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Spider-Man Mayham (AU) Chapter 336: War of Hulk (2)
🕑 Added 2025-07-23 14:16:25 +0000 UTC[Third person POV]
Aria stepped forward with purpose and delivered a crisp military salute. Her voice was steady “What do you need me to do, Father? I am at your disposal.”
Peter met her gaze with a seriousness that settled over the room. “Your mission is simple on paper… but incredibly difficult to execute in practice,” he said, his tone grave. “You’re going to infiltrate the Leader’s base.”
“What?!” several voices rang out at once, overlapping in a chaotic wave of protest.
“Are you serious right now?!”
“Didn’t you hear what the Leader said? He’ll kill all of them without hesitation if he senses any foul play!”
“Aria’s strong, no one’s questioning that—but she doesn’t have much field experience!”
“This is reckless, there are a dozen things that could go horribly wrong!”
The atmosphere grew thick with concern and tension. Everyone in the room spoke from a place of care—especially for Aria—but their panic threatened to overshadow strategy. Peter remained still, letting the uproar wash over him for a few moments before calmly raising his hand.
Silence fell instantly.
“I understand where you're all coming from,” Peter began, his voice calm but firm, “and believe me, I wouldn't even consider this if we had any other viable option. But we don’t. That said, I want you to listen to everything I have to say before you pass judgment.”
There was still unease in the room, but they each nodded, giving Peter the floor.
“Aria,” he continued, turning to face her fully, “you possess the Mind Stone. That means your psychic abilities should be significantly enhanced—on a scale very few can rival. The question is: do you think you could conceal your psychic signature? Cloak yourself entirely so that even a powerful psychic like the Leader can’t detect your presence?”
Aria pursed her lips and scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. “I… don’t know. I’ve never had to hide myself before, not like that. It’s not something I’ve practiced. But the potential is there. I believe with enough training, I could pull it off.”
Peter gave a small nod of approval. “That’s good enough for me. We built the VR Capsule for a reason. You’ll be able to accelerate your training—run hours of simulations in mere minutes if needed. Time is limited, but we’ll make it work.”
He gestured toward MJ. “You’ll train with her. MJ will be your sparring partner and your benchmark. Her psionic sensitivity is excellent, and she’ll know if your concealment is working. I’m sure you already suspect what role I’m asking you to take in this operation.”
Aria’s eyes sharpened with realization and resolve. The spark of earlier enthusiasm had hardened into a burning sense of duty. “Yes. You want me to slip inside undetected, identify the people the Leader has mentally dominated, and take back control of their minds—one by one—without alerting him. You want me to bring them back.”
Peter nodded again, this time with pride. “Exactly. But don’t underestimate how dangerous this is. From what we seen it's obvious the Leader is a high-tier psionic—his mental defenses will be sharp, and his awareness even sharper. If he detects even a flicker of your presence, even the tiniest crack in your psychic disguise... he won’t hesitate. He’ll kill them all.”
“I know,” Aria said solemnly. “That’s what makes this so difficult. The mind is delicate—trying to reverse control without triggering alarms will be like walking a tightrope. But I’ll manage. I have to. I won’t let you down.”
Peter smiled, the expression faint but sincere. “I wouldn’t have chosen you if I didn’t believe you were the best person for this.”
Aria returned his smile, her eyes burning with determination and pride. Without another word, she turned to MJ. The two exchanged a nod of mutual understanding, then quickly made their way toward the VR Capsule, ready to begin their high-speed training session.
As they left the room, Peter stood quietly for a moment. Then, in a sudden gesture of weariness, he retracted his suit, letting it dissolve away. The freedom brought little relief—he still felt suffocated, like the air was too thin.
He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, slicking it back with a frustrated sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly.
“Are you feeling alright?” Gwen asked gently, stepping closer to him. Her brows furrowed with concern.
Peter remained silent for a few moments, then slowly shook his head. “No… not really. I’m exhausted. It just doesn’t end. One crisis after another. This day alone feels like it’s lasted a damn lifetime. First there was the meeting with Tony Stark… then the Sons of Satannish… then came that demonic hell-vulture thing. Then—just casually—I met God. And after that? Oh, just a battle with all of you, and finally Kraven. And now we’re dealing with the Leader’s mind games and who knows what else.”
He ran a hand down his face. “I haven’t had a second to breathe.”
“Yeah, about that…” Felicia said, looking around the room with wide eyes, “Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that you literally met God? Like, what the actual fuck was that about?”
Her voice cracked with disbelief, and her expression demanded someone else confirm she hadn’t hallucinated what she heard.
“I mean, come on,” she added, throwing her hands up. “You can’t just drop 'I met God today' and act like it’s normal! That’s not a thing people say!”
The others gave mixed chuckles and tired sighs, some nodding in agreement, but none could really deny it—it had been an absurd, chaotic, and overwhelming day.
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Gwen asked softly, her voice laced with concern as her eyes studied Peter’s face.
Peter didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he laced his fingers together tightly and rested his forehead against them, taking a long breath. “I suppose you could say so,” he muttered after a moment of silence. “It was something TOAA said to me… something that's been echoing in my head ever since. He told me that in my desperate attempts to control everything around me, the little things would inevitably slip through my fingers. I think… I think this is exactly what he meant.”
Lines formed on his forehead as he clenched his jaw, the weight of the situation bearing down on him. “Goddamn it… Bruce is never going to forgive me.”
“I already know what you're thinking,” Gwen said gently, moving closer to him, “but you can’t blame yourself for everything that’s happened—”
“Can’t I?” Peter snapped, cutting her off as his eyes locked onto hers with a burning intensity. “It was me who suggested that Betty spy on her father. I had an entire network of spider-bots at my disposal—machines that could’ve done the job with zero risk. But no… I wanted to feel more in control, to have a human element, to ensure nothing was lost in translation. And because of that decision, I placed Betty right in the middle of everything”
He leaned forward, his voice filled with guilt. “We have no idea what the Leader did to her while we were blindly assuming everything was fine. We’ve seen firsthand how little regard he has for human life—how quickly he’ll hurt or kill to make a point. And if something happened to Betty while she was under his thumb… that’s on me. No one else. I put her in that position. I made the call. If Bruce decides to hate me for the rest of his life, I honestly wouldn’t blame him.”
A heavy silence fell over the group as Peter leaned back into his chair, the weight of his remorse hanging in the air like a storm cloud.
“You can’t carry the burden of every outcome on your shoulders,” Gwen finally said, her voice calm but firm. “You had your reasons for involving Betty, and they weren’t careless. They were grounded in real concern. And looking at how things unfolded, you were right to be suspicious. Your instincts weren’t wrong. More importantly, Betty is not a child—she’s a grown woman, capable of understanding the risks she was taking. She knew what was at stake, and even after Bruce tried to stop her, she still made the decision to go. That wasn’t just on you.”
“She’s right, man,” Harry added, stepping in with a supportive nod. “You didn’t send Betty in there blind. You did everything you could to prepare her, to give her tools and knowledge to protect herself. What happened after that was out of your hands. And if anything, it proves that your instincts were spot-on.”
Felicia crossed her arms, nodding. “And let’s not forget—we don’t even know the full extent of what Betty’s been through yet. From what we do know, she’s alive. She’s not broken beyond repair. Whatever damage has been done, it can be reversed.”
Then Lizzy chimed in bluntly, shaking her head. “Yeah, no, Peter—Bruce is definitely going to hate your guts for this. We all know the man doesn’t play around when it comes to Betty. So unless you’ve got a plan to survive a Hulk smash, you better brace yourself.”
“Babes,” Harry said, shooting her a look. Gwen and Felicia both gave her equally sharp glances.
“What?” Lizzy said innocently, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m just being honest!”
Peter couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him. “Thanks. I appreciate the honesty… I think.”
Gwen raised an eyebrow at him, her voice dry. “You’re making it sound like we were being dishonest.”
Peter held up a hand in surrender. “I know, I know. And you’re all making good points. But none of that changes the fact that I’m absolutely not ready to face Bruce. Not by a long shot.”
As if on cue, the sound of the door opening drew all of their attention. Heads turned to see MJ and Aria entering the room. Aria walked with calm precision, and MJ wore a proud expression.
“She’s ready,” MJ announced. “To be honest, I was shocked. It got to the point where not even I could detect her with my Psionic Magic. She stood right in front of me, and it was like I was staring at a mirage. An illusion.”
Peter stood up, his demeanor quickly shifting back to leadership mode. “Good… then let’s get started. We’ll teleport Aria to a point just far enough from the target to remain undetected. From there, she’ll make her way toward the hidden military base. Her primary objective is to silently extract every operative stationed there. We’re evacuating what’s likely to become our next battlefield.”
“And while you’re there,” Gwen added, her tone sharp and strategic, “try to uncover anything you can about what we’re up against. Intel is everything. Your secondary objective is to gather surveillance and scout the area. Anything you learn could give us a critical edge.”
Peter nodded in agreement.
“Leave it to me,” Aria replied confidently, her eyes sharp and focused as she began preparing for the mission ahead.
