{Two Weeks Later}
Could you have saved Lori?
What could you have done different?
Could it have gone any other way?
These were questions you've asked yourself for the last couple weeks. You haven't felt this much guilt since Glenn's death.
You also remember what Clementine told you that day. You can't save everyone.
You just couldn't get it out of your head, though. Carl and Judith lost their mother, and Rick lost the love of his life.
You're at Clementine's place. You look into the mirror in her room as you're fixing your collar. Lori's funeral was in an hour.
Clementine comes into the room and starts to fix your collar for you.
You: Thanks.
She notices your mood.
Clementine: Hey, I know what you're thinking...
You try to play it off with a chuckle and a smile.
You: Heh, you know me so well.
Clementine gives you a look, knowing the facade you're giving off.
You nod, and look back at the mirror.
You: You ever look back to a time where you think you could've done something different...?
Clementine: You did what you could, tiger. You can't blame yourself for something that was out of your control.
You don't respond. She continues.
Clementine: You saved Rick. Carl and Judith still have their dad because of you.
You: But not their mom. If I would've caught Shane back at Kingpin's meeting...or tracked him down during his killing spree, I could've stopped all this.
In times like these, you always put blame on yourself. You had so much guilt, and Clementine hated seeing that.
Clementine: You shoulder so much responsibility, Y/N. Don't beat yourself up.
She kisses you on the cheek.
Clementine: Come on, let's go.
You nod, and the two of you leave the apartment.
• •
The funeral went as planned. Everybody paid their respects and offered their condolences to Lori's family.
A/N: Press F to pay respects.
Carl leans against a tree at the cemetery. He looked on at Rick and Judith by the casket, talking with other people. You walk up to Carl.
You: Hey, man.
Carl: Hey. Thanks for coming.
You: I wouldn't miss this for anything, Carl.
Carl nods in appreciation. You look on at what Carl is seeing.
Carl: My dad's talked about taking a break from the force.
You: Retirement? Really?
Carl: Something like that, or at least a really long vacation. He says Michonne was promoted to Captain a few weeks ago, so the department is in good hands.
You: Yeah...
Carl sighs.
Carl: I heard him talk to himself last night. He blames Spider-Man for this.
You look down.
You: And what do you think?
Carl: My mom appreciated Spider-Man. How he protected this city. I know deep inside, my dad still thinks the same. Right now, he's just hurting and trying to find something to blame.
You are relived that Carl doesn't blame Spider-Man.
Carl: I simply blame Shane. Judith could be his, but I don't care. He didn't have the right to claim her.
You: You're absolutely right.
Carl: I can't let this bring me down. I know my mom up there doesn't want us hurting forever.
He's right. Carl is getting married later this year, and Lori would want that to be the highlight of 2009.
Carl sees Sophia in the distance. He looks at you.
Carl: I'll talk to you later, Y/N. Again, thanks for coming. I mean it.
You hug Carl.
You: I'm always here, man. Clem and Louis too.
Carl: I know.
Carl pats you on the shoulder and walks away. You look on, and lean against the same tree he was.
• •
You enter your room. You take off your funeral attire and throw it on the bed. You then go up to your window and look out of it, thinking.
You: There's one man in this city that was connected with Shane. I take him down, and I can try and stop the trickle effect of other criminals.
You're talking about Kingpin.
You go over to your closet and open the door. There, you have a board with writing and pictures, detailing rackets you and Violet have taken down and some still around.
The more rackets and operations you take down, the more Fisk will panic. You want him to be more public and open himself up as a target. With evidence too, you can get Michonne, the new Captain, to help you in exposing and taking down Kingpin.
It was time to get to work. From here on out, your goal was to take down Philip Fisk no matter what.
"Not today...not tomorrow" you once said. It wasn't going to be easy, and you knew that. Fisk has the manpower and resources to wage war against you. You didn't care though.
You, Spider-Man, are going to remove him from power.
• •
Paul Rovia was in his office looking over his computer.
An agent comes in with files in hand.
???: Jesus? I got what you asked for.
His codename is Jesus. He nods as he takes the folder from the agent.
Jesus: You get a look for yourself, Coulson?
Aaron: I haven't, actually. But I get the gist of what you're looking for.
Jesus looks at the S.H.I.E.L.D insignia on folder, and opens it. There, he sees the information of Bruce Banner and his situation with gamma radiation. He then turns the page and also sees information of the Iron Man fighting the Ten Rings overseas.
Both have little to no information about them. But he turns to the next page and sees what intrigues him the most.
Jesus: Here we go, this is what I was looking for.
Aaron looks over at what Jesus is reading. It's a file of Spider-Man. It details his sightings and endeavors in New York City.
Aaron: Spider-Man? Eric talks about him a lot.
Jesus: He can be the key to kicking off this initiative...a team of extraordinary individuals.
Jesus puts down that file, and rubs his chin.
Jesus: Now I just have to find out who he is...
Jesus goes back to his computer, and starts typing in the info of Spider-Man into the document.
The document's name: The Avengers Initiative.
• •
A/N: Thank you for reading Volume 4! This was shorter than most volumes because I just wanted to introduce storylines for the future. Can't wait to show you what's next!