Chapter 4
Matt had managed to drag Ashley back to his apartment. Every other step the young girl had let out a pained whimper. Matt had known her get hurt before, and a few times she had sustained small stab wounds that were probably worse than the gash she was sporting on her left side now. But her breaths were laboured with agonising gasps, and he could taste the sweat running down her forehead in the air – a sign of an already climbing fever. Matt had a theory, but it was one he hoped was wrong.
He laid Ashley down on his couch. Her eyes were closed, and a crease marred her forehead as if she was trying to concentrate on something – possibly not passing out. Matt dug out a first aid kit that seemed to need stocking up far too regularly these days. He had managed to coax her out of her hoodie and so he pulled back the hem of her t-shirt, just enough to expose the wound, taking a sharp breath as he felt taut skin stretch over her ribs. He ran his fingers gently over the gash – it was about three centimetres long and about half as wide, so nothing too life-threatening. In fact, a couple of stitches should sort it out.
Ashley let out a loud groan, her whole body shaking with the pain she was in, drawing Matt’s attention back to his earlier theory that he needed to test. He started by asking her a fairly simple question. “Where does it hurt?” He expected her to say her side, as that was the obvious answer. But it wasn’t the answer he got.
“You… You w-wouldn’t believe me if I t-told you,” she rasped through clenched teeth.
“Your wings?” The question came out barely louder than a whisper. In answer, Ashley’s wings unfurled, her right wing curling defensively round her thin body. Her left wing however, hung limply at her side, the bottom of the feathered mass landing on the floor with a soft thump. Matt gently trailed his fingers over the delicate feathers, marvelling in how soft they felt. As he drew closer to the bullet still lodged in them, Ashley’s whines became louder. When the pad of his index finger brushed the bullet, she had to clamp a hand over her mouth tightly to muffle the scream that escaped her.
Matt quickly withdrew his fingers, as if he had been burnt. “Sorry, kid.” Removing that bullet was going to be difficult. Especially as he had no idea what to expect once it was out. Would she bleed out? Would the wound heal on its own? He had to risk it though because this child was in agony. He turned back to his supply box and pulled out a container that he had labelled in braille – Codeine. He pulled out two pills from the box and walked over to the kitchenette, filling up a glass with water from the tap. When he came back to Ashley’s side, he pushed the glass of water and the pills into her hands. “Take those – it will help dull the pain.” Or at least that was what he hoped.
Ashley complied with his instructions and it didn’t take long for her to slump drowsily against the back of the sofa. She wasn’t whimpering with every other breath now, which Matt took as a good sign. He took out a pair of tweezers and with his free hand, he ran his fingers down the feathers, searching out the bullet again. The only sound Ashley made when Matt’s fingers came into contact with cold metal, was a quiet moan accompanied by her body twitching slightly. Matt pinched the bullet between the tweezers and slowly began to tease it out from the wound. Ashley’s breathing hitched at the movement and her hands clawed at the fabric of the sofa, trying to keep herself as still as possible.
After several agonising seconds, the bullet finally came free. Ashley gasped in relief, the pain subsiding as the damaged feathers fell out. Matt caught the handful of black feathers. These ones weren’t as soft, and they were sticky with blood. He hesitantly touched the featherless area, feeling a fragment of bone peeking through the hole.
“They’ll grow back…” Ashley’s voice was slow, words starting to slur as the night’s events and the painkillers in her system caught up with her. Matt turned his attention back to the gash in her side. She barely flinched when he started sewing up her side and by the time he had finished, she had passed out completely. Matt stayed for another hour to watch over her before sitting down to sleep himself. He slept in the armchair opposite just in case something happened during the night.
When Ashley woke up the following morning, Matt was already up making breakfast. The smell of sizzling bacon was enough to coax Ashley off the sofa. Her wings rustled as they tucked themselves away, out of sight. She could still feel a dull ache in her left wing, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. As she stood up, she swayed a little on the spot and had to grab the arm of the sofa to stop herself from falling over.
Matt heard the fabric of the sofa straining in Ashley’s tight grip and heard the way her feet shuffled unevenly on the floor. He quickly switched off the hob and hurried to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her back to sit down on the sofa. “Easy, kid... They did a number on you last night.”
Ashley whined softly as she slumped back against the sofa. “But I gotta... I gotta go to school.”
“Not happening. You're going to stay right there; we'll have breakfast and then you and I are going to talk.” Matt's voice was serious. He moved back to the kitchenette to dish up breakfast -bacon sandwiches – handing a plate to Ashley before he sat down with his own plate. By the time he had eaten the whole sandwich, Ashley was still gingerly nibbling at one corner. After the pizza on Friday night, Ashley's stomach was a little more accepting of food, but she still didn’t want to rush and cause herself to feel any worse than she already did. Matt waited patiently for her to finish eating, no matter how long it took. He had already decided he wouldn’t be going into the office today.
“Okay… So, what did you want to talk about?” Ashley asked, fingers fidgeting nervously in her lap. She shifted in her seat, trying to ease the ache that was settling in her back. With her wings receded, the pain from the bullet wound made itself known as a steadily growing burning sensation in her lower back. She tried to stifle a groan, but Matt’s hypersensitive hearing picked up on it. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and a bottle of beer. He passed the bottle of water to Ashley and nudged the painkillers on the table towards her before sitting down and cracking open his beer. Ashley cracked the pills out of their counterfoils and chugged them down with half a bottle of water. When she sighed in relief as the medication kicked in, Matt decided to start his questioning.
“I need you to tell me what’s going on. You show up more times than not breathless and giving off fever heat that I can feel from metres away. You’re tired and sometimes unfocused when we spar. Last night, you asked me to call you a different name, which seemed very out-of-the-blue, and while I was stitching you up, I could feel your ribcage jutting out from your skin. To top it all off, someone called Karito is after you and I’m not sure they plan on taking you alive.”
Ashley shifted uncomfortably, gaze dropping to her lap. Even though Matt was blind, it felt as though his eyes were boring into her skull. She wondered how much to tell him... She liked Matt and considered him a friend. He was probably the one of only three people she really trusted, but she had no idea how he would react if she told him her current living situation. She didn’t want to risk getting dumped in the system and potentially being forced to give up her education at Midtown, as that was her only chance if she wanted to pursue the career she wanted. “I don't know who Karito is,” she spoke honestly. “And I've been a bit sick lately, so I haven’t had much of an appetite.” This wasn’t a total lie – more of a vague truth.
“And the name thing?” Matt prompted.
“I'm adopted and I’m just trying to honour my birth parents.” She stated simply. Again, not a million miles from the truth.
“Okay, but why now?”
Ashley just shrugged before closing her eyes and sinking even further into the sofa. Matt sighed, sensing he wasn’t going to get anything else from Ashley, especially after her breathing evened out into the tell-tale signs of sleep. He picked up a blanket from his bedroom and draped it over her thin body and left her to rest. To pass the time he had Karen, the law firm’s secretary and sole employee (apart from the two owners) send over some emails for him to go through with his specially adapted laptop.
***
Peter, MJ and Ned had been very concerned when Ashley was a no-show at school that day. After the events of Friday evening, Peter had spent the weekend chatting with MJ and Ned in their group chat. Mostly he was buzzing with excitement over the prospect of Ashley becoming a second high-school intern for Mr Stark and how she had made an impression on some of the Avengers – most notably Scarlet Witch who he had also spent a good portion of the weekend texting. The young Avenger wanted to know when Peter would next bring his friend to the tower as it seemed she had become quite enamoured with her.
MJ had tried texting Ashley at lunch, seeing as she was the only one who had her phone number, but she didn’t receive a reply. MJ wasn’t one to wear her heart on her sleeve, and easily hid her emotions well, but even Ned could tell she was bothered by Ashley not showing up to school. Their friend’s face was fixed in a permanent worried expression, eyes unfocused and teeth gently biting her lower lip.
“Peter, did something happen on Friday?” she asked him as they sat through History class together.
Peter shook his head before casting his mind back to that evening. “Although, she did seem like she was sick. Before we had dinner, she was swaying on her feet a bit and then she fell asleep next to Miss Potts when the movie was on.” Peter thought about it a bit more, trying to remember every detail of that night. “She didn’t eat much either – just a slice of pizza.”
“I think there’s something wrong…” she mumbled; Peter wasn’t too sure she was still talking to him, or if he was even supposed to hear that.
MJ spent the rest of the day periodically checking her phone for a reply text from Ashley. By the end of the day, she still hadn’t had a response. Peter was starting to get concerned as well, mostly because MJ was so agitated. He invited MJ and Ned back to his place to study after school, hoping that he could distract his girlfriend from the meltdown she looked like she was about to have. The three of them had stretched out across Peter’s living room floor and were pouring over their maths homework to varying degrees of success (from Ned, who was already nearly finished all twenty problems they had been assigned, to MJ, who had made a few rough workings out on the first problem and then just doodled absently on the page). May had just thrown away the dinner she had been burning and ordered some take-out when MJ’s phone buzzed.
Ash: I took a sick day today – must have eaten something dodgy over the weekend. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. 17:21pm
MJ sighed in relief, reading the text a few times over. She showed the phone to Ned and Peter, who both grinned. She fired a quick text back at her best friend.
Glad ur ok. Need me to come over with some snacks? 17:22pm
A few minutes later, MJ received an answer.
Ashley: No need. I’ll be at school tomorrow. 17:27pm
MJ wasn’t surprised by the response. She knew Ashley’s parents wouldn’t be happy if she turned up at their front door. They were cruel people who didn’t care about her at all. MJ thought back to their time in middle school – she used to beg her mother to let Ashley stay for sleep overs at least once a week. (Sometimes more often on the rare occasion that Ashley’s mother actually got violent.) Ashley spent many nights crying to MJ about how she wanted to go to the same school as her friend. She worked herself into the ground with studying so that she would get the full scholarship to Midtown, because her parents would never agree to pay the tuition fee.
But just lately, there were no more sleepovers. No time spent with MJ and her mum, doting over her best friend and spoiling her rotten with treats. At first, she wondered if it was because MJ had started dating Peter. Did Ashley have a crush on the boy? The more MJ thought about it, the more absurd it sounded. Ashley had actively pushed MJ to talk to Peter in the first place. Sure enough, Ashley and Peter had both been academic rivals at first, but they were both far too wholesome to actually resent the other. That was how they became friends after all, and MJ was confident she would know if Ashley had feelings for Peter. Honestly, once she got to know Peter more, she was convinced he was just the male version of her best friend and the two could easily pass for siblings.
So that left one other option… Something had happened at home. MJ wanted to do something for Ashley for years when they were growing up together, but her best friend had always assured her she was alright. She had a roof over her head, clothes on her back (although usually a little worn and sometimes too small), and most of the time, three meals a day. But MJ also knew that Ashley was the one cooking all of those meals for the whole family and she was the one keeping the apartment clean on a daily basis. Any spare time Ashley had after her chores were finished, she had dedicated to studying. That was when she wasn’t being punished of course…
Ashley had been adopted at the age of two by Frank and Eleanor after they struggled to conceive. They had two years together where the two treated her like a little princess. She was the apple of their eyes until Eleanor fell pregnant not long before Ashley’s fifth birthday. At first, nothing really changed, and Ashley was excited over the prospect of a little brother as her parents were. MJ isn’t exactly sure when or why things changed – she could only piece bits of the story together from things her friend had let slip. But sometime during the pregnancy, Eleanor became cold towards her daughter and started pushing her around and ordering her to do things. By the time little Lucas was born, there were no more ‘I love yous’ or cuddles for Ashley. Eleanor threw insults at her and bossed her around, whereas Frank just completely ignored her.
Any yet the one thing that still astounds MJ to this day, was how much Ashley loved that little boy. She would do anything to protect Lucas. Any other child would have been jealous, but not Ashley. She would sneak into the baby’s room at night and curl up on the floor with a blanket, watching over him. To begin with, Ashley was terrified that her parents might do something to hurt him. But she soon realised they loved Lucas so much, just like she did. As long as Lucas was safe, Ashley would do whatever her parents asked her.
MJ was broken out of her reverie when the take-out was delivered. It was from that Thai place down the road that Peter and his aunt adored. The two of them had gone to dish up the food, while she and Ned cleared away their books. Ned was eyeing her wearily as MJ packed her bag. “What?” she asked, eyes narrowed at Ned.
“You’ve been zoning out for the past twenty minutes…” Ned stated, voice getting quieter as MJ’s glare seemed to intensify.
“And?”
Ned debated for a whole second how to respond. Does he call MJ out on it? “Nothing.” Nope… That’s a battle for another day. He knows MJ is worried about Ashley. Heck, they all were. Ned wasn’t as close with her as Peter and certainly not as close as MJ, but he could still tell something had changed. Ned and Ashley enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other for IT assignments they had, and Ashley often lent a fresh pair of eyes on some of his coding projects he did in his spare time. She didn’t have the same passion for Star Wars or Lego as he and Peter did, but she didn’t dismiss it in the same way MJ did either. In fact, on the rare occasion that she did hang out with them on the weekend, she would happily assist in whatever Lego project the boys were working on, while MJ sat in a corner with her sketchpad.
There were a couple of times when Ned had brought up the ‘FOS’ or ‘Friends of Spider-Man’. He thought that Ashley should be in on Peter’s little secret, especially seeing as Peter was so bad at keeping it. There had been a few instances over the last few months where Ashley had caught the three of them exchanging quiet whispers with each other. He felt guilty, knowing what it felt like to be excluded, and it’s even worse when it’s by people you thought were your friends. His theory was that was the reason she was now so distant. So, he decided to bring it up again over dinner.
“I think we should tell Ashley that Peter is Spider-Man.”
Peter briefly choked on some of his noodles. May just shook her head at her nephew and fetched him a glass of water once he had recovered. “Ned! You can’t just come out with things like that!” Peter lightly scolded his best friend.
“I agree with Ned,” MJ piped up, not taking her eyes off her food.
A pinched expression took over Peter’s face. “Yeah, you’re probably right… Just let me handle it.”
The three of them helped May clear up from dinner before Ned and MJ went home and Peter donned his suit and went out for a short patrol, promising May to be back before ten-thirty. Peter stopped a few petty muggers and returned a lost cat to Mrs Espinosa who lived across the street. The cat had somehow made it to the roof of a neighbouring, ten-storey block of flats.
He had just grabbed a sandwich from Delmar’s and found a roof to perch on to eat when a familiar pair of black wings flew overhead. Placing his sandwich back in the bag, he decided to take off after her, swinging West towards Brooklyn. After around ten minutes, she landed on a rooftop on the edge of Queens. She turned to face Peter as he landed behind her, face obscured by her scarf and her hood. But her expression was furious, brows furrowed as she glared at him.
“Why are you following me?” She spit the words out, trying to convey as much annoyance as possible in her tone.
“Hey! I just wanted to chat. I thought we could work together you know, kind of like the Avengers.” Peter couldn’t have hidden the excitement in his voice if he tried. “We did an awesome job with that bank robbery the other day.”
“I had that handled on my own, thank you.” Again, she tried to make her glare and her words venomous, but Peter just wasn’t intimidated by it. If anything, he was intrigued. Her eyes were so familiar – emerald orbs with flecks of yellow surrounding the iris like petals on a sunflower.
“At least give me your name. You know who I am after all,” Peter begged.
The girl rolled her eyes, the cold glare slowly starting to melt. “I don’t have a name… And I’m not a superhero or some vigilante either,” she added. “I’m just…” She trailed off, not quite knowing how to finish her sentence. So, Peter finished it for her.
“Looking out for the little guy, right?” The girl nodded and Peter grinned (not that she could see that behind his mask). “That’s what I’m doing too.”
“Is that before or after fighting Captain America and the other Avengers in Germany?”
Peter’s face fell slightly. “Th-That was a misunderstanding…” The girl simply cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly. Before Peter could elaborate further though, his attention was grabbed by the sound of sirens far off in the distance. His sensitive ears picked up on some police radio chatter down on the streets.
“Pursuit in progress – gun shots heard at a club in Long Island, suspect attempting to get away in a silver Mercedes – licence plate…”
Peter took off in the direction of the sirens, scanning the streets below for signs of the silver Merc. It didn’t take him long to find the source of the commotion, dangerously tearing through the busy streets. Peter balanced himself on a lamp post in order to get his bearings and try to figure a way to stop the car safely. As he started to formulate a plan, the same black wings flew overhead, heading straight for the speeding car. As she flew past, she called out to Peter.
“Come on Spidey, I could use your help.”