A/N: Alright, everyone! I saw Spider-Man: Far From Home! It was so good! But let's just say… that my story is obviously going to deviate from it.
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Chapter Eight
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Flint Marko was marching straight towards her with such murderous intent on his face and all that Mary Jane could do was to just stand there, frozen in fear.
"You think you some hero?" Marko asked with a withering sneer. "You nothin' but a weak, little girl who doesn't know when to run when she had the chance."
He was right in front of her now. One hand harshly grabbed at her arm and pulled her so that she was flush against his sandy chest. "And that makes you stupid."
The exact moment he raised the arm that had transformed been into an axe was the moment where Mary Jane finally found herself.
She screamed.
"No," A scratchy voice spoke up from behind Flint Marko's hulking form. The sheer difference in size between Spider-Man and Flint Marko was daunting…
On instinct, Flint turned his head back to see the boy and was met with the iron clad fist straight to the jaw. Marko reared back from the force. "It makes her brave. Something that someone with sand for brains couldn't quite understand."
Flint turned in a rage, his arms lashed out from his body to try and catch Spider-Man, but his movements were too slow.
"Maybe that should be your super villain name," Spider-Man quipped as he dodged yet another sledgehammer swing. "Or better yet, 'The Fearsome Dust Bunny!' I gotta say, that name will sure send a shiver down any housekeeper's spine."
"WHEN WILL YOU LEARN TO JUST SHUT UP?" Flint yelled as Spider-Man dodged yet another one of his attacks.
The sprinkling of rain turned into a light drizzle.
"Wait… that voice… I think I'm starting to remember you!"
Flint snarled before he swung his arms at Spider-Man, once again just a beat too slow.
"Yeah…" Spider-Man said musingly before his entire form became animated. "Yeah! Now I remember. You're on the streets all the time!"
Spider-Man flipped back out of the way from an extended, sandy fist that had been launched at him. He landed yards away, perched perfectly on top of a fire hydrant.
"But what are you doing all the way out here, man? I usually see you working the corner on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn."
Marko screamed in rage and launched himself forward in a full out sprint towards Spider-Man.
Spider-Man backflipped off from his perch and did a roundhouse kick at the fire hydrant.
The red metal launched far in the air from the powerful kick, where it would land a dozen yards away.
Water immediately gushed out from the previously covered hole. And Flint Marko was now too close to avoid the blast of it.
"AHHHHHHHHGGGHH!"
Flint Marko staggered back out from the blast but he was too late… His solid form looked to be melting into sopping mud that couldn't hold itself together anymore.
Then, the clouds broke open and a steady rainfall fell from the sky.
The scream was abruptly cut off.
Flint Marko was now more liquid than sand as the mud fell to the cement street, where the combined water from the fire hydrant and the rain caught him in its flow to the storm drain… leading to the sewers.
Mary Jane was lost in a daze as she stared at the storm drain, now devoid of any mud or sand at all.
Did… Did he just die?
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Spider-Man had flipped to the other side of where the fire hydrant once stood and was now shooting a large gob of webbing at the gaping hole, suppressing the gushing water to the point where not even a drop was leaking through.
Spider-Man stood back and surveyed his work with his hands on his hips. He must have found it satisfactory because in the very next moment, he was leaping into the air.
A large gasp escaped her as she watched him gracefully shoot out a web from his wrist with a muted 'Thwipp!' before it attached itself to the nearest building.
Suddenly, Mary Jane managed to finally get a grasp on her bearings.
Was he leaving? Without saying anything to her at all? Didn't he recognize her? Didn't he want to at least see if she was unharmed?
The coursing desire to talk to him, to touch him, overwhelmed her.
She needed to stop him.
"Spider-Man!" Mary Jane cried out. Her hands were high up in the air, waving about as she tried desperately to capture his attention.
Spider-Man paused briefly at the sound of his name before he let loose another web, propelling himself up higher in the air and zipping over the ledge of the building… disappearing into the dawn of the rainy night.
"Wait…" Mary Jane whispered brokenly to the open air as the rain now slowed to a drizzle.
So he didn't remember her, after all.
Even after he promised that he wouldn't forget her?
She tried not to let the crushing disappointment overcome her. Mary Jane wasn't typically one to cry but she felt the urge to now.
Why had she let it get to this point? She had built him up so much in her head that she had been expecting to not only see him again, but to actually have some sort of connection… a shared bond.
She was such a fool.
A cold breeze blew through the streets then that sent a shiver down Mary Jane's spine.
She was soaked.
Her arms came up to automatically wrap around herself as she continued her original trek down the street… alone and defeated.
The day had suddenly caught up to her and was whirling around in her mind… Over and over again scene playing in her thoughts.
Her father slapping her.
Flint Marko pinning down Spider-Man in a choke hold.
Flint Marko almost killing her…
She shivered again but this time, it had nothing to do with the cold.
The streets were completely deserted now. The attack made the New Yorkers scarce for once.
It was eerie. Especially when she could hear the sound of the approaching police sirens out in the distance.
She kept walking, her head down and her body shivering to combat against the cold and the traumatizing memories.
Her feet managed to carry her a couple of blocks when Mary Jane heard it...
A faint 'Thwipp!' sound broke through the night air behind her. Mary Jane stopped slightly before she gasped, smiling as the sound registered with her.
She peeked up toward the rooftops. She couldn't see him but she knew that he was there, she could sense it.
Her feet stopped abruptly as she pretended to look around. "Damn. I think I'm lost."
She made sure that her voice carried, though even she could tell that she said it a little too loudly. But she didn't care all that much. What she was about to do was her element and she was going to have so much fun with it.
She waited a moment as she looked around a bit more, discreetly trying to catch any flashes of red and blue over the rooftops.
"Oh, well…" Mary Jane said in an overly dramatic sigh of disappointment. "I guess I'm just going to walk down this dark alley now… alone."
Mary Jane looked down the alleyway next to her in a very pointed manner, which looked far from what she would call inviting. It was a long alleyway that extended to the next street over, which wasn't the best part of the neighborhood. There were regular gang fights that happened around here… "Yep. Looks safe enough."
She waited a brief moment for any sort of interruption. When there was none, she shrugged and started walking down the dark alleyway.
She went slowly, her heart pumping with adrenaline and excitement from the situation.
Would he take the bait?
Or was she just being stupid?
All that Mary Jane knew was that there was only one way to find out… by calling out his wordless bluff.
She was in the middle of the alleyway now. She could hear the thudding of her own heart in her ears. The scrap of her feet against the concrete as she took step after step...
"Are you deliberately trying to get into trouble?" A voice spoke up from behind her, his tone stressed.
A sly, secret grin appeared on Mary Jane's face before she turned on her heel to face him.
And there he was. Hanging upside-down on a line of web in that ridiculous homemade costume of his. And yet, at the sight of him, her heart started to pound double-time in her chest.
And to think, he had this affect on her and she has never even seen his face…
He could look like anything underneath that mask. He could be horribly disfigured or have terrible acne from wearing the mask all the time.
But somehow, she found that it didn't bother her in the slightest. Because it was his character that drew her to him.
Like a moth to the flame.
Or, rather, she was more accurately a moth that got completely ensnared in his web.
"Only when I know that you're nearby to help me get out of it," Mary Jane finally replied. She had meant for her voice to come out teasing, practically oozing with confidence… but her tone had instead sounded sincere.
Gosh, what was wrong with her? For some unknown reason, being around Spider-Man caused her to almost swoon with infatuation. Mary Jane never swooned.
Boys usually fell over themselves for her, not the other way around...
Spider-Man tilted his head curiously at her, those bulky goggles of his shifted with slight movement. She briefly wondered what the purpose of those goggles were for?
Mary Jane held her breath as he stared her down for a long moment, looking at her with sightless eyes that somehow made it feel as though he were looking straight into her soul.
Mary Jane stared back at him head on. Never once breaking the connection.
Somehow, she just felt as though looking away first in that moment would make her seem weak. Which was far from what she wanted to be perceived as while being scrutinized by Spider-Man.
Until, finally, Spider-Man relaxed his hold on the webbing that held him upside-down. He did a little flip and landed nimbly on his feet in a low crouch before he straightened as he faced her. Mary Jane let out a little sigh of relief at his relaxed stance. It made her feel as though he wasn't about to just swing off without a word of goodbye.
"I thought that we've established that you are my hero and not the other way around…? Seeing as you rescued me."
Eyes bugging out wide, Mary Jane's throat constricted in an unpleasant way as a coughing fit overcame her. "S-So you remember me?"
A gloved hand came up to rub at the back of his masked head awkwardly. By his mannerisms, he looked… sheepish. Which was strange to think about how she was able to read his emotions so well without being able to see his expressions.
Spider-Man was just that expressive with his body language, she guessed, and internally she smiled. She liked a man who was willing to show his emotions.
"W-Well, eh, yeah…? I mean, how could I not?" He stammered, his hands moved about sporadically in animated motions as he spoke. "You really did save me that night. With no ulterior motives, might I add. Which is plain remarkable, in my book. And - well, you had the chance to unmask me when I was at my most vulnerable but you didn't. And…"
Spider-Man stopped his animated movements as he faced her head-on. "And I just want to say thank you."
Mary Jane stared at him in mild surprise. "Well… You're welcome. But your thanks is unnecessary."
Spider-Man cocked his head to the side, curious, and Mary Jane felt the need to explain further. "It's just that you do so much for the city already. What I did is nothing compared to all of the good that you've done."
"But it meant everything to me," Spider-Man replied, sincerely.
Mary Jane decided to change the subject, for once uncomfortable with the praise. "Well, I'm glad to see that you are on the mend, Spider. Mr. Stark's been taking care of you?"
Spider-Man snorted, less than amused and shook his head woefully. "Yeah… a little too much, if you ask me."
Mary Jane shot him a curious look, prompting him without words to elaborate further.
Spider-Man sighed. "Let's just say that… I've sort of been… eh... grounded."
Mary Jane blinked once in surprise. Then, an amused noise escaped her throat before she could stop it.
"G-Grounded?" She asked, unable to keep the laughter from escaping her voice. Because it really was a ridiculous notion.
Spider-Man - the great and powerful superhero of New York City - was grounded by Iron Man.
If the world only knew how much of a softy Tony Stark was when it came to Spider-Man…
Then again, it did make sense to Mary Jane. Spider-Man was quite… lovable. His moods and personality were just so... infectious.
All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and never let go.
"Yeah… I'm technically not supposed to be out right now…" He responded, embarrassed.
Mary Jane smirked at him. How she ever thought that he was an adult, she would never know. He was so obviously a teenaged boy in his mannerisms alone. "My, what a rule-breaker you've become. Next, I'll hear all about how Spider-Man robbed a candy store in the Daily Bugel's next issue."
Spider-Man laughed and the sound of it warmed her heart. "More like robbed a GameStop, but to each their own."
So he liked video games…
"But it would make Jolly Jonah's day if I did go on a stealing spree," Spider-Man continued, "So one could call it a roundabout act of kindness."
Though his comment was amusing, irritation pricked at her subconscious as she was reminded of that loud-mouthed, lying, prejudiced man.
"I don't like how they treat you… the press," Mary Jane said with a sad shake of her head, her expression filled with empathy as she looked up at him.
But Spider-Man surprised her by waving off her concern. "Don't worry about it. I don't do this for the glory."
Mary Jane tilted her head. "Then what do you do it for?"
Spider-Man was quiet for a minute, seeming to be in deep thought. She wondered what was going through that glorious head of his at the moment. All of the crazy, fantastical things he must have seen…
Finally, he answered. "Responsibility."
Her breath left her. The way that he said that… with so much strength and confidence left her feeling even more in awe of him than she had previously. Because she had just discovered yet another side of him. The part of him that truly made him the hero he was.
His personal drive.
There certainly seemed to be layers to Spider-Man and something told Mary Jane that there were plenty more layers left for her to discover. All she needed was the time to explore them.
"So…" His voice was hesitant, "I think that I should be going," Spider-Man said suddenly, violently breaking her from her thoughts.
"What?" Mary Jane asked, a deep-seated panic settled in her stomach at the thought of him leaving. "Why?"
What if she never sees him again? What if he forgot all about her after this?
No. She needed more time.
"Because I'm technically not supposed to be out right now, remember? I have to get back before anyone notices that I'm gone."
Mary Jane swallowed heavily before she took a deliberate step forward. When he didn't move away from her closer proximity, she took the remaining two steps forward until her hand was able to come up and rest on his arm.
His muscles rippled beneath her touch. Her knees became a little weak at the thought of how much strength there was beneath her fingertips.
Her eyes connected to the lenses of his goggles. "When can I see you again?"
Spider-Man froze, hesitating.
Mary Jane let out a sigh. "Ah, come on, Spider. I think that I've proven that I can be trusted, right?"
He swallowed visibly. She could see his adam's apple bob from beneath his mask. "It's not that… it's just…" He broke off with an exaggerated sigh of his own. Before he shocked her by wrapping his arms tight around her waist and bringing her close in his embrace.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach.
"If we are really fated to meet again," He said in a soft whisper, "Then fate will help me find you."
Then just as suddenly, he let go of her and was leaping in the air. Before he attached himself to the wall and crawled over the edge of the roof.
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A/N: Wow… Is this really the end or will they be "fated" to meet again? Let me know what you think in the reviews!
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