Spider-Man: Marvel Knight

Chapter 13-Beginning of the End

Gwen laid on her couch in her room watching TV. Peter was still unconscious, so she decided to give herself some rest. It was getting dark outside, and her body could feel it. Her eyes were getting heavier and heavier. She hadn't been this tired in a long time. So much stuff had happened these past few days, and she was beginning to feel the exports of trying to stay awake and worry about others.
She looked over at Peter in her bed. She was really beginning to feel tired, and she thought about crawling in bed next to him. They weren't dating anymore, and hell they hadn't even gone beyond making out when they dated. Surely it couldn't be bad to lay next to him. Gwen crawled into bed next to Peter. It wasn't awkward for her at all.
She rested her hand on Peter's bare chest. Gwen knew that there was no way for Peter to hear her, but she needed to talk to someone. "Next time you go out and get your ass kicked, I'm gonna kick it again," she told him with a small giggle. She rested her head on a pillow and looked at his face with a smile.
"Do you remember that time in sixth grade when you almost got in trouble when you tried to help us three on a chemistry test?" she asked. Of course Peter's unconscious self said nothing. "You were so worried that the teacher was going to suspend you. How you got away with it...I'll never know. Me and MJ talked about it for weeks.
"What happened to those days, Pete?" Her eyes began to swell up with tears. "We all had normal lives. We all had stuff bad happen to us: my dad, Harry's mom, MJ's parents, but you never had to deal with the guilt of your parents...that's what made you best out of us. You were innocent, you were calm and gentle...you were our little Peter.
"To this day I don't know whether what happened to you was a blessing or a curse." Tears began steaming down her cheeks. "You give yourself this...this...responsibility to protect people that you don't know, and you're the most guilt ridden person I know. You put on the mask, go out and fight, and tell jokes to make yourself seem so lighthearted, but under the mask you punish and push yourself everyday for not being there in time, whether it be for Uncle Ben or....or Norman...or me..."
Gwen tried to wipe her tears away but she just couldn't keep the waterworks from flowing. "I miss being normal, but I miss the old you more, Peter. The weird, funny, insecure nerd that I fell in love with. I never loved you because of Spider-Man. I loved you because you were the most real person I ever knew, and you loved me back."
She brushed the hair out of his face and wiped some more tears from hers. "Now, you're here, fighting to stay alive just like MJ, and I'm scared. We're all scared, Peter. Not just for this city but for you. Harry, Felicia, and I can't do this without you. You're our backbone. We don't need Spider-Man right now...we need Peter Parker." She rested her face next to his. "I need Peter Parker."
Gwen closed her eyes and kept crying next to Peter. Letting it all flow out of her felt good although she did feel awful. Peter was fighting to stay alive, and there was nothing that she could do about it.
She got up and wiped the tears from her face. She couldn't take it seeing him like that anymore. She went to the living room and stood around trying to compose herself. She didn't know what she would do if both Peter and MJ died that night.
Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. That was strange that someone was here at the time it was. She went to the door and continued to try and compose herself. After drying up the rest of her tears, she opened the door. She nearly fainted at the sight.
It was Liz...
...and MJ.
Gwen nearly burst into tears from seeing her best friend. "MJ!!!" She wrapped her up in a hug and heard her friend wince in pain. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed while releasing the hug.
MJ, who was obviously still in some pain, smiled. "It's fine, Gwen...good to see you too."
Gwen wiped tears from her eyes. "How are you out of the hospital?" she asked.
Liz shook her head. "She's stubborn, that's why," he said. "I stopped by the hospital and she was trying to check herself out. Her aunt and your mom tried to stop her but she wanted to make sure that Peter was okay."
MJ looked at Gwen with concern. "How is he?" she asked.
Gwen shook her head with tearful eyes. "Not good," she said shakily. MJ could tell that her friend had been crying. Peter must have been in rough shape. She moved into the house and headed to Gwen's room.
"I'm gonna go check on him," she said. "Can you guys stay out here?"
They all nodded and agreed. Liz wrapped Gwen up in a hug because it seemed like it had been forever since they had seen each other.
MJ walked into the room to see Peter beaten and bruised on the bed. She had never seen him so hurt and it worried her too much. She laid down in the bed with him and wrapped her arm around Pete.
"Hey, tiger," she whispered to him. There was no response. All she heard was his breathing and his heartbeat. She had been hurt and now he was hurt. It was almost like they swapped roles for the day unfortunately.
"I'm alright, Peter," she kept saying. "I'm alive. I'm okay. You need to fight for Kurt. Fight for Gwen. Fight for me." She could feel her voice begin to break. "I love you, Pete. Wake up." She begin to feel tears come down her face.
Suddenly, sbe felt a hand caress her face. She gasped and opened her eyes and saw Peter, half awake looking at her. "Peter Parker isn't going anywhere," he said.
"Peter!" she exclaimed. She pressed her lips against his and felt whole again, now that she knew that he was okay. She moved her lips away from his and looked into his eyes. "You're okay..."
Peter nodded. "So are you..." He smiled as he kissed her again.
MJ wiped another tear from her cheek and smiled. "Let's never scare each other like this again, okay?"
Peter smiled. "I was going to ask you the same thing." He kissed her once more and looked at her. "It's a deal. How long have I been out?"
She finished crying and got out of the bed. "According to Harry and Liz, a couple hours. You came in bleeding to death and unconscious. What happened between you and Electro?"
Peter leaned up and winced in pain from his injuries. "It was payback," he said. "A sort of 'round two' for me and him. As you can see, he won."
"How did he know you were coming?" she asked.
Peter chuckled through his pain. "He was never in the warehouse when Gwen was placing trackers on him." MJ began to look concerned. "Don't worry," Peter said. "He won't tell the others."
MJ raised an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't he?"
"After he accidentally injured you, Otto humiliated him in front of all the others. He's got bad blood with him now. He wants to help us."
"What happens if you meet again and he's fighting with Otto?" she asked.
Peter smiled. "Round three, I guess. By the way, where is everybody?"
She led him out into the living room to see all of his friends. "It's about time you woke up, dude!" Liz said, feeling relieved that she saw her fiance's best friend alive.
"Who wrapped me up?" Peter asked.
"Gwen did," Liz responded. Peter and Gwen looked at each other and they wrapped each other in a hug. Gwen was finally relieved that he was okay and Peter was grateful that she was beginning to be a perfect part of the team.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear.
"Just stay alive, need," she said back still feeling a little teary.
They released each other and Peter looked around. "Where's Felicia and Harry?" he asked.
"They went out to try and see if you were followed," Gwen said. She looked at his phone to see the time. It was 9:00 PM. "They've been gone for hours. I don't know where they could be."
Suddenly, Harry flung the front door open. He looked exhausted and concerned, and he was still in his HobGoblin armor. "Speak of the devil," Peter said.
"Oh, thank God you're okay, Peter," Harry said. "And MJ?? What the hell. What a reunion!"
Peter looked over Harry's shoulder. "Where's Felicia?" he asked.
"I'm here!" she shouted running into the room from the outside. "Sorry for taking my time. Good to see you alive, Parker. You too, Watson."
"We have a situation," Harry said.
"Let me guess:" Peter said, "Otto got to Kurt before us. Electro already told me."
Harry nodded. "Yes, that and worse," he said. "I think I know what he's planning to do with Kurt."
Gwen looked at Harry with concern. "What do you mean?"
"Otto broke into Oscorp..."