Space Girl [P.Parker]

chapter 37

It had been a long time since the crime-fighting duo Spider-Man and Lunar Eclipse fought together. 

While Spider-Man continued to defeat a slew of supervillains and bank robbers back in Queens, receiving praise across New York, Lunar Eclipse hadn't been seen much at all. It seemed that she had stepped out of the spotlight.

In truth, throughout the last 4 years, Luna Leeds felt as though something in her life was missing. Her studies in astronomy weren't quite giving her the answers she was searching for, and her will to face danger began to diminish. 

She thought about Spider-Man every day, that night on the roof when she told him she would be leaving Queens, but she just couldn't tell him where she'd be or why. It was a bittersweet goodbye. She wondered why he'd appear in her mind so frequently, why she felt like she remembered something she didn't. 

As much as he was out of her life for so long, he was hard to escape. Ned spoke about him constantly. Very early on in his studies at MIT, he began to develop an app, Spidey Tracker, which, true to its name, tracked Spider-Man's whereabouts every time there was a sighting.

Ned often spoke about his memory of Lunar Eclipse as well, wondering where she had gone and why she was no longer fighting alongside Spider-Man. Luna chose to remain silent. For all she knew, Lunar Eclipse didn't need to come back. She was probably safer this way. She was as happy as she could manage, building her friendships with Ned and MJ, even if she had to keep her secrets.

"Can you believe we're finally back home in Queens?" Ned exclaimed as he and Luna stepped out of the subway and headed towards the closest bodega. She hummed in response.

"And we're throwing the sickest party of all time tonight!" He added.

"Right," Luna mumbled.

"Gonna get so wasted." He continued in a sing-songy voice as he pushed up the chiming doors of the bodega around the corner.

"Do you have any beer?" Ned asked the cashier. 

"All the way in the back."

"Thanks." He smiled, following her directions. Luna stopped behind him at the door, taking a moment to look around the store. Her eyes stopped when she awkwardly locked eyes with a young man sitting at a table nearby. He looked slightly familiar, but the way he looked at her made her feel like they knew each other well. 

She smiled politely, then walked away towards the shelves, tempted by the gummy bears, unaware that his eyes were following her intently.

"Uh-huh." Ned chuckled, picking up the six-pack. He looked towards his sister, who by now was walking towards him. 

"You're seriously addicted to those, you gotta stop." He looked down at the pack of gummy bears in her hand, raising his eyebrows in judgement. 

She playfully rolled her eyes as she followed him to the counter.

"Hey, uh...also, you got any SharkFire energy?" He asked the cashier. Luna scoffed.

"Yeah." The young woman behind the counter turned around to grab one of the small black bottles stowed by the window, purposely far from customer reach.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Ned intervened. "I don't--want any, that stuff will kill you!"

The cashier furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, already holding the bottle. 

"Yeah, all my friends were drinking them during finals, and now they're addicted, so I'm gonna need you to not sell me any." Ned rambled. "Memorize my face." He gestured with his hands and turned to the side.