Hiya! Thanks for being so incredibly patient and sticking with us :) We'd now like to present to you the next chapter, whooohoooo! I'm really excited to show you guys this, so I hope you enjoy :D
Dorian had assumed he would run into less trouble when he was off-duty. Of course, he had forgotten that this was New York. In this sprawling metropolis, trouble would find you whether or not you were prepared. And most of the time, you really, really weren't prepared.
Take now, for example.
His daughter's wet face was pressed into his neck. He could feel Sammy's hitched sobs, her tiny chest rising and falling against his own. He cradled her close, one arm under her, the other supporting her head.
"Dad," murmured his son, Alex, at his side. He was worrying the hem of his t-shirt, eyes flitting around. "Dad!"
"I know. It's—it's going to be okay," Dorian said. He didn't know if everything would, in fact, be okay, but his son was breathing heavily, eyes wide, clearly terrified. For his son, Dorian would lie.
He was a police officer, but he was off-duty, without his gun or comm, and he had a terrified ten year old and an armful of crying toddler to protect. In this situation, Dorian was defenseless. 911 had already been called a dozen times over, but emergency services couldn't get onto the bridge. There was a ten car pile-up on one end of the bridge, the other end blocked by a snarling, spitting beast.
No one had been killed, thankfully. The monster had climbed the bridge's upper structural supports like an off-shot of King Kong. The frightening sight had distracted enough drivers—hence the ten car pile-up—but it had also given people warning, allowed them to abandon their cars and flee in the opposite direction.
Fortunately, the monster hadn't been interested in the screaming New Yorkers. Instead, it dropped onto the road and focused on the cars, stacking them together like building blocks. It had formed a nest out of warped steel and cracked windscreens, burrowed at the centre of the stolen cars. Dorian's own pick-up truck was sat by the monster's right elbow.
Still, Dorian had his children with him, and masses of similarly scared New Yorkers pressed around him, and no way of getting to safety—a severe car crash on one side, a monstrous beast that might turn murderous on the other.
"Dad!"
Dorian pressed a reassuring hand on Alex's baseball cap. "It's okay, remember? We're going to be fine—"
"No, Dad! Look!"
Dorian followed his son's pointed finger, and felt his blood run cold. He'd abandoned his pick-up as soon as he'd seen the monster—his car was insured, the only thing that really mattered was the safety of his children—but in his panic, he'd forgotten about his napping dog, asleep in the tray of the pick-up truck.
Sammy looked out across the sea of hastily stopped cars, and gasped. "Daddy," she said, pulling at his shirt collar. "Daddy, it's got Blue!"
His dog had woken up and was barking at the monster. The beast had ignored her so far, but when it placed its arm close enough to the pet, Blue had lashed out and bitten the monster.
Both of his children were in a panic, Alex standing on his tip-toes, Sammy struggling in his grip. Both were screaming across the area, panicked; "Blue! Blue! No, Blue!"
The monster picked up Blue with one clawed hand, and threw her across the bridge without mercy. Dorian could do nothing but keep one hand on his daughter, the other clasped tight around the shirt collar of his son to stop them from rushing over, trying in vain to help their pet, and risk antagonising the hulking monster anymore.
As Blue disappeared over the side of the bridge, Alex slumped in Dorian's grip. There was no way the dog could've survived such a drop.
"I'm sorry," Dorian choked out. He tried to bundle Alex closer, but he shook Dorian off, ducking his head to hide the tears prickling at his eyes. Dorian felt useless. "I'm—I'm so sorry, son."
"Blue!" chirped Sammy happily. "Blue, Blue!"
"Shut up," Alex said, hands shaking, focused steadily on the pavement. "Shut up, Sam! Shut up!"
Dorian opened his mouth to reprimand Alex, but he was cut off as the crowd around them burst into gasps and elated cheers.
"Blue!" Sammy continued. "Spider! Spider-bug! Bluuuue!"
For the second time that day, Dorian felt all the air leave him in a whoosh.
Tears forgotten, Alex was once more straining against Dorian's grip, jumping up and down in his sneakers. "It's Spider-Man!" Alex shouted. "Spider-Man's here to save Blue!"
He was right. There Spider-Man was, red booted feet planted on pavement, Blue bundled in his arm like a baby.
Spider-Man looked over at the crowd, and waved. Several people waved back. Another wave of cheers and whoops rang through the crowd. Spidey raised his voice, near-shouting, and asked, "Yo, anyone lose a dog?"
Alex waved his hands in the air, trying to jump onto a nearby up-turned car to be seen above the heads of the adults around him. "WE DID! WE LOST A DOG!"
But Spidey couldn't see them over the crowd, couldn't hear them over the din of cheering New Yorkers, and the roaring monster, and the distant sounds of police sirens. He placed the dog in the safety of a car, and rushed toward the monster, web-shooters raised.
It was an amazing sight. Dorian had no experience with super-humans, and relied largely on the opinions of his colleagues about the subject, but this—watching the lithe figure dart about, dodging lashed out claws and flipping around, shooting web-shooters and immobilising the beast almost effortlessly—was something else entirely. Something almost awe inspiring.
"Woah," Alex said, word ghosted out on a breathy exhale.
"Woah," Dorian agreed. In the afternoon sun, the red and blue of Spidey's spandex suit glinted.
People began to rush forward as soon as the beast was webbed up, hasty to move toward their cars, or to exit the bridge. Dorian lost sight of Spidey in that time, too busy keeping both eyes on his children.
When Dorian next saw Spider-Man, the hero was crouched down on the road, hand tangled in Blue's fur.
He stood there, just staring at the hero in wonder as he continued to pat Blue—scratching her ears and tickling her chin, the dog grinning up at him.
"Blue!" Sammy suddenly yelled. Blue instantly turned in their direction, before running into his children's loving, excited arms.
Dorian was too disoriented to do or say anything, standing there in complete shock at the events that had just transpired, until several police officers and emergency workers managed to break onto the bridge. They raced to the scene and comforted people who were panicking. But what caught his eye through his spaced out thoughts was Spider-Man suddenly going tense and looking up at the new arrivals.
Without waiting another second, the hero turned and began to make his way hastily towards the edge of the bridge.
Just before he could swing over the side though, Blue took off out of his children's arms, tearing towards the hero with a speed Dorian didn't know she possessed.
What happened next was a blur, as one minute Spidey was perched with an arm extended, ready to swing away, and the next he was on the ground, with Blue licking all over his masked face.
"Oooh! Hello again there, pup! Now, I know I saved you, but daddy Spidey's got to head off now," he heard the hero say, before he tried to gently push the dog off of him. The effort was in vain, though, as Blue just got even more determined, practically sitting on top of the hero's torso in a playful manner, excitement growing and tail wagging—licking all over the hero's lenses and neck.
"No, no, I've got to go! Oh, come on, really?" the hero babbled, followed by a bunch of grumbles, as he continued to try and shoo the dog off. They were starting to catch the attention of the crowd around them.
Dorian wasn't entirely sure what to do, standing there helplessly looking on, before a funny sound came from the hero.
He listened, confused, leaning in a little closer to find that Spidey was… giggling. The happy noise began to vibrate from Spidey as he started rolling around on the ground, Blue having won the battle, licking him all over, reducing Spidey to a puddle of laughing goo.
"Blue! Blue! Bug-man!" his kids suddenly yelled, and before he could react, were running towards the duo on the ground, leaping on top of them and cuddling and tickling the excited dog.
Dorian couldn't help but stand there with his mouth open. He stared at the mass of limbs rolling around on the ground, excitable giggles emerging from the pile, along with red and blue flailing limbs. A number of curious and excited New Yorkers had begun to surround the scene, watching the unusual sight unfold in front of them. Despite how innocent this was, Dorian began to worry about the extra company.
"Sam, Alex," he said, as quietly as he could, moving forward a bit towards them.
"Yeah, Dad?" Alex said, sitting up, now holding the dog in his arms, Sammy quickly following suit. Before Dorian had a chance to say anything though, a third figure sat up too. And there was Spidey, sitting next to his kids, looking right at him.
"Why, hello there," he said cheerily. "You must be the owner of the happy younglings here?"
Dorian just stared, at a loss for words. He was highly conscious of the smiling New Yorkers speaking in excitable, hushed whispers around them.
"Well, you've certainly raised some happy piles of joy here, pup included. She just wouldn't let me leave without saying thanks, could you, Blue?" the hero continued, looking down at the dog once more in Alex's arms, giving her a pat. Her tail wagged again, big brown puppy eyes looking straight into the hero's bug ones affectionately.
Dorian couldn't help but huff a proud breath, as his chest warmed. "Yeah, they are quite the happy bunch, aren't they?" He smiled.
Spidey looked up at him, and he instantly felt something stir in his heart, a warm feeling of connection, and something else, growing from deep within him—an attachment to the hero. He found himself openly grinning down at Spidey's masked lenses as his chest swelled with happiness, before the moment was broken by an urgent and rather harsh officer storming up through the crowd behind them. Dorian instantly recognized him; Officer Morgan—one of his colleagues.
"YOU!" Morgan yelled. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!" Dorian watched in surprise as the relatively young officer immediately drew his gun, pointing it at Spider-Man's chest while retrieving a pair of handcuffs with his other hand.
Spidey stared up at the man. His eyes almost seemed to Dorian to suddenly become big and innocent…alarmed.
This didn't sway the officer, though. Morgan continued to point the gun in Spidey's direction, with Dorian's kids sitting right next to the hero—in the line of fire.
"MORGAN, STOP! My kids are there!" Dorian practically screamed, as his training took over, and he lunged for Morgan, ripping the gun out of his grip.
Spidey had grown extremely tense, starting slightly when he yelled and removed the gun from his colleague, crouching in a position showing he was ready to run. His head was moving between the two in apparent confusion, while his kids partly hid behind him, watching the confrontation in fear.
"What were you thinking?! My kids are right there, you could have shot them!" Dorian yelled angrily at Morgan, looking him directly in the face.
"Well, it's not my fault! Maybe you should keep your kids in better company, instead of letting them hang around with freaks!" Morgan retaliated. Dorian couldn't help but be hurt by this accusation.
"How dare you?! And on what orders are you following anyway? Why are you pointing a gun at him?" he asked, and couldn't help but be slightly curious for the answer.
"Why? Because he's a menace! A vigilante! It's illegal! He's working outside the law! Not to mention he's some sort of creature," he said, and Dorian didn't like the way he looked at the red and blue hero. He caught sight of Spidey's breath hitch in what almost seemed like fear.
Fear, in Spider-Man? What exactly was going on here? Dorian thought, as he saw the hero visibly gulp.
"Daddy? What's going on?" Sammy asked nervously, from where she remained seated on the ground. He noticed Spidey appeared to have positioned himself slightly in front of his children. Protectively? Dorian wasn't sure.
"It's alright, Sammy. You and your brother just stay still, okay?" he answered, keeping an eye on how several other cops had moved in, hands hovering around gun holsters. The previously enthusiastic crowd had also shrunk backwards, moving away from the escalating situation, with most of them searching for their misplaced cars and belongings, not wanting to be too close to the commotion.
"Morgan, this is not right, son. It's against your orders. Being a cop does not include endangering civilians, especially children, and I don't think the chief would be very happy if he heard about this, so let's just calm down and deal with this properly, yeah? As far as I can see this man's done nothing wrong, and he just happened to have saved our dog, so—" Dorian tried to calm Morgan down, but he was suddenly cut off as Morgan's anger flared.
"Oh, not you, too! Why does everyone suddenly like him? I won't have it! I'm dealing with this now, even if I'm the only one," he yelled, and before Dorian could stop him, snatched the gun back, raising it in Spidey's direction and pulling the trigger.
"NO!" Dorian yelled as the trigger went off. He heard Alex protest, moving towards the vigilante in a rush, not understanding what was going on. There was a flurry of movement, and a sudden whimpering sound from Spidey, before everything went deathly quiet. Dorian only just managed to get the gun back out of Morgan's grip before turning back towards the direction the shot was fired in, with a look of panic on his face.
It turned out that both his kids had failed to move away out of fear at the sight of shots being fired at Spider-Man, and the hero had shifted himself directly in front of them so they wouldn't get hurt. As a result, the bullet had grazed his side, a small puddle of dark liquid pooling in the area as Spidey hissed.
"Sam! Alex! Are you alright?!" Dorian yelled, as he ran over to check his children, who were now as white as sheets in response to the reckless and irresponsible cop's actions. They both cuddled into him in fright, tears running down Alex's face, before they were all distracted by the most unexpected of events.
Blue suddenly let out a terrible whimpering sound, taking off in the direction of the injured hero, who was sitting on the concrete applying pressure to the wound. Although it wasn't serious, it still looked painful, and Blue seemed to understand.
Dorian watched as the hero's lenses followed Blue closely as she continued to whimper, moving around his form, before she reached his side. Spidey's head ducked down as Blue proceeded to sniff his wound very intently, and everyone seemed to hold their breath as the dog did so, waiting for her response to his unnatural, inhuman blood.
After what seemed like several moments, the dog decided that the hero was in no way a threat—accepting his unique scent—and nudged her nose against Spidey's hand that covered the wound. Blue then whimpered once again, and laid her head against the hero's uninjured side. She scraped a paw over her snout, whining. Almost instinctively, Spidey placed a reassuring hand on the dog's head.
Morgan became noticeably still and silent, shocked, confused, as he watched the dog embrace the vigilante. After a few seconds pause, he moved, taking a step forward.
Blue immediately growled defensively as she snarled, more viciously than Dorian had ever seen before. Morgan immediately stopped and stepped backwards, at a loss for words. Spidey seemed to have other ideas though; he shifted, gently moving Blue off of him as he proceeded to cover his wound with webbing. He hissed again, before slowly standing up. He gave Dorian a look which seemed to stare right into him, before suddenly taking off and swinging away.
Holding on tightly to his kids, Dorian turned to Morgan. "How about you never act like that again, and we'll never again talk of this, ok? And maybe then I'll forgive you, and you won't get fired. Is that clear!?"
Morgan stared off in the direction the vigilante had left in for a second, before very slowly nodding his head, too shocked and lost in his thoughts to say anything else.
Dorian eyed the younger cop, before turning away. He was determined to get his kids home and retrieve his now most likely useless truck, hoping he got the message across, with thoughts of one mysterious vigilante and the unusual events that had just transpired running through his head.
(Several weeks later)
The workings of the city went on as usual, people busily walking to and fro, lights flashing on brightly coloured signs, and cars honking their horns in frustration. It was a typical sight if one looked over the city from above, but if you gazed close enough, you might just notice something odd, a strangely dressed figure sat in a precarious position on a rooftop.
Peter dangled his red and blue legs over the side of a tall building, right at the very top, his outfit standing out in his secluded position, making him hard to miss from the air. His police scanner was softly mumbling on the concrete surface next to him, while his hands fiddled with a web shooter, messing expertly with its innards.
He was eager to get to work for the night, waiting for some crime or robbery to pop up, so he could go and get some well anticipated action.
The last rays of sun were gently setting over the horizon, bathing the city skyline in deep reds and oranges. It was quite the sight. It was a shame not many people could enjoy it.
Peter sighed as he looked up at the lingering, glowing orb—such a peaceful sight. The evening breeze brushed past him, a slight chill starting to set in.
He'd been up here for a while now, patiently waiting for something to come up on the NYPD Police Scanner, but he was starting to get restless.
Suddenly, as if it had heard his thoughts, a request for backup came in over the frequency.
"Backup needed, backup needed, corner of South Street. Group of….ahhhh…ninjas attacking a restaurant. Attempted assassination, immediate assistance required" came the slightly husky voice of what sounded like a middle-aged man through the scanner.
"Ahhh, finally!" Peter said in relief, as he finally had something to put his mind to. He quickly put his web shooter back together and strapped it to his wrist, standing up and pocketing his phone. He stretched his muscles, preparing to leap into free fall off the building and swing in the required direction, before the scanner crackled again, and the man's voice came through a second time.
"Backup required, backup required! Immediate help needed. Ninjas too powerful, repeat, ninjas too powerful. We can't stand against them!" he said, voice becoming raised and panicked.
"Ninjas...? I'm coming!" Peter said to himself, hoping they'd receive his unheard message, before pushing off the building. The wind blew past his stretched out form as he soared towards the ground, whistling heavily in his ears. He shot off a web and started to swing himself along, when his scanner went off yet a third time.
"Spider-Man! Spider-Man, can you hear me!? Spidey, are you there? Please, we need help, we need help now! These ninjas are too powerful. We can't handle them; they're cutting us down. Help!"
Peter nearly let go of his webbing as he wobbled. The terribly frightened and panicked last minute request directed at him startled him so much he nearly lost balance, quickly having to correct it. His mind swam with an explosion of sudden thoughts, muddled with shock, confusion and a touch of fear. But only one thought prevailed—he had to rescue those who had called, the sudden desperate need to save them overwhelming his thoughts. He quickened his pace, swinging through the city with tremendous speed.
Peter landed atop a light pole the minute he got there, surveying the scene in front of him. The policeman wasn't kidding, there really were ninjas, dressed in all black with masks and lots and lots of sharp looking weapons. It was obvious they were sinister; their current actions said everything as they attacked the cops without mercy.
Why were they here, outside of Hell's Kitchen? The Hand and its employment of silent, unbeatable ninjas were Daredevil's enemies. Not Spider-Man's. Not the innocent police officers that were being bloodily cut down by the people in all black.
He didn't have time to think about this though, cause it was right at that moment that Peter spotted a middle-aged officer being backed up to a wall—a middle-aged officer who was screaming his alter ego's name in a panic into his walkie-talkie, a ninja star heading right for his heart.
Peter moved on instinct, shooting a web and pulling a manhole cover to him as he leaped off the street lamp towards the officer with lightning speed.
He slammed down right in front of the man, deflecting the weapon mere seconds before it took his life. Then, he used the manhole cover to slam into two ninjas as he swung it forward, knocking them down, before deflecting several throwing stars with it as their attention was drawn to him.
There was a flurry of movement as Peter took action. Kicking, punching, flipping, leaping; he put the current ninjas to shame as he took them out in a whizzing blur of red and blue limbs. Within seconds it was over, as Peter landed in the centre of the mess, form crouched and low, about a dozen unconscious webbed-up ninjas surrounding him.
"What? Were the A Team busy tonight?" Peter asked through rough pants, toeing at a webbed, prone man.
Silence followed his words. It filled the street as cops slowly started coming out of hiding, staring at the scene before them, while pedestrians caught in the crossfire gaped at the famous red and blue form in both shock and relief. One face in particular was the most taken by surprise though, as the middle-aged cop he'd saved simply stood with his mouth literally hanging open, too overwhelmed by what had just transpired to do anything else.
After making sure all the ninjas were down, Peter took a couple more deep breaths before turning round and facing the man, form now tall and straight.
"Are you alright?" he simply said.
The man stared at him for a second longer before slowly nodding.
Peter sighed heavily in response. "Good, that's good," he said, looking down a bit before looking up again.
The cop smiled a little at Peter, before suddenly going pale and moaning.
Peter ran forward in the blink of an eye the minute he started falling forward and gently grabbed the officer, bracing him against himself.
The man took a few deep, grounding breaths before he seemed to recover from his near faint and stood up a bit. He looked into Peter's lenses, and then seemed to become a little uncertain for a moment as he realised he was being supported by Spidey, but it only lasted a second before he broke into a big smile.
"Thank you, Spider-Man," he said with true sincerity. His eyes shone with gratitude.
"No problem, sir," Peter replied, seeing a slight look of affection spread across the man's face. Then, remembering the current situation, Peter looked back round at the surrounding people. His heart sank. Police officers were laid out on the ground wounded and bleeding, other officers trying to comfort them before the ambulance got there, while some set up yellow tape around the area, blocking off the scene.
Peter swallowed, realising he hadn't quite made it in time to help everyone. If only he could have been a little faster, a little better, he may have been able to stop this before anyone got hurt.
Swallowing a second time—forcing down the self-destructive guilt that flooded his being—he turned around again as the officer he was still supporting tried to get his attention.
"Hey, Spidey? It's not your fault; you did your best and got here as soon as you could. Don't take it out on yourself."
"How did you know…?" Peter cut in.
The man laughed. "I'd know a guy blaming himself anywhere. I also used to do that, too. Back when I first became a cop many years ago, lots of bad things happened that I couldn't stop, and I always took the blame. But I came to learn that I couldn't do everything; I wasn't perfect, and it wasn't something that depended on me. You'll be alright, Spidey, it's not the end of the world. In fact, it's nice to see such a response from you up close. Maybe what they say isn't true about you after all," the man said, giving him a smile.
Peter just stared at him. "You're… you're not what I was expecting."
The man chuckled slightly at him. "Yes. You're not what I was expecting either, son. But then you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and that's why I'd like to give you this." He suddenly reached down into the pocket of his uniform, and pulled out a small, fancy looking phone and headset. Peter's gut instantly dropped—it was the program they'd wanted him to do with the police. A spike of fear spread through him, and he looked up in dread.
"I'm a part of the program to connect you with us, and I'd like you to take this," he told the hero, motioning to the said device. "Forget all the rules and stuff, I'm just going to throw what the mayor said away," he quickly added, sensing Peter's unease. "This will just be used for the police to communicate with you, just like what was needed today, and for you to communicate back. No rules, just for the purpose of saving more lives," he finished, and his voice had obtained a gentle, kind tone.
Peter stared at him for a second, before hesitantly reaching for the small device. It was quite nice, sleek black with red highlights, probably to match his suit.
"I…." he started to say, looking up, but the man was gone, walking back over to his fellow officers.
Peter stood there, headset in hands, just staring at it, looking lost. He swallowed, hand tightening around the device, before finally swinging away. What was he getting himself into? He had absolutely no idea.
Stopping a few blocks away, he perched on top of a low roof, crouched there, and looked at the device in his open hand. A raging battle was going through his mind. He considered just throwing it away, or crushing it. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do that, something in the back of his mind prevented him, something about what that cop said, about saving more people's lives.
After having a stare off with the device, large bug lenses gazing intensely at it with the reflections of the now dark city glowing on the glossy surface, he made his decision. Curling his gloved fingers gently around the device again, he took off, headed for home, phone kept safe in his tender grip.
We've been working hard these past few days, so the next updates should come fairly regularly :)