Spyder and The Avengers

Chapter 15 - Going Up, Out, Gone

Marceline was still on fire. Or, at least, her hands were. But she didn't feel it, not even a little. Were her nerve endings so fried that she couldn't ever feel anything again?

She cautiously wiped her hands in the ashes. They crackled and hissed and started to push forward, as if Marceline were a magnet. Startled, Marcy wished nothing more than to be gone from this place. She felt like she was in a weird nightmare of some sort. Suddenly, she wasn't there anymore.

The girl was -somehow- hovering a few feet above the ashes of her house.

Marceline gave an "Eep!" and kicked her flaming legs. She fell back to the ground, feet smoking. Wait, she thought. What the heck?

She closed her eyes and concentrated. When Marcy looked down, she found that her hands were flaming once again. This is so cool, she thought. Then she remembered what she had to do.

"All the better to get Pepper," she whispered, voice rising. "I, I, am coming for you. Pepper, oh Pepper, I'm coming. Coming, coming, coming to get you. Get you, get you. GET YOU!"

The girl screwed her eyes shut. She was floating again. Engulfed in flames, sure, but flying. Slowly, she moved up and down, side to side. She was ready. Then she looked down.

Almost ready.

The charred remnants of her pajamas probably wouldn't be the best to go flouncing -or was it flying? Flaming?- around New York City. So she decided to make a quick pit stop first.

But where could she find a nonflammable outfit that would be good for her? What if it only comes in an XXL blue?

She looked around for a clock. It was eight in the morning, on a Tuesday. So she hadn't been out for more than an hour.

"Huh," Marceline said aloud, pushing a small flame into her hands. "I wish I could show this off. I mean, if Pepper wasn't so, like, MEAN and HEARTLESS then I could show this to her. But I guess I'll have to settle for less, just this once. But she will, eventually, see what I can really do!"

She laughed maniacally and shot a bright blue beam of focused heat into the sky. But seriously, where would she find a high-quality fireproof outfit?

Marceline effortlessly raised herself into the air and rose higher, higher, until she could feel her lungs screaming for more oxygen. But she didn't zoom back to the ground just yet, for she embraced the pain, welcoming it with wide-open arms. After a few blissful moments, she felt herself getting accustomed to the thin air.

Crazy cool, she thought.

The girl flew around, enjoying the panoramic view of the city, her city. Finally, she spotted a promising-looking depot.

She flew down, hovering a few feet off the ground. Unfortunately, there was nobody to notice her. If there were, they'd fall to their knees and cower under her mighty power. They'd beg, just beg, for her mercy. But she wouldn't give them any; her heart was molten iron. She'd show them, she'd show them all!

But for now, Marceline resigned herself to clothes shopping, one of her favorite activities. She used to always do it, going out almost every day and spending at least fifty bucks each time, at each store. Back at home, she had several closets full to brimming with her treasures. But that was before Pepper made her burn it down. All of her carefully picked clothes were gone, forever, because of HER.

She gave a cry of anger and landed on the ground. Apparently, when she was unfocused, she couldn't fly. Hm. But still, everywhere she turned, hateful thoughts of Pepper flooded her head. She needed to get her mind of her utterly despicable archenemy. She needed to relax.

Quietly, Marceline slipped into the depot, called "The Ultimate".

She took a deep breath and felt herself relaxing. This was home. For her, at least. She looked around and immediately spotted the fabric section.

Marceline crept over and tiptoed between aisles of clothing. Apparently, "The Ultimate" had a wide variety of cloth. Occasionally she stopped and inspected a sample of fabric, but she just couldn't find one that was her style. They were all too dark or too plain or just too itchy.

Finally, she found it: the perfect fabric! It was non-flammable and a wonderful pinkish-reddish color. She silently produced a small laser-like flame and burned a line through the fabric. It took a little while, as she had to concentrate because of the flameproof coating on the cloth. Eventually, it was free. She grabbed the piece of fabric and rushed out of the store.

Stealing? No, borrowing. It was all for the greater good.

She carfeully squeezed her eyes shut, envisioning herself flying through the air. When she opened her eyes, Marcy was delighted to discover that her strategy had worked. She was, once again, flying, the magenta fabric flapping behind her like a cape. As fast as she could, she flew... home.

Once she got there, Marceline was forever changed by what she saw. She looked down from high above at her mom. Her mother appeared to be sleeping on the ashes of their house, facedown.

Strange.

Marcy cautiously floated down to inspect her. She was really tired, apparently. When she shook her, Ms. Osborne wouldn't stir, not even a little. With a start, Marceline realized that her mother, her precious mom, wasn't breathing.

"Oh, n-no," Marceline stammered, voice quivering. "Sh-she... NO! Pepper! First my house, and now my mom! I am coming FOR YOU! I HATE YOU!"

She dropped to her knees and sobbed over her mother's body. It wasn't fair, she thought. It never was. Not in school, not out here. Pepper Parker was just a power-hungry, good-for-nothing, lying, double-crossing, cheating jerk!

Still sniffling, Marceline gathered up her dignity and stood up. She knew what her mother would want her to do. Two things, actually. The first was to cremate the body. The second was, simply, to kill Pepper. That's all there was to it. But no, she wouldn't be merciful. She'd make sure her enemy got a long, slow, painful death. Just like she deserved.

With a sense of extreme determination, Marceline summoned the fire inside and shot a blast at her mom. This was it. There was a small poof and her mom's ashes joined the rest. The first task was done.

One down, one to go. With angry tears in her eyes, Marceline pulled out that piece of fabric she stole. Borrowed. No difference. She carefully fit it to her body and melded it together.

Marceline was now ready for her mission. She shot into the air like a bullet, heading straight for a place she knew oh so very well.

Glorious justice would be served.

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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>

Heya there. Erm. By the way, this is my (probably) accurate rendition of what happened to Marcy. I'm not saying I made this up, but, based on what she's told me, the details are fuzzy.

So I took the liberty of filling them in myself.

You're welcome.