Overwhelmed- Spider-Man

Sirens

The line goes dead, and Yuri groans.

Murad looks at her with wide eyes, his skin a shade paler than usual. "Did you hear that scream?"

"I'm sure Spider-Man is handling it," She says, waving him off, even as panic churns her stomach.

"But," Murad glances toward the door. "Shouldn't we help? It's our job."

"He'll have mopped the floor with Li by the time we get there."

Murad slumps, defeated. It's a feeling Yuri's too familiar with, chasing after the chaos, desperate to catch up, to take control of the situation, just to be met with the carnage at the end of the line. It's easier to work at getting ahead of it, to be there before the situation starts, and focus on giving help to the people who need it, instead of a man who doesn't even want it.

Murad hasn't known Spider-Man long enough to be used to the idleness that comes with working with someone so averse to help. He'll come around.

Maybe, eventually, so will she.

"Maybe we should head over there? Stay nearby, just in case?" His expression is pleading, eyes round in a way that doesn't fit with a gruff police chief. "For civilian casualties?"

Defeated, Yuri nods. "Yeah, we can be nearby."

<><><><>

The moment Yuri pulls into the parking lot, she knows she's going to have to call for backup. Light strobes through the cracked windows, bursting into the open air. People are screaming, crowding the barricades the local precinct had set up for a better look.

Peter's still in the building.

"Do we have any ambulances on scene?"

"We have some on standby," Murad responds. "Why?"

"I just can't see this ending well."

Murad's eyes flicker between her and the warehouse, shuddering ominously in the chaos. "Now is the time when you really think about how handy it would be to have Spider-Man's medical info on file."

"I'm not going to stop you from pushing it." She doesn't look at him, eyes fixed firmly on the light flashing through the windows. "I wouldn't hold your breath, though. He's a little cagey if you haven't noticed."

"Really? And here I thought the full-body spandex was just for kicks."

"Well, I'm sure that's part of it."

Something in the warehouse screeches. The building goes dark.

The city goes quiet, in a way that Yuri's never thought possible.

Cars stop honking. The crowd stops shouting. Even the sound of the car engine grows mute as if holding its breath.

The world stops.

BOOM!

The car lurches forward as the ground shudders underneath them.

The crowd outside slams into one another, jostling under the— earthquake? Is that what this is?

"That can't be good," Murad mutters, reaching for his seatbelt. Yuri follows close behind.