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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 26, 2012 20:35:07 GMT -5
Location: Manhattan
Date: 9 months after The Amazing Spider-Man
Time: Early Evening"J Jonah Jameson, Daily Bugle News, here to talk to you New York. About the Spider-Man menace!"
Life for a Spider in New York City was getting increasingly hard, none of the Spider-based heroes got any slack from Jameson, who ranted endlessly about how horrible they were from behind his television cameras, namely Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. However, if there was one person who might actually be something of a menace, it wasn't either.
"Please man, let me go! I won't steal another car dude! Just let me go."
Holding a carjacker over a ledge, the Scarlet Spider seemed to be taking his time in deciding whether to let him down slowly, or scare him a litte bit, "What's in it for me?"
"I'll give you the cars man, all of them!"
"I don't think so."
"What's happened to you Webhead?"
Under his mask, Ben grinned, "I'm not your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He dropped him, eventually webbing the traumatized man up in a cocoon of the material before leaving him for the police to deal with.
"I'm the Scarlet Spider."
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 26, 2012 21:08:10 GMT -5
Jessica might not be an active P.I. anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't track down perps. And right now, she had a particular prey to catch in mind.
The Scarlet Spider.
Jess had heard enough whispers to have gotten antsy. It was one thing to let Mattie Franklin use her name. It was another for there to just be all these spidey ripoffs coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches. Then, worse, this new Spider was a dream come true for Jameson, justifying all of his malignance towards Peter and herself.
The adoring public was iffy on 'super heroes' at the best of times. A masked vigilante who went around traumatizing those he met and relishing in the fight... even if she could understand it, that didn't mean it ought to be broadcast.
Well, let's just say she didn't see the point in allowing yet more kindling to be added to this particular fire.
Tracing him down had taken some time, but she managed it. He was in full costume, which helped as she hadn't heard what the man actually looked like outside of it. She watched him handle a petty car thief, observing without interfering to get a better feel for him.
Jess stayed out of the way until he announced his name, choosing that moment to drop down behind him.
"Got to give you credit for that. At least you're not yet another 'Spider-Man'. Not the most original name, sounds a little girly there O'Hara, but points for trying."
Smiling cruelly underneath her own mask, Jessica waited a moment before adding as politely as she felt necessary, "Wanna tell me what bloody game you're playing at?"
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 27, 2012 9:32:58 GMT -5
"Got to give you credit for that. At least you're not yet another 'Spider-Man'. Not the most original name, sounds a little girly there O'Hara, but points for trying."
He'd already whipped around, in a crouch position, from which he could either attack her or make a quick escape, whatever the situation called for. Ben eyed the woman, realizing who she was and who he was dealing with. Spider-Woman, probably one of the upper-level heroes outside of the Captain Americas and the Iron Mans. If she wanted to fight, he'd really be in for it, but that wouldn't stop him from using his mouth for what it did best.
Being incredibly snarky.
"Well, compared to Spider-Woman, I'd say it's pretty original. Did it take you a whole minute to come up with that one?"
He figured she'd try and return fire with some more sarcasm, but instead she cut to the chase, "Wanna tell me what bloody game you're playing at?"
The Scarlet Spider smirked under his mask, "Taking care of the crime problem, the way other heroes should be. I mean, killing them is a little much, but this guy against the wall won't think twice about trying to jack another car, will ya buddy?" There were muffled whimpers from within the cocoon he'd made before. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 27, 2012 19:00:11 GMT -5
The Scarlet Spider had his own venom, and Jess found that she was rather glad of that. Something about his voice bothered her, niggling at her memory as if she had heard him speak before, but it wasn't quite... right.
"I was already using 'Arachne' for something else," she told him dryly. "And I did notice that humans prefer things to be simple. Spider Woman sort of fit the bill."
She smiled at him now, this time with all her teeth, as he explained that he was 'taking care of the crime problem'.
"Is that what you call it? Because from where I'm standing, you're begging for the press to call for pest control on us," she hissed.
Crouching down as well, Jessie was inches from swatting the idiot, but for now, she held her piece. The desire to dominate was part of her personality, but that didn't mean that Jessica had to let it rule her. Not entirely.
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 27, 2012 19:57:47 GMT -5
"Whatever you say, you're the one who took the first crack at my name," Ben's muscles were starting to tense, ready to launch in an instant and engage her. He rarely dealt with super-powered enemies, maybe the occasional villain who confused him with Parker, but that was really it.
"I just fired back."
She took another shot at the way he handled criminals, "Aww, do you feel bad for the thieves and killers Spider-Girl?" He emphasized the word girl to continue getting under her skin. The woman already looked like she wanted to fight, good, Ben did too, he'd give him a reason.
"Some of us just don't tie them up and give them a lollipop for being good little boys and waiting for the nice police officers to take them away. Some of us, like to give parting lessons." Ben grabbed the web-line he'd made earlier to suspend the car thief and shook it a little, eliciting some muffled screams of terror, "Isn't that right Buddy boy?"
"Help me Spider-Woman! This guy is crazy!"
Ben shot the cocoon a look, "Hey now, don't go begging for another superhero to deal with you after you've already been dealt with, show a little customer loyalty!" He shook the line even harder than before. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 27, 2012 20:16:02 GMT -5
Right, he was asking for it. Either he was as thick as he seemed or he was begging for a fight.
Far be it from Jess to not grant his wish.
"You insane or just an idiot, O'Hara?"
Oh, but the Spider-Girl stung. He had no idea what it had been like for her. Years believing she was nothing more than an evolved spider. Nothing human. She'd taken the name Spider-Woman herself, but that had been before she knew the truth.
Before she knew just how much HYDRA had lied to her.
Springing forward to knock him away from his webbed prisoner, Jess wondered if she could punch some sense into this guy.
Probably not.
Wasn't going to stop her from trying.
"Some of us don't go begging to turn the whole city against us either."
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 27, 2012 22:28:07 GMT -5
Ben smirked when Spider-Woman came at him to attack, "About time. I was waiting for someone to make my day!"
When she got close enough, he let go of the cocoon and launched himself at her. Ben couldn't really bring himself to beat up woman that appeared to be rather pretty under her mask, so he'd just wrestle her down and tie her up so she couldn't follow him. Two motions with his fingers and Ben fired off a pair of webs, neither were aimed at her, rather, the wall behind her. When they stuck, Ben pulled them to get an edge on speed.
When they closed the gap between themselves, he wrapped his legs around her waist, still pulling towards the wall, it was like a tackle. When they neared the wall, he unwrapped his legs so that when Spider-Woman crashed into the wall, his legs weren't in the way to take the brunt of the damage. That is, if he was lucky and she didn't counter him or escape the attack entirely.
"The city should be thanking me. Someone needs to show these criminals we're not going to take it."
It wasn't like he was Frank Castle, shooting anyone who dare break the law dead. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 28, 2012 9:35:21 GMT -5
Using webs to pull yourself near someone was a pretty neat trick. Jess would have to remember that. His momentum would have knocked the breath out of some, but for Jess... well, she hadn't trained under the Taskmaster for so long with nothing to show for it.
She couldn't do much with his legs wrapped around her and flying so fast backwards, so Jess pushed her hands onto his shoulders just as the Spider helpfully released his hold on her waist.
Perfect.
She hadn't been trying to push him away, after all, just find some sort of balance. And now, she had it.
It was Jess's turn to her use her legs. Pulling her knees up and using her hands and feet to kick off Spider and propel herself in the air. It didn't give her much advantage, but thanks to her costume, she got a bit of lift and at least avoided his sticky trap.
She could have gotten out of his webbing... probably. But Jess figured she'd avoid trying, just in case.
"You give humans far more credit intelligence wise than you should," she purred, facing him and his webbed up wall.
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 28, 2012 11:26:31 GMT -5
"You clearly don't give them enough."
Ben had slid back against the wall, which he was now sticking to by his fingertips and toes. She had a mean kick, and was able to turn the tables quickly, very skilled. He kind of liked that. Sure, she was attacking him, but that didn't mean he couldn't sneak a peak. There was a woman in tights right in front of him and he was a man! Of course he was going to look.
He thought to try and web her up again, but now that she'd seen he had use of the technique, he doubted that she would fall for it a second time. No, he'd have to be a bit more clever than that. Rely on his reflexes and his Spider Sense. That was when Ben looked around the rooftop and saw a better idea than continuing to engage her.
Shooting a web line to the building across the street, Ben gripped the line hard and grinned, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm kinda starving. Real crime fighting takes it out of you, and I'm dying for a slice with garlic and sausage." He pulled the web tight and pushed off the wall, "See ya later, Spider-babe."
Oh, he shouldn't have thrown out that insult. Damn his brain, why didn't it have a filter to his mouth? Now she was going to get ticked off and follow him, that tingling in his head that was his Spider Sense was already telling him that much. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 28, 2012 12:06:31 GMT -5
There wasn't any need to respond to something as pathetically stupid as that, was there? Due credit to all the optimistic dreamers and all, they weren't completely useless and could accomplish wonderful things, but what inspired terror in car thieves was just as likely to inspire terror in the more innocent.
A nightmare was a nightmare. Plain and simple. And it seemed that this one gave up after his first trick. That was definitely disappointing.
"Don't leave now. Things were just starting to get interesting!"
Her fingers were itching to blast the scarlet spider still, but he was already propelling himself away to another roof. And even though 'spider babe' bothered her a whole lot less than 'spider girl', Jess wasn't about to let him just swoop away like that.
Backing up across the roof, she then took a running leap so she could glide over to his side of the street.
"Thanks for the invite, Scarlet. Pizza sounds grand."
Jessica grinned, tracking his movements.
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 28, 2012 12:35:17 GMT -5
Oh she was asking for it now.
But, what it was, was beyond Ben.
Continuing to web away, he briefly eyed the woman cautiously, she was rather good at keeping up, and could fly apparently. He couldn't fly. And there was the professional jealousy, this relationship was already starting to become unhealthy, Ben liked that. Gah, was that his Parker side coming out? Horrible, just horrible!
"You're pretty tenacious, I like that," the Scarlet Spider moved cautiously, not wanting to instigate another scuffle between the two. So he kept his distance as they moved along the city.
He would have circled around her for an eyeful, but he had the feeling the woman would just as soon kick his head clean off before let him check her out, so instead, he stayed the course laid out for this conversation, "Well, I'm not exactly Casanova, but if it's a date with the Scarlet Spider you want, you'll get just that.
He zipped past someone on their cellphone, snagging the device with a web, "Sorry pal. I'll give it back in a sec." He circled the area and called in his pizza before returning the phone, "Thanks buddy! Spider's gotta eat, y'know?" Still being tracked, Ben continued to show off a bit. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 28, 2012 19:22:46 GMT -5
You're pretty tenacious, I like that.
Riding the air currents, Jess acknowledged to herself that she wasn't tracking him just for professional interest. This one definitely amused her, even if she couldn't understand his thinking process.
"And you're pretty direct. I like that."
She wanted to.. no.. she did growl when he grabbed someone's phone with his webbing (and what a strange neat trick, she wondered if Parker could do that. This guy seemed to have more of his abilities than hers), but he returned it.
Still, he was getting her... testy and worked up, which meant plenty of bioelectricity crackling at her fingertips, and plenty of confusion in her head.
The wind was beginning to die in this part of the city, which would make following her apparent new date difficult. And no way she was letting this one get away just yet.
Pulling in her 'wings', Jessica dropped down onto his shoulders, gently this time. It wasn't a tackle, more like an unexpected piggy back ride.
"I hope your idea of a date doesn't end as abruptly as your idea of a fight," Jessica murmured quietly.
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 28, 2012 21:42:41 GMT -5
'Guess we're off hours then,' Ben figured silently. Somehow this was the easiest date he'd ever gotten, and he certainly wasn't going to complain.
That attitude, those legs, those lips. Ben was attracted, with a capital A. It was almost like, she had an aura that drew him in to her. He couldn't figure it out, but eh, why fight it? He'd heard of love at first sight, and while he wouldn't go as far as to call it that, he certainly could say he'd like to date her.
"Fighting? That was fighting? I was just trying to hug you." If there was one thing Ben wished he hadn't gotten from Peter Parker, it was his constantly blabbing mouth. Honestly, he couldn't shut up, even if he tried his hardest. Being a motor mouth constantly got him into trouble.
Landing in front of his favorite pizza place, Ben walked up to the window, digging into his near-invisible pocket, and taking the pie, "Thanks, I'll probably be back tomorrow. Take it easy." With a nod, Ben walked back toward Spider-Woman and asked, "So, should we take this to the roof?"
It certainly would be odd if they were sitting in a pizza place in full costume. |
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Post by Jessica Drew on Jul 28, 2012 21:51:27 GMT -5
"Oh, I see," Jess answered amusedly. "In that case, word to the wise. Skip the pinning in place until a little after the hug stage," she told him sardonically.
Honestly, tonight had turned from a job to a wack kind of fun. Walking around, well... riding on his shoulders... with this Scarlet Spider wasn't going to help the whole 'disassociate Spider Man and Spider Woman from their overly vigilant fellow spider' plan of course. But then, with Jameson around, not much would.
She slid to her own feet long enough to let him actually acquire the pizza, but her eyes never left his form.
Something about him was so familiar....
When he came back, and she was terribly glad he hadn't just tried to swan off, Jess felt like beaming.
"Rooftop view is always nice."
One quick lean in and swipe later, the pizza was in her hands as Jess laughingly told him to follow her, already racing up a wall.
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Post by Ben Reilly on Jul 28, 2012 22:48:38 GMT -5
"And I thought I was the direct one," Ben shot back. So this is what they were going to do? See who could be more sarcastic?
Ben could live with that.
She'd stolen his pizza and was making her way up the wall already. Ben chuckled a bit before using a web to zip up the side of the building, joining her on the roof and settling onto the side of the building to relax. He peeled up half his mask and grinned a bit.
His mouth resembled that of Peter Parker's, only a bit more defined and touched with a bit of stuble. Ben had been in a rush to get dressed this morning, and had neglected to shave. He shot a smirk her way and said, "Y'know, I don't usually pull my mask up on the first day. I'm usually not that kind of Spider." |
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