The Sensational Scarlet Spider.
Chapter Six: Partners.
"Here." Felicia tosses a fancy suit my way and I catch it, the material way too expensive even for me. I shimmy on the dress shirt and dress pants. The shoes are too big for me. I hope I don't slip. I get on the suit coat and try to button it. Felicia's nearby, but I don't need to look. Once I got that done, there's a tap on my shoulder.
"Turn around." Felicia says and I turn, seeing her in a black dress, hair sweeping down her back as a wave of snow in an avalanche. Her blue eyes gleam and she caresses my cheek with a smooth hand. She snags a comb from a gaudy handbag worth more than my apartment and yanks it through my sloppy mask headed hair. She flattens it as thoroughly as she can, and with a smile she plants a soothing kiss on my lips as we jog over into the line, an invitation in her hand. I stay there blushing heavily at the peck. How tender it was. She turns to watch me, skirt billowing.
"Okay, cover story, you're my boyfriend and I'm here representing my dad. Let me do the talking and DON'T go off on your own, okay?" She draws me close with her hands on my cheeks.
"I want to make sure you're safe at your first serious party." She presses another kiss to my forehead.
My cheeks warm as she hugs my arm, though. Felicia's acting, but this is just right. I try to keep my hair out of my way. We stride forward and she holds out the invitation, smirking with an enthralling elegance to her gait and assurance through the roof..
The bouncers are massive, "Miss Hardy." one of them drawls, his skull shaped kinda similar to a hammer's bulbed end. He bows his head, "Go on ahead with Mister ah…"
"Reilly!" I blurt, "Mister Reilly."
"Got it." the bouncer waves us through, "Have fun."
I sigh and Felicia smiles at me, "Nice catch, Spider."
"Gee, it seems I'm good at thinking on my toes." I huff and follow her into the ballroom on this yhact. It's wide, bigger than what I thought a yacht could hold. Fancy with food towards the window and a lively symphony playing the smooth tones of Fly me to the Moon. Felicia grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor, dancing to the music with me, sweeping me through the room, her hand running through pockets and purses. Gems, watches, an errant bill here and there. All I could think about was her happy smile.
Draped in baubles, marked with gold, framed by her platinum blonde hair. She laughs warm and sweet, leading me close with the most gleeful smile I've ever seen on her face. She robbed them blind! How cool is that?! She packs her handbag full of the riches, and winks at me.
"Thanks," she grins and I wander off to eat some food. Of course I stay in her sightline. If anything goes wrong, web up and move out. The food is absolutely killer and I practically pack my plate full of it.
The phrase 'Eat the Rich' has an entirely different meaning to me now, now it's just 'Eat from the Rich.' I eat all kinds of fancy stuff, ignoring the drinks. Deep down I never wanted this night to end. Felicia and I… We'd probably end up crashing and burning, but just pretending sucks. I'm nowhere near as rich as her, or skilled as her. But still I don't care. Born weak, raised to be strong, gonna die weak. But fuck that noise. I'm gonna take this as far as I can go.
For my Dad.
I see a man in a gray and black suit, pale as marble and red eyes locked on me as I sip at a root beer. His hair is white too. He's got the body of a solid wall. My Spider Sense prickles and I tense slightly. When he walks over, I act naturally. Quickly going back to normal. My sense still lightly prickles. The man settles next to me. He's massive. Tall and imposing but he sits so normally.
"First time?" he asks.
"Yeah." I state.
"Gotcha," he nods and holds out a pale hand, "L. Thompson Lincoln."
I take it, it's cool and rough, "Ben Reilly." We shake hands and he turns back to the bar front as I take a sip of my soda.
"You're pretty young to be at one'a these." he breaks the silence and I fall right back to the normal excuse. Almost as easily as I relax.
"I'm here with my girlfriend." he nods and faces the front again. For a mafia guy he sure is shy. That or watching for something.
"Hm." he grunts, "Figured I'd bend your ear about something, Ben."
"What?" I wonder as he rests a cool, rough paw on my shoulder. Consuming it in weight. He smiles down at me with sharp, almost filed teeth. It's like he sharpened them to look terrifying.
"I know you're new at this. So listen a bit to what Uncle Tombstone has to say." he growls just a little. His voice is smooth but thick, grave with the slight rusty rumble of a mausoleum door. He's the grim reaper and I'm a little spider boy in a suit way too big and way too expensive.
"You should quit this." he says, his smile dropping, "It ain't suited for a kid like you."
"I got something to do." I almost say, but I hold it back because I don't want to reveal what I was after and Mr. Lincoln probably already knew by how apologetic he looks about it.
"I understand what it's like to be alone an' ostracized. Bein' who I am with the covering I've got." he says with an almost understanding tone in his voice, "You're glass, kid. A lotta these guys will snap ya like a twig."
"Decent kids like you'll turn out dead, so I'm just gonna say this, if you push hard enough…" his grip on my shoulder tightens lightly and there's a dull pain.
"You'll end up a stain, past tense." he snarls with that same overly dulcet and grave rumble tone. I resist the urge to gulp and show fear. I can't. Not now and never again. He's right here and I can probably take him!
"You're a decent kid, just like your daddy." he pats me on the head, ruffling my hair, "Hope to see you around, Parker."
Dad knew him.
Dad KNEW him.
My heart sinks like a stone and all I want to do is puke out my food. Felicia notices my discomfort and takes me outside to get some air, also to get outta here. She got enough jewels and valuables to give back to people. At least that's what she told me. There's a sleek black jet-ski waiting as she leaps off and lands on it, I follow and hug her middle. All I want to do is get the hell away from here. I stared into the eyes of the man who might've ordered Dad's death.
All I wanted to do was go home.
She slings around, taking me not towards my home or her home, but to a rather fancy high rise and landing at the balcony. I let myself down and she walks over to the door, putting in a code on the keypad nearby, she opens it and gestures with her hand.
"Ta-da!" she sings, "Our humble little home away from our homes!"
"Wait, you got this for us?" I ask, "Isn't this…"
"Exciting? Yeah. Expensive? Not much when your Dad is the second richest man in the world behind Tony Stark. Just for us? Yep." stretches as I toss my suit jacket on the couch.
I look around the rather spacious living room with the massive flatscreen TV and open concept kitchen with literally everything I doubt we'd use, but it's there, so just in case. I sigh and undo my tie and shirt, feeling hot. Not in the look's way but in the way one gets when there's a problem. I sigh again. Felicia pads by without her heels on and kneels, hugging me and laying her chin on my shoulder.
"Awful night?" she looks at me with a sympathy in her eyes, "I've never seen you more scared." She sees my shuddering.
"Lincoln knew him, knew my Dad…" I breathe. "I… I can't let that go, Felicia."
She doesn't move, "Jacky, you're gonna be okay. Just… just let it out." I tackle her onto the couch and sob, burying my face into her chest. It was terrifying. Staring a man so close to the ones who killed my father, murdered him in cold blood without a care in the world really put a damper on the evening.
Felicia holds me, letting me cry, "There we go… there we go… that's the ticket…"
"Hhh… hhh…" I groan.
She turns on the TV and queues up Star Wars: A New Hope. I watch with a watery smile. She gets up but I cling to her.
"No, don't go." I whine.
"I'm just getting some popcorn ready, Jack." She smooths my raggedy looking hair and walks over to the kitchen. I turn back to watch the screen, with my phone going off with Twist by Korn, meaning that Mom is calling me.
I web it in my hand and catch it. Answering as quickly as I could, "Hey!" I yelp.
"Hey hon! What are you up to?" she asks.
"Oh nothing, me and Felicia are gonna watch Star Wars together! We got popcorn and everything! I'll uh… I'll be home in the morning!" I squeak.
"Wait, honey. Back up." she soothes, "Are you sure you're okay? Is she forcing you into something like this?"
"No. Felicia's not like that, Mom." I state.
"Well, you two DID ditch that one day." She huffs, "I just want you to be careful, girls like her might end up hurting you in the end."
I look back at Felicia in the kitchen still making the Popcorn. I sigh and continue with a hushed tone, "Mom, I know you don't want me making mistakes."
"Yes, exactly. Felicia's leading you into that world and I want you to run away from it!" Mom exclaims, "I know we lost your father, but you don't need to go out and get yourself hurt to bring whoever did it to justice."
"Mom, this… this isn't about that."
"Then what is it about, Jack?" Mom wonders.
"Well, I wanna help people. With my powers I could really make a difference!" I exclaim, "And well, I think I did tonight, actually!"
"How?" she asks.
"Well, I found out that Felicia enjoys stealing from rich blowhards…" Is what I wanted to say but then I saved myself, "Well, I stopped a robbery by a guy who had weird boombox gauntlets. Also, a few bike robberies, helped an old lady get directions, and stopped a few crashes."
"Still, it's nothing like what the other Spiders had to go through, I mean…" Mom trails off, "Wait yeah they were in wars."
"Is there a war, Mom?" I ask.
"No, despite that, the whole Shocker guy has me worried that there's a lot more out there than just him. I'll uh… see you in the morning, baby."
"Alright! Love you! Have a good night!" I quickly yell, getting it out and hanging up. Felicia comes out of the kitchen with the popcorn bowl in her arms. She smiles and settles in next to me.
"So, what was that about?" she asks.
"That was my mom, she wanted to talk about how she doesn't trust you and how I'm gonna make mistakes that drag me into the same world as you." I admit as I stuff some popcorn in my mouth.
Felicia watches the screen, hand going into the bowl and taking some popcorn as well. She munches thoughtfully, "Well, if you want my two cents on it? It's natural for our parents to freak out about us being costumed vigilantes."
"Right, right…" I sigh, "Besides, I know I'm not the greatest with my powers."
Felicia cocks her head at that, "How do you know that, Jack?"
"Well, I mean… not yet but considering there are guys WORSE than the Shocker out there and one of them is basically a big guy who sounds like he gargled pure marble and I just faced the worst feeling I've ever had in my life." I ramble, getting some popcorn tossed into my mouth for my trouble.
"Shusha." she shoves more popcorn my way and I take it with a huff, shoving more of it in.
"I know you're frustrated, but hey… tomorrow's Saturday! We can go out patrolling together!" Felicia grabs my shoulders with a big smile on her face, "I mean, if you want to."
"I'd love that!" I laugh, "Now, onto wat-" she cuts me off with a kiss. My cheeks heat as Leia and Luke swing across the chasm. I turn back to watch the screen and Felicia giggles at my face.
"You're cute, you know that?" she coos, "I think you're gonna like this…" she leans against me with a sweet as sugar smile. As we wrap up the movie she takes my hand and leads me towards a bedroom.
"While not exactly normal, I just kinda thought of this." She turns on the light and I see it. There's only one bedroom in this entire layout. One Bedroom, One Bath. they meant it for her but I couldn't help but think about how bad this might look to someone. Although I'm not sure anyone would care either way. She lays down and watches me with a small smile. I settle in next to her and she pulls the sheets back, pulling it over us. I huddle close and she hugs me.
"Night, Jack." she says.
"Goodnight, Felicia," I state, stiffening at the fact she practically engulfs me. What if she accidentally smothers me?! I'm at least five feet tall! My Cerebral Palsy stunted my growth! She sleeps peacefully and I roll back over, reaching out. 'No, what am I thinking? She's not into me. She just used me on that boat earlier. I'm not strong, I'm not even able to save anyone. All I've done is run away and hide and do small things. Do I really want to hold back?' I reluctantly embrace Felicia and close my eyes.
I shouldn't really worry.
I get my suit on in the morning, chowing down on some cereal I found. Heading out and sliding on my mask. The city below me and the morning air are crisp and noisy. I promised Mom I'd be back today. So I get ready to sling off into the wild blue yonder when Felicia whisks up behind me, looming and hugging me from behind.
"Where are you off to, Jack?" she giggles.
"I uh… promised my Mom I'd be home…" I mumble as she slides up my mask, but before she could kiss me my Spider Sense goes off, a huge Wheel comes bursting out of nowhere, tearing up the road below us.
It's golden and has guns firing at the cars still parked on the road. It turns and trundles up a wall and Felicia looks up at it. The dread on her face almost funny if it wasn't from something so stupid.
"Ah fuck…" she sighs.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Not it. Who. An ex of mine." she huffs and gets on the rest of her gear. I spring into action and run along the buildings, arms pumping in tandem, making a quad dash for the Big Wheel. His guns roar as I dodge and weave through the shots.
Once I was on the side of the wheel I looked through the tiny side window, "HEY! YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE SPEED LIMIT!" I yell.
"WHAT?!" the driver yells back.
"I SAID- you know what, screw it, BREACH!" My fist thuds on the glass, spider webbing it, "OW!" Not my smartest move but it DID freak out the driver badly enough to slow down. Or flick me off of him like a nasty tick. I take a tumble and skid back, dodging more shots with a few of them just seconds away from grazing me.
"So what's your deal? Admired KillDozer? Maybe wanted revenge for some pay docking? I mean, it's gotta be something!" I yell, dodging the wheel and jogging on top of it, "Whoa! Pirates!"
I hum 'He's a Pirate as I bound off the wheel and onto a building, the Wheel getting ready to run me down again, but before it could rumble towards me an EMP goes off, making it shudder but still speed towards me. I leap towards it and grab one of its gun arms midair.
"Alright… ONE… TWO…" I chuck it into the air and web up a net to stick it into, spying Felicia and seeing her dash closer. I tear open the cockpit and grab the driver.
"Okay, Herbie Fully Loaded, let's see why yer doing what you're…"
He shoves me off him and storms over to Felicia, "You!" he exclaims, getting into her face, "Gimme my money!"
"Your money? You mean the money you used to…"
"Shut up!" he snaps, "Because of you I'm flat broke!"
"So you made this big wheel?" I cock my head at that and he glares daggers at me. He's wearing what looks to me like a really fancy racing outfit like someone from NASCAR would wear.
"NO! I didn't MAKE IT. My Dad did!" he screams, almost looking like he'd throw a tantrum he whips back around to Felicia, "I was going to… to get it back from you!"
Felicia thinks on it, "Oof, nope, sorry. Can't recall where I put it." she shrugs with a shake of her head, "Still, Wheelie… I did enjoy all those racing cars."
Big Wheel snarls and my Spider Sense goes off. Before he could even fully pull the gun out I had him on the ground, my hand gripping his neck.
"Put. The gun. Down." I snarl, "You already caused enough property damage, and wrecked about ten cars tearing up a city block. Also, apologize to Cat, right now!"
"Oh wow… she's got you too?" he groans.
"What does that have to do with you trying to hurt innocent people?!" I yell, webbing him before he could snap back.
Felicia watches me carefully, "Spider?" she asks.
"I'm going home." I state, webslinging off as she grapples the other way. Something about this doesn't seem right. She had more boyfriends than just me. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but she robbed people last night and I was too rosy to see how bad it was.
I land outside my room and slide open the window, opening it and taking off my suit. Putting on some new clothes and sighing. Mom comes in with a concerned look on her face.
"Jack? Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yeah, just…" I clap my hands over my face and groan through them, "Why the fuck does it have to be complicated?"
"What is?" Mom sits on my bed and pats the empty side. I hop up on it.
"So… me and Felicia did have a little sleepover, right?" I start, "And the next thing I know there's this big ol' wheel outside with guns and all that, and I fight it, and then lo and behold the pilot is an ex she drained money from!"
Mom nods, "I see…"
She wraps an arm around my shoulders, "Well, if you really love Felicia I think you need to talk with her about it,"
"Still! There's something off about all of this. Methane Sea goes missing, then I run into the Black Cat and she's all hot and junk and I dunno what to do and-" Mom cuts me off with a hug.
"Honey, what you need is a break. Go hang out with Eddie or that nice girl from Drama class, Wanda. Enjoy your weekend, just… be a teen, please."
She takes my suit from my floor, "Until Sunday evening, I'm taking this. No Spidering."
"Okay…" I reluctantly hold back from snatching it, "Wait, how do you know about-"
"Oh! Well, her brother sprained his ankle, and well, I got to meet her and we talked a little bit about you…" she slipped me a piece of paper with a number on it, winking.
"Mama's got your back, Jack." she turns to leave, shutting the door, and I look down at the number. I put it into my contacts and hesitate a little. Should I really call Wanda or just fall back on calling Eddie?
I press on the call button and it rings a bit, before picking up.
"Hello?" Wanda asks.
"Oh! Wanda, hi!" I yelp, "Uhh… are you…"
"Doing anything today? No. Other than watching my Grandfather trying to take care of my stir crazy brother…" she sighs, "Why?"
"Well uh… I was wondering if you would wanna hang out? I was gonna call Eddie too, see if he wanted to hang out too…" I sweat a little in nervousness but Wanda let it lie in a second.
"Sure! Without Eddie." she says, "He's fun, but I'd like to get to know you without him orbiting you."
I flinch, 'She's so honest…'
"Okay! Uh… are you… coming over or should I come over or…" I babble.
"I'll come over." she decides, with a little smile in her voice, "See you around lunch, Jack."
"Cool! See ya!" I exclaim, pumping my fist a little. I was so excited I totally forgot the whole Felicia thing. Ah well…
We'll handle it.
A.N: Okay, sixth chapter done! What do you guys think so far? Do you enjoy this? The characters? The story? My choice in second villain being Big Wheel? Now onto a review that I neglected to answer when I got it. (So sorry!)
Godofwar01 chapter 2 . Sep 20
I don't know if you read these but for his outfit are you using the original scarlet spider suit then the kaine Parker suit or just going into the red and black suit?
Now for this I want to say that Jack's Scarlet Spider Suit V1 is basically the Reilly Suit. Kaine's red and black is not going to make an appearance in this fic. Now when it comes to suits I want them to fit Jack at the moment. As of right now he's still getting the hang of the whole Scarlet Spider business and doesn't exactly have much access to higher quality material.
Next time on the Sensational Scarlet Spider:
Will Jack and Wanda's Hangout go well? Will Jack find out more about Felicia's shady past? What happened to Ben on the night of his murder?! What's the deal with Tombstone?! And who in their right mind thought Big Wheel was a good idea?!
Some of these questions and more will be answered in the next daring chapter of...
The Sensational Scarlet Spider!
See all of you lovely readers then! Toodle-loo!
