Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 23 - I'm Going To Die

Peter and I hadn't had another date since our Disney marathon, but he would give me quick kisses throughout the day and we interlocked our hands as we walked down the hallways of school. I had thought Flash had given up on me, however the look he gave when he saw Peter and I holding hands suggested otherwise. However, he made no attempt to come between the two of us, much to my surprise as well as relief. Peter must have noticed as well because whenever Flash was around, his grip on me tightened and he looked frightened that he was going to lose me at any second.

I got ready to go on patrol, proud that I had managed to avoid Peter in the streets since my father asked him to discover my identity. Whenever I went to Queens I was always extra careful, which included tonight. Ever since I discovered Peter's address, I had taken to arriving in a place far from his apartment, in hopes that it would lessen the chances that I would run into him.

I arrived at where I planned to begin my patrol, immediately running freely across the roofs of buildings. It was so liberating to be hundreds a feet from the life on the ground, breathing in the cold night air. As it got colder, I began adding special features to my suit, including a nice heater to keep me warm even when I was not in the midst of intense battle.

For most of the night I did routine fights, mostly just preventing robberies. But I noticed a bloodcurdling scream from about five buildings away, perking my attention. There was a large group of people fighting two men, armed solely with handguns. The attackers, however, had weapons that seemed to be powered by alien technology.

"I'm going to die," I muttered, jumping down into the middle of the fight. I made the executive decision that I was team normal guns, both because they were the ones out numbered and usually decent people didn't carry around highly advanced weaponry.

"Hey, that's the Shadow girl! Should we get her for the boss?" I heard one of the men I had labeled evil ask. Guess I made an accurate guess, definitely the bad guys.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I replied for the rest of his team, slicing his throat with a knife. Someone came up from behind me, shooting their alien blaster, but I managed to narrowly avoid the blast with a backflip. As I landed, I sent a ball of energy towards the shooter, hitting him squarely in the chest.

The bad guys seemed to have decided the two victims were no longer of interest, instead focusing all of their energy on me. And of course being the selfish idiots they were, they ran off to leave me to fend for myself. I rolled my eyes at their cowardice and continued battling, knowing I would have to give my all if I expected to win. Part of me hoped that Peter would be on patrol and find me, but I couldn't depend on him. I couldn't depend on anyone.

Reinforcements arrived for the group I was fighting, making me internally groan as I continued to take down anyone who got close to me. Suddenly I felt myself get hit, a stinging pain spreading from my side. I winced in pain, but tried to ignore the demanding sensation.

"(A/I), I don't know what this alien tech does, so can you run some tests to make sure I'm not badly wounded?" I asked (A/I) as grabbed a man's wrist, flipping him over and hearing a crunch as he hit the hard blacktop.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong besides a mild burn on the surface of your skin, I think the vibranium helped protect you from any further injury. But I would be careful, the amount of energy you have left is dwindling," (A/I) cautioned, but I knew that I couldn't listen to her. The only way I would win this fight was by continuing to give my all.

Someone grabbed my arm and I quickly kicked them in the stomach and twisted my arm out of their grasp, but I was unable to fend off everyone at once. Despite my struggling, four people managed to wrestle me to the ground.

"She's down! Someone come sedate her so we can get her back to the boss!" One of them shouted as two more people joined in pinning me down. The man turned to me and grinned, "oh sweetheart, if only you knew how profitable you will be for us."

I clenched my jaw in anger, knowing there was no way I would be able to free myself without using massive amounts of energy. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and let the pulsing energy overtake me, throwing everyone crowding around me flying into the walls. I immediately leapt up, which was a terrible idea, and climbed up to the top of the nearest roof before any of them regain consciousness. Though to be fair, I didn't know if any of them even survived the collision.

I gingerly touched the side that had been shot, pulling away sharply at the pain. Great, now I needed to treat the burn and keep it from the rest of my family. It seemed that any sort of training was out of the question until it healed up. I sat down on the edge of a roof not too far away, trying to stop my head from spinning.

"(A/I), do you think I have enough energy to teleport back home?" I asked, trying desperately to keep myself from drifting off into unconsciousness.

"I don't think you have enough energy left to do anything, (Y/N)," they replied in my ear, making me groan in annoyance. "Perhaps I can contact your father and-"

"No, that is the worst idea you could have possibly offered," I snapped back, cutting them off.

"And what idea was that?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. I turned my head to notice Spider-Man standing about a foot away. Shit, I had slipped out of my fake accent and now he knew I was American. Well isn't this just peachy?

"Hey Spider-Boy, long time no see," I replied with my accent, hoping that he hadn't caught my American-ness previously.

"Says the one who's apparently been avoiding me," he accused as he sat down next to me, joining me in overlooking the city.

"I wasn't avoiding you, Peter, I just figured that only patrolling one borough left the other ones defenseless, so I've been spreading the wealth equally. I suppose you've stayed in Queens then?"

He nodded, "this is where I've always promised to protect. So, what's up?"

"Nothing much, got into a small fight with these highly trained people using alien technology. You know, the usual."

"You win?"

"Think I'd be sitting her if I hadn't? They wanted to take me somewhere, probably to do experiments on me, to find out why I am different."

"Why are you different?" Peter questioned, but I shook my head.

"I don't know, I suppose I must have been born with it. I would ask my parents- if I knew who they were."

He placed his hand on my leg, "whoever they are, I am sure they would be proud of what you are doing. You could have just as easily hid your power from the world and instead you put yourself in danger to save others. You give the people hope, don't let yourself forget that."

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(A/N): it's your first major injury! (Ok, maybe not that major but I assure you it will lead to problems in the near future). Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter and the Shadow/Spider-Man reunion!