Miles could only stare slack jawed in awe seeing Cindy devour six of the eight slices of pizza, eating one in each hand. Here, he thought that he and Peter had large appetites, but seeing Cindy like this proved that her's blew their's out of the park. With the two slices that he has, they looked like an appealing meal compared to the remaining six that Cindy wolfed down.
Cindy sighed in satisfaction, leaning back and holding her belly.
Miles took a sip of his cup of water as he was half-way finished with his second slice.
"So…" Miles said, "Your powers allow you to heal faster with the calories you take in?"
"That's how I look at it." Cindy said, "I don't know the exact details myself."
"But you also speculate that this process is what keeps your muscles from going into atrophy?"
Cindy shrugged, "Like I said, I grew up with my powers, but that doesn't mean that I know all the ins and outs of them. Its probably what helped get my body get into shape."
Miles bit into the crust of his pizza and chewed before speaking again, "So, even with all of this, you had that moment where time slowed down when you and Pete were fighting the Flame Cult, why didn't it happen when you were fighting Widow?"
Cindy purposely chose to not reveal that the Widow or the Night Spider, the internet has taken to calling her, was her mother. Such a thing, she wasn't comfortable revealing yet. Especially since their recent fight. But hearing what Miles had said, Cindy blinked.
"Why didn't it happen?"
"You probably don't know how to control it yet. You been making any progress with it?"
"No."
"Then I guess that's the issue right there." Miles stood up and stretched, "I would ask if you wanted to spare to help you practice using it - after all, it took me a while to get the hang of my invisibility - but, you just got out of the hospital from a life or death situation."
"Plus, how would we practice a life or death situation?"
"Right."
Police Sirens went off in the distance, making the both of them look over towards it.
"I got it, Cindy." Miles said, "Just let me and Pete handle the big stuff until you fully recover." Miles leapt off the roof they were lounging on and swung away.
Cindy watched him go, mumbling, "Yeah… Sure."
'Monsters,'
The 'big stuff' -
Those two words from two people she knew stoked the fire within her. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up to stand. She stared where Miles went off, wanting to chase after him, to help him and prove that she really was fine, all things considered. But she had her belly full. Even fast metabolisms needed time to digest food.
She sighed in defeat and shook her head.
Her phone buzzed.
She looked,
A text from Peter -
You're going out already?!
You just got out of the hospital!
Cindy groaned irritably.
I'm fine, Peter.
I swear.
Miles just went through the same talk with me.
I'll explain later, but I'm good enough to -
Cindy paused, clicking her tongue realizing that she couldn't find another way to word it correctly at this moment.
- handle the small stuff.
Petty criminals.
Not guys like the Demons or the Underground.
I just got steam I need to blow off, okay?
There was a long pause. Cindy imagined Peter was reading her texts and typing a response to them in the meantime, this strange connection that they shared inferred that he was. A conflict of words inside of him like the morning mist and choosing the right ones catching an apple with one's mouth.
I'm making something for you.
You can probably handle yourself fine until then.
But don't throw yourself into danger.
Cindy found herself smiling warmly. She knew that he was worried for her, but this connection allowed her to feel the underlying intricacies. He knew that she was capable of handling herself in a fight, being the fastest out of him and Miles.
I won't.
There was a pause.
Pick your fights.
Even if you're able to fight, you're still recovering.
I'm also trying to fix and improve your visor
If there's something that you think you can't take on your own don't be afraid to call me or Miles
Cindy remembered the visor she had taken from those thugs.
BTW, I got something that might interest you.
Something I picked off some thugs
I'll show it to you some time later?
What is it?
Cindy hummed in thought before taking a picture of the visor, where the Oscorp branding was clear in the picture. She attached it to the text and nearly sent it before realizing the possible repercussions, after all this was her personal phone. She deleted the photo.
I gotta show it to you in person
Nothing too bad, I don't think
Whenever you're not busy
Sure. Alright.
Remember, don't go too far
Okay?
Cindy pursed her lip.
I won't.
Cindy took a deep breath and let out a sigh, the moment she did she let her head dip down. She looked up at the sky, as though trying to find an answer to something. But there was nothing there to give her one.
Then her eyes drifted over to the taller buildings, past them, at the skyscrapers of downtown New York.
She scanned them,
Over and over,
But she couldn't find a glimpse or even sense her mother.
"Good…" Cindy mumbled, "Finally leaving me alone."
To pass the time, Cindy went back to that photo she had made before Miles had appeared. She assessed it one more time before going back to her social feed and posted it. There, she waited for the comments to come in - she didn't have to wait long.
"GASP"
"OMG!"
"She's alive!"
"CUUUTE!"
"You're back!"
"Our Lady has returned!"
So on and so forth,
And there was a flood of emojis and the view count skyrocketed.
Then, she saw one comment in particular -
"Wait, what happened to your suit and stuff?"
Another followed it up -
"Yeah, why the clothes and that web mask?"
Cindy took a moment to think of a response, and remembering that full-body photo she took to see the colors of her outfit, she attached that to the post -
Got into a snag and my suit got ruined. I'm wearing this for the time being. What do you guys think? I think the colors look good.
Another round of comments came in - the initial wave hoping that she was alright and that whatever the 'snag' was wasn't too bad, considering that she had been gone for a week. Then it transitioned to saying that the outfit itself didn't look too bad. One even said that ' you have to deal with what you got.' As for the colors, people were quick to point out that the colors were very similar to the Harlem Spiderman's. However, encouragement came from some of them saying that the white was what differentiated her from the Harlem Spider and the original.
It slowly went into brainstorming how her suit's colors should be laid out -
There was a consensus that the white should have more poignancy than even the original Spiderman. There was an agreement that the black should be there to stand out in contrast, likely for the limbs. Then, the red should be there to accentuate all of it as accents, many had pointed out her half mask from her first suit and now her scarf in her homemade get-up and have argued that she should complete it as a trifecta, with gloves and shoes.
People who were martial artists agreed with this, giving examples of ancient chinese or japanese weapons that had red ribbons or tufts on them as a way to confuse the enemy as a distraction. They supplemented this suggestion by pointing out how fast she was in comparison to the other spidermen, so that if she moved fast enough her punches and kicks would turn into red blurs, acting on the same principle.
The discussion went on, that the white should be where the material was thickest as a way of protection, adding that the black should be the most flexible to allow her to move as she could be able to.
All of this talk of different traits for a suit could have made her realize that she didn't have the qualifications of making one herself. She thought back on what Peter said earlier in their texts - perhaps this was what he was talking about. It made her wonder if Miles was also in on it. However, given that he seemed to be getting more busy with school and his own personal responsibilities, Cindy doubted it.
Given that her social feed was still talking about the possibilities of her hypothetical suit, Cindy merely returned to the main screen. She saw the time. She has been on patrol for two and a half hours already.
She had thoughts of ending it now,
Before looking back at her phone.
She opened her social feed again -
People were still discussing her hypothetical suit. The comment count beat on, and the view count was climbing on the photo.
Cindy hummed in thought before raising her phone and took another photo where her middle finger was pressed against her cheek with the tip touching her right nostril while her index finger was on the side of it and pointing up at her temple. Her thumb was under her right jaw to prop her head up, and her other fingers were curled so as to not obscure the smirk. Although her eyes was obscured, she saw that the slight narrowing she made with them made it seem as though the looks she gave into the camera was lovey-dovey.
Post.
It didn't take long for the comments on this point to sing about her charms, half of them merely being emojis of heart eyes.
Knowing that she was getting their attention, seeing her, made her feel a giddiness inside and the stirring of a thrill. That she was attracting people this easily.
She checked the time,
She glanced around -
"Well…" She laughed nervously, "Maybe a few more pics…"
On the walls,
Upside down,
A graceful one-handed handstand,
She had even managed to take a shot of her mid-flip - legs spread apart, upper-body straight, head turned to the camera, peace sign up, sticking out her tongue. This took her five different tries and a flailing belly flop onto her stomach until she got the right shot.
Another where she was lounging on a wall, legs crossed, hand behind her head, while upside down, her hand holding up a deuce to the side.
They were all liked.
But the one where she was looking at the camera with the smirk was the one that got the most views. Just by that alone, Cindy decided that would be her new profile picture.
Another hour had passed by this time, and just when she was about to put her phone away and start heading home she received a call.
She saw the caller ID -
Unknown
Cindy frowned. Her immediate action was to let the call go unanswered.
She took a step forward.
Another call -
Unknown
She stared at her phone.
She answered.
"Heeey, Charlotte!" Came a shrill, bubblegum voice.
Cindy rolled her eyes as she groaned.
"Wrong number." She said and her thumb moved to hang up the call.
"Ah - Bup - Bup!" Said the voice, "You wouldn't want to do that when I have you in my sights."
Cindy brows knit and glanced around - checking everywhere and she couldn't sense any possible danger from anywhere.
A giggle came through her phone, "You're so cute, Charlotte."
Nearby Cindy heard electrical whirling - a security camera.
"Say Hi to our viewers, Charlotte - cuz' YOU'RE LIVE!"
Two people tried calling her at the same time then - Peter and Miles.
Before Cindy could do anything, both of their calls were dropped without her even touching the screen.
"Nuh-uh - none of the other Spidermen are gonna help you with this. It would ruin the whole show!"
"Who is this?"
"Why, its the one, the only, Screwbaaall! Who else would it be, Charlotte?"
Cindy narrowed her eyes, "...Screwball?"
"Yup, indee-dee!"
"Funny - you sound different."
"Awww… Thanks for noticing, Charlotte! But… this doesn't sound different, at all."
There was a buzzing sound in the distance that was getting closer by the second. However, there was a noise underneath it that was unmistakable.
One that anyone would know -
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A drone then zoomed into view.
On it, a bomb counting down from fifty seconds.
It sped off in a buzzing scream as though sprung from a catapult.
"Better hurry, Charlotte! Or else your internet debut is gonna be EX-PLOSIIIVE!"
Cindy grit her teeth. She broke off, hoping that cracking she heard was from her shoes and not from the roof.
She ran,
She zipped,
Launched herself at different points -
The wind roaring in her ears, brushing through her hair, her jacket flying and flapping behind her like small black wings, eyes wide and trained on the prize screaming through the air of New York.
She was ten feet away from the drone when it suddenly dropped to the streets, zooming in and out of cars, zig-zagging, causing cars to swerve out of the way. Cindy grit her teeth. She saw the buildings. She remembered that time she tried to swing. She shook her head. She leapt down to the streets, following the drone's its crazed wake.
All the while, a loudspeaker came to life -
"A-Da-Da-Da! No closer, Spiderman! Charlotte would have gotten it by now if you hadn't gotten close! Any interference puts more stakes in Charlotte's show!"
Cindy saw a black shape on one of the higher rooftops - Miles looking down at her with the lenses of his mask wide.
Cindy didn't blame Miles - in fact, it's what she would have done. Peter would have done the same. It was very convenient for Screwball to not clarify on the rules until there was a violation of them.
Cindy sped on,
And the drone continued bobbing and weaving out of cars and people.
All the while, she heard the bomb on it counting down -
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Closer,
Closer,
And closer -
She zipped to a street light and kicked off of it.
Ten feet away.
She shot out a webline to snatch the drone. It jerked out of the way, missing it by a few inches.
"Aw, come ooon, Charlotte!" Screwball blared in through speakers of a tornado siren, "You didn't think I would've known you'd do that, did you? With how much homework the other Spidermen gave me?"
The drone kicked into high gear, shooting forth like a bullet.
Cindy grit her teeth. She fell slower than the drone flew - she could recover by zipping to the ground and bouncing off of it with acrobatics and the shove of her arms. But just making a quick, rough estimate in her head - the drone would already be too far for another attempt.
That was when she remembered how she was able to change how her webbing shot from her wrist. If she could make it so that she could shoot them out silently, why couldn't she do the opposite?
She tried.
She grit her teeth and tense her arm.
She willed it.
She felt something stir in the web tubing.
She made her shot.
There was a heavier sound of her webbing ejecting from her wrist as it exploded out like thunder -
Dink!
The drone wobbled in the air from the impact.
She reeled it in, the action speeding up just as much as, but Cindy winced feeling a warmth quickly building inside the tubing. The drone became close enough to read the time on the bomb -
Thirty seconds.
She landed on the ground, twisted and spun her body to throw the drone tumbling into the air.
She shot her webbing and her eyes widened from her arm going up from recoil as it felt as though a small playing ball shot out from her wrist.
There was the sound of bits and pieces of metal and plastic breaking and tearing apart as a large hole appeared in the drone, the explosion of pieces causing the bomb to detonate.
Cindy sighed in relief, doubled over with her hands on her knees and catching her breath when she heard another buzzing. She looked back just as another drone sped past, so close that she could see the time on the bomb on this one -
Thirty seconds.
"Oops!" Screwball again, " Did I forget to mention that there are three more bombs? All set to the same timer?"
The drone made circles in the air as though to taunt her.
"Better hurry, Charlotte! I'm not sure how far I can control these!" There was a pause, then, in a more quiet tone, "How far is the range, actually?"
It was the same song and dance as before.
Cindy was skipping and flying over roofs and pieces of the environment, huffing and puffing. So much so that she had to pull the scarf down so she could breathe properly. Given that she had done all those pictures before, Cindy didn't feel any need to worry about her face now mostly being seen.
She kept her eye on the drone.
As she was nearing it, she saw the time -
Fifteen seconds.
Cindy felt sweat break out on her skin - how was she going to get to the other bombs in time?!
Another buzzing came from off to the side,
Another drone.
A sink-hole appeared in the pit of her stomach. Time began to slow. She stared on realizing that she was in mid-leap, unable to change her trajectory. But she blinked when she saw that there was no bomb on this one.
Instead, there was a camera.
"Its not a bomb, but a PHOTOBOMB!" Screwball's shrill voice came again, "Make a pose as you pass through its view for additional seconds, Charlotte!"
She was approaching quick,
She clicked her tongue.
She hopped,
Twisted her body,
And jumped.
Wheeling in the air, facing towards the camera, she straightened her posture with her hand on her hip and made a two-finger salute and flicked it in greeting.
Click!
Cindy tucked in her legs to try to give her one more roll in the air before the touchdown. Her body slammed onto the roof in an awkward roll, and in trying to spring to her feet stumbled.
"Ooo…! Bad landing, great photobomb! Ten additional ticking seconds!"
Cindy raced on,
Soon she got the second drone, making it explode with a well placed shot.
Cindy tried to catch her breath as best as she could before the next drone would appear. Soon enough, after a moment, there was another buzzing.
It screamed past her -
Twenty seconds on the bomb.
A few more puffs of air - she felt the burning in her body, in her legs, in her lungs - she went off.
"PHOTOBOMB!"
Her legs tucked up, and arms spread back - the signature Spiderman pose.
Ten seconds.
"PHOTOBOMB!"
She jumped, twirling in the air, her limbs following the spin - arms waving and legs chambering. The drone captured her movement as though she were flying through air, about to lunge or speed up.
Fifteen seconds.
"PHOTOBOMB!"
It was a close camera shot - one that Cindy nearly missed. It was merely doing a flying kick. Her jacket flying behind her, hair swept back, and her toothy grit plain to see.
Seven seconds.
"PHOTOBOMB!"
No time - in her jump to a higher level, she merely kept that pose and kept going once she landed.
Five seconds.
This third drone kept at a consistent screaming speed, and through whatever method that Screwball was using on the drone's to dodge her web shots was improving. After this fourth photobomb, Cindy felt it. She felt the pain beginning to burn in her chest. But she had to, if she didn't do this - there was no telling what Screwball was going to do with the drone. After all, she didn't lay out the rule completely at the start.
This was lasting so long that they had gone from Brooklyn to Downtown, New York to central park to Harlem, almost the whole length of New York, and now they just got into Queens.
She zipped,
She snagged the drone,
And with a scream threw it up into the air.
She managed to catch the time on the bomb -
Ten seconds.
She made her shot.
The drone exploded, and she fell to her hands and knees, panting up a storm. Her heart was running a mile a minute, aching as it felt as though it were pounding at the bone of her chest. She licked her lips. She gulped. Her throat had turned into jerky from panting so much. The web tubing in her arms was burning from her reliance on the speed webs.
Then she heard it -
Weakly, her head looked over and the drone stopped in front of her face. It was a triangular thing with its propellers spinning so fast they were practically invisible. It wasn't a make or kind she hadn't seen before. The bomb on it was paused at ten seconds.
There was a camera lens on it, whirling as it zoomed in.
"C'mon, Charlotte! Don't tell me you forgot about the last bomb?"
The drone then sped off, the last thing she saw of the bomb was the ten turning into a nine.
Cindy forced herself up. She stumbled, her heart ached, she pressed on. She grit her teeth hard.
"PHOTOBOMB!"
On her approach to the photobomb drone, her foot caught the end of the ledge she was leaping for, causing her to tumble, flailing in the air before slamming onto the ground.
"Ooo…! Bad move, Charlotte! But it was funny though! Three ticking seconds added on the clock!"
Looking up, she saw the drone in the distance already. But in doing so, she saw a chimney and the roof of a three story building line up with each other. She shot two weblines from both of her wrists, she leapt onto her feet, and grunted and groaned as she ran back, exerting more and feeling the charcoal of her legs beginning to crack as she began to slow.
She let her feet go,
She cried out,
She reeled her weblines to add more propulsion and felt a scalding heat in the webbing tubes.
She soared like a bullet, quickly gaining on the drone.
Closer,
Closer,
Closer -
She raised her arms, the drone wobbled - trying to discern when she would shoot out her webs. She didn't. She caught the drone, and her stomach gave way when she saw that she was falling fast into a street crossing. She smashed into the street, the drone shattering into pieces. As Cindy tumbled to a stop, she heard a soft thud next to her.
She opened her eyes,
A red digital number stared at her before the bomb fell over.
All the air went out of Cindy and ice replaced her blood -
"Five!"
Cindy darted left and right -
Cars,
People,
Buildings.
Cars swerving and stopping to yell at her,
People stopping to look at her or take photos or videos of her,
The buildings were pinatas of glass and debris waiting to pop and rain down -
"Ffffffoooouurr…"
Cindy didn't hear anything,
Think anything,
Only moved -
She didn't hear the pounding of her heart in her ears,
Didn't feel the ever-growing pain of it,
But felt the warmth of her blood pumping through her body.
"Thhhhhreeee…"
She didn't know if what she was doing would do anything -
Yet she did it anyway: frantically swathing the bomb entirely in her webbing. Over and over and over - left, right, side-ways and under.
"Toooooo…"
Layer,
After layer,
After layer,
After layer -
Round and round - a webbing wad the size of a volleyball.
She attached weblines, twisted, spun, and with a cry threw it up into the air with all of her might.
"Wooooo - One!"
There was a piercing popping sound when the bomb exploded. Soon, a confetti of webbing rained down from the sky. People ducked down, startled. Whereas Cindy had collapsed, surrendering to her momentum she had made and let herself fall into a sprawl. Her eyes closed shut and her jaw dropped as she fought to catch her breath, her hand clutching her tank top hard.
"Great job, Charlotte! Look at all these views - omigosh, we've reached an all new peak!"
Cindy eyes popped open and began shaking her head.
A drone soon flew to her side.
On it, however, she didn't see a bomb, but a timer for fifty seconds.
"Take a breather, Charlotte. Show's not over yet!"