Unlikely Alliance (Spider-Man Fanfic)

P1: Chapter 18

Peter (streets of New York, May 6th, morning)

"Keep walking." I murmured to Sha. She kept yawning, stumbling along on her tired limbs.

"We've been up for-" she wrinkled her brow and turned her head over to me, not opening her eyes, "how long have we been up?"

"Well," I said, my eyes scanning the city. People went on with their daily lives. But police seemed to circle the streets like sharks. "we didn't sleep last night, I'm assuming you didn't take any naps during the day, so probably a little over 24 hours."

"Way too long." Sha said, leaning most of her weight on me.

"C'mon," I said, nudging her, "we just gotta make it to the subway about four blocks up ahead. We'll take a train to some car rental, then we'll be heading out of the city."

"Assuming traffic ain't bad." Sha said, her lip catching on my sleeve. I honestly felt bad for her. MJ knew what she was getting into when she married me (I still felt guilty about that, but she'd just scold me if I brought it up again). And Flash had experience in this gig. As Agent Venom (wasn't he just Venom for a while too?), then Agent AntiVenom and now just AntiVenom (I don't know why he dropped the Agent, maybe it was a mouthful).

I was still mad that he lied about having the symbiote.

And now my wife is walking around the streets with that abomination.

I felt slightly guilty for thinking that. Flash and I have been friends for a long time. And I trust him, even after he blatantly lied to me. But I will never trust a symbiote. The creatures can't be trusted. They twist your very being. Venom had made me into a monster out for blood... although, I will admit (just for my own sanity), that AntiVenom is a lot better than just regular Venom. At least he doesn't have any beef with MJ. Even if he did, his instincts will only wish to "cure" her. Along with Flash's loyalty, that should keep MJ safe.

Hopefully.

My thoughts were suddenly cut off by a cop car's siren going off. Sha and I turned to look over our shoulders to see them pull over right behind us. Sha squeezed my arm, her fingers digging into my jacket sleeve.

"Peter," she whispered in a waning voice.

"Turn back around." I said curtly. I looked straight ahead. "Try not to look guilty."

Sha snapped her head up and glared at me. "What does not look guilty even look like?"

"Not sure, need to figure it out myself first. Even when I had a mask and full body suit, Cap was still able to figure out I broke the vase and not Hawkeye." My lips twitched upward at the memory. Oh, how I wish I could go back to the simpler days when Spider-Woman was a Hydra spy. Life would be so much easier.

"What?!"

"Oh, sorry," I quirked a goofy grin at Sha's astonished face, "did I say that out loud?"

Sha opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off. "Excuse me."

I froze at the voice. A very familiar voice. Belonging to a woman who seemed to pull back the layers (however few) of spandex and pierce into my very soul. A woman that made me feel like I was just a kid playing dress up, making a fool of themselves on the streets. A woman that seemed to have my back no matter what JJJ would say.

Captain Jean Dewolff.

Snapping my head up to her, the world seemed to still as I looked into her piercing gray gaze. Her coppery hair (a couple shades lighter than MJ's) gleamed in the dull, New York light. I tensed under her unassuming gaze, the air left my lungs. A nostalgic longing seeped into my soul at the sight of her. As Spider-Man, there were not many allies supporting my back. But Jean always did. She'd always be there for me.