Spider-Man: A Divided Heart

Chapter II: A Day In The Neighborhood

          THE RAIN POURED down my back in an almost soothing manner. The cold droplets smothered me in a cold blanket, one that I didn't necessarily care for at the moment. I gazed upon New York from the Empire State building, clad in my red and blue suit. The city was alive as it ever was, people busied with rushing to their workplaces, out on a date, or simply stuck in traffic--yelling for it to get a move on.

          I kept a lookout for any trouble going on in the neighborhood I liked to call home, crouching atop my perch as I always did--at the moment, there was not a more effective way to catch any crime in my "territory". A quick movement of black caught my eye, my Spidey senses tingling shorty thereafter. I had my first catch of the day--and it was one of those crimes that only strengthened my resolve to put these types of criminals behind bars.

          I quietly swung over to the alleyway, slipping soundlessly along the brick buildings that formed it. Two men were holding what looked to be a frail woman by her upper arms--dragging her deeper into the dark alley. She struggled against them, squirming in any which way she could think of, failing every time she did so. I looked at her and all I saw was a splash of golden hair, and crystal blue eyes that seemed to replace the ragged brown and dull grey and accompanied the actual woman. I began to grow increasingly more furious when the men threw her to the ground and started to climb on top of her, taking that as my chance to make an entrance and save the poor woman with a vigor that only presented itself with Gwen.

          “Hey, uglies! Don't cha got anything better to do than go beatin' up on a woman?” The men scrambled from her faster than I could say The Flash, and turned around to look at who interrupted their, as they would put it--and over the years it has been used as a frequent excuse towards myself, 'fun time'. “I mean, seriously--who woulda thought that this kinda thing happens to a poor little lady on the daily. It's such a--Woah!” I barely dodged when one of them shot at me with a revolver, the barrel of the gun still smoking from the shot.

          “Who the hell are you?!” I stared blankly at the lanky one, dressed in all black--the one who didn't seem to know who I was.

          I squished my cheeks between my hands, opening my mouth in a sarcastic state of awe that only Deadpool seemed to pull off expressing through a mask. “Oh my! You don't know who I am?” I most nearly stated the sentence in a wry whisper. I cocked my hips and crossed my arms, pouting as best I could with a mask over my face. 

          “You seriously don't know who I am?” They both shook their heads--an affirmative that they had not a single clue as to who I was. “Well!” I perked up, getting the chance to introduce myself. “I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, here to do my job and stop you from committing a crime! Now,” I almost instantly became more menacing--at least, I thought I did, “where were we?”

          At the mention of my alter ego's name, they both charged forward, both going for the throat. “You're that Spandex Menace that the Daily Bugle talks about!” I simply dodged another of their attacks, motioning for the woman to run when I had their full, undivided attention focused solely, completely, on me.

          “Now, I wouldn't say that! I mean, did you not hear me say ‘I'm you're friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’? Gosh, that news place is constantly running my good reputation into the ground.” I sighed before I dodged a swing for my abdomen, jumping back a few feet and then flipping over their heads. “I'm more of a vigilante around these parts. Though, I am constantly getting shot at. It ruins my suit a lot of the time. Speaking of, this is a new suit! Does it make my butt look big? Because if not-” This only further served to irk them, and I now had them caught in my web.

          “Shut the fuck up, you annoying pest!” I put my hand over my heart, faking hurt at Bulky's words.

          “Well, that hurt! I didn't know you thought of me that way, Bulky.” As soon as they charged for what would be the final time, I flipped over the one now dubbed ‘Bulky’ and webbed his back. I slammed him into the wall of the alley, shooting another web to attach him to the brick building, and turning around to face the other one.

          Lanky caught me around the waist, throwing himself to the ground when I slithered out of his hold before I could hit the dirt. “At least take me on a date first, before you go gettin' rough on me.” I jokingly stated the line, but it seems that Lanky didn't find it very funny. He growled at me instead of out-right speaking. I took on a teasingly chiding tone when I responded to the animalistic sound. “Now, Lanky, use your words. We talked about this.”

          “Please! Please just stop talking!” I webbed his mouth when he threw his arms against his sides in a fit, quickly webbing them to said sides. Then, I did the same thing that I did to his pal, Bulky, and webbed his back, slamming him against the opposite wall of the alley, and then webbing him again--attaching him to the wall.

          I grabbed a sticky note from my utility belt, uncapping a marker from the same place and writing a quick note for the police before I called them on a burner phone. I dusted off my hands, saluting the two crooks in a friendly ‘goodbye’ before I swung myself away from them--throwing myself back into the busy fray of New York City. The Big Apple, and the place I call home.

          “Maaan! What-. A-. Day-.” And it truly was. It was one of my less dramatic days;just a few robberies to stop, would-be rapings, and a few muggings. Not much of a news-worthy day, if I had a say about it. However, little did I know, it would be one of the last calm days I would have in a while. And that, that was something that made me shiver to my core.