After about 15 minutes of walking, Ella heard yelling in the distance. Picking Amelia up, she ran to the noise, spotting a pair of younger parents, frantically yelling their child's name into the abyss that was now central park. As soon as she heard her parent's screams, Amelia jumped out of Ella's arms and sprinted to her mother, still clutching her stuffed elephant.
Laughing with relief, the young couple turned to Ella, Amelia securely snuggled between the two, and thanked her profusely.
"I don't know what we would have done without you, It was getting so dark and she just ran off without a word," The mother rambled, "I don't know how I would cope without my little girl."
"It's all in a day's work ma'am," Ella replied, "I know what it's like to lose a loved one, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
After much debate between Ella and the reunited trio, the mother thrust a stack of tens into the teenager's hands.
"I know it's not much, but it's all I have on me at the moment," The mother explained breathlessly, "thank you once again for bringing our little girl back in one piece."
Ella thanked the pair for their gratuity, and made her way through the park, trying to figure out a way to her usual alleyway now that the light had completely faded. Ella knew walking alone in a dark Brooklyn was dangerous, and even though she knew that the famed Queens spider was just a few blocks away in the suburb over, Ella sincerely doubted that a superhero like him would go out of his way to help a useless little homeless girl lost in the dark.
Little did she know, Spiderman's patrol had taken him further across the border that night, and the web slinger was flying above her head at that moment, eyes peeled for danger; After all, it wasn't a school night, and he didn't have a curfew to abide.
A few streets away from her relatively safe dumpster, disaster struck. Clutching the small amount of money in her hands, Ella encountered two burly men brandishing knives, quickly surrounding her.
"We don't want no trouble little miss, just give us the money and the backpack." The first man spoke in a low, rumbling voice.
"Please sir, this is all I have, not tonight" Ella spoke warily, stepping into the light of a nearby lamp.
Ella knew she could take these men on. After the accident, her abilities meant that she could easily overcome the threats without laying a finger on them, but she knew she was weak, and wasn't sure that after all this time, her powers still worked. She was so ashamed of the abilities she inherited after the accident that killed her parents, she rarely used them, and so she was still wild, unpredictable.
The men stilled at Ella's gaunt face, she could have been beautiful in another life, under the grime and the starvation that carved out her cheekbones and rimmed her grey eyes.
"Ah look what we have here, a little toy to play with. Don't be difficult dear, we'll take the money and we'll even give you a little fun as well." The second man spoke this time, a thick accent lacing his words, making Ella shiver in disgust.
The men slowly advanced, still holding their knives, now with a more sinister glint in their eyes; Ella knew what they wanted, and was scared that she wouldn't have the strength to fend off their assault, regardless of her abilities.
Only a block away, Spiderman stilled. His senses were going haywire, and he knew exactly what that meant – danger was near.
Hey Guys - send me a message if theres anything you want added to this story (I know my creativity is going to peter out eventually, so I wouldn't mind some inspo :)