Spider-Man: Nobody Home (18+)

Chapter 56: The End Pt. 3

It was a long walk through the newly formed tunnels underneath the ruins of Jump City. Peter carried the young version of Raven on his back through tunnel after tunnel. Each time he reached the end, he secretly hopes he hasn't reached the sewers.

If they DID find their way back to the surface, what was he going to do?

"Are you okay?" The young Raven asked. "You're breathing really heavy."

"Uh..." He paused, unsure of what to say to her. She didn't even remember who he was, but perhaps that was for the best for now. "Yeah. I'm... Yeah."

"You don't sound okay." She said.

Wow, even as a nine year old, she was pretty damn intuitive.

"I..." He sighed and shook his head. "I never claimed to be." He replied as he they came across a massive drop with a pit of lava below.

The entrance to the sewers could be seen on the other side. The young Raven clung onto him tightly as he leaped across the pit, safely into the sewers.

"Why do you wear that scary mask over your face?" She asked, having pulled his mask from his pocket.

Peter was surprised to see her holding it and gently took it from her, before stuffing it back in his pocket.

"I suppose that's a good question." He replied. "Mostly it was just to protect the ones I love, but..."

She waited for him to finish, but he never did. She tugged on the collar of his jacket a bit as they walked into the darkened tunnel, guided only by his web shooter light and the soft glow of Lava from behind them

"But what?" she asked.

This was harder than he predicted. Unsure of what to say. He had so much he wanted to say to her, but he was just a stranger to her now.

"It doesn't matter." He sighed, getting better leverage to carry her as they continued into the tunnel. "Look, how about... I don't know... a story, to pass the time?"

The girl nodded at him, with an interested stare.

"Okay." He breathed out. "Well, this is the story of... Raven... When I came to this world... I was all alone. I probably would've stayed all alone if not for her... We fought evil together, battled monsters, and she was the bravest person I have ever met." He glanced back and saw that the girl was still staring intently, waiting for him to finish. "But there were some bad people when she was born... Who wanted to use her for her own evil purpose..." He could feel himself getting choked up as he spoke, but managed to fight it off, by clearing his throat. "No matter how much she felt like she was evil... She proved them wrong every day that she lived... I think that's what I admired most about her."

After that, the young Raven climbed down off his back and turned around to face toward the lava where they had come from in the distance. Peter stopped and looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"I... I can see it." She said in confusion. "Our friends, my father... You." Peter's eyes widened at that with surprise. "But it's all bits an pieces... like a dream I had a long time ago."

"It's all real." He replied with a saddened look. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry this happened... This was your worst fear... And I made it come true."

The young girl spun around at that. "NO!" she protested, but he still looked away, so she stepped closer until he looked at her. "No! YOU don't get to put that on your shoulders... Not you." she said, her voice breaking.

"It's the truth, Raven." he sighed. "I was warned and... I didn't listen."

"Peter..." she replied. "I may not remember much... but I remember enough to know that the ONLY person to blame... is my father."