Chapter 11

Peter decided to see a friend. His name was Simon Westbaker. He had graduated from Peter's high school 2 years ago, during which Peter and he had struck-up a friendship. Simon was a lot like Peter, intelligent, reserved, kinda dorky, but a nice person. He and Peter had similar interests in science. But Simon's real love was anatomy. He loved to study the anatomy of living things, figure out how they operate. Ironically, he was now working on as an intern at the city coroner's office. Peter knew that he could talk to Simon about Harry's death and maybe get some more information.

As Peter walked into the city corner's office, he was stopped at the front desk. The guard called Simon to verify Peter was okay to get in.

"Yeah, sure. Send him down." Simon's squeaky, slightly high-pitched voice called over receiver. The guard had Peter sign in and handed him a visitor's badge.

Peter exited the elevator into the basement hallway. He never liked the way hospitals smelled and that's what it smelled like down here. It was cold and sterile. Peter walked cautiously down the hall. Suddenly, Simon rounded the corner. He was dressed in a long white lab coat, a pocket protector riding in the front pocket, nametag slightly off balance. Simon called to Pete, waving him towards him.

"Hey, Pete! C'mon, down here." Peter walked towards Simon, a little nervous by Simon's behavior. Peter and Simon shook hand briskly and started down the hall. Simon kept checking behind them as the walked towards the morgue.

"What's goin' on, Simon?" Peter asked curiously as Simon continued his vigil.

"Not a damn thing. And if my boss finds out I'm not doing anything, I'll lose my job. So I'm always trying to look busy."

Peter laughed at Simon paranoia. Simon would hate to lose this job. The entered a laboratory off the main operating room. Peter was revealed he wouldn't have to see any dead bodies lying half dissected on the examination table. Simon took a seat at a telescope, smiling pleasantly at Peter.

"So what's been going on with ya lately?" Simon asked as he lit a cigarette. Pete was a little surprised that Simon smoked, and it must have shone on Peter's face.

"I started about a year ago. Don't ask." Simon responded.

Peter took a seat opposite to Simon and started to try and relax.

"Umm, not much really. I graduated last year. Started college. Nothin' really." Peter replied nonchalantly.

"Still drooling over that red-head from school?"

"Oh yeah. Still drooling." Peter & Simon both laughed. The laughter died slowly as Peter remembered why he was here.

"Listen, Simon, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

Peter took a deep breath and asked, "Do you have the autopsy report on Harry Osbourne? Specifically cause of death?"

Simon coughed a puff of smoke and looked at Peter crazily. "Why do you want the autopsy report?"

"Harry was a friend of mine. After you graduated, Harry came to school and became my closest friend, after you of course."

"Yeah, of course." Simon replied sarcastically

"I'm trying to get as mush information as possible. May be I can help the police find out killed him and why."

"Well, Pete, from what I heard you didn't need a autopsy to determine cause of death."
"Why's that?"
"Harry Osbourne was completely hollowed out from what I heard."

Peter breath caught at the imagery that flashed in his mind at Simon's description. Simon wasn't trying to be cruel; he was just explaining what he had heard and Peter knew that. "What do you mean you heard? Didn't you see his body?"

Simon rose from his chair and walked over the filing cabinet, opened the drawer and started sifting through the hundreds of files there. "What I mean dear Peter is that there was no autopsy. Family request." Simon handed a thin manila folder to Peter. Peter slowly opened the file, not wanting to see the possible photos and such that usually accompany files like these. No such photos were there though. Only one sheet of paper, a standard city coroner's form lay there. Only the most basic of information was recorded, not details at all were noted in any of the examination sections. Indeed, there had been not autopsy. Peter snapped the file shut and looked at Simon, who was smoking a new cigarette.

"Is it normal in a murder case for an autopsy not to be performed?"

"Never. I mean that's where they get a lot their physical evidence for Christ's sake!" Peter's brow furrows in confusion.

"I've never seen anything like this Peter. I mean, I check in all the bodies that come in. No one would let me touch it, I mean, him. Sorry." Peter nodded in acknowledgement, but Simon continued. "Pete, you can't issue a death certificate for 30 days if you don't do an autopsy! And only three day ago they issued a certificate of death. It all doesn't add up. Or it adds up to only one thing."

"What?"

"Someone is trying to fake their own death."

Peter thanked Simon for his help and left. The whole time he kept thinking about why Harry would fake his death. Only one reason came to mind. To make Spiderman pay. Peter didn't want to think about it anymore.

He walked down the street, the same as the other night when met the old gypsy lady. Peter smiled as he remembered her kind advice. Advice that he had acted upon and been rewarded for. As he walked up to building he remembered he became confused. A used and rare bookstore stood in the place where he remembered entering. He walked a few yards up the street, then back down the other way, searching for the old gypsy lady's place. Every time he came back to the bookstore. He walked up the same steps he walked up the other night. I'm sure this was the place, but it can't be. This place looks like it been here for years, Peter thought as he walked through the door. A door chime rang overhead as he walked in. A tall, dark-haired, olive-skinned young woman sat behind the counter reading a book. As the Peter entered she glanced up. Peter immediately recognized her as the young woman he had saved last year from the mugger. He walked around the store searching. Seeing his odd behavior, the young woman asked, "Can I help you?"

Peter walked up to the counter and smiled. "Maybe you can. How long has this store been here?"

The woman shrugged her thin shoulders, "I don't know. About 10 years maybe. I'm not sure."

"Who owned it before?"

"My aunt. She used to tell fortunes. Why?"

"Can I speak to her? Is she available?"

"No, I'm sorry, you can't." The young woman began to move away from Peter, a little fearful.

"Please. I need to speak with her. I want to thank her for helping me the other day. She helped me great deal." Peter smiled, but it faded at the woman's confused expression.

"The other day? You couldn't have 'talked ' to her the 'other day.' My aunt has been dead for over 10 years. Now please leave." Peter watched in shock as the woman walked into the back room. His mind could understand what was going on or why.

Harry staring at the framed picture of MJ that sat on his desk. He stared at the picture until he imagined it spoke to him. I love you, Harry. I'll always love you. But deep in his heart Harry knew those words would never be spoken to him by MJ. He knew that now. He also knew that his best friend was also his worst enemy. Peter was Spiderman. It stared at him as he looked down at the pictures that lay on Harry's desk as well. Scattered about his desk they showed MJ's apartment. It showed Spiderman entering and walking around as if he owned the place. As if he had been there before and was welcome, Harry sneered. He wasn't even welcome there, ever! He lurched from the padded chair and paced behind the desk as he continued to stare at the photos. Photos also showed Peter's apartment. Harry hadn't wanted to spy on his best friend, but Harry knew that Peter knew Spiderman. Just how close they were had been a mystery. But now he knew that Peter was Spiderman. Several pictures showed Peter removing his mask and changing. But those weren't the pictures that were driving Harry insane right now. Other photos lay on top of all others. Intimate photos of MJ and Peter; photos of MJ and Peter kissing, of MJ lifting her top off, of Peter on top of MJ making love to her. Harry screamed as he swiped all the pictures off the desk on to the floor.

Harry leaned his hands on the top of the desk, his head hanging down. He had to do it. Spiderman, Peter, and MJ would pay for betraying him. He knew what needed to be done and he would do it. For himself and his father. Harry heaved himself from his melancholy and marched down the hallway of the underground bunker, a fierce look on his face. Time to see if he could truly be like his father.

The days rolled by and still Peter couldn't figure out anything more about Harry's apparent death. There was no funeral, no memorial, nothing. The penthouse had been closed up and the staff had vanished. It seemed that Harry Osbourne was truly and irrevocably gone for this world forever. This saddened Peter, since he never got to say goodbye to his best friend. Peter continued to perform rescues without the hindrance of police. But the rescues, while still exciting, where nothing compared to the excitement in his life now that MJ lived with him. Peter found it comforting that she was there for him, most of the time. She had to work too. But when they were together, he loved it. He could talk to her about anything. He liked being able to come home after a rescue and tell her about it. She would listen and tell him that he was crazy or something like that. They even had their first fight the other day. Being a guy, Peter never gave much thought to whether the toilet seat was up or down. But now that MJ was there with him, she pointed out that there was a REASON there was a seat there.

"Oh really, and what is that reason, pray tell?" Peter asked sarcastically to MJ, who stood in the bathroom doorway with her hands on her hips.

"So my fat ass won't fall in when I sit down to pee in the middle of the night!" MJ screamed at him.

"You don't have a fat ass." Peter announced as he laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back as he smiled at MJ.

"Don't try and change the subject! I mean it Parker, if you want me to stay, you had better start puttin' that seat down!"

"Whattya gonna do if I don't, huh?" Peter teased. MJ paused at the door to the bedroom, her back to Peter. She turned and pointed her finger in Peter's face.

"Listen you. You may be Spiderman, but your still A MAN. And I have been dealin' with your kind a lot longer than you have been dealin' with mine. I can think a million ways to make SURE you never forget to put that goddamn seat down. So don't try me, Tiger!"

"Oh that sounds like a threat." Peter made a fake shiver run down his body.

"You better believe it." MJ replied matter-of-factly. Peter had enough of the arguing and grabbed MJ's finger that was still pointed in his face. He yanked her down onto the bed with lightning speed. MJ didn't even have time to react. Peter climbed onto of her and started to kiss her neck. MJ pushed at his shoulders.

"Pete, stop." MJ asked as Peter continued to nuzzle her neck.

"I mean it Pete, stop it. I don't wanna do this right now." MJ announced a little to loudly

"What's the matter?" Peter asked curiously as he looked into MJ eyes, which were watering up with tears.

"Nothing. I just don't want to. That's all." MJ stated as two tears ran down from her eye into hair. Peter frowned at the tears and moved off of MJ. She immediately started to get up to leave, but Peter stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked more forcefully than he had wanted to. He grimaced at how it had sounded, cursing under his breath. MJ took a deep breath and decided to trust her instincts and tell Peter what was bothering her. MJ turned to Peter, wiped the tears from under her eyes, and stared straight into his eyes.

"Do you want kids?" Peter's eyes widened a bit, then relaxed. Peter had not expected that. Peter looked down at his feet, then back up to MJ's expectant face.

"Umm, I… I guess so. I mean I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, you might want to think about it. Because I don't think you realized that they might be like you. Have your abilities and stuff."

Images of a year-old baby climbing the walls flashed in Peter's mind, making him laugh softly.

"Don't laugh, Peter. I'm serious."

"I'm not laughing at this. It's just… what started you thinking about this?" Just as Peter asked the question, his mind answered it. They had made love ever night for the past few days and he'd never bothered to ask her about protection. Peter looked wide-eyed at MJ, who could see the realization on his face.

"Don't worry. I'm on the pill. I don't think we have to worry." MJ stated as she put her hand on his knee in reassurance. "But would it be so horrible if I was?" MJ asked the question on a whim.

"No, it wouldn't. But, it just….we're both so young. I mean, I haven't even figure out how to fully deal with my new abilities or my life. I can't imagine having to help another life figure out theirs. But, it wouldn't be horrible." Peter placed his hand behind MJ neck and stroked it softly.

"Well, I said I THINK we don't have to worry about anything."

"What do you mean?"

"That first night we made love, I hadn't taken my pills for 2 days. Now normally that's not a problem. But it might be. I just don't know yet."

"When will you know? For sure?"

"In about a week."

Peter nodded his head and then pulled MJ into his arms. He was fool and he knew it. Secretly in his heart of hearts he wanted MJ to be pregnant with his child. But in the same heart it prayed he wasn't because he feared what might happen to them both if his enemies found out. Enemies that still hadn't shown themselves and were still out there, waiting.