Spiderman Returns

As usual Natalya piloted the jet and Steve was co-pilot. Tony, Isabella and Serena were in their suits and Kate, Logan, Pharaoh and Peter were inside the jet. The Hydra base had been discovered by accident by a SHIELD agent. The satellite scans showed a vast underground base and the warehouse above ground was heavily guarded by Hydra agents and it was rumored that Valentina Fontaine was there. The objective was to destroy their cache of Adamantium ammunition and any other targets of opportunity. Even as Natalya landed the jet Tony fed them information about the warehouse. There were about a dozen guards that patrolled the grounds and at least 24 people inside. There were 2 elevators on the sides and one freight elevator in the back. The freight elevator appeared not to have anyone nearby it so he selected that one as the one they’d use to descend in. The base was shielded by some kind of dampening field so it was impossible for them to know what was down there until they went down there.

It was decided that they’d try stealth by diversion. Isabella contacted the local authorities who showed up to do an inspection on reports of illegal chemical dumping. Naturally Hydra didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence so they’d deal with the police and inspectors in a non-violent manner. Security on the outside shifted inside and the place was no longer on lockdown so that it looked like any other warehouse. Tony infiltrated their network and had the cameras record an image loop so that they’d be able to pass by them without being seen. It appeared to be easy to get inside, the back door was open and into the large freight elevator. On the panel though were several buttons and some of them were key card access only. “Ok guys, let me see if I can find this elevator in their system,” he said as he began to use Jarvis to hack open the locked out floors. Without that the elevator would not go down into the base he was certain.

“So Serena, should I even ‘be’ here...since I’m supposed to save the world and all?” Peter asked with his usual boyish grin. Logan looked at her. “You told him?” he asked and everyone else who heard looked at them. “What? What are you guys talking about?” Steve and Kate asked together. Logan didn't say anything more and looked away from her. Isabella and Pharaoh were interested to it seemed.

Serena had not slept at all last night. What Peter had been asking her to do was unreasonable, however she had meant what she had told him when she said she wanted to marry him. She had felt that her option was a compromise. They could get married while still living at the Tower. However, having Peter laugh at her like he had last night had embarrassed her and she was still angry and upset.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him and looked away. “Peter wanted to quit the team and I was trying to convince him to stay by telling him the difference he could make in the world as apart of the Avengers,” she finally said. What she said was in fact true, just phrased differently. Peter would be able to see how upset she truly was. She wouldn’t look at him or talk to him.

Peter’s eyebrows rose and he hoped he had taken what she said wrong or he heard it wrong. Somehow knowing what she said was only intended to get him to stay hurt him. He did want to marry Serena but obviously that feeling wasn’t mutual. “So saying that you wanted to marry me...that was just to get me to stay?” he asked. He had on his mask but the disappointed tone in his voice was plain. “I meant what I said Serena. I did...there’s never ever been anyone else in my heart. Never,” he said almost desperately. Now everyone shifted their gazes over to her off of him.

Serena crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. “No, Peter. I meant that. I meant it all the way up until you started laughing at me. I wanted us to compromise because I’m sorry but I can’t do everything you wanted right now. I just can’t. But I meant that part 100%. However having your boyfriend laugh at you after saying that doesn’t make one feel so great about it.”

All eyes shifted back onto him then. “Serena, I was laughing at the ‘saving the world part’ not at the…’other’ part. Me? Save the world? I just web bad guys and try to help people who need it,” he said and then corrected himself. “I mean I used to,” he amended. He remembered helping people, especially when he was working solo and struggling to make ends meet. “Now all I can think about is something terrible happening...to you, to anyone of us and how much time we might be wasting instead of living. We can die young you know and when i look at you...I just see so much to live for, so much I want to do yet. How can we when all we do is put ourselves in mortal danger day after day?” he said. Logan shifted his gaze briefly to Natalya though subconsciously. What Serena had told him was still quite fresh in his mind and he could not keep the bitterness of that thought out of his head right then.

“If we don’t do it Peter than who will?” Steve asked. “That's not a valid argument Steve, what will be will be no matter if we chase our tails to the end of our days or choose to go live on a lake and have lots of children,” he said bitterly as he looked at Serena. Isabella’s eyebrows drew up at that comment. She certainly wouldn't mind grandchildren but she quickly averted her eyes when Serena glanced at her briefly. This was a truly odd conversation, them airing out everything in front of everyone. Peter didn’t even really care about that. This was all bothering him and he wanted to clear the air with Serena if the next few minutes proved to be their last.

“I’m not a coward Steve I just know what I want I’ve always wanted is standing just a few feet away from me. The trouble is she wants what she wants to and that’s where we don’t agree,” he said as he looked at her.

Serena sighed and looked at Peter. Her expression had softened. She was tired of being angry and upset. She hated being angry and upset at Peter. He meant everything to her and she felt now like she was failing him.

“Peter,” she said softly. “I could get hit by a car and die crossing the street. Just because what we do is dangerous doesn’t mean that if we gave up this life and moved out to a lake that we would both live in complete safety for the remainder of our lives. But if you have decided that this isn’t the life you want anymore I can’t stop you. I love you too much to force you to continue to do something that doesn’t make you happy.”

Peter didn’t want to argue either and he pulled his mask off as he heard what she said. He saw how upset she was right then and knew he was the cause. He moved up and put his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “I love you Serena,” he whispered into her ear and when she turned her face he kissed her lips and not chastely either. “Always,” he said softly as if it was going to be their last moment together.

“I got it!” Tony said all of a sudden and the elevator began going down.

Almost as soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened they were all harried by full automatic gun fire and a few powerful mutants. One could create shockwaves, one used a spear and shield and looked like some kind of Spartan and one looked beefy and muscular like a tv wrestler. Logan and Natalya found themselves dealing with the Wrestler while Steve, Kate and Pharaoh dealt with all the guards and the large metal deathbot that they had faced before. Tony and Isabella dealt with the girl who could create shockwaves and Serena was dealing with guards and Valentina. Peter had become separated from the others as he led the Spartan away. He had already managed to destroy the cache of bullets but Valentina seemed to have more than enough. Serena already had a graze from her on her left arm and one that was a bit deeper on her right calf. Those bullets went right through her armor like it was made of paper.

Logan was thrown several meters and he landed hard against the wall. An imprint of his body was in the concrete and bits of concrete crumbled to the floor. Natalya’s right arm was broken when the large man snapped it like a twig between his fingers. He was slowing down form all the tranq rounds she put into him but she was running low on those and needed a more ‘permanent’ way to stop him than putting him to sleep.

The only reason Steve was alive was do to kate and her telekinetic powers. She had gotten to close to the robot though and it knocked her down when it swung its massive arm. Half of her body ached badly when she moved but if she didn’t she’d have been a red stain on the floor by now. Steve was hurt to but he refused to succumb to his injuries just yet.

Tony took a hit from the shock girl right in the chest. Isabella had moved up to him and extended her shield over them but each hit from the shock girl hit hard on her shields. Tony though only have with it was trying to patch in power from his suit to hers as Isabella tried to keep them alive.

“Come here little spider!” the Spartan taunted. Peter was hiding on the ceiling between two lights. The Spartan guy was not weak and he was extremely fast. The right side of Peter’s face was in pain, he had been hit by his shield and he desperately wanted to get back to the others, especially Serena who he knew had been hit by that bitch Valentina.

Serena leaned into Peter when he put his arms around her. His touch and close presence was comforting to her. She was tired...no exhausted from everything that had recently happened...both physically and emotionally and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. She turned her head towards Peter when he kissed her cheek and when he kissed her she kissed him back. Peter would be able to tell from that kiss just how much she truly loved him. She loved him so much that she truly was willing to let him go if he wanted to leave. She would deal with the consequences of that action, but she loved him too much to force him to do something that made him unhappy.

As soon as the elevator stopped they all quickly exited and spread out to begin to handle the different mutants that they found themselves facing. Kate, Steve, and Pharaoh were dealing with half of the guards and a robot. Kate used her telekinetic powers to their advantage and try and give Steve and Pharaoh a fighting chance. However, as the bot got closer she suddenly realized she was too close but before she could move out of the way she was struck hard by its massive arm. She was thrown to the floor and her body ached from where she had been hit. She forced herself to get up though as she knew if she remained on the ground she was dead.

Isabella was struggling to keep the shield up and protecting Tony and herself from the girl with the power to produce shock waves. Every hit she took brought down the power in her suit and Tony was now trying to patch the power from his suit to hers so she could keep the shield up.

"Any progress?" she asked him in desperation as the energy shield was hit again and she watched the power bar drop down even lower.

Natalya knew her right arm was broken, but there was little she could do about it now. She had to keep fighting...somehow. The large man was focused on Logan and she could see that he had taken several tranq darts. She forced herself up using her left arm and pulled out her hand gun. She aimed at him using her left hand and began to fire.

There was a searing pain in Serena's left leg from where she had been hit by the bullet. The pain she felt though vanished when she saw the Spartan guy was after Peter. She formed an energy orb and fired it at the guy. She hit him in the back and sent him flying into the wall.

Tony spit blood from his mouth and there was little that Isabella could do about that. She couldn’t even use her medical suite to scan him. “I think I almost got it,” he said with a wince. His suit had saved his life but the inertia of his suit being pushed so abruptly caused the real damage.

Valentina was hunting Serena. That much was obvious now and Serena’s scans could not penetrate the metal in the pillars and construction down here. “Come on Serena, stick your pretty head out so I can end it all for you,” She taunted. She was using some kind of voice scrambler so knowing where she was was impossible. “Serena! I’m coming for you! C’mon, play with me!” She said in almost a simpering voice.

The spartan had blocked most of the damage with his shield though he did groan when he peeled himself off of the wall. Pieces of concrete fell around him as he lunged at Peter. Peter dodged back then ran around a corner. As Serena tried to follow two more shots rang out right near her feet and she was forced to jump back to where she had been. The spartan ran after Peter once again and the two became lost to her sight behind halls, pillars and offices. “A pretty swanky place you have here, don’t they let you wear more clothes?” He said trying to be funny as the spartan attacked him. Peter dodged and shot a web at his face then at his shield arm. The Spartan though knew what he was trying to do and instead of pulling back he lunged forward and tilted back. As Peter came in he speared him through the side then turned as Peter landed on his back. The Spartan hovered over him with his hand still on his spear. Peter had a hold of the shaft though and wouldn’t let him drive it in further. Blood trickled out over the wound.

“Just give up ‘Spider-man’ It was over before you even began,” he said. In an instant Peter thought about everything. Serena, what she said and her marrying him. He wanted to be with her and make her happy like he had told her he would. He wanted to see her with their children and be there when she gave birth to their Willow May. But he was tired, so tired of just going through the motions and he loosened his grip on the spear. More blood poured out of the wound and peter winced.

“Giving up? I’m disappointed, I think I’ll see what that girl looks like under that fancy suit. Is she ‘your’ girl Spider man? Not for much longer I think!” He said then Peter grabbed at the spear shaft again. Slowly he began to push it out of his flesh and a determined look came over him just then. A determined, angry look and The Spartan tried to put more of his weight on his spear .

“My name, is PETER!” Peter growled and using both hands he pushed the spear out of his side.

The big man picked up Logan and slammed him down several times. Logan didn’t move but when he chuckled and turned toward Natalya Logan extended a claw and swiped at the man’s heel. Pieces of flesh went flying and Logan tried to get up, determined not to let the man hurt Natalya anymore than he already had. He wasn’t going to lose her!

Serena was desperately trying to keep hidden from Valentina. She could tell she was using some kind of device that projected her voice in such a way that one could not tell where it was coming from and Serena's scans could not penetrate through the pillars. She was actually rather scared, although she tried to remain as calm as possible. The entire time she was dodging Valentine she was thinking about Peter and about how much she loved him and didn't want him to leave her. She needed him like she needed air to breathe. The thought of losing him was almost too much for her to handle.

Natalya had run out of bullets and because her right arm was broken she couldn't reload more easily. She had fallen back onto her back on the ground and was trying to shimmy her way back from the large man who was coming after her. She was completely vulnerable and for the first time in a long time she felt fear. The man reached down and grabbed Natalya by her neck and hoisted her up into the air. She couldn't activate the tasers on her gauntlets because she needed her other hand to do that. She struggled to breathe and tried to claw at his hand with her left hand.

As Natalya felt her neck begin to be squeezed the pressure suddenly lessened. As she looked at the big man she saw blood come out of his mouth and a metal claw come out of his throat. The big man let go of Natalya and as he began to fall back Logan alive at him as he fell and his head came off completely. Logan bent down and even as he did Natalya saw his wounds closing. The love and worry on his face was obvious as he knelt beside her.

“You alright?” He said in a rasp.

After Peter had pummeled the Spartan into senselessness he ran toward where he had last seen Serena. He saw her hunkered down behind a wall selection and there were several pillars just beyond her. As he caught a glimpse of movement from behind one of the pillars his eyes narrowed and though his side felt like it was on fire he leaped over the wall, heedless of Serena’s desperate warnings for him to stop.

Valentina saw him but as she fired Peter just wasn’t there. He dodged, rolled and jeered them webbed up flung himself then dodged again. After her rifle was spent she pulled out her pistol but before she could fire it Peter grabbed her wrist.

“I’m really getting tired of you Valentina,” he said coldly then picked her up bodily then slammed her down hard on the concrete floor. As Serena flew up and landed over the wall he was off again to help her parents though he wasn’t certain where they went. “C’mon Serena, they’re in trouble!” He said urgently and they were off once more.

Natalya was feeling herself starting to blackout. Spots danced before her eyes and her clawing at his hand ceased. But suddenly, he pressure lessened and as she looked at the man she saw blood coming out of his mouth. His hand released from around her neck and she was dropped to the ground. Unfortunately, she landed on her broken arm and she winced and hissed in pain. She coughed as she was finally able to breathe again. She looked at Logan and he would be able to see that she was in pain.

"I've had better days." She then reached up and touched the side of his face. "Are you alright?"

Movement suddenly caught Serena's eye and she looked up to see Peter coming to her rescue. She held her breath as she watched Valentina begin to fire her rifle at Peter. However, Peter was fast and was able to use his Spidey Sense to dodge the bullets. As Valentina tried to pull out her pistol Peter grabbed her wrist and then threw her down onto the ground. Valentina quickly stopped moving. Serena quickly followed Peter over to where her parents were. Serena put up an energy shield around them while Peter took care of the sonic blast girl.

The sonic blast girl only had a moment to look back before Peter wa son her and then she was smashed into the concrete wall above Tony and Isabella. Steve removed his shield from the robots neck and sparks flew as he stepped away from it to pick up Kate who had over taxed herself in using her powers. They all came together near where Peter slammer Valentina. She was still there unconscious and her left leg looked horribly twisted.

Isabella did a scan on Tony and winced. “Oh Tony we need to get you to a hospital. Peter held his side. “Are we done here?” He said in between pain filled breaths.

Serena's eyes widened when she saw the wound on Peter's side. "We need to get Peter to a hospital too." When he tried to argue with her she shot him a look at told him he wasn't going to argue with her about this. Somehow they got themselves onto the jet and Steve piloted the jet to SHIELD HQ. They could not go to a regular hospital because of who they all were. Isabella had radioed ahead and they were prepared to receive them. Tony, Peter, and Natalya were the ones who needed immediate attention. Kate just needed rest to recover and reassured Steve several times that she was alright. Serena's leg was also looked at. She just needed a few stitches and was then released.

Peter was rushed into surgery as well as Tony. Serena received two sets of stitches and she was told that she would have two really nice scars to tell her children about...when she had children. Late that night Peter and Tony were out of surgery and in the recovery room together.

Isabella and Serena were waiting for permission to go in and one of the nurses left on the intercom so they could hear what they said.

“So you going to leave the tower? You did well today Peter. It would be a shame to lose you” He said. “And then there is Serena,” Tony said. Peter Didn't say anything immediately and he looked over at Tony.

“I will stay with Serena,” Peter said. “Her and I have unfinished business and I was just kidding myself if I thought I could just up and leave her. I can’t. If she knew the power she held over me...you won’t tell her will you?” Peter asked almost desperately. “I won’t Peter,” Tony replied sleepily. “I think I’m not ready to leave the Avengers either. I think the world does need me still,” he said. “It still needs us all Peter,” Tony said.

“When I ask her to marry me, do I have your blessing?” Peter asked but Tony had gone to sleep just then and did not answer. Isabella didn’t say anything only looked at Serena and smiled at her.

Serena was worried about Peter and her father. They were rushed back into surgery, but after a few hours the doctor came out and reassured Isabella and Serena that both Peter and Tony were going to be fine. Serena and Isabella were waiting outside in the waiting room when they heard the conversation between Peter and Tony. What Peter said caused Serena to smile and her heart swelled with love.

The next day Peter, Tony, and Natalya were released. Natalya's arm was set and she had been given the injection to speed up the healing process. A few days later Serena was in the Tower with Peter. Peter was resting in his room when Serena suddenly walked in with a wrapped box. She smiled and handed it to him.

"Open it."

Inside was Peter's new suit.

Peter had been resting when he heard Serena come into their room. She insisted that he stay with her so she could take care of him. He thought that it was odd, Serena didn’t really like waiting on anyone but she seemed to not mind.

After a couple days Peter was really feeling better but he still couldn’t get out of bed yet. He was watching tv when sSerena came into their room carrying a box. He watched her approach and the smile on her face made him wonder what she was up to. “What’s this?” He asked and Ofcourse she excitedly asked him to open it. When he did and saw what was inside he looked at her wife eyes and was speechless. “For me?!” He asked and when she nodded he smiled and drew the suit out of the box. “You made this...for me?” He asked as if he couldn’t believe it. “Thank you...Serena,” Peter said as tears welled up in his eyes.

Serena actually was enjoying taking care of Peter. She would bring him his meals and drinks and made sure he was comfortable. She helped change the bandages and made sure the wound was healing properly, which it was. However, the joy she felt taking care of him was overshadowed by the joy she felt seeing him lay eyes on his new suit for the first time. She was beyond thrilled at his reaction and seeing the tears in his eyes brought tears to her own.

"Well, I thought your old suit could use some updating and upgrading. My father helped me design it." She went on to tell him about everything it was capable of. She was so excited as she talked about it. "So...do you like it?"

“Are you kidding? I love it,” he said as he looked at it. And then he let it fall back into the box and he set the box aside. He gestured for her to come to him. “ god I love you,” he said as she came up to him and he kissed her. He pulled her on him and mid kiss he winced. He laughed with her as she adjusted to avoid his injury. Andhe kissed he again.

“Did we capture Valentina?” He asked.

Serena smiled as Peter gestured for her to come over to him. As she did he leaned up and kissed her before pulling her on top of him. She felt him wince and she laughed and moved slightly so she wasn't laying directly on top of him. She grinned and kissed him back, but between kisses she answered his question.

"Yes, we did. She's currently being held at SHIELD. They'll figure out what to do with her. We couldn't have done this without you Peter...I hope you know that."

“And I couldn’t do it without you Serena. You are the magic to my world, I hope you know that,” Peter said as he kissed her over and over. After they settled on the bed together he looked at her.

“Just thinking of...not being with you was the most painful feeling I’ve ever felt,” he said seriously. His bright blue eyes nearly glowed with love for her. “I will stay here, in the tower with you,” Peter said softly.

Serena had already known that Peter was going to stay because she had overheard his conversation with her father. However, hearing him say it to her made her feel much better about the situation.

She reached out and gently touched the side of his face and brushed back some of his hair from his face. “I don’t want us to forget about those plans Peter. I would honestly like to try and make them happen one day.”

“No, not plans, a promise.” he said as he produced a ring. It was silver with ornate, black etching on it. On the inside was scribed. ‘Promissio Dilectionis’ Which simply meant, ‘A promise of Love’ in Latin. “I will promise to always love you Serena,” he said as he slipped it on her finger. “Even if you do make me completely crazy sometimes,” he said with a smile. “And I also promise never to put on strange suits without showing them to you first,” he said and his grin grew again.

“Now I know I’m hurt but it doesn’t mean we can’t...mess around a little, does it?” he asked coyly and feeling ‘that way’ for some reason right then.

Serena's smile grew and happy tears came to her eyes when she saw the promise ring. It was beautiful and it felt perfect on her finger. She smiled and then laughed at Peter's further promise not to ever put on strange suits again without showing them to her first. She was so glad that they were past that now and that Peter was back to normal.

When she heard what Peter suggested she laughed and rolled her eyes and got up off the bed. "No, I'm not going to risk you injuring yourself even more. Now, what I can do is go to Rocco's and get some burgers. Would you like that?"