The Bond of Brothers Part 1
The Bond of Brothers Part 1
Lamps illuminated the empty streets of Downtown Chicago. In front of a short, frail old man stood four mob enforcers.
"Time to pay your tithe to the king Wachowski!" the leader of the enforcers said. He took a step closer and cracked his knuckles.
Wachowski jumped backward, but his foot got caught on a crack in the sidewalk, and he fell on his back. "I told you; I'd have the money in a few weeks!"
"That was a few weeks ago," the leader said, taking another step forward.
Wachowski scrambled further back. "Tell Mr. Fi–AHHHHHHHH!"
The stench of copper filled the air as Wachowski's femur broke out of his thigh.
The leader retracted his leg and wiped off the blood from his boot. "We don't say his name. Now, you got exactly–"
"I'M A BARBIE GIRL, IN A BARBIE WO-O-RLD!"
Panic flooded the enforcer's faces, and they spun around in search of the source of the sound. The leader looked to the man on his right, and his panic disappeared. He rolled his eyes. "Hell, Vinnie, didn't I tell you to change that ringtone?"
Vinnie's arms flew into the air, and he whipped his head from the leader to his fellow enforcers. "Hey don't look at me; I changed it weeks ago!"
All the enforcers snorted and scoffed at Vinnie.
"Really, I did!" Vinnie exclaimed. He pulled his phone out and played his ringtone: "AND I-E-I! WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU-U-U-U!"
"Yeah, that was really the win you thought it was, Vinnie," a lighthearted voice said. The four enforcers looked up; across the street and perched at the top of an abandoned warehouse, was the Scarlet Spider holding a phone to his ear. "No, I will not–Gwen put you up to this, didn't she?"
The Scarlet Spider descended upon the leader in a flash! The leader became one with the asphalt as Scarlet propelled himself back into the air, and Vinnie joined his leader as Scarlet's Impact Webbing hit him in the chest.
"You know, I remember a time when you were fun," Scarlet said. He flipped through the air and took aim with his web-shooter at the two other enforcers. They splatted against the wall and struggled against the thick webbing.
"I'm gonna fu–" A glob of webbing covered the enforcer's mouth and nose.
"What is it with all the criminals wanting to do that to me?" Scarlet asked, feigning disappointment with the enforcer. A muffled voice sprouted from his phone, and Scarlet jerked around. "No, I do not constantly put out!"
The muffled voice spoke again.
"That doesn't count, I was drunk!"
The second enforcer on the wall looked at his friend; he's not getting any air! "Uh, Mister Scarlet?"
"You know, you're just mad that I'm the fun drunk and you're the sad drunk!"
The first enforcer starts hyperventilating, he's running out of air!
"Mister Spider! He's not–"
Scarlet spun around. "Bring it on, Web Head! I will drink you under the table any day of the week!"
"Ugnnh..." Wachowski's weak moan snatched Scarlet's attention, and the young hero jumped back at the sight of bone poking out of Wachowski's flesh.
"Ah! Oh–hucgh–" Scarlet gagged. He bent over his knees and tried to bolster himself. "Sir, are you al–hucgh–no, of course, you aren't. That's bone marrow–okay Scarlet, you got this!"
Again, a muffled voice sounded from Scarlet's phone, just as the second enforcer screamed, "TONY'S CAN'T BREATHE!"
"Jeez, this is not my night!" Scarlet exclaimed. He made a peace sign and jabbed his fingers up Tony's nostrils. Tony took a deep breath and looked at Scarlet for a moment before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limply against the webbing. Scarlet looked back at the enforcer and shrugged, "He'll be fine."
Scarlet took a step back and felt his foot connect with a limb.
Wachowski howled in pain and clutched his leg.
"Oh shit!" Scarlet shouted. He lifted his phone back to his ear. "EverythingsfineIgottacallyoubackokaybyeeeeeeee!"
Scarlet hovered over Wachowski, and his eyes scanned the man up and down. He had to carry him to a hospital, but how do you do that when your passenger is not flexible? Do I wear him like a backpack? Bridal style? Rollerblade? Cocoon?
Scarlet leaned in close to Wachowski, "So, uh, yeah this is gonna hurt."
Scarlet crawled through the window of his hotel room and yanked off his bloody mask. Ben Reilly's blond hair fell over his ears now, and a thin layer of brown scruff covered his jawline. He looked down at his formerly blue hoodie with sadness. "How the hell am I supposed to get this out?"
Ben dragged his feet over to the bathroom, and he stripped off his favorite hoodie. He flipped the sink on, eyed the handsoap in the corner, and sighed. "Better than nothing."
He ran his hoodie through the steaming water and applied as much soap as he could to the dark splotches on the blue fabric.
"I'M A BARBIE GIRL, IN A BARBIE WO-O-RLD!"
Ben dried a hand off and grabbed his phone. "Good Morning!"
"It's the middle of the night," Peter said dryly.
"Good afternoon then," Ben retorted brightly. He leaned in closer to his phone and listened for a moment. "Are you texting and swinging right now!? My word, and after you promised Gwendolyn that you wouldn't!"
"We got a bit of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Racer X, and a Kane and Abel situation going on here," Peter said. "I think she'll let it slide."
Ben turned off the sink and backed up to sit on the wall. "A trifecta? At this time of year?"
"Yeah, the Parker Luck is coming in extra strong right now."
"Take me through it one at a time," Ben said, already planning out the fastest route back to New York from Chicago.
"Actually, you only have to worry about one of these," Peter said.
Ben jolted backward. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Peter took a deep breath. "It means Kaine is coming after you, Abel."