From The Smoke (Marvel)

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.

Chapter 21– Developments.

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"Not bad, Ben. But then again, I've been better." Jessica says, taking the seat across from me, practically slumping into it. I stifle a chuckle when her head lols back in her chair as she lazily raises a hand in the air, catching the attention of the waitress nearby. Without a single word being exchanged, the waitress goes to get her order for her, Jessica being a regular here and very familiar with all of the people here, which now includes me as well.

"Hah, sounds rough. So you haven't been having much luck, then?" I enquire, sipping on my coffee to keep my chuckles from escaping, having done that before and been on the receiving end of a harsh glare for it. But given just what she is having so much trouble with, I can't help but find some amusement in it, finding it incredibly ironic.

"Try no luck at all. Whenever I am not making ends meet, I am running all over the city just trying to find the bastard, only managing sometimes to get a glimpse of the asshole before he disappears." Hearing her complaints, I find it incredibly hard to keep my grin from stretching because the rim of my cup would not be enough to hide it, and I can only thank the fact that she is staring up at the ceiling right now that she can't see me.

"Well, Spider-Man is a popular guy. People all over the city want to meet him, grab hold of him and maim him. So it is no wonder he is so quick to scurry away." Jessica Carradine, the woman across from me, looked at me with lidded eyes as she rose back up to accept the cup of coffee handed to her by the waitress. She is a journalist or something, and she is determined to find Spider-Man for some reason, wanting to ask him some questions.

I don't know much more beyond that, and to be honest, I haven't pried much. I know for certain that Jessica is determined to find Spider-Man, to the point she works some dead-end jobs to make ends meet so she can focus on chasing him down. It makes me feel kind of bad that technically a Spider-Man, or rather a former one, is sitting right across from her and would probably be able to answer all her questions. Sadly for her, that will never happen. As far as I am concerned, this is Peter's problem, and I am just an observer.

"Still, it doesn't explain how that little punk Parker manages to get so many photos. I just wish I could find him, and I bet I could get him to squeal and tell me his secret." That was actually how myself and Jessica met because she thought I was Peter. I had a cap on underneath a hood while in the shop, and she suddenly came up out of nowhere and started talking to me, thinking I was Peter. Thankfully when I removed my cap and hood, she saw my blond hair and noticed that I was not Peter, and that is how we met. I can only be thankful that Peter still has a semi-Clark Kent thing going on, pretending to be a bit of a timid coward. I won't be doing that kind of thing, it just isn't my type of thing, plus I have no one to protect either.

"Well, good luck to you. I hope one day you manage to track them both down and finagle whatever it is you want out of them." I smile at her, to which she smiles back. She actually looks quite lovely when she isn't so haggard and weary. She has tan skin, brown eyes and wild black hair. She has some light makeup on to cover the eyebags underneath her eyes and black lipstick on as well. She has some black biker boots on, with some brown slacks, and a cosy black turtleneck jumper, over which she wears a grey trenchcoat. She has a kind of goth, scruffy look going on that actually works for her. She is actually very good-looking when she isn't scowling all the time.