Arc Three. Chapter Eighty-Nine. Anger Issues
“First though. Laura, after breakfast we usually train, you want to join?” Peter asked her and she nodded. She was finishing off another plate of scrambled eggs, her third. Peter had decided eggs were best as she seemed a bottomless pit when it came to food.
“Good. Callisthenics, running, and then sparring. No powers though," he said gently stroking her hair, but she growled. “Hey, I meant it, no powers," but she looked at her plate and nodded. “Be nice and I’ll make that again for second breakfast. We eat again after we’ve showered.”
Laura’s eyes lit up at the thought of standing under the warm water again and then more food. and the group moved to the newly added training area in front of the main door as Peter grabbed and stacked the dirty plates in the sink.
The group stretched and began their routine. Running was the first call. It woke tired muscles and joints before they moved to more strenuous activities.
Once they had all finished and wiped themselves down, they began their routine for the day. Burpees, sit-ups, and push-ups.
As Laura didn’t seem to have super leaping they left out the usual hanging pull-ups. They could jump and reach the rafters, but Laura could not.
She huffed, "throw," while pointing up.
Peter shrugged, "You sure?"
Laura nodded and held her arms up. Peter grabbed her by the waist and taking aim, launched her straight up.
Once she was hanging from the beams, she began the same workout as the rest. Her lack of a super-leap didn’t mean her agility was any lower than theirs. Once she was up into the rafters she was leaping from beam to beam with the others.
When it came to swinging training through, Peter smiled, "that you defiantly can't do." Instead, he held her as the small group swung, practising aiming and hitting any target they could swing from. It became part of their training, and she giggled as they threw her from person to person.
They might have super abilities but falling a few hundred feet would squash anyone. To practice, Peter had set small discs around the girders. Each one was welded on and capable of supporting his weight. The course was to only attach a web to those, anyone who failed was assigned a chore.
For now, she helped by adding not just weight but an actual person to mimic anyone they had rescued or needed to escape with. It was fun, but tiring.
He already had the design for a portable web shooter. mimicking the natural symbiote ability. It was going to be for Liv, so she didn't have to find a grab stick. Making one so Laura could swing with them wouldn't be any more difficult.
Once Liv and Gwen had cracked the formula of his webbing, it had opened up a new realm of possibilities. The webbing, armour, and symbskin itself all relied on the way the material was created. Once they had figured out how to replicate it, they had the perfect non-reactive material. Even Livs Christmas present was based on something he had made.
Liv also kept herself busy with re-creating a non-volatile version of the formula. With Peter's symbcells and a weak formula, they created a line of additives. A line of creams that heightened sexual arousal but also promoted cellular regeneration. It was a simple skin cream, only this one actually worked. There would be no physical enhancements. Liv made sure it was so weak that it did not trigger the process of creating a super-solder.
Liv also now had a new project. Laura. Whatever enhancements had been used, she was agile, fast, and strong. The blood test had come back inconclusive. Liv had no idea what had been used to make her like that, as there was none of the formula markers in her blood.
Whatever Laura was, she was dangerous. Not just strong and fast, but those claws seemed to be able to cut through most things. Add in her amazingly fast regeneration and Laura was the perfect killing machine.
Peter shook his head though. She had also been seriously abused. During their run, she tripped and fell, scraping her knee. Rather than shouting out in pain, she cowered in the corner of the walkway, expecting to be punished. As Gwen gently patted and whispered to her, she dived and hugged her, crying as she was comforted.
After their run, the group towelled down and began to spar. Peter usually left this to Huntress. Felicia was a much higher belt in the martial arts she practised and was a much better teacher than he was. MJ and Gwen both went through several katas before pairing off while Felicia watched. Once they had sparred a few times, she then helped them correct any mistakes they made.
While they sparred Peter tended to Liv. While still in her chair, she got physiotherapy every day. Her limbs needed to be stretched or they would atrophy and it was Peter's job to stop that. With their relationship already at that point, Liv had no issue with where Peter's hands were. With a new diet and exercise, she was slowly able to wheel herself around.
Once the two groups were done, with Laura mimicking and shadowboxing on her own, Peter took Liv home. After he had helped Liv to bed, he headed back out to finally join in.
“Do you want to fight?” Peter had asked Laura. As she seemed a strange mix of excitable but nervous they hadn't wanted to push her into sparring.
Laura sat on the edge of the training area sipping at some fruit juice. Shadowboxing was boring, but without being big-headed, she knew that she would hurt them. She had not seen Peter or Felicia fight. As he asked she shot up with sparkly eyes and to Peter, she was almost vibrating with excitement.
"You better?" she asked as she pointed at the pair with a thumb.
"I think so," he admitted. He was nowhere near Felicia's level but was stronger and faster. Peter figured it should be good enough to go a few rounds with the excitable Laura. She was definitely powered enough that it would be fun if nothing else.
She was enhanced but they had no idea to what degree. There was no sweat on her clothes, so she wasn’t tired from the light workout they had just done. He couldn’t register an increase in her heart rate. It was only when he mentioned sparring with him that it spiked. He could smell her excitement as it wafted off her like a giant cloud.
Great, an adrenaline junkie, was all he thought, shaking his head.
Moving away from the others, Peter chalked out an area and started to lay out mats for them. The area next to the large double doors had been marked already in chalk. Peter was tempted to make a permanent sparring area, but it would mean adjusting the doors. With a busy enough schedule, he waved it off as too much work. With Laura here, it was now back on the to-do list. A few hours with glue and mats would fix them to the floor. A few more hours with a welder would mean the doors were securely closed.
Watching as Laura clenched her fist and stretched, Peter did the same. They had moved away from the others as they had no idea how well this would go. As Peter watched Laura limber up he got the feeling he was watching someone who was trained. Not just trained though, as she cracked her neck and flexed, that he was about to unleash a wild animal on himself.
Shit, he thought, better be more serious, as she moved into the matted square they had laid out on the floor.
Finishing his own stretches he joined her, sinking into the low stance he preferred. With a yell, she launched herself at him. He was surprised as she swung with what looked like wild abandon at him. With the small amount of skill he had, he knew if he let them each of the swings would connect with a nerve point or joint.
Each blow was to kill, not cripple, and as he ducked and weaved out of each of them he saw the pattern. She wasn’t used to fighting without her claws out. Each blow was a stab or a slice, not a punch or a slap. Each blow was designed to inflict maximum damage, not numb or disable. Peter was fighting a killer, not a kid.
Becoming even more serious, Peter began his counterattack, and he smiled as he began to cut loose a bit more.
Training with the girls was fun, but he only let himself go when fighting Felicia. Gwen and MJ were unskilled enough that he would hurt them accidentally. Even Felicia gave him a few good knocks and he did the same to her. They were never anything serious, but when he connected a blow to her abdomen and Laura went flying, he froze.
Shit, he thought too much.
As she lay crumpled on the ground, even Felicia and the others stopped and stared. Laura began to laugh, lifting herself up and wiping some drool from her chin. Grinning, she yelled at him and six perfect razors slid from her hands and feet. Two sliding out of each hand, and a single blade from between her toes.
"Laura, no!" Peter shouted but she just giggled and grinned at him.
Oh hell, he thought again as she launched herself over at him
This time she began to connect. Venom thickened his symbskin over his limbs as her swings cut perfect lines through.
“Dammit,” he cursed. He really didn't want to hurt her but if she kept this up, he would have no choice. “The pheromone!” he shouted and Gwen’s face froze before she ran off.
His normal armour wasn’t enough and he powered up again, thankful he’d eaten not too long ago. As his more armoured form grew the gleam in Laura’s eyes just sparkled more.
Screaming in joy once more she vaulted herself at him. Venom was forced to weave from side to side as she slashed at him. Venom felt himself avoiding not just punches now but wide kicks and overhead attacks. As he avoided more blows, she changed tactics and began to leap around him. As she leapt over him and struck out with the blades on her feet, he reached out and grabbed her. Taking her by the ankle, and seeing there was no reading with her, Venom slammed Laura into the mat over and over.
Once she was dazed but before her healing could shake off the concussion he webbed down both arms and let go. Once she was huffing on the mat, he webbed down her legs and feet. She screamed at him as she struggled against the bindings. Unable to gain purchase, the mat lifted and flopped as she struggled.
“Hey, it’s fine, sorry okay, sorry.” But Felicia came over and took a look at her, seeing she was safe and contained.
“Pete, get off. Gwen’s getting the neutraliser.” MJ dived over to the warehouse door, hitting a button. To keep everyone safe, Peter had installed a neutraliser system in case of emergency. While Gwen opened a drawer in the kitchen workbench and pulled out a spray bottle.
A fine mist was sprayed out of the sprinklers and the air con pushed itself up to max. Peter shook his head, forgetting the last time he’d fought, even as Peter, in such an enclosed space.
Laura huffed and panted on the floor, growling at anyone coming close. She whined as Gwen came over and sprayed the same chemical in her face and over Peter.
She stopped huffing and began to calm down, closing her eyes, "sorry, no punish?"
“Not your fault. We should have been a bit more careful.” said Gwen as she helped him to his feet, “but go shower, we’ll make sure she’s okay.”
Peter shook his head. They had been so used to it just being the five of them that they forgot. Laura's sniffing might have been funny but nobody realised what she was smelling. Now though, as he sweated and fought, she breathed in more of the pheromone. In her though, it was a hunter's instinct, not to mate but to fight. She would calm down, but that wasn’t the point, it was another stupid mistake.
As the symbskin withdrew he stood under the shower. He let the cold water douse him as he hung his head. He wasn't upset, it was that he'd forgotten, and it bothered him. Laura was supposed to be safe here.
“It’s not your fault you know,” Felicia stood in the doorway. “If she’s a canine enhanced of course she will be more susceptible to your pheromone. Let’s be honest, making a young girl horny isn’t as bad as making a rabid one angry.”
“Not good enough though,” was all he said.
She shivered slightly but joined him under the water, slipping out of her clothes.
“It's never good enough Pete. Mistakes are made. It’s what we do after that matters.” She began to cover her hands in shower gel and gently rub him all over. It was still obvious they needed help and she knew exactly who to call.
“Although, a cold shower is a terrible punishment,” she snorted as she reached over and turned on the hot. She held him from behind as the water warmed. As her hands slid down and soaped his front, Felicia whispered, "she is kinda cute though."
After their shower, Peter and Felicia headed back to the breakfast area. Gwen had made breakfast and a grinning Laura was happily shovelling it into her mouth. Peter had left plenty of egg mix in the fridge, all it needed was cooking.
"Monkey," Laura said, squirting ketchup onto the pile of eggs in front of her, "was fun, do more, do again?" and she gave him a thumbs-up as the pile of food rapidly vanished into another bottomless stomach. Seeing her plate empty she frowned and made a cute whine noise that Peter shook his head at.
The warehouse buzzer went and MJ wandered over to answer it. As she stared at the handset she shrugged, “no one there,” and made her way back to the table to finish her breakfast.