Chapter 27 - Corrections

Finals killed me. Grad school applications buried me. Various happy things reanimated me every time. Let the little things keep you going. Who knows what greatness may come from your hardships. Seriously. You wouldn't believe the good things that happened to me this semester in the midst of terror and angst.

Okay, so if we move past the long wait, there is one thing I must address about this chapter. It turns out that I fell victim to a common venom misconception. While I could have let that be, the truth is really stranger than fiction here, so I'm going to try to aim for as much realism as possible (since we're still talking about a fictional mutant here, and I'm not an arachnologist). I will achieve this by placing all blame on Dr. Connors. Sorry Doc.


Pink Lemonade: Can you believe it's simultaneously helpful and unhelpful to know physics when it comes to these fight scenes? Force = mass x acceleration, and Rhino is fast and heavy, but spider silk strands as thick as Peter's are supposed to be able to stop a jet which should be way faster and heavier than Rhino . . . but jets still don't have horns . . . I was so close to trying to work out the math, but then finals came so I just went with my gut XD

Guest: *Gasp* You binge read it in like a day! I'm so flattered! You're on the right track with your guess, so do prepare for an unfair fair ;).

AvidWriter14 and Me: Thank you! That's a good point about Spidey/Nova, although I've received some good ideas for Spider/Tiger too . . . Regardless of which I choose officially, I'm thinking of doing a one-shot or mini spin-off with the other.


Flash was still on the same roof Peter had left him at, which was hardly surprising. It was much too far from neighboring buildings to allow for an escape. Plus, Spider-Man had ordered Flash to stay, and if there was one person Flash listened to it was his hero. So there Flash was, huddled behind an AC unit, hands over his head. Peter watched him silently for a minute. The roof of his mouth still felt funky and uncomfortable, which was making him feel funky and uncomfortable. Peter smacked his lips a couple times before clearing his throat loudly. Even up here there was no silence in the city. "You'll be pleased to know that the situation has been handled."

Flash's head snapped up as he jumped, scrambling to his feet. "Oh, thank you Spider-Man! Is my place okay?"

"Yup, certainly better than your car." Peter cocked his head to the side. He felt oddly detached from the moment. The echoes of his memories of Kraven were still rattling around in his head, overlapping with today. Luke was cut up like Peter had been. Alex was a literal rampaging rhino like Peter had almost been.

Okay, so he hadn't been a rhino, but he could have been a rampaging spider. He had been a rampaging spider back in the Savage Lands. Peter knew what it felt like to be transformed like that. Thankfully, he also knew what it felt like to be transformed back into his regular self. But Rhino wasn't the result of the same poison, was he? Alex hadn't been part rhino before today so far as Peter knew. What had happened to him? Was there a way to reverse it?

His fingers curled into fists. "I hope you realize that all of this happened because of you."

"W—what do you mean?"

"That rhino back there? He used to be a normal kid named Alex."

Flash's face tightened. "Alex? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"I . . . no, not really." Flash swallowed visibly. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know. All I know is that he really did a number on one of my teammates. Power Man got his first cut since forever."

"Power Man got cut?!" At least Flash sounded shocked enough. "Is he going to be okay?"

Peter thought about that. Luke probably would be fine now that he was with Shield's doctors. It may be a large wound, but it was still only a cut. It would heal. "In time, yes, but the point is that he's never been hurt like that before, and it would never have happened at all today if Alex hadn't become Rhino, which, we've established, is your fault."

That was harsh. Harsher than he had initially meant it to be, but it was true, right? Sometimes the truth hurt, and you just had to live with that.

Flash looked away into the distance, then at his feet when he remembered how high they were. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, okay? But it's not like I forced Alex to turn into a Rhino!"

"Well, no, but there's always a chance someone can stumble upon powers these days. You gave him a reason to use that power unwisely."

"I only asked him for some homework help!"

Peter's eyes narrowed. "Is that all you did?"

"M—mostly . . ." Flash finally looked at him again. "Spider-Man . . . do you hate me?"

Peter's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that question. "No, no of course not!" he answered quickly. Even more surprisingly, he meant it. "I . . . I hardly know you, Flash. We've met a few times, and I know you're a fan, but . . . I know nothing else about you." Huh, that was almost completely true too. He had known Flash for years, but he didn't know anything about him aside from how Flash was a football player and a bully and . . . yeah, that was about it.

"But Parker must've told you all about what I've done to him!" Flash insisted. "I know he's met you. He never snitched with teachers, but with a superhero . . . That's everybody's dream, right? To have a superhero swoop in and save you from everything?"

There was something raw in Flash's voice that made Peter wonder. He remembered what Luke had said that morning. 'Be the change'. He really wanted people to stop judging him just because they trusted Jameson and knew so little about Spider-Man (like Harry kept doing). Shouldn't he start the right trend? "So what if Parker talked about you? Am I just supposed to believe everything he says? I still don't really know you."

Flash gave him a funny look. "You really are as nice as they say."

"They?" Peter asked with exaggerated interest. "Who is this 'they' you speak of? The only people who usually talk about me aren't quite so kind or accurate."

Inhaling sharply while wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Flash grinned. "Not everyone subscribes to the Daily Bugle, Spidey. There're a bunch of online forums about you, and we stick to the facts. Well, some people start conspiracy theories, but at least not all of them are bad."

"So there are websites where I can get my ego stroked? I'll have to check them out." Peter smiled when Flash's face brightened. Making other people happy always made Peter happy, even when he had every right to be angry. It even helped him ignore the weird pressure in the roof of his mouth. Luke was right, there was no reason to keep up a hostile atmosphere when everything could be so much better if they changed the 'norm'. "Hm, now that I think about it, there is one thing I know about you."

Flash's face paled. "Like what?"

"You're going to be me in that play, right?"

Now Flash's face flushed a deep red. "Y—yeah! I am! I've been working so hard to get into character!" Then his face fell. "Are you—like—okay with that? I don't know if MJ asked for your permission or whatever."

Peter waved an airy hand. "Nah, it's fine. I'm more than flattered. So long as you do a good job, I'm cool with it."

"What if I do a bad job?"

"You won't," Peter assured him. "Just keep practicing and trying your best. That's all I ever do, and it's worked pretty well for me so far. Honestly, the cornier you act the more realistic it'll be."

"You're not corny! You're awesome and cool and you always have the best comebacks!"

"Aw, shucks." Peter kicked softly at the gravel on the roof. "Well, I should probably stop listening to your flattery and get you home. Some Shield agents should be there soon to take your statement and assess the damage. We had to use some good metal to stop Rhino. Sorry."

"That's fine. I mean, my dad isn't going to be happy, but he can't do anything about it. It's not like he was here today anyway," Flash grumbled. He glanced at the edge of the roof. "Could you . . . could you go a little slower this time? Please?"

Peter grinned. "Of course, anything for a fan."


When the remaining unharmed members of the team finished making their report up in the Helicarrier, they went to check on Luke. His parents were tending to him, which was only to be expected. Mrs. Cage was still cleaning the wound. Mr. Cage was prepping stitches while looking at some x-rays. Luke lay on the bed. His eyes looked oddly wet, as if he had been close to tears.

Ava hesitated as she entered. It felt like she was walking in on something very personal. Although she had dealt with Peter's issues a few times now, she wasn't sure if she could handle anyone else's. Luke looked like he should just be with his family for now.

But the team was family. Luke was one of the biggest believers of that statement. Ava had to at least try to be there for him. If even Sam could be compassionate enough, then she could too, and she could probably be much more tolerable.

Why did she keep thinking of these things as a sort of competition? That probably wasn't a healthy mindset, especially for a superhero.

"Hey guys," Luke greeted when he saw them. "Rhino's locked up?"

"Yup," Peter said. "I asked the guards if they could add a tennis ball to the end of his horn so he won't hurt you again. They said they'd take it under advisement."

The Cages all laughed. "We appreciate that, Peter," Mrs. Cage said. "And thank you for doing all you could to stem the bleeding. He lost some blood, but not as much as he could have."

Peter ducked his head bashfully. "Just doin' my job."

"That won't stop us from thanking you," Mr. Cage said. "We're inviting you all to dinner this weekend, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm cool with that," Sam said, rubbing his hands together anticipatorily.

Danny stepped forward. "Do you have any idea how Rhino was able to do this to Luke?"

Mrs. Cage frowned. "We don't know for sure yet, not until we can get a look at Rhino's horn, but my guess is on overexertion and dry skin."

"Overexertion and dry skin?" Danny repeated, perplexed. Ava felt the same way.

"Yeah, that can't be it!" Luke agreed.

"Dry skin flakes and gets thinner." Mr. Cage began to explain when he noticed the team's confused stares. "Then overexertion can cause muscles to bulge, stretching the skin, and no matter how strong something is, stretching it only makes it weaker. Luke spent all weekend training so hard he gave himself some cramps. Combine the two and anything very sharp coming at him with enough force had a chance to breach his skin today."

Mrs. Cage nodded in agreement, looking worriedly at her son. "We're lucky you didn't come across gunmen. Imagine if you had tried taking bullets for anyone!"

Luke looked away. "I guess so," he mumbled.

Ava glanced at the others, seeing similar looks of astonishment and fear. It was one thing for a really strong and intimidating Rhino to hurt Power Man, but another entirely to think that something as mundane as overexertion or dry skin had also played a part. Ava could already imagine Peter setting a new team rule to prevent anyone from training too hard.

"Wait a second," Luke said, groaning in embarrassment. "Oh come on, are you telling me that my weakness is bad skincare?!"

His parents exchanged a look. "Why yes, I suppose you could see it that way." They started sniggering, which quickly turned into full-out laughter. All the boys started laughing too except Luke.

Ava bit the inside of her cheek. She refused to join the others in laughter. "It won't be a weakness so long as you take care of yourself," she said, trying to make Luke feel better. "I can give you some moisturizers." When Luke only stared at her silently for a long moment, she folded her arms. "What?" she demanded. Wasn't she being a far better friend than the others right now?

Luke's shoulders began to shake as a broad smile formed on his face. "I'm trying to imagine myself using some perfumed lotion or something."

Ava huffed, rolling her eyes. "I do not use perfumed lotions. I use science-based, all-natural moisturizers. If I even remember to use them."

"Aw, but what if I want to smell like roses? Danny, have you got scented lotion?"

"I do, in fact," Danny replied as he stopped laughing. "And I did tell you to take better care of yourself."

"And I've got cologne," Sam added, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Peter. "I mean regular cologne this time!" he defended in a whisper.

Mrs. Cage chuckled at their antics as she pulled off her dirty gloves. "The wound is clean now. Darling, it's your turn to take care of the baby."

"Mom!" Luke complained. "We've talked about this!"

"Yes we did," Mr. Cage said. "And we agreed that we had to make up for all those years we weren't here to embarrass you." He smiled broadly at his son's mortified face before giving his wife a peck on the cheek. "Sweetheart, you probably want to get the other kids out of here before they get all squeamish around the needle."

Mrs. Cage got up and began shooing the team out, but she stopped them once they were outside the room. "Thank you," she said softly, looking at each of them in turn. "Really, thank you for being there for Luke."

"You've already thanked us for that," Peter reminded her. "A lot. And we keep telling you it's nothing. We're a team for a reason."

"That you are." She smiled warmly, then she began eyeing their bruises. "Are any of you hurt?"

Danny raised a hand. "I believe I have hurt my ribs, but I am not sure if any fractured."

"Oh dear, we'll take some x-rays. Anyone else?"

Ava shook her head. She had her fair share of bruising too, but nothing major. Sam was also fine, of course. Peter hesitated.

"Is Dr. Connors free now?" he asked.

"No, I think he went to go examine Rhino. Do you need to be seen right away?"

"Um—no, not really. I'll just wait for him."

Mrs. Cage gave him the same dubious look most Shield doctors did. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"No, you're O negative." Mrs. Cage laughed at her own joke. "I'm sorry, doctor humor. I'll see you all this weekend then. Except you, Danny. You're coming with me for the x-ray."

They said goodbye and Ava followed the other two boys as they began wandering through the halls. Both she and Sam watched Peter as they went. Judging from the stiff way he was walking, Peter was well aware of their attention.

"Are you sure you're okay, Webs?" Sam asked first.

"Yes! Trust me on this one."

"Well, I guess we haven't heard you have a hissy fit yet."

Peter glared at him, eye lenses narrowing. "If you call it a hissy fit one more time, I swear you're going to wake up with a bucket webbed to your head."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to start another prank war with me?"

"I wasn't aware the last one had ended."

Ava sighed miserably. "Please, let's say it's over and be done with it. I don't want to be in the middle of a prank war again."

"But then how will we ever know who the king of pranks is?" Sam asked, aghast.

"You'll know," Ava replied with a growl. "Because the queen will defeat you both."

Peter's eye lenses grew comically large. "You mean you'd join the war too?"

"No, I'll call in Black Widow to put a stop to this nonsense." Ava watched with satisfaction as both boys gasped in horror. Every Shield agent knew what Black Widow did to those who annoyed her, and Ava did know her well enough to convince her to help put an end to this madness.

"Well, you know what, I think I may need to study, or some such nonsense," Sam said, beginning to back away slowly. "Tiger, you make sure that Spidey doesn't start having hissy fits today." And with that, he flew off.

"They're not hissy fits!" Peter yelled after him. He turned to Ava. "Are you still calling it that?"

"Yes," she admitted, smirking when his shoulders drooped. "Sorry, we can't think of anything else."

This time, Peter was the one who sighed miserably. He rubbed his mouth absently. "Hey, can I ask you a question? Like, about your tiger-ness."

Ava raised an eyebrow. She had thought Peter wouldn't want to discuss this sort of topic for a while, not after the conversation they had yesterday regarding his aunt. "First of all, 'tiger-ness' is not a word. Second of all, yes, you may."

Peter nodded. "Do you want to talk somewhere a little more private?"

It didn't really bother Ava where they spoke, but she figured it would probably make Peter feel better. "Sure, if you want."

They walked down a few halls until they reached an unused medical room. Peter walked right in without even looking for the light switch, seemingly distracted by whatever was on his mind. Not that either of them needed the light anyway. For Ava it was more than bright enough to see by, although it was only lit by excess light from the corridor.

"So," Ava said, taking a seat on the bed. She pulled her mask off. "What do you want to ask me?"

Peter stayed standing, fidgeting slightly. When he noticed Ava had taken off her mask, he did the same. He took out his contacts too, rubbing at his eyes. All the while he chewed at his lip. Ava tried not to appear too curious. What had happened this time to make him so uneasy?

Taking a breath, Peter asked his question in a rush. "Did you want to bite Rhino today?"

Ava looked away guiltily in spite of herself. "Yes, I did," she confessed. "Why? Could you tell?"

"No, I couldn't tell." Peter gave her a brief, small smile. "And—um—I wanted to know because . . . I wanted to bite him too."

Ava was taken aback. "Why would you want to eat Rhino? Rhinos aren't natural prey for spiders."

Peter froze, his eyes widening into two big green disks of light. "Eat?! No! I said I wanted to bite him not eat him!"

"Oh," was all Ava could say.

"Why would you even say that?" Peter continued, sounding outraged. "I may have bitten a man, or—or two, I guess, counting Wolverine, but I would never eat someone! Who would even think—" he cut himself off abruptly.

Ava didn't need to look up to know he was staring at her.

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered. "I'm so sorry. Do you ever—Did you—?"

"Of course," she answered softly, a bit confused. "You saw me the day when Kraven used that drum." The guys joked about that day so often, about how she tried to eat the man in the mouse costume. Ava had assumed they did that to make her feel better about it. Their teasing had eased her guilt and sense of unworthiness in a strange sort of way. But didn't they understand that she really would have eaten the man if they hadn't intervened? That she would have eaten the team? Maybe they didn't.

That was kind of scary, actually.

Peter swallowed audibly. "Right, I remember. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything like that."

"It's fine," Ava said. "I know it's wrong, and normally I can push those thoughts aside no problem. It's one of the most fundamental parts to controlling the amulet. My dad made sure I understood that. But Kraven . . ." Kraven put an end to her proper training. He killed her dad. He made her crave blood every time she saw him. "Kraven gets under my skin," she settled on, a low growl in her throat.

"You and me both," Peter agreed. "I remember you said that you've thought of biting him too, but I never connected 'biting' to 'eating'."

"Most people don't. I just assumed—" Ava stopped, inwardly reprimanding herself for such a rookie mistake. One of the first life lessons she had learned was 'never assume anything'. "I assumed you saw things the same way, but I should have known better."

"I mean, I understand, kind of," Peter assured her. "Maybe not to the extent of wanting to eat anyone, but I do understand when you want to do something that you know is wrong." He paused thoughtfully. "Most people do, one way or another."

Ava shrugged. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, are you here to talk about me or you? You seemed to be segueing into something before we got off topic."

"We're not exactly off topic. And if you do want to talk about you, that's fine. I vent to you all the time now, so you should be able to vent to me." Peter finally seemed to get the courage to sit next to her. "Do you want to talk about wanting to eat Rhino? I wanted to bite him in self-defense, but your thing sounds harder to live with. I don't even know what I'd do if I saw a giant fly or something, although no one would probably want to dress like a fly, so I shouldn't have to deal with that anytime soon."

Honestly, she really didn't want to talk about herself in this way. This topic was a reminder that she was a hunter deep down inside, just like Kraven, and she didn't like to think of things that way. She preferred to consider herself a fierce warrior or a guardian. So she focused the conversation back on Peter. "There are plenty of people dressed like bugs," she reminded him. "There's Beetle, Ant Man, and Wasp just to name a few."

Peter's face fell. "Oh, that's right, I forgot about Beetle. But I guess I should be fine with him. When I caught his LMD in my web this weekend, it wasn't really any different than all the other times I've used webs. But none of us were in real danger then, and I'm beginning to wonder if danger is like my trigger or something with biting. I was perfectly fine with Rhino when we first started fighting, but the moment Luke and I got stuck in that pipe my spider sense started ringing like mad, and then I started to feel this pressure in my mouth and I really wanted to bite Rhino."

Ava turned to face him fully. "Pressure? What do you mean?"

"It wasn't so bad before, but it's been getting worse and now it feels like my—um—my venom sacs want to explode," Peter mumbled, starting to rub his mouth again.

"You're still feeling it?"

He nodded.

"That doesn't sound good," Ava said. "What if they're inflamed or really full or whatever else happens to venom sacs? What if they're like a bladder?"

"Excuse me?"

Ava tried to think of another way to put it, but there really wasn't. "I just mean, what if you . . . need to relieve yourself of some venom?"

Peter squeezed his hand tighter around his mouth, making his next words sound muffled. "I don't wanna do that."

"What if you need to? If the pressure hasn't gone away yet, it might not until you do something about it." This was getting worrisome now. For Ava, the desire to bite was purely in her head. It was annoying, but she could deal with it. If Peter had pressure or physical pain urging him on, then that was worse.

"Don't worry, I'm going to talk to Dr. Connors about it," Peter insisted.

"Pete, if you're in pain—"

"It's not really pain."

Standing up, Ava set her jaw. "That's it, you're not waiting for Connors. I'm going to find you a container and you're going to release some venom right now." She went to the nearest medical cabinet and began rifling through it. "You did good today, all right? You didn't bite Rhino, and we stopped him from hurting Flash. But now you need to do something so you don't hurt yourself." Behind some bandages and other first aid supplies, she found a box of small sample vials. When she offered them to Peter, she half expected him to refuse, but he took two.

"Okay," he relented, uncovering his mouth and looking up at Ava sheepishly. "Thanks."

Ava watched him to make sure he went through with it. Peter took one vial in each hand, and brought them up to his lips. His fangs twitched before extending out to the vials. Then they curled sharply around the rims. The tops of the vials cracked and shattered. Peter flinched and spat out tiny shards of glass.

"Are you okay?" Ava asked, hurriedly grabbing paper and gauze from the cabinet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Peter put down the remains of the vials and touched a finger to his lips. A trickle of blood was already coming from his bottom lip. "Am I leaking?"

"You're bleeding," Ava corrected. "You didn't cut your tongue, did you?"

"Right, I know I'm bleeding, but I think I'm dripping venom. It tastes weird. I haven't really tasted it since—" His face scrunched up oddly. It almost looked like he was in pain, which was a possibility.

Ava waited a long moment for Peter to finish his sentence. When he didn't, she spoke up. "What's wrong?"

For a few seconds, Peter continued to stay silent. When he answered, he started very quietly, but gradually got louder. "Everything about today keeps reminding me about Kraven. It—It's only been a week since I bit him, hasn't it? I'm not supposed to be dealing with this again so soon. I'm not supposed to want to bite again!"

Ah, of course, that explained why he kept bringing Kraven up, and also why Peter was so worked up about this. In fact, he was already starting to take deep breaths now, clearly trying to remain calm. With his mouth open, Ava could see that his fangs were long and dripping with a light blue liquid.

Was he going to faint this time too? How could she stop that from happening?

Tentatively, Ava put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Pete," she tried, unsure what else to say.

"But I really want to bite something now," he whispered as if it were the most horrific thing.

"Then do it. The feeling will probably go away once you get rid of some venom. Just try again." She handed him another vial.

"I'm going to break it again. I know it. I can't control my fangs well right now. It feels like they're on a hair trigger." He exhaled slowly. "Why am I like this? Why can't I just ignore it like you can?"

It was not part of Ava's nature to share all her secrets, but this one seemed like it could benefit Peter. "I don't always ignore it forever."

Peter looked up at her. "You don't?"

"No. Come on, there's stuff in my room that could help you." She cleaned up the broken glass and led the way to her room. Opening the door, she realized she had left a few things lying around, like her homework and Shield files. But it was still way cleaner than Peter's room, so he couldn't say anything about that. She went to the top drawer of her dresser, pulling out one of the many stress balls inside. "Here, use this." She turned around and realized that Peter was still hovering in the doorway. "What are you waiting for? A written invitation?"

He stepped inside as hesitantly as if he were entering some villain's lair. "Sorry, I've just never been in here before. You've got a great theme going on."

Ava glanced around at the strange but comforting merge of standard Shield quarters, teenage girl's room, and nature theme. Those leafy plants would have been dead without Danny's help. "Thanks. Here, I brought another bottle. Place the stress ball over it and bite into that instead of the glass."

Peter took the items with a dubious look. "You want me to inject venom into a Hello Kitty head?"

"I absolutely despise Hello Kitty," Ava said, curling her lip with disdain. "I was going to rip that one to shreds anyway."

"We're going to have to talk about that in a moment, but I'll try this first." Doing as he had been told, he held the stress ball on the small vial and bit into it. His fangs sank into the foam easily. Within a few seconds the white of Hello Kitty was turning blue, and excess venom was dripping from the bottom into the vial. Peter closed his eyes as his shoulders relaxed. At last, he opened his mouth again, pulling the ball off his fangs. He licked his lips. "That feels so much better now."

"Good." Ava took the bottle back and screwed on the top. It was full to the brim, which was hardly a surprise; it was rather small. She should have grabbed more, but at least the foam had absorbed most of the venom. "You can keep biting that thing until it's destroyed if you want."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "There are so many things on my mind right now. I'm going to start with the easiest one: Why don't you like Hello Kitty?"

Ava gave him a deadpan glare. "Have you not seen the many pictures of me where people drew on whiskers and a bow? There are psychopaths out there who think I look cute and adorable!"

"But look at that face! You are adorable!"

She unsheathed her claws. "Do you want your face to remain recognizable?"

"Maybe. Okay, so question number two: Why do you have a drawer full of stress balls?"

Her glare faltered. "Sometimes, even I can't ignore the amulet forever. And after what Kraven nearly made me do with his drumming, I started looking for ways to release my anger that didn't involve tearing you guys to shreds during training." She suppressed a shiver. She didn't really know whatever she had done to them, but they had all seemed scared of her afterwards. That's the memory that made here wonder how Peter felt about the Savage Lands incident. "So I'll occasionally destress by chewing on one of these. I don't do it often. And, on really bad days when I'm craving blood, I'll use a whole raw chicken instead."

"Oh. I had no idea. I thought you said—"

"I said I ignored any desires to bite people, but I didn't say for how long. Having the Tiger Amulet is a two-way street. I have to keep its power in check, but I also have to stay true to its origins."

"Interesting." Peter cocked his head. "Why didn't you tell me this before? I could have tried to help you. And I would have felt a lot better about the whole fang and venom thing."

"I was going to tell you after you got fangs, but then you kept saying you were completely against biting anything. You freaked out when you bit your pillow by accident. What would you have said about biting one of these on purpose?"

"Fair point." He looked away. "I'm really sorry, Ava. It must seem like I'm against everything you do about your tiger side. But I swear I don't really think that! I was only trying to make sure I didn't hurt anyone, although that didn't work out anyway. I thought that if I never started biting things, I would never know what it was like and I would never want to do it, but . . ." The stress ball released a few drops as he squeezed it. "I wanted to, anyway. Or I needed to. Whatever. I completely understand you now. I promise."

Ava grinned. "Believe it or not, I understand you too sometimes. The first time I put on the amulet was so nerve wracking. All the new things I could hear and smell, and the primal instincts, and the feeling of power . . . My dad had to wrangle me in a few times because I got a bit carried away. He taught me how to deal with everything." Her smile switched to a frown when she noticed Peter was looking even sadder for some reason. What had she—oh. "Of course, you don't exactly have someone like that, but you do have me. I'll share my dad's tips with you, and a few ideas I came up with on my own."

That finally made Peter smile again. "Thank you. That means a lot." He turned the Hello Kitty head over in his hand, fingering the holes his fangs had made and letting out a sigh. "Especially now that I might need t—to release venom." He glanced at her bed. "Do you mind if I collapse for a minute to have a mini crisis?"

"Fine, but you can't call it a crisis." She watched him fall face down on top of the covers. "I don't freak out whenever I feel like chewing something. It's just something we have to deal with. And you've got plenty of discipline to handle it, so don't worry on that front. What you need to do is learn to live with it. Don't let something this small cripple you with fear and anxiety."

"Small?!" Peter's voice came out muffled but higher pitched. "This isn't small! This is me feeling like my mouth is about to explode until I inject venom into something! Sure, it didn't feel so drastic back in the pipe, but what if you guys had taken longer to get us out? What if Rhino had actually gotten closer to impaling Luke or me? Would I have bitten Rhino like I bit Kraven? I don't know. I don't know and that's freaking me out!"

This was shaping up to be another moment where she and Peter had very different opinions about the same situation. But this time Ava was pretty sure her opinion was better. At the very least, it allowed for more peace of mind. "You're not giving yourself enough credit. Rhino was nothing like Kraven. You're just focusing on those flashbacks too much. Focus on the present and realize that you handled Rhino the same as any other villain despite whatever else you were feeling. You were even going to keep ignoring those feelings until I forced you to use the vials." She rubbed her arm. All this talk about Kraven was stirring up her own memories. If Peter wasn't already shaken, Ava would have beaten him up for that. "Kraven may have been the first villain you fought after you got venom, but he doesn't get to set the tone for everyone else."

Slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, Peter looked very contemplative. "Actually, Kraven wasn't even the first, was he? We battled Electro the same morning I got venom, and I didn't want to bite him, but then, that wouldn't have been a good idea at all. Maybe you're right. My head is all over the place right now. I'll think about this later when I'm a bit calmer."

Ava nodded satisfactorily, but stopped when she saw the large grin spreading on Peter's face. How did he manage to change moods so quickly? "What are you thinking now?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just that the guys will love to know that you have a bunch of chew toys—"

Eyes widening in outrage, Ava lunged forward and stuffed the Hello Kitty head back into his mouth before he could finish that thought. He squeaked when his fangs sank into it again. "You seem to have a death wish today, Mr. Parker," Ava whispered threateningly. "You did not need to go to the Med Bay after you dealt with Rhino, but if you keep this up, whatever is left of you will be sent to the Med Bay. Is this clear?"

Peter nodded vigorously, tearing the stress ball in the process.

"I hope you understand why I never told the team before, and why you must never tell the other guys either. Do you understand?"

Another nod.

"Okay then, if our business is concluded, you may go." Ava stopped pushing the stress ball into his mouth and stood, wiping her hand off on his suit. The ball was all wet and she did not want to think about that.

Peter spat the ball out, making a face. "Please don't do that again. My venom tastes weird, and now my tongue feels numb. And—and my fingers . . . Oh no." He dropped the now mutilated Hello Kitty head on the floor.

"What?"

"Venom can work on your skin the same as it works if it were injected. I thought I was immune though, but maybe not." He wrung his hands nervously. "You just touched it too. How does your hand feel?"

Ava flexed her fingers. The white fabric was faintly blue in some spots. "I only got a little on me. I feel fine."

"We should both go to Connors right away. He's got the antivenom, which he was supposed to give us a while ago. Whatever happened to that? This is exactly the sort of situation we need it for!" Peter jumped up and hooked an arm around hers, pulling her out the door. "Come on. I'm so sorry if it affects you too! I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have let you touch it."

From the sheer panic in Peter's voice, Ava allowed herself to be dragged along. She supposed there was some merit to his worry. Some animals could spray venom from a distance, and they would only do that if it still affected their prey.

Peter called ahead for Dr. Connors on his communicator. He had to repeat himself because his first explanation was more rambling than anything else. Connors assured him he would be at his office within a few minutes.

"We're going to be fine," Ava said in an attempt to calm him down when they came to a stop outside of Connor's office. "You only just started feeling symptoms, and I'm not feeling any, and Connors is only minutes away with the antivenom. You don't need to worry."

"But it is time to worry! I thought I would never need to worry about my venom affecting me, but now it is and my mouth is getting numb and my hand too and is my tongue swollen?" He opened his mouth wide, tongue and fangs sticking out.

"Your tongue looks fine. Stop being a hypochondriac."

"I'm not being a hypochondriac. My tongue really does feel big."

"Well, it doesn't look big. And see? Connors is already almost here." She pointed down the hall at the doctor rushing toward them with a tablet and x-rays under his arm. "Relax."

Peter slowly bobbed his head in agreement. For a guy who always insisted he was fine, it was kind of funny to see him take this so seriously, especially since it probably wouldn't end up being serious at all.

"I'm here," Dr. Connors said breathlessly as he approached. He fumbled to unlock his office while his arm was full of items. Peter stepped forward to take some of his load. "Thanks. Come in, come in. Take a seat. And tell me again what happened? Did you inject yourself with venom? How?"

"I didn't inject it. It's kind of a long story."

"Explain it. I may look busy, but I'm listening." Dr. Connors bustled around, gathering gloves and other supplies.

Peter told him everything starting with Rhino and ending with the stress ball. When he got to his minor symptoms, Connors took a look at his mouth and hands, as well as Ava's hand.

Connors hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting . . . Did you swallow any venom?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Probably."

"All right, so your symptoms are currently mild and ought to stay mild. Depending on how much venom you may have swallowed, you might develop some slightly worse symptoms such as pain, gastric discomfort, and disorientation. Ava's will definitely remain mild."

"That makes sense." Peter swallowed nervously. "Will the antivenom work for me?"

Dr. Connors looked ashamed, which made Ava frown. What did he have to look guilty about?

"Well . . . I've been meaning to talk to you about the antivenom . . ."

"Okay," Peter replied warily. "What is it?"

"I made a terrible science mistake," Connors explained gravely as he fiddled with his empty left sleeve. "I assumed I knew more about antivenoms than I actually did. By my cursory research, I thought I could simply mix some ready-made ones together to counteract your venom. But the ratios are all off which completely minimizes efficacy. That's why I had to give Kraven so many doses last week."

"Oh," Peter voiced. He was quiet for a moment. "So . . . does that mean you still need to create a new antivenom from scratch? How long will that take? Can I help?"

"Yes, I'llneed to create it from scratch, which may take some time, but the good news is that this little accident today can help."

"How?"

"Antivenoms are made similar to how vaccines used to be made. A small dosage is given to an animal or human, which creates antibodies organically and specifically designed to counteract the venom. These antibodies can then be isolated and analyzed so we can synthesize them in the lab to make plenty of antivenom."

"Antivenom is made from antibodies?!" Peter looked like his mind had been blown. "That is so cool! So if you leave me like this without any treatment for a few hours, my body will create antibodies to fight off my own venom?"

Ava shook her head; leave it to Peter to still be wowed by science even when he was worried.

"Possibly," Connors answered. "I don't know if antivenoms have ever been derived from the source of the venom itself. Ava's antibodies should definitely work, but I'm not sure if she encountered enough of your venom." Connors turned to her. "If you are willing to go through with it, I could administer a small amount more. It may be uncomfortable though, and you would need to stay here for monitoring."

Ava opened her mouth to reply, but Peter spoke first. "You don't have to, Ava. This was my fault. You don't need to lose the rest of the night for this."

"It's fine," Ava insisted. "I don't have anything else to do tonight. You want this antivenom, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then I'm doing this. It's still just a tiny dose, right? I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but—"

Ava held up her hand to stop him. His objections were only making her more stubborn, but even looking at it objectively, this was still a good idea. Connors needed antibodies, and she had already been exposed. And it would probably even do Peter some good to see that his venom didn't immediately incapacitate whoever it touched. "Don't you want me to gain some level of immunity from you?"

"That would be great, but—"

"But what?"

"What if it hurts you? I promised Luke I'd never hurt any of you." Peter wasn't quite giving her puppy-dog eyes, but he did look incredibly sincere. Why did he have to be like this? So caring and infuriating!

"It shouldn't hurt much at all, right Connors?" She looked at the doctor, who nodded. "Besides, this situation is my fault too. I'm the one who told you to use the Hello Kitty head and then stuffed it back in your mouth."

Connors cleared his throat. "I am not going to ask about those particular details, but I will say that I agree with Ava. I'll need someone to do this eventually, and sooner is better than later."

Peter looked dubiously between them both. "I guess I can't really stop you, but you have to promise you'll warn us the moment you start feeling sick."

"Of course, I'm not you," Ava retorted.

"But I'm the one who insisted we call Dr. Connors!"

"I bet you're still more worried about me than you are for yourself."

"Well . . ."

"How about you let me worry for the both of you, hm?" Connors suggested as he got everything ready for Ava's dose.

"I do my own worrying, thanks." Peter smiled wanly. It gradually turned into another frown. "Okay, so all that explained why we don't have antivenom yet, but why am I affected by own venom at all? I'm supposed to be immune. You told me so!"

"I did?" Connors paused in his preparations. "I couldn't have. What did I say?"

"You said I 'wouldn't need to worry about injecting myself'." Peter used air quotes for emphasis.

"Oh! I meant that literally as it is. You don't need to worry about injecting yourself. Your spider sense shouldn't allow you to do that even if you bite yourself. But your venom can definitely still affect you, especially if you swallow it or get a sufficient amount on your skin like you did today."

"What?! Why? Aren't spiders immune?"

"No, they don't usually end up in this situation, so they never developed antibodies. That's why spiders can eat each other. They can still use their venom on other spiders."

Ava shared Peter's look of disappointment. She had believed him when he told the team he was immune that first day.

Peter blew his bangs out of his face, irritated. "You could have said that the first time."

"I'm sorry, I thought I did. Are there any other clarifications you need?"

"None that I think of . . ."

"We can chat while I'm monitoring you anyway." Connors pulled up a syringe, making Peter look away. "Ava, are you ready for your shot?"

"Of course." She rolled up her sleeve. If they were going to chat, then this might at least be an entertaining night after all.


Fun Facts:

-Spiders are not immune to their own venom, although mammals who are exposed to it can create antibodies just like with viruses (I don't know what happens in any other type of animal). The difference as I understand it is that venoms don't constantly evolve like viruses do, so antivenoms remain as cures while antivirals turn into vaccines to protect, but not cure.

-Scientists recently proved beyond a doubt that web-making is instinctual in spiders. They had a computer watch spiders for hours, and they all use the same leg movements regardless of their size. Also, spiders weave with their sense of touch almost exclusively. This kind of backs up my theory that Peter can overthink his webs because he stops listening to his instincts and starts trying to figure out the math, and the math really is hard.

-It bothered me that Luke could repel bullets, but one Rhino managed to cut him. Bullets should still be way sharper and have greater force. So the theory here is that his skin can still get weaker if he doesn't maintain himself. This may even be kind of canon because there was that one episode in season 2 where Peter caught him doing a facial! I love it when dots can be connected!

-Happy Holidays!