╭-°—✞—˚✧ ψ ✧˚—✞—°-╮
CHAPTER SEVEN!
𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖙𝖔𝖔 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖌
╰-°—✞—˚✧ ψ ✧˚—✞—°-╯

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THE SUN HAD ALREADY begun setting by the time Salene was able to get out of the restaurant, having Kyril do her chores before she felt like she would explode.

She was on the roof of her building, her baby hairs blowing in the wind as the mask finished locking around her head. Salene slipped on the goggles that were attached to the mask, different features of the suit popping up before her eyes as she shot up into the sky, flying over different parts of Queens. She found herself in an alleyway outside Delmar's bodega, often Salene would stop at the sandwich shop much to her father's dismay.

It seemed to have been perfect timing when Salene watched as men in masks of the avengers strolled into the ATM bank across the street toting guns and technology that she's never seen before. Salene straightened up, channeling her energy into her gauntlets as she crept her way across the empty street, Peter seemed to have watched the same thing, and soon he was by her side in his suit.

"Hey, follow me, alright?" Peter asked and Salene pushed past him as she silently went inside, creeping up to the first man with his back to the wall. Salene grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, quickly punching him in the nose and knocking him out. She never paid attention to faces, she just punched, and dodged, and hoped she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire of Peter's webs.

It soon came to light that she wouldn't have to worry about that considering the fake Captain America spun around with what looked like a gun with a claw from a claw machine attached to it. It emitted a strange blue light that held Salene in place, she turned her head to see Peter in mid-air, also covered in the blue light.

"Whoa!" He spoke, his suit had altered his voice and she looked back to the man, "this is so weird."

Peter soon stopped talking when the two were being slammed into the roof and floor of the building. But once again he started speaking. Salene glared up at the imposter and used her gauntlets to send him flying back. The two fell to the floor and Salene scrambled to get back up, dodging different punches and blasts from the high-tech guns.

She gave a roundhouse kick to her another gun and gasped as it started to glow purple, the man seemed to lose control over it and Salene barely made it out of the way before a bright purple laser shot out and tore everything in half. A scream erupted from her throat and she threw one more punch before looking around for Peter, her wide eyes being helped by the goggles that searched through the smirk.

She gave up, looking out to see that the bodega was on fire. Salene didn't hesitate to fly out of the wreckage of the bank and into the smoldering sandwich shop. Her hearing was tuned into the three sets of heartbeats in the building, all fast-paced and all deafeningly loud. She was easily able to find Peter and Mr. Delmar, helping the boy carry the man and his cat out of the burning building.

Salene held up Murph, pressing her ear against his ribs where his lungs were breathing in fully and exhaling just as well.

The man and his cat were going to be okay.

Salene jogged back to the wreckage of the bank and sighed in defeat where the group of robbers disappeared.

"You uh, did great in there," Peter's voice spoke up next to her and she turned her head to look at him. He still had his mask on. She only nodded before looking back at the bank once more and taking off.

────── 〔ψ〕──────

SALENE WAS STILL shaking when she climbed back into her bedroom through her window, quickly shaking off her suit and pulling off her goggles and mask. She looked into her mirror and frowned at the bruise forming on her left temple. That's where the butt of a gun had managed to smack her.

Salene hadn't found the chance to go to the drugstore down the street and get more concealer, so she quickly pulled her hair down and brushed it out, leaving the strands to cover the bruise as best as she could without it violating health codes. Salene quickly dressed in her waitress uniform, heading down to the restaurant where they seemed to have been coming down from a rush hour.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out, it almost sent Salene stumbling down the rest of the stairs as she looked around to find the owner of the voice, "miss us?"

Salene locked her eyes onto the two boys and the girl at the front doors, Adrian Jr., Dina, and Alessandro all stood there, smiles on their faces. She couldn't hold back the squeal from escaping her throat as she ran down to tackle all three into a hug.

"Oh my god!" She yelped, hugging them all individually, seeming to have lingered onto a Dina just a second more. Having three brothers and just one other sister, the two seldom fought, which is something that Salene was grateful for, she always heard about other girls and some guys complaining about their sisters all the time and she's happy that she and her sister will always be there for each other.

"Salene! If you're going to work, your hair is going to be up!" She heard her father from the kitchen, "Boys! Dina, get to work!" Salene and the three siblings all looked to each other before snickering amongst themselves and gave Salene another round of hugs before they went up to change.

Salene pulled her hair up back into a bun that she would use for her fighting: a sloppy mess held together by her hair-tie. She pulled on an apron, shoving a notepad and pen into her pockets and a handful of straws. Salene was ready for the diner to be closed in three hours. They normally closed late when it was later in the week, knowing that many people would come out at night on their paydays.

She didn't pay much attention to the bell that rang when the door opened, only giving out the same greeting that she has memorized. Salene only noticed that the new customers sat in her row, prompting her to head over to the table as they sat down.

"Welcome to the Kalimeris cuts, I'm Salene and I'll be your waitress for the night," Salene introduced as she pulled out her notepad and pen, flipping it open to a new page, and finally looked up, her breath hitching in her throat as she made eye contact with Peter Parker and his aunt, "Uh, can I get your drinks?"

Peter seemed to be just as speechless, this was probably the most she's ever spoken to him in his five years of knowing her. The two seemed to only have solidarity in being the butt of Flash Thompson's cruel words.

"Well, I'll get a water," May politely spoke up, cutting through the awkward tension and bringing Salene back to the present, writing down the drink, and looked over at Peter once more.

"And you?" Salene asked and Peter widened his eyes when he realized she was talking to him personally.

"Uh, do you have sprite?" He asked and Salene smiled, writing the drink down.

"We do, I'll be right out with that," Salene replied and shut her notepad, tucking away the pen and small booklet and walked over to the cups, and grabbed a tray.

Salene was fast in getting the drinks for the two, listening to the chefs yell at each other over different dishes they needed. She gave one glance to them and smiled at how happy they all were to be in each other's presence and walked back to Peter and his aunt.

"Salene," May spoke up as the girl set down the drinks, catching her attention, "do you go to Mid-Town?" Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at Peter. Does May know he's Spider-Man? Did he find out what she is?

"I do, can I ask why?" Salene asked and May looked to Peter with a smile.

"Peter and I were just talking, he said you looked familiar," May spoke, making Salene nod as she pulled out her notepad.

"While I'm here, are you two ready to order?" Salene asked and May nodded, looking at the menu.

"Yeah, could you tell me what the Pah-stit-sio is?" May asked and Salene leaned over to see what the woman was asking about. She could help the smile that graced her face as she read the word.

"Pastitsio, it's a baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce," Salene answered, glancing to Peter for a second to see him shifting in his seat, "one of my favorites."

"Then that's what I'm having," May smiled up, handing Salene the menu. The blonde gently took it as she wrote down the order and looked to Peter who was staring her down the whole time.

"Peter?" Salene asked and he blinked, looking down at the menu, his mouth opened and closed but his voice struggled to come out.

"I'll get t-the chicken g-gyro," he stuttered out, making Salene even more nervous. Why was he acting so weird? Did she expose herself? Was it the bruise?

"Do you want fries with that?" She asked and he silently nodded, handing her the menu. Salene gently took it as she gave him a wary eye and wrote down his order.

She walked back to the kitchen and pinned up the order, putting the menus away, and spun around as three out of four of her siblings made their way down the stairs. Dina and Alessandro were laughing over something, Adrian jr. was only rolling his eyes with a smile. Salene quickly made her way over, her smile instantly growing as she hugged them all once more.

"It's been way too long since I've seen you all," Salene spoke and looked up at Adrian Jr. who was in the middle of re-tying his apron. He only smiled and ruffled her hair a bit after finishing, leaving her to swat his hand away.

He laughed and patted her shoulder as he walked off to tend to some tables. Dina and Alessandro went off to help Isadora in the kitchen with their dad, Adrian Sr. Salene spun around and looked to see May and Peter were deep in conversation, she looked to see that almost no one was in the diner, which meant she could get started on the closing chores.

Salene grabbed a spray bottle of her cleaner and her wipe, spraying all the unused tables down. She had established her routine and was now going through the motions of wiping them from corner to corner and edge to edge. Salene wasn't sure why, but she always found something calming about wiping the tables. It might have to do with the satisfaction she gets after but she couldn't be sure.

The TV was quiet in the background until another customer asked for it to be louder. Salene quietly complied and pushed the button about five times before she felt it was good. The newscaster was doing a piece about the bank fight Salene was in that night. She watched as the camera caught her getting hit in the head by the gun. Salene had rubbed the same spot she was hit, the ache still there.

The ring of the bell at the counter alerted Salene that May and Peter's order was done.

"Table 10," Dina smiled and looked to Peter and back to Salene with a wink, "you better not mess it up." Salene only rolled her eyes with a smile as she took the tray, bringing them their food.

"One gyro chicken with fries and pastitsio," Salene spoke and set their food down in front of them, her fake smile was bright and looked genuine to everyone within five feet of her.

"Thank you," May responded, opening up her napkin-wrapped fork.

"No problem, don't hesitate to call me over if you need anything," Salene responded as sweetly as she could. May only gave her a warm look before Salene strode off, hoping Peter wouldn't notice the bruise.

She felt a familiar pain creep up her throat and soon she felt like a hand wrapped around her neck. She looked to Kyril who seemed to understand. Salene could help to let out the chokes as she struggled to breathe, the tray in her hand clattering to the floor. She got to her knees, her shaking hand struggled to keep its grip. Kyril flooded her vision as he used his hands to hold her face in place and keep her eyes locked on him.

"Go to your room, I'll cover them, don't reveal yourself," Kyril whispered and Salene nodded as best as she could due to his tight grip.

She got to her feet with his help and kept a fast pace to the stairs, practically running as she pulled her hair down and her apron off. Salene was half-naked by the time she made it to her room as she tripped over her own feet and landed next to her suit that happened to be laying out on the floor from when she stumbled in.

She was burning up with energy and struggled to get her suit on. But she got it on and the relief was instantaneous.

Salene thought back to the advice Tony gave her before she fought the Avengers.

Don't lose yourself.

Salene really wanted to disappear.