Chapter 4

Embers

Some of the shelter staff helped Howard find a box to put the pigeon in. They promised that they would find a nice place to bury it where he could go and visit if he wanted. The entire time, Howard could only mutter 'I'm sorry Sandra' through his tears. Part of him wished he could go back to the night before. The beating he took was better than what he was experiencing.

Sam watched Howard from the office up above, where she, Miles and Peter locked themselves in to discuss what no one else can hear.

"Howard will be okay," Peter said, "He just needs time."

"Not to be devil's advocate, but …" Miles rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, it's just a bird, right?"

"Right now, those birds are all Howard has left of his wife, and the Maggia just killed one as a warning."

"The Maggia putting hits out on birds …that's new," Miles lightly joked.

Sam clenched her fist and struck the glass window, cracking it, "I'm gonna kill them."

"No, you're staying here," Peter claimed, "Both of you. I can take care of this."

"Like you took care of Howard last night?" Sam turned to face him, "Like you took care of May?"

Peter looked heartbroken, "That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. Clearly, I know that better than you."

"Hey!" Miles interjected, "We shouldn't be fighting each other."

"You're right," Sam said, "We should be fighting the guys who did this."

"This was a warning," Peter said, "The Maggia keep score. This is them saying that if we mess with them again, there will be consequences."

"So, we do nothing?!"

"YOU do nothing. If they see you go after them again, who's to say they won't attack the Shelter directly? If Spider-Man takes them down, it's just another day in the city," he put a hand on her shoulder, "I promise, I'll take them down. I'll fix everything. You just have to trust me."

She swatted his hand away, "That's a good one."

She went back to looking out the window. Peter knew that it did not matter what he said; Sam would continue to be angry. It would be a waste of time to argue with her.

"I'll be back, soon," Peter said as he made for his dramatic exit through the roof.

Only Miles remained in the room with Sam, looking out over the residents of the shelter.

"It's not your fault," Miles said, "You couldn't have known."

"Oh yeah? If I had just kept my cool, then …" she face palmed, "I'm so stupid. I never wanted Howard to get hurt."

"You were just looking out for him."

"I was looking out for myself," She corrected, "I was getting even, taking out my anger because I could. I was just looking for a good excuse."

It was strange to hear her so aware of her own flaws. Sam was known around the shelter to be angry and unapproachable, but she also showed kindness when you least expected it.

"You're a good person, Sam," Miles said, "My dad used to say something. He used to say "A hero is just a guy who doesn't give up. I didn't always know what that meant, but I do know. It means not giving up on others, on your friends, or on yourself. No one else would have done what you did for Howard. You're not angry, you're passionate. You don't give up on people, even when everyone else has."

"…Bit of a stretch," She rubbed her neck, "But, I guess …I don't care about many people. So, when I do find someone I like, I want to protect them from this stupid city," She glanced back at him, "You think I'm a hero?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'm no Spider-Man. I don't wanna fight crime."

"You sure? What about the other day with that dad and daughter?"

"What about them?"

"Pete told me about it. That dad is a lawyer. Those guys were threatening him to ditch evidence about an illegal transaction in the black market. Thanks to you, he can move forward with the case."

She blinked in disbelief, "He …was able to help someone …because I helped him?"

"Yeah."

"…when you help someone," she muttered, "You help everyone."

"What's that?" Miles asked.

Sam shook her head, "Can you go check on Howard for me? I need some alone time to think."

"Sure," Miles patted her back on his way out, quickly telling her just before he went out the door, "Don't ever give up, Sam."

And she would not plan to.

Sam smiled at Miles down below as he checked on Howard, who cradled the box they used for the makeshift coffin. He must have had at least 50 birds, and he would react the same for every single one of them.

Then she glanced at the photo on the desk of Peter and May. Smiling, she picked it up and focused only on the image of May.

"Maybe you were onto something," Sam said, "Stupid old woman …why did you have to make me care about you? Now I can't stop caring about everyone else …damn you."

This was probably the most open and vulnerable she had ever been with May, and it took putting her six feet under to dig it out.

What a terrible night that was. May got sick, the Shelter was overfilled, Spider-Man had just come back from his fight with Ock while wearing that ridiculous-

-…Armored-

-…Suit.

She glanced at the ventilation duct as the memory came back to her. So much had happened all at once that she had completely forgotten. Sam was originally planning to return the suit to Peter once he got the cure to the doctor, but then May died. Her grief wiped her mind of the suit.

A suit that no one was using.

Sam glanced down at Miles and Howard one last time, knowing what she had to do.

By the time Miles had come back up to check on her, Sam was gone, and the ventilation duct had been torn open with an empty trash bag on the floor.

…

Much of the suit was damaged from the fight with Ock, but she was able to salvage what she needed. Whatever parts she could not make work, she covered with a deep red cloth. The chest area needed to be adjusted, and she was able to fix the mask fairly easily. The rest she just popped right on.

It was night by the time she managed to finish putting the suit together. 'Sam', or whatever she was calling herself in that outfit, perched atop the highest point on the shelters roof. The yellow pieces of her armor glowed in the darkness, still holding a charge from when Peter had used it weeks earlier.

The HUD and the tightness of the suit were easy to adjust to, but it was the built-in web shooters that were trickier. She had no idea how Peter used these or what the proper function was. Sam was just lucky the suit had them pre-installed, with plenty of web fluid in the belt.

It could not be that hard, right?

Sam mimicked the gesture Spider-Man was known for, but nothing happened. She experimented with a few different techniques until she finally got it to fire by pressing the button twice in succession.

A web-line shot out and attached to the building across the street. It was actually rather fascinating how quickly the substance had solidified on impact. Now came the hard part—and arguably the scariest.

She was so high up. If she failed, she would probably be fine, but it would hurt like hell. If Peter could do it, so could she.

With a leap of faith, Sam left the roof and hung onto the web for dear life.

Her body swung down at a low angle, coming too close for comfort to the street as her quickly approached the wall of the building she was swinging from. She practically screamed in terror as she shot another web with her opposite hand to pull her body out of harm's way.

She tumbled onto a car and hit the street before quickly recovering and leaping back upwards. Deciding it was better not to think about it, she shot another web and prayed. This swing was better, but her body was still too close to the street as she started running on it before the angle of the rope pulled her back up.

It took her a few more tries just like that until she eventual swung as a much tighter angle, launching her up several stories.

The fear subsided. She reached the height of her ascent and saw the beauty of the city in front of her. The buildings started to seem more like playground equipment, like she could see all the opportunities around her. Even as her body turned upside down, she was no longer afraid.

Another web fires as she swings with a gleeful cry. The way her body could handle the force of her speed was astounding. Her instincts treated her well as she stuck to the nearest wall and started running across it before leaping into another swing.

No wonder Spider-Man did this every day.

…

Sam knew all the places to look for Leo's gang. Criminals were creatures of habit. No way they would change the locations of their hideouts if they did not have to. She also knew Leo was a proud person; he would not complain to the Dons if he failed badly enough, or felt embarrassed.

It took until coming to the second possible location that she found them. It was an old, run down building with broken windows. No electricity, just candles and a few trash cans with fires burning inside. The place was probably taken off the grid months ago, if not years.

It was dark—too dark to see they have a spider infestation.

She cringed at herself after realizing she made a spider pun in her head; she really was turning into Peter.

Firing a web, she swung down and collided with the wall, scrambling to stick. She had no idea what Peter would do in this situation. Maybe asking him to train her was not such a bad idea, after all.

The young, fiery woman crawled through an open window and onto the ceiling of the fourth floor. A few armed men were patrolling the area, pacing back and forth in their usual patterns. The suit's HUD responded immediately, marking each warm body in red and tracking them through walls and objects should they be obscured.

It even marked who was in who's line of sight and tracked it in real time. Peter knew exactly how to handle a stealth situation with tech like this. She had to admit he was a bit of a genius.

One crook in the corner of the room. No sight lines on him. Everyone was looking away for just a moment, and she could not waste it.

Appearing as a wheel over her wrist was a list of gadgets that only she could see through the high tech lenses. Some of her options were 'Impact Web', 'Web Bomb', and 'Tether'.

Impact Web sounded fun, to her.

Selecting the option, she aimed her wrist at the man and fired. He was swiftly knocked into the wall with the web and silenced. None of his friends could hear his struggles.

"Oh, I like this one," she said to herself.

One by one, she took the criminals off the board, webbing them to the wall or hanging them on the rafters in a cocoon. The thugs steadily became uneasy as their men disappeared before their eyes.

Only one was left standing. He searched around the room with the flashlight on his gun, "Come on out, Spider!" he shouted, assuming it was the usual arachnid foe.

A webline stuck to his foot and brought him up into the ceiling, sticking him there in a blanket of the sticky substance. Sam crawled over to him like a hungry spider, leaning in as to frighten him, "Where is Leonidas?"

"Wha- you're not Spider-Man!"

"Congratulations; you have a basic comprehension of reality! Where is Leo?"

"I ain't telling you sh-"

She grabbed his wrist and quickly squeezed it with only a portion of her strength. The man cried out in pain.

"Try again," she said.

"Alright, alright! He's in the basement!"

"Why have you guys been so active lately? Gangs with contracts for the Maggia aren't supposed to be so broad and active during the day. What's your game?"

"W-we're trying to make some extra cash!"

"For what?!"

"It's Hammerheads orders! He's got big plans for the city and wants everyone armed and ready! We had a seller set up for some kinda super-weapon and needed cash to seal the deal!"

"What's the weapon?"

"Beats me!"

She squeezed harder.

"I swear, I don't know! Agh!"

She released him. Someone with a weak a will as his would have cracked by then.

"You should ice that," she leapt off the ceiling and onto the floor.

"W-wait! Get me out of this!"

"I don't know how that stuff works. It probably wears off …eventually. Try to land on your feet when it does."

She skipped out of the room while the thug cried for help.

Navigating the rest of the building was easy. She kept to the shadows of the ceiling and took out anyone who was in her way. Being able to maneuver at any angle made it nearly impossible to be spotted. By the time she was done, multiple floors were decorated with webbed up bodies.

Finally, she reached the basement. It was damp, cold and empty, with only a few candles set up around the edges. There was no one around, not even any furniture or gear. The entire room was just void of life.

All that she saw was a single knuckleduster sitting in the center of the room. Blood was still stained on its surface from beating Howard with it.

She leapt down and picked up the duster. What was this put here for? A message? To let her know they got away? Were they taunting her?

No. Her new sixth sense told her exactly what it was, and it was too late to do anything.

A cage dropped on top of her, trapping her behind bars from all sides. She let herself be played like an amateur.

"Look at that," A voice said, "I caught a spider with a cup. Do it let it out, or squash it?"

Leo stepped out from the shadows, slow clapping as he approached the cage with such confidence. Sam kept her guard up and her shoulders tensed. Her sense had not stopped ringing just yet.

"So, the rumors are true," Said Leo, "There's another spider swinging around. What are you? His girlfriend? Sister? Daughter? Nah, you're too old to be his kid. He was, like, 12 when he started wasn't he?"

Sam said nothing.

"I'm real sorry about your friend; the pigeon guy. The first time, he really was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not that anyone would believe a bum like him, but we had to make sure he would stay quiet. A bloody homeless guy surprisingly attracts less attention than a dead one."

Still, she remained silent, staring him down with cold eyes behind her mask.

"The second time, though," Leo said, "That was because of you. You went after my boys at the bar. That ain't okay. We had to send a message to let you know that the next time you throw rocks at us, we're gonna throw boulders right back. Of course, you didn't seem ta' get the memo."

Silence.

"So, I'm gonna make this clear, only once more," He stepped closer to the bars, "Back off, little spider. Otherwise, I'm gonna take my boys down to that little shelter you seem fond of, and I'm gonna burn it to the ground."

No response.

"Got nothing to say, girlie? That mean you know your place?"

Sam leaned forward slowly, grabbing two of the bars with her hands as she refused to break eye contact with him.

The bars carefully bent to the sides at her whim, opening a space for her as he stepped through casually. Leo tried to keep his cool as he stepped away from her.

"The human body contains 206 bones," She said, "You'll be lucky to have that many when I'm done with you."

Leo laughed nervously, "Not very neighborly of you …"

"Oh, the whole 'friendly neighbor' thing is the other guy's shtick," She cracked her knuckles, "Me, though …I'm more like the neighbor your friends warn you not to talk to, the one your kids make up spooky stories about, the one that uses a real skeleton for a Halloween decoration," She cracked her neck, "Can I borrow yours?"

Leo nearly fell back as he scrambled to take a remote out of his pocket, "You have no idea what you're up against."

"Bet."

Leo restored his confidence when he pushed the button.

The wall behind him came down. Dust flew everywhere. Once it settled, a large shadow emerged from the rubble with a bright light behind it.

A sizable robotic Mech stood at least 12 feet tall behind Leo. Its complex circuitry was exposed, still missing its armored covering. An S symbol could be made out in the metal across its chest. Its glowing red eyes stared mindlessly at Sam, whose senses still refused to stop ringing.

"With Sable moving out of town," Leo shouted proudly, "A lot of her tech is up for grabs! She has half a dozen of these prototype robot things just lying around, and we got first dibs from our buyer! All we had to do was force a lawyer to hide evidence of the transaction, until YOU got in the way!"

"No wonder you've been so energetic, lately," Sam deduced, "You were saving up for new toys to play with! Lucky for me, I broke every toy my pops ever gave me!"

"Well, this toy," he clicked the button again, "Is gonna break you!"

The Mech locked its sights on Sam as Leo moved out of the way.

Bullets fired from its left arm. She was just able to avoid the gunfire with exaggerated acrobatics. The Mech carried the stream of bullets toward her as she leapt around the room, trusting her instincts to keep her safe.

Only when it had to reload its ammo could she swing down and attack it head on, striking at the joints and ripping out as many wires as she could.

It recovered fast and grabbed her from behind before tossing her away. She used her adhesive ability to stop just before hitting the wall. Her HUD was keeping track of how much damage she had been inflicted with, monitoring her heart rate and other bio-metrics.

The Mech charged her directly, swinging its arms in an attempt to smack her down. Sam webbed its arms to the ground as she dodged it and leapt up for an uppercut to the head. One of its eyes had been blown out by her strike.

It pulled its arm out and smakced her against the wall before pinning her with its other hand and arming the mini-gun in its right wrist.

"Terminating," The Mech stated.

Her senses were going crazy. So many colors and sounds rushing her head was making her dizzy. The Health Bar on her HUD was drastically declining as she felt herself starting to pass out from the Mechs pressure on her body.

Suddenly, a bar in the corner of her lenses HUD was filled and prompted her saying 'One Dose Available.' The instruction said to tap her belt three times.

At that point, what did she have to lose?

She obeyed the instructions, and the bar on her screen emptied into her HP. She felt something stab into her body and a substance pump into her veins. Suddenly, she went from feeling weak and exhausted to overwhelmed with energy and rage.

The screen confirmed, 'Adrenaline Pump Successful.'

She grabbed the Mech's arm in an attempt to tear it off. Her fury bubbled within her as she let out a war cry.

The palms of her hands felt hot, boiling in fact. Her skin began to glow underneath the suit and even melt right through it. The Mechs arm started to heat up and mold to the shape of her grip. Metal and wires broke apart and turned to molten liquid as she ripped the appendage right off the robot's body.

"Error," The Mech said, "Internal Temperature Rising."

She let out another war cry as she came swinging at the Mech with the detached metal arm, finally doing real damage. The robot fell onto its back as Sam continued to beat it with the arm until it had completely broken apart, then resorting to striking it with her bare, scorching fists.

Every strike left its mark on the bot. Even after it had finally powered down, unable to keep its functions operational, she continued to beat down on it.

It was no longer about taking down an enemy, it was about venting her frustrations. Frustrations about Howard and how he got hurt because of her. Frustrations about F.E.A.S.T. and the bad reputation it has built after Martin Li ruined it. Frustrations about how Peter refused to save his aunt for a bunch of strangers. Frustrations over running into Leo again after all these years. Frustrations about-

No. That's the one thing she won't let herself think about.

She finally stopped the beat down and stood atop the broken Mech as it started catching fire. Her every breath ran hot, yet, she could barely feel it. For the first time in months, actually, she felt better than good. She felt light; at peace, if only momentarily.

Her hands still emitted heat from them. Once the adrenaline started to wear off, they began shaking as the pain settled in.

Leo was long gone, from what she could tell, and the police would notice the commotion before long.

…

She retreated to a nearby rooftop as the cops pulled in to secure the scene. They all assumed Spider-Man had been there from the webbing that trapped their suspects. They could not identify where the Mech came from, not because of its unique design, but because of how little there was left of it.

Another body arrived on the roof, remaining cautious as he took everything in.

"I sensed you a block away," Sam said.

Spider-Man approached her slowly from behind, "…Sam?"

"You love the name game," Sam said as she took off her mask and set it down beside her.

"I was wondering where that suit went," Peter said as he took off his own mask.

"I was gonna give it back to you sooner, but …a lot happened."

Peter leaned on the edge next to her, looking down at the police as they tossed a few thugs into the back of their van.

"You went after them alone, huh?" he asked.

"I thought I could take care of it, but the head guy got away."

"I know you're angry about Howard, but why are you so focused on this group?"

There was little point keeping it from him; she just hated to relive the past. It was all so long ago, and she would rather just forget it and keep to herself. These last few days, the memory just will not stop returning to her, haunting her.

"I used to work for him," Sam admitted.

"Wait …you worked for the Maggia?" Peter questioned.

"Don't act surprised; I was mugging someone when we met. Of course, I had long since left that behind by then. Not the mugging part, the Maggia part."

"People don't just leave the Maggia."

"Never said they just let me go. As far as they know, I'm dead."

Peter shook his head in disbelief, "So …you worked for the Maggia, and for this …Leo guy."

"Leonidas. He works under …with Hammerhead. I did small jobs for Leo when I was younger. Basic stuff; pick picketing, eavesdropping, evidence planting. When I chose to leave, I had to make them think I was dead or they'd never stop following me."

"How did you manage that?"

"That's my secret," she grinned with a finger to her lips.

It was not surprising that Sam had a criminal background, but Peter had never expected it to be tied to the Maggia of all things. They were organized and dangerous, having connections in almost if not every sector of the criminal underworld. Kingpin may have handled things on the surface, but the Maggia controlled the things underneath.

"Leo has these Mech things," She said, "Got them from Sable before she split town. He said if I didn't back off, he'd use them on the Shelter."

"Does he know who you are?"

"No, just that I have a fondness for the people in that place, and now he wants to use it against me."

"You should have let me handle this."

"I…" she glanced away, "I couldn't."

He could have argued with her, but in a way, he understood exactly what she meant, "I think I get it."

"Oh, do you?" she mocked.

"My uncle used to say something," He puffed his chest out proudly, "He used to say that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. We have a gift, and it's our moral obligation to use that talent to help others. If we can do something to help, we should, because who else will? I know you have that spark; that desire to help others, or you wouldn't be here right now."

Halfway through his big speech, she just stared daggers his way. Peter almost felt his spider-sense go off seeing the look on her face. It was not the reaction he was expecting from her. Usually, people looked inspired when he said that; Sam just looked offended.

"Is-is that why you do all this?" She asked, "Guilt?"

"Excuse me?" His voice cracked.

"'Moral obligation'? What, just because I can punch really hard that means I HAVE to be a superhero?"

"Not specifically, no-"

"So, because I have powers, that means the only thing I can ever use them for is serving other people's needs. That's it? I'm just obligated to slave away at their beck and call no matter how badly I'm treated because it's my 'responsibility,'" she air quoted, "What about me? What about my needs?"

"It's not always about us. It's about the good of the city."

"What has the city ever done for me?!"

"What about the Shelter?!"

"The one that the Mayor is trying to close down to save face?! That one?! I don't have a 'gift', because that implies that I have to give it away to the first person who asks for it. These are MY powers! I'll decided what I'm going to do with them and why! I'm not gonna spend every ounce of my being and die for people who won't even say thank you! That's exactly what got May killed!"

Peter's heart shattered hearing that, robbing him of all the words he could have said.

"If she had just …" Sam cried, "If she had just been a little selfish …why did SHE have to die for all these other assholes?! Huh?!"

Sam hopped onto the edge of the building, pointing aggressively back at Peter.

"If I help people," She said, "It's because I want to help them! Not because I think that's what I'm SUPPOSED to do; like I have no choice in the matter! I'm not motivated by guilt, like you! I'm motivated by the people I care about and wanting to protect them! Most of all, I'm motivated by pure, unadulterated SPITE!"

Her hands began to glow again from intense heat.

"Just to spite you and your stupid code, I'll make this city better! Not because someone told me I have to, but because I'm sick of looking at its filth! I'm sick of waiting for someone else to try and clean it! I'm gonna mold it into something better with my bare hands! And I'll protect the Shelter from Leo and his minions! 'Great Responsibility' my ass! I don't have much, but what I do have is MINE! And I'll keep it safe!"

"…I can help."

"Don't need it, webs," She put her mask back over her head, "Anyone comes for them …I'll make them burn."

Sam held out her hands in a T-pose as she let her body fall back and off the roof before swinging away.