CHAPTER 5: AFTER THE FIGHT
---
INT. ABANDONED RAILWAYS – TRAINING SITE – MORNING
Rez arrived with a bruise on his ribs he hadn't noticed until this morning. Purple-black, tender, the size of a fist. He didn't remember getting hit.
Lucky saw it immediately.
LUCKY: Whoa. What happened to you?
REZ: Larry happened.
Grace looked up from her tablet, eyes narrowing.
GRACE: Larry? The man from the alley?
REZ: He found me. Last night. Market District. Had two friends with him.
LUCKY: And you didn't call us?
REZ: Didn't have time. Didn't think.
GRACE: Did they hurt you?
REZ: Not really. I ran.
He said it flatly. No pride. No shame. Just fact.
LUCKY: Running's smart. Three against one, no backup—running's the right call.
REZ: Doesn't feel like it.
GRACE: It should. You're alive. You're here. That's the win.
Rez looked at her. She meant it.
LUCKY: So what now? This Larry guy knows your face. He's got people. He's looking.
REZ: I don't know.
GRACE: Then we train harder. Faster. Smarter. Next time you don't run—you end it.
Rez felt the crown mark pulse. Not in fear. Something else.
REZ: I don't want to hurt anyone.
GRACE: Then learn to stop them without hurting them. That's harder. That's the real skill.
LUCKY: She's good at the hard stuff. Me, I just make things float.
He demonstrated—a chunk of concrete lifted off the ground, hovered, then gently settled back down.
LUCKY: See? Useless but fun.
REZ: That's not useless.
LUCKY: Tell that to the guy who wants to punch me. Gravity doesn't stop fists.
GRACE: It does if you increase it around him. Pin him to the ground.
LUCKY: ...huh. I didn't think of that.
GRACE: You never think. That's my job.
Rez almost smiled. Almost.
---
EXT. OLD RAILWAYS – LATER
Training shifted. Grace set up obstacles—debris, old barrels, collapsed beams. Lucky used gravity to move them randomly. Rez had to navigate, swing, adapt.
First pass: he crashed into a barrel.
Second pass: caught a beam, slipped, landed hard.
Third pass: wove between three obstacles, fired a thread, held.
LUCKY: Better!
Fourth pass: five obstacles. He cleared four. The fifth caught his ankle.
Fifth pass: all seven. He landed on the far side, breathing hard, crown mark glowing steady.
GRACE: (checking tablet) Your control is stabilizing. Spikes are down 40%. Recovery time improving.
REZ: So I'm getting less terrible?
LUCKY: Significantly less terrible. It's almost impressive.
Rez sat on a broken pillar, wiping sweat. The bruise on his ribs throbbed.
REZ: Larry's not going to stop. Guys like that don't forget.
GRACE: Then we don't let you face him alone.
LUCKY: Team effort. That's the whole point.
REZ: You barely know me.
LUCKY: Long enough. You showed up. You keep showing up. That's more than most people do.
Grace nodded.
GRACE: Trust isn't about time. It's about consistency. You've been consistent.
Rez looked at them—this strange pair who'd appeared in his life three days ago and somehow become the only people who understood.
REZ: What if I mess up again? Like the alley. What if someone gets hurt because I couldn't control it?
GRACE: Then we help you fix it. That's what teams do.
LUCKY: Also we blame you first, then help. Gotta keep you humble.
REZ: That's... weirdly honest.
LUCKY: I'm a weirdly honest guy.
---
EXT. MARKET DISTRICT – EVENING
Rez should have gone home. Training was done. His body ached. But he found himself walking the streets where Larry had found him, hood up, eyes scanning.
Stupid. Really stupid.
He knew it was stupid. He went anyway.
The boarded-up shop was empty. No Larry. No friends. Just graffiti and broken glass.
REZ: (quiet) Where are you?
A voice behind him.
VOICE: Looking for someone?
Rez turned. Not Larry. A girl. Sixteen maybe. Dark hair pulled back. Jacket too big for her frame. Eyes that had seen things.
REZ: Who are you?
GIRL: Someone who saw you run last night. Someone who knows Larry's looking.
Rez tensed. Crown mark warmed.
GIRL: Relax. I'm not with him. I'm the opposite of with him.
REZ: What does that mean?
GIRL: It means Larry's been running this block for two years. Extortion. Theft. Worse. People like me—people who can't fight back—we just survive.
She stepped closer.
GIRL: Last night, someone finally stood up to him. Even if you ran, you stood up. That matters.
REZ: I didn't do anything.
GIRL: You did more than anyone else has. That's something.
Rez studied her. She wasn't lying. He could feel it—something in the way she held herself, the weight in her voice.
REZ: What's your name?
GIRL: Doesn't matter. But if you're going after Larry, I can help. I know where he hides. I know his patterns. I know when he's alone.
REZ: Why would you risk that?
GIRL: Because he hurt my brother. Two months ago. Brother still can't walk right.
Her voice didn't break. It hardened.
REZ: I'm sorry.
GIRL: Don't be sorry. Be useful.
She pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket, handed it over. An address. Crudely drawn map.
GIRL: Tomorrow night. He'll be there. Alone for about an hour. After that, his crew shows up.
REZ: How do I know this isn't a trap?
GIRL: You don't. But I'm betting you're tired of running.
She turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Rez stood alone, holding the address, crown mark pulsing slow and steady.
---
INT. REZ'S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Dinner was waiting. Elena had made his favorite—some chicken thing with rice that Dani always complained was too salty but ate anyway.
ELENA: You're late.
REZ: Sorry. Lost track of time.
DANI: Studying?
REZ: Something like that.
They ate in silence for a while. Then Dani set down her fork.
DANI: Rez. We need to talk.
His stomach dropped.
ELENA: Not about where you've been. Not about the bruises.
DANI: About the fact that you're not sleeping. You're not eating. You're... somewhere else. Even when you're here, you're somewhere else.
REZ: I'm fine.
ELENA: You're not. And that's okay. But we need you to know—whatever's happening, we're not going to stop you. We're not going to ground you or lock you in.
DANI: We're going to trust you. Because we raised you to make good choices. But trust goes both ways.
REZ: What do you want me to say?
ELENA: Nothing. Just... come home. Eat dinner. Let us know you're alive. That's all.
Rez felt the crack from last night widen. Just a little.
REZ: I can do that.
DANI: Good. Now eat your chicken. It's getting cold.
He ate. It was good. It was home.
Later, in his room, he looked at the address on the scrap of paper. Larry alone. One hour.
His phone buzzed.
LUCKY:
Training tomorrow? Same time?
Rez typed back:
Maybe. Something came up.
LUCKY:
What kind of something?
REZ:
The kind I need to handle alone.
Three dots. Then:
LUCKY:
Wrong answer. Team, remember? You don't do alone anymore.
REZ:
This is different.
LUCKY:
They're all different. We're still coming.
Rez stared at the screen. Then, slowly, he typed the address.
REZ:
Tomorrow night. 8pm. Don't be late.
LUCKY:
Wouldn't miss it. Try not to do anything stupid before then.
REZ:
No promises.
He put the phone down and pressed his hand to his chest. The crown mark pulsed—warm, steady, ready.
Tomorrow, he stopped running.
---
EXT. UNKNOWN LOCATION – SAME TIME
The figure watched the conversation scroll across the screen. Rez's location. Lucky's response. The address.
FIGURE: (quiet) Interesting.
A tap. New window opened—Larry's file. Criminal record. Associates. Known locations.
FIGURE: A test. A small one. Let's see how the team holds together.
Another tap. A message sent to an unknown recipient.
Monitor the Market District tomorrow night. Report back. Disturbance expected.
The figure leaned back, watching the screens, watching the pieces move.
FIGURE: Show me what you're building, Spider-Guy. Show me if it's worth breaking.
---
FADE OUT.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5