CHAPTER 4: Dependent Variable

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spectacular Characters or Marvel Characters.

DISCOVERY - ALLAN RESIDENCE

Few things in life genuinely left Peter breathless. Swinging through the beautiful New York City sights was one that came to mind constantly…

Another one was waking up, in his ex-girlfriend's bedroom… miraculously ALIVE! He instantly checked himself, to make sure, he wasn't dreaming, which he wasn't. But he wasn't in his bed either, laying on soft carpet.

His eyes popped out of its socket.

His hands frantically touched his face and realize his mask was stripped off him.

Peter immediately sprung off the soft carpet, feeling a sharp pain from his calf, doing so. He ripped the blanket off him to reveal white patches all over his body.

'Huh?' His hand felt around his legs and the back of his calf and felt the cloth bandages that wrapped around his bloody gunshot wound.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

"Hey-hey P-Petey… you need to lay down and rest," Liz calmly acknowledged.

She caught him and slowly lowered him down to the soft carpet. Peter glanced up at her, in such a panic.

'OH SHOOT! OH SHOOT! OH SHOOT!'

"HOW'D THE- WHAT THE- W-WHERE'S MY SUIT?!" He loudly panicked.

His eyes quickly darted around her room.

"Relax Petey, it's in your backpack… shredded to pieces," Liz reassured him, before tossing his backpack over to his side. "Petey… breathe, I told my mom I'm sick… so I could stay home…" she added, as her hand rested on his shoulders.

Peter was confused, Liz wasn't angry. Like she had the chance to kill him, right there and then… with no witnesses, yet she didn't. Probably she was tired, especially since she looked exhausted, with no makeup in sight. Just a long, oversized green T-shirt, and short-shorts really hiding under the shirt.

"L-Liz… You patched me up?" He observed as his eyes stared at his stitched-up cuts.

"Yeah … here, you may want to ice that bruise on your cheek," she handed him a fresh ice pack.

"T- thanks… " he quietly spurted out. "When'd you learn to stitch?" he added.

"Well, Mark would get into fights at night cause he couldn't pay off his debts. Sometimes he has to deal with guns or knives... and guess who had to patch him up... especially before my parents came home from work. So this isn't my first rodeo," she softly explained.

Liz's mother suddenly called for her, "ELIZABETH! I made chicken noodle soup. I heard it helps with clearing sinuses!"

"Coming Mama! You stay here, Petey," she ordered.

Once she left her room, Peter slowly laid back, still holding the ice pack to his bruises.

'How did I get myself into this?!'

FISK TOWER

James Wesley stepped toward the Kingpin, with news he may not like.

"Patrol Units have searched everywhere, but there was no corpse or no signs of his tracks" Wesley reported.

"That's fine, Wesley," Wilson quickly dismissed, which left him surprised.

"Also, the Press would like to speak to you about your Mayoral campaign. Especially the reporter from the Bugle, Ned Lee," his assistant added.

"Okay, and?"

"You want to speak to the press, with these bruises all over you? Wouldn't they suspect anything?"

"Thank you for pointing that out, Wesley," Fisk admitted, stepping near the nearest mirror to check his bruises.

"Okay, I'll just find someone to cover some of that u-"

"No need for that. I've realized that I can use this to my advantage," Fisk interrupted.

"H-How exactly?"

"This city doesn't need new villains… They already have their biggest villain. Their folk hero: Spider-Man. And he's currently being hunted down by police. And once these citizens know that a mayoral nominee was attacked by their hero… they'll turn against him."

"Manipulate the media?"

"The Bugle, will eat this up! Then he'll never roam these streets again, and if he does, they'll chew him up and spit him out. LIKE THE INSECT HE IS! There will be no more of this Spider-Man, swinging along these streets, I guarantee it, and I'll guarantee for the people of this city!" The Kingpin proclaimed.

ALLAN RESIDENCE

The door flew open again with Liz strolling in, holding a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup.

"You like Chicken Noodle Soup, Petey?" she asked.

"Yeah…" he answered softly.

So she slowly handed the hot bowl into his injured hands. "You feel any better?"

Peter felt around for his injuries.

"Well, I have a broken rib… or ribs… probably have several broken bones… and a major headache," he answered.

Then, he sipped of the noodle soup, and acknowledged.

"But… Chicken Noodle Soup tastes great!"

She grabbed the suit out of his bag and held it in front of her. Her hands felt all the holes and tears in his suit.

"Uh- Petey, do you always end up like this?" Liz concernedly asked.

She couldn't even stare at him in the eye, as she dropped the suit in front of him.

"No, y-you just caught me on a bad night… a really bad night," Peter murmured. "You should've seen the other guy…" his voice strained.

"Well, he probably got the short end of the stick," she sarcastically observed.

"Yeah…" he quietly murmured to himself. 'I wish that was the case.'

She immediately turned to face him.

"Why-um-why weren't you honest with me from the start… huh?" She held back her tears, which Peter could tell.

"Look, if someone like Electro found out, he'd wreak havoc on my life and the people in my life," he explained.

"That's not what I asked. Why'd you lie to me all those times?… Stand me up on dates or disappear at parties… did you not care about me to tell me the truth? The cold, honest truth that YOU… Peter Parker is Spider-Man!" Liz tearfully expressed.

Peter sat there, deeply sighing to himself.

"Like honestly, standing me up on dates bugged me. But the one thing that pissed me off the most about you is that you lied… like why would you keep this to yourself?!" Liz added.

"You think I like lying to you?! You think I like to hurt the people I care about?! Of course not. I kept that to myself cause I thought you'd hate the fact that the guy you're dating, could get killed any night. I don't want you to worry, but you'll worry anyway cause that's how it works sometimes," Peter frustratingly explained. Liz stood frozen, because she had never seen Peter express himself to her like that.

"And, I'm really sorry for not telling you this, it's just that, everything good I do as Spidey, I hurt the people I care about, like you... Liz. I never want to bring you all into this dangerous life, or else you'll end up like this. I-it's not that I ever wished for these powers, a radioactive spider decided to bite me, and killed whatever chance I had to live my own life… I HATE that I've hurt you and everyone else… I just feel like I don't have a choice," Peter admitted.

Finally, Liz turned and softly gazed at him in the eye.

"But Petey, you do have a choice"

"Not me, I never get that choice to take a day off," he reasoned.

"Everyone has a choice, Petey. But it's up to you to make it," she acknowledged, softly grazing his hand.

'KNOCK KNOCK'

Suddenly, their attention was sent to the voice at the door.

"ELIZABETH! Your friend's Aunt has called. And she seemed frazzled, and worried. Apparently, her nephew, Peter didn't come home last night, and she was really frantic on the phone. She asked if we had any idea where he was and… I know you two aren't on the best of terms and-," Mrs. Allan mentioned.

Peter's eyes bulged out of its socket when he stared at Liz.

"A-and… what'd you tell her?" her voice rasped.

"I told her we had no clue where he's been and hopefully he arrives home safe. You have any idea where he is?"

"Um… no, I've no clue. Tell her I hope he comes home safe though!"

"Aww, that's sweet of you Mamacita! I hope they find that kid, he seemed like he was good to you."

"Yeah… he was…"

"Anyways, do you feel like you can go back to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I feel much better… now"

"That's good. I'm going to the grocery store, do you need anything?"

"NO We- I mean, I'm good! Don't need anything at all!" Liz insisted.

"Okay then. Make sure you get your homework done, and finish your chicken noodle soup!" her mother pointed out.

"I will, Mama," Liz reassured her mother before she finally heard the front door close.

M3 HIGH SCHOOL

As First Period English was about to pass, the students were coasting through the last few minutes. Some chatting in large groups, others still making progress on their presentation. That mostly applied to Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, as they sat right next to each other and worked on their presentation. Gwen tried her best to keep her mind from lingering yet it still lingered on someone else, which distracted her from the presentation.

"Uh- Mary Jane… Do you know what's up with Pete? He hasn't answered any of my texts and-" Gwen quickly mentioned.

"I don't know either Gwen, his Aunt asked me if I had any clue where he'd gone, but I told her I had no clue…"

"I'm getting pretty worried, it's unlike him to not be here, plus we still have to work on our presentation"

"Me too, Peter is not like this, especially lately… has Harry talked to him?"

Gwen nodded, and explained, "Well, he told me apparently Peter went to Liz's house to work on their project…"

"Wait what?! Is he getting back together with Liz?"

"I don't know…" Gwen mouthed.

"What the heck happened to you two anyway? You were supposed to-"

"Shhh… we were supposed to… but then things got complicated with Harry and, now I don't know what to do, Mary Jane!" the blonde quietly exasperated.

"Girlfriend, you know you gotta be honest with both these guys, especially Harry"

"But he'll be heartbroken… plus he needs me"

"Needs you, or needs the idea of you? Plus guys get heartbroken after a break-up… It's natural, plus what's more important, your happiness or Harry's," Mary Jane whispered.

'Only if she knew what Harry went through!'

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the large group of young gentlemen loudly arguing who was better; Queens' Spider-Man or Hell's Kitchen's Man in Black.

"NO! Spidey's better than that guy in the black pajamas!" Flash Thompson shouted.

"Flash, you do realize you're defending a guy who killed Norman Osborn!" Rand responded.

"Plus, that guy in black is handling Hell's Kitchen, the roughest part of the city," another guy chimed in.

"Don't believe everything you see on the stupid news or the bugle. Especially the bugle!"

"There's video evidence of it, Flash!"

"Anyone with skills could tamper with that footage, easily! I bet Mysterio could"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, did you all finish the writing activity?" their English teacher intruded.

"No, sir…" the group of boys simultaneously answered.

"So, get back to your seats and finish that and stop talking about this vigilante nonsense," their english teacher ordered.

"Plus, instead of discussing these vigilantes Mr. Thompson, you should be discussing how to play better! Like c'mon, this is the worst start we had in Midtown's history," Their teacher sharply expressed.

The group of gentlemen was silent as they went back to their desk, with the other students glancing at them. Some 'Oooo'ing at them, especially after their teacher's comment.

Once the star quarterback made it to his desk, Flash quietly murmured, "Only if Brown can stop being gone all the time, we could score more touchdowns. By the way, where's Hobie been?"

"Don't know. But I always see his brother in the halls, we should ask him," Rand pointed out.

FISK TOWER

For a moment, Hobie Brown was where he wanted to be, especially when he caught his eye on Wilson Fisk's clean-cut right hand man, James Wesley.

"Wesley you gotta let me talk to him. C'mon," Hobie insisted, as he strutted toward Fisk's infamous assistant.

"Not now, kid. He's preparing for his press conference," James Wesley sternly explained.

"That's perfect. So I can talk to him-"

"Did you not hear me? I said no," Wesley halted.
"C'mon man. Can't you do me a solid?"

"What do you need to speak with him for?"

"Y'know, I'm trying to get out of this business. I doubt my dad would want anything to do with me if he found out what I was doing here… So I'm trying to know when I'm done… with all of this," Hobie admitted.

Wesley remained unfazed and unsettlingly gestured him closer, which creeped out Hobie. Especially when he towered over the boy, staring down with those square glasses.

"Kid I don't think you understand the situation you're in. So let me make this absolutely clear to you Mr. Brown," the man acknowledged.

"You put yourself in this situation. So you are done when we tell you. And since you've been so useful, you won't be done for a long time."

"But-"

"I don't believe your father would like to know what you did, to get here." the man threatened.

"Do you understand Mr. Brown?" Wesley stared intimidatingly into him.

"Yeah-Yeah I do, sir," the young man gulped. Hobie stared down at the dirty, old floor, with his head held low.

ALLAN RESIDENCE

Meanwhile, Liz used a damp washcloth to wipe the dry blood off Peter's bare, and battered chest.

'Ah,' his face grimaced feeling the sting of his injury.

"Sorry," she noticed.

"It's fine…" he winched.

"Um- does anyone else know… or am I the only one that has seen you beaten half to death?" Liz questioned.

"You're the only one that knows," Peter admitted.

"Not even your Aunt?"

"If she knew, she'd never let me go out again! She'd probably kill me by nagging me to death"

"Oh…"

Peter deeply sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry for lying to you as well, this… was not the way I wanted you to find out…" he calmly apologized.

Liz still couldn't stare him in the eyes, because after all this time, she'd been lied to. Sure, she knew something was up with him, but being New York's vigilante wasn't even a thought she considered. She actually theorized at one point, that he was a drug dealer, and she didn't exactly know why.

"Since you know now, you must know that what happened to Mark, that-"

"I don't blame you for that"

"You don't?"

"He needed to be stopped… and that was the only way to stop him. At least you didn't kill him… unlike what happened to Mr. Osborn"

She rose up to wash the washcloth, soaked in his blood, in her sink.

Peter sat there silent, realizing he couldn't save another friend's unstable relative, and that was his fault.

"If you want to watch TV, the remote's in my small drawer"

"Thanks…"

"If you wanna watch Highschool Musical 2, it's in the drawer as well"

'What's High School Musical?'

Peter dragged his body over to open the drawer and found the remote. He turned on the TV and browsed through the large selection of channels.

While Liz was at the sink, she noticed all of Peter's blood soaked into the washcloth, which was a concerning amount of blood that she squeezed out of it. 'Jeez, that's a ton of blood!'

"Please be honest with me… who did this to you, Petey?"

He finally settled on the New York News Channel, to see the unthinkable.

"Petey? Who-"

"H-He did… Wilson Fisk," he gulped.

Chills shivered down his spine. Liz finally glared at the TV to see the man responsible: Wilson Fisk. He and his associates were speaking at a press conference to the media.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of this beautiful city, I have something I must express to you all! Last night, I was attacked by the vigilante known as Spider-Man... at my office. If you don't believe me, I have witnesses of Spider-Man leaving my office."

Peter's eyes bulged out of his socket as his heart dropped at that moment, 'Oh God.'

"Spider-Man attacked you, Mr. Fisk?!" The Bugle reporter, Ned Lee questioned.

"Yes. I was as surprised as you are, but he tried to silence me through fear! He threatened me! But I won't let that happen! Our city shouldn't be run by dangerous vigilantes like Spider-Man. I won't allow that to happen, the people of New York City deserve better!" Wilson proudly proclaimed.

The Crime boss expressed himself like he was preaching at a church. And Peter hauntingly heard the people's cheers through the TV. The cheers that he's usually heard for him, were now for his foe. Now, Wilson Fisk held the high ground.

"I believe we can thrive without the likes of these criminals and vigilantes on our streets and once I'm elected as mayor, one thing I'll guarantee you all is that Spider-Man will be NO MORE! He's the one who's caused pain to this city, but I'll end that pain because he will be no more! I will guarantee you that," he confidently assured.

With one single glance from Liz, she knew Peter feared for his life at that moment. He picked at his fingernails with his eyes were glued to the TV.

"What just happened?" she asked, while tuning into the press conference.

"Fisk just made the public love and support him... and-"

"And what?"

"I don't know what to do… He may have just become UNBEATABLE, with the support of the people... if I ever swing out there again... he'll have snipers at every rooftop, ready to fire at me... and if that's not enough, he'll send people after me and everyone I ever cared about... including-"

"Including Me…" she gulped with her eyes widened to the realization.

Now she had become a target just by being associated with Peter. She grabbed his bag, took out his mask, and held it in front of her. She felt the holes in the mask, before it slowly fell apart.

"So this mask was not meant to hide your identity, it was meant to-"

"Protect it, from people like Fisk. Or any other bad guy I've came across. If they knew who was under that mask… that's power. Power they can't resist," Peter exasperated.

"But you're going to stop him, right?"

"I-I don't know what I'm going to do… I just don't know if there's anything to do," He faintly admitted.

Suddenly, they both heard the faint sound of the front doors being unlocked.

"Mamacita, can you help me with the groceries?!" Liz's mother called for her.

"Uh- coming Mama!" She glared back at Peter, who was still transfixed by the TV.

She motioned Peter to hide before she slowly exited through the door and immediately closed it.

'I have to head home, or else, Aunt May's gonna start putting missing posters all over the city and I'm gonna put Liz in danger if I stay here'

The doorknob slowly turned, which alarmed Liz.

"Uh- mom, what're you going in my room for?" Liz sprung into action, with this worried tone in her voice.

"Oh, I was going to install the new shower curtain… pretty, isn't it? It was on sale today," her mother babbled.

"Oh mama, you don't gotta worry about it, I'll do it."

"No no, Lizzy, it's fine… just finish putting away those groceries please"

"Bu-but… um-"

Her breathing became faster as her heart beat harder. Who wouldn't? No parent would want to see a beaten, injured boy in their daughter's room… it's not a good look, for both sides.

Right when her mother peered into her room, her mother called, "LIZ?!"

Her worst fears popped into her head, right when she called for her.

"Mama, it's not what it looks like," Liz anxiously reasoned as she darted to her room.

"Oh I believe it's exactly what it looks like… why is your window open? That's why you felt sick, you know it's getting chiller this week," Her mother mentioned as she closed the window.

Liz immediately caught her breath, and was relieved for a sec until she realized didn't find Peter either.

"Sorry, I just thought I needed fresh air"

"Elizabeth, why's there a trail of blood on the floor?" she questioned.

"Uh-I uh… had a nose bleed. Yeah. I had a nose bleed last night…"

"Really? You know you should drink a lot of water to prevent that"

"I know, I know Mama…"

"Probably that's why you felt sick Mamacita. Open windows and no water is no good for you…"

"I know, I need to stay hydrated"

"Exactly. Anyways, finish putting away the groceries, while I'll install your shower curtain."

Liz nodded and headed to the bagged up groceries, with one thought stuck in her head, 'Where the heck did Petey go?'

Actually, Peter painfully crawled down the brick wall. Darted around, making sure nobody saw. Then he got dressed before he limped out of the alley and dreadfully headed home, fearing the worse.

Meanwhile, once Liz finished putting away all the groceries in the pantry, her mama finished installing her shower curtains, and stepped out of her room.

"Lizzy, be careful with the shower curtain this time!"

"I know…"

"Can you hand me the remote baby?"

Liz nodded and handed her the living room tv remote. Her mother casualty browsed around the TV guide, until she settled on the News.

"Wilson Fisk claimed that Spider-Man attacked him at his office, now there's a city-wide manhunt for the Wall Crawling vigilante," the reporter stated.

"You hear about this?"

"Uh-no, I-I haven't heard this… sounds crazy, huh?"

"This doesn't seem like him. I remember your friends told me that 'Spider-Man saved you at Coney Island' and that you were ecstatic… and I was grateful for him. Even your father was, and he's not the biggest fan of these guys," Mrs. Allan acknowledged.

"Yeah…"

"Poor kid, right?"

"Uh-Why?"

"Because Lizzy, everyone's going through something… everyone is fighting their own battles, somehow and some way. That applies to everyone. I remember going around the restaurant, and I'd see all these guys, miserably waiting around for the check, because their date stood him up. Everyone has their bad days… and sometimes they just need a hug. Probably even Spider-Man," her mother expressed.

"When did you get so psychological or philosophical, Mama?"

"Very funny, I read it on one of those daily quote apps, it helps me get through the day especially on a bad day. Anyways, just seems like a lot on someone's shoulders… plus Spider-Man seems young, so it might feel like it's the end of the world for him"

Liz stood there brightly, understanding her mother's insight on the vigilante. It felt good that her mother approved of him. Although she didn't believe her mother approve of her daughter knowing the wall crawling vigilante, personally.

…

NO MORE - PARKER RESIDENCE

An anxious, cold Peter slowly knocked on the front door. His body shivered, having an idea that his Aunt would be heavily pissed. Immediately, the door opened to see a flustered and stressed Aunt May. Her hair was all over the place, with her eyes being tinted in red. She was in disbelief when she saw him at the front door. His aunt walked away from the door, angrily pacing around the living room.

"Hey Aunt May, I-I am sorry-"

"You know, I-I called your school, God-Knows how many times… they didn't know where you were. I called your friends, they had no idea where you were. Gwen didn't know where you went, Mary Jane had no clue… but Harry said you went to Liz's house-"

"I had to do a project for Hist-"

"ZIP IT! You should've called first, at least send me a text… neither way, I called Elizabeth's mother, but Elizabeth told her she had no clue where you've gone… so please Dear tell me where you go… please!"

Peter heard the pain in her voice, and couldn't even speak another word. He couldn't gather up the courage to tell her, so he remained silent, like a child in kindergarten when they're told to go in the corner, for timeout.

His Aunt stood in absolute disbelief, "Peter, you must tell me what's going on with you?! I even got a call that you've DITCHED CLASS. Another call was about your grades being at rock bottom. That's unlike you, Peter… all of this is unlike you. So you have to tell me… what's going on with you?!"

"Aunt May, please… just go to sleep. We can talk about-" Peter urged her.

"No, Peter Benjamin Parker, I can't go to sleep. I CAN'T because I don't know where my nephew sneaks off to at night… You know I haven't gotten any sleep for God-knows how long. Anna keeps telling me you'll turn up, today… but some part of me believed that wouldn't happen. In fact, I thought the police would arrive here and tell me where your body's been found…" His aunt expressed.

"But I'm fine… Aunt May," Peter's voice strained as he pleaded.

"PETER, if you're not going to be honest with me, just go to your room… NOW! It's like I don't even know you," Aunt May's voice strained through her streaming tears.

He sighed and immediately turned away. He tried his best to run up the stairs while hiding his limp.

As he headed up the stairs, he could hear his Aunt May's sniffles. Although he didn't turn to see her tears, he felt her pain, shedding a tear of his own. Peter quietly shut his door and frustratingly slammed his bookbag on his bed.

'I never asked for these powers… I never asked to be yelled at! I NEVER ASKED TO BE HATED BY EVERYONE! THERE'S A FREAKING MAN-HUNT FOR ME OUTSIDE!' He yelled at himself.

Then he threw his backpack against the wall and slowly sat against the wall.

His eyes closed and asked himself, "Who am I? Peter Parker or Spider-Man?! There can only be one or the other"

Immediately, he saw his room disappear and all of his stuff turned into ash. Everything became grey and grim. But all he held onto was his damaged red and blue Spider-suit. Although he wasn't alone, because he saw a familiar figure approach him.

"I missed you kiddo!" The mysterious figure called out to him. That voice was extremely familiar to him, a voice that he couldn't forget.

"Uncle Ben!" Peter sped towards his uncle and held onto him as long as he could.

"Man, I missed those hugs"

"I missed you, Uncle Ben… And I won't let go. Things haven't been great without you!" he expressed to his uncle.

"About that, I know you're going through a rough patch right now, but you're given a gift and you should use that gift to help others…"

That wasn't what Peter wanted to hear, and tried to hold in his anger, yet it began to burst.

"Don't you think I deserve a break? CUZ LOOK WHERE IT LED TO, UNCLE BEN! Aunt May thinks I'm irresponsible and I nearly gave her a HEART ATTACK, again. Gwen and Mary Jane believe I'm unreliable and my best bud since 2nd grade thinks I'm scum for not telling him who Spider-Man is! And right now I can barely walk!" Peter frustratingly pointed out.

"Kiddo, you need to calm down-" His uncle placed his hand on Peter's shoulder.

"D-don't tell me to calm down… look what I've caused, I created all these monsters that are tearing New York apart, and I can't do anything about it," Peter expressed.

"Of course you could do something about it, Kiddo… Everybody's got a choice, so what're you going to do about it?"

"Uncle Ben, I'm not the man you think I am… I wanna live my own life. I wanna go to homecoming and prom without having to worry about this… I wanna go on field trips without having to worry about packing my suit… My mind can't keep taking this anymore!"

"What are you saying, kiddo?"

"Maybe Kingpin's right, I'm not the hero of this… fairytale story. I'm not the hero for this city. Not anymore, and I'm done acting like it…" Peter admitted, and turned away from his uncle.

He glanced down at his torn suit and tossed it aside.

"Uncle Ben, Spider-Man isn't going to be a part of my life anymore. I am Spider-Man… No More…" Peter proclaimed.

TO BE CONTINUED…