Noble Six: Thanks. I'll try to make their part of the story important.
Maximum Rhapsody: Never really thought about it but it does sound interesting.
The Story's Shadow: It's fine. I guess I could change it later on when he might be mentioned. It's been a while since I've seen the show. Dark Web thought of a fun name that also relates to their job. He was indeed the Black Panther.
MAB86: Things aren't gonna be any better. Dark Web is indeed a very powerful threat. Love your stories by the way and thanks for the review.
Blueknight: Not a problem. Uncertain to say about Black Suit Spidey
Guest: Wakanda Forever.
EARTH-25705
It was the dark of night on this Earth, as people were walking near a club area which resulted from muffled booming sounds from the inside. There also appeared to be no other buildings in the area, indicating that the club was the only building around.
In the middle of the empty streets, a small wormhole suddenly popped up out of nowhere. Quickly, the hole started to slowly expand into a larger hole. Once the hole got big enough, the spiders came pouring out of the hole on onto the streets, some of them groaning in pain.
"Well...that was fun!" Spider-Man sarcastically remarks as he gets up from the ground.
"Did that seem a little bit more...different than usual?" Punk asked as he shook his head a bit while the other spiders adjusted themselves.
"It is due to the transporter." Spider-Drone informed. "Because of dwindling fuel supply, transporting to another world has become increasingly unstable. It will cause a few minor effects to your person."
"That's good to know." Gwen said sarcastically as she cracked her neck a bit. "Nothing like having you insides all messed up to get through the day"
"Just like being rammed into by the Rhino." Sheriff commented as he adjusted his hat. "Or anyone else who hates our guts."
Drifter got up from the ground and looked at the location he was heading for. "We're here." Drifter stated.
"And where is here exactly?" Steam-Spider asks as he got up and stood beside Drifter to see what he was looking at. The Spiders looked up to see a very large nightclub right in front of him with the words on the building showing off with a neon design. "The Translucent"
"A nightclub?" Spider-Man asked, raising his eye lenses at the sight of this place. He turned to Drifter with a raised lense. "This is where you brought us?"
"That's right" Drifter nodded as he looked at the club. "This should have everything we need to continue our journey.
"So, what is this exactly?" Sheriff asked as he wasn't exactly sure of what this place was. "A saloon or something?"
"Kind of" Spider-Punk shrugged.
"Just with loud music and flashing lights" Gwen listed out.
"Sounds pleasant" Steam remarks as he folded his arms. "Shouldn't we get our fuel from someplace else?" Steam asked. "Instead of some random club in the middle of nowhere and looks like where the guys we beat down go in to drink?"
"I gotta agree with Steam there," Spider-Man said. "Even though I'd thought it would never happen," Spider-Man remarks as Steam scoffed. "But there might be other places we could go to. Like Richards or Stark, they could-"
"No." Drifter almost immediately said. "We need to get the fuel now and the source is a legitimate source." Drifter said. "Besides, I'd rather not weigh on their help on this." Drifter said as he walked up to the doors of the club.
Before he could open the doors, Sheriff Spider stepped up and spoke to him. "Drifter, I get we need fuel. But just how god is this source?"
"I've gotten most of my tech from him." Drifter said. "He's reliable."
"And there's nowhere else." Gwen asked.
"I told you, my transporter is low on fuel and this place is the only one that can give me what I need." Drifter informed. "Now let's go." Drifter said.
"What, now?" Spider-Man asked, confused.
"Yes." Drifter said as he went towards the door handle.
"Drifter, don't you think we should at least attempt to blend in before going in?" Sheriff Spider asked as Drifter was just about to pull the door handles. "I mean, we don't exactly fit in a normal crowd."
"I wouldn't worry about that." Drifter said.
"Why's that?" Steam asked.
Drifter then opened the doors in front of him as the spider's eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of them. Inside of the large nightclub was a whole manner of people inside, some were as tall as Drone and some even aliens, a variation of species, Humans, Kree, Shi'Ar and even a few robots were here too.
"This isn't exactly a normal crowd" Drifter stated as he walked inside the club. The Spiders were too in awe at first at the club itself until they finally got a move on and followed Drifter.
"Woah...This place is pretty...wow!" Hobie said in amazement.
"This was not what I was expecting." Sheriff said as he looked around his surroundings at the patrons.
"I don't think anyone did." Gwen said.
"Drifter did." Spider-Drone pointed out.
"That's because he's been here before, robot." Steam said, annoyed.
Spider-Man moved up ahead to walk beside Drifter. "Drift, what exactly is this place?" Spider-Man asked as they walked past the patrons of the club.
"The Translucence." Drifter said. "This place is a meet and greet for all travellers for the multiverse." Drifter explained. "Like me, they've traveled world to world. And they come here to tell their stories or just trade off their valuables or something better."
"Man, it feels like I'm in one of the neon nightclubs there ever was." Spidey commented as he continued to walk with the rest of the spiders.
"And the name?" Gwen asked.
"Like I said, The Translucence" Drifter said. "Hidden away, invisible from certain eyes."
"That doesn't make sense." Hobbie said. "Translucence doesn't even mean invisible."
"Indeed." Spider-Drone said in agreement.
"And this place is legitimate?" Sheriff asked with a raised brow. Sheriff-Spider was skeptical as he noticed that this club also had a few shady people within the dark corners of this location.
"It's good enough." Drifter answered. "I know the owner well enough to ensure that's legitimate." Drifter informed. "In a certain way..." Drifter thought that last part to himself.
Just then, one of the nightclub's security staff, dressed in a suit walked up to the group. "Halt, what's your business here?"
"Um, here we're talking about, getting...something for our travels." Spidey said to the very large man, almost Hulk sized.
"Uh huh," The bouncer hummed as he eyed each of the spiders. "You don't look the type to be coming here."
"And what type is that?" Sheriff asked.
The bouncer sent the wild west cowboy a look. "The type we allow and find good enough to be here." The bouncer repealed. "Now how about you start telling me what your business is here"
"Our own." Steam snarkily replied to the bouncer. "And it has nothing to do with you so why don't you go back to whatever moron sent you." Steam said as the bouncer glared at the spider for the comment.
"You wanna repeat that again, smart guy?" The bouncer said in a threatening way.
"I would, but I doubt you'd hear it, over the sounds of this music or your tiny brain" Steam remarks, while glaring under his helmet while the bouncer gritted his teeth.
"Not even a minute on this world and he's starting fights" Sheriff deadpanned.
Drifter then stepped forward in front of the group before a fight could break out. "I'm here to see the owner." Drifter said, going in front of Steam.
The bouncer calmed down a bit after seeing the leader but still kept his glare. "And why would I do that?"
"Look, you're new so I'll make this simple," Drifter sighs in slight annoyance. "I'm here to offer up something in exchange for fuel. That is what this place is best known for." Drifter stated, keeping his stand against the bouncer who stares him down.
"And you think the boss is gonna know you?" The bouncer asked with a doubtful look.
"Just tell him Drifter is here and that I've got something he'll be interested in." Drifter said. After a few seconds of staring, the bouncer sighs. "Wait here, he'll be in his office." The bouncer said as walks away from the group and headed towards the manager's office.
Drifter then gave a quick sigh of relief at this, glad he could avoid a potential fight. That was something he didn't need. His eyes narrowed and turned towards Steam with an angered look under his mask while Steam looked to be unbothered.
"What the hell was that?! Do you have a constant need to prove that you're better than everyone else!?" Drifter quietly hissed at him, fully turning around to face him. "Your stunt there nearly caused a fight!?"
"Oh please," Steam rolled his eyes. "I've seen these types of hired muscle all the time, they're all talk and ended being weaker than the rest." Steam listed out.
"Hate to know how he learned that fact." Spidey mutters.
"He wouldn't have been a big deal anyways, So there's not a problem." Steam shrugged.
"Yes it is!" Drifter said in anger. "If you had caused a fight then everyone in this club would've been involved. And everyone here would leave to tell about it and word would evently get to the Gilders. And then they would learn where we are."
Just before the argument could continue any further, the bouncer from before came back and spoke. "All right, I just spoke and he says he knows you." The bouncer said, making Drifter sigh in relief.
"Alright, He says you can meet him in his office and discuss what you brought him." The bouncer said. "I've been told to escort you there."
"Okay, just give me a minute with my friends for a sec." Drifter said. The bouncer shrugged in response and waited somewhere else.
Drifter turned to the rest of the spiders and began to speak to them. "All right then..."
"First off, I think it's nice that you see us as friends," Spidey remarks. "Glad to hear that even though you shout at us, you think of us as friends!"
Drifter rolls his eyes at this and continues. "I'm gonna go over there and get what we need, after that, we leave immediately to continue our journey." Drifter explained. "While I'm gone, do not cause any problems"
"Can't see that happening." Hobbie shrugged, while sending a glance towards Steam.
"I'm serious." Drifter said with the same tone as the word he spoke. "One wrong move and it could end badly for all of us."
"We'll be on our best behaviour." Spidey assured. "Trust me, guts won't even get a glimpse at us."
"Because being subtle is very key for you, kid." Sheriff said with a smirk. "Just look at your costume for example, that just screams subtly."
Spider-Man looked annoyed at his western counterpart. "At least I have the common decency not to wear a poncho in public" The Web Head mutters.
Drifter then turned to the gaslight spider. "Steam...I need to hear it from you."
The Gaslight Spider briefly glares at Drifter for a few moments before he sighs in annoyance and responds. "Fine. I won't do anything. I'll just keep to myself and not talk to anyone."
"Good." Drifter nodded. "I'll be back soon." Drifter said as he walked over to the bouncer to escort him to the manager's office.
"And what are we meant to do in the meanwhile?" Sheriff asked.
"I don't know," Drifter shrugged. "Sit and drink something in the meantime. In fact, here." Drifter said as he tossed Sheriff-Spider a bag presumably filled with money. "This'll cover the cost. Just don't draw attention yourselfs" Drifter warned as he walked away with the bouncer and to the office of the owner of the club.
"I don't think Drifter thought through what he said there." Gwen said. "It's gonna be kinda hard not drawing attention to ourselves considering that we're all dressed in brightly coloured spandex." Gwen pointed out.
"Except for Drift," Spider-Man pointed out. "His is a mix of armour and a trench coat."
"Excluding myself also," Spider-Drone chimed in. "As I am made of metal."
Sheriff-Spider however was still looking where Drifter was going as he was being escorted to the back room to where the boss was. The Sheriff tended to be skeptical when it comes to places like this. Sure, he didn't know what a nightclub was but he could tell him what type of establishment this was. He had dealt with them during his time as Sheriff in his world.
He then looked down at the pouch of money he was given and sighed in response. "Okay, people, let's do as the man says and enjoy ourselves for a change." Sheriff said as he walked over to an empty table near the dancing floor, the spiders followed him.
Spidey, Gwen, Hobie and Drone followed the wild west spider to their table. Except for Steam who just walked away from the group as Hobie notices.
"Ain't you coming, Steam?" Spider-Punk asked as the gaslight spider stopped in his tracks and turned to the punk rock spider.
"I told you before, my name is not Steam!" The steampunk spider gritted in annoyance before calming himself down. "And secondly, I'm gonna use this time for myself and not spend it with you."
"Are we really that bad?" Peter asked in a mock hurt tone.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Steam deadpanned.
"Steam we shouldn't separate." Sheriff advised against it. "This place is still new to us. You heard Drifter, we can't..."
"I'm not gonna do anything too damaging." Steam quickly said, not caring about Drifter's words. ""Besides, even if there was a problem, I'd handle it, despite what Drifter says." Steam said and began to walk away from the group. "See you around."
"Do you think he'll ever like us?" Gwen comments.
"As soon as he becomes nice." Peter said.
"So, never?" Hobie said.
"Come on, let's go." Sheriff sighed as he headed to the table with the rest of the spiders to an empty table they managed to find.
"Man, it's been a while since I've had time to relax for a change" Peter commented as he sat down at the table with the rest of his spider-verse patrons.
"From going throughout the multiverse or just the job of being Spider-Man?" Sheriff asked as he sat down as well.
"Well, that would take a long and emotional time processing so I'm just gonna say yes." Peter replied.
Gwen sat down as well. "Do you guys think this job gets any easier?" Gwen asked.
"Even though I only just recently came back to doing this again I can safely say...the job never gets any easier, if anything, it gets more and more crazy"
"But never dull, right?" Hobbie asked with a smirk on his face.
Sheriff Spider chuckled in response. "I suppose not. I almost forgot how much excitement this job could give me."
Spidey nodded at his wild west counterpart. He was curious why the Sheriff stopped his actions when they first met. At first he thought it was because of Doc Ock and that Tombstone guy they met and fought. But after a conversation they had on Drone's Earth, he said that they weren't the ones to cause him to stop, making Peter wonder what or who made him stop.
"I will admit though, it has been a while since I've fought with my powers," the Sheriff said as a waiter came up to them. Sheriff waved him off while giving him some of the credits he was given. "Don't know if you noticed, but I'm a tad bit rusty. I ain't as good when I was at the peak of my carrier."
"At least you're getting good practise on those gilder guys, right?" Hobbie asked. "I mean, they're no pushovers but they're certainly a lot more intense then the usual prats we've dealt with."
That's for sure." Gwen said in agreement. During her time with the spiders, she dealt with a few squads of Gilders that came in their way. "I know I'm the newest on the team, but I can tell they're pretty tough. Still, doesn't mean taking down and mocking them isn't any less fun."
"Yeah," Peter nodded as he thought about said soldiers...and how tough their boss might be. "Makes you wonder how bad their leader might be..." Spider-Man said, making the other spiders on the table go quiet.
"I mean, Drifter did say that he killed a lot of people with powers like us." Gwen pointed out in a worried tone.
Hobbie was less worried than the rest. "Nah, I wouldn't be too worried!" Hobbie said. "This Dark Web sends most of his men after us, that shows that he ain't man enough to show himself."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Hobbie" Sheriff said as he gained a thoughtful look. "I've known two types of people with an army by their side, either they're weak and need an army to support them...or the army itself are just a buffer for what's to come."
"I...guess so." Hobbie said as he looked down at his drink.
"Well, no matter what," Spider-Man spoke up. "We'll keep fighting every last one of his troops and then we'll take on this Dark Web guy and show what happens when he messes with our worlds" Spider-Man said with a grin under his mask.
"I'll drink to that." Sheriff nodded in agreement as he lowered his bandana to drink from his glass, as did Hobbie, Gwen and Peter.
"Yeah, what do you think Drone?" Gwen asked as she turned to Drone...but found that he wasn't there with the table with them.
"Drone?" Peter calls out as he looks around for the robot.
"Where's Drone?" Gwen asked as she looked around to see the robot spider wasn't with them anymore.
"I don't know," Hobbie said as he looked around. "He just left."
"Where'd he go?" Peter asked as he wondered where the metallic spider would have wandered off to.
Backroom of the Translucent.
While the other spiders were taking time to themselves, Drifter was currently being escorted by the bouncer to his office to discuss a trade off. The hallway was painted a white colour with a few paintings hanging on the wall, looking to be very expensive.
"You must be pretty big to get the boss's attention" The bouncer commented as he continued to lead the leader of the spiders.
"That's one way of putting it. I'm not poker buddies with him, but we know each other well enough" Drifter commented quickly, not really wanting to strike a conversation with the man and would rather get the fuel he needed as soon as possible.
"Well let's just hope you got something he'll want" The bouncer said.
"I always do." Drifter said as he moved his satchel up in front of him.
The bouncer eyed Drifter suspiciously, curious of how a guy like him could know someone as esteemed as his boss. "So how does someone like you know someone like the boss?"
Drifter raised brow at the bouncer for asking but decided to let him know a little. "Seeing as you're new, I may as well tell." Drifter said. "I know your boss from two lifetimes. This one where he owns this club and the second is about his other life"
"Hey!" The bouncer said as her angry pointed at Drifter. "The boss ain't like that no more. He's a legitimate businessman. And he doesn't like anyone insinuating otherwise." The bouncer said in a lightly threatening tone.
"I'll just keep it to myself then," Drifter said calmly.
"Best you do." The bouncer said.
Drifter and the bouncer kept walking until they reached the end of the hallway, which consisted of a door right in front of them.
"All right, here we are." The bouncer announced. "He'll be expecting you in there."
"Okay," Drifter nodded as he looked at the door. "Good."
"Just make it quick, the boss is a very busy man and he doesn't like wasting time on those who waste it" The bouncer.
"Oh, I'm well aware," Drifter said. "But with what I have for him, he won't mind"
"Must be very valuable" The bouncer scoffed. "What is it, like a nuclear reactor or something?"
"That would be physically impossible." The voice of Spider-Drone interjected to the pair speaking, shocking the pair of them.
"OH MY GOD!" The bouncer yelled out in shock and Drifter was startled as well, but was less vocal about it and looked rather annoyed.
"A nuclear reactor is very large and wouldn't be able to fit in his pocket." Drone pointed out to the bouncer. "Also being in close proximity of one would most likely kill him."
"What are you doing back here, robot!?" The bouncer angrily demanded. "The boss wanted to see this guy!" The bouncer said as he pointed out to Drifter. "Not some tin can hunk of junk!"
"I'm not exactly made of tin..." Drone started to explain.
"L-let me handle this," Drifter said to the bouncer. "Drone, what are you doing here?" Drifter asked as Spider-Drone approached his leader. "I told you to stay back with the others."
Spider-Drone nodded in understanding. "I understood what you said, Drifter. I just thought I'd also be here, considering that my body serves as the extender of the portals." Drone explained.
"Look, just stay out here, Drone." Drifter instructed the mechanical spider. "I can do this on my own and I don't want anything bad to happen."
"Why would anything bad happen?" Drone asked. "You said you know the man who owns this club."
"I do." Drifter said. "That doesn't mean he doesnt have a bad side." The veteran spider mutters. "Look, just stay out here and wait till I come back, do you understand?"
Spider-Drone contemplated this for a few moments before looking at Drifter. "Very well. I will wait out here for you." Drone said.
"Good." Drifter said and walked towards the door. "And don't cause any trouble." Drifter said as he opened the door and entered inside the office, leaving the bouncer and Drone together in an awkward silence.
"So...are you having a good day?" Spider-Drone asks the guard.
The bouncer just glares at the spider robot before sighing. "I don't get paid enough for this..."
The Manager's Office
As Drifter entered the office, he had winced slightly because the office was a very shiny room, almost blinding him. The Manager's office was clean, you could see your own reflection. There were also pieces of priceless art around the room, but Drifter knew that most, if not all of this stuff was either stolen or acquired by other non legal means...
Drifter looked ahead and saw a mahogany desk just a few feet away from him as there were two guards standing beside the desk and a chair faced back from Drifter, indicating someone was definitely sitting there.
Drifter let out a deep sigh at this as he knew this wasn't going to be an easy process to go through, but he had to nonetheless get what he needed to stop Dark Web. He walked towards the desk, the chair still unmoved and the guards to glare at Drifter.
The veteran spider was right in front of the desk as he waited for the man on the chair to turn around. "So then, it looks like my old friend Drifter has come back once more." The man in the chair finally spoke up, speaking in a russian accent.
"Huh," Drifter laughed mirthlessly. "Friends? I didn't think that's what we were."
"Oh, Drifter..." The man sighed in humor. He turned himself around facing Drifter, revealing himself to be Dmitri Smerdyakov, or most people would commonly know him as, The Chameleon. The man known with the ability to impersonate anyone on the planet. But on this Earth, he owns this nightclub.
He wore a plain white suit, similar to someone like the Kingpin and still wore his white mask. He smirked at the sight of Drifter.
"Dimitri." Drifter greeted in a professional way as he crossed his arms. "I see you've been doing well for yourself." Drifter comments with sarcasm.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Dimitri commented as he got up from his chair. "Profits keep going up as we speak. But It is also good to see one of my most best paying clients." Dimitri commented while Drifter reamined where he was. "Please, have a seat."
One of the guards near Dimitri then placed a chair right in front of Drifter. He gave a look towards the "former" villain and sat down right before him as he sat back down as well.
"So Drifter, it has been quite some time since you came to my establishment." Dimitri commented with a grin as he poured a bottle of priceless booze into a glass cup. "I was almost beginning to think you'd never come back to see me again."
"Well, when you're busy trying to take down a manicnal spider from killing everyone, you tend to set your priorities straight." Drifter said.
"Still, I haven't met anyone who never wanted to come back to the Translucent" Dimitri smirked as he took a sip from his glass.
"Never did understand the name of this place." Drifter stated. "Translucent doesn't even mean invisible, it just means semi-transparent."
"Yes, yes, I have heard that from time to time." Dimitri muttered as he placed his glass down.. "But lucky for me, I don't care enough to correct them...or just kill them."
"Probably not wise to say that to me." Drifter said as he gave the former criminal a hardened glare.
"Or...What?" The Russian shapeshifter asked with an amused look on his face. "You're not exactly Spider-Man anymore and you wouldn't be threatening me if you need something. Which I am sure without a doubt that you do" Dimitri asked with a knowing look.
Drifter lessened his glare at this, knowing he couldn't argue with him at this point. "I've come for some fuel for my teleporter device" Drifter informed.
"Hmm..." Dimitri hummed in interest. "Funny, I thought your transporter could go on for years?" Dimitri pointed out.
"I thought so do." Drifter said. "But as it turns out, when it's connected to one of the people I'm traveling with, it tends to go down quicker." Drifter explained.
"As yes...the robot." Dimitri said in understanding, making Drifter perk up. "My men informed me that a group is now with you. A group of spiders" Dimitri said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"They're not gonna cause a problem" Drifter assured.
"I should hope not." Dimitri quickly remarked. "I already went through one spider during the old days and I don't need a whole group of them messing up my business."
"It's fine." Drifter quickly assured. "They don't even though you own this place. And I intend to keep it that way."
"Not being very honest with them, Drifter." Dimitri said with an amused look. "Not a good way to lead a team." The shapeshifter tsked while his men chuckled at this while Drifter glared.
"I'm not here to talk about my people, Dimitri." Drifter said in a serious tone of voice. He then brought his satchel up in front of him. "I'm here for a trade off. Now do you wanna hear what I have or are we gonna talk all day?"
Drifter opens up his bag, revealing a glowing light within the bag, causing Dimitri to give a smirk. He looked up at Drifter. "Let's talk business." Dimitri said as he put his hands together and grinned at the veteran spider, happy to know that he'd be getting some really valuable from the traveler.
The Spiders Table
Meanwhile, back with the spiders, they were currently talking with one another about the current situation.
"Are you sure we shouldn't look for Drone?" Gwen asked with concern. "He may run into some people who might not take to him too well."
"I wouldn't worry about him." Sheriff assured. "The guy is quite literally built like a bull. Doubt anything could take him down."
"Are you sure?" Gwen asked.
Spider-Man chuckled at this. "Gwen, if you were there when he first met him, then you'd understand."
Gwen was interested to hear this to say the least. "Is he that tough or something?"
"Tough?" Hobbie exclaims. "Mate, Drone is a freaking monster when he wants to be!" Hobbie said, recalling the fight he won during the time on his Earth. "I swear, when he took on all those Ultron bots, I swear he was on Hulk levels of destruction."
Gwen raised a brow in confusion. "Who?"
"Ultron." Spider-Man repeated, Gwen still looking confused. "You don't have him in your world?" Spidey asked.
"Nope" Gwen shook her head.
"Consider yourself lucky." Sheriff stated as he took a drink from his glass. "I don't have him in my world and I think he's a dangerous bot." Sheriff sighed. "I'm just glad I didn't have to deal with him when I was younger."
"Damn," Gwen simply said before chuckling. " The worst I've had to deal with is a old man in bird wings and a rhino, and that's just the tip of the iceberg." Gwen said. "Glad I'm here along with you guys then."
Spider-Man nodded in agreement at her words. He then thought to ask her something. "So, how long have you been doing this for, Gwen?" Spider-Man asked.
"Oh me?" Gwen said. "Just a few years, two or three I guess."
"Me? Two years." Hobbie said.
"I've been at this for far longer than any y'all" Sheriff said. "Started since I was sixteen and eleven years later, I'm still doing this."
"Wow." Spider-Man said in awe. "That is a lot of years." Spidey commented, making his wild west counterpart chuckle in response. "I couldn't imagine being Spider-Man for that long."
"Takes experience, kid," Sheriff shrugged. "But what I've seen from you, I figure you can make it, maybe even longer than me." Sheriff said, making Spider-Man smile in response.
"Gee, thanks Sheriff." Spidey said. He then gave a chuckle. "Man, I find it hard to believe you're me at all with how wise you act."
"Yeah, I keep forgetting that you're the oldest one here." Hobbie chuckled.
"I wouldn't say I'm that old." Sheriff quickly said. "Experienced is the right word. Not old." Sheriff said as he took a drink while looking a tad serious. "Never old."
"Oh, do you have a few issues of growing old Sheriff Parker?" Gwen asked with an amused smirk. "Because I didn't want to say anything to you, but I did notice a few gray hairs on your head."
Sheriff-Spider just stared at Spider-Gwen for a few moments. "You can real mean when you want to, Gwen." Sheriff stated as he took a drink, promoting a few laughs from the other spiders at his response.
Hobbie chuckled. "Although I gotta say, out of all of us, I can say that Drifter is the most experienced."
Spidey nodded in response. "And also the most grouchy. Seems like he just wants to leave the next world as soon as he arrives on it."
"Can't say I blame him." Gwen said. "He's been doing this for god knows how long and all he wants is to stop him."
"He makes the guy sound like the boogeyman," Hobbie compared. "Expect he makes this Web guy sound like that he's even the boogeyman would be scared to death off."
"Yeah," Peter said in a little worried tone. "Makes you wonder, if he's killed this many Spiders, how do we fare out?" Spidey asked, no one on the table giving an answer as they just looked down at this.
Sheriff-Spider sighs at this, the mood of the table now brought to a down mood. He then slammed his drink onto the table, making all of the spiders turn to him.
"Okay, new rule!" Sheriff Spider spoke up, gaining all the spiders attention. "No more talking about Dark Web or anything relating to the people trying to kill us when we're trying to relax." Sheriff-Spider ordered. "Instead, we'll take this time to talk about other things."
"Like what?" Hobbie asked.
"About our lives." Sheriff suggested. "And what they're like."
"Sheriff, I think you already have an idea of what our lives are like." Gwen stated. "Deal with small time criminals, help the little guy, get tossed around like a ragdoll-" Gwen listed out.
"No, no, no. I don't mean that." Sheriff shook his head. "I mean the people behind the mask, what their lives are like when they're not worrying about the fate of the world."
The other spiders looked at each other in response. "I guess we could do that." Gwen said.
"Good." Sheriff smiled under his bandana. "Then let's get started."
The Bar
While they began to talk about themselves more and learn about each other, Steam-Spider in the meantime was at the bar of the club, staring down at his drink and leaning against while the other patrons around him were having a hell of a time, drinking and telling their stories on their or on other Earth's they've travelled to.
Steam tried to ignore all the talk so he could think to himself, and he definitely wouldn't get that with the other spiders, or at least that's what he thought.
All the fights he had to put up with from all of Dark Web's soldiers was getting a bit tiring for him, even though he would never admit it. He felt he needed time to collect himself and then after that, he'd be ready to take on these so called soldiers and their leader for screwing things up in his world.
"These gilders think that they're so good. Bet they haven't met with a spider like me before." Steam thought as he stared down. "And whoever this Dark Web is, he's gonna pay for ruining things with Osborn. Just need to ride it out with the rest of them until then...even though they get on my nerves with their dumbs jokes and constant questioning of my methods...especially from the cowboy." Steam thought in irritation.
Steam turned his head back to the table where the other spiders were sitting. He refused to spend anymore time with any of them then he needed to.
His attention was drawn by Sheriff Spider and the younger version of himself, seeing as the two were having a conversation with one another.
He remembered the conversation he had with the Sheriff, about how neither of them trusted Drifter and thought he had something that he was hiding. Steam had also brought up the possibility that the younger version of himself and the one who pissed him off more, except for Sheriff, was possibly in the loop with Drifter.
While the cowboy dismissed the claim, Steam was still skeptical, keeping an eye on both spiders for the time being.
But before he could think on this any further, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud wail of laughter coming from the right of him. He turned to see a group of men, laughing like crazy, boastful drunks, coming their way to the bar.
They were dressed like bandits, wearing things like messy coats, goggles and a bunch of chains. The man in charge of the group looked to wear parts of high tech on him, including a pair of gauntlets and short wings.
"Barman!" The leader called out to the man behind the bar. "Get some drinks for me and my friends, because tonight! we're partying like freaking kings!"
The bartender sighed in response, clearly annoyed the sudden presence of this man and his group and clearly must've dealt with him before. But it was clear that the man had a fear of them due to the shakiness from his eyes. "Sure thing, Bart..."
"Ah, Ah, Ah!" The man wagged his finger at him, clearly in an intimidating way. "I've told you before, the name is Beetle." The man said in a threatening way. "Get it wrong again and this place is gonna have to look for a new bartender."
The Bartender now looked afraid of the man. "Mr Smerdyakov does not tolerate when his staff-" The man tried to explain but was interrupted.
"Do you see any of his staff coming in to defend you?" The man asks as he gestured around the club, no one coming to his defence. "That's because you're expandleble. You die and Smerdyakov can just hire another." He cruelly explained. "So, shut your mouth and get me and my friends some drinks."
The bartender reluctantly accepted and went to get said drinks while The man named Bart and his friends laughed like morons, all the while Steam watched the situation and couldn't help but feel annoyed by the presence of the guy as he glared at him.
The man known as Bart then notices Steam right next to him. "And what's your problem, buddy?" Beetle asked in a bothering way. "Am I too intimidating for 'ya?"
"Not the word I'd use." Steam mutters as he takes a sip from his drink.
"What's with the mask?" The man scoffed in amusement. "Look like a Stark wannabe with that on." The man mocked while Steam ignored him. "Why don't you take that dumb thing off? What? Look like a real freak under that thing!? Haha!" The man laughed, his crew laughing in response with their leader.
Steam turned his head and stood up to the annoying bar patron. "I could ask the same thing of you. Wearing a mask like that can scare people to death."
The man looked both confused and irritated. "I ain't wearing no mask!" He said.
"Oh, so you really are that ugly." Steam remarks, smirking as he took a sip from his drink, infuriating the man next to him by the comment he just made. "If I was you, I'd always wear a mask, I know I wouldn't wanna be caught with a face like that." Steam insulted, causing the man to glare at him in anger.
"You might wanna show me some respect, bug." The man snarled. "You don't wanna piss off a guy like me."
"And that would be?" Steam asked, waiting for an answer from the egotistical man, who just glared at him more.
"To you, my name's the Beetle and in my world: I'm the most deadliest man alive!" The Beetle boasted as his pals cheered on for their leader.
"Oh..." Steam said in a tone of realisation. "Never heard of you." Steam said plainly as he went back to his drink, further insulting the man.
The man scoffed in response at this. "Well you should. On my world I'm the most dangerous man alive: I killed a lot of people that dared to make me look bad or even looked at man funny" The Beetle explained to a less than impressed Steam. "I've gained a reputation that has people showing me respect whenever they see me."
Steam raised a brow at this while he continued to drone on about himself as the bartender handed him his drink, which he just snatched from his hand. "People like you should be waiting to spit and polish whenever I need it!" The man snarled at Steam's face.
Steam shrugged in response. "Okay then." Steam said. He then turned to his drink, opened the mouth part of his helmet and then proceeded to spit in his drink. "There's your spit." Steam said to a very stunned Beetle, his shocked crew and a wide eyed bartender.
"And as for the polish, well it'll take a lot to get your face looking good but I'm not that hopeful it'll work" Steam said as he took a sip from his drink.
The man known as the Beetle stared down at his glass in rage, smashing on the floor and glaring right back at the Steam-Spider. "You just earned yourself a beatdown, buddy!" The man threatened. "Come on! We'll settle this outside!"
"It's already been settled." Steam said in an uninterested tone. "Now how about you go and bother someone else, I'm not interested in fighting you."
"What? Scared that I'll hurt you really badly?" The man scoffed, not taking the hint. "You should take your beating like a man and take it!"
"I'm warning you," Steam said in a low voice. "You really don't want to piss me off."
"Or what!?" The man laughed while still keeping his glare. "Do you know what I think? I think you're just a little scared boy who wants his mommy and daddy!" The man insulted, making Steam stop drinking and gently place his mug down.
"Maybe I think that you're just a pansy who doesn't know how to fight and is instead a little, whiney, crybaby bi-HMPH!" The annoying bar patron couldn't finish his sentence as his mouth suddenly closed by a single web shot, provided by Steam who still looked away from him.
The man struggled to get the web off and when he tried to get a shot off Steam, the spider simply grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed it against the bar, knocking him to the ground as his friends watched on in shock.
Steam then stood up from the bar and stood against The Beetles posse. "Anyone else wanna try and annoy me?" Steam asked the slightly frightened crew who shook their heads in response.
"Good. Now how about you pick up your sorry excuse for a leader and get out of my sight before things get really ugly and believe me..." Steam said as two of his spider talons unfolded from his pack and pointed at the goons. "You won't wanna be here for that."
The goons then hastily picked up their unconscious leader and ran out of there in a hurry. Once they were gone, Steam put his talons away and went back to finish his drink as the bartender looked on amazed.
"That was amazing!" The bartender said in awe. "You're a good man, sir."
"I didn't do it for you." Steam stated. "They were annoying me, nothing more." Steam said as he finished his drink off.
"Well, nevertheless, thank you." The bartender said with gratitude.
Steam looked at the bartender for a few moments before speaking. "Sure, Whatever. Just grow a backbone and deal with those guys the right way. Otherwise it won't end well." Steam said as he threw some credits on the bar and walked away from the bar to be someplace else.
The Spiders Table
Back with the spiders, they were talking about themselves to each other, mainly to avoid talking about Dark Web but mainly to learn more about each other in general.
Hobbie Brown was starting off, explaining how one of his concerts went up in a big way. "And that's how the Rhino ended up in the hospital for a month" Hobbie finished, much to the shock and amazement of the other spiders.
"Wow." Gwen simply said. "That is something."
"As someone who's gone toe to toe with that overgrown turtle, I'll admit, that is quite amazing to say the least." Sheriff said, intrigued to say the least about the story.
"Yeah," Hobbie nodded with a grin. "Those were some good times."
Sheriff-Spider then turned to the regular Spider-Man. "What about you kid?" Sheriff asked, prompting Peter to turn his head at him.
"Me?" Spidey asks.
"Yeah, I'm sure you got quite a few tales to tell." Sheriff said. "Gotta be fun to hear."
"Yeah, com'on, Pete" Gwen added, wanting to hear what he has to offer.
"Well, I guess I do." Spider-Man said as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean I have been Spider-Man for five years and I've had my fair share of stories. Like when I dealt with the Wrecking Crew, Loki himself and the one time where I had to deal with a gigantic Sandman from trashing New York."
"Having been through Marko, I can understand it," Sheriff nodded.
"How do you deal with the sand in your clothes then?" Spidey asked.
"I'm still figuring it out, kid" Sheriff stated, gaining a chuckle out of Spider-Man, Sheriff and the others joining in.
"But still, my life as Spider-Man hasn't always been easy." Spider-Man said. "But it's a good thing I've got my team around to support me."
"Team?" Gwen asked in curiosity.
"Oh yeah. Back home, I'm in charge of a whole group of heroes" Spider-Man explained. "There's quite a lot of them to list off."
"A team, huh." Sheriff said with interest in his tone. "Well that's something."
"I couldn't imagine being a part of a team. Gwen said as she slightly looked down. "I haven't exactly gained a pretty good reputation back home on my earth."
Spidey nodded in response. "At first, I didn't want to be a part of a team, thought that they'd either put me down or that I wasn't good enough to lead them." Spider-Man recalled.
"I hear that." Hobbie said. "I wasn't quite sure of the people playing tunes with me, but eventually over time, I found them to be pretty good."
"Yeah, we started off small at first." Spidey said. "They're pretty good people and more importantly friends."
"So who are they?" Hobbie asked.
Spider-Man took a breath in. "Well there's quite a lot of people so I'll start off with the first ones I've met." Spidey said. "There's Luke Cage, or as he calls himself Power Man. And the name isn't an exaggeration either, the guy is so strong, he's basically bulletproof, he even went head to head against Rhino."
"Really?!" Hobbie exclaims. "Damn! Guy must be strong enough to hold off against that guy."
"I'll say." Gwen said in agreement.
"Yeah, the guy's strength is as big as his heart." Spider-Man nodded. "And then there's his partner and best friend, Danny Rand, the Iron Fist. And the name fits, his power, which he got from an actual dragon, gives him a hell of a punch to anyone who comes knocking.
"An actual dragon!?" Gwen exclaims in shock.
"Damn!" Hobbie said with excitement. "That sounds god damn awesome!"
"You bet it is." Spider-Man said. "He's also the wisest among us. Says all kinds of things to inspire us, even if I don't understand all of them." Spider-Man said as he scratched the back of his head.
"Anyone else?" Sheriff asked as he was very interested in hearing more of the people his younger counterpart worked with.
"Oh, believe me there is," Spidey said. "And then there's my good friend...Bucket Head." Spidey said with an amused grin under his mask while the others looked at him with confused looks.
"Bucket Head?" Gwen asks.
"Yep," Spidey simply said. "With the power to carry buckets in a single bound."
"Uh huh..." Sheriff said, unconvinced as he raised a brow at his younger self. "And what's his real power?"
Peter sighed at this. "Okay, okay. Sam Alexander, the guy calls himself the Human Rocket, but we just call him Nova, or a pain in the ass." Peter said. "And trust me, we know all about that." Peter said as all the spiders nodded in agreement.
"The guy is fast, I'll give him that, plus, he can fly and shoot lasers and all other kinds of things" Peter listed out. "He's a good friend when he can be. Most of the time he's too annoying for his own good. And we constantly argue."
"I think I can understand that." Sheriff said, sending a glance at a certain gaslight spider, who was currently walking away from the bar and going someplace else.
"Still, I know I can count on him if things are too hairy, so he's not totally useless." Spider-Man. "Now if only we had time to fix his attitude." Peter smirked, taking a drink from his cup.
"Is there anyone else on the team?" Hobbie asked, promoting Peter to put his drink down and gain a small smile.
"Well, there is actually..." Peter said, his tone going fond, something that Sheriff-Spider picked up on. "Her name is Ava Ayala, the White Tiger." Peter said. "And let me tell you, she is something else."
"Is she?" Sheriff said with a small smirk on his face, feeling he had a good idea of what Peter was talking about. "So kid, what's this Miss Ayala like?"
"Is she hot?" Hobbie outright asks, causing Gwen to elbow the punk spider. "Ow! What?"
"I'll avoid answering that for any future problems that might come back to bite me." Peter said. "Anyways, she's pretty great. She has the power of something called the Jade Amulet that gives her some pretty neat powers." Peter explained. "She didn't exactly like me at first when we met, but over time, we've really formed a close bond with each other." Peter said.
Sheriff smiled at his younger self. "She must be pretty special."
"Oh she is. She is fast, agile and one hell of a fighter. And it doesn't just all come from the jewel." Peter said as he started to go on about the feline hero. "She's always there when I need her and vice versa. She's gotta be one of the smartest and kind hearted people I've ever met." Peter said with a kind tone.
"I imagine you miss being with them quite a lot these past couple of days." Sheriff stated, making Peter look at him and then down slightly.
"Yeah...I gotta say that I'm starting to miss those guys." Peter said solemnly. "I put Ava in charge of the team before I left with Drifter. I know she's gonna do well, but I can't help but feel worried about her, about them all." Peter said, looking a little down and worried, but still had hope for his friends.
"I can understand." Sheriff said, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder for support. "Something I think we all can." Sheriff said as he turned to the other spiders who nodded and had looks of understanding on their faces. "You care a great deal about your people, kid. Something that's to be admired. But from what you told us, I feel like they got a good handle of things if they stood with you for this long."
"Yeah," Spidey nodded. "I guess so." Peter said with a fond smile on his face. "They're pretty amazing."
"I don't doubt it, kid." Sheriff said. "Though, I can imagine it must not be easy and all. Being away from your girlfriend this long." Sheriff said as he picked up his glass and drank.
Spider-Man absentmindedly nodded along with what the Sheriff said there. "Yeah, I mean it's easy for either of us to be-WAIT WHAT!" Spider-Man suddenly exclaimed as he snapped at Sheriff with a shocked look.
"What?" Sheriff asked, looking calm if a little confused by his younger counterpart's sudden outburst.
"What do you mean by girlfriend!?" Peter demanded.
Sheriff gave a perplexed look. "I mean your girlfriend. You know, the woman you share a romantic relationship with." Sheriff explained. "Pretty simple if you ask me."
"Sheriff, I never said Ava was my girlfriend." Peter explained to the wild west spider.
"Yeah, but I picked up on the subtle tones there." Sheriff explained. "No need to get testy, kid. I'm sure when all of this is over, you two will be back in each other's arms like a couple of lovebirds" Sheriff said with an amused smirk while Peter looked wide eyed.
"Sheriff," Peter gave a chuckle, with a slightly nervous tone. "Ava's not my girlfriend."
Sheriff gave an amused snort at this. "What are you saying? Of course she is."
"No, she isn't!" Peter said, but the cowboy was still unconvinced.
"Yes she is." Sheriff said as he was about to finish off his drink.
"No...she isn't." Peter insisted with a calm tone as Sheriff looked at him, losing his smirk and had a surprised look.
"What really?" Sheriff asked in an amazed tone.
"Yes!" Peter exclaimed. "Geez, what made you think that?"
"Well the way you were talking about her made me think you had something going on with her." Sheriff explained.
"What?" Spidey said. "I talked about her just the same as the others."
"No you didn't," Hobbie interjected. "You went on about her longer than the others." Hobbie pointed.
"Yeah, I saw that too," Gwen added. "Sounded like you were really into her."
"Well...that's because...she's...well...y'know, pretty unique." Peter stammered.
"I bet she is." Sheriff mutters while taking a drink in while Peter turns to him in annoyance.
"As a friend!" Peter quickly said. "As a friend, I think he's pretty unique!"
"Kid, there's nothing wrong with liking someone." Sheriff said. "You can move with your feelings if you want to."
"I know that!" Peter said. "I just don't think of Ava like that." Peter said, though his tone said otherwise.
"Well it sounds like you clearly like the girl!" Sheriff exclaims. "Clearly a lot more than a friend would."
"Well...I won't lie and say he is...pretty great at what she does." Peter admitted. "But we're still friends and all. Besides, it's not like she's into me or anything?!"
"How do you know?" Gwen asked, causing both spiders to turn to her. "Maybe's she into you and you just don't know it." Gwen explained,
"Please, if Ava was into me, I'd know it." Peter said with assurance.
"No, you wouldn't" Gwen sighed. "In my world, my Peter didn't know it when MJ Watson liked him even though he liked her back." Gwen explained. "And hearing you talk about this Ava girl is making me feel Deja vu."
"Well..." Peter tried to think of something to say. "There might have been a few moments here or there...Like when she hugged me or when...she thought I was a really good person to be around or when she confided in me her past."
"My god kid." Sheriff groaned, rubbing his temples. "If you can't tell those are signs, then you are doomed..."
"Look can we please move on from this and talk about something else, please!?" Peter pleaded to his fellow spiders.
The three spiders looked amongst each other and sighed in response. "Alright kid." Sheriff said. "We'll talk about something else."
"Thank you." Spider-Man said with a relieved tone.
"Okay, let's talk about how..." Sheriff hummed as he tried to think of a topic. "Oh I know, talk about more about this Ava Ayala girl and what he's like a bit more."
"WHAT!?" Peter exclaimed. "I thought we were changing the subject!?"
"We are." Sheriff inisteed. "We're moving from talking about our lives and instead talk about the people in our lives." Sheriff explained. "Like...romantic partners for example."
"Oh my god..." Peter groaned. "How about something else, Huh?" Peter tried to change the subject. "How about how many times I've been zapped by Electro."
"Nah." Hobbie shook his head. "I'd rather talk about his relationship with this tiger girl." Hobbie smirked.
"I would too." Gwen said with an amused look on her face.
"So, Peter." Sheriff said as he looked at his younger self. "What do you have to share?" He asked with an amused smirk.
"Ugh!" Spider-Man groaned as he bannged his head on the table. "I wonder how Drifter is doing right now." Spider-Man thought to himself.
The Manager's Office
Back in the office of the Chameleon, Drifter had just given him something very valuable in exchange for fuel. Something that made Dmitri Smerdyakov a very happy man for having something so valuable.
"Drifter. You know to make a person happy, you know that." Dmitri said, not facing him as he was eyeing the item that was given to him while Drifter looked at Dmitri in annoyance.
"And you've made me very...very happy..." Dmitri said in a slightly sinister tone as he raised up the item in the air. The object Dmitri was holding was a massive chunk of Vibranium in its natural form.
"Yeah, wasn't exactly easy to get." Drifter said in a serious tone while he crossed his arms. He didn't want to give him this, but he needed the fuel so he had to make this choice. "Despite travelling the Multiverse, Vibranium is still hard to obtain."
"Oh I know." Dmitri said as he placed the rock down on his desk, still smiling at it. "I've tried for years to get just one chunk for myself. And here it is." Dmitri said before chuckling to himself. "I have to say, I imagine some Wakandans aren't going to be happy to know this ended up in my hands." Dimitri said in an amused tone.
"Unlike you, I obtained that through legal means." Drifter said as he glared at the man. "I'm free to do with it as I wish. Now I have done what you asked for and I expect that you fulfill your end of the bargain."
Dmitri looked at the veteran spider in annoyance for a few moments before he gave a scoff. "Fine. Men if you will, give Drifter the fuel." Dmitri said with a wave of a hand as his men nodded and went to get the stuff.
"Trust me, this is top grade stuff." Dimitri assured as if he were a salesman. "The best travelling fuel I've got. A lot better than the stuff you're using."
"I should hope so." Drifter calmly said as the two henchmen came back, one of them carrying a briefcase and placing it on the table.
Dimitri smiled, got up from his seat and turned the briefcase around so it was facing Drifter. He opened the case for the veteran spider, giving off a blue light from it.
Drifter took a closer look and saw that the case was filled with at least fifty vials of fuel for his device to use, the inside of the vials was a blue liquid flowing inside. Drifter then gave a sigh of relief at this. "This will do."
"Good." Dimitri smiled. "I'm glad we could make this happen." Dimitri said as Drifter got up to inspect it.
"It'll be much better than your old fuel source." Dimitri said as Drifter inspected the fuel himself. "At least one of those vials can go on for about a year or two, if you make it that long" Dimitri chuckled to himself."But I wouldn't connect it to your robot." The former Sinister Six member advised. "He'll drain the power so fast, you won't make it past two worlds.
"I can live with that." Drifter said as he got his transporter out and placed the new fuel within the device, powering it up to one hundred. "So long as the fuel will be enough to get me where I need to."
"As I said, this is a very powerful fuel source my friend." Dimitri said. "It can get you to the literal end of the Multiverse to right back to your own Earth." Dimitri stated as Drifter hummed in response, invested in getting his device working.
"You do have an Earth, don't you?" Dimitri asked slyly but with a smirk on his face.
"I did." Drifter answered plainly, focused on the transporter then facing him.
"Really?" Dimitri asked in fake curiosity. "You never seem to mention it."
Drifter, still focused on his work, briefly looked at Dimitri. "I have other things on my mind to focus on."
"Ah of course." Dimitri nodded as Drifter continued to sort out his device. But Dimitri still felt like he needed to press on. "Is it still there? Your home?" Dimitri pressed on. "Or is it gone?" Dimitri continued as Drifter continued to try and ignore him.
"Or were you exiled?" Dimitri guessed. "Oh come on, give me something. There has to be something that I got right. Do you have a home my friend? and can you not wait to go back to it?" Dimitri asked.
Drifter didn't answer and tried to ignore him, though his hand did slightly curl itself to a fist at his mocking words. Dimitri shrugged in response.
Drifter looked up at Dimitri with a glare under his mask, not saying a word to the former Sinister Six member. He then placed the transporter back on his belt. "I think we're done here."
"Oh well then." Dimitri sighed. "You got what you wanted, Drifter. Now you can go along with your journey and hopefully you'll finish in time to go back home...assuming you have a home to go back to." Dimitri finished with a chuckle.
Drifter took a deep breath in as to calm himself, not wanting to be easily angered by Dimitri and do something he would regret. "Thank you for your cooperation." Drifter said in a slightly strained voice.
Dimitri smiled in response. "You most certainly welcome my friend." Dimitri said. "Now you can go off and stop...uh, huh, I forget, who is it you're fighting again?"
"I'm off to stop Dark Web from tearing apart the multiverse." Drifter answered, causing Dimitri to lose his smile and have a serious look on his face.
"Oh...him" Dimitri said with clear disgust in his tone. "Ah yes, I know about that man." Dimitri said, clearly angry about said spider. "He is quite something. Killed a lot of people. He is a dangerous man."
Drifter then thought to ask him something. "You haven't had any dealings with him or his men have you?"
"Oh God no." Dimitri immediately responded in disgust. "I wouldn't let that crazy bastard or any of his men in my establishment." Dimitri said, straightening his tie. "I've heard the stories. About what his men have done. What he has done." Dimitri said as his whole body shivered in response to remembering those tales.
"Yeah well you're lucky." Drifter said as he began to leave the office. "Dark Web is the type of man to get anything he wants..." Drifter said as he opened the door, but not before looking back at Dimitri. "Except with a lot more blood." Drifter finished as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
Dimitri, while angry at the mention of the mad spider, did think over what Drifter said. this Dark Web was a powerful person who seemed the type to make anything happen.
Dimitri then hummed in response over Drifter's words. "Anything, huh?" Dimitri said to himself. "Well then, better put that to the test." Dmitri said as he pulled out a tablet and started to work on it, something to give his patrons a little something for their well earned money.
"Boys, get the holo calls ready." Dimitri said as he then smirked with a sinister look on his face. "I'm about to make a killing."
Backroom of the Translucent.
Spider-Drone was still patiently waiting for Drifter to return. He did try a few attempts to talk with the guard, but he got so annoyed with the robot, he just left to get a drink, leaving Drone on his own.
His head turned when he heard the door open, showing Drifter coming out of the office. "I got what we need." Drifter said as he raised up his bag for Spider-Drone to see.
"Very good." Spider-Drone complimented. He then opened up his chest plate. "Shall I place the transporter back inside?" Drone asked.
"No Drone." Drifter answered. "I was told that this fuel wouldn't be compatible with you." Drifter explained. "We'll go back to using it like before. But this time fuel is much better."
"As, I understand." Spider-Drone said as he closed his chest back up. "Shall we return to the others?" The mechanical spider asked.
"Yes and quick." Drifter answered as he and Drone started to walk away and go back to the spiders. "I don't want to be here for another second."
Drone then turned to Drifter. "Was the meeting unpleasant?"
"Always." Drifter said. "The man was completely unbearable, but that's normal for someone like..." Drifter said until he stopped himself from saying the name.
"Someone like who?" Spider-Drone asked.
"It's...not important." Drifter said. "I'll deal with it later." Drifter assured. Drifter would be back to deal with Dimitri once all of this was over. "Come on, we'll regroup with the others and then we'll be on our way." Drifter said as he and the robot spider went to find the rest of their crew.
The Spiders Table
"Please god, make this stop." Spider-Man groaned, his head on the table while the rest of the spiders still asked questions.
"So let me get this straight," Sheriff said, getting all the facts. "You've known this girl for five years and not once did you ever think that she'd be interested in you?" Sheriff asked incredulously. "Or even make the first step to ask?"
"Man, you move slow." Hobbie remarked.
"I'm not that slow when it comes to realizing something." Spider-Man groaned in protest.
"Kid, I've known turtles faster than you." Sheriff Spider remarked.
"They do have a good point, Pete," Gwen added. "It sounds like you two like each other."
"Someone can actually put up with his personality" A voice called out, the spiders turning to see Steam-Spider approaching them. "There's a shock," Steam said with sarcasm.
"Oh there you are," Sheriff remarked to his Steampunk counterpart. "And where have you been?"
Steam crossed his arms. "I was dealing with a few things. I Need to get my head clear."
"And it had to be away from us?" Gwen asked.
"Yep." Steam answered simply. "Couldn't clear it with your constant questions."
"Nice to see you too." Sheriff joked as he took a drink from his glass.
"Where's the robot?" Steam asked.
"Gone with Drifter to see the boss of this place." Sheriff answered. He then saw something that caught his eye. "And here's the man himself." Sheriff said as the spiders turned to see Drifter and Spider-Drone walking towards them.
"I got what we need." Drifter said as he walked up to the group, much to Spidey's relief.
"Oh Drifter, thank god!" Spider-Man exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and facing his older self. "Please tell me we got what we need so we can leave without answering anymore questions." Spider-Man begged as Drifter looked at him with a confused and slightly worried look.
"What's up with him?" Drifter asked, turning to Sheriff-Spider.
"Did he realize how bad his outfit is?" Steam remarked.
"Nah, it's something else." Sheriff waved his hand wave. "Relationship issues." The wild west spider whispers to Drifter.
"Ah." Drifter said, understanding now. "That old chestnut."
Spider-Gwen walked up to Spider-Drone to check on him. "Drone, where have you been?" Gwen asked the robotic spider.
"I was going to help Drifter in acquiring the new fuel, but it appeared he did not need my help." Drone explained.
"I don't see why." Hobbie said. "You're pretty big enough to intimidate the guy if he had said no."
"I was not built for that kind of purpose." Drone said.
"Could've fooled me." Hobbie replied, recalling back to the time where he faced off against Ultron Gamma.
Sheriff-Spider then turned to Drifter. "So how'd it go?" Sheriff asked. "Did you get what you needed?"
"Yes." Drifter said. He then pulled his satchel forward and opened it, showing the insides of it which contained the new fuel supply they'll be using. "Now we'll be able to travel again." Drifter said.
"Good." Sheriff-Spider said. "The sooner we can leave the better." Sheriff stated as he got up from his seat. "While I enjoy the camaraderie with the others, I'd much prefer it in a much less ominous setting." Sheriff said as he referred to the people around them, being less than upstanding citizens.
"Well you don't need to worry about that because we're just about to leave." Drifter said. He then turned to the other spiders. "We're done here people. Let's move."
"Aw, really?" Punk said in disappointment. "I was really beginning to like this place."
"I know I've made a few friends." Steam said with a small smirk, recalling the incident with the bar.
Drifter sighed, not wanting to know what that meant from Steam. "Look, I got the fuel. So let's go before we cause some problems." Drifter said.
"That doesn't seem likely considering we didn't do much." Spider-Man said.
"I understand that but we really should-" Drifter was about to say until he heard a loud ding sound, and it wasn't just one. He looked around and saw that everyone in the club all had a large dinging sound coming from each and everyone of them.
"Uh, Drifter what is that?" Spider-Gwen asked as she got up from her seat and got into a defensive position.
"I know I don't like it." Sheriff said as he got up and placed a hand on his holster, ready to pull it out as the people in the nightclub started to look at the spiders with unknown intent.
"It appears that we are the center of attention." Spider-Drone observed as the patrons around them had their eyes on the spiders.
Spider-Man got up from his seat. "That's usually either a good thing or a really bad thing" Spider-Man stated. "And for me, it's never been good."
Steam-Spider then prepared his spider talons up. "It'll be even worse for them." Steam coldly stated.
"This is gonna get ugly." Hobbie stated as the patrons form into a crowd and nearly surround the spiders, blocking their way to escape.
Drifter looked around and saw that it was nearly everyone in the club looking at them. But what caught his eye was the signs around them that now held images of each of the spiders with a caption under it that said: CAPTURE ALIVE. PRIZE ENSURED.
"Oh shit." Drifter cursed as the mob slowly surrounded the spiders, waiting for a chance to take them on.
"This is gonna be fun..." Spider-Man stated scarcastely as he and the other spiders formed a circle around each other and waited for the next move, ensuring that a fight would soon come for them.
Thanks for reading this chapter of Rise and Fall.
So the spiders have arrived at the club, the owner of the club is revealed to be a former Sinister Six member: The Chameleon and a fight is about to regain hell of the spiders. Go figure.
Next chapter will deal with the immediate fight and how the Spiders will fare out against these patrons some will be easy and others...may seem unstoppable. Thanks and see you around!
