I do not own Spider Man or any of the characters.
Blown Fuse
I walk into the room only to stop short, keeping the door open a hair as I hear Jess crying and Lexi comforting her. I want to go to her, to comfort her, but something holds me back. It's not that I'm afraid. Lexi and I have already come to an agreement on how we feel and what we both want. Instead, it's more like I want to hear what they have to say.
"Sis...you don't need to be ashamed," Lexi says. "After everything that's happened, it's natural that you'd feel that way about him. It's alright. It's-"
"I know, Lexi," Jess says kindly, sounding tired, and I can hear the strained smile in her wavering tone. "I know. Not everything works out well, and nothing is as simple as we'd like it to be. I..." She pauses to choose her words and I find myself holding my breath. "I don't know what I'll choose. I don't know if I can..." she took a slow breath. "Whatever happens, I just want you to know that...no matter what I choose, no matter what happens, I will never betray you. I will never..." her voice wavers and she pauses to regain control of herself. "I will never get in your way. It was fun, and I won't pretend I didn't enjoy it, or that I don't...but...if you want it to end, than all you have t d is say the word, and I'll get out of the way." As she finishes speaking, her voice is trembling badly.
"I don't want it to end," Lexi says tenderly. "Yu know I feel the same as you, so...after his is over, if you want to continue, then we will be there waiting for you. Promise, no matter what happens, you will always be welcome with us. And if you ask, I know that Ben will say the same."
I hear Jess let out sob and the bed shifts as Lexi pulls her into a hug.
"I love you," Jess chokes out.
"I love you too," Lexi says.
I wait a couple more seconds before closing the door and walking into the room. I sit down on Jess's other side, wrapping my arms around her and Lexi nods to me, telling me I was right to wait and make it seem like I didn't hear, even though I knew she knew I was there the moment I stepped into the room. Jess continues to cry for a long while before pulling away and giving each of us a kiss, then lays down, still wrapped in our arms. I take one arm back to take my sleeping pill for the night before giving Lexi a kiss and settling in to sleep.
I pull my mask on, the HUD lighting up instantly.
"I am detecting a huge power surge at the power plant," Karen reports as I watch a tiny spot of light that electricity is flowing into, Karen pulling up a window of telescoped vision, showing a humanoid silhouette at the center. "He's absorbing all the power in the city."
"Dammit Max," I sigh. I look back at Lexi and Jess, who both form their spider suits, Jess letting her clothes fall to the floor. "Let's go."
Both nod and I slide the balcony door open, all three of us leaping off the balcony and beginning to swing away from the hotel instantly. As we make our way toward the power plant, lightning bolts begin to flash off of a huge, round building ahead of us, Max's face appearing on the windows facing us.
"You changed your suit, Spiderman," Max says. "Dressing up for the occasion? It's time we settled this."
Suddenly, my Spider Sense begins to scream and I hold both arms backward, the two symbiotes each merging with an arm, enveloping me together and both sinking into my body, leaving me in my normal suit for now as I use a strand of ice webbing to evade Max as he flashes from the building at me. Then, I flip around, chasing after him, avoiding several attempted punches from Max thanks to my Spider Sense working overtime, and avoiding the trails of electricity Max is leaving. Finally, I flip, landing on top of a clocktower overlooking the power grid just as Peter lands beside me, both of us standing on the glass dome of the clock tower.
"Here," Peter says, handing me a pair of rubber gloves and shoes. "They're neoprene. They should protect you when you hit him."
"Thanks," I say as Max forms before us.
"Oh, so then you're that other one," Max says. "Ben. You're another Spiderman. Well, you're too late. Both of you. I designed this power grid. Now I'm going to take back what is rightfully mine."
"Can't let you do that, Max," I say. "It's not personal, but too many people in this city are depending on the power. If you take it, the hospital won't be able to keep people alive. And the traffic control at the airport won't be able to direct flights, leading to a plane crash. I can't let that happen. We're going to stop you."
"I don't think so," Max says. "I will control everything, and I...will be like a god to them."
"Don't count on it," I say. "Humans don't worship psychopaths."
"Yeah, a god named Sparkles?" Peter asks.
Max shouted in rage, firing a bolt of lightning at us and we launch ourselves over it, allowing it to blast the glass dome. I form myself a wingsuit with ice webbing along my sides from my elbows to my knees, then between my legs, streaking down at Max. He fires at me again and I roll out of the way, then instantly sublimate the wingsuit's ice, forming an ice mallet and smashing it into his chest. It shatters and the electricity that races over it stops at my gloves. Max crashes to the ground, and a moment later, Peter rips a yellow water pipe from a hydro pump off to the side open, sending water exploding across the distance and at Max.
"Not this time!" Max snarls, firing a stream of electricity to fight the water back. "Is that all you got?"
"Nope," I say, slamming my hands into the ground.
An ice fist forms from the ground below Max, streaking upward and shatters on the underside of his jaw, launching him into the air. Just as he reaches the top of his arc, Peter catches him with a pair of webbing strands and spins, swinging him at the ground, only for the impact to send out an explosion of electrical energy, blasting into both me and Peter, as well as cratering the ground. I groan, Jess and Lexi rapidly healing my concussion, keeping me conscious, if temporarily immobile, while Peter is knocked unconscious.
"That didn't work out like I was thought it would," I groan.
"We'll be okay," Lexi says inside my head.
"We can keep you going," Jess says.
"I've scanned the power grid," Karen says. "The two cables to your right need to be reconnected in order to reengage the power grid."
I turn my head, seeing the same two broken cables, each the size of my torso, that Max had been hovering between before the fight began.
"Shake it off," Peter groans, beginning to stand. "It's just your bones, your muscles, and your organs."
"Nothing important," I say, pushing myself up as well. "Those cables behind you need to be reconnected."
Peter begins to turn, only for one of the enormous pylons around the us to light up with electricity, a sound like an electric guitar screaming through the air before Max explodes down on my back, then vanishes. A moment later, electricity arcs to several more, playing a short string of notes before he appears in front of Peter, drilling an uppercut into Peter's jaw. He plays several more notes using the pylons before drilling a straight punch into Peter's face as he's standing.
"I hate this song!" Peter says just as I place it as 'The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.'
"You forgot something about this song, Max," I call out as Max plays the next few notes, the last five screaming out as he bounces Peter and me around the air. I push myself back up as Lexi envelops me. "The rain can't stop the itsy-bitsy spider. It just delays the inevitable!"
We slam our hands down and ice suddenly encases every pylon several feet thick, Max bouncing off the next pylon he tried to move to. He lands on the ground in front of us just in time for our rubber-clad foot to explode into his head, sending him bouncing away. Then, as he lands, a police car smashes through a gate off to the side, crashing into Max and sending him flying before skidding to a stop, Gwen stepping out of it as Lexi sinks back into my body.
Peter goes to talk with her while I hold out a hand, sublimating my ice and forming another mallet. Finally, Gwen runs off to get ready to reboot the system and Peter steps up beside me as Max stirs, his eyes snapping open and electricity beginning to fly off of him again.
"Here we go," I say. "Plan?"
"Overcharge the battery," Peter says softly.
"Right," I nod. "Karen, have you analyzed his attack patterns?"
"I have," Karen confirms.
"Good," I say. "Then you're going to help me out. We need to get him into place for Peter."
"Understood," Karen says, the HUD beginning to glow blue.
Then, a silhouette of Max appears in front of me, partway through a right hook and I duck to my left just as Max appears, throwing the punch too fast even for my Spider Sense to save me from. However, because of Karen's warning, my mallet shatters against Max's chest, sending him bouncing from one pylon to the next rapidly before he crashes down in front of the cables we need him at. Peter lands between the broken cables just as Max begins to stand. Before he can, I slam a punch with ice knuckles into his jaw, rocking him to the side before drilling the other fist into his gut, doubling him over. Just as I move to knock him out, he blasts me, sending me flying backward over Peter, just as Peter finishes tying several strands of webbing into a knot. Then, Max is blasting Peter with a continuous stream of electricity.
"Now, Gwen!" Peter shouts through the pain. "Do it now!"
Then, the webbing lights up gold as the power grid kicks on, the gold electricity spreading inward in a wave to the knot, now held in the stream Max is firing. Max's energy turns gold in a wave until it hits Max, Max's entire body contracting as he shouts in pain. Peter, n the other hand, is hurled backward, crashing to the ground hard.
"Karen, scan his vitals!" I say urgently, kneeling beside him.
"He's crashing," Karen says. "Prepping defibrillator. Your palms are the paddles. Place them here over his suit."
She highlights two spots on his torso, then when she gives me the cue, I place my hands down, Peter's muscles contracting for a moment before he drops to the ground, only to stabilize, stirring and groaning miserably.
"Really?" Peter asks, looking up at me. "You don't think I've had enough electricity today?"
"I can shock you again if you want," I offer.
"No, I'm good," Peter says, pushing himself up, looking over at Gwen as she walks out of the control building. "Hey, we can still make your flight!"
Just then, a high whine reaches our ears, as well as a high, semi-cackling laugh.
"Gwen stay there," Peter says.
"Green Goblin," I growl..
"Who?" Peter asks, just as this universe's Goblin flies into view. His armor is roughly designed, his glider is thinner and has fin-like curves of metal extending from the bottom around the propulsion systems, and his body is a sickly white with green veins spiderwebbing through it, thin, pale, brown hair sticking up and back from his head, his hairline receding despite his young-looking, if unhealthy, face. There are a pair of metal spike-like metal implants around his ears, and his teeth are a rotten green. The Goblin grins at Peter for a moment before looking between him and Gwen several times before laughing for a moment and running his tongue over his teeth.
"Peter," he hisses. "When you said Spiderman said no, you mean you...said...no!"
"Harry, what did you do?" Peter asks.
"What you made me do," Harry says. "You were my friend, and you betrayed me!"
"No," Peter says, still trying to calm Harry. "I was trying to protect you."
Harry laughs. "Look at me!"
"Hey, it's going to be okay, this is gonna be alright," Peter lies.
"You don't give me hope," Harry says. "You take it away."
"No, Harry," Peter says, stepping forward.
"Now, I'm gonna take away yours," Harry hisses.
I lunge instantly, forming an ice spear and stabbing at him, only for him to use his glider to bat it aside before taking off at Gwen in a blurred streak.
"Gwen!" Peter shouts as Harry grabs her, Gwen screaming in fear. "Harry! Harry put her down!"
As he's swinging after Harry, I look around for a moment before forming an ice web in Harry's path, only for him to flip streaking past Peter and allowing Peter to hit the web, only for it to shatter, allowing him t instantly swing around a pylon and streak after Harry again. The chase quickly heads up the tower where Harry begins to circle, cackling as Peter fails to catch his glider over and over. Finally, he stops to hover directly over the dome.
"Harry, stop this right now!" Peter pleads. "This is not you, Harry! This is-This is not you! Put her down!"
"Harry!" Gwen says sternly as I swing up to land beside Peter.
"Harry is dead!" Harry snarls.
"Harry this is between you and me!" Peter shouts. "You wanna fight, fight me! Let her go!"
"Okay," Harry says, voice trembling and weak, then drops Gwen.
"No!" Peter shouts, leaping up too catch her, only to smash down through the dome with her just as Harry flies down, smashing into me with his glider and hurling me away.
A moment later, he tosses a small orange bomb into the shattered dome and Gwen screams when it goes off. I move to slingshot myself back up just as Karen reports that the entire clock tower's inner workings are collapsing. I swear, launching myself at the building's front door instead. I explode through it and look up, seeing Gwen rapidly streaking down toward us, a strand of webbing chasing her.
"Jess!" I shout, swiping my left hand and sending Jess flying through the air to Gwen.
Jess hits at the same time as the webbing and in the blink of an eye it's over. Peter manages to catch a bar and the webbing snaps taught, stopping Gwen, only for her upper body above her stomach to whip downward, her head and shoulders smacking loudly off the ground. Ben drops next to her and for sever, horrible seconds, nothing happens. Then, Gwen gasps, looking around wildly just before Jess envelops her.
"She's compatible," Jess says, Peter staggering backward in surprise and confusion. "She'll be alright, Peter. I just need a few minutes to heal her and she'll be fine."
"What...what are you?" Peter asks.
"We're called symbiotes," Lexi says, just finishing separating from me. "We're a type of alien that normally has to bond with a host to survive your atmosphere, but my sister and I," she gestures at Jess, "are the Queens of the race, and are able to survive without hosts."
"And...And Gwen...is she..." Peter trails off.
"She'll be just fine," Jess assures him. "Bonding with a symbiote gives the host a massively enhanced healing factor, among other abilities. However, normally, it also kills the host within a few days, since humans can't sustain a symbiote without burning out. There are a select few, however, like Gwen and Ben, who are compatible, meaning that they won't burn out no matter what and can bond with a symbiote safely."
"I see," Peter nods.
"And aside from Lexi and Jess, all other symbiotes you ever meet, if any, assume they're evil," I say. "Lexi and Jess are one different, but almost all symbiotes just want to eat, grow kill, and eat some more."
Peter nods. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Jess separates from Gwen, and Gwen groans, looking over at Peter, who lets out a heavy, trembling exhale, and kisses her.
Just then, my watch beeps and I sigh, glancing at the girls, who both sigh knowingly.
"Time for us to go," I say. "Take care of him, Gwen."
"Always," Gwen nods. "Thank you. You saved my life."
Jess smiles and nods, hugging Gwen tightly before returning to me and Lexi, the three of us leaving for our hotel room, grabbing our things before heading for the last universe on our list.
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