The deadly ominous drip, drip, dripping of a leaking pipe kept you on the edge of your toes.
It had been hours since you had woken to find yourself lying in a gigantic animal cage in a dark warehouse.
The scratches on the bars indicated that your prison had once housed a wild cat or other large clawed animal at a zoo.
You had called out to the darkness around you, and had cried into your tattered shirt, but now, as you sat against the cold metal bars of your cell, you were silent and still.
You were terrified.
Whoever had found you in the fire has certainly not been Peter.
You had no indication of who it had been, where you were, or how long it had been since the fire.
Your growling stomach told you some time had passed, but without the context of where you were, you could not determine what was going on.
Were you even in DC anymore? You couldn't make out the scent of burning ash, so you must be miles from the hotel.
You sat, contemplating these factors, turning them slowly over in your mind again and again until the dripping of the leaking pipe became so loud in your ears that you let out a wild scream of discomfort.
"That's it! Whoever you are, show yourself! I've had it with this stupid warehouse and this stupid cage! Tell me what's going on!" You yelled into the darkness.
But you received no answer.
Only the slow and uneven dripping of water responded to your outburst.
You sighed, defeated. You had known it would not work, but you had tried anyway, if just to keep you from going crazy.
More hours passed and you began to feel drowsy.
But no sooner had you decided to lay down for a nap when a loud metallic clang filled the dark warehouse.
A much quieter string of curses followed the noise and your heart did a double take.
It was Peter's voice.
Suddenly, lights appeared around the warehouse, and you squinted to avoid losing your sight altogether.
Through the dim light, you could make out a figure standing atop a ledge to your left. And to your right, another smaller figure was crouched behind an old refrigerator.
"Come out, come out, Spider-Man," chuckled a deep voice from our left.
The sound of his voice sent chills through your body, as if just him speaking was enough to take over the world.
Peter then squinted and shouted "Where is she!"
The man chuckled again. "Surely, you're not just here for the girl? Do I mean nothing to you? Am I not a worthy opponent?"
"I don't play games, Hellhound. Tell me where she is, or I swear I won't leave the judge anything of you to interrogate." Peter growled.
You frowned, you were standing right to the side of Peter, couldn't he see you?
"Peter!" You whispered urgently.
He didn't seem to hear you.
You waved an arm frantically at him to get his attention. "I'm right here!"
The man, Hellhound, interrupted you mid-sentence. "How sweet. The boyfriend comes to claim his girl but little does he know, she's long gone already."
"Liar!" Peter called as you saw him inch around the fridge to stand behind an old conveyor belt.
"Oh, I don't lie. I'm many things, but a liar isn't one of them. I am however, a very good entrepreneur. I know how to get what I want Spider-Man. And what I want, is your demise."
Peter continued to edge around the machines until you could no longer see him.
What was his plan? Was he intentionally ignoring you? You were right here, both of them could see you. Why did they act like you were invisible?
"Well taking her won't accomplish that, you Dog." Peter shouted from a pile of rubble.
Hellhound laughed again. "Aye, but it does bring me satisfaction in knowing you're suffering a terrible loss."
Peter denied a response for a few seconds.
You thought he was struggling to answer, but a moment later you heard a yell and saw something swing down from the rafters towards the man on the ledge.
Hellhound put out a hand and flicked his wrist.
Peter suddenly collided with a seemingly invisible wall. He fell onto a bridge high above that connected rafters to ledges.
You gasped.
He shook his head, seeming a tad fazed. Then he jumped back up and aimed a web at Hellhound.
The villain deflected it with a casual flick of his finger. "Clearly you have much to learn youngling. But here, let me quickly teach you a lesson in growing up."
The floor beneath you suddenly began to shake. The bars around your cage then began to glow.
The light faded and you lowered your arms to see Peter staring down at you. "___!" He shouted.
Why could he suddenly see you now?
Before Peter could jump down to you, Hellhound appeared next to you in a cloud of smoke.
You screamed from the sudden change in atmosphere.
This guy can teleport, make things invisible, and control objects around him?! You thought.
Hellhound reached a gnarled hand out towards you and caught you by the hair.
You tugged at his grip but he was surprisingly strong.
Peter yelled and jumped down towards you.
"Peter!" You screamed as Hellhound whipped out a knife.
Peter threw himself at the cage, but an invisible force stopped him two feet from the bars.
"NO!" He bellowed as Hellhound brought the knife down towards you.
You covered your face with your hands and cried out, tugging still against his grip on your hair.
The blade sliced at your leg and you fell to the ground.
You could hear Peter's cries over your own.
"___! ___!"
It sounded like he was weeping.
Hellhound let go of your hair and you dropped to his feet. Quickly, you pulled yourself into the corner, away from him.
"Stop acting like a child." Hellhound glowered at Peter. "People are Material things. Lust is one aspect of life. And though it may be pleasurable," he looked at you and then back at Peter. "It is a privilege reserved only for those who can afford it."
Peter was hitting against the barriers now.
Hellhound raised his knife again and you could tell it was going to be over quick.
Peter's shouts broke your concentration as you picked out the phrases "NO- KILL ME INSTEAD! PLEASE! HURT ME INSTEAD!"
Hellhound froze. He turned his gaze to Peter and under his hooded mask you were sure you could make out an evil smile.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Deal."
Before you could react, Hellhound turned and threw his dagger through the bars of the cage. The barriers seemed not to affect the knife as it passed through and made a sickening thud as it embedded itself into Peter's chest.
Your heart seemed to freeze. Your own chest seemed to cave in as Peter's eyes widened and his gaze fell to you.
You knew you would be haunted by that face for the rest of your life as he fell backward off the rise and into the dust and darkness of the warehouse.
The screams you heard were coming from your own mouth and lungs, but you seemed to not have a say in what you did then.
You only watched as Peter's body hit the ground and moved no more.
Through tears of anguish and agony, you saw blood pooling around his legs and middle.
Your body shook with emotion.
A hand rested on your shoulder and you recoiled from the touch.
"It is alright my child. He is no more. I will keep you with me. He can not dictate your life any more." Hellhound said. "You are mine."