Chapter 2-4

If Spidey had pockets, he would tuck his hands in.

Ahh, life is beautiful, especially when things go your way. All it took was for my little accomplice to swing across several buildings and boom, people believe whatever shit I manipulate them into believing.

Spidey paces on a rooftop. It was Wednesday so he had some time to himself after he got off early. He paces around for several minutes, checking his spider-sense every so often for a crime scene and that's when he saw it.

A young girl walks into an alleyway with her hands tucked into her pockets. He recognized her.

Huh, it's Cindy Moon, my neighbor, the one I enjoy watching undress.

Spidey perches on the edge and watches Cindy stroll down the alleyway. Cindy stops abruptly and looks around. Her eyes find their way up and land on Spidey. Spidey waves at her, but Cindy does not return the gesture. In fact, she covers her mouth with her hands.

I guess she's not used to seeing her hero.

That's when four men came into the alleyway and made wolf-whistles at Cindy. Cindy notices them and backs away but they block her path and begin to corner her.

Justice calls.

Spidey leaps over the edge and lands quietly on the other side of the alley. When the three men were on Cindy, Spidey web-yanks all four of them away. "Hey guys, how's it going? Looking for physical contact, well, I can provide that for you guys, in the form of punches and kicks but hey, we shouldn't be too picky nowadays."

The criminals charged for Spidey. Spidey kicks the first one in the gut before tossing him aside. The second and third thugs charge for him. He grabs both of them by the neck and lifts them up. The kicks the fourth guy back. He tosses the second and third guy away and they land near the wall. The first guy gets up and Spidey backhands him once more before flipping him over his waist. he punches him hard in the nose, breaking his nostrils. The fourth guy runs for Spodey, who delivers a powerful uppercut kick that sends him flying back and landing on the ground, unconscious. As for the last two guys, they picked themselves up but Spidey caught both of them in a chokehold and squeezed with all his strength. The two go unconscious and he lets them drop to the ground like a bag of potatoes.

He looks over at Cindy. "You know, I would've killed them but I have enough sense not to traumatize a young girl such as yourself. But... I'll just kill them once you leave."

"Oh my god," Cindy gaps, "it's you."

Spidey's spider-sense goes haywire.

What the hell, what's going on? Why is my spider-sense going off? What is up with Cindy?

"David, is that you?"

Spidey's shoulders slump. "What did you call me?"

"David, it's me, Cindy."

Spidey lifts his head up. "I don't know what you're talking about; my name is Spidey."

She reaches her hand and a web fires from her fingertip and sticks to his spider symbol in the center of his chest. Spidey looks down dramatically at the webbing before he looks up at Cindy. "That's interesting."

"I know it's you, David."

Spidey says nothing.

Cindy Moon... you're just like me, aren't ya? You have spider powers, just like me. I could continue to deny the lie that I am not David... but who knows what she could do. If she does know my identity, I could be in danger. I could kill her but no, I can't bear the feeling of killing Cindy. So... I should get her on my side. I'm taking a huge risk but we're alone in an alleyway with everyone unconscious except me and Cindy. As soon as Cindy leaves, I'm going to kill these four bastards in their sleep.

"Cindy," Spidey speaks up, "You caught me red-handed, I praise you. But..."

"I can't believe it..." Cindy gaps once again, "This weird feeling in my head wouldn't go away but whenever I'm around you, this nagging feeling in my head went haywire. You... are Spider-Man? David, you kill people. You kill people in the most brutal way possible, and you're only a kid. You're just a teenager and you crushed a man's head with an ATM machine?"

"Uhh... it's technically called an ATM because the M stands for -"

"You're... sadistic." Cindy's eyes well up with tears.

If she's anything like me, then she should have a similar set of abilities to me, if they're not the same. But... her spider-sense went haywire around me yet mine did not. Not only that but she shot webs from her fingertips. I can shoot webs from my mouth organically but I rely on my web-shooters.

"How did you get your powers, Cindy?"

"The spider," Cindy sobs, "the spider from the display case. i didn't realize it at the time but a spider got out and bit me. And I'm guessing it bit you two?" Her face is puffy with tears. "David... I thought you were different. But... you're a psycho. You never cared about me... did you?!"

Spidey stares at her. "What makes you say that?"

"The bunker, I've seen some horrible stuff in the bunker and you did some of those things. I've seen things when I was young that I can never unsee... and the boy who saved me from the bunker is a sadistic killer?

Ahh, the bunker, that takes me back a few months... considering that it has barely been over half a year since that whole incident.

"Are you going to kill me?" Cindy sobs once more. "After all, I'm the only one who knows your secret identity so why wouldn't you kill me?"

"Cindy, I'm not going to hurt you."

September 2019

Natural Museum of History

David stepped through the metal detectors with his best friend behind him. He stepped to the side as Eddie passed him.

"Holy shit," Eddie cursed under his breath, "look at this place."

David scanned the dinosaur skeletons before him. "Makes me feel like a little boy in Jurassic Park."

"Or 'Night at the Museum'."

"I'm hoping those dinosaurs will come to life so they can eat Allan, Robert, and liver."

"Who knows, we might get lucky and this museum really is like 'Night at the Museum'.

"I hope, Eddie."

The rest of the class caught up, and David and Eddie were forced into line while the teacher and tour guide rambled about something that David blocked out. As he walked with his hands in his pockets, Allan, Robert, and Oliver approached David and Eddie from behind and slowly shadowed them.

When Eddie tried to take a picture of something, Allan shoved Eddie and knocked his photo off course. Eddie looked at him with disdain.

"What?" Allan asked, "I didn't do anything."

Eddie ignored him and walked away with David following him. The three bullies continued to shadow them for a few more minutes during this tour. Felicia looked over and bit her lip when she saw Allan shoving Eddie a few more times. She sighed loudly before she went up to the three bullies and pickpocketed Allan's phone.

David watched this and smiled. Felicia smirked mischievously and tossed him Allan's phone. When Eddie raised his camera to take another picture, Allan was ready to shove into him before a flashlight blinded him.

David used the flashlight on his phone to blind Allan as Eddie took a picture of a rhino skeleton.

David turned off his camera while Allan blinked a few times and squinted.

"You little prick," Allan hissed. He snapped David's phone from him and held it out of reach. "Your phone is mine now, bitch."

"'Twas never mine to begin with," David deadpanned.

Allan looked at the phone and growled. "You stole my phone."

"I didn't."

The teacher's assistant, a senior, came back and confronted the six of them. "What the fuck are you guys doing?" No one said anything. "That's what I thought. All six of you, shut the fuck up or I will destroy all of you."

Allan glared at the student as he retreated. "Pussy."

"Takes one to know one," David chuckled.

When the three bullies finally decided to shut up, David tucked his hands in his pockets once more before he looked at Felicia. "Nice pickpocketing skills."

"That's what they get for leaving their phones in their back pockets."

David checked his back pocket and found his phone gone. Felicia held up his phone. David smiles. "Kleptomaniac, you are, aren't ya?"

"Only on Tuesdays."

"In that case, see you next Tuesday, kleptomaniac."

Felicia looked at him. "Why?"

"You set me up."

"That I did, my bad." She smirked before walking away.

David sighed before looking over to where the group was and decided not to follow them. He turned around and decided to explore this museum on his own. He went through several exhibits displaying skeletons of various creatures like dinosaurs and modern-day animals. He saw a red door that said 'No Entry' and tilted his head. Usually, if there was a door that said 'No Entry', it would have something like 'Employees Only' written underneath but there was nothing on this door but those two words.

And what was more peculiar was that the lock was still in the knob, no doubt that whoever left this office forgot to take the key with them.

Maybe that was where the staff did illegal behavior. David looked around and found no signs of anyone looking in his direction and the cameras were pointed away from the red door so he unlocked the door and went inside. He found himself heading down a set of stairs that led to an office with a bookshelf full of nonfiction books on the shelf. There was a desk cluttered with papers and a computer that was still running. David grabbed a piece of paper and read it over. It was dated today.

'Day 1825

-Today marks the fifth anniversary since I had the subject in the bunker. I don't know how but the subject seems to not have gone insane or crazy. I admire the young subject's determination but I'm curious about how long until she breaks. The other subjects broke within 5 months before I sold them off and they were barely between the ages of 9 and 10.'

He picked up another paper.

'I've been offered $25,000 for my little Asian subject. 25 grand is a lot of money but I like 'em Asian so sadly, I'm going to have to decline. I can give my clients another subject but it is always the hardest to sell an Asian subject.'

"Is the Natural Museum of History experimenting with animals before they skin them and make skeletons out of them?"

He spotted something on the floor beside him. He saw drag marks leading up to the bookshelf and if what he saw in movies is true... there was a door behind the bookshelf. He dropped the papers before he moved over to the bookshelf and pulled it forward like it was a cart. Behind the bookshelf was another red door with a fingerprint scanner above the knob.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to need this guy's fingerprints." He looked around and tried to look for something on the desk. All he got was a mug but given the smell of coffee, the mug was just recently used. He grabbed a roll of scotch tape and stuck several pieces of tape to the mug. Once he had ten pieces of tape, which he hoped contained a fingerprint, he went over to the scanner. Cautiously, he gently dabbed the scanner with the hem of his shirt to remove any blemishes before he put the tape on the scanner. He chose the ones that had fingerprints picked up and after seven tries, he managed to find a piece of tape that had the correct fingerprint.

The door unlocked and he opened the door.

Inside this 'bunker' as the paper allegedly called this, was a small room with a shower, toilet, and sink in one corner and a bookshelf of food in the opposite corner. There was a table with an empty plate and beside the table was a bed with a girl sleeping in it. The girl looked to be around David's age and had long, silky black hair. She stirred awake as if he could sense his presence, and when she saw him, she broke into sobs. Her eyes sunken into her skull and her facial expression looked to be empty and dazed. She climbed out of bed and ran into David's arms.

"P-please," she sobbed into his chest, "please, help me. Please, get me out of this place. Please, don't leave me!"

David looked down at her before looking at her bed. "What happened to you?"

"Are you real?"

"I'm real," David assured her. "If I wasn't real, could I do this?" He made her head tilt up so he could see her face. He took his thumb and wiped a tear away. "If I was imaginary, could I do that?"

This made her sob even more and she tightened her hugging grip around him.

"Oh, you were the subject that the paper was talking about," David realized, "you weren't an animal captive, but a human captive. The guy was a human trafficker... but for some reason, you weren't sold. He did say he liked Asian subjects but he sold Asian subjects before."

"Don't cry," the girl told herself, "j-just laugh."

David looked down at her. "What?"

"J-just..." She couldn't hold her emotions anymore and promptly broke down.

David lowered his body to a kneeling position with the girl still clinging to him. "What's your name?"

"C-Cindy..."

"Cindy... that's a pretty name. I'm David."

He wrapped his arms around her and gave her the first hug she must've received in five years. "It's okay," he assured her, "I'm here for you, Cindy."

Present

"And I still am, Cindy," Spidey assures her. "I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to kill you just because you know my identity." He hugs her, the embrace is identical to the one he first gave her when he freed her from the bunker. "It may not have been on purpose but I saved your life. You are the first person I have ever saved before."

"Why did you have to be a sadistic killer?" Cindy questions, settling into his embrace. "Why?"

"I just am."

"You're a psychopath."

"Yes, I am. Spidey looks at her. "Let me ask you something: do you think I'm sadistic because I'm a psychopath?"

She nods.

"Wrong. I'm not sadistic because I'm a psychopath... I'm a psychopath who just happens to be sadistic. I'm high-functioning, which means I can exist in humanity without ever appearing violent. I was raised right by kind parents and that is why I'm able to function properly. If I had been raised by abusive parents, I suspect that I would've been a low-functioning psychopath. But because my parents raised me right, I'm a very light shade of black. And if I was such an evil person, why would I waste my time saving innocent people? My father was killed by a violent criminal and you know what I did? I hunted the man down and I threw him out a window. It wasn't just my father that this killer killed but several police officers and he robbed an innocent woman at gunpoint. I will admit that at my core, I was angry and upset that the man killed by father more than those random people but who wouldn't?"

"Is that why you kill violent criminals?" Cindy asks. "Because your father was killed by a violent criminal?"

"I had that man in my clutches and I let him go; I spared him and it cost my father his life. In my own way, I loved my father so to see that I indirectly killed him put a lump in my chest. I've always believed there were four types of people in this world: The innocent, those in need of saying, the guilty, and the ones who deserve to die. My parents fit the first two categories, as do you."

"But do you have to be so sadistic, David?"

"I'm a sadistic person, plain and simple, nothing more, nothing less. But I promise, I will protect you." Spidey continues to look at her. "But what about you, Cindy, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to snitch on my identity? Are you going to reveal to the world that David Dante is Spider-Man?"

Cindy hesitates. "I-I…"

"There will be consequences. I may be put in the electric chair and my mother will lose another loved one in her life. And not only that but if I'm gone, who is going to look after New York? You? You have spider powers so are you going to use them to save people?"

Cindy closes her eyes. "N-no." Her lips quiver. "I don't know, I -"

"You had five years stolen from you, Cindy. You should spend your time reconnecting with your family. Don't you have a baby brother now?"

Cindy says nothing.

"This superhero life is stressful enough but I know how to navigate. Let me do the superheroing while you spend time with your family." He pats her back. He smells her and moans. "You smell… so… good, Cindy."

"So do you," Cindy manages. She soothes into Spidey's embrace as he strokes her hair with the back of his hand. "David… I don't approve of you killing… but I won't out you. I promise."

Spidey smiles. "Thank you. In exchange, I will make sure you and your family are protected. If there's anything you need, anything at all, call me and I'll be there."

"Please don't kill these men," she begs, "Please, not these men please."

"They were going to do bad things to you." He pauses. "But… for you, I'll make an exception but just this once; I'll spare these criminals."

"You promise?"

Spidey takes off his mask, becoming David once more. Be looks her square in her deep brown eyes with his hazel-brown eyes. "I promise."

David's eyes draw to her lips, her pretty lips that look like they belong to a sex goddess. David licks his lips and leans forward to kiss her and strangely, she is doing the same thing.

Then his spider-sense starts going off.

SHIT! What a cockblocker.

David pulls away and pulls his mask over as a couple comes walking down the alleyway. They stop when they see the bodies and Spider-Man.

"They're alive, in case you're wondering," Spidey assures them.

"Spidey!" the boyfriend exclaimed. "It's him, in the costumed flesh!"

"If you call the police for me, I'll let you take a picture."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, Spider-Man!" the girl exclaims enthusiastically.

Spidey looks at them.

I bet you're a yes machine in bed.

Spidey looks back at Cindy, who is going beet red and cringed. "Sorry," she whispers.

"No need." He gives her one final hug before taking a photo with the couple after they call the police.

The Other Side of Town

Felicia Hardy was done. She was coming back from the store with a pink handbag under her arms, looking like a rich girl just finished shopping. She heads into a fast food restaurant, the bag in hand, into the bathroom, and comes out five minutes later with the bag empty. She tosses it in a trash bin and walks out.

She walks across town, taking careful looks down alleyways to see which ones have vagrants. Her prior experience tells her that vagrants are living in this side of town and there's a very small number of them who are violent. When she comes across an alleyway with several vagrants smoking and playing with knives, she smiles and turns down the alleyway.

She walks halfway down the alleyway when the vagrants finally spot her.

"Hey, hot stuff," the first vagrant catcalls, "what are you doing walking down an alley like this with an ass like yours." He smiles, missing a few teeth. "Don't you know that there are some bad people in these parts of town?"

Felicia stops and faces him. "Why don't you show me how bad you guys are."

"That sounds lovely, toots." Six more vagrants stand behind. "I spotted her first so I get a go at her first."

"I wonder how tight her ass is," a second one hisses, "must be."

"Come find out." She winks at them.

The seven vagrants circle on her and just as they are about to touch her, the overhead balcony breaks away and falls. The vagrants jump out of the way, narrowly avoiding the balcony but the loud crashing sounds echo. The vagrants spot the retreating girl and chase after her.

Felicia sprints for it and when she reaches the end of the alleyway, which is blocked off by a fence, she wall-runs over the fence and frontflips to the ground. The other vagrants climb up the fence but it takes longer for them to get across. She waits five seconds to give them a headstart before running off.

One of the vagrants was left behind when the balcony fell because he hurt his leg. That left only six vagrants chasing after Felicia.

Felicia looks over her shoulder at the pursuing vagrants and winks once more. A steam pipe on the brick wall beside them bursts and hits one of the vagrants in the temple, knocking them out, and leaving five vagrants still chasing her.

She climbs on top of a closed dumpster and leaps for a balcony ladder, parkour style. She pulls herself up and climbs onto the balcony. Two vagrants climb up the ladder but the ladder comes loose and they fall onto trash bins.

Felicia leaps off the balcony and onto a pipe large enough for her to walk across the opposite building. The last three vagrants run into the building and find another way up. She shimmies across the pipe until the pipe starts going up the building. She clings to the pipe and scales upward. Once she reaches the top, she sighs and climbs onto the roof.

"Could've been better but for a first run, not too -"

The door leading to the roof opens up and the three vagrants spot her. They sprint for her.

Felicia winks at the three before taking off. This rooftop is connected to several rooftops so moving across the buildings was easy. As long as Felicia keeps up her speed and remembers to take advantage of her agility, then all will be fine.

"I've always loved a game of cat-and-mouse." She gainer flips off a railing, winking mid-flip at one of the vagrants, and the vagrant climbs over the railing, only for the railing to collapse on him and send him falling down on the ground, dislocating his shoulder upon impact.

Felicia continues to run and she jumps off the edge and onto a lower part of the building with a skylight leading to a room inside. The skylight cracks under her weight but does not shatter. When the vagrant jumps after her, the skylight breaks and he falls into the room below. Felicia manages to somersault out of the way in time with the last vagrant, the one who first catcalled her, and he was keeping up with her.

When Felicia reaches the very end of the rooftop, stopping at the edge, she turns and faces the last vagrant. He wasn't stopping, even when Felicia wasn't moving. Felicia holds her hands out in a surrendering motion and winks at him.

A pigeon flies into the vagrant's face and blocks his vision. He trips on his own feet falls on his side and rolls forward. He is about to go over the edge until he grabs ahold of the ledge and hangs on with both hands, dangling for dear life.

Felicia stands over him and looks down with a smile. How easy it would be to step on his fingers with her heels, but there was no need to. She continues to stare down at him with her smile never leaving her face and she turns and walks away.

"I am going to have so much fun tonight," she whispers to herself. She tugs on her collar and looks beneath her outfit. "Right after I add a few touches to my catsuit."