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 17: Dr. Jekyll; Mr. Hyde
Being back in New York, it was only normal that Peter had wanted to get into his Spider-Man costume and web-swing around. As the wind whipped past him, creating a comforting cradle, he let the freedom soak into him like warm water. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, but just swinging with the knowledge that he wouldn't fall. As his muscles tensed and relaxed in the familiar rhythm, Peter felt like he could fall asleep in such a soothing atmosphere. All his thoughts, doubts, and worries whisked away with the nippy wind. Knowing he was taking the best vacation known to man didn't take away from the fact that when he heard sirens, his first instinct was to go see if he could help.
A longsuffering sigh later, he was on his way, following the sirens. There was a car crash, and gas was leaking all over the place; a lurking presence, threatening to light up and explode. He carefully worked around the gas, and peeled the cars open. He gently raised the people involved out of the vehicles.
"Thanks, Spider-Man!" someone called out to him.
"Any time!" he shouted back.
"It's awesome to have you back with us!"
If only I could stay, he mused, no longer finding solace in his flight.
Jackie sighed. She had picked the place where the second Cerebro had been built. She didn't know why she chose to carve out her living here, where everything was almost submerged in the freezing cold water, but it called to her. She found a village some ways away, and she figured they could use a waitress…or secretary…or something or other.
The bell on the door rang as Jackie entered the little restaurant.
"Hello. Welcome to the Tip of the Iceberg. May I help you with something?" the hostess asked with a genuine smile.
Jackie stopped herself from laughing at the ridiculous name. "Are you looking to hire?" she inquired.
The hostess's smile got brighter. "Of course. Come with me," she offered. Jackie complied, and found herself face to face with a stern looking secretary.
"Who is this? Is something unsatisfactory?" she asked curtly, not even looking at Jackie.
"No," the hostess assured. "She's looking for a job, Norma."
The secretary then gave Jackie a scrutinizing stare. After a few tense minutes, Norma nodded. "She'll do. Do you know how to cook, miss?" she asked, suddenly giving off a softer tone of voice.
"Barely," Jackie admitted.
Norma nodded and handed her paperwork. "Fill that out and return it within the next twenty-four hours."
Jackie nodded and was led out. It was then she knew to find a place to stay. She still had her X-Phone, so she called the owners of the house that said 'For Cheap Rent'. It was almost as if it were all planned.
A very scared Donna Wakanda tried to deal with an angry Curt Connors. Of course, she could soothe any person's feelings…but lizards? That was just beyond her knowledge. Connors proceeded with his lizard DNA experiment, and was now a live, 7 foot Godzilla. Donna was frightened for her very life, which was something that didn't happen to often.
Half-way across town, Peter felt it. That gnawing feeling that told him that something just wasn't right, yet he couldn't peg it. He patrolled late into the night, but still couldn't find anything wrong. That is, until he heard a growl that sounded suspiciously like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Spider-Man found him right outside Connors' lab. Of course…Dr. Connors must have done his experiment…well, it certainly regrew his lost limb… He looks like a giant Lizard.
"Hey! Godzilla! You're in the wrong part of the city, buddy. You want Chinatown." He pointed when he saw he had the Lizard's attention. "That way." Instead of going the way Peter pointed, the Lizard turned the opposite direction and ran with fascinating speed towards a long block of apartment buildings. As Spider-Man raced after him, he noticed an odd, circular scar on the back of Lizard's neck. From what he could remember, it was almost the same scar that had been on the back of MJ's neck. What was that about?
Spider-Man shot webbing at Lizard's legs to tie them up, but Lizard just broke the webbing as though it were fragile. Spider-Man swung and gave him a good kick in the head, only to find that he was held upside down by Lizard. Lizard took a look at him, huffed, and dropped him on the ground. He then continued on his path. As Spider-Man followed him, he noticed that Lizard was going into Aunt May's apartment building. A horrifying thought crossed his mind. What if he's after Aunt May?
Donna found a strange liquid with a note that read, 'Use this in the morning.' Donna did some quick thinking. It obviously was an antidote for whatever Connors had taken. Confusion whirled. How could those chemicals produce that kind of effect? she wondered. She rummaged around. She was in a few very old drawers and found a supply of a incredibly odd serum. She read the label and almost dropped it in surprise. The label was written by hand, and read 'Controlling Shots. Put in booster and inject to the back of the neck.' And then a post-it note read, 'Do that, and put 15 milliliters into Connors' research.' Donna looked at it in perplexity. Why hadn't Dr. Connors seen this? Why didn't he see that someone had put a strange substance into his mix? She pocketed the chemicals and left to go find Spider-Man.
Fighting the Lizard was getting tiring. Especially after realizing that he wouldn't fight back, but use every advantage to get higher up in the apartment building. Spider-Man's webs had no use, and he figured this was going on long enough.
"SPIDER-MAN!" he heard someone yell.
"Kinda busy! Trying calling back later!" he responded as he continued to follow Lizard.
"I CAN HELP YOU WITH CONNORS!"
Spider-Man stopped, dead in his tracks. He shrugged his shoulders and figured it couldn't hurt. He found the voice, and saw Donna. "What are you doing here, Donna?"
"I found the antidote. I figured it was the only thing that could stop him," she explained while she handed him the loaded needle.
Spider-Man shuddered. I hate needles. "Thanks…"
"I found a whole bunch of other stuff, too, but I'll tell you about it later," Donna promised as a scream from an old woman was heard.
"Aunt May." Without realizing what he was doing, he climbed the side of the building until he got to May Parker's window. He put his fist through the glass and jumped in. Aunt May had fainted, and the Lizard was slowly approaching her.
"Pick on someone your own size!" Spider-Man called. He threw the shot like a spear, and it hit Lizard directly in the forearm.
The Lizard shook his head and growled loudly in pain. Spider-Man watched tensely, hoping he would change back. "Alright, Mr. Hyde, you've had your fun. Let's have Dr. Jekyll back, now…" With great relief, he saw the Lizard shrinking in size. Green scales became peach skin, and yellow eyes became brown.
Dr. Connors looked worn out. He through a tired glance at Spider-Man. "Thank you…"
"No problem. Let's get you and this nice old lady to the hospital," Spider-Man responded.
May Parker came to a few hours later to find herself in the hospital with her nephew beside her.
"Hello, Peter," she greeted.
"Hi, Aunt May. How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Much better," she responded.
"That's great to hear." A small smile found the way to his face.
"Is it just me, or do these strange characters seem to come after me all of the time?"
Peter gulped. "Aunt May, there's something I ought to tell you," he started. He told himself that she needed to know why the villains tried to get to her.
"If it's about Spider-Man, I already know," she stopped with a smile.
"Y-you d-do?" This is unexpected, he thought.
"Of course. Since you take his pictures, all these people think you know where to find him."
Peter almost laughed. "No, Aunt May. It's not like that…"
"You mean you don't take his pictures?"
"I take my own pictures," Peter amended, and he hoped that she would understand.
Then it dawned on her. "I suppose I already knew. I didn't think it was like you to abandon me at that bank. Well, at least I know I can be very proud whenever I see you swing around buildings, can't I?" she joked.
"Yeah." Peter grinned, a burden lifted…for awhile.
Peter had always been a thinker. No matter what was going on, he never failed to think about it thoroughly. That was how he considered his feelings for Jackie. He missed her terribly. Since they'd been separated so suddenly, he couldn't remember her face for the life of him. He could hear her voice, her laugh, and see her eyes, but he couldn't remember her face clearly. Thinking about her brought about the worry that she was hurt, or worse. Peter knew that if she died, all he'd have left was Aunt May, and even then she was holding onto a bare thread. Drowned in musings, an uncomfortable idea came into his head. What would happen if I tried to love, again? Ashamed, he shook that thought out of his head. Immediately after that idea, Jackie's face came swimming back in perfect clarity. I care about her…but do I care about her like that He came to the conclusion that he did. The odd feeling in the air he felt after encounters with her left no doubt in his mind. He was falling for Virginia 'Jack-of-all-trades' Salvani, whether he wanted to admit it, or not.
(A/N: Almost finished, guys! It's got 19 chapters and this is seventeen…oh my! I think I'm gonna cry! But don't worry, I'm four chapters into the sequel!! Yay! XD
Oddball91: I won't do that to you ever again. I'll let you read the whole thing on your own! I promise! You rock! Hope you got the email!
Mary Jane Watson-Parker: Thank you for reviewing and cooperating with your prize! :-D Everything will be changed in awhile…Here's more!
DiabloDude1: Yeah…I did. Or did I? You never kno! I understand you perfectly. I wrote MJ well. Sad, isn't it? I thought I'd write her badly. (in fact, I wanted to write her badly…) :-p How old are you? Thanks bunches for reviewing! Here's more!
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