All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.
Note: this story begins shortly after the "The Other: Evolve or Die" story arch, which is recently completed in the Spider-Man comics.
A New Life
By TVfan
Chapter 4: Aftermath
Avenger's Tower
"What did you say?" Peter gasped again as he looked Jessica Drew squarely in the face.
Jessica gestured to the tube that Peter had just removed his unconscious wife from and said plainly, "This is the tube that I went into to restore my own powers."
"You said something about it being active," Tony Stark pointed out.
"It was still active after it restored my powers," Jessica answered and then mumbled under breath, "As if there weren't ENOUGH Spider-Women running around."
"What?" Peter gasped, not entirely believing everything fully.
"Your wife was knocked into a tube that gave me my powers," Jessica explained slowly, "The device still works and has plenty of the formula in it. The device activated when the door shut and your wife is currently developing her own powers, if they haven't developed already."
Peter was prepared to advance on Jessica to try and fight her, despite still having MJ in his arms. He couldn't quite believe that all of this had happened. Jessica stood her ground, and in the end it was Tony who had to step between the two of them.
"Peter, for now, let's get your wife down to the medical labs and we'll take a look at her," Tony said calmly, "I'm sure this isn't something you wanted to happen, but that doesn't change the fact that it has happened. Right now all we can do is try to establish what the consequences are. For all we know, the device might not have worked properly and it's just knocked her out."
"What I want to know is why Jessica needed it in the first place?" Captain America asked from his position.
"Didn't you know?" Jessica asked.
"Know what?" the Captain America asked, "I know you retired for a while, but that's about it."
"I 'retired' because the original formula that my father created eventually wore off," Jessica sighed, "Then all these other Spider-Women came out of the woodwork. Two good, one bad. Three good if you count Madame Web. Carpenter and I were helping Web train the third 'Spider-Woman'. Mattie however, is too young to be playing the superhero game, so I persuaded her to use the power she gained from the Gathering of Five ceremony to recreate the equipment that my father used that first gave me my powers."
"So when will your powers wear off now?" Peter asked.
"I had Mattie correct the formula so that the effects would be permanent," Jessica answered, "The whole thing left her drained and while she still has her powers, they won't be back up to strength for years."
"I can imagine," Peter grumbled, remembering the girl who had first masqueraded as Spider-Man after Osborn's 'Gathering of Five' and then became Spider-Woman when Peter returned to the webs, "Mattie's powers were never quite 'god-like'. Would have really disappointed Osborn if he had actually gained them. But why did you need to store this device here? Why didn't you just destroy it when you got your powers back?"
"Just in case Mattie didn't have the power to get it completely right," Jessica sighed.
Peter was about to say something when Jessica then cut him off again.
"But that doesn't matter," Jessica said firmly, "If you're upset about your wife gaining super-powers, maybe you'd like to explain how she and your mother…"
"Aunt," Peter corrected.
"Whatever," Jessica sighed, "how your wife and Aunt got into this section in the first place. Stark set this aside as Avengers only."
All eyes then centered on Peter, who began to look embarrassed.
"I gave Mary Jane the access codes," Peter answered, "None of the intercoms in the other parts of the tower can contact here and since she doesn't carry the special Avengers card, she'd need to come down here if she ever needed to warn me of something."
"You still shouldn't have given her the access codes," Tony said firmly, "We got lucky by the fact that the worst consequence of all this is that she might have her own spider-powers now. I keep a lot of the special fuels, which are radioactive, for my armor in this part of the tower and other pieces of dangerous equipment are stored here. She doesn't know her way around, and she could have very easily been thrown into something more volatile."
Peter only looked down at his unconscious wife, realizing that she could have been killed if the situation had been different.
"I'm sorry," Peter said weakly.
"It doesn't matter now," Tony sighed, "Let's get her down to the medical wing, make sure she's alright and see what's happened."
Under New York
The Hobgoblin staggered into the underground base that he and the robots had set out from earlier in the day. He found Ricky sitting on a stack of crates that housed much of the Goblin's weaponry. He slowly lowered his hood and removed his mask.
"How did it go, sir?" Ricky asked.
"Lousy," Kingsley grumbled, "Physically, I fought Spider-Man to a draw, but he cheated and damaged my glider. I'm now going to have to spend some time repairing it."
Ricky said nothing. After a few seconds, Kingsley looked up at the large computer system that Tracer had set up as his chief command console.
"So, have we heard anything from our 'divine' friend?" Kingsley asked.
"Not since he left, sir," Ricky answered.
"That's good news then," Kingsley answered, "We can assume that he's dead then. I wonder what his excuse this time was."
"I neither make nor need excuses," came Tracer's voice from the computer system.
Kingsley and Ricky turned to see Tracer's face on the large computer screen.
"So, did you win?" Kingsley asked.
"Now," Tracer sighed, sounding embarrassed, "You did not construct the robots to my specifications. Spider-Woman was able defeat her copy and Spider-Man was able to obviously defeat you and his copy."
"All you told me to do was put the disk in the computer," Kingsley answered, "Maybe the Avengers are merely better then you give them credit."
"Yes," Tracer mused, "The stupid butler shot me a couple of times."
"Jarvis shot you!" Kingsley laughed, "That's so funny!"
Tracer watched from the screen as both Kingsley and Ricky fell to the floor with laughter.
"Yes, very funny," Tracer answered, "Now reactivate me."
"What?" Kingsley asked.
"My 'soul' is truly immortal," Tracer answered, "My body can die, and when it does, my 'soul' returns here. Thanks to your earlier interference I can not reactivate myself on my own. You must reactivate me."
"Why should I?" Kingsley asked.
"You need me to defeat Spider-Man," Tracer answered.
"You couldn't even beat his butler!" Kingsley laughed back at him.
"And you need me," Tracer replied, "Without my files on all the world's heroes and villains, you can't possibly handle them if they decide to gang up on you."
"Ricky?" Kingsley asked as he turned back to his servant.
Ricky leaned back and then pulled up a stack of papers from the ground behind him. Kingsley carefully took them and smiled as he did so.
"I had Ricky, here print out the list while we were out," Kingsley smiled, "I don't need you for that."
"I am stronger then both you and Spider-Man combined, and powerful enough to make sure that the arachnid's spider-sense is not a factor," Tracer commented.
"And twice as arrogant," Kingsley snorted back, "Your little robot that mimicked Spider-Man mentioned that I was a pawn. We were supposed to be partners. Partners don't refer to each other as pawns."
Kingsley then set his glider on top of another set of crates in a manner in which he could begin working on repairing his equipment.
"I don't think I want to reactivate you, and besides, I can't remember what button I pushed that activated you in the first place," Kingsley commented.
Tracer illuminated the button that Kingsley had pushed when he first came to the underground base.
"This is the button," Tracer answered.
"Sorry," Kingsley replied, "Busy."
Tracer's face only growled on the screen.
Avengers Tower
Mary Jane lay quietly on a examination table, clothed in her underwear and a medical gown. Peter protested at having to change his wife's clothes but Tony said the process was necessary so that equipment could do a full analysis, so he and Jessica removed her outer cloths and put the medical gown on. Mary Jane slept on threw all of this.
Tony meanwhile had moved over to a series of computers that were displaying the results. He looked closely at the screen's image. It showed the outline of the human body and various sections were being illuminated as data from the devices scanning Mary Jane was received.
"Interesting," Tony commented.
"What is it?" Peter asked, still wearing his Spider-Man costume, minus the mask.
"Well it's the results," Tony answered, "I'm no biologist, but the computers do have a list of everyone's powers and what parts of their body are truly affected by them, with the exception of me, since my power is in my armor."
Tony then turned and pressed a few buttons and screen showed a similar outline of the human body. The skin however was surrounded by a green light while the muscle structure was covered in a red glow.
"This is what the medical scans show for where Luke Cage's powers are," Tony explained, "His skin is nearly impenetrable and his strength is far beyond most superhumans and do not wear down that easily."
Tony pressed another set of buttons and another screen lit up with another outline of a human body. The muscles were illuminated in a red light. The nerves were illuminated in a yellow light. The lungs and heart were illuminated with a blue light.
"This is Steve's," Tony continued, "The super-soldier serum gave him enhanced strength and quick reflexes and superhuman stamina."
Tony then pressed a few more buttons and another screen illuminated showing the outline of a human body. The skeleton was illuminated in a gold light and rest of the body was lit with a purple light.
"This is Logan," Tony explained, "His powers are obviously in his unbreakable skeleton and claws and his mutant healing factor."
"What does all this have to do with Mrs. Parker?" Jessica asked.
Tony then pressed another series of screens pulled up the outlines of the human body, one on each side of the screen that was displaying the results that the equipment was getting off of Mary Jane. Both showed the musculature illuminated in a red light and the nervous system illuminated in a gold light. One had hands that were illuminated with a green light and blue light coming from the area around what could only be ovaries. The other, showed a green light on each wrist and a purple light inside the brain.
"Okay," Tony began, "The one on the right, is you, Jessica, while you, Peter, are the one on the left. They show your obvious similar powers of superhuman strength, enhanced reflexes, and wall-crawling ability. Jessica's shows her venom blasts and her pheromone powers. While Peter shows his organic web shooters and his 'spider-sense'."
Tony then turned the screens for Luke, Logan, and Steve off, leaving Jessica's, Peter's, and Mary Jane's on.
"Now again, I'm not a biologist," Tony began, "But it looks as though Mary Jane is gaining a combination of your powers. Her musculature seems to be getting stronger, and it is detecting the small hairs necessary for wall crawling. And while she seems to be gaining Jessica's pheromone powers, she is not gaining her venom blasts but rather Peter's web shooters and the 'spider-sense'."
"So the tube worked then?" Peter grumbled, sounding defeated.
"As I said before," Jessica grumbled, "As if there weren't enough Spider-Women around."
"I'm sorry if what Tracer's done has infringed on your uniqueness," Peter growled back, "You should have destroyed that stupid tube once you got your powers back."
"Enough of this," Tony said, coming between the two of them, "Fighting each other is not going to undo what has been done or make anything better."
"Can you undo this?" Peter asked hopefully.
"I'd need to be an advanced biologist, and considering the radiation factor, I'd need to have minored in the nuclear field as well," Tony answered, "Neither of which I did. I know enough about radiation to use it a fuel source, and some of the Stark Enterprises workers have found a way to cleanly dispose of the waste, but no one knows enough to tinker with anyone's DNA, especially involving radiation. Banner might be able to understand the radiation part and Richards might get the biology part, but we have no one that can do both."
"Like I said," Jessica said again, "We've got another Spider-Woman on our hands."
Peter was about to flat out punch her when Tony caught his arm, thankful that he was still wearing most of his armor and answered for Peter in a much calmer manner.
"Having powers doesn't mean that she will become another 'Spider-Woman'," Tony answered, "talk with Logan, there are many mutants out there that aren't superheroes or part of the X-Men."
Jessica quieted down, while Peter calmed down.
"I didn't want this to happen," Peter said weakly.
"We all know that," Tony sighed.
"How long until she wakes up?" Peter asked.
"I don't know," Tony sighed, "Jessica might be the best one to answer that question.
Peter turned his attention over to Jessica. The woman sighed and sat down in one of the chairs.
"I don't know either," Jessica said finally, "The first time, when my father used the device to save me, I was in a 'coma' for years. When Mattie and I recreated the device and I used it on myself, I was out for a few days. Given the fact that she's developing powers that I don't have and isn't developing all of my powers, there's no way I can give any experience based answer. She could be out for a day. A year. Shoot, she could even end up in a coma like I did."
Peter immediately looked depressed. Jessica placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I hope it doesn't end up that way," Jessica said trying to comfort him.
"We should let her sleep for now," Tony advised, "But you might want to make sure that she doesn't have to be anywhere today…"
Peter's eyes snapped open, remembering Mary Jane's rehearsal.
"Oh man! What time is it?" Peter asked.
Tony looked at a nearby watch and answered, "Nearly one in the afternoon."
"Oh man, Mary Jane's rehearsal starts in half an hour!" Peter exclaimed and leaped to his feet, "I need to get down there and let the director know that she can't make it."
"You?" Jessica asked, "Shouldn't you stay here with her?"
"I should," Peter agreed, "But MJ's told me that the director shuts off his phone half an hour before rehearsal starts so that he can focus. I'm the only one who can get down there in time and have a legitimate reason for being there."
With that, Peter pulled his mask back on and went in search of a window to leave from. Mary Jane, meanwhile, slept on, although it was clear that she wasn't dreaming comfortably.
Elsewhere in the Tower, Aunt May watched Steve finished the basic first aid that Jarvis needed taken care of. The elderly woman was greatly relieved that he would be able to make a full recovery.
"There," Steven Rogers commented as he tightened the bandage that kept the wound closed, "I guess first aid training in basic still comes in handy."
"Thank you, Mr. Rogers," Aunt May said gratefully.
"It's nothing," Steve answered the elderly woman, "Besides, it looked to me like you took his wounding pretty hard."
Aunt May was about to answer when Tony stuck his head in the doorway.
"How's he doing?" Tony asked.
"He'll make a full recovery," Steve answered, "Tracer only got him in the shoulder."
"Where's Peter?" Aunt May asked.
"He's gone to inform Mrs. Parker's director that she won't be able to come in today," Tony answered, "He should come back as soon as he's done."
Aunt May then turned her mind to what had happened to Mary Jane.
"How is she?" Aunt May asked.
Tony sighed, "From what we've been able to analyze, the device has given her powers similar to both Peter and Jessica. She's still unconscious. Peter can hardly believe it and Jessica is pretty frustrated that there's another woman with spider-powers."
"Oh dear," Aunt May managed.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Steve asked.
"If I were a biologist and an expert with radiation, maybe," Tony answered, "But I'm better with robotics. There is nothing I can do."
There was a silence for a few moments before Tony spoke up again.
"I'm actually here to get your help Steve," Tony sighed, "If you help me lug Tracer's body down to the lab we can examine him and figure out how he came back in the first place. That should help Peter out."
"Okay," Steve nodded, "You two will be alright?"
Aunt May nodded as Jarvis slowly pulled himself out of the chair.
"I can take her down to where Mrs. Parker is," Jarvis answered.
Daily Bugle
Meanwhile, at the main offices of one of New York City's larger newspapers, the phones were ringing off the hook as various witnesses called in to report the battle that occurred at the Avenger's Tower. Struggling to maintain some sense of order in the building was a middle aged man with his trademark 'Hitler' mustache, J. Jonah Jameson.
"I don't want deadbeats calling in to tell their story!" Jameson screamed at a secretary, "I want police reports! I want a quote from Spider-Man or one of the other Avengers! I want to know where Parker is!"
"No one has been able to get in contact with the Avengers, and the only people who have called in with the story are witnesses who were driving or walking in the area," the secretary answered, "You have to take some of their stories."
"Get Urich there!" Jameson insisted, "He'll get the story! Tell him to get some reports from someone in the Avengers, preferably Spider-Man. And will someone please find and bring Parker here! We need pictures!"
People nodded and quickly went about their work. Many running about and placing more phone calls. Jameson only sighed and stalked back into his office.
Off Broadway Theater
Peter gasped as he made his way into the theater after landing on the roof, changing into Peter Parker's clothing and managing to climb down to ground level without attracting any attention. He had a few minutes before the director started his rehearsal, so Peter was nervous about running into security. Strangely he found none. He shrugged it off as he made his way into the auditorium that was built around the stage.
He found multiple actors and actresses on the stage walking back and forth, many were talking with each other and few others were simply reading from a script. Meanwhile, standing near the stage was what Peter assumed to be the director. The man had his back to him, but he was busy giving instructions to the various actors and actresses on the stage. Peter quietly walked up behind him. He stood quietly waiting as the director continued speaking to his actors.
"Okay, George, remember, you're to be very excited when you hear the first part of the news and then horribly depressed when you hear the second part, got it?" the director yelled out, "And has anyone seen Mrs. Parker this afternoon? Her character is supposed to be giving the news to George's character."
"I haven't seen her," one actress said, "She might be late."
"I haven't seen her either," George answered, "And she's rarely, if ever, late."
"You got an extra wanting to talk to you, boss," an actor commented from the side of the stage.
The director turned to look at Peter. The man looked him up and down and finally folded his arms across his chest.
"Who are you and how did you get in?" the director growled, "I know you aren't in this play."
Peter raised his hands up in defense, "I know I'm not in your play, I'm just here to give you a message."
The director raised an eyebrow, and then looked at his watch.
"You have two minutes," the director said in a firm voice, "Then I'm calling security and having you arrested for trespassing."
Peter gulped and quickly began to explain, "Well, you see, I'm Peter Parker, 'Mrs. Parker's' husband and…"
"Husband?" the director interrupted, "Why are you here and she isn't?"
"Well, as I was saying," Peter tried to explain, "She wasn't feeling well last night and hasn't felt any better since. She's tried to power through it, but it finally got the better of her about an hour ago."
"You're saying my lead actress is sick?" the director demanded.
Peter nodded.
"Great," the director mumbled under his breath, "Just great. Do you know her lines?"
"No," Peter answered, "Why?"
"If she's sick, I need someone to voice her lines," the director explained, "I can't punish the rest of the cast because your wife is sick."
"I'm sorry but I don't know her lines," Peter answered weakly.
The director sighed again and then turned to the rest of the actors.
"Okay, you people got a thirty minute break while we wait for one of Mrs. Parker's backups to get here," the director ordered to them and then turned back to Peter, "tell your wife to get better quick. She's one of the best actors I have."
"No problem," Peter said with a weak smile and began to make his way out.
Once outside the theater sneaked into an alley and dressed himself once more in his Spider-Man costume. Web-slinging his way up onto the roof of a nearby building, Peter looked toward the Avengers Tower, where his wife lay unconscious and repair droids were still working on fixing the windows. Intense feelings of guilt washed over him.
"I let this happen," Spider-Man muttered to himself, "It's my fault this has happened. If I had been with her, this wouldn't have happened."
Spider-Man then leaped from the roof and slowly began web-slinging back to the tower.
"I should have been with her," Spider-Man thought to himself.
Half way back to the tower Spider-Man heard a terrified scream come from below him. He glanced down to see a group of muggers advancing on a woman, her male companion already on the ground, out cold or worse. Flashes of Mary Jane laying unconscious on the medical table flashed across his mind and Spider-Man immediately let go of the strand of webbing that he was holding.
Spider-Man came down and delivered a powerful blow the back of the head of one of the muggers. He fell quickly to the ground and Spider-Man bounced off the ground and flipped up to get between the other two muggers and the woman.
"No one else gets hurt today, do you hear me!" Spider-Man screamed at the top of his lungs and prepared to deal with the muggers.
The first of the remaining two muggers lunged at Spider-Man, brandishing a knife. Spider-Man easily dodged the blow and punched the mugger in the face as hard as he could. The sound of the mugger's nose breaking was quite audible.
"DO YOU HEAR ME!" Spider-Man screamed again.
The other mugger charged and managed to land one punch on Spider-Man, but it did nothing as Spider-Man lifted him into the air and threw him into a fire escape. The frustrated hero then webbed all of the muggers in place so that the police could come and take them off to jail.
"Do you hear me?" Spider-Man said again, this time weakly.
"Spider-Man?" the woman asked behind him, half frightened, half nervous, "Are you alright?"
Spider-Man turned to look at the woman. Upon seeing her hair color reminded him of Mary Jane and he had all he could do to keep from breaking down. While the woman had her hair cut fairly short, it was the same shade of red that Mary Jane had, and that reminded him of his wife, currently laying alone in Avenger's medical facility.
"Are you alright, Spider-Man?" the woman asked again.
"No," Spider-Man answered, breaking down and leaning against a wall, "Something's happened to my… to someone I care for deeply."
"I'm sorry for your loss," the woman said sympathetically as she moved to check on her unconscious male companion.
"She's not dead," Spider-Man answered.
"Just hurt?" the woman asked, "I'm still sorry."
"Something's happened to her that neither her or I wanted to happen," Spider-Man explained, "She's not exactly hurt, per say."
"No one ever wants to be hurt," the woman commented, "I hope she gets better."
Knowing he couldn't say anymore without giving away entirely what had happened earlier in the day, Spider-Man could only nod.
"I hope she does too," Spider-Man sighed as he shot out a webline and began to resume his journey back to the Avengers Tower.
Avengers Tower
Spider-Man returned to find Ben Urich talking with Tony in one of the main living rooms. He also noticed that Tony was back in a standard business suit. He was thankful he hadn't yet removed his mask, as he didn't want it being told to the Bugle that it was really Peter Parker who was Spider-Man.
"So you're comfortable living with all these superheroes, Mr. Stark?" Urich asked Tony.
"Always have," Tony answered, "I've always had Iron Man as a body guard and I've always done my best to see that the Avengers's financial needs are seen to."
"Can you give us a quote as to what happened here this morning?" Urich asked.
"Why don't you ask one of the heroes who was involved in the fight," Tony commented as he pointed toward Spider-Man, who had been trying to get around them without attracting attention.
Urich turned to see Spider-Man and almost smiled instantly.
"Spider-Man!" Urich said with a smile, "It's great to see you."
"Uh, hi Mr. Urich," Spider-Man answered.
"Could I ask you what happened here, earlier today?" Urich asked, "Something for the Bugle?"
"Nothing much," Spider-Man shrugged, "The Hobgoblin and a villain called Tracer attacked the building in an attempt to get me and at least keep the other Avengers distracted."
"Wasn't Tracer the name of a ROBOTIC villain that terrorized the city recently?" Urich asked.
"He was," Spider-Man nodded, "He believes himself to be the 'God' of robots."
"Where are they now?" Urich asked.
"The Hobgoblin fled when things weren't going entirely his way," Spider-Man explained, "and Tracer is currently offline. The Avengers have his shell."
"Shell?" Urich asked.
"He's a robot," Spider-Man answered, "When he's beaten, he's sort of 'died' in a way of speaking by sending his corps consciousness somewhere else."
"I see," Urich answered, "So the villains are defeated."
"For now," Spider-Man sighed.
"I think that covers the basics, which is all I need," Urich commented, "Thanks, Spider-Man."
"Say, you said you worked for the Bugle?" Spider-Man asked, trying to sound as calm and 'Spider-Man-like' as he could.
Urich turned and nodded.
"Tell your boss you gotta pay Parker more," Spider-Man said, "I love his pictures."
"I can try," Urich nearly laughed, "Jonah is not big on raises, even for those of us who are actually employed full time by the Bugle."
Urich then slowly left, leaving Spider-Man and Tony alone.
"So how did the visit with the director go?" Tony asked, once Urich was well out of earshot.
"Fine," Spider-Man answered removing his mask, "He's a little frustrated, but fine. How is she?"
Tony looked down, "Still asleep. May and Jessica are with her."
Peter sighed and slowly began to change back into his normal clothes. Largely pulling out of the web-pack on his back and then pulling them on over his costume. He had to remove the web-pack when it came time to put his shirt on. The two slowly made their way down to the medical lab. Aunt May and Jessica were seated on one side of the medical examination table that Mary Jane was still asleep on.
"Has there been any change?" Peter asked as he came closer.
"Still asleep," Aunt May sighed looking up at Peter with a nervous look on her face.
"And not comfortably," Jessica added, "She looks as if she's in a nightmare."
Peter looked down at his wife to see that her eyes were shut tightly and her head was rolling from side to side. Mary Jane wasn't making any noise, but her lips seemed to be mouthing the word 'no' over and over again.
"If it helps, Peter, I'm sorry for my comments earlier," Jessica sighed, "I mean, I've heard about all the stuff you had to go through with the clones and all, and I'm sure that was rough, but I've had to deal with one, losing my powers, and two having three women take my 'name' to fight crime or fight for criminals. There are some people who mistake me for the Spider-Woman that Doctor Octopus created and the Spider-Women that Julia Carpenter and Mattie Franklin were. I never had any of the rivalries that Carpenter had or those that Franklin had, but some curious people, who knew things about their adventures, asked me about them. Do you understand who frustrating that can be?"
Peter nodded, "I've had to answer some questions about Ben Reilly's adventures as Spider-Man on occasion."
Jessica paused for a moment to remember some the stories Peter had told her since the new Avengers team had been formed.
"I'm just afraid she'll end up being the fourth Spider-Woman in existence and I'll have to answer questions about another Spider-Woman," Jessica sighed, "I meant nothing personal toward you or your wife."
Peter returned his eyes to Mary Jane and sighed himself.
"It's alright, I guess," Peter sighed, "I shouldn't have reacted so personally to your comments. I've been feeling guilty; I guess that all this happened. If I had been with her, this wouldn't have happened."
"If you'd been with us, the Hobgoblin and his robot might have defeated the other Avengers while they battled their robot double," Aunt May argued, "Then you'd be facing Tracer, the Hobgoblin, and six robots. You couldn't have beaten all of them."
Peter sighed, "But we're in this current boat right now the way things went on in reality. What if I had actually managed to leave the tower before they attacked? You all could be dead by now."
"You shouldn't think that way," Aunt May insisted, "You shouldn't kill yourself because things don't go as you think they'd go. Life doesn't always go as we plan. That's what makes life, life. Be glad that Mary Jane is still alive."
Peter sighed again, "I am. It's just that I didn't want this to happen."
"None of us did," Jessica answered.
Peter watched Mary Jane shake her head back and forth, still asleep and sighed again.
"I don't think Mary Jane will want to become another Spider-Woman," Peter said to Jessica, "But, if something happens like that, I'm sure we can think of a different name. That would be about all that we can do now."
Jessica nodded and turned back to look at Mary Jane and wondered a loud, "What do you suppose she's dreaming about? I never remember having nightmares when I first got my powers or even when I had them restored."
"I don't know," Peter answered, "But it looks bad."
Dreamscape
Mary Jane quietly walked down an abandoned street in Manhattan. It was strange and frightening to her. The normally bustling metropolis was abandoned with no one in sight, and she couldn't even hear anything.
"This is strange," Mary Jane mumbled to herself, "Where is everyone?"
She cautiously crossed a street, fearing that a vehicle might come speeding around a corner. No vehicle appeared. After a few moments she heard a growling voice growl down from above her.
"Thief!" the voice growled.
Mary Jane looked up, but saw nothing and kept walking. After a few more steps she heard the voice again.
"Thief!" the voice growled louder.
Mary Jane looked up again, this time to see a monstrous female humanoid spider-like creature. It was covered in black hairs and had multiple yellow eyes and thick claws growing from the fingers on the hands and feet of it's eight limbs. Somehow, though, Mary Jane could see some of Jessica's facial features in the creature.
"Thief!" the creature yelled at her and dropped to the ground in front of Mary Jane, baring its fangs, dripping with venom.
Mary Jane screamed bloody murder and began to run in the opposite direction as fast as she could. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder to see the creature chasing her. Strangely, despite its eight limbs it wasn't gaining on her. She figured that such a creature had to have great speed on its own, far greater then anything she could do. She ran about three blocks before she saw a door open. Without hesitating, she ran through the door and shut it behind her. She sighed as she heard the creature banging on the door outside.
"What is going on here?" Mary Jane wondered to herself.
Then she heard Peter's voice call out from somewhere in the building she was in. She blinked uncontrollably. She didn't know which building she was in, and she didn't know how Peter could even know she was in the building. She didn't see him anywhere.
"Mary Jane," Peter's voice called out.
"Peter?" Mary Jane asked, "Is that you?"
"Where are you?" Peter's voice asked back, "I need you!"
The sounds of the creature outside the door had suddenly disappeared and Mary Jane decided to follow Peter's voice. She had to figure out what was going on.
"Where are you?" Peter's voice asked again.
"I'm right here," Mary Jane answered, knowing the line was stupid, but it was better then saying she had no idea where she was, "where are you?"
"In the bedroom," Peter's voice answered.
"Bedroom?" Mary Jane wondered to herself, "I ran into an office building. I know that much. Why would an office building have a bedroom?"
"Where's the bedroom?" Mary Jane asked as she entered a long hallway.
"At the end of the hallway," Peter's voice answered, "on the right."
Peter's voice went silent and Mary Jane walked slowly toward the end of the hallway. She found the door slightly open, and as she pushed it open the rest of the way, she found the room dark. Flipping the switch on, Mary Jane then found the room empty, other then a large bed.
"I could have sworn I heard his voice," Mary Jane muttered to herself as she walked further into the room.
After a few seconds she heard the door shut behind her, and she turned around to see what had caused the door to shut. What she saw made her scream again. It was another humanoid-spider creature. This one was obviously male with brown hairs and some of Peter's facial features.
"Why are you screaming?" the creature asked.
Mary Jane's eyes widened. The creature had Peter's voice.
"Peter?" Mary Jane stammered.
"Yes," the creature answered, "Why are you screaming?"
"Peter… what happened to you?" Mary Jane asked, visibly frightened.
"Nothing happened to me," the creature answered, "Why are you screaming?"
"Peter, you may have spider-powers, but you're not a spider," Mary Jane said firmly, backing up to the bed as the creature came slowly closer, "Something had to have happened to you!"
"Nothing's happened to me," the creature insisted, taking Mary Jane in his arms.
The thick hairs on the creature's six hands tickled Mary Jane's skin, and Mary Jane was fearful that the creature was going to kill her. Yet the creature held her gently, just like she knew her Peter would.
"I'm afraid," Mary Jane managed to stammer out.
"Afraid?" the creature asked, "Why should you be afraid? We're two of a kind."
"Two of a kind?" Mary Jane asked.
The creature then gestured to a large mirror beside them that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stepped back. Mary Jane sighed and looked at the mirror. She then screamed louder then she ever screamed before in her life. Her reflection in the mirror didn't show the human form she was used to, but the form of another female humanoid-spider creature, covered in red hairs.
"No!" Mary Jane gasped, stepping backward away from the mirror.
She looked down to see six arms, each with hands that had fingers that ended in sharp looking claws. She had sharp claws on her feet as well. She looked back into the mirror and saw the multiple eyes and glistening fangs.
"NO!" Mary Jane screamed, "This can not be!"
"What's wrong?" the creature asked.
"What's wrong?" Mary Jane shrieked, "I'm human. I'm not supposed to look like this!"
Mary Jane then raised her hands to her head, and flinched as she felt six palms touch her forehead.
"I'm not supposed to look like this!" Mary Jane insisted.
"But it's who you are," the creature said from the other end of the room.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mary Jane screamed.
Avenger's Tower, Medical Labs
Mary Jane's eyes opened suddenly and she sat up with a start. She was screaming the last words she remembered saying from her dream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mary Jane screamed.
"My goodness," Aunt May sat back, covering her ears.
"MJ!" Peter gasped as he stood up and grabbed Mary Jane by the shoulders, "MJ! Snap out of it!"
Mary Jane blinked and saw a very human Peter Parker gripping her buy the shoulders. She looked around to see that she was in one of the tower's medical labs and that Peter wasn't the only one there. Aunt May sat in a chair just to her right while Jessica, still in her Spider-Woman costume, minus the mask, was sitting in a chair to her left. She looked down at herself, and while she noticed that someone had put a medical gown on her, she was still human.
"Peter!" Mary Jane exclaimed and pulled her husband into a tight hug, "Thank goodness you're normal."
"Huh?" Peter asked, confused that that was the first sentence out of Mary Jane's mouth.
"I had a nightmare, Peter," Mary Jane answered, "A horrible nightmare. It was scary. I was walking through an abandoned New York and was attacked by a spider creature. And then I went to a building to discover you were in it, but you were also a spider creature and then I found out that… that I was a spider creature! It was horrible."
"Oh my," Aunt May gasped.
"Sounds like quite the nightmare," Peter commented.
"Almost prophetic in a way, though," Jessica commented.
"What?" Mary Jane asked, somewhat confused.
She looked around to see Jessica, Peter, and Aunt May exchange glances. All of them new something that she didn't.
"What?" Mary Jane insisted, "What is it?"
"Mary Jane, what was the last thing you remember before you blacked out?" Jessica asked with a very straight face.
The redhead thought for a moment and then began to answer.
"Well, May and I were in this storage room, trying to get away from Tracer, or at least find an Avenger," Mary Jane began to explain, "But we ended up trapped and Tracer came in after us. I saw him advancing on Aunt May, intending to kill her, so I leaped up and grabbed his arm so he couldn't make the blow he was intending to. He didn't like that I'd made contact with him and he threw me into this strange tube. The door shut and lights suddenly came on inside it. The last thing I remember is that I was beating on the door, frantically trying to get out. Then something stuck me in the arm, and I was out like a light."
It was Jessica who then began to explain what had happened. Mary Jane gave her all the attention that was required.
"Did your husband tell you anything about how I lost my powers?" Jessica asked.
"Wasn't that what gave the second Spider-Woman the justification to take the name?" Mary Jane asked.
Jessica nodded, "Well, the tube that Tracer threw you into was the device that allowed me to regain my powers. The device was still active. You blacked out because a special hypodermic needle that was part of the tube was injecting you with the serum that restored my powers."
"It…?" Mary Jane gasped in shock.
"Tony's run tests," Peter said weakly, "Your powers should be developed by now."
Mary Jane put her face in her hands.
"Oh man, the nightmare was right," Mary Jane mumbled, "I don't want this."
"None of us wanted this," Peter tried to comfort her, "I've actually felt it partially my fault that this happened."
"I've…?" Mary Jane began to ask.
"You seem to have a mix of both your husband's and my powers," Jessica answered, "Which is fairly interesting. Apparently the serum doesn't affect everyone in the same way. I always thought that anyone who used it would gain the same powers I have…"
"But the scanning equipment indicates that you have something like my spider-sense and the organic web shooters," Peter finished, "In addition to enhanced strength, reflexes, wall-crawling ability, and I think you got Jessica's pheromone powers as well."
Mary Jane only sighed and sat back.
"I don't want to run around in spandex for the rest of my life," Mary Jane insisted.
"You don't have to, dear," Aunt May said calmly, "Just because you have the ability, doesn't mean you have to use it."
"What about your husband's saying?" Mary Jane questioned.
"About power and responsibility?" Aunt May asked back, "Peter does more then enough to take care of that. Be a good person and don't break any laws, but you don't have to be a superhero just because you've gained super-powers."
"But almost everyone who ends up with… with powers ends up using them in one way or another," Mary Jane sighed, "I just want to be normal."
"I don't think the word normal has ever applied to our family," Peter sighed back, "This will just have to be something that we have to get through."
"But, even if you don't intend to use your powers, it might be a good idea still to learn how to use them," Jessica commented, "You don't want to accidentally use your strength to its fullest potential and harm someone or break something. Or get overly excited and use your pheromones. I'm sure the last thing you want, as a married woman, is to have some strange man hit on you."
"I've always had that problem," Mary Jane answered, giving a weak attempt at humor.
There was a weak chuckle that rose up, but nothing much more.
"We can help you get used to all of this," Peter sighed, "And I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," Mary Jane answered, "I guess I can't really escape what's happened."
"No, you can't," Jessica answered.
"Why did you have the tube here in the first place?" Mary Jane asked curiously, "If you got your powers back, you wouldn't need it again."
"It is possible that I could lose them again," Jessica answered weakly, "If you really don't like having yours, it is possible that your powers could be lost at some point. I asked Tony to store it here, because I didn't want someone finding it and using it to take my identity."
Mary Jane nodded.
"And if you do end up wearing spandex, and you take my name, I'll hurt you," Jessica answered.
"I don't want to wear spandex," Mary Jane answered.
"Promise me you won't call yourself 'Spider-Woman' if you do," Jessica insisted.
"Fine I won't," Mary Jane answered, "Because I won't be running around in public in my underwear."
Elsewhere
It was time. Claws dug into the webbing that made up the cocoon that had wrapped around it for the past few weeks. Eventually after a few mighty slashes and pushes, two grey, clawed hands pushed through the cocoon in the roof of a church in Manhattan. Embryonic fluid burned its skin, but the newly 'hatched' creature was not concerned with that. It's only thoughts were about Spider-Man, its 'other'. It had to deal with Spider-Man.
To be Continued…