Michelle "MJ" Jones

"How long has it been?" I asked.

"About three hours now," Kitty replied.

"Does it usually take this long?"

Kitty shrugged. "I don't know. I don't exactly attend a lot of voodoo rituals."

I nodded before I looked back at the TV.

We've been in Jericho's living room for a long while now, waiting. On more than a few occasions, I had to stop myself from going upstairs to take a peek. As much as I wanted to check to see if The Loser was okay, I didn't want to mess around and be the reason Peter ends up losing his powers or turning into some kind of super large spider or having to go through another situation like that leads to another Spell-like event. In the meantime, we were watching random shows to pass the time. About thirty minutes ago, Craig and Carmilla left to pick up an order Craig placed through Uber Eats.

"Do you think Peter will be okay?" I asked.

"I'm sure he will be," Kitty assured.

"It's not like we know any other voodoo priest or priestess," Betty pointed out.

"I think I saw a few at Kamar-Taj," Ned added. He then shook his head. "But I don't know for sure."

I didn't say anything after that. In all honesty, if I could go three months without dealing with magic, I'd be happy. I was getting so tired of magic that the thought of someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat annoyed me.

I heard the sound of knocking. We all looked at the front door.

"I got it," Joanna announced as she stood up. She walked up to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. There was a part of me that was worried there was going to be trouble. But Joanna stepped aside, allowing Craig and Carmilla to enter.

"I got lunch!" Craig announced. "I got griot, poul an sòs, rice, fried plantain, pikliz, and Coke."

"Just in time, too," Jericho quipped.

We all looked up at the stairs. He was walking down the steps with Peter. I stood up. Peter was being partially carried as he and Jericho walked down very slowly. I then noticed that his shirt was off. As they reached the floor, I stood up walked over to them.

"Hey MJ," Peter slurred out as he gave me a dazed smile. His eyes looked dim. "How's the weather?"

"…" I didn't respond to him. He looked out of it. Instead, I looked straight at Jericho and narrowed my eyes. "What did you do to him?"

"Three rituals," Jericho replied. "Um, do you mind?" He jerked his head to the right. Reluctantly, I stepped aside. He walked over to the couch, guiding Peter along. Ned and Betty, who was sitting, immediately got up and made room. "It's a lot to explain, but, basically, I was able to find the spell he was under, purge the herbs behind the spell from his system and gave him something to boost his magical resistance… or rather, give him some." As he explained this, he sat Peter down on the couch. "It'll take some days for his powers to return, and when they do, they'll return gradually, but he'll be back to normal soon enough, I'm sure."

"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Kitty asked.

"I'm positive. He'll be a bit loopy… and probably lacking a bit of a filter until the morning, but he'll be fine. My suggestion, though, is to feed him before you go."

"I am very hungry," Peter spoke, words still slurring.

"We got you, man," Craig assured. He then sighed as he shook his head. "Looks like we'll be without Spider-Man for a little while longer."

"Maybe you can get someone to help out until he's back on his feet all the way," Betty suggested.

"I can help out," Ned volunteered. I glared at him as I took a seat next to Peter."

"Fuck no!" Kitty exclaimed.

Ned's eyes went wide. "But Kitty – "

"But nothing, Ned!" Kitty quickly stood up. "I understand you're learning under Doctor Strange, but you literally just started, and about the only thing I can trust you with is opening the portal. Besides, if anything happens to you – "

"I'd personally have Doctor Strange resurrect you just so I can kick your ass all over Queens," I finished. "And I'd do the same to Kitty for letting it happen."

"Also, I would refuse to put out for three months," Betty added.

At that, Ned chuckled. "Betty, what are you talking about?" he asked. "We're not active like that."

"Aunt May is still alive," Peter spoke up. We all looked at him. "I'm sorry. I thought we were all saying things that are not true."

"Oh shit!" Joanna laughed out. "I like this Peter." During this, I drew my lips into my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

"But we're not!" Ned insisted.

"Stop the cap, homie," Craig replied. "Stop the cap. We already know you two are smashing."

Ned looked at Craig. "How?!"

Craig narrowed his eye. "Ned, don't make me say it."

"Oh, I want to hear this," Joanna said with a huge smile on her face.

"No you don't."

"But I do!" Ned insisted.

"Ned, drop it."

"No, since you seem to know everything, tell me how you know about my so-called sex life!"

Craig sighed. "Okay, since you insist. Do me a favor, Ned. I need you to double check your phone the next time you want to send an intimate message with a dick pic attached!"

The whole room went silent as everyone looked at Ned. Ned took in a breath. Betty then looked away as her face became red. I heard a high pitch sound. I looked over at Joanna, who was covering her mouth as she held back her life. Kitty cringed. I mouthed a "wow", trying my best to keep myself from imagining Ned and Betty sexting each other.

"…Dude," Ned said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, I know!" Craig replied. "It's already bad enough that I know what your penis looks like. I also know what you call it."

"…Do we want to know?" Carmilla, who was quiet up to this point, asked.

"Nope!" Craig, Betty, and Ned yelled out.

"Do conversations normally go like this between you all?" Jericho asked, looking at me.

"Like you wouldn't believe," I replied.

Jericho nodded slowly. "I don't know if I should be amused or schedule therapy appointments."

After we ate, we threw out the trash before we left, telling Jericho bye on the way out. During the ride home, Peter fell asleep against me. Practically on instinct, I put an arm around him and let him rest as I stared out the window. Just like when we made our way down to Little Haiti, the drive back was rather long due to traffic. It was also mostly quiet, with the only sound coming from the radio as music and commercials played. I wanted to be optimistic. I wanted to believe that Peter will be back to normal over the next few days or so. But even if I could get myself to really believe that, I still didn't like the situation the X-Men were in. It would still take some time for Peter to get his powers back. Kraven was rolling around, apparently playing Spider-Man. We still had no idea how he ended up with powers, assuming he wasn't hiding them in the first place. Add Calypso in the occasion, and, well…

iWe are definitely going to need a vacation after this,/i I thought to myself as I moved my hand up and down Peter's back. iEven if it's Alaska, I'll go wherever Peter wants to go.i

When we got home, we split up. Kitty pulled Carmilla, Craig, and Joanna to the side to talk shop. Ned and Betty decided to watch TV in the living room. I took Peter to the pool. We laid ourselves on the same pool chairs we were sitting on when I told him about Mnemosyne's Protection. I looked out towards the pool in silence. After a while, I looked towards him. He was looking up at the sky through the screen of the pool's enclosure. I can tell something was on his mind. I wanted to ask him about it. I held off, though. I knew he was still a bit loopy and I didn't want to take advantage of the state he was in.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked, still slurring his words a bit. Slowly, he turned his head towards me.

I scoffed. "Am I okay?" I deadpanned. "You're the one who went through multiple voodoo spells in the span of a few hours, and but you're asking me if I'm okay?"

He stared at me for some seconds. He then slowly smiled. "I guess you have a point."

I chuckled. "I usually do, Loser." I sighed. "I wanted to know what was going on in your heard. I just didn't want to ask because you're still kind of loopy and lacking a filter."

He blinked. "Aren't I always open with you?"

I nodded. "Most of the time, yes, but, this is different. Normally, you're open with me by your own volition. But now, I don't want to take advantage of you." Peter nodded slowly. I wondered if he really understood what I was saying at the moment. I didn't press on that particular train of thought. "So, how are you feeling? You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "No. I just feel a bit…" He trailed off a moment as he furrowed up his eyebrows. He then groaned as he turned onto his side to face me fully. "I feel hazy. It's like…" He trailed off again. I was about to tell him that he didn't have to continue to speak, but he did so before I could say anything. "…I feel like…" He chuckled. "There was one time I went a full 24 hours without sleep. I had a long day. I was fighting crime and I was catching up on homework. I thought I could sleep. But, I was unable to sleep. The next day, I felt like… I felt like my body was being controlled by a game controller that I held, but with some input lag. I guess that's what I feel like now."

"You might want to check that controller for a warranty," I joked. He chuckled. "Jericho said you'll be back to your fully nerdy self in the morning. But, we'll have to wait some days before you're back to doing Spider-Man stuff."

Peter sighed. "I guess I'm grounded again."

"You could use a break from it all." I smiled before I sat up, turned my body, and put my feet on the floor. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Okay," Peter whispered. Slowly, he stood up from the pool chair. I stood up and took him by the hand before I guided him inside. As we walked towards the stairs, we passed by Ned and Betty in the living room. Ned looked up at me before he nodded towards Peter. I made a so-so gesture with my free hand as I kept walking. We went upstairs before I guided him to the boys' bedroom.

"You got it from here?" I asked.

"I think so," Peter said. He looked at me and smiled. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Tiger." I leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Get some rest." He gave my hand a soft squeeze before he pulled away and walked inside of the room.

I turned away and made my way downstairs. I walked towards the kitchen, where Kitty, Craig, Carmilla, and Joanna were standing I walked towards the fridge.

"…I hate to say this, but we'll have to lay low for a while and…" Kitty spoke before she trailed off. "Hey MJ, how's Peter?"

"He needs his rest," I replied as I opened the fridge and looked inside before I pulled out a bottle of water. "Other than that, he's okay, I guess." I closed the fridge before I looked at them. "How're you guys?"

"We're trying to brainstorm the next step," Carmilla explained. "Unfortunately, it seems like going ghost for a while longer may be our best bet."

"I don't like it," Joanna grumbled.

"No one likes it," Craig agreed. "But we got nothing at the moment."

I frowned. "Great, just great," I muttered.

"That's just how things are at times," Carmilla sighed out. "But, other than that we can…" She trailed off. I heard a sound of something vibrating. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. After looking at the screen, she looked at the rest of us. "Excuse me." She answered the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hello… Yeah, it's safe to talk… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Wait, what?" She glanced at all of us before she continued to speak. "Okay. Yeah, I'll be there in the morning… Uh-huh… Alright, have a good one… Bye." She hung up the phone and slid it into her pocket as she sighed.

"Everything okay?" Craig asked in concern.

"Yeah, it's just… that was a call from Melinda May. The guy that I had Ned port over finally talked. There's some information we got regarding Kraven." She looked over at Kitty. "I don't want to leave you guys hanging, but this information can help us against Kraven and – "

"I understand," Kitty interrupted gently. "We all have to leave in the morning anyway since I'm sure the lockdown will be lifted soon."

Carmilla smiled. "I'll make sure to have the information ready for you as soon as possible."

"Anything I can do?" I asked. Why I asked, I had no idea. There was nothing I could really do.

"Just do what we all have to do," Kitty replied. "Just look after Peter."

I nodded. "I can do that."

Kitty smiled. "Good."

Later on, after being fed by Craig's folks, we all went to bed. Before I went to sleep, I checked my phone for messages and emails. I saw one text from my mom. I opened it and read it. She was checking up on me, making sure I was okay. I replied back letting her know that I'm okay. I then put my phone down on the nightstand along with everyone else's before I took my spot on the bed. I stared up at the ceiling for some seconds. I then took in a breath before I closed my eyes.