Entangled

"Mmm, I don't want you to leave yet," Hobie mumbled, brushing his fingers against Arabella's back.

"Mm, I know, but I have things to do and people to keep from dying," Arabella brushed his cheeks as his face lay in her chest. Arabella had spent the day in Hobies boat, both taking any chances together. He kissed the top of her breast, humming as he slid one hand from her back to her chest, lifting her shirt.

"Hobie~ Come on, you know I have to leave soon," Hobie only grunted into her shirt, wrapping his legs around hers to keep her pinned. He hummed against her skin, ignoring her as his fingers gently massaged her breast. 

She didn't mind it; she preferred to stay in bed with him. Holding onto his broad shoulders, her fingers playing around with his hair or the nape of his neck. Feeling his breath on her skin, she couldn't get used to that. While he lay on her chest and played with her, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming fog of melancholy. 

She dreaded going home enough that sometimes, deep down, she wished that some cannon event would get disrupted and her world would disrupt. But even she knew that was a possible possibility. She knew that Miguel's theory was wrong; so many different things he said contradicted what was happening. 

But she knew that it wasn't fair to her people. The people she swore she would protect. She hugged Hobie tighter for a moment, rolling over until she hovered over his body. She kissed him before he could question what he was doing. She sighed gently into his mouth and rested her weight on him.

"Oh…this is..good." Hobie wheezed out, keeping his arms around her waist.

"Not too heavy?" She asked, kissing his ear.

"Nope. My size babylove," 

They lay together for another 20 minutes or so. Arabella relaxed into his body and eventually closed her eyes. She gasped when she opened them again, checking the time and looking outside.

"Oh shit! I'm late!" She hissed out, launching herself off Hobies body and scrambling to put her things into her bag. Hobie lifted from his bed, watching her web her things.

"You going home? What're you late for?" He asked, genuinely curious as he hadn't seen her this pressed to get home before.

"Uhm. It's a thing. I have to be there this time but ill see you later. I should be able to come back soon, hopefully," She took her bag, kissing Hobie on the cheek.

"Ari?"

"Yes?" She asked, glancing up at him with her watch dialed to her universe.

"Love you," 

She smiled at him, "Me too," She opened a portal to her world and jumped through. He watched as it started to close, waiting for the colors to go away and his things to stop floating, but as he waited, he saw her entire roll of trans tape. He webbed it, thinking about giving it to her later but then realizing this was her emergency roll. So if she had this, she didn't have anymore. 

He wrinkled his nose, knowing he wasn't allowed—ordered even not to step into her universe. He never took orders well, and although it was a request from her, he couldn't let her go without her things. He knew he was selfish at the moment, wanting to see her world and how she lived. Even then, it came from a place of wanting—needing—to help. 

So he hissed, grabbing his boots, tucking the tape around his belt, and flying through the portal. His body contorted and changed as he saw her not too far ahead. As he slipped through and found himself at the other end, he wasn't expecting to land straight-faced into some wet pavement. He immediately removed himself from the puddle, feeling as if the water had somehow started to burn.

He exhaled, blinking his vision back to him and getting himself up from the ground. From where he was, he could see he was in an alleyway; her world darkened but was lit up with light pollution in the sky. 

He saw her slip through the alley quickly. Getting himself together, he followed her, hearing sirens and buzzing. Luckily he was able to follow in her footsteps precisely. This allowed him to see what she was sneaking from.

As he looked through the alleys, he saw people roaming, all crowding down to the ground as if they were afraid of something. He looked up, finally seeing a projected screen of some A—I of her version of J. Jonah Jameson.

Spider woman: #1 Public enemy. Wanted Dead or Alive. Any aiding in this fugitive will be subject to public execution.

Unsurprisingly, the picture they used of her was somewhat funny. She stood before what he would assume was her Norman Osborn, him dangling upside down, covered in pig blood, while she made a peace sign.

"That's my girl.." He mumbled to himself, but not before he realized he couldn't see her anymore. Luckily she wasn't far as he kept following her trail, watching her crawl up walls of buildings that seemed to go on forever. 

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel bad, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement to see where she lived. But the more he followed her, the more he was confused. Finally, standing at the top of the highest building possible, he watched as she shot a web at some security drone. She was using it as a crutch to launch herself into the air.

He noticed there was a pattern and followed it. Then looking behind him as the drones circled areas and scanned people with a red light, seeing profiles of information show up. Once he realized they were going higher, he finally noticed where they were going.

Arabella had always talked about the floating city, the Tycoons that lived above all the rest of the people—the true city. It was larger than anything he'd seen; it felt like it was more than just that city.

That's when he looked down. The city was in ruins. Buildings didn't look like buildings; all dilapidated but still filled with people. The eternal darkness only covered the city below. Drones flew all over the city, scanning people and hunting them almost. Then he saw her headshot. It littered all the billboards, with the same tagline on all of them. Some of them said they just wanted her dead. 

He turned his head, almost swinging into a bot before hopping onto it and leaping to another. He was confused; if the Tycoons lived in the sky and she needed to be 'home,' why was she going up? Unless it was a spider woman issue she was dealing with.

Nonetheless, he kept himself quiet. Moving high into the air proved more complicated than he thought. He understood why her shoulders were as broad; going so high into the sky felt like a hazard. He noticed he would be caught if he followed her a second off. He recognized her pattern the moment she took them. Reaching the city, they crawled to the bottom of it. 

It wasn't like gravel as he expected it to be. It was smooth, some technology that somehow didn't react to him. He guessed it was because of his own body. The outdated newspaper glitch that surrounded him.

He saw her climb through the disruption of the edge of a city, a dome. A dome so bright it hurt his eyes and somehow seemed unaffected by the eclipse in the sky.

It wasn't too long before going upside the dome she immediately attached herself to a building. The building was so conveniently placed, wedged between three others, creating a spot that drones wouldn't fit through.

This time he couldn't follow her as closely. But saw that she had gone through some window. Before him was a bright city with uniform, neat buildings all constructed in a similar white, gold, and blue theme; everything was far cleaner and pristine than the city below. The sounds of the city were gone,  replaced by some serene music. 

Then he saw the same J. Jonah A.I., which he realized was propaganda A. I she talked about. 

Kingpin is our savior. Remember to follow the rules. Remember to obey.

A deep shiver went through Hobies spine. Crawling up the wall and peeking into the window.

“Jeeba, how late am I M.J?”

"You are approximately 20 minutes late, My Lady Tiger."

"Ugh, great. Now he's going to kill me.." 

Hobie watched as Arabella stood in her room—something he wasn't expecting. Everything was white, blue, and gold. It was like a room made for a princess. Something he'd only seen in that kind of media. And who she was talking to wasn't an M.J. he thought she had. 

It was an android, dressed formally with red holographic hair, almost like Lyla but lifesize and life-like. He watched as Arabella stripped herself chaotically, tripping over things as she raised some device over her hair, standing in a mirror.

"M.J., please alert him that I am on my way, and for the love of god, do not send Tombstone; he's been breathing down my neck with this.."

She dropped the device on her hair, watching it as it gathered, and slicked it against her head, making cornrows in seconds.

"M.J give me party session two, please," 

"On it, My Lady Tiger." 

Watching her was like watching a movie. He knew her face but didn't know what was happening to her. Her big textured coils were replaced with the same color lace front installed in seconds. It was straight, long enough to go past her hips. Even her clothes were different. She wore a long deep blue dress that was lined with gold. 

She seemed like a different person. Someone he didn't know existed or could have existed within her.

"My Lady, My Lady Tiger, he is coming to the door. Blood pressure high above average,"

"Ticky tac, okay, one second. Initiate cleaning scenario 2," Arabella ordered the bot, finishing her makeup, adding jewelry, and stiffening her back.

"Wait..wait, wait, my tape—Shit, I left it at Hobies. Uh, M.J., where is my hologram?"

"Here, already finished and installed, My Lady Tiger. Have fun at the party!" 

M.J. fizzled out of sight at the moment her door was knocked on.

"Coming! Sorry…” Arabella opened her door, Hobie unable to see who was there.

"Arabella. What have you been doing? It started 20 minutes ago."

"Okay, okay yeah, I get it. You know why it takes me a long time, and I would not like you speaking to me this way," She said sternly.

"Mm…"

"If there's anything else, Father, I want to finish. Everything not packed up yet." 

Hobie watched as the man moved away from her door. Arabella looked down at her feet with a hiss.

"M.J., can you…." Arabella sighed, her face no from anger to a softer, more lonely expression.

"Give me my shoes…" She raised her hand, a robot arm giving her blue strapped heels that weren't her style. 

After Arabella left her room, Hobie dipped into it. This time he was finally taking in her room. Her bed was raised off the ground almost five feet into the air; her dressers and drawers were all futuristic and pristine.

"Hello there, you are not My Lady Tiger." The android showed up behind him, making him web to a wall.

"Yeah? And who are you?"

“I am M.J”

“Mary Jane?”

"Yes. Modeled after My Ladies late childhood friend, Mary Jane," The android glitched and followed him to the wall.

"By my database, you are Hobie Brown from Earth-138."

"You seem to know everything. What else do you know?"

"I considered this a possibility once My Lady Tiger told me of your existence. It is the reason I have not called the police bot to escort you. You are wearing the symbol of the spider so you would be executed on the spot, your execution broadcasted to the grounders below,"

Hobie stared at the bot, seeing the eerie smile across her face.

"Right…Where did she go?"

"She has attended the birthday ceremony,"

"Birthday ceremony?"

"It is My Lady Tiger's birthday today. Her 21st, a special occasion, started at her birth."

Hobie dropped from the wall. His eyes furrowed as he pulled off his mask. 

"Today is her birthday..?" He sounded like he questioned it to himself.

"Would you like me to show you diary entries? They're very in-depth about her thoughts. Most of them, of you,"

"Tempting M.J., but no…you gonna tell her I was here?"

"I am programmed to."

"Hm…Right..." Hobie webbed up to her bed, sitting on it and feeling how it felt like clouds. He frowned; it felt nice. Better than anything he'd ever laid on. He started to realize many things that she's said and done weren't adding up.

If she lived as luxurious a life as this, it didn't explain how she talked about hating to be…home. He tried not to let his anger engulf him at that moment. He put her tape on her bed, dropped down, and went for the door.

"I don't suggest going that way. I can provide blueprints and all My Lady Tiger's hideaways and spots." 

"Weird. Why are you helping me?"

"It's in my programming. When My Lady Tiger became aware of you in more of the friend sense, she set all my programming to help any Hobart 'Hobie' Browns. Unfortunately, that only extends to you. The Hobie Brown of this universe had already died years before she ever knew you,"

"Right, get me set up on that, will you?"

Arabella stood next to her father, trying not to make sneering comments toward him as they stood on the platform.

"So…do you like your new dresses?"

"They're okay." Arabella crossed her arms, moving a strand of her hair out of the way.

"Ah…You are not wearing your headpiece."

"I don't like it. I'm not some princess,"

"Well…with the power we have, you might as well be,"

"Right, right. That's why you love public executions and a manhunt for…." She trailed off, seeing the look he was giving her.

"I'll show you how bad she is. You wait. Once she stops interfering, we will have everything in order,"

"Hmph," She rolled her eyes, feeling her father place something on her head.

"I said I didn't want this."

"You decided to be who you are today. So you better look the part, Arabella," 

Arabella did nothing but turn her head away from him; the platform stopped.

"Come on, let us begin," The curtains of their platform opened, Arabella putting on a wide and happy smile as her father went out first.

She could feel her face begin to ache the moment she started. A sense of dread fell over her constantly as she saw her father. Kingpin. Everything with fear in her life he caused. From the moment she was born, to her aunt and uncle, to Glenn, and everything leading up to this moment.

She moved her hair out of the way, unfolding her arms and stepping forward.

"And a Happy Birthday to my daughter, Arabella Donovan! Our great city future." Arabella stepped out, and the crowd of Tycoons cheered and hollered at her. She may not have been a princess, but the people who lived in this city saw her as one. 

She made an announcement, telling them how great the city was. She heard herself contradict everything that she stood for—or tried to stand for. 

After the introduction was done and the party slowly began, Arabella was called up by her father to start with a song.

"Why would you do that? I don't sing anymore,"

"It's your 21st birthday, Arabella. Do this for me,"

"I do everything for you," Arabella hissed, feeling the platform lower her down, and Tombstone gave her a mic. She chose a random song and refused to do anything birthday related. She decided to do something short, methodic but smooth with her voice. The room became silent, knowing that Kingpin would have their heads if anyone from the crowd spoke. 

As Arabella began to sing, she didn't realize that the dread she had been feeling was slowly coming to the present. Everything seemed like it was going smoothly, her eyes wandering the room, not looking at anything in particular until she saw a familiar style look at the corner. The spotlight blurred her vision, but she knew it wasn't normal. Looking harder, she noticed it move, her eyes widening in fear, stuttering over the song and pausing. 

She locked eyes with Hobie, seeing him slip away from the party unnoticed. Everything in her screamed to go after him; she saw the people staring at her, worried. She gave an awkward smile and cleared her throat, finishing her song and being invited to party with others.

"Where are you going? Leaving the party again so soon?" As Arabella entered an empty hall, she cringed, stopping in her tracks. She turned around, seeing Harry Osborn lean against a column.

"And what do you want?" She stepped back, crossing her arms as he made himself known. Her eyes furrowed as if the night couldn't get worse. She was surprised to see him, of all people.

"You've been running out a lot more, you know. I get it; you're doing your own thing until we can be. "Harry stretched his arms out, his suit seeming tighter than average.

"Let me stop you there. We're done, officials. No more. Whatever I do, whether it's my work or not, is none of your business, And I won't even try asking why you know that,"

"Listen, I'm sorry-"

"Harry fucking Osborn, I don't have time for you right now, so please leave me alone," Arabella glared at him, his red hair falling flat against his face as his expression changed from pleading to a grimace.

"Fine. Fine.." She watched him leave, waiting a few seconds before she looked around, picking up her dress and looking around. She couldn't find herself to call out his name, knowing she could alert some of the bots to her aid if she did. She found herself outside a balcony, looking around and hoping that he went off home. But then, if he did, she wondered how she was supposed to explain.

"Got a nice place here, I see." 

"Hobie!" She whispered as he crawled from the wall into the balcony. 

"Hobie, what the fuck are you doing here?" She asked, looking around and pulling him off into the corner of the balcony.

"You are not supposed to be here; if anyone spots you, you could be killed. How did you even dodge every person here—no, don't answer that…Did—did you follow me?" Arabella kept looking around, paranoia running to her back as she held onto Hobies hands. Once she felt them pull from hers, she looked at him wide-eyed. The situation slowly fell over her.

"Maybe..but I see that's the least of my problems…so you're your Kingpin's kid?" Hobie sucked his teeth, watching as the recognition in her eyes settled, and a sudden regret followed suit.

"Is that why you didn't want any of us visiting? Not because it's not safe but to..protect your secret?"

"No! No, I didn't—it isn't safe for you here. I mean, yes, that too, but for a good reason…Hobie, please. I didn't tell anyone because it's not who I am or why I do things. It's not important until.."

"Until now?" 

Arabella gritted her teeth, trying to keep back her tears. She watched him back up and looked at her.

"And today's your birthday? You didn't even tell me. You told no one, really," Hobie scoffed, leaning against the balcony's railing. 

"I don't…I wouldn't say I like talking about it. It's not a good day for me…."

Arabella couldn't look at Hobie, but he was indeed looking at her. She didn't want to see the disappointment and betrayal in his eyes, not today. 

"Hm…You don't look like you, you know?" 

She wasn't sure what to do; she knew their predicament wouldn't go well if she tried to explain herself. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Yeah… it's not me in this. It feels…horrible," She choked the words out, finding the conversation a little awkward for now.

"Arabella!" Kingpin's voice boomed through the hallway, her back stiffening and her eyes widening.

"You have to leave. Please, please, and we…we can talk about this later?" She tried going for his hand, but realizing it might be a mistake and not wanting to face the rejection of him pulling away, she pulled away first.

"Right. You know where I stay," She pushed him more into the corner of the balcony, blocking his body with hers and the balcony door.

"Arabella. What are you doing?" 

"I was taking a breath of air because someone decided to invite the Osborns to my so-called party," Arabella hissed out her words harsher than she meant to, hoping he didn't see Hobie.

"They wanted to make amends. It's a good business opportunity."

"Are you kidding me? They disregarded my transition, and I kicked them away from here, only for you to bring them back. And you wonder why I spite you," Arabella stormed off; luckily, Kingpin didn't stay a second longer and slammed the door closed.

After that, Hobie made his way home.