Chapter 2

Flicker

When was the last time she could say she had fun?

No other words could describe the feeling of leaping across rooftops with the ease of a bird. Sam stumbled with each landing but kept going as she reached even greater heights. This should have scared her, yet she was laughing. She laughed at all the tiny people below who wished they could do what she was doing.

At one point, she tripped and began plummeting back down toward the Earth, only to quickly stick to the nearest wall and skid to a stop. Her fingers burned and cut, but the pain was not as bad as she expected. Hitting the wall like she had should have broken something, yet she was fine. It was like her skin itself had become tougher.

So many thoughts ran through her head. What did this mean? She was not stupid; these new abilities were uncomfortably familiar to the city's web-headed hero. Sticking to walls was practically his trademark, and Sam was infringing on the copyright.

There was only one explanation that made sense; the spider bite.

It cannot be a coincidence that a spider bites her while Spider-Man was visiting F.E.A.S.T. Did Peter have something to do with her transformation? And why? What would he gain from giving her powers, unless it was an accident. Did he just have super spiders hiding in his utility belt? Is that how Peter got his powers? Was he bitten too, like her?

Like them?

"Miles," she said aloud, pulling out her phone while she crouched on the surface of the wall.

He was bitten, too, just seconds before she was. Sam was so distracted with everything that she completely forgot how Miles complained about being bit. What if he was experiencing the same symptoms as her?

No answer. It rang for a few seconds and went right to voicemail.

"Damn it, kid," she groaned.

She tried for Peter. Still no answer. Where the hell were they?

There was at least one place she knew they could be.

…

F.E.A.S.T. looked worse for wear. A few broken windows, graffiti and hateful messages against Martin Li—AKA – Mr. Negative. A few expressed "Justice for City Hall" and "Down with the Demon". Even though it was supposed to be a welcoming place, no one felt comfortable enough to stay there anymore. The actions of the former owner were just too damaging for its reputation.

She had to focus herself as she passed the shrine made in May's memory, placed just at the top of the steps.

When Sam found her way inside, there was not even a receptionist anymore. Most of the staff had quit after the Devils Breath pandemic, wanting to distance themselves from the very mention of Martin Li. A majority of the residents were cleared out, too, preferring to take their chances on the streets. It was sad to see the place in such disarray.

Of all the people who stuck around, she hated how Ernie seemed to be one of them. There he was messing with the TV again. It was a good television for its age, but he was always smacking it into submission. No wonder the cables always came undone.

"Oi!" Sam shouted, and Ernie winced from the trauma of her voice.

"I didn't do nothing!" Ernie pleaded, "Don't hit me!"

"Where's Parker and Morales?" She interrogated, "I need to talk to them."

"How the hell should I know?"

She grabbed him by the shirt, "Ernie, I don't have time for this!"

Ernie coward and shielded his face from her. He had no answers to offer, only incoherent mumbling.

"If you're looking for Peter," Another voice chimed in, "I think I know where he is."

The voice was deep, kind and relaxed, coming from a middle-aged man in rags and a bird cuddled in his arms. He looked like he had not bathed in weeks, maybe longer, and he reeked of bird feces.

"Howard!" Sam greeted, practically throwing Ernie to the side, "How's Pigey?"

"Better, since Spider-Man brought him home to me," Howard smiled, "You said you were looking for Peter? I heard he was helping that boy, Miles, with moving into his family's new apartment in Harlem."

"Where in Harlem?"

Howard shrugged, "Not sure, but his mom stopped by the other day; said something about having a new place close to that Roxxon construction site."

"Oh!" She realized, "That's on the same street as Teo's Bodega!"

"Aw, I love Teo's! He always has bird food ready for my pigeons when I stop by! Although, his cat seems to have a feud with one of Pigeys brothers."

"I'll be sure to tell him you say hi," she patted his shoulder, "Thanks."

"Anytime, sweetheart," Howard warmly said.

The only other person in recent time to call her that was May. It brought back the last memory she made with her, just enough to make her eyes gloss over. She was better than that, though, and fought through it as she pushed past Howard and toward the door.

…

Harlem. Sometimes considered a popular district for the poor and less fortunate. For her, it was a place of great culture and community. The people there were seen as less than everyone else, so the district was often ignored when they asked for help. At least housing was somewhat affordable. With Miles's father gone, perhaps they couldn't keep their old place.

Sam made it to the street leading toward the Roxxon construction site. Getting there was both easier and trickier than usual. She wanted to take the train, but the noises and lights of the subway station were too much for her now enhanced senses. Getting high above the city and traversing the rooftops was her best bet to avoid traffic.

Instead of trying to find Peter directly, she looked around for a set of moving trucks that would give them away. She never would have found them at ground level, but she spotted the truck easily from up high on a fire escape.

Just like Howard said; Peter was down below lifting boxes and furniture into the apartment building with Miles's help, while his mother spoke with the moving truck driver. The poor woman looked exhausted. She probably didn't have the luxury of resting and mourning when she had a son to take care of.

Carefully she slid down the fire escape and onto the sidewalk, trying to remain unnoticed by a passing police patrol car. There was no reason to worry about being arrested, for once, but habit always got the better of her.

Sam reached her hand up to call out for Peter, but her voice never escaped her lips.

That ringing came back and silenced the world around her. It wasn't as painful that time, but it was certainly louder. The sound of cars rolling and voices chatting were muted, all but a select few.

"You got the goods?" One voice echoed.

It was not what was being said that bothered her so much, but rather who was speaking. She had not heard that voice in a long time.

She tried to ignore it and press forward, but the voice echoed again in her ears.

"The Boss ain't got time for this. Do ya got the goods or not?"

"Please!" Another voice said, "She's just a little girl!"

That was enough to finally make her head turn.

Sam made her way back to the rooftops, following her new senses to the source. Determination washed over her. It was the same feeling when she helped that old man, like something was taking over.

She found a group of thugs down below in the crossroads of the four-way alley, just a few blocks down from Teo's. A vehicle was parked to the side, still running. The goons were well-dressed with collared shirts, clean dress-pants and suspenders. Most of them had their hair slicked back or cut short.

It was a very distinct look from the other criminals of the city. To them, it was not crime, it was a profession.

Another, more casual looking man was on his knees before them, begging as though God himself was listening, "Please!" He asked, "I got what you wanted! Let her go!"

The leading thug snapped his fingers and his henchmen dragged a little girl out of the running car. She had been stuffed into the trunk, a gag in her mouth and her hands bound with tape. The girl was no older than 6, maybe 7. She tried running to her father only to be held back by the goons.

"Where is it?" The leading thug asked.

The man handed him what looked like a folder. Sam could not tell for sure from where she was, so she carefully scaled down the wall and hid behind a corner.

It was the leading man that Sam recognized; short sleeved collar shirt, gold laced suspenders and a blonde army-cut with a goatee. She had seen that face many times, and hoped to never see it again.

"Leo," She whispered to herself.

"Hey!" A thug shouted as he spotted Sam peaking just too far out of hiding, "We got a witness!"

Leo groaned, "Did you set us up?!" He asked the man.

"N-No!" he pleaded, "I swear!"

Again, Sam's new senses overtake her as instinct overrides her motor control. She saw Leo take out a gun from his pants and aim it at the innocent man. Sam took only a moment to rush across the alley, flip over Leo, grab his gun and kick him away with the force of a small bull. Leo hit the hood of the car, denting it as he fell to the ground in a daze.

The thugs had released the little girl in the confusion, who ran immediately to her father.

"Beat it!" Sam shouted as she pulled her face mask up, "Now!"

The world went black and white in Sam's eyes. All the colors became muted, all except for the thugs. There was an aura around their bodies, ranging from yellow to red. The front-most thug was the deepest shade of red with an intense aura. Somehow, she knew he would fire first.

She ducked her head just before he pulled the trigger and the bullet missed. Another bullet fires, just grazing her jacket as she moved in for the blow, striking the man with an uppercut to the stomach. He went up a good six feet before gravity reclaimed him.

Three more thugs turn red. It felt like heat building up behind her. Her eyes were her least useful weapons in this fight. As they fired their guns, she leapt off the nearby wall and back flipped over them and to the other side of the parked car. She landed her feet on the side of the vehicle and pushed off it, sending it sliding into the armed men and knocking them down.

She stuck her landing on the wall behind her, unintentionally striking an iconic Spider-Man pose.

"Crap!" A thug shouted, "She's sticking to the wall! She's a spider, too!"

"There's more of them?!" Leo questioned, "Get the heavy weapons!"

The nearest thug to the car ran to the back seat and pulled out a large, fully armed rocket launcher and slugged it over his shoulder.

"You just HAD that on you?!" Sam questioned.

The answer she got was an immediate pull of the trigger as the explosive projectile came her way. She listened to her new senses and jumped upward to avoid it, but the force of the blast knocked her much higher than she expected, nearly throwing her onto the roof.

"After her!" Leo ordered.

They loaded another shot into the launcher and aimed it high toward Sam, who scurried away on the rooftops. She felt the explosion behind her as she just barely outran it.

When she got to the other side of the roof, she realized there was no other buildings close by to jump to. The only one she could see was across the street, and she did not know if she could make that jump, even with her new abilities.

Of course, the sound of a rocket coming at her was motivation enough.

Sam barely managed to get her foot off the roof before the explosion hit and sent her flying into the air. She was too dazed to try and recover from it, and found nothing she could grab onto as she descended toward the street.

Then, another familiar sound as something sticky and compact attached to her back and swung her back around. A hand wrapped around her waist and held her close to the hip as they swung upwards.

"Rough flight?" Spider-Man greeted her with his usual quips, "It's gonna be okay!"

Both their sixth senses warned them of another rocket coming their way. Spider-Man quickly tossed Sam to the nearest fire escape before webbing up the rocket and flinging it back toward the thugs.

Leo crammed his men into the black car and started driving off with Spider-Man in tow. One thug stuck his head out the car roof with the rocket launcher and fired without aiming. It passed by Spider-Man, headed straight for Sam as she clung to the fire escape.

Sam let herself drop to avoid the explosion, tumbling down the wall before she was finally able to stick to it by her fingers. Her heart was beating so fast. Everything escalated so suddenly and she could not fully comprehend it.

"How are you doing that?"

Sam heard a thud as Spider-Man stuck to the wall and stared at her. Her mask had come undone in the scuffle, and he could see her familiar face perfectly.

"Sam?"

Sam scoffed, "Still playing the name game, ey Parker?"

Spider-Mans eyes widened. Sam's body resigned to the wall.

"We should talk," she said.

…

The sun began to set and turned the sky yellow. Sam kicked her knee up and down as she sat on the edge of the roof with Spider-Man—unmasked—as he paced back and forth.

"Your poor feet," She commented.

"How- how did this happen?" Peter asked, "When did you- how long?"

"I really am going to need you to specify a bit."

"When did you get powers?"

She shrugged, "The night you fought Doc Ock. A freaky spider bit the back of my neck."

"That night? You got bit too?"

"Too?" She slapped her knee upon realizing, "Aha! Morales DOES have powers! He said he got bit and I just kinda brushed it off like a bitch but AHA!" she pointed aggressively at Peter.

"Yeah, I just talked to him," Peter admitted, "He wanted to ask me something, and then he just …stuck to the ceiling."

"So, he knows your Spider-Man, too?"

"Yeah—speaking of," He crossed his arms at her, "When did you figure it out?"

Sam paused to recall the memory, rubbing the back of her neck where she could still feel the bite mark, "I saw you …with May."

Peter groaned, feeling stupid that he did not check to make sure the door was closed before unmasking. There was just so much going on that night, for both of them. "Why didn't you say anything, sooner?"

"About which part? The powers or your baby-faced mug?"

"Both."

"I only started …showing 'symptoms' today," Sam specified, "I came to Harlem hoping to ask you about it. And I didn't tell you I knew because …it wasn't my secret. May was willing to die with it, so, I don't know …maybe it was a respect thing."

Peter had been trying not to think of May, lately. He had so many responsibilities - as both Peter and Spider-Man - and could not let those memories drag him down.

"So, about that spider," Sam asked, "Where did it come from?"

Peter shook his head, "I don't know, yet. Miles only just told me about his own powers an hour ago. Now there's you. I haven't had time to piece it together, yet."

"Well, how did you get YOUR powers?"

"Basically, the same way."

"From?"

Peter rubbed his chin, "We were doing a tour of an Oscorp lab, where they were experimenting with spider DNA to develop a vaccine that would cause fast healing. One of the spiders escaped, and …" he gestured to his suit, "You know the rest."

"But Miles and I were at F.E.A.S.T."

A realization hit Peter as he thought back to the events of that night, "But MJ wasn't."

She cocked her head, "Who?"

"My …my girlfriend," He still wasn't used to their recently restored relationship status, "She was doing some investigating at Osborns penthouse, where she found evidence about Martin Li. She told me there were some spiders in a tank. My working theory is …maybe a few of them hitched a ride back to F.E.A.S.T. with her."

"So, Osborn is experimenting with bugs again?"

"Arachnids. And …maybe."

"You're as clueless as I am, huh?"

"Basically."

Sam stood up and brushed off her pants, "Then I have all I need."

"Wait, Sam! Hold on!" Peter put a hand on her shoulder, "I know that all of this must be scary, but I can help you."

"I'm not scared of anything, Parker," She swatted his hand away, "I just wanted to see if you had any answers for me. Now, I have them."

"But there is still so much you don't know about your powers."

"I'll figure it out."

Peter put his hands on his hips, "How? By beating up random thugs?"

"Yeah, probably," She shrugged, "I was winning that fight before you showed up, thanks."

Sam stepped onto the edge and balanced on it. She was no longer afraid of the fall, no longer concerned for her safety, even if Peter was.

"This isn't something you have to deal with alone," Peter told her, "I've been at this for eight years. Let me help you."

"Why? You gonna turn me into a superhero?" She asked, "I only fought those guys because I was in the neighborhood. I'm not gonna go looking for trouble. I'd rather keep my head down."

"Sam-"

"Your concern is cute, but I've got it handled," She saluted, "Have fun in your jungle gym."

Sam flipped back and dived down toward the streets, grabbing into a lamppost and swinging off of it. Peter watched as she leapt away with newly found grace.

He remembered what it felt like when he first got his powers, how frightened and excited he was all at once. Sam was a lot more stubborn than he was back then, and a lot more reckless. All he wanted was to help her, guide her through this change in her life, but she would rather face it alone.

All that power and she had no idea what to do with it.