New York was louder than Eve expected.
Not just car horns or distant sirens.
The entire city felt alive.
Subway vibrations pulsed beneath the sidewalks.
Neon advertisements flickered across wet streets.
Steam rose from underground vents while conversations, arguments, music, and traffic merged into one endless stream of urban noise.
It was overwhelming.
Especially because Nyx could hear all of it too.
“Why are there so many humans?” the symbiote asked.
Eve stared blankly while walking through Times Square at three in the morning.
“…Because this is New York?”
“That answer explains nothing.”
“You are going to LOVE capitalism.”
“I already dislike it.”
“That makes two of us.”
Giant digital billboards illuminated the rain-soaked streets.
One displayed an ad for Stark Industries.
Another showed damage control services sponsored by Damage Control.
And directly above the avenue—
a massive news screen played emergency footage from somewhere downtown.
“…mutant-related property damage currently under investigation…”
Eve slowed instinctively.
The reporter continued speaking while shaky cellphone footage rolled behind her.
“…witnesses claim an unidentified enhanced individual engaged in combat with members of the Serpents gang near Hell’s Kitchen…”
A blurry image flashed briefly across the screen.
Black tendrils.
White eyes.
Eve nearly died internally.
“Oh my GOD.”
Nyx sounded interested.
“They recorded us.”
“They RECORDED attempted murder!”
“Humans enjoy recording everything.”
“THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.”
A man walking nearby glanced at Eve strangely after hearing her yell at apparently nobody.
Eve immediately lowered her voice.
“…Okay.
New rule.
We stop talking out loud.”
“You speak aloud constantly.”
“I’m stressed!”
“You are biologically dramatic.”
Eve shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets and kept moving through the crowd.
She still couldn’t fully process reality.
Marvel was real.
Not “inspired by.”
Not alternate legally-distinct superhero universe.
Actual Marvel.
Meaning somewhere in this city:
Spider-Man existed, the Avengers existed, mutants existed, and statistically speaking, alien invasions probably counted as weather events.
Eve groaned softly.
“I’m going to get vaporized by collateral damage.”
“You are resilient.”
“I could still explode.”
“That is true.”
“STOP CONFIRMING MY FEARS.”
Nyx considered this carefully.
“…Your anxiety levels are impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“I did not intend praise.”
Eve rolled her eyes.
Despite everything, the conversation helped.
Somehow.
Maybe because if she stopped talking to Nyx, she’d have time to fully acknowledge how catastrophically insane her life had become.
A cold breeze swept through the avenue.
Eve shivered.
Her soaked hoodie clung uncomfortably to her skin.
“We need somewhere to stay,” she muttered.
“Yes.”
“And money.”
“Yes.”
“And probably fake identification.”
“Yes.”
Eve sighed deeply.
“I miss online shopping.”
Nyx absorbed the emotion attached to the statement.
“…You miss your world.”
That hit harder than expected.
Eve looked away toward the glowing city lights.
Seattle.
Her apartment.
Her games.
Her dumb online friends.
Everything was gone.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
No way back.
Just static.
Then monsters.
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Nyx felt it immediately.
The symbiote’s presence shifted closer around her thoughts.
Warm again.
Protective.
Not fixing the sadness.
Just… staying near it.
Eve swallowed hard.
“I’m fine.”
“That was unconvincing.”
“Yeah, well.”
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Nyx abruptly interrupted the melancholy.
“There is another issue.”
“Can I get ONE peaceful emotional breakdown first?”
“You are attracting attention.”
Eve froze.
Three men stood near the corner ahead watching her.
Gang members.
Definitely gang members.
Oversized jackets.
Visible tattoos.
Terrible posture.
One of them smirked.
“Well damn.”
Eve internally screamed.
The tallest man approached casually.
“You lost, sweetheart?”
Nyx immediately radiated irritation.
“I dislike him.”
“You dislike everyone.”
“He has prey eyes.”
“That sentence is upsetting.”
The man stepped closer.
“You got a phone?”
Eve forced a nervous smile.
“…No?”
“Wallet?”
“No.”
“Then what good are you?”
Nyx’s emotional response sharpened.
Hostility.
Predatory interest.
Eve mentally panicked.
Do NOT murder random civilians.
Do NOT murder random civilians.
The second gangster noticed the strange black veins briefly flickering along Eve’s neck.
“…Yo.”
He frowned.
“What’s wrong with her skin?”
Crap.
The third one stepped closer.
Then grabbed Eve’s wrist.
Big mistake.
Nyx reacted instantly.
Black tendrils snapped beneath Eve’s skin.
The man’s eyes widened.
Eve felt the symbiote preparing violence.
Sharp.
Fast.
Efficient.
“No no no no—”
The black substance nearly burst free—
—but Eve forced it back.
Barely.
The effort made her entire arm tremble.
The gangsters noticed immediately.
“…What the hell?”
Nyx hissed softly inside her mind.
“Permission to remove the hand.”
“Denied!”
“He touched us.”
“Still denied!”
The tallest gangster finally sensed danger.
“You on drugs or something?”
Eve smiled weakly.
“Probably.”
Then every streetlight above them suddenly shut off.
Darkness swallowed the block.
The gangsters cursed loudly.
Eve blinked.
“…What?”
Nyx became alert instantly.
“Energy disruption.”
A figure landed silently behind the gangsters.
Female.
Slim silhouette.
Hooded jacket.
Purple energy crackled faintly around her fingertips.
The tallest gangster turned—
—and immediately got punched unconscious.
The other two panicked.
“What the—?!”
The girl moved like lightning.
One precise kick.
One energy burst.
Both men hit the pavement instantly.
Done.
Eve stared.
“…Holy shit.”
The hooded girl looked toward her.
Amber eyes glowed faintly beneath dark curls dampened by rain.
Young.
Maybe Eve’s age.
Pretty enough to make Eve momentarily forget basic language.
Nyx noticed instantly.
“…Oh.”
“Shut up.”
“You find her attractive.”
“I have eyes!”
The girl approached carefully.
“You okay?”
Eve’s brain disconnected.
Pretty girl.
Pretty mutant girl.
Pretty mutant girl who could probably kill people.
Dangerous combination.
“…Uh.”
Outstanding response.
The girl raised an eyebrow.
“That bad, huh?”
Nyx spoke dryly inside Eve’s head.
“You are embarrassing us.”
“I KNOW.”
Eve cleared her throat awkwardly.
“I’m fine.”
The girl looked unconvinced.
“You were about two seconds away from getting robbed.”
“Character development.”
That earned a snort.
Okay.
Good.
Humor still worked.
The girl studied her for another second.
Something about her expression sharpened slightly.
Like she sensed something off.
Nyx immediately became cautious.
“She is different.”
“She’s obviously a mutant.”
“No.
More.”
Eve subtly stepped back.
The girl noticed.
But instead of reacting aggressively, she simply shoved her hands into her jacket pockets.
“You new around here?”
Understatement of the century.
“…Something like that.”
“You should avoid this area at night.”
Nyx mentally disagreed.
“We are excellent at nighttime violence.”
“NOT HELPING.”
The girl blinked.
“…You say something?”
Eve almost died.
“Nope.”
Smooth.
Very smooth.
The girl smiled faintly despite herself.
“There’s a shelter a few blocks east if you need somewhere warm.”
Eve hesitated.
Suspicion warred against exhaustion.
Nyx observed carefully through her senses.
“She smells honest.”
“That’s a weird sentence.”
“It is accurate.”
The girl turned to leave—
then paused.
“Hey.”
Eve looked up.
“You should probably get that checked.”
She pointed toward Eve’s neck.
The black veins had surfaced again.
Crap.
Eve pulled her hoodie higher instinctively.
“…Skin condition.”
“Uh-huh.”
The girl clearly didn’t believe her.
But she didn’t push further.
Interesting.
“Take care of yourself,” she said quietly before walking away into the rain.
Eve watched her disappear down the street.
Then immediately buried her face in her hands.
“Oh my God she was pretty.”
Nyx became deeply offended.
“You noticed that immediately.”
“She literally glows!”
“You stared at her for 4.2 seconds.”
“You COUNTED?!”
“Yes.”
“That is psychotic behavior.”
“I am protecting our interests.”
“What interests?!”
Nyx went silent briefly.
Then:
“You belong to me.”
Eve stopped walking.
The words hit strangely.
Not romantic.
Not exactly.
But intensely possessive.
Like Nyx genuinely could not separate the concept of herself from Eve anymore.
Their emotions tangled together through the bond: fear, stress, relief, curiosity.
And beneath all of it—
attachment.
Dangerously fast attachment.
Eve looked away awkwardly.
“…That’s kinda intense.”
“Yes.”
At least Nyx was self-aware.
Somewhat.
A cold gust swept through the street.
Eve checked the time on a nearby digital billboard.
4:12 AM.
She was exhausted.
Mentally.
Physically.
Existentially.
“We seriously need a place to sleep.”
“Yes.”
“And preferably somewhere without secret labs or armed psychopaths.”
“That reduces options.”
“Please stop being technically correct.”
They wandered through Manhattan for another hour.
Eve learned several things very quickly:
New York never truly slept.
Everything was absurdly expensive.
And Marvel civilians had developed concerningly high tolerance toward weirdness.
At one point she passed:
a man with glowing blue skin buying hot dogs, two people arguing about alien insurance claims, and a drunk guy loudly insisting he once dated a Skrull.
Nobody cared.
The normalization of chaos was genuinely terrifying.
Eventually Eve collapsed onto a subway bench with a defeated groan.
“I can’t do this.”
“Yes you can.”
“I have twelve dollars.”
“We could consume criminals.”
Eve looked horrified.
“NO.”
“Financially it remains efficient.”
“You can’t solve every problem with murder!”
Nyx paused.
“…Can we solve most problems with murder?”
“No!”
“Hm.”
A train thundered past.
Warm air blasted across the station.
Eve leaned back against the bench tiredly.
Her eyelids felt heavy.
Too heavy.
Nyx noticed immediately.
“Do not sleep here.”
“Just five minutes…”
“Your survival instincts are inadequate.”
“You’re becoming my angry alien mom.”
“I do not understand the insult.”
Before Eve could respond—
every screen in the station suddenly shifted.
Breaking news.
A familiar blurry image appeared.
Black figure.
White eyes.
Tendrils.
Her.
“…Shit.”
The reporter spoke rapidly.
“…unconfirmed reports suggest another enhanced individual may have emerged following the destruction of an illegal Oscorp-affiliated research site earlier tonight…”
Oscorp.
Of COURSE it was Oscorp.
Eve laughed hysterically.
“WHY IS IT ALWAYS OSCORP?!”
Several commuters stared at her.
Nyx sounded thoughtful.
“You know this corporation.”
“They’re basically scientifically sponsored bad decisions.”
The report continued.
“…online users have already begun referring to the unidentified vigilante as ‘The Black Ghost.'”
Eve blinked.
Silence.
Then:
“…That’s actually kinda cool.”
Nyx immediately agreed.
“It is.”
Eve grinned despite herself.
The feeling lasted exactly six seconds before reality returned.
“Oh God people are hunting us.”
“Yes.”
“We’re homeless.”
“Yes.”
“I’m technically an alien bio-weapon.”
“Yes.”
“And Spider-Man knows I exist.”
Nyx became irritated again.
“We should bite him.”
“You cannot solve social anxiety by biting superheroes!”
“You cannot prove that.”
Eve laughed helplessly.
And for the first time since waking up in this nightmare universe…
the panic eased slightly.
Only slightly.
But enough to breathe.