Peter Parker

I didn't know how long I was out for. It could have been years for all I knew. I know sometimes people talk about having dreams or visions while they were in a coma. I didn't get that. I didn't get anything like that. I might as well have been in hibernation. When I came to, the only thing I could make out were the lights shining down from the ceiling. They blinding. I groaned as I closed my eyes suddenly. Slowly, I opened my eyes again. The little I could see was rather blurry. I sat up. I groaned as I did so. I felt stiff.

"Easy there, Spidey," a voice said. Why did she sound familiar? I blinked a couple of times as I looked around the room. My eyes adjusted slowly. "I'm over here." Eventually, my eyes were able to make out a woman sitting in a chair. She was wearing a lab coat and a pair of black pants. She was a Black woman with brown dreadlocks that seemed to be tied back in a ponytail. She had on a pair of glasses. She smiled at me. "Nice to see you back in the land of the conscious."

"…Who are you?" I asked. I turned my body, groaning as I did so. I turned until my feet were hanging over the edge of the bed and I was fully facing her.

"I'm Dr. Cecilia Reyes, medical doctor, surgeon, agent of SHIELD…" She stood up. I looked at her warily as she walked up to me. I gulped as she leaned forward and whispered into my ear. "…and your teammate." She straightened herself up and smiled ad me.

I tilted my head. "I think… I remember you. You were the one who talked to me before I went under, weren't you?" Cecilia nodded. "And you're also an… you know…?"

"Yes, I am that. I've been overlooking your recovery since you got here. Do you remember what happened to you?"

I looked down at the floor in thought. I was coming up blank at first. Then the memories started to slowly come back to me.

"…I was on my way to work," I began. I looked up at Cecilia. "…I was coming off a rather rough night. Scott wanted me to give Spider-Man a break… and I wanted to as well. But then I saw a crime happen. I changed into my suit." I narrowed my eyes for a moment. "I… I want to say it was a police chase or something like that. I was on way to help out… but then that woman… the one covered in flames… she intercepted me. We fought. I thought I had the upper hand at first. But… somehow… she was burning me without even using her fire. It went downhill from there. The last thing I remember is her flying away before J-, I mean… Frenzy came on to the scene." I sighed. "…How bad was it, Doc?"

"…Very bad," Cecilia replied. "I could go into specifics, but the only thing you need to really know is that had it not been for your abnormal healing factor, you would have been six feet under before you even got here. The problem was, because of that and your accelerated metabolism, treating your injuries was next to impossible. Unfortunately, finding a pharmacy specializing in medicine for those of the superhuman nature is extremely hard to come by. So, we had to put you in a medically induced coma for your own good. Side note, I'm pretty sure you justified the anesthesiologist demand for a raise. Anyway, because of your situation, Scott had to find a healer in Teterboro. It was a good thing he did, too. Your condition did not just vastly improve – it was reversed. How are you feeling?"

I took a moment to think about it. I stood up. I grimaced. "I feel a bit stiff, like I just got out of bed," I said. I then raised my eyebrows. "I guess technically, I did." I looked down at my body. I saw I was in a hospital gown. I stretched my arms and cracked my back. "But… I feel good." I looked back at Cecilia. "If nothing else, I feel a whole lot better than I felt after I faced that woman."

Cecilia smiled at me. "I'm glad to hear that."

"So can I go home?"

She shook her head. "Not yet."

I raised my eyebrows. "Why not?"

"All will be explained in due time. But for now, sit tight. I'm going to have to grab some clothes for you, as well as a mask." After she said that, I touched my face with my hands. Yup, I was without a mask this whole time. Then again, I guess I should've known. "There's someone who wants to see you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"You'll see."

A few minutes later, I was walking through the halls. I was dressed in black sweats (hoodie and all), a pair of black sneakers, and a black ski mask. I stayed quiet as I let Cecilia lead me through the halls of what I assumed was a SHIELD facility. We passed by several people along the way. All of them went about their business, with only a few people regarding us with nothing more than a glance. A part of me wondered if they knew that Spider-Man was in their midst. And if they did, do they even care? Anyway, Cecilia led me to an elevator. After pulling out a keycard and placing it against a scanner, the elevator opened. We stepped inside. She pressed the button. The elevator ascended.

"…So, how long have you known Scott for?" I asked. I just wanted to break the silence.

"Years," Cecilia replied. "I joined the X-Men after they helped out in a situation in Puerto Rico when I was visiting family there. They needed someone at the Xavier Institute on the medical staff with my expertise and someone who could provide emergency care in the field. After the X-Men split, I was offered a position in SHIELD. I was going to turn it down, but Scott urged me to join. So I did." She scoffed. "Low key, I think Scott liked the idea of having someone on the inside." She looked over at me. "Not that I minded, I just wish he was a bit more open about those kind of things."

I chuckled. "Scott does move in silence at times."

"Like the 'g' in lasagna."

The elevator reached its destination. When the doors started to open, I expected to see more metal halls. And I did. However, as we stepped out, I smelled the scent of chlorine. Cecilia walked past me. A split second later, I followed. I didn't expect the hallway to lead to an Olympic-sized pool, complete with lanes and a small diving board. But that's what I saw when Cecilia and I walked through the double doors at the end. I stood there and took everything in until I saw someone sitting with their back towards me. The one thing that stuck out was the tail the person had. It looked like a scorpion's tail with a shiny black exoskeleton. I watched as it swayed slowly from left and right.

I was about to take a step forward, but I hesitated. I looked over at Cecilia. She smiled at me and nodded. I looked back towards the mysterious figure. I then walked towards them. As I moved closer, they started to look familiar. I stopped a few feet short of them.

"Um… hi," I said. They turned their head and looked over their shoulder at me. I saw their… her green eyes. That's when I realized who it was. "…Carmilla?"

I heard the sound of water splashing as she turned and stood up. I looked down briefly to see that her feet were wet. I looked back at her. She walked up to me. She grabbed the bottom of my mask and lifted it up until my face was exposed. She smiled widely at me before she pulled my masked back down. She then pulled me into a tight hug. Without hesitation, I reciprocated the hug, matching her intensity as she rocked me back and forth.

"Long time, no see, Little Arachnid," she said happily.

"Millie, you're okay!" I replied. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I am. Sorry for worrying you."

I scoffed. "I'm the one that should be sorry." I pulled away from her and frowned. "I… I feel like I let you down."

Carmilla gave me a look. "You didn't."

"But –"

She grabbed me by the shoulders. "Peter, what is this about? Is this about what happened in Phoenix or is this about what happened to Craig?"

My eyes went wide. "You know about that?"

"I knew about it for days. Did you not think Scott and I keep in contact? Look, I don't blame you for Phoenix and I don't blame you for Craig being kidnapped. We all get caught slipping on missions and I should've had my head on a swivel when I made that call. And as far as Craig goes, you and David did the best you could, and you managed to take down an international criminal in the process. So stop blaming yourself. You didn't let me down. Okay?"

"Okay." I still wasn't convinced, but there was no point in continuing this discussion.

"Good. Now take your shoes and socks off and dip your feet in the water with me. I bet you have questions."

I looked at her tail. "Yes. Yes I do."

Some seconds later, Carmilla and I were sitting next to each other on the edge of the pool with our feet in the water. The water was rather cool. I actually felt myself relax a bit.

"So what's the deal with that?" I said, nodding towards the tail.

Carmilla brought her tail around and laid it across both of our laps, taking care to make sure the stinger was hanging over my right leg and the point of it was in the tile. "So, there was MGH in that syringe," she explained as I looked down on it. "And my body reacted to it by… growing a new appendage."

I looked at her. "Is that normal?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, maybe not. The effects of MGH are supposed to be temporary. I guess I'm a special case. I don't know if it's because of my X-gene or if it's because of my genetic alterations. It might be both for all I know. Not even the docs here can figure it out." I nodded. I then looked back down at the tail. "You want to touch it?"

"…I do."

"Go ahead." With her consent given, I brought my right hand down on the appendage. The exoskeleton was mostly smooth, with the exception of the spikes and the few hairs on it. When my fingers passed over the hairs, I heard Carmilla suddenly breathe in. I quickly pulled my hand away, worried that I was causing her discomfort. "It's fine, Peter. Those are just my sensory hairs. I'm still getting used to the feeling of it."

I nodded as I looked at her. "But you're okay, right?"

"I am. But are you okay? Am I'm not talking physically." The question caught me off guard. I was given pause. "Look, Scott told me you were having a rough go of things even before you ended up here." I remained silent. "Talk to me."

"It's a long story."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know we were on a schedule." She glared at me slightly. "Seriously, talk to me."

I sighed. "…Michelle and I… we're not on good terms."

She raised her eyebrow at me. "You didn't try to force things, did you?"

I shook my head. "No. After what happened in Phoenix, Ned was hanging out with me to make sure I was okay. And then Liz – someone I knew before The Spell and Ned still knows – called up Ned and asked him if he wanted to eat lunch on her dime since she was in town. When Ned said he was with me at the moment, she said she would cover me too. So, Ned and I headed over. But we were literally across the street from the place when Liz called Ned and cancelled. I thought it was weird, but it was whatever. But then, some seconds later, Ned and I saw Michelle walking out of the restaurant with Brad, laughing with him."

"Brad?" Carmilla asked. "…You mean the same Brad who tried to pull some slimy shit to break you and MJ up at the Valentine's Day Dance at Midtown?"

"The same one," I confirmed. "She saw me and Ned standing across the street. I didn't say a word. I just went home straight after that, with Ned going with me to keep an eye on me. Fast forward to the night that David and I caught Chameleon. When I was home, Scott called me and told me that Michelle, Betty, and another person – Mercury – had a situation at Hammer Industries."

"So I heard. And you ended up rescuing them."

"I did. I took Michelle home while Mercury escorted Betty. When I got to the roof of Michelle's building, we got into an argument. I didn't want to argue, but she threw The Spell in my face. So I called her out for her breaking up with me over feelings of distrust she has towards me but being okay with having lunch with Brad, the same Brad who stalked me and Kitty and snapped a picture of us in the bathroom to make us look bad so he can have Michelle for himself. And what really pissed me off was when she tried to make it seem like I was only jealous of her being happy without me. So, I basically told her that she'd never have to see me again after this situation is over."

"…Shit." Carmilla tilted her head. "Did you mean that?"

"…I don't know. All I know was that I was just so upset over everything – the breakup, Craig being MIA, another person wanting my head, Beck still being alive… Phoenix." I sighed. "And the next day happened. I got into another fight with the woman on fire. She did me worse than our first fight – a lot worse. And that's how I ended up here." I shook my head. "When are we heading back?"

"I don't know."

I furrowed up my eyebrows in confusion. "You don't know?"

"I don't know. Things have taken a turn recently."

"In what way?"

"Beck made his presence known."

My eyes went wide. "Excuse me?" I whispered out.

"Yeah, it surprised me, too," Carmilla replied. "Sometime after you were put in a coma, Beck showed up to Peter Pan while MJ was nearing the end of her shift. He confirmed that he has all of his pre-Spell memories. Not only that, he gave MJ an ultimatum – either she gives up the identities of the X-Men, or she, Ned, and Betty would be arrested on anti-Accords charges, along with their respective families and others close to them. And if they somehow beat the charges, he promised to make sure their lives would be so ruined that they can't even find a job to make any kind of living afterwards. Oh, and he gave her a two week deadline."

"…I… I'm sorry, can he do that?!"

"Apparently he can." Carmilla paused for a moment. "Oh… shit… I forgot to mention that, allegedly, he's backed by the U.S. Government. He's also working with the woman in flames."

I took in a breath. "So what are we supposed to do? Just wait around until Scott has a plan?"

"Pretty much."

"And you're okay with this?!"

Carmilla glared at me. "I'm not okay with any of this. But what other option do we have? Beck's been hiding underneath everyone's radar, only popping up when he wants to. Craig is still out there somewhere, and I have no idea if he's alive or not. And that woman in flames got the best of you twice, with the second time resulting you having to be put in a medically induced coma! Scott literally had to grab someone with ridiculously advanced healing powers to help you! And thank God for that, because had it not been for that guy, Joanna, Betty, and MJ, you probably would've been dead!"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but what does Betty and Michelle has to do with me being alive?"

"Betty called MJ when you didn't show up to work. During that call, news of your fight with that woman in flames made rounds. MJ used Ned to get herself and Joanna to the Bunker. Then they rushed over to where you were at. So, yeah, you kind of owe them all one – a huge one." I took a moment to digest those words. "Look, I know it's a shitty situation, but it's one that's pretty delicate, especially since it's our friends lives that our in the balance. We have to tread carefully here."

I wanted to argue against her. I couldn't. She was right. I sighed in defeat.

"I hate this," I said.

Carmilla didn't say anything. I felt an arm around my shoulders before I felt a hand on the side of my head. Carmilla pulled me close until my head was on her shoulder. I didn't bother trying to pull away. I just sat there in silence.

I couldn't help but think about what Carmilla just told me, about Michelle having a hand in saving my life. I don't know why, but it made me feel… Well, I didn't know how to feel. There was a part of me that was happy she still cared. There was another part of me – a more cynical side of me – that was thinking that she was just trying to get into my good graces after what she did so I wouldn't be mad at her. Which part of me was right? I couldn't tell at the time. I huffed out a frustrated breath. Now wasn't the time to think about it. We had to deal with Beck first.

And then, maybe, Michelle and I would talk afterwards.