Save the Fallen
Peter was swinging by a window when he heard it. A cry, small and scared, and a thump that resounded through the night. Peter swung down and landed, pressing himself against the building where he’d heard the sound.
His Spidey senses tingled, but he knew it wasn’t for him. Something wasn’t right.
“Karen,” Peter breathed. “Activate the ‘Catch ‘Em in the Act’ Protocol.” The little record light blinked to life on his HUD. This recording, he knew, would broadcast automatically to the Avenger’s Compound, solidifying the evidence.
He pressed his ear to the side of the building.
“Stop it, please! I don’t want to play this game anymore!” The wording of it made his blood run cold. They sounded so young. He peeked through an open window, and what he saw made him see red.
A little girl, no older than five or six, was laying on the ground, an older man on top of her. Tears streamed down her face, and as Peter watched, the older man smiled maliciously.
“C’mon darling,” He said in a sickly sweet voice. “I’ll make you feel good.”
Peter had seen enough.
He burst through the window, causing the man to shout and stumble back in surprise.
“GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!” The words were out of Peter’s mouth before he could censor them. The little girl scrambled to her feet, hiccuping, and backed away. Peter stepped in between them, fingers on the trigger of his webshooters.
“What-what the hell do think you’re doing, invading my home like this?” The man blustered. “I’ll have you know, this is my house, and I can do what I-”
“Shut. Up.” Peter spat the words like poison. He fired a sleeper web, which attached itself to the man’s face. He struggled for a moment, then keeled over, the chloroform infusion knocking him out cold.
Peter knelt down in front of the little girl, who was shaking violently.
“Hey,” He said gently. “You’re alright now. He won’t hurt you anymore.” The little girl burst into tears, flinching away from him when he tried to reach out.
“I don’t wanna play more games!” She cried. Peter felt like throwing up. He closed his eyes briefly, composing himself.
“No more games,” Peter said. “No more. What’s your name?”
“E-Emily.”
“Has he done this before, Emily?”
“Uh huh,” The girl said tremulously. “We play games when Mommy isn’t home. He shows me things. It makes me feel icky.”
“It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
“But I agreed to it!” She exclaimed. Peter put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m gonna tell you a story, something I haven’t told anyone before.” Emily nodded, some of the fear replaced by curiosity.
“There was a little boy a while ago, who had a loving aunt and uncle, but both of them had to work. They hired a babysitter to watch him while they were away. The babysitter loved to play with him, but he soon started doing things that the boy didn’t like. He showed him pictures, weird ones and gross ones with people doing gross things. Soon, the babysitter started doing those things to the boy, every single time he came over.” Peter took a shuddering breath, remembering against his will, the lighthearted voice and the soft, invasive touches.
“The boy was ashamed. He felt dirty and rotten, like something was wrong inside of him. He didn’t want to tell his aunt and uncle what was happening, because he was afraid of what they’d say. Eventually though, one of his teachers started asking questions about the marks on him. So, finally, the boy told someone.”
“What happened then?” The little girl asked.
“They were angry, but not at the boy. They fired the babysitter and made it so he could never play games like that with any boy ever again. And the boy was okay. It was hard to learn how not to be afraid anymore, but he did with a lot of help.” The little girl smiled, and Peter smiled back. “You wanna know how I know this?”
“How?”
“That little boy was me.” Her eyes widened comically.
“Really?” She asked. “But you’re Spider-man!”
“I am,” He said. “And it wasn’t my fault, just like it isn’t yours. They were the older ones, they should have known better than to play those kinds of games with us. They know they’re not allowed.”
“It’s against the rules?”
“It’s against the law,” Peter corrected, and the girls eyes widened further.
“Oh.” Emily said, and glanced at the man. “Does that mean Daddy will go to prison? I don’t want him to go to prison!”
“He needs to learn that what he did was wrong,” Peter explained. “Think of it like time-out for grown-ups. That way he can’t play with you anymore either.”
“Ok.” There was a knock at the door, and Emily flinched back.
“There they are!” Peter kept his voice light and cheerful. “The police are here now; they’ll help you!”
“They will?”
“They helped me. Are you okay if I leave you with them?” She hesitated, then nodded. Peter smiled and reached out to her, silently asking permission for a hug. Emily reciprocated.
“Everything will be okay,” Peter murmured comfortingly. “I recorded everything he did; he’ll be going away for a long time now.”
“Ok,” Emily said tearfully, and pulled away to go open the door.
Miles away, at the Avengers compound, Steve turned off the TV, hands shaking violently.