A/N: Here it is, struggled a lot with this one. It's hard to write with so much stuff to do nowdays, but this is for the ones that stuck with the story through these four years, I hope you enjoy it. To clarify, the MCU's Civil War serves as background in this story, one where this Spider-Man could exist, so the movie's events still play here but adapted. We're reaching the final destination, hopefully - this year. Chapter named after Johnny Cash's "Hurt". Thanks again. Enjoy.
She was lost to me.
The person that had his body given to become the symbiote's host, with the black organic material now covering half of his face minus his right blue eye and the side of his head, along with a portion of the right side of his exposed torso before his pants started, was sat in the v-shaped couch set in the middle of the weak and orange colored living room due to the outdoor near the windows that kept a peaceful tone for the rest of the apartment.
He calmly used a silver bathed lighter on the cigarette placed where most of his mouth wasn't covered, yet. Now that Wilson Fisk was dealt with it, he could lay down arms, but for not too long.
In front of him, there was a small coffee table where some syringes laid upon, next to them an empty glass and a bottle of whisky. After filling it, his left and fully covered arm went for the glass and slowly brought closer to his lips, the glass cracked during the movement due to the pressure being applied against it, but it still allowed him to drink the entire liquid and then be placed in the armrest.
The digital clock next to the TV pointed 07:36PM.
Haven't you lost enough people today? A voice from within his memory echoed.
His eyes left the TV and focused on the arm that had its skin hidden by the symbiote.
Miraculous... Another voice reminded him of the past.
He closed his fist, stretching the symbiote and before looking back at the TV, the local news to be more precise.
"This is an attack on humanity and the universal values that we share." He watched the recording of some political figure speaking at the UN in the wake and exposure of the metahuman community, the hot topic of the moment. Moments later a woman that had been interviewed in the reportage asked the viewer indirectly, "What is the appropriate response and can we actually protect ourselves from this happening again?" She mentioned the accident that took place in the city not so long ago.
The crime rate numbers rocketed in the last months after variations of the Registration Act were created and approved to also target those who had some sort of ability that could potentially hurt someone, those who could afford ways to be protected and shielded by it were living, so far, a calmer life, but those who didn't, were in the blink of being considered a threat to society, and that took place in most of the world where these special people existed, but only now they were getting exposed as the community expanded and superhumans' numbers were bigger.
The now considered as "Terrorist Attacks" apparently caused by these augmented people also didn't help much. Tensions were at high levels.
"Sweden is now part of the growing lists of countries calling for the relocation of these citizens."
He used the controller to turn off the TV for good, rose from the couch and walked towards the big windows in the left side of the room, watching the city before he caught his own reflection of a man whose half body was being overtaken by a parasite.
"Are you seeing what your kind is doing?" A familiar and female voice from the past spoke to him as he closed his eyes shortly afterwards. He sighed.
His attention was set to the flashing bracelet that also was placed above his coffee table. "Agent Venom, protocol 700 is to be put into motion, you're authorized to engage with any means necessary." It warned.
He stood still for a few seconds, gazing his shadow, before the symbiote covered the rest of his body and eye that was replaced with a big, white and curvy lense.
System reboot…
"Surely the guy looks dead…"
Applying counter-bleeding measures… ICD activated.
"There's a hole on his mask,"
Your heart is beating again. Welcome back, Mr Parker.
Spider-Man took a huge and deep breath as he raised his chest and sat over the destroyed hot-dog stand he had just crashed into next to the Stark Tower. He gasped hard, clearly scared in some ways as he slowly regained the memories from just a few minutes ago.
The classic Spider-Man camouflage was malfunctioning and the Iron-Suit began to show its gold and red colors. He had no suit when he first entered the Tower with Elizabeth, and the only suit available was designed for him, but not his. It was the only option to assist with his escape, even if the decision to not wear it again after leaving the Avengers was taken long ago.
He hugged himself in instinct, as to protect himself from literally anything, and looked around to the world of people who were just as confused as he was whilst watching him slowly calm down.
From the inside the mask he could see the display showing the revival process and diagnosis of his whole body, highlighting the rupture in the mask's surface where a bullet had managed to stop.
Peter moved his left hand up and against his forehead where the rupture could be found. He managed to painfully retrieve part of the bullet that was previously allocated between the suit's strong material, and then brought the same hand down so that he could look at it.
There it was, on top of a slightly bloodied hand. Some citizens reacted in shocked as they watched him.
He tried to kill me…
Peter let the bullet fall of his hand and into the asphalt.
I actually.. stood dead for a moment…?
"Get out of the way!" A male voice shouted from far behind the group of civilians around him. They were after him.
Peter realized a hunt was about to take place. Things were too hot. He had to flee to somewhere far away from his current place and wait for everyone to calm down.
It was too risky to involve someone.
He looked at both his hands and the visor showed that the left integrated web-shooter was severely damaged and not functional.
Luckily, the second wasn't. He just needed to hide, and he knew just the right place.
Gwen finally left the abandoned train park that led inside the station and the hidden storage lab Richard Parker had built many years ago.
She now stepped into the rather empty street and stopped near the pedestrian cross. She reached for her phone found in her jeans and brought it closer to her left ear.
"Mom? Tell me they're with you."
Helen replied gently, "Sweetie, we're still waiting for anything. I just talked to police just in case."
Gwen bit her lower lip, anxious. "I need to see my daughter, mom. Peter isn't answering her phone, neither is she. What if something happened to her? What if they got her? They aren't anywhere, I thought they would be hiding here, but still nothing."
It had been a few hours since the news brought to attention the whole operation that was going down to arrest Spider-Man after he presumably escaped Stark's tower.
"You need to stay calm, don't think like that."
Gwen began to broke down in the phone, "She's my baby-girl, mom… what if she's h-hurt somewhere and… needs my help…?" Her last sentence was barely audible to Helen's end.
"Honey, come back to us. We need to stand strong together now, please. We'll find a way." She pleaded.
Gwen sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and letting the wind brush against her clothes and hair. She let out a deep breath and looked around before starting weakly, "I…" Her eyes stopped right at the casually clothed man standing in the other end of the cross, giving her a cold stare.
He wasn't even trying to be subtle.
She quickly wiped away a trace of tear that slid down her right green eye. Without stopping looking back, "Mom, there's something wrong here, if I don't call back don't open your door to anyone you don't know."
"Gwen-"
The Stacy woman ended the call and moved her cellphone back to where it originally was. She began to walk away through her side of the street, hoping to reach somewhere more populated.
As she prepared to turn to the left direction at the very end of the sidewalk, another man came walking towards her from said direction, stopping her from going forward, and forcing her to take a few steps back.
Her heart raced faster when her back made contact with someone's chest.
"You're coming with us, Mrs Parker." He warned.
And before she could reach, she felt a needle making contact with the side of her neck and seconds later, her strength immediately diminished as the syringe was taken off.
She gasped and brought her hand to the side of her neck, looking at the man in front of her, trying to speak or even scream, but the words never appeared.
Her vision became blurry as she tried to resist, but her own weight was turning out to be too much for her to sustain. She wanted to fight back in any way possible, she wanted to scream, but her will was taken away from her.
Gwen finally lost her consciousnesses and fell backward into someone's arms.
"Peter…!"
Peter's eyes from within his mask snapped open and all he could see and feel was some wet and uncomfortable ground under his body, his heartbeat hastened in a sudden adrenaline rush. He moaned in pain, his head felt as if it was missing a part. He slowly looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings since his memory was playing a piece on him.
A warehouse located in the docks. He thought to himself.
"Peter…! Answer me already." A masculine voice spoke from the earpiece also inside the mask.
Peter groaned harder this time, trying to stand up, his arms shook and protested with fresh waves of pain as he gritted his teeth and propped himself up on his elbows. He only managed to stand on his knees for the moment. "Flash…? Where are you?" He loosened his powerful arms and opened his hands, noticing how ruined the iron suit was. He panted steadily, his body felt much heavier all of the sudden.
"I've just called, you answered the call but never actually spoke a single word."
He looked over his shoulder and noticed the gate that led inside the warehouse was actually open. His memories came back to him. He had arrived, opened the gate while answering the call just to collapse into the ground and drag himself a little further inside before losing consciousness.
"Yeah… sorry about that, not having a great time." Peter slowly raised his knees, getting used to the pain. "I got shot in the head basically…"
"What? How are you feeling? I've just seen the news."
"I feel like death, but I'm moving on." He glanced over the ceiling, finding lots of old boats hanging up there by metal chains, some were standing still empty and almost reached the ground itself. It was almost a chain parade. "My head is probably bleeding rivers…"
Flash spoke directly, "You need to come over so we can fix that."
"I can't, it's too risky. The safest option right now is me hiding somewhere away from you guys while things calm down. The whole country must be after me… and I can't risk the lives of my family, not anymore…" He answered, somber.
"They are."
Peter sighed. "Maybe I've just signed my definitive death warrant, awesome." He began walking forward. If his sight didn't fail him again, he could see an old and damaged barrel, a dusty and ragged couch and a broken coffee table next to it.
He just wanted to relax his, most likely, broken bones for a moment. He sat down. "Listen Flash, I should probably lay quiet for now, and not get you involved or something. Do me a favor and watch over my family for now…? They're all that matters for me…"
"I sure will, Pete." Flash continued, "Just don't take too long to come home, will 'ya?"
Peter nodded to himself. "I'll try… take care." He ended the call and laid his head back against the couch, sighing heavily. He could see the moon's lights coming through the cracks in the wood of the ceiling where there wasn't any boat hanging.
He tried to stretch his left shoulder, but the pain wasn't really helping with that. Thing is, that was an injury that often returned without much effort from his part, it was a battle memory, and it would never go away.
I'm getting too old for this…
"Veronica? You there…?" He called lowly, but silence was his answer. The AI was either damaged, or somehow destroyed for good after the talk with Stark.
He was truly alone. What was he supposed to do now?
"Maybe this is it after all..." Peter said while checking his open and bloodied hand resting over his lap. "Maybe this is what I deserve after all those years." He continued, frustrated. "Maybe… I'm just freakin' not good enough." He exhaled deeply, slowly raising his chin up so that he could rest the back of his head over the couch, sighing again, before the blackness took over his sight again.
Silence.
The TV inside someone's cozy living room streamed a popular wild-west movie that was made back in the 60s, but the classical schedule was abruptly cut short by a hooded figure wearing an anonymous mask who began to strictly speak in matter of seconds.
"What is happening on this world is nothing but a mass-fear plan to push people against each other, and the mainstream media pushing this narrative forward only aggravates the security of many! To them, we are the enemy! While forgetting what took place many years ago in our very country when authorities decide to load up cannons when social differences were established!"
An woman from the house located on Queens walked-in and sat down to watch the unusual event.
"A lot of people died, but their deaths shouldn't be used to help put in motion plans to compromise an entire community that lives in fears, some call them mutants, other inhumans and even vigilantes, but the truth is : we are all human beings trying to live in a world that is afraid of diversity since its beginning, but now, we're talking about a people who can defend themselves! Spider-Man is paying the price for initially turning the wrong side in a backstabbing chase for his head,"
May put a single hand over her mouth, in shock.
"... you want to take our freedom? You will pay for it! In the next minutes most of you will receive an email that has documents of the new life they're trying to build for those targeted, but forget not, we are not going anywhere."
The movie was put back in.
Her phone placed on top of the coffee table rang vibrated briefly. May leaned forward to pick it in her hands and unlocked the device, checking the email she just had received like the announcer said. And there it was, photos and photos of the cells that were apparently housing the people who once formed the Avengers, along with the location in the globe and coordinates that lead to the place.
More fire was being set in the world now.
"Oh my god," She could only hope her nephew was far away from a place like that. "Peter…" She whispered, not noticing the red laser dot found in the side of her head coming from outside the window besides her.
Spider-Man snapped awoken again, sitting straight in the couch. "Wow, wow! I'm no threat Spider-Man." He heard a male's voice coming from his front side.
He looked up to the man sitting in a dirty plastic chair next to the now lit empty oil between them. There was a rather large dog of no specific race besides him. The man of simple and old ragged clothes stroked the animal's head.
"Assuming you are indeed, Spider-Man." He continued.
His skin was dark, eyes brown, had freckles around his nose and looked to have around the same age as Peter's aunt. The grey beanie and gloves that left his fingers uncovered were also part of his appearance.
"Yeah… and who would you be?" Spider-Man asked, weakly. He adjusted himself in the couch.
He chuckled to himself, before answering calmly, "No one special, unlike you - of course. You can call me, Ben."
"... nice name."
Ben nodded with a smile, humbled. "Thank you."
"You know, we could trade suits if you wanted." Peter joked.
He smiled again, "You're far too special right now for me to accept that."
"Fair enough." He shrugged his shoulders, in agreement. "What are you doing here, Ben?"
The puppy now laid down besides his owner's feet. "This is actually my home, at the moment. There's nowhere else for me to go. Just me and Mr Bubbles right here. I was going to wake you up, but decided to warm you up instead." He caressed the dog again.
Peter watched the gesture for a moment. He nodded and asked, "Mr Bubbles…?"
"Ha! Not a bad name, eh? My wife named our first dog that, figured I would name the next one for old time's sake." Ben looked down to the dog.
"I see. May I ask where is she right now?"
A sad smile popped up on his lips. He met Spider-Man's lenses again. "She's up there with the Lord, hopefully."
"I see. I'm sorry, Ben." Spider-Man could relate to him, he hoped all his beloved ones that were gone were somewhere better than the world they left as well.
"Don't be sad, boy. I can see through that mask you walked the path of pain and loss too. Everyone does."
"I hoped I would stay off that one for some time, at least."
"And that's life, you never know what's in storage for you, that's the beauty of it. I believe everything happens for a reason, I believe I am here, talking to The Amazing Spider-Man for a reason."
Peter smiled from within the mask. "So you now know I'm not some cyborg, alien or the stuff people come up with."
Ben laughed shortly, "That I do." He continued, "It's nice to know you're one of us, still fighting for us, for the good, now gathering the strength again even in unfair times… keeping the hope alive for many."
"I… I appreciate that, Ben." They stayed through a respectful silence that lasted around a minute. Peter finally broke it, "But how did you end up here?"
"Ah, the long waited question." Ben rested both hands on his lap. He smiled towards the fire. "Once, I was married - I guess I still am. I was a happy man from this city, who found the reason of his existence inside this woman's heart. We went to the old movie parking-lot every Friday, dinner night at Tuesdays, a fine couple."
"Seems like a good schedule."
Ben nodded. "Oh, it was, for a long time. We dreamed of so much." His smile slowly vanished. "This one day, I find my wife unconscious in the ground near the kitchen, weeks later we find out she has a rare brain tumor… terminal, I didn't believe the doctors at first. I did everything I could to prolong her life, I sold anything I could find a buyer, but… her time eventually ran out, and now I'm here." He finally gazed the man sat in the couch.
"You deserved far better, Ben."
"You think? Let me say something, son, I don't regret a single thing. I did what I could, while I could. I had the best time of my life because of her. She gave me hope, and I gave her too. Nothing can change that. Even today, I can say I lived a good life." Ben gestured to the dog. "With Mr Bubbles over here."
"... and that's what matters." Spider-Man sighed, dealing with the decreasing pain from within his damaged body, not a good sign.
"Indeed," Ben slowly rose from his seat. "I'm going to get you some clean water for that wound of yours since you're staying." He pointed to Spider-Man's forestaying.
"There's no need for that - " He fell back to the couch straight after trying to get up.
"I think there is, think of yourself as my guest, just take a rest." Ben flicked his fingers so that Bubbles followed him. They headed towards the exit of the warehouse.
"Ben…?"
"Yes?" He turned over his shoulder.
"The name's Peter…" Spider-Man silenced, shortly. "My name is… Peter."
He smiled. "Nice to know you, Peter. I will be back shortly." A door in the background was open by Ben who left the warehouse after briefly allowing the passage of the night's light inside, letting the vigilante see some source of light before being inserted back into the darkness that was fought by the flames in the burning barrel. Both him and Mr Bubbles were gone for the time being.
Peter sighed again. He just wanted to rest his, not so young body, for awhile. He feared crashing in some random dead end and lying down there for the rest of the week were him outside, so he decided to lay his head back in the couch again.
He didn't notice the now suddenly weak flames that kept him warm slowly ceasing to exist in matter of seconds. His position then became to get a bit tad colder over the time. His suit was damaged to the point it wasn't able to automatically keep him warm.
Then the body hair from his hands got up from within the suit. He shot his head up and moved his eyes around, something seemed off. He had lost the notion of time, but it seemed Ben had been gone for a long time. The sound of the wind entering through the cracks of the walls made of wood from around inside the warehouse was starting to unsettle him.
The whole atmosphere now appeared heavier, and he couldn't exactly tell why. The chains above him started to slowly swing due to the wind, making a chilling sound of metal rubbing against each other.
Spider-Man stood up, alarmed. "Ben…?" He asked, but gained no response in return. Before he was able to lay down his guard again, he heard a boat precisely above him getting quickly lose and then the gravity doing its job of pulling it down towards him. He looked up and just as fast he vaulted to the side, clumsily landing on the ground besides the crash.
Peter rose from the floor. "How…" He turned on his shoulder and was shocked by the sight of the man wearing the symbiote standing exactly behind him. He tried to raise a fist at him as a natural reaction the threat but Venom grabbed him by the neck with a single hand and lifted him off his feet. "You…" He grabbed the symbiote's arm back, wondering how he failed to feel his presence before, and how he managed to find him.
Venom threw him away, causing the hero to slid against the ground until he hit a column with the back of his suit. He panted heavily. "Who are you…?" He looked up to the taller figure that strolled towards him.
What was supposed to be the lenses grew larger and curvier in Venom's head. "We…" Peter succeeded at standing on his feet but felt a powerful punch in the side of his cheek that made him violently collapse onto the ground sideways.
Peter noticed he crashed besides a couple of closed barrels set against each other. He gasped heavily, the memory of previous punch stronger than the one he just suffered did not exist. The right lense was cracked and exposed his single brownish eye. "A-252... you're supposed to stop me…" He came to the realization. "Where's Ben?!"
Venom's left arm took shape of an axe and he went for the kill but Spider-Man was faster and jumped to the closest pillar of many that kept the ceiling on check. He kept with the momentum and cut in half the pillar so that his target moved away from it, and so he did that, Spider-Man jumped again in the air over Venom and quickly landed behind him as the pieces of wood coming from the ceiling started to fall due to the pillar crashing onto the ground as well.
The vigilante kicked Venom in the back of his knee, not holding any strength back in fear of crippling anyone. Venom fell to the same knee and later felt Spider-Man's feet on the side of what was supposed to be his mouth that remained covered by the symbiote. He barely flinched despite the loud 'smack" sound. Instead, he quickly turned on his shoulder with the blade ready and engaged at Spider-Man, who briefly jumped backwards for some distance to avoid the deadly organic blade, but it reached his chest and left a large horizontal cut across the suit.
Spider-Man pressed his hand against the cut and felt blood getting into the same hand. He panted heavily. He noticed he had stepped over some metallic pole by his right foot.
Venom began walking towards him again. "I told you to… just... stay back..." He stopped on his tracks once he noticed the blood on the blade. He ceased any movement, organic lenses fixated at the sight. Blood….
Peter noticed the abrupt chance of behavior, it was a familiar one. "The suit... I know it's calling you."
Venom felt the bliss taking over his body, and the urge for more. He looked back at Spider-Man and resumed his walk.
"It just wants death and violence if you allow it!" He shouted in urgency before Venom jumped higher and towards him with the blade raised to cut him in half. Spider-Man webbed the pole on the ground besides him and brought it to both his hands, holding it tightly. He went to block and reduce the strength of the attack since the time span to avoid it was to too short, but the pole wasn't resistant enough and got cut in two pieces.
Spider-Man held the two poles and brought his body to the side as the blade lowered towards him, hitting his shoulder, he did his best to ignore the pain and stab Venom in the cage rib with one of the poles, burying it deep inside his flesh and releasing his anger through a powerful shout afterwards. The urge for survival was turning him into the same beast as the one he faced. Peter used his free hand that carried the other half of the pole to smash it across Venom's face, his jaw was slightly dislocated to the side.
Peter noticed how he briefly twiched in pain, but it didn't seemed enough. Venom turned his now monstrous face and sharp teeth to him while they were still inches from each other, and released a high-pitch scream at his face. Peter was forced to take steps backwards, bringing both his hands to his ears. His web-shooter had somehow damaged further in the fight to the point of releasing burning sparkles from it.
He felt his ears bleeding from inside the mask, if they weren't melting. He still found the strength to shout, "What do you want!"
The scream ceased. Spider-Man looked up and saw Venom inches from him, looking deep into his own lenses. Venom replied, "Justice." Peter felt another blow coming from his left corner in form of a sharp organic blade with the purpose of beheading him. He dodged by leaning his head backwards as the blade passed above him, and not long after that he "danced" to the side, evading some pointy object Venom shot from his pulse and went right over his shoulder and close to his neck, only stopping against a group of closed red barrels away from them, causing one in the middle to leak from the new opening and the others as well due to the collision as they landed on the ground.
Another of effort came towards his stomach but Peter chose a consecutive double backflip to take some distance from Venom, and when he landed on his feet, crouching defensively - he immediately caught a black type of webbing trapping his right foot and making him unable to move properly, and seconds from that, Venom had already cut the distance short and now the former blade mutated into a sharp and tiny pointy needle coming towards his exposed eye. It would be fatal and smooth.
Despite having his options now close to zero, Peter didn't give up.
Too late.
The "needle" pierced through Spider-Man's open left hand he raised to contain the attack and still almost reached his shoulder. Peter looked at the same hand, his heart began racing hard as the blood poured from it. He wanted to scream his lungs out in pain, but Venom retracted the needle and dropped him in the ground with a punch in the guts, taking the air out of him for a moment as he landed on his back.
Venom approached him and grabbed Spider-Man's arm, dragging him across the warehouse until he was lying over the large pool of gasoline that now spread out through the majority of the location. He fully dropped him and stood quiet watching the once declared hero.
Peter glanced the dark ceiling, feeling broken and stunned. "You… you killed all those… men in the docks… didn't you?"
"I did." Venom finally spoke, cleaning his teeth with his tongue. "You would not… someone had to." His unsettling voice declared.
"Why…?" Peter felt more blood coming out of his throat.
Venom ignored his question. His hand became an axe once again. "You're going to see your family real soon now."
What? Peter asked himself after such affirmation. He noticed if he didn't move quickly soon enough he would be done for good. He recalled his damaged web-shooter besides him, and how the sparkles flew off it.
That was his way out. And as Venom went to finish him off, Spider-Man pressed the same web-shooter hard against the pool and what followed shortly was the creation of a short wave of flames that spammed across the warehouse and reached other barrels, then - the outside of the installation was engulfed by an explosion, sending many unrecognizable debris to the ocean.
There was barely anything left, only… fire.
Twenty minutes later...
Crap, crap, crap...
Spider-Man slowly limped through the not so very welcoming and dark sewer underneath the chaotic streets of New York City, trying to avoid thinking about what he was stepping into inside the greenish water while holding his severely hurt left hand. The only thing that kept his body moving was the urge to meet his family once again after Venom mentioning them out of the sudden.
He knows about them… he knows who I am...
His breathing was noticeably rapid and enraged. There were sections of the suit that were sharply cut open, evidenced by his exposed right ankle and left bicep, and the many flesh level cuts Venom gave him. Not even the lenses were spared since they were severely damaged and filled with small tiny cracks, one had his right eye exposed.
How he managed to escape was certainly due to luck being on his side this time around. His body burned due to the explosion. Took all his strength to swim back after he was throw off the warehouse by the fire.
Spider-Man heard the growing sound of something powered by a small engine coming from his front direction. He looked down and saw what looked to be the 'toy' version of a tiny goblin fastly sliding over the water as if it was just a much smaller boat.
His perception kicked in too late.
"What in the f -"
The object exploded into a colossal ball of burning fire that sent Spider-Man backwards in the air until his back violently crashed against the many bricks that once constituted a wall. He fell back into the water and on his knees, using both arms to support his heavy frame, gasping in pain thoroughly.
"Well, well, well... if it isn't little Spider-Man..." Jester spoke. Or Jonathan Powers to some, an athletic man with no superhuman abilities at all. His main skills always are a set of various joke gimmicks converted into deadly weapons, and his costume made justice to his name. "How does it feel to be on the wrong side of the law? How does it feel to see The Jester wearing a sheriff's badge?" He slowly walked towards the stunned hero.
Peter now heard the whirling sound of a glider coming from his left end, and before he could do anything, three tiny green spheres were throw at his chest as they instantly cracked open and engulfed his face into a cloud of green toxic gas.
"Man, you gotta see who we're hanging out with now. Jester and me, we're finally on the A-list!" The figure wearing an in-flames pumpkin ball over his head and tight dark green armor with scales on his arms and legs flew past Spider-Man after using his gadgets at the one.
"J-Jack O'Lantern...?" Spider-Man's voice became rough. The pupil of Peter's exposed right eye constricted tightly as he exhaled the gas. He felt his throat close and his eyes to burn as if someone was directly throwing acid at his face.
He slightly turned on his shoulder to at least take a look at his enemies.
"Oh, baby... this is just too awesome for words...!" Jester threw an conservative yo-yo containing plastic explosives inside its shell at Spider-Man's torso.
Peter collided against the sewer's side catwalk, he supported himself on it, giving the attackers free view of his back. "You want fries with that, honey?!" They provoked immediately after the strike.
He struggled to not lose his already fading away consciousness, and he almost did were not for a second explosive landing on his back that woke him up as he roared in pain.
"This gig seemed like such a bum deal at first." Jack grabbed him by the neck and lifted him out of the water. "Forced to do what they say..." He pressed Spider-Man against the wall over the catwalk.
Jester stepped out of the water and stood alongside his partner. "But when word from the top says kick the crap outta Spider-Man? What can we do? We're only obeying orders, right?"
Peter whispered, "I-I just wanted to do the right thing..." He barely could see anything besides the distorted image of the flames coming from Jack's pumpkin. "Did… did you know... my uncle died of a bullet wound...?"
Jack tilted his head to the side. "What? Is the almighty Spider-Man already hallucinating?"
Jester added, "Freaking pathetic if you ask me. Take his mask off before they know what we're doing with him-" He was interrupted by a powerful light coming not so far from them inside the tunnel, it grew rapidly and began blinding them. Agonized screams took place next.
"Hey, honey…" A sweet and feminine voice called nicely. "You're okay now."
Peter paid attention to the voice as he regained his senses, everything was still too flashy. He could only see a shadow slightly moving inches from him. He noticed he was lying on his back over some comfortable mattress. "I…"
"Shhh…" She gently put a finger over his lips. "Don't talk now, just breath, sweetheart."
He blinked, the lights in the ceiling weren't helping him much. He went to reach her cheek with the palm of his hand, touching the smooth and delicate skin.
Peter could see she smiled at the gesture. "You were talking in your sleep, but you're with me now. Safe."
His vision finally cleared. His heart sank at the sight. "Mom…?"
Mary Parker nodded, reassuringly. She was sat besides him in the edge of the bed, just watching her now older son.
"You're here…" Peter continued, feeling the tears hiding under his eye and ready to come out.
"I always have been, Pete." She took his hand away from her cheek and on hers, gripping it gently.
He touched her skin, making sure he wasn't dreaming. "You're real…?"
Mary seemed confused, but gave him a warm smile nonetheless. "Yes, I am. It was probably just a nightmare, honey."
Peter raised his chest further and embraced her tightly. She felt her blouse getting wet where his face could be seen resting on. She hugged him back. "Believe me, Peter. Everything is fine. I love you…"
"I love you too." He mumbled against her blouse.
She smiled again, and closed her eyes for a moment. "Let me tell the-"
Peter spoke, "No, just stay here - with me."
"Okay, I will then." She was surprised again towards his behavior. "I was just going to tell the others you're okay, Pete."
He leaned his head back so that he could meet her eyes. "Others?"
"Yes, your family, they're worried. It's not very normal to faint like that, little mister. You're definitely going to see a doctor later."
Now he was the one confused. "What… I-I… I want to see them…"
She asked, "Are you sure? You can take some more time to rest."
He nodded as in "yes", and so Mary helped him to get out of bed and walked him through what he recognized to be Aunt May's house. She opened the backyard door for him, and at first, the sun's light blinded him so he raised a hand over his face in return. As he grew used to the light, his eyes widened in shock.
There they were, Uncle Ben and his father - Richard Parker, taking care of the grill, May sitting in plastic white chair next to a table, Harry chatting with Flash, Mary Jane and someone else besides the grill, kids running around unaware of anything, and standing down there in the start of the stairwell, his wife and her beautiful smile.
Home…
Peter smiled as wide as he could. It was like… simply, heaven.