Chapter 2: The Web Of Guilt

The story's characters are based on Marvel's comics

Spiderman fan-fiction collaboration: Dedicated to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Chapter 2: The web of guilt

 “We are surrounded with problems all around us and your job as a student of science and reason is to identify them and then solve them. So, the scope of this year’s project is applying a solution-oriented approach that has the capability of solving a real-world problem. The focus should be on developing a device which can either improve the safety and security of the city or help the society as a whole.”

The words of Mr. Raymond Warren were echoing in the ears of Peter who was sitting by the window looking at him as if he was looking through him; lost in his thoughts, he whispered:

“Improve the safety and security of the city… only if I had…”

“Only if you had stopped that woman that day, Aunt May would not be dead. It was you, Peter. It was your fault.” Mr. Warren’s eyes widened into a manic gaze with his lips forming a creepy smile, a blanket of darkness surrounding him and swallowing everything around him.

Peter’s mind froze, he felt dizzy as he remembered the shot sounding like the clap of thunder which snapped him out of his trance. It was raining outside. He found himself teary-eyed but quickly collected himself as he realized Mr. Warren still standing there, looking at him as if expecting a response to a question he asked before. The bell rang and everyone rushed outside.

“To my office, Peter.” His teacher said. Peter followed him to his office which was fairly small yet decent enough. Mr. Warren had a small table which had a chair backing the wall for himself and two chairs facing his across the table, backing the door. There was an almirah on the right and a large bookcase filled with all sorts of boxes full of papers, records, and books. There was a window on one end which had a beautiful tree with birds nesting inside.

He sat him down on one of his cushiony chairs poured him some tea and stood by his side, leaning against the table.

“Life is hard, Peter but as a scientist, you need to observe and not be affected by it.

Peter listened with his gaze down.

“You need to accept it to come out of it. If you need anything, anything at all, just reach out.”

He nodded and finished his tea. He sat there in silence for a couple more minutes and then took his leave.

As he came out of his office, Summar approached him.

“Hey…” a soft calming tone, she asked him, “Are you okay?”

“Yes… yes, I am.”: forcing reassurance in his words. She noticed his perspiring restless hands and shaky voice but did not want to pry, aware of how the recent events had unfolded for him, she had heard of how Aunt May was killed. It was in the local news. She put her warm hand over his jittering ones, “You know you can talk to me. I am here for you.”

If only he could share his pain with her but, how could he? He didn’t even share it with himself. Burdened by his own guilt, he lied to her and to himself. “Yes, I know. So, what do you think we should work on?” trying to change the subject; withdrawing his hands.

“I have a few things on my mind but let’s take some time off tonight to brainstorm on it and we can meet up after school tomorrow to share the ideas.”

“Tomorrow, it is.” He responded with a soft smile on his face to conceal his deep sorrow.

On the other end, his friends were having struggles of their own.

“How is Peter doing?” asked Norman Osborn, Harry’s father in a concerning way.

“Not sure.” Replied his son.

“Why? You two are friends, right?”

“I think so but we haven’t spoken in 3 months since…” he paused.

“Poor kid. First his parents and now his Aunt.”

Harry’s phone buzzed. It was MJ (Mary Jane). He ignored the call which his father noticed.

“Still dating that waitress, Harry?”

“If only you could meet her once…”; before he could finish, he was interrupted, “That’s disappointing. Illusions are not reality, Harry. Break out of yours before it breaks you. You’re an Osborn. You’re my son; my only heir. Maybe it’s time you start acting more responsibly and make your father proud for once.” – he stood up and turned away from him in dismay as he was walking away, he recalled something and turned to Harry to say,

“And yes, tell Peter to see me in my office tomorrow for the internship he applied for. He is a talented young man, and his gifts should not go to waste. He is a bright one. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from him.”

Harry shook his head as his neck dropped and he looked at his phone which had a picture of MJ kissing Harry on his cheek. Sadness engulfed him. If only his father could embrace him as quickly as the sorrow did; then maybe he wouldn’t have felt so alone in that big mansion which was full of precious things yet had nothing that could fill him with joy and made him feel loved.

Meanwhile, Peter arrived at home to find Uncle Ben sitting alone who glanced at him once but did not utter a word. The photograph of Aunt May was on the table beside him as if the chair beside him was left empty for Aunt May to join her. He had been talking to her picture lately and losing touch with reality which hit him hard every single time he saw Peter. The resentment he had in his heart was only growing for him as he believed if only he had not left that day angrily, Aunt May would have been alive. The love of his life.

“Did you take your meds today?” - asked Peter.

Didn’t want to engage in a conversation so he nodded in response.

Peter had got some pizza from Grab-a-slice! He served some to Uncle Ben and took some for himself. He noticed the headline from todays’ newspaper: “Another kid went missing near the sewers, body found mutilated.”

“I’ll be in my room.” And he left Uncle Ben at the table.

As he took a bite, it reminded him of Aunt May who used to pamper him with different delicacies. She was not the best chef but her food had her warmth and affection. No matter how much he tried to make peace with it, he couldn’t. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” The sound of those words with her dying breath, were fresh in his head. Thinking of those, he took out his suit and opened the window of his room, spun a web and swung out into the cityscape.

The city looked quite different at night. All the corners which are illuminated in the daylight, become eerily silent and dark as the dusk sets in. The body of the missing kid report had intrigued his interest and that was not the only report he had heard or read about. Several people had gone missing in the past month, men, women and men, none were spared. He knew something was off about those killings. Some families were lucky, at least they had found some bodies and were able to identify them but others were still waiting for their loved ones to return one day. The police had no clue until now but they suspected a serial killer behind it. But it looked like there was something more to the story which is what Peter was after.

As he was swinging at the outskirts of the city, a sudden scream drew his attention to the sewers. There was a factory nearby and the area was not that safe either. He suspected a thief but as he reached the source, someone else caught his eye. He found the handbag; shredded nearby indicating some struggle but nothing was stolen. The bag, ID, and the little cash she had were all in there but no sign of her. He tried to look around but it felt as if she had vanished in thin air. All he had left with was some unpleasant smell, some fur, and some claw marks on the shredded bag and on the wall. And in that moment, he realized, it was no ordinary man they were looking for… it was something else.

The next day he met Summar who told him she was thinking of working on a sensory device that could be used to incapacitate the adversary and make it easier for the Police to overpower the person. That way they would not have to shoot him/her but physiologically paralyze them for a few minutes to detain them.

“Wow where did you get the idea from?”

“My cat.” She replied.

“How so?”

“Yesterday she brought me a mouse and as soon as I saw it, frightened, I shrugged it off aggressively. As soon as the mouse hit the floor, it just came back to life and ran off and my cat started chasing him again. I realized in the moment that he might just be shocked when Kiwi (my cat) caught him. So, I though what if we highjack the sensors of the person the same way in which they go into a paralytic state and then overpower them.”

“That’s impressive and dark at the same time. I don’t know if I should be impressed or afraid of you.”

She laughed it off but the idea was set now they needed some expert advice to work on. They decided to prepare a proposal report for Mr. Warren and once he approved it, they could start working on the same.

That night, Peter thought to visit the same place to see if the “killer” showed up again. However, a police radio information caught his attention.

“There has been a robbery at the bank, and people are attacking the police screaming at them. Calling them “Vampires.”

“Vampires?”

“Yea, there seem to be mass hysteria.”

And the connection got lost.

As soon as he heard that, he thought to himself: “Sounds like a Spiderman urgency.” The web-slinger crawled outside to swing to the rooftop and swung away to the location of the bank. Meanwhile, Harry was calling MJ’s name from the outside of the bank who was apparently under the spell too. The Spiderman got inside from the top of the building and crawled on the pillars of the main floor only to notice a strange frenzy in people. They were attacking each other the police while screaming that they were vampires but there was nothing else. He also noticed MJ whom he took to the corner and webbed her to the wall when she tried to attack him.

A strange phenomenon occurred when he noticed someone was controlling them all, giving them false visions. The money from the bank was taken along with something more valuable from locker 333. The web-slinger saw a man in the hat standing on the first floor, peeping through the shadows and enjoying the peep show. He tried to chase him but as soon as he confronted him, he looked into his eyes and hypnotized him too. The scene from Aunt May’s accident kept playing in the loop and Spiderman kept failing to save her.

The man smiled and told him telepathically, “You let her do it, didn’t you? I see your guilt.” He paused a little and said,” I see you, Peter.” Shiver ran through Peter’s spine. He smirked at him and he was able to see a glimpse of him in the light. He had a scar on his right cheek which ran across his face. His eyes were composed and he said to him, “We’ll meet again, Parker. Until then…” and he vanished into the thin air.

As soon as disappeared, everything came to a standstill. People came back to their senses. The police took everyone out safely and started taking their statements. Peter, scared and helpless, left as he saw Harry running towards MJ who was right next to him.

“Shared psychosis or witchcraft?” read the headlines of the next-day newspaper. Peter was still shocked and was not sure what had happened last night. There was already one freak running around the city and now this.

He went to school and checked in on MJ who was not there she wasn’t there but Harry was.

“hey!” said Peter.

Harry nodded.

“I heard about the incident last night. Everyone was talking about how you and MJ were there. Are you okay?”

Harry was sad and angry at the same time but responded softly to him, “Yes, yes we are. How are you holding up?”

“As fine as I can be.” – not sure if he was but didn’t want Harry to overthink.

“where is MJ?” Peter asked.

“She was not feeling well so she stayed home to rest. I am going to check on her after school.”

Harry stopped himself for a second but then said, “You can come by if you want.”

And before he could respond, he continued, “I forgot to mention in all this, my father wanted to see you in his office to talk about the internship program you applied for at Oscorp.”

Peter was a little taken aback, “I think you should go see him today, I can tell MJ, you sent your regards.”

Harry did not want to make it more awkward, he patted his shoulder and nodded to take his leave.

Peter stood there alone, and old memories of him and Harry clouded his mind when Summar patted his back and asked him if he had done any work on the project report.

“Sorry, I am running a bit behind the schedule.”

“That’s not very like you, Peter but given the recent events, I can see why everyone is a little distracted.” She was referring to the incident last night.

As she was about to leave, he held her hand abruptly and left all of a sudden. She was a little confused. He realized lately how supportive she had been of him and how dismissive he had been to her. She has been the only beaming glimmer of hope in his life in the past few months. He still cared about MJ but he needed to move on. So he asked her, “If you’re not too busy, can we go out for dinner?”

“Are you asking me out?”

“If I were. Hypothetically. Would you?”

She chuckled, “It’s a date. Hypothetically.”

He smiled softly as she held his hand and they out of there together.