TALES OF BEN REILLY: THE SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN!
Shocker
Ben, Kurumu, Mizore, Moka, Tsukune and Yukari all sat in the Newspaper Club working on the first article for the year. "Ben," Yukari asked as she tapped away at her laptop, "You mentioned that you were on a bunch of crazy adventures over the last six months. What exactly happened?"
Ben wrote out his article in deep thought, "Well...the past always comes back to haunt you, and by that I mean that you are bound to run into that crazy ex that you always see on the street. You know what I mean?"
You had a girlfriend? Moka's 'Inner' self asked. "You had a girlfriend?" Moka herself asked.
"Pfft! No! I'm a loser, a super turbo virgin!" he laughed. "No, it was a metaphor for possibly one of my brothers most constant villains that he ever would face. Herman Schultz: The Shocker."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
It was a typical morning in Queens. Ben woke up early in the morning, his first day at The Daily Grind started today. Man...I really hope they teach me how to make coffee because I am really fucking tired. He thought with a yawn. Ben walked over to his mirror and noticed he had began to develop more muscle than he usually had, Guess my workouts have really been helping out lately. he smiled. He walked out of the room and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. He turned the shower on and looked at himself in the mirror again, Wow, I need to shave. he thought as he saw a five o'clock shadow began to form. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled at his fresh cut, though admittedly, he needed to redye it again. His hair was completely brown with no hints of blond and he groaned in annoyance, That's boring.
After his shower Ben ran down the stairs to the kitchen where Aunt May had made omelettes, plural because Ben could really eat. On the tv a report came across about Spider-Man stopping a runaway train whose braking systems malfunctioned causing it to go haywire. "Furthermore, after Spider-Man stopped the train, we have information from the city that state the damages done to the tracks are close to the tens of thousands." Aunt May looked to Ben who was trying to hurry and finish his food so he didn't get scolded.
"Benjamin. Reilly." May said sternly.
Ben stopped and slowly swallowed the rest of his food, "Yes?" he asked trying to sound calm. May crossed her arms and frowned, "It wasn't my fault!" Ben defended, "It was either I tore up some of the track or I let the train crash, I couldn't do that! I mean...I got the job done right?"
May sighed and kissed his forehead, "I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned about the situations you put yourself in."
"Oh, that?" Ben waved his hand and laughed, "Nah, it could have been way worse Aunt May. This was just a train, but I deal with people who shoot at me with guns all the time." May tilted her head and gave Ben a stern look, "Uh...I mean, I am being completely careful when I do my job. I wouldn't want to hurt you by getting hurt!" Good save Ben! he applauded in his head. "Oh, look at the time, I have to hurry so I can be time for work! See ya' Aunt May!" Ben quickly put on his Retro 1's and ran out the front door. Okay, I have thirty minutes to get to work...well, might as well take the express way! Ben quickly slapped on his new and improved Web Shooters he made when he became Spider-Man, not as bulky and a little bit more concealable.
Music Cue: Don't Stop Me Now--Queen
Running down an alleyway, Ben jumped into the air and shot a Web Line, making sure he was high enough above the ground so that he couldn't be recognized. "WOO-HOO!" he shouted while he swung through the air and performed intense acrobatic tricks. Ben shot another Web Line and began to cross the Queensboro bridge before swinging up high in the air again. He began to swing through Midtown and even swung past Kaine who sat on the edge of a building reading a copy of the Daily Bugle, "Morning, Kaine!" Ben called out as he swung past.
"Go fuck yourself!" Kaine called back as he flipped to the sports section, "Christ, Giants...really cutting that Bucs game close, eh?" he said with a groan before he continued with the paper.
Ben swung to the coffee shop in downtown Midtown and perched himself on the roof, "Okay, now to get down where people won't see me." he said to himself before looking all around. He eventually saw an alleyway that looked like it didn't have a lot of foot traffic, "Bingo!" Jumping down, Ben emerged from the alley as if it was normal smiling at people as he walked by and even gave a five dollar bill to some street performers. When Ben opened the door he was greeted to the sweet smell of fresh coffee being brewed and cookies baking. The inside looked pretty baron, which explains why Ben was hired for only part time, but hopefully he'll make full time once he proves himself.
He was hired by chance from the store owners daughter, who practically ran the store since her parents were getting older. Her name was Shirley Washington, a young and beautiful black woman with a bit of a frizzy female fro going on. With her yellow work shirt and her maroon colored apron, Ben couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked. He also couldn't help but notice how tired she looked as she quickly ducked behind the cold case and leaned her head a against it, her signature move Ben noticed after the few times he came here. "Long day?" Ben asked as he stepped behind the counter ready for his first official day.
"Oh, Mr. Reilly." Shirley yawned, "Long week is more like it. I'm glad my parents let me hire you, I really need the extra help." She slapped Ben on the shoulder and brought him to the back where he could put on his work shirt, "So, what do you know about coffee?"
"Jack and shii-"
"STOP!" Shirley interrupted before pointing to a mason jar with "swear" written on it, "Every time you curse you lose one dollar of your tips, and that jar there goes to my parents."
"I don't know much. I can make drip coffee." Ben said with a sigh.
"Well, you came at the right time!" Shirley smiled, "Because we are fucking dead!" Ben pointed to the swear jar, "Rule 2: I'm your boss, I don't have to follow that rule unless my momma is here." she chuckled before walking back out to the front counter. Well...that kinda sucks. Ben followed Shirley out to the front where she taught him how to make more basic coffees by using a French Press, "You see, because the hot water doesn't filter through the ground beans you get a more richer flavor, as well as a stronger coffee overall." she explained. Ben nodded and mentally took notes. "This is the blender, we use this for the younger crowd, or single woman on their way to work." Shirley laughed, "Ahem, its used to make a frappuccino, really not super difficult, so if you follow the instructions on the paper you'll be fine." Ben nodded and with his little experience began serving the few customers that came.
The bell at the door rang, meaning a new customer entered...or one had left, but one had entered! A black man, somewhere in his early thirties came and sat at the counter. "Heeeeelllllo there sir, how may I help you today?" Ben greeted with which the man returned with a chuckle.
"Regular coffee would be fine." he replied.
Ben nodded, "Oh! Can I get a name for the order?"
"Hobie."
"Alright, one regular coffee coming up!" as Ben poured the man's drink into a cup another customer walked in, this time a blond girl no older than 16 or 17, "Hello miss!" Ben greeted. He...certainly is cheerful. Shirley thought as she attended to other patrons.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Woah, woah, woah...hold up!" Kurumu interrupted, "1) What does this have to do with that...'Shocker' character. And 2) How would you know what your boss was thinking of you right at that moment?" (Kurumu would be great at FanFiction sins.)
"Hey, it's called setting the tone alright? Would you rather I skip to the end and tell you how I got to that moment like a Tarentino film?" Kurumu cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "I didn't think so. So let me tell the story."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
After a pretty long day, or it least it felt that way since nobody really came by. Shirley told Ben that he was free to leave for the day and that she was grateful for his help. Ben went through the front doors and ran back through the alleyway he landed in earlier. Slow day...I wonder if there was a way for me help her out and, admittedly, get me more work. A little selfish, I know, but I have a good reason for it! he told himself. Ben quickly changed into his suit and began to swing through the city with his close webbed to a wall in an athletic bag. Ben swung up and let himself free fall to the ground before shooting another Web Line to a building at the last minute, "Yo, Spidey! Nice suit!" a jogger yelled out. Not everybody had seen Ben's suit yet, so he still got compliments for something like that. Another thing that people would shout to him: "Spidey, how 'bout that football game?"
"Go Giants!" Ben shouted as he swung by, getting random cheers from people on the street. He had become very active on Twitter sporting the handle @NYC_Crawler.
Swinging through the city Ben to do his typical patrol which included stopping typical thugs, stopping a runaway car and getting a cat out of the tree. Yep, just a typical day. Feeling a bit peckish, Ben, mid swing, let go of his Web Line and decided to do a little walking (this way he didn't just drop right in front of a corner store and potentially scare someone walking out. While walking to a small store he knew he walked past many people who gave him high fives and took selfies with him, "Hey, you better tag me in those!" he shouted out. Ben walked through the front doors of a small convenience store and began looking around for something light to eat like chips or something similar, as well as a chocolate milk. As he brought his things up to the counter to get rung up he and the cashier heard some crashing. Apparently a kid, likely in high school or middle school knocked over some boxes that were by the chips.
"Sorry, sorry!" the kid apologized as he began to pick up the boxes. Ben looked to the corner of his lenses as he saw a girl around the same age began to grab different things and stuff them in her jacket before nodding to the boy. So, these two planned this, huh? Smart girl wearing a hat to hide her face. He chuckled lightly, Gotta admit, didn't think any kid, let alone even a girl, would have the balls to shoplift in front of Spider-Man. Like, do they know who I am? The boy began walking to the door and the girl began walking right past Spider-Man before he grabbed her arm.
"Hey!" the girl cried out, "What do you think you're doing?" the boy's eyes widened at the realization that they had been caught and he began to rush to the door before Spidey shot a Web Line and caught the kid by his side before he could run out the door. Ben then pulled the boy by him and he stared down the two kids.
"Okay," he said menacingly with his arms crossed, "spill. Everything, on the counter. Now." the girl began taking the stuff out of her jacket and the boy pulled a large bottle of some random off brand alcoholic drink. Spidey then gripped the two by the shoulders, "Do you have any idea what you two were doing?" the girl rolled her eyes and the boy looked down, "You two are what? 15? 16? You're practically adults now. I would hope your parents taught you right from wrong, did they teach you right from wrong...Francis?" he asked the boy.
"It's Jake, actually." the boy muttered.
"Don't tell him your name, dumbass." the girl groaned.
Spidey looked at the girl and back to the boy, "You two related?" the boy shook his head, "You classmates?" no response, "Childhood friends, is she 'the girl next door'?" the boy gulped. Bingo. "You know, I know you want to impress the girl you like...but...this," he gestured to everything that the kids were trying to steal, "is not the way to do it."
"You're just a vigilante, don't lecture us on right from wrong!" the girl blurted out. Spidey looked at her and chuckled.
"I'm a vigilante because I do what cops can't do, like take down high powered villains. Have you two seen what I do to people with super powers?" the both shook their head, "Well-"
!BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard just down the road inside a bank. "I gotta handle that." Spidey webbed the kids to the counter and they found they couldn't move, "I'm not done with you yet, shop keep, keep that stuff behind the counter 'till I get back!" Ben shot a Web Line and launched out of the store towards the commotion. People were screaming and running in fear from the bank and gunfire was heard from inside the bank. That's not good. Ben thought. He landed on the wall just outside the bank, he then poked his head down so he could peer inside from the top of the door.
"Hurry up you morons! I wanna get this job done quick. Rumor is Spider-Man is back in town and I would rather not have to deal with that red spandex wearing freak!" Shocker. A classic of Spider-Man's villains. His name comes from his ability to launch out shockwaves from his hands due to the specialized gauntlets he created. But his name could be misleading because his suit looks insulated and is yellow...so he often gets mistaken as Electro in different papers in New York...yeah, not something he took too kindly. "You, go man the door!"
"Yes sir!" one of the goons came rushing to the front door and Ben quickly popped his head back up so he wouldn't be spotted. Well this is annoying. There wasn't even a skylight opening! Ben looked around to make some sort of distraction when he saw a quarter on the ground. Oh...yeah, I can make this work. Stealthily grabbing the quarter, Spidey held it between his thumb and middle finger, he then brought his arm back so that his hand was by his face and his elbow was pointing towards the gunman. Here it goes. he then snapped his finger and watched as the quarter flew at an amazing speed.
The plan was for the quarter to hit the guy and have him come investigate in the direction the quarter came from...the end result was that Ben had snapped the quarter with such force, that when it connected to the man's skull he fell unconcious. Ben held his hand to his mouth in pure astonishment. "Oh my God, did I kill him?" Ben felt for the man's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. He's only concussed." Note to self, scale back the Spidey Snap.
Ben quickly pulled the man's body away from the doorway and placed him against the wall and webbed him to it. "Okay, now to do my business." Ben shot a Web Line to the ceiling of the bank and zipped himself to the top and surveyed the area. He felt a violent shaking of the building and saw the men helping Shocker stumble around trying to keep their balance. Great, he's already inside the vault. Ben did a quick once over and nodded, No hostages? Okay, let's go. He dropped from the ceiling and landed right in front of a gunman, "HI!" he called out before shooting a Web Line to the ceiling, pulling down and attaching that line to the gunman with a Web Bullet he shot from his other wrist, "Remember, be safe on your bungee jump!" the man immediately flew off his feet and began to dangle in the air. "YIPE!" Ben shouted as he began to dodge gunfire.
"Boss! It's the Webslinger!" a mook shouted out, "I think he knows you're--AAAGHH!!"
"UGH!" Shocker groaned as he threw bags of bills at one of his other lackeys to take back to the van they showed in, "Idiots! You can never find good help these days."
"What about-" the mook began to ask before Shocker cut him off.
"Especially you! What the hell are you doing here? Go get Spider-Man!" The mook picked up his gun and ran towards the door to confront Spider-Man, but as soon as he walked out the door he was tripped by the vigilante who stood just off to the side.
Spidey stared at the downed man with his arms crossed. The mook stared back, he hadn't encountered the vigilante before but he was told the man seemed to tower others, he could see why (Ben is in no way tall by any means, in fact, he is only 5'9" or roughly 175 cm. the mook is just on the ground. It's a perspective thing.) the mook gulped as he struggled to find his gun. "Oh shit man, is this what you're looking for?" Spidey picked up the gun and handed it to the mook, "Yeah, you took a bit of a fall, here let me help you up." Ben grabbed the mook and brought him to his feet he then dusted off the man's shoulders before giving him the gun. "Better?" he asked.
"Yeah, much. Thank you." the mook raised his weapon and pointed it at Spidey's head.
"Woah, woah, woah! Time out!" the mook stopped and Spidey sighed, "You have to cock it." Spidey cocked the man's gun and loaded a bullet into chamber, he then also stealthily removed the magazine from the gun. "Okay, now shoot." the mook pulled the trigger, but the gun clicked like it was empty. "Ah!" Spidey reached behind the goon's ear and pulled a bullet out from behind it, "Here it is, It must have transported when I cocked it."
"Woaaaaaah." the mook said in astonishment, "That's amazing!"
"Thank you, we like to have fun here." Spidey said with a bow, "Now for my next trick I'm gonna stick you to the wall!" Spidey then picked up the mook and webbed him against the wall, "Hey, thanks for cooperating."
"No, no. That bullet trick was really impressive." the mook replied, "Ha ha...I am so screwed in jail."
Ben went around the corner and narrowly dodged a punch from the Shocker, "OH SHIT!"
"Spider-Man, I knew I was going to see you eventually, but I was kinda hoping the rumors were true and that you just gave up." Shocker cracked his neck a few times and rolled his shoulder.
"Sho-ha-ha-ha-ker!" Spidey laughed, "Voice is sounding raspy these days, you kinda sound like Jim Cummings, but like, Pete from Mickey Mouse Jim Cummings."
"You'll be eating those words like a fistful of gravel." Shocker shot back.
"It sounds like you beat me to it, you're getting close to Steve Blum levels of gravel."
Shocker clenched his fists, "Same old Spider-Man, an annoying bug with annoying jokes!" Shocker shot both hands forward to release his shockwaves, but instead found his hands webbed together. Shocker was a little shocked (heh heh).
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"BOO!" Yukari complained as she fake gagged, "That stupid joke damn near killed me."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Shocker yelled in pain as the shockwave that was supposed to come from his hands built up and sent the shock through his body. "Yeah, and you have stayed the same too." Ben mocked, "Make big talk, load up your shock braces, take an overly long time to load up and BOOM! You fire them at me. But I know that with all that power to backfire that, even with your new suit, it will hurt...like a bitch."
"You...damned bug!"
"Look, your arms are shaking!" Ben taunted, "It's okay, I have that effect on girls. Woman go crazy for me you see." Ben began to stretch and roll his shoulders, "Tell you what, I'm feeling kinda tired right now, annnnnd I need to make a point so I'll easy on ya."
Shocker groaned in annoyance, "You think that you're so clever don't you wall crawler, just know that everytime you take me down I get out and I will continue to do so."
Shocker loaded up his arms again and was about to launch his shockwaves again, and again, Ben jumped out of the way while simultaneously webbing Shocker's hands together, rinse and repeat steps 1-3 three more times and you have yourself a boss fight (Ultimate Spider-Man...it was the Ultimate Spider-Man Shocker boss fight--Nerd.) Shocker collapsed to the ground, utterly baffled to how easily Spider-Man defeated him. How? He didn't even throw a punch! Shocker though in embarrassment. "Oops!" Spidey said with a shrug as he stomped on Shocker's wrist and broke one of his shockwave gauntlets, "My bad. OOPS!" Spidey said again as he stomped and broke the other gauntlet followed by kicking Shocker in the gut, "Sorry, that time my foot slipped." Ben left the bank with Shocker in hand.
"What are you gonna do Wall Crawler? Hand me over yourself? Take me to Riker's?" Shocker asked.
"No, I have a point to make." Spidey replied.
Ben led Shocker outside and began to walk past police officers, "Spider-Man, we'll take care of this from here."
"Sure, sure. The others are inside, I just need to teach a quick lesson." Spidey dragged Shocker down the street back to the corner store. The bell rung and he threw Shocker on the ground.
"Easy!" Shocker complained.
The teens looked at Shocker then to Spider-Man then back to Shocker and finally back at Spider-Man, "So?" the girl responded giving a questioning gaze, "What's this?"
"This," Spidey gestured, "is what I can do to people with super powers." he reached down and picked up Shocker's hand.
"What?" Shocker asked, "Are you gonna--AAGGGGHHHHHH!!" he cried in pain as Spidey snapped one of his fingers backwards, "You son of a bitch!" Ben then grabbed the back of Shocker's mask and lifted his head before slamming his face into the ground, knocking him out.
"If I catch you kids stealing from any store ever again...I will do that." Ben warned.
"You can't do that!" the girl replied.
"I'm a vigilante, not a cop. I'm already breaking the law, may as well teach some lessons while I do it."
"Sarah," the boy whispered, "Maybe we should just listen, I mean...he's Spider-Man." the girl groaned.
"Tell you what." Ben brought out a debit card and the girl tried to get a look at the name, "It won't be on there, this is a preloaded Mastercard that I reload with cash once a week. My name won't be on it." Ben cleared his throat, "I'll get the stuff you were going to take and pay for it (save for the alcohol)."
"Wait...seriously?" the girl asked, "What's the catch?" she couldn't tell but under the mask Ben was smiling. In a matter of minutes the two teens were no longer webbed to the counter but were now webbed together hand-in-hand. In each of their hands was a plastic bag of the things they tried to steal. Spidey patted them on the back and sent them on their way, the girl looked back and he gave her a thumbs up.
"You think that was a good idea," the clerk asked, "What if they just try it again?"
Spidey looked at the clerk and cocked a lens in confusion, "Then I'll break her fingers, what was so hard to understand about that?" Spidey lifted his mask above his nose and began to drink a Coca-cola slushie. He then lifted up Shocker with one arm and began to drag him out of the store.
"Wait, you were serious?"
"Sometimes you gotta teach kids a lesson." Spidey replied, "Personally, I blame the parents, but economic class and general surroundings effect that as well. She'll be fine though, that boyfriend of hers, or whatever the hell he is, has a good head on his shoulders so hopefully he'll help her lead a better life."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Several days later Spider-Man was swinging past Midtown and saw the girl laughing and talking with the boy. He stopped on a street lamp to check in on them. The girl looked up and gasped in surprise followed by a wave and then her giving him the bird. The boy gave him a thumbs up. Both of them follow him on twitter now, he even has a group DM with the two. They met up a few weeks after and Spidey bought them lunch.
Shocker was in jail for a while...then he broke out and Ben stopped him again. Same old, same old. Ben thought.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Wait..." Mizore questioned at the end of the story, "What was the end moral?"
"I don't know? Parents should discipline their kids?" Ben shrugged, "Put your brats in time out, give them a smack on the back of the head every once in a while. Actions have consequences." Ben shrugged.
Wow, a real Ernest Hemingway you are. 'Inner' Moka joked.
"Oh shut the fuck up."
End.
A/N: This is...very delayed.
I'm sorry. See, I meant to have this out weeks ago, in fact it has been 90% done for like two weeks buuuuuut...See, I only had a short amount of summer left and I really wanted to enjoy it. So I spent that time playing games, watching anime, and reading manga. I started JoJo and am on Stardust Crusaders, it is pretty solid. I finished a manga the other day...very disappointed, not because it didn't answer one of the key questions that plagued the manga but because the ending felt so...u deserved, like it came out of nowhere.
I've been playing the Wolfenstein games. I played New Order and Old Blood which were super solid, but New Colossus is bullshit. This isn't because of some "SJW" crap that people complained about at launch (though I will admit, the fact that the game talks about nazis invading the United States and it was like a year after Trump was elected...it didn't look good) but my problem is that the difficulty spike is so god damned high from the last game. There is a point when you are in the center of this large room with no cover and one of the weaker weapons, you then have to fight waves of enemies in this big open room which is Wolfenstein's weakest point because they can get stupid pot shots on you and you can't hit them. I actually had to switch it from I Am Death Incarnate to like two levels down. Anyways, it's alright but pretty bullshit for the most part. Right now I'm just trying to relax by playing Forza, racing sports cars is surprisingly relaxing.
Anyways, I'm back in classes now...in the second week of August...so maybe I'll be more productive, but I could also be less frequent than usual because I have to do a bunch of reading and of course essays and shit. Point is...if I become less frequent you know why, but I'm not stopping I will continue these stories, like I have ideas for a spin off Batman Beyond style about Ben's kid and...AHHH, I won't explain, if you want to know PM me.
Laters guys.