Part 2
(Mary Janes Apartment)
Mary Jane looks out the window with a melancholy expression. It's getting to be late in the day now. He should have been here, but he still isn't. He hasn't even called or texted. The selfish part of her is saying she's better off without him. Her life would be so much simpler if he weren't around. But her heart still clenches at the thought of losing him again.
Especially now that he knows the truth.
After spending a while scrolling through her phone's photo library on her couch, essentially tormenting herself with old pictures of her and Peter together, she thought about maybe going out for a walk to clear her head, but she was worried she'd run into him while he's out spandexing. They need to talk but not outside. Best it be at her place and not his.
Only one problem. He hasn't shown up and she doesn't think it would be a good idea for her to show up at his place. He and Carlie broke up but that doesn't mean it's over between them. At least not from MJ's own experiences with his exes. They never have a tendency of being just that.
She had to compete with Gwen before her death. And each time she came back, again before she died and not the clones, MJ didn't feel like she was up to par with her. Especially since they got together so much easier and quicker than he did with MJ. Though granted there were few times MJ helped them in getting together and staying together.
Felicia was another returning romantic partner in his life. When they were married it was a complicated mess, but the new life where their marriage never happened was even more so. When they broke up, which was often, he and Felicia hooked up more than he admitted. But she knew when they did. That woman left signs that she did. Because she wanted to 'mark her territory' as it were. Hard to believe she and her are good friends with each other now.
And while MJ felt like her marriage was safe, she still can't lie and say she didn't have doubts. Peter and Felicia had a real connection with each other. They both loved the masks they wore. They loved the time they spent with each other. And despite what Felicia claims to this day, MJ knows the sultry thief loved Peter. Because Spider-Man is just the mask. Peter is the man who gives that mask meaning. Mary Jane told him that all the time. But he never really believed her. He always felt that no matter how good of a guy Peter is, Spider-Man is the better one.
Another aspect she failed in.
She groans as she drops her head in her hands, "Stop doing this to yourself."
She places her phone down next to her and reaches for the remote on the coffee table. She opts to turn on the tv and wait for him to come to her. The moment she does, a special news report comes on.
Some newsman stands in front of the camera in front of a mansion that is well known in the city, "We are standing outside of Avengers mansion, where the FBI and local NYPD currently have the place surrounded."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"They have yet to disclose as to why they have the Avengers team under lockdown, but rumors have it that the heroes are under suspicion of murdering-"
BANG!
Pandemonium happens when a gunshot is heard. She watches as the newsman and law enforcement go for cover. The cameraman tries to get a view of what's happening while hiding behind the news van.
They zoom in on a body that's splayed on the ground and several officers running around with their guns out.
She doesn't know what's happening. But she does know her ex. And he is smack dab in the middle of this. And for a moment, she could have sworn she saw something freaky-looking zip into the air.
(Avenger Mansion, Earlier)
Inside the mansion, Spider-Man, his teammates, and Maria Hill are watching Doctor Strange check over the unconscious form of Victoria Hand on a bed in a spare room. The room is large enough to fit the whole team without it being cramped and other than an empty dresser, there is no other piece of furniture to indicate that someone sleeps in the room. The bed that Hand is on is queen-sized.
And it is large enough for the whole team to surround it to watch as the good doctor examined her. At both the doctor's left and right, Bobbi and Carol. Standing at the end of the bed was Daredevil with Spider-Man crouching on the wooden bed frame. And standing on the other side of the bed are Luke, Danny, Ben, and Maria Hill.
"Okay," Spider-Man starts from his crouched position on the end of the bed's wooden border, "What just happened?"
"Doctor Strange?" Luke asks with concern.
The former Sorcerer Supreme stays silent for a few moments before he says, "Everybody out."
Everyone was about to protest, but Spider-Man quickly sets his feet on the ground and then he starts to usher everyone else out.
"You heard the Doc," he says as he gets behind Mockingbird, "Visiting hours are over. Unless your family. Beat it."
He gets them all in a bunch as he ushers them out the door and they all protest in the process.
"Hey hey, wat are ya-!"
"Excuse me!? You don't kick me out! I'm the director of-!"
"Man if you don't stop pushing me, I'll-!"
SLAM!
He shuts the door as soon as he got them all out. He dusts off his hands, "And don't come back!"
He wheels himself around and walks back to the end of the bed. He salutes the irritated doctor and says, "Nurse Spider-Man reporting for duty."
The mystic man is not caused and scowls at him, "Get out."
Spidey, seeing that the doctor is in no joking mood, raises both his hands in a placating manner, "Look, I need you to put a cone of silence on the room so I-
"No," Strange says as he refocuses on the unconscious woman, "Now get out."
Spider-Man expected some vexation from Strange. He was the one who was most upset over his deal. But he knows that out of everyone he told, he's the best to come to for help. So he'll put up with the anger that the good doctor gives him. Especially since he deserves it.
Spider tries again. "It's really important-"
"It can wait." Strange tells him without looking at him.
"It really can't. You see-"
"GET OUT!" Strange angrily shouts at him as he stands abruptly, "WHATEVER PERSONAL PROBLEMS YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE ARE YOURS TO-
"She remembers."
At that statement, Strange stops short. He looks at him curiously before he realizes what he means and his eyes widen in shock.
"What?" Stephen asks perplexed, "How does she-?"
"Cone of silence, please."
He hesitates for a moment before he takes a moment to think about his request. The truth is he still feels the urge to tell Spider-Man this is his problem to deal with, but the fact is Strange needs information. He and Julia were discussing why Mephistopheles did what he did and how he did it. Julia said there were no signs of tampering on the web of life, an impossible feat, yet somehow the demon lord did that. Why and how are the questions and it seems Mary Jane Watson might have the answers.
He sighs as he reluctantly waves his hands around in a similar manner he did back at the Illuminati base but the whole room becomes affected.
When he finishes he turns his attention to the younger hero and gets a serious expression, "Start talking."
Spider-Man rubs his neck, "Well, let me get back to that after I tell you something else." He says sheepishly and Strange gives a confused look, "I don't know if Tony told you but when the team was escorting Emma Frost, my spider-sense went off and then I saw the transport get attacked." He enunciates the next part, "Hours before it happened."
For a moment, he wonders why Spider-Man didn't mention that first before he realizes he needed to grab Strange's attention in the middle of his outburst. His foul mood wasn't the web swinger's fault, well not entirely, but more at the situation at hand. Strange has a suspicion about what's going on, but he can't share it if his suspicion is right.
Still, mentioning something like that to shut him up was a smart move on the webhead's part. He decides to gloss over that and instead focuses on the new information he was given.
He crosses his arms and looks down in thought, "Tony neglected to inform me of this."
"Well, it was late in the day," Spider-Man says as he crouches on the bed frame again, "But yeah like I said, I saw the attack hours before it happened."
Strange decides to ask the obvious, "How?"
Spidey shrugs, "I don't know," he says before he sighs, "More bad news. It happened again not too long ago."
Strange becomes worried, "What?"
"Yup," Spidey nods as he crosses his arms and recalls what happened, "Before even Hill showed up, I was on the roof waiting for you to finish your meditation and my spider-sense triggered. And like before, instead of an immediate sense of danger, I saw what was going to happen."
Strange stays quiet for a moment, as he thinks about how different this is from Julia's ability, before he asks, "What did you see?"
Spider-Man slumps and groans in exhaustion, "Everyone attacking me," Strange becomes shocked by this as Spidey explains more, "I saw Luke, Red Hulk, and Wolverine attacking me with smiles on their faces." He rubs his chest to soothe the phantom pain he feels, "Thor too, but he seemed more reluctant."
Stephen becomes very worried in light of this information as he looks away in shame, "I was afraid of this." He says and he feels Spider-Man questioning gaze on his person, "Back outside, when that agent mentioned Jennifer Kale, I immediately assumed that some dark force was at work. She is a mystic like myself. And it seems I'm right. I don't know who or what is doing this, but my suspicion is it is most likely the work of another sorcerer or a spirit. Possessing and using Victoria here to commit heinous crimes.
"Wait are you saying that-?"
Strange nods as he looks out the window of the room, "Yes, Jennifer Kale is most likely dead. With Victoria Hand to take the fall."
Outside the room in the living room of the mansion just down the stairs by the entrance, the rest of the Avengers are sitting and/or waiting for the doctor's prognosis.
The living room is larger than the average room, obviously. There are two fancy couches that seat three and four matching chairs that surround a coffee table with the couches on opposite sides of the table. There are two bookcases against the wall with a television set in between. Two smaller tables with vases in the corner of the room and some paintings of flowers decorate the walls. And a window with lavender drapes that show the front lawn of the mansion.
And said front lawn currently has law enforcement scurrying around it in a haste to surround the building.
Maria Hill sees this from the window with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
"That moronic overzealous-" She says before she takes a breath, "I swear to god," She walks away from the window, "It was idiots like him that were responsible for the registration act being a failure."
Hill hates how wrong the Registration Act ended up. People with abilities popped up every day all over the world. The registration would have made sure that people like that were either kept in line or properly contained if proven to be too dangerous. But when people like Norman Osborn, Robert Kelly, and that idiot agent outside are put in charge of things, well disaster was all but guaranteed.
"Right~." She hears Luke Cage sarcastically say as he sits on one of the with his head resting on his fist, "Meanwhile people like you thought up brilliant ideas to put powered people that didn't register in prisons that took them out of the legal system."
He and the rest of the team wait on the doctor's prognosis on their liaison as comfortably as they can. Ben Grimm sitting opposite of Cage on the other couch and taking up the whole thing. Carol leaning on the wall and not looking worried, which is strange for her, and Daredevil standing in front of her. Agent Morse looks through the selection of books on one of the bookcases. And Danny Rand silently and calmly paces back and forth between Morse and Cage.
Hill glares at the bulletproof man, "It was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good."
Bobbi adds her two cents from her spot by the bookcase but still keeps her back turned, "You know, the X-Men that kept them prisoners in their own heads would probably say the same thing."
"Can we please not," Daredevil says from his position by the door as he rubs his head, "It's over. There is no point in reopening old wounds. Move on."
He can sense Cage relax and Bobbi go back to perusing the books, but Hill still remains tense. Whether that's because of the conversation or what's going on is his guess. However, that is not his concern right now.
No. What is his concern is what he heard in the room Hand is passed out in. The one that Doctor Strange put a 'cone of silence' on at the request of Spider-Man. And he heard, well everyone did really, the doctor shout but became quiet when the arachnid vigilante said something that shocked the doctor. The same thing he told Stark the night before.
"She remembers."
Those two words put both Strange and Stark on edge. Strange more than Stark, but still, he sensed how shocked they were when Spider-Man told them that.
What could he possibly be talking about? Does it have something to do with Jennifer Kale, whoever she is? Probably not since he told Stark the day prior and is now just informing Strange about it. Still, if it doesn't involve Kale then who else could it be about? It's possible that it's just something that's going on in Spider-Mans life outside of the mask. But why inform both Strange and Stark? The latter of whom hasn't had the trust of the arachnid-themed hero for some time from the rumors he's heard.
These are the questions that are burning inside Mathew Murdock's mind. And he will ask them when given the chance. He doesn't pry into his fellow heroes' lives unless they are doing or have done something that would warrant suspicion. And it's starting to sound like that's the case with his fellow vigilante.
He is brought out of his thoughts when he senses something. Something that is not supposed to be here.
"Somethings wrong," he voices his thoughts as he tries to focus more on what he feels.
Bobbi groans as she turns around and looks at him, "Please don't say that. I hate it when you and Spider-Man say things like that."
Maria ignores her and focuses her attention on the devil of Hell's Kitchen, "What are you talking about?"
He scans the room with his radar as he responds, "I don't know. I'm feeling something that's not supposed to be here but-"
"AVENGERS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
He stops talking as they all turn their attention to the window and Maria heads back over it to look outside. She glares at the agent she spoke with earlier, who is still standing at the gates of the mansion. But now seems to have the gall to have opened the gates and standing like he's untouchable.
Ohhh, she is gonna show him.
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR RIGHT NOW!"
Hill sucks the air through her teeth as she clenches them, "I'm gonna make sure he gets the job of cleaning toilets at Burger King when I'm done with him."
Spider-Man has a thinking pose as he paces around the room, "Okay," he says, "What do we know?"
Strange floats in the air as sits in a lotus position and responds, "We know whoever or whatever is doing this has the power to control multiple people all at once if your vision is anything to go by."
"But not completely if Thor's reluctant face was anything else to go by," Spidey points out.
Strange's expression becomes uncertain as he says, "Even with that, whoever or whatever is doing this still has the power to control him. Your knowing does provide us with an advantage."
They both become silent and think on the matter. Spider-Man is just trying to come up with the most probable conclusion on why this is happening. While Strange can already figure it out since who was involved gives him a hint. The woman who disappeared is someone important in the mystic arts. A powerful sorceress who was being considered for the position if he heard right. But she was not well known and she wanted to keep it that way for her protection.
It seems it didn't serve her very well.
Strange decides reluctantly to inform the arachnid-themed hero, "I have a suspicion. And it seems to be the most likely scenario, given what happened to Miss Hand outside earlier."
Spidey wonders what he means for a moment before he recalls what happened at the gates and scratches his head, "You mean how she was talking crazy for a second before passing out?"
"She looked lost," Stephen explains as he looks at the unconscious female, "Like she had no idea how she got here. I assume the one who did this left her body and jumped into someone else.
"Uh-oh," Spider-Man becomes genuinely worried at the prospect as he panics more, "Would you know? Would the person being possessed know? What if I'm possessed right now and I don't even know it?!"
"Relax," Stephen dully looks at him, "If you were possessed I would know."
"How?"
"For one thing, you would not be acting like the goof you have a tendency to be so much."
Spidey stays silent for a moment before he concedes with a nod, "Fair point."
"And you also wouldn't have mentioned what you did about Ms. Watson," Stranges says without thinking.
Spider-Man slightly recoils at that before he looks down depressed, "Yeah. I screwed up big time." He sits down on the corner of the bed, "I mean I already knew that, but adding this to it-" He drops his head into his hands, "God I don't know why she even agreed to meet with me. Why doesn't she hate me? Hell, I hate me. Although I'm not supposed to do that anymore."
Strange would like to question that last part but instead focuses on the important matter, "Did she mention anything in regard to your deal?"
He lifts his head out of his hands and shakes it negatively, "No. After I found out she remembered all this time, the future vision thing happened." He ruefully lets out a chuckle, "The timing could not have been worse."
Typical Parker luck. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. He should have left like Logan.
"I'm assuming you haven't spoken to her yet then?" Strange rhetorically asks.
"It was the first thing I wanted to do this morning." He responds as he looks back at the doctor, "But Luke said he had some kind of important announcement." He rubs his arm and seems abashed, "A small selfish part of me is annoyed that it was him saying he was quitting the team."
While Strange could see how someone would be a little crossed at him for having such thoughts, he couldn't blame the man for such things. Everyone is entitled to have their thoughts after all. And considering the timing, well again, he can't blame him.
That does leave one question, "Why didn't you leave afterward?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Stephen raises an eyebrow in question as Spidey continues, "About both my spider-sense giving me visions of the future and about Mary Jane. Though I was gonna mention the vision stuff first since I figured you'd just be annoyed with me if I said it's not a big deal."
The younger hero is right in that regard. Stephen would be annoyed with the dismissal of his growing power and instead wants to prioritize his love life. But considering what Stephen knows now about the deal thanks to Julia, frankly, he is not all that displeased. They need to know what exactly happened and what Mephisto changed.
Before he can voice his thoughts, Peter speaks first, "Doc," He says as he looks down in shame, "I know your upset with me, hell I'm upset with me, but I'm trying my best to make amends, and fix this mess I made," he looks at his hands clenches and unclenches them, "I'm trying to adjust to this new situation I'm in. And I'm also trying to take my Uncle's words to heart." He lifts his head up gives the doctor a look of determination, "I got to grow up, I got to trust more, and I gotta put my life outside the mask before it." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck, "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry I'm making you get involved so much."
Strange takes a moment to take in what he was just told. He knows he's sorry, he's always sorry. And that's the problem. The man before him just seems to have a penchant for getting into the worst kind of trouble. Whether it's intentional or not. And he's always sorry that it happens.
But Strange can't keep being mad at him for one reason.
"Peter," He says earnestly, "I won't lie and say I'm not mad at you for this deal debacle of yours." The younger man looks away in shame, "But I would be a hypocrite if I didn't help you," Spidey raises his head back up and looks at him curiously, "I made plenty of mistakes that I wish I didn't. Plenty in my tenure as Sorcerer Supreme and as a member of the Illuminati. Some even involve my own romantic life," Peter looks at him curiously but Strange decides to not elaborate, "It's not important. What is important is that I can try to help you. Because despite your screw-ups, I know you to be a good man. If you weren't, believe me, I wouldn't even be wasting my breath on you."
And that's the gist of it. Strange knows what it's like when you are on your own to fix your mistakes. Or worse when you can't and everyone condemns you for them. He often wished that wasn't the case, but it was. He can't want something like that for himself if he's not willing to offer it to others.
A genuine smile can be seen through Spider-Man's mask, he and all the other heroes find that to be so weird, as he says, "Thanks, Doc."
Strange smiles back and nods before his smile dims a little, "Though my capability in this will be limited due to me no longer being the Sorcerer Supreme."
"Oh yeah," Spidey says in realization before he looks at the magic man curiously, "Who is that now anyway? Maybe they can help?"
Strange gets skeptical, "I doubt that now, given our current predicament."
"What do you mean?" Spider-Man questions.
"Jennifer Kale," Stephen starts, "She was someone that was being considered for the position."
"Oh," Spider-Man awkwardly shifts, "Uh sorry to hear that?"
He is not sure whether or not the former surgeon is happy to know that the title of Sorcerer Supreme was being passed on to another. He is just basing it on his own experiences with his clone. Don't get him wrong, he was happy Ben took up the mantle, but it felt wrong to put the burden on someone else considering the results.
And seeing as Strange might be in a similar boat, well he doesn't know what to say.
"It's fine." Strange reassures him, "I'm not bothered by it." He then looks over to the unconscious woman, "I'm hoping Victoria there can provide some insight. She may not remember what happened, but she still would have information."
"Well, I'll let you to it." He says as he heads out, but stops at the door, "And if you need anything just holler."
"Will do," Stephen nods as removes the 'cone of silence' spell as and heads over to Victoria, "And as for your situation, I'll try to think of someone that can-"
BANG!
They both jump at the sound of a gunshot. They rush to the window and see the lead agent that came to arrest Victoria Hand is on the ground with a smoking gun in hand. From the looks of it, it seems to have been a suicide. But from the way that all the other law enforcement men are currently pointing their weapons at his teammates, they do not seem to see it that way.
"Dammit," Strange angrily mutters to himself as he goes back over to Victoria and floats in a meditative stance again, "We wasted too much time."
Spider-Man quickly realizes what happened, clenches his hands and eyes shut, "Argh! This is on me! If I didn't waste your time on my problems-!"
"No it's not," Strange dismisses his apology, "It's on me. I should have known whoever or whatever is doing this would not sit idly by while I have a discussion with you."
Spider-Man would argue but knows that would waste more time and again quickly heads for the door, "I'm gonna go down and see what I can do to help."
Strange nods, but an idea pops into his head, "Wait!" Spider-Man stops at the door as he looks at the magic man curiously, "You might be of better help here with me."
"How's that?" Spider-Man inquires.
"Right now you are the host to one cosmic force while a champion to another," He explains, "That can be very useful to fight whatever enemy is responsible for this."
Spider-Man gets a little skeptical as he goes to stand next to the mystic man, "Are you sure? I don't know what I can do. I'm not Harry Potter, so if Voldermort comes knocking in my head, I don't know if I can stop him."
Stephen opens his mouth before he gives a dull glare for a second then rolls his eyes, "Just don't move."
The former Sorcerer Supreme begins speaking a spell while making hand gestures to himself, Spider-Man, and Victoria Hand. Spider-Man feels an odd sensation before he feels weightless. He closes his eyes for a second to enjoy this sensation.
"WHAT THE F %#K!"
Before they shoot open as he hears Victoria Hand shout. He suddenly finds himself standing on top of a field of flowers with Strange, Hand, and the bed she was passed out on a moment ago. Up above, the sky is not a normal sky but looks more like the neurons of someone's brain with chunks of rocks floating aimlessly.
"Victoria," Strange calmly speaks to her as she continues to freak out, "I need you to take a moment to collect yourself."
"F #!"
Spider-Man would pay more attention, but he decides to take in his environment more and notices something odd. While the sky is filled with something that looks like neurons, they don't seem to be showing any sign of activity.
'Maybe that's normal for this place?' Spidey thinks to himself.
"It's not."
"Bah!"
He freaks out and whips around to see the doctor looking to the sky as well but keeps a comforting hand on Victoria.
"How did you-!"
"We're in the astral plane," he interrupts as he continues to look around, "I brought you here. So your thoughts right now aren't all that private," he refocuses on Hand as she finally calmed down enough to talk to, "Victoria, I need you to tell me what happened to you."
Outside the room moments prior, Maria Hill walks along Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel as she decided to be called now, as she walks out of the room to the entrance to have a conversation with the in-over-his-head agent outside. She would have preferred to personally deal with the man, but Carol made a compelling argument that it would be better if she handled it, saying that Hill is close to losing it.
While normally such a thing wouldn't be a big deal, she knows she has to be an unbiased party in this. Too many issues could arise from her trying to protect the Avengers or in this case a liaison of theirs. So unless she needs to step in, she will allow Carol to handle this.
Danvers opens the door and the FBI agent stands just at the edge of the steps and glares at her. She returns the glare with the same intensity.
Neither party says a word for a moment, but Carol decides to break the silence.
"Is there a problem, Special Agent?" Carol calls him out disrespectfully. Hill arches an eyebrow at Danver's demeanor.
The agent doesn't even flinch, feeling like they can't touch him, as he responds, "Hand over Victoria Hand now. I won't ask again."
Hill sees Carol's head twitch as she retorts, "I do believe Director Hill here gave you and your men an order to vacate the premises," she twitches again but this time an audible pop of bones is heard, "Everything is under control."
And once more silence follows. Hill looks at Carol for a second before she switches her gaze to the agent who now seems to be sporting a frightened expression.
"Guh!" Carol suddenly recoils as she grabs her head, "Wh-what—what just happened?!"
Hill watches as Carol's teammates go to see what's wrong with her and support her to make sure she doesn't collapse.
The agent suddenly whips his gun out and shakingly points it at them, "Hands over your head!"
Hill is shocked by this sudden action, "What do you think you're doing?!"
He seems to be struggling, evident by his eyes blinking and moving erratically, "She-she just confessed to the mu-murder of Jennifer Kale!"
Hill looks at him bizarrely as she heard no such thing come out of Carol's mouth. Was this idiot thinking because he's a federal agent his word would be believed over the heroes? Or her for that matter? If that's the case, she is gonna shove that gun where the sun doesn't shine and tell everyone he does it to himself on a regular basis.
Cage steps in front of his teammates protectively, "Fool, you better put that gun down now!"
Maria Hill, seeing this will escalate if she doesn't act rationally, steps in front of him and raises her hand as the other rests on her gun in its holster, "Stand down now! Lower your weapon!"
The man doesn't and everyone present waits to see what he will do. For a moment Hill saw something of a cruel and manic look on the agent, but that quickly went back to panic and scared as he slowly and shakingly put his own gun against his head.
At the sight of the action, the Avengers panic even more and slowly inch closer to him.
"They're making me do this," he says with fear in his voice, "The Avengers are making me do this to myself."
As everyone else watches the scene unfold and yell in vain at the agent to put his weapon down, Maria can only think of what to do when what's about to happen, happens. There's no way she can stay unbiased after this. She will have to do her job regardless of how anyone else feels. Captain America and Tony will have to understand what she does next. She needs to do her job.
BANG!
(The Astral Plane)
Doctor Strange waits patiently as he can as Victoria recollects her last memories before she was possessed. She mentions she was on a website that she didn't feel the need to disclose at first, but some gentle prodding made her reconsider. She immediately regretted it.
"You're on a dating site?"
"I'm a woman and I have desires."
"I'm not judging, just surprised."
"I know you don't have that high of an opinion of me given our history, but there are men out there who find me attractive."
Maybe bringing Spider-Man wasn't a great idea.
"Focus," he tells them both but mostly to Hand, "What else do you remember?"
She shakes her head as she clenches her eyes shut. Whoever did possess her obviously didn't want her to remember anything.
"I-I can't," she groans in frustration, "Why would a spirit or magician want to use me!?"
"Not to sound egocentric," Strange starts as he gets her attention, "But I believe this may be about me."
They both say in surprise, "You?"
Spider-Man is especially surprised at this. It could be the doctor is pulling a move he all too familiar with, which is to take responsibility for something he really has nothing to do with. Only because there is a connection between it and the problem.
Guilt complexes are a mother.
Strange nods in affirmation, "With the disappearance of Jennifer Kale, I knew it had something to do with the position of Sorcerer Supreme. Most likely the previous holder, Jericho, Brother Voodoo."
"Well, aren't you clever?"
They all whip around and Spider-Man and Victoria are shocked by what they see, but Stephen is not.
Only because he recognizes who it is, "Daniel Drumm. Brother Voodoo."
A demon-like spirit with large horns protruding from its head. It's wearing a grass skirt that seems to have withered and a necklace with skulls around its neck. The really terrifying aspect is the beating heart that it has clutched in its hand.
Stephen puts himself in front of Victoria, while Spider-Man stays by him, and addresses the vengeful spirit, "Daniel, I know you blame us for what happened to your brother. But his sacrifice was not our doing. He made the choice so that-"
"Do you think I care," Drumm glares hatefully at him, "My brother is dead, Doctor. Gone from the realm of the living. The reasons mean little to me. All that really matters is making sure you suffer for it," He turns his attention to the woman, "And what better way than to make you feel as helpless as I did."
He thrust his hand that has the heart forward toward Victoria Hand.
"NO!"
But fortunately for her Spider-Man places himself in front of the attack. Unfortunately, that action may have caused more harm than good.
"AAARRGGHH!"
(Avengers Mansion)
The heroes watch as Maria Hill tells the soldiers and other agents to lower their weapons or else they will end up working at Burger King. They would be more amused by it if the dead FBI agent in their front lawn hadn't accused them of making him k blow his own brains out.
"SHIELD command," Hill yells into her wrist communicator, "This is Director Hill! I have a level five situation at Avengers Mansion and I need-"
"AAARRGGHH!"
Everyone present turns their attention to the inside of the mansion at the sound of the wail.
Daredevil recognizes it, "That was Spider-Man!"
"What?!"
Everyone present shouts before the all rush back inside and upstairs.
"Stand down!" Hill shouts as she follows in after them, "Will you people just listen to me?!"
They ignore her as Carol is the first at the door of the room. She breaks it down with a shoulder charge and immediately sees a frightening sight. Strange leaning on the bed for support with Hand conscious. But the frightening sight is Spider-Man writhing in pain
"Spider-Man!" Danvers shouts as she quickly goes to him as the rest of the team stop at the door. Luke enters but Thing is frozen at the door with his teammates behind him.
"G-get away!" Spider-Man grabs his body in pain before he is pinned to the wall by an invisible force.
Hill comes in at this point and walks past everyone else at the door, "The hell is going on?!"
Spider-Man stops writhing then props himself against the wall before he propels off it and tackles Carol to the ground. Not expecting an attack from her teammate and friend, Carol is surprised to be stunned for a moment before she feels him grab her arms and toss her to the others at the door.
Luke and Hill were able to duck in time, but Thing wasn't. He tries to catch Danvers but instead gets launched and barrels through his teammates behind him, knocking them down, before he breaks through a wall of the room across.
Luke quickly gets up and goes to grab his teammate while Hill pulls out her gun, "Stand down, Spider-Man!"
Luke gets to him but ends up locking hands and the bulletproof man is surprised when he finds himself struggling to overpower him.
"Well this is unexpected," Spider-Man's voice leaks out but sounds like something else does as well.
Spider-Man quickly switches tactics, and instead pulls Luke and swings him out the window. The team's leader crashes through the window and lands on the gates that surround the mansion. Obviously none pierce through him. The soldiers outside see this and use this as an excuse to rush inside, weapons at the ready.
Spider-Man stands at the hole he made and looks down with all the reporters and cameras on him.
Bang! Bang!
He doesn't even turn around as he catches the two bullets going to his head with his hands, courtesy of Maria Hill who is shocked at the display. She was not aware that the hero was capable of doing that.
He drops the bullets before he looks at his hands, and sees not a mark on them, "Oh, this young man will do nicely."
He jumps down to the ground just as Luke got back up. The hero from Harlem sees this and puts his hands up in a defensive manner while the Queens-born hero attacks him with vigor.
Back inside the room, Hill watches as the two heroes duke it out. Not knowing what is going on. She hears a groan and sees Stephen Strange finally get to his feet.
"What the hell is going on here Strange?!" Maria Hill goes over to him as he sits on the bed, "Why is Spider-Man attacking Luke Cage?! And since when the hell did he get so strong?!"
The former Sorcerer Supreme breathes a little heavily, "He's possessed."
"What?"
"Spider-Man is possessed," He reiterates before he gets to his feet.
Victoria Hand groans as she rubs her head, "It's true. I saw it as well. The thing possessing him also possessed me."
Hill looks back and forth at the two, not doubting their words but trying to come up with solutions. She has to get a handle on the situation and do it quickly to avoid any more problems like the death of a federal agent outside. If Spider-Man ends up killing a teammate of his, or any law official that is currently outside waiting to shoot the heroes, she knows that there will be a public outcry for the arrest of the vigilante. That will lead to even more problems.
She lifts her wrist to her face, "Get Captain Rogers on the phone! Tell him we have a situation at the Avenger mansion!"
She turns her attention back to Strange, "Oka, Doctor," he looks at her warily, "Tell me what the hell is going on now. Do not hold anything back."
(Mary Jane's Apartment)
She can't believe what she is seeing. She sees some kind of monster attacking the Avengers. And worst she sees it controlling Peter to do it. From her perspective, it is like a ghostly puppet master of some kind. She can see the thing move one way and Peter does it as well.
She watches the news intently. Hoping and silently praying that this plays out like all the other times he's been in a bad situation. He gets his bumps and bruises before he cracks a joke or two and then comes home.
Only for him to do it all over again the next day. All because he thinks everyone's safety in the world is his responsibility. Because that is the kind of man he is. He believes everyone's life matters no matter what. Hero, civilian, or even a horrible villain all matter to him. And if someone dies when he could have prevented it, then he will never forgive himself or forget it.
And she will want to be there for him like always because she still expects it to get better. Even though it rarely ever did. In their marriage, she remembers all the times she stayed up late at night waiting and praying for him to come back. All the times when he did come home but with cuts and bruises that hurt her to see. And all the times he was hurting on the inside, from his guilt, and all she could do was distract him from the pain, even if it was only temporarily.
And she did that every day. Still clinging to the thought that things will change for the better. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In that regard, she is as insane as Cassidy.
She doesn't want the superhero life to rule their lives. It's taken so much from them for so long. But when she thinks like that, she often reminds herself of her modeling and acting career. She can't deny that her own life brought its own problems too. Her careers as both a model and actress brought its own fair share of problems like stalkers that kidnapped her often or paparazzi that gave them no privacy.
As much as she complains about Peter's heroic life, her model and actress life has its own share of problems. And all for what? A paycheck and glamorous life she feels would be better than the one she could have with Peter. Because it's so much easier on them and their loved ones than Peter's Spider-Man life.
And that is why she doesn't think she is good enough for him. In this life, the one where their marriage never happened, she had the gall to complain about how they will never have a suitable life together if he doesn't give up being Spider-Man. She even went as far as to tell him that he can never ask to marry her again if he doesn't stop.
Her worst fear came true. She made him choose.
She was not as strong as he needed her to be this time. And now he knows about it all.
The fact is if she wants to be with Peter she needs to accept him completely. Accept all the problems and quirks that make him the best man she knows. She wants to do more for him. She wants to stand by him. Not just be the woman waiting at home for him, but be the one who can stand by him.
"And what if I can give you that?"
Mary Jane jumps out of her spot on the couch in fright as she pans around the room and looks for the source of the voice.
"Who's there?!" MJ shouts out in fright and anger, "Show yourself!"
"You do not need to be afraid of me."
She hears the voice, and it's an oddly familiar one, but cannot find the source as she turns her head all over the room. It's as if the voice is coming from everywhere. It's not echoing in the apartment, but it sounds like it's coming from the air itself.
She starts backing to the exit as she asks, "Where are you?"
"If you run, you will not be able to stand by him."
MJ stops short by her apartment door. For a moment she is worried for not only her safety but Peter's safety as well. A mysterious voice from thin air is talking to her and knows about Peter. She should be afraid and run like the devil is chasing her, but she feels inclined to listen.
'I really am insane,' she thinks to herself.
"No, you are not."
She becomes a little more freaked out at her thoughts being heard as she turns around and scans the room, "Who are you?"
"You know me. I have been with you for many years now."
She hears the voice. But this time she hears it coming from her room. She slowly walks to it, but oddly enough she doesn't feel afraid. Nervous but not afraid.
"When you first wielded my blade and I took possession of your body, you were a delicate flower. Not worthy of my power."
She stops at the doorway, looks into her room, and sees nobody is in it. Not a single piece of furniture is out of place.
"But you had the potential to be more."
Now she hears the voice coming from the bathroom.
"You had the heart and spirit of a warrior whose inner strength very few could match. It's how you were able to be my vessel."
She slowly walks towards the bathroom with trepidation.
"You've suffered in your life. Hardly knew a day of peace. But nevertheless, you endured. Until you grew into the woman you are now. In part thanks to the man you love. He helped make you into a better person."
When she enters her bathroom she immediately turns on the lights and sees nobody inside. Just the small bathtub, toilet, and sink. MJ then thinks that maybe whoever it is in the bathtub so she goes over and pulls away the shower curtain. But again finds it to be empty.
"That same man you have never felt worthy to stand beside. Yet he often felt the same with you. With many really."
She whips her head to her left when she heard the voice beside her and she ends up looking at the mirror. She gasps in shock because she doesn't see her reflection, but another person standing where she should be.
A woman taller than her by half a foot or more. Hair as red as her own but wavier and more bountiful. Her outfit consists of a chainmail bikini that looks like it's made of scales and with what looks like leather straps to hold it together. She has a metal armband and MJ is far enough to see that her feet have armor footwear on them. All of that and a sword strapped to her side.
One that Mary Jane recognizes.
"You?"
"You know me." The woman in the mirror says as she stands where MJ is in the reflection, "For I am you as you are me." MJ walks closer to the mirror and the woman reflects her actions, "I am the strength you have inside you. The warrior that you carried from the moment you picked up my sword."
MJ stops at the sink and stares directly into the eyes of the fierce woman in the mirror, "Red Sonja."
The displaced warrior woman in her reflection nods as MJ absorbs the situation. She doesn't remember her time as Red Sonja, but she does vaguely remember once speaking to her. A long time ago when a part of New York was turned into a medieval version of itself. She remembers how this woman before her fought beside Spider-Man at the request of Mary Jane. And even going so far as to say she would die if it meant that either one of them would live.
"I recall that battle," Sonja says as MJ realizes she can hear her thoughts, "I was not aware of this at the time, but my sword became more than it was when I first held it," she pulls out her sword from her strap and gazes at it intently, "Years of spilling the blood of demonic monsters and battling other mystical and magical forces had transformed it into a weapon that was capable of great magical feats."
Sonja then holds it in front of her in an offering manner to MJ and she is surprised at the gesture.
"And now it is yours."