Pepper Ann copyright Sue Rose/Disney

Spider-Man copyright Marvel Comics


Tangled Web

Chapter 02: Hazelnut's Protector


[Parker House, Later That Day]

Pepper Ann, Nicky and Peter walked down a street, talking.

"so, this MILO is some artist whose spending the weekend at Hawaii with his dad?" said Peter

Nicky nodded.

"uh-huh.
such a shame he isn't here, right now...you two would get along splendidly"

Nicky then decided to change the subject.

"so, ANYWAY...how long have you and Pepper Ann known each other?"

"uhhhh...well." stuttered Pepper Ann

"I first met PA when we were kids in Pre-K." began Peter

"we were friends for a few years, then she moved away when she turned Five."

"YEAH, I remember that!
that was when Mom decided to move to Hazelnut...to raise Me and Moose."

Peter looked at Pepper Ann.

"Moose?"

"my little sister."

"Sister, huh?
MAN...we have been away for a long time."

"so, you just live with your Aunt?" said Nicky

"yeah, we're all the family we have left."

"Don't you have any parents?"

"no, they died when I was a baby...that's why I lived with my Aunt and Uncle."

Nicky looked pretty stunned.

"oh, my...you poor boy."

Pepper Ann sighed sadly.

"I still can't believe your Uncle Ben is gone.
I mean...he was like a Second Grandpa to me!"

Pepper Ann chuckled softly.

"I still remember the time he played that "quarter trick" on me."

Peter chuckled.

"yeah...Ben DID love that old quarter gag."

Nicky looked confused.

"quarter-"

"he pretended to eat a quarter...only to pull "it" out of my ear." explained Pepper Ann

"oh."

Pepper Ann looked at Peter.

"so...how did he die?"

Peter looked away.

"carjacker."

"my gosh..." said Nicky

"hey, like I said: New York is a dangerous place.
I don't blame Aunt May for wanting to move here to Hazelnut...it's pretty nice, here."

"and, BORING." added Pepper Ann

the teens approached a house...where they saw a moving van.

"this, uhhhh...YOUR HOUSE?" asked Nicky

"yep.
I know it isn't much...but, it'll be HOME soon." said Peter

"PETER!"

the three looked and saw a woman with graying hair approach.

"hi, Aunt May."

May hugged Peter.

"nice to see you.
and, how was school?"

"oh, you know...AVERAGE."

May smiled.

"that's good.
and, I see you've made some new friends."

"well, ACTUALLY...only Nicky is New.
THIS is Pepper Ann, you know...that girl we knew from a long time ago."

"Little Pepper Ann?...is that YOU!"

Pepper Ann smiled sheepishly.

"hey, Aunt-"

May hugged the girl

"MAY!"

"Bless My Soul...you've grown SO TALL.
why, your practically a Woman already!"

"I'm only fourteen."

"you certainly are."

"OH, MAAAAAAAY!"

everyone looked to see two familure faces: Lydia Pearson (Pepper Ann's Mother) and her sister, Jainie

"MOM!"

Lydia and Jainie approached them.

"we're nearly done!
just a few more boxes, and we'll be ready for the unpacking."

"oh, Lydia...you don't have to do that."

"oh, NONSENSE!
the more "helping hands" the better."

"and, time flies when your with good friends, hah-hah!" said Jainie

Lydia then looked at Peter.

"ohhhh, and this must be PETER!"

"uhhh..."

Lydia hugged Peter...TIGHTLY.

"I haven't seen you since you were YEH-HIGH!"

"are you SURE you feeding him well, May?...he looks kinda scrawny." said Jainie

Peter groaned.

"OH, Jainie STOP IT!
he's a growing boy, I'm SURE he'll get some meat on his bones, soon." said Lydia, releasing Peter

Pepper Ann and Nicky then approached Peter.

"hey, Pete...wanna crash at my place til' you get all moved in?" said Pepper Ann

"uhhh...SURE."

the three teens walked off, leaving the adults to their work.

[Later]

Pepper Ann opened her front door and walked in the house with Nicky and Peter.

"I tell ya' Pete, we're gonna have SO MUCH FUN!
it'll be just like old times!...or, at least I think it will."

Pepper Ann looked confused Peter just sighed, looking at the redhead.

"you don't remember a THING about what we used to do together, do you?"

"NO!, I r-remember...SOME.
just...not everything comes to mind right off the bat, OKAY!"

"it's TRUE.
Pepper Ann can be such a forgetful person at times." said Nicky

Peter shrugged.

"fine...I'll give you time."

Peter then saw a "boy" with brown hair sitting on a couch, watcing TV.

"whose the kid?"

"oh, that's Moose." said Pepper Ann

Peter looked amazed.

"THAT'S Moose!"

"uh-huh...why?"

"oh, I dunno...she just look so-"

"BOYISH?" said Nicky

"well...YEAH."

Pepper Ann shrugged.

"yeah...I know what you mean.
but, HEY: it's Moose's look."

Pepper Ann then walked over and looked down at her sister.

"hey, Moose...whatcha watching?"

"batman." said Moose, her voice low

"COOL...you mind if "we" watch something else?"

"whatever...show's over."

Moose got up, put on a helmet and kneepads and got on her skateboard.

"Hi, ther-"

"hey." said Moose, interrupting Peter and skating outside

"okay...that kid is FREAKY."

"yeah, I know...
I tried "girling" her up once...but nothing I do seems to work." said Pepper Ann

Pepper Ann then flopped down on the couch.

"So...whatcha wanna watch!"

Peter and Nicky sat down beside Pepper Ann.

"anything on the science channel?"

"naw...just some lame documentry about some guy named mustard."

"that's CUSTARD, Pepper Ann...General Custard" corrected Nicky

"yeah, like I said: some LAME Documentry about Pies."

Nicky groaned, rubbing her eyes stressfully.
Pepper Ann flipped through channels randomly (this finally stopped at a news channel."))

(("we are reporting LIVE at the Hazelnut National Bank where a Robbery is currently taking progress.))

"robbery?" said Peter, concerned

Pepper Ann mashed at the buttons of her remote...but, their was no response.

"stupid batteries!"

Peter gulped.
he then smiled nervously.

"uh, h-hey...why don't I run to the store real quick and get you some FRESH ones!"

"you need any-"

"NOPE!, I can handle myself."

Peter ran off, carrying his backpack with him.
as soon as he was out the door, Pepper Ann and Nicky stared at each other.

"that was...ODD."

"yeah!, no kidding.
I have spare batteries in the kitchen."

[Hazelnut Bank]

Several Men ran out of a bank, holding sacks of cash and firing their guns at guards.

"HA-HA!, easiest heist we EVER made!" said one robber

"heh!, whadda ya EXPECT!
the police force in this town is pretty weak." said another robber

at that moment, two police cars drove up.
police officers emerged and aimed their weapons at the robbers.

"FREEZE!"

The robbers looked at each other and snickered.

"oh no, the police have "caught" us...whatever shall we do!" said a robber sarcasticaly

one robber smirked.
the gang then drew out "high-tech" weapons and fired laser shots at the police.

this forced the officers to use their cars as cover, avoiding the blasts.
sadly, the laser shots were easily cutting into their cars...nearly reducing them to Scrap Metal.

"like i said: EASIEST...HEIST...EVER."

THWIP!

suddenly, a silvery rope snagged one of the guns and jerked it out of the lead robber's hand.
the gang looked up and saw a figure crouched atop a nearvy building.

a figure in a Red and Blue costume with white lens a "web" pattered and a Spider Symbol on the chest (and, back)

the costumes figure grabbed the gun from his "webline" and clutched it.

"cool toys." said the figure

he then snapped the weapon in two with his bare hands.

"whoops...I broke it."

the mysterious figure then leaped off the building did some twirls in mid-air, and landed on the ground, making a "ninja-like" stance...then, stood up.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" exclaimed a robber

the figure smiled under his facemask.

"who am I?
why, I am the SPECTACULAR, the SENSATIONAL...the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN!"

the robbers eyed him.

"Spider-Man?"

"yeah, I WAS gonna call myself: "the Arachni-Kid"
but, it didn't publicize well...SO, I went with that."

the gang aimed their guns at Spider-Man.

"WASTE THAT FREAK!"

the men fired their laser shots.
but, Spider-Man effortlessly dodged and evaded the "Lightning Fast" shots.

"those have got to be: the BIGGEST...SLOWEST...Lasers that I have EVER seen."

Spider-Man then pressed his middle and ring fingers against his palm and, fired orbs of webbing at the men...which hit them like mini-cannonballs, knocking then down.

he then fired a webline at the leader.
he tugged and propelled himself towards him.

Spider-Man then clung to his chest, gripping his shirt and staring straight at his face.

"man, your even ugly UP CLOSE." said Spider-Man, who then punched him

Spider-Man released the crook.
he then eyed one of their guns and snagged it with a webline.

he then examined the weapon.

"((long whistle)) it's like something out of STAR TREK."

"HEY!"

Spider-Man looked and saw the police officers approach.

"aaaaaand, that's my cue to leave."

Spider-Man then fired a webline, jerked it and propelled himself away.
he soon disappeared out of sight...leaving the police awestruck and confused.

"who was that guy?" said an officer

"WHAT was he?" said another

"aw, forget it.
let's just arrest these guys before they wake up."

[Later]

Spider-Man web-zipped through the air and landed near a house.
hiding in the shadows, we quickly removed his facemask...revealing the face of PETER PARKER.

"whew!...what a rush.
I almost forgot how FUN that was."

Peter then removed his boots and gloves.
he put them and the mask in a backpack, then put on his regular clothes...concealing his costume underneath.

Peter then walked around the house and approached the front door.
he knocked on the door...and, Pepper Ann answered.

"back already?"

Peter shrugged.

"yeah, the "store" was out of batteries."

Pepper Ann sighed.

"well, come back in.
we ought to find SOMETHING to do."

Peter smiled.

"sure thing, Pep."

Peter entered the house, Pepper Ann then closed the door.


Author Note: Since I wanted to get Spidey some screentime as soon as possible, I wrote in a very "basic" scene that one would expect from a Spider-Man Story (crossover or Regular) which I think I wrote pretty well.

I also clarified that Aunt May (or, THIS version of her) has a history with Lydia Pearson and "Aunt Jainie" (must of been "old friends", possably) and that Pepper Ann shared a similar relationship that Peter had with Uncle Ben as a young child.

lately, I have been asked if I will introduce "The Black Suit", or Iconic Villains like VENOM, GREEN GOBLIN or DOC OCK.
my answer is THIS: what Spider-Man story HASN'T had "supervillains" in it?

like the Animated Series "The Spectacular Spider-Man"
the villains will be pretty simple, stand alone, fit in well with the story and sorta be like "Villain-of-the-Week"

as for "The Black Suit", well...I plan for Venom to appear, so you figure it out.