- What's up, friends? I'm back and a little sooner than I'd believed. With so much on my mind, I thought it would've been longer before I could update but I'm not going to complain about it.
- Hard to believe it's already April of 2015 though...time is moving a lot faster than I remember it to be. With this update, there is some action (not sure it's the right word to use) but not in the sense of a battle. Fair warning to all of you who may read this...I suck at writing scenes of action so if you don't like it, I'm sorry. I did my best with what little time and imagination in my possession at the moment.
- Nothing is solid yet in the new story department. I realize some of you are losing patience with me and so I apologize again...I'm doing the best I can.
Take some pity on the weary if it sucks but nevertheless, please enjoy!
...
"I don't know if this is a good idea."
"You've said that a dozen times already. Everything will be alright, we promise!" Jessica reassured.
"...I'm only repeating it because it's true."
Carol sighed as she looked away from the magazine of blank rounds in her hand. "We said it's going to be fine, Peter. Even a beginner like you shouldn't do too bad."
The webhead face palmed, realizing there was no getting out of this little test. "Oh man, this'll be embarrassing."
Sable's nimble hands assembled the rifle in record time, her mind thinking about the interesting events of today. She had been in the middle of practicing her sharpshooting with a sniper rifle when Sofia informed her that Carol Danvers and Jessica Drew were here to visit her boyfriend.
She knew both ladies were still deeply in love with her beloved Peter. So it didn't really help ease the jealousy in her heart when she saw Carol and Jessica happily sighing as they gave the Amazing Spider-Man a long and tight hug.
But the two were respectful about her own loving relationship with Peter and they never really did anything more than stare at him longingly or share the occasional embrace.
Sable didn't have any problems with that...she supposed.
Fortunately, her relationship with Carol Danvers had improved to that of amicable friends ...thanks to Peter who got them to interact more often so the atmosphere was actually pleasant when they all sat down in her lounge room and started conversing with each other.
It was when she and Carol began talking about the various firearms they've used in their lives that Peter asked himself a very interesting question.
"Huh...I wonder how I would do with a gun?"
That question immediately got all three ladies curious as they looked at Peter. How good of a shot was the Amazing Spider-Man?
Their interest piqued immensely, they made their way to her embassy's shooting range and decided to test Peter's skills with a gun. Her beloved was understandably uncomfortable with the idea since he didn't have any experience with firearms in general.
Unless one counted the number of times he's been shot at.
While Carol went to get the proper gun, she and Jessica taught Peter the basics of how to hold a rifle, reload, and properly aim. To their amazement, he caught on to the correct ways of doing so very quickly and only after they had demonstrated the proper methods seven minutes prior.
That happened just a few moments ago and now they were almost ready to test Spider-Man's skills as a sharpshooter...who was still a bit reluctant about the whole thing.
"You'll do just fine, Peter. No one is saying you should hit all the targets perfectly." Sable said with a comforting smile.
He grunted. "...And if I miss all of them?"
Carol stepped forward, reloading the rifle with a magazine of blank rounds. "Somehow I doubt that'll happen, Peter. Remember...aim properly and then pull the trigger."
The weapon felt very light as his hands gripped it like Sable and Jessica had taught him earlier.
"Keep your breathing in check too, okay?" Spider-Woman said, handing him the scope.
He locked the scope in place on top of the rifle and looked at the targets set about 450 yards before him. The shooting range had been arranged for a mark to spring up every seven seconds. His objective was to hit all seven target dummies before they dropped back down.
"You can do this. Just remember what we taught you." Sable whispered, pecking a kiss on Peter's cheek.
Her beloved stepped forward with a nervous chuckle. "Well, here goes."
Jessica and Carol reassuringly smiled at Peter before they followed the Queen of Symkaria out to the side. Taking a moment to steady his breathing to a bare minimum, Peter turned the safety off and properly held up the rifle. He peered into the scope with his right eye and kept his hands as still as possible.
His finger was prepared to pull the trigger the second the practice dummies came into his crosshairs.
All three ladies couldn't help but grin when they saw how focused Peter was. While the Amazing Spider-Man was usually a lighthearted and carefree individual, he could be serious when needed.
Once the signal to begin was finally heard, Peter shot down the first target with deft-like accuracy before he quickly locked another round into the chamber. His eyes shifted to the left and hit the second mark slightly above where the heart would be. The calm and concentration didn't falter a bit as he put his third bullet through a dummy's head just a second after it sprang from cover.
From the sidelines, Carol and Jessica were very impressed at how well Peter was doing. Though it was only a simple test of his marksmanship, the Amazing Spider-Man was hitting his targets at a level roughly equal to that of a competent rifleman.
Sable couldn't keep the proud smile off her face as she watched Peter fire the fourth bullet straight into the centre of a dummy's face. Despite his dislike of firearms, her beloved ironically seemed to be quite the skilled shot.
When Peter took aim at the fifth and sixth dummies, the Queen of Symkaria and the two female Avengers rose an eyebrow at where the two bullets struck...two piercing shots through the throat. Shooting someone in the neck area was kind of risky, given that there is a small chance the target may survive despite the grievous wound.
It was still an amazing feat to accomplish though, especially considering this was his first time with an actual rifle.
When the seventh and last dummy sprang up, Peter quickly took aim in between where the eyes would be before finally firing the last bullet. The blank round tore a hole through the dummy's head and exited out the back with little resistance.
It wasn't until a small ding sounded out and signaled the test was over that he finally sighed in relief. His hands turned the safety back on and set the rifle down on the counter.
"...So how'd I do?" Peter asked the three ladies approaching from behind.
Sable smiled and affectionately kissed Peter's lips. "You did amazing, my love. I knew you would."
"You sure you're just a beginner? Because no rookie can shoot like you did just now." Carol asked with mirth.
"Maybe I picked up a few things from being shot at all these years." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Jessica frowned. "I don't think that was it. I'd say you're a natural with firearms, based on what I saw just now."
Peter thought about Jessica's words as he looked at the rifle on the counter. It still felt very strange, wielding such a weapon...whether the feeling was good or not, he couldn't be certain.
"What's wrong?" His female counterpart inquired, concern evident in her voice. Carol and Sable were a little worried too.
"Nothing...I just never thought I would actually be adequate with a rifle of all things."
Sable warmly embraced her beloved Peter. "It's not a bad thing. Think of it as another skill set you can use to help protect yourself and the people."
"Maybe..." He admittedly nodded, "but I doubt I'll fire a gun very often."
Carol chuckled and held Peter's hand. "We know that but if you ever need to do so, it's good to know you'll be more than capable. If you'd like, I can help you sharpen your skills."
"...I guess it couldn't hurt to practice. Thanks, Carol." Peter agreed with a smile, much to the blonde super heroine's delight.
Jessica gently gripped Peter's other hand. "I'll help you out too. Just let me know anytime."
"Uh, okay...I appreciate that, Jess." He said, thanking her with a gracious nod.
"We all wish to help you become a better marksman." The Queen of Symkaria said, looking into her beloved's hazel eyes. "It is better to have said skill and not need it, right?"
Peter lovingly pressed his lips against Sable's. "...You're right as always. I'll probably only use it as a last resort though."
"That's good enough for us." The blonde heroine whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.
Sable affectionately nuzzled herself into Peter's chest. It annoyed her a little to see Jessica and Carol hugging themselves close to Peter as well but she let it go for now.
Letting out a gentle breath of air, Peter firmly wrapped his arms around Sable and his two best friends...smiling at a simple thought.
'This feeling of warmth in my heart...it's nice.'
...
- I doubt anyone who fires a gun the first time was an instant prodigal sharpshooter. That's why I didn't have Peter scoring perfect headshots on all the dummies. I only compared him to a competent sniper, where their shots will hit most of the time but miss on some occasions.
- With practice, Peter will get better though and even then said skill set will only be used as a last resort. So don't expect him to start carrying a big rifle or anything. After all, this was just based on something I've been asked before.
- I hope all of you liked it and with some luck, maybe I'll have something good with the new story. Thanks for reading...until next time, folks!