The Sensational Scarlet Spider.
Chapter 7: The Wider World.
I clean my room, hurrying this way and that, trying to straighten things up for Wanda. Of course she might wanna see it, so I go crazy just cleaning it. Clothes in the hamper, Legos in places where she can't step on them just in case she takes off her shoes. Stuff like that. With Eddie, it's always different because he wouldn't exactly care about how clean it was. Only that he was here. I mop and sweep, making sure everything was in order. There's the doorbell and I rush towards the door.
"Hold up a sec!" I call and yank on my braces and shoes with a few well timed web slings. When I get to the door, I peep through the peephole and see her on the other side. I open the door and she's wearing her usual red jacket and a black shirt underneath it.
"Hello." she greets, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'm ready to go." I lock the door behind me and head out with her into the day. There's something relaxing about not having to be the Spider. Wanda and I walk somewhat close to each other.
She looks at me and I smile, "So, where are you from?" I ask, "You have an accent and… all that."
"Serbia." she answers with a soft giggle, "What? Did you think I'd be offended about that, Jack?"
"No, no, it's just your brother always seems like the kinda guy to bite heads off…" I mumble and she laughs aloud.
"Pietro? You're worried about him?" she grabs my hand with her own, "Believe me, Jack, he's not as bad as you think. He's a little too overbearing…" she tugs me across the road, almost like she's with her brother.
Sometimes I doubt my decision of falling for Felicia so fast. This is one of those times. Wanda took me by the hand and all I could think of is how calming she is. How gently she whisks me along with her like no one's business.
In a lot of ways she's the opposite of Felicia. Calm, polite, and with a mischievous side to her that's weirdly magnetic. We come to a stop right before Central Park. Somehow making it there by a few steps.
"Did we…?" I start with Wanda squeezing my hand.
"Don't worry about it." she says, winking. I sigh and shake my head.
"One of these days that's gonna need a better excuse, Wanda." I follow her and we get to a hot dog stand.
I make a kind of grossed out face, "I don't exactly like hot dogs…"
"Why not? Scared of a meaty cylinder?" Wanda taunts with an almost smug smile on her face.
"Okay, get me one… I'm not a New Yorker if I don't eat one." she hands it over and I try to lift it to my mouth but I jerk away from it like it burned me, almost tossing it if it wasn't for my other hand coming in to catch it.
My Spider Sense tingles and I try it again, almost dancing around trying to eat it. Whirling and trying to bite chunks out of it but failing and catching it yet again. Wanda watches me almost with an impressed astonishment. That is until I finally managed to get one quarter of the frank in my mouth. I bite down and catch it with my free hand. I grind it down and try not to taste too much of it. Wanda begins clapping and cheering.
"Good job! Finally breaking him in!" she hoots and I roll my eyes, scarfing down the rest of it just to show her I was over it. She and I walk on through the park.
A loud cacophony of car horns break our peaceful little walk. Along with a chorus of heys and holy shits, and fuck yous as well. That wasn't what Wanda and I saw though. We see the traffic jam sure, but what's causing it is only out of a sideshow attraction. A massive guy who looks like a literal wall is sitting calmly, legs bunched, blocky arms tenting his cubed knees in the middle of a busy intersection, shuffling along with whatever he's staring at. There's a soft quacking and Wanda notices the sound.
"Awww…" she coos.
There's a bunch of ducklings following their mother, and the brick statue notices us. He stands up when we walk over. He hunches over them protectively, his red brick skin bright in the sunlight and his dark eyes glaring at me and Wanda, burning holes into our hearts.
"Move." he states, "Ducks crossing." his voice sounds like bricks and mortar. Like how he's made of it and all that. Not that hard to imagine it really.
I smile and kneel a little to look at his eyes, "Yeah, I know. But you're holding up traffic, big guy."
"Tired… of seeing 'em run over…" he rumbles softly, "So I watch 'em." His eyes go right back to watching the ducks, the citizens getting more and more ornery the more we sit here and talk. With a chorus of "GET MOVINGS!" starting to bubble up.
Wanda nods, "How about I help them across? Would you like that?" she asks.
"Sure…" The Wall grumbles, "Be careful with 'em…"
Wanda uses a little bit of her talent as I ward off the drivers until we can get the ducks over to the park. The Wall looks at us with an almost kind expression on his brick-like face. He reminds me of a golem. Well, more than just a golem. More like a statue. He marches over to the pond as the mother duck and her babies go into the pond. He smiles and waves after them with a slow motion to his hand. He's very childish in a way.
"Bye bye…" he rumbles, turning to us, "Thanks ya, Name's… John."
"I'm Jack," I say, patting his arm, "Jack Parker."
"Jack… Parker… Hm. Okay." he turns to Wanda with the same grin.
"I'm Wanda Maximoff, Mr. John." she says, nodding as we watch the ducks swim around with the big guy. He watches them almost with an amazed expression. Poor guy must've gotten his powers in a bad way.
"Duckies." he states, "Gonna watch 'em."
"Alright, if you need anything, Wanda and I will be around, you just say-"
"Jackie and Wandie!" he exclaims.
"Exactly!" I exclaim, "We'll be around!"
The Wall waves us off as we walk away. Wanda looks at me with a slight smile. I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment. Of course that was off the cuff and mostly something I learned from talking to some of Mom's patients.
"It was nothing, okay?" I say, "Just something I picked up from my Mom."
"It's admirable that you avoided conflict with him though. I almost let go of a few of the ducklings." she giggles but we walk in silence, hands brushing against each other on the comedown.
My cheeks heat up and she grabs her wrist with her other hand.
"Hey uh… Wanda?" I blurt.
"Yes, Jack?" she answers, almost as red as I am. We both stare at each other. Both of us trying to find words to say or anything like that. All I can do is pretty much stare into her greenish blue eyes and get struck dumb.
"I… I uh… really had ah… uhm. A nice time." I mumble, shoving my hands into my battle vest pockets. Wanda grins.
"I did too, Jack." she nods and walks a little closer, pecking me on the cheek, "I'll see you at school!"
She hurries off and I touch my cheek where she kissed it. First Felicia and now Wanda. How many more girls will the world throw at me? I see Wanda growing smaller and smaller, a slight crimson aura building around her.
Maybe she's got something to hide? It wouldn't be that quick. Maybe she's just processing something else. I sigh and begin the long walk back to my home. I really need something to take my mind off of things for a bit. My melodrama of a life is really gonna start kicking off and I need a break.
'Twas not meant to be because suddenly my phone rings from a number I was surprised to see. Felicia's name pops up on screen and I just ignore it. But the weird feeling of watching comes over me again. Like someone somewhere is using me for free entertainment. Or maybe studying me. The strange feeling still comes over me. It grows and grows until my hand lashes out and my webbing sticks the person's hand to the wall.
There she is, Felicia cuts herself free, "Sheesh, jumpy much?"
"Felicia, were you-?"
"Yeah, I was. You and Wanda are getting really chummy…" she huffs.
"I thought we weren't a thing!" I sputter, "I mean… you were acting that night on the yacht! I didn't take it seriously!"
"I know." Felicia states, "Just… you're really, really vulnerable."
I clench my hands into fists, "Sounds to me like you're jealous, Miss Hardy!"
Felicia almost looks shocked, "Me? Jealous? No. It's… well, I feel like we're close friends and all that."
"You've been sending me mixed signals, Felicia…" I sigh, "So what do you feel about me?"
Felicia sits down with a sigh, "Well… it's just… Jack, you're a good guy. I like you 'cause you have that kinda… hero quality?"
"Uh huh." I nod, "And that makes us…?"
"I mean… would you want to?" she asks, "Eddie and Gwen are going to Coney Island and he was really gung-ho about me and you coming along. It'd be a fun afternoon, right?"
"Yeah, I'll… I'll think about it, okay?" I say with not much in the way of decision, "I'll call you."
"Okay," Felicia says, getting back up and gently setting her hand on my cheek, planting a soft kiss on my lips.
"Whatever decision you come to, you better be happy with it."
If you told me my Sunday night was going to be spent being chased down by an old man in a trenchcoat I'd probably wonder how Rorshach got out of the Watchmen comic and what the fuck did I do to piss him off? I sling madly over buildings and rooftops, something bounding after me on four spindly legs. But before I could web him down they retract and he comes flying towards me. Almost like he built up momentum.
I try to outswing him, my body firing out another web but he catches up mere seconds before I could swing. His foot lashing out. I go flying from the old man's kick, tumbling through the air like a kicked ball, my Spider Sense not kicking in at all. I dive closer and closer to a nearby building with not much stopping power. Bracing myself but then I close my eyes, trusting in my body to figure out how to land.
Reorienting myself midair, I skid to a stop on a metal roof, my soles screeching on the roof as he closes in with another kick, I just barely dodge. He presses his attack, smoothly dodging any counter I can throw at him. He's smiling.
"Oh come on! STAY STILL!" I roar, putting my all into a heavy kick into what would be his chin but he ducks and grabs my leg. Weight pulling me down towards the roof and everything rushing to the tips of my fingers and into my head.
"You really think I'd make it that easy, kid?" he tosses me away and hurtle in a loose spin landing hard on my back, and staring into the night sky. Getting a better look at the guy. He's wearing a Mets baseball cap and a dirty button down shirt with a brown trenchcoat over it. He's got no shoes on and his nails look like talons. His gray hair nestled under the cap ends with a ponytail. He looms over me with a furrowed brow and a scowl that'd make even my Dad stammer.
"You're not a real spider…" he sighs. I shoot to my feet.
"Hey! I am! I got a suit, webs, and-" he grabs me with a strand of webbing and yanks me close. His brown eyes boring holes into me. His other hand locked in the fabric of my hoodie.
"Nah. You're not, you're just a kid playing Spider." he snarls, dropping me, "Pathetic and weak just like the other one,"
I break away with a shove, my hoodie ripping. I ignore that, swaying back to my feet.
That's what ticks me off. Not the beatdown, not the cocky smarm, not my torn hoodie, it's that little comment. Rage snaps through me, hot and running through my veins. My muscles tense and my fingers dig into the roof, denting it.
All fours, every limb firing on full cylinders, no matter what. Pell-Mell, if all else fails just Hail Mary and go.
My teeth grit hard. He notices, "What, you gonna flail at me?" My body moves without even a single thought while he turns, all I want to do is lay out this guy and figure out why the hell he's following me. He turns back around and I bury my fist into his gut, he goes skidding back, hand on the roof and gasping ragged with heavy gulps. I don't let him recover all the way, closing in with a flurry of blows, right and left going at full tilt.
Swaying, bam! Bam! BAM! BAMBAMBAM! My fists thunder into him. The guy takes it but blocks my fist, trying to move me but I stick to the roof. He glances down and smirks. I just smash my head into his nose. He staggers and just when I'm about to catch him with a hook he holds his hand up.
"Time out! Time out!" he yells, "Damn kid…"
I freeze and he takes out a packet of tissues, stemming the bleeding and his dark eyes twinkle. He's smiling now.
"Welp, color me surprised," he whistles, clapping his free hand on my shoulder, "Sit with me awhile."
He pushes me down on the edge of the roof, and I barely have time to react before he's sitting next to me, stuffing tissue up his nose and laughing a little. He takes off his hat with his big goofy and bloody grin.
"Last time I took a punch like that was in 'Nam." he glances at me and I think about what he said.
'Wait, 'Nam as in… Vietnam?' I think, 'How old is this guy?'
"Why should I sit with you?" I snarl, "You attacked me."
"Yeah, 'cause I was testing if you were the real deal or not." he scoffs, "Where's your girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend?!" I spit at him, "Listen buddy, I dunno if attacking and stalking people is common where you're from but where I'm from we call that a creeper."
"Tch, yeah. It's not like I was watching ya 'cause I wanted to. You're a Spider." he says, "You got potential."
"Just earlier you said-"
"An' I was wrong. You have the potential to really spread your wings." the old spider looks at me and then back down at the city, "If you let yourself do it, that is."
I curl into a little ball, head on my knees, "I don't know." My eyes look down at the lights of the city.
He reaches over and pats my shoulder, "Then figure it out, kid. Either take the chance or stay down here."
"I don't wanna stay here!" I squeak, "But The Cat won't let me leave!"
"See, that's why I gotcha without your girlfriend around!" he hoots, "Can't have her mucking up Uncle Zeke's fun, eh?!"
"Wait… Zeke as in…" I breathe, "NO WAY!" I almost fall off the roof but he grabs me by my hood, lifting me up.
"Yeah yeah. Ezekiel Sims. War Hero and Spider-Man at'cher service." he sets me on the roof with a slight smirk, "Now, Jackson Steven Parker, Scarlet Spider…"
He dusts me off and holds up his right hand, "Will you swear to defend New York against all threats internal and external?"
"Yes!" I agree. I hold up my own right hand.
"Will you, Scarlet Spider, push yourself to the very limits of your abilities in protecting the innocent?" he continues.
"Yes!"
"Then… every other Sunday meet me here, I'll be here to teach ya all you need to know about bein' a Spider."
That's when something rips through our Spider Sense, something big. Something raging near a major road.
"Welp, it seems you got a front-row seat…" Zeke sighs, "Come on!" He dives off the building and I follow, sliding back on my mask and swinging after him. I let out a yell in joy as I flip and spin through the air like an acrobat. My Spider Sense picks up on a new challenger, I sling into action as it gets closer and closer to me. My body is so light and jittery, seeing Zeke landing and accosting a big guy in a gray armored suit with a huge horn on his head. Traffic is jammed and there's a ton of civilians around. Which is really, really super bad.
"Hey! What's with you?" I ask, "The Bronx Zoo is thataway!"
"Scarlet! Crowd control!" Zeke barks and I launch off as the Rhino guy and Zeke fight. I web up the traffic jam, keeping it contained to the area below the tracks. At this time I'm sure no trains are coming. Zeke and the Rhino duke it out.
He's got long spindly legs coming out of his back as he leaps and dodges the Rhino's charges, slamming his legs into the Rhino as I make sure the web barrier I made still stays strong.
"Everyone! For your safety, please keep away from the BIG WEB!" I holler, looking over my shoulder as Rhino throws Zeke off him and he goes crashing into the web.
"Spider Man!" I yelp, landing, "Come on, come on…" I shake him and he looks at me woozily.
"Kid, outta the way!" he yells, pushing me with his legs as Rhino slams into him, breaking the first layer of the web as Zeke's spider legs scramble up them. The Rhino tears himself out of the web and turns, flaring his nostrils and charging right for me.
"MUHHHHHBWOOOOHAAA!" Rhino roars, storming towards me., "SAY GOODNIGHT, KID ARACHNID!"
"Wait! Wait! Toro! TORO!" I screech, hearing the train coming as he charges right for the pillar I was on, I leap away and he bashes it down, rails and track boards crashing down onto the road below us, the screams of the people echoing from across the web. I hear the train coming closer and Zeke looks up at me, nodding. I get onto the part of the tracks where it got wrecked, swinging right for it. God help me if I can't stop this. Well, the train speeding right for the big hole the Rhino just knocked into it. I swing down, diving for the front of the train and landing hard on the front.
"Alright! Everyone, hang on!" I yell to the people on the inside. "I'm gonna try and stop this thing!" I look down at the whooshing track below me and back up at the hole, 'Okay Jack, you're on a time limit! What to do… Come on, use that noggin!' I land and try to manhandle the train to stop my shoes skidding and not finding any purchase on the tracks, 'I can't find a single thing to snag onto and no matter how much strength I put into it the motor is just going to overpower me!'
My mind goes haywire with thoughts of despair and the fact I couldn't stop it just by myself, 'I'm not strong enough! I'm not good enough! Someone! Anyone! Mom, Wanda, Felicia, Eddie, Zeke! Somebody help me!' The train hurtles onward and my body is still stuck to the front of it, my brain ringing with the screams and the desperate cries of the people on the train to get me to do something.
'No!' I think, 'I'm the only one who can stop it!' I rally myself and tense, "Get ready!" I call, webbing the surrounding buildings as much as I can with my webbing, my hands aching. 'If I can save them. If I can save just one person, even if everyone else… no! No, I won't just save one of them! It's all of them!' I slam hard enough into the front to dent it, holding the two lines of webbing desperately trying to get the train to slow down. My arms strain hard, my legs too, my back and my head pressed into the train, muscles straining as though they might tear to shreds, and head splitting like a jackhammer.
That's when they split into sheer, blinding pain. My muscles overstrained and my body just yelled at me to get the hell off the train. But I can't let this go. I can't ever let this go. I'd never ever forgive myself if a single person died tonight. I let out a howling scream, my eyes streaming with tears beneath my mask. My life is like a pendulum madly swinging back and forth. I didn't care one bit about this guy.
Denting more and more into the front, the train speeds pell mell towards the hole.
All I thought of was Dad and I headbanging to Metallica. All I thought of was Mom and I seeing the Smithsonian exhibit of Captain America. My friends Felicia, Wanda, and my best friend Eddie, even Harry Osborn.
They made being the Scarlet Spider possible. They all laid the groundwork. They all helped in their own ways.. And it all starts here. I'll always be here. For them. I'll be here. I hang on to the webs hearing them snap one by one, the train just barely slowing as I reach the busted out portion of the rails.
I screw my eyes shut and feel it all slow down. Screeching and creaking to a halt. My arms give out and my legs too. But I feel a few people reaching through and hoisting me up. Random people, gently laying me down on the floor of the train. My eyes refuse to open. They're too tired. But I can just feel the cool air of the outside against my face. No one speaks, no one says much, until…
"He's… a kid." the people say, sounding like a man, "Barely into highschool."
I reach up and touch my face, "My… my mask…" I mumble. A nice-looking man kneels down and looks me in the eye. He's older, leaning against a cane, hand on my shoulder.
"It's alright, Spider Man." he says. My body is too weak to really move so I kind of sit up but not really. Just barely able to look everyone in the eyes. My body feels heavy and all I want to do is lay back down.
It aches and pulls, trying to figure out how to deal with the strain.
I look over at the floor nearby, my mask sitting there dejected and a little torn up. Nothing a little sewing can't fix. I hear someone in the distance with a gravelly voice saying something about a 'red costumed vigilante stopping the train your intrepid reporter was on.'
I just wanted to go home. I'm glad everyone's okay but I just want to go home and play some video games, maybe invite Eddie over. Just be Jack for a while. At least until I fade back into nothing again. Just your humble Spider. I just want to go back to being Jack just a little longer. Let everything just blow over. But I know, I know Dad wouldn't let me give up. I still have to help. I still have to be there. I need to help them. I took my mask from the floor it rests on.
"You guys just… just sit tight." I say, "I'll see you around."
I take off barely able to keep myself straight. But I still swing back home, the same reporter getting a good shot of me. For whatever reason I still swung on. I make it home just in time for Mom to come in. I plunk down on the couch, getting the blanket over me as there's a jiggling of the keys. I almost feel like passing out. My body aches and it's tender. That rhino guy was something else. I see Mom come in with her scrubs still on.
"Honey? Are you…" she sees how tired and how wrecked my suit is.
"Oh my god, what happened?!" she gasps, "Are you hurt?! How many fingers am I holding up?! Baby, if you're bleeding, don't worry! I'll just uh… uhm." she paces around worried and looking back at me.
"Mom… mom, no…" I squeak, "No, I'm okay, really."
"Do I need to punch someone in the face?" she asks.
"No, no, you don't." I assure her, "Just… it's just kinda… I had to catch a train."
She sinks into a chair, "A train." she breathes, "Oh my god my baby can stop trains."
"Wish I could say it was easy…" I groan, "I think I won't be able to go to school for a while…"
Mom groans, then looks at me and kneels down in front of me, reaching over and petting my hair, "Okay. I'll just have Eddie bring your homework with him."
"You're not mad?" I mutter and Mom kisses me on the forehead.
"No, no… I'm just… god, Jack, I'm terrified." she admits, "I'm… so scared that I'm gonna see you swing off into the sky and then I never see you again."
"Mom…" I breathe.
"I know, I know." she huffs, holding back tears, "But think of it my way for a second, baby. I'm a nurse, I've seen some crazy and fucked up shit…"
She grabs my hand, "I don't want to see you in there, I don't even want to see them operating on you."
Mom's hand shakes lightly, "Because… because I feel like I failed. My baby… my son, my little boy is going out and fighting who knows what and going all over the city doing god knows what."
She hugs me, "Just… just be careful. Be careful, Jackson." she urges, crying a little. Her voice sounds so heavy and soft, tired. She's… she's so tired.
"I…" I start, burying my face into her chest, "Yeah… I'll be careful."
I pass out, not even realizing how tired I was.
The clicking of keyboard keys, the backlight of monitors, a man with greasy red hair leans over them, plugging away at whatever was on the screen. That's when his phone rings and he paws for it.
"Mr. Lincoln?" he asks, "Yes, yes. My rate is double for this… issue of yours."
He smiles, wiping his hand on his bare chest, "Good, good. Yes, The Scarlet Spider will be as good as dead when I'm done with my games. Your source is quite reliable."
The man's blue eyes look in the mirror, and well, he hangs up. He sighs, stands up, and stretches.
"Grahh… I need a shower…" he sighs, "And maybe need to get on an old suit of mine…"
The man known as Arcade marches into his bathroom, monitors all on camera footage and the news articles about The Scarlet Spider and The Black Cat. All he needs now…
Is a place to play his games.