Spidermanne REBOOT: chapter 3
Hey! One of the longer chapters i have written. Wanted to fit more in but i'm really busy atm so ended it there.
Chapter 3: Uncle benny (part 1)
It was a Friday evening, the day before spring break, and Anne was hanging out in her room with Sasha and Marcy.
"I still can't believe you want to be a herpetologist when you grow up," said Sasha jokingly. "I would NOT be able to handle all the lil' slimy guys."
"Hey!" Anne pouted. "They're cute once you get to know them!"
"Well, personally i agree!" Marcy said. "I won't forget your science project!"
She was referring to the previous year, when Anne had brought in a desert rain frog. There was a near fifty-fifty split of people who found it adorable and people who went, "EEEEWWWWW!" Although embarrassed to admit it, Sasha was in the former. It was after all, as Anne would put it, 'frogging adorable.'
"Anne!" Said a voice from downstairs. "Come down, they're almost here!"
Anne sat up. "Oh crud, I almost forgot!"
"Who is it?" Asked Sasha.
"The plantars," Anne said. "I've told you about them, right?"
"Yuh."
They rushed downstairs in time to hear the doorbell ring. Anne ran up, beating her mother to it, and opened the door.
"Hey guys!"
A stout old man, a middle aged man with a smile on his face, a grumpy looking 7 year old and a chipper looking kid of about 12 walked in.
"Hey Anne! Mr boonchuy, mrs boonchuy!"
"Hopediah! Benny! Glad to have you here!" Said Mr. Boonchuy.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. B," said Benny, Hopediah's son and Sprig and polly's father.
Sprig looked towards Anne and behind her, her friends.
"Whoah, are you Anne's friends? She told me about you!"
"Awww, anne, you told them about us?" Marcy said.
"Yup, that's us!" Said Sasha proudly. "And you're sprig, right?"
"Yup!"
"Oh, huh. I didn't think i'd get the name right."
"Hello Anne!" said Benny kindly. "How's it been?"
"Pretty good. You?"
"Yeah, we've been doing fine. Frogs are flourishing."
Benny plantar was a herpetologist and the reason Anne wanted to be one.
"Well, if it's ok with you, me and your father need to go to the restaurant. See you tonight?"
Anne frowned. "Mom, it's the weekend."
Mrs. Boonchuy smiled sadly. "I know, but still." And they left.
"Well, i think we better be going too," Said Sasha. "Give you time with the Plantars."
And Sasha and marcy left through the door too.
Hop-pop noticed something wrong with the way Anne was smiling.
"What's the matter, Anne?"
Anne sighed in defeat. "I just feel bad. The business isn't doing too well, and when I try to help they tell me I shouldn't have to."
Benny tried to help. "Anne, it's not your fault. You should be able to do what you want. Don't feel pressured into helping them. Take it as a sign that they love you."
"Yeah, Anne!" Said Polly. "You may be Annoying a lot of the time, and I hate the amount of K-pop songs you listen to, but you're still lovable!"
"Wow, thanks, polly," Anne said, Deadpan. "Seriously though, thanks for the pep-talk," she smiled at them.
———————————————
Anne sat in her bed, while sprig and Polly slept in sleeping bags on the floor. She couldn't sleep and decided some fresh air would help. Quietly, she tiptoed to the window and crawled out, onto the roof. When sitting there, she lost herself to thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 years ago…
Anne, age 10, was with her mom and dad. They were visiting Yellowstone national park. It was… certainly something. Anne had never especially been interested in nature and was kind of just dragged there.
At one point, being the irresponsible kid she was, decided it'd be funny to run off and scare her parents.
She was so busy giggling she didn't even notice the steep cliffside.
CRASH!
Anne sat down at the bottom, wailing. Her leg hurt. So much.
She sat in the clearing of trees for a few minutes until she heard a rustling.
'Great', she thought, defeated. 'Probably a bear or something.'
It was not a bear. It was, in fact, a 7 year old child.
"Who are you?" The child asked. Anne only stared at him, softly crying, until…
"…Anne. Anne Boonchuy."
"Anne, i'm gonna go get my dad," he said, surprisingly maturely, and left.
She sat there for a few minutes until a man came back with the boy. The man had ginger hair, and the kindest smile she'd ever seen.
"Don't worry, girl, i'm here to help ya."
He walked up, crouched down and hugged Anne. In any other situation this would probably be considered weird but this was exactly what she needed.
He came out of the hug and looked at her leg. "Ooh, minor fracture there. Anne, right?" She nodded and he took that as a yes. "Alright, Anne, I'm gonna bring you back to my home and then i'm gonna call your parents. Any idea where they are?" Anne shook her head. "What's their number?"
"…i… don't know."
He sighed but not in an angry or disappointed way. "Well then, looks like it's gonna be a while. But don't worry kid, you'll be safe with us. Just me, sprig, little polly, and my father."
"…okay."
Benny picked her up and brought her to the house.
They walked in to hop-pop taking care of Polly.
"What was it you went out to get-" he paused when he saw Anne in Benny's arms. "Is that a child? Is she ok?" Hop-pop immediately ran up to her and brought her to the couch.
"Yeah, Sprig found her with a fractured leg. She doesn't know where her parents are, or their number, so until we can notify the authorities she'll be staying with us."
He turned to Anne. "This is hopediah, my father, but you can call him hop-pop. He acts grumpy sometimes but he has a heart of gold. And that," he said, pointing to an angry looking child, "is polly. She's still pretty little but she's got attitude problems."
"Hey! I could kick your ass!"
"So how about it?" Benny asked. "We're your family till your parents come back."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne had stayed with the plantars for a month until her they were able to identify their parents. Those 4 weeks were some of the most fun of her life. She loved hanging out with siblings, an experience she'd never had, and loved hearing stories of hop-pop's stories of when he used to work as a ranger. But most of all she loved connecting with her new Uncle Benny. He showed her his job, which was all about frogs.
Before then, Anne had not really cared that much about frogs, beside the occasional interesting fact from marcy, but benny made them so… interesting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This," he said, picking up a little fella, "is a boreal chorus frog."
"It's weird looking," Anne mumbled.
"Yeah, but that's only because i've shown you all the interesting frogs, from all around the world. This guy is native here!"
"That's cool, i guess."
"He may look weird but he sounds weirder. You should be able to-"
CREEEEEEAAAKKKK!
"-Hear him."
Anne giggled. "He sounds like a creaky door."
"Yup. The little guys call their little hearts out. It's actually to attract the females-"
"Eeeeewwwww!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thinking about that day, Anne chuckled. She still visited every now and then, and the families had become close friends. However, the family were moving out once and for all. They had decided that hop-pop was getting old, and that living so far away from accessible healthcare was a danger.
They didn't have much family, and Benny's wife, Jess, had died shortly after polly was born, so they had decided to move to the very city where Anne and her family lived. They were living here for a few days until they could move into their new home.
Anne looked at the time. It was already 11:50. She crawled back in the window and went to bed.
——————————————————-
Anne was in the city with the Plantars, showing them around.
"Y'know, I am missing the fresh vegetables," hop-pop said. "The store ones just don't hit the same."
"I know where you can get decently fresh ones!" Anne said. "Follow me."
They had arrived at the Farmer's market.
"Ta-daaa! Closest thing to kind of fresh you can get!"
"And they have pretzels!" Sprig said, jumping up and down. "Dad, can we get pretzels?"
"Sure, sprig, we can get pretzels."
"You know sprig, You're thirteen now and you still act like the seven year old kid i met six years ago."
"I'm gonna take that as a compliment," he said, with that classic 'I'm an idiot but i'm lovable' face.
It was then that Anne saw a poster.
'Start your career in wrestling! Win big bucks!'
"I wonder…"
"Anne, you coming?"
"Yeah, Uncle benny!"
———————————————
"Mom, can i go to town to the cinema with Sash and Marce?"
"Sure, but we're at work, so you'll have to go by yourself."
Anne inwardly felt bad again. But that's why she was doing this. Extra money.
"I can drive her."
She turned around to see uncle Benny.
"You sure? I can walk-"
"Don't worry, I was going that way anyway. Needed to pick up something from the store."
"If you insist," Anne said, putting her arms up.
She picked up her backpack and went out to the car with Benny.
While driving, Benny striked up a conversation.
"So, how's it been, Anne? I didn't really ask. You've gained a lot of muscle. It's been, what, a year since we saw each other? "
"Yeah. It's hard when you live in Yellowstone."
"Well, that's about to change. We're living here now, aren't we?" They both smiled at that.
The car stopped. "Here we are."
"Thanks uncle-"
"Anne, i know what you're doing."
Anne was confused. "Wha-?"
"I saw you looking at that poster today."
"…you did?"
"I'm not going to stop you, but don't feel you have to do this for your family."
"I want to though," Anne protested.
"And that's ok. But just make the choice that feels right. You're like a daughter to me, Anne. And I don't want to lose you. So… be responsible."
"…i'll try."
And Anne got out.
———————————————
"Welcome, one and all, to the Bonesborough Brawl! Why's it called that?" I have no idea but it sounds awesome!"
Anne could hear the cheering from inside the changing room. Every halloween Marcy had enjoyed making the three these amazing costumes, so anne had a… sizeable collection of things to combine. She decided to wear a black morphsuit with a blue beanie, and a pair of round white eyes with a blue surrounding.
A grumpy looking man poked his head in.
"You're up, kid."
Anne gulped.
She walked out to be greeted to a sight she never expected.
"Holy mother of Elvis! After 40 years of absence, the legendary champion, the wrecker, has returned and won the senior's championship!"
She looked down and saw none other than Hop-pop. He saw her too, and ran up to her.
"Anne, what are you doing here?!"
"Wrestling? What are you doing here?!"
"…look, if you don't mention this to the kids, I don't mention this to your parents. Deal?"
"Deal," Anne smiled, watching Hop-pop leave.
"And now, for our one off matches! On the left corner, May I introduce, A newcomer, The amazing Spider-woman!"
"Hey, I said it was just spider-woman!" She said, leaping into the ring flawlessly, earning a round of applause.
The commentator didn't listen. "And on the right corner, may I introduce, a hardened veteran, big bones!"
A hulking muscly man, wearing traditional red libre suit walked into the ring. He growled. "They send in a little girl?" He asked, as the cage started to close. Seems that this was a closed cage match. All to Anne's advantage.
"Wow, this totally seems fair," Anne said loudly in a deadpan voice.
The crowd laughed at this. Huh, cool.
"Begin!" The commentator said, ringing a bell.
Big bones immediately charged towards her, hands outstretched. Normally in wrestling this would be a completely stupid thing to do, but this was the unconventional wrestling. The one you always see in movies, not the one with actual rules, and revealing singlets.
'Alright, i practiced this,' Anne thought. She swiftly jumped out of the way, catching onto the bars of the cage and jumping back down behind him.
"Come on, buddy," she said, smirking under the mask, "this isn't whack-a mole. Get your game on!" This earned the crowds laughter.
He growled at her. She was humiliating him, and it was only making him more rash. He tried again, only to fail as anne jumped away at the last second.
"Why won't you stop moving?!" He shouted.
"Aww, come on, big guy, don't expect me to go easy on you," she said in a condescending tone. "How long have you been doing this again? Oh, wait, doesn't matter. Still kicking your ass." The crowd cheered.
The cycle continued for a straight minute and a half, littered with quips and laughter.
"Come on dude, this is getting borin- URK!"
Anne had attempted to avoid him again, but this time he was ready.
"Got you now, little spider," he growled.
"Itsy bitsy spider…" she began to sing.
"What'd you say, little asshole?"
"Kicked you in the water spout," she finished, kicking him right in the balls.
"AAAAARGGGHHHH!" He grunted, letting her go. She then bounced off the cage walls and proceeded to give him a kick right in the face, knocking him down.
"…9…10! The amazing spider-woman wins!"
"Really hope that name doesn't stick."
———————————————
After, Anne was in the changing room, getting dressed. Her opponent walked in.
"Hey," he said. Anne gulped.
"Congrats. You won, fair and square."
"Whatever," she mumbled, "you were a pretty easy opponent, but sure thing, buddy."
He'd had enough.
"You know what? I tried to be nice. 20 years i've been coming here, and i've held the third place belt with honour. And you waltz in, best me like it's NOTHING, and then condescend me?!"
"Ohhhh crud…"
He pulled out a gun.
———————————————
Outside was a normal evening. People were walking back home, simply exploring the city, and benny plantar, along with Sprig and Polly went to pick Anne up from the cinema.
"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BI-"
The door opened and slammed shut on a building and Anne ran out.
"Whoo!" She said. "That was clo-"
The door slammed open again, to reveal big bones holding a Gun.
He looked around and Saw Anne.
"DON'T RUN OR SOMEONE DIES!"
Everyone ran away screaming, or stood still.
Except one person.
Uncle benny walked up to him calmly.
"Sir, what's going on? Calm down, i'm sure we can settle this-"
BANG.
A bullet, straight through the chest.
Police cars came and immediately surrounded big bones.
"STAND DOWN!"
Anne ran over to Benny, with sprig and polly already at his sides.
"Dad? Dad! Wake up, please!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne and Benny were on a walk in the forest.
"Uncle benny?" Anne asked.
"Yeah?" He said.
"Am I a good kid?"
"What?"
"Well," Anne said, "sometimes I made dumb decisions. Like that time i left the fish we caught outside and it attracted a bear, or the time I went running after a puppy that turned out to be a wolf."
He looked at her sweetly.
"Anne, you're not a bad kid just because you do stupid things. You're a good kid. Sometimes you make mistakes, and that's ok. As long as you realise what you did was foolish, and as long as you learn from it. So make whatever choices you Feel are right."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
He looked towards Anne.
"Never stop, Anne. Always just make the right choices."
And he stopped breathing.
For a few seconds, everything went radio silent. She eventually noticed the hand on her shoulder.
"-nne, are you ok?"
"..Huh? Wha…"
It took her a second to process this was miss waybright, Sasha's mom and chief of the LAPD.
"He's gonna be fine."
"…no, he's.."
"You never know."
Anne was picked up by her parents, the plantars and Hop-pop. All of them were shocked when they saw what had happened.
But hop-pop was devastated.
———————————————
It had been 4 days since Benjamin Plantar had been pronounced dead. The funeral was yesterday and everyone was there. Sasha, Marcy, sprig, polly, and their appointed guardian, hop-pop, Anne, the Boonchuys, Miss Waybright, and others. Mr Waybright said he couldn't come due to work reasons.
"Benjamin Plantar was a kind Man. He was loved as a son, a father, an uncle, a friend. May he find peace in death."
Words. Said by a person who didn't even know him. Anne was devastated. It was all Her fault, She had decided to enter a wresting competition, She had angered the man who had killed ben, he was looking for her, not him. So she had decided to make a deal.
He takes ben's life, she takes his.
Sooo! Sprig HAD a dad, only for it to be wrenched from him within seconds lmao.
I really am evil.
On another note, so begins the quest to make the waybrights the most dysfunctional family to ever exist!
Miss waybright is the police chief (if you know you know),
Mr waybright is, well, going down a pretty funky path,
And Sasha, well, you'll see in a chapter or two :)
Hope you enjoyed! Cya!