Youth ➳ Peter Parker

[07] unfortunate circumstances

MINUTES SLOWLY TICKED BY, time having seemed to move sluggishly ever since hearing Alex's voice moments prior. After standing together in the dark without hearing his voice again, Peter worked up enough nerve to whisper quietly in Maggie's ear, "Whose voice is that? Who followed us?"

Maggie glanced up at the boy standing in front of her, the boy who she had to lift up her head to reach his gaze albeit him not being that tall, the boy who was a superhero, and saw the vulnerable, nervous look in his usually happy brown eyes. Maggie realized how much it mattered to Peter that his identity as Spider-Man stayed a secret, and that no one besides Maggie find out. She realized how much that could hurt the people he cared about, and the people he loved.

Maggie took a deep breath, and pushed herself away from Peter, opening her mouth to answer the question Peter had just asked. "Alex? I'm here. What are you doing here?" Peter's eyes widened and he stepped forward towards the girl, but she waved him away furiously as she heard Alex's footsteps approaching quickly; Peter tried to make himself disappear into the darker corners of the warehouse, but she could still make out his silhouette if she tried hard enough.

Stepping closer to her friend who'd followed them here, she prayed hard that Alex wouldn't discover Peter. Someone grabbed her wrist, and Maggie shrieked, pulling her arm away and slapping the person across the face, realizing too late that it was only Alex.

Stupid girl. You know it's only Alex and Peter here with you, yet you're so scared and moronic that you didn't register it was only Alex who grabbed you.

The voices, like most times, were wrong in this instance. It was not Alex who'd grabbed her wrist, nor was it Peter, hidden from sight. A tall, middle-aged man towered over her, grinning maliciously. Her friend stood behind the man, tape across his mouth, staring at Maggie with wide, frightened eyes. Maggie screamed, snatching her arm away and trying to run, about to scream Peter's name; but she couldn't, lest she risk revealing his secret identity.

Maggie opened her mouth to scream again, but a large hand clamped over her mouth, preventing her from screaming for help, in the hopes that Peter would hear. He had to hear her scream, right? He wasn't deaf; in fact, what with being Spider-Man, shouldn't he have superb hearing or something? Maggie was terrified beyond her wits, this being the second time tonight she'd been attacked. At least the first time she'd understood why.
But what was this scary, older man doing following the teenagers? Why did he use Alex as bait, and why did he capture Maggie now? He had no motive, no way of knowing Alex would work as proper lure, unless...

Unless he was going after Peter, Peter as Spider-Man. Unless he'd been spying on the young superhero, figuring out his secret identity, figuring out his friends, and who he could use against the teen.

This time, the voices haunting her thoughts were solely her own. She knew this had to be the only reasonable explanation as to why this man was here now, holding Maggie and Alex against their will, to coax Peter out of hiding, to get to try and take down the hero. She wondered what connection the man had to Peter, and why he was so dedicated that he'd stalked his way around just to find out who Spider-Man really was. Was he a villain of some sort, an enemy of Peter's?

No, because wouldn't you have heard about it on the TV? Oh wait, you don't have a television. Silly me. I forgot how poor you and your father are.

Now was not the best time for the voices to return, and Maggie was growing angrier by the second. "Now you'll do as I say, girl, or I'll kill your friend here." The hot breath tickled her ear, raising the hair on the back of her neck. The man turned Maggie's head so she could see he held a gun pressed to Alex's chest, and gestured menacingly, turning her back around to face where Peter lay in wait.

"You'll call out for your little boyfriend, telling him it's okay to come out, that your friend has left, and that you're alone again." The man told her, and while Maggie cringed at his word choice, she had no choice but to obey. She wished desperately she could somehow signal Peter it was a trap. She wished Alex had never been dragged into this, and she was glad Rachel was safe- or at least, she hoped Rachel was not involved.

Taking a deep breath, Maggie did as she was told, her voice shaking with every word. "P-Peter?" She cleared her throat as her voice trembled and she stuttered, not wanting to give anything away, yet wanting to at the same time. "Peter? It's okay. Alex left. We're alone now." She squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing at her word usage. It sounded so forced, so fake, and she hoped Peter couldn't decipher the bad acting.

"Are you sure?" She heard Peter's soft voice reply, and Maggie caught a glimpse of something move in his general direction. It was Peter, walking towards her, his steps cautious. "Y-yes." She stuttered, not bothering to hide the nervousness. The deed was done.

Peter had stepped into the light, completely visible again, his mask back on. She shut her eyes again, thanking God that he'd had the sense to put it on again. Maybe they could trick their stalker into thinking he'd got the wrong person. Maybe he was some deranged fan of Spidey's, and he'd just wanted to meet the masked superhero. She hoped this was the case, but Maggie's head told her to be logical. Who would go through this much trouble to meet someone they were inspired or in awe of?

No one sane, that's for sure.

"Hey! Let go of her! Maggie- I, wait, is that Alex behind you? What's going on? Let go of her!" Peter exclaimed, startled. Peter broke into a run, getting ready to attack, but the man was too quick, and he, all while keeping his gun trained on Alex, thrust a knife to Maggie's throat, making it hard for the girl to breath. A drop of blood appeared on her neck, and Peter halted.

"You'll hear me out, boy, Peter Parker, and you won't try to take me down, or your little girlfriend and her friend will die." 

a/n: this was shit. i have no idea how to write properly, i'm sorry. also: this story is almost over! :( i feel so sad to end it, considering it's gotten so much love. i adore each and every single one of you. thank you so much for supporting me!! don't worry though, there'll probably be like 5 or so more chapters left? we'll see. school starts next week for me (ninth grade!!) so i won't have time to update it a lot- not that i do anyway (i'm such a bad updater). anyway, love y'all, and tell me what you think!