Found myself slowing down so I took a small break and took my time a little bit. Sorry about that. By the way, if anyone needs a more clearer picture of Cindy, I imagined her being played by Lizzie Freemen, who plays Pomni in Amazing Digital Circus. And if anyone needs help for how her mother sounds like - I imagined her being voiced by Cherami Leigh, who voiced Makoto from Persona 5 and Female V in Cyberpunk 2077.

Enjoy.

"Omigosh, thank you so much!"

"Thank you, Ms. Spiderlady."

Cindy chuckled, "No problem."

Surrounding Cindy were the crumpled bodies of thugs who wanted to mug this mother and perhaps even kidnap her daughter to blackmail her. Even if that wouldn't be the case, it was never known how far some criminals were willing to go. She made sure to hold back, like Miles and Peter have told her countless times already. It has gotten to the point that any texts she had gotten from them while on patrol assumed it was them asking if she was pulling her punches and not looking scary with her movements.

"Oh! Do you mind if we can take a picture together?" Said the mother.

Cindy looked at her jacket, "Uh, are you sure?" Even though the criminals were petty thugs, Cindy had fought a little too close for comfort to shake things up from the norm, as a result the bullets and knives they had never touched her but they definitely made their mark on the jacket.

"Oh, it's no problem," The Mother said, pulling out her phone, "I get wardrobe malfunctions all the time, besides it just means you're getting better."

Cindy glanced at her person one more time before ultimately shrugging.

The Mother knelt down beside her daughter, positioning her phone for a selfie. She brought her daughter close, who was already smiling. Cindy positioned herself beside her daughter and held up a peace sign. Because her lenses on her visor weren't on, her eyes were visible and seeing herself on the screen looked weird, as though she didn't have any emotion despite holding a peace sign. She didn't have a mask like Peter or Miles. So, she narrowed her eyes to make it seem as though she was smiling. As the Mother was about to tap on the screen to take the photo, Cindy saw that her peace sign was near the edge due to the slight angle and put it close so that her two knuckles were touching her cheek.

Click!

Cindy removed herself as did the Mother and her daughter.

"Thanks again!" The Mother said.

Cindy nodded before sprinting off and zipping up over a second story rooftop. She took a moment to look at her jacket once more. The thing was already in a worn state when she had found it in that garbage bin, and now it was on its last legs. She needed to find a possible replacement soon or hope that Peter would give her a proper suit soon. She zipped away and ran along buildings, point-launching herself to separate herself from the crime scene.

She paused, looked at her phone for the time - she had been patrolling for three hours already.

She had eaten a large meal before donning her suit and was already feeling the throes of hunger returning. She began to contemplate her life now. Currently, out of Peter and Miles, she was the most active Spiderperson. Ironically, it was more of a way to pass the time. Homework - being able to connect the dots so easily left her with a lot of free time. While there were games and videos that she could use as the obvious substitute but there was a novelty that kept bringing her to wear her suit.

She looked to the side and saw the hudson glittering in the sun in the distance and the boats that were cruising in its waters. Perhaps this was something that she needed, a break in the clouds to show her the sun. She pulled out her phone again and went to her [Spiiider3] social feed.

Now, the account's picture was a selfie of Cindy with the lens on her visor, white and hiding her eyes. She had three fingers up, the middle touching the bridge of her visor, where the button was. Her head was somewhat cocked to the side and tilted down, and although her half-mask was covering her mouth people could see the implication of a grin with the arching of her brow.

When she changed the profile picture there was the amount of people who enjoyed the reference as much as they rolled their eyes. Overall, however, there was a sentiment of enjoyment that they could see some of Cindy's face, making her the most emotive Spiderperson. In fact, when some of them were calling her cute ironically and unironically, Cindy found herself blushing and being tempted to take more photos of herself, shots that they could possibly like.

Speaking of, Cindy remembered one that she had taken out of a whim. Her half-mask was down but her face was still somewhat obscured due to the bubblegum bubble she blew. Her visor hid her eyes once again, and she was holding up a peace sign yet again. Cindy felt herself becoming nervous once she decided to make a post just of this photo. She paused, her thumb hovering above the [Post[ option.

She tapped it.

She waited.

She saw the response -

Heart icons, an emoticon where an emoji was fanning themself and another where they were blushing.

They were posting their comments as well -

"Cute!"

"What a hot shot lol"

"Damn"

"So adorable lol"

"Wish I had a girl as cute as you."

"I wanna pop it"

"A girl with a hot bod and an adorable personality"

"I want you as my girlfriend"

"Hey, we're still debating if she's legal guys"

"My name Jeff."

Cindy giggled reading the responses, feeling a giddiness within her that made her want to post more, and she nearly dropped her phone when a pang shot through her head. Although her senses didn't go out at random like it used to anymore, every now and then did these migraines appear. There was a consistency in their frequency but nothing else other than that. There was even a time where one woke her up while she was sleeping.

And she knew why,

She could feel a tingle crawling up her back and settling itself into her brain -

She looked over her shoulder,

The tingling came again and she knew.

A moment later a humanoid shape landed opposite to her -

"...Mom…"

Having a moment to fully take in her mother's outfit and form, it was odd seeing how much they looked alike. Her half mask obscuring her face making that similarity more likely to confuse people. The only differences being her long flowing hair, and the penetrating red eyes - a solid color, no pupil or iris.

Cindy shuddered and looked away.

Cindy's mother looked away as well, and despite her flowing locks she began to use her webs to complete the half-mask on her face. Hearing this and seeing what it was she was doing, that was when Cindy finally looked back over. Yet, she still couldn't look at her in the eyes -

Those eyes…

Cindy.

The voice echoed in her mind, a voice only she could hear, the voice of her mother.

"No." Cindy stepped back.

Her mother took a step forward, reaching out with her hand.

Cindy, please.

"Mom, no." Cindy said, more firmly this time, "I can't keep living like that anymore. You can deal with the big monsters, but the small ones are always going to go past no matter how hard you try. Look at rats."

Her mother paused, then looked at her again -

Why are you doing this?

"Did you not hear me?!" Cindy didn't realize she was shouting, "I can't live like that anymore - I can't! Do I have to say it a third time for you to understand? Was being a scientist just a joke?!"

Cindy. This life isn't for you.

"You sound pretty confident in saying that, huh?" Anger now slid into her tone.

Its too dangerous.

"Mom. I never asked for this, and I never asked for you to go as far as you did."

It was to save you.

"You did. And I felt awful for years. Did you even think how I've been going through all of this? You want me to go back to how I felt all those years after everything that had happened?! Mom - like it or not, this, is the best case scenario for me. I'm not that little girl anymore."

Her mother looked away, contemplating this. Then, slowly, the red eyes settled on her with realization and apprehension that hardened into determination.

Its that thing, isn't it?

"What? What are you talking about?"

I know you have been getting headaches. Its growing.

Cindy took a step back, turned her head questioningly, "...How do you know about that?"

Its the Spider that's causing you to act this way, isn't it?

"What? The Spidermen?"

You know what I'm talking about.

"No, Mom. I don't. What Spider?"

Her mother paused, and soon Cindy felt that tingling again. It centered around the crown of her head and the tingling began to go off at a rhythm like opening and closing her hand. As it did, Cindy gradually get the impression of many legs tapping on her skull. An aching began to grow, and she felt a growing impulse to pounce on her own mother.

Something changed in her mother's demeanor and she walked forward with brisk steps.

The aching grew to the point that Cindy had to clutch her head, the impulse now stronger like an oncoming tsunami. It faded into a migraine. A sudden sensation washed over her and an aggression flared up within her.

Her mother stopped, and she held up her head with a knowing glint in her eyes, now narrowed.

There it is.

Despite feeling the impulse within her screaming at her to comply, Cindy fought against it, her body trembling as she tried to stay in control. Flashes of an event in the past appeared in her mind, being the anchor that kept her grounded. But it was a losing fight and she felt herself slipping. She wanted to run but her mother's fist smashing into her face made her grip slip completely and she felt herself falling and something beginning to take over.

She began to pant raggedly,

In a panic, she called Peter as another fist slammed into her face. That sense of falling was still there, but she kept trying to hold onto something, anything that would stop this sensation. For as she fell deeper, there was an unknowing feeling that if she continued something bad might happen.

There was a clicking in her ear, Peter picked up -

"What's up, Cindy?"

"Peter! I - !"

Another punch slammed into her face, much more forceful as it landed squarely at the bridge of her visor, breaking it apart in a loud crack. The sudden influx of light made her cry out and cover her eyes And because her visor also had the headphones, everything sounded louder, dialed up a decimal. All the sounds around her became a cacophonous wall of noise. Being assaulted by light and sound had her world spinning.

"Cin - what's - on?! Ci -" The headphones crackled until there was only white noise.

Her mother threw yet another punch. Seeing it, Cindy's hands shot out - checking it away and shoving her palm into her mother's throat. It was almost flat and no guttural sound came from her mother, however, it did its purpose of stunning her for a moment.

Focusing the springs in her body, Cindy sprang out in a flying kick that smashed squarely into her mother's solar plexus. She didn't stop - quickly shooting weblines to the opposite building across from them, Cindy tugged. They flung over the side and her mother slammed into the apartment exterior wall. There was the sound of clay cracking as Cindy delivered another kick just as her mother impacted the wall.

Cindy was about to deliver another blow when webs suddenly blocked out her vision. It was a one second opening that her mother took. Another punch to Cindy's face, then her palm swiftly planted itself firmly flat against it as her mother then zipped them both to the street.

Cindy cried out upon feeling the pain on the back of her head, nearly drowned out by the screeching tires, horns, and screaming people nearby as they saw the source of the commotion and ran. Cindy's nad went up to reach for her mother's wrist when her mother lifted her head and slammed it into the concrete -

Again,

And again -

Get. Out. Of. My. Daughter!

Something about hearing that, coming from her mother as she was slamming her head into the road, set a dormant bomb off within Cindy.

With a loud cry and twisting her body, Cindy drove her fist into her mother's side, where she felt a rib give way in a dull cracking. The effect of this blow was enough for her mother to cry out in that spectral voice in Cindy's mind.

Cindy's hand snatched a fist full of her mother's hair and wrenched it down to careen her mother to the side, nearly throwing her down and throwing her off balance. Cindy drew up her legs, planting her hands over her head, and flipped herself up.

In that same moment, although awkward, her mother found enough footing and with the aid of pushing with her hands, to fling herself into that same flying kick Cindy had done, numerous times from a neutral stance, sometimes out of the blue like from the awkward pose she was in previously.

Cindy flipped up, over, and down, spreading her legs wide, bending them as a way to help balance herself as she planted one hand down onto the ground, her body forming a 'Y' in shape. Her free hand went up to come into contact with her mother's kicking leg as she flew over, sliding across and smearing webs that came from her palm. As her palm was sliding off as her mother began to fly past her, Cindy moved her wrist back to attach a web line to the smeared webs.

Her mother flew past. Cindy's legs swung up, snapping straight, before swinging back down to spring Cindy upright into a sitting position. Then, reeling her web line back into her wrist, she swung her whole body back, lying flat on her back and tugging her arm.

Soon after her webline went taut, tugging the kicking leg back, her Mother's front half was shoved forward. She was soon snagged back, flung flailing into the air until slamming into the concrete. Cindy flipped onto her feet, still keeping her web line attached, and wrenched her arms, using the reeling, to fling her mother back and forth -

Slam!

Slam!

Slam!

In the air for a fourth time, her mother grit her teeth hard when a sharp pain went through her foot on her other leg. A moment later, she felt the webbed claw form. Her foot-claw slashed at Cindy's webline. At the moment, Cindy felt her line suddenly give and stumble as a result, she felt needles stabbing at her brain before she heard the weblines shooting from her mother's wrists in order to shoot down at her with another flying kick.

Cindy reeled her arm, summoning her webs in her palm to hastily but functionally encase it in a gauntlet of sorts. She swung and she heard the cracking of bones as her mother twisted mid-air with the aid of a web-zip to twist her body so as to have the blow graze her body. Cindy felt her mother grab hold of her body and used her momentum to spin around her body before using her adhesive touch to grapple and, once planting her feet on the ground, twisted her body to throw Cindy into a building nearby. A building whose deterioration caused the wall to give way on impact.

Her mother stumbled and fell to her knees, holding her stomach, having felt her inside's churn from that impossible maneuver she did to avoid Cindy's strike, and her back, feeling a lingering aching from her spine popping.

She didn't stay that way for long -

She glanced at where she threw Cindy, staggered up onto her feet. She zipped through the hole.

"Pick up!" Peter swung and flew through the city as fast as he could, "C'mon, Cindy! Pick up!"

"The one you are calling is not available -"

"No no no no!" From how Cindy sounded during the call, from the static fragments he managed to make out, and a feeling in his gut, it sounded like she was finally out of her league.

Peter had thought about calling Miles, but he was already behind on things in school. Of course, that wasn't going to stop him from trying to be the other Spiderman regardless, but, still, Peter didn't want Miles to go through the same struggles as him. At the very least, not as hard as him when he was the same age.

Through his HUD, Peter saw that he was approaching the last location of Cindy's call.

Peter zipped to the rooftop and rolled to a stop. There, he spotted the broken remains of Cindy's visor-goggles. Through that, he spotted the scene nearby.

A cracked wall on the exterior wall of an apartment complex,

Cars that crashed vaguely form a box, bringing the eye to the cracks on the road.

Peter leapt down and surveyed the area. He spotted a hole in a building nearby, but he followed his suspicions first and activated the ably named Clue Vision that was finally finished in a complete build by Miles, Ganke, and a little elbow grease by Peter. He glanced around trying to take in anything suspicious outlined in red.

And he found it - strands of dark hair in the ground, stuck in the cracks on the road. He plucked some and scanned it, soon watching a database search in progress in his HUD.

"Empty. Widow…"

"Spiderman!"

Peter turned and saw a civilian approaching him with a limp.

"Do you need help to get to a hospital?" Peter asked.

The civilian shook his head, "Spiderwoman needs more help than me. Another woman looking like her was attacking her." He pointed to the hole in the nearby building, "They went that way!"

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Peter asked again to be sure, more for himself, to choose which to go for first.

"Its just a sprained ankle, not that serious. Go! She needs more help than me - go!"

Hearing that, and seeing that the civilian was able to stand on his feet, convinced Peter. He zipped in through the hole and found herself falling through collapsed floors until touching down at the bottom.

He never got the chance to see the civilian grinning as he went, dissolving into red sludge that hissed until disappearing into the concrete. A moment later, it was as though there was no one there in the first place.