Peter Parker

I don't how long I was out for at the time. It could have been days for all I knew. When I did come to, however, the first thing I felt aware of was my own body. It just didn't feel right. I felt weak, like I didn't get enough sleep the night before. I blinked a couple of times before I looked around. I realized I was lying down on my back. I tried to sit up. However, I felt something holding me down. I tilted my head forward and saw that I was strapped down to a gurney of some kind. The straps that held me down looked like they were leather. I lifted my hands and tried to move my feet. Problem was, my feet were also bound and my hands were cuffed to the rails of the gurney. I tried break out of the straps and cuffs, but it was no use. I was a bit alarmed. Breaking out of these shouldn't have been a problem. Were they made out of some kind of super strong materials or something?

"Don't bother trying to break out," a voice said. "You'll only waste what little strength you have left."

I looked around the room. It was dimly lit by a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Eventually, my eyes landed on an approaching figure. Eventually, she was lit up enough for me to recognize her. She was the same woman who I thought I was saving. I then remembered how she blew a powder in my face, how I was unable to move after that, and how she put a doused rag to my face.

I was lured into a trap.

"Who are you?" I choked out.

"I'm Calypso," the woman replied. "You may not have heard of me. I prefer to keep a low profile. However, I assure you, I'm extremely good at what I do." She said this in a tone so cordial. And that did nothing to calm me down. I tried to struggle again. Once again, I was unsuccessful.

"What did you to me?" I demanded.

She frowned. "I stripped you of your powers."

I was given pause. "What?"

She turned away from me. "I told you, I'm good at what I do. And what I am is a voodoo priestess, and the most powerful one in existence. Capturing you wouldn't be easy straight up. I had to lean into your tendency to help people. Keeping you captured would have been harder." She turned back to me. "Fortunately, you're not the first superhuman I ever had to capture. And I have much in the way of spells and potions to make sure someone like you is brought back down to normal." She tilted her head. "I suppose this is the part where you're wondering why I'm doing this."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're not kidnapping me for a surprise party," I deadpanned.

She actually chuckled. "No, I am not." She became serious. "I take no pleasure into tricking a warrior of your caliber. But I would be nothing if I wasn't supportive of my husband."

"…Husband," I whispered out. I blinked underneath my mask. "…Oh don't tell me…"

"Yes," Calypso confirmed. "I am the wife of Sergei Kravinoff, better known as Kraven. While he prides himself as a hunter, he's not above thinking outside of the box. He drew up the plan to capture you. All we had to do was execute it. And now that we got you, we're holding you until the people who we hunted you for pay our price. It will take a while, though. My dear husband prefers his payment in cash and getting ten billion American dollars in cash takes quite a bit of time."

"You do realize I don't work alone, right?" I pointed out. "People are going to come for me! They'll find me and come after you!"

Calypso shrugged. "The chances of that are slim to none with the materials in this room." She turned away once more. "Until then, relax. It'll be all over soon."

"Wait, can't we talk about this?" I pleaded. She walked away. I sighed as I lay my head back. I tried to listen for her heartbeat, or any heartbeat other than my own, but I couldn't hear it. I tried to pick up her scent, but other than the light smell of lavender, I couldn't pick up anything. There was no getting around it. My powers weren't working. I was brought back down to normal. Was this a permanent thing? If it wasn't, how long will it last for?

"Hey Edith, are you there?" I whispered.

"I am," she whispered back. "How are you holding up?"

"Well, I got no powers, so there's that. Is there any way you can reach the others?"

"I've been trying. Unfortunately, all of my signals are either blocked or severely weakened. I think this room was made specifically to keep people from being tracked or from trying to contact anyone. I can't even get a ping on our location."

I chuckled bitterly. "Of course, why make too easy for us? I certainly wouldn't have appreciated that."

"I'm sorry Spider-Man."

I sighed. "Don't be, Edith – we'll figure out something. Or the others will… hopefully." I frowned. "…I'm going to sleep on this for a bit… literally. Please wake me if someone comes."

"Will do, rest well."

"You too, Edi."

"…You called me Edi."

I smiled. "I guess I did. Do you mind it?"

"…No, I don't think I do."

I closed my eyes. "I'm glad I finally found a nickname for you." Those were the last words I said before drifted off to sleep.

However, I wasn't going to get rest in my sleep.

I don't know when it happened. I eventually woke up inside of my own apartment. I narrowed my eyes as I sat up. I turned my body and placed my feet on the floor. I looked down at myself. I wasn't in the Black Dahlia Armor anymore. I was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a pair of black sneakers.

"Is this a dream?" I asked myself.

"Not quite, little spider."

I snapped my head towards the kitchen. Leaning back against the fridge was a woman with short blonde hair. She was dressed in all black – pants, belt, shirt, and jacket. She was taking a sip from a bottle of water before she looked at me with hazel eyes. Slowly, I stood up and walked towards her, stopping some feet short of her.

"I'd apologize for helping myself to your water," she said plainly. "But this isn't really your apartment, so..." she shrugged.

"…I'm sorry, have we met?" I asked slowly.

She nodded. "Oh, we have, years ago. I looked a little different back then."

I tilted my head. "…I'm sorry?"

"I know a whole lot about you, Peter Benjamin Parker. I've been watching you ever since you've been chosen."

I straightened my head. "Chosen?" I shook my head. "Wait a minute, who are you? I don't remember you."

"Like I said, I looked different back then when we met. Right now, I'm taking a form that you'd probably find more comfortable. But I'm sure you remember what I told you back then. Do the words 'I have plans for you' ring a bell?"

It took me a moment. But then I started to remember, when I was in the hospital after getting bitten by the radioactive spider. I remembered the fever dream I had for days. But it wasn't her telling me that she had plans for me. It was…

Wait…

I leaned forward slightly. "You're the large spider?!"

"The very same," she confirmed. She took another sip of the water before she turned straight towards me. "I've been given quite a few names. I've been called The Other, The Master Weaver, Arachne… but I would prefer it if you called me Ero."

I took in a breath. "And what are you?"

"Some may call me a deity. I am merely a servant of a higher power."

I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands as I half-laughed, half-sobbed. "I thought I was done with the supernatural bullshit!"

Ero scoffed. "You've befriended three sorcerers, are close friends with a sorcerer in training, and are currently rendered powerless by a voodoo mambo. You're not done with the supernatural bullshit – you're waist deep in it."

I sighed before I lowered my hands. "So what is this?" I looked around my apartment. "Am I rescued?"

Ero laughed as she walked past me. "Oh, no, your family is already handling that. What you see is a part of my web, transformed to put your mind at ease." I turned around, just in time to see her sit on my bed. I was about to make a snarky comment about how I was far from being at ease, but she spoke again before I could do so. "I think it's about time you understand that you've become… stagnant."

I raised my eyebrows. "Um… what?"

"You've reached a point where you need to evolve. I've seen what's in store for you. I assure you, it only gets worse from here." She shook her head. "I'm sure your family will figure out a way to get your powers back. But when they do, you'll have to decide. Are you content with the way you are now? Or are you willing to evolve and embrace your true self?"

My eyes went a bit wide. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly how it sounds, little spider." She scoffed. "Did you think you'll stay the same forever? You've only scratched the surface of what you're able to do. In time, you'll do even more amazing things. But to do that, you have to stop consciously holding back."

I glared at her. "I have to hold back," I pointed out. "If I don't hold back, people die."

She glared back at me. "I care not about how you go about dispatching those who stand against you." She stood up and walked up to me. I almost took a step back, but I held my ground. She brought her hand up and put the tip of index finger against my forehead. "You want to be a protector? That's fine – a lot nobler than some who have come before you. But if you're going to keep doing that, then you need to stop playing human." She lowered her hand. During this, I felt the room shake. She looked up at the ceiling. She smiled. "Looks like your family is here." She looked back at me. "…You know my name. Just call for it when the time is right."

"Peter, wake up."

I suddenly opened my eyes. I was awake again. I was no longer on the gurney. Instead, I was on a sofa. I felt the cool air against my face asI sat up.

"Easy there." I looked to my right to see Kitty standing over me. "Are you okay?"

I turned and placed my feet down on the ground. "Define okay," I replied. I looked down at myself. I wasn't in my suit. Instead, I was in a pair of blue shorts and a black shirt with a logo for the movie The Devil All The Time on the front. I almost smiled. These were MJ's clothes. I looked over at Kitty. "Can I see your hand for a moment?" She looked at me oddly, but brought her right hand out towards me. I gently grabbed her wrist with my left hand and placed the palm of my right hand against hers. I then pulled my right hand away slowly. I tried to stick my hand against hers but, there was nothing doing. I sighed as I let go of her wrist. "…Great, just great."

Kitty opened her mouth to say something. I figured she wanted to know what that was about. Before she could, though, Joanna entered the room, followed by MJ, Ned, Betty, and an unknown figure wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. Somehow, he felt familiar even though I was sure I never met him before in my whole life. I was taken out of my thoughts when MJ rushed to my side and hugged me tight.

"Can't you go one day without worrying?" she chastised. "Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"No, but I almost wish I was," I muttered out.

MJ backed away and gave me a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"

I didn't answer at first. I looked around at all of them slowly. All of them looked at me with a look of concern… except for the mystery guy. His expression was neutral. I sighed.

"…My powers aren't working anymore," I said slowly.

"Wait, what?!" Ned said. "Dude, are you serious?"

"I am serious. I got kidnapped by Kraven's wife. Turns out she's a whole voodoo priestess. She had me bound to the gurney with simple leather straps and handcuffs. I couldn't break out. My strength is gone. I can't hear heartbeats or other sounds like I used. I can't stick to walls… I'm just a guy now." I stood up. "I'm no good."

"…Peter," MJ whispered out. It was during this that Craig and Carmilla walked into the room. Craig looked around the room for a bit, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the mood.

"Yo, did someone die or something?" he asked.

"No," Kitty said flatly. "Peter has been rendered powerless?"

Carmilla leaned forward with her eyes raised. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, it turns out Kraven is not only married, but his wife is also supporting him in taking down Spider-Man. She was the one who captured him, and used voodoo to stop his powers from working."

Craig chuckled as he shook his head. "Is that all?"

I stared at him. "'Is that all?' I have no powers and that's all you can say?"

"Way to go, dipshit!" MJ added.

Craig smiled as he brought his hands up. "Guys, R-E-L-A-X, relax!" He lowered his hands. "I got a couple of ideas on how to handle that. But I need to make a couple of phone calls." He looked at me. "So, just sit tight homie. And grab something to eat." He turned away for a moment before he turned back towards me. "Oh by the way…" He gestured towards the mystery man. "Meet Kaine. He's your clone." After that he walked out of the room.

Slowly, I turned my head towards Kaine as Craig's sunk in. Kaine looked pretty annoyed as he watched Craig leave. He then looked at me.

"Hi," he deadpanned.

After several seconds, there was only one thing I could say.

"What the - ?!"