Spider-Man: Duty and Loss Chapter 7: No Rest For The Wicked

Peter walked slowly to the entrance of an indoor pool. Using his membership card to gain access he made sure to look inconspicuous as he made his way inside, well as much as a homeless person can anyways. One of the things Peter decided pretty early on after becoming homeless was to stay relatively clean. Most of the money he earns goes to this gym as well as a laundry mat to wash and dry his clothes.

With not many other places for a person to find a free shower it was Peters best bet to get a membership here. Of course some of the homes that had been destroyed and left empty after the battle of New York, what the media had been calling it when aliens rained from the sky, still had running water, but Peter didn't feel right using their bathrooms.

So in the end Peter decided to spend what little cash he had, going to the pool every second day and washing up. Moving through the door and walking right to the shower room, he was lucky that it was relatively empty. It was a week day and most people wouldn't come to the pool till after work or school. This left a lot of time in-between for Peter to take a shower undisturbed.

Peeling of his jacket after making sure that his spider man costume couldn't be seen Peter bundled his clothes up and walked to one of the shower heads. There were a few reasons why Peter like to use the shower with less people, but the main reason was because less people would stare and start asking questions. But what did I mean by that?

Well after years of being Spider-Man and making his fair share of mistakes while facing all manners of criminals and psychopaths his body had been on the receiving end of many a bullet wound and scar. Thanks to his superior healing abilities all of his wounds and scars had been healed over time, all but one. There was one scar on his back that never healed properly, and there was good reason for that.

The slash down his back had nearly taken his life and crippled him, it was truly a desperate time when that happened. 3 jagged lines ran down his back, curtesy of Dr. Curt Conner's, who later became the Lizard and was now in a prison that Peter didn't even want to contemplate where it could be.

*Gasp*

*Sigh* Peter let out a small sigh as he turned his head ever so slightly. There standing in the door to the shower room was a young man that was in his 20's, still older than Peter, the person showed a shocked face as he stared at Peters back.

Turning of the shower head quickly Peter turned and made to walk out. The man that was standing in the doorway barely moved as Peter walked past him, his eyes only widen in disbelief as he looked at someone who was most likely younger than himself that had such huge scar marks on his back and had such a skinny body. He knew that once bones started to show like that, it wasn't healthy. He would be telling his friends and colleagues about this encounter later at work.

Being careful not to expose anything Peter went back to his bundle of clothes and put everything back on quickly; walking out the door a minute later Peter felt the throbbing of the bruises on his body and started to think about what to do for the day.

"Haha." Giving a small chuckle at the thought Peter shook his head. He knew he would be back on patrol sooner rather than later. But maybe he could get some more sleep before then. Peter mulled over the thought for a little while before deciding to head back to his bench. He would take another 2 hours off before he got back to it. It would give his body enough time to get rid of all the bruises.

His tattered sneakers padded along the street as he walked with his head down back to his home. Some of the people around gave him a wide berth as they saw the state of the clothes he was wearing. Others turned looks of disgust his way as they smelt his clothes, that he had forgotten to wash for the last 3 days. But Peter didn't take notice as his eyes were slightly unfocused, thinking about something else.

Suddenly a vibration came from his jacket pocket and he stopped on the side walk. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a small wireless earbud. With a bit of tinkering and work, he had modified the small ear bud to receive a certain frequency. Hey he wasn't bullied for being a nerd for years for no reason.

Putting the ear bud into his ear Peter spoke in nearly a whisper. "Crystal?" Having modified the earphones himself he knew that they would be able to pick up his quiet talking. Crystal on the other side would easily be able to pick up his voice no matter the amount of sound around him. "Hello Peter. There has been a disturbance at the Baxter building. Energy is spiking at dangerous levels." Hearing what she had to say Peter turned his head in a certain direction.

From where he was standing he couldn't see the building but he knew the city like that back of his hand. No matter where he was he could locate such a prominent building. That was where the new guys, the Fantastic Four, were located. He felt no huge vibrations or heard any sirens but he trusted in Crystals readings.

Peter lamented in his head that he wouldn't be able to get those 2 hours of sleep, before walking in the direction of an alley way. In the same small voice he spoke once again to Crystal. "It's like they say. No rest for the Wicked." He made it into the alley and made sure that no one was around before suiting up. *Thwip* Spider-Man shot out of the alley as people below looked up in wonder.

Up in the air what the crowd couldn't hear was Spider-Man's small voice grumbling as he swung away. "But I could have sworn I was a damn hero!" His body continued to swing in the direction of the Baxter Building.

Chapter end