Emma wasn't quite sure when she got herself into that situation. That guy had escaped, and she couldn't do anything — not to mention the barrier in her mind. It reminded her of Spider-Man. Of Peter...
After that spectacle, she had to leave, since the police were arriving. She returned at midnight and skillfully avoided several guards. She needed to see the cameras.
She didn't see anything unusual, just mobsters working among themselves. Then came the moment the guy appeared, entering through the ventilation duct and stopping on the ceiling. Then, he threw a smoke bomb and damaged the cameras.
"That ability..." she whispered, rewinding the footage. "Another spider?" she paused the video when he stood still on the ceiling. "I'm not liking this at all..."
...........
New York
She didn't want to see them, but she had no choice. She entered Avengers Tower, already imagining the headache Stark would cause her. She arrived in the meeting room, where they were all gathered.
"Rogers," Stark said, "good to see that vigilante show is over," he smiled.
Steve frowned. He hated when they treated it like some kind of show.
"It's not a show. It's something I'm going to do," he replied.
"Why are you here, Cap?" Clint interrupted. "Gonna beg to be an Avenger again?" he mocked.
"Shut up, Clint," Natasha cut in. "What happened?" she asked. "By the way, nice suit," she pointed out.
"Thanks," he replied with a slight smile. "But I'm not here to come back," he looked at Stark, "or to beg," he added, giving Clint a sideways glance. "I need to understand how the criminal underworld works," he declared.
"And why would you want to know that?" Stark questioned.
"I'm not surprised you don't know," he sat down. "A new queen is rising in the underworld," he said.
"She's taking over Fisk's empire," he added.
"We know," Clint said. "Black Cat. But that's not our problem," he crossed his arms.
"Not yours, but it is mine," he retorted with a frown.
"Captain," Jennifer Walters intervened, "the criminal world is a complex network. It can be scary sometimes..."
"Very brave, what you're doing, Steve," Stark commented. "But that's not your job. Let S.H.I.E.L.D. handle it."
The former Avenger gave a cynical smile.
"We all know how incompetent Hill's agents are," he replied. "Maybe you guys want to keep being celebrities... but I want to be a real hero," he declared. "I knew coming here wouldn't help," he stood up. "I'm leaving."
.............
Baxter Building
Susan looked worriedly at the children's rooms. They were still mourning Uncle Peter. Johnny hugged his sister, and Ben joined them.
"It'll get better, Sue, you'll see," he said calmly.
"First time the Torch is right," Ben added.
They both stepped back from the blonde, who chuckled softly.
"Thanks, Johnny," she sighed. "I don't know when things got so complicated," she murmured. "I'll try talking to them."
Johnny watched his sister enter the kids' room. He felt Ben's gaze.
"What?" he asked, annoyed.
"Stop pretending."
"I'm not pretending anything," he crossed his arms. "Need glasses, Rockhead?" he asked sarcastically.
"Johnny, I know it hurts. We're all hurting, but I think you should talk to someone," he suggested.
"There's nothing to talk about," he growled. "I'm fine. What's happening doesn't affect me at all," he stated.
"Then tell me... what's going on?"
"Tsk..."
Without another word, he left his friend there and locked himself in his room. He leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. Hugged his knees and clenched his teeth... He felt frustrated, angry for not being able to save his friend. He hated Norman Osborn... and he was starting to hate the Fantastic Four themselves, because they felt more like explorers than heroes — always off Earth, always arriving too late.
Susan watched the children, each in their bed. She didn't know where to start — she too was grieving Peter's loss.
"Sweethearts..." she said gently. "What's going on?"
She sat on the edge of Franklin's bed. Neither of them answered.
"I miss him too," she confessed. "And honestly, I don't know what to do..."
"You don't have to do anything, Mommy," Valeria replied. "We just have to accept it."
The little blonde moved closer and sat on her brother's bed.
"Uncle Peter isn't coming back," Franklin said. "He died, and we couldn't do anything."
"Franklin..."
"Once," he began, "Uncle Peter told me death was the only inevitable thing, especially being superheroes," he turned to face his mother. "I know it happens to everyone, but... why does it hurt so much?" he broke down. "Why did it have to be him?"
Susan placed her daughter between the two and hugged them.
An hour later, she left the room with the children already asleep. She sighed and went to the living room, sitting on the couch and staring out the window.
"What are you looking at?" Ben asked, sitting beside her.
Susan lowered her head.
"Just thinking of the old days, that's all," she replied, biting her lower lip.
She locked herself in the bedroom, changed into just a long shirt reaching mid-thigh and underwear.
She grabbed the laptop and searched for the video.
"It's fun to have him at my feet."
The camera focused on Spider-Man, tied up.
"Look at your greatest hero defeated! Say hi to the camera, Spider!"
"W-what's going on? Goblin?"
"A little experiment the whole world will watch! HAHAHA! How many hits can Spider take?"
Her heart raced, and tears rolled down her face. Her friend's cries of pain made her tremble.
"Let's make this more interesting, Spider... I'll introduce you to someone!"
"This here is my friend, crowbar! And she wants to meet you!"
The blows began.
"She wants to meet you, Spider!" he roared, hitting him nonstop.
"HAHAHA, tell me, Spider... Which hurts more? A or B? Right or left?"
She couldn't take it. She closed the laptop and pushed it to the side of the bed. Her breathing was heavy, and Peter's groans echoed in her mind.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Peter," she repeated between sobs.
.............
Japan
She had called Logan — she needed to tell him what she saw.
"You need to rest."
"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked.
"We've been through a lot, Emma," he replied. "I know his death hit you too, but..."
"I'm not imagining things, Logan," she interrupted. "I saw it. And it's on camera. He knew me. And there's a mental barrier keeping me from reading his mind," she explained.
"Like Peter..."
"Yes... like Peter," she whispered. "The camera shows him coming in through the ceiling and just staying there, like he's stuck."
"Good night, Emma."
Logan hung up. She sighed in frustration and tossed the phone on the bed.
"Looks like I'm alone in this," she murmured.
"Emma..."
She remembered. He knew her — and that frustrated her.
"Who are you?" she asked the wind, staring out the window.