I sat in my room in silence, staring at my phone, as I waited for the inevitable call. Big sis still hadn’t rung yet, but she was going to. The school day was over but Eric was out with his friends. Or maybe with Rachael, it didn’t matter. I had the room all to myself, which was a good thing and a bad thing. It gave me a chance to sit here and reflect on my choices in silence. Not that I was doing as much reflecting as I was wallowing in self-pity.
Ever since I’d come to New York my life had been a mess. The powers, school, the arguments, the isolation, all of it was unbearable. The only thing that seemed to be going right was the science stuff and I was barely even doing anything for that. But even that was getting me into trouble. I’d even nearly messed up this hero thing with Amy and I was starting to have second thoughts about that already. I was a mess.
I jumped as my phone buzzed. I looked at the caller ID. It was Big Sis. I hesitated to pick it up. What would I say? Did I tell her? But what if people started asking questions and it eventually led to people finding out I was a part-time superhero? It wouldn’t take much to figure out I was the anonymous test subject in Ricardo and Lindon’s experiment. Then what about Amy? If they’d kept any documentation on her then could people review CCTV footage and figure it from there? Shit. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to say something, to confide in the person I’d relied on for my entire life, but I couldn’t. I’d already caused enough trouble as it was. I didn’t need to ruin her life and the lives of everyone close to me as well.
I picked up the phone and answered. There was heavy, ragged breathing on the other end of the line.
“I’m sorry” I whispered.
“Don’t” she replied in a harsh definite tone. “Do you know how hard I worked to get you to where you are?! I can’t even…” she trailed off. I heard her choke up before taking a deep breath.
“You’ll be staying with Tía and Tío. Sofia and I’ll visit on the weekend. We’ll talk properly then” she said. The phone beeped in my ear. She’d hung up.
A wave of emotion passed through me, and I clutched my chest. I clenched my shirt tightly, feeling buttons pop under the force. I hated this feeling. Knowing how badly I’d disappointed her. It was the last thing I’d ever want to do. I felt my head start to spin with sorrow and I stood up, clutching my head. I needed to do something. Something good. Anything to get rid of this horrible feeling.
Suddenly the idea came to me. I dived to the floor and reached under my bed, grabbing the bag of money. I had this. I could give this back. I’d hand it over to the police and come back without this horrible feeling. I grabbed the bag with my suit in it and rushed into the bathroom. I started to change frantically pulling on my suit. I froze when I caught myself in the mirror. Tears streamed down my face and my eyes were puffy and red. I looked away feeling the sudden weight of reality. This was a terrible idea. There was no doubt in my mind that if I was found missing with suspension looming then I’d get expelled.
But what else could I do?
I had no one to talk to here. No one I could confide in. No one I could tell how I was feeling. At NYTA Lucas Escarra was completely and utterly alone. I looked down at my costume, staring at the spider symbol on my chest. Spider-man had someone to talk to. Spider-man had Chrysalis. Spider-man had Amy. And right now, I wasn’t Lucas Escarra. I was Spider-man. I turned to the mirror and pulled on my mask, concealing the look of defeat. The feelings of sorrow dissipated as I stared at the empty lenses of the mask. I didn’t look sad anymore. I didn’t look like anything. Right now, I could have any expression on my face, and no one would know. I pulled out the burner phone and looked down at the bag of money. I had someone I needed to call.
-
I swung through the air gracefully, steadily getting closer to the police station. I’d agreed to meet Chrysalis near her house so we could hand off the money together. It’d be a great way to get in the good books with the police. It was getting darker a lot faster now, and there were lights on all around the city. I’d never swung around with it so dark before. It was weird. I paused as I heard a shout from an alley. I brought myself to a stop on the side of a building and listened carefully. The noises of the city made it difficult to focus, but my enhanced hearing allowed me to hear clearly. There was something going on in that alley. I shot out a web and swung across the street. I landed in the alley. There were four guys, and a girl. One of the guys was on the floor, unmoving as the three others stood over the girl.
They all turned to me and bolted almost instantly. I webbed two of them and yanked them back. They flew through the air, crashed to the ground hard and didn’t get up. The third guy bolted out the alley. Not on my watch. I leapt upwards and fired a web swinging out of the alley and onto the street. He ran, barging people out the way and stumbling over his own feet. I fired another web and swung past him before dropping down and landing in front of him. He skidded to a stop and tried to turn around but it was too late. I hit him hard and he fell to the ground clutching his stomach. I hit him in the stomach hard again and then slapped him in the face knocking him out. I webbed him to the floor.
I looked up at the people around me who stood still, watching the spectacle, their faces uncertain.
“Nothing to see here. Just your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man” I said. I wrenched the guy upwards by the lapel and leapt into the air, before swinging back to the alley. The girl and the first guy on the floor were gone. Didn’t matter. I grabbed the two others, webbed the trio together and stuck them on my back. Then ran up the side of the building, leapt off the roof and carried on swinging towards the police station.
“Spider!” a voice said from above me. I glanced up as I swung. It was Chrysalis. “You’re late” she said as she descended, “I was waiting for almost half an hour.”
“Sorry, a lot more crime happens at this time than you think” I said, pointing to the guys on my back. She glanced back at the trio.
“Oh, sorry. Want me to carry one?”
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“Nah, they’re just petty criminals”
“…ok. Uh quick question, why’d you want to do this now though? Couldn’t it have waited till tomorrow?”
“No. It’s important we do this as soon as possible”
“Sure… why’re putting on a voice though?”
“This is Spider-man’s voice”
“…ok. Why though?”
“It makes me sound more professional, and people won’t recognise my voice”
“Fair enough. I just-” she trailed off. There was silence for a few seconds.
“You just what?” I asked.
“Fire. Let’s go”
“Huh?”
“Fire! Let’s go”
“W-wait! What about the money? What about these guys?” I said. Chrysalis turned to look at me incredulous.
“Forget about that! Don’t you see the smoke?! People could be in trouble!”
“I- the police station’s right around the corner. It literally won’t take any time”
“Are you serious?! I’m not arguing about this! We’re wasting time. Let’s go!”
I felt my head start to spin again and I glanced at thugs on my back, then down at the bag of money.
“You go, I’ll catch up” I said, as I rushed off the edge of the building.
“What?! Lucas?! Lucas!” she shouted. I ignored her as I swung away. I landed outside the police station and threw open the doors. Heads turned towards me and the cops suddenly seemed on guard. I let the thugs fall to the floor and put the bag of money on the reception desk.
“From Spider-man and Chrysalis. These guys were attacking someone and the bag’s got money from a bunch of Bear’s hideouts. Give it to charity or something” I said. I heard the click of a gun and turned to see a cop pointing one at me.
“Don’t move” they said.
“Sorry, but I’ve got to go. There’s a fire down the road” I said. I turned to leave and felt my spider sense buzz. I darted to the side as the crack of a gun firing echoed through the room. I webbed to the door and yanked myself through one of the glass windows as gunshots cracked out behind me. Jesus Christ. Talk about trigger happy. I landed in the street and leapt into the air before swinging towards the plume of smoke.
I swung quickly, steadily nearing the raging flames. As I got closer I could see that they were on an apartment building. Crap. I landed on the building next door, feeling the heat against my skin. My heart beat rapidly in my chest. I had to go into that? That? I breathed deeply calming myself down. I was Spider-man right now, not Lucas. I could do this. I prepared to leap from the edge of the building when my spider sense buzzed. There was an explosion and I was sent flying backwards as two figures emerged from the burning building in a wave of fire. They crashed to the top of my building, giving me just enough time to recognise them.
One of them was the armoured guy who’d attacked us at the warehouse, and the other was the fire woman from one of the hideouts. Why the hell were they fighting each other?! Didn’t matter, I had to stop them. I fired webs at the two, trying to stick them to the ground, but the billowing heat from the woman made it difficult to contain them. She blasted the armoured guy in the chest with a burst of flame and he went flying, crashing into a separate building. She turned and spotted me and my spider sense roared. I dived to the side as fire engulfed half the roof. I carried on leaping away and dived over the side of the building as the fire spread, engulfing the entire roof behind me. I caught myself on the side wall. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as the heat alone seared my arms. A flurry of memories rushed to me, my head filled with the sound of tyres screeching and the horrifying feeling of unbearable heat. I felt my body tense, my muscles freezing in place. Why was I remembering that now of all times!?
I tried to move but couldn’t. All my senses seemed turned to the max, and time seemed to slow down. I could feel the texture of the brick underneath my fingers, see every lick of flame flickering across the building in clear detail, taste and smell the acrid stench of burning in the air, and hear the screams of the people inside the building. I felt small, the edges of my vision dimming. The cacophony of screams reminded me of the accident. I needed to get away from here. It was too much. I couldn’t do this. Why the hell had I even left my house in the first place? I was so afraid right now I couldn’t even move. I couldn’t be a hero. I wasn’t Amy.
Amy? Where the hell was Amy?!
I felt my spider sense screech in my ears, but it felt distant, like it was in the background. My spider sense roared louder, but it only served to paralyze me more as I felt another wave of heat wash over me. I flinched slightly, clamping my eyes shut as my body grew hot. I heard a shout and something thudded it my side, shattering my ribs. I flew through the air before slamming into the ground, my side screaming out in pain. I writhed in pain on the floor, clutching at my ribs, my mind unable to comprehend the pain. I barely had time to register Amy was standing over me when my spider sense screamed loudly. I didn’t have time to move before I was flung through the air.
I crashed to the floor, smoke steaming from my suit as I struggled to regain my wits. My ears rung and my body shook. I looked up to witness the horror before me. Amy lay on the floor unmoving, her wings burnt to a crisp. All throughout the street civilians lay on the floor screaming, whilst those further away ran. The scene was so eerily familiar I didn’t even need to take a good look to see what had happened. A car had exploded and people had died. I wanted to look away from the chaos, but my eyes were transfixed. I felt sick. The fire girl stumbled across the street, walking over to me and Amy. She wasn’t on fire anymore, but I could still feel the heat emanating from her.
My spider sense whirred constantly, growing louder as she walked towards us. I needed to get up. I needed to do something. But my body didn’t listen to me, the feeling in my arms slowly starting to give out. The woman reached Amy and stepped on her back, her foot glowing white hot.
“That’s for nearly putting me in prison” she said. Amy’s eyes shot open and she writhed in pain screaming out. With a sudden burst of strength I pushed myself forwards and lunged at her. The woman hit me across the face with more strength than I’d expected and I slumped to the floor. My side screamed at me, the pain consuming my thoughts. I barely had time to register the build up of heat right above of me as my spider sense screamed.
“And this is for nearly killing my brother!” the woman screamed. She grabbed me by the shoulder and instantly all the pain in my side vanished. My shoulder burned, with more pain than I’d ever felt before. The pain twisted my mind, contorting my thoughts as every cell in my body begged for mercy.
She let go and I was met with a momentary relief, followed by waves of more pain spreading through my arm. I collapsed to the floor. I could barely make out the woman, but she wobbled as she stood over the two of us, gasping for air. Something in me seemed to realise this was it. I was about to die. I felt my spider sense buzz as she started to glow again.
“And this is for the Bears!” she screamed. Her hands glowed white hot and she brought them downwards. Before she could fire Amy shot to her feet and grabbed her hands, pointing them up. A blinding fire filled the sky, the heat almost unbearable. It disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared and the woman slammed to the floor beneath Amy. Amy stumbled and then collapsed as well.
Huh?
I was… alive?
I was alive.
Amy had saved me. She’d saved us. I fought with all my strength to roll over and push myself off the floor, ignoring the waves of pain that ripped through me. I crawled over to Amy. She was barely breathing. I needed to get her away. I needed to get her to a hospital.
“Help” I croaked out barely as the bystanders looked at us and the burning building.
“Somebody help” I croaked. Everybody just stared at us, nobody moving.
I turned back to Amy to see the burns on her back. Oh god. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening. I needed to get her to a hospital now. I stood up, using all my willpower not to vomit and picked up Amy, slinging her onto my back. I heard the sound of heavy metal footsteps behind me and turned around.
It was the armoured guy from before. His suit was ruined, melted and disfigured in parts. He walked weirdly, barely moving as he stumbled down the street. He stretched a hand out to me.
“You’re a hero, right?” he said, his voice crackling over an intercom, “Please, my niece is in there. I can’t walk properly, and I can’t take off the suit. Help me. Help me find her” he said pleading. I turned away and fired a web, yanking us away.
“No! No!!!” he screamed behind me, falling to the floor. I ignored him, ignoring all the guilt and the pain as I swung away. I needed to focus on Amy. I had to get Amy to safety.