Talons of the Bird || Spiderman Fan Fiction

Chapter 4

Emily had turned her phone off. She didn't want to be seen right now, she especially didn't want anyone to tell her that they know what she was going through. That wouldn't help. That wouldn't bring her back. She couldn't bear to be home either, so she went back to grab some food from the bags left at her front door before walking through the city. She didn't really have much of an appetite, but eating on comfort food was a great distraction from other pains. Maybe she needed to throw or break some items, who knows, but she found a quiet alleyway to get lost down a few blocks from home with plenty of unattended small buildings with windows the break. She picked up a small rock off the ground and hurled it a few floors up to a dark window, just missing it. She then thought maybe her powers would give her some relief. So she looked at the same rock that tumbled down a few meters from her and extended her arm out. With a swift motion, she had catapulted it through the air and smashed straight through the center of the window. A small smile crept upon her face with satisfaction until she heard a rustle behind a dumpster down the alley from her. "Hello?" she cautiously approached the source of the sound. Suddenly her vision was blinded by a black bag over her head. "Hello, gorgeous..." A deep gruff sounding voice came from behind her.

Before she had time to react, she was pushed against a wall with her arms pinned either side of her head. "You caught a nice one, boss!" Another voice yelled from a few meters away, in the direction of the dumpster. "Listen, dickhead, I can make you really sorry for this," Emily yelled back. "Oh, careful there, this dog is feisty!" The deeper voice laughed. "She's right, you know?" A familiar voice sounded from above. "I wouldn't pick on her, especially today," She could feel the man's grip loosen. "Shit! It's Spiderman!" Emily was quickly whipped around to be on her knees and could feel the man standing behind her, something pressing against her head. A gun? The sounds of a whip of some sort passed her ear and with a jolt, the item against her head was gone. She took this as a chance to elbow the man right in the balls before getting up and sprinting forward, taking the bag off her head. She did a quick count of people before dipping behind a different dumpster. Three, four, five? Five terrible men in combat with one masked man. It was Spiderman. She never thought she would see him in the flesh. He kicked and flipped and webbed until they couldn't stand any longer. "Wow, five idiots against one young lady, not cool," He tapped the side of his mask. "Yuri? I got 5 men here wanting a room in your B&B," He could be heard radioing to the police. "Thanks, Spiderman, I'll send my men over," a reply was heard. "Hey, where'd you go?" He jogged down the alleyway by a couple of meters, until he felt a stone hit the back of his head. He turned around to see Emily stood there, red in the face, standing head on to him. He froze.

"Hey-" he was cut short. "Where the fuck were you?!" She yelled, hurling another stone his way, missing by a few inches. He pulled his arms up to cover his face. "Easy, man, I'm here now!" He tried to plead with her. "My mom died because you were too late!" She extended her arm out to the side to gather a bunch of rocks off the ground and hurl them his way. He didn't dodge, he took the stones, as much as they hurt, he would accept that pain. "I'm sorry... You know she saved the lives of everyone else in that building," he assured her as he slowly approached. "And I have a feeling you get your courage from her," he held his arms out as if to plead with her not to throw any more. "What do you know? What could you possibly know?" She had her arm outstretched ready to hurl another round his way. "I know more than you would expect," He said quietly with a break in his voice. He was close enough now to see tears well up in her eyes and her knees shake. She slowly sunk to the ground, only being caught by Spiderman at the last minute, and being pulled into a hug. She knew he sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out how. Maybe because she had seen him on the News. But she also knew that crack in his voice. As if she had heard him upset before. "Let me help you," He said calmly as he gripped her tighter. "I want to go home..." She mumbled quietly, holding back her tears. "Hold on tight then," he said before shooting a web up and the two of them following it.

She had never felt the air rush through her hair like this before, but it was amazing. She was thanking the heavens that she doesn't get travel sick because this would be the end for her if she was. It felt like she was riding on a massive swing seat, and the speed they were traveling at was immense. It was only a few seconds before they were near her apartment. "It's that one, second from the top!" She yelled pointing over at one of the beige buildings around a block away. He took one final big swing before landing gently on the fire exit outside her window. And loosened his grip. He felt like he was seeing her in a different light, in a way that allowed her to safely express her vulnerabilities free of judgment. Maybe that's why she had little to no reaction earlier that day when she found out about her mother because, despite it all, she still needed to feel strong somehow. "I'm sorry... about the rocks..." she mumbled as she stepped back towards the wall. "I know, and don't worry, I won't tell a soul about how great your aim is," A slight chuckle could be heard in his voice, while still sounding calm and firm. "Listen," He paused. "I'm not going to tell you how to grieve because its different for a lot of people, but you should listen to yourself. Don't shut your friends away though, they do love you," he said, reassuringly. Emily couldn't think of what to say, so she nodded. Staring into his white eye coverings, she could only wonder who that was under the mask, and why does she feel so familiar to them? "Anyway... It getting late, I should go," He said, perching himself on the railings. "Do what you gotta do," She stood back with her hands in the air. "Hey, Spidey..." He turned to look at her. "Thank you," She smiled. He gave her a small salute before jumping off the edge and swinging away out of view.

She took a deep breath before climbing back into her room through her window. Although she knew everything that had happened, things still didn't feel right. She knew her mother wasn't going to be coming home tonight, or tomorrow night, or any other night after then. She thought maybe if she went into her mother's room, she makes some sense of it all. Just as she approached her mother's bedroom, she heard a knock at the front door. As she opened the door, she saw May stood there, with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. "Emily..." She said with a remorseful look on her face. With no time, she was pulled into a tight embrace, tears falling down her face. She hasn't let her emotions flow like this for a long time, especially after all that had happened in one day. "I met Spiderman..." she bawled out. "I feel so horrible, I threw rocks at him and everything! As if that would change anything!" The tears were flowing. May tightened her grip around Emily as they sat down on the floor together. "I know, darling... I have a feeling that he understood you though. People lose things all the time, and I imagine he has had his fair share of it," Her voice was so soothing to hear, and for a minute it felt as if it was Emily's own mother holding her. She looked up at May who was now caught in a gaze across the room as if she was thinking hard about something. "May?" Emily asked weakly. May just hummed back in response. "I was gonna go into her room, can you be there with me?" She nodded as she stood up. she held out her hand as if asking Emily to hold it, making her feel like a small child again. Normally this feeling would be insulting to her, but for once she welcomed the gesture.