The Sapphire Soldier

Slightly Bigger Potato

That night, I didn't sleep. I spent the entire night watching the security cameras, going back through the footage over and over because I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something.

This girl had mind-controlled Scorpion.

Peter had fought him the night before, but something about him had been different. His arachnid abilities had increased again. His senses had overloaded, his strength had spiked to a level I'd never seen before, and then he lost control.

He almost killed a cop.

That wasn't the Peter I knew.
And that scared me.

The next morning I watched Peter go talk to Bruce. I stayed at a distance, using my powers to listen in. I had to push harder than usual to get past the wall in his mind, but eventually I managed to hear enough.

I think he sensed me too. He looked around after I got into his mind, almost like he knew someone had just been there.

After listening long enough, I understood what he was trying to do. He wanted to build a device similar to Bruce's — something that would block his arachnid DNA from taking over, keeping it balanced with his human DNA.

It was smart.
But it was also dangerous.

Because if Peter could build something like that, someone else could build something bigger. Something universal. Something that could suppress anyone with powers.

Anyone they wanted to control could be detained easily.

The thought made my stomach twist. I'd been through something like that before.

Locked in a cage. A collar around my neck. My powers stripped away because someone else decided I was too dangerous to be free.

It had been done to me once.
I didn't like the idea of it happening again.

"Yelena!" I shouted, running into her office.

She was sitting on the bench, wrapped in a robe, staring at her computer. She looked up at me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"What's happening?" I asked.

Instead of answering, she turned the computer toward me.

Security footage filled the screen.
Peter.

He was holding MJ by the neck, dangling her over the edge of a building.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, staring at the screen.

"It's not your friend," Yelena said. "This girl - she's in his head."

There was something strange about the way she said it, like she still couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, even though she knew it was true.

I stood there a moment, staring at the screen.

This wasn't just another attack. This was connected.

Yelena leaned back slightly. "This might be a slightly bigger potato than I thought."

I finally looked at her. "Ya think?"

I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the screen. "Where are they?"

"26th and Island Road."

I was out the door before she could say anything else.

I flew as fast as I could, barely registering anything around me. The only thing I could think about was getting there before something happened to MJ.