1 | Limits of Possibilities
Act 1
Chapter 1
Limits of Possibility
- - -
Kingdom of Latveria
Victor hummed after the doctors finished their assessment of Susan Storm’s medical condition with a hint of disappointment presented in his tone. His eyes focused on the X-ray visuals sorted and tabled along one another on the holographic projector inside the long hall vacant of any castle servants except for a single android that Victor himself replaced the inner section’s staff members with after the recent infiltration from the Symkarian spy.
“…if I were to authorize this procedure, Doctor Amir,” the Monarch started, grimly averting his eyes toward the nervous pair of the best surgeons his money can buy across the long table “Can you affirm my worries that no harm will befall Susan?”
“The thing is, Your Majesty,” Doctor Amir started nervously, looking at the monarch with hooded eyes “This will be the first ever for this…experimental procedure to be applied to a living subject. I cannot, in good conscience, say that there will be no turbulences or mistakes during the operation—”
The drumming of Doom’s fingers upon the wooden surface was enough to silence the stammering doctor “I have no interest in consoling your lack of ambition and drive, Doctor Amir. If you are not confident enough in your expertise, then I suggest you relinquish any investment I have trusted upon your reputations and name to catch the first flight out of Latveria comes morn.” His sharp eyes then turned toward the other expert in the room with a quirked eyebrow “Do you share his concerns and mental limitations, Doctor Oorun?”
The other surgeon swallowed a lump of saliva down her throat, alternating her eyes between her fellow expert and the man who hired them with more than they could ever make in a year, “I’m…afraid so, Your Majesty.” She meekly replied, gaining a stoic glare from across the table with intense weight suddenly thrust upon her shoulders, each cell in her body screamed to get out of the room before bad things happened, but the monarch never moved an inch or expressing any temper; he only shows cold anger hidden so well beneath a veil of benevolent disappointed smile.
“In that case,” the Emperor of a warring nation slaps the tabletop firmly before making a stand, draping his fur cloak over his shoulders dramatically before turning towards the private entrance, stopping just at the handle and turning his face sideway to address the uncertain doctors he left behind “Safe flight tomorrow, both of you. I shall send Bernardt to your quarters at the break of dawn.” Finished with his farewell courtesy, Victor swept the hem of his cloak into an arch as he spun on his heels and exited the hall.
Victor treks the hidden corridor leading to the secret chamber where he relocated Susan’s incubation chamber, and enters the pristine room with a biometric scan.
The golden-haired woman floated around inside the tank, giving off a peaceful façade belying the deadly ailment she harbors within in the form of an unknown parasite that appeared to be melded with her spinal cord, her lungs, and her heart, presenting a challenge seemingly impossible to solve for the weaker minds, but said the challenge was a mere hiccup in his eyes.
Resting his palm against the reinforced surface of the glass tube, the cold inside seeped into him followed by a sense of longing.
Her electrifying skin.
Her intoxicating touches.
Her sweet lips.
He shall experience them again.
“Hang in there, Susan,” Victor whispered to the unconscious woman, hoping it would breach through her comatose state “I swear on my father’s grave you will be free again.”
Metal clangs reached his ears from behind, prompting the monarch to look upon the interloper who happened to be one of his android servants; number 13 to be exact. “Salute, Your Majesty.” The speech sounded smooth, almost devoid of the synthetic lilt many struggled with, yet a slightly stunted pronunciation can be heard to a strained ear “I have come with a request.”
“Speak, 13.” Victor regained his composure and stood tall, hands joined behind his back, the cloak swept to one side.
“Lady Storm requested your presence at the inner garden, and said she has some urgent matter to discuss.” The android relayed with a stoic and steady tone, finished with a little bow.
Victor sighed shortly, feeling a tinge of annoyance at the way Dame Mary Storm seems to get it in her head that she’s the one who runs things here. But alas, he complied with a hint of reluctance. “Inform her that I shall be there soon.” The android obliged without question and stayed stationary for a moment before perking up in its spot “Good. Now, I need you to stand guard here; if anyone dares enter this room without me in their company, terminate them.”
“Of course, Sire.” The android bowed politely and entered the inner section of the chamber, spun around with its back facing the tube and its front aligned with the entrance.
“I believe you are looking for me, Lady Storm?” the monarch greeted the older woman with a charming tone and wide smile, his cloak folded and draped on his arm, sauntering into the beds of flowers littering the inner courtyard. “Has something been bothering you?”
“Oh, no! Victor!” Mary Storm waved off his artificial concern with a little laugh, with a hand covering her mouth and everything, and then patting the seat alongside her on a shaded bench overlooking the Doomstadt’s intricate fountain “Come sit with me for a moment, dear; I have something to ask of you.”
The gall! Victor thought with a fake smile on his face, then did as he was requested, sitting down next to the mother of the woman who captured his heart “What is it?”
Mary intentionally let the silence fill the space between them, looking out at the articulate sorting done expertly to the combination of florae before her eyes, breathing in the earthly scent “…Tell me about what you remember of my husband, Victor.”
Doom quirked his eyebrow at the strange request, noticing the game of control enforced upon him by the Dame, yet made no effort to openly rebuttal against the daring challenge, looking away at the statuesque likeness of a dragon atop the fountain instead, before speaking “He was a brilliant scientist. Taught me everything I know at that age, nurtured my intelligence like none ever could before.” He elaborated with a hint of nostalgic recollection “And through him I met Reed Richards, as you know. Sir Franklin seems to have a knack for bringing brilliant minds together.”
“Yet he failed miraculously with his family,” Mary commented with a hint of resentment “Jonathan turned rebellious, and he was barely home to properly address the disgrace that runt brought upon the household; prostitutes walking in and out of the estate as if it was a brothel, hundreds of his vagabond friends pranced about like our house was a lavatory.” A flash of disdain dashed across her face “If that’s limited to himself, I wouldn’t mind cutting him loose like I would a rabid dog once he’s of age, but he had to corrupt Susan in the process. He turned her against her family, against me.” She breathed out heavily, hands coiled into fists, shaking with tremendous force, then released with a sigh. “After Franklin died, I had hoped that they would see the errors of their ways, and return to the right paths…instead, Jonathan coerced his sister to be a runaway, leaving the family and me behind.”
Victor kept his silence, looking at the old Dame with analyzing eyes.
“Alas, I admit to being a part of their thriving survival in their youth; without my interventions, Susan and Jonathan might come crawling back sooner.” the prideful smirk gracing her lips disgusted him, yet he kept a stoic face “And now here I am, swoop in for the rescue once again for my ungrateful children!” the Dame exclaimed dramatically with a tinge of a smug on her face, now averted her eyes to the monarch at her side “Thank you again, Victor, for offering your aid in the time of needs.”
“As I said before, Lady Storm; It’s the least I can do.” Yet, if you’d be so kind as to leave Latveria, I would be a happy man. Victor mulled with a fake smile.
“I know.” Mary Storm said, and fully turned towards him now with a determination burning behind those greyish-blue irises “Your Majesty, I have asked you of this before,” the title coming out of her mouth sounded peculiar to his ears, yet he listened on “but would you be willing to consider a marriage between my daughter and yourself?”
- - -
New York City
“Johnny, can you get here real quick?” Peter asked into the comms as he dropped from his parabolic arc into a pounce, rushing over to the crew of firefighters and volunteers struggling against a pile of concrete blocking the road.
“Don’t you think I have enough on my plate?”
“I got about two minutes before the drones show up, pal.” Peter retorted and greeted the familiar faces briefly before taking the bulk of the debris by himself, slotting his body underneath and pushing hard with his legs.
“I’m busy; Ben should be closer.” The Human Torch dismissed with a huff before cutting the comms.
“Needa hands?” the deep voice of the stone giant reached his ears.
“Yep! 6th Ave and W 55th Streets intersection.” He grunted into the comms, exerting more of his super-strength.
“On my way.” The veteran pilot replied and soon he heard the thunderous steps coming closer until a pair of rotund legs stopped in his field of sight. “Wassup, Spidey.”
“How ya doing, Mister Rocky?” Peter teased back and immediately felt the strain on his legs lifted along with the debris when Ben Grimm pushed it over his 7-foot-tall head.
“Getting a lil sweaty,” the gentle giant replied with a hearty laugh and tossed the debris onto the sidewalk as coordinated by the firefighters on the scene “Beats being stuck inside the Baxter by a mile, though.”
“Glad to hear that—Oh, shit! Here they come.” Peter kick-flipped himself off the road and saluted everyone quickly before shooting an elastic webbing at the nearby building “I’ll make a roundabout; can you guys sweep the 6th down towards Midtown?” he inquired to all, and they simultaneously nodded.
“Goodluck, Spidey!” the firefighters waved the vigilante off as he swung away, evading the pack of OSCORP drones hunting him through the city since he came back to work on search and rescue with GRU and Damage Control alongside the three superhumans from the Siege. “I dunno why they couldn’t just give the guy a break.”
“Military bullshit; no offense.” One of the volunteers started and apologized to the stone giant who just laughed it off.
“It’s fine, man; military do be like that.” Ben elaborated and looked towards the direction mentioned by the Web-Slinger earlier “Comin?”
“Do you guys drink on the job?” one volunteer asked, jogging after the rest following the Moving Mountain leading them like a battering ram.
“You want a straight answer or some honesty?”
“Your pick.”
“Technically this is not an official duty, and nobody would notice a can or two.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” The volunteer smiled widely, then averted his attention to the giant before them “Big Guy; you drink?”
“Coz!” Ben replied with a smirk, feeling a bit at ease around the group.
“My nephew got a bodega up around W 46th near Little Brazil; maybe we can detour a bit and haul a twelve or two of not-so-cold ones.”
The group trudged on with casual chuckles sharing between them, giving a sense of normalcy to the stone giant.
“We should be able to coordinate a better effort if our heavy vehicles can use this intersection and these streets,” Reed said to the gathered group of GRU and Damage Control officials “I have some working prototype models that we could modify, but I will need all of the mechanics you can find.”
“The modified energy sources you installed for our vehicles are a lifesaver, Reed; we can pretty much do a continuous operation without refueling for the next week.” One of the GRU friends of Susan appraised the Smartest Man, but Reed simply shook his head.
“The ease of modification should be credited to Miss Takeda and Mister Parker; without their unorthodox minds, each modification might take about a day instead of a few hours.” The CEO/Founder of the company proudly stated.
“I know Julia and her rebellious approach. The Parker guy I’ve never heard of before,” The official said and looked at the remaining vehicles waiting for deployment “But I must say, you might have found a diamond in the rough.”
“I know so, Nathan.” Reed sincerely replied, “Would you believe me if I say that Mister Parker matched my test score?”
“From your younger years?!”
“Yes.” Reed announced proudly “Give him time and resources; the young man might even surpass me one day.”
“Such a compliment, coming from you.” Nathan looked down at the pattern proposed by Reed again, looking for alternatives that they could achieve without delay.
“It’s more of a recognition that he needs,” Reed said, thinking back to the Thinktank Program he participated in back in his early teenage years under the tutelage of Sir Franklin Richards; Susan’s and Johnny’s father, comparing his experiences to the young vigilante “if he could be more focus on improving his intelligence, the limits of possibilities for mankind might be reaching a new height in our times.”
“Huh. Seems like you’ve found yourself a little mini-me to nurture after all.” Nathan commented with a chuckle, then his eyes fell upon the strange fabric that his friend was wearing “Say, what is this suit you are wearing?” having witnessed the suit stretched and retracted along with Richards’s limbs was…an experience, to say the least.
“Following our physical changes after that horrid incident,” Reed grimaced, thinking back to the haunting modulated voice of Doctor Octopus as they were thrashing in agony, baked under the intense Cosmic Radiation “I had come up with a way to accommodate for each of our…mutations to be as comfortable as possible. Case in point; Jonathan Storm can light himself on fire, a process which would leave him naked after the fire was put out. This fabric can adapt to extreme changes such as that.” Reed inflated his arm to demonstrate the Adaptive Fabric’s capabilities “In the next decade, RAC will commercialize it outside of spacefaring and exploration.”
“And superheroing.” A voice not muffled by a mask greeted them from behind, prompting the two to look back at the newcomer in a red polo and black cargo pants “Sorry for being late, Mister Richards; I was struck in some traffic.” Peter quipped at his boss, and averted his smile at the GRU official “Peter Parker, sir.”
“Nathan Goldstein.” The official responded in kind “I’ve heard good things about you, Mister Parker; it seems like tardiness might be the first negative trait that comes to mind?” the GRU official averted his inquisitive eyes at the Smartest Man, who shrugged his shoulders with a hint of a smirk.
“Richards Aerospace has flexible work hours; creativity blossoms with freedom and times.” Reed commented lightheartedly, and handed a rough draft of a recent modification to the newcomer “What do you think?”
Peter took the plan and studied it momentarily, roaming his eyes over the engineering aspects while simultaneously coming up with mechanical approaches. “…I think I can make it work, but I’ll need more all-terrain tyres.”
“I can get them for you,” Goldstein chimed in, fishing a phone out of his pockets “Know a guy in Cali, Reyes, I’ll coordinate a procurement and transportation with him.” With that, he leaves the two geniuses alone.
“…How’s it looking?” Reed asked as he studied the placements of water pumps installed around the city’s edge to clear out the remains of the tsunami as fast as they could.
“It’s getting tiresome to constantly change locations every two or three minutes, but at this rate, we might be able to clear all the debris within a week.” Peter elaborated on his viewpoint of web-swinging around the city earlier “Any words from SWORD or SHIELD yet, Mister Richards?”
“There are some rumors about a bidding contest in a day or two; they planned to build a facility in the middle of White Sand to contain him.”
“Ambient humidity; how the hell did they come up with that?” Peter inquired sarcastically “…we have to look into the explosion sooner or later, Mister Richards. We were both there. Also, Jared Gryphon’s sudden disappearance after that?” the vigilante pointed out with a thoughtful frown “I know they are connected, but I still can’t make a lick of sense about it.”
“What we need is a thorough investigation,” Reed replied, sighing deeply “I promise, Peter; after we dealt with restoring Manhattan, I will offer RAC’s aid in the investigation of the Atlantic explosion to the UN. We’ll clear your name.” the Smartest Man Alive offered a sincere encouraging smile.
“Will it sound horrible if I say I think that can wait until after we get Sue back?”
“Not at all,” Reed replied quickly “We’ll rest easy knowing she’s back and safe with us.”
Peter hung around a little more, then cleared his throat before the question stuck inside his chest made itself known “How did you meet each other, by the way?”
“Any specific reason prompting this inquiry?” the Stretchy Man (dubbed lovingly by the Spidey Squad) quirked his eyebrows inquisitively at the vigilante.
“It might sound weird, but Sue never told me anything about her life before we met.” The Arachnid confessed with a sad smile “I only know about her achievements and academic works, and that she has a loveable jerk as a brother.” He listed with a hint of a chuckle “Other than those things…nada.” When they were truly alone, Peter dislodged the new pair of Web-Shooters from the bracelets and disassembled them with precise successions, doing maintenance and refits as needed.
Reed cast a curious glance over the pieces of equipment that truly show how adept Peter Parker is as an inventor; the components are easy to replicate and fabricate, but the assemble and unique techniques involved still present a challenge to anyone who tries. “…We met through her father, Franklin Storm.” The vigilante averted his attention to the Smartest Man Alive beside him, listening closely to what Richards had to offer. “In 2012, after the Chitauri army wreck Manhattan, which gifted the world with the Avengers, the group that would later become the World Council was desperate to have a team of strategists in the hope that their combined intelligence would be enough to prevent another total defeat like that for humanity as a whole.” Reed paused and sat on the plastic chair near him, leaning back with a sigh “I was around 18…back then when Sir Franklin and some agents approached me in my dorm and escorted me to a secret facility in D.C. along with some other bright minds that they could get their hands on; one of them was Victor.”
Were they using the Zola’s Algorithm? Peter mulled internally, and another thought popped up; Was my d—Doc Ock and HYDRA involved with this too?
“We were tested, excruciatingly, through unforgivable mental challenges. Ten became six, and six were reduced to three. Our numbers dwindled until there was only Victor and I left.” Reed breathed out, closing his eyes, and sighed heavily “He was a bastard.” Richards admitted with a grim chuckle “Unreasonably cruel and demanding all the time, always putting us on deadline after deadline with his unreachable expectations. A pro in sweetened you up with empty praises to manipulate you into his way of thinking.” Reed finished heavily, inhaling a big gulp of air till his chest inflated like a small-sized balloon. “…He introduced me and Victor to Susan after one of his monthly home visits.” Reed continued, looking over the plans and reports on the table “We shared a quiet dinner. Victor was so enamored with her, but so was I. She was quietly brilliant. Demure…”
“Is she though?” Peter interjected with a confused expression regarding the adventurous and confident Susan Storm he knows and loves on his face, but then he let out a sheepish smile “Sorry, Mister Richards,” rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a chuckle, Peter signaling Reed to continue.
“I understand,” The Smartest Man Alive waved his apology off with a lighthearted smirk “She was, but then, things changed...” he trailed off and contemplated a little, taking a deep-seated breath before letting the converted air out through his nostrils “Sir Franklinsadly passed away in 2016, when Helmut Zemo planted a bomb at the Vienna convention.”
“From your story, I thought you wouldn’t be as affected by his passing,” Peter commented with a curious gait on the hint of sadness lining Reed’s face.
“…Being under the man’s tutelage was…horrible.” Reed explained, “Yet, somehow he felt like a father I did not have growing up.”
“Oh? I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be. My genetics donor is still alive…you know what I mean?” Richards questioned with a flat thin smile.
“Oh! I…yeah. I get it.” Peter replied as a flash of a man with a scarred face and a glint of mania in his eyes came to mind.
“Sadly, we shared that as a similarity,” Reed let out a grim chuckle, stretching his wrist to lay his firm hand on the vigilante’s shoulder, giving the younger man a reassuring squeeze “I don’t have the details,” Reed returned to the topic they were discussing before “that’s a privilege shared only between the siblings, but after the Snap, when Victor and I were looking for talents to form the company we ran into her again. She’s more…confident. Adventurous. Liberated.” Reed sent him a knowing look that made Peter nervously laugh “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say Johnny had a major role in bringing that side of hers outward.”
That speculation laid by Reed made Peter feels more like a shitbag for mistreating the Human Torch.
Who is he to be that possessive about the man’s sister like that?
Johnny just did what anyone would have done; he’s just looking out for his family.
- - -
Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters | 2028
“Jean?” a voice called for her, but she ignored it and concentrated on diving deeper through the neural network within the Cerebro.
“Jean?” it called again; this time clearer of the person behind it. She tuned out the surroundings and leaped over the edge beyond what she would usually scour in tasks that related to the affairs of mutants. It was seemingly impossible to isolate anyone in particular out of the hundreds of thousands who harbored thoughts about the masked vigilante.
“Jean?!” the voice became louder. She ignores it.
“Jean!” a touch on her shoulder breaks her concentration, leaving Jean with a rise of frustration as she whips her face to the one who interrupts her mission.
“What?!” the redhead inquired with a fiery wrath, half a mind to levitate the person with telekinesis.
“You’ve been going at it all mornin',” Anna-Marie reasoned, looking at the redhead with worried eyes “Ya gotta eat, Sugar.”
Jean calmed her breathing and let out a long sigh, finally allowing herself to notice the soreness and fatigue collecting inside her brain. She nodded and let Anna-Marie take her wrist toward the shutter door and out into the lift shaft, ascending through the depth until they reached ground level. “Any progress?” the Mississippian asked as they exited the shaft into the staff-only section of the main building. Students as well as newcomer mutants scattered around the premises.
Since Magneto’s daring expose of their existence to the world during the crisis in Manhattan, young and lost mutants started showing up at the Mansion daily; the past few nights have been restless for her as well as Professor Xavier when the voices keep waking them up in the dead of night.
“He’s too well-known as Spider-Man; good or bad, reputation is reputation. There are just too many minds thinking about him I can hardly differentiate the nature of the thoughts.” A few exist here; one from Kitty, another from Illyana (albeit a bit more hostile). And me. Jean thought with a tinge of confusion. It couldn’t be that I was attracted to him, there’s something more to this…intrigue than simple lust. The telepath huffed under her breath with a quiet curse, feeling the heat on her face.I’ve met him before, and nothing was there other than simple scientific curiosities, why now all of a sudden?
“Jean?” Rogue prodded her on the shoulder with a curious expression. “Ya still here with me, hon?”
“Yeah! Of course!” The redhead squeaked a little before managing to compose herself “Just…stray thoughts.”
“Ha.” The Southern Belle let out an interesting noise, and then a glint of mischief dashed across her green eyes, compelling a teasing grin to grace her lips “Don’t tell me our mighty Marvel Girl fell into a spider’s web?”
“What?” The redhead exclaimed with confusion.
“Ya’ve been lost in thoughts a lot since Spidey paid us a visit.” Anna-Marie lays on it a bit more “Was there something goin’ on when y’all had a lovely date on the lake?”
“No.” the redhead answered, albeit harboring a hint of reluctance behind it “Nothing is going on between us!”
“Ya sure ‘bout that?”
“Marie; I did not have feelings for Peter.”
“Ahm saying none ‘bout no feelings, Jeanie; Ahm talking ‘bout the fact that the guy’s a real cutie under the mask!”
“Sounds like you are the one who was caught.” Jean dismissed and trudged on towards the mess hall.
“Ah mean, Ahm not against the possibility.” Anna-Marie glides along with the redhead, nursing a teasing smirk on her face “That Spider-Man suit o’ his left little to imagination from what Ah saw; maybe he’s something ya lack in ur middle-age life?”
“I’m only four years older than you; we are old enough to be his mom!”
“We are still young and firm, so what’s ur point?”
“You are being ridiculous.” Jean shook her head with a grin and let out a chuckle “Besides; I don’t wanna break Katherine’s heart.”
“Ha! Ya just admit ta have thought about it!” The Southern Belle exclaimed triumphantly, and a wide grin appeared.
Jean rolled her eyes with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. They took a plate each and decorated theirs with plenty of food from the buffet, relocated to a staff table near the window to the backyard.
“Back onto a more serious note, though,” the Mississippian started while chewing on roasted baby corn, “It’s not too much for ya, is it? Ah dunno a lick about using the Cerebro, but Ah guess it’d be more complicated looking for a human than mutants, yeah?”
“Yes,” the redhead finished her chew before answering “the X-Gene altered the pattern of the broadcasting electromagnetism from our brains, Hank capitalized on that property after he studied Charles’s and my telepathy to build the Cerebro back in 1985. Using the arrays to identify a human, albeit mutated by Cosmic Radiation, was not a fun trip.” Jean groaned and kept stuffing her growling stomach with as many nutrients as she could to help her body repair the damaged neurons spent using the Cerebro; Charles Xavier’s explicit disregard of that fact during the period she got Snapped stands as a great example in the way his body was shutting itself down in response to the tremendous stress.
“Make sure ya take some rest then; It’d be hard ta find some Prince Charming to wake ya up.” Anna-Marie commented with a hum, but then a glint of mischief dappled her face again “Or…” Then the Southern Belle mimicked Spider-Man’s most recognizable gesture with both hands, eliciting a scoff from the redhead.
- - -
The House
Gwen breathed in the clean air of the waterfront where she took her father on a little stroll after lunch, she couldn’t bear seeing him being cooped up inside the house.
“Gotta say, honey; this is a bit embarrassing,” George commented as he was in a wheelchair that his superhuman daughter was hauling around like a weightless sack of feathers “Weren’t you always the one who’s got on my back and tell me to go where?” he teased with a smile, wanting to cheer her up but Gwen just chuckled along without her usual retort.
She set the wheelchair down along with him on a cape at the wide curve of the Parker Road where they can see the distant silhouettes of Pea and Columbia Islands ahead of them. The vast ocean enveloping them gave off a peculiar sense; most of her life she was used to the confine of commercial ships and tourism boats constantly muddling up the Hudson and Upper Bay, but there were some beautiful memories there like that time she saw a pod of whales after the Snap like a cruel reminder of the goods that can be borne from evil.
“I know what’s eating you,” George started after a while, looking at seagulls flitting above their heads and hunting in the water ahead of them “I had them too; we were investigating a murderer that was terrorizing the city. We tailed him for months, going from one corpse to another, the press dubbed him Manhattan’s Ripper after a few more were put into body bags.” A grimace tugged at the corner of his lips and a throb jolts up from his casted leg “We were going at it from every angle, running through every source and informant we can find, but it wasn’t enough to stop him before another half a dozen were killed.” He took his daughter’s hand and gave it a firm grip, announcing his presence to her like he always did whenever she wanted reassurance or advice or just someone to be there for her “We get him eventually when he slipped up, but not before he started going after a detective working on his case; Jim Morrigan…when we get to him he almost dies from blood loss, the bastard hammered his arm with a sledgehammer…” George stopped as he heard a gasp from Gwen, and continued after a moment of rest “Morrigan was one hell of a fighter to keep himself awake until the EMT arrived.”
The calls of seagulls and lapping waves filled the space surrounding them, both looking ahead into the horizon and letting the time flow away into oblivion.
“If we could’ve just figured out the bastard’s plan earlier, Morrigan would still be a detective, and all those innocent lives wouldn’t be lost…” George trailed off without casting his eyes on his daughter but felt her strong grip tighten just ever so slightly.
“…If I can sense that bomber earlier—"
“Gwendolyne,” he called her by the name that he proudly picked for her on the bedside by her mother’s exhausted smiling form inside the hospital “You can’t afford to dwell on the what-ifs. Because if you do, then it means the deaths that happened teach you nothing.” He delivered unlike a father but rather a police captain, too familiar with this type of shaken morale from the rookies and even experienced officers throughout his service years.
Gwen let out a chuckle with an exhausting exhale before showing a sad smile on her face “Thought you’d go with the ‘have faith in the Lord’s plan’ with me.”
“I’ll leave that to your mom.” George mirrored the smile on his daughter’s face, albeit he was a bit brighter. “You are a hero, Gwen.” the petite superhuman circled and gathered him into a bear hug from behind, hiding her face at the side of his face. He raised his hand and rested his palm on the top of her sunflower mane, patting softly with affection and reassurance. “I’m proud of you.”
They spent another hour just enjoying the serenity of nature before heading back to the house for George’s medications.
“Hey! Where were you guys?” The Iron Man, Harley Keener, waved at them with a screwdriver between his canines and grease smearing his face.
“Just a lazy stroll on the shore,” George answered before Gwen set him down along with the wheelchair, then he dredged the contraption towards the demoted Avenger “What are you working on, son? Hope it’s not something that will blow the house sky-high.” The recovering Police Captain jabbed lightheartedly, which elicited a scoff from the Tennessean.
“You listened to Parker’s baseless criticisms too much, Captain Stacy,” Harley pointed out without taking his eyes off the equipment that he’s been working on since the break of dawn “If anything, out of the two of us, I’d say he messed the inventions up more than I did by a total of 0.03%.”
“…that’s hardly a difference?” Gwen chimed in with a confused tone.
“But still a difference!”
“…yeah, now I see why you guys used to be besties.” The petite blonde delivered with a chuckle and a shake of her head, turning towards her father “You wanna go inside now, Dad?”
“I wanna see an Avenger at work for a bit, honey. You go ahead.”
“Say Captain; what do you think about a jet-powered wheelchair…”
The two’s conversation died down behind her as Gwen made her way through the threshold into the living area where Harley’s and Kate’s belongings were scattered atop two mattresses that each slept on at night. “Harry?” she yelled for her brother, silence. Gwen huffed a little and headed for the fridge, looking through the remaining groceries inside with a sigh “Definitely gotta get back on the mainland.”
“You called?” Howard poked his head down from upstairs looking at her with an inquisitive gaze.
“Yeah; thought you didn’t hear me.” Gwen closed the lid and relocated to the cabinets next to do accounting.
“I didn’t; Aña do.” Then he descends to the ground floor, heading into the kitchen “What’s up?”
“You prepped dad’s meds?” she inquired and heard a groan from her brother.
“I…might’ve forgotten to do it.” He answered with a nervous smirk.
“…Get to it.” Her demand came with the narrowed glare that has been ingrained into his brain since 2018; a telltale sign that she means it.
“Sir, yes sir!” he mimicked an Army marching straight for the fridge to do as requested, eliciting an affectionate scoff from his sister as well as getting his hair ruffled when she strode past him to the living area “You feel better?”
“Huh?”
“You looked like you’ve been storing a big load of diarrhea these past few days, sis; I’m worried.”
“Ew!” Gwen exclaimed with a laugh. And then sighed deeply before answering his question “…I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders and Howard just nodded along, returning to sorting the medications for their father. “What did you guys do upstairs?”
“Oh, just playing games; Iron Man just turned the second bedroom into an arcade room, it was awesome!”
“Mario Kart?”
“I was just introducing Aña to the international treasure that is Mario Bros, classic edition.” Howard delivered with a refined lilt mimicking a French restaurant manager. “She jumped into the ravine about ten times now, but very enthusiastic about it.”
“Maybe I’ll check this arcade room out some other time,” Gwen fished a leather jacket off a rack and draped it over her shoulder, “You see the keys?” she asked while looking around.
“Where are you going?”
“Mainland shopping; any request?” Gwen replied, looking around until her eyes landed upon the keys laid on top of a shelf next to the front door.
“A hot guy?” Howard cheekily replied with a lighthearted cackle.
“Hah! Why don’t you try your luck with Iron Man?”
“Hawkeye said he’s dating your boyfriend’s high school sweetheart; kinda messy already.” What was lacking is a ‘duh’“And I don’t even know if he swings that way.”
“Want me to broach the subject?” she offered.
“I can manage on my own, but thank you, sis.” Howard shooed her off without taking his eyes off the medications. “Now get going!”
Gwen headed for the boat and waved goodbye to her dad on the way, until Kate Bishop showed up from the back of the house, startled her a little at how quiet the archer’s footsteps can be. “Oh, hey! I’m gonna go shopping, need anything?”
It took Kate about half a minute of contemplation until a decision was made “Actually, I’m just gonna tag along; you okay with that?” the archer questioned with a hopeful smile.
“You have to be gentle, especially with that proportional strength of a spider!” Kate gripped the rail of the boat like her life depended on it. Her raven hair, despite being bundled into a ponytail, flits along with the rushing gale that clashes into her and the petite blonde on the steering wheel.
“I’m getting used to it!” Gwen replied amidst the deafening wind, firmly sticking her feet to the floor with the, theoretically, bio-electrostatics adhesion effect of her being. “Okay! Okay, I think I got it!” Gwen finally steadied the boat enough for the last stretch heading for the pier where Peter parked her family’s SUV. The boat miraculously received only a single bump with the wooden pole before coming to a stop. “Piece of cake.” The Spider-powered petite woman shrugged her shoulders with a sheepish grin.
Kate glared at her with stray strands of hair clouding her face. “Yeah. I see that.” The sarcastic lilt was not lost on the receiving end. After a moment of recollection, Kate threw the noose at a post with inhuman accuracy befitting the most recognizable aspect of her superhero’s moniker, and they made their way toward the parked car amid few glances of recognition aiming at the demoted Avenger.
“Was it always like this when you are in public?” Gwen asked after getting into the driver’s seat and Kate closed the passenger’s door.
“With the staring?” the raven-haired asked, receiving a nod of confirmation, then chuckled “This is nothing compared to when the New Avengers were announced.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that.” Gwen recalled a crazed period the internet went obsessively head-over-heel for the legacy successors of Iron Man and Hawkeye a few years back and of course, the fandoms that stemmed from the trio of the New Avengers “and months later Spider-Man became public enemy number 1 for a whole different reason than Jameson wanted it to be.” The sunflower-blonde teased, implying the dating history between her boyfriend and the archer. Kate nervously chuckled along as the SUV started gaining a steady speed on the asphalt road, heading for the city.
“What are you cooking tonight?” the archer started a question as they pulled up into the parking lot.
“Braised pork. Mashed. Roasted Saba. Seviche. Grilled veggies.” Gwen listed as she approached a trolley, leading the archer into the wholesale store, feeling the chilled conditioned air breezing onto her skin.
“Gotta say, that’s an impressive list. If you ask me, I will just go with a pot of Mac n’ Cheese and call it a night.” Kate lightheartedly replied with a smirk on her lips.
“That… kinda sad.” The sunflower-blonde cackled.
“Pete was totally into it; Lemme tell ya.” The recollection escaped her mouth before Kate could contemplate the meaning of it, she froze up and cast a curious glance at the blonde who just responded with a scoff before continuing along the produce aisle. “I should just stop—”
“Not really,” the blonde shrugged “I mean, the press broadcasted you guys kissing each other for the whole world to see.”
Kate stopped in her tracks and contemplated the tone of voice a little before following the petite superhuman again “…you are not…mad?”
Gwen sighed, looking at the trays before her without sparing a glance at the raven-haired taller woman “I guess I have to reiterate this more than I thought I would.” She groaned to herself before picking up a bunch of cilantro. “I’m not a jealous girlfriend type, Kate; Pete is a big flirt as you may know, and I would already go insane with how he and Cat are around each other almost every two nights.” Then she picked a pack of tomatoes to add to the cart “You saw how that Kitty girl looked at him, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Thinking back to when the guy just brought home a woman who clearly has a crush on him to a dinner with his girlfriend’s family along with his ex-girlfriend; Jameson might be on the right track calling him a Menace after all. “Do you think he knows?”
“That guy?” Gwen scoffed “Of course he knows; dude figured me out the moment I asked him about an internship!” she chuckled “I mean, I wasn’t exactly subtle about it either; pretty much everyone in my friend group knew about my tiny little crush on ESU’s resident Dork since he won an argument against a professor.” A fond smile appears at the corner of her lips, softening her face. “Anyway, to answer your question,” Gwen stopped and turned a little to the side to look at the raven-haired archer “No. I’m not mad about the kissing; I would be if it was kept a secret. That’s lying, and I hate liars.”
That must be why he doesn’t keep being Spider-Man a secret with her. Kate thought.
“And I draw the line at sex.” The additional criteria made Kate drop a pack of crisps onto the floor with a cough. “So, don’t worry; you are still in the clear.”
They had a small and quiet chat along the small circles made around the meat section until they stopped at the butchery when Gwen continued with the topic earlier “By the way, why did you decide to give it another go?”
“…You didn’t know?” Kate asked almost in a whisper, looking at the clueless face of the petite blonde.
“Am I supposed to? It’s your decision, no?” Seeing a hint of darkness clouding the archer’s face, Gwen stopped and fully turned towards her.
Kate took her sweet time contemplating the next sentence for over a minute, making Gwen start to get impatience until the raven-haired took the blonde along with the trolley into a more vacant slot before letting out a sigh “When Namor came, he challenged Pete for a deathmatch.”
“…I might’ve tuned out a bit back there,” Gwen admitted, thinking back to the gut-wrenching wait she and her family had to endure while the surgeons were working on her father’s injuries. “The same guy who kidnapped Sue? I mean, before someone else did it again?”
“I guess? He said he’s a King of Atlantis, and since Pete allegedly bombed his home,” Kate did an air quote “So, with him staking a flood of the city into the pot, Pete had to take it…” Kate trailed off.
“But the city did get flooded…” Gwen inquired, completely confused, but then a flash of realization blipped inside her head after a concerned look shone on the raven-haired archer’s face. “Oh, no…”
“Namor was just too much for him; the bastard took on Thor and the Hulk! What could a Spider-Man do with that?” Kate recalled after a moment “When Namor came back with a grin…it felt like I was being strangled.” The archer produced a sad smile, leaning against a metal pillar behind, and crossed her arms “Like the world just collapsed into dust. Like time itself stopped. My brain kept replaying the memories. The times he played with Lucky in our room. The dollar joint he took me to on our first date. His smart-ass way of one-upping Keener in their shared workshop. His soft voices at night. His touches…” Kate stopped herself and deviated from the tone “You ever felt like a hope reenter your life again? That’s what it felt like when he swooped me away from danger again.” Kate smiled.
“I do.” Gwen replied after a beat, harboring a nostalgic look on her face “I lost my parents in the Snap,” she stated simply with a flat smile, garnered a gasp from the raven-haired archer “So, yeah; I know how it feels like when hope returns.”
The two shared an understanding silence between them for a while, almost forgetting the goal of being here in the first place.
“But I think we have to look more into the Symbiote; saving him from dying one time could be a happy accident but with the second time? I doubt it.”
“Agreed.” Kate nodded, rubbing the bridge of her nose “You should have seen him with those arms; they creeped me the hell out with how similar he was to…Doc Ock.” Mentioning the mad scientist sent a shiver of dread down her spine. “I get that Rhodey’s death made him angry, but Pete was never this brutal.” That single flash of his menacing eyes still clings to the back of her mind.
The look of worry and deep concern shared between them.
“Gwen Stacy?!” the calling came from behind while the sunflower-blonde and the raven-haired women were loading their groceries into the trunk of an SUV. The one with the called name craned her neck a little until her eyes landed on the familiar face of a chocolate-skinned woman with wild curls she did not expect to see so far from Boston.
“Janet?” Gwen greeted her roommate with confusion and a slight startle “What are you doing here?” she approached her Harvard senior with a sheepish grin “Look, I’m sorry if—”
“It’s not a big deal!” the woman enthusiastically cut her off with a wavering hand “I know the situation was…rough for you back there.” Then she cast her curious eyes onto the curious third party “Who’s this?”
“Tabitha; I’m her cousin.” Kate offered with a corporate smile, shaking hands with Janet.
“Janet; I’m her roommate.” She announced with a thumb pointing at the petite woman, then averted her eyes “I’m visiting my dad.” Janice answered, then narrowed her eyes “Are you gonna go back to the uni?”
“Maybe; I have to take care of some…family matters first.” Gwen forced a smile. Looking alternatively between Janet and the SUV “We should get going, it’s gonna be late for the dinner.” She announced and urged Kate to continue their task, then averted her eyes to the curly-haired woman “I’m sorry, Janet, but we have to go. Maybe we can meet some other time if you are still around?”
“Oh, okay; you still got my number?”
“Yeah.” Gwen nodded, and the curly-haired woman started walking toward what was supposed to be her car “Say hello to your dad for us!”
“What’s the rush?” Kate inquired; the use of her alias was just a standard issue that was ingrained.
“…Spider-Sense tingled a little when she was near.” Gwen replied after a distance was put between them and Janet “I don’t know what set it off, but…”
“I get it,” Kate replied and hauled the last package into the trunk, closing the door “You have her last name? I can look into it a bit.”
Janice sat on the driver’s, looking at the pair from afar with a fading smile and a harsh glare aiming at the raven-haired woman “The hell is she doing here with Hawkeye?” whispered to herself, she fished a burner out of the pile and punched in the numbers while her free hand discreetly draw a pocketknife out of her jacket and toss it into the cupboard with a huff “…It’s B. I got an eye on the Princess…negative; there are complications present…fucking Hawkeye acting like her bodyguard, that’s what I’m talking about!” Janice groaned annoyingly at the person on the other end “No. That’s too much spectacle…I will get her, just need to be a little bit more careful.” Her eyes locked onto the SUV that was being started and pulled out of the slot “…can you run—” she recited the plate for her conversate partner, memorizing any distinct details she could before the vehicle left the parking lot. “I’ll call for updates.” Janice cut the line and breaks the phone in half, leaning her head back with a frustrated sigh “This shit just getting more annoying.”
- - -
Undisclosed Warehouse
Jessica took another swig of her flask before a creaking of the steel door behind her sounded, revealing the gruff visage of Frank Castle behind it. “Took your damn time, Castle.” The Punisher retired, grunted in response, and stepped aside allowing her passage before closing the door behind her with another grunt. “Want some?” she offered him the flask, but he just spun and led her into the dark hallway. She followed him for a minute until the space expanded into an empty room with a single chair situated at the center underneath an industrial spotlight, cooking the beaten shooter in its yellowish ray. The windows were plastered with old newspapers and black paints, one corner housed a hammock and a camping cauldron over a small fire, possibly a black coffee by the smell alone. The only lacking decoration would be a rack of rifles and shotguns and it would’ve looked like the hideout she accompanied the Kid and Daredevil into back when Castle was still active inside Manhattan.
The brutal vigilante himself was covered in a long black coat most associated with his appearance but the white skull body armor was nowhere to be seen. “Got something for me?” the former Navy SEAL inquired, casually stuffing his mouth with a can of MRE while looking alternatively at her and the prisoner.
“Not much; just some old doc.” Jessica fished an envelope out of her jacket and tossed it to him, Castle caught it without looking and quickly opened it for the content inside “Ben ‘Lester’ Pointdexter,” while the name was spoken, the Punisher roamed his eyes through the single document in his hand “Sounds made-up, and probably is; that was from the Expose back in 2014.”
“SHIELD?” The gruff veteran inquired without taking his eyes off the paper.
“Yep.” The drunkard P.I. answered, scratching the back of her head “Aside from what seems to be a resuméfor Fury’s little band of misfits, there’s not much else about him.”
“What do you think? HYDRA or Avengers?” Frank stopped eating and set the can down, pointing the folded parchment at the beaten man on the chair, quirking his eyebrows.
“Could be both,” Jessica answered with a shrug “From what Spidey and Horny told me,” the nickname for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen elicited a short chuckle from the Punisher “He has some insane accuracy when firing a projectile or throwing things.”
“So, a knockoff version of Hawkeye?” Frank inquired again, prompting a shrug from the dark-haired woman.
“If that’s the case, I’m leaning more on HYDRA.” Recalling an idea that Spider-Man has been putting inside her head one night after she got a broken arm and the Arachnid volunteered to keep her company with some superhero animations and shits, Jessica let out a hum “…like a counter-Avengers team or something?” She averted her eyes to be met with Castle’s and a groan escaped her throat “Just throwing ideas around, dumbass.”
“You spent too much time ‘round the kid, just like Red.” Frank commented, picking the can up to finish his dinner “He tells jokes now, you know how weird that is?”
“He’s actually funny when he’s not punching someone,” Jessica replied, shrugging her shoulders with a pursed lip, recalling the drinks they shared once in a while. “He spilled anything?” she motioned to the prisoner, but Castle just shook his head.
“I can only do so much without maiming the guy, and I don’t fancy a lecture from the kid or Red anytime soon.”
Jessica just stood there when the Punisher opened a second can, hearing a low growl from her stomach the second the whiff of the MRE hit her nose. “Can I get some of that?”
“Knock yourself out.” Frank grunted with a hint of a smirk and threw a spare can at her “Twist the base and wait a minute.” He instructed her quietly as she found a spot to sit down.
- - -
The House
Peter and Gwen got the dishes this evening after everyone dispersed to do their things.
“How’s the work today?” Gwen started after drying the first dish, looking sideways at her boyfriend with a hint of a smile.
“Same-o, same-o,” he replied, storing another on the rack “Mister Grimm helps a lot in clearing the 6th Ave. Johnny and his pals saved a dozen of survivors from the debris. Mister Richards commissioned another caravan of all-terrain trucks for me to keep busy.” He listed with a stunted smile that dropped quickly “…it was too much, Gwen; the flood destroyed almost 60% of ground-level buildings and landmarks, and almost two-hundred thousand were reported dead…” he sighed heavily and felt her smaller hand pressed into the small of his back as her head landed onto his arm. Finally, a sincere smile escaped from the dark clouds hovering above his head.
In Gwen’s mind, this is almost too much like a scene from some cheesy Rom-Com; them being in a house, quietly doing dishes together like a normal couple as if both don’t have superhuman strength hidden within every fiber of their beings. As if they don’t share a supernatural awareness that can warn them about incoming danger from any direction. As if their hands and feet could not stick to any surface that they wanted them to. As if there were no regrets or unforgettable lives perished before their eyes still haunting them with every breath.
It's almost like he’s not a superhero, and she’s just a nerd who loves biology.
She felt a feathery touch of his lips and warm breath brushing on top of her head and snuggled in closer.
A quiet intimacy that they last experienced almost a lifetime ago.
For Peter, it felt like a time when he still thought his parents were dead, and he was the last Parker in the world.
Now, he has a little sister who’s probably older than him thanks to a certain purple nutsack-chinned alien warlord’s quest for absurdity.
Now, he has a father who has gone insane by his doing, who destroyed lives like they were nothing but toys to him.
Now, she’s not the only one he cares about anymore.
Now, he’s lost another piece of his heart to an unknown fate.
Now, he felt lost.
They found themselves stumbled into the dark bedroom without a single word exchanged, their eyes closed from the outside world and noses brushing against one another as their lips desperately sought the well of comfort hidden within the other’s core. His hands mirrored hers roaming onto the powerful underlying muscles that made them, unraveling the tensions and sores in them with the warmth from their hypermetabolism. Spider-Senses guided them away from falling over small and scattered objects on the floor to the bed, falling over with Peter’s back bouncing softly on the mattress and Gwen’s light frame straddling him.
A sound of thwip sent a glob of webbing at the doorknob and glued the wooden pane to the frame before the Web-Shooters were discarded in a hurry by Gwen’s shaking fingers followed by his plaided shirt that was practically torn off his body under her superhuman strength.
He carded his fingers through the side of her golden crown, relishing the silky texture and her electrifying skin. He tore at her oversized tee like it was just tissue paper and palmed the perky mounds of flesh with firm grips, kneading a quiet moan out of the petite blonde trapping him under her lustrous gaze, she arched her back like a contortionist and grinding her pelvis against his growing hardness.
Gwen felt as if she was being prodded with electrodes the way their bio-electrostatic skin interacted with one another the way his calloused palms sent a gentle shock wherever they roamed, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She enjoyed the attentive massage for a while before leaning forward and diving back in to capture his parted lips, poking at his wiggling tongue with her own, moaning into one another’s breathing, and felt his palms trailed down to her slender waist gripping for dear life, pulling her flush against his hip thrusting in wanton.
Peter whined a little when Gwen retreated her lips, but hummed in approval the moment she planted suckling kisses down the side of his stubbled jaw and then his neck down to his sternum, trailing ever so lazily down the ridges of pronounced muscles until her ragged hot breathe brushing over the hem of his sweatpants. He moaned and arched his neck backward after Gwen palmed the rigid girth underneath the fabric, caressing and squeezing it in that rhythm he longed for.
Gwen tucked the pants down until the excited rod sprung to attention out of its confinement, a glint of precum glistened under the intruding moonlight from the window. She dapped her tongue against the slit and lathered the entire head with expertise, before taking half the length into her salivated depth in one fell swoop.
Peter groaned in euphoria as his hands instinctively rested on the sides of her head, carding his finger through her hair for a better grip to guide her into a desired pace. He felt Gwen’s fingers raking into his thigh, finding a purchase before allowing him to plunge deeper into her throat, embedded to the hilt with long strokes accompanied by gurgling noises.
Gwen started applying more suction inside her mouth while pressing the length of her tongue expertly along Peter’s throbbing shaft. Her neck started gaining some strain from the repeating up and down motion, soaking his balls with excess saliva as her hand started fondling them with a feathery grip.
Peter’s hip raised from the mattress as a climax approached, his hip piston his cock out and in of her submitted mouth, occasionally grazing the back of her throat in the chase of release that clouded his mind. Her hands gripped his clenched butt cheeks firmly as he thrust upward for the last time before flooding her esophagus with searing hot cum while growling with guttural sounds as he press his groin tight against Gwen’s welcoming lips.
Gwen pressed his lower body into a tight seal with her hands and superhuman strength until the spasm subsided and Peter leisurely retreated his still-hard cock out of her mouth, glistened with a mixture of fluid, glimmering in the moonlight. She swallowed the overwhelming load down into her stomach with a hum before taking the throbbing cock into her mouth again and cleaning it with enthusiasm.
“Damn…” Peter raggedly whispered with a flush face; his slurry eyes partnered with a lopsided smirk directed at her mischievous face “…I really needed that.”
“Obviously.” Gwen retorted, biting her lower lip before crawling up his laid body, raking her electrifying fingers up to rest under his chin, diving in for a peck on his lips that Peter welcomed adoringly “…ready for the next round?”
“I should be the one asking that.” Peter retorted with a smirk and with his superior strength flipped Gwen’s lithe body until her apex was propped up against his face as her head laid softly onto the mattress. He chuckled at the way she waggled her cute little butt before diving in to sink his nose into her moistened slit through the thin fabric of her yoga pants, drawing a mewling moan out of the petite blonde as she squirms around in her upside-down position. Peter drag the flat of his tongue against the soaked fabric and emphasized his attention onto a perk bud of her clit, flicking it expertly with occasional suckling.
Gwen curled her core until she can pull Peter’s face flatter against her sensitive pussy, finding more and more sensational touches provided by the interaction of their sticky skins, until she whined before tearing her yoga pants off for easy access for her boyfriend’s silver tongue.
Peter plunged his tongue into her velvet alcove, lathering up her sweet spot with the tip while his thumb circled a pattern on the bundle of nerves, drawing out more and more incoherent voices from her agape mouth. A moment later, he tease his thumb around the entrance of her anus, eliciting a sharp yelp from the blonde, then he plunged the thumb into her tight canal and Gwen came almost immediately. Peter did not retract his face from her pussy the whole ride until Gwen relaxed from trying to crush his skull between her thighs.
“…you know what, Bishop?”
“Hm?”
“I’m starting to miss the soundproof walls of the Compound.” The Tennessean chuckled into the living area where they were laying on their respective sleeping bags, his eyes cast upward in the general direction of the battlefield sounds coming from the upstairs bedroom. “Damn, that’s one way to show both of you are both superhumans.”
“Oh, shut up Harley!” Kate groaned groggily with annoyance and stuffed a pillow over her head with a grunt, trying to fall asleep.
The creaking of the bed was deaf to their ears as both synchronized in a chase of ecstasy. Peter clamped his hand over Gwen’s mouth while the petite blonde clasped both of hers onto his, receiving the abandoned pounding session deprived of the usual cautiousness associated with their love-making back when her body was not as resilient and strong as his. In and out, in and out, Peter draws squirming squeaks from his girlfriend as he increases the depth and force of his thrusts, bottoming out until his tip pressed against her cervix with brutal succession, yet Gwen gritted through it and just enjoying the primal sensation accompanying his aggressive assaults.
Gwen locked her ankles behind his back and pulled him in deeper, biting on his hand to stifle her guttural moans and grinding up against his piston hip, gaining closer and closer to an orgasm. She released her hands from Peter’s mouth as her boyfriend pounds with a frantic rate, desperately slamming his glistened and slicked shaft in and out of her vagina, stimulating her even further as he dives in and sinks his teeth firmly against her jugular to keep his grunts from escaping. Her world crumbled with an incoherent scream when Peter bottomed his penis into the end of her posterior fornix and he sinks his entire being into the velvet pocket as his sperm unloaded with an exhausted groan, flooding her vaginal canal and seeping out onto the grey mattress underneath them. Her body went into a spasmodic orgasm alongside him.
They pant in one another’s arms, breathing in the hot air emanating from their cardio bodies and relishing in the rapidly drying sweat glistening all over their skins, rubbing and lathering into one another as Peter kept rocking his hip into her still.
Gwen sighed with satisfaction and affectionately kissed the side of his neck as her fingers raked through his disheveled hair, massaging the scalp like she wanted to ease the stress collected inside his brain “Tomorrow’s gonna be awkward.” She whispered as Peter finally relented but refused to disconnect their groins from one another and instead gathered her lighter frame inside his caged arms, laying on his side her still attached, and buried his nose into her messy hair, breathing in the afterglow and residue musk.
“Any ideas? I’m thinking of a sparring session.” He quipped with slurry words and a yawn, seemingly spent because of their superhuman lovemaking session. “I love you.” He mumbled and nuzzled into her chest, resting in her embrace.
“I love you too,” Gwen replied with a soft smile, hugging his messy hair tighter against her chest.
- - -
Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters
Jean clutched the headboard of her bed so tight her knuckles turned white, ragged breathing filled the room as well as her stifled moans and mewls. Her hands roamed her sweaty and almost naked body with the linen of her nightgown pressed tightly into a second skin.
That was not what I expected when trying out a new method. The omega-level telepath internalized with an afterglow she received from her unintentional spying on the Spiders during their intense lovemaking; She could have retreated at any moment but decided not to. With the laborious failures to differentiate Susan Storm’s mind out of millions, she theorized about a method to trace the specific mental pattern associated with a more…intimate connection between the vigilante and the biochemist.
And what better way than to analyze Peter Parker’s and Gwen Stacy’s brainwaves when they are expressing that same pattern?
And now she’s hot and bothered. Her mind experienced the satisfaction accompanying a sense of orgasm emanating from the petite blonde, yet her physical body felt nothing remotely closed. It’s conflicting, but not something Jean couldn’t manage on her own.
I’ll try again tomorrow. The redhead told herself before her hands slit across her perky breasts and passed her navel until the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs was brushed so tenderly it draws a mewl out of her lips, writhing and squirming underneath her mercy.