Spyder and The Avengers

Chapter 24 - Rules

I was only barely used to seeing one at most around the city occasionally, rescuing the odd person here and there. Of course, every time one emerged, there were huge programs on every news channel about them. I felt so grateful they were here, but never thought about actually having their job one day.

Now here I am, watching them fly in to save my aunt and vanquish the villain, aka Marceline. I had a tab to settle with her, though, before they whisked her away to who-knows-where.

Lightning quick, but not fast enough to draw too much attention, I raced inside of my apartment building and up twenty flights of stairs. Our elevators could never be trusted with all of this commotion going on.

I reached the twentieth floor, more than a little out of breath.

Panting, I staggered down the hallway and fumbled with the keys. After opening the door, I slipped inside. Turning away from the door, I met a horrible sight.

Face turned towards the heavens, eyes wide open and bloodshot.

Clothes ripped and torn, hanging on by mere threads.

Hands bound, the fingers all broken and twisted.

Lips curled into a sickening smirk.

Not breathing.

Uncle Ben.

Marceline had kept her word.

I bent double, bile simmering in my stomach.

Rushing over, I let my fingers tremble over his lifeless body. One tear slipped out, then another. In the blink of an eye, I was sobbing hysterically over his body.

It wasn't fair, I thought angrily. He never deserved this, and Aunt Mae didn't derveve her current predicament, either. It should have been me, trussed up like a turkey dangling over the top of Eastwood. It should have been me, bloody and bent and broken on the couch.

Shuddering, I wiped the tears away. He would get a proper good-bye later. I had a job to do.

I sped away from what was possibly the most horrifying scene of my life and into my room. Stripping off my clothes, I yanked my costume on and pulled the mask over my head.

Gritting my teeth, I jumped straight through my window (thank goodness it was open, that would have been a fortune to replace). Before gravity kicked in, I flung out a web and swung back to the side of the building. I climbed like my life depended on it. I guess it did... Kind of.

Once I reached the top, hidden, I gauged the distance between the roof and the quickly approaching Avengers. It was about one hundred feet.

Suddenly, I heard a beep coming from... No, it couldn't be... It sounded like it came from Iron Man's suit. His headpiece, precisely.

Then, it began to talk.

"Mr. Stark," I heard. "There appears to be a total of three humans on the rooftop."

I gave a very quiet "Dang Stark and his super smart tech!" and listened for more.

"They all seem to be females, though two of them are... rather unusual, sir."

"Unusual how, Jarvis?" Came Tony's reply, flying ever closer.

Jarvis hesitated. Finally, he... it... whatever... said, "Well, the one in pink is infected, in a way. She has increased metabolism, and her body temperature is much, much higher than that of a normal person's. Her powers include the manipulation of fire. She also seems to be flying, sir."

Tony grunted. "Yeah, I can see that. What about the other one? I'm sure that old geezer isn't the second weird one, is she?"

Rule number one: Never insult Spyder or her family. Ever.