Scarlet Spider #1-Untimely Return to Scarlet
The yellow cab came to a screeching halt outside the rundown bus station on 53rd Street. "How much?" asked the shaggy, brown haired passenger as he opened the back door and began pulling himself out. The bald and overweight driver turned his head briefly and glanced at the counter, "That'll be fifteen dollars, I tell you what you look like you've been through a lot, let's say ten!" The shaggy haired passenger put his hand in his brown jacket and pulled out a ten dollar bill, "Thanks, pal!" "No problem," the cab driver grabbed the ten dollar bill and put it in his money compartment, as his passenger shut the door heartily. The cab drove off as rain continued pouring in the dark street. The passenger, better known as the Scarlet Spider, or Ben Reilly walked down the street. His wet hair clung to his face, his hands were firmly in his jacket pocket, Ben pulled out his Yankee's cap and placed firmly on his wet head, which was dripping rainwater all down his face. Ben's thoughts began to wonder on as he recalled why he returned to New York in the first place, just to see his dying Aunt May. Those thoughts then took him to the present, he could not remember how he had gotten into the cab to begin with, or where he had been, but he knew he was back and hopefully for good this time. The street was covered with large puddles, which did not seem to bother Ben Reilly, as he splashed in each one he stepped in. The hard rain bounced of Ben and fell onto the street, the weather seemingly reflecting Ben's mood, which was never a good sign. Ben carried on walking for another hour until he found himself stood in front of the building, Forest Hills Hospital to be precise, the hospital which had looked after his Aunt; during the time she was in a coma and confined to a hospital bed. The moon shone high over the tall hospital as Ben looked on with a grim expression. Ben's mind trailed in thought of his fake memories of his Aunt, of how she had always been there for him come rain or shine, always their with a tray full of cookies and a full glass of milk. A tear ran down Ben's, already moist, cheek. He took his hand out of his pocket and wiped away the tear before carrying on walking. By now Ben's coat was a darker brown due to the rain, which began to calm down. After another half an hour of walking, Ben came across a small, little, familiar bar named the Lonely Tavern. The bar was situated on a small side street; the glow of the dim street lamp highlighted the rusty sign. Ben walked in, but little did he know he was being watched from across the street, by a dark figure wearing a trench coat, very little of the man's face could be seen apart from his small, round glasses that reflected the bright full moon.
"Here you go!" said the unshaven bartender, as he passed Ben a pint of beer. The bartender was a small, old, and skinny man, who smelt of a hundred cigarettes. His shirt, which was once white, was now stained a dingy brown. Ben put the glass to his mouth and swallowed half of the pint without stopping. Ben leaned on the bar desk, which had been water stained in several places not to mention the amount of woodworm marks there were. The bar desk was directly opposite the front door, of the smoke stained, orange colored bar, which in fact Ben had visited once before when he ran into Flash Thompson who was coping with a drinking problem at the time. "You look like you're a man with a story?" inquired the bartender. Ben stared down at the empty glass as held it in his hand, "That obvious!" "Didn't you used to have blond hair?" asked the bartender. "You've got a good memory." "I never forget a face!" "How has business been?" "Not bad, not good, but definitely not bad!" The bartender's dry humor bought a smirk to Ben's face. Ben tried to make out the expression on the bartender's face but the strip lighting was too dim. Ben rose and pushed his chair under the bar as he made a move to leave, before he opened the door he gestured a goodbye to the bartender and made his exit back on streets. But behind him little did he know of a small smirk, which developed across the face of the bartender. The sky was a red, hazy color, as the sun was rising. The puddles were still around but the rain had fully stopped which brought a vague, but present smile to Ben's face. The sunrise however came at a price, as Ben recalled the time he had witnessed the sunrise in Utah with his ex- girlfriend Janine Godbe, who was now in jail for the murder of her father. The journey had been a long one for Ben, from the day the twisted, evil mastermind, the Jackal, hatched him in a cloning pod, as a pawn to destroy Peter Parker's life, better known as the original Spider-Man. And from the look of things it did not seem as if things were about to get any easier. Ben continued walking down the street, his eyes looked weary, from not having a wink of sleep in the last couple of days. Ben raised his hand, pulled his sleeve back and began studying his watch. The watch read five o'clock. Ben took off his small backpack, and turned into a small alleyway. He searched the backpack, and eventually pulled out a piece of red spandex, Ben unfolded the spandex to reveal his old Scarlet Spider mask. He placed it over his head and struggled as he began putting it on. He then took his jacket off and his black T-shirt revealing the top part of his spandex suit. "Why am I doing this again?" Ben thought to himself as he put the finishing touches of his costume on, including his blue sweatshirt with a spider on. "The temptation! Maybe just an early morning swing around the big apple will relax me?" Ben put on his last web shooter, tightly strapping it to his left wrist. Ben climbed up to the top of the building, which was ten stories, and before he knew it he was found crouching on the ledge. He launched himself high in the air, before releasing his first strand of webbing, which hit a gargoyle, on the ledge of the building across the street. The gargoyle's tongue was large and curly, appearing as if it was reaching up to its large and gruesome right eye, which was slightly larger than the left. Using his legs, the Scarlet Spider made a sharp turn at the building, he let go of his current web strand and did a somersault in the air before placing his two middle right hand finger to his web shooter to release another strand. The bitter air rushed by his ears, but the adrenaline going through his system prevented him from feeling it. He then began revelling in the feeling of the air whipping past his body, and the speed at which he managed to achieve. "Wow!" exclaimed the Scarlet Spider, who let go of his web, and let himself glide through the air until he was about to hit the busy road, when he shot another web line. The street below was blanketed with traffic, despite the sun not even having risen fully, Ben could hear several people honk each over from down below and a few people shout at each other, which made Ben roll his hazel eyes from behind his scarlet mask.
His name is Kaine; he had been standing on the rooftop for what had seemed like the better part of the night. His pink cape was flickering in the morning's breeze, as well as reflecting on his isolated life, that was when he saw an athletic figure swing across the rising sun. At first Kaine jumped to the assumption that it was Spider-Man, but upon closer inspection he began to notice that the figure was wearing a ripped, blue sweatshirt. Kaine's eyes followed the Scarlet Spider until he vanished out of site and then he began thinking.
On the opposite side of town, in a small deserted warehouse, stood the man named Judas Traveller. The warehouse was full of small wooden crates, the color of the walls were the same as that of a cement brick. "Mr. Nacht, what have you got to report?" asked the enigmatic, criminal psychologist, Judas Traveller. Mr. Nacht reached into his trench coat pocket with his gloved hand and pulled out his report, which was on a small computer, which he immediately began referring to. "As you can see the clone has returned to New York as expected, it didn't even take him a day to become the Scarlet Spider again," reported Mr. Nacht. "Just as expected," replied Judas Traveller, whose white beard shone in the dim lighting. A bitter morning wind blew through the warehouse, brushing back Judas Traveller's long white hair, and blowing back his blue trench coat. Traveller had gold bracelets on each wrist, which reflected the rising sun, which came in from a small window at the top of the warehouse. The sun was also reflecting off Mr. Nacht's small sunglasses. "You have shown some pleasing reports," said Judas Traveller, as he put the small computer down on a crate within arms reach. "I shall continue monitoring his actions and I will inform you of any changes." Assured Mr. Nacht, who spoke in his usual soft, but sinister voice. Traveller could not see much of Mr. Nacht's face due to the dim lighting of the warehouse, and Mr. Nacht's hat which covered most of his face, of course Traveller did not really care if he saw his face or not. Mr. Nacht turned round, with his back facing Traveller, facing the big fold door of the warehouse Mr. Nacht began walking away. "And, of course, Nacht, you will make sure everything is ready for my final test?" asked Traveler in a calm, calculating voice, as his eyes began glowing a fiery red, igniting fear in Mr. Nacht.
The End.?
The yellow cab came to a screeching halt outside the rundown bus station on 53rd Street. "How much?" asked the shaggy, brown haired passenger as he opened the back door and began pulling himself out. The bald and overweight driver turned his head briefly and glanced at the counter, "That'll be fifteen dollars, I tell you what you look like you've been through a lot, let's say ten!" The shaggy haired passenger put his hand in his brown jacket and pulled out a ten dollar bill, "Thanks, pal!" "No problem," the cab driver grabbed the ten dollar bill and put it in his money compartment, as his passenger shut the door heartily. The cab drove off as rain continued pouring in the dark street. The passenger, better known as the Scarlet Spider, or Ben Reilly walked down the street. His wet hair clung to his face, his hands were firmly in his jacket pocket, Ben pulled out his Yankee's cap and placed firmly on his wet head, which was dripping rainwater all down his face. Ben's thoughts began to wonder on as he recalled why he returned to New York in the first place, just to see his dying Aunt May. Those thoughts then took him to the present, he could not remember how he had gotten into the cab to begin with, or where he had been, but he knew he was back and hopefully for good this time. The street was covered with large puddles, which did not seem to bother Ben Reilly, as he splashed in each one he stepped in. The hard rain bounced of Ben and fell onto the street, the weather seemingly reflecting Ben's mood, which was never a good sign. Ben carried on walking for another hour until he found himself stood in front of the building, Forest Hills Hospital to be precise, the hospital which had looked after his Aunt; during the time she was in a coma and confined to a hospital bed. The moon shone high over the tall hospital as Ben looked on with a grim expression. Ben's mind trailed in thought of his fake memories of his Aunt, of how she had always been there for him come rain or shine, always their with a tray full of cookies and a full glass of milk. A tear ran down Ben's, already moist, cheek. He took his hand out of his pocket and wiped away the tear before carrying on walking. By now Ben's coat was a darker brown due to the rain, which began to calm down. After another half an hour of walking, Ben came across a small, little, familiar bar named the Lonely Tavern. The bar was situated on a small side street; the glow of the dim street lamp highlighted the rusty sign. Ben walked in, but little did he know he was being watched from across the street, by a dark figure wearing a trench coat, very little of the man's face could be seen apart from his small, round glasses that reflected the bright full moon.
"Here you go!" said the unshaven bartender, as he passed Ben a pint of beer. The bartender was a small, old, and skinny man, who smelt of a hundred cigarettes. His shirt, which was once white, was now stained a dingy brown. Ben put the glass to his mouth and swallowed half of the pint without stopping. Ben leaned on the bar desk, which had been water stained in several places not to mention the amount of woodworm marks there were. The bar desk was directly opposite the front door, of the smoke stained, orange colored bar, which in fact Ben had visited once before when he ran into Flash Thompson who was coping with a drinking problem at the time. "You look like you're a man with a story?" inquired the bartender. Ben stared down at the empty glass as held it in his hand, "That obvious!" "Didn't you used to have blond hair?" asked the bartender. "You've got a good memory." "I never forget a face!" "How has business been?" "Not bad, not good, but definitely not bad!" The bartender's dry humor bought a smirk to Ben's face. Ben tried to make out the expression on the bartender's face but the strip lighting was too dim. Ben rose and pushed his chair under the bar as he made a move to leave, before he opened the door he gestured a goodbye to the bartender and made his exit back on streets. But behind him little did he know of a small smirk, which developed across the face of the bartender. The sky was a red, hazy color, as the sun was rising. The puddles were still around but the rain had fully stopped which brought a vague, but present smile to Ben's face. The sunrise however came at a price, as Ben recalled the time he had witnessed the sunrise in Utah with his ex- girlfriend Janine Godbe, who was now in jail for the murder of her father. The journey had been a long one for Ben, from the day the twisted, evil mastermind, the Jackal, hatched him in a cloning pod, as a pawn to destroy Peter Parker's life, better known as the original Spider-Man. And from the look of things it did not seem as if things were about to get any easier. Ben continued walking down the street, his eyes looked weary, from not having a wink of sleep in the last couple of days. Ben raised his hand, pulled his sleeve back and began studying his watch. The watch read five o'clock. Ben took off his small backpack, and turned into a small alleyway. He searched the backpack, and eventually pulled out a piece of red spandex, Ben unfolded the spandex to reveal his old Scarlet Spider mask. He placed it over his head and struggled as he began putting it on. He then took his jacket off and his black T-shirt revealing the top part of his spandex suit. "Why am I doing this again?" Ben thought to himself as he put the finishing touches of his costume on, including his blue sweatshirt with a spider on. "The temptation! Maybe just an early morning swing around the big apple will relax me?" Ben put on his last web shooter, tightly strapping it to his left wrist. Ben climbed up to the top of the building, which was ten stories, and before he knew it he was found crouching on the ledge. He launched himself high in the air, before releasing his first strand of webbing, which hit a gargoyle, on the ledge of the building across the street. The gargoyle's tongue was large and curly, appearing as if it was reaching up to its large and gruesome right eye, which was slightly larger than the left. Using his legs, the Scarlet Spider made a sharp turn at the building, he let go of his current web strand and did a somersault in the air before placing his two middle right hand finger to his web shooter to release another strand. The bitter air rushed by his ears, but the adrenaline going through his system prevented him from feeling it. He then began revelling in the feeling of the air whipping past his body, and the speed at which he managed to achieve. "Wow!" exclaimed the Scarlet Spider, who let go of his web, and let himself glide through the air until he was about to hit the busy road, when he shot another web line. The street below was blanketed with traffic, despite the sun not even having risen fully, Ben could hear several people honk each over from down below and a few people shout at each other, which made Ben roll his hazel eyes from behind his scarlet mask.
His name is Kaine; he had been standing on the rooftop for what had seemed like the better part of the night. His pink cape was flickering in the morning's breeze, as well as reflecting on his isolated life, that was when he saw an athletic figure swing across the rising sun. At first Kaine jumped to the assumption that it was Spider-Man, but upon closer inspection he began to notice that the figure was wearing a ripped, blue sweatshirt. Kaine's eyes followed the Scarlet Spider until he vanished out of site and then he began thinking.
On the opposite side of town, in a small deserted warehouse, stood the man named Judas Traveller. The warehouse was full of small wooden crates, the color of the walls were the same as that of a cement brick. "Mr. Nacht, what have you got to report?" asked the enigmatic, criminal psychologist, Judas Traveller. Mr. Nacht reached into his trench coat pocket with his gloved hand and pulled out his report, which was on a small computer, which he immediately began referring to. "As you can see the clone has returned to New York as expected, it didn't even take him a day to become the Scarlet Spider again," reported Mr. Nacht. "Just as expected," replied Judas Traveller, whose white beard shone in the dim lighting. A bitter morning wind blew through the warehouse, brushing back Judas Traveller's long white hair, and blowing back his blue trench coat. Traveller had gold bracelets on each wrist, which reflected the rising sun, which came in from a small window at the top of the warehouse. The sun was also reflecting off Mr. Nacht's small sunglasses. "You have shown some pleasing reports," said Judas Traveller, as he put the small computer down on a crate within arms reach. "I shall continue monitoring his actions and I will inform you of any changes." Assured Mr. Nacht, who spoke in his usual soft, but sinister voice. Traveller could not see much of Mr. Nacht's face due to the dim lighting of the warehouse, and Mr. Nacht's hat which covered most of his face, of course Traveller did not really care if he saw his face or not. Mr. Nacht turned round, with his back facing Traveller, facing the big fold door of the warehouse Mr. Nacht began walking away. "And, of course, Nacht, you will make sure everything is ready for my final test?" asked Traveler in a calm, calculating voice, as his eyes began glowing a fiery red, igniting fear in Mr. Nacht.
The End.?