Web of Deception: The Webbed Avenger

Chapter Twenty-eight: Frozen Hearts

1999

The young three year old Stiles was sitting quietly in his swing as his mother pushed him forward as they had all week. It was one of those rare times that Claudia actually had time off of work and all she wanted to do was spend time with her little boy. Stiles missed her more than anything, and while he loved spending time with his Dad, there was nothing like spending time with his Mom.

There were moving trucks next door, men unloading furniture and miscellaneous things into the house as Stiles watched a little girl with the brightest red hair he had ever seen climb out of a car behind the trucks. His eyes grew wide at the sight of her, feeling something happen in his chest that he had never experienced before. It was like excitement, just a little bit different.

"Mommy... is that an angel?" Stiles asked motioning towards the little girl, as Claudia looked at her, before smiling.

"She might just be Mischief... she might just be."

"Lydia! Come check out your room!" called the girl's mother from inside the home as the girl she ran into the house, her ponytail bouncing wildly on her back.

Stiles smiled lightly at her name... Lydia.

"This room was originally a lab that could contain any hazardous material if it was leaked.  It's completely blocked off and we're the only people back here.  Hit it as hard as you want, nobody is going to hear us in here Stiles." Lydia shook as she felt the cold air.  "Being locked in here is the least of our problems, the temperature's going to drop..."

Stiles watched as the robot staring at him backed away and disappeared out of the room, leaving the freezer locked.  He pounded on the door, feigning his strength due to Lydia's presence, but it wasn't even on his mind about that right now, because now he had something more important to worry about.  His eyes fell upon the strawberry blonde whose eyes were looking up towards the vents where the coolant systems would send blasts of freezing air into the room to ensure the samples were not ruined.

"What was that about the temperature dropping?" Stiles asked lowly as he saw Lydia's face turn to that of fear for the first time in his life, like she was truly and utterly fearful.

"Stiles, the temperature is going to kill us if we don't get out of here, that's what that's about."  She hissed out, her voice shaking as Stiles breathed outward, watching his breath turn to steam as it touched the air.  He stepped forward and put his hands on her face.

"We're not going to die, I promise you that... somebody will come and get us out.  I won't let anything happen to you, I would die myself before that happens." Stiles smiled lightly as she smiled back at him before she laid her head against his chest.

"Stiles," she whispered under her breath to which Stiles tilted his head.  "if you're going to promise me something... please make sure it's something you can actually do, okay? You're trapped in here too."

"For you to be safe, I'd do anything.  Lydia, just... if you make it out of here without me, just remember that I'm always going to be with you..." he assured her as he touched the spider necklace and smiled.  "I'm always going to be with you, no matter how far apart, or if I'm alive."

"Stiles, don't act like you're dead yet."

"I'm not, I just want to make sure you know that..." Stiles sighed, thinking about what Madame Web had told him during their encounter.  Norman Osborn will win.  Lydia backed away and walked to a corner and sat down, all while Stiles turned to the door where he could see that robot back, its red eyes glowing towards him just from the doorway where it had disappeared from a moment earlier.