Miles sat on what must have been the hundredth rooftop for the night, trying to find any clues to where Mysterio and Shadow were hiding. He and Cindy thought that if they could retrace their steps from their chase, they could find the hideout easily but that trail would soon run cold quickly. All they found was an abandoned warehouse with no secret entrances or bodies anywhere. They spent the next few hours scouring the city to find other locations where they could be hiding but had no luck so far.
"See anything?" Cindy asked beside him.
Miles shook his head. "Just a normal midnight buzz in the city that never sleeps."
Cindy shook her head and took off her mask and looked at the clock built into the dimension hopper. Luckily, everything built into it was intact other than their communications and dimension hopping functions. "It's getting late. You got anywhere to be tomorrow kid?"
Miles took off his mask to enjoy his break after a long night of searching."I got school tomorrow. I think I'll skip."
"You feel ok after the whole time traveling incident?"
Miles shrugged. "It was disturbing but I just have memories now. I don't feel any effects anymore. I think they were just a part of the illusions somehow."
"Good." Cindy said in a relieved tone. "You aren't skipping then. They're going to get suspicious if you keep skipping and they probably already are after recent events."
"But we should be focusing on finding that hideout. We shouldn't get distracted." Miles protested.
"It is important we keep searching, but every step we take needs to be thought up carefully and every aspect of our lives need to be accounted for when we take an action. A lot of people think you're normal, so be normal. Go to school and stop raising eyebrows or you're going to have to deal with a lot more than you can handle. That includes getting those grades up as well so you don't grow up to be a hobo spider."
Miles sighed in defeat. "All right, I'll go."
"Good. It's 2 in the morning right now. Get to your dorm quickly and you can get some decent sleep tonight. We'll keep searching once you're ready." Cindy suddenly remembered something and slapped her head. "Idiot." She muttered.
"What?"
"Sleep can wait for a few minutes. Stay here, I need to get something. I'll be quick." She webbed Miles's feet to the floor. "Just in case." She quickly said and swung away.
"This is just wonderful." Miles muttered. He tried pulling his feet out of the web's but they held still. He gave it a few more tugs before giving up. May knew her webs, and they weren't going to pull apart with just some tugs even with Miles's extra strength.
He stood still and waited for Cindy to return from whatever she was doing. Eventually he got really bored and started whistling a little tune and took out his phone to check over his social media accounts and mail for the first time in a while. Many of the posts were just about the chaos that Mysterio caused. Luckily, the destruction was finally sorted through and no new events occurred, letting the city take a breather before the next attack came.
After about half an hour, Cindy finally was swinging over to him while carrying a plastic bag.
"Finally, I was thinking that you got into trouble or something." Miles said.
"Don't worry about me kid." Cindy said and grabbed a knife from the bag and started to cut away the webs. It took a while as the webs were much more sticky than she thought. "Whoever made this stuff really knows what they're doing." She grunted and finally cut through the last strands.
Miles started moving his legs around to get the feeling back in them and looked at the bag Cindy was holding.
"What's in it?" He asked.
"I went to a store and got this." She pulled an android phone from the bag. "We're gonna need a way to communicate and since we can't do that on our hoppers, this is our best option. Give me your number."
"You really thought this through." Miles remarked as he showed her his number.
Cindy smiled slightly. "I've always been known to think carefully when this stuff happens. And ever since I met him..." she trailed off to regain her composure at the thought of Miguel before continuing. "I've always thought that maybe we would have a kid one day you know and..." she sniffled loudly but was able to keep the tears in. "and I kinda wanted to start thinking like a mom more and always be prepared and have a clear head for her kids." She could barely make out the last words before her voice cracked and the tears fell. Miles wanted to help her but she raised her hand before he could reach her. "Don't. I'm fine." She started to brush her tears away and her composure was slowly regaining.
"You sure?"
"Maybe not. I don't know." She shrugged. "But sometimes it's best to be alone. People can help but you need some time by yourself."
"Doesn't sound right."
Cindy laughed. "When is losing someone you love ever right?" She looked up at the stars and sighed. "Sorry about rambling like that, I didn't mean to. Go get some sleep kid. I don't want you in class looking like a zombie. Text me once you're done with classes and homework. We'll keep searching until around this time."
"Are you sure?"
Cindy nodded. "I'll be fine by the time we start searching again. Good night Miles."
"Where are you gonna stay?" Miles asked as he realized the problem.
"You guys have the same money as I do and luckily I brought a wallet with me. I don't know what I was thinking then but I'm glad I did. I'll rent a room for now."
"Alright, good night then."
"Good night." Cindy said and Miles swung away.
She watched him swing until he disappeared from his sight and started shuffling in the bag again. She grabbed a white t shirt and a pair of black pants she bought from a store and walked towards the center of the building so nobody could see her from the bottom. She quickly changed into them and dropped down to the alley and joined the streets, hoping that nobody was paying attention.
It took her about an hour until she finally found a hotel that wasn't too expensive. She paid for a room and entered it on the 5th floor. It was a simple room. A queen size bed on the right side about 8 feet from the door, a tv on the left side facing the bed, a table next to the tv, two nightstands next to the bed, and a small bathroom right next to the door on the right. It was simple but clean which was all Cindy wanted.
She took a quick shower and immediately went to bed. It took a while for sleep to come so she started getting her new phone. It wasn't until around 4 when sleep finally came.
Cindy was stuck in a cave. It was dark but there was still a light in front of her, inviting her to go through it. She knew she was dreaming, but somehow this view felt familiar to her.
"Come on, we need to find a way out of here soon or we're gonna start glitching." Cindy said. The words weren't meant to come out nor did she think them, but she somehow still said them regardless.
Gwen nodded and followed her. They entered the light but Gwen walked hesitantly.
"Didn't Tony say we shouldn't go there yet? Should we take his advice? I know we said we would trust him but something doesn't seem right." Gwen asked.
Cindy sighed. "I don't know. We just met him but he did show us how to get out."
What is happening? It's like I have no control over my words.
"And he doesn't seem weird at all? He showed us how to get out then says we shouldn't go out. That seems a bit sketch to me."
"Maybe. But as we said, we have a better chance to pull through if we go out."
Gwen nodded. "True. I just think that something bad is gonna happen."
"That's going to be inevitable."
Cindy still couldn't control her actions or what words she was saying but decided to not fight it. It was still a dream regardless.
They walked into the light with no idea what could be waiting for them. It was only an open field in front of them with small patches of dried grass sprinkled on it. The view was plain and boring but somehow it was familiar to Cindy.
"Congratulations, you've escaped." A voice said. A wall of blue in front of them appeared and a man in a green suit with a purple cape and a domed helmet materialized in it. "But your troubles are far from over."
"Who are you?" Gwen asked.
"I have many names. Some created from respect, some from fear. You can call me Mysterio."
Cindy felt anger boil inside of her as she laid eyes on the man that killed Miguel but her body refused to do anything she told it to do.
"What do you want from us?" Gwen asked again.
"Nothing you can give me. I have no wants from you." A portal appeared right next to him and Shadow walked through it in his tall, intimidating form. "He does." Mysterio said and pointed to Shadow.
Shadow approached Gwen. She tried to back away but her body was completely stuck. "What's happening?" Cindy asked.
"Relax." Mysterio said. "You won't feel a thing if you let it happen."
Shadow laid his hand on Gwen's head and closed his eyes. Cindy wanted to help her but her body still refused to do anything she wanted it to do. A few seconds passed by and Shadow lifted his hand. As soon as he did, Gwen's eyes rolled back and she dropped to the ground. Cindy wanted to fight the two men, but she was running to Gwen rather than attacking.
"Gwen! Are you ok?" Once again, the words she said weren't hers somehow. She could think, but she couldn't do much else.
"She's fine." Mysterio said. "Her memory of these events have been wiped and she passed out."
Shadow looked at her and her movements were completely frozen, just as Gwen was a few moments ago. Shadow reached for her head but paused right above it.
"You are not the same as the other girl." He hissed. He closed his eyes as if he were feeling something. "I see. You've experienced this already. You are dreaming as your memory restores itself." He continued to close his eyes. "Good. The plan is working."
"Is everything alright master?" Mysterio asked.
"More than alright. We are winning. She is in desperation now and her grief is immeasurable." Shadow opened his eyes and looked at Cindy, pouring the redness of his eyes deep into her soul. "I know where you are now. I know what your plans are and I will be watching you. Your chances for victory no longer exist. I am always in control. Everything will only lead to my victory and rule."
Cindy looked at him in fear. Somehow he knew where she was now. She tried to deny it but the words could only ring true in her head. It didn't feel right how quickly those words seemed to be confirmed. It felt unnatural, but it felt harsh and true.
Suddenly, she awoke in the real world. It was sunny again and the birds were chriping. It felt happy, but Cindy's mood was far from joyful. If what Shadow said were true, she and Miles weren't going to last long. And all her instincts said that every word was true.
Not good, not good, not good