Hallooo! So, this is the origin chappie you've all been waiting for, with a lot of backstory/filler stuff. But it's important!
Reviews:
New Prussia: Thank you, and yeah, Peter's a bit uptight about things!
True Beast 01: Yes he has, and that will come later. Enjoy the chapter!
pownxmanonnie: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!
Guest (1): Happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!
Man285: I will!
Guest (2): Ha! Yes! A lot of people say he's very Sam-like! Yeah, Wish Mast does like to taunt, and as far as the heartbreak, I'm happy I was able to make you feel something! It will be short mostly in the number of chapters, and not in the number of words. But I haven't decided on if I'll do a sequel yet. Enjoy the chapter!
Peter slung through his window, clutching his papers with a death-grip. He carefully arranged them on his desk, eyes straying to the photo of the drowned man. he shuddered, feeling slightly ill.
The house felt so lonely without his family. Peter froze, hands going up to his lungs. His chest was burning suddenly, and he felt nauseated.
What's...happening...
A moan escaped his lips and he slumped onto his bed, pressing his face into his pillow. The room spun, faster and faster until he was clutching his stomach to keep from vomiting.
"Oomph..." Peter breathed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. Faster still everything ran, until the colors blurred together into blackness. His room darkened as the moon hid behind a cloud. Peter took one more breath, and then he was asleep.
Immediately, he was engulfed in purple sludge. It covered his body, oozing into his pores. Slimy tendrils of it tightened around his ribs, drowning him. He tried to scream and it only poured into his throat.
"A sea of lunacy sees insanity and welcomes it inside!" An ugly voice blared from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Peter gurgled helplessly, thrashing in the warmth.
"I warned him it would kill him but the kitty never listens!"
"Wistgr Mashfs!" Peter shrieked, trying to see past the purple waves that pushed him down. Panicking, he gasped for air and only swallowed more sludge. He couldn't breathe!
"Now he swims circles in this sea and never ever will he see his loved and cherished family that never was enough for he! Nothing was enough and now he's nothing too!"
The Wish Master's voice grew angrier and darker, and Peter's heart thumped loudly in his chest. He squirmed furiously, throwing his body through the space until finally, he surfaced long enough to speak.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Peter screamed.
"Out with old smiles and in with now frowns, new beats old with strength of weak mind!"
Peter's face fell as he was dragged back down. Further and further until his ears popped. His chest restricted painfully, and his legs flailed uselessly. Tendrils of purple smothered him, pushing into his mouth and nose.
But wait, Peter blinked madly. He could see something.
It was a body, floating down past him. It was black and white with blurred features, yet it emanated tangible pain. Fear.
Misery.
No! WISH MASTER STOP! Let me go! This isn't real!
Peter choked as images began to flash before him.
A little boy was trapped in a forest fire, screaming as the smoke swallowed him. Then a girl, standing before her cowering parents, was crying as they kicked her out. She ran though the streets, hands flashing white. Peter's eyes widened. He watched a new girl, blind, turning away from some older kids who were laughing at her.
And finally, a boy was wandering through the streets, staring into windows where children laughed and ate with their parents. He scowled, hoisting his bag of stolen possessions further on his shoulder, but Peter could see his sadness.
Wait...are those...
Peter struggled harder, tears mingling with the sweat on his face.
"They and you think you'll protect, really you're their worst threat yet!" Wish Master leered from all around him.
I don't understand! Please! Let me go!
"No one understands the loopy mind of breaking strands that bleeds and bleeds and bleeds and nobody else ever cares!"
Peter startled. It seemed the villain could hear his thoughts!
I know who you are! You're not a monster! Just listen to me!
"You think you know, you know we're one, but puzzles have pieces more than one! Pain is instant, joy is finite, fear is an illusion. Misery is eternal!"
The voice grew sharper and angrier still, until Peter could feel his passion as if it was his own.
His head felt light. He knew the Wish Master was giving him information. Something important. But he couldn't grasp it.
The warmth was becoming unbearable, burning his skin. The ocean darkened around him, pulsing like it had a heart beat. His eyes were on fire, and his lungs seared.
Everything slipped away and Peter opened his eyes to the darkness of his room. He jolted up, panting and gasping for breath. He clutched his chest and throat and hyperventilated until his head tingled.
Sweat drenched his entire bed, and his clothes stuck to his skin. Peter stood up and fell back down, gagging and coughing.
His head pounded and he trembled, still able to feel each sneaky tendril of purple trying to drown him.
Finally, after nearly ten minutes, Peter stood up and crossed to his desk. He didn't want to go near the bed anytime soon.
As he settled into his chair, he grabbed a blank notepad and scribbled down everything he could remember from his dream.
But was it a dream?
Peter exhaled. He remembered seeing these images, of children. Sad, familiar children.
His teammates.
There was no doubt that it was them. And they had seemed miserable, different from when Peter saw them now. He looked back at his notes.
The Wish Master had said that they thought he would protect them...right? But then...
I'm their greatest threat?
Peter's heart shook. There was something he was missing. There was something behind the Wish Master's words that explained so much, he could feel it!
Yet it was just beyond him.
In the morning Peter was still at his desk, eyes wide and rimmed with red. He blinked owlishly at the sun coming in through his window, and ran a hand through his tousled hair. He felt exhausted.
Peter got up and stumbled to his closet, flinging on his costume. Nothing ever woke him up quite like swinging through the city. He practically fell out of the window, weakly shooting a web just in time to catch himself.
He surged upwards, the brightness of morning hurting his eyes.
Ugh! This is horrible!
Peter had only traveled a mile or so before his spidey sense went off like crazy.
Uh oh!
Peter's head snapped back, trying to locate the danger. A bullet, twice the size of a normal one, skimmed his sides and shot past. Peter screamed, hand going to his bleeding side. He was too high for bullets though, wasn't he?
He noticed the helicopter appear from nowhere, bristling with the most heavily armed soldiers he'd ever seen outside of SHIELD.
"Surrender yourself or forfeit your rights!" A soldier yelled.
Wait a second...
Peter saw a familiar logo pasted on the sides of the helicopter and weapons. Rand Co.
Of course.
Peter spun immediately and let do of his webbing, shooting downwards through the air. The helicopter disappeared again, but the shimmer in the air suggested it was coming after him.
He cloaks his helicopters?! Seriously!
He shot a web and was hurled to the left, bullets flashing past him.
He can't shoot in public!
Yet, as he looked around, Peter saw how empty the streets were. His eyes widened. This must have been scheduled somehow! His side was beginning to hurt worse, and he could barely swing without screaming. He hurtled through the air, flipping between some narrowly spaced buildings.
A red spot grew under his costume. But Peter kept going, straining every muscle in his body to gather every inch of distance he could. The helicopter was losing ground, unable to navigate the tight spaces.
At least I'm awake now...
Peter's body curled in on itself and he lost control. Webbing slipped through his fingers and he fell onto a roof, rolling and tumbling to the center. He moaned, willing himself to his feet. Another massive bullet screeched past him.
He ran, diving off the roof and through the packed skyscrapers once more. Peter swung for what felt like hours, doubling back and trying to leave false trails. He couldn't go much longer without resting.
He was just contemplating letting himself fall before the helicopter became visible for a few seconds. It was heading away from him, confused. Peter ducked down below a ledge and waited until it had moved far enough away.
Then he high tailed it back to his house and collapsed on his bedroom floor, holding his side.
He heard the lock click downstairs.
"Peter?" Jade called out.
"Oomf...Up here!" Peter grunted.
His team appeared at the top of the stairs, rushing forward when they spotted him.
"How come every time we meet up, you're bleeding?" Jace asked.
"Bandages in the closet!" Peter said, rolling around slightly. Dorian ruffled through his things before grabbing a first aid kit, and coming over with the bandages. Together, they all helped wrap Peter's wound as well as they could.
"So...what happened?" Samantha said. "You look terrible."
"Oh nothing, just spent my morning getting shot at by a Rand Co. chopper...you know, the usual," Peter deadpanned.
"Is that what it was?" Dorian gasped, showing off his phone screen. There was a warning not to go out from eight to eleven, due to military testing.
Peter nodded, rubbing his side. His spider powers would heal it soon enough.
"Ok, but why do you look like you spilled zombie makeup all over your face?" Jace asked coolly. Peter glared.
"Wish Master came to me last night. He tortured me in some kind of dream...only it was real. He was really there and he showed me things..."
Now the group was interested. They waited for him to elaborate and Peter sighed.
"I think he showed me you guys. But, before I met you. Dorian," Peter turned to the large teen, "I saw a little boy trapped in a forest fire."
Dorian smiled sadly, shuddering slightly.
"It was when I first discovered my powers. I ran away after that. I haven't seen my dad since."
Jade placed a hand on his shoulder and he tried to grin. Peter nodded, shocked, yet excited that his theory was proving true.
"Jade. I saw a blind little girl getting bullied in a school."
She nodded sadly.
"Yeah. It was rough. Even my parents don't know how to handle me."
"Samantha! Your parents kicked you out?"
"They were just scared. We all were. I just freaked out on my cat one day..." She said in an almost whisper.
Peter turned to Jace, excitement growing. The dream must have been real.
"Jace, you wish you were still with your family?"
Jace scoffed.
"I don't need them. I busted out of Xavier's school a few years ago and I've never been happier," He crossed his arms, killing the "sharing" mood.
Peter blinked and looked at each of his teammates.
Sadness filled the room. He had been meaning to talk to them about their pasts, but he hadn't thought...
Why can't superheroes ever have nice happy families and nice happy homes and nice happy lives! Just once! ONCE!
Peter sighed wryly.
"You really did see us," Jade whispered, "Why?"
"I don't know," Peter confessed. He wondered if he should mention the fact that he was supposed to be a threat. He decided against it. There wouldn't be anything without trust.
"Did Wish Master say anything? In your dream?" Dorian asked. Peter nodded uncomfortably and snatched his notes off his desk. He read them out, except for the threat part, and waited. The group was silent for a while.
"It sounds important, whatever it is," Jace said.
"Yeah, but I don't know what it means."
"The first part sounds almost like a story, doesn't it?" Dorian mused.
Peter reread it quickly. It did sound like a narration.
"We just need to know who he's talking about. Maybe it's you?" Samantha said. Peter shrugged. He had thought about that also, and yet something felt off about it. They thought for a while, coming up empty. Peter eventually huffed.
"Hey, where do you guys live?"
The team suddenly looked uncomfortable. Jade shrugged.
"I live with my parents, up in Canada. But I travel a lot. I'm in a hotel right now," She answered. The others looked at her with mixtures of jealously and shock.
"My parents are here, but they don't know where I am," Jace said.
"Same," Samantha smiled slightly.
"My dad lives in New Hampshire still, I think. I ran away when I was little," Dorian contributed.
"Wow," Peter said. He paused for emphasis.
"Would you guys, maybe, like to move in?" He asked, trying not to sound weird. He missed having people in his house, especially teammates.
Everyone froze.
"Seriously?" Dorian asked.
Peter nodded.
Shaky grins broke out amongst the heroes. Jace smirked, tossing his hair.
"Whatever. If you insist."
Yay! Finally finished! Please review! OH! And if any of you want to try and decipher the major plot points hidden in the Wish Master's dialogue, go ahead and tell me about it in the reviews, I love hearing your interpretations!
Wolf Out...