Capítulo 4: Homecoming
After a week of planning, a begrudging trip to the mall, it seemed everyone was ready for Homecoming. Jerren had even asked a girl, Alice, a saxophone player in the band, to be his date. The only thing left was the day. Mick never saw anything out of the ordinary, no extra security details like what Coulson had suggested would be watching him the week prior. Maybe that was just how SHIELD worked? They said they'd watch you, and like everything else about them, they existed without you ever knowing.
Friday night arrived. Mick, being part of the marching band, had the misfortune of watching their team get slaughtered on the field. Thankfully, even that wasn't enough to quell the excitement of the dance. After the game, Mick had a very restless night. Countless nightmares of Arachnid appearing to ruin the dance. He wasn't going to let it happen. He had a backup plan, one that he'd worked out with Jerren, Davis, and Patten. They helped him design a makeshift costume using the little bit of craft skills they had, it was a black hoodie with a a figure eight down the chest, it had slightly detached spider legs, and two smaller figure eights in the center each with an X through them. The emblem was designed after a spider native to the south Louisiana region, the brown recluse. Mick fancied the name, recluse; finding it quite fitting for his typical keeping to himself mentality. The sleeves had webbing designs coming off the shoulders and around the wrists. He had a black cloth mask that wrapped around his head, and a pair of polarized swimming goggles. He planned to wear this over his white shirt if the need arose, and his dress pants were loose enough to give him easy movement.
While it wasn't the best plan of action, it would be better than nothing. He was just going to hope Mr. Coulson could keep up his end of the deal. Mick didn't want anything ruining this night with Laynie, not after how close they had been getting. This night needed to be perfect, especially with him planning to ask her to be his girlfriend.
By the time morning arrived Mick maybe accrued three hours of sleep. That could be negated by a few well timed energy drinks though. The morning was quite a drag, slogging through several picture assaults from his mom. This was only amplified when the boys were gathered throughout the day, forced to take pictures at the Bennet house all while waiting for their dates to be ready to be picked up. Davis was the first lucky one to escape. Several of Jerren's relatives came by to see him all dressed up, this had Mrs. Bennet parading the boys around like little posable dolls until Laynie finally called. Sweet freedom. Mick waved goodbye as Jerren shook his head. Mick had neglected to realized, this was only round one of the photo assault.
No sooner that he arrived at Laynie's, Mrs. Daniels was out with the camera. Several comments were made about Mick not at least getting a hair cut, but Mick brushed it off. Long shaggy hair was his thing, he liked it. His hatred of pictures died off as soon as Laynie walked out of her room. Her brown hair was woven half up and coming down into little ringlet curls. She wore a sparking blue dress with a lacy top, and silver shoes with rhinestones. Everything about her was radiant, words truly escaped him as he stared in awe.
"Look how beautiful you are!" Mick's mom exclaimed tapping Mick's shoulders frantically.
"Let's get some pictures of you both in front of that gorgeous fireplace!" Both moms were now in full mom mode, snapping pictures of the two as they came face to face with each other.
"You okay?" Laynie asked looking up with Mick, her emerald eyes sparkling. "Is it too much? I didn't mean to make you all nervous."
"Uh, you're fine," Mick stammered as they posed for a picture, he was unable to control the goofy grin on his face. "I mean, I'm ok. Energy drink." He shook his head, trying to play his jitters off.
"Big hugs!" Laynie's mom said as Laynie's dad walked out. He cracked his oversized knuckles, then slid his fingers across his throat while never taking his eyes off Mick. Even with powers, the man's muscular build was quite intimidating.
"Be nice Daddy!" Laynie scolded. "He'd just a friend." Mick felt his heart sink. That certainly wasn't the words he wanted to hear.
"You kids ready to go meet the others?" Mick's mom asked as Mick let out a sigh of relief. He was certainly ready to get far away from Mr. Daniels.
Her whole family walked out to the car, Mick opening the back driver door, letting Laynie in. Her dad caught him as he started toward the passenger side. "You better treat her nice, and keep her safe." Even his voice was terrifying. How did it get that deep? Was it even natural?
After a nice dinner at a seafood restaurant, which was quite crowded by other homecoming patrons. Several of which came to greet Laynie, completely ignoring the group she was with. Must've been a perk of eating with the nerds. Despite this, everything went well. Before they knew it, they were at the school. After a quick reminder of how they were planning to get home, Mick helped Laynie out, and lead her into the school cafeteria. No sooner than they crossed under the hanging seaweed with flowers they had near the door, a horrible vision brought Mick to his knees. He watched as Arachnid tore through several of what he assumed to be SHIELD barricades, snapping the necks of anyone who dared stand in his path. The worse part, Mick recognized this place, it was close. He was here. Mick came to holding his head, surrounded by Laynie, Jerren, Davis, Pattten, and their dates.
"Mick are you sure you're feeling ok? Laynie asked as Mick nodded, brushing the sweat from his brow.
"I've got your migraine medicine," Jerren said as he nudged toward his backpack. "Why don't we go sit down?"
"We're going to run to the restroom real quick, you can join us if you'd like," Patten's timid date, Emily offered to Laynie.
"I think I'll take you up on that," Laynie looked back at Mick with concern. "My lipstick could use some touching up."
"He'll be fine," Patten smiled at her.
Once the girls were away, and Mick was sat down at one of the few folded down tabled on the edge of the cafeteria to give plenty of room for a dance floor, the boys got down to business. "You had another vision of him, didn't you?" Jerren asked.
"Yeah," Mick said as he tried to breathe slowly to calm himself. "You have my costume in that bag?"
"Yes," Jerren frowned. "Against my better judgement, I brought it."
"You're the one that insist Mick keeps this a secret!" Davis' tone was just barely audible over the blaring music.
"I'm going call Mr. Coulson to check on things," Mick said firmly. The aquatic ambient lights along with the flashing strobes were oddly helping with the headache situation, by causing a so he didn't really have to fake it. Thankfully Jerren was serious about having his medicine as well.
Once he was outside, he pulled the small phone out, calling the one number it had in it. Coulson answered quickly. "I had another vision, he's close."
"I know," Coulson said, clearly he was on top of this. "You need to relax and enjoy your date. We can handle this."
"Right," Mick sighed. He headed back inside, grateful that the medicine already kicked in. Laynie was standing by his group of friends. His heart skipped a beat. A slow song began to play as he made his way toward her. "Would you like to-"
"I'd love to," she said before he could finish his sentence. She placed her arms around him, drew closer toward him. He nervously placed his hands on her shoulders. She shook her head and smiled, pulled his arms around her lower back, and then embracing him once more, the two intimately revolving around each other, eyes gazing upon the other. He didn't want to leave this magical moment. He no longer heard the music, he no longer saw the crowd, it was just he and Laynie, encased in a timeless bubble. The illusion shattered when screams filled the room.
Mick's eyes shot toward the door, there he saw several panicked students running, and the silhouette of the monster of his nightmares in the moonlight. "Run, now," he demanded as Laynie looked quite confused.
"What about you?" She asked as Mick guided her toward his group of friends heading toward the back exit of the cafeteria.
"Don't worry about me," Mick said feigning bravery. "I'll be fine, I promise. I just need my bag."
"Mick!" Laynie called out as Mick headed back toward the front of the cafeteria, into the maze of tables where they strategically hid the backpack.
He quickly pulled on the black hoodie, fixed the mask and goggles, and prepared to face down his nightmare. His nerves peaked as he pulled open the door, several students had been webbed to the ground, some against the walls. This only bolstered Mick's brashness. He was no longer fighting for himself, he had to protect these people from the same fate he suffered.
"Hey, Ugly! Didn't anyone tell you this is a dance?" Mick called out, catching Arachnid's attention from a young boy he had clutched by the throat.
"There you are," he dropped the boy, who ran away screaming in terror. "So this is what happens when someone survives my bite? I will admit, I had been curious. Now I imagine your blood taste all the sweeter."
"I'd rather keep my blood on the inside if you don't mind," Mick remarked as Arachnid sneered, then lunged at blinding speed. Despite how much Mick claimed to have faster reactions, they were nothing on Arachnid's speed. Mick slammed into the ground, the wind left his body, his lungs feeling as if they'd collapse under the weight of the massive man atop him. Mick struggled to move his arms, only to have them pinned down by one of Arachnid's massive hands. No matter how much stronger he was, he was no match for Arachnid. Why? He wasn't even holding back!
"Such a little fighter, too bad it's all for nothing," Arachnid taunted Mick as he shoved Mick's head to the side, smirking at the scars on his neck from their last encounter. "Why don't we finish what we started all those months ago?" Arachnid bit down into Mick's neck. Searing pain filled Mick's body, it was terrifyingly nostalgic.
It abruptly ended the same way it had before, two flashes of blue light, and Arachnid let out a roar and released Mick. The difference this time, Mick wasn't paralyzed. His body was in overdrive. He used this to his advantage, slamming both feet into Arachnid, sending him crashing into the wall behind him.
"You ok kid?" Coulson ran over to Mick, helping him up.
"Hurting, but ok for the moment," Mick panted, adjusting his hood and mask so no one could recognize him.
"Good idea with the costume," Coulson said as he readied the pistol in his hands as Arachnid stood up again. Webs slammed into Coulson before he could fire, the Coulson was jerked toward Arachnid. Mick then shot webs of his own, blinding Arachnid before he could do anything else. He ran full speed at the beast, jumping and slamming his fist into him. Arachnid went through the wall, but Mick didn't relent. He continued his assault, pummeling the staggering monster for every nightmare, every moment he suffered in the hospital, for every person her hurt trying to get to him, and the once Arachnid fell to the ground, Mick stood over him, staring at the man's blood covered face he debated heavily on taking his life. He could do it, reach down, choke the life from him. Take his life just like he'd done to who knew how many people before.
"Don't," Coulson said, standing in the crumbled opening of the wall. "Don't be like him. You don't have to stoop to his level."
Mick panted, his heart raced. Instead of swinging, he simply webbed Arachnid to the ground, just like he'd done to the other students. Mick then turned to Coulson, the adrenaline taking its toll on him. Coulson moved fast to catch him.
"Good job kid," Coulson smiled at him. "What are you going to call yourself? Spider-Boy, Human-Spider, Arachni-Kid?"
"Recluse," Mick said said reaching up at his neck. He felt the warm blood pouring out, but didn't really want to go back to the hospital. He really didn't know how they'd explain this happening twice.
"I mean, I guess that's better that going by Spider-Man," Coulson shrugged. "How bad is the bite?" Coulson walked with Mick out to see the blood soaking into his white shirt. "Oh boy, this is going to be a fun one. I don't think we can say a bear attacked you now."
"Let me get out of here and find my friends, and I'll come up with something. I used to be pretty clumsy before all of this," Mick said as Coulson frowned.
"Run fast, there's quite a crowd heading this way," Coulson said nudging toward the herd of students peaking out of the cafeteria trying to see what's happening.
"Who's that guy in the mask?" "What are they wrapped in?" "What happened to that wall?"
All the questions Mick didn't want to be involved with, Coulson could handle with ease. He quickly slipped into the shadows, using his webs to climb into the trees. The blood loss had him a little shaken up, but he could manage. He slipped out of his dress shirt, and flipped the Recluse hoodie inside out before easing his way down. Various sirens echoes as cops, first responders, and ambulances arrived at the school. Thankfully Mick spotted his friends unfortunately without their dates and Laynie walking away from the chaos of it all, as if someone had sent them to find him.
"Mick!" Laynie gasped seeing the blood all over his hands. "What happened to you?"
"Would you believe me if I fell in a bush?" Mick asked as he looked at the bush near the tree he was leaning against. She simply stared at him, not sure how to answer. It wasn't until Jerren pulled the flashlight from his backpack, and Patten began cleaning the wound that Laynie spoke.
"People were saying there was a masked guy fighting a guy with powers out there," she said furiously. "That was you wasn't it?"
"Why would Mick fight-" Davis tried to cover for him.
"Yes," Mick admitted without an argument.
"Why?" Laynie asked, her concern breaking through her anger.
"Someone had to stop him," Mick said deflated.
"What made you think you could?" Laynie questioned.
"I have special powers," Mick admitted to the groaning of Jerren and Patten. "Powers that that guy incidentally gave to me the last time we met, over the summer."
"What?" Laynie was clearly confused. Mick then explained his last encounter with Arachnid over the summer, and how he found out he had powers, and just what had been happening to him over the last few months.
"I'll understand if you never want to speak to me again," Mick said feeling the exhaustion from his previous battle weighing on him.
"Why would I abandon someone who would risk their life to protect me?" Laynie asked. "Just promise you won't go lying to me again."
"I promise," Mick said as Laynie hugged him.
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