Ephemeral »« No Way Home

seventeen

Till she realises exactly where he is.

"No..."

Behind her, Happy's apartment is almost completely destroyed. Fires burn out, crushed brick and concrete everywhere, traces of blood.

"The damage, the destruction... You saw it with your own eyes. When will people wake up, and realise that everywhere Spider-Man goes... chaos and calamity ensue? Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin. And we, the innocents, are left to pick up the pieces."

That's when the headline running across the bottom of the screen finally processes in Xara's head. And when it does, she wishes with everything in her that it didn't.

May Parker, Spider-Man's aunt, passes away in battle near Staten Island.

Passes away.

She's gone.

The hand presses against Xara's mouth before she can control her actions, the sobbing beginning before she can even realise what it means. Before she can recall all the times she spent with May.

Hiding out at May's after a fight with her dad. Hearing her voice over the phone after the Blip. Chatting together when they thought Peter was sleeping.

Clothes shopping. Coffee. Birthdays. Camping trips. Theme parks. It's all gone. Xara will never get to do any of those things with May ever again.

Her legs wobble and collapse, Xara falling to the ground and sending spasms of pain through her body. But it means nothing. She doesn't care. It's gone, it's all gone.

It's at the flicker of light near her that she turns, noticing a nearby pharmacy at last, sign lit up. Peter. She needs to get to Peter. She needs to find him quickly.

But Karen doesn't seem to be working anymore, suit torn and wires destroyed beyond repair, and her phone is dead.

Pulling herself to her feet forcefully, she hobbles over to the pharmacy.

The woman behind the counter - probably in her early or mid twenties, by the momentary glance Xara casts over to her - can't help but gape at the sight of a bloodied and battered Spider-Woman going between the aisles, looking for anything she can find. Strong painkillers, bandages, gauze, plasters, anything that can possibly be useful once she's finally had time to assess the damages. Somehow.

Although she has no clue how she's going to go about doing that. There's not a single doctoring bone in her body, barely able to sort herself out over skinned knees or random bruises.

By the time she's done, her full arms drop everything onto the counter, the movement itself making her hiss in pain. She glances up at the woman, whose lips are still parted in shock, before reading the name tag. "Laila. Hi. Do you mind, uh..."

It's a couple of seconds before Laila seems to snap herself out of it, shaking her head quickly. Her bushy curls wave around from the movement. "Right. Definitely. I'll just..."

She doesn't say anything else, shutting her mouth quite fast and beginning to scan in the various medicines. Whether she's surprised because of Spider-Woman or because of the state Xara currently is in, she's not too sure, but she continues anyway. "$18.45."

Xara reaches into her pocket, only to stop and realise, "Ah. I pay with my phone, but... would you happen to have a phone charger?"

Dumbfounded, Laila just reaches into her pocket and holds up her own, immediately getting to plugging it in behind the counter. She doesn't dare look up, although a hesitant question slips out. "Sorry to ask, Miss Spider-Woman, but... are you okay? You look..."