A New Hero - Peter Parker (BOOK 1) | Spider-Man: Far From Home

Chapter Six - The Water Monster

"Peter!" Clara called out, tossing her pizza to the side and shielding her eyes from the tiny droplets of water flying through the air. She saw the boy, his back pressed against the wall as he hid from the monsters sight. She headed towards him, determination in her steps and irritation spurring her onwards.

As she drew closer, making out the details of the boy, she stopped, her feet skidding over the wet stone. Regaining her balance, she frowned. Around Peter's wrists were two black cuffs. "What the..." She trailed off, watching as he twisted his body to face the giant, a piece of webbing flying from the devices on his wrists.

Her mind pieced together what she was seeing instantly, but her suspicion was only proven when the student leapt over a series of wooden poles before using a gondola's rowing oar to vault his way onto a tall bridge. "Hell." She finished, her body only catching up to her mind once a gush of water had passed her by, slamming into the wall a few feet away. Shock waves sent her stumbling back a few paces.

Still, she pressed onwards, weaving through running tourists and sprinting up the steps of the bridge just in time to see a giant fist hammer onto Peter to send him sprawling back. Clara gasped, raising a hand to cover her mouth before her legs rushed to find where Peter had been flung to. He sat with his back against stone, drenched in canal water and looking only a little dazed.

She stood in front of him, though Peter couldn't see her - no one could, she was invisible, he skin camouflaged against her ever-changing surroundings. She stepped closer, now only a few feet away, double checking that he was okay. Clara took that moment to look down to his wrists; man-made web-shooters, she observed. Peter looked around and, for a second, Clara held her breath, wondering if he could sense her there.

She had become invisible to the human eye, but could his spider-sense tell him she was there? He span to face behind them as a green cloud barreled towards them, sending blasts of pure green energy into the monster. Clara barely moved out of the way in time as Peter leapt forwards, sweeping a mask from the ground that jingled each time he moved it.

That was one of the few downfalls when it came to her special abilities; she could hide from view but she couldn't stop people running into her.

They both watched the mysterious man fighting against the power of the giant, holding back a fist with a green glow emanating from him. His strength didn't seem to hold out for long, the cloaked man flying backwards into a boat filled with fruit and vegetables, the goods flying in every direction upon impact.

As torrents of water grew across the canal, the green cloud appeared again, the man flying back out of the water to continue his battle. "Excuse me, sir!" Clara's head snapped to her left, Peter was no longer at her side and was instead clinging onto the roof of the sheltered bridge. "I- I can help. Let me help! I'm really strong and I'm sticky!"

"I need to lead it away from the canals!" The mysterious hero told him before dropping down and passing through the bridge, leaving a trial of green smoke behind him. The water was soon to follow, wreaking havoc with each metre it advanced. Clara looked away from Peter, now worried about her own safety as a tidal wave headed her way. She leapt from the bridge, the water quickly approaching.

Clara landed with one hand pressed against the waters' surface, feeling the sloshing motions against the platform she had created. She began forward, creating a new platform with each step. A quick glance over her shoulder told her just how quickly the wave was approaching and that she wouldn't be out running a tsunami any time soon.

Dipping into a crevice in the side of a building, her back pressed against hard stone and her feet across from her holding her firmly in place, the water passed her, moving too quickly to have the chance to swill into the area. She followed after it, the water beneath her feet rising and falling with enough motion to make her feel sea-sick.

She suppressed the urge to bring her pizza back into view, and clambered back on to the pavement, instantly preferring the solid ground as she ran over the cobbles instead.

Clara heard a loud clang; the water monster had barged into the bell tower. That gave her a direction, now she just had to make it up with speed. Unfortunately, she was no faster than the average person, her abilities didn't go as far as giving her super-speed, but it did heighten her endurance.

Clara arrived at the scene just in time to see the behemoth racing through the small square, crashing into buildings and destroying anything nearby. She looked over to the bell tower which, surprisingly, still stood above the square. Though it didn't seem like it would be staying that way for long as pieces of plaster and rock tumbled from the cracks running around the sides to vaporise as they hit the floor.

Another group of people caught Clara's eyes, the class she had just met hiding under a thin restaurant canopy. They seemed to be observing the battle as if it were a brawl in the local pub; they were waiting to see who would win and filming the scene all the while. Clara stayed back, unsure of what she should do until another figure swung through the air, using a white rope pull himself into the top of the bell tower.

Peter peered down; he too was watching to see what would happen next. But, where the students on the ground level were watching out of curiosity, Peter watched with a readiness to jump into action should he be required.

A wave of water swung through the air, belting against the tower which instantly trembled at the pressure. Peter held fast in his position and Clara watched fearfully as the tower slipped from a pedestal. Then, two webs flew from the top, each landing on another building. As another burst of water struck the tower, Clara heard a clang and winced, knowing it was likely Peter striking the metal.

Barely a second later, the tower falling faster now, another clang rang out in the streets of Venice and the ropes of web that Peter had been holding dropped to wave lamely in the steady breeze. "Oh dear..." Clara moved towards the group of students, still hidden from view even though she was running directly in front of them. The collapsing slowed, new safety lines shooting outwards to the same buildings.

While pieces of rock still crumbled and the building still fell, it was swinging to the side and away from the civilians. Nobody except Clara had noticed the structure closing in, and the class continued to watch the fight, oblivious to the impending doom Peter had saved them from.

Now only half a dozen metres from the hard surface of the cobblestone ground, Clara heard a yell of exertion spilling from where Peter resided. She pounced forwards as a blast of water erupted behind her, the webbing giving way with a snap and the tower plummeting with speed. With her hands braced above her, as if lifting a monumental weight, Clara saw the familiar purple radiance as she created a shield around her.

She opened the force-field for the briefest of moments, and the boy she now strongly suspected was Spider-Man fell to the floor with a grunt, weighty bricks and mortar crashing down onto the shield protecting them. Moments later, cheers erupted from the square as the water settled, no longer crashing against buildings or roaring into the sky.

Clara fell back, feeling a jolt run up her spine as she connected with the floor, her energy drained.

Peter, still unaware of her presence, hadn't notice the change in the way the rocks fell, nor had he noticed the rubble bouncing off of the top of the purple hued barrier. Instead of questioning anything that had just happened, he shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small tin holding the glass jewellery.

Clara sat panting, her clothes drenched in salty water, and muscles aching. Still, she kept herself hidden, watching the look of relief cross over her new friend's face once he had inspected the pendant.

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