Chapter 4: They're Here . . .

I kind of like how this chapter goes all over the place.

Sometimes I can't believe it took me this long to write a fantasy type story again. I grew up on fantasy, but this is only the third fantasy thing I've written and the 2nd I've posted anywhere.

Before the attack:

Ned was bouncing restlessly on the sofa, taking in the scene before him with wide eyes.

May Parker, adoptive mother of his best friend and a woman Ned had known forever, was sitting in the living room discussing her nephew's internship progress with none other than Tony Stark, adoptive mentor of Ned's best friend and a dude Ned had been a fan of since forever.

This may be a gathering for Peter, but Ned was also having the time of his life just existing here.

"He completed the project already?" May was asking, not entirely surprised, but pleased nonetheless. "But I thought he was only working on a small part of it?"

"Yeah, I started him off on the smaller problem of figuring out what thickness of silicon worked best on the electrodes, but he read some papers and synthesized a MOF that worked infinitely better. After that I set him to work on the mechanics of movement, getting the armor to move more fluidly. He whipped up some variant of his web fluid and embedded it with the nanotech, making what I'm pretty sure is the strongest most flexible material in the world. Tests are ongoing. So after that I trained him in the rest of the software and just gave him free range to work on whatever peaked his interest."

Ned grinned. He had helped Peter access some of the research papers and government patents that helped him invent those things. The web fluid formula was still entirely Peter's own though. It was so awesome to hear Peter working on all those amazing things! He was even working on a better Iron Spider suit! And he'd asked Ned to help him with the software! (Peter could engineer circles and rhombicosidodecahedrons around anyone, but he still couldn't reach Ned's level of understanding with computers.)

"I appreciate you encouraging him," May said. "But is that safe? Does anyone check in on him when he works?"

Tony laughed. "I'm there with him the whole time. Everything's fine! Besides, the kid's a natural at everything."

May looked torn. "That's all wonderful, but don't you think it's a bit much for him? Are you sure it's not too advanced? I want him to succeed, but I also don't want him to burn himself out too soon."

Tony sobered. "I get it. I promise I'm doing my best to pace him, but he also has so much enthusiasm. I don't want him to be bored to death either."

"I suppose . . ." May fiddled with her hair. "Ned, do you know if Peter feels overwhelmed by the internship?"

Ned almost choked on the chips he was snacking on. This was not a debate he wanted to be at the center of. Because both sides had good points. Peter had been so bored and frustrated in the beginning when he'd only been given small tasks. That's why he went above and beyond and redesigned the whole thing. But Peter was also tired. He had a tendency to dive headfirst into things and not resurface until the issue was solved. The newfound freedom in lab had come with sleepless nights.

In other words, it was a lot like how Midtown High and Spider-Manning had first been for Peter. Once they began, he poured everything into them, into studying, practicing, understanding new social interactions he'd previously avoided. Then eventually he reached a sort of equilibrium where he had protocols to deal with recurring things, leaving more time for more difficult or simply personal things.

"Well . . ." Ned shifted in his seat. "I think Pete hasn't been this happy since he got into Midtown. He's super excited about everything. Maybe give him some time for the newness to wear off?"

May nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose . . ."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't worry! Trust me, I was bored as hell—"

"Language."

"—Bored as heck when I was a kid. Why do you think I made so many bad decisions? Keeping Pete busy will keep him out of trouble." Tony grinned easily, but the grin disappeared instantly when an alarming noise came from his Stark Watch. He cursed. May didn't chastise him for it this time.

"Is something wrong?" May asked, worried now. Ned was too. Was there some new interdimensional threat to deal with? Alien attack? Another disagreement among the Avengers?

"Pete's in danger." Tony stood, rushing to the door. "The bio-tracker in his web shooters is going crazy. Something's not right. Imma go get him." And Tony was gone. Soon after, the muffled hum of his thrusters could be heard outside.

May and Ned sat in stunned silence. What could have happened to Peter on such an almost normal day?

After the attack:

Before Michelle even had a chance to knock, Ned opened the door. She entered the apartment, immediately getting set upon by Ms. Parker herself.

"Hey there are you okay? Are you hurt? My goodness those are going to become bruises later! I have some bandages to cover up that cut. Does it feel like anything is broken? Tony said nothing looked broken on the scan, but I just want to be sure."

Michelle had seen Ms. Parker before at a handful of student events, but this was the first time they interacted. She felt ill-prepared for this conversation. She hadn't profiled Peter's aunt yet. But that was ridiculous. She didn't need to understand everyone's psyche before talking to them.

"I'm alright," Michelle replied quietly before clearing her throat and speaking more firmly. "Nothing seems broken. Just bruised and a little cut up. I would appreciate a few bandages."

Mrs. Parker nodded and grabbed a first aid kit that had already been set out on the kitchen counter nearby. Michelle held her hand out to take the box, but instead Mrs. Parker cleaned the wounds herself. A fact poked at Michelle's mind. Ms. Parker was a nurse, wasn't she? That shouldn't mean much, but knowing why she was taking the initiative made Michelle feel better. Calmer.

"Tony said you know something about Peter?" Mrs. Parker locked eyes with her for a moment, questioning and judging at once.

To be safe, Michelle glanced pointedly at Ned. "Does he know too?"

"Yeah, I know," Ned said. "But do you know?"

"Peter is Spider-Man. That's why he was attacked. The man knew too."

The roll of bandages slipped from May's hand. "He knew?"

"Yes, and he was magic and he said he needed Peter's spider blood for something. I don't know what."

"His blood?" Ms. Parker's face paled. "Tony didn't mention anything about blood."

Michelle felt bad for making her worry, but she believed in telling the truth. Stark would have to tell Ms. Parker soon anyway. There was no way Peter, superpowers or not, could heal from that sort of blood loss within a few hours. "It was like an Aztec ritual. Peter was knocked out, his arms were slit, and the man collected the blood."

"I—I'm sorry, I need to sit down for a moment . . ." May stumbled backwards. Ned helped guide her to the nearest chair.

"Okay," Ned said, voice pitched high. "Okay, so that's a lot to take in. But Mr. Stark has patched Pete up before, so I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll have an update soon. For now, how about I finish patching you up while we go over the rules of being a friend of Spider-Man?"

Michelle looked at him. She didn't really have friends, and she knew for a fact that knowing such an important secret about someone didn't automatically make you friends. But maybe the phrase was just a code name for anyone who knew Peter's secret. It was obviously important to have everyone agree to a set of rules to keep Peter's identity safe. "Okay, tell me everything."

The rules were more than Michelle had expected, and about Peter's safety in more ways than she'd imagined.

Kraven finished marking the runes with the mixed blood of previous Spiders he had encountered. There was still a good amount left, but not enough to redo all the runes, so he was precise in his placement. Then he stood in the middle circle, placing the golden bowl in the very center. He poured the blood of this world's Spider into the bowl and put more on his hands to add more runes in the sand nearby.

The book floated in front of him. He had to recite the words carefully. This was it. He was finally so close to achieving his goals!

As he intoned the words, he forced magic into them, giving his voice the quality of a reverse echo. The runes began to glow, and the bowl of blood began to boil. He refilled it when too much had evaporated away. The process of boiling and replacing was done several times until what was left in the bowl was dark and viscous. He stopped the boiling there. He had learned his lesson after spawning that parasitic species from his first trial, though that might have also been caused by his distance from the center of the Web.

Finally it was time to speak his intention.

"Hear me, Great Weaver, and heed my call! I summon you down to this strand of your Creation! Take human form so I may know you, and land near so I may greet you! The blood of your kith and kin will bind you here until we can reach an agreement! That is the will and rite of the Blood Oath!"

He extended one arm and dunked his hand fully into the bowl. Pulling it back up, a trail of the thickened blood stretched from his hand to the bowl. He held his hand out, palm facing forward. There was a glow and a pressure against his hand, and when he pulled it away, a black bloody handprint was left in midair, in the ether.

The deed was done. The Weaver was here.

Now the true hunt could begin.

Tony wasn't a medical doctor, but he might as well be one after all the times he healed himself or the other Avengers from unusual wounds. And sometimes he just helped them maintain their unusual health. Like Steve's massive appetite or Bruce's occasional Hulk Hangovers. Lately he had been busy figuring out how to care for Peter. The boy had a metabolism to rival Thor's, the strength of the Hulk, more agility and flexibility than even Natasha's years of training could achieve, and enough spider DNA to legally classify him as a mutant.

So far, Tony had developed most of the bare minimum needed to keep Peter alive and healthy. One of those things, thankfully, was a blood generator. Peter had very unique blood with a small percentage of hemocyanin mixed in with all the usual stuff. Hemocyanin was like the spider equivalent of hemoglobin, carrying around oxygen. There were many biochemical differences between the two, but somehow they worked fine together in Peter's system. They did not work fine in other human systems however, so Tony took some stem cells and made a machine that could generate Peter's special combo whenever he needed a blood infusion.

An interesting little factoid was that these two molecules had different colors based on oxygenation. Hemoglobin was normally blue until oxygen bound to it, making it the deep red everyone was familiar with. Hemocyanin, on the other hand, was actually colorless in its natural state and turned blue on binding with oxygen.

Thankfully, Peter's percentage of hemocyanin was small enough that his blood looked pretty normal, maybe just a shade darker in hue if anyone really cared to look. And who liked to stare at blood anyway?

Tony was forced to watch the blood flow through the clear tubing, making sure everything was running smoothly and the production rate matched the flow rate. Dr. Cho was in charge of the patient himself, placing the needles in the correct locations under his skin. Within minutes of arriving, Peter was fully hooked up to replenish all the blood he had just lost.

Once he was sure everything was properly set, Tony took a step back and took a deep breath.

"I think we caught him in time," Dr. Cho said as she read the various screens relaying Peter's vitals. "He definitely lost far too much blood, but since he was unconscious his heartrate never spiked from stress. Once he replenishes enough blood his body will naturally begin healing itself."

"What about the head wound?" Gosh Tony was out of breath. He was too old for this.

"Superficial only. I'll give him stitches to keep it closed until he begins to heal."

"When will that be?"

"I'd wager late tonight. He should be awake by morning, though he'll have to stay under bedrest for at least forty-eight hours."

Tony sighed in relief.

That was when the alarm went off.

Tony felt like his blood froze over. Not that alarm!

"Boss, a spacetime rift has been detected on Earth, within one hundred miles of New York," Friday reported. "There were no cameras in the vicinity. However, I have begun monitoring every camera in the radius around the breach site in order to . . ."

Despite the potential for a rift like that to be a world threat, Tony stopped paying attention to Friday because Peter gasped in pain and the blood generator began beeping its own alarm. Peter jerked harshly, ripping the needles from his skin. Dark red blood leaked from the needles. Deep purple blood leaked from Peter's arms.

Tony cursed. "Friday, end the report. Take this sample of Peter's blood and analyze its composition for me." He took the nearest piece of gauze and soaked it in the purple blood, setting it onto one of Friday's sensors built specifically for the Med Bay.

Friday took only a few seconds to answer. "The blood sample remains similar to previous records except the percentage of hemocyanin has increased from 4% to 42%."

"Flush out the machine and have it make new blood with those exact specifications." The blood generator made a horrible noise as it was emptied and cleaned with sterilized saline.

"Stark," Dr. Cho called out. "Look at this."

Tony turned around, heart skipping a beat when he saw that Peter's eyes were open. At first glance it was great! Peter was awake! But upon closer inspection, his eyes were jet black.

"They're here," Peter muttered softly. Tony's heart hurt from how weak he sounded. "The Weaver—they're here. I have to go—"

"No, no, no, no!" Tony quickly held Peter down. It was far easier than it should have been. "I don't care who's here, you're not going anywhere!"

"But they're here—I have to be there—Have to help them—They're looking—"

Was it a coincidence that this was happening to Peter right after some interdimensional being entered their little neck of the cosmos? It might be. Knowing this kid, he always found some way to get involved in things. "How about you tell me about this Weaver. Do you know who they are? Where they are? I'll go check on them for you."

Peter seemed to be staring into his eyes, but it was hard to tell when everything was black. He didn't seem entirely lucid. "But they need me—they—" He stopped begging, head tilting slightly, like he was listening. "Oh, never mind." Peter slumped forward in Tony's arms, passed out again.

Tony held him there, hugging Peter to his chest as Dr. Cho prepped the machines for infusion again.

This kid was going to be the death of him. (But when he thought it in his head, the first 't' of the sentence wasn't there.)