The Princess and the Spider-Man

Chapter 44

Spider-Man then focused his attention on May once again. "You're gonna be okay miss. I've got the cure right here." he said still in a shaky voice, holding the anti-serum in his hand. May then opened her eyes ans looked at the web head.

"Take off your mask." she said with a small smile. Spider-Man's eyes widened at her sentence. 'Does she.....?' Spider-Man said to himself. "I wanna see my nephew." she finished.

Shock was embedded onto Spider-Man's face once he digested her sentence. 'Who else knows of my secret?!' he thought to himself as he removed his mask.

"You knew?" Peter asked.

"I've known for a while." May answered.

"I never wanted you to worry." Peter explained.

"I did." May said, her smile still dominating her facial expression. "And I am so proud of you. And Ben would be too. All the people you've saved." she continued. This caused Peter to break down some more and look down at the floor.

"I don't know what to do!" he sobbed, still deciding on what he was going to to with the anti-serum.

"Yes you do." she said to him with a look of what seemed to be acceptance in her eyes. She then rolled over and coughed.

Panic started coursing through Peter as he realized that his time was just about up. He glanced at the bag of fluid beside May's bed and lifted the bottle to one of the nozzles. This was it. All he had to do was lift it a couple more inches and May would be cured! He could save her, he could cure her!

But he then thought about all of the victims that would suffer to due to his selfishness. And what if others got infected too? What if Mera or MJ or Miles got infected? With all of those thoughts in mind, and with every ounce of will in his body pulled the anti-serum away from the bag of fluid.

Tears welled in Peter's eyes as he set the serum on the side table. Now he had to deal with the heartbreaking loss that he had chosen. He kneeled down next to May's bed, placed his head on the bed, face down and started letting the tears fall. He grasped May's hand as he just listened to the heart monitor beeping.

Soon enough, the short beeps just turned into one long beep. She was gone.

Peter then sobbed uncontrollably as a result. Mera, who in truth had been listening to the entire conversation, dashed right back into the room with hot tears of her own blinding her vision. She rushed to Peter's side and hugged him tightly.

For a while, they said nothing to each other. They just sobbed together in complete silence. They failed to notice that Dr. Michaels and MJ ad come back into the room as well. MJ's face had tears streaming down her face as she observed the scene. Even Dr. Michaels bowed his head in respect for the tragic moment.

He then saw the back of Peter's head and realized that Spider-Man had taken his mask off. He just swiftly turned away from them and walked into the next room. For he did not want to see the face of the web head since he hides his identity for a reason.

"I'm so sorry." Mera whispered in Peter's ear as she held him. Peter only continued to sob as he was too emotional at the moment to return her comment.

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Peter soon changed into his casual clothes and sat in the hallway outside of the kitchen.

He always had the best memories with May in the kitchen since the shelter was opened. He was just trying to cheer up the best he could. It wasn't working all that much, but still......

"Peter?" Called a voice from the other side of the shelter. Peter looked up and saw his red-headed beauty across the shelter. No doubt she was looking for him.

Soon enough though, Mera turned in his direction and instantly walked towards him as he continued to wipe away his tears. "There you are." Mera said, sitting down next to him. "I was getting so worried about you."

"Sorry." Peter said, sniffling a little. Mera pouted at the sadness in Peter's eyes, and kissed his cheek before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm really sorry Peter." Mera whispered for what seemed like the thousandth time today. "I wish there was something I could do to make this pain go away."

"Me too sweetie. Me too." Peter said, hugging Mera back. At least he still had her to hold now. They spent the next few minutes in silence, staring at all the infected people in the shelter. If any good is coming out of this moment, it's that the anti-serum will be used to save millions from the same fate that May had. A thought then came into Peter's head. "So.......how'd it go?" he asked.

Mera looked up at him in confusion. "How did what go?" she asked.

"The conference. What happened?" Peter asked.

"Oh!" Mera said with a slightly more cheerful tone of voice. "Well we decided that we are indeed going to reveal ourselves to the rest of the world." she answered. Peter put on a small smile at hearing this.

"Mera that's terrific!" Peter said, hugging Mera even tighter now.

"Yes.......I think so too. We've been hiding for far too long. Time for some change." she said.

The sun started to shine light through the window above them. Throughout these last few days, the weather has been overcast, with non-stop rain. Now that Peter thought about it, it was kinda symbolic of the whole situation going on around New York. It was nice to see a bit of daylight after all this time.

Dr. Michaels came by and saw the two sitting in the hallway. He looked exhausted, but relieved. "Morning you two." he said to the couple. "Where's Spider-Man?" he asked.

"Umm..........." Peter hesitated at the question.

"He had to leave. More criminals were driving a car and shooting at people." came MJ's voice as she strolled over towards them. She winked at Peter when he gave her a look of appreciation. Dr. Michaels glanced at MJ, before looking back at the couple in front of him.

"Oh, I see." Michaels said. "I'm sure he will be glad to know that the new doses of the anti-serum are now ready."

Mera and MJ gasped at the news and Peter grinned widely at the doctor. "Excellent! Finally, this nightmare is over." Mera said.

"Let's get rid of this plague." Michaels said, motioning the three of them to follow him into another part of the shelter.

For Peter, it was a bittersweet day. He may have lost his aunt, but at the very least he was able to help develop the cure for the Devil's Breath. He just grasped Mera's hand tightly and followed Michaels, with MJ trailing behind them.