Into The Spiderverse: The Tangled Web
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Marvel.
Rated M for whatever may develop.
"Speech"
'Thought' or sometimes "Thought"
AN/ Another rough startup project. Currently adding and cleaning up another chapter for Wrench in the Gears of Fate. Hopefully I'll actually have that updated soon. Been working on Naruto x NewX, but one scene's been giving me writer's block. Trying to work through it. And many more.
Prologue
Reading the paper…skimming mostly…he frowned at the latest repeat to the hot article that'd been circulating all month. Spider-Woman. And the death of a high school teen. It was just the most recent flame-job.
If there was one thing you could say about Jameson, editor of The Bugle, it was that he loved to rake people over the coals. And while he'd seemingly been against the Spider from the start… This event had seemingly given him all the fuel he could've ever wanted. There was something sick about that man, as if he had nothing good in his life, so he chose to tear others down to make himself feel better.
Sigh… Lotta people like that.
Of course, there was another reason he wasn't too taken by the story.
Checking his watch, confirming the time against the near-silent scraping of fabric on masonry, folding the paper under arm, he raised a closed Dollar Dog bag as high as he could over his head. It took a second, but the bag was pulled gently out of his grip, a crinkled wad left in its place. Some more shuffling followed by paper crinkling from the bag.
"Mf, fanks."
"Hey, Dollar Dog delivers…to its loyal customers," he retorted offhandedly.
This had all started when he'd first taken notice of her patrol route. Specifically, that more often than not she passed Dollar Dog at night around 11ish. The opportunity came when she paused, for a breather he guessed, atop the adjacent building. So, being his amiable self, he'd prepped something and stepped out the door. All it'd taken was a whistle to get the heroine's attention, and a simple call of "Order up!" before tossing the wrapped hotdog up to her. She'd been grateful, if a little abashed at the generosity. Since then, they'd worked out a system. Four nights a week, when he took his break, he'd take a small order with him and pass it off to her. He'd intended to do so out of a show of support, but she'd wanted to pay him. However, carrying change was…difficult…in her attire. So, they compromised.
He'd round down the order to the nearest dollar, bringing the cost to a flat rate that she could pay with paper. A dog with the works, and a soda, rounded down to an even three bucks.
And, on that note… "You bring-" He held up the soda, and it was plucked from his fingers. "Awesome."
Shrugging at the appreciation, he crossed the narrow alleyway to lean against the brickwork. "Gotta keep hydrated," he reasoned, looking up. "Though if your routine's as hungry-work as I guess, you should probably be making some healthier food choices. Maybe pasta." Just above where he'd been standing, a costumed young woman crouched against the brickwork. Her costume was a complex assortment. Primarily white and black, it was accented with magenta and teal. The black covered the majority from teal covered feet, starting at the ankles and heading north, ending in a somewhat provocative show of covering her chest like a shoulderless dress. Chest up was white, with pinkish magenta under her arms and in the hood that covered her masked face. Except, in this instance, the mask was slightly pushed up to allow for easier scarfing of Dollar Dog foodstuffs.
"Mm, grease." Ignoring him. Totally ignoring him. Following up with a sip of soda, "And, sugar, I missed you."
"Dollar Dog. Food of heroes," he chuckled wryly.
"Is that today's?" Even with the large, obscuring lenses of her mask, he could tell she was focused on the paper.
"…Yeah," he acquiesced. "Don't recommend reading it though. Jameson tends to ruin the appetite." Her silence was telling, even as she chose to take a large chomp out of the remaining hotdog half. "So… Bodega came in yesterday." Yesterday being a day not on the food schedule.
"Everything cool?" she asked, swallowing. Bodega Bandit. Possibly the worst criminal ever conceived, was also a repeat smalltime offender in her rogue's gallery. He was partially the reason why she passed Dollar Dog so often. BB had made it his life's goal to rob the Dollar Dog. And, yes, he was, as a criminal, just as disappointing as his dream.
And every time she saw him trying to rip-off the Dollar Dog, she'd swing in and hogtie him like it was an average Tuesday. Even though it happened almost twice a week.
Then, one day, maybe a month back, she'd been beaten to the punch. Arriving at the Dollar Dog, she'd fallen into shock at the sight of BB sitting on the cement curb out front along with some guy dressed in Dollar Dog employee togs. They'd seemed to be talking, each with a dog in hand.
She'd watched for almost half an hour as they just…talked…Bodega eventually getting up and walking away, waving back as if he'd just been visiting a friend. Once he'd vanished around the corner a ways, she'd dropped down to street level to check on things.
Back then…
"Hey! Is everything alright?"
The young man looked at her in mild surprise before grinning lazily. "Sure, no problem."
"But that was Bodega Bandit. He didn't try to-"
"Oh, he tried," the blonde teen interrupted, confirming her suspicion.
"And everyone's alright?"
He laughed, scratching at the back of his head. "Alright? Yeah. I mean, Bodega'll have a bit of a shiner tomorrow, but he'll be okay."
Somehow, the enigmatic teen had just…talked Bodega down. Even spending his break to keep talking with him. She remembered a few choice musings of his from that meeting.
"It's just… He kinda reminds me of a kid I knew, long time ago. Lived in his grandfather's shadow and that's all people saw when they looked at him, his grandfather's shadow. So, he acted out, pulled pranks, just to set himself apart, be noticed as himself. Somehow, I think that's what Bodega's after."
And that was when Spider-Woman first met Naruto Uzumaki.
Chapter 1
There'd been an odd electricity in the air…figuratively speaking…all day long. As of something had changed. Or, like something was about to. Call it ninja instincts, or sage training, but he liked to think that, no matter the source, he was rather in tune with the world. And, as a result, his gut was telling him something wasn't right.
Conspicuously, Spider-Woman hadn't been seen for two days now. She'd even missed two Dollar Dog drops.
He'd actually risked exposure to see if something was up.
(Flashback, Just the Other Day)
Straightening his hoodie, he reached up and knocked on the apartment door. This required more finesse than he was used to.
The situation?
He was about to subtly question the whereabouts of an individual whose secret identity was supposed to be secret to him, even though it wasn't. He had to be careful in how he broached this so that he didn't tip anyone off in his search. And, so that if his instincts were wrong, then his actions could be easily disregarded.
Piece of cake. No problem.
Fuck, things were always so complicated.
Maybe he should just fess up the next time he saw her. Drop the proverbial bomb on what he knew.
A shuffling noise from within, and the door opened, a curvaceous redhead standing within. EmJay wore a smile that was all teeeth as she looked on hungrily, eyes alight. "Hellooooooo, tall, blonde, and dreamy!"
It was no secret among the girls that a side-benefit of Dollar Dogs was Naruto working the counter. He was darn good looking even behind an apron, but, now, in casual street clothes… Three sets of eyes drifted.
"Hey, Red," he greeted abashedly, running a hand across the back of his head. A long-held unconscious twitch of shyness. One that unknowingly heightened the attraction. Blue eyes drinking in the apartment, "Glory. Betty."
"And MurderFace!" Betty introduced, lifting the cat from the floor. The cat…glared at him unsettlingly.
Conceding the stare down before it even started, he looked up to Betty. "I think your cat might be evil."
Beaming at the other girls, Betty smiled broadly…triumphantly. "See! He can tell!"
"What's up, sausage man?" EmJay asked suggestively through a crooked grin, only to get a not-so-subtle elbow jab from Glory as she stepped into view.
"Throttle back, girl," she murmured under her breath. "What's up, Root?" Ah, the nickname. Later, on that.
Act cool. Stick to the script. "Hey, I was talking to Mr. Alby the other day about advertising, and was wondering if there was a way Dollar Dog and your band could team up. Y'know, one hand washes the other?" He chuckled sheepishly.
EmJay grinned at her bandmates. "Our first sponsor!"
"Take a breath, girl," Glory cut off. "He didn't say it was guaranteed. Root?"
Naruto held up his hands. "Sorry, Red. This is just to see what you girls think of the idea. If everyone's on board, then we can take it to Mr. Alby."
EmJay's bright expression fell and she glared exasperatedly at him. "Leading us on like that… You're lucky you're cute." She sighed, "Still…every great band starts somewhere. First, Dollar Dog…then, the world."
Making a show of looking around, "Hey, where's Gwen?" brow cocking in earnest curiosity. "It's usually the four musketeers with you lot."
EmJay scoffed. "Sorry to burst the bubble, but that's par for the Stacy course. She's almost never around when she's expected to be."
Betty, though, was less quick to speculate. Frowning in worry, "She wasn't here last night, either. In fact, I haven't seen her since yesterday morning." And she would be in a position to know. The four girls lived together, more or less. Between two apartments in the same building, it was EmJay and Glory, and Gwen and Betty…and MurderFace. The building was nothing special, but it was just passable for people just starting out.
So, reasonably small.
Kinda like his first apartment growing up. Except, looking around, bigger. Huh.
"Anyway, this was just to put the idea out there. Let me know what you think and I'll put it to Mr. Alby." Checking his watch. "Aaaand, I'm almost late for work. See ya, girls!" he quickly excused, breaking into a quick walk for the stairs. EmJay leaned against the door frame, watching him retreat. More so his butt, actually. "Mmm."
As open as EmJay had been, Betty…was more so. "Damn!" she hissed under her breath, having peaked around the doorframe, watching him leave. "Would you look at the butt on that!"
"Cool it, girls," Glory urged.
"But-But…it's perfect!" she continued regardless. "You could bounce a bullet off that ass!"
EmJay licked her lips. "The unspeakable things I would have him do to me."
Betty, though, had her beat. "The unspeakable things I'd do to him." Glory facepalmed at her horny bandmates.
(End Flashback)
A covert pass by her house hadn't yielded results either. So, he'd put off looking until his shift was over. In the meantime, he could mull things over.
Then, just now, things took a turn for the obvious. As if the universe was telling him. "Hey, THIS is what I've been trying to warn you about, idiot."
"The Spider…she has been here. Often." He'd known something was up for several minutes now, the impending unease growing within. Long before the weirdo walked through the doors of Dollar Dog. That said, he hadn't expected that string of words. "Where is she?"
The man was…huge. Somewhere around two meters tall, he was dressed like he'd stepped right out of the 1800's. It might've made him look like a dork, now, but he was fairly certain that, muscle-bound and intimidating as he was, no one would ever dare laugh at his expense. Dark, beady eyes. Oily looking black hair tied at the back, with thick sideburns. He had the kind of face that looked like it'd been shaped out of a stone wall. The kind that made you think he'd eat a punch just to laugh at your broken hand.
So…not a normal customer of the Dollar Dog.
There was no mistaking the power rolling off him. Something inexplicably…dangerous.
"No spiders here, sir," he drawled lazily, keeping his cool. "If you're from the Health Department-" The well-dressed man looked at him like he was a moron, before turning and walking out without another word.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
He gave the man a five-minute lead before leaving the counter and walking to the small office space in the back. Knocking on the door, "Mr. Alby? I've gotta clock out early today."
Bemusedly lifting his eyes from inventory sheets, "My boy, you're only half-way through your shift."
"Yeah…" He looked off somewhere in the distance. "Yeah, but I just remembered something important I've gotta take care of. I think a friend of mine's in trouble."
The amiable, if stern, Mr. Alby looked defiant at the idea of his lone employee taking off so suddenly and leaving the till to him, but, all the same, if it was urgent… "Then, go. But be aware that you will be expected all the same tomorrow."
"I'll do my best," the blonde murmured.
Daemos continued his walk. He had time. Nothing but. It was unclear yet if this reality was a fruitless hunt. There was a spider, true. It was simply…not here.
Curious… How he hated puzzles. Let Jennix keep his pontifications, he would always represent the might of conquest.
And yet… He smirked predatorially. He would spend a little time seeking out this spider. Drawing out the hunt simply served to whet his appetite.
He almost disregarded the man openly staring at him.
As pedestrians went about their way…the weak motes of dust…there was one who met his gaze and held it.
The boy?
The human locked eyes with him before turning and walking off.
Intriguing. Perhaps his search had not been in vain at that…culinary cesspool.
Unfettered by such concerns of safety or danger, Daemos followed. Regardless of what he found, the insignificant filth would be…smushed…for so brazenly meeting his gaze.
A short distance behind, Daemos left the main streets. Abandoning them for the solitude and privacy of a shadowed alley.
"Why're you here?"
Brow cocked, he honed in on the boy, standing in his path. Arms crossed, his eyes bored into Daemos. It was to laugh. That he thought he could intimidate…him.
"Humans," Daemos' voice came out like the deep, rumbling purr of a lion. "Ever so foolish," he mused. "I've come for the spider. Where is it?"
The young man's posture stiffened. "No clue. Why're you looking for her?"
Her? So, this reality's spider was female. A pity. The females were not often as physically impressive as the males. That said…they were trickier. Maybe he could still salvage this hunt. "We have…a meeting…she and I," he explained.
"You…are a terrible liar," the boy scoffed. "In fact, everything about you screams 'bad news'."
Daemos' pleasant smile broadened. Perhaps he could entertain himself. This boy obviously had some relationship with the spider…woman, as the name often went. He could amuse himself with breaking the boy, and potentially enraging the spider at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
"Wonderful. I do so hate guile. It is so…unbecoming." Stepping forward, he started to close the distance until he loomed over the young human. Until, finally, he stood over him. "I respect your bravery…if not your intelligence."
The boy grimaced. "Uh-huh. I think talking time is done."
Daemos intended to respond, when…suddenly…he felt himself thrown, bodily, through the air.
(New York City, the Docks)
The meat-meteor impacted against a stack of shipping crates with a resounding 'CRANGK!'. It took a second for Daemos to clamber out, mainly due to…surprise. He inwardly scowled at having let his guard down.
The docks were busy, but nowhere near as they'd be on a weekday. Still, there was a flurried, chaotic commotion as dock workers started peeling out.
Pulling himself free, he fell a handful of meters to the concrete below. Standing straight, he brushed off the debris, straightening out his clothes. Content, "I misjudged you. I thought you weak meat. I didn't expect such power. Such…ferocity." He looked over to the warrior who'd managed to appear before him rather quicker than expected. "Come, tarry with me for a while. Amuse me and I might land the killing blow swiftly."
"Bad call," the blonde responded, settling into a battle-ready stance. "Let's rumba."
Daemos fell to the fire, letting his blood lust consume him. In a blink, he was upon his diminutive prey, intent on a double-fisted hammer to the skull. Instead, his fists shattered the concrete below as his foe dodged the attack.
"Gotta be faster than that!" A heel drop left the Inheritor's skull tingling painfully. Pain. His prey proved stronger than he previously assumed.
"Yes! Show me your spirit!" In a burst of speed, he'd managed to snatch up the youth by a leg, swinging him overhead and down onto unforgiving concrete. Taking the initiative to prevent him from recovering, Daemos repeated the move several more times until, by the eighth time, he let the dust settle to see the damage inflicted.
The young man was covered in rubble and dust, his clothes covered in dirt and tears, and there were the smallest cuts spread over his arms and face.
But his opponent was ready; Naruto used the giant's moment of basking to his advantage. "Two can play that game." Hands shooting overhead, his fingers bit into the concrete, finding what purchase they could. Then, in one swift movement, he levered himself over. And, to Daemos' surprise, the blonde managed to carry him along, taking advantage of his hold to return his own attack, slamming him into the concrete.
Surprise, enough, that his hold loosened.
Pushing himself to his feet, more perturbed than hurt, he looked at his opponent with ever growing appreciation. "You are…cunning."
"Just getting started." Launching himself at the old-world reject, he slid out of his frontal assault, somersaulting over him by a hair's breadth. Using his roll to his advantage, he threw a powerful jab into Daemos' left shoulder.
Daemos very nearly howled. That blow… It'd very nearly crippled his arm! As it was, he couldn't lift it! Even if taken by surprise, his defenses weak in that instant, it would still take significant strength to deliver such upon him.
Interest in distraction fell away. His prey was thoroughly becoming more nuisance than entertainment. He rounded to deliver a sweeping backhand, but met only vacant space.
"You're fast for a big guy." He felt his knees crack painfully…but he remained standing. "But I'm faster." Looking around to the voice of his attacker, he saw the boy shaking his hands. "Ouchie, for both of us."
Practically frothing at the mouth, Daemos through a train-stopping right fist. But the teen rolled around in the wake of the attack, using the momentum to level a shockwave producing right-cross over the left side of his jaw.
The moment contact was made though, flesh meeting flesh, the Inheritor's eyes bulged. That energy! It could only be! "The Source!" he gurgled.
Naruto's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Interesting," he growled. Source? What the Hell was that about? "While I'd love to know what that means… You seem to know what's going on." Grabbing the shaken man by the collar of his expensive looking coat, he raised him to eye level.
At the opportunity, angry life sparked behind the man's eyes as his hands, the remaining good one anyway, shot towards his prey.
Only to be cut short. One hand freed itself from his collar to shoot out like a viper, fist impacting with enough force to shatter the shoulder joint and everything immediately around it.
Flipping the bird was now beyond him.
Naruto regarded him with cold boredom. "Like I couldn't see that coming. Your defense is impressive, but only when your focus isn't broken." Backhanding the man across the face. "Now…where is Spider-Woman?"
"I know not," the man spat venomously, furious despite his…handicap.
"Sure, but I'd wager you've an idea."
The man glared bloody murder at him before a sudden calm seemed to overtake him. "Death means nothing. An inconvenience, at best. But…capturing you… NOW, WEAVER! OPEN THE PORTAL!"
He had ample opportunity to jump away, even silence the man before he could say more than the first syllable, but he wanted to see where this was going. There was something bigger going on. Something behind the scenes. And he was going to see it for himself.
AN/ Yes, I know. I put out more starts, but never add to my old ones. I'm trying.