chapter thirteen!
013. keep your friends close
(but your enemies closer), part two

! trigger warning !

(descriptions of terrorism, and terror-related violence)
reader discretion is advised.
for anyone who find these topics disturbing, please feel free to skip to the author's note where i will have a less-detailed summary of what happened in this chapter so you do not have to read. if you need someone to talk to, feel free to message me on my instagram <3

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    WHEN HE returned to consciousness, he wasn't expecting to have Spider-Man tug off his mask with an inquisitive tilt of his head. The pilot of the helicopter, a member of the Demon gang named Xú Jie▬as is said on his licence stuffed away in his wallet in his suit jacket pockets▬jolted back to reality. He struggled away from the wide and unblinking lenses that narrowed slightly right in front of his face. "The Spider!" he exclaimed in Mandarin and angrily tried to fight back, but could barely move even an inch in the webs that secured him tightly to the seat in the front of the suspended helicopter. Xú Jie was trapped at the vigilante's mercy▬and somehow, that ridiculous costume and mask that he and his fellow Demons had scoffed and laughed about sent a jolt of fear into his heart.

    Spider-Man kept himself steady with one hand planted on the roof of the helicopter above them, sticking to it while the other tapped the wood of the Demon's mask▬more curious than threatening. "These masks are so awesome▬" said Spider-Man and Xú Jie squinted in his confusion and surprise, "▬where do you get them?"

    He was over this. With a strangled cry, Xú Jie managed to get a grip of his sword and sliced through his webbed restraints. "I'll kill you!"

    Spider-Man caught his blade by the hilt with incredible strength▬though it looked as though he did not sweat, not even a little. "Cool, thanks!" he chirped happily as he fought back Xú Jie's ferocious lunch. "Do they have a website?"

    Both of them went sideways. Spider-Man let go of the sword and hunched up, wincing as Xú Jie went toppling out of the open helicopter doors with a strangled yell. "Whoops..."

    Spider-Man dived out after him, landing on his web with an air of smug arrogance and witty confidence beside the struggling body of Xú Jie, once again trapped in the sticky web of New York's favourite superhero. 

    "Sorry about that," apologised Spider-Man. "How about we start over," he extended his hand. "Hi! I'm Spider-Man▬" he realised Xú Jie would not be able to grip it. He pulled it back. "Oh right. Look, I'm on a mission to find the man who tailors your suits▬they look great. I'm in need of a black suit myself, actually. Could you let me in on that secret?"

    Xú Jie just shouted profanities at him, still fighting a useless fight against Spider-Man's webs to attack him. 

    Peter sighed and crouched there. "What does it take for a spider to just get a good, smart-looking, tailored black suit?" 

    His interrogation (that was going really well, he almost had this guy) was suddenly abrupted when his phone started to call. He could have easily connected it to his suit, but Spider-Man was nothing if not always commited to the bit. He pulled out his phone from the sly pocket he had at the back of his suit and answered, "It's your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man!"

    "Peter!" he heard Nina whisper harshly. "The ceremony is starting soon, where are you?"

    "Uhhhhhhh," Peter glanced around the mess he and the Demons had caused in the shadow of the Rockefeller Centre. "How soon is soon?"

    He heard her sigh and could imagine the way her eyes closed in exasperation, but would be hiding a smile nonetheless. "This doesn't have anything to do with the rampaging helicopter and falling crane in East Midtown, does it?"

    Spider-Man chuckled nervously. "Well, we all get hung up at work every now and then."

    "Well, hurry! I'm waiting with your bag," stressed Nina, her words dropping into a rushed tone barely louder than a whisper. "I'm just standing around awkwardly ouside and everyone's starting to look at me funny."

    Peter had a grin behind his mask. "Is our Friendly Neighbourhood Reporter there?" he was still crouched beside the struggling Demon. 

    "Yes, she's saving us a good spot. Now, can you just get over here, please? I need you to save me from social embarassment!"

    He couldn't care less about the Demons, and the suspended helicopter over East 49th▬not when he heard the slight tease in Nina Hart's tone; her soft, subtle mischief and sly 'are you playing with me?' when in reality, it was her that had the outcome of her game held right in the palm of her hand. And every time, it made Peter Parker knee's weak the moment he saw the little crooked smile she tried to hide. It made his heart flutter▬the same way it did the very first time Peter realised what he felt for the girl who always opened her window for him and snuck him inside, beaten and bloody even when her parents were home, was someone who was more than a friend. He had heard her stifled laughter after she teased him for not being able to dodge her Spider-Plush she had chucked at him one night:

    ("Don't you have a spider-sense?" she had said amongst her giggles.

    "Yeah," Peter had replied after a face full of stuffing, "just not for a flying Spider-Plush."). 

    And to hear it now, it made him realise that the tense space between them that came from six months of not saying a word to each other was slowly starting to close again. And that realisation took him back to that moment, and his heart swelled with warmth inside his chest.

    "All right," he replied, unable to hide the smirk he held in his tone▬and its flirtateous sleight. "Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Cop is on the case, Miss Hart."

    She recognised his tone, too and Peter's heart skipped a beat at her playful reply, "Spider-Cop? Isn't policing an old man's game?"

    He remembered the old tease he made when he proclaimed he had retired from 'Spider-Cop', as "policing was an old man's game", and Peter grinned. "I won't be long," he promised her before hanging up.

    When her phone call disconnected, Nina sighed and slipped her device back into her purse. She awkwardly waited in the shadows of tall high-rise buildings just outside the police and security barricades that surrounded the square of City Hall. Purple OSBORN banners hung down from balconies and billboards with Norman Osborn's face 'FOR MAYOR' staring back at Nina with that television-ready smile. It made her uneasy.

    She felt as if those eyes were watching her with every move, waiting to see if she'd break her end of the deal. Nina couldn't help but wonder if Norman knew she was helping Spider-Man learn about and stop the Demons, that she hadn't given up her investigation into Devil's Breath. Even if it seemed as though they've hit a dead end on the link OSCORP had with Fisk and these Demons, and that file she found at Fisk's auction house, that didn't mean it didn't stop haunting Nina. 

    This Devil's Breath was important enough it made Norman Osborn pick her out in the crowd after months of barely giving her a glance no matter how close she was with Harry. That had to mean something, and Nina had to figure out what. 

    But those beady eyes and that blinding white smile▬and the many skeletons in his closet▬followed her wherever she went; a painful, chilling reminder of what Osborn might do if he realised Nina was still trying to figure out his deepest, darkest secrets. 

    She was sure that being fired would become the least of her problems. 

    As she waited for Peter within the growing crowd at City Hall, Nina couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the conversation she had with Vinnie about Osborn's research into genetic and genetic diseases. She remembered one particular research station she helped Harry establish▬and how he was awfully quiet about what the research was and what data he was keeping on the server. 

    Whenever she could at work, she had been going through the data Peter had gotten her from the stations. Nina had been determined to find a way to save them from a cut in funding, but instead, she had discovered something else that made her uneasy.

    The Leo station wasn't one of too much importance. It was a server station to help manage to overflow of data from every other station in Midtown▬a back-up for the back-up. At least, Nina had thought that was what Harry used it for. She had honestly believed that was why Harry had been so silent about it whenever she asked; why he never showed her it. 

    But instead of just data from other research stations, Nina had found files on D.N.A. sequencing. Whose? She had no clue▬but it had been taking up almost all the space on the server, so much that Peter had to back up the data onto one of E.S.U.'s servers to stop it from purging. The files were locked by a password, and as much snooping Nina did through the notes she had collected from Harry before he left, she came up with nothing. 

    There was no research station going into D.N.A. sequencing▬it was reaching far beyond what they were intended for. 

    It troubled Nina▬very much. 

    Not only did she seem to have a mystery surrounding Devil's Breath and the Demons, but another one close to home. But it nagged her▬she couldn't help but feel as though it was all linked. Devil's Breath, OSCORP, Norman's obsession with genetics and now Harry's data on D.N.A. sequencing, but she didn't know why, and it frustrated her. As a scientist, she needed to rely on hard evidence, repeated circumstances, logic to connect the dots, and right now, she felt like she was without all three. She was pulling at straws, and yet it wouldn't stop bothering her. 

    Perhaps she was simply desperate to find a reason as to why Harry decided to cut her off. 

    As time ticked closer to when the ceremony would be starting, Nina considered giving Peter another call until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She gasped and managed to stifle her squeal of surprise, glancing up only to slump in relief. Nina reached out and smacked Peter's arm as he crawled down the side of the building into the alleyway. "Stop doing that!" she whispered and heard him chuckle behind his mask.

    "I'm not too late, am I?" Spider-Man dropped down to stand beside her and she passed him his bag. He zipped it open and inside there was a shirt, jeans and bomber jacket she had packed for him from the bags of clothes he had at F.E.A.S.T. 

     "No," Nina was still calming her heart down. "You're just in time. They're still letting people in." She frowned at something on his shoulder. "Is that ..." she turned up her nose. "Bird poo?"

    Peter glanced down and made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "Agh, dammit. I hate catching pigeons."

    Nina blinked, very confused as she watched Spider-Man disappear further into the alleyway to change. "Catch▬catching pigeons?"

    She quickly remembered to turn around, hiding her sudden flustered breath when she almost caught Peter shirtless. "Yeah," she heard him, his voice still muffled behind his mask as he changed. "Howard's pigeons escaped again."

    He said this as if it were a weekly occurrence and Nina was even more confused. She decided to let it be. She crossed her arms and awkwardly smiled at a passing family, shuffling a little bit over to keep Peter out of view from the street. Nina flushed with embarassment at the incredulous and suspicious looks sent her way. 

    At last, he tapped her on her shoulder again and she turned around. There Peter was, without his suit and mask. He tried to flatten his hair slightly, giving her a little shy lospided smile. It was sometimes jarring▬the difference between Spider-Man and Peter Parker. Even though they were the same person, when he had the mask on, it seemed Peter was able to find the confidence to say all he wanted to say▬every cheesy joke and sarcastic comment; the charisma that without the mask, was hidden behind awkward chuckles and sheepish murmurs. Until you got to know him, and then the two started to merge into one. But even then, sometimes the switch still struck Nina with whiplash. 

    She reached out and fixed his jacket slightly without even thinking. Only once she pulled her hand away, did she realise and blushed. "Um, I▬" Nina cleared her throat and stepped back. "Come on, MJ's waiting for us."

    Peter hitched a flustered breath and quickly shook it off. "Yeah, yeah," he shrugged and tugged at the collar of his tee-shirt. He quickly caught up with her, and the two of them joined the line heading through security side-by-side. 

    Both of them glanced up at the overbearing archway and humongous banners. Re-elect OSBORN For Mayor! They said, and once again Nina was met with Osborn's keen stare. She felt as if his eyes followed her▬shifting in the sunlight to peer down at her with a sharp glint. Right overhead, was another banner that stretched from side to side: 'KEEPING YOUR CITY SAFE!' It read.

    "I don't know how I feel about this," murmured Peter, hovering over Nina's shoulder. She glanced up at him. "He's clearly using Jeff as a popularity boost."

    "He's Norman," muttered Nina in response. "He'll use whatever tool he has in his toolbox to get what he wants."

    Peter arched a brow at her words. Not that he disagreed, but despite all of his flaws, speaking ill of Harry's father was something the friends never tried to do too much, even in their friend's absence. Realising, Nina quickly added, "Let's just celebrate Jeff▬that's what we're here for. Forget the banners."

    They shuffled along through the line▬swaddled by eager supporters decked in blue Re-elect OSBORN! sweaters and caps. Nina stood on her toes to look over the shoulders of a particularly tall rally comer to see how close they were to the entrance. "I think MJ's somewhere to the left, closer to the middle."

    Peter nodded and slipped his hands into his jeans pockets. "So..."

    She met his gaze again, curious at the shift in his tone. Nina tilted her head, a little amused at the shy side-glance Peter sent her as his voice dropped to a whisper. He hovered very close, aware of the people around them. "So...?" Nina copied him.

    They shuffled forward a few more steps. As they did, Peter ducked his head and murmured, "I think this gang war may finally be over."

    Nina hugged her arms around her stomach to help her ward off the chill of fall that grew the closer they got to winter. She stood a little taller today, wearing a pair of heeled boots. Her knitted dress fell over stockings, and she wished she had gone with jeans every second the wind decided to pick up. She considered Peter's words, and her eyes widened. She glanced up at him again and whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Like ... over, over?"

    "Well," he shrugged and shuffled a little closer to help block the wind. Nina smiled a little at the small gesture. It was always the small things with Peter Parker. "I mean▬" he glanced at the line next to them and leaned down a bit further, and his breath tickled her cheek as he murmured closer to her ears. Nina's heart started to skip a little faster at their proximity. "There's some loose ends still to be tied up, but▬"

    "Loose ends?" She made the mistake of turning her head because suddenly she was almost nose-to-nose with him. Nina couldn't hide the way her breath hitched▬for a moment, forgetting what they were talking about and just staring at the little freckles on Peter's nose. He didn't seem to notice the way Nina's cheeks were dusted with pink. For someone who could hear the way her heart was pounding right now if he wanted to, Peter Parker was frustratingly oblivious. 

    "Well," said Peter softly, "a truck pulled away from the construction site▬from a company called Consolidated Shipping." He made a face. "Something's not right about it ... just don't know what. I had Ian start to look into it, but..."

    Nina understood what he meant (even if she was distracted). He wanted her input. "We can bring it up with MJ when we get in there▬" She nodded at the gates. "But ..." shyly, she also offered, "... maybe after this we can grab some coffee, bounce a few ideas?"

    Something lit up in Peter's eyes. For a moment, he looked breathless at her suggestion. "Y▬Yeah," he said in the end, his voice light. "Um..."

    Whatever he was going to say was cut off when they finally reached the front of the line. Nina showed security what was inside her purse, but apart from that, they were quick to pass through to the other side. 

    City Hall and the square outside had been transformed▬so much that it was almost unrecognisable. A stage was set up at the foot of the stone steps, and it nearly stood taller than the polished stone and pristine columns of the City Hall building itself. It was shadowed by more purple Osborn rally banners and guarded at every corner by security. A podium sat at the centre, shadowed by more promises to keep the city safe if Norman would be re-elected. Nina honestly had never seen so much purple in her life. The crowd was huge▬thick and squeezed in shoulder-to-shoulder; a sea of purple caps and shirts amongst thick jackets, jumpers and beanies as everyone huddled together to fight off the growing chill. 

    Nina carefully and politely pushed through the lines and lines of spectators, trying to get closer to the centre of the crowd. She could spot MJ easily in the sea of New Yorkers, her red hair standing out like a sore thumb. "I think I see MJ over there," she told Peter before squeezing between two middle-aged women. "Sorry▬excuse us," she said to their huffs and grumbles. 

    Peter placed his hands on her shoulders, gently guiding them both through towards where Nina had pointed Mary Jane Watson out. As he did, he cleared his throat and tried to get out the words he had wanted to say before, but surprisingly, his throat was closing up on him. "But, uh..." he smiled apologetically at a family they had to shuffle past. 

    They reached a gap in the crowd, and Peter glanced down at Nina beside him, who was peering through the crevices between shoulders with narrowed eyes in search of a route further in. "You know, um..." his mouth felt very dry, and he was suddenly filled with nerves. "Maybe▬uh▬instead of coffee, we could have dinner instead? I▬I could come over▬I'll cook."

    Slowly, Nina spun to face him. She didn't say anything, her heart hitching in her chest▬as if it also wasn't exactly sure what he meant. It started to flutter with hesitant excitement, hoping he meant what she thought he meant but not wanting to be too hopeful. Nina stammered, stunned to a brief, perplexed silence. 

    Seeing the look on her face, Peter grew flustered. "I▬I mean▬or we could▬we could, you know, uh," he started to ramble, "meet up at a totally neutral location for a completely normal meal cooked by professionals, I▬uh▬heh ..."

    "Are you asking me out on a date?" Nina found her voice▬wondering what made her suddenly so courageous. 

    She didn't think Peter Parker could get even more flustered. His mouth fell agape, and she noticed a blush stretch from one ear to the other. "I▬uh▬" He chuckled anxiously, tugging at his tee-shirt collar again. "I mean▬we don't have to, I▬uh▬" Peter palms were growing sweaty. "I didn't▬well▬I mean, do ... If▬If that's what you want?"

    "Is it what you want?" she countered, growing a little flustered again herself.

    He stammered again, and Nina couldn't help the soft burst of chuckles that escaped her lips. Peter stopped stumbling over his words, watching her with a soft, mesmerised stare. "I ... maybe? Yes," he quickly corrected himself at the arch of her brow. "Yes. I mean, yeah, if▬if you want it to be one, I mean. We don't have to▬it doesn't have to be. It's too soon." He shook his head and wished he would keep his mouth shut. "It's too soon, you're right, I▬uh▬we've only just started talking again, I mean▬"

    "Pete," Nina cut him off, a sweet smile on her face. She was blushing. "Dinner at my place sounds good. It's ..." She nodded and nudged him shyly. "It's a date, Tiger."

    Tiger. 

    Peter thought he'd never hear that word again. His heart leapt.

    Then, with a sly grin, she added. "As long as you don't cook those dumplings."

    Peter's eyes clenched shut, and he groaned with playful annoyance the moment she mentioned those dumplings. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

    She grinned. "Nope."

    Nina's smile softened, her heart racing▬as if it couldn't quite just believe what just happened, and she couldn't believe it. A week ago, they weren't talking, and now, Nina felt her breath taken away every time she saw his name pop up on her phone, his little smile when she caught him in person and every cheeky joke he made. Like clockwork, she was falling into his webs▬just as she did this time, and she wondered what part of her let her believe that this would be any different? Was it the adrenlinne? The rush she's experienced this past week helping Spider-Man and Peter Parker gain with the Demons? Was it the memories that have filled her with so much deja vu that she was lost in the sea of their past, reliving every moment with rose-tinted glasses? 

    She didn't know, but here she was anyway, and here she was, perhaps making the same mistake all over again▬but Peter Parker was her drug, and she always returned to the high he gave her. 

    This time, it'll be different, she told herself, and strangely enough, she believed it. 

    And so, Nina let herself be swept up all over again▬but she supposed this time it was different. Last time, their complicated was filled with what-ifs and could-be. Now, Peter reached down and took her hand with a little shy smile, shrugging with a little awkward chuckle that made her shake her head and her heart flutter. Then, he led her through the crowd.

    They passed around towards the edge where MJ was waiting for them, her camera clutched in her hands from where it hung down from her neck. The two of them squeezed through another set of shoulders, missing the small family of three that were slowly making their way towards the stage as well as the ceremony began to start.

    Officer Jefferson Davis looked smart in his full blues uniform and cap. He tugged anxiously at his white gloves and fixed his belt and medals. He wasn't good at public speaking. Stopping bad guys? That he could do. Talking to a crowd of New Yorkians? He'd rather be in a shoot-out with Demons. 

    His cap hung low over his eyes and he fiddled with the brim so he could see better over the sea of heads. He glanced to the side at his small family. His wife, Rio, who was excited enough for the both of them. She smiled and took his arm, still looking as young and beautiful as she did when they first met. Her olive skin was bronze under the sunlight, and her smile beaming bright and wonderful. Brown hair side-swept her forehead back into a neat bun. She had come here straight after work, and thrown on a nice long sweater and jeans, looking well done-up no matter how tired she might be. 

    "There's the stage entrance," she grinned, pointing further past the crowd where two security guards stood at the foot of black stage steps. "And we'll be right out front."

    Rio Morales glanced at their son and pulled him closer. Miles Morales chuckled and squeezed his mother's arm. Everyone told Jeff that his son was a split image of him, but he had his mother's heart and her smile. She was more her son than his in every way that mattered. It had been his decision to want Miles to have his mother's last name. He didn't want him to have to carry the baggage of Jeff's past, and his brother. Aaron Davis was a name that was infamous▬but so more was the alias Officer Jefferson also knew his brother by: The Prowler. 

    As they came to a stop at the foot of the stairs, Officer Jefferson Davis pursed his lips when the crowd grew a little louder at the announcement that Mayor Osborn would come to the stage shortly. OSCORP's C.E.O. was staring down at Jeff from his many obnoxious banners▬and it wasn't helping his nerves.

    He turned to his wife. "Sounds like a lot of people out there," he muttered. 

    Her smile softened and she sighed, gentle and with a touch of endearment. She took his hands and squeezed them, gleaming with pride. "You'll be fine, honey."

    Jefferson Davis huffed and fixed his dress blues again. "The last time I gave a speech, I was in high school. Ms. Steinberg gave me a 'C'-minus."

    His son chuckled at that, finding it hilarious that his father who was often so strong and stubborn could be flustered over something like this. Rio couldn't help but let out a few soft chuckles herself. "Well, mi amor, if only Ms. Steinberg could see you now."

    No matter his nerves, Jefferson Davis smiled at his wife. Her touching pride and support fought against every nerve squirming in his stomach, making him feel like the bravest man on Earth. 

    Miles reached out and lightly nudged his father on the arm. "Hey," he said. He was almost as tall as Jeff now. He wondered where all those years went. His little boy was now starting to become a young man. "You got this, Dad. I mean▬come on!" he gestured excitedly at the city around them. "You saved Spider-Man! I'm pretty sure that makes you an official superhero."

    Jefferson Davis chuckled softly. "A superhero?" He smiled at his son▬bright-eyed, still new to the world that was just starting to open its arms for him to explore. He reached out and placed his hands on Miles's shoulders, offering him some last well-earned advice before he left for the stage. "Or maybe I'm just a guy who doesn't give up."

    He squeezed his son's shoulders and kissed his wife on the cheek. After that, he left them to approach the curator of the event and a few of his coworkers. He shook hands, and Miles watched his father▬filled with the pride and admiration of a boy who wanted to grow up to be just like him. 

    Back in the crowd, Nina and Peter finally managed to catch up to Mary Jane Watson. She glanced over her shoulder when they arrived and grinned. "Just in time," she told them, holding up her camera to take a picture of the stage. "They're about to start."

    Nina shuffled in between MJ and Peter, standing on her toes to try and see over the heads of the people in front of them. She watched the group of police officers all walk up to stand on stage, every one of them in their fancy blues▬looking smart and proud. Peter pointed out Jeff near the middle and Nina and MJ both whooped a cheer. 

    Coming to the centre behind the podium, the Deputy Mayor held up his hands for quiet. "Welcome, everyone," he spoke into the microphone, snug in a grey pin-striped suit and blue tie. "And before I hand it off to Mayor Osborn, I'd just like to say a few words. Our city is so fortunate that such exemplary citizens call our community home..."

    Nina's attention drifted when she recognised someone else in the crowd. She frowned, surprised, but called out gently, "Vinnie?"

    Her coworker turned around at his name, and in seeing her, his eyes widened as well. This was the second she has seen Vinnie out in the wild streets of New York▬and that was two more than she has the entire time she starting working at OSCORP. 

    He excused himself to shuffle back towards them, fixing the beanie over his curly dark hair and the hem of cashmere sweater. "Nina," he greeted, his voice almost drowned out in the cheers and words spoken over the speakers. "Didn't know you were coming to the rally?"

    "We're here for a friend," she smiled. Then, she glanced at Peter and MJ, realising she had to introduce them. "Oh, Vinnie, these are my friends, Peter and MJ."

    A soft wave of recognition washed over Vinnie's face when he saw Peter. "Oh, right▬the biophysisit," he held out his hand to shake Peter's. "Peter ... Palmer, right?"

    Nina reached out and lightly shoved Vinnie with a soft amused look to tell him to behave. Peter frowned, not sure how to respond. They shook hands. "Uh ... Parker. It's Parker."

    "Nina tells me you're working for Octavius," Vinnie crossed his arms, considering Peter with a curious stare. Nina glanced at MJ, not sure why she felt suddenly as though she was swallowed in a thick blanket of tension. "Read his journal article about intra-cranial nueral networks for prosthetics, impressive stuff. Seems a tad unreachable, though." 

    "We're actually making some headway," muttered Peter, eyeing Vinnie in a similar matter. "Octavius's work could save a lot of lives. I'm proud to be a part of it."

    Nina was grateful the tension between them was relieved when Mayor Osborn took the Deputy Mayor's palce as the podium. She frowned at Vinnie subtly, wondering what his problem was and he shrugged, mouthing a curt, What? She knew he was being protective after everything she told him about her and Peter no longer talking. Not to mention he was a short, blunt person who was quite off-putting when you first met him. But it irked her, because she'd rather not have another over-protective and over-bearing personality in her life. 

    "Well thanks, Jim," Norman Osborn's smooth whiskey tone echoed through the speakers. He smiled and Nina only grew more tense▬she could see that smile so well, even being this far back in the crowd, because she remembered it; the sight was frozen in her mind, a constant reminder of the conversation they had. "Couldn't have said it better myself. But I'll try." 

    There were a few chuckles. Norman was charismatic▬it was the one thing that got him this position other than his sly manourvers on the political chess board within New York City. 

    He then held out his hand to the police officer to his right and Officer Jefferson Davis stood a little straighter. He took a deep breath. He looked rather nervous. "We all know that Officer Davis is a hero..."

    "So... you're Nina's supervisor at OSCORP, huh?" MJ tried to break the tension between Vinnie and Peter, lowering her camera after taking a perfect shot of Officer Davis and Norman Osborn. 

    "Eh, supervisor is a strong word," Vinnie slipped his hands into the pockets of his stylish pants. "I try, but Nina has a certain talent for getting her own way when she puts her mind to something."

    Nina smiled at that, bashful at the compliment. 

    "I mean, just a few days ago," continued Vinnie, "she went from having her meeting with the board on those research stations being cancelled to having a face-to-face conversation with the man himself. Got a place at the Grand Central Station showcase later this month."

    She chuckled anxiously, though frowned at Vinnie when MJ and Peter wouldn't see. She wondered what he was doing, and he just simply arched a brow at her▬like they were toe-to-toe on whether Nina should miss her lunch break to keep analysing samples (because what other interesting thing would she do on her lunch break▬eat?) or take her designated hour. 

    Was he trying to grill her? To figure out what she had been lying to him about? Vinnie▬like them all▬was curious at heart. He was a scientist, he strived to learn and understand the truth about the world, and therefore hated it when he was lied to. But Nina couldn't tell him this▬she couldn't tell him her secret. She never realised they were so close that her keeping things from him meant so much▬she wasn't sure whether to be touched or angry. 

    Peter and MJ glanced at her at this. Peter frowned, perplexed. She recognised the slight alarm in his gaze▬a subtle anger and frustration he tried to keep under wraps at the thought of her putting herself in a dangerous situation without him there, let alone not knowing about it. "You spoke with Norman?" he murmured low under his breath, tilting his head. Nina wouldn't meet his gaze. 

    "He saw Harry and mine's work," Nina quickly lied, "was impressed▬He wanted it to be seen. It's a step in the right direction."

    They were interrupted again as Norman finished his speech and turned to Officer Davis who stood attentive in front of him. He took another deep breath, clasping his hands tight in front of him. "For acts of extraordinary bravery above and beyond the call of duty. It is my privilege to present Officer Jefferson Davis▬" he reached for the medal passed to him by the Deputy Mayor, "▬with the Department Medal of Honour."

    Despite the growing tension between the group of friends and coworkers, they all managed a smile to see Officer Jefferson Davis have the Medal of Honour clasped to his uniform▬there was no man more deserving of it. 

    Though Nina's smile faltered when she noticed the Deputy Mayor approach Osborn and mutter something under his breath. The two of them shared a quiet, tense exchange before the Mayor clasped Officer Davis's hand in a firm shake before moving to the back of the stage. As Officer Davis stepped behind the podium, Norman Osborn answered a phone call. 

    "Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor," began Officer Davis. He took another deep, nervous breath. "I▬I share this honour with my family. My wife, Rio, and my son Miles." There was applause. Peter was smiling. Officer Jefferson Davis smiled down to the front row where his family were seated. "Without their support, I▬I couldn't do what I do." 

    Nina tilted her head to peer through the gaps of everyone's shoulders, watching the way Norman's shoulders grew stiff and tense; he was rigid. Whoever was on that other end of the phone call was not making him happy. Something unpleasant twisted in her gut to see him gesture to the officers at his side. They turned away, muttering into their radios. She watched Mayor Osborn be suddenly swarmed by security and ushered away from the stage. No one else seemed to have noticed. 

    Suddenly, Peter doubled over. Vinnie's eyes widened. "Whoa, Parker▬you good, man?"

    "Peter?" Nina clutched his arm, but he wasn't focused on her.

    His spider-sense had struck him so hard it was like a painful gunshot. His heart sped up▬pounding against his chest, and blood pumped to his ears. He glanced around, trying to see what his spider-sense was telling him. But the crowd was overwhelming. He heard every cheer like a blaring horn in his ears, the shuffle of their boots, car horns in the distance, feedback from the microphone▬piercing painfully that made every word the others mutter to him muffled. 

    His gaze zeroed on a sleek black Ford as its wheels screeched to a halt just outside the barriers for the rally. The driver's seat door opened, and security stepped out. But then the man's skin seemed to shift, it warped▬an intense white glow rose up his neck and washed over his face, turning him into a haunting image of lights and shadows; like a negative filter on a phone camera. 

    Peter's eyes widened and he gently nudged Nina aside, trying to step through the crowd towards where the vehicle was parked. He ignored hers, MJ's and Vinnie's questions▬not that they reached his ears. His limbs felt as though they were on fire.

    He reached a gap in the crowd and his breath hitched in horror. He saw the man clutch at his chest, pulling apart his jacket and shirt as the strange energy grew around him. He pulsed and shook, the shadows and bright white glowing lights that were coming from inside of him were becoming unstable, almost like they were going to▬

    Peter felt his heart drop. He tried to get back to his friends▬to get somewhere to change into his suit. But as he turned, he came to a jarring stop. He felt a blade pierce through his back, a sharp pain of absolute betrayal when he saw someone else standing in the shadow of a semi trailer. The same energy that manifested in that man's body warped and shifted from the hands of the figure in an all-black suit and tie. A man who Peter recognised▬and it made him stagger in shock.

    Martin Li. 

    Martin Li was the puppet master of all of the puppet strings of every man behind those Demon masks. He controlled them▬with the same power that shifted at the very touch of his hands. He seemed to be made of it, and it glowed from his eyes like he was a terrifying Demon himself. 

    The same Martin Li who spent days after days building F.E.A.S.T. into the community and charity it was now▬who worked himself to exhaustion to ensure those who had unfortunate things happen in their lives have a place to go and find their footing again. A man who Peter always considered to be kind, and compassionate and▬and had looked up to...

    His reaction time was sloppy▬like he was swimming through strong water currents. Peter followed Martin Li's gaze to the stage, and felt something rip inside his chest to see the Deputy Mayor grow still. A blinding light rose up within him, and just like the security guard, he was corrupted by Li's power. 

    Peter stumbled. His head was pounding. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowd back towards his friends. He saw Nina's concerned frown as she tried to ask him what was happening▬

    The first explosion was the first. Peter wondered if it made the entire city tremble as its loud crack burst out like a vicious engine backfire▬sending smoke and flames billowing up at the entrance of the rally. Debris and cars tipped, the banners on the scaffolding were ripped and torched to ashes. What followed it were the terrified shrieks and screams. 

    The second felt more like a blinding fireball▬a starburst of light and sound waves that rocketed the stage into splinters. He could barely react to seeing the stage were Officer Jefferson Davis had been standing erupt into flames▬there was no way he could have survived that. Peter pushed through the screaming spectators and leapt towards his friends. "GET DOWN!" 

    Peter's arms locked around Nina just as the second explosion's wave of impact billowed over their heads. Debris struck Peter hard on the back of his head, and the last thing he remembered as they hit the ground was a feeling so hot, it was as if his very nervous system was on fire. 

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    "PETER!"

    Explosions rocked overhead. Nina ducked her head under her arms, in tears as she watched Peter be pulled out of the wreckage of City Hall and into the streets outside. The street was littered with bodies. Nina heard screams and shouts, and tried her best to block them all out. The Demons had taken over City Hall. It was a blood bath. If the explosion didn't kill people, those left in the centre of the square, trapped in the fire and smoke, fallen scaffolding and debris were killed by the masked men instead. 

    Nina coughed. The streets around City Hall were nothing except smoke and ashes. Embers fell from the sky, and she could barely see around her. She winced when she heard a strangled scream back the way they came, hitching back a sob. 

    She dropped to her knees beside Peter, her hands hovering over his chest. MJ hovered beside her, her red hair now dark with ash. She had a cut on her cheek and a bruise on her jaw, but otherwise she was okay. Vinnie coughed smog, his glasses broken. He had pulled Peter out of the wreckage with their help, dragging his dead weight through the screams and fire to safety▬or a place as safe as they could manage it. 

    Nina shook him lightly, trying to wake him up. Peter was out cold▬so still that it made her throat close in and her choke back tears. "Peter!" she tried again, desperate. They needed Spider-Man, but more than that, Nina needed him. She needed to know that Peter Parker was okay. She needed him to be okay. 

    There was a nasty cut on his forehead. His cheek was split. Blood soaked his hairline▬but there was a soft breath; a struggling wheeze through his nose as his chest rose and fell. If he was anyone else, he would have died. Nina prayed that it would be enough to save him.

    "Come on, come on, wake up▬" she took his hand and shuffled closer, ignoring Vinnie's attempt to console her. MJ held her hands to her mouth, watching with trembling shoulders and tearful eyes. Her camera was smashed, hanging loosely at her side. 

    Nina had seen Peter bloody. She has seen him bleeding out on her carpet, with gunshots to his leg and cuts on his chest; all purple bruised and clutching broken ribs. She had tended to every wound, cleaned the blood out of her towels and pillows and scrubbed it off her floor. But she hadn't seen it like this. She hadn't seen him so vulnerable and mortal as himself, without the mask. 

    She always thought that she'd watch him die as Spider-Man, she never considered that maybe she'd watch Peter Parker die, instead.

    Nina's vision tunnelled to the days she'd kneel on her floor, trying to sterilise a needle over a lighter instead of taking Peter to a hospital. She grabbed Vinnie's scarf that he passed to her and lifted Peter's head carefully, pressing it where the debris had struck. Vinnie helped her support him, looking grey and pale.

    "Come on, Peter," whimpered MJ, her voice hoarse. "Wake up, wake up, wake up..."

    "Squeeze my hand," Nina whispered to him, her thumb brushing along his cheek. Blood stained her fingers. "Please, Peter, I need you. You have to be okay."

    "We have to find someone," stressed Vinnie, trying to see through the smoke and bodies. "A▬The police, an ambulance, a doctor▬anyone. He▬he can't stay here."

    "Peter," Nina ignored Vinnie and hovered over Spider-Man, trying to get through to him. She couldn't explain that they couldn't send him to a hospital. She couldn't explain to Vinnie how if they stabilised Peter, he would eventually heal himself faster than the average person. He was going to be fine. He had to be fine. "Peter, please, come on..." her voice broke into a pleading whisper when she received no response. 

    "Miles!" she heard somewhere in the smoke. "Miles, I'm here! I'm here, mijo! I'm here!"

    "Stay with me," sobbed Nina, the world around her dissolving to nothing but smoke as she focused on Peter. She let go of his hand and cupped his cheek. "I'm right here ... just please▬stay with me..."

    And there, she heard it, a slight groan as Peter slowly regained consciousness. She gasped and chuckled through her sobs, filled with so much relief she flung herself forward and gently hugged him as he came to. "Oh, God▬Oh, thank God!"

    Realising Peter was awake, Vinnie took a deep breath and got back up on his feet. "I'll find an EMT," he said and rushed off. 

    Peter winced and blinked through his blurred vision, trying to make sense of the destruction around them. "What ...? Nina?" he croaked, barely conscious. "What's▬what's happening?" He coughed and Nina shushed him gently, sobbing in her relief that he was alive. "Li..." he murmured, it all coming back to him slowly. "It▬It was Martin Li..."

    "Don't move," MJ stopped him as he tried to sit up and Peter almost passed out again. "You▬stay here, Pete. You have to stay here."

    "I▬I have to▬" he struggled but could barely move. He glanced around at the destruction and looked as though it was all his fault. He could handle the fact that he wasn't around to save them▬to save New York when they needed Spider-Man the most. "I have to▬my suit▬Jeff▬"

    "Peter, you can't," whispered Nina, her voice hoarse from her tears. She pulled away to meet his gaze, keeping him still. "You▬you can't. You can barely move."

    "I have to save them▬" Peter heard the screams from City Hall and went to sit up, only to collapse again. Nina caught him before his head would hit the tarmac, and she had never seen him so distraught, so broken. "I have to▬they need me..."

    Nina just hugged him, fighting back her own tears as she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders and cradled his head. She met MJ's eyes over the top of his hair, and the two friends shared a trembling, broken exchange in the smoke and fire of City Hall. 

    She clenched her eyes shut when she heard Peter's defeated, pained whimpers▬his tears muffled into her shoulder. The three friends were alone in the fire, destruction and screams, and for once, Spider-Man couldn't come to their safety. Spider-Man was left stranded amongst it, and Peter Parker couldn't get back up from where he had fallen, and he witnessed the consequences of his failure▬and it was something more than heartbreaking.

    Through the smoke, Miles Morales could hear his mother's frantic calls for him to wake as he slowly stirred back to consciousness. He coughed, and all his eyes could see was a haze of burnt orange, black ash, grey smoke and sirens. 

    He rubbed his eyes, his head spinning. Miles coughed again, blinking to try and see more clearly, and his mother's tear-stricken, bloody face tunnelled into view. "Miles!" she sobbed, clutching at his cheeks. "Miles▬baby, it's okay! Oh, God! I'm here! I'm here▬"

    "Mami▬" his words were slurred. An explosion rocked overhead back towards City Hall Square, and screams flooded his ears. He heard sobbing to his left and glanced over, his vision coming in and out▬he frowned at the young woman clutching onto the young man, holding him tightly into a fierce embrace. 

    "Oh, thank God..." sobbed Rio Morales, her breathing frantic as she pulled Miles's gaze back onto her. "Can you hear me, baby?"

    He managed to push himself up onto his elbows. A pounding headache pierced at his temples. He tasted something metallic on his tongue. His mother hitched her breath and scrambled back up onto her feet. "Stay here▬stay here, baby! I'm going to find your father!"

    "Mami▬Mom!" he called after her, his voice croaked and hoarse as he watched her disappear back into the destruction and flames. 

    The sirens were dizzying. But Miles started to remember. He remembered the explosions▬the way he had felt them through his entire body until they rattled his bones. He remembered his dad throwing himself at the bomber▬at the Deputy Mayor before the stage had erupted into smoke and fire. His stomach and heart lurched. Dad...

    "Mom!" he shouted again, though his mother was nowhere in sight. He groaned and trembled as he tried to stand up on shaky legs. His heart pounded▬Miles wasn't sure whether he was thinking straight. In the haze of the chaos around him, the only thing that filled his mind was the fact that he had to make sure his Mom and Dad were safe.

    There was no one to stop him as he stumbled past broken chairs, ripped banners and soot at his feet. He gripped the edge of a toppled car and forced himself to continue, ducking under broken scaffolding and past torn canvas▬following the same path his Mom had taken, calling out for her in the ash that had turned the bright afternoon sun into night.

    It was true when they said that when all else failed, adrenaline kept people going. Miles was in pain, he had barely any idea what was happening or what he was trying to do▬he felt sick, and every breath tasted like poison, and yet he was still going. He was living a dream that had suddenly turned into a real-life nightmare, yet he pushed on. He couldn't give up▬he had to find them. 

    He ducked through the shattered glass windows of the cafe on the corner of the block, hearing the sound of the building around him groan as it trembled on flimsy, cracked support. A car had lodged nose-first through the door. Miles didn't stay long enough to see if the silhouette inside was still breathing. He crawled underneath it, coughing and holding up his arm to shield himself against the flames that engulfed the kitchen. 

    Miles climbed out the other side and ran through the gap in the flames, leaping over fallen chairs and broken tables back into the square. 

    He reached the back end of the rally site. Speakers were somehow still playing the music on repeat▬and it was haunting when accompanied by the sounds of screaming and mournful cries. Scaffolding had collapsed and fallen, fire was climbing up the side of one of the buildings and ash coated the pavement. The Osborn banners overhead were shredded if not disintegrated▬the lonely banner left to soar in the wind showing a dreadful scar right down the middle of Norman's pearly-white smile. The purple fabric had turned into an ominous green in the broken lights of the rally entrance.

    Miles took a few deep breaths, trying to gather is surroundings when he noticed a lonely EMT struggling to lift fallen scaffolding off someone trapped underneath. Miles's heart lurched when he saw who it was▬ "Mom!"

    He ran and dropped to his knees at her side. She saw him and her face went pale. "Miles!"

    He gritted his teeth and forced his hands underneath the metal bars. Miles heaved, pushing with all of his strength and might. He clenched his eyes, his feet skidded on the ground▬but it was too heavy.

    "Mom!" he cried out, hearing her struggling wheezes for breath.

    "Hurry!" 

    The paramedic was struggling, too▬his grip was shaking. At any second, he wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. Miles searched the debris around him, and his heart leapt when he found a metal pipe a few paces away. He groped for it and scrambled back to his mother. Hiking it underneath the scaffolding, Miles forced it up with a desperate cry. His arms were shaking▬he never realised he had so much strength in him. 

    It had worked▬the pipe had levered the scaffolding up just enough for the EMT to grab Miles's mother by the arms and pull her out to safety. As soon as she was free, Miles let go and stumbled back at the force of the scaffolding hitting the ground. 

    His arms ached▬they felt like lead, but in hearing his mother's sobs of his name, he found enough strength to crawl over to her and hold her up. Miles pulled her into a tight hug, "Are you okay?!" he cried, shaking himself.

    The EMT placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nice going, kid," he said▬looking gaunt and exhausted. But he had to keep going in this nightmare, too. 

    Miles pulled away to look his mom over. "Are you okay?!" he asked her again and she nodded, crying.

    "Yes, yes," her voice barely croaked through her throat. Her cheeks were covered in ash and bruises. "Yes▬are you▬are you okay?"

    "I'm all right, Mom," he helped her to sit up properly▬more focused on her than himself. "I'm all right. Are you sure you're okay?"

    She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yes, I'm gonna be all right," Rio reassured her son, cupping his cheeks. She winced when she tried to move closer, her leg flaring up in pain. But she shook her head at Miles's worried stare. "I'm gonna be all right, mijo," she said again. "I love you."

    He didn't want to leave her like this, but he had no choice. Miles glanced up into the flames ahead of him, his eyes wild▬both determined and terrified. "All right▬all right, listen. I love you, too, Mami. But I have to go find Dad, okay?"

    Miles stood up and shuffled away. Rio's eyes widened and her face dropped. "N▬No▬" she tried to stop him, but couldn't move. The EMT crouched down at her side to steady her. "No, no▬Miles, no. MILES!"

    She watched her son leap up onto the scaffolding and crawl through the other end, balancing dangerously on the platform and sobbing a pleading, desperate cry: "Please, stay here▬Miles, no!"

    But he was gone.

    Miles's hands were scratched and scathed. He felt blood run down the side of his face. It hurt more and more to breathe every time. But he dragged himself to the edge of the platform, peering over the debris and into the thicket of the chaos. EMTs were scattered around, helping remaining civilians to safety with the help of Good Samaritans who had managed to get away from the explosion unscathed, or who ran to help the moment they saw the explosion. The stage was nothing more than splinters and rubble. The fire was blinding▬Miles could feel it scorch through his clothes even from where he was hiding. He searched the sea of wounded, narrowing his eyes through the smoke▬he searched for his father's uniform; a beacon of safety and hope along with the other police officers who were courageously answering the call. He didn't see him anywhere. 

    His heart pounded and his stomach lurched with a horrible feeling he didn't want to believe▬he pushed it down and ignored it. No, his dad was somewhere. He just had to find him. He had to find him▬

    Tyres squealed. Miles frowned and watched as a group of black cars swerved to a stop in the centre of the square. "What the Hell...?" he murmured, watching as suited men in terrifying, Demon masks stepped out. 

    They turned onto the people in the square outside City Hall and raised their weapons.

    Miles gasped and cowered, hiding his face and covering his ears as rapid rounds of gunfire split through the air. He heard the sound of people running, blood-curdling screams and bodies hitting the ground. Miles clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the sound to disappear▬but it would never; it seeped through his skin and deep into his bones, and there it would haunt him forever. 

     He refused to look up, continuing to crawl along the platform until he found a way down into the ruins of the stage. Miles raced for cover behind the lighting and audio company's trailer. He felt like he was about to throw up▬He flinched and cowered again when three bullets struck the marks of a group of innocent people, cornered up against the trailer and shot down by the Demons like prisoners in front of a firing squad. 

    Miles held his hand over his mouth to stop his laboured breathing to reveal his hiding place. He watched the four pairs of polished black shoes, now spotted with blood, walk right past him on the other side of the trailer. 

    He took a deep breath, gripping the edge of the trailer with a trembling grip▬his knuckles pale with effort to keep him standing. His knees were close to buckling. Miles clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to block out the sound of a blade running a man clean through. 

    He was terrified. Absolutely terrified. And it would be so easy to sit there and cower▬to hide and wait for them all to leave, if they didn't find him first, and when they did, to just give up and accept his fate. 

    Miles almost did. How could he get past the Demons to find his father? And when he did▬what would he do then?

    His gaze difted up to the rooftops of the buildings wrapped around the square. Miles searched for the red and blue suit with the white spider emblem▬he waited for Spider-Man to drop out of the sky to their rescue. He waited for his hero▬but his hero never showed.

    Miles set his jaw and scowled. His brow furrowed in determination. 

    He took another step forward. 

    If Spider-Man wasn't here, then Miles had to become his own hero. 

    He gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move. He dropped to them and crawled further into the destruction, shuffling through the broken back window of an overturned car. 

    What would Spider-Man do? No, what would Miles's father do?

    (He wouldn't give up).

    Miles's elbows pushed through the shattered glass. He ducked under the chairs and console to the front of the car. He eyed the black shoes that walked around, waiting for the right moment to sneak out and run for the stage. 

    He gasped when his shoulder hit the head of the driver's seat and a body slumped down out of the seat belt. Miles's back pressed against the door, staring with wide, horrified eyes at the woman who crumpled in front of him, unmoving.

    He took a few heavy breaths and kept moving. 

    Miles crawled out through the front windscreen of the car and shuffled in the shadows of the stage steps. He took a moment to stare at the smoke and flames that curled up outside City Hall▬and he swallowed hard. 

    He peered over the edge, watching the Demons wander around City Hall, searching for survivors▬and if they did, they shot them where they stood.

    Embers settled in Miles's tight, dark brown curls. He wanted to cough and did all he could to swallow them back down until his stomach hurt. His eyes fixed on what remained of the stage, searching for his father▬and he grew more and more restless and desperate when there was no sign of him anywhere.

    What had they done to him?

    Anger rose up in Miles's chest▬more toxic than the ash filling his lungs. He found a broken metal pole and gripped it tight in his hands. 

    A command echoed loudly across the square littered with bodies. Miles watched most of the Demons start to group in the centre and move out, returning to their cars. A few lingered near the stage. One of them had their back turned to Miles.

    He clenched his hand around the metal pipe. With a surge of bravery▬or perhaps utter stupidity▬Miles stood. He climbed up onto the stage and crept up to the Demon standing tall alone on the stage. Miles stepped over bodies, heaving. As he reached the Demon's shadow, he raised the metal pole high and went to bring it down▬

    The Demon saw him at the last minute. He spun around and shouted in fury. He raised his sword and swung it. Miles cried out and flung up the pole just in time▬the sword sliced right through it and he tripped backwards, missing its edge by inches. He scrambled away as the Demon stood over him. Miles's back hit the scaffolding and he stared, his heart frozen in his throat with terror, as his life flashed right before his eyes. 

    "N▬No▬" he tried to beg for his life. "No, stop▬wait▬!" Miles flung up his arms. 

    But the final swing never came. 

    "Enough!" shouted a voice to his left. The Demon and Miles both faltered. The man veiled in a terrifying black and white mask glanced over at a man standing shouldered by Demon guards. He was the only one not wearing a mask. 

    Miles stared at him, his heart pounding in his ears and his chest heaving. He took in his dark hair, his skin dirtied with grime, and the way the same dark energy that swarmed around the Demons' blades glowed from his monolidded eyes. 

    Miles would remember that face for as long as he lived. 

    "We have to leave," ordered the leader of the Demon gang as the sirens echoing a few blocks away got louder and louder. "Now."

    Miles hitched his breath as he watched the man towering over him lower his sword. He stepped away and turned his back on him▬leaving Miles alive with no second thought, like a puppet being pulled at the strings. 

    And Miles was left alone in the graveyard of smoke and flames▬though he felt like some part of him had died with the rest of them, anyway.

    His breathing was frantic. He rushed to his feet, only one thought in his mind▬"Dad▬" Miles scrambled further downstage, searching for his father in the destruction and mass open grave of bodies. "Dad!"

    And then▬at last▬he saw him.

    Miles staggered. 

    He may as well have had that sword run straight through his heart. 

    "Dad!" he sobbed and broke out into a run. 

    He dropped to his knees, trembling as he pulled the body to lie on its back. Crimson stained the blue of his uniform, seeping around the medal pinned on his chest. Miles's breath was a wheeze as he gasped for air as his whole chest caved in. He grabbed his father's shoulders, shaking him to wake him up, but he didn't. Just like every other body scattered in the destruction, he did not move. "DAD!" 

    Miles tugged him close and wrapped his arms around his father's shoulders tightly. He rocked back and forth, his sobs drowned out in the sound of sirens and shouts. He buried his head into his father's shoulder, his whole body shaking with his weeping cries.

    Officer Jefferson Davis was dead▬and he died doing what he always did: being a hero.

END OF ACT ONE

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    a/n: here is a summary of what happened in this chapter if anyone was unable to read through it. i understand, this chapter explored and described dark, heavy and traumatic topics in depth. i'm here if you need <3

     basically, we are at the Osborn rally and award ceremony for Officer Davis at City Hall. Peter asks Nina out on a date, he and MJ also meet Vinnie and Pete and Vinnie have a tense moment - mostly because Vinnie is not always the most approachable person and Peter can get a bit jelly. Peter finds out that Nina spoke with Norman, but doesn't know he threatened her. We have a brief cute moment between Jeff, Miles and Rio. Jeff gives Miles some advice that is super important to Miles's story: 'A superhero? Or maybe I'm just a guy who doesn't give up'. The Demons show up and a few security guards and the Deputy Mayor are corrupted▬they have bombs strapped to them and this is where the terror attack on City Hall happens. Peter sees that their leader is Martin Li, the director of F.E.A.S.T. Unfortunately, Peter is knocked unconscious and can't do anything as Spider-Man. Miles goes into the chaos to search for his dad who had been on the stage - the centre of the second bombing, and finds him dead. This becomes Miles's Ben Parker moment. 

    this mission was incredibly hard to play, even harder to write and describe, and i can imagine it would be very heavy and hard to read. my heart goes out to every person who has experienced something like this, or has lost a loved one because of an event such as this. 

    i originally wanted to get this out last year, but yeah, it was delayed cos i was tossing between leaving the chapter as it was, or adding miles's stealth mission to it. not only because he isn't a main character in this story, its mainly focused on nina and peter, but also because of how heavy the mission is. 

     i will see you guys in the next act <3 ily all.

    (minimal editing).