AN: On a roll with this arc. I don't know if it's just the fact that I am loving the support from you all, or if I'm challenging myself my trying to do dynamic action, atmosphere, and believable dialogue, or the fact that I'm listening to Emphatic/Through Fire while writing and that totally amps me up but whatever the reason, it's got me going. Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 3
Peter knocked on the door to Felicia's penthouse. It had been a long day at work. After Felicia's visit, Peter had a conversation with Max and Uatu about using some of Peter's recent battery designs for some kind of project that Uatu had in the black box at his laboratory. Peter suggested that instead of making one custom battery that the assembly plant couldn't make, because Peter didn't design it, that Uatu just wire a few of the batteries in series or in parallel depending on weather he needed more amps or more volts. Uatu said that that would work for the prototyping stage, but would eventually need a self-contained unit. Later in the day, he received a call from his girlfriend saying that she had good news that she wanted to tell him. So here he was.
Felicia opened her front door with a smile on her face. She was in the same outfit that she was earlier, minus the jacket. She held in one hand, two champagne flutes, and in the other, the appropriate bottle of bubbly fluid. The image was complete with the smell of something delicious from inside the room. Peter sniffed the air and detected the smell of chicken, and some exotic blend of seasoning. Peter walked in and kissed Felicia on the lips. He then set down his duffle bag with his super suit down.
"Hey you. What's with the glassware, and what's that smell?" Peter asked.
"The smell is chicken cordon bleu and mixed vegetables from the on call kitchen. The champagne is because we're, more specifically, I'm celebrating." Felicia explained with a smile.
"What?"
"I got a new job!"
Peter stated at her for a second before smiling. She may not have told him that she was looking for a new job, but peter had full belief in her that the decision was a smart one. He would support the move.
"Congratulations. What is it? Who're you working for?" Peter asked with genuine enthusiasm.
"I going to work as an insurance investigator of Corporate and Estates Insurance. You know, looking into accidents, thefts, and trying to either recover lost assets, or detect fraud. Should be exciting." Felicia said in a rapid and excited manner.
"Sounds like a good thing for you. An exciting job filled with money, and bad guys."
Felicia set down the bottle and glasses on a nearby table. A quick 'POP' sounded and the carbonation rushed out of the bottle, which was captured by a white linen napkin wrapped around the neck. She poured the golden liquid into the classy containers and handed one to her boyfriend.
"Indeed it shall. Now we get to have a nice night to ourselves, and then we can…continue what we started this morning." She stated as she then took a small sip of the adult beverage.
Peter, suddenly very thirsty, took a slightly larger than sensible gulp. "Why…uh…why don't we have dinner?" Peter suggested.
"Good idea. We can finish what we started sooner." Felicia said turning around and practically prancing into the dining room. Peter took another gulp and followed her.
The dining room was romantically lit. Two candles and soft incandescent lighting basked the room in a soft golden glow. The table was covered in a white table cloth, and simple, but expensive, china and silverware set the stage for a masterfully crafted meal. Peter quickly scooted over to the table and pulled out the chair for Felicia to sit down.
"I'll thank you properly later." Felicia said.
Peter stumbled walking over to his chair. "Ummm, you're welcome." Peter said.
Peter sat down, set down the champagne flute, and picked up the silverware. Peter's phone started to buzz in his pocket. Felicia stated at Peter with an amused expression as he pulled it out. The distraction from dinner was most unwelcome as he pulled up a notification from the DB!, the hip new name for the Daily Bugle.
"What's so important that you need to check your phone while we're celebrating?" Felicia teased.
"Oh boy. Not good." Peter said in a worried tone.
"What?" Felicia said concerned, setting down her fork and knife.
"This." Peter showed her the screen of the phone and played the video that had been pulled up.
Norah Winters, a reporter for the DB! was on camera at a NYPD station. "Over the past thirty minutes, gang violence has exploded across Manhattan. The Dogs of Hell biker gang has been scene attacking members of the Rolling Sevens. If this gang on gang violence continues to escalate, it will be greater than it has been in decades. A statement by an NYPD spokesperson is that in order to head off the rapid climb in gang violence, they have already requested the help from federal agencies. They also ask that citizens be careful in there day to day activities, and to contact law enforcement for any information in order to assist in keeping the city safe. We will continue to update as we learn more." Norah explained.
"Sorry to cut dinner short, but we gotta move." Peter said getting up from the table.
"What about the food? Seems a shame to waste it." Felicia said with some disappointment.
"Trust me. If you have two slices of bread, anything can be a sandwich."
Spider-Man and Black Cat dashed across the rooftops of Manhattan to the biggest nearest fight that they heard about over the police scanner. The fight was too big for the average patrol officer, so the police set up a cordon, and were mobilizing their riot units. The hero's knew though that what was apparently a massive brawl could turn into a bloodbath at any moment. Speed was the idea for getting into the fight.
The two reached the roof top near the gang war and looked down. A mural of competing colors and noises was extremely audible, even several stories up. The blue and red flashing lights from the police cruisers, and dark blue uniforms of the police formed a solid line at one end of one block. Several hundred meters away a writhing mass of black and purple figures wailed on each other with hands, feet, and blunt instruments. From up top, the hero's knew that the riot police wouldn't be able to end this peacefully.
"C'mon Cat. Stick together. Subdue them as fast as you can." Spider-Man said and jumped down.
Spider-Man shot out a webline above the clash, and used his momentum to swing kick the first goon. Black Cat landed by pile driving the next guy into the ground. The two immediately drew the attention of a couple of the fighting men in the crowd. The display of acrobatic violence that quickly defeated two criminals tended to have a shock and awe effect. But that didn't last long. Each of the bikers and gangsters in striking distance launched their own attack at the vigilantes.
Spider-Man used his speed to attack faster and harder. His swift uppercut was faster than the lazy haymaker, and the gangster was knocked to the ground. He quickly webbed the man's torso to the ground to keep him from fighting. He then pivoted to see how Black Cat was faring. Black Cat had decided to do a high spin kick to knock her opponent out.
Spider-Man and Black Cat went back to back and assumed defensive stances. They parried and counter attacked, making sure that they didn't let anyone attack their partner. Incoming punch, redirect, strike. Incoming kick, grab leg, twist ankle, and sweep kick. The whole plan was to whittle away at the mass, because with the police barricade, there was no way for them to escape. So all the hero's had to do was out last the criminals.
"Comin through." Came a loud voice as a massive man in a purple jack charged through the crowd.
"Cat. Dodge." Spider-Man said jumping away.
Black Cat turned to look for the best place to move, but that split second took too long and she was carried though the crowd away from Spider-Man.
"CAT!" he yelled.
"Too bad." Came the voice of a large Dogs of Hell biker. "If you're looking for a person in leather though, I'll dance." The man was over six feet tall and clearly overweight. The vest he was wearing was XXL, and shirt he was wearing underneath had spit stains from dipping tobacco on the chest. The helmet on his head bore the logo of the DoH.
"Dude. You are the very last person I ever want to see in skin tight leather." Spider man said with disgust.
"How 'bout I show you something else?"
"But what about the children?" Spider-man said sarcastically.
"Not what I'm talking about." The main said and charged at Spider-Man. He ducked his head down to build up more speed.
Spider-Man jumped up with super human agility. He flipped in mid-air and came down on the biker's head. He wrapped his legs around the man's head and began to pound on the helmet. The armored knuckles of his gloves kept him from hurting his hand. This was all just a distraction as Spider-Man wrapped his thighs tighter around the man's neck in a triangle choke.
Seconds later the big biker fell to his knees, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Spider-Man stood up on his feet and looked around. Six more bikers and gangsters circled around him. One of the bikers had a pipe in his hand.
"You guys want to give up yet?" Spider-Man asked, trying to be kind. Some of the criminals readied their fists, rolled their shoulders, one of the bikers cracked his neck in a macho fashion. "So be it."
He shot out a webline at the pipe, firmly securing it. The hero then pulled the pipe from the bikers grasp and started to swing it like a medieval mace. The metal object flew through the air, hitting various body parts. Spider-Man swung the makeshift weapon so fast it created a blur in the radius it occupied. Seconds later the goons were on the ground.
Now that he had some breathing room, Spider-Man checked to find where Black Cat was in the crowd.
Black Cat had been tackled before, and by guys who were far bigger and stronger. The initial impact of being lifted off your feet and carried and unknown distance was still a surprise though. The purple clad gangster slammed her into the ground.
"Hey there pretty lady." The man said. "Bet you like me on top."
"I prefer that position." She responded venomously. She hooked her leg around his and proceeded to rollover the top of the man. From this position she sprayed a small cloud of knockout gas in his face. The man passed out almost immediately. It was a useful trick to have.
Some more gangster congregated around her. Black Cat could fight two or three guys at a time, but this was crazy. She pulled smoke grenade from her belt and dropped it. The air quickly filled with gas, hiding her from anyone right in front of her. She spotted and arm trying to wave away the smoke. From the angle she could see that it was the person's left arm, giving her an idea of their position, so she reached out and pulled him in, while launching a palm strike at the man's jaw, knocking him out.
A few more people wandered in and Black Cat dealt with them the same fashion. People learned though and stopped approaching her, waiting for the smoke to clear. A series of loud thumps and impacts and well as a sickly cracking sound.
"CAT! I took care of them!" Came the voice of Spider-Man.
Black Cat came out of her concealment. Spider-Man had a unconscious biker over his shoulder. "What's with the passenger?" She asked.
"Gonna need some information. C'mon. Just heard over the scanner that the riot team is on its way." Spider-Man lift his arm up and shot and webline and pulled away from the ground.
A quick questioning of the biker revealed that he was just a pledge member from New Jersey. The whole fight had been amongst lower ranking member from both gangs. The pledge also revealed that the Dogs of Hell weren't going to roll over for their enemy. Spider-Man and Black Cat were now standing on a rooftop considering their options after hanging the biker from a street lamp.
"What's the next move?" Black Cat asked.
"Normally I would go straight to the top and hit the bad guys, or go after whatever bit or bob the two groups were fighting about. The problem is I've never had to deal with a gang war like this before." Spider-Man explained.
"Still need to know the next move. If we only respond to these fights, they are gonna get out of hand." Felicia explained.
"I know…I'm gonna make a call." Spider-Man said pulling out his Avengers ID card.
"To who?"
"Someone who knows how to fight a war."
The card opened up a video link.
"Agent Venom." Came the tired voice of the Secret Avenger.
"Venom. It's Spider-Man. I could use some advice."
AN: So after the less than stellar attempt at my Agent Venom story, I've decided to roll him into my Spider-Man story. Maybe he'll get another eventually, but for now, he's been moved to a background character for this arc.
