Peter and Mera were back in Peter's apartment. "Thank god we're back. I needed a break." Mera said, lying on Peter's bed. Peter followed suit and laid next to her.
"You said it." he agreed. "First it was the recycling center, then the Sable fiasco, and now the Martin Li incident." he said, putting up a finger for each event that transpired today.
"It's nice to just lay here next to each other and not have to get up anytime soon." Mera said, snuggling closer to Peter.
"Yeah. But I have one last thing to do." Peter said, causing Mera to grumble in irritation. "Don't worry, you won't have to get up or anything." he added, chuckling. He pulled out his phone and dialed Yuri.
"Captain Watanabe." Yuri said on the other line.
"I finally got your evidence. Head to the F.E.A.S.T. center in Chinatown." Peter said.
"What am I going to find?" Yuri asked.
"A nice lady named May Parker, and some really weird stuff hidden in Li's office. But listen.....he's got another attack planned." Peter said.
"Where? When?" Yuri asked.
"Still working on that. But I think he's going to use something called Devil's Breath." Peter said.
"Sounds...destructive. What is it?" Yuri asked.
"A substance created by Oscorp. Possibly a bio weapon of some sort. I have a folder full of info on it that I'm holding onto. I'll send you copies as soon as I can." Peter said.
"Alright. We'll check his office. If the evidence stands up, I'll put out an APB." Yuri said, before hanging up.
Peter sighed and put his phone right beside him on the bed before laying back down with Mera. To his surprise, Mera was on her side, facing away from him in deep thought.
Mera took the opportunity to try and think things through about all the things she has to take care of. She was still debating on how to handle the situation with her father since the last time they met. Is she ready to face him again, or is she trying to persuade herself that she's not ready?
Not to mention the fact that Peter has expressed his love for her and that she could not find herself to say those same three little words back to him, both frustrates and infuriates her. Does she love him? Is she thinking that she loves him? No doubt that she wants to love him, but how can she be so sure?
But the thing that bugged her the most is how is she going to focus on all these things when these Demons are rampaging the city?! It only drives her to want to end their attacks even sooner.
"Mera?" Peter asked, concerned. Mera snapped out of her little trance and looked at Peter. "You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah....I-I'm fine." Mera answered, when in truth, she really wasn't.
"Don't lie." Peter said in a soft tone. "What's bothering you?" he asked. Mera looked down in utter silence for a minute. "Are you thinking about your dad?" he asked.
Mera nodded. Even though it wasn't entirely what was concerning her, it was still true.
"It'll be alright Mera." Peter said, hugging her. "All you can do is keep the faith."
"Hopefully it all does go well." Mera said into Peter's chest.
"That's the spirit Red." Peter said happily. Mera gazed up at him through her mesmerizing ocean-blue eyes, and displayed that amazing smile that Peter loved so much. "It looks like I'm rubbing off on you." he added.
"Maybe a little bit." Mera admitted. She pecked Peter's lips softly. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." she finished. Peter just grinned and leaned back in to give her a more passionate kiss, in which Mera returned.
The two wrapped their arms around each other as the kiss deepened. Peter trailed kisses down Mera's neck, and she moaned in response. Mera then shifted to where she was now on top of Peter, and she moved his face to where his lips met hers again. Peter's phone buzzed underneath him.
Peter groaned in annoyance, as he pulled his phone out and was about to throw it on the bedside table, when he saw who it was that sent him a text. Otto Octavius sent him a message, regarding another experiment that he wanted to see.
Mera on the other hand had no interest in seeing this message, and decided to trail kisses down Peter's neck. Peter groaned as he put down his phone for a moment and placed his hands on Mera's cheeks.
"Mera, as amazing as this feels, something else has come up." he said. Mera got a slightly disappointed look on her face as she registered his last sentence.
"What else has come up?" she asked.
"Dr. Octavius has just begun another experiment. He wants me to come over a little later to test it out." Peter said.
"Oh." Mera said, in a kind of uninterested voice. Peter chuckled at her attempt to hide her disinterest.
"Don't worry, I'll be all yours for another hour, and then the rest of the night." he said. This seemed to perk Mera's spirits up some.
"Well I'll be looking forward to it." Mera said. "Wait a minute.....wasn't his little thing shut down?" she asked.
"Yes, that's why I'm so excited about this." Peter said, with a gleam in his eyes. Something in that gleam made Mera's heart flutter. She then suddenly got the urge to ask him something.
"Do you think that......I could come along?" she asked out of the blue. Peter gave her a skeptical look.
"I thought you weren't interested in what we were doing. Why the sudden change?" he asked. Mera shrugged.
"Well I wanna see what you like to do." she simply said. "And who knows.....maybe I will like it too."
Peter tried not to laugh at her statement. "All right then princess." he said at last.
"In the meantime......" Mera said with a seductive smile. "Let's do something to pass the time." And with that, their lips connected once again.
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Peter swung to Octavius Industries with Mera holding onto him tightly. Once inside, Peter put his Spider-Man suit in his bag and put on his lab coat. Mera looked at him a little funny as she observed him in his coat.
"Why are you wearing this Peter?" Mera asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"This is my lab coat. It's supposed to help protect me in the lab from certain things." Peter replied. "You like it?" he asked.
"Do you want my honest opinion?" Mera asked. Peter slumped a little and sighed, knowing what she was implying.
"You don't like it." he said.
"Nope." Mera giggled. "It looks like you're wearing something that is too big." she commented, walking in a circle around him.
"That's lab coats for you. They're for protection, but they suck in style." Peter said, getting out his card and scanning it to enter. "Dr. Octavius!" Peter called out.
"Peter, hi. I'll be just a minute." Otto called from the other side of the room.
"Woah, check out all of this new equipment." Peter said to himself as he walked through all of it. Mera snagged his arm and walked with him, looking around at the entire area.
These devices were some-what similar to the devices she is used to seeing in Atlantis, except they weren't glowing.....or underwater for that matter. "So this is where you work huh?" Mera asked, continuing to look around.
"Yep." Peter said proudly, looking down at Mera. To be honest, she didn't appear to be as bored as he expected her to be. 'That's a plus.' he thought to himself. "Wanna come in here?" he asked, beckoning her to a door on the other side of the room from where they were.
"Sure." Mera said simply as she allowed Peter to take him into the room. This room was filled with a boatload of pictures and contraptions, along with newspapers of the enemies that Peter has made as Spider-Man over the years.
"This is my headquarters." Peter said, looking around. This piqued Mera's interest a bit, seeing all the things that Peter uses when he comes in here.
"You certainly have a way with contraptions and gadgets." Mera said, looking at all the equipment. She knew better than to touch anything and get yelled at by Peter later on for it.
"Thanks." Peter said. "I try." he added. Mera rolled her eyes playfully at his words, before her eyes caught the enemies again.
"These guys....they look like the ones from your room." she said, looking at the enemies.
"Yep. So many memories I can tell you here. Like this one." Peter said quietly, so that Octavius wouldn't hear them. "Old man Vulture. I've tangled with him more than anyone here, except maybe the kingpin. Or Electro over here. He was the first super-powered villain I've encountered. I was used to guys with guns or knives. Electro was a big change. Big change."
"I'll bet." Mera said. Her yes averted to the picture of Scorpion and she said, "This one kinda creeps me out."
Peter followed her line of sight. "Oh yes, Scorpion. I remember one time he asked me if I knew what the inside of my skull looks like. And then he offered to show it to me." he said.
"Well it's a good thing he didn't." Mera said smugly, looking at him. Peter smiled back at Mera for a second before another voice came behind them.
"Who is this?" Otto asked. The two turned around to face him.
"Otto, this is Mera. Mera, Otto Octavius." Peter said.
"Hi." Mera said, waiving at him with a smile.
"Hello there." Otto said, before a look of recognition appeared on his face. "Hey wait a minute. You're the girl in Italy that Peter wouldn't stop gushing over. Glad to see you two together." he said.
Mera looked up at a blushing Peter, who looked down in embarrassment. "Anyways, I hope you don't mind that I brought her over Dr. Octavius." he said.
"No, not at all. Welcome. It isn't often that we have visitors." Otto said. "Or at least visitors that we actually want to have here." he added darkly.
"Don't worry about that though." Peter quickly assured Mera. "So what do you want to show us Doc?" he asked.
"Ah yes! Follow me." Otto said, walking over to the table he was at before. Peter and Mera saw as they walked over there a new prosthetic arm, made of the metal that they obtained in Italy. "I've realized that we've been looking at prosthetics from the wrong perspective." Octavius added.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, intrigued.
"Why restore people to what they were, when we could make them better!" Otto said. Mera even quirked her brow at the idea he presented. "Alright, let's test it out." he said, grabbing a remote and a coffee mug and heading to the arm. He placed the mug right next to the arm and stepped back. "Ready?" he asked Peter and Mera. They both nodded and he turned on the remote.
The arm started to slowly move all the way up into the air, as if someone was raising their hand. Peter chuckled at the sight. Mera put on a look admiration at the arm as well. Otto then worked the remote so that the arm could come down and grab the mug. But then the remote started to vibrate, as did the arm, and Octavius was starting to struggle with controlling it.
"Everything alright?" Peter asked concerned. But before Otto could respond, the hand grabbed the cup and picked it up slightly off the table, before it suddenly released it. The mug hit the ground and shattered into pieces.
"Damn it!" Otto yelled. "This is all your fault Norman you son of a (insert rude word here),"
Octavius then threw the remote onto a nearby table out of frustration, shocking the young couple in front of him in the process. "I'm sorry." he said in a much calmer voice to the two.
"Don't worry about it." Peter said with a worried face. "Here, we'll clean this up and get ready for another test, while you take a break." he added, getting on the floor and starting to pick up the pieces. Mera started to pick up the pieces alongside with him, but then turned to Octavius.
"It seems you have a history with Norman Osborn." Mera said.
Otto looked in her direction as Peter disposed of the shattered pieces. "We were lab partners in college. Became friends, and decided to start a business." Otto explained. "We both had visions of changing the world.....just in different ways."
Peter then looked back at Otto. "Wait a minute.....you were at Oscorp when it started?" he asked.
Octavius smiled at him. "I'm half the reason it's called Oscorp." Peter and Mera looked at each other in shock, before looking back at Otto. "You see, back then everyone called us the O's. Add 'corp' to that and well.....it is a catchy name."
"Wow." Mera said in response. "So why did you leave?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Well, Norman became more obsessed with genetics. He even started a project that I considered unethical. And there was this......" Otto hesitated, looking down. "Anyways, lawyers got involved. I chose to leave in an exchange for a settlement. But that money didn't last very long. I've been relying on grants ever since." he finished. "My only shot at a new hope rest on if this project works."
"It will work. I'll make the changes myself." Peter said, determinedly. Otto looked at him with a bit of admiration.
"Alright. I'll use the restroom real quickly." Otto said, getting up and moving away.
Peter then took the opportunity to make some adjustments to the arm and the remote control. Mera watched as he worked, completely mesmerized by the way he was executing this task. With so much determination, so much passion, and so.......brainy. 'That is so hot!' she thought to herself as she continued to watch him work.
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A little while later, they had exited the building. Mera still couldn't believe that Peter was able to get that arm to work, and how focused he was in doing it as well. Then she got a feeling as she looked at Peter changing into his Spider-Man gear. A feeling that she was unsure about.
'I don't know what I am feeling right now with Peter. What do I tell him? Do I tell him I love him when I'm not entirely sure that I am? Do I say I'm not in love with him? Am I in love with him?' she thought to herself. She needed to regroup. She needed advice. And she knew just where to get that advice from.
"Peter?" Mera asked.
"Yes?" Peter said, leaving his mask off as he gave Mera his full attention.
"Do you think you can drop me at our spot by the ocean?" she asked.
"You're leaving?" Peter asked, a little depressed. "I thought we were going to.." he trailed off.
"I know. But I have some things I want to sort out by myself. I won't be gone long though. Maybe for like a day or two at most." Mera said.
"Sounds long to me." Peter replied, his face growing sadder by the minute.
"Please Peter?" Mera asked, placing a hand on his cheek. A few moments passed, until Peter finally sighed.
'This seems like something she really needs Pete. It hurts like hell, but if she needs it, then don't be selfish.' he thought to himself. "Okay." he finally said with a small, sad smile.
"Thank you." Mera said, hugging him tightly. Peter put her on his back.
"You sure you don't wanna ride on your cool cyclone thing?" Peter asked.
"I could. But since I'm going to be leaving, I just wanna hold you as long as I can." Mera said. Peter's spirits were lifted a little bit, as he put on his mask.
"Hold on tight." he said, just before he swung off into the night.
Eventually the two made it back to the building and Spider-Man bent down to let Mera off his back. "Are you going to meet your dad?" Peter asked, taking off his mask.
"No." Mera said instantly. "Just going to clear my head a little and take care of some personal business." she said. For some reason, she couldn't find the will to tell Peter what she really was up to.
"Oh. Well alright then." he said, going in and hugging the sea princess. "Hopefully you come back sooner rather than later." he added.
"Me too." Mera said, giving Peter a sad smile. She then leaned in and shared a long and gentle kiss with him.
It pained the both of them that Mera was leaving, but they both knew in the back of their minds that it needed to be done. They refused to stop their kissing for god knows how long, but they cherished every last moment of it as they did. But alas, the two did pull apart and Mera went to the giant hole over the ocean, before looking back at Peter.
"Bye Peter." she said softly.
"Bye Mera." Peter said. "I love you." he added.
Mera froze on the spot, not sure how to react at that statement at all. Peter, who was a little disappointed that he didn't get the response he wanted, just smiled at her.
"You don't have to say it. I'm just saying it to you." he said.
Mera gave him a sad smile, before responding. "It's not that I don't want to. It's-"
"I know. I know." Peter said cutting her off. "Just go ahead, before I come and drag you back to the apartment myself." he added jokingly. Mera released a chuckle, before turning and jumping into the waves.
Peter sighed as he watched her depart. But then his phone started to vibrate a little.
Hey, I wanna help with the Demons some more. I have some info you may want to see. Come to my place for dinner? - MJ.
'Oh wow.' Peter thought as he replied back.
Sure. I'm all for it. I'll be there around seven. - Me.
Peter put on his mask and headed out of the building, glancing at the beautiful sunset contrasting with the ocean. "Come back soon Mera." he said to himself, as he swung off back into the city.