Guess I should give a brief intro since I always do. This one was a long time being thought up, and written in a very short period of time. And if your wondering about the chapter title, you'll just have to read and find out!
giveGodtheglory – Yeah, Tokoyo's awesome. She's done a really great job. I just hope she doesn't abandon her Spider-girl story.
Racetrack's Goil – Thank you! And don't worry, I didn't think anything of your nickname. I'm glad you like Allie. (Author Hint: I have another little family twist to throw in for her…)
Angie King – Thanks!
ash the dragon – I think somebody else commented on the Spanish name. The idea was kind of random, but I like it! And about Peter, the important thing to remember is that this story is written from Nikki's POV. Her view of her dad at this point is a little skewed, so the audience isn't getting the whole picture right now. And, also, he's just my interpretation.
Rainbow Dancer – Thank you very much! I'm glad you could finally review!
Moonjava – Thanks. Yeah, there are a lot of Spidey's family stories out there. I think this one has a rather different spin.
Thank you so much to Tokoyo for beta-ing this chapter!
Something shattered on a floor below the two girls with a terrific crash. "What the - ?!" a male voice hollered.
Nikki instinctively dropped low to the floor, feeling the blood pounding deafeningly in her ears as adrenaline raced through her body. Something whizzed over her head.
Glancing toward the doorway, she saw shattered crystals imbedded in and around the wooden frame, sending small dots of moonlight into an eerie dance along the walls. Nikki twisted around in the opposite direction. For a split second, her eyes met Krystelle's.
Downstairs, there was a dull thud that sounded sickeningly like a body crashing into the wall. People started shouting. They both scrambled to their feet, shooting terrified glances at the closed door and the window.
"Not really going for the stealth approach, are they?" Nikki said to Krystelle with a smirk. Krystelle gave her a look that bordered on exasperation.
"Spider-Man! What are you doing here?"
Another smashing noise echoed through the empty school.
Nikki's eyes widened. Her next words stuck somewhere in the middle of her throat and were forgotten. Licking her dry lips distractedly, Nikki's eyes began searching frantically for an escape. All she could think about was getting out of there.
Krystelle had cracked the door and was peering carefully around it. She seemed completely unaware of Nikki's sudden fright.
"I think most of them are still downstairs," she hissed over her shoulder. "Let's go before they get up here."
Nikki didn't hear her. Her mind was a blur of memories, painful and wonderful, all spinning through her head so fast she could barely see. It was as though her life was truly flashing before her eyes.
"Nikki?" Krystelle turned around. She watched the other girl pressing her hand hard against the wall like she was about to ghost through it but was unable to. "You okay?" she said curiously and took a few steps away from the door toward Nikki.
Shaking her head to clear it, Nikki blinked and nodded mutely.
They both heard a whistling sound as a tiny object came shooting through the partially open door. Krystelle screamed and leaped back in surprise. Nikki winced, letting out a quick breath of air as the dart pierced her back.
"I've got her!" shouted a man in the hall, his voice cracking slightly with excitement.
Nikki spun around, eyes blazing. One hand fumbled across her back in a fruitless search for the tiny needled object while the other curled into a taut ball. Krystelle stared at her in horror, too stunned to move.
The man looked more like a member of SWAT to Nikki than a policeman - an awfully fuzzy one. Her vision swam. Closing her eyes, she staggered drunkenly. Everything was becoming very blurry very fast.
The man clutched his gun tightly as though afraid he'd have to use it again, but Nikki knew that there would be no need for a second shot. The drug was working quickly. The scuffle downstairs continued.
"Come on, I've got her!" the nervous man called out again to his comrades, looking dismayed that no one was responding. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and eyed Krystelle apprehensively.
Footsteps sounded further down the hall. Heartened, the man waved his gun intimidatingly at Krystelle. "You too. Put your hands up."
"No," she whispered softly, still in shock.
"What did you say?" he asked, a little less firmly. He risked a glance to his right, peering into the darkness for some sign of reinforcement.
A battle was being fought inside Nikki. She could feel her body struggling furiously to remain conscious, but the darkness of the room was getting to her, draining away her will to fight bit by painful bit.
At last she gave up and her eyes rolled back. She pitched forward, landing facedown onto the floor, barely breaking her fall with one arm.
Krystelle and the man with the gun both jumped. Nikki's hand landed on the tip of Krystelle's boot. She started to pull away, repulsed by the unconscious girl's pale fingertips that looked dead in the moonlight.
"Hey!" the man yelled.
Krystelle instantly forgot about Nikki and stared into the hallway in fascination.
A black outfitted assailant had attacked the two girls' captor and was trying to wrestle the gun from his hands. Thin, silver, streaks slithered snake-like out of the masked attacker's gloved hands, wrapping themselves around the gun. In fright, the man's finger gave the trigger a light tug.
Another dart blasted out of the small gun, hurtling straight at its bewildered target.
Krystelle shrieked as the tiny poison arrow drove itself mercilessly into her shoulder…
Nikki awoke with a start. Some one was laughing loudly in her ear. She rolled over just in time to see a mop of golden brown hair vanish.
"C-Cat!"
Odrade marched in, glaring around in annoyance. He finally shrugged and started to leave, but stopped when he saw that she was awake. Giving her a concerned look, he sat down in a chair beside her bed.
"I'm sorry. Did he wake you?"
Nikki tried to prop herself up on one elbow, but pain shot through her body almost immediately. She gasped and dropped back down, taking a minute to catch her breath. She was feeling a bit nauseous.
Veron eyed her with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah…I'll be fine, "Nikki said, attempting to sound cheerful and aware that she was failing miserably at it.
He bit his lip. "It'll probably be awhile for those drugs wear off completely. Thorn assured us that it was just a tranquilizer dart."
Nikki nodded solemnly. She had a feeling that whatever she had been hit with was not just intended to knock her out. Why else wouldn't they have shot Allie right away too?
"Now," Odrade said, sitting back, "what were you doing at that school?"
"I…I was…" Nikki studied the ceiling hard for inspiration. She didn't really want to tell him. Jake saved her from responding.
"Hey, Odrade!" he said, sticking his head through the door. "Thorn's gonna order pizza. What kind do you want?"
Veron got up and made his way over to Jake, signaling to Nikki that the conversation was over for now. "Tell her pepperoni."
Jake mouthed something that looked like "pepperoni". Nikki heard his voice coming from the kitchen.
"How'd you do that?" she asked curiously.
Jake grinned with only partially hidden pride and sat down in the vacant chair.
"It's just part of my ability," he told her modestly. "I can project my voice wherever I want. Handy, huh?"
Nikki nodded, but her smile was a little pathetic. Jake sensed that something was wrong. "What's the matter?"
"Nikki," Odrade interrupted composedly, "I wanted to tell you that we should begin enrolling you in your new school."
"New school?" Nikki demanded incredulously. "I didn't even agree to – "
"But since the school year is almost over," he continued as though he hadn't heard her, "I was planning on getting you in with your finals scores and not starting you until September." He clapped his hands together. "So, what do you think, do A's and a couple B's sound good?"
Sitting up, Nikki stared at him indignantly. "That's cheating!"
Odrade shrugged.
"Hey, I think robbing banks is on a little higher scale," Jake said affably, giving her a gentle push.
Nikki winced and recoiled crossly. "Who said I wanted to rob banks? I haven't said that I'd take you up on your offer, you know." She folded her arms stubbornly. "And now I'm definitely having second thoughts."
Odrade's already forced smile faded. A vein in his forehead suddenly began to pulse very fast. Even his hair seemed to have lost some of its tidiness. He turned on his heel without a word and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"What--ever," Nikki muttered under her breath.
Jake looked briefly stunned. Slowly she rolled over to face him, leaning her chin on her arm. "What happened last night, Jake? Why were the police there?"
For a little while, he just stared at her. At last her question sank in, but it only made him appear even more dejected.
"I think that I ought to ask you why you were there in the first place…but I already know the answer to that," he sighed gloomily.
Taken aback, Nikki narrowed her eyes. "How?"
"Allie told me," he said flatly.
"And how does Allie know?" Nikki pressed.
Jake cocked his head and considered her for a while. "You haven't figured that out by now?"
Duh! Nikki felt like screaming. Why else would I be asking you? But she kept her face impassive. "No, I haven't."
"Dr. Camdon is – was – Allie's dad." Jake stared at the carpet. "The reason she hates you so much is because of your abilities."
Nikki gave him a quizzical look.
He continued. "Somehow, you got the 'antidote' that was meant for her. Because of you, she'll never have a chance of getting rid of her powers."
"That's all it is?" Nikki said tossing her head carelessly and regretting the throb that began in it. "I figured as much. You'd think she'd be able to get over it. I mean, how hard can it be to keep the fact that she can make crystals a secret?"
Jake did not answer. He had become distant and thoughtful, scowling at a scar on his hand like he was courageously staring down the person who had given it to him. As Nikki watched silently, she realized that she had never noticed the many blotches of darkened skin on his strong arms. The muscles beneath those tiny blemishes had attracted far more of her attention.
Suddenly he sat up, yanked his sleeves down a little further, and thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. "So you wanted me to tell you about last night?"
Nikki dropped her gaze and let her sore head sink back onto the bed. "Yeah." Her headache, momentarily dispelled by the excitement of learning about Allie's past had returned in even greater force. It was becoming painful to keep her eyes open.
"Well, when we got back from the bank and you were gone, we went looking for you." Jake hesitated and coughed lamely to cover up the empty gap that hung like a spider suspended in midair. "It's kinda weird, but Odrade seemed to have a pretty good idea of where you were."
He obviously expected a reaction from her, but Nikki was too sick from her tilting vision to have one. "Oh."
"Yeah, uh…" Jake could see that her eyes were beginning to roll back in her head. He hurriedly began again. "We spooked the police and – and they thought I was Spider-Man. Isn't that nuts, Nikki?" He grasped her hand. "Nikki?"
"Wha-?" she mumbled, slowly falling back on the pillows.
"Hey, Nikki, stay with me!" Jake cried frantically, his voice rising in pitch. Her face had turned an inhuman gray. He kept talking louder, desperately trying to make her listen to him, to stay awake. "And then Thorn tried to stop that guy from shooting Allie, but he did anyway."
Nikki's eyelids fluttered.
"But you saved her, Nikki!" Jake grabbed her shoulders, staring desperately into her clouding green eyes. "You ghosted that dart through her at the last minute!"
"Come on, Nikki," he whispered fervently.
His face was the last thing to fade from her sight. As everything slowly melted into darkness, Nikki could have sworn she saw a whirl of straight black hair sweep around the corner out of the room.
"If she doesn't want to, you can't really make her."
Nikki blinked and glanced at the clock. The burning red numbers read: 2:18 AM. The room was dark, but her improved vision was able to pick out the chair, the closet, her nightstand…
"You'd be surprised at how persuasive I can be."
Frowning, Nikki crawled off her bed and crept silently toward the wall. Her foot caught on a piece of fabric by the door, and she paused to examine it. As she scooped it up, a piece of paper fell to the floor.
Nikki held it up to the light coming through the crack on the side of her door. thanks She flipped it over, but there was nothing else. Puzzled, Nikki dropped it and let the wad of fabric tumble open. It was her costume. Momentarily forgetting why she had gotten up in the first place, Nikki changed excitedly.
The one-piece outfit was a deep violet and very form-fitting. (At least it's not spandex, Nikki thought with a grimace.) The long sleeves draped rather elegantly off her shoulders, giving the impression of a straight neckline, though they were about the only part of her attire with any extra fabric.
Her pant legs each had a black streak running up the inside, adding to the entire costume which was lined with curling black velvet trim. She slipped on a pair of matching black and purple gloves, admiring the thin yet sturdy material. Last was the mask.
Nikki fingered it gently. Hadn't she been so determined not to follow in her father's footsteps? And here she was, suiting up so she could go parading around with the rest of the super-freak-show. "Funny how this kind of thing just seems inevitable for the Parker family."
Yanking it over her head, she found herself grateful that the designer had decided on a half-mask, rather than one that completely covered the wearer's face. It made breathing and talking much easier.
Nikki glanced over at the mirror on the dresser and studied her reflection in the faint light. A pair of green eyes stared back at her. They looked somehow prettier, more dangerous, and more self-assured encircled by the thin black loops that lined the violet mask.
She struck a pose, certain that even her own mother wouldn't be able to recognize her in this get-up. Feeling more confident than usual, Nikki tucked her tangled hair behind one ear and pressed her head against the door.
At least two people were talking; Jake and Odrade by the sound of it. Their voices suddenly dropped down to whispers. The wall was muffling the rest of their conversation.
Her curiosity got the better of her and Nikki ghosted carefully into the hallway. It was dark too, but a light in the kitchen let off a few stray beams. Nikki tiptoed to the end of the hall and peered around the corner.
Jake was standing against the counter with his arms crossed and eyeing the other man very skeptically, his back turned partially toward Nikki. Odrade sat at the table, one leg resting on another chair, and holding a cup of coffee long since gone cold.
Odrade blew a puff of imaginary steam off the top and took a quick sip. "I already told you that."
"Yeah, I know." Jake looked up at the ceiling. "I just think that it's a little too harsh to earn her trust. You've already got enough deaths on your hands to earn you a lifetime sentence."
Odrade laughed coldly. "More than you know, kid."
"You said Doc Camdon was the last one."
Nikki desperately wished she could see his face.
"The last one for Allie. I make no promises for this girl." Odrade said with finality. "You said yourself that you thought your little girlfriend might have had enough. We needed to make sure she had nowhere to go."
"You bet she doesn't. First her mom, then her dad," he murmured bitterly.
"It doesn't matter," Odrade said lightly with a wave of his free hand. "Anyway, Thorn should be there soon. By the time we make our final proposal, the girl won't have a choice." Odrade took another swig of something Nikki was beginning to think was not coffee.
"The girl has a name," Jake snarled, his fists clenching involuntarily.
Odrade swung his leg around and sat up, grinning. "Does she now? And why so concerned? I thought Camdon was your girlfriend."
"She is!" Jake said a little too quickly. "But…oh, forget it."
Still grinning broadly, Veron returned to his original reclining position and took a gulp from his mug.
Jake abruptly changed the subject. "You said her dad might be able to fight Thorn off. What if he can and the plan doesn't work?" he demanded pointedly.
"Thorn only needs to get one hostage." Odrade said callously. "But I wouldn't worry about that guy. Let's just say there was a bit of a disturbance on his way home from work, and he's rather distracted at the moment."
"What kind of disturbance? What is it with this guy anyway?" Jake said curiously. "You keep talking like he's some tough macho wrestler or something."
Odrade did not answer him. He smacked his mug down on the table and got up. "Listen. You go to bed. We'll ask her when she wakes up in the morning. And remember," he added ominously, "don't mention any of this unless she says no."
Nodding, Jake turned to leave the kitchen.
Nikki yanked her head back, hoping desperately that he hadn't seen her. She flattened herself against the wall and tried to breathe normally. He's gonna kill my family if I don't join them! And Dad's off playing hero somewhere else. He won't even know until they're dead!
Choking back a sob, she tried to stay calm, to concentrate on the present. She needed to get back into her bedroom before they saw her and realized that she had been spying.
Nikki laid one hand against the wall and pushed. Nothing happened. Panicking, she pressed harder, then with both hands. They refused to even emit a hint of blue.
Suddenly, everything around her seemed to freeze. That weird sense had kicked in. She was running out of time.
Spinning around, Nikki saw Jake turn the corner. "Oh, no."
Jake trudged gloomily back to his room, his hands in his pockets. Another one? But Nikki was not going toagree willingly, he knew that much. Odrade didn't have a choice.
As he got about halfway down the hallway, the hair on the back of his neck began to prickle. He turned around. No one was there.
He glanced down the hallway again. No one. Still, he had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him.
Jake looked upward just in time to gawk at the two feet that slammed into his head. He hit the ground without a sound.
"Sorry," Nikki whispered to his unconscious form, "but you weren't exactly sticking up for me."
Knowing that Odrade would probably come into the hallway to investigate the thud, she launched herself up onto the ceiling again and crawled across to Allie's open door, chancing one last backward look. Jake hadn't stirred and the sounds from the kitchen remained normal.
She slid deftly into the room and behind the door where her glow could fade away, unnoticed. That is, granting that she could actually ghost.
Nikki bit her lip. It was time to do something right for once, time to save an innocent life and risk her own. A gentle azure light began to play around her fingertips. All at once it burst into its full blaze.
Nikki lingered for a few seconds, a blue flame shining brightly in the darkness, hesitant to go rushing back to the home she had so successfully escaped. A mental picture of Ben and May huddling together in fright while Thorn threatened their mother thrust her back into reality.
Clenching one fist determinedly, Nikki ghosted it forcefully into the ceiling and yanked herself through. Allie's room was once again plunged back into darkness.