Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Strangers in the Night

Chapter 2: Strangers in the Night

"...Peter..."

He gently heard within the back of his mind as he raced through the streets. Sprinting as fast as he could as he followed the sound of car horns and screams. He cut through in an alleyway, using the cover it provided to jump the height of a building in a single leap. The sound of thunder was an almost sickening perfect partner to the primal roars that dominated the streets. As Peter reached the edge of a building he was greeted with the mother of all car crashes down on the street below.

His attention moved to his right side as at least a block away a singular car stood ahead of the crash and at the top of it, a seven-foot creature that he could only pinpoint as a human dinosaur. It was prying open the top of a car belonging to a woman and her child as countless civilians ran away from the creature.

On instinct, he almost took off his clothes but quickly remembered that his uniform was in a state of severe disrepair underneath his bed.

"Least I have the colors," he thought. He put up his hood and hoped that God was on his side as the hood and the storm combined with bad New York street lights would be the only things concealing his identity.

He started running away from the crash and towards the creature until he was close enough. There was a group of civilians that were getting people out of their cars so he could ignore them and focus on the woman who was in immediate danger of getting her head ripped off.

Peter leaped from the ledge of a building that was seven stories high, as he fell, he grabbed onto the street light that was below him and used it to propel himself into the lizard creature's side. The combination of his momentum and force sent the creature flying meters away before it could grab the terrified woman through the hole it had made.

The woman and her child screamed as it happened, preparing for the worst but looked on in shock as they saw the bright red jacket that belonged to Peter Parker. He was standing right where the creature stood just moments prior and instantly put up his hood again before the two could get a sight that wasn't his underside.

"It's Spider-Man!" the kid yelled enthusiastically as he associated the red he wore with New York's trademark and infamous law-breaking web-slinger. The cry of relief and hope that had cast away all fear had the boy smirk – had him feeling right when all he had felt this past month was wrong, but it fell as the monster that he had struck down, rose back up – refusing to be beaten so easily.

As always.

"Get to safety!" Peter commanded, eyes locked on the animal that stared him down, stalwartly standing between it and the family it sought to devour, "I'll deal with this barney reject."

"My husband! He - he..." the woman tried to say but Peter stopped her. He already noticed the few people who were trapped in cars, unconscious due to the impact of the collision. "Don't worry, once I'm done beating the bejeezus out of this thing – which won't take long, I'll go and help him – It's what I do," He stated confidently as he flashed the two a smirk before running off to face his new foe, getting cheered on by the boy who roared an enthusiastic chant as his mother desperately carried him away from the danger the brunette ran towards with a smile on his face.

His colossal combatant however would not allow its prey to escape its sight, and in rebuttal to the boy's attempt to protect them, it roared with harrowing anger that sent fear down the spines of those who heard it, and with mighty power from its monstrous form, the reptilian demon leaped high into the air to give chase – to kill – to devour the family it chased with unfathomable hunger.

Peter Parker was not to be ignored, however.

Though a boy he may be, he too contained great power, and he displayed it by meeting the monster head-on with a similar feat of power that had him propel himself into its trajectory like a missile and with his amazing power that he summoned into his fists, the boy delivered a crushing blow that sent the monster back with a breathtaking display of power and heroism that would be ingrained into the young child's mind as his mother whisked him away.

But no less than a second as the fleeing family turned the corner did Peter begin to get a picture of not just what he was fighting, but its power as well for his punch seemingly did as much damage to himself, as it did the monster who shrieked in pain as they were both brought back down to the cold and now damaged streets of a storming New York City.

Growling with hate as Peter observed his throbbing hand, the monster's obscured form faced the direction its senses told was where its targets were, but once again, as it made moves towards them, Peter had thwarted its attempts. Silencing its howl with a punch that collided against the scaly face, Peter's eyes widened as a familiar buzz – an instinctual alarm warned him of impending danger that was hastily coming.

And it did.

Feeling muscle coated in hard scales and reptilian skin wrap around his waist the very moment he was warned, the brunette hero was thrown with so much force that the wind howled at his speed as he was thrown through a store window that shattered instantaneously along with the wall was in his chosen path.

Believing itself to be victorious, the creature stood tall, lighting unveiling its draconic form clearly for but an instance. Just as he had felt, its skin was coated in green scales that could defend itself from powerful attacks, and its vicious claws that were on the ends of each finger allowed it to rend flesh if its muscular seven-foot body could not demolish those it stood against.

Its snout was to the sky, rapidly searching for those it was after, but accompanying the reverberating deep boom of thunder was the loud and determined voice of Peter Parker who stood tall, gaining its attention with a spiteful hiss at the boy's confident grin.

"Hey, Earl Sinclair! It's gonna take more than that to beat me" Peter yelled, ignoring the bad feeling he was getting from the cluster of vehicles that were beginning to deepen the darkness of night with smoke that unnerved him.

The towering creature roared, the message Peter sent being clearly conveyed and listened to.

If it was to get what it wanted, it would have to go through him.

It sought to do this, lunging at Peter with focus now purely on him but his spider speed and strength allowed him to react by flipping over it and using the tail that had attacked him to his advantage, Mid-flip, the boy grabbed its extra appendage and with his might, brought the creature over his head and back down to the ground.

Thunder roared with both the street and the creature as they were heavily damaged by the boy gracefully landing in the space between its legs.

Spider-sense warning him again of another surprise attack, Peter retreated with a backflip that carried him a lengthy distance away from the monster who had aimed to savagely swipe at him. Peter watched, formulating a plan as he saw the creature get up, its claws piercing through the pavement. He shook his head, throwing away whatever plan he had in mind and choosing to barrage the monster as it was still recovering.

With no web-shooters, he was limited to just his wits and his strength – but fortunately, he had plenty of the two. He ran towards the creature preparing a sucker punch that the Rhino could feel but unlike Peter's large and sluggish foe, the monster was fast, and it sidestepped the attack. Blue eyes expanding once more as he could see its tail move in his direction, Peter leaned backward, faster and deeper than any normal human could possibly do, barely dodging the attack however the monster wasn't done and went to instantly grab Peter with its right hand but in response to this Peter did a simple back spring away, gaining distance from the monster.

As he was going to stick the landing the creature tackled him to the ground. Pinning him down, it roared in his face, bombing his nostrils with the most repugnant stench that caused him to visibly scowl in disgust, "ugh, yikes," Peter said as he visibly cringed at the monster's breath. Stopping its attempts to devour his face with his forearm that held the monster's jaw back, Peter delivered a left hook with a bit more power to get it off of him. The impact sent the creature's face forcefully to the left as expected but what he did not expect was the monster to let go of him, roaring in agonizing pain, standing up tall once more, now set on desperately clawing away whatever it was that was on its back as its cries of pain were now conjoined with the growls of something else.

Peter took this chance to roll away, entering a familiar spider-crouched position as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

The roars of a girl gave him hints, but it was the flash of lighting that told him everything.

As lightning flashed once again, he could ever so briefly see a Caucasian-looking girl with waist-length black hair get off the creature's back, elegantly evading its relentless attacks and leaving huge gashes around its body in her wake. The creature tried grabbing her with its left arm but she swiftly dodged the attack before digging something into the creature's side and circling around to its back, leaving another gash on its body.

From her position behind the monster, the mysterious girl was ready to deliver another strike, but she was unaware of something that Peter had just quickly learned. The rampaging beast could heal. It could heal fast too, all the wounds the girl inflicted closing seconds after, and with speeds that could catch even himself off guard, its large hands wrapped around her small body, and she let out a cry of pain as her body was getting progressively crushed by its force. It lifted her into the air, restraining her movements but before it could do anything else, Peter joined in and hit it with even more power – all his power, in a desperate attempt to free her. Combining his strength with his speed, Peter's fist crashed against its jaw with such force that it was sent tumbling – freeing the girl in the process as it was completely floored by the power the boy rarely used.

The usage of his power came at an excruciating cost as Peter felt like he had nearly fractured his fist. Clenching his fist and sucking up the pain, Peter turned his attention to the girl who was currently on her knees, quietly gasping for air, "are you alright?" he asked before sticking his right hand out to help her get up.

He didn't show it but he recognized that girl.

This was the same one on the motorcycle earlier.

She wore a black leather jacket with black fingerless gloves, and black jeans with a pair of black biker boots were what dominated her lower half. She had waist-length hair that was as dark as the sky and her face was the shape of a triangle adorned with almond-shaped eyes.

Her vibrant emerald eyes met his blue ones as she got up on her own, completely ignoring the hand he held out for her.

"You're welcome," he mumbled to himself, returning his hand to his side.

"Last time I checked, I was the one who saved you first, you twit," the girl stated in an aggressive manner.

"Touché," was all Peter could say.

"What is that?" the girl asked as she looked at the creature that was slowly recovering from the boy's devastating attack.

"I don't know but it seems to be after one of the civilians," he said as he turned his attention from the girl onto the creature, "We hold this Godzilla wannabee here before it can hurt any of them," he declared, rolling up his sleeves and brushing off bits of the creature's scales off his face. The girl nodded and followed his actions, clenching her fists before the lethal and formidable sound of blades being swiftly released – a 'snikt' pierced his ears. Out from her knuckles were two long metallic claws on each hand and one on each foot that were more terrifying than the monster's ravenous talons.

Pushing the initial surprise of the display of her powers to the back of his mind along with the many questions he had, the corners of his lips lifted up ever so slightly as the tables turned in his – their, favor.

"I'll hit-"

"Do not get in my way," was the only thing the girl said as she ran at the monster before he could even state his plan, "...okay... never mind...I guess I'll follow your lead instead..." Peter accepted her blunt course of action, dashing behind her as she charged at their enemy. The scaly monstrosity roared as it tried to maul her with its claws but the girl managed to dodge it by ducking under the arm, leaving the creature open to attack – an opening Peter used.

He jumped as he approached the creature and combined the momentum and his strength to punch the creature's face yet again causing it to take a few steps back. The raven-haired girl tried to go for a strike but the creature recovered quickly from Peter's hit and went to attack her again. She swiftly dodged the attack allowing Peter to go in for another one but the creature didn't fall for the same trick twice. The creature used its advanced physiology to grab the girl while she was still in the process of dodging its first attack. wrapping its palm around her face to Peter's surprise, panic started to settle within him as he was worried for her safety.

The girl struggled and tried to cut the creature's arm but she only managed to make it halfway. "Let her go!" Peter demanded as he rushed the creature. He stood on its back as he barraged its face with attacks to little effect. It only relented as the girl used the claw on her foot to impale the creature's abdomen. In annoyance, it threw the girl's body with all its strength into the air prompting Peter to let out a "No!" as he jumped from the creature's shoulder and towards the girl's body.

The force of the throw made it impossible for her to gain control and break her fall but luckily she didn't have to. The boy managed to catch her before she hit the ground, unfortunately though, there wasn't enough space for him to land with her so he did the next best thing and used his back to break their fall.

They bounced down the street in the opposite direction from the crash with Peter taking most of the damage. They soon came to a stop and the two found themselves lying beside each other as the creature stood meters away.

The girl got up immediately and looked at the boy, a look of surprise across her face as she watched the boy do the same, "ow..." he muttered to himself, coping from wounds that would leave most paralyzed as if he had just lightly stubbed his toe.

"Are you alright?" He asked a familiar question, though the girl this time around did not have the indifferent expression she did the first time around, but a perplexed and almost infuriated one.

"Why did you do that?" she asked with curiosity and bafflement that almost made it seem that she was angry with him for preventing her harm.

He looked at her dumbfoundedly, "...cause you were gonna get hurt," he stated as if it was the obvious answer.

"I heal quickly. I do not need your concern," she furiously and sternly stated, brow furrowed for she was not one who needed worry from anyone – who wanted worry from anyone – much less him. Instead of choosing to continue their assault, he moronically chose to prevent harm she could easily rejuvenate and recover from.

"Well, you have it," Peter replied with an infliction that there was nothing he or she could do about it.

"You know, you have a funny way of saying 'thank you,'" He added, preventing whatever it was she was going to say to be said, but chances are it was going to be more reprimands for saving her.

She didn't like his addition, evident from her lack of response and scowl.

"So...are you done with the lone wolf schtick? or do you wanna be his squeeze toy some more?" he chuckled at the joke which deepened her scowl.

The girl just glared at him.

"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes,'" He said in a more serious tone as he looked at the monster that was now perched atop a parked car as it watched them like a predator in the bushes. "Godzilla over here is almost as fast as me and possibly stronger," he paused for a moment, "Its scales prevent me from doing any real damage but your claws seem to do the trick," he said as he turned his attention to her.

The girl looked at him, understanding what he was saying. "I'll distract it this time, while you use those claws of yours to make mincemeat out of this thing."

"Alright," the girl agreed as she withdrew her claws.

"So you can play nice?" he joked with a grin of his own as he slammed his fist into his palm.

"Shut up," Was all the girl said before the violent roar of their monstrous foe signaled them to begin their assault.

They ran at the creature with the girl following closely behind Peter. The creature left its perched position from the car as it watched its "prey" approach them and lifted the car above its head before it threw it at the two. The girl swiftly moved right as the car approached them but watched as the boy ran head-on, still retaining his grin.

She watched how the boy waited for the car to get closer to him before he jumped on it. He ran on it with ease as if the laws of physics did not apply to him before launching himself even farther into the air. He twirled in the air with a level of superior agility as he did a front flip with so many twists that it seemed impossible for a regular human to accomplish. The acrobatic spectacle seemed to confuse the creature as it couldn't comprehend what he was going to do next, which helped Peter as he turned the stylish move into a deadly kick.

The creature barely ducked under Peter's kick and as he landed behind the creature it spun around going for a hit which never came. The monster shrieked in pain as the girl's claws dug deep into its back, sending the message to never turn its back to her. She dragged them out through the creature's sides before cutting its legs tendons deeply as Peter from his crouched position pulled his fist back before doing a spinning uppercut to the creature's jaw.

The sheer force of the attack sent the creature into the air but as it tried to land the deep gash it had on its calves caused it to collapse and fall to its hands and knees. The girl ran at the creature, jumping over the creature's head as it tried to bite her. She twisted her body with the same elegance she showed when she saved Peter and dragged two claws from the creature's shoulder down to its upper back as her legs pointed towards the sky. It shrieked again as it straightened its back, allowing the girl to wrap her legs around the creature's waist as she was coming down.

She pulled out the claws that were stuck on the creature's back and used her left arm to wrap around the creature's neck. She then used her right hand to once again impale the creature, this time striking its ribs. With her against its body, its tail had no way of grabbing her, and any attempts to do so with its hands were thwarted as once again the creature was struck by the boy in red.

After that hit he struck the creature again, putting more into this punch than the previous ones prior. As his fist collided, the creature's waist twisted and the girl swiftly got off from it, but not before slitting its throat with the hand that was around its neck.

Its body limply fell upon the pavement.

An odd silence washed over the two as they could only hear the sound of raindrops and each other panting. The girl found a place at the boy's side as he looked at the creature's body with a soft expression. "It's dead," she simply said as she looked at the boy, but he gave her no response.

"Yeah..." he says with a hint of sadness in his voice. She recognized the sad expression and tried to console him, "It was not human."

"It was still alive," he solemnly said. It may have been an animal of some freak experiment but it didn't deserve this. He looked at the girl, his saddened expression slowly morphing into a small smile.

"Thank you, though," he graciously declared to the girl who assisted him on her own volition, "We make a pretty good team if this is anything to go by," he finished, admiring not just the efficiency of teamwork but the reliability he so very rarely experienced.

She crossed her arms and let out a small "hmph."

The girl with long flowing raven locks believed she could have handled this without him, but she could not deny the results. He could do what no one else could, fight alongside her without slowing her down.

If only he talked less.

"Why did you go help that woman?" she asked the boy, aware that he had come to the rescue and recklessly battled that creature before knowing anything about it.

Peter looked down for a second, trying to find a good answer, but there was only really one and as he saw the reflection within the puddle beneath him, he looked up at the girl with his bright blue ignited eyes and with a wholehearted voice he said, "Because I could, meaning I had to."

Within the puddle, he saw Spider-Man.

He saw himself.

His declaration that was finished with a smile took the girl he spoke those words to off guard as she tried to decipher their meaning but her nose picked up the putrid stench of burning rubber and the intrinsically alarming smell of smoke had her eyes instantly dart past the boy.

"There is a fire," she stated, spurring the boy to turn around and his eyes to widen in fear. The calamity of crashed cars the now-dead creature had spurred caused the amalgamation of crushed cars to catch aflame. That was not the least of their worries however for a truck that contained gallons of oil would soon join the metallic vehicles in their hell which would create a mass explosion that would devastate everything caught in it.

On reflex upon hearing the urgent cries for help, Peter went to move and answer the call but as soon as he did – at inhuman speeds, the creature's reptilian tail lashed at the girl he stood beside at lightning speeds, but his spider-sense alerted him of this. Tackling her to the ground before it could strike either of them, their monstrous draconic-like foe took the opportunity to escape and leaped stories high before using its amphibious powers to scale the building which would lead to its escape.

Caught in a crossroads as the both of them immediately got onto their feet, the girl growled, aiming to give chase at the monster but was stopped from doing so by a force that held her in place by her arm.

"We have to help them!" Peter yelled in a mix of an urgent plea and serious command, pointing at the people who were trapped in the confines of the burning metallic mess which would soon be their coffins.

The girl faced him, her immense anger exponentially growing at the stupid boy's actions, "These claws were made for killing, not helping!" she declared with the utmost hatred in her voice.

She was angry that she fell for such a stupid trick. Angry that she briefly dropped her guard.

But Peter Parker wouldn't have it, not when people's lives were at stake.

"Then let's change that!" Peter roared, challenging her ferocity with his own, letting go of her arm as he bolted into the flames that would be his end.

"You are a fool if you think you think you can save them!" She yelled. That truck would catch ablaze and incinerate all who were trapped, including the boy who either didn't understand the danger or just didn't care.

"Then I guess I am a fool!" he yelled back, informing her that he simply did not care if it would explode – he would try and save those death had already claimed.

The girl glared at him, a look of surprise and anger as she watched the boy's figure get smaller as he ran towards the fire. She turned her gaze upwards to where the lizard creature was, its figure all but gone except for its tail which slowly disappeared from the edge of the building.

She looked back at the boy as he leaped into the heart of the crash.

He would not be able to save all of them.

His young mind looked at the rapidly growing flames, desperately trying to come up with a way to save those who remained in the disaster which kept growing. There was a crowd nearby, made up of those who managed to free themselves – who instead of running away like most, decided to stay and help just as the boy did. They said things to him, locations of people, but his senses had already told him. In the midst of the rapidly growing flames were two in a flipped-over Nissan, with another two being pinned by a truck that crushed their metal coffins, and finally two more who were in their own vehicles, unconscious and unaware of their fates.

The girl was right, at any second the truck would erupt and incinerate everyone caught up in its blast, and even with his powers he knew deep in his bones that he couldn't save them all, but he grit his teeth, he ignored the reality of his situation and he...

"I will get those in the Nissan and the Civic," a voice flatly stated, reverberating hope into his mind.

Peter turned around, eyes wide with a smile – heart pounding and given energy once more as he watched the girl in black fight go towards her targets, "I knew you'd come!" he yelled, his faith in her rewarded as he leaped from car to car, evading the flames just as the girl did.

She easily maneuvered around the cars until she reached the Civic, failing to keep her eyes on it as she watched the boy excitedly and easily free one of the trapped civilians from her intended tomb.

Who is he? Was the thought that pervaded her mind as her body moved on its own again, doing things she could never see herself doing – things that were done after witnessing him.

She regained focus, effortlessly making a hole in the car which she would pull the hefty man that was entrapped in it through. His weight commanded the usage of both her arms but she managed to lift the almost three-hundred-pound man out and lift him to safety before moving to her next target.

She could hear the barely conscious man utter the words "Thank you."

She furrowed her brow.

She did not deserve praise.

The flames were growing rampantly now, emitting such a heat that she had begun to sweat, the threat of doom that was already close getting nearer and nearer by the second – they were threading the needle, and yet she watched how this did not stop the boy who ignored the flames to save the last two who were pinned down in their coffins by a crushing pick up truck.

There was about to be a mass explosion any second now and he was heading towards the heart of the disaster.

So was she.

On the cluster of cars, in the midst of a blazing fire that would soon be an incinerating explosion of great magnitude, a girl with viridian gemstone eyes and a boy with glimmering azure ones rushed into danger – ran in toe with one another with a shared goal to save those from what would be a certain death. She ran in toe with him until she reached the one who she was supposed to save, using claws which were made to reap lives to save them. She put the woman whom she saved on her back, bolting out of the impending explosion but not before giving a glance as the boy who she fought alongside, who she was saving these people with, used his impressive power to toss the three-ton truck that utterly crushed the vehicle it was over.

The raven-haired girl set the woman down not too far from the crowd that stood afar from the catastrophe, and she turned her gaze back to the flames that had swallowed up even the sight of the boy, but she knew he was still alive.

She watched with eager eyes, with suspension and unease that was foreign as the crowd chanted for him, cheered for him and her, but in the midst of those cheers, a name that was used had captured her attention.

Spider-Man.

They called the boy that.

They believed him to be the infamous hero.

Her mind said otherwise, but his actions and words had her doubting her own thoughts.

She did not know him, but she did know one thing.

He was running out of time.

Aware of this predicament with the constant buzzing of his sixth sense, Peter Parker hastily tore the roof of the car right off, unveiling the man inside who desperately cradled the body of his son.

Not knowing if the boy was good or bad, or if he was here to help or save, the man pleaded regardless to save his son over him, to take him and leave.

"Nuh uh sir," Peter refused, causing the man to freeze, "I came here for the package deal and I'm not settling for any less," he smirked offering his hand to the man who passed the body of his son – his sacred child to the boy who speedily kept the boy snug under his harm.

Regardless if he was Spider-Man or not, with the way he spoke, the way he cared, he was most certainly more than just a boy.

With the delicate newborn handled and time not on his side, using his strength and speed, the father was forcefully lifted and carried on Peter's opposing shoulder as he began his sprint against the closing of time. The mysterious unnamed girl watched with more focus, more attention, more care, and worry than she would ever admit, urgently awaiting him to escape the inferno that made moves to swallow him whole but she was not privy to God who always had another idea when it came to Peter Parker.'

In a twist of fate, her prediction that she now wanted to be so desperately wrong was proven correct in the haunting display of purgatory capturing three new souls with its ear-shattering eruption of fire and flame that had her heart stop.

"No!" she yelled, heart dropping as she reached out to where the boy once stood, a look of anguish and pain – deep regret crossing her face as he was devoured.

"Ha!"

But just moments later her look of anguish was one of surprise, of awestruck, of disbelief, as the boy that was devoured came souring from the explosion like a shooting star that captivated everyone's attention.

Time stopped as her agape expression looked up to meet his grin, his blue eyes meeting her green ones as he laughed to himself, the man he was holding contrasting against the boy not just in age, but in emotions as he screamed for his life – the top of his nose blackened from burns.

Heroically – triumphantly soaring through the skies with everyone safe – everyone alive, Peter Parker landed from his last minute – last second last-ditch leap with a smile on his face, the cheering of people accompanying it as the man he saved was let go.

Gently falling onto his knees to catch his breath, the middle-aged man as soon as he could – ignoring the gash on his head and his wounds turned to the boy who saved him and his son and voiced his only concern, his only worry, "My-my son...is he..." he tried to say, his eyes full of worry but just as he escaped unscathed – mostly, so did his son – completely unwounded, unharmed, undamaged.

"He's safe," Peter softly said as used his other hand to gently change the boy's position from a hold underneath his arm to a more parental one. He then gently gave the boy who appeared to be no more than five to his father, who then clutched him as if his life depended on it.

The man teared up as he looked at the brunette boy who just saved them and the only words he could find himself saying were "Thank you...thank you so much...."

Peter looked at him with wide eyes before taking a step back, watching the father clutch his son as if the ending of the world had just been prevented and then he looked around. He looked at the scenes which were illuminated by a soft orange glow. He looked at the people who were saved, who would live to see another day because of him.

Because of him...

The girl quietly observed the boy as he looked around, deep in thought. She noticed how his jacket wasn't fully on now, just barely hanging on his elbows as the outside was covered by black soot from the explosion and her eyes gravitated to the name that was written on the tag.

"Parker"

They were then pulled by his blue ones which turned around to specifically meet her green ones once more, and Peter Parker flashed her a small smile with warm glowing eyes.

It wasn't just because of him that they were alive.

But because of her too.

"That was a blast," he chuckled, not shying away from the banal joke and instead finding it amusing.

She gave him a deadpan look.

This only made him laugh more.

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" he light-heartedly asked the girl, putting his hands on his waist, the gentle smile morphing into a playful grin.

"Do not be a fool," she dismissed his question, averting her gaze from him and crossing her arms, amusing him even more.

He let out a small laugh at her response.

"You know...I wouldn't have been able to save all of them if it weren't for you," He began to say as he looked back at the crowd. "Thank you for that," he said with all his heart, holding a soft gaze with the girl before she looked away, opting to look at the crowd of people she helped save.

People she did save.

He did the same.

"Shame that thing got away," Peter noted as he put his coat on properly.

He didn't get a response from the girl but at the mention of the creature he got something else. He stared at her oddly as she started sniffing the air, like a dog tracking things before sharply returning her gaze to him causing him to jolt a little.

"It is not gone," she stated.

"What?" Peter asked dumbfoundedly.

She pointed west, "it is somewhere there."

"Wait..." he said, recollecting the area. "That's where the waterfront is, there's an entrance to the sewers down there... You don't think?" he said as he looked at the nearest manhole cover.

The girl simply walked towards it and looked at him.

"Yes," was all she said.

He followed her and crouched down beneath the manhole, putting his hand over it and using his powers to lift it. The girl quietly observed how the boy lifted the manhole, palm fully flat on it before lifting it, almost like it was stuck to his palm.

Peter looked up at her and got the feeling he should clarify what he just did.

"Stick'em powers," he casually said. She already saw his face, how he fought, and how he lifted a truck with ease. Didn't help that bystanders called him out but he did appreciate it at the same time and while normally he was extremely worried and paranoid about his identity, there was something about this girl that made him feel at ease.

She looked at him, visibly displeased with his childish response however, it did confirm her doubts. What were the chances that she met the hero the news loved talking about?

"Ladies first?" he gestured as he looked at her.

She glared at him again.

"Never mind," was all he said before jumping in first, not bothering to use the rusted steps built in. She followed suit, albeit not as reckless as she decided to use the steps to go down the hole.

She closed the manhole as she went further down, the repugnant smell of the sewers burning her nostrils but she could also smell the boy and the various soaps he used, standing right beneath her, obviously waiting for her to come down.

More importantly, however, the more she went down the stronger the creature's faint smell became.

It was here.

The hunt was on.