Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spectacular Characters, Marvel Characters, or anything from DisneyWorld... I just do this for fun :)
MAJOR DISCLAIMER: Aspects of this chapter are MATURE, so keep that in mind, especially with the language and violence. This will apply to future chapters as well.
BROKE THE SCALE - CONNORS RESIDENCE
'To think history would repeat itself with my family. But this time, I'm on this side of it... not inside my dad's office stuck in there, playing computer games... I wish I was still there.'
From the little amount of violent monster films the young Billy watched, he gathered that the giant monster with terrifying claws, razor-sharp teeth, and ferocious eyes ruled through terror and dread. At that moment, the blonde boy knew he'd fit right in. And he didn't need a mirror to understand why. He had that exact feeling of terror over everyone in his presence. His parents and his friends had this dreaded look painted on their faces.
Even with all this, he still felt powerless. Being a spectator in his own body. As if something else pulled his strings.
His mother anxiously called for him, "BILLY-HONEY, WE NEED YOU TO STAY RIGHT THERE!... OKAY?!"
Having heard her voice choking up and strain, pulled on Billy's heartstrings. He wanted to run to her and hold her tight. Nothing else in the world he wanted more. Not in his current state though, since his stomach thunderously roared, at the sight of these fragile people. Those urges kept picking at him, till it erupted into an overwhelming craving. Yet Billy resisted, gripping himself as long as possible, to resist these urges.
But it wasn't easy once his mother kept stepping closer...
And closer...
And closer to him.
She anxiously assured, "Billy... Billy, everything is going to be... okay–just stay still—just like that—you can do it, honey. I know you can..."
'Mommy please... don't–'
But he couldn't say a thing to warn her. Even if he wanted to. He couldn't speak, he couldn't fully control his movements. His mind kept spinning, and it never stopped. He frustratingly couldn't do anything he wanted, and he despised it.
That's the exact, wretched feeling he felt ever since he arrived in Orlando.
"Billy please-"
His resistance was slipping at that moment. He needed himself as far as possible from them. To protect them. Even through force. Once she took her next step to him, the creature salivated at the sight of it. But Billy took control, and mindlessly bounced off the walls of the basement, trying to find an opening. The moment the creature found an opening, it burst through the fragile room. In the distance, one of the final things Billy overheard was the fragile room collapsing on itself with panicked screams ensuing down under. At that point, however, Billy couldn't hold such resistance any longer, as the monster preyed on his weakened state, and took control. The humanoid reptile burst out of the house, and landed on the street, hunting for its human prey. Which in a bustling city like Orlando, there are many opportunities for munching.
TRUST FALL - SHIELD
In the SHIELD helicarrier that hovered above Orlando, Peter Parker exhaustedly laid in his cell, after many attempts to escape it. He thought the Vault security system back in Rykers was intense. This was another level.
As he laid there, his mind meandered to everything his Hydra-affiliated parents possibly did. Just their affiliation with the Nazis made the possibilities dreadfully endless. He never thought he'd ever have to think of such nastiness about his parents... but it changed so much... about what he believed about himself, and his whole history.
Especially with his childhood friend-turned-madman, Eddie Brock. He believed he was an orphan boy like Eddie, with both of their parents dying to a freak airplane accident. That's it. But now, it felt more terrifyingly clear. His parents killed Eddie Brock's parents. And framed it as an accident. 'How am I going to tell Eddie? Should I even tell him?—Of course I should tell him–what am I thinking'
He knew he was getting a head of himself, but his mind kept rambling. All of his expectations were a complete air-ball, like nearly everything on this trip. The reason he was even here in Orlando, was just to visit SHIELD—obviously backfiring on him. Then his promise to Liz backfired, and now she'll probably despise him for an eternity and—yeah, he needed a break from all of this. But he couldn't, since he was stuck in this cage, for what felt like an eternity–
Luckily it wasn't that long till he sensed activity. From the corner of his eye, he noticed plenty of SHIELD agents urgently marching passed him.
"Uh-oh, something's up!"
He noticed plenty of the agents whispered to each other, so they wouldn't leak any info. Days like this, made him wish he had super hearing since he couldn't make out what these agents discreetly whispered to each other.
So the instant he spotted Nick Fury walking past him, he made sure to catch his attention.
Peter hollered, "FURY YOOO-HOOO–WHAT'S GOING ON?! TOO MANY PEOPLE KEEP WALKING INCONSPICUOUSLY PAST ME–"
Nick Fury dismissed, "Not now Mr. Parker."
"No-no, you're not ignoring me! Something BIG is going on?"
"We have it handled, Spider-Man. No need for you!"
"Why are you shutting me out, Fury?!"
"Not now!"
"NO! We're talking about this now! I get it, my parents were scummy people... doesn't mean I'm cut from the same cloth. So please–"
"You know, every time I see you—your face. I see your father. It's scary really. Cuz it's the same man, who put a knife in my back!"
"I know Fury. This whole Spy game you got, is all about deception. But there's no deception, going on with me. Trust me–"
"Trust you?!"
Peter's new patriotic friend budded in, "Yes, trust the kid!"
"Captain Rogers, this does not involve you–"
"It does, Fury. I barely even know this kid, and I know I can trust him with my life"
"Your 70 years in ice made you naïve, Cap," Fury spat.
"No, it made me optimistic. Those strangers who found me in ice: didn't try to sell me. Kill me. Or ignore me. Instead, they helped me, giving me another chance at life. So it's not naivety Fury, it's hope," Steve expressed. "Plus, we're gonna need all the help we can get if we're going to stop this creature, wrecking shop in Orlando," he added.
"What kind of creature was it, Steve?"
"Don't say it..."
"He deserves to know, Fury—it's the Lizard, Peter"
The web-slingers' mind spiraled, 'The LIZARD'S BACK! Not again Dr. Connors!... And Gwen and MJ's with him too! Oh-no-no-no-no! I gotta get down there!'
"Fury, I gotta go down there! I know this guy, Dr. Curtis Connors. I know how to stop, and save him at the same time!"
"This is why I didn't tell you, Parker! You're gonna be a liability down there. Especially since there's no saving who was once there"
"I've done it before, trust me"
"It's not a liability to be human, Fury"
"It is, when that monster is attacking civilians, and likely causing more casualties the longer we wait. Its probably made its way to DisneyWorld right about now!"
"Then let's stop the chit-chat and lemme out now! My friends are down there too! I gotta protect them too!" Peter pleaded. "Please, don't take this out on them, Fury. I seriously beg you!" he continued.
Peter knew he chiseled his way out, with the look on the once-stern superspy, melting in front of him.
Fury gave in, "Fine–but you're going with Captain Rodgers."
"Fine... but I'm not gonna carry him"
"Who said he needed carrying? Also, don't forget your Comms," Fury acknowledged.
Once both of them grabbed one and put it in their ears, Steve strapped his patriotic shield on his back and put on his wing-eared helmet. Peter's eyes widened once he saw, with no hesitation, the soldier leap out of the helicarrier.
"He got a parachute, right?"
Fury shook his head, with this confident smirk on his face, "They don't call him Captain America for no reason."
That sent plenty of goosebumps down Peter's arm once he heard that. The fearful webhead took a big gulp and readied his underarm webs before jumping off the platform.
'These web wings weren't made to be practical!'
Spider-Man screamed, soaring through the air, "Oh, this is gonna SUCK!"
The chilling wind powerfully rushed past his face. His heart rushed far faster than the air blowing at him. 'This is so how I die!'
It took him a few moments for his anxieties to ease, leading to his body finally steady in the air.
"I'M DOING IT! I'M DOING IT! OH GOD–I'M DOING IT!"
He noticed he wasn't far from the landing zone, where plenty of shield agents landed safely. However, once he did, it was rough... landing in a trash bin instead. Once he got out, he followed the historic Captain America into the escapism of an amusement park, known as—
GREAT HEIGHTS - DISNEYWORLD, ORLANDO
Welcome to a world of fantasy, magic, and escape! 'The happiest place on earth'... according to all of Disney's brochures and pamphlets. The idea of these promises, got the students absolutely hyped, since these Midtown students, just wanted to get their money's worth with this trip and have a blast. And most students did, floating on cloud nine, after hopping from Peter Pan's flight to Big Thunder Mountain.
However, even after all those exhilarating rides, and sugary snacks for an hour, Liz Allan wasn't at ease, with this tense look on her face.
With plenty on her mind, weighing her down, especially with her boyfriend Peter Parker.
She knew what life would be like dating the man behind the Spectacular Spider-Man, and the brunette put up with it for the past few months. But Peter wasn't gone because of a Spider-Man issue... he was gone because of his sudden interest in his parents. Albeit she knew she gave the idea. Even so, to her, it felt like she pulled plenty of strings for the perfect trip, for nothing to happen...
Sally Avril budded in, and curiously asked, "Trouble in paradise, Lizzy?"
Liz quickly dismissed, "It's nothing Sal."
"C'mon, why lie? We've known each other since pre-school. I know something's up," Sally nudged. "So what is it? You worried about King Geek?" she urged.
"What?! Why would I be worried about him?-"
"I mean, the twirp's sick, right? That's usually how that works Lizzy, you gotta worry outta obligation"
"Oh right"
"Good thing you're not sick"
"I know... I just wished he was here, with me"
"You wanna give him a call? And check on him, y'know... make sure he actually isn't dead"
"Lord I hope not"
"Liz, I'm teasing. It's probably just a cold, he won't actually die"
"Right– right–You're right"
"Aren't I always? Plus, kinda glad the twirp isn't here. He would've gotten everyone else sick. We don't need that precedent as seniors on our senior retreat"
Suddenly Liz saw Sally's eyes ignite with this face of disdain.
"What if Parker's faking being sick?"
"Wait what?"
"I'm serious Liz. Like, that seems so sudden. To get sick like that"
"Sally, it's not like that, at all," Liz calmly insisted.
"Nonono, Lizzy. I know you're so trusting and all... but have you seen the redhead around? Or Gwen?"
"Sally, stop."
"Sorry to break it to you, but this is a genuine possibility!"
"Stop it."
"You never know Lizzy. What if he's hooking up with Gwen again-"
Liz's hands ragefully shook her by the shoulders, "Stop-stop-STOP—please! Listen to me for once Sally! Just STOP!"
Immediately, by the look of Liz's piercing gaze, Sally realized she stepped too far,
"Alright, I'm real sorry Lizzy. Took it too far there," Sally apologized. "I think I went on that tyrade, cuz... I'm occupied with my mess..." she confessed.
Liz slowly dropped the fiery gaze and took a deep breath, before turning to her.
"What's wrong with you and Rand? I thought you two were going strong?"
"We were... then we hit a HUGE ROADBLOCK!"
"Which is?"
"Me," Sally softly confessed.
"Wha-"
"I don't deserve him, Lizzy... I have to dump him"
"Wha-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Sal!"
"I'm not dumb. He's miserable... cuz of me! Don't you get it?"
At that moment, Liz didn't know what to 'get.' Even though, she knew Sally wasn't the greatest girlfriend in the world... bordering on toxic, she didn't think her best friend had the self-awareness to admit it herself... which encouraged her.
Liz questioned, "What makes you jump to that?"
Sall explained, "I'm just not there enough for him... like y'know physically and emotionally"
"What? Sally, you're not making sense"
"I'm... not... great with... emotions. Y'know, all that girl stuff"
"You mean, the relationship part... of the relationship?"
"Well yeah"
"You gotta be kidding me, Sal"
"I'm not good at that part. I don't know how to connect with him, y'know... even though I wished I could tell him, I-I love him... but the words don't really spill outta my mouth"
"Just try Sal... just try," Liz softly voiced.
Her blonde friend responded with a subtle nod, with her eyes glimmering. Sally lowered her head over her shoulder, releasing a sigh of relief. The brunette scooted close to her and gave her a warm embrace.
"Love you Sal"
"Love you, Lizzy..."
"See, you're not bad at it!"
"Thanks Lizzy... Look, sorry for ranting about Parker again. I know you love him. I just don't like that he's never around... and I know it's none of my business. But I hope he's not playing you," Sally expressed.
Liz's smiling face dropped once she heard that, with her doubt-filled mind rambling.
At that moment though, that wasn't the only thing that bewildered her, with the sight of a handful of children and their panicked parents stampeding past them.
"Lizzy... what's going on?!"
"No clue"
They stepped on the bench to get a better view. And the instant they caught sight of what got people scrambling, it got them doing the same.
"Is that... A GIANT FREAKING LIZARD?! HOLY- "
"We gotta go Sally! C'mon! Let's go–let's go–let's go!"
Liz urgently grabbed her arm, and chaotically burst for the exits, much like the overwhelming crowds of people.
At the same time, many shield agents, and soldiers converged onto the scene, with Captain America leading the way.
Steve urgently ordered, "Alright Spider-Man, you know the Lizard... so subdue him. Everyone else, get these civilians out of harm's way now!"
"On it!"
Spider-man quickly swung into the amusement park, patrolling for the reptilian beast. While he did, he got distracted, once his ears heard a familiar frantic scream.
"OH MY GOD, SALLY-SALLY-SALLY!"
He gazed down and witnessed Liz frantically cradling her best friend.
"Sally... don't do this to me–don't do this to me!... SALLY!" Liz pleaded. "No-no-no-no-no-no-no—please," her voice trembled.
Instantly, the alarmed web-slinger swung over and checked for a pulse. He felt nothing, from her wrist or her neck. His heart sank at the realization of it.
"Get her out of here!" Steve ordered from the distance.
He quickly glanced at Steve, before glancing back at the corpse of the blonde cheerleader, Sally Avril.
He glanced back at Liz, who collapsed her hands over mouth, with tears pouring down from her eyes. He covered Liz's sunken eyes, not wanting her eyes to linger, and held her close. He knew she was cracking at the seams, as he felt every single sob and tear, seeping into his suit. His heart knew she needed him here. That's all he wanted. His mind, however, knew nothing was gonna stop the monstrous Lizard from creating more damage.
"Liz I-"
Liz stammered through her tears, "I'm sorry–I'm sorry–Go ahead. Go... and be the hero."
The many soldiers came to her side and quickly took her and Sally away to the safety zone.
With a heavy heart, he turned his attention back to the lizard chase. His eyes heartbreakingly noticed all the destruction, and blood that littered on the pavement.
Immediately, his intense eyes locked onto the reptilian creature. The creature made its way to the Ferris wheel. Without another thought, he propelled himself toward the Lizard.
Spider-Man exclaimed, "Dr. Connors, You gotta stop! You've committed enough damage today! Can't believe you'd do this to yourself again!"
He wrapped his arms around the large neck of the lizard and tried wrestling it to the ground. 'SHOOT! We don't have a gene cleanser... C'mon Doc! You gotta make this easier for me... Or else, this isn't gonna be gentle'
Defensively, the lizard shrieked and powerfully tail whipped the hero into a winner's booth.
"Not cool Doc..." he groaned.
He laid there for a moment to breathe. Spider-Man forgot how tiring it was to handle the Lizard. But at least he had experience. Once he sprung up, he got in close, and wrapped his webbing to the creature's waist. Then he gave him the hands, and upper-cutt'd him in the chin. He wrapped and spun the webbing around the creature before throwing it into a wooden tunnel.
"That love-tap isn't going to stop it. We need a way to contain him!" Captain America admitted.
Suddenly, a young woman rushed toward them in a panic.
"Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man knew that captivating voice, so he turned to see a very familiar blonde gal, Gwen Stacy.
"Gwe-Girly—By any chance, you brought a gene cleanser"
"Those got destroyed-"
"So what're we supposed to use to cure Dr. Connors?"
"That's the thing. That is not Dr. Connors!"
"What?"
His heart rate raced the instant he spotted Curtis Connors frantically rush toward them.
"It's his son-"
His eyes bulged out of its socket with the realization, "Oh, my god... Billy!"
"Yes... How'd you know tha-"
'Billy?! It was... Billy this whole time?!'
"No time for explanation, we gotta contain Billy!"
Captain America and Spider-Man sprung to action, heading toward the creature's direction.
Meanwhile, trapped in the immense amount of rubble from the statue, the winded Billy saw himself, finally still for a second. All of this can finally stop. All the unimaginable horrors that he witnessed his body do to others. All the bloodshed. All the terror. All the tears shed... can stop. Left him mentally fried. The creature's urges kept beating the young Billy's resistance down every time it saw new prey. And he tried every time because that's what Spider-Man would do.
So the instant its eyes spotted Billy's favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man rush towards him, its urges kicked into high gear. It powerfully slithered out from underneath the rubble and launched toward them. But Billy deterred himself from getting any closer to them, by striking himself in the face mid-air. It sent himself back with the creature was in disarray. But it shook it off, especially at the sight of many civilians rushing past it. So the lizard fixated on its prey, and rushed to them to Billy's reluctance. No matter how many bullets shot at it, it barely slowed it down. Its regeneration played a big part in that.
Suddenly the wall-crawler snapped toward it, and after a few blows, he powerfully threw the lizard into the tunnel.
The instant it got up, Spider-Man kept the hits coming, with his webs. Not long after, it looked like the lizard was saran-wrapped in thick webbing. But it wouldn't take long till the reptilian beast tore through the web wrap, instantly swatting away Spider-Man.
All of this, was tiring for the lizard, with its stomach roaring. Luckily for the monster, it spotted four possible snacks, as they rushed toward him. Yet Billy wouldn't stand for it anymore. Especially if the tunnels opening struggled to stay up, with bits and pieces falling out.
So with all of Billy's might and strength, he stood his ground, putting his hands up, prepared to clutch the massive cemented block. The weight comes pounding down on his whole body as Billy yelped. The weight of the log was so much more impenetrable and dense than he expected, and he hadn't adjusted to this newfound strength to perfection.
The lizard let out another shriek, as Billy constrained his body from its urges. He had to keep holding the immense weight of the collapsing tunnel.
Thankfully, all the civilians desperately made their way into the tunnel, without a single thought. Billy felt the need to let it go, yet he withstood the pain for all the civilians to escape. But there was no escape for him. This was it. His arms got numb to weight... his legs went completely limp. It wasn't long till his body gradually collapsed to the ground, with everything on top, collapsing on him.
But there's one mother and son who rushed towards the tunnel. They were so close. And Billy noticed them, so he strainingly held on a second longer. That second goes by, and they make it through, unharmed.
It relieved the boy, even forming a small grin with his snout. Instantly, his whole reptilian body collapsed on the ground with the massive logs plummeting down onto him.
Now all that left him in darkness. It was oddly comforting.
A minute later, it felt as if something was being lifted off his head. He gazed up to see, Spider-Man. The hero he's admired since he left New York. The hero he had an action figure of. The hero he loved... stood right in front of him.
"BILLY! Oh my—no-no-no—we gotta get you outta here! We can get a new serum done and... everything will be just fine!"
But Billy, too exhausted to respond, wistfully gazed at Spider-Man, and slowly shook his head.
His eyes slowly shut.
His mind chose to remember his last good moments with his beloved family, friends, and Spider-Man before... his body let go.
The wall-crawler took a knee. With the tears welling up from behind the mask, he observed how tortured and mangled Billy's scaly body was.
'Oh Billy... You didn't deserve this'
Yet through the tears, he made out a familiar figure quickly moving away. He instantly sprinted after him.
'Oh no you don't, Dr. Connors!'
While wiping the tears from his eyes, the biologist ran for it, searching for a place to escape to. His mind crawled back to everything he witnessed. His beloved son transforming into the despicable lizard before his eyes. Then it destructively lashing out, causing the whole basement to go under. Which left Curtis horrified of the aftermath. He stilled remembered rising from the wreckage, with some cuts, and bruises, but nothing lethal. Same thing with the two young women. But his mind rambled once he didn't see his wife pop up with them. So he and the young women anxiously searched for her, through the thick dust and debris. Wasn't long till he found blood seeping on the floor. He tracked it down to see the love of his life, underneath a heavy piece of debris. With all his might, and the help from the ladies, they took it off her. Instantly his shaking hand checked for a pulse... First it was the neck... he couldn't feel one. Then it was the wrist... again, nothing. Then he got both, Gwen and Mary Jane to check for her pulse, which after further inspection, they glanced up with sorrow written in their faces. Curtis' face went numb, dropping to his knees. Weeping as he cradled his wife's lifeless body, in his arms. He blamed himself then with Martha, and he blamed himself now with Billy. With no more Martha... no more Billy... and no more freedom, what was the point? Other than, giving him a chance, to sever himself from the rest of life. That enraged him when he initially thought that... but the more thought he gave to it, the more comforting it sounded. Now he had to make it official. Instantly his eyes fixated on a thin rail of a bridge. Beneath was an immense amount of water. Enough to—
Before his mind could continue, his ears heard Spider-Man yell, "DR. CONNORS! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"
Dr. Connors spat, "Leave me alone, kid!"
"Look, I know what you're going through"
"You don't know me, Spider-Man!"
"Trust me, I know you!"
"How? You're just a masked vigilante who saved my life once! Come on. Just... give me a break... please," Curt broke down.
Peter could tell Spider-Man couldn't get through to him—'He's right... he needed to see a friendly face... this friendly face'
His hand rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the seam differentiated from the neck and the mask—Found it–phew! It took a second longer than it usually would, but the shaking from his hands didn't help. But his fingers slipped through it, and slowly removed that infamous mask off his face.
Once the biologist's eyes saw who was under the mask, he audibly gasped. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Curtis stumbled on his words, "P-Peter–PETER?! You–You are-"
"Yes. I am"
Curt babbled, "Didn't think the rumors were true... Eddie was right-"
"Let's not make a big deal about this, Doc," Peter nudged. "Don't let this be the last thing people remember you for," he reasoned.
"You don't get it, I have to pay, Peter. I caused all of this," Curt choked up as he admitted.
"This isn't how you're gonna pay"
"It's this or jail"
"But choosing this... won't change anything. You know that," Peter pointed out. "I miss them as much as you... Really–I promise you, Dr. Connors," he added, placing his hand on Curt's. shoulder
"You know, Billy really wanted to be a hero like you," Curt mentioned.
He noticed Peter choke up.
"He could've been even better," Peter smiled through the tears.
In response Curt only nodded, too choked up on his own tears.
"They'd want you to be better too... and I've seen you do great things, Doc. You're capable of it. So it's about what you do now, is what defines you!"
The grieving Curt gazed at what his life had become. He faced more losses in one day than most people face in half a decade. But his son believed in stepping up, something Curtis needed to do now. So he nodded at Peter, with tears welled up in his eyes. The teenager only nodded back at him, before giving him a hug.
After they pulled away from their embrace, he saw Peter slip on his Spider-Man mask, and bounded him up. Curtis knew this was the end of this new life, the clean slate they tried to have... In his own mind, he knew the horizon was hard to see, without what made his life worth living. But from now on, he's hoping that every choice he makes, makes those who made his life worth living, proud.
Before Spider-Man brought him in, he poked around. He had this strange feeling, as if this lingering presence followed him... but after poking around, there was nothing there. So he shook it off, quickly swinging Curtis over to the authorities. He gave the biologist one final nod before handing him over to the police. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his newest soldier-friend eyeing him.
Steve Rogers firmly patted his shoulder, "You handled that well, Spider-Man."
"Yeah, thanks to you... Captain America"
"Please still call me Steve"
"Right"
"Just keep doing what you're doing, with protecting New York... Especially Brooklyn. I wanna go home with the Brooklyn bridge in one piece, alright?"
"Yeah... I-uh... I will–I'll try my best."
"I know you will-"
"Lemme know if you're in town, Steve. I know this great sandwich place! I bet you'd love it"
"I'll take you up on that"
"I gotta get going. But I'll see you!"
"See you around, kid!"
The blonde soldier gave the young man a sincere smile, and nod, before the web-swinger swung off to his motel room. But the usually joyous Spider-Man, swung with a heavy heart, with his mind fixated on many lives lost that day.
And with many lives gone, come the distraught, sorrow, and mourning. Those who just need a shoulder to cry on. So once the dust officially settled, on the once-glorious amusement park, that's what the horrific scene seemed like from Liz's watery eyes.
Some of the emergency personnel wheeled out more body bags on stretchers, others questioned all the teary-eyed witnesses that were there.
One of the emergency personnel approached her, "Excuse me, did you know one of the victims?"
"Yeah... yes I did," she muttered.
"You mind if I ask you a few questions about them. Of course take your time"
Liz subtly nodded in response, sniffling through all of her answers.
After what felt like hours of answering questions from them, Liz sat alone on the curb, through going all the motions.
Her tears dried onto her face.
Her breathing shuddered.
Her clothes were dusty.
Her skin was unbearably sticky.
And her hands had Sally's blood dried onto it.
Once she lowered her hands, her eyes scanned through the horrific scene. Some grieved like Liz, and others were in utter shock of what they experienced. Her eyes especially fixated on a teary-eyed Flash Thompson comforting the grieving Rand on his shoulder. Her eyes welled up, seeing the usually chill Rand, so distraught. She wished Sally told her boyfriend how she felt about him. He needed it more than ever. Then her eyes focused on Flash, where it was the first time in her life that she saw him so vulnerable. It warmed her heart.
From the corner of Liz's eye, she saw a distraught Mary Jane and Glory Grant step toward her. Without saying a single word, they gave a sorrowful embrace to each other. It was relieving to be held.
Then her eyes set on the other curb, where she spotted a distraught Gwen Stacy, sitting alone, after the emergency personnel also questioned her. Her hands covered her face, with sorrow painted on her eyes.
"Let's go check on Gwen, together," Glory acknowledged.
The other two ladies agreed and stepped toward the grieving Gwen.
Without a word said, the ladies affectionately embraced the grieving blonde, in a group hug. Gwen was there physically, with them, but mentally, she checked out. Her mind kept crawling back to earlier. From desperately trying to create a cure for Billy's condition, to crawling on the floor because of the aftermath. That aftermath being the amount of damage done to the place. Scraps of debris spread all over the floor. And after picking at the debris, her heart stopped. That's when she witnessed the lifeless body of her mentor, Martha Connors being cradled by her husband. Without a second thought, she fled the horrific scene. Practically sprung out of there, leaving her friend, Mary Jane in distress. It still surprised Gwen that her closest friend wasn't more shaken up by this, or pissed off at her... the redhead probably concealed it better than most.
Nonetheless, she kept running. She never thought of herself as a runner... but she'd rather exhaust herself than sit down and linger on it. She didn't even know where Billy was going, she just followed its tracks, aimlessly. Not allowing herself to sit down, take a deep breath or think... with her mind spiraling out of sorts. All that running till she spotted the distraught crowds, near DisneyWorld. She found him.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted the distressed Dr. Connors, following her from afar. But she shrugged it off and ran into the amusement park. She thought she could do some good. That was the whole point of the day. To save Billy.
But as she sat there and answered the emergency personnel's questions...everything rushed into her thoughts. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept picturing the lifeless look on Martha's eyes. Or from afar, witnessing the kid she once knew suffer as the Lizard. Or the countless number of covered stretchers, or black body bags, she spotted–she couldn't take it, as her eyes sprung open, horrified. With the insanity she experienced, she's thankful these ladies held her while she processed everything.
...
THE MOTEL
After shedding all the tears she had left, with Mary Jane, Glory, and Gwen, on their bus ride back, they walked her back to her room. But they never went inside, since Liz explained Peter was sick, and not to be disturbed. They instantly understood, no questions asked. Instead, they leaned against her door, delicately leaning on each other's shoulders, sniffling.
Liz yawned, "It's getting dark out—wanna call it a night, ladies?"
Glory mentioned, "Kenny's probably worried right now too. Don't think he's with Flash and Rand right now."
Mary Jane pointed out, "And we're gonna need to find our room to stay in"
Liz offered, "Actually, you two could stay in ours-"
Gwen quickly acknowledged, "Isn't Peter sick though?"
"Oh–right"
The redhead mentioned, "It's okay. I think one teacher found us a room for the night, Gwen."
Gwen turned to her, "Alright then... See you tomorrow, Liz..."
Glory insisted, "Yeah... Call me if you need anything, Liz."
"Same deal here. Night girls... and thank you, really"
Liz gave the ladies one more little squeeze, before retreating into her room. Before she closed the door though, her eyes peered out the slim opening, and fixated on the three girls walking back to their rooms. After a terrible day, filled with tears, she's relieved she didn't have to grieve alone. That was another nightmare she didn't want to face.
The instant she turned around though, she saw her boyfriend, Peter sitting up on the bed with a blank stare. She noticed he's been weeping as well, with his puffy eyelids and wetness still around his eyes.
He finally turned to her, somewhat startled. His face crinkled before he could spout a word. She slowly stepped closer, with her breaths shuddering. She couldn't get a word out herself before getting choked up. Instantly, she collapsed into his sorrowful embrace, as he gently wiped away the tears from her eyes. Her head rested on his arm, with her tears trickling down his forearm. She felt Peter's tears as well, trickling onto her hand. They laid on the bed, and held each other tight for the rest of the night, in silence, hoping there wasn't more loss to come.
Down the hallway, in Harry Osborn's room, the young Osborn Heir sat in his room alone. Since his 'roommate,' bunked over at another friend's room for the second night. Truly didn't phase him, since he needed some space to himself. Especially after finding out a bombshell, with the help of his prototype OsDrone, and its cloaking, and recording capabilities. Even after replaying the footage of the wall-crawler unmasking himself, to Dr. Curtis Connors, hundreds of times, he didn't want to accept the bombshell. He's frustrated at himself for not even seeing it right in front of him.
Harry still remembered that moment when he found out.
His eyes bulged out of his face.
His jaw had dropped to the floor, with no way to pick it back up.
His spine grew goosebumps, even thinking about it.
His father always nagged him about how oblivious he was, which infuriated him about how right his father was.
'Can't believe I was too stupid to see it! It's been in front of me all along. Peter is... the traitor... the murderer... he's Spider-Man!'
TO BE CONTINUED...