LUNA ALMOST ALWAYS WALKED HOME ALONE.
Normally, after a long day at the Big House, she just wanted some time to herself, so she would take a complicated, usually scenic route back to her house. She took a different route every time, since there was no telling what could happen if she had a pattern that someone could follow, but she never went too far out from Brooklyn to avoid getting lost.
So, after spending most of the day at the Big House, Luna said goodbye to the gang and began her trip home. Araceli had offered to walk with her, but Luna had politely declined, saying that she would be fine on her own. Nothing really bad had ever happened to her while she was walking, so she figured that streak would continue.
Which meant that as Luna headed down the street, she wasn't even remotely worried. The sun had pretty much gone down, which meant the streetlights were lit and there were fewer people out on the streets. A cold breeze was blowing through the city, sending chills up Luna's spine as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her body and made a mental note to not wear a thin shirt in this type of weather.
Luna continued down the street, humming the song "Memory" by Betty Buckley to herself. She was still upset about what happened to José, but she had decided early on to let the others handle it. She could fight just like the rest of the gang, but she had never killed anyone before, and she certainly didn't want to. That was the one thing that she swore she would never do.
As Luna kept going, the hairs on her arms suddenly stood up. She slowed down a bit, looking around at the people around her. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, but her defenses and her guard were now up. Something definitely isn't right, she thought.
Luna continued walking, her eyes flitting back and forth as she eyed her surroundings. Then, a splash of red caught her eye, and she frowned before jogging over to one of the walls of the buildings. As she got closer, she saw it was a crude spray painting of a red moon with a black "x" in the center - the symbol of one of her father's rival gangs, the Blood Moons. Confused, Luna ran her hand over the painting; the Blood Moons' territory was farther away, and she knew this area of Brooklyn was unclaimed, so the symbol shouldn't have been there. Unless...
"Shit," Luna hissed, dread filling her body as she looked up. Then, she suddenly felt the presence of more people. Straightening up, she looked over her shoulder and eyed the people behind her. There were four boys who looked like they were around her age, wearing dark red hoodies and wicked smiles.
"Look who it is," one of the boys said. "A pretty girl wandering around our side of Brooklyn."
Luna turned around, her expression neutral as she cocked her head; she couldn't let them know who she really was, or else things could really go south. "Your side? What do you mean?"
"This is our turf now, pretty girl," a second boy said. "We own this place."
Luna backed up, raising her hands as the boys walked up to her. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm just trying to get home."
"You shouldn't have wandered here, then," another one of the boys said. "We don't like trespassers."
"We might be willing to make an exception," the first boy said. "That is, if you cooperate."
Luna set her jaw, knowing exactly what these boys wanted. So, she balled her fist before socking the first boy in the jaw, then used the distraction and bolted away.
She heard the boys giving chase, but she kept running, determined to get away from them before they could catch her. However, as she rounded a corner to throw them off, something suddenly grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks. Luna spun around, kicking the person on the shin, but as soon as they let go, more boys swarmed around her, grabbing onto her arms and shoulders and forcing her back against a wall. Luna thrashed in their grip, trying to free herself, but there were too many of them. So she stopped struggling and simply glared at the lead boy, her chest heaving in both anger and fatigue from running.
"You got balls, pretty girl," he said as he walked up to her. "But I only know one person who uses the punch-and-run, and that's El Dragón." Luna continued to glare at him as he went on, "So you're part of his gang, aren't you?"
"So what if I am?" Luna retorted. "It doesn't mean anything to you."
"Hold up, Ricky," one of the other boys said to the leader. "She looks a hell of a lot like Dragón, doesn't she? And we got the rumors that he has a daughter. So this could be her."
"You're right," Ricky replied. Turning to Luna, he smirked and said, "Well, well, well. Looks like we're in the presence of the child of the legendary El Dragón."
"Burn in hell," Luna snapped.
"Well, she's got his spirit, that's for damn sure," another boy said.
Ricky reached out and brushed Luna's hair out if her face, making her recoil from him. "Indeed she does."
"Don't fucking touch me," Luna hissed.
"I wonder..." Ricky put his hand on her hip, pushing up the bottom of her shirt. "I wonder what Ol' Dragón would think if I screwed his daughter."
Luna growled in frustration, thrashing around wildly in an attempt to free herself. "Don't you dare touch me!" she hissed.
Suddenly there was a whoosh of air, and two of the boys were yanked upwards. Luna stopped struggling to look up in confusion, seeing that they were now hanging from the streetlights, trapped in some sort of webbing. Before she could even respond, there were two more whooshes of air, and the other boys were quickly dealt with the same way, leaving just Luna, Ricky, and the two boys pinning her to the wall. Then, a red and black blur landed behind Ricky, and that was when Luna recognized it as Spider-Man.
She was only four years old when the first Spider-Man sprang onto the hero scene as New York's protector, and she was fourteen when he retired his suit for good. However, instead of the city being left defenseless, shortly after his retirement a new Spider-Man - a seemingly younger version in a black suit - appeared. He was like Spider-Man in every way, except for his suit and his added abilities to electrocute people and turn invisible, and the people of New York quickly grew to accept him, even giving him the nickname "Kid Arachnid". Now, four years later, he had completely taken over as the new Spider-Man and was loved by almost everyone.
Luna had never seen Spider-Man up close before; she usually saw him on the television and heard about him on the radio. So she was very surprised to see him right in front of her.
Spider-Man tapped Ricky on the shoulder, causing the boy to spin around. As Ricky stared at him in shock, Spider-Man waved and said, "Hola." before punching him in the nose. Then, he grabbed Ricky by the shirt and threw him aside before webbing him to the wall, and turned to the last two boys and said firmly, "Leave. Now."
The boys released Luna and quickly bolted away. Luna watched them go, rubbing her sore shoulders before looking at Spider-Man, who was staring at her. She didn't have to see his face to know he was concerned, and it annoyed her that he was still there.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
Luna scoffed, pushing past him and walking forward in order to go home. "I didn't need your help, you know."
"Oh, really?" Spider-Man replied, the sarcasm evident in his tone as he followed her.
"Yeah." Luna nodded. "I had that handled."
"Oh, suuuuuurrrreeee," he deadpanned. "Cause being harassed by six men who are bigger than you is totally having it handled."
Luna huffed. "Listen, Spider-Man, I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself."
"I figured," Spider-Man said. "But it doesn't hurt to ask for help every now and then."
"I don't need help with things like that," Luna told him.
"Everyone needs help every once in a while," he replied.
"Sure, whatever," Luna said, rolling her eyes. She kept walking, then stopped and spun around. "Why are you following me?"
"I just want to make sure you're okay," Spider-Man said, then reached out, causing Luna to shrink back and frown. "It's okay," he assured her. "I just wanted to check out that cut. I think they pulled a knife on you."
Luna reached up and touched the exposed skin right where her collarbone met her shoulder, surprised when she pulled her hand back and saw a smear of red on her fingertips. She hadn't even noticed a knife or felt it cut her skin. "Oh." Covering up her shoulder, she told Spider-Man, "Well, thanks for pointing that out, but I'm fine, really. I can take care of it when I get home."
"How far away do you live?" Spider-Man asked.
Luna frowned again, crossing her arms. "Why?"
Spider-Man extended his hand to her, ignoring her question as he said, "Do you trust me?"
Luna's frown deepened. "What?"
"Come on," he said. When Luna just stared at his hand, he added, "I mean, I did just save your life. So it's not like I'm gonna murder you or anything." He stepped closer to her. "So... Do you trust me?"
Luna eyed him warily, slowly reaching out and taking his hand. "Yes..."
"Awesome." Spider-Man tugged her to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Hold on tight, okay?"
Before Luna could respond, he stuck out his hand, firing a web into the sky. Then, moments later, he leapt into the air, and Luna screamed as the ground zoomed away from under her feet.
As Spider-Man swung through the city, Luna tried her best to not look down at the ground. They were up higher than Luna ever thought was possible for a human being, and it scared her, knowing that if she fell she would most certainly die. Then, she heard Spider-Man say something to her, but with the wind and her own fear, she didn't know what he said. So she looked up at him and yelled, "What?!"
"You gotta tell me where you live!" he replied.
Luna nodded, then pointed ahead of them. "2956 Maple Street, East Brooklyn!"
Clinging tightly to him, Luna then buried her face in his neck, closing her eyes as Spider-Man nodded, turning and swinging in the direction of her house. Her heart was beating so fast she swore it would pop right out of her chest, only making her grip him tighter.
Finally, the wind slowed to a stop, and shortly after Luna's feet touched solid ground. She slowly opened her eyes, then looked around to see she was right in front of her house. They had touched down on the ground, and the trip that would've taken her an hour and a half had now been cut short.
"You okay?" Spider-Man asked, looking down at her.
Luna nodded. Looking up at him, she realized she was still pressed against his body, her hands on his chest with his arm still around her. So she awkwardly cleared her throat, stepping back and combing her windblown hair with her fingers. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Thanks."
"Don't mention it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck before adding, "So, I guess I'll see you around?"
Luna scoffed. "Don't count on it."
"Wow, you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Spider-Man asked.
Luna shrugged. "I guess that's one way of putting it."
They both laughed, and Luna turned to go back in her house. But just as she reached for the doorknob, Spider-Man spoke. "You know, I never did catch your name."
Luna turned around to face him. "And why do you need to know that?"
"Just in case," Spider-Man replied with a shrug.
Luna smiled; his humor was infectious. "It's Luna."
"Luna." He nodded. "Alright, then, Luna. See you around." Then he fired a web into the air and swung off into the sky.
Luna watched him go, unable to keep the smile off her face. Once he was gone, she shook her head and unlocked the door to her house before walking inside, where Jazmín and Mateo were waiting.
As soon as they saw her, they leapt to their feet, their worry evident on their faces.
"¿Dónde diablos estabas?" Jazmín asked. "We were worried sick!"
"I'm fine, Jazmín," Luna said. "I just ran into some of the Blood Moons on my way home."
"What?!" Jazmín shouted. Rushing over to Luna, she began checking for any injuries, muttering "Ay Dios mío" as she did so.
"Jazmín, Jazmín, seriously," Luna said, gently pushing her sister away. "Everything's fine. I ran into them on my way home, but I fought them off."
"Luna, those guys travel in packs," Mateo said. "There's no way you could've fought them all by yourself."
"Well, uh... It wasn't just me." Luna shoved her thumbs in her jacket pockets. "I, uh... I had some... some help."
"Help?" Jazmín repeated. "From who?"
Luna took a deep breath. "Spider-Man."
Jazmín stepped back in shock. "Spider-Man?! Are you serious?!"
"Jazmín, calm down," Mateo told her, then looked at Luna and asked, "Do you know why he decided to help you?"
"No," Luna said, shaking her head. "But I seriously doubt he'll do it again. I don't get into trouble like that very often, so this is probably the first and last time I'll ever see him."
"Let's hope that it is," Mateo replied. "Because the last thing we need is having both the cops and Spider-Man after our family."
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❈ A/N: i actually like this chapter ngl
lmao anyway, i just want to say that camila snapped with easy and it's the most precious song in the world. like, i seriously almost cried when i heard the chorus. it's so so so pretty like wtf
(literally no one cares, but i had to share that with someone)
alright, i'm gonna shut up. see you in the next chapter!
TRANSLATIONS:
¿Dónde diablos estabas? - Where the hell were you?
Ay Dios mío - Oh my god