Severing Ties
Summary: Things are looking up for Peter. It had been a few months since Doctor Octavius passed away, and Peter was getting his life on track except for a few things that wouldn't let him be. That's all about to change as someone, somewhere, needs Peter, and he's going to be in for a wild ride.
Chapter 12: An Aging Yellow Folder
The cool night air normally would have felt refreshing to the mutants known as Jack-of-all-Trades, and Inigo Short. Now it just gave them the chills. The large moon was like a spotlight, shining on them, trying to let the Brotherhood know that they escaped. Though they were still invisible, they were badly bruised. Jackie had used a thick barrier to stop the bullets, but it didn't form quick enough, and the two got a beating. Jackie knew not to complain, as she understood that they had come very close to dying.
Inigo, on the other hand, saw fit to point out how makeshift Jackie's force-field was. She was very close to decking him when sirens sounded off. Instead of punching him, as she would have liked, she grabbed his hand and started levitating.
"Is there any way we can make this a bit more comfortable?" Inigo inquired.
"You could hold onto me," Jackie spat, wanting to smack some sense into him.
Inigo nodded and wrapped his arms around her. Jackie found that she was now able to 'fly' a lot faster. They zipped through the sunrise with remarkable speed.
"Are you sure you're okay, MJ?" her friend Louise asked.
"Perfectly fine," she lied. MJ prided herself in being a good liar. Unfortunately, others knew she was a good liar, too.
"Right," Louise snorted. "Where's Peter been? I haven't seen him around."
Fury bubbled before MJ could stop it. "I don't know," she snapped.
Though Louise continued to poke, MJ didn't tell her anything about her thoughts on Peter's departure and the tramp that took him away from her.
How could he just up and leave like that? I love him; he knows that. It's like he just forgot, she mused sadly. She said goodbye to her friend and started to walk home. She was close to crying. She loved Peter Parker more than she'd ever loved anyone. After the fiasco before she found out he was Spider-Man, she vowed she'd never let him toy with her, again. Of course, she didn't expect him to toy with her, again. She knew he didn't mean it, then. But now? She took out a Kleenex from her purse, wiped her eyes, and blew her nose.
She didn't notice the shadows behind her.
Peter had a bag packed and ready to go the next morning. They had contacted a woman named Donna Wakanda who was a wonder at healing. Herself and others. She was in Mutantville, and Peter would meet her at the library that he and Jackie had had their tutoring sessions. He entered Scott's car on the passenger side and held onto his duffel bag. The drive was boringly long, and Peter fell asleep more than once. As they pulled up to the library, Peter saw a woman with tanned skin and a very well built body sitting in an odd position on the library's railings outside.
"Contact us when you have the file," Scott said, giving Peter a walkie-talkie/phone type thing.
"Right." He got out of the car, put the phone-thing in his pocket, and Scott sped away.
"Peter Parker?" the woman asked as she walked up to him. She looked at least twenty-eight.
"That's me. Donna Wakanda?"
"Correct. Do I have to know anything about what I'm doing?" she inquired curiously.
Peter became very awkward. Does she know that she's about to put her very life on the line? he mused. He thought for a moment. "Listen to them is all I can come up with." He choked on what he was going to say next. He couldn't mention to her that that was how they lost the first one.
Donna swallowed. "I knew Inigo. He was a nice guy. A little whiny, but otherwise perfectly charming, and he never abused his gift. I'm looking forward to avenging him." The quiet strength and determination shocked Peter. "I'm going to listen to those monsters for all of three days. Then I'm going to leave."
"You do realize that one of the X-Men's most powerful mutants is dead?" Peter asked painfully. It hurt to mention Jackie so generally, and in such a detached manner, but Donna needed to know that if Jackie couldn't succeed in getting out of there, neither could she.
Donna nodded. "I've got to do something, though. This can't go on. Picking people out of their lives for an evil plot…" She snorted to show what she thought of that.
"Well, I take it I'm staying with you until I can get something else, and then I'll call the X-Men and we'll leave. Tell me your address, and I'll be there the minute I've got what else I came for," Peter explained.
Donna agreed and told him her address. She lived relatively close to Jackie's old house. Peter got the feeling that some higher power wanted him to keep on remembering the girl who was his only friend in some cases. Donna went home, and Peter found his old apartment building. Mr. Ditkovitch was not pleased to see him back. Peter hadn't paid his rent, knowing he was moving in with Mary Jane, or realizing that he was never coming back around here period, and Mr. Ditkovitch didn't get his money.
"PARKER!" he screamed.
"Sorry, Mr. Ditkovitch. I'm just getting my stuff and then I'm leaving," Peter explained as fast as possible.
"Damn straight you're leaving! Get all your shit out of here because I'm evicting you!" he yelled.
"Perfectly understandable," Peter responded.
This only seemed to make the mad man more furious. "I WANT MY MONEY!"
"I don't have any!" Peter called back as he packed things from his room. He took his spare Spidey suit, and some of his normal clothes. As he cleared out of the apartment building for the last time, he could still hear Ditkovitch raging about his lost cash.
He found an empty alley and changed into Spider-Man. He carried his bag on his back as he made his way to the Daily Bugle. He walked in normally, as if he weren't in his get-up. He walked straight up to Betty Brant, a known ally to Peter Parker, and asked if he could speak to Joe "Robbie" Robertson…alone.
Miss Brant, confused out of her mind, consented and asked him to wait in Mr. Robertson's office. "Mr. Robertson?" she said into the phone. "You have a visitor waiting in your office," she informed.
"Who is it?" he responded.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She shook her head and hung up the phone.
Spider-Man waited in the small room. As Robbie entered, his eyes became owlish. "Spider-Man?"
"In the flesh," he responded. "I'm here to ask you for a certain file you hold."
"The one on mutants." It wasn't a question, and Robbie took out a key and opened a file drawer. "I haven't opened this drawer in years," he remarked casually. He took out an aging yellow folder. "I'm not going to get this back, am I?" he asked.
"No. It needs to be destroyed, but before it will be, a man by the name of Professor Xavier needs to see it," Spider-Man explained.
Robbie nodded and handed him the folder. "Where have you been? For the past few days there have been others stopping crime. No one has seen you; Parker didn't even come in with pictures."
"I've become part of something much bigger than stopping crime here. Thank you for this, Mr. Robertson. It'll be put to good use." Spider-Man opened the window and lunged out.
A few minutes later, a raging J. Jonah Jameson stormed into Robbie's office, demanding to know why he'd had contact with the fleeting vigilante.
(A/N: Alrighty then! Everything's beta'd and fixed, so how fast I update is up to you!
Mary Jane Watson-Parker: You have cartoon crushes, too? Lol! Actually, mine are just general Character Crushes. Odd, isn't it? How guys in stories always seem…I don't know…more likeable than in real life? lol! [I'm just spouting off hot air cuz I found my One…, and he's not a character! He's real! LOL!!] Peter might end up happy…sooner or later…I'm glad you like this. Thanks for reviewing…XD
DiabloDude1: You're nice! Laughing at Jackie's death! That randomness was fun…hehehe…I'm updating. The faster you review now, the faster I update…it's all waiting to be read on my PC…Thanks for reading and reviewing!!
Laurajslr: See, what did I tell you? Nothing to be worried about. Your assumptions were correct at this point…(but that doesn't mean they could be wrong later…:-p)… I'm thrilled you like it!! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! :-D
Could you please review? For me? Please?)