Reticent Monsters (Ultimate Spider-Man - Cartoon)

*Chapter 6: 45 Minutes

It was well into 15 minutes of Peter's "personal response analysis session" that his voice started coming back. It was kind of nice, and Peter would have appreciated it a lot more if he didn't have a maniacal Hydra boss hacking at his flesh like a crazy chef.

To be honest, the first 5 minutes were hell enough for him, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell Crossbones no matter how hard he tried, (hardy-har-har - sometimes he amused himself).

Crossbones used the first 3 minutes to meticulously carve out the spider-emblem in Peter's costume, before prying the blood-soaked fabric away with two pinched fingers and flicking it on the tray that held, Peter assumed, an assortment of other "toys" Crossbones planned to use on him.

"Since you're probably new to torture," Crossbones had hummed, casually twirling the knife's tip into the spider-shaped hole exposing Peter's chest, "I won't go to extremes with you – though it would be fun to see how long it took for you to cave-in and spill your guts. For now, we'll just stick to some old-fashioned slicing and dicing. That fine with you?" he chuckled when Peter didn't – couldn't – respond and tapped the knife against Peter's nose.

Peter was just getting the hang of breathing normally again, but now his breaths were coming out quick, hitching every time Crossbones brought the knife back down. His senses were going on overload in his panic; his body in its own attempts to find a way out of its predicament. But all it did was leave every detail, every sensation, and every sound as overwhelming and sharp as Crossbone's weapon.

Crossbones traced the skin around Peter's lips before dipping the tip into his mouth. It's sharp edge found the corner of his mouth and Peter automatically froze, breath fogging the clean parts of the blade as his breathing quickened.

In his time as Spider-Man, Peter had come across people with peculiar scars on their faces. One, in particular, was a long, thin scar from the corners of the victim's mouth that reached across their cheeks, all the way up to their ears, giving off the creepy imitation of a smile. The Cheshire Grin, he had come to know it was called. At least, that was one of the names it went by.

For a moment, Peter had the terrible thought that Crossbones was going to do that to him. Slice his face into a permanent grin, one that would stay put no matter what Peter thought or felt. It'd be a scar he wouldn't be able to cover with his clothes, and even with make-up, it would be hard to hide.

The edge of the knife cut in closer and Peter could taste blood and feel something wet trickle down his chin. His brain was already conjuring the sharp, intense pain of the blade cutting through his face when Crossbones pulled away.

He'd taken the next minute to observe Peter's pale face, heaving chest, and bleeding mouth. The cut wasn't deep, just a small knick to the corners of his lips, but it left Peter's mind reeling in alarm.

Crossbone's chuckled once to himself and picked up a smaller knife.

Then, for the next few minutes, Crossbones etched swirling, meaningless patterns into Peter's arms and chest, digging the knife in a little deeper each time. Since the top of his costume was already in tatters, Crossbones had no qualms with tearing it off so he had a better view of his canvas. Still, no matter where the knife punctured, Peter noticed that it was never somewhere fatal.

Regardless, he writhed uncontrollably under the cruel ministrations, his cries unheard for the most part, as pained tears prickled in his eyes. A few stray drops rolled down his unmarred cheek.

Then, his voice started coming back. It was weak and raw from lack of use, and Peter couldn't scream very loud because of it. But even when he could, his voice would cut off at random – as if the numbing solution couldn't decide whether it wanted to actually leave or not.