Holy crap it's been forever since I posted. Well sorry for the wait anyone who wanted to read on but I went on kind of a hiatus recently, no actually I just had AP exams but anyway here's chapter 12, by far the longest in the making. Hopefully people will start reading this again.
Peter was surprisingly refreshed the next morning. Luke had finished the repairs on the Quinjet and it was ready to bring him to the Raft. Kraven's time with the White Tiger Amulet was over. Peter got up and was a little startled to see Ava was already awake. Luke had passed out from staying up all night working but he deserved the rest.
"Morning, what're you doing up so early? I thought cats were supposed to lounge around and sleep. Or is that just house cats, I forget." Peter walked up behind her.
"Have you ever known me to relax?" Ava looked over at him.
"That's...actually quite accurate."
"You look like crap by the way, take a shower webhead." Ava smiled at him and returned to whatever she was doing.
"Yeah I will, but seriously what ARE you doing?" Peter was confused beyond reason at this point.
"It's part of my training, to be worthy of my amulet again I have to train my mind too. Being separated from it for so long made me realize I need to remember to control its power."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll just be like riding a bike. A bike that gives you superpowers."
"Wow Parker you always know what to say."
"I know." Peter laughed a little bit and went to go wash up. "Good luck with your mind training thing."
Ava watched Peter walk away, all the work he had done since he got here, she had to be ready to accept her amulet back.
Peter went to the school's showers and took time to think.
So much has happened lately, the symbiote is my new roommate, Ava's back to normal and ready to get her powers back, and I'm about to go fight Kraven along with who knows how many supervillains at the Raft. I guess it must be a tuesday.
Walking out of the shower felt unnatural. It had been almost a week since Peter had even set foot in his own home, and now here he was. Using his school as a base of operations. The symbiote oozed back over him, creating his black costume, and Spider-man walked back out to see if Luke had woken up.
"There you are, although I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that suit webs." Luke was indeed up, and he seemed eager to get to work. "You ready for this?"
"Do I have a choice?" Spider-man asked jokingly.
"I'll be there to back you up Spidey, we're flying blind here and the last thing we need is to lose a good Spider-man."
"I'm not going anywhere, plus this suit gives a nice little boost to my spidery-ness." Spider-man flexed a muscle for emphasis.
"I'm coming too. I need to look Kraven in the eye when I take back my amulet. " Ava interjected, her face had never shown such a look of determination and clarity. Her training was complete and she was ready.
"That's fine Tiger, one condition though." Spider-man told her. "You have to stay back until it's safe. You don't have your powers back yet, so leave the heavy lifting to me and Powerman."
"I can take care of myself Parker."
"I know you can but, I can't lose you." Spider-man's mask peeled away from his face to show his genuine concern.
"Alright you win, I'll stay back and wait for your word."
There was a moment of silence as the gravity of the situation sunk in. This was the most important part of the plan. Without White Tiger, they couldn't rescue Iron Fist, and that meant no team to take on the other Spider-man in the past.
"I'll get the Quinjet prepped for takeoff, you two meet me there when you're ready to go." Luke walked off to give Peter and Ava some privacy.
"I'm glad we're doing this. You'll get you powers again, we can save Danny, finally a little hope." Peter looked a little down, despite what he was saying he didn't seem hopeful at all.
"Are you okay? I can tell something's up and you...you can talk to me, if you want?" Ava moved closer to him and they sat down.
"When I was in the Baxter Building, getting the Quinjet, something happened." Peter started, Ava listened. "It was unstable in there, everything was getting thrown into different dimensions at random, I went with it."
"You went to other worlds? Like what?" Ava was a bit confused.
"I saw what looked like the future, a good one, with people and technology and life, but I also saw my home."
"The world that you came from, all your friends...it must've been hard." Ava consoled him, placing a hand on Peter's hand.
"I wanted to go back, see my Aunt May and Fury and Coulson, and...you. My version of you...I realized how much I miss her, and if she missed me."
"But you stayed, to help us...Peter I'm so sorry you had to do that, make that choice."
"That choice was one I had to make. Great responsibility you know?"
"That says something about you, it means you're a good person with heart and you care for others. That makes you one of the best people I've ever met." Ava shifted herself and looked Peter in the eyes.
"That means a lot Tiger, thanks." Peter managed a smile.
"You're welcome." Ava leaned in towards him. He leaned towards her.
Ava pulled back. "I can't. You have your own version of me, that was selfish."
"I shouldn't have put you in that position. I never managed to tell you how I felt back home and it sucks."
"I know she cares about you Peter, as much as you care about her."
The two of them sat there. Then they got up. Then they walked over to Luke, and boarded the Quinjet.