Home Sweet Home

"It’s alright Peter…let it out. Let it all out!" Jessica comforted me as I cried on her shoulder. I embraced her tightly, holding onto her. I couldn’t believe that they were gone…all of them just...dead.

Will was gone. Earl was gone. Eddy was gone. James was gone. Every new friend I made in the past month was murdered in cold blood.

I still didn’t know why or who was responsible for all of this and here I was, crying on Jessica's shoulders like a child.

"I’m so sorry, Pete... I know how it feels to lose people."

‘I can’t believe I’m actually crying right now…’

"It’s okay to be vulnerable every once in a while…it’s going to be fine. Just let it all out okay?"

I nodded, knowing that she was absolutely right.

She continued, "You will move on... You'll get through this. Won't you?" She asked me as she wiped my tears with her handkerchief.

"Yeah…I think I’d like that."

"Okay…let's go back to your room then." She touched my chin.

I nodded again. She then took my hand in hers and led me back to my room.

We reached my room in five minutes. There were other visitors waiting for me, Harry and MJ.

"Pete!!!" Harry yelled out and ran up to me. MJ smiled but her smile wasn't the usual one, like she was nervous about something.

"Hey harr-" He hugged me before I could finish.

"I thought…when I heard the news…I.." He couldn’t get the words out but he didn’t need to, I understood him perfectly.

It was not too long ago that I was the one visiting him in the hospital.

"It’s alright buddy, I’m fine." My eyes went towards Jessica as I said that.

'I'm lucky to have good people around me!'

"You have no idea--how scared I was for you!" He said while gripping me harder.

I won’t lie, it hurt a little when he did that. When did he get so strong? Or maybe I wasn't as healthy as I thought.

Either way the good thing was that he made a complete recovery and then some more.

"Hey Pete." MJ waved from the side,

I don’t know why but It felt like she was holding back, she didn't look like she wanted to be here. Hmm I wonder why?

"Hey MJ, when did you guys get here?"

"It’s been a minute now!" Harry replied for MJ.

"So you guys, came here together?" Jessica said excitedly.

The insinuation being that there was something going on between them.

Harry started blushing.

‘Oh well what do you know…I guess if you try hard enough you get lucky once in a while!’

"Hey what’s with that look?" Harry shouted at me.

"Nothing….I was just wondering how a loser like you could even think you have a chance with MJ!" I quip with glee.

"Hmph…what do you mean loser? Loser!" He retorted.

Everyone laughed loudly at that.

'God I missed this!'

A small treacherous thought entered my mind, ‘What are you doing? You need to focus on rescuing Theo and saving humanity! Weren’t you the one who promised his little sister you would!’

My smile cracked just for a moment, and then it seamlessly masked itself back to laughter. At that moment though, I swear I thought I saw Jessica’s smile falter at the exact moment mine did. It's almost as if she could read my mind now.

"So when did you reach here, Jessica? To be honest we thought we were the first ones to visit Pete!" MJ asked her.

I don't know why but something was off about MJ today, she didn't behave like this before. It was almost like she was confrontational with Jess.

"Oh…uh my brother’s admitted here remember? And I heard that Peter was here so... I decided to drop by. It’s just a coincidence really." Jessica said with a little bit of panic in her voice.

You'd think she was a housewife trying to cover up an affair or something.

"Huh….okay." MJ didn’t look satisfied, but she dropped the topic and continued,

"How’s Flash by the way?"

"Oh he's great...his surgery is postponed but other than that he's...…....."

I wasn’t interested in that conversation any longer. I turned my attention to my best friend instead.

"So…I guess you got an early release?"

"Yup…no more hospital beds for me! That's not even the best part, dude... for some reason, I'm feeling really good... like, really good!" He emphasized the last part heavily.

"Oh…congratulations I guess,"

Before we could speak anymore, the doctor walked into the room with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

"Oh, it seems like we have quite the crowd in here!" He said rather jovially.

Harry was quick to apologize and asked the doctor,

"Oh crap- shoot I’m sorry, doc, we’ll leave if you want."

"No...that won’t be necessary. Peter...we just want to do a basic physical on you and once you're cleared, you can go home. What do you say?"

"Perfect." I replied, and it really was.

If I wasn’t discharged then I would have to start sneaking out of my room at night to do any serious investigation. Saving Theo and as a result humanity is more important.

"Good, just follow Nurse Stacy here to the examination room."

I promptly did.

They checked my blood pressure and heart rate. Made me do a couple of physical motions to make sure all my muscles and bones worked fine. When it was all said and done, the entire thing was over within 30 minutes. I was sent back to my room after the test.

Harry and my uncle were talking about the economy. Aunt May was teaching the girls how to knit a muffler.

Ten minutes after that, the nurse came inside and gave me a box containing my clothes. When I said my clothes, I meant the leather jacket that Adrian gave me moments before those maniacs started shooting. The box also had my basketball shorts, it was stained with blood. These two articles were what they found me in, lying on the street.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

My mouth had a bitter aftertaste when I saw that jacket.

‘I’m gonna have to get that back… Valeria. Geez I don’t…I have so much to do…so many funerals to visit. So many things to do on top of saving the world!’

I didn’t know if I could even do that-

Aunt May touched my shoulder gently and said, "You don’t have to take those back...if you don’t want to."

"Yeah kiddo, we bought you brand new clothes…so you don’t have to wear those old ones...right guys?" My uncle asked for confirmation from my friends.

"Yeah that’s right Pete...we’ll go shopping soon. So throw those away, let's get you some new threads!’ Harry tried his best to cheer me up.

"Yeah I could select some clothes for you Pete. I really think you could use a new pair of clothes…" MJ said, smiling.

Jessica gave me a silent nod.

"See we’re all here for you peter…you don’t have to carry it all on your own." My aunt hugged my shoulder.

It took all my strength to not cry again. They were all such good, caring people.

"Thanks guys." I muttered quietly.

I took out the shorts and looked at it again, it still hurt. I didn’t know any of my teammates for long but….I knew they would have been my lifelong friends had they not been murdered.

I put the shorts back into the box and said, "I’m taking it."

_______________________________________________________________________

We passed the New York skylines with blinding speed. The taxi driver seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, he kept cursing out the traffic.

"Stupid…protests!"

After the attack, the public responded with great agitation. The people wanted answers but more importantly they wanted something done about the 'Terrorist attack'.

Maybe they wanted some kind of retaliation.

A war seemed imminent, tensions were high, and the people wanted blood.

‘They always do! At least at first, before the pain begins. The economy starts regressing, people start dying and then the reality of war sets in quickly. Then they would want to retreat to the safety of their homes.'

In the end, no one achieves anything. Rich men make money while young men die. The age old conclusion of any conflict ever since the beginning of history.

I saw someone holding a photo of Will with the caption, ‘Where is my justice?’

It was almost as if the question were posed to me.

There were chants and people yelling into loudspeakers. Cars honking and the thick dark New York smoke entered my lungs.

"Fucking losers if you ask me." The driver said to my uncle.

"Look, buddy, I have a kid here. So, if you don't mind, tone it down a notch on the language."

"Oh, sure...sorry about that. It’s just..you know it’s been like this since yesterday!" He started to complain.

He kept whining about one problem after another, it damn near gave me a headache.

It took us two hours to reach home. Honestly, I would have much preferred walking my way back but I doubt Aunt May would agree to that.

"Finally, home sweet home." I got out of the cab.

I had so many things to do, so many plans to make. Finding Theo isn’t going to be easy but I knew the first person I wanted to talk to.

Everything is going to be alright...it has to be.

"100 dollars."

"100 dollars! That's insane...we just came from the hospi…you know what, just take it." Uncle Ben handed him his money.

The cab driver was not only an advertisement for aspirin but also a money grubbing conman.

I would have argued with the man over the change but I had more important things on my mind. I take out the bag containing my clothes and put it down on the pavement.

"I still think you should go meet them once Pete…they did invite you. You can use some company, don’t you think so Ben?"

My uncle was still grumbling about being ripped off by that taxi driver. He wasn’t paying any attention to our conversation.

"Isn't that right, BEN?"

"Oh..uh..yeah absolutely!" He agreed in a hurry.

I let out a little laugh at that, "It's alright guys, I need some time to myself. I’ll visit them later."

She still looked worried.

My aunt was so caring about me, I really needed to stop making her worry so damn much.

"I’m fine May. I really am but I need some space for now. I can always visit Harry later…"

My uncle grabbed my shoulder with his arm and said with a huge smile, "Take all the time you need champ. We’ll always be here for you."

I could see his hairline thinning, the chemo must be working. It won’t be long until he goes completely bald. Time was running out. For a second it felt like the walls were closing on me.

The world was ending, most of my friends died, my uncle was in the process of dying, we were broke. In that second it really did seem like the world was out to get me.

"First...let’s get you home- Peter what are you doing?"

I picked up the jacket from my bag and wore it.

'No more wasted time! I won't let the world dictate what it can and cannot do with me!'

There was something heavy in the right pocket. I searched the pocket and found a USB drive. It was heavy, too heavy to be a normal drive.

I palmed it for a second and put it back inside the jacket.

‘It belongs to Valeria’s dad…used to belong to Valeria’s dad. When I have time I’ll return it to her.’

"Pete…you coming in or…" My uncle asked me confused.

"I’m going for a walk, Uncle Ben. I need some fresh air!" And meet quite possibly the most powerful person I know. Humanity’s fate was hanging by a thread, and I was done doing things alone.

"Are you sure? It’s late...you sure you don’t want to rest up and…" He saw the look on my face, and he knew that I had made up my mind.

"Okay, just be back before it gets too late. Okay…"

I gave him a thumbs up and said, "I’ll be back before the Knicks game ends!"

"That’s my boy." He said with a burst of energy suddenly.

I turned around, zipped up the jacket halfway through and started making my way to Moe’s Café.

_________________________________________________________________________

POV - Theodore Wellspring

"No, I'm really serious. I need to take a leak." He said to the blonde man.

"Not my problem...do it in your pants if you're that desperate."

"Damn dude...I mean don’t prisoners have rights or something? I’m still a human you know?"

"You are not a human. You are a mutant! I know the big man knocked you out while bringing you here but don’t confuse what you are."

"What am I?"

‘You?…You’re a mutant. We are the chosen race. Destined to sit at the top of the world………." The idiot kept rambling for what felt like ages.

Theodore Wellspring was building a rapport with the man in the hoodie. He knew that, in his present situation, that was all he could hope for. That, or the X-Men burst in and rescued him.

‘This is the real world not some comic book-’

He remembered the words of his departed friend.

‘That’s right I can’t get my hopes up, this isn’t a cartoon. My survival isn’t guaranteed!’

"......That’s why we’re so superior. It’s only natural. The weak have to follow the rules of the weak. That’s how it’s always been!" Pyro finished his rant.

"Okay but….if that’s the case then why do you need to eliminate humanity. Couldn't you just impose your will on them, that is if you are truly 'strong'."

Pyro grunted at that but said nothing to contradict him.

"What…?"

"....." He was still reluctant to talk.

‘God this guy is more edgy than an emo!’

He changed tactics and tried to provoke him a bit more,

"What? Don't tell me you don't think you can take on humanity without using my powers!"

"SHUT THE FUCK!" John Allerdyce shouted back.

'Ooh he didn't like someone questioning his manliness.'

The outburst scared him for a brief second but then he remembered they still needed him alive. At least for the foreseeable future.

Theodore kept quiet for a few seconds, looking down, avoiding any provocations. Once it looked like Pyro wasn't nearly as angry as before, he asked,

"Then why don’t you do it…why do you need me? I thought you believed that you were superior to them. Why don’t you fight them head on?"

Pyro clenched his jaw and glared at him, "You think I don’t know what you’re doing? Huh… You think I’m that stupid. You think I'd lose control and free you. If you think that then you've got another coming!"

"Oh no...I know I’m fucked either way... It’s just funny, you know? You guys preach all this superior race crap, but then you kidnap a teenager because you’re too much of a pussy! If you're that powerful, then prove it. Conquer them the old fashioned way!"

"ENOUGH!" Flames flared out of his mouth, he looked like a tiny dragon.

"Then answer me, why are you hiding like a rat? In a dirty fucking warehouse that smells like shit!" He pushed the envelope even more.

John Allerdyce walked slowly to where he was, his hands were on fire but he didn’t look in pain.

He walked up to him, stood an inch away from his face, and said, "Say that again... I dare you…no I double dare you motherfucker!"

‘Oh great he was quoting Sam Jackson now! Great!’

"I was just asking…if we were so special then why don’t we just fight them and take over. Why do we have to play dirty games to win this war?"

This had the expected effect of calming him down. He had a feeling if he pushed little John too much, he might get seriously burned. Literally!

John Allerdyce walked back to where he had been before and sat down on the ground. He silently contemplated for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, "You think I don’t want that? I don’t want to go all out and wipe those rodents from the face of this planet."

Theodore remained silent as he heard Pyro speak.

"I wanted to fight them…I wanted to go to war but he…he thinks that’s not smart!"

John Allerdyce explained himself even further,

"Do you know what my ability is? I can control fire. Yeah…I’m an elemental. I am blessed with the power of the gods….I don’t want to win this way….on the run like this…"

He continued,

"I want to prove myself... I want to burn this blight on our species….I don’t want to win like this!" He said emphatically.

‘Just a bit more…just a bit more and I’ll bring him to my side! Once he frees me, I’m getting the hell out of here.’

"So-" Theo started to talk but was interrupted when another person stepped inside the room,

"Your shift’s done kid." A burly man entered the room. He was wearing some kind of fur over his shoulder.

‘Wait a minute...that’s-’

"Oh thanks Sabretooth…I’ll be back in another two hours then.." Saying that Pyro left the dusty warehouse.

‘Shit…I was so close to flipping him!’

Sabretooth stared at him blankly,

"So…uh...what’s up?" Theo asked the giant man.

Sabretooth responded by flashing his fangs.

It didn’t seem like he was the talkative type.

‘I have to wait till they switch again. But I don’t think I can last for another two hours without food.’

He had to endure hunger and pain until the right opportunity presented itself.

Until then, he had to stay awake.