PETER PARKER

The sound of the Spider-Man ringtone woke me up from my deep slumber. I groaned, still not making an attempt at answering the call. I peeled one eye open and shot a web on the phone. I yanked the string back, but my drowsiness caused me to catch the phone with my face.

"Ow!" I groaned, my eyes opened only to notice a wrench in my hand instead of the phone. "Goodness."

I shot the web again, and this time caught the phone in my hand. I answered the call in a hoarse tone. "Hello?"

"Uh, Pete?" A male voice said from the other line," I rubbed my eyes. "It's me."

I sigh, "Harry?" I shifted a bit in my uncomfortable position, feeling my limbs ached. "What... What time is it?"

"Uh, late, early, I don't know." Harry seemed uneasy; something clearly had him on edge, which made me sober up instantly. "I've been up all night. I need to see you."

I blinked a few times, my vision clearing. "Not really, Pete." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm... dying. But I think you can help save my life."

That phone call was enough to wake the dead from their slumber. I quickly bathed and swung my way toward Oscorp. I was already expected at Oscorp; upon arrival, I was quickly taken to Harry's office. When I saw him, I instantly saw the burden her father had bestowed on him, his bags were prominent, and his walk was lazy. The way he looked at me with hope made me feel uneasy; it made me feel worried. We sat on his desk. he played an old video of his father and mine talking about radioactive spiders; it explained how it could be the key to unlocking infinite health.

I looked at Harry; he believed what they were saying. He believed he could be cursed, and I wanted to believe it too, but all I could think of was how dangerous it is to fiddle with something we both didn't know.

"They never made it to human trials." The video had ended; I glanced at him with doubtful eyes. "It's 14 years of research and nothing to show for it. Except maybe this." He pushed the newspaper with a picture of Spider-Man towards me. "Spider-Man."

I glanced at the picture before meeting Harry's determined gaze. "What about him?"

"He was bitten by one of those things, and it worked!" He revealed," I sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know how, and I don't know why, but he can do everything else a spider can, including self-heal."

I didn't like where this was going. "I need to find him. I need his blood."

"You need his blood..." I repeated; there was doubt in my voice, as if begging him to clarify it wasn't what I think it was. "Spider-Man's blood?"

"It'll save my life." He defended. I leaned back in my chair, a knot formed in my throat at the sudden realization. "It's possible, and all I need is possible."

I shook my head, hating to rob him of this silver lining. I leaned forward, pressing my fingerprints against the surface of the desk. "Possible isn't always the right thing, Harry. You don't know what his blood could do to you; it's a miracle that it didn't kill him. What guarantees do we have that it will have the same effect on you?"

"I'm already dying, Peter!" Harry gritted, outraged by the idea of having to be cautious. "My life depends on the possible. I don't have time for human trials; what I need is for him to do what he does best, and that's saving lives."

"You're willing to go through this, even at the cost of your own life?" I asked him, not believing what I was hearing.

Harry pushed himself off the chair and walked over to me. he turned me to face him and leaned closer. "What... life... Peter?" His eyes weren't lying, my heart was beating fast with dread, my answer was no, but not because I didn't want to help him.

I didn't want to kill him.

"This curse - the Osborn curse my father used to call it - is already killing me." He cocked his head to the side, a fire, a desire, burned behind those blue irises. "In either of these scenarios, I ought to die. So, can I count on you or not?"

I frown, my heart dropping to the pit of my stomach. "What?"

"Get me Spider-Man." He leaned back, standing straighter before grabbing the newspaper and handing it to me. "You took this picture. You know him."

I did, but I couldn't let him know that. "Harry, this picture... I took it from a long, long distance. I used a long lens. Not only that, but I don't know him."

"I put together what you said at the river." He gave me a look before walking toward the window and admiring the city. I stood up from my chair. "About how he gives people hope."

He turned around with a crestfallen look. "Just... promise me you'll bring this up to him." I gulped, my heart shrank with emotion. I really wanted to help, but I couldn't handle the risk. "Please, Peter. I... I'm scared." His eyes glisten. "I know how it ends for me if I don't fight back. This is my life, and I have to fight for it."

I stood there, rendered speechless. I couldn't promise him anything until I was sure. "Please, Peter." He walked up to me and embraced me tightly; he was almost clinging to me, grasping onto hope. "Please, I can't die... I don't want to die." He cried. "Please, he's all I have left. If there was another way, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but there isn't. My father is the proof, and he's dead, Peter. He's dead... And I don't want to be next."

I clenched my jaw, feeling tears welling up in my eyes as I tried not to try, but it was hard. It was hard looking at someone in the face and telling them,'I can't save you'. I lived to save lives; I would much rather lay down my own life than sacrifice the life of another person. But this wasn't about me; this was about my best friend, Harry. The only one who was there when my parents passed away; he was my friend, my only friend back then. And now, he was asking- no, begging me to save his life.

How can I tell him no?

I nodded. "I'll... I'm gonna try and find Spider-Man." I heard him sigh in relief, his grip loosened, and I gently pushed him away. "But I can't make any promises on his behalf."

Harry looked at me for a solid second before nodding. "Tell him to come and see me. I only wish to talk."

I left his office with a heavy heart, and my feet carried me forward, eager to get out of the place. The elevator took me down. I glanced down and caught a glimpse of familiar blonde hair. Gwen was walking down the catwalk and constantly looked over her shoulder; she seemed to be running away from someone. I got off on the same floor, and just as I was crossing the hallway, I caught her stumbling onto me before she hit the ground. I caught her just in time.

We both stared at each other wide-eyed. "Hi." She smiled at me, but then a frown took over her features. "What are you doing here?"

She glanced over my shoulder before quickly dragging me by the arm to a maintenance closet. She closed the door behind her, and we peeked over the small window. Security guards dressed in black were looking at her. I smirked and shot her a teasing look.

"Someone's in trouble."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no shit."

"Who's the guy?" I asked her instead.

"There was an accident in this genomic lab, and they're covering it up." I breathed out through my nose, shaking my head disappointed. "And I found out. That guy from Times Square?" I nodded. "I met him. He was an electrical engineer in the building, and he loved Spider-Man, by the way. He was, like, a fanatic."

I grimaced. "Well, I didn't specifically get live vibes. I got more of a 'wants to shock me to death' vibe."

"Ramsey could definitely relate." Gwen teased before getting back to the topic. "I was searching for him on the computer, and all the files, all linked to him, are erased."

"My god..." I breathed out.

Gwen shared my bewilderment. "It's like he never existed."

"That's Oscorp," I said gravely.

"And what about you? Why are you here?" She asked me.

I sigh, rubbing my right eye with stress. "Harry."

"Osborn?"

I nodded. "He's dying. And he thinks the only thing that's gonna save his life is my blood. Spider-Man's blood." Gwen shook her head, also thinking it was a bad idea. "And as far as I know, if I give it to him, it could kill him."

"Or something worse," Gwen added.

"I know."

"And what are you planning to do?" She tilted her head to the side. I leaned against the door.

"I plan on visiting him as the other guy and talk him out of it," I said. Gwen gave me a sad smile. "But he's so adamant; he thinks it's the only way. Moments ago, he was begging me and... it's just hard," I ran a hand down my face, "he's an old friend. A dear friend."

Gwen nodded. "I understand how you feel; if it was me in your position and Ramsey in Harry's, I would feel compromised. Friendship is another word to describe brotherhood."

"He's going to be so torn," I confessed.

She squeezed my arm reassuringly. "Try to let him see that he still has more time if Norman lasted as long as he did. Who's to say Harry won't? But rushing into uncharted waters, just for the lunacy of healing oneself, is not the right path." She spoke firmly. "Many bright minds have lost their sanity over this, then they start messing with things they don't understand, and that's when their work becomes perverse and corrupted."

And she was right; perhaps I couldn't give him my blood, but I could still give him hope.

🅷🅾🅻🅰

How are you guys?
How's 2022 treating you so far?

I've been on a full series rampage.
First, the Witcher, then outer banks,
Cobra Kai, and right, now I'm watching season 3 of Baby.