Chapter 16: Duality
Isaac overlooked the police surrounding the place. More kids came out of the warehouse than police went in and everytime they came out with what felt like a handful, he felt his stomach sink lower.
'How many of these parents were worried sick about their children? What monsters..' He felt digusted with himself, that knowing that he was the same species as the monsters who did who knows what to the innocent kids. The memory were shelved down as he shook his head. That was before Isaac had noticed that his impromptu partner in crime hadn't been where he last was. He finally found him facing the sun one the opposite side of the building almost looking like he was going to retreat before the early birds even got the chance of spotting him.
"Yo, you're just going to leave?" Isaac called out, struggling to get up. He had to admit, he was pretty tired from the almost 36 hour excursion.
"We've saved the kids lives, time to go on with our lives. I can't just bask in the daylight. And unlike Iron man I'm not rich and I can't just see that. It's -" The masked man pause, Isaac sighed as he swiveled his head to look back at the scene. What he wanted was to know if those kids would be able to go home.
"I,-" His voice filled with regret.
"Kid, you did good. Thanks for pulling your weight. I'm-"
"The Devil in Hell's Kitchen"
"Oh we're going by our fake names,-" Isaac stopped, thinking what he wanted to go by but his time in the coma had reminded him a name he was used to.
"Scarlet Spider-" he said as he reached out with his hand. The Devil shook his head before jumping off of the roof, Scarlet spider looked back at the ghost of the man that had helped him for a few moments after he was gone and decided that it was time for him to go as well.
"Fuck it's about to be 6am and I'm too hurt to talk to him," He knew what he wanted to do and he quickly made his decision before he had a decent amount of chances to think about it thoroughly. He jumped, leaping to the sky as he swung through New York's streets. He was lucky that the way he was going cut the distance considerably from where he was currently at, which was the biggest proponent of his decision. Scarlet Spider zipped through New York while thinking about the 'Devil of Hell's Kitchen.' He sighed.
"I wonder if he has telekinetic sight or something that mask does not look like he can see out of it, but why woul- hmm" Isaac stopped the thought as questions about the man who was for a short time his partner. Each thought of the masked vigilante had kept popping up and he simply had no answers for them.
How was he so good? And if he was so good, why didn't he help with the invasion. As soon as Isaac had developed his powers, immense regret grew as he thought about the lives he could've saved if they had a year earlier. Maybe it would've just been one or two but it would've at least been more than just watching the tragedy happen. He recognized that thought process in particular had led Isaac to feel guily for awhile before he had used the guilt to fed his need to train power. At that time, it wasn't until he started helping people that he felt better.
Isaac's vision started to fade as he swung, passing through New York and into his borough of Queens.
He sighed, in disbelief of the day he had but now that it's over all he wanted to do is rest. He swung from building to building, letting his Spider-sense do most of the work as the rest of him just went into auto pilot. He watched the best he could as his house came into view and immediately slowed down since he was so close.
"Thank god, I. Now time to get sleep" He smiled as he landed on the roof with gentle roll. He attempted to be as quiet as he could, trying to not wake anyone of a burglar or worse, his arrival. He looks around as some of the street light flicker off, while others stayed on. He looked up to the sky noticing that it was light out. He sighed before looking at his windows and room. He walked over carefully and placed his hand flat against the window before making his hand stick on it. He then shimmed it up, careful since the last thing wanted to do was alert anyone. He only get it past a couple of inches up before the locks activate.
"Fuck" He whispers, he decides to jerk his hand snapping the two plastic window locks and opens the window before he entered the room. smelling the vaguely scent of Cherries and Vanilla. He looked around but finding nothing he shrugged.
'Maybe aunt D was making dessert. Why does it smell like the perfume I gave Ernie though. I must be tripping' He weakly smiled as he took his shoes off, allowing them to clatter onto his foot and fall on the floor. After that, the rest of his clothes dropped off next to the shoes.
"Time for..ugh. C'mon. Just get this over with" He thought out loud, grabbing his clothes in a clumsily made ball and tossed them into the closet and webbing them discreetly inside. He stretched for the last time before he walked towards his bed and lifting up the blanket, crawling inside it. The coolness washed over him before a radiant heat followed. He noticed the scent he had smelled earlier had grown as his sense of sleep took over and his consciousness fall dormant.
He starts to sleep and not before long, he starts to dream, having the world around him turn into a house, the house he lived in for most of his life but at the same time one he didn't recognize. The room was empty, except for the person who stood in front of him looking out of the window. He looks at them for a second, he couldn't help but try to think if he could recall the person in front of him.
She wore long, dirty blonde hair that descended right below the her upper back, leading down to her athletically toned hips that could show no evil. She wore a blue crop top, that seemed to try to fight for relief and matching were a nice pair of blue skinny jeans. Isaac walked over, each stride taking more and more effort as he felt the need to get close to the person. For some reason as time passed, that eagerness was disturbed and once he was in arms reached, she turned around. Her face giving the finally clue to who she was.
'Stephanie' He tried to say out loud but he couldn't. He wanted to scream it but he knew that it wasn't the time. It was his friend in the coma, as she batted her eyelashes at him. There was no communication needed as she dived into him, giving him a hug that was so full of love, that it seemed like it was never going to end. He smiled- well he almost cried but he held it in as she laid right on top of his heart.
'I miss you so much.' He thought.
"I know, but you need to move on Jay. You have this- world that you need to protect." She smiled,
'I failed you guys, I'm so sorry.' He held his head down in shame, he didn't even know what he was talking about, the words seemed to appear faster than he had the chance to think about them and he didn't want to lose this chance to speak.
"No, you gave us another chance." She smiled, as he noticed from the corner of his sight that her face shifting, morphing but her lips just bashed into his taking it on a an trip. They separated, before they looked at each other.
'I love you Jacob' A voice that sounded eerily like his best friend was heard but before he could associate it with her, her lips took his again. He felt his heart sink like an anchor in sea with the emotions that was shared by the electrifying kiss. He went on the prowl, beating her lip to become his but it seemed like the battle was already won as they separated, drool the only thing connecting the two of them. He felt the girl hug him for the last time, this time tightly almost like she was afraid he would go. His minded faded out again, well satisfied as it went through the cycles of rem sleep.
[Minute Time skip.]
Hours past since that dream he had and it never seemed like it wanted to continue even when he urged it too. Isaac stirred from his sleep, fighting one of his eyes to be open as he his mouth was so dry that he thought his tongue might fall off and turn into radioactive waste once it hit the floor.
He turned, wondering if that water bottle he had lying around was still there. He paid no mind and reached over and under the bed as he felt nothing.
'I couldn't have kicked it, could I have?' He thought to himself but reasoned that he put it on his desk. He huffed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep and opened the other eye, only to see a figurine of an iconic yellow animal from a world renowned franchise. He stared at it confusingly as it had reminded him of the one Ernie had at her room.
"Huh," He said out loud as he launched up and his body quickly drained of it's wooziness as he noticed where he was at.
"NOnonononon, C'mon. I can't be-" He paused, looking under the covering and noticing that he only had socks and his underwear on.
"Fuck why am at her house." He asked shooting up and onto the bed where he looked around, confused and slightly scared by the fact that he either broke into her room or teleported which was not one of his powers.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" he whispered before the door opened and his friend of 15 years entered, before looking at him.
"Good now you can tell me what the hell are you doing here." Ernie demanded.
"Wait, you're not mad."
"well- yes, I -but….I figured your Uncle kicked you out. So mind telling me what's going on, and particularly- If you could explain that-"
She point to his Scarlet spider suit that laid haphazardly on a otherwise pristine desk and from above his spider webs holding nothing but his jacket and that too was only barely.
"Well.."