A/N: 06.14.2021
So, yeah. I've been working on this a lot lately. The ideas just took over my mind and I had to get it written down. And honestly? I'm really proud of it.
Here we have part 2 of the "Compassion" series. This takes place in medias res and after the events of the "Turf Wars" DLC. Enjoy!
Rage & Revenge
After Hammerhead's attack on the precinct, Yuri had had enough. Spider-Man tried to talk to her, but she was way passed listening to others on how to deal with this. All she could think about was the officers she lost and the lives ruined, all thanks to one man and one organization. She drove away from Spider-Man, knowing full well what she had to do. What she wanted to do. What she needed to do.
This had gone on far enough. The Maggia had to go. So did Hammerhead. Especially Hammerhead. Yuri needed to end this. She had to.
She was the only one who could.
No matter the cost.
Yuri parked the police car in parking garage a few blocks away from Bar with No Name. She walked the rest of the way on foot, staying in the alleys to avoid being seen. She had one of Silver Sable's rifles and planned to use it until it stopped working. She was about a block away from the Bar, even able to see a few Hammerhead's lowlifes walking in through the unmarked entrance. She started to walk faster, being almost across the street from the building the Bar was located in.
When something latched on to her back and yanked her up with alarming speed. She was hauled all the way up to the roof of the building, finding her trip was courtesy of webbing on her back, thanks to Spider-Man, who immediately snatched her rifle away, tossing it on the roof and well out of Yuri's reach.
"What are you doing here?!" Yuri grunted.
"Is that actually a question?" Spider-Man replied.
"How the hell did you find me?!"
"Oh, yeah!" Spider-Man said, sarcastically. He set her down on the roof. "You drove off with a gun, enraged, and Hammerhead just blew up your precinct. It took me all of 45 seconds to figure out where you were going."
Yuri started, furiously, wiping the webbing off her. "You're supposed to be going after Hammerhead!"
"I know. I changed my mind and decided to come after you, instead!"
She growled, "Just stay out of my way!"
"No!" he replied. "Not if you're gonna do what I think you want to do!"
"I told you I'd have you arrested! You think that was an idle threat?!"
"Go ahead! Do it! Put in me in cuffs! Book me! But good luck with me keeping my mouth shut!"
Her eyes widened. "You'd talk?! You'd tell everyone how I've been helping you?!"
"To keep you from mindlessly killing people?! You're damn right, I would!"
"They're criminals!" she shouted.
"Criminals who deserve to go to jail!" he yelled back. "Not the morgue! And you sure as hell shouldn't be the one sending them there!"
"So, you're turning on me?!"
He growled, "I'm so sick of hearing that from people I'm TRYING TO HELP!"
"Then stop trying to help!"
"No! Because that's my job! Just like your job is to protect and serve! Not kill and maim!"
Yuri growled and shoved Spider-Man out of the way, marching for the rifle.
"Are you serious, right now?!" Spider-Man shouted.
"Yes!" Yuri picked up the rifle. She turned around only to find Spider-Man standing directly in front of her, moving the rifle so the barrel was aimed at the sky and away from them. He also quickly turned on the rifle's safety.
"This isn't you, Yuri!" Spider-Man declared.
"Get out of my way!" Yuri tried to yank the gun out of his grip.
"No! You're not doing this! This isn't you!"
"Don't pretend you know me!" she shouted. "You don't!"
"I don't?!" he shouted back. "I don't?! Do you hear yourself?! I may not be trustworthy to a lot of people but I'm damn sure trustworthy to you! Who's had your back through all of this?! Li! Octavius?! FISK! I have your back now, which is I'm not letting you do this! I know you, Yuri! And that's how I know this… isn't… you!"
Yuri glared at him.
But she blinked, even taking a few breaths.
"You want Hammerhead?" Spider-Man asked, releasing his grip on the rifle. "Fine! We'll get him! But we're not doing it this way and we're sure as hell not gonna kill him! He outsmarted us, so we outsmart him back! And, at no point, will murdering him be an option! You're not gonna do it! I won't let you! I don't want…" He stopped, pacing for a moment and groaning. He looked back at her. "I don't want… you to go down that road. To a place… you can't come back from."
His words cut her deep, because she could tell how concerned he was. She could clearly hear it in his voice. Yuri felt herself on the brink of tears. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't felt like that in years. And she hated the feeling.
"Why do you care so much?" Yuri asked, her voice threatening to break.
"Because I care about my friends!" Spider-Man replied.
"That's it?! Just because I'm a friend!"
"Yeah! That's it! I don't like seeing people die! And I don't want my friends committing murder! Especially when it's such a good friend! A friend who's kept me alive and helped me keep the city safe! One of my best friends! Remember that?!"
Yuri stared at him then looked away in shame. "Yeah. Y-yeah, I… I remember."
Spider-Man sighed. Something got through. He was taking that as a win and started to calm down.
"You still consider me a best friend after this?"
He shrugged, "Well, you've threatened me on several occasions. Tracks with my other friendships, so, yeah." He stared at her. "I've lost a lot of people I care about, Yuri. Especially recently. You know that. I don't wanna lose you. I, especially, don't want you to become the kind of person that starts killing criminals. I don't want you to go down that road. It…" He exhaled. "It's not one you ever come back from. You're better than that. You always have been."
Yuri swallowed. She looked at Sable rifle, studying it. She could get away from Spider-Man, if she needed to. She could easily walk away from him and still do what she needed to. But she realized it wouldn't be easy. He came here to stop her, even save her; from herself, if no one else. Like he's always been, he was being a hero. She was starting to feel ashamed of herself. He had to put off going after Hammerhead and the Maggia to stop her. She couldn't do this. Not because she felt Hammerhead and his scum didn't deserve it.
But because she didn't want to betray Spider-Man. Any more than she already had.
It took a lot of strength but Yuri released her grip on the rifle, letting it fall to the roof.
Spider-Man exhaled in relief. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me!" Yuri said, angrily. "I shouldn't…"
Spider-Man braced himself for the worst.
She calmed down a bit. "I shouldn't have put you in this position to begin with. I'm… I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"No. No, it's not." Yuri exhaled. "Listen, I keep feeling like, any second, Hammerhead's guys gonna know we're up here and we'll be in a shootout anyway. We need to leave, but… can we talk? Somewhere else?"
Spider-Man blinked in surprise, fortunately his mask hid it. The rest of his body language gave way to surprise, however. "Uh… sure, sure."
"Know of any empty rooftops?"
"It's New York, Yuri."
"Wanna give me a lift?"
"You sure?" he asked. "The swinging can be intense."
"I nearly committed a capital crime," she reminded. "I can take a little high-velocity wind."
He chuckled a bit, then turned around and pointed to his back. "Climb on."
"You're gonna hold this over me forever, aren't you?"
"Oh, you have no idea!"
"Yeah, I deserve that." Yuri got on Spider-Man's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Comfy?" Spider-Man asked.
"Shut up!"
Spider-Man walked to the edge of the roof. As she looked down, Yuri felt a surge of nervousness come over her.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You're gonna warn me before we takeoff, right?"
"Nope!" He jumped immediately, zipping to another building away from the area.
"YOU JEEEEEEEEEEEEERK!" Yuri screamed as they swung through the air.
Spider-Man just laughed.
As she was borderline hyperventilating, it took Yuri a few minutes to adjust to the speed and the wind. But, once she did, she managed to calm down, breathe normally, then she caught a glimpse of the city as it went by, staring in wonder. It was like flying but far more exciting. She found herself thinking something she didn't often.
'This is really cool!' she thought to herself.
"You okay, back there?" Spider-Man asked, happily.
She looked at him, angrily, hearing the smugness in his voice. "Shove it!"
"You can tell me you're having fun! It's okay! I won't tell anyone!"
"You just better not drop me!"
He looked over his shoulder at her and, sincerely, replied, "Never. That's something I would never do, Yuri. I promise."
His voice and his mannerisms hit her in the heart. Suddenly, the web swinging felt even more comfortable.
They swung for a few more minutes until they came to a building overlooking a good portion of the city. They were high enough to where it would be hard for anyone else to see them. After they landed, Yuri couldn't deny it anymore. That was fun. Part of her even wanted to do it again. She stared at the city in wonder.
"You get to do this every day," Yuri whispered.
"Yeah," Spider-Man stared at the city, as well. "I forget it's awesome, sometimes, until someone reminds me."
"Yeah. I guess once you do it enough… it just becomes second nature."
"It has to be. It's the only way I get good at it."
Yuri smirked, "So, how often do you swing for the fun of it?"
"More than I'm going to admit," Spider-Man replied.
Yuri laughed a bit but sobered and exhaled. She paced for a second, rubbing her face. She stopped and looked at Spider-Man. "First… how much do you know?"
"About what?"
"About me. My history. About my… about my father."
Spider-Man thought about not telling her. But she asked him directly. He felt like he had to answer. He sighed. "A lot. A friend of mine got some info for me. My friend told me about your father and Hammerhead."
Yuri looked down in sadness.
"Did it really happen?"
She looked back at him. "I… don't know." She started to pace. "I… never knew if… my father really took those bribes or if he was framed. He… never spoke to me about it." She fought back the urge to cry. She detested that feeling. "It didn't matter! I wanted… no matter what, I…"
"Wanted to bring Hammerhead down," Spider-Man concluded. "That's why you went from precinct to precinct."
"Wow. You're well informed."
"I try. I also get being obsessed with a target. Especially with something like this. But… not to your degree. I can't even imagine how much it must hurt for you. All you've been through. Whether your father took the bribes or not… Hammerhead still ruined him."
"And no one's stopped him since." She took a deep breath. "Hammerhead's taken so much from me. And now… he's taken even more." She looked at Spider-Man. "I'm… really sorry. I've… had a lot of rage… built up for a long time. And I…"
"Yuri," he said, softly. "This isn't how you handle this. Hammerhead needs to go down. But the right way. Not like this. You're better than that."
"Am I? If you hadn't been there… I would've done whatever it took to get information out of those lowlifes. I would've… I was going to kill them." She felt her breath catch in her chest. "And I… wasn't going to regret it."
Spider-Man felt a rush of fear then relief that he stopped her come over him.
"Spider-Man, I… wanted to do it. I wanted to kill them. I still do! I want them to pay! And… I…" She rubbed her eyes. "I'm…"
"Yuri," Spider-Man gripped her shoulders, gently but firmly. "Listen to what you just said. That's not you. You get lost in anger when you don't deal with it. It can happen to anyone. You haven't dealt with it. You need to."
She stared at the eyes of his mask. Even without looking into his natural eyes, she could still feel his sincerity.
"You let me deal with Hammerhead. And you deal with that anger. Deal?"
Yuri hated the idea. She hated admitting that she needed help. Because it meant she let her own inner demons get the better of her.
She failed. And what's worse was she really wasn't going to regret it. And that told her immediately she needed help.
Yuri looked at Spider-Man. "Deal."
Hours later, after saving the kidnapped Dons and just barely managing to defeat Hammerhead due him using Sable International weapons, Spider-Man could take a breath at temporarily stopping the Maggia. However long that would last.
Perched on top of a light pole, Spider-Man watched as the cops loaded Hammerhead into the back of the EMS. He exhaled, thrilled to know that this was… well, he knew it wasn't over. But, for now, Hammerhead was caught and down. That would do for now.
He made a call after he left the area, "Yuri."
"Yeah?" Yuri replied, sadly.
"It's over. We caught Hammerhead."
"Okay."
"Look, get some rest. I'll check on you tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks, Spider-Man."
"You're welcome, Yuri."
They ended the call and Spider-Man exhaled. He knew it would be a long road to recovery for Yuri. She would need help. And he determined in his mind he would help her every step of the way.
Spider-Man called Yuri for the next couple of days, making sure she was okay. What surprised him was the number of times she would call him, and the hours. There were even times when she would call him late at night when he was already at home. Even more interesting, more often than not, she would call him just to talk.
A week after saving the Dons, it was reported that Hammerhead had escaped and gone missing. Whereas Spider-Man expected Yuri to be enraged, she still seemed despondent, leaving Spider-Man concerned for her. With the news that the Maggia were still collecting Sable tech and the Project Olympus items, Spider-Man got back on the street to hunt them down again.
After a day of nothing, Yuri called Spider-Man and asked him to meet her on the roof of her apartment that night. With no luck in his search anyway, Spider-Man went by that night, finding Yuri sitting with a box of pizza and a cooler next to her. Spider-Man wanted to make a quip but he saw Yuri's face and decided against it.
"Hey," Spider-Man greeted.
Yuri looked at him then, bluntly, declared, "I'm on leave from the force."
Spider-Man jerked his head back. "Whoa. Uhh… wow!"
"Yeah."
"Were you… forced?"
She shook her head. "Took it myself. I…" She looked down then back at him, "I'm not okay."
He sat down directly in front of her. "That's the first step in fixing the problem, Yuri. Admitting you have one."
"I… I've scheduled time to see a psychologist. I was gonna cross the line. And I wanted to. I… shouldn't have. I shouldn't have even wanted that." She looked off, "How… how did I fall… this far?"
"You didn't," he reassured. "You're getting help."
She looked back at him, "I didn't because you saved me. Thank you."
"You'd do the same for me."
"Yeah, I would." She exhaled. "I… should've gotten help… way before now."
"Sometimes… it takes something major… for us to get help."
"Yeah." She motioned toward the pizza box. "Hungry?"
"Starving," he replied.
They ate in silence for a while. After they finished the pizza, they looked at the city.
"I don't wanna keep you up too late," Spider-Man said.
"Oh, please," Yuri scoffed. "I'm used to late nights."
"When you were captain. You're on leave right now. Get some rest. You need it. You deserve it." He stood up. "You know how you've been calling me anytime?"
Her eyes widened and she blushed. "Yeah. I'm… I'm really sorry about that. I just felt…"
"No, no," he interrupted. "I was just gonna say… keep it up. Call me whenever you need me. I mean that."
"Oh." She let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Thanks. I… might need it sometimes."
"Anytime. It's why I'm here." He started for the edge of the roof.
"Spider-Man?" Yuri whispered.
He looked back at her.
"Do you have to leave?"
"No. I was just… I thought you wanted to be alone."
"Not really. I mean, I do, but…" She looked down then back at him, "I… want you to stay."
He jerked his head back.
"Please, just… for a little while. Please."
"Sure."
Spider-Man walked back over and sat down next to Yuri. They both looked at the city in silence. Yuri took passing glances at Spider-Man before moving closer to him.
A/N: As I said before, I am thoroughly enjoying how this story is coming out. I've had a lot of fun with writing Spidey and Yuri and this story was a personal favorite because of the interactions.
I hope you all are enjoying it! Give me your feedback! See you all soon! Take care!