"Mister Stark."
"Not now, J.A.R.V.I.S. Kind of busy trying to make sure Stark Tower doesn't fall apart." Avengers Tower. That's what the schmucks on the street were calling it. Not that Tony was denying the fact. It was just…y'know. His money, his cool toys, and until about a month ago, his name on the side of the tower. Now it was just a big A. That was at least a cool million down the drain. Not to mention the repairs and upgrades, the latter of which Tony Stark, the Iron Man, was in the middle of. To be specific, using the still semi-battered and bruised Mark VII (which had a faulty repulsor in the right boot) to weld a few supporting beams together amidst some construction scaffolding. The wood creaked under his weight, but it didn't seem to give way.
"I must insist, Mister Stark. It seems you have a visitor to Avengers Tower." Stark Tower, dammit! Stark! But anyway. Visitor. Focus Tony.
"Oh? Where is he?" Tony asked, taking a step back as he looked at the plumbing job he'd finished. Not too bad, if he did say so himself. And he was saying so himself. Ten plumbers couldn't have done better!
"Right above you, Sir." There was a three point thought process before Tony made a move. He was alone up here, none of the other Avengers were around tonight, and somehow, he hadn't been detected earlier. So it was perfectly justified when Tony raised his hands, the suit whirring as it powered up a repulsor blast and fired, destroying the wood right above his head. Whoever had been standing (more like crouching there) jumped as the wood was turned to cinders, dropping down through the hole, rolling, and landing a few steps away. Tony raised his hands, ready to fire again…
"Woah there Shellhead! Go easy on the pew-pew, would ya?!" The figure raised his hands up in a defensive manner taking a few steps forward. The heavy rain drowned him out a little bit, but the message was clear. Not here to fight. Tony took a moment to look at the figure, was bathed in the neon lights that his building was giving off.
He looked wet, for one thing. Like that shiny-slick kind of wet that movie starts get in romantic movies. Which really didn't help considering that he was dressed in spandex, or at least track pants. Dark blue track pants, which had scarlet stripes wrapping around the back of his leg around the knee area. His sneakers, the same shade of scarlet red with blue accents, squeaked as he walked, splashing against the soaked wood. He wore a mainly scarlet-coloured hoodie, which had the dark blue accents his shoes has, arranged in a loose manner to resemble a spider. The sleeves were dark blue as well, sticking out from the red shoulder pads until his gloves. He wore scarlet gloves, with each finger seemingly have claws on the finger tips. Mutation? Or just artistic style. Tony had no idea. And, of course the mask. Mostly hidden under the hood of the sweater, it was the same constant scarlet colour, with uncharacteristically bright blue lenses, which hid the eye. Save for the mask, the whole thing looked like it was homemade
"Sorry. Just. Getting invaded by aliens makes a guy a little paranoid." Tony wasn't really apologizing, considering he still had a few weapons, namely the shoulder-mounted rockets and one of his repulsors still pointed at the spider-themed speaker about a metre or two away from him.
"Eh, it happens. And yeah, I know I probably look pretty alien myself. Or like a Thrift Shop reject. But you can put the guns down. I'm not here to start a fight with an Avenger. I'm the Scarlet Spider, by the way." He said, extending one of his hands, a metaphorical olive branch, out to the armoured Avenger. There was about a thirty second pause before the suit hid the missile launcher and powered down the blast.
"I would have expected "Kid Arachnid" or "The Tarantula" or "Arachnoman", everything considered. So Scarlet, why you hanging out around my building?" Tony finally relented, grabbing his hand for a brief shake, silently getting J.A.R.V.I.S to scan the figure in front of him. There was a sash of what looked to be webbing sticking out from under the front of his hoodie, which seemed to be chemically identical to normal spider webs. And besides a smartphone tucked away in his shoe, there was no technology on him. Huh. And why the hell was he having so much trouble getting into his phone!?
"Just wanted to say thanks for the whole alien thing. You, and the Avengers. New York is usually my stomping ground, and you guys saved it. You leave for ONE DAY, y'know?" He said the latter sentence with a chuckle and a shrug, his voice mocking a bit of anger. He rubbed the back of his head rather awkwardly, the pattering of the constant rain taking the place of an awkward silence.
"Well, it was mostly me working my titanium tukhus off. But the other did help, so I guess I could pass your thank you onto them. Where were you, anyway?" Tony was quick to switch on a recording, already starting a file on the so-called "Scarlet Spider" in New York. Scarlet seemed to pause, almost holding his breath, giving Tony a good minute. YouTube videos, blurry candid pictures, Twitter, Instagram. He'd been around for at least a couple years at this point. Fought some minor bad guys…and a giant lizard. He'd have to look more into that later.
"I was...uh...out of town for the weekend. Not that webbing and stick 'em powers would have made much of a difference against aliens with pew-pew guns." Scarlet Spider said with a shrug of his shoulders. Silence fell after that, Iron Man just standing there, staring straight ahead.
"You know, for someone who wears an emotionless high-tech helmet, you can make it look skeptical REALLY easily." Scarlet Spider said after he'd had enough of the quiet and the rain, sniffling a little bit.
"Sorry, just, looking at this footage from Times Square last year. You and your electric baddie. Not only do you stop the police car from crushing someone, you manage to stop…I'd say twenty odd people from shocking themselves all at once, all in the same move. I mean…I could probably do the same with one hand, but how-?"
"Enhanced senses and agility, a crap-ton of webbing, and about six months' worth of gymnastics in seventh grade. I mentioned wanting to do backflips ONE time and Aunt April has me getting fitted for spandex…heh. Wonder what she would say if she could see me right now." Scarlet cut off Iron Man and ended up chuckling, rubbing the back of his hood. Both heroes were then distracted by the sound of an explosion about ten blocks away, followed by sirens and some faint screaming.
"Welp. That's my cue to get swinging. Tell the other guys thanks from me, eh?" And with that, Scarlet Spider charged forward, leaping off the scaffolding like it was nothing. He let himself fall for a good twenty metres before shooting a line of webbing out of his wrist. It caught the side of a building, and the young man swung in a wide arc before repeating the action to get himself down the street with surprising speed.
"J.A.R.V.I.S, mind showing me any information on what caused that kaboom uptown from us?" Within seconds, Tony was into traffic cameras and security feeds, laying eyes on the cause of distress. It was a man in what looked to be a crappy purple suit, with a mask covering just his face, making it so his white hair, probably a wig stuck out in the dank, wet night. He seemed to have a pair of gauntlets that he was waving around firing…something. Pressurized sound waves, by the look of it. Though all in all, he looked like some fashion reject
"According to NYPD databases, he calls himself The Shocker, Sir."
"Well, that much was obvious. He doesn't exactly seem like much though. And really? Shocker? That's sort of generic." Tony muttered as clicked his boots together to get the repulsors working, deciding to fly over and see how this Scarlet Spider-Man worked…
"Unless any of you want to go home in a freaking coffee cup, you'll just back off! You hear me? BACK OFF!" A sniveling, higher pitched voice shouted, waving the two weird looking gauntlets around, his thumbs hovering just above the triggers. The cops, being smart, decided to hide behind their respective vehicles, talking into walkie talkies rather hurriedly, while others warningly pointed their firearms at the minor supervillain. As advanced as the gauntlets were, a good shot to the knee, or the elbow would take him out for just long enough!
"YEAH! That's right! Shocker is finally winning one! I'll have my big score, thanks to these babies!" The Shocker shouted with a bit of a laugh, hefting a hockey bag teeming with firearms and ammo, all taken from the "High Brass" pawn shop behind him. He took a few steps forward, causing the officer's perimeter to widen, tossing the bag in the back of an empty cop car. It looked as if he was going to make a perfect getaway…
At least, until a familiar blue and scarlet figure landed on the hood, crouched.
(And totally did not almost slip right off the slick, wet hood because of some shitty sneakers.)
"Herman, Herman, Herman. I thought we talked about this! I was going to take the kids and go to my mother's, and you were going to go to night school and get back on your feet before the baby arrived!" The Scarlet Spider sounded annoyed to say the very least, sounding even closer to an exasperated wife. The Shocker, in response, looked the Scarlet Spider with confusion, his head tilted slightly to the side, jaw hanging open.
"…No? Huh. Must have you mixed up with my soaps. Though they're higher on my priority list than you." Scarlet Spider replied, giving the Shocker a pat on the shoulder. In turn, Shocker screamed at the top of his lungs, raising his weapons and firing them.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ONLY MOMMA CAN CALL ME HERMIE!" Somehow, within the split second that it took Shocker to fire, Scarlet Spider had gripped the side of the police cruiser with his hands and ripped off the hood of the cruiser as it stuck to his feet. The pressurised air hit the bottom of the hood, and Scarlet Spider was sent down the street, riding the hood like a surfboard until he was almost halfway down. At that point, he fired two weblines to the nearest lampposts, and flung himself forward again like a slingshot. The hood was left behind, and Scarlet Spider surged forward, going feet first towards Shocker. Being a mild amateur, Shocker managed to put his arms together in front of him to block Scarlet Spider's flying kick…
…only to find his opponent's feet firmly attached to his gauntlet.
The position they had created could only be described as a capital T turned on it's side, with the Scarlet Spider sticking straight out to Shocker.
"What the-Get off you bug!" Shocker wailed, pulling his arms apart and waving them around in an attempt to make the Scarlet Spider let go. Of course, the Scarlet Spider just spread his legs this way and that, giving a "are you kidding me?" aside look to the cops, who started to chuckle a bit.
(It seems a certain someone had forgotten he was wearing high-tech gauntlets on his wrists)
"If you insist, Hermie. And for the record, I'm an arachnid. Or did you not pass high school Bio class?" Scarlet Spider grabbed the closest solid object (said object being a lamppost that he dug his clawed gloves into) and stuck to it. Before he knew it, Shocker was free!
…And unarmed.
It seems that the Scarlet Spider's sticky feet had struck one more, and had kept the gauntlets stuck to the bottom of the worn sneakers. Scarlet did a quick sideways loop on the lamppost, dismounted and landed a few feet away, crushing the weapons to pieces under the force of his landing.
"Considering you fell for that…AGAIN…I'm thinking you might have not passed." Scarlet Spider chuckled a little bit, brushing the remains of the weapons off his shoes as the cops moved in. From here on it would be business as-
"GUN!"
Stupid! Always pat down the bad guy!
Scarlet Spider turn on his heels to properly face down the bullet of the weapon that was about to blow his face off.
…
For all his incompetence, Herman had some good firepower.
He'd picked up a positively massive customized revolver, which was quite obviously loaded with shotgun rounds, 28-gauge. He had to heft it with two hands, and even then, he was having trouble holding it up.
The cops dived behind cover, while Scarlet Spider stayed where he was, staring down the B-List bad guy.
"F-F-finally! You've been busting my butt for years! Now, I get to bust you! EAT THIS, ARACHNID!"
Scarlet Spider closed his eyes, and waited for the end.
CA-CHUNK. PING-PING-PING!
"Yeah, sorry there Hermie. Bad as I look, you're still going to need something a bit bigger to get through this suit." The familiar, slightly digitized voice of the Armoured Avenger rang through the night, followed by the sound of metal crushing metal.
Scarlet Spider was greeted by the sight of Iron Man himself standing in the street, the crumpled remains of the shotgun revolver in one of his hands, while Shocker was starting to back away from him.
"No! No, no, no! I was going to win this time! I was going to-oof!"
As the Shocker backed up, a five-foot-nothing cop slid across the hood of her cruiser and tackled the taller man to the ground, quickly patting him down as her other officers came over to cuff him.
"Herman Schultz, you're under arrest for armed robbery, destruction of property, illegal possession of an enhanced weapon, and criminal intent to do bodily harm. O'Hirn, Cuff him." Despite her size, her voice (out her as clearly being from Irish descent) rang out clearly in the night, accompanied by the sounds of her partner's handcuffs. Iron Man, in the chaos, took a few steps back to examine the remains of Shocker's weapons.
"Thanks, Jean. How's the wife?"
"It's Officer DeWolff, Spider. You know that. And she's great." Jean replied as she dusted herself off and put her hat back on, hiding her fiery red curls.
"And your daughter?" Scarlet continued, starting to cracking his knuckles softly, noticing Iron Man giving him a "come hither" gesture. Either that, or screwing up flipping him off.
"Still wanting another swing made of webbing in her room."
"Heh. Just bring me around next time I get shot, and she'll get it." Scarlet chuckled, while Officer DeWolff simply shook her head and waved the Spider farewell. After making sure the Shocker was locked up in the back of a squad car, The Web-Slinger approached the Iron Avenger, letting silence fall as the convoy of cops pulled away.
"So, Schultz built those himself?" Tony finally asked once the two were left alone, bathed in the neon lights of the city around.
"Six times over, at this point. Doesn't seem the grasp the concept of overspecialization. Each time he counters one problem, he re-opens another."
"Tell me about it. Though his tech is giving me an idea for a new suit. Could be good for moving piles of rubble." Tony mused, not paying full attention to the young adult soaking behind him, already getting J.A.R.V.I.S to draw up a few basic blueprints. Could call it "Screaming Mimi" or "Songbird" …hm. Probably the latter.
"You're welcome, by the way. At this rate, the Mark VII is going to need to be retired." Tony continued, making note of the few exposed circuits that were sparking and steaming. Not to mention the fact that chest plate was looking ready to fall off at this point.
"Oh, right. Thanks for the save, Tin Teeth." Scarlet Spider eventually muttered out, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.
"So…is he like, your archenemy or something? Sounds like you've gone around the block a few times with this guy." Tony eventually asked, taking some traffic cam footage from the fight, adding it to the file he had started up about the Scarlet Spider.
"No, no. he's just...Herman's just kinda a bi-monthly annoyance. Tonight's the first time he's actually done something sensible." Scarlet mused, pulling one of his arms across his chest.
"Like carry a gun?" Tony interjected, sounding just the slightest bit smug.
"Yeah. Anyway. Purse snatchers to chase, muggers to stop, bad jokes to make. You stay in one piece, Chrome Dome."
And like that, the Scarlet Spider was gone, swinging away into the rain-soaked city.
An hour of repairs later, Tony was sitting in the remains of his lounge, sitting on what was left oh his couch as he went through footage of the Scarlet Spider. The guy was all over the city daily, stopping muggers and saving kids from walking in the street. Not to mention several battles with a variety of unique villains…that always went to jail. No explosions, no power overload that leads to death. Turned over to the cops to face proper justice. Hell, they'd started up a custom prison called "The Raft" just for his rouges gallery. The freaks just came out of the woodwork to beat this guy around. But by some miracle, he always managed to win.
Except once.
But Tony couldn't find the footage that finished that fight. All he knew was that Scarlet vanished for two months afterward. So, something must have happened there.
"Shall I file this under your personal project folders, Sir?" After an hour and shifting through footage, social media posts, and an almost infinite number of unnecessarily mean Newspaper issues, J.A.R.V.I.S. finally spoke up, snapping Tony out of a research trance.
"…New Folder, J.A.R.V.I.S. Avengers Initiative 2.5. Just in case Me, Cap and the Kooky Quartet get ourselves captured somehow."
"Understood. Mr. Stark, how long has it been since you slept last?" The AI. Quickly replied, stopping the Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist for a solid minute as he tried to answer.
"Doesn't matter. Anyway, start a new note. I got an idea for a new suit. I'll call it the Heartbreaker…"
"As you wish, Mr. Stark." The A.I, who somehow sounded reluctant, replied. This was his 17th armour idea in the last three days. This couldn't lead anywhere good…