Spider-Man: Far From Home [5]

4

The sound of Ned and Betty's boat crashing against the shore snapped Astra out of her daze. She, MJ, and Peter quickly helped them out.

"Guys, we gotta go!" Betty screamed.

As if on cue, a swirling mass of water shot out of the canal and quickly formed into a monster-like creature. Its fist smashed into a nearby building and screams were heard. Water streamed through the damaged building and swept many people off their feet and into the canal.

"Astra, come on! We gotta get out of here," said Peter, grabbing her by the arm and leading her away.

The water monster's fists slammed into the water, sending waves and a boat crashing to shore.

"Go, Astra!" Peter shouted at her as he pushed her up a staircase.

"What about you?" Astra cried.

"I'll be fine," said Peter as he pushed more people in her direction. "Go!"

The monster smashed a building directly behind her.

Astra ran with the rest of the crowd up the stairs and hid in an alley behind a building. Panting, she yanked the hairtie out of her braid and pulled her white hair loose - she preferred fighting with her hair down, regardless of how long it was. Then she pocketed her phone and took off her bag, then pulled her black bandana out of her pocket and tied it around her face. That way, no one would recognize her as she tackled the elemental. Then she projected her electric purple wings, waiting for the light purple streaks to form across her body before she leapt into the air.

Come on, where's Beck when you need him?! Astra tossed a ball of purple energy at the creature, knocking it back, while at the same time shielding nearby civilians with a force field. Then she saw Peter staring right at her from a ledge, then the screaming from a nearby bridge caught her attention. Astra desperately hoped he hadn't recognized her.

"Go help them!" she shouted at him. "I'll hold it off."

Peter ran off as Astra shielded herself and more civilians with another force field, backfiring it and knocking the creature back into the centre of the canal.

"Thanks for your help, Indigo, but I've got it from here," said a new voice.

Finally.

The creature turned around as Beck, with a fishbowl over his head, blasted it with green wisps of energy. He used a shield to block one of its punches but was overpowered and knocked into the water.

The monster roared and, together, Beck and Astra took turns blasting its head, disorienting him, when-

"Excuse me, sir! Ma'am!" came Peter's voice from the bridge. He had some sort of jester-like mask on, making Astra smile under her bandana at the sight of him.

"I - I can help! Let me help! I'm really strong and I'm sticky!" Peter continued.

Astra couldn't suppress a laugh.

"I need you to lead it away from the canals, keep people out of its path!" Beck told him. Then he turned to Astra. "Follow me."

Astra flew after him, the water monster lumbering after them. It smashed into buildings all around them, showering nearby civilians with water and debris. She blasted it away from the water with her powers, noticing it getting weaker the further it went from the canal. It smashed into a nearby bridge and Astra used her force field to push civilians off before they could fall into the water.

As Beck led it into the centre of what used to be a building but was now a barren strip of land in between more buildings, Astra shot a jet of purple energy at the monster, making it roar in rage.

Then she heard a rumble. There were cracks in the nearby clock tower. Astra saw Peter swing around, binding it in webs to keep it steady. Then the monster hit the tower again and it began to lean over. She saw webs secure on two nearby buildings but still the tower kept on leaning over.

"Hey, that's the Indigo Fairy! But who's the other guy?" Astra heard a voice yell from below, where she recognized Mr. Harrington and Brad taking cover beside a shop.

"I don't know, but they're both kicking the water's ass," Brad replied.

With one hand, Astra projected a force field to keep it upright as she kept blasting the water monster with her other hand. At the same time, Beck conjured up green triangle-shaped... things, which he shot at the monster, splitting it in half until it was nothing more than water. Astra let go of her force field and added an extra blast to the two walls of water and they splashed to the ground.

At the same time, the clock tower smashed to the ground.

Then everyone started cheering as they emerged from their hiding places. Beck saluted them and flew up out of sight. Astra flew into a small gap between two buildings, tying her hair back up and removing her bandana as her wings disappeared.