Diclaimer/Author's Note: I do not own any featured Marvel characters or the lyrics to the song "Believe" by Yellowcard. The lyrics are in italics. This is my first 'SongFic', as they call it, I think. Don't be too harsh--I really tried. Let me know if there's anything I missed/did wrong. I've never done a SongFic before.
Spider-Man had not slept last night, nor the night before that. And he stood on a rooftop, his head staring at his feet, across the street from the pile of rubble that had been. once, a beautiful apartment building. Spider-Man could not see who was speaking, and he could not hear what he was saying, but he was there. And he remembered what had happened two days before the memorial was being held. The memories were so clear to him...
The flames seemed to be burning all the way from hell itself. Spider-Man stood before the building, not looking forward to jumping in there. A man then nudged him with his shoulder. He was a fire-fighter, dressed in his uniform and prepared. Everyone at the station called him Cyrus, since his two daughters were obsessed with Hannah Montana."Ready, Webhead?" Spider-Man had not replied to the man, as he rarely made conversation with anyone who was an official authority. But Cyrus saw him nod. And the two rushed inside the burning building through the front door.
People were stuck inside. People were screaming. Spider-Man jumped
through a hole in the floor to try and help on the higher levels of the
building. The flames were so hot!"Where are you?" Spider-Man screamed.
Think about the love inside the strength of heart
Think about the heroes saving life in the dark
Cyrus was using his fire axe, chopping down a wall. He heard screams from in there.
Climbing higher through the fire, time was running out
Never knowing you weren't going to be coming down alive
Spider-Man smiled as he saw a teenager through a hole in the wall. She wasn't smiling, as she was stuck inside a burning room. Spider-Man kicked at the hole with his foot, trying to make it bigger to fit through. The girl was hysterical, and she ran to him with her tears flooding her face.
But you still came back for me
You were strong and you believed
The building shook, making Spider-Man grab the girl. "Come on!" he screamed, as he held her tightly and jumped out of a window.
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Cyrus felt the place shake, but that didn't stop him. He kept hacking away at the burning wall. "I'm coming!" he shouted. He was feeling the heat, now. He was sweating, and he was having trouble breathing, but that didn't stop him either. And he started saying:
Everything is gonna be alright
Be strong. Believe.
Be strong. Believe.
Spider-Man sighed, remembering. He remembered Cyrus saying those things. Everything is gonna be alright. He remembered the events of the day unfold. He never liked fires--no one did, really. But he would gladly fight Doctor Octopus or, heck, even Doctor Doom if you had him, than fight a fire. Fires could not be controlled. And they take lives so much faster...
Think about the chance I never had to say
Thank you for giving up your life that day
Never fearing, only hearing voices calling out
Let it all go, the life that you know, just to bring it down alive
And you still came back for me
You were strong and you believed
Spider-Man watched the memorial take place. He saw a crowd of people, all somber, some crying. He was crying now, and he felt his mask get damper.
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Be strong. Believe.
Someone was speaking now, at a microphone. Spider-Man could barely make out the words: "Again today, we take into our hearts and minds those who perished on this site one year ago, and also those who came to toil in the rubble to bring order out of chaos, to help us make sense of our despair"
He closed his eyes, trying to blink back the tears. But he couldn't blink back the memories.
He had dropped the teenager off, and she hugged him again, crying and just happy to be alive. Spider-Man ran inside through the front door. The building shook again. The whole place was going to come down. Spider-Man saw Cyrus chopping at the door, and he wanted to help but knew there were other people who needed him.
The building shook again. Boards were falling and burning. The fire was claiming everything.
There was a loud, loud rumble again. Spider-Man felt a buzz on the base of his neck--his spider-sense. He wasn't sure where the danger was coming from; death was all around him at that point. Then he saw the ceiling above him cave in. He screamed.
"No!"
It was Cyrus. He ran, jumped, and knocked Spider-Man out of the way. Spider-Man watched in horror as the man was crushed beneath burning rubble. "No!" Spider-Man yelled. "No! No!" He ran to the pile and started digging. He threw boards off the man, he threw plaster off that had caught fire.
Cyrus was barely alive. But he could still think. And the last thoughts that raced through his mind were:
Wanna hold my wife when I get home
Wanna tell the kids they'll never know how much I love to see them smile
Spider-Man was crying as he knew the man underneath the pile of burning debris was dead. That fire-fighter, who stood beside Spider-Man before any of this happened, had saved him. All Spider-Man could think was:
Wanna make a change or two right now
Wanna live a life like you somehow
Wanna make your sacrifice worthwhile
Spider-Man watched, after the fire had claimed the building entirely. People were going through the rubbish that had once been their home. And there were people looking for bodies that the fire had not burned. For Cyrus' body.
It seemed that the other fire-fighters were not angry with Spider-Man. No one was angry. The men cried with pride as Cyrus was officially pronounced dead. He had been their partner. Their friend. A part of their family. And he was...gone.
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Be strong. Believe.
And as Spider-Man remembered. And he didn't care if anyone heard him. Cyrus didn't care if anyone heard him when he said it. And Spider-Man repeated:
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Be strong. Believe.
All Spider-Man could do was think.
Think about the love inside the strength of heart
Think about the heroes saving life in the dark
Think about the chance I never had to say
Thank you for giving up your life that day
He watched as the memorial came to a close. The man at the microphone was crying now. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here"
