The frost bites into my lungs with each labored breath, turning the air into crystalline daggers that stab my chest from the inside. Six miles down, and the November chill has transformed Empire State's campus into a nighttime wasteland of bare trees and empty walkways.
I'm faster now. Stronger. Each night I push a little further, my body adapting to demands much faster than it probably would have before Lileth's "gift."
My breath forms ghost-like clouds in the lamplight as I round the corner past the science building. The campus at night is beautiful in its emptiness, all harsh angles softened by darkness and distance. My thoughts drift to Ellie as they often do these days. She's in Chinatown tonight, chasing some lead about illegal sweatshops. The kind of story that makes her eyes light up with righteous fury.
The familiar sound of webbing cuts through the night before I see her. My feet slow automatically as a lithe figure flips gracefully from the building above, landing in a perfect crouch directly in my path.
Spider-Woman straightens, her masked face revealing nothing of the woman beneath. The white eyes of her mask catch the lamplight as she tilts her head, studying me with unreadable intensity.
"Hey," she says, her voice carrying that forced casualness that screams awkward history.
"Hey, Spider-Woman," I reply, matching her tone while my heart rate refuses to slow. I've only seen her once since that night on the rooftop.
She shifts her weight, fingers fidgeting at her sides, a nervous gesture that somehow makes her seem more human despite the costume. "Can we talk?"
"Yeah," I say, shifting my weight from foot to foot.
Spider-Woman crosses her arms, her posture stiffening. "I heard you've been working with Venom."
"Yeah," I confirm, trying to sound casual despite the tension crackling between us like static electricity.
"And you're dating Ellie Brock." It's not a question. Her voice is carefully neutral, but I can hear the undercurrent of something darker beneath it.
"Yeah..." I drag out the word, unsure where she's going with this.
She takes a step closer, the white eyes of her mask narrowing slightly. "You told me once you were madly in love with Venom."
I don't say anything, my silence hanging heavy in the cold night air.
"Ellie is Venom, isn't she?" Spider-Woman's voice drops to barely above a whisper.
I remain silent, my breath forming clouds that dissipate in the space between us. My mind races, calculating the consequences of confirmation, denial, or continued silence.
"Shane," she says, and there's genuine concern in her voice now, "she isn't good for you. Ellie is an angry woman. My friend Piper used to work with her at the Bugle. And if she has the symbiote, it's going to make her a lot worse."
A knot forms in my stomach. A part of me panics. I don't think she'd expose Ellie's identity to anyone else, but the fact that she knows changes everything. Since she's shown her hand, I decide to play mine.
"I know you're Piper Parker," I say quietly, watching her body language for reaction.
Spider-Woman goes completely rigid, her whole body tensing like she's been electrocuted. Even through the mask, I can tell I've shocked her to her core.
"I'm sorry," I say quickly, holding up my hands. "I swear I don't mean that as a threat. I've known since I first met you. It wasn't my place to say anything, and I would never tell anyone else. You're my hero, Spidey."
She just stares at me, the white eyes of her mask unblinking and unreadable. The silence between us stretches out, broken only by the soft whisper of wind through bare branches and my nervous breathing. I wonder if I've completely shattered whatever fragile connection remained between us.
Finally, she sighs, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Your girlfriend is a murderer, Shane."
The words hit me like a physical blow, even though I know they're true. I've been trying not to think about everyone she's killed either before we met or now after.
"She's... complicated," I manage, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears.
"Complicated?" Piper's voice rises in disbelief. "She ripped Hammer Head in half, Shane! That's not even a metaphor, she literally tore the woman in half!"
"I'm working on her," I say defensively, crossing my arms over my chest. "She's getting better."
Piper steps forward and grabs my shoulders, her gloved fingers digging in with surprising strength. Through her mask, I can feel the intensity of her gaze boring into me.
"You don't get it, Shane," she says, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "That symbiote, it does things to your head. It changes you. It made me cruel when I had it. Vicious."
I swallow hard, remembering how the symbiote flows across Ellie's skin when she's angry, how it pulses and writhes with her emotions. How beautiful it is. Like a living piece of art.
"I know what I'm getting involved with," I insist, even as doubt creeps into the edges of my mind. "Ellie's different. She can control it."
Piper's hands fall away from my shoulders, and she takes a step back. Even with her face hidden behind that mask, I can sense her frustration, her concern.
"Couldn't you be happier with someone... kinder?" she asks softly, her voice tinged with something that might be hope. "We had fun on the rooftop, didn't we?"
I take a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts. "Spidey, you're great, and I honestly mean that but…"
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that night, Shane," she cuts me off, her voice suddenly softer, more vulnerable. "I know I could make you happy, just give me the…"
This time I'm the one interrupting. "I'm in love with Ellie. I'm not leaving her. I told you it was my powers that made us both that horny that night. I'm sorry if I led you on. That wasn't my intention."
She just stares at me, her shoulders rising and falling with a heavy sigh. The white eyes of her mask seem to dim somehow, like the emotion behind them has deflated. We stand in awkward silence until a sharp beeping sound cuts through the tension.
"Dang..." she mutters, glancing at something on her wrist.
"More hero business?" I ask, grateful for the interruption.
"Yeah." She nods, already turning away. "Robbery in progress downtown."
"Well... be safe out there," I offer lamely, not knowing what else to say.
"Always am," she replies, her voice regaining some of its usual confidence. She raises her arm, firing a web at the nearest building. "See you around, Shane."
Before I can respond, she's gone, launching herself into the night with that incredible grace that still leaves me a little awestruck. I watch until her red and blue form disappears between buildings, swallowed by the darkness.