Blazing Regret
An outside look at a night where Spiderman wasn't able to save someone. A little more hurt than comfort, but that's there, too.
Comfortember2022 #10 - Breakdown
It had been a rough night. One stove left unattended had eventually led to the whole apartment building going up. The fire had been slow-moving, thankfully, so they had had time to evacuate almost everyone. But the condition of the older building combined with the steady breeze that night had meant it had spread faster than they could fight it, and the building was pretty much a total loss. There had been many injuries and lots of smoke inhalation, but thankfully only one death from such a giant blaze.
Of course, that number would have been a lot higher without the help of Spiderman. He had shown up early on, and been able to reach and rescue many people the firefighters couldn't reach, which had brought their death toll down to almost zero. It was a shame that one teenage girl (who'd apparently been asleep, and somehow hadn't heard any alarms) didn't make it. Spiderman had found and dragged her out, finally, but it was too late. The hero had seemed pretty broken up about it. Chief Harris had mourned her, too, but in his years of experience, he knew that these things sometimes happened, no matter how much they could do.
The chief was sitting on the far side of one of the depleted engines, filling out some preliminary paperwork as the lingering smoke continued to clear. It was late, nearly 11 PM. His firefighters were still clearing the area and making sure no flames would re-ignite, which would take some time. His captains were overseeing that effort, but he wished he could trade places with one of them. Paperwork wasn't anyone's favorite, even if most of it was digital now. He was startled from his task by something all New Yorkers recognized: the unmistakable sound of Iron Man's repulsors landing nearby.
A fanboy at heart, even though it had been over ten years since Tony Stark had created Iron Man, Chief Harris stood up and followed the sound to a nearby alley. Quite a ways away, and only visible because of a light that was glinting off the area, he saw Iron Man walk forward a few steps, then crouch near a huddled figure. Seeing the flash of red and blue in the street light's gleam as the figure moved, the chief had a realization. That's where Spiderman had disappeared to. Oh, he looked miserable. Was he hurt?
What happened next was unique, and not something most New Yorkers had experienced. Iron Man stood up and stepped back, then the suit disengaged, and Tony Stark stepped out of it. He leaned down and drew Spiderman to his feet, and then pulled him into a tight embrace. The wind was still blowing a little, but the chief was sure he could hear broken sobs. His heart melted for the apparently younger-than-he'd-realized superhero. Chief Harris knew all too well what he must be dealing with, having held several young firefighters as they went through the same thing the first time they failed to save someone. This business was an exercise in heartbreak.
He felt like he was intruding, watching as Stark soothed the other hero, holding him close and rubbing his back, but couldn't look away, having too much empathy for the situation. He imagined calming words were also being spoken. After just a minute, Stark asked something, and Spiderman hesitated, then nodded. Stark returned to the Iron Man suit, then scooped the other hero up in his arms and blasted off. He hadn't realized Iron Man and the Queens vigilante were so close, but he was glad.
Chief Harris found himself wiping his unexpectedly wet eyes before he sniffed and turned to go back to his seat on the engine. Paperwork wouldn't do itself, after all. He took an extra moment to make a note in his phone. It couldn't remove the pain of not being fast enough, or strong enough, but a nice card, signed by the department, to thank the young hero might be in order. He needed to know he was appreciated, and that his efforts had saved many, many lives tonight. Everyone fell short sometimes, but that didn't mean they weren't doing good work, or weren't making a difference. He'd make sure that happened as soon as he got back to the station.