Spider-Man: Duty and Loss Chapter 39: Lost Control

"This is not going to work." The soft voice of Crystal sounded out as Peter finally came up to Felicia's apartment. "Bah, you worry too much, I think she'll laugh and be fine." "Mmmhhhm" If Peter could see Crystal's face and if she had one, he would see the skeptical look she gave him. Though he could tell from her voice what she thought.

Snorting once he finally knocked on the window on the balcony and waited. He marveled once again at how expensive this apartment must be, seeing as it was soooo high up and had a fricking balcony!

Sporting a tuxedo he had picked up at a salivation/homeless shelter on the way, he adjusted his cheap bowtie and stared at the sliding door leading outside. He had the Spider-Man costume on underneath which was an odd sight if one were to see him.

Finally after a few seconds of tapping on the window and waiting, Peter caught sight of Felicia opening a door and looking in his direction. Noticing him on the balcony she walked over slowly. Wearing a black dress that highlighted her figure, her face was blank as she walked up and let him in.

Finally getting inside he adjusted his bow tie and pulled out a flower from behind himself. Not having enough money to buy a full bouquet of flowers, this was the best he could do. Felicia's face was still blank.

*Cough* *Cough* "Honey I'm home! Sorry for being late, would you believe me if I said I was caught late at work?" Raising an eyebrow, giving a smile and watching her every move, it wasn't that effective as he still had his mask on.

Felicia still had the blank face for a few seconds before finally giving out a laugh. "Hahahah" Suddenly laughing and not stopping for a good 30 seconds, she had to clutch her belly to help herself. Seeing her laugh Peter felt better about himself, but as it continued, on and on, he started to get a bad premonition in his stomach.

But his spider sense wasn't going off! He was torn as he watched her recover. Finally straightening herself again, the happy expression turned to a very cold one.*Gulp* Swallowing his saliva and feeling a chill in his spine, he waited for her to speak.

"So this morning?" "Urgh" Peter winced. "I-i-I Can explain..." Reaching out and planting a hand on his shoulder, her grip keeping him in place. "Ohh I'm sure you will. Hahaha." Peter almost cried as he was dragged inside.

In his ear, as he was pulled inside, he heard Crystal's voice. "I was wrong, she did laugh Peter." Peter easily detected the sarcasm.

(West Chester same time)

Jean walked with a determined gait as she followed the professor to Cerebro. She had been impatient all day and couldn't concentrate on her lessons at all. Everyone had noticed that she wasn't in a good mood and had avoided her all day. Scott was probably the only one that tried to talk to her, for obvious reasons.

After bringing Laura back they had kept her sedated so she wouldn't cause a commotion during the day. They wanted her to wake up when the other students were asleep and they were prepared. The professor had read her mind lightly while she was asleep and realized the danger she could pose once she awakened.

With the way they had taken and captured her, it was likely there would be a fight. With all the x-men prepared they could account for any possibility. The professor had been busy all day with teaching and couldn't help Jean look for Peter until right now. That was why she was almost rushing him towards Cerebro.

Using her powers to push the wheels along, something she didn't usually do, Xavier could tell how agitated Jean was. He wanted to calm her down and had even tried before hand, but nothing he said had worked. She had controlled her emotions yes, but it was still underneath the surface.

Xavier was worried that if something had happened to this friend she talked about; it was quite possible something worse could happen. The mental barriers he had placed inside her mind to help her control her powers were strong enough, but when emotionally distressed anything could happen.

He didn't want another incident, like when her parents died, to happen. It was the reason he had found her, and it was something he hoped never happened again. Though that could explain what had happened at that time, now that he thought about it.

He was lost in his thoughts for a small amount of time before he finally came up to the steel doors. Opening the doors with no problem, he felt the agitated mental waves that Jean was producing as he placed the helmet on.

Knowing what the person's name was, their general description and where they used to live was enough information for Xavier to find a person. Although he usually used Cerebro to find mutants, it could be used to touch every person in the world. If he couldn't find him with this, then the worse possible outcome could have occurred.

Focusing his mind and reaching out towards the New York area, he started his search. It didn't take him long before he found some people familiar with Peter. By starting at where he used to live and the information he could gather, it seemed that Peter Parker had disappeared off the radar close to a year ago.

After his Aunt died, he had run from social services, and had never been seen again. Using another 20 minutes to search nearly every person in the city for mention of the name Peter Parker, he could only find small thoughts of him at the newspaper, 'The Bugle'.

This was the best lead he had yet, but this still wasn't enough. Peter hadn't given in a photo in the last 2 weeks, which was a worrying concern. Much could happen in that time. Before long he finally took the helmet off and let out a small sigh.

"Anything Professor?" The hopeful voice of Jean sounded out in his ear, and he turned his wheelchair to look at her. He didn't want to dash her hopes and tell her that he couldn't find his signature at all. But he had to.

"No Jean, I couldn't find him." The hope that had filled her eyes instantly extinguished and he felt the mental turmoil she was going through. Her powers flared as she knew that if the Professor couldn't find him that usually meant he wasn't alive. She tried to keep herself calm but her powers ran out of control.

A panel or two cracked and the platform they were standing on shuddered as her abilities ran rampant. Xavier reached out with his mind as he tried to calm her. "Jean control! You must control yourself." Jean's eyes snapped towards him and for a fleeting second, he could see the red that flickered deep within. The fire that was demanding to be let out!

He redoubled his efforts as he tried to control his fear, and thankfully in the next second it was gone, and Jean calmed down. Her body deflated as if the energy in her body was sucked dry and she slowly lower to the ground.

Her powers going out of control like that had sapped her energy. Falling into the chair of the professor, he quietly called for Hank's assistance as she had fainted from the exertion. Looking down at the prone figure, he let out a breath of relief and tried to enter her mind.

He wanted to place stronger mental barriers, as the old ones were starting to beak. Just as he entered her mind though, a flash of flames came flying towards his mental projection and knocked him out. Grunting in pain he left her mind and gave her a worried look.

'This is not a good sign. I will have to gain her help when she wakes.' Thinking that, he waited for Hank to arrive, a small piece of him feeling sorry that her friend was likely dead. As she and he both knew, he could find anyone with Cerebro, well almost everyone, but if he couldn't find a normal person, the worst would be expected.

Hopefully Jean would be calm when she woke up.

Chapter end