the rift | p. parker

01. the evidence

Moving is never easy. But try moving out of your abusive father's house in the middle of your senior year of high school. Try getting an apartment with a total stranger in one of the biggest cities in the world. Now try moving to that city, scared and on your own, and add in a full blown civil war, super-hero manhunt. Dangerous to walk the streets, and even more so to do it alone.

This was what you were dealing with.

Your roommate Meg had advised against walking to school, so you let her drive you.

"Y'know it's weird living with someone still in high school." She said, taking a left turn.

"It's weird living with someone who isn't in school at all." You responded, staring out the window and taking in the looming buildings above you.

"Hey, as soon as I get my promotion and Queens College opens again, I'm there."

"It's closed?"

"Well, yeah. The campus was one of the first places Mysterio supporters started ransacking. You know, people love rallies at college. Everyone thinks they know everything. It was only a matter of time before things got out of hand. I heard one girl even died."

You turned to her in shock. "What?"

She shrugged. "It's only a rumor, but I can't see how they'd close down for anything else."

You chewed on this information as Meg pulled her Honda up to the front of your school.

"So I guess the rallies are over then? People aren't crazy enough to risk their lives for this stupid disagreement."

"Nah, girl. There's one tonight at Cunningham park. My dad told me certain unbiased news stations have been alerted. It's for Spider-Man's support, obviously. Otherwise, the whole state of New York would know it's happening."

You turned to look at the front of your dreary school.

"I'm going if you want a ride."

A snort of disbelief escaped you before you could hide it. "To the rally? Where people die?"

"People don't often die, that's just a rumor."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, well, no thanks. I'd like to survive my first day in the big city."

"Alright, girl. Make sure you get a ride home then. I'm at work until five."

You nodded and pushed open the car door. "Thanks." You shut it behind you.

Try moving to the city you had, with your circumstances, and then on top of that, add in being the new kid. Oh boy, you knew you were in for it.

All morning you were lost. It took you two and a half class periods to realize there was a second story to the building you were in. And at lunch you couldn't find a table so you sat against the wall and then found the library after you had crammed the edible parts of the school's provided lunch into your mouth.

You collapsed into a chair and let your bag thud to the ground.

"Shhh," came a whisper from the front desk.

You winced and mouthed "sorry" to the lady who was glaring at you, as though the sheer nerve of you wanting to use the library was enough to condemn you.

You sighed and pulled out your phone, desperate for some familiarity. However, the first thing you saw was a group of texts from Meg. You opened them and saw she had sent you a few news articles about Spider-Man and the disagreement within the city.

"Read these." Was all she said.

You glanced at the time and the back to the articles. If you read fast, you could finish them before next class. Slightly reluctantly, you clicked on the first one. It was from about a month ago. You began to read:

IDENTITIES REVEALED: INNOCENT TEEN OR RECKLESS MURDERER?

In a shocking turn of events, it has been revealed that the infamous neighborhood hero, Spider-Man is only a teenage boy named Peter Parker.

Parker, now allegedly assumed to have been involved in the fiasco across the sea in London regarding the newest unsolved phenomenon, Mysterio, has been accused of murdering the previously mentioned hero, and countless others.

At around 5:20 p.m. today, footage was released on The Daily Bugle.net of Mysterio on the Tower Bridge in London, claiming that Parker was responsible for the chaos and deception that took place this previous summer. (More on the 'Elemental Disaster' on page 7.)

The citizens of Queens and across the country are in a state of uproar. The evidence has been presented, but the final jury remains unclear. Is this truly what happened? Has Parker, closely associated with the late Tony Stark, become corrupted and decided to abandon his streak of selfless heroism? It seems the verdict is up to you.

You realize your eyes were scrunched together as you finished the article. You relaxed them and blinked a few times, pondering what you had read.

Then you clicked on the next article.

STATE OF DIVISION: SPIDER-MAN OR MYSTERIO?

In recent days it has become apparent that the city of Queens, and no doubt others around the country as well, are in a state of division. The news of Spider-Man's identity and his accused crimes have sparked disagreement between individuals and families across the population. Some side with the evidence provided and are calling for the police force to bring in Parker for questioning and arrest, while others are petitioning in the high-school boy's defense, demanding proof of his crimes and even of his identity.

Parker still has not reached out to the public and when asked why, his Aunt, May Parker, whom he lives with, said: "He's just a boy, he doesn't need six news companies pestering him for answers. Draw the line or I'm calling the cops!"

The article went on but you skipped the rest of it. People were still wanting answers? Answers to what? It was so obvious to you that this kid, Peter Parker, was innocent. There was just no way a high school kid, who had a track record of nothing but helping people, could suddenly turn against his own home city and kill a bunch of people. It didn't make any sense.

The last article from your roommate practically made your blood boil. You only had to skim it due to the title:

DIVISION ASUNDER: OPEN HOSTILITY HAS BEEN REACHED

One of the concluding paragraphs read:

It is unclear whether or not Parker will ever contact the public about the accusations against him. And due to that, rallies and riots will likely increase. The open violence and hostility shown towards anyone who chooses to stick up for Spidey has seemingly silenced the movement in his defense. Reports of disappearances, maiming, and even killing have been seen in multiple newsstand mail boxes, but nothing has been confirmed. Officials are advising everyone to take a step back and allow the proper authorities to handle the situation.

You swallowed, too upset to even look away. People actually believed that rubbish? That a kid, who was probably around your age, was capable of murder? You couldn't accept it. Something had to be done. Someone needed to stand up, to fight back, to tell the kid that people did believe him, that he wasn't alone.

And then it hit you.

The bell began to ring and you snatched your bag from the floor as you sprinted from the library towards your next class. While you ran, you sent Meg a text, making sure to push send.

"Pick me up at five. I'm coming to the rally."

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