Author's Note and Credits: Plot inspired by an episode of Futurama ("The Sting", season five), which is as much mine as Spiderman is, which, as you all know, is not at all. So, credit and a cookie to the staff of Futurama and Spiderman for just generally being awesome.

Just Wake Up

The first thing she felt as she came back into consciousness was the rough pavement cutting into her arms. Groaning, MJ lifted her head, shaking it to clear away the spots that floated on top of her eyes. She gazed about the damp alleyway in confusion… What was she doing here? Her head pounded dully and her thoughts trickled through it like water trickling through a dam. Fragments of what had happened pulled together… She had been going to get milk, yes, and she had been attacked… and then…

Then what? A red and blue blur… That was it. He had come to protect her, but then it had all gone dark.

But that red and blue blur wasn't a blur anymore… He lay huddled against the opposite wall, the concealing cloth ripped and torn away, revealing pale, bleeding skin. MJ crawled over to him, shaking him gently. When there was no response, she reached up to his neck and began to slide her fingers under the hood that still covered his face, then hesitated. Should she lift it? He'd survived much more dangerous battles before… Who was to say he wouldn't pull out of this one, too? And when he did… Well, there was a reason he kept his face hidden, wasn't there?

But what if he didn't make it? What if he was dying and she couldn't tell? She couldn't live with herself if he died and she had been able to save him.

Gently, so gently, she peeled the mask away from his face, then jumped back in horror.

"Peter?" her vision blurred as this information hit her. Cold and pale in the dim streetlight, Peter Parker lay defeated; the shredded suit a mockery to his vulnerability. She leaned over him again, touching his cheek gently. It was cold, and no blood moved beneath it. The water spilled over her lashes in an instant, and she gathered him into her arms, rocking him back and forth, moaning. "Oh my god, oh my god, Peter… Oh my god…" She sobbed into his neck, shaking as each wave ran through her. Leaning her head back, she yelled into the night, hugging Peter's motionless body closer, stroking his hair, doing anything she could to put the life back in him.

Exhaustion swept over her, weakening her arms. She held him ever closer, weeping quietly as a siren grew near.