Manhattan, New YorkSilk #1.2
Cindy collapsed on a office chair that who knows how long had been in that warehouse. Chunks of cushioning had been ripped out, one of the wheels was missing, and it was probably serving as a mildew cultivator, but after pushing herself hard tonight, it was easy to sink into. She started to lean back, grateful that the spine of the chair was still structurally sounds enough to not just collapse upon the slightest shift of weight, and brought her pondering gaze up to the rafters and vaulted ceiling of this place. An open window let in a fresh breeze, stirring the silk of Cindy's webs to wave like curtains. It was a pretty sight as the moon and lights outside caught the bit of moisture still on freshly flung webs, glistening in a subtle display.
This place was a godsend to her, but she wasn't sure why. She never intended on actually getting out there and being a hero. She wasn't one, just a normal person. Well, normal as she could be. One reason she came out here was catharsis, true, but why did she work so hard at improving herself? Running through fantasies like
this empty bottle is a gun and I have to disarm this derelict barrel or
catch the falling pigeon egg before it commits a suicidal jump? She could never actually get out there with Spider-Man, right? He wasn't a normal person. None of those heroes were. They were better than normal people like her.
It was enough for tonight, and she had to get home before her grandmother caught on.
Spider-climbing her way back out of the open window, she slipped back out onto the sidewalk to begin her trek home. Although it was nearly midnight, this city still bustled with activity. Something felt off though. Sure there were plenty of the usual jovial drunks but some groups of people had an edge to them. Tight groups of hushed whispers, concerned viewers as something happened on their phone. Cindy slowed, leaning in to listen in to a passing couple's worrying exchange. "...think they'd actually, you know, help for god's sake! I mean, he's only facing off against six of them at a time. How about you send..."
Cindy slowed to a stop. New Yorkers were proud of their own and there was one hero that stood above the rest as he was one of their own. Spider-Man. No one else compared, not even the President Kryptonian.
Cindy flung her backpack around and dug into the main pocket to retrieve her phone. She quickly typed out "Spider-Man News" in the search bar and hit enter. She regretted it.
Spider-Man Dead? What NYC looks like post Spider-Man..Cindy ran home. She had enough of today.
Brooklyn, New YorkMultiversal Mayhem Edition: Silk #1.1
There was no way this was a good idea, but right now wasn't the best time to come up with good ideas. It was kind of hard to when dimensional aliens from giant portals opening in the sky suddenly start terrorizing everyone. Hopefully, whatever powers that be give her a pass for this.
Having taken cover in the women's restroom in the subway, Cindy tucked into a stall, locking herself in as she dug through her backpack. She had nothing on hand to help her hide her identity out of what she had available because secret identities were important, right? Spider-Man had one, probably, but he was no longer here. At least nobody had seen him since that day the Sinister Six had teamed up on him, but with no remains people suspect that Venom ate Spider-Man. Some said he might still be alive, but if that was the case, then where was he? If he was still alive, he wouldn't have let New York go so untended for this long. Weeds of corruption were growing all over before but this alien invasion was like, a swarm of locusts.
Hey, that was a good analogy! Thanks Misses Baxter, but I still hate the Grapes of Wrath though and all those dumb metaphors about curtain colors. Focus! Gotta save people from aliens!If she didn't have some type of costume she'd have to make one, but covering herself in toilet paper didn't quite sound inspiring. She did have her webs and without a better idea, she went with it. Stripping down to shorts and a tanktop, she'd just cover the herself with spider silk. Taking all her fingers, she ejected webs from each, taking a few practice swipes around her legs to get the feel of threading the silk tightly enough to actually cover her skin. Her torso was a bit more intricately weaved as she was getting the feel for it and then lower face to keep her identity hidden. She could have done the whole face but imagine how awful it would have been to untangle all that silk from her hair...
Cindy was nervous as she darted out from the stall, kicking her bag under the toilet for now. With all the carnage, she doubted anyone would notice. One last look in the mirror to witness just how she looked. She felt silly, outclassed by the many power armor and spandex suits. She couldn't make a difference if she tr-!!
A chorus of screams came from outside the bathroom. Something was happening in the station and that was the cue Cindy
needed.
She burst out from the door to see a pair of Chitauri advancing down the station platform. Sporadic shots of searing plasma fired from their hand cannons sent people scattering and cowering.
Okay first thing, disarm them just like the deadly bottles those barrels had. Cindy flicked her index finger and shot a string of web towards the lead Chitauri's weapon. The web stuck, much to the alien's sudden shock but it was far to slow to react as Cindy gave the web a jerk. To her surprise, the weapon didn't come free as it must have been secured around the hand and instead the whole Chitauri was pulled off of its feet and towards the budding heroine.
The other Chitauri turned, leveling his cannon to shoot a volley at Cindy. A tingle crept up Cindy's neck and into her head, giving her an instinct to move. She dipped low, letting the first few shots spray above her before leaping to the side as the Chitauri brought his aim down to fry the ground where she had been standing.
"Wooah!" Cindy remarked, partially out of shock from the plasma weapon being fired at her and partially from the surprise that her movements felt so surprisingly natural.
The Chitauri on her web staggered to its feet also attempting to bring its weapon to fire. Cindy planted her heels, wrapping the web string into the palm of her hand and giving it another hard pull. The Chitauri was pulled off its feet again, flung towards Cindy as she instinctually ducked under the volley of fire from the other attacker.
When the webbed Chitauri was within reach, Cindy grabbed it and turned using the larger body as a shield as another volley of shots came in, only these scorched her Chitauri bodyshield's back and with a screech the creature likely died.
"Sorry!" Cindy called out as flung the body at the other as a projectile, knocking both onto the track. A bad place to be as the NYC subway car came blazing through the station, splatting the Chitauri underneath. She didn't see, but definitely heard the screech of the creature just before its end.
It was, maybe, a good thing the subway came to a stop at the station, preventing her from seeing the aftermath of her first deliberate killing. Sure they were violent alien monsters but still, this should have felt bad. However, as she glanced down the platform to see the stunned faces of people that watched it go down, she noticed a few not getting up. She didn't have the luxury of contemplating the rightness of this scenario, people were dying and she could still save more.
A chorus of screams from the street above carried down the stairs, and that was Cindy's cue...