HE HUMMED SOME Beastie Boys song as he skipped forward. Despite the days' events, he still felt good. He'd finally had a decent talk with Gwen that didn't go up in flames - had he technically asked her out?
A day off of school. The school wasn't fining them for the backboard. And he could finally show up and show Silk - err, Cindy - how much he'd improved.
He'd practiced until the late, late hours. Almost sunrise. He'd gotten web-swinging down to a science. He liked to think he'd surprise her with his cool new tricks and she'd probably be willing to show some of her own.
Maybe it was because he was keeping his suit underneath his textbooks in his backpack. Or maybe because of his new powers in general. Whatever the case maybe, one thing was for sure, it made him more confident.
When he left his house and spilled onto the streets, it was like a whole new air surrounded him. He felt like any social challenge could be beaten now.
It was friggin' sweet.
He gripped the strap of his backpack tight as he made his way towards the old factory. The lights were on, he could see it from a small window near the roof. A small smile grew on his lips. He almost felt a small sense of freedom that she knew he was Spider-Man, and that he knew she was Silk.
It was like having a friend in a class - now you had someone with something in common. You didn't have to tackle it all on your own.
Thinking more on Cindy, he thought about Uncle Eddie and how much he'd loved the girl. After he got home, all Eddie did was talk about how polite and kind Cindy had been. He'd told Y/N to invite her over for dinner soon. And he'd planned on doing so. After all, she'd shown him how to strengthen up his powers. Before he'd met her as Silk, he was unskilled and weak, but now he could hold himself up on his webs.
He pushed the door to the factory open. Cindy and the man sitting in front of her stiffened. The man pulled his mask up quickly, his eyes widening at the sight of Y/N. "It's fine," she told him, not bothering to look back, "it's our Spider-Boy." She turned to him, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the desk. The man pulled his mask down, revealing a younger teenager around their age. Y/N was quite frankly surprised. "What the hell are you doing here, L/N?"
"Uh..." He hesitated, feeling exposed under her gaze. It felt weird seeing her in her uniform without her mask. To think that this woman who he'd grown up with was a superhero - a superhero he'd admired. How long had she actually been a hero? Sure, Silk's only been publicly active for about three years. But how long was she doing work from the shadows? It made him think back to every day that she'd been tired or almost fallen asleep in class. "I'm here to patrol with you?"
A frown formed on her lips. It contorted her features into a mix between disappointment and irritation. Had he done something wrong? Was she still upset about earlier, with Flash and the backboard? She hadn't seemed upset when she found him talking to Eddie. Maybe she was just a good actor. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You're done, L/N."
"What?"
"I said, you're done. I'm not training you anymore."
"I don't understand...?"
She rolled her eyes. "Jesus, do I have to spell it out for you? You're not a hero, you will never be a hero. Not as long as I'm alive—"
"What the fuck is this?" He threw his arms up in frustration. "Is this about today? In the gym? 'Cause that's not fair—"
"This is about you, L/N!" She glared at him, pushing herself away from the desk to take a step closer to him. "I don't want to train you. So give your suit back and go home."
He stared at her with incredibility. This couldn't be happening. Was he having his superhero privileges revoked? His jaw clenched as he glared at her. This wasn't fair. All because he broke a backboard at school? All because he made a fool out of Flash...? It all dawned on him.
This was because of Flash.
He'd embarrassed her friend. And now she was taking it out on him. That fuck? His glare on her sharpened. "Well, I'm sorry I made your stupid boyfriend upset." He pulled the backpack from his shoulder and began fishing out his suit.
Her eyebrows furrowed. "What're you talking about?"
"I assume this is because of Flash? Because I made him look like an ass today."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "This isn't about Flash or anyone but you."
"Then what the fuck did I do?! Because I'd love to know!"
"I am not training a friend how to get themselves killed!"
"Oh, but you'd train a stranger?"
"Yes!" She shouted, her eyes wide with anger and frustration. "Gladly! Because it's not my problem if they die on this job. They sign up and they know the risks and I don't see the ripple." Her frown started to grow sad. When she looked at Y/N, she saw his family. She saw his aunt and uncle and Gwen. She saw herself. "I don't see the ripple and I sleep fine at night."
He stared up at her. Part of him didn't know how to feel. How could she be so easy to train a stranger for this but not someone she knew? Shouldn't training someone you knew be easier? You knew their limits and when to push and stop pushing. He wished he could see inside her mind, just to find an inkling behind her reasoning. Pulling the suit out of his backpack, he tossed it towards her. "Here's your suit." His voice was quiet as he zipped his backpack up and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Cindy."
"Bye, Y/N." Her own voice was quiet as she watched him turn and leave the factory. She set the suit down on Leo's desk. Her hand reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose with a soft sigh.
Outside, Y/N walked down the sidewalk; the former skip in his step now lost. What was the point of having powers if you couldn't use them? He huffed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. The familiar feeling of a cold key surprised him. He pulled it out with a furrowed brow.
It was the key to the factory. Shit, he thought. He'd have to return that. Spinning on his heel, he made his way back towards the factory.
As he grew close, he could hear their voices from the cracked open door. "I mean, maybe you don't have to retire if you train him." The boy's voice spoke. "You could be partners or something. Cin, what're you really worried about?"
"You didn't see him today, Leo." She spoke, almost with a sad tone. Like she was disappointed she couldn't train him. "I met his uncle. You should've seen him, how much he loves Y/N. He's raised him for over a decade. Can you imagine if Y/N ends up in an alley somewhere? They'd have no idea why their nephew died. I'm not holding that on my conscience."
A moment of silence passed between the two. "You really think he'd die? I mean, he can't be that reckless."
"He almost exposed his powers today just to embarrass Flash. He's arrogant." She spoke with annoyance. "He'd be dead in a week."
Y/N clenched his jaw before storming off. He stuffed the key back into his pocket. She really thought that about him? All because he embarrassed that dickhead today.
It wasn't fair.
She wanted to see arrogant, he'd show her arrogant. He could be a great hero, probably even greater than her. And she wasn't even giving him the chance. Maybe she saw that. Maybe she was intimidated by him. That was one of the only reasons he could think of for such an abrupt dismissal. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!
As the bitter wind bit at him, he could feel small tears of rejection build up. He never much cared for what people thought of him, but he'd finally had this one thing in his life. One thing that could make him important to the world. One thing that could solidify his name in history. Well, not his name. But his persona. It was still him under the mask. It had been him under that mask.
As he neared the house, his heart dropped. Eddie sat outside, on the front porch. His eyes quickly found Y/N's. Silent curses spilled through his mind as he slowly approached the house. This was the last thing he needed. "Uh... Hey." He greeted quietly as he made his way up the steps.
"Didn't you forget something?"
"Wha—" Y/N was cut off as his phone began ringing.
"Don't answer that!" Eddie practically shouted. "I mean, I'm glad to know it's working." Y/N silently cursed again, thinking back to declining all of Eddie's calls from before he'd gone to meet with Cindy. "You owe your aunt an apology. Big time!" He stood up from his seat, almost eliciting a flinch from Y/N. Not that Eddie or Anne would ever hit him. But after almost a week of dodging blows from thugs and Cindy during training, he'd geared up for it. "Be a man! Get in there and apologize!"
Inside the house, in the living room, Anne Weying-Brock paced back and forth. The shouting echoed into the house, muffled behind the wall. She bit down on her thumbnail, nervous at Eddie's shouting, nervous at Y/N's recent behavior. When the front door began opening, she stiffened and straightened up. She attempted a stern gaze, but it quickly fell as she took in Y/N's worn expression. "Honestly, you don't have to apologize to me, it's your uncle—"
"Like hell he doesn't." Eddie rolled his eyes at Anne's passive nature. She'd always been like this - good cop to his bad cop.
"I'm sorry, I really am. I just... got distracted—"
"Oh, he got distracted?" Eddie scoffed at the excuse. "Your aunt - my wife - had to walk twelve blocks, alone in the middle of the night, and then wait, in the deserted subway station because you got distracted!"
"Eddie, sweetheart, honestly, I am completely fine!" Anne exclaimed with a deep sigh. "I am capable of walking home—"
"You will not defend this kid!"
"I'm not defending him!"
"You are defending him!" Eddie shouted.
As the fighting went on, Y/N felt his annoyance rising. Was he in trouble or not? Would he be grounded or not? After everything he'd already been through, it was just getting annoying. They wouldn't understand that he could've been something great and it was all just dashed against the rocks by one girl. And now he came home to being punished for missing a few calls? Or maybe he wasn't being punished? It was hard to tell between Anne and Eddie fighting like this.
"Let me tell you something," Eddie started, calming his tone down, "you're a lot like your father. You really are, Y/N. And that's a good thing! But your father lived by a philosophy, a principle, really. He believed that if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things. That's what's at stake here. Not choice! Responsibility." His index finger gently jabbed Y/N's chest.
A moment of silence passed between the two. It made Y/N think about his new powers and Cindy's powers. It made him think of her words to her partner - Leo? - and why she wouldn't train him. How she said she'd feel responsible if he died while doing what she trained him to do. And then he thought about his father. The man whose face he only briefly saw in blurry memories. The man that had dropped him off at Eddie and Anne's doorstep and never looked back.
"That, uh... That sounds nice. That's great." Y/N slowly nodded. "It's all well and good, so where is he? Where is he? Where's my dad?" Tears began to well up in his eyes, a sore lump forming in his throat. It wasn't fair. It seemed like everyone gave up on him eventually. His parents, then Cindy, now his aunt and uncle? What had he done so wrong to deserve all of this? "He didn't think it was his responsibility to be here and tell me this himself?"
Eddie scoffed. "Oh, c'mon, how dare you—?"
"How dare I? How dare you?!" Y/N snapped, a harsh glare in his eyes. When a tense silence filled the air, he turned and made his way towards the front door. He pushed through the door, ignoring his uncle's calls for him. Slamming the door shut, he paused for a moment as he heard all of the glass of the door shatter. Shaking his head, he grabbed his backpack and continued his way towards the city.
It wasn't fair. Everyone had just tossed him aside. Like he wasn't capable of making his own decisions. Like he needed someone there to hold his hand every step of the way. He didn't! It wasn't fair that everyone just assumed what was best for him. As if he wasn't capable of deciding that for himself. He wasn't a child. With a deep sigh, he approached a pizzeria. He just needed something to take the edge off. It'd been a long fucking night and he just needed something to distract him. Help him forget all the problems he had on his mind.
What was better than a slice of pizza?
He approached the counter, a scowl present on his face.
It was ridiculous really.
He was Spider-Man. Bit by a one-of-a-kind spider and now had one-of-a-kind spider-powers. He could be saving the world. He could be dead. But he isn't.
He can fight bad guys of any shape or size. He beat the Rhino for christ's sake. You're spectating the life of an eighteen year old who can swing across the city.
A guy who can smash rock with his bare hands, dodge punches before they're even thrown. He'll kick your ass and have a laugh while doing it.
And here he is...
Struggling...
To ask one simple question...
"Uh... Can I have extra cheese on it...?"
Gwen Stacy laughed at his hesitation and nodded. He never knew that she worked here, and now he was regretting not going straight home.
Could this day get any worse?
"In other news," he overheard the news channel coming from one of the pizzeria's TVs, "the search for Dr. Curtis Connors, continues. NYPD reports that around nine PM last Tuesday, the esteemed researcher was reported missing along with signs of his laboratory being broken into. Oscorp, the company Dr. Connors worked with, has not yet released a statement on the matter."
It was as if a lightbulb lit up above Y/N's head. Who was Cindy to tell him whether or not he could be a hero? Sure, she was Silk. But he was Spider-Man.
He looked at Gwen and held out his hand to stop her, "Actually, could you cancel the order?" She gave him a confused look, "sorry, it's been a change of plans, missus wants takeout now," he played it off with a laugh.
"O— Okay... uh, maybe next time—?"
Ding!
She was astonished to see him already out the door. Even more so to hear about a missus, since when did 'Loser L/N' have a girlfriend?
____________
Posted by u/Mikexlrose MOD 12 hours ago
Nearly lost my clipboard to a giant crocodile today
I wish I was joking. I work for the city as an electrical engineer and today I had to do some routine yearly maintenance, specifically in the west side of Midtown. So, my buddy and I are doing our thing, I climb down into the manhole and get to work checking breakers and all that. Me being me, I accidentally dropped my clipboard and had to climb all the way down into the sewer to get it. Thankfully it landed on the edge of the concrete platform and not in the water, or I might be gator chow. I go to pick it up and realize that what I thought was sewage wasn't flowing. I grab my flashlight to get a better look, thinking I might have to call the waterworks or something, and I realize it's not sewage. It's scales. This thing is at least 10ft long, a good 4ft wide, and its big ol red eyes are looking right at me. And then it fucking stood up. On two legs. Thankfully, your boy ran a 4.2 in the 40-Yard back in high school, so I got out that bitch quick, fast, and in a hurry. Don't even remember running, I think I just blacked out until I was back up on the street.
So yeah. If you live in Midtown, look out for that fuckin' thing I guess.
67 comments:
Ultramanwholaughs:
First we got the spiderwoman, then we got the spiderman, now we have the... crocodileman? Not sure I like where this is going.
BaguetteMan:
The way you phrased this suggests spider-woman and spider-man are also mutants.
Ultramanwholaughs:
Idk man, they could be. No one's seen them without a mask. spiderwoman could literally have mandibles and we wouldn't know.
AngrySwan:
I'd still love her!
Frontful:
Who wants to bet that in a week one of the spiders gets eaten by this thing?
GenKen99:
ye of little faith.
Frontful:
It's a giant fucking crocodile dude. They're vigilantes, not Steve Irwin.
Starman_Mugen: (This thread has been locked)
Can we have like... one day where no crazy bullshit happens?
Gaycrimedoer:
Maybe when the NYPD stops letting the costumed freaks in spider costumes walk around crime scenes.
ZuitheRedFox:
Watch your fuckin mouth. Those "freaks in spider costumes" have stopped 100% more criminals than the NYPD. When my sister got carjacked, it took the police over an hour to show up. It took Spider-Woman 10 minutes to beat the shit out of that guy and bring her car back.
KillerKasady:
The police are being controlled anyways, the whole city needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. All of it's too corrupted for saving.
_Marou_:
Get the Kingpin's dick out of your mouth.
Axis-8 MOD:
Thread locked. Rule No.3: Keep it civil.
IYELLALOT:
MY BROTHER WORKS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT AND THEY'VE ALSO REPORTED SIGHTINGS OF A BIG CROC.
PrimeofPrimes119:
Damn and I thought IT was scary. I'm going to start crossing the street to avoid storm drains istg.
SomethingOriginal1:
Yeah, that's it for me. I'm selling a kidney and moving somewhere else.
____________
Y/N BREATHED IN the cool dusk air as he swung along the New York skyline alone for the first time since he'd met Cindy.
As he'd said, he was getting better at it very quickly, in fact he almost wanted to try doing some tricks in the air. Not yet, at least. He had to focus up.
Darkness quickly fell across Y/N's path as the sun disappeared for the night. The air grew colder, no longer a comfortable temperature. This was probably the coldest night he had yet experienced since he got his powers. He was pretty sure he could handle it, but couldn't help but begin to shiver a bit.
He circled around the Oscorp building, if the correlation between the news story and the story he saw online, then possibly this gator monster bursted from Connors' lab and moved into the sewers through a grate nearby.
But that begs the question, why the hell was Connors harboring a literal kaiju within his laboratory? Had it taken Connors with it? Had it ate Connors?
The last question sent a shiver throughout his body more than the cold ever could.
He dropped his gaze to the ground outside the building and saw several large depressions in the concrete. He had no idea what they could have been but they almost certainly weren't there before, and they created a trail. A trail that was also marked by spurts of blood red stains.
It was something, at least.
Cindy's statement echoed through his head as he began to track, "He'd be dead in a week." He didn't let it stop him, he'd be the one to find Connors and prove that he's capable of taking care of himself, no matter what happened.
The trail led him in between several large buildings, avoiding the busy New York streets. He found it easy to stick to the shadows and avoid being seen, likely because whatever he was following had done the same.
It got really obvious in one alley, an alley that just about made him double over and retch in revulsion. A rather large, fresh pool of blood lay smeared across the ground, along with a cracked cellphone.
"Oh my God..." He muttered under his breath. The monster definitely did that... Where was Connors?
He followed the still fresh blood streaks across the ground until he eventually found where it stopped, an open sewer grate. The top of the grate had been thrown a considerable distance.
For a fleeting moment, he considered fishing out his phone and calling Cindy.
All she'd do is try to lecture him again.
He hesitated as he looked down the grate into the darkness below. Was he really going to just jump down there, completely unprepared for whatever might await him below? His entire body trembled, shaking more and more violently as he realized what he was about to do.
"...if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things."
Y/N breathed in, "It's not a choice, it's a responsibility..." He balled his fists and dropped into the dark without a second thought.
___________
If the last chapter didn't spell it out for you... we rep The Amazing Spider-Man & Andrew Garfield over here!