Chapter Text
"¡Ay mami! Estoy de salir!"
No response. I sighed, I guess I should've expected as much. I poked my head over to the living room. My mother laid limply on the old worn out couch that took up most of our small living room. Her expression, as usual, was blank and her eyes glazed over, not even acknowledging what was happening on the TV or my presence. My shoulders drooped, she looked like a ghost, so pale and barely visible, the bones in her body so prominent. I walked over and pulled a blanket over her small form and kissed her head, her frizzy hair tickling my face. "Te amo mami." I said gently, and she finally looked up at me, offering nothing but a weak smile.
That was enough for me, it was more than she usually gave me, sometimes I would get no response at all, if I was lucky, maybe a small grunt. Begrudgingly, I made my way back to the door of our small shared apartment and gave her one last glance before leaving.
I pulled my backpack further up on my back, adjusting the straps so that it didn’t flop around so much and was tighter to my form. Making my way down the dusty and quite dirty apartment stairs I almost ran straight into our downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Hernandez. She was sweeping the front mat of her apartment door, something she did quite frequently. I had always found it odd as it didn't improve the rundown appearance and would soon be dirty again from the constant foot traffic of the building. “Oh Gabi! Running off again I see? How’s your mother?”
I wasn’t one for random polite conversation and tried to make it quick without being completely rude, “She’s doing well.” I replied briefly, obviously trying to avoid this subject to which Mrs. Hernandez apparently didn’t catch on.
“Are you sure? I haven’t seen her out of your home in a few months, well not since your father-”
And with that I threw politeness aside and quickly interjected taking a quick look at my wrist like I had somewhere to be, “Well would you look at that? I’m sorry Mrs. Hernandez, I’m late to a doctor’s appointment, nice seeing you!”
As I sped away she called “Do you need a ride there hun?”
“Nope, but thank you!”
I knew she was only trying to be nice but I could not stand that woman and her relentless prying questions, she was way too nosy. I slid down the stair railings making it a much faster trip to the front entrance of our apartment complex. Exiting the main doors I looked to my right at the building’s fire escape stairs. Climbing them was always such a pain in the ass but the view from the top was worth it. Atop the building you could see most of the block from here, the perfect vantage point. Sitting on the wide, stone ledge, I pulled out some bits and pieces I had recently procured for my newest project. I examined the goggles, my favorite creation so far, I set them aside along with everything else. Unzipping my jacket I tossed it to the side, along with my tan khaki shorts. I slide on the hefty metal cuffs onto my slim wrists. They way my arms down a bit and I take that as a note to use a lighter material next time. I stuff my discarded clothes into my green canvas backpack which I hid behind the actual staircase entrance to the roof. People rarely came up here, except for the tenant who would do a daily check before 9:00 am, which had already occurred and it was presently 12:00pm so I wasn’t too worried about my belongings being stolen. I pinched the fabric of the suit I also made for myself personally. It was thankfully not too tight and the fabric was comfortable enough though I was still worried about chafing. I slowly made my way back to the ledge, pulling the goggles over my eyes and adjusting the lenses to my preferred vision strength and closeness. I sucked in a deep breath as I looked at the daunting sight below. I’ve done this before, I reminded myself. I will admit it had been awhile, I had lost motivation since the…accident. But I am ready now! I knew I could get back into the swing of things, I just needed to put myself back out there again, as scary and pressuring as it all was.
“You got this Gabi.” I whispered encouragingly to myself, pulling up my new mask. And with that, I leaped off, air roaring in my ears. Anxiously, I fumbled with the cuffs and was able to let out a string of web successfully swinging me over onto the next apartment complex’s roof. I steadied myself and let the shock wash over me before yelling excitedly and jumping into the air. “WOOHHH! YEAH! I’M BACK!”
Ok let’s do this one last time.
My name is Gabi Diaz, I was bitten by a radioactive spider and for almost a year and a half, I’ve been Brooklyn’s one and only, Spider Hawk. I’ve been doing my own thing, kicking badguy’s butts. I haven't fallen in love yet but that’s at the bottom of my list right now. And by now I’m sure you know the rest.