A Dangerous Thread (January 2015)

[Conleth]

Logan eventually came back down and was surprised to find Kayla alone. “Oh, well, we can continue. Over here is the pool and the hot tub,” he said as he opened the door and showed her. Kayla wanted to stop and check it out more closely but Logsn didn’t want her to do something stupid that they’d both regret so he insisted they moved on. The med bay was state of the art. Tony just upgraded it recently: it was one of the most advanced medical robots the world had.

The game room was huge and had all kinds of games. “I’m pretty good at pool and darts,” Logan said and then they moved back up to get something to eat, the tour was essentially over.

——————- years ago in another timeline.

Peter looked down at two men in black masks. He had webbed them and ripped their masks off to look at them. He had never seen them before. Nor their outfits. They were at the Stark International building. And these people had tripped the silent alarms somehow. It didn’t matter how to Peter right then. Serena had been working late and he tried her on the wrist comma again.

“Serena...Serena, where are you? I’m in the building,” he said.

Serena had her hands up. A woman with long dark hair had a gun pointed at her as two of her cohorts backed into their server system.

“You know why we’re here, don’t you?” She said. “I want that Arcbot and you’re going to give it to me,” she said. Two of Serena’s lab assistants lay dead near her feet. When she had tried to fight them they killed them. There were two others behind the woman who only said her name was Kayla. She looked down at Serena’s wrist.

“Whose that? Tell him to come here...don’t give him anything more then that or…” you, what’s your name?” She asked as the woman who was on her knees wimpered. “M-M-Meagan,” she said terrified. “Or Meagan here will wish you hadn’t” she said.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena had promised Peter she would be home over an hour ago. She was four months pregnant and her doctor didn't want her working quite as hard as she had been. However, the arcbot was almost finished and Serena often got caught up in her work. They had just found out three days ago that they were having twins. They wouldn't know the sexes for another few weeks, but they were both ecstatic.

Normally, Serena would have fought against this woman, but she now had two lives that were depending on her...in addition to the life of Meagan. Her other two assistants hadn't stood a chance. They had both been killed almost immediately. Now, Meagan was being used against her. She heard Peter on her wrist comm and her first reaction was not to respond, but this woman, Kayla, she commanded Serena to tell him to come.

"Peter, I'm in my lab. I need you to come here."

[Conleth]

Peter heard the odd inflection of Serena’s voice. As if someone had her under duress. But that only made him more desperate to find her though he had a good idea where she was. He darkened his suit and turned on his infraVision. He slunk up the stairs and opened the emergency stairwell doors. He silently moved along the ceiling much like a spider would. His Vision picked out the 3 figures and he knew Serena’s. Two others were yellowish and laid on the floor. He winced when he realized that two of her team, her friends had been killed. ‘Oh god!’ He thought. Serena was close to everyone on her team.

Serena would know what to look for and sense when Spider-Man moved along the ceiling into the large room. ‘Hold on baby!’ He thought fearfully. He didn’t like that woman pointing a gun at his pregnant wife. In a snap of his wrists he latched on to her weapon and to the weapon of the other man and pulled them into the air and stuck them to the ceiling. And then he dropped down amongst them. The man in the black suit goggled but then tried to draw his sidearm. Peter kicked him hard and he crashed back against a diagnostic machine and was knocked unconscious.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena was extremely upset about Kelly and Hannah's deaths. Serena was close to everyone on her team. She considered them friends and felt responsible for them. Now, they were dead because of her and she couldn't do anything about it. She hadn't been able to use her powers. Ever since she first became pregnant a lot of her energy was absorbed by the babies. It meant that her powers were unreliable and could be quite dangerous.

Serena could tell when Peter was near, even in his darkened suit. She knew he was in the room with her. She looked at Meagan. "It's going to be alright," she told her as Peter suddenly attacked. Serena seized the moment of chaos to move and she grabbed Meagan and pushed her out the door to safety. Serena remained though.

Kayla's gaze narrowed dangerously at Spider-Man. "Give me the arcbot."

[Conleth]

“You kill two friends, point a gun at my WIFE! And EXPECT me to just let you leave!? Peter said in an angry growl. Serena had almost never seen him like this. Peter was unhinged. The woman pulled out her sidearm as quick as lightning and began to fire at Peter. However Peter moved, jumped, ducked and weaved so fast she couldn’t hit him. He appeared suddenly next to her and he extended his hands to her head. Serena heard the resounding ‘snap’ of the bones and cartilage of her neck as he turned her head farther than it should be able to go. Her knees buckled and he let her fall to the floor. He let his suit’s colors normalize.

“Are you hurt? Are you shot!?” Peter asked as he tested the others for life. No pulse and on the second...no pulse. He stood up.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena could do nothing by stand by and watch Peter. She had never seen the look she suddenly saw in his eyes as he looked at Kayla. It was...dangerous. Serena didn't need to yell out to warn Peter about the gun. He knew what Kayla was doing before she did. She watched as Peter moved faster than the gun could fire and her eyes widened when Peter suddenly was there next to Kayla. He reached out and grabbed her head and twisted her neck. Serena heard the sickening sound of her neck breaking and she watched as the woman's body crumple like a rag doll to the floor.

"I...I'm fine...I'm not hurt..." she said, although she felt sick to her stomach from everything that had just happened. "She...she knew about the arcbot." She then looked at Peter. "Are...you ok?"

[Conleth]

Peter sighed a sigh of relief. He was worried she had been shot. “No, I’m fine,” he said. Kayla felt the horrible pain of her neck being broken but she didn’t die. Her bones began to heal themselves. That process hurt just as much as having her neck broke in the first place. Well, he had messed with the wrong woman. If he wanted to kill her, he would know real pain when she killed his wife. The people who wanted this technology were going to make her unbelievably rich. This was going to happen.

Both Peter and Serena heard the rustle of movement. Peter turned and then just moved as the woman fired her pistol. Peter had moved in front of Serena just in time. Kayla fired two bullets and then her gun was empty.

Peter staggered but managed to stay on his feet but he held his stomach. Serena saw the woman loading another magazine into her weapon.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena had pressed a button on her comm link to notify her parents that she needed help. The comm would let them know her location. She was still very shaken up when she heard movement. Her eyes widened as she looked over and saw the woman getting up off of the floor.

She screamed, but it was too late. She heard the gunfire. They echoed through her lab with a sickening sound. Time seemed to slow down momentarily. She saw Peter jump in front of her and she saw his body jerk as he was shot twice. He managed to stay on his feet but she knew he was badly hurt. Anger swept through her and she raised a hand and fired an energy blast at the woman.

[Conleth]

With all of her rage behind it, the blast struck Kayla in the chest. The energy produced from the blast was so strong it disintegrated a good portion of her body. She fell to the floor into a smouldering mass of flesh. Peter fell to one knee and the last thing he remembered was Serena trying to shake him as his eyes closed.

————————— The Present

Peter stepped up Serena. “You know how I try to keep...what I know out of our lives. I know it’s not been easy for either of us but...but I know something and based on what’s already happened…makes me very concerned for our project,” he said. He was breathing quickly and his face was a mask of worry and maybe fear.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena was in their lab working on a few things when Peter suddenly came in. She looked up from her laptop and listened to Peter. She could tell he was upset about something just from his body language and when he told her he knew something from the other timeline that he needed to tell her she knew it was something big.

“What is it Peter?”

[Conleth]

Peter went on to tell Serena the whole story. The infiltration, how she was pregnant with their babies, how Kayla murdered two of their friends in cold blood. How he was shot and how Serena had finally killed her.

“Now she’s here...in the tower. Logan brought her! Serena, this woman is manipulating him. And maybe others too. I mean, she could be. I could be wrong but what if I’m right?” He asked. He was completely unhinged. The shifting of the timelines, how many things that were different made it very difficult for Peter to just let things happen. This...this COULD NOT happen! But if he’s wrong…he could harm this woman’s reputation severely with the others. It was then that Natalya came into the lab…into ‘their’ part of it specifically. Natalya almost never came into the lab. This by itself was unprecedented. Peter noticed her and swallowed hard and visibly took himself in hand.

“Uh...hi Natalya...is there something we can help you with?” He said with a very fake grin.

[XslvrstarX]

Serena was shocked by the story Peter told. She knew very little about this woman other than the fact that Logan had once dated her. However, if what Peter said was true then it could be a serious problem having her here.

Before she could say anything, Natalya walked into the lab. Natalya never came into the lab so something was wrong and Serena watched her and waited for her to speak. Natalya looked at Peter.

“You gave Kayla an odd look back in the gym. Why?”

She saw the glance between Serena and Peter and knew they knew something. “This woman is after my husband. I don’t trust her. If you have information on her please tell me.”

[Conleth]

Peter winced and looked to Serena. Serena looked at him but she didn’t appear to give him any sign of what he should do. He looked back at Natalya.

“Natalya you know I’m not...originally from here. Where I came from...people and history...were different. Not always certainly but most of the time,” Peter said carefully. “For the most part I’ve kept what I know inside. Life should just be allowed to happen. Can you...understand that?” Peter asked hesitantly. He hadn’t noticed that he was frowning now though.

[XslvrstarX]

Natalya sighed as she listened to Peter. “I understand that, but I know there is something weird about her. I know she’s lying to me and to Logan about herself in order to try and win Logan back. If you know something, even if it turns out not to be true in our timeline, please just tell me. I won’t tell anything to Logan until I know it is true. I...I can’t lose him to her...please.”

[Conleth]

Peter deliberated bit this was Natalya asking. And she never asked for anything. “Alright Natalya, this is what I know,” Peter said and then told her the entire story he had just told Serena. “But this timeline is different enough that not everything and everyone is like who I experienced. It’s just odd that in the other timeline she attacked us where she could get the project from us. And in this one, the project is only here in the tower and she is here...in the tower,” Peter said.

“Natalya, our project is going to be revolutionary and it will help everyone on the planet. But it can also be used to hurt them too if it got into the wrong hands,” he said. “But we could be overreacting here too. She just might want Logan,” he said.

[XslvrstarX]

Natalya surprisingly didn't seem shocked by Peter's story. Not a whole lot shocked her. She had seen and experienced a lot of things in her life. However, it did deepen her belief that Kayla was not who she seemed to be. She was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

Kayla and Logan stood out on one of the balconies together. Kayla looked at Logan as they stood there together. "Natalya and I had a little talk today. I told her how I felt about you and what I could offer you. She agreed to let you decide what you want. She said she wouldn't stand in the way or stop me from pursing you Logan. I'm not asking you to make a decision right now. But just...think about it." She then reached out and took his hand into her own and looked into his eyes. "Think about us."

Natalya had left the lab and was walking past the balcony when she heard what Kayla said. She stopped and stood just out of view, but waited to hear what Logan was going to say. She didn't realize it at the moment, but she was holding her breath.

[Conleth]

Logan sighed when Kayla took his hand and he looked into her eyes. She was beautiful but she wasn’t Natalya.

“Kayla what was between us was a really good dream. But we’re both awake now and real life is here once again. And I really like my life right now. I got a good thing going on with Natalya. She’s a good woman and I don’t want to betray her. Please don’t ask me to. Please,” he said with a worried frown. He doubted he could say no to Kayla if she forced the issue. He didn’t know if he could hurt her but he was very certain he didn’t want to hurt Natalya. They had been through so much together.

[XslvrstarX]

Kayla could tell that Logan was teetering on the edge. He was asking her not to let him betray Natayla, but the mere fact that he knew he would if she asked him to was a victory for her. She would not ask him to now...not just yet. She decided to leave him with something to think about though. She leaned in and gave him a soft, gentle kiss. She pulled back and looked at him again.

"Good night Logan," she said before stepping away from him and back inside to the elevator. Natalya had moved away from the balcony and back to her and Logan's room.

[Conleth]

Logan showed Kayla out. Once the elevator closed he rubbed his forehead. He didn’t want to hurt Kayla but he had a feeling he was going to have to.

He came into their room and shut the door after him then leaned back against it.

“What the hell is happening Natalya? How am I losing control of my own life? Just to keep my own head above water I need to shove someone under?” He said. “I’d shoot myself but it wouldn’t do any good,” he said, nearly in a whine.

[XslvrstarX]

Natalya was in the process of getting changed when Logan came into their room. She heard what he said and she turned around and looked at him. Her gaze narrowed dangerously at him. "What the hell are you complaining about? I'm the one who has everything to lose here! You let that woman into my home and then let her have the audacity to talk to me like she did...to threaten me like she did? Well, let me just be sure you remember who it is you're married to!"

She then threw her arms around him and kissed him more passionately and deeply than she ever had before. She poured all she was...her heart, body, and soul into it...everything that she had given to him.

[Conleth]

Logan was surprised at first by Natalya’s passionate assault but then he yielded to it. Allowed her to take control and make love to him how she needed to. How he needed her to:

A considerable amount of time later, they lay together in their bed. Logan’s breathing had leveled off but Natalya still gulped breath onto her lungs.

“Natalya...I’m not going to let her come between us,” he said as he lay beside her. They were both completely naked and her dark hair was damp from sweat. Logan shifted onto his side and to look at her. “I’m yours babe, I’ll always be yours,” he said.

[XslvrstarX]

Natalya lay there with Logan in their bed. Their clothes were haphazardly discarded on the floor and the sheets were half off the bed. Her skin glistened in the light with beads of sweat. She heard what Logan said, and tears came to her eyes. "She's right though. I can't give you what she can."

[Conleth]

Logan frowned by what she said and reached out to touch her face. He turned her face so she was looking at him. “I don’t even know If I want kids right now or ever. She doesn’t know me like you do and so, she doesn’t know what I need,” he said.

“You do though. You let me be me and you are just you. And I love just you,” he assured her as he leaned down and kissed the side of her left breast. “I don’t want to hurt Kayla but O don’t know if I can put her off without hurting her,” he said obviously troubled.

[XslvrstarX]

Natalya didn't pull away from Logan's touch as he turned her face so she was looking at him. She looked up into his eyes and she knew in that moment she had Logan...all of him. But she could see the troubled look in his eyes as he tried to figure out how to get Kayla to back off without hurting her. She hated Kayla even more in that moment for upsetting Logan like she had. She planned to make a phone call in the morning to figure out just who this woman really was.

"I'm sure she'll soon realize that she can't have you and she'll walk away."

[Conleth]

Logan smiled at Natalya. Her dark eyes had that soft look about them that they took on when she was feeling lovingly toward him. “Do you have any idea how crazy I am about you?” He said in a low, soft voice. “What did I do right to deserve you?” He asked as his smile grew and he shifted to come and lay upon her. Their faces were very close and even in the dark they could see one another’s eyes. “I want to make you happy Natalya. And make love to you until you can’t stand it anymore,” he said as he leaned down and whispered. “I love you,” into her ear. He felt her flesh prickle against him as he kissed her lips softly.

[Sponsored content]