“WEBBED SURVEILLANCE”
Summary: An exasperated Spider-Man trails the elusive Black Cat across town, hoping to knock some sense into the master thief.
Status: In-Development
Genre: Action-Comedy, Marvel Fanfic
Fancast:
– Mark Lee as Spider-Man (aka Spider-Bro)
– Lee Taeyong as Black Cat
Dedication: This one goes out to @yangx2s and @vernosaur, for being sources of inspiration
HE had planned to land on the floor, but it was already occupied.
“Oi!” Spider-Man exclaimed, his voice a nervous, high-pitch. “Nope!”
In the nick of time, without missing a beat and with superhuman ease, he performed an in-air flip and clung to the ceiling, arms extended to either side of his body as though to maintain balance. He didn’t need to be so theatrical but he had been caught off guard. Ignoring a reaction as visceral and impulsive as this one had become harder and harder to contain. More often that not, sheer instinct kicks in and he just goes with it.
Spider-Man stared in disbelief at four of the ugliest Komodo dragons he had ever laid eyes on and they glared back at him, thin tongues slithering in and out of their snouts. He could hear them hissing—or snarling, he couldn’t tell—and gulped, shocked at how late he had come to notice them. A tingling sensation notified him of potential danger but he hadn’t imagined it would be a quartet of monitor lizards casually dragging themselves on such a small apartment.
With Amadeus Cho’s help, Spider-Man had set up his phone to monitor emergency channels, in hopes that it would direct him to where he could make a difference. Robberies, fires, break-ins, super villains being up to no good is what he had in mind but apparently the universe had other plans for him.
And so, in a matter of minutes, a routine night of surveillance turned into a bizarre chase across the city. He had been swinging non-stop for the past hour and half, chasing the elusive Black Cat across town, mumbling to himself that he probably shouldn’t have made such a dynamic entrance in Inner Demons territory.
You gotta time your quips, man, he scolded himself when everyone hauled ass in different directions and he lost sight, albeit briefly, of the Cat. The master thief had connections with just about everyone in the crooked lane that was Enn City. Following the guy meant getting in a heap of trouble but that was already part of the job so what the hell, right? He just hadn’t considered Komodo dragons to be part of the equation.
The chase led him to the shady part of town, where the properties looked ancient and in need of a new coat of paint, and into the lost (apartment-sized) world of Komodo Land. The Black Cat had been quick to find and subsequently hide in this narrow, five-story monstrosity that oozed with not-so-chill vibes and shamelessly overpriced and claustrophobically small apartments. It reeked of neglect, nicotine, and chemicals, as though it had been repurposed for some clandestine drug operation.
Spider-Man wondered if it had been a deliberate ploy to distract him. After all he had checked the lobby and the first floor and found no sign of the master thief. What he had found instead, much to his surprise and disgust, was the stench of the dragons’ dinner, excrement, and urine.
Just my luck, he thought, crawling across the ceiling and scanning the rest of the apartment: the door had been left ajar and there was nothing but a bucket and a mop by a corner. The pungent smell stung his nostrils even through his mask and he resisted the urge to gag by clearing his throat as he pushed his left wrist against his nose. One of the Komodo dragons stared, as though it could see right through him. Big bioluminescent green eyes stared back and narrowed until becoming thin slits of contempt and disgust; behind the mask, Spider-Man was cringing.
Who knew something could smell so bad?
“Good Lord,” he whispered, gently shaking his head. “You guys should think about cleaning after yourselves.”
As he shifted his weight and positioned himself to face the door, crawling slowly toward it, he saw it. A shadowy figure in the hallway outside the apartment. The figure moved itself with grace and purpose and just enough that Spider-Man caught a glimpse of his face in the dim-light of the hallway. Aware of the now incessant hissing—or snarling, Spidey still couldn’t tell—of the lizards, the figure’s head jerked toward the half-opened door and then he dashed into the hall.
Pushing himself off the ceiling and clinging to the door, not trusting his new Komodo besties to not take a chunk out of him, he peered into the narrow hallway and saw the Black Cat running toward the elevator. Spider-Man gracefully leapt off the door and slammed it shut behind him because there was no way in hell he was going to leave those beasts out of there.
Who waits for an elevator while they’re being chased?
Spider-Man groaned and shook his head.
The chase was on—again.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
