Spider-Man: My Gift. My Responsibility. My Curse.

[DragnFire22]

Rain poured from the clouds, flooding the streets of New York City. It was not a drizzle, or a 'light' rain. This precipitation was as if God and all his angels had had a little too much lager, and decided to drain their bladders on to the City that Never Sleeps. When thinking of it that way, Peter Parker couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Mary Jane Watson-Parker asked. She held a newspaper over her head, and water dribbled from the edges as she turned to look at her husband.

"Nothing, babe." Parker smiled and blinked water from his eyes. He didn't have a newspaper to protect. Well, he did, but Mary Jane had promptly confiscated it. The collar of his jacket was flipped up, but it did nothing to stop the rain from running down his back. The only thing he could do was hope that his wife hailed a cab a little quicker.

"You see something funny, Tiger?" Mary Jane's lucious lips curled in to a grin. For a second, there was no rain, no traffic, no New York City. To Parker, all there was the beautiful visage of his wife's face. This moment was shattered, though, when a cab finally pulled over and blasted it's horn. He lept to the door and wrenched it open.

"Ladies first, ma'am - Oof!" His sentence was cut off as the red-headed bombshell elbowed him in the stomach on her way in the cab. "You're lucky I don't bruise easily." He mumbled as he dropped into the car after her. The door slid shut, and Mary Jane directed the cabbie back to the Parker household. The tires splashed water to the curb as the taxi-driver complied, pulling back in to the New York City traffic.

"Thanks for dinner, Pete." His spouse thanked, pulling some wet hair from her face.

"Pete? It's been awhile since you called me Pete." Peter replied, putting his hand in hers. He caught the Cabbie looking at his wife in the rear view window. The othe rman quickly averted his eyes.

"Well, Pete, I've decided I like the name Pete, Pete."

"Glad to hear it, Janey."

"Janey? Janey? Is that the best you can do, Peter PArker?" Mary lovingly leaned in to him, laying her head on his shoulder. He contoured to her body, bringing their inter-locked hands over her abdomen.

"I suppose I can think of a better nickname." Parker used his other hand to carefully outline the side of her face. "I'll just need a little time."

"I've got all the time in the world for you, Tiger."

"I know, babe." Peter smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "I definitely hit the jackpot."

[DragnFire22]

"FUCK this, man! Fuck this all the way to fucking hell, you sonofbitch!" Andre Fuller yelled, backing away from the rest of his gang. They all stood under a bridge, the water running off the edges. Four of them carried submachine guns, another two had pistols. The leader, a tall African-American man, was holding a pistol out to Andre.

"Take the gat and shut the fuck up, Andre." The tall man, Maleek, barked. His finger twitched over the trigger of his SMG, and Andre vsisibly flinched. "Do it, man! We don't have all fucking day!"

"Fine." Fuller tentatively extended his hand and accepted the weapon, weighing it in his hand. "But if we fucking get killed, I'm kicking your ass all the way to hell." This caused an uproar of laughter from the rest, who were all far more fit and bigger than little Andre Fuller.

"We're knocking over a grocery store, man." A latino piped up. He to had a machine gun, but held it like he had used one before. His greasy hair was slicked back and held by a red bandana. "We walk in, point the boomsticks at the little Korean behind the counter, grab the cash, and ditch. Do problemo, senorita."

"Fuck you, Gonzales." Andre snapped. he knew what 'senorita' meant. "And if we're justing using 'em for show, why do we all have 'em?"

"Just can it and follow us." Maleek grunted, shoving past Fuller and moving down the sidewalk. The others followed, instantly slipping in to hunting mode. Their eyes darted all over the street, looking for cops and witnesses. The rain had forced everyone inside; it was the perfect opportunity. Or was it?

Maleek was the first through the door, leveling his machine gun at the clerk behind the counter.

"Hit the tile, bitch!" He screamed as the rest of the team poured through the door. Andre clicked off the safety and swept the inside of the store. No customers. Just Seven armed thugs and an old Korean man who seems to have a weak bladder.

"He said, GET DOWN MOTHER FUCKER!!" Gonzales screamed, leaping over the counter and shoving the elderly man to the ground. His gun grounded into the clerk's skull, and the employee began to weep.

"Shut the fuck up!" Gonzales scream, kicking the man in the stomach. This caused more tears, and he began to mumble incoherently in Korean.

"SHUT THE -"

"Gonzales, cool it!" Andre yelled, to no avail.

"-FUCK UP!" Gonzales finished, but he old man did not waver. Tears wet his cheeks, and his weakly curled up in to a fetal position, praying that he would live. If only such prayers could be answered.

[DragnFire22]

"Well, that was a fun little romp through the city." Mary Jane comments as she slides her key into the Parker Residence's lock. Peter waits behind her, still brushing water off of his coat.

"Not exactly dry though." He replies. Mary Jane, of course, was dry as can be. Quickly, with the speed granted to him by that accident so many years ago, he wraps around her, sharing the rain.

"Oh, you brat!" She laughs, twisting out of his grip. Or, rather, she was allowed to escape his arms. She darted into the apartment, still laughing, and he followed with entertaining thoughts running through his head. Parker shut the door with his foot just as his wife wrapped around him again. This time, they locked lips in a breath-taking kiss. He lifted her off of his feet, manuvering towards the open bedroom door.

"Peter," She broke away from the kiss and looks into his eyes. At first, he thought she was trying to stop this magical moment.

"What is it?" Peter asks, concern flooding his voice. "What's wrong, babe?"

Her eyelids drooped, and he found himself caught up in the perfection of her looks. But he nearly dropped her when she spoke again.

"I want to try and get pregnant." Her voice was blatantly weaker than before, and he knew why.

"Even after..." Parker's setence trailed off to nothing. Both of them had no troubles remembering Mary Jane's last pregnancy. it was like a twisted black scar that would affect them both as long as they lived. You don't simply forget something as terrible as losing a baby before it is born.

"Yes." Mary Jane's voice was stronger, and Peter felt her grip tighten around him. "We can't let one bad moment stop us, Peter. I thought you, of all people, would know that."

"I do." Now his voice was off, nearly to the point of sobbing. He pressed her against his chest, locking their bodies together. Her head leaned on his shoulder, and he could feel his spouse's hot tears flowing from her eyes to his neck. "Mary Jane..."

She leaned back, looking into his eyes. This time her eyelids did not droop. "Yea, tiger?"

"Let's try."

[DragnFire22]

"Gonzales, man...settle down." Maleek sets a hand gently on the Latino's shoulder. His other hand tightened around the grip of his weapon. "We don't need to kill him...we just need him to open the cashdrawer."

"Right..." Gonzales lifts the barrel from the clerk's temple and backs a couple steps away. "Sorry, man..."

"Forget about it." the Leader says as he strides to the cash redigster. "Now, let's get this hunk of shit open, huh?"

"Hell yea." another member of the gang replies, sliding over the counter and looking over the controls. "Holy shit."

"What?" Andre piped up, keeping an eye on the door. "What is it?"

"You aren't gunna believe this," the other thug says with a grin. He lifts one finger and presses a single button. With a beep and a rattle, the cashdrawer slides out of the register, revealing the stacks of bills.

"That's what I'm talking about, esse!" Gonzales reached in and snatched up the stack of twenties. "Look at this money!"

"I see it." Maleek grinned. "Dump the drawer in the bag and let's book."

"Done and done, hombre." Gonzales, smiling, dumped all the bills and change in to a bag held by another thug. Once the bag was full, he discarded the drawer, throwing it into a display of bottle water.

"Can we please go now?" Andre asks, sweat beading his forehead. The gun was beginning to feel even heavier in his grasp. He couldn't help but notice that the Korean man was starting to move from his position on the floor.

"Jesus Christ, you are the biggest chickenshit!" laughs Gonzales as he hops the counter. The bag of money dangles down his back, and nearly every eye in the room watched it. Suddenly, the bag exploded, as did the entirety of Gonzales' chest. He lunged foreard with the force of the blast, falling to Andre's arms. Fuller looked up, and saw the Korean clerk holding a smoking shotgun.

"FUCK!" Andre yelled, pulling Gonzales backwards and out the door. Maleek reacted just as fast, leveling his own weapon at the elderly man.

"Bad move, assclown." He squeezed the trigger, letting off a fucilade of bullets from his machine gun. The clerk reeled back, bullet holes exploding all over his chest and face. He fell back in to a display of cigarettes, dead.

Andre didn't stick around to find out what happened next. He dropped Gonzales' body, and the tattered bag of fried money, and took off down the street. The rain made the sidewalks slick, causing him to nearly fall as he rounded the corner of the block. Fuller heard yelling behind him, but it only spurred him on faster. He turned down alleyways and lost himself in the labyrinth of New York's concrete canyons.

[DragnFire22]

Two Months later

Two months have passed in the busy life of the Parker's, but the New York City weather remains the same. Rain has poured nearly non-stop since that first day, when the Parker's finally tried for children again. Peter, being as busy as he is, has nearly forgotten about Mary Jane wanting to be pregnant. The actual love-making has yet to be forgotten, but the reason had slipped his mind inbetween working at the Bugle and fighting crime.

This is why he is currently sitting at his desk, in the Bugle Bullpen, phone in hand and jaw opened wide. The employees of the Daily Bugle buzz around him, but none of that affects Peter. The only thing that matters is the voice coming through the receiver.

"Are you positive?" He asks, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"You don't get much more positive than this, Tiger." Mary Jane replied. She is at their apartment, holding the freshly used pregnancy test. She is not surprised by Peter's tone or shock, having known he had practically forgotten. "I'm pregnant, Peter."

"Oh Wow..." Peter grips his desk, his hands sticking to it with a force that only he posseses. Dizziness slides through his head, as well as what feels like a jackhammer beating at his temples. The steady thumping of his heart accelerates, pounding in his chest like a bass drum. "Mary...I just can't believe it."

"Well, you better." She laughs. "Looks like you got it on the first try, Petie-boy." Her finger twists through her red locks absent-mindedly. The thought of what Peter felt, more than the actual knowledge of being pregnant, made her happy. Her green eyes glittered with moisture, and he blinked to fight back tears of joy.

"I'm coming home." Peter finally speaks up, leaning over his desk. His breath is ragged, the news taking more of a physical effect than he could have imagined. He was going to be a father. The repercussions of that, especially on his status of a 'superhero', were tremendous.

"Hey Peter!" Robbie Robertson yelled from J. Jonah Jameson's office door. "Peter! Hey! I got a story for ya!"

"Can it wait?!" Peter yells back, standing with the phone receiver still in his hand.

"What's more important than breaking news in Manhattan?" Robbie asks with a grin.

Peter looks down at the phone, and then back to his friend and co-worker. "Mary Jane is pregnant!" Though he didn't know it, MJ heard this through the receiver. She heard the pure joy and love radiating through his voice. The tears poured freely.

"Did you hear that Jonah?!" Robbie shouted back into the office.

"Course I heard it! You idiots are only screaming the news across my bullpen!" Jonah's voice replied. He came to the door, dressed as usual, his cigar spilling ashes on to the floor. "Go home, Parker. I'll get someone else to handle the Scorpion."

"The Scorpion?" Peter's attention snapped to the super-powered threat. Mac Gargan had been taken care of before, by Spider-Man. The villian was supposed to be in jail, how was he out?

"Yea, he broke out of prison and decided to celebrate by tearing up a bureau." Robbie answered. He gave Pete a thumbs up, and ushered Jameson back into the office. As soon as the door was shut, the phone was back to Parker's ear.

"MJ, I..."

"I heard." His wife's voice was unaltered. She knew Peter's sense of responsibility. "Go stop him. I'm not going anywhere."

"Mary Jane?"

"Yes, Tiger?"

"I love you."

"Then make it home tonight. Come home to your family." MJ unconsciously rubbed her hand across the still super-model thin abdomen.

"I promise." Parker whispers, and then hangs up. He grabs his jacket, still wearing a smile, and dashes for the door.

[DragnFire22]

Manhattan

The villain known as the Scorpion rages through Manhattan, hell-bent on finding the man who put him behind bars. Unfortunately for Mac Gargan, that man is also looking for him. And he's not too happy that he can't be at home with his newly pregnant wife.

"SPIDER-MAN!!!" Scorpion roars as he pries a billboard from the roof of a ten-story building. People on the street begin to run and scream as they realize the maniac intends to flatten them under a twenty-foot-tall underwear model.

"Right here, Mac." Spider-Man replies, landing behind Scorpion. Before Gargan can react, Parker launches twin weblines. They connect with the billboard with a wet smack, and Peter yanks backwards. Instead of being hurled to the street, the advertisement is laid out across the rooftop, leaving the Scorpion weaponless. Except the Scorpion himself was a weapon, designed specifically to destroy Spider-Man.

"So, what's the deal today, Gargan? Bad hair day? No love in prison?" Peter quips as he leaps backwards and sticks to the side of the next building over.

"Very funny, webhead." Scorpion growls, his long tail arching over his back. "We'll see how funny you are when you're smeared on the sidewalk!" A stream of green acid explodes from the end of his tail. Spidey sees this, and is quick to leap up and over the dangerous liquid. The acid splatters across the building's wall, burning through the brick and giving it a new window.

"Nice shot, Scorpio."

"It's SCORPION!"

"Yea, whatever Scorpio." Spider-man flips end over end and lands on the opposite side of the rooftop. "But really, what's bothering you?"

"You sent me to jail, locked up with all those crazies!" Gargan screams, taking a step towards the wallcrawler.

"Well, Mac, that's what happens when you do something illegal."

"GRAHHH!!!" The Scorpion leaps forward, arms spread out before him, aching to strangle the webslinger to death. The humiliation he has suffered through all his life comes to a boil. His psychotic mind forces all of the rage and trauma into one undeniable fallocy. He believes Spider-Man is the cause of everything that has gone wrong in his life. And, unfortunately, he will not stop hunting the Spider until one of them falls.

Parker reacts quickly, diving forward and kicking upwards with both feet. They connect with Scoprion's torso, and the villain is sent hurtling over the edge of the rooftop. He freefalls for nearly two stories before grappling onto an overhang. The stone breaks away, and he falls again, this time screaming. Only two stories beofre hitting the pavement, two weblines attach to his body, and he bounces to a halt. Above him, Spider-Man leans over the rooftop, holding the weblines. He secures them to the building, and begins crawling down.

"I couldn't just let you die on me." Parker calls as he slides down the webbing. He comes to a stop a few feet above Gargan.

"Let me go." Scorpion sneers, squirming and wriggling around.

"Good idea. Oh wait, you're the guy who just tried to cover me in acid. I don't think that gives me the "I'll let you go"-vibe. Ya know?"

Suddenly, The Scorpion's tail whiplashes around his body, striking Spider-Man full in the chest. The crimefighter is sent into the front wall of the building, cracking the brick. He falls, slamming into a stone ledge, and then careening to the sidewalk. As the world spins around him, the only thing he can think about is Mary Jane. This one thought pushes away the pain, but he still cannot bring himself to move.

"Help..." He mumbles, turning his head to look into the alley. A man is standing there, looking at him wide-eyed. Peter doesn't know it, but that man, Andre Fuller, is about to become his most hated enemy.

[DragnFire22]

Mary Jane Watson-Parker has never been one to follow the rules. In High School, she was the party girl, the popular girl, the quarterback's girlfriend. And it was about that time that she tricked herself into thinking nothing truly bad would ever happen to her. Now, some of that attitude has faded away. Mostly, because of her relationship with Peter, and the danger she has seen by being Spider-Man's girlfriend, and eventually wife. Now, she was going to be giving birth to Spider-Man's son, or daughter. How she hoped it was a daughter.

Unfortunately, not all of the 'invincible MJ' personality has faded. And this, sadly, is what lead her to leave her Manhattan apartment, and go out into the streets. The Parker household was only two blocks from where the Scorpion was reportedly tearing up the town. Mary Jane had left the house as soon as Peter hung up at the Bugle, taking her husband's camera with her. She wanted pictures of what, with a little convincing, might be Spider-Man's last fight for awhile. How tragic that such good intentions give birth to disastrous events.

It wasn't hard for MJ to locate the battle, all she had to do was follow the screams. Unbeknownst to Peter, MJ was on the sidewalk when the Scorpion was about to hurl the billboard from the roof. She took several pictures as the villain plummeted to the ground. She smiled as her web-headed-hubbie saved him from certain death. And when the hero was thrown to the sidewalk, she screamed.

"SPIDER-MAN!!" She screams, running across the street. He sees her coming, and doesn't understand. She's not supposed to be here, why is she here? What's going on? A million thoughts and worries jumble his brain as he slowly pushes himself up.

"SPIDER-MAN! He's coming!" MJ yells, pointing above him. Above him? What's above me? He thinks, getting up off the ground. The Scorpion. His Spider-Sense flares, forcing him to dive towards his wife. Nanoseconds later, Gargan's massive tail slams into the concrete, shattering it.

"Get out of here, MJ." Peter says inbetween heaving breaths. "It's not safe, he's too dangerous." His Spider-Sense explodes in the back of his head once more. This time, he grabs MJ and rolls backwards. The Scorpion hurtles over them, slamming both fists into the pavement where they had been standing.

"Run for the alley." Parker whispers as he let's MJ go. "I'll distract him long enough to let you get away."

"Peter, be careful."

"Always." He smiles beneath his mask. "I'll see you at home."

She runs for the alley just as the Scorpion attacks again. This time, Spider-Man doesn't dodge. He catches the villain's tail in his hands, stopping the attacking.

"Hey, does this look like Fenway Park?" He asks, arching an eyebrow. Using his massvie strength, he pulls on the tail, bringing Gargan in like a yo-yo. Parker swings with his right hand, putting as much strength as he can into it. The punch connects, and he feels Mac's jaw crack under the force. The mad-man screams as he flies back, skidding along the pavement. He rolls to a stop, and doesn't move.

"Well, that was simple." Peter says, brushing off his hands and looking around. He hears sirens in the distance, and helicopters closing in. "Time for me to get out of here."

But he is stopped dead in his tracks as single, drawn out scream emits from the alley behind him.

[DragnFire22]

"Hand over the purse, lady." Andre Fuller says, pointing a gun directly at Mary Jane. His hand trembles as he realizes this is first mugging, and he really has no idea what is going on. Sweat beads on his forehead, and he right knee visibly quakes.

"I don't want to..." MJ replies, grabbing her purse tightly. She knew Peter was close. All she had to do was scream for him. Plus, this guy looked scared out of his mind.

"Give me the God-damned purse, bitch!!" Fuller yells, gripping the gun and taking a step forward.

"You know, Spider-Man is right out there..."

"I saw him get bitch-slapped by the big green guy. He don't look so tough."

Mary Jane nearly laughed, but thought better of it. Her Peter? Not so tough? The man who had battled so many foes, taken so many hits, suffered needlessly under so many hardships? He wasn't tough? This petty theif was in for a reality check.

"I don't know, he's been in a alot of fights." MJ says instead, daring to glance over her shoulder. She sees Peter one-punch the Scorpion, and takes a chance. "PETER!!!" She screams down the alley.

"Hey! Shut the fuck up!" Andre yells, taking a few more steps towards the model. "You close your god-damned mouth!"

"PETER!"

"I said shut up!" He closes the space swinging with the butt of his gun. She dodges away and tries to run for the opening of the alley. Her shoes pound against the pavement, beating in sync with her racing heart. She sees Peter, her beloved Husband, swinging down into the alley infront of her.

Andre Fuller sees him as well. He had been aiming at MJ's back, ready to shoot her down as she ran from him. But when he say the web-headed hero, he adjusted his aim.

Parker's Spider-Sense exploded in the back of is head. He cut his current webline and dropped, firing two loads of webbing at the shooter. These were not continuous lines, but more like projectiles to turn the weapon off course. they impact on the side of Fuller's pistol just as he pulls the trigger. A round explodes from the chamber, careening off down the alley.

"Son of a bitch!" Andre curses as he dances around, futily attempting to pry the webbing from his weapon. Spider-Man lands before him in a low crouch.

"You think it's fun to shoot at innocent women?" Parker growls, coming to his feet. He advances menacingly, clenching his fists. This man had been ready to shoot Mary Jane, not to mention his unborn child. For that, he would pay in blood. Fast as lightning, Peter swings, conecting his fist with Fuller's face. The thug is sent to the ground, dazed. Quickly, Spidey webs him up, holding him in place until the police can arrive.

"You're lucky I'm a naturally nice guy." He growls as he turns to get Mary Jane.

What he sees is beautiful, but also tragic. Mary Jane, the love of his life, lays peacefully in the middle of the alley. A puddle of blood blosoms out from beneath her like a flower, blood from the bullet that had ripped through her chest.

"MARY JANE!!!!" Peter screams, running at top speed down the alley. He is there in seconds, kneeling beside his lovely wife. Her breathing is ragged, and her body does not move. Her beautiful green eyes flutter open as he grips her hand.

"Peter..." She moans, her voice filled with pain. "Peter...I can't feel anything...my baby...."

"Oh God...Oh God no..." Parker grips her hand in his and uses the other brush hair out from her face. "MJ, don't leave me. Hold on..." He looks out the alley. "Help! For God's Sake! Somebody help me!!"

"Peter..." Her voice calls to him, and he cannot help but think these are her last words. "Peter, I'm sorry..."

"No, MJ...be quiet. This wasn't your fault. None of this was your fault." Peter's words come quickly. He frantically looks out the alley and see a group of people watching. "Somebody help me, please! Call 911! PLEASE!!!"

None of them reply, and he returns to looking down at his spouse. The color is quickly draining from her face, he can tell. She is dying, and he knows it.

"I shouldn't have come..." MJ breathes. "I'm sorry Peter..."

"Mary Jane...no...don't leave me...not again..."

"I love you Tiger,...love you so much..." Her eyes flutter, and the hand enclosed in his goes slack. He can see that the small rise and fall of her chest has stopped.

"Mary Jane!" He yells, bringing both hands to her face. Tears pour beneath his mask, running down his face. Slowly, he rolls up the mask to his nostrils, exposing his lips. He bends down and kisses her lightly on the forehead. "I love you too, Mary Jane."

Spider-Man stands, looking down at the group by the end of the alley. He rolls down the mask and yells to them. "Somebody get the police over hear! Tell them to call the Parker residence!"

He is about to head to the apartment, where he can play the shocked husband, when he hears a noise behind him. Andre Fuller is still webbed to the ground.

"You." Parker hisses, advancing on the man. "You killed her, you son of a bitch! You stole the love from my life! How could you?! Why would you? For what? The ten dollars she keeps in her purse?! The thirty dollar tennis shoes she was wearing? FOR WHAT?!?!"

"Hey man, settle down...it was an accident, I swear to God..." Fuller stammers, squirming under the webbing. "I was trying to shoot you, man! You deflected the bullet at her!"

This stops Parker right where he stands. His head swims with the possibility. Had he killed her? Had his own need to save her truly lead to her death? Was it true? No, it was impossible. This thug, this common bastard had shot her down. He had killed her.

"SHUT UP!" Peter screams, leaping upon the man. He swings once with his right, slamming it into Andre's face. He hits him again, and again, and again. He keeps hitting him until he cannot feel the man move anymore. He doesn't realize how many times his fists connected with the murderer, only that he wasn't moving anymore. Alarmed, Parker checks the gunman's pulse. There was none. Fuller's bones had been broken, his face was a mess of bloody pulp. He was dead.

"What have I done...." Peter backs away, scared and shocked. He hears footsteps coming down the alleyway, sees cops bending to inspect his beautifully dead wife. Without thinking, he leaps up onto the building, crawling and swinging away. Tears continue to fall as he swings back to the apartment. Mary Jane is dead. That single line ran through his head a thousand times over as he headed home.

Mary Jane is dead.

[DragnFire22]

Two Days Later


The rain had come once again. How fitting that the sky surrender it's tears on the day of Mary Jane's funeral? The rain was all Peter could think about as the car he rode in winded through the streets.

The Funeral service had taken place at a Church not far from where Aunt May lived in Queens. The church was old and beautiful, not unlike Aunt May herself. The food had been taken care of mostly by Mary Jane's mother and May, both who seemed to feel catering was out of the queston. Parker did little to protest, realizing that in one way, this was the ladie's way to grieve. And now that all the food was gone, the members of the Funeral Party were making their way to the graveyard.

"This is where your Uncle Ben was buried." May Parker says as the car passes through the wrought-iron gates of the Graveyard. May was dressed all in black, sitting across the limo from Peter. He had not said a word since stepping into the vehicle. Parker's mind had gone blank. The loss of MJ made a white void where he would normally be thinking of her. His life was meaningless without her.

"Of course, it wasn't raining the day we buried Benjamin." May keeps talking, fully aware Peter will not add anything to the conversation. She just doesn't like the odd silence. "What am I saying, I'm sure you can remember the day."

"May, it was me." Peter suddenly speaks, looking directly at his Aunt. "I killed her."

"Peter! What do you mean by that? Of course you didn't kill her!"

"No, the man...he was aiming for me, aiming for the hero. When I deflected the gun...the bullet..it hit her instead of me. I should be in that hearse, not her. Never her."

"Peter..." May's is filled with concern and sadness as she slides around the seats to comfort his nephew. She knows of his escapades as Spider-Man, has known for some time. She is one of the few, besides the late-MJ, that understood Peter's intense sense of Responsibility, his feeling of duty. "Peter, no..do not think that. Do not put this great weight on your already burdened shoulders."

Peter clasped her hand as tears began to slide from his eyes. She softly put her hand on his shoulder, soothing him, whispering comforting words as he wept. All this pain was not his, he did not deserve it. May Parker knew that her nephew was a good man, one of the last great men, just like his Uncle before him. She knew this great trauma was not for Peter to have. He was the last person that deserved another family member ripped from his life.

"I'm done." Parker whispers, holding his Aunt's hand. "May, I'm done."

"Done what, dear?"

"Being Spider-Man. I should have realized this a long time ago. Me being Spider-Man took Ben away from us, and now it has taken my wife and child."

"Peter, calm down..." May grips his hand, which has begun to tighten around hers in anger.

"No, I'm done." He says through clenched teeth, tears still falling freely. "Spider-Man is no more. It's over. I thought I could help people, thought I was responsible enough to handle it, gifted enough. But this is only my curse."

[DragnFire22]

Two Months Later

BRIIIING!
BRIIIIIIING!
BRIIIIIIIIING!
-click-
"Hello, you've reached the Parker's. Peter and I aren't in, so please leave a message! We'll be sure to get right back to ya!" Mary Jane's voice was still recorded onto the answering machine. Her sweet voice drifted out into the apartment, disturbing the previous silence of morning.
"Peter? Peter, are you there?" Aunt May's voice, full of concern, filters out of the answering machine. "Peter, pick up the phone! Please, we need to talk. Jonah Jameson has been ringing my phone off the hook for the past week, wondering where you are! He says he didn't get an answer at your apartment. Obviously, now I know how he feels..."

There is a pause, but the message does not stop. "Peter, I love you. Call me, please." -click-

Parker had heard the entire message, but did not dare pick up the phone. He was sprawled across the couch, belly-down, staring directly at the window. The thick shades were pulled down, but a single ray of light broke through, shining directly on his face. With a grunt, he rolls over, his mind filled with random thoughts. Would he call May? Was it worth it? Would JJJ fire him? He couldn't remember the last time he'd been to the Bugle, let alone where his camera was.

A rotten smell filled his nostrils, worse than the natural stink that had engulfed the entire apartment. Pizza boxes littered the coffee table infront of the couch, as well as the floor. Half-empty chinese take-out boxes, crumpled TV dinners, and burnt bags of popcorn all covered most of the apartment, from the floor to the furniture. Amongst the garbage were an uncountable number of empty beer cans and bottles. Peter's head throbbed as he looked at them. It seems that even superheroes get hangovers.

No. He was no superhero. Not anymore. He was a drunk, living the last couple of months in a constant stupor and with a unending headache. The days ran together, the details meaningless. All he did was grieve for his lost loved-one, shutting out the world. Alcohol became a suplement to his life, and it killed his spirit. He knew all this, and did nothing.

"What is that smell?" Parker groans, sitting up on the couch and unceremoniously scratching himself. He looks down and finds the answer to his question. His t-shirt, once white, is now stained completely with sweat, tears, a variety of foods and liquor, and what looked and smelled like vomit. His boxers were no better.

Suddenly, and quite shockingly, he couldn't remember the last time he had showered. A quick sniff at his armpit clarified that it had been a while. Why hadn't he? Peter knew there was a reason, but couldn't put his finger on it. So, he decided to kill two birds with one stone.

Parker's joints creaked and snapped as he got up and made his way to the bathroom, intent on inspecting the shower and releiving his full bladder. He stumbled over a pizza box, his foot sliding onto an old piece of sausage pizza. Peter didn't stop to clean it off, instead he wiped it on the carpet and proceeded to the restroom.

When he got there, he stood at the toilet, leaning against the wall for support, and let his bladder empty. His pounding headache and all around crappy manner caused him to miss the toilet bowl, but he didn't care. After pulling his boxer's back up, he turns to the shower.

"Oh." Is the only word that escapes his mouth as he spots what lays on the shower floor. Ashes and bits of cloth are strewn all about, covering the charred tile floor. He had come in here the day after MJ's funeral, costume in hand. Peter remembered throwing the suit in the shower, and emptying a can of lighter fluid on it. A single match had nearly ignited the entire shower, burning the spider-webbed suit to cinder. That seemed like such a long, long time ago...

Peter is snapped out of his trip down memory lane as his phone rings once more. He stumbles out of the bathroom and across the living room, weaving between bottles and boxes. Glancing at the caller ID, he recognizes the Bugle's number.

"Here we go." Peter mumbles as he lifts the receiver and prepares for a verbal assault.



To be continued (sometime :p)

[Capt. Obvious]

wow, you certanly have tallent!!!!!!

please finnish the story!!!!