Post by Stardrifter on Jun 9, 2015 21:06:43 GMT -5
by
Stardrifter
PREVIOUSLY IN THE SPECTACULAR SCARLET SPIDER!
Returning to the Morlocks, Ben finds many of them injured or dying from the attack by the Scarab Corporation. After some hard convincing of both the Morlocks and her, he brings Dr. Cecilia Reyes down into the sewers to treat them. On a supply run, Ben finds the Shocker attacking a limousine. After forcing the Shocker to flee, he discovers he saved billionaire David Xanatos, who offers Ben a reward as he runs off with the much needed supplies.
#7 - Hedging Your Bets
"Ben," a voice in the dark whispers. "Ben."
Slowly Ben opens his eyes. He finds himself slumped in the corner of the Morlock's home. Cecilia is crouching next to him, gently shaking his shoulder.
"What's up, Doc?" Ben says through a dry, scratchy throat. Her face barely hides her annoyance at such a tripe phrase. Ben tries to move his arm under his body to push himself up only to find his arm to be asleep. Instead he rolls onto his back, the sharp pain in his neck revealing that to be a mistake.
Seeing him grimace in pain, Cecilia makes the obvious statement. "I guess the hard sewer floor isn't the best place to fall asleep."
The hard look in Ben's eyes is his only response. She gives him a lopsided grin and then moves to help him sit up. Leaning his back against the cold concrete wall, Cecilia rubs her right hand over his neck for a few seconds. It surprisingly works wonders.
"How long was I out?" Ben asks.
"Not sure. I lost track of time."
Ben finally notices just how tired Cecilia looks. Dark rings sit under her slightly red eyes. Eyes that look like they're fighting to stay open. "I don't even remember going to sleep."
"When you got back with the supplies, you wandered over here and just kinda fell over. How long were you up for?"
Ben scoffs. "Not sure. Lost track of time." It gets a weak smile out of her. "You look like you could use some sleep yourself."
"Absolutely," Cecilia is quick to agree. "But definitely not here."
"You finish up?"
"The doctor has done all she can," Callisto says as she walks over. She stands, her arms crossed, and look down at them. "Which, I must admit, is more than I expected. Thank you."
The two words sound as if they're pried out of her mouth by a crowbar. Recognizing it, Cecilia simply nods her head in acknowledgment.
"I...wasn't able to save everyone," Cecilia tells Ben. Her voice is soft and tinged with both regret and acceptance. "And a couple aren't out of the woods yet. I've done what I can and left instructions."
"She's also agreed to come back tomorrow to follow up," Callisto adds, not hiding the surprise in her voice.
"What time is it?" Ben asks as he rises to his feet. He pushes his back against the wall for balance. When he's finally up, he stretches, discovering all of the little aches and pains throughout his body. Considering the last few days he's had, all things considered, it's not so bad.
"It's morning," is the best Callisto can offer. Time has little meaning to her.
"Do you think you could get me back to my car?" Cecilia asks. "And perhaps drive me home? I don't think I'd be able to stay awake."
"I can. I...don't have a license." For Ben, it's a funny thing to say. In all this time he'd never really considered it. Peter took drivers ed. Peter had passed the driving test and posed for his picture. Ben can remember the pride Peter felt at such a major milestone in his life, and the look of approval in his Uncle's eyes. Yet it'd never occurred to Ben that it's something he simply doesn't have now. One of many, no doubt.
Cecilia leans in a whispers in his ear. "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
Cecilia says her goodbyes quickly, too tired to make much of it. To Ben's surprise, a couple of the Morlocks make a point to come over and thank her before she leaves. It's a remarkable change from the general attitude when she first arrived.
Cecilia spends the trudge through the sewers in silence, beyond the grunt here or there in reply to Ben. Not even his joke about here being too tired to complain about the stench gets much out of her, so he finally gives up.
They exit the sewer in the same alley they came in, making sure not to be seen as they climb out of the manhole. Once outside in the New York City air, the stench and oppressiveness of the sewers becomes even more apparent, and the freedom from it even more glorious. When they get into Cecilia's Prius, the tight space quickly reminds them how much of the sewer they brought with them.
The car ride is thankfully a rather short one. As they get close to her home, Ben feels bad about waking her up to get the final directions.
"Are you going to be okay getting back?" Cecilia asks, her shoulders slumped as she walks toward the elevator of her parking garage. "Do you...need cab fare or anything?"
It's an uncomfortable question for both of them. Pride, Ben considers, is a hard thing to let go of, even for the destitute. "I'll be fine," Ben says, pausing before adding an awkward, "Thanks."
They part once they reach the street, with the understanding that Ben will meet her at the clinic tomorrow at five o'clock p.m. to bring her back to check up on the Morlocks. The sky is cloudy with patches of sunshine, leaving the city cool but not uncomfortably so. Not a bad day for a walk through the city, Ben decides.
He gets less than two blocks before he regrets not accepting Cecilia's money. Not because of the walk, but because Ben's stomach starts growling so hard he wonders how the people around him can't hear it. Checking the contents of his pockets, Ben finds his entire fortune amounts to one dollar and thirty-two cents.
Ben ducks into the first store he finds. A tiny spot on the corner of a large office building, Carlos' Convenience Store feels more like a closet than a store. The aisles are so small even Ben barely fits walking straight down them. The eponymous Carlos gives him a dirty look as he enters, no doubt expecting trouble.
It takes Ben a minute to decide between the dozen or so candy bars he's able to afford. Finally he grabs a Snickers, hoping it will live up to the tag line, and heads for the counter. Before he reaches it, his Spider-Sense goes off.
"All right open the register!" large man in a black ski mask shouts, brandishing a sawed off shotgun. Carlos throws his hands up, more annoyed than scared, having spent years getting used to stick ups.
Ben starts to take a step forward when another man in a ski mask walks up, holding a pistol sideways, and shouts, "Stay right there, pal! Don't be a hero!"
"C'mon!" the shotgun wielding man shouts. "Gimme the cash!"
"Don't you guys realize it's, like, noon?" Ben asks. "Not exactly the prime time for armed robbery."
"Just shut up!" the pistol wielder shouts, not certain how to take being talked back to.
Carlos finally finishes putting the paltry contents of the register into a plastic bag and hands it to the gunmen. The shotgun wielder grabs it and runs out the door, followed by his friend, who backs out while waving his pistol between Ben and Carlos.
"Keep the change," Ben says, slamming his dollar and thirty-two cents down on the counter. He pockets the Snickers and runs outside. The screams of the pedestrians leads Ben off down the street. He's just able to catch the plate of the green Chevy the gunmen jump into before they speed off.
For a split second Ben considers letting them go. He has the plate number. He can give it to the cops and let them do their jobs. He can eat his Snickers and enjoy his walk back to the Morlocks in peace, without aggravating his aching body. He relishes the wonderful thought for that entire split second.
Ben dashes into an alley and climbs up onto the roof. He pulls his dirty, sweat stained red t-shirt and ties it over his head and face as he runs, leaping from building to building in pursuit.
His leg muscles scream as he fights to keep up with the green Chevy. He leaps off a rooftop, so caught up in the moment that he extends his arm to fire a web, only to remember as he's soaring through the air that he ran out of web fluid the day before.
He falls through the air over the busy street, cursing himself, until he sees a lamp post heading straight for him. He reaches out and grabs it, swinging up on top and quickly leaping off, this time with correct purpose, to land on a Greyhound bus.
Once he reaches the front of the bus, Ben sees the green Chevy three cars ahead. He leaps from car to car, finally landing on the roof of the Chevy. He ducks his head down by the driver's side window and asks, "Wash your windows? Help a guy out?"
The driver freaks, swerving as he tries to elbow Ben through the open window. Ben pulls himself up and is soon greeted by gunfire from below him. He slides down the windshield and onto the hood.
New York City traffic as heavy as it is the car isn't going very fast, twenty miles per hour or so. Ben decides, in an effort to avoid an accident, to drop his feet down onto the street below. His arms wrapped around the front of the car, he digs his heels in and brings the car to a stop.
Caught up in the moment, the driver decides not to floor it and force Ben aside or under the car, and instead raises his shotgun. Ben ducks down and rolls around the corner of the car to rise up next to the driver's side window. He reaches in and grabs the shotgun, slamming the butt of the gun into the driver's face.
Spider-Sense going off, Ben forces the driver's head down and ducks to avoid the gunshots from the passengers seat. He then leaps in through the window enough to grab the gun and yank it from the man's hand.
The car, neither in park or with a conscious driver to hold the brake, starts to roll forward. Ben slides back out of the window as the car slowly rolls off. The passenger jumps out with the bag of cash and tries to run for it.
It takes Ben a moment to jog alongside the car so he can open the door and apply the brake to put it in park, giving the fleeing thief a good head start. "What I would give for some goddamn web fluid," Ben growls as he runs off in pursuit.
To his surprise, he soon finds the thief face down on the sidewalk, two large men sitting on him.
"Score one for the good samaritans," Ben shouts in approval. Sirens sound in the distance. "That's my cue."
Leaping onto the side of the nearest building, Ben scrambles up to the roof and runs off. After he's put enough distance to feel comfortable, he falls down onto a rooftop, breathing heavily. He reaches into his pocket and grumbles, "You've gotta be kidding me!"
With a heavy sigh, Ben eats his flattened Snickers bar.
****
The New York City skyline is one of, if not the, most famous skylines in the world. It has changed and evolved over the decades, but most notably in the last decade and a half. The 9/11 attacks where the first major change, but it hasn't all been loss and destruction.
The Baxter Building, a sister building to the one in Central City, stood tall and proud as the NYC headquarters to the Fantastic Four. The super hero team adorned their building, perhaps egotistically as some suggest, with two giant 4s on opposite sides of the top.
When it came time for self made billionaire David Xanatos to erect his own monument to success, he was not going to be outdone. His massive Eyrie Building was set to be the tallest building in the city. A marvel of modern architecture, it already stood out from the rest of the city. So it came as even more of a shock when, atop the building, Xanatos spent a fortune to have a castle installed.
Installed, not built. Rather than simply building a modern replica of a medieval castle, Xanatos had Castle Wyvern from Scotland dismantled, flown across the Atlantic, and rebuilt.
The media exploded with coverage, which some say was the sole intention of the entire endeavor. Yet when pressed for the true motives behind the move, Xanatos would coyly avoid the question. Only one thing was for certain, the headquarters of Xanatos Enterprises stood out, even in New York City.
Standing upon the ramparts of his castle, Xanatos looks out at the setting sun in the west. He gently nurses a glass of red wine. Not one to partake in alcohol, it dulls the wits and slows the mind, Xanatos only allows himself the very rare indulgence. Beyond, of course, the requisite single glass of champagne at the many social events he frequents.
Raising the glass to his lips, he notes the red sky almost matches the shade of his wine. He smirks to himself at the symbolism when his cell phone rings.
"Yes Owen?" Xanatos answers, not even having to look at the caller ID to know it's his right hand man.
"I am sorry to bother you, sir, but we have a security breach. Someone is crawling up the side of the building."
A wide grin spreads across Xanatos' face. "Well that must be exhausting. Which one is it?"
"The clone, sir. Should I have it taken care of?"
"Of course not," Xanatos says, placing his glass on the wall of the rampart and walking off toward his office. "It's certainly not how I expected him to appear, but he's arrived nonetheless. Let him make his way up."
"Do you want a security team sent..."
"I'm perfectly capable of entertaining my guest," Xanatos says with finality.
"Very well, sir."
The sky is dark by the time the knock comes on the doors of the main hall, the space Xanatos set up as his office. He spent the time going over some piled up paperwork, and is quite happy for the inevitable interruption.
"Come in," Xanatos shouts, his voice echoing around him.
Ben walks in, the red t-shirt tied around his head and the hood of his blue hoodie pulled up in an effort to keep out the chill of such a high altitude. He sees the roaring fire in the hearth behind Xanatos' desk and eyes it longingly.
"Do come over," Xanatos calls down the long room, noticing Ben's eye line even from so far away. He stands up and motions to the fire behind him. "You must be tired and freezing."
Ben walks over and puts his hands out in front of the fire. It's almost as tall as him. In front of the hearth is a sitting area. An antique rug with four couches surrounding a large stone coffee table.
"Would you like something to drink?" Xanatos asks politely. "Something to...eat?"
Ben twitches slightly at the offer, but shakes his head. "Look I...you offered to reward me...before. When I..."
"Saved my life?" Xanatos walks over to a table with a very large, expensive looking cappuccino machine. He steps beside it and reaches out to a small, black Mr. Coffee and pours two mugs. He walks back over and offers one to Ben, who begrudgingly accepts.
"Yes." Ben moves to sit on one of the couches. He starts to raise the steaming mug of coffee to his lips, then remembers the makeshift mask over his face.
"And the offer still stands, Ben."
It takes a moment for the use of his name to sink in. When it does, Ben shoots up to his feet, just as Xanatos himself sits down on the couch across from him. "How do you..."
"I'm afraid it will take some time to explain, so you may wish to sit back down." Xanatos motions back toward the couch behind Ben. "And you needn't worry about Peter or your identity, so don't let that keep you from enjoying your beverage."
Ben struggles for a moment, unsure what to do, but finally he pulls the t-shirt from his head and sits back down. His hair sticks up in all directions,, but he pays it no mind. He simply stares at the man before him, occasionally sipping his coffee.
"Well, where to begin?" Xanatos asks, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "Yes I know who you are. And who Peter is. Norman Osborn is a...business rival, and I make it a point to know the business of my business rivals. One of my agents informed me of his...experiments."
"One of your agents? You have your own spy network?" Ben asks, eyebrow raised. "You're a businessman, not a country."
"Xanatos Enterprises is a multinational corporation, which is bigger than many countries you could name," Xanatos says coolly. "And you should be grateful for that. As you saw in Osborn's lab, you were the first successful clone. My 'spy' was able to get you out before you were brainwashed into serving Osborn."
Placing his mug down on the coffee table, Ben rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Why? What do you get out of this? Am I just some plaything for the two of you?"
"True, I was initially motivated by a simple desire to keep an asset out of my rival's hands. He already has one Spider-Man on his payroll. I certainly didn't want him to have a second, this time one who would obey his every command because he was programmed to. But had I wanted to simply keep you from him, I could have had my agent terminate you. Whatever the nature of your creation, you deserve to live your life just like anyone else."
"So you had me freed?" Ben asks with agitation in his voice. "And then after Peter and I met up, you led us to Sevarius. I'm guessing that was your man who called us?"
"Correct."
"Why?"
"You two deserved the truth. I had hoped it would also open Peter's eyes, but sadly he still works for Osborn."
Ben's face shows genuine shock. He hadn't thought about it since he left them in the hospital. How could Peter still work for Osborn after everything they learned?
"You didn't know?" Xanatos asks.
Ben shakes his head, pushing it all aside. Peter can live his own life. He returns to the topic at hand. "And then I just happened to save you from some two-bit super villain? That was just coincidence?"
"Coincidence? Fate? Whose to say?" Xanatos asks as he stands up and walks over toward the fire. "It's not the first time I've been attacked and it won't be the last. Hell, he might have been hired by Osborn himself."
"And now what?" Ben asks, his voice sharp and hard. "You're going to blackmail me? Use me?"
Xanatos sighs and turns back toward Ben. "I thought I'd proven by now, I'm not Osborn. I may play the game as far as business goes, but I'm not going to enslave anyone. I'm just trying to help you."
"You know, I'm getting sick and tired of people trying to manipulate me!" Ben shouts, kicking the stone table as he stands up. "It's bad enough the life I remember is gone! The people I loved! On top of that I learn I'm some...some pawn between two billionaires who were too bored with golf!"
Xanatos doesn't respond to the outburst. He simply walks over to his desk, reaches into a drawer, and tosses an envelope onto the table in front of Ben.
"What..."
"It's what you came for," Xanatos explains. "Your reward." Ben looks away from him, sheepishly. "Look, Ben. I know what it's like to pull yourself up from nothing, and right now you have less than that. All I'm offering is my help. If all you want is some cash, sure. I have plenty. But there's so much more you probably hadn't considered yet. When you do, I'll be here if you need it."
Ben reaches down and takes the envelope, shoving it into his back pocket. Unsure what else to do, he walks toward the window. "Thanks."
As he's about to climb out, Xanatos says, "You know there's an elevator. Take a left outside by office. It'll bring you to the ground floor. A lot easier."
Ben pauses for a moment. Then, without a word, he turns and walks toward the door as fast as he can without breaking into a run. Once he's gone, Xanatos smiles and sits down at his desk.
"Excuse me, sir," Owen says as he walks in without knocking. "I am slightly confused by your decision."
"Which one is that, Owen?" he asks, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.
"You just gave him money and let him leave? What if you never see him again?"
"Oh I wouldn't be too worried about that," Xanatos smiles. He sits up and lets his long hair down, shaking it a bit before retying his ponytail. "Even you know, Owen, that loyalty is earned. It can't be bought or held through fear. Not truly.
"Norman is a bull. A brute," he explains, spinning in his chair and getting up to walk to the window. "He thinks he can keep Spider-Man in line with force. And he can, for a time. But true loyalty comes when the person wants it as much as you. That can't be forced. Though it can be...helped along."
Xanatos gives Owen a knowing look, to which Owen responds, "The package was received. Though...I question this as well. What if..."
"Risk, my friend, has it's own rewards. But a true gambler knows how to hedge his bets. If he lives, he'll be the stronger and have another reason to seek out help. If he dies, well then I have a team capable of taking down Spider-Man. Either way, I win."
****
It's almost midnight when Ben steps out of the shower. It was the most amazing experience in his life. The level or grit, grime, and general disgustingness that had accumulated over the last week or so was a wonder in itself.
Wrapping a towel around his waist, Ben walks out to the tiny motel room. Having come from living in a sewer, the motel room felt like a palace. He could probably have afforded the penthouse suite in the Ritz-Carlton with what Xanatos offered him, but his lack of identification, not to mention his appearance and smell at the time, would have raised the eyebrows right off the faces of the hotel staff.
Besides, after the trouble he had shopping before coming to the motel, it was probably for the best. Ben walks over to the tiny table next to the bed and inspects the makeshift chemistry setup. He thought the teller was going to call the police when she saw the items and chemicals he was purchasing. He could have taken the time to buy the items here and there at multiple stores, but he was tired and didn't want to end up in another fight without web fluid.
He carefully takes a full vial out and transfers it's contents into one of his web cartridges. He loads it into a web shooter and places it on his wrist. A quick spray and the TV remote is in his hand. He rips the webbing off and turns the TV on, setting it to the Tonight Show.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Ben finds the lure of the lumpy, stiff mattress to be strong. Yet, looking over at the pile of groceries in the corner, he finds himself feeling guilty. He's supposed to bring Cecilia back tomorrow evening, but that's almost a whole day they could use this stuff. Especially with some of them injured and ill.
"I just got the smell of sewer off me..."
He quickly gets dressed in his unwashed clothes, swearing to himself to go clothes shopping first thing in the morning. He loads up his web shooters and pockets with as much of the finished web fluid as he can and stuffs the grocery bags into a giant duffel bag he throws over his back.
It doesn't take him long to reach the sewer entrance closest to the Morlocks, at least now that he can web sling across the city. Just as he's about to lift the manhole cover off, his Spider-Sense goes crazy.
He leans back just in time to avoid the brunt of the explosion. It sends the manhole cover flying upward, narrowly missing his head, and knocks Ben back into the wall of the building behind him.
"You're getting a little soft, Dingo," a quiet, slippery voice calls out from the darkness. "Your trap barely singed him."
"Where would the fun be in that, Jackal?" a hearty voice with an Australian accent calls back.
Rising to his feet and tossing the duffel bag down, Ben scans the darkness. Five figures begin to appear around him, light from the tiny fires on the alley floor glinting off their shiny gold bits of armor.
"Yeah, you don't cook the prey until you've gutted it first!" a scratchy female voice laughs.
Something about them seems familiar. It isn't until the voluptuous red haired woman with a blue fox head painted over her left eye comes into view that Ben realizes what's going on.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Ben asks, confused. He peers around the alley, looking for a hidden camera. "I'm being attacked by the Pack? I love you guys! Dudes, can I have your autographs?"
The red haired woman narrows her eyes. Her deep, silky voice says two words. "Kill him."
-To Be Continued-