Spider-Man BND fic: I Remember I Told You ‘I Love You’ (Peter/Felicia) (4/7)

[seriousfic]

Title: I Remember I Told You ‘I Love You’ (but it might’ve just been a dream)
Fandom: Spider-Man BND
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,827
Author’s Note: Betaed by lurkslikefox
Previous Part: Chapter 3
Next Part: Chapter 5
Characters/Pairings: Peter/Felicia, Norman Osborn, Dr. Strange, New Avengers, references to Peter/MJ
Summary: Dr. Strange teaches Mary-Jane more than she wants to know about her world.

The number Peter had given Mary-Jane wasn't listed in the phone book, but when Mary-Jane called, a man with a light Chinese accent did answer. "This is the residence of Stephen Strange. I am Wong. How may I assist you?"

"Yes, my name is Mary-Jane Watson…" She went on to explain her situation, feeling more and more foolish as she complained of what amounted to bad dreams and depression.

"Yes, that does sound troubling. It could be nothing, but it could be serious."

That narrows it down.

"I am not the master, I cannot say. But I'm sure Dr. Strange would like to meet with you as soon as possible. When is conductive to your scheduling?"

***

"You know, I've always wondered about this place." Felicia was referring to the home of Dr. Stephen Strange, now a condemned building with a banner proclaiming that a Starbucks would be replacing it soon.

"What? That it's been vacant for months and still no Starbucks?" Peter was wearing a suit of royal blue (he was at least half-right in his conviction that it looked good on him) but at Felicia's insistence it had been recut to accommodate his slightly upgraded musculature. It felt more than a little good to not be off the rack. He was very much on the rack.

"No, there's already a Starbucks across the street."

"Honey, it's Starbucks."

Arm in arm, they walked through a boarded-up door that opened, boards and all, at the touch of a hidden button. The inside was more dismal than the out, with dust and cobwebs everywhere.

"Cobwebs?" Felicia asked, careful to keep them out of her hair. "Really?"

"You know the Doc. Never skimps on the atmosphere. Now, there's a magic word that turns this into our super-secret headquarters…"

"You mean this dump really has supercomputers and shit?"

"No, we have throw rugs. Ahem… abra cadabra. Hocus pocus. Mumbo jumbo."

Nothing happened, only for more nothing to happen.

"Azarath metrion zinthos?" Felicia suggested.

Peter gave her a look.

"What?"

"Marry me."

"Won't that make us old fogies?"

"You make me feel younger than I can ever remember being."

"I make you feel like a fetus?"

"You know what I mean."

Her smile didn't belong in his world. "Yes, I do."

Wong, having entered behind them, cleared his throat. Peter noted the grocery bags and took them off Wong's hands.

"Wong, Felicia. Felicia, Wong. Wong is the Doc's sidekick"

"That's correct. Only the word is manservant."

"And it's funny you should come by—"

"I live here."

"—because I was just wondering if you could teach Felicia the magic word, as she is my girlfriend."

"I hadn't noticed."

"So it's cool if she knows the magic word? Because Jess 2 knows the magic word and all she does is up our rating to TV-MA."

"Everyone swears, Peter," Felicia said. "(Jess 2?)"

"(Jessica 1, Spider-Woman. Jessica 2, Jewel.) And she makes sailors blush. Her kid's first word was cocksucker."

"It was 'block trucker'," Wong corrected gently.

"(Jewel?)" Felicia asked.

"That makes no sense," Peter replied to Wong. "(Long story.)"

"Danielle is an infant."

"So does your real base have AC?" Felicia cut in.

"Wong?"

"Shuma-gorath."

"Shyamalan giraffe?" Felicia asked.

"I was lobbying for Klaatu Barada Nikto," Peter said.

The world was wavering, and then like a light had been switched on, it became a well-furnished room full of Avengers trying not to laugh. Once Peter and Felicia saw them, they stopped making the effort.

"Yeah, real cool guys. Let a guy forget the magic word in front of his girlfriend." Peter gave them two big sarcastic thumbs up. "Go team!"

"We were too busy enjoying the Hallmark moment," Clint said.

"You like shows?" Felicia had a gleam in her eye; it was the same as when she saw something she wanted to steal.

"Cat," Peter said warningly, but it was too late. She kissed him, and after a few seconds she wrapped her legs around his waist for good measure. She didn't hop off him even after the kiss was over, preferring to shoot a smug look over Peter's shoulder at Clint.

"Damn," Cage said. Jessica elbowed him in the ribs, hurting her elbow.

"So where's the good doctor?" Felicia asked, looking around shiftily.

Peter set her down with his back to the Avengers so they couldn't hear. "You're not still sore about those superpowers we removed, are you? Because I apologized. There was making-up sex. You can't go back on making-up sex."

"You know I've forgiven you for that."

"Well, good."

"It's Strange who should've known better. He's a doctor! He's supposed to be smart!"

Peter turned before Felicia could really get going. "Now, if we can all move past my love life…"

"You've got a little something," Logan pointed.

Peter wiped the lipstick from his mouth with the back of his hand. "If we can all move past my somewhat active love life…"

"Somewhat?" Felicia repeated dubiously.

"Gee, Brain, what're we going to do tonight?" Peter asked loudly of Cage.

***

"Scratch one Thunderbolts payroll, courtesy of the original new Avengers and the brilliant Black Cat."

Felicia lounged into Peter's apartment, pulling down the zipper on her catsuit. Peter followed after her, wearing an overcoat and hat over his costume. He'd taken off his gloves and mask, and galoshes covered his booties.

"I still say you should've used a different costume," Peter said. "You're registered. If anyone had even seen you…"

"No one would recognize me with my zipper up. Hey, where's Maxie?" The kitten rubbed up against Felicia's leg and she delightedly picked him up. "Look how big she's gotten!"

"Maybe you could keep her company on a more permanent basis," Peter suggested casually as he began to strip off his costume.

Felicia watched his naked back flex. "I'm intrigued, yet savvy."

"It's just that if you were here on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis, you could help clean his litterbox… make sure I remember to feed him."

She slapped at him. "Asshole, that's dirty pool!"

Peter caught her hand by the wrist. "C'mon, you're gonna make us late to the party. I wanna rub this in Norman's face while he can't do anything about it."

"Except rat you out to the government."

"And how would he explain knowing that? He might as well confess to being the Green Goblin. Besides, he wants me all to himself."

"I can sympathize."

***

Strange was dressed in a business suit, his overcoat and age the only things setting him apart from the horde of yuppies that had descended upon the coffee joint. But there was something about him too, something that took aback anyone who got in his way. He easily slid through the crowd and brought Mary-Jane a cup of coffee.

They sat and drank in a quiet little corner that no one else even seemed to notice.

"Are you aware of the mystical world, Miss Watson?"

"I believe there's a heaven… and, hey, Thor."

"It's slightly more complex than that." Strange sipped his tea. "The world you see, hear, smell, touch, is only the surface. Below is the context, the history, the depth if you will. It's what separates an apple from a picture of an apple from an apple carved out of wood. Metaphysically, you'd call it an aura."

"I already take yoga classes," Mary-Jane said, smiling.

"Indeed." Strange sipped his tea again. "The symptoms you describe could be conventional ills, or otherworldly. If otherworldly, the simplest explanation would be that they spring from an imbalance of your chakras, which can be brought about by damage to your chi. Think of it as the flipside of post-traumatic stress disorder. Have you been through any trauma lately?"

"No, not really. I mean, symbiote bombs, Skrulls, what have you, but I'm a New Yorker."

"Yes, this would hit closer to home. With your permission, I would like to scan your aura."

"Right. And Wong takes pictures?"

"It is purely on the metaphysical level. I'll use this." He drew an amulet out from under his vest. There was a stylized carving of an eye in it. "All you have to do is empty your mind for a moment. The process is completely noninvasive."

"Alright. Just so long as it makes these goddamn nightmares stop."

Strange picked up the amulet and held it between them at eye-level. "Nightmares are easy. It's life that's hard to… by the hoary hosts…" The amulet clattered to the tabletop.

"Who you callin' hoary?" Mary-Jane joked, trying to break the tension. She didn't succeed.

"Your aura is… caved in. I've never seen anything like this. Are you sure you haven't been through any trauma?"

"Well, I broke up with my boyfriend, but that was months ago…"

"To leave this kind of gap, Peter must've been your whole life…"

"He wasn't." Mary-Jane frowned. "If we'd meant that much to each other, he would've put a ring on my finger instead of some bullshit about civil unions…"

"Miss Watson, I would like to conduct a more thorough examination."

"Yeah. Right. I know Peter vouches for you and all, but I…"

Strange sipped his tea again, and when he set it down it was empty. Then MJ watched a little drop of tea at the bottom of the cup expand to fill it up to the rim. Strange touched his teacup and steam hissed out of the dark liquid. He took another sip.

"I do hate to alarm you, but I fear the only way your aura could sustain this much damage would be for your life, your very soul, to have been… the only term for it is violation. An affront to the natural order of things, a blow to the light by its mere existence. I don't want money, and I already have a girlfriend. Please believe me when I tell you that the situation will only deteriorate until it is resolved."

Mary-Jane pressed a hand to the side of her head. "Goddamn it, this is why I left Peter. I can't deal with this crap. Okay, fine. Let's get this over with."

***

"I feel like I'm getting ready for a quiz show," Felicia said, undoing her hair and redoing it for the tenth time. "So, Harry Osborn—spaz, part-time villain, neurotic even by your standards…"

Peter adjusted his bow-tie. "He's a lot more confident these days. I think Prozac is involved."

"And his dad's Norman Osborn, of topics too sensitive to bring up here. How do they get along?"

"You ever seen Smallville?"

"I'm always in bed by eight… and asleep by twelve!"

"Insomnia?" Peter's eyebrow gave the lie to the innocent question.

Felicia finished her braiding and looked at herself in the mirror. "God, I'm hot. So, this is the same Harry that died and came back to life under mysterious circumstances? I'm not thinking of Harry Potter here?"

Peter suddenly remembered his cufflinks. He'd specifically bought some for the occasion, now where'd they gone? "His circumstances weren't mysterious, we just don't like talking about it."

"Like his wife and kid?"

"See, I'm glad you're getting this all out here instead of at the dinner table."

"Pardon me for having a thing about parents abandoning their children. My dad didn't have a choice in the matter."

Peter sighed and massaged her bare shoulders. "I'm not asking you to like him. Just be polite, charming, funny…"

"Be myself then. Got it."

He kissed the side of her head. "And remember to hate him when he tries to make you ex-wife number seven."

"With hair like his? I think I'll be able to resist his charms." She began spraying herself with perfume. Peter stood clear.

“You know, you don’t need that to smell beautiful.”

Felicia laughed. “Why is it I find it so much more romantic when you fail to be romantic than when other people succeed?”

“It must be love,” Peter offered slyly.

They left it at that, clinging to the edges of their smile and the lilt of their words.

***

The party was everything Felicia was and everything Peter wasn't. What consoled Peter was that there was a dark side of her that only Peter knew. She would just as soon steal diamonds as buy them. They were both misfits. He just stood out more.

The last time Harry had celebrated his birthday, Peter had just broken up with Mary-Jane. He liked to think he and Felicia had grown since then. Harry sure hadn't. The waitresses were as scantily-clad as ever.

"Tell me again why he's been divorced nine times?" Felicia asked sweetly as she took wine from a bunny (who she nonetheless smiled flirtatiously at).

"He hasn't been… not nine times." Peter spotted Harry's current trophy wife. She didn't look too happy. "Not yet."

Harry clapped his hands for attention. "Ah. There's the hero of the hour!" He swept by Peter to clasp Norman's arm. Peter hadn't seen him in the dark, lurking. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on the Thunderbolts apprehending Dusk. A grateful city thanks you."

It was only Peter's acute senses that let him hear Norman whisper "I can already smell the booze on your breath." Everyone else only heard Norman's next words. "Happy birthday, Harry."

Felicia squeezed his hand and whispered in his ear. "So, including Harry, how many of your acquaintances have died and come back to life? I know dead friends are your angst d'être, but… let me think… Harry, Norman, MJ, Gwen…"

"That was a clone. Doesn't count."

"…Aunt May…"

"Genetically modified actress."

"…Doc Ock, the Jackal, Stromm, Daredevil… face it, tiger, knowing you is a better life insurance policy than All-State."

"Please don't call me that."

"Tiger? I thought everyone…"

Peter's look was enough to tell her that it was only Mary-Jane, that it had only ever been Mary-Jane.

***

"I'm starting to feel a little silly," Mary-Jane said as Wong looped another large bracelet around her arm.

"They're to protect you against magical influx," Wong said.

"Huh?"

"Think of them as circuit breakers," Strange muttered distractedly. He was paging through a thick tome. "For the last few months I've been investigating a dramatic shift in ambient magical energy. Directionless, true, but spread through all planes of existence. It's as if all of reality were…"

"Screwed?" Mary-Jane suggested.

"Yes, I suppose so. There is an enormous concentration of this diametrically-shifted energy about you, and…" He picked up a crystal ball and showed it to her. Inside was a… "Is this your house?"

"No, it's Aunt… it's Peter's aunt May's house."

"It shouldn't exist. No aura, no mana… it's like a 3D model showing up in a computer game without any coding in the program!"

"Do you ever run out of metaphors?"

"I've had a long time to come up with them." Strange shook the crystal ball again, much like a magic 8-ball. "And this woman?"

"That's Aunt May."

"She should be dead," Strange announced coolly.

"What?" Mary-Jane was stunned, jaw dropped stunned.

Strange contemplated the crystal ball like Hamlet with Yorick's skull. "This woman's time on Earth has expired, yet she remains. Her soul should've moved on by now. It's the cycle of life and death… and it's been broken."

"No, I mean… what?" Mary-Jane stripped off all the bangles and leis they'd hung on her. "May Parker is one of the sweetest, the kindest, the most caring…"

"Wong!" Strange started for the bookshelves. "It's impossible to turn away the hand of death, correct?"

"With rare exceptions…"

"But to defy death itself?"

"Impossible. All who have tried have failed."

"I think there is a way. An unspeakable way… it would take a chaos engine, driven by the soul of a hero…"

"Such a thing would be a blasphemy, an abomination."

"And try as I might to hope no one would be so monstrous as to attempt it…" Strange skittered up a ladder with the agility of a man half his age and grabbed a book. He tossed it down to Mary-Jane. "Page five hundred and ninety-three."

"Look, I don't think you're getting my point…"

"Open the book, Miss Watson."

MJ thumped the book down on a table and threw it open. What she was wasn't words. It was names. They flexed and wailed and shrivelled up like faces. She reached out to touch one and all of the names buzzed around her hand. "What is this?"

"Limbo. A place to which the souls of those lost in life are translated." Strange was suddenly beside her. "Your actions have condemned them there. That is how they recognize you."

"I don't like your tone," Mary-Jane said quietly.

"My tone. You don't like my tone." Strange slammed the book shut. "The soul is inviolate, Miss Watson! It cannot be molested, harmed, destroyed. The will of God Himself, of all gods and all devils, of the living universe in all its splendor, protects the soul from everything I've seen today! To do this… to create this obscenity… someone would have to willingly splinter their soul."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why indeed, Miss Watson?" He turned away from her. "I don't know if I can fix this. I had no idea anyone possessed this kind of power. And then to use it, not to reshape the world, not to rule the cosmos, but for something as simple as… I didn't notice. The devil is in the details, Miss Watson. And now he's won."

"I don't believe you."

"I truly apologize. I can't help you."

"You're full of shit." Mary-Jane pointed to the door. "My friend is having a birthday party. I'm going to it. You can just… just keep your conspiracy theories and your mumbo jumbo, because I'm out. I don't know what con you're running, but…"

"Miss Watson, do not try my patience. Something you were involved in has altered the past. May God have mercy on your soul. What's left of it, at any rate."

***

Peter sipped champagne as Felicia provoked Norman's flop sweat with a grilling on the investigation into the payroll theft. Now that's entertainment.

"You and Felicia Hardy, eh?" Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "Geek-boy finally makes good. What is it with us and bad girls?"

"We like finding out they're really good." The music changed, as if cued by Peter's smile. "Ah, I probably owe her a dance."

Before he could reach her, Mary-Jane appeared in a little black dress that took Peter's breath away.

"Peter, we need to talk."

"Oh, it's the ex," Felicia cut in. "And how much do I like saying that? A lot."

"Oh, it's the slut. I'm going to borrow your boyfriend for a minute. Maybe you can think up some double entendres while we're gone. You're good at that." She dragged an eye-rolling Peter onto the dance floor.

"I'm glad you're handling this with such élan," Peter said acerbically.

"Shut up, Parker, this is serious. I went to Dr. Strange and he flipped out!"

Peter cocked his head seriously. "How so?"

"Scale of 1-to-10?"

"Scale of 1-to-Sauron."

"I wouldn't accept any rings from him."

"Maybe he and I should start a club," Peter ruminated, glancing over his shoulder at Felicia in a 'grin and bear it' sort of way.

"I don't like being tied down, I told you that. Not unless it’s worth my while. I deserve all of you, not just half. Of course, I see she’s the one who gets both Peter Parker and Spid—"

"And you're the one who's jealous!" he snapped. "We could've had a family by now."

"You're not exactly Mr. Mini-Van."

"Reed has a family. So do Scott and Jean, if time travel counts."

"And look what happened to them. To us."

"I'm sorry." Peter softened and pulled Mary-Jane a little closer. "Not like it even matters anymore. What'd Doc Strange say?"

"It didn't make any sense. Something about reality being altered because of me."

"This does seem like a dystopia at times. I'll talk to him, set things straight."

"Thanks… it's weird, isn't it?"

"Isn't what?"

"Despite everything, I still care about you." Mary-Jane rested her head against Peter's chest.

"That's not weird," Peter assured her.

"How would you know from weird?" Norman 'gently' brushed Mary-Jane aside. "Mind if I cut in?"

Peter was careful not to provoke the lunatic as Norman took his hands. This close, Peter could smell the crazy. There was something obscene in the way Norman rested his head on Peter's shoulder.

"I'd make a gay joke, but comparing you to a homosexual would automatically be a slur."

"People know I have urges. People like Gwen…"

"You can't prove any link between me and Spider-Man, the more resources you spend trying, the crazier you'll look."

"What makes you think I need proof? I'm not crazy!"

Those who had gotten used to two men dancing turned their heads anew at the outburst.

"I'm sorry, babe." Peter was so sarcastic he seemed to mock the very concept of contriteness. "Don't drop me off a bridge or anything."

Norman was taken aback for all of two seconds. Then he grinned ferally. "Now, Peter, I may have been disturbed back then, but we all know it was Spider-Man's fault for provoking me. After all, he's supposedly the sane one…"

Peter ground his heel into Norman’s foot, which only provoked a wider grin. “We both know why I hate you. But why are you still obsessed with me? Your son’s alive, you have power, respect… you’ve won. So why are you still hunting me?”

“Because it’s fun.”

Felicia interrupted before Peter did something he wouldn't regret at all. Somehow, she managed to make a champagne pyramid fall on Norman from across the room. Peter was able to step clear, although a fleck of wine landed next to his mouth. He licked it up. "Good year."

On the way home, Peter asked how Felicia had pulled it off. "I had help," she said. "Mary-Jane."

***

Norman went to the washroom as soon as he could. That had been… fun. Rare fun. But he had to take some pills now, otherwise he would be liable to embarrass himself.

In the mirror, he was wearing his mask. That was impossible, of course. He could feel warm, friendly flesh when he touched his cheeks. No Goblin. But how could he be sure it wasn't hiding under his skin? If only he had a knife…

Are you kidding me, Norman? That little twerp flashes his panties in your face and you dance with him? He's dating a blonde again, don't tell me you haven't noticed that!

"He's not important."

He's the only thing that's important! We'd just be some pathetic middle manager without him! We have to avenge Harry!

"Harry's fine. We've already won. We'll never top that, so just bow out gracefully. I win. I win." He laughed. "I'm the hero, he's the villain. Mustn't forget that. HEH! Great joke. Can't spoil it by killing him. Not just yet."

Comments

[wierdbot.livejournal.com]

Eek, I missed a few chapters. You update so fast! *flails*

I loved Dr. Strange; having the spiritual ramifications of Mephisto's soul-fuck explained really put things in perspective. And it also strengthened Marvel's explanation of how Mephisto wanted their marriage because it was TWU WUB and yaddi yaddi yadda... which I never bought. But the thing with the book and how all those people are dead because of the deal... it makes sense why Mephisto may want to do that.

Though I have to say, Mary Jane felt like a bit of a bitch in this chapter. Well, not so much a bitch as she was very... short. Not that I would blame her, what with the Doc going all "You've condemned all these souls even though you don't remember why. Oh, and it may have something to do with your ex who is now with THAT HUSSY THE BLACK CAT."

Ahem. Good chapter.

[hamartian.livejournal.com]

Chilling.

[hyperactivator.livejournal.com]

Norman and Peter danceing together.....

You are awesome and everything that Norman Osborn does is smarmy.

[htbthomas.livejournal.com]

The Dr. Strange sections were my favorite part by far -- I would think he would have detected this "wrongness" in the actual 616 (though I don't read 616 anymore, so I have no idea). And the whole series of interactions between Mary Jane, Wong and Strange were wonderful.