Shadow // Peter Parker (Book 1)

Part 18

Song: 'All Time Low' by Jon Bellion
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Ellie POV

I wake up, my head spinning. I'm lying on a cold ground somewhere, I don't know where.

My eyes slowly open up and look around and I'm in a type of cell. The walls are a dull, slightly rotted grey. There's one side that's a window so I can see outside.

"You've woken" a deep voice says. I look out the window and I see a dark figure walking towards my cell.

"Where am I? Who are you?" I say. The voice laughs menacingly.

"Neither of those are important". He appears out of the shadows and I see.......a normal man. Just a plain, normal guy wearing a lab coat.

"What do you want from me? Where's my dad?!" I yell, starting to become anxious.
I desperately look all around outside the window to see where I am, but everything is dark.

"What we want, is you. You've been my mission for a while now" he says lowly. I bang on the window in frustration.

"Speak English, or I swear I will end you" I say harshly.

The guy laughs again. "A fiery one. Even better. Well if you want to know, I guess there's no reason why not" he shrugs, smiling smugly at me.

"Your father may not have mentioned me to you before, but I worked with him on project Shadow. I helped him make the suit, but only he knew what tools and materials were used to make it. When it was completed, I had an idea, the idea of a new beginning. I could make a serum from what was used to give people the abilities without a suit. We could make an army of shadow soldiers, that had the strength of 10,000 men and the speed of a cheetah, but had the abilities of turning invisible, creating darkness and so much more, but, your father wouldn't hear of it. So ever since then, I've tried to make a formula from scratch, and every attempt has failed, until now, when you my dear, handed over your suit and I have finally created a serum that could work, and it's all thanks to you" he smirks.

It takes me a few seconds to process what he's just said. "You're pure scum. You're just like Hydra, creating all those soldiers" I say angrily.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Hydra didn't have a plan, but I do. Hydra didn't put enough logical thinking into their actions but I have" he says slowly so I can hear it loud and clear.

"Well, what's your plan genius? Let me guess, kill a bunch of people and world domination? Cos that's not original at all" I say sarcastically.

He laughs again, which pisses me off.

"Not a bunch of people so to speak, just a group of costume wearing freaks funded by a scumbag who has no idea how to run things" he says, with a bit of anger.

Oh no. I know what he's talking about. "The Avengers. Stark." I mutter.

The guy claps at me. "Wow you seem to understand. So you wanted to know my plan? Well, you can't take down a guy like Stark without an army of some sort, can you lab rat?" He grins.

Oh God. My throat tightens and I start to feel tears well up in my eyes. "H.....how did.......how did you.....?" I stammer.

"You remember that evening in the alleyway when my boys approached you? Well we attached a tracking device along with a microphone to you so we could here and see everything. And I knew you and the Spider-Man were close, so what better way to get you to come home running than threaten you a little, and completely pin the blame on him. It worked didn't it?".

"You were behind all this?!" I cry. I can picture Peter heartbroken, wondering why I hurt him like that.

"So, now that part of the plan is complete, the next step is create an army, and that's what I'm going to do, starting with you and this man" he says, pressing a button, and another cell lights up. I see my dad, battered and bruised, crouched in the corner of his cell.

This is when I lose it. I start banging and kicking the window with all my power to try and break it. I'm wailing now.

"No! No! Leave him alone! Take me, not him!" I sob. My legs give way and I fall to the ground and I rest my head against the window. The man crouched beside me on the other side of the glass.

"There there child. When the serum is injected, I can easily insert a brainwash serum with it, and that way you wouldn't feel this pain anymore" he says softly, and an evil smile on his face.

I look up at him, and make sure I give him the most threatening death stare ever, looking deep into his cold blue eyes.

"When I leave this cell, you are a dead bastard" I mutter angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but that's isn't part of the plan I'm afraid" he says in a mockingly sad way.
He then pushes a button, and a smoke starts to enter my cell.

I start to panic, hitting the walls and the window to get free, but the smoke eventually enters my body, and I collapse onto the floor.

Peter POV

"YOU WERE WHAT?!" May yells at me. I look down in shame.

"Suspended May. I was suspended. But I swear I didn't do anything! I was framed!" I insist, but she doesn't listen.

"Peter, this is a criminal offense! Damaging others' property, not only in school, but someone's home?!".

This is where I can't handle the blame anymore.

"I didn't do it okay?! May seriously! You know me more than anyone, and have I done anything like this before?! No! Exactly! I always get the blame for everything, and you of all people should know I would never do that to someone! Especially Ellie of all people! I considered her to be one of my best friends, and even though we fought, I still care about her! Instead of listening to everyone else, why don't you listen to me?!" I yell.

May looks completely stunned. I feel myself start to shrink in fear. May is kinda scary when she gets properly mad. She suddenly hugs me.

"I'm sorry Pete" she says softly. I hug her back.
"Do you want me to talk to the school? We can maybe make them take back your suspension" she says. I shake my head.

"It's fine May. They won't listen, and besides, it's only a few days" I reassure her.

Her face then changes, she looks deep in thought. "Well, I know one thing you can do" she says sternly. I look at her confused. "You can go and check on Ellie. Explain yourself, and maybe clear up this conflict".

I start to disagree straight away. "No way! She hates me right now! The only thing I'll get out of that is a nosebleed!" I say. She gives me "the look". You know the one where it means "I wasn't kidding".

"Well if that's the case, you can then say you at least made an effort" she says. I let out a sigh. There's no getting out of this.

"Right. I'll go" I mutter before I leave to make my way to Ellie's apartment.

When I reach her door, my heart instantly sinks. Seeing the graffiti on the door makes me think of how scared and angry she must have been. I knock on the door. No answer.

"Ellie? Please I just want to talk. I'm not leaving until you open the door" I say loudly. Again, no answer. I try to open the door, and weirdly, it's unlocked. I open the door and call out her name. I walk into her apartment, and I immediately lose my breath.

There's bullet holes in the ceiling and the place looks ransacked. "Ellie?! Ellie?!" I call out anxiously, but the apartment is empty.

It doesn't take an idiot to know this isn't good. Someone has obviously taken her. As much as we argued, I need to go after Ellie and find her.

She's in mortal danger, and I can't let anything bad happen to her. The only thing is, she could be literally anywhere. I have no way of tracking her.

Unless........

It's a huge risk, but there might be someone who could help me find her.