Using the shadows, I return home and grab Rose as well as her charging station, the latter of which I set in the shadow realm. The shadow realm, as you might guess, is the world inside the shadows that allows me to travel through a new plain of existence, only on a much deeper level inside the heart of shadows, rather than by the surface.

"Come on, Rose," I mutter to the furry spider on my shoulder, grabbing my bag. "We have to hurry before Peter gets here. We're having a little holiday, you and I; we're going to hide out somewhere until Mum gets better."

Rose clicks once, apparently not liking the idea. "It'll be fine," I assure her. "I can take care of myself. Plus I've got you, so what can go wrong?"

She hesitates, apparently not wanting to argue with the last thing I said, but clicks once again. "Like food's an issue. I've got some emergency money, don't I? This seems like an emergency to me."

Rose clicks once.

"It is necessary to go, Rose! We can't stay here! The police will come and throw me in an orphanage because I'm too young! I can't go back to an orphanage!"

Rose clicks once.

"They told me themselves, Rose! They'll take me away!"

Rose clicks once.

I take Rose in my hands and make her look at me. "Please, Rose. Trust me, I'm not lying. Why would I lie about something like this?"

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Rose clicks twice.

I hug Rose tightly, though not so tight that I break her. I don't have the time to replace her parts right now. "Thanks, Rose. I knew I could count on you. Now let's get going. I want to be as far away as possible for when Peter gets here."

Without another word, I move into the shadows and vanish deep into the shadow realm.

Peter's POV:

When Carmen heard she'd most likely have to go to an orphanage, I noticed she'd gone pale and started trembling. I wasn't expecting her to disappear. "Carmen!" I yelled, but all this did was cause Aunt May and that doctor to hurry back into the room.

"Where did Carmen go?!" May asks, looking around. "She, Uh... she snuck by you, I think..." I stammer. I've always been a terrible liar. May gives me a disbelieving look, but doesn't question me. "She is pretty good at sneaking around..."

"Well I don't know where else she could be in this room and if she left through the window... well, let's just say her mother wouldn't be the only Stacy who needs medical attention..." the doctor mumbled quietly, almost to himself. He absently looked out the window, sighing in relief when he saw no sign of an injured Carmen down at the ground.

I'm tempted to tell Aunt May about Carmen's literal disappearance, but I can't do that without telling her about Carmen's powers... and therefore my powers...

Even if I was alright with telling Aunt May about my powers, it's not my place to tell her about Carmen's.

I sigh worriedly, running a hand through my messy chestnut hair and glance at Gwen. It's kind of a joke now that I call her Miss Stacy, but I know that she's still the same old Gwen that helped me crack a code that lead me to discover Kingpin's plans, the same old Gwen who used to swing around the streets with me most nights after we revealed to one another that we have powers.

The same Gwen who trusted me to help out Carmen when she first took the girl in after a mi-...

I freeze, realising what I didn't before. Carmen has been in an orphanage. She must've hated it a lot if she's really this scared to go back. I wonder what happened there.

Without hesitation, I hurry out the building and run into an alley near the hospital so I can change into my suit. "Karen, what's the quickest way to Carmen's house?" I ask once my mask is over my face. I'm calculating the route as we speak, Karen assures me. Why do you seem so worried?

As I swung hurriedly towards Carmen's house, I fill Karen in on what's been happening. She knows I kinda like Carmen, so she's quite supportive of me. It's nice to have Karen as a friend.

Would you like me to look up any information on Carmen's legal background? Karen asked. It may reveal family members she may stay with or even the orphanage she used to live in.

"Uh, Okay..." I hesitantly agree. Hopefully Carmen won't see it as an invasion of her privacy. "See what you can find, but don't tell me anything unless it's definitely useful."

Once I reach Carmen's house, I hurry inside and search the place. I let Karen continue her background check on Carmen in the, well, background. Normally I wouldn't just ignore Karen like this, but this is Carmen we're talking about and she's not in the best state of mind.

I saw it in her eyes.

She looked...

Terrified...

I searched Carmen Stacy's entire legal background including medical appointments, birth certificate and blood relations, Karen informs me. But I'm not getting a single result.

"What? What does that mean?" I ask Karen in disbelief. It doesn't seem like Carmen has any legal identity, not even recent ones. Legally speaking, Carmen doesn't exist.

I listen in shock. Carmen doesn't legally exist? That's crazy! "Uh... try Gwen, then," I say. "Maybe she'll have something related to Carmen there?"

Karen and I start searching again, but I still find nothing. The house seems untouched, almost like I beat Carmen here. Did she even come here at all?

Gwen Stacy has a number of files on the laptop of the chief of police, but they seem unrelated to any criminal activity. It appears that Captain Stacy is Gwen's father. They seem close. Maybe he would know Carmen?

I grin at Karen's suggestion. "Karen, you're a genius! Let's go see if we could talk to him!"

I hurry out, hoping Captain Stacy will have some idea of where Carmen might be.