Disclaimer: I own neither Spider-Man nor Morgan Le Fay! All rights go to MARVEL COMICS & Disney!

CHAPTER FIVE

LIFE OR DEATH

...

When she first decided to turn over a new leaf, Peter tried his best to keep Morgan on the straight and narrow path. He kept her darker urges at bay and prevented her from taking things too far, like that time he just barely stopped her from flaying Craven alive after he tried to feed him to a pair of hungry sharks at the aquarium. That was a close call. So was the time she lit Hobgoblin on fire. Thankfully he still had enough sense to jump into the Hudson despite how foul the water was.

So far, he successfully managed to keep the dark sorceress from killing anyone. Unfortunately, he once again found himself in a precarious situation involving the love of his life. Here she was out in the middle of a destroyed block of Manhattan, viciously ripped apart by a mystic battle that had taken place, holding the one and only Doctor Doom by the throat. The man's armor was dented and scorched, and his cape had been burned to cinders.

Morgan herself didn't look all that great either as her hair was disheveled and her dress was in tatters. She was also sporting a few bruises and cuts from the magic scuffle. Now that Peter stopped to really think about it, his everything hurt as a result of taking a lightning bolt to the chest. How was he even still alive? Did all his sparring matches with Electro help him build up some kind of electricity tolerance? What even happened?

Before Peter could even continue on that train of thought he saw Morgan pulling back her free hand while a silver dagger materialized into her palm. She was going to kill him. Holy crap! She was going to kill Victor Von Doom! The enraged scowl on her face and the ruby red eyes told him as much. He had to stop her before she caused an international incident! Damn it! "Morgan... Morgan, you have to stop!"

The pained voice of her love broke through the haze of rage that had overtaken her and she turned her head towards the spider-themed hero that was slowly rising to a knee. The front of his chest where his spider emblem lied was gone as it had been burned to a crisp when the lightning bolt struck him. The costume itself was still slightly smoking and the haggard rise and fall of Spider-Man's chest further emphasized the damage he had taken.

Doom had done that. Doom had stopped his heart. Had it not been for her healing magics then he would've been six feet under. A world without Peter was no world she wanted to live in. He died because of Doom, because of her, because she's the one who taught Victor how to wield magic in the first place. He needed to pay!

"Why? Why should I? He killed you!" she argued. She couldn't fully understand the mindset of a superhero. They always had to just go and try to save everyone. Not every single life was precious and in need of protection. Doom's life certainly wasn't worth preserving. No one would even miss him when he was gone.

Peter forced himself to stand now despite the pain. He had to play this carefully otherwise... he didn't even want to think about otherwise. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Because of me. I restarted you heart. You were gone! He took you from me! He takes everything from me!" Morgan raged, gripping the dagger harder as she trembled with rage. Used, abused, cast aside and trampled. Victor Von Doom was filth in her eyes. "It's not just him either! It's everyone! Carnage, Smythe, Kingpin, Red Goblin. Why do you keep sending them back to prison when you know they'll just break out and kill some more!?"

Peter went silent for a moment. He'd seen and had this debate before. The image of a gruff man with a skull on his chest came to mind. Another image of a man dressed as a red devil accompanied it.

"We're not gods. We don't decide who lives and dies." he answers. A groan escaped the defeated villain, and the sound of his voice is enough to make Morgan tighten her grip. The worried hero saw this and continued on. "It'd be too damn easy. If I crossed the line, then I'll never be able to come back. If I can justify it once, then I can justify it again and again and before long, I'll be no better than the scum I'm fighting. The same goes for the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. We're supposed to be heroes, not executioners."

That seemed to strike a chord with the dark mage. "I'm not a hero though. I've killed people, in awful ways. I'm no different from the scum you fight, so what does it matter I end this one right here?"

She finished her statement by pressing the blade to the armored man's throat. No doubt it could cleave through his jugular like a hot knife through butter.

Peter's heartbeat quickened but he stood firm. "Because that's not who you are anymore. You're not evil and you're definitely not scrum. What makes you different from them is that you wanted to change. Sure, you're a little rough around the edges but you put in the work to be better. If you kill him that all goes away and you're right back to square one where you started."

Morgan could feel her eyes starting to sting. Her hand was also unsteady. She didn't know what to do. Doom was too dangerous to be kept alive but at the same time ending his pathetic little life meant losing everything. What was she supposed to do?

"Morgan..." Peter tried one more time. "With great power there must also come..."

"Great responsibility." she finished for him. The words he had chosen to live by.

"Please, don't do this. I don't want to lose the Morgan I've come to know. The Morgan I..." he stopped. She knew what he was about to say. As the tears finally left her eyes the dagger vanished and the armored man was dropped harshly to the ground. Her eyes returned to their emerald shade and the dark mage fell to her knees in tears. Peter hobbled over to her, ignoring the defeated criminal, and dropped down to cradle her close. "It's okay. I'm here."

Sirens began to sound in the background, but the pair tuned them out. Peter lifted up them hum of his mask and kissed the top of Morgan's forehead.

"You did the right thing." he whispered. "You did the right thing."

She did do the right thing... so why did she still feel awful?

(TO BE CONTINUED...)

Author's Notes: I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day!