𝟲𝟬: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘 𝗭𝗢𝗡𝗘
𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙆 𝙇𝙀𝙀'𝙎 𝙋𝙊𝙑
I wasn't expecting for the darkness to seep into the city this quickly. But I presume it was for the best because in this way, I won't be easily spotted lurking around the residence of the Stacys. Furtively swinging around the perimeter of their mansion, I tried seeking for an active spot, attempting to search for where people were possibly hiding and awaiting for me (Well supposedly Juliane).
I was scared. I was really scared.
I didn't know what was awaiting for me. Were there gonna be a herd of men attempting to attack me? Or merely Mr. Stacy with Juliane's parents?
I should've never promised anything to Juliane.
I could feel how sore my body still was. I could sense that if I had to be faced with numerous enemies, I wouldn't stand a chance. But I'd rather have that happen, than let Juliane step a foot in here to reunite with her family and possibly meet her demise together with them. I couldn't.
I landed on the mansion's ceiling made of glass window, just right below to what seemed like a living room. A huge living room. Perched on the couches were a man and a woman, seeming anxious and frantic, and I already could tell that they were Juliane's parents. And just a few meters from them, I saw Gwen Stacy pacing around the room, seeming as frantic as the two others, with a gun on her hand.
My eyes enlarged, both by the sight of Gwen as well as the gun on her hand.
I examined the place more, not spotting anybody else around. Oddly enough, it was only the three of them. I couldn't feel any tingle too that signaled any other dangers. There was nobody here but the four of us.
This was weird.
I was expecting the three men I failed to take down yesterday, and Mr Stacy. But he wasn't here.
What was this?
There wasn't anything that told me something this situation was dangerous, so I decided to present my presence.
I swung down and jumped through the opened window, catching their attention immediately.
Mr. and Mrs. gasped in shock, but when they saw that it was one of the masked vigilante, they started expressing some profuse relief, almost crying out of joy because I surmised they had been held hostage here for a very long time. And seeing somebody else's presence was a huge relief to them.
Gwen gasped when she saw stand by the couch. "Mark..." She mumbled and took another look at the surroundings. "No... No, where's your friend?"
I was shocked to hear my own name come out of her mouth. But I was also confused about her last question. I couldn't say anything, I unfortunately froze to the words she uttered out.
And she spoke again. "Fuck... Mark, you're friend is also supposed to be here. Where is he?"
I jerked my head, confused. "Wait... What are you talking about? How do you know?"
Gwen gulped, her hands tightening around the gun she held. "I've always known." I reacted to this immediately and stood in front of Juliane's parents, who trembled in fear. I squinted my eyes at Gwen but she continued talking. "Look... Mark, I never wanted to do this okay?"
I held my hands up, showing that I wasn't gonna do anything to her, a sign for her to reciprocate. "I can see that Gwen. And you don't have to do it okay? Just lower your gun, tell me everything and we can fix this together. Okay?"
Gwen's eyes started to become teary, her grip on the gun shuddering and immediately, she dropped her arms to her side. "I didn't even know that my father was involved in this, until one day he went up to and asked for a favor... And that was to get close to you. He told me he knew you're Spiderman. My dad said that you've been involving yourself too much about his business, and he wasn't happy about that. He needed my help to convince you to stay in your life as Mark Lee, and not as Spiderman. And I tried... I really did, and I thought it'd be easy because I heard... I heard you had something for me, but you didn't. You were so focused on Juliane, whom was one of my dad's main target because she's a Moon." Gwen shut her eyes, tears brimming out of her eyes. "I really tried Mark. I wanted to be closer to you and to explain everything to you... But I didn't succeed."
It was too much to process in my head. But there was one emotion I felt the strongest: Disappointment. Maybe anger too.
"And what, just let Juliane be in danger? What about her? You're gonna let your dad get to her?" I said, my voice shaking out of anger. "That's fucking foul."
"I didn't have any other options Mark." Said Gwen, her voice sharp and angry. "You expect me to tell Juliane everything, and expose my father like that? He's... he's my father. I can't do that."
I narrowed my eyes at her, my hands balling into clenched fists. "Why did your father have to involve you into this mess?"
Her eyes softened. "Because you're just a kid. My dad thinks the same. He gave you another chance to survive, but you've left him with no choices because you had to continue prying!" She aimed the gun at me, her fingers still trembling. "And this isn't about the Moons anymore. This about you. This is what you get for prying: You'll lose Juliane and her loved ones to live with the guilt!" She said, now shifting her aim at to Juliane's parents.
And just behind Gwen, a few other strangers emerged with their own guns and weapons, especially the high-tech ones.
My heart dropped, knowing that I was stuck.
Gwen's finger was about to pull the trigger on the gun that was pointed at Juliane's parents, but I came diving into the scene at the perfect moment. I leapt into a heroic and brave act of self-sacrifice, throwing myself in front of the bullet to Juliane's loved ones. And the bullet punched through the skin of my leg. It was a remarkable and selfless moment. Gwen was taken by surprise at the bravery and courage that I displayed, and she immediately dropped the gun, feeling ashamed at her actions.
I fell on the ground and the first person to approach me was Juliane's mother. She held onto my arm, trying to keep me up. "Oh my god. Oh God. Are you okay?" After that, her husband came to the floor to support too.
Soon, the other men belittled Gwen for her mistake and pushed past her, claiming to finish their task.
When the men pointed their gun at me, I looked up at them helplessly, trying to scan everything in the room to seek for an escape.
But there was none.
Until suddenly, red and blue lights flashed from the outside, signaling that the police had arrived.
"Drop your weapons! Now!" The sight of Naomi's father rushing in with his gun aiming at the enemies made eased my shoulders and chest, knowing that there were backup coming to rescue during a moment of desperation. Some other comrades of his emerged from behind too, their guns still pointing at the enemies. "I said drop your weapons now!"
It seemed like it were Officer Walkers' trusted crew. And fortunately, Captain Smith wasn't in sight.
Of course... Juliane called them over here. Thank God. I guess being persistent was a good trait for this case.
The enemies paused for a second, not knowing what to do. They glanced at each other, as though communicating through gazes.
As I thought this would be peacefully handled, the enemies started firing at the police, and the police reciprocated. Under the heavy commotions of gunshots, Juliane's parents crouched down, hugging each other and prayed for everything to stop. They pressed their hands against their ears, hoping to block the deafening shots from their hearing.
Meanwhile, I shifted my head toward Gwen who was still appalled by her own actions, kneeling on the ground. I clenched my jaw and fists before forcing myself up and rushing to her.
Gwen saw me, but she wasn't scared, she was just tired.
I grabbed her collar and carefully pulled her closer to me. "What... What do you mean about me losing Juliane?" I said, my voice shaky due to the injury on my leg.
Gwen's lips curled, her eyes tearing.
"Tell me." I said. I wasn't demanding this time, I was pleading.
"My dad..." She paused. "My dad went to the headquarters of MoonDelivery and planted bombs in there... he knows she's there."
I was suddenly filled with an eerie sense of shock and worry after what Gwen said. I paused, feeling my heart beating rapidly and my blood freezing in my veins. My eyes widened in disbelief, unable to process the severity of the situation. I felt a wave of dread and fear wash over my body as I realized the dangerous potential of the situation.
"No..." I mumbled, my heart aching at the thought of Juliane as well as Venom being in serious danger.
I unclawed my grasp into Gwen, instantly fleeing out of the mansion, completely neglecting the injury I had on my leg.