[BOOK 2 OF THE HAVOC SERIES]
❝i don't like you because
you're spider-man. i like
you and you just happen
to be spider-man.❞
in which lena santos just
wants a break, but nick
fury has other plans for her
and her friends.
[ spider-man: far from home...
┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐ chapter two RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT └────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┘
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───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
THE PRESS IS NOT kind to them. Lena typically avoids reading articles and watching news reports in which she appears as Havoc, but they quickly become impossible to evade. The word about their true identities spreads like a virus, infecting every news channel, paper, magazine, and website. Their names are trending on Twitter worldwide, with "Mysterio" also on the list.
The Wicked Witch of Queens. The Phantom of New York. Spider-Menace. Those are just a handful of the nicknames The Daily Bugle has given them as they continue their slew of atrocities against the three teenagers. Even though the press is supposed to be unbiased, Jameson notably removes all mentions of "allegedly" and "reportedly" during his endless tirades about their evildoings. He's doing everything in his power to paint them as villains.
The Parker, Seager, and Santos/Rivera families haven't left the apartment since that afternoon. The summer sun had already set. Now, darkness spreads across the small living room, interrupted only by the light of the television screen and Owen's phone. A slight breeze blows through the window they'd dared to crack open.
For the past several hours, they've sat frozen in front of the television, cringing at every defamatory broadcast but unable to peel their eyes away. They've been united under the worst circumstances. Even so, they're supporting each other without a hitch, pressed close together as if their mere presence together could fix everything.
At first, Lena had sat in Ma's lap as she'd soothingly rubbed circles into her shoulders. Peter had been stiff with dread beside Aunt May. Graham, whose parents had assured him that he had their full support (after Mrs. Seager had gotten a glass of water and recovered from the shock of the big reveal), had been sandwiched between his mother and father.
Now the trio is squished together on the floor in front of the sofa. Lena sits between her two boys with her head against Graham's shoulder, Peter's head in her lap, and her hand softly toying with his curls as she watches the latest spew of hatred from Jameson.
"Well, now, this city — and the world — see them for what they truly are: murderers."
The television displays a photo that cuts Lena's gut like a twisting knife. The mural of Spider-Man, Havoc, and Specter that had been painted on the side of a building near Lena's apartment has been defaced. Someone had spray-painted devil horns on each of them, along with the words "WE BELIEVE MYSTERIO" covering the "Heroes — We Miss You" that had originally been at the center of the triangle. Judging by the difference in handwriting styles, it hadn't been done by the original artist, but that doesn't ease the sharp pain in her stomach.
