Us Against The World ｡ Peter Parker [2]

47 - City Blackout

She was gone. 

Mary Jane Watson had been whisked away during the dark hours of the night by a boy who was being haunted by his father, a man who had gone insane with power. Despite my own best efforts that night Harry Osborn had visited me, begging for help, we had not reached the redhead in time. My frantic phone call to the hero had been for nought. Peter had scurried across the apartment building hallway that night, praying the girl next door was huddled under her blankets and fast asleep but when he had arrived, she was gone just like petals on the wind. Her window had been left wide open, letting in the cold air and all our fears had become our reality. 

"Start again, from the very beginning." Ned Leeds encouraged me, despite having heard the entire story multiple times already.  We were huddled up in Peter's room, dusk outside the windows now. It had been nearly a full day without Mary Jane by our side and we were struggling to find her and grasp the idea that New Goblin's master plan of attack could happen at any second.

I let out a sigh, rubbing at my temples. We had been going back and forth for hours like this and still had nothing. "After our movie marathon, I went straight home and told my parents about going to therapy again--"

"You're going back to therapy?" Peter butted in. 

The idea had been something I had been tossing around in my mind lately, but I hadn't gotten the chance to tell him because each time we were together, we were deep in the middle of taking down New Goblin. "Um, yeah. I was going to bring it up with you, but it's not been the best timing. We've kinda' had more pressing matters to deal with, you know?"

There was a kindness in his eyes with my words. He out of all people understood how tough it was for me to admit that I needed help somedays. He let his fingertips brush my elbow, giving me a quiet touch of comfort. "I think it's a great idea."

With a tiny smile in his direction, I turned back to the others. "Anyway, when I got upstairs, Harry was already in my room, waiting for me. He was...really scared. I think it was him, not the other guy this time because he looked at me and I saw our Harry. He's trying to fight, but he's losing."

Gwen crossed her arms. "Why did he go to you?"

"I think he listened when I told him about killing Mary Jane the other day. Somewhere deep within himself, he heard me. That's why he came to me when he broke free." I started softly, remembering how his eyes had changed last night, almost like something within him was taking over. The monster resurfacing. "He doesn't want to hurt her. He's just...not in control."

"This is some weird Jekyll and Hyde nonsense." Ned muttered. 

Gwen agreed with him. "That's for sure." 

Peter dropped to his bed, hands burying into his hair. "What happened next? What exactly did he say? Maybe there's a clue in his riddles. That's how Norman worked, his riddles always gave away half his plan." 

I tried to recall word for word, but the entire night seemed too much like a bad dream now. We had lost Mary Jane and even Karen couldn't get a location on her. We were left in the dark and waited pathetically for a sign from New Goblin, which no doubt would come eventually. "He said something about being the Devil, and Harry being inside. I don't know, it was weird." I said, frustration tickling my mind. "He said something about such a pretty redhead and that it would be a shame to see her fall."

"This is it, isn't it?" Gwen spoke up quietly, tears in her eyes. "He's talking about her dying. God damnit, that's your entire vision, Flo. How do we stop this? How do we even have a chance in stoping this? We're just kids. We're...not supposed to deal with this kind of thing." 

Ned was the one to step towards her, a little hesitant at first. "We can't give up hope." 

Gwen glared at him, her emotions so cloudy. "That doesn't help, Ned! That's just words." Tears dribbled down her cheeks and he attempted to pull her into an embrace, hoping to calm her down. Gwen batted at his chest with closed fists, hopeless and scared. "You don't get it. She's not your best friend. She's ours, she's mine...I can't do this. It's not fair, okay? None of this is fair at all. How do we live with this if we can't stop it?"

A quiet sob echoed in my chest watching her fall apart. She eventually gave in, her body sagging against Ned Leeds, her arms slowly circling around his waist and holding tightly. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she softly cried. I wiped away my own tears quickly, trying to stay strong. Peter delicately took my hand, his eyes dusted with unshed tears himself. 

Her words might have been tainted with anger and fear, but they were true. We were kids dealing with an impossible reality, something we truly did not deserve. We were about to face a boy we had grown up with, a boy with a sickness in his mind. We were about to try our very best to save our best friends, despite having knowledge that it might unfold terribly. Nobody blamed her for falling apart in this very moment because that's the only thing that I wanted to do too. Because no matter the villains we had faced in the past, no matter the scars and bruises we had already gotten, nothing quite compared to this battle. The battle against a loved one. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out." Gwen finally said, pulling away from Ned. "I just...how is Mary Jane so brave with all this? I wish I was that brave."

Ned stared down at the wetness on his shirt from her tears. "It's okay, it's just some tears...on my favourite shirt." His quirkiness had her sniffling out a tiny laugh, breaking the tension in the room. 

At that point, Peter Parker let go of my hand and squared his shoulders with so much pride and hope in his eyes. "I know this is hard, it sucks, it really does. But we're going to get through this. We are the only ones who can save Mary Jane and Harry, because we're their family. We're the ones that can save the day, we've just gotta' not freak out and stick together." he said and a smile touched my lips. "How does that sounds?"

Ned grinned. "Aye, aye captain."

Gwen frowned. "Really, Ned?" 

He just shrugged his shoulders and pulled a tissue from his pocket. He leaned across to her, dabbing the tissue against her cheeks and removing any evidence of her worried cries. Gwen gave him a thankful smile in return. When they turned back to us, Gwen was tilting her chin up. "What the nerd said. Let's do this." 

Peter nodded. "Good, because I called a friend to help out."

My own mind was fumbling with questions, having no idea Peter had reached out for help. But like all perfect timing, a figure was appearing at the window suddenly. She was tapping on the glass, her dark hair billowing behind her. Webbing floated in the air behind her and a new white suit fit her body perfectly. Cindy Moon opened the window, smiling brilliantly. "Did somebody say hero time?" 

While Ned helped the girl into the room with a warm welcome from all of us, I pulled Peter close. "If you and your Spidey senses start acting up and you kiss her, let me tell you now, boy--" I didn't even get the chance to playfully threaten him, when the lights in his bedroom flickered for a moment or two. 

Our conversations were brutally cut short because within the next second, we were engulfed in total darkness. Without question, I moved to the window and found the entire city blinking into darkness too. A city blackout. With Peter coming to stand next to me, the others hovering over our shoulders we watched in dreadful silence. The only building in the entire city that was masked with bright light came from one lonely familiar tower. 

Ned let out a long whistle. "Looks like we finally got our sign from New Goblin."

Gwen bit down on her bottom lip. "Do you think Mary Jane's there?"

"Yes," I replied quietly. "Let's go."