Safe and Sound
Chapter One
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans… Neither do I own Spider-man… But I do own Anathema… I really love the name!
Spiderman, or Peter Parker to most people, stood on top of OSCORP, scanning New York City like a hawk. It was the only building wherein he got a great view of the city. The wind furiously blew at his face, cooling his cheeks after hours under a mask made of spandex. The velvety black sky with no trace of stars poured over him. Just then, alarms started to set off as a line of police cars chased a school bus full of children driven by the craziest maniac in town, Fusion. Pete wanted to save them. He would've saved them… only if it weren't for the press who gave him and other superheroes such a bad name. For the past few weeks, the papers were all about him, questioning his identity. SPIDERMAN: VIGILANTEE OR VILLAIN? They'd say. It didn't matter to him anymore. One more headline with his name included would send him to the next corrupt city. Besides, his life was going down the drain. His favorite leading lady, Mary Jane, decided to forget him and leave him for someone who could actually feed her three meals. His best friend, Harry Osborne knew his secret identity. Most importantly, the city no longer needed his help; nor did they need Anathema's help.
Anathema, Cassandra Laws, was another superhero, Spiderman's sidekick as well. She had no super powers like he did, but was a skilled fighter who was also good with weapons due to training with her father, a former CIA agent. Unlike Spiderman, she belonged to a rich family. She wore black leather pants, a halter top which was also made of leather, black soldier boots and a small mask that obscured her big, brown eyes but left her nose and mouth in the open. We all know how Peter was dubbed "The Spider Man". Cassandra earned her name after going undercover for her father in Hong Kong. The mission was intense since she had to fight the deadliest triads in the country when she was only 16 years old. Her father never thought of her first. It was always work first; country first; missions first and never her. She was the most fatal fighter on the job since she injured every criminal badly that the fractures and the pain became permanent; some even died. Thus, Anathema, a curse, became her name. She was a curse. Only to those who deserved it, though. Her life was as horrible as Pete's. Her father never took care of her. Her boyfriend was killed because of her job at the CIA. And the attention newspapers gave her was too much. She pleaded and wished for a new home; A new life wherein nobody cared whether she was a superhero or not. Little did she know that she was getting better end of the deal.
Peter sat on the ledge with his head buried in his arms.
"Gotta get outta here… Gotta get outta here…" he muttered to himself continuously and silently. It was perfectly quiet; the car chase was far from OSCORP. The wind was still blowing furiously and a few stars began to appear above him. The door knob of the fire exit twisted, opened up and revealed Cassandra. She was wearing her usual superhero outfit. Her mask was taken off and her long brown hair was being blown to the side by the wind. Peter looked up and gave her a smirk, a simple greeting between the two. Cassandra smiled back at him as she walked to the ledge to sit beside him.
"Hey." She quietly said, looking at New York. It was quieter than usual.
"Hey." He replied, focusing on a big billboard featuring MJ. He looked at Cassandra and burst into laughter.
"Pete! What's with you? I haven't seen you for days and here you are sulking around like a fat ass slob! What the hell is wrong with you!" she shouted at him as she stood up. He stood up too as if they were about to fight on the spot.
"Don't you get it! I have nobody on my side! MJ does not love me! Harry wants to kill me! Aunt Mae is dead cuz of me! And the whole of New York is against me! Hell, they're against us!" he started to rant. A tear escaped from his left eye and he had forgotten that his mask was still off. Cassandra took one step closer to him and wiped his tear off. She too was crying after hearing what Peter had to say. Pete pulled her into a friendly embrace and she whispered something into his ear.
"Being a hero has its responsibilities, Peter. We keep our identities as a secret for the greater good. If you're too caught up in your personal life, maybe you shouldn't be a superhero anymore." She said. Pete pulled away from her.
"Look, I—"he started but was cut off by Cassandra.
"A hero protects his people no matter how much harm it's doing him. You among all people should accept that." She said and turned away to walk to the fire exit. Peter thought about it for a while then shot a web to her wrist to stop her from leaving. Cassandra looked back.
"Cassie…" he said.
"What?" she snapped back at him. Suddenly his stomach let out a loud grumbling sound.
"Wanna have dinner?"
A few blocks away from OSCORP stood a cozy Italian restaurant called "Italianni". At a table by the window, Cassandra and Peter talked about their miserable lives for the tenth time that month.
"You'd never believe what 'Stalker-Dude' gave me the other day…" Cassie continued the hearty talk.
"Now what?"
"You know those little colorful bears from the eighties? The Care Bears?" she asked him with a disgusted look on her face.
"They had their own stupid show right? Oh my god! Why the hell would he give such a thing? That's just wrong!" he said as he hungrily chewed on his meat.
"You know what's wrong? Eating meat! That's gross!" she said, being the proud vegetarian she was. She stared at the steak and became red from either anger or sympathy (for the animal).
"Just cuz you're a vegan, doesn't mean you have to make me one!" he shot back at her.
"I'm just saying that vegans live longer…" she smiled at him.
After dinner, Peter walked Cassie back to her flat. He told her about a city full of corruption and crime. He told her about the need for heroes in that city. He told her about Jump City.
"So this Jump City place, where is it?" she asked.
"West Side… California, I think… Anyway, we can go there! Start over… Maybe change our names with the help of 'Daddy'… How does that sound?"
"I don't talk to my dad… Why don't we just go? No one will know us anyway… No one will care what we eat, what we wear, where we sleep and all that useless crap."
"Well, when do we leave, Ms. Independent?"
"Hmm… Tomorrow morning… I'll convince my dad to give us some money and if he doesn't budge, I'll just take some from the family safe…" she said as she walked up the steps leading to the lobby.
"I'm serious, Cass..."
"Me too! I'll talk to my dad about this… He'll have everything arranged for us. He might even throw in some money… After all, I amhis only child. And he's the only one who knows our little secret." She said with a smile.
"Fine. Night, Cassandra." Pete smiled back at her. She was the only person left in his life. He just needed to accept it.
"Night, Pete. Happy Packing!" she called back. The glass door had shut behind her. She turned back to watch Pete leave, but he was already gone.
"Bye, Spider." She said in a whisper.
Cassandra was on the phone with her father the whole night. After annoying him with her debating techniques, he finally said yes to the proposal and arranged everything for the two kids. They were only eighteen so he made sure Jump City would be just right. The next morning, Cassandra and Peter stuffed their bags in the taxi. Cassandra had 8 bags full of clothes, shoes, book, and more bags while Peter had 4 for everything. They hadn't spoken to each other that morning until Peter said something as the plane took of.
"Jump City, here I come…"
"We. Here we come." she corrected him.
This might bepretty useless... I'm busy with the school paper and other extracurricular activities I joined... I just hope I finish my stories before I'm 20... Anyway, the pairings are as follows... Ro/St BB/Rae Cy/Bee and Spidey/Anathema. Happy Packing and good night!
