Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:
treyalexander63917: No, I gave no real plans to have the two meet in this story
Adtr509: Could be seen as her culling any possible threats to her plans to make Peter her lover or she got bored and thought 'what hell'.
Jestalnaker94000: Death is powerful in her own right but the Tribunal is above even her, arguably second to the One Above All in terms of Marvel's power hierarchy.
Spawn Hades: We'll be getting some of those next chapters as Kaine comes to check up on Peter and fill him in on what's going on in NYC.
Bdawglegacy: Not sure why Peter is never paired with other women that aren't entirely human. I mean it's almost always either Mary Jane who keeps going on that Peter should stop being Spider-man to be with her or some other random woman like Charlie, seriously has anyone really seen her since the end of Spider-Island?
Greer123: She looks like how she does in the current Thanos comic Marvel's publishing.
Drago: No, he might be mentioned and make the occasional cameo but I have no plans to have him have any real role in this story if at all.
Mezazra: I think you mentioned something like it once but it was different. My 'Web of Death' comes from Spidey being corrupted by Mistress Death and manipulated into killing the Master Weaver and taking his place.
OmniPlanckInstant: Who says the Beyonder escaped repercussions from Death? She's a very patient woman.
Guest: Well then, I recommend you stop reading this story because Kaine is going to have a large role in this story.
Justafan: How would a Stan Lee cameo be inappropriate?
gunman: SHIELD has something that could bring possibly Peter down if it comes down to it, we won't see it for a while but Hill's not dumb enough to think that the current resources she has on hand will be enough. The Beyonder is from outside the Marvel Multiverse so he's technically outside the Tribunal's influence and the cosmic being is every bit as powerful as him.
chucky700: No Thanos isn't stupid enough to take on Spidey with the Phoenix… he's just powerful enough to. This is a guy that's on a multitude of occasions brought reality to it's knees on his own without the Infinity Gauntlet.
keyblade master cole: Yeah, she fed Scott's X-men team on the Avengers movements and where Hope was when she first up and vanished after the fight at Utopia at the beginning of the event and later left the School to join Cyclops in hunting Hope down after he and the others became the Phoenix five. Here she took an even more active role in helping Scott's side aside from being a mole and tracker.
Marveldcfan: Psylocke will try to find redemption for betraying Logan's trust in siding with Scott's people, Rachel and Rogue on the other hand, yeah they'll be afraid of Peter, Rachel because she had her hand crushed by him and was nearly killed and Rogue because she's now even more afraid of Mutant kind's survival, same with Rachel.
90skid4life: Yes, after Xavier and the X-men that backed Logan at the Jean Grey Institute get their affairs in order, they'll be doing what they can to help Peter and a few of Scott's X-men will be defecting back towards the other side after these events, some to save their own skins and others because they truly do feel regretful of their actions.
A Hero's Legacy: She was but not anymore since Peter is pretty much a god thanks to the Phoenix Force.
Cosmicspiderking: I've been thinking of doing something like that for both this story and a sort of original story I have in mind. Plus, Spider-man and the X-men is one of my favorite stories with both groups of people.
Projectxtreme: I think she'll be more uneasy that someone that's not a mutant has the literal fate of Mutant Kind in their hands.
Dead922: That sounds like a story I'd read. Logan goes to Hell… and kicks it's ass!
Watermeloan: Part of the reason he's still around is because he's so powerful, there really isn't a being in the Marvel Multiverse aside from a handful like the Phoenix Force, the Tribunal or the Multiversal version of Eternity that can take him on in a fight.
Fenrir44: Yeah, some of them will because they actually do still have a conscious and recognize when they made the wrong choice, others not so much or so quickly. Some might, and not for the best of intentions like wanting to sleep with him.
Superstar Kid: Well the only ones that can really help Spider-man now are the X-men and they're fragmented and in mourning from the death of Logan, it'll be a while until some of them can help plus the Avengers might be keeping them at bay, just in case. The X-men, Scott' side mostly are already aware that Magik's actions had led to the emergence of the Dark Phoenix, plus Emma, Rachel and Pyslocke locking down his mind while Scott had Hope try to remove the Phoenix from Peter didn't help matters.
Dark King Marcel: In the next few chapters.
Nintendoguy64: No she's not, if she were to be with someone in this story it'd be more Kaine then Peter.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel character seen, mentioned or used.
"…Annnnd then they had him taken to K'un-Lun where he's now training to use the Phoenix Force to the best of his ability to avoid another Dark Phoenix episode" Kaine said with a sigh as he downed the drink that he was given by the owner of the bar he was in.
The owner, a beautiful red head dressed in a tasteful black blouse and red pants gave Kaine a worried look "You think he'll be alright?"
Kaine scoffed at this "He's going to have the freakin Scarlet Witch for company. If his luck in regards to women as the same as mine, or well if mine's the same as his, he'll be more than fine"
Mary Jane gave Kaine an unimpressed look "Really?"
"Yes, really" Kaine said with a nod as he gestured for her to refill his glass "But all kidding aside, Pete's fine. Sure, he's probably suffering constant nightmares of Logan's death and the like but if I can pull through the crap I've done over the years, he can too"
"You think?" Mary Jane asked as she filled herself a glass after she refilled Kaine's "Don't get me wrong Kaine, I love that man, but it's just that Peter… he has this unhealthy fixation to keep things bottled up and never letting things go. I mean he's only now just starting to move on from Gwen's death ad he seems to have somewhat come to terms with his Uncle Ben's death. But now Logan on top of Silver having died only a few weeks ago, Mattie and Cassandra's deaths, or even your two's brother Ben? Everyone has a breaking point Kaine… everyone. I don't need to be that Inhuman guy Karnak to see that Peter might very well be approaching his"
"Well let's hope to every god there is that he doesn't have the Phoenix Force with him when he finally hit's it… what happened at Wakanda will look like a joke in comparison if it does" Kaine said as he downed the liquor in one shot "Ah, that's good. What's it called?"
"Something German than I can't pronounce but has a lot of vowels in it" Mary Jane said with a snort as she took more economic sips of her drink.
Kaine chuckled at the answer before he glanced up at the television that was playing over the bar and frowned at what he saw.
It was a report on the attack on Wakanda and that the normally isolationist nation has declared war against Atlantis and on top of that, a video of what looked like Utopia island off the coast of San Francisco that was the base of operations for Scott's people being surrounded by what appeared to be half the U.S. Pacific fleet and a SHIELD Heli carrier.
And just because the universe seems to be on a role lately when it comes to the 'Spider-clan' as Peter likes to call it, Norman Osborn has apparently gone missing… perfect.
"What do you think's going to happen now?" Mary Jane asked as she glanced at the screen as the news report went back to the X-men, specifically the ones that operated out of Utopia that have been confirmed to be behind the attack on Wakanda "More Sentinels or those Purifier guys launching an all-out attack on the Jen Grey School?"
"Not sure but I can safely say it'll be worse than either of those combined" Kaine said with a shrug, deciding to leave Norman for another day "If there's one group of people that I've met that have luck to rival us Parkers, it's Mutants… and probably Banner"
"Is it bad not to feel too sorry for them? I mean I feel bad for what happened to the guys from Logan's school and I've called Kitty to let her know that if she needs anything I'll be there to help but Scott's people… is it wrong to hope they suffer for what they did?" Mary Jane asked, unsure of the answer she'd want to hear.
Kaine set his drink down as the images of the injured children that he saw and helped drag out of the ruins of the Golden City flashed through his mind. One memory in particular stood out from the rest…
…
"S-Sir…?" a small little girl, drenched in grime, blood and god knows what else asked as she was being lifted out of what was once an apartment complex by Kaine while Thor, Giant man and Doctor Strange searched the rest of the ruins for possible survivors.
"Yeah kid?" Kaine responded, secretly grateful for the translator built into his suit, as he glanced down at small child in his arms while he waited for the search and rescue team to arrive.
"W-Where's my mommy and daddy?" she asked, tears falling down her face "T-They said that t-they were going to see what's happening and then… then the building s-shook…"
The girl's words soon began to grow incoherent as she began to shake with sobs and Kaine, as much of a hard ass that he likes to think that he is, slowly drew the girl into a tight hug.
"Shhh it's okay, we're find your mom and dad kid, I promise" Kaine said in as soothing as a tone as he could muster.
"P-Promise?" the little girl forced through her sobs.
"Yeah… I promise, in fact they're probably waiting for me to get back with you so they can hug you to death and never let you go" Kaine said, trying to cheer the little girl up, if there's one thing he had in common with Peter aside from genetics, it was that they both hated seeing children cry.
The little girl nodded at Kaine as she hugged him even tighter while the boat that would take them back to the field hospital arrived.
Later Kaine would regret making that promise and getting that girl's hopes up because the first thing they saw when they got back were the bodies being fished from the water for proper burial later… and the little girl's parents were amongst the first found.
Her anguished cries would haunt him for years to come afterwards…
…
Kaine then blinked and he suddenly found himself sitting in MJ's bar, his gaze focused solely on his drink as his genetic template's ex watched him with a sympathetic look. Finally, after a few minutes of gathering his thoughts Kaine spoke in a resigned tone.
"No… not at all, because honestly me, half the Avengers and everyone at the Jean Grey School is with ya on that boat"
The two sat there in silence for what felt like hours, the only sounds being the bustling city outside, the few workers in the bar getting it ready for tonight and the television playing in the background. Kaine had just finished his seventh glass before he heard his 'other phone' ring. Kaine let out a sigh as he pulled it out and checked to see who called.
"Who is it?" Mary Jane asked as she placed her and Kaine's glasses on the counter and gestured for one of her workers to come get them.
"Cap'n Mercia" Kaine said with a snort as he pocketed the phone "Man wants to see me about something'"
"Any idea?" the red head asked as she watched Kaine get up and stretch.
"Nope, but something tells me that afterwards, I'm gonna come back here for another drink" Kaine said as he gave MJ a wave good bye "Keep the bottle warm for me"
Mary Jane gave Kaine a small chuckle "You got it tiger"
Kaine laughed as he walked out of the club and made his way towards the nearest alley where he can change into his suit before he began the long, tedious one-minute swing towards Avengers Tower to see what Steve Rogers wanted.
…
"Alright, what'd I do?" Kaine asked as he found himself on the Avengers Tower landing pad after being called by Rogers to meet with him about something.
"What makes you think you did anything?" Steve asked the man with a raised brow.
"Because I told you to only ever call me when something happened to Peter that wasn't good and since you don't have that whole 'Bad news' face, I'm assuming it's something else unless you got really good at poker really quick" Kaine said as he focused on the patriotic Avenger "So what is it that I did?"
"Nothing, at least nothing yet" Steve said as he shuffled his feet.
Kaine's brow narrowed at this "Huh?"
"Kaine, have you been watching the news lately?" Steve asked with a sigh of dread.
"Yeah…" Kaine said with a small nod and an equally confused expression under his mask "Someone went and leaked the news, probably SHIELD or someone in Wakanda, about what really went down there… or almost everything"
"Correct, and because of that, the hatred for Mutant kind has skyrocketed to levels we haven't seen in years" Steve said with a sad expression as he glanced down at New York City.
"Well considering there's like what two hundred left, ain't much point in hating a slowly dying race" Kaine said with an unsympathetic expression under his mask. He was never really close to the X-men and what few memories that he has with them thanks to being a clone of Peter have close to faded now even the feeling behind them.
"Yes, well hearing that thousands of people in Wakanda are now dead because of a joint attack by Atlantis and Scott's X-men based out of Utopia has gotten that old hate back up again" Steve said as he ran a hand through his hair "It's gotten even worse when it was somehow leaked that Charles has taken in several of the X-men that were part of the attack"
"Which ones did he take in?" Kaine asked with a frown, he hasn't heard that one yet "Please for the love of every god there is that one of them wasn't Magneto or that bitch Magik"
"No, it was Psylocke, Rogue, Havok, Ororo and… Rachel" Steve said the last name carefully.
Kaine stared at Steve for a moment before he pinched the ridge of his nose, trying to keep his growing temper in check "He took in the brother of the guy that led the attack on Wakanda, the now ex-wife of the ruler of Wakanda which happens to be the nation that got whacked, someone that's hurt Carol in the past and was and maybe still is a loyal follower to freakin Magento and two women that betrayed Logan's trust and joined Scott's side. I mean shit Cap, Rachel dragged a teenage girl into that nightmare after she attacked several of Logan's students, on Scott's orders no less!"
"I'm not entirely onboard with Charles's decision either but he or more specifically Miss Pryde has assured me that in her own words 'they aren't getting treated like victims, if anything their lucky I don't phase their fucking hearts out and feed them to Lockheed while freezes them to death and Angelica roasts them to ashes'" Steve said with a cough, not use to hearing young ladies like Kitty or women in general swear like that, let alone repeating said words.
"Damn, she said that?" Kaine said as memories of Kitty when she was briefly with Peter rushed through his mind 'Huh, starting to see a pattern with Peter's women, all kick ass and look good doing it and have a repressed mean streak. Hmm now I just need to find my own that he hasn't gotten to yet and my life will somewhat be golden… wonder if there's a Sue Storm out there like that?'
"So, you want me to help you arrest them or something?" Kaine asked after a few moments as he rubbed the back of his head "Like T'Challa asked for their heads and you and I and probably others are going to get them or something because Xavier said no?"
"No, but what I do have in mind does involve the X-men, specifically the ones that are still at the Jean Grey School at least" Steve said as he took a deep breath "Kaine Parker, I'd like to offer you membership on to a new team of Avengers that will also be occupied by the X-men that will try and fix the rift between humanity and mutant kind, the Unity Squad"
Kaine stared at Steve for several long moments, the only sound being the wind as they held each other's gazes for what felt like hours. Finally, Kaine spoke with understandable confusion in his voice.
"Patriotic shield throwing man say what now?"
…
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the city of K'un-Lun, Peter was with Wanda in the middle of a large dojo holding a sort of sparring like session while Danny watched on with a focused expression. The goal of this exercise was for Peter to use his increasingly enhancing telepathy and telekinesis in conjuncture with his now enhanced spider powers while in the midst of a fight.
Safe to say… Peter was getting his ass kicked by the mystical probability manipulating mutant.
"GAAAH!" Peter yelped in pain as a hex bolt from Wanda nailed him in the shin and another in the chest that sent him skidding back several meters, his feet creating small trenches as he tried to use his adhesive powers to remain connected to the ground.
"Focus Peter" Wanda said, her hands and eyes glowing as she fired another hex bolt towards Peter who had narrowly avoided the strike before he fired off a psionic blast towards her that was easily countered with a small protective spell that she muttered under her breath.
'Hey, no fair! Your using magic too?' Peter mentally whined as he leaped out of the way of several hex bolts fired at him and glanced at Danny 'Dude, I thought you said she would only be using her hex powers today?'
"I said that, she never agreed and I find trying to argue with a woman that can ruin my day with a simple spell or hex bolt to be too troubling to bother trying" Danny replied with a small shrug to Peter's telepathic complaining.
Peter scowled at the man "Oh you suck so-"
He was forced to halt in his insult as his spider-sense flared and he briefly saw what could only be described as a vision of Wanda firing off several hex bolts at him in sequence before she finally got him in the back.
Peter's body reacted almost automatically as he dodged the hex bolts before the final one that was supposed to hit him in the back was fired and waited until the last minute before he performed a triple backflip to avoid it.
"Hmmm, I was hoping that would be the one to get you" Wanda said with a small grin.
"Yeah…" Peter said as he landed in a crouch 'Huh, so my spider-sense can now so if see into the future like it did back in Wakanda… why do I feel that it's not gonna make much of a difference in my life?'
While Peter resumed mostly dogging, Danny watched the spar for a few moments before turning to his left after sensing another presence by him and was greeted to the astral projection of Madam Web.
"Julia…" Danny nodded towards her before turning his attention back to the spar.
"Danny" Julia said as she watched the spar between Peter and Wanda.
"I'm tempted to ask why you're here but I think I already know" he said as the two watched Peter create what looked like fiery Psi-webs and shoot them at Wanda who responded by creating several tendrils of chaos energy and blocked the psi-webs and shredded them before launching towards a grumbling Peter.
"When the Phoenix Force of all beings latches on to the Center of the Web of Life and Destiny, it tends to gain my attention" Julia said as she watched Peter struggle to hold his own against Wanda even though she was holding back tremendously "Would have been here sooner if I could but this event was so great that me and a host of other Madam Webs from across the Multiverse itself were called back by the Master Weaver himself to see how the Web of Life would be affected and where we'd go from here"
"Mind sharing?" Danny asked with a side glance.
"…No" Julia said after a few moments "I'm sorry Danny, it's nothing personal. The Master Weaver doesn't want what we discussed getting out somehow to any other cosmic beings that happen to be within 'hearing' range… not until the ramifications of Peter here being made the new avatar of the Phoenix can truly be tallied up. It could take months… years even"
"Could it lead to any possible universe or even multiverse ending scenarios?" Danny asked with worry.
"No… the Master Weaver, me and a few others don't think so…" Julia said with a frown as she watched Peter shoot multiple psi-webs that looked to be made more of fire than anything else towards Wanda who struggled to block them.
"Well here's hoping, I don't think the universe can take another crisis so soon after what we've been going through lately" Danny said as he ran a hand over his face.
The two stood there, or Danny stood there while Julia watched through astral projection from wherever in the world she was before she spoke.
"I must be going, there are a few other things I need to look into" Julia said as she began to fade away.
"Understood, but Julia?" Danny said as he turned towards the second bearer of the mantle Madam Web.
"Hmm?" the former Spider-woman said as she was nearly gone now.
"When you get the chance, come here in person and speak with Peter. Not as Madam Web and what him being the new host for the Phoenix means for the Web, but as his friend" Danny said as he looked to see Wanda blast Peter away, apparently ending the spar as Peter let out a hoarse 'Uncle'.
Julia was silent for a moment before she glanced at Peter with an unreadable expression that slowly broke into sadness "As soon as I can…"
"Thank you, it'll mean a lot to him" Danny said as the former Avenger faded away, leaving Danny with only Wanda and Peter for company. He took a deep breath before pushing off the column he was leaning against, they were oddly comfortable he would admit, and approached the duo.
"Congratulations Peter, you lasted by my count, a full five minutes against Wanda… when she's holding back at least"
"That's her holding back?" Peter groaned as he rubbed his chest "Hate to see her go all out and hold nothing back with her powers"
"Sadly, you and everyone else already has remember?" Wanda said and the air grew heavy with awkwardness before she scanned the room and saw a pair of towels and made her way over to them to wipe the sweat she had off.
"…Yes well" Danny said with a cough to break the tension as he glanced at Peter "While it is good to see you starting to get into the swing of things again, I'm afraid that your progression is a lot slower than I prefer. I know that I'm a poor substitute for people who could help you with this given that half of them were on Scott's team and the Avengers don't want to risk them being near you at the moment, I am little surprised with how little you have progressed. In fact, I believe that you're even trying to call on as little of it as possible in your exercises, unintentionally sabotaging yourself out of fear of using too much of it and having it manipulate you again like it did before"
"Danny, this isn't some weird new power that one can master if they do enough 'wax on and wax off' lessons with you. This is the freakin Phoenix Force, an ancient cosmic entity with a mind of its own that the Shi'ar sort of worship and fear and eats stars in its spare time because it can!" Peter said as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead "I mean some of the greatest telepaths in the world, people who've had decades of mental discipline in resisting others influence haven't been able to control this thing, so how in the hell can I when I've had my telepathy for all of what, three weeks at the most and piss poor discipline a recent telepath could have?!"
"By getting better" Wanda said as she approached the duo with a towel in her hands for Peter to wipe off his sweat "None of those telepaths got where they are today by throwing in the towel or complaining about how they can't do it"
"Yeah well, they aren't probably being haunted by the death of their friend, the deaths of hundreds of others, and oh yeah the knowledge that if they lose it again the world is screwed!" Peter snapped in annoyance as he took the towel from Wanda and rubbed the building moisture off his forehead.
The room went silent after that as Danny and Wanda stared down at Peter's form before the Immortal Iron Fist let out a small sigh and spoke.
"Tell me Peter, what would Logan say if he was here right now?" Danny asked as he stared down at Peter.
"Where's the nearest bar and does it have good beer?" the wall crawler said with quirked brow.
Wanda couldn't help but giggle a little while Danny felt his brow twitch before he cleared his throat "Okay, what would be the second thing he'd say?"
"Is it alright to smoke in here? You see he'll ask that while lighting a cigar and taking a puff from it before you can even say anything" Peter said with a small grin at the image of Logan doing just that.
"…Peter, be serious for a moment please" Danny said with a sigh as he rubbed his brow "For my sake at least"
Peter was silent for a moment as he did actually wonder what Logan would say to him now before he spoke "He'd be telling me to get off my ass and stop moping around and own up to what happened before saying I got lucky in beating him probably… before doing the first two things I said"
"Correct, granted that's likely a less crass version of what he'd say but the meaning is still the same my friend. You made a mistake by letting the Phoenix take control of you" Danny said and held up a hand as he saw Peter about to speak "Yes, I know you were distraught for what Magik did to Jessica and I understand the rage you felt at the time on top of only just recently coming into possession of it's power and therefore were vastly unprepared for what would happen if it tried to seize control, but you need to realize that the Phoenix despite it's great power is still in a way vulnerable to human emotion and exposing it to such negativity like rage or spite could lead to the emergence of the Dark Phoenix again"
"So, your saying I should never get mad again?" Peter asked with a frown.
"No, that's the problem that started this in the first place Peter" Danny said as he sat down in front of Peter in a Lotus position and propped his head up on his hands while he rested his elbows on his knees "You see, you never properly vented the rage you've accumulated over the years. Now yes there have been times where you have vented, but those are few and far in between. Because of that, all of the darker emotions you've had bottled up over the years completely overtook the Phoenix when it came into contact with it"
"So, what should I do?" Peter questioned.
"Simple, instead of bottling up your rage and never doing anything with it again like our mutual friend Banner tends to do, simply try finding a way to vent it in a more constructive manner" Danny advised.
Peter scowled at this "Like what, yoga?"
"It could help calm and clear your mind like it does mine" Wanda said as she folded her arms under her bust.
"You do yoga?" Peter said as he glanced at Wanda in slight surprise "Huh, who knew"
"No one" Wanda said with a blank expression "Because they never asked"
Peter winced at this "Sorry…"
"Why? Up until recently, you and I have rarely interacted outside a mission if we happened to be on the same team baring that time at a Christmas party where you got really drunk and asked me to have sex with you" Wanda said with a small shrug.
Peter's eyes widened at this "I-I what?"
Wanda smirked at this "Several years ago, before I lost my mind and depowered most of Mutant kind, you approached me and drunkenly asked if I wanted to see why they call you sensational after you made the decision to challenge Thor to a drinking contest by having some special brew Thor brought from Asgard. You lasted six drinks before you gave up which according to him was impressive, few could last just half a glass"
"Weren't you still married to Vision at the time?" Danny asked with a grin.
"Yes, and he wasn't very happy about you hitting on me" Wanda chuckled at Peter's mortified face "If it helps, I was actually drunk and pissed off at him enough to go through with it and I was just beginning to let you take me somewhere more secluded when Vision intervened"
Peter buried his face in his hands "I'll never be able to show myself in front of Vision ever again… that also explains why Mary Jane made me sleep on the couch for a week after that!"
Wanda laughed at this before soon Peter joined in all the while Danny watched the two with slightly narrowed eyes that if one looked carefully, were filled with a combination of intrigue… and hope.
'Hmm… too soon to see… but perhaps more can be accomplished here than simply helping Peter learn to harness the Phoenix's power and possibly help Wanda undo the devastation she brought after the 'House of M'…' Danny thought before a man entered the room and bowed towards the Iron Fist.
"You have been summoned" he said coolly.
"By who?" Danny questioned the messenger as he stood up and brushed some dust off his pants and made a mental note to have this place clean later.
"Yu-Ti, master" the man replied.
Danny hummed at that while Wanda and Peter watched him with curious expressions with Peter voicing his own thoughts on the matter.
"Uh should I be worried or not?" he asked carefully.
"I will see what he wants but I doubt it'll have anything to do with you and if so I will let you know. Why don't you two take a walk around K'un-Lun. There's more to this city then it's martial arts, ancient magical dragon guardian and its spicy Duck Lo-mein" Danny chuckled as he gestured for the messenger to take him to the ruler of K'un-Lun and his adoptive uncle.
"Ok… tell your ruler slash adoptive uncle I said hi and thanks for letting me stay!" Peter waved at the departing man and his escort before glancing at Wanda "So… wanna check this place out?"
Wanda smirked at the question as she put a hand on her hip "Why mister Parker if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're asking me out on a date"
Peter blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his head "Uh well… um I guess it can be seen as that, I mean if you want it to. Doesn't have to be-"
"I accept" Wanda said with a grin as she extended her hand out and pulled Peter to his feet "Plus I've been meaning to see more about the various magics they have here. According to Strange, they possess spells and incantations that date back to the times before the first Sorcerer Supreme even"
"Neat-o" Peter said as he and Wanda left the dojo and began to make their way back to their rooms for a change of clothes and maybe a quick bath before they ventured out into the city.
…
Carol couldn't stop the whimper of fear and pain from escaping her as she laid on the ground, restrained by an invisible force as the world around her seemed to burn with some sort of dark demonic fire. All around her laid the burned, broken dead bodies of all of her friends, her family, every person she ever cared about.
And standing above her was a figure cloaked in dark red and black cosmic fire, a burning Phoenix symbol on their chest as the flames began to reshape and reform from a seemingly uncontrollable aura into what looked like spider legs…
The figure leaned down and grabbed her head, causing her to scream as the fire burned her face to the bone while the figure laughed and the flames pulled back to reveal Peter's face but his voice, his eyes, it was all wrong, it didn't sound right, it sounded dark, it sounded corrupted…
Evil.
"When I'm done with you Carol… the pain… the feeling of violation at the hands of Marcus… will pale in comparison!"
The Dark Phoenix then placed its other hand on her face and before Carol knew it, something tore through her mind and all she could do was scream as the malevolent entity laughed.
…
"AAAH!" Carol shouted as her eyes flew open and she shot up from her bed, her entire upper body covered in sweat as she took several deep breaths to try and calm herself before she felt something trying to rise up her throat.
Carol quickly climbed out of her bed and stumbled towards the bathroom before she flicked on the light and made her way towards the sink before she suddenly emptied the contents of her stomach into the bowl with a loud choking sound. The blonde heroine let out a loud choked cough as she felt more bile rising in her throat before she spat it out.
"Christ…" Carol said with a hoarse voice as she switched on the faucet and watched the clear waters turn murky as it mixed with her vomit before slowly rushing down the drain.
Carol glanced up at her reflection and winced at the state she was in, she looked like she hadn't gotten a proper night of sleep in days, which she hasn't given half the nightmares she now had were almost exactly like the one she just had or even eaten a proper meal, again she hasn't, since the events of Wakanda. She let out a shaky breath as she held her hands on the cool waters flowing from the faucet and let it pool in her palms before she slashed it on her face and let the cool liquid run down her face, neck and upper chest as she repeated the process several more times.
It was then she heard Jessica's voice in her apartment.
"Carol, you here?"
"Dammit" Carol said as she tried to take a few more calming breaths and reached for some mouth wash to try and get rid of the smell of vomit on her breath, she really didn't need Jess to see her like this… she didn't want anyone to see her like this.
"Carol?" Jessica called out again, this time in her bedroom before she was suddenly at the bathroom door just as Carol spat the mouth wash into the sink "Hey, I've been trying to call you the past week, but you never answered"
"I've been busy" Carol said as she switched off the faucet and looked at Jessica's reflection in the mirror. She wasn't dressed in her uniform, just a pair of jeans, a red top and a pair of black sneakers which meant she still wasn't cleared for duty just yet.
"Yeah… I can see that" Jessica said as she took in her best friend's appearance with a critical eye "Jesus, Carol what's happened to you?"
"Nothing" Carol snapped in annoyance.
"The trace remains vomit on the counter says otherwise" Jessica nodded towards small splatters of Carol's stomach contents that didn't reach the sink before she let it out and that was before she commented on the smell in the air "Plus the rings under your eyes are so dark that if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're wearing your mask right now"
Carol didn't answer as she looked away from her friend, unable to meet her eyes as the woman silently wandered over to her and pulled her into a hug "Carol, please tell me what's wrong… please…?"
"It's nothing Jess, just… just…" Carol tried to think up of an excuse but found none before she let out a tired sigh "Just thinking back to what happened… and it manifests into nightmares. The usual bullshit in our line of work"
Jessica didn't respond as she slowly pulled carol from the sink and towards the bedroom and helped the powerful woman sit down before sitting next to her. She took Carol by the chin and gently turned her so that the former HYDRA agent could see her face.
"Carol, please tell me what's bothering you. I know something happened back there. Something bad but I can't help you if you won't tell me what it is. Please?" Jessica pleaded towards her friend, she's never seen her so broken up before in all the years they 've been friends.
"It's… it's…" Carol tried to say before she felt her body shiver at the memory of the Dark Phoenix pinning her down, trying to tear into her mind and nearly doing so "It was when I was fighting Pe-… the Dark Phoenix, I just regressed back to my normal power levels after it absorbed all that energy I was using as Binary and it… it…"
"It what?" Jessica asked with growing dread "What did it do?"
"It said… it said it was going to violate me" Carol said, tears starting to build in her eyes before she raised a hand and wiped them away "It said it was going to do worse then what Marcus did to me…"
Jessica's eyes widened at this "W-What?"
Carol nodded as het tears began to fall and she started to feel her throat tighten up "And you know what, that's not even the real bitch of it. I've heard that shit before from other people we've fought over the years, monsters… jackasses… and everything in between threating to rape me, to kill me, to make the hell Marcus, Mystique and Rogue combined put me though seem like a joke but…"
She tried to find the words to describe what she was feeling but they died in her throat as she let out a choked sob "B-But to hear i-it from the man I l-love? Hearing that in Peter's exact voice, to see his lips form those words, I-I can't… I just can't Jess… I know he would never do that to me or let it happen and he'd rip apart anyone that would try b-but… it's just… oh god…"
She soon broke down crying as Jessica pulled her into a tight embrace and buried her face in the blonde's hair, tears of her own falling as she tried to sooth her friend best she could "I'm here sweetie… I'm here… no matter what I'll always be here…"
"A-And now I'm afraid to be near him…" Carol choked out "I don't want to b-be but…"
"Shhh…" Jessica said as she rubbed Carol's back and planted a small kiss on her head "I know… I know…"
"This wasn't supposed to happen Jess…" Carol said with a choked sob "Us and the X-men fighting, Wakanda attacked, the Dark Phoenix, Logan's death… none of this should have happened…"
As Jessica tried her best to comfort her friend, a small little golden Octobot watched the entire scene play out through Carol's bedroom window with a high-powered lens from a building across the street.
And the scene was being recorded and broadcasted to another Octobot that was currently displaying a holgrpahic image of the event to a very sick and near dead Otto Octavius.
"Hmm… this will… complicate things. Even if I know where Parker is… the Phoenix will no doubt prevent the transfer or worse consume my mind when it is done…" Otto said weakly to himself as he found the very action of blinking draining for him, his time was coming to an end… and soon. He gave a small verbal command for the Octobot to end the feed before he let out a hoarse cough that caused a small bit of blood to leak from his mouth.
After regaining his breath, he glanced at the small Octobot knowing his orders will be heard by the other one "It appears… I'll have to move to plan… 'B'… track down the other spider… begin… the preparations!"
…
And done.
Next chapter, Peter attempts his first yoga lesson with Wanda and the Phoenix finally breaks its silence…