AN: Spiderman was created by Stan Lee and is owned by Marvel Comics.

ISSUE TWELVE

The Wonder Years

            It took Devi awhile to get used to the time jumps. After the world dissolved, she got the feeling of being suspended in nothing, between time and space. Sometimes she would get a quick flash of something before feeling the ground reforming under her feet. Her head was suddenly filled with new memories; it was kind of like having someone fill her in on what she missed during a movie. The difficult part was having to deal with the new feelings that went along with the memories.

            As the world reformed around her, Devi was almost knocked over by the overwhelming wave of melancholy and despair that came at her. Devi saw that she was in a hospital room, the constant, steady beeping of the heart monitor the only sound. The room was completely white with only one bed surrounded by many machines. In the bed laid Johnny's mother, deathly pale and sickly looking; she appeared to be asleep. Devi 'remembered' that she had been sick for a long time.

            Just then, the door to the room opened and in stepped a tentative Johnny and Vicky, about 12 years old, followed by their nervous, drained father. As soon as the two children saw their mother, they bounded over to her bed side. A doctor came in as well and checked the IV drip and machines before pulling the father over to the side and speaking in a hushed voice.

            "How's she doing?" Their father asked, worried. The doctor sighed.

            "I'm sorry, it's not looking well…"

            "No, no. There has to be something…something you missed…"

            "She's not responding to any of the treatments…"

            "Then try something else, anything else! Money's not a problem…" Their father reached for his wallet. "Please!"

            "I'm sorry, sir," The doctor said, compassionately. "I don't think she's going to last through the night." The doctor patted Father's shoulder sadly, and then walked out of the room. Father stood in shock.

            "Mommy?" Vicky chirped as she saw her mother's eyes slowly open, pushing against invisible weights. Their mother smiled weakly.

            "Hey, you two silly gooses," She said hoarsely. Their father walked over to the bedside.

            "We brought you flowers!" Johnny said, trying to cheer her up, as if they would make everything all better.

            "Why thank you! Could you two put them on the table over there?" Their mother nodded her head in the direction of the table across the room. The two kids gladly replied.

            "Hey hun, how's it going?" Their father asked quietly once they were gone.

            "Well, the food could be better. I'm tired of this puréed stuff," She smiled weakly again.

            "When you get better we'll go out to dinner," Her husband smiled back. "I heard Emeril's in town."

            "What's my prognosis?" Their mother asked. The father paused a moment.

            "Doctor said you'll out of here in no time," He replied. The mother smiled sadly.

            "Liar."

            Johnny and Vicky hurried back to their mother's side. Father sighed and stepped back.

            "I can't take care of two kids by myself," he mumbled.

            "When are you coming home, Mommy?" Vicky asked. Mother smiled at her, but said nothing.

            "We miss you," Johnny said.

            "Johnny, I need you to promise me something," Mother looked at him thoughtfully.

            "Of course, anything!"

            "I need you to be strong for me, and to promise to take care of your sister, no matter what happens."

            Johnny pauses and realizes exactly what's going on.

            "I promise, Mom," he sniffed.

            "Come on kids, your mom needs her rest," A nurse said at the door. The two said good-bye, gave their mother a hug and reluctantly went out the door. The father stepped up to the bed once more.

            "I can't do this without you," he said.

            "I have complete faith in you," she said, and closed her eyes. The father kissed her forehead and headed out of the room.

            Outside, Johnny and Vicky had their arms wrapped around each other and were sobbing. Their father sighed.

            "Come on, let's go home," He said. Vicky rushed over her him and cried into his suit as he started down the hall. Johnny hung back and watched as his father reached in his coat pocket for a half filled pack of cigarettes. Johnny crinkled his nose at the cancer sticks.

            "Jonathon! Let's go!" Father yelled back at him, a tad too sharply. Johnny gritted his teeth and vowed never to start smoking. He caught up with his father and sister.

~          ~          ~

            Being a lawyer, Johnny's father by nature was very strict and always had been. Johnny had never really hated him until he started to get older and with good reason. Especially once his mother got sick. His father had never been outright nasty to Johnny until then, just rigid. It was stress. That was also when he started smoking. Like a chimney. Johnny had been so used to his mother always supporting him no matter what and telling he could be whatever he wanted to. Not so with his father.

            It had been quite a few months since the funeral. Their father had been high strung ever since.

            It was a Saturday afternoon and Johnny and Vicky had been outside earlier but came in once the sun got too hot. Vicky had gone straight to her room; she had to practice before her violin lesson that afternoon. Johnny had stayed in the living room to watch a movie on TV. He kicked off his shoes and left them on floor, then rushed into the kitchen to get something to drink. As he had his head in the refrigerator, he heard an 'OOF' and then his father calling his name.

            "JONATHON! GET IN HERE!"

            "Yeah Dad?" Johnny strode into the living room, resenting his full name.

            "What the hell are those on the floor?!"

            "Oh, sorry. I forgot to put them away," Johnny said nonchalantly and went to retrieve them. His father stepped in his way.

            "You forgot?! How am I supposed to walk around my own house if there is junk lying all over it?! I have a huge case to work on!" His father bellowed, holding up a large folder.

            "It's just a pair of shoes," Johnny said. "If you let me through, I'll put them away."

            "Are you talking back to me?!" Without warning, his father backhanded him hard across his face. Johnny, not expecting this, tripped backward and fell, staring up in shock at his father. Johnny had never been struck before. He didn't know what to think.

            "Take care of your stuff, brat!" His father yelled and stalked off, lighting up a cigarette. Johnny sat there for a little while, having no idea as to what had just happened. He quickly got up and put his shoes away; though his father was a thin man, he was surprisingly strong. Then Johnny rushed up to his room to stay out of his father's way.

            About an hour later or so, his father came up to Vicky's room and knocked on the door; Johnny's door was open ajar and so he could see them.

            "Victoria! Time for your lessons!" He called. The cascade of notes coming from her room stopped and Vicky opened her door.

            "Ok, Daddy! Let me put my violin in its case first."

            "Have you cleaned your room yet?"

            "Uh…not exactly," Vicky said sheepishly. Johnny watched through the crack to see if his father went ballistic on her too. But his father simply sighed and patted her head.

            "You look so much like your mother…" He said nostalgically.

Johnny sat, dumbfounded.

~          ~          ~

Johnny sat on his bed in his room, reading a Spiderman comic he had borrowed from someone in school as his father wouldn't let him have his own. He said they rotted the mind. Of course his real reason was to try to stop Johnny from his artistic habits.

That's when he heard the door slam.

And much like Peter Parker's spider sense, Johnny could instantly tell his father was on the war path.

Johnny quickly stashed the book in a pillow case and snuck out his door to try to get of the house.

"JOHNNY!"

Too late.

"GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT, YOU LITTLE DELINQUENT!!"

Johnny rushed downstairs and right outside the doorway to the mahogany and maroon decorated dining room where his father was waiting. He paused before walking so he didn't look as scared as he actually was. He caught his breath and walked in.

His father radiated anger in waves. Johnny shrunk back.

"What the hell is this?!" His father waved a paper. Johnny gulped. It was a test he hadn't studied for from school and a big 'D' stained the top of it in read ink. Johnny was lucky it wasn't an 'F'.

"I…I…it was" Johnny stuttered.

"Maybe if you paid more attention to your studies rather than this goddamn mess, you'd do better, huh?!" His father tossed one of Johnny's notebook's open on the table. His notes were covered in doodles and several other drawings feel out of it.

"You went through my backpack?!" Johnny exclaimed. "That's not fair! That's…" His father slapped him.

"Life isn't fair! You're lucky you have someone to keep you on track!" His father backhanded Johnny sending him reeling into the table. The wind was knockout of him. He stayed still, gasped for air.

"Look at me when I speak to you!" His father cuffed him and sent him crashing to the ground. Johnny felt blood trickle from his nose and the corners of his mouth.

Johnny curled up in a fetal position and tried to numb out the down pouring, unending blows and venom-dripping screams.

"YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!"

Johnny just whimpered.

~          ~          ~

Vicky waved good-bye to her friends and walks in the door to her mansion. She put her name brand shopping bags down on the island in the kitchen. There was a dance coming up and she couldn't be seen wearing something she wore at the last dance. What would people think?

She went to go find her father to show him her latest acquisitions when she heard yelling coming from the dining. She sighed and figured he had a bad day at work. She went to see if she could help and heard her brother say something.

"Great, male testosterone," she murmured as she stepped into the dining room.

Just in time to see her father back hand Johnny and send him sprawling on the floor. Vicky gasped and ducked out of the dining room, hiding just outside the doorway. Luckily, no one noticed her. She clasped her hands over her mouth to keep her from saying anything as she listened to the horrible sounds of flesh beating flesh, fear and confusion keeping her in her place as she heard her brother's whimpers and her father yelling.

It only lasted a few moments and then her father stormed from the room out a different doorway. Vicky peeked in to make sure he was gone and then rushed to kneel by Johnny. His eyes were squeezed closed and he was breathing raggedly. He looked horrible, cuts and blood all over his face. She touched his shoulder and he flinched.

"Johnny, it's me," She said, softly. Johnny opened his eyes a bit and then started sobbing.

~          ~          ~

In his study, their father sat at his desk, his latest case file, 'Pop Star Gets Evicted for Ecstasy' spread all over her desk. He wasn't looking at that however. On the edge of the desk sat a picture of his wife; his angel that went back to heaven. He felt miserable. He looked down at his hands, which had some smudges of blood on them. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm so sorry, honey," He whispered, and placed the frame face down so his wife couldn't look at what he had become.

~          ~          ~

"How long has this been going on?" Vicky asked and she closed the first aid kit.

"About a year or so. He started a little bit after Mom died," Johnny replied, looking down, unable to look at her. Vicky could already see bruises starting to form around his eye.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Vicky said. "There's, like, laws against this! He could seriously injure you!"

"He said he'd have me sent to Juvie if I did…" Johnny mumbled. "And I don't want to leave you here alone with him…"

"Johnny, we should report this to the cops…"

"Ha," Johnny snorted. "Come on Vicky, Dad has the police in his pocket, you know that. He's the best lawyer in the tri-state area; I doubt two thirteen year olds could pin anything on him."

"Well, we have physical proof…"

"That can easily be brushed off as the bully at school! Vicky, I've already thought of all this," Johnny said.

"But we have to tell someone…"

"No…"

"If you won't, I will!"

"No!"

"But Johnny…"

"NO!! Listen, I know he doesn't touch you and I don't know why. But I'm afraid if you find out he'll hurt you too, I promised Mom I'd look out for you!"

"You can't look out for me if you're dead."

"He won't kill me, he still needs me to 'carry on the family tradition' and all that. Continue on the age old law firm. Promise me you won't say a word."

            Johnny looked up at Vicky for the first time. She sighed, defeated.

            "I promise."

~          ~          ~

            Vicky slipped out of Johnny's room. They had talked for a little longer but then Johnny decided to go to bed early. Vicky put the first aid kit away, all the while juggling an overwhelming feeling of guilt. Johnny kept looking out her and there was nothing she could do for him.

            It also bothered her that Johnny was the only one who got beaten. He didn't deserve it and never did anything terribly wrong…

            That was when the idea hit her. It was so obvious, she should have thought of it before. Sure, it might hurt at first, she could be such a baby sometimes, but she'd work up a tolerance. It was pure genius. She could stop her father but maybe…

            Vicky rushed to her room and put on her roller blades and helmet (it's the law!) and then peeked outside her room. The coast was clear. She carefully trudged down the hallway and down the stairs. At the foot of the stairs, the floor became wood and so she started skating around the house. She had to admit, it was a lot of fun but she had a mission. She skated to right outside her father's study and peeked in. Sure enough, there he was sitting. Vicky backed up some, then sped by the door and crashed into a rather expensive looking, tan vase with oriental flowers detailed on it.

            Her father was instantly out the door of his office and looking down the hallway with a rather irritated scowl on his face. Vicky stayed where she sat, amongst the wreckage. Her father stormed down the hall to where Vicky was and she started to rethink her genius plan.

            "I…I…I'm sorry Daddy! I forgot to take off my roller blades and…and…" Her father reached down a hand to pick up of a piece of the vase. Vicky squeezed her eyes shut and cringed, waiting for it to come…

            …But her father simply patted her on her head and sighed.

            "It's ok honey. I didn't really like it anyway. I'll have Lola clean it when she comes in tomorrow," He smiled at her. "Please remember to take off the blades next time, OK?"

            Vicky nodded and stared as her father went back to his study, thoroughly confused.