𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 | 𝐩. 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫

𝟎𝟒. 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬

— 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 —

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AS CAPTAIN GEORGE STACY BENT DOWN AND PICKED UP THE REMNANTS OF WEBBING, HE IMMEDIATELY CLENCHED HIS FIST AND CRUSHED THE SUBSTANCE. He'd been so close, yet at every turn Spider-man was one step ahead. It was only once he saw the claw marks that marred the seating that chills crawled up his neck. Deja vu rippled everywhere he looked. It only took another second for wisps of blonde hair to play through his memory.

He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose as his fists quaked. It had been six years since his daughter fell from the Oscorp tower. Six years since Spider-man failed to catch her after first putting her in danger. He didn't agree with the bugle on many things, but this he did: Spider-man was a menace.

"Captain!" his title was called.

"What have you got, MacQuaid?" Captain Stacy asked, straightening as his head detective approached.

"Paramedics rushed off one identified Benjamin Parker Jr.," Detective Lachlan MacQuaid explained. "Now, the team has interviewed most of the staff, actors, and audience. Minor injuries mostly."

"Everyone accounted for?" Captain Stacy asked.

MacQuaid slowly shook his head. "Some reporters caught wind of Harry Osborn attending tonight's performance. They have photographic proof that the Oscorp heir was here. We have yet to find him... there's something else."

Captain Stacy's brow lifted and his lips twisted with chagrin. "Spit it out, MacQuaid."

"The lead actress of tonight's performance, Maxine Jacobs, she's also missing," MacQuaid said. He paused as if hesitating to share his next piece of information. "We have a witness who last saw her in the possession of Spider-man."

Captain Stacy could feel his temperature rising. He could hear that his breathing was heavier. He knew he was failing to keep his composure. And frankly, he didn't care anymore. He'd lost his little girl. He wasn't about to let another family suffer like his own. "This case has moved to our number one priority. I don't care how it's done, but I want this vigilante unmasked and behind bars."

MacQuaid didn't reply. The only sign that he understood his instructions was a subtle head nod before the detective rushed away. From the way he gathered the surrounding officers, Captain Stacy knew the detective was relaying orders. Slowly, he turned his back to his men and closed his eyes, trying with all of his willpower to forget that dark night but still remember the reason he continued to serve.