Pandemonium (Miguel O' Hara x OC)

(4)

"Good evening, Ms. Gonzalez. I'm Dr. Jeung, the medical examiner handling Manuel Gonzalez's case. I must inform you that your son's body has been processed and cremated, and is no longer in our facility. We understand this is a difficult time for you, and we want to assure you that we handled his remains with the utmost care and respect. Our team is here to support you through this process, and if there's anything we can do to assist you further, please don't hesitate to let us know. Our deepest condolences go out to you and your family during this time."

____________

Tara forces herself to visit a few places, unsure whether it's to deepen the knife or to reminisce and reflect.

She finds herself at Evergreen Heights, Manuel's favorite park.

Approaching the fountain where he used to beg for spare coins to make wishes, she notices the growing pile of brown and silver currency at the bottom. Walking past the slides he'd gleefully slide down and the swings he'd insist on riding solo, she can't help but smile through the ache in her heart. The distant jingle of the ice cream truck, a regular stop after their playtime, adds to the bittersweet nostalgia. Although no one notices Tara, still in her Flame-Spider suit and unmasked, she avoids lingering to avoid being recognized. It's been a month since she vanished from her dimension, and she's surprised by the absence of wanted posters, newspapers featuring her face, or news coverage on TV screens in storefront windows. It's as if Flame-Spider's sins have been absolved without her knowledge, and everyone has forgiven her and moved on.

Tara isn't satisfied with that. She wishes the people of Manhattan would be more angry and harsh towards her. She feels she deserves the backlash for letting her son die and then disappearing to hide away in other dimensions, evading her crimes.

She visits his school, where she used to work before quitting due to the risk of being discovered as Flame-Spider. Villains from her universe had a tendency to disrupt her lessons, and there were only so many excuses she could make when she was responsible for children under the age of five and couldn't keep asking her coworkers to supervise them for "just five minutes."

She was on the verge of being fired anyway, despite being one of the school's favored teachers. To avoid the consequences of being a part-time superhero, she resigned and decided it wouldn't be so bad to work for the school district instead, but from home. It worked, and being Flame-Spider became more manageable without the constant worry of having to abandon her students.

She gazes at the double doors leading to the front office, remembering the time she made Manuel stand in front of it for a classic "first day of school" photo.

Things come to a head when she reaches her apartment. Everything is just as she left it, as if her world hadn't been turned upside down and it had all been a bad dream. She half expects Manuel to come running down the hallway at the sound of her entrance, ready to greet her with a warm hug and tell her about his day at school.

But it doesn't happen.

The halls are dim, and the bedroom doors are closed. She tries to turn on the lights, but the area remains shrouded in darkness. Then she remembers that not only did she go missing from work, but she also failed to pay her utility bills on time. Because of that, the lights are off, and there's a chance the water won't work either.

She stumbles to the living room sofa in the darkness, her thighs brushing past sharp edges of coffee tables and nearly colliding with a toy bicycle. Almost tripping over something cushiony under her feet, she blinks blearily at the object before bending down to pick it up.