19. THE CALM
Summary:
Team Spider-Man try their plan, but it goes askew.
Notes:
sorry not sorry
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The next Monday was when the plan would start. Even with the weekend giving them more time to flesh it out, they still thought of it as a shot in the dark. And their goal? Well, how do you fight the darkness?
School was bleaker than any one of them could remember. Sure, the people still chugged on and continued about their life but somehow in some way the topic of conversation would shift over to all of the bombings happening throughout the city. The kids tried their best to put on their brave faces and joke about it but Peter could see their tired faces and the bewilderment in their eyes. They were just as scared as he was. They wouldn't know what place would be next and if they would be in it.
The morning announcements tried to lighten up the mood but boy, did they choose a piss poor way of doing so. Although rigid and awkward, the two anchors sat as straight as poles with a forced smile on their faces as they spoke. "Who do you think is New York's coolest superhero?" one of them asked and pictures of the heroes in the city were shown: Iron Man, Paradox or Spider-Man. Guess who was dead last? Peter chewed on his bottom lip and forced himself to look away from the monitor. He couldn't believe the amount of bad press Spider-Man had been getting ever since Paradox arrived at the scene and blamed him for every misfortune that happened. Peter didn't understand why he would do this but he would find out today.
Flash, in particular, was feeling a little bleak. It was out of character for him- that is true- but he liked to express his feelings in his own twisted way. "Hey, yo, Parker!" Flash called his name from down the hallway, making Peter stop in his tracks beside Ned. They exchanged glances, both of them not in the mood to deal with Flash's annoying rhetoric but Peter still turned toward Flash as a response.
Flash jogged up to them and then realized that the effort he made was too much. His eyes darted to the sides, checking to see if anyone noticed what he had done before he clenched his jaw, rubbing his thumb across his jawline. "So, uh, you know Spider-Man," he stated.
Oh boy, not this again. Peter nodded. "Yeah?"
"Alright, cool, cool..." Flash hesitated, once again looking around to see anyone eavesdropping.
Ned rolled his eyes. "Man, are you gonna say something or what?"
Flash sent a quick glare to Ned before he shook his head. He stepped closer to them, lowering his voice so they could hear only. "Yeah, um, so what's the deal with the guy? There are all these bombings all over the city and your boy has done jack. What gives? Can you talk to him?"
Peter's eye twitched. He wanted nothing more to just yell out that he wasn't the bad guy here, that he was doing his best to help out the city and its people. But it was just so damn hard with Paradox just ruining the image of him after he worked so hard to be the neighborhood's friendly Spider. "Flash," he cleared his throat, trying his best to contain the resentment in his tone, "Spider-Man has been working nonstop about the bombings." "Yeah but like, that Paradox guy is doing all of the work and Spider-Man is getting the heat." When Flash saw the astonished looks on their faces, he groaned. "All I'm asking for, Parker, is to check in with your guy. I guess we need him." He squeezed his eyes shut quickly but then shook his head. "You know what? Never mind, forget I said anything. Go choke, Penis Parker." Flash shoulder-checked Peter as he stomped away and disappeared around the corner.
Peter blinked. "That was the nicest thing Flash has ever said to me."
"Dude, I think he is in love with you," said Ned with wide eyes.
"He must be."
The final bell rung, signaling the end of the school day. The plan would be to set in motion right then. The others would be waiting for him and Ned at the football field. As the halls crowded up with children dispersing to the outside, Peter and Ned stuck close to the lockers, silently moving to the field with grim faces. A few of their friends noticed as they passed by, they opened their mouth to say something but just their looks made them decide to stay away. Whatever was bothering Peter and Ned they could figure out, that was what best friends were for.
When they reached the field, Michelle was already waiting for them on the bleachers. While they looked miserable, Michelle's appearance was more placid while her nose was deep into a book. How she could be so calm ahead of their big plan was beyond Peter, but he was relieved that at least someone seemed more confident. It made him feel better.
Michelle hardly glanced up as the two approached. "What took you guys so long?" she mumbled into her book before she slowly glanced up at them and frowned by their expressions. "Jeez, the plan isn't that bad, guys."
"It's everyone else," said Ned. "The bombings are really freaking them out and they aren't happy with Spider-Man. It's just kind of..." he shrugged, "...rubbing on us, you know?"
Before Michelle could answer, excited voices came from the edge of the bleachers where a small group of friends crowded Liz again. One girl asked, "Do you want to come with us to grab something from Starbucks, Liz? After what happened at your aunt's wedding... we thought that you could use some company."
She had a small smile on her face as she talked to them. "I actually have plans with MJ, Ned, and Peter after school, but thank you."
"Who's MJ?"
Michelle rolled her eyes and shut her book before she jammed it in her backpack.
Liz hesitated from the question. "She's... just a good friend. I'll talk to you later."
"Don't forget that if you ever need to talk about anything, you can come to us, okay?"
She nodded although the trio could tell that she wouldn't dare go to them for anything. The girls left Liz. She heaved a deep sigh and stalked up the steps to be with her true friends. "Hey."
"Hey." Peter waved. He couldn't stay there for long with the others, he had to get moving. "I'll head on out, guys. I'll meet you back here when... well, you know when." He stepped in front of Michelle to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before he jogged down the steps to find a private place to change into Spider-Man's costume and get to work.
Ned sighed. "I'll be right back, have to use the bathroom before the action starts. Don't want to miss anything."
As he turned to climb down the steps, Michelle called out, "Have fun!"
He shouted back without missing a beat, "Thanks, I will!"
As soon as he was gone, Liz collapsed next to Michelle, bringing her knees up to her chin as she hugged herself. Michelle watched her expectantly as Liz gazed out to the field in front of them, her eyes glossy. "I..." she swallowed hard, "I'm so scared, Michelle. I can't believe that I..." she couldn't finish the thought but Michelle knew what she was implying.
"That you almost died?"
Liz bit her bottom lip and turned her head so her cheek pressed against her kneecap to look at Michelle. "Yeah," said breathlessly, "I almost died... and for what? For this psychopath to make a point or something to Peter? My mom thinks I'm crazy. I-I told her that I was with my grandparents right now but what something happens and I really die? It's bad enough that my dad is in prison and I don't think my mom could handle the thought of-"
Michelle wrapped an arm around Liz and squeezed her tight. She wasn't used to the whole physical embraces and connections with people but seeing Liz like this, so broken... well, she had to do something. "You're not going to die," she firmly said, "you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you have me, Ned, and Peter to protect you. We're going to kick Paradox so far up his ass, he's going to crap out of his mouth."
The visual made Liz contort her face into a mess of confusion before she snickered out a laugh. Seeing her smile like this was one of the greatest feelings Michelle ever had and she'll be damned if she let Paradox take away her friends so she could never see them smile again.
"How are you so calm about this?" Liz whispered into her embrace. "I'm practically shaking right now and you're not."
Michelle wasn't sure how to answer that. She wasn't sure either why she was so easy with this entire affair. She hated the plan, but it was the only one they've got. As she sat there, staring ahead on the green field, she imagined a football game. Two rival teams going against each other, full strength unleashed just for a satisfying win. One mistake, one sign of weakness could be the end of it all. Michelle squinted before she understood. "If you show people how you feel they can use it against you." She turned her head to look at Liz again, seeing the girl with a few slow tears trailing over her cheeks. "I'm not going to let that asshole use anything against me. I'm not going to let him win. We're playing his game but we can't let him win or... we lose everything. We lose each other."
Michelle sighed before she unlatched herself from Liz and spun her whole body to face her. "You can cry and scream later, but right now, you have to show that prick that you're in control, got it? Make the plan work and maybe we win. Don't let him see you at your weakest."
Liz eye's drifted off to the side, contemplating her words. She wiped off the tears with the pads of her thumbs and straightened herself. She tucked loose strands of her straightened hair behind her ears and nodded firmly to Michelle. "Okay, okay, we can- I can do this."
"Good." Michelle smiled.
Ned came back a few minutes later, not quite sure what he expected to find when he returned. The girls were sitting together reading Michelle's book as if their lives were totally not in danger but Ned didn't want to mention that. Instead, he tapped on Michelle's shoulder. "Ready to go?" She nodded and waved down at Liz as she followed Ned up to the press box of the high school stadium.
Michelle unlocked the door with the coach's keys which caused Ned to lift a brow. "Hey, you didn't go in detention, how'd you get the keys?"
"Turns out I didn't need to. Coach eats lunch in detention like a loner so I hung out with him and got the keys. He didn't even question me. He was like 'alright but give 'em back or you're in trouble' and then he laughed. I wouldn't be surprised if one of these days he gets fired."
"Good man."
"The goodest."
They stepped through the press box and before them, they could see a complete layout of the field. On the elevated desk was a light board and microphones. Ned sat down in a chair and cracked his knuckles. "Guy in the chair," he whispered to himself.
"What?"
His cheeks burned. "Nothing!"
A tense silence followed after. Ned reclined back in the chair anxiously waiting for Spider-Man's arrival while Michelle leaned against the wall with her fingers drumming over her crossed arm. Ned had to say something to break the silence. "So you're Princess Leia to Han Solo now?"
Michelle lifted her brow. "I'm the what?"
"You and Peter. You're together like..." he swallowed, unsure of her stoic expression, "like the princess and Han?"
Michelle snorted, making Ned flinch at the sudden change in demeanor. "I think you and I both agree that Peter is Leia."
"How come?"
"Well, Han is an outcast and he's witty. I relate to that."
"Crap, you're right. Peter is Princess Leia." Ned smiled wide. "Awesome. And that makes me... Obi-Wan? And Liz is Chewbacca?"
They both stared at each other before they burst out laughing at the image of Liz being Chewbacca, temporarily forgetting about the whole ordeal.
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Spider-Man was tasked with finding Paradox which took longer than he thought. He patrolled the city just like any other time, finding either minor convinces to the people while trying to spot Paradox but to no avail. Eventually, he found someone else, Robbie the Hot Dog guy. Robbie was parked at a curb and he had just finished serving a couple of businessmen. Spider-Man sat on top of a light post, swinging his legs over the sides as he called out Robbie's name.
Robbie craned his head up and gave a nod of acknowledgment to him. "Hungry? Can I get 'ya anything?"
He jumped off the light post and landed in a crouch beside the stand. When he rose, Spider-Man could see the grim expression on Robbie's face. He shook his head. "Not hungry... and you don't want to see me, do you?"
Robbie huffed, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Sorry, kid, your bad rep means bad business, you know? It's nothin' personal, I know you're good."
"I just wish everyone else thought that too." Spider-Man sighed and slowly started to back up. "I'm sorry, I'll stay away then."
He turned to go. Robbie lowered his head and shut his eyes for a count of three before he said, "Spidey, wait a second." Spider-Man turned, his animatic eyes widening in confusion. "That Paradox guy is giving you a hard time, practically paints you as a villain, even. Must be hard, but you're a good kid. You've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders and the power to do somethin' about it. So I suggest-" his eyes firmly locked onto Spider-Man's, narrowed in ferocity, "-you do somethin'. With all the crap that's been goin' on lately, this city needs you whether we want to admit it or not. So be a hero is all I'm sayin'."
Although Robbie couldn't see, Spider-Man's lips quirked into a smile. He nodded to the hot dog man and shot a web up into the sky to take him away so he could finally do something.
It took a little while. Night crept up fast in New York, the sky darkening and the city came alive with its twinkling lights. Spider-Man paraded around, still searching until he finally found a figure in black on a rooftop near the edge of the city. Paradox sensed his presence before he could even say a word. "Peter, I'm a little surprised to see you here."
Spider-Man hated the fact that Paradox knew who he was. He wore the damn mask so no one could know and no one he was close to could get hurt. He balled up his fists and tried to focus on the plan. "Look, dude, we've got to talk."
Paradox glanced over his shoulder, the bottom half of his mask glowed as a green skeleton. He looked more like a costume you'd buy at Party City than New York's new number one hero but Spider-Man kept that to himself. "I was thinking the same thing."
"It's about Anya."
That struck a nerve. Paradox narrowed his eyes at him and slowly turned, his head slightly tilting to the side as he scrutinized Spider-Man.
"Follow me."
Paradox considered it for a moment. "I'll go if you come with me afterward. I need to show you something, something I think you wouldn't want to miss."
Spider-Man shrugged. "Fine, whatever, just keep up."
With that, Spider-Man jumped from the rooftop and webbing sprung out from his wrists to sail him across the city and back to the high school with Paradox on his heels, traveling from shadow to shadow. Half the time, he had no idea where Paradox was until he saw darkness slither across the ground under street lights. Eventually, they reached the school and Spider-Man landed in the middle of the field. He spun around, looking for Liz.
Paradox walked onto the field, scanning the place under the cover of the night's sky. "Why are we here?" he asked.
Just then, the stadium lights flickered on, illuminating the entire football field as if it was a game night for the school. Paradox squinted and lifted his arm to block the sudden breach of light until he saw Liz climb down from the bleachers. He lowered his arm and stared at her as she cautiously walked up to him. She glanced over to Spider-Man who stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting.
Paradox spoke first. "Listen, Liz, I never wanted to-"
"Don't. Just don't. I don't want to talk about that." Her jaw tensed. "But Peter told me about Anya. And I deserve to know why you're keeping her there, why you're killing her there."
He let out a dry chuckle, his eyes dragging over to Spider-Man in fury before he gave an answer. "I'm not killing her, I am protecting her because I love her."
"From what?"
"From what?" he repeated, incredulously. He scoffed with his voice rising in a raspy shout, "From everyone! From humanity! People hate us! They hate that we have powers and they don't, that they are weak and defenseless and we aren't! I couldn't let her get hurt in the world that I'm trying to create."
Liz's eyebrows drew together. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You can be a part of that world, Liz. You can be safe just until the bad parts are over. I can protect you." He extended out his hand to her for her to take. "Please."
She recoiled, her eyes wild with resentment. Then, she went off the plan. She hesitantly took his hand and asked, "If I go, you release Anya." Paradox opened his mouth to protest but she shook her head. "Let her go, Nico."
He swallowed hard. "Done."
"Liz, wait!" Spider-Man reached out for her just to see her glance back at him, and the look on her face- pure sorrow as she literally melted in his embrace to a black pool until she disappeared.
Spider-Man was again, too late. Hell, he let this happen. He let his friend get taken away. This wasn't the plan. This wasn't supposed to happen. Why in the hell did Liz just trade spots with Anya?
His entire body tensed up. His chest heaved as he locked eyes with Paradox who still stood calmly before him. Spider-Man lashed out, sending multiple rounds of webs at him as he charged forward. Paradox was caught off guard. He lifted his arm to block the webbing as a reflex, allowing for the sticky mess to snap his arm firmly against his chest as if it was in a sling. Left with only one arm, Paradox backed up as Spider-Man shot a long strand of webbing at the goalpost far behind Paradox. He pulled, gaining momentum as he slammed both of his feet at Paradox's chest, making him fly twenty yards across the terrain.
Up at the press box, Ned and Michelle looked on in horror after just witnessing their friend dissolve into nothingness, transported into a dark world that they couldn't reach into. Michelle yelled at Ned, "Are you using all of the lights? We have to make sure he can't use his powers!"
"The stadium has six massive lights and I am using them, MJ! What the hell else could we do?"
"He-he just... he took her," she breathed, "I promised we'd protect her and he just took her."
"I know, but Peter can get her back-"
Down below, Spider-Man stalked upon Paradox like a predator on prey. "Karen," he said roughly, "what other types of webbing do I have?"
"I would suggest taser webbing to subdue the target momentarily."
"Then suit me up."
"Sure thing, Peter."
On the surface of his suit's screen, he watched as Karen pulled up the option of taser webbing and selected it for use. He lifted his arm and shot it at Paradox. It wrapped around him and sent shocks and sparks throughout his body. He yelled from the surge of pain, his muscles tensing and tightening impulsively. Finally, Spider-Man stood above him, watching the hero shake underneath him.
Paradox laughed through the pain. He laughed and laughed, making Spider-Man grit his teeth until Paradox sighed. "Big mistake, kid," he muttered.
Then, Spider-Man realized why he was laughing. He could see his own shadow cast on Paradox. Before he got his wits on him and tried to move, Paradox melted into the ground and out of sight. Spider-Man spun around, training his eyes to find him and take him down. He held his breath once he spotted Paradox on top of the press box. "No," he croaked, "don't you dare-"
It was so fast. Spider-Man could barely register what happened. Paradox jumped down in front of the press box and surged toward Ned, grabbing him by his throat and slamming him to the wall. Michelle turned on him, screaming at him and balled up her fists to punch at him. He shoved her away with his incredible superhuman straight against the desk, right at her stomach. She was winded and collapsed on to the ground, clutching her stomach, ready to vomit from the impact.
Spider-Man shot at the press box and he pulled himself to soar above the bleachers. As he arrived, Paradox heaved, "Another move and I kill your friend. You wanna risk that, Petey?"
"Let him go," Spider-Man tried so hard to control the hatred in his voice. His eyes quickly went to Michelle to see if she was alright. She rolled over on her hands and knees breathing heavily, trying to regain her composure. And Ned... Ned was scared out of his mind. His eyes were so wide. He clawed at his throat so he could breathe, his face getting more purple by the second. Spider-Man shouted, "Let him go!"
"Then come with me, just like we promised, eh?" Paradox nodded at him. "I can forget this ever happened if you see what I wanted you to see."
"Peter..." groaned Michelle from the ground right before she clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from puking.
"Alright! Alright! I'll go, just let them go."
Paradox lifted a brow and then released his hold on Ned. Ned slid against the wall, still softly holding onto his neck, rubbing the sore marks as he coughed.
Paradox stood tall in front of Peter and pulled off the bottom half of his mask. Spider-Man expected something ugly beneath like a burned up face or a scarred lip. It was nothing of the sort. He looked completely normal. He looked human just like Peter. Paradox grinned at him. "Meet me on top of the Empire State Building. You have five minutes." He stepped out from the press box and disappeared.
Spider-Man went to Ned on the ground, his eyes searching for any other injuries he might have. Ned coughed again before he rasped, "Go... you don't have a lot of time."
"But-" Spider-Man glanced back to Michelle who had sat upright against the wall like Ned, still clutching at her stomach. She nodded her head in agreement.
He didn't want to leave his friends like this, hurt and broken, but they wanted him to go. He needed to go. If they were gone when he confronted Paradox again, maybe he could win that time. He could end this.
He never traveled the city so fast before. He breezed by so fast between the streets and the buildings, it was almost as if he was flying. People took their eyes to the skies as he swung by, curious to know why he was going so fast and where. Spider-Man finally made it to the Empire State Building, his arms tired and heavy but he wasn't done yet. Since it was the tallest building around, he had to climb. He scaled the side of the building which painfully reminded him of the excursion of the Washington Monument which felt like a lifetime ago. Before he knew it, he came to the top and stood on the observation deck. He circled around it until he saw Paradox staring at the city below them, gripping the rails.
"The world is a beautiful and cruel place," Paradox said once Spider-Man arrived. Internally, Spider-Man groaned, knowing a monologue was coming for him. He was not in the mood to listen. "Look at the city, New York City, it's just so damn beautiful. The lights alone..."
"Is there a point you're getting to?" scoffed Spider-Man.
Ignoring the snide remark, Paradox continued, "Yet this city is filled with the vilest of people. People who hate you and me for the gifts we were given. And those people are in every city in the world, outnumbering us to an impossible degree. Our kind needs to stick together, to stand up and fight for each other." He glanced to Spider-Man. "Do you know why I chose you? Out of everyone I could have possibly targeted? Iron Man, Quake, Luke Cage and the likes?"
A sigh. "No."
"Because you're New York, Peter. You represent this city ever since you started operating it. I chose you so you could be torn down and made new again. I break you, I break the city. I burn you, I burn the city. I remake you, I remake the city. I-"
And the entire world fell apart. A massive explosion popped Spider-Man's ears as it cut Paradox short. Below, he could only watch in horror as a building had begun to burn from the explosion, the fire begging to rise high and far. Chaos erupted in the streets, car honking reached an elevated max and screams carried in flood waves. Then, it only got worse. Another bomb there, and another, again and again. Spider-Man watched the wreckage and carnage from the highest point of the city, making his throat dry.
Paradox grumpily sighed. "That ruined my timing. But I think you get what I am trying to say."
He pulled the mask off of his face. Peter's mouth fell open. He shakily clutched his chest, his eyes brimming with tears. "No... no... this can't be happening," he whispered. The city's lights burning red in his eyes. Peter slowly craned his head to stare at Paradox, his jaw trembling as he croaked, "You did this... how could you... why would you-?"
"This is your chance to make things right, Peter." Paradox reached out and ruffled Peter's hair, making the younger boy squirm and stagger away from his touch. "Go save the city. It was what you were meant to do. Save a girl from a fiery building, stop an old man from getting hit by debris. Hurry, before it's too late." He ended that with another cruel smile.
Peter wanted nothing more than to break Paradox then and there and make him pay for every bit of chaos he had caused before slamming him to the most secure prison imaginable so he could never see the light of day ever again. But this? This was bigger than his hate. This was bigger than him. The city needed him and as much as he didn't want to admit, it also needed the help of Paradox because there was simply no way that Paradox would miss this. He set up every bombing that he ever arrived at, Peter understood now. And somehow, Paradox was going to paint himself as the hero of today but that didn't matter. People needed his help down there and he wasn't going to rest until he did something.
So he pulled back on the mask, swallowing the resentment down his throat and leaped off the edge of the Empire State Building into the fiery storm.
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A/N:
All of your comments keep me alive! I am so happy to read them all and I'm super grateful that y'all have stuck with me through this journey. There will be a few remaining chapters left and with summer here, I can finally get them coming.
Fun Fact #1: While writing this chapter, I watched Sharkboy and Lavagirl and I got weirdly emotional? Like?? That character development?? I've seen the movie a thousand times and for some reason it struck a nerve right now.
Fun Fact #2: I sincerely hate myself for unconsciously naming Paradox Nico and I am THIS close to changing it smh.
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