Wolverine and Spider-Man RPG Isekai

by WaSRI

Wolverine and Spider-man are transported to a Dungeons and Dragons style world with no idea how they got there. Naturally, in order to not starve, the pair gather a party and start taking quests. Contains strong language, sexual themes, nudity, gore, and OCs.

13. Midsummer Part 1

WOLVERINE AND SPIDER-MAN RPG ISEKAI EPISODE 13 : MIDSUMMER PART 1

Happy New Year everyone! :D It's a bit late, but I'm back. Special thanks to Cruz7808 for the initial idea for these next two episodes. Hope you all enjoy!

---

Logan's hands were covered in blood.

That wasn't unusual.

He had seen his hands covered in blood time and time again for as long as he could remember, which of course, varied.

It was odd, the sight of blood, a sight that had an inextricable gravitas. Something, somewhere, somewhere close, was gravely injured, maybe even dead. More often than not, that something was a person. And yet, his hands had been stained with so much of the stuff, so frequently and with such amounts, that it was… unremarkable, mundane, a common inconvenience to be casually overcome. A quick run under a tap or a wet rag would set it right.

No, it wasn't the sight of blood that turned his stomach and set his hair on end.

It was the smell.

Fuck was it the smell.

Blood all looked the same, didn't matter where it came from, but the smell…

A smell was as familiar as a face.

To The Wolverine, blood on his hands might as well be someone's severed head plopped between his fingers.

It was ghastly, violative… and infuriating.

He could ring his hands for minutes on end, but the stench would linger. It always lingered.

So now then, whose head was he holding?

Logan looked down at the crimson liquid pooling in his palms.

Whose blood was on his hands?

He didn't recognize it.

That wasn't unusual either, but he did recognize it, didn't he?

He knew this scent, but he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

It was a face he had seen but couldn't place.

Whose blood was this?

He couldn't remember.

He felt himself submerge into deep, cold water.

Whose blood was this…?

In the dim grey light of the emerging day, Wolverine opened his eyes.

He was tucked away in his room at the Boar Bramble inn. Across from him, in his own bed, Spider-man was sleeping soundly.

Pulling his hands from beneath the covers, Logan looked at his palms.

Clean.

Throwing his arms back down, he let out a huff.

---

The merry morning sun shone down on the singular street of Boar Bramble. This day it was particularly bustling. The year's first crop of strawberries was being sold to happy patrons young and old. Vendors were set up offering garlands of flowers and little silver bells to passerby, and men were gathering wood for an enormous bonfire.

The town guild hall, tall and wooden, was decorated with wreaths and horseshoes. The large doors were thrown open.

"Alright adventurers."

Wyn clapped her hands in a puff of chalk. They were in the backroom of the guild hall. Lovingly referred to as the war room, it was an overstuffed and under-cleaned conglomeration of the useful, the sentimental, and the hoarded.

On the backwall was propped a large thin sheet of slate. Basically, it was a chalkboard. Wyn stood before it and her team, ready to write.

"So, did we learn anything from our encounter with Summer?" she asked.

The adventurers all looked at each other.

"Anything? Anything of use?" she beckoned. "What he or Spring wanted? What their plans were? How they knew each other?"

"Let's call a spade a spade," said Boksee. "We bungled it."

The team all sourly agreed.

"We went through all that trouble to find him, and we just ended up half dead and no better off."

"I agree that mistakes were made," conceded Wyn coolly.

Spider-man shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, it may not be new information, but we can at least assume Summer was one of four, yes?" asked Nih trying to be optimistic. "We've encountered Spring and Summer, so there must be Autumn and Winter."

"Oh yah. I think Summer even confirmed it," said Spider-man. "He said they called themselves the Ascension of the Seasons. They wouldn't name themselves if they didn't have the whole set right?"

"Wow, and what a name they picked," scoffed Logan. "Could they have come up with anything more pretentious?"

"Well, they seem like a pretentious group of guys," said Spider-man. "He was going on about morality being an arbitrary construct designed to stifle the pursuit of higher thought… or something," he said shrugging. "My take, how you use knowledge is important. How you get knowledge is also important."

Logan looked down at his metal knuckles.

"Preach."

"Well, that's something I suppose," said Wyn writing up a few notes. "Regardless," she said turning back to them. "It goes to show that we can't just chase these people down, jump in, and hope to get anywhere. From now on, we need proper recon, planning, and goals."

"I would also suggest more team focused training," said Nih.

"I completely agree," said Wyn.

"Shh," scolded Spider-man getting everyone's attention. "Don't talk about training so loudly. My knuckles might hear you, and I don't want them reminded of their traumatic experience with Wolvie's stupid wooden sword!"

Logan laughed.

"What are our goals anyway?" asked Boksee seriously.

"What do you mean?" asked Wyn.

"I mean, what were we trying to get out of Summer? What was the plan? The whole reason we even got tangled up with Spring was because we were trying to help Wolvie and Spidey get home. We haven't learned anything and we've nearly gotten killed twice over. Is chasing down any more of these people really the best way to go about things?"

The group went quiet.

"I suppose," said Wyn looking to her notes. "We could refocus our efforts on researching interplanar magic. I'm not sure it's a common field of study though."

"The great university of Dragonsrest may be of use," suggested Nih.

"I've never been out of the country," said Boksee.

As his team discussed, Logan's thoughts drifted to his dream earlier that morning, to the blood on his hand. He looked down at his clean palm.

"No," he said.

"Huh?"

"No what?"

"No, we can't just turn the other way. We can't pretend we don't know these people are out there. Spring and Summer were monsters. We stumbled ass backwards into a super weapon for fuck's sake. This country might still be standing only because we ended up in the right place to take it out early. Who knows what Autumn and Winter are doin' right now."

His party considered him.

"Look, it don't matter if it's got nothin' to do with us gettin' home. I'm here now and I ain't lettin' people like this run rough shot. Not if I have anything to say about it."

The party took a brief moment to contemplate.

"Well," said Wyn. "Any objections?"

Everyone else shook their heads.

"Alright, that seems settled. So…"

"What?" asked Logan. "Just like that? You're all in on this trainwreck of an idea? No objections?"

Spider-man raspberried.

"You make it sound so dramatic. Dude, you just described our day job. We go fight super villains. That's part of the schtick. Now we just have to do it without indoor plumbing."

"I made a vow to purge evil from the world," said Wyn shrugging.

"I think you laid out your argument pretty well," said Boksee.

"And although I never met Spring," said Nih. "I am harboring a violent hatred for even the memory of Summer. I'm willing to pursue the destruction of his comrades," he said calm and pleasant.

"Jeeze," said Spider-man.

"Well, that's refreshin'," said Logan.

"So now what?" asked Spider-man.

"Now we have to pick up a new trail," answered Wyn. "We need to find Autumn or Winter."

"Did we find anything in Summer's tower?" he continued.

"We didn't get a chance to look," answered Boksee. "You know, with you dying and all."

"Oh, right."

"And now it's surrounded in miles of ruin and ash. It wasn't worth trying to backtrack to," said Nih.

Wyn looked over the chalkboard and thought.

"Well," she said. "If we've got nothing new to add, I'd like some time to think. We've still got a lot of disparate pieces floating around. Give me some time to look at it all on paper."

"I guess we'll all just come up with some ideas and meet back later then?" asked Spider-man.

The group agreed.

"Cool. Meeting adjourned," he said standing.

"Not quite," said Nih. "Before I forget…"

The druid rummaged through his satchel and pulled out several charms made of braided yellow flowers.

"Happy Midsummer's Eve," he said handing them out.

"Aw, thanks Nih," said Boksee happily taking one.

"Is this perforatum?" asked Wyn pleased.

"They're worts," said Boksee slightly annoyed.

"Indeed," agreed Nih.

"Uh, what are these for?" asked Spider-man looking his over.

"Protective charms. Wards against fae are essential on any Midsummer's Eve, even more so this year as the full moon has aligned with it."

"Alright, follow up question. What's Midsummer?"

"You don't know what Midsummer is?" asked Boksee.

"I think it was like a horror movie or something."

"What's a movie?"

"Oh, sorry, nothing."

"Midsummer is the longest day of the year," said Wyn. "The night before is a fun holiday. Plenty of tradition and merriment."

"But it's also a time to be wary," said Nih. "The veil that separates our plane from the plane of the fae is weak. Best to use caution."

---

The party made their way back into the main hall. It was a bit crowded. Villagers and adventurers were bustling in and out of the large open doors bringing with them supplies and decorations.

"Coming through!" shouted a porcelain rank shoving by with an enormous heap of flowers.

"No no you fool!"

The guild master came running.

"Deliver to town hall, not the guild hall!"

"Oh! My bad!"

The older man massaged his temple as the young adventure ran out of the hall leaving a trail of flower petals in their wake.

Boksee Jr. laughed at her father's expense.

"Fun morning?"

"Ugh, dreadful. I say it every year. Every year! Why do we always wait to do everything until the final hour?" he said stomping over to the long back counter.

"Like you're really the shining example of pre-planning?" said Wyn.

Boksee Sr. returned with a fat, man-faced worm in his arm. He put the hideous thing on the floor and aimed it at the petals.

"Come on. Come on Logan Jr. Clean up the mess for Daddy," he said nudging it.

The party laughed as the worm just leaked.

"Sorry Dad. I think he's only good for mud crabs," said Boksee Jr.

"Oh! Right. I better get that taken care of before the festivities."

The guild master plucked the worm back up and stuck it to the wall.

"Alrighty boy, I'll take the floor, you take the taxidermy."

The party watched as Logan Jr. wriggled his way up the wall. At the top was the guild master's collection of mounted heads, and they were covered in crab guts.

"Oh come off it!" snapped Logan. "How do you keep gettin' that shit up there? Is it like a game or somethin'?"

Boksee Sr. chuckled.

"Now Logan, I…"

There was a shout from outside and an explosion of petals flew through the door and all over the floor.

"AH! Devils take it!" cried Boksee Sr.

The team couldn't help but laugh again as the guild master went to go find a broom.

"So," said Spider-man. "Is this all for Midsummer? Is it like a national holiday or something?"

"Well, I don't know about national," said Boksee Jr. "But…"

As the team stood around shooting the breeze, Wolverine's focus started to wander. Their conversation drifted further and further from his ears, until he noticed a cloaked figure quietly enter the hall.

That caught his attention.

Tracking them out of the corner of his eye, Logan watched the figure make its way toward the guild master.

Looking up from his sweeping, Boksee Sr.'s face lit up.

"Nikos!" he exclaimed. "Blow me down son. Last time I saw you, you were at my waist. By thunder I'm old."

The cloaked figure, Nikos apparently, leaned in and whispered something even Wolverine couldn't hear. The crowded hall wasn't helping.

"Oh Nikos," said Boksee taken aback. "Oh no son, I'm not in the game anymore. I mean look at me."

"Please Boksee," replied Nikos a little louder. "We need help. They wouldn't have sent me if…"

"I have a daughter. She…"

"But she's not…"

"No," he said relenting. "We had her before."

Wolverine strained to make out the conversation.

"You're the only one here we can trust," said Nikos

Boksee huffed in thought. Then he snapped his fingers.

He leaned in and started whispering, pointing toward their party.

"Oh boy. Here we go," thought Wolverine.

He quickly turned as Nikos looked their way. After a moment, he dared to peek again and saw the stranger hissing at his guild master with skepticism. Boksee Sr. just nodded.

"Snail ears!" exclaimed Nih breaking Wolverine's concentration. "I just gave that to you. How did you lose it already?"

"These pants don't have pockets!"

"It's a charm," said Boksee Jr. "You tie it in your hair you goob."

"Oh, I get to be pretty? I probably just left it in the back. BRB."

"What?"

As Spider-man strutted back to the war room, Logan watched Nikos spot him. He did a double take, then quickly followed him through the door.

"Well, this outta be good."

---

"There you are," said Spider-man finding the little yellow braid. He picked it up and gave it a once over. "So, you're a hair accessory? Is everyone doing it or is it like, a druid thing? Ah well, I'll sneak one onto Wolverine," he said chuckling.

Turning around, he nearly faceplanted directly into another man.

"AH!" he cried recoiling clean off the floor.

"Sorry!" exclaimed the man.

"Jeeze! You startled me!" he breathed throwing a hand to his chest. "You can't sneak up on me like that. I'm jumpy! I could have caved your face in."

"Sorry," said the man again. "Are you The Spider-man?"

"Huh? Oh yah, that's me."

The man looked him over. Spider-man returned the favor. The man had enormous brown eyes, like a deer, and a gentle, nimble face, but he looked tired. Those big, doey eyes were heavy with dark rings and bags. The two men stood there silently looking each other over for an uncomfortably long time.

"Um, can I help you with something?" asked Spider-man.

The man's brow furrowed.

"Which part of you is the spider part?" he asked.

"Well, that seems like a rather personal question."

Those big brown eyes just bore into him.

Spider-man sighed.

Throwing up a web, the inconvenienced super hero hopped up and hung from the ceiling. Clinging with his feet, he threw his hands open in an upside-down shrug.

The doey man's face lit up.

"I see! I've never heard of a spiderman. You pose yourself amazingly."

Spider-man hopped back down.

"Pardon?"

The man pulled off his cloak. Sat upon his head were two long furry ears and a set of twisted horns. His entire lower half was taken up by a pair of goat legs and a long cow like tail.

Spider-man blinked.

"Well," he said blankly. "I did not see that coming."

The man's ears perked.

"I'm surprised I didn't notice the feet," he said looking down at the man's hooves.

"Yah, no one ever does," he said shrugging.

The pair turned as they heard the back door crack open and Boksee Sr. quickly usher Logan inside. His eyes fell on the goat man and did a double take.

"Didn't see that comin'."

"I know right?" asked Spider-man.

"Nikos. See you've made some acquaintance," said Boksee. "This is The Spider-man and The Wolverine," he said introducing them. "Spidey, Wolvie, this is Nikos. If you hadn't noticed, he's a faun."

---

Clearing off a couch that had apparently been there the entire time, Boksee flopped down in a buff of dust. The rest opted to stand.

"So, Nikos, tell us what's going on. What brings you here, son?"

The faun didn't answer. He was glaring at Logan, ears cocked and eyes probing.

"Got a problem there, bub?"

"You are a lycanthrope, yes?"

"What‽" snapped Logan. "I-"

Spider-man elbowed him.

Logan huffed.

"What'a you think?" he asked instead.

Nikos turned to Boksee who gave him a nod. He then turned back to Wolverine. With one final scrutinizing glare he seemed satisfied.

"Why's it matter?" asked Wolverine.

The faun's ears fell. Instead of answering, he once again turned to the guild master.

"Oh, well, you see, Nikos, his folks, well," Boksee tried to explain, dancing around his words. "It's important to them that only certain people know about them. Look, I'm thinking he probably doesn't want to talk too much about it here, right?"

Nikos nodded.

"And we're some of those people?" asked Spider-man.

Again, Nikos nodded.

"What about the rest of the team, Wyn, Nih, Boksee Jr.?"

"No no, none of them. Not even Junior," said Boksee. "This has to stay between us."

Logan crossed his arms.

"So then," Boksee reiterated. "Nikos, what's going on, son?"

The faun's lips tightened and his ears went flat against the back of his head.

"We're suffering," he explained quietly.

The men were drawn to attention.

"I do not wish to speak in any detail here, but we are desperate. We don't know what to do. Nothing we have done has worked."

"And you think we can help you?" asked Logan.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to try anything."

"How do we know if we can help if you won't tell us what's going on?" asked Spider-man. "If you could just give us a hint."

"No, no."

"And how do we know you ain't just tryin' to lead us into some sort of setup?" demanded Logan.

"You trust Boksee don't you?"

They turned to their guild master.

"Nikos," said Boksee. "His folks, they're good people. If they're asking for help, they must really need it."

"Please," asked the faun. He looked to the super humans, those big brown eyes filled with desperation. "Will you help us?"

Spider-man and Wolverine looked to each other.

---

Following the recloaked faun, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Boksee Sr. made their way back out the front of the guild hall.

"Oh, there you two are," said Wyn catching them in the crowd.

"Sorry Silver," said Boksee Sr. "No time for chitchat. We must be off."

"Off?" asked Boksee Jr. as she and Nih joined them. "Where are you going?"

"Private matter."

"Private matter involving these two? And a sword?" she said motioning to his hip. "And who's this?"

"No time for questions," he said quickly waving her off. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

The rest of the team gave Wolverine and Spider-man a puzzled look.

They shrugged.

"We don't really know what's going on either. We'll see you guys later," said Spider-man.

"Alright, well, best luck on your endeavor…I guess," said Wyn.

"Wait!" exclaimed Boksee Jr. As the group tried to leave, she snagged the guild master by the arm. "Dad, you know what day it is!"

"Now don't worry. I'll make sure to be home before dark."

She gave him a very concerned look.

"Which is why we need to be off," he said freeing his arm. "You and your ma just keep the pen warm for me."

The ranger rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You know, you really are pigheaded."

"Runs in the family. So long sweetheart!"

"Um, bye guys," said Spider-man as the three men and faun made their way out the door. The rest of the team was left perplexed.

---

Another day, another long trek through the woods.

The Nehfar forest was as bright and green as they had ever seen it. Truly, summer was in full swing. Trees as tall as skyscrapers wove together a canopy of brilliant shamrock and the forest floor, rich with warm browns and oranges, was overrun with sprawling ferns.

Wolverine scowled as he plunged his fur lined, leather boot into the water of a shallow river.

Spider-man, decked out in his full adventurer gear, leapt across in a single casual bound.

"Oh, fuck you," growled Logan.

"What did I do?"

"You know what you did!" agreed Boksee stomping through the water.

Nikos shook off his furry legs as they regrouped on the bank.

"How much further?" asked Logan popping off a soggy boot.

"We're closer than we're not."

Spider-man took notice as Wolverine drained his flooded footwear.

"Oh no. You're going to get blisters now you know," he patronized.

Logan chucked the boot at him.

"Yoink."

Spider-man webbed it out of the air and slung it back at him.

"Hey!" exclaimed Logan dodging.

"Oi, behave!" scolded Boksee.

"You little shit!"

Wolverine charged, but Spider-man just hopped up a tree and gave him a little wave.

"Oh, you're just asking for it now."

He ejected his claws.

"Seriously?" mocked Spider-man unimpressed. "You think you can ice pick your way up here before I just hop to another tree?"

There was a crunch and crack.

"Uh oh,"

He leapt as the branch beneath him gave way.

"HA!" shouted Logan. "Looks like someone needs to lay off the pork pasties huh?"

As Spider-man landed beside him, Logan threw a punch only for the other man to catch it and toss it aside.

"Stop that!"

Spider-man walked back over to the fallen branch.

"Look at this."

The inside was hollowed out and rotten to dust.

"Huh, well that's odd," said Boksee. "Must have been broken some time ago, and just never fell… off." He lost his train of thought as they all noticed. The inside of the branch was rotten through, but the outside was still flush with green leaves.

"Huh," said Boksee again as they all looked at it confused.

"We should keep moving," said Nikos, and the group agreed.

---

Cresting a small hill, the adventurers finally saw the settlement.

Nestled between the mammoth tree trunks and under the shadow of a towering cliff, a collection of roundhouses poked their thatched roofs above the sprawling greenery. They were buried in the dense thicket, almost like rabbit burrows or fox dens, an eclectic collection of different sized huts.

"The warren," said Nikos.

"Hm?"

"That's what we call it. It doesn't actually have a name so we just call it the warren."

"Ah,"

The homes of the warren were not connected by streets per say, not even dirt ones, rather foot traffic had carved out winding trails through the underbrush. Finding one of these trails, the faun led them down into the town.

It was eerily quiet, well, as quiet as a forest could be anyway. Birds and insects chirped and crooned in a constant cloud of white noise, but there was no trace of townsfolk. No bustling carts. No store vendors. Not a single passerby. The warren seemed utterly deserted.

Logan huffed at the air.

Spider-man looked around.

"Where is everyone?"

The only residents seemed to be flowers. They were everywhere. Wreathes and garlands of marigolds, primrose, and that same yellow wort Nih had given them graced every door and window. Scraps of metal - lost horseshoes, coins, and arrow heads were strung amongst them. At the center of the town was a large fire pit filled with charred bones.

They looked around confused.

"Boksee?" asked a gentle voice.

They all turned to see another faun, a great deal older than Nikos, emerge from the greenery.

"Ah! There's the faun!" boomed the guild master as the stranger approached. "Thaddeus!" he exclaimed as they embraced. "It's been a while you old goat. Last time I saw you, this one still had his spots," he said motioning to Nikos.

"Spots?" murmured Logan. "I thought they were goats, not deer."

"What's a few artiodactyls among friends?" Spider-man whispered back.

The older faun looked away from Boksee and turned to the two super humans.

"Nikos," he asked with concern. "Who are these?"

"It's alright Father. This is The Wolverine. He's a lycanthrope, and this is The Spider-man."

"Oh, good good. You had me worried there."

Thaddeus turned toward the town.

"It's alright everyone," he announced. "They're kin."

The underbrush shifted. Spider-man turned and startled at the sight of a pair of predatory eyes locking onto him. A lion, taller than he was, stepped forward revealing not a great cat but a bipedal creature. It was fully clothed and remarkably human.

Logan spotted a woman with strange scales gracing her face. She pushed through the greenery unfurling not a pair of legs but a long serpentine tail curling and twisting along the ground.

There were so many.

One by one, strange creatures began to encircle them, humanoids sporting any number of animalistic features.

There were cattle heads on human torsos, human torsos on horse withers. Lizards, rabbits, massive tortoises, and great cats that were all stood upon two legs. Even above them, the trees were filled with birdmen.

"Not something you see every day, huh?" asked Boksee to the pair's bewildered faces.

Spider-man turned to him.

"Is it normal for so many different kinds of species to be living together like this?" he asked.

"And out here in the middle of the woods?" added Logan with suspicion.

"Not at all. I don't think there's any place quite like the warren."

"Then why? I mean how…" started Spider-man.

"Well, you see, back in the War of the Brush…" Boksee explained.

"The what?"

"Nasty, nasty war some generations back. Anyway, The Ternion decided…"

"Who?

"Some kingdoms to the south who decided they couldn't leave well enough alone. Stop interrupting. Anyway, along with expanding territory to every corner of the continent, one of their pet projects was trying to purge the land of 'half-breed monstrosities'," he said doing an air quote.

"Sounds 'bout right," gruffed Wolverine.

"Now mind you there are plenty of half-breed monstrosities out there," continued Boksee much to Spider-man and Wolverine's surprise. "Harpies, lamia, and the like. No one wants those things around, but not everyone sporting a tail or a feather is bad. Most are just looking to mind their own business."

Wolverine and Spider-man looked around at the cornucopia of bizarre shapes and features.

"Faun, centaur, tabaxin, lizardfolk, even lycanthrope. From feywild to underdark, anyone with so much as an extra puff of fur or claw was rounded up, the lucky ones anyway."

"But what happened?" asked Spider-man.

"We escaped," said Thaddeus. "Well, not all of us personally. Some were our parents or grandparents. Our prison was small and out of the way, cut off from most troop and supply lines, so we were able to mount a break. We fled into Strana and of course, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, so despite our different types, despite this or that, and despite many of us finding our own kind in this new country, we stayed together. We'll go off to find mates when needed but most of us always come back."

"Did you win the war?" asked Spider-man to Boksee concerned.

"It's complicated. I'm no historian."

"That's not assuring."

"So, what do you have to do with this?" asked Wolverine.

"Huh? Me?" asked Boksee. "Well, I helped them set up the warren of course."

"Pardon?"

"Before we met Boksee we were a nomadic people," explained Thaddeus. "But he showed us the densest thicket of this most remote of forests. At the farthest reach of Strana, protected under the shadow of the mountains, we finally felt safe enough to put down our roots."

"Yah," said Spider-man. "But why…"

"Enough!" snapped a voice.

They turned to see a lizardman baring her teeth.

"You now know of us," she snarled. "But who are you?"

"This is The Wolverine," repeated Nikos confused. "And The-"

"No!" she snapped. "A spiderman? I've never heard of such a thing. Has anyone?" she asked turning to her townsfolk. They murmured skeptically.

"Show your face!" shouted a member of the crowd

Spider-man quickly took off his mask.

The lizardman flicked her tongue with a huff.

"Looks like a man to me," she declared.

The crowd grew louder in discontentment.

Amid the murmuring and chattering the lionman stepped forward.

"Where do your people hail from?" he asked diplomatically.

"Um," Spider-man stammered. "New York."

The beast folk were sent over the edge. They roared and squawked and hissed in confusion.

"Where's that‽"

"I've never heard of such a place!"

"No, I really am a spiderman!" he exclaimed weaving a web between his hands.

"SHUT IT!" Wolverine bellowed.

With raised fur and ruffled feathers, the crowd quieted.

"Look, we ain't from here," he declared. "We don't know your countries or your wars. We might not be what you're lookin' for but we sure ain't your enemies. We came to help. If we ain't wanted we can fuck right off," he said staring at the lizard.

She glared back, then she looked to the web between Spider-man's hands.

Flicking her tail, she relented.

"Whatever, no good you'll do anyway."

Turning in a huff, she skulked back into the underbrush.

The rest of the beast folk, still throwing a few suspicious looks, quietly resumed their own business.

"You'll have to forgive them," whispered Thaddeus. "We're all just barely hanging on."

"Thaddeus," said Boksee turning to him. "Why are we here? What's going on?"

---

The men were brought to one of the larger huts. Rolling a stone from in front of the door, the fauns ushered them inside.

It was full of children.

Just like the rest of the warren, the hut was filled with every sort of hybrid creature, from fuzzy calves, to fluffy owlets, to scaly snakelets. The youngest were infants tended to by a few caretakers, and the oldest couldn't have been more than seven. They were sat about the room calmly and quietly occupying themselves, not even looking up as the men entered.

"Cute," said Spider-man. "What are we looking at?"

"Bunch of kids," said Logan.

"What are we looking at Thaddeus?" asked Boksee concerned. "What are all these little ones doing in here?"

Thaddeus looked out the door and motioned someone to come. A centaur mare approached. She had to duck and her wide horse belly barely fit through the door, but she managed to squeeze inside. Her husband was forced to wait outside with concern.

"Call him," instructed Thaddeus.

With a look of absolute pain, the mare nodded. She clamped her hands over her chest.

"Beckett," she called.

The men all looked to the lone young centaur among the children. He didn't stir, not at all. He continued to sit on the ground, lanky legs folded beneath him as he twiddled away with some twigs.

The mare covered her mouth as she quickly backed out of the hut. Her husband took her around the shoulder as they trotted away.

Boksee sighed.

"They're all like that?" he asked.

Thaddeus nodded.

"You know what this is?"

Again, Thaddeus nodded.

"What? What is it?" asked Spider-man. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're changeling children," said Boksee. "A whole lot of them."

"Changeling children?" asked Wolverine.

"They're not real kids," he explained. "They're fae. The real children have been taken, snatched in the night, and a fae has been left in their place."

"Holy fuck. Takin' kids. That's low," said Logan. "There a reason?"

"We have no idea," said Thaddeus. "It started slowly, but now it seems a child is stolen every night…"

A tiny curly haired face peeked out from behind Nikos's leg.

"…No matter what we've tried."

"Aw, well hi there," said Spider-man waving at the child. "Is this one yours?" he asked to Nikos. The kid did indeed have a pair of light brown goat legs and, sure enough, white spots were running down his flanks.

"What‽" Nikos whipped around spotting his son.

"Giles!" he exclaimed raising his voice for the first time and plucking the tiny faun off the ground. "I told you to never come in here! Never! Haylee!" he shouted running out the door.

"What have you tried?" asked Logan getting back on track with Thaddeus.

"Wards, charms, bribes, bonfires… animal sacrifice."

"Jeeze," said Spider-man.

"How many real children are left?" asked Logan.

It took Thaddeus a moment to answer.

"Only one."

"One‽" demanded Boksee. "One faun‽"

"You waited until only your own grandson was left?" Wolverine demanded.

"I had to convince the warren!" exclaimed Thaddeus. "Most still don't want outsiders here at all. It was only when it was my own family, the only child left, that they finally took enough pity on me."

"Are none of the others interested in getting their kids back?" asked Spider-man.

"Most of them don't see what good it would do, bringing in strangers. We've lived in the wilds for generations. Many of our kind are descendent from fae themselves. If we couldn't appease them, keep them away, what chance would villagers have?"

"He's got a point there," said Logan.

"Well, you sure picked a fine night to finally get us involved," scoffed Boksee. "A problem with fae and you bring us in on a full moon and Midsummer's Eve? Those twisted horns of yours must have finally curled into your brain! You didn't know these two were here. You sent for me! What by the king's beard did you think I could do for you tonight‽" he thundered.

"Hey, easy Boksee," said Spider-man putting a hand to his shoulder.

The guild master snorted then looked over the room.

Not a single child was upset by the outburst.

"Spidey, Wolvie," he said. "Let's chat."

---

The three men found a secluded area at the edge of the warren.

"Alright guild man, what kind of situation are we dealin' with here?" asked Logan crossing his arms.

Boksee ran his hand over his scalp.

"Bad one."

"A bad one?" asked Spider-man skeptically.

"I'm not a druid. I'm no priest. I'm not even an adventurer anymore," rambled Boksee. "I'm a one-armed retired bucket head. Since when do sylvan types come asking me for help with fae?"

"Hey we have a druid," said Spider-man. "We can…"

"No no. You two are already on thin ice. We can't bring in anyone else. The warren doesn't want anyone knowing it's here."

"Seriously? Boar Bramble doesn't exactly seem like the kind of place to grab the pitch forks."

"Firstly," said Boksee pointing a finger at him. "You just got here."

"And was treated nicely."

"And secondly. It doesn't matter what we think. If someone asks you to keep something secret, you keep it secret."

"Fine, whatever. Can we at least go ask him for advice?"

"Or tuts?" added Logan. "She's a real brainiac."

"Sure, if you two think you can explain this whole situation without giving away an entire secret village."

The super humans rolled their eyes.

"Boksee, we need something. We need a plan," said Spider-man. "Ok. So, these are essentially kidnappings, right? A fae sneaks into the house, steals a kid, and leaves a fae in their place?"

"As far as I understand it."

"Then the first thing we need to do is find the victims," continued Spider-man.

"They were taken by fae. You can't find them."

"Are they even alive?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, what do you know?" asked Spider-man frustrated. "Is there any precedent for this kind of thing?"

"Well, changeling children happen," said Boksee. "Babies die for no reason, kids get sick, and anyone can be spirited away. It happens, but it's not supposed to happen a lot and not all in one place like this."

"So, this is an epidemic," said Spider-man thinking.

"Yah, accept germs don't got a motive," countered Wolverine.

"Do fae?" asked Spider-man. "I don't understand why the warren hasn't been able to stop the kidnappings. I mean, all you need is some metal right? That's fae weakness? Or some worts? Fae are like fairies, right?"

"What's so dangerous about man?" retorted Boksee. "All you need is some fire. A sharp stick. Having a weapon doesn't mean you win a war, son."

"You can lay off the condescension, thanks."

Logan ran a hand over his forehead.

"Alright, well, no matter what we do, we gotta protect the faun kid. Guild man, you think you can hold down the fort here tonight? Kid and I can…"

"No, Logan, what are you thinking? You know what night it is."

"What? Midsummer?" asked Spider-man. "That's another thing. I don't get the big deal about Midsummer. It's an annual holiday, right? It can't be that bad."

"It's not just Midsummer," answered Boksee. "It's a full moon."

"So?"

"You really don't get why a full moon on Midsummer is a big deal?"

The super humans just gave him a look.

"Are you two even from the material plane‽"

"Debatably," said Spider-man.

The guild master groaned.

"Ugh. So," he began to explain. "Any kid on the street could tell you to be wary under the full moon. The veil that separates us from the realm of the fae is weak so all sorts of shenanigans can go down. Pair that with Midsummer, when the veil is the weakest it is all year, and, oh boy. Not to mention, the moon effects all sorts of things. People themselves go a little kooky. Babies are born. Lycanthropes go through their paces," he said giving Wolverine a pointed glare.

"Oh, is that what you're on about‽" snapped the mutant. "How the fuck many times do I need to say I ain't a werewolf!"

Spider-man socked him in the arm.

"GAH!"

"Hey genius," he hissed. "If you haven't noticed, the only reason you're here is because they do think you're a werewolf."

As Wolverine rubbed out his arm, the guild master huffed.

"I'm not an idiot Logan. I know you're not a werewolf. You're a werewolverine."

"What?" growled the mutant.

"A wereverine‽" asked Spider-man. "There are other were-animals besides wolves?"

"Of course. Lycanthropes come in all sorts."

"But lycan literally means wolf."

"Well, technically they're therianthropes, but the layman doesn't know what that is. Everyone knows what you mean by lycanthrope. You'd think a spiderman would know a bit about the topic."

Logan groaned.

"We need to go home," said Boksee firmly.

"What?" the super humans asked in unison.

"Or at least I do. I'm not sure what you've been doing Logan, but I'm not one to get caught with my pants down after dark."

"Fine, fuck off then. Ain't like you're the one that dragged us out here in the first place."

Boksee huffed.

"Alright," declared Logan getting back on track. "So changelings, they can't talk, right?"

Boksee nodded.

"But other fae can?"

"Some can. Some can't. They come in all sorts."

"Good enough. Then it looks to me like we've got two objectives, protect the faun kid, and establish contact. If we can't get to the kids, we need to know what the kidnappers want."

"Aaaand, how do we do that?" asked Spider-man.

"I say we drag all the changelings out of the village and threaten to start lopping heads until someone comes forward."

"Or…" said Spider-man. "Hear me out, we could not start a hostage negotiation involving an entire village of children. Look, we know what they're going to go after. If we catch them in the act maybe we can get some answers."

"What, you wanna set 'em out a little tea party?" mocked Wolverine. "Catch 'em in a hat and shake 'em for pixie dust?"

"I was thinking we'd try a quick, clawed interrogation," he said pointing at Logan's knuckles.

Logan looked down at his hand and ejected his blades.

"Alright, maybe we can compromise."

Without warning, the brush was pushed aside and the lionman stepped forward.

The group jumped, even Wolverine.

"You, spiderman," said the cat.

"Yah?"

"Someone wants to speak to you."

"Huh, me?"

"Yes. Please come."

Spider-man turned to the other men unsure.

"We'll catch up," said Logan nodding him along.

---

Spider-man was led through the warren and up to another hut. This one was… strange. It was more of a façade than a building. Half of a hut with a very large door was built against the cliff face.

"Enter quickly," instructed the lionman. "And close the door behind you."

"Can you tell me who I'm meeting with, exactly?"

He was simply motioned forward.

Giving the cat an annoyed look, Spider-man did as told.

With the rickety click of the door, he entered the hut. It was pitch black. There were no windows and no lights. As his foot came down it landed not on solid floor, but on a thick carpet of webbing.

He gasped.

His eyes might have been useless, but in that moment, he felt the inner web of the hut, and the creature that stirred within.

A deep female voice, calm and strangely hollow spoke in the darkness.

"You are the spiderman?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Yes."

The hut was a lot bigger than it appeared on the outside. The front was merely the entrance to a winding cave. Spider-man ghosted his fingers over the silken walls as he dared to venture deeper.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am the drider."

Spider-man accidentally stumbled over a pile of bones.

"The drider? Are you the only one?"

There was a long pause.

"No."

"D-do you mind?" asked Spider-man feeling himself nearly reach the creature. "Can we turn on a light? Open the door? I can't see."

"Hm? Oh, yes."

He felt the drider pull a web line, popping open a small hatch in the roof. It let in just enough sunlight for him to see in fuzzy shades of grey.

Being a genetic anomaly himself, and having dealt with every sort of mutant, mutate, and malformation imaginable, Spider-man reserved the word 'monster' for only the most abhorrent of entities. That said, monster truly was the first word that leapt to his mind.

He was facing down the body of an enormous spider. Big as a rhinoceros, sleek and black as obsidian, its legs stretched into every corner of the cave. Then his eyes trailed upwards. Instead of a head, sat atop the spider's thorax, was the small upper half of a she-elf.

She was beautiful. Her skin was as black as ink but soft and matte as charcoal. Her ageless face was pointed and delicate and her hair as white as snow. Her eyes, ghostly pale, were attentive but unreadable. The creature before him was inhumanly beautiful, and unnaturally grotesque. At once, she was both Venus and Pluto.

For the second time, Spider-man gasped.

"I know," she said looking away. "Truly, I am a sight to behold."

"Oh, no, no, no. It's not that. I'm sorry. It's just, I've never met a drider before," he babbled trying to recover. "I've never met any of the villagers before today. I mean, let's be real, you aren't half as scary as that lizard lady."

She didn't reply. Her eyes were scanning him over, her face falling.

"What's your name?" asked Spider-man. "You have one, right?"

"I do," she replied curtly. "Or at least I did. Before."

"What is it?"

"Vro."

"Nice to meet you, Vro."

A small smile touched her lips.

"Do you have a name?" she asked.

Spider-man hesitated.

"It's Peter."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Peter."

Spider-man jumped up to sit on the wall beside her.

For the first time, her face lit up in excitement.

"You are part spider! You must be, yes?"

"Yah, I am actually. I know I don't look it. I've been getting that a lot today."

With thick, stiff webbing, he wove a silken rose in his palm and handed it to her.

Her eyes went wide.

Slowly reaching up to take it, the drider pulled it to herself and stared at the glob of webbing like it was the most priceless treasure.

"Why did you want to see me?" asked Spider-man. "Have you lost any children?"

"Hm? Oh," she said drawing her attention away from the flower, her chest falling. "No. Driders are barren."

"I'm sorry. Then where…sorry, that's rude. What I mean is, if you don't mind me asking, where did you come from then, driders I mean?"

She took a long breath, her face falling stoic.

"I came to be the same way all driders come to be…" she said plainly. "A demon, who has preyed on my people since time immemorial."

"A demon?"

"She took me. Tortured me. Reshaped me into her image," she said reaching back and stroking her massive spider body. "Infuriated that my people abandoned her millennia ago."

"And that's where all driders come from?" asked Spider-man.

"Yes."

A silence fell over them.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"I've never heard of a spiderman. Where do you come from?"

"Very far away. You wouldn't have heard of it."

"But, are you… Do you…" she said struggling.

"What?"

"Do you have children? Are your parents spidermen? Are your grandparents?"

"Oh! I see. No, no I'm like you. I wasn't born this way. I was born human, uh, as a man. My family were men."

She considered him.

"But I wasn't tortured or anything. I'm just an accident."

"I don't understand."

"It's complicated."

The drider thought, her ghostly eyes flitting over him in the dark.

"Did you choose this?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Did you choose to become a spiderman?"

Peter thought.

"No. No I didn't choose it."

He looked down at his hand.

"But I wouldn't take it back."

To his surprise, she gently placed her own elegant hand into his palm.

"I am sorry they took that choice from you," she said.

He let out a small breath, lacing his fingers into hers.

"Now don't get it twisted," he replied flatly. "There was no they."

---

Wolverine looked down at the shining claws erupting from his hand.

"By thunder," said Boksee looking at them himself. "Junior told me you had a set of built-in blades. I thought she was pulling my leg. How's a fellow go about getting a setup like that?"

The two were still at the edge of the warren.

The mutant glared at him, then retracted his claws with a sharp snikt.

"Listen Logan," said Boksee brushing the moment aside. "I gave it some thought. If you're going to stay, I'll stay too, but that means we can't go back to Boar Bramble tonight. Agreed?"

Logan shrugged.

"Fine by me."

---

After regrouping, the men gathered in the hut of the fauns. Thaddeus and Nikos were there, along with Nikos' wife Haylee, and sat upon her caprine lap, their three-year-old son.

"We're gonna stay with you tonight," said Logan. "If you'll have us. We're gonna stand guard and keep an eye on Giles here."

"All of you?" asked Thaddeus looking at Boksee confused.

"Well, probably just Spider-man," he answered.

Logan shot him a nasty look.

"We've stayed up with him every night," said Haylee. Each grown faun looked equally exhausted. "The entire warren has tried to guard the children. It won't stop them."

"Well, that's where we're different," explained Wolverine. "We ain't tryin' to stop them. We're tryin' to catch 'em in the act."

"What‽" she exclaimed. "You want to use my son as bait‽" she demanded clutching him close.

"Giles is already bait," said Spider-man. "Just without a hook. The warren has been nothing but a feeding frenzy."

"And do we have one hell of a hook," declared Wolverine. With a loud snikt he ejected a pair of claws. The fauns startled back. "This'll clear out your fae, huh?"

Giles floundered on his mother's leg while his parents tried to calm him. Thaddeus just stared at the mutant, moving in between him and his family.

"Boksee, what by the gods have you brought into our home?" he asked.

"Someone well equipped to deal with fae I'd say," gruffed Boksee throwing his hand to his hilt. "You lot came to the village looking for help. Well, this is what I've got. You want it?"

The fauns looked at them, ears twitching.

---

They were a few hours into guard duty and dusk was nearing.

Spider-man sat on the floor. He wove and twisted his fingers under and over, wrists pulling lines of webbing until he spread his hands and a silken model of the Queensboro bridge was pulled to life. He held it out to the tiny faun whose eyes went wide. Ears perking, he reached out to touch it.

"What is that thing?" asked Nikos.

"A bridge."

"I've never seen a bridge like that," joined Haylee. "Looks more like someone's abandoned knitting."

"What‽ I thought I did a pretty good job. Wolvie, you can tell that's the Queenboro right?" asked Spider-man holding it up for the mutant's scrutiny.

He gave him an uninterested look, then returned to his vigilance.

"Do a bird," said Haylee.

"A bird huh? That might be tricky, a lot of curves. I'll give it a whirl."

Across the room, Thaddeus gave Boksee a concerned look.

In turn, Boksee moved a little curtain to peek out the window. The large orange sun was dim as it moved toward the horizon.

"And we're sure the fae have to come in the house?" asked Logan quietly. "Kids don't just…uh poof, right?"

"How should I know?" asked Boksee. "Wolvie, I think it's about time we get you out of here."

Logan glared at him.

"I ain't leavin',"

"Logan, I'm not trying to rankle you," said the guild master. "I know it's nothing to be proud of, but you've got to think of the wellbeing of the village."

Spider-man pulled apart his hands revealing a dense circular web. In the center was a large hole in the shape of a dove.

Nikos and Haylee clapped.

"Nothin' to be proud of?" asked Logan. "Now you listen here, I don't care what the fuck you think I am, but don't you ever suggest it's somethin' to be ashamed of," he snarled stabbing a finger into Boksee's chest.

"Um, where's Giles?" asked Spider-man looking around.

"What‽"

Logan and Boksee snapped out of their quarrel.

The room leapt to its feet.

"He was just here!" exclaimed Haylee. "I just had him!"

Spider-man spotted a dappled butt sticking out of the door.

"Oh," he gasped relieved. "There he is."

The room let out a shared breath as he trotted over to him. "Now how did you get over here?" he asked scooping the kid off the ground and closing the door. The faun squirmed as Spider-man held him to his chest. "Here," he said handing him back to his parents. "No leaving the safety circle," he playfully scolded

"Seriously Logan," said Boksee approaching again. "We're almost out of time. We have to get away from the village."

Wolverine whipped around.

"You LISTEN to me!" he snapped.

"Logan!" scolded Spider-man.

The fauns pulled their child away from the enraged mutant.

Boksee held his ground as Logan brought his growling face to his.

"I'm gonna say it one more time guild man, nice and clear so you can hear. I AIN'T A-"

They heard giggling.

The room froze.

The curtain was pulled back by a pair of spindly, glowing fairies hovering in the window. They stared down at them with wide eyes and wider smiles.

Haylee shrieked, grabbing her son, and yanking him to the back wall.

Spider-man leapt forward, wrists exploding and cocooning the fairies in a thick web. They flopped to the window seal, mocking faces of overexaggerated surprise, then laughed as the web burned away in a sizzle of green fire.

"Crap!"

Wolverine lunged, making a grab at one. They flitted out of the way only laughing harder.

"Uh oh. Uh oh," they mocked in trilling voices as they flew out the window.

"Get back here!" snapped Logan. "You two, stay with the kid!" he shouted as he ran out the door.

"It's not even dark!" exclaimed Boksee. "Why are they out?"

"Wolvie wait!"

Charging onto the paths of the warren, Logan spotted the fairies fluttering over a nearby roof.

"Hey you!"

They turned to him.

"I wanna talk to ya!"

"Oh? Oh?"

The fairies floated slowly through the air, circling around him, then darting into the woods.

"Ugh, stupid…" he muttered running after them.

Sprinting up the bank into the forest he spotted one peeking from behind a tree.

"Hey you!"

It flittered away.

"No stop!" he shouted chasing.

Another one danced across a branch.

"Come on! Fuck!" he cursed as it vanished.

He rounded a corner and spotted a fairy hovering in the air before him.

Cautiously he approached.

"Hey, listen, please," he said holding up his hands. "I just wanna talk."

He was close enough to look it in its big black eyes.

The fairy giggled.

"Liar."

A horde of fairies launched from the trees. They buzzed and circled around his face like a swarm of wasps, clawing and stabbing foot long wooden skewers toward his eyes!

"Ah!"

He threw out his blades, swatting and slashing, but was unable to land a hit.

"Filthy! Disgusting!" they hissed in his ears.

"Man of metal! What has man done to itself‽"

In a swift divebomb, one managed to plunge a skewer directly into his eye.

Logan howled.

Suddenly the fairies were whacked away.

Spider-man leapt over him beating them back with a makeshift broom of web and flowers. The fairies cried and shrieked like he was assaulting them with a flaming torch.

Logan, still reeling from the shock, dropped to his knees and threw a hand up to keep his eye in his socket. He let out a scream as he wrenched the skewer from his face.

"GAAAAHHHHH!"

The fairies regrouped and started attacking the younger man from above. He summersaulted to the side as the swarm chased him down.

Wolverine pulled himself from the ground and leapt to his feet only for a sharp blade to plunge into his back.

"AAHHHH!"

It was ripped back out to a chorus of laughter.

He whipped around to see a horde of hideous little men cackling at him from the shadows. Enormous crooked teeth and long yellow nails gnashed and twitched in the light of the falling sun. One was stood at the front holding a bone sickle, the tip dripping with blood. With malice in its pinpricked eyes, the fae plucked the red hat from its head and ran it through the crimson stain.

It roared, spit flying from its mouth, and the entire horde leapt onto Wolverine in a flurry of nails and teeth.

Spider-man had his face in the dirt, shielding his head as the swarm of fairies laughed and stabbed at him.

"GET OFF!"

He blindly shot fat webs into the air. Each fairy was only tangled for a moment but it was long enough for them to thump to the ground around him.

He flipped backwards to his feet and pulled the dagger from his hip. As his webbing sizzled away, the fairies raised from the forest floor with new found hatred.

He aimed the dagger at them.

"Now all of you…"

Spider sense!

Too slow!

A fairy pulled its own blade and zipped across his hand, slicing it open with a stone knife.

He let out a cry, dropping the dagger as his blood poured and he was swarmed again.

Wolverine sliced and thrashed at the horde of hideous men. They were more brutal but less quick. His skin was ripped by long gnarled nails and punctured by biting teeth, but he was landing blows. The fae screeched as they were cleaved apart, their bodies burning and cauterizing as they were dismembered.

The leader leapt onto Logan's shoulders and tried to plunge its sickle into his neck. Wolverine just grabbed it and sent it careening over his head. It smashed into the dirt. Sickle broken, its hat thrown from its head, the hideous little man pulled itself to its knees and looked around at the sizzling corpses of its entire horde. Then it looked to Wolverine.

The mutant reared to his full height, every cut and gash across his body healing before the fae's eyes.

Logan sneered

"Looks like you picked the wrong fight mother fucker."

He lunged at it.

"This one!" cried the fae.

The fairies leapt from Spider-man and swarmed Wolverine again as the hideous man snapped his fingers and vanished.

"Wolvie!" shouted Spider-man.

He came running and shooting webs.

His spider sense blared.

In a final gambit, the hideous man sprung from nothingness and latched itself around him.

"OH JEEZE!"

It flailed and scratched at his torso only for its nails to scrape uselessly off his armor. Fighting and elbowing, Spider-man was able to force it down. It hung around his leg like the most perverse child then sunk its teeth into the thin flesh of his shin.

"AH!"

He sent it flying into a tree with a hard kick.

The fae practically splattered against the trunk, falling to its knees spitting and shrieking.

"Bane blood! Bane blood!" it cried.

"Bane blood?"

Spider-man saw the fae's tongue and wrinkled lips burning and rotting. He looked down at his gashed hand.

The hideous little man was on its feet, its burned lips spread with manic hatred.

Spider-man scooped his blood into his palm as the fae lunged. He managed to catch it out of the air, grabbing it around the face. The hideous man shrieked as its skin burned and sizzled beneath his grip. Seizing the moment, the super hero spun on a heel and chucked it into the woods, then looked to his dropped dagger.

The fairies around Wolverine had been webbed. It only lasted for a moment but the mutant took it, He blazed through the small fae slashing and stomping their tiny bodies with high pitched screams and crunches. In a sizzle of green fire, one of the last fairies freed itself and drew its skewer.

A dagger flew through the air impaling the fairy on a tree by the wing. It shrieked and screamed as it burned.

Logan turned to see Spider-man rearing from the throw.

Without wasting a moment, the mutant ran forward and threw his claws under the fae's chin.

"Back off or her head rolls!" he shouted over his shoulder.

There was only one remaining fairy. It did as told, hovering in the air.

Spider-man jogged forward holding his hand up against it causing it to cringe backwards. He stood back to back with Wolverine.

"Alright flutterbug," snapped Logan. "Time to talk. Why are you takin' kids?"

The fairy struggled and twisted trying to pull its neck from his blades.

"Talk! Or I'll slice it out of you!"

There was a blood curling shriek.

The men whipped toward the warren as screams began to ring across the forest.

In the moment of distraction, the second fairy sped forward and wrenched the dagger from her twin's wing. The men turned just in time to see them fall to the ground, their faces stretching into insidious smiles as they burst into laughter.

"Made you look! Made you look!" they cackled as they vanished into sparkles.

"FUCK!"

The men sprinted down into the village and threw open the fauns' hut.

Boksee was still there standing at the ready. All four fauns were huddled but accounted for.

"Wha-?" gasped Spider-man.

More shrieking.

"This way!"

Boksee joined them as the men bolted toward the sound and found the entire warren trying to force its way into a hut.

"By the gods!" cried a male voice.

The crowd of beast folk cried and screamed and roared.

Spider-man couldn't find an opening.

"Move!" shouted Wolverine coming through and shoving them out of the way.

The three men managed to squeeze inside.

The centaur mare was laid out on the ground. She was staring down at her blood-soaked hands shrieking in maddened terror. An enormous gash was split down the length of her horse belly. Blood was everywhere. From the massive slit they could see the ragged flesh of a torn placenta and a severed umbilical cord. Sitting beside her, in a pool of blood, was what looked like a newborn foal. It stared up at them with a blank expression, not a drop on it. Its hair wasn't even wet.

Wolverine and Spider-man startled back.

The mare wailed.

The stallion, clutching his wife, too stunned to move, suddenly reignited with life. He roared with anger and charged, rearing back and bringing his hooves crashing down directly on the foal. The crowd erupted into more screams. Spider-man jumped forward to stop the centaur as he stomped the foal to death, but was grabbed by Wolverine and dragged out of the hut.

The mare's wails carried for miles.

---

Wolverine stormed at break neck speed through the forest with Spider-man and Boksee floundering behind. The last languid light of the dying day was quickly falling behind the horizon, bathing the forest in orange and harsh shadows.

"I've never seen anything like it," gasped Boksee.

"Logan!" shouted Spider-man jogging up to close the difference.

"I've never heard anything like it," Boksee continued more to himself than anyone.

"Logan where are we going?" shouted Spider-man grabbing him by the shoulder and yanking him around.

"Where do ya think?" he snapped. "I'm gettin' help."

"What‽" demanded Boksee.

"You don't know what the fuck is going on!" he snapped at Boksee. "They don't. We don't. I don't care how badly they want to stay hidden, someone has to be better equipped to deal with this than us!"

He turned back around and resumed stomping.

"Wolvie!"

"Spider-man!" he barked. "When they're done with the warren, when they've run out of kids to steal, where do you think they're going next?"

Spider-man didn't answer.

Logan huffed.

"We need to get back to Boar Bramble."

"We can't go back tonight!" exclaimed Boksee grabbing him by the bicep. "You know that!"

"What are you talkin' about‽" the mutant yelled pulling his arm away.

"Spider-man," said Boksee instead. "Get back to the village. Find Nona. Tell her we're in the forest."

"Why would…"

"Now! Go! Get away! We don't have much time," said Boksee feverishly looking to the horizon. Only the smallest sliver of sun was peeking through the towering trees. He grimaced and twitched and snorted like his face was covered in bugs.

"Boksee are you ok?"

"Go now!" he thundered with such force Spider-man stumbled back.

Boksee grabbed at Wolverine and tried to pull him away from the younger man.

"Get off me!" he shouted shoving him off. Boksee tumbled backwards to the ground.

"Logan!" snapped Spider-man.

Boksee struggled to push himself to his knees. His eyes went wide as he stared past them. Logan and Spider-man turned to see the sun had set. Then the three, almost by instinct, whipped toward the opposite sky.

Enormous and glowing, a blood red streak of moonlight began to crack over the horizon.

Boksee gasped then turned back to them, his face dropping into a look of true fear. Then it began to change. His cinnamon hair, already taking up most of his skin began to invade the barren spaces. Follicles laced and threaded across his cheeks and nose until only his wide white eyes were visible. Bone and muscle began to distort and deform. His skull grew and widened. His nose and jaw protruded into a snouted muzzle. Teeth erupted and stretched into a pair of massive ivory tusks.

Wolverine and Spider-man tripped backwards away from the guild master as he cried and roared. His body swelled, clothes ripped, bones and joints popped and snapped into new configurations. His sword fell uselessly to the ground. In a moment, the old adventurer was gone.

In his place, a monstrous, three-legged boar loomed over them. It stood tall as an elephant, panting and snarled.

"Uh…" said Spider-man. "B, Boksee?"

The boar let out a thundering squeal, spit flying from its curled lips.

"Run?"

"Run."

Spider-man threw Wolverine over his shoulder and bolted. The boar, floundering and stumbling on its three legs charged after them. Swinging, spinning, yanking, leaping! Trunks and branches zipped by as Spider-man hurtled them through the canopy.

"LEFT! LEFT!" shouted Wolverine. "You're going the wrong way!"

The boar rammed through a tree trunk shattering it to splinters.

Spider-man yanked them out of the way as a tree the size of a redwood came crashing down.

"Ain't no way he took that thing down!" shouted Logan.

Spider-man leapt onto a branch only for it to snap beneath them.

"It's all rotten!"

Running through the tree tops, branches collapsing with every bound, he took them higher and higher out of the sight of the beast.

"Can he smell us‽" exclaimed Spider-man as trees continued to snap and fall behind them.

"And hear! Just keep running!"

Eventually the sound of the rampaging monster faded into the distance. Spider-man was still leaping and webbing at full speed.

"Pump the brakes kid, we've lost him!" Logan shouted.

Descending in a few graceful web lines, Spider-man rolled to the forest floor popping Logan off.

"Boars ain't long distance chasers," the mutant huffed.

Darkness had fallen in full. Bioluminescent mushrooms and fireflies lit the understory with soft, eerie light. A pair of glowing fae fluttered by.

Logan threw out his claws but they ignored him.

"He was…he was a werewolf," panted Spider-man catching his breath. "Uh wereboar."

"That son of a bitch! After all the shit he gave me! He was the werewolf the whole time!"

"Wereboar."

"Whatever!"

"Well, at least we lost him. Oh crap," said Spider-man in realization. "We lost him."

"He's a giant rampaging pig. I think we'll be able to find him if need be."

"Do we want to find him? I don't want to hurt him, or for him to hurt us for that matter. I don't know about you, but I'm not in any rush to become a pig monster. That's how this works right? He bites us, we're pig monsters?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

Logan scrunched his nose.

"Ugh, what the… You smell salt?"

"Salt?" asked Spider-man. He was about to reply when a sharp salty stench, like a putrid dock hit him.

"Ew, yah. What is tha… AHHHH!"

He screamed grabbing his head.

"KID! What's wrong‽"

"Hurts! Can't! Too much!"

"What hurts?" Logan started. Then he saw it. His eyes went wide as a chill ran up his spine. A titanic figure, as tall as the redwoods, loomed silently between the trees. A flock of glowing fae scattered like birds as a red, bloody, skinless hoof stepped forward.

Suddenly he was webbed and dragged through the air as Spider-man took off at break neck speed.

The colossus reared, unleashing a scream like the shrieking abyss, trees exploding into dust.

Spider-man somehow topped his max speed as he swung and pulled and scrambled blindly across the woods. Deafening hooves galloped on their heels.

Wolverine was dangling from a web line being wacked and thrown and beaten around between trunks and limbs.

"FUCK!" he exclaimed grabbing onto the line. "SLOW DOWN! WHAT…"

With a hard branch between the eyes, he lost his grip and tumbled back down. Hanging upside down, he got a clear look at the thing chasing them.

It was an enormous horse and rider, except the two creatures were fused by the horseman's hip like one entity. It was skinless! Bloody flesh and muscle and bone glistened in the moonlight. A massive toothy face and blazing lidless eyes drew closer and closer in the dark. Arms twice as long as its body reached out to grab them.

"NEVER MIND!"

"What‽"

Spider-man smashed into a branch flipping and tumbling out of the air.

They crashed landed on the opposite side of the shallow river.

Spider-man hit the ground hard grabbing his ribs and gasping.

Logan leapt to his feet. He threw out his claws and braced himself.

The creature, however, despite easily being able to step across, had halted at the water.

Wolverine was perched on the tip of his toes, poised on a hair trigger. He stared at the colossus as its hooves stamped at the bank in agitation. Its long fleshy horse skull snorted and huffed.

Eventually, the rider fell slightly flaccid. One of its grotesquely long arms dragged the ground as the horse turned and hobbled back between the trees.

Still on edge, Wolverine watched it walked out of sight.

"Wolvie," said Spider-man stunned and panting.

"Yah," he replied slowly lowering his guard.

"I take it back. Whatever I said about Midsummer, I take it back."

Wolverine turned to him gob smacked. The corner of his mouth twitched, then despite himself, he burst into laughter.

"Oh no. I must have banged your head around too much," panted Spider-man. "When do you laugh?"

"When I nearly shit myself!" Logan roared with laughter.

Spider-man looked at him surprised, then started laughing himself.

"You too?"

Logan doubled over laughing maniacally.

"I've seen some fucked up shit but it's always at least still had its skin!" After another bout of laughter, he sighed and started calming. "And if it don't, it ain't chasin' me."

He wiped an honest tear from his eye.

"Good lord."

"If that's what fae is, I'm gonna go full Tony Stark and build a mech suit in a cave," joked Spider-man pulling himself to his feet. "What was that thing?"

"Don't know. Don't care. Let's not meet it again. We gotta find Boksee or her mom. Let 'em know what happened. Come on. I think we've gone too far down river. This way."

---

Jogging through the dark forest, Wolverine and Spider-man sent up tiny glowing fae as they passed. They thought they had been fireflies but they let out little cries every time they scattered. Winged beings large and small flew through the air. Herds and packs of otherworldly animals, strange reflections of every day creatures, ran and galloped with the men through the moonlight.

Logan trotted to a stop and gave the air a fresh sniff.

"Are we getting close?" asked Spider-man.

"I think. What is that awful stink?"

"Oh no! Is it that thing again‽"

"Ugh, no. Somethin's burnin'. Smells like somethin' got caught in it. Phew."

"That would be the bonfire, I'd say," said a chipper voice.

Spider-man and Wolverine jumped.

A small man wearing a prim little suit was sitting on a fallen tree beside them.

"They do it every year," it continued. "I come to hear the music but the stink, it keeps me away."

"Uh…"

"Come on," said Logan pulling Spider-man along.

"Happy Midsummer lads!"

---

Boar Bramble was abuzz, and it stunk.

The great bonfire roared sending thick black plumes pillaring into the sky. The fire was filled with fresh, fleshy bones resulting in the horrible stench.

Breaking through the tree line, Wolverine and Spider-man were bathed in the harsh light of the fire and greeted with running and shrieking.

Having never really put them away, Logan drew his claws, but the pair's concern was done away with as they realized the townsfolk weren't screaming with horror, but delight. Musicians played, lines of people danced, and many were engaged in various forms of fire games. Two by two, people jumped over a small campfire and on a nearby hill, a group was attempting to roll a burning wheel to the bottom. As a result, a thick smokey haze hung over the entire town.

"Fuck, no wonder I can't smell shit. Where are they?" asked Wolverine.

"Let's ask around."

"Hey!" called Wolverine spotting the barman and his wife.

As they ran up to the small group of merry makers, the barman greeted them.

"Ah Wolverine, Spider-man, happy Midsummer to you."

"You seen Boksee Junior?" asked Logan. "Or her mom?"

"Mmm."

"I saw the dark elf," said his wife. "He was leading the fern flower hunt."

"Hey wait a minute," said the barman taking a long drink from his pint. "It's a full moon. Why aren't you…uh…hairy?" he asked at Logan.

The barman floundered back as the mutant came at him with bared teeth. Spider-man leapt to hold him back.

"I saw Nona run past the guild hall," piped up Madam Funda in a drunken innocence. "But that was a time ago."

"Alright, thanks anyway," said Spider-man pulling Logan along. "Uh, happy Midsummer!"

---

"Boksee! Nona!" called Spider-man as they ran through the street of Boar Bramble.

They tripped over themselves to stop as a group of little girls excitedly ran past.

"Put those things away!" shouted Spider-man pushing down Logan's clawed hand. "You nearly took out an eye!"

The mutant gave him a look but quickly snikt away his blades.

"This isn't working," said Spider-man grabbing his hips. He looked to the roofs. "Alright, I'm gonna get high."

As Spider-man moved to jump, Logan stopped him.

"No need! There!"

A pair of silhouettes, one somewhat short and stout, and one no larger than a child ran across the light of the bonfire.

"Darlin'!" shouted Logan.

The figures floundered to a stop and turned to them.

"Spider-man! Wolverine!" cried Boksee as she and her mom came running. "There you are! Where have you been‽ Have you seen my…"

"We lost your dad!" exclaimed Spider-man.

Her jaw fell open.

Nona threw a hand to her tiny face.

"Where?" asked Boksee.

"In the woods somewhere. To the south. Past the shallow river."

She exhaled.

"At least it wasn't near town."

"You're dad's a wereboar!"

Nona jumped in and shushed him.

"Shhh!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" continued Spider-man in a whisper.

"It wasn't any of your business," Boksee whispered back like it was obvious.

"Oh, but you all were fuckin' screamin' it from the rooftops about me being a werewolf huh?" demanded Wolverine.

"Logan, you get down on all fours and sniff through the dirt!" she hissed through clenched teeth. "We all thought you were just really open about it."

"I was open," he growled. "Open about not being a werewolf!"

"For heaven's sake all of you calm down!" asserted Nona stepping between them.

Boksee huffed.

"And I guess you're not a werespider either then," she said at Spider-man.

"A what? Werespider? Is that a thing?"

"Yah, found it in a book. I owe Dad a silver."

"If the fool survives the night," said Nona. "You've got to go get him," she said to her daughter. "And not in the morning. Tonight. If it was any other night, I'd say just let him go through his paces, but who knows what could happen to him on Midsummer's Eve."

"You won't hear any argument from me," said Boksee.

"And Cuckoo Bird, I know you're a capable adventurer," continued the halfling to her daughter. "But I don't want you going out there alone. I hate to ask this of you," she said addressing the men. "You've both come all this way just to get turned around again, but will you go with her?"

"Like you even need to ask," said Spider-man. "Though it is appreciated."

"We'll get the mister back," said Logan.

"Thank you both."

"Wish we would have known to catch him a few hours ago," he mumbled.

"Live and learn. Should we find Wyn?" asked Spider-man. "Or Nih?"

"Oh no. Please," continued Nona. "It's such a sensitive topic for him. He doesn't like people to know about his personal condition. I ask you to please keep it between us."

"Ugh, fine. All these secrets are starting to kill me," sighed Spider-man slumping.

"Like you have ANY room to talk," snarked Logan.

"Enough chatter men," said Boksee. "There's a pig-headed old boar out there that needs a rescuing."

Nona motioned for all three adventurers to lean over.

They complied, and the halfling tipped toed to plant a kiss right on Spider-man's forehead. His mouth fell open dumbstruck before a look of absolute joy spread across his cheeks. He was practically purring with excitement. Nona quickly gave a kiss to Wolverine, much to his surprise as well, then turned to her daughter.

"Shire's blessing," she said giving her the longest peck. "On you go."

The light of the roaring fire and the cheers and music of the townsfolk quickly faded as the adventurers made their way back into the forest. It was traded for a blanket of darkness and the croaks and crickets of a summer night.

"Well, web head's never gonna wash his forehead again," said Wolverine with a toothy grin.

"Oh, shut up," said Spider-man. "Oh wait, no, don't shut up." Spider-man turned to Boksee with an evil glint.

"What?" she asked.

"Cuckoo Bird?"

Her face went red.

"Yah? So? Doesn't your ma give you pet names?"

"Uhh…"

"Come on. We're burning moonlight," she said pulling her hood.

---

Small elf like creatures, cats, and dogs held hands and danced in a circle around a giant glowing mushroom.

Spider-man's feet came to a stop in the moist undergrowth as he found himself stopping to watch. The fairy folk and animals swayed and bobbed and chanted in some unknown language.

"Come on then," said Boksee giving him a pull. "Best not to get caught gazing at fairy rings."

"Huh?" he said shaking his head. "Oh, but I've never seen a dancing cat before."

The large strawberry moon hung over head as Wolverine and Boksee tracked their way back through the forest.

"You said he was on the south side of the river?" asked Boksee assessing a footprint. A tree lifted its roots behind her and scuttled away.

"Mm," nodded Logan, his nose to the dirt.

"What we're you all doing out there?"

"Oh," said Spider-man. "We were, uh…"

"This didn't have anything to do with the beast people, did it?"

Logan turned to her surprised.

"What?" asked Spider-man. "You knew?"

"That idiot," said Boksee. "What was he thinking going out that far tonight?"

"It's a long story," said Spider-man. "But this is great. We were actually coming back to town to get help. How many other people know?"

"Just Ma and me," said Boksee. "As far as I know anyway. After all, these are my woods. Woah!"

She threw up her bow and loosed an arrow. With a scream, a small purple figure fell from a tree.

"Oh. Just a boggle. Anyway, I know everything of note in them," she continued nonperturbed.

Wolverine sniffed a leaf, but scowled.

"Of course, I've never been in their village," continued Boksee. "I've only seen it from a far. One encounter with a very angry tabaxi let me know to keep my distance."

"Hey kid," said Logan.

"Yah?"

"Patch yourself up while we got a moment. The blood's making it hard to smell the trail."

"What? Oh."

Spider-man had almost forgotten about his gashed hand.

He pulled some gauze from his belt and looked to the injury only to stop. The moonlight glistened in the raw flesh. Flipping his hand over, he stared at the browning stains in his palm.

"Hey Boksee," asked Spider-man.

"Hm?"

"So metal and certain flowers, they burn fae right?"

"Yah."

"Why?"

"Yes why, why, why?" echoed a trio of intrigued pixies from the bushes.

The adventurers gave them a look, but opted to ignore them.

"Well, I'm no expert but as I understand, some plants are wards against fae the same way some plants are wards against animals and people," said Boksee as they continued. "I mean, you wouldn't be very happy if I were to start rubbing you down with hemlock now would you? Same for fae. Some plants just don't want fae involved with them."

The pixies, fluttering alongside them, hummed and nodded.

"Ok, I guess that makes sense," said Spider-man. "But what about metal?"

"Um."

"Yes, why does metal burn us?" heckled a pixie.

"Tell us," added another.

"Tell us half-breed, tell us."

"Oh, bugger off," said Boksee swishing them away. "Metal burns fae because it's not of nature," she explained. "Fae are nature. They don't have the substance of the material plane so nature is all they are, really."

She motioned to one of the pixies, who was now playing with some vining flowers. The winged fae sparkled and the flowers bloomed beneath its hand.

"Yah right. If they're just happy little nature friends, why do they keep tryin' to kill us?" grumped Logan.

"Nature's always trying to kill you," she replied.

"But there has to be more to it than that," said Spider-man.

"No, I think that's about it. It's a matter of magics, though I'm not really an expert on that either. As I understand, metal is made by separating it, extracting it completely from the stone that birthed it so, in that way, the magic of metal is the complete separation from nature. It's the exact opposite magic of the fae so it wounds them like water wounds a fire."

"Alright," said Spider-man. "But is there anything else? That burns fae I mean?"

"Um, they don't like salt, I think," said Boksee. "Nan always puts a pinch of salt in her milk pale. I'm pretty sure there are a few odds and ends. Certain types of fae dislike somethings, and others dislike others."

"But there's nothing else universal?"

She shook her head.

"Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

Spider-man looked back to his hand.

"It's nothing," he said wrapping it in bandages.

---

The adventurers continued deeper and deeper into the depths of the gloomy forest, the trees reaching higher, the crowns growing thicker. Moonlight struggled to filter through the leaves. It was on nights like these, that darkness seemed not to be a mere absence of light, but a palpable force in itself. It laid heavy and dense, sinking and flowing into every nook and cranny. Any light, whether bioluminescent fungi or glowing fae, had to push and fight against the suffocating darkness. They swam through it like anglers in the deep.

A flickering light caught Spider-man's eye.

The adventurers continued on, veiled moon rising steadily through the sky. Eventually the tree line broke and they entered a small clearing. They had reached the shallow river.

Wolverine sniffed at the gritty bank. He looked down at his dark reflection, then gazed across the ebony water at the looming trees beyond.

"What is it?" asked Boksee crunching up behind him.

"There was something across the river," he said. "Earlier tonight. I think the water stopped it."

"Something stopped by fresh water?" she asked.

"Yah."

Logan pushed himself to his feet and considered the opposing shore with suspicion.

"Can't imagine what that might have been. Still, there's nothing to it but to cross," said Boksee undeterred. "You lost Dad on the other side, right?"

"Yah," he said still watching the other bank. It seemed quiet enough. With a small hum, he put away his claws.

"Well, you wanna give us a swing this time web head?" he said turning. "I ain't lookin' to drown my boots again."

Spider-man wasn't there.

"Kid?"

Wolverine and Boksee looked around. It was an empty clearing.

"The fuck? Where'd he go?"

"Oh no! Spider-man!" shouted Boksee.

"Kid!"

There was a rustling across the river.

They whipped toward the sound, Boksee drawing her bow and Logan re-ejecting his claws.

The massive wereboar leapt from the trees, landing and stumbling on its front leg.

"Dad!" cried Boksee.

She and Wolverine threw themselves out of the way as it charged across the river. It was frothing at the mouth, flailing and squealing and roaring.

"Somethings wrong with him!" cried Boksee jumping to her feet.

"How can you tell?"

"Heel! Heel! You stupid man!" shouted a rasping, snarling voice.

Squealing in protest, the boar was forced to turn and face them. Riding atop its neck was a hideous little man with a handprint burned across its face.

"You!" shouted Logan.

Through rotten lips, it bared its long yellow teeth in a wicked smile.

"Looking for this?" it said grabbing the boar. "Mother FUCKER!"

It pulled the guild master's lost sword, hands sizzling where they met metal, and started stabbing into the beast over and over again.

"DAD!" screamed Boksee.

The wereboar bellowed, flailing in madness, blood shooting into the air.

Boksee flung an arrow toward the fae but the boar was rampaging too hard. The iron headed arrow only plunged into the lycanthrope's back.

"NO!"

It reared on its hind legs, nearly falling backwards. The fae clung on stabbing and gouging it with manic glee.

Logan sprinted up behind, claws drawn to snip the legs from beneath it.

"Don't hurt him!" cried Boksee.

"Wha- GAH!"

A hoof the size of a dinner plate collided with his chest sending him flying into the river.

The boar landed, front leg nearly buckling, and took off running.

Boksee charged to meet it. She leapt, nearly being impaled on a tusk, but instead grabbing ahold and clinging to the ivory as the beast rampaged.

Wolverine pulled himself out of the water.

The drooling maw of the lycanthrope spat and frothed at her feet as the ranger pulled herself over the boar's snout.

"Bugger off you half bred bitch!"

The fae leapt down and took a mad swing at her face. She screamed as a slice landed just barely missing her eye. She fell from the hog, rolling to the ground and shielding her head as massive hooves trampled overhead.

"Darlin!"

"Logan stop him!"

The boar was running, sprinting desperately for the safety of the underbrush.

Racing ahead, Wolverine sent his claws through a tree. The rotten wood cleaved like butter and the entire trunk spun on its end. It came crashing down right in the boar's path.

It squealed stumbling over itself and bolting in the other direction. The hideous man laughed as it continued to slice away at its neck.

Boksee swung herself up a tree.

"You bastard!" she screamed leaping from a branch and landing on the boar's back.

The fae whipped toward her.

"Get off my father you filthy red cap!"

In a flash of her falchion the head of the fae flew into the air. It hit the ground, bouncing and rolling, hatred still roaring on its twisted face.

The boar, still sprinting in a panic galloped past Wolverine.

"Darlin' get off!" he shouted giving chase.

"Dad! Calm down! Easy! DAD!" she cried jockeying the boar's high shoulders. She pulled some rope and tried to bridal him but wasn't able to get a hold.

Wolverine bolted after them as the lycanthrope took off into the trees.

"Boksee!"

Even sprinting at top speed, the mutant couldn't keep up. Tripping and stumbling over the unsteady ground only widened the gap. The sight, then the sound of the boar faded further and further ahead until it was lost completely.

"Fuck!"

Wolverine jogged to a stop and panted in the dark.

"Boksee!" he called one last time.

Silence.

He looked around. He was deep in the forest. Enormous cloven hoofprints were under boot. He still had a scent trail.

"Ok. Boar ain't gonna run forever," he reasoned. "I'll have to find kid later."

Refocusing himself, Logan resumed his pursuit, adopting a long chase jog instead of a sprint.

"Wolverine…"

Logan stopped in his tracks.

He thought he had heard his name.

"Boksee…" called the voice again. It was just barely audible, echoing across the canopy, but he recognized it.

"Kid!" he exclaimed relieved. There he was.

"Can anyone hear me…" continued the voice.

"I hear ya!" he shouted back. "Move this way!"

A light lit in his peripheral.

He turned to see a flickering orange fire bobbing behind the trees.

"Kid?"

He sniffed the air but didn't smell anything.

"Kid? Is that you?" he called stepping off the boar's trail and following the light.

Pushing his way through the branches, he spotted the small flame, like a lamp, bobbing in the darkness ahead.

He squinted, trying to make out who was holding it as he stepped forward. He continued to huff, but he still didn't smell anyone. Wait, he didn't even smell smoke.

"Shit!"

He realized his mistake too late. The fairy light poofed away in a hollow cry as the ground gave way and Wolverine tumbled into a deep cave.

He landed on the rocky floor, busting open his head and blinking out of consciousness. The moon spun high, high over head in his swimming vision. Fae looked down at him over the edge of the towering cave shaft. As his ears stopped ringing, he heard them laughing.

He groaned.

---

A flickering light caught Spider-man's eye.

He, Boksee, and Wolverine had been making their way toward the river. Coming to a stop, he inadvertently let his team go on without him.

He turned to see a small flame in the darkness, and holding that flame was a little girl.

"Oh! Kid! Hey kid. Are you one of the missing children?" he asked starting toward her.

He couldn't see her legs so she could have had anything down there.

The girl pulled away, threatening to vanish into the brush.

"Oh no, no. It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you," he said crouching down. "Wolvie, Boksee," he called quietly, but he didn't see them. They must have kept going. Suddenly the girl took off into the woods.

"Hey!"

Spider-man ran after her. Normally no child or even normal adult would have been able to outpace him, but he was struggling in the dark and dense understory. He tried webbing through the trees but she was changing directions on a dime. He flipped off a trunk as she slid down a hill.

"Sorry kid!"

Before she was completely out of view he hurtled a sticky web blob at her, knocking her clear off her feet and onto her face.

"Oh GOSH! Sorry! Are you ok‽" he cried sliding to catch up with her.

He pulled the child out of the dirt and wiped off her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, you ok?"

He couldn't tell her age but she seemed to be completely human. He noted the scrawny human legs sticking out of her dress. He moved to untangle them from his webbing but stopped. Wait, why could he see? The fire was still glowing but the girl wasn't holding it. Spider-man turned to see a flaming ball floating beside them.

He stared at it confused, then his eyes went wide.

Spider sense!

A tidal wave of trees and dirt and rocks reared over him.

He tackled the kid, flinging them out of the way as the forest came crashing down. A shambling mound, a monster like a moving landslide pulled itself off the ground to look at him. Spider-man clutched the child tight as the muddy behemoth let out a groan, then reluctantly resettled, disappearing back into the forest floor after it's failed ambush.

"Huh."

The girl was squirming against his chest.

"Oh hey, it's ok," said Spider-man trying to calm her. "It didn't get us."

She cried and Spider-man quickly let her down. A burn mark in the shape of an arrow head was blistering on her arm.

"What?" asked Spider-man looking at it, then back to the arrow head pendant around his neck. He put two and two together.

"HEY!"

The girl laughed and freed herself from the remaining web in a gust of green fire. She morphed into some furry black creature and took off running on all fours.

"You stupid fae!" Spider-man shouted chasing after it. He turned around in the dark. "Stupid! I'm so stupid!"

He took off running back in the direction he hoped he had come from.

"Wolvie! Boksee!" he shouted.

Another light. Spider-man turned to see another glowing flame in the dark.

He avoided it and ran the other way. Another lit in his path. Spider-man jumped over it. More lit around him.

Wait? Which way was he going?

"Wolverine! Boksee!"

He spun. Little fires were all around him beckoning him from every angle. It all looked the same!

Taking the only direction left, Spider-man leapt straight up a tree and flung himself up, up until he broke through the canopy. Fae were sent fluttering across the moonlight as he stared out atop the forest. It spanned endlessly past the horizon in all directions. There was no sight of anyone. He didn't even see the river.

"WOLVERINE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "BOKSEE! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME‽"

Spider sense!

He leapt but was ensnared in a set of long bony fingers.

It was like a cloud! A raging storm cloud of grasping limbs and dark feathers, bodies of gaunt skin and black wings! They flocked around him, dozens of hands trying to tear him apart.

"Let go! Get off!" shouted Spider-man as he was pulled into the air. He kicked and webbed as human nails and human teeth bit into him. He couldn't see! They were all swarming too fast. Hands and screaming faces leapt in and out of his vision. One broke his skin and recoiled. He suddenly realized they were all pulling away as his cuts and bites started to bleed. The bandages on his hand were ripped away and the fae let out a unified shriek.

With a hard kick Spider-man was released and tumbled on his back through the trees. His spider sense screamed just in time for him to catch himself on a pair of web lines. He slid into the wet mossy ground with a hard gasp.

"Guh!"

His vision was spinning, but he could make out the storm of black wings still swarming above the canopy, but not daring to come any closer. He could hear them flapping and screaming. Eventually, the forest went quiet.

"Ugh," he groaned letting his head fall back.

After a minute to let his heart slow and his vision clear, the super hero pushed himself to his feet and brushed himself off. A small man with only one large leg hopped in front of him.

"EW!"

Still way too on edge, Spider-man tried to shoo it away splattering his blood across the dirt. The fae creature gave it a disgusted look.

"What bane fills your blood man?" it asked. "Ugly creature."

The one-legged man hopped off on its one fat foot.

"Me ugly? Look who's talking pal!" he shouted after it. Spider-man pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good going Parker. Just great. You fell hook, line, and sinker for that little stunt. Stupid."

He looked around.

He didn't recognize anything. It all looked the same. The same glowing mushrooms. The same towering trees. At least those stupid lights were gone.

Spider-man sighed.

He was covered in nasty little cuts and bites. He pulled up his hand. His gash had been reopened and was freely bleeding anew.

"Well, it looks like you've gotten me out of a few different jams now. I might just leave you out," he said addressing his own injury.

Blood wept across his knuckle.

"Bane blood," he muttered. "What does that even mean? They don't say that about anyone else." He looked to the trees. Not at all to his surprise, they were filled with more fae. These things were everywhere. Pixies and fairies and strange creatures were happy to ignore him as they mucked around in the branches.

"Hey!" he called. A few fae looked at him. "You all seem more than willing to jump into my business. Anyone want to explain to me what bane blood means?"

They gave him a few looks but didn't engage.

"Yah, I should have seen that coming. I hate these stupid things," he grumbled. One threw an acorn at him. "Hey!"

They laughed.

"Yah, whatever," he said waving them off. "Alright focus. I've got to find the others… or should I just try to find my way back to town? Will they be ok without me? If I did, how would they know not to look for me?"

As Spider-man stood thinking out loud, he heard a meow. He turned to see a large house cat sitting in the clearing before him. Well, he would call it a cat, except it had a pair of deer antlers.

"Oh," he said surprised. "Well, you're cute. You're probably just going to try to lead me into my death or something, right?"

The cat shook its head.

"Oh, you're a talking cat. Definitely gonna try to lure me away somewhere."

The cat shrugged, turned, tail in the air and started away.

"Wait!" called Spider-man.

It stopped and looked at him. Every logical part of his brain was saying to just walk away, how could he possibly fall for it again, but some stubborn gut feeling just wouldn't let him.

"Do you know where my friends are?" he asked.

The cat shook its head.

"Do you, do you know what this is about?" he asked holding up his gashed hand.

It bounced like a rabbit and took off through the forest.

"Is that a yes?" called Spider-man chasing after it.

---

Following the cat, Spider-man was led into a dense thicket. Great heaps of ivy and thick walls of moss covered every surface. Every time he thought he had lost it, the cat re-appeared to coax him further.

"Ok kitty cat, I'm starting to think you actually can't talk and I'm just chasing a cat… around."

Pushing through a leafy curtain Spider-man found himself in a ravine.

A beautiful ethereal flower stood before him. It was huge. Its petals glowed in the moonlight. Its center was filled with long glittering stamen. Its leaves, well they were hardly leaves at all. Instead, the twisting stem was branched with transparent and iridescent fronds, lacy like pixie wings.

The antlered cat ran forward and sat before it.

Spider-man cautiously approached.

The entire ravine was filled with glittering ferns. Tiny fae bobbed through the air. They floated around him with curiosity. Even the ferns seemed intrigued by his presence. Their long curling tendrils moved and shifted as he passed. Blood was still dripping from his hand.

Reaching the flower, Spider-man looked to the cat. It didn't say anything, not that he expected it to.

"Um, it's beautiful," he said. "Am I supposed to do something?"

The cat just looked at him.

Turning his attention back to the flower, Spider-man reached out to touch a large soft petal, but before he could lay a finger on it, a drop of blood ran down his hand and fell onto a lacy leaf.

It sizzled.

Spider-man recoiled as the delicate wing not only burned, but vaporized in a caustic, xanthous green smoke. The petals wilted. The stem bubbled and rotted. The entire plant melted away until all that remained was a pulpy sludge.

The cat looked at him.

Fae from the trees and the bushes peeked out to watch.

Spider-man looked at his bleeding gash, then looked down at the pile of sludge that was once the beautiful flower. The sludge, bubbling and green, was suddenly familiar.

"I get it."

The cat nodded and vanished.

Holding his wound to his chest, Spider-man calmly started back out of the ravine.

"Metal burns fae because it's not of nature," he thought watching the cluttered, glowing branches. "It represents everything they aren't. Good, bad, neutral, it's simply the separation and refinement of resources by man."

A pair of pixies were talking to a wilting fern.

"But this world is young, or at the very least, it's novice. Metal is the farthest the people here have pushed past their natural limits."

A fat droplet of blood mushroomed on his hand.

"They haven't even scratched the surface."

The pixies flew away as he passed.

"Imagine for a moment, instead of separating ore from rock, a far-off world could separate the very atoms from molecules, recombine them into plastics, chemicals, pesticides. Imagine if they could separate electrons from atoms. Imagine, if they could separate the atom…from itself."

His blood splattered to the forest floor.

"Now, imagine that this world, whether intentionally or not, gave birth to an entirely new form of life. A lifeform who itself was separated from nature, DNA forged, genetics refined, cells fed with nuclear waste. What if one of these lifeforms somehow found its way into a new world, a world of fae and nature spirits?"

"Well," said Spider-man out loud. "I'd say the fairies probably wouldn't like this lifeform."

He looked down at his hand, then turned to see the dripping trail behind him.

"Because he's got radioactive blood."

The entire ravine was dead.

---

Logan ran through the tunneling cave system. For once he was thankful for the incessant presence of the fairy folk, since their light was the only thing there was to see by. Some horrifying goblin creature jumped out at him.

"Nope."

Without missing a step, Logan threw his claws and sliced the thing in half.

"Try again asshat."

Contorting through a tight gap, he spotted the moonlight gazing through a high opening. It looked big enough to fit through and he had a chance of climbing to it.

"That'll work."

He threw his claws into the stony wall and began ice picking his way to freedom. Another goblin thing leapt on his back.

"HEY!"

Wolverine dropped himself off the wall, landing himself right on the stupid fae. It cried as Logan leapt to his feet and impaled it.

"When I said try again, I didn't actually mean it," he grunted kicking the corpse. "I'm just about sick of these things," he grumbled re-starting his climb.

In a few moments he was at the mouth of the opening, digging and scraping at the dirt to squeeze himself through. Another moment and he was pulling himself into the fresh forest air.

"Ah,"

He took a deep breath, partly with satisfaction, partly to assess the area.

"Mmm…. Yep."

He had no idea where he was. He didn't smell anyone, no boar, no darlin', no kid. He looked around the same endless woods he had left, still misty, eerie, and overbrimming with bizarre creatures.

Ok, maybe if he can figure out where the cave-in happened, he can find the trail.

Trying his best to remember which ways he turned underground, Wolverine back tracked through the woods, or at least he hoped he did.

After some time with no luck, he spotted a slight clearing.

Shoving himself through the underbrush he found himself on a footpath. He didn't know there were paths out here. Not only was it a path, it was a crossroads.

The path forked to the left and the right. Neither side stood out from the other.

Logan huffed the air.

Nothing.

He should be moving to the left right? Or no, right? Oh fuck, who was he kidding? He was lost. If he stayed on a path, he might at least end up somewhere.

Looking both directions one more time for any tell, the mutant shrugged and just picked one for no particular reason.

Before he could take his first step, there was a rustling. He raised his claws.

A pair of women emerged directly from the center of the fork. They were… large, bigger than a normal human, but it would be silly to call them giants. They were absolutely gorgeous. Perfect. Slender curving waists, long black hair, and they were completely nude.

Logan's jaw fell open. All silly concerns of finding his friends or surviving the night were flushed from his brain as his eyes leapt across the figures.

Without question, they walked into his arms. They were so tall that his grinning face was planted directly between their plump pink breasts. His thick hands found their way to the soft, round curves of their hips. Fingers started lacing through his hair.

"Oh fuck," he growled in ecstasy. "Oh, oh fuck!"

He pulled himself away.

"I ain't fallin' for anymore tricks tonight!" he snapped.

The women were completely unphased.

One stepped back and calmly sat right on the center of the crossroad. She leaned back and spread open her legs.

"HOLY! No!"

Logan closed his eyes and turned his head.

"You two better get the fuck out of here," he snarled threatening his claws. "Before I stop playin' nice."

Choosing a direction for no reason, he started down it.

A hand slid over his shoulder, gently pulling him to a stop. A face as soft as down slid across his cheek and breathed into his ear.

"You find us unappealing? Perhaps then, there is something else you desire."

She forced him back around.

"Wealth?" asked her twin. Gold coins rained from her outstretched palms into a fat pile at her feet.

Logan turned away.

"Provisions?"

A table was suddenly spread out before him. It was loaded with sizzling meats, glistening bottles, sweets, and smokes. He could even smell it.

Logan rolled his eyes and stepped around.

One of the women walked across his path.

"Or perhaps," she said running a hand under his chin. "This one truly desires something beyond such carnality."

She put a hand to her chest and pulled out a soft white cloud. Tossing it beside herself, she stepped away allowing it to grow into a flowing white door. Turning to him, she looked the man in the eye, and pushed it open.

Logan scowled at her, then his face fell. What was beyond the door was nothing he could see, or hear, or smell. It was something only he could feel.

It was peace.

Logan clambered toward it, stopping only at the threshold. He took a deep breath, letting the echoes of what lay beyond wash over him. He was a freezing man at the door of an inn, a starving man at the window of a kitchen. How desperate he was for the feeling the door promised, that deep sense of calmness and contentment that he in his entire life had never managed to hold.

A soft face glided down to his.

"No more anger," she whispered. "No more pain." He felt her hot breath in his ear, her lips brushing his skin. "No more sadness, or confusion, or struggle. No more battlefields and nightmares. No more faces half loved and half forgotten."

Wolverine reached out, to move beyond the threshold, but something caught his eye.

His hand was covered in blood.

The mutant stopped and stared at it. He didn't know how it got there. He didn't know who it belonged to. Whose blood was this?

He looked to the door, then back to his hand. He took another deep desperate breath, taking in every last ounce of the peace it offered, then he clenched a bloody fist and turned away.

He moved away from the door and started down his path once again, but startled as he was once again blocked by the women. This time they had changed. They now stood adorned in regal gowns. Side by side, they gazed down at him beaming with pride.

"Well done traveler."

They stepped apart, spreading the very trees along with them. A tunnel through the forest was opened, and at the end was a familiar red and blue figure.

"Kid‽"

"Wolvie?"

Logan bolted through the tunnel reuniting with him.

They embraced at arm's length.

"Holy cow am I glad to see you! Where did you come from?" asked Spider-man.

Logan looked behind him. There was no tunnel. His hand was clean.

"Long story. You alright?" he asked smelling blood. "Where the fuck did you go?"

"I'm fine! Are you? And, sorry, I got tricked."

"Yah?" asked Logan. He sighed. "Yah, me too."

"Wait a minute," said the younger man pulling away. "How do I know you're not just another trick?"

Wolverine gave him a deadpanned look and ejected his claws.

"Those could just be part of the illusion! How did we celebrate your birthday last year? What was the weather like?"

"Why not just ask the date?" asked Logan unimpressed.

"Because I don't remember it," he huffed.

"Well, I got no doubt if it's you or not," said Logan rolling his eyes.

Spider-man glared at him.

"It was snowy," said the mutant crossing his arms. "I tricked you into spending a few hours with me at a bar. You hated it."

"Ok it's you. Unless…" he said leaning in and squinting. "You can read minds?"

Logan whacked him on the head.

"Ow! Yep. Alright. Can't fake an adamantium filled bonk."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Wolverine grinning.

"Oh Wolvie," lamented the younger man. "I saw a man with only one big foot! It was like a hopping land mermaid, except ugly! Oh, and I thought I heard hog squealing. Over that way," he said pointing.

"Couldn't have led with that?"

Wolverine turned and huffed the air.

"Yep, got the scent! Let's go!"

---

It didn't take long. The wind was in their favor and the pair was revitalized. They ran after the scent and swung after the shouts and squeals.

Breaking through the tree line, they landed in a clearing of devastation. A patch of rotten trees was all but splinters and at the center of it, the rampaging boar.

Boksee was clinging for her life atop its back. She had managed to catch a rope under its upper jaw but it was too strong. She pulled and wrenched on the bridal but the boar only kicked and bucked harder. Suddenly the boar reared and brought itself slamming back to the ground. Boksee screamed as she was tossed over her heels and toward its massive jaws.

"Boksee!" cried Spider-man

He threw a line and yanked his teammate violently through the air as the teeth snapped.

"AH!" he cried catching her. "Sorry! Are you ok‽" he exclaimed checking her neck.

"Fine, fine," she said squirming to be put down. She was woozy and spat out some vomit. "By thunder am I glad to see you two. We've got to end this. Now. Catch him and don't hurt him. He's bled bloody well enough for one night."

The boar, panting and drooling, turned to face them.

"One last push men!"

They readied for a final fight, but instead of charging, the boar cowered and took off like a bolt.

"Stop him!"

Spider-man sprung forward and just barely managed to web it around the ankles before it escaped back into the woods. He was in an open field so his moves were limited. His feet were pulled back and forth across the wet mossy ground as the boar sporadically lunged in different directions.

Boksee and Wolverine ran toward its head.

The ranger threw down a torch and started clicking away at a flint and steel. The boar leapt and was just barely held back from crushing her between its teeth. Wolverine jumped forward and scared it the other way.

"Hold him kid!"

"I'm trying!" Spider-man shouted as he was yanked to the side.

"We've got to get him off his feet!" shouted Boksee. "Wolvie, we've gotta scare him!"

Her torch breathed to life and she charged forward waving the flames under the hog's face.

It squalled and tried to run the other way but Logan leapt to cut it off. Teeth bared and shouting he slashed his claws toward its eyes staying it in its tracks.

Taking either side of its face, Wolverine and Boksee closed it in. The boar stomped and snorted but instead of rearing, it hobbled backwards, nearly throwing Spider-man off his feet from the sudden lack of tension.

"This ain't workin'," shouted Wolverine.

Boksee looked to the torch.

"Sorry Dad!"

She smacked the fire right into its snout.

The lycanthrope squealed and reared back in a panic.

"Take it down kid!"

Spider-man released his hold and webbed the boar by the neck. Anchoring deep, he wrenched it backwards. With a bellowing roar the hog tipped, its hind legs slipping out from beneath it, and fell floundering down onto its back.

Before it had a chance to recover, Boksee ran forward. She reclaimed the lost rope and lassoed it by the back ankles. Logan doubled up with her and the pair pulled its legs closed.

Leaping to join them, Spider-man looped a web line around the leg in the front.

"Tie it around his neck Spidey! By the thigh!" shouted Boksee.

Spider-man did as told, spinning his line around the boar and sticking it tight. The single front leg was suddenly drawn up and useless.

He somersaulted to the back and added web to its lassoed ankles.

Cautiously, Wolverine and Boksee let go of the rope.

The web held.

The boar was stuck on its side. With wary optimism, the adventurers approached as it kicked fruitlessly, flopping and biting at the air but unable to pull itself up. With a final web around its muzzle, the lycanthrope was at long last incapacitated.

"Hooay!" shouted Logan. "Nothin' like a good ol' fashion hog tie! Sorry it had to be your old man Darlin," he added with a cavalier grin. The boar snorted and grunted. The three jumped back as it thrashed its back legs and rolled to the other side.

"Old fashion my arse," said Boksee. "You can't do a proper tie with only three legs." She ran her hands over her head and fell to her butt with a flop. "But we got him," she panted. "We got him. Alrighty Dad."

Scooting up to the hog's massive head, she closed her eyes and started muttering a chant. Her hair began to flow and her eyes transformed into those of a boar. She started snorting and grunting with the lycanthrope.

After a few moments the boar started to pacify, and eventually let its head fall to the ground with a thump.

"There's a good man," she said petting the cinnamon fur. "Help me tend to him would you? I'll keep him calm."

Propping the torch against a rock, Wolverine and Spider-man moved to address its injuries. Spider-man pulled some gauze, while Wolverine pulled an arrow straight out of the boar's back. It flailed and Boksee rushed to calm it.

"OH! But don't touch the blood!" she exclaimed.

"Now you tell me," grumped Wolverine tossing the arrow. He checked for blood but he was clean.

There was a lot of damage around his neck, huge deep slices in the thick blubbery flesh.

"I won't be able to dress these properly if I can't touch them," said Spider-man opting to pull thick sheets of webbing over the wounds instead of bandaging them.

"It's alright. We just need to hold him over till we get him to Boar Bramble."

The boar started huffing in clear whimpering distress.

Wolverine sighed and gave the boar a few pats himself.

"It's alright guild man. We know you didn't ask for any of this." He turned to Boksee. "So, what's the plan?"

"Dig in our heels, and hold out till morning," she replied.

"You don't want to even try to get him back to the village tonight?" asked Spider-man.

"Unless you can carry a five-ton hog, I don't see how we could."

"I mean, I could," he replied.

Boksee looked up surprised.

"Oh. Oh yah. Uh, I still don't think it's a good idea. We'd be too vulnerable."

"Darlin's right," said Logan. "We've got dangerous cargo, injured, and we're deep behind enemy lines. Some nights, it's safer to just bunker down."

"Yah, ok."

"Besides, we don't want him near the town anyway," added Boksee.

"Better get comfortable," gruffed Wolverine leaning against the boar. "And by comfortable, I mean don't you dare let your guard down. We've got a long night ahead of us."

He looked to the dark forest.

Large fae flapped overhead.

---

Hours passed.

Always overhead, as if watching down at the world below, the strawberry moon slowly lilted across the sky, small and pale at its peak then descending heavy and red past the horizon. At long last, the fiery orange sun began to rise through the forest. Warm golden light danced through the bright green leaves and glistened in the fallen dew. Instead of fae, birds fluttered across the sky.

Wolverine groaned and stretched. He hadn't been sleeping exactly, but the team had all been rotating through various stages of semiconsciousness. With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet.

The boar was gone.

In its place Boksee Sr., naked and bloody laid limply in the loose webbing.

"Ughghg," he groaned as he started pushing himself from the ground.

"Gah!" exclaimed Boksee Jr. "Dad don't get up!" she cried covering her eyes.

"I'm on it!" said Spider-man.

He scrambled forward, grabbing some of the discarded webbing, and wrapped it thick around the older man's waist.

Boksee Sr., still a bit disoriented, looked down in surprise.

"Oh, th-thank you son."

"It's safe," declared Spider-man.

"Phew, yah thanks Spidey," said Boksee Jr. "I didn't fancy going blind. Are you alright Dad?"

He didn't quite respond, only making a few unintelligible grunts.

Spider-man moved behind him and reapplied some webbing to his much smaller back. Boksee Jr. rummaged through her pack.

"Here Dad," she said handing him a health potion. "This should get you back to Boar Bramble at least."

Boksee Sr. took it with a shaky grip and quickly downed it. He snarled in pain, gasping and panting, before relaxing.

"Ah, that's much better," he breathed. "Thank you love."

He looked around their ruined surroundings.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked spotting the bandages on his daughter and Spider-man. "Any one bitten?"

"We're all alright Dad."

"Logan, when did you get here?"

Before he replied, Boksee Jr. answered for him.

"He's been with us all night."

"What? But…"

"He's not a lycanthrope Dad."

The guild master looked at him astounded. Then he looked to his daughter and to Spider-man who both nodded.

"Blow me down," he muttered.

"Maybe next time you'll listen when someone tells you somethin' instead of hidin' your head up your ass." Wolverine chided with a puffed chest and a bite of spite.

"Wolverine!" scolded Boksee Jr. defensively.

"It's alright Junior. I might deserve it."

"And, I mean, he did hurt Wolvie's feelings," added Spider-man.

"He did not!" snapped Logan.

The ranger bit back a chuckle.

Logan huffed.

"Whatever, so, you wanna explain why the fuck you were givin' me such a hard time about being a werewolf now?" he asked Boksee Sr. "You know, since you are one."

"Wereboar," said Spider-man and Boksee Jr.

"I don't care!"

"I wasn't trying to give you a hard time," said the guild master innocently. "Us lycanthropes have to stick together, you know? I was trying to watch out for you. Make sure you didn't accidently eat a village or something."

Logan face palmed.

"Help me up, would you son?" asked Boksee Sr. to Spider-man.

The youngest man crouched down and offered an arm. The guild master used him to lever himself to his feet.

"Agh, agghh," he groaned at the pain. "Th-thank you lad," he said carefully straightening himself to his full height. "Well," he said with a deep breath. "I guess the big secret's out."

"Guess so," said Wolvie with a smug shrug.

"Yes sir," continued Boksee Sr., "Looks like you boys finally got your answer about the mud crabs."

Spider-man and Wolverine baulked.

"Wh-what?" asked Spider-man.

"Come on then. Junior, lead us home."

"Sure thing. You know, you really have no idea how lucky you are that I'm a ranger," she sassed.

"I was never lucky child. What I am is blessed."

"Aw."

Arm and arm, the father and daughter chuckled as they walked by.

Spider-man and Wolverine just stood there.

"Bu…But that didn't explain anything," stuttered Spider-man.

Logan just shook his head.

"Yah," he sighed defeated. "Come on."

"But that didn't explain anything!"

---

The merry midday sun shone down on the singular street of Boar Bramble. Flower petals were being swept away and a few men were cleaning up the remains of the bonfire.

"Happy Midsummer druid!" called a villager as her kids waved.

Nih's ears perked in happiness.

"Happy Midsummer," he returned with a slight bow as he continued on his way.

"Nih!"

The dark elf turned to see Wyn catching up with him.

"Oh, good morning Wyn, or should I say, good afternoon? Did you have a good Midsummer's Eve?"

"I did. Did the kids find the fern flower?" she asked with a smirk.

"Of course not," said Nih smiling.

"But they were so excited to have a druid in town! You couldn't have at least found a convincing flower for them?"

"I am not one to give false hope of eternal youth and riches."

Wyn just shook her head.

"Did you have any success with your assessment of the seasons?" he continued.

"Like anyone could get any work done on Midsummer's Eve."

Nih chuckled.

Wyn cleared her throat.

"Speaking of which," she muttered quietly. "You wouldn't be able to, uh, mix up some of that hangover remedy, would you?"

The elf's ears perked.

"Boksee!" shouted a voice. "Cuckoo Bird!"

They turned to see Nona running past them.

Wolverine, Spider-man, and the Boksees were making their way up the street.

"Men!" exclaimed Wyn excited.

Nona scuttled up to her family, and moved to hug her husband.

"Careful hun! I'm bloody," he said keeping her at bay and holding her hand instead.

"Bloody? I knew you'd get yourself into all sorts of trouble on Midsummer. What happened?"

"We'll fill you in on the details later Ma," said Boksee Jr. "Will you take him to the healers?"

"Sure darling. I'll take it from here."

"What? Like I can't walk a few more yards by myself?" asked the battered guild master staggering down the street.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," said Nona chasing after him.

"Good luck Ma!" called Boksee Jr. "Shire's blessing!"

Wyn and Nih stepped up to the remaining adventurers.

"Oh, hey Wyn, hey Nih," said Spider-man.

"Snail ears," said Nih happily. "I missed you at the festivities."

"Where have you all been?" asked Wyn. "You all look like shit," she laughed.

"It wasn't the best night," said Spider-man rubbing an eye.

"Glad we caught you two," said Wolverine. "We gotta talk to you about somethin'". He looked to Boksee and Spider-man. They both nodded.

He turned back to Wyn and Nih.

"We need your help."

The End.