In this chapter, Mary Jane is going to visit her boyfriend, who she badly injured with her killer hug. Sometimes you need to be careful when you have superhuman strength. At least she probably won't have to worry about harming Spiderman...or will she?
Anyways, she's decided to test out her new powers, as the title of the chapter implies. Just how strong and fast is she?
Let's find out.
Chapter 4: Taking A Test
Fortunately for Mary Jane, Flash Thompson was still alive and he would live to see another day. However, he appeared to be wearing an arm cast, and a few of his ribs had cracked as well. Mary Jane was feeling quite guilty all of a sudden.
"Are you alright?" asked Mary Jane, though somehow she thought that she already knew the answer.
"Do I look alright to you?" inquired Eugene. Something told him that he wouldn't recover from his injuries for quite some time.
"I guess not..." answered the teenage girl. It looked like her boyfriend wasn't a match for her superhuman strength, even if he was a jock and therefore one of the strongest students at his high school.
"This is kind of embarrassing to be honest..." stated the jock.
"How so?" asked Mary Jane.
"I never thought that a girl would do this to me...I was under the impression that it would be some guy who was even more muscular than I was..." answered the teenage boy.
"Well, to be honest, I might be stronger than you are now..."
"You're what?" inquired the jock. What exactly did she mean by that?
"Let's just say that I was part of a science experiment..." acknowledged Mary Jane. A science experiment involving bees, to be precise. She still wasn't quite sure what they were being used for. She was under the impression they were being used to make honey, though admittedly they probably were also being used to help treat cancer. To her knowledge bees could be used for a potential cure.
"I can't be the boyfriend of a girl whose stronger than me! I'll look like a weakling!" exclaimed Eugene. All of a sudden he was feeling rather humiliated.
"I don't think that you're a weakling..." stated the teenage girl.
"But you're the one who did this to me!" exclaimed Eugene.
"True, but..." answered Mary Jane.
"This relationship is over! I can't be with a girl whose can pulverize me just by hugging me! I can't stand this!" bellowed the jock, who had burst down into tears.
Mary Jane sighed. She was afraid that this was going to happen. Some people broke up for the flimsiest of things. Were his team of jocks laughing at him for being beaten up by a girl? Perhaps they were more sexist than he was.
Immediately, Flash ran out of the hospital. It looked like she was going to have to find another boyfriend. It was a shame really. She had taken a liking for him, even if he wouldn't stop bullying Peter Parker until recently when he became so strong.
"He must be terrified of me now..." thought the teenage girl. And to think that she had been holding back. Just imagine what could have happened if she didn't hold back. It could have been...gruesome.
Perhaps it was time for her to take a test to see how strong she was. She would like to know her limits.
"Maybe I should ask Curt Connors...he's a friend of mine...and my supervisor..." acknowledged Mary Jane. Speaking of which, it was almost time for her to go back and work with him again.
Perhaps he could trust him with her secret identity, since he was the one who was responsible for giving her powers in the first place. Well, technically he didn't mean to do such a thing...but it had happened regardless because of him.
It looked like she was going to pay the man a visit.
Once again, she had her bees dress her up in her superheroine costume. She was surprised how quickly they could dress her up...especially since they didn't even have hands. Then again, they weren't ordinary bees. They seemed to a bit radioactive themselves like their queen, though she didn't think they would give anyone superpowers if they stung them.
And of course, the Honeybee flew straight towards Oscorp.
Sure enough, there was Curt Connors, who was currently sitting on his desk studying some documents.
"What do we have here..." stated Dr. Connors.
"Dr. Connors, I need your help with something..." answered Honeybee.
"What can I help you with?" inquired the doctor.
"You see, I happen to have acquired some superpowers lately...and I'd like to do a few tests..." noted the teenage girl.
"Like...what?" asked the man.
"Well, I would like to know just how strong I am...and how fast I can run...things like that." answered the Honeybee.
Dr. Connors nodded, and he immediately pulled out a scanner.
"Let's see now..." said the doctor.
Immediately, he scanned Mary Jane with the device.
"Intriguing..." stated the man.
"What did you find?" asked the teenage girl.
"I'm impressed! You can lift up to 25 tons!" bellowed Dr. Connors.
"Twenty-five tons? I'm even stronger than I thought..." thought Mary Jane to herself. She knew that she was definitely stronger than a normal human, but that was still rather surprising. No wonder he was impressed.
"I'll say! You're over twice as strong as Spiderman! He can only lift ten tons..." noted the man.
"I'm stronger than Spiderman? I feel so weird..." noted the Honeybee. He had seemed so strong before she had become the Honeybee. To think that she could lift over twice as much now.
"Not only are you stronger...but you happen to be faster too. You can run up to 300 miles...and can fly up to 275 miles too..." acknowledged the man.
"Wow..." noted Mary Jane.
"However your vision isn't as good...you can only see 10 times as well than a normal human while Spiderman can see up to 15..." stated Dr. Connors.
"I guess there had to be a tradeoff somewhere..." said Honeybee.
"You're also not quite as durable...though you do seem to have a better healing factor than he does..." answered the man.
Personally, Mary Jane was not aware that she had a healing factor...though she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
"How do you know so much about his superpowers, anyway?" asked the teenage girl.
"Well, he was here before you...he wanted to get some tests as well. You also seem to lack a Spider Sense...though your bees do seem to be a decent compensator." acknowledged the man.
"True..." nodded Mary Jane. Apparently, she wouldn't be quite as good dodging attacks as Spiderman was.
"Well, I'm glad that I was able to help you...whoever you may be. And yet for some strange reason I can't help but shake the feeling that I've met you before..." noted Dr. Curt Connors.
Honeybee began to chuckle nervously.
Immediately, Honeybee stepped out of the office.
"I guess I'll go look for more criminals now..." stated the teenage girl.
As it turned out, there were two criminals trying to carjack a car.
However, they ended up setting off the car alarm.
"Darn it!" bellowed the criminal. Now it looked like they were going to be caught by the police.
"Am I even needed here?" asked Mary Jane. They were basically doing their work for her.
Shrugging, she decided to sting the two criminals, knocking them unconscious.
"That was too easy..." answered the teenage girl. All of a sudden, she wanted a criminal that was a bit scarier.
However, she would get her wish shortly afterwards.
Suddenly, she noticed a man that creeped her out. For some strange reason, he appeared to be wearing a cast...though his arm did not appear to be broken at all. He had black hair and red eyes, and appeared to have a smile on his face.
What was he up too? Something told her that he didn't have good intentions.
Curious, she noticed that he appeared to be looking for someone...she got that feeling that someone would be a potential victim.
Perhaps it would be best if she did something before it was too late.
As it turned out, he wanted to ask her a question. Apparently, he wanted help with something.
"Excuse me lady...could you help me with my car? I broke my arm and now I need to upload my luggage..." stated the man.
"This might be a trap..." thought Honeybee.
Somehow, she doubted this man was trustworthy. How could he drive his car with one of his arms broken, anyway?
"Sorry, but I'm busy right now..." answered the bee heroine. Being a superheroine required her attention.
Fortunately, the strange man did not attack Honeybee after that. Though he was clearly up to no good, he was rather patient.
However, it appeared that he was not giving up.
As it turned out, he had noticed a young lady sitting on a bench.
Immediately, he asked this individual if he would help her with his car.
She nodded, and went to help this man despite how untrustworthy he was.
Honeybee knew what was going to happen before it occurred.
Sure enough, the man hit her on the head and knocked her off cold. He then stuffed her in his trunk and began to drive away.
There was no doubt about it. This man was a serial killer. And she needed to save her before it was too late.
Immediately, she used her stinger to deflate the man's tires before it could take off.
"What's going on here?" asked the man.
Curious, he stepped out of the car to see what was happening. By the looks of things, one of his tires had deflated.
"I just stopped for gas! C'mon!" bellowed the serial killer. This was really frustrating. Now how was he going to get away with his hostage?
He then noticed Honeybee, and realized what was going on. Apparently she was trying to stop him from being a bloodthirsty maniac.
"Ah crap! You must be an undercover cop or something...well, I guess I better get going now..." answered the man.
Immediately, he began to run away so that she wouldn't catch him.
However, as he quickly discovered, Honeybee was more than a cop.
Quickly, she caught up with him and gave him a kick, knocking him out cold.
She then released the unfortunate lady, who at this point had regained unconsciousness.
"Thank goodness! I was so frightened!" bellowed the lady. What was that man going to do to her, anyway? Sometimes things were scarier if you weren't aware what was going to happen.
"You're welcome." answered Honeybee. To be honest, she had been a bit frightened herself. It appeared that she was starting to meet more dangerous criminals...but she supposed it was all the more reason to be a vigilante.
"Why'd you do it?" asked the lady as Honeybee used honey to stick him to his own car.
"My mother abused me as a child..." stated the serial killer. Apparently she thought that she should whack him on the head with a frying pan whenever he screwed up.
"Sorry to hear that...but violence isn't the answer." noted Honeybee. Her father had been abusive to her and she had never thought about becoming a misandrist serial killer.
Well, maybe once or twice. But she had never acted out on those thoughts.
Shortly afterwards, police came to take the serial killer away.
Suddenly, one of the bees pointed out Spiderman was nearby, which made her feel rather excited. It was nice to get to see him again, especially since she was a super herself now.
Shrugging, she decided to go talk to him. Maybe she could have another talk with him now that she knew what to do with her superpowers.
"Congratulations on taking down the serial killer! He was a bad man, wasn't he?" asked Spiderman. Some people were awfully violent...including the burglar that had killed Uncle Ben. Poor, sweet Uncle Ben.
"He sure was." answered Mary Jane. She was glad that he wouldn't be killing anyone else. Hopefully he hadn't killed many people before she had gotten to him. She would feel rather guilty otherwise.
"Wait, were you the cloaked individual I saw earlier?" asked Spiderman.
"As a matter of fact, you were correct. I was that cloaked individual. I made it up my mind...and decided to be a superheroine much like herself. I thought it would appropriate considering how loyal bees were to their queen...and how regularly they sacrifice themselves for her safety." answered Honeybee.
"I'm glad that you decided to use your powers responsibly. It would be chaos if you didn't..." noted the teenage boy.
"Yeah...imagine what would happen if I let my bees run amok throughout the city...the exterminators would have a field day..." stated the teenage girl.
Upon the mention of the word "exterminator", her bees began to panic.
"Wait...does this mean I'm vulnerable to pesticides now? I would imagine so since I'm part bee..." answered Honeybee.
Suddenly, she noticed that someone had left a spray can of pesticide on the ground.
Shrugging, she decided to spray herself with it to see what would happen.
Unsurprisingly, she felt like she had been burned.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Honeybee. Her hunch had been right. She was vulnerable to pesticides.
"Yeah...I'm vulnerable to pesticides too. I suppose being part spider isn't all fun and games...which is a shame because I like playing video games..." answered Spiderman.
"Oddly enough I like playing video games too, even if I'm a girl..." answered the teenage girl. Perhaps she was a bit tomboyish like that.
"Did you try testing out your powers? Wouldn't want to hurt someone by accident now." stated Spiderman.
"As a matter of fact, it did. It's kind of funny...apparently, I'm over twice as strong as you...my ex-boyfriend actually dumped me because I'm stronger than he is..." noted Honeybee.
"Darn it! Now people are going to start calling me Wimpyman..." said the teenage boy.
Honeybee laughed.
Immediately, Spiderman lifted a car to test his strength...
...Honeybee responded by lifting a school bus.
"I guess you really are stronger than me...I feel so girly now..." stated Spiderman.
"Relax...I still think that you're a man...of course, I did hear that male spiders were smaller than female ones..." answered Honeybee.
"Darn it!" bellowed the teenage boy.
"Of course, my doctor said that I was faster than you were too...but I suppose running is a sign of cowardice..." acknowledged the teenage girl.
Spiderman shrugged. He suppose that made sense.
"Do you mind? I need to take these kids back home." said the bus driver.
"Sorry about that..." apologized Honeybee.
Immediately, Honeybee put down the bus so that the bus driver could do just that, though she wondered what he was doing in the middle of a parking lot like this. This was near the Daily Bugle headquarters.
"I wonder whose car this is..." questioned Spiderman.
"You suck, Spiderman!" screamed a voice.
Curious, Spiderman looked to see who it was.
"Oh no..." murmured the teenage boy.
As it turned out, it was none other than J. Jonah Jameson.
"How dare you! I'm going to write about how you steal cars from innocent people and then sell them on the black market for money!" bellowed the man.
"Didn't you write a story about me defacing the Statue Of Liberty last week?" asked Spiderman.
"Maybe next week I'll write a story about you blowing up the Empire State Building..." answered the newspaper writer.
"You do realize that if you do that, people will know that you're writing libel, right? Unlike you want to be a psycho and try blowing up the Empire State Building yourself..." inquired Honeybee.
"Oh, you must be Honeybee. Pleased to meet you." said J. Jonah Jameson.
Fortunately, it appeared that she was on better terms on the newspaper writer.
Immediately, he shook his hand.
"Now put down my car before I write a story about you playing with matches near a gas station, you monster!" bellowed J. Jonah Jameson.
Spiderman put down the car so that he could be on J. Jonah Jameson's good side for a change.
Still frustrated with Spiderman, he began to make his way back home for tonight.
"I hope that he'll stop writing libel about me someday..." said the teenage boy.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think he'll be writing libel about me this issue...I wonder why?" answered Honeybee.
"Maybe because he thinks you're sexy?" inquired Spiderman.
Honeybee began to blush. That did seem like a likely explanation. Now that she thought of it...maybe J. Jonah Jameson was jealous of Spiderman?
"I'll see you later." said Honeybee, flying away.
Spiderman waved farewell.
It was a pleasure to see Spiderman again, to say the very least. Personally she doubted it would be last.
Well, it looked like now was a good time to go back to being Mary Jane. Whenever one of her bees informed her of a robbery or some other crime, she would be ready.
And yet, she wondered what kind of criminal she would encounter next. Her foes did seem a bit stronger than yesterday, though it did seem like her imagination.
Not only that, but she now had to worried about being accidentally sprayed with pesticides.
But other than that, things weren't all that excited.
"Maybe I'll encounter a supervillain?" she thought.
These thoughts filled her head as she flew back home.
Well, it looks like things are still too easy for Mary Jane...however, it appears that she's developed a vulnerability to pesticides...much like Spiderman has. They happen to have quite a few similarities, don't they? Of course, this still isn't a Spiderwoman fanfic...I wanted to create something different.
In the next chapter, Mary Jane is going to take on a supervillain for a change...who oddly enough also happens to be insectoid. Try to guess which one.