Chapter Twenty – The Call

Silence. For the last four days all news had gone quiet. No sign of Venom, or Harry, or Felicia. Hell at this point I'd give anything to hear JJ call me a menace. But nothing.

That was until this afternoon.

It was all over the news: J Jonah Jameson amongst a dark background, face bloody and bruised and once pristine pencil moustache overgrown into a unkept beard. He spoke as if giving a report, but it lacked his usual gusto, his energy and enthusiasm. His hands had a noticeable shake as he recited from the dirty pages in his hands.

"To Spider-Man." I wasn't sure if I was relieved or annoyed by the poison in his voice as he said my name. "It is time for this to end. Rise and prove to the city that you are a hero, or fall as the failure you will end up being. It is time to confess, so repent your sins at St Patrick's Cathedral. A warning to the police or any other heroes – confession is a private affair. If anyone other than the Spider enter then me and my friends will be speaking to God very soon."

At this the camera shifted, showing a beaten up and bloody Harry lay on the floor, his clothes ripped and torn, as well as Felicia (who looked relatively unharmed). I heard a low growl in the background just before the footage cut. I breathed slowly, calming my nerves as I replayed the video for a fourth time, taking in the information and desperately searching for something to use to help, anything for me to grip onto and ground myself for what I was going to have to do. I just didn't know if I'd be able to.

Venom had defeated me at every moment. He knew exactly how I fought; he knew exactly how I'd act. He was stronger, quicker, bigger, and worst of all was immune to my Spidey-Sense. Even with Felicia when we had trapped him he still won. I thought to Felicia – how she looked in that short clip. I replayed the footage and paused on her face. She looked scared, just like Gwen had looked two years ago…

I couldn't do it.

I put my phone down onto my bed and sat down, head in my hands, my breath quickening.

I couldn't be responsible for someone else dying.

In the back of my head I heard the Goblin's cackle, the screams of Gwen, and tears flooded my eyes. I blinked them away and thought of Harry's face, bruised and blackened.

The door opened and I looked up into the eyes of Flash. He immediately noticed the tears and sat next to me, resting his arms on my shoulder, then pulled me into a hug. I breathed out deeply and felt the tears flow, and the pair of us sat there in silence. The minutes went by, and I pushed away. I looked Flash in the eyes, and smiled at him.

"Worried about Harry?" Flash asked.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"He'll be alright." Flash said, and the tone of his voice gave me confidence.

"How do you know?"

"Spider-Man will save them."

I chuckled. "How can you be sure?"

Flash looked at me confused, as if I had just told him the sky was red and the grass was blue. "Because he's Spider-Man."

I looked Flash in the eyes, searching for a hint of doubt, but found none. He truly believed that Spider-Man was capable of saving Harry and Felicia and JJ – he truly believed I could save them. I thought back to the years I had spent as Spider-Man, the people I had saved, the enemies I had defeated, and the weight began to lift.

I breathed out slowly.

"I think he'll definitely give it a go." I said quietly.

"You just wait. He'll swing in there and save them all."

I swiped my cell back on and opened the comments on the video, scrolling down the page. It was full of the people of New York mentioning Spider-Man, cheering for him, for me. I smiled as I almost felt the support warm me.

"I'm going to meet up with Liz and Betty. Want to come?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to head to Aunt May's." I liked. "Thanks Flash."

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Through the flurries of snow I could see the flashing red and blue of the police cars on the steps of the cathedral. A large crowd had gathered around the gothic building, spilling out to Rockefeller Center as the police cordoned the area off. As I landed the crowd cheered, warming me inside.

I looked around quickly, seeing not just NYPD officers but also a number of men in khaki and camo holding rifles – the army had been called in. Across the steps I spotted Captain Stacey and made my way towards him quickly. He looked up at me and nodded.

"I'm glad you're here." He said. "I was about to give you a call."

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"Reckon you can handle Venom?"

I paused. "I don't know." Stacey's eyes narrowed quizzically. "But I know I can keep him busy."

Stacey nodded. "That's all we need. I'll relay the plan and wait for your signal."

I nodded again, then breathed deeply. I turned back to look at the crowd, blocked from the steps to the cathedral by the rows of police and army officers, then looked up at the building. It's twin spires stood out ominously like daggers threatening the heaven, and the two flags aside the doors whipped in a frenzy in the wind and snow. I walked the few steps towards the large wooden doors and pulled them open, then stepped into the cathedral. The doors closed almost automatically as the wind forced them shut behind me. The statues of Saint Paul and Saint Peter watched me as I walked through the narthex towards the nave.

Across the nave, past the pews and confessionals, stood the large figure of Venom, his teeth bared in a smile. "Time to repent."

Song Recommendation: Get up and Fight - Muse