grin faded from his face. To avoid an awkward situation, and to answer the burning question in his mind, he asked, "So did you know that guy?"

"Magneto," Kitty spat with disgust. "He's just someone who makes it look like we're all evil."

"Us?" Peter asked.

"Well, yeah," she replied stiffly, "mutants in general. He's sort of the arch-enemy of our leader. Like you and that goblin guy."

"Leader?" Peter asked sarcastically, "you a part of some sort of cult?"

"CULT!" Kitty fumed as she drew herself away from him. "The X-men have done more for this planet than..."

"Joking," Peter interrupted. "I'm not one to judge people because of who they 'hang' with. Because I know some shady people myself, Shadowcat."

"Yeah," she huffed, "like who?"

"Daredevil, Luke Cage, Punisher, etc. All the street-level guys helped me on a few of my first gigs. Hell, Cage was the first person to call me a superhero. And Daredevil gave me more cash to get this place started." Peter said as he reminisced. "We still run into each other now and again, but my business has gotten a bit out of their reach lately. It's a shame, really."

"Wow," Kitty muttered as she re-assumed her position next to him, "You know everyone."

"Not quite," Peter replied. "I've never heard of any group that calls themselves 'The X-men.' And two and a half months ago, I'd never heard of you or Rogue before."

"We aren't allowed out much," Kitty said. "As Mutants, we like to stick together in communities. But an opportunity came up for me to come out here, so I took it."

"Which kinda brings me to a pressing question," Peter asked, averting his eyes slightly. "How do you know?"

"Know what?" Kitty replied.

"If you're..." He began. He'd actually been wondering this for a while. And the night's event's had brought the question to the forefront of his mind.

"One of us?" she smiled. "Simple, we look for the X-gene in your DNA. If you have it, then you're a mutant. If not, then that's okay. Why, you think you're one?" She finished by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I dunno," he replied. "I got bit by a genetically-altered Spider when I was fourteen. I've always assumed that that's how I got my powers, so that's why I named myself Spider-man."

"Well," Kitty replied, "give me a blood sample and I'll give it to some people who know what to look for. Then we can find out together."

"Did I mention my guardian believes in all that anti-mutant crap?" He said with a hint of irony in his voice.

"That might put a damper in things at home, just a bit." She replied as she took her arm off him, apparently in deep thought.

"You have no idea." He muttered as he checked the wall-mounted clock. "And speaking of home," he said, "I've got somewhere to be over an hour ago. Feel free to use this place, but only in an emergency, and please don't bring anyone. It's supposed to bee a secret hideout." He finished as he stood and made his way to the ladder.

"Then why show it to me?" Kitty asked from behind him.

"You're a friend," He replied. "What was I supposed to do, let you suffer? I..." The rest of his words where silenced by a pair of lips colliding with his. He felt his cheeks flush with blood as his stomach churned. For a brief second, he wondered why his spider-sense hadn't warned him. Because she's not a threat...or at least she's not trying to hurt me. He thought as he wrapped his arms around her, which was the wrong thing to do, apparently. The most wonderful kiss Peter Parker had ever experienced was over as quickly as it had begun.

"I'm so so so so sorry," Kitty stuttered as she pulled away from him. "I shouldn't have...I mean...there's som...oh god..." She continued to mutter, her words becoming more and more incoherent as she did so.

"H..." He began as he advanced towards her with his arms open, ready for an embrace of friendship.

"No!" She shouted defiantly, stopping him in his tracks. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't." She said before she disappeared into the ground.