Chapter Text
Everything seemed to be going downhill for Buck.
He bragged to himself about how easy his life was, beating up criminals at night and saving people during the day, but then it changed.
The universe clearly heard him and decided 'No, fuck you, seven plagues of Egypt.'
A new villain had been terrorizing Los Angeles, Buck had run into him several times but just couldn't pin the guy down.
Every encounter he had with the Goblin left him covered in bruises that he tried to explain to his coworkers, they had started whispering about him joining an illegal fight club or something.
Eddie was giving him disapproving stares and shaking his head every time he saw a new bruise on Buck, it made him feel guilty.
Buck had never felt guilty about stopping crime in the city before.
Bobby still hadn't come back either, the investigation resolving Minnesota still wasn't completed and didn't seem close to being done.
He was frustrated, he couldn't get a win anymore.
Being Spider-Man went from being fun to something he almost dreaded.
A jolt of electricity snapped him back to the present, right. He was fighting Electro.
Or Max.
"Max, you don't wanna do this!" Buck tried to convince the rampaging man.
"I trusted you, Spider-Man!" Max shouted. "I thought we were friends!"
"We are friends!" They met once when Spider-Man pulled Max from nearly getting hit by a hijacked truck, Buck barely caught his name- spotting it from the name tag on his chest.
Buck had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Why was Max so angry with him?
When did Max get lightning powers?
"You forgot about me!" Max screeched.
Okay, fair, but Buck had a life too! He couldn't keep track of every person in LA!
"I'm sorry, Max! Can we please just talk about this?!"
Clearly talking wasn't an option.
How did he stop Max?
He looked around spotting a fire hydrant and a food stand, not much else around.
The food stand went first, stunning Max but not stopping him.
The fire hydrant went next, working a lot better to subdue Max.
"Of course!" Buck realized, tapping his fist against his open palm. "Water and electricity don't mix! Hey, you!" He pointed toward the firemen. "I need to borrow your hose!"
He didn't wait for a response, perching himself on top of the fire engine and aiming to hose at Max.
The steady, harsh stream of water was enough to keep Max contained until police and OsCorp scientists showed up to finish taking care of the situation.
And like normal, Buck fled the scene, hearing shouts for Spider-Man from cops who still wanted him behind bars no matter what he did.
"Alright, Greenie." Buck whispered to himself, hearing the familiar zipping of the villain's hoverboard. "Today's the day."
It was in fact not the day, Buck soon figured out.
The Green Goblin was hovering several feet above the streets of LA, Shannon Diaz clinging to him and pleading to be put down, but he didn't listen.
"Bring me Captain Nash!" The Green Goblin shouted. "Bring him here or the girl dies!"
The Goblin's voice was modulated, programmed to sound scary as if threatening innocent lives wasn't enough.
Buck crawled up to the top of the closest building, some corporate office place. "Hey! She didn't do anything, leave her alone!" He demanded, "Just put her down!"
The Green Goblin spun around, his hoverboard tilting with the force of the spin. "Oh? You want me to-" And then Shannon dropped.
Buck launched himself at her falling figure, managing to catch her before she could crash into a nearby rooftop.
He took the brunt of the fall, saving Shannon from any potential injuries. "Are you alright?" He asked, pressing Shannon's hair out of her face to check for head injuries.
She nodded. "I'm good. Well, not good but alive."
"Let's stay that way, okay?"
"Yeah, good idea."
A motorized click sounded, a grenade pin dropped and Buck saw in slow motion the Green Goblin chuck a bomb down at the oncoming 118 ladder truck driving to a scene.
He ducked after it, managing to web it and send it flying back in the Goblin's direction but keeping it far away enough to not kill him.
But when he looked, the Goblin had moved.
Buck was stuck in a state of free-fall as he looked for the Green Goblin, but couldn't spot him.
Fine, he'd just have to change his focus.
He swung himself from one building to the next until he landed on the same rooftop he put Shannon, only to find her gone as well.
A cackle and a scream sounded above him, Buck could see the faint green light from the Green Goblin's hoverboard zipping toward the clocktower.
"Where do you think you're going?" Buck shouted after the villain, getting a running start from the rooftop to fling himself after the pair.
The Goblin laughed, but did not answer.
"What's your deal with B- Captain Nash anyway?" Buck called out, getting closer.
He was so close, if he could just reach out-
The Goblin's tech moved faster than he could, rising too far in the air for him to reach.
Even with a swing, he'd have to get momentum that he didn't really have.
They were out of reach.
"C'mon! Seriously!" He groaned, perching himself on top of the clocktower. "What are you gonna do to Captain Nash all the way up there? He's old, he probably won't even hear you!"
"He killed my dad, Spider-Man!" The modulated voice glitched for a second, an almost childish voice poking through. "He needs to feel the same pain I feel."
Buck had no idea what this kid was talking about, but he needed to think of something.
"Okay, so you're mad!" Buck shouted back. "But hurting her isn't going to make you less mad! She has a family to go back to! You don't wanna hurt them, do you?!"
"Screw them!" The Goblin shouted, once again dropping Shannon.
Buck jumped up and caught her, but the force of them crashing into the roof made the glass shatter.
Shannon slipped through his grip as they fell, getting farther and farther away with each second.
He shot out a web, it barely made it through the gaps in the gears and falling debris but it caught her.
They both let out a sigh of relief, but that feeling didn't last long.
Another bomb went off, shaking the building like a card in the wind. The gears shifted and the web was cut between them, launching Shannon into a free-fall.
"No!" Buck screamed, chasing after her.
She was getting closer and closer to the ground, all of the gears in the way made it hard to catch her with a web.
He found an opening, but only after he shot the web did he realize it was too late.
The snap echoed throughout the tower louder than any explosion could've, Shannon went limp as her body recoiled from the force of the pull.
Buck froze for a moment, "No, no, no..."
He let himself fall after her, his safe landing next to her felt like another jab from the universe.
Her body hung a few feet off the ground, there was no dirt or dust on her that indicated that she even hit the ground.
The fall didn't kill her, Buck did.
He snapped her neck.
"No, Shannon- Shannon, please. Chris needs you.." Buck sobbed. "Eddie needs you, you're his best friend. They can't live without you.."
His begging didn't fix anything, nor did his tears.
The truth remained steady; Buck killed Shannon.
He touched her face, and even with the gloves on he could tell, her skin was already starting to cool.
"At least someone feels it." The Green Goblin sneered from above. "Now someone knows what it's like to lose everything that mattered to them."
Buck looked up, his mask clinging to his face and his tears. "You really did this just so someone else could feel your pain?" He asked, weakly. "Now a son will never get to see his mother again, a husband will never see his wife again! They will in agony knowing the person they cared about was taken from them early because of your selfishness! I don't know what Captain Nash did to your father, but this-" He motioned to everything around them. "This was all on you! He may have taken one life, but the damage you caused this city has taken dozens!"
The Green Goblin froze and Buck lashed out.
He shot web spinnerets toward the Goblin, yanking him to the ground seconds later.
The helmet cracked as the Green Goblin came tumbling down, he groaned in pain.
Buck saw a fraction of his face as the villain looked up at him, a teenager- someone not too much younger than him.
Buck was breathing heavily, feeling another wave of tears. "I couldn't save her, but I can save countless other's by helping the police lock you away. Forever."
The Green Goblin was left tied up in the clocktower, but Buck couldn't bring himself to care how long he might stay there.
Buck carried Shannon's body out, cradling it gently like she might still be able to feel it.
Rain had begun to pour down, soaking Buck's suit and ruining Shannon's makeup. It felt fitting for all of the pain that was going around.
He locked eyes with Eddie, who was standing with the crowd behind police barriers. He shook his head and turned away, turning toward the medics on sight.
They officially pronounced her dead and zipped her body into the awaiting, black body bag.
"I'm sorry..." Buck whispered to the closed doors of the ambulance.
And he whispered it again as the ambulance started to drive away.
He'd lost people before, but this felt different. Shannon wasn't a stranger, not really- not like the others.
"Spider-Man, what happened in there?" It was Taylor Kelly again, microphone forward like nothing had changed.
But this time, Buck didn't entertain her antics. He left, swinging off into the night without a word.
He didn't owe her an explanation, but he owed Eddie one.
Eddie followed, meeting Buck in an alley not too far from where the crowd had gathered.
Buck could tell he was upset and angry, but most of all, he was hurt.
And it was Buck's fault.
It was Buck's fault Christopher would grow up without a mother.
His fault Eddie lost his best friend.
His fault for not saving Shannon.
"What happened?" Eddie asked through gritted teeth.
Buck peeled off his mask, standing face to face with the person who's family he just ruined. "The roof collapsed after the Green Goblin dropped her, the impact caused her to slip from my grip. I caught her once, but the explosion caused the gears to snap the web. I tried again, but... It was too late. I- It's my fault, Eds. I tried to web her back up, but the sudden jerk up snapped her neck. I killed her. I'm sorry." His voice cracked, his breathing was rattled. "I couldn't save her."
Eddie didn't say anything. Whether that was from shock or anger, Buck didn't know.
He stepped away, messing up his brunet hair as he combed his fingers through it. Eddie's jaw was tightly set, he just nodded.
Buck stayed silent, not sure of what else to say.
What could he say?
He watched Eddie walk away, didn't stop him as he turned and made his way back to his car.
Buck slipped his mask back on and went back to his apartment, alone.
Back at his loft, Buck threw Spider-Man in the trash.
He couldn't bring himself to look at the red and blue anymore.
Clearly he wasn't as 'Amazing' as the media said he was, he couldn't even save someone's mom.
Chim was still covering for Bobby, as the investigation was still pending, so Buck called him.
"Hey, Cap.." Buck tried to keep his voice steady. "Temporary Captain Han." He tried and failed miserably in an attempt for a joke.
"What is it, Buck? It's late and we work tomorrow." Chimney said, yawning over the call.
"About that..." Buck sighed. "I need some time off. I think I still have several weeks left."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Just some... Stuff."
"Okay." Chim said, sounding suspicious. "I'll get someone to cover for you, just tell me- or Bobby- when you're coming back."
"Yeah, thanks man." Buck ended the call with that, tossing his phone off to the side.
His eyes drifted back to the Spider-Man suit, the mask and one glove peaking out from the trash.
Being Spider-Man ruined his life. It ruined Eddie's life and Chris' life.
Spider-Man wasn't a hero.
The other first responders were right, he was a nuisance. A pest.
Throwing Spider-Man in the trash was the safest thing Buck could do for the city.
They didn't need him anymore.
He couldn't work with Eddie anymore, he completely ruined their friendship.
Transferring stations was an option... Or he could just leave.
Los Angeles was the longest he ever stayed in one place, but maybe it was time to move again.
Did he really have a purpose in LA anymore?