Blood Ties
Chapter 1
Present day - New York
The New York skyline was beautiful at night, the lights glowed in contrast to the dark sky above. Fireworks shot over the tall buildings as the people gathered in the streets to watch them, they were all so distracted by the glittering explosions in the sky that nobody notice the small boy stealing from a fruit vender. the boy was lean, looking like he hadn't had a good meal in weeks, maybe even months, his hair was brunette and his skin was pale. under the boys right eye was a large bruise, his clothes were torn and ragged, revealing several cuts and spots of dried blood. The boy stole three apples and ran before anyone saw him, he stumble through an alleyway, obviously in pain. The boy crawled under a few boxes and hid, scarfing down the stolen apples like he'd never be able to eat again. He peeked through a hole in the boxes when he heard footsteps.
"Doctor Warren, I have the information you asked for." A man said.
"Good, I need to continue the project, perhaps with a new subject?" Doctor Warren said.
"Raymon, listen, project Scarlet is too volatile! He'll kill us all if his memories return! You can't create another one of those monsters!" The man said.
"Just hand me the information, Klein." Doctor Warren said warningly.
"Or what? You'll kill me?" The man, Klein, asked.
"Yes." Doctor Warren growled, getting in Klein's face. "Now give the file to me."
"You won't kill me if I give it to you?" Klein asked.
"Just give me the files!" Doctor Warren demanded.
"Okay." Klein said, handing Warren the files.
"I hope you understand that I can't allow any slip ups." Doctor Warren said.
"I won't slip up, sir." Klein said.
"I know you won't," Doctor Warren started, pulling out a gun and shooting the man in the heart. "Because you can't." Doctor Warren turned and left, leaving Kleins dead body behind.
The boy looked on in shock and horror at what he'd just witnessed.
—S.H.I.E.L.D. academy—
"He's late." Cho muttered to the others bitterly for what must have been the fifth time.
"Yeah, we know." Ben groaned, rolling his eyes at the obvious statement.
"He's never late for a fight but always late to anything else." Miles said.
"I'm here!" Peter said, running up to them.
"Took you long enough." Ben said, walking over to Peter. "And just why did I have to come?"
"Because it'll be fun! Aunt May's been waiting to see everyone for a while now." Peter said.
Ben flinched a little at the mention of her, after the betrayal he had refused to talk to her.
"Then let's get there before she thinks we were ambushed by a super villain." Mj said, motioning for them to walk.
"Alright, alright, let's go." Peter said, leading the way to May's new house. Her new house was out in the country area. The group signaled a taxi, giving him the directions. When they arrived, Peter unlocked the door, holding it open for everyone to enter. "Aunt May, we're here!" Peter yelled.
Ben looked around, the house was very different from the one May had lived in originally, it was bigger.
"Peter! What do you think of the new space? Fury said our original home was compromised." May said, coming out of the kitchen.
"This place definitely has more room than our original home." Peter said.
"There's actually enough rooms for everyone to have their own." May said happily.
"Sweet!" Miles celebrated.
"We were all prepared to share rooms, we even had roommates assigned." Cho explained.
"The two kids were gonna share." Spider-Man said.
Flash looked at Ben. "I was supposed to share with Ben but having my own room sounds much better." Flash said.
May looked at Ben and clapped her hands together. "Great! I have rooms picking out for everyone, they may need a little cleaning but once you settle in I'm sure you'll love it here."
Ben put his head down shamefully and stayed behind everyone as May led them around the house, he had no intention of making eye contact with her, not after what he did. May led everyone except Ben to their rooms, showing them the space, she turned to Ben and smiled. he did his best to not look at her.
"Ben, I don't blame you for what happened." May tried.
Ben shuffled his feet, glancing at the door. "Why not?" He asked, his voice low and submissive.
May stepped forward. "Because everyone deserves a second chance, a true second chance, even you deserve a second chance, Ben." She said.
Ben visibly flinched at that, he hadn't been expecting kindness from her after betraying her nephew, he expected her to treat him like Ock did, like a mindless animal.
May laid a hand on Ben's shoulder and he shuddered, shaking the hand off and backing into a corner. "Ben, come here." May said, showing him her open hands.
Ben looked at her hands for few seconds before complying to the command. May lifted his chin slightly, forcing him to make eye contact, she smiled at him and said. "I still have to show you your room."
Ben blinked, not expecting that, he couldn't seem to understand why she was being so nice. She led him up a second staircase and into a room that had a large window and built in bookshelves. The room had cobwebs all over everything, Ben could see a grand piano in the corner of the room and some other instruments nearby, there were some bookshelves that had old books on them. A bed frame stood in front of the window, a large chest was at the end of the bed, Ben took it all in, he hadn't had his own room before, Ock had made him sleep in a spare cell with the prisoners so there was never any privacy. Ben noticed a door, he walked over to the door and pushed it open cautiously, the door led to a large bathroom with a tub, shower and double sink. There was another door in that room that led to a closet, it was a large walk-in closet, it had tons of space for stuff. Ben thought about the duffle bag he had brought, it had everything he owned in it and it still looked pretty empty.
"Thank you, for… all of this." Ben told May.
"You're welcome, I personally liked the view of the sunset this room gets." May said. "The house also came with a stable, it even has some horses, I think the owner said he bought them from a famous breeder in the French countryside." May said as she went downstairs, leaving Ben to settle into his new room.
Ben set his duffle on the bed, grabbing a broom and cleaning the cobwebs that covered his room. After clearing the cobwebs Ben opened his duffle and made the bed, dusted off the books that had been left on the bookshelves and set his own books on the empty shelves.
—elsewhere—
It's was midnight at the docks, lights flickered by the last dock on the boardwalk where a woman was standing.
"We need to destroy project Scarlet and all other failed attempts." A man said from the shadows.
"Why? We worked so hard on the project! Shouldn't we at least try to regain control?" The woman asked.
"No." The man growled stepping into the light. "I will send you an experiment to use in the projects demise. When you finish killing Scarlet Spider, send Kraven for the boy." The man said.
"Yes, Of course, sir." The woman said.
"No matter what, the boy must die before the project is exposed to S.H.I.E.L.D." The man said, taking a step back into the darkness.
"I will not fail you." The woman said.
"Good," the man started, throwing a key on the ground in front of the woman. "The keys to my boat. The experiment is in a cage on the lower deck, use it to kill project Scarlet."
"Yes, sir." The woman said, taking the keys. "He will perish and no one will be able to stop it."
"Good." The man said, disappearing into the shadows completely with a sinister laugh.
The woman clutched the keys tightly. "We will rule side by side, over a legion of hybrid warriors." She said, smiling to herself.
—May's house—
Everyone was gathered around a large table in May's dining room, talking and laughing while they enjoyed a pleasant dinner.
"So, how did everyone like their rooms?" May asked.
"My room is amazing! The space is perfect for my projects." Cho said.
"I'm glad you like it, I thought tomorrow might be a good day to go riding and see the land." May said.
"Riding?" Flash asked. "I didn't think your car was meant for off roading."
Ben whacked him. "Horse back riding." Ben said pointedly, shaking his head. "You didn't see the stables?"
"I saw a shed thing." Flash offered.
"That was the stables!" Ben growled.
Mj rolled her eyes at the banter. "How many horses are in the stables?" She asked.
"Ten." May said.
"All of us will be able to ride then." Mj said, smiling a little.
—that night—
"Father? Whats going on?" Ben asked.
"They're here!" Ben's father yelled, taking Ben's hand and running.
Ben ran with his father for what felt like hours, hiding from people his father called "enslavers".
"Dad?" Ben whispered.
"Everything is going to be alright Ben." His father whispered back, holding Ben close. "Your mother is waiting of us, she has Scarlett. If anything happens to me, Ben, go to the ruins."
Ben nodded and let his father pull him along.
"There they are!" A man yelled, running at them.
Ben's father pushed Ben out of the way started wrestling with the man. "Go Ben! Run!"
With that Ben ran, tears in his eyes as he ran toward the ruins. Ben crept up to the ruins quietly, panting, Ben noticed his mother, she was mounted on Scarlett.
"Mom?" Ben asked.
"Ben? Where's your father?" His mother asked as Scarlett trotted up to him.
"There was a man, he.. he came for us." Ben said as his mother lifted him onto the horse. Scarlett ran as fast as she could to escape the incoming danger, they could hear people shouting and yelling but they never looked back.
"All we have to do is get to town." Ben's mother said.
Ben nodded, holding on tight as Scarlett made a sharp turn. In the blink of an eye, a gun shot sounded as Scarlett let out a shrill whine, her legs collapsing under her, Ben's mother pulled Ben from under Scarlett and set him on his feet. "Keep going." She said with a strained voice. Ben noticed blood on Scarletts leg and ran as fast as he could.
Ben shot up with a sharp gasp, panting. "What was that?" Ben whispered to himself in alarm as he tried to comprehend what he'd seen- or dreamed? His confusion spiraled endlessly, as he sat awake for hours.
"Ben?" Ben heard from the door, his head snapping toward the sound.
"Peter." Ben said. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Yeah, I assumed as much." Peter said. "You coming to breakfast?"
Ben shook his head, looking out the window in a daze.
Peter sighed defeatedly. "I'll get you when we go for a ride then."
Ben gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Peter glanced at Ben on his way out of the room. Peter sighed again as he closed the door behind him, letting his thoughts drift to what might have caused Ben to act like that.
—a few hours later—
Everyone had gathered outside the stables, ready to ride the horses May had told them about.
"If you will all follow me I'll show you what horse will be yours." May said, walking into the stables. May started with a white Arabian. "Amadeus, this is your horse, her name is winter."
"Cool?" Cho said, seemingly unsure of what to think about the horse.
Ben came up behind Cho, smirking slightly. "She won't hurt you." Ben teased.
Cho scowled at Ben.
May continued, standing in front of a black Friesian. "Flash, your horse is Storm."
Flash grinned arrogantly and walked up to the horse, turning to the others. "I'm gonna be better at this than all of you."
"Sure…" Ben said skeptically.
May went to a black Arabian. "This is Shadow, she's yours, Mj."
"She's beautiful." Mj said.
The next horse was a tan Mustang. "This is Sandy, he's yours, Miles."
"Cool!" Miles said.
May moved to a tan Quarter horse. "Peter, this is your horse, his name is Dusty."
"Okay." Peter said, coming over to the horse.
"My horse is over here," May started, walking toward a brown Morgan. "Her name is Brownie." May moved over to a stall that appeared to be empty.
"Scarlett?" Ben whispered so only the horse could hear. The horse perked up at that, looking him dead in the eyes.
"This is Scarlett, I asked the original owner of this ranch about her, he said she hasn't tolerated a rider since the boy who originally rode her disappeared."
"What kind of horse is she?" Ben asked.
"I was told she was a blood mare." May answered.
After all the horses were saddled, the group met just outside the stables.
"Take it slow, I know most of you haven't ridden before so I don't want anyone to get hurt." May said, mounting her horse and waiting for everyone else.
Ben mounted Scarlett and had her walk around May's horse. "That… was a lot easier than expected." Ben said.
Peter was next, after he climbed onto Dusty's saddle, he looked around a little. "Go." Peter commanded. Ben chuckled a little, having Scarlett walk over to Peter.
"Don't you usually read about these things?" Ben asked.
"I don't usually have to." Peter said, pulling the reigns a little. His horse sat down, making him slide off. "Hey!"
Ben chuckled. "He only did what you told him to do." Ben said, continuing to laugh.
Flash jumped on his horse… only for it to throw him forward into a mud puddle.
Mj got on her horse, making it walk toward Peter and Ben.
"This isn't so hard." Mj said, grinning.
Peter got back up on the saddle and tried once again to get his horse moving. Dusty finally started walking forward, though Peter didn't now how to stop his horse so Dusty just kept going.
Cho tried to climb on the saddle of his horse, failing miserably and falling off into the dirt.
Miles actually got on his horse but like Peter, he didn't know how to make his horse move.
Cho tried yet again to get on his horse, this time he actually managed to get on. Cho, unlike the others, had actually done research on how to ride a horse. He had his horse walk forward and stop without a problem.
Flash just stared at his horse with contempt as Storm ran into the stables. "You traitor!" Flash yelled after his horse, running into the stables.
Suddenly everyone's watches went off and they ran back to May's house to get their suits and prepare for battle.
—at the battle—
The spiders swung into battle, Spiderman leading the team.
"Be prepared for anything!" Spiderman yelled as they turned the corner to see a snake-like person tearing up the city.
"Eww." They heard Scarlet say as he slowed.
Flash grinned. "Your not scared of little snake are you?" He teased.
Scarlet swung to a building, running on the edge. "I'm not scared of snakes. I just think they're creepy." He defended.
Flash only laughed.
They battled long and hard, beginning to tire as the snake-like man effortlessly countered each attack.
"We can't keep this up much longer!" Iron Spider yelled to his team as the Snake-man slammed him against a wall holding him against it.
Scarlet ran at the snake-man, stingers drawn, in an attempt to save his teammate. The snake-man whirled on him and hit Scarlet into a wall with his tail. Scarlet grunted in pain, struggling to his feet. The snake-mans tail coiled around Scarlet, capturing the red spider. The other spiders ran at the snake-like man, Spiderman shot a web, covering the mans eyes. The snake-man dropped Iron spider in favor of trying to desperately remove the webbing form his face. Scarlet yelled out in pain as the snake-mans tail squeezed him tightly. Spiderman webbed the mans hands to his face while Iron spider used his repulsers to free Scarlet. Scarlet fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Agent Venom grabbed Scarlet and pulled him away from the Snake-man.
"Scarlet! Are you okay?" Spiderman asked, swinging down to the red spider.
Scarlet nodded, still slightly breathless. Spiderman swung back into the fight, Scarlet not far behind him.
"You will all die!" The Snake-like man shouted, slamming Spiderwoman into a wall.
Kid Arachnid ran at the man, electrocuting him. The Snake-man through him into Scarlet, who ended up landing face first on the pavement with Kid Arachnid on top of him.
Kid Arachnid groaned. "Ugh…Scarlet..?"
Scarlet gave a pained moan in response.
"Sorry!" Kid arachnid said, rolling off Scarlet. Scarlet didn't even try to move. "Are… you okay?" Kid arachnid asked.
"Ack… i… don't… ugh… know…." Scarlet said in a strained voice, slowly trying to stand.
The Snake-man tossed Spiderman into the window of the nearest bakery and went after Scarlet. Kid Arachnid charged the snake-man, getting thrown into Venom, who had only just gotten to his feet after being thrown into someone's living room. Scarlet leaned heavily against a nearby wall when he noticed the pursuing attacker. The Snake-man approached quickly as Scarlet tried to limp away, unable put pressure on his right foot. The Snake-man grabbed Scarlet and slammed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Scarlet gasped as the Snake-mans tail wrapped around his throat, choking him, he clawed at the tail desperately but the Snake-mans tail didn't loosen. The edges of Scarlets vision turned black, everything blurred, the last thing he saw was Spiderman lunging at the Snake-man, after that, everything went black.
To be continued…