Power of Love (Peter Parker)

Ten

My body moved behind the warder, as we walked down the dark hallway. It was devoid of color due to the lack of windows that kept the sunlight from entering in. There was a stench that smelled like paint, but with several chemicals added in. A narrow gray metal door was coming into view as we got closer to the end of the hall. The guard made an abrupt stop once we made it to the door.

"When we enter into this room, you must stay to the right at all times until I tell you otherwise. If you are provoked or harmed in any way, shape, or form, please report to me or any other guard you see in your line of vision. Understood?" His voice was deep and his spoken words were very clear. I just managed a firm nod to assure him that I knew the rules and watched as he unlocked the metal door. He stepped into the room, gesturing for me to proceed in front of him so it was easier for him to secure the door behind us. My eyes wandered over the numerous amount of cells that were ahead of me.

"Follow me." The voice of the guard caused me to jump out of fright. He shot me a concerned glimpse, turning away after I gave him a somewhat small smile. I followed in his footsteps, noticing how all the inmates had made their way up to to the front of their cells to see who had entered. I couldn't help but study the appearance of each one. They were all dressed in the same solid orange clothing-- no words or anything, just orange. What really caught my attention was the anger they were expressing. You could see the inner rage they had built up on the inside beginning to reveal itself on the outside.

I swallowed back the fear that had started to creep up on me and continued down the hallway. We ceased at one of the last few cells, an enormous wave of emotions flooded over me as I became aware of the man standing before me. I listened closely to the sound of the keys jiggling in the lock, the sound of heavy breathing around me, and the sound of my heartbeat rising by the second. I patiently wait for the guard to tell me it's okay to go in, and when the okay eventually came, I stepped into the minuscule holding area.

"You know I didn't mean to right?" My father's eyes were focused on the floor like a coward. He paid no heed to me, his little girl, because he was conscious of how I felt towards him at this point.

"Even if you didn't intend to do it, it still transpired and I was the one left damaged in the end," I whispered to him, moving over to lean on the wall for support. Silence fell over us we our voices died out with no words to share between us.

The noise of his footsteps coming closer to me made me glance up to see him coming into my direction. My breathing hitched in the back of my throat when he shoved me into the concrete wall, a slight thud was the effect.

"I am your dad and it was never my intentions to come home and take out all of my built up anger on you. I know that going to the bar was a mistake. I should have came straight home and for that I am unbelievable sorry. I lo-" his sentence was cut short when the echo of a gunshot rang through my ears. Blood began to roll down the side of my father's face and that's when his body went limp and collapsed to the ground, whatever life he had left inside of him gone. Teardrops started to fall down my face once I realized what had just occurred. My body crumbled down to the ground as my cries reverberated around the cell. Guards soon piled in to tug me away from the horrifying scene.

"Why did they shoot him? Why did they shoot him?" I yelled out at all the guards who were watching my unspeakable breakdown. Everything happened so fast. My father was dead. I witnessed my own father's death and I couldn't do anything about it.

"We thought you were in danger," one of the guards spoke up in response, "we had to take precautions to ensure your safety."

I couldn't handle the aching in my heart any longer. This was a child's worst nightmare and I was experiencing it on my own. The police were waiting out in the corridor when we got there. When the guard released me, I fell to the floor screaming and punching at it-- anything to release the anger and guilt that was building inside of me.

"Hadley! Hadley! Listen, we are going to call your mother," one of the officers wrapped their arms around me to keep me from causing harm to myself or anyone around me.

"She's dead!" I cried out through my endless amount of sobs. "She's dead, she's dead." His hands strengthened around my body as he gave the other police officers a questioning look followed by a deep look of sorrow. They were unsure of what to do at this point. The teenage girl was an orphan now.

"Call Peter. Please call Peter," I whispered out as I felt my heartbreak apart even more. I reached into my pocket and got out my cell phone, handing it over to one of the other officers that had been standing around. They walked away to make the call, but returned shortly after to inform me that he didn't answer.

"Call May."

The officer stepped away again and I let my eyes fall shut and slowly felt my body fall to the cold, hard ground. I heard the officer come back and tell the others that she was on her way and would be here shortly. I continued to feel myself drift away as I laid on the floor hopeless and broken.

When May got there, she didn't hesitate to rush over and take me into her arms. My head fell upon her shoulder and I inhaled the scent of her cheap perfume. Her hand trailed up and down my back. "Hadley, I'm here. I'm so sorry sweetie."

My eyes closed shut tightly, my arms squeezing May into a hug. May didn't need to apologize for this tragic event. It wasn't her fault nor was it my father's. This could have all been avoided if I wouldn't have even come.

"Can we leave please?" I mumbled brokenly. I couldn't stand to be in this place for another second. I felt like a laughing stock sitting there with everyone's eyes on us.

"Of course." May rose up onto her feet and gave me her hand to take. My legs were wobbly and weak as I tried to walk so May ended up helping me to the car. I fastened my seatbelt and looked over to the older woman.

"Where's Peter?"

She gave me a sympathetic frown, "Mr. Stark came to inform Peter about the September Foundation he applied for. He went with him to Germany."

My head fell against the window as I thought about Steve inviting me to Germany. Then it dawned on me. All of the news reports about another vigilante roaming around Queens. They called him Spider-Man. Peter wasn't going to Germany to partake in anything related to the September foundation. Tony Stark recruited Peter for his team to fight against Steve. Peter Parker was Spider-Man.

"May, take me to the airport now."

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Oh no....