Author's note: This story chiefly came about in my frustration over Elena constantly being cast as a '50s-era damsel-in-distress when she was a human, whose hobbies often devolved into dying for her boyfriend. (Why did she try to run into the tomb with Stefan and Katherine? That wasn't brave. It was idiotic, and honestly, vaguely misogynistic writing. Why did she try to run into the house filled with tomb vamps, after it had been made expressly clear to her that she would likely get them all killed if she did? Elena's a clever girl. It would have been much better writing if she helped with strategy, and employed her brain, rather her lack-of-brawn.) So, I thought it would be fitting that Elena, frustrated with how helpless she was as a constantly-kidnapped human, tried on her hero hat and found that it fit pretty well. In giving up the cure and coming to terms with becoming a vampire, Elena finds an unexpectedly pleasant consequence that resonates with her natural empathy.
And so, Spider-Elena is the result of that venture :D
April update to author's note: this story is now the sequel to Chaotic Good. It actually works out really well. :D
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. Title credits go to Spiderman!
"With great power, comes great responsibility." – Uncle Ben, or Aunt May, depending on your preferred medium for Spiderman.
An eerie silence stretched through the walls that coated the darkened hospital room. In it, lay Everett Moss, a doctor in a former life, before his arthritis made it too difficult to care for himself enough drive his car to his office, let alone make it through the day. Forced into a sluggish gait thanks to his condition, Everett had no chance to dive away from the hit-and-run driver on his way to pick up some milk.
He was rushed to the hospital almost immediately, when a good Samaritan made haste to call an ambulance, though the prognosis was grim. So severe were his injuries, that he was hardly expected to make it through the night.
His children had both moved out of Virginia some years ago, and his wife had long passed. No family would likely make it to his side by morning to say goodbye, and he fully expected this night to be his last.
Everett raised a wizened eyebrow in the dark, then, when a silhouette gracefully walked into the room.
A young woman sat by his side, her doe-brown eyes wide, brimming with compassion.
"Are you an angel?" he croaked, suddenly suspicious that he had been given more than morphine to ease his way out of his corporeal form.
She laughed, a melodic sound that soothed his old heart, though it appeared that she found some irony in his joke. At least he wouldn't have to die alone.
"No, but I'm here to help. I brought you some medicine." She extended a small plastic cup with filled with a deep, red liquid. It had a vaguely metallic smell, Everett realized, though it was unlike any blood he'd ever seen.
Seeing that he was apprehensive, the young woman gently urged. "It's a new plasma treatment offered by the hospital, but it's meant to be ingested."
"It's too late for me, young lady. I don't think I'll even see sunrise."
"You will," she soothed. "Just take the medicine, and you'll see your children again, Mr. Moss. Please?"
Feeling as though he had little to lose, Everett's shaking hands took the liquid. The woman noticed his dilemma, and guided it to his parched lips, urging him to swallow.
His strenth returning, he shot her a quizzical look. "New treatment you say?"
She smiled genuinely; her whole face swept with delight. "You'll be good as new! I promise."
Before he could reply, she moved closer to his line of sight, where he saw her pupils dilate and contract.
"You never saw anyone come in this night. You were given a plasma treatment, and you began to feel better. You will not remember this conversation."
In a blur, the lady left the room, and Everett sighed in contentment, anticipating the good news he would be able to give his children in only a matter of hours.
Whitmore Medical Center had seen its fair share of medical miracles, chiefly due to its association with a university boasting one of the top medical programs in the world. The secret to its success happened to be a lot more sinister than old-fashioned gumption, competitive acceptance rates for its medical students, or human ingenuity.
No, the vast majority of its patients or hospital staff hadn't the slightest inkling that the advancements came courtesy of a secret society that got its cutting-edge knowledge by literally cutting into vampires for experimental purposes. As far the community at Whitmore was concerned, the Augustine Society didn't exist.
The latest bout of miracles in the hospital, however, baffled even them. For the last week, patients that were admitted with severe injuries found themselves healed overnight. The doctors claimed that the plasma given to them by a reclusive donor society had been responsible, but even they knew better.
No one at the medical center knew the source of the sudden upswing in healing success, though there were certainly those that took an enormous interest, their suspicions piqued.
The cameras showed nothing out of the ordinary, except occasional static.
On campus, students reported seeing a blur whisking away violent attackers, only to have them return discombobulated and well on their merry way from their intended victims. While the campus newspaper was quick to blame the phenomenon on rampant drug use combined with the romance of a folk hero, the student body was more than happy to believe that something far more supernatural was at play.
Suddenly, everyone was talking about this mysterious entity, even though it appeared only days ago. A few would-be student reporters tried to catch it, creating a fake mugging to then film and upload, but the blur never appeared, and their hopes were dashed.
Nevertheless, Whitmore University was rife with rumor and few entities had the tenacity and explosive force of a rumor trying to be hushed.
Feeling gleefully exhilarated from her latest rescue, Elena practically flew to her dormitory room. For the first time in years, she felt happy, whole, filled with utter bliss.
She felt as though her life had purpose.
Although she was ecstatic about finally being able to admit her true feelings to the love of her life, no longer hiding behind survivor's guilt, afraid of the sheer force of her love consuming her, other aspects of her life had been unfulfilling – until this week.
Turning into a vampire had not been her decision. Even though she made the choice to complete the transition, she was thrust into this world involuntarily when Rebekah's actions forced her and Matt off Wickery Bridge, on the night she drowned.
Since then, in the tumult of emotions that followed, she often felt lost. Over the summer, between bouts of laughter and ecstasy with Damon, there was a feeling of foreboding that she wasn't quite able to shake.
She attributed it partly to guilt over breaking up with Stefan, who still refused to return her calls, despite how worried she was becoming. An increasing part of her worried about Bonnie, as well, whose summer escapades seemed to have stretched into the semester. The fact that one of her oldest friends was only wiling to speak to and through Jeremy was disconcerting to say the least. As a result, she and Caroline had made a pact. While Caroline would do her best to track down Bonnie's mother, with whom Bonnie claimed to be spending all this time that prevented her from picking up the phone even once, Elena would confront her brother and give him a proper, sisterly shakedown. Something about this entire situation seemed downright eerie, though Elena could not quite figure out why.
She tried speaking to Damon about it a few times, but he seemed concerned that she was returning to her old, human habits of emotional self-flagellation – and he was right to be, she admitted grudgingly.
After the fateful May night that resulted in her parents' car accident, Elena spent the remainder of her human life operating on a giant subconscious death wish. At times, her willingness to sacrifice her life was heroic, such as she gave herself up to Klaus to save those she loved. At others, it bordered on suicidal, such as when she tried to run into the tomb that trapped Stefan and Katherine. Nothing good could have come from her entering. Katherine could have simply killed her immediately, and Stefan would have been no freer.
So, even in her stubbornness, she had to concede his point. After all, she knew, all he wanted was for her to be happy. He had made that clear time and time again, even when she was entirely too stubborn to accept it.
Ultimately, she managed to convince him that they need to look, and he agreed to do what he could to get in touch with Stefan, putting out some feelers through his contacts in the supernatural world.
Elena was so lost in her thoughts that she felt herself running a strong-as-iron body shaped like a slim young woman.
"Care!"
"Oh, wow, Elena! What's gotten into you? You're glowing!"
"Oh, just college life! I'm really enjoying my bio class. I think I might follow in my dad's footsteps and become a doctor," Elena gushed somewhat guiltily, fully aware that her classes were not entirely the cause for the newfound bounce in her step.
"That's great!"
"Yeah, I just…I realized that I have this enormous passion for healing and –"
"Oh, listen I have to run. I'm running late, but I definitely want to hear about it when I get back, okay?" Caroline had that determined gleam in her eye.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll tell you when I come back! Good luck on your quiz tomorrow!"
"Okay, see you in a few days!"
Elena took out her phone, seeing two missed calls from Damon. Aside from her latest ventures, he was the other reason Elena had been so happy as of late. Finally allowing herself to feel, to be enveloped in this love that consumes her with the person that prioritizes her happiness most, Elena never felt more alive.
And now with her fledgling foray into heroism, a lot of the guilt she felt in allowing herself to be so happy after hurting Stefan fell by the wayside.
She was saving people. She was dating the love of her life. Elena felt happy and whole and complete.
She raised the phone to eye level, about to call him back, when her finger nervously hovered over his name. She knew she had to tell him, and Damon – being an older and more experienced vampire – would likely disagree with her unconventional methods.
Keeping secrets and poor communicaton the biggest reasons her relationship with Stefan failed, she reasoned, and she was unwilling to make that mistake with Damon. She had to tell him.
However, she realized, this was certainly not a phone conversation, so she had at least until tomorrow afternoon to prepare for her big reveal. Perhaps if she timed it well, when he was at the height of bliss, he would be too preoccupied to care about her choice of hobby. Realistically, she knew that there was nothing that could distract him from that kind of bombshell. But she could at least soften the blow.
Resolved, with an enormous amount of relief, that nothing had to be discussed tonight, she made the call.
"Supernatural Missing Persons Detective Agency!" he cheerfully greeted, the smile clearly audible in his voice.
"Damon!" Elena laughed, her already cheerful mood visibly brighter. It was only Wednesday night, she internally reasoned, and confessing her somewhat unconventional activities was definitely not a phone conversation. No, she had until the weekend to do that – or at least until tomorrow late afternoon, when she estimated she would touch down in Mystic Falls, mentally congratulating herself for creating a schedule without any Friday classes.
For now, she could just enjoy talking to her boyfriend on the phone without the need for any serious disclosures of the vampiric kind. That could wait until later.
Yeah, later was good, she soothed herself, and put away the dread of the impending discussion.
"What's that background noise?" Elena inquired.
"Oh, just taking in the Virginia September air, with its many delights – loud students, stifling humidity, no real progress in finding my brother."
"Is there anything I can do to make your day better?"
"I can think of a few things," Damon slyly replied.
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
Suddenly, the door to her room swung open – Caroline had evidently forgotten to lock up in her haste.
In walked the man with the most stunning blue eyes she had ever seen, a smile on his face radiating pure joy. A small part of her felt a an enormous sense of pride that he insisted that she had been the reason for his dramatic upswing in happiness. With equal measure pang and delight, Elena realized, not for the first time since the spring, that she had never been more in love.
"You can start with a kiss from my beautiful girlfriend."
Ecstatic to see Damon sooner than expected, Elena gleefully jumped into his arms, meeting his lips with a passionate kiss. Damon idly kicked the door closed, and as their exchange became increasingly heated, Elena hushed the voice inside that told her that 'later' had come sooner than expected for her confession about her supernatural adventures.
I always thought that Elena had quite a bit in common with Peter Parker - they're both raised by their aunt and uncle, they both lost a lot of people they love, and they both try their best to be heroic, never losing their profound sense of empathy. Also, Elena can be pretty witty (and smart) when written properly! To me, Spiderman was always her MCU equivalent.
Big thanks to Taaroko for being a super-awesome TVD fandom friend for providing delightful, idea-generating conversation, and beta-reading this chapter! (Go read her stories, everyone!)
The very talented scarlett2112 began a new adventure story (one of my favorite genres!) called Fortune & Glory. It's absolutely fantastic and everyone should check it out!
I am still absolutely writing Chaotic Good and expect an update to be out soon. My brain doesn't like writing scenes in order. I have most of the final two memories written, as well as their confrontation, but not the next memory. I suppose I might actually have to rewatch the episode where it takes place in canon for that. :D
Reviews are gestures of love and are greatly appreciated!