5Disclaimer: The characters within are owned/created by Marvel Comics.
Summary: Jessica still has mixed feelings about what happened to her and talks to Peter about it.
AN: Story takes place after the events in New Avengers #62 but before their participation in the Siege storyline. Thanks to htbthomas for the beta work.
Once word reached the New Avengers that Norman Osborn had launched an attack against Asgard, the team was not going to idly stand by. Spider-Man and Spider-Woman had just heard of this development after returning from their clash with Mandrill and Griffin. As they prepared to out to what certainly was going to be an epic battle in Asgard, Jessica's thoughts kept going back to what Mandrill had done to her.
"Jess, you all right?" Spider-Man asked, noticing her contemplative body language.
"Yes… No… I don't know!" Spider-Woman exclaimed in frustration.
She was still coping with what had happened to her with the Skrulls when she was taken over by Mandrill. Right then, she felt almost ready to snap. Thankfully her webheaded friend was there to prevent her from doing anything she would regret.
"Still thinking about what happened?" Spider-Man questioned. A nod of the head from his friend confirmed his suspicions. "Come and tell Uncle Spidey what's troubling ya."
Jessica laughed, giving the webslinger his desired response. Pulling up a nearby chair, she sat down while Spider-Man planted himself next to her on an adjacent wall in a sitting position.
Jessica removed her mask. "I can't get it out of my mind how easily I let Mandrill get into my head."
"People with those abilities are tough to go up against. A strong will can get you through it. Plus someone watching your back doesn't hurt either." Peter removed his mask as well. "Plus I can relate to what you went through."
"How so?"
"The suit that Venom wears is alive. It takes over its host in a symbiotic relationship. Over time it tried to take me over and completely bond with me. I was fortunate enough to finally rid myself of it."
"Once you got rid of the symbiote, it found another host," Jessica stated, eager to hear more.
Peter somberly continued, "Yeah, and we did have our battles over the years but he's not the one who currently wears the symbiote. For some reason, the suit found its way to Mac Gargan who was the Scorpion. The first was Eddie Brock and Gargan is nowhere in his league. Brock pushed me to my limits but I always found a way to defeat him."
Jessica never would have guessed that something like that would happen to him. It was no surprise really because their paths rarely crossed but being teammates, she found it fascinating learning about Peter's experiences as Spider-Man.
"Did you ever think of killing him?" Jessica asked, curious to hear his answer.
Peter's answer came swiftly, "The symbiote, yes, but not the man who wore it."
"Why?"
"The symbiote is very controlling, I know that first hand. That doesn't mean the wearers are innocent but they don't deserve to die. They belong in jail."
"As long as you can get them there," added Jessica.
Peter chuckled, "Yeah and then the prison has to be secure enough to keep them there and that's not always the case. Then it's up to us to bring them back in."
"That's why I think that if some don't make it back that the revolving door of justice will end."
"That's just the easy answer, Jess and I don't think it's the right one."
"Okay, but have you ever thought about it, killing someone that you were fighting?" Jessica asked, very interested to hear what answer Peter would give her.
"You bet your sweet webs I have," was his swift answer.
"Who?"
"Osborn for one," Peter started. "He's been a pain in my side for a very long time. The reason was because he caused the death to someone I truly and deeply loved."
Peter went quiet. It did not go unnoticed by Jessica. This was definitely a side to the wisecracking wallcrawler that she had never seen before. Moved by his words, Jess reached out and gave her friend a reassuring squeeze of his hand. That got a small smile of thanks from the webhead.
Once he composed himself, Peter continued on talking about the subject. He concluded with the man that had killed his Uncle Ben. That was the first time he truly wanted to kill someone but he knew that by killing that man wouldn't bring his beloved uncle back.
"Since that day I have always followed what my uncle had taught me: With great power comes great responsibility. We have the ability to do a lot of good in this world and to not kill in cold blood is the most responsible thing we heroes can do," Peter concluded.
"You've certainly given me a lot to think about, thanks, Peter," Jessica told him as the rose to head over to where their fellow Avengers were prepping to head to Asgard.
Before they had gone too far, Jessica gave Peter a kiss on the cheek.
"What was that for?" Peter asked, blushing slightly.
"For being a good guy and for listening."
"Any time, pretty lady, any time."
The End