Pretty Sinister Chapter 5, a spider-man fanfic

5.Electro

WARNING: Content in this chapter deals with heavy themes, some topics and scenes involve suicide. Read with Caution.

2005

The venue was small but bustling, almost packed to full already. Men and women waited outside for entry as they purchased their tickets to see the big show. Employees found themselves slight intimidated by the size of the crowd. It was the first time in years since they had a full house. The owner was happy, however, as the joint needed the business.

"Icarus", located in the Northern part of Queens, was one of few "Iconic" locales one sought out. Since the Nineteen-Eighties, it was a hot spot, both good and bad. The bad, however, stayed longer, died harder. An on and off history of drug smuggling, gambling, and other unsavory mentions plagued the place. People migrated to other Venues readily available.

Tonight was the first time in a while that it had such a turnout. However, tonight was a special night. Some were there for the Molten Man, a band fresh on the scene, who was going to be the opening act. The real draw, was the Melvins, who were on tour.

While many waited in line to either purchase, or show their tickets, no one noticed the meek looking teen going around the side of the building.

Peter Parker could not believe what he was doing. Aunt May thought he was studying at his friend Harry's house. Harry, initially a willing partner in crime, got sick. He still willingly covered for his friend, even if it was a tad dangerous, because Peter was determined.

Peter was here to prove himself-to who you ask? Himself, and... well, his peers. The thirteen year old boy was often dressed nerdy, kept his hair clean, and got homework done on time. He loved his Aunt and Uncle, what they did for him, but he was just...tired of it. Tired of being the nerd, the social reject. He felt, that by going to this show, that he would improve his self confidence.

How was he getting into an adults only show? He was going to sneak in. He wouldn't blend with adults, that was ridiculous. However, Kenny Harlan had talked about there being an alternative entrance to sneak in through.

Unlike his peers, he took it upon himself to find this "secret entrance". It was actually quite well hidden, if you didn't look hard enough. After scoping it out on a good day, he had psyched himself up to finally commit.

He wanted to be able to brag, to have an in with his classmates. It didn't hurt that Uncle Ben showed him a few CD's. Their little secret from Aunt May. She thought the dove on his shirt was just something random. Or maybe she knew and thought Peter was the one in the dark.

Getting in was... painfully easy. A hole in the back that would give a building inspector throw a fit, covered by trash cans and junk. This hole lead to a part of the building the employees rarely passed by. Once Peter entered, and made sure no passerby would see him. He carefully made his way up the uncomfortably narrow stairway, gently stepping on creaky steps to enter a long forgotten area.

There was a moment he made a bit of noise, and was ready for alarms to go off, a horde of security stomping over to toss him into the trash. It didn't happen, and he let himself breathe realizing this. He than took a moment to assess the room.

Balcony level, decent view of the stage, kind of warm to an almost uncomfortable degree. With him alone, that's fine, with a group? Sweltering. Plus you had to be close to the balcony for a decent view, Peter couldn't be too close, or he would be spotted

Perhaps that was the reason they tried to block it off, pretend it didn't exist. Too much effort to make the room work, more pain than gain. Peter would make it work. It may not have been up close, but the band would be well within hearing-

He heard shuffling off to the side, and looked over. Someone else was coming through! Oh god, was it an employee? Did he leave the entrance open? He was sure he didn't.

It was neither, instead there was this... girl, her get up screamed punk. She seemed about eighteen or so, hard to see with the lack of lighting. Dark leather jacket zipped up, ripped jeans, fingerless gloves. What stood out even more, was the bright yellow highlights in her wild curly black hair, like lightning bolts.

When she spotted him, she froze like a deer. Than, realizing it was just a kid, her groan was immediate.

"Aww shit, you know this place too? Dammit, dammit-" She seemed to harshly whisper a series of offensive slurs to herself. Peter watched quietly in slight fascination, his brain cataloguing words to use for later when he was older. Finally she turned to Peter, pointing at him briskly: "Listen, I'm here for the show, you just sit there and chill, we won't have a problem."

Peter just nodded. She took a spot by him, and had intended to ignore him at first. It was with a side glance, that she noted the shirt.

"Stoner Witch? Nice." Assessing the shirt then changed to assessing his face. "You are a little young to be at this show."

"You are a little old to sneak in." Peter spoke up, surprised at himself. He expected some form of backlash, but none came. Her lips pouted for a moment, before she seemed to nod in approval.

"Touche little nerd, touche."

I'm still a nerd, even with the glasses off, dammit.

It was quiet between them for a moment. Peter risked a glance. He took note again the wild black hair, heavy yellow highlights, now closer he could spot auburn roots. They were scarce, barely noticable, but they were there. He also noticed that she was upset, visibly.

"Did you come here alone?" He asked.

"No shit, you think a posse would be able to sneak in?" Peter felt himself shrink, but too paralysed to move away.

"Not what I-I meant. I don't have much friends, and no one wanted to come..." With you, no one except Harry wanted to come with you, because you have no friends to ask.

The girl was able to notice her effect on the kid, and forced herself to ease off. She felt a little bad for snapping, but didn't express it outwardly. Her stare moved back toward the stage. It was sudden when she spoke again:

"My girlfriend was suppose to be here with me. The bitch told me it was over anyway. I'm sure she will enjoy inevitable pregnancy with that fucking jockstrap on legs."

Peter digested it quietly: Girlfriend, her girlfriend, and a jock? He thought about what Ben and May would think, or do.

Ben and May were older, but their youth had put them at the forefront of the sexual revolution. Yet they were traditional, May may had balked at some of the bolder floats at the pride parades that came through, especially the racy ones. Ben may have grunted out a naughty slur, out of pain from a misplaced hammer swing. But you couldn't find a sweeter pair of folks, and he used what they had taught him best: love.

"Was she important to you?" She seemed put off by the question, but answered.

"Maybe, kinda. I thought I was important to her too." The punk girl wanted to leave it at that. She just wanted the fun to start so she could forget.The show had to start soon, but it was taking too long, and she spoke without looking at Peter. "She acted like I was a phase, a fucking phase."

Peter barely had the small details, barely knew this girl. Even if he had the whole story, however, it wouldn't have changed his answer.

"Maybe... you shouldn't worry about it-What I mean is.." Come on Parker "..If she left you, and nothing was wrong besides you being-" a girl "-you... then, that's her problem?"

It was something the punk had probably told herself already, in less kind words. Yet, hearing it from someone else seemed to give her a silent epiphany.

"You know what, you're right, I think it is."

The lights shifted, and the Molten men came unto the stage. Applause and whistles stopped as they entered into a chorus. The band went through seven songs, and Peter felt his anxiety at being discovered gone by the fourth song. They gave their thanks to the audience before leaving, allowing the workers to set up for the next show.

Peter noticed yet another obvious detail about the punk. She had a thing for lightning, or yellow. Not only was it dyed to parts of her hair, a yellow lightning bolt was stitched unto the breast of her leather jacket. It looked shiny, and Peter wanted to feel the texture, but did not dare to try. He could ask...

"Do you like lightning storms?" Oh Parker, good idea, ask her about precipitation next! Jeez..

"Huh? Oh, that's right. Well...Its kind of stupid." She seemed sheepish about it, instead of angry.

"I don't think it is." He spoke without thinking, unknowingly turning the key. Unlocking the door to her secrets, even if for only one night.

"Yeah, I guess I don't either. I play in a band, and we thought-"I thought "It would be cool to have an elemental theme. Our drummer was earth, we had a pianist portray water. The singer wanted to be fire of course. As for me..." She pointed out the lightning patch. "Ditto."

"You played electric guitar, didn't you?" Peter was becoming mighty brave tonight. He wouldn't have this bravery tomorrow, the day after, or several years until a "bite" gave him the power to rediscover it. But this girl was opening up to him, and he didn't know the next time he would look a girl in the eyes, let alone talk to her.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked it sarcastically, but she was smiling.

"No, just seemed to fit."

"Well at least you didn't think I was a bee or some shit, classmate said that and it pissed me off to no end."

The lights shifted, and the audience cheered as King Buzzo entered stage left.

The show was everything Peter had wanted it to be. A part of him wished he was up close, but he would have been slaughtered in the mosh pit. After the show ended, Peter expected his companion to up and go. To his surprise, she asked him where he was headed.

"Um, Queens?"

"I have to head that way anyhow, let's go."

In what felt like a whirlwind of scenes he was walking down an urban neighborhood street with her. They didn't talk that much, but the company was appreciated all the same. At one point however he felt her yank him to the side. He was confused until he realized he had just avoided going face first into a pole.

"You wear glasses don't you? Don't worry about it kid, just get them on. Don't ruin your night to look 'cool'." He did what she said, and pulling them out of his pocket, he placed them on his face. She gave him a slight chuckle. "Knew it, you're a nerd. The good kind though." Looking back up, she took assessment of their current location. "This is where we part kid, I gotta go this way, you gonna be fine?"

Peter nodded, his house not far off. She than brushed her hair behind her ear, and Peter noticed the roots more prominently.

"Your hair is dyed." He spoke again, no filter. While he had noticed before, it was more prominent under the streetlight, with his glasses on. Her eyes widened, as though a dark secret was out.

"What, how did you- ah, I probably need to dye it again." She muttered as she grazed combed a hand through her dark locks.

"I don't see why. I mean, your lightning streaks are cool, but auburn is a pretty hair color too."

She paused, feeling her face heat up. Her makeup was only on her lips, and eyes, cheeks were free and open to blush. Which is why she playfully shoved him, so he couldn't see. He adjusted his glasses as her composure returned

"Hey kid."

Peter turned, and she gave him a kiss, directly on his lips. It was short, sweet, and dark smudge remained on his lips as she pulled away.

"Now don't go mouthing off to everybody, I don't need to be put on a fuckin list." Her face was dead serious, then she smiled. "But you are alright kid. Now get home safe."

Peter made it home blissfully without incident. Ben and May were deep sleepers, he wasn't worried about them waking. A good thing too, for the distracted boy. His head swirled about in wanderlust. The girl was in his head the entire time, the night replaying.

A part of him kicked himself, why not ask for a number? A name? But then he remembered he was thirteen, she was an adult, probably. He was lucky she even tolerated being around him. It was probably the furthest he would ever get with a girl, at least for a while. THAT much was guaranteed.

He thought about this even as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, door shut. He hadn't washed it off in the shower, but now he had to decide. It was evidence of his time out. If he got passed May in the morning, he would have something to brag about at school.

Ultimately, with a heavy heart, he washed it off. He didn't want to risk trouble or embarrassment to her. Nor did he want to stain their moment, as platonic as she probably meant it to be.

Their meeting was a coincidence, an accident. It would be his secret, a memory for him to cherish. She was nice, funny, she gave him a first kiss he would never forget. Not even later, as Aunt May would begin telling him about her friends nephew, Mary Jane.

Maxine Dillon attempted to be stealthy getting back into her house, a dingy but homely little box that was stationed on the edge of Brooklyn. Prince Adam calling upon the power of Grayskull, on the little television in the kitchen should have been her first hint. Her mother sat in a green robe, nursing coffee. Allison, her sister, was in her pajamas eating cereal.

"Where the hell were you?" Her mother asked, the late hour doing no good to anyone's mood.

"Out." Max thought that much was obvious, as she shuffled off her shoes and kicked them to the side. She walked towards the hall, the conversation done in her opinion.

Her mother disagreed, and stood in front of the doorframe. "Doing what, and where?" Her mother refused to let up, blocking the hall to the room she shared with Allison. "Where Maxine?"

"I was at a show in Queens." It did little to ease her mother.

"Jesus Maxine, its close to one in the morning."

"I didn't ask you to stay up for me, it's saturday night."

"Tonight it is, next it will be school nights, and then skipping out on work. I need you to take things more seriously Maxine! God forbid, you are turning out like your father."

There it was, the needle that struck a nerve, bullseye. Maxine could barely resist the urge to snarl. Instead, she pushed herself passed her mother, releasing words that dripped with more venom as she moved.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I hit you when I was home. I didn't know I drank on the clock at work, when I had a job." She reached the door, swinging it open. "At least when I leave, I come back!"

The cheap door had more cracks added as it slammed shut. The home was quiet again, except for a humming, coming from an lightbulb that flickered in the girl's room occasionally, this is how things were. Mom would go to bed now that both daughter were home. The argument would return eventually, when the two "teams" had their breaks.

Maxine sat on her bed, huddled to her wall, where she sat in thought. It didn't take long to let the argument drop from her mind. They had those more often than not. Bringing up dad...

Who cares, dad is probably dead, might as well be. God forbid if I had talked to a middle schooler about my daddy issues.

That is how She began to think back on the night. Max told that stupid kid more than she ever should have. She should have figured that her (ex) girlfriend couldn't keep her mouth shut about the secret entrance. Although, Max would be one to talk now. She hadn't meant to tell the kid so much.

The show took too long however. Long enough that she couldn't control herself and opened her fucking mouth. She didn't tell him everything, of course. How she had been genuinely attracted her classmate. When said classmate gave sweet red cheeked smiles at her a year ago, and it motivated her to risk humiliation, to confess. How they had one whole year spent together.

Now? Now her love was moving on, saying it was fun. She wanted a family, and she couldn't have that with another woman. Surely it wasn't because guy's bank account outweighed her love.

Max told him about the band, but not about the singer falling into addiction. She didn't tell him about how the other two lost interest and applied to different colleges. The latter having occured only a few weeks ago. Band was dead, she was still coming to terms with it.

When he brought up her hair, she recalled how much of a reminder it was of her father. A drunk piece of shit that walked out years ago. She dyed her hair to avoid acknowledging that asshole. But than the kid called it pretty... called her pretty.

Allison had quietly entered the room during this self reflection. Shuffling up next to her sister. She didn't say anything, only resting her head on her big sister. Max flung off her jacket and pulled her sister close. She reached up and flicked the light switch.

"Icarus" Would, unfortunately, closed its doors that year. Investigators, both private and on orders from their respective police department, had questions for the owner. The owner, however, skipped town. After stashes containing "Powder" were found, the place was shut down for good

Attempts to purchase the Venue have been made fruitless by political red tape. The property remains in legal hell, the building left to collect dust, bugs and the unwanted.

2011

It was strange to many to hear her job was a "Lineman".

Maxine Dillon didn't love her job, but she had little choice. It was good steady income, and it was an income she needed. Her mother passed away this year, heart attack. This left her the sole caretaker of her sister, Allison.

The loss nipped at Max's back more often than not, reinforced by the sight of her younger sibling. Make no mistake, Max loved her sister, but she shared mom's face. The girl was also only fourteen. Max needed to get a better position in the company. She needed more pay, better pay, so her sister could get a decent education.

She may have shared Max's tastes to a degree, but she was smarter and nicer than Max was at that age. Chances are she would grab a scholarship, but only if she stayed focused. Max was not making her work like she had to. She wasn't worried, Allison was gifted.

When her little sister was old enough, she would leave too. Maxine expected that, there was no way she wouldn't want to branch out on her own. Their father left them. Her friends left her as she got a real job. Her lovers, boys and girls alike, left her. Everyone left her, it was only natural. Her sister would at least visit...maybe.

She needed money, more money, it was the only thing consistent. If she had money, she could have funded an entire album, even if ir was shit. If she had money, Norma wouldn't have left her. If she had money, maybe mom could have got treatments

"Hey Max, Can you do me a solid?" Hollister, her boss, asked as she wrapped up work on a fuse box. It was a thankful reprieve from her thoughts.

"What's up?"

"Brett was suppose to be back by now and there's a nasty storm coming in. Check it out, see what the guy is up to? I know it's not a great time for you..."

Max waved it off indifferently.

"Come on boss, I am over Norma Lynn. besides, you warned me about co-worker dating." Max put a hand on her chin, pretending to think. "I'll do it, for a bonus next check."

"done."

The dark thunderous clouds made the night ever bleaker as Max drove down the road. Every other minute she passed by a newly constructed Oscorp electrical tower. They were dark chrome constructs, decorated by purple and green lights. Oscorp claimed the new towers to be "revolutionary" in energy transfer and reduced pollution. Max was just waiting for Stark to unveil the flying cars, like Howard Stark had claimed some years ago.

Flying cars would be a wonderful distraction actually. Max wasn't distracted, but she lied when she said she was over Norma Lynn. She was a billing clerk for the company, she and Max were an item...before Norma ran off with a engineer who could provide a life Max couldn't. Max considered that she should stop trying with women, but she had no better experience with men. She spotted another truck like hers that had to be Brett's.

Pulling over next to the truck, Max immediately saw what went wrong. Brett was near the top, hanging limp. She could tell he was hurt, but alive. His moans were quiet, barely audible outside the truck.

"Dillon to control, Brett's had an accident. We need an emt." Static was all she got.

Why is there static? Did I even get through?

Max could not tell why communications were down, only that they were. Brett's began moaning louder from high above. The storm was only getting closer, and Max knew waiting longer would only pit more at risk.

Goddammit Brett, you better appreciate this.

She began scaling the tower, as fast as she could without rushing. When She reached Brett, she realized just how bad it was. The control panel was wide open, as though it had imploded from within. Burns decorated Brett's arms, chest, and a portions of his face.

"Hey Brett, you with me buddy?"

"It hurts Max, I can't move."

"I know, listen, I am getting you out. Work with me okay? We are getting you out, and you are gonna tell everyone what a hero I am, yeah?"

It was petty, but it was just like Max, and it kept a facade of calm over her.

"Yeah.."

"Good, now just-"

A grand judgement came. From clouds that were still distant, a stray lightning bolt struck out, far and outreaching. It flew across the sky like a spear, heading towards the tower like a bullseye. Electricity traversed the power lines through the pair, amplified by the tower.

Max wouldn't be able to tell you what exactly occured. For her it had been like a flash, and pain, than darkness.

The door swung open, She shuffled into the dark apartment before slamming it shut.

"It was a freak accident."

"How is she alive?"

Max knew no one would be here, the place was foreclosed only recently. She knew a few people that had lived here, so she was familiar with the layout.

"They found alcohol in Brett's system. Enough of it."

She shuffled to the bathroom, and flicked the switch. She began to pull off her bandages and, when finished, gasped

"You see the mark it left on her face? She would need a starfish to cover it right!"

Maybe she wasn't beautiful before, but this... what would it take to fix this...

"Oscorp is claiming the linemen were at fault for misconduct and mishandling the situation."

Max's hands gripped the sink. Spider-web cracks appeared from under her fingertips. The bathroom light flickered.

"Max, you don't understand, they are way above my station. They will bury us, I'm sorry."

She noise bubbled in her throat before a hearty screech came. The bulb shattered, and there was only darkness.

3 months later

Janet was only a minute from her break, when she noticed the new entry. She had been getting ready to close her desk when a pair of legs came into her vision, leading her to look up. Her face, what Janet could see of it was pale and freshly scarred. How scarred was a guess, hidden by a black cap and sunglasses, her upper lip barely peaked out of the green and yellow scarf around her neck.

"How can I help you?" The mysterious woman seemed to look past her, her gaze on the giant safe behind Janet. "Miss?"

"The money."

"Pardon? If you want to open an account-"

The stranger interrupted her, pointing at the safe behind her.

"The money, I want it. It's all in this safe right? you know what, don't worry about it."

Janet watched the woman walk around her desk. She waved the security guard that had been watching suspiciously. The woman raised a hand toward the massive safe, lightning sparked from her fingertips. The yellow energy overloaded the digital lock, and the massive door swung open.

The security guard made to pull his gun. Then, the woman spread her arms like an eagle, as lightning crackled over everyone. Ceiling and lamp lights exploded, digital clocks had their numbers changing every second. It was lucky for everyone that only one guy had his phone fried, in his pocket. The man danced his smoking pants off while the Electro-kinetic stranger walked into the vault.

The guard, Bill Mason, was a pleasant fellow. He was crawling backwards unashamedly. He had seen mutants on the television before, had seen the likes of Magneto, Pyro. Manipulators of metal and fire. He wasn't about to screw around with lightning.

Janet had been spamming the big red button to call the police. The electricity however fried several systems, and jammed others. In short, by the time police came, it would be too late.

The stranger exited the safe with a couple of bags, containing anywhere up to half a million dollars. She crouched by Janet, as she noted the woman's frightened expression.

"Do you like your job here?" She asked

"um,y-yes?" Janet responded.

"pays well?"

"yes..."Janet nodded slowly. Under her scarf, the woman had a pained smile on her face.

"Maybe I should have got a job like yours. I was pretty, not the prettiest but..." She shook her head, and stood, walking out of the bank with the life savings of many in hand.

After leaving the bank calmly, Max sidestepped into an adjacent buildings alleyway. She Weaved through the brickwork of New York with utmost familiarity. Soon, she found herself under a bridge, looking through her newly acquired cash.

How much did she walk away with? Probably more than she ever made in a year. Maybe her entire life. This was enough to cover her living expenses, Allison's too, for a good amount of time.

But why stop now? She worked hard for things she had in her life, and those things were very little. This was just the beginning. Max Dillon was going to get what she deserved.

Besides, who the hell is gonna try to stop me?

One week later

It was strange for many to hear his Job was photographer. While many were less surprised when Peter told them he also worked as a lab assistant, it was still a curious thing.

Those who knew Peter Parker thought he would take a job with Oscorp, A.I.M., Stark, or even Hammer.

Photography was a known passion of his, and he was quite gifted. The pictures he took of Spider-Man were, in a word, amazing. His excuse for getting such good pictures: "I guess the guy likes me enough"

Jameson unfortunately, didn't seem that interested the moment. He was talking with Robbie about this new kid in town. A dude that shot out lightning.

"Look at this, he or she is calling themselves Electro. Four banks Robbie, four!"

Oh no, what a shame. Can't compare to that web-slinging menace though, right?

"You know what is really interesting? Spider-Man is never around to catch the lightning thief!"

Bingo. Can't be everywhere Mr. Jameson.

Would Spider-Man intervene? Of course he would! But these robberies happened far away from him, too late for him to do anything, even at top speed. Plus, he still had a life. His romance with Betty Brant might have soured, but there was this girl, Gwen, at the University.

Suddenly Peter remembered he had a paper due soon. Connors will have his ass on a platter if it's sent in late. Tonight he should-

"I bet it is Spider-Man in disguise!"

Oh hell no.

Max probably should have been more careful. It would have taken more time for the web slinger to find her if she didn't make herself so...flashy. She currently was in the middle of robbing a rich man's apartment.

Jewels! money! No matter how much I take, I want more-much more!

It was so easy now, metal locks, electric locks, her powers made it so easy. Max felt like she could take on the world.

And with my great power, nothing can stop me from getting it-

"Hey there."

Then, he showed up, red and blue spandex in all. The (Amazing) Spider-Man.

"Well look at that, the other local menace." Electro, as they were calling her, nonchalantly acknowledged Spider-Man. Said man crossed his arms in mock offense.

"Hey now, the Bugle is just biased, and for no good reason, I give them the exclusive for Pete's sake."

"Well, how about this for an exclusive, there are some valuables I'm on the verge of cracking." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the safe. "How about I give you a share, eh?"

Max heard of Spider-Man, but didn't know him that well. Even in a world of Norse gods and mutants, people had their own problems to think about.

Peter had an amused smile under his mask, but enough was enough. She had turned around to resume her work, popping it open as Spider-Man reached out to her.

"Yeah no. Listen, you haven't hurt anybody, but you are taking what doesn't belong to you-"

The moment he touched her was like a dozen tasers all at once. Electro hadn't mastered her powers quite yet, so a current coursed all around her when she used her powers. She could handle it otherwise.

Electro turned to look at him, eyes wide. Max was almost as shocked as he was, well she was, but she also meant metaphorically. She gave him credit for his balls. No one, especially those with heart problems or even a pacemaker, would dare touch her.

She left him groaning on the floor, figuring he would shrug it off. Today, she would relish in her newly acquired gains, and relish in her victory over Spider-Man.

If she could look back, she would relish it a little longer.

The next time she saw him, the rubber gloves and "shoes" threw her off. She was in the middle of taking donations from a wealthy socialite. The guy just gave her a bag full of "legally acquired" diamonds..

"Well, that's interesting, but do you really think that's enough?" She questioned.

"It's all I need to take you down." The Web-Slinger responded.

He wants a fight? Fine

She dropped her bag carefully, making a face while she wiggled her fingers.

"Ooh, big talk, from the guy who only covered his hands and feet!" orange-yellow lightning discharged from her fingertips as she suddenly went on the offensive.

I'll make a name for myself. Electro, The Spider-Mans downfall!

Of course, He didn't make it easy. Dodging both streams of lightning, he surprised Electro by rushing her. She hit the wall hard as she felt his haymaker.

Goddamn, little man is stronger than he looks.

She prided herself on not being a little bitch however. The punch only pissed her off as a wave of electricity pulsed from her, forcing Spider-Man to leap back.

He shot a web-line, and she grinned as he completely missed her. Her grin disappeared as he pulled in the bag of gems she was in the middle of taking. He hopped out into the hall of the apartment complex.

"C'mere Sparky! Come on girl, get the jewels!" The spider said as he shook the bag.

You have the audacity

A lightning bolt was launched at him, he dodged, and it burned the wallpaper behind him into crisp.

Spider-Man web-zipped down the hall. Electro pursued him angrily, sending bolt after bolt of lighting after him. She laughed as he jumped and hopped away.

However, her amusement ended after he dodged one too many, turning around like the road runner.

"Getting slow Sparky! Maybe you need a boost?"

My thoughts exactly

She pulls out a taser and shocks herself, feeling recharged she rounds the corner

Barely a second too late she notice him holding something, a hose-

Oh no

The water pressure sent her off her feat, back into the hall. Having been charged up, the sensation of water meeting lightning was not good for her, at all. She felt paralyzed, almost like the night of the accident. Her attempts to move were jerky, and unsuccessful. She was trapped.

The Spider opened up his backpack, pulling out a nylon blanket. He really hoped it would work. Rolling her unto it, he wrapped her up like a gift for the authorities. They arrived fast, due to already being in route due to several "erratic" calls from the wealthy residents of the building minutes beforehand.

Her sister saw her the next day, in a prison hospital. No technology permitted, even with their limited understanding of her powers. Her sister came in looking out of breath. Allison was a lot like her in certain ways. They had the same taste in music. Both dressed relatively punk-ish, although Max had less time for that as a line worker.

Allison got plenty of hand me downs from Max. The Slowdive T-shirt she wore, Max got in her freshmen year. Allison had cheap black smudge on her lips, the only bit of makeup on her face. her peach coloured skin turned pinkish by previous bouts of crying.

For Allison, her last few weeks had been hectic, although it really started a month ago. Her sister had been injured on the job, they didn't say if she was the worker that died or not.

Later they don't permit her to see Max, and she was her fucking family. She only visited once, her sister's face covered in bandages. After that visit, Max left the hospital, no warning. Now Allison is thinking about her sister, possibly delirious, wandering New York. Good samaritan helps her? Unless it's Spider-Man, fat chance.

Then, she started getting cash mailed to her, a lot. Enough to cover the bills, more than enough. No direct word from Max, however, no calls, no messages, nothing.

Today, the police call her, and school could not have ended sooner. She had no formal transportation, and running was a better idea to her then waiting for the bus, sitting in a crowded area.

Her sister laid in a medical bed, her wrists and legs were secured by leather bonds, reminding her of that action movie. The one with killer cyborgs. Dressed in only a painfully orange jumper, her face was clear for Allison to see.

She hadn't scene Maxine since she left for work that day. Later, at the hospital, Allison couldn't see her face under the medical tape. The doctors assured her then, that the wrap made it seem worse than it was.

The scarring spread in five directions, like a star. The scar was outlined in small jagged ends, reminiscent of lightning. It may not have ruined her face in a particularly gruesome way, but it might as well have been tattooed unto her face as a bitter reminder. Her nose was oddly the least effected, although two of the star points went down either side, like a demented cowl past her lips. The best in-store makeup would be needed to cover it up.

"Max, are you okay?"

"Never better Alley Cat. Sorry about all this. Come closer it's hard to talk." She sounded strained, and Allison was horrified to think of what she went through. Maxine was putting on an amazing brave face. As soon as Allison got close enough to kiss, Max's voice stopped pretending to sound strained. "Good girl, we don't have much time, I'm going to jail."

Allison's eyes widened. "What, so you really- those deliveries-"

Stolen cash, all of it. She was paying bills with stolen cash. Her sister was robbing banks, and that was just one issue.

"Green and yellow envelopes? Yes. Have you told anyone?"

"No but-" Max interjected, speaking over her.

"Good. Don't say a word, you will get more in time."

"Wait, what about-" She was interrupted again.

"I told them that I spent the cash, but there is more, plenty more, we can-"

"Max stop!" Her voice was a quiet, harsh almost too loud. But it was enough to silence Max for a moment.

"Do you know what it was like when you left the hospital? No word? They put me in a room here for two hours asking me questions, and then-" She stopped. "They told me that... you have been robbing people."

Which was apparently true, but there is a difference between being told someone did something, and said person admitting it themselves.

When Max's eyes looked away from her, a grimace on her face and a small, barely audible grunt, she had her answer. As her heart sank, a new question dinged in her mind, one of many confusing subjects the policemen had brought up.

"They told me that... Spider-Man brought you in..." Allison's voice starting to shake as she repeated the hero's name. "Did you really fight him? Spider-Man?"

Max Sighed. "Yeah, I did."

"Why? Why would you do that?" She asked.

"Because he was trying to stop me!" Max snapped. "And... he did." She looked away from Allison, who asked quietly:

"Did he hurt you?"

While Spider-Man had a seemingly "negative" perception left on him by disparaging New Yorkers, the youth were another story. Allison liked the Spider, many people at her school did. He was a good guy! And now, if this was true, her sister was...not good?

"No." Ironic enough, I feel better than I thought I would. I had to show a bitch or two their place in high school, but their wounds would sting for a while. Spider hit much harder yet-Allison?

Allison had begun to cry softly. It was hard for her to stop once it started. She had been running high on anxiety since Maxine had gone missing, and the adrenaline rushing to the hospital was wearing off. Now what those detectives had told her set firmly in her mind, she couldn't escape the anguish.

"Allison? Ally baby don't cry." She looked so young when she cried, like she was still seven and had a bad day.

"They are going to take me away. I'm fourteen Max. They are going to take you to jail, I'm gonna be alone." Allison was covering her eyes, trying not to look, trying to avoid acknowledging what was happening.

"Allison, listen-"

"Mom is gone, and now you are leaving too."

Max flinched, Allison didn't see. The words stabbed deep, Max felt she deserved it. Not for what she did, but getting caught, putting her sister through this. Her arms had moved naturally forward, but she was quickly stopped by her restraints

"Allison, please come here, I can't reach you like this." Allison gave in, and wrapped her arms around her sister. Maxine presses her face into her sister's shoulder. "I love you Ally. You know that?" A nod. "I'm not going away forever, things will change, I promise."

Next time, she wouldn't let that onesie wearing dickweed get the better of her. Next time she would be ready.

Next time, she would win.

2013

She always said it, always meant it. She never accomplished it.

Several times they had fought, what was it? Five times now? She had the edge at first, but he always found done way to outsmart her.

Yeah, they locked her up, but they couldn't quite keep her. It helps when you did plenty of lock-picking as a teenager, mixed in with powers that you don't fully understand yourself. They also liked to study her, which gave ample opportunities as well. They were getting better at keeping her locked up though, she couldn't be so brazen anymore.

Which is why she was sitting in a darkly lit bar, Nursing herself with a beer. She had a drink for each bitter time she lost to Spider...she was already pretty drunk. Her dark hoody was pulled over, hiding her scarring, and like many others, she kept her head down. This place was popular in Hells Kitchen, and the closest place. People either came together, or came to be alone. Either way, you could have a shallow sense of privacy.

Which is why she was shocked(hehe) at the man taking the seat across from her. He waa stocky under his brown trenchcoat, probably overweight. He didn't look that appealing, even as inebriated as Max was. She wasn't worried about someone trying to "take her home". First person that touched her would get cooked.

But the man did not make a move on her. Didn't try to grab her or do some ridiculous shit. He just sat there like an asshole, some mid life crisis prick that couldn't work up the courage to say "Can I pay you to fuck me?" or, something like that.

Clearly Max was gonna have to speak.

"That spot is taken by my, uh, imaginary friend buddy. Why don't you, I dunno, get your own table?"

"You possess the ability to bodily generate electrostatic energy. This is powered by micro-fine rhythmic muscle contractions, that usually regulate body temperature. Your body can generate ten thousand volts per minute. The maximum of which is currently unknown."

The man had stunned her to silence for a moment. He spoke fluently, like a science major or some know it all professor.

"You know your stuff, I didn't understand everything, but I understood enough." She looked up to glare at him. "Question is, what the fuck do you want?"

"I want you to work for me." He said.

"For what? Why should I?"

"Well for one your sister-"

Max's eyes glowed yellow as several light bulbs in different areas shattered, leaving the bar even more dimly lit than before as the bartender swore. The electricity slowly burned the alcohol in her system. Everyone was none the wiser about the current humming through Max's skin.

"Listen here, don't you fuckin mention-" Max's arm accidentally smacked the bottle off the table, where it would have flown and crashed loudly unto the floor. It wouldn't have mattered to Max, the mere mention of her sister left her a breathe away from destroying everything and everyone in the area.

Instead, a silvery tentacle intercepted it with precision and speed, three sharp pincers clenching it tight with just the right amount of force without breaking it. The bottle barely left the table. No one noticed, and the tentacle immediately set it back on the table, before retreating into the man's coat.

"I apologize, I was trying to say: It would be a lot easier to get money for your sister without Spider-Man getting in the way."

One had to forgive Max, for not knowing every super that showed up. This city grew them like weeds it seemed, and the weeds grew faster as the years went. She caught a few names, some new "Rogues", but never fixated on it. The tentacle, she did recognize, although the rest of her memory was fuzzy and further hindered by a mix of alcohol and recreational drugs. She could only stare before asking:

"Who are you man?"

The man tilted his hat up, and glasses that looked more like goggles or some kind of visor looked at her.

"My name is Otto Octavious, and I have a proposal."

It was a solid plan, getting a group of individuals the Spider had pissed off the last few years. One problem: Everyone had beef with the Spider, for one reason or another, and had a different idea of handling it.

"I say we must attack all at once. His power is not great enough to defeat all six if us!" The Vulture used his left wing dramatically. He was a crazy old man, his senile age was matched by his ferocity. Electro couldn't believe the guy could take a hit, let alone a punch from Spider-Man, but here he was.

"I'm wise to his tricks now, I could take him alone." Sandman, he claimed to just want the Spider out of the way. Pretty passive, compared to everyone else's hate-boner.

"Is that why you are here with us? To play it solo? Bah! You will fail like before!" Vulture countered with a pinch of salt and a jar of spite. The old bird emphasized his words "We must fight together."

Max shocked herself by actually adding to the conversation:

"The Spider would see us coming, plus he's too fast! He'd find some way to escape us. If we cause too large of a scene, the Avengers or the FF might get involved."

"Perhaps you're right, but there must be a way to force him to battle us." The fishbowl head said to Electro, with an odd amount of respect.

Mysterio, or Quentin Beck, or Fishbowl, was possibly the oddest addition. He was a normal human, as far as Max knew. His skill was...special effects? The guy was hollywood, where else could you succeed so much at being superficial and fake? I guess he took it up to eleven or something. He did evade capture after all. His reason? Probably a bruised ego.

Kraven, meanwhile, watched the debate quietly. Max's eyes glanced at the hunter. His thoughts were most likely plans of his own solo victory against the Spider. Where others had a grudge, he wanted the web-slingers head mounted on a wall.

Fucking psycho

Finally, Octavius put an end to it.

"Of course there is Beck. That is the purpose of this meeting. There is no more need for debate, I have it all figured out."

Octavius's proposal: A gauntlet. Everyone takes a shot at Spider-Man one by one. Eventually, he gets tired out, and someone finishes him off. They drew straws to be fair. Maxine got to be first to fight, figures.

At the least, the doc set her up with supersuit of her own. He knew she had a green and yellow get up, and his design kept that in mind. A green bodysuit, with a black neck, gloves and boots, looked pretty fucking good on her. The parellel lightning bolts on her chest were a nice touch too, although the star shaped lightning printed unto her mask made her sneer on the inside.

She set up shop at a Electrical plant. When. The Spider arrived, he was...angry. Something else was on his mind as he made no quips, just fought. His serious attitude caught her off guard, and of course, he won. But he didn't even bother tying her up, just left her as he moved on to the next fight. Hey, someone has to beat him eventually right?

Nope Instead, Spider-Man won six to zero. They had completely underestimated his stamina. Well, mostly everyone, Octavius had assumed, and allowed himself to go last on purpose!

Spider had been too distracted to restrain her properly. Electro took the opportunity to ghost and lay low. She had enough of "teamwork" for a while, and was better off on her own anyway.

She didn't need anybody.

2015-March

In Maxine's zero year as Electro, she was smart enough to hide her identity. After Spider-Man ousted her the first time, her name and scars were known to all. This made many opportunities in the supervillain/criminal departments. Unfortunately, it also ruined her public life. You don't call out that you just saw Electro, you just quietly notify the police.

What this meant was that she couldn't exactly get a decent place to live, unless she decided to break in to someones house. This also meant that at the moment, she didn't have a place to hide out until Octavious eventually gets back in contact with everybody. Of course, over the years, she had helped out a few low level thugs, and in return was owed favours. Right now however, everyone with a record that knew her was too hot, which left her with one other option

Max had her costume in her backpack, a hoodie and jeans were enough for her to lay low. Such a dressup was all too common in these living areas. She knocked on the door, and waited. The door opened to reveal a young woman, her tank top hugged her tightly, showing off all sorts of tattoos on her chest and arms. Her dyed green hair was covered by a beanie, the blonde roots bleeding out from under it. She would probably dye it again, maybe red or blue..

She gave Max a smile that was close to a smirk.

"Does the big bad Electro need a recharge?" She motioned Max in. "Come in and plug in."

"I hate those puns, but I appreciate this. You've always been good to me Francine."

Francine Frye was a punk girl by definition. Only thing she was missing were piercings, which were dropped for a good reason, metal, conductive. She had been cut much of the same cloth as Max. Maybe that's why Max liked her as much as she did.

She walked through, and Francine shut the door quietly, locking it with a slide. Max already slid her shoes off.

"What can I say? I like all my bad boys-and girls." Francine turned to her. "Especially you, you make all my hair stand on end."

Not waiting, Francine jumped on Max, pressing her lips to hers. She didn't hesitate with her tongue, as Max carried her to the bedroom.

They had first met, oddly enough, during one of Electro's first robberies. Max Didn't think much of the girl that just stood there smiling dumbly as Electricity danced around the villainess in a threatening manner.

Later, in the Raft, Electro received letters, honest to god letters. The names were fake, But Electro knew the handwriting. Most of it was praise, about how cool she was, how awesome her powers were.

Eventually a meet up was established. Spotting her was easy, because of her green shirt having a reprinting of her yellow lighting streaks. The sex came later, after Max ascertained that she wasn't doing the dirty with a minor.

That thought brought up the memory of a sweet looking boy in her head, that in turn brought out warm feelings.

Jesus, it had been years since she thought about that night. Did he ever think about her, like she did about him? occasionally? Getting your first kiss from a punk "lesbian", After sneaking into a show to see the Melvins? What more memorable first kiss did you need?

Did he become a winner or...end up like her? She was assuming he was still alive. The thought of that sweet boy dead, bothered her. It bothered her more than almost every crime she had committed.

The coldness of an ice patch shocked her out of her reverie.

"Jeez, a warning Francine? Don't need to zap you by accident."

"Chill chill, Spider gave you a good bruising this time huh?" She got a muttering of "Don't remind me." From Max. "If you told me you were in such shape I'd have been more gentle."

Of course, Francine liked it rough, getting it and giving it back. Biting and scratching and such, Max didn't mind obliging. Francine didn't mind tending to her afterword anyway.

"I don't need it gentle. I'm just more pissed off at Spider-Man is all. Octavious said he had a new job he was putting together, Spider interrupted the meeting, captured Beck. Now I have to play hermit here, till it cools off and the "Man in Black" isn't hunting. Once I'm back to full strength, I'll be the one sending him spiraling."

"You really like to fight him, huh?"

"What are you saying?" Max accused, it came more defensively than she intended it to. Francine took it in stride.

"What I'm saying is-and don't take this the wrong way, I love your company-is that you never leave New York. There are plenty of Cities that don't have superheroes. Not to mention, you fight Spider-Man, a lot..."

Max scoffed. "So? I have fought others too! Daredevil!"

"That was once. So was that Fantastic Four scuffle."

Max's face scrunched up. "I fought the FF?"

"Exactly! You can't even remember exactly. But Spider-Man? You have sought him out." Max was quiet. An odd first, usually she went on a tirade about the guy, especially drunk. "What is so special about him?"

"I don't know, okay? I have always felt this... competitive streak with him. It's like a kid in school that has nothing to do with you, yet... you just wanna beat his ass, show him up, whatever. I have beat him before."

"Reminds me of some of the people I knew in elementary, when a kid 'liked' someone so they would act out. Or in high school, when someone was a dick to hide their crush."

Max turned to Francine, her glare was shooting electric daggers(metaphorically, almost literally)

"Are you saying I have a thing for the Spider?" Max inquired with a tiny bit of friction. Francine shifted her shoulders around, looking at the ceiling for a moment of reprieve

"I mean, is there really no sexual tension? I don't know his face, but that suit must be skintight. Have you seen his abs when his suit is damaged? And that black suit he's been wearing? Hot."

You should have seen how he's been fighting, you might feel differently.

Francine probably got her images on Google and YouTube. Of course Maxine saw, she damaged that red and blur onesie herself. She laughed at Kraven's irritation when his blade barely cut the Spider's new black outfit, during their most recent bout. Thankfully civilians in need gave him a choice, to pursue them or rescue the people.

The disturbing thing, is that he seemed to consider it for a moment. Allowing those people to die, classic red and blue wouldn't allow it. But black...black hesitated. Max suddenly remembered where she was, and shrugged the memory off.

"Pff, I'll sooner fry the sucker that fuck him." Max said dismissively. She made it a point to lay down, looking away from Francine. She seemed to be going for a power nap. Francine, got up to get herself a drink.

However, Max's closed eyes were a guise to hide her conflicting thought process. She couldn't lie to herself, there was...joy in fighting the bug. An underlying tension, between anger and excitement, bolts and webs.

A particular encounter with the Spider came to mind:

2013

Word of the team-up had spread to New Yorks underworld. While there were those that mocked them, or dismissed the team altogether, others noticed. Suddenly, the six were considered "for hire". Not the whole team, of course. However, it told people that you were willing to partner up. It was a lucrative time for Max.

That night, she had been working with a partner in crime, the Black Cat. That is what the slut called herself anyways. God, Kitten could be called the flipper flopper, because she couldn't make up her goddamn mind. Sometimes she fought crime, other times she committed the crime.

Don't get it twisted, there are plenty that walk that tightrope. But Cat takes it to either a hard left or a hard right. At some point, she was gonna fall off the rope, and there would be no safety net made of webbing to catch her.

At that time she had veered hard left to villainy. Well, robbery is hardly an Avengers level threat. Either way Cat was not on good terms with the Spider. Electro was only too happy to help. The split profits were great, the real surprise had been the sex. When Max was kissed out of the blue after a heist, that was a real "shocker"...

Dear god, he infected her. Spider-Man infected her with bad jokes! Like she needed another reason.

Electro wondered for a brief second if she had technically been with the Spider, at the time, therefore cheating on him with Electro. That actually bothered her more, it brought out old memories of dad's affairs with other women.

The Spider ended up chasing after her, instead of Cat, and she always wondered if that rubbed the Kitten the wrong way. She didn't care for Black Cat that much. Besides, the bitch got away with her goodies, Electro did her fucking job!

Max rode on a current of lightning, the Spider on her tail. Sometimes she shot right up like a rocket, than slid down like she was snowboarding.

She spun into a barrel roll about as she rode her lightning current, making an electric wormhole. Spider-Man sent himself through like a rocket, traveling through without touching a spark. She saw this, and was so impressed, she forgot they were in a chase, and got bullet tackled unto a roof.

He must have updated his suit to be more electric resistant. Didn't make him shock proof

They rolled, and he leapt off of her as she discharged. She sent streaks of yellow and orange after the jumping spandex. He dodged and rolled expertly.

She flung her hand outward, sending crescent wave of heavy volts at him. She carried her momentum with several more lightning bolts, launched like spears. The Spider dodged every single one, rolling under the wave and sidestepping the spears. He rushed forward as she sent a violent torrent of bio-electricity.

His Spider-Sense aiding him once again, he evaded the assault. The Spider landed a haymaker into her face, launching her to the floor. He was on top of her as she attempted to strike upward again, grappling with her.

This is what Maxine really remembered. Him on top, legs on either side of her, keeping her pinned. He had both of her hands gripped above her head with one hand, his other pulled back to strike. They had a brief pause, positioned like that. Both of them breathed heavily,

"Surrender." He had said. She had smiled at him with bloodied teeth.

"Never."

Time seemed to pause momentarily, as the two stared off. Than, history seemed to change, as Spider-Man tore off his mask, his features indescribable. He began kissing her, and she kissed back. Electrocution became the last thing of Max's mind as they began swapping spit and blood.

Max felt him against her, every bit of him. The tight muscles pressing into her. She wanted to bypass the costume, bite into the flesh of his shoulder, as he moaned her name, or perhaps visa versa. It was too much. She needed it, needed him to-

Max awoke suddenly. Upright and dizzy, she looked around Francine's apartment. Said woman was beside her sleeping soundly. That last part, that didn't happen. At the time, the thought was certainly in her head. Adrenaline pumping, she would have fucked him in front if the Daily Bugle

Realizing that her own dreams were turning against her, Max let herself fall back with a huff.

"...Fuck."

2015-April

Class was boring, especially when you finished early.

Allison drew zig-zag lightning bolts in her notebook as everyone else either stressed over their work, or slowly taking their time to finish. There were also those that didn't care, so they napped. The teachers didn't care, so they let them nap.

Allison was tempted to take a nap as well. She reviewed her work each night, and never had issue remembering later for a test. But she was very fixated on her work not only being done, but correct. She had straight A's, earned fairly through hard work.

Allison didn't want to be stuck somewhere at a job she hated. She didn't want to live off of Max's charity either. Hell she didn't want to now. She appreciated her sister, always did, but hated the acts committed.

For years she used money Max had stolen to keep bills paid, food on the table. It slowly ate at her. She wanted to earn her way to a good school. She wanted to earn the money she got, but for now, she needed to be dependent on it. Before long, she would graduate, and her teacher, Mr. Urich, told her that she may have several scholarships in line.

Mr. Urich (or Phil as long as no nagging staff member was around) was a very young looking guy. Not someone you would expect to have five years of experience. Allison knew him for three of those five years. He could switch from laser focus to laid back, and visa versa, in an instant. He didn't speak down to his students, and listened to their troubles, Allison included. In return, the students listened to him when he demanded their attention

When Mr. Urich walked in, his face was hard, carved from stone, and Allison knew in her gut something was wrong. He clapped his hands hard as he called out to everyone

"Wake up class, I need everybody's attention, this is no joke. James can you pass me the remote?"

The class got to attention immediately, even as some rubbed their eyes. As James passed him the remote, he took note of the class. Seeing he had everyone's attention, he breathed deeply before starting.

"Everyone listen, we are safe, but an incident has occured in Manhatten. They have not told anyone to evacuate the school yet, but we will know sooner than later. I am going to let the news explain."

As the television flicked on, Manhatten was shown. However, the strange red cloud that engulfed the street immediately grabbed everyone's attention. Allison put a hand over her mouth in horror, not understanding quite what was happening. People were running out of the red coughing, others were wheezing, haunched over as blood came out of their mouths. Some motionless bodies were being carried out by brave firefighters and policemen.

Her eyes glanced over the headline and she fell to her knees. A few classmates checked on her, her friends offering comforting words. Her eyes remained fixated on the headline:

Sinister Six Commit Terrorist Attack using Chemical Warfare. Death toll unknown.

2015-May

Of course, sooner of later, Maxine had been caught and brought to the Raft. Breaking out of this place would be far more difficult, but she would be broken out sooner or later. More than a handful of people wanted to use her abilities. Still, the raft wasn't so bad, to her. Three meals a day, a cot, and visitation rights, probably one of the few who had visitors. Matter of fact, she was waiting for her sister to arrive any second now.

Max would have to explain that. Hopefully Allison wouldn't bring it up, she couldn't possibly think that Max would ever do such a thing, knowingly.

Allison walked into the room wearing a long coat, it was getting chilly again. Ally was almost her height now, but she was and always would be the little sister. Unless of course, a mad scientist wanted to make her the next giant-man(woman? lady?), or something like She-Hulk. Maybe even something like-

"I got a scholarship." Ally said it quietly. Even though it was good news, she didn't seem excited. Max smiled.

"That's wonderful. Where?" She knew her sister would be able to pull it off, she had always been smarter. maybe empire state, or-

"I...I can't tell you." Max frowned.

"Why not? If its them, they can't force you to-"

"No... Maxine, I'm sorry. It isn't that I can't, I won't tell you."

That changed the tone permanently. A sick feeling was growing in Max's stomach

"Ally-"

"Do you know how many people that gas killed?" Allison asked, unable to hide the horror and anger on her face any longer.

"Ally I didn't-"

"Eighty-seven people, that's how many Max, that doesn't include the injured. Lunge damage, memory loss, mutation. How could you work with that man? Octavius? How much did he-"

"I didn't know Allison!" Max suddenly screamed. "I didn't know what his plan was, not until it was too late! He-he said it wasn't going to be used unless the City refused his demands."

Instead, he unleashed it preemptively, willing to barter for the cure. She remembered her response vividly. Max had spun around to scream at the scientist as the red mist spread.

"Ock, what the FUCK!? We didn't even make demands-"

"And after? You stayed. You stayed and fought alongside that sick fuck-"

"I had to do it to protect you Allison! What i-if you got gassed, and I told Ock to piss off? You could be a casualty, or worse."

"Empty threats are just that Maxine, empty. I have learned that you must make them listen. No worries, as you work for me, I have an antidote ready, for all my employees."

It didn't help her case, her sister smiled with spite.

"Right, instead, I get to live with the fact that my sister is a Super-powered terrorist, associated with a madman. Instead, I look over my shoulder wondering who will come for me for what you have done. If Spider-Man will come for me, not that he needs to. You know why? Because I can't sleep at night, thinking about all those people you hurt.

It was quiet. Max's voice was a whimper:

"What do you want? Anything, everything. What can I do?"

Allison inhaled deeply, before exhaling, trying to calm herself.

"I want you... I want you to confess, I want you to tell them the truth. Anything, everything, just make it right."

"Allison, I have a-" Allison cut her off with wave of her hand, as she got up.

"Don't please, I don't want anything from you, especially your blood-money."

2016

Ironic, that the places without electricity were where she was most comfortable.

It was a very uneventful night as Maxine Dillon walked through the dirt path. The air was calm, there was no riots or fighting. No anti-mutant protests, it was just a quiet night.

You couldn't trust that kind of night anymore. It was like a calm before the storm. A small asteroid containing a hostile alien life form, ready to unleash carnage upon landing. An ancient warlord awakening from hibernation long past his time. A virus designed to kill mutants being perfected in an underground lab. Or, a mixture of all these fucking things.

Maxine could ride waves of electricity anyway, so who gave a fuck? She definitely didn't, she didn't care anymore. It wouldn't be her problem tonight, or after...

She knew she was close once she heard the roaring water. The hydro-electric dam was pretty state of the art-ten or so years ago. While still having an active use, most resources were directed at the towers that ironically gave Max her powers. That was probably why it was so easy for her to get in. No fancy locks, she simply hovered over the twelve foot fence, the guard posted snoozing without a stir.

As she landed, she felt her body jerk and jolt, feeling sparks fly. The guard was too far and too deep in sleep to notice the disturbance.

The one following her wasn't.

She took a seat by the safety rails, watching the water flow through the dam. Legs dangled haphazardly, her mother would have had words. Of course, she could never stop Maxine when she was alive, she wouldn't stop her now. No one could.

"Hey Sparky."

Except... for him. Of course him, It was always him.

"What do you want Spider?"

"Pardon me, but this isn't your usual hangout, nor your usual target of crime."

She turned to eye him with a side glance. Red and Blue Spandex in all, leaning on the hand rail. He must have seen her by accident. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have his "Electro-proof" suit? There was no way he knew her plan, she didn't say anything. Hell, she had walked most of the way, only having one jitter-oh...

Goddammit

Ever since...ever since Allison left, Max wasn't in a good state of mind. This seemed to affect her powers, or maybe her powers were acting up anyway. Either way, it left her with less career opportunities than before. She pulled a strand of hair back. She used to just shave it for simplicity, but she didn't care anymore.

"What crime am I committing, Officer Spider?"

"Trespassing."

He said it so matter of fact, and he wasn't doing anything about it, just standing there, like he was hanging out. She snorted awkwardly, which gave her a small bout of laughter that died quickly.

"I'm not here to steal anything, but I guess for all you know, I'm covering for Hydro-Man." Max said.

"That sounds..."

"Don't say impossible, I know about at least half the shit you have seen." She interjected with a lazy glare.

"Not impossible, so much as unlikely. You two really wouldn't get along."

It was wrong, how casual he was. Too casual in proximity to someone like her, who created lightning from her fingertips for the exact purpose of harming him. At least, that was the case more often than not.

Of course, maybe he was biding his time. For all the crap that they gave the Spider, one thing was certain. He was more capable than anyone could imagine. She learned that the hard way, they all did.

It was after Ock had released the nerve gas. Spider-Man had been angry. No, angry didn't quite describe it. Spider-Man paved his way through the henchmen, her included. No jokes, no speeches, no hesitation. When he reached the doctor, it was a terrifying sight.

The doctor's metal arms had quickly been torn apart. After breaking a few bones wasn't enough, he drove a rebar through the doctors leg, forced the cure out of him...

His suit was pitch black then, his eyes a white too pure, his texture slick, almost... organic

But that was a "long" ways back now. He's red and blue again, The "Friendly" Neighborhood Spider. He was just standing here, not an ounce of aggression. She knew he had some kind of sixth sense, for danger. He would see it coming, probably why he's so confidant.

It's why he's been such a pain in the ass for so long. Now he is just hanging out, not a fist thrown. Then again, no bolts were being thrown from her either. She returned her attention to the rushing water. His gaze on her did not shift.

"I'm not here to hurt anybody Spider."

"Are you sure?"

She met his gaze again. What, did he have precognition too? Unable to keep eye contact, she looked down at the rushing water.

"There is a lot of water pressure here. So much in fact, I bet I would sink right down. You wouldn't think so, but they taught me that sort of thing when I went to school." She looked at him, she had his attention. "You know firsthand what water does to me. The more charge I have, the more paralyzing the effect, I can't even feel. I imagine If I fell in-" I wouldn't be able to move if I wanted to, I would die.

Spider-Man must have realized...no he had already known that. He meant to give a remark along the lines of "That sounds bad, you should probably get down-"

But she didn't give him a chance. During his reply she hopped off the rails. She awaited the rushing water.

Max gasped as his arms wrapped around her middle. The Spider was half over himself, his feet hooked unto one of the lower safety bars meant to stop ignorant children. It wasn't shocking that he "saved her". What stunned her was his stupidity. He might have made his basic suit more shock resistant, but he couldn't have made it shock proof. Did it even occur to him that she could have shocked him by mere touch?

"Let me go" Max said

"No." What the hell was wrong with him? Can he let her have one fucking thing?

"Let me go God-dammit." Max demanded.

"Negative."

Why was he so stubborn!? It was a win for the both of them. She wouldn't stand for it.

"I will discharge right now, I'll fucking kill you!" She could, they would both fall in. Spider-Man would have to either save himself, or die with her.

Funny, all of their battles, all of his rogues, and she would be the one to get the last laugh. The worst part is, she hadn't even made an elaborate plan. She would have accomplished it by winging it, and she didn't even fucking want it!

"Do it." His body tensed with fear, but he refused to lessen his firm grip, worried that if he let go, she would let herself fall. Every second that passed however, weakened her resolve to go through with her threat. "I won't stop trying to help you Max."

It was the first time in...a long time, that she had heard her own name. He didn't use her name often, preferring Sparky. Yet, he was one of the few that did.

"I'm losing control of my power, I might do it by accident." She said, her words laden with despair. His grip didn't loosen, tears were beginning to fall. "Why won't you let me die? Why can't you just give up, this once?"

People always gave up on her. Dad had given up even before he had fled town with another woman. Her mother did, after Max graduated and skipped town for a while. Allison..

Electro, no, Maxine pushed Allison away. She didn't have to keep robbing, stealing, but she did. She grew addicted to the thrill, the Spider chasing her. She kept doing it under the delusion it was for Allison, but if it was only that, she wouldn't be here, and eighty-seven people still could be.

He still hadn't let go. Instead pulling her up unto the railing, but keeping his hold on her in case she tried again. His chin practically rested on her shoulder.

"I have felt what you are feeling. Every failure stacking on you, crushing you. When all is lost, everyone and everything that you work hard for is gone or going. When you are at your limit, and you can't take anymore."

For him, there was at least something for every year of his career as Spider-Man. Ben, Sally, Harry... Then he lost Gwen, a darker time for him, when the Avengers finally acknowledged him. Not for appreciation of his efforts, they needed his help. Then... the black suit... and the red cloud that stole May from him

"I am so proud of you, and Ben would be too, of all the people you've saved."

"But I'll never give up. And I won't give up on you either."

Maxine turned limp as he spoke. Her wide eyes had gazed on the starry night sky. She squeezed her eyelids shut, new tears trailing down as she cried.

She wasn't sure when she had been turned over, her face against his chest. When she had started to hold unto him. But he just stroked her back, mindful to not accidently charge her up. The Guard was still snoozing, the waterfalls roared.

A heavy rap on the glass startled Gary awake. Fat trained by muscle memory brought him on his feet, aiming his flashlight on the instigator, in broad daylight. The thin man in a similar uniform couldn't hold back his laughter. Gary pouted at the man

"That's not funny Phil." The man named Phil simply smiled at the night guard.

"Nope, but its what you get sleeping on the job. You are lucky I'm not a rat. Either way, it's my turn. Head home."

Phil knew Gary slept on the job more often than not. Instead of reporting Gary, he just liked to startle him when arriving to take his place. Kept the man awake for a couple of shifts, before he started to fall into the habit again. Rinse, repeat.

The men traded places, and Gary looked out to the fence. Seeing nothing different, he snorted as he unlocked his car

Yeah, rat about what? Nothin happens in this place. Nothing exciting, anyway.

Max awoke with a start, Her mind jumbled.

When? Where? What-

Her eyes wandered, she was under a tree, sunlight was peaking through branches and leaves. It must have been a little past morning. When her head caught sight of the red and blue hero beside her. She recalled several important...things.

Where they were, was the forest, not far from the trail Max took. When? Well, last night of course. After Max's attempted...end of her life, they took a walk. Max discharged excess energy into the air to vent, and the Spider just walked alongside her. After she felt drained, she just sat by a tree, expecting the Spider to cuff her, or take her in. Instead, he asked:

"Feel any better?"

Did she? She didn't know then, she fell asleep while thinking about it. Now...she still didn't know. That gnawing, sinking feeling was still there, deep in her chest. Her relationships weren't suddenly mended, she was still wanted by the authorities. The same authorities that the Spider usually brought her to, usually.

Instead, he was here. She wasn't an idiot, she could tell she had been out for some time, by the placement of the sun. Matter of fact, she wasn't even in the same spot, did he move her to shade? Really?

Looking at him made her warm inside. It made the pain go away, much like it did when they fought. But she wasn't zapping him, and he wasn't bloodying her mouth.

She wasn't sure if he was sleeping until his head turned to her. She responded naturally:

"The hell are you looking at?"

"Good morning to you too Sparky. You sleep well?" Good ol' Electro. She seems a little bit back to normal

"As well as I can Webs, can't say I prefer cold bars to the warm sun." She looked at him suspiciously. "Speaking of which? What's your aim?"

"What, can't go camping with a friend?"

Electro's world famous sneer arose in response. "Oh cut that shit, we aren't friends. We've been fighting tooth and nail for years."

Really trying to save face Max? Now? But Spider-Man didn't say that, instead:

"Yeah, its been 'fun'. But it's also getting old, don't you think? You must think so too, or were you not sobbing into my 'uniform'?"

"Fuck off Webs, its not like I asked you here." She looked away from him, arms crossed. "Besides, you're gonna turn me in, I know you are."

"Max, I meant what I said." She scoffed at him, hand on her hip.

"Yeah, words are one thing buddy, actions speak a little louder. You say this flowery shit now, but when I am in a cell? You'll be on your merry fuckin way until I break out, or someone else does."

"I would return, I'd be more than happy to."

Folding her arms, leaning against the tree, she called him out:

"You are a liar, everyone leaves."

He looked down for a moment, and she wondered if she finally got it right. Then, just as quickly he looked back up at her.

"I haven't."

It took a few seconds, but Max's eyes slowly widened, her glare converting into a stare.

"Are you...after everything..."

He moved toward her, reaching a hand out.

"I'd have your back, if you would trust me.

...Was it really so bad to try?

Raft, Research and Development Labs

Several Days Later

"This 'collar' was tailored specifically for you Dillon. An 'Electric Displacer', it will essentially prevent your bio-electricity from manifesting. This should also prevent any accidental discharges."

This device wasn't a new concept, but it was definitely refined from the earlier, bulkier models that weighed her down by her wrist and ankles. This model was barely as thick as a belt, more like an accessory than a restraint.

"This is safe?" Spider-Man inquired

He didn't trust the Raft as much as Max thought. Of course, like she said, there are words, and then there are actions.

"I assure you both, it is completely safe. It simply prevents Miss Dillon's powers from manifesting. It doesn't weaken the body like our other models. Most importantly, it can keep everyone safe until we figure out what is going on with her-abilities." He brought his focus to Max. "Would you rather I or-"

Maxine had plucked it from the well meaning scientist, and, to the shock of many, placed it on herself. It self adjusted fluidly, before giving off a green glow to signify its activation

Actions, not words.

2017, Spring

"Spider?" He looked up at her from his magazine. A safety vest was over his usual costume. He looked ridiculous.

"Yeah?"

"I fucking hate you." Spider-Man tilted his head up in thought for a moment, before looking back down to his magazine.

"No you don't." He said, flipping a page.

"You know, I came back with you because I wanted to try to change."

"That you did."

"So, why the fuck-" She gestured around. "-am I picking litter on a goddamn highway?!"

"Well, it's a part of your punishment. It's not forever."

"Yeah, unless law and order decides I don't get a second chance. At that point I-" Might as well break out again, soonest opportunity, rinse and repeat our little dance-or maybe not.

Spider-Man set the magazine down, sliding it under a chair leg so the paper wouldn't fly out unto the highway. He gave Max his full attention.

"Max, I told you, Things are gonna be different this time."

"Yeah? How so?"

"For one, Notice how you don't have strength suppressors on your wrist like usual?"

He put his hands up to emphasize his point. Max was quiet. He continued, pointing at her hand.

"Or how about this: Your pick is made of metal, a conductor. Yet you haven't used it except for its primary function. You have had plenty of opportunity to escape, but you haven't."

Max growled at him. "I thought we were done with the bullshit Spider, we both know you are going to catch me if I try." Max's anger came out full force. "I bet that's why you are really here, you want to see me fuck up, so you can finally throw away the key."

"Max-

But Max wasn't listening, she was angry. The sun glared at her, the cars speeding by were loud, and at the moment, she didn't believe Spider-Man, or his words. She remembered him the day Ock unleashed the red upon Manhatten. He threatened he would tear all of them apart. It didn't matter that he was red and blue again. At the moment, she just wanted him to stop lying.

Tossing her pick aside, she pointed at him accusingly.

"Admit it damn you! Admit you want me to fail, because I know all of us screwed with you in some way! Kraven, Ock, take your pick, or are you getting to us from least to greatest? Makes sense that you take a loser like me first, what have I done that's ever been significant! Just stop pretending to care, and admit you don't give a-"

The web-slingers eyes narrowed, right before he moved.

It all happened suddenly, Spider-Man shot a web in Max's direction. She was frozen in the brief moment. It thwipped past her, colliding with the projectile coming for her head. He pulled the web back, the silvery white threads going in reverse. Spider-Man caught the offending object, a liter sized bottle, filled with an ugly yellow liquid. He jumped in the air, saying "I'll Be right back." before Web-zipping himself using the overhead bridge at ridiculous speed.

Max stood stunned in what had occured, in what felt like the blink of an eye.

"Did you hit em?" Asked Connor, driver of the SUV. Dave, the man riding in the back, and the offending thrower put his hands up in a dunno fashion. Dave had played football in his high school and college years, and prided himself in keeping his throw.

However the speed they were going, and their upward position on the highway, he couldn't tell if it had landed. Or if the guy dressed up like Spider-Man got hit instead

"Oh my god Connor, that was way too ballsy, seriously, what if they report us?" His lady riding shotgun was always yapping about the antics he and his boys got to, nothing new there

"Babe, at the speed we are going, they could only get a color at best. No way in hell, plus, how many people dress like that Spider guy here?"

Of course none of them had thought it was actually Spider-Man. Seriously, what would Spider-Man be doing in a highway playing guard duty?

So one could understand their shock when a red and blue humanoid with white eyes(and a safety vest) suddenly landed on their hood.

"Hi!" Spider-Man had said, the same time the driver yelled "Holy fuck!"

His lady in shotgun screamed for a brief second. Spider-Man, holding up the liter of piss in one hand, pointed with his other hand towards the side of the road. They quickly got over, and Connor shut off the car shakily.

Spider-Man nonchalantly flipped off the hood before strolling to the driver side door. He didn't even have to tap on the glass before it was rolling down. The hero's voice was oddly calm.

"Listen fellas, it's not cool what you did there. I know you might think it's justified, but I can assure you the one you tried to throw it at did not deserve it. You could of hurt someone." Spider-Man would have used an opportunity like this for Spider-Cop usually. However, his friendly tone was quietly dropped as his lenses narrowed. "Which one of you threw it?"

Spider-Man was back before she knew it. Barely five minutes had passed, before he was zipping the the air in the opposite direction coming into her vision. He landed with grace and balance in front of her, offending bottle missing.

"Thanks for being patient." He was actually more than thankful. He had reacted professionally, but remotely deactivated the concern that Max might try to run, even with a collar. He only considered the ramifications after, but did not feel heavily bothered by it.

His sudden appearance kick-started the woman who had spent the time staring blankly, lost in thought.

"You..." She started, Not sure how to word it "That was thrown at me, and you... What did you do with it?"

"Gave it back, with a small fine for littering."

"You protected... me." Why

"You have wronged people, but you are trying to make it right. No one gets a free pass to hurt you." He stopped only a foot away. "You are not a loser Max. I told you, I got your back.

Max didn't say anything. She stood looking at the Spider, hands clamped around her biceps. She held herself tighter in an attempt not to cry.

Not in front of the Spider, anybody else please.

Her body betrayed her, as tears leaked, and she rested her head against his chest. She was mumbling into his safety vest. He couldn't understand her initially, then..

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what Octavius was going to do, I swear to God I didn't. I'm sorry I didn't know. I told Ally I didn't-"

His arms came around slowly, gently as she started to sob. They stood there, indifferent to any onlookers zooming in and out of New York. Two weirdos on the side of a highway, one comforting the other.

2017-June-Tuesday

"Parker? Remember how I promised you an assistant?" Peter paused his work under the giant metal ring. He looked up at Max Modell, his boss and sometimes Dungeon Master, in a good way.

"I remember how you promised Grady a raise."

"Oh Pete, you are a real jokester." Max moved a hand toward the young lady beside him. "This is Allison Dillon, she will be helping you today."

Looking at her face, he saw something. It was bothering him, like he recognized her, but how? from where? but he shook it off, giving her a smile and nod. Max's gaze moved to his right.

"Peter, I hate to leave abruptly, but I have to attend a meeting." Peter looked at him before following his gaze to Tiberius Stone, who was waiting, arms crossed, still as his surname.

"I gotcha boss, we got it covered."

"Mr. Parker-"

"Don't worry about calling me mister or doctor. Unless its a more 'official' presentation, call me Peter."

They were walking through one of many halls that contained designated living quarters. Scientists often housed these rooms, sometimes staying far too late into the night, Peter was one of them. Allison might well be on her way too. Of course he was the one that decided it was time to close up shop.

"If it isn't too intrusive, what was that about earlier?"

Peter figured she would see far more of Modell and Stone at it, she might as well understand the context.

"You saw that machine I was working on right?" She nodded. "Well those two had developed it together, but the sour looking guy, Stone, he is leaving the company. He wants to take it with him, or at least the data, since it was his work too."

"Is he correct?"

Peter's hand combed through his hair, as he thought on how to word it.

"To be honest, I wouldn't give that man a big red button."

"Is it that serious?"

"Well, the machine is suppose to open gateways-don't worry its an open secret. We have yet to commit to a full blown test however, because we don't know how to get what we send in, back to us. That, among other things, caused arguments between them."

He didn't feel the need to tell her they argued on the very name of the damn thing. Particle Accelerator, or Super Collider?

They reached Allison's room number. It beeped open to reveal...one bed, and four medium sized boxes.

"Oh, you haven't unpacked yet." Peter said neutrally. Allison paused before slapping her forehead.

"Oh damn it. I was so excited to start I- oh jeez."

"Hey you're fine, you have what four boxes? How about I help you, just give me a box that is guy friendly?" I do not need the grief of "that" kind of situation.

She seemed appreciative, if not a little sheepish. She pointed to a box before getting a black pill shaped object out of the box she chose to dig through.

"Mind if I play some tunes?" She asked

"Go for it."

When "Revolve" began playing through her speaker, Peter couldn't help but notice. First that it was far too quiet to be properly listened to(He appreciated the gesture to be respectful of others.)

"Stoner Witch? You're a fan?" At his question, her head stopped bobbing. She looked at him sheepishly.

"Yeah, something my...sister passed to me."

It was then that Peter began to really look at the young woman. It was her eyes, he realized. He looked into a similar pair several times, especially as of late.

"Older sister?" She nodded as she resumed unpacking. "What year did she graduate?"

"2005."

That's coincidence, isn't it? "Must have been a punk rocker." Why so specific Parker? You don't actually think...

"Oh definitely. Of course, after graduation she had to drop a lot of that. Not her choice honestly."

"Oh? What did she do? Career I mean."

"Well..." Her hesitance was enough, but her next words cemented everything. "She became a lineman, or linewoman, few like her in the field really-"

It was enough. Peter didn't go out of his way to dip into the personal lives of the people he fought, but he knew enough. He got Max Dillon's background, or what he could before the government threw it in a hole, and threw away the hole. At the least, they tried to keep the people related to supervillains, but unrelated to their actions, away from angry mobs. It's probably how Allison was able to get a position here.

But he knew Max had been a "lineman". He knew her last name was Dillon, and the way Allison was hesitant to talk... His words came out without thinking.

"You're sister is Electro."

Any doubt went out the window as Allison froze. She dropped the clothes in her hands, and seemed to unable to process his words at first. Then she began moving her hands, as though to try to explain, but didn't know what to do with them.

"Oh god-I mean- please, give me a chance I don't-"

"Associate with her anymore?" Peter was calm, more because he was still registering what he had just learned.

"No- I mean I didn't. Mr. Parker please don't tell-" Allison was on her knees, teary eyed and begging, and it was enough to snapped Peter out of his thoughtful daze. He went down on one knee and grabbed her gently by the shoulders, rubbing them soothingly, comfortingly.

"Hey hey, calm down, and I told you to call me Peter." She quieted down, but her body was still physically panicking. Peter continued to rub her shoulders. "Look at me."

Allison, to her credit, was able to bring her eyes to Peter's own. He knew then, that she was a good soul. She was just scared, scared of people judging her for another's actions. Right now, she needed someone to trust.

"Everything is okay, no one will know, scout's honor. Believe me." And she did, her shaking was still present, but it was slowing down. She sat on the floor breathing out in exhaustion. Peter took a seat by her. "So, Maxine Dillon is your sister?"

Allison took a deep breathe, unable to meet Peter's eyes yet.

"I-Peter...yes, she's my sister. And yes, I was aware of her choice of career for years." She then looked at him again. "But she was my sister, I loved her, still do." She looked down, tears trailing down her cheeks. "But when the Red Cloud Incident occured, I cut off contact. So many people were hurt, and some even...god. She said...so many times... that it was for me. Her criminal acts, her robberies. When that happened, I... I couldn't believe my sister could be involved in such a horrifying act.

"I don't think anyone believe Octavius was capable of such cruelty." But Spider-Man made him pay for it. By god did he make him pay for it. He was amazed he didn't kill him then, but thankfully, he "woke up" before he went that far.

He couldn't thank Reed enough for helping him remove the black suit. It was still back at the baxter building, hopefully it would stay. Allison was still speaking

"She was many things, but to think she would condone such an act for-" .

"She didn't."He had to intervene then. She looked at him in confusion.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I'm friends with Spider-Man, he has told me about her progress. She has been... would you like to know how she's been doing?"

When Spider-Man swung around New York as he did, it was always a Spectacular sight. Some days on an unremarkable patrol he slowed down enough to show off fancy moves for his audience. A cartwheel on a ledge before springing off, or simply twisting his body elaborately. Tonight however, he was swinging hard and fast.

You're an idiot Parker. A goddamn idiot.

At max speed, he yanked hard on his webs, changing his direction suddenly before he could splatter unto the side of a building. Of all nights that he had frustrations to vent, there was no crime happening. He was a superhero in New York City, and not a single fucking crime was happening. Several hours had passed, only working up his aggression instead of relieving it, his newfound knowledge only causing agitatio

How long have you known Max? How did you take this long to realize who she was?

Was, maybe that was the key word:Was. People can change dramatically in a few short years, and Max? Definitely big changes, at least visually.

So what if she got facial scarring? That is a lame excuse to not recognize her!

But it had been long ago, in the year 2005. He was young, and plenty had happened between that night and tonight. His conscience wasn't having it.

It doesn't matter! Again, you weren't an infant, you're brain worked fine at thirteen. Years-literal years, of fighting, talking smack.

That was, pretty true. Matter of fact, looking back, "Electro" acted like a punk bitch most of the time. The facial structure was also very similar, although, again, Peter hadn't taken note of any of this until recently. It was the equivalent of finding the TV remote in a place you could swear you checked a hundred times, only to find it after tearing your living room asunder.

And now, just because of a fucking song, you put it together? Fuck you Peter Parker.

He landed on one of the manhatten bridges to take a breather. His chest heaved, and he sent a punch into the hard steel beside him, leaving a dent. He then sat down, forcing himself to focus

Okay, enough of the psycho babble. Enough pointing fingers like Larry, Curly and Moe. You can't change what has already happened. What's done is done. What is important, now, is what you are going to do about it. Don't veer off to Spider-Man, or to Peter Parker, you are one in the same. Think man.

What are you going to do about it?

Wednesday

Shutting the door of her apartment, Allison leaned against it for a moment. She closed her eyes breathing deeply.

Allison was relieved once she arrived at her actual apartment. The facility was nice, but she felt like she could unwind at her real home better. She hanged her jacket and walked into the living room. She opened her window, letting the stuffiness out.

There was a lot of stress leading up to her "employment" at Horizon. She got plucked out of a class of forty, offered her degree if she worked as an assistant. She didn't think her prototype would get so much attention, but it did. She was only an assistant, but that still put her up pretty high, maybe one day she could get her own lab. Until then, she was happy to work with Peter in his lab.

Talking to Peter the day before helped a lot. He made her feel safe, in spite of what her sister had done. Then, to hear of how she was doing? What she was doing

She knew her sister. Maxine was stubborn, especially when she felt wronged. Yet, she was confessing to money stashes, every single one. She was talking to Matt Murdock, the biggest lawyer in Hell's Kitchen, to rat out info on Octavious, former bosses, whatever she could.

But she wasn't sure of what that meant in the long run. Peter said Spider-Man wouldn't be mad at her-

Suddenly she doubted everything Peter had said.

Spider-Man just hopped unto her windowsill, his white eyes prominent against the dark. Her lamp gave him a soft glow, unveiling his red and blue suit. She was frozen, tears pooling in her eyes. She thought she had gotten better at this, but when it came to Max, or Spider-Man, it was too easy to break.

In her nightmares, Spider-Man was always in his black suit, sometimes the symbol on his chest glowed like moonlight. Sometimes it was just his eyes, no spider symbol at all. He would lunge for her, and any number of things occured after that until she woke up.

Her eyes were already playing tricks, she thought the shadows around him were engulfing him. He was finally going to do it, Spider-Man was finally coming to ki-

"I'm not going to hurt you." His voice made his existence real. His voice was warm and soft, but it was in her dreams too, sometimes. Also He didn't say anything about not killing her. Allison felt herself heave as she felt old nightmares bleed into reality. She was at a crossroads, to scream, run, collapse.

His speed was once again impressive, as he had his arms around her, gently restraining her. Her urge to panic ceased, as she felt warmth from him, the soft texture of his suit. "I was never going to, and I never will."

His heart, she could hear it. She could feel the intakes of breathe he took, and the gentle touch of his hands. Gone, for the moment, was her boogyman. Her grip on his costume relaxed.

The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was here to protect her, all of them, like he never left.

Sunday

Mousey had been a part of the Raft medical staff since Spider-Man's early years. His job was usually to assess the mental health of the Rafts occupants. He had a variety of patients, Toomes, Beck, and Sytsevich among them. Today, was Max Dillon's day, among other things.

Those he spoke to outside the facility often wondered if the Spider's rogues gallery was insane. The answer if put bluntly was no. The detailed answer was more complicated.

Some were easier than others. Maxine Dillon was in a very specific group, with Schultz and Systevich, they were in it for the money. If they were truly insane, they would have a place at Ravencroft. That was his station, before they recruited him for the Raft personnel. He knew how crazy people could get.

Spend a day with mostly any other person in the raft, then spend an hour with Cletus Cassidy. You would understand the difference. Only an hour, because being in a room with Cassidy for any amount of time past an hour, your safety wasn't guaranteed.

This didn't mean Max had a clean bill. There were definitely underlying issues. But her primary motivation, greed, was a common one, completely normal.

"Hey Max, how are we doing?

"Meh." Was her response.

Mousey chuckled. "I heard you got some sun.

"Yeah it was great. The sun was shining, the air was breezy-" She always started sarcastically."-hundreds of cars noisily speeding back and forth. Oh, and don't forget the smell of the garbage left behind.

"I heard a little more than that occured." Max shuffled around awkwardly. "It must have made an impact on you, since you asked Matt Murdock to help you make a plea deal."

"Yeah. I mean shit, the least I could do after what the doc did, what I helped do..."

"Ah, the Red Cloud Incident." It still hurt to hear those words together. "That was when your sister cut off contact, correct?"

"Why are you bringing that up doc? It doesn't matter how much I wish I could take it back. It won't ever matter again, because it made the only person in my life worth living for leave me for good."

"Are you sure about that?" The question implied multiple things, especially as Spider-Man seemed to have a more prominent place in her life as of late. But it didn't matter at that moment. Even as Spider-Man entered with his plus one in tow

When Allison Dillon walked into the room, Max did not respond emotionally, at first. She was frozen in place, as though not actually registering what she was seeing before her.

Allison had an anxiety filled look, a face that was barely holding together. Her deep intake of breath seemed to flip the switch, as Max took her own unsteady breathe. "Ally?"

"Max?" To hear her voice, worried, cautious, it was a melody.

Max stood up, her movements slow as she made her way around the table. Allison moved faster, and had her arms out to embrace her sister. Indescribable relief poured into Max's body. The forest fire within her, the burning need to snuff, maim, destroy, turned into a small fire pit. The torrent waters of dread and self loathing evaporated into puddles.

The sisters held each other tightly, Mousey and Spider-Man decided to leave the sisters be. Max opened her teary eyes, and watched Spider-Man as he walked out of the room.

I guess you really are the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

2017, August

Bugle Special Report

Max Dillon Out Of the Raft-For Now!

The notorious bank robber Maxine "Max" Dillon has spent the last couple of years in and out of Jail. This Friday, Dillon will be walking out of Jail, and authorities won't lift a finger

Why you ask? According to Official Statements, Dillon is still technically serving her sentence, several years in fact.

However, she has been downgraded to house arrest. Details are very muddy, no location has been given. It is said that her living space will be made to accommodate her "powers".

This "downgrade" is allegedly a result of the work She(Dillon) has allegedly put into public service-and good behavior.

There are rumours of a deal between Maxine Dillon and the Authorities. Possibly exchange of information for the reduced sentence. The Avengers were asked for comments, many directing the problem to our own New York native, Spider-Man. It has been stated by them, and officially by the Warden of the Raft, that Spider-Man will be entrusted as a "Parole Officer" of sorts.

"We trust that Spider-Man will bring her in, or report if she acts up. We have our full confidence in the Web-Slinger." Said Warden of Raft

Could this correlate with the rumours of a "Superhuman Reformation Program"? Talk has been prominent throughout different divisions of an attempt to bring these "Supervillains" into the fold, at the least, under the government.

Meanwhile, in the real world, many of us have doubts. While some powered criminals have turned a new leaf (See page 16 for the update on the Connors/Lizard recovery story) There are many doubts as of Dillon's intentions. When asked during her public hearing whether she was driven to return to her old ways, she responded "Not really, I'm kinda sick of it all." But can we take those words to heart?

After all: Actions speak louder than words.

???

She was nervous. It was perfectly reasonable to be nervous. It may seem like someone gets superpowers on a daily basis... but how many simply...died, trying to become super?

"Are you ready?" The doctor inquired.

"This will make me like her?" She asked.

When the suits had come to her ratty apartment, she was almost certain they knew she would say yes. Why wouldn't she?They made it clear there was a chance of it failing, of her dying. The thing is, she lived in New York. Her chances of living and dying were the same anyway.

The Doctor smiled calmly at her. "Your Genealogy has had more contact with the mutated DNA. So yes, we highly believe so.

The one thing that sucked was that they shaved her hair. Was it really necessary? But hey, their sandbox, their rules. They had the tech, the cash, and her dreams and desires in their grasp.

"We are going to attach the apparatus to your head, then your arms and legs. Ready?" The doctor asked, a gesture that seemed more out of formality than kindness. It might of been the yellow and black biohazard suits they wore.

She shrugged it off, signalling herself ready to begin. The doctor left the room and activated a console on the other side of the protective glass. Greenish blue lights flared above her, as a humming became louder and louder.

What's the point of living if you don't live dangerousl-

"Go home Ally." the blue sparks stopped as Allison lifted up her protective mask.

"But I'm close to a breakthrough Peter. It's practically done, if I can tweak it correctly."

"It will be here tomorrow. Don't overwork yourself, I have had to re-learn that lesson more than once."

Allison noticed the time. She then noticed Peter's lack of a lab coat.

"What are you doing leaving so early? A date?

A touch of red appeared on Peters face as he moved his hands in a dismissive manner.

"Kinda sorta not really."

Allison felt an urge to dig, but kept to herself.

"Tell me how it goes." She said with a shrug. Peter gave her a salute and began to walk out. "Wait, Peter?"

He turned back to her.

"Thank you, for talking to me about...well my family troubles. I think Sp-your friend, helped clear up a lot of things.

"Any time. But seriously, take a break." Peter than left with a wave. Allison looked down at her project, her smile disappearing. Her brow furrowed as she seemed to notice a flaw. Flipping down her faceplate, she began her work anew.

Just one little modification..

"Spider, I know I surf on lightning, but this rides going to end right?" She was kind of enjoying herself, but a part of her was getting woozy. She only lasted so long because she trusted the man holding her.

"We will be there in just a minute. Scout's honor."

Max had no idea where Spider-Man was taking her. Only that he wanted to take her personally, so she was in his arms, or arm, as he web-slinged his way across New York. Spider-Man swinging about with a known criminal in his arms, what would the people think?

Before she knew it, he seemed to land, and the wind suddenly stopped blowing around her.

"Okay, we are here."

The sound of music playing gave her a first hint. It was distant, yet had plenty of clarity. the moment Spider let her go, she opened her eyes. The night was lit up by the lights from below. The music gave it away already of course.

"Wait a sec, the Molten Man?"

"Hells yeah, over ten years later and they are still kicking ass."

"You brought me... to a show?"

"I know I know, a tad weird, but I wanted to show you something nice. A way to celebrate you getting out of the raft." And into house arrest, but that's a big win regardless.

"Wouldn't this just get you in trouble?"

"No, few people can get up here, no way for the average guy either. Anyone suspecting is unlikely. From where we are, it would be a lot harder to get to us. So no worries about being found out." Spider-Man, of course, bypassed all security by web-slinging to the roof. Max already figured that out. She wasn't born yesterday. "Well, no need to stand, go ahead take a seat.

They sat together, lulling along to the music. As they listened, Peter watched her fron the corner of his eye. He imagined her scar gone, hair dyed black. He went so many years without recognizing her, now it seemed so painfully obvious. Her attitude, her mannerisms, it was all still there. Even now, as she seemed to finally smile. He was thirteen all over again, trying to impress his peers.

"I guess you talked to my sister, since she was willing to see me."

"Well, my old photographer, Peter Parker, talked to her first, told me some things." He looked at Max. "She has been having nightmares about me killing her, coming after her for what happened."

Guilt ate at Max, knowing she had her own part. But she braved on, asking."What did you do?"

"I told her I was never going to hurt her, and I never will. I spent two hours talking to her after, shit, I put her to bed, don't embarrass her about it. Usually I would break ice with a joke, but..." He trailed, looking sullen suddenly. Max wondered when the hell she started to notice such a thing. "The way she looked at me...I will never escape the legacy the black suit left me."

"Hey, at least you were still doing the right thing most of the time. I've been selfish from day one of my Electro gig. If not for you, I'd be in my cell, angry at the world again or..." Dead.

"Max-"

"I mean it. Look, shit happened to me, but I didn't go crazy, I didn't turn evil. I don't plan on making deals with the devil. I just wanted to get some cash so my sister wouldn't starve, and I just wouldn't stop after. My point is you had to be influenced, I really didn't. I made bad decisions knowingly, I didn't care for the consequence until I thought I would never see Allison again. I didn't care about making it right until you..."

Max seemed unable to finish, yet a weight was lifted off of her chest, Spider-Man's arm around her shoved that weight aside and away from her. Had it been tangible, it would have sunk through the roof. They returned their attention to the show.

They sat together for a song, during an intermission, Max suddenly had a revelation of her own: "They were playing this shit over ten years ago."

"Their more recent work wasn't well received, they have been going through their earlier stuff."

That didn't shock Max. She began to chuckle to herself.

"Jesus, this brings me back, there was this place in Queens-"

"Icarus?"

"Yeah... before it closed down, there was a secret way to get in for free. I mean, you had to keep quiet as you could until the bands started playing but it was a decent spot. Molten Man was playing as an opener."

"You couldn't of been the only one to know about it."

"Yeah, well..." She seemed hesitant, and Peter silently begged her to continue. She did. "There was this kid, he was a couple of years younger than me, he had to have heard from someone else. he was a-"

"Nerd?"

"Pretty much, but he seemed sweet, even when he tried to be sour." She laughed. "He probably forgot about it... and me, I mean, I gave him his first kiss I'm pretty sure. I told him shit too, like how my girlfriend was suppose to be with me-"

"But she broke up with you for some walking jockstrap. right?"

"Exactly those words!..." Wait "How did you-"

"Or, how you were in a band, and everyone had a theme, you were lightning."

She was quiet, just looking at him, as he somehow told the story like he was there.

You couldn't have possibly been there, unless... no way

Her mind was still catching up, but it was gaining fast.

"So you dyed your hair black and yellow, it was meant to look like lightning, but some people thought you were going for a bee look, and it pissed you off to no end."

"I-I only told that to-"

Spider-Man pulled his mask off. A young face complimented by chocolate hair, and eyes the same delicious shade, looked straight into hers. "My name is Peter. And I never forgot you Max."

Max was overwhelmed to say the least. She never expected Spider-Man to unmask himself. Nor did she expect the boy she once knew for one night to show up in front of her. His face, still so similar, now older, stronger. Their were perhaps more important questions, but she was busy with three little things.

First, the kid she once knew was definitely a man now. Secondly, this kid has been in and out of her life this whole time, and he's been trying to pull her out of the dark hole she dug herself into. Thirdly, her powers were disabled, and touching was no issue.

Still, Max, or Peter didn't expect her to go straight for his mouth, with hers. Her arms went around his neck as they toppled over. Peter put his arms around her waist instinctively, as Max seemed intent on kissing him to death. It took her begining to deepthroat the man with her tongue that she snapped out of it.

She jumped off him in a daze, holding her head as she tried to comprehend what she just did.

"You...I...oh my god."

"Still with me Max?"

"Did you... did you always know?"

Peter had a look of regret.

"No, If I had known, I would have tried to reach out to you much sooner. It had been so long since I last saw you, I didn't make the connection until..recently." He grabbed her hand before she could respond. "That doesn't mean I never would have tried. Everything I have done, is because I believe in you."

The conversation was disrupted by both a boom from the direction of Horizon Labs, and a security alert on Peter's phone. Pulling it out, Peter"s fear was quickly confirmed.

"We have to go."

There were already police on the scene as Spider-Man swung unto the scene, Max in his free arm. He landed gently by an officer on guard.

"Officer, what's happened?"

"Witnesses are saying 'Electro' Just blew her way into Horizon Labs."

"That can't be, she is right here." He turned to his "prisoner". "Max, listen I'm going in. There might be night workers who need help."

"I can-"

"Stay right here, don't risk all you have worked for. This officer as my witness, you had nothing to do with this."

He leaped away from her, web-zipping straight into horizon labs.

It had been a good fifteen minutes when Max had made her decision. Standing around with nothing to occupy her was already torture. Staring at the facility with the rest of these morons was even more aggravating. Standing wondering how Peter-Spider-Man...dammit.

Why? Why now? Right when things were turning around. Why did he tell her who he was? He told her he cared, and she knew that, fucking boy scout. He helped her mend her relationship with her sister, even if there was still work to be done. He looked at her so warmly-

"Fuck this."

She disabled her collar before handing it off to the cop beside her. Before anyone could argue, Max shot into the air with a flair of crackling yellow lightning sending her upward. Too fast for anyone to say or shoot, she rode a current of lightning into horizon labs.

The entrance looked like it was blown open, the doors nowhere to be seen. Chairs were scattered like they were sent flying. Lights were flicking on and off throughout, which could have made her search complicated.

Thank god someone made the place easy to maneuver for simpletons. The only issue would have been security clearance. Fortunately, the doors were already going haywire. Some opened amd shut calmly like a child fooling with the motion detector. Others held open, sometimes with the doors rattling like the were about to snap, others completely still.

Max decided to try looking where the most "noise" was coming from. Noise could imply a fight, a fight implied that Peter- no Spider-Man was alive.

He better be, I'm the one that's going to kiss-uh-kick his ass!

At least, that is what she told herself. She wasn't in love...totally. She was just...she'll think about it later.

It was not the noise that led her to Spider-Man, but instead the blue light flashing. She followed that light into the hall, down into the labs where the light originated. Blue light flashed through glass, blinding anyone not wearing proper eyewear. Max did not need any protection. Her mutation adapted her vision against light shows like herself.

This blessed and burdened her with the sight within the lab. Peter was on the floor, struggling to rise because of the gelatinous green humanoid holding him down, a strange blue glow in its goggle-like eyes.

Standing over both was a woman, the form fitting black bodysuit that only left the head and hands uncovered, told her at least that much. The woman's back was to her, Max was not yet noticed. There seemed to be no hair, as she seemed to be formed out of that blue light.

The living slime was the first to notice her as it raised its "head" to look. That is all the time either had as Max sent spears of lightning into them like Zeus. Both attackers were sent flying.

"Spider, get up, this fight isn't over."

"Max...She is like...you."

As he rose to his feet Chuckles interrupted any time for questions. A bolt of cobalt blue lighting streaked passed the spot Spider-Man had stood. Spider-Man had lightly pushed Max away at the same time he had leapt unto the ceiling.

They watched the woman rise up from her kneeling position. Crackles of light blue electricity came from her in waves. The gelatinous green thing remained where it lay, short circuited for now.

Than it truly hit Max what she was up against.

"Spider, you got tech here we can use against this bitch?" The three were locked in place for the moment, the new Electro waited for either to make a move.

"It's in...another lab." Spider-Man kept his eyes on "Electro", his breathe laboured.

"Go for it, I got this until you get back.

Spider-Man web zipped through the door, narrowly dodging the electric blue streaks that followed him. More would have followed had Max not sent golden arcs of her own, interrupting the azure volley once again.

Finally alone, the two woman stared at each other. One was smiling, Max was not. Max took in the other "Electro"'s features. She could faintly see the nerve network of the human body darkly contrasting against the light blue skin, glowing and semi-transparent. The vibrant glow dimmed, and Max could spot protruding veins crawling up her head, and over her scalp. A red light seemed to manifest around where the brain would be.

Max was not stupid, but she did not have the knowledge or skills to make sense of just what the fuck happened to this woman. She could barely explain what happened to herself years ago. Even if she did, she was distracted by the face she recognized all too well.

"What did they do to you?"

Find it Parker, find it.

He had to act quick. He didn't know the exact power difference between the Electro-mancers, but knew "Blue" had a lot of punch, more than max usually did.

He had stopped by his lab

"Spider-Man?"

Looking down, he saw Allison hiding under a table

"Allison? what are you doing here?"

"I..was staying late, working on my project. I heard Electro er-"

"It's not the same one, but Max is here fighting that one right now as we speak. Is your device ready?"

"I mean, yeah, but you need protective wear."

Spider-Man went over to Peter's work computer, and punched in a code. Suddenly, a tube arose, showing a black and red outfit.

"Parker and I...we have a thing..." He simply said.

"...Oh..."

"What did they do? What did they do?!" Francine Frye laughed. "They made me you, but better."

"You did this willingly?"

"Oh Max" She spread her arms like an eagle, before slapping them together blue light igniting. "I fucking volunteered!"

Blue torrents of lightning moved toward max like she was a steel pole. She formed a yellow curtain of bio-electricity. It was a brief second before the two energies came together, in a bright green explosion that sent Max rolling.

Max was not done. As she stopped rolling, she sent two golden spears at Francine. One missed, but the other hit her square in the stomach, sending her into the wall.

"What the fuck Francine? Why?" Max asked as Francine stood back up, leaning against the wall in apparent exhaustion.

"You had this power for years. I don't know how they knew, about us, but they knew." Francine breathed out.

"Who?" Max asked, before using her power to slide herself across the floor, dodging the wisps of blue static that zig-zagged into the wall behind her.

"Like I would fucking tell you. Why would I tell you anything? God, do you really think I'm that stupid?"

I mean, I was sometimes. Max pushed on for info anyway.

"So what, did they shock you with a radioactive battery or some shit?"

Francine didn't answer that specifically, even if it was technically correct.

"You left plenty of genetic material around my place. Of course, swapping spit with you for years apparently made me a prime candidate."

Max rushed her, forming lightning around herself as a barrier. She tanked Francine's bolts, flying through to drive her knuckles into Francine's face. Instead of flying off her feet, she staggered, Max delivered another hit.

"You used me!" Max accused.

Francine delivered her own charged uppercut, sending Max off her feet. She flew a dozen feet before landing.

"Oh please, like you didn't use me. I was sex, and an easy hideout." Francine looked at her with hatred born of love. "I bet that was all you thought of me...an easy lay."

Max struggled to get up. "That's not-" A black boot drove into her stomach sending her sliding into the wall.

"But it is. I was just a slut to you, to use up till you were bored. I watched after you, I cared about you, and you up and forgot about me."

Max wanted to explain, that it wasn't so simple. She wanted to say she cared about Francine, even if it wasn't love. She wanted to stop francine from simply becoming her. But this wasn't an argument, it was a beating, maybe an execution. Francine wasn't here to talk.

"I watched this game from the sidelines for years. And yeah, I saw plenty of gross dudes get a leg up along the way. But now that I got my turn? I'm just here to raise some hell, make some money-" She looked at Max. "-and maybe a little payback along the way."

"Francine, come on, I have been down this path, don't turn out like me." Max got up and she spoke this, and got Punched for her efforts. Her head collided with the wall as she slid back down.

"Of course I am not gonna be like you. I am going to win. Why follow in the footsteps of a complete loser!?"

"You are not a loser Max"

Max struggled to raise herself as Francine drove her foot into her stomach. Francine dug her heel in, as blue lightning flared around her once again

"You think he'll actually come back for you?"

The Electricity that had formed around francine was suddenly moving away from her. She turned in the direction it came from, to be greeted with a bionic uppercut from Spider-Man.

"I got your back"

The Spider had made his time count. Max and Francine recognized his black and red "Electro-proof suit". What stood put more was the metallic grey apparatus that seemed to have ate his right arm.

The gauntlet had sucked the electricity out of Francine before she had been knocked away. She hit a desk, flipping over it, her blue skin losing its vibrancy and luster.

Spider-Man grabbed Max and leaped to cover behind an overturned table.

"Sorry for the wait." He said. Max shook off her pain.

"Better than never, what the hell is that?"

"Electro-gauntlet. Allison was working on it"

There was a tinge of pain, knowing her own sister created a device to use on Max if she went rogue again. Who else would it be used for? But right now? Thank god she did.

"Can it stop Francine?"

A burst of azure light blew apart the desk Francine had taken a dirt nap under. She rose slowly, arms shaking as she chuckled.

"Ok... ok, now I am pissed."

"Maxine! Heres a boost!" Without further warning Spider-Man discharged the electricity he gained from Francine, into Max.

Max's eyes glowed blue before she let out a thick greenish yellow bolt straight into Francine, who was sent flying into the wall. The blue glow surrounded her again before she sent a new shockwave.

The gauntlet absorbed the waves that hit Spider-Man's direction. He felt his skin sting under the onslaught of blue lightning. A red flashing was all the warning Peter got from the gauntlet.

She still has too much power, the gauntlet can't contain-

No sooner did he have the revelation could he have done anything. The lightning went from the gauntlet to enveloping him. His suit could only protect him so much as he fell to the floor, feeling the electricity creep its way passed his defenses to kiss his skin.

Max had been sent flying, he couldn't see where. He could barely think before blue hands yanked the gauntlet out of his arm and tossed it aside. Francine straddled him, using one hand to shove him back to the floor. making him face her.

"You know, this suit is supposedly shock proof. I feel like we should do some hard 'trial and error'." Her hands sent a new wave of electricity at him point blank. He could only grunt and groan. "I can't believe no one managed to take you down. Then again, maybe I was the one meant for that honor."

Francine was suddenly pulled up by neck piece of her sleek bodysuit, before Max Slugged her hard. Not giving her time to send out a new shockwave, Max gave her a kick to the stomach, sending her blue counterpart flying.

"That honor will never be yours." The first Electro remarked, eyes still glowing blue from the first charge. Grabbing the gauntlet, Maxine slid it down unto her own arm. It hummed back to life, she immediately began draining it, charging herself. It burned her veins, but yet it felt so fucking good.

The battery was drained to half when Francine glowed a brilliant blue hue once again, and sent a torrent of zig zagging daggers, glowing that same cool color.

"You can't drain me Max!"

Max raised the gauntlet upwards as the bolts reached her, they followed the arm upwards before zipping straight down the arm. Suddenly, she had a thought from when she was little, and still watched old cartoons in an old sixteen inch screen, fuzzy but colorful.

"I have the power!" the man exclaimed as lightning shot down his sword arm and into his body, transforming him into the titular hero of the show.

The thought gave Max a lightbulb idea so bright over her head it cracked.

I have the power.

Max pointed the gauntlet in Francine's direction and moved forward.

Francine, in a frenzy, sent forth more glowing azure spears at Max. The spears that hit Max did little but make her grunt. Nonetheless she absorbed their energy just like she did from the ones the gauntlet caught. She rushed francine sending a charged punch into the woman once again. The second Electro smashed unto the floor.

As Francine struggled to rise off her back. Max planted the gauntlet directly top of her chest, forcing her back to the floor. The four "fingers" of the device camped down unto Francine's torso. For a moment, the fact that this device was most likely designed for her came to the front of her mind. That Spider-Man would most likely have used it in her. That possibility still existed, always would.

But not today.

She began the draining process. Francine fired up her own internal engines to break free, but found she couldn't. Her energy drain was stronger than Max's, but she couldn't control her energy with precision like Max could. Max had years of experience, and a fancy toy from horizon to help "even the odds". The struggle was a stalemate as each woman tried to drain the other. The combating energies burned the sleeves off of Francine's suit as she struggled to remove the claw pinning her. Max felt a surge coursing through her veins, her muscles, and her flesh like never before.

Yellow and blue erupted in a storm around them. The colorful lightning tangled together as it shifted about, striking the ceiling lights, over-charging them, before they bursted. The tangle of electricity finally struck gold, as it fed onto the console adjacent to the human sized ring beside it.

Spider-Man was the first to notice this. As he got up on his hands and knees, the soft yet vibrant glow contrasted with the violent flickering of lightning. He looked up in horror, as he realized the prototype was activating.

He began a Spider like crawl to the machine. He stilled when lightning struck around him, and rolled when it would have struck him. There was no time to fixate on them. The machine had to be turned off, Peter didn't know what would happen, especially when the machine had been haphazardly activated. He didn't know, and in the current situation, that terrified him.

He barely reached the console, his body's state slowing him down immensely, as the two Electro's clash was coming to an end.

Francine had been on the losing end. Max, however, had stopped sapping her energy. She seemed paused, her mouth open as her body shook. Francine powered up, shoving the other woman off. She got up, feeling her energy returning as her skin became translucent blue once again. Francine strode over to the shaking yet lifeless body Max.

"I guess it was finally too much for you." Francine bragged as she ripped off the gauntlet. She grabbed Max by her neck, raising her up. She would finish the job, overload energy into her head until it popped. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Spider-"

Her throat was sudden trapped in a powerful grip. Max's eyes opened, and they were bright, brilliant and blue. A palm pressed against Francine's stomach. The palm hummed, before it let out a javelin of powerful lightning. Francine was sent skyrocketing toward the portal, just as Spider-Man raised a heavy hand.

Spider-Man's palm smacked down on the big red button, as Francine Frye was swallowed by the portal. The shutdown was activated as the lightning blast that sent Francine through scattered over the rest of the machine. He leaped away, as the machine sputtered before self imploding.

Thankfully, not every invention acts as a bomb, as the machine only destroyed itself. Peter watched in fear before the smoke cleared, revealing a smoldering wreckage in the shape of what used to be a portal.

The smoke didn't hide the flickering blue. Looking off to the side, Max stood, her hair was static, and electricity shifted and swayed around her. Her energy, once yellow, was now caught in blends of blue and green, sometimes teal, but never settling on a shade. It was a brilliant sight, one he hoped would not haunt him, as he limped forward.

"Max? Are you okay?"

She seemed to notice him once he asked the question.

"Wheres Francine?"

"If Francine was that other Electro, she got sucked into the portal."

Max had a lost look on her face for a moment. Her expression seemed to sink, before becoming infuriated, then finally becoming indifferent.

"I feel...stronger..." She looked at her hands. "I just kept getting higher and higher, than I hit the ceiling. I broke through the ceiling." She looked at him. "I think... I ascended a limit I didn't know I had."

"Max..." He wasn't sure how to approach this. She seemed to be on a trip, and he wanted to bring her back home, to him, even if he didn't want to admit that. "You had my back."

Max looked at him, her expression strange. She had a clear choice. She was powerful, more powerful than she had ever been. Then and there she could have powered all of New York City without flinching.

"Do you still have mine?"

The second time that night he removed his mask. Peter gave Max a tired smile, Francine's electrocution clearly still effecting him.

"I do, and I always-"

Peter felt genuinely unsteady at that moment. The healing factor he had been gifted with did not work nearly as fast as Logans. His knees giving out suddenly was a shock, but less so than the woman who caught him.

Max had her arms under and around his torso before he could hit the hard floor. She did so only because his electro proof suit reminded her it would be safe to touch him.

He looked at her stunned, and she suddenly felt as though she had no right to touch him. It was stupid of her, seeing as he just got tortured

His gloved fingers touched her chin lightly, resting on one side of her jaw.

"You're hair is floating...like you are underwater..." It really was, swaying about, floating as though they were in a pool.

"You shouldn't touch me, I-"

"Maybe I shouldn't, but that doesn't mean I don't want to."

Her smile could only be measured in megawatts.

2018

He knocked on the door firmly as he waited outside. The hall of the apartment complex was maintained better than most he had lived in. Of course, working for Horizon paid the bills nicely, even for an "assistant".

As the thought came, Allison Dillon opened the door, still dressed in lounge wear( It was her day off!). Her gaze was warm but the smirk promised teasing.

"Hey Allison."

"Doctor Parker, what ever could you be here for?"

"Obviously he is here for me. I've had good behaviour, so I get an award."

Peter followed Max's voice, until his eyes landed on her. He felt his chest tighten with a sense of deja vu. The average joe might think she was trying to imitate Jessica Jones, but Peter remembered her get up, the same night they had first met. She had the punk leather jacket, fingerless gloves. He was sure the jeans were different, but the rips gave the same melancholic sensation.

She didn't replicate her old hairstyle. Instead, her auburn hair was cropped short much like David Bowie. Peter liked it, it was a good fit for Max.

Peter leaned in close to Allison. "Off the record, has she been naughty at all?"

"The police couldn't get me to talk, neither will you. Not that you need me to, you should know firsthand."

They hadn't openly addressed it, but they needed to talk to Allison regarding Peter's...double life. Right now they were under the guise that Peter made the tech, not that he used it. They also told her Peter and Max knew each other in high-school. It was a half lie.

Max interjected. "If y'all didn't mind, I'd like to walk 'freely'." Even if only for a night...for now.

Peter smiled knowingly. Going down on one knee, he grabbed her ankle gently. He placed his Avenger's ID to her ankle cuff (He kept the A out of Allison's view). It turned fron red to a beeping yellow, before finally becoming green. The moment reminded Peter briefly of Cinderella. It might have reminded Max too, from the way she blushed at his touch.

"Bring my sister home before midnight. No funny business you hear?"

Of course, when they entered the elevator, they went to the roof. Peter slipped into his new suit. This incarnation was built with a lot more resistance in mind, particularly electricity. His red was now a few shades brighter, his blue a few shades darker.

Most noticeably, his thin Spider-Symbol now payed homage to the "Electro-Proof" suit, the difference being black, as red on red was not a good choice. Of course, at a glance, no one could really tell. New Yorkers were used to it already.

When Max could finally walk on her own two feet, what she saw floored her.

"Icarus? It's open?"

"Not yet, but there is much more to it. Come on."

He brought her around, where the "secret entrance" used to be. Now it was a real secret entrance, as Peter used a scanner to ID himself. A door slid open, and he pulled Max in with him.

What used to feel more compact and unkempt seemed more spacious and clean. Her memories felt contradictory, climaxing when they got to the "secret area".

"Peter? What the fuck?"

The area was as they remembered, except it was a proper viewing area. The walls facing the stage were replaced by dark glass, only see through on their side. A row of chairs were place a few feet away from the glass, but they took a spot on the long couch hugging the wall. Max looked around in wonder.

"I knew you would love it. We open tomorrow, but they won't know about this spot."

"I thought this place was stuck in limbo."

"It was, I decided to pull a favor or two, make red tape just...disappear. Don't think I've gone bad now. Part of the deal was that this will be one of the operating bases for the Superhuman Reformation Act."

"You are serious? How many signed up?"

"Well, that's the intent. You, Sandman, and Connors said yes. Toomes said he was retiring but is considering "passing on" his mantle. Rhino I might be able to reach, but the guy is a bit stubborn. Everyone else is still up in the air, but I need to reach them first."

For some reason, this made Max think about Francine. They didn't talk about Francine much. They couldn't do anything in the first place. She might be dead, or in a different dimension. Maybe she was a queen to some alien natives. There were too many possibilities, and all of them could be right, or wrong. If Spider-Man reached out to her, the way he reached out to Max, could he have reached her? Could he reach the others? Alexei? Mac? Fishbowl?

"You could always use your natural charm. I remember this little nerd saying auburn was a pretty hair color."

Too bad we aren't all bombshell women. That would make things too easy... or too hard? Who cares, I don't plan on sharing.

"No, now I think it is the prettiest."

"You know, you were my first kiss. It was-

"Don't say it-"

"-Electrifying."

"Goddammit Web-head." But she looked back at him. "You weren't bad, you were definitely an amateur."

He turned her head towards him. His gaze was warm, his smile impish, promising no good.

"Let me show you how much I've improved" He had till midnight after all.

The days are still a struggle, sometimes I feel like I'll never be truly free, that I might fall. A tight rope over an ocean, that held a neverending abyss. I walk ever so carefully, sometimes, I worry I will slip.

But I am not too worried, if I do fall, He will catch me. Besides, if I'm not here, who will catch him?

End?

Earth-138(?

Francine wasn't sure how long she had been falling. Wormholes did not give a fuck about scientific theory, nor did they care to explain the phenomena of their existence. She could have been falling for five minutes or five centuries. Falling didn't give her an idea of slow or fast, it just was.

Where she could be going? That was a different matter altogether. She could end up in a dark unknown future, or in an unrecorded part of past. She could go to ancient China... or Wonderland. Any and all were possible. Really though, it didn't feel like a long trip, as she felt it was sudden when she exited.

The wormhole spit her out far from the ground. Suddenly she felt gravity as a fat round pylon broke her fall. She heard a crack as her bio-electricity outwardly subsided. She felt herself slipping, and attempted to cling to where she was, in vain. She slid off falling a dozen feat or so into another, much shorter pylon. She landed on her side, and didn't have the strength to try to stay on, sliding off again, for the last time, hitting cold wet dirt. Her skin lost the last of its blue hue as rain drizzled over her.

He had watched the portal open, it's light touched his vision as he scaled up the closed down the old Bugle building, a relic of old times. He hung off the building as the bright blue light fell from it. He saw the human shape within the light, and moved.

Francine's couldn't motivate herself to move. She felt the rain gently fall on her, negating her powers. Hopefully it didn't effect her healing, but then again, she didn't know how well she healed.

She was barely able to register the sound of a thwip before a pair of feet could be heard splashing towards her.The splashing stopped, she felt herself being turned over, her head lifted up.

"Damn, you landed hard." The voice said. Francine's eyes popped open, and met a handsome pair of-huge white eyes. She pushed away with a yelp, shuffling backwards on her butt. "Hey easy. this is a friendly neighborhood, at least I think it was."

Her eyes adjusted to the raining dark to see the crouched figure. It was, in fact, a he. "He" wore washed out jeans, dark sneakers, and a sleeveless gray-blue hoody covered by his dark blue leather jacket. The hood was up, covering his head, more specifically his mask.

"Spider-Man?"

Francine was more fixated on the fact that he was wearing Spider-Man's mask. Although, it seemed more simple. Just a simple red with white eyes, no web pattern.

"What? me? No i'm not the Spider-Man, that's Hobbie. I mean I do have spider powers but...its complicated. Look, do you need help?"

Do you even want help? Should I help? The man thought.

The woman was hurt, and coming off of a battle high. She couldn't help but feel a little defensive.

"What makes you think I need help?"

"Considering how you landed, and how you dressed, I'd say so. Nice tats by the way." He wasn't harsh in his tone, but he had no patience for her attitude.

Francine realized that not only her sleeves had burned off, but Max had burned the front of her suit off. She was nearly as exposed as Black Cat. Her chest and navel exposed, nipples barely covered by the fringe ends, somehow. Her body work, both on her arms and chest were exposed to all.

With an embarrassed cry, she covered herself with her bare arms. Only now realizing how cold it was, she shivered.

There's a joke here, about not beating the classics. Dammit. Looks like your still zero Francine. Zero friends(Your fault), zero family(Not a huge loss), and now you cold and wet and worthless in a strange world. A world that has zero fucks to gi-

Francine didn't see him take his jacket off, she was stuck in her own little world until the jacket was settled around her shoulders. She looked up at him, now noticing his faded blue hoodie was sleeveless, revealing a red long sleeve under it, equally worn. More prominent, once she looked at his chest, was the oddly angled black Spider symbol on his chest.

"Put your arms through the sleeves. Can you move?"

Francine tried to get up, and felt herself unable to stay standing. Before she could fall, arms caught her. A man hadn't held her like this in years. Even longer without it involving sexual intent.

"Why...Why are you helping me?"

"You seem to need it, now hop on." He had turned around, kneeling as he waited for her to climb on.

"My powers-"

"Electrical discharge and manipulation? The rain is taking good care of that. You haven't so much as sparked since you landed."

That much was true. The light drizzle acted as a constant "dampener" for her powers. She could feel the energy within her, but the fight and the wormhole trip after, had already drained most her core. She needed a boost, a stun gun, a sandwich or something...

Hesitantly, she clambered unto him. He stood like she weighed nothing to him. If he was half as strong her world's Spider...

"Where are we going?

"A clinic, Night Nurses live for this. They'll at least give you a check up."

He began walking toward the direction of lights. Francine, tired, aching and cold, rested her head on his upper back.

"What is your name? Who are you man?" She asked quietly. On the back of her newly borrowed leather jacket, a giant red spider gleamed.

"I might tell you, if we become friends. But for now...call me Ben."

End

Authors Note

And Scene!

Wow, where do I start.

I apologize for being gone so long, I wish I could tell you all I have a lot more just waiting to be posted, but I don't. Winter was a struggle, the holidays somehow more. I don't say this to make excuses, only explain. Do I have plans? Oh yes, none of my stories have been dropped, but some may need some "revisiting". I definitely need to revisit the earlier chapters, as I have found typos that are Unacceptable

Also, we need to address the warning put at the top of the chapter. It is one of the things that bothered me about this chapter, as we are approaching heavy themes that not everybody may like. As I have shown in past chapters, I can get graphic, but this is the first time I have ever written anything related to suicide. It is important to me that anyone who may have a traumatic experience has proper warning. If any of you wish to PM me regarding it, please do. I hope I handled it appropriately, for what little knowledge I have.

That being said, I am really interested in what you guys think of this chapter compared to others. I don't know that it will be anyone's favorite. It's is definitely more potty mouthed than the other chapters, but that is mainly because of Max's perspective. I honestly see him as the type that just swears a lot.

It is also the second time ive made a climax where they fight a evil counterpart... of the genderbent villain. It wont be the last time, but it will not be everytime. Also, these chapters have been Spider-Man converting his villains to his side...might be a reverse UNO card(or two) in this deck somewhere...

Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed it.

This is now the longest chapter I believe yet at...26K words. A part of me is peeved, because I really wanted to make this a shorter chapter, shorter chapters in general. But I felt I left certain details out, needed to fill more in. What almost ended with 15k words became almost double that. Mainly developing Allison, Max's sister from the comics who doesn't even have a name yet. However, there is a female Electro from a different earth whos name is Allison Dillon, I'd say it all worked out.

I don't regret what I've wrote, but I worry about releasing much shorter chapters(I am trying to aim for 10k-15k per chapter) down the line, as I feel there might be an expectation for each chapter to be an epic, which, to me the last three have been. I also worry that this chapter might be too long for some people, but I'll have to deal with that as a consequence.

Now, for some QA:

Uberpool: Thank you! I hope you stick around for future chapters.

Kryn Womble: I have a few ideas for Goblin, Vulture is definitely more of a challenge because of the age difference. There are certain workarounds, but I still have to work through it. I am curious how you will feel about this chapter. I also agree, Scorpions is way too short now compared to the others, while I don't know if I will make it a 20k story, I will be revisiting it in the future. Look out for that, But I'll let you guys know when I do.

Random Guest: He is going to be getting alot of Snu-Snu :)

Well, no more to add, but I will say this, the villain for next chapter appeared in this one, no returning ones either. I will let you guess who, till then, please leave a review, if you just found this story and caught up, let me know what you think of it all so far. If you are returning, let me know how you felt about this chapter. The good, the bad, the spicy, the funny.

Till then, Timing.