Note: This story was co-written with the wonderfully talented Solstilla. You can find her on FFN, AO3, and Tumblr at Solstilla.
We also have a joint tumblr for our writing updates. It is infinitesundrop.
Summary: They say time heals. It's been nine months since Lily lost her mother and sister, but she still feels their absence every day. The only thing getting her through these difficult times has been the masked hero, Spider-Man. With the attacks on the city getting worse each day, and with the growing animosity towards London's only hope, Lily has no choice but to act. After all, we all have powers of one kind or another, in our own way. (Spider-Man AU)
Warnings for the whole fic: Grief/Mourning/Survivor's Guilt, Violence, Referenced Character Death (minor)
Chapter Exclusive Warnings: Street Harassment, Mass Panic, Gun Violence (lasers), Destruction of Property (building collapse),Violence (hand-to-hand combat), Mentions of Explosives, Premature Acceptance of Death, Car Accident, Self Endangerment.
We're so excited to share this new chapter with you guys! While we broach some serious topics, this fic is still rated T. We made a point not to describe any violence or injury too graphically. We just wanted to be thorough with our tags because trigger warnings are really important. This chapter is filled with humor, bad puns, and Jily pining!
Chapter Two: Perks of Being a Civilian
Clutching her house keys in her hand, the metal bits poking out from in between her fingers, Lily kept her head down as she made her way into the dimly lit London streets. As young as five years old, Lily had been taught never to walk the streets alone, especially at night. Now, with all the attacks on the city, Lily couldn't help but wonder what she was doing.
If something happened, her father would have no idea where she was. To be completely truthful with herself, Lily wasn't exactly sure where she was headed either.
The road and sidewalks glistened with the fresh coating of rain from the afternoon, but in the night, the air felt biting and cold. A scuffle behind Lily made her jump, but it was merely her neighbor taking out the trash.
Granted, it wasn't like Snape was the most savory figure either. They had been something close to friends as kids, having grown up next door to each other. When they hit secondary school, something had changed him. Whether it was his mother's death or something else, he had gotten into some really shady stuff. One day, she remembered him walking into chemistry and laughing about all the various dark uses the chemicals had if mixed a certain way.
Ever since then, Lily had made a point to stay very far away from the man.
Feeling his sullen eyes on her, she swallowed back the lump in her throat and nodded in his direction, wanting to make it perfectly clear that she saw him.
Of course, he seemed to take that as an invitation to come talk to her. Lily was really not in the mood. Seeing him almost sent her straight back into the house, but there were more important things she needed to do tonight than sit at home because of Snape.
The sooner she returned home and saved her father from the worry he was undoubtedly experiencing, the better.
Picking up her pace would surely send him away, right?
Wrong. The greasy man had quickly caught up to her, reaching out his hand to grab her elbow. As his fingers brushed against Lily's jacket, she ripped her arm forward and swung around, fist balled in the air. "Don't ever do that."
Whatever Snape was expecting, that was not it. He stood there, his mouth opening and closing as if he were a fish out of water. As Lily turned to run off, he cried out, "W-wait, Lily! You looked...lost!"
"Not lost," she hissed, clutching her keys tighter, backing up away from him, but not daring to turn her back yet. "Don't touch me. Don't follow me."
"It's just," he continued as if Lily hadn't already made it extremely clear she wanted to be left alone, "It's dangerous at night. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Narrowing her eyes, Lily pulled up her polaroid, snapping a photo. The flash lit up the whole block. It was only the two of them out right now. "Okay, well, you lay another finger on me, this will be your wanted photo. Leave me alone."
Snape said something, but Lily didn't catch it as she darted in the opposite direction. She didn't think about where she was going; she just needed to get away.
Maybe she shouldn't have come out here tonight.
Lily sucked in a shuddery breath as she reached a crosswalk a far enough distance away. Puffs of condensation filled the air as she took a moment to breathe while the cars drove through the intersection.
As much as she wanted to help Spider-Man, she had to admit her plan was a long shot. She wasn't even sure if the hero would trust her enough to talk with all that was going on.
Lily pushed those thoughts from her mind, turning to the present.
She was already several blocks away from home, and even if she wanted to turn around, the idea of running into Snape again turned her blood cold. No. She had to see this through.
Taking stock of her surroundings, Lily realized she was no longer in the more residential districts. Passing a few shops that had closed up for the night, Lily wondered if maybe she was being reckless. She had no idea where she was going. While this part of town was familiar, Spider-Man had been spotted all over London.
Who was to say that she would actually find him? London was a massive city, and it was just as likely that Lily would end up somewhere unknown and in danger without anyone by her side, let alone a masked hero.
Where was she going?
She was torn from her thoughts by a loud bang, and Lily whipped around, nearly slipping off the thin piece of sidewalk she was on in between the two sides of the street, to see a gaggle of 30-somethings stumble out of the pub door that had been flung open. Starting to stagger down the street, the group roared with laughter. She placed her hand over her heart to soothe its hammering.
It took a moment for Lily's breathing to calm down before she turned to continue walking. Her nerves were already frayed from that encounter with Snape.
Feeling herself become more grounded within her body, Lily reminded herself that she was on a mission. No backing down. Where would Spider-Man be?
She had to think about this logically. Spider-Man usually showed up around heavily crowded areas. The Bridge, Gringotts, the attack last month by the zoo... they were all bustling areas. That made sense, he wanted to protect the most people possible. Perhaps it would be a quiet night, and Spider-Man would only have to watch over the city. If they were lucky, he could stick to the skies without having to fight a second time today.
She'd heard people talk about that in classes. Some claimed that there were sightings of him on the rooftops even when the city was calm. She'd even heard some of them insisting that Spider-Man lived on the rooftops of London.
Glancing over to make sure the intersection was clear, she hurried the rest of the way across. Halfway through the crosswalk, she was hit with the realization that she was already taking her usual route to school without a second thought. Why hadn't it occurred to her to go this way before?
Lily supposed when she first left the house, she was too worked up about the whole Spider-Man thing to do much thinking at all. For the first time since April, she'd fought with her father. And how had she handled it? She stormed out on him.
He barely let her go out for a drink at the pub with some friends after dark anymore, let alone go off wandering by herself. Not since her mother and sister...
Still, it wasn't like she was going to any unknown parts of the city. Lily was only headed to school.
It was nighttime, though. While students did stay late to work on classwork, there wasn't usually much danger there. The worst thing that happened was students getting too drunk at the pub or arguing in the dorms.
Perhaps going to school wasn't the best idea, but staying at least on the walking part of her commute provided her with the familiarity she needed to keep her from turning back and heading home. Once underground, she'd decide her final destination.
A familiar bright blue and red light signaled her tube station, and Lily continued on her daily commute. She descended to the Underground, scanned her Oyster card, walked down to the platform, and stood with her camera held close to her chest to await her train.
Time passed slowly and all too fast at the same time. What she was about to do was senseless, and once she boarded, it would be much harder to turn back. Lily recognized this but was still worthwhile to her.
Boarding the first car that arrived, she took a seat across from a sleeping man with facial hair. It was only Lily and the dosing passenger in their section. Normally, with so few people on the train, she'd take a seat somewhere farther away, but it was oddly comforting to be near someone else right now.
She felt bad for him. He looked exhausted, like he had come straight off a long shift. Based on his uniform, he was a subway operator. Squinting, she thought she could make out the name 'Stan' on his nametag.
Above the entrance, the little timer ticked down until the doors closed. What stop was he waiting for? Lily held onto the upper railing in case the train started moving, stepping forward towards the tired subway worker. She shifted her hands to brace against the seat beside Stan and leaned down to shake the worker gently. "What's your stop?" she asked.
Stan barely responded, peeking one eye open lazily and muttering, "Piccadilly Circus".
Of course. One of the most populated places this late would be the middle of the West End. It was always lined with tourists and locals alike.
She nodded her head, looking up at the map to see where she wanted to get off on the line. "That's where I'm going too," she decided aloud. "I'll wake you when we're there, yeah?"
Stan let out a little 'hmmph' in response, shifting his body so his face was squished against the subway seats with his back turned to Lily. The pleasant robotic voice announced the doors were closing, and Lily made it back to her seat right in time. The train lurched forward again mere moments later.
Studying the map above the man's head, Lily saw she only had two stops until her own. Soon enough, the announcements declared that they had arrived, the doors gliding open. Lily stood, stepping closer to Stan and giving his shoulder another gentle shake.
In return, he grumbled something she couldn't quite make out then turned in his chair again. It looked like there was no rousing him. Although she wanted to help, the overhead voice called for doors closing. She didn't want to miss her stop, so she ran off the train quickly. The doors slid shut behind her with an audible click.
Once out of the car, Lily was immediately struck by how empty and quiet the place was. Usually, on a Friday night in London, people crammed onto the platforms, fighting for a place on the next train. Tonight, it was eerily quiet. The only person she saw was a janitor humming to himself as he swept.
She climbed the first set of stairs quickly. If anything, the theatres should be getting out soon, and the Circus would be filled with people going home via the Tube.
When Lily had left home, she had been sure she'd heard the weatherman call for clear skies the rest of the night. As usual, he must have been wrong, because the thunder from above the station was almost deafening the closer to the ground floor she got.
Lily climbed another set of stairs, the roar almost deafening at this point. Reaching the top of another flight of stairs, she thought she saw shadows growing larger and larger on the tiled wall towards the exit. Lily had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing correctly. The pit of her stomach dropped with the realization that she was right.
And it wasn't thunder.
She had been hearing a stampede of footsteps, and they were coming her way.
Turning a corner into a long hallway, all Lily saw was a horde of people flooding in, barreling towards her as if they didn't even see her coming. The crowd ran straight into her.
Lily gasped as people shoved her aside, trampling on her feet and knocking her against the tile. Her camera crunched loudly with the impact. She braced herself for the rest of the onslaught, making herself as small as possible against the wall.
Screams of terror echoed along the tunnels. Well, at least she'd been right about where to find Spider-Man.
Hopefully, she was.
Filled with purpose again, Lily pushed against the crowd, trying to wedge her way through. She had to find Spider-Man. She had to. This was what she'd come out here for, after all. Camera or not, she had to warn him about the police and the press.
A pair of hands wrapped around one of her wrists in a vice-like grip.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the woman demanded as Lily tried to shake her off. The woman yanked back in return, Lily's feet sliding along the floor towards her. "Lily!"
Hearing her name, Lily's head snapped up. A familiar face stood in front of her, trying to tug her back towards the Tube. "Hestia, no, I can't!"
"What're you on about?" Hestia's dark eyebrows furrowed together for a split second before she shook her head. It was as if she already decided that trying to sort out whatever Lily wanted to stick around for was not important. "Lily," she pleaded desperately. "You have to come with me! Now! You can't go up there!"
Lily had never seen her friend this way, so frantic and terrified. Hestia Jones was not the sort of person to scare easily‒or at all‒in the time Lily had known her. Whatever waited up there must have been dangerous.
If she turned back now, it would save her father and her friends the heartache and the fear of not knowing if she was all right. Looking into Hestia's eyes, she almost did turn back.
But she couldn't. Not with everything at stake. If they took down Spider-Man, who would be here to save all these people? Even if it meant sacrificing her own life, Lily would do everything in her power to help Spider-Man protect the city.
It was the right thing to do.
Everything happened so fast. One moment she was resisting Hestia's pull, the next the two of them were running along with the chaos. Hestia had loosened her grip on Lily's wrist, so Lily took the opportunity to slide her hand into Hestia's instead, giving her friend's hand a tight squeeze.
The gesture seemed to have alleviated Hestia's worries as her friend breathed out in relief. It made what Lily had to do next so much worse.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, quickly dropping her hand and disappearing into the crowd.
When Lily turned back, her friend was being pulled along by the undertow of the crowd, her arm outstretched for Lily to grasp like a life preserver. Hestia looked distraught, and Lily was certain if she were any closer she'd see tears on her face.
This had better work.
James webbed from building to building, quickly weaving his way towards the scream. It wasn't long before he found its inspiration: two masked terrorizers perched on the base of the statue in the middle of Piccadilly Circus.
He felt a sense of familiarity as he stared at the two. It was a man and a woman, but they looked so similar. They were both childlike in stature, but their shoulders sloped inwards, making them appear hunched over. Their faces were partially covered by masks, but the features that showed through were familiar.
He'd seen them before. He just didn't remember where exactly.
The man had a lopsided sort of leer, and through the holes on the skull mask he was wearing, James spotted beady little eyes. The woman had less distinctive features, but like her counterpart, her skin was pallid, and she bore the same wicked expression as her counterpart.
A building on the other side of the road exploded James he landed atop the flashing billboards in the junction. The rubble scattered across the road, joining the rest of the debris the two had created. Screams echoed through the streets, people in the traffic circle abandoning the cars and buses in favor of an escape through the Tube as the two culprits cackled, taking great pleasure in the mayhem they were causing.
The woman's wheezy giggle was what made James realize who they were, the noise bringing him back to all the times he'd heard it previously. They called themselves the Carrows: a brother and sister team. They didn't look dangerous at first glance.
They had been there, though. At the Millenium Bridge collapse. They had been the ones who took down the rest of the bridge with the same weapons they were using now.
Both brother and sister were equipped with some kind of laser, allowing them to bring any structure to the ground with a simple push of a button. The sister, Alecto, shot a theatre close to the Circus, the building wobbling more and more until it crumbled to the ground.
It appeared as if they were searching for something as they decimated each structure, but what, James wasn't exactly sure. The buildings all around the junction had evacuated; he'd watched them flee via the Tube with the rest of the civilians from the traffic circle, so he didn't have to worry about saving people from the collapsing buildings.
All James knew was that he needed to stop the Carrows before they moved on, before they found a building full of people to destroy somewhere else.
But, how?
He did wonder if they had any real power without their laser guns. The easiest way to test it would be to simply grab one. It seemed too easy, but sometimes, the easiest strategy was the one overlooked.
So, he did it.
Turning his wrist, James aimed his web-shooter at one of the Carrow's laser guns. Silky webbing shot out, traveling at lightning speed from James and attaching to the side of one of the guns. He grinned widely under the mask, grabbing hold of the web with his other hand.
He reached to grab the webbing with his other hand and pull, but a sharp tug from the other end of the web made him stumble on the precarious ledge. Another tug sent him flying to the ground.
James grimaced, shooting his webbing towards the building he had been standing on only moments ago. Suddenly, the building began to crumble around him, chunks of concrete and shards of glass raining onto him as he webbed onto a double-decker bus abandoned in the road.
So sometimes the easiest option didn't work out.
"Good to see you two again," he said conversationally as he jumped off the top of the bus. Their guns pointed straight at him. "Haven't seen you two out much lately. I was afraid maybe you got busted."
That earned him a green beam shot right at him. He probably deserved that after such a terrible joke, honestly. Still, James ducked, sliding out of the way with ease.
"Is that the best you've got?" he asked. He needed to find another way to take their guns from them, but at least the Circus was empty. It gave him time. Usually, he'd have to finish things as quickly as possible so that no one died. The lack of innocent civilians to worry about afforded James more time to be thorough. Tonight, the Carrows would be caught.
Still, it was two against one, and he had to keep moving to dodge the onslaught of laser beams coming his way. Usually, his best course of action was to web onto a building, but that wouldn't be such a good idea when they had the ability to destroy whatever structure he was webbed onto.
As he passed by the Tube station, another beam shot right past him, hitting one of the walls. Too busy trying to come up with a plan, James didn't even notice the civilian who ran out of the station's entrance as it crumbled. Instead, he just looked at the Carrows, a smug smirk on his face as he said, "You guys really can't hit anything that's not stationary, can you?"
They had their guns pointed right at him, and James knew it was the perfect time to web onto the guns. They were too distracted by the idea of taking him down, both wearing wide grins under their masks.
This was it. This was his chance. All he needed to do was web both the guns and get out of the way without any of the lasers hitting him.
"Say goodbye!" Alecto cackled, but before she could shoot, a small chunk of concrete landed by James' feet.
"No!" James heard someone cry, another piece of concrete hurled into the middle of the Circus. "Don't hurt him!"
James glanced around to see who was senseless enough to be out here at a time like this. Why hadn't they run screaming like everyone else?
And then, he saw her.
Lily.
As his heart leapt into his throat, body freezing mid-fight, his only thought was: Not her. Anyone but her.
He stood, frozen, as Lily ran closer, the obviously broken camera around her neck swinging wildly with her movement. Luckily, it seemed as if she'd also distracted the Carrows with the disruption.
At least, James had thought so until he realized that one of the laser guns was pointed at him and the other at Lily.
"Now!" He heard Alecto cry, and the lasers came shooting towards them.
Knowing he didn't have much time, James webbed onto Lily and tugged to bring her to his side. He heard her frightened gasp but didn't have time to reassure her. All he could do was hold onto her and dive out of the way as the building that had been behind them crumbled down.
James grimaced as the two of them roughly slid to the ground. He scrambled up, yanking Lily up with him. In any normal circumstance, James would never manhandle anyone, let alone Lily, the way he was right now. But this wasn't a normal circumstance.
He needed to find her a way out of here. It wasn't as if he could leave the Carrows and take Lily to safety. As much as he'd like to, there were other things he had to worry about.
Namely, the fact that the Carrows were shooting at them again.
Without thinking, he tugged Lily across the circle with him, ducking between two piles of rubble. They didn't get very far before having to dodge the laser beams shooting at them. There was no way they'd be able to cross the junction without stopping to duck for cover every few paces, but their options were slim at the moment.
When he heard the sounds of the guns stop for the moment, he pulled her along, running again to find cover under another pile of debris. While it was safe for the moment, they had to get moving again soon. If they stuck around, the two masked villains would find them again.
He refused to let them be caught and cornered, not with Lily beside him.
She couldn't be here. Keeping her by his side put a target on her back. As risky as it was to send her out there with all these toppling buildings, James wasn't sure he had a choice. Yet, looking at the devastation around them, he knew he had to think of something to give her a fighting chance.
Anything.
Despite the fact that he knew he shouldn't leave the Carrows alone in the Circus - after all, what if another unsuspecting citizen happened upon the scene in his absence? - Lily's safety was taking precedence at the moment.
"How'd you get here?" he asked suddenly as they dodged the lasers. If it was safe, he'd send her back the way she came.
"I was in the Tube," she said, panting as she tried to catch her breath while they ran through the junction. Well, that was unfortunate since the station's entrance had been decimated into a pile of rubble. He'd have to think of some other way to get her out of here. For starters, they needed to get away from the Carrows.
"T-there was a stampede," James heard her say, and it seemed like she was just rambling to keep from panicking. He only hoped she wasn't too focused on her words to prevent herself from stumbling. "Everyone was running towards the train, but I-you needed help. You're fighting for the city on your own. It looked like you were in danger, and I-" She was talking so quickly James wasn't sure she'd have any air left in her lungs, and he'd never seen those green eyes as wide as they were in that moment. "I had to do something!"
James froze, staring at her momentarily. Had she really gone towards the danger when everyone else fled? It was dangerous to dwell on her blatant lack of respect for her own life right now. "I need to get you out of here somehow," he muttered more to himself than to her as he looked around the junction.
She had to get out of here. The Carrows were going to destroy every building in range, and Lily couldn't be there when they did. The Tube couldn't be her escape route. There had to be another way out.
That was when he noticed dim light coming from behind them, casting their shadows on the pavement in front of them. There was a car - an abandoned but still running car - behind them.
A blast from a few feet away reminded him that the Carrows were still shooting at them, and Lily was looking rather worn from being dragged around Piccadilly Circus. Having her drive off in the car would be the easiest getaway, but with all the lasers shooting off at random, James thought better of it. If the Carrows hit that car with Lily in it, she'd be done for.
He needed to find a way to make it safer for her.
"Stay," James commanded, leaving her behind a tall pile of crumbled concrete. She was huddled underneath the rubble, peeking out from behind as if keeping watch, but he saw her mutely nod her head. At the very least, he was certain that she wasn't going to move from that spot, so he swung up onto a building, trailing along his webbing.
"Aww, no more puns? What? Not as confrontational when your little girlfriend's around?" Alecto cooed.
Gritting his teeth, James tried to work faster, jumping around from building to ground to building and back, sticking his web to every surface he reached. Each time he landed, he glanced towards the wreckage where Lily was hiding. Thankfully, the two didn't seem too interested in her. At least, not when they realized what James was up to.
"A spider web," Amycus said, looking at his sister with a raised eyebrow. "How quaint."
James heard Alecto's wheezy giggle again before she cried, "Let's see how well these webs work to protect your beloved from our lasers."
Seeing their distraction as his opportunity to get Lily to safety, James dropped back down to the ground, racing back to Lily. They didn't have much time.
He grabbed her hand tightly, tugging her backwards to the awaiting car, her escape. "Get in. Drive away. Just...just stay in the car until you're safe, okay?" He had to know she was going to be okay, that she'd be safe one way or another. Sure, this wasn't how he wanted this to go, but this was the best option he had.
He watched as she got into the driver's seat, her hands shaking as she clutched the wheel. "But what about you? You can't get hurt. We need you. London needs you." The panic in her voice made James almost want to stay with her. He could climb into the car with her or, better yet, take her back home by webbing building to building. It would be so easy to leave with her and not deal with any of this right now.
But as she said, London needed him.
He just nodded his head to her. "I know. I'll be all right. All in a day's work of being Spider-Man, yeah?" He knew she was trying to hide it, but he saw the corners of her lips twitch up at that. "You need to go."
When she gave him a shaky nod in return, James gave himself one final moment to look at her before turning on his heel and webbing back into the fight.
"Miss me?" he called as he swung back.
Upon seeing Amycus wound tightly in his barricade, much like a bug trapped in a real spider's web, James broke out into a stupid grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all.
Alecto's eyes narrowed and she lined up her laser not at James, who was still behind the indestructible webbing, but at a building holding it up. It wobbled precariously, like the others had done earlier, and then crashed to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. With it, fell a section of webbing. While it wasn't enough to tear down the whole web, it was enough to surpass his barrier he'd set up.
"Are you mad?!" Amycus cried from inside his web cocoon. "You're going to crush-" Without concern for the rest of his sentence, or apparently the well-being of her brother, Alecto shot at the other building. As the building toppled, tearing the remainder of the web down with it, James knew it was time to move.
He wanted this over with. The Carrows might've gotten away on the bridge, but he wouldn't make that mistake again.
One down. Amycus's laser gun was laying on the ground, but it looked damaged. There was a flashing red light on the side, and a blue and green glow peeked through the cracks along the barrel of the gun. James didn't want to risk picking it up only for it to backfire on him. Besides, James only played offense in football. He'd stick to the defensive; he preferred his webs anyway.
One more to go.
Alecto Carrow seemed to be more competent than her counterpart given that she hadn't gotten trapped in the web, and her actions were always a bit more calculated. Despite her intelligence, without her brother, the fight was now one-on-one, and James had the upper hand.
He landed in front of Alecto as she scurried back to her safety atop the base of the statue. It was a good vantage point for her since she'd be shooting down at him. He still wasn't quite sure how to take down Alecto, but if the web had taught him anything, they were easily distracted.
Lily was tucked away in that cab and on her way to somewhere safe. Amycus was a bit preoccupied at the moment. A lazy smirk slid across his features, looking at the Carrow while stretching his arms behind his back languidly as if he were bored.
"What did you call my web again?" he asked somewhat tauntingly. Until he figured out how to take her down physically, this was his best course of action. "Quaint, was it? Seems like a good place for your brother to hang out. Bit of a sticky situation, really. Care to join him?"
Alecto swiftly pointed her laser at James, firing without a moment's hesitation. As he'd assumed, Alecto thought he wasn't paying close enough attention.
Except he was.
James shot back, his webbing threading around the barrel of a gun. He grabbed onto the silky web with his other hand, tearing the gun out of Alecto's hands. He heard her rabid shriek as she hurled herself at him, landing on his back with a violent thud.
James tried to throw her off, but she clung to him desperately, kicking and screaming for her weapon. Right when he thought he'd lost her, she started digging her long, sharp nails into his shoulders as she clawed for her gun back.
He knew he had to get her off—the pain made sure of that much—but he needed to figure out what to do with this gun too. It wasn't as if throwing it far enough away would actually help, even it was far enough to keep out of the Carrows' clutches. Not if it gave anyone the power to decimate the entire city. The webbing blocked anything firing from it for now, but he knew the web weakened as its chemical composition deteriorated from the elements. Far faster than James liked to admit, it became no more than glorified silly string.
He needed to act fast.
With a fierce elbow to her gut, Alecto's grip on James's back weakened slightly. As he began to deliver the final blow, the circle was illuminated in a green-blue light, and a feverish laugh filled the streets. James's blood turned cold.
Amycus had escaped. In his hands was the damaged laser gun, sparking and shooting in random directions.
Alecto hopped off James's back and ran towards her brother. Apparently, she had bigger fish to fry than fighting for her gun. With that weapon in both of their hands, ready to explode at any moment, they would be nearly unstoppable.
Not on his watch. James whipped a web around Alecto's ankle, gripping the web and yanking her into the air. With his other hand, he webbed her to a nearby billboard. There. Even if she did get free...good luck coming down from there.
With Alecto taken care of, Amycus grew even more violent. He began firing his gun in every direction. Sometimes it went off and other times, nothing happened. The sparking was getting worse with every misfire.
Luckily, it was compromised enough that none of the shots directed at James actually hit him. The shaking of the gun from the sparks made Amycus's aim haphazard at best. Simply blocking the lasers from coming too close was working for now.
That gun was going to be a problem. James wasn't sure he was even equipped to deal with the aftermath if it did explode.
Amycus's aim was getting worse, barely able to hold onto the weapon anymore. Maybe this was James's chance. The second Amycus let go of that weapon, he could get close enough to finally put an end to all this.
Just as James thought this all would be over, Amycus had climbed back onto the statue, attempting to maneuver the gun to point in James' direction, using the statue as a base to keep his grip on the device as it jerked about. His target line was so much better with the statue stabilizing the gun.
The Carrow was done playing bulldozer on the city. His target was set on Spider-Man.
James knew this wouldn't be good. His options were: get shot, grab the gun and have it blow up, or, possibly, both. None of it sounded very promising. Sure, he'd been in scary situations in the past, but he'd never dealt with an unstable weapon with this kind of power in the hands of someone like Amycus.
There was a real possibility that he'd die here. That fact hit him so hard that it was almost as if one of those buildings had crushed him.
He could die right now.
There were so many things he hadn't done, things he hadn't said.
He had regrets, sure. He wished he'd stayed as close to Remus Lupin as they had been before he became Spider-Man, but he'd decided months ago to keep Remus out of this for his own protection.
Now, he regretted not telling Sirius how much he appreciated all his help with this Spider-Man stuff, even if he hadn't wanted Sirius to know at first either. James wished he'd told him how he was the best friend he could've ever asked for, the brother he'd always wanted.
More than that, he wished he hadn't fought with Lily at the Prophet. She didn't know he'd seen her again tonight. Unless she found out he was Spider-Man, her last memory of him would be of their fight. He wished he'd told her how he felt.
James swallowed thickly as his mind wandered to Aunt Minnie. More than anything, he wished he could give her a proper goodbye. He knew how devastated she'd been when James' mum had died without saying goodbye. Minnie would be crushed again, and she'd be downright furious with him for being Spider-Man.
But he couldn't think about any of that right now. Not when Amycus Carrow was prepared to end this at any moment, his finger on the trigger.
Like Lily had said, London needed him. He needed to be there to save the people of the city. He needed to save London because that was where Remus Lupin lived. Where Sirius lived. Lily. Aunt Minnie.
He had to save them. Even if saving them meant losing himself.
Resigning himself to the fact that things were probably about to get very, very messy, he raised his hand, shaking slightly as he moved, to shoot at the gun before Amycus shot at him.
Amycus's eyes lit up with a devilish delight in what he was about to do.
A screech from the distance caused both parties to pause for a moment. When James looked to where the noise was coming from, two bright lights from some sort of car blinded him. As he blinked away the lights, he'd seen enough to know what had happened.
The taxi careened past him, slamming into the statue in the middle of the junction. The heavy bronze figure swayed for a moment before toppling to the ground with a deafening clash, its motion bringing Amycus down with it.
The gun soared through the air, alight like a meteor. He hoped this worked.
James used both web-shooters to catch the gun, twirling it with one web, and wrapping it like a bandage with the other. Fully covered now, James webbed it to hang from a pile of rubble well lit by the street lamps, somewhere the authorities would easily find it.
He heard their sirens now, coming from a distance. Figured that as soon as things finished up, the cops arrived.
Amycus was out. The statue must have knocked him unconscious. He might've checked to see if the Carrow was still breathing if it weren't for his unexpected hero. As James approached the black taxi, his heart pounded in his chest.
Lily. It had to be Lily. No one else disregarded their own safety enough to do something so stupidly brave except her.
The car was crushed in at the front, the wheels bent at a strange angle and steam billowing out of the grill. He couldn't see her through the windows since the whole cab was filled with the deployed airbags.
Please be okay.
When he looked inside, ripping off the door of the crushed cab, Lily was heaving, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She had a bruise purpling along the side of her cheek but otherwise appeared okay. As he opened his mouth to ask if she was, Lily cut him off.
"I-I stayed in the car," she gasped, looking at him, her green eyes wide.
James swallowed his initial response as she stumbled out of the destroyed taxi, and he reached out, grabbing her hands to steady her. "Be careful," he murmured, worried her injuries might be worse than what was visibly apparent. He'd gotten too used to the luxury that was self-healing. Lily, on the other hand…
She looked relatively okay though. She wasn't too pale - well, not any paler than she normally was - and she appeared to know what was going on at the very least. Still… "I think you should let me take you to the hospital."
"Take me home," she said, rubbing at the bruise on her cheek. It was swollen a bit, and she had this look of exhaustion on her face that made James's stomach flip. Maybe she was more hurt than he thought.
James shook his head slowly. If something happened to her, it'd be his fault. "Err...No. I think you need to go, really," he insisted. "You need to get checked out at the hospital."
Lily scowled at the suggestion this time, and it was a welcome sight. That was the Lily he knew, the one that crashed cars into famous landmarks. "Look, Spider-Man. If you won't take me home, I've already committed grand theft once today. I can do it again and get home by myself, but I'm bruised and tired and I really don't care to deal with the traffic this fight has no doubt caused. So, I'll ask you again. Take me home."
"That wasn't a question - more of an order, really. You sure you didn't hit your head too hard?" She was fine; that, he was sure of now. She was talking normally, didn't seem too confused about where she was or what she was doing, and though her walk hadn't been all that steady when getting out of the car, he knew she'd been shaken up. She seemed stable now.
Besides, she'd told him off, so that was an encouraging sign.
James watched with a bemused smirk as Lily narrowed her eyes and then swished around, apparently giving up on travel by web. Her walk was definitely more steady again, which, James supposed, was good. Still, he couldn't let her drive home. Not when she'd already been through so much that night. Not with that big bruise forming on her cheek. Not with her complete disrespect for her own safety.
Lily had already spotted another taxi and was marching towards it purposefully. James, not wanting her to go off by herself and get in more trouble tonight, ran to catch up with her, leaning on her cab of choice when they got close enough. "So, tell me," he said conversationally, "do you commit grand theft often? Should I be worried about you?"
That broke through her wall she was building up. He wished he could say the way her eyes lit up, her nose wrinkling slightly at his words, didn't make him feel anything, but he'd felt this way since he first met her. It didn't seem like the sort of thing that'd change anytime soon.
"Oh, be very worried," she teased, leaning against the taxi as well. "Planning to be an accessory to my crimes, Spider-Man?"
"Sorry," he sighed, crossing his arms as he smirked underneath his mask. He knew they needed to get out of there soon since the sirens from earlier sounded far too close for comfort, but he was having too much fun teasing Lily. "No can do. That sort of thing is bad for my image."
"Ah, yes. Your image, which as we all know is already so good." Lily let out a soft little laugh, more of a breath than anything, and looked down at the ground. Her smile faded rather quickly, and he knew she was thinking about the paper. As she pushed off the car and examined the wreckage they'd left behind—piles of rubble in and around the streets, the statue toppled, a destroyed cab—her eyebrows knitted together in worry.
It probably wasn't the best thing to mention his image to her. She'd want to go and fix it, and he'd seen how reckless she could be. Reckless enough to save his life.
And she didn't even know she knew him. He was glad that in all the chaos, he'd remembered to lower his voice a bit so it wasn't as easily recognizable for Lily.. If she had known, James knew she'd want to help more. He could only save her from herself so many times.
Thinking back on the events of the day and watching her with that worried look on her face, he wanted to reach out and tell her it'd be okay. They were just buildings. Sure, his reputation might suffer, but he didn't care about that. No one had died today, and that was the biggest relief, especially with Lily being involved. He didn't even want to think about something happening to her on his watch. Of all people, hadn't she suffered enough from his failures as Spider-Man?
He'd wanted to tell her he was sorry for all that had happened tonight. He wanted to apologize for what had happened at work too, despite the mask. He wanted to plead for her to put herself first for once, to stop being so reckless, but the authorities were rounding the corner now, red and blue lights flashing against the facades of the remaining buildings.
James took a deep breath instead. They had to get out of here. "Let's go," he said suddenly, offering her a hand.
Lily looked down at it as if it were a foreign concept to her. "What?"
"I'll take you home," he said, trying not to sound too impatient, but he needed to dodge the cops. She knew that. He took her moment of hesitation to shoot a web at an intact building, getting ready to leave whenever she was ready. "You're far too reckless to get home safely by yourself."
"Right." She looked nervously over her shoulder before taking his hand. "What if I slow you down, though?"
As she said this, the tires of the police cars and ambulances squealed as they screeched to a stop. Behind them, a few dozen media vans, including Daily Prophet 24/7 coverage. Their time for questions was over.
Reporters scrambled out of their vehicles. They had to leave, now, while James still had a clear view of his escape route. He wrapped his arms around Lily, tucking her in close to his side. "Hold onto me," he murmured, kicking off the ground and swinging onto the top of the building his web was on.
As they flew through the air, the flashes of reporters' cameras filled his vision. Looked like the Prophet got their picture after all.
The city was absolutely breathtaking at nighttime. From within the dark, the soft glow of the streetlamps and the lights inside the different apartments was a warm and welcome sight. At a distance, they almost looked like fireflies.
High above the ground, the people and the cars all looked so small. It was as if all the problems of the world were the same size. Up there, it felt like you were untouchable, undefeatable.
Of course, Lily didn't know this because her face was smushed against Spider-Man's chest as they fled the scene. She felt the wind whipping around them, stray pieces of hair tickling her cheeks, but she was not going to look around. Her arms wrapped around his torso tightly, and her fingers clung around the fabric of his suit as if it was the only thing able to save her if she fell.
Most certainly not the webs the superhero was soaring through the sky with.
From above her, she thought she heard Spider-Man chuckle. Lily furrowed her brows but figured she must be hearing things. What was so funny at a time like this?
Then she felt his laugh, his chest shaking with every little chortle. Terrified to look down, Lily moved her head up the slightest bit to peek at the man above her.
Problem was, it was really hard to read his facial expression with the mask situation. From the way his head was angled, it looked like he was laughing at her, watching her. "What's so funny?" she asked, burrowing her face back into his side.
"Oh, nothing," he murmured back to her, the two of them dipping down as he webbed onto another building. "I just think it's funny that you were so...so reckless and brave earlier with everything you did, but you're frightened of heights. You can run into a stampede. You can crash a car into a statue-a national landmark, mind you. But heights, that's what does you in." There was a beat as he thought this over before Lily heard his laugh again. "Honestly, this is probably the safest thing you've done tonight."
But it didn't feel like the safest thing, not to Lily. She felt like she was moving through the city at a very fast pace, very high off the ground while being held up by a couple of little strings. That felt like a very unsafe thing to do. She was sure her father would agree, but he wouldn't have approved of anything she'd done tonight.
Besides, he'd done this tons of times. At this point, it must've been as natural as breathing for him. "I'd bet you were scared the first time you did this," she replied somewhat bitterly.
"Sure," Spider-Man said in return. "I couldn't close my eyes though. Something tells me that wouldn't have worked out for me too well."
A smile tugged at Lily's lips, but she didn't dare look up. "Perks of being a civilian, yeah?"
"I suppose," he sighed, and Lily felt him hold her a little closer. She tried to ignore the blush creeping up her neck when, suddenly, he jerked to a stop. She opened her eyes to see what had happened only to find they were hanging on the side of Big Ben. Lily gasped, tightening her grip on his suit for dear life.
"Spider-Man," she cried, her eyes trailing down the clock tower to the streets below of their own volition. The buses and cars directly below them looked so minuscule. She felt like she was going to be sick, her skin turning clammy and her stomach churning at the sight. Her heart was beating so hard against her chest she was positive Spider-Man felt it.
"Relax," he insisted, shifting to place her feet on a close-by ledge. "Li-Let's breathe, okay?" He tugged her closer, shuffling so she was closer against the tower and more securely on the ledge. "You're okay. You're safe."
Lily did as he said, breathing in, but it came in as a shudder. Spider-Man nodded encouragingly and she thought she heard him say something like, "good, keep going," but she wasn't really paying attention to his words. He was holding onto her with one arm wrapped around her in something of a hug, and Lily was very aware of his hand on her back. His other hand was gripping onto his suspended web, only his toes touching the ledge she stood upon.
She tightened her hold on him, not able to think clearly when she was terrified that now he would fall. It didn't seem to phase him in the slightest, his head tilted upwards into the open air, looking at something high above them.
Her breath must have evened out with her distraction because Spider-Man looked to her suddenly and nodded his head in approval. "Good. See, you're alright." Lily only nodded slowly. "Hey, I don't want you to be scared, but I think you'd think the city is really pretty right now. Can I take you up a little higher-"
"Are you joking?" Lily snapped, looking at Spider-Man with disdain. "I'm terrified, and you want to go up higher?"
He seemed amused by her outburst. "Are you done?" Lily opened her mouth to speak again, but he cut her off. "As I was saying, can I take you up a little higher where there's a railing and a real floor? You can calm down before I take you home. Does that sound okay?"
That didn't sound too bad, Lily had to admit. When she nodded her agreement, Spider-Man scooped her up and began scaling the side of the building. From over his shoulder, she saw tourists pointing them out amongst themselves from the London Eye.
As far up as they were when he first took her to the tower, Lily didn't realize how much farther up there was to go until she was carried up to the top. The white light from the clock cast their shadows on the city below.
Soon, they reached a railing, and Spider-Man pulled them over it. Finally on solid ground, Lily let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Better now?" he asked, and she nodded quickly. She'd never been so happy to have her feet on the floor, even if the floor was much higher up than she preferred. As she glanced out over the city, she had to admit that it was rather pretty. The river Thames looked like glass from so far up, its surface calm and dark other than reflections from the surrounding lights and the moon in the distance. Across from them, the London Eye ticked along at a slow, leisurely pace.
"Yeah," she breathed, unable to take her eyes off the city. It seemed so strange that the city felt so calm and quiet in one place, and yet, in another, it was filled with destruction.
When she finally tore her eyes off the skyline, she found that Spider-Man was staring over at her again. She ducked her head to hide her blush behind the curtain of her hair. "What?" she mumbled.
"Nothing," he replied, shrugging slowly. "It's only...what's your name?"
Her name. Spider-Man wanted to know her name? "Lily," she said, turning back to face the hero directly and sitting cross-legged with her back resting against the stone railing. Lily tilted her head up to see him, a shy sort of smile on her lips. "My name is Lily Evans."
"Lily Evans," Spider-Man repeated, and she had to admit she quite liked how it sounded coming from him. Lily heard him suck in a breath. "You know, Lily, what you did today...it wasn't smart."
Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Did Spider-Man call her dumb? Even though she had just sat down, she scrambled back to her feet so she was on his level, looking into his eyes-well, eye markings. "What I did today was I saved your life."
"And you could've lost yours," he shot back, crossing his arms against his chest.
"So could you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out. "You know what you do for a living right? You're at least a little self-aware? Spider-Man, your job is putting your life at risk. I don't think you're in a place to lecture me about safety."
She crossed her arms too, looking him over. He was tall, but his voice sounded young. While it was hard to tell if he was younger or older than her, he seemed like he was at least around her age range. What was a university-age kid doing sacrificing his life for the city? Lily'd had enough lectures this evening for the both of them. If he wanted to lecture her, fine. Two could play that game.
Spider-Man began shaking his head. "You don't get it. I didn't choose this. This was put on me, and like you said, London needs me. But you...you need to stay safe. Surely you have people that worry about you. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for them."
Guilt washed over her like a tidal wave. Her father would be so furious when she got home. Surely by now, the news had aired. She knew the reporters had gotten a photo of her. She didn't know if her face was visible, but with her luck, everyone would know she had met Spider-Man by tomorrow morning.
But Spider-Man was wrong. No matter what her father said, Spider-Man saved people. And no matter how angry her dad was, Lily knew she did the right thing. She set out to help Spider-Man and she did.
He was alive because of her. He'd go home to the people who cared about him tonight because of her.
For all she knew, the whole city was alive because of her. What would have happened if the two masked villains had gotten away? What if that sparking laser gun had exploded like it looked like it was going to?
Because Lily risked her life, so many more were safe. She refused to apologize for that, no matter what anyone else said. Even if that person was Spider-Man.
Besides, she was fine.
He did raise a good point, though. Her father was probably worried sick waiting for her to come home.
Lily felt Spider-Man's gaze through his mask, and she was vaguely reminded of an ant under a microscope. He must have been waiting for her to respond, but she was so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed.
What did she even say to that? Did Spider-Man not want to be Spider-Man? If she could, Lily would trade places with him, take the weight off his shoulders. "I'm sorry," Lily murmured, taking advantage of the fact that Spider-Man probably thought she was talking about risking her life. She wasn't, but at least her words placated him. She wasn't sorry for what she did.
She was sorry that he had to carry this burden for the city, sorry he had to be responsible for keeping people who didn't appreciate him safe.
"It's fine," he mumbled in return, and Lily watched as he paced for a moment before he stared back at her. "Look, it's not… I'm grateful that you saved my life and all."
"Then-" Lily started, but Spider-Man cut her off, looking down at her in a way that she practically felt the intensity through the air.
"But I don't want you to go risking yours for something like that again."
Lily nodded slowly in return, even if she didn't mean it. Something like that. They weren't talking about saving a couple of buildings or a famous landmark. She'd saved his life. It was worth the risk. If she had to do it again, she would. But Spider-Man needn't know that.
"Anyway," she heard him sigh as he stepped closer to the ledge again. "I'd better get you home. Where might that be, Lily?"
She knew she needed to get home before her father went out and started looking for her himself. She'd be surprised if he hadn't already. Lily murmured her address, joining him at the edge and grabbing his outstretched hand.
This time, she didn't close her eyes. Whether she had grown used to the sensation or if she'd grown numb, Lily wasn't sure. Granted, she was keeping her eyes on what was in front of her, deliberately ignoring the ground below them.
Instead, she watched as Spider-Man webbed from building to building. Every time a bit of web was released, he pressed this mechanism built into his suit. As she first noticed it, she had to blink a few times to be sure of what she was seeing.
All this time, Lily had thought Spider-Man had special supernatural abilities, and the webs were only one of them. Although she didn't understand how Spider-Man would be able to shoot webs from his skin, she'd just assumed he was some type of mutant.
But those web-shooters were man-made. He must have engineered them somehow. Or maybe he'd commissioned someone to or something. Either way, they looked complicated.
Spider-Man must have been really intelligent to figure something like that out, but engineered web-shooters meant he was really just a regular guy.
She did wonder who was truly behind the mask. Not because of any desire to expose his identity to the world, and certainly not to turn him over to the cops. No, Lily was simply fascinated by the mystery.
Plus, it didn't hurt that this man had sort of saved her life tonight too.
She had so many questions for him, but she was afraid that if she asked, he wouldn't tell her. Or worse, he'd get upset and think she was trying to discover who he was. So instead, Lily kept quiet the entire way home, watching Spider-Man use his web-shooters.
How did they work? What substance inside that tiny mechanism created those near-indestructible webs? They were strong enough to resist lasers. They pulled both his and her body weight through the sky. Forget their weight, that day at the bridge, Lily watched on the telly as Spider-Man stopped a bus from falling into the river.
And it all started with those little web-shooters.
Far too interested in the web-shooters, she hadn't realized that Spider-Man had gotten her back home until her feet were placed firmly on the ground. She glanced around, realizing that most of the lights in the building were dark now as people had gone to sleep for the night. Her own home was still lit brightly, and she was sure her father was waiting for her.
Lily turned around to thank Spider-Man for bringing her home, but by the time she did so, he'd already disappeared into the darkness.
She sucked in a deep breath, reaching out for the front door's handle and turning it until she heard the click. "Dad?" she called, stepping inside. "I'm home…"
Thank you for taking the time to read. We really appreciate you, and we'll see you soon with Chapter 3!
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