Spider-Man and MJ: Never Break

Chapter 10 Harm

Mary Jane can barely remember what happened last night. She was working and she ran into a friend of hers named Liz. "Hey, MJ . . . (Something) (something) We're going over to Flash's place later to get high. You want to come?"

Wait. Did she join them? MJ sighed, remembering that she did join them and got high. She might have done some drinking, too. That explained why she couldn't remember much and why she had a headache.

"Why did I do that again?!" MJ thought, nauseated with herself. "I thought I was done with this." MJ covered her face with her hands in embarrassment and regret. "Right. I did it because my parents are terrible, and they want to meet my boyfriend who is in trouble." "Oh, crap!" MJ breathed out loud. "Peter! When was the last time I called him?!"

MJ took the covers off her body, revealing the daytime clothes underneath. She probably just plopped into bed as soon as she got home. Wait. She came back home! Her mother told her she'd better be able to tell her when they'd meet Peter. Did she tell them anything? What did she say to them when she came home high and drunk?

A knocking came from her window. It was Peter again. MJ rushed over to open it, thinking he might have been worried about her. "Hey, Pete."

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Peter asked coldly.

MJ's blood ran cold. She had no idea what she did to Peter last night, but she could tell from the look on his face that it was bad. "I . . . it's fuzzy."

"You called me . . . and told me I had to come over to Flash's house right away AS SPIDER-MAN!"

Oh, no.

MJ felt her soul being crushed by the shame.

Peter continued, "When I got there, you were high and you showed me off to your friends, bragging about how you know me."

Oooooooh, noooooooo.

"I . . . I am so sorry," MJ pleaded, guilt gripping her voice.

"I don't think you understand how serious this is."

"I do."

"If you knew, why did you do that?!" Peter asked with anger she wasn't used to seeing from him. "You could have let them know who I am! You PROMISED to keep my secret!"

"I wasn't myself. I lost control. I just . . . Peter, I never would have done that if I wasn't high."

"WHY WERE YOU HIGH?!" Peter shouted. "How could you be so stupid?!" Peter had no idea how much that hurt MJ. "You know, when I talked with Harry, I didn't want to believe all that stuff he said about you."

"What did he say?"

"He said you liked to kiss other people."

MJ stared at the floor in shame. "I was a different girl back then."

"Yeah, back then you used to get high and tell other people's secrets," Peter said sarcastically. "Did you kiss anyone last night?"

"I . . . I don't remember," MJ admitted. "I hope not," she thought.

"Listen," Peter growled, "what happened last night can never happen again!"

"It won't. I swear."

"Do you have any more drugs?"

"I . . ."

Peter took her hesitancy as confirmation. "Where is it?"

"I'll get rid of it. I don't know why I kept-"

"WHERE IS IT?!" Peter shouted impatiently.

"Under my bed," MJ whimpered.

Without asking for permission, Peter reached under her bed and dug around until he found her stash. Peter left her room, went down stairs and washed it down the kitchen sink.

MJ had followed him down stairs and watched as he ran the sink. She didn't want to save her stash, but even if she did, she wouldn't have dared try to stop him.

When he was done, he told her, "Those people you were getting high with. You don't talk to them anymore. Okay?"

MJ did not like that. Who was Peter to tell her who she can be friends with?

"I know they have a few problems, but they're my friends. I'm not just gonna-"

"YOU PUT MY AUNT'S LIFE IN DANGER!" Peter shouted, putting an accusing finger on her chest. "YOU DON'T GET TO GIVE ME ANY BACK TALK!" he shouted, terrifying MJ with the intensity she had previously only seen from her parents.

Peter walked toward the stairs, considering the discussion over.

MJ didn't know whether she should call him back so they can talk this out or just be glad he was leaving. She wasn't sure she could take any more of this.

"I have work to do! Just try not to do anything stupid!" Peter said before leaving the same way he came.

MJ was left alone with her misery. That was a side of Peter she never would have believed existed. He was furious, he didn't care to hear her out, he sounded just like her parents. And it was all because of her. MJ thought, "Why did I do that? I could have put Peter and May in even more danger than they're already in. Peter has always been such a sweet boy. He was the one I always needed and never had before. But I put that fury in him with my stupidity." MJ's eyes teared up. "Congratulations, Mary Jane! You ruined the only healthy relationship you ever had!" MJ sobbed miserably, wailing as she covered her eyes. She leaned on the wall and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor.


Long after she was done crying, MJ couldn't find the motivation to do much of anything besides blow her nose. She had been glad that her parents hadn't been in the house during her talk with Peter. They had been out to breakfast since MJ's mother was so upset, she refused to make it. But it wasn't long before her parents came back through that door and they were not happy with her. MJ braced herself, knowing she was about to get her second emotional beating of that morning.

"There you are! Where were you last night?!" her mother demanded.

"I was with friends," MJ said weakly.

"That doesn't mean you can stay out all night!"

"So they didn't see me when I came home?" MJ thought. "That explains why I don't have two black eyes . . . yet."

"You didn't come home because you didn't want to tell us when we'll see your boyfriend! You should have known you aren't getting out of this!"

Her father said, grabbing MJ's arm, "You think you can disrespect your mother like that?"

MJ had some backtalk to share, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to make things even worse for herself. MJ thought, "Screw it. He's going to hit me anyway." She said out loud, "Does no one get to disrespect her but you?"

Her father hit her with the back of his fist. He then pulled her into the dining room and threw her to the floor. He grabbed a chair and prepared to beat her with it.


As Spider-Man swung through the city, he slowly shifted from being angry with MJ to feeling guilty for yelling at her like that. "It was her fault," he thought uncertainly. "Maybe I shouldn't have blown up like that anyway. She looked so scared. Well, she should be scared," he argued with himself. "She could have let my secret slip. She didn't, though. She didn't actually mention my name last night. All they know is that MJ knows Spider-Man. They don't know if she knows who I am under the mask. And there's a chance that they all forgot the whole thing; they were all pretty high and drunk. Okay, maybe it was a stretch to say she put my aunt's life in danger." Spider-Man felt a sharp sting, remembering the terror on MJ's face which he inflicted. "Well, what was I supposed to do? Treat this like it's no big deal? What did I do the last time I found someone with drug addictions? Well, there was that time I was recruited for a PSA. I said that drugs aren't the solution to your problems. So what's MJ's problem? I didn't exactly give her a chance to tell me what has her so troubled that she would get that high and drunk. I should go back."


MJ slowly eased the shirt with long sleeves onto her aching body, not wanting anyone to see the damage on her arms and back. The bruises wouldn't form for a while, but the harm was already visible. "Why did I have to say 'Does no one get to disrespect her but you?' I should have made up some story," MJ thought, wincing in pain. Worst morning ever. The hangover didn't hurt as much as her wounds. And the wounds didn't hurt as much as her heartbreak. MJ grabbed her phone and just stared at it. Her parents had told her she can't leave her room until she call Peter and arranges for them to meet him. But what was she supposed to say to him? How could she ask him to come meet her parents right after their previous conversation? Mary Jane didn't know if Peter would pick up.

As it turned out, she didn't need to call on the phone because Peter knocked on her window again, much softer this time. This time, his countenance was disheartened and solemn rather than cold and vengeful. MJ nervously walked over and opened the window, wondering what kind of conversation they were about to have.

"Hey," Peter said nervously.

"Hey,"

"Um . . . about what I said before, that uh . . ." Peter scratched his head, trying to find the words.

"I'm sorry," MJ said. "I never should have been there, getting high or drunk. And I never should have told you to come over and I never should have told them that I know . . ." MJ lowered her voice, uncertain if her parents could hear. "Spider-Man. I'm never going to use that stuff again."

"I forgive you. I kind of have to since I already put you through too much punishment."

"You think that was too much?" MJ asked hopefully.

"Yeah, uh . . . I don't think anyone is actually going to figure out my secret. That thing I said about putting my aunt in danger was fake news. I'm sorry. I was just so . . ." Peter struggled to figure out how to say it without hurting her feelings.

"You were disappointed in me?" MJ guessed.

"No," Peter said, trying to figure out a better way to put it.

MJ dubiously tilted her head to the side, wanting for the truth.

"Yes," Peter admitted.

"And you were clearly angry. I understand why. I know that stuff Harry told you about me was hard to hear. I really was a different girl back then. I've been trying to do better. And I'm really disappointed in myself for slipping last night. If you don't want me to talk to those people anymore-"

"No, no, no," Peter said, shaking his head. "I mean, you can make your own decision. I would suggest telling their parents about what happened, but if you still want to be friends with them, you can. Maybe your friends just need a little help." Peter cleared his throat before saying, "Speaking of which, I realized that I didn't give you a chance to explain."

MJ wasn't sure what he was talking about. She just explained that it was a one-night slip into old habits that she regretted.

Peter said, "Pretty often, teens go to drugs when there trying to numb the pain of something. What was it for you? Why did you start taking that stuff in the first place?"

MJ was terrified to talk about it. But she felt compelled to answer his question for the sake of their relationship and the sake of his understanding. "Because my parents are abusive," MJ whispered, breaking into tears once again.

Peter was stunned. Had he just heard right about the living conditions MJ had been subjected to?

MJ rolled up her sleeves, showing him the red marks that came either from her father's tight grip or getting hit with the chair.

"MJ," Peter whispered, gently placing his hands under her arms to lift them up and get a closer look. "Your parents did this?"

MJ was having trouble talking; so she just nodded a few times.

Peter wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. She held him tight, crying on his shoulder.

"Listen. I'm not gonna stand for this," Peter said with conviction. "You can stay with me and Aunt May and press charges against your parents."

MJ asked hopelessly, "And then what? Get sent to a foster home where I'll get abused all over again?"

"If you get abusive foster parents, we'll take them down, too," Peter said encouragingly. Peter looked at her face, cupping her cheek with one hand and tucking some of her hair behind her ear with his other hand. "It would only be for a couple years. Once you turn eighteen, we can talk to May about you moving in with us if you need that."

"You don't know that I won't ruin things between us before then," MJ said ashamed. "What if I let you down again and you breakup with me."

Peter gave her a reassuring kiss before saying, "I am never breaking up with you."

MJ wiped a few tears from her cheek. "Why do you love me so much? You're a superhero and I'm just some broken bad-girl with daddy issues and mommy issues. Why do you love me so much?"

Peter smiled at her. "Because you're fun."

MJ kissed him passionately, grateful for his support and encouragement. When she was done, the first thing she said was, "Okay. Let's do it."

"I'll report this for you."

"Actually . . . I'd rather do it myself," MJ requested.

"Okay," Peter said, nodding.

"But could you get me out of here first?"


MJ and Peter opened the door, each taking with them some of MJ's luggage.

"Wha- Who is this?" MJ's mother asked, confused.

"This is Peter, my boyfriend," MJ said happily.

"How did you get in here? The door never opened."

"What are you talking about? The door opened three times in the last hour," Peter gas lit, his eyebrows furrowed as if she was talking nonsense.

"What's with all the luggage?" MJ's mother asked.

"What? This? My parents are going on a trip, but they don't have any of these rolling suitcase-thingies. So, MJ's letting us borrow them," Peter lied. If they knew each other better it would have been obvious because Peter's parents had been dead since he was a child. "I've been told you've been wanting to meet me," Peter said, reaching out for a handshake. Meanwhile, MJ was off to the bathroom to claim all the supplies she had in there.

"I have," MJ's mother said, going along with what was happening.

She shook his hand and Peter gripped her hand painfully tight. "So nice to meet you. You know, I've got to thank you for giving birth to such a wonderful young woman," Peter said pleasantly as he continuously shook her tormented hand.

"Ow, ow, ow," MJ's mother groaned through gritted teeth, trying to pull her hand out of his. "Let go!"

"Oh, excuse me," Peter said, releasing her hand. "I just don't know my own strength some times." This was not one of those times.

MJ returned from the bathroom and asked, "Ready to go?"

"Wait. I was hoping you could have dinner with us sometime," MJ's mother said, pretending to be friendly.

"Dinner? Yeah. How about Saturday night?" Peter asked, having no intention of showing up Saturday night.

"That sounds great. Does six o'clock sound good to you?"

"Sure. That's as good a time as any."

Peter and MJ walked out the door and loaded the luggage into MJ's car. Little did her parents know she wouldn't be coming back.


Author's Note: There is going to be one more chapter of Spider-Man and MJ: Never Break. But this is going to be the last chapter of Thor and Hulk: False Pantheon. The next chapter is going to be all Spider-Man and MJ.

A few more things I wanted to tell you. I have another YouTube video up. It's called –

Super-Man and Lois – Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

And, I just posted the first chapter of Disney Princesses: Attack on Encanto.

Also, I wanted to talk about my decision to write Thor and Hulk as a romantic item. I can't get into their respective relationships with Jane and Betty because the canon treats their relationships like trash. I kind of thought they had a few good moments together in the MCU and I liked the idea of writing a story about these two specific avengers, so it just felt right to me. Let me know what you think of my approach these characters.


Thor and Hulk: False Pantheon

Chapter 7 Freedom

Sfay gave them information on false god after false god. Thanks to her insights, Thor and Hulk were able to dispatch half the pantheon in a few days.

After a long day of killing false gods, Hulk invited Thor to his house for some rest and relaxation. The rest of the pantheon could wait for one night.

Hulk thought this was as good a time as any to introduce Thor to videogames.

"How do I tell friend from foe?" Thor asked.

"Your enemies have a red name tag over their heads," Hulk explained. Or, more precisely, "Bruce" explained since he was in that form at the time.

"And these warriors with blue name tags are my allies?"

"That's right. Follow your guys to the objective. They know where to go."

"Thor, son of Odin does not follow! He leads!" Thor declared with enthusiasm.

"Okay. You see that green thing with the number on it? Go toward that."

Thor faced the objective marker and went straight toward that, running into the wall. Bruce laughed as Thor just kept pushing forward on the thumb stick, only making his character slowly shift against the wall. "You can't go through the walls," Bruce laughed. "Go up the stairs."

"There is one with a red name tag! What do I do?!"

"Look at him and pull the trigger."

Thor shot frantically as he spun in circles. The next thing he knew, his character was dead. "What happened?!"

"Somebody killed you!"

"No!"

"Don't worry. You'll come back in a few seconds."

Once Thor was back, he asked, "Where can I find the man who has slain me?!"

"He'll probably be near the objective."

Watching Thor play videogames for the first time was as funny as Bruce expected. Bruce intermittently chuckled as Thor awkwardly made his way toward the objective, coming to unnecessary stops every time he turned the camera and barely able to maneuver around the simplest of obstacles.

Another player on Thor's team said, "Dude, you suck!"

"What did he say?!" Thor bellowed. Thor slowly turned to the general direction of the other player and shot at him. Though the bullets wouldn't have affected a player on his team even if his aim was accurate. "What did you say?! You dare speak to Thor, son of Odin in such a manner?!"

"He can't hear you. We don't have a headset like he does," Bruce explained.

"How do I find one of these headsets?!"

"I have a better idea." Bruce pressed a few buttons while saying, "We can mute him like this. Now, he can't talk to us."

"Aha! You have no power over me, foul mud spawn!" Thor said merrily.

Bruce had almost as much fun taking over so he could avenge Thor's many deaths as he had watching Thor bumble through each match. In a way, Thor did find it very interesting if not a little confusing. Bruce put a pizza in the oven and they took turns eating while the other played. After a long night of games and conversation, Thor and Hulk fell asleep on the couch.


"Wakeup," Bruce whispered, nudging Thor gently. "We have work to do."

"Right, right," Thor said, leaning forward and rubbing his eyes. "That was fun last night."

"Yeah, it was."

They both got up off the couch and Thor laughed for reasons unclear.

"What?" Bruce asked curiously.

"Skalbar said you agree to help me because you wanted to sleep with me. I guess you got your wish."

"Shut up," Hulk playfully said, giving him a good shove.

"You know, all you had to do was ask," Thor said.

Bruce looked at him, wondering if he understood what he was saying. As soon as he was certain, Bruce grabbed Thor and kissed him. He kept kissing him as he transformed into the Hulk, growing larger as Thor felt smaller in his arms. Hulk picked him up so they could keep going without him bending down so far. At first, Thor kept both arms around the back of his neck to keep from falling, but he knew that Hulk's embrace was enough to keep him up there, so he moved a hand down to Hulk's massive chest.

They only stopped once a portal opened and Sfay walked through. "I hate to interrupt, but I believe you've both over slept," she said.

Hulk put Thor down and said, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"I might have an idea how to find Xaxius."

"That's great, but how do we beat him once we find him?" Hulk asked. "That guy almost killed us the last time we fought him."

"Fortunately, my plan to find him comes with a plan to kill him."


With Sfay's help, Thor and Hulk recorded a video, talking about how many false gods they've killed. They claimed that whoever killed them would be the ultimate member of their pantheon. And they said that they're headed for Ifress, false goddess of the dead. Sfay made sure that the recording was publicly broadcasted all over Oblious.


Thor and Hulk arrived at Ifress's stone fortress. Inside, it was somewhat dark, but slightly lit by holes in the stone that lit in just enough daylight. On the throne was Ifress who had been sitting in waiting for their arrival. She was almost as tall as Xaxius. She was clothed in black, skin-tight latex. She was easier to see in the dark thanks to her long, red, glowing nails attached to her gloves. Her skin was a paler red and on her face were a few black veins. "I have been selected to fight you next?" she asked.

"You have," Thor confirmed.

Ifress clapped her hands twice. A multitude of red crystals ignited, illuminating a horde of animated corpses whose bodies these crystals were stuck in. These corpses picked themselves up off the floor and looked at Thor and Hulk.

"Your corpses will make a fine addition to my forces," Ifress said.

The corpses screeched and ran at them. Thor and Hulk smashed through hundreds. Each time they destroyed one of them, their crystal lost their light, slightly dimming the fortress. Hulk struck the ground, creating a shockwave that blew away dozens of corpses. Thor shot a continuous stream of lightning that scorched them. Large, troll-like beasts entered the battle, but their strength was little compared to the Hulk's.

Ifress herself rushed Thor, taking advantage of his distracted state. She clawed at him, getting in a few good slashes. With his focus broken, the corpses were able to overwhelm him. Ifress did the same to Hulk and the tide of the battle was quickly turned in the corpses' favor.

But all was not lost. A storm of erratic energy cut through the ceiling and eradicated twenty of the corpses. Xaxius fell through the new slit in the ceiling and landed in the battlefield with his floating gauntlets by his sides. Just as Sfay predicted.

"What are you doing?!" Ifress demanded.

"Whoever kills Thor and Hulk will be renowned as our pantheon's strongest. It will not be you," Xaxius explained.

Sfay knew that Ifress was the second strongest member of the pantheon of Oblious. She knew Ifress could kill Thor and Hulk and she knew Xaxius wouldn't allow that.

Enraged by the betrayal, Ifress attacked Xaxius, leaving her corpses to fight Thor and Hulk without her. Between them smashing through hordes of corpses and the two most powerful false gods of Oblious colliding, the whole fortress was shaken and bits of debris were shaken loose to fall on the corpses.

Ifress pushed her advance through storms of energy while Thor threw Mjolnir through tens of corpses at once. Xaxius backed away from Ifress who slashed at his guarding arms while Hulk slammed beasts onto other corpses.

Xaxius struck Ifress with his floating gauntlets while Thor and Hulk rampaged. In time, the last of the corpses was destroyed. The loss of their crystals glow would have dimmed the fortress, but the holes in the ceiling left behind by fallen debris let in more sunlight; especially the large slit created when Xaxius arrived.

Thor and Hulk didn't intervene in the battle between Xaxius and Ifress. They just watched and waited.

Xaxius grabbed Ifress's claws and ripped them off of her gloves. He headbutted Ifress, causing her to back up a few steps. She noticed that Xaxius was still holding her claws; perhaps he intended to stab her with them. Ifress snapped her fingers and the claws exploded with a vicious bombardment of chaos.

After the dust settled, Xaxius was laying on the floor, face down. He tried to pick himself up, but Ifress got to him first. She grabbed Xaxius's wrist and stomped on his arm until it was broken. And with his one arm broken, one of Xaxius's floating gauntlets dissipated.

Xaxius used his remaining gauntlet to knock Ifress off of him. He got up and shot her with erratic energy. Ifress beard the pain and prepared to fight back, but Xaxius hit her with his actual fist, preventing her retaliation. He repeated this until she laid helplessly on the ground; at which point, Xaxius finished her with his erratic energy.

Xaxius had killed Ifress, but he wasn't the day's champion yet. Thor and Hulk were still standing and they had taken far less damage than he had.

"Before we finish this," Thor said, "I've been wanting to ask why you let us live the last time we fought."

"So you would do exactly what you did," Xaxius replied. "There always were too many gods on this planet. I always wondered if they would try to usurp my place on the throne. I decided that if you wanted to remove a few threats, I would let you."

"You were afraid of your fellow false gods. You should have been more afraid of us," Thor said proudly.

Xaxius pointed his gauntlet at Thor who threw Mjolnir. The gauntlet shot its energy which was deflected by the hammer as it made its way to a collision and knocked the gauntlet back. Thor and Hulk charged at Xaxius and took turns hitting. Xaxius threw a punch toward Hulk with his unbroken arm, but Thor hit his fist with Mjolnir to stop him, allowing Hulk to hit Xaxius in the head again.

The last time they fought, Xaxius proved to be too much for them, but his battle with Ifress had left him weakened and unable to defeat them both. Xaxius launched his gauntlet at them. Hulk caught the gauntlet with both hands, absorbing the blow. Then, Hulk grabbed one of the fingers and ripped it off. Xaxius felt extraordinary agony in his actual hand as Hulk ripped the fingers off the gauntlet. That left him open to strike after strike from Thor.

Hulk ripped the final finger off and the gauntlet dissipated.

Thor used Mjolnir to knock Xaxius's legs out from under him. He then placed Mjolnir on Xaxius's chest. And because he was not worthy, he could not lift the hammer off of his chest. Hulk slammed his fists onto the hammer. Each strike caused the hammer to crater deeper into Xaxius's chest, slowly crushing him. And because Xaxius could not lift the hammer, it would only sink lower. His ribcage was broken and his lungs were squeezed. With the final strike from Hulk, his heart was crushed and Xaxius was no more.

"We did it," Thor said breathlessly, yet merrily.

"We did it," Hulk agreed with a smile and a nod.

"Well done," said Sfay who arrived through a portal. "With Xaxius and Ifress gone, the worst is behind us. The rest will either cower in fear or leave. Things are about to change for the people of Oblious."

"When peace comes, do you think you'll be able to run things without help from the other false gods?" Hulk asked.

"I've been running things without their help for the longest time. The difference will be that they won't be in my way."

Thor told her, "We will return on occasion to see if peace remains on Oblious. You can tell the remaining false gods that to keep them in line."

Sfay chuckled at the thought. "Those egotists are going to hate life, not being worshiped. Now that you've proven that Xaxius is not the invincible god he pretended to be, there will be few to still believe in them. I wonder what we'll call my kind once everyone knows we're not gods. The term 'false god' is going to get annoying for the few of us who never believed ourselves to be gods."

"Are there others who felt the way you felt?" Hulk asked.

"I imagine so. I think that those who saw things as I do kept silent, knowing their views would be punished. But now, they have the safety to speak the truth. Oblious will know freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of to pursue their dreams thanks to Thor and Hulk."

The End . . . of Thor and Hulk: False Pantheon.

Spider-Man and MJ: Never break isn't done yet.


Author's Note: I'm not promising any returns, but I did kind of want to go with an ending where some of the false gods are still out there just in case I want to do more with them later.

Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel. You should be able to find it if you type into the search bar –

Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

And, also, don't forget to check out Disney Princesses: Attack on Encanto.