The Crimson Spider

3

We helped Frank limp to a nearby cemetery, the three of us nearly collapsing from fatigue. 

"Hey..." Frank rasped, "Not bad."

"Thanks." Matt and I replied in unison. 

"I guess I, uh... I guess I was wrong, Red."

Matt chuckled, "About?" 

"About you being a pussy."

I could hardly contain my laugh, so I turned to face the dog.

"Don't get all sweet on me now, Frank."

Now Frank chuckled, it turning into a cough.

"Help's on the way." Matt was suddenly serious again.

"Nah, you should go. Both of you, get out of here. I'm past saving."

My eyes took him in, studying every sad inch of him. "I don't like leaving people for dead, Frank."

"Nah... I'm already dead. At least I'd have company, right? I think I might cash out. You two'd make a hell of a pair of Marines."

"That rhyme." Matt finally said. "What's it mean?"

"What'd you say? Huh?" He was already deeply delirious.

I remembered something I hadn't even thought I noticed; one batch, two batch. Penny and dime. He said it before killing. "Yeah, that uh, that thing you say before you pull the trigger."

"You heard that?" he looked between us.

"Yeah, I heard it." Matt said simply.

"Enhanced senses, remember?" I kept my tone light, hoping to distract him from his pain in some way.

"What the..." he let his confusion trail off. "Its uh... One batch, two batch. Penny and dime, you know. It was her favorite book. You know you... You gotta cross the ocean... and go fight. You see... whole time you're thinking you're gonna be scared, right? But then, you're not. See, that part of it was always easy for me. Killing. Even watching my buddies die, it just... it didn't mean nothing." He scoffed, "The first time I got scared was on a plane on the way home. I kept thinking God was gonna pull the rug out from under us, you know? Shit, that's his kind of funny, you know. But the plane landed safe and we were home. Driving through traffic. Yeah, you pass fast food and donut shops and all that... that greasy shit. It's the shit you fought to protect and then the car stops."

I made note of the sirens, but refused to take my eyes from him as he continued.

"We were outside her school. I get to her classroom, right? She's in there... but she's got no idea. She's got no idea that daddy's home. I walk in, these kids, they're not even studying, they're..." he let out a dry laugh, "doing some kind of yoga. She's there. She's doing her poses, you know. She's bending and, you know, she's moving. She looks like a flower. And, you know, you can't even understand it, you know, how does something like that have... How does something that beautiful... How does that... How does that come from me, you know? And she looks up and she sees me. I see her. By God, that's real. That's real, man. In an instant, she's across that classroom floor, she's in my arms. She's squeezing me so tight, I swear I was gonna bust a rib, you know? We just stayed there like that, we're holding each other. Teacher, she's filming the whole thing on her phone, you know, she's gonna put it on YouTube or some shit." Another laugh. "She can't hold the thing steady, because, you know, she's-she's bawling so hard, and the kids are all wailing, you know, they're screaming. And me? Shit, I'm the worst of all. I'm a... I'm a rubber-face clown, you know. I cried so hard. But not my baby. Not my girl. You know, she's my girl. She's..." he took a second to stifle a sob. "She's not crying, she's holding me up. My girl, she's keeping me on my feet." Another shaky breath. "She says, 'I knew it, daddy. I knew it.' And then we go home. Wife, the boy. Place is the exact same. It's like it was just holding its breath waiting for me to get back, you know? Then it hit me. All of it, you know. The first time I felt how tired I was, you know, I was just... tired, you know? Y-you ever been tired, Red. What about you?"

His head turned to me but his eye hardly looked in my direction, he was far, far away. In the past. "Yes..."

"Yeah." Matt added. 

"So you know. It's just, I couldn't do nothing, you know? All the things... I couldn't take my wife to bed. Ball with the boy. Shit... I was too tired, I couldn't even drink a goddamn beer, you know. But not her. My girl was up. She-she wanted me to, uh... she wanted me to tuck her in. She... she outgrew it, she knew it, but she didn't care. She wanted it. She had that book. Her favorite book was out on the pillows. One Batch, Two Batch... Penny and Dime. Yeah. I read her that book every night before this shit. I read it every single night, but, see, that was over now because daddy's home now. She looked at me and she begged me, Webs."

I startled slightly at him addressing me, his eyes truly seeing me now.

"She begged. She begged... I said, 'No. Daddy's too tired, see.'" his voice broke as he continued, "'But I'll...I'll read to you tomorrow night. I'll read to you tomorrow night, I promise.' Never think that... for her there was not gonna be any tomorrow, see. The last time I'd see her, I'd be holding her lifeless body in my arms. Meat was spilling out of her, Red. The place where her face used to be... Yeah, I think I'm done. I think I'm done."

I finally rose, a police car pulling into the graveyard. 

"Police! Don't move!"

I whipped around, realizing that I was still unmasked.

"Hands where I can see 'em. Miss, turn around. Turn around, now."

I raised my hands but didn't move otherwise. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Officer." 

"Shots fired. Bodies, mayhem, and shit. How come I just knew it had to be you?" the officer addressed Matt. "Turn around, ma'am!"

"I have something for you, Sergeant." Matt said, ignoring the officer as I did.

"That's him?" a pause. "Cover him and get EMS."

"Yep." another officer responded and walked to where Frank was still lying against the grave stone.

"And you, you incredible pain in my ass. You're under arrest." 

I heard handcuffs click around Matt's wrists, "Sorry, Officer, I have a really busy schedule. Maybe next time." I allowed invisibility to cloak itself around me. 

The man stumbled, his eyes wide, "What the-"

"Help him." I said, already stepping away from them. "Help Frank, yeah? And the dog. Especially the dog." I ran the other direction. 

---

"You responsible for this?" Andrew asked before I even got the front door closed behind me.

I stepped into the living room, the entire Spider-Team sitting around the TV. The news was on, and they were covering the apprehension of the Punisher. "Maybe..." 

"Sit down, I want to hear everything!" Gwen exclaimed as she scooted over on the couch. 

I laughed slightly and settled between her and Dylan. 

---

I'd barely finished my story when there was a knock at the door. Tom jumped up to answer it, a moment later came my name.

I groaned slightly as I went to the front door, surprised to see Matt. 

"I believe this..." he stepped to the side to reveal the Irish's pitbull, "belongs to you."

I laughed as I crouched down, "Hey, you brought him back. I figured you'd take him to a shelter."

"Yeah, well, you two seemed like a good fit." he held out the chain and I stood to take it.

"Thank you."

He nodded with a small smile and turned to head home. I smiled, looking down at the dog. 

"Oh, so we're keeping the dog?" Tom asked, amused. 

I laughed, "I guess so." I looked down to talk to our newest member of the Spider-family, "Let's meet everyone, yeah?"