Chapter 8 Carnival Madness:
It was a sunny day in the city as Marcy was in her room reading a book. Her ears perked up when she heard her phone ringing. She shot a web to grab her phone. Marcy caught it and accepted the call.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hey Nerd. There's a new carnival and Anne wanted to see if you wanted to come," Sasha said.
Marcy thought about it before shrugging.
"I don't have anything better to do. Meet you guys there," she said.
Marcy hung the phone up and got out of bed to get ready. She reached into her closet and pulled out a black tshirt ,a green jacket and a pair of jeans. She also decided to bring her suit just in case there's trouble at the carnival. After changing into her clothes, Marcy noticed that she had grown some muscle mass. She could see the lean muscles in her arms as she moved them and as Marcy ran a hand down her torso she could feel the toned muscles in her chest and stomach.
'Is this because of the spider bite?'Marcy thought to herself.
Deciding that's a question for another day, Marcy grabbed her phone and walked downstairs.
"Mom, I'm going out with Anne and Sash," she said.
Her mother turned to her.
"Okay but don't come home late," Olivia said.
Marcy gave her a thumbs up and walked out the house. The black haired girl looked around to see if anyone was watching. After making sure the coast was clear, Marcy shot a web onto a telephone wire and swung towards the city. She grunted as she landed in an alleyway. She hid her backpack behind a dumpster and Marcy walked to the front entrance where Anne and Sasha were waiting. Sasha noticed her arrival and nudged Anne. The brown haired girl looked up and smiled as Marcy walked towards them.
"Let's go," Sasha said.
The three teens walked inside. Marcy looked around in wonder.
"Man. This place looks awesome," Marcy said.
The two older girls nodded as they walked to a game booth.
"Step right up, folks and toss a ball to win a prize," the booth owner said.
He turned to the three girls and pointed to Marcy.
"Say young lady, you look like you've got a strong arm. Throw a ball and win a prize for your friends," he said.
Marcy blinked and looked between her friends before realizing who he meant.
'Wait, is he talking to me?!' Marcy thought to herself.
Sasha nudges Marcy.
"Come on Marce, give it a try," she says.
Marcy looked at Anne who gave her an encouraging smile. Marcy nodded and stepped forward. She handed the man a dollar. The booth owner handed her a baseball. Marcy looked ahead and took a breath.
'One, two, three'
Marcy tossed the ball. Anne and Sasha watched in amazement as Marcy managed to knock three pins down. Marcy grins triumphantly as Sasha pulls her into a headlock and ruffles her hair.
"Way to go Mar-Mar!" She cheers.
Marcy laughs and moves out of her grip as the booth owner hands her three stuffed bears. The three teens bid the booth owner goodbye as they kept walking.
"I can't believe you actually managed to knock those pins down," Sasha said.
Marcy smiles and sheepishly rubs her neck.
"What can I say? I'm full of surprises," she says, laughing.
Anne looks at her with a smile. Marcy was definitely filled with surprises. After playing a few games and riding some rides, the three friends decided to sit down to get something to eat and rest their feet. They were sitting at a table while waiting for the food. The sun was setting a bit which made the autumn air more freezing. Anne shivered as a cool breeze brushed against her arms. Marcy noticed and took her jacket off. She placed it around Anne's shoulders. Anne blinked when she felt a light pressure on her shoulders. She mumbled a small thanks to Marcy. Marcy gave a hum of acknowledgement as she leaned back against her chair with her hands resting behind her head. Anne felt her face heat up when the movement caused Marcy's tshirt to ride up showing a bit of her nearly muscular stomach.
'What has gotten into you?! This is your best friend for crying out loud' Anne thought to herself.
Sasah had noticed too.
"Woah Marce, you've been hitting the gym huh?" she said.
Marcy rubbed her neck.
"I guess you could say tha-woah!" Marcy said before letting out a yelp.
She had lost her balance and would've fell if Anne didn't grab her sleeve. Anne pulled her up.
"That was close," Marcy said.
Sasha laughed.
"Looks like Anne paid you back for catching her during lunch," Sasha said.
Marcy snickered as she wrapped an arm around Anne's shoulders. Anne blushed harder when she felt Marcy's toned bicep on her back though the younger girl paid no mind.
"Heh heh! I guess that makes us even, Anna-banana," she said, grinning.
Anne nodded. Sasha shook her head as a waiter came with their food. They began eating as they talked.
"Wait, so Grime broke a vending machine?" Anne asked
Sasha nodded.
"Yep. One clean punch. He also put a dent in the metal," she said.
Marcy blinked.
"Isn't that property damage?" she asked.
"Not if no one's looking," the blonde girl said,grinning.
Marcy shook her head. She started eating when her senses went off. The three girls jumped when they heard a crash.
"What in the-?" Sasha asked.
Marcy tackled the two of them to the ground when an explosion went off. Marcy looked up to see the same goons from the school shooting.
'You've got to be kidding' She thought to herself.
Marcy helped her friends up.
"Aren't those the guys from the school?" Sasha asked.
"Less talking, more running," Anne said.
They got up and ran. While everyone else was distracted, Marcy was able to slip away into an alleyway. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before grabbing her suit. Marcy changed into her suit. She swung towards the carnival as she pulled her mask down over her face. Marcy could see The Red Assassin standing on top of a building. She growled and landed in front of him.
"Red, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed.
"What does it look like? The boss wants this city to know what fear is and I'm just doing my job. Speaking of which," he said.
The hairs on Marcy's neck stood up and she leaned backwards to avoid a dagger getting thrown at her. Marcy jumped to her feet and ran at him. Red pressed a button on his gloves and the blades came out of his wrists. Marcy threw a punch at him but Red dodged them with ease. He threw more daggers at her. Marcy did a series of flips to dodge them. One of the daggers managed to cut her on her arm. Marcy winced and held her arm. The blade cut her suit showing a bleeding scar on her arm.
'Okay, now I'm upset,' Marcy thought irritatedly to herself.
She ran at him and punched him in the face. Red staggered back holding his jaw. He glared at Marcy who had a smug look in her eyes. He growled.
"You managed to catch me off guard," he said.
Red cracked his neck as he loosened his shoulders and got into a fighting stance.
"But it won't happen again," he said.
Marcy put her fists up. Red ran at her with his fist pulled back. Marcy blocked the punch with her arm and threw her own punch at him. Red caught her fist in his palm. They glared at each other as they tried to knock the other down. Meanwhile down below, Anne was trying to get out of the carnival. She grunted as she fell to the ground. Sasha turned around and gasped when she saw the ferris wheel tumbling down.
"Anne, watch out!" she shouted.
Anne looked up and gasped. Back with Marcy, the black haired girl felt her senses go off and she turned to see the ferris wheel about to fall on top of Anne.
"NO!" she shouted.
Marcy pushed Red away and jumped off the building as the other goons joined them on the roof. She shot a web and swung towards Anne. One of them aimed a gun at her but Red put his hand up.
"Let her go," he said.
The brown haired girl covered her head as she waited for the ferris wheel to crush her. It never came. Instead she felt wind in her hair and strong arms around her waist. Anne opened her eyes and looked up to see the Calamity Spider. She looked at her.
"You okay?" she asked.
Anne nodded.
"Uh yeah. Thanks to you," she said.
Marcy smiled under her mask.
"Don't mention it. Um…anywhere I can drop you off?" she asked.
Anne pointed to a small diner.
"You can drop me off there. My house is just a few blocks away," she said.
Calamity Spider nodded and landed on the ground. Anne stepped back.
"Thanks again," she said.
"No prob," Marcy said.
She shot a web.
"See ya around," she said.
She gave Anne a two fingered salute before taking off. Anne sighed and walked home. Marcy climbed into her window and landed on the floor in her room. That was tiring. She changed out of her suit and plopped down on her bed. Her phone vibrated and Marcy pulled it out of her pocket to look at her messages.
Terri: I saw the news about the carnival. Are you guys okay?!
Anne: slightly tramautized but otherwise fine.
Sasha: Marce where were you? You weren't behind me and Anne.
Marcy huffed and typed a response.
Marcy: I got lost in the crowd but I managed to get home safely
Anne: That's good. Welp, I'm beat from that experience. See you guys at school Monday.
Marcy typed a response before turning over to look at the ceiling. She sighed and closed her eyes intending to sleep all night.
