More Than Amazing
Chapter 6 - Morlock
Peter Parker could always count on Mary Jane Watson to drag him into some sort of unexpected event.
Whether that be in alternate timelines, where any number of crazy things could happen with her—whether that be her being cast in a movie that was unexpectedly directed by a supervillain, targeted by a model killing slasher, or even being kidnapped by a stalker landlord.
Or in this one, where on their second meeting, at a homeless shelter of all things… they ran into a mutant boy in need of help.
Nothing was unexpected at this point.
They both somehow or another seemed cursed to live in interesting times.
But as he watched her frantically try and help the mutant boy in need, while hesitant and unsure of hurting him as she covered up his skin along with hastily organizing his bag to carry more food… he couldn't help but smile.
For all her harsh upbringing and self-doubt, she always struggled to see how special she was.
He watched her so caught up helping the boy that she never noticed how hard the small pale boy was smiling, how her protective instincts were more precious to him than any extra food or neat clothing.
She may have often been a famous model or actress, but that wasn't her true strength… no, that was all just a byproduct. It was how much she would light up a room, even if it was as dark as could be.
No wonder she enamored the gloomy lives of his countless counterparts.
"Okay, um—hood first," MJ muttered, hands trembling nervously despite how carefully she moved, "Sorry. Sorry, I'm not usually this bad at helping people."
The boy peeked up at her.
"It's… not bad." He whispered quietly at her words.
MJ froze for half a second, before smiling brightly with a joyful laugh, "Hah, obviously! I'll make sure to keep it up."
Peter couldn't help but stare at her softly, before he eventually shook his head from his thoughts. He then stepped towards MJ as she almost finished covering the boy up. Immediately after doing so, footsteps were suddenly heard approaching from down the hall.
"…Peter? Mary Jane?" He could hear a voice calling out to them.
Then another, "What's taking you both so long back there?"
It was Aunt May, followed close behind by Anna Watson.
They all jolted back for a moment. MJ's eyes frantically darted between the boy's still visible pale head and the door leading into the hallway in a panic as she heard their aunts approaching.
He grinned.
Mary Jane might have often gotten into trouble, but it always seemed to work out in the end. And even if she couldn't handle it all on her own… it would turn out fine regardless.
Because that was what he was for.
He shot a wink at the pale boy before throwing his hood up, covering his head. A moment later, he stepped forward and called out to their aunts, "We're in here!"
He heard them both step towards their location as he brought the other two forward. Peter eyed the nervous MJ with a reassuring smile before whispering into the boy's ear, "Keep your head down for a bit."
The boy ducked his head down so fast and low that his hood shadowed his entire face.
"They'll make me leave," he whispered, voice barely louder than a breath. "They always do."
Peter's smile thinned.
He knew Aunt May would never drive a child away, no matter their condition or mutation. She would do the right thing everytime—because that was the kind of person the woman who raised him was.
He didn't even have a shadow of a doubt.
But the boy didn't know that.
So, Peter just gave him a slight grin, "Not while we're here."
He then slipped past the door with them in tow, almost bumping straight into Aunt May on his way out.
"Oh—! Peter, be careful," May said, flinching slightly as he caught her.
"Sorry May, we just got held up a bit." He replied apologetically.
Mary Jane shuffled slightly behind him, subtly hiding the boy closer behind Peter, which May clearly noticed, "Oh my? Did one of the children wander off back here?"
Peter nodded easily, "That's right, he was a bit lost and MJ found him stuck back here."
He felt the boy grip his shirt from behind.
May frowned as she immediately became concerned, "Poor boy, all the families who volunteered already left." She quickly tried to walk over to the boy but Peter blocked her path.
She looked up to him in confusion, and Peter quickly leaned over to her and whispered in her ear loud enough for Anna to also hear, "He is very nervous around others… and it took a bit for MJ and I to get him to open up."
May brought a hand to her mouth with a frown, as Anna spoke up from beside her, "…Is that so, is there anyone we can call?"
MJ kept hiding behind him, and he noticed Anna looking towards her in concern.
"Don't worry, we can handle it." Peter eventually replied as he dragged MJ out from behind him.
She glared at him as he did, giving him a scolding with her eyes. One that said, What are you doing?!
He raised a brow back as if to say, You're too suspicious!
MJ's brow creased in frustration as she rolled her eyes, You made me suspicious!
It was all nonsense, of course. She was supposed to be the outgoing one—not him!
He replied with a stink eye.
"…What are you two doing?" May interrupted as they both flinched back in response.
Their eyes immediately darted away from each other as their faces soon gained a carefully blank mask.
Peter felt the boy grip his shirt tighter.
"…Nothing." Peter eventually replied in embarrassment as he felt heat quickly crawl up his neck.
May stared at him blankly.
Anna chuckled from behind May as she gently swatted her shoulder, "Oh, let them be May."
Anna eyed Mary Jane, who was looking shyly to the side and smiled. She had missed seeing her niece's pretty smile, and she didn't want it to fade away so soon.
She made her decision in an instant.
She grabbed May's arm and subtly started pulling her away, "They've got this May. Didn't you always like to say how responsible Peter was? They've got this."
May frowned at her words before looking towards Anna, who winked at her before directing her eyes at Peter and Mary Jane.
It immediately clicked for May and she smiled deeply before replying, "He's just like his uncle after all." She then looked at Peter with a serious expression, "Do you know where to find his parents?"
MJ, finally finding her confidence, butted in, "Yes, he said they were waiting for him nearby."
May stared at them suspiciously, long enough that even MJ started to sweat, before finally turning to Peter, "Are you sure?"
Peter nodded firmly as he locked eyes with her, "Yes, I'll handle it May. Trust me."
May finally relented at his words, "Alright." He reminded her too much of his uncle, "But come straight to me if you need help, okay?"
"I will." Peter agreed.
She lingered for a moment longer—eyes flicking between him, MJ, and the mysterious boy hidden behind them—before Anna gently tugged her away.
"Come on, May," Anna said lightly, "Let them handle it."
May hesitated… then sighed. "Alright. Don't be long."
And just like that, they were alone again.
MJ rounded on him instantly, whisper-shouting, "You almost got us killed."
Peter just rolled his eyes.
"Peter!"
"What? We survived."
"We should've made a plan!"
He gave her a sheepish grin, "That goes against my brand."
MJ was speechless, so he interrupted her with a sudden shout.
"Success!"
Peter immediately grinned as he shot a look towards MJ, who eventually sighed before she giggled in relief. She also raised up her arms in mock celebration, causing the boy to quickly join in on her laughter as Peter winked at him mischievously.
𖢥𖢥𖢥
The boy shifted the backpack higher on his shoulders. It was too big for him, and made even bigger with how stuffed full of food it was.
Peter held it for him as they left, so he wouldn't have to bear the weight. Although the boy seemed not to mind much for it. As he lifted the bag to his shoulder, he couldn't help but smile as he eyed a little keychain that hung from the zipper—a cracked plastic dinosaur, with one leg missing.
"Cool dinosaur," Peter said.
The boy blinked, then hid a tiny smile, "It's a raptor."
MJ grinned at his shy smile, "It's very fierce."
His smile grew for half a second before he quickly hid it.
The farther they walked from the shelter, the less familiar New York became. They ducked and weaved away from the shelter and huddled together as they slowly made their way out.
The warm noise of volunteers and folding tables had long faded, and their journey had replaced it with faint footsteps and distant car horns echoing through the streets. It was a maze of alleyways and street corners that they followed the boy through.
The boy never stood in the center of the alley and kept close to the walls. Not like a kid sneaking somewhere he shouldn't be, but like someone who behaved as if open spaces were fundamentally dangerous.
It was heartbreaking to watch a child behave with that belief.
MJ noticed immediately. Of course she did. It was impossible for MJ not to notice with her emotional intelligence, and Peter noticed her noticing.
He took a half step closer to her side.
Meanwhile, the boy had closed in on himself as he led them closer to their destination.
Peter and MJ followed along as they continued walking. The boy silently led them along the street, visibly nervous at being out and public and instinctively dragging them to narrow alleyways and darker corners, until eventually they came across a sewage drain hidden deep in an empty alleyway.
"Is this where you led us…?" Peter asked carefully, before he crouched in front of him, "And you came all the way up here alone?"
He nodded weakly.
"Then I think you're really brave. More than most people I know."
"...I was really scared someone would see me," he whispered quietly.
Peter smiled sadly, "Yeah. That's usually when being brave counts the most."
He then slowly handed the boy back his backpack. Then walked over to the grate and slowly lifted it off the ground, opening the entrance for them below.
"You live down there?" MJ gasped in disbelief. The words came out before she could even think of softening them.
The boy flinched at her tone.
MJ immediately regretted her words, "No—sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just…"
She looked at the grate, then at him.
"It's not all bad," he responded quickly, like he was struggling to believe it himself, "Not all the time... there's people, like me. They share. Mostly."
His fingers tightened around the backpack strap.
"You shouldn't have to." MJ finished sadly.
"...The people down there." His small face tightened with frightened determination, "They look scary sometimes, but they're not. They took me in… and it's better than being up here."
Mary Jane watched mournfully as the boy's determined expression slowly drained from his face as he closed in on himself further. His face seemed to scream about how he was ashamed, scared and sad. MJ felt her heart lurch at the expression on his face.
A mountain of questions danced behind her fiery eyes as she stared at the boy with pity. How could anyone live in a sewer? Why would a child have to be driven here? And how could anyone have allowed this to happen?
It wasn't right.
He didn't just have nothing. He had been given nothing, as no one had reached out to this poor boy and helped him. There was a difference, and that difference made something hot and ugly twist in MJ's chest.
Someone had looked at this tiny, trembling boy and decided a sewer was good enough for him.
She hated them for it.
She thought back to her own home.
She thought she had it bad. The envy she felt when her classmates would speak of their own families rushed to the forefront of her mind. She remembered how much she craved what they had.
But this boy had it worse. Much worse.
At least she had Gayle and her aunt Anna.
This boy had nothing.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Peter spoke up, "...You sure this is what you want?"
The boy nodded silently as Peter sighed sadly. They both knew he had no other option. As much as he hated to think about it, there wasn't much he could do. Not without endangering both the boy, his people, and themselves as well.
There was nothing he could realistically do.
Not now—not yet.
They could faintly hear strange voices deep within the sewer, faint to the ear and drowned by the water flowing within. Yet they made the boy perk up regardless.
He slowly turned to lower himself down, but not before hesitantly glancing over at Peter and MJ. Eventually he spoke shyly, with faint tears shimmering in his eyes and a bright blush ripening his pale skin, "T-thank you."
He could barely finish his words before MJ pulled him into a fierce hug with tears in her eyes. The boy hesitantly reached out before tightening himself to her form just as fiercely. The boy sniffled his nose in sadness, before his quickly following cry slowly erupted into a wail.
"It's going to be okay. It will be better someday." Mary Jane whispered quickly, saying words she wasn't sure she believed herself, but desperately wanted to be true in her heart.
Peter watched on sadly.
It wasn't right.
The boy didn't deserve to live like this. He was at the age where life should still be simple, where all that mattered should have still been playgrounds, cartoons, and friends from school. Yet he was forced to live in the sewers and hide his face in shame and fear.
Eventually the boy left MJ's grip, but not without leaving a patch of wet tears over her clothes. His gaze soon turned to look at Peter, but he couldn't help but look down shamefully after locking eyes with Peter's sorrowful gaze.
They started to hear the voices in the sewers begin to slowly approach and then knew it was about time for them to leave and separate.
But not before Peter could walk up to the boy and pat his pale head with a smile. Then, he slowly crouched down to his height and spoke, "You never told me your name?"
The boy's lips quivered as he eventually responded.
"Joey." The boy croaked out, "My name is Joey."
Peter smiled as he responded, "It was nice to meet you Joey."
He brought his hand down to Joey's shoulder, and spoke once more, "Don't ever give up Joey, be greater than what you suffer. Things will get better, I'm sure of it."
Then he pulled the boy into a hug just as fierce as the one MJ had given him, "You're one tough kid Joey, never stop being one."
Soon he pulled back as the boy started to finally rub the tears from his eyes.
Peter gave him a teasing smile, one which slowly morphed into a soft grin as he looked at Joey's tears, "Did I ever tell you I think your eyes are really cool?"
Joey blinked, stunned.
But it was soon followed by a fierce blush as MJ stepped up beside Peter, studying Joey's face with an exaggerated seriousness.
"He's right," she said. "They're not scary."
Joey's breath caught.
MJ smiled warmly at him, "They're like pretty red gems."
Joey ducked his head, but this time it wasn't from shame—It was from shy embarrassment, but that didn't help to cover the smile that crawled up widely on his face.
Joey finally turned to start down the sewers, as Peter began to slowly drag MJ away. Although he couldn't help but give one last wave to Joey while he shouted, "Joey! It would be great if you came by again next week. I'll be there waiting!"
MJ also jumped up as he spoke, looking at Joey with a bright smile that mirrored Peter's own, "Don't forget me too! I'll be there too!"
Joey nodded with shimmering eyes as he waved back. The grate then settled back into place with a dull metallic clank as the boy disappeared beneath it.
"Peter?"
"Yeah?"
"I hate this."
Peter's eyes stayed on the sewer. "Yeah," he said quietly, "Me too."
"We should tell our Aunts," MJ said suddenly.
Peter didn't answer right away.
"Peter."
"I know."
"They'd help."
"I know they would," Peter said softly, "But, that's not the problem."
MJ frowned. "Then what is?"
Peter looked down at the grate.
"Everything else. What could they realistically do? Call the police? Then what? If we scare them, they'll run. If the police come looking, they'll think it's a raid. If the wrong people find out…"
His words trailed off as his jaw tightened.
"—I'm helping anyways," MJ ignored him.
Peter looked at her. "MJ—"
"Nope. I don't care!" She turned to him with fire in her eyes, "What happened to being a superhero?!"
"MJ!" He shouted as he grabbed her shoulders, "I won't let you down there!"
"I have to help!" She shouted back with tears glimmering her eyes as she held onto the tear stains on her clothing with a vice grip, "He was barely older than a baby!"
"I know!"
"Then w-why won't you do something!"
"Because he isn't the only one down there!" Peter screamed, causing her to go silent as he looked down at her seriously, "I get it. They're in a horrible spot—they live in a sewer for God's sake! But we can't deny everything about them just because they need help!"
He was basically a hundred percent sure about what group the boy belonged to.
The Morlocks.
Mutant outcasts that hid from society, a community who lived in secret tunnels beneath New York City. But it was because he knew that, that he needed MJ to stay away.
The Morlocks had different internal factions and many different members, and some of them were much more dangerous than just a hungry little boy.
He looked at her sadly as she held his eyes with an angry gaze, "We don't know those people, and I'm sure they're not bad. Joey said they took him in, and I believe him. But desperate people are still desperate people, MJ. Scared people. Hurt people. People who have every reason to think someone like us means danger. It's probably all they've ever experienced."
His grip loosened on her shoulders.
"If we go charging down there because we feel guilty, we're not helping them. We're making ourselves feel better."
MJ's eyes narrowed through the tears.
"That sounds really smart, really reasonable." She said hoarsely, "And really convenient."
"MJ—"
"No. You don't get to talk about being a superhero, then stop the second helping gets complicated!"
"You're right." Peter responded slowly, "But don't forget we're just kids. We don't have the power to help them. Not yet. We'd have to do it carefully, because doing something like this carelessly would only make things worse."
He then slowly pulled her into a hug, "No one knows we're here, and we have no plan to help. Right now there is nothing we can do."
He then looked down at her tearful face, feeling his heart clench at her crying, "And I'm not willing to risk you on some off chance we could help. You're much more important to me than any of it..."
He trailed off his words as she ducked her head into his chest at them. He took a moment to pat her hair in comfort as he sighed.
He then slowly pulled her away from the alley and back onto the open street. He didn't feel safe having them so out of the way of everyone, and no one knew better than Peter how dangerous New York could be.
She tugged his shirt as he led them back to the shelter.
"You really think there's nothing we can do?" She asked, voice small.
"We can be there for Joey, and make sure he knows that he has people on his side—that they have people on their side," Peter replied sadly.
But one day things would be different.
He would make sure of it.
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Author's Notes
Not-half-a-year-later-Update! Hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to comment and leave a like! That encourages me more than you know! (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)
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