Spiderdad

32

Peter clung to the side of a skyscraper as he carefully web-glued a camera to the side of it. Earlier, he had located the most crime-ridden parts of his city, and now he was placing his last camera to hopefully catch a glimpse of some action.

"There we go," Peter muttered to himself as he crawled to the side to examine his handiwork.

He was determined to get this job for the Daily Bugle to help support MJ and their child. Using up a little over an hour of his morning to position cameras meant he had skipped two things: eating breakfast and having any alcohol. Really, he hadn't thought too much about it. Maybe blacking out for three days was exactly what he needed.

Peter smiled to himself then sighed when his phone started ringing. He fished his phone out of the backpack he'd been carrying around that day and glanced at the contact: Cammmmmmyyyyyyyyy. He may or may not have been very drunk when he punched Camila's phone number into his contacts list for the first time.

"Hey, Cammy," Peter greeted with a light twinge of anxiety in his voice.

"Hey Pete... um..." her voice was wavering, making Peter a little more nervous, "well I'm going to rehab tomorrow..."

"Really?" He perked up at this, "that's great! I'm so glad you're getting some help."

Camila chuckled softly, "yeah. It's about time, I guess. I uh... I was wondering if you wanted to come with."

Peter smiled to himself, when she wasn't looking to drink, Camila was a sweet, shy, and slightly awkward girl, "I'd love to, but I'm already getting help."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's called a homicidal aunt."

Camila laughed again, "fair enough... just take good care of MJ or you'll have two homicidal women on your tail."

"I will, I promise," Peter replied, "good luck in rehab."

"Thanks Pete," Camila sighed, "I gotta go now. I'll see you in a few weeks... or months. I'm not really sure how long this is gonna last."

"I don't know either, but-" Peter was cut off as his sensitive ears picked up a muffled scream, "I gotta go. Love you, bye."

Camila mumbled a goodbye as Peter hung up then leapt off the building. He let himself fall until he was a little over a foot from the ground, then he shot a web that clung to the side of a skyscraper. He swiftly swung through the streets— he didn't expect much more than a purse getting stolen— until he reached an alley about two blocks away from his previous location. The sight thrust upon the hero's eyes both infuriated and shocked Peter: a disgusting man in his mid-thirties with tattoos caking his skin had one hand clapped over MJ's mouth, holding her head harshly against the concrete surface behind her. The other hand held a slick knife with a thick handle that he repeatedly jabbed into the young woman's swollen stomach as he hissed some nasty words into her ear. Tears streaming down her cheeks, MJ made countless attempts to tear him away from her. Yet every time she clawed at his arm or bit down on his hand, she was met by a jab more painful than the last or a kick to her shins.

Not wasting a single second to try talking things out, Peter swept the man off the ground and tossed him onto a nearby roof. Peter did a quick flip then landed in a crouching position at the feet of the fallen man. The criminal could only stare up at him with wide eyes as the spider straightened his stance and loomed over him.

"That's my girlfriend you were harassing," Peter hissed.

"I-I'm so sorry, I-i had no idea," The man stammered.

"I really don't give a fuck," He spat harshly then kicked the man square in the nose, causing his head to whip back and smack against the rooftop.

With an almost sadistic sense of fury, Peter allowed the man to stand up and attempt to defend himself, only to be thrown back down. In an move to appear resilient, the man stood up again and got into a fighting stance. Peter scoffed at this then effortlessly dodged a few punches.

"You know," Peter casually spoke, "my dad has this weird thing about comparing me to Eminem. You know who he is, don't you?"

The man replied with a swing at the spider's stomach; Peter caught his fist and swiftly used it as leverage as he smashed the felon onto the ground.

"I take that as a yes," Peter continued as he watched the man rise to his feet shakily, "if you ask me, the biggest difference between Eminem and I is: Eminem only says he's going to kill people," Peter gripped the man's throat and dangled him over the edge of the building, "I don't say I'll kill someone, I just do it."

He smirked and narrowed his mechanical eyes at his victim's terrified expression. Still driven by the strange, overprotective feeling, Peter dropped the man but didn't bother to watch as his body plummeted to the ground.

The adrenaline slowly subsided until the boy was finally calm enough to face MJ again. I swear, if that man killed our baby... man I don't even know what I'll do if Baby's dead...