CHAPTER SIX

━━━━━━ 🌻 ━━━━━━

Mae isn't a stranger to being left in the dark. It's how she lives, day and night, waiting for her parents to come home only to know nothing about what happened during their day. It's how she survived. Being left in the dark, she was slowly nourished in there too, taught to stay hidden where she is safe from the world. From the universe that is against her. It's just what she gets for being in this family that is united yet divided by their own secrets. Secrets that her sister gets to keep when Mae can't simply because she will never become what Sarah will. Sarah will become her mother-- strong, brave and independent. And Mae doesn't even know if she will ever become anything. Her only hope is to become someone even almost as good as her father.

Don't go to the bridge, it was the last thing Sarah told her before she cut the call, leaving an ominous feeling in Mae's heavy chest. Something is terribly wrong. 

Something is terribly wrong, if only Mae can pinpoint to what it is.

Mae turns around instantly, running towards Gwen and Peter. Her heart feels so heavy, she thinks she will just drop on the floor without being able to carry her own body. With the weight lingering, she reaches them only to find Gwen standing alone, her silver blonde hair flying with the wind.

"Where's Peter?" She asks, her voice unexpectedly hoarse. Gwen whirls to meet her friend, her cerulean eyes wide. "Uh," She starts, leaning to look down at New York from the terrace. "He's. . . gone."

Mae furrows her eyebrows, "Gone? Gone where?"

Gwen bites her lips and Mae can distinctly see how the girl in front of her is trying to contemplate of an answer. This makes her feel even worse: more secrets?

"He just, uh," Gwen pointed down to the street. Mae confusedly follows her index, "He just slid down. Said he needed to leave urgently."

Mae heaves, leaning down to watch the busy street. "What do you mean he slid down?" She cries, "It's twenty-five stories up."

Gwen shrugs, "I mean, he did just climb twenty stories up saying our doorman was intimidating," She notes, suspiciously narrowing her eyes. "Or maybe he didn't wanna face my dad after all that debating on whether Spider-Man was a hero or not."

"But it's dangerous," Mae stresses, "He could've, I don't know, died?"

"Maybe he's Spider-Man?"

Mae groans irritably, "This isn't funny, Gwen."

"I never said it was!" She counters. A sudden screech from the door opening interrupted their conversation and in comes Helen Stacy, her wrinkled features still resembling Gwen's.  

She offers a small smile, "Gwen, your father's asking for you." Helen informs, looking from her daughter to Mae. 

Gwen softly smiles at her mother, bobbing her head. She looks to Mae warily, who with heat still present in her cheeks, and walks forward to exit the terrace. Helen raises an eyebrow at the honey haired girl, the anxiety in her effortlessly pouring out. As Mae leaves the terrace, Gwen quickly follows.

Strangely when the girls climbed down five floors, George Stacy is wearing his blue uniform, his silver badge resting on his chest. He seems to be in a hurry, sliding his pistol to safety in his belt pocket. Mae furrows her eyebrows, trying to make the words coming out of his walkie-talkie.

"You called?" Gwen asks, puzzlement in her voice. When his walkie-talkie returns to static sounds, he looks at his daughter, his eyebrows tense.

"Yeah, but I need to be somewhere," He says, quickly walking past them to the main door. "I'll talk when I'm back."

George gives a small look of assurance to Gwen before shutting the door behind him. During the few days that Mae spent in with the Stacy's, she realised how frequently George abruptly left whenever duty called him. Mae can faintly relate to that, mainly because this happens back at home too—the only difference is that it's not just her father, it's everyone at home.

Gwen shrugs, "Perks of being the daughter of a police captain, I guess."

Mae shakes it off with a wave of her hand, "Try being the daughter of a scientist and a sec—" She widens her eyes in realisation of what she was about to reveal. Gwen raises her eyebrows questioningly.

"Uh—a scientist and a journalist." That's Maya's cover. It makes it easy for her to send vital information directly into S.H.I.E.L.D. Mae feels the poisonous venom of envy coiling around her again. . . She just wants what Sarah always gets.

Think of the devil . . . her phone loudly buzzes again. It's Sarah, for the second time that night. Mae furrows her eyebrows in worry before sliding the green button.

"Sarah?" She calls, facing away from Gwen.

"Mae!" Sarah shouts from the other end, this only makes her fret more. "Sarah?" She calls again more urgently, "Sarah, what's happening? You're scaring me."

"Listen to me carefully," Says Sarah, "Dad is hurt, but it's nothing to worry about, he's gonna be okay."

Slowly, Mae begins to hear her heartbeats. They're racing in panic. "Hurt? What do you mean? Is he okay?"

Sarah says nothing and Mae hears her sigh in despair. "He will be, mom will make sure of it . . . but— he's badly hurt, Mae."

It feels like the world is turning into a puddle. She races for the door, panic in her heart. "Mae?" Gwen worriedly calls behind her.

"I-I don't understand, what happened?"

"I'm sorry I got to go—"

"No, Sarah tell me!"

She hears her sister sigh again. "Just watch the news, the thing is all over." Sarah says in a hurry, "But don't worry, alright? He'll be fine, I'm sure."

"Why can't you just tell me what happened?" Mae is screaming now, breathing through heavy gasps. Helen peers out worriedly at the noise.

"Just do it. Watch the news," Sarah continues to insist. Mae can tell how she's trying to sound calm. "It's not something that I can just explain."

Knowing that Sarah isn't going to tell her anything useful, Mae just cuts on the call, sighing exasperatedly. Without another word, she walks towards the television, ignoring the calls of a confused Gwen. She snatches the remote from Gwen's little brothers (who scowled at her in return) but she gave no care, instantly switching to the news.

At first, Mae doesn't want to believe what she sees because it's too impossible to be true. She hears someone behind gasping in fright. The honey haired girl walks closer to the television, squinting her lids to see clearer. That can't possibly be real. . .

But when she sees her father, she knows it is.

Harry Evans is as peaceful as ever, the camera strays far from the car he sits in, but she still recognises him. The headline reads that he is sitting with Dr. Rajit Ratha—Mae knows him, he's his father's colleague. But Mae doesn't understand why that would be the headlines when there's a creature crawling over the bridge—covered is murky green and scales—it has to be over eight feet tall and that isn't even the worst part.

It has a humongous tail that it throws around carelessly, destroying everything in sight. Her heart beats louder than drums it almost hurts her ears. The reptile-like creature crawls in a rapid movement, crushing cars with its giant legs.

"What is that?" Gwen asks, her voice hoarse. Mae curelessly shakes her head, her heart is thumping, roaring and she shrieks when she realises where it was headed.

"Dad!" She runs towards the screen like she can stop it, like she can save him.

She helplessly watches as the lizard-like creature stopped in front of their car, its big red eyes glaring at the people in it. And then—it flung the car over the bridge.

Mae's heart reaches her throat, she can't find her voice.

She can't look away—the car rolls over the rails, until there was no land left. Only seconds later, it abruptly stops mid-air. Oxygen finds its way back into Mae's lungs. She sighs deeply before narrowing her eyes to look at the screen clearly.

It didn't just stop . . . it isn't even the only car hanging on a string-like substance, holding the vehicles in place. Gwen realises what Mae doesn't, "Those are webs," She whispers, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Mae widens her eyes, she meets Gwen's azure eyes. ". . . Spider-man." She gasps.

Sure enough, the so-called hero in red and blue swings into the frame, his mask blocking his identity. He comes so swiftly, even the large mucky creature takes him by surprise as the hero throws his legs over its mutant face.

Mae smiles gratefully, the relief finally sitting. Spider-man saved her father.

Her smile fades as quickly as it came.

Eyes tearing, she notices something strange in the car Harry was in. She squints uncomfortably, the camera is too focused on Spider-man and the Lizard that she has to turn her neck to look at the coal-black car hanging in the corner. The panic returns. "Oh no . . ."

"Oh no? Oh no what?" Gwen frets from behind her, coming closer to the television as she tries to see clearer. "Mae, what are you seeing that I'm not?"

"My Dad!" Mae cries, "He's not in the car! How is that possible? I saw him before this thing attacked them."

Gwen looks closely, she feels morbid. Indeed, Harry Evans is not in the car. Only the Indian scientist struggling to breathe, his companion is gone.

"Where could he have gone?"

Realisation strikes them like lightning at the same moment. Mae's face grows pale.

"He fell! In the water!" Mae's voice breaks, she fumbles to grab her phone scrolling through her contacts.

"He can swim, right? He'll be okay, Mae." Gwen tries to assure her, holding her shoulders for comfort.

Mae stubbornly shakes her head. Barely audible, she says, "That's what Sarah said too."

The dial tone finally rings, she struggles to stop herself from thinking the worst.

"Did you see it?" Sarah asks immediately after the line clicks. Mae heaves a breath, "I think he fell in the water," She completely ignores Sarah's queries, "You have to save him please—"

"We know, Mae. And don't worry, he's safe now. We're on our way to the med lab."

"Med lab?" Mae asks, "In Oscorp? I'll be there right away—"

"No—I think it's better for you to stay back."

Mae's eyebrows contort in fury, "What do you mean stay back? He's my father."

"We're in S.H.I.E.L.D's Headquarters, Mae it's not like you can just waltz in here."

Mae huffs in defiance, "Are you serious?" She mocks, "I can't see my own Dad because of your stupid job?"

"Mae!" Sarah shrieks, "It's not like that—"

But the honey haired girl clicks on the red button wildly, cutting Sarah off. Her face is red with rage, Mae has never felt angrier.

She realises it now more than she ever did: Mae Evans will always, always be alone.

a/n: this took foreverrrrrr omg im so sorry :((( but this book been getting so much support lately (we were literally only at 1K the last time i updated and now it's at 2.1K LETS GOOOO) and im gonna be eternally grateful for that!!!! also this chapter has not been yet edited so pls ignore any/all grammatical errors! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS PEOPLE!

until the next time i update, enjoy these manips of petermae aka ABSOLUTE BABIES

( the second one was made by mandalorians !! )