daybreakacademy | hollow plots and zombens

Oh god. How long has he been waiting to hear something like that? Months? And of course his aunt had said much the same thing, but he hadn't told her the truth. Nobody here got the whole story. Maybe because he was scared of the reaction he would get. If they would blame him as much as he blame himself, or - worse, if they'd try to absolve him of it ...

Tears start to stream down his face. He's barely aware of them, save to swipe at the ones that blur his vision. "I still should have come back. I could have saved you. I have to save you now." He reaches out again, despite Ben nudging him back. "I - I can't kill you. Please."

That last part comes out as a desperate little whisper. If that's the only to keep Ben from reverting again ... then he has to, doesn't he? There has to be another way. There has to be. He's fought all this time just to have a chance at this, and now he can't save his uncle? No.

"That thing would have torn you apart if you'd been there any earlier, Pete. No way in hell I'd stand by and watch that happen to my kid." He stopped trying to back away, but he had a tough time meeting Peter's eyes. "You were exactly where you were supposed to be, exactly when you were supposed to be there. But I would have given anything to spare you what you saw."

He sighed. It would have seemed gruff to anyone who didn't know the old New Yorker, but he was just weary. "Then you'll have to think of a different way to contain me. You're a smart kid. Figure it out. And if you can't, don't feel too bad about it, all right? You're too young to live the rest of your life swimmin' in regrets."

The giant arachnid body shuddered and he grimaced. "There's more. You're in danger. The thing that did this to me is still out there, and it's going to make more monsters out of innocent souls."

Orihime blinked, and her brow furrowed. He was transformed...?

"And it's gonna come for you, Pete. It's no coincidence that it tracked me down, you're the real target here. Whatever power your soul's got, it wants it."

He didn't realize how desperately he missed his uncle until he hears him, finally. The tears aren't stopping any time soon; he just sort of struggles to deal with them, swiping at his face every few seconds and trying not to make a complete mess out of himself. "I still could have done something," he says. "I'm really strong now, Uncle Ben. I've helped other people."

And he hopes that makes his uncle proud, or at least a person that his uncle would approve of. It just hurts knowing he can hardly do anything here. Being able to punch a hole in the wall doesn't help when the problem isn't a wall. He has to contain Ben, or heal him, or ...

He straightens a little too when Ben continues on. That - what? That's new information, isn't it? He'd thought this was a one-time thing that just showed up to hurt him personally. "You weren't like this on your own?" he asks. The answer is obvious, sure, but he has to echo it just to kind of get his thoughts in order. "So - so it did this to you. That means we can undo it."

He's completely skipping over the part where he, personally, is in danger here. Peter Parker is in a life-threatening situation? Must be Tuesday.

Anyway, he turns to Orihime. Hating to ask her for anything else when she's already done so much for him, but - but he's desperate, and he knows his own powers aren't the right tool for the job. He might manage a rune shield like what Bumblebee taught him, but that's not going to fix Ben. "Can you heal him? Can we undo it?"

He doesn't dare hope, but. He's going to try.

Orihime was clearly thinking the exact same thing. Her eyes darted to Peter's when he turned to her. She looked at Ben and put a hand over her mouth. "...I'm not sure. It's risky. I might wind up only healing his wounds, and the mask might come back too." Her focus was healing, but she'd found that she could fix migraines too. She looked at Peter's clothes, noting that there wasn't a stitch out of place. Hadn't they been torn up before she used her powers on him? That wasn't healing, was it?

She looked to Ben, who was looking at her, then Peter.

"What the hell, give it a whirl, kid," he puffed with a pained laugh. "I can't keep control much longer anyway."

Orihime looked to Peter. Ultimately, this was his decision. She knew what the answer would be, but still, she wanted to make sure he was prepared. "I can try it. Is that okay?"

They might just undo all of their progress, it's true. But - here at the end of all things, Peter is willing to try anything. Anything at all.

"Please, yeah," he says, scrubbing at his face again. "If we put the mask back, I'll just - have to do this again." And then kill Ben, probably. Anything is worth risking for this. He just wishes he could do it instead of her; he's afraid of exhausting her past her limits. After this, he owes her absolutely anything and everything, regardless of whether it works or not.

He turns back to Ben, then, reaching out a hand again. Voice wavering. "Just hold on. Please, Ben. Until we can try this."

"Yeah. You got it. Keep talkin', your voice is helping to keep me anchored."

Orihime nodded once. She didn't try to get to her feet; she didn't need to stand to use her abilities, and she was tired. But this was important. Whatever his uncle had become, it could hurt a lot more people.

But more than that, she wanted to give Peter the closure he never got to have. If he had to literally kill his uncle... She couldn't bear to even think about the expression on his face if he had to do something so horrible.

"Shun'ou, Ayame." She squared her shoulders as she summoned the two spirits to her side. Her hands lifted and they moved to hover at both ends of Ben's abomination of a body. She couldn't fail at this. "I reject."

The gold light spanned into place, flickering at first, then strengthening with a soft glow as Orihime poured all of her soul and willpower into her shield.

She could feel that taint pushing back, fighting her. Whatever did this, it had done so with a fierce determination and willpower of its own. It made her angry just thinking about it. The real monster had hunted down Peter's uncle, twisted him, forced him to attack his own family.

For what?

Her brow dipped further as she frowned and tapped into that anger. It was completely unforgivable. All of it.

Concentrating, she shoved mentally back at the encroaching inky wrongness that seemed to poison the air and thicken it with darkness. And the source...the source...it was coming from the hole in Ben's body. She tightened her focus on that one spot and gave one good, solid push.

The invisible membrane burst, and the toxic miasma seemed to scatter. Black mist rose from the spidery legs, thin wisps at first, then thickening into plumes as the monstrous form was peeled back from reality and dispatched at her behest. Ben's agonized face, eyes closed, suddenly lost the taut lines of pain as he sighed.

With one last shuddering ripple, the spider creature was gone, and there was nothing left.

Just an old man laying face down on the rooftop, his graying hair stirred by the breeze. His finger twitched, and he slowly, slowly, lifted his head with a weary blink. "Well. Well I'll be..." His arms shook with effort as he struggled to rise. "You kids did it."

"YaaAaAaAayyyy..." Orihime smiled, her voice quavering. That was the last bit of power she had. As Ben rose, she toppled, completely exhausted.

Keep talking, huh. Okay. He can do that. There's not much he can do from the supernatural side of things, so he'll have to hold down the fort on the mundane side. He starts to talk in the background, then. Babbling at first. Talking about May, how much they miss him. The school ... and that loops him back to his powers, the Avengers, all of that. Normally he'd be going through it slow, trying to gauge his uncle's reaction to all this craziness, but now isn't the time. He'll just flow through it instead, all at once. And maybe if his uncle can focus on the good that Peter has done, how much he took Ben's words to heart ... Thats's some kind of healing too, right? If he can give Ben enough strength to hold on until Orihime's done, then maybe this will work.

(If nothing else, he's getting it all off his chest. All the things he wanted to say to his uncle but never got to. All of the things he wanted Ben to see but couldn't show him. Words are a poor substitute, but they are everything to him right now. He'll cling to them with everything he has.)

He can't quite see what Orihime is doing, but he can see the progress she's making. The legs retracting, the mass receding, the monstrosity folding back in on itself and disappearing - until it's just Ben. Just his uncle in front of him, not alive, but - but whole for a moment. He can only stare for a split second, his mouth finally gone dry.

And then Orihime just about faints next to him, oops. He moves to catch her, carefully laying her down on the roof. Here, he'll grab this ruined suit she made for him. That'll have to do for a pillow. He's really, really, worried for her, and he really really wants to say thank you, but -

But he gets the feeling he doesn't have much time. As soon as he's sure she's okay, he stands, carefully. And then throws his arms around his uncle, a small sob escaping him at last.

If ever the theoretical question was asked, "Can ghosts cry?" The answer was evident in the tears that leaked down Ben's face, tracing the wrinkles as he held his nephew, his kid, in his arms. His veined and calloused hand slapped at Peter's back as he just held him for a little while.

"You're all right, Pete. You're all right. I'm fine." He cradled the back of Peter's head, rocking him as if he were just five years old all over again.

"Come on, let me get a look at you." He drew back just enough to look at Peter and smiled. "'Ey, look at those handsome Parker genes comin' through." He gave his cheek a friendly clap. "You eating okay? Getting along with your teachers?"

He feels physical enough. If this is an illusion it sure is convincing; if it's only temporary, then it's enough for him right now. How many times has he wished for this exact thing? All he ever really wanted was a few more minutes with his uncle, just to hug him again and show him how far he's come in these past few months. He leans against Ben hard for a moment, at least until his uncle draws back to take a look at him. Then he rubs at his eyes, trying to smile through the tears.

(He is smiling, but - oh, this aches too. Pain and relief in equal measures.)

"'Course I am," he says with a little bit of a laugh. "You oughta see it. The cafeteria here is nuts." This probably isn't the most important thing they need to discuss right now? But he clings to the relative normalcy of it all. "Teachers are fine too. Though. Uh." Here a guilty look passes over him. "I've definitely pissed off two RAs. And I'm definitely out past curfew tonight."

But he's mostly made up with Imelda, he thinks, and Bee will understand for tonight. Besides, is it really late any more? He's been out so long that the horizon is starting to pink.

"Curfew, again? Pete, you're killin' me here!"

...

...

"Poor choice of words. Come on, buddy." He ruffled his hair, pushing his hands against his knees as he stood. "Hurrrrrgh you think you wouldn't have aching joints in the afterlife, but here we are. Let's put your little friend to bed. Sun's almost up, ghosts don't do real well when it's bright out. I know we got a lot of ground to cover. A lot. So I've gotta fade out and rest soon, but I'll be back tonight. You gonna be all right?"

Yeah, thanks for that Ben. He chokes a little, kind of pained? It's way too soon for Ben to make those kinds of jokes; good thing it's soon enough for Peter to still be hanging off his every word.

But - Ben says something that makes Peter forgive him instantly. "You can come back?" he says, his face brightening with the glow on the horizon. "If I'm gonna see you again, then - then I'll be fine, I promise." More than fine really. A little guilty that he let Orihime just flop on the roof if this wasn't gonna be his only conversation with his dead uncle, but. He'll start making up for that now. Gently, very gently, he stoops to pick her up princess style, still using the suit to cushion her head in his arms.

It was an accident! He wasn't used to being alive and actually being able to speak with someone, let alone his own family. He kept a steadying hand on Peter's shoulder in case he needed the support to pick up the girl, but Peter was more than strong enough. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Yeah, I'll come back. That's a promise." He walked forward, his legs stiff. Whatever this 'body' was, it was worn out from the night's activities.

But he was able to hug his nephew again. That was something he didn't think he'd ever do again.

Hey, he's got this. Did he mention the super strength in his babble earlier? Eh, maybe. He'll forgive Ben for not remembering though; he hardly remembers himself.

He nods, though, bowing his head for a moment. "All right," he says. "I'm holding you to it, okay? So - so don't hold out on me." He'll understand if it takes Ben some time to figure out wtf is going here, or needs to rest after all that, or - any of that really. As long as he gets to see Ben again at some point. That's enough for him.

His nephew, the superhero. That was going to take some getting used to. He escorted Peter across the roof as the sun edged further up over the Alps. Down the stairs, step by step, his form began to fade. By the time Peter reached the landing, he was alone save for the unconscious Orihime in his arms.

But even if he couldn't see Ben, his uncle was there to watch over him.

God, okay. Even knowing Ben isn't gone - even knowing there's no way he hallucinated any of this - he has to kind of stop as Ben fades to nothing next to him. Take a deep breath, try not to cry. He can't wipe at his face with Orhihime in his arms, and he'd rather not get her shirt wet here.

So he braces himself instead, and carefully heads back downstairs. It's about then that he realizes he doesn't know what room she's in? That. Hmm. His room has a spare bed, of course, since he still doesn't have a roommate? It's probably weird to take a girl to his room while she's unconscious like this. But given the alternative is leaving her in the common room ... yeah. Okay. Back to his room, then. He'll lay her down onto the spare bed carefully, then retreat to his own. It's been such an agonizingly long night. He'll watch her for a moment, to make sure she's all right, but before long he's slumped awkwardly on his own bed, fast asleep.

It was a long while before Orihime had regained enough strength to stir. Her fingers twitched toward her palm, and her lashes shivered. Slowly she cracked her eyes open as sunlight leaked through the window and onto her face. It was warm...

And this scent...

Her half-opened eyes stared silently at the ceiling as she slowly became aware of the sound of breathing. This room...this wasn't her room, but she recognized it. It was...

...

She sat up on her elbows with a start, her face burning. Then her gaze fell on Peter's sleeping face, and her startled expression relaxed. He was okay. Thank goodness...!

But that didn't seem like a comfortable sleeping position! She chuckled quietly against her knuckle, then sat up a little more. He must have been exhausted in every possible way. Where did he keep his spare blankets? She didn't want him to catch a cold...

He had been sitting up, so now he's just kind of slumped over to one side, face down against the bed in the least attractive position possible. Like a champion really.

There's a closet in here somewhere, probably? But fortunately she doesn't have to get him anything. As soon as she starts moving around, he jolts a bit, blinking his eyes blearily. Someone in his room? He doesn't have a roommate, so why - oh. Orihime.

"What time is it?" he says, rubbing at his face. Thank goodness it's a Saturday or he could be in some trouble. "Are you okay?"

If he'd been conscious, she probably would have complimented him on his super cool sleep-dive position.

She twitched guiltily and froze in place when he woke up. Her foot hadn't even touched the floor, so it must have been the creak of the mattress springs, she figured.

"Anou...just a little before midnight," she replied, turning her wrist to look at the watch strapped on next to the web shooter.

...That didn't sound right. She shook her arm a little then lifted the watch to tap at its face.

"...I accidentally lied. I'm not sure! But I'm okay," she promised him. "What about you?"

He's got real sharp hearing, okay. And after last night he's a little bit twitchy even the slight noises of someone sitting up. Probably a good thing he doesn't have a roommate yet? Anyway.

"Midnight?" He ... turns towards the window, which currently has bright sunlight streaming through it. Yeah. Uh. No offense, Orihime, but your watch is probably wrong. It seems like noonish? Maybe a little earlier or later? Not dawn or sunset for sure, which is about all he can figure out just by looking at the light. Anyway.

Despite the horrors of last night, he's in surprisingly good shape, thanks to her healing. No injuries or ruined clothes. He could use a shower probably? But at least he's not covered in blood. "I'm - I'm okay," he says brightening as he remembers last night. "It worked. You saved him."

And he's going to keep seeing his uncle now, which is still sort of beyond belief.

That was the one thing she was most worried about. His uncle had seemed okay before she toppled over, but she didn't see the aftermath or hear what his uncle had to say. She relaxed, her smile gentle as she shook her head.

"You saved him too. I couldn't have done that on my own." She was sure he would have lost control and started thrashing before she could finish reverting the transformation, not to mention their teamwork to pull off the mask.

She eased herself back down, still weary, and turned onto her side so she could still face him as they spoke.

"I'm relieved, though. Thank you for looking after me."

He'll accept teamwork, sure. But he's also 100% sure he wouldn't have been able to bring his uncle back to this state without her actively healing him. Being an undead ghost is worlds better than - whatever that had been. Transformed. Taken over by ...

Well, he doesn't know. Something horrible behind all of this. He settles back on his own bed more comfortably this time, leaning his head back against the wall. "Course," he says. "I wasn't gonna leave you on the roof. Are you sure doing all that didn't hurt you?"

She sure did pass out last night, which is concerning.

"Mm," she moved her head, and smiled. "I'm just tired. I haven't used my powers like that in a long time." And she definitely hadn't known she could reverse something like that.

Speaking of, she should go downstairs to her own bed. Tatsumaki was going to worry if she woke up to find Orihime hadn't even slept there.

But his uncle had given that warning. You're the real target. Hadn't that been it? Maybe this wasn't really proper, but it was noon, and they weren't in the same bed, so... She could at least make sure he wasn't alone until he was better rested.

"...Sorry about your suit."

There's a lot of things he should probably talk about. Like what the hell is even going on here. If there's more of these monsters. If Ben might be turned again, or if there really is something after Peter specifically. Also, what the hell she can even do? He'd known about the shield and the healing obviously, but. These are some hidden depths.

But. First things first.

"Suit?" he asks, looking confused. "What suit?"

She's currently sitting on it, probably.

"I left it on the roof," she admitted. "I was going to show you the finished product, but you got attacked, and I pretty much lost track of the suit. I'll go get it later, I probably need to wash it first anyway."

And make repairs, if she could. It got stabbed pretty thoroughly with that one dagger-like leg, she might have to pick up more fabric and replace some parts entirely. There was still plenty of time before the ball, though. It would be okay.

"You can sleep some more if you're tired," she offered. "I won't leave until you wake up."

He's very tired, it's true, but since he's awake now it seems a shame to just go straight back to sleep. Also, given his sleeping problems? He's pretty sure if he sleeps through the day he's going to just end up nocturnal.

"I'm all right," he says. "Not, like, great, but." Good enough for now. His gaze drifts to the bed she's on and ... oh, wait. She said she left it on the roof? And he did pick something up and bring it down. "Was it in a package? Like ... uh, that?"

He points to the one that's been serving as an impromptu pillow for her.

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