Chapter 14:

Rays of sunlight hit his face, bringing him out of his pain-induced sleep. His eyes fluttered open, revealing a barren wooden floor. His whole body ached like it never had before. Which was not surprising, given what he had put it through the past two days. And sleeping on the floor probably didn't help. He thought groggily as he stood up.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized that he had not changed before falling asleep. His eyes then fell on the open door. He always closed and locked it at night, ever since he was fifteen. Careless mistakes like that could lead to...Oh no. He thought as he searched for the can of Purity-foam he had obtained. It was missing entirely, and the last place he remembered it being was in his hand. He did a wild search around his room after closing his door, in vain hopes of finding it. Nothing. And to make matters worse, his alarm clock read eleven a.m., so he had missed almost half a day. Which was a big deal because it was supposed to be the first day back at school. A quick change of clothing later and he was on his way downstairs, praying that Aunt May had gone out shopping or something.

She hadn't.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, fully dressed and sipping a coffee. The dishes from her breakfast where clearly visible in the sink, waiting to be washed. On the whole, the kitchen seemed to be in order, except for his Aunt's worried expression. She wasn't angry, at least not at him. She looked concerned about something, very concerned. He hadn't seen her look like that since just after Uncle Ben died, when she discovered just how expensive all the bills had become, and that his life insurance wouldn't cover the funeral costs.

"You came home late last night," She remarked, keeping the calm in her voice.

"I'm sorry Aunt may..." he began to say as a cover up. "I was studying and lost track of time."

"I tried calling you." She replied calmly, before taking a sip of her coffee. "You didn't answer your cell phone." It was at that point that he saw what was in front of her. It was the can of Purity-foam. "Care to explain?" She said as she indicated to the canister.

"I...I have to get to school," he gulped as he made his way to the door as quickly as possible. He really wanted to avoid the whole confrontation altogether. Can I face her when I don't have all the answers? A month ago, he had thought he knew every thing about himself, but now he wasn't so sure. Was that spider-bite just a co-incidence?

"No," she replied softly as she stood and followed him to the door. "We need to sit down and discuss this as a family."

"I can't" he muttered as she grabbed his arm. "I don't have all the answers."

"Then give me one." Aunt May asked with a sympathetic look upon her face. "Are you one?"

"Maybe," he grunted as he grabbed his backpack and walked out the door. The late autumn wind bit at his skin, but he had faced worse. He soldiered through the streets until he reached the mall. He still had an hour before third period, and he was very hungry.

The mall was not that busy, as the usual droves of teenagers were still in school, save for the occasional few who where playing hooky. The calm atmosphere gave him some space and time to think as he devoured his purchased food.

He'd been the focus of many criticisms over the past few years, namely those of J. Jonah Jameson. But to discover that he was part of a group that was constantly being accused of terrorism was something new to him altogether. The sensation was similar to the one he had experienced when he first started being Spider-man, but to a new extent. This wasn't something he could bottle up inside like a painful memory. He needed a friend to talk to, and he really only had two options open to him. Johnny would be of some comfort, but he had never been subject to the same amount of ridicule, as he had always had the rest of the Fantastic Four to fall back on. No, the only people I can talk to are Shadowcat and Rogue...Kitty and Marie...what's wrong with me? He sunk his head deep into his hands in frustration, wanting to shut himself out from the world.

"Are you sad?"

"Huh?" He replied as he opened his eyes. The speaker was a girl, no older than seven or eight. She had shoulder-length red hair and green eyes to match. To Peter, she reminded him of a much younger Mary-Jane.

"Are you sad?" she repeated as she twirled on the spot. Her whole posture spoke of youthful energy. "You look sad. Why are you sad?" She asked as she stopped moving and looked him directly in the eye.

"I..." he began, not sure of how to continue. "I'm not sad. I'm worried about something."

"Why?" She asked as she batted her eyes questioningly.

"I...I don't know," he replied as a truth donned on him. Why am I worried? He thought, It's not like I'm a totally different person or anything. I haven't grown extra arms or something. A small smile crossed his face as he came to a conclusion. The girl smiled along with him, issuing a small giggle.

"Are you Spider-man?" the girl asked, catching him completely off-guard.

"Wha...What makes you think that?" He asked, trying to keep his voice under control, as to not arouse suspicions from the people around him.

"I heard you think," the girl smiled. I guess she's special too, he mused as he glanced around to see if anyone else had heard her. If he had learned anything over the past two months, people where ruthless when it came to those who are different. He didn't want to risk someone going after the girl, so he pulled her closer.

"No," he whispered quietly into her ear, "But I do know him, and I know he's like you and me."

"Rachel!" A woman shouted from across from Peter. It was easy for Peter to see that they had a mother-daughter relationship, if the woman's striking red hair was anything to go on. Her voice also contained a hint of a threat aimed at Peter as she crossed the distance towards her daughter, "Don't bother the boy while he's eating!"

"But mommy he's..." Rachel began to say.

"No buts," her other replied sternly before turning to Peter. "She wasn't bothering you, was she?"

"No, no," he replied. "No trouble at all. She seems very...unique."

"You have no Idea," the woman said as she led her daughter away. Once she was sure she was out of normal hearing range, she turned to her daughter and whispered, "You need to be careful, Rachel. What if he was a Purifier?"

"But mommy, he knows Aunty K..." Rachel began to reply.

"Rachel!" she hissed. "What have I told you about doing that in public! I..." their voices trailed off as they walked away. The conversation with the girl had helped him more than expected. He realized that he was both normal and that he needed people to talk to, people who would understand, or try to at least. With that, he stood up with new purpose and started on his way to mid-town high school.

Within half an hour he was walking through the dust halls of his High school again. He smirked as he saw the giant hole in the roof, where Damage control had cut Connors out once he reverted to being human. But he lost his smirk at the sight of armed guards.

"apparently some big-shot's kid goes here," He heard Liz Allen whisper to Flash as he passed them.

"Osborne?" Flash replied.

"Even higher," Liz said. "Works in the government."

"Wow," Flash whispered. Peter picked up similar comments about the incident all the way around the school. It was all people could talk about, even the teachers.

"The Dean says to keep our eyes open for any muties," Mr Duffern said to one of the janitors. "We can't be to careful."

"Why would anyone target this school?" the janitor, Stan replied as he continued to sweep the floor.

"Harry Osborne's son goes here. Parker's got an inside scoop on the government's leading weapons manufacturer. William Stryker has..." Peter didn't hear the last part of the conversation, as someone spoke directly into his ear.

"Hey Mr big-shot I'm gonna go work for Stark industries," M.J whispered as he turned around. "Why haven't I seen you until now?" She smirked.

"I was uh...sick this morning. Figured It would be best to wait until I felt better." He strait-up lied to her.

"You where probably sick because you haven't been to school in a week," M.J mused as her grin widened. "Or you were scared that the big, bad mutant bad guys would catch you." His lip twitched a little, but M.J remained oblivious as she continued, "I'll protect you. Now hurry up and we can get to the assembly and get good seats."

"What assembly?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Right, you just got here," M.J mused as she started to pull him down the hall. "The principal made an announcement this morning, saying it was mandatory and had something to do with last week."

"Oh," Peter replied. Gonna be some anti-mutant shit-storm. "I still gotta go to my locker," He said as he escaped her grip. "I'll go, then find you in the gym, alright?" He finished as he ran down the hall. He didn't go to his locker, instead going to look for Kitty. He half-raced through the halls looking for her, bearing no fruit for his labour. He was about to give up his search when he heard a snide comment from Flash Thompson.

"Things get a little rough in bed last night?" Flash snickered.

"Shut it," Peter heard Kitty reply. He whirled around, looking for her. He saw flash first, then Kitty's distinct hair walking in the opposite direction. He quickly changed direction and started to catch up with her.

"Hey," he said quietly. Kitty whirled around with her hand raised as if to strike him.

"Back off jerk!...oh," She said, calming down once she saw that he posed no threat. "Hi," she smiled.

"Hi," he smiled back as his cheeks flushed a little. "Listen... can we talk later?" He asked, lowering his voice into almost a whisper.

"We can talk now," she replied as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her injuries in a better light. She had tried to hide a black eye underneath copious amounts of makeup. Her swollen lip was lathered in lipstick and her hair was parted just enough to cover up the cut on her forehead. "I fell riding my bike last night," she offered lightly.

"Ouch," he said as he re-assured her confidence in her lie. "Nasty. Anyway, I wanted to talk about something more...private."

"OOOOHHHHHH! Parker's gonna ask a girl out!" Flash Thompson snickered loudly as he passed close to them. "And now I owe Kenny some money!"

"And here's not the best place to keep things private." Peter continued as he blushed, "Clearly."

"Clearly," Kitty replied as she returned his smile and blushing. She continued to meddle with her hair as she continued, "I'm free after the assembly if you wanna talk then." She began to turn away, but stopped herself briefly, "There also might be a free spot next to me in the gym."

"We'll see!" He replied as he followed her to the gym.

"I'm glad to see so many faces back in our student body today," the principal, Mr Patton greeted. The stands where only filled to half their usual capacity, as most of the parents had opted to have their children placed at different schools. "I have called all of you together today to discuss what happened last week, and to dispel any rumours."

"Looks like there's no empty seat next to you," Peter smirked as he slid into place next to Kitty.

"Only an empty mind," she smiled back as Mr Patton continued.

"It was devastating to see so many of you caught in such a senseless act of violence. To lose four bright souls who should have lived long lives was truly tragic. Let me first say that the school's councillors will be ready for any of the needs you may have, all you have to do is ask." Mr Patton continued as he pulled a slip of paper out from his jacket. "My first order of business today is to inform you of Dr Connor's termination as a teacher at our school, and the second is to inform you of what the police have in fact confirmed to me." He gulped as Peter saw Kitty twitch out of the corner of his eye.

"You okay?" Peter asked her reassuringly.

"I'm fine" she replied stiffly.

"The chief of police contacted me this morning. He gave me a list of names to in turn give to you. The police believe that these people are responsible for what happened..." Mr Patton said as the sweat built up on his forehead. Peter knew what was coming before it happened. "A list of mutants who go to this school."

"Robert Drake. Megan Gwyn. Marie Darkholm. Katherine Pryde."

With those word, a hail of garbage flew towards where he sat. But it was not aimed at him, but at her. Kitty bolted for the nearest door, followed by the thunder of half the student body. Each and every one of them wanted a piece of her. Peter followed the crowd closely, which was being led by Flash Thompson and the rest of the football team.

"Grab her!" someone shouted from up ahead, "She's heading for the door!" Peter knew that that's where she wouldn't go, so he veered left as soon as he could. Coming around the corner, his theory was confirmed when she ran out of the wall and headed to the back exit. Peter followed her as best he could, bursting out the door seconds after her.