Hanging by a Thread 🕷 Peter Parker

twenty one

Alexandra

This was not how she'd envisioned her Friday night going. The wind whipped her hair across her face and the sound of traffic far below made her stomach churn. After Doc Ock grabbed her at the football game, he'd brought her directly to the Queensboro Bridge and left her there. Ned was also there, and seemed equally, if not more, terrified than she was.

"Holy shit, holy shit!" Ned cried, glancing over the side of the bridge and down to the street and raging river below. He backed away from the edge and gripped a pole to keep him grounded in one spot.

Alexandra looked over at him. "W-we just need to try to stay calm," She told him. "Peter's going to find us." Though she wasn't sure whether she was saying that to reassure him or herself.

"Calm down? How the hell am I gonna calm down when we've been captured by a crazy robot octopus who wants to kill Peter?!" Ned demanded worriedly, running a hand through his hair. "And probably us—definitely us!"

Alexandra shook her head and found herself looking over the side and down to the rushing water and cars below. Her vision blurred and she backed away, taking even breaths, trying to stay calm. Peter would come and find them, Peter would be here—Peter would—

Never let her hear the end of this.

He had warned her dozens and dozens of times that it was a bad idea for her and Ned to be alone. Why hadn't she just listened? Of course Peter knew better, he'd been doing this hero thing for nearly a year, after all. She was just stubborn. It was her worst quality, sometimes. Especially now. 

"Hey—wait!" Alexandra suddenly exclaimed as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She scowled upon seeing the now smashed screen. "Of course it's broken, why wouldn't it be?" She grumbled.

"Yeah, mine's broken, too—" Ned trailed off, sticking his hand in his pockets. His eyes suddenly widened and Alexandra furrowed her eyebrows. "No way." Ned breathed.

"What is it?"

Ned pulled his hand out of his pocket and opened it. There, sitting on the palm of his hand were both of Peter's old web shooters. Alexandra's jaw nearly dropped. "Wha—how? How do you have those?" She asked, rushing to his side—mindful of the fact that they were a hundred or more feet in the air and one misstep would result in her plummeting to her untimely death.

He shook his head. "Peter set them down on my desk and forgot them when he asked me to look up Doc Ock—I kept meaning to give them back but I always forgot!" He exclaimed.

"Right—forgot." Alexandra grinned and took one from him. "Well, they might come in handy later."

"What do you mean?" Ned asked.

Before Alexandra could answer, she felt the metal beneath her feet begin to shake. She tightened her grip around the pole she'd found and took a deep breath. It sounded like Doc Ock was back.

Sure enough, the man with mechanical arms appeared in front of the two teens and glared down at them. Ned shrunk back and whimpered a bit. "H-hey... Doc Ock," He squeaked out. "What's up, dude?"

Octavius rolled his eyes at Ned and stood on top of the bridge with his own legs. "Hello, friends of Spider-Man," He said. "Don't worry, I haven't come to harm you. I don't have any reason to—not yet anyway."

"That's reassuring," Alexandra said sarcastically.

"Spider-Man will be here soon," Octavius ignored her comment and walked closer to the two of them. Ned took a hesitant step backwards but then stopped himself when he remembered where he was. Stepping backwards could mean falling off the bridge, probably not the best idea. "He won't allow his friends to be hurt. My plan is going perfectly."