Author's Note: Welcome to 2020. Believe me guys, writing this was a workout in and of itself. So yes, I'm back and still a Spider-Man fan. Man, this one is a big one, folks. Biggest one I've made yet. I'm so proud of myself. I love this chapter that I did. Despite the length, it's quite an interesting read. But don't take my word for it. Decide for yourselves. So read on and hopefully you'll enjoy!
Union Episode Seven
"No...no that can't be. Listen to me please MJ, it's me! Peter. Peter Parker. You're Mary-Jane! Mary-Jane Watson. Remember? You've known me for a long time now! I know it's you! You're in there! Snap out of it!"
Mary-Jane gave a cruel chuckle that sent shivers down Peter's spine. "You're delusional! Who is...Mary-Jane?!" she asked angrily.
"She's you! I know she's you!"
"I'm...Red Sonja and you will address me as such or your death will be a very, very famous one!" she took out her large ax from her back now and rested it on her shoulder.
"I don't believe that!" Peter shouted.
"Do you really think I care..." she stepped forward with malice in her tone. "...what you believe?! All I care is how I'm going to kill you and the rest of your people for interfering! For existing!"
"What are you really doing here then?" Peter asked going along with it. "To kill us? Why? What did we do to you to deserve such a fate?"
"You do not ask me questions. The dead and the would-be dead never do."
Peter was so anxious that he was breathing heavily now. "If I'm going to die, you should at least explain yourself. You had to have come here for a reason."
"Hmm, you are bold..." she said, then she prodded both her sword and the pointy end of her ax to the ground both sides next to her, where they stuck there.
Mary-Jane threw her robe away, revealing her fully. Aside from wearing armored shoulder pads and a loincloth made out of silver doubloons with a bra to match, she was much more well-proportioned and ample. She had an overwhelming physique now, tight and toned in several areas. It seemed truly what years of hard work would do for a person's body.
'That's a one, two, four, six, an eight pack?! Man. Do other dimensions have like hardcore bodybuilder workouts? Just when I thought MJ couldn't get any hotter! OK, gotta stop looking and focus!' he thought.
"In the steppes of western Hyrkania, my village, one would seldom find such a bold man. Many are barbarian and...worse." she said contemplating as she slowly paced from left and right surveying the five of them.
"Where I come from, weak men get taken and strong men get bloodthirsty. I kill them both when they unsatisfy me to any degree. As a young girl, my innocence was lost all because of a great evil that spreads through the hearts of men like an indestructible illness. Corruption. A great evil that must be stopped. I grew up to hate and fight all kinds of evil. Eventually, I was brought up to believe that Earth is a great threat that must be dealt with, that must be changed, that must be corrected. Because you..."
Peter saw Mary-Jane standing in front of him by only a few feet now.
...are different than any other man I've encountered..."
Peter waited.
She then pulled out her sword from the grass. "...I think I'll cut off your head, rip out your eyes and take your brain out. Your intellect disgusts me and you think before acting as well! No man should!"
Peter was taken aback by what she had just said.
"Guys?" Johnny was heard from behind.
"Plan B." Sue whispered to Reed.
"Kill them..."
"Don't do this, Mary-Jane!" Peter tried to take a step toward her only for Mary-Jane to ready her sword with both hands, preparing to fight him.
"Spider-Man! Let's go..."
Reed had placed his hand on his shoulder, holding him in place.
Light erupted in a circle while the fantastic four and Spider-Man were inside it. The light grew around them until it swallowed them up.
Peter no longer saw Mary-Jane.
"NOOOO!"
Feeling discombobulated, Peter eventually saw they were somehow in the Fantastic Four lab again amazingly. Getting up and looking around, the Fantastic Four were as equally disorientated as he.
"Oh man..." Johnny said holding his head. "Now, I know why we don't do that anymore."
"We teleported?"
"Yeah..." Reed said pinching his forehead. "...teleportation was the first thing I invented when I was a kid, albeit rather crudely. Made some adjustments and modifications as time passed. Whenever I press the Four logo, that's when the teleportation process begins. But if I wanted to take more than one person, we all have to be attached to one another. Feels as if the brain rocked back and forth afterwards."
"You're telling me." Johnny muttered.
"Why? Why is she like this now?" Peter asked sadly and got down on his knees.
"There are worlds of chaos that do unusual things to minds of people when they get caught off guard." Reed said softly.
"I can't believe this is...happening!" Peter yelled and punched a concrete column in the laboratory, smashing a chunk off of it.
"Dude, that ain't helping!" Johnny pointed out.
"Calm down, spider-man!" Reed said.
"What happened to her?!" Peter said tearfully as he hung his head.
"I'm assuming...she must be possessed by a demon or a ghost. If she's not acting like you think she should, that's probably the reason." Sue said to him.
"This is new, even for us." Johnny said rubbing his head, very perplexed. "This is out of our quantum, physics and scientific territories..."
"What now?" Thing asked.
"You should have let us seal that gateway off, Spider-Man. I'm sorry but Mary-Jane is gone. She was gone a long time ago." Reed stated seriously.
"No..." Peter sobbed at this point. "I refuse to believe...she's gone."
"She might be. Now we got a new threat on our plate." Reed said.
"Might as well say it, it's all my fault..." Peter muttered.
"You didn't think before you acted, Spider-Man." Thing said. "Now we got these things running amok."
"Yes. I'm sorry but you should never have let her come through." Reed said. "Actions have consequences, son."
"She can't be that malevolent. She would never do something like this!"
"Excuse me, and please try your hardest not to hit me, but didn't she just say she wanted to decapitate you?" Johnny asked.
"My girlfriend, fiancé, would never do this! I know her! She's someone that loves the world."
"Your girlfriend's about to destroy the world..."
"...because of you!" Thing said to him.
The blaming and chastising was more than he could take and the anger built up more and more. He began to advance on Johnny.
"What?" Johnny said stretching his arms to the side. "You wanna hit me again? Do it! But it's only going to affirm the possibility that we never needed you at all."
'No!' In his mind, Peter pleaded to the symbiote. 'Look she's back...there's gotta be a way to get through to her. Please don't make me lash out, I'm begging you. Give me the strength to go forward not with anger!'
He did so with a growl.
"I'm gonna fix this..." he then left without saying another word.
He constantly rocked back and forth in his cot. The aches all over his body was like a constricting force. His arms were folded to his chest. The cold sweat kept building and building and Eddie didn't know why. He was in severe discomfort.
'Damn...what the hell is up with me?' Eddie was shivering as if he were cold and he knew it wasn't because of the room temperature. He knew the room temperature was adequate. For the past couple of days, he had been sick and he had tried to get doctors to come see him. He had been banging his fists for hours on the door and walls, screaming his head off trying to get some attention.
He was about to knock on the door again and yell again with whatever strength he had left. He was getting tired.
That was when the door came in. A creepy looking doctor with two armed guards came in. Their helmets obscured their faces.
"Mr. Brock."
"Dr. Scumbag..." he nodded in acknowledgement as he continued to shiver.
"I realize you've been asking for me. Sorry to keep you waiting. Not looking too well, are we, Mr. Brock?"
"You're a master of understatement..." he muttered. "You got a diagnosis for what's wrong with me or not, Emperor Palpatine?" Eddie asked annoyed.
"Well, might as well not keep you in the dark. The reason you're like this...is because...you're dying."
"Ha...ha...funny. I'll give you a three on the scare factor but seriously you mind telling me what the hell's really going on with me?!"
"Your prolonged exposure to the symbiote has changed your anatomy, Mr. Brock. We've analyzed your blood and we found out that the small, microscopic traces of symbiote are still residing within you, they're what's causing you to be sick...they're mutating around your white blood cells and it's giving you a form of cancer."
"You're lying." Eddie whispered.
"Yet, we see this as great news. We wanted to kill you with other conventional means. But at least we can see how this cancer is killing you and study you to the very end. Think of the possibilities...with all the research gained."
"Well, hey..." Eddie chuckled wearily. "...at least you're someone who shows their true colors. Pretending to be nice was annoying as hell. Nice to see you finally evil-ed up, doc. It's late. I appreciate it but it's late." he gave a cough. "Yeah as much as I feel proud being a great organ donor, I gotta say you ain't doing nothing." he shook his head. "You're lying and I ain't dying!"
"Well, in a few weeks, let's see who's lying then, shall we?" he gave a slimy smile.
"Man...I wanna break you in half right now."
"I'm sure you do but you can't. You will never escape here."
"Never say never..." Eddie chuckled weakly. He was looking at something behind the doctor. Something that gave him a glimmer of hope.
Turning around, the doctor saw what Eddie was seeing. The guards armed as they were, were very quickly incapacitated by a simple slash of a knife. Both were taken down.
Eddie saw that it was another guard standing at the doorway that did so. One who evidently was trained. As he opened his visor, the man appeared as if he did not work at the Life Foundation. He was Asian with tattoos on his face.
"You don't work here..." the doctor affirmed.
Eddie used the doctor's distraction as an advantage and he immediately put the old doctor in a headlock who gave a whimper. He gave a shout.
"Here comes your future diagnosis, doc..."
He turned the doctor's head wildly around in a flash, with a crack having been heard.
"...broken neck!"
Eddie kept his smirk even as he saw the another man in a stolen armored guard suit come in the room.
"Who's first?" he shrugged, getting ready.
The woman had stopped when she saw two cars in front of her blocking her on the very lane she drove on. She honked her horn.
"Come on..."
She waited until they came out running from their cars. What was worrying was that the two men wore black ski masks.
They took the poor woman out of the car. Dragging her out, they put her kneeling down. The man laughed maniacally. One of the men produced a gun.
On her knees now, she pleaded. "No! Don't! I have a husband and a daughter!"
"Sorry, but my God says I have to. It's a sacrifice I must do!" the man said cocking the weapon. "This is why crime rate is rising!"
"Hurry up, man! It's my turn to-" he stopped in mid-sentence when a blade protruded out of his chest.
"What the-" the other man said in disbelief.
The blade was pulled back and a woman with red hair giving a stony expression appeared where the man stood.
"Do you think it's entertaining...amusing...to kill those that cannot defend?" she asked.
"Dang..nice bod, sweet thang." the hoodlum looked up and down at her.
"Vain words will not help you escape your fate." she pointed the sword at him.
"Hey, back off!" the gun was now pointed at her. "You want some of this too?"
"Yes." the woman said automatically.
The gun fired but the woman held up her sword and swung it once the bullet met with the blade.
"AAH!" the man fell to the ground.
The bullet had been bounced back at him, hitting him in the leg. She walked over to him.
"I can understand. You're a hunter, not insane. You just use madness as an excuse. You thirst for bloodshed. You've always had since your youth. I know. Because no one would ever stop thinking about violence until they've experienced it since childhood...such as yourself. For me...it's amusing and entertaining to kill a psychotic man!" the red woman said and plunged her sword into the man's heart.
The man died instantly on the highway lane. The old woman stood up now and looked relieved.
"Oh thank you! Thank you! Young lady! I owe you my life!"
That was when the red woman pointed her sword at the meek old woman, who was now terrified and confused as to why the woman was now focusing her in a deadly way.
"Yes, you do...everyone in this world...owes me their lives."
The old woman trembled in fear and shut her eyes, but opened them when the red-haired woman pulled back her sword and sheathed it in her scabbard. The red armored woman shook her head. "Your life is already fleeting and you have only forty years left in you. Won't matter but enjoy your time while you still can." she then walked away, leaving the old woman behind, who was in a daze.
Peter came with a solemn stride, stood and looked upward at Madame Web not saying anything except to give a sigh as a show of utter disappointment. The giant spider web stood behind her seat. In it, she sat with her goggles bright red. He waited.
"I told you...Peter." she shook her head finally speaking. "That things would go badly."
"Yes you did. I'm sure you're gloating on the inside with the whole 'I told you so.' But did you honestly think I should have left Mary-Jane in that hellhole she was in?"
"You wouldn't have." Madame Web said. "Even if it brought the apocalypse, you would have brought her back regardless. Love is a great motivator."
"Damn straight it is. Let's say...she's this whatever she is now? Red Sonja...I don't supposed you know-"
"She believes that everyone except her is a corrupt being." Madame Webb quickly explained. "There was a time when she was a good person but years of fighting have changed her entire perspective. She is a truly damaged individual now."
"Oh...so you do know?" Peter sighed. "So how-?"
"You'll know. The answer as to how you'll get Mary-Jane to return will come to you." Madame Web said. "Also...the consequences will come too."
"I thought it did with that army she has behind her back." Peter frowned.
"Not just that but something else. Peter...there will also be a time when I will no longer help you."
"What do you mean?"
"Once you prevail in this situation...I will no longer be able to help you."
"Yeah...yeah...yeah. I get it. The whole going away and coming back routine. I've done it countless times. How long until you come back?"
"I realize that changes have been made on my part and apparently on yours."
"Look if this is about what I have on...the symbiote...I will get rid of it, honest! I just have to fix this situation I'm in! I need all the help I can get."
"This isn't about that, Peter. Even if you got rid of the symbiote, the result will be the same. I can't help you anymore, Peter."
Peter was shocked. "You're serious?"
"I cannot make decisions for you any longer, Peter. Me helping you. It's not making you grow."
"I think you're just being selfish and inconsiderate. Look, without you...I can't help the people that truly need it. I won't know where or when situations will happen. I cannot believe this! And all this time...I thought you were just as much a hero as me."
"That is the symbiote talking...not you, Peter." Madame Web said unfazed.
"I'd still be mad at you regardless." Peter shook his head in disappointment before he sighed. "OK fine you're no longer helping. I'll...I'll deal with it. But just so you know whatever your reasons are for going off and disappearing from my life...you'd be making a mistake. It's true...I need you a lot...but the same can go the other way."
"We'll see. Good-bye, Peter."
"Yeah...yeah...what else is new?" Peter said as he turned his back to her.
On the ground, were many large punching bags, ripped, broken, torn and with stuffing sticking out. Many had crude drawings of either Peter or him as Spider-Man, drawn in stick figure pattern with X's for eyes, on the bases of the bags.
It was her anger that did most of the work.
Felicia gave blow after blow at another punching bag in the dark, metallic room. She grunted with every hit she made. The new punching bag already appeared as if it had better days and already begun to tear apart due to Felicia's powerful hits. Another drawing of Peter was in front of her which had been the main motivation for her to keep hitting. The bag kept going backward and backward, never stopping.
With a powerful spinning kick, she managed to take the punching bag down, chain and all.
Felicia landed down on the floor, looking pleased. She breathed heavily contemplating further. She grew uneasy afterwards.
"Stop it..." she whispered and put a hand to her temple.
There were memories of her and Peter that stuck out.
She and him fighting hoodlums in alleys. Him helping her while she had gotten hit. Spider-Man threw the thug away while she looked at him with a smile.
Both of them swinging with their own threads, with the street lights below them, and smiling at one another. 'Come on, let's do a race!' she cried happily.
Finding him at Midtown. She had kissed him that one day she showed up outside his school.
Peter and her walking down from his school and talking. She almost grasped his hand.
Sitting on top of a ledge looking down at the streets with Peter doing the same. She gazed at him longingly with dreamy eyes. Peter had sensed it and turned toward her. "What?"
She smiled. 'Nothing. I just want to...' she whispered a certain word that made Spider-Man's lenses practically widen as a sign of astonishment. '...you so badly, Spider.' she finished.
He then shouted in annoyance. 'Felicia, come on! Calm down. We're supposed to be working!' to which she giggled.
One time they were in bed, they were embraced and soon the passion intensified as he handled her while they kissed.
The images stopped abruptly and Felicia found herself trembling and crying. She dropped to her knees with her hands pressed to the floor. Felicia appeared deranged and disoriented due to the memories of her and Peter.
"No...No! Why am I still thinking of him in that way?! I hate him now! He made me look like a fool!"
She then punched a wall, making a small crack on it.
"I...I can't take this anymore!" she then turned angry once more.
Afterwards, she left the workout area and throughout the base of operations located near the docks, Felicia did everything she could to get everything ready. She had given out the call for every gang leader to come.
Eventually they did so. Out of loyalty but mostly out of fear.
In the base, Felicia stood in the middle with every single man and woman surrounding her. Some were dressed for less, some were dressed in business suits. She looked around and had to admire for a second that she was in command of all of them.
"Everyone here has their own opinion of me, I know. I know. A woman in charge of practically every single gang and syndicate in the city now? Preposterous, right? Wrong...I 'am' in charge and you better deal with it. Learn to live with it. Because I'm here to stay and no one can stop me. Anyone tries, they're gone with no second chance. Most of you are all skeptical but...you've seen what I'm capable of and you know what could happen when things go sour on your end. Now that that lovely sentiment's been said, I brought you all here so that one of you can come up with a solution as to how to find and kill Spider-Man."
There were a lot of frowns, surprises and muttering in the crowd.
"I want to kill him and whoever leads me to him...will get paid handsomely."
"I'm sorry but I thought he was your boyfriend." a thug spoke out wearing a backwards hat.
"Correct, was." Felicia stated.
"Well what happened? Did he break up with you or something?"
There was silence now especially from Felicia and all the people in the room which was startling for the young thug. Felicia eyed the boy without even blinking.
"I...I don't mean any disrespect! Really! It's just we know you were a partner of his beforehand and I just want to make sure you're not tricking us or anything, pretending you're in charge and then...sending us all to jail."
During his explaining, Felicia with laser-like focus, walked over to him menacingly and finally stood face to face. The proximity made the thug stop talking.
The man shuddered.
"You got five seconds to give me a solution..." she growled.
"Well...well...I-I..."
"Well, well I...I...?" Felicia mocked. "Not a solution I've ever heard of so therefore, you die sweetheart!" she grasped his neck.
"Young people do not know better, Ms. Hardy. Sometimes when people speak it's because through the synapses, through endless miles of their subconscious, an idea is formulating. Slowly though. And yet other people don't speak and just think for an idea to come out. Such as me."
A man had spoken up from amongst the crowd sparing the boy's fate and walked into the circle with grace and purpose. Felicia was appalled at the man's approach.
"Spider-Man has been a nuisance for quite some time now. He is young from what I can tell of him. That means there's some naivety to him. It's not a matter of finding him. It's giving him a reason to be at a certain place in time. Something only destiny controls. But...I am a man that can change the tides of fate, Ms. Hardy."
"I've heard of you." Felicia frowned.
"Then I assume you know my name?" the Asian man stepping forward bravely.
"Martin Li...of the Snakehead Gang." Felicia answered.
"Yes. Among other things." he managed to nod. "I...can get you Spider-Man."
"Can you? How?"
"It will be like leading a rat to a cheese." Li smiled.
"We pretend certain things...certain situations never happened here in this city and we believed that if we ignore these criminals, freaks and creeps...that they'll just go away. If they attack our souls and invade our minds the more we think of them, they win. That's the mentality people are using. Ignoring the problem. That's what most people are doing. That can only work so long. How long can we stick our faces in the sand? Strange cannot be the new normal. Normal is normal. Us ignoring attacks is not normal, people! Wake up, for crying out loud! I'm certainly am not one to ignore the going-ons in this city. Long ago, I started out a a young reporter. Bright and full of potential. I wasn't any good to start, I'll admit that. But given time and practice, I did one thing a reporter must do. Look. That's all there is to it. Look. And I have, people. I've looked. What I've looked and found in this city is not good, guys. Not good at all. Violence. Corruption. Destruction. Once I'm in office, changes will indeed be made. It'll be too much for me to say, they'd be good changes. I however, would never say they'd be bad changes. That's as honest as I can be there, people. Heck, we already got a change when...certain people started interfering with our way of life. These superpowered freaks...creeps...whatever they are. Their superiority suggests they should be in charge. But I ask all of you, who was here first? Us, yeah, that's right. These people, these creeps, are trying to take over. We can't let them do that. We can't allow them to do that! My objective when I'm in office, is to clean up this city! It's time it started acting like a city! WE ARE IN CHARGE! NOT THEM!"
It was outside near the park where the speech took place. A loud, roaring applause immediately erupted. Several whistles and screams of approval were issued as well. Several signs of 'FREAKS MUST GO!' 'HUMANS ONLY!" were raised by a few people in the crowd. A few 'Vote Jameson!' picked up quick and became louder and louder.
A proud Jameson got down from the podium and shook hands with other city officials including Watanabe. Robbie appeared and actually smiled and patted him on the back. So did his assistant whom Jameson didn't remember his name, looked happy and excited.
"That was fantastic, Jonah. I'm going in the other car." Robbie had said to Jameson. "I'll meet you two back at the office to celebrate."
"Absolutely. Great speech, huh?" Jameson smiled as he walked to the vehicle.
"Inspiring, sir." Robbie's assistant smiled.
"My ass is for sitting, not for kissing son but thanks." he patted him while the boy looked awkward now.
"We got more votes coming in, sir. You're coming in hot." he said to Jameson showing him the statistics on his phone. They got in the limo and it soon drove away.
"Got this election in the bag now." Jameson chuckled.
"We pretty much marketed you very well, sir." the boy said.
"Our campaigns overall are close to $200,000 a week but hey, it's worth it. I don't think I said 'creep' enough." he frowned rubbing his chin and looking deep in thought. Jameson kept looking at his notes.
"Did you really mean what you said?" the boy asked with much excitement.
"What?"
"The speech?"
"Oh yeah sure, hey...no violence is good violence, ain't it?" he shrugged. "We're supposed to be civil...why can't-"
Suddenly the sunroof above them shattered and in came someone. The limo swerved out of control now.
It was a beautiful woman warrior. Oddly enough, she looked very familiar.
Jameson stared in horror at her. She looked remarkably enough like the young woman who was trying out for a photographer job some time ago.
"At last...I have you now." she said.
"Wow..." he looked at her appearance.
The assistant next to Jameson gave a loud gulp.
"Please tell me you dropped in to say happy birthday to me? Even though...it's not?" Jameson said hopefully and with glee.
"You're a terrible man..." she said softly while she produced a sword and pointed it directly at him.
"What the-?"
"You're uncouth and uncaring to certain people." the blade came closer to his face.
"Hey! I 'do' remember you!" Jameson frowned.
"You want to be elected leader given those promises you made. You discriminate. If you become a leader, then many people will get discarded! For that, you are a potential threat that must be eliminated!"
"Are you on something strong or 'really' strong? If you catch my drift?"
"You're very ignorant!" she quickly leaned forward to him and grabbed his collar. The assistant behind him gave an 'eek!'
"Hey look! If you're still feeling pissed because of what I said that one day, I take it all back! You g-gave good photos! You're like a medieval version of Cindy Sherman!" Jameson said sheepishly and chuckled nervously.
The blade began to press further to his neck. The young woman gave an annoyed growl.
"Or a medieval version of Cindy Crawford?" he squeaked in fright.
"Get ready to be...discarded!"
The seat window beside them smashed sending pieces to the floor. Jameson saw that the woman was pulled and thrown out by none other Spider-Man, who gave a thumbs up to him. "Remember this!" he then swung away from the vehicle, disappearing after the woman.
Jameson pulled his head out of the vehicle. "Oh I will, you little arachnoid! Believe you me!" he shook his fist. "Did you get all that?" he told the assistant excitedly.
"I didn't get her face!" the assistant replied in dismay, holding up his smartphone.
"Screw her face! Did you get the sword pointed at my neck?!"
Frowning, the assistant looked astounded.
Mary-Jane was tossed into the back of an alley but got up quickly. Peter swung in and landed accurately a few feet right in front of her.
"I've been looking for you!"
"And now you have...!" Red Sonja readied her sword with both hands wrapped around the hilt and pointed it at him.
"Where's your army?"
"It's with me." Red Sonja simply said fingering her amulet she wore.
"You need to stop this."
"I can't. I won't."
"You can't keep doing this. Please, Mary-Jane. Let me help you. You're not acting right."
"What's not right is ambition from these low-level species. When did you Earth-beings grow so bold? You must be told to do...not do as you want!"
"Is that what this is all about? You want to conquer us?"
Mary-Jane/Red Sonja smiled in response. "Back in my world, I had a comrade named Conan. Him and me stopped evil-doers from all over, time and time again. I asked him once...what made some men evil? Corruption. Greed. Envy. Lack of morality. He had said. I was rather...taken aback by his responses given our own past actions. I asked what made us so different than the people we killed over the years? He said the only difference is who has the most power. Power is what matters. With power, we can give people the way. And we did, with our might, our people became civil and obedient. That is how peace was initiated. We did so on many other realms. This one...is next."
"It sounds like enslavement rather than civility." Peter shook his head.
"You do not understand. It's the only way for war in general, to cease! It doesn't help being considerate to people who will eventually want more than what you give them. I stopped being naïve long ago. I've learned a less educated society is easier to rule. This world...stinks of acuity!"
"You're becoming a tyrant with thinking like that. That, or...you've already became one. Not only do you not listen to other people...you don't even listen to yourself."
"You have a narrow mind for an intelligent being. My mind however, suggests you want something...more than just fighting..." Mary-Jane walked in an alluring manner towards Peter with a seductive stare. "Isn't there?" she said very low. Her face almost to his. "Something you...desire?"
Peter was getting taken aback by her approach. Her exotic appeal was affecting Peter greatly. "I-I do want something. I 'want' someone rather. I want the woman I love back!" Peter said coming to his senses once more.
"You must be confused...whoever she is...she's not me!"
Below near his abdomen, Peter blocked the tip of her sword in a flash, which this whole time had been directed at him. The trick was foiled. With one hand, Peter pulled the blade upward and knocked it away, giving Mary-Jane a kick to which her back hit the wall and Peter immediately pinned her there. Her face was close to his black mask. He held a fist and readied it.
Mary-Jane was fascinated. "You are strong, brave and very skilled! I underestimated you. Usually men get easily distracted. You are indeed a worthy adversary. I also see you have a darkness. Your aggression made that abundantly clear. I can feel it." Mary-Jane said rather coyly. "Do you wish to kill me? Do it then! Show me!"
Roaring, Peter slammed his fist to the wall making a hole, a mere millimeter from Mary-Jane's head, who never blinked nor had her smirk changed whatsoever from the near hit. She merely shook her head in disappointment.
"N...no." Peter backed away from her and shot black webbing to swing himself away.
Eddie was brought in by the two Asian people through the back of what appeared to be a kitchen. Inside, cooks and chefs were at work and paid no mind to them. The men had told him they were to free him and get him to his boss. Eddie had seen no other alternative. They went to a nook where a man sat and ate what seemed like a good meal.
"At last..." An asian man in a business suit as he added salt to his steak. He then looked directly at him. "Venom..."
"Actually it's 'Eddie' now."
"Apologies." he sipped his wine. "I'm just a big fan of you."
"Who are you?" Eddie asked to the man eating alone.
"Martin Li. Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Brock." he said wiping his mouth, wiped his hands and extended a hand to which Eddie ignored.
"Martin Li?! The leader of the Snakehead Gang?"
"That's complicated."
"So you're not the leader?"
"You're a very gallant man, Mr. Brock. According to Felicia Hardy...I'm not." he growled looking away. "...she is..."
"Felicia?"
"Oh yes. Apparently the Life Foundation has indeed sapped a lot out of you, Mr. Brock. So you don't know much of what has transpired during your captivity. Let me recap. Felicia Hardy has systematically eliminated most of the gangs in this city. The rest have joined her out of fear. We...are the only ones left...now hiding. We know...you know her." Martin Li faced Eddie again.
"Yeah..." Eddie nodded. "...and I wish I didn't!" he muttered.
"A lot of research went into getting someone like you, Mr. Brock. A lot of resources as well. We know you and Hardy...worked together."
"Are you a police detective or a gangster, dude?" Eddie was getting frustrated that he had the audacity to roll his eyes. He then gave a sigh. "Obviously you're implying Felicia Hardy is now the new crime boss of New York which is a stretch I gotta say. But hey, I believe you. Look, I know what you're gonna ask. You want to hire me to take her down. But what do you want me to do? I'm not Venom anymore. I don't have the...what do you call it...the advantage."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Yet I always believed in the very notion that what once had been lost, can be reacquired soon enough."
"Well, you have to forgive me If I sound skeptical to that." Eddie said. "I know what this town's becoming. One thing I've learned from such a change is that in this town, ordinary crooks have to get help from special crooks."
"Do you consider yourself a crook, Mr. Brock?"
"I don't know. Maybe I am. Crook is just a word, certain people made it out to be derogatory. I see it as...misunderstood."
"So you're misunderstood...?" the man stood up after he sipped his drink. "...we all say we are. We all say we are different. We all have a flaw, a defect that makes us stand out. Who does not? I can see right through you, Mr. Brock. You're dying. Quite an interesting way of standing out."
Eddie was dismayed by that reminder. "Yeah...another factor as to why I can't help. You want Felicia Hardy get taken down? Get the webslinger himself."
"I'd rather get a man who doesn't second guess. It's not about flaws or defects, Mr. Brock. It's the other...side that counts."
Eddie looked angry and finally lashed out. He grabbed the Asian man by the throat and his men pointed their guns at Eddie quickly. "DO YOU NOT HEAR ME?! I can't help you! Even if I wanted to! OK? I can't! I can't even help myself. Stop with your damn mindscrewing and tell me what it is you want!"
The man took Eddie's hands off remarkably fast and held them by the wrists. "I want to help you..."
That was when the Asian Man changed his appearance remarkably. Electrical energy erupted from his body. With wide eyes, Eddie saw that he was now staring at a reversed image of him. But the colors of his suit, face and his entire body were like a literal photographic negative. His hair turned bright white and his face was black. His suit, tie and pants were glowing white.
"...in turn you will help me. Like I implied before: what was lost can be found and found more powerful than before. A 'negative' can be a positive...Mr. Brock."
Eddie felt a rush of energy rush through him. It was too much for him and finally knelt down while Martin Li held onto him. Eddie screamed. He then stopped.
Rejuvenated was a good word for what Eddie felt now. He no longer had the aches or the coughs.
"What did you-?"
Martin Li returned to his true positive form. "What I did was help find your power once again, Mr. Brock."
Eddie was still stunned.
"I-I don't understand. You got all this power. Why don't you take on Hardy yourself?"
In his usual calm demeanor, Li responded. "Because once I do...I'll be in charge. Word will go out to the city that because Hardy was killed by my hands that I automatically be ruler. And I do not want that. A man given too much authoritative power especially over the criminal underworld such as me will do too much damage. Especially with abilities like mine. I would cause too much destruction. I know that. I read Sun Tzu many, many times, Mr. Brock. I would rather be leader of a group rather than leader of a whole. I was sent to provide a solution from those that reject Hardy's rule. Once she's gone...we will elect a new leader of the underworld. With you on our side, the revolution will soon begin. "
"Power corrupts." Eddie realized.
"Exactly...I also know about the whereabouts of your...symbiote, Mr. Brock."
"Where? Where is it?" Eddie said surprised.
Martin Li smiled. "Spider-Man."
"Him? He has it again..." he muttered in astonishment.
"Yes. But he does not have your flair I need, Mr. Brock."
Eddie thought about something. "I...I have this ability where I can sense the symbiote-"
"Because of how long it has imprinted itself to you, yes, yes, Hence...why you're needed in this endeavor. Find Spider-Man, find Venom once again!"
Peter got back in Mary-Jane's apartment through the window. He began to breathe heavily as his face was exposed. His heart was racing. He needed to do something. He paced around.
"What the hell am I gonna do?!" he growled. "What's happened to Mary-Jane...? What's happening to me?!"
Knocking occurred which Peter thought was too convenient. The suit receded into his system leaving Peter in his casual clothing. Nevertheless, he answered the door.
It was a man Peter never met before. His suit and cologne were both too much to take in. The man's hair was also slicked back with gel and sported a ponytail.
"Well, finally! I've been knocking for a half an hour!"
"You've been here on this doorstep for a half an hour?" Peter was taken aback.
"OK fine, twenty-five minutes but it's close!" the man sighed. "Where's Mary-Jane, huh?"
"No! I'll do you one better buddy! Who the hell are you? And why do you want to find Mary-Jane?"
The man sighed again heavily and rolled his eyes. "Name's Jonathan Lyles. Manager of Mary-Jane from THE modeling agency, big man."
"What modeling agency?"
"It's a major one just believe me on that. Look, I'm here because she has not come in for X number of days and she has not responded to any of my nine million phone calls."
"She's...on vacation." Peter began to close the door. "Bye!"
"Eh nooooo...!" he said preventing Peter from closing the door. "That's impossible because if she had gone on vacation she would have called me on a first-hand basis, that way she could avoid a very, very big problem called 'firing'."
"Yes...thank you I'm aware of the concept. Look, it was a...last minute thing. A family member of hers got ill. OK? Life happens or crap happens, whatever the saying is. Listen, I'll tell her you stopped by."
"And who are you by the way? I mean, you already know who I am so I should at least get the same reply as you."
"Name's Jonathan Lyles." Peter shrugged.
"That's uh...that's my name?"
"I know. You said you wanted the same reply..." Peter said bored.
"OK now I'm coming in..." Jonathan said practically bursting in and pacing now. "You think you're funny huh? I take it you're the reason why Mary-Jane is always late to her shoots and why she's having second thoughts about going to Europe to further her career. You're the boyfriend." he deduced.
"Ding! Correct." Peter nodded. "Now get out."
"I'm getting this nagging feeling you don't like me and that's fine but I'm here for two things: wondering where my investment is and to send a message."
"What message?!"
"She's got 24 hours to respond to me or she's out on the street. Look...I have a soft spot for her but my generosity can only go so far. But even I have bosses. And they're getting impatient. I don't know how else to help her and I want to. Believe me I do. She's like no one I've ever met..."
"You like her...don't you?" Peter said menacingly while blaring his eyes and coming towards Jonathan like an animal about to strike.
"Look, dude. I don't like her in that way. Sure, she's cute but she's my employee. I invested a lot in her, you know?"
"You're a good liar." Peter said while Jonathan backed up more. "...has anyone ever told you that?"
"I can BS from time to time. Just to get out of certain situations. But this isn't one of those times. I get it, you're her boyfriend and you're just feeling a little jealousy."
He grabbed him by his jacket collar.
"MARY-JANE IS NOT AN INVESTMENT!" Peter yelled grabbing the man by his collar. "SHE IS A PERSON!"
"Hey man! Put me down!"
"Stay away from her..." Peter said in a voice that was not his own.
"Dude, you're not right!" Jonathan said now afraid.
"SHE'S MINE." Peter felt the power growing and for a second, he considered letting it take over. He felt black veins pulsating through his cheeks.
"AAHHH!" the man screamed.
"NOOOO!" Peter let go of him and started backing away. He held his head with both hands, trying to still his anger. He was seething now.
"Dude, I think you need to see a dermatologist...or a priest." Jonathan stammered.
"Get out..." Peter said raising his head and glaring at him.
"Absolutely." The man skedaddled on out.
The door closed and Peter looked upward.
"STOP INTERFERING!"
'We are just trying to help. Only through anger can results be made!'
"You're not making this any easier!" Peter shouted in the apartment.
'You must figure out what she wants. It was a mistake coming back here. Hiding serves you no good. Are you a coward or are you fearless?'
"OK. Fine...I'm going back out there." Peter let the black suit take over his body once again and swung out of the apartment through the window.
Sonja with her robe and hood on, made her way through the alley behind the tall building that several men nearby referred to as the Life Foundation. She snuck by and stayed elusive. Apparently the area was on high alert. Agents and guards were busy looking for something or someone. She used the distraction to her advantage.
She went to the front doors where she approached two men shouting at their communication devices in their hands.
"No! We haven't seen any sign that Brock was here! No footprints." he spoke into it.
"He's got to have help inside!" the other man suggested.
Sonja slowly approached them. They finally took notice of her.
"Hey be gone lady! No money! And you can't solicit here anyway!" the man shouted.
"You're rude..."
She threw aside her robe and cape and touched her amulet which gave off a red glow. That was when her entire army materialized behind her.
"It's not what you want...it's what 'I' want!"
The men stood horrified now. One of which dropped the walkie-talkie.
The disturbance was a loud one and he felt it in his head. "Spidey sense is doing that 'tingly' thing again. I'm guessing it's Mary-Jane!"
It was at the Life Foundation, swinging over, he saw guards shooting at a large swarm of strange soldiers. The swarm was in the hundreds category that the whole street was full. Several of them went inside the building through the front door, charging through.
"That's her army!" Peter realized. "Oh man! Are we in trouble here now!" Several clanging of swords were heard and several men had been stabbed.
Trying to turn the tide, Peter took down and webbed several other-worldly soldiers, trapping them. He swung to a man who looked like he had been stabbed.
Peter turned the guard over. "You alright?"
"You...you have the symbiote...!" the guard said weakly.
"Dude...you have bigger problems apparently. Anything you wanna tell me can be helpful!"
"A woman...went into...the 45th floor. To the Abandoned Projects Area. Don't know why...don't know why..." he said drifting off.
"Yo! My man! Stay with me. This is important here sir...what's in the Abandoned Projects Area?" he said shaking him awake.
"It's close by, but where is he?" Eddie said looking around. He had been walking around the streets for hours. A while ago, he picked up an instinct, a presence. Eddie followed it.
"We have a disturbance in downtown..."
Stopping, Eddie heard and saw the bulletin in the TV shop window. The reporter focused her camera on a building, a very familiar building. Eddie turned from the TV to the tower up ahead, almost two miles away, he could hear it, feel it. The action.
"Life Foundation, huh? Time to go back to where it all started then." Eddie growled.
"So that's what she's going for...!" Peter realized. He tapped his earpiece. He hoped the line with the Fantastic Four is still open. "Come on...come on..." he tapped his ear several times.
"Spider-Man?" Reed's voice was heard.
"Hey yeah it's me...listen...did you guys have a particle accelerator sent to the Life Foundation a while back?"
"Yes...we did. We were given a large sum too. Life Foundation being a survivalist-based company wanted something for the benefit of mankind. They thought a particle accelerator would provide new energy and somehow more resources."
"Yeah, but in my experience when a flashy company says they want to help benefit mankind, they're really benefiting themselves, not the world."
"The other peculiar thing is, they told us they were discontinuing the project involving the machine. So it was discarded and we had to give the money back."
"But they still have it?"
"I'm not sure. We never got it back."
"I'm getting the feeling Mary-Jane's going to use this PA to put Earth in a black hole, Reed. That's where she is right now. The Life Foundation."
"Impossible."
"What do you mean 'impossible'? You guys did imply she was malevolent for anything. She did say she wanted Earth on its knees. Now you wanna do a 180? Besides what else could this Particle Accelerator do?"
"Not much, that's the thing. The Particle Accelerator we designed was not intended to open up portals. It doesn't work that way. It's not that powerful. The PA cannot contain that much energy, let alone produce it."
"Wait a minute. How much energy 'can' it contain?" Peter asked and he realized another theory forming.
"Oh my God..." Reed also realized.
"So I'm taking because you believe in the almighty, that you believe this thing can be used as a bomb too?" Peter nodded as he asked.
"I'm afraid so!"
"You guys have to help me on this. Her army is in the Life Foundation grounds and is about to enter the building. You guys need to distract them so that I can talk sense to Mary-Jane!"
"We're on our way!"
"Hurry!" Peter managed to go into the building, taking down and helping out the Life Foundation guards. It was all taking long and webbing them was starting to take a toll. He swung up high to the higher levels where he shot web balls at the soldiers.
"Spider-Man, we're here! Outside! We're going to lure them out of the building. Do what you're about to do and do it fast!' It was Johnny on his earpiece.
That was when Peter saw a slender figure going inside a room high up above.
'Mary-Jane!' he wanted to scream.
"Did you find her?" Peter was getting annoyed with Johnny asking questions.
"Yeah. She's going to the accelerator operator!" he then swung higher and higher.
"This technology is too advanced..." Red Sonja said looking at the control panel. The machine was complicated even as she managed to turn it on. The area was like a baseball stadium with platforms leading to the very center in which the machine resided. Down below was practically an abyss.
"I must get someone who works here to help me."
"Oh, you need help alright..."
Startled, Red Sonja turned back around and saw a figure blocking her path up ahead.
"You..." her eyes blared with surprise. "The spider-demon...!"
Mary-Jane readied her sword now and aimed it at Peter.
"I prefer Spider-'Man'..." Peter shrugged. "I mean I did go through high school for a reason."
"I was beginning to believe you had turned craven! I'm preparing to lay waste to this city. Soon the weak will be gone!"
"These people are not weak!"
"They are! They are susceptible to anything. They are not worthy of anything!"
"I can't let you do what you're doing, MJ." Peter shook his head.
"I must! I'm here to defend my realm from any threat. Have you forgotten who and what I am? I'm someone who enjoys...standing on the skulls of my enemies! This world 'is' a threat. It interferes and I must destroy it."
"We mean no harm. But if you don't listen, I will have to take you down." Peter said.
"You are doing this to claim me then or kill me?" she said walking slowly like a predator.
"I'm doing this so that innocent people don't die." Peter replied softly.
"Then you must want to kill me then."
"No...I'm here to save you. I don't know how. But I'm going to save you."
"Spoken like some...kind of a...hero. Like the beings I was read about as a child. Like I used to be." she said. "You are the protector of this city?"
"I am." Peter stated.
"Why?"
"Because I have to."
"Well then, let's see if you really are a hero."
Mary-Jane swung and slashed with her sword. Peter missed it in time. Mary-Jane spun to which he jumped in the air missing her sword again.
"Your skills are really impressive..." Mary-Jane muttered.
Peter flipped and ducked avoiding the sword. The blade simply hit walls.
"Please Mary-Jane stop!"
He shot black webchords from his hands sticking to her blade and making it face upward and making it go side to side. Peter tried to take it away from her. But she held on strong. Eventually he pulled her towards him. Hatred filled her face when it was close to his. Peter realized he placed himself in a position where Mary-Jane was maneuvering her sword to Peter's neck. The tip was getting closer to his adam's apple.
He reabsorbed his black webchords, detaching from the sword completely.
She slashed and slashed with her blade with Peter avoiding it many times, aggravating Mary-Jane further.
That was when her sword hit the surface of a metal column, making a deafening noise Peter found discomforting.
"Aah!" Peter held the sides of his head with both hands to stop the aching.
The symbiote also screeched in pain from the seemingly arduous, reverberating noise. It sent shivers down Peter's spine. His whole head felt like it was going to explode. His skin felt like it was on fire. Peter tried to concentrate on blocking the noise.
"Ahh...so noise is your weakness?" Mary-Jane smiled wickedly.
Peter backed away. The pain was no longer abiding.
"Very well...enjoy this!" she took out her battle axe from her back and slammed it with her sword giving a loud clang.
Peter yelled and so did the symbiote much louder than ever before and began to tear itself off him slowly now. Mary-Jane repeated her actions over and over.
The symbiote screeched louder and finally it tore itself off strand by strand and becoming a piece of black slime once more on the floor, seeping away... leaving Peter behind.
The symbiote scurried off somewhere. Peter was left without the black suit now. His face was bare and he was now in his civilian form. But the pain was gone. Yet, he felt a huge weight off his shoulders.
From below, Eddie saw that Peter was up high on one of the platforms. He ran again and tried to take down the strange armored soldiers and several of the Life Foundation guards. Yet, shots were fired from behind, barely hitting him. Eddie hid behind a column. It was his plan of attack. He heard the guard approaching when he finally acted.
"AAH!" Eddie roared as he came out and tackled him, the same bald guard who had beaten him when he tried to escape the first time.
"Welcome back, freak!"
"Look who's talking!"
Eddie managed to throw a hard punch which connected to his chin with an uppercut included.
But the man was skilled and hit Eddie fast bringing him down. He was pinned and punched in the face.
"You're a freak and you're gonna die a freak!" the guard mocked.
That was when a black liquid came into his right hand placed on the ground and soon Eddie allowed it into his system. One thing was certain...the power was not like Venom. Not anymore.
"What is this...?" Eddie said after another punch.
That was when he threw the man away with incredible strength.
"Venom?!" The bald guard said on the ground, fidgeting his rifle.
Eddie looked at his hands. That was when 'it' took over. He then screamed.
'No...not anymore...now...we are...."
Eddie was now encased in mostly white and traces of black were on his new form. Red eyes glared at the scared guard. He took the guard's neck and pressed hard.
"ANTI-VENOM!"
The bald guard's neck broke instantly.
"So this is who you really are?" she said looking at him up and down while Peter backed away from her. Her sword and axe almost touching him.
"Yes."
Mary-Jane looked murderous. "You insult me by wearing a suit to help you!"
Peter avoided the weapons but his speed was no longer as fast. He had managed to knock only the axe from her hand, making it fall many feet below. He no longer had his extra strength and speed. He was now at his ordinary level and it was apparent when he had missed a couple of swipes and just now he received a cut on his elbow.
"Aah!" Peter cried.
"That's called pain. Get used to it." she frowned and attacked again.
Peter backed away now and ran with Mary-Jane giving chase.
"DON'T YOU RUN AWAY FROM ME! TAKE YOUR DEATH LIKE A MAN!"
She caught up to him. Her sword hit a metal railing snapping it in two and hitting the floor. Peter quickly held onto the sword with his foot, making sure she didn't use it and immediately went around Mary-Jane, used his arms to put her in a headlock.
"Mary-Jane...you have to listen!"
But he was elbowed in the rib and the back of her head hit his face, staggering him.
"YAAHHH!" Mary-Jane swung her sword.
But Peter grabbed his wrist holding the sword while she tried to hit him with her other hand. Yet, Peter held that one as well. He looked at her straight in the eyes. Her teeth were baring and clenched. Her eyes were full of fury.
"Mary-Jane! I know you're in there...I'm sorry about all this! This is all my fault!"
She kneed him in the gut, making him go down.
"Whoever this...'Mary-Jane' is...she's not me...!" her sword was raised.
Peter managed to spin, duck from several swipes and ultimately gave a kick making her yell and sending her over the rail and almost off of it entirely, holding onto the bar railing with one hand. Her sword having fallen many feet down.
"MARY-JANE!"
The bar he held onto though, began to bend and tear off.
Peter ran toward her and lent a hand.
"Grab my hand!"
Mary-Jane/Red Sonja tried to. But her hand barely touched his fingers.
Peter was immediately reminded of that day he failed to save Mary-Jane and had gone into the portal. The memory brought sadness and also desperation. But determination followed after.
'NOT TODAY!' he thought.
She let go entirely when the railing snapped and she lost her grip. Peter jumped off grabbing her gloved wrist in time and as they neared the ground, Peter shot a webchord in time, saving them both. They landed on the ground safely. Peter sighed in relief and then went towards Mary-Jane.
"Are you alright?"
But Mary-Jane knocked him away unexpectedly and retrieved her sword with a simple flip of her foot. She pointed it at him again.
Mary-Jane gave a wicked smile. "I am...but it was very idiotic of you to save me. You should have let me die!"
"I can never do that..." a sincere Peter shook his head as he raised his hands in surrender.
"Then you're a bigger fool then I thought. Once I kill you, my army will do the same to your people!"
"I saved you! Don't you think that proves this world is not a threat to you? Compassion is not a sign of violence!"
"No...but it is a weakness! And I cannot take that chance! I eliminate potential dangers before they become threats."
"That is unfair and cruel. You cannot judge a race so quickly before they are given time to show who they really are! You lost sight of being a hero."
"I AM THE REAL HERO! At least...I will be again when this world is corrected!"
"No world, no race can be truly corrected. Not unless it's done naturally. Violence is in everyone! It all depends on the person. People's upbringing. ...their choices!."
"You're wrong!"
Peter shook his head sadly. "What happened to you?! Something happened to you didn't it? Something bad that caused you to lose faith in people?"
Mary-Jane/Red Sonja merely frowned. "What does it matter to you? You're going to die."
"Because maybe I can understand. Maybe I'm not like who you make me and everyone else out to be."
She gave a growl and finally answered after a long time. Her glare never faltered. "I was raped as a young girl and my family was taken away from me!"
Peter was beyond shocked.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I know what that's like...feeling like you're helpless." he thought of Felicia and everything she had done to him.
"But I wasn't! I no longer became helpless. I grew strong and powerful! I swore a vow to kill all evil-doers! You haven't convinced me at all, Spider-demon! You still shall die! Now...do not waste my time with more talk! Accept your death! You will not escape your fate!"
Peter had tears in his eyes welling up and got on his knees. "Fine. If this is who you really are then killing me will not upset you..."
At this point, Peter eyed her necklace as she slowly came forward. Her hands gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
"...but I know in my heart, you...Mary-Jane are still in there and you would never hurt me nor anyone. I love you with everything I have!"
The jewel in the necklace pulsated red. The gem had a crimson mist flowing and swirling inside.
"Still so delusional and so willing to die. I'm gonna enjoy cutting off your head from your body..." Mary-Jane ignored him as she approached.
"I love you like no other..." Peter continued.
"...I will relish every second of your death!" she ignored him.
"I can't believe I had someone like you. I was lucky." Peter cried happily.
"...and use your skull as a valuable trophy!" she yelled and raised her sword and was a fraction of a second away from swinging it downward.
Finally taking a chance, Peter quickly grabbed her necklace and tore it off her, he rolled and crawled away quickly and stood up after her sword missed and hit the ground.
Mary-Jane pressed her hand to her neck area. She growled when she realized what been taken. She saw him holding up the amulet. She darted toward him.
"Stay back!" Peter raised a hand.
"Give me that..." she lent out a hand slowly.
"No..."
Mary-Jane did so. "Give THAT to me! That is my heirloom!"
Peter held it up and motioned her to stay where she was. "No! I want you back, MJ. I have a gut feeling. This...thing has taken over you!"
"I'm RED SONJA!"
"I don't know who gave it to you but it needs to go away. You...Red Sonja or whatever you are, you lost your way and I'm sorry you did. Right now, you are possessing the woman I love...! I'm here to get her back! That's what this necklace is, isn't it?! Your spirit's in it!" Peter raised it above his head and prepared to aim it to the ground.
"I'll stop my army if that's what it takes for you to hand it to me!" she yelled.
Peter gave a loud scoff. "Yeah, like I'm gonna buy that."
"GIVE IT TO ME!" she shouted.
"I think it's time you went back to where you came from!" he then took the necklace by the chain and swung it to the ground. Mary-Jane almost caught up to him giving a "NOOOOO!", only for the gem to be smashed into tiny pieces at last.
It was instantaneous.
Stopping, Mary-Jane/Red Sonja screamed wildly and got on her knees pressing her hands to her head. She pulled her head back. The scream sounded not like Mary-Jane's but someone else's. Her eyes turned red for a second before the color faltered and had gone. A transparent wave morphing into a womanly figure came out of Mary-Jane's body. It twitched and withered in mid-air before finally disappearing in a ball of light.
Mary-Jane fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
'Spider-Man...I don't know how or why but the army just disintegrated! You did it! I don't know how but you did it! Where are you-?" a stunned Peter turned off the communicator and remained euphoric.
"The amulet also controlled the army like drones!" Peter said out loud. "Now that it's gone...so are they..." he was ecstatic now.
"Hmm...huh? What? Peter?" A groggy Mary-Jane blinked several times in surprise and looked around. "How did I-? What am I wearing?!" she looked down at herself and covered her abdomen and chest with both arms.
"Mary-Jane?!" Peter was crying in happiness. He was about to go and hug her.
She smiled as she too turned to look at him. "Peter..."
A shot rang out.
Mary-Jane's smile had slowly gone to a look of shock. Her eyes grew rounder.
A bullet.
Mary-Jane shouted. "PETER!"
Peter was shot. Blood poured out of a hole made in his chest, close to the heart.
Mary-Jane had a look of anguish now and cried.
Then another shot hit him from behind and then another.
Until he fell down and began breathing heavily.
"NOOO!" Mary-Jane shouted. "PETER!"
Mary-Jane ran and took him in her arms. She gently placed his head in her lap, tapping his cheek to keep him awake. She quickly became frantic.
"Peter? Baby? It's me. Look at me. Focus on me, OK? You're gonna make it. You've been through worse before. Peter...tiger...stay with me!" she placed her hands on the bullet wound and applied pressure.
Peter began to breathe heavily. "You-you're h-here...? Is it really you?"
She smiled warmly. "Yes. I am! It's me! You did it! I came back because of you. You really did it. You saved me. Just like you've always done! I'm back! Here...with you."
Peter smiled. His eyes were beginning to close. Mary-Jane panicked and shook him awake.
"No! No! We've come so far, you and I. We still have much to do. I'm gonna marry you! So please don't go, Peter! Don't leave me! Don't you dare! I love you!"
Peter could only look at her in response and smiled bigger. He gave a nod. He was beginning to breathe slow.
That was when the shooter entered. The approaching footsteps made that obvious. Carefully, Mary-Jane put Peter's head softly on the ground.
With tears in her eyes, a shaking Mary-Jane looked up and stared at her, the woman holding the gun, Felicia. Felicia Hardy who gave a somewhat giddy laughter. Almost between maniacal and euphoric.
"I owed you that. I did it..." she said deranged. "I...I finally did it! He's gonna die! I'm finally free! There was a time when I thought it was me, but you...you really 'are' his only weakness...and distraction." Felicia grinned.
Mary-Jane roared and charged at Felicia like a wild animal, knocking the gun from her hand and grabbing her by the throat. She tried to choke Felicia but her hands were taken off of her neck quickly. Felicia gained the upper hand quickly and held and gripped Mary-Jane's wrists tightly causing her pain. Felicia stared at her with pure smugness.
"Nice get-up you got there..." she said softly. "Where have you been, huh?"
"BITCH!" Mary-Jane yelled directly to her face.
"Don't talk about yourself, red-head. This had to be done. If I couldn't have Peter...then he should go! You...you took him from me! Now before I kill you, there's something I've always wanted to do first." Felicia said softly.
Mary-Jane merely shook from anger.
Felicia held up a knife. Mary-Jane couldn't believe what she was going to do.
Gasping, Mary-Jane tried getting back. "No, get away from me!"
"I know why you always get what you want and 'who' you want...it's that pretty face of yours! I want it!"
"NO! YOU SICK-"
Mary-Jane tried to shake free. But Felicia held her in place. The blade was placed on her forehead.
A gun was clicked.
Felicia stopped and looked at the newcomer, standing beside Peter.
Eddie Brock pointed her own gun at her.
"Let her go..." he said rather hoarsely.
"YOU!" Felicia yelled. "You're the one Li placed the tracker on."
"NOW!" Eddie warned.
Felicia threw Mary-Jane to the wall, slamming into it, giving a groan. She turned her attention to Eddie now.
"You have the balls this time to pull the trigger?" she said coming close to him.
"Yeah...I do!"
"Do it then!"
Eddie pulled it only to hear a click. The gun was empty.
"Wow silly me, I forgot to put more bullets in. But I'm impressed." Felicia smiled and then gave a serious frown within a fraction of a second. "I only wanted to kill him." she stared at Peter. "And her." she looked back at Mary-Jane.
"That's not gonna happen."
"Peter's dead." she growled, looking back at Eddie. "And now she's next!"
"Then how about we go at it?" Eddie said getting ready. "I'll fight for her!"
"Really?"
"Yes..." the venom voice escaped his lips.
"Of course you would..."
Sirens were heard off in the distance. Police. They were approaching.
Felicia turned to see Mary-Jane, who in turn gave her a hateful stare. She focused on Eddie again. "...but not today! Believe me, I want to kill you too given it was YOU who made Peter break up with me! It's her I want, then you!" She then looked back at Mary-Jane. "I hope you'll be ready soon because I already am!" she then ran off where she shot a grappling hook and flew away. Eddie saw her disappear and then he went back to Peter's body.
Mary-Jane was already there beside Peter, lying with her arm around him. She was crying nonstop.
Eddie lay beside Peter slowly with a look of regret and placed his hand on Peter.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Mary-Jane shouted.
"I need to check on him! Please! Let me help!" he said. "I swear. I won't hurt him."
Mary-Jane reluctantly did so. Eddie placed an ear to his chest and pressed a finger to his neck, checking for a pulse.
"He's alive."
"He is?"
"Yes."
"He really is?!"
"Yes, he's gonna make it. There's a heartbeat but it's faint. He also needs blood. We need to get him to a hospital quick."
Mary-Jane was in relief and even more so when the police came along with an ambulance.