Chapter One
Jennifer Andrews began her day like any other: with a smile. She was entangled in the arms of her husband, Walter, his strong features and wavy black hair was a welcome sight to wake to. She pulled away from his warm embrace, tempting as it was to stay, and rose from the covers of her bed, the blankets slipping down her long and slender body.
"Do you really have to go to work today?" Walter asked, knowing full well the answer, but inquiring all the same, if only to stroke her ego. "I'll make breakfast."
"Sorry, baby." Jennifer replied, composing herself and heading for the bathroom. She began to tie her long auburn hair into a knot, "They don't pay me the big bucks to stay home and play with my hubby all day."
Walter grinned in a rather sly manner to himself and clicked his tongue. "Well they should, you do such a good job."
Working the knobs, Jennifer started up a shower, "Tell me about it." She responded playfully. She outstretched every extremity of her body and took in a nice long yawn. As the steam began to fill up the bathroom she rubbed her nose-bridge where her glasses usually lay. "Listen, my sister's dropping by later to pick up her jacket. Are you going to be in, say around six?"
"Six?" Walter asked, "Yeah, sure." He crept up from bed like a predator and silently snuck into the bathroom where his wife stood just outside the shower door. Walter wrapped his arms around her and tightened his hold.
"Walter!" Jennifer chided, "I need to get to work!" He began to kiss her shoulder, clearly wrapped up in the moment, driven by primal urges. "No! I can't be late again!"
Her husband chuckled and ever so confidently said, "But the shower's already running…Listen, don't worry, I'm sure the country will keep going on just alright. Even if you're a few minutes late."
--
I swear you'll be the death of me. Oh Alright.
Jennifer sat crunched into her seat on the subway. The train rocked gently back and forth. She could swear the guy next to her was bumping his leg against hers. A smirk crept across her face as she imagined stomping on his foot. The smirk suddenly vanished and she adjusted her glasses.
This was the Jennifer Andrews that the world was presented with. A sheepish quiet woman who seemed destined to go down in the annals of obscurity, if that much. She worked in a government lab along with a bevy of others. Though she was highly intelligent and skilled, she would never be recognized for this, instead being looked at as merely one cog in a machine of hundreds.
Walter made her feel…different, more alive. The subway car suddenly rocked a bit harder, the brakes were applied and the train seemed to slow down. Over the P.A. the conductor called in, "I'm sorry, we're having some trouble on the rail."
Oh great. Jennifer's shoulders slumped. Her neighbor bumped his leg into her again and she crunched in further. Great, I'm going to be even later. Its probably some stray dog on the tracks.
--
"Spider-Man!" That ever so memorable reptilian voice hissed, stressing the s's as was his nature. "You would have done well to leave me be. I was hidden in the shadows, away from humanity, down here in the dark. But you couldn't leave me be? And now you'll pay for it with your life." The speaker in question is doctor Curt Connors, better known to the city as the Lizard, and wrapped in his tail, having the life slowly squeezed out of him is Peter Parker, otherwise called the amazing Spider-Man!
Peter strained against the Lizard's grasp, "Of course. You just want to be left alone, and then you'd be a nice and content mad scientist. And I guess those three straphangers you killed last week were accidents." Can't take much more of this. He's angrier than usual. Mental note: Talk to Lizzy about reading Dr. Phil's new book.
"They invaded my territory!" The Lizard responded righteously, "You humans shouldn't be so deep in the dark. Especially, someone as fragile as you." Managing the closest his warped face could come to a smile, he tightened his hold, "You're tiring, Spider-Man, I admit I'm a little disappointed, I thought it would be harder after all of the trouble you've caused for me."
"Jeez, Liz, don't you have any dialogue…uff…that's not a cliché?" Peter extended his wrist and fired off two web-lines that connected to the ceiling of the subway tunnel. He pulled sending both him and the Lizard into the reinforced concrete with such force that their imprints could clearly be seen. Slabs of debris crashed down with the two combatants.
The Lizard was dazed for a moment, everything seemed to be divided into sets of three. The Connors' aspect of his mind knew he had a concussion, that it was time to call in the towel. But the Lizard would never allow it. Fortunately, Spider-Man had other plans. Via quick use of webbing, a stray chunk of concrete smashed against the Lizard's skull knocking him out for good. This fight was over.
Peter exhaled deeply and bent over. The police clambered down the tunnel, their lights piercing the stuffing darkness. "Its okay guys. He tripped on his shoe laces!" Another deep breath. I think I've got a concussion, head hasn't stopped spinning.
The first policemen lay his eyes on the vanquished Lizard. "Good work."
"Don't mention it. Now when we wakes up tell him all about that new Dr. Phil book and how it can change his life. I've already given a copy to Doc Ock and let me tell you, he sent me the nicest card last Christmas."
--
"Thank you for your patience." The conductor stated, despite the fact that the demeanor of the commuters was far from anything resembling that.
With a quick look at her wrist-watch, Jennifer shook her head in dismay. There the puppy is off the rail, I hope everyone's happy.