Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

That was all Peter was able to hear in his head as he was swinging through the air as fast as he could to reach Thea before Kasady could reach her. His heart was racing, his mind was focused on one thing. Saving Thea at any cost.

Miles was swinging with him, trying to keep up with Peter, but the black suit has morphed around him and gave him extra speed and strength.

"Please don't let it be too late!" Peter begged the universe as he raced.

"Peter, we'll save her!" Miles promises as he did his best to keep up. "Keep calm."

"I'll be calm when my sister isn't in the path of a serial killer!" Peter promises as they came up across Verdant.

Outback of the club, Thea was working on throwing some bags of trash out when Cletus comes across her.

"Hello." Cletus greeted, getting Thea's attention and she immediately recognizes him.

"Get away from me!" Thea cried and tried to get back inside, but he was blocking the doorway.

"Oh, I don't think so. You see, I'm looking for something I can seek my teeth into." Cletus said as he grabbed Thea.

But before he could get a bite in, webbing came and attached to his back. Peter came down and yanked Cletus away from her and slammed Kasady into the wall.

"Get her out of here!" Peter told Miles as he came down and took Thea as far away as he could.

"That was my lunch!" Cletus cried in anger as he turned to Peter. "But I guess I can settle for Spider Soup."

"How about a knuckle sandwich!?" Peter asked, that pun was so bad it almost hurt, as he punched and sent Cletus flying into the dumpster.

"He almost killed someone we love."

"He'll only get life for this."

"That's too good for him!"

Peter shot a web to attach to Cletus and flung him through the air and slamming into the ground. Anger filled his mind as only one thing was on Peter's head right now.

"Kill him!"

Peter yanked Cletus again, this time pulling him closer so he could punch him in the face. While Peter was pummeling him, Cletus was able to get a bite on his arm, causing Peter to backhand him and send him flying.

Looking down at the torn suit, Peter watched as it revealed his normal red suit underneath it and healed itself. Seeing it fixed, Peter marched over towards Cletus.

"Put him down like the dog he is!"

Peter stopped being cautious about the voice in his head as he was starting to agree with it. Cletus got back up and was loving this encounter as he went to swing, only for Peter to easily dodge it, leap over him while keeping his fingers on his back. That results in when Peter landed on the ground, he sent Cletus flying over his head and slamming into the ground.

Cletus was getting hurt, only having a giant smile on his face after every blow. Peter pulled Cletus up on his feet and started to send right hook after left hook.

"End him!"

Peter started to stop pulling his punches and kept sending punch after punch, bruising Cletus and watching his face turn red and blue, Peter was ready to end this.

"Finish the job!"

Peter then grabbed Cletus by the neck and started to suffocate him. Cletus was gasping for air as Peter was about to go and punch him in the chest.

"Pete!" Miles called out, stopping Peter and causing him to look over to Miles and noticed a look of shock and fear in his eyes.

Peter looked over at Cletus and all of his bruises started to form on his face. Looking down at his black gloves, Peter saw how red they have become from the blood.

A few minutes later, Yuri and Quinten got an anonymous tip of where Cletus was and found him wrapped in a web, hanging upside down outside of Verdant.

Peter returned home and was sitting in the chair near his computers while his friends wondered what to do or think. But none of them spoke a word for a good ten minutes, the only noise coming from the tv confirming that Cletus was back in police custody and was dealt with by Spider-Man.

"Peter..." MJ started off the conversation "Why didn't you listen to us?"

"I didn't even hear you guys talking," Peter admitted, looking down at his feet. "I only heard this...voice, telling me what to do."

"The Symbiote is talking to you now?" Miles asks just as Peter realized what he said.

The cat was out of the bag now and Peter sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry...I think this thing is messing with my head."

"But I thought it only did that to Malcolm." MJ was confused by that theory. "So, unless you somehow got his DNA in you..."

Anya flinched at the statement that has given Miles a moment to look at her and noticed her reaction. "Anya, you good?"

Anya looked up at him and started to shake. "Uh, yes. I'm...I'm fine..."

Peter noticed her look and realized she was scared of something. "Anya, what are you keeping from us?"

Anya thought of what to say and realized there was nothing she could say that wouldn't satisfy them. Nothing except for the truth.

"Peter, I am so sorry...I didn't want you to find out this way." Anya started to tear up at the thought of confessing everything. But right now, if he doesn't know the truth that creature could begin corrupting his head. "But you need to know the truth..."

Peter watched her and wondered what she had to say.

Downstairs, Oliver, Moria, and Walter were finishing watching the news regarding Kasady's arrest and talking to Thea over the phone. She was still staying with Roy and wasn't around as often.

"Thank god for Spider-Man." Moria was happy when she heard how Peter saved his sister.

That's when she spotted Peter in the doorway to the living room, tears running down his face. Anger filled in his eyes, which caused Moria to become worried.

"Peter, everything alright?" Oliver asked, wondering what was wrong.

"I know your secret," Peter stated and his brother. stepfather, and mother froze at the statement. "How could you not tell me that Malcolm Merlyn was my father?!"

"Peter..." Oliver took a step forward, only for Peter to take a step back.

"I should have known...this family is nothing but lies and secrets." Peter scoffed, anger filling and rising his entire body. He then started to walk away when Oliver called out.

"We were trying to protect you." Oliver tried to defend their actions.

Peter scoffed for a second time, turning over to them. "And wouldn't you think that knowing that freak was my father would answer a lot of questions? That it wouldn't help me to know the truth? It wouldn't be better to hear from my parents and family rather than discover it through my friends?"

The three of them had no idea what to say next as Peter made his way back upstairs, no idea what to think anymore.

Peter made it back to the room where he saw MJ, Anya, and Miles all standing there, almost like they were ready for an attack. "Great, now what?"

"Peter...you know we love you, right?" MJ asked him, wanting to make sure he was calm about what they were going to do.

"Yeah..." Peter started off, with no idea what to think.

"Which is why I want to ask you calmly and carefully...remove the suit," Miles asked of him, holding pieces of metal he found around the place.

"And what are you going to do with that?" Peter asked, gesturing to the metal.

"Miles noticed during your fight with Rhino that the suit isn't comfortable with vibrations," Anya explains to him.

"And we need to get that suit off of you," MJ stated.

"They want to separate us! If they do, we will no longer have power!"

As Miles went to bang the metal together to prove his point, Peter shot a web without even thinking of it. It attached to one of the metal pieces he was holding and was yanked out of Miles' hands.

"Pet-" Miles was trying to reason with him when Peter's costume formed over him and the Symbiote suit sent the metal flying back to Miles.

Miles couldn't avoid the attack due to the speed and Peter's strength and was hit in the head, flying into the bed.

"They can't separate us!"

Peter kept on trying to fight off against them, holding Anya and slamming her into the wall. Anya started to choke and tried to pull Peter off of her.

"She kept this secret from us! She deserves to die!"

"Peter! Stop it!" MJ cried as she tried to separate Peter from Anya, resulting in him turning and smacking MJ. MJ was sent toppling over and Peter immediately stopped, realizing what he was doing.

Peter looked around and watched Miles trying to get back up, Anya was laying against the wall trying to catch her breath, and MJ looking up in shock and horror. He couldn't believe what he did and saw the shock on all of their faces.

"Who are you?" MJ finally asks, this not being the Peter that she has known for years.

Peter felt angry and distraught, with no idea what to think or say. His entire world has been turned upside down. Everything he was led to believe once upon a time has been a lie.

"I don't know," Peter whispered, walking past everyone and opening the window before leaping and swinging off into the night sky.

Peter kept on swinging, just swinging throughout the city, with no idea what he was going to do.

Who was he anymore?

Was he still the city's protector?

Was he always doing this to get more power and become the son of Malcolm Merlyn?

Finally coming across a church, he just landed on the side and stayed there. Sulking as the sky clouded over and rain started to pour.

Or...was it because of the suit?

Peter looked down at his hands, eyeing the Symbiote and wondering if what they were saying was true. Was it possible the suit is changing his brain?