In this chapter, I'm introducing a lesser-known Spider-Man villain called the Rose. Though in particular, the Jacob Conover version who hired Delilah (the same character I introduced earlier) and got into a conflict with another lesser-known villain named Black Tarantula, whom I'm going to introduce soon.

Episode 37: Former Marémon Owner Revealed!

Upon reaching their suite, Thor and MJ immediately tested the beds while Peter took out his MarGuide and looked up Ben Reilly's Marémon.

"Scarspide, the Clone Marémon," EDITH said, displaying the spider-like Marémon Ben had that looked similar to Spidermin but with different coloring. "Due to its many similarities to Spidermin including being a Mutant/Tech-Type, many scientists believe that Scarspide is a sub-species variant but this has yet to be officially confirmed. How one can tell apart Scarspides from Spidermin is their coloring, which can be red/blue or red/black."

On the MarGuide's screen, there was a side-by-side comparison between Scarspide and Spidermin allowing Peter to see their different color schemes. While Spidermin had a red body and head with blue legs, Scarspide's body was blue with a red head and matching red legs.

"I can't believe I confused a Scarspide for a Spidermin," Peter sighed. "Some Marémon Wielder I am."

"Don't be hard on yourself," MJ said as she released Noirstel from his PDB. "That Ben guy was just being a jerk."

"Maybe, but if he's right about this gang war that's going on in La Vie City…maybe we shouldn't stay here for too long," Peter said nervously.

"There's no point in worrying about that now," Thor responded, taking his own PDBs out. "We paid for the room, so we might as well take advantage of it."

After Thor opened his PDBs, Thunderthor, the Korg, and Brunnhilde's Valrie appeared in a flash of light. While Korg's head touched the ceiling, Valrie immediately floated to the nearby window and was astonished by the view. Yet as Peter released Hornetech and Cassie the Shadusk from their PDBs, he noticed Valrie's expression seemed mournful.

"You miss Brunnhilde already, don't you?" Peter guessed, talking to Valrie.

In response, Valrie made a soft musical pout.

"Don't worry, you'll see her again," Thor encouraged. "I promise, and I'll take good care of you. So on that note, let's get some room service."

Picking up the phone from a bedside desk, Thor ordered Marémon and regular food to be brought to the suite. Ten minutes later, the little girl Abby arrived pulling a trolley full of various dishes through the front door.

"Why are you here?" MJ asked. "Shouldn't a hotel staff member be doing this?"

"They're all gone, so it's just me and my mom," Abby explained. "But I can push this."

"Can you tell us why they're gone?" Peter asked, taking the trolley from Abby.

Looking downward, Abby said, "My mom said I would get in trouble if I told anybody."

"Does it have to do with the gang war that Ben Reilly mentioned?" Thor guessed.

Before Abby could answer, she was approached by Cassie who used her shadowy arms to hug Abby around the neck. Surprised by this, Abby screamed.

"Get it away from me!" Abby cried, running around the room while Cassie held on.

"Cassie!" Peter scolded. "Leave Abby alone!"

Hearing that, Abby stopped. "Cassie?"

"It's the name of this Shadusk that I found in a graveyard in New Asgard Town," Peter explained as he pulled Cassie away from Abby. "Sorry if she scared you."

But to Peter's surprise, Cassie teleported herself out of his hands and made several distorted noises. She also kept pointing at Abby, who looked confused.

"You're saying that she's your previous owner?" Peter guessed, to which Cassie nodded.

"No way!" Abby objected. "I don't remember owning a Shadusk. They're so creepy and scary!"

This made Cassie wince and lower its head.

"Well, if you don't know, Shadusk are actually the ghosts of Marémon that died," Peter said.

"Don't tell this little girl about death!" MJ insisted.

"It's okay," Abby said. "My mom told me what death is. So you're saying the Shadusk used to be alive?"

"Yeah, though it was a different Marémon while it was alive," Peter elaborated. "So when Cassie died, she became a Shadusk because she had unfinished business."

"Like what?" Abby asked.

"Being abandoned, in Cassie's case," replied Peter. "So did you…abandon a Marémon recently, even by accident?"

Abby shook her head. "But I remember owning a female Scarspide named Cassie. She was my best friend. Then I got sick, and my mom took her away. I never saw her again after that."

Peter's brow furrowed.

"I see," Peter acknowledged. "Um, thanks for bringing up the food."

"Sure thing," Abby smiled and left through the front door.

Once it was closed, Cassie's shadowy body slumped as she floated over to a dark corner of the room and curled up there.

"Look, I'm sorry I scolded you," Peter said to Cassie. "But what you did was impolite, even if you think that girl is your former owner."

Cassie in turn made several angry distorted noises.

"She seems really convinced that Abby was her owner," MJ noted, folding her arms. "But Abby's story about her mother taking away her Scarspide Cassie makes me think—

"Yeah, and I hope that's not the case," Peter interrupted. "I'm going to speak to Mrs. Mercury about it right now."

"But what about the food?" Thor questioned.

"I'll be back soon," Peter said. "So go ahead and start eating without me."

Then Peter left the room and went down the hallway. Around a corner, he noticed Cassandra Mercury walking into a conference room with a guy in a white suit wearing a violet mask over his head. Curious, Peter followed them and listened outside the door once they closed it.

"How long do you plan to consider this hotel your territory, Rose?" Cassandra demanded angrily. "You've already scared away my staff, and now you're scaring away my customers. So unless you're done here, I suggest you get out of here and never come back!"

A menacing chuckle followed. "Haven't you forgotten why I'm here? If it weren't for me, your daughter would still be in a coma. I agreed to help cure her disease, in exchange for partial ownership of this hotel."

Cassandra paused. "Let's not forget you killed my daughter's pet Scarspide and made me bury it in that graveyard next to New Asgard Town. I'll never forgive you for that!"

"Even though I explained the Scarspide's DNA was the key ingredient to your daughter's cure," Rose pointed out. "So you could say it did a huge favor for Abby."

To be continued…