If You Need Me

Ch. 9: Go On Back to Him

"Go on back to him. If you really miss his touch I won't try to stop you. I love you too much. I'll try to act brave and hold my head high. But you better go on back to him. I don't want you to see me cry. Go on back to him. I know he's waiting for you. I won't try to hold you. Tell me what good would it do. I'll just smile, least I'll try. But you better go on back to him. I don't want you to see me cry. Don't stand there sayin' you're sorry. Baby, we've just made a mistake. Now keep your ring." - Solomon Burke

* * *

"You're leaving," Peter said, coming down the stairs of the Sanctum as you stood at the door. 

You bunched up your dress in your arms and nodded, yawning, "Just waiting on Stephen whenever he's ready. He'll take me back."

"To?"

You flushed a bit around your neck and cheeks before mumbling, "Étienne's. Loki is still there, and the police officer we spoke to said to stay where he can find us so -"

"You don't have to explain yourself," Peter said softly, "I'm sure having to come and ask questions of you at the Asgardian Embassy would be a hassle."

"Right," you whispered, slightly and immaturely saddened by the fact that Peter didn't seem too entirely distraught over the fact that you were staying at Étienne's for the night. 

He leaned up against the pillar of the doorway and looked at you while you looked back at him. There was no odd tension, merely slight exhaustion that was coating everything in an out-of-body aura. Peter's skin was flushed from his hot shower, and as he went to cross his arms over his chest, he winced.

"Your arm?" you asked immediately.

"It's stiff," Peter admitted, "I haven't had the time to take it off in a while. If I have a room to myself tonight I'll probably take it off."

You looked around, "No one's here. You could take it off now."

Peter looked slightly uncomfortable and your heart jumped into your throat. What if Peter didn't feel comfortable taking his arm off around you anymore? Was that something he only reserved for his girlfriend? For the person he was in love with?

"Will you help me?" Peter asked guiltily, "It's always so awkwardly when I release it and then have to stumble to catch it before it falls off."

"Of course," you hurriedly agreed and surged forward, dropping your dress into a bunch of the ground without a second thought. You gently placed your one arm around Peter's half robotic bicep and brushed your fingertips over the band, waiting for the digit pad to light up. Peter's arm reacted without him thinking too much and his hand came up to brace your shoulder, softly embracing your arm wrapped around his. You sucked in a breath and your finger shook as Peter's breath seemed to stop as well. Other than the fleeting hug you'd shared upon your arrival at the Sanctum, the two of you hadn't been this physically close in a while. 

"Ready?" you breathed, not daring to look up into Peter's eyes.

"Ready," he whispered back, and you realized his lips were far closer than you'd originally thought. 

You pressed your fingers into the correct pattern of 5474 and the hissing suction noise broke the two of you apart. Peter's arm fell into your grasp and you craddled it as Peter stepped back, breathing a sigh of relief. 

"Thank you," he moaned, closing his eyes and rotating his shoulder now that the weight had been released. "God, so much better."

"Happy to help," you chuckled as Peter looked back to you. You held the arm out and he grasped it, tucking it under his arm with the flick of his wrist and clearing his throat.

"Are you going to see Harry while you're out there?" Peter asked, nodding his head towards the front door.

"I was hoping to," you said before you blinked furiously and looked slightly startled.

"What?" Peter asked, leaning in with an anxious breath.

"Well, it's just that, if you had asked me a few months ago if I would be saying I was 'hoping to see Harry Osborn' then I would have told you that you're insane."

Your smile made Peter smile and the two of you laughed a bit as you leaned against the pillar opposite Peter. "He's not doing well," Peter told you, sighing, "He came to my apartment last night. He ended up staying the night."

"Oh?" you raised your eyebrow as your heartrate picked up.

Peter scoffed, "Not like that, you perv."

"Well it's just the way you said it!"

"I know; I know," Peter shook his head, "He did kiss me. We kissed," Peter blushed, "But more in a comforting way."

"What?"

"Like, it wasn't sexual," Peter continued, flustered. He couldn't tell how you felt about this new information from the expression on your face. You were keeping your features as neutral as possible, but Peter could hear your heartbeat slamming away in your chest. "Sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For being a whore?"

You snorted, nearly choking on your own spit as you put your hand up to your mouth and cackled. Peter stared at you in shock and blinked rapidly while he waited for you to explain your outburst. 

"You're not a whore, Peter," you rolled your eyes, "Things have been so stressful. I can understand wanting to find at least a bit of comfort or reprieve from all of this. I know you and Harry shared something special, and I know a lot of that was born under pressures you had from others. We're under more pressure than ever, so of course you would revert to -"

"I'm not -"

"No, it's fine -"

"But with us -"

"Us?"

Peter opened his mouth but couldn't think of what to say. What had he meant to say? Your face was in shock, and Peter couldn't help but wonder if the idea of you and Peter still being an 'us' was such a foreign concept to you that you were shocked to hear it uttered. Was he overstepping? His mind raced back to when you'd returned Ben's ring. Had that been a symbol? For fuck's sake, you were staying the night at Étienne's. Had he miscalculated?

"Sorry."

"You never tell me what you're apologizing for," you whispered, now looking somber, "I wish you would."

"I wish I would do a lot of things," Peter whispered back. Your words echoed around the Sanctum's foyer like filthy little secrets. 

"Do you mean it?" you asked, "Have you ... thought about it?"

"I ... I don't know," Peter's shoulders sank a bit, "I can barely think of anything other than how I'm going to survive the next few hours these past few days. But when I saw you there in our - in my kitchen ..." Peter shook his head, "My life ended."

"I don't mean to overstep, or sound insensitive, but you've been through it before. You've lost someone you loved before. You know you would have been fine," you tried to make things make sense but you felt you were losing your own sense of reality.

"Maybe," Peter looked you dead in the eyes, "But not this time."

Your breath hitched embarrassingly and you realized you'd been leaning into Peter this entire time. He cleared his throat and stepped back, "Of course, with me being a criminal now, my life has gone to shit."

Right. Back to reality.

You nodded, trying to bite down the disappointment in your chest, "And Asgard," you agreed, "Don't even get me started on how Loki has been bodyguarding me lately."

"Right," Peter coughed, his energy depleting. 

"But if you -" 

You were cut off by Stephen finally making his entrance, loudly whistling and his cloak floating behind him. "Sorry that took so long," he apologized, "The politics of everything going on is ..." he rolled his eyes, "You wouldn't believe."

"I can imagine," you said weakly.

"Shall we?" Stephen asked, opening a portal and stepping through without even questioning you. You quickly gathered your dress and looked to Peter one more time, "I-If you need me ..." you whispered.

"Call you," Peter nodded, "Looks like you're expected." 

Peter nodded to the other side of the portal. Loki was waiting for you at the door of Étienne's building and you felt dread fill your whole body as you stepped through the portal and away from Peter. 

"Hello Loki," Stephen smirked, eyeing your uncle mischievously. 

"Strange," Loki nodded, hardly a twitch in his face. 

"I didn't know the two of you knew each other," you mumbled as you jogged up the steps. Loki let you pass, and you saw him give Strange one last look before he followed you inside.

"I don't trust the magician," Loki stated.

"Says the magician himself," you responded, causing Loki to almost comically gasp.

"What that goatee of a man does and what I do is worlds apart," Loki stated dramatically, following you up the stairs.

"Okay," you sighed, not in the mood to fight. You were exhausted, and the flipping from one emotion to the next as new information was continuously coming to light made you want to curl into a ball in the shower and never come out. You made a beeline straight for the bathroom and locked the door behind you before Étienne could even say anything. 

You turned the fan on, and the shower, stripped, and jumped into the scalding hot water. It was loud in the tiny bathroom, but you knew it wasn't loud enough to drown out your sobs. Regardless, you cried anyway. Peter Parker, your longtime boyfriend who you had almost moved in with and started a life with, didn't seem to want to have a full conversation with you anymore. Nor did either of you seem to have the ability to speak to one another. You used to be able to know what the other was thinking with just one look and now you were masking what you were thinking in the fear Peter would see.

It terrified you how quickly you could lose someone over one stupid mistake. And you'd been able to keep it together for the most part but now with everything else going on, you couldn't stop thinking about it. There were so many other issues to tackle, and yet your break-up from your college boyfriend was the only thing your mind could focus on.

You didn't keep track of how long you'd been in the shower, but you figured it must have been a while when there was a soft knock on the door and Étienne's small voice whispered, "Y/N?"

"Be out in a minute," you said, turning off the scalding hot water and reaching for your towel. The pajamas you'd borrowed from Wanda were crumpled on the floor and you quickly dressed back in them before brushing out your hair and padding out into the room. 

Loki was out cold on the sofa and you recognized his snores from nights fallen asleep on the sofas while watching films in New Asgard. Étienne was waiting for you with a cup of tea and an apologetic look.

"I think your uncle might be a little exhausted," he whispered, sitting down on the edge of his bed and offering you to sit next to him.

"I can imagine. He's been having to take care of me and then go back to his royal duties at night," you mused, sipping your tea. It was a little bitter for your liking, and you felt a fresh wave of tears start to build at the remembrance of how perfectly Peter used to make your tea.

"What's wrong?" Étienne asked, noticing your distraught look.

"You know what's stupid? With everything going on and all we're in danger of, all I can think about is Peter," you closed your eyes and shook your head in disappointment, "And our break-up, and how I feel like if we were together right now and we hadn't separated then none of this would have happened."

Étienne winced, "I wouldn't say none of this ...?" 

"I know it's selfish and I know that we have so many other important issues but -"

"Your feelings are important," Étienne cut you off, "Not only your feelings, but your self-awareness and your mental health are important."

"A mad scientist from another earth has come to kidnap or kill our friends, Harry's dead dad has been funding a shady government organization for years, your dad's company is under serious scrutiny, and Peter and Felicia are fugitives of the state while Whitney Nefaria is still trying to kill me and has potentially consumed black matter," you stated, deadpan, "And with all of that, I'm still obsessing over a boy who doesn't want me anymore."

"You don't know that," Étienne shrugged, "And there are a ton of other good things happening too. Miles and Jessica are safe at the Compound and out of harm's way, Cindy may be going through a difficult time right now but she's alive and not dead as we always assumed, and look at the friendship you've now built with Harry again. In the back of your mind you have to admit that you always hoped that wouldn't end the way it did?"

You looked down at your phone tossed haphazardly onto Étienne's bed and noticed that you had tons of missed calls from Thandie, Lazlo, and all your other friends checking in with you. Étienne was right - you had a lot of good things going for you, but the bad was currently outweighing the good and you couldn't seem to see past that.

You wondered if Peter was having the same issue as well. 

Ever since you'd left the Sanctum, Peter had struggled to think of anything other than you. The look on your face - the utter shock and the rapid sound of your heartbeat - when he'd mentioned a potential future for the two of you still haunted him. He thought of Ben's ring sitting in his office, untouched, and wondered if he could ever bring himself to bring it back to May. 

The kitchen at the Sanctum was dark and large. It was chilly, and it reminded Peter a bit of how his kitchen at the new townhouse felt when you weren't there. Could he keep that townhouse and live in it without you? 

"You look sad and stupid."

Felicia had snuck up on him once more. She was the only person in the world who could do that and it used to bother Peter relentlessly. But he'd come to appreciate it. 

"I thought you went to bed," he said groggily, stirring his coffee.

"Yeah well being a fugitive and having to rewire all your funds just in case they figure out who you are kind of puts you in a tailspin," Felicia shrugged, "I also noticed that Y/N never came up to our room so ...?"

"She went back to Étienne's," Peter grunted.

"Oh," Felicia nodded knowingly, "Well ... that's some bullshit."

"You didn't see her," Peter shook his head, "I mentioned a potential 'us' so casually in conversation and she looked traumatized. I guess I would be too, if I was dating me - or not dating me anymore? It's confusing."

"Yeah you sound like a fucking idiot," Felicia agreed.

"I don't know why I didn't just forgive her immediately. Why did I have to break up with her in the first place?"

"Um, because you figured out over time and therapy that prioritizing yourself every once in a while is okay?" Felicia tilted her head and gave Peter a 'wtf' look. Her long hair slid across her shoulders and back as she looked at him, catching in the kitchen light.

"You were in a really stressful place and so was Y/N. It makes sense that the two of you would react and lash out when you're in a pinch. All couple's fight."

"I broke up with her," Peter said flatly.

"And you needed some time apart," Felicia shrugged, "There's nothing wrong with that. We used to fight a lot, but then we'd spend some days patroling ourselves and then we'd come back together again. It's a cycle. Only, with you and Y/N you don't usually fight so ... I don't know what to tell you."

Peter felt the sting of tears in his eyes and Felicia winced, noticing emotions were starting to bubble up inside him.

"Oh God," she scrunched up her nose, "Please don't -"

"I just love her so much," Peter cried out, choking on a sob.

"Oh gross," Felicia shook her head in disgust, "God, no. Please stop that."

"And I lost her," Peter cried, placing his head down in his hands on the table.

"Weak," Felicia whispered, watching Peter fall apart, "I'm going to ... go anywhere else."

"No!" Peter grasped Felicia's arm as she started to stand, "Please don't leave me right now."

Felicia's face softened a bit and Peter knew he must look like a wreck. His eyes were red-rimmed and swollen and his face was splotchy from his tears. His hand holding Felicia's arm was shaking and Felicia quickly peeled it off with her fingertips.

"Sticky," she whispered, "So sweaty."

"I don't know what to do," Peter whispered, admitting it for the first time out loud.

Sighing, Felicia slumped forward on the kitchen island, "Do you remember a few years ago before we fought Kingpin, you were about to fucking die and I was really unattached in general and you decided that we should run away and start a life of crime together?"

"I don't think that's what I alluded to."

"You wanted to run away with me."

"I never said that."

"You wanted to run away and you said I could come with."

"I think I said that I might leave and then you assumed you were coming," Peter corrected.

Felicia raised a finger to silence him, "The point is, weepy sad boy, you and I were about to spend a whole lot of time together and you would have probably gone too, if it weren't for one person."

"I know; I was there."

"Well, the reality is Peter, that that's where we are now," Felicia shrugged, "We're on the run and if you want to make sure Y/N is there for you when you return from this whole shit show, then you need to tell her how you feel."

"I can't expect her to wait for me."

"You can't expect that she wouldn't want to," Felicia said softly. She groaned loudly and leaned back in her seat, "You know I hate all people."

"Yes, it's your personality."

"It's my life mantra, yes," Felicia nodded, "Well, name one person I would have just offered to share a room with. Or, someone I would face -" Felicia shuddered, "- Harry Osborn lurking in a hallway for. God that boy needs so much help," she mumbled before clearing her throat, "Think of the one person in the world I would risk my life for."

"Y-"

"Y/N, yes. That's correct," Felicia talked over him, "So if I can love this cute little melon of a girl with her tiny little knobby knees who can't pull off a single shade of pink and yet has a larger pink lipgloss collection than anyone I know. Not to mention!" Felicia slammed her hand on the table, "Figured out how to singlehandedly take down a fucking waterpark of a loser man with jumper cables like it was a fun Sunday afternoon puzzle all while baking a seven layer lemon cake just because one time I said 'I don't think lemon tastes good in baked goods' just to prove me wrong? I mean ..." Felicia puffed out a breath, "How could you not love her?"

"Oh my God," Peter whispered, "You're ... in love with Y/N."

"Ew, no. That's your thing," Felicia grimaced at him.

"I'm sorry?"

Felicia patted Peter's hand, "What I'm saying, is Y/N is my friend. And I only have two of those."

"Who else?"

Felicia looked scandelized, "It's you! You fucking donkey!" she slapped Peter in the shoulder and he gasped, pulling away.

"Why did you just hit me?"

"Because you're a weak limp dick?!" Felicia screamed, "You and Y/N are my friends and I - I don't know - I just want you both to be happy, I guess ..."

Felicia's voice grew small as her body seemed to reject showing any ounce of kindness. She sucked in a deep breath and sat up a bit straighter, smoothing down her shirt, "All I'm saying is I don't like relationships and I think commitment is a commercial scam. But I like seeing you two in a relationship. And I enjoy knowing you're both there to take care of one another. This past year when you were dating, it was the happiest the two of you have ever been."

"How would you know? You weren't there," Peter glared, still slightly hurt that Felicia disappeared on him.

She scoffed, "You think I wasn't monitoring you?"

Peter blinked, "Wait, I'm sorry, did you ... did you set up cameras of us?"

"Okay I'm so glad you finally brought it up because I need to know why - when you and Y/N are fucking, you do this weird thing with your face where you -"

"FELICIA!"

"I'm kidding!" Felicia whined, "Oh my God could you believe if I did though?"

Her manic laughter made Peter smile, seeing Felicia laugh and be lighthearted in such a heavy time. Only hours ago she'd been screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs and trying to scratch the eyes out of the security guards at Alchemax. This was a welcome change. 

"Peter," Felicia groaned, resting her hands on top of his. She looked at him for a long moment and pouted, huffing slightly, "I didn't have to be around to know that you and Y/N were happy together. It's obvious. And Y/N really loves you. She loves you more than anyone, and I know that she would wait for you, no matter how long you rot in federal prison."

"That was almost sweet," Peter pulled his hand from hers to pat her hand awkwardly.

"It's the best I can do," Felicia groaned, "I'm not good at this shit."

"No, it was good," Peter nodded, "I think I should go find her."

Felicia snorted and laughed before she realized Peter's face was serious. "Wait, no. Shit no Peter you can't do that."

"I'll be quick. I know where Étienne's place is. It isn't really far from here."

Felicia stood, blocking Peter from leaving the kitchen, "I don't think you understand how this works. You are a fugitive," she said, clapping with each word, "You are the country's most wanted. You are an enemy of the state. This is a shoot on-sight kind of situation and I've never known the government to be gentle when people they can't control like you are involved."

"Felicia," Peter put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her dark eyes, "I won't be long. I promise."

"Peter, do not leave this Sanctum," Felicia growled, "I will fight you."

"Okay," Peter rolled his eyes, "Fine; I won't."

"You're going to, aren't you?"

"Kitty, kitty, kitty," Peter twirled Felicia's hair through his fingertips, "You know me so well."

"I'm not visiting you in jail," Felicia threatened, and Peter felt a bit of his playful self coming back after this conversation with Felicia. Even when she was threatening him, she knew how to put him in a good mood.

"No worries," Peter threw his hood up and smirked, "If things go well with Y/N, I won't need you for conjugal visits."

"I hate you," Felicia whispered, "But that was really funny."

"I'll be back soon," Peter promised, grasping her head in his hands and kissing her on the forehead, "I promise."

"This can't wait until morning?" Felicia whined.

"No, I'm feeling good about it," Peter smiled, "You're right - why should I sit around like an idiot and wait for something that could never happen? I'm going to talk to Y/N. For real this time. And tell her how I feel without waiting."

"Seriously? Not even until the morning? When she's coming back. Here. Where we're hiding. From the government," Felicia looked annoyed.

"Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning," Peter promised before he slipped out the front door of the Sanctum. 

He hadn't realized how much he needed some fresh air. It was a cooler night, and Peter could tell there was rain in the air. He'd have to walk, because swinging obviously wasn't an option and calling attention to himself was the absolute last thing that he needed to do. It would be a good half hour walk if he timed it right, and with his hood up high over his head and his hands shoved deep into his pockets, he figured it wouldn't be all that bad. He'd sneak around the back wall of Étienne's building to avoid any surveillance they had up when he arrived, and hopefully you weren't too busy and had some time for him.

You would say that you were probably the opposite of busy, honestly, if anyone asked you. You knew you should be sleeping, and you could have easily turned off the lights for Loki. But he was still crashed on the sofa and the one dim light from the corner lamp Étienne had on was just enough for you to sip your tea in peace. 

You curled your legs up under you and held the tea mug tightly in your hands as you looked down at the street. Over the years you'd become extremely good at spotting unmarked vehicles, and there was a cop car just around the corner at the end of the street. You watched it while it watched you, and you wondered how long this would be your life. 

"I'm sure he's fine," Étienne said suddenly, startling you.

Étienne had been in the shower after he'd talked you down from having a full mental breakdown, and you were appreciative of that. You'd also appreciated your past ten or so minutes alone to think. Maybe it was truly time to move on from Peter, or at least to try. You'd dwelled on it long enough that you'd bottled it all up in an unhealthy way, and Étienne had been right that sometimes addressing how you were feeling was a good move if you ever wanted to move on.

"Here," you pulled the blanket up that was wrapped around you and patted the spot next to you on the little window alcove, "Come watch the surveillance car with me. It's super fun. Sometimes the cop turns the lights on when he's looking for something and we make eye contact."

Étienne smiled warmly, "Sounds like a dream."

His knees brushed up against yours as he folded himself into the window alcove across from you, socked feet brushing up against your own as he pulled at the blanket. 

"Did you make more tea?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry I should have made you some," you made a move to get up but he stopped you.

"We aren't all serial tea drinkers," he said, "Are you feeling better?"

"A bit," you shrugged, "There isn't much else to do but wait."

"I meant about Peter," Étienne clarified. 

"Oh, yes," you nodded, "Much better. Thank you. I think it's time to move on."

"Oh?" Étienne looked surprised, "That's not at all what I was implying."

"No, I know. But it might be what's best."

You both lapsed into silence and Étienne offered out his hand. He placed it on the top of his knee palm up and you smiled, reaching over and taking it, "Well, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I have two."

"Thank you," you squeezed his hand, "I appreciate it."

"I uh - I know I messed up our friendship a few years ago, or maybe I kind of made you mistrust me for a bit? I want you to know that when Peter was ill, I wasn't - it wasn't my intention to like, swoop you up or anything. I know that kind of is what it sounded like, but that wasn't - I just cared for you - care! Care, a lot about you, and I want you to be happy."

"Étie, I forgave you for all of that a long time ago," you furrowed your eyebrows and sat up a bit more, "You know that, right?"

"Right, right yes I guess. But uh, well, it's just that I don't want you to think that now that you and Peter are officially over that I'm going to try and, you know ..."

Realization struck you and you felt a bolt of lightning through your chest. You and Étienne had been dear friends now for two years, almost three, and you knew of his crush initially when you were with Peter. You'd known of it and you knew he hadn't dated anyone in the time you'd known him, but you'd always figured that was just because he was so introverted. Étienne loved being alone and it took a lot to gain his trust. But you hadn't realized that after all this time, he still was harboring feelings for you.

"... still?" you whispered, "I had no idea."

"You weren't meant to," Étienne blushed, "It wasn't appropriate - it still isn't - but I want to be candid and let you know that our friendship means the world to me and I'm not going to jeopardize that because of my feelings."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you still have feelings for me?" you asked bluntly, "You've seen me at my worse and now you've seen me whine and fall apart stupidly about another boy. I've been cruel to you, coming to you with my boy issues. I don't know how I could have been so insensitive."

"It doesn't matter!" Étienne quickly leaned forward and cupped your cheek, brushing some hair away with his thumb, "That's what I'm trying to say, is that if people start saying things, like all the tabloids love to do, about how Tony Stark's son is now going after Peter Parker's ex-girlfriend, that's not what's happening. I'm here for you, as a friend and a confidant, and my intentions are of nothing more."

Warmth rushed through your whole body as you stared into Étienne's concerned eyes. His hands were so soft, and he smelled like that normal floral mix that always comforted you. There was lavender involved, probably, and you melted into his touch.

"Étie," you whispered, getting swept up in the warm, tea-infused and low-lamp light, "I just ..."

Neither of you said anything as you continued to lean in. This made you a bad person and you knew it, but you couldn't stop yourself as Étienne leaned in as well and his other hand came up to cup your face. His lips touched yours with urgency, but it was clouded with a soft glow. You leaned into him, setting down your mug and resting your hands on his knees as he pulled you in. 

You didn't care if the surveillance car cop saw you making out with Étienne. All you wanted was to feel something. You hoped desperately that you could feel a spark and it would fill whatever void you knew you didn't need a man to fill, but had felt strangely empty for the longest time. 

For a moment, Peter was the farthest thing from your mind. Which was unfortunate, considering he was right outside Étienne's window. 

Peter's hands in his pockets clenched so tightly that he was sure his fingernails drew blood on his right hand. He knew he had no right to be jealous considering since the break-up he'd kissed both Cindy and Harry. And if he was being honest, he and Cindy had had quite the steamy moment together. This kiss looked innocent, calming, and comforting. Peter wanted to vomit.

That was it. He'd lost you. Maybe he'd lost you a long time ago, and he'd just never wanted to fully admit it. Étienne had spent nights at the embassy, and he had smelled like your new perfume and shampoo. Shouldn't Peter have made the connection earlier? You chose to go back to Étienne's apartment tonight instead of stay at the Sanctum, and you'd been spending all your time with Étienne for the Art Fund. 

Peter felt like his heart was collapsing. 

He sucked in a shaky breath and watched as you pulled away from Étienne, blinking slowly. He couldn't watch anymore. He couldn't see if Étienne took you to bed, or even if you curled up next to him and cuddled. Peter couldn't. So he turned around and left deep into the dark night. His senses were in peril and he felt like static was filling his entire body. He stumbled, but kept moving, knowing that with each step he'd be taking another step away from any future he had with you. 

You cleared your throat, staring at Étienne and wondering why you'd let the kiss happen. Just from the look on Étienne's face, you could tell he knew it had been wrong too. 

"So that wasn't -"

"- great," you agreed, nodding. Étienne grimaced and you sat back up straight again. 

"I really like you," Étienne breathed, "But that wasn't what I was expecting."

"My heart isn't in it," you admitted, "I'm so sorry. That was awful of me to exploit your feelings like that and -"

"No, no it's not your fault. I'm happy you did it," Étienne nodded, "We should go to bed."

"Do you want me to sleep on the floor?"

"Y/N," he chuckled, "I think we can platonically share a bed the same way we have at the embassy. Just because we kissed one time doesn't mean we're going to lose it tonight."

"I'm still so sorry -"

"If you apologize one more time, I will make you sleep on the floor," Étienne tossed one of his decorative pillows at you, "Now let's get some rest."

"You're mad," you whispered, crawling into bed next to him as he turned off the lamp, flooding the apartment with darkness.

"I'm not mad," Étienne yawned, "I'm grateful for your friendship."

"You're the worst," you groaned.

"I know," he laughed lightly, "How dare I be so understanding?"

"I just have so much on my mind," you rambled, "Like I'm still figuring out my powers with this whole Asgardian thing, and does that mean I'm going to go and be the queen of Asgard or something?"

"Y/N -"

"And with that, I mean, I don't know how to do diplomatic work, so I'd have to learn all of that. And if I'm spending all my time working on that then I have no idea when I'd even have time for a relationship."

"Y/N -"

"So that's all of that, plus graduating college and -"

"Y/N, please. I adore you and I know you love to ramble but now is not the time. I'm tired and we have an early morning, but I think you and I both know that you can pretend you're trying to leave Peter in the past and we both know you still love him. And that's okay. And that's healthy. And tomorrow when you head back to the Sanctum, you can sit down and have a lovely little chat with your felon boyfriend and the two of you can work this out. We'll all pretend we won't notice the two of you slinking off somewhere to have sex and then everything will be right in the world again."

"Now who's rambling," you whispered, poking his cheek.

"Just go to bed," Étienne whined, "And let's never kiss again."

You wouldn't say you were refreshed when you woke up in the morning, but you'd at least gotten some sleep. You'd tried to call Peter to let him know when you'd be coming over with Harry to work on the black matter diffuser, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Peter had one of those upgraded swanky Stark Tech adapted phones, so you knew no one could trace it if that's what Peter was worried about. 

So either his phone was dead, or he was screening your calls. A great start to the morning.

Harry met you at Étienne's, and with his wrinkled jeans and even more wrinkled shirt, you could tell he'd had a rough night.

"Harry," you whispered, running down the stairs to him and all but jumping into his arms. It hurt you to notice that every time you hugged him, he was surprised. Harry had messed up many times, but not enough for you to stop caring about him. You hoped he knew that.

You pulled his head from your neck and forced him to look at you, "Everything is going to be okay."

"I'm not so sure this time, but I appreciate the optimism," he rubbed his nose, "Now where is that baguette boy? We're running late."

"Étie is going to stay here if the cops come back with more questions," you said, looking up to the window where Étienne was watching, "But my uncle -"

"Harry," Loki nodded, opening the door and smirking at the tired looking boy, "You've looked better, I'm sure."

Harry nodded tiredly and cleared his throat, refusing eye contact with your uncle. Loki turned back to you and placed his hand on your shoulder, "I can't go with you."

"Oh no why," you droned, looking up at him.

"Stephen and I do not see eye to eye."

"Meaning you're banned from the Sanctum," you stated.

"If that's how you'd like to look at it," Loki adjusted his cufflinks, "I will be at the embassy. Please do not do anything reckless or foolish, or anything that will cause an international incident."

"I don't even have an Asgardian passport. How could I cause -"

"Let's not get into it," Loki leaned down and pecked you on the forehead before heading to the car on the curb you'd driven the night before. You shook your head. 

"Wanda should be here soon," you said to Harry, "Is that all your brought?" 

You nodded to his shoulder bag and Harry nodded, tapping it affectionately, "I don't need to carry around an entire lab with me," he scoffed.

By the time Wanda arrived to take you to the Sanctum, you could see that she was already a bit frazzled. She portaled you into the library where Felicia, Cindy, and Stephen were looking at what you could only assume was the black matter diffuser. 

"Still seems to be in good shape," Cindy was muttering, looking it over. 

Cindy looked better this morning. Whatever spell Wanda had knocked her out with, it had brought a bit of life back into her face. Her eyes were still a bit sunken, but she'd showered and you could still smell whatever breakfast they'd had.

"You're here!" Felicia floated over to you, wrapping you up in a hug. She smirked at Harry and tapped her fingernails against his cheek, "Hello Harold."

"Kitty," Harry cooed jokingly. 

"Where's Peter?" Felicia turned back to you and curled your hair through her fingertips. You furrowed your eyebrow at her and started to get a nervous feeling in your chest.

"What do you mean? Why would Peter be with me?"

Felicia's entire face fell as she stepped away from you. Her hands shook a bit before she clasped them together and her face set into hard unreadable lines.

"Is he not here?" Harry asked steadily.

"Why would Peter have left the Sanctum?" you asked quickly, "He's a fugitive!"

"He - He didn't show up last night?" Felicia asked.

"What? No!" you yelled, "Did you let him leave?"

"I didn't -!"

"How could you let him leave?" you yelled, "He's the most wanted person in the fucking country, Felicia! And you just let him waltz out of here?"

"Wait, Peter isn't here?" Cindy started to look panicked, "Where is he? How long as he been gone?"

"Felicia!" you yelled, demanding an answer.

Sometimes in the back of your mind you knew that you shouldn't have been yelling the way you were. Felicia was not Peter's keeper, and if there was anyone who couldn't be defied by anyone else's word, it was Peter Parker. 

"He went to get you back!" Felicia crumbled, "He said he couldn't live without you anymore and that it was ridiculous the way the two of you were tip toeing around one another. He wanted to know if you still loved him and wanted to be with him and then he decided he needed to know that instant."

"Oh my God," you groaned, "When?"

"I don't know! Maybe an hour or so after you left?" Felicia pulled out her phone, "Let me call him."

"I tried. It went straight to voicemail," you informed them.

"When he didn't come back I figured things had worked out between you two," Felicia nibbled her lip, "I thought -"

"You thought wrong," you snapped, pushing past her and back out into the main work room of the Sanctum. You could hear someone running after you but you didn't stop until you'd pushed through the doors and out onto the first floor balcony. It overlooked the garden in the back courtyard and you took in a deep breath of the fresh-smelling air before feeling the urge to scream.

"Felicia couldn't have known something would happen to Peter," Wanda said softly, catching up with you, "And the good news is we haven't heard anything about Peter being found or arrested, so we can only assume that he hasn't been caught."

"I wouldn't care if he was caught by the authorities," you turned to look at her, "This is Peter we're talking about. If he was even within an arm's length of the government or the cops he could make it out of there in an instant. I'm worried he's been caught by the wrong people."

Bile rose in your throat at the thought of what you'd been doing last night when Peter had come out to find you. You'd been kissing Étienne. You weren't just mad at Felicia, but you were deflecting some of that anger you had for yourself. 

"We can't dwell on it," Wanda said calmly, "Peter can take care of himself. What we need to do is figure out this black matter whatever it is so that we can be prepared. Let's go through one issue at a time, okay?"

"They can get started on that," you said, pulling out your phone, "And I'm going to start asking around if anyone has seen Peter."

"Coffee is in the kitchen," Wanda told you before turning and leaving you alone. 

The next few hours were torture. Harry, Cindy, and Felicia worked together on the diffuser using some of the notes Harry had brought with him. You noticed the notebook filled with both Harry and Peter's handwriting, and you just hoped that it was enough. While they did that, you called everyone you could to see if Peter had shown up on their doorstep. 

MJ, Ned, Harley, Étienne - none of your friends had seen him. You tried Thandie and Lazlo but Thandie said he hadn't come by the apartment and Lazlo hadn't seen him in the Night Clinic. He wasn't at the Compound per any of the Avenger's knowledge, and May said he wasn't at her apartment or at FEAST. You even swallowed your pride and called Gwen. She hadn't seen him, "and I'm grateful for it," she said snarkily before hanging up. 

You tried getting in touch with Karen through the app on your phone but she was unresponsive, and that made you the most nervous. You also figured that Tony had probably shut down all his AI programs when the government went in and searched his tech. So that could explain it. 

But something wasn't settling right with you.

Peter was in danger. You could feel it. 

Around 11am, Harry thought he might have something useful. He held up the contraption to show a repurposed canister from the original machine that now was holding a dark purple liquid. 

"Either it acts as a stabilizer and is able to diffuse the black matter out of her, or it kills her," Harry shrugged, looking on the verge of tears, "It'll kill the black matter inside her, thus killing her."

"Such a shame," Cindy rolled her eyes.

"We're not killing anyone," Felicia said strongly, "Whitney doesn't deserve to die."

Wanda rolled her eyes but said nothing. Stephen refused to comment and sipped his tea loudly. You looked at the contraption in Harry's hand.

"How does it work?"

"Injection," Harry pushed down on the button at the top and a long needle appeared. You felt ill just looking at it.

"Painful," you whispered.

"It's not pretty," Harry agreed. 

"Any word on Peter?" Cindy asked you. You shook your head and checked your phone for the millionth time in the past few hours. Cindy nodded and ran her hand through her hair, "I'm getting a drink."

You followed her into the kitchen and found that instead of alcohol, she went for a glass of orange juice which she chugged pretty quickly.

"Can I ask you something?" you asked softly, setting your phone down on the kitchen island and sliding into one of the stools. Cindy eyed you carefully and set down the glass, standing on the opposite side.

"Sure," she shrugged, trying to maintain casual.

"Can you feel him at all?" your voice hesitant, "Peter?"

"No," Cindy slumped a bit, "I thought maybe I could for a moment earlier, but nothing. I can feel him, like I know he's out there, but I can't feel how he's feeling, if that makes sense."

"It'll never make sense to me," you smiled softly, "But I think that's the point."

"Can I ask you something?" Cindy asked now, eyes darting to all of your features as you nodded in response. "What was Peter like when you met him?"

The question took you a bit by surprise and you stared back at Cindy dumbly for a moment, attempting to compose some sort of answer. "What do you mean?"

"I think you're more than smart enough to know what I mean," Cindy leaned forward and watched you closely. 

"I first met him at the bus stop," you started, "Before his accident. It was one of the Empire University super unreliable buses, but my Metrocard was empty and I'd filled my quota for the month, and Peter had given me his Metrocard as Spider-Man when my car had been wrecked? But his Metrocard literally had like, 20 cents on it, so we happened to both be on the same bus at the same time."

You adjusted yourself on the kitchen stool and smoothed down the sleeve of your sweater. "We were waiting at that bus stop for so goddamn long that I ordered us a pizza to the bus stop. I had a coupon, and that's how I learned Peter's pizza order is -"

"Black olives," Cindy wrinkled her nose, "I unfortunately remember."

You chuckled, "I didn't mind it, honestly. But we shared the pizza on the bus ride home and he walked me to my apartment. He said my place was on the way to his but I later found out that wasn't the truth at all. He caught me when I stumbled coming off the train, and he was a great listener. I mean, he still is, obviously. But I really enjoyed talking with him. And he was sweet. But," you frowned, "... after that, I didn't see him until after the accident. I ran into him at the hospital, and things kind of happened from there."

You placed your elbows on the kitchen counter and ran your hands through your hair tiredly, "Things weren't easy at first. He was lost and trying to find himself, and I was way in over my head with work. We weren't good at communicating initially what we both wanted, which," you winced, "I guess is still true for us after all this time.

"When I found out he was Spider-Man, I started to understand more in-depth of what he was going through. I can't imagine how it must have been for the two of you growing up and having these split worlds you had to live in. I could tell Peter was at his breaking point, and things kept unraveling pretty quickly."

"There's a difference between having this super cool secret identity when you're a kid," Cindy mumbled, "Versus when you grow up and you have to figure out how to not have a crisis every time you walk out the door. I don't know how he was able to do it for so long. At Ezekiel's bunker I didn't have to hide my powers because that was the only reason I was there. But he weaponized me, so I didn't have a choice. Peter, however ... I'm not surprised he started to crack. It must have been suffocating."

You nodded, "I think it was after a while. You get tired of the lying, I assume."

"Is that what you're going to do? With Asgard?" Cindy asked, "Are you going to keep those worlds separate?"

You felt a pang of guilt ripple through you as you thought of your family. You remembered how you couldn't tell your mom and sister about your father's past over the holidays, and you realized suddenly why Peter had been so understanding. 

"I don't know," you whispered, "I haven't been able to give it much thought."

"You might want to. It'll sneak up on you before you're ready," Cindy said quietly. 

"Don't remind me," you grumbled.

Silence sifted through the air as the two of you kept your distance. You hadn't had any alone time with Cindy in a long time. You remembered when she'd first appeared and how the two of you had kept up a sort of front that you were going to try to be friends. And you didn't mind her presence. But quickly the two of you had shifted apart. It was only natural, but you now regretted it a bit. 

"The look in Peter's eyes when he thought you were dead," Cindy shook her head, shuddering, "It was terrifying. And the ... the anger," she clenched her fists, "I felt it all coursing through me. It was deep, and dark. It made me realize how Peter must have felt when I was taken. I kept blaming him when I arrived for 'moving on' but now I'm realizing just how that pain stayed with him, and how quickly he was ready to accept it again because he thinks it's what he deserves."

You nodded, remaining quiet as you noticed Cindy was still deep in thought.

"Do you think he'd be okay if ... if I were to leave again?" she asked, looking up at you.

"It depends," you leaned forward, "On how you're planning on leaving."

"You're one of the smartest people here, Y/N, and I'm not going to dumb it down for you because that would be disrespectful to your intelligence. Everyone out there is trying to pretend like no one is going to get hurt or killed, but we know what really needs to happen."

"Tell me."

"You want Whitney dead, and I want Ezekiel dead," Cindy said with steely eyes, "It's only a matter of time before we get our hands on them, and when that time comes we can't hesitate."

"I'm not killing anyone," you said sternly, "I won't go that far."

"You'd be surprised," Cindy's eye twitched. 

You were about to ask Cindy to delve deeper into that when there was a great booming knock on the front doors of the Sanctum. You turned and Cindy started making her way around the kitchen island as the two of you excited together. 

"Can someone knock like that?" Felicia asked, following Stephen and Wanda out into the foyer. 

"Not usually," Wanda muttered, looking to Stephen momentarily before she started walking forward slowly. The knocking came again, and you watched as Wanda and Stephen simultaneously did the same spell and a large sparkling orange shield appeared in front of the both of them. The difference in their magic was obvious from the signs and the way it hummed, but the protection was the same. 

"Careful Wanda," Stephen instructed lowly.

"What if it's Peter?" Harry asked from the doorway of the library.

"I hope not," Stephen whispered as Wanda flung open the door. 

It took you a moment to notice what you were looking at, but when you did you couldn't help but scream. Peter's vibranium arm was sitting on the doorstep and it was obvious that there had been some serious fighting to get it off. It was dripping in blood and you could see that even though the arm had been removed correctly, the arm was still contorted in a painful twist. 

"Wait!" Wanda put her arm out but you pushed past her, Cindy and Felicia on your heels as you fell to your knees and looked at the arm. It was still warm to the touch, which you knew meant that Peter had been wearing it recently, and you sniffled back your tears as you shakily reached for it.

You picked up the arm and underneath was Peter's phone already ringing. You didn't recognize the number, but you were quick to grasp the phone and the arm, turn on your heel, and march back inside.

"Peter?" you called into the phone, putting it on speaker.

"Y/N! Don't -"

"Peter darling can't come to the phone right now," Whitney's voice cooed coldly through the speaker, "I'm afraid he's a bit ... tied up."

"Whitney, you fucking bitch. Where -"

"Oh let's save the drama," Whitney whined, dragging out her words, "You want me dead, I want you dead, and I'd love to see you cry over your stupid little boyfriend. Let's just get this all over with, shall we?"

"What have you done with Peter?" Felicia yelled, "Whitney, I swear -"

"Fe? Oh," you could almost hear the pout in Whitney's voice, "Well rats, I thought I'd properly killed you."

"If you hurt Peter, I'll kill you," Felicia growled, and you realized that she meant it. 

"Oh please!" Whitney laughed, "Wait, hold on! He wants to say hi. Petey? Peter baby!" you could hear some rustling on the other end and then the phone buzzed again, this time asking to FaceTime. Hesitantly, you accepted, and when the screen came to laugh you gasped, nearly dropping the phone.

Your knees almost gave out. Wanda steadied you as you all crowded around the phone. Peter was dangling from a ceiling in an industrial warehouse by only his right wrist. He'd taken quite the beating already, and there was a sickening sound of blood dripping down onto the floor below.

"Don't come," Peter croaked, "Please."

His eyes locked with yours and you suddenly realized what Cindy had meant when she said you'd be surprised how quickly you can agree on killing. You wanted to tear Whitney limb from limb, and you wanted to do it slowly while she suffered. 

"See? He's fine!" Whitney moved so she was now in the foreground with Peter dangling behind her. You cringed at her face, and you now realized why Peter had been so adamant that something was severely wrong with her. Her eyes were completely black and it was like something was moving under the surface of her skin. It was almost as if her veins were pulsing with the black matter underneath her and you couldn't help but hope it was painful.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal," Whitney pouted, "Let's end this once and for all. How about, you come and get your boy and I'll get you in exchange! How does that sound? Fun? And while you're at it, bring along that boring bitch Cindy too. Ezekiel is going to want her. And ... oh shit what was her name again? The little girl? Jessica!" Whitney snapped, "That's it!"

In a second, the smile and happy persona fell away from Whitney's face. She leaned forward and her face and whole demeanor darkened in a sickening way you'd never seen before. 

"You have two hours," she whispered menacingly, "You, Cindy, and Jessica. Where it all started. We'll be waiting. And if we even catch a glimpse of any Avengers, I'll kill Peter immediately. It's time for Cindy and Jessica to go home," she sighed, "And it's time for you to go to your grave."

She hung up before you could say anything and you looked up to see everyone looking at you. No one wanted to be the first one to talk, and no one wanted to say Peter might die. You clung to his arm, holding it tightly to your chest. Interestingly enough, in a moment where you could have fallen apart sobbing, you felt reserved and alert.

"I need to stop at the Asgardian embassy," you said lowly, "And then we're heading over there."

"Where?" Wanda asked, "She didn't exactly give a lot of information."

"Where it all began," Cindy rubbed her forehead, "Where Peter and I sabotaged Ezekiel's plans and he took me back to his world. It's where Jessica and I landed when we arrived back."

"We have to secure Jessica's safety," you said, "She'll unfortunately have to come -"

"No. No way," Cindy shook her head.

"If we don't at least bring her, Peter is dead on the spot," you reminded her, "She has to come. But, luckily for her, she's been trained by two of the best. She can hold her own long enough for us to get Peter."

"And then what?" Felicia asked, "If she sees any of us, Peter's dead."

"No," you held up a finger as you went over Whitney's words in your head, "She said that if she saw a single Avenger, she'd kill Peter. Last I checked, none of us are Avengers."

"You can't go in alone," Stephen spoke up, "The Avengers will want to know -"

In a loud flash of light and a warm glow, Stephen collapsed to the ground. Wanda stood over him, breathing a bit heavily, and she stumbled as she stood back up from her wide stance.

"Sorry," she breathed, "That spell always takes a lot out of me."

"What did you do?!" Harry yelled, looking at Stephen knocked out on the ground, "Did you kill him?"

"No," Wanda scoffed, rolling her eyes, "But he'll be out for a few hours. We all know how the Avengers work. Even if they think they're undetectable, they can ruin things."

"Respect," Felicia whispered, nodding slightly.

"You all go," Wanda said, "I'll do my best to keep everyone else occupied."

"Thank you Wanda," you hugged her with one arm while the other one still craddled Peter's vibranium arm.

"As long as Peter doesn't have his arm, he doesn't have his suit," Felicia noted, "We'll need to get that to him ASAP."

You couldn't believe you were about to say it, or believe it, but you quickly stated, "I have a plan."

First you turned to Harry, "Does that work?" you asked, pointing at the black matter extractor. 

"No," Harry said quickly, "I mean, I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Possibly."

"That'll have to do," you said, "I'm sorry Harry, but when it comes down to it and Whitney can't be saved, killing her to save her from her own destruction is probably going to be our only hope."

Harry winced.

"Wanda," you turned to her now, "I'm going to need you to help me break into the Asgardian embassy. I need to be in and out before Loki detects anything."

"Easy," Wanda flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Great. Cindy," you turned to her now and she met you with a challenging gaze. "I know you don't want to drag Jessica into this and endangering her is the last thing I would want to do either. But she needs to be there. I need you to go to the Compound and get her. Explain to her what happened, and then the two of you can drive Peter's bike back into the city."

"You're stupid if you think Miles will stay behind," Cindy warned you.

"You're right," you groaned and rubbed the back of your neck, "Okay. You, Jessica, and Miles meet us ... meet us at the site for the new Art Fund. They don't have security detail there, so we can group there first."

"And what about me, Boss?" Felicia asked, stepping forward with a small smirk, "You're forgetting me."

"You're going to make sure I don't fall apart," you admitted, "Please. And also to kick ass."

"I like being the muscle," Felicia nodded, "Job accepted."

"Okay," you breathed, "We don't have a lot of time, so Cindy you should head out now. Harry, make your way to the Art Fund, okay? And take Felicia with you. Wanda and I will meet you there."

"Copy," Felicia saluted and Cindy was already on her way out the door. Wanda turned to you and offered her arm before she snapped and the portal opened to your bedroom at the embassy. 

"What are we here for?" Wanda asked quietly, running her fingertips along your fancy bedspread.

"To get what we need and get out," you grumbled, searching through your closet. You hadn't spent a ton of time in the embassy, but you knew a few secrets the building held. You pressed the button in the back of your wardrobe and the back panel slid away, presenting a staircase.

"The weapons room is the old emergency exit," you told Wanda as she looked at you in surprise, "I've seen the blueprints of the building on Loki's desk. Every bedroom has an escape route to the back emergency exit. And now, we can all get to the weapons room safely."

"What are we going to the weapons room for, exactly?" Wanda asked while following you down the narrow staircase.

"Something I wasn't planning to ever need," you said softly, feeling the unease rise in your chest. 

The mace was there waiting for you just as it had been before. You sucked in a deep breath, refused to think of the consequences or what this meant in accepting your Asgardian fate, and you picked up the handle. You were surprised by how light the mace felt in your hand as it swayed slightly back and forth. Giving it a quick twirl, you noticed how well-balanced it was, and you appreciated how deftly it swung through the air.

"What is that?" Wanda asked nervously.

"My inheritance," you grumbled, looking around the room. "These will probably fit. Come on; help me."

Wanda helped you get into a breastplate much like the ones Sif and Valkyrie had made you wear while training. Only this one was far more heavy duty, and when it was properly laced up, fit you much tighter.

"Are we going full armor?" Wanda asked, looking at the long wall of armor on display.

"God no," you snorted, "How pretentious do you think I am?"

In a last minute impulse, you grabbed one of the swords off the wall. You then grabbed one of the archery cases from the wall and slid Peter's arm into it before strapping it to your back, "We need to get this to Peter as quickly as possible. Without it, he's basically a sitting duck."

Unfortunately, that's exactly how Peter felt. His whole body ached and he was sure his right shoulder was going to pop at any moment. The ambush had come out of nowhere and with Whitney's enhanced strength from the black matter, Peter had hardly had a moment to catch his breath. He'd been only one block away from the Sanctum when Whitney threw him into an alley. She knocked him out even quicker, and when he woke up Whitney had a live video of May at work and a snipper posed outside her window across the street awaiting instructions if Peter didn't give Whitney the code to take his arm off.

"This feels so much better, doesn't it?" Whitney asked, sitting back in her chair, "Last time we met things were so unfair."

Peter didn't say anything because he'd refused to engage with her since she'd gotten what she wanted. Whitney was a creature of habit, and even though she was infused with whatever black matter she'd been able to attain, she was still someone's lackey. Only this time it was Ezekiel and he had yet to appear. Until then, Peter couldn't care less about making conversation. 

"I mean, last time you had all your powers and I had nothing. At least this time I have something to level the playing field," Whitney shrugged and brought her hand up. If Peter hadn't seen some crazy shit in his lifetime, watching the black matter move and pulse under Whitney's skin would have done him in. But she seemed to light up with joy whenever she looked at it, so Peter figured the black matter had gone to her brain.

"Now, when I kill you, it'll at least be powerful enough that it'll stick," Whitney yawned, "God knows guns don't do the job anymore. Such a disappointment to see Felicia is still alive. The second that bitch turned on me, I knew we could never work. Of course she'd fall for Y/N's charm. You all seem to. Oh, did you enjoy my present, by the way?" 

Whitney put her feet down from the dilapidated metal desk and leaned forward in her chair with a large smile on her face, "I thought your kitchen could use a little ... color. Shame none of it leaked into that nice carpet across the hall. I've heard red looks good in carpet form."

Peter remained quiet still, allowing her to babble. Sooner or later, Whitney would say something important or information that Peter could use. Until then, he had to reserve whatever was left of his strength - which, in all honesty, wasn't much. 

"Although some people don't appreciate the mob mentality," Whitney said while gritting her teeth, "My dad would have said it was a marvelous trick and he would have promoted me, or invited me to dinner. Instead, Ezekiel said I'd gone too far and locked me up. But no matter!" Whitney clapped her hands and stood up, smiling again, "Now I get to play with you and all your little friends and I can ruin your life. That was always the plan, anyway."

She walked up to Peter, circling him like pray. Peter's feet were probably a solid ten feet off the ground so Whitney reached up and pushed at Peter's ankles, causing him to swing slightly. The pain shot through him with no warning and he yelped, wincing at the pressure on his shoulder. There was no circulation in his body from his waist down. His legs had gone dead a while ago. But the dull ache and throb was starting to amplify greatly.

"I hope you get to see her die," Whitney whispered, eyes sparkling, "That had always been my plan from the start."

"The plan is a little different now, darling. I'm afraid!"

Ezekiel Sims in his oily, disgusting glory, made his entrance followed by a flock of goons. Peter recognized a few of them as the guards from Alchemax, and he knew they all recognized him as the guy who beat the shit out of them. Safe to say Peter had no friends in the warehouse as of present. 

"Aw," Whitney pouted, "I was just going to have a bit of fun with Peter here."

"Oh he's no fun," Ezekiel waved her off, "I promise his girlfriend will be much more fun to play with when she arrives."

Ezekiel now turned to Peter and his smile was sinister, "The only question is, Peter my dear boy, which girlfriend should we play with first?"

"You're not going to touch any of my friends," Peter growled.

"Oh! He speaks!" Ezekiel clapped his hands, "For a scary second there I thought you might have not only lost your arm, but lost your voice as well. And what else has been new with you since I left, Petey?"

"You fucking bastard," Peter spit, and blood trickled from his mouth, "You took Cindy from me."

The growl verberated deep in his chest and he felt the pain of losing her all over again. Looking at Ezekiel now, he realized that the bloodlust he'd first felt when Cindy left had come back. All these years, Peter had had the comfort that at least the bastard who had killed Cindy had also died in the blast. He was suffering somewhere. But now Peter knew the truth, and the rage was taking over again.

"Do you want to kill me, Peter?" Ezekiel yawned, "I was hoping we'd be past that. I kept Cindy alive for you. I would have let her come back eventually and you two could have had this gorgeous reunion or whatever. But then she went and ruined all my plans."

"Where did you find the black matter?" Peter asked, looking to Whitney. Her posture changed as she straightened up and her face glowed with excitement.

Peter had chosen this exact moment to speak with her. Whitney fed off the approval of others. It was all she wanted and yet it was the last thing she'd ever received from her own father. Peter knew that if he addressed Whitney in front of Ezekiel and made it seem he was more interested in her than in Ezekiel, she might loosen up. 

"I went looking for it. I did my research," she stated proudly, "It took me all over the world."

"And yet, Felicia was able to track you through most of it. You slipped off her radar though towards the ends. Congratulations."

"I didn't know she was the one following me," Whitney rolled her eyes, "I just knew I always had a pair of eyes on me. I was hoping it was Harry and his network."

"Harry doesn't care about you," Peter said plainly, "He never has. The only reason he started picking up your calls again was so we could find out where you were."

"That's a lie. Harry loves me. We're the same," Whitney growled, "We share the same history."

"And therefore you mean something to him?" Peter shook his head, "No. You were never on Harry's level. You never shared anything with him other than a bed. He may have been your cute little accomplice a few years ago to get back at me and Y/N, but that was only because he wanted to know more about us, not you. You're delusional."

Whitney growled - straight up growled like an animal - and Ezekiel placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't listen to him, my dear. He's only bitter because he's inferior and no longer relevant to our cause. You will go on to do great things, Whitney. I am sure of that. Black matter is a tricky substance, and it wouldn't just bond with anyone. You're chosen."

"If she's so chosen then why was Harry easily able to create a machine that can take it away from her?" Peter asked, "And why is he coming here right now to do that exact thing?"

"Harry is on his way here?" Whitney asked quietly, "Does he know I'm here?"

"You're the reason he's coming. To destroy you," Peter said.

Ezekiel jumped up onto the desk and in one large blow, punched Peter square in the gut. Pain shot through Peter's entire body and his shoulder felt on the verge of separating from his body. He grunted, attempting to keep the pain inside, but Ezekiel came back for blow after blow.

"We'll see how much of you is left for your friends to come save," he whispered, grasping Peter's jaw tightly in his hand, "And when I'm through with them all you'll be able to do is watch them slowly bleed out while you hang here. They'll litter the floor and you'll only be able to watch."

"I think you severely underestimate who is coming," Peter choked, coughing up more blood, "And I think you greatly miscalculate how pissed off they are."

Pissed was really only a small portion of how you were feeling. This new sensation of confidence and rage channeled through you. When you and Wanda showed up at the Art Fund's location, Harry and Felicia were already waiting. Harry raised his eyebrows at your newly acquired weapon and armor, and Felicia smiled proudly.

"You've never looked sexier," she told you, running her fingertip along one of the spikes on your mace, "This is your best look to date."

"We just have to make sure my uncle doesn't notice that it's gone. I might have just accidentally accepting my throne on New Asgard by taking it."

A shadow passed over Felicia's face as she studied your hesitant one. "And if he asked you to uphold it because you've taken this ... would you?"

"And leave all this behind?" you mused quietly, "We'll see how much is still left after today for me to leave."

"I've always wanted to see New Asgard," Felicia drummed her sharp nails on the mace as she shrugged, "Maybe you could use a new head of security or something? Queen's guard?"

You chuckled, "I think the Asgardians have that covered, but if I need to appoint a royal best friend, I'll give you a call."

"Thandie is going to be so pissed," Felicia whispered in glee.

"Oh, she's well already pissed at me. So is Lazlo. I told Laz to let Linda know the Night Clinic might be in serious need tonight with an influx of patients. And I turned off my tracking location on my phone so Thandie can't find me. Obviously, she's livid."

You knew when this was all over you would owe Thandie and Lazlo big time for all the stress you've put them through. They've been understanding considering the circumstances, but there was only so much you could ask of your best friends to not get involved before they grew frustrated at the lack of what they'd old do to help. But you'd rather never bake again or give Webs up for adoption than get your friends involved in a dangerous situation such as this. So you stood your ground with them. 

"Cindy should be here soon with the kids and then we'll just make the deadline," Felicia informed you, "Harry has what he needs."

Harry definitely had the equipment he needed, but as for morale ... he was clearly lacking.

"I'm going to go," Wanda informed you, "But I just wanted to you to know, on a separate note, that I'm really happy you're doing this Art Fund. It reminds me a lot of Vision, actually."

"Really?" you asked softly, immediately intrigued to hear more of what Wanda had to say. She didn't talk of Vision often. 

"He really loved art, and studying it, and later on after he started to acclimate to his surroundings here he would paint a lot himself."

"I didn't know that!" you gasped, "Do you still have any of his work?"

"Oh loads," Wanda nodded, "It's all stored away safely. But maybe after this we can look at it together. It's been a while since I've had the courage to look at it, but I know he would have wanted it to be shared with others and not stored away collecting dust. Sharing art with others was one of his favorite what he would call 'human activities.'"

Wanda chuckled and you smiled, loving seeing her in her happiest state. You remembered how broken and lost she'd been when you first met her. The journey she had been on and where she was today was truly a testament to how one can overcome pain and loss. You were so proud of her.

"I'd be honored," you said, pulling her in for a hug, "And thank you for all your help."

"Stay safe," she said before disappearing in a while of flashing gold lights. 

"I'm going to keep an eye out for Cindy," Felicia said, heading towards the front. She nodded subtly to Harry, who was sitting at one of the desks just staring at his clasped hands. You nodded back and once she had exited the room, you approached him.

"Hey," you whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Everything's gone wrong," Harry ran his hands through his hair, "None of this was supposed to happen when I came back. I was going to check in and then get out. I didn't mean to cause such a mess."

"None of this is your fault?" you sat down next to him and placed your hand on his knee, "Harry, none of us could have possibly imagined any of this happening."

"I hired Curt Connors and I let him experiment right under my nose," Harry rubbed his forehead tiredly, "I should have been more conscious. Not just now, but always. I incited Whitney to feel like she had to prove herself, or that she deserved revenge when you and Peter got together. I've been far more instrumental in all this madness than you'd ever allow yourself to see."

His eyes were teary and you quickly pulled him into a hug, wrapping him tightly in your arms as he leaned against you. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I wish I could take it all back."

"I'm glad you came back," you admitted, "I ... I missed you. I missed knowing what was going on with you, and how you were doing. Just because I needed you to leave earlier didn't mean I wanted you gone forever. You know I could never be mad at you. The things you did were wrong, sure, but you were under an unbelievable amount of pressure and the circumstances in which you grew up turned you into someone who felt they always had to fight to stay alive."

"But Harry," you forced him to look at you, "That's not living. Fighting to stay alive isn't what makes a life. It's fighting for what you believe in so others can thrive and so you can be happy that cultivate a healthy and happy existence. And after this, I want you to be part of my existence."

"Oh Y/N," Harry sighed through his tears, "No one deserves you. Not even that dick Peter Parker."

"Hey," you pushed his shoulder jokingly as the two of you laughed, "I'll say who I deserve."

"Do you think I deserved you?" Harry asked, grasping your hands in his, "Do you think, if Peter wasn't in the picture and I promised to only improve from here, that we could be happy?"

You contemplated Harry's question because you didn't want to lie to him. You weren't sure if given the circumstances currently if you could ever see yourself with Harry. But you shrugged, "If Peter wasn't in the picture -"

"That little minx," Harry sighed dramatically.

"- and maybe five or so years down the road when you're healthy and focusing on what makes you happy, and you were ready to involve someone else in your life, then yes. Yes, I could see us having a future. But that's never going to happen because Peter is in the picture and I love him so, so much, and I can only hope he still loves me too."

"Can confirm," Harry nodded.

"Well, none of this matters because regardless you're always going to be in my life from here on out. I don't plan on letting you go any time soon. So if you think this is going to be it for us then you're sorely mistaken. If Peter and I end up in that swanky stupid glitzy townhouse, the guest bedroom is going to have your name on it."

"With an equally expensive and stupid swanky name plate," Harry nodded, a small smile on his face, "I love you Y/N. I wish I could give more to you."

"What are you talking about? You've given me more than I deserve. Mostly headaches? But the friendship and support has been nice as well."

"Also, I was great in bed," Harry reminded you, "There's that too."

"I have some notes," you joked.

"Well of course you would now!" Harry guffawed, "Once you sleep with a superhero then I'm sure you have notes for all your exes."

"Cindy's here!" Felicia called, ending the moment you and Harry were sharing. He kissed your forehead and then stood, offering you a hand. 

"You have the extractor?" you asked nervously. He nodded and pulled the canister from the sling back across his chest. You took his hand and led him towards the front where Cindy was standing with Jessica and Miles.

"Y/N!" Jessica cried, flinging herself into your arms, "Is Peter going to be okay?"

"If we have anything to do with it, then he's going to be safe by the end of the day for sure," you told her, smoothing down her hair, "The suit looks good!"

"I made a few modifications from the original design Peter gave me," she said, twirling in her red and gold suit, "But it's perfect."

"You haven't even commented on mine yet," Miles whined playfully, stepping forward. 

You knew Peter had started conceptual designs for Miles the second Miles had been injected with the serum. But you'd yet to see the final product. The suit was streamline, black, and had the same shiny silver webbing across the entire suit the same as everyone else's. The spider was more abstract and covered the majority of Miles's scrawny chest. 

"You look great, Miles," you pulled him in for a hug as well, "What are they calling you now? Spider-Boy?"

"I'm working on it," Miles grunted, "Maybe Peter will let me cop his name."

"Doubt it," Cindy put on her mask, "Now, you two need to listen closely, do you understand me? This is not a game, or any sort of drill we've run. This is real life and these are very dangerous people."

"I don't want to see Ezekiel again," Jessica's bottom lip trembled. 

"Jessy," Cindy turned to her and placed her hands on her shoulders, pulling her close, "I know this is going to be hard, and I know that Ezekiel has hurt you and taken everything away from you. But we only have to deal with him this one last time and then we're free of him, okay? You're Spider-Woman now, not the same Jessica Drew that Ezekiel thought he could control. This family you have now is not one he will take away from you. But you have to be strong, and brave, and you have to listen very closely."

"I'm not scared," Jessica stood a little taller.

"It's okay if you are," Cindy helped her adjust her mask, "Because I am. We can be scared together, because we've been through everything else together. And when we're together, nothing can go wrong, right?"

"Right," Jessica surged forward and gave Cindy a hug.

It was a touching moment and you almost wish you hadn't been present for it. The bond between Jessica and Cindy was strong, and the strength they provided for one another was unbreakable. 

"Okay," Cindy turned to you, "Everyone listen to Y/N. She has a plan."

"Miles," you turned to the young boy, "You're in charge of Harry's safety. I want you with him at all times, okay? Harry has a very important task involving the black matter extraction, so you make sure he gets to Whitney safely, alright?"

Miles saluted and walked over to where Harry was smoking a cigarette and leaning against the doorframe. "You know smoking's bad for you, right?"

"So is swinging through the city at an intense high speed, but I've seen you do it multiple times," Harry commented back. 

"Felicia, I'm going to need you on surveillance," you told her, "Take stock of the guards, and keep us updated on coms what we should expect. Ezekiel doesn't really know about you, so you're our secret weapon."

"Sexy," Felicia stretched up and twisted her body around, cracking her back, "I can do that."

"That leaves us," you turned to Cindy and Jessica, "We're the ones they want, so we'll just walk in."

"Bold," Cindy placed her hand on Jessica's shoulder, "We can't let Ezekiel have the upper hand."

"We won't," you said strongly, "We're three strong, capable women. We can take one measly cowardly man. Women have been doing it for centuries."

"Well, cool. Alright let's go."

"Amazing riveting speech," Felicia said catching up with you as you all exited, "Truly inspiring. I feel unstoppable."

"Cut me a break," you grumbled, "I'm not cut out for this kind of stuff."

"Says the girl wearing literal medieval armor," Cindy smirked. You rolled your eyes.

Harry, Cindy, Jessica and Miles were going to go in the car Harry had brought while you and Felicia drove Peter's bike. You made sure everyone was secure in the car before you handed Felicia her helmet.

"So just a quick question," Felicia said as you a adjusted Peter's arm on your back and the mace in the side holster you'd found for it, "When this is all said and done by the end of the day, you and Peter are going to get back together?"

"That's the plan," you said, looking for your helmet in the back compartment.

"So you're still single now though, right?" Felicia asked, straddling the bike.

"Yeah," you shrugged.

"Okay just real quick then," Felicia grabbed you by the face and planted a huge kiss on your lips, pressing her lips firmly into yours. You were so taken aback that you barely reacted with your eyes wide and whole body frozen. It was long and passionate and you could hear Harry wolf-whistling from the car as Cindy laughed. When Felicia pulled away she winked, and blew an air kiss at you.

"Now I have something to tease Peter about when the two of you get back together," she giggled, "'Oh, Pete, you didn't know your girlfriend and I made out when you were broken up with? Oh my God I gave it to her so good.'"

"Shut up," you grumbled, putting on your helmet, "You just wanted to kiss me."

"So maybe I did," Felicia shrugged as you wrapped your arms around her waist, "But still, the pure fear of losing you in Peter's eyes when he realized your best kiss isn't from him, but from me? Priceless. God, makes me so horny just thinking about it."

"You should really meet Peter's therapist," you offered.

"Oh I'm sure. I'd have lots of stories for her about his fucked up shit."

"I meant for yourself."

"Please," Felicia scoffed, "You love me just the way I am, insane acts of rage, blackmailing, revenge, and all."

"Well," you said as Felicia revved the engine, "You're not wrong."

It didn't take you long to get to the warehouse. You and Felicia didn't speak the entire way, and you checked multiple times to make sure Harry and everyone else was still trailing behind you. When you did finally arrive, Felicia pulled off a few blocks away from the location and Harry parked behind her. Just as planned, Felicia took off for higher ground once coms were distributed. Harry and Miles were going around back, and you, Jessica, and Cindy were going head in. 

"I'm nervous leaving Miles on his own," Cindy whispered, "This is his first mission, and it's not a good starter mission."

"He'll have me," Harry nodded, the three of you talking quietly while Jessica and Miles hyped one another up. It consisted of a lot of handshakes and last-minute hugs for comfort. You wanted to cry. 

"I won't let anything happen to him," Harry said seriously, "He'll be the muscle, but I'll be the protector. I promise."

"Harry ..." Cindy looked like she could cry as she pulled him in for a hug, "I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah whatever," Harry huffed, "Now can we get this over with? Peter, that dumb slut, has been dangling from wherever for far too long."

Peter's legs had gone numb a long time ago. He could no longer feel anything below his waist, and the entire upper half of his body felt like it was on fire. Heat flashes washed over him as the muscle tension and aching would become too severe, and he knew that if he didn't get down from this soon he would lose his legs for good.

Great, he thought, only one working arm out of his four limbs.

"Are they here?" Ezekiel asked from where he was sipping coffee at the small side table. More and more of the Alchemax guards were pouring in every second, it seemed, and they all carried various sizes of boxes filled with equipment. Whitney had busied herself with touching up her makeup, but that didn't gloss over the fact that her eyes were infinite cesspools of black matter, and her skin kept rippling as if it wanted to break free from under the surface.

To answer Ezekiel's question, multiple black trucks came into the warehouse as the doors opened, and Ezekiel stood up in excitement. Out of the first truck stepped none other than Alchemax's CEO himself, Mason Banks.

"I really shouldn't be here," Banks said, eyeing Peter suspiciously, "If that dick tattles, I'm toast."

"He'll be dead in a few hours," Ezekiel waved Peter off, "What's important is what you brought."

"Majority of the tests were well-suited," Banks said as he and Ezekiel watched the men unload four big containers from the back of the trucks, "We lost quite a few men though, unfortunately."

"The strong-willed often have to be weeded out," Ezekiel nodded, "And which components worked?"

"Panther, rhino, jaguar, and python," Banks hummed tiredly, "They're all sedated currently."

"Marvelous," Ezekiel whispered, "Do you hear that Peter? All these years alone working has finally paid off. And in the end, Alchemax will produce the most lethal and indestructible soldiers to date and forever."

"It always comes down to soldiers," Peter stated back dryly, "Because you dicks for brains with mommy issues can never fight your own fucking battles."

"I think you'll learn soon boy that all I care to do is fight for myself," Ezekiel's eyes flashed, "Now, thank you Banks. That will be all."

"I want proof he's dead when he's dead," Banks nodded to Peter, "Send it to my secret server."

"On my honor," Ezekiel held up his hand, "Now, off you go. And take some of these men with you, will you? They're crowding the space."

"I quite like them," Whitney sidled up against one of the guards, "You're, what? Over six foot?"

Peter's eyesight was hazy but he was able to sense the tension between Banks and Ezekiel without much effort. Whatever Ezekiel had on Alchemax, Banks obviously wasn't for it. But, not so against it that he was willing to have Peter's blood on his hands and still work with Ezekiel and his crazy, psychotic ways.

"You've met my dear Jessica," Ezekiel turned back to Peter, "She's truly a passion project of mine. I was devastated when your whore Cindy took her away from me. I thought of Jessica like a daughter of mine."

Peter refused to comment. He thought for a moment of playing dead, in fact.

"She was the first of my successes," Ezekiel sighed, "You inject the subject in the womb so they grow and form around their new powers and capabilities. It's absolutely brilliant. However, the mothers always die. Such a messy moment. But it was learning how Jessica's cells fused with the newly injected spider serum that got me thinking about muscle tissue. Your brain is a muscle, and the most powerful of them all, of course. The only issue was how to constantly provide a source of input through the brain without damaging the rest of the body."

Ezekiel walked up to Peter and batted at Peter's foot. If Peter could even feel his feet at this point, he figured that would hurt.

"But then I came back here," Ezekiel's eyes dazzled again in that way that made Peter incredibly uncomfortable, "I started studying you and your new life, and you'll never guess what I saw."

Slowly, Ezekiel turned around and showed Peter the little patch on the back of his own neck, "Remarkable, isn't it? I'm going to patent the technology the second I can. I picked it up from your cute little girlfriend. Whitney told me all about the biological weapon and how you and your little friends were able to reverse engineer the brunt of the weapon with her patch, and then conducted it to emit the necessary levels of the antidote as her body shifts, changes, and grows. It's brilliant, honestly. And I decided that if someone as rudimentary as you could figure it out, then obviously I could perfect it."

"Hopefully they're here soon," Whitney sighed, "I've missed Y/N. She was always fun to play with. She smells different though. And her hair is longer. It doesn't look as good, and I personally was not a fan of the shoes she bought."

"I let you both leave last time alive," Peter growled, "But there is no way in hell I'll be letting either of you walk away this time. I'm going to kill you both."

"No you aren't," Ezekiel laughed, "You're going to be too busy watching your friends be torn to shreds."

"Any minute now," Whitney checked her watch, "They're cutting it close. Maybe I could shoot Peter once just as a penalty for cutting it just in time?"

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves," Ezekiel reached his palm out and caught some of the blood dripping from the knife wound in Peter's side as if he were holding out his hand to check for rain. "We've spilled enough blood, and any more would attract our new friends from their slumber. I need to finish activating their action plans."

"You do that and I'll wait," Whitney turned to the doors of the open hanger, "Honestly, their time management is not that great."

"Oh sorry, we can leave if you'd like? Come back another time?"

Your voice came out much more confident than you'd initially thought it would. You were honestly proud of yourself considering you genuinely felt like you were going to faint any second. You knew Felicia was somewhere looking over all of you from her high vantage point, and you prayed that Harry and Miles were in position. Jessica reached out and grasped Cindy's hand, and you turned your full attention to Peter.

"Fucking finally," Whitney stood and smiled at you. You felt a flare of hatred tear through you as you looked at her. She'd ruined you life over a year ago and now she felt she was entitled to more. You looked again to Peter's sagging, near-lifeless body and it caused a hot energy to sear through your body.

"Whitney," you nodded to her, "I see Satan hasn't come to collect your souless carcass yet. How nice of you to join us from the depths of Hell saved for people no one want."

Whitney snarled as Peter coughed a laugh. Ezekiel, the oily man you figured was the mad scientists, stepped forward.

"And you must be Y/N. You're a remarkable work of science, I'm sure you know."

"Not exactly how a lady likes to be complimented," you said flatly, "Now, we've done as you've asked. We're here. If you could please uphold your end of the bargain and release Peter, we would be grateful."

"You don't do this often, do you?" Ezekiel asked.

"She's new," Peter muttered, coughing up a bit of blood. That couldn't be a good sign.

"No, but I do work constantly in a variety of politically charged and high intensity debates over negotiations that involve large sums of money and ensuring the support of hundreds of lives that are in need. So this seems easy compared to that, and much less worth my time. We'll take Peter, I'd like to kill Whitney if you don't mind, and then maybe we'll snap your neck on the way out? I feel that may be a fair trade, given the circumstances."

"Oh you little bitch," Whitney spat, "You've grown bold since I've left."

"This is Whitney," you turned to Jessica as you pointed in Whitney's casual direction, "She is significant little importance, completely irrelevant, and always someone's bitch doing the low-level work. Don't pay her any mind."

As you spoke, you could see Felicia's silhouette over the holes in the warehouse's rooftop. Cindy muttered that there were at least thirty guards all with weapons pointed at you, and there were mysterious boxes lining the back of the warehouse you weren't getting a good vibe about. But you needed to get Peter down, and you needed to figure out a way to destabilize Whitney long enough for Harry to get to her.

"I'm going to kill you now," Whitney snarled and pushed aside a few guards to get closer to you, "I should have killed you a long time ago. I'm going to enjoy this."

"I'm going to enjoy this," you mocked her, "God, you're so fucking annoying."

"What do you want, Ezekiel?" Cindy asked, speaking up for the first time. You could detect a slight tremor in her voice. Like you, she was putting on a brave front.

"I want you to come home," Ezekiel stepped forward and the three of you stepped back. You pushed Jessica behind you slightly and your hand itched for the mace tucked into the sling bag across your chest.

"My girls," Ezekiel cooed, "You are the best I've ever dedicated my time to. A ruthless killer with instincts more alert than any animal," he smiled at Cindy, "And my purebred daughter laced with the best product I've ever created."

He reached out to Jessica but you slapped his hand away. Cindy hissed and stepped forward.

"You're not getting anywhere near her," Cindy spat, "And you're not taking us back to your earth. We're home here - the home you tore me from - and I refuse to do your bidding anymore."

"That's not your decision to make. And once you see the successes I've had since you left me, I think you'll change your mind. And if not for your own safety, then for the safety of you ..." Ezekiel looked at you with malice, "... your friends."

"We're not friends," you and Cindy said in unison, rolling your eyes.

"I mean, we could be," you offered, turning to her, "Maybe not best friends."

"We wouldn't have lunch alone together," Cindy agreed, "Or like, text to hang out."

"But like ... group friends," you suggested, "Like we could be cordial in a group."

"Be part of the same girl's night," Cindy nodded.

"Like she could ruin my relationship but she's also not worthy of living in a bunker," you turned back to Ezekiel, "Plus, with her bone structure she could pull anyone she wanted so her face deserves to be out where people can see it."

"Oh do you think so?" Cindy asked, reaching up to her face, "Sometimes I feel like my eyes get too puffy from sleep in the morning? Or if you look closely enough my nose is slightly crooked?"

"I've never noticed," you said.

"What the fuck is this," Peter whispered, earning a glare from Whitney.

What it was, was a distraction. Miles was the one who was decked out with the little canisters of fog that you'd brought last minute to use as a distraction. Harry and Miles were almost in place, Jessica let you know by squeezing your hand twice. She was tracking them through Miles's suit in the screen of her mask. When she let go of your hand, that would be the signal.

"I think it's time for them to die," Whitney suggested, placing her hand on Ezekiel's shoulder, "Let me?"

You reached to your bag and grabbed your mace. You grasped the handle in your hand and the chain released which allowed the mace to come into full view. It glistened in the sun and Whitney looked at it with a bit of uncertainty.

"Oh this? It's new," you shrugged, "Better than a toaster, I reckon."

"You talk a big game," Ezekiel said, "Guards?"

Jessica let go of your hand and you whistled loudly, signalling to Miles to unleash the flashes of fog. The guards surged on you and in that same instant, Miles chucked the smoke machines into the crowd, causing a panic.

"Gas!" someone yelled, "Gas! Get down!"

You and Jessica bolted straight for Peter as Cindy circled back and started taking down as many guards as she could. You'd realized early on that webbing and swinging up to get Peter could potentially cause more damage to Peter by adding any extra weight to his already suspended body. What you needed was to cut him loose and let him fall. The fall wouldn't be fatal, and whoever was below could soften the blow. You just needed to get up there.

Jessica flew in front of you and faced you as you ran at her full force. She placed her hands laced together and you jumped up, landing your one foot into her grasp before Jessica - with her superhuman strength - launched you up into the sky. Pulling out the sword you'd taken from the embassy, you sliced through the chains holding Peter as Jessica webbed any potential holds she could to make a web that would catch Peter on the way down.

Peter fell as you reached for another chain hanging from the ceiling and grasped it tightly in your hands. Your arms burned from the amount of strength you were using to hold yourself up, and once you were secured you quickly shimmied down the chain and ran to where Peter was lying on the ground.

The smoke was starting to thin and it was obvious Cindy had been a devastating tornado, having incapacitated at least half the guards. Miles had entered the fight as well, and you noticed Felicia was doing her best at snipping the guards from above with the tranquilizer gun she'd brought. Harry was still nowhere to be seen.

But none of that mattered to you as you rushed through the raging battle to get to Peter.

"Hi! Hi," you brushed some dirt from his face, "Hi are you okay? Peter?"

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Peter coughed, rolling onto his back.

"Can you move?" you asked, giving him a once over.

"I can't feel my legs," Peter mumbled, "Everything's numb."

"Okay. Hold on," you said, moving around him and lifting up his top half with your hands underneath his armpits.

"This is fucking embarrassing," Peter groaned as you dragged him behind one of the large containers towards the back of the warehouse.

"Oh my God, Peter!" Harry hissed, running over to the two of you.

"Help me," you groaned under Peter's weight while doing your best to sit him upright.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked with panic in his voice as he propped Peter up and then swatted next to him, "Are you hurt?"

"His legs are numb," you said, "The feeling should start to come back soon, hopefully."

"And again, what the fuck are you wearing?" Peter asked you, poking at the breastplate with his one arm, "Is that ... I'm sorry, what time period is this? Is that a mace?"

"I'll explain later," you told him, "But right now ..." you grasped his vibranium arm from the archery bag and secured it into place. Immediately the blue ring lit up and Peter sighed, feeling the control over his suit bring back some serious protection he'd been craving.

"What are you doing here?" you asked Harry, "Why haven't you gone after Whitney yet?"

"You're having him go after Whitney," Peter gawked, "No. That's stupid."

"Fuck you! You can't even get your legs to work!" Harry bit back.

"Boys," you raised your hands, "Peter, stay here until you can get moving again. Here," you shoved a com into his ear and Peter mumbled a small 'ow' as you did so, "Harry, you can follow me. I'll clear you a path to Whitney, okay? She wants me anyway, and she'll probably let her guard down for you."

"I'll go get the extractor," Harry said, running back out of the back of the warehouse.

"What?" you watched him go, baffled that he'd just left the machine sitting unattended. You were about to leave when Peter grasped your hand, pulling your attention back to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked seriously.

"Yes. You?" you reached down and pressed your hand to his thigh, "You're going to be okay?"

"I need to talk to you," he said.

"I need to talk to you too. But I think that might have to wait," you said, looking into his dark brown eyes, "So you have to survive this so we can talk, okay?"

"You look really badass though," Peter commented, "Like, I wouldn't have expected it, but I know I should have expected it."

"Thank you," you smiled.

"Hey, if you two are done fucking, we could use some help," Felicia said into the coms, "I only have one cartridge of tranquilizers left and you've left two children fighting alone."

"Fuck you I'm with them," Cindy said with a fierceness in her voice.

"Right. Right!" you said, scrambling to stand, "Harry, you better come back here this instant!"

You didn't wait for him though, letting go of Peter's hand before running back into the mix. Jessica and Miles were tag-teaming to take down the guards as Miles hit low when Jessica swung high. You recognized their technique and fighting skills from having watched Peter all these years, and you were once again reminded of how integral Peter had been in training them.

Cindy threw a web out at one of the guards and swung them in your direction. Lining yourself up, you swung the mace in an upwards arch and struck the guard in the chin as he swung past before flying into the wall.

"Nice aim," Cindy said, breathing heavily. A guard behind her attempted to get off the ground and she kicked out her foot without even looking, nailing him in the face and knocking him back down, all while keeping eye contact with you.

Jessica landed next to you and leaned forward, her hands on her knees. She groaned, breathing heavily, "I'm so out of shape."

"Okay but if we act like it's a video game and we get special points for every guard we take out, then it's far more fun," Miles said, dropping down next to you on the other side.

"Until Peter is able to help, the three of us are going to be rotating shotput, okay?" Cindy said, "Jessy, flank left and Miles to the right. If we can circle around Ezekiel all at the same time then we can trap him and web him up from multiple angles."

"Any day now!" Felicia yelled from above.

You watched as Jessica and Miles took off in sync, and just as Cindy was turning to leap off, Whitney came out of nowhere and rammed into her. Cindy went flying, and as she slammed against the large black SUV parked off to the side, she dented the vehicle almost in half. Shocked by the sheer force, you froze, and your eyes widened as you looked to Whitney.

"Enough fucking around," she snarled, "You're mine."

In slow motion, it seemed Whitney was lunging for you. Though it was only a second, every horrible thing that Whitney had done flashed before your eyes. Your anger burst inside you like a firework as you were reminded of all the stress, trauma, and pain Whitney had caused you and all your friends since she'd been in your life. The rage sparked through your body like wildfire and you felt your body tensing up and releasing a ripple of energy you couldn't place. Something tore apart inside you, and as you gripped the mace in your hand and spread your stance in preparation of meeting Whitney's blow - you changed.

Loki had mentioned how your father had channeled the powers of the old gods - specifically the god of war - and how the mace had been connected. But he'd never explained how it would happen or what it would feel like. But you knew it was happening.

It was like the whole world slowed down and you were able to anticipate every movement Whitney was about to make. Your body reacted without you even having to think, and you bent down, ducking under Whitney's arm as she swung at you. You grabbed her around her waist with one arm, lifted up, and slammed her down onto the ground as she fell on her back.

Peter could start to feel the tingling in his legs as the feeling started to come back. Blood was flowing through his body again and he was able to roll over onto his stomach and chest to see the battle raging in front of him. Ezekiel was being pelted by multiple webs by Jessica and Miles, and Felicia had also joined the fight on foot as she slashed at the persistant guards. But when Peter turned to you, he couldn't believe what he was watching.

Your movements were smart and calculated. You didn't seem out of breath or even to be struggling as you fought Whitney with ease. Whitney had rolled over onto her knees and was about to get up when you grasped her by the hair, brought her head up, and slammed your knee up into her face, breaking her nose. Dark matter and a mix of blood oozed from her nose and dripped down her face as Whitney smiled and laughed. The black matter oozed back into her system and Peter winced as she threw her arm out and slammed into you, pushing you back as she stood.

You didn't seem to take this seriously though as the distance provided you enough space to wind up and slam the mace in a backsided motion across Whitney's face. She fell to the ground as you swung the mace again, ready to strike but a guard grasped you from behind. You went to throw the guard over your shoulder but Peter reached out with his arm and webbed the guard's foot, pulling with all his strength so the guard fell onto his face, slamming into the floor. You whirled the mace around and knocked the guard out, kicking him away as you turned. Whitney tackled you, pushing you to the ground, and you kicked out at her knee causing her to fall.

Slowly Peter stood on his wobbly legs, breathing heavily as the woozy feeling in his brain caused his vision to go hazy once more. He could tell Cindy was still out cold and he limped over to her, nearly toppling over a few times. A guard came for him but he webbed him with a taser web and pushed the guard weakly to the side as he made it to Cindy's unconscious body.

"Hey. Cin, hey," he slapped at her face lightly and she groaned, blinking awake, "There you are," he grunted, "Come on. Get up."

"Coming from the guy who's been lying down on the job this entire fight," Cindy smirked groggily but accepted Peter's hand when he offered it. She stood, stumbling a bit, but Peter was able to right her while also using her for support.

"What happened to Y/N?" he asked, "Why does she have a mace?"

"Some Asgardian queen thing," Cindy shrugged, wincing as she clutched her shoulder, "Damn, Whitney, that bitch, she hit me hard."

"Where's Harry?" Peter asked, "He mentioned something about an extraction machine?"

"I don't know." Cindy's eye twitched a certain way and Peter stepped an inch to the side as she shot a few webs at the guard approaching. The guard stumbled backwards and Peter lazily shot a web at his feet causing him to trip and fall. Cindy webbed him to the floor and then literally walked over him as she made her way back to the chaos.

"These make me nervous," she said, tapping one of the large containers, "Ezekiel had these at his bunker."

"Banks was here. He said something about them," Peter muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"A little help here!" you cried. Peter, suddenly alert, turned to see Whitney had you pinned with a crowbar on your neck. You were struggling, but Whitney was much stronger, and Peter's entire body burst into action. He webbed out as he ran, webbing both of Whitney's wrists and yanking back, causing her to fly backwards off of you. Peter landed in front of you and helped you up.

"Are you okay?" he asked hurriedly.

"I want her dead," you said, matter-of-factly.

"How about today isn't the day you turn into a killer?" Peter offered.

Cindy, in the meantime, was webbing Whitney up to the wall so tightly that no matter how much Whitney screamed, she couldn't move. Finally, Cindy webbed over her mouth, sighing deeply, "God, she needs to go."

"You're done," Peter said, pointing at Whitney, "You're done."

Whitney screamed against her restraints in response.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Harry ran back into the warehouse just as Felicia beat down the last guard. Miles and Jessica had their hands full with Ezekiel, and Miles's forehead was bleeding for some reason that made you nervous. But they eventually trapped him in a cocoon of webs as he fell to the ground incapacitated.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Cindy asked, glaring at Harry, "We had to do all this work alone!"

"What was I going to do? Run around screaming?" Harry glared back, "No one gave me a fucking weapon!"

"You didn't give him a weapon?" Peter asked, turning to you.

"Do you trust him with a weapon?" you asked in response. Peter turned to Harry and looked him up and down.

"Fair," Peter nodded.

"Are you okay?" Felicia asked, coming over to check on Peter, "Anything broken?"

"A little beaten," Peter nodded, "But nothing I haven't had done to me before."

"Kinky," Felicia muttered.

"Come here. Let me see your forehead," you said, beckoning Miles forward.

He whined like the child he was as he reluctantly stepped forward and allowed you to inspect the cut. Head injuries often bled more than any other injury, even if it was surface level, but you were worried nonetheless.

"I'll hopefully get a sick scar out of it," Miles smiles proudly.

"We don't scar, actually," Peter said, adjusting his arm a bit, "Sorry bud."

"What?"

"Fast healing," Cindy nodded.

"Well that fucking sucks," Miles mumbled.

"Language!" you gasped, glaring at him.

"I guess we should call this in," Peter looked around, "And I'll have to make myself scarce before the authorities ..."

"Oh right," you suddenly felt defeated, even though you'd clearly just won in battle, "I forgot you were still on the run from the law."

"I'll call it in," Cindy said, pulling on her mask.

"Can I talk to you?" Peter whispered, pulling you aside slightly.

You nervously gripped your mace and nodded, still feeling a bit of the adrenaline from the battle coursing through you. You couldn't explain the feeling, but you were a bit scared of how much you'd enjoyed it. You'd loved being in close battle with Whitney and you'd never felt so powerful. But you'd also never felt more dangerous or scared of yourself. 

Peter anxiously gripped your hand as the two of you stood apart from everyone else. Felicia was talking over Miles as he whined about the cut on his forehead and how she was putting the bandage on too tight. Cindy had started dragging the unconscious guards into a pile, you weren't entirely sure why, but you could tell she needed something to distract her from Ezekiel wriggling around in the webs on the ground. Harry was nervously trying to avoid Whitney's eye contact as she glared at him from behind the webs.

"Listen, I'm only going to say this once and sound stupid and then we can pretend it never happened," Peter said softly, pulling you back to look at him. His nose was definitely broken again, and his eyes were bloodshot. You could see a broken vein in the top of his left eye, and a nasty bruise was forming along the right of his jaw - the kind you knew would take quite a few days before it fully healed.

"You're bleeding," you fussed, reaching up and noticing the blood oozing from his hairline, "And it looks deep."

"It doesn't matter," Peter pushed your hand away and grasped it tightly in his, "Y/N, please," he whispered.

"What?" you asked, leaning in slightly, "What's wrong?"

"Um, for one, you're dressed like a fucking battle angel," Peter looked you up and down, "What does this mean?"

"I don't know," you admitted, "I took it without letting Loki know. I kind of just ... stole it."

"From your own embassy?" Peter smirked, "Kind of sexy," he shrugged.

You rolled your eyes, "Oh please. You should watch your tone as you're talking to the future queen of Tønsberg, or New Asgard, or whatever."

Peter watched you closely. "Is that what this means?" he asked.

"Again, I don't know," you looked down at the mace, "But I kind of like it? Not, the fighting, or the danger, but I like feeling the way I'm feeling."

"You were doing amazing out there," Peter nodded, "I was impressed."

"How are your legs?" you asked, looking down, "Are you feeling better?"

"I feel like shit," Peter snorted, "But that's not what I want to talk to you about. Listen, Y/N, please," Peter reached out and grasped your hands again, "I ... love you," he said quietly, "And I, I really ... I know that I've messed up. I know I haven't been a good boyfriend -"

"No, you're a wonderful boyfriend," you quickly told him, grasping his face in both your hands, "I made mistakes too, and I've learned from them. I've never felt more loved," you choked, "And I love -"

Your hands gripping Peter's face stilled and Peter watched as your eyes dulled. You looked confused for a moment and Peter felt a tremor of his senses rippled through him.

"Y/N?" he asked quietly.

"Ow ...?" you whispered, blinking slowly.

You turned and Peter looked past you to see Jessica standing with a small remote-looking device in her hand. Her eyes were glossed over and she seemed to be staring through the two of you. You whimpered, feeling a sharp pain in the back of your neck.

"Jessica," Peter furrowed his eyebrows at her, "What ...?"

"Oh she can't hear you!" Ezekiel called from behind her. He'd been freed, and he was pushing the webs off him with ease, "Jessica can't come to the phone right now."

"Jessy," Cindy reached forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, "It's me. It's Cindy."

Jessica's face contorted into a snarl and in the blink of an eye she was on Cindy. Jessica flung herself at Cindy and Cindy was barely able to block the onslaught of strikes Jessica was effortlessly and easily executing.

"Jessica!" Peter yelled, stepping forward to intervene, but you gripped his arm - hard.

"Peter," you whispered, reaching out towards him but you only stumbled forward. Peter quickly sensed your inability to hold yourself up and caught you as you fell into him.

"Hey, hey," Peter hurriedly gripped onto you, easing you to the ground as your legs completely gave out, "Y/N, hey. Look at me," he looked back at you frantically, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Y/N," Harry breathed, running and falling down next to you and Harry as you whimpered, shakily reaching out for Peter's hand.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked Peter, but Peter just felt hopeless.

"I - I don't know," he stuttered, brushing hair from your face and smoothing his hand down your arm, "She just collapsed."

"M-My neck," you whispered, shivering as your body felt like it was shutting down on you. This feeling was nothing more than a distant nightmare you'd woken up from time and time again since the initial attack you'd suffered at the hands of Kingpin. It had happened so long ago and you'd done everything in your power to forget it. And yet, it all came back to you so quickly as Peter's face registered shock, fear, and a helplessness you hadn't seen in his eyes in a long time.

"No," Peter shook his head and pulled you up again, "Harry," he demanded, "Check her neck."

"W-What? What am I -?" Harry asked, pushing your hair aside.

"What color is it?"

"What?!"

"Her patch! What color?" Peter screamed.

"Red! It's flashing red," Harry yelled back, looking to Peter in worry, "What does that mean?"

"Jessica," Peter turned to see that Jessica was singlehandedly fighting off Cindy, Miles, and Felicia as they all attempted to snap her back from whatever spell Ezekiel had put her under.

Ezekiel.

Peter looked past the raging battle to where Ezekiel was now working with the device Jessica had initially been using, and his chest tightened as he heard the soft beep of the four large containers starting to open. The doors of the compartments slide open and Peter could see the silhouettes of four people started to descend. His mind jumped back to what Mason Banks had mentioned when he dropped them off ... panther, rhino, jaguar, python.

Peter could make out the difference in their features and how they were built. There was a woman tall and slim, but when she crouched down and glared at everyone Peter could see the look of a python in her yellow eyes. The largest man was built like a huge brick and it didn't take much for Peter to deduce he was the specimen with rhino components. The next woman as shorter, but the way her muscles rolled and how she knelt down ready to strike had all the aspects of a panther. The last one, a shorter man, also had similar characteristics Peter was sure were associated with a jaguar.

"This can't be good," Harry whispered.

"Go," you whispered, turning Peter's attention back to you, "I'll be fine."

"You're not fine," Peter shook his head, "You're not. Y/N -"

"Go," you urged him, tears falling down your face.

"Help them," Harry agreed, "I'll protect her."

Harry and Peter shared a moment that you would never be able to understand. Neither of them said anything, but they both seemed to know exactly in that moment what the other was thinking.

"I'm going to get the device and I'm going to fix this," Peter informed you sternly, "I'm going to fix this, I promise."

"Go!" Harry yelled at him, "Jessica is still compromised."

Peter stood and tore his eyes away from your helpless form just in time to see Miles bend down behind Jessica, grab her by the arms, and hold her in place as Cindy strode up with a purpose and punched Jessica in the face so hard Peter winced. Jessica fell to the ground and Cindy quickly crouched over her, opening her eyes and looking into them.

"That should do it," she mumbled, "Whatever that was."

"Good," Felicia grumbled, "Because now we have another problem."

The four animal-enhanced soldiers were starting their prowl, and Peter could sense that they were out for blood. The python-enhanced woman rolled her neck, preparing for battle, and Peter caught a glimpse of a patch similar in style to yours.

So that's how Ezekiel had done it, Peter thought. He'd tapped right into their systems by emitting a constant stream of whatever concoction he'd engineered, and that's how he was controlling them.

"There must be some frequency, or some way in which he can activate them," Cindy said while Miles patted Jessica's face to wake her up. "We get that remote and we get them."

"And we save Y/N," Peter said, his hands curling into fists, "We save Y/N first."

"We have to get Ezekiel," Cindy glared at him, "Or else we lose."

"Or Y/N dies," Peter hissed back.

"My fucking God, okay we do both things at the same time. Easy," Felicia rolled her eyes, "My God, you two sound like you've never had to multi-task before. I'll take the two cats. I have a feeling we'll be evenly matched. Peter, take the mountain over there and Cindy I'm sure can handle the snake, seeing as she can sometimes be one herself."

Cindy rolled her eyes.

"What's happening?" Jessica asked, having slowly started to become conscious again, "Ow," she touched her face where there was a serious bruise forming around her eye where Cindy had knocked her out. "What happened?"

"Everything's fine now," Miles told her hesitantly, "I mean, it's not really fine. We're about to go into battle with some seriously messed up people and you got a little brainwashed there for a second. But you're back now."

"What?" Jessica looked up at Peter and Cindy with fear in her eyes, "I - what?"

"You didn't mean anything you did and we're going to figure it out," Peter told her, "But right now, Miles, I need you to get her out of here."

"What? No!" Jessica yelled, standing up, "I can help!"

Her eyes then drifted to where you were lying on the ground in Harry's arms. A horrified look spread across her face as Miles started to wrap his arms around her and pull her towards the doors of the warehouse.

"No!" she sobbed, "No! I didn't mean - I didn't mean to!"

She kept fighting against Miles in an attempt to get to you, or to join the fight, but Peter noticed a determined look on Miles's face as he dragged Jessica away.

"Take care of her," Peter told him and in that moment, Miles became a man. Peter remembered the first time he became responsible for another person's life in the balance of his hands. He remembered how he'd felt different, and how things had suddenly become so much more real. He'd had months of just swinging around the city and helping with petty theft. Miles had hardly had weeks. But the burden of saving lives and being a hero was placed upon Miles in that moment, and it was in that moment that Peter knew Miles would be a good hero.

"Jessy, come on," Miles whispered to her, "Don't fight me. It's me. We have to get out of here."

"No," Jessica sobbed again, but it was quieter this time and she started to move back with Miles as he pulled her away from the fight. Felicia was already in a deadly dance with the jaguar and panther, and Cindy started approaching the python with stealthy speed.

"Go to the Compound," Peter told them, "And let everyone know what's happening."

Peter had a feeling you were all here under your own authority and considering you'd stolen your equipment from Loki, and none of the Avengers had shown up yet, Peter knew they were none the wiser. But with these new elements in battle, Peter had matured enough to know when he needed help.

His thoughts were knocked out of him as the rhino-enhanced soldier barreled into Peter, sending him flying. Mid-air, Peter reached out and threw out a web around one of the pillars before gaining momentum and swinging back down to slam his heel into the rhino's face. Out of the corner of his eyes, Peter kept an eye on Ezekiel who seemed to be preoccupied with a machine that was spitting out data on the four combatants as they fought. In the middle of this battle, Ezekiel was using them as a test.

Peter was determined to make him fail.

It quickly became obvious that the four soldiers were protecting Ezekiel and Peter, Felicia, and Cindy were attempting to get close to the scientists. Most importantly, they were doing their best to get close to the device that could both save you and hopefully shut down the soldiers.

"I'd like for it to be known," Felicia yelled, flipping over the back of the jaguar and grabbing the back of his shirt, slamming his face into the ground as she landed, "That I am taking on two while the two of you are dicking around and barely handling one each."

She grabbed the panther around the throat with her elbow, jumped up onto the wall and kicked off, bringing the panther down onto the ground before she turned with excellent precision and slammed her fist down.

"Maybe if you weren't trying to show off so much, you'd already have them handled then," Cindy grit her teeth and barely missed another strike from the python. The python-enhanced soldier had the fosters reaction time Peter had ever seen. She was stealthier than anyone he'd ever fought and always ducked out from Cindy's webs at just the right time.

"We need to work together," Peter said, "Confuse them."

"Peter!" Harry yelled, calling his attention, "She's not responding!"

Peter turned with his heart in his throat to see you were now unconscious. Harry was crying, and he was doing everything he could to try to bring you back, but you were unresponsive in his arms.

"We need a distraction!" Cindy yelled, crawling up the wall out of the python's reach before jumping down, landing on the soldier's shoulders, and webbing her face with as much web as she could to blind her.

"A distraction," Peter whispered, stopping dead in his tracks and thinking about what animals - predators - did when they went in for the kill.

They didn't stop.

Peter turned and stared straight on at the rhino-enhanced soldier. He didn't move and he allowed the soldier to charge right at him. The soldier barreled into Peter and threw him back across the warehouse, running after him and punching Peter into the ground.

The panther, excited by the look of the rhino going in for the kill, broke away from Felicia to join. Peter took another hit and weakly raised his arms to block, but the rhino didn't care and kept wailing down on him. Peter felt his collarbone break, and a few of his ribs snapped, but he looked past his attack to see Felicia expertly flip over the jaguar as Cindy webbed the soldier down and land next to Ezekiel.

"Hi there," Felicia smiled at the scientist before head-butting him and taking the device from his hand. She kicked him in the balls and then threw her elbow into the back of his neck, "Stay down, boy," she taunted him before tossing the device to Cindy.

Cindy, who was still on the python's shoulders, grabbed the device mid-air and fumbled with it for a moment before pressing a button and connecting it to the patch in the back of the soldier's neck. She fell to the ground, unconscious, and Cindy jumped off elegantly and landed, tossing the device back to Felicia.

Felicia slid under the jaguar, kicked the soldier in the lower back and swiped the legs out before hopping onto their back and slamming the device into the patch. All struggle left the soldier's body and Felicia stood, turning to Peter.

"Oh, well that looks bad," she said, noticing Peter was barely able to fight off the two soldiers at once - especially after taking such a beating. Cindy and Felicia ran to him and Peter had a feeling it would take a bit more than some webs and fancy maneuvering to take down the rhino. Still, he did his best to stand and held out hope he wouldn't be too late.

You were in and out of consciousness, but you could tell things weren't going according to plan. Harry's arms were shaking around you and as you moaned and looked up at him, you could see the fear in his eyes.

"M'okay," you mumbled, doing your best to let Harry know it was all going to work out.

"They've got the device. You're going to be just fine," Harry said, "Peter's going to figure this out."

"Not quite the ending I had in mind," Whitney's cold voice cut through the air.

While everyone had been distracted by the enhanced soldiers, Jessica's temporary brainwashing, and Ezekiel's threat, Whitney had slowly started to cut herself loose from the webs. And now, much to your annoyance, she was standing over you and Harry with a gun.

"Where did you get a gun?" Harry asked, his whole body going still.

"Oh please," Whitney rolled her eyes, "My father was a crime boss and head of the mafia. You really think I'd show up to any fight without a gun? I'm not stupid."

"I have some data that would prove otherwise," Harry said, "Whitney, you've gone too far this time."

Whitney cackled, "Seriously, H?" You're really going to say that to me? Who is the one who decided to start working with black matter in the first place? Who do you think is the one who gave me the idea to construct that initial bomb?"

Your mind whirled with this information. You and Peter had always figured Harry was the one who had acquired the black matter to build the bomb that had gone off at Stark Industries, taking Peter's arm, but you'd never realized he was also the one who had designed the bomb.

"That was top secret information and you stole it from me," Harry growled, "I never would have used it, and I especially wouldn't have used it to harm Peter."

"Peter," Whitney sneered, "Look at him! He's pathetic!"

Your eyes slowly made their way to where Peter was barely holding himself together. He was covered in blood and you could see that every movement was painful. You'd seen him close to death before and you were afraid this wasn't far off.

"And this one," Whitney kicked your leg. Harry stood so quickly you groaned, now lying with only Harry's hoodie under your head.

"Don't touch her," Harry warned lowly. His voice was deep and menacing and for a moment you thought that if you were Whitney, you'd be scared of Harry. But Whitney had black matter running through her veins and a gun in her hand. From her perspective, she was unstoppable.

The black matter diffuser was lying next to you, forgotten by Harry when he'd jumped to your aid. You tried to move your hand but you whole body was completely incapacitated. You felt sluggish and cold, and you remembered how you'd felt like this only moments before losing consciousness last time. But you strained yourself and kept inching your hand forward bit by bit, reaching towards the diffuser.

"Why do you ever care?" Whitney screeched, "She's nothing! She's not like us! I'm yours!" Whitney sobbed, unleashing her anger. Her black eyes flashed and she snarled at you, "She's weak and pathetic. We could run the world, Harry."

Whitney was mewling for Harry and Harry seemed to understand he could use this to his advantage. He stepped forward and Whitney didn't move, but you felt panic course through your body as you remembered the last time someone Whitney cared about had stepped forward to stop her, and Felicia almost hadn't made it.

"Whitney," Harry said softly, "Give me the gun, baby."

Peter looked over to see Harry attempting to negotiate and play to Whitney's weaknesses, but he wasn't entirely sure this time would be enough. Cindy had been able to finally incapacitate the panther, and now Felicia had her thighs squeezed around the rhino's neck in an attempt to suffocate him while she repeatedly punched down on his head to no avail.

Cindy swung in behind, yelling, "Move!" and Felicia jumped down just in time for Cindy to jam the device into the rhino's neck. The soldier swayed a few times and Cindy jumped down, landing next to where Peter was lying.

Felicia mumbled, "Whoa there big guy," as the rhino swayed one last time and then crashed into a heap on the floor. The floor rattled and Peter felt it in every single one of his injuries.

"Hand me the device," Peter grit his teeth as he shakily reached his hand out. Cindy handed it to him hurriedly as Felicia dashed over to the mainframe Ezekiel had been using.

"I'm going to destroy it all!" she called over her shoulder.

"Save the files!" Peter yelled back, "We'll need them to prove of Alchemax's wrongdoings."

"And save your ass," Cindy mumbled, "Do you think you can figure it out."

The device was incredibly sophisticated and far more advanced than Peter had anticipated, but he started mumbling to Cindy to get him things from the tools scattered around Ezekiel's work space. Cindy ran back and forth, providing Peter with what he needed while Felicia downloaded all the files onto a hard drive. Ezekiel was started to stir, but every time he did Felicia would kick her knee out and knock him back out as if it was just as casual as taking a bite of something or taking another step.

All of this went unnoticed to Whitney though, because you could tell her focus was solely on Harry as he reached his hand out to her.

"You want to build an empire with me?" Harry asked her quietly, "Fine. We can. But first you have to give me the gun."

"No," she sniffled, "You're lying."

"I would never lie to you, Whitney," Harry whispered, "As long as I'm alive, we can be together. We can work together, and build the world you've always wanted together."

"Do you really mean it?" Whitney asked.

The black matter rippled under her skin and her hand faltered slightly before she reached out and handed Harry the gun. He placed it down on the floor slowly and kicked it away, standing just as slowly and raising his hands.

"There," he whispered, "See? Isn't that better when you're not pointing a gun at me?"

Peter watched as Harry's eyes darted over Whitney's shoulder so briefly that if Peter hadn't been so tuned into Harry, he wouldn't have caught it. But Peter shook his head, still attempting to figure out the tech of the device to aid you, and Harry took this signal to keep going.

"There's just one thing," Whitney whispered, "I ... I want her gone."

She looked down at you and you noticed Harry's whole body tense.

"She's not the issue here," Harry told her, "It's just you and me."

"As long as she's around, you'll want her," Whitney said, starting to get angry again, "And I want to be the only one on your mind. I want to be the only one you think about. She was always getting in the way. If it weren't for her, we'd already be together and be ruling our own mafia ring, or our own city together. But no, she always got in the way!"

"Okay! Okay!" Harry moved his hands from where they'd been up in defense and reached out to her, "But first, it's been ages since we've kissed, hasn't it? Wouldn't you like for the last thing Y/N sees before she dies to be us kissing?"

For a moment something like devastation passed through your system. You'd come to trust Harry, and care for him again, and you couldn't believe what you were hearing. You whimpered, and whispered, "Harry ..."

He turned back to you and you could immediately see the pain in his eyes. Whatever game he was playing, you didn't know, but in that one look alone you knew he would keep you safe. You relaxed a little, but when he turned back to Whitney and reached out to her, you felt something ominous was about to happen.

"Did you study black matter like I did?" Harry asked, holding Whitney in his arms.

"Uh huh," she smiled, the black matter rippling through her, "I read all your notes."

"Almost all of them," Harry told her, leaning in and rubbing his nose against hers. "What you probably don't know, is that if you're cut or you're bleeding, the black matter will act in its best interest. It'll cling to the strongest host it can when the substance is as diluted as the black matter running through your veins."

Whitney pouted, clearly confused, "I don't understand."

"You never did," Harry whispered and leaned in to kiss her.

Harry could have been an actor, because the kiss he planted on Whitney was one of serious passion. He clung to her tightly and she melted into his arms, folding into him and clinging to him like he was her lifeline. But then he started to pull away and just as his lips left hers, Harry bit Whitney's lip.

Hard.

"Ow!" Whitney gasped, eyes lighting up at the pain he'd just gotten out of her, "Harry," she laughed, "So naughty."

Harry didn't say anything now and his entire demeanor shifted as Whitney licked at where her skin had just broken. He dove back into the kiss, catching her off-guard, and it was only then what you realized Harry was doing.

"Harry, no!" you cried, hand finally grasping around the black matter diffuser and attempting to move forward but you barely could. Your entire body was screaming at you to give up, and though you felt you were lifting the entire world all you were doing was slowly starting to push yourself up.

Whitney had caught on too late what was happening and when Harry pulled away with time it was like the black matter was magnetized to Harry's body. It poured out of Whitney and into every crevice it could find - Harry's eyes, mouth, nose, ears. The black matter seeped into him and both he and Whitney fell to the ground. Whitney fell gasping, dropping unceremoniously like a sack, as Harry fell to his knees and hunched over falling onto his hands.

"What the fuck ..." Felicia looked with wide eyes, "... was that?"

"Harry," Peter felt a tight pain in his chest as he ran over to where you, Whitney, and Harry were now lying. Whitney was struggling to pull herself up but Cindy placed her foot firmly on Whitney's back and pushed her back down without even looking at her.

"Hey, Harry," Peter snapped his fingers to get Harry's attention. The black matter was obviously attaching itself to Harry as it rippled and moved behind his skin. Peter winced as he noticed it flash through his eyes.

"You lied to me," Whitney growled, barely conscious, "You lied."

"I didn't," Harry shook his head, grasping the black matter diffuser from your weak hold, "I said that as long as I was alive, we could be together."

"Harry no!" Peter and you yelled as Harry plunged the needle of the diffuser into his chest. He gasped loudly and Peter lunged forward to catch him from falling.

"No, no," Harry shook his head, "I'm ... fine. Y/N ... the device."

Peter understood what Harry was saying and he turned to see you collapse back down onto your side having barely been able to hold yourself up.

"Help her," Harry whispered and Peter nodded, crawling to you.

"This is going to hurt," he told you, "I'm so sorry, peaches."

He lifted you into a sitting position and Felicia's hands held you up by your back as Peter leaned you against his shoulder. You felt a searing pain in the back of your neck and you cried out unexpectedly. However Peter had been able to reverse engineer the device, it felt like it was burning into your skin and made from a thousand needles.

"I know. I know," Peter cried, "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

A small and faint beeping noise broke the pain coursing through your body and Peter let go of the device. It rattled to the ground with such a small sound that you couldn't believe something so small had felt so powerful.

"That should work," Peter said, cupping your face, "How do you feel?"

"Better," you breathed, finally able to breathe again, "B-Better."

Your body still ached and you felt like your senses were throbbing as your entire body felt the aftershock. Your lungs ached with every breath and your neck felt stiff. But Felicia's fingers swiped over the antidote patch and she whispered, "It's blue again."

"Good," Peter nodded.

"I'm just going to take care of this," Cindy growled and kicked Whitney in the face, knocking her out. She started to drag Whitney's unconscious body away towards Ezekiel as you crawled over to Harry.

The black matter diffuser was still stuck into his chest and you noticed that majority of the canister was filled now with the gory black liquid.

"Harry," Peter croaked, "What did you do?"

"I'm not as smart as you," Harry winced, "I couldn't figure out a way to dissect the black matter without -"

"Stop it," you cried, "You're going to be fine."

"He's not," Peter told you, hand on your shoulder, "Y/N, he's not."

You couldn't tell if Peter was saying this to let you know, or he was starting to come to the realization himself, but it was obvious the two of you were started to freak out a bit as the color drained from Harry's already pale form.

"I didn't want Whitney to die," Harry whispered, "She ... She lost her way. It's not her fault."

"Harry," you sniffled, "You ... You ..."

"I'm happy," he smiled slightly, "I got to see you again," he reached out and grasped your hand, "And I made you smile again. And Peter," he turned to Peter and reached his other hand out to him, "I got to be with you again and see you. I loved working alongside you. I'm sorry -"

Harry winced as the black matter diffuser finished its job and detached itself from him, drawing in the large needle and rolling off his body and down onto the the ground beside him, "Well that fucking hurt," he mumbled.

His words were slurring together and Peter leaned forward, wrapping his arms under Harry and pulling him up, "It's okay. Look at me, Harry. You're okay."

"I really love you," Harry gushed quietly, tears falling down the side of his face, "And you," he looked past Peter to where your were hunched behind him, "You both ... best part of me. Sorry I hurt ... you both."

"You didn't," you shook your head, "We love you too, Harry."

"Best of me," Harry repeated, "Best of my life, you two."

"You made us so happy," Peter sniffled, "You're an amazing person, Harry."

"Stay together," Harry gripped Peter's hand, "You two."

"Harry -" you gripped his hand tighter.

"Best of me," Harry whispered again. And then he was gone.

Peter had lost a lot of people in his life. He was intimate with death a way others could never understand. But someone he loved dying in his arms - someone he knew he could have had a lot more time with after this - would never hurt any less.

"Harry?" you sniffled, crawling forward and shaking his arm, "Harry?"

"He's gone, Y/N," Peter whispered, slowly lowering Harry down. He closed Harry's eyes and you sobbed, leaning into Peter as Peter leaned back on you.

"I ... I ..." You couldn't figure out what to say, or explain how you were feeling. But Peter seemed to understand as he held you close and kissed the top of your head.

"I know," he mumbled.

"Guys?" Felicia's voice was strained and you looked up to see worry deep in her eyes, "I'm really sorry to break this up but I think if we don't stop her, Cindy's going to kill Ezekiel."

You whipped your head around and looked to where Cindy was holding the gun to Ezekiel's head. He was smiling and spitting up blood, but Cindy pushed the gun harder against his forehead with a vengeance.

"What did you do to Jessica? How could you control her?" Cindy asked for what seemed like probably not the first time, "I'm not going to ask again."

"She's mine," Ezekiel shrugged, "Just like you are. You think I can't turn you on and make you do my bidding?"

"I'd like to see you try," Cindy growled.

"Cin!" Peter stood and helped you up. You both were slow as you limped towards her, but Cindy didn't even flinch or look in your direction.

"You can't kill him," you whispered, "You can't."

"I've killed for this monster multiple times," Cindy said with venom dripping from her words.

"But that's not you," Peter said, "You don't want to kill him."

Cindy laughed cruelly, "That's the thing, Peter."

She turned and looked at him, but still kept her attention on Ezekiel to make sure he wasn't moving. "You don't know me anymore. None of you do. And I'm okay with that. What I had to do to survive, I don't regret. But what I do regret is not choking this man in his sleep years ago. And you're not going to stop me from putting a bullet through his head now."

"Cindy -" Peter started but you cut him off.

"Okay," you said softly, "Do it."

"What?!" Peter looked at you, "No! Cindy, you can't."

"You can't tell her what to do, Peter. And you have no idea what she's been through. All this man has done is sew pain and loss into every person's life that he's touched. And as long as he's alive he's not going to stop. Harry is dead because of him. Jessica was brainwashed and grew up in a bunker because of him. And Cindy ..." you turned to look at her and saw the pain in her eyes.

"Do it," you whispered.

Cindy looked at you, really looked at you, and for the first time, you felt the two of you finally understood one another. She nodded slightly and turned back to Ezekiel who was still laughing lowly under his breath.

"You're done," Cindy whispered, "Not only am I going to kill you, but I'm going to destroy everything you've ever created. I'm going to erase any trace or influence you've ever had on anything or anyone and you'll be non-existent. Your research will be lost to time. I'll erase you from history, and I'll make sure that anyone or anything you had any impact on will no longer exist."

Ezekiel smirked, "Nice try, Cindy darling. You and I both know you have no idea how to get back to my dimension."

Cindy smirked back, "That's cute that you think that."

She leaned down and stared Ezekiel down right in the face, "Look in my eyes and see if I'm lying. You were always good at that, weren't you? Figuring out when I was lying, or when I was trying to hide something from you. Look at my eyes right now and tell me that I didn't just mean every word I said."

Ezekiel's laughter slowly died and you watched as his entire face turned to one of fear.

"No," he shook his head, "No. No, you can't! I've worked too hard to -"

"Any last words?" Cindy asked, removing the safety from the gun.

"I don't regret anything," Ezekiel spat, "And I should have taken Peter, not you."

Peter tensed and you grasped his hand. Without a second thought or even flinching, Cindy pulled the trigger.

The sound echoed through the entire warehouse and for a moment everything was still. Ezekiel's body crumpled to the ground and Cindy dropped the gun, turning away and taking a deep breath.

"Now no more killing," she said, looking at Peter, "I promise."

Cindy folded into Peter's arms and Felicia tiptoed around Ezekiel's body to pull you in for one as well. No one said anything, and when Peter's hand reached out for you blindly, you and Felicia joined in on the group hug.

"We need to figure out what happened to Jessica," Cindy mumbled into Peter's chest and your shoulder.

"And we need to take care of Harry," you sniffled.

"And get you checked out," Peter mumbled, resting his fingertips on the back of your neck.

"I'd also at some point really love a shower," Felicia grumbled, "Maybe a nice hot tea. A spa day would be lovely."

"I have bath bombs at home," you mumbled.

The group hug broke up and Cindy whispered something to Peter about attending to Harry's body. She must have known you didn't have the energy to do so, and Felicia quickly made herself busy by detaining Whitney's unconscious body, along with checking on the knocked-out guards.

Peter groaned and collapsed onto the ground next to you. He no longer had the energy to be able to hold himself up, and he was sure many of his muscles were torn and many of his bones were fractured or broken. You nodded, understanding the pain he was in, and laid down in pain next to him.

You on your side and Peter on his back, the two of you took the time to look at one another without saying anything. Peter's face was splattered with blood. His nose was crooked and there was serious bruising under his eyes, as well as the bruise on his jaw that seemed to only be getting worse. His one eye was now completely red with broken vessels, and the deep cut along his forehead was still dripping blood.

Hit nanotech suit which was usually so shiny and pristine was covered in blood and dented or broken in places. For the first time since you'd met Peter and been in a battle-type situation with him, you realized you probably looked just as bad.

Peter could tell your body was still recovering from your antidote patch being turned off. Your eyes were red and tired, and there were various cuts and bruises littering your face and body. Your lip was busted, and Peter could see that there was a pretty deep cut on your left collarbone that would definitely need stitches.

"Everything hurts," you whispered.

"It'll feel better soon," Peter reached out and your fingertips touched.

You turned your hand over and gripped his tightly while you both continued to not break eye contact. The silence was enough for both of you to know what the other was feeling, but you still knew you had words that needed to be said.

"I don't want to live without you anymore," you admitted, "I mean, we're both so fucked up now and I'm not the same person I was when I met you. I might be worse, honestly. But I want to be with you. I want to fight alongside you. Maybe not ... like this," you winced and Peter cracked a smile, "But I want to be by your side. I love you so much, Peter."

"I love you too," Peter grunted, turning onto his side and wincing, "So fucking much."

"We're the worst," you whispered, giggling slightly, "I mean, look at us."

"We literally could not be uglier," Peter agreed, "And we're bad influences on each other."

"Agreed."

"I saw you kissing Étienne," Peter whispered, "That's why I didn't - that's where I was when Whitney -"

"That was nothing," you assured him quickly, "Just ... a moment type of thing. If you'd stuck around you would have seen me break away knowing it was wrong."

"I want to die with you," Peter said, "Not alone, not in battle. I want to die with you. By your side. Together."

"That's morbid," you whispered.

"But do you feel the same way?"

You nodded. Because you couldn't explain it but you knew exactly what Peter meant. The two of you had cheated death now since meeting one another. You'd lost people. And you both understood what a blessing it was to keep living. And if you were going to live, then you were going to live for each other.

"I'd kiss you right now," Peter winced, "But I literally think one of my ribs is breaking through my skin."

"Oh, lover, we should really get you a doctor," you sat up as best you could and rested your hand on his cheek, "Do you think you can make it to the Night Clinic?"

"Well, unless I'm arrested," Peter winced while sitting up, "Need I remind you, I'm a wanted fugitive."

"We'll figure it out," you promised him.

"I'm sorry," Peter said, looking up at you, "For everything."

You nodded, "I'm sorry too."

"Will you visit me in prison?" Peter asked.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find a way to get arrested so we can be there together," you mused, jokingly.

"That's ridiculous. I'd break you both out in like, five seconds," Felicia rolled her eyes, announcing her presence, "Now get up, losers. We have to get Peter arrested and expose a corrupt government agency. Also, I think Y/N has to like, announce her Asgardian claim of the throne or something. Regardless, we are not getting rid of that sick ass mace. We're keeping it."

* * *

"Go right on back to him'. Cause baby, I've had all I can take. Oh, oh, go on back to him. There's no more to say. If you've made your choice I won't stand in your way. But I wish just one last time. You'd kiss me goodbye. And then you better go on back to him. 'Cause I don't want you to see me cry. Oh, I don't want you to see me cry. Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry." - Solomon Burke

author's note: please let the record show that i did not edit majority of the fight scene because i spent so much time writing it and i desperately did not want to read through it again. i feel like this chapter really had a lot of fan service moments, so hopefully you all enjoyed a few scenes. hopefully you all feel really bad for asking me to kill off harry. i bet you all regret that now, don't you ? 

don't you ?

in all honesty, i was going to kill him off the second i started writing this sequel and then literally right as i was about to write it i was like 'okay but what if i didn't' but then i got jumpy and antsy because i haven't killed anyone off in a while so i decided to go big or go home.

hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter ! we have one last chapter to go, and then we have a short and sweet epilogue that will melt your brains and then we're out of here ! how crazy is that ?