CHAPTER TEN; SPIDER MAN

❝ how her rage could make the heavens cry ❞

[ songs to listen to during this chapter ]

❝ mr.rager, kid cudi / who's that girl, hillary duff / still don't know my name, labrinth / princesses don't cry, carys  ❞
































･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ dc hotel [ pool area ]  ❞

ALINA WANTED TO JOIN PETER BUT SHE HAD AGREED to trust him so she was trying to do just that. Plus Gwen didn't give her much time to debate it between getting dressed and being shoved out the door to disagree. The whole way down Gwen repeatedly checked that Alina could swim, but she'd assured her time and time again she could. "Look who I found," Gwen announced as she and her shorter companion came walking around the corner into the pool area.

Everyone was there, and she could feel Connor's eyes practically blaring holes in her head. "Lina! Just the girl I was hoping to see," Malik cheered climbing out of the water racing over.

Alina didn't have much of a choice but to hug him which made her laugh. She could tell he didn't mean anything by it especially when he immediately let her go, "Sorry, I forget not everyone likes hugs. My apologies, we've had a bit of stolen alcohol for the rebellious feel of the night."

It wasn't until then she noticed Flash passing the bottle of Jack Daniels they'd somehow gotten over to Cindy. "You're fine," Alina assured gesturing around to the group, "I didn't think you guys got wasted before a competition."

"I'm not. I'm just here to see what stupid thing someone might do," Michelle spoke up elaborating her role there. 

Raising her hand Sabrina said, "I however am making sure I walk out of here the most tipsy of us all." She swam through the water snatching the bottle from Connor who now had it.

"Where's Peter," asked Liz not hiding her disappointment all that well. With or without her powers Alina could see she wanted him to be there.

Before she had a chance to even answer, Flash, who had been trying to make himself float, said, "Is he facetimming Spiderman and Hex? Or is she a more raven and pen kind of girl?"

"What is your obsession with her," wondered Alina as she undid the shall around her waist revealing the matching swimsuit fully. Gwen had given her one of hers she packed, it had beautiful colors of light and dark pinks shaded to make it look like they were flowers. She had used a claw clip to pin her curls up so they wouldn't get wet, but she let a few pieces stay out.

All these details were something no one missed, but no one Connor thought about how effortlessly pretty she was. He was pretty sure she had no idea how everyone looked at her but Connor Stacy was sure there had never been a girl so heavenly. Even when she got frustrated like she clearly was, it did nothing to diminish her, not that it really did for anyone, but Alina wasn't just anyone. Her dark narrowed eyes weren't as hidden as she thought they were.

"Why I do I care about a super hot villainous super spy? Do you need me to explain why that's so dumb," Flash asked using his arms and feet to keep himself up in the water.

Swimming up to her legs Connor grabbed at her calf jokingly asking, "So have you met her like they say?"

"We've met them at the Stark Internship. Not like we've traded numbers," Alina answered ignoring the leap in her stomach feeling his brief touch.

She didn't live in the moment long before Malik came bursting up from the water splashing them all. Alina squealed as Connor fell back against her legs from the fright. Trying to keep him from crushing her legs she spread the making him land between them. In her moment of hesitation Connor looked up at her saying, "You know I'm pretty comfortable here I think I might just stay awhile if you don't mind?"

Alina shook her head with amusement, "You're not there yet bud," she said teasingly shoving him away.

He didn't fight her as she did only splashing water to shoo him. "So what you're saying is that I could get there," he countered smugly.

Gwen couldn't help but splash him again warning, "Ew, back off Quasimodo you're being weird." Alina chuckled looking at the blonde that was fully in the water unlike herself.

Sabrina, who had been nursing the bottle of jack spoke up, "Back to the important information–– Spiderman. Is he cute?"

"Can't say, never saw him without the mask. His personality is though," Alina answered trying to hype Peter up without Liz, who clung to her words, knowing.

"What's that supposed to mean," asked Gwen her curiosity getting the better of her.

Adding on Malik said, "Yeah, does he swing by with milkshakes before going off to fight crime."

Part of Alina laughed thinking of of how he was somewhat right about that. Deciding to mess with them she corrected, "Actually he's more of a smoothie person."

Malik rolled his eyes playfully as the others chuckled thinking she was joking. Cindy who had finished her gulp wondered, "Does Hex bring you everything."

"Tony doesn't let her do much," said the teenager begrudgingly as she slid herself into the water fully.

Flash laughed saying, "How can Stark stop her?"

"The same why Hydra did, finding someway or something that controls her," voiced Michelle passing off he bottle around the circle again. 

"Not this theory again," groaned Flash restating, "We've been through this, people that powerful can't be forced to do anything. It's like someone saying Elon Musk can't stop himself  from spending money, of course he can. He just chooses not to."

"But it's not the same," argued Michelle with a slight slur from the alcohol, "Elon is a billionaire who the government would bend over backwards to help. No one ever came to help her until she already spent most her life with them. They said they found electric bracelets when they found her that would shoot electricity into her veins. It couldn't kill her but it was painful."

"See that does make sense, however," Gwen began to wonder, "Why didn't she just turn her skills against them instead of the people she was sent after."

Her words carried an unknowable weight to them that made it feel like Lina had just been shot in the gut. Gwen had even been the one to think low of 'Hex' god how she hated being called that sometimes. Alina didn't mean to bring the topic up but it seemed like her presence was enough and now she would have to hear how scared they all were.

Pointing at Gwen, Flash exclaimed, "See! That's what I mean, if she's so powerful why couldn't she turn it on them."

This time Alina never spoke a word, she wanted to hear how they all felt. Liz, added on, "I don't know, I feel bad for her but she still sounds terrifying."

Slowly Alina started to pull her legs out of the water, "She sounds terrifying because she is," said Flash once again. "You know she probably never even was kidnapped by them. She probably joined them willingly."

This, this was what Alina couldn't let slide, "No she didn't. It was never her own free will," said Alina firmly.

In agreement Connor said, "Yeah guys, from what Michelle said it doesn't really sound like someone signs up to have electricity shot through them all the time."

Proving their claims correct Michelle added, "You guys really have to read those files Black Widow released because it explains almost everything about her other than her name and age."

"Enlighten us then, Sherlock. Sounds like you've done the research so why don't you change some opinions," offered Sabrina as she floated in the water on her back. She had begun tuning them out sometime ago but the conversation seemed to be taking a more heated turn. 

"Fine," Said Michelle pulling herself out of the water sitting before everyone else and next to Alina. "From the they knew, her parents were strong like her, with powers too, and even despite that they still lost their daughter."

Before Alina asked Connor couldn't help but ponder, "How they lose her?"

Michelle shrugged admitting, "They're a little cagey on the how but they took their child from them once they new her power. Her parents were running with their daughter from the moment they found out they were expecting. They were in Bulgaria when she was one, that's when they got her. Hex didn't join them, she was raised a hostage and experimented on."

Alina could feel everyone else's fear and borderline disgust for the idea of Hex, but Connor, Gwen, and Michelle were...blurry. Like they were all still deciding how to feel about her. "That's my exact point then. If she was raised by them, what if they created some twisted loyalty in her."

His words made Alina's head want to explode and the lights above flicker. The brief moment of darkness caused some of them to scream. But given its quickness only Michelle said, "Weird."

"W-what happened to her parents? Did they look for her," Alina asked trying to hide the hope she had.

Michelle shrugged telling her, "Don't know, if they were powerful like her and they never found her then they probably were killed, right?"

"Right," Alina confirmed clearing her throat. She knew that was always a possibility but hearing it? Hearing someone say it out loud other than her? It was a type of hurt she never let herself truly accept.

Alina gnawed on her lip making the lights above flicker once more this time longer. She could feel the water splashing against her and hear the people screaming until it stopped. She wanted to lash out and she could feel the need to growing stronger. "Okay, that's it. I'm out of here," Sabrina said swimming closer to the edge to hoist herself out, "Haunted hotel pools aren't for me."

"Me too," said Flash, Abe, and Cindy.

Liz laughed telling them, "Guys, its electricity we're fine."

No longer wanting to be there Alina decided to use her accident as a way out, "You know what, everyone thinks that and then they get hacked to death. This is me ensuring I have a better chance to become the finale girl in this horror movie."

"Let me walk you," said Connor attempted to get out.

She knew his uncertainty of her way warranted but she didn't want more confusion on if she was good person. Their doubts made her even worse and she hated it. "It's okay, I can find my way back. Stay, have a drink," she told him pointedly tying the skirt back around her waist. 

Laughing at how Connor disappointedly fell into the water Malik said, "Take the hint dude, she's just not that into you."

"Well when you put it like that Malik how can't I," Connor said sheepishly.

Looking to Gwen Alina said, "I'll give you this back in the morning, thanks for letting me borrow it." Rather quickly, Alina left the pool area almost running out. She of course didn't just go to her hotel room to throw on sweatpants, she rushed up to the roof top.

If anyone had seen how fast she ran up the iron steps or the ease in which she broke open the door to the roof. She expected an alarm but the signs must've been for show. Every move she made was like a flash of something horrific.

The rooms in which she was trained, the first man she'd ever killed, the beatings, the torture, and the man who was the most sadistic of them all. She never knew his name because each time before she was sent to him they injected her with one of their favorite tools. When they wanted to train her physically without the collar it was use to disrupt her powers.

Disrupt was a nice word for it. In reality it made every cell inside her body feel like it was engulfed in its own private hell. She would do anything for them then, kill anyone just to make it stop. She remembered the moments she enjoyed the kill because it meant the pain had stopped. 

But it never did, not really anyway. WIth all her thoughts and memories raging past so fast she hadn't noticed she'd begun to cry. She had been trying so hard to make people like her but she could feel the truth. They were terrified of her because whether she liked it or not she was Hex. The creature they made. The ghost of the girl who parents they'd stolen her from. 

She was leaning against the edge trying to calm her uneven breaths. Needing some sort of release Alina screamed her eyes glowing briefly flashing gold before changing to blue as rained started to pour down from the sky. It was her way of making the world cry just as hard as she was as she came falling to the floor.

. * ✦ . ◍ ∘ . * ✦ ‧ ∘ ⊹

❝ damage control ❞

'You're in the most secure facility on the Eastern Seaboard. The Damage Control Deep Storage Vault.' This thought had haunted Peter for what felt like forever in his boredom. He knew he should call Alina to come help but he wanted to leave her be, and try and figure this out himself. 

But that was long since a thought he'd grown used to, by now while he laid ace up on one of the trailers. "Should I tell Liz that I'm Spider-Man," was the newest intrusive thought competing for attention. 

Karen, the voice inside his suit asked, "Who is Liz?"

Peter immediately sighed repeating back, "Who is Liz? She's.. heh. She's the best. She's awesome. She, uh, she's just a girl who goes to my school. And, uh... Yeah, I just... I really want to tell her, but it's kind of weird, you know? 'Hey, I'm... I'm Spider-Man.'"

"What's weird about that," wondered the voice.

Throwing the ball in the air Peter said, "Nothings weird about it, at least not for me and Alina. But what if she's expecting someone like Tony Stark? I mean, imagine how disappointed she'd be when she sees me."

"Well, if I were her, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. "

Peter gave a small smile underneath his mask saying, "Thanks, Karen. It's really nice to have somebody to talk to."

Creating conversation Karen asked, "Who is Alina?"

"Alina? Mr. Stark doesn't have any downloaded information about her," Peter asked a little surprised she apparently knew nothing.

"Alina Dranganov, rescued 2015 has powers of empathetic understanding, control over mystical energies of unknown origin that allow her control over curses, elements, and the absorption of all energies. She as been shown to create weapons from anything, including her own blood. Her powers allow for full transformation into the form of a wolf––"

"Wait, she can turn into a wolf," Peter exclaimed jumping straight up.

"Yes, it says here she has been since she was thirteen," explained Karen electronic reading the file she had.

Curious as his legs hung over the edge he asked, "What else can she do?"

"Her ability to turn into a wolf grants her natural weaponry with retractable claws, and fangs to match.She has enchanted healing ability to control and manipulate gravity. It is believed upon death her powers would either enhance and become stronger or reveal the ability to resurrect at will."

"I didn't know she could do any of that,"  admitted Peter his shoulders slumped.

"Why do you think that is," asked Karen.

He thought about it for a moment before the answer became abundantly clear, "She discovered those powers by doing bad things to people, I don't think she wants others to know. I just thought we were past secrets."

"Well do you have any secrets from her," wondered the voice.

"No," Peter answered quickly before his brain flashed an image of Connor in his mind as come cruel reminder. "Well, I'm not technically keeping a secret, it's not mine to tell," he corrected himself sheepishly.

"It's still a secret," reminded Karen, "Whose secret is it?"

"Connors," he answered beginning to pace on top of the container. There was a moment of pause in him but believing it was safe to tell her at least he caved. "When I first became Spiderman I was out one one of my first patrols and I was getting beat up pretty badly. I was holding my own but it was getting difficult –– then this guy comes out of nowhere and their gut go flying. Next thing I know the railings are grabbing them pulling them back. It was Connor, after that night we started working together."

"What happened," Karen asked.

"We had different idea of how to help people," Peter answered in the most simple way he could put it. "He hurt someone, pretty bad and I just couldn't agree to keep doing things his way. So we agreed never to tell anyone about each other but to always be there if either of us ever really needed it. I just get worried about him hanging around Alina."

"Do you not trust him?"

Hopping off the container he said, "No, yes, I don't know. I guess I don't want him to mess up what she's trying to build herself. She wants a normal life, that's the whole reason she's in New York. He's a good person but where Connor goes chaos follows and Alina deserves more than that." Holding the chain of the necklace she'd given him he added, "Thats the whole reason I haven't called her to come get me out of here even though we've been here for hours."

"No we haven't, we've only been here 37 minutes," she told him.

"WHaT!? 37 minutes, I gotta find a way out of here," he said shooting out a web swinging across the room towards the panel.

a/n

I wanted to ask you guys how you would feel about after SpiderMan Homecoming I have a character arc of Alina in the. Black Widow movie. Also, the gif featured in this chapter is from an edit I made you can check it out on mystixxgranger on tiktok if you want to see the whole thing!!

alina's outfit next chapter ( after the decathlon )