Orphan Spiderlings

There's Something About Peter

HARLEY'S POV

Peter's been acting weird lately. And it's not the kind of weird like he's been goofier or more serious, this kind of weird is different. He's been more aggressive in and out of patrol, disappearing while on patrol, after school and even during the night. It's not like him. Something's up with my brother, and I'm gonna figure out what it is. 

It's the end of the school day, and we already texted Dad to tell him we were going on patrol. As far as Pops is concerned, Via is working at MJ's, Peter is with Ned, and I'm tutoring Aidan Jones. We met up at the back of the school to sneak away to an alleyway to change into our suits. Time to figure out what's going on with Peter.

"Hey guys!" I greeted the twins.

"Hey Harley. Ready for patrol?" Via asked me.

"Yep. Let's go to it!"

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I tried my hardest to keep an eye on Peter during patrol, but he still managed to disappear a few times. It was painfully obvious that Via was annoyed by this, which meant she was probably gonna say something to him when we got home. In the time I did have my eye on Peter, I swore I saw something black with him. I didn't have the best observation point so I wasn't able to get the best look at him or whoever was with him. We snuck back into the tower and cleaned off bruises or cuts we may have had, which luckily there were almost none thanks to the upgraded suits courtesy of Dad. As Via and I take off our suits, Peter goes into the bathroom and shuts the door. I squinted him suspiciously as he shut the door. Via seemed to notice this.

"You've caught it too huh?" she asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"The way Peter's been acting."

"Yeah. I don't think the others have noticed yet, but they haven't known Peter their whole lives like we have. Somethings up with him." I pointed out.

"I was thinking about talking to him about it tonight, wanna join me?"

"Sure, I wanna know what's up with our brother." Via nodded in agreement.

Before we knew it, Peter was out of the bathroom and Pops was calling us for dinner. We went to the kitchen and walked in to the smell of chicken and potatoes. Via and I set the table, while Peter quietly stood of to the side instead of helping us.

"Care to help us set the table Pete?" Via asked with sass in her tone. Peter simply shook his head 'no' silently. Via growled and Pops overheard.

"Peter help your siblings set the table please." asked Pops.

"Ugh, fine." was Peter's response along with an eye roll. Those were the first words I heard him say all day. Peter started grabbing plates and bowls and lazily dropping them on the table, almost shattering them in the process. Via began looking angry.

"There. It's set." he said simply. A fuse must've blown in Via's head because the next thing she did was grab our brother by the ear and drag him down to her room. Pops watched them walk off and smirked, knowing Via could handle Peter and his newfound attitude. I heard shouting coming from Via's room and used my enhanced hearing to listen in on the conversation when Pops wasn't looking.

"What the hell is wrong with you Peter! That is no way to treat any member of your family! Are you going through a phase or something, is that it? Because lately you've been acting rude, you've been disappearing on patrols, which by the way, you can't do that dipshit! You get us worried sick that you've been captured by the team or stabbed or something! You're being so damn irresponsible! You're almost killing people in public and on patrol! I don't know what's up with you, but it's bothering both me and Harley! It ends tonight Peter!"  Via's voice came through the walls.

"Nothing's wrong with me Via! Last I checked, there's nothing wrong with going off to find something to eat when I hungry! And if I wasn't constantly being stalked or questioned by a dumbass twin and annoying little brother, maybe I wouldn't be this way!"

"There's nothing wrong with getting food when you're hungry Peter! There's something wrong when you disappear to find food without telling either of us, and people start dying! And don't you even dare call Harley annoying. He's worried about you Peter and he's trying to make sure you don't get hurt! The least you can do is thank him for actually giving a shit about your well being!"

"Peter! Via! Dinner!" Steve shouted for them.

"We will continue this after dinner."  Via spoke and their room went quiet as the door opened and they came back out to the dining room. Peter gave me a dirty look while Via gave me a sympathetic one. We sat down as Dad and the rest of the team came in to have dinner. Let me just say this, Pops cooking is the absolute best. Dinner went pretty well, only downside was Peter giving dirty looks to everyone around. Dad, Auntie Nat (as she had made us start calling her) and Auntie Wanda (again as she made us start calling her) gave Via and I a look. We knew this meant we'd be having a secret meeting, most likely without Peter.

Dinner ended, and because of Peter's actions, Dad made him stay behind and clean up ALL the dishes. Peter groaned and walked over to the sink. We took this as a cue to leave. Dad and I followed Via, Auntie Nat and Auntie Wanda to a room with a little rose painted on the wall. They each got out their passes and scanned them, before giving us temporary access to the girls only room. We walked in and sat down.

"We all know what this is about I presume." Dad started. We all nodded. We talked for a bit before deciding one of us needed to go get Peter and make him explain himself. I agreed to go get him and left the room. I walked to Peter's room and knocked on the door. No response. I slightly pushed the door to learn it was open. I slowly walked in and didn't see Peter. His bathroom light was on. I slowly pushed the door open, and what I saw would scar me from that day forth. 

Peter was in there, but he wasn't at the same time. In his place was a giant black sludge with with pure white 'eyes' sharp teeth and a long, slobbery pink tongue. It looked at me and I ran as fast as I could to the girls room. I ran in and slammed the door shut. Everyone was immediately on their feet running towards me. 

"Harley, bud, what happened, what's wrong?" Dad asked me worried. I took a breath before speaking out.

"You will not believe what I just saw."