Spider-Man and Jackpot

by pingbear

It's Jackpot's first patrol and Spider-Man has bumped into her. How will our heroes adapt to the new status quo? And how will Mary Jane's big change rippled out into the lives of their friends? (A variant AU which deviates from 616 shortly after ASM 6:31)

1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I hope you enjoy. Please let me know your thoughts.

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Spider-Man is on patrol. He swings through the NYC skyline thinking to himself about how he likes to clear his head, and how he knows he shouldn't, but punching goons helps relieve the stress.

A couple of blocks down he sees a blast of blue energy illuminate an alleyway. He heads towards it.

In the alleyway we see Jackpot saving someone from a mugging. Her slots line up on a cherry, a seven, and a bar. She points her arm at a goon as if she has a gun-arm, and a blast of green energy hits a goon, knocking him down the alley into his accomplice, who has blue lightning sparking off him. Spider-Man watches from a fire escape a few stories up.

Jackpot helps a scared woman in a trenchcoat and business skirt out from behind a dumpster. She is terrified. She asks if Jackpot is going to kill her. Confused, she says no and she is a new hero. She asks the victim's name. Spider-Man calls out.

SPIDER-MAN
We don't ask their names. That's not what we're for.

JACKPOT
Why not?

SPIDER-MAN
Part of saving their lives is keeping their private one
intact as well.

WOMAN
Spider-Man? You're with Spider-Man? Th–thank you.

JACKPOT
No problem.

Spider-Man thwips away off panel. Jackpot looks up and follows him up to the roof of the near building. Jackpot calls out and asks him to wait. We hear Spider-Man call out from behind a vent that he's right there. Jackpot walks around to see him stretching.

JACKPOT
Do you always do this when you're on patrol?

SPIDER-MAN
Stretch? Yeah. Otherwise the muscles in my back
seize up. Not fun.

JACKPOT
No I mean patronise other super heroes?

SPIDER-MAN
Only Moon Knight and Deadpool.
So what do we call you exactly? Twenty one? Craps?

JACKPOT
I go by Jackpot.

SPIDER-MAN
That– that actually stings a little, Mary Jane.

JACKPOT
I'm not– How did you–?

SPIDER-MAN
I thought that was like, 'our thing'. That– wow.

JACKPOT
How did you know it was me?

SPIDER-MAN
Skintight outfit aside, you think that famous model and
actress Mary Jane Watson didn't spend a big part of her
life in big sunglasses hiding from the paps with her
big red hair blowing in the New York subway drafts?
Face recognition algos will figure you out in a day.

Jackpot says nothing. She folds her arms defensively. Spider-Man gets up and the two face each other.

SPIDER-MAN
So this is you now, huh? After all those years of
having a problem with my crime fighting. Hmm.

JACKPOT
Turns out all I needed was the right push.

SPIDER-MAN
There's a RIGHT push into all this?

JACKPOT
…

SPIDER-MAN
Why are you doing this? Really?

JACKPOT
Can't you work it out?

SPIDER-MAN
Tell me.

JACKPOT
Because with great power–

SPIDER-MAN
Oh jeez.

JACKPOT
comes great responsibility.

SPIDER-MAN
There must also come.

JACKPOT
What?

SPIDER-MAN
There must also come. With great power there
must also come great – It doesn't matter.
What are you playing at? What's your origin story?
What're your motivations? What are your powers?
What are you doing here?
Were you bitten by a poker chip?

JACKPOT
I'm not accountable to you, Peter.

SPIDER-MAN
Aliases only. No real names.

JACKPOT
But you just call–

SPIDER-MAN
I set a bad example. I broke the rule myself.
I'm sorry. No names.
What are your powers?

Jackpot shows off her slots gauntlet.

JACKPOT
A friend made this gauntlet. When the slots line up, it
gives me powers and I can, yaknow, do stuff.

SPIDER-MAN
How does it work?

JACKPOT
I just told you.

SPIDER-MAN
So how do you fix it if it breaks?

JACKPOT
I–

SPIDER-MAN
Is it waterproof?

JACKPOT
Well– I–

SPIDER-MAN
Dust proof?

JACKPOT
Yes?

SPIDER-MAN
How long do the batteries last on a cold New
York winter night?

JACKPOT
I'm sure it–

SPIDER-MAN
Have you been enhanced?

JACKPOT
Meaning what?

SPIDER-MAN
If you got slammed into a wall by the Juggernaut
do you have super strength to take the hit or
would your spine snap in three places?

JACKPOT
I haven't thought about it.

SPIDER-MAN
Well you need to. This isn't something people do because
they want to. This is dangerous. It can all go south in a second.
One mistimed jump, one misplaced web, one unrestrained
punch and people can die. There are no do-overs in this.

JACKPOT
I know! Is this what you're here for? To berate me and
discourage me?

SPIDER-MAN
You can't just put on a suit and jump around rooftops and
endanger your life and other people's.
That is not what this is about.

JACKPOT
I am about helping people!

SPIDER-MAN
Is that all? Just helping people? If you want to help people,
get a law degree and go pro bono. Or volunteer at a food
kitchen. Or be a journalist. Or stack the deck for the
poorest guy at the table.
But these things we all do at night aren't about helping people.
They're about doing the right thing because there's no 'out'.
There's no walk-away when you've been bitten by a spider
or you can turn into a Hulk or your fist glows.
The people who are in this are in it because there's
no walking away. It's not a suit.

JACKPOT
How dare you!?

SPIDER-MAN
After all these years I thought you'd have understood.

JACKPOT
You really think I can't do this!?

SPIDER-MAN
I think your motivations are flawed and you're going to get
yourself hurt. Or worse, someone else.

I'm going to tell the others to keep an eye out for you and
make sure you don't end up doing something you'll regret.

JACKPOT
I know what I'm doing! My motivations are as
pure as yours!
What makes us so different?

SPIDER-MAN
You're kidding, right?

JACKPOT
Yaknow what? I don't need this.

SPIDER-MAN
Jackpot is a suit. Daredevil isn't.
Captain America isn't. The Thing isn't.

JACKPOT
SPIDER-MAN IS A SUIT! MAYBE IF YOU'D UNDERSTOOD
THAT ALL THOSE YEARS WE'D HAVE
HAD MORE OF A CHANCE!

SPIDER-MAN
If that's what this is about then I want you to know, I
won't say "I told you so" when the penny drops and
you see the truth.

JACKPOT
#$% YOU!

Jackpot begins walking away. Spider-Man follows her.

SPIDER-MAN
I'm gonna follow you around tonight.

JACKPOT
Get away from me.

SPIDER-MAN
Come on, you're first team-up! On night one! You gotta
admit there's something about this. Like fate or something.

JACKPOT
I said leave me alone, Spider-Man.

SPIDER-MAN
Whatchya gonna do? Call the cops?

JACKPOT
What do you want from me!? Are you that scared
I'll succeed at something!?

SPIDER-MAN
I've seen you succeed at a million things and I
was always proud of you.
But I'm sorry, Jackpot, you won't succeed at this. You
don't even know your known unknowns. When unknown
unknowns blindside you, what happens then?

Jackpot's slots whirl and she blasts Spider-Man with two 7's and a triple bar. He flies across the street onto another roof in a blaze of purple light. The slots whirl again and Jackpot flies into the air and disappears across the Manhattan skyline.

SPIDER-MAN
Ok, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would.

Spider-Man swings in the direction Jackpot disappeared. He makes a phone call on his headset as he watches Jackpot land in the far distance of the Manhattan skyline.

SPIDER-MAN
It'smedon'thangup.
Listen there's a new hero out here tonight. Goes by
Jackpot. Temperamental and I'm not sure of their powers.
Don't be like that, Johnny.
Look I'm sorry, ok. We went over this.
I won't get you the teriyaki again.
I'm just trying to alert the community that they need
to keep an eye out. Her powers are random and I'm
not convinced by her story.
Some slot machine dealio that determines what she can
do next. She seems to have no influence over it or knows
how it actually works.
Jackpot, yeah.
… no.
I said no! It's not Mary Jane.
Red. I mean—she has a hat.
Ok fine it's MJ. But this wasn't my idea! I tried to stop
her and she fired me across the street. That thing on
her wrist is no joke, and I'm worried she can't control
it. She sure didn't make it.
Johnny, I'm trying to do the responsible thing here.
She's a hazard to herself and anyone she tries to help.
I'm not saying she needs backup, I'm saying she's a
clear and present danger.
She's in grief, Johnny, and she's running around with a
weapon she doesn't understand. She's trying to forget
with a bazooka.
Thank you.
...Is Reed there?
I'd just like to know if Reed is there.
Fine.
...So how are you?
...Johnny?
Johnny?
Son of a—

Spider-Man sees another blast of neon light five blocks away. He has covered ground during his phone call. He lands on a roof above the illuminated alleyway. He peers down to see Jackpot trying to break up a gang fight. She is set upon by both sides who jeer and wolf-whistle her. They mock her outfit and make lewd remarks. Spider-Man watches as her slots roll a cherry, clover and bell and she blasts it into a gang member. He flies back into a dumpster. The others become increasingly angry.

Spider-Man decides he's seen enough. He leaps down the 10 stories into the alleyway, landing in a superhero pose. He stands slowly and stares at the gang members. They panic and run in fear at the sight of him.

JACKPOT
I said I didn't need your help.

SPIDER-MAN
And I told you to go home.

JACKPOT
Pretty sure you didn't.

SPIDER-MAN
Well I'm telling you now.

Jackpot's slots start to whirl. Spider-Man shoots a web at it and pulls it off her arm. Jackpot protests.

SPIDER-MAN
I'm sorry to do this. I really am. I am. I'm sorry.

He webs her up and carries her to the roof.

JACKPOT
HOW DARE YOU!? PUT ME DOWN!

SPIDER-MAN
I will. I just need you to listen to me.

He swings to a higher roof and climbs an office skyscraper. No one can see or hear them. Spider-Man puts down Jackpot. He shoots her gauntlet onto the side of a cell tower out of reach, sticking it to the side, and breaks open the webs restraining her. Jackpot hooks him with her right fist at full force.

JACKPOT
YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!
What gives you the right to do that to me?

Peter removes his mask.

PETER
I'm sorry. I am. I deserved that.
But I need you to understand that you're wrong.
These powers are dangerous. You are going to kill
yourself or someone else.

JACKPOT
How do you know?

PETER
That blast sent me across the street. If you fired that into
some idiot kid with a knife you'd have caved in his rib cage.

JACKPOT
…

PETER
Is that what you want? You wanna kill a kid doing something
stupid? That's what most late night New York crime is.

JACKPOT
…

PETER
I'm not an idiot, MJ. If this is what you wanna do then
this is what you're gonna do.
But let me help. I can show you the ropes and help you
read an environment.
And figure out this gauntlet.

JACKPOT
Why would you do that?

PETER
Because friends don't let friends drive drunk.
I've made my views on this clear, but they don't matter.
You don't value my opinion and it sucks, but I accept that.
You won't talk to me about–anything it seems–and
that sucks too but I'll have to accept that as well.
And I wish you would talk to me because I think…

JACKPOT
You really don't shut up do you?

PETER
…my experience can actually help you here.
But the next least-bad option is to help you not make
an irreparable mistake.

JACKPOT
Shut up. Just stop talking.
...Okay.

PETER
Okay what?

JACKPOT
Okay you can show me the ropes.

PETER
…

JACKPOT
You're clearly not going to take no for an answer,
and I'm very new to this, so let's go.
Let's start.

PETER
...Good. Let's get that gauntlet and figure it out.

Peter gets the gauntlet down from the cell tower and examines it. Mary Jane removes her visor.

PETER
Question one, how many symbols are there?

MJ
Seven.

PETER
So a total of 343 possibilities.
Any tigers?

MJ
Har har.

PETER
Fair warning, the Spider-Man mask
design is trademarked.

MJ
If that were true you'd be a billionaire.

PETER
I wonder who owns that.

MJ
Probably Wilson Fisk.

PETER
I think I'm gonna vomit.
So there's nothing above seven?

MJ
Not that I've seen.

PETER
How do they combine?

MJ
When they stop spinning the power from the glyphs
enters these bangles and I can use the power as I want.

PETER
Like fire it at bad guys like a gun.

MJ
Exactly.

PETER
And fly.

MJ
Seems so. Jealous?

PETER
Can it make you stick to walls?

MJ
Why would I want to do something that basic?

PETER
And we're done here!

Peter begins to leave. Jackpot laughs. She grabs his hand and pulls him back.

MJ
Wait, I'm kidding! I'm kidding.

Peter stops uncomfortably.

PETER
Can you throttle that power?

MJ
What do you mean?

PETER
Let's say it rolls three sevens. That seems pretty
powerful to me. If you use all that power to blast
a thug you could vaporise him.
So can you fire less of the energy at him? And if you did,
where would the extra energy go?

MJ
Let's see.

She puts her visor and the slot machine back on and it starts to spin.

PETER
Let's see if you can choose what it
gives you. Show me three cherries.

The glyphs settle on a lemon, a horseshoe and some grapes.

PETER
Did you try to control it?

JACKPOT
Can I say no?

PETER
Just be honest.

JACKPOT
I tried.

PETER
Ok we'll try again in a minute.
Try and hit this and try to control how much
energy you release.

Peter shoots a wad of webbing into the sky. Jackpot fires the entire energy blast, vaporising the webbing as the energy blast continues high into the sky. Peter watches it disappear into the atmosphere.

PETER
We should probably figure out where the
International Space Station is right now.

JACKPOT
Sorry.

PETER
This is why we practise, champ.
Again. Three lemons.

JACKPOT
Why lemons?

PETER
I don't think we're ready for three sevens.

Peter looks over at Jackpot and smiles at her. It's a sight Mary Jane hasn't seen in what feels like forever. Jackpot smiles back instinctively, her eyes hidden by her visor. The glyphs settle on three lemons.

PETER
Nice!
How did you do that?

JACKPOT
I was just–...thinking of something that makes
me feel in control.

PETER
Nice. So your control of it is correlated to your
affective state.

JACKPOT
Hm?

PETER
Positive thoughts help you control the outcome.
Ok.
Let's try the blast again. Out south towards
the water. Above the horizon.

JACKPOT
Pull!

Peter laughs and shoots up a web pigeon. Jackpot smiles as she fires a focused yellow laser at the webbing. The gold storage cells on her legs light up with yellow energy.

PETER
Ok! Cool! So residual energy is stored in the
costume. That's good to know.
Maybe I should get some of those for web cartridges.

JACKPOT
That wouldn't be a good look.
Pull!

Peter shoots out a variety of targets that Jackpot shoots out of the sky. This continues as they speak. The yellow energy in the energy banks of Jackpot's costume deplete with each shot.

PETER
I never got why you didn't go into fashion design. With your
experience as a model and actress you'd be a natural.

JACKPOT
You forget about Caesar? And Kingsley? Pull!
Got me blacklisted from modelling and fashion. Pull!

PETER
Oh yeah. That was a long time ago, huh?
You ever think about those days?

Jackpot fires a huge blast at a web pigeon and all the energy drains from the storage cells.

JACKPOT
Sorry.

PETER
No problem.
Let's charge it up again. Clear your mind.

JACKPOT
Any requests?

PETER
You pick. Just say what you're aiming for.

JACKPOT
Three Spider-Men.

PETER
I can arrange that these days.

The slots land on three different glyphs.

PETER
Ok just get rid of it. Here.

He fires up a web pigeon that Jackpot clears with a blast from both arms.

JACKPOT
What are we doing?

PETER
We need to compare different energy levels
from different glyphs.
I'm thinking flight drains it pretty consistently, so if
we can time the length of time you can hover with
different triple glyphs, we can calculate the relative
power levels of each glyph, and then we can move
onto combinations.

JACKPOT
Nerd.

PETER
Nerds save lives. Three sevens.

JACKPOT
You've got something in your teeth by the way.

PETER
Wait, really?

Peter sticks his tongue in his teeth to clean them, going cockeyed as he tries to look at his own mouth, inadvertently making a goofy face. Jackpot laughs as she rolls three sevens on the first attempt. She glows bright blue.

PETER
Check you out.

Jackpot twirls into a confident pose.

PETER
Ok now can you hover about six feet in the air?

JACKPOT
Check me out.

Peter smiles as she rises into the air. He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. He starts a stopwatch.

PETER
Let's see how long this holds, then we'll try
with three cherries.
So where's the suit from?

JACKPOT
Felicia.

PETER
Excuse me?

JACKPOT
What's wrong?

PETER
Felicia gave you that?

JACKPOT
That's what I said.

PETER
O–ok.

JACKPOT
What?

PETER
It's just. Something she said to me…
…that's unrelated.

JACKPOT
What is it?

PETER
Just what she said when she dumped me.

JACKPOT
Black Cat dumped you? I didn't know she
knew how to do that.

PETER
It's happened before.

JACKPOT
What did she say?

PETER
She said she was bored because she
wasn't corrupting me.

JACKPOT
Really? She said th—?
Oh. I get it.

PETER
What?

JACKPOT
You think she's trying to corrupt me
because that's her M.O.

PETER
I didn't say that.

JACKPOT
You didn't have to.

PETER
I didn't say that!
But Felicia couldn't have made this.

JACKPOT
Paul made the tech.

PETER
That explains why it's unlike anything
in this dimension.

JACKPOT
This is his dimension now, Peter.

PETER
And it means we need to make sure that you're in
control given what his technology can do in
the wrong hands.

JACKPOT
You just can't stop yourself can you?

PETER
Can't stop myself from asking the right questions
and trying to find answers that keep people safe?
It's a curse.

Jackpot lands and fires the remaining energy at Peter. He flies off the side of the building and pulls himself back on with his webs. He puts his mask back on.

SPIDER-MAN
120 seconds and the punch of an elephant.
You wanna try three cherries?

Jackpot spins the slots onto three random glyphs and uses the energy as a whip to hit Spider-Man. He handsprings across the roof as Jackpot throws energy bolts at him in a rage.

SPIDER-MAN
I thought tonight was going well. What gives?

JACKPOT
You'll never change, will you!?

SPIDER-MAN
Use your words, Jackpot.

JACKPOT
I am! Nothing is serious with you. Nothing
deserves your respect!

SPIDER-MAN
That's not true.

JACKPOT
Isn't it?
God I was such a fool to think I could
learn from you!

SPIDER-MAN
Please, let's keep working together. I haven't taught
you how to control a fight yet.

JACKPOT
I don't need your help.

SPIDER-MAN
Please keep talking to me. This was going well.

JACKPOT
I'm out of here.

SPIDER-MAN
What about Daredevil?
I can see if he's free tomorrow night?

Jackpot fires up the gauntlet and flies off.

SPIDER-MAN
Please! I want to help!

Jackpot flies out of earshot.

SPIDER-MAN
Don't go. Please.
It was going well.
Please.
I miss you…

A door on the roof opens behind him and Johnny Storm walks out. Spider-Man removes his mask. He is crestfallen.

JOHNNY
Do you think she knew you were on top of the Baxter Building this whole time?

PETER
Maybe.
Did you get it all?

JOHNNY
Sure did. I forgot you're actually smart.

PETER
Yeah me too.

JOHNNY
Reed's gonna take a look at the data he collected on
the gauntlet and the technology. It certainly seems like
too much for her to handle. For the moment at least.

PETER
Yeah. I just don't want to see her hurt.

JOHNNY
So how are things between the two of you?

PETER
Not good.

JOHNNY
You still in love with her?

PETER
Always have been.

JOHNNY
Yeah that sucks. Hey, you wanna–

Peter turns and rushes forward and hugs Jonny. Jonny is surprised but softens as he moves his arms to hold Peter. Peter sheds silent tears into Jonny's shoulder.

JOHNNY
Hey. You ok?

PETER
No. But I have to be, so…

JOHNNY
Yeah.
I'm sorry, Pete.