Author's note: for further reference: I had this story conceived in its
entirety before I had even heard that a second movie was in the making ,
and I had this chapter written before I saw the second movie, so therefore,
anything that happens in this chapter that bears resemblance to the second
movie is purely coincidental. Please do not assume that I stole any
material from that movie for my fanfiction- besides the fact that this is a
story based off of another story, all of my own ideas are original.
Chapter 14: Unwanted Discoveries
Madison scowled at Peter all through work the next day. She scowled at him as they walked back to his apartment afterwards; she scowled at him as she sat in silence around his coffee table that afternoon. She scowled as he emerged from his darkroom and made his way to said coffee table with a stack of photos in his hand, and she continued to scowl as he, pointedly ignoring her, spread them across the desk.
Finally Peter looked up, pseudo surprise written on his face as he pretended to notice her scowl for the first time. "What, something wrong?"
Madison seethed silently at him, cracking her knuckles under the table.
Peter sighed. "Are you going to talk to me?"
". . ."
"Ok, your breathing got louder, and I think you're foaming at the mouth, but if we are going to work I think that you need to stop scowling and talk to me!"
Suddenly Madison stood and pivoted, reaching for her coat. "I can't work like this. I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" Peter was up in an instant, blocking her only exit. "Mad, have you forgotten that we have a column due?"
She appraised him coolly. "If you like, you can come," she said somewhat frostily, and without another word pushed his outstretched arm aside and made a beeline for the door.
"Mad, Madison! Wait!" Peter grabbed his coat, struggling to put it on as he sped out the room towards the rapidly departing figure. Absentmindedly he yanked the door closed behind him, not even noticing as it swung shut for a moment, then slowly drifted back open.
He chased after her all down the hallway, finally catching up to her swiftly walking form as she exited the building. He winced, the harsh outside light contrasting with the cool dimmed atmosphere of the apartment complex, and made a grab for her shoulder. Madison shook it off and kept walking, her gaze unfocused as it always was when she was deep in thought. Neither of them noticed a familiar figure going the opposite direction on the other side of the street.
Harry waited patiently until the light finally flashed "walk," and then slumped across the street, his mind in chaos. How could he have possibly put Madison in danger like that? How could he have been so stupid? Now she would never trust him again, she would never want to see him again, if she was even truly ok and unharmed, she hadn't been returning his phone calls and hadn't been around her building or her work for several days . . .
He shook his head, trying to clear unwanted thoughts that were already being clouded by the drug that as of late had been in continual use. Harry frowned at the thought, rubbing his forearm where he knew, under the crisp white shirt, were dozens of tiny pinpricks dotting the skin. But he didn't want to think about that now, he had enough to worry about, enough that he was finally going to visit his oldest friend for some long needed advice.
The inside of the building was cool and quiet, a sharp contrast from the hectic world outside, the carpet even muffling his footfalls as he climbed up the stairs and ambled down the hallway. Standing at Peter's door, about to truly talk to his once best friend for the first time in months, Harry took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock.
To his surprise the door swung open almost as soon as his fist touched it.
"Hello?" Harry poked his head in. He could see that the lights were out in the apartment- no one was home. But the apartment had apparently been left in haste, since the door had not been properly closed and several pictures were left scattered across the coffee table. Quickly making up his mind, Harry entered the apartment and softly closed the door behind him, making his way to the couch. It would be just like old times- Peter was still his friend, he wouldn't mind if Harry simply waited for him to come back. And if he had Madison with him . . .
Sighing, Harry picked up the remote from the dilapidated seat cushion next to him and began to lazily flip through channels, staring hard at the small screen across the room. Nothing was on, and after five minutes he gave up and began to comb the apartment for movies, books, anything to keep him occupied.
Opening the drawers underneath the TV screen, Harry found nothing but dust and two unmarked tapes. He lifted them disinterestedly and was about to discard them as blanks when a small logo scrawled across the side caught his attention. A logo that he knew very well.
He was holding Oscorp security tapes in his hands.
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. What was Peter Parker doing with security tapes from his company? How did he even get them? Come to think of it, several tapes were reported missing several weeks ago. He checked the data numbers on the side to confirm it. These were those tapes.
"What the hell?" he murmured as he stuck the first one into the ancient VCR. Sitting on his heels, he watched as it came to life and showed, with flickering, black and white brilliance, Madison Avenue stealing his favorite paperweight.
"So that's what happened to my paperweight!" He exclaimed to himself, somewhat bemused. He knew it had been stolen, but he had never thought to think of Madison and her penchant for shiny things.
But how did Peter get these tapes . . . Harry jammed in the second tape and sat on his heels, confused and waiting for an answer. Slowly, as if unwilling to show what it held, the second tape flickered and began to show the silent scene of Madison's crash and burn into the spider cages. As the tape fuzzed out and slowly died, Harry stood, his gaze dark. What was going on? He never knew that Madison had crashed into the cages; he had only heard that there was an accident and that one of the spiders had been discovered missing. What if Madison . . .
Harry spun around, unable to complete the thought, not even sure what he was thinking. But the old question burned: why were the tapes in Peter's apartment, what did Peter have to do with Madison and the spiders?
Breath quickening, Harry began to sweep the apartment, searching for anything out of the ordinary, trying hard to quell the terrible fear that was rising inside of him. Something wasn't right here; there was something that those two weren't telling him, but what?
Slowly he entered the bathroom, his eyes catching the garbage can resting underneath the ancient sink. Pulling it toward him, Harry found that it was filled almost to the brim with bloodstained bandages and towels.
"So much blood," he murmured as he shoved the garbage can back into its place. "But why?"
Entering Peter's room, he began to tear through drawers, the combination of his worry and the drugs in his system making him more and more frenzied. Finally, in the bottom drawer, he pulled away a pair of gray sweatpants to discover a red and blue jumpsuit.
His breath caught in his throat. Peter was Spiderman.
"No," he whispered to himself. "No, it can't be."
But what, he thought as he sunk, despairing, into a heap at the side of Peter's bed, what does this all have to do with Madison?
Then it hit him. Madison, the tapes, the spiders . . .
"Oh God," he began to shake. "No, I can't believe it, Peter and . . . "
Madison.
Madison was Black Widow.
xxxxx
Reviews make me smile and a smiling me is a happy me!
Chapter 14: Unwanted Discoveries
Madison scowled at Peter all through work the next day. She scowled at him as they walked back to his apartment afterwards; she scowled at him as she sat in silence around his coffee table that afternoon. She scowled as he emerged from his darkroom and made his way to said coffee table with a stack of photos in his hand, and she continued to scowl as he, pointedly ignoring her, spread them across the desk.
Finally Peter looked up, pseudo surprise written on his face as he pretended to notice her scowl for the first time. "What, something wrong?"
Madison seethed silently at him, cracking her knuckles under the table.
Peter sighed. "Are you going to talk to me?"
". . ."
"Ok, your breathing got louder, and I think you're foaming at the mouth, but if we are going to work I think that you need to stop scowling and talk to me!"
Suddenly Madison stood and pivoted, reaching for her coat. "I can't work like this. I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" Peter was up in an instant, blocking her only exit. "Mad, have you forgotten that we have a column due?"
She appraised him coolly. "If you like, you can come," she said somewhat frostily, and without another word pushed his outstretched arm aside and made a beeline for the door.
"Mad, Madison! Wait!" Peter grabbed his coat, struggling to put it on as he sped out the room towards the rapidly departing figure. Absentmindedly he yanked the door closed behind him, not even noticing as it swung shut for a moment, then slowly drifted back open.
He chased after her all down the hallway, finally catching up to her swiftly walking form as she exited the building. He winced, the harsh outside light contrasting with the cool dimmed atmosphere of the apartment complex, and made a grab for her shoulder. Madison shook it off and kept walking, her gaze unfocused as it always was when she was deep in thought. Neither of them noticed a familiar figure going the opposite direction on the other side of the street.
Harry waited patiently until the light finally flashed "walk," and then slumped across the street, his mind in chaos. How could he have possibly put Madison in danger like that? How could he have been so stupid? Now she would never trust him again, she would never want to see him again, if she was even truly ok and unharmed, she hadn't been returning his phone calls and hadn't been around her building or her work for several days . . .
He shook his head, trying to clear unwanted thoughts that were already being clouded by the drug that as of late had been in continual use. Harry frowned at the thought, rubbing his forearm where he knew, under the crisp white shirt, were dozens of tiny pinpricks dotting the skin. But he didn't want to think about that now, he had enough to worry about, enough that he was finally going to visit his oldest friend for some long needed advice.
The inside of the building was cool and quiet, a sharp contrast from the hectic world outside, the carpet even muffling his footfalls as he climbed up the stairs and ambled down the hallway. Standing at Peter's door, about to truly talk to his once best friend for the first time in months, Harry took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock.
To his surprise the door swung open almost as soon as his fist touched it.
"Hello?" Harry poked his head in. He could see that the lights were out in the apartment- no one was home. But the apartment had apparently been left in haste, since the door had not been properly closed and several pictures were left scattered across the coffee table. Quickly making up his mind, Harry entered the apartment and softly closed the door behind him, making his way to the couch. It would be just like old times- Peter was still his friend, he wouldn't mind if Harry simply waited for him to come back. And if he had Madison with him . . .
Sighing, Harry picked up the remote from the dilapidated seat cushion next to him and began to lazily flip through channels, staring hard at the small screen across the room. Nothing was on, and after five minutes he gave up and began to comb the apartment for movies, books, anything to keep him occupied.
Opening the drawers underneath the TV screen, Harry found nothing but dust and two unmarked tapes. He lifted them disinterestedly and was about to discard them as blanks when a small logo scrawled across the side caught his attention. A logo that he knew very well.
He was holding Oscorp security tapes in his hands.
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. What was Peter Parker doing with security tapes from his company? How did he even get them? Come to think of it, several tapes were reported missing several weeks ago. He checked the data numbers on the side to confirm it. These were those tapes.
"What the hell?" he murmured as he stuck the first one into the ancient VCR. Sitting on his heels, he watched as it came to life and showed, with flickering, black and white brilliance, Madison Avenue stealing his favorite paperweight.
"So that's what happened to my paperweight!" He exclaimed to himself, somewhat bemused. He knew it had been stolen, but he had never thought to think of Madison and her penchant for shiny things.
But how did Peter get these tapes . . . Harry jammed in the second tape and sat on his heels, confused and waiting for an answer. Slowly, as if unwilling to show what it held, the second tape flickered and began to show the silent scene of Madison's crash and burn into the spider cages. As the tape fuzzed out and slowly died, Harry stood, his gaze dark. What was going on? He never knew that Madison had crashed into the cages; he had only heard that there was an accident and that one of the spiders had been discovered missing. What if Madison . . .
Harry spun around, unable to complete the thought, not even sure what he was thinking. But the old question burned: why were the tapes in Peter's apartment, what did Peter have to do with Madison and the spiders?
Breath quickening, Harry began to sweep the apartment, searching for anything out of the ordinary, trying hard to quell the terrible fear that was rising inside of him. Something wasn't right here; there was something that those two weren't telling him, but what?
Slowly he entered the bathroom, his eyes catching the garbage can resting underneath the ancient sink. Pulling it toward him, Harry found that it was filled almost to the brim with bloodstained bandages and towels.
"So much blood," he murmured as he shoved the garbage can back into its place. "But why?"
Entering Peter's room, he began to tear through drawers, the combination of his worry and the drugs in his system making him more and more frenzied. Finally, in the bottom drawer, he pulled away a pair of gray sweatpants to discover a red and blue jumpsuit.
His breath caught in his throat. Peter was Spiderman.
"No," he whispered to himself. "No, it can't be."
But what, he thought as he sunk, despairing, into a heap at the side of Peter's bed, what does this all have to do with Madison?
Then it hit him. Madison, the tapes, the spiders . . .
"Oh God," he began to shake. "No, I can't believe it, Peter and . . . "
Madison.
Madison was Black Widow.
xxxxx
Reviews make me smile and a smiling me is a happy me!