𝐏𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐋𝐄, 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻¹

[1.1] Mentor

Marina Parker was the complete opposite of Hobie Brown.

Spider-Punk stood by his convictions and fought for what he believed in. He spoke his mind freely and had no problem finding his place in society, even when that place meant facing adversity. He is confident, rebellious, and carefree, but above all else, he was true to himself.

Spindrift, on the other hand, is always cautious, and worries about every little thing. However, despite her quiet and gentle nature, she is always ready to put others before herself. She is indecisive, and often struggles to defend herself, but that doesn't mean that she'll hesitate to defend those who matter to her.

"Hi! Um... Sir O'Hara."

With every courage in her body, and a few years off her lifespan, Marina managed to let out a small greeting to Miguel O'Hara. The man she feared with her entire being. He seemed like a nice man, sure, but as Marina once said to her only friend, Peter B. Parker in the Spider Society: "He is scary tall, bossy, has wolf-like claws, eyes of a vampire, short-tempered, and looks at everyone like they ate his family."

Marina's description of Miguel sent tears to the corners of Peter's eyes as he laughed. He could not believe his friend feared their boss so much, but he promised he wouldn't laugh or tell anyone about what Marina said anymore. The poor girl was embarrassed, and quickly took back her words in fear that Peter might tell Miguel, and remove her from the Spider Society.

"Give him a tour. Mentor him. Teach him the ropes, and everything." Miguel O'Hara pointed at someone. Eyebrows furrowed, Marina followed the direction of his finger but saw no one. "Sir? Who..." Marina looked around. Miss Parker was absolutely confused. No one was around but the two of them, so who was he pointing at? Um...

Miguel blinked. "What — Hobart Brown! Where... Where the hell is that kid?" He groaned, eyes scanning every corner of the room. "It's Hobie. Don't call me Hobart." A guy with spiky accessories, and blue laced docs swung towards them. Marina eyed the new recruit with eyes filled with amazement.

"Sure. Hobie Brown, meet Marina Parker. She will mentor you." Miguel narrowed his eyes at the nervous girl, who practically melted under his gaze. With shaky hands, Marina could only let out a quick nod. "Good. Now get out." He dismissed the both of them, and Hobie turned to Marina, anticipating her next move.

Miguel knew about Marina's anxiety, and thought that it would be best for her to get to know someone who was the complete opposite of her. Marina thought of this as a very random task, considering the fact that Miguel would only call for her when a Spiderperson needs back-up, but she didn't bother to go against Miguel's orders.

Hobie raised an eyebrow at the girl before him, "We havin' a stare off, or what?"

"Huh? No — No, we're not." Marina shook her head. "Follow me, um... Hobie." She tilted her head towards the exit, and started walking with Spiderpunk tailing her.

Aside from introducing Hobie to all the 'interesting' places in the headquarters, Marina didn't entertain him much. She didn't bother getting to know him, and only spoke to show him around and answer whatever questions he had.

It wasn't like she didn't like Hobie, it was just that she didn't know how to get to know him. She had so many questions in mind for the new member, but was too scared to speak up. What if she accidentally asks a personal question, and offend him? She didn't want that to happen.

"Got no advice for me, mentor?" Sarcasm laced through Hobie's voice, Marina's heart almost racing out of her chest and running away to some unknown Earth. Oh God, what was she going to do? What was she supposed to say? Miguel O'Hara, you son of a bitch.

Slowing down her steps, Marina nervously glanced at Hobie who was already staring at her. She knew that he could sense every bone in her body shaking from fear, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "No? Um... I'm sure you're already great at your job. Everyone here is, you wouldn't need any advice from me." She shook her head, letting out a dry laugh.

"So you're saying you're fantastic at your job then, eh?" Hobie leaned closer, tilting his head. He wore this cocky grin, and Marina took a cautious step back. "What? No — I mean, I don't... I'm decent. I'm okay." She stammered, hands moving around as she tried to defend herself. "What I meant to say is that um... You — You probably already know everything I do. Maybe even more, for sure! I'm sure you already know a lot." Marina rambled on, the grin on Hobie's face only growing in amusement.

Hobie probably didn't know everything Marina did. He seemed too chill about his place in the Spiderverse, and usually the newcomers wouldn't look so happy after finding out the whole truth. You know... the canon events. Marina wasn't sure if Miguel just hasn't told Hobie yet, or this man just gave zero shits about the sad reality every Spiderperson has to face.

Finally leaning back away from Marina, Hobie hummed. His eyes scanned the lobby filled with other Spiders, each different in their own way. What the hell — Did he just see a horse? Okay... The place was odd, but he liked odd. Just like how odd Marina was. "Is that all to this place, then? Just a building with variants of me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not — We're not variants of you, just... I... It's really hard to explain. Did Sir O'Hara explain everything to you, yet?" Marina stared up at him, fidgeting with the silver ring wrapped on her index finger. Hobie only noticed now that almost every finger Marina had was accessorized with a ring, each having different designs.

Hobie shrugged. "Not the entire truth, tha's for sure. It's never the full story, Mari." He stated. Marina's eyes widened at the new nickname Hobie gave her, but she'd be lying if she said she hated it. No one's given her a nickname before.

"I guess you have a point..." She mumbled, and sighed. "But — I meant the um... entire Arachnoid Humanoid Poly-Multiverse." It was an embarrassingly long name. "Miguel didn't tell you about that yet, did he?" Marina stared up at Hobie, who looked confused with the name. "Humanoid... what? The hell's that?"

Oh... shit. Well, no wonder Hobie seemed a little too calm about everything.

—
hello! this is the first story i've ever written,
so please bare with me if you ever see mistakes.
i appreciate suggestions on how i can improve!
thank you, and i hope you enjoy.