A/N: Hello and belated Happy New Year, friends, and welcome to Chapter (Two-Thousand) Fifteen! (Heh... see what I did there?) Anyway, this chapter was... a bear to write, for several reasons, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Please read and review, I really appreciate it, and yes, in case anyone is wondering, I am planning a sequel to this story (several, in fact). And, as always, thanks in advance!
Disclaimer: All characters owned by Marvel.
Chapter Fifteen
The Quinjet banked in the New York airspace, but Peter's equilibrium remained unaffected. He leaned against the turn, holding onto Carol's hand, just as he had been for the past four hours. She'd fallen asleep during his conversation with Tony, and Peter had been sitting next to her in silence since then, listening to the clicking of the oxygen tank as she breathed.
"We're here," Steve called.
Peter rose from his vigil and pulled his mask on, leaping out of the Quinjet as the door opened in the side of the plane. He sailed down into the concrete canyon, smiling despite himself. He was home.
The wind licked his cheek as he fell, and tousled the hair sticking out of the remnants of his mask. He fired a web out of his right shooter, careful not to use his left in case his arm couldn't take the weight, and swung down to the street, landing on the roof of Horizon Labs.
He crawled back through the same ductwork he'd used to escape after Doom's attack, landing in his lab. The rubble had been cleared away, and thankfully the sealed room that contained all of his different Spider-Man suits had gone undamaged. He pulled the formula out of the small pocket on the inside of his suit and started searching the room, trying to find the components he'd used previously to create the Vita Ray isotopes. He'd thought about using the isotopes he'd already made, but after a few quick calculations realized that the half-life of the artificial radioactive material was incredibly short, rendering what he'd already made useless.
Peter gathered what he could salvage into a web sack and slung it onto his back. He didn't have everything he needed, but he was sure that Tony would have the rest. The bag gave him some difficulty with climbing back through the ducts, but he managed to make it back to the roof with everything intact. He swung into the sky, the sack tied around his waist and shoulders, and bounced off one of the buildings, flipping into the Quinjet.
"You got everything?" Steve asked.
"Everything that survived," Peter replied, pulling off his mask. "Let's get to the tower."
The plane screamed over the skyline, hinging another turn toward Avengers Tower. The approach lights blinked as the side of the skyscraper opened, allowing the Quinjet access.
As the vertical engines began to lower the plane, Peter unhooked Carol from the I.V. and removed the oxygen mask, then lifted her into his arms. Steve lowered the ramp, but it moved too slowly for Peter, and he walked down the incline, maintaining his balance until he reached the floor, where Tony and Jessica were waiting.
Tony reached his armored arms forward. "You look like hell, Pete, let me…"
"Don't," Peter said, walking past them. "Did you find the chamber?"
"I did, yeah," Tony said, falling into step behind Peter. "I didn't have time to hook it into the city grid, like Dad did, but I did manage to rig something into the arc reactor in the basement." He stopped for a moment, holding out his arms and turning to the room in both directions.
Jessica knocked on his helmet. "Hey, Tin Man," she said, "You can fish for compliments after Peter saves my best friend, okay?"
"Who's fishing?" Tony asked. "I'm expecting."
"We have work to do first, Tony," Steve said, hobbling his way out of the plane.
"Holy crap, you look like crap," Tony said. "Jess, help Steve down to medical. I'll go with Peter and get everything set up downstairs."
Jessica wrapped her arms around Steve and started walking with him toward the door. "Ok, I'll meet you down there once I get Cap situated," she said.
"You can't," Peter said. "I had Tony armor up for a reason. The Vita Rays will kill anyone they come in contact with. I can't risk anyone being exposed." He turned and walked out the door, making his way to the elevator.
Jessica rushed out the door after him, practically lifting Steve off the ground. "What about you?" she asked.
"I've already been exposed," Peter said, pushing the button to call the elevator.
"Then why aren't you dead?" she asked.
The doors opened and Tony stepped inside, followed by Peter. "I got bit by a spider," Peter replied as the doors closed.
Peter heard a thump as Jessica kicked the doors and screamed, "You're full of crap, Peter Parker!"
As the car descended, Tony turned to Peter. "How is this gonna work?"
"I'm going to need a few things from you to finish making the isotopes," Peter said. "Then we'll plug them into the Rebirth chamber and crank it up."
Tony raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa, back up. Making the isotopes? I always thought the Vita Rays came from some super-rare natural source, possibly alien fossils or something. They're artificial?"
Peter nodded. "Erskine was way smarter than anybody knew," he said. "The man not only develops the Super-Soldier Serum, but creates a radiation to empower it? That's Reed smart."
"But how does it work?" Tony asked. "I mean, we know what gamma radiation does, given the right circumstances, but it can't be like that, can it? Gamma's too unpredictable."
"It's like an anti-radiation," Peter said. "It energizes rather than destroys. The problem is that it energizes too much, causes cells to burst."
Tony tapped his armored finger to his chin. "So it must need something to disperse the effects, weaken them so the cells aren't killed."
"That's what the serum did for Steve," Peter said. "And the spider's venom for me."
Tony's eyebrow's shot up. "For you? What do you mean?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I've never known what kind of radiation the spider that bit me was exposed to," he said. "I just knew that the radioactive venom gave me my powers. Evidently, the son of one of the guys working on Project: Rebirth found the formula for the radiation in his father's effects and became a scientist trying to figure it out. It was his demonstration that I attended when I was in high school."
For a brief moment, Tony Stark was rendered speechless. "Are you sure?" he finally asked as the elevator doors opened to the basement.
"It was all in the Super-Soldier file Steve gave me," Peter said, following Tony into the massive room, where the metallic Rebirth chamber sat a few feet in front of the circular and seemingly rotating arc reactor. "All the information about the scientist, even one of the original flyers that drew me to the demo in the first place."
They walked over to the chamber, and Peter laid Carol down inside. She was a bit shorter than Cap was now, but Peter could only imagine skinny Steve standing in the thing. It was all he could do to suppress a laugh at the thought.
"So did you find something that could work for Carol?" Tony asked.
"Nope," Peter replied.
"Then how is she going to survive?" Tony asked.
"She's going to absorb the radiation," Peter said. "She soaks up the energy, it restores the bonds holding her DNA together, no nasty side effects like frequent headaches, drowsiness, nausea or death."
Tony started checking the connections between the chamber and the arc reactor while Peter opened the web sack to pull out the components. "Peter," he said. "Are you sure about this?"
Peter stopped for moment. "It's the only chance she's got," he said. "That's enough for me."
"But what if her powers aren't working?" Tony asked. "What if she still needs something to dampen the energy?"
"Tony," Peter said. "I can barely make it from one step of this plan to the next right now." He spread the parts out on the floor, looking at each individually so he could find what was missing. "If I stop to think about everything, I honestly might just shut down."
The armor clanked on the concrete as Tony walked over. "Peter," he said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "What do you need?"
Peter pulled his eyes away from the components in front of him and looked at Carol. She was still sleeping, lying in the Rebirth chamber like it was a bed. All Peter saw, however, was how much it resembled a coffin. He knew what he wanted to say, what he should say, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. "I need to find the lab," he said instead, "Not yours. Bruce's. I need natural science, not engineering."
Tony pointed the way to him, and Peter took off, actually having to swing through the basement it was so large. Sighing, and with a final glance at Carol in the chamber, Tony lowered the face plate on his armor and returned to double-checking his work.
XXXXXX
Jessica Drew was not happy. She did not like the idea of being kept away from Carol's side when her friend had done something so careless. Jessica knew where it stemmed from, of course, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to kill Carol all the same.
She laid Steve down on one of the other beds in the medical wing, careful to avoid further damage to his rib cage. "How're you doing, Cap?" she asked.
"I'll be much better once I get wrapped up," Steve said, grunting as he pulled his shirt off.
Jessica turned around to grab the bandages. "Where's your shield? You didn't lose it, did you?" she asked.
A crack echoed through the room as Steve popped his nose back into place. "No," he said, sniffing. "I think it's still where Peter left it in the plane."
She started wrapping Steve's torso, feeling to make sure his ribs were all back in place. "Peter had your shield?"
As she bandaged him up, Steve told her about what happened at Castle Doom: what was in the vault, how Peter defeated Doom, how Carol saved their lives by showing up when she did.
"Damn," Jessica said when he finished. "A massive vault full of contingency plans? A giant Doombot powered by a Cosmic Cube? Peter probably just saved all of our lives."
Steve chuckled. "He didn't even notice," he said. "The vault was an afterthought; it didn't have the research, so he just moved on. Didn't even consider what he'd just done."
Jessica shook her head. "Do you think he even realizes he's that strong? To basically take on Thor, Kang, Ultron, an army of Doombots, not to mention the good doctor himself, and come out on top?"
"Not a chance," Steve said. "He'll chalk it up to luck, or significantly overplay my contribution to the fight. The man only seems capable of taking credit for his failures." He eased himself off the bed and walked over to a drawer, pulled out a t-shirt, and slipped it over his head.
"What about Carol?" Jessica asked. "Do you think she'll be alright?"
Steve turned his head to look at her. "I think she's in the best hands she can be," he said.
Jessica stood and started pacing the room. "I suppose you're right. I just wish we could go down and see them."
"I think it's better if we let them work," Steve said, lying back down on the bed.
She walked back over to him and sat down in the seat next to the bed. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "Are you worried?"
"Only if he can't save her," Steve replied.
XXXXXX
Carol awoke to find herself lying in an open metal chamber, the leather beneath her back terribly uncomfortable. "Peter?" she called.
"Hey there, pretty lady," Tony said, popping his armored face over the side, the faceplate snapping up to reveal his usual cocky grin.
"Put a sock in it, Stark," Carol said, smirking. "Where's Peter?"
Tony shrugged. "He left a couple minutes ago to go get some stuff from Bruce's lab. He'll be back soon."
Carol tried to sit up, but found she just didn't have the strength. "Where are we? And why are you armored up?"
She heard some clanging behind her, the telltale whirring as Tony moved around in his armor. "Basement of Avenger's Tower," he said. "You're lying in the original Rebirth chamber, built by one Howard Stark, esquire, which is hooked into the tower's arc reactor, built by one Tony Stark, Iron Man. We're gonna try to juice you with radiation, so I slapped on the armor to be safe."
Carol raised her head. "What about Peter?"
"I've already been exposed," Peter said, swinging overhead and landing next to the chamber. "It can't affect me anymore." He looked down at her, and she gave him that smile again. He tried to return it. "I'm glad you're awake," he said.
She smiled a bit wider. "Hopefully I can stay that way for a while," she said.
Peter turned away from her, back to the components that were laying on the ground. He placed what he'd gathered from Bruce Banner's lab carefully on the floor next to them, then turned back toward the chamber. "Ok, Tony," he said, "Faceplate down, shields up. No chances."
Tony's mask clanged as it fell into place, then a small hum filled the air in room as he turned on his shields. "Ok, Pete," the hollow sound of his voice came through the armor, "What's next?"
Peter walked back over to Carol. "Can you tell when your powers are working or not?" he asked.
"Kind of," she said. "I can't really tell when it starts, but if I'm absorbing something I'll be able to feel if it's fading."
Peter rubbed his chin. "So it's not an on/off thing, it's a slow burn?"
"Yeah," Carol said.
"Awesome, then I know what to do," he said, turning back to the components. "Tony, go stand next to Carol, and juice that stunner in your gauntlet."
Tony did as he was asked. "I see what you're doing. Once she absorbs the electricity, time to turn on the radiation, right?"
Peter fitted several of the pieces together on the floor in front of him, and they started glowing. "You got it," he said. He looked up at the chamber. "We're going to have to shut her in until I can get this into the machine."
"Hope you're not claustrophobic," Tony said, flipping some switches on the chamber's side. The doors started to close around Carol, and when the top shut, her eyes were barely visible through the viewport. "You ok in there, Carol?" Tony asked.
She took a breath. It was a tight squeeze, to be sure, but no worse than some of the spots she'd been in before. "I'm good. Just ready for this whole thing to be over with," she said.
Peter finished compiling the isotopes and held them up for inspection. "And there you have them, Mr. Stark," he said. "Two sources of the world's first and only synthetic radiation. Half-life of about twelve hours, making it perfect for those late-night parties in the Village, except that it kills every living thing in sight." The dull white glow shone through the room, competing with the pale blue shimmering out of the arc reactor. Peter leapt up to the two machines hanging over the chamber, from which large tubes hung that would lock into either side of the machine. These would feed the radiation into the chamber itself, and distribute it evenly over Carol's body. He inserted a component into each of the machines, then fell back to the ground, where he locked one of the tubes into place while Tony attached the other.
Taking a step back from the chamber, they surveyed their handiwork. For having been found and thrown together in a matter of about five hours, it didn't look too shabby. Several of the tubes leading from the back of the chamber to the arc reactor looked attached with duct tape, but other than that, it appeared rather professional. "You wanna get started?" Tony asked.
"Yeah," Peter said, walking over to the chamber. He opened it up, and Carol turned to look at him. "Everything's ready," he said. "Are you?"
"You know it," she said, smiling.
He grabbed her hand. "You're gonna make it out of this," he said. "I promise. This is gonna work."
Carol squeezed. "It better," she said, "Or prepare to be haunted every moment of your natural life."
Peter explained the plan: Tony was going to shock her with as little electricity as he could; once she felt herself absorb it, she would let them know, and they would close the chamber, then turn on the Vita Rays. She would absorb the radiation until she felt her powers start to fade, and they would shut it down. Carol nodded her assent, and Peter walked over to the control panel, standing next to the valve that would open the radiation vents.
Tony held up his gauntlet, electricity sparking around his fingertips. "This might hurt, if you don't absorb it. I don't know if your durability's on or not either, so I'm just gonna apologize up front." He gripped her bare hand, then discharged the energy.
Carol screamed at first, then felt the energy soak into her body. "Hit it!" she called, pressing herself into the rough leather of the chamber. Tony stepped away from her, flipped the switches and watched the metal doors hiss as they closed over her.
Once the chamber was closed, Peter started slowly turning the handle in front of him. "I love you," he whispered, praying that he wasn't wrong, that he hadn't miscalculated somewhere.
Light funneled into the chamber, flashing out through the viewport. The top of Carol's head could be made out in silhouette, and Peter could see her thrashing back and forth. He continued cranking the valve, knowing that she would most likely need to absorb a massive amount of energy in order to counteract the damage that had been done to her body. Once he hit about seventy percent, she started screaming. Before Tony could move, Peter was on top of the chamber. "Carol!" he yelled. "Are you alright? Should we shut it down?"
Several seconds passed, and Peter couldn't feel his heart beating. "No," Carol finally said. "I'm okay; I can take more, keep cranking it up!"
Peter turned back to the control panel and saw Tony, who'd had the foresight to take his friend's place. Peter raised his thumb and Tony nodded, turning the valve up further. Carol kept screaming, and the sound was tearing Peter's heart from his chest. "We're at a hundred percent!" Tony called, and Peter raised a hand in acknowledgment. Now it was just a matter of waiting until she couldn't absorb any more or her powers started going out.
Another few seconds went by, Carol's screaming the only sound in the room. Finally, she said, "You might want to start shutting it down, I can feel my powers weakening!"
Peter turned to Tony, giving him a thumbs down signal. Tony nodded, and started cranking the valve down to close the radiation vents.
Except nothing happened.
"Tony, shut it down!" Peter yelled, flipping back to the control panel.
"I did, it's back down to zero," Tony said. "There must be something wrong!"
Peter picked him up and threw him toward the chamber. "Then get over there and fix it, that radiation cannot be on when her powers go out!"
Tony flew up to the machines over the chamber, checking the connections and running diagnostics. Peter, on the other hand, felt completely helpless. If there was something wrong in the engineering, then there was nothing he could do. He would just have to leave it to Tony, trust that his friend could find and fix the problem before…
"Guys!" Carol yelled. "It's starting to hurt!"
That was all it took. Peter leapt over the chamber and just started ripping cables out of the back. "Tony! Just shut it down! Destroy it! I don't care!"
"Peter, don't!" Tony called, landing next to him. "You could just make things worse, we might not be able to shut it off at all!"
"Then take the cables out of the chamber," he said leaping up to the side. "At least the radiation won't be funneled into her!"
Tony flew up and grabbed his arm. "Peter, think! If you take the cables out, and the radiation funnels into the room and reacts with the arc reactor, it could take out the entire tower, not to mention the surrounding real estate! You know that!"
"I won't lose her, Tony!" Peter shouted. "What's our best option?"
Tony sighed. "Rip the cables out of the back. Shut down the power to the whole setup."
Peter dropped to the floor, grabbed every cable sticking out of the chamber, stuck his feet to the back of the machine, and pulled with every ounce of strength left in his body. The wound in his left arm split open again, and blood poured down, dripping onto the cables. He screamed incoherently, the sound a mixture of anger and anguish, and the wires started to come free.
"Peter!" Carol cried, her voice shrill in the chaos. "Peter!"
Tony flew to the machines overhead and started pulling their power cables, the force of the first damaging his gauntlets.
With a final cry, Peter pulled the last of the massive cables free, and the light in the chamber darkened. In the moments it took for his eyes to adjust to the new lack of blinding light, Peter crawled to the front and ripped the doors away, sending them flying across the basement. "Carol?" he asked. "Are you alright?"
Steam flowed freely out of the now opened chamber, and Peter couldn't see her clearly, but when Carol took a step forward, she looked healthy. Like herself. But her hands, and her eyes, were glowing white. "It was too late," she said.
"No," Peter whispered, stepping back from her. He would have fallen if he hadn't been sticking to the foot of the machine.
"It was too much, I…" her voice sounded like static, like there was too much reverb on a microphone. "Peter, I…"
She fell back against the leather and started convulsing, her whole body sparking with white energy. Peter jumped on top of her, his feet on either side of her body, sticking to the back of the chamber. "Carol!" he said, holding her face. Tears streamed freely down his cheeks. "You're gonna be alright! It's okay, you'll be okay!" The white energy flashed over his hands and arms, burning his costume, singing his skin, but Peter didn't notice. He wasn't leaving her. "Stay with me, Carol! Come on, stay with me!"
Tony grabbed Peter around the waist and attempted to pull him away, but only succeeded in bending the metal underneath Peter's feet. "Peter! You've got to let go! If we don't get out of here, we could die too!"
The room had started to shake with force, but Peter refused to budge. "She's not dying!" he said, grabbing Tony's hand and throwing him into the stairwell. "Get everyone out of the building!"
Tony hesitated, like he wanted to argue, but after a few seconds he flew up the stairwell. As soon as he was gone, Peter fired web lines into the two chamber doors he'd just ripped off the machine and pulled, catching them just as they were about to crash into him. He placed them where they should be, then closed the chamber's lid, still seeing Carol's head through the viewport. Finally, as spiders do, he crawled all around the structure, webbing it together in a massive cocoon, then webbed two long lines around the doors themselves, which he used as leverage to put his weight on them. "I'm right here, Carol," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."
The room stopped shaking, but the light from the viewport grew brighter and brighter, so much so that Peter was forced to look away from it. One last time, Carol screamed.
The world around him flashed white, and burned.