Chapter 13
"Wherein Kendrick goes to the dance, but does very little dancing."
Thanks to josephguy217 for favoriting and following. Thanks to CrimsonBlade13 for following and favoriting.
Thanks to Exile037 for reviewing. I'm glad you liked the flashback, I thought it turned out pretty good. Wet your appetite and all that. As for how he felt when meeting Peter...you'll have to wait and see. I'll tell you one thing though: there's a very good reason Kendrick was crying in that flashback. And I'll just leave it at that.
Thanks to ChainGangSoldier45 for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. As for imposter Spidey and the fight with Scorpion, well here it is!
Kendrick...was hot.
And he wasn't thinking that to be bragging, he was actually, physically hot.
He was standing outside the apartment complex of Nicki and Nathan Ross, waiting for the former to come out. And he was wearing...a suit. Not the flashy red and blue kind, oh no, he was wearing a full. On. Suit. With a freakin' bow tie. A bow tie! He shivered, thinking about all it took to put it on.
"Ken," Marshall had said. "We're gonna be late! What're you doing?"
"Uh, on my way!" Ken had yelled from the bathroom.
Marshall had walked into the room, already dressed in his suit and tie, which he had paid for himself. (His parents didn't really spend much money on him.)
"Dude, if this Nicki chick turns you into a vegetable with her powers for holding her up...oh God."
Marshall looked up on the ceiling where Kendrick was struggling to put on his bow tie.
"This," Ken said. "This can be explained."
"I'm not sure I want it to," he said, motioning for Ken to come down.
Kendrick fell to the ground and Marshall worked on his tie.
"You...you know how to tie a bow tie?"
"And you don't? Y'know what? Don't answer that."
Marshall stepped back to admire his handiwork.
"Bad. Ass."
"Did you really just use 'bad ass' to describe a bow tie?"
Marshall grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. "Yes I did. You ready now?"
"Might as well get it over with."
"Yeah," Kendrick mumbled to himself. "Never wanna do that again."
Kendrick looked at his watch.
"Oh my God," Ken mumbled. "What is taking that girl so long?"
It was that moment that Nicki and her brother Nathan walked out, making Kendrick stop. Nicki was dressed in a long white dress that matched her hair that was tied up in a bun. She was also wearing a diamond necklace that reflected the light from the street lights in a way that only made her more beautiful.
"Stop starin'," Nathan said, pulling Kendrick out of his stare. "You're making me uncomfortable."
"Oh, uh, sorry," Kendrick said looking away. "Uh...you..you look, uh, awesome."
"Awesome?" Nicki asked with a smile.
"I mean great! Uh, beautiful! I...oh...," Ken stopped once he noticed Nathan's hands start to steam.
"Be nice," she said. "So, where's your car?"
Oh no. Oh no no no no no. Kendrick didn't have a car. He should've rented a limo or or...no, but he spent all his money on his suit! Dammit!
"Uh..." Kendrick stammered.
"This asshole doesn't have a car," Nathan said. "Real nice. Not even a little surprised."
"Nathan!"
"Who needs a car anyway?" Kendrick said, an idea coming to his mind. "When you can do..."
Next thing Ken knew, he was high in the air, holding on to Nicki with his left hand.
"...this!"
I probably should've thought this through.
For one thing, someone could've seen him. Bye bye, secret identity. Another thing, this probably wouldn't make Nathan like him any more. Another detail, Nicki was probably terrified...wait.
She wasn't. In fact, she was laughing.
Yes! Ken thought. I didn't ruin this!
Kendrick outstretched his right hand and fired a web, swinging though the air, getting more laughter from Nicki.
It was then Kendrick realized that he really didn't know Nicki. Nathan was right, he had only met her twice, not counting this time. But, from her reaction, he could tell she liked to have fun. Ken liked fun. He also liked her figure, which was held firmly in his hand.
Head outta the gutter, Ken.
Dr. Curtis Lance looked at the security footage of the gymnasium where the dance was being held. There were a lot of innocent teenagers there. There was a chance most of them would be injured or killed during his plan. But it was for the benefit of science, after all.
Besides,Dr. Lance thought. Teenagers are just a waste of space anyway.
Dr. Lance looks at the Scorpion monster sitting in his cage. It looked at him with a scared expression. Dr. Lance smiled.
"I think I'm overdressed for this."
"You are not."
Kendrick and Nicki stood at the entrance for the dance. Everyone was dressed in suits and dresses, but Nicki's was...just better. It was practically glowing. It demanded attention. And it got it. Everyone in the gym was looking at them. And they weren't the the stares of fear and anger that Kendrick had been getting a lot of lately. No, it was a look of envy.
Ken wasn't ashamed to say he liked that look a hell of a lot better.
"Everyone's looking at me," Nicki said, obviously not liking it as much as Ken did.
"It's because you're..." Ken started then stopped himself.
"Awesome?" she asked with a teasing smile.
Ken was gonna say beautiful. But, he was happy she saved him. From himself. Yeah, he was a sad case.
"Yeah, I was totally gonna say..." he said then stopped.
You're reading my thoughts aren't you? Ken thought at her.
Beautiful huh? He heard her think back.
Ken couldn't help but smile. Well, at last he didn't have to worry about embarrassing himself anymore. He had already done that plenty.
"Ken!" he heard behind him. "Dude, hold up!"
Kendrick turned to see Marshall walking up to him. He was wearing a suit with a bow tie, the same one Ken had. He had got the die out of his hair, so now his hair was its natural black, instead of its normal bleached blond.
"Hey Marsh," Ken said, before Marsh stopped when he saw Nicki.
"Oh, uh, hey," Marshall stammered out at her.
"Hey," she said. "You're Marshall right?"
Nicki and Marshall shook hands. Marshall face was as red as Kendrick's exoskeleton.
"Uh Ken," he said. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Uh...sure," he said, then turned to Nicki. "Can I...?"
"Sure. I'll, uh, go to the punch bowl."
Ken walked away with Marsh. "So sorry."
"It's fine."
"Don't tell Nathan."
"No promises."
Marshall pulled Ken into a corner.
"Dude," he said like it was a life or death situation. "She's hot."
"I know. I told you."
"No, no, she's really hot."
"I know."
"Like, super-humanly hot."
"Well, she is a mutant."
"Mutant girls are officially hot."
"Agreed."
They high-fived then went back to the dance.
Jen Farrell walked in the gym, looking around. She was wearing a red dress with earrings that was just as shiny as Nicki's necklace. On her arm, was Earl Wilson, who was wearing a silver suit and black tie, that probably shouldn't have worked, but it did. He had on a gray ring that had an imprint of a dragon on it.
"What are you looking around for?" Earl asked, noticing that she was looking for something.
"What? I'm not..."
"Is it Ken?" Earl asked with a pained expression.
"No, I..."
"At least tell me, Jen. Is this over?"
"No. No! I...,"
Their soon-to-be-argument was interrupted by Marshall, who walked up to them, arms wide.
"Hey guys! You ready to party?!"
"Hey Marsh," Jen said. "You look handsome."
"Thanks," he replied. "Oh, uh, Ken's over by the punch bowl. With his incredibly hot date."
Jen looked over at the bowl, where Ken was chatting with...a girl. She couldn't really get a good look at her from this distance, but she could tell she was...
She looked back and saw Earl looking at her with a pained expression.
This...was gonna be a long night.
"Okay," Nicki asked. "What powers do you, like, actually have?"
"Couldn't you just read my mind and find that out?"
"I could. But I kinda remember this one guy telling me that I shouldn't read minds without permission."
"Point taken," Ken said. "Okay, uh, I'm strong. No idea how strong, but I am. I can shoot webs out of my wrists, which I can use to make lines, nets, uh, balls..."
"Balls?"
"Like, oh my God, like bullets. Darts. Shots. Whatever you wanna call them. Oh yeah, I recently found out I can turn invisible. Like, camouflage."
"Awesome."
"Right? And, I have, like, this little shock thing. I can shock stuff through contact. Although, I haven't used it since..."
"Drake?"
"Yeah. And the reason for that is, it hurt him. A lot. And he was all Venom'd out, y'know. So, I figure that's more of a super villain type power. I don't wanna risk killing a normal guy. Oh! And I have spider pheromones."
"Spider pheromones?"
"Yeah, they're like, this oder I can create that drives girls crazy. Makes them crazy attracted to me. I don't really use it, though. Y'know, conscience and all that."
"Are you using those pheromones on me right now?"
"No, I told you I...," he stopped. "Did you just admit to being attracted to me?"
"You got me."
Kendrick smiled at her. She smiled back. They stood like that for a moment. Just looking at each other.
"Hey Ken," a feminine voice said.
Jen and Earl walked up to them, with Marshall in tow.
"Uh hey," Ken said. "Hey Jen."
"Hey." she replied.
"This is Nicki Ross," Kendrick introduced her. "She was sweet enough to come with me to the dance."
"Hi," Nicki waved at Jen.
"That's...that's great," Jen said. "Um, I'm gonna go to the DJ. Put in a, yeah, request."
Jen hurried off towards the DJ, leaving the three guys and a girl.
"Hey Earl," Ken said to Jen's current boyfriend.
"'Sup Ken," he replied.
"Just, y'know, school dancing."
"Yep. Same."
It was a moment of awkward silence before Marshall spoke up.
"Sorry to interrupt this moment of complete unawkward friendship," he said. "But Kim is here, and I'm gonna go talk to her because I really don't wanna be here."
And with that, Marshall left.
"Uh yeah," Earl said while walking away. "I gotta...yeah."
And that just left Ken and Nicki.
"She likes you," Nicki said. "Jen, I mean."
"What? How do you know that?" Ken asked. "Did you read her mind?"
"Didn't have to," she said. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom."
"Technically it's a restroom," Ken said. "Because, y'know, there aren't any toilets in there."
"Good to know."
And that just left Kendrick.
Hey God, Ken thought. Why does my life always have to suck?
Nicki put her hands under the faucet, letting the warm water run across her hands. It was...a difficult matter to pee with this dress on. But she got through it. She always did.
God, if you're really there, she thought. Why does my life always have to suck?
No answer.
No surprise there.
She jumped as someone walked into the bathroom, interrupting her thoughts.
It was Jen.
"Uh hey," Nicki said to the beautiful redhead. "What's up?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," Jen said as she started fixing her hair. Nicki went back to washing her hands, determined to keep silence between them. That was stopped as she saw Jen adjusting her...goodies.
"You have got to be kidding me," Nicki said.
"What?"
"Shit, did I say that out loud? Sometimes I kinda get those...anyway, what I was saying was...what the hell?"
"Okay, so I have to...adjust my dress so people can see my boobs," Jen said. "We weren't all born with your perfect figure."
What?
"Do you...have a problem with me?"
"Of course not," Jen said. "I just met you."
"Good. Because I don't want any problems with someone I just met."
"Well, you're good on that front."
"Good."
They turned back to the mirror. Again, they were put into silence. Until Jen spoke.
"Are, uh, are you and Kendrick...?" she started.
"Dating?" Jen nodded. "No, we're not dating. We just met."
"Then why are you going to a dance with him?"
"As a favor."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Again silence.
I gotta get outta here, Nicki thought. She all but ran to the paper towels, not even stopping to dry her hands as she just took a bunch and left.
"So...how ya doing?" Ken asked then stopped, realizing how completely stupid he was being.
Come on Ken, he thought. Just because you're Spider-Man, doesn't mean you can talk to spiders.
"Hey Durham!"
Kendrick looked at the spider in surprise.
What the shit?
Spider-Sense.
Kendrick moved out of the way as Obie took a swing at him.
"Are you serious?!" Kendrick asked as he dodged another blow.
"Stay still Durham!"
"What is your problem with me?!"
"The fact that you exist!"
Obie took another swing at him, but this time Ken caught it in his right hand.
"Talk. What is your deal?"
"My deal?!" Obie asked like he just asked why the sky was blue. "My deal is you! My brother was killed when your crazy ass brother shot up the school! And then you're still allowed to go here?!"
"Obie, I'm...,"
"No! No, you don't get to talk! My baby brother is gone now, because of your family! And you don't even care! You don't..."
"Kenneth Bradshaw," Kendrick said with a serious expression.
"What?"
"Steven Moore."
"What are you...?"
"Dwayne Harris. Shonda Heffley. Jessica Ramon."
Kendrick looked Obie dead in the eye as he said the last name. "Jimmy Rogers."
Obie physically flinched at the mention of his brother.
"What...what're you...?" he stammered out.
"I could keep going. I know the name of everyone who died during that shootout," Kendrick said solemnly. "Every last one."
"Why would you...?"
Because I if I had stopped Drake faster, they'd still be alive, he wanted to say. Instead he said, "Because I lost my brother too. In situations like this, people just like to put the blame on the families, when we're going through just as much, if not more, pain as you are. The brother I thought I knew, wasn't really the brother I had. And I have to live with that. Forever. So, hate me if you want. I could seriously not give a shit. Because I have way more than enough shit in my life without you."
And, with that, Kendrick walked away, leaving Obie there. He noticed people were staring at him. He just ignored it though.
Kendrick sat on the bleachers, looking up at the ceiling, while drinking some punch. He really had to appreciate the amount of work the student council put in on this place. They had put purple and pink paper of the lights to give the gymnasium a romantic tint, they had streamers all over the damn place, along with heart cut-outs. The tables were...admittedly, pretty average tables. But they were decked out with chips, dip, punch, and...ants on a log. For whatever reason. The school's had to really start giving the students healthy foods. Even the chips were low-fat.
Seriously, Kendrick thought while taking another sip of sugar free punch. Fuck Michelle Obama.
"Mind if I sit down?"
Kendrick looked up and saw Nicki standing over him. A part of him wanted to see if he could get a peek up her dress, but he restrained himself.
"Pervert," she said playfully as she sat down next to him.
"What happened to not reading my mind?" Ken asked.
"I didn't," she said rolling her eyes. "But I can see your boner."
"Oh. That is, um, not a boner."
"Then what is it?"
"My...web-shooter?"
"Your what?"
"It's a device that...shoots webs."
"Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"
"Yeah, I realize that now."
"Hey," Nicki started. "What was that whole...?"
"The thing with Obie?"
"Is that seriously his name?"
"Real name, no gimmicks."
"Wow."
"But yeah, that wasn't anything. Not really. He just...was having a hard time. I cant't blame him for that."
"Well, if you ever wanna talk about it, my mind's always open."
"Why, because it's so empty?"
Nicki playfully hit him and laughed. "Asshole! I'm trying to be nice, and you insult me?"
"No. No, seriously though. Thank you. Thanks for coming to the dance with me, and thanks for being so cool and...thanks."
She was silent for a moment before speaking, "We're friends right?"
"I...guess," Kendrick said, confused by the question. "Yeah, of course."
"Good. I just...I don't have a lot of friends. Or any really. For the longest time, it's just been me and my brother. And I love him, I do, but he's supposed to like me. I don't know if I'm a good person or not, because the only person I really know is my brother..."
"Hey," Kendrick said. "You are a good person. I know I just met you, but I can tell. You...you're incredibly sweet. And funny. And fun-loving. You're amazing. More amazing than me. And I'm Spider-Man!"
"You're just saying that because you think I'm hot."
"That...that just adds to your awesomeness." Kendrick said. "Seriously, you're cool."
Nicki smiled at him. Then, she stopped and looked away.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"I read your mind without permission."
"Oh. Oh! Nicki..."
"You're wondering where my parents are," she said, looking at the ground. "Because I told you that it was just me and Nathan."
"You...you don't have to tell anything," Ken said. "Trust me, I know that there are some things you just don't talk about."
"But, I do trust you Ken," she said. "So...I'll tell you."
"You trust me?" Ken asked, surprised. "Really?"
She gave him a weak smile. "I've been inside your head before, remember? I know you're a good person."
She looked at the ground again.
"My parents are..." she started.
She was interrupted by Kendrick, who suddenly looked alert.
"What is it?" she asked.
"There's another power I forgot to tell you about," he said. "It's this thing I call my spider-sense. It tingles whenever danger is coming towards me."
"Is it tingling now?"
"Hell yeah."
Just then, the wall of the gym exploded, sending rubble and debris flying. One of them landed on the table with the punch, sending the bowl flying on to a girl's white dress.
"This was a rental!" she yelled.
"Ahahahahaha!" Marshall laughed and pointed.
Standing in the hole made in the wall...was The Scorpion.
Oh shit.
Seeing the monstrous creature before them sent all the students and faculty into a frenzy. Some teachers were trying to get the students to calm down, and get into a single file line or some shit. Most of them ignored them. Obviously.
"Uh, Nicki," Kendrick said as his exoskeleton formed over his body. "You should hide."
"What?"
"This is about to get messy," he said. "I don't want you to get..."
"Hurt?" she asked incredulous. "I can help you."
"No offense buddy," Spider-Man said in one of his trademark crouching positions, getting ready to pounce into action. "But I don't think reading his mind is gonna help out here."
"Well, then it's a good thing that's not all I do," she said before her dress again started glowing. When it stopped, she was no longer in her white dress, but in mostly white spandex, along with a black mask covering her face, that allowed you to see her eyes, nose, and mouth. It also allowed her white hair to flow out the back. The body was mostly white, but it was black across the shoulders, outer legs, and back with shades of purple in there. This covered her entire body.
She looked at Spider-Man with a cocky smile, while he just looked at her. Finally she spoke.
"What?" she asked.
"Were you wearing that the entire time?"
"What does it matter?"
"Just answer the question."
"Yes," she groaned. "I was using my mind powers to make everyone think I was wearing a dress, when I was really wearing this costume."
"Why?"
"I was nervous, and this costume makes me feel calm."
"I made you feel nervous?"
"Don't read too much into it."
"Okay," Spider-Man said. "Wait, weren't we doing something?"
They looked and noticed Scorpion flipping tables, looking for Spider-Man, and scaring the civilians
"Oh," Spider-Man said, jumping. "Right."
"Hey, it's Spider-Man!" Kendrick heard kids say as they pointed to him. "He's real!"
"Hi kids!" Spider-Man said as he swung at Scorpion. "Remember, don't do druAGHH!"
He stopped as the Scorpion wrapped his tail around his neck, choking him.
"Akk!" he struggled to yell out as Nicki ran to his rescue. "Ni...! Uh, what should I call you?"
"Psylocke," she said as a purple energy grew in her hands, and her eyes glowed a similar color. "Call me Psylocke."
And with that, Psylocke threw purple energy at Scorpion, sending him back into the wall, causing him to let Spider-Man go, who landed in a crouch, rubbing his neck.
"Ugh, Psylocke?" he asked. "What does that even mean?"
"Do you really have room to judge me?" she asked.
"No I don't," Spider-Man said. "It's not your fault you didn't have the option of something as awesome as Spider-Man."
The Scorpion ran out of from the wall, swinging at Spider-Man, causing him to dodge it and flip through the air.
"I mean, I have the powers of a spider, and I'm a guy," he said, punching The Scorpion in the face. "It kinda writes itself."
Psylocke pulled her hands back, creating a bow and arrow out of purple energy.
"Yeah," she said releasing it. "Well, it's corny."
"You're just peanut butter and jealous," Spider-Man said as the psionic arrow hit Scorpion in the chest. "You hate us, cause you ain't us."
"Must...kill...Spider-Man...," The Scorpion said recovering. "No...choice..."
"We always have a choice buddy," Spider-Man said as he webbed Scorpion's feet to the wall. "I didn't want to hurt you, but you ruined that choice when you endangered these innocent kids."
Spider-Man continued to web him up from the feet up.
"Now, why don't you tell me why you have to kill me."
"Must kill Spider-Man...," The Scorpion said as he struggled to escape from the webs.
"Yeah, you kinda said that already," Spider-Man as he noticed The Scorpion struggle with his restraints. "You're not gonna rip tho..."
SNAP!
Well, shit.
Okay, they needed a new course of action. They couldn't subdue Scorpion, unless Nicki's purple energy things could hold him. They couldn't kill him. Their only chance was to knock him unconscious, but who knows how long that would take? The longer The Scorpion was up and about, the bigger chance someone could get hurt.
"Uh, Ke...Spider-Man?" Psylocke said, getting his attention. "You might wanna see this."
Coming from the same hole Scorpion came through, flew in...Ken?
No, Ken realized. That's the imposter Spider-Man.
"Did you guys throw a surprise party just for me?" the imposter said, landing in the gym. "Aw, I'm touched."
He's even telling jokes like me!
"Um, what the hell?" was all Ken could stammer out.
The imposter looked at Kendrick with a look of surprise. Then...
"Oh my God dude! he yelled. "It's so freakin' you!"
Excitement.
"Spider-Man," the imposter said to him. "I'm, I'm like your biggest fan dude!"
"Uh...that's nice?" Kendrick said, confused. But, however confused Kendrick was, The Scorpion was a lot more.
"Two...Spider-Mans...Men...two..."
"And," Kendrick said. "I think we just fried his brain."
"No," Psylocke said. "It's just processing."
As if on cue, the Scorpion...fell to the ground. Unconscious.
"Now you fried his brain."
"Will he, uh, be okay?"
"Like I should know," Psylocke said, rolling her eyes. "I'm a telepath, not a doctor."
"You're a telepath?!" the imposter yelled in joy. "Cool! Are you a mutant?"
"...Yeah," Psylocke said. "Keep it in your pants, it's not that exciting."
"What I'm wondering is," Ken said, turning to the imposter. "Why are you impersonating me?"
"What?" the imposter asked, obviously confused.
"Seriously?" Spider-Man asked. "Look at you. You're wearing my costume."
"Oh dude," the imposter said. "I never meant to, like, offend you or anything. I was just trying to help you."
"How would this help me?"
"Well, some people don't believe you exist. And, the one's that do, think you're a bad guy. So, if we worked together and saved more people, people would think of you the way you are. A hero dude!"
Kendrick groaned. He audibly groaned at this. Why was he feeling like the bad guy?
"Uh, Spider-Man. Men. People," Psylocke stammered. "I hear sirens. We should go."
Kendrick groaned again. He looked towards the Scorpion.
What the hell are we gonna do with him?
Looking at the Scorpion's face, Ken still thought he looked familiar...
"Spidey," Psylocke said. "We gotta go."
"But, what if he wakes up?"
"Then we deal with it. There's nothing else for us to do here."
"You're so hot," the imposter said.
"Okay," Ken said. "We'll leave him. We'll find somewhere to talk."
The three of them met on a rooftop five blocks from the school. Kendrick realized that people might wonder where he and his date went and put two and two together, but he decided to cross that bridge when he swung there.
"Okay," Kendrick said to the imposter. "Mask off."
"What?" the imposter said confused.
"Mask off," Kendrick said. "Not a hard concept to grasp."
"Why should I?" the imposter said. "How do I know you're the real Spider-Man?"
"Oh my God," Ken groaned, getting tired of this. "The only imposter here is you. I'm Spider-Man. And you're getting on my nerves."
The imposter stood there, looking at Spider-Man and Psylocke for a moment, then took off his mask. Kendrick was surprised. It was...
He had no idea who this guy was.
He was a hispanic guy, with light brown eyes, and short hair. He looked around thirteen or fourteen. That was about the only particularly distinguishing features about the guy. He was just...a normal guy.
"Wow," the imposter said. "You don't remember me. I guess I'm not su..."
"Hey. Hey! I do know you! I saved your life," Kendrick said, recognizing him.
"Ye...yeah," the imposter said, obviously a little happy. "And my Mom and little sister's. That Scorpion monster had thrown a car at you, and you stopped it from landing on us."
[Yes, it actually happened. Check Chapter 8.]
"You seriously don't have to thank me for that," Ken said. "That was more instinct than anything. I had only seen a glimpse of you before I left."
"Whether it was instinct or not," the imposter said, shaking his head. "You saved us. I owe you my life for that."
"Okay," Ken said. "Next question: how did you get powers like me?"
"I'm a mutant," the imposter said. "My powers just showed up, like, a day after you saved us. Like, it was destiny or something. Like, I was meant to help you, because you helped me. I just figured I should spend the time I have left helping people..."
"Wait, what do you mean, 'the time you have left,'" Kendrick asked.
"My mutation is killing me," the imposter said. "After my powers kicked in, I had a seizure. When I went to the hospital, they told me I have only a few months to live."
"Oh my God," Ken said.
"I...I never even heard of mutations killing people..." Psylocke whispered just enough for them to hear.
"Yeah, me neither," the imposter said. "I...I don't know what to do. I don't think there's a cure for whatever it is I have. Just my luck I guess. Nobody likes little Hernan Cueves. Not his dad, not his teachers. Guess God just decided to put me outta my misery."
"Don't think like that," Kendrick said. "You cant just quit on yourself. I had...somebody, who killed themselves because they thought they weren't worth anything to the world. Thought they weren't anything. Well, that's bullshit. Everybody is somebody. If you're having problems, don't quit. Keep moving. Don't stop for anything. Because if you quit, then you're just running away from your problems. Being a coward. You have to be more. You have to be...amazing. Because we have the power to do so. And the responsibility to do it."
Hernan was quiet for a moment, before looking at Ken.
"You're a badass mother fucker, y'know that?"
"Damn straight."
"So...you think this will work?" Nicki asked.
"I really don't know," Ken said. "But, if anybody can help find a cure for Hernan, it's Tyler."
Kendrick, Nicki, and Hernan were walking through Farroway Enterprises, which Ken had gained access to with his keycard. He wasn't too happy with letting Hernan see his unmasked face, but it would've been odd if Spider-Man walked into the building with Kendrick Durham's keycard.
"So, does this Tyler guy, like, own this entire building?" Hernan asked as they walked down the hall.
"Yeah," Ken said. "He worked all his life to fund his first invention. Y'know, it was before Kickstarter. After he created that invention, the Neogenic Recombinator, he was pretty much swimming in dough. Which he used to buy this place."
"So, he's the original Drake?" Hernan asked. "Started from the bottom..."
"Basically," Ken said, until he felt a slight buzz in his skull.
"You fell that?" he asked Hernan.
"Feel what?"
"Hm. Guess you don't have a spider-sense," Kendrick said as they walked into a different room. "Sucks to be...oh God!"
"That...that's..." Nicki started.
Hernan vomited on the floor.
String in the middle of the room was a charred body. It's skin was burned down to the muscle, and it had a horrified look on its face. At first, Ken didn't know who it was, until he looked down at the ring on his right hand. A ring that Ken had given him. That read: BEST BOSS! Kendrick fell to his knees and cried.
Tyler Farroway was dead.
So, yeah. That happened. Is happening. Whichever.
By the way, did you guys hear Deadpool is gonna be rated R? So damn excited for that!
And, I'm gonna have to change that whole a chapter a week thing. I mean, I've been doing it. I cut it pretty close with that last one, only had about twenty minutes before 12:00 am and it would've been Sunday. But, from now on, I'm aiming for every two weeks. I know, I know, lame. But, the reason is, I can't always develop the story in a few days, or at least not as much as I would like. And, I'm kinda busy. I do have a life, y'know. Not a lot, but it's there. Never had a serious girlfriend...
Anyway, this chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written. I think it's around 5,300? Yeah, I'm gonna try to make my chapters longer (to make up for the whole every two weeks thing). Notice how I said try. So, if I make one that's 2,000 words, don't be mad. I still have my rule of at least 2,000 words, unless it's a special occasion.
I think this is also the best chapter I've written yet in this story. I don't know, I was in the zone when I started writing it. My fellow writers will now what I mean when I say it was just flowing out of me. You know when Brian Michael Bendis says it feels like the characters start talking? That was what was happening. I got all the way until Nicki said her name was Psylocke. Then I fell asleep. The rest of it wasn't as good, but whatever.
Lastly, I wanna thank you guys for reading this. I know a lot of writers say that, but I seriously appreciate it. A lot of people don't want to read a Spider-Man without Peter Parker, but you guys did. You took a chance, and you're still with me. That's more than I could've ever asked for. I mean, the views aren't spectacular, but who cares? Only about one or two people review every chapter, but who...all right, that one stings a little.
Wow, this was a long author's notes. But, it is a longer chapter. So...
NEXT: The funeral of Tyler Farroway! Who killed him?! Why was his body in such a terrible state?! And what happens when Kendrick teams up with the NYPD and goes on a rampage looking for the killer?! Two Weeks!