The captain lunged at him, his blows faster now — he was done being gentle, done trying to show Peter that his methods were wrong. But Peter had crossed that line a long time ago.
"I'm not holding back," the captain warned.
"Neither am I," Peter replied.
They started to fight. Punches and kicks were dodged by both.
Peter began to retreat, which allowed the captain to land a few hits. He frowned and increased his speed. He threw a punch that the captain deflected, then countered with a blow to Peter's face, making him stagger. To avoid falling completely, Peter placed his hands on the ground and launched a kick that the captain dodged, seizing the chance to knee him in the abdomen. Peter spat out saliva and fell to the ground.
"I told you I wouldn't hold back," said the captain.
Peter looked at him angrily and quickly grabbed his ankle, pulling him down. He stood up and again grabbed the captain's ankle with force, slamming him against the ground.
He hurled him into a wall, smashing through it. The captain blinked several times, trying to process what had just happened, and with some difficulty, got up from the floor.
"He's definitely improved... he's surpassed me by a lot," the captain thought.
Without another word, he charged again. Blows were exchanged, and some landed on each other's faces.
He grabbed Peter by the torso and pushed him to the end of the hallway, sending them both crashing out of the building and into an alley. He backed away, and Peter quickly got back on his feet.
"It's not too late to stop this, Peter," the captain said.
"Nice words, Captain, but we both know that's not true," Peter said. "You're not walking away from the beating I'm about to give you."
He rushed forward and landed a knee to the abdomen that made the captain stumble. Without time to react, he took a blow to the head that knocked him to the ground.
"Damn it," he cursed internally. "Tsk."
He got up and charged at Peter, ignoring the pain in his abdomen. He dodged the attacks with agility and ease, which only frustrated the captain.
"Fucking Spider-Sense," he thought. "Maybe the hits I landed earlier were just dumb luck..."
Peter smiled when he saw his frustration. He dodged the last blow and grabbed him by the neck.
"The Spider-Sense is pretty useful."
"You're nothing without it," the captain taunted.
Peter frowned and, enraged, began punching him repeatedly in the face.
"Just like you without the serum," he retorted. "Remember this, Steve: what made you special came from a mere test tube. You're nothing but a lab rat," he said coldly.
Peter stopped punching and threw him across the street, slamming him into a car. His nose and lip were bleeding, but he still stood up, watching Peter approach slowly. He took a fighting stance.
"I could do this all day," he declared.
Peter smirked sarcastically, lunged at him, and the captain met the attack. They both landed punches on each other's faces.
Peter stepped back a little, and his Spider-Sense went off. He jumped, dodging a hook. As he landed, he looked to the left and saw Black Cat standing in the middle of the street.
"I'm supposed to be the villain here..."
"I'm not the villain."
"Murder isn't very heroic."
"Says the thief and traitor," he shot back.
Black Cat frowned.
"You always saw something good in me, Peter," she said. "And I know deep down you're still Spider-Man."
"Still Spider-Man," he repeated. "Why is it so hard for people to accept that I've changed?"
"Because you changed for the worse," the captain cut in. "You killed Norman, crossed a line you swore you never would. That's not the hero I knew."
"That hero died at Norman's hands," Peter declared. "You weren't there for me when I needed you most. None of you cared, and now… now you're doing this out of guilt."
"That's not tr—"
"Of course it is. You feel guilty for being late, for failing as heroes," Peter interrupted. "That's why you left the Avengers, Steve. Guilt pushed you to become a vigilante... isn't that right, Captain?"
Peter looked at Black Cat.
"And you haven't changed at all. You only came after me because I threatened your crime empire," he smirked. "You wanted revenge, but in the end, you couldn't go through with it just because it was me. What changed?" he asked. "What did you feel when you saw me again? Alive and whole. Happiness? Fear? Or anger?" he laughed cynically. "You felt nothing, because you never cared about me. You only liked Spider-Man."
"You're wrong," she growled. "I care about Peter Parker."
"And when did you realize that?" he asked. "Was it before or after I died?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought. I should kill you now to avoid problems later."
Black Cat began to tremble but still kept her eyes on Peter.
"I know you won't do it," she said firmly. "You just want to scare me — that's why you threw me off the building."
"And it worked... you're trembling."
The captain was about to say something, but a woman's scream stopped him. Peter frowned — he recognized the voice.
"Emma," he whispered.
...............
Emma collapsed to the ground — fighting Betsy, Jean, and Hope all at once was tough.
"You're such a bitch, Psylocke," Emma complained.
Betsy ignored her.
"Do you know what you're doing?" she asked. "Siding with a murderer?"
"He... he prefers the term anti-hero," Emma smiled.
"You lied to me," Hope cut in. "You said he was dead."
Emma stood up and looked at the girl.
"He asked me not to tell anyone, and that's what I did," she stated.
"Not even me?"
"Not even you," she confirmed. "It was his decision. I just supported my boyfriend's choice."
Jean was about to say something, but a repetitive sound, like a ticking bomb, echoed around them. She dove on top of Hope to shield her. The sound stopped and a smoke explosion spread through the area. Everyone coughed, and once the cloud dissipated, they saw him.
"Peter," the three mutants said.
"Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring the others.
"Just a few scratches," she replied. "Did you do it?"
"Yes, he's dead," he whispered.
"Master..."
Peter looked at Hope, who was now frowning and beginning to cry.
"You have a lot to explain," the little one said.
"I don't owe you any explanations," he replied. "I have my reasons, and that's all you need to know."
"Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" Betsy snapped.
Peter raised an eyebrow and ignored Psylocke, who grew indignant.
"Listen, Hope... there are things you don't understand," he said. "Things you shouldn't know — for your own good."
"That's stupid," she said louder. "I saw you die. I mourned you. I deserve an explanation." She sighed. "Everything you did was wrong. What happened to 'with great power comes great responsibility'?"
"Did I abandon my responsibility?" he shot back. "No, I'm still here. I just changed my methods, that's all."
"By killing," Betsy added.
"Look who's talking," Emma chimed in.
"Emma," Jean intervened. "Supporting Peter in this is—"
"He's an adult. He knows what he's doing," she cut her off. "I know what he's doing, too. That doesn't mean it's wrong," she clarified. "I've been with him for two years. To me, he's still the same, just with different methods."
"Wait until the Professor finds out," Psylocke threatened.
"I'm not afraid of Xavier, Psylocke," she replied. "Let's go, Peter. I think the police will be here soon."
"What happened?" asked Spider-Woman. "I went into the apartment you were in, saw the body. Did Peter really do it?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?" she asked.
"He heard someone named Emma scream and ran," Black Cat explained.
"Damn... maybe Betsy, Jean, and Hope overdid it," she growled.
"What took you so long?" asked the captain. "Cat got here before you."
"I fought Emma and then went to the apartment," she replied. "I think Peter wanted to torture the Goblin. This was in the closet," she said, handing over the crowbar.
"The Goblin was there before he was killed," the captain said, gripping the bar. "He's not Spider-Man anymore..." he whispered.
"So what do we do?" Black Cat asked.
"Nothing."
"What?" the two said.
"We can't force him to change, to go back to being Spider-Man," he said. "I think it's time to let him go."