Chapter 20 Marcy's Stand:

Marcy landed in an alleyway beside Andrias Industries. She looked around and saw an opened window above her head. Marcy climbed up the wall and crawled inside the window. She landed on the ground in a crouch. Marcy stood up and walked around through the halls. She looked around the corridor as she arrived at the basement.

'Terri said there were people guarding the basement but I don't see anyone' Marcy said in her head.

Welp…It's now or never. Marcy turned invisible and walked down the steps. The black haired girl could hear talking and walked towards it. She hid behind a pillar and peeked around the corner. What she saw made her jaw drop. There was a shelf with three large tubes of symbiote in the middle of the room. Andrias stood in front of it and it looked like he was speaking to someone but Marcy couldn't see anyone.

'Is he talking to himself? Just when I thought this dude couldn't be any creepier' Marcy thought to herself.

She saw Andrias leave the room. Once she was sure that he was gone, Marcy turned visible and walked towards the tubes. The black liquid was moving around in the separate tubes, occasionally taking strange forms.

'So this is where all the symbiote went' Marcy thought to herself.

Her spider senses went off and Marcy jumped back to avoid getting shot. She landed on her feet and looked up to see Andrias. The burly man aimed his gun at her.

"You're pretty stubborn aren't ya? I shouldn't be surprised since I've worked with your brother," Andrias said.

Marcy gritted her teeth at the mention of her brother.

"You have no right to talk about him!" she shouted.

Andrias smirked.

"I guess I've struck a nerve," he said smugly.

Marcy clenched her fists but kept her anger under control as she got into a fighting stance. Andrias fired at her. Marcy jumped to dodge it. She shot a web and took Andrias' gun. She broke it over knee and threw it to the ground.

"Sorry, that's cheating," Marcy said.

Andrias growled and ran at her. He swung a giant fist at her. Marcy ducked down to dodge and swung a kick at him. Andrias grabbed her ankle. Marcy blinked.

'...Shit'

Andrias flung Marcy across the room. The young girl grunted as she crashed into a stack of boxes. Marcy groaned, holding her left side. Yep, those are some broken ribs. She looked up at Andrias. Her vision was slightly blurry as she tried to focus on the man standing above her. Marcy got up and raised her fists.

'She doesn't know when to quit' Andrias thought.

He smirked as he cracked his neck and shoulders, putting his fists up.

'No Matter. She's going to be done for anyway' he said in his head.

Marcy ran at him and swung a punch at Andrias. The man dodged and punched Marcy in her face. Marcy staggered backwards, holding her face. She could feel blood running down her face. Andrias swung another punch, nailing Marcy in her stomach. Marcy fell to the floor, gasping for breath. She looked up at Andrias and kicked him in the face, sending him flying across the room. Andrias rubbed his aching jaw. Marcy got to her feet as she held her sides.

'Ugh! That has to be about five broken ribs' she thought to herself.

She heard Andrias chuckling and turned to him. The man stood up as he spat out blood.

"You can pack a punch, I respect that," he said.

He took his suit jacket off.

"But I'm through playing games," Andrias said.

' What is he talking about?' the black haired girl said in her head.

Andrias walked towards the tubes and picked two of them up. Marcy's eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do.

"Andrias don't!" she shouted.

Unfortunately, her shout came late as Andrias broke the tubes. The black liquid began to stick to Andrias' man fell to his knees as he grunted. He began to laugh like a crazed maniac as the symbiote bonded with his body. Marcy watched in horror and stepped back, watching the black tendrils go up Andrias' neck and cover his head. Once the transformation was completed, the symbiote had created some kind of suit. It was similar to Marcy's but it was completely black with white lenses over the eyes. Andrias chuckled darkly as he stood up. He looked over his body and cackled.

"Eyes,Lungs, Pancreas. So many snacks. So little time, " he said in a demonic-like voice.

Marcy felt unnerved at that statement but put her fists up, ready for whatever comes at her. Andrias turns to her.

"Now, let's have some fun," he said.

Before Marcy could react, Andrias charged at her with an unknown speed and punched her in the face, sending her through a pillar. Marcy let out a shout of pain as she landed on the ground, a loud crack sounding through the room. The black haired girl weakly got to her feet as her right arm hung at her side. She was going to get an earful from Anne if she gets out of here. Marcy shook her head. She can't think like that. Not right now. Her spider senses went off but Marcy barely had the chance to move as Andrias punched her in the stomach. Marcy coughed as she spat out blood and fell to the ground.

'Get up,' she told herself.

Marcy willed herself to get up. She pulled her fist back and threw a weak punch at Andrias who caught it easily. Andrias twisted her arm back, making Marcy cry out. He pulled her towards him and head butted Marcy. The girl closed her eyes as she staggered back holding her head.

"You think you can beat me?" he asked.

He punched Marcy in her chest, sending her to her knees. Marcy hissed in pain as her knees hit the concrete. Andrias sent another barrage of punches and kicks at her, sending Marcy flying through some walls and to the ground. Marcy laid on the ground. Her suit was torn a bit showing the scarred and bruised skin underneath. Andrias walked towards her. Marcy tries to get up but is stopped by a punch to the ribcage. She falls to her stomach.

'Come on Wu…Get up'

Andrias lifted his fists and slammed them onto Marcy. The girl cringes in pain as she hears some of her ribs crack.

'Get…Up' Marcy scolds herself.

She moves to get up but Andrias slams his fist on her back once more. Andrias picks Marcy up by her arm and takes her mask off, revealing her heavily bruised face before throwing it to the ground. The black haired girl glares at him the best she could with a bruised eye as her lips pull back in a snarl. Andrias grins evilly, showing his sharp teeth.

"This is who the city trusts to protect them? You can't even beat me, What makes you think you can be a hero? You couldn't save those people in the explosion and you couldn't even save your brother. You know why? " he asked.

Andrias lifted Marcy and slammed her to the ground, leaving a crack in the concrete. Marcy laid on the ground, motionless. Andrias bends down to her ear.

"It's because you weren't strong. You couldn't save any of them. I wonder how your parents would feel if they found out you're the reason their son is dead…how the city would feel if they found out that a teenager was responsible for so many deaths…You would be forgotten…Rejected…You'd have no one left…not your friends, your parents or that little girlfriend of yours…just like how you don't have your brother with you" Andrias whispered.

He drops Marcy's head to the ground and turns to walk away. Unbeknownst to him, green sparks began to fly out of Marcy's body as her eyes snapped open.

Flashback to a few years ago:

A 9 year old Marcy grunts as she falls to the ground.

"Yame!" a man shouts in Japanese.

Marcy sits up as Mark holds his hand out to her. The small girl grasped his hand as her brother pulled her to her feet. They joined the other students as the karate teacher stood in front of them.

"Tomorrow we will be sparring again. It will be the same fighting technique but different partners. Understood?" he asked.

"Hai Sir!" everyone but Marcy shouted.

After Karate Class:

"Have a safe travel home, you two," the teacher said.

Mark waved at him as he and Marcy walked down the sidewalk. Noticing that his kid sister was awfully quiet, Mark nudges her head with his elbow. Marcy blinks and looks at him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Marcy mumbled something but Mark couldn't hear her.

"Speak up sis. You know I can't hear you when you're mumbling like that," he said.

Marcy huffs.

"I said I'm tired of being the weakest link in the class," she said.

Mark blinks and moves to stand in front of Marcy.

"Who says you're the weakest link?" Mark asks.

Marcy looks up at her brother. Normally, she would try to push past him but Mark was taller and much stronger than her so that was out of the question. She sighs.

"Our classmates,our teachers but it's mainly Jacob," she says.

Making a mental note to kick Jacob's ass tomorrow, Mark bends down to his little sister's height.

"Mar, you're not weak," he says.

Marcy folds her arms.

"But I'm always the first one to get knocked down and I can barely do push ups," she says.

Mark shook his head.

"You do realize that karate isn't just focused around physical strength right? It's about mental strength," he said.

Marcy raised an eyebrow.

"I honestly doubt that. How is my brain going to be useful if it's going to be on the ground every time I get knocked down?" she asked.

Mark sighed.

"Marcy, remember what happened during our first karate tournament?" he asked.

Marcy blinked.

"You went up against the strongest and biggest kid in that class," she said.

"And how many times have I been knocked down?" Mark asked.

Marcy scratched her head.

"Four times," she said.

"Exactly. No matter how hard I got knocked down, No matter how many times I got punched or kicked, I still got up. The most important thing about being in martial arts is not always being strong but strong willed and strong minded. You can't show your opponent that you're being torn down. You have to show them that you're not going down so easily," Mark said.

He poked Marcy in her forehead.

"So remember, no matter how many times you get knocked down, always try to get up after," he said.

Marcy nodded.

"Okay," she said, smiling.

Mark smiled and ruffled her hair before they continued walking.

"So…what are you going to do about Jacob?" Marcy asked.

"I'm kicking his ass with that bo staff tomorrow, that's what I'm going to do," Mark answered, grinning.

The two siblings laughed as they walked home.

End of Flashback:

Marcy lifted her hand and planted it on the ground. She grunts as she uses her elbow to push herself up. A throbbing pain went through her ribcage but Marcy ignored it as she weakly got up.

"You're wrong," she said, holding her side.

Andrias turned to her. Marcy glares at him as she gets to her feet.

"Mark may be gone…but I'll always have him with me," she said.

Green sparks flew out of her body as Marcy's hair and eyes glowed a radioactive green color. Andrias growled and swung a punch at her. Marcy moved out of the way and grabbed his arm. She kicked his foot and twisted her hips. Marcy threw Andrias to the ground. Andrias gets up and shakes his head as he gets up. Marcy pulls her arm back. A green aura surrounded her fist and Marcy punched Andrias in his chest. He grunted as electrical shocks went through his body and fell to the ground. Marcy watched as some of the symbiote was breaking apart before going back together.

'Right. Symbiote is weak when it comes to electricity or fire,' Marcy thought to herself.

Marcy looked around and saw an electrical box on the other side of the room. She grinned and shot a web towards Andrias wrapping it around his arm.

"Hey Andrias! Flip the light switch for me!" Marcy called out.

Marcy spun Andrias around. After getting enough speed, she throws Andrias into the electrical box. Andrias screams as the electrical shocks spread throughout his body before falling to the ground. The symbiote broke apart from Andrias' body. Marcy grabbed a jar from a crate and scooped it up.

'Glad that's over' she thought to herself.

She placed the jar of symbiote on the table. Marcy walked towards Andrias and tied him up with some webs. She heard the sound of sirens from a distance and swung out of the building. Marcy lands on top of a nearby building as she watches some military scientists load the symbiote onto some trucks and some police put Andrias in a patrol vehicle. Marcy's pocket begins to vibrate and she pulls her phone out as she answers it.

"Hey Ma," she said, pulling her mask up.

"Hey Kiddo, how are you feeling?" Yunan asks.

Marcy smiled.

"I'm feeling much better now," she answered.

She heard Yunan hum.

"That's great! Look, I know I'm busy most of the time but I was thinking that we could go on a vacation for winter break. You can bring your friends with you, if you want," Yunan suggested.

Marcy smiled softly.

"That sounds great. I'm about to head back to Terri's house so I'll call you back when I get there," she said.

"Alright then, talk to you later kiddo," Yunan said, hanging up.

Marcy turned her phone off and pulled her mask over her face as she shot a web and swung back to the workshop. She landed on the ground in front of the door. Marcy took her mask off.

"Marcy!" two voices called out.

Marcy turned and yelped as two bodies knocked her over. She stumbled a bit but managed to keep her balance as Anne and Sasha hugged her.

"Again…warn me before you tackle me," Marcy grumbled.

The two older girls laughed as they pulled back from the hug. Anne frowned and gently grabbed Marcy's face, examining the scrapes and bruises on her face.

"I'm fine Anne. A few broken ribs but fine," Marcy assured her.

Anne smiled in relief.

"Is Andrias gone?" Sasha asked.

Marcy nodded.

"He's getting sent to solitary confinement. He's probably going to be in there for life," she said.

The other girls cheered, relieved that they won the battle.