PTR Arachnid 24601

Ch 39 - Iron

WARNINGS: swearing, some underage drinking

NOTE: Hey, basically the same as last chapter! Call me out if I'm promoting stigma surrounding DID. But it's also necessary that I get some things bad (for a lack of a better word) for the sake of being as realistic as possible in a piece of fiction. Enjoy!

3rd POV

Peter walked down the halls of Oscorp, searching for the elevator. He felt uneasy after his talk with Harry. And understandably so. He couldn't just give Harry his blood––it didn't work like that. Harry would find out about his whole superhero gig and while he did trust the other boy, he didn't like the way he spoke of Spider-Man. It was as though the hickory-haired teen thought the so-called vigilante was as shady as the cops said.

Before his thoughts spiralled into self-deprecation territory, he heard someone trip and felt them slam into his side. Reacting on instinct, he caught them.

"Oh! S– Hello," Gwen greeted, her crystal-like blue eyes looking up at Peter in a startled fashion.

"Hey," Parker replied.

"What are you doing here?" Gwen's brows knitted.

"What are you d–"

Before he could echo the blond's question, Gwen took his wrist and hastily dragged him into a nearby supply closet. In the dark, even with limited light reaching them, Peter could easily see as his friend's eyes darted around the halls through the door's window.

"She's not here," a man said as he walked by, gaze searching for someone in particular. Gwen held her breath.

Peter put two and two together. "You're in trouble? Why?"

Gwen nodded. "There was an accident... In the genomics lab. And they're covering it up. That guy from Times Square last night? I met him. He worked here at Oscorp as an electrical engineer. He loved Spider-Man, by the way. Total fanboy."

That earned a short chuckle out of Peter. It was just as quickly replaced with a cringe and a head-shake. "Can't say I got much of a 'love' vibe last night. That guy wanted to kill me with his electricity... vibe."

It was Gwen's turn to laugh. "That's actually kind of what it's like to love you."

Peter stopped himself from making a weird noise. He couldn't tell if her comment was one of bitterness or of sincerity. He'd had to go with the former.

Ooh harsh, HYDRA voice sniggered.

When did you get here? Were you here the whole time? Peter silently asked.

No, dumbass, I was taking a nap.

You can nap? Peter internally exclaimed. He didn't get a reply, but he saw an eye-roll and scoff in his mind. And they didn't look like they belonged to Suave... What the–

"Peter? Still with me?" Gwen waved her hand rapidly in front of Peter's face, causing him startle and jump back. "Woah. You okay?"

He looked around, suddenly remember why he was in a closet in Oscorp. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Sorry, continue."

"I looked up his name on the computer and all the files on him have been erased. Everything on him has been completely wiped from existence." Gwen watched as her friend squinted, looking just as concerned as her. He didn't speak, though, so she moved on. "So... What about you? What are you doing here?"

"Uh," the honey-eyed boy huffed. "Harry."

"What for?"

"He's dying."