Amazing Spider-Man: True Purpose

(Isle of Gaea, Morning)

Birds chirping early in the morning with the sun shining down through the trees. It's a lovely day. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors would find it absolutely serene. But the woman walking beside him doesn't seem to enjoy it at all. Her face is completely blank. No emotion whatsoever. He's never spent much time with her outside of the costumes, so he doesn't know her. At all.

But he's not known as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man for nothing.

"Beautiful day huh?"

"…"

"Did you see the sunrise? It was amazing."

"…"

"Did you have a good breakfast?"

"..."

"You know it wouldn't kill you to try and have a conversation with me."

"But it can result in me killing you."

"…That was both a joke and a threat wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Peter sighs as he continues to trek through the forests in his bathing suit with his deadly female companion. Who is in her usual outfit minus her weapons. He is thankful for that but suspects she won't need those things. He's heard enough from Matt to know that she is deadly without her weapons. And to be weary of her.

Still, he's friends, or on friendly terms, with plenty of people who have reputations for being killers. So he will continue to try and get this woman to be more than just aloof with him. He's aiming for at least cordial. That way if the woman wants to attack the man that invited them to come, she'll hopefully be more hesitant if he steps in the way.

He is being optimistic he won't need to.

He looks at her again, and though she has a neutral expression, he suspects she is upset over her present circumstances of being manipulated into coming to the island and on this little trip with him. Though he can understand somewhat, he likes to think he is more apathetic to it. Mostly because nobody was really hurt, he and the girls got a free tropical island vacation, and free fancy clothes and food.

So as far as he is concerned, he is coming out ahead.

Still, best to make sure she doesn't attack the guy they're going to see.

"Hey, you're not going to attack this guy straightaway, are you?" He inquires.

She does not respond to his question. Not so much as a twitch. Just continues to walk beside him.

"It'd be rude to do that after he invited us to this lavish island."

More silence.

He sighs, "Look, you're the one that wanted to come along. I was happy to do this by myself, but you seemed insistent that this guy wanted you to come too. Though I have no idea why."

At this, Elektra stops her trek and turns her cold gaze to him, "Yesterday, I saw you leaving the clothing store with your lovers and that man was standing by the door. I remembered encountering him back in New York and I was told he was a spider god. I found it suspicious he was here so I went and entered his store to confront him. I did not find him there but did find hundreds of spiders weaving silk threads from different sources. And I found that dress I wore the other night on a desk with a note attached to it saying to be at the restaurant you three were in at eight."

There is a moment of silence after her long explanation. Peter just stares at her and she stares back at him.

And as usual, Peter doesn't like long silences, "Who says lovers?"

The deadly assassin just blinks before resuming her trek through the forest, "…If you wish to better conceal your identity, I suggest changing your mannerisms between your personas so that they wouldn't be too similar."

He pauses for a second before he nods, "You are not wrong," he freely admits and follows after her.

His mouth has always been one of his biggest problems.

They continue to travel through the dense foliage in uncomfortable silence. Well in Peter's case it's uncomfortable, he's not sure if she is. She is likely enjoying him being quiet, 'Like most of my friends.'

And like with most of his friends, he will not remain silent.

"So you talk to Matt lately?"

This time he does get a reaction. But it's one he didn't expect, since she rolls her eyes in exasperation, "Typical. You would ask me about him. I remember how you defined me by my association with Mathew the first time we met."

Oh crap, he did do that, didn't he?

"That was not- I mean you hang out with him-" He stops and groans. This is not a sexist thing! He doesn't define Sue from her marriage to Reed, or Jean from her history with Scott, or Jessica with Luke. He just happens to know the guys better. "Okay in my defense, you and I have hardly worked together. All I know about you came from Matt."

And that is the truth. When they hang out after patrol to vent, because they really got nobody else, they talk about their love life often. Granted, Peter is the one who brings it up more than Matt, but the blind hero does contribute to the conversations.

"In what context do you two discuss me?" Elektra questions him.

Peter shrugs, "Failed relationships," he says, not seeing her twitch at the topic, "Basically how we screwed up or how our significant others screwed up. For me, it's mostly the former."

Though Matt has said he's had a few missteps himself.

She turns her head and raises a brow at him, "And yet, you were on a yacht with a beautiful famous actress and gorgeous infamous thief."

"That's because that's how bad it is to be with me," he states with fake pride, "Reinforcement was necessary."

She gives him a queer expression before she seems to think on his words, "I don't know how to respond to that. Because it sounds ridiculous and yet very believable."

He nods and points at her, "See you don't know me very well, but what little you do know and have heard tells you that what I said is believable."

Elektra just nods and Peter feels satisfied by this. He got a reaction out of her with a joke. Sure it was a self-depreciating joke, but those are some of his best.

After another few seconds of silence, Elektra is the one to break it this time, "How has Mathew been?" She asks, and he can detect some apprehension in her voice.

Sensing she still has feelings for the blind lawyer, he tells her, "He's been good. He's keeping busy as usual and told me Kingpin has been making some big moves lately outside of New York."

A concern he needs to deal with when he gets back. One of many.

"I'm aware of that man's doings," Elektra says with venom, "Texas and Los Angeles are where his resources are going primarily."

Remembering that's what his horned friend said as well, Peter raises a curious brow at the woman, "You're helping Matt?"

She shakes her head and says, "No. I am on a mission to take down the Hand and Fisk. But I am doing it my way."

Oh boy. He knows what that means. And he does not like it one bit.

But he doesn't get a chance to voice his concerns, since he stops suddenly when he feels a strange sensation. His spider sense triggers sort of. The hairs on his arms stand but not in a warning of danger. More like direction. He looks around the area he is in and tries to find what he is supposed to be looking for.

After a few seconds, he notices a tree that has a hole. Not unusual but what is, is that it has a spider web in it. He walks to it to get a better look at it and sees it has some berries on it.

He looks back to his travel partner and announces, "I think this is it."

Elektra was still looking around for signs to direct them when he announced this. She turns her attention to him before she walks up next to him and sees the web as well. "An obvious choice in directing you," she dully states.

He shrugs, "Hey, you go with what you know."

They look around the area for more signs to direct them and Elektra finds one, "Over there," she points to a dirt pathway that was well hidden in some bushes that have the same berries on the web, "These are the same."

Peter walks up beside her, eating the berries that were on the web, "Mmm, not bad," he says with a mouthful of berries.

She gives the hero a bland look before she walks down the pathway without another word. He follows after her, quickly zips back to pick some more berries from the bushes, and then follows after her again.

They don't have to travel far, because the pathway ends at a cenote. A deep-looking one at that.

Peter dusts his hands off before he leans over and looks into the pit, "Guess we gotta-"

Elektra jumps down into the dark waters without warning and makes a splash.

-jump." He says and then sighs before he follows suit.

He splashes down and swims deeper into the water following Elektra and they follow the narrow path. As they do, the light from the entrance begins to fade away. Eventually, the two are completely left in the dark.

However, as soon as that happens, Peter is able to see again. But not like normal. He sees in different shades of green, 'Nightvision?' He blinks in realization at the new power he has, 'I've really got to learn what I can do.'

But he doesn't dwell on that when he sees his female travel buddy swimming in front of him and using the wall to guide her. She is moving fast but she is clearly unable to see where she is going. Swimming up to her, Peter places a hand on her shoulder, and based on the way she clenched her fist she would have punched him if they weren't underwater. He grabs her by her midsection and propels him and her through the dark waters.

Turns out super strength is useful for swimming too.

After three minutes of swimming through the narrow pathway, which would have been much longer for even an Olympic swimmer, Peter sees some light shining down ahead. He swims faster and holds onto Elektra's to not let her go.

Finally, he breaks through the surface and takes a big gulp of air, "*Gasp**Cough!*" He swims to the shore with Elektra's still in his arms. He gets to it and flops to his back, "Ugh, that was unpleasant," he turns his attention to the woman on his arm, "You okay?"

Elektra is trying to regain her breath when she says, "I'm fine," she looks at him curiously, "How did you see where you were going?"

"I have night vision," he tells her, not seeing the harm in revealing it.

She tilts her head to him, "I didn't know you had a power like that."

He shrugs, "Neither did I until just now."

"You've never needed to use-?"

"I died and then came back with some improvements."

She looks surprised by this, "I thought that was just a rumor."

"How many people in our line of work do you know have died only to come back?"

His answer comes in the form of silence. She knows as much as he does that dying doesn't mean goodbye for good to super-powered people. Some of his friends and enemies have died plenty, only to come back to life.

Granted not all of them do, but still, can't be too shocked if it happens.

He gets up from the ground and holds his hand out to her. She takes it and he pulls her to her feet, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he says before he takes in his surroundings.

The cavern is large with crystals all across the ceiling that have light emitting from them. Stalagmites on the floor and ceiling with water dripping down. There is foliage like vines and bushes scattered around. And at the center of the cavern is a large tree surrounded by a body of crystal-clear water.

Peter lets out an impressed whistle and comments, "Mother Nature does know how to design a place. Even an area you'd expect to be dark and dank."

"Except when it comes to the entrance," Elektra says with a glance back at the pool of water they came out of, "I would have thought it would have been easy to get to."

'Guess that's why she jumped in first,' Peter muses before he shrugs, "Maybe they didn't want you coming alone."

"Indeed," a familiar voice echoes out, along with some footsteps, making the two whip their head in the direction it came from. Out comes Anansi with a friendly smile on his face while wearing a red and blue dashiki robe. He stops just in front of the two and nods in greeting, "Good morning you two."

Peter doesn't return the friendly vibe and instead gives the man a frown, "It would have been if I didn't need to come here and instead stay in bed."

That is the issue for him. He wanted time away from his crazy life to enjoy some time with the girls. Yet now they're all dragged into it. Along with another unexpected member.

Anansi shrugs indifferently, "You're here now. No point in griping."

"I don't know about that. I annoy people and they tend to want to avoid me."

Elektra nods, "I can vouch for that."

And Peter suspects so can many of his fellow heroes.

Anansi chuckles at this, "Your sense of humor is never-ending, isn't it?" He seems to get a mixture of a proud and fond look on his face, "No matter the situation, you always try to lighten the mood. It is a reflection of your greatest attribute."

Both Peter and Elektra get curious and he asks, "Which is?"

"Your will," he simply states, making both hero and assassin wonder what he means, before he walks away, "Follow me."

But stops when he hears, "Uh-uh," Peter shakes his head and crosses his arms, "No way. I came here without so much as an explanation as to why, and she says you wanted her here too," he says pointing to Elektra before he crosses his arms again, "We're not moving from this spot until you tell us why."

And he is adamant on this. He wanted to have some vacation time with the girls. Now he has to be away from them and trust that whatever Anansi has in store for them will actually help them. So if the man wants Peter to trust him then he better give him a reason.

Anansi nods, "Fair enough," he says before he looks at the deadly assassin, "I suspect she told you about her encounter with me."

"I told him I was tasked to kill you if necessary when I was sent to retrieve the tapestry you had," Elektra responds.

"You didn't mention a tapestry," Peter points out jokingly.

Elektra is not amused, "That is not relevant," she tells him and then looks at Anansi, "But what is, is that I was told he was an African spider god," she gives the 'god' a once over, "Imagine my disappointment when I found this."

Instead of being insulted, Anansi just chuckles, "Yes I suppose most would be disappointed, but would you believe I don't always look like this?"

The man then pulls out an old wooden helmet from his back and places it on his head and covers the top half of his face before he tears off his dashiki. What he reveals underneath surprises the other two. He's ripped for one thing, so Elektra's earlier assumption of the man is out the window. He's wearing a cloth skirt with tassels on the end and brackets with beads on his ankles. A sash around his waist and armbands on his biceps. And the mask is the most unique part of his outfit. A spider symbol on the center of it with the legs designed to be the eyes.

He gestures to himself, "I once looked like this," he says to his stunned audience. He then takes off his mask and places his dashiki back on, "But that was a long time ago. When I wore the mantle of Spider-Man."

Both Elektra and Peter are surprised by this revelation for different reasons, "It's a mantle?/You wore it?"

This was news to Peter. The mantle part he already knew from the trial when the two big heads of order and chaos told him. But he didn't know there was another Spider-Man before him.

It makes him wonder if there were more.

"I suppose you could say I was the first," Anansi continues as he walks to the edge of the water around the tree, "Some were given the mantle like yourself, while others took it, like Ezekiel Sims."

Peter grimaces at the name. That was a man who he had genuinely mixed feelings for. Meeting him introduced Peter to a new perspective on the origin of his powers. And the man helped in his own way for Peter to better accept what he is. But it was all to help himself. He was preparing Peter to be a lamb to slaughter.

Mixed feelings for real. On the one hand, he tried to kill him by sacrificing him to a spider monster. On the other hand, Ezekiel realized the error of his ways and gave his life to save Peter.

He won't think ill of the man, but he can't remember him fondly.

"Each one that was chosen followed the path that was set," Anansi continues as he kneels by the water, "They became the hunters and predators that were expected to come forth. And there were only three that stole it and they were hunted and devoured," he gets a thoughtful look as he looks into the waters reflecting, "However, there has never been one like you."

That makes Peter look at the deity curiously, "Like me?"

Anansi turns his body and looks back at Peter, "Every champion chosen in history has kept what they can do secret. Not one of them ever did anything publicly like you have with their abilities. Which is why you've never heard of any of them, like Ezekiel until he was much older."

Huh. That would explain why he's never heard of anyone having the mantle of Spider-Man.

"How many were there?" Peter asks.

Anansi looks up in thought, "Not counting myself, six humans were chosen before you."

This is all a lot to learn for Peter. To think that he thought he was the one and only Spider-Man, only to find out there have been more. Six others who stayed hidden for reasons he doesn't know.

He supposes it makes sense. With beings like the Other, Order and Chaos, and the Spider-Queen existing for as long as they have, of course there were others who carried the same mantle he does.

But there is one question on his mind that he feels is very important. "And how long did they…"

Anansi gives the hero a reassuring look, "Five of them lived long happy lives. Only one died in a great battle."

Peter feels a greater amount of relief in hearing that than he expected. He always thought anyone in his position would be lucky to live to an old age. He honestly is surprised he survived his teenage superhero years, let alone his adult years as things got crazier. To hear that there have been others who lived long happy lives makes him hopeful for his own.

"But of course, they accepted the responsibilities that come with the mantle."

And now his hopes are dwindling again.

"What do you mean?" Peter asks in concern.

"Your very existence is rather paradoxical," the African spider god explains, "A boy that played a man, now a man that often plays like a boy," Peters brow twitches at the cheap shot, "Tormented from a young age, one would have expected this boy to take the world for everything it's taken from him."

An image of his uncle Ben appears in his head and Peter gives the deity a hard look, "If you know me then you know why that isn't the case."

Unbothered by the hero's hard expression, Anansi just nods, "True. But the others were like you in that regard? Great loss pushed them more into their expected roles. They became what they were destined to be. Not you though, no. The world continued to push, yet you remained strong in your beliefs."

As much as he'd like to hold his head up, Peter can only look down in shame, "Not always."

His deal may be the most recent thing he's been made aware of, but there have been other instances where he showed his worst parts of his character. Ego, anger, and his childish tendencies.

"No. No, you are right. In some instances, you have shown you are human. Weak and fragile," Anansi states before he looks back into the pool of water, "But still, you have done rather well considering the original expectations."

This time, Elektra speaks up and asks, "Which were?"

A moment of silence hangs heavily in the room. Peter, still looking down in shame, eventually answers, "I was meant to be a hunter. A killer."

That discovery makes the assassin look at the hero in surprise.

On the other side of the island, Felicia walks with Mary Jane through the forest, both in their bikinis, wrapping, and sandals because they have nothing else to wear to hike in. Heading in the direction their shared lover told them they needed to go the night prior. With an obvious path laid before them in the form of a dirt trail. How they knew they needed to follow the trail because there was a tree with their initials carved into it and an arrow.

Like they are expected to.

Felicia clenches her fist at the thought. When Peter told them the true circumstances of how they arrived at this mysterious island, to say Felicia was upset was an understatement. She was pissed. To have been manipulated in such a fashion, regardless of what she got out of it, still made her mad. She does not like the idea of someone, gods or otherwise, using her like that just to get to Spider. Whatever their reasons for doing so, if she is given the chance then she will be taking her anger out on them. No matter how unwise that seems.

And it seems she is not hiding well because Mary Jane says, "I know you're mad but don't do anything rash, okay?"

Now she is annoyed that the redhead read her so well, "They played with my mind, Red. Used me to get Spider here."

It's one thing to have someone screw with her head, it's another to be used to get to someone else. Basically she was a tool, not important enough herself.

"I'm mad too," the supermodel tells her, "But based on recent experience, attacking a god isn't something you should do unless you can take it."

Felicia frowns, she can't argue with that. Back when Thor was being mind-controlled by Red Skull, the thief knew she stood no chance against the thunder god. It was fortunate that Sonja was with her and was able to withstand a blow from the man's hammer. And right now. Sonja isn't able to come out to help for some reason they have yet to discover.

Much as she'd like to deck these people, it'll likely end with her being reduced to a red stain on the wall.

Best way to not let her anger get the best of her is to distract her with another topic, "So why do you think that woman, Elektra, had to go with him?"

It was an odd thing to her. Why would a notorious assassin, one that used to work for Fisk, be needed to go with Peter on his little adventure to this spider god? And more than that, why the hell did he have to reveal Peter's double life to her?

Mary Jane shrugs in uncertainty, "I have no idea. Peter said most of what he knows about her comes from Daredevil."

Yeah, Felicia has heard the rumors about how the horned hero has an on-again and off-again thing with a deadly assassin. Similar to what she and Peter used to have going. A notorious love affair was juicy gossip.

But she digresses and refocuses on what is going on now, "What about us?" Felicia inquires to the redhead, "Why do you think we're being sent in the opposite direction from where they sent them?"

MJ frowns in consideration and recalls, "Peter said that the tailor said he wants to help him. So maybe he'll help us too."

Felicia gives a mirthful side glance, "I see that optimism of his is another thing he's rubbing off on you."

MJ gives her a flat look, "Ha ha, very funny."

The thief gives a cheeky grin to which the redhead just rolls her eyes to but huffs in amusement as they continue to walk down the path in the forest.

Felicia loves having a friend like Mary Jane. Someone she can talk to very easily and listen very well to. And actually listen instead of just pretending to listen. When she talks, Felicia is eager to hear her and talk back. She can't say she has had friends or even one friend like this.

It makes her wonder sometimes. If it hadn't been for Peter, would they have been friends sooner? She could see it, though the problem is how would they have met? Not through either of their work that's for certain, at least not in a favorable fashion in the thief's case. At a bar or club maybe, but not one Hardy frequents.

As she delves into 'what ifs' of her life while continuing to walk, she also wonders what if she weren't involved with the two of them right now. She wouldn't be here on this island since they only wanted her for Peter. But other than that, would she even know Peter?

'Doubtful,' a voice in her head tells her, making her get a bit melancholy. He told her to confess his feelings for her but if he hadn't she knows he wouldn't have. It leads back to him dying and finding out he made a deal with some demon. She doesn't know the full story, but it had a big impact on him.

She wonders if he didn't die during the Phoenix thing, what would their lives be like right now?

She is brought out of her thoughts when they arrive at the end of the path and find a large stone structure. It's a circular temple, about as big as an elephant, with steps and five columns holding up a dome ceiling. The steps lead to the center where there is a square stone table, one that reminds Felicia of the types used for sacrifices.

"Well that doesn't look very welcoming," she comments.

MJ shrugs, "Maybe it's not what it seems?"

"So you don't expect one or both of us to lie down on the table to have our hearts ripped out?" Hardy sarcastically asks, "If you're not careful, that optimism will get you killed."

MJ rolls her eyes and shakes her head before she goes up the steps and takes a closer look with Felicia by her. They look at the table and note some symbols on it.

"That's the language of my homeland," Sonja informs Mary Jane.

"Really?" MJ says out loud.

It prompts Felicia to look at her curiously and ask, "Really what?"

"Sonja said this is the language of her home," MJ informs her.

Now intrigued by this, Felicia looks closer at the writing, "What does it say?"

Sonja speaks to Mary Jane and the model relays it out loud, ""Red hearts bound may travel down.""

A dumb rhyme if Felicia ever heard one. And her thoughts are conveyed on her face as she looks at the redheaded actress, "What?"

MJ just shrugs, "That's what it says."

Felicia shakes her head and tries not to focus on the dumb rhyme, "Okay and what does it mean?

MJ stays silent before she shrugs in uncertainty, "No idea. Sonja's never heard of it either."

The two, but really three, women frown in contemplation and try to figure out the dumb riddle. They take a few seconds before Felicia voices her thoughts out loud, "Red hearts. All hearts are technically red. So we do have to cut out one of our hearts?"

MJ shakes her head in no, "Don't take it literally. Riddles are never straightforward."

Felicia knows that, but she wanted to get the obvious out of the way.

MJ places her hand on the table to look closer at the letters. Suddenly a crack and rumble sound out that makes them both step back. The area with the table they are standing on begins to descend down.

They remain ready in case of something else but MJ does feel like she needs to say, "Guess it pays to be an optimist."

Hardy gives the redhead a flat look, "Sure. We didn't cut out our hearts, but I don't consider this a win yet."

It doesn't take long before the platform they are standing on stops and they find themselves in a large underground greenery. There are grass and trees all around them. Bushes filled with berries and covered in flowers, crystals lined on the wall that are emitting light, and at the center of it all, a large brazier.

Both women look around the area with surprised looks as MJ comments, "I didn't know that something like this could exist underground."

She is not an expert in agriculture, but she does know plants need sunlight to live.

"Not without help.

A voice echoes around the cavern before they see a woman walk out from behind the brazier. A beautiful woman with a white toga covered in flowers and vines.

She gives them a polite smile and nods at them, "Hello Ms. Watson, Ms. Hardy."

Both women look at the new arrival warily and in confusion, and MJ waves at her "Hi? Do we know you?"

She places a hand over her chest, "I am Gaea."

Both girls look at her in shock and Felicia asks, "As in the goddess who made this island Gaea?"

"Indeed."

Both women are stunned silent as they stare at the goddess. They didn't know what to expect when they were heading to this temple, but they certainly didn't expect to meet with the god who created the island and the very planet they are on.

Felicia is doubly concerned. If they were being sent to meet with someone, she did have some inclination to maybe accidentally hurt whoever they were meeting. Now knowing it is the being who created the world, she is having second thoughts.

Mary Jane decides to be the brave one and asks the obvious, "Why did you bring us here?"

"I did not bring you here," Gaea responds calmly, "It was entirely up to you whether or not you came here. You were merely guided here."

That response irritates Felicia, "So that whole siren song hidden in the radio frequencies wasn't someone's way of controlling anyone?"

And again, Gaea responds calmly with a hint of fondness in her eyes, "My son has a flair for theatrics. He was the one who designed the circumstances that brought you to the island and the way to enter here."

"Your son?" MJ inquires before she realizes who the goddess means, "Anansi?"

Gaea nods in confirmation, "Yes. Though I consider all who are born in this world to be my own, I have a great many children directly born from my womb. Anansi was one," she then gives them a smile, "And I believe you know of another. Thor?"

And again, both mortal women are floored by this information as Felicia voices, "Thor? Hang on, I thought his mom's name was Freía or something."

Since the God of Thunder's existence came to be, such things like Norse mythology became historical facts for the most part. Obviously some areas are still more fiction than facts since very few bother to learn more about Thor and his people and share their discoveries with the world. Like now apparently, because Thor's mother is actually Mother Nature.

Talk about a trip.

Gaea seems to get a sad smile, "That was the woman who raised him. Loved him with all her heart as a mother should," she says before she takes a breath, "But that is quite the tale."

"Does he know?" MJ asks.

"Yes," Gaea answers with a nod and walks towards them, "We met not too long ago. Although, I suppose in a mortal's perception of time, it would have been quite some time."

Not sure how to respond to that, Felicia decides to get back to the point, "Why are we here?"

"My son wants to help your lover," Gaea answers, "The champion of the Web."

"Peter," MJ speaks up and firmly says, "His name is Peter Parker."

Gaea tilts her head and nods, "I am aware of his name," she says before she looks at the redhead curiously, "But it seems to bother you if I refer to him as anything else. Why?"

MJ straightens her posture and answers, "He's more than just his mask."

Felicia raises a brow at her 'partner in crime', figuratively speaking of course. The woman is showing her contempt for the hero lifestyle again. At least showing she doesn't like when Peter is only defined by it.

"He'd have to be," Gaea stated, "My son would not help him otherwise."

Hardy gives the goddess a questioning gaze, "Why does your son want to help Peter?"

Spider god or not, it's weird to Felicia that this is the first time Peter has had to deal with the man. He never mentioned this Anansi guy before. To suddenly appear and want to help makes her wonder why.

Gaea simply shrugs, "I do not know. He did not tell me." Both girls do not believe her and it shows because Gaea informs them, "I am not omniscient. I do not know everything that goes on in my world."

Both girls frown in displeasure and MJ says, "He didn't tell you why he wanted to do all this? You just went along with it all?"

"I know he has the best intentions," Gaea tells her.

"But he must have told you something."

"He requested that I help him in his endeavor."

"And how are you helping him?"

"By helping you."

Seeing the woman reiterating what she has been saying, Felicia sighs in frustration, "This is getting us nowhere. You're just speaking in circles."

Probably not a great idea to get angry at a goddess but Felicia is out of patience.

Gaea looks at the woman and simply states, "You are not asking the right questions, Ms. Hardy."

Felicia narrows her eyes and inquires, "What are the right questions?"

The mother of the world does not answer her. Both girls take that as a sign for them to figure it out themselves. Felicia rolls her eyes up in exasperation. She is not a patient woman. But she does try to think about what she is supposed to ask the goddess to move this conversation forward.

Mary Jane meanwhile thinks about it as well. The woman that is Mother Nature keeps saying that her son wants to help Peter. But she hasn't said how.

MJ's eyes light up and she looks at the goddess, "How is he going to help him?"

Gaea seems pleased by this as she responds, "Your paramour recently died and was revived. Evolved into something more than he used to be."

Oddly cryptic, but MJ figures it out quickly, "Anansi wants to help him with his new powers?"

"Yes, that is exactly right Ms. Watson," Gaea says.

Glad they are now getting somewhere both girls think about this. Both of them know Peter is having problems with his newfound abilities, Felicia has seen it firsthand when he was catching on fire while he was having a vision of the future. He told them after Jean and Julia showed up at his apartment and froze them. He said they are helping him as best as they can, but he felt that he needed to slow down. That he needed to focus on other things that mattered, like them.

While it was sweet of him to put them and their relationship first, it seems it was for nothing since a spider god decided to mess with them.

'Then again, my mind was screwed with before we got together,' Felicia thinks before she shakes her head to refocus on the current problem.

They now know that the Anansi wanted Peter to go to him so that he could help him better learn his powers. But that still leaves one query about the girl's current situation.

Felicia thinks about what to ask carefully before she says, "He told him to tell us to come here, your being here means we were supposed to meet you. If this is all to help Peter, then I'm assuming you're here to help us to help him?"

That's the picture she's getting at least. It all seems to circle around Peter. Which again does annoy her in a way.

But her annoyance is pointless when Gaea shakes her head and says, "No. I am here to help the three of you."

Easing their brows at the declaration, Felicia inquires, "Three?"

As Mary Jane inquires, "Sonja?

Right~. The other redhead is in this relationship. Felicia keeps unintentionally forgetting her, 'In my defense, she hardly shows up for anything outside the bedroom.'

Gaea nods in confirmation at the redhead question and informs them, "Yes, my son and I know of her. As you've noticed, you cannot transform into her since your arrival. An enchantment I placed that affects gods blessings. Sonja's powers were given to her by gods."

Well it's nice to know why Sonja can't come out. She also notices a hint of contempt in Gaea's tone in mentioning the gods who gave Sonja her powers. MJ wonders what the story is behind that. But back to the main point, it does annoy her. Having powers only to have someone take them away.

"He really wanted us to come here," she comments in annoyance.

Gaea nods, "Yes. He planned thoroughly what it would take to bring you to this island."

So the only way for them to come to this place was to be kidnapped?

"And why did he have to ruin our vacation?" MJ questions the woman, "Why couldn't he wait until Peter got home to train him or whatever?"

Was it really too much to ask for time away from the usual life they live?

"My son mentioned that the champion would be far too preoccupied with too much to learn properly and he would not learn the most important lesson as a result."

Apparently it is.

"Which is?" Felicia asks.

Gaea shrugs, "All I can say is, it is something that my son did not learn until much later and based on what he has told in regards to Peter Parker, the young champion would likely have not bothered to learn until it was too late."

MJ and Felicia think about this before they concede to the woman's son's point. Yeah when it comes to their beau, they know he's been remiss or rather reluctant in learning to better handle his powers. He's always just learned on the fly, both his powers and the superheroing. And though he takes the latter very seriously, the former is another issue. He's never fully explored what he could do when he was young. Now older and very different, he still doesn't seem to want to take that next step.

Felicia figures that he takes what he has too seriously. He always goes on about power and responsibility. His Boy Scout attitude is his best quality, and a real turn-on for her for some reason, but it does get vexing in some instances. Him perceiving he has too much power would make him think he needs to do more than he already does. Which is insane since he already does so much.

Personally, she wants him to enjoy his powers and his Spider life more. View them as a way to get away from the boring mundane life that he would've had if it wasn't for them.

MJ on the other hand knows it's because he is afraid of what he can do if he lets loose. She has seen him do incredible things. But she and he have also imagined what someone without Peter's moral compass could do with those abilities, and it is a frightening thought.

Still, maybe it's more than that. Maybe he hurts himself more than even he realizes.

Yes, his sense of responsibility over his Spider-Man duties gets in the way of an otherwise perfect life he would have, but MJ suspects on a subconscious level Peter also self-sabotages. He is not a moron, so his still having financial problems when he's finally got a stable job that pays well makes no sense to her. He doesn't have to value money to know he needs to better manage it.

So other than being afraid of what he can do, maybe he's self-sabotaging himself with his powers by not learning how to better handle them. He learned to fight after he lost his spider-sense, but beyond that not much else. Heck, he only learned because he was told he needed to.

MJ gives Gaea a suspicious look, "We've just circled back to what your son wants with Peter, but not why he wants us here with you."

"The two of you mean everything to him," Mother Nature herself tells her, "My son mentioned how the embodiment of love herself, Mistress Love, said Peter Parker's heart was the most beautiful one she has ever seen. To not only love the two of you, treasure all of life in the world, and still retain it after all he had been through and have more to give," she gets a sad look, "And he knows what he did to the two of you was wrong so he wants to make it right."

Felicia frowns. She is not sure if she is in a forgiving mood considering everything. Her mind was messed with to get to someone else. What's worse is she was basically told to go elsewhere while Peter travels with someone who is not an enemy but sure as hell not a friend. If he finds out they were considered to be distractions, he'd tell that Anansi to-

It clicks in Felicia's head why they are there, "Your son wants you to help us as a way to say sorry for doing this, doesn't he?"

That has to be it! Peter would tell that guy off if he thought for a second Anansi considered MJ and Felicia distractions that he needed to send away. And that is likely going to come up, so he needed to make sure that if it came to it, the girls got something out of it as well.

Gaea nods in confirmation, "Exactly. My son is widely known by other gods as a trickster for manipulating so many lives. But he preferred the title of Master of Stories. Because he wanted to push the world and humanity towards the right path. Though admittedly, he often wanted to take credit for creating some things, like the sun or moon."

Sounds like politicians to both the girls.

"So him bringing us here to this island is helping the world?" MJ asks.

"Yes," Gaea answers with a nod, "Because of outside forces, the world has been thrown into imbalance. Only a spider can rebalance it. For that is their purpose."

Gaea then walks away, leaving both girls stumped by her words. They follow after her as she stops by the brazier.

"So what exactly are you gonna do for us?" Felicia asks.

Gaea, instead of answering the question, waves her hand and the brazier fire intensifies for a moment, blinding both girls. When they can see again, another woman is now standing by Gaea. This woman is even more beautiful than the goddess. Her red wavy hair, though not as red as Mary Jane's it's still very lovely, her body is almost on par with Felicia's in curves, and her face is definitely made for movies.

Gaea gestures to the beautiful woman, "This is someone whom you've no doubt heard of, Aphrodite."

Both girls' eyes widen. The Goddess of Love and Beauty, which explains her beauty. Yeah, they most certainly have heard of her.

"Formerly," Aphrodite states with sadness in her voice, "I relinquished the title and godhood to bestow it upon another because I realized it has been quite some time since I have truly been in love myself," she looks down in shame, "I cannot call myself the goddess of love when I've forgotten what it is to be in love."

Felicia only cares about the first part of what she said, "Wait, you guys can pass godhood on?"

She can feel Mary Jane's disapproving gaze on her but she doesn't turn to acknowledge her.

Gaea nods and answers, "Gods can be born, but sometimes they are chosen."

MJ gets a concerned look in her eye, "And she's here because she chose wrong and one of us is supposed to be the next goddess of love and beauty?"

Gaea shakes her head, "Actually she is here to assist me."

"With what?"

Without another word, the Mother of the World waves her hand and Mary Jane exclaims in surprise, making Felicia worry the mother of the world is hurting her friend. But before she can vainly attack the goddess, an ethereal form comes flying out of the redheaded woman. It stops just between both Gaea and Aphrodite and both mortal girls recognize it.

"Sonja!" Both Felicia and Mary Jane shout, but one in surprise and the other in worry.

Sonja has a shocked expression on her face as she looks at her form before turning her attention to the two women. But before she can say anything, Gaea waves her hand again and both Felicia and MJ vanish in a flash of light.

Floored by what just transpired, the time-displaced warrior looks at the two goddesses in anger, "What have you done!?"

"Do not worry yourself, Red Sonja. Your companions are safe."

That does nothing to reassure her. She would attack both of these women, but her current circumstance of being prevents her from doing so.

All she can do is stew and pray for her friend's safe return.

Elektra is not sure she heard that right. Spider-Man, a hero that Mathew considers a naive but good man, was supposed to be a killer. Ordained by the gods who granted him his powers and yet veered off the path that was essential established.

Suddenly her presence on this island is starting to make sense. She now has a suspicion as to why she was being manipulated to come here with him.

She gives the dark skinned man a suspicious look and inquires, "Is that why you wanted me here? To convert him?"

While she personally doesn't have a problem with such a task, she can safely assume if Mathew, or any hero close to Spider-Man really, were to discover she had a hand in making him a killer, then she'd make more enemies than she already has. Being tasked by a god or not.

And more so, it was because she is being manipulated by a god. That just makes her want to slash the man's throat.

It seems her suspicion is not true because the man shakes his head, "No. You are here to assist him in learning more of his newfound abilities," he turns back around and walks to them, "A specific one that is similar to one you possess. I believe you call it your assassin's instinct."

Now Elektra's interest is piqued, "He has the assassin's instinct?"

(I'm gonna be screwing with the explanation on this because the comics are not very clear on what it is.)

The assassin instinct was a rare natural ability very few possess and she is one of those few. It's a morphological ability in the brain that when activated a reaction occurs in the brain of a human and it regresses them to their primal state of mind. No true thoughts. A completely blank mind with only the body acting on the instinct to kill the target. Hence the name, assassins instinct.

Those that possess the assassin's instinct, are just that. Assassins of great skill with hardly any on equal footing.

It's an incredibly rare ability, which is why it is surprising for Elektra to suddenly hear that Spider-Man possesses it. A man that she has heard was childish and naive on every account.

She would pierce his mind with her telepathic abilities to see if it's true, but Anansi speaks up and informs her, "Well, a variation of it."

Curious by what he means, Elektra asks, "A variation?"

She has never heard of there being variations of the ability.

Anansi reaches into his dashiki and pulls out a cup and a cloth, "There are variations of many things, from animals to plants," he dips the cup into the pool of water, "And like your ability, these variations have different applications," he lifts the cup up before pouring it back into the pool, "All of them are complicated, but," he then puts the cup back into his dashiki before pulling out his cloth skirt, "All have their uses when one knows how to."

He dips his cloth into the water and twists. Right before everyone's eyes the waters begin to swirl into the small garment. Defying all laws of physics. Once it's all gone, Anansi lifts up the cloth that is dripping wet and then untwists it, allowing all the water that was in the pool to come flooding out.

As he flaps his cloth dry, behind him Peter is impressed by the display of power. He wonders what that ability was.

Elektra meanwhile is more focused on the man's words as she looks down in thought. She supposes they make sense. Much like he says, not all powers are exactly the same. She possesses telepathic abilities similar but not the same or on par with the likes of Charles Xavier or Emma Frost. She cannot control as many minds as they are capable of doing. Nor can she perform the same feats with psionic attacks like they can.

Her powers are more useful for line of work. She can throw her mind into another's, temporarily displacing them and taking over, and even place mental shields in her mind. Strong ones too if Emma Frost was telling her the truth.

"You have what you refer to as your spider sense," Anansi explains as he places his cloth skirt back on, "But since your resurrection, it evolved."

Peter tilts his head in confusion, "You mean my visions of the future?"

Anansi fixes his dashiki and shakes his head, "No. That is a product of you being a host," he doesn't elaborate further, keeping mum on another matter, "Your spider sense's natural evolution line leans more towards assisting you in both battles and finding your prey. It has been and will always be in tune with everything around you. Which is why it has assisted you in matters outside of danger. Like keeping your identity secret."

He is aware of this, but there are some hole in what he is saying.

"Not always. Mary Jane knew from seeing me before we met," Peter points out.

"But was she a danger to your identity?" Anansi questions.

That catches Peter off guard, "My spider sense was able to tell that?"

Anansi nods, "Yes. Which is why when you revealed your identity to Jonah, and unintentionally Alex Summers, it did not warn you to not do so."

Huh. He never thought of that. When he revealed his identity to Jonah, all he thought about was how this could help him. He completely forgot about Alex. He had nothing against the other Summers' brother, but still. He had no problem with the guy being there for the big reveal. He didn't even think his spider sense would be a factor but it does make sense. It told him if someone was watching when he wanted to take off his mask in public or private places. But not always. Like with Mary Jane or the Fantastic Four. The former being unintentional and the latter being completely intentional.

"So you're saying, his sense can tell him such things?" Elektra inquires with great interest, "Who to trust, who's a danger to him, and if he is being watched?"

Such an ability sounds amazing in her opinion. She has heard of the precognitive ability Spider-Man possessed. But she, like many, believed it was nothing more than an ability to warn him of danger. Which is why the hero had a reputation for never being caught by surprise. She heard about how often he bragged about this ability to others, heroes and villains.

To think that his ability is capable of far more than even the hero realized. If Elektra is being honest, she is slightly jealous. She could imagine scenarios where such an ability would have been useful for her. Like the time she was kidnapped by the Skrulls. She most certainly would have not been taken if she had that ability.

Especially if she trained it unlike the hero who possesses it.

While the deadly assassin is thinking how unfortunate an ability is in the hands of someone underserving, said someone is thinking about how his spider sense hasn't always been there for him.

"What about Venom and Carnage?" Peter asks the African god, "They figured out a way around it."

"You forget that the venom symbiote was once a part of you," Anansi responds, "So it understands how your spider sense works and it passed that knowledge to it's offspring."

"Meaning what exactly?"

Anansi gets a thoughtful look, "It's complicated but to simplify it, the symbiotes physiologically alter the hosts bodies in a way that prevents them from broadcasting their intentions," he shrugs, "That's the basis of it at least."

Well it's nice to finally have an explanation for that. The venom symbiote was a part of him so of course it knew how his body worked better than Peter. But it always bugged him how he never figured out his spider sense himself so that he could find a counter against venom and carnage sneaking up on him.

"Does that mean that I can now sense the symbiotes?" Peter asks with some excitement in his voice.

The prospect sounds fantastic. To no longer have a disadvantage against Carnage or Venom would be a boon in future fights he'll likely have with them.

But his hope diminishes when Anansi shrugs and says, "I actually don't know. As I said, your spider sense has evolved but it still functions how it used to. I'd say it's a coin toss. Fifty, fifty."

Peter frowns at the man, "You know a coin toss is not actually 'fifty, fifty', right? It's more fifty-one , forty-nine."

"Is that really relevant right now?" Elektra dully asks.

"It is if I'm the forty-nine part."

Odds are never in his favor.

Anansi speaks up, "Well one way to be certain now is to have Ms. Natchios help you. She possesses a similar ability that could be used to train you. Where she shrouds her mind and becomes almost impossible for anyone to detect."

Elektra glares at the man. She is not happy about having so many of her abilities being revealed. She is an ninja assassin trained to never reveal all she can do to anyone. Not even Mathew knows what she can do entirely.

Okay, you know what. You need to stop doing that.

Doing what?

Unilaterally deciding to reveal secrets you have no right to reveal. I mean I'm just assuming you don't want what you can do revealed, even to someone like me. And I sure as heck didn't want who I am to be told to someone I barely know let alone trust," he gives the assassin an apologetic look, "No offense."

"None taken," Elektra responds, "You are not wrong about my desire to keep secrets and you'd be a fool to trust me with yours."

Seems he is not the fool she has heard him to be. She does agree with Matthew in how Spider-Man seems naive, but he is not a complete fool. He's told her how the hero has always been very weary in telling who he is. Not trusting her is very smart. In truth she would take advantage if given the chance in her pursuit to take down Fisk and the hand. If it requires her to kill a target.

She also knows he'll likely come after her with righteous fury in being used. Heroes are like that.

"Ms. Natchios possesses another mental ability that will allow her to block this memory," Anansi reveals casually with a shrug, "Or at least the memory of knowing who you are

Bothered again by another reveal, but focuses on what he says, Elektra raises a brow at him as Peter voices her unasked question, "What makes you think she'll block this memory? Again, no offense, but Matt's told me you aren't the type to let an advantage over someone go."

There is a slight pang in her heart to hear how Mathew describes her, but she squishes it because she knows it's the truth. Mathew was stating a fact. She knows who she is. What she is.

"Because I'll give her what she came here for and more," Anansi announces with a smug glint in his eye as he looks at her, "Information in regards to your mission."

That gives Elektra pause. If he knows what she's after and more, it could save her time and trouble in taking down Fisk's infrastructure and the Hand.

She considers what to do as she asks, "What makes you believe I will not simply take it and avoid the trouble you want us to go through?"

"Besides the obvious," Anansi tells her, wordlessly conveying that he can handle her, before he points to Peter, "He will not let you. He will fight you to prevent you from killing me."

Elektra allows her brow to twitch in annoyance. Knowing that what he is saying is true.

Peter crosses his arms, "I don't know about that. After everything, I'm tempted to turn around, walk away, and pretend I never saw you."

She raises an eyebrow at him. She can hear it in his tone that while he is angry, he wouldn't actually do that. Which is an inconvenience for her. She is confident she can still kill the man but it'll be annoying getting past Spider-Man to do so. And she suspects even when she does so, she'll still have to fight her way out.

However, Anansi's words give her pause, "We both know if you were capable of such actions, your life would be much easier."

Again, Elektra raises a brow at the man's statement. Wondering what he means by that.

"I'm not that far above beating you senseless," Peter says to him, and again with anger in his voice.

Unbothered, Anansi shrugs, "Fair enough. Still, I don't think you will do that. If only because you know I want to help you. Despite my machinations in controlling you and your three lovers."

Three? Elektra saw only two. Where is the third? Back in New York?

"And that's what is truly bothering you isn't it?" Anansi questions as he begins to walk closer to the two, "You are not worried I have ill intentions, nor are you concerned for your lovers' safety."

Peter gives the god a hard glare, "It's my life," he angrily states as he clenches and unclenches his fists, "You don't get to decide what goes on."

Hmm, maybe he will attack and Elektra will be able to take advantage of an opening he provides.

Anansi hums as he nods with a thoughtful look on his face, "Hmm, even if I were to prevent you from making a great mistake. One that affects everyone, but you make regardless because of your need to alleviate your guilt."

There is much Elektra is not aware of right now. The way Peter recoils makes her realize this. He is hiding something more and far more dangerous if the spider god is revealing his identity but not whatever it is.

Anansi walks away as his voice echoes through the cave, "Train, Peter. Learn everything you need to. For all our sake."

He vanishes into the shadows. Leaving Elektra and Peter alone in the cavern. The only sound are the dripping waters of the stalagmites and soft rustling of the tree's leaves.

The deadly assassin looks in the direction Anansi vanished. She could go after the god and simply interrogate him. But it does seem simpler to train Spider-Man in getting a better handle of his abilities. If only to avoid confrontation with them both. She does not doubt her abilities, even with the god knowing what she can do.

Still better to avoid any issue she is not fully prepared for.

She takes a breath and sighs before looking at her charge for the day, "Let's get this over with."

He's an experienced hero. How hard can this really be?

The first sensation that she feels is grogginess. Like she lost most of her energy in the moment she regained consciousness. The next feeling she gets is cold and discomfort. The ground under her is hard like rock and she doesn't think she is outside because there is no heat from the sun.

She opens her eyes and her eyes turn to the only source of light, which is a torch on a stone pillar. Everywhere else is nothing but darkness. Mary Jane strains with a great amount of effort to just sit up to get a better look at her new environment. But the only thing visible is the small area the torch is lighting, which is just the stone floor she is sitting on.

Another groan next to her makes her turn her head to see Felicia regaining consciousness, "That was unpleasant," she comments as she gets up and rubs her head before she looks at the supermodel, "You okay, Red?"

"Been better, been worse," Mary Jane responds and she stands up, "You?"

Felicia stands up and dusts herself off, "Not a scratch," she responds. She looks around their new environment, "Where the hell did that woman send us?"

"Got me," she says with a shrug. She squints her eyes to see into the dark, but sees nothing. Not a shape. She turns her attention to the torch on the wall and goes to grab it. She pulls and pulls but it doesn't budge.

Seeing this, Felicia looks back into the dark ahead and guesses what they are supposed to do, "Do they want us to walk in the dark?"

They both look into the path forward, into the darkness, and both agree they do not want to do that. Mary Jane holds the pillar and looks over the edge on the side and again only sees a dark abyss.

"I think this is a stone bridge," she tells her partner before she shrugs, "Though what it's hanging on, I have no idea."

Felicia groans, "Great," she says rubbing her eyes, "So those two goddesses teleport us to who knows where on a stone bridge hanging over a dark abyss," she gives a side look to the redhead, "You know, beautiful, if this is the kind of hassle I have to deal with if I'm with you two, then I'm gonna have to demand that neither one of you complain about what I do in my personal time to de-stress."

MJ turns her head back to the thief and raises an accusing eyebrow before she cheekily says, "So an entire weekend where Peter and I de-stress your brains out?"

Felicia shrugs, "I'm good with just a night."

Mary Jane huffs in amusement at the thief's unbothered response to her joke. She loves how the woman takes everything in stride. From their banter to the situations they find themselves in. A little annoyed but still mostly unbothered.

Speaking of bothered, the actress is most definitely bothered. Not just by their new dilemma, like Felicia says it comes with the territory of dating Peter, but by the feeling she has inside her.

Emptiness.

She places a hand on her chest. She feels empty. Like she just lost a part of herself she did not realize was there. She got that feeling as soon as Sonja was ripped out of her by Gaea. It felt like a physical pill but not. Maybe it's closer to the air being sucked out of her lungs?

Whatever the case, Sonja is no longer inside the model, which distresses her greatly. More than she expected it to. The warrior spirit has been with her for a long time, even though she didn't know that, so it stands to reason why she feels like this.

Still, she doesn't like it. She wants to get her back. To do that, they need to learn why they were sent to this place.

Recalling the words both Gaea and Greek goddess Aphrodite said to them, they want to help them as a request from Anansi.

So whatever they are gonna go through is meant to help them.

They look around their surroundings again to try and find a hint as to why they were sent here. Felicia steps over to the other side of the stone bridge and looks down over the edge. Seeing nothing she turns her gaze up and a light catches her eye.

"Look up there," she announces to the redhead who walks over to her and sees what she is pointing at, "I think that's where they want us to go."

MJ nods. Makes sense if she were honest.

MJ sighs and rubs her head in frustration, "I can't believe this is happening," she says before she scoffs humorlessly, "Actually I can believe this is happening. Because this is my life. Even when I'm trying to enjoy time with Peter, something has to go wrong. Because we're not allowed to be happy!"

She huffs and puffs after her outburst. Feeling the emptiness inside her made her upset.

Hey hey, easy beautiful. Look we'll get through this and get back to enjoying the rest of our vacation with our favorite boy toy, 'Kay?

Knowing she is joking when referring to their shared beau as a boy toy, MJ snorts in amusement before she smiles appreciably at the thief, "Well, if Peter can't be here, I'm glad it's you, gorgeous."

A sudden torch being lit catches their attention. It's a few yards in front of the other one and it's light shines on the

Felicia looks surprised by this, "Did you see that?"

Of course she did. How can she not? But a better question is on Mary Jane's mind, "Did I do that?"

Felicia does not respond. Mary Jane suspects that she doesn't know either. They stare at the newly lit torch with curiosity. Both wondering why it came to life by itself. Unless it wasn't lit by itself and someone else did it.

But regardless, this does tell them what they need to do to light their way out. They just need to figure out what it means.

Mary Jane can say out of all the situations she has been in her life, this is the first time she wasn't scared or angry but annoyed.