[CARNAGE] ARC

Chapter 11:

The Red-Headed Shut-in

You look over at the clock with dread. Tonight, you will once again be meeting Mary Jane Watson. In your history with the girl, she is the ultimate bully. She beat you up, took your lunch money, kicked sand in your face, you name it. There was also the spaghetti incident…

You shake your head and let out a sigh.

It does help that you had trouble sleeping last night, so worried over Gwen's utter block out of you for the past few days. Was it because she saw you with Black Cat? Is she upset because her dad was made to look bad in the papers? Maybe its just because she can't talk to you after you confessed to her?

Man, can things get any worse?

You talked with Eddie Brock, your old friend you reconnected with recently. He's a reporter for the Daily Bugle. Last you saw him, he took a picture of you during your Capture of the Black Cat as 'Spider-man.' As he promised, he called you today and you ended up talking with him for a little while.

Seems like his church just got a new member to it, a man named Cletus Cassidy, though Eddie has yet to meet him. Could he be that man you met yesterday?

Regardless, though, he couldn't talk about it he's currently investigating three different cases, one just given to him by his boss, J Jonah Jameson. Seems like he's keeping busy, though it seemed like he was a bit under the weather.

Still, it had been a nice distraction talking to him, all things considered. Talking with an old friend seems to brighten his mood as the two of you talked about the past and he laughed at the fact Mary Jane Watson was returning to town. He jokingly promised to speak of how terribly you went out in her hands at your funeral and that the secrets of that incident would never be repeated to another person, so long as he lived.

Eventually he had to go as his girlfriend was calling and your talk with him came to an end. You spent the rest of the day adjusting Felix's tutoring schedule and keeping up to date on your schoolwork, with some studying in the meantime.

But, as always, all good things must come to an end. Its approaching evening and you promised Aunt May that you'd spend some time with Mary Jane Watson tonight.

…Joy.

Still, you should probably get ready.

You look at what you're wearing. You've got on loose jeans and a long sleeved shirt. You get up and freshened yourself up a bit, but what you've got on is good. You weren't told to dress nicely and you really don't want to dress up for Mary Jane Watson, either. Furthermore, if you dressed up weird to freak her out, she might try to beat you up.

Not likely, but y'know… past history.

You head downstairs and nod at Aunt May, who raises an eyebrow at your apparel as you shrug. She lets out a sigh and shakes her head as the two of your go over to Anna Watson's house. Minutes later, you're let into the house. Anna Watson looks a bit disheveled as she tries to look cheerful.

"Ah, May, Peter. Sorry, Mary Jane's being a bit… difficult."

She looks at you and gives a weak smile. "Peter, you're an old friend of hers, right? Maybe she'd relax at a familiar face. Would you mind going to get her?"

They want you to go to the pit that keeps the beast of hell contained and bring it out?

You know what? You aren't going to be afraid of a childhood bully. If she tries to reestablish that status quo, she's got another thing coming. He pulled one over on old sourpuss Jameson and got your money and she's no Black Cat. So, really, what do you have to be afraid of?

Nothing.

You nod at Anna Watson and start walking towards the stairs before pausing and looking back. "…Which room was she?"

"Top of the stairs, second door on the left, dear."

You nod and continue on forward, spider sense tingling. Mary Jane wants to be the end of your happy world? Well, tonight you are canceling the apocalypse!

You march to the second door to the left and knock on it, making sure that it makes a noise. And then you knock again. Nothing.

You knock again after a moment

A voice calls out. "I told you, Aunt Anna, I'm not going!"

The voice is feminine and sounds annoyed. There's no light coming from beneath the door at a glance.

You frown at her tone. What a brat! How old is she again? Shrugging, you begin to knock on the door again, this time using Morse code.

-"What a brat."-

There's silence on the other end as your spider sense continues to tingle. Maybe its just nervousness ingrained into you. But after a few seconds, the door cracks open.

The room's dark ,except for the illumination from a screen either a tv or computer- you can't tell from here. At the door is a mess of unkempt red hair- unlike Gwen's intent messiness, this looks failty- the result of someone who does not take care of themselves, it looks darker and dirty, greasy. A green eyes stares at you, ringed with dark circles, it looks both nervous and indignant- like the person is judging you.

As she stares at you, you feel your spider sense still go off, this girl bothers you.

The girl looks at you with the same look before recognition seems to set in her eyes seconds later, her mouth open as if she was going to say something until before it slams shut, just like she plans to do to her door.

You put your foot into the doorway, frowning. The door slams into your foot, again and again, but it only hurts a little bit as she stares at you with that you think might be horror. "Hey, this is really rude behavior, you know? After all, our Aunts put a lot of effort into things, so the least you can do is make an appearance, alright?"

Her eyes stare at you before looking at your foot, uncrushed by the door's dark and terrible powers, before looking at you again. As you stare at her, your spider-sense undoubtedly responding to your years of trauma and not the reality. After all, looking at this girl… she's defiantly unnerving, but she doesn't seem all that threatening.

"…fne"

She nudges your foot out of the door and closes it. You see the light turn on from the door and the sounds of movement. A few minutes later, the door opens and, her head covered by the hood of her sweatshirt, she gives you a look with her one visible eye and starts making her way downstairs, a gaming device in her hands.

As you follow her downstairs, you can't help but wonder. The girl who tormented you-the demon who tormented you for all those years- turned into this. It's almost… disappointing?

You shrug and when you reach the living room, both of yours aunts smile at the both of you. "Well, isn't that lovely? Peter, would you mind showing Mary Jane around the neighborhood and treating her to dinner?"

You Spider Sense is still bothering you.

You give Aunt May a long, flat stare as she gives you a sweet smile. "Treat her to dinner, Aunt May?

"This is starting to sound like you're setting us up on a date or something."

Aunt May and Anna Watson give you a too-innocent look as they exchange glances, trying to look skeptical before looking back at the both of you. "Wellllll, I suppose it /could/ be seen like that, Peter."

Your look becomes more deadpan and she lets out a sigh, looking at you sadly.

"Alright, fine. That's exactly what it was, Peter.

"Still, you can't help it if your Aunt worries about you, can you? I've seen you moping around recently, like a heartbroken teenager and I thought that from what I remember you always did spend time with Mary Jane when you were younger, even if you two did… roughhouse a bit. Even if you didn't work out, it'd be nice to see you have another friend, you always spend your time working or studying- never out enjoying yourself.

"Still, I won't force you to take Mary Jane out if you don't want to Peter. I didn't mean to upset you."

Your Aunt gives you a sad, apologetic look.

You glance over at Mary Jane, who seems to be about as miserable as you are by the glance she shoots you. You look over at your Aunt and Anna Watson before letting out a sigh.

"…Fine. But it is /not/ a date."

You emphasize the fact and then look over at the game Mary Jane is holding onto. "I'll show her around. You ready?"

Mary Jane gives you a long look before shrugging, the look over indifference and spite which you think might be her normal look, on her face.

You head out the door, waving to your aunt.

There's that arcade you visited yesterday with Harry not far from your house. Even if you'd rather not spend time with this girl, it'd be better to do something you both might enjoy than be abjectly miserable.

Even if her very presence is oppressive to you, your spider sense is at a low hum.

You arrive at Dillon's Arcade, the arcade you've gone to for years. It's been on the decline lately, but that's just how things go, you guess. Hell, they don't even have that Virtual-On machine anymore.

You walk in and look around. It seems a bit busy today, but there's a few machines free.

You challenge her to the new DC vs. CAPCOM- FATE OF FIFTY TWO WORLDS that Dillon's Arcade just got in. You managed to school Harry at it, so hopefully things should go well.

You pick a good character- Superman and she picks… Doomsday. You put your gaming mettle to the test…

And you are defeated. Again and again. No matter the character choice- she's better. When, at last, you admit defeat, you look over at her to see her look amused for a moment before it's gone, back under the indifference and scorn. Then again, having that damned sixth sense continuously go off didn't help any.

"…..lsr….."

You give her a look ,as you swore she said something.

Your eyebrow twitches in annoyance. "Well, how about we try Dance, Dance Revolution, then? You up for it?"

She gives you the neutral shrug as she has been doing and approaches the machine, taking the left spot on the machine while you take the right. You start off terribly, but very quickly find your tempo and start doing well. The song is hard, fast and difficult, but when the score totals come up at the end….

You won.

YOU WON!

You look over at Mary Jane who seems to be glaring at you, her eye narrowing before she mutters something so quietly you can't hear her. She then turns around and walks off.

You watch her storm off. As she walks away, your Spider-sense's buzzing goes away. When she's gone, its quiet. Well, she can cool off for a few minutes, you can get yourself something to eat.

You buy a hotdog and some fries and munch on them, scanning the area. By the time you're done, you don't spot anyone you know- including Mary Jane.

You take a quick look around the arcade, but she's nowhere to be found. Maybe she's in the bathroom? You wait around for a few more minutes, but still nothing. You go and ask the proprietor, Maxwell, if he'd seen Mary Jane.

The man, in his thirties pauses and nods. "Yeah, she left a little while ago."

Well, crap.

You take out your phone and call Anna Watson's house. After a few rings, the phone picks up with Ana Watson's tone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Ms Watson, did Mary Jane make it home? She kinda stormed out."

"No, she hasn't."

You let out a sigh at Anna Watson's worried tone. "…I'll go look for her, alright?"

After a few more moments, you end the call.

Time to go look for a shut-in girl who has issues. Who also was the girl who tormented you growing up.

Great.

You try looking around for her, but considering her hood was up and she was generally pretty quiet- it might be a bit hard to find her.

And it is- you don't see her anywhere. You look around, but it doesn't seem like she stopped in any of the shops or restaurants. However, you aren't an idiot- you also decided to ask around and- finally- you get someone who mentions that they saw her looking around nervously and slipping into an alley- after that, the shop owner declared- it wasn't his business to keep paying attention- kids can take care of themselves at that age.

You look down the alley that she allegedly went down.

That leads to a neighborhood you don't want to be after night falls- and its late evening.

You decide to follow the lead as you head in the alley. After a while, though, it splits into two separate paths. On foot you couldn't check both but on rooftop you might be able to get a better overview.

You climb the alley wall and the nearby building. Man, you wish you had your webshooters right now. Still, though, it takes you a few minutes, but down the left path, you hear some male voices. You can't make out what they're saying, though.

You move closer via rooftop until you're overlooking them. It's become full blown night by now and it's overcast- it might begin raining any time now- and you can only see things in dim illumination. As you overlook the scene, you see three large men cornering another figure against the alley wall below you. Its dark out so your profile is hard to see and they aren't looking up.

But what you see is-

A scattered, gaming console lying on the ground-light flickering out of its cracked screen and the figure against the side of the wall is wearing a hood. The men are talking quietly, but you can see one of them has a hand over the hooded person's mouth.

"Quiet, you -bitch!- How dare you fucking bite me! I'll fucking knock your teeth out, you whore!"

There's nothing good going on here and- most importantly-

Your Spider Sense is Tingling.

You don't have much on you, but you do carry a large cloth for cleaning glasses, which you stick to your face, covering your lower face with your adhesive powers.

The roof you're on isn't too high, so you're able to easily make a jump down there. You jump off the edge, using your arm to turn you into a flip so you can do a good directed kick right into the chest of the guy holding the hooded person, sending him knocked backwards as you tumble and stick the landing in a crouch.

You look back at the other two as the one on the ground groans.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, who the FUCK are you?!"

"He took down Jeff!"

You glare at them and try to scare them with the only thing you can think of-

"I'm Batman."

The guys look surprised and pissed.

"Hey, get this smart ass fucker! Kick his ass!"

They look more pissed than they were before and seem intent on kicking your ass. The guy you knocked down is getting up, holding his ribs.

You assess the situation. They're not as big as Flash, but they're angry.

You can use this. Your spider sense, even with the general interference that seems to come from Mary Jane's presence being there, it still tells you of different threats incoming and how dangerous they are to you.

You duck backwards as the first attacker throws a punch at you and push him from behind into the other one who seem to be charging as you kick them both into the third guy who seems to be getting up. As they untangle themselves you look back to the girl, who, as lightning strikes, reveals it to be Mary Jane. She's blankly staring at the scene in front of her with her one visible eye- you can't tell what she's thinking, other than a widened eye, there's no visible emotion. Her hoodie is ripped down the center and she's clutching at it.

The Thugs are currently untangling themselves nearby.

You pick up her game console laying nearby and hand it to her. You notice that the rain has begun to fall as she grabs it and you gently put a hand on her shoulder. Its hard to see, but you know you don't have much time.

"We have to go, now."

Your voice is gentle but urgent. As you pick her up, you think she might struggle, but she doesn't resist- letting you carry her off. The rain has begun to pick up and its getting harder to see, but you keep going.

In the dark and rain, you barely catch it, her voice is so quiet and easily overpowered by nearby noises, but she stares up at you. "Who are you?"

You look down at her, trying to disguise your voice. "Like I said- I'm Batman."

She seems to be snapping out of shock because she's looking more irate, like usually as she sees through your bluff. "Who are you, really now?"

You look down at her with a raised eyebrow. "You know who I am."

You take off the cloth covering your face as her eyes widen in surprise. "…Peter?"

You nod, adjusting her in your arms. "Now, let's get you home."

You navigate the way home through the storms, soaked to the bone, as you carry Mary Jane. Eventually you arrive at the door and set her down. She leans on you for a second, steadying herself, before you open the door and lead her in as she tries to keep her hoodie shut, easier as it seems to cling to her form now. Anna and Aunt May are in the living room, as is your uncle as they wait by the phone as their eyes, as one, turn to the two of you.

Aunt May and and Anna Watson seem to be in shock. "Peter?! Mary Jane?! What happened?!"

You look over at Mary Jane. "You go ahead and tell them, but first can we get some towels? We're both soaked like drowned rats."

There's a scuffle and before you know it, you're both covered in, large fluffy towels as Mary Jane begins talking, her voice quiet. "Well, Peter was showing me around. Neither of us got along well all things considered, but he decided to take me to an arcade because he thought I'd have fun there- we played some games and after he beat me, I walked out-upset. I thought I could get home, but I got lost and some guys started tailing me.

"I-I tried to lose them in an alley, but they caught up to me. They said they would do things to me, so I tried to fight back and bit one of them on the arm. Then they got angry and tore my hoodie. It was dark and then Peter knocked them away- they didn't notice him in the dark. While they were struggling to get up, he grabbed me and we ran as it rained. It took a little while but he led me home.

"It's my fault, had I acted better, this never would have happened. I'm sorry, everyone."

Mary tells the story, and though her quiet voice is full of emotion, her eyes remain dull- that look of disinterest and spite in them. It's unnerving, reminding you of your spider sense that still seems to go off. It takes a while but eventually a cop comes by and takes your statements.

The night wraps up and Mary Jane is led upstairs by her Aunt as you're escorted home by your Aunt and Uncle. When you get inside, Uncle Ben pats you on the shoulder. "Things might not have gone well, but I'm proud of you, Peter. You've grown into a upstanding young man I'm proud to call my nephew."

You give them a grateful smile as you head upstairs it get changed into some dry clothes. It's Saturday night and you still have some time left.

There's still time for you to get some work done on your costume, so you should do that. Before that, however, you should get a snack. You head downstairs and go to the kitchen. Seems like Uncle Ben's upstairs, but Aunt May is in the kitchen, making tea.

You have the opportunity, so you should ask about this- its been bugging you. "Hey, Aunt May, can I ask you a question?"

Aunt May pours herself a cup of tea and sits down at the table, gesturing for you to join her. "Of course, Peter. What is it?"

"What made Mary Jane move back in? Not only that, but.. She's very different from the Mary Jane I remember."

Aunt May grows pensive before nodding. "I probably shouldn't tell you- it isn't my place. But I asked Anna that myself. There was trouble with her family- her father, Philip- Anna's brother. We has a professor, you see. But, as the years went on the relationship between him and his family… soured. He became a cruel man, abusive. It took years to get Medeline, Mary Jane's mother to admit to it.

"But by then… the damage was already done. Madeline and Mary Jane tried to live on their own, but as the years went on, Madeline's health declined. She just passed away a little while ago, actually. With her father never allowed to be near her by court order- there was only two places to go- Anna's home or a foster family."

Aunt May lifts her tea and looks into it, looking old and weary. "That's why I wanted you to go today, Peter. I wanted you to help Mary Jane out of the shell she was in. I didn't want to say anything beforehand because you didn't really like Mary Jane, and I didn't want you only to spend time with her out of pity- she deserves better than that."

Aunt May sets down her teacup and looks at you. "More importantly, there's another matter I need to discuss with you. I know you've overheard that we've had a few problems with Bills, Peter and you've emptied out your funds you've been saving for your car. I appreciate what you want to do, but Ben's just gotten a raise, its why he's been working so much lately, and they won't be an issue anymore.

"That money is yours and neither Ben nor I will accept it. You should save it and use if, if not on a car, then something like your college funds. I know we should be more direct with you Peter and that our subterfuge has hurt you- so I decided to go ahead and tell you."

She finishes her tea and washes out the cup before walking over to you and giving you a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Peter. You might not be our son, but we've raised you like it nevertheless. I'm proud of you."

She gets up and goes over to a cabinet and opens it, revealing their safe, before opening it and pulling out something- a sealed envelope. She hands it to you with a sad look.

"Your mother and father gave this to me before they left on that ill-fated plane trip. They said to give it to you when I thought you were mature enough. So, I'm giving it to you, Peter."

She hands it to you and heads towards the doorway, looking back. "I'll head to bed so you can have some privacy, Peter. Try to get some sleep, dear."

You look down at the envelope. From your parents?

You grab your snack and head down to the basement, where you originally planned to work on your costume. You lock the door behind you and head downstairs.

You open the envelope and remove its contents- there's a letter in there. You unfold it and begin reading it.

-"Dear Peter

-"This is your mother, and I'd like to write this message to you so that, one day, you might understand us a little better because if you're reading this, there is no doubt we have already passed on. Your father and I, we are undercover agents of a branch of the government- the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

-"There's been a number of incidents we've been involved in. Recently your father has begun working under Norman Osborn- to observe the man and his goals. However, after an experiment your father refused to finish, we had become… expendable. It is likely he will be watching you so if you feel like your life is ever in mortal danger, there is an individual you must contact.

-"He might seem rude and hard to deal with, but he cares about all of his employees. His name is Nick Fury- the director of our division. He isn't a man to involve over trivial things, but he can get you, May, and Ben to safety- new identities with protection. This is only a last resort, mind you, but If you have this- you're mature enough to judge when that is.

Oh, and your father, Richard, wants me to make sure you know something. He says it'll be very important and to remember it when the time comes- you mustn't forget this-

-"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.

-"I love you my son, be safe, be happy.

-"Mary Parker"-

You sit there for minutes, maybe- though it feels like hours. You blink back the tears- No, right now, you have to be stronger than tears. More than just a man. Norman Osborn can kill those well enough and, more than anything, if you tried just to kill him in revenge- you'll destroy the future you have built for yourself- the future that your parents tried to preserve for you.

You go over to the hard drive and take it out and go and take the computer, its easy to repeat the process now that you know how to do it, and shut down anything that can hook up to the internet before connecting the hard drive and turning it on.

The Screen pops up with the password command and you enter it, just like the letter

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.

It takes a moment after you enter it- and you worry, but then the words pop up

"Hello, Peter"

And there's folders, most of them are listed as 'decrypting.'

There's only two folders available-

You open Nick Fury's file, but there's just a word document with a phone number in it. There's nothing else in there, so you exit it and go to the next file 'The Suit'.

"What did you make, dad?"

You open the files and there's files with diagrams and a few videos. Seems like some are corrupted, but there's one here that works, so you watch it. When its over, you stare at the screen in shock-angry-hatred?

Your father made a cure for cancer with the help of Eddie's and before they finished it- Osborn wanted to make it into a weapon instead- a new way of making super soldiers- new Captain Americas- your father refused, disgusted by the thought. They made a base sample-even, before hand. No doubt its still in Osborn's evil little paws.

You clench your fists and grit your teeth- utterly disgusted by the idea. This is why your father and Eddie's dad died. You could be living in a world without cancer- right now-RIGHT NOW-with your father and mother and Eddie would be with his.

And Norman Osborn walks free, above the law.

You spend the night sewing- you're too upset to sleep- bet to channel your emotions productively- through sewing your costume.

You screw up the mask, cracking the lenses, tossing it in the discard pile. Following that, you decide to work on the jacket- the larger patters are easier and you find yourself making it much more easily- at decent quality, though nothing to write home around.

You then work on the pants and gloves, using the tricks you picked up from the jacket- they come out REALLY nicely. You set them aside and then look at the patterns once more.

The mask. You have two lenses left- if you screw up you'll have to buy more. Taking your time, you decide to do your best with it and, to your surprise- its actually really nice when you finish it. The lenses fit well and, putting it on, it is the right size.

You put on the costume and look at yourself in the mirror- This, this looks good.

This is a Spider-man people could respect.

You look over at the clock- its morning. You worked on the costume all night. You put everything back the way it was, everything that needs to be in the secret compartment is- and head upstairs in your usual clothes. You avoid your aunt and uncle and head to your bed.

You fall asleep in moments, dreaming of a monstrous Norman Osborn, who has you clutched in his claw-like hands.

End

To Be Continued...

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