THE FOLLOWING DAY, LUNA WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF KNUCKLES RAPPING ON HER WINDOW. Her eyes fluttered open, and she groaned to herself before sitting up and looking across the room. Then, her eyes widened when she saw her friend Tessa Romero behind the glass, waving at her with an excited look on her face.
Tessa was the last person anyone expected to be in Luna's circle of friends. She was smaller and appeared weaker compared to Luna, Araceli, and Miles, and because of that it would appear to most that she was only their friend as a charity case. But that definitely was not the case. Tessa was Luna's friend because of who she was. She was a cross between a tomboy and a girly girl; she kept her dark hair either long and untamed or in a ponytail, and she loved sports and getting rough and dirty, but also wore girly clothes like skirts, dresses, or blouses, and was obsessed with fashion. She didn't take any nonsense from anyone, and would tell it to you straight no matter who you were. She was sassy, spirited, and fierce, making her someone who her friends loved but who most others feared. Tessa was also fiercely loyal, and would do anything to protect her friends — even if it meant taking the blame for something and getting suspended for two days, or challenging someone who was bigger and stronger than her. Tessa was definitely a bit rough around the edges, but overall she was truly a good person, and Luna was proud to call the girl her friend.
Luna sighed, getting out of bed and walking over to her window before opening it, allowing her friend to enter. "Tess," she asked. "What the hell are you doing here this early?"
"I'm here because we're going out today," Tessa said.
Luna crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"It's the last day of summer break!" Tessa replied, throwing up her hands for emphasis. "We're gonna be seniors tomorrow, so we might as well make the most of our last day of freedom."
"Tess," Luna said with a sigh, facepalming herself at her friend's loud voice. "Seriously, por favor mantén tu voz baja. It's way too early for you to be so loud."
When Tessa and Luna had first met, Luna was quick to discover that there was a lot more to Tessa than she thought, and one of them was that the girl spoke fluent Spanish. Luna had discovered this in freshman year, when a few boys started calling Tessa names in Spanish, thinking that she didn't understand them — only to have the girl clap back in the same language, calling them "total idiots who had brains the size of a squirrel's."
So Luna wasn't even surprised when Tessa winced apologetically and said, "Sorry." Then, poking Luna's shoulder, she added firmly, "Now, hurry up and get dressed. And while you're at it, you can tell me more about your dashing rescue last night."
Luna sighed again; as soon as she was alone, she had FaceTime called Araceli and Tessa and told them about her encounter with Spider-Man. "There's nothing left to tell, I told you everything."
"You never told me what he was like," Tessa said, plopping down on the bed as Luna went over to her closet and began to search through it. "So tell me that. Could you get his vibe from just a few minutes with him?"
"Well, he was very strong," Luna said while she looked for something to wear. "He easily threw aside those boys like it was nothing. He was really... lighthearted, too. I mean, he was making jokes and being humorous while he was kicking ass. And there was something about him that was just... I dunno, comforting. Like, I felt at ease and safe with him around."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on Spider-Man," Tessa teased.
Luna scoffed. "Not even. It's just... my opinion of him has changed, that's all." Deciding on an outfit, she pulled off her oversized pajama shirt and changed into a warm-colored tie-dye hoodie and dark jeans. "And besides, he's a superhero. I'm just... me."
Tessa huffed. "Who the hell cares? I think you're pretty awesome just as you are. Plus, you got a nice ass."
Luna abruptly lifted her head to look at her friend, who was smirking at her with a playfully raised eyebrow. "And what does my ass have to do with it?"
"Everything," Tessa replied. "With an ass like yours, I'm surprised that half of the boys at Midtown aren't chasing after you."
"It's cause they know not to fuck with me," Luna told her, grabbing a hair tie from her dresser and tying her hair into a ponytail.
Tessa snorted. "No, it's cause they're admiring you from a distance."
Luna rolled her eyes, then said, "Eres una pequeña mierda delirante."
"I am not," Tessa protested.
Luna rolled her eyes in amusement. "Sure, you keep telling yourself that."
Tessa huffed, then stood up and walked over to the door. "Whatever, loser. Let's just get going. I already called Miles and Araceli, and they're meeting us at the park so we can all head to Coney Island together."
"I love how you guys always plan my entire day without me," Luna mumbled sarcastically.
Tessa smiled, lightly punching Luna's arm. "It's only cause we love you, Luna. And you have absolutely no social life."
Luna rolled her eyes again, choosing not to respond. But in her head, she said to herself, You'd be surprised.
They walked down the hall and out into the living room, where Jazmín was reading in their beat-up old armchair, and Rubi was lounging on the couch, watching television with Mateo.
"S'up, guys," Tessa called in greeting.
"Hey, Tess," Jazmín said without looking up. Mateo simply waved, and Rubi grunted to show that she'd heard.
"We're going out to Coney Island for the day," Luna told her siblings as she grabbed her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. "Araceli and Miles are coming with us."
"Cool," Mateo said absentmindedly. "Have fun."
"Mantenerse a salvo, okay?" Jazmín added.
"We will," Tessa answered. "See you."
With those words, Luna and Tessa left the Reyes house and stepped out into the early morning air. The sun had just risen and was hovering over the horizon, casting an rosy-orange glow over the city. A lot of the people on Luna's block were already outside, and waved to the two girls as they passed.
"So what's been going on with you?" Luna asked Tessa after a few minutes. "It feels like I've barely seen you all summer."
"Nothing much, honestly," Tessa replied with a shrug. "My family and I went to this really cool laser tag place over near Times Square a lot."
"Really?" Luna asked. "How was it?"
Tessa smirked. "It was awesome. I totally whooped their asses at it, too."
Luna chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You are the best shot I've ever met."
Tessa smiled back. "You're damn right I am." Smirking again, Tessa added, "Though I can't say the same for you."
"Shut up," Luna mumbled, shoving her friend's shoulder.
Tessa just tilted her head back and laughed.
They arrived at the ball park a few minutes later, where Miles and Araceli were waiting. Luna grinned when she saw them, giving her friends quick hugs before standing back to look at them.
"Great, you brought her," Araceli said to Tessa.
Luna snorted. "I didn't really have a choice."
"We know," Araceli said with a smile. "That's why we asked Tess to get you. She's the only one can get your lazy ass out of bed on the weekends."
"Qué grosero," Luna muttered.
"But accurate," Araceli told her.
"Come on, guys, let's just get going," Miles said. "Unless you want to deal with the worst of the crowds."
"Miles is right," Tessa said. "Let's go."
Luna and Araceli both nodded, and the four of them left the ball park, calling an Uber before heading off to Coney Island. Packed into the small black sedan, Tessa and Araceli sat by the windows, while Luna and Miles were side by side in the middle. With her shoulders hunched over, and her arms out in front of her with her hands tucked between her legs, Luna tried her best to make enough space for her friends, but despite her efforts she was still practically sitting in Miles' lap. And it was awkward to say the least.
"So how was your summer, Cel?" Tessa asked Araceli after several minutes of silence. "Do anything interesting?"
"Fine." Araceli shrugged. "My parents and I went to Sevilla to visit my grandma, so that was really fun."
"Wait, you guys have family in Spain?" Tessa asked in slight disbelief.
"Yeah," Luna said with a nod.
"I'm not surprised," Miles said with a soft snort. "You guys practically have family all over Latin America."
Luna shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? Our family is big."
When they arrived at Coney Island, Luna and her friends hopped out of the car, then walked out into the city before heading for the boardwalk. The four of them walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sights and each other's company.
"So what do you wanna do first?" Araceli asked as she spun around to face her cousin and her friends. "We could go to Luna Park, or maybe the Wonder Wheel, we could ride the Cyclone, play some games at the sideshow-"
Before Araceli could go on, a huge explosion went off in the distance, shaking the ground and throwing everyone in the city off balance. Luna instantly dropped into a crouch, then straightened up before looking at the direction of the blast. She could see smoke rising from what looked like Luna Park, making fear rise in her throat.
"What the hell was that?!" Tessa asked, also looking at the direction of the explosion.
"I dunno," Luna said, shaking her head. "But we shouldn't stick around to find out. Come on, let's go."
"But people could be hurt!" Araceli told her. "We have to go help!" Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran towards the smoke.
"Cel!" Luna shouted. "Araceli, no! Come back!" When Araceli didn't stop or come back, Luna turned to her friends. "I'm going after her, you guys meet us at the edge of the city."
"No way," Miles said, shaking his head. "We're coming with you."
"And have all of us get hurt or separated trying to find her?" Luna shook her head as well. "Not happening. Plus, she's my cousin. Trust me, I'll be fine."
"That's what you said yesterday, but you still got attacked," Tessa told her. "Luna, you're my friend. I'm not letting you go after her on your own."
"And I'm not giving you a choice," Luna said firmly. "Go and get out of here. Now."
Tessa bit her lip, looking at Miles before hugging Luna in a tight embrace. "Be careful," she whispered in Luna's ear.
"I will," Luna whispered back.
Tessa leaned back, then turned and ran off with Miles. Luna watched until they were out of sight before spinning around and running after Araceli. She pushed through the crowd that was fleeing from the blast, searching for her cousin's familiar face and calling out her name.
"Araceli!" Luna shouted. "Cel, where are you?"
She frantically looked around for her cousin, fear making her heart pound. The closer she got to the blast site, the more chaotic the scene became, making her stop to look at the damage. Much to her surprise, it didn't look like an explosion; it looked like something had crashed into the middle of the park.
"Cel!" Luna called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Araceli!"
After several moments with no response, Luna raised her hand to her mouth, trying not to cry. Then, she turned to her right and saw Araceli, who was helping an older man away from the worst of the damage.
"Araceli!" Luna cried, running up to her friend as the older man was transferred to someone else. "Qué demonios estás haciendo, it's not safe to stay here!"
"These people are hurt!" Araceli replied as she gestured to the people who were being led away from the chaos. "Someone had to help!"
"You're gonna get yourself killed!" Luna told her. "I can't let that happen!"
"It's either me or a whole bunch of other people!" Araceli snapped. "There's no math there, Luna, you have to understand!"
"Cel, you can't save everyone here!" Luna reminded her.
Araceli's dark eyes were blazing as she stared defiantly at Luna. "I sure as hell can try!"
Luna set her jaw, ready to tell her stubborn cousin that dying at the age of eighteen would be devastating for her family. But before she could, someone spoke from behind them, their voice eerily sinister.
"Aw. How touching."
Luna instantly spun around as a man floated down from the sky. But he was unlike any man she had ever seen in her entire life. His skin was jet black, and his hair and eyes were pure white, with no pupils or irises. The suit and tie he was wearing were white as well, with a black shirt that made it hard to distinguish where his skin ended and where his shirt began. His entire body had a strange, glowing sheen to it, and white flames rose up from his eyes.
"It's been a while since I've seen a millennial who's immediate concern isn't themselves," the man went on. "I must say I'm quite moved."
Luna frowned, glaring at the man. She didn't trust him one bit. "You don't sound very moved."
"Ah," he said, grinning wickedly. "You're smarter than I thought."
Taking a step forward, the man looked down at Luna, who squared her shoulders and rose up to her full height (which wasn't very impressive). Inside she was terrified, but she refused to let this creep know that. "Oh, really?"
"You're a brave one, too," he said. "That's especially rare in someone so small."
Luna glared at him, then swung her fist, her knuckles colliding with the man's jaw. But instead of it knocking him over, his head was simply jerked to the side, causing Luna's fear level to rise even more.
The man slowly rolled his neck, turning his head so he could face Luna. Then, he suddenly lashed out, seizing her neck in his hand before rising up into the air, taking Luna with him. Luna let out a strangled gasp as his fingers dug into her skin, and she clawed desperately at his hand in an attempt to free herself.
"Kingpin wants you alive," the man said to her. "And personality-wise, I can see why. But, ability-wise..." He cocked his head, watching her struggle as if it was extremely fascinating. "You're just a useless little girl. You can't possibly be the one."
"Luna!" Araceli cried, rushing forward to save Luna. But the man simply fired a blast of white energy at her, and Araceli went flying backwards before landing on her side a few feet away.
In her mind, Luna desperately wanted to do something, to retaliate and protect her cousin. But physically, she couldn't. Spots had begun to form in front of her eyes, and her struggling was growing weaker as her lack of air began to take over. She knew she had to stay awake and fight back, but it was becoming harder to keep her mind awake.
"Hey!" a voice suddenly shouted. "Let her go, you creep!"
That was when a black and red blur slammed into the man, knocking him backwards and causing him to release Luna. She dropped to the ground, taking in great, tearing lungfuls of air as her hand flew to her throat. Then, as she struggled to catch her breath, she looked up and saw none other than Spider-Man, who was swinging through the air before his foot collided with the man's face.
As the two fought, Luna managed to get to her feet, stumbling over to Araceli before dropping to her knees by the girl's side. Then, Luna shook Araceli's shoulder and hissed, "Cel? Araceli, you okay?" When Araceli didn't respond, Luna began to panic. Had the man killed her?
Suddenly there was a cry of pain from Spider-Man. Luna's head snapped up just in time to see the man blast Spider-Man away with the same energy that he had used on Araceli. Spider-Man crashed into one of the carnival games, then fell to the ground before laying still.
Horror filled Luna's body as the man floated down to the ground and began to walk towards the masked hero, a wicked grin on his face. Turning to Spider-Man, Luna shouted frantically, "Spider-Man! Spider-Man, get up! Get up, Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man slowly pushed himself up to his feet, raising his fists to defend himself. But the man quickly punched him in the face, knocking him down again. Then he picked Spider-Man up and pinned him to a wall before grabbing a metal rod and twisting it around the black and red hero, trapping him and preventing him from helping.
The man turned to Luna, who was still crouched beside Araceli, then grinned wickedly and began to walk towards them. Luna shielded her cousin with her body, glaring at him in what she figured would be her last act of defiance.
Just as the man closed in, there was a whoosh of air, and someone suddenly dropped down from the sky, landing in front of Luna and Araceli. Luna's eyes widened when she saw who it was. It was a woman, probably in her late twenties or early thirties, with short dark brown hair. She wore a skintight black, sleeveless jumpsuit and thick boots, and there were fingerless gloves on her hands. But what was the most shocking about her were the two massive, barbed brown wings that were sprouting from her back.
It was the wings that told Luna that the woman was Knightwing.
Luna had learned about Knightwing in her history class. A former Avenger who was married to Captain America himself, her real name was Raevanna, and she was a powerful kind of faery known as a dark fae. Her looks were very deceiving; as a faerie, she aged much slower than a regular human, which meant she had been around for a long time. However, after the Avengers had reversed the catastrophic event known as The Blip that had occurred ten years ago, Raevanna, her husband, and a majority of her teammates had either retired or gone into hiding. So Luna had never expected to see Knightwing out in public again, and certainly not right in front of her.
"You," the man growled. "I thought you were done with hero work."
"You thought wrong," Raevanna replied, her voice husky and her English accent thick.
"This doesn't concern you, faery," he told her. "Go home to your husband."
"I will not," Raevanna told him.
The man glowered, then lunged for the faery. But she smoothly parried it, then grabbed his wrist, spinning around and dragging him with her before throwing him aside like he weighed absolutely nothing. He crashed into a stall with a loud crash, but quickly jumped to his feet and attacked Raevanna again, relentlessly firing blasts of energy at her. However, she dodged each blast before she shot forward, then landed a swift uppercut to his jaw. As he reeled backwards, she grabbed his hair and slammed his face into her knee, then spun around and kicked him away with such force that when he slammed into the side of a building, he made a crater in the cement.
The man got to his feet a second time, clutching his ribs as he breathed heavily. He glared at Raevanna, then started to move forward as if to attack. But he had barely moved an inch before Raevanna's wings suddenly shot out, extending to their full length and shielding Luna from his view. The two stared at each other for a heartbeat, as if they were daring the other to attack.
"This is not over," the man finally hissed. Then, he jumped into the air and flew away.
Luna watched him go, her mind still trying to process everything that had just happened. As soon as he was out of sight, movement caught Luna's attention, and she turned to see Raevanna slowly folding her wings before she walked over to Spider-Man. The faery then grabbed the metal rod holding him in place and tore it away like it was made of paper, then walked back over to Luna.
"Are you alright?" Raevanna asked.
"Uh... yeah." Luna nodded. "Thank you." Looking down at Araceli, she quickly added, "But my cousin, she's... she's not waking up. I think she's hurt."
Raevanna nodded back, then knelt in front of Araceli. Luna's eyes widened as Raevanna's wings shrunk and contracted until they were gone completely, and when Luna looked closely she could see black ink poking out from under her suit, placed just above her shoulder. Did her wings just turn into tattoos? Luna thought.
"Here," Raevanna said, placing her hand over Araceli's body. Golden light then emanated from Raevanna's palm, washing over Araceli before slowly fading. Then, moments later, Araceli gasped, then began to cough and groan as she rolled over.
"Oh my god," Luna whispered, then tackled Araceli in a fierce hug as soon as the brunette was sitting up. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Yeah." Araceli nodded, rubbing her head. "What happened? Last thing I remember, some creepy guy that looked like he took the negative effect on PicsArt way too seriously was trying to kill you."
"He almost did." Luna nodded back. "But then Spider-Ma-" She stopped mid sentence when she saw that both Raevanna and Spider-Man had vanished without a trace. Luna looked around, trying to figure out where they had gone or if she had just hallucinated it all. But then, her eyes landed on something by her feet: a large, long brown feather that spanned the length of her hand and forearm.
Picking up the feather, Luna smiled and held it up for Araceli to see. "Knightwing rescued us."
"Knightwing?" Araceli repeated. "But I thought she was retired."
"Me too," Luna said. "But apparently she made an exception for today."
"Weird." Araceli looked around at the chaos, the worry and shock written on her face. "Come on, let's get out of here. I bet Miles and Tess are worried about us."
Luna rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. Now you want to leave."
Araceli gave her a playful glare. "Shut up."
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❈ A/N: as requested by revvel , here's chapter four! sorry it took so long, i was trying to make it a longer one for you guys so y'all could be quenched until the next update (which we all know probably won't be for a while oops)
anyway, i rewrote my author's note in the extended summary to explain the timeline in this story, and also to warn you that this book contains spoilers for my other marvel fics. so basically, now you know what happens to raevanna & steve at the end of swan song (though how they get there is for me to know and for you to find out 😈)
i hope this quenches you for awhile, and thanks for reading!
TRANSLATIONS:
por favor mantén tu voz baja. - please keep your voice down.
Eres una pequeña mierda delirante. - You're a delusional little shit.
Mantenerse a salvo - Stay safe
Qué grosero - How rude
Qué demonios estás haciendo - What the hell are you doing