Spider-Man: Unmasked

Chapter Nine

Peter was now in his present-day hospital room, Ned in the chair beside his bed. 

"I can't believe this happened," Ned said, worried for his best friend.  "You've fought him before, haven't you?"

Peter blushed, embarrassed.  He was finally stable again and was allowed to have visitors. His dads were off fighting Carnage, much to Peter's dismay.

"Please don't go," Peter had begged Steve.  "He's crazy.  We don't know his weakness and-"

"Pete, we'll be fine," Steve had reassured his son.  Tony had not come, angry mostly at himself for last time.  "We always win. We'll be okay. I promise."  And with that, Steve left to fight Carnage with the rest of the Avengers.

"I have," Peter said through gritted teeth to Ned. "I forgot his weakness. I'm an idiot."

"No, no no!" Ned quickly said. "You're not. I get it. Being a hero is stressful, I know. People forget things all the time - their wallet, their keys, their enemy's weaknesses - it happens!"

Peter groaned and sat back.  "This is all such a disaster!  My dads are going to get hurt, and it's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Peter.  Don't stress out.  That's not going to help anyone."

Peter sighed.  "Yeah, you're right.  Thanks, Ned."

Ned nodded.  "See, what you really need is a Guy in The Chair."

"A what?"

"A guy in the chair!  You know, like in the movies, and he's got all the computers surrounding him, and an earpiece in and is directing the hero and all that," he explained.  "Lucky for you, Mr. Rogers-Stark, I can be that guy in the chair."

Peter laughed.  "Guy in the chair?  I don't know about that." 

"Come on, Peter!  Imagine you're infiltrating an enemy base, and you need someone to direct you through it!  Or, or, or there's a group of enemies in the next room ready to fire on you, and-"

Something dawned on Peter.  "Fire!  That's it!"

"W-what is?"  Ned asked, slightly worried.  "Fire?  What is it?"

"Carnage!  Carnage's weakness was extreme heat!  I've got to get there!  I need to get my suit and get to them!"  Peter stood up, wincing slightly.

"What?  No!  Peter, you're severely injured!"  Ned shook his head and rushed over to his friend.  "You can't!"

"Ned, if I don't go, they might get hurt, or worse, killed!  I need to at least tell them!  Ned, please!  You need to help me!"  Peter begged.  He needed to help them.

Very reluctantly, Ned finally said, "Fine!  But I really don't like this."

Peter nodded.  "Don't worry.  I'll make it up to you, I promise. Now, here's what I need you to do..."

So, Ned was sent back to Stark Tower to get Peter's suit. After what felt like forever to Peter, Ned came back to Peter's room, folded up Spider-Man suit in his hand.

"I think your dad has been working on it," Ned observed. "It was on his desk in his lab." He passed it over to Peter.

Peter observed it. "Huh. Maybe..." After having Ned leave the room, he changed into the Spider-Man suit, which was, thankfully, no longer covered in blood. "All clear!"

Ned walked in. He took in the sight of Peter in the Spider-Man suit. "I can't believe I'm letting you do this. Your dads are going to kill me."

Peter slid on the mask. "Just make sure that no one comes in here. Do... something. Thank you so much, Ned." And with that, he jumped out the window.

It felt nice to swing around if he ignored the burning pain in his lungs. He would help his dads and the Avengers, even if it killed him.

——————

Meanwhile, the Avengers were working on defeating Carnage. They hadn't figured out exactly what his weakness was, but they had a few hunches. So far? It was a mess.

Clint was shooting at Carnage, rapid-fire, but to no avail. Tony and Steve were trying to free Natasha from Carnage's grasp. Bruce was trying to turn into the Hulk. Thor was throwing Mjolnir at him repeatedly.

"None of this is working!" Tony said through gritted teeth. "Maybe we should-"

He was cut off by a shout from above, saying:

"Hey! Guess who's back, ugly?!"

Tony was in shock. He looked at Steve. "That can't be..."

Steve was staring up at the figure. "Peter?!" He exclaimed.

"Okay, before you kill me," Peter shouted, stopping and crouching on a nearby building. He was obviously out of breath, clutching the side of the building. "I've got his weakness!"

Tony quickly flew up to Peter. "What is it, Pete?" He asked through gritted teeth. "And you are so grounded."

"Yeah, I know," Peter said, voice shaking. "And it's extreme heat. That's his weakness. He's got a lesser weakness, but the heat is most extreme. That's how I got him last time. Why I had all of those burns last time."

Tony nodded, thinking. "Yes, yes that makes sense." He smiled softly and quickly said into the earpiece, "It's extreme heat! That's his weakness!" He turned back to Peter. "Thank you so much, Pete. Now stay here. You are definitely not doing anything else."

"What?!" Peter exclaimed. "But I want to help!" He tried to stand up, but Tony stopped him.

"I don't think so," Tony said sternly. "You are still badly injured. You are in no shape to fight." He flew off to fight.

"But-"

"No!"

Peter sighed and sat up, sliding off his mask. They were fighting in the middle of an empty intersection, not a car, camera, or person in sight except for Peter, the Avengers, and Carnage. Carnage couldn't see him, and the Avengers all knew it was him at this point, so why not take it off? He took deep breaths, his lungs still burning. He had a pain in his gut for obvious reasons. He was certainly not in the best shape, but he didn't care.

"I will beat you, Carnage," He said under his breath. "I swear I will. No matter what."

He stood up and, holding his side, swung into battle.