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“Who's the monster now, Peter?" They taunt, having just done the unthinkable— taken over the body and mind of the amazing Michelle Jones-Watson.
Even with the arachnid hormones raging through his veins, making his anger at whoever was possessing his sweet MJ evident with his blacked out eyes and uncontrollable strength, Peter is aware of how this looks. Dangling the possessed body of the love of his life over the edge of a building, by her neck no less… he does look like a monster.
But all rational thought was out the window the second he realized he was played, that he didn't actually have his darling Michelle Jones back, that it was all a trick. That her voice saying his name, her soft lips against his, her warm embrace… that it was all too good to be true. That it was the stuff of the same fairytales that made MJ roll her eyes and scoff. That whoever this being was only wanted to make him tick.
And boy, was he ticking.
"Get out of her." He says lowly, threat implied with the venom dripping from each syllable.
"Oof." Not-MJ scoffs, lip quirking into a sinister smirk as mischief took over her eyes the way darkness took over his own. "Terrible choice of words there, Spider."
Peter was confused on what she meant for a split second, until Not-MJ's body goes limp for a moment, eyes now lax and shut.
And then he realizes.
Oh fucking shit he realizes.
WAITWAITWAITFUCKINGWAIT—
MJ— the real, beautiful, intelligent, sweet MJ— was suddenly back, eyes snapping open swiftly, taking in her surroundings. Wind smacking against her, nothing below her feet… and a maskless, black-eyed Spider-Man holding her off a fucking building.
Her breath picks up quick, close to having a panic attack as tears began to well in her eyes and fall gracelessly down her face. "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" She's screaming, she's kicking her feet, she's terrified out of her goddamn mind. "WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
Peter is frozen in place, unsure what to do as his own breath picks up to match hers. The anger in his veins quickly replaced by sheer, all-consuming panic as he gapes like a fish. He knows his eyes weren't going back to normal, knows his arachnid hormones were still in full effect, knows he's scaring her. But still, Peter is completely frozen. Not able to move a muscle, even to get her back to safety. "MJ, I-I…"
The girl he loves continues to kick, "GET OFF ME!", and kick, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" and kick, "GO AWAY!"
Until her wildcat mannerisms cause Peter's grip to falter ever so slightly, just enough that now instead of being held over the edge she's falling from it, a fresh scream ripping through her lungs.
"MJ!" That caused Peter to leap into action, not caring about his mask as he leaps to follow her, heart beating against his chest like a drum, oxygen burning his lungs as he fought to breathe. This can't be happening, this isn't happening, this is a nightmare.
But it is happening. It's as real as the web he shoots out to catch her, watching as it wraps around her waist and allows him to pull her up to met his body, a little too forcefully but the adrenaline & arachnid cocktail rushing through his veins doesn't allow much room for grace.
Pete holds MJ close to his body as he shoots out another web, this one to lower the duo to the ground. He feels her fists bash against his body, fighting to get away from him as heartbreaking sobs and pleas fell from her lips.
She's terrified. Of him.
Once they're both safely lowered to the ground in a dimly lit alley, MJ shoves herself off him, causing Peter to fall to the ground with an audible thud, despite his attempts to catch himself. The two lock eyes, really allowing for him to get a good look at her. She's backing away from him, shaking like a freshly fallen autumn leaf. Tears are cascading down her face, making her beautiful brown eyes bloodshot and puffy in a way he never wanted to be the cause of ever again. Little hiccups and sobs coming through her lips, her hands in front of her as she slowly backs away as if she was in the midst of a predator.
"W-What do you want with me?" Her voice wavered, trying and failing to sound brave.
Peter goes to quickly stand up before noticing her flinch, deciding to then take it slow. He mirrors the position of her hands, trying to show her that he's not a threat. "MJ, I-"
"How do you know my name?"
He pauses at that, allowing her to put another few inches between them. He truly does not know how to answer the question, but he doesn't have to. MJ was studying his face, and came to her own conclusion.
"You… you were at the party…" She stops in her tracks, that look on her face that he knew too well beginning to take shape, indicating that a thousand thoughts were racing through her brain. "Were… are you stalking me?"
"No! No no no, MJ, I swear-"
"STOP SAYING MY NAME!"
Peter takes a steadying breath, trying to push down his own hurt and compose himself. The last thing he wants to do is scare her more, despite the state of his eyes not helping much. "I just want to keep you safe."
"B-By trying to k-kill me?"
"I caught you."
"After you tried to kill me!"
"I wasn't, I swear, I promise—"
"Then why were you doing… t-that?" The that went unspoken, neither of them wanting to speak of it. "What… what did I do to deserve that?"
"Nothing, I swear. Please just, come with me and I can explain—"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" She barks out. "I… I'm going home." She turned around, back facing him as she starts to sped walk in the direction of her apartment complex.
Panic sets back in that that. The being that threatened her, that possessed her is still out there. Even if she's scared of him, he still feels a responsibility for her. To keep her safe.
"NO!" He cries out, rushing towards her as the third web of the night shoots out of his wrists. Organic.
He pulls her back towards him, feeling her fall into his arms. She starts fighting right away, and he hates doing this to her, oh he hates it so bad. But her safety came first. He locks himself around her, using his stickiness to keep himself in place as she batters at him.
"Please just let me go!" She sobs out, voice higher pitched than he'd ever heard it, trying to shove herself out of his hold. "Please!"
"I… I can't." His own eyes are beginning to well with unshed tears. He hates her being in distress, and moreso he hates being the cause of it. But he can't leave her unprotected. "I really can't."
"I'm begging you! Let me go home! I'm not…" She chokes on her tears. "I'm not going anywhere with a monster!"
Monster.
That hits him hard. Harder than any bad guy could ever dream of, landing directly on the soft spot in his heart that housed all his insecurities. He feels all the blood drain from him, his heart all but stop. He feels limp, faint, and his grip slacks.
She uses that to her advantage and shoves him again, and this time he doesn't even attempt to catch himself. He falls limply to the concrete, previously unshed tears now falling down his face freely.
He looks up at the woman he loves as he feels his eyes go back to normal. What were huge voids in his face mere seconds ago, now just big, sad, wet doe eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, but he feels like he was the one being strangled. A lump sits in his throat, not allowing any words to dare pass as she stands above him, now having the upper hand. Truth be told, she always did. Because he could never hurt her, not on purpose. If only she could see that…
Peter sees MJ shift for a moment, fear and hate momentarily being replaced with something akin to recognition and sadness.
But she knows what he did, what he was doing, so she shoves any empathy deep down where her memories must be, somewhere unattainable, and she steels herself. "Don't ever come near me again." Her voice powerful, brave, commanding. "If you do, I will call the cops. And I don't know what they do to mon— people like you."
Peter feels his lip begin to pathetically quiver and he looks away, not wanting to guilt her in anyway. He knows it's no use. She made her choice, and forcing her was making things so, so much worse. He sadly nods his head and forces out a barely audible "fine."
MJ spares him one last look before turning around to make her way back home. "I really thought you were a hero…"
And with that, she walks away into the night. Unshielded, unprotected from what's out there. And Peter? He's curled up in an alley, sobbing like he hasn't sobbed in a long time. In a way that makes it hard to breathe, only little short gasps managing to supply him oxygen.
He hates himself.
Peter stays like that, pathetically weeping into his knees, before he feels a presence approach him. Not that he cares, he barely looks up. "Go away. You've won."
"You're a mess, Spider-Man." He hears a male voice say, and he looks up just out of curiosity for who they possessed this time. It was a middle aged, blonde man with winkles adorning his face. Not that it matters much.
He just shoves his face back into his knees, trying to ignore them, but they keep talking. "Just remember that any time I want, I can be anyone I want. So you can't protect MJ. Not even from herself. Not even from you."
Peter's breath hitches, body going stiff as a statue.
"You heard what she said. You're a monster. And if you cross me again, I'll be sure your whole world knows your true nature. How about that roommate of hers? Ned, was it?"
"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" His head shoots up so fast he feels dizzy, voice low and threatening and angry. Terrified. He can tell by the smirk on the stranger's face that his eyes were black again.
"I will. If you stay out of my way. Goodbye, Spider-Man. I hope this is the last time we meet."
And with that, they were gone again.
Leaving Peter more alone than he has ever felt, the weight of his true nature settling uncomfortably around him.
A monster.