The visions were becoming clearer. Julia could see better now… and she also noticed he was with a blonde girl dressed in white. Frustrated, she called the others to tell them what was going on.
"Did your powers come back?" Jessica asked.
"Sort of, I've had some visions," she confessed. "Now I can see more clearly… He wears a red mask, a gray uniform, a light brown leather jacket, kind of hazel-colored, and belts. Also, he's always next to a blonde girl dressed in white."
"Blonde hair and white clothes?" Cindy repeated.
"Yeah, blonde hair and white clothes. Do you know anyone like that?" Julia asked.
"Only one person," Jessica replied. "But she's not in the country."
"Do you know where she is?" Cindy asked. "And who is she?"
"Emma Frost," she said. "She's a mutant, part of the X-Men. And I don't know where she is because Logan got pissed at Barton and didn't finish telling us what's going on with Peter's student…" she sighed. "Clint's an idiot, I honestly don't know what I saw in him."
"What are you going to do?" Cindy asked.
"Talk to Logan, of course," Julia replied.
"Just don't tell him your job was to protect Spider-Man," Jessica warned. "He'd attack you once he finds out you didn't do your job."
"Ouch!" Julia complained.
"She's not lying," Cindy added.
........
Westchester County – X Mansion
Hope was staring at her phone ringing. Betsy's name appeared on the screen. It was the second time she called. Hope was torn, unsure whether to answer or let it ring until she gave up. But something inside her made her answer.
"Emma?"
"Hope, hey… Logan told me what you're going through."
"That wolverine always exaggerates," she replied.
"Really? Because skipping classes and fighting with Rachel sounds exactly like something you'd do…"
"Why did you call me?" she asked coldly.
"Logan and the others are worried about you," she sighed. "It's clear you've changed, Hope."
"There's no reason to worry, and I haven't changed," she growled.
"Spider-Man wouldn't like what you're doing."
"What do you know about my mentor?"
"Oh, sweetheart… I know more than you think. I fought beside him… I knew who was behind the mask."
"What's your point?"
"That Spider-Man wouldn't approve of you skipping classes and getting into trouble. Believe me, I once saw inside his mind… he was a total nerd."
Hope couldn't hold back a sad smile.
"I miss him…"
"So do I. But we have to move on."
"During the Phoenix events, he was the only one who didn't see me as the downfall of the mutants," she said. "He made me forget, for a moment, everything that was happening."
"Yeah… he had that gift, to make you forget the chaos around you," Emma replied. "But back to the point, Hope… Skipping school and fighting isn't right."
"Rachel is a bitch!" Hope exploded. "She keeps badmouthing my mentor. Says he deserved what happened…" she growled. "I hate her!"
"Hope, we're talking about Scott's daughter…"
"Right… what can you expect from the offspring of the guy who abandoned his own family?" she sighed. "This is all too much for me."
"Spider-Man also faced things way bigger than himself," Emma said. "And no matter how hard they were, he overcame them."
"It's hard…"
"Spider-Man never gave up. And are you going to give up? That would be a way to disappoint him."
"I don't want to do that."
"Then get up, Hope. Like Spider-Man used to say… 'No matter how many times they knock me down…'"
"I always find a way to get back up," Hope finished, tears in her eyes.
"So… what are you waiting for to get back up, Hope?"
...........
Japan
Emma ended the call. Peter stepped out of his hiding spot and looked at her with a faint smile.
"You… believed all that about me?" he whispered.
Emma gave a soft smile, stood up from the couch and walked up to him. She looked into his eyes and touched his cheeks.
"I still believe it," she whispered. "At least you still have that effect on me," she confessed.
"Emma…" he moved her hands away from his face. "I'm not the same as before."
"You've been through a lot, I understand the change," she said, kissing his knuckles. "But when I look in your eyes, I still see the guy I'm interested in. And with me, he's still the same… and that enchants me," she smiled.
Peter didn't reply, he just hugged her. She returned the hug warmly.
"Emma… I need to tell you why I still can't leave," he whispered.
"I'm listening," she said, looking into his eyes.
"I… I'm training with The Hand," he confessed.
"What?!"
..........
New York
Julia Carpenter was received by the mutants. She mentally thanked that Logan was at the mansion, because she wouldn't know what to do if he was missing. She was led to the back gardens, where he was.
"Logan," Ororo said, "Madame Web wants to talk to you."
Logan turned to see them, took a sip of his beer.
"I don't know her," he snapped. "Why'd you let her in?" he asked, staring at Ororo.
"She said she had information about Spider-Man. I thought you'd be interested," the mutant replied, shrugging. "I'll leave you two alone."
Ororo went back inside the mansion, leaving them alone. Madame Web felt uneasy — Logan's stare was anything but friendly.
"Speak," he growled.
"I'm Madame Web, and my job is to protect Spider-Man."
Logan squeezed the can in his hand, making the liquid spill. He threw it to the ground and rushed to grab Julia by the neck.
"You didn't do your damn job!" he shouted furiously. "He's dead!"
"L-listen to me!" she pleaded. "So you can understand everything…"
"I'm not listening to someone who failed their mission!"
"I… I think Peter's not dead!" she blurted out.
SNIKT. The sound of claws was heard and she saw Logan's other hand extended with blades pointed at her.
"I-I know it sounds crazy, b-but if Peter falls, the whole universe falls with him… he's the central totem!"
Logan let her go abruptly, making her fall to the ground.
"I'm listening," he said, calmer.
............
At the Avengers Tower, an important meeting was taking place. Stark was projecting images of Black Cat and her gang.
"She crowned herself as the queen of crime," Natasha commented. "Basically runs everything."
Jessica frowned — she really hated the Cat.
"Taking Fisk to prison was hard, but now her…" Jennifer crossed her arms. "It's going to be even worse, especially since we don't even know who she really is."
"At least crime rates are stable. Not going up, not going down," Stark pointed out.
"Yeah, thanks to the Captain, Carol, and me," Jessica replied. "We patrol every day."
"Jess, calm down," Janet intervened.
"No, I won't calm down!" she snapped. "Black Cat is dangerous! And while Carol, the Captain and I are killing ourselves patrolling, you guys are sitting around scratching your balls!" she growled.
"That's not true," Clint replied. "We've been on missions. Hydra's a big problem and you know it."
"I know very well… but how many times have they actually attacked?" she asked.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.
"They don't even really attack, they just send us there because they think something dangerous is happening…" she said. "And when it's not that, it's checking out an old base."
"Jess…" Jennifer tried to intervene.
"Jess my ovaries, Jennifer!" she snapped back. "I'm done with this."
She slumped into her chair.
Pulled out her Avengers ID card and placed it on the table.
"I quit," she stood up. "The Captain's right… we're not heroes."
...............
Logan was still digesting what Madame Web had told him. She explained everything about the Web of Life, the totems… He was still furious with her for not doing her job.
"I saw it with my own eyes. He was dead," he whispered.
"I know… but my visions have been strange. And in them appears that girl with white hair and white clothes," Julia said.
"You said blonde hair and white clothes?" Logan asked, and she nodded. "Why are you here?"
"Spider-Woman and Silk told me about Emma Frost," she replied. "She has blonde hair and wears clothes that color. Maybe she's involved in all this. I need to see her."
"She's not here. She's in Japan," Logan replied.
Madame Web made a frustrated face, something Logan noticed.
"Stop making faces and get to work. Maybe that way the other totems can survive," he growled.
"Thanks for the info," she replied, ignoring the comment that hurt more than she'd like to admit.
She turned her back and began walking toward the mansion.
"Wait," Logan called out, raising his voice.
There was one question he needed answered. Otherwise, he might not sleep that night. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.
"You said that if the central totem dies, our universe would fall too, right?" he asked.
"Yes. That's true," she replied, still looking over her shoulder.
"Then if our universe is still standing, it means he… is alive?"
"I don't know," she looked away. "That's why I need Miss Frost. Maybe she can give me that answer."
Without saying anything else, she walked away, leaving Logan alone, staring at the ground.
"Grr… just when I was starting to accept it…" he growled through his teeth. "He can't be alive… right?"