An old abandoned subway station under the East Side. The ceiling leaked moisture, the walls were covered in graffiti and mold, and a single row of portable lights trembled on the ground.
The air smelled of rust and old dust; rats scurried, and the distant echo of the city hung far above.
The silence of the tunnel was broken every few seconds by piercing screams.
Spider-Man, Jewel, and I were in the next room, separated from the interrogation by a brick wall and a rusty metal door.
"God…"
"Are you sure this is necessary?"
Another scream, longer this time. It made my skin crawl a little.
Jewel crossed her arms, leaning against the wall, but her tense jaw betrayed her discomfort.
"I don't like hearing this. Did Danny say exactly what they were doing?"
I nodded slowly.
"I asked him before they started. He said… he has a method to cancel the ritual the Hand uses."
"Ritual?"
"Yes. You know, like the one the guys who attacked us had. If they die or speak… their bodies dissolve and that… Danny can disable it, but he warned me it's extremely painful."
Jewel frowned.
"'Painful' doesn't even begin to cover it."
"I don't know," I said. "But if they don't do it, he won't talk. And if he doesn't talk, we won't know where to find Gorgon and the kidnapped people."
Peter rubbed his neck, uncomfortable.
"Still… I don't think this is right. There has to be another way."
Another scream tore through the door. This time, a muffled roar behind it, probably Matt or Danny trying to contain it.
We stayed like that for a while, trying to distract ourselves in vain, always interrupted by cries of pain.
I didn't feel sorry for the guy; he's a cold-blooded killer belonging to an ancient order of mystical ninjas.
But I had never heard screams like these… not counting movies or games, but that's different; there I knew it wasn't real. The line separating reality from fiction let me be indifferent.
IMPACT
That would be the word for this feeling. I felt it the first time I transformed, then when I fought the Lizard… during the invasion, and now here.
I stared at my trembling hands.
They felt cold and wet, as if my blood had disappeared from them.
I rubbed them together, hard, until the warmth returned a little. I closed my eyes tightly, momentarily distancing myself from everything.
The trembling, the knot in my chest, the metallic smell of the air—I compressed it.
I imagined it in my hands and threw it far away. So far that not even the echo of its fall could return.
When I opened my eyes again, I was still there, sitting. My hands were still. Breathing normally.
Only silence… and the feeling of having pushed something into the depths of an abyss that never stops filling.
A hand landed on my shoulder, startling me.
"Are you okay?"
"You seemed to be having a hard time just now."
I smiled under my mask, always so perceptive.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a bit cold here, and with all those screams, I thought I saw a ghost for a moment."
"What? A ghost?"
"Don't tell me… you don't believe in magic but you do in ghosts?" I stood up, stretching in the process.
"What? Noooo… I've just had some… encounters… inexplicable at times."
"The web-slinger was haunted by ghosts on an adventure we had with Danny in some mystical mountains a few months ago."
"They weren't ghosts. That was… a kind of residual energy manifestation," said Spidey, moving his hands as he tried to justify the unjustifiable. "You know, like a quantum projection, particles trapped in an electromagnetic loop or something."
Jessica and I exchanged glances in mutual understanding—this crazy guy is trying to justify the unjustifiable.
"Still, if that 'quantum projection' shows up again, I won't go near it even a meter."
We stayed chatting a bit longer, mocking Peter and his fear of "quantum projections," until the sound of the metal door opening interrupted us.
Danny and Matt reappeared through the door, closing it behind them. The silence felt heavy as we met their eyes.
Danny exhaled calmly, but Matt's tension was visible in every muscle.
"We broke the seal," Daredevil reported. "We tried to break his mental defense… but that bastard just mocked us. He feels no fear. No pain. Nothing."
"And his mind is a wall," added Danny calmly. "Literally a fortress trained not to yield. Elektra is still inside. But we… need a breather."
Jewel clenched her fists.
"And now what? We can't just sit here waiting for him to commit suicide or be rescued."
"There's something we can try," said Peter, always looking for light where no one else sees it. "Not everything has to be solved by fighting. Maybe… he still has a fragment of humanity. Something we can appeal to so he tells us something."
Matt shook his head slowly.
"There's no humanity in them. The Hand trains assassins from childhood. They grow without a soul, without doubt, without fear. They have their minds washed and obey without question."
"But it's still a living being," replied Spidey. "Everyone makes choices. Even those who think they have none."
Jewel sighed, not very hopeful.
"I say it's a waste of time. I say we beat him up and hang him on a pole, then wait for his pajama friends to rescue him and force them to tell us where they come from."
"Forcing the body breaks the flesh," murmured Iron Fist, with that Sensei Miyagi tone. "But sometimes, words move more than pain, reaching the heart."
Everyone turned to me.
Matt went straight.
"Legion. What do you think?"
Damn it. Torture a man? Or torture the other dozen coming for him?
No, of course I wouldn't do that… not yet.
"We lose nothing by trying." I straightened up. "Maybe he won't open the door. But if there's even a crack… maybe we can stick a hand in and open a window. I'm with the web-slinger."
Spidey nodded.
Jewel exhaled through her nose, resigned.
Danny smiled calmly.
Matt… didn't say yes.
But he didn't say no either.
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The trio was in the room, immediately feeling the heavy atmosphere.
From beyond the door they could hear Elektra's voice, listing in detail what she could do to the ninja leader to make him talk.
"I could tear your fingers off one by one, hang you upside down until the world spins…", she said, slowly lifting each finger as she enumerated, "I can use pain like a key, open your body and your mind, leaving you crippled for the rest of your miserable life, foaming at the mouth."
The ninja leader didn't flinch. He leaned back in his chair and let out a mocking laugh.
"Is that all?" he spat at her. "You think you'll scare me with words? Kid, by the time you took your first steps I had already put down more than a dozen men. Don't try to apply to me what we taught you."
Elektra frowned and stepped toward him, her gaze cutting.
"Maybe I need to remind you why they fear me," she whispered, her voice low and loaded with threat.
A spat of blood and saliva hit her in the face.
In a swift motion Elektra grabbed his head firmly; with her other hand she held a clamp, pushed it into his mouth and ripped out a tooth with a dry yank.
The leader screamed, but showed no fear—his mockery did not go away. Elektra was ready to take another when someone stopped her.
"Stop, Elektra!" a firm voice said behind them. "That's enough. We'll do this our way."
Spider-Man's voice didn't falter as he grabbed Elektra's arm, keeping her from continuing the torture.
She let the clamp fall with a metallic clink and a mocking smile spread across her face.
"'Our way'?" she said sarcastically. "This isn't a heroes-and-villains game. This is war. Things don't get fixed with words. And this guy… he's not going to change because you tell him pretty words, kid."
"Maybe," Spider-Man replied firmly, "but you used to belong to the Hand and you chose to walk away. If you could do it, why do you think no one else can?"
"How dare you!"
Elektra growled in anger and, with a quick movement, pulled a sai and pointed it at Spider-Man's shoulder.
Before she could act, Jewel lunged with astonishing speed, slamming her into the wall. She threw a punch that stopped centimeters from Elektra's face, the gust lifting dust and debris from the floor.
"Try that again and I won't be so nice," Jewel warned, releasing her by the throat and stepping back toward Spider-Man.
The assassin snarled in frustration, sliding aside into the shadows and rubbing her red neck as if to ease the pain.
As for me, everything happened so fast that when I realized it, Jewel was already back beside Peter. I have a watch that turns me into aliens, but in my normal self I'm just a regular guy with ordinary reflexes.
"Nice start, huh?" I said, exchanging looks with Jessica.
She shrugged.
"She asked for it."
Spider-Man took a step back, hands raised calmly, keeping eye contact with the ninja.
"Look, we're not here to play or to kill you," he said. "But you can't keep toying with us. Every lie, every mockery, only proves you knew you could have chosen another path. I'm asking you to choose something different, to tell us the truth."
"The truth?" the ninja repeated in a low voice. "And what would I gain from that?"
"You'd gain…" Spider-Man hesitated a moment, choosing his words, "…the chance to stop sinking further into what you've done. To stop being a cog in this machine of death. At least you can decide one meaningful act."
The ninja tilted his head slightly, and for a moment his posture relaxed. It looked like he was starting to give in.
"Hmmm… maybe… maybe you're right," he whispered. "I can cooperate, maybe."
Jewel intervened, voice firm, almost demanding:
"Then tell us, so nobody else has to go through this again. Help us and do one good thing in your life."
The ninja closed his eyes for a second, then opened them, and his smile grew almost sincere.
"Fine… I can tell you where they are. But… there's a problem."
He paused, staring at us. Spider-Man took a step forward, encouraged and hopeful.
"Okay, don't worry, we'll protect you, I give you my word."
Then his smile widened, his mouth bloody and missing several teeth.
"…they're three meters underground," he said, his voice full of mockery and contempt, "and you, 'fake and useless heroes,' will be there with them soon."
Silence shattered into Jewel's explosion. With a scream full of rage and frustration she launched at him, grabbing him by the throat with force.
"You're trash! You don't deserve an ounce of mercy!" she shouted, hoisting the man and his chair over her head.
Spider-Man reacted immediately, grabbing her arm and holding her steady.
"Jewel, stop! Keep your head. He just wants to piss us off."
The ninja let out a small, amused laugh, enjoying the moment.
"So this is your heroism? Pure rage," he mocked. "Funny. Very funny. You're just kids in ridiculous suits."
Peter took a deep breath, struggling to stay calm, clearly concentrating all his energy into not losing control.
"Okay, that's enough," I said as I stepped forward, placing a hand on Jessica's shoulder to steady her.
Her breath and tense muscles relaxed little by little as Peter and I calmed her, moving her a few steps away from the idiot in the chair.
I can have a lot of patience, but as my Nono used to say, a Christian can be kind, but not stupid.
"So the bird refuses to sing, hmm?" I said, approaching the ninja leader slowly.
He looked at me haughtily, smiling and whistling a little.
"So the shy one decided to do something at last. I thought I'd have to pray to heaven for you to finally make up your mind."
"What are you going to do?" Peter asked from behind.
I finished closing the distance to a meter from the idiot, activated the Omnitrix and began to spin the dial.
When I found the right one I probed the dial with my finger. I knew he was the target, but using it carried huge risks.
"So, what are you going to do, little brat? Are you going to tell me your sad story about your mommy who abandoned you and that's why you decided to be a superhero?"
Those words were enough to stop my insecurity as my head filled with memories of that horrible woman.
"I've noticed you like to play and talk a lot of nonsense, thinking no one here can make you say anything," I said, "but I'll tell you one thing… after I finish with you, you'll sing the Ave Maria with all your heart."
A green light flooded my vision as I felt a strange pulse cross my chest. My skin became translucent and my body light, like chains I hadn't known existed suddenly released me, letting me move freely.
"Ghostfreak" I said as I rushed up to the killer's face; he watched the drastic transformation in consternation. "I hope you're not afraid of ghosts, they're supposed to sense fear jejeje."
"But what the he—" he didn't finish before I grabbed his head and plunged into it, diving into his mind like a massive tsunami.
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The room fell silent for a few seconds, everyone watching as the man in the chair began to murmur and tremble slightly.
They all moved closer to the body, including Elektra, who furrowed her brow trying to understand what had just happened.
"Oh no, it can't be," Spider-Man said, holding his head in both hands, his voice tinged with concern. "Do you know what this means?"
"What's happening?" Jessica asked, worried by her friend's words.
Peter brought his hands to his forehead and crouched, increasingly more worried.
"It means the space-ghosts exist!"
The only sounds in the room were the faint murmurs from the man in the chair, while Jewel and Elektra looked at him with contempt—the man who had been terrified of "quantum projections."
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HOW ARE YOU GUYS? I HOPE YOU'RE WELL.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, BUT TODAY IS MOTHER'S DAY HERE IN ARGENTINA. REMEMBER TO APPRECIATE YOUR FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES — IT'S A BLESSING TO HAVE THEM. REMEMBER FAMILY ISN'T JUST BLOOD;
FOR ME, MY GRANDMA WAS LIKE A MOTHER AND I THANK GOD FOR HER.
FOR NOW WE'LL LEAVE THE CHAPTER HERE. THE PROTAGONIST UNDERSTANDS THE DANGER, BUT THE SITUATION CALLED FOR IT… OR DID IT? WHAT DO YOU THINK HE DID IN THE MAN'S MIND?
AS FOR WHETHER THIS IS POSSIBLE — I ALREADY KNOW SEVERAL PEOPLE — LAST TIME THERE WAS A BIG ISSUE ABOUT ELECTRICITY. REMEMBER IT CAN POSSESS BODIES AND HAS PSYCHIC ABILITIES, AND IF YOU'RE NOT CONVINCED… WELL, LET ME WRITE ONE, AFTER ALL THIS IS A FANFIC.
I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND SUPPORT ENORMOUSLY.
SEE YOU NEXT TIME :)