Film to Pen: An Experiment in Fan-Fiction (Spider-Man AU) /Chapter 9

 Big final two chapters. Probably should have split them more. Ah, well readership is up on all these posts so thanks to every clicker.

Chapter 9

The way Mr. and Mrs. Smith look at me always makes me want to squirm out of my own skin. Getting out of the car I'm tackled by Beni. I squeeze him back and at once my own skin isn't so bad. We start for the gate to the backyard and the adults head inside, but not before Mrs. Smith sniffs at me and calls, "I hope you still remember the ground rules for these visits,". 

"No cussing, stay in the backyard, no snacks, be in clear view of the back windows," I respond not missing a breath. She looks slightly annoyed I do remember them so she can't drill me again before she goes into the house. "So what's the surprise?" Beni asks me practically jumping up and down on me like a hungry puppy, "I have a new game on my phone I want to show you,". Looking around I spot a basketball and pick it up. "Here let's toss this around," I say.

"Does it have anything to do with your surprise?" he asks a little deflated.

"Yea, it's something I have to show you. Throw the ball over the fence into the ally,". I haven't thought a lot about how I'd show Beni, but I don't need the Smith's seeing it to. There's a huge tree in the small backyard if I have an excuse to go behind it such as after the ball I can show Beni from there. He gives me an eye roll and chucks the ball over my outstretched arms. "Great power, I'll get it," I say loudly in case the windows are cracked open and they can hear me. The ball bounces off the house across from the ally and rolls back against the chain fence of the Smith's. Motioning slightly for him to follow I get to the fence, scaling it with ease and tossing the ball back over to him. I'm in the yard again before they can yell at me. Beni starts to head straight back but I head behind the tree first coughing to get his attention. Dutifully he follows and back there I take a deep breath then jump straight up and stick my hand onto the trunk. Honestly I hadn't been very good at sticking on command and really expected to just slide off, but I stick. Staring up at me Beni's eyes are wide. "Believe me now?" I ask. He squints at me, "Could be super glue,". To my elation my hand unsticks when I want and I drop to the ground holding it out, "Feel it," I tell him. Cautiously he takes it, "It's smooth. How were you?" he leaves the question unfinished. Shrugging I say, "It runs in our family,". Still a bit unsure he asks, "Then why can't I do it?". I had been thinking about that responding I say, "I think the gene reacts or something to hormones released at puberty. I've only been doing it for about a month,". 

"So you can do it because you're older," he says. "That sums it up. We should probably head back out or they'll come out and cut this visit short," I tell him. When he doesn't move I put a hand on his shoulder which he shrugs off. "What is it?" I ask.

"Do you really think dad will come back?" he shoots at me out of the dark. The questions rocks me to my core. It shouldn't surprise like it does. He has asked this before, but now I know things aren't what I always told him. That I was wrong to force things with dad, even if I was also right about who he was. Before I can answer he continues his voice low, husky as if he might cry, "Because I didn't tell you that Ms. Wilt told me the Smiths probably won't keep me. I am the third kid they've tried in the last year, they want a perfect little kid. Which is the first kind to go so they haven't got any real little ones yet. They have been driving Ms. Wilt as crazy as they drive you,".

Shocked I ask, "Then why did you let me think that?". He sighs and says, "Because I liked feeling as if I might belong somewhere and have adults who cared about me. I wanted you to want that too. All you ever said was about how if we could just change dad's mind and I just want home for us now. Not someday,". Choking up a bit too I say, "Oh, Beni I'm sorry. I promise you no matter where we go next I will go with you,".

Wiping his eye a little he says, "You can't promise that. Not in this system and what about dad you're really dropping that now?". Hesitating I begin to tell him about my attempt to get dad's attention. He laughs when I'm done, "I saw that news clip, that was you? In the Sandman. What did it feel like?".

I shudder, "Terrible, a gritty wave pool I couldn't find an edge to grab and get out,". 

"You know I saw he crashed another electronics store," Beni says. I raise an eyebrow, "Really did it say what he took this time?". 

"Actually that was the weird part. He just took a bunch of speakers. Like I know they can sell for alot, but he's a super villain doesn't he have bigger things to do?" Beni replies. "That is weird-" I get cut off by the yell of Mrs. Smith "What are you doing back there? I don't like not seeing you!".

"We better get back out there. You have a new game on your phone right?" I say.

Beni nods and we walk into the open together.

The next morning I decide to head down to the kickboxing studio. Partly because I needed to blow off some steam. Since even though I didn't want the Smiths to have Beni I didn't like the idea of them breaking his heart either. Seeing him almost cry made me want to knock out their perfect white teeth. The other part was that I wanted to talk things over more with Bruce. He often knew just what to say to anyone and I was glad to have him. Since I memorized the studio schedule I leave early, before anybody else is really awake, only pausing to tell Mr.Garcia as he gets ready for work where I'm going and that I can make it to school just fine. The morning is chilly so I grab my hoodie and tie it around my waist. It's five-thirty when I get there and even though it doesn't open till six I know he's in there already. I press my face against the glass and peer in. Bruce sees me and smiles, but he tries to look serious when he opens the door and says, "This place is closed. What are you doing here?". Giving my best innocent face I respond, "I just thought you might need some help setting up,". He laughs and waves me in with his hand, "I suppose you want to spar after that too. How much time do you need to get to school?". I tell him, "Not long and it doesn't start until seven-thirty,".

He tells me that's fine then and we start rolling out the mats. When we finish them off I start dragging out the punching bags to different hooks hanging from the ceiling and let Bruce hang them up. I actually could have hung them myself, but I didn't want to give Bruce a stroke or something since it is a new ability. On the last one he tells me to find some gear and get back out here. I race to the locker room at grab gear out of the studio's tub of stuff. Then I'm back kicking and punching the bag in the order Bruce yells. Between punches I tell him about my talk with Beni and how I had taken his advice to give up on reconnecting with my dad. He stops me and says, "When did I tell you to do that?". Confused, I answer, "Last time we talked you said I should focus on what I can control, not what I can't. Like how my dad will respond to me,". He shakes his head, "And you took from that to give up on him completely?". I shrug, "Well yeah,".

"That's not what I meant. Yes, sometimes it's best to cut people out of your life from time to time, but that doesn't mean you give up on them. Growing up my father was in and out of my life like a thunder cloud. By the time I was grown I wanted nothing to do with him," Bruce pauses looking past me for a second before continuing. "So when my younger half sister, I knew nothing of came, asking me to come see him because he was terminally ill, I refused. I knew he would have wanted to ask my forgiveness, and I just wasn't there yet," Bruce pauses again, but this time looking me in the eyes. I stayed quiet he had never opened up to me like this before. He said, "Later that month I heard from my older brother who had gone to see our father. He informed that the man had died that day. My brother gave me such a scolding because he said the man he'd seen was genuinely distraught I had not come. That the guy knew he couldn't ask for forgiveness, but had just wanted the chance to apologize. A chance I didn't give. I may not know exactly how things are between you and your pop. But I want you to know you should never give up hope that he might change,". I start to apologize, but Bruce waves me off saying, "That's probably enough for today. You don't need to go to school all sweaty. This studio has a lot of conveniences, yet a shower is not one of them. Go take that gear off and get to school,". I do as he says waving as I leave to the early work out group just coming in. Walking towards school I think about what Bruce told me and about dad. Deep down inside me I knew I stilI wanted him in my life again. In Beni's too. And I knew I was still mad at him, but maybe I really needed to talk to him not try and prove myself. But that left me stuck because I didn't want to try and fight villains again to get him near enough to talk with; nor did I have any idea how to find him alone so we could chat. Then I passed someone loudly watching a live stream on their phone and quickly heading the other direction saying to the person with them, "Hurry up we're going to miss the first song!". From the phone I hear the GMA theme music and it hits me. Today is the live nationally broadcast performance of my mom. Turning after the couple I follow them to Thyme Square where the performance apparently is. In the surging crowd I think I spot Wanda. So I'm not the only kid who's ditching school to see this. Although our reasons couldn't be more different I'm sure. Just about frantic I claw through the crowd looking for a face I haven't seen in six years. Because knowing my dad, he'd have to be here to see mom, maybe even try and talk to her after the songs. It might be my only chance to find him as well, him and not Spider-Man. I'm making poor headway when the crowd suddenly picks up on volume I look at the stage and there she is about to sing when this awful base starts rumbling around the square. Shaking the ground and making my head start to hurt and the lights start. Green, blue, and purple flashes all around the stage. My mom looks like she's about to pass out and then from under the stage bursts a wall of sand. It goes straight up then crashes onto it swishing mom high into the air. A crackling voice emanates throughout the square. "No talent. Lack luster performance?" The sand jounces with the base. Moving up and down in ripples. Mom is screaming her head off while bouncing in the center of the sand. Everybody seems seriously confused. Sandman, for it is him, seems to sense this and says, "Nobody else remembers the sorry contortionist from the same season as this 'star' here?" he bounces mom higher for emphasis, "The judges all said their bitter piece then and I never forgot. I'd like to see them judge me now!". At this point some people started booing, but others started pointing at the walls of the surrounding buildings. The base isn't just shaking the ground it's starting to crack the skyscrapers. Some of the nearest ones were shaking alarmingly and people began to pour out of them. Which led to a new confusion because the square was completely packed for a mile and the people trying to leave now were met with the people trying to get closer and possibly on tv. Causing confusion and not very small injuries. I honestly was seriously starting to panic when I caught a blur of red and blue. Spider-Man swooped in on a white thread and snatches mom out of the air. He sets her on the ground where I could see and is back in the air quipping at the Sandman though I can't hear what he said where I was. It was heard by the warping mass of grains because a wave came up and tried to slap him as if he was an annoying fly. Dad dodged of course but wasn't getting the sand to stop. All of a sudden I knew I couldn't just stand here like a cowering fool. I had to help and I knew how. Slinking along the edge of the crowd I pulled on my hoodie and was pleased to realize it still held my gloves, mask, and goggles. Something else clattered to the sidewalk. I quickly stooped to pick it up and found it was the fixed and functional web shooter of Hey's. I dug in the pocket again and pulled out another. Shaking my head, but grateful he did it anyway I put the stuff on and began feeling for where the source of the pulsing beat was strongest. It was not easy, but when I came to a drain lid and flipped it off I found a wireless speaker pounding at full volume. That was not a good sign. I switched it off and it made no difference to the overall pulse. That meant I would have to find every small speaker hidden around the square and from the volume it must be over a hundred. About my twelfth speaker I was unexpectedly lifted into the air. I hadn't noticed, but tbe crowd had thinned nearer to the stage. "Who do we have here? The little Spider-Kid helping out again?" the gravelly voice said. "Hey, it's just a kid as you said. Put her down your fight's with me," Dad says while shooting some webbing at the Sandman. It sticks to him making a little clump. "I don't know. They was turning off my speakers the brat,". Despite the mask I can tell dad's a little impressed. While the Sandman was distracted though I look around for a way out. And I remember the working web shooters. Taking aim at the nearest building I press the button with my two middle fingers and *THWIP* I'm soaring away from the swirling sand. Ungracefully landing in an outdoor display table of a toy store which gives me an idea. Stuffing as many small tubs of slime as I can into my pocket I run back to the stage. While dad tries to switch off more speakers and dodge the Sandman I pop the lid off one of the slimes and scoop the stuff out then throw it on the stage. It plops in a satisfying way then is engulfed by sand. Ducking down I pop another lid and throw it's contents at the Sandman. Keeping hidden I continue this routine until I run out of tubs. Then I go back for more switching off any speakers I come across. Actually by now others are noticing the speakers near them too and decommissioning them as they can. The shaking is almost gone. The Sandman hasn't noticed yet. He's still trying to complete his routine while also trying to catch Spider-Man. After I grab more slime I decide to take a more direct route of getting it to the stage then just lobbing it from a safe distance. Also it will put me in a better position to keep sending webs in too when I run out of slime. If I can just get enough in his sand it might just stick him to the stage. Or at least slow him down. Taking time to steady my breathing first I start to climb. When I judge I'm high enough I shoot a web to the building in front of me. I am not a good judge of distance though because I almost scrape the ground. Shooting again I've lost a lot of momentum and almost go backwards instead of forwards. "What are you trying to do and why the green webs?" dad's swinging beside me now much smoother than I am. "Trying to help. Here," I say ignoring the last bit. I toss some slime at him and he catches it deftly, "Throw it in him with luck he'll be stuck until the next century,".

"Not a bad idea. What's even in this- Careful!" that last word aimed at my almost getting impaled by a light post, "Your release timing is all wrong,". Still tossing slime down I answer, "Then tell me how to do it right. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. This was my idea. I want to see it to completion,". I honestly expect him to tell me to go home again, but instead he says, "Your waiting too long past the center of your swing you need to release and shoot again before you hit that point. It's a rhythm,". I try to do that and find it a bit easier. "See," I call, "You could teach me more. I can protect myself,". 

"This is hardly scratching the surface. You have no idea what you are doing. Besides letting people get close in this kind of work only leads to pain and problems that never work out," he responds. I can just tell he's thinking about mom, maybe some others too, but it makes me mad and I yell back, "Just because things didn't work out with one person doesn't mean they won't with others! You can't let fear discourage you from hoping things can change!". He doesn't respond and it's in the quiet I notice the flying sand has stopped and the crowd is cheering. Catching a nearby light pole I slid down and gaze in awe at the stage now filled with an enraged multi colored blob of half sand, half slime trying to get himself free. The crowd cheers and I look up to see if Dad noticed, but he's gone. With dejavu again the sound of sirens reminds me I really do not want to be caught. Certainly since I am skipping school. I dash into the remains of the crowd tugging off bits of my outfit as I go. Finally tugging off the whole hoodie and tying it around my waist while walking at a more average pace. I make it to school in time for the second class of the day, social studies. I know I will be in trouble, but at least I haven't missed the whole day. Through the rest of my classes I try and think of a good excuse for being late. I decide to go with mostly the truth and say I snuck out to see the concert but didn't get very close and just decided to find my way back to school when everyone started running away and hollering about destruction. My stomach is knotting itself tight over what Ms.Wilt will say, but mostly I just feel weary. I've tried my better than best to convince dad to give me a chance and I know we left quickly, but he went without even saying good-bye or good job.