A Watery Web

Chapter 15

Peter, still dressed in his Spider-Man costume without the mask was currently sitting near a table where Mera was lying He was staring down at a blanket in his arms. A sweaty and dejected Dr. Connors was standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Peter." he said.

Peter did not respond. All he could do was look down in despair at his tiny daughter in his arms. She had barely taken the form of a human/atlantean, and was still in the fetal position.

"I promise. I did everything that I could." Dr. Connors said, starting to sound guilty.

"I know." Peter quickly said, looking at Dr. Connors. "Thank you for trying." he added softly. Connors only gave a single nod in response.

Peter then refocused his attention on the baby. Out of all the craziness that had happened prior to and after the discovery of her, the one innocent factor in all of this was the baby itself. She was going to be a beacon of light and hope for both himself and Mera. And now she's gone, which alone was discouraging. What made the situation worse was the fact that he would have to eventually share the news with Mera once she awoke that they had lost their daughter.

He didn't have to wait for long.

Groaning was heard from where Mera was laying down. Blinking, she started surveying the room, while still lying down. And then her eyes rested upon Peter. "Peter.....where am I?" she mumbled.

"In Dr. Connors' office." Peter responded.

"The one-armed lizard guy?" Mera asked, putting a hand to her face, still waking up. Dr. Connors stiffened a little at the way she addressed him.

"Yes. The same." Peter responded.

"Why does my stomach feel different?" she asked, placing her hand to her stomach. And that's when her eyes suddenly snapped open with panic. "Peter, the baby! I can't feel her, where is she?!" she asked, sitting up.

Dr. Connors quickly rushed to her side, urging her to lie back down. But Mera was having none of it. "WHERE IS SHE?!!" she asked, looking at Peter once again. That's when she noticed the blankets in his arms.

Peter then gave her a sad expression as he motioned to the blankets. He then walked closer to her so she could see for herself. Mera sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of their unborn child, with her hands quickly covering her mouth. All feelings of warmth and mirth had vanished for her at that moment and was replaced with absolute despair.

"No! No she......she's not dead! She CAN'T be!" she cried out, finally sitting up and getting off the table.

Peter just sighed and looked down at their daughter again. "I'm sorry Mera." he said quietly. "She's gone."

Tears started to cloud Mera's vision as the terrible truth finally started to sink in. Whimpering, she reached over and took the tiny lifeless form from the blankets Peter was holding and cradled it in her hands. "Noooooooo." she cried quietly. "Please, no."

Dr. Connors and Peter just glanced at each other before Peter got up and went to his mourning girlfriend. "We did everything we could to save her. But it just....wasn't enough." he said.

Anger quickly filled Mera in that instant at his words. "It wasn't enough?! I don't buy it!" she spat out, forcing their daughter back into Peter's hands. "You couldn't have brought her to somewhere else?! Somewhere more capable with these things?!"

"Everywhere else was too far away Mera we would have run out of time before they even would have a chance to-" Peter started to say, but Mera was in no mood to listen.