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Take 2 Chapter 2

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Chapter 2: Thunder and Lightning

A/N: this chapter combined Superior Spider-Man 2 and Avenging Spider-Man 18. As I'm not sure if Mary Jane remembers she was married to Peter, so in this story Mephisto wiped both their memories. I don't plan on compressing two issues into one chapter often, but I may do it for stuff like Massacre or No Escape part one

'I knew this was coming.' Peter Parker thought, as he examined the spot where Electro had landed only a few days earlier. 'I figured Electro would have gotten caught in the Earth's electromagnetic field after Thor threw him into space, and it was only a matter of time before he came back. Looks like I was right. And now? I'm scared.'

New York

'Max Dillon isn't one of the brightest lights on the strand, but he's probably one of the most powerful beings on the planet.' Spider-Man thought as he swung through New York. 'Back when I first began to fight him, his body produced constant amounts of electricity. As the years went on, his powers just kept getting stronger and stronger, but now? He's living electricity.' He dropped down to interrupt a robbery in progress. 'And I have no idea what the electromagnetic fields did to his powers.' Spider-Man ducked under a thugs punch and stood on his hands, performing a gyroscopic kick that knocked out two of them, leaving only two left. 'Since I started working at Horizon, I've been working on countermeasures to help contain him.' He kicked one in the stomach before punching the last one in the face. 'If I know Electro, he'll be out for blood.' Spider-Man swung away, and an idea began forming in his head. 'Asgardian blood, to be specific.' He landed on a building, and pulled out his phone, dialing a number.

"Hello?" A British voice said on the other side of the line.

"Jarvis? It's Spider-Man. Is Thor in?"

Undisclosed AIM Laboratory

Electro was hooked up to all sorts of machinery, and men in beekeeper suits frantically worked on the machines. "And you're sure this is going to work?" Electro said. "It'd be a shame of you all ended up like your friends over there." Electro said, pointing to a pile of burnt corpses.

"Y-yes." The head scientist said. "Thor's hammer produces electrons, which is what you are made of, and that is why he was able to repel you so easily. This machine will convert your electrons into protons, and theoretically should allow you to just phase around his hammer."

"Good. Now get to it!" Electro said, and a beekeeper flicked a switch, and Electro screamed in pain as the machine turned on.

Horizon Labs

These mortals intrigued Thor. The people within the dwelling below him were said to be almost as smart as his longtime ally Stark, yet they were obviously awestruck at his appearance above them, and flashes came from the small devices in their hands called 'Smart Phones'. Thor had never seen the point in having one, even after all his years among the denizens of Midgard. After all, he had just figured out how to use a regular phone, and he didn't have the patience to learn how an 'iPhone' or 'Android' worked. "Hey big guy." A voice said, and Thor looked down at the building below him to see his ally who bore the name 'Spider-Man'. "Thanks for coming. I could really use the help with this."

"Save your thanks. You are a friend and respected comrade of mine, and I always assist my comrades in their times of need." Thor said.

"Aw shucks, you really know how to sweet talk a guy." Spider-Man said. While Thor didn't get why Spider-Man often talked as if he was one of the jesters of Odin's court, he had fought alongside the man enough to know that he had more than earned his spot at Odin's table. "Listen, about why I called you down here…"

"Yes. Jarvis informed me you were quite insistent on me meeting you across from this 'Horizon Labs.' What troubles you, friend?" Thor said.

"Right. Remember Electro, the guy who you shot into space?" Spider-Man said. "Well he's back. And trust me when I say that he knows how to hold a grudge."

"Why do you need my assistance? You hath fought this vile creature alone for years, so why not this time?" The God of Thunder asked.

"Well that's the thing. You're kinda bait." Spider-Man said, and Thor raised an eyebrow at this.

"Kindly explain yourself, or you shall feel Mjolnir's kiss." Thor said.

"Right. Should have phrased that better." Spider-Man said. "Y'see, Electro's living energy. Even if I tracked him down, he would just escape through the city's electrical system. He could be anywhere he wanted in a matter of seconds. However, if he was face to face with his target, he wouldn't run. That gives me an opportunity to capture him using this little number I just whipped up." He pulled a small tube out of his belt. "That better?"

"Aye. I, too, would never shy away from a fight with my enemy. Especially one who humiliated me as I did to him." Thor said, and Spider-Man began swinging through the city, Thor flying close behind him.

"I think I've figured out where he is." The Spider said. "My googles are displaying a real-time view of the city's power grid, and an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn lit up like a Christmas tree about an hour ago. It might be nothing, but it's worth checking out."

"Lead on, friend." Thor said.

Abandoned Warehouse

The first thing that struck them was the smell. "Odin's beard! 'Tis reminiscent of Hela's domain!" Thor said.

"I think I just lost my appetite for the rest of the week." Spider-Man said. Everyone in the building was burned to a crisp, remnants of a yellow uniform on each of their bodies. "This was an AIM lab. I'd recognize those Beekeeper suits anywhere. Electro must have come here for an upgrade, and cooked this place when he got what he needed."

"The depravity of those you fight knows no bounds." Thor said, remembering that Octavius had tried stealing his ally's body only weeks ago.

"You have no idea. Remind me to tell you about a guy named Stan Carter when this is over." Spider-Man said. 'What was this equipment for? Did Electro use it to amp up his powers?' Spider-Man placed his hand on the machine Electro stood in only minutes before , and got a small shock from it. "Looks like it has something to do with altering the electric charge in atoms."

"Very astute, web head." Electro's voice said, coming from all over, and Avengers both Friendly Neighborhood and Mighty alike screamed in pain as electricity coursed through their bodies. "It took me weeks to reconstitute my consciousness enough so I could get back to Earth. WEEKS! Not to mention you made me look like a fool in front of the whole world."

'Dammit, has he ever produced this much voltage before?' Spider-Man thought. Despite the impending death by Electro, Peter Parker's brain was in two halves. One half was trying to determine the cause of Electro's increased power, the other was thinking of a certain red haired supermodel. "Have to…get out of here…alive…for her." He said through clenched teeth

"Don't be so sure about that web head." Electro said, and electricity stopped coursing through Spider-Man. "But wait your turn, alright? I've got a few anger issues I need to work out on Point Break over here." Thor began to stand, and gripped Mjolnir.

"You dare wish to fight the God of Thunder? Very well then." Thor said. "Have at thee!" Thor swung his hammer, electricity crackling off it, only for it to pass straight through Electro. "What trickery is this?"

"No tricks." Electro said. "Just science. You were able to affect me on the beach because both my body and your hammers lightning had the same negative electrical charge, which repel one another, but now I'm made of protons, which have a positive charge. You know what that means. You can't hurt me…" Electro grabbed Thor by the throat, and the Prince of Asgard screamed in pain as enough juice to power New York for 20 years coursed through his body. "But I can hurt you!

'Protons, of course! This stuff manipulates the electric charge in atoms!' Spider-Man thought, and took out the tube as he crawled over to the machine. 'This device I made is designed to convert Living Lightning over here to a stream of electrons, but if what he's saying is true, then I need to recalibrate this thing for protons.' He began using some of the equipment, the proportionate speed of a spider helping him work faster as Thor continued to scream. 'Work fast Parker, or Thor's goose is cooked! This is it, do or die. No Parker luck, no fallback plan, no Octavius stealing your body, no Reed or Tony with a backup plan! Just me, this device, and Electro.' After what seemed like the longest minute of his life, the modifications were done.

"Hey Sparky!" Spider-Man yelled, and Electro turned to look at him. "Come on and do the electric slide over here!" He flipped on the device, and Electro began to be dragged closer to Spider-Man.

"What's going on? What are you doing?!" Electro yelled.

"Maxy, you only have your big mouth to blame for this." Spider-Man said. "If you hadn't told us you were made of protons now, I would never have figured out the correct modifications I needed to perform on this little beauty. Say hi to Marko for me!"

"I'll f**king kill you web for brains! Mark my words, I'll-" that was all Electro said before he was sucked into the device.

"I would like to say that was a well fought battle, but I am not Loki." Thor said. "My thanks, Spider."

"Don't be thanking me until Electro is on the Raft." Spider-Man said as he helped Thor up. "You ok?"

"Aye. It will take more than that to kill the thunder god." Thor said. "I applaud you Spider-Man. You were able to quickly alter your device to counter Electro's new abilities, whereas Mjolnir had no effect on this vile being."

"Aw shucks, I'm blushing. You can't tell under this mask, but I'm so red faced right now." Spider-Man said as they exited the warehouse. "Can you take this to the Helecarrier on your way back to Asgard or wherever it is you rest your head?" He handed Thor the tube containing Electro.

"Aye. The least I can do to repay you." Thor said, and swung his hammer before disappearing in a flash of lightning.

"See you around, hammer head." Spider-Man said, when on of the pockets on his belt began to vibrate. 'Holy Crap, my phone still works after that? It's not even a Nokia!' He took it out, and read the collar ID as 'MJ'. "Hey Mary Jane, what's up?"

"Not much. You?" The girl on the other side said.

"I just worked with Thor to take down everyone's favorite walking lightbulb." Spider Man answered as he activated his ear piece, and began swinging through the city. "We still on for dinner tonight?"

"You bet Tiger. Though I'd shower first. Hate for the restaurant to smell like microwaved spider." Mary Jane said. "See you there Pete."

"Back at ya." Peter said, and hung up the phone. 'Tonight. Tonight I rectify one of the biggest mistakes of my life.' He thought as he entered his Tribeca apartment. 'Taking what I had with Mary Jane for granted.'

That Night, expensive restaurant

Peter and MJ sat across from one another, Peter regaling MJ with his defeat of the latest to call themselves the Sinister Six. "…and so I swung Beetle into Overdrive's Big Wheel, and it knocked out Shocker when it fell over." Peter said. "Those guys were nothing like anything Ock ever put together."

"I can tell." MJ said. "So what happened next?"

"Well, after I knocked out Boomerang, I went to their hideout and got the device they stole the other day and returned it to its rightful owners. Of course, not only was the press there, but so was my charming Cousin-in-law, the mayor of New York himself."

"Did he go on his usual 'this is your fault' rant?" The model asked.

"Surprisingly not. He just groaned out a 'thank you' and shook my hand. I guess saving the Earth from Ock helped finally earn me some brownie points from ol' Flat top." Peter said. "I swear, Jonah blames me for everything. Rhino robbed a bank? Well he has to be in cahoots with Spider-Man!" He said, doing his best impersonation of J Jonah Jameson. "An earthquake destroyed the city? It's Spider-Man's fault! Ultron destroyed the earth? Spider-Man planned it all!" This got a laugh from MJ.

"At least he never blamed global warming on you." MJ said.

"I think he was saving that one for a rainy day." Peter said. "This is nice. No Supervillains, no symbiote wearing serial killers, no Goblins, no world-threatening crisis to deal with…kinda like the old days." MJ shifted in her seat a little.

"Yeah, it kinda is." MJ said, and they sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Look, MJ, the whole mind switch thing has helped me put a few things into perspective, and I have to be honest. This whole 'just friends' thing we've got going on, it just isn't working for me." Peter said. "Breaking up with you was one of the worst mistakes of my life. I don't even remember WHY we broke up."

"Me neither." MJ said. "I remember us living together for a long time, we were practically married, then…I think we had a fight, and we broke up."

"God, what did we even fight about that was so bad that we had to break up?" Peter asked.

"I don't know. I think…it was right after the Civil War? Yeah, that sounds right." Mary Jane said. "You were broken up over Cap being shot, I mean who wasn't? But you took it pretty hard. He was essentially your mentor."

"Right, and I remember that I kept going out on patrol every night." Peter said. "One night, just as I was about to go out, you said you wanted more, and you wanted me to settle down. No more Spider-Man, no more patrol, just you, me, and the rest of the world."

"Such a stupid fight." MJ said. "I know now that it's impossible to have one without the other."

"What do you mean?" The scientist/Avenger asked.

"You can't have Peter Parker and not have Spider-Man. One cannot exist without the other."  MJ said. "But why bring this up now?"

"Because I want to give it another shot." Peter said. "You and me. Please." MJ looked at him, before a small smile appeared on her face.

"I'd like that tiger." Mary Jane said.

One Week Later, MJ's Club

"So, how's business going?" Peter asked as he stepped into New York's hottest new nightclub.

"Good. I had Tony Stark in here the other day, and I saw that guy from the space show you liked. The one that only had one season." Mary Jane said.

"You mean Nathan Fillion?" Peter said. "Aw man, and to think I missed it!"

"Relax, I got you his autograph." MJ said, and handed Peter a napkin with a signature on it.

"And that is why you are awesome." Peter said. "MJ, can I ask a favor?"

"Sure thing tiger." Mary Jane said.

"I whipped up these little beauties a few days ago." Peter said as he pulled out a small red sphere. "This is a Spider Bot. It's a mobile surveillance device that's the next in private security." Peter said. "I was wondering if I could set one up as a sort of trial run."

"And why'd you come to me first? Wouldn't Logan let you set up a few at his school?" Mary Jane asked.

"Because he scares me. A lot." Peter said. "And…well, it's just…y'know. I want to make sure your safe."

"You're sweet." MJ said, kissing him on the cheek. "Alright. But only if you promise not to eavesdrop on my clients. I've got a reputation to uphold."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Peter said, and pressed the Spider-Bot's top. Small arms sprung out of it, and it scuttled up to an out of the way corner in the ceiling where no one would see it.

"Isn't that like-" MJ asked.

"Otto's octobots? Yeah. I've studied the designs for a while, and finally found a way to use them." The genius said, when he got a familiar buzzing sensation. "Hey MJ, why don't I go ahead and swing you home? It's on my way back to the lab, so it'd only add on a few minutes."

"Sure. Just give me a minute to get my jacket while you change." MJ said, and left as Peter began to change into Spider-Man.

'If there's something that could set off my spider sense here, I'd best hurry up and get her out of here.' He thought as he pulled on his Spider-Man mask, and looked up to where the Spider-Bot was. 'I'm counting on you to let me know if she's in danger, little guy. Don't let me down.'

"You ready tiger?" Mary Jane asked.

"Yeah. Hold on tight." Spider-Man said as she grabbed his back, wrapping her arms over his neck. "Now this is really like the old days." Spidey said as he leaped out the window, firing a web. "Romantic web ride through the city, you and me…reminds me of a simpler time." He said, unaware if the bird like creatures watching MJ's from a nearby roof.

Later that day, Horizon

Peter was looking at a tablet with a spider emblem on the back. This was his Spider-Man portfolio, where he kept all his ideas that could help him as Spider-Man. 'Can we make it work this time? Me and Mary Jane…she's the one person who knows what I've been through, who understands both in and out of costume. But what if me being Spider-Man comes between us again? Or what if one of my villains goes after here because of me? Gah, what am I thinking? Of course we can pull this off.' He thought, and pulled up the feed from the Spider-Bot in MJ's. 'Looks like business is booming as usual. People are dancing, having a good time, and-what the hell?'

MJ's

Mary Jane was conversing with Betty Brant in her office. "Thanks for seeing me MJ." Betty said.

"No problem Betts. You're like an older sister to Pete, and you're a hell of a friend." Mary Jane said. "So what's up? You've been acting weird for the past few weeks. Did you and Flash break up again?"

"God I wish it was that simple. That way I can just hate him and be done with that. But it's a lot more complicated than that." Betty said. "I found out some things about my brother, and…I dunno. I guess I just needed some space to deal with it."

"Does it have anything to do with that new Venom who kidnapped you?" Mary Jane asked. She was still haunted by her first encounter with the monster, when Eddie Brock was first bonded to the symbiote and went after Peter's family.

"No, the new one isn't responsible for that. He was trying to save me. He's a good guy now, or at least he's trying to be." Betty said. "I'm still trying to deal with what I learned about Bennet, but I'll tell you one day. When I figure it out my-" she was interrupted when a bird-like creature crashed into an office. "What the hell?!"

"Betty get back!" MJ said.

"What is this thing?" Betty asked as she leapt out of its way, hiding behind a chair.

"Who knows? This is New York, it could be a supervillain, an alien, a mutant, or god knows what else!" Mary Jane said, and the bird like creature picked up Mary Jane and threw her out the window. She would have screamed, if she didn't land on some sort of web a few seconds later. "That's Peter for you." She said, a small smile on her face.

Betty watched as the creature went to the safe, and ripped it open, taking out what appeared to be several documents. "What the hell?" She muttered. A piece of glass crunched under her foot, and the creature turned towards her. "Uh oh." Betty said, and the creature leapt at her.

"Not so fast Big Bird!" Spider-Man said, punching its beak as he crashed through the window. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that breaking and entering is a crime? Now why don't you go back to Sesame Street with Burt and Ernie." Spider-Man said. "Ms. Brant, we have really got to stop meeting like this."

"Spider-Man, my friend! She's-" Betty started to say.

"She's fine. I made sure of it." Spider-Man said. "Ms. Brant, I need you to tell everyone in the club to vacate in case Tweety Bird here brought friends."

"Alright." Betty said, and left the room.

"Alright birdy, now it's just you and me, and a can of whoop ass." Spider-Man said. To his surprise, the bird like creature turned to the window and spread it's wings for flight. 'Judging from the size of those wings, I don't think my webs can keep up with that! Best tag it with a spider-tracer.' Spider-Man thought, and launched a tracer, the tracking device connecting just as the creature took off. "Holy crap! That things almost as fast as Falcon!" Spider-Man said, and leapt out of the window down to the web platform that held Mary Jane.

"Just dropping in?" Mary Jane asked.

"There you go, stealing my jokes." Spider-Man said.

"That thing trashed my office. You gonna kick its ass?" MJ said.

"Yep. I'm tracking where it came from so I can see if there are any more of those things." Peter said. "So, you really think we can make this work again?"

"What do you mean?" MJ said.

"I mean us. The whole 'Peter plus Mary Jane' equation." Peter said. "I've been thinking a lot, and one of the things that scares me most is you getting hurt because of me." He said. "And we both know me trying to retire from being Spider-Man has never worked out. Spider-Man is part of the equation, and as long as that's true then-" he was cut off when Mary Jane pulled up his mask and kissed him.

"You're right. Spider-Man is part of the equation, but I love both the Spider and the Man." She said. "Spider-Man is a part of your very soul, and I refuse to accept you any other way." A small smile appeared on Peter's face.

"How is it that you're always right?" He asked.

"That's my superpower." Mary Jane said. "It's a brand new day Peter. Let's go into it together."

A/N: I'm just going to say one more thing. After No Escape and the Fall of Shadowland, things are going to get CRAZY!
© 2014 - 2024 Superlove126
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