The Spider Brothers
PenPatronus
Chapter Two
Blood Magic
Peter One woke up shivering in a narrow meat locker. The one flickering lightbulb that hung from the ceiling showed him empty racks, abandoned boxes, windowless walls, a single closed door, and meat hooks. The refrigerated room was old and otherwise empty, but still smelled of rotten meat and blood. Peter groaned as he sat up. The suit was gone. He was back in his white button down, sneakers, jacket, and severed tie. His broken ribs hadn't healed yet, and neither had the gunshot wound. And the piece of his heart that belonged to Aunt May throbbed almost audibly in his bruised chest.
His right wrist, hand, and fingers tingled – not in a Spider-Man way, but in a about-to-fall-asleep way. Peter rotated his head and saw that a glowing, sapphire-colored cuff circled his wrist. That, he realized, was why it took so much effort to even move his neck. The witch's magic was sucking out his strength and energy. He wouldn't be able to kick the door down anytime soon.
"P-Peter…"
Adrenaline surged through Peter One's body. Groaning, he rolled onto his stomach and started crawling toward the voice. Peter Two lay spread-eagled on his back in the rear of the locker. Lines stood out on the elder Spider-Man's pale, bruised face. Peter One extended his arm, grabbed his brother's outstretched hand (he had a blue cuff, too), and squeezed. "Hey," he greeted, "hey, you all right?"
Peter Two licked his chapped lips. "What happened?" he asked, voice faint. "Are you ok? Where are we?"
"Not sure. I mean, I'm not sure where we are. What happened, well…" Peter One struggled to verbalize it. "A blue witch tried to stop Dr. Strange from closing the doors to the alternate universes. When he wouldn't open them again, she got all mad and kidnapped us."
Peter Two raised one eyebrow. "Because we can help her get what she wants… How?"
Peter One shrugged and squinched his nose. "Don't know."
Peter Two offered a half-smile. "Ok." He squeezed One's hand tighter.
Peter One returned the squeeze. "How do you feel? Healing ok?"
Peter Two arched his back and stretched it. After a long grimace he concluded, "Healing but… Slowly. Don't heal as fast as I used to. Internal organs can take a whole week."
Tears suddenly filled One's eyes. "At the statue I said 'thank you' but didn't thank YOU, you know, specifically for…" Peter One swallowed deep. "For stopping me from… You know. And then you got stabbed and, oh my god, I'm so sorry."
"Peter…" Peter Two took a deep breath. "I'm proud of you. You could've kept fighting me, but you stood down. I've tasted that kind of rage. It's almost uncontainable. And…" Peter Two suddenly lifted his head and looked around the meat locker. "Wait… Where is he?"
Peter One also scoured the room. "Peter Three?" he called, uselessly. When he turned back to Two, he found the other Spider-Man staring at the ceiling.
"He's nearby," said Two. "I can sense him."
"You can… What?"
"As I get older it takes longer to heal, but my senses keep getting stronger. I can sense him." Peter Two suddenly shut his eyes and squeezed them tight. "And he's in pain…"
Footsteps. They both heard them. Peter One sat up, helped Peter Two do the same, and they both stared at the door. It opened, but only briefly, and unseen hands shoved a disheveled Peter Three into the meat locker. Like Two, Three was still in his suit, but his sleeves were rolled up and a white bandage encircled his left forearm. His face was cut and bruised, his suit torn, his hair rumpled. A sapphire cuff hung around his right wrist.
"Hey, guys!" Three greeted, grinning. He teetered. His arms went dead limp and he collapsed forward onto his knees. "What's up?" He was still smiling when he landed on the floor, face first.
"Oh, man," Peter Two and One said simultaneously. Together, they crawled on their hands and knees over to their brother. Gently, Two cradled Three's head while One rolled him over onto his back. Peter Two sat cross-legged and guided Peter Three's head into his lap, cheek against his knee. "Hey, hey!" Two patted Three's cheeks to make him open his eyes. When one pair of eyes met the other, both Spider-Men smiled.
"You're ok!" Three whispered happily.
"You're ok," Two replied somberly. "You're ok, you're with us now… What did the witch do to you?"
Three rotated his head and nodded his chin at his left arm. "Oh, she took a little blood sample. Ok, maybe not a little. More like a few pints. But they patched me up afterwards – wasn't that nice of them?"
"A few pints?" Peter One gasped.
"Who's 'they'?" asked Peter Two.
Three's eyes rolled back into his skull and would've stayed there, but Peter Two patted his cheek again. Three groaned like a child who didn't want to get out of bed to go to school. "There are three dudes," he reported. "She called them her sons. And she said she needed my blood for blood magic."
"Oh, that doesn't sound sinister at all," commented Two.
"What else did she say?" One asked. "What's your blood supposed to do?"
Three slowly closed and opened his eyes. "She wants to use it in a spell to open a portal to my universe."
"Why does she want to go to your universe?" Two wondered. "I mean," Two gestured at One, "this one is perfectly lovely."
Peter One beamed. "Thanks!"
Peter Three blew a chef's kiss. "Marvelous."
"Awww, you guys…" One waved his hand and blushed.
"Don't know for sure why the witch wants to go to other universes," said Three, "but I have a theory…"
Peters One and Two exchanged looks. "Well, share it for the whole class to hear," said Two.
Three's facial expressions contorted. "Ever since I got here I've been thinking about… About one thing. About finding one person…"
"Oh," Peter Two bowed his head. "Of course."
"Gwen?" One clarified.
Peter Three nodded. "What if Gwen is somewhere in your universe?" Three whispered, nodding at One. "Or yours?" he continued, looking up at Two. "What if there are billions of Gwen's out there? What if – What if I could figure out how to access those universes and go through them one by one, looking until I find her?"
Peter Two nodded as he said, "You think this witch wants to find someone."
"I think she's desperate to find someone. And she doesn't care who she hurts in the process." Three closed his eyes again. He left them closed for a long time.
Again, Peter Two patted his cheeks. "I think you should stay awake," he advised.
"Thanks." Peter Three gave both Peter Two and Peter One a grateful smile. "Gosh, it's weird how much I trust you two. I mean, we only just met. But from those first moments I could sense it – sense that you're good guys."
"Do we like each other because we're the same person?" Peter One wondered. "Do we like each other because… Because we like ourselves?"
Peter Three spat out one short, strong laugh. "I, uh…" Peter Three cleared his voice. "I don't really… like… myself. I've made too many mistakes to think much of – of me."
"There's that negative self-talk again," Peter Two pointed out. "What did I say on the statue?"
Three rolled his eyes. "I'm amazing."
"Hey." Peter One took Peter Three's hand in both of his and squeezed. "You saved MJ. I love her, and you saved her, and I could thank you every day for a million years and it still wouldn't be enough to show my gratitude."
"You're amazing," Peter Two insisted.
Peter Three blushed. "Thanks, guys."
Footsteps again. Peters One and Two helped Three sit upright against the wall. The three Parkers huddled together as if around a campfire. The door revealed three tall men when it opened. They looked similar – no, they were actually identical triplets, One realized. The two closest to the spider men aimed large guns while the third strutted forward, shoved One and Three aside, and grabbed Peter Two by the neck of his suit.
"Whoa, ok! Ok, I guess it's my turn," Peter Two said, trying to sound lighthearted when the man hefted him to his feet and half-dragged him toward the door. "See ya later!"
Peters One and Three waved halfheartedly. "Do you think they took him because the spell worked and she wants to see another universe, or because it didn't work and she wants to try the spell on him," One whispered.
Peter Three had tears in his eyes. "Wish I knew."
To Be Continued