All right, here's the next part. You guys wanted it, and now you've got it. Now, some of you had some questions and this is where I will take the time to answer them.
Jrac: I know what you're saying about the classic elements, but that's just how I work. *shrugs* I'm just a classic sort of guy. Anyways, you're wondering why Clark Kent is in here? Well, I couldn't think of anyone else who could do the part that's in this chapter, so I had him in the first chapter. He only makes two appearances though. That chapter and this one, so it's just a cameo sort of thing.
Jade MacGregor: Is it coming out soon? Well, it's out now, so read all you want! *grins and then blushes* Nah, my fic ain't that good...I'm just typing things I think...*gets embarrassed and moves onto the fic*
------------
Chapter Three
After running from Mom and Melissa, I didn't go far...just to the local cemetary, where Dad was. And that's where I stayed until the next morning, thinking about everything that had happened that night; thinking about the abilities and powers I now had.
It was a curse.
I thought about all the times that I could have realized that he wasn't just Peter Parker. There were so many of them that I was beginning to wonder where I was when all of it had happened; wonder how I could have missed that Dad hadn't been like other dads.
You kept the secret, but was it the right thing to do? I thought to myself as I read over the stone again.
Peter J. Parker
Loving husband and father
Cared more for others than he did himself
It was the same as it had been when I last saw it, three years ago, except now I knew what the last line meant. Care more for others than he did himself...
How true it was.
Dad had cared so much about other thaters that even when he married and had children he had remained in the pople of New York's life as Spider-man. He even cared so much about others that he refused to let anyone in his family get invloved and get hurt. But it still didn't help and now I was hurting. But while I was hurting because of the lies, I had hurt my mom and Melissa with my action.
It was a cycle, and it was all started by one small spider.
Now, I bet you're wondering how I knew it was the spider that had started the whole thing. Simple answer: Electra had been talking to me, through my thoughts.
Yeah, I thought I was going insane too, but I figured if I was going crazy, I might as well listen to the voice in my head.
What I found strange (irony right there) was how she had known all of this about my dad, while I barely knew him. I thought I had known him, but I now knew that I knew not a single thing about him as a person.
How could she know so much about him? How could she have killed him after all he had been through? Why did she do it?
Of course, I wouldn't find out the answer to those questions for a while.
It was then that I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around because I had a pretty good idea who it was.
Clark Kent.
Okay, now you people reading this may wonder what he (Superman) is doing in my story. Well, Clark had, indeed met my dad about twenty years ago when doing an article about something in New York. Clark's wife, Lois, hadn't been married to him at the time and Mom had stayed in contact with her sicne they had hit it off great while they had been in New York.
Anyway, Clark had came around every now and then after Dad had died. 'Checking up on things' as he would say. He would help us out if we ever have any emotional turmoil, which was why he was there, most likely.
I think he has a way of detecting conflicting thoughts, which is a good thing because if he hadn't of come, then I think I'd be down in California, forgetting what had happened.
"Checking up on things?" I asked with a bitter tone to my voice. Clark stood beside me a moment, in silence.
"He was a good man," he commented and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He still looked the same as he looked three years ago, though I think he had a few more grey hairs...probably my imagination though.
"I wouldn't know," I muttered, looking to the grave. "I doubt I really knew him at all."
"Oh, you knew him," Clark replied and I think he was smiling a bit, but I couldn't really tell because I wasn't looking ta him. "Or at least half of him. I only knew a small part of him, until we ran into each other."
"So you're saying I'm lucky I knew anything about him?" I asked, again bitterly.
"Some people never even get a chance to know their parents. I know I didn't," he answered calmly. I turned to him with a scowl on my face.
I was always the one with the bad temper in the family.
"Yeah, I knew about him, and I'm lucky for it, but I got that luck at a price. I'm not even human!" I asked, tossing my hands into the air.
Clark gave me a slight chuckle. "You sure look and act like one."
I crossed my arms my arms and lowered my gaze, glaring at the ground. "Humans don't climb walls," I muttered.
"And they aren't made of steel, either. Yet you act like you are and if you keep doing that, you're going to break down. Believe me, I know. I've seen it happen on more than one occassion," he pointed out.
That got me thinking.
"Fine, but being a freak isn't much different," I replied.
"Ah, but are you a freak? To me, freaks are those people who are mutated in some way and believe that they can use those mutations for evil purposes. Some examples are the Green Goblins and anyother enemy of a superhero, whether they be real or not. You," he paused before chuckling a bit. "I know for a fact you're not one of those."
I narrowed my eyes and looked up at him. "How do you know that?"
"Do you want the truth or another lie? I wouldn't want to give you the lie, but if you can't handle the truth, the lie will make everything easier," he answered and then it was my turn to pause.
"The truth," I finally said.
"You're sure?"
"Yes." No I wasn't. The truth always hurt and I didn't want another bruise.
"You're positive? I mean, the lie would make things less painful," he said.
"Life is pain," I replied icily.
"Did you feel this way before you found out? Before your father died?"
That's when I realized what he was doing. He was testing me. For what? Well, I wasn't too sure myself.
"No...but I do now," I answered slowly.
Clark shook his head. "Then you're thinking like a freak. Life isn't pain unless you want, believe, or think it to be," he said. "Fate and Destiny, two things I believe in, however, have a dangerous and odd sense of humor, but things can and sometimes will come out okay."
"Fine. Life sucks and then you die," I snapped, gesturing to the graves. Clark got a humorous look on his face.
"Now there's a person who has given up on trying to live. They're usually the suicidal type. Are you suicidal?" he said.
I was becoming frustrated at Clark now. Couldn't I be depressed just one time?
"What do you want me to say? That I love my life? That's there's going to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Well, fuck that and fuck you! Nothing had gone right for me since Dad died! And now I know I'm a freak that climbs walls and dodge sharp objects! I even have Dad's murderer talking to me in my head! I'm going insane and I don't even get the chance to fall into self pity! Fuck it all then! I give up!"
After all that yelling, I turned from him and began to walk off when I heard Clark call.
"John," I turned to him and noticed how hard his eyes were. "You wanted to know the truth? All right, here it is: I had thought that you weren't like any of those monstrosities because I thought that you were like your father. Perhaps I was wrong and what you just said is making me believe I was."
I looked to the ground for a moment, rolling his words in my head. When I looked up again, he was already gone.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I thought over the whole thing in my head, wondering if Clark hated me. Later I would find out that I was still on his good list. Perhaps it was because he knew I had everything bottled and only egged me on to get me to let it out. Or perhaps he had done it to held me see what I needed to do...
...or maybe both.
Well, needless to say, it worked. I stared at my dad's grave from where I was standing. I stare at the small spider once again.
It gave my family a curse, but this curse can be delt with...after I went home.
And that's where I went. It wasn't easy, but I accomplished the first step to the beginning of my new life...I walked into the house.
No, wait...that was step number two. Number one was getting out of the car.
Anyway, I got to the step where I got into the house...the empty house...the empty, messed up house...
I stared at the mess with my fists clenched. I knew who had done it. I was the one person I heard almost every second...
Electra.
I walked into the living room and peered into the kitchen. The knife was still in the wall, exactly where it had been the night before.
With a small twinge in the back of my mind, I continued on my way through the house to the stairs. I climbed them with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was going to--
I leaned against the railing and nearly fell back onto the first floor as the railing broke off. I stared for a moment, but then continued. At least I knew what had been bothering me.
I wanted to call out to see if Mom or Melissa were still here, but didn't for fear that Electra was still around. So I silently made it to the second floor and turned toward Mom's room.
The door was open and the room was a mess, but no Mom, so I continued to Melissa's room. Again the door was open, the room was messy, and no Melissa. I then turned to my room.
The door was shut and I was almost afraid of opening it because of the sense of danger I was getting, but I continued on, opened the door, and ducked.
There was Melissa, one of my baseball bats in her hands. After she recognized me, she dropped the bat and sighed in relief.
"Thank God it's just you, John," she breathed. I stood up straight and studied my room. Everything was the same as how I had left it, but Melissa looked as if she had ran a marathon.
"What happened?" I asked, entering the room all the way and closing the door behind me. Melissa sat heavily on my bed and wiped her eyes.
"She attacked us while you were gone. Mom told me to hide and for most of the time, I hid in the stair's closet," suddenly Melissa stopped, looked around the room, and continued in a whisper, "She and Mom argued about something that had to do with Dad and then she took her. After she left with Mom, I ran up here and locked myself in here. She looked all around the place for me, but for some reason didn't come in here."
She sniffed and wiped her eyes again, while I stared at her, a deadpan expression on my face.
"Electra has Mom?" I asked, not believing it. When she nodded I began shake my head and yell, "Dammit! No, this can't be happening!"
"John?" Melissa asked, while I fell to my knees, bringing my hands to my head. It was my fault. Mom was captured by Electra because she was trying to get to me. All my fault...
I didn't realize it then, but I had been repeating that aloud until Melissa came up to me and shook me. Hard. I snapped back to reality and looked up at my sister's face. She wasn't crying this time, but I was coming close to it.
"John, this is not your fault! It never was!" she exclaimed in a low voice. I began to shake my head. She didn't understand anything about what was going on. Could I put this all on her? Did I want to?
Suddenly, I was beginning to understand why no one had told us about our Dad's other self.
"It is, Melissa! Electra was looking for me! She wants the fight I owe her!" I yelled, which stopped her from saying anything. She completely froze, staring at me like I had suddenly sprouted two more arms and legs (not a pretty imagine when you think about it).
"Wha...what?" she stuttered. She was shaking and I could tell because she still had her hands on my shoulders. I then took her by the shoulders, which made her jump slightly, and stared directly at her.
"I left something out about the day Dad died. Electra had wanted to fight me because she had realized who I was, but Dad yelled for her not to, that I didn't know, so she said she'd fight me later. that later is now. She's after me because of what Dad was," I told her in a steady tone, though I felt like I was shuddering like crazy.
Melissa just stared at me for a moment, not understanding anything. "Wha...what about Da-dad?" she asked, timidly, as if she was scared about what she would learn.
"She hated Dad. I don't know why, except for the fact that he was becoming a nuisance to her. At least...Spider-man was. Peter Parker meant nothing to her," I answered softly. Now there were tears in Melissa's eyes.
"No. No, no, no! John, this isn't funny!" she cried out, as the tears fell down her face.
"I'm not making this up! Where has Spider-man been the passed three years, Mel? Huh? He's in the same grave our dad is in--"
"It can't be true!" she objected, while I stood up and walked over to the wall.
"It is true, and if you don't believe me, then watch this," And so, I did climbed up the wall again, facing toward Melissa, who was staring at me with wide eyes. "This is what Mom got freaked out about last night and why I left. You think I find it fun that Dad had left us with a curse like this? And that's right, we both have it. At least, I think we do."
And then there was silence. As we stared at each other, me on the wall and her on the floor, I listened for a noise, any noise, but there was none. I had heard once that silence was the loudest thing of all, and they weren't lying. I thought I was going to go crazy from the lack of noise, but then Melissa said something.
"If we can do stuff like Spider-man...couldn't we...save Mom?" she asked, and I thought about it.
"We could," I said slowly and jumped down from the wall, suddenly going over to the forgotten bag next to my bed. "And we are."
Melissa stared at me, while I dug into the bag. I paused only a milisecond before tossing her some red and blue clothes. A Spider-man outfit. She blinked at it and then looked back to me, as I held up another one.
"And we'll go as New York's old hero," I said with a grim face. Melissa looked back down at the mask she held and began to grin slightly in hope.
"What about the webs?" she asked and looked up just as I held up some cuff things. I tossed two to her and kept two for myself. She stared at them for a moment before looking up at me with a curious expression.
I shrugged. "Dad was smart. He always had backups, I guess."
"Not that," she said before eyeing the bag next to my bed. "How'd you find that?"
"Dug in Mom's closet about three weeks ago," I answered and walked into my medium-sized closet, which was empty, and began to change into the outfit. Of course I tested the cuff things to see what they did and how they worked while I was in there.
When I was done, I stepped out with the mask in my hands and looked around for Melissa...she wasn't there. Fear grabbed at me as I thought of the worse-case scenerio.
"Melissa!" I called and nearly jumped out of my skin as something fell onto my bed. That something was Melissa in the Spider-man outfit with the mask on.
I sighed in relief, while she got off of the bed. "You yelled?" she asked, while I glared at her.
"That wasn't funny," I told her flatly. She put her hands on her hips and gave me what I think was a glare that would have killed me if looks could kill.
"Well, you should learn to look up. I'm not going to be on the ground all the time, you know," she said and for a moment I wondered why she was acting so different than how she had been acting before. Maybe it was the mask hiding her facial expressions.
I slipped my mask on and stuck a finger in her face. "Don't get too cocky. I wouldn't like it if I have to go after you because you've done something crazy," I told her.
I think she rolled her eyes, but I couldn't tell, so I just rolled my own eyes.
"You're the one that will go do crazy things," she pointed out and I waved a hand impatiently.
"I'm serious--"
"You always are!" she shouted and I paused. Again there was silence, but it didn't laste long. Melissa shook her head and headed to the window, saying, "Nevermind. Let's get going before your girlfriend gets too impatient."
With that she hopped out of the window. I stuck my head out and growled, "That's not funny at all."
"Sorry," she said before shooting a web and swinging off. I watched her go, thinking for a moment about how I didn't like how that suit was on her, but I shook it off and took off after her.
I guess--okay, okay, so we did attract some attention from the streets. Men, women, and little kids looked up and watched as we swung across the sky. Some of them were shouting into their cell phones, with wide eyes, but I didn't pay them much mind. I just concentrated on where to go.
I was shaken from my thoughts, however, when Melissa landed on the roof of a building. I followed and landed next to her. "What now?" I asked, while she looked around the place, probably amazed that she had been able to do all of that.
Honestly, I didn't even noticed that I had been some place high and dangerous.
"Question, big brother...how are we supposed to find her?" she asked and I paused yet again. How were we supposed to find her? I tried to think of something and that was when I realized that I hadn't heard Electra's voice for well over two hours.
I now looked around the place before stating the obvious, "We have a problem."
"You may be clueless, but I think I have an idea," Melissa said, while a cocked my head to the side, since I couldn't give her a curious look. "What if she has been attacking other people other than our family? The newpapers would have something wouldn't they?"
"I'm not a detective, how should I know?" I answered, tossing my hands in the air. I think I heard her laugh a bit before she replied.
"Well, it's time you learn because we're gonna be stuck as superheros for quite a while."
I shook my head. "We're saving Mom and then hanging up the suits. There is no way I'm going to serve those people down there, who just gape at something they find unnatural," I told her, pointing over the side of the roof, where sereval people were gathering, looking curiously up.
"Fine, you do that, while I continue. Until then though, we're a team and we have to start acting like one. First things first...where is she?" Melissa said and I was about to object when she took off again. I blew an irritated sigh and followed.
It didn't take long for us to reach the nearest newspaper, which was (surprise, surprise) The Bugle. Of course, since we were new to all of this, we didn't know quite how to get the editor's (not the same guy that ran things when my dad worked there) attention, but then I came up with an idea.
Melissa was crouched on the flagpole just below me, while I was sticking to the wall just beside the window to the editor's office. "You're sure this will work?" she called and I looked down at her, smiling under the mask.
"Have I been wrong before?" I replied, peering into the almost-empty office. The editor was the only one in there.
"Do you really want an answer to that?" Melissa called back. I looked down at her, shaking my head. We were both extremely nervous since we didn't quite know what we were doing, but we cracked jokes to ease the tension of the situation.
I looked into the office again before knocking on the glass. As I saw the chair begin to spin around toward me, I pulled my face away from the window.
Nothing happened.
I rolled my eyes and peered inside again. The man was still facing the opposite wall and was still talking on the phone. Again I rolled my eyes and tapped on the window. Again I ducked back to where I had been before, but this time, something happened.
The window opened and the man stuck his head out to see what had been tapping the window. He looked to the direction opposite of me and I laughed a bit, before calling, "Wrong way, Buddy."
The man turned toward me, widened his eyes in surprise, and went back into the office. I frowned and followd just before he closed the window.
"Wait just a second, Pal. I'm not going to hurt you," I told him as I preched on the window sill. The man backed up until her fell back into his seat, the shocked look still on his face.
"Sp-spider-man," he sputtered. I couldn't help but feel slightly grim at that, but I just cocked my head to the side.
"That would be me, although not the same one you used to know," I said, before looking back out the window and calling to Melissa, "I got in, move up!"
"Who are you--" The man began to asked but was shocked into silence as my sister's head appeared over the window sill. She looked around for a minute before nodding.
"Nice place, Spidey, wish I had one like it," she quipped, while I rolled my eyes. I looked over to the man, who was beginning to look as if he was going to turn as white a sheet.
"Sisters...what can you do with them?" I simply said, while Melissa swatted at me as she jumped into the office. The man now looked like he was going to turn yellow.
"S-s-sister?" he stuttered, while Melissa went behind him and began to spin the chair he was sitting in. I shook my head and cleared my throat. Melissa stopped spinning the chair and looked as if she was pouting, but I firmly shook my head.
"Oh, all right," she said and sat on the desk. "You really take the fun out of things, Spidey."
"Well, dear sister," I replied sarcastically. "If you have forgotten, we're on a search-and-rescue mission, not a torture-poor-little-editors-because-he-looks-like-he's-seen-a-ghost mission."
"Fine, if you want to be Mr. Morbid, go ahead. Meanwhile, I'll be looking for information," she said and jumped off the desk, going over to the filing cabnets. I shook my head again and looked to the pale man.
"Right. As I was saying, my sister and I are looking for information on a crazy woman. You wouldn't by chance know anything about a blonde haired woman, so high, and has a demented laugh?" I asked, showing how tall Electra was. The man shook his head and I looked over to Melissa, who was making a mess while looking for any files.
"Ah, Sis! Nothing's here! Let's get a move on!" I called and Melissa quickly abandoned her search. She decided to have a good exit and jumped out the window while shooting a web behind her. I shook my head and was about to follow, when the man grabbed my arm.
"What is all this? Who are you?" he demanded, while I just stared at him.
I then shot a webbing and answered, "Take a wild guess."
Leaving him in confusion, I swung off and followed Melissa to search other places.
It was nearing nine o'clock at night and we still didn't have any luck. We had gone to almost all the newspapers in the city (which was going to give us some major pubplicity) and none of them had any information on Electra. And I still didn't hear anything from her in my head, which I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad.
"What do you think, John? Retire or keep searching?" Melissa asked as we swung side by side. I didn't look at her when I answered.
"Keep searching."
"Just as I was thinking."
And so, we kept on searching, while the city entered night and then early morning. Soon it was near three in the morning and we were still searching. Searching but not finding anything.
Dammit, where could she be? I thought to myself as I began to picture all the things she could be doing to Mom. That's when I felt it. Something foreboading that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Mel! Hold on!" I called as I shot another web and swung toward the roof of a building. Melissa soon followed and landed just as I did.
"What is it?" she asked, concerned.
"Do you feel that?" I asked her, while she just shook her head. "I could have sworn..."
I sighed as the feeling went away. Melissa cocked her head to the side and took one of my arms. "Are you sure we should keep looking? I don't know about you, but if I don't get caffine soon, I'm going to fall onto the streets."
I shook my head and took my arm out of her grasp. "I'm going to keep looking. Electra's not going to get away with two murders..." I told her, trailing off at the end as I began to hear whispers.
"John--"
"Shh!" I hissed, motioning for her to be quiet. I wasn't imagining it (or at least, I think I wasn't), it was Electra's voice all right. She sounded even more giddy than ever. That got a scowl on my face quickly.
Come on, Parker, you can do better than this. How about a clue? she said, mockingly.
That's when Melissa took my arm again and broke my concentration. "Mel!" I shouted, upset that she had stopped me from getting the clue.
"She's leading you into a trap, whatever she's saying, so don't you dare listen to her or I'll make sure to kick your ass from here all the way to Hong Kong, Spidey," she said with a glare I could feel rather than see.
My shoulders slumped triedly, while I felt like rubbing my eyes. "You're right. I won't listen to her."
Actually I was thinking I would try to not listen, but things never come out the way I mean to say them.
Melissa nodded in approval. "Good. Now, we are going to go home and get some caffine and continue the search. We're going to need a lot of caffine if we're going to keep this up," she said.
I nodded a bit and added, "And to handle all the news articles about the Spider-siblings."
And that's what we did, though I accidently slept for a few hours. I think Melissa did too, but she didn't say anything. I woke up on the couch at eight in the morning, only to discover that I had only taken off the mask before sleeping.
Groaning, I turned to the side, jumped, and fell off the couch when I saw something that I thought I would never see. A newspaper. With me and Melissa in our costumes. I grabbed the paper from the floor and proceeded to read it, while lying on the floor.
Spider-siblings search New York
Just yesterday, two people, claiming to be siblings and dressed in Spider-man costumes, searched all afternoon and night for a mysterious woman that is described to be blonde with an insane laugh.
"That's basically what the male one said to me," reports The Bugle's editor Lewis Jonae. "He wouldn't tell me why he was looking and who he was, but he did say the female one was his sister."
The same is said by the editor of the Times, the Chronicle, and several other newspapers. Are these two web-spinners somehow linked with the old Spider-man that has been missing for the past three years? Or is this all just a hoax?
If you have any information about the Spider-siblings or the mysterious woman they're searching for, please contac--
I jumped when I felt someone sit on the couch. There was Melissa, still in her costume, except without the mask.
"Found the newspaper I see," she commented, taking a sip of her coffee. I sat up and put the newspaper back on the coffee table before running a hand through my hair.
"Well, they're quick about one thing. They're already associating us with Dad," I said to lighten the atmosphere, but it wasn't to be. Our first day of searching turned out to be even worse than we had thought it would be.
"I wish I knew how Dad solved all those problems," she said, taking another sip of her coffee. I sighed and lied back on the ground. How, indeed...
------------
That's it! That's chapter three...it may be lame, but oh, well, at least John's in the suit. Don't worry, the fun is just starting and there will be some more surprises along the way.
Jrac: I know what you're saying about the classic elements, but that's just how I work. *shrugs* I'm just a classic sort of guy. Anyways, you're wondering why Clark Kent is in here? Well, I couldn't think of anyone else who could do the part that's in this chapter, so I had him in the first chapter. He only makes two appearances though. That chapter and this one, so it's just a cameo sort of thing.
Jade MacGregor: Is it coming out soon? Well, it's out now, so read all you want! *grins and then blushes* Nah, my fic ain't that good...I'm just typing things I think...*gets embarrassed and moves onto the fic*
------------
After running from Mom and Melissa, I didn't go far...just to the local cemetary, where Dad was. And that's where I stayed until the next morning, thinking about everything that had happened that night; thinking about the abilities and powers I now had.
It was a curse.
I thought about all the times that I could have realized that he wasn't just Peter Parker. There were so many of them that I was beginning to wonder where I was when all of it had happened; wonder how I could have missed that Dad hadn't been like other dads.
You kept the secret, but was it the right thing to do? I thought to myself as I read over the stone again.
Loving husband and father
Cared more for others than he did himself
It was the same as it had been when I last saw it, three years ago, except now I knew what the last line meant. Care more for others than he did himself...
How true it was.
Dad had cared so much about other thaters that even when he married and had children he had remained in the pople of New York's life as Spider-man. He even cared so much about others that he refused to let anyone in his family get invloved and get hurt. But it still didn't help and now I was hurting. But while I was hurting because of the lies, I had hurt my mom and Melissa with my action.
It was a cycle, and it was all started by one small spider.
Now, I bet you're wondering how I knew it was the spider that had started the whole thing. Simple answer: Electra had been talking to me, through my thoughts.
Yeah, I thought I was going insane too, but I figured if I was going crazy, I might as well listen to the voice in my head.
What I found strange (irony right there) was how she had known all of this about my dad, while I barely knew him. I thought I had known him, but I now knew that I knew not a single thing about him as a person.
How could she know so much about him? How could she have killed him after all he had been through? Why did she do it?
Of course, I wouldn't find out the answer to those questions for a while.
It was then that I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around because I had a pretty good idea who it was.
Clark Kent.
Okay, now you people reading this may wonder what he (Superman) is doing in my story. Well, Clark had, indeed met my dad about twenty years ago when doing an article about something in New York. Clark's wife, Lois, hadn't been married to him at the time and Mom had stayed in contact with her sicne they had hit it off great while they had been in New York.
Anyway, Clark had came around every now and then after Dad had died. 'Checking up on things' as he would say. He would help us out if we ever have any emotional turmoil, which was why he was there, most likely.
I think he has a way of detecting conflicting thoughts, which is a good thing because if he hadn't of come, then I think I'd be down in California, forgetting what had happened.
"Checking up on things?" I asked with a bitter tone to my voice. Clark stood beside me a moment, in silence.
"He was a good man," he commented and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He still looked the same as he looked three years ago, though I think he had a few more grey hairs...probably my imagination though.
"I wouldn't know," I muttered, looking to the grave. "I doubt I really knew him at all."
"Oh, you knew him," Clark replied and I think he was smiling a bit, but I couldn't really tell because I wasn't looking ta him. "Or at least half of him. I only knew a small part of him, until we ran into each other."
"So you're saying I'm lucky I knew anything about him?" I asked, again bitterly.
"Some people never even get a chance to know their parents. I know I didn't," he answered calmly. I turned to him with a scowl on my face.
I was always the one with the bad temper in the family.
"Yeah, I knew about him, and I'm lucky for it, but I got that luck at a price. I'm not even human!" I asked, tossing my hands into the air.
Clark gave me a slight chuckle. "You sure look and act like one."
I crossed my arms my arms and lowered my gaze, glaring at the ground. "Humans don't climb walls," I muttered.
"And they aren't made of steel, either. Yet you act like you are and if you keep doing that, you're going to break down. Believe me, I know. I've seen it happen on more than one occassion," he pointed out.
That got me thinking.
"Fine, but being a freak isn't much different," I replied.
"Ah, but are you a freak? To me, freaks are those people who are mutated in some way and believe that they can use those mutations for evil purposes. Some examples are the Green Goblins and anyother enemy of a superhero, whether they be real or not. You," he paused before chuckling a bit. "I know for a fact you're not one of those."
I narrowed my eyes and looked up at him. "How do you know that?"
"Do you want the truth or another lie? I wouldn't want to give you the lie, but if you can't handle the truth, the lie will make everything easier," he answered and then it was my turn to pause.
"The truth," I finally said.
"You're sure?"
"Yes." No I wasn't. The truth always hurt and I didn't want another bruise.
"You're positive? I mean, the lie would make things less painful," he said.
"Life is pain," I replied icily.
"Did you feel this way before you found out? Before your father died?"
That's when I realized what he was doing. He was testing me. For what? Well, I wasn't too sure myself.
"No...but I do now," I answered slowly.
Clark shook his head. "Then you're thinking like a freak. Life isn't pain unless you want, believe, or think it to be," he said. "Fate and Destiny, two things I believe in, however, have a dangerous and odd sense of humor, but things can and sometimes will come out okay."
"Fine. Life sucks and then you die," I snapped, gesturing to the graves. Clark got a humorous look on his face.
"Now there's a person who has given up on trying to live. They're usually the suicidal type. Are you suicidal?" he said.
I was becoming frustrated at Clark now. Couldn't I be depressed just one time?
"What do you want me to say? That I love my life? That's there's going to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Well, fuck that and fuck you! Nothing had gone right for me since Dad died! And now I know I'm a freak that climbs walls and dodge sharp objects! I even have Dad's murderer talking to me in my head! I'm going insane and I don't even get the chance to fall into self pity! Fuck it all then! I give up!"
After all that yelling, I turned from him and began to walk off when I heard Clark call.
"John," I turned to him and noticed how hard his eyes were. "You wanted to know the truth? All right, here it is: I had thought that you weren't like any of those monstrosities because I thought that you were like your father. Perhaps I was wrong and what you just said is making me believe I was."
I looked to the ground for a moment, rolling his words in my head. When I looked up again, he was already gone.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I thought over the whole thing in my head, wondering if Clark hated me. Later I would find out that I was still on his good list. Perhaps it was because he knew I had everything bottled and only egged me on to get me to let it out. Or perhaps he had done it to held me see what I needed to do...
...or maybe both.
Well, needless to say, it worked. I stared at my dad's grave from where I was standing. I stare at the small spider once again.
It gave my family a curse, but this curse can be delt with...after I went home.
And that's where I went. It wasn't easy, but I accomplished the first step to the beginning of my new life...I walked into the house.
No, wait...that was step number two. Number one was getting out of the car.
Anyway, I got to the step where I got into the house...the empty house...the empty, messed up house...
I stared at the mess with my fists clenched. I knew who had done it. I was the one person I heard almost every second...
Electra.
I walked into the living room and peered into the kitchen. The knife was still in the wall, exactly where it had been the night before.
With a small twinge in the back of my mind, I continued on my way through the house to the stairs. I climbed them with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was going to--
I leaned against the railing and nearly fell back onto the first floor as the railing broke off. I stared for a moment, but then continued. At least I knew what had been bothering me.
I wanted to call out to see if Mom or Melissa were still here, but didn't for fear that Electra was still around. So I silently made it to the second floor and turned toward Mom's room.
The door was open and the room was a mess, but no Mom, so I continued to Melissa's room. Again the door was open, the room was messy, and no Melissa. I then turned to my room.
The door was shut and I was almost afraid of opening it because of the sense of danger I was getting, but I continued on, opened the door, and ducked.
There was Melissa, one of my baseball bats in her hands. After she recognized me, she dropped the bat and sighed in relief.
"Thank God it's just you, John," she breathed. I stood up straight and studied my room. Everything was the same as how I had left it, but Melissa looked as if she had ran a marathon.
"What happened?" I asked, entering the room all the way and closing the door behind me. Melissa sat heavily on my bed and wiped her eyes.
"She attacked us while you were gone. Mom told me to hide and for most of the time, I hid in the stair's closet," suddenly Melissa stopped, looked around the room, and continued in a whisper, "She and Mom argued about something that had to do with Dad and then she took her. After she left with Mom, I ran up here and locked myself in here. She looked all around the place for me, but for some reason didn't come in here."
She sniffed and wiped her eyes again, while I stared at her, a deadpan expression on my face.
"Electra has Mom?" I asked, not believing it. When she nodded I began shake my head and yell, "Dammit! No, this can't be happening!"
"John?" Melissa asked, while I fell to my knees, bringing my hands to my head. It was my fault. Mom was captured by Electra because she was trying to get to me. All my fault...
I didn't realize it then, but I had been repeating that aloud until Melissa came up to me and shook me. Hard. I snapped back to reality and looked up at my sister's face. She wasn't crying this time, but I was coming close to it.
"John, this is not your fault! It never was!" she exclaimed in a low voice. I began to shake my head. She didn't understand anything about what was going on. Could I put this all on her? Did I want to?
Suddenly, I was beginning to understand why no one had told us about our Dad's other self.
"It is, Melissa! Electra was looking for me! She wants the fight I owe her!" I yelled, which stopped her from saying anything. She completely froze, staring at me like I had suddenly sprouted two more arms and legs (not a pretty imagine when you think about it).
"Wha...what?" she stuttered. She was shaking and I could tell because she still had her hands on my shoulders. I then took her by the shoulders, which made her jump slightly, and stared directly at her.
"I left something out about the day Dad died. Electra had wanted to fight me because she had realized who I was, but Dad yelled for her not to, that I didn't know, so she said she'd fight me later. that later is now. She's after me because of what Dad was," I told her in a steady tone, though I felt like I was shuddering like crazy.
Melissa just stared at me for a moment, not understanding anything. "Wha...what about Da-dad?" she asked, timidly, as if she was scared about what she would learn.
"She hated Dad. I don't know why, except for the fact that he was becoming a nuisance to her. At least...Spider-man was. Peter Parker meant nothing to her," I answered softly. Now there were tears in Melissa's eyes.
"No. No, no, no! John, this isn't funny!" she cried out, as the tears fell down her face.
"I'm not making this up! Where has Spider-man been the passed three years, Mel? Huh? He's in the same grave our dad is in--"
"It can't be true!" she objected, while I stood up and walked over to the wall.
"It is true, and if you don't believe me, then watch this," And so, I did climbed up the wall again, facing toward Melissa, who was staring at me with wide eyes. "This is what Mom got freaked out about last night and why I left. You think I find it fun that Dad had left us with a curse like this? And that's right, we both have it. At least, I think we do."
And then there was silence. As we stared at each other, me on the wall and her on the floor, I listened for a noise, any noise, but there was none. I had heard once that silence was the loudest thing of all, and they weren't lying. I thought I was going to go crazy from the lack of noise, but then Melissa said something.
"If we can do stuff like Spider-man...couldn't we...save Mom?" she asked, and I thought about it.
"We could," I said slowly and jumped down from the wall, suddenly going over to the forgotten bag next to my bed. "And we are."
Melissa stared at me, while I dug into the bag. I paused only a milisecond before tossing her some red and blue clothes. A Spider-man outfit. She blinked at it and then looked back to me, as I held up another one.
"And we'll go as New York's old hero," I said with a grim face. Melissa looked back down at the mask she held and began to grin slightly in hope.
"What about the webs?" she asked and looked up just as I held up some cuff things. I tossed two to her and kept two for myself. She stared at them for a moment before looking up at me with a curious expression.
I shrugged. "Dad was smart. He always had backups, I guess."
"Not that," she said before eyeing the bag next to my bed. "How'd you find that?"
"Dug in Mom's closet about three weeks ago," I answered and walked into my medium-sized closet, which was empty, and began to change into the outfit. Of course I tested the cuff things to see what they did and how they worked while I was in there.
When I was done, I stepped out with the mask in my hands and looked around for Melissa...she wasn't there. Fear grabbed at me as I thought of the worse-case scenerio.
"Melissa!" I called and nearly jumped out of my skin as something fell onto my bed. That something was Melissa in the Spider-man outfit with the mask on.
I sighed in relief, while she got off of the bed. "You yelled?" she asked, while I glared at her.
"That wasn't funny," I told her flatly. She put her hands on her hips and gave me what I think was a glare that would have killed me if looks could kill.
"Well, you should learn to look up. I'm not going to be on the ground all the time, you know," she said and for a moment I wondered why she was acting so different than how she had been acting before. Maybe it was the mask hiding her facial expressions.
I slipped my mask on and stuck a finger in her face. "Don't get too cocky. I wouldn't like it if I have to go after you because you've done something crazy," I told her.
I think she rolled her eyes, but I couldn't tell, so I just rolled my own eyes.
"You're the one that will go do crazy things," she pointed out and I waved a hand impatiently.
"I'm serious--"
"You always are!" she shouted and I paused. Again there was silence, but it didn't laste long. Melissa shook her head and headed to the window, saying, "Nevermind. Let's get going before your girlfriend gets too impatient."
With that she hopped out of the window. I stuck my head out and growled, "That's not funny at all."
"Sorry," she said before shooting a web and swinging off. I watched her go, thinking for a moment about how I didn't like how that suit was on her, but I shook it off and took off after her.
I guess--okay, okay, so we did attract some attention from the streets. Men, women, and little kids looked up and watched as we swung across the sky. Some of them were shouting into their cell phones, with wide eyes, but I didn't pay them much mind. I just concentrated on where to go.
I was shaken from my thoughts, however, when Melissa landed on the roof of a building. I followed and landed next to her. "What now?" I asked, while she looked around the place, probably amazed that she had been able to do all of that.
Honestly, I didn't even noticed that I had been some place high and dangerous.
"Question, big brother...how are we supposed to find her?" she asked and I paused yet again. How were we supposed to find her? I tried to think of something and that was when I realized that I hadn't heard Electra's voice for well over two hours.
I now looked around the place before stating the obvious, "We have a problem."
"You may be clueless, but I think I have an idea," Melissa said, while a cocked my head to the side, since I couldn't give her a curious look. "What if she has been attacking other people other than our family? The newpapers would have something wouldn't they?"
"I'm not a detective, how should I know?" I answered, tossing my hands in the air. I think I heard her laugh a bit before she replied.
"Well, it's time you learn because we're gonna be stuck as superheros for quite a while."
I shook my head. "We're saving Mom and then hanging up the suits. There is no way I'm going to serve those people down there, who just gape at something they find unnatural," I told her, pointing over the side of the roof, where sereval people were gathering, looking curiously up.
"Fine, you do that, while I continue. Until then though, we're a team and we have to start acting like one. First things first...where is she?" Melissa said and I was about to object when she took off again. I blew an irritated sigh and followed.
It didn't take long for us to reach the nearest newspaper, which was (surprise, surprise) The Bugle. Of course, since we were new to all of this, we didn't know quite how to get the editor's (not the same guy that ran things when my dad worked there) attention, but then I came up with an idea.
Melissa was crouched on the flagpole just below me, while I was sticking to the wall just beside the window to the editor's office. "You're sure this will work?" she called and I looked down at her, smiling under the mask.
"Have I been wrong before?" I replied, peering into the almost-empty office. The editor was the only one in there.
"Do you really want an answer to that?" Melissa called back. I looked down at her, shaking my head. We were both extremely nervous since we didn't quite know what we were doing, but we cracked jokes to ease the tension of the situation.
I looked into the office again before knocking on the glass. As I saw the chair begin to spin around toward me, I pulled my face away from the window.
Nothing happened.
I rolled my eyes and peered inside again. The man was still facing the opposite wall and was still talking on the phone. Again I rolled my eyes and tapped on the window. Again I ducked back to where I had been before, but this time, something happened.
The window opened and the man stuck his head out to see what had been tapping the window. He looked to the direction opposite of me and I laughed a bit, before calling, "Wrong way, Buddy."
The man turned toward me, widened his eyes in surprise, and went back into the office. I frowned and followd just before he closed the window.
"Wait just a second, Pal. I'm not going to hurt you," I told him as I preched on the window sill. The man backed up until her fell back into his seat, the shocked look still on his face.
"Sp-spider-man," he sputtered. I couldn't help but feel slightly grim at that, but I just cocked my head to the side.
"That would be me, although not the same one you used to know," I said, before looking back out the window and calling to Melissa, "I got in, move up!"
"Who are you--" The man began to asked but was shocked into silence as my sister's head appeared over the window sill. She looked around for a minute before nodding.
"Nice place, Spidey, wish I had one like it," she quipped, while I rolled my eyes. I looked over to the man, who was beginning to look as if he was going to turn as white a sheet.
"Sisters...what can you do with them?" I simply said, while Melissa swatted at me as she jumped into the office. The man now looked like he was going to turn yellow.
"S-s-sister?" he stuttered, while Melissa went behind him and began to spin the chair he was sitting in. I shook my head and cleared my throat. Melissa stopped spinning the chair and looked as if she was pouting, but I firmly shook my head.
"Oh, all right," she said and sat on the desk. "You really take the fun out of things, Spidey."
"Well, dear sister," I replied sarcastically. "If you have forgotten, we're on a search-and-rescue mission, not a torture-poor-little-editors-because-he-looks-like-he's-seen-a-ghost mission."
"Fine, if you want to be Mr. Morbid, go ahead. Meanwhile, I'll be looking for information," she said and jumped off the desk, going over to the filing cabnets. I shook my head again and looked to the pale man.
"Right. As I was saying, my sister and I are looking for information on a crazy woman. You wouldn't by chance know anything about a blonde haired woman, so high, and has a demented laugh?" I asked, showing how tall Electra was. The man shook his head and I looked over to Melissa, who was making a mess while looking for any files.
"Ah, Sis! Nothing's here! Let's get a move on!" I called and Melissa quickly abandoned her search. She decided to have a good exit and jumped out the window while shooting a web behind her. I shook my head and was about to follow, when the man grabbed my arm.
"What is all this? Who are you?" he demanded, while I just stared at him.
I then shot a webbing and answered, "Take a wild guess."
Leaving him in confusion, I swung off and followed Melissa to search other places.
It was nearing nine o'clock at night and we still didn't have any luck. We had gone to almost all the newspapers in the city (which was going to give us some major pubplicity) and none of them had any information on Electra. And I still didn't hear anything from her in my head, which I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad.
"What do you think, John? Retire or keep searching?" Melissa asked as we swung side by side. I didn't look at her when I answered.
"Keep searching."
"Just as I was thinking."
And so, we kept on searching, while the city entered night and then early morning. Soon it was near three in the morning and we were still searching. Searching but not finding anything.
Dammit, where could she be? I thought to myself as I began to picture all the things she could be doing to Mom. That's when I felt it. Something foreboading that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Mel! Hold on!" I called as I shot another web and swung toward the roof of a building. Melissa soon followed and landed just as I did.
"What is it?" she asked, concerned.
"Do you feel that?" I asked her, while she just shook her head. "I could have sworn..."
I sighed as the feeling went away. Melissa cocked her head to the side and took one of my arms. "Are you sure we should keep looking? I don't know about you, but if I don't get caffine soon, I'm going to fall onto the streets."
I shook my head and took my arm out of her grasp. "I'm going to keep looking. Electra's not going to get away with two murders..." I told her, trailing off at the end as I began to hear whispers.
"John--"
"Shh!" I hissed, motioning for her to be quiet. I wasn't imagining it (or at least, I think I wasn't), it was Electra's voice all right. She sounded even more giddy than ever. That got a scowl on my face quickly.
Come on, Parker, you can do better than this. How about a clue? she said, mockingly.
That's when Melissa took my arm again and broke my concentration. "Mel!" I shouted, upset that she had stopped me from getting the clue.
"She's leading you into a trap, whatever she's saying, so don't you dare listen to her or I'll make sure to kick your ass from here all the way to Hong Kong, Spidey," she said with a glare I could feel rather than see.
My shoulders slumped triedly, while I felt like rubbing my eyes. "You're right. I won't listen to her."
Actually I was thinking I would try to not listen, but things never come out the way I mean to say them.
Melissa nodded in approval. "Good. Now, we are going to go home and get some caffine and continue the search. We're going to need a lot of caffine if we're going to keep this up," she said.
I nodded a bit and added, "And to handle all the news articles about the Spider-siblings."
And that's what we did, though I accidently slept for a few hours. I think Melissa did too, but she didn't say anything. I woke up on the couch at eight in the morning, only to discover that I had only taken off the mask before sleeping.
Groaning, I turned to the side, jumped, and fell off the couch when I saw something that I thought I would never see. A newspaper. With me and Melissa in our costumes. I grabbed the paper from the floor and proceeded to read it, while lying on the floor.
Just yesterday, two people, claiming to be siblings and dressed in Spider-man costumes, searched all afternoon and night for a mysterious woman that is described to be blonde with an insane laugh.
"That's basically what the male one said to me," reports The Bugle's editor Lewis Jonae. "He wouldn't tell me why he was looking and who he was, but he did say the female one was his sister."
The same is said by the editor of the Times, the Chronicle, and several other newspapers. Are these two web-spinners somehow linked with the old Spider-man that has been missing for the past three years? Or is this all just a hoax?
If you have any information about the Spider-siblings or the mysterious woman they're searching for, please contac--
I jumped when I felt someone sit on the couch. There was Melissa, still in her costume, except without the mask.
"Found the newspaper I see," she commented, taking a sip of her coffee. I sat up and put the newspaper back on the coffee table before running a hand through my hair.
"Well, they're quick about one thing. They're already associating us with Dad," I said to lighten the atmosphere, but it wasn't to be. Our first day of searching turned out to be even worse than we had thought it would be.
"I wish I knew how Dad solved all those problems," she said, taking another sip of her coffee. I sighed and lied back on the ground. How, indeed...
------------
That's it! That's chapter three...it may be lame, but oh, well, at least John's in the suit. Don't worry, the fun is just starting and there will be some more surprises along the way.