Chapter 16: Resolution
Well, college is starting up again soon. The nearly nonexistent update schedule will probably go back to once a month or thereabouts.
Nepz: Thank you for the compliment!
Matt: I currently have no plans for a sequel to Anansesem, but I have toyed with the idea of a one-shot or two. It's actually sort of funny you mention that now, because I think I accidentally mimicked the snake bite chapter here. Or let's call it recycling ;)
Pink Lemonade: It's strange how the desperation in the last chapter was easier to write than their reactions. Of course, they're not quite done reacting. Arc #1 is not nearly as close to an end as I had expected. But rest assured that if it isn't dealt with in this arc, it will be in the future. If I can keep this up, I'm seeing 3 arcs in total. I've never looked this far into the future before XD
For Ava, Peter's last words before collapsing weren't quite as surprising as the collapse itself. She completely understood the desire to bite Kraven. It took most of her willpower to prevent herself from going through with it whenever they met, although she had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before she snapped. But now Peter had beaten her to the punch. Part of her was tempted to turn around and add her own bite so Kraven could have some scars to remember them by. Peter had already fainted, so he wouldn't object.
But then she remembered his venom. The others seemed to remember too. They all exchanged curious glances. Worried glances. Sam in particular looked awkward as he tried to prevent Peter's suddenly limp body from slipping through his arms and onto the floor.
"Do y-do you think he actually did bite him?" Luke asked.
Ava went back to Kraven's prone form. Kneeling down, she saw that one arm was bloodier than the other. She pushed the dirty pelts aside, finding what looked like a vampire bite. Or a giant spider bite.
"There's a bite wound," she confirmed. "The real question is if he used his venom."
Almost like a reply, Kraven began twitching behind them. And his small movements slowly turned into convulsions.
From that point on it was a rush to call up and board a Quinjet. Ava kept glancing at the others' faces. She couldn't see any of their eyes, but she could see the ways their jaws were set. See how they avoided watching Kraven even as they carried him.
Ava felt so bad. They had promised Peter that his venom didn't change anything. But 'venom' had just been a word a few days ago. Now it felt a lot more real.
And despite her best efforts, everything felt just a little bit different.
Ava sat, perched really, on the arm of Luke's chair in Peter's 'hospital' room. Honestly, it really did look like a regular hospital when you were deep enough in Shield's Medical Bay. The hallways were bright and smelled of sanitizers. The rooms were full of beeping machines. The doctors didn't look like secret agents. Of course, Ava didn't have much experience in regular hospitals, but that's usually how things looked on TV.
Regardless of how normal the place looked, Ava was there, and Luke was there, and so was the rest of the team. They always stayed with a fallen teammate, even when the teammate was unconscious. They weren't always this quiet, but it wasn't the first time either.
Ava looked at the others again, waiting for someone to speak, to ask the questions that she wasn't sure if she would or even could answer. She understood now. This was what Peter had been afraid of. Then again, Ava wasn't entirely sure what this was.
Were they worried? Surprised? Scared? Ava didn't really feel scared, but she couldn't be sure if it was because her amulet was still active. She tended to feel a lot braver when she was using it.
That was part of the reason why it was still activated. It had occurred to her that maybe Peter had been right when he said they might see the world differently.
Would she feel as uncomfortable as the guys when she turned off her tiger side? Ava didn't know, but she felt compelled to remain the level-headed one until Peter was awake enough to defend himself.
Then again, was her current point of view 'level-headed' or just passive like a feline?
Great, now she was worrying about her animal side too. Peter's issues were contagious.
Or was he just right?
Ava sighed and tried to stop thinking about that. She went back to looking around. Danny was meditating next to the heart monitor. It was impressive how he could remain so calm while the machine beeped in his ear. Luke didn't look as calm. He was reading a book, but his fingers tapped on the back cover. He hadn't turned a page in several minutes either. Sam almost appeared normal. He sat in the other chair with his ear buds in and his head bopping to some song Ava had probably never heard of. That part was perfectly ordinary for Sam, except it usually involved him being absorbed in his phone. Right now, he was staring unabashedly at Peter. Ava thought that was rather rude. Then she realized that he was the only one looking at Peter, and she became less sure.
She turned to look at Peter too.
He was no longer full of blood. The nurses had taken his suit off and cleaned him up. That had involved cleaning his mouth too. It had looked sort of like a visit to the dentist with the nurses using an electric toothbrush and that little vacuum tool that sucked up the water.
Ava shivered. She didn't like dentists.
After the cleaning, Peter had looked normal, like he was sleeping peacefully. True, there were nicks and bruises all over his body, and a larger wound in his side, but those were fairly typical injuries for them. It wasn't until the doctors removed the manacles that the source of the blood spatter was revealed.
Peter's wrists were raw and red, practically torn apart.
But they were covered in bandages now. In fact, most of Peter was covered by either hospital gown or sheets. His eyes were closed and so was his mouth. He hardly looked like he was a mutant, let alone that he had just fought literally tooth and nail against becoming more mutated.
Mutated. That was a word used in Spider-Man's file. It wasn't usually a word that came to mind to describe Peter.
But they were the same person.
Ava couldn't help but wonder if she was only just beginning to understand Peter's worries. These ideas felt so new to her.
So what sort of advice had she been giving him all this time? She had no idea.
She kept staring at him.
A few minutes later, the doors slid open. Ms. Parker had arrived with Dr. Connors in tow. Everyone stood up to greet her. She gave them all hugs in return.
"Thank you! Thank you all for saving Peter! I don't know what we would do without you!"
The team replied with varying degrees of humblety.
May finally came to rest at Peter's bedside. She didn't have any makeup on, and there were the remnants of dried paint on her hands when she reached out to hold Peter's hand. Ava smiled softly. May always dropped everything whenever her nephew needed her. She even came to visit the rest of them whenever they were more severely hurt. Sometimes it was like she had unofficially adopted all of them.
"Careful with his hands," Connors warned. "His wrists were damaged pretty badly."
"Damaged?" May pulled her hands away. "What happened? You told me he would be okay."
"He will be okay given some time. His wrists were cut open by a pair of serrated cuffs. A very crude trap, even for Kraven. Just please try to avoid moving his wrists for a few hours. I'll give him the same instructions when he wakes up."
May nodded, gingerly taking Peter's hand in hers again. She turned to the rest of them then. Ava took a breath, preparing for what was coming.
"I don't quite understand what happened," she said, voice trembling slightly. "I just got a call saying there was an attempt to kidnap him and that I should come. And . . . I will never honestly consider any injury to be 'minor', but I know he's strong. So why is he unconscious? Why is Shield making such a big deal about this?"
Luke cleared his throat. "He was caught in a trap, Ms. P. I'm sorry I didn't notice it in time to prevent that."
Ava nudged him. "It was a very good trap; you had no way of knowing. Kraven always does a thorough job."
"Kraven," May muttered. "The hunter, right? What did he want with Peter?"
There was a brief silence. Ava heard several of her teammates swallow. She decided to be the one to explain, although she wasn't entirely sure how. "Kraven . . . he's the one who injected Peter with the poison in the Savage Lands."
"You mean the poison that . . . changed him."
There was something Ava didn't like about the way she said that. In fact, Ava had been keeping an eye on May since Peter had first confessed about Phoebe, because his story just didn't fully add up. Ever since May had found out he was Spider-Man, he had finally begun to talk his problems out with her before they turned into fully fledged catastrophes. It had seemed like his days of making childish rookie mistakes were over.
So then what was stopping Peter from telling his aunt about Phoebe? He had managed to convince Ava that keeping the large baby spider a secret was the best course of action, and Ava wasn't easy to convince. Surely May would understand too.
Something was making Peter doubt that. Ava didn't know exactly what, but she knew there was something. It was just one of those 'woman's intuition' things.
"Yes, that poison," Danny answered when Ava forgot to respond. "Kraven retained some of it, and he was planning to use it tonight."
May looked aghast. "Why? What would he gain from that?"
"Hunting?" Luke suggested bitterly. "We're not sure yet. Kraven can't be questioned until he wakes up."
"You knocked him out cold?" May's lips quirked upward as she tried for a smile.
Luke looked at Ava. She shrugged. "Well, sort of, yeah . . ."
"Wait a second," May said before he could finish. "Kraven didn't actually succeed in poisoning Peter tonight, did he?"
"No," Dr. Connors assured her. "I checked his blood myself."
May exhaled in relief. "Then what did he do to Peter?"
This time, Sam spoke up. He was looking at May now, but his voice was perfectly casual. "Kraven trapped Pete in a small room and shackled his hands together. When he tried to use the poison, Pete fought back, and . . ."
"What?"
Sam sat back in his chair, leaning back and nodding his head towards Peter. "Ask him yourself."
Ava looked over curiously. Peter's eyes were open slightly, revealing at least part of his blue-green irises. May squeezed his hand.
"Peter, honey, how are you feeling?"
He didn't respond.
"Peter?" May tried again. "Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
"Dr. Connors, what's going on? What's wrong?"
Connors was already stepping forward. He checked the readings from the various machines by the bed. Then he pulled back one of Peter's eyelids all the way. Peter twitched, shifted slightly, but didn't acknowledge their existence. Connors hummed thoughtfully.
"Well?" May prompted him.
"I'll bring in some equipment to double check, but it seems like he's just . . . sleeping."
"Sleeping with his eyes open?"
Connors shrugged, heading back to the door. "It's not entirely unheard of. I'll be right back with the machine. Nothing strange or dangerous; it just monitors brain activity. I'm afraid some of you will need to leave though. It's not the smallest thing, and I'll need a technician."
The team immediately began to shuffle out of the room. May waved as they left. "Thank you all again. I'll make sure you're called back in once he's properly awake."
Ava followed the boys out of the Med Bay. No one said anything, but they all seemed to be headed in the same direction of the cafeteria. It was close to the Med Bay. That was probably planned in the initial construction, Ava mused. Regular hospitals usually had cafeterias. That much she knew for certain.
They sat down without grabbing any food. Ava began to work up the courage to say something. But Luke beat her to it this time.
"I still can't believe Pete passed out." His sunglasses were in his hands now, and he was fiddling with them.
"Why did he pass out?" Sam asked. "Kraven wasn't even reacting to the venom yet. Pete didn't know how bad it was going to be."
"I believe it was the action itself that upset him," Danny said. "Although I too am unsure why he overreacted so quickly."
The guys turned to Ava, as if it was her turn to add something to the conversation. Considering that they had all said something, she supposed it sort of was. She could even answer Sam's question. Except that would be breaking her promise to Peter.
Well, technically she had only promised Peter that she would be his 'trial run'. He had promised her that he would tell the rest of the team afterwards if it went well. And it had gone well, hadn't it? Maybe not perfectly well, but it could only be better with some extra help. And anyway, Peter's most important secret was Phoebe, and Ava didn't need to mention anything about her tonight.
(Wait, Phoebe. If Peter had to stay in the Med Bay overnight, then Ava would have to sneak into his room to check on her. But one thing at a time.)
This felt like the perfect moment to explain. It would be worse to leave the team guessing, right? Even if this wasn't exactly what Peter had wanted, it would definitely benefit him. Probably. Hopefully.
Ava swallowed. Her mouth felt so dry. How could she feel so sure yet unsure at the same time?
She finally got her lips to move. "You were right, Luke."
"Right about what?"
"The other day, when you wanted to talk to Pete about how he feels. He told you he was fine, but you were right when you thought that he might be feeling . . . less than happy."
The boys looked at her dubiously. "And how do you know?" Sam asked.
Ava crossed her arms on the tabletop. "I sort of pressured him into talking about it, and then we kept talking about it. He asked me not to tell anyone yet, but you seem to suspect it already."
"Well, yeah, I think we could gather that much," Luke said. "But being less than happy doesn't really explain much."
"I haven't finished yet. You see, when I say 'less than happy', I mean that Peter is having a sort of identity crisis where he's wondering if becoming too spidery. More spider than human."
There, she had said it. Peter could yell at her all he wanted afterwards, but she felt better now. If she had given him any bad advice, Luke and Danny could give him better advice. And Sam could stop saying all the wrong things. Or try to at least.
Luke looked surprised. "Where is he getting that idea from? He seems fine to me. He doesn't act any different!"
"Yeah, but we've only known him since after he got his powers. We don't really know what he was like before then. There's a chance we may just be used to his quirks"
"But his closest friends and family have never mentioned anything about Peter acting strange," Danny said. "Well, aside from his occasional absences."
"That's what I think!" Ava agreed. "But there's another problem. Apparently there are things he's been keeping secret because he feels embarrassed. Spidery things."
Sam scoffed. "Like what?"
Ava glared at him. "There are a few things, and he hasn't even told me everything. Yet. And anyway, I should probably let him tell you himself if he wants to."
"What do you think of the things he has told you so far?" Danny asked.
"I don't know. They seem benign to me." Ava tapped her claws on the metal table. It would have been nice to have something to scratch. "You guys will probably be better at knowing than me."
"How?" Sam asked disbelievingly. "You're the judgiest one here."
Ava rolled her eyes. "I've said enough. Talk to Peter tomorrow and you'll see what I mean."
The guys kept staring at her. She began to feel uncomfortable.
"I do not mean to sound envious," Danny said. "But I am curious how you got Peter to trust you with this information first."
Maybe just a little bit more truth? Getting them to understand now could only make any future conversations less awkward. "I told you I pressured him into it. And Pete feels very self conscious about his spider side. He thinks it's making him less human, and he doesn't want to let that show. He thought I might be more understanding since I'm sort of part tiger. We both have animal sides that make us a little . . . different."
Luke cocked his head to one side. "Different? Ava, do you and Pete really feel like that?"
Ava looked back at him. "Yeah, I guess we do. I don't think we're very different, but we're a little different. I never really cared, although I do have to account for it sometimes." She looked down at her hands. "I've thought about biting Kraven too."
"Like going for the jugular sort of bite or thrash him around like a ragdoll sort of bite?" Sam asked, apparently genuinely curious.
"Dogs thrash. Tigers don't waste their energy with that. We go for the kill," Ava replied haughtily. Then she saw the looks on their faces, and she felt heat rise in her cheeks.
Was that really so weird to say? She would have to think it over again once she deactivated her amulet.
Yup, Peter's points were really hitting her in the face now.
"We'll talk about this more tomorrow," Luke decided. "I feel bad talking about this behind Peter's back. I appreciate you telling us though."
Ava huffed. "How upset do you think he's going to be when he knows I told you?"
"You are only trying to help," Danny said. "A true friend helps the best way they know how, no matter what. I am sure he will understand."
"Besides," Luke added. "If Pete should be upset at anyone, it's me."
"Why you?" Sam asked. "And don't try to blame yourself for the trap."
"Not the trap. A few days ago I practically told him that it was okay for him to bite bad guys. He insisted he would never do it, but I didn't really care then. I didn't really understand what his venom could do. But now . . . Maybe he was right."
Ava grimaced. She hadn't known that Peter had kind of vowed not to bite villains. He usually never went back on his word, no matter how informal the promise. "Okay, true," she admitted. "Now we know that it's not exactly harmless. I just know that Pete is going to mope about that for a while. But it's not your fault. And I don't think it's even Peter's fault. He was scared and threatened. We shouldn't blame anyone for this. Agreed?"
"Except Kraven," Sam interjected. "Kraven can be blamed for everything."
"For once, I think you're right, Sam."
Peter struggled to pull himself out of sleep. It usually didn't take this much effort since his senses were so sensitive. This might have concerned him more, if he wasn't mostly asleep. But in time he began to notice the sounds of machines humming and beeping, and ambient whispering that he couldn't quite make sense of. Slowly, he noticed shapes moving around him. People. He blinked, and they came into better focus. He blinked a few more times.
A hospital room. The Shield Med Bay. Dr. Connors was there. And Aunt May. She looked worried. There was a reason to be worried. What was it supposed to be?
Licking his lips, Peter tried his voice. It seemed to work just fine. "May?"
She turned to him immediately. "Peter? You're awake?"
"Yeah." He smiled softly. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?"
Breathing a sigh of relief, May leaned forward to hug him as best as she could while he was lying in bed. "I'm sorry, I've been so worried. Your eyes have been open for a while now, but you weren't waking up."
Peter frowned. He wanted to rub his eyes, but his arms felt heavy. He blinked his eyes again instead. They did feel a little dry. "But I was asleep. Why . . .?" He trailed off.
"You were asleep," Dr. Connors agreed. "Just not deeply. I've been monitoring your brain activity for the past few minutes. Most of your brain was at rest, except for the sensory portions. Were you aware of your surroundings?"
"Not a whole lot, but a little. Um . . . I think I know what this is. I just didn't know that it worked like this." He looked at his aunt. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
"It's fine, Peter. What do you think it is?"
He licked his lips again. Why did his mouth taste like he had recently brushed his teeth? "I think it's just another aspect to being part spider."
"What? How?"
"Ah," Connors said, comprehension dawning. "I see! Spiders retain constant awareness of their surroundings, don't they?"
"That's the general consensus so far," Peter confirmed. "I had-well-I had a feeling that sometimes I take little naps like that. I didn't know my eyes stayed open though."
He kept blinking, and the haze of sleep truly began to leave him. He realized what he had just said.
His eyes remained open when he slept. That probably looked so creepy! He looked at his aunt again. No wonder she looked so worried.
But there was still something else to be worried about. What was it?
"You never told me," May said. "When did this start?"
"I don't know," Peter said honestly. "Maybe last week? I hardly noticed a difference. Just . . ."
"What?"
"I haven't been as tired lately," he admitted.
May's brow creased. "Less tired? But wouldn't this make you more awake?"
Peter shook his head. He felt ashamed of what he was about to say next. "No, I think . . . well, I really don't know how it works. Sometimes it feels like normal sleep. Other times, it feels like daydreaming. I mean, I'm not sure if it is just regular daydreaming. But-um-there were one or two days when I felt, like, well-rested after class, and I don't know if maybe I was accidentally taking a nap? It was a class I'm really confident in, so I didn't miss anything, but I've been making sure to pay attention ever since."
He watched her, waiting for her to say something. May seemed a bit bewildered by this development. Peter focused on his breathing as he waited.
He had been breathing heavily before he passed out. Why?
"An accidental nap?" May repeated. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset if you took a few naps. But accidental napping doesn't seem entirely safe in New York."
"It's-It's not normal napping though. I still hear stuff. And I guess I still see stuff."
"We could run some tests," Connors suggested.
Peter considered that. "We can try. I don't think I could sleep like that on command though. Doc, what do you think about it?"
Connors shrugged. "It's hard to say. Judging from the readout I got tonight, it certainly isn't normal sleep. But you looked well-rested all week. This may just be your body's way of adapting to the level of activity you do. I wouldn't be too worried, Ms. Parker. I'll have to do some research, but I'm fairly certain spiders sleep like this for safety. Hm, yes, that may be another reason, Peter. It probably allows your spider sense to work even while you're asleep."
"So he's doing this because he's scared?" May asked.
"I'm not scared," Peter insisted. "And I'm not doing it on purpose," he added under his breath.
"I'm just trying to come up with a few hypotheses," Connors told her. "It's all theoretical. This may even be the result of the latest genetic anomalies I noticed. It would certainly explain why I wasn't able to connect them to anything else."
"This could be genetic?"
"Sure. Humans sleep all night because we're diurnal. Cats sleep all day because they're nocturnal. Spiders . . . I think they're mostly nocturnal. Have you been staying up late, Peter?"
Peter looked down at the sheets. "Some nights I try to get a lot of homework done, and I don't start to feel sleepy for a long while." It wasn't a lie. He did do his homework while Phoebe played around his room.
May squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Are you sure this won't affect his health?"
Connors softly clapped his hand on Peter's shoulder. "He's one of a kind, and still very healthy. None of his other mutations has ever led to health issues, so I think it's safe to say this is fine too. I'll keep an eye on him as always, but I wouldn't worry. Now, Peter, I have to ask. How do your wrists feel?"
Peter wriggled one wrist. That was a mistake. It hurt. He hissed, eyes watering. May's grip tightened on his hand. Why did it hurt so much-?
He remembered. He remembered the fall. The unexpected cuffs. The needle, and how close it kept coming to his skin. How he couldn't make Kraven drop the syringe no matter how hard he tried to kick. And then Kraven's arm had passed so close to Peter's face. A split second decision later, and Kraven was screaming. The syringe dropped out of his hand, but what was a long term plan? What could end this? Only one idea had occurred to Peter then.
Chills rolled up Peter's spine. For a second, he could still taste the blood on his tongue. The blood that wasn't his (and he knew that). His face paled.
He had bitten Kraven by accident, but the venom had been on purpose.
"Peter," May asked quietly. "What's wrong?"
"May, I . . . I did something I'm not proud of," he began, and the words made his heart clench because it reminded him of another night, with another man, but full of the same anger and determination. Peter squeezed his aunt's hand in return, even though the movement sent stabs of pain up his arm. He held his breath to stop another hiss as he looked at Connors. "Is Kraven okay?"
"Yes," Connors answered immediately.
"Be honest."
"Well, we only just administered the latest batch of antivenom. The first dose was a bit of a bust. I wasn't expecting to have to use it so soon. But the second dose ought to be much more effective. He was stabilized last I checked."
Peter closed his eyes. Kraven was going to be fine. He'd either spend the rest of his life in jail or escape so the team would have to catch him again.
That almost sounded disappointing when he thought about it that way . . .
"What are you talking about?" May asked, looking between them. "What happened?"
"I can bring the team back in here to explain," Connors offered quietly.
The team. Peter had just collapsed in front of them. And so soon after Luke had complimented him so nicely. Talk about embarrassing.
Embarrassing? That ought to be the least of his worries right now. What was wrong with him?
(That was just a rhetorical question.)
"Um-yeah," he replied. "You can tell them to come in. But give me a few minutes with May first?"
Connors nodded and left. Peter opened his eyes to look at his aunt. She looked confused. Maybe a little frightened. It reminded Peter of his dream from the other night, the one with the dinosaur. Hadn't he decided then, when Phoebe had shown it to him, that he would be willing to use his fangs to protect his aunt? The decision had felt so easy before he had known what it felt like to actually bite someone.
But wasn't this so much better than turning into something that could hurt her?
(Yet he could hurt her as he was. The only real difference was that he wouldn't.)
Peter took a deep breath. His throat felt tight now, and his voice came out as a whisper. "I was desperate, May. Kraven was going to turn me into a-a monster again. So I bit him. And I used m-my venom."
Understanding passed over May's face. "Oh, Peter, I'm sure you didn't mean to."
"But I did."
Tears were gathering in his eyes now, and he couldn't even wipe them away because his wrists hurt too much. He didn't want her to see him cry, but he really didn't want her to hear him hiss again.
Silence stretched for several seconds, as well as it could stretch when there were so many ambient noises.
"That doesn't matter," May said at last. She lowered the bed rail on her side so she could squeeze in next to her nephew, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry if I made an assumption. I know you do whatever it takes to do the right thing."
A part of Peter felt so utterly relieved that she was still willing to be so close to him. "Was it the right thing, though?"
"Of course it was. You kept your promise."
"What promise?"
"When you first told me you were Spider-Man," she said as she gently wiped his tears away. "You promised me that you would always come home. Kraven tried so hard to stop you from coming home tonight. He hurt you, and you were forced to hurt him back. And I'm so glad you're here with me right now."
Peter thought about what Kraven had said; would he have gone home as a spider monster? He decided not to mention that. "What if I bite someone again?"
"Then they'll probably have deserved it too. You're not cruel, Peter. You only do what you have to do. But . . . sometimes the world is cruel." May sighed. "I know that you have to face reality regardless of whether you're Spider-Man or not. However, heroes do deal with the worst of the worst."
"I can't just stop-"
"I know, honey, I know. I'm not asking you to. It's just . . . You've been through a lot tonight, and I worry about you. Will you at least consider taking the day off tomorrow? I think you need a break from both patrol and school."
"Patrol and school?" Peter repeated incredulously.
"You should get a day to relax completely. Especially if you've been taking mini naps just to get enough sleep. Really, a week would be better . . ."
"A day is good. I'll stay home tomorrow."
May chuckled.
There was a knock at the door. Peter turned his head to see the team waiting on the other side of the glass door. He gave them a nod, and they entered.
Ava spoke first. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Not bad." He looked at their faces. No one seemed disturbed or . . . Peter wasn't really sure what he had been afraid of seeing, but, whatever it was, he wasn't seeing it. "Thanks for-"
"Ms. P already thanked us enough," Luke cut him off with a smile.
"None of those were formal 'thank you's though," May said. "I'm convincing Peter to take a mini vacation tomorrow. How about I make a big dinner for all of you, hm?"
"I'm in!" Sam replied immediately. "Can I get a day off too!"
"I'll have a chat with Fury before we go." May pat Peter on the arm as she stood up. "I'm going to go find Dr. Connors, ask him a few questions I forgot. I don't even know if you're cleared to go home tonight."
"I probably am. Don't listen if he says no."
May shook her head amusedly as she left. Peter swallowed, returning his attention to his team.
"I told her what I did," he informed them. "I don't know if she's really okay with it, but she wasn't upset."
"Why would she be upset?" Ava asked. "It was self defense. And you have no idea how often I want to bite Kraven. I'm actually sort of mad that you did it first."
Peter snorted. "I would have gladly let you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, I think you can be trusted to not nearly kill him like I did."
Ava began twirling her hair with one finger, which was weird because she rarely allowed herself to show nervous ticks like that. "Don't be so sure about that. I don't know how much of Kraven would be left if you really let me go at him. It would have been much less pretty."
"How . . . How did he look?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Fine, for the most part." Luke shrugged. "We almost couldn't tell you had bitten him to be honest."
"Until he started seizing," Sam cut in. Luke nudged him, nearly knocking him over.
"It's fine, Luke," Peter said. "I wanted to know. And there's something else too. I don't think I mentioned this before I passed out-which I'm sorry about, by the way."
"Don't worry about it. I was there to catch you heroically," Sam said proudly.
"Right, well, I just wanted you to know what I told May. That-um-it wasn't an accident. I mean, the initial bite sort of was, but I injected the venom on purpose."
Ava raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that how Dr. Connors said it's supposed to work? You choose when you use venom."
Peter thought back. "Oh, yeah, I guess so."
"Oh, and, um . . ." Ava kept twirling her hair. "I sort of told the guys about our animal litmus test thing."
"Our what?"
"How you wanted to tell me all your spidery instincts so I could tell you whether you're mostly human or not? They were kind of wondering, and-I'm sorry if this wasn't the right time."
Peter swallowed. Telling the others had been the farthest thing from his mind. This really didn't feel like the right time to deal with that. Yet, no time had really felt right. He had pretty much been dreading telling them, even if he had promised Ava that he would. Maybe this was for the best. Although he felt bad for letting Ava be the one to tell them.
"It's as good a time as any," he told her. Then he looked at the guys. "You probably have a lot of questions."
"Not really, actually," Luke said.
"Well, I've got some questions. But they can wait until tomorrow." Sam added hurriedly as he took a step out of range of any elbows.
"We can have a much more peaceful conversation tomorrow once you have overcome your emotional turmoil," Danny agreed.
Peter scoffed. "I'm not in emotional turmoil. I just . . . I don't like hurting people like this, even when I think they deserve it. It never turns out well." An image of another bloodied and beaten man rose up from his memories, and he pushed it back down, ready to change the topic. "You're not mad at me for lying the other day when you asked about how I felt?"
Luke shook his head. "You didn't lie. You told us it was personal, and it is. And I don't want to downplay whatever you're thinking, but you seem pretty normal to me."
"There are things you don't know, though," Peter admitted, feeling a sense of deja vu. Hadn't he said the same thing to Ava? And she hadn't been too surprised by anything he had told her.
"Ava mentioned something about that, but Pete, really," Sam said exasperatedly. "Why are you worrying if you're already able to hide everything you think is weird? If you were actually a 'changed man', then wouldn't it be more obvious?"
Peter opened his mouth to reply, closed it again. The others chuckled.
"I am assuming it is the principle of the matter?" Danny offered.
Peter refrained from pointing at him. It was annoying to not be able to use your hands properly. "Yes, that. Among other things." Like the fact that it had felt good to let his guard down around Ava. He really was getting so tired of ignoring it all (or was it getting harder to ignore?). Especially when he had to figure some stuff out to teach Phoebe.
Phoebe. Oh no, she was probably starving! He turned back to Ava. She gave him a small knowing smile.
"Wondering about your science experiment?" She asked casually. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it if you have to stay overnight."
Peter nodded gratefully. The others didn't seem to sense the hidden layer of meaning.
There was an extended awkward silence. Peter couldn't think of anything else to say. It was almost excruciating, but then he saw his aunt through the glass. She came back in with Dr. Connors.
"Sorry I forgot to tell you before," Connors began. "But you'll need to stay here overnight. The skin on your wrists is open in many areas, putting you at risk for infection. You need a sterile environment for at least a few hours. I can also administer some strong pain relievers in your IV."
"I'll be fine at home. I'll be careful," Peter insisted.
May crossed her arms. "Listen to the nice doctor, Peter."
"Fine . . ." He grumbled, pouting.
"I'll bring you a change of clothes first thing in the morning, okay?"
"Okay."
Connors walked over to the IV stand. He held a syringe. Peter tensed slightly. "I'm going to put the first dose of the pain reliever in the feed. It will make you drowsy, but with a good night's sleep you should be healed by morning."
As the needle was inserted into the rubber tubing, Peter looked up at all of his visitors. He saw . . . Familiarity. Concern. And if he knew a less cheesy way to think it, he would have acknowledged the fact that he saw love (or some cooler facsimile thereof). He had been afraid that they would think he had acted monstrous, but the fact was that he had stopped himself from being turned into a real monster. His venom didn't automatically make him a bad guy because he still had a choice. And they knew that.
So he would use it to protect them when he needed to. Because he needed to protect them. The people around him were the closest thing he had to family. And family was a responsibility he was more than willing to take.
His eyes drooped. If he had any dreams, they were exactly that. No nightmares plagued him tonight.
Believe it or not, there is a spider fun fact that is partially mentioned in this chapter. But Peter doesn't know it yet. All will be revealed in time . . .
