"What do you want?" Harry asked, staring up at the mysterious stranger. "I really don't want to get any more blood on me."
"Easy, easy," The stranger said, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "I'm not here to fight you."
"Then why are you here?" Harry asked, not relaxing in the slightest.
A voice in his head that sounded a lot like Mad-Eye Moody told him to stay vigilant until he was sure that this man was not a threat.
"Same reason as you, apparently." The stranger gestured to the unconscious body that Harry was standing over.
"I.." Harry paused as he remembered the kid was still here, as if realising that Harry was thinking about him, the kid let out a small groan as if to say 'yes, I am still here.' Harry quickly rushed towards the kid, making sure to keep his guard up in case the stranger decided to attack. "Ryan, you okay?" Harry asked, kneeling down next to Ryan who had managed to sit up. Harry kept his hands away from him as he didn't want to cover the kid in blood any more than Ryan wanted to be covered in blood.
"I...think so," Ryan mumbled, he had a small cut on his forehead.
Though, thankfully for Harry's sanity, the cut wasn't in the shape of a lightning bolt. "I….." Ryan blinked and stared with wide eyes at Harry.
"Relax, kid, it's me." Harry grabbed his bandana and lowered it long enough for Ryan to see his face.
"Y…. you?" Ryan stuttered, Harry nodded and pulled his bandana back up. "You. you're that one...who. who said..."
"Yeah, exact same one, you doing good?" Harry asked before pausing. "I mean...apart from the pain and the kidnapping and...you know what, never mind."
'I'm sorry to interrupt," The stranger called, still standing on top of the train. "But the police are coming, they'll be here soon."
"How would you know that?" Harry looked at him while asking that question.
"I just do," The stranger answered before tilting his head slightly..
"I'd give them two minutes.'
"I…..but..whatever." Harry rolled his eyes before turning back to Ryan. "Look, the police are going to come here and pick you up and take you someplace safe, then they'll take your idiot of an adopted father to jail and...
"Where is he?" Ryan frowned and looked around before letting out a started yell upon seeing Teeth unconscious on the floor with blood dripping from his near toothless mouth. "Did you do that?"
He asked Harry.
" did this because he did that." Harry gestured to the cut on Ryan's forehead.
"Is. is he dead?" Ryan asked hesitantly.
"No, he's alive." The stranger answered confidently.
"Butt out for a second, sock head." Harry sighed before continuing to talk to Ryan. "Anyway, the police will ask you some questions, and I want you to tell them everything." Harry really wanted to tell the kid to lie but he didn't really trust a kid who looked between four and five to lie expertly to policemen. Besides, even if Ryan did tell the police everything there was no way that it would come back to him. Sure, Ryan could tell the policemen that he saw someone with black hair and green eyes but Harry was far from being the only person in the world with green hair and black hair. Besides, between Harry being a minor and having access to Norman Osborn's lawyers, it was highly unlikely for anything to happen to him even if he was caught.
"O...okay." Ryan nodded.
"Good boy," Harry said before he and Ryan heard the sound of police sirens. "okay, l've got to go. Be good." Harry nodded to him before he turned around and looked at the stranger.
"Follow me," Said the stranger.
"Why should I?" Harry asked.
"Because I can help you, now hurry." The stranger said in an impatient voice before walking off, Harry let out an agitated sigh before he followed after him.
"That was a good thing that you did," The stranger said as he and Harry stood on top of a nearby rooftop, Harry watched as the policemen took Ryan and handed him over to an ambulance that had arrived.
"Why are you here?" Harry asked, still staring down at all the cops and medics that were swarming the scene.
"That guy you fought, he occasionally operates in Hell's Kitchen, where operate." The stranger explained.
"Who the hell are you?" Harry asked.
"Who are you?" The stranger countered.
"I asked you first." Harry pointed out. Harry didn't get an answer and the masked man instead settled for staring at Harry from underneath his mask, though unfortunately for him, Harry was stubborn and wouldn't answer first, so Harry decided to change the subject. "You know most people cover the bottom half of their face?" Harry pointed out as he gestured to his own bandana before gesturing to the stranger's face and his mask which covered the top half of his face.
'I'm not most people," The stranger countered. "I get the sense that you're not either. You know, I wasn't entirely sure if it really happened but I'm pretty sure that you had stuck yourself to the side of that train."
"What did you want with the kid?" Harry asked, ignoring the questioning tone. "What did you want with the guy?"
"Same as you, stop him and save the kid," The stranger answered.
"I had heard he was a mutant and planned to observe him and make a plan of attack when all of a sudden you get involved. So, how long have you been doing this?" He asked.
"Doing What?"
"Dressing up and saving kids."
"This is a one-time thing," Harry shook his head. "I'm just here to help that kid and then I'm going back to my regular life."
"Really?" The stranger asked sceptically. "You really think that that's how it'll work? That this is a one time gig?"
"It is a one time gig." Harry insisted. "The kid is safe, my work is done.
"Is it?" He asked. "Why help the kid in the first place? Why not leave it for somebody else to do it?"
"Are you a licenced therapist or just hungry for conversation?"
Harry asked in an irritated voice. "What do I even call you, anyway?"
"I don't know, what do I call you." He countered.
"Hmm, let's go with 'Spider' for now," Harry said, not really able to think of a better name. "Now, your turn, what the hell do I call you?"
"I don't really have a name that I go by, though I have been called the 'Devil' before." The man smirked briefly.
"The Devil and the Spider, what a pair we make," Harry snorted, shaking his head with disbelief
"You helped that kid, why?" Devil asked.
"It's not really any of your business, is it?" Harry said in a short voice.
"You helped him, what's going to stop you from helping the next kid you come across?" Devil asked, ignoring Harry's tone.
"Hey, I stumbled on that kid unintentionally," Harry replied. "I thought he was just being abused by some regular asshole, I didn't expect a fugly, sharp-toothed mutant to kidnap him. I got involved and that's why I helped him, but that's done now."
"So being a hero for a day is enough for you, huh?" Devil asked.
"I am no hero!" Harry hissed at him.
"You're angry," Devil noted. "What's wrong with being a hero?" He asked curiously.
"Everyone wants to be one, l've grown out of that stupidity, trust me when I say that the price that comes with it is not worth it."
"I thought this was your first night?" Devil asked.
"First night dressing up, I've saved people before and it got me nothing.
"You need a reward?" Devil asked, his voice still just as calm as it had been all night.
"I didn't want a reward, I wanted a life, but I wasn't allowed that!" Harry snapped. "Listen to me, man, I don't know who you are, I don't know what you can do and I don't know what drugs you're on, but trust me when tell you that this is not worth it. You keep playing the hero and you'll be left with nothing. Go home, find your friends, find your family and appreciate what you have. If you don't stop then all that will be left is your bloody body, broken and battered on some random pavement. And for what? Do you think you can help everyone? Save everyone? You can't. And why the hell are you encouraging me to do this? Aren't you all supposed to be like 'you're too young to do this,' or some crap?"
"I should be trying to stop you," The Devil agreed. "And I am tempted to," He told Harry in an honest voice. "But I won't.
Because, as I stand here, next to you, I already know one thing for certain. I know that you are not going to stop. You say you will, you might even believe it right now, at this very moment, but you won't. You should, I'd really recommend stopping, but I don't think you will "
"You're crazy." Harry shook his head before he turned and started to walk off.
"A while back," Devil spoke again, causing Harry to stop. "I had just come out of a bar with a friend of mine, wanted to go home and hit the bed. But then, I heard something, heard a little girl."
"What?" Harry turned and stared at him.
"A sad truth in life, there are all types of abuse and far too many victims of each," Devil spoke in a solemn voice. "I did to this girl's father the same thing that you did to that guy. I tracked him down and I beat him down, I warned him what would happen if he did it again, and then I beat him even more. I still check in on that girl every now and again. I knew at that moment that I would never stop doing what I do, and I was right. I know you can stick to things
and that you're very strong, so l'll let you in on something I can do.
My senses are massively better than the average person, I hear a lot. And I mean a lot. After that girl, I didn't stop because I realised I could do something. Muggers, abusers, people who prey on the innocent, I could stop them and I have been doing so. I haven't saved everyone, dear God, I wish I could but I haven't because I can't. I can't and I hear that every day, every day there's a new victim. But I go to sleep happily, knowing that l've done my best to save as many people as I could. Knowing that I saved a mother, a father, a sister, a brother or even just some random guy with no family."
"So. what?" Harry asked in a frustrated voice. "You're saying I should go around and start playing vigilante?"
"No," Devil shook his head. "Personally, it's my sincere hope that you do give up this life. That you do as you want and live a normal life. Really kid, swear, that's what I want for you, that's what I hope you get. But the sad part is, you remind me way too much of myself for me to believe that will happen. So, if you do continue down this path then I really would recommend that vou wait a few years, either way when that happens, I'd like to help you out. If you need to contact me, I..."
"If I need to contact you, which I bloody won't, I'll find you, mate, not the other way around." Harry firmly interrupted before he turned and started walking away. "I don't want anything to do with you and your stupid see-through mask or any of this bullshit. I'm going home, I'm going to wash this blood off of me and then I'm going to sleep and try and dream about my best mate's bombshell of an aunt. I'm done with this and I am done with you."
"We'll see, Kid," Devil whispered to himself, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Fucking hell." Harry cursed under his breath before he was able to sneak into his room. He had stopped off in a public bathroom and washed the blood off of himself before he made his way home, the hardest part was sneaking up to the penthouse and not getting caught. Harry had opted to crawl up the side of the building and slip in through a window, a process that felt longer than it might have been and had scared the crap out of Harry who partway up realised that he was not fond of being high in the air without a broom under him.
Eventually, though, Harry had been able to get inside the penthouse, thankfully his mother and father appeared to be asleep (though it was possible that Norman was still at work), leaving him easily able to sneak towards his room. He opened the door and quickly closed it behind himself, allowing him a moment to stop and take several deep breaths.
"So," A voice spoke, causing Harry to jump and see Gwen leaning against the wall opposite Harry. "Have you had a good night?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um...yeah, wasn't bad," Harry coughed, awkwardly standing still as he stared at her. "Um...what are you doing here?" He asked.
"No, my questions first, where were you?" She asked, staring at him.
"I was…with Peter." Harry shrugged.
"He fibs, he is sly and he's telling a big, fat, old lie." A voice sang just before Peter dramatically walked out of Harrv's closet.
"What the bleeding hell were you doing in my closet?" Harry blinked.
'I got in so I could dramatically walk out," Peter explained before pointing an accusatory finger at Harry. "Where were you?"
"I..um…..I was..
"If you say you were at my place then I'm going to slap you," Gwen warned before Harry could continue.
" was...spending time with a man." Harry eventually settled on.
"What?" Gwen blinked.
"Yeah," Harry nodded before turning to Peter. "I guess we both came out of the closet today, huh?"
"Oh yeah, why did you fight this guy then?" Gwen asked, sounding both irritated at his lie and concerned for him.
"What on Earth makes you think I fought anyone?" Harry asked.
"How about the bruises on vour knuckles?" Gwen pointed to Harry's hands.
"What bruises?" Harry asked innocently as he put his hands behind his back, only to be met with two non-amused stares. "Fine," Harry let out a deep breath. "I went after Ryan."
"The kid you saved?" Peter asked.
"The very same," Harry nodded. " found him and his adopted father, and I may or may not have ended up beating up the guy."
"You what?" Gwen gasped, staring at him with slightly more disbelief than Peter.
"He's in police custody now and Ryan should be in a hospital and..."
"And you should be too!" Gwen interrupted.
"I…just to be clear, I should be in police custody or..."
"A hospital!" Gwen hissed, cutting him off. "You should be in the hospital right now!"
"No, no, and hell no," Harry spoke as loud as he dared, which wasn't particularly loud as he didn't want to risk his parent's hearing. "First of all, I am fine,"
"You always say that, and you can't decide that. You're not a trained medical professional!" Gwen pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's my own damn body, I should know what's right with it or not." Harry countered. "Besides, I can't go to the hospital, if I go then that increases the risk of me getting caught. The kid's already seen my face, and I'm not doing anything to increase the risk. I've got a few bumps and bruises but nothing that won't heal, I swear if I end up feeling worse tomorrow then I'll get it checked out but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I was simply right here for the whole night."
"What on Earth possessed you to go out and track down a criminal?" Gwen asked, sounding quite worried, and alarmingly for Harry, she looked like she was close to crying. "Is that what you're going to do now? Go out at night and fight crimes?"
"No, no, and once again, hell no." Harry quickly shook his head.
"This was a one-time thing, I got involved with Ryan so I helped him out. End of story."
"Harry, is it? Is it the end of this story?" Gwen asked with watery
eyes.
"It is, Gwen, really, it is. Why are you so upset?" Harry frowned.
"Harry, my dad's a policeman, he's been one for as long as I can remember," Gwen sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "Every day we worry about him, worry that one day he won't come back. There have been so many times where we've found out that he'd nearly died, and he's a trained officer, Harry. Powers or not, you're not trained and you don't have any good equipment. I don't want to have to worry about you the same way I worry about him, I don't want to stay home every day and wonder if you'll come back because you decide to play vigilante."
"Gwen, Gwen," Harry interrupted her and pulled her into a comforting hug, she gladly hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry worried you, but promise you, it was only this one time. The rest of my life, I'm just old, plain Harry."
"I'm sorry," Gwen sniffed a few moments later as she pulled away from him. "I was just worried."
"I get it, really," Harry replied. "I am truly sorry that I worried the both of you, honestly. Now, onto my questions, what are you two doing here?"
"We were supposed to have a sleepover, remember?" Peter asked, rolling his eyes.
"Oh right, I thought that was tomorrow," Harry confessed.
"You're one of the most important people in my life and one of the most intelligent l've ever met but damn, you can be dumb at times." Gwen rubbed her forehead as she stared at him.
"Pretty much, yeah." Harry agreed without hesitation before adopting a contrite look. "I feel like I should tell you guys something.
"What?" Peter blinked before spotting the way that the corners of Harry's lips twitched up.
"I wasn't with a man, I was actually fighting that guy," Harry said in a voice filled with mock regret. "I'm sorry, Peter, you're the only one that came out of the closet today."
"Hate to break it to you, Harry, but I'm still straight," Peter told him in a fake-regretful voice.
"Really?" Harry dramatically gasped.
"Yes, forgive me?" Peter said, dramatically clutching his heart.
"There's nothing to forgive." Harry tried not to laugh as he pulled
Peter into a hug. "I love you just the way you are."
"Oh God, you two are so annoying." Gwen laughed before she joined the two of them, making it a three-way hug. "Now, can we please have some fun tonight?" She said once they had let go of each other. "don't think lIl be allowed to have many more sleepovers with you guys."
"Why not?" Peter frowned.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because we're no longer kids and we're growing kids that are close to the age of consent." Gwen huffed.
"Oh. right." Peter blinked before Harry lightly slapped him on the back of his head.
'I knew your hormones would cause us problems." Harry gave
Peter a disappointed look.
"What?!"
"Yes, shame on you, Peter." Gwen agreed, playing along.
"Why is it my fault?!" Peter demanded.