Peter Parker

"So where we're heading?" I asked as I looked out the front windshield.

"Phoenix Trotting Park," Carmilla explained. "It's an abandoned horse racing track. My sources tell me that's where the Mutant Growth Hormone operation is being run."

I nodded. "I see."

It had been some days since MJ and I broke up. It was a little over two weeks, really. During that time, I called MJ twice. Both times she didn't pick up. After that second time, I figured it'd be best for the both of us if I wait for her to call me or reach out to me. It was easier said than done, though. Every day, there'd be something that reminded me of her. I haven't swung by Peter Pan since MJ and I broke up, so every sip of the crap coffee at work reminded of how much I missed getting coffee from that coffee shop. I hadn't eaten a chopped cheese in a long while because just the smell of one reminded me of the night of our first post-Spell date. I also haven't had a drink of red tea since, either. Though I didn't admit it to anyone, it was also a huge reason I was dragging my feet on repairing the Black Dahlia Armor. Needless to say, I was hurting.

I wanted a distraction. Carmilla offered me one in the form of a SHIELD mission. There were people running a Mutant Growth Hormone operation out of Arizona. The mission was a part of a whole counter-operation with the intent on taking down every part of this endeavor in one fell swoop. When she asked me to be her partner, I jumped on it. A couple of days before we flew out, I went to work on another suit. It was basically my take on Scott's main outfit. It consisted of a black coverall with a matching flak jacket and athletic boots. On the middle of the flak jacket was a large red spider logo with the X symbol enclosed in its abdomen. I had on red gloves with openings for my web shooters. The mask was mostly black with the exception of the lenses, which were red. The mask itself contained a computer system that could house Edith and an HUD with multiple functions. A couple of days later, we flew out of jersey and landed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We didn't spend long there, though. We spent all of one hour in the city before we were on the road to Phoenix.

"Do you ever miss Albuquerque?" I asked.

"…Sometimes," Carmilla admitted. "I miss the normalcy. I miss the friends I had in high school. I miss the food. But, beyond that, I don't miss much. It's hard for me to do so when every other memory of my time growing up there is tainted. Even the memory of my previous name leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

I looked at her. "Carmilla Black wasn't always your name?"

"Nope. My name growing up was Thasanee Rappaccini, sharing the last name of my real mother. She wanted me to be raised up to be a weapon. I guess, in a way, she got her wish." She said that last part bitterly.

"I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't be." She glanced at me with a smile.

The car ride went quiet for a bit. I looked out the window, taking in the scenery. After several minutes, Carmilla spoke again.

"So… are you okay?" Carmilla asked.

I looked at her. "What do you mean?" I replied.

"Are you okay after the breakup?"

I shrugged. "I'm fine."

Carmilla scoffed. "So you're just going to lie to me, huh?"

I shook my head. "I'm not lying."

"Peter, I swung by The Bunker a day before we left to grab some supplies. And you know what I saw there? I saw the Black Dahlia Armor, still there, in pieces, looking no closer to 100 percent than it was since we came back from Madripoor with it. And here you are in a new suit. I'm not one jump to conclusions, but I don't think it's a mere coincidence that the suit you're not repairing is the same suit MJ helped you build."

I frowned. I forgot who I was talking to. I was talking to Carmilla Black, someone I'm close and a government agent with espionage experience. There was no way I could lie to her.

Then again, I've been told I'm a bad liar, so maybe Carmilla would've been able to see right through me regardless.

"…I'm not okay," I admitted. "It's just… I'm at the point where everything reminds me of her. I want to repair the suit. I even swung by the bunker a few times. But just being around the suit makes me want to tear up." I sighed. "And it's not just with the suit. Ever since MJ and I broke up, I haven't been by Peter Pan. As a matter of fact, I haven't had a Chopped Cheese or red tea since. I even almost broke down when I was listening to music from a playlist and Boulevard of Broken Dreams started to play."

Carmilla nodded. "I've been through that phase before," she said. "It sucks."

"Yeah and… it probably doesn't help that I…" I paused for a moment. "…I tried calling MJ two times over the last couple of weeks. Both times, it went to voicemail. I didn't leave a voicemail either times and I haven't tried calling her since. I guess she wants her distance."

"You're probably right."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"You ever had a house plant before?" Carmilla asked. I stared at her, confused. "I have one. There was a time I went through a lot of them because they kept dying on me. I didn't know why until Kitty walked in on me watering my plant. She asked me how often I water my plants. I said every day. That's when she told me that watering certain plants every day actually kills them since waterlogged soil literally drowns them." She glanced at me and smiled. "Who knew?" She looked back at road. "I guess the point I'm trying to make is… Sometimes, you got to take a step back in certain situations. You and MJ are not a thing anymore. Now, I'm not going to try and fill you with false hope and say you and MJ will be a thing again like one of those romantic sitcoms. But I do know that if there's a chance for you and MJ to be a thing again, constantly trying to contact her will kill that. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I stared at her for a moment. I then looked out the front windshield. "I do."

"Good. For what it's worth, I'm rooting for you and MJ. But, if it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be."

"…Thanks." I wasn't sure if I was being sincere

Eventually, we arrived in the Phoenix area. We kept driving until Phoenix Trotting Park came into view. From a distance, it looked like it was still a fully functional venue. Of course, that wasn't the case.

"So, let's go over the plan one more time," Carmilla said. "What am I going to do?"

"You're going to go in guns blazing and cause a ruckus and a huge distraction."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to slip in through the chaos and free whoever they are harvesting the hormones from."

"And then…"

"And then we'll take down everyone involved in the operation nonlethally and call in SHIELD."

Carmilla nodded. "Good."

I smiled. "I have a question, though. Why am I doing the rescuing part?"

"Because you're a superhero."

I scoffed. "But you're a superhero, too."

"True, but Spider-Man's the type of hero that, when he hits the scene, he inspires hope. Scorpion… is not." I wanted to argue with her on that since I thought she was selling herself short. I didn't, though. Something told me she didn't want to hear it.

By the time we reached the point where we were supposed to star things off, Carmilla parked the SUV right on the corner of the highway and the road that led to the abandoned racing park. I masked up before I stepped out of the vehicle. Carmilla did the same. She then walked around the rear hatch and opened it before she grabbed a case, turned it, and opened it. It didn't take long to see that she was about to assemble her sniper rifle. I stood by patiently. Once she had the rifle assembled and loaded, she looked towards me. Even with her mask covering the bottom half of her face, I could tell she was smiling.

"Ready to play hero?" she asked.

"Honestly, I have a tougher time playing civilian," I said. I tried to act like I was being sarcastic. Internally, though, I wasn't so sure that statement was untrue.

Anyway, after we synced our communication devices to the right frequency we started the operation. I threw my whole heart and mind behind it. As Carmilla rained down hellfire in the form of explosive 50 caliber bullets, causing a whole bunch of gunmen to rush out of the building, I made my way inside. There was a room of gunmen waiting for me. Moving quickly, I took down all but one of them. The last one I left standing dropped his gun and tried to run. I quickly ran around him and stopped in front of him. As he skidded to a stop in surprise, I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked as I placed my other hand on my chest. He swallowed before he nodded. "So you know what I'm capable of doing. With that in mind, I'll give you two choices – I can be Mr. Rogers, or I can be Bob Ross."

The man gulped. "I… I don't know what you mean," he sputtered out.

I chuckled as I shook my head. "I apologize. Sometimes I speak in code. What I mean is this. I know you and the rest of your crew are running a Mutant Growth Hormone operation. Even before I became an X-Man, such a thing would never sit right with me. Now, you're going to be locked up regardless. But, I'm going to ask you where you are keeping the people you're harvesting, along with some other questions. You cooperate, and I'll stun you in the most neighborly way possible. And that would make me…?"

"…M-Mr. Rogers?"

I nodded. "That would make me Mr. Rogers, yes. However, if you decide not to cooperate, we're going to have ourselves a happy little accident, which makes me…"

"…Bob Ross?"

I chuckled. "You're catching on." I continued in a more serious tone. "Let's begin. Where are they being held?"

"…They're being held down in the basement."

"How many of them are down there?"

"About fifty."

"And how many people are watching them?"

"There are two."

I narrowed my eyes underneath my mask. "…You mean to tell me that there are about fifty individuals with powers, and only two people with guns are watching them?"

"…They got collars on," he explained.

I went quiet for a moment. "They have what?"

"They have collars on – power-nullifying collars. They're the same shit the government use when they imprison those who violate The Accords. Any superhuman wearing them is unable to use their powers."

I wanted to ask how a group of drug and human traffickers managed to get their hands on such tech, but that was something for SHIELD to figure out. For me, there was one only one priority.

"Take me to them now," I said grimly. "You pull something… Bob Ross."

I guess threat worked well enough. He led me down to the basement without incident. When we got there, I immediately webbed down the guards stationed at the entrance. After webbing the guard I had captive to ground by the feet, I stepped inside of the entrance. Or, at least, I was about to. However, the smell hit me. It caused me to take a step back as I covered the bottom half of my face in disgust with my right hand. It smelled like someone left a whole row of heavily used portable toilets out in the sun with the doors open.

"What the heck is that smell?!" I growled out as I turned towards the man.

"…Probably human waste."

I tilted my head slowly. "You want to run that by me again?"

"Look man, this place doesn't exactly have working plumbing. So we had to give them a bucket we clean out once a week or so."

"…A bucket for fifty people."

"I know it sounds screwed up, but –"

I didn't let him complete his sentence. I had heard enough. I stepped forward and sent a knee into his crotch. As I pulled away, leaving the man to hold his crotch, I was sure I shattered both of his testicles. I didn't care one bit. After taking a breath – and grimacing as I took in the foul scent once more – I turned around and stepped inside of the room.

Even with the lowlight, I could see them – the many faces that made up this bunch. They were diverse in age and race, at the very least. Their clothes were dirty and they look like they haven't been eating much. I looked around the room, taking in the graffiti, the trash on the floor, and a dirty bucket in the corner. I turned my attention back to the captives.

"Hey guys," I said as I waved. "I'm Spider-Man. I'm here on behalf of the X-Men and working with SHIELD to rescue you! Just sit tight and –" I turned my head when I heard an explosion. A few seconds later, Scorpion's voice sounded through my communication device in my mask.

"Hey Spidey!" she said. "I think I cleared about all of the scum in the top deck. Did you find the captives?"

"I did. Shall we meet you in the lobby?"

"Please do."

"Okay." I smiled as I looked towards the people. "Well guys, we're good to go. Please follow me close!"

I led them to the lobby of the building, where Scorpion was. She was already radioing for help.

"Yeah, we got them," she said as she looked at me. "Huge thanks to Spider-Man for this one. Uh-huh… uh-huh. Yeah, there are about…" She glanced at me. I brought my hand up, held up five fingers, then made a zero. "…There are about fifty with us. I say bring everything – medicine, clean clothes, food… and a proper place where they can shower and do what else they need to do."

I smiled as I watched Scorpion. I was a bit happy. We did what we came here to do. And not only did we succeed, I managed to do so without even thinking about MJ once. Or, that was the case when I turned towards the crowd. I saw a boy and a girl – both of them looking around my age – embracing each other lovingly. I don't know if they were dating, very close, or just happy to be rescued, but I was reminded of MJ again. I turned my head away and closed my eyes. I took in a breath to calm the feeling in my chest and the tingling up my spine as I did my best keep it together from the memories of –

…Wait… tingle?

I opened my eyes quickly, realizing that it was Spider Sense going off. I turned around, trying to see what was setting it off. It was then when I saw someone running in on Scorpion.

"Scorpion, behind you!" I yelled out. She quickly turned around, but not quickly enough as the man tackled her to the ground. I rushed in before I grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and sent him flying. As soon as he hit a wall, I webbed him to it. I then turned my attention back to Scorpion. She had a syringe in her shoulder, probably from being stabbed by the guy I took down. I kneeled down, pulled out the syringe, and looked inside of it. I saw a hazy-looking liquid. "What the hell…?" Before I could ponder what it was, I saw Scorpion start to convulse. Foam was coming out of her mouth. "…Oh… Oh no…"

I quickly moved to her head. After placing the syringe off to the side, I lifted her upper body by her shoulders before I scooted forward and placed her head on my lap, giving her head some semblance of a soft surface to hit head on rather than the concrete.

"Edith, I need you to contact SHIELD!" I ordered. "Tell them Agent Carmilla Black is suffering a seizure and needs medical attention ASAP!"

"Doing so now!" Edith replied.

I looked down at Carmilla as she continued to convulse. "Stay with me, Milly! Please stay with me!"

Eventually, she stopped convulsing. But she was unconscious after that. I stayed with her until help came. I stood off to the side as the agents swooped in and took control of the situation. When Carmilla was stretchered and carried off, I was about to follow after those taking her before an agent stepped in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Spider-Man, but you can't go with her," she said.

"But I came here with her!" I protested. "She's my partner in this!"

"Look, I can't make an exception. Right now, she is being taken to one of our top secret medical facilities. We keep such places under wraps for the sake of her safety, as well as the other patients we may or may not have there. Understand that she's going to get the best medical treatment she could possible get. Please just trust the process."

I frowned. I wanted to push past her, but I didn't want to cause a disturbance, especially when the agents were attending to people who need their help. So, I relented. "…Is there anything I can do?"

She sighed. "You did all you could, for the most part. The only thing you can do now is give a statement about what happened here and go home. Do you think you have time to talk?"

"… I guess I do, Agent…" I trailed off.

"Rodriguez." She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Since you saved one of our own, you can call me Yo-yo. Now come with me."

I took in a breath as I walked with her. Inside, I started to feel the guilt eat away at me. If I was only a little bit quicker… if only I wasn't distracted by my own issues… maybe Carmilla wouldn't have gotten hurt. I understood that this was the danger of being a hero. Still, as I walked with Yo-yo, all I had was one thought going through my head.

This was my fault.