I'm inside my room in Black Manta's headquarters, contemplating about everything. How did it all go so wrong so fast? I'd say I have no one to blame but myself. Except it's getting harder to remember who myself is. Thanks to this glamour charm, everyone thinks I'm Mister Adamantium, professional assassin and trusted member of Black Manta's team. But I'm one of the few people this charm doesn't affect. Whenever I take off my mask and look in the mirror, it's the only reminder that I'm Peter Parker. What was I thinking? I was only trying to cover for Artemis because I knew that she and Wally had something special together. I knew they left the whole superhero thing just to be normal together, and I wanted them to be happy. I can't have that. A normal life, that is. Not since I got bitten by that spider. I thought I could have that normal life with Gwen, but Osborn reminded me that I can't. The minute I stumbled into that meeting with Nightwing, I couldn't say no if it meant Artemis could still be with Wally. I'm so frustrated that I hit the mirror that I'm looking at, and it smashes, breaking. I then hear Manta say, "Adamantium, report to Kaldur'ahm's Quarters at once."

And that's what I do, putting my mask back on. Once I make it to Kaldur's room, I see the catatonic Kaldur with his father, and an unfamiliar stranger. "What's up boss?" I asked. "Adamantium, this is Psimon," Manta introduced, "he can psychically fix my son's mind and undo the damage that the Martian witch did." Uh-oh. Just play along. "He can do that?" I asked. "Indeed my friend," replied Psimon, "I'll dig around and root his entire life back together. By the time I'm done, I'll know Kaldur'ahm better than he knows himself."

 "Perfect," I replied with no emotion. Yeah, totally perfect. That is, if you don't mind Psimon learning all of Kaldur's secrets! Including the one about Aqualad and I being double agents for The Team and the Justice League! Like I said, how did it go so wrong so fast? "When can you begin?" Manta asked. "I need to focus, set my own mental house in order before I enter his ruins," replied Psimon. "Stay with them until the process is complete," ordered Manta, "my son did not speak of his feelings, but he cares for you as a brother, Thomas." I spoke emotionlessly, "I don't speak about my feelings either. Not with words." Manta nodded and said, "your actions define you. I respect that. So you'll be glad to know I will take action against the Martian witch that did this to our beloved Kaldur'ahm." Great. Now I'll have to rescue Miss Martian too... Long distance, no less.

A few minutes later, Psimon was finished meditating. "Alright, I'm ready," he said, "Let's see what the weather's like in there..." I gotta do something, ASAP! Or else we're both toast! On a stick! So I threw one of my deadly darts into Psimon's neck. He didn't notice, thank God. "The Martian really did a number on you Kaldur," he said, "believe me, I know how it feels. But, fear not. We'll have you up and running in... No... Time..." That's when the drugging started to work. "Something's... Wrong..." he slurred, "my mind... Clouding over..." He started to mentally attack, giving me a whopper headache. "You!" Psimon snapped, telepathically picking me up and striking me to a wall. Come on, knock out ugly! He kept on pushing me into walls, saying, "You drugged me! But why?!?!?!?? Psimon says reveal your secrets!" I'm forced to reveal who I really am. "Spider-Man!" he telepathically said, "you're Spider-Man and the drug... An invention of Stark's... Iron Man's... A single dose... Simulates catatonia... For weeks! But you... Miscalculated... How quickly... It takes..." But thankfully, he was out, letting me go. That's when Manta and his men barged in. "What happened?!?!?!" Manta asked. Play dumb, Parker. "I'm not sure," I lied, "he just went... Berserk. Is it possible Miss Martian left some telepathic virus in Kaldur's mind?" I hope he buys it. "If she did, then any telepath we might employ might suffer the same fate," he said. He bought it! "There's still one telepath who can help," I said, "Miss Martian herself. It's our only recourse. Send me to the mainland. I'll bring back the martian and we'll force her to cure Kaldur." 

"Yes," said Manta, "yes of course. But she's dangerous. Kaldur would never forgive me if I sent you to face her alone." I said, "I'll take a squad of troopers." But Manta said, "No. You'll take Deathstroke." 

"Perfect," I said. Yeah. Perfect. But thankfully, we were able to find M'gann and Lagoon Boy. They were at the junkyard in Chicago. Looks like they're having relationship problems. "Well this is awkward," I said, getting their attention. "We hate to interrupt such poignant interspecies romance, but we have pressing business with the Martian," said Deathstroke. He used his sword to blind them, and attacked Lagoon Boy. M'gann floated up, dodging my shot. "Peter, that's you, right?" she telepathically asked. "Yeah, it's me," I telepathically responded, "and I'm here to kidnap you." 

 "What?!?!?!??" she telepathically asked. She once again dodged my attacks. "I need your help to save Kaldur," I telepathically responded, "but Deathstroke can't know I'm on your side. Neither can Lagoon Boy. So, try to make this abduction look good..." M'gann obliged, nearly hitting me with a car. "Without squishing me, please?" I telepathically asked. As Deathstroke fought Lagoon Boy, I continued to dodge M'gann's attacks. I then kicked her to the ground. Deathstroke then knocked Lagoon Boy so hard, he broke his leg. "Now that leg doesn't look good," said Deathstroke, "though I hate to see any poor animals suffer. You aren't on my hit list. How about an anesthetic for the pain?" He then knocked Lagoon Boy out. I then cornered M'gann into a ring of fire, weakening her. Deathstroke then put the dampening collar on her. Our mission was a success, and we got away. Soon, we got M'gann aboard, and into Kaldur's room. "Welcome aboard, Martian." Manta said heartlessly, "Let me make your situation perfectly clear. You are here to psychically fix the damage you have done to my son's mind. This inhibitor collar negates all your Martian abilities. In a moment, we will selectively reinstate your telepathic power only. But before we do that, understand; Deathstroke is watching you at all times. You'll be beyond the range of a psychic power. If he perceives even a hint of trouble, he will press a button which will activate a substantive explosive charge in your collar. So don't lose your head." He looked at the camera and said, "Deathstroke. Activate her telepathy." And that's what happened. Manta walked to the door and said, "now, save my son, or die." He then left the room. "You heard him," I barked, "get to work!" 

 "Peter, what do I do?" M'gann telepathically asked. "What do you mean, what do I do? Fix Kaldur!" I telepathically responded, "the three of us will figure it out later!" M'gann looked at me and telepathically said, "I'm not worried about the rest. But honestly, I don't know if I can fix Kaldur... Breaking a mind is easy. But restoring one... Might be impossible. What if I make things worse? My mere presence could be seen as another attack." I looked in the mirror and telepathically said, "Then take me with you. He won't perceive me as a threat. I can help." M'gann looked at me and said, "Maybe. Or maybe I lose you too." I telepathically responded, "M'gann, we don't have any other choice." M'gann looked sadly and telepathically said, "No, I suppose not." That's when we telepathically entered Kaldur's mind. Suddenly, I was in my old Spider-Man costume, gasping for air. "Peter! Peter! You're not underwater!" M'gann said, "this isn't real! If you allow the illusions to hurt you here, your mind could suffer real damage! Permanent damage!" I got a hold of myself, breathing. "Right, right," I said, "sorry M'gann." I looked around in Kaldur's head. His very messed up head... "This is how he perceives his psyche..." M'gann said, "Atlantis... In ruins... I don't even know where to start." Suddenly, we got attacked by Aquagirl! But then I remember, it's not real. You've got Spider Senses, Peter!

I'm able to save M'gann as Aquagirl chases us. "M'gann, snap out of it!" I said, "You know none of this real!" Come on M'gann... "All my fault... All my fault..." M'gann said. I decide to not bother with Aquagirl and look for Kaldur myself. Just my luck, I find him. But he's not the same. He's speaking unintelligible words. I knew I should've taken Atlantean language classes. "Come on Kaldur," I said, "it's me, Peter. M'gann and I are here to help make you better." The closest I could understand was, "I am alone. There is no-one here. Nothing... Ruins..." He's ready to float away, but I grab him and say, "No! No, you're not alone! We're here! We care about you, and we want to help! And we can do it! Together! Help us save you, together!" Right when M'gann is allowing herself to get killed, I intervene. "No!" I snapped, "You want to blame yourself? Fine! But only if you're willing to do something about it!" M'gann took Kaldur's hand, reaching out to him. "Kaldur, I am so sorry... Please, let me help you..." she pleaded. "Help? No, ruins..." Kaldur said, "All ruins..."

"But it doesn't have to be ruins," said M'gann, "we can fix things." I took their hands and said, "Together. As friends." We then started to metaphorically fix the ruins. Suddenly, I got interrupted by Black Manta, snapped back to reality. "Adamantium, what's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing," I lied, "I was lost in thought. Feels like I've been standing here for hours."

"You have," replied Manta, "Six hours. I came to check on your progress." Wow, time flies fast. "We've only just begun," said M'gann, "this will take days. Maybe weeks." Manta then growled, "you better not be stalling, Martian..." But by excellent timing, Kaldur weakly said, "Father... Father..." Manta sat next to Kaldur and said, "My son... I'm here, Kaldur'ahm."

"He's not back yet, not really," said M'gann. "No. But I see you are making progress," observed Manta, "keep it up, and you'll live. Mr. Adamantium, a word." We left the room and Black Manta said, "The witch is being more cooperative than I imagined." I curiously asked, "meaning you're having second thoughts?" Manta responded, "Meaning she's safe. When she's finished fixing my son, then she dies." Manta turned his back and I said, "Perfect." Yeah, totally perfect.