Author's Note: I apologize if this chapter is late. It's just been a trying time. I've just had a problem happen in regards to this story. But I mean...who doesn't have problems? Apparently someone who shall remain nameless had uploaded my story on Wattpad without my express permission under the title 'the Unstoppable Spider Man'. I don't know how it happened. It just did. Thanks to a fellow reader/writer message me, Inquisitek, I've found out, reported it and all I can hope is that this doesn't happen again. I want to stress again, this individual did not get my permission to use my story. I also know this has happened before to someone else on. I strongly hope this doesn't happen to anyone else here anymore. Regardless, the 'show' does go on. Now enjoy.
Growth Episode Six
Cain tried to make sense of things. Mostly himself. And sometimes he wondered what his purpose in life was. The more he got to know about the city and its people, especially their behavior to themselves and one another, the more he became discontent. In Aracely's gang, he found some comfort in her and in her people to an extent, that their perception of people, their worldview was the same as his.
He looked away from unloading several questionable materials from the truck when he caught a break and saw his reflection through some broken glass in the warehouse.
"My name is...Cain, Peter Parker...Spider-Man?" He was truly having an identity crisis.
He went away when no answer in his mind was given. A Plasma TV positioned on a table ahead was showing today's current news.
"..as far as I'm concerned, Spider-Man is still a threat until proven otherwise."
"What about that incident with the wannabe-Vulture? Majority of witnesses say Spider-Man saved them."
"To me, it may be a ploy. Misdirection. Probably hired that creep to begin with. It's the oldest trick in the book. Get people to trust him again so that when the time is right, he gets to do what he really wants to do. Can't you people see that he is spitting in the faces of every single scumbag here and newcomers like metahumans and thus, they're still committing crimes because they're not going to let a guy like him push them around. They've grown either stubborn or persistent, criminals these days. That's why we have more crime now."
"Even with the kind of power he has, he would have made his true intentions known a long time ago."
"He loves the 'love' from people and who wouldn't?"
"Mr. Jameson, why do you have so much animosity towards this man?"
"Why do 'you' like him? Seems like you want his number. I gotta say you're out of luck there."
"I'd like a serious answer to my question, Mr. Mayor."
Jameson gave a glare before finally speaking. "Fine. You want serious? I'll give it to you. Because the only heroes I've ever known all my life are the police officers, firefighters, doctors and military people. Good, honest hard-working people. You also know what those people have in common? They 'don't' wear masks. You actually see a face. That's trust right there. That's humility right there. But above all else...that's 'human' right there."
"Yes, it's important to be human." the female reporter said now wishing to end the interview. "Well, thank you for joining us here today at Fact Channel News, Mayor Jameson. We hope you come back."
"Oh, I am. Today actually. I have to talk about other things as well. It makes me feel better. My therapy is right here. At Fact Channel News." he smiled.
"Well, at least he's finally getting it..."
Cain turned and saw Aracely coming with boxes along with several other young men carrying their own.
Aracely frowned at the TV as she came in. "You're still watching this piece of crap? Well, nice of you to keep up with New York politics."
"How can the real Spider-Man put up with this?" Cain said with his eyes still glued on the screen.
"Huh?" Aracely said as she came into the warehouse.
Cain indicated at the TV. "It just seems like he and his supporters are ungrateful. He's done more good than harm." he said.
"At the cost of good 'ol property damage. You don't think Jameson has a point?" Aracely chuckled.
"Spider-Man's just trying to make a difference."
"Yeah. If he can find a better pose for his next photo op. That's basically the only difference he does." she mutters. "Did you-" she turned to face a young man her age.
"Yes, yes I got them."
"Great." she then went back to work as soon as the young man went on with his business.
"So Spider-Man is not who you think he is? You don't think that everything he's done measures up to what kind of person he is?" Cain asked.
"Look, Mr. "born yesterday', I don't know if you heard, but in this world, nothing and nobody is what they seem to be." Aracely said carelessly. "You and I hate Jameson for a reason. You hate him because he hates your boy-crush Spider-Man and I hate him because he just put people like my grandfather in extreme poverty."
"That's unfair."
"Welcome to the world..." Aracely said walking away from him and went back to work.
"So what are we doing exactly?"
"You do this job with us in a few days, I'll tell you."
Cain was left alone pondering when one of Aracely's people, a dimwitted man, placed a large box of equipment on the table next to him.
"You spelled my name wrong..." he looked at the board listing all the names in the upcoming operation.
Rodrigo saw the name he wrote. 'Kaine'.
"It's Cain like in the bible. Haven't you read it?"
"Oh sorry, no, never got past the first page. You want me to redo it?"
"Never mind..."
Once he was left alone, Cain held up his right hand. It trembled and then glowed hot, bright red. The very thought of Jameson made him angry.
"I'm going to have to find him to teach him a lesson." he whispered to himself before leaving the garage.
"So can you trust him?" Rodrigo asked Aracely as soon as they were out of earshot.
Aracely scoffed and looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? But if he can help us with this, maybe it's a start."
"Why'd you bring him in?"
"He gets me. He's beginning to get the way the world works, to an extent. And he needs a place. A place where you're either cattle or wolf."
Cain sighed with contentment at how well his interaction with Aracely went. He was most pleased to realize he was learning a lot from her. To him, she was the closest to a true sister. Walking away from the building, he heard a siren blared and a police car pulled up beside him on the curb.
"Hey, good morning! How ya doin'?" the officer asked Cain.
"I'm good." Cain said trying to be as civil as he could be. He didn't have time for the police.
"I'm surprised to see someone like you up and about at the crack of dawn. I'm Officer Jefferson Davis, by the way. I can't help but notice that for the past couple of days you pass through here. You look new basically."
"Yeah. I have a friend that I hang out with here."
"A friend that lives in an area that we in the precinct, like to call 'danger zones'. We say danger zones because this area has for some time, been well known for being weapons caches along being known for having a few unfriendly mishaps. This street in particular is filled with certain people who hide, build and sell guns of the highest or lowest orders. Now I say all this in this manner, because this is not my first rodeo...you see, you're in a place you don't belong. So, how about you give me something, my man? What are you all about?"
"Am I under arrest?"
"You want to be?" Davis asked back.
"I'm just here hanging around. I'm helping a friend because that's what I do. I help out. I'm not doing anything wrong. You cannot get me for anything."
"You're right, I can't. Which is why I'm here because I was wondering if you would help me out."
"You mean snitching?" Cain was taken aback.
"Who said anything about snitching? Is there anything worth snitching about? Hmm?" Davis asked rather too tactfully. "I'm just asking if you see anything out of the ordinary, you call us."
"Sure..."
"Thanks. Because that's what the police like to see. People doing their part in staying out of trouble."
It had been a few hours before Peter was finally put on the path to rebirth. It had been easy enough. Red Sonja and her allowed Peter a half a day to get his affairs in order, basically to get ready.
'If you must...' Red Sonja had said with a roll of her eyes.
Julia stood perched on top of a random skyscraper. She took her eyes off of the countless buildings before her and saw that the sun was just rising over the horizon. A helicopter was seen ahead making its way toward her direction.
The man stepped out of the helicopter and walked toward her. She stood still as he approached.
"So...?" the man waited.
"I'm sorry. I can't."
He nodded in understanding. Yet, the disappointment was there. "Interesting to do this little meeting in the AM."
"Not a lot of sleep in me anymore."
"I guess when you get superpowers, there's no such thing as a curfew anymore, huh? Gotta say, the whole thing, it's a bit..."
"Much?" Julia said.
"Overwhelming." he nodded.
"Believe me, you and me both...some White Bronco I won, huh?"
"Despite the newfound strangeness, I still see you as the Julia I used to know."
"Well, I don't know about that..." she said rather wistfully. "It's difficult seeing people look at me like I'm some kind of freak. But regardless, I have these gifts and I earned them for a reason."
"But why? Why did she give you this responsibility? All this power?"
"She saw something in me I didn't even know I had. Maybe because it's not just about saving someone. It's about inspiring someone which in turn, can save possibly...everyone."
"So basically-"
"Yeah...I can't come back in with the force. Things have changed. 'I' have changed."
"You understand that with what's coming...they're never going to stop hunting you."
"I know that."
He sighed. "I'll do the best I can to keep you hidden but I got to warn you, I'm not good at making people invisible."
"Thanks, Barton."
"Just know..." he nodded, was about to walk back to the helicopter when he turned his head and gave her a friendly smile. "...there's always a place for you at SHIELD."
It was morning and Peter was nowhere in the apartment. Regardless, she had no sleep in her tonight. Felicia paced and paced which was ridiculous for someone like her. Hours had gone by since she walked around the apartment. The anxiety was driving her crazy. She took a glance from the clock on her nightstand to the bathroom door. Inside the bathroom lay the pregnancy test. Felicia had left it there an hour ago for the test told her she had to but now it was time.
Taking a deep breath in, she slowly went inside and picked up the tiny testing stick. She looked at the small digital screen. The letters read only one word.
'PENDING...' and it had said that exact same thing all through the night.
"It's probably broken, dammit..." she then decided to buy another kit and made her way out of her apartment, coat on and all and prepared to head to the pharmacy. Just then a figure appeared in her way, startling her.
"Peter!" she gasped.
"Where you going?" he asked.
"Um. Just going to head onto the store for some snacks. Where have you been?"
"Doing the whole 'superhero' thing."
"Oh. You seem stressed, I gotta say."
"Oh you think? Nothing gets past you."
Felicia was affronted. "Whoa there. What's with the attitude, Peter?"
"I'm just sick of things not going the way I want them."
"Well, don't take it out on me, Pete. You have to fix these things on your own."
"Well I thought you said that whatever I go through, we go through together? Wasn't that what you said?"
"Something's wrong with you."
"Oh is there? Or are you just avoiding the subject like what you and everyone else in this city does, on a constant basis?"
"You're not well..."
"Oh I'm not?! This world...everything in it...how's it being run...it pains me. It hurts me now. It hurts me everyday!"
"Peter..." Felicia was backing away now. "Your face..."
Cain turned to see a reflection on a picture screen on the wall. He saw veins bulging from his cheeks and all over the rest of his face.
"Now I understand what May and Betty meant. You're not right..."
"You're afraid of me now, I take it?" he growled at her.
"Peter..."
"My name is not Peter...! It's Kaine!" he said as his whole face turned even more grotesque.
"Where's the real Peter?!"
"Don't know. But when I find him, he'll be gone and I will take his place. With you as my queen."
"I'm not your anything."
"You are! You're the woman of my dreams! Do you really believe I'd let you go given everything I've been through?"
"Get away from me!"
He threw her to the bed where he lay on top of her and pinned her.
"You're mine!"
"Let me go!" she shrieked as she tried to get his hand off her throat. He then attempted to disrobe her only for Felicia to react and kick him square in the face, knocking him away. She then proceeded to run out of the apartment only for her to be grabbed again and thrown to the floor. He was on top of her again. Felicia tried to push his head back with her hands. But his hand on her forehead stopped her.
The imposter proceeded to disrobe her again. 'No...I do not want this to happen to me!' Felicia in a panicked state, remembered a weakness the real Peter taught her.
Keeping her right hand straight and sharp. She hit the imposter square in the upper neck in a jabbing fashion incredibly fast.
His eyes bulged from the hit and his hold on her weakened. He looked as if he was choking. He was and began to cough. The imposter fell to the floor beside her, clutching his throat. Felicia took the chance and finally ran. She ran out of the apartment entirely. She never looked back.
She exited the building fearing that the imposter was behind her. Fear drove her to the street where she begged any car to stop and take her somewhere. Anywhere.
One did. A car stopped, screeched with Felicia's hands on the hood.
She saw the guy in the driver's window. It was a one in a million chance to see this very individual, especially in the early morning.
"Eddie!" she cried in relief.
"Leesh?" he frowned.
She hurried inside and closed the door.
"I'll explain later. Just drive."
Eddie did so.
"Hello there..." a hand brushed from his forehead to his cheek. In sleep, Peter was in a state of bliss.
"Mary-Jane...?" Peter asleep in bed, said with closed eyes. A smile began to form.
"Think again..."
Alarmed, Peter opened his eyes and saw someone looking down and sitting on him.
The wickedness of her face said it all. It was Felicia or rather it was her dark alter ego.
"Black Cat..."
"Yup...your favorite white-haired, busty, curvy, ex-girlfriend here..." she grinned.
She sat way below Peter's waist.
Her elbows on his gut with her hands on her cheeks giving Peter her usual seductive, impish stare. "Interesting to see you again. Have to say..." she said giving Peter a rather mischievous scowl. Her fingers dug into Peter's belly fat and moved it around as if it were gelatin. "...your first college year has led you to big things and those big things sure went right in the middle, didn't they?"
"Not my fault..." Peter said while he felt some discomfort as she sat upright on his crotch.
"You thickened up from all that nonstop eating and snacking. This is the last thing I would ever want you to become. Apparently. that spell that arachnoid-girl put on you worked wonders. Now you're wondering why I'm here? You see, I was in a dark place. Almost as if I no longer had any form. But now that those wasp-y women are gone, I'm back!"
"Just my luck." he muttered. "Look, you can say, make fun and do whatever you want but at the end of the day, I know I'm dreaming."
"Powers of observation continue to serve you quite well. And what I've observed is you've become an embarrassment. A disappointment. A shame. I can't believe those women made you lose your beautiful muscles and rock hard abs and instead made you get what's beyond a mere muffin top. You look ridiculous!"
"Leave me alone! Why...do I keep seeing you? You're a figment of my imagination! You're not real!"
Felicia grasped Peter's double chin.
"I'm real 'in' your head! And I'm here because whoever you are, you're 'not' my cutie-pie! Whoever you've become now is a literal disgrace! Now, you better listen to that red-haired bitch from here on out and lose all that crap you have on you, understand? I want my Spidey back!" she growled.
"I'm not yours!"
"Oh you are...you always will be."
"Get out of my head!" Peter shouted.
Peter snapped awake with a shaking of his head and he saw to his relief, he was once again alone in bed. 'I can't believe I'm still seeing her...' he rubbed his hand to his hair.
'What does that mean?'
The sun shined through his window of his dorm room. Today was the day. Not to meet Red Sonja yet but to do something else entirely. A while ago at ESU, he sent an essay and he was sure despite being mind-controlled that he had aced it. Turns out he didn't and for that, Professor Warren was someone he needed to talk to. In class now, seated now in a separate desk beside the door while everyone else was in their small foldable desks, Peter ignoring stares from almost everyone, waited for Professor Warren to be done with the lecture.
"You have a break coming up. Have fun while you can. But when you return, be ready..." Warren smiled and for that the class was finally over.
"Now if that's not scary, I don't know what is." a guy said as he got up and prepared to leave.
"Always a charming guy..." a girl said.
While, students packed up to leave, Peter quickly made his way to Professor Warren. It was astounding seeing him up close.
"Professor Warren."
"Yes, what is...it?" he finally said the last word in a confused manner when he saw Peter fully.
"Yeah, I just want to talk about the grade you gave me for my essay..."
"I got a lot of work to do...Mr.?" he squinted.
"Parker. Peter Parker."
"Well, all of a sudden, I'm getting a case of deja vu, son. You remind me of...someone." he frowned.
"They say I'm a guy with a thousand faces." Peter shrugged.
"Hmm..." Professor Warren cast a curious glance at Peter.
"Why did you give me a 'D' on my biology essay?"
"It's quite simple to understand, Mr. Parker. It was not up to my level of standards."
"But what about effort? I studied and applied myself. This is not a matter of sentence structure and punctuation, I mean, I had this proofread. I did do the work."
"It's too basic. Where's the style? Where's the substance?"
"It's an essay, not a movie, sir."
Several students stayed behind and were now watching the whole scene between Peter and Warren with much interest now.
"I...decide what's good and what's not. You see, other professors would just look at this oh so idly and give you a solid '10' but in my class, a ten is a rarity but it's a rarity that needs to be earned. Do better next time."
"So you think I'm no good then?"
"I know you're no good. Just by the look of you, you're the uninspired type."
"I know what I am sir and I didn't get here to ESU if I didn't have a good head on my shoulders. Maybe you're just too full of yourself to notice the potential in me and other kids in this class."
That made the whole class amazed giving out 'oohs'.
"Just for that remark, you're suspended. Quite the reprimand on a record I must say. It does you no good to be bold in this class. Now go do what kids like you do best...eat yourself to death..."
Warren left leaving Peter stunned. Defeated, he went to the cafeteria where he saw several members of his study group. Brad and Gigi were eating up a storm and Peter approached them.
"Hey, Pete! Wanna join in?"
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but...you guys have to stop doing this. It's wrong." he said.
"What? We're starving." Gigi frowned.
"Guys...look this isn't right what you're doing. Eating healthy wouldn't kill you, you know. I'm about to do it."
"What? I thought you were OK with eating nonstop now."
"Not anymore. You two need to start thinking of both your body and health. Health is important. It keeps you breathing and that heart beating. Which is why...I'm going to lose weight. Look, I was wrong. It was fun at first but now I have to take care of myself. I really want you guys to do the same. Maybe you're happy now, but the day will come when you realize...what have I done?"
Gigi and Brad looked at one another.
"Well...good luck I guess." Gigi gave a firm nod.
"Think about what I said." Peter said walking away.
He passed by Cassie sitting a few inches away. She gave him a kind, proud smile followed with a nod. A sign that meant an approval of sorts. Peter smiled back, went on his way and eventually he came across the leader of the study group outside the cafeteria.
"Hey Debra."
"Hey, Peter. Sorry...I heard what Professor Warren did. That's gotta be frustrating."
"It sucks, you mean."
"Quite. But hey, with this extra time, you could try to workout." Debra piped up before calming herself. "Not to...sound insensitive."
"No, no, I hear you. Yes, I 'am' going to be healthy again. Maybe I won't go back to my old size right away but-"
"Oh no, don't worry, Pete. With new advancements in this day and age, you could lose weight in less than a month, a week even! I have no doubt you can pull this off."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in me given we only know each other little."
Debra turned dramatic while keeping up her chipper front. "I have this thing about people. Call it...a need to help. Call it...a need to support. Call it...a need to encourage. Call it..."
Peter stopped her in time before she went on further. "...understandable. Yeah, you're a nice girl. I get it. Thanks."
"Takes a lot for a man to come back. And I know you will."
"And that makes me give you another thanks." Peter smiled.
"And also...because after break, you better tell me what you know about Spider-Man." she gave kind of a smirk.
"I never thought that would happen to me." Felicia said as she finished telling her story to Eddie in his apartment. "Ever."
"Yeah, well...it didn't. You defended yourself." Eddie said as he poured more coffee for her and set it on the table beside her.
"Eddie, Peter-"
"I know. It's not him." Eddie shook his head. "Wherever the real Pete is, he could be anywhere."
"What if he's been dead all this time? I never got the chance to tell him, I'm sorry. That I love him. That-"
"Hey. Hey, don't. Don't. You get that monkey on your back, it'll never get off. Don't think like that, Leesh. He's out there somewhere. He's alive."
"It's just...I've never had this kind of anxiety in my life."
"Well, hey. Generally speaking, a lot of pressure comes with being an adult. Anxiety too." Eddie said sitting down. "You have to keep up. And believe me, coming from experience, it's hard. Anxiety can squeeze and crush you but you have to learn to live with it." he then gave a sad expression.
"Eddie, are you and Betty-?"
"It's over." he sighed and nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. What can you do?" Eddie shrugged.
"Even if I do find Peter...it's going to be hard to tell him or rather I don't know if I should tell him-"
"What?"
"Please don't tell anyone, Brock..." she said sadly. "It's just...I do have to get this out somehow."
"What is it?"
"I think I might be...pregnant." she said with tears in her eyes.
Eddie looked aghast.
Deep in Central Park, Peter was pensive. Before he went with Mary-Jane or Red Sonja as she was now, Peter had told Julia something important.
'Please...find out who this other Spider-Man is. When I was under that spell or whatever, I didn't pay much attention to him but now that I'm in my right mind again, I 'am'. And you should too please."
'You got it.'
"It's time..." Red Sonja appeared and covered from head to toe in a large brown trenchcoat. Her way of being inconspicuous.
'Mary-Jane...' Peter became solemn.
"And I'm ready." he said as bold as he could.
"I'll be the judge of that. Once you have proven yourself, you will earn this once again." she held up his Spider-Man costume with her hand. "This will be the trophy..."
"That's called stealing, you know."
"I call it a means to an end."
"Fine, whatever. How do we get to this training place?"
"The amulet will take us to a place in another time where you will be renewed..."
Once the coast was clear of any people, she touched her necklace with her fingers, the large red gem and immediately a portal was summoned in midair. A swirling vortex big enough for the two of them to enter.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
"I've seen a portal once or twice before. Truth be told, all this magic and weird science stuff no longer surprises me, MJ."
"MJ?"
"I-I mean...Sonja...ma'am." Peter corrected himself quickly. They went in and as he soon as he arrived to the other side, Peter saw nothing but red. Even the sky was so. 'Whoa!' he felt like he needed new lungs.
"Even though your powers have returned, your reflexes need to be working." Red Sonja had said to Peter. "Take time to adapt to this place. The environment is suitable for those who train to be warriors. Be wary. The weather is very warm and there are earthquakes from time to time."
"Way to spend school break..." he muttered as soon as he felt the tremendous heat. After a period of time, they got to working.
His powers, self-control and fast metabolism may have returned, but trying to reverse the damage was a great challenge for Peter. He was now working out intensely. Sometimes two or three times a day. All thanks to Red Sonja, the being that took over Mary-Jane's body. The workouts were very extreme. As far as he was concerned, he was experiencing a whole new level of pain and punishment.
The thing of it was, he wasn't on Earth doing all this. The world's surroundings reeked primordial and almost to the level of prehistoric. The weather was hot to a point where it was difficult for Peter to breathe. He began to sweat immediately as he was being instructed by Sonja. They were soon in a large forest training with large boulders the size of cars and some as small as basketballs. Regardless they were all heavy no matter the form. He was doing squats with tremendous weight on his shoulders and back. Going up and down.
"You will stop when I tell you to stop!"
The madness continued with high intensity workouts. Red Sonja did it with him, showing off her agile and strength.
"You know...there was a time when I could do this, no problem..." he whimpered as he was doing burpees, essentially squat thrusts.
"And yet times have unfortunately changed for you." she said as she placed her hands on the ground, kicked her legs out and stood back up.
"You can say that again..."
After such strenuous activity that no ordinary human could do, Peter tiredly went on to the next task. On the bar, Peter tried to do his last pull-up.
"I did it!" he cried in joy as his chin was over the bar.
Red Sonja however looked none too pleased and shook her head in what seemed like sheer disappointment. Peter saw that he had bent the bar drastically due to his grip and weight. It had been lowered.
Next, he did basic crunches. But they were becoming anything but basic the more he did them. Peter's body shook wildly each time while trying to rise. Peter fell back to the ground catching his breath.
"Get up...I said get up...now!" Red Sonja shouted down at him.
Peter turned his head and saw Black Cat ahead leaning on a tree with her arms crossed to her chest looking angry. She pointed to Red Sonja and made an expression as if to say 'you heard what she said!'
'What are you guys, a tag team now?' Peter wanted to say.
A while later, he was now fighting her, sparring actually but holding back which she noticed. He merely blocked her hits. He received an elbow to his cheek, making him disoriented.
She stopped. "I don't know if you have yet to understand the age-old concept...but when one hits, the other must hit back."
"I can't. It's hard to explain. I can't...knowing you're...who I used to...know."
Red Sonja merely narrowed her eyes and kept up her serious front.
Peter shrugged and shook his head. "You want to beat the crap out of me for not following instructions now, I take it?"
"I could and believe me it would be too easy. All I can say is you shame me."
Peter said nothing.
"Fine...I shame you. But if you understood love, then you would know why...I can't hit you back." Peter said sadly.
Blinking, Red Sonja looked away and sighed. "Emotion is only going to defeat you. Let's go to the next task instead."
The next task had been a full hour of running which Peter thought was too much. Because it was taking too much out of him. Yet, Peter didn't want to stop. He had to keep going. A lot was happening back in the city. He knew it. He had to figure out who the new Spider-Man was and he was curious about Felicia, the real Felicia. It amazed him that he could still do amazing things although at a sluggish capacity. So far, the last two days saw him going down in weight drastically. Peter was proud of himself for that.
"I can't do this...too much." he had said after he stopped running and tried to catch his breath.
"I don't care! You stop until you die! Now move!"
After running, Peter moved on to more crunches while holding a large slab of metal serving as a weight, to his chest. Peter felt his heart was about to explode when he was about to do his hundredth crunch.
"Stop..."
Peter did so without hesitation. He shook and breathed in and out heavily.
Standing before him, Red Sonja gave her overall review on his performance.
"Your metabolism may be that of a furnace now that you have your abilities returned to you, it will take you a week or two to be thin. Nevertheless, you still have a goal to reach."
Peter sat up with a struggle. His knees to his chest. "I got to be my old size again faster. The city needs me!" he nodded miserably.
"Then you must do as I say. Do better next time."
"Can I ask you...how long do you plan in staying inside Mary-Jane?"
"That's up to you now isn't it?" she said turning her back to him and walking away, leaving him alone.
And it got worse as several days passed. Peter's body ached. The soreness was unbearable.
He was doing what seemed like more lifting. The equivalent of bench pressing. He was laying down and lifting what seemed like tons, which no mere mortal would have been able to pull off. He knew it. He felt the sheer extreme weight. Closing his eyes, Peter prayed that Mary-Jane or Red Sonja would tell him to stop. He was feeling the strain and stress. It was painful now. More sweat poured down.
Instead he remembered something that happened before he went on his break. It was when he met up with Betty.
"Peter!"
"Hey, Betty. I just want to say thank you."
"Really?"
"Not just for saving my life but for trying to make me see that I was going down a bad path. I'm sorry for not listening."
"Well, you should be and then again, you shouldn't."
"Huh?"
"You were being mind-controlled Pete. My sources which shall go unnamed did some 'discreet' investigation after the incident and eventually they found this strange liquid in their hidden lair. Their findings were that it caused extreme hunger, extreme endorphins to go through the roof, loss of inhibition, it increased ten times the calories in ordinary food and above all else, hypnosis. A lot of scientific mumbo jumbo but take my word for it, it's beyond strange."
"I'll say."
"It was what they used to put you under their control. What's more strange is why those women creatures wanted you."
Peter shrugged. "Maybe I'm just an easy punching bag."
"I don't believe that. There were some ups and downs. You didn't listen, sure. But as far as the proverbial 'punching bag' goes, if you were, you wouldn't have had the strength to come back." Betty said sincerely. "I'd say they didn't know who they were messing with."
Peter slumped. "It did take me long to get some sense to hit me though. I just wished I could have figured things out sooner."
"Peter...there's something else going on."
"What do you mean?"
"Robertson says that until you get yourself right, you should take a leave of absence." Betty said rather sadly.
"What?!"
"He's about to call you soon to tell you this. I just thought you should hear it from me. But relax. He's not firing you, Pete. He just wants you to get some help which I know you're going to do and that's great."
"I understand." In a way, it had been the right course of action. He needed the time off. "Another thing..."
"Yeah?" Betty had been about to go back to work.
"Why did you go all this way to help me? Was it the story? If so, there's not much evidence for that to go public."
Betty remained looked down and appeared as if she wanted to stop talking.
"Betty?"
"You're my friend, Peter. That's why I helped...I always do and I always will, even if we're broken up."
Peter was astounded hearing what Betty just said and before he could reach into his new memories, he was back in the moment.
"Stop..." he heard.
Peter who had the bar raised put it back in place. At both ends of the bars were large boulders the size of mini-vans. He breathed heavily and felt intense relief. His arms and hands were burning from the sheer weight.
"Now...it's battle time."
"Again..." Peter rolled his eyes.
All his time with the weight loss and strength training, fighting was also a must. Not with Sonja rather, but with large creatures that inhabited the red, hot world. Some resembling ancient humans and others somewhat different. They were warriors regardless. Soon, Peter was in a field, wary and spent trying his best to defend himself and also to take down his opponent.
'My blood is rushing through my head...!' Peter said huffing and puffing once he avoided the creature's claws.
He was still getting winded and it was that weakness that led to his downfall. He was kicked in the chest and hit the ground hard.
The alien warrior was about to make the killing blow when a blade was produced from his chest and blood squirted out. The creature instantly fell still to the ground. Red Sonja was standing before Peter, having been behind the creature the whole time.
"When...will you be ready?" she shook her head shamefully.
"Anyone who's nervous about this..." Aracely had said before they had gone. "...should just stay at home with their mamas."
The vans had long since exited the warehouses. Only two vans.
Cain was more than determined. He had no objections. The minute the sentence 'we're going to show Jameson who runs this town..' was uttered, he was onboard.
"Not that I'm not a confident guy but what happens if we fail in doing this?"
"Fail?" Aracely scoffed. "It doesn't matter if we do fail. But I mean, if we do win, it'll be a miracle. Yes, some of us are going to get shot or caught but at least we will be able to send our message. Actions speak louder than words."
Inside the van, Cain saw that they were approaching a major building with the two letters FC emblazoned on the very basis of the structure. They arrived in the parking lot, got out, wearing only their black masks and so did Cain.
"We can't get through the main entrance, too much security." Aracely had said.
Ahead, by the building's garage, they saw large locks and chains on the supply room door.
Aracely sighed with frustration. "Get the bolt cutters, Rodrigo!"
"Which ones are those again?" he asked.
Aracely frustrated, went off on him in Spanish. "Como que no sabes, pendejo?! Eres tan inutil!"
"I got a better idea..." Cain suggested.
With one kick, the doors broke through, allowing them to enter.
Aracely came up Cain's side. "It said DO NOT ENTER..." she muttered.
"Yes, I noticed too." Cain said uncaring as he walked.
"Well hey, who knew you were a closeted bad-ass?" Aracely smiled. "Alright let's do this fast. Thinking will only slow us down..."
Going into a narrow hallway where up ahead TV network associates and clerks were doing their business. No one paid any mind to them yet. A few of Aracely's goons shot a few rounds into the air. That was enough for people to shout and scream in panic.
"Alright TV people listen up! You want real news, you're about to get it." Aracely shouted.
"What the hell is going on now?" Jameson ahead said.
"Get him!"
"Who?" Jameson said looking around him, appearing alarmed.
"You, tonto!" Aracely stared at him. "The one who's been relocating and sending people away from homes!"
"Come again?" Jameson said as he was being frisked. "Hey! Those are 'my' stogies!" he shouted as a gang member took large cigars from his pocket.
Cain went out of sight for a moment. His face was bothering him again. He quickly took off his mask. In a reflection from a picture on the wall, Cain saw his face becoming deformed once again. He concentrated, visualized in his mind's eye to make the abnormalities in his face disappear.
"Put him in the dressing room area in the meantime. We got to set up the cameras and spread the message." Aracely had said. She then went and saw Cain far in the hallway looking at his face in the picture.
"Hey, what's the problem? Why'd you take your mask off?"
"Just feeling a little...under the weather. Sorry. Where'd you put Jameson?"
"In the dressing room. Figure he's got to look perfect for his...interview." she smirked.
"Good. Good. Listen, I just want to say thanks for letting me do this with you."
"It's been interesting..." she shrugged.
That was when a scuffle was heard in the office area. Sounds like glass being broken went off.
"What the hell?!"
One of the gang members appeared to run from the office and into the hallway they wer ein.
"Someone's in and she's making problems, Aracely!"
"She?"
Another gang member came back out of breath. "It's some chick dressed up like black Spider-Man!"
"Huh?!"
More sounds of struggle from around the corner were heard. Some were grunts. Some were groans of pain and discomfort. Some were punching and kicking.
"It's so impossible for things to go wrong before we've even done them!" Aracely practically wailed. She took out a gun and gave it to Cain, to his surprise. "We'll create a diversion for this chick!"
"What?"
"Call it a test. Take it. You want in? You want respect from me? Then take this and put a bullet into Jameson!"
Cain took it and felt the power from the small weapon.
"Go! Do your part while we hold her off! Call us when you've done it..." she then ran in the opposite direction.
"But I thought-"
"Well you thought wrong!"
Being led and shoved into the room, he was met face to face with the one and only mayor of New York. The anger came back. Cain could hear gunfire and running outside the closed door.
"What the-? Parker?"
Cain was a bit taken aback when he heard the name Parker spoken again. Up until this point, only Felicia called him that. He remembered he didn't have a mask on.
"It's you! Dammit, I know what this is about!"
"You do?"
"Yeah! They used you and that amazing tricked-up brain of yours to find a way to enter the building. Guess they succeeded. All to get to me! Dammit, kid. You really are an easy target...I'm sorry they put you through this...it pains me..." he sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. "...it pains me the way these people are acting in this city! Taking advantage of good people like you! I think I'm going crazy..." he said in a low whisper.
"It...hurts? It hurts you? Everything bad out there?"
"Let's just say there's not an aspirin in the world that can deal with a headache from hearing everything on the news each day. Why do you think I am the way I am, Parker? Because I don't have any peace or comfort. Never did."
It was awkward. A man who hated Spider-Man and everything he stood for and yet Cain was able to understand him. He made a decision. Cain decided to go along with it. He was fortunate to keep the gun behind him the entire time.
"I'm...I have an idea."
"Oh...OK...wanna fill me in?"
Cain successfully buried the gun in his back pocket unseen.
Eventually they exited the room. Fire alarms and people running out of departments were happening and Cain knew Aracely and her crew were long gone. He sensed someone. Jameson to his side, he felt a kinship toward him.
Cain could feel the discomfort growing. "There should be an emergency exit around here."
"It's right there! Come on, Parker!" Jameson ran first throughout the mayhem.
Cain felt the intruder due to his senses and turned around letting out a punch to which it was caught and immediately he was thrown to the other side of the hallway.
"Hey! That wasn't necessary. He's just a kid!" Jameson shouted at her. "What's your deal-"
The woman gave Jameson a smack to the side of his head and had him fall down. "Go to sleep..." she said annoyed.
Cain took the chance to disappear through the broken window. He went to the top level of the parking lot. He was a level short of the roof when he stopped and sighed. He could feel someone behind him.
"Who are you?" after looking at her for a long while.
"Madame Web."
"OK. Nice name. Now, how about you buzz off?"
Julia couldn't believe that she was seeing an imperfect clone of Peter Parker. "I know what you plan on doing in the future. You need to stop. There's still a chance. You saved Jameson."
Julia saw that the boy's face was grotesque, hardly resembling the real Peter Parker.
"That was because Jameson is just a poster-boy. He's not the problem! They are! The government. The people that created me! People who tell us to obey orders!"
"You delved into existentialism and you're disappointed by what you've learned in this world. It's not uncommon. But you have a choice."
"Whatever you are, get the hell out of here, lady! This city is mine!"
"And this city is yours to do what?"
"You say you know everything..." Cain scoffed and shrugged.
"I do. It was a rhetorical question. I just wanted to hear it from your lips. This city is yours to dominate and control. Even to destroy those that do not meet your guidelines."
"I learned from a woman wiser than you that the only way for a better world to thrive, the old world has to go."
"Every single man or woman that tried to destroy this city...let alone the world...has said that exact same sentence and it never ended well. For the individual, that is."
"It'll be a dent to it though. What this world has shown is nothing but darkness, suffering and pain. Now it's my turn to return the favor." Cain raised his hand.
"Stand down...this is not going to go well for you."
"NO! Don't tell me what to become!"
That was when the lights blared from above. More bright light erupted. Cain saw that he was surrounded by men in armed suits wearing large futuristic looking rifles. One of which shot him. Failure to avoid it caused him to fall to the ground. Paralyzed completely, Cain looked around and saw that the woman he had been talking to had disappeared. She was gone. But another woman appeared from the crowd of soldiers.
It was the woman he met in jail. The one called Sable Manfredi. The left side of her face showed the burnt imprint he given her a while ago.
"I've been waiting for this...nothing but misery you have caused me!" she said angrily. "Recognize your handiwork?!" she pointed to her cheek. "My beauty...gone!"
A familiar looking man then appeared. "Wait! Remember...!" he warned.
'The man who wanted me killed. Miles Warren!' Cain gasped.
"...he belongs to us!" Warren stated strongly. "We had a deal. Do whatever you want...but give him back to us right after! We need his body for study!"
'My body for study? What does he mean by that?' he thought fearfully.
"Fine..." she then shot her pistol into his chest unexpectedly, causing him to cry and fall back down to the ground where the pain was taking over. Blood came out of his mouth. It was getting hard to breathe.
Sable approached like a tiger would. "In my opinion, you...were the one who hacked in long ago and put me in jail. You're not the real Peter Parker. Now I realize, I tried to kill an innocent boy...all of it was a waste! But my vengeance will still be complete."
She then put the gun to his temple.
"Good-bye..."
"No..."
"Now I feel better..."
Manfredi's gun had fired through to his brain and Cain no longer heard, saw or did anything.
Peter was fighting a creature of unknown origin. Somewhere along the lines between a reptile and a neanderthal. Peter wasn't sure all he knew that it was ugly, had organic blades and it was not a friendly being so far.
Using a sword Sonja had given him, Peter dodged and parried. Always on the offensive so far. 'I'm using swords because?' he thought frustrated.
'Am I the kind of superhero that uses swords? Really?' they were really not for him. He took it down with a spinning maneuver, slicing it clean in two.
Next, he sparred with Red Sonja once again. His powers gave him an advantage. Always. But for now, he mentally negated them so that he could be on equal footing with her. He fought with intensity and eventually their swords clashed, connected and held and while Peter tried to pull her sword to the side, so did she. Both their swords were pulled away, both gone, having been thrown.
It was a draw, much to their surprise.
Afterwards, while looking at his reflection in the lake in which he used to clean the sweat from his face, Peter saw that his face was a lot thinner and his double chin had disappeared completely. Some definition and tone had been developed and for that, it indicated progress. Yet, he still had some fat in his midsection which was the only thing prominent. Sighing, he wrapped the robe around him, hiding it.
"Rome really wasn't built in a day..." he said to himself.
"Something tells me you have troubles that are not just physical." Red Sonja said, sitting by the small bonfire.
"I dealt with a lot. It takes a toll. Sorry if my psychological state is not bulletproof."
"You're not ready."
"Don't lose hope yet..." he said trying to put more wood in the fire.
"I...have a confession to make. You are here for another reason."
"Great...more surprises." Peter muttered. "Like my life isn't bad enough. Let's hear it."
"Once you're done...I...want you to become Conan..."
"Huh?! Who? What?" Peter was astounded.
"There's this jewel somewhere in this place. A jewel that is embedded with magical transferal power and it will allow Conan's spirit to go into you."
"And why would I want that to happen?!" Peter said standing up.
"I miss him. I love him. Besides...you'd be with me...you're a worthy choice for Conan. You defeated me a while back. Only a man that can defeat me in any kind of struggle is he worthy to be my mate."
"Absolutely not!" Peter yelled. "This is creeping me out now"
"It's the only way for us to be together. I know that's what you want."
"You don't know what I want! 'Who' I want! I loved her! Don't you get it?! Why do you think I don't focus? Why do you think I haven't progressed faster? Well, I can't concentrate because of you! I see your face and it...pains me! It takes all my willpower to pretend you're someone else! But I can't take it anymore! I have a history with Mary-Jane. She's..." his head slumped. Peter almost cried. But instead tried hard not to.
"You want her back?"
"I do."
"You love her tremendously?"
"I-"
"Do you or do you not?"
"I-It's hard to explain..."
"That hesitation was all I needed to hear. You are truly one to talk. What do you know of love? To you and anyone else in your world, it's either just constant intercourse or just a simple 'moving onto the next mate'. Because you people don't mean it! When a person says 'I love you', it has to be hard! It has to be real! It has to be shown!"
Peter yelled now. "It was! Me and her! We were! We happened!"
"But apparently it didn't last..."
"You don't know the whole story. You don't know 'her'."
"Then why didn't she stay with you?"
"It's complicated. I was with someone else. I don't know if I still am with Felicia."
"You say you're with someone else?"
"We're on a break. Me and Felicia. I guess you can say. I'm angry that she did so. I was willing to give her a chance."
"And to this day, you can't move on." she nodded in understanding.
"It's not easy. But I'm trying. I'm trying to give Felicia a chance."
"Why can't you be with this other one then? Felicia as you call her?"
"She's...caused a lot of...problems for me. She used to be bad and obsessive towards me. But now..."
"Things change." Sonja nodded. "You go on with bad memories of someone and for that...demons develop in your mind and they will always be with you wherever you go."
Peter stayed silent. He didn't know what else to say.
Sonja continued. "I understand women like her. They take. They conquer. Her obsession towards you in a way...'is' love. She seemed persistent. Maybe she did give you problems but thinking it through properly...she made you more of a man. She helped you. More than Mary-Jane did."
"Let me leave and give back Mary-Jane! She's still my friend and I will always care about her! Obviously your intentions are not good! And to think I almost believed you when you said you were going to go straight..."
"There's-"
That was when MJ/Sonja sensed something. It was something behind Peter. She looked ahead in alarm. Far ahead, a half a mile away at the top of a hill in a field, was a portal opening. A dark one at that. Several small figures jumped out.
"No...no...they're here." she said frustrated.
"Who?"
"I'll explain. Forget putting out the fire. They know already. Let's go!" she took his hand and made her run away with him. They were soon in the forest which had a canopy. The trees high and tall as they were, blocked the huge red sun above but it was still hot and dry.
"Who are they?"
"Femizons..." she said with disgust in her tone. "We must return back to your world."
"Femizons..."
"They're nothing but trouble. We have to go farther and out of sight to activate the portal."
Going down a slight decline in the forest, they were soon hiding below a large overturned tree log. 'I feel like Frodo hiding from the nazgul!' he thought.
"Femizons? I've heard of them..." Peter remembered a while ago, the original Felicia said she had become one of them. Apparently she had gotten strong to the point where she really beat Peter to a pulp.
"You have?"
'While I live and breathe! My old gang...!' A smirking Felicia appeared crouched beside Peter, who shook his head trying to make her disappear, which she did.
"Long story." he said. "What are they doing here?"
"They mostly come here to get raw materials to construct their weapons and armor. I hope against all hope that they won't catch up to us. They capture anyone who is here."
"Why is this happening?" Peter was in disbelief.
"Let's go..." she said quietly and soon they were on the move again. They walked quietly, being careful not to break any twigs. "We have to keep moving. We left footprints. They already know we're here." Sonja had said as they continued to scamper.
They kept on walking when Peter's spider-sense acted up.
"Get down!" he put his hand on her back and got her to the ground. A knife had been thrown, narrowly hitting them but hit a tree instead.
"Outsiders!" a woman ahead had shouted.
"I take it we're in trouble..." Peter said.
"Come on..." Sonja took Peter by the hand.
They ran with the women apparently gaining on them. Peter was once again getting tired from the running.
"Can't we fight them?"
"There's too many of them and you're in no condition..."
"How do you-"
A swordswoman came out of nowhere and Mary-Jane/Sonja had produced hers, avoiding the slashing blade in time. Peter saw how she hit back ferociously and eventually dispatched her opponent by getting rid of her sword and punching her in the face, knocking her out.
"Come on!" she told Peter.
They they went to a cave ahead. Once inside, just a feet away from the entrance, Red Sonja took a peek outside.
"Do you see anything?" he whispered.
Frowning, she suspected something.
"Mary-Jane? Sonja?"
She finally spoke and turned to him. "Stay here and do not come out! Do you hear me?!"
"They're going to take you down! You can't take them all down! You need help! Let me help you."
"You're noble and valiant..." Sonja smiled.
Suddenly a slight earthquake occurred and the ceiling of the cave began to collapse, sending down chunks of rock. Peter was pinned under. The weight would have been enough to crush a human but Peter was fortunate he was no mere human. However, the amount of rocks on him were too many.
"Help!" he saw that Red Sonja was alright and standing before him.
"I'm sorry. I'll come back and get you!"
"No! Don't! Wait! Mary-Jane!"
"I'm NOT Mary-Jane! Stay hidden here and be quiet!" she then ran.
"No, don't!" A hand had been exposed and tried to get at her to stop but he only grabbed a red and blue cloth from her holster, taking it.
His head which was the only thing poking out from the rubble made him able to look outside. He saw MJ/Red Sonja having dispatched two of those women with her mere fists. But more came. One, a heavily muscled woman came and took her down easily with her bare fists. She had been beaten to which Peter shed a tear.
Peter watched helplessly as Mary-Jane was taken bound with shackles. A few women holding her shoulders to make her walk forward. They were gone and Peter shaking with fury tried to get free. He grunted and a few rocks moved but nothing dramatic.
"Come on you can do it..." the imaginary Black Cat appeared. "You lifted this stuff before!'
"Now you're being supportive?! Took you long enough. You and your mood swings..."
"Just move it!"
"Hard to under these circumstances...I don't know what can help..."
"How about..." she got a little closer to Peter. "...imagining me wearing nothing but a bra and thong?"
"It's helping..." Peter blinked in satisfaction. The hill of rocks began to budge. "I need more though."
"Me and...I can't believe I would ever admit this...Mary-Jane having a threesome with you."
That energized Peter extremely. He lifted the large rocks and some he even smashed apart. He stood proud and strong.
Julia looked rather disappointed but it was to be expected. She hoped, prayed she would have changed the outcome.
"We all fail..." she shrugged.
On top of the building, she saw Felicia Hardy and Eddie Brock down below walking down a curb. His arm around her shoulder in a protective manner. A source of comfort.
"But there's hope." she smiled big. "There's hope in failure."
Sporting somewhat of a proper physicality now as Peter studied the changes. He had a chiseled chest and biceps again. It was a sign of progress. His stomach, his waistline, was still a tad big and wobbly. However, there were bulges of six pack abdominals on the base of his belly which made it appear strange and contradictory in a sense. Overall, he was still somewhat overweight. He had the suit in his hands and looked it over. Soon, he closed his eyes. Opening them again, he acted now.
He put on the suit. As expected, it barely fit. His stomach stuck out and made the whole upper portion of his costume even tighter, making it apparent.
"Nice...it seems you're...buff-fat..." Black cat said leaning on the doorway. "It's actually appealing I gotta say. What are you doing?"
Peter rolled his eyes and picked up his mask.
"Going on out there, huh? Fight the good fight? Save the damsel in distress?"
Peter said nothing and walked past the imaginary Black Cat and prepared to put on the mask.
"Mary-Jane's in trouble..."
"And this is where you come in, hmm? You really are the hero..."
Peter turned to face her and tell her to go away when her red lips pressed against his very fast. A sneaky maneuver. He stopped it and looked amazed.
"Aren't you supposed to be 'haunting' me? I thought you hated me."
"Our relationship has its good and bad moments. That's why it's exciting. But mostly...because I think...you're kinda liking me now. Believe me, if you know it, I know it. What is it? My body? My face? Me shaping you into an adult? You've been thinking nothing but women this week. Mary-Jane. Betty Brant. And uh...me." she said mischievously. "Aww..." she then gave him a soft kiss again.
"You're not real." he said as if hypnotized.
"Well, not my fault, cutie-pie..." she whispered. "...you're making me real."
