Chapter 74
[102]
Ren was barely thinking when he released his grip on the side of the building, it was more just that his subconscious knew to escape however he could. So the tired and injured hero used the dangling web bridge to swing away, grabbing the remaining civilian and climbing to the next building’s roof with him in tow.
When he reached the rooftop and set the man down, he hurriedly joined the rest of the civilians in taking the stairs down to the bottom floor. Ren let out a sigh of relief at seeing everyone evacuate safely. He was about to collapse from a mixture of exhaustion and blood loss, and if it weren’t for the tingling feeling in the back of his head, he might’ve passed out entirely.
‘Wait.’ He thought. ‘Doesn’t that mean-’
Ren thought he heard a muffled gunshot and before he could complete his thought, he felt a bullet pierce his chest, emerging straight through his left pectoral. He stumbled forward, clutching the bullet wound as he tried to keep himself upright. He turned back towards the burning building, he saw the Prowler, holding a sniper rifle pointed right at him. As Prowler pulled back the bolt, readying another round, Ren knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge. Even if he could, he wasn’t even sure he’d survive his current wounds.
“Oh no you don’t Prowley.” Scorpion’s voice said as he reached the same roof as Ren. “This one’s mine.”
Ironically, the other villain may have just saved Ren’s life as he now stood directly in Prowler’s line of fire. It seemed that he couldn’t count on one taking the other out though, the sound of a sniper round bouncing off of Scorpion’s armor confirmed as much.
“Y’know, I’m pissed that I wasn’t the one to do the original Spider-Man in, he caused me innumerable headaches when he was around. But I think this will be therapeutic for me. Give me closure and all that, y’know?”
As the larger villain approached, his menacing tail raised to attack, Ren gulped in fear. As his hand brushed against his side, he felt something attached at his hip. It took a moment for him to recall what the object was, but then it struck him.
The device Futaba had made for him!
This one was still in early development, but Futaba had given it to him, just in case. As he removed the small, round object from his side, he recalled the young inventor telling him how it worked. Press the button on the side and when the light turns red, you only have 3 seconds to throw it.
‘Go!’ Ren thought. ‘Web Grenade!’
The metallic red ball flew through the air, straight at Scorpion who had a look of surprise on his face. The original Spider-Man never used any gadgets like this, so he hadn’t seen it coming. Both of them closed their eyes, preparing for the device to detonate. However, both were surprised when it harmlessly pinged off of Scorpion’s armor, falling to the floor with a small clang before its light went out.
“Aw dammit.” Ren said aloud.
Scorpion let out a laugh. “That was your secret weapon? And here I thought you couldn’t get any more pathetic!”
“Still need to work out some of the bugs.” Ren shrugged as best as he could.
“You won’t get the chance.” The villain smiled as he began to walk forward once more.
Unbeknownst to him however, the lights on the grenade next to his foot flashed to life once more a second before going off. Webs sprang out in every direction, covering Scorpion in a thick blanket of spider silk.
“What the fuck!?” He cried out as he tried to escape, his tail was pinned against his body however, and left him immobile.
Seeing his chance to escape, Ren backed away from the villain. He walked backwards, eyes not leaving his adversary, he was surprised when his feet heels hit the ledge and he tripped off of the edge of the building. As he felt himself fall off the building’s side, Ren felt a sense of calm fall over him. Maybe this was how Yu felt while he was dying.
He closed his eyes, finally getting his much needed rest as he fell. He was already asleep by the time he landed in the dumpster beneath him.
Miles away from the conflict and completely unaware of it, two girls stood opposing each other in Protein Lover’s Gym. Ann Takamaki and Makoto Niijima were having another of their many training sessions. While Ren and Makoto still met up to spar at the gym from time to time, his schedule made these sessions rare. Ann however, had time off from her modelling job and decided to use it to further train her body.
The blonde threw a punch at her opponent, initiating the fight. It was easily dodged however, and Makoto used the opportunity to grab her wrist. Ann wouldn’t let her though, and quickly responded with a kick towards Makoto’s side. This time, the brunette was unable to dodge and was forced to block with her arm.
Ann smiled at her improved skill, glad to have finally landed a blow against Makoto. Her smile faded though, as she noticed her leg had been caught and was being held in the air. Before she could get free, Ann watched as Makoto swept her other leg and forced her to the ground. Now pinned and unable to move, the younger girl was forced to tap out.
“That was better than last time Ann.” Makoto said as she stood up, helping Ann to her feet as well. “You’re really impro-”
“Again.” Ann said, her tone was dead serious.
“Oh...alright.” Makoto stepped back and resumed her fighting stance.
The two of them fought again. And again. And again. With Makoto coming out the victor each time, much to Ann’s frustration.
“Again.” Ann said as she pushed herself off of the floor.
“Why don’t we take a break? I think we could both use one at this point.” Makoto suggested.
Before Ann could refuse, the older girl had already stepped off of the mat and over to her water bottle. As she took a drink from her’s, she offered the blonde her own bottle, indicating that she needed to take a break and hydrate.
As Ann begrudgingly sat and drank her water, Makoto finally asked the question she’d had since they’d arrived at the gym.
“Is everything alright Ann? You seem kind of...aggressive tonight. If I’m pushing you too hard, you can just let me know and I’ll lighten up.”
“No it’s-it’s nothing like that…” Ann sighed as she looked off to the side. “I’m sorry, I’ve just had some things on my mind lately.”
“Things like what?” Makoto asked as she took another sip.
“...What do you think of Ren?”
The student council president choked on her drink, taken aback by the question. “Wha-I...I mean...What’s there to say?” She said innocently, not wishing to convey her true feelings about the boy. “He’s a great friend, he’s really nice, and he’s a freaking superhero. What more could you ask for in a friend?” Makoto laughed nervously, not meeting Ann’s gaze.
“That’s not what I meant.” Ann said seriously. “I mean, what do you think of him as a member of the opposite sex? Do you think he’s…” She trailed off, the true meaning of her question implied.
“Oh.” Makoto said, sweating heavily, and not from the prior workout. “Well I um...I’ve never thought about him like that.” She lied. “Ren’s just a friend.”
Ann seemed surprised by the answer, her eyes widening and her expression lightening greatly. “Huh. Okay...great!” She suddenly seemed a bit nervous herself. “So...you wouldn’t mind if I asked him to the Halloween dance?”
“Of course not.” Makoto lied through her teeth. What was she supposed to say in this situation!? What do you say when your best friend wants to ask out your other best friend, whom you yourself have feelings for!?
As Makoto screamed mentally, she missed Ann’s follow-up question. “S-Sorry, I missed that.” She said, embarrassed.
“Oh, well I just asked if you thought anyone else might have their eyes on Ren. I imagine what with being student president, you hear about him a lot. Has anyone said anything, like they think he’s hot or anything?”
“Oh! Um no, nothing like that. I think most students are too scared to approach him, which is pretty ironic given how nice of a guy he is.”
“Totally!” Ann smiled, seemingly back to her normal self. “Guess it just makes it easier for me! Other girls are too scared to make a move.”
“Yep. Definitely.” Makoto said, unconsciously grinding her teeth. “Hey, what do you say we get back to sparring? I think this has been a long enough break.”
“Alright.” She hopped back up to her feet and walked over to the mat. “Hey Makoto? Thanks for talking with me. I feel a lot better now.”
“Anytime.” Makoto responded, putting on a fake smile. “Now let’s get started.”
Makoto took Ann down 7 more times that night, possibly using a bit more force than was necessary.