I'm perched on the edge of so corporate building whose na I don't care enough to rember, watching my breath form little clouds that disappear into the December night.
Ten days since Uncle May woke up. Ten days of patrols, training with Masters, and pretending everything is normal. Ten days of trying to forget what today is.
"You planning to just stand there all night?" Ellie's voice cuts through my thoughts. She's pacing behind , the symbiote rippling across her massive form with barely contained energy.
I shrug, still staring at the city below. "Just taking in the view."
"Bullshit." The symbiote parts around her face, revealing those piercing blue eyes that see through every lie I tell. "You've been weird all day. What's going on?"
"Nothing." I turn away from her searching gaze, focusing instead on a distant police siren. "Just tired."
Before I can react, tendrils shoot out from Venom's body, wrapping around my waist and yanking backward. My back hits the rooftop wall with enough force to knock the wind from my lungs. Ellie looms over , her face inches from mine as the symbiote flows back to reveal more of her features.
"You're keeping secrets from ?" she growls, her voice vibrating with that dangerous dual tone that makes my stomach flip.
"It's nothing, really."
Her hand slams against the wall beside my head, the concrete cracking under the impact. "Try again."
"Fine," I sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Today's my birthday."
The blank white eyes of her symbiote mask widen comically, the darkness parting further to reveal her entire face. "Why the fuck didn't you tell ?" she demands, genuine hurt flashing across her features. "We could have done sothing special."
I shrug again, feeling suddenly small beneath her intense gaze. "I don't really like my birthday that much."
"That's insane," she says, releasing from her grip but still blocking my escape with her imposing fra. "Boys love birthdays. And you seem exactly like the kind that would make sure to tell everyone it's your birthday all day."
A bitter laugh escapes before I can stop it. "Yeah, well, not this boy."
Ellie's expression softens, the predatory intensity lting into sothing gentler. The symbiote responds to her emotional shift, flowing more smoothly across her form. "Why not?"
"Really, let's just talk about this later," I say, turning away from her piercing gaze. "Like tomorrow."
"Shane, co on," Ellie says, her voice softening as she reaches for my shoulder. "What do you think, I'll judge you or sothing?"
I sigh, my shoulders slumping further under the weight of mories I've been carrying all day. The city lights blur below us as I struggle to find the words.
"No... it's just..." I reach up and pull off my golden mask, letting the cold December air hit my face fully. I stare down at the mask in my hands, tracing the edges with my thumb. "Today is the day my parents died. I was ten years old."
Ellie's expression shifts, those fierce blue eyes widening with sudden understanding.
"They died because I begged them to take to the movies on my birthday," I continue, the words spilling out now that I've started. "Wouldn't stop whining about it until they gave in."
"Shane, I had no idea that's how they…"
"Of course not," I cut her off, my voice sharper than I intended. "I didn't tell you that part."
The symbiote flows across her body, responding to her emotions as she moves closer to . Her hand finds mine, fingers intertwining with surprising gentleness.
"You can't just bla yourself for their death," she says quietly, her thumb stroking the back of my hand.
"I don't," I reply, watching our joined hands instead of eting her eyes. "I an, I did for a long ti. What kid wouldn't? But no, I know I was just a kid acting like a kid."
In my mind, I can still see the movie poster that had captivated so completely. The Avengers rerelease. It was the fourth ti I would have seen it in theaters.
Ellie's free hand cos up to cup my cheek, turning my face toward hers. The symbiote has retreated completely now, leaving just her, beautiful, fierce, and looking at with an expression I rarely see from her. Tenderness.
"What happened to them?" she asks, her voice uncharacteristically gentle.
I swallow hard, the mories rising to the surface like bodies in a lake. The words feel heavy in my mouth, but I force them out.
"They got into a fight on the drive ho. Sothing stupid, I don't even rember what. They fought a lot." My voice sounds hollow even to my own ears. "My dad took his eyes off the road for what felt like an eternity and then... boom. Head-on collision with another car."
Ellie's eyes widen, her fingers tightening around mine. "Oh my god," she whispers, the symbiote swirling anxiously across her shoulders. "Did the other driver...?"
"No," I shake my head, staring past her at the city lights. "Only I survived that day."
"Wow, that's so awful. I'm so sorry…"
The rest of her sentence is cut off by the distinctive thud of two pairs of feet landing on the rooftop behind us. I turn to see Spider-Woman and Scarlet Spider standing side by side, their silhouettes unmistakable against the night sky.
"Well, well, if it isn't the neighborhood's favorite odd couple," Spider-Woman calls out, her voice carrying that familiar playful lilt. "What's with the serious faces? Soone steal your lunch money?"
Scarlet Spider crosses her arms, the blue hoodie over her costu fluttering in the December wind. "Probably plotting world domination. That's what villains do on rooftops, right?"
I've never been so grateful for an interruption in my life. The weight of the past lifts slightly as I slip my golden mask back on, grateful for the barrier it provides between my emotions and the world.
The symbiote swirls across Ellie's face, reclaiming her features beneath that terrifying visage of white eyes and gleaming fangs.
"We're not plotting anything," Venom snarls, her voice a nightmarish chorus that echoes across the rooftop.
I clear my throat, grateful for the distraction from my personal tragedy. "You two seem to be getting along these days," I say, gesturing between the spider-thed heroes. "That's good."
Spider-Woman shifts her weight, the lenses of her mask narrowing slightly. "For now..." she replies, her voice carrying a note of caution that suggests this truce is fragile at best.
"How's your uncle doing?" I ask, genuinely curious about the man who'd woken up so unexpectedly during our hospital visit.
"Good as new," Spider-Woman says, her posture relaxing slightly. "All his tests ca back great. He's back ho now."
I nod, a strange feeling settling in my gut. Sothing about this doesn't track with what I rember from the comics. The clone saga never resolved this neatly or quickly. Uncle May was supposed to be sick for much longer, and the whole storyline was supposed to be way more convoluted. I’m pretty sure he should have died to be honest… It feels like sothing fundantal has changed in this universe's narrative flow, but I can't put my finger on what exactly.
After a mont's consideration, I decide to set these thoughts aside. Maybe this reality is just different from the comics I knew. Or maybe my presence here has already altered things in ways I can't predict.
"How about you, Scarlet?" I turn my attention to the blonde clone in her blue hoodie. "What's up with you these days?"
Scarlet Spider shrugs, her body language mirroring Piper's. "I'm living with Uncle May. He thinks I'm a long-lost relative."
"That's great, right?" I offer, trying to sound encouraging.
"Yeah, it's..." she pauses, seemingly searching for the right words, "weird to be back in New York after so long."
I can't help but press further, curious about how much of the original storyline is still intact. "Any sightings of Kaine?"
Scarlet shakes her head firmly. "No. Not since I got to New York. She hasn't attacked once."
"Hmm, I wonder what changed?" I muse aloud, genuinely puzzled by this deviation.
Spider-Woman shrugs, her red and blue suit catching the city lights as she moves. "Maybe your vision was off," she suggests, a hint of skepticism still coloring her tone.
"Probably," I concede, though I'm not convinced. "I'd just be very careful if I were you."
"Always," Spider-Woman replies.
Scarlet Spider lets out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. After a mont, she turns to . "So... do you still want that photo you were bugging about at the hospital?"
My heart skips a beat, the fanboy inside doing backflips. I glance at Ellie, who's watching with those blank white eyes. Even through my mask, I swear she can sense the excitent radiating from .
"You know," she says, the symbiote partially receding to reveal her amused expression, "you never suggest taking pictures with ."
"I would love to take pictures of us," I counter quickly, not wanting her to feel left out. A mischievous thought crosses my mind. "Hell, we should even start filming ourselves together soti..."
Ellie snorts. "Just give your phone," she says, extending her hand.
I fumble through my pockets, nearly dropping my phone in my excitent before handing it over to her. The symbiote flows around her fingers as she takes it, creating a perfect grip.
I practically sprint over to Scarlet Spider, positioning myself beside her. "Ready, Ellie?" I call out, unable to keep the childish glee from my voice.
"Yeah.”
Scarlet shifts awkwardly beside . "How should we pose?" she asks, sounding like she's already regretting this decision.
Spider-Woman chuckles. “Just do sothing Scarlet Spider would do.”
“…Fine.”
Scarlet snaps her wrist out on instinct. Thwip A webline shoots past , catching on a distant water tower. The sound alone flips a switch in my brain.
I move without thinking.
I drop low into a crouch, one knee bent, fingertips brushing the concrete as I lean forward, golden mask tilted up toward the skyline. It’s muscle mory mixed with pure comic-book nonsense, ready to spring, ready to run, ready to disappear in a flash of gold.
“Hold it,” Ellie says.
The symbiote tightens around her arm as she fras the shot, impatience radiating off her. "Alright… Got it."
I relax from my pose and hurry over to where Ellie stands, the excitent still bubbling within.
"Thanks for doing that," I say, reaching for my phone.
Ellie doesn't imdiately hand it back. Instead, her free hand catches my wrist, tugging closer until we're standing slightly apart from the spider duo. The symbiote recedes from her face again, revealing those piercing blue eyes that always see right through .
"Shane," she says softly, her voice pitched just for my ears, "I'll take as many pictures of you with these D-list heroes as you want..." Her thumb traces small circles on my wrist, a surprisingly tender gesture. "But I want to talk more about your birthday later, okay?"
Sothing warm unfurls in my chest at her words, at the genuine concern in her eyes. "Yeah," I nod, swallowing the sudden lump in my throat. "Later."
Her eyes search mine for a mont longer before she hands my phone back.
Scarlet Spider
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