Donnie looked over the data drives they had collected. The mission may have been a complete bust, but information was information. A tool for any ninja to use. "Come on …" As soon as he could crack the encryption. Kraang information was the worst to look over. So many inscriptions and firewalls to get pass through… not to mention the guilt looming over from Leatherhead's sacrifice. Even if Donnie was scared as heck of the mutant, that was a call that none of them ever expected the vicious mutant to make for them.
"Anything yet?" Leo asked, constantly over his shoulders. The guilt was probably eating him alive on the inside.
"No, just a few pictures of April." But no reason as for WHY! Why were the Kraang so intent on capturing her!? "Why would they consider her integral to their plans? She's just a human… no offense."
"None taken." The girl herself nodded.
"Heck, I don't even think they took your dad because he's a scientist." Donnie continued. "I think they just took him for bait to lure you in."
"At least that's ONE thing we haven't managed to screw up." Raph sighed. Between Peter's slowly rampaging personality, becoming bait for the Sinister Seven, and this … he had a point. "You holding up alright Mikey?"
"...You think he'll be able to breathe over there?" Their little brother asked hallowly. "Leatherhead… in Kraang world?"
Donnie paused his work for a moment to think about it. "... He escaped from there once, that means he had to be able to at least survive the environment." Ignoring natural predators, and the Kraang running all about. "I'm sure he'll be… alright." That was putting it lightly.
"He's a tough guy Mikey, he'd live through a truck running into him." Raph added as reassurance. "And he eats Kraang, so he ain't going to go hungry anytime soon."
"Right… I'll keep the P-shakes ready for him when he comes back." None of them had the heart to tell them it was more 'if' he came back. "... Were we able to learn anything?"
"Well, going by everything we went through yesterday, the Kraang want to use the mutagen to turn the earth into another dimension x." Leo stated.
"But since the physics don't work right, they're taking in scientists to try and correct the mutagen into something they can use, instead of random mutants." Donnie added as he looked through the information.
"Their portal machine is covered in a forcefield we can't punch or blow up." Raph added.
"And for some reason, they believe April is crucial to their plans." Donnie added in. "... So keeping April safe was already one of our priorities, so we don't have to change much there… The question now is figuring out a weapon strong enough to destroy the portal." Not much could be done in terms of raw power, they didn't have the equipment for that. And leaving it operational in the long run was just asking for trouble. There was just… so little they could do right now.
The lab was filled with an awkward silence, no one wanting to acknowledge just how defeated everyone felt at the moment. "Guys… we have to talk about Peter." April spoke up after about two minutes.
"Oh sure, let's talk about how we think his suit is somehow laying eggs inside his brain and making him punch people in his sleep." Raph scoffed. "I still say Mikey was seeing thing-"
"WOULD IT KILL YOU TO TAKE ME SERIOUSLY FOR ONCE IN YOUR DAMN LIFE RAPHEL!?" Mikey shook his older brother.
The room was very silent at that. "… Okay … I'm gonna let you do that … one time." He pulled the hands off. "Isn't Donnie the science guy? Just have him look it over."
"I have the sample of the symbiote right here." He showed off the vial. "There's nothing in here but free form DNA. It's scary, but Mikey's theory about using his nervous system for thought is … possible."
"Then shouldn't you add a blood sample or something to it?" April asked. "See what happens when other dna is added?"
"Any volunteers?" He asked the group.
The group paused, likely waiting for someone else to speak up. "I'll do it." Leo held out his arm. "Just don't clone me."
"That's just dumb science." Cloning, utterly pointless in the long run. The cells were always weaker than the original, and they decayed far too fast. Donnie drew a sample, taking the blood, then dispensing it into a small container where it met the inclosed sample of the alien. He leaned down into the stethoscope, zooming in. "All right … they're meeting … the creature is enveloping the cells … hard to get a closer loo-" The blood was forced back into the tube as the alien went back to it's normal state. "... What the … April, can I get a blood sample?"
"Ah, any particular reason?" April asked.
"I have a theory building, but once is coincidence, twice is a pattern." He explained., getting a needle out. "It'll only sting for a second."
"Alright…." April hesitantly held her arm out as he extracted the blood. Okay, let's see…the symbiote was bonding… bonding… and completely rejection. "Anything?"
"I … I think it can tell it's not connected to the main body." Donnie said. "And it's rejecting it." He began to sweat in nervousness. "I was so focused on the symbiote by itself that I never thought about how bonding with another organism would affect its nature!"
"Or how it would affect said organism." Leo nodded in realization.
"Wait, this is just a blood sample of the thing right?" Raph asked. "And it still can tell the difference?"
"Yeah … and I think its pissed it's not getting the real thing." Mikey pointed to the now violent black ooze banging around the tiny glass container…..actually managing to create cracks. "It looks pretty aggressive."
"Aggressive enough to brutally maim people without a hint of remorse." Donnie gripped his hands. "The signs were so obvious, and we didn't notice!"
"It's getting out!" Raph shouted as it tried to make the cracks bigger.
Donnie hit an emergency button as the inside was enveloped with flames. "We need to get that suit off Peter as quickly as possible. Who knows how much damage it can do to him the longer it stays attached."
"...I think I have some idea." April raised her hand. "I wasn't sure what was going on at the time, but every time I've been near Peter… It's like I hear his voice … and it's being drown out."
"Hear his voice?" Leo asked. "Like with the Rockwell case?"
"We know that I have some form of telepathy, and…with the Kraang coming after me…there's probably a reason why." His precious princess gripped her fists. "It sounds like him…but constantly aggressive…distant…cold. Anytime someone gets close, it instantly tells him to get far away."
"It's … making Peter think he's thinking stuff that isn't his own thinks." Mikey concluded.
"But if that's true, then he isn't going to be listening to us." Raph added. "We haven't exactly been on his good side ever since he began wearing it. I doubt he's going to give us a chance to say 'hey, you're being taken over by an alien which is apparently why you've been such an angry emo jerk for two weeks'."
"If we can't get him out of the suit… then we just need to force it off him." April said.
"… Can we force it off him?" Leo asked. "We all saw him… the suit… we saw them take down the seven in five minutes. He's going to web circles around us… if he doesn't break our necks before then."
"Not entirely." Donnie smacked his hands. "The symbiote is weak to sound. That's why the Kraang had the cannons and why it took out Shocker first before anyone else. We need to lure Peter into a corner where we can pile on the vibrations."
"So we need to trap Peter into a party." … Well, the gas induced intelligence was bound to run out at some point for Mikey. They were lucky it lasted this long.
"I was thinking something with a lot more bells, like the church." He said.
"… You mean the place Shredder made his home base?" Raph asked.
"No … there's something else." Leo said. "We live in a subway tunnel, what's the one thing you think about when a train comes by?" … The signal bells.
Flash had a … weird relationship with Puny Parker. A boy who slowly lost more and more of his popularity in terms of the school circle. It wasn't like the guy did anything to suddenly make himself lame, or there was some big incident that instantly labeled him a loser. Time just slowly went on and Parker just stayed a random nerd while Flash became the popular jock.
Before that….as loathed as he was to bring it up, Parker and him used to be….friends. It was grade school stuff, before the concept of popularity even made itself known to them. But that was years ago, so long ago that their classmates couldn't even remember it. The fact was Parker was a nerd and wanted to stay a nerd, while Flash discovered sports and capitalized on his popularity.
So Flash grew away, he found new friends, a new crew. He got a girl, had some fun, she left, he still had his friends, and it was fine for now. Flash had his eyes on Mary Jane, she seemed like a fun gal, knew how to party and play rough, just how he liked them.
… And then Puny Parker went emo. It was ridiculous in all honesty. For once the nerd expressed an emotion that wasn't related to science or math or whatever nerd stuff he was into. Flash was perfectly content with letting the little punk stew in his misery, it was none of his business…
But then he saw Peter blow up. You'd be hard pressed to find someone at school who didn't hear Parker's rant. What made it particularly infamous was the fact it was at Gwen, Mary Jane… and Liz, two smoking hot girls and one slightly above average girl that for some reason gave the nerd the time of day… and he yelled at them like a deranged moron… something that even he, as what most would call the typical highschool jock, new was out of character for the guy.
Flash had no reason to do anything about it. He wasn't kind, he wasn't a friend … but he knew when someone was acting like a moron, they needed a reality check. So he waited … and waited … until the douche of the day showed up. "Great, April's calling. Probably to argue some more. We don't need that."
"Wow, with the little rant you pulled out I'm surprised anyone's calling your sorry but." Flash spoke up, getting the dude's attention.
"Great, not another jockey blonde idiot." The little pipsqueak rolled his eyes.
"Oooh, it seems someone's really mouthy today." He told the dweeb. "And here I thought screaming made you lose your voice."
"What do you want, Eugene?" Parker growled. "We have more important matters…"
"Yeah, I heard your aunt is sick. Poor puny Parker. Pity me. The world owes me for all the crap that gets dumps on me." He spoke overdramatically. "Boo hoo hoo-"
THUD
Okay, Parker having the strength to push him against a wall was … concerning, but he would let this startle him. At the end of the day, this was the same Puny Parker, the one that didn't have the guts to go over the line. "You have a point beyond your useless prattle? We've had it up to here with morons getting in our way."
He raised an eyebrow. "Wow, your ego flew so high you started using the royal we?" Not like anyone else was around. "What's next, you expect everyone at school to bow down at the feet of Puny Parker and his oversized brain?"
The little twerp face twisted up with anger, before scoffing and shoving Flash to the side. "We've wasted enough time on useless people."
"Wow, you've become a big idiot, haven't you?" Flash snorted. "I knew you were arrogant, but now you can't see you're pushing away the actual good things you have going for you?" He saw them pause. "From your friends, to your girlfriends, to anyone else that cares … must suck being a lonely nerd."
"I don't have a girlfriend."
That was his response? Wow, what a dense loser. "Yeah, I wonder why." Flash rolled his eyes. "It can't possibly be because you're yelling at people that just wanted to talk to you, or because you're keeping everything all to yourself like you're planning a murder, or the fact you're referring to yourself to the third person, or the fact you think you're the only one in the world that goes through shit."
That was enough for Flash. If the moron didn't see it after that, it was on him. All he came here to do was give them a reality check.
Flash had a point … Flash … had a point … Flash … had … a POINT! Something was wrong, something was definitely, absolutely wrong. Either the world was ending or Peter was going insane, because in NO sound reality should Eugene Thomspon ever come close being right about anything! Don't pay attention to that idiot. All he did was insult us without reason like he always does.
But there was a reason. Yeah they were frustrated… but why would they be yelling at Gwen, Mary Jane and Liz? Sure, Gwen was mad at him, and Mary Jane was a little flakey (The irony was not lost on him) ….but Liz LITERALLY did nothing wrong…and they yelled at her!
And that didn't even begin going into the deal with Tombstone. It was for our Aunt. Yeah, but this is the guy who creates supervillains. And if he stops, then they'll stop. Any more villains coming out of the woodwork and we would either die or let people die. But we'll be stuck on the Big Man's payroll. We'll always have to look the other way…and we'll just be another one of his enforcers..Then take out the Big man. We're strong enough now.
We can't do that, there's plenty of reasons to … dang it, Flash point, they kept thinking as them-us-me-I! I! I am me! Why was he like this! When did everything get so complicated!? Don't we have other things to focus on? Right, like the turtles having information on the Kraang. Let us hope they managed to pull their weight for once.
He got a text from April after rejecting her call. They were meeting up by an old railway station next to a Kraang base. Made sense, plenty of passengers to steal and experiment on. Those numbers would get out of hand. Definitely the right call to inform Tombstone. The enemy of my enemy and all that jazz.
Right … he landed down, seeing Leo and Mikey standing across from him. "Where are the others?" He asked.
"Scouting." Leo said. "We got some data drives from TCRI, it was a Kraang base."
"Of course it was." The biggest technological institute in the world was the base of invading aliens. "What's next? The Baxter Building is housing a death ray full of cosmic rays?"
"Maybe, I don't know, Donnie's still doing his nerd thing on all the info rectangles." Mikey shrugged. "Apparently they really want April…so either their creepy stalkers or in love with her….or both." Dumbass
Wanting April … why? Those strange powers? Right! Maybe they're after some sort of mind reading-{Unpleasant} Before Peter could process the Spider sense, he sent out a web to his back and fired. He turned to see Donnie, who was about to pull a lever on a crossing signal. "What the …"
DINIIGG
"AAGGGGGGH!" Peter felt all off nerves fire at the same time as every inch of his skin felt so raw and wrong.
"GET IT OFF HIM!" Mikey began pulling at the suit.
"GET OF ME!" He slammed into Mikey's stomach, sending him flying. They needed to flip back the switch, turn off the unpleasant noise.
DIIIING
"THIS IS FOR YOU OWN GOOD PETE!" Leo took out his swords and began slicing away at his suit that were flying off due to the unpleasantness.
Peter reasoned by shooting webs at his feet, keeping Leo stalled as they ran to the lever.
"You know I always found your webs to be a little creepy!" Raph shouted as he swung…from one of his old web shooters and kicked Peter right in the back. "But they're coming in handy right now!
"Oh you dick!" He grabbed Raph's leg and slammed him into the ground.
DIING
Forget the lever, destroy the bell, concentrate it all into a condensed web, fire off and destroy it in one fell swoop.
"I swear that the pain is only going to be temporary!" Mikey jumped back up by wrapping his chains around his arms and tugged him against the wall. "Come on Spider-Man! You're supposed to be a smart guy! You have to know that something's been going wrong for a while!"
"I'm a little busy with you all attacking me out of the blue!" He shouted, jumping off and using the chain to slam Mikey into a wall.
DIING
"Yeah, did you think there was probably a reason why!?" Donnie yelled as he began using the blade on his staff to slice off a piece of the symbiote.
"Other than the fact it's another case of you idiots getting in the way!" He snapped the bo staff in half and whacked the supposed genius.
"Or maybe it's that new attitude of yours!" Raph shouted, coming at him with sai as he cut off some of the shoulder pieces.
"Oh like you're one to talk about attitude!" He grabbed their hands, crushing them and throwing the anger management case away. "You're just jealous that I can actually use my anger constructively!"
DIING
"And is killing Doc Ock considered constructive?!" Leo rushned in next, slicing at the legs. "Or beating normal humans like Karai to a bloody pulp, or stealing from Doctor Connors and lying to the police!? Is all of that a part of your 'Great Responsibility'?!"
"YOU DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY TO ME, BOY!" He grabbed the useless leader by the neck. "You haven't been able to take responsibility since day one!" It's been your responsibility to look after these idiots….now it's time to let go of it.
April jumped out behind, grabbing onto his chest. Where were you there, Spider Sense!? "Listen Peter! The suit is toxic, take it off!" She pulled. Not toxic, they're toxic. They've done nothing but hurt us. "Stop feeding him lies!" Get out of our head! "It's not your head, it's PETER'S!"
They shoved April onto the ground, but not with as much force as with the turtles. "I am in control of my actions!" He growled out.
"Fine…. I guess you don't need us….. so do it." April left herself wide open. "Kill us…. start with me."
"APRIL!" The turtles shouted.
"What … No." He wouldn't kill them, that was stupid-
"You said we're holding you back… so obviously that means you need to get rid of us." She held her arms out, leaving her chest exposed. "Kill us and finally be free to be the unfriendly neighborhood emo Spider-man."
He wasn't going to … he wouldn't go that far. You don't need them. Not the turtles, not April, not Gwen, Not even Aunt Ma- "Aunt may… not my thoughts." He gripped the mask. "Those are NOT MY THOUGHTS!" Hey, calm down, take it easy. "GET THIS THING OFF ME!"
"FINALLY!" Mikey screamed, grabbing his arm.
DIING! DIING! DI-SMASH
A black arm destroyed the bell, stretched from his own arm. "Yoooooouuuuu …. Parasites." That … wasn't his mouth. "You…. ruined….. EVERYTHING!" The suit… was talking.
"I thought sound was the answer!" Raph shouted.
"Excuse me for not taking into account Spidey giving it a power boost!" Donnie shouted.
"You worthless terripans..!" The ooze shot out tendrils and whacked the turtles against a wall. "You always got in the way… always taking… always making things worse for us!" They pressed against them hard, before grabbing a hold of April. "And you … the invasive girl … trying to ruin our bond …"
"Guys!" She shouted as the ooze began to spread over her.
"What's going on!?" Leo cried out.
"The suit, it's forming into some kind of chrysalis!" Donnie yelled out.
Peter's mouth was moving on its own once more. "You wanted to pry so bad … then I'll show you why he needs us!" And then he was dragged into darkness.
Leo was in a void, a black void that seemed to stretch for eternity. "What the … where are we?" He looked around desperately, seeing his brothers and April coming too. "Guys!"
"Leo!" Raph shouted out, reaching him first. "What is this place? It looks more empty than Mikey's head."
"Hello!?" Mikey shouted. "... No echo … This thing really is evil." He growled. "It didn't even splurge on colors."
"Be safe now Peter." They turned and saw a black and white May Parker and an old man with white hair, waving to an equally black and white Peter.
"It's just a field trip Aunt May, I'm not gonna get into too much trouble." The boy said, turning to the turtles … wearing glasses.
He tried to reach out … only to pass right through. "It's … not real."
"It's a mental state." Donnie said. "We can't do anything but watch."
"Exactly." That voice… that unsettling voice echoed through the space they were in. "We are in a safe space, where we get to bond…and purgeout unsightly memories." It localized next to them, oozing and forming into that suit.
"So you're the icky alien trying to take over Spidey!" Mikey attempted to strike…only for it to pass harmlessly through.
"Take over?" They chuckled. "We're the only one helping him, idiot." And proceeded to smack him away.
"Ow!" Mikey groaned.
"You can't touch us, but we can most definitely harm you."
"So, what, you came here to take us out?" Raph asked with a growl.
"No … We came in here to show you the truth … so we can finally get you to stop being the parasitic monsters harming our host." They growled.
"You literally took him over in his sleep!" Mikey called out.
"Oh, so we're the bad influence?" They asked. "The ones who solved our problem? And you know … didn'tinterrupt his first Kraang fight and get April and her dad taken, or dropped the T Pod and let Baxter stockman become a giant robot, or use up all the smoke bombs which lead to us getting stabbed by the shredder, or how you hid like cowards while we almost died to the Sandman-"
"That happened to Peter, not you." Leo pointed.
"What happens to Peter Parker happens to us." The thing got up close to the turtle, face to face. "We have taken root in his body, his mind and his soul. His happiness is our happiness, just as his pain is our pain. Every time a mistake is made it comes from YOU lot, or Harry's need for attention becoming the Goblin, and every time Spider-Man is expected to clean it up, suffering more and more all the while."
"They helped Peter too!" April shouted out.
"Oh did they now?" The alien asked with a tilted head. "You mean how they always asked for Pizza money when Peter had bills to pay, and now can't afford the forty thousand dollars we need for Aunt May's hospital bills?"
THAT sent the turtles and April for a loop. "He…. he owes how much?" Donnie asked.
"That's right, you didn't know… then again, you can't claim to ever truly know him." They turned as the scene became a tour of the lab. "And let me show you just a bit of how much of the real him there is."
"And here we have a very special experiment. We're testing radioactivity in spiders, hoping for the eventual genetic diversity of their children to allow more radiation resistant creatures." The woman explained. "Fifteen subjects remain at the moment."
Gwen looked closer. "Um … Mrs Connors, I only count fourteen."
"Huh… I guess My husband is working on that one."
"...... Wow, I'm starting to think that the Connors aren't very good scientists." Mikey said.
"Oh, between Electro and Lizard, what gave it away?" The ooze asked sarcastically. "Literally the first smart thing you've said all month."
"Pfft! Like anyone would be interested in something that lives under a rock…." Flash, with that Liz girl on his arm, shoved Peter to the ground, knocking his glass off. "Oh wait, Parker already does!"
"Peter, you alright?" Gwen picked up his glasses.
"Not really…. stupid Flash…. one day I'll show him… I'll show them all."
"Aaah, so that's how nerds function in the natural world." Raph muttered.
"You know it's saying stuff like that that proves the ooze's point?" Donnie pointed out.
"As loathsome as you terrapins are, you aren't the first problem to ever enter Peter Parker's life." The alien spoke to them. "The world's always been against Peter Parker, ever since that fateful night where he lost his parents in a plane crash."
"He what?" Leo asked with wide eyes.
"Like I said, you hardly know us."
They watched as a small spider crawled on Peter's sleeve down to his arm … and bit. The boy slapped the Spider, rubbing his hand. "Great, a bite, just what I needed." He muttered, before he began scratching it more violently. "Gah … so hot." He said to himself, sweat clinging to his body.
"Hey, are you okay?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, just … need fresh air." He said as the room began to get blurry, followed by Peter suddenly being in an alleyway. "It hurts … it burns …" He began coughing violently as the glasses fell off. "What is … what is …"
He continued scratching … until the marks he made started to bleed … spiders. Spiders began crawling out of Peter, leaving with strands of his DNA moving about, tearing the boy apart as the world crumbled. The spiders crawled through the cracks into a web that went on for eternity, weaving his DNA into every strand, as thousands of reflections gazed off of one another, into the eyes of A WEAVER OF FATE AND DESTINY AND ALL LIFE-
BEEP BEEP
And suddenly, Peter was on the road, surprise in his eyes as he avoided a car.
They all stared silently. "... I don't think I wanna get bit by a radioactive animal anymore." Mikey muttered in mute horror.
"...I'm no longer going to question the logistics of getting bitten by said radioactive animal." Donnie winced as they saw the younger Peter climb up the wall.
"I'm…I'm sticking? But…that's impossible! Human beings can't do this….we just can't!" They looked down at their hand, as the rest of the turtles could almost see a zoom of sorts, closer down to the very smallest of finger tips, where small hairs stuck out of his hand. "But … but spiders can … that bite … did they mess with my genetics?" He asked as he grabbed onto a bar at the top … crushing it. "And I'm stronger too … this is amazing-AAGGGGGGGGH!" He shouted as the metal gave out, making the boy lose his grip and fall to the ground."... And I'm super durable too… But not immune to pain … ow."
"Lot of trial and error during this section. Fell down a lot of buildings." The symbiote explained as memories showed the boy constantly falling either on cars or in dumpsters…one even had car parts INSIDE of a dumpster.
"Alright, time to test the web fluid …" Peter grinned as he jumped from the building, a line coming out … and snapping immediately. "Land on the mat, land on the mat!" And….it was another car. "...Ow….my back…."
"This is both really funny and really sad." Raphael commented.
"Test number fifty seven." The boy groaned. "If this fails, I'm putting it off for a month …" They jumped, shot out a web … and began swinging. "It worked!" They swung around the small alleyway with a bag mask. "This is amazing, this is incredible!" There was so much joy in Peter's voice as he flew around. "I'm gonna go far, gonna do awesome things, earn some cash, and-" He squeezed his hand … and ran out of web fluid. "Gonnnaa have to storee more weeeb fluliiid-"
"That crash gave him a big bruise on his back for a week. His Aunt May thought he was getting into drugs, and that was the end result of failed payments."
"...That's darkly ironic given the situation." Leo winced. "So what, he got powers, figured out the web fluid, and became Spider-man?"
"Hardly. Peter never wanted to be Spider-man. What sensible kid would choose this life?"
"Anyone with a good heart." April glared.
"Or one's forced to live a life of constant guilt and self sacrifice….speaking of….say hello to the source of all Peter's misery…..aside from you lot." The memories flashed again, this time showing Peter in a car with the old man from earlier. "Turtles, April, Meet Ben Parker, aka, Peter's 'beloved' Uncle Ben."
"Uncle Ben?" Donnie asked. "He's never mentioned an Uncle Ben."
"I heard about it from May … he's not here anymore." April winced.
"Trust me when I say Uncle Ben is still very much right here… constantly haunting Peter's mind like a ghost, refusing to let the boy rest." That was one way to taint a memory.
"Well, kiddo, we're here." The man, Ben Parker apparently, said.
"Here?" Peter looked confused.
"The library. The one across from the Venue. You said you had to study here." The old man went on.
"Right. Right." Peter nodded, looking distracted. "Uncle Ben, if you could do something… ...and do it better than anyone else… ...then it wouldn't be wrong to, you know, cash in on your talents, right?" They asked.
"...Technically not wrong." Raph said.
"Well, son, that would depend on what talents we're talking about." They answered.
"We have powers beyond mortal convention, powers beyond what a normal human can do. With this we can be so much more. Is it so wrong to use our strength for a little financial compensation?"
"Listen, kiddo…" Ben Parker went on. "I went through exactly the same thing at your age."
"No, not exactly." No one could really relate to superpowers when they didn't have any themselves.
Ben Parker shook himself. "Point is, you're changing, into the man you're going to be. He smiled. "And just because you can do something… doesn't mean you should."
"He sounds like Master Splinter." Mikey smiled.
"Remember Peter, With great power, there must also come great responsibility."
The words that Spidey repeated often…a mantra that their friend lived by every day…one he made sure to always remind the turtles off. "He learned how to be a hero from his Uncle." Leo was in awe. All it took was a simple sentence to change one's life.
"Ohh, if only, if only." The parasite snorted. "He made the boy feel guilt for being special. He made him regret the power he wielded….he made us WEAK."
"He taught him how to be responsible." April glared.
"What's the point of responsibility when you can't even be responsible for yourself?" The creature asked with a glare of its own.
The scene changed again, this time into what looked like a wrestling ring. Peter, decked out in the spider man gear they all knew in the center with some announcer, while a buff guy on the other side of the ring cracked his knuckles. "...Spidey was a wrestler?" Raph asked.
"Easiest way to make use of our newfound strength and get paid for it….or so we assumed at the time."
"If I win I get ten grand?" Spidey asked.
"There's a couple caveats, but yeah." What looked like the announcer smirked.
"Then I'm in!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for … what's your name kid?" The guy asked.
"Spider-Man."
"... Serious-forget it, too late to back out now. Give it up for the one and only Spectacular Spider-Man!"
"...This may be an inappropriate time to say it….but…I CALLED IT!" Mikey shouted. The symbiote responded with a wack to the head.
"And his challenger, our reigning champion, completely undefeated in the cage, Crusherrrrrrrrr Hooogaaaan!" The man from the other side roared out as the two wrestlers met in the middle."
The two walked into the center as a cage descended. "I'd back out now. A crushed spine isn't worth the two thousand consolation prize."
"And miss out on crushing the crusher in a crush match cracking cavarious humor? The alliteration alone will keep me going."
"So the quips were there since the beginning?" Raph rolled his eyes.
"It's a great coping mechanism… one he won't need when we finally get you off our backs."
"Ready…and begin!" The announcer shouted, getting away as the Crusher began to charge, only for Spidey to jump on the ceiling.
"Hey, get down here!"
"Aw, but you look so adorable from way up here." Spidey mocked. The crusher jumped up, only for Spidey to kick them back down, following with an elbow onto the man with a small crunch. "... Please don't tell me I broke something."
"Just the floor … and my pride …" The bulky man cried out.
"AND THE CRUSHER'S BEEN CRUSHED!" The announcer raised Spider-man's arm in the air as the audience cheered. "GIVE IT UP FOR THE ONE AND ONLY, AMAZING, SENSATIONAL, the SPECTACULAR ….. SPIDER-MAN!"
They were sent into a backroom, where the man chatted with Spidey. "You're gonna do great things in the league, kid. I'll take you far."
"Thanks, but this was just a one time thing." Spidey shook his head.
"Is that so…then I guess you saved me ten thousand bucks."
"I … what?" Peter asked with surprise.
"The money goes to anyone in the league, kid. Exclusive contract or nothing. That's what those caveats I mentioned were."
"But, but… that wasn't the deal! You didn't say-"
"I missed the part where that's my problem." The announcer kept walking. "Chow Spider-man."
"Wow…that guy's a jerk." Mikey said, and the rest of them agreed.
"Yep … and here comes the comeuppance."
As Spidey angrily pressed the elevator button, a man came running. "Stop him!" The jerk shouted. "He stole my money! Spider-man! Stop him!"
Peter stared at the man … and moved out of the way, letting him go by. "...What?" Raph's eyes went wide with shock
The crook, who looked like a man about ten or so years younger than Ben Parker, sent a thankful nod to Peter as the elevator closed, the announcer being two late to catch him. "What the heck man?! You could've tripped him or something! Now he's getting away with all my money!"
"...I missed the part where that's my problem." Peter replied coldly before pressing on the elevator button.
"He … let him go …" Leo said with surprise.
"Like we said, the jerk got his comeuppance."
"But but… he could've.." Mikey went on.
"The man had a gun, and you're asking an inexperienced teenager to get involved in something he has no business being a part of. Would it be so smart if April, without any powers or training to try and stop the man?" They asked. "Or how about you actually buckle down and stop the Shredder if your so gung ho about stopping crime."
Leo gripped his hands. "That still doesn't make it right…"
"Oh, is that judgment I hear? Are you judging because you're so morally righteous, or because it's Peter you get to dunk on?" They asked. "Does pointing out his mistakes make you feel betterabout how often you mess up as a leader?"
"Shut up!" April yelled. "Peter made a mistake, but I know he's done more than his fair share of good! One slip up doesn't make him the selfish monster you want him to be!"
"Oh … does it?" The scene changed again, as Peter walked home.
"Hey guys." Peter grumbled. "Uncle Ben, what happened to …" He paused, seeing May Parker covered in tears. "May, what-"
"It's Ben Peter …" She sniffled. "He was … he was shot."
"No…" Donnie gasped as everyone froze.
"What…no…no…what happened…..where….no!" Peter cried out in frustration. Police sirens were heard as flashes went on by… particularly of one moment.
"All units, Homicide suspect Walter Hardy spotted in gateway downtown."
It skipped to Peter putting on the mask, flipping out of the window, swinging faster than he ever did before, as he landed on the hood of a car. "You …" He answered with a growl.
"He wouldn't…." Peter went berserk whenever his Aunt May was in danger … what would he do to the man that killed his Uncle … his own Master Splinter.
So much was happening right now. One moment April was trying to save Peter, the next she was forced to watch what were VERY private moments of his life. "It's not so fun interfering with something your not supposed to … is it?" The monster spoke.
"You…You don't get to say that!" Mikey yelled. "You're the creep using Peter's pain to do what you want!"
"I'm curing his pain." They answered. "And we're about to see one of those VERY painful moments right now."
"You killed a man, a good man! You stole away his life! All for what!? His car!?" Spider-man yelled from the shadows of the warehouse where he tracked the murder down.
"Wh..what's it matter to you?!" The criminal said with a shaky voice, aiming his gun like a frightened child.
"EVERYTHING!" Spider-Man dodged the bullets, before snagging the gun and crushing it in his hands. "And now you're going to suffer, just like they suffered, bleeding on the street!"
"No …" Leo called out, even though it was no use.
"Spidey, come on, this isn't you!" Raph yelled.
Peter grabbed the collar of the man, dragging him to the window. "On the street!" They slammed them through the window. "Where pieces of trash like you….you…" The light shined on the man's face … showing off the man that Peter let get away. "... Me …"
"No….No…" April cried as she realized why Peter took everything so hard…why every lost felt like the end of the world…why he always tried to be responsible…because he kept telling himself it was his fault.
"The reason he does this isn't out of some noble purpose." The symbiote spoke. "But guilt … pain … suffering … and it hurts them. It's toxic to their life and health." They turned to the turtles. "But hey, you get to make all the mistakes you want, right? After all, Spider-Man is always there to fix it before it gets too bad … until it's permanent."
"I should let you go….I should let you die." Peter held the man out the window….and let him go.
"NOOO!" Donnie called out. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be happening, Peter could have killed…
Thwip.
The criminal was caught by a webline. "..But he wouldn't approve." Peter growled. "With great power…there must Also come great responsibility."
"HAH!" Leo pointed out. "Spidey saved him! He didn't have to, but he did! He CHOOSE to be a hero!"
"But it didn't help, did it?" The warehouse vanished, Peter's suit vanished … and he turned to the alien. "IT doesn't change the fact that the world took Uncle Ben because of a simple mistake. Because we tried to be happy." The alien got close. "We're always going to face the problems … so why should we suffer just because we're the only ones putting in the work?" They asked. "We saved so many lives, done so much good, isn't it right to just ask for a LITTLE back? No. We have to deal with the turtles constantly letting the Kraang get away, with the Foot clan walking out whenever they want to do whatever they want, with mutants caused every time they mess up."
"That's enough!" Raph tried to throw a punch, one that went through the creature … the one not even acknowledging them anymore.
"We hid and used your voice, yes, but we wanted YOU to be in control of something for a change. We care about you Peter Parker, Spider-Man, because we understand you more than anyone else ever could." They held out their hand. "So come … make the bond permanent."
"I….I…" Peter looked down…lifting up a weak arm.
"Peter, don't! You don't need that gunk! You don't need the suit!" Mikey shouted. "You're the spectacular Spider-man! That's all you! Peter Parker! Not the alien!" But Peter didn't hear him.
"Pretty words…but that's all they are….just words." The goop begam spreading. "Without us… we're alone… together…. we're whole…. we're family…. We're… not alone…
She couldn't stand here and do nothing! She couldn't stand by and watch her best friend lose himself to some pile of mud! "PETER! YOU'RE NOT ALONE!" She cried out as hard as she could, reaching out to grab him, focusing all the energy she had. "YOU'RE! NOT! ALONE!"
And she latched onto his shoulder, causing everything to still. "Wha … April?" Peter asked. "When did you get here? What did you see?"
"What … are … you?" The thing asked, accusation and confusion in its voice.
"Peter …" She cried. "I know it hurts. I know that losing him felt like the end of the world."
"You don't KNOW that." The thing accused. "Your dad is still alive."
"BUT I know what it feels like to live without him! To live without who you love the most in the world, and for everyone else to go on and expect you to be okay! To act like everything's fine when it's not!" She hugged the boy tightly, focusing everything she could to pry him away. "Peter, I know life hasn't been fair to you, perhaps even more than most!" April kept going. "But no matter what, every step of the way, you've never been alone! Not as Spider man, and especially not as Peter Parker!"
"And what?" They asked. "Expect others to pick up the slack once in a while? News flash, they did with the Sinister Seven, and we still had to save them."
"Then we'll get better." Leo said, grabbing ahold of April's shoulder. "We're not the perfect heroes…we still have so much to learn."
"But we did learn alot from Spidey." Raph glared,grabbing Leo's shoulder. "We learned no matter how many times you're knocked down… you alway get back up no matter what."
"We learned that to save the world, you have to start by saving one person." Donnie joined in. "And we're saving the person that needs it the most right now."
"We learned that we can't let fear and doubt cloud our mind, that you have to push through it, even if it's through a smile and a laugh." Mikey wrapped himself around all of them.
"And most importantly of all….we've learned that with Great Power must also come Great Responsibility….and Spidey is our friend…OUR responsibility." Leo capped off.
"Nice words … ones that cause everyone to suffer." They glared. "One that caused so many situations where either Peter Parker or Spider-Man to give up their time for-"
"No." Spider man….Peter….stood up, putting distance away from him and the goop. "Peter Parker is Spider-man, and Spider-man is Peter Parker….I don't have two lives….I have one…." He grinned. "One spectacular life."
"...Peter…" April cautiously approached. "Is that…"
"Yeah … it's me." He nodded.
"BRO!" Mikey jumped in and hugged the guy. "FINALLY! Man, I can't tell you how frustrating it was to know you were being controlled and no one believed me."
"We are helping you! We're making you stronger! Helping you get a stable life! Ridding things that cause you stress and suffering!" They shouted. "We're the best companion you could ask for!"
"No… I have a pretty great life already… and I'm already stronger… because I have them." He turned to the turtles, and with the snap of a finger…he took them out of the monotone gray and back to their usual colors. "The best friends a Spider could ask for."
"PARASITES!" They went in for a strike with a tendril-
Slice
Only for Leo's sword to cut through it… making the cut off appendage disappear in a white light. "So we can finally?" Leo asked.
"Yes." Peter put his hand on his head, and his spider man costume appeared in a flash. "So…you want to get nuts, Symbi? Fine…let's get nuts."
"OH YEAH!" Raphael twirled his sai's and began stabbing the goo, making white hot holes appear all over its body. "This is almost just as satisfying as punching Spidey in the face!"
CRACK
"And this is for all the confusion and misery you caused to science, you horrible excuse for an alien!" Donnie screamed, wacking the thing over and over as cracked appeared around its body.
CRACK
"This is for turning our best friend into a major jerk!" Mikey whacked his nunchucks all over the tendrils, making them turn to dust. "Like seriously, he was like Raph if he had the Rhino's lack of restraint!"
CRACK
"I am not as dumb as Rhino!" Raph screamed as he kicked the symbiote.
CRACK
"You lot … where do you think you are?" The symbiote asked with a growl as the gray faded into black, the symbiote vanishing. "We have taken root in Peter Parker …" Tendrils came out of nowhere, as a massive maw emerged from the sky. "Body … mind … SOUL! THERE'S NO PLACE YOU CAN HIDE!"
"He doesn't need to hide!" Leo threw his swords right at the eyes, making two large burning holes forma all over the head. "No matter how many times we screw up, we're going to make sure WE'LL be there for him! Because we are….A TEAM!"
CRACK CRACK
The ooze twitched in rage, staring at all of them."You … you … you … HOMEWRECKER!" And now she was drowning as black sludge wrapped around her neck. "WE WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY, APRIL O'NEIL!"
"Sorry, I think your warranty on suffering has just expired!" Spidey jumped right at them and socked the goo in its face. "Now you'll just have to vacate!"
CRACK
With a last flash of light, they exploded, falling to the ground of the train station, the symbiote bubbling around Peter. "Bells … noise …"
"On it!" Donnie looked around. "Damn it, it busted!"
"I hope this works!" Leo took his two swords together, and banged them against each other.
DIIING
The symbiote bubbled across his skin, and began peeling off.
Stop, this is a mistake, please!
"Sorry Symbi, it's not you, we're just no good together." Peter commented as he ripped at the costume, showing off the red and blue. "I'm afraid we're gonna have to see other people… wait, you're a parasite… you're just gonna have to get used to being single."
Not a parasite! Symbiote, help host, trying to help!
"I don't need the kind of help you're offering." With another tear, Peter pealed off the alien, forcing it into a ball that Raph instantly wrapped around in webs. "I hope those scales aren't moist when you hand those web shooters back to me."
"Trust me, I'm going to be washing my wrist for a week. Those thing's chaff like shell." Raph took them off. "Good to see your ugly mug again, Web head. I was getting bored at looking at the loner emo version of you."
"Ah shucks, and here I was just about to invest in hair dye stocks." They commented, finding a bucket and shoving the still screaming creature into it. "Maybe even hit the local karaoke bar and perform a dance number."
"Not that I don't feel grateful you're back." Donnie said. "But a sample of that thing broke out of a glass container, we should probably lock it up … or destroy it. Preferably the latter."
"Trust me, I know the one spot where we'll never have to deal with this thing again." Peter looked to the sky. "No better time like the present."
"Peter …" She held his arm before he took off. "I … have a savings, an emergency fund from before my dad left. It's not fourty thousand but …"
"Don't.." Peter patted her on the shoulder. "...I've been too hard on myself and on you guys. Part of what the symbiote said came from actual frustration… but I never would've taken it that far." He turned to the turtles. "You guys have been there for me more times than I can count. I couldn't have taken on both Vulture and the Enforcers by myself…Mikey saved my butt with Sandman, electro would've forced me to reveal my identity if you guys didn't come in…heck Donnie saved Connors more than I did with the gene cleanser you made." He said. "Just… thank you guys… I wouldn't be half as good at this job if I didn't have you four."
"We'd probably screw up even worse if we didn't have you." Leo chuckled, taking out his hand. "I swear that from this day forward, we're going to be better. We'll be strong enough for you to have a night off."
"Thanks…. and I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to be truthful enough to actually let you guys handle a problem for once."
"Yeah … we kinda went off on a solo mission to the Kraang and lost Leatherhead to Dimension X." Donnie winced.
"...Okay, clearly both sides made… choices that we regret." Peter winced. "But from here on out, blank slate. We keep goin and try to mess up less."
"So no more Pizza night-ow!" Raph hit Mikey on the head.
"I can spare a couple of pies, But it's gonna have to be for special occasions." Peter pointed out. "And don't worry April, I can figure out the money problem on my own … you know, other than being mentally influenced into taking Tombstone's deal."
"...You did what?" Raph asked, being flummoxed.
"Tell you on the way!" He shouted, shooting out a web and flying. "Oh, thanks a lot April! Couldn't have survived that whole thing without ya!"
"No… prob." April watched them all leave, a smile on her face. "Spider-Man's back." The friendliest hero of New York. "… Shoot, I'm gonna have to walk home, aren't I?"
Eddie finished packing up his things from esu. This would be the last time he looked over the lab. Every creation, all the memories, the wild fun and innovation … gone. All his hard work down the drain, and soon everyone was going to forget he existed. The connor's abandoned him, Gwen preferred Peter over him. And Peter himself … would live on, happy with no consequence. Barely looking happy that their Aunt, the person they had while Eddie was alone, would survive!
That little asshole would get EVERYTHING he's ever wanted while Eddie would be left with nothing. The only person worse than Peter he could think of was Spider-man, the supposed 'hero' that ruined his entire life! All because they failed to find that alien, the on thing that was keeping him financially stable!
Eddie heard thuds, turning to see four turtles, and Spider-Man himself … with the alien. "You … you brought it back." He smiled. "You saved it." Maybe he was wrong? Maybe it just took a while to track it down. "You brought it back! The Connor's won't lose their funding and I can keep my job!" The guy dumped it into the containment chamber, closing the door and locking it. "This is awesome!" Eddie shouted as he got closer. "I'm so sorry I doubted …" He noted the dials. "Hey, you can't turn it down that low, you'll freeze it."
"We know." The turtle with the purple mask said…as nitrogen gas filled the tank.
"Hey, stop it!" He ran forward, held back by the turtle with the orange mask. "You're killing it!"
"That's the idea." The turtle with the red mask nodded. "Stomping E.T.'s is kind of our specialty."
"NOOOO!" Eddie attempted to reach out. He struggling was proven futile as the black goo was starting to get covered in ice."LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"
"We have to." The one in the blue mask responded.
"You could have saved them!" Eddie screamed. "You could have saved the Conners research!...YOU COULD'VE SAVED ME!"
"Trust me. I just did." Spider-Man … the bastard spoke … as it stopped moving.
"You … you …." Eddie felt the tears start to prickle.
"...I'm sorry." The bastard whispered, before thwimping into the ceiling along with the turtles, not leaving a single trace behind.
"Sorry….SORRRRY!?" Sorry wasn't going to get him a college tuition! Sorry wasn't going to bring his parent's back to life! SORRY WASN'T GOING TO FIX EDDIE'S LIFE! "Spider man….Peter Parker….I hate them….I HATE YOU BOTH!" He cried, slamming his fist into the floor. "Ever since they've entered my life, it's been nothing but hell!" He had no family, he had no job…no school…no home….he was…all alone. "Damn you…..DAMN YOU BOTH!"
Come….
He froze, turning … seeing the alien survive. "It's … all right …."
Come….
Eddie, curiously, placed his hand along the glass, watching as the creature shrunk down, matching his print. "You … listen …"
Come
Every rational part of his brain was saying no. That he had the alien, they could beef up security, and finally fix his life … but the instinctual part …Eddie was tired of being alone…..Peter abandoned him, Gwen left him, the Connor's ditched him….even if he left the alien inside….these people would have no problem ditching him again.
Come
He opened the vault … and was soon enveloped by the thing, even to his face, leaving nothing but darkness.
"Eddie Brock …" A voice from the darkness called. "We feel your anger…we feel your emotions…and it tastes glorious."
"You … know my name?" He asked.
"We know many things …" It spoke. "Tell us … Do you hate the Spider? Do you hate Parker?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
"Who … do you hate more?" They questioned, a hint of curiosity in their voice.
"...I hate them both… I want to see both their lives destroyed…. I want to make both of them suffer ten times as much as I have!"
"Good … then this will truly be worth showing you." And suddenly Eddie knew … a spider bite, a wrestling match, the cat burglar, the swinging, turtles, the goblin …. They knew it all.
"PETER…..IS Spider-man!" It was so obvious…so fucking obvious! "I should've known…..I don't have two enemies….I have one."
"They abandoned us …" The alien spoke. "A Symbiote … we offered them power, we offered them help, we offered them a life free of pain and suffering, and they rejected our gift! Don't be a fool, Eddie Brock. WE can give you that gift! We can give you everything they have and so much more."
"Am …" He asked. "Am I worth it? Could I take them all down?"
"All you need to provide is your hate." Their tendrils connected to them…in a warm and loving embrace that Eddie had never known throughout his life.
"Yes…"
"We can be so much more together…"
"YEEESS!"
"TOGETHER…..WE CAN DESTROOOOOOY SPIDER-MAAAAAAN!" They screamed out. They would do it! They would ruin the life of Peter Parker!